"CARL!" Rick's voice boomed through the quietness. "CARL! CARL!" He ran through the still burning debris, dodging falling embers until he froze. Lying on the ground, stiff and lifeless, was the body of his son with a large chunk of meat gone from his neck and shoulder. "NO! GOD NO!" He ran over and pulled Carl into his arms, crying and rocking his body.

"Rick," Michonne called out as she came up on them. "No." She ran to his side and knelt, seeing the large chunk of flesh gone. "Oh God no, please no."

"My boy," Rick wailed in pain and anguish. "My boy, my boy."

"Michonne, did you …" Sasha stopped as she saw them knelt. "Oh please God no."

Tyreese, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl and Jack came up and stopped beside Sasha. Maggie threw her arms around Jack and wept as Daryl wiped his eyes.

"Shit," Daryl muttered. "I thought he made it."

"Beth," Jack muttered and looked around. "Beth! Bethy! It's Uncle Jack! Bethy!"

Tyreese and Sasha started walking through the debris, looking around for any sign of the young girl. Sasha stopped and knelt, picking up the burnt duck that Judith had hung onto as a toy. Tears rolled down her face as she turned to Tyreese, clutching the duck to her. Tears started streaming down his own face as he turned to look back at Rick.

"Damn."

Glenn moved over and knelt beside Michonne, wrapping his arm around her as Daryl moved over to Tyreese and Sasha. "We found this," Sasha whispered, holding the burnt duck to her. "There's no other sign of them."

"Glenn, go with Sasha and Tyreese out into the woods, I'll stay here," Daryl spoke up as he wiped his eyes. "We need to find them."

"We will or die trying," Tyreese spoke as he headed off.

Glenn rose and walked over to see Sasha hand Daryl the duck. His eyes began filling with tears as he darted off into the woods after Tyreese. Sasha clutched his arm as she took off running to the woods. Daryl looked down at the duck and rubbed it absently as he turned. Maggie was standing there, looking at him. A wail escaped her lips as she saw the burnt duck he was clutching. Jack also spotted the duck as tears ran down his face.

Daryl walked over and knelt beside Michonne and Rick. Reaching over, he gripped Rick's shoulder as tears rolled down his face. "Don't make no sense, the kid was right behind me."

"I thought he was behind me too," Rick whispered.

"Nothing makes any sense," Michonne whispered. Her eyes shot to the burnt duck and unsteadily, she reached out and took it from him. "Not a damn bit of sense."

Rick wiped his eyes and saw the duck. He looked over at Daryl, who shook his head. "They're out in the forest looking for them now. They might still find them before it gets too dark to see. Let me bury him for you, least I can do for the little man."

Rick nodded absently as Daryl picked the lifeless body up and started walking down the hill. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he placed a kiss on the lifeless boy's head. "Tell yer mom we miss her and tell Andrea I miss her too." He stopped by the grave markers and laid the boy down. Reaching behind his back, he knelt in the dark and knifed the boy in the head to be safe. He cleaned the knife, returning it behind his back as he took the shovel and started digging.

Maggie walked over and picked up the other shovel and began digging silently with him as tears rolled down her face. "Do you think Beth and Judith are all right?"

"I don't know, it's dark outside," Daryl spoke, his voice heavy with emotion. "Where's Rick?"

"With Jack and Michonne, he can't walk," Maggie replied as her tears continued to fall. "Please God, let them be all right."

The hole was dug and Carl lowered into it as Michonne and Jack finally walked up with Rick between them. He fell to his knees beside the grave; reaching down, he twisted and pulled the wedding ring off his finger and leaned over to lay it on Carl's body. Emotions overcame him as he fell back on the ground, letting the tears flow freely now as he rolled on the ground. Maggie went to his side and picked him up in her arms, whispering soft words of comfort into his hair as Michonne helped Daryl fill the grave in. She continued to rock him as Jack turned to look at the fire raging behind them.

"From ashes we were born and to ashes we return," he spoke. "God, we commend the soul of this bright, warm, caring young man to your care. We offer up a thanksgiving for having to known him, and we ask a special blessing that he be reunited with his mother who is now in Your Kingdom. We offer up prayers for the safe return of our Beth and Judith. Please God, send your angels to watch over both of them as we pray. Amen."

"Amen," Daryl and Michonne whispered.

"Let's get out of here and onto the road before the fire gets worse, we'll pick the others up," Jack spoke as Daryl and Maggie picked Rick up from the ground. "Come on son, we need to go."

"I can't leave my boy," Rick wailed.

"You're not leaving him, he's with his mother and Heavenly Father now," Jack spoke, wiping his eyes. "He wouldn't want you dying here because of him."

Rick allowed himself to be half-carried, half-walked to the cars where they loaded up and left the prison that was once their home. He absently stared out the back window of the car, watching the prison slowly be consumed by the raging inferno. He leaned his head over and placed it in his hands. "Please God, protect Beth and my daughter."

"Amen," Sasha whispered and gently gripped Jack's hand.

"Okay blondie, here we are," Mitch called back to her. "Don't forget the brat."

Judith's cries had calmed down the further they had driven but her face was still red and pouty. "She's not a brat, she is scared out of her mind," Beth spoke defiantly, "and so am I. You have no idea what we just went through."

"I can only imagine." Opening the door, Mitch slid out and pulled the seat back for her. She climbed out and looked around. They were in the back stock room of a large big box store. Groves climbed out and slid the door shut as Mitch closed the car doors. Holding his arm out, she started following him down the long corridors; he pushed the swinging doors open and they stepped out.

"Beth, what are you doing here?" Carol asked, walking up to her.

"We rescued her from the prison that was on fire," Mitch grinned.

"Where is everyone?" Carol asked, hugging her.

"I don't know," she whispered as tears began to fall.

"You brought me a present, how special of you," his voice boomed around her.

"Don't be scared, he can be a nice man when he wants to be," Carol quipped.

She cuddled Judith close to her as the footsteps got closer and closer. She saw him in the shadows, then he stepped forward; there was no mistaking him … eye patch, vest, long coat. The more she stared at his face, the more she wondered if she knew him.

"Aw, a blonde and a baby, I feel special," he chuckled.

"Ethan," she whispered. She handed Judith to Carol and walked towards him. "Ethan?"

"Beth," he breathed, staggering briefly. "Beth."

"Ethan," she cried and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and clinging to him.

"Dear God how," he spoke as a tear fell from his eye. He held her tightly and ran his hand through her hair. "I don't care how, but I am so glad to see you."

"It was horrible," she cried. "There were walkers and a fire and so much smoke. I had Judith and we were following Carl but I lost him in the smoke." He held her close as her knees gave out. Scooping her up, she sobbed harder. "I don't know if anyone is left alive or not."

"Don't cry sweetheart, you're safe now," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "Carol, can you handle the baby for a little while till she calms down?"

"Sure, but how do you know her?" Carol asked.

He turned and started to walk off with her in his arms. "We're family." He vanished into the darkened store as they stared at one another.

"Family?" Mitch questioned.

"But she's Jack's daughter and Maggie's sister," Carol breathed then looked at Judith. "Oh baby, I am so glad you are safe." Judith looked up at her as tears began to form in her eyes. "Come on sweetheart, let's get you something to eat."

Kicking the door to the office open, Ethan carried her over and laid her down on an air mattress. He ran his hand over her hair as he pulled a blanket around her. "Get some rest, we will talk later."

"Ethan, have you seen anyone from the prison?" she asked as she laid her head on the pillow.

"You're the first person I've seen since," Ethan smiled as he dimmed the lantern. "Get some sleep, I'll be out in the store. Don't worry, there are no walkers in here." He ran his hand over his face. "Did someone rape you?"

"No why?" she asked, then caught on. "No, that's Judith … Rick's daughter."

"Rick's daughter with his deceased wife," Philip breathed. "For a moment, I thought she was yours."

"I've been taking care of her," Beth yawned and began to fall asleep. "I feel like she's mine."

"We'll talk more later, now rest." He slid out the door, pulling it closed behind him as Mitch walked up. "Where are the rest of them?"

"Hell if we know, all we saw was her running out into the road with the baby in her arms and walkers chasing her," Mitch replied. "Did you see the gun?"

"Yea, it's Rick's," Ethan hissed. "I swear if that man laid a hand on her …"

"Rick would never do that, especially with her," Carol spoke, walking up with Judith. "I fed and changed her and I started gathering her some supplies. Ethan, how are you and Beth family?"

He pushed everyone out into the store so Beth could rest. "Her half-brother Shawn was my son from my previous marriage to her mother Annette."

"Damn," Mitch grinned. "You got a kid, well sort of."

"Jack and I never got along as far as Shawn was concerned. I did my best, I even had him and Beth for a time when Jack was off the wagon," Ethan continued. "Beth became a spark between me and Annette, we were trying to talk to one another but then I met my wife and we married and then Penny was born." He looked at Carol. "Who put them down?"

"They were in the barn originally, then Shane and the others found out. They let all the walkers out and started shooting them. Beth went to her mother's body afterwards, but Annette reanimated and came after her. It was all Rick could do to pull her free. Daryl and T-Dog finished putting her down, then Beth tried to commit suicide. Rick was good to her, he made sure no one harmed her and after Lori, well he started to lean on Beth for support. He never asked for it, but she always gave it to him. I guess Rick saw her as a surrogate mother to Judith, but after that I don't know. That's when he kicked me out."

"Doesn't seem like she's any worse for wear," Ethan spoke as he took Judith into his arms. "Come on, let's see what we can find you darlin'." A slight smile crept to her lips as Judith started patting his eye patch. "You like it, I'm glad."

"What do we do about her?" Groves asked.

"We keep a look out for the others, find out who made it and who didn't. If any of them survived, they may come looking for her. If they didn't, they will stay with us," Ethan spoke.

"Just what we need, a blonde and a baby," Mitch huffed as he stalked away.

"Forget him," Groves grinned and tickled Judith's cheek. "She is adorable."

"She will be a heartbreaker when she gets old enough," Carol grinned as they started walking. "I bet she will look just like her momma."

"Let's hope so," Ethan chuckled.

They stood outside the cars, watching the prison burn bright in the night sky. People had been lost, close personal friends and family … Carl being one of them. Tears rolled down everyone's cheeks softly as Rick paced from side to side.

"DAMN IT!" Rick hissed as he reached down his side. Looking down, he saw the holster and Colt were missing. "DAMN IT!"

"Dude, chill," Daryl spoke up, "you are going to have a damn heart attack."

"Good, maybe it will put me out of my damn misery," Rick spoke, wiping his eyes.

"Don't think like that," Maggie spoke, reaching out to touch him. He recoiled and stared at her. "We made it, we're here …"
"We didn't make it … Carl didn't make it … Judith and Beth didn't make it!"

"Stop!" Jack snapped. "We don't know they didn't make it, they could have went out the other side of the prison!"

"Then why haven't we found them yet!" Rick snapped back. "Beth was right behind Carl with Judith when the fire started."

"We didn't find them but we did find something," Sasha grinned as she walked up. Opening her hand, she held out empty shell casings. "We found these, and if memory serves, these belong to your missing gun." She dropped them into his outstretched hand. "I think I know where the gun is."

"With Beth," Maggie whispered as tears rolled down her face.

"But where is she," Jack asked, wiping his eyes.

"We found a trail of dead walker bodies heading out to the road on the back side," Glenn spoke as he came up out of breath. "Tyreese is walking the road at the moment, we found tire impressions … someone might have picked them up."

"So the possibility is Beth and Judith are alive," Jack spoke slowly. "We need to find them."

"We need a damn bloodhound for that, the tracks vanish at the crossroads two miles up," Tyreese spoke as he came up from the darkness. "It was either a truck or some type of SUV that picked them up, you can see tire impressions in the mud. The mud ran out before the stop sign, but they didn't go offroading."

"So what do we do, split up or stay together?" Glenn asked.

"We get in the cars and we drive," Jack spoke up. "We don't split up unless we have to."

Running his hand over his face, Rick turned and walked back to the green SUV and climbed in the backseat, slamming the door. He leaned his head back as tears began to fall.

"I'll drive," Sasha spoke and patted Jack's shoulder.

"We've got to do something about him," Michonne breathed.

"Like what … he just lost his son and he's afraid, like we all are, that Beth and his daughter are deceased," Glenn reminded her.

"If he goes off the deep end, what do we do then?" Michonne asked, climbing onto the back of the motorcycle.

"We deal with it then," Daryl replied, jumpstarting the cycle. "He didn't ask questions when I went off the deep end over Merle, so I ain't gonna turn my back on him now. He needs us, we're his family."

"Damn straight," Tyreese spoke as he walked to the truck. "Don't get too far ahead, these lights on this thing aren't the best in the world."

"Just be careful, we don't know how many walkers are out there," Sasha spoke up, climbing into the front seat. She looked back at Rick. "Why don't you stretch out and catch some zzz's for a little while."

"Before you do," Jack spoke as he climbed in, "take these two and talk to me later."

"What are they?" Rick asked as he popped the pills and chased them with water. His eyes began to droop as he fell over.

"Tranquilizers," Jack chuckled softly to himself.

"Damn old fool," Sasha chuckled.

Maggie looked out at the woods before climbing into the car with Tyreese. Glenn turned to look at the burning prison one last time before climbing into the car.

Opening her eyes, Beth looked around as she sat up. Yawning, she stretched and got up; she opened the door and trudged slowly out into the store. After a few moments, she grabbed her mouth and dove for the ladies' room. Pushing her way into a stall, she leaned over and vomited hard. She retched several times for kneeling, her body shaking.

"You okay?" Carol asked, walking in.

"Just felt sick for some reason," she replied, rising slowly.

"Do I need to go to HBA for you?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Of course you do, I was pregnant once too … remember."

"I'm not pregnant," she spoke, "that I know of."

"Wait here, I'll grab you a test and some anti-nausea medication."

She leaned on the wall of the stall as she stood there, pondering the implications of whether she was or she wasn't pregnant. A smile crept to her lips as she ran her fingers across her stomach … the idea of her being pregnant with his child, with Rick's child, made her feel giddy inside. She turned to see Carol walking in with water and a bottle.

"Here, take this." She handed her the bottle and water. Reaching into her shirt, she pulled the box out. "Then pee on this and we'll figure it out from there."

Taking the pills, she smiled and took a long drink of water. Unwrapping the test, she went into the stall and closed the door. She sat down, reading the instructions and used the test. She flushed the toilet and walked out, laying it on the sink.

"Two minutes to a miracle."

"Meaning?"

"Two minutes to either I am pregnant or not."

"Was Rick your first?"

"And only."

"If you don't mind me asking, why take the risk?"

"We love each other."

"And he's said as much?"

"No, we were just starting to make things work."

"And you love him?"

"Been in love with him since the farm. I hope he and Carl are all right."

"Me too. How was Daryl?"

"Last time I saw him, he was pissed at the world still for what Ethan did to Merle."

"Why? What did Rick tell him about me?"

"He told me the truth, what he told Daryl I don't know."

"Beth, I did what I did …"

"Don't, I understand why you did it."

"Are you mad at me?"

"I don't know what to feel."

"Makes sense." Looking down, Carol sighed and shook her head. "It's negative." She dropped the test into the trash and noticed Beth's face. "You were wanting this weren't you?"

"Yea, a little. I was hoping I was in case he was gone."

"Why?"

"I have Judith, but a baby would have been from him to me. I would have part of him growing inside me and I would have a part of him in my arms. I know it sounds all sweet and stuff, but it's how I feel."

"I know, you are always the optimist, and I like that about you."

"What changed?"

"Losing Sophia."

"I never did tell you how truly sorry I was about that."

"And I never got to tell you how sorry I was for the way they treated your mom and brother."

"It's taken me a long time to forgive them for that, but I am at peace with it now. I now understand the walkers and somewhat what they are. They still scare me, but I understand more now."

"Where did you get that?"

She followed Carol's gaze down to the gun and holster. She ran her hand over it, smiling. "I found it in the fire, I think he dropped it by mistake."

"Come on, let's find you some better clothes than those to wear. We are going on a shopping spree." She opened the door. "You need to see what I got for Judith, oh she looks like a living doll now … and, she likes Ethan."

"Well, she is a good judge of character."

They exited the women's bathroom and headed down through the junior's department as Ethan slipped inside. He went to the trash can and looked down, seeing the pregnancy test lying there. He saw the readout of 'negative' and exhaled softly before exiting the restroom.

He listened to the light chatter between Carol and Beth then smiled to himself. He could see her with them indefinitely, that is if they didn't find the others. He found his thoughts wandering to Andrea, and realized that she was the reason Beth affected him more now.

"Hey Mitch, mind if I go for a walk?" Ethan called out across the store.

"Do what you want, just don't leave the door open again!" the reply was yelled back.

Shaking his head, he laughed a little before heading out the door. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled the cigarettes out and lit one as he started walking towards the outer parking lot. His eyes raked the cars then he spotted the one he wanted and headed that way.