Author note: Infidelity, heartbreak, broken marriage, sometimes you have to take a long bumpy ride till you can get home.

I realize this might not be a fic for many, but its writing itself at the moment.

She looked out the window of her small bedsit on the third floor, his car was parked out there, she was scared. She didn't know what else to do her ex boss now had followed her to her new place, and she wasn't able to find work because of his standing in town had bad mouthed her to all future employees. She had limited money and she didn't know what else to do. He wouldn't take no for an answer and now no one would give her a job, he was stalking her now and was just waiting for he to give up knowing she would have to feed her child. He told her she was going to be evicted because the landlord was on his payroll.

She'd arrived home from looking for a job with her son in tow with the landlord telling her she had to go. He was a old man and offered her a few nights after tomorrow sleeping on the couch in his small apartment as long as she told no one she was staying there. She didn't want the old man to get into more trouble and she told him she would move on tomorrow. She had moved 4 times in three months. This was the worst part of town. She was losing money, feeding him and paying for her room.

She tried not to be upset but it was blackmail pure and simple his way of getting what he wanted. She'd told him she was a widow, he took that as she would sleep with him when she turned him down he got annoyed with her. No one said no to him, she knew that, she'd worked as his P.A for a while before he tried to get her into bed. She shook her head, she left at 5 to pick her child up from the sitter when she returned the next day she had been demoted to the mail room. To a a point she was forced to finally leave.

She looked out the window again and the knocking on the door taunting her was too much, she tried to shush her son. She picked him up and they crawled out onto the fire escape and along to the girl next door, she tapped on the window and she opened it quickly, helping her in. Tara had been helping look after the little boy since she had him. Helping her find place after place to stay finally they both were sharing a house and come home a few weeks ago to find themselves evicted and their stuff on the street. What was left of their stuff they grabbed and found two single rooms side by side in a bedsit place run by a friendly old man.

'Can you believe that guy?' Tara said. Carol felt bad, she had a few months of college left and she was being dragged into this by Carol. Tara said they needed to stick together until they formed a plan. Tara had a plan, she'd done some digging, borrowed money off her girlfriend and worked everything out, all she had to do was get Carol to agree to the plan. She didn't know if she could go for it but the rumor was Child Protective Services were coming tomorrow to take her son.

'Yeah, no one will hire me, I'm running out of money and idea's,' Carol told her, 'I don't know what to do now,'

'Why don't you go home to your husband? or ex husband? or whatever he is?'

'I can't... he cheated, he checked out... I can't trust him anymore,' Carol said. She had thought about it. She just couldn't do it, bring herself to do it.

'He might help, you don't have to go back but, he might help out with money and stuff, things are going bad now, when you run out of money the state will take him or something, I can't afford to hardly feed myself, I'll help I have a little stashed away,' Tara told her, 'Swallow your pride? He has got to pay maintenance right or something?'

'I think I will have to swallow a whole lot of vomit, I can still see him you know... if I think about him, having sex with her,' Carol whispered.

'I'm not saying you have to go back to him, but surely he will pay maintenance, is he a decent man? I mean apart from fucking the waitress?'

'He used to be... he was... before... maybe I'll ring his brother?'

'I think we need to get you out of town, head there, at least if you go to your own home town you might be able to get a job, you must still have friends there?' Tara suggested, 'I've been your best friend since he was born, I'm helping the best I can, but even I can see now you can't do this alone anymore not with that stalker out there wanting you, its not safe, you need to put your pride aside and keep him safe,'

'I don't know,'

'Look I wasn't going to say this but I need to now, Old Mr Jones has a friend and he said he heard he was going to send social services in to take him, I don't know if that's just a threat or not but ... Carol you have to go,' Tara opened her laptop, she flicked through some files, and printed out some stuff, 'I went on line, I worked it out you can be there in ten days, I know you don't have a lot of money for motels, but if you take night buses it will save money on motels and things, eat cheap,'

A whole lot of emotions flooded through her at that moment. Every time she thought of him it was the same thing that run through her mind. She couldn't cope home alone, she slowly had been packing away things and he lost it completely and went out binge drinking when he saw her packing her stuff into little pink boxes, when he got home he vomiting over the house on his return and on her baby blanket. She had to wash it and it no longer smelt like her. Thats when she decided to take time out. She needed to catch her breath they were barely alive themselves, just functioning.

They had lost their baby, their little Sophia, she hadn't slept through the night by their bed she had just stayed sleeping and neither of them knew how to deal with the grief. Sitting night after night staring at the little urn of her baby ashes on the special shelf with her baby photo. They didn't know how to talk to each other. Carol couldn't stop crying and Daryl wouldn't talk to anyone. They used to make love a few times a week they tried again but just felt disconnected with each other both feeling blame where there was none.

'Some friends maybe still... lots fell away while we were dealing with the grief, and when the marriage fell apart people took sides,' she never told anyone but Tara she caught him with the waitress having sex in their bed, she didn't even know if he remembered himself he was so drunk and he passed out and the women scurried past her holding her clothes when she saw Carol starring at them. They thought she just left, she'd been checked out for so long she been away for a few weeks staying with friends trying to get on top of things, he took care of things by going to bars and drinking himself into a stupor every night. She grabbed what she could grab to pack into a bag, a few photos of her baby, the baby blanket, the money from their checking account that he had been spending on booze and fled that night leaving a note to tell him she was leaving him. She never looked back.

She was nearly 6 months pregnant before her new friend Tara convinced her she was pregnant and she should go see a midwife. She'd been denying it for a as long as she knew. She made a vow to herself that she wouldn't get attracted to the baby growing inside of her but she couldn't help it, it was coming whether she loved it or not. When he was born she fell head over heels with the little boy. Oliver, who stole her heart, helped her heal, that was good until 3 months ago when things started going badly. Now she had no choice but to make some sort of drastic move. Going back would let Daryl know he had a son, but could she go back.

He'd been knocking at her door for over an hour and hadn't moved on or left. Ollie had fallen asleep on Tara's bed.

'If you catch the midnight Greyhound, you will be 8 hours away by morning, on your way, I even got you a throw away phone so you can keep me in contact,' Tara told her.

Tara had a file with bus schedules and how to make it back to where she needed to go, if social services tried to catch up with her, she would stand a better chance with him. He owned his own business still along with his brother. They would help her, they wouldn't turn him away. She nodded agreeing she would follow the plan. Tara had it all organised, they had newly washed clothes. A backpack she could strap Ollie to when he got tied and a back back she could strap to her front to make a trip across the country.

Tara counted out the money she had, pooled with the money Carol had she had enough. Tara also had planned a few over night stops with family friends of hers. By the time midnight come she had bags packed and enough water, food and snacks for them both to last a couple of days. Tara had come up with free suggestions for what they could do during the day at the different stops they would be making. Giving her a map. All the money and things she could give her. They hugged goodbye, Carol Carried her sleeping child onto the bus with her bag with some snacks and a drink in case he did wake. 8 hours time, 8 hours on a bus. The only thing she knew she would have trouble with would be holding him for so long. They had two tickets so they had a whole seat to themselves. Tara had booked and paid for this part of the trip she just needed to go and go fast.

Tara walked out to her car and pulled up along side a pay phone booth, she pulled out a phone number wondering if she should just dial or not. She was betraying Carol's trust but she really didn't want her friend going on the bus for the next week or so with little Ollie in tow.

A gruff voice answered the phone, she looked at her watch seeing the time, it would be roughly knock off time in the state he was in.

'Can I speak with Daryl Dixon please?' Tara asked over the phone.

'Speaking,'

Tara launched into a 'You don't know me speech but...' when Tara drew breath she waited for a moment for him to responded.

'I'm just getting a pen,' She could hear him scratching on a bit of paper, 'Ok, Ok, Thankyou, you have no idea... I'ma gonna go find her,'

'Oh Daryl, if you go, you're going to need a car seat,'

'A car seat?'

'For Ollie... he's 4,' Tara breathed into the phone, she heard the phone crash to the ground then it banged a few times as the person at the other end tried to pick it up.

'Is he... is he mine?'

'She told me he was, but she needs your help even if she won't admit it,' Tara said into the phone, ' This is my cell number, give me a text so I have yours, I'll text you her number,'

Tara rattled off a number and said goodbye. Carol would kill her but whats a girl going to do. They would work it out. She didn't know him but the way Carol talked about him she knew he would look after her. Regardless what had happened.