A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait! I've been super busy IRL with school and exams and all sorts of stuff, but I did make this chapter a bit longer than the other ones to make up for it ^^

Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and its characters belong to AMC/Robert Kirkman. Lana Fitzpatrick and Sheriff are my own fan characters and belong to me.

Chapter 4

His boots pounded into the ground with each long stride as Daryl paced back and forth around the store. He needed to think. He needed to get them out. He needed to get Lana home safe. His teeth clenched hard at the thought of those— things, getting their filthy rotten hands on his little girl. And how devastated Carol would—

No.

No, he couldn't let his mind get clouded with those thoughts, he needed to act quickly. They'd surveyed every inch of wall, looking for any doors, windows, vents, anything. But nothing. Not except the doors and windows at the front of the store only just withstanding the pressure of the thirty or forty decaying bodies pressed against them.

"Daryl, look up there!" exclaimed Maggie, a hint of relief in her voice.

Daryl's head snapped towards the woman, before following her gaze up into the corner of the ceiling where a thin shaft of light, barely noticeable to the group beforehand, was shining through a small window. He squinted his eyes up at the thin opening, propped open slightly with a thin film of dust covering the glass. How had they not seen it? The window was barely hidden behind a step in the ceiling, which was only just high enough to allow sight of both the window and the light shining through from a certain point in the room. His eyes lit up at the sight, but that light soon drained when he noticed the size of it.

"If someone could get out through that window, maybe they could get help. Or draw the walkers away" Glenn suggested. "But, it would have to be someone pretty small"

All eyes landed on Lana and Carl. A slight look of worry was visible on Lana's face, but it was quickly replaced with one of determination as she nodded in compliance.

"Okay"

"Hey, I think I saw a ladder in the storage room. Come on lets go get it" Glenn said whilst tapping Tara on the arm.

The pair took off for the other room, weaving their way through the mess of supplies, until they came to a stop in front of one of the still standing shelves. A large steel ladder was propped up against one of the shelves, stabilised by a metal frame atop four swivelling wheels. Without hesitation, they grabbed the ladder and carefully manoeuvred it to the doorway, only stopping when they had to lower the ladder to bring it into the main part of the store.

Daryl placed a hand on Lana's shoulder, causing her to turn and lock eyes with him.

"Sure you're up for this kid? he asked with genuine concern. Lana could tell from the tone in his voice he was hoping she would say no. Instead she nodded.

"I am"

Daryl squeezed her shoulder tightly, giving a quick jerk of his head which Lana assumed was a nod of approval, before slinking over to Glenn and Tara to help guide the ladder into place.

"Are you ready?" Carl asked as he brushed up beside her. Sheriff gave a bark, as if in reply, as he trotted over to the pair.

"As I'll ever be" she replied, as he intertwined his fingers with hers.

The store seemed a lot higher from the top of the ladder. It was roughly the height of a two storey building, but viewing it from above made it look about three. It didn't faze Lana though. Height may not have been one of her strengths back before the turn, but after months of spending her nights strapped to tree branches with Sheriff, heights didn't have the same affect on her as they did before.

Carl caught her eyes as she looked down the ladder at the rest of the group, who would be waiting for their return in order to survive. She couldn't let them down.

"Are you worried about this?" he asked, pausing momentarily on the ladder behind her.

"What makes you say that?" Lana responded as she threw a glance his way. She didn't bother to stop.

"Its just that… what if something happens and we aren't able to save them? There are so many out there. I've dealt with a few on my own at a time but never—"

"Don't think like that. We'll do it"

The steel felt cold under her grip as she climbed, her knuckles turning white as she clung to each rung. Nearly there. It didn't take long to reach the window. Lana expected it to seem larger as they got closer, but it still seemed relatively small. They'd be lucky to fit through themselves.

The hinges on the window squeaked as she pushed the panel outwards, leaving handprints on the dusty glass as it jerked open with the pressure she exerted. Lana stuck her head out the opening as she surveyed the surrounding area. No walkers. No survivors. No snipers.

And no way down.

"Crap" she cursed under her breath as she stuck out her neck further in an attempt to see her surroundings clearer. Surely there was some way down.

Yellow green eyes lit up with excitement as she spotted the pipe running down the length of the building, attached by bulky pieces of metal and large bolts that would make for good footholds. Her smile faded as the noticed some of the bolts had been removed further towards the bottom. No more footholds. They would have to jump from there, into the dumpster she soon spotted directly underneath the window.

"We've got a way down" she called to the others still on the ground.

With a deep exhale, she clambered through the small hole. She only just made it through, if not for the slight decrease in food intake over the past few years she wouldn't have. She clung tightly to the pipe, daring not to look down. It was easier that way, being harder to grip than a ladder or a tree, she didn't want to lose her nerve.

She didn't realise how far spaced apart the pieces of metal were from the top, and nearly slipped in her first attempt to move down. Gripping the metal so tightly the edges dug into her flesh, she continued, as Carl slipped through the window above her with slightly less ease than she had.

"Tell them to send Sheriff up" Lana said quietly to the boy. He stuck his head back through and relayed her message.

Lana could hear even from her spot under the window the pattering of paws on metal as the mutt scampered up the ladder. She was thankful for his police dog training more times that not. It proved to be incredibly useful. Carl grabbed the large bundle of fur, clad in a bulletproof police vest, and passed him down to Lana, a task more difficult than it seemed but still manageable.

Clinging to the dog, Lana managed to make it down to the end of the footholds, and readied herself for the drop into the revolting old garbage below. The stench was strong even from their height above the dumpster. A few deep breaths later, Lana was bracing herself as she dropped from the pipe. The trash surrounding her was mostly soft, thankfully, but a few solid objects poked into her as she squirmed in the stinking mess. By the time she and Sheriff has made it out of the dumpster, Carl had dropped in after them. He scurried to pick up his fallen hat from amongst the mess before clambering out himself.

"We've gotta distract them" Carl whispered as the trio crept through the narrow alleyway behind the department store.

"Leave that to us" Lana said with a smirk.

They stopped as they reached the corner, behind which was the hoard of snarling, decomposing monsters out the front of the store. The stench of rotting flesh assaulted their senses, far worse than the stink of the dumpster by a long run. A low rumbling growl sounded from Sheriff's throat.

"Ready boy?" Lana whispered, almost inaudibly, to the tensed canine.

Sheriff darted onto the street and down the hill, barking madly as he ran. He was nearly out of sight by the time the walkers reacted, but it didn't deter the herd from chasing after their new chance at dinner.

Well, most of the herd. Around ten or so stragglers decided to keep at their task instead of chasing the speedy dog.

"After you" Lana offered with a grin, using her hand to gesture towards the remaining walkers.

Carl fixed his hat and readied his knife, before blowing a low whistle and stepping out of the shadows. Rotting faces turned his way as the remaining few stumbled on torn and bloodied legs towards him. Without hesitation he stabbed the first clean through the eye, giving the knife a jerk as he yanked it back out. Another two were down before Lana emerged from the alley and lured a few in her direction, using her machete to slice through their skulls and what little amount of flesh and hair still clung to them.

Carl turned to Lana with a pleased smile as she struck down her last, which left her having to take a few steps back to avoid being lunged on. She turned to return his smile when her eyes widened in fear.

"Carl, behind you!" she managed to shout as another decaying body shuffled from the alley and pounced on the boy.

Her heart all but stopped as the black, snapping teeth barely missed his exposed neck, the bloody hands grabbing his wrists and restricting his movement.

Lana sprung into action, swinging her machete at the thing's head, but only burying the weapon deep enough to cause it to stumble and fall to the ground. She pulled the blade free and with a sickening squelching sound, buried it deep into the walker's skull. Another three blows to the head and she finally staggered back, breathing heavily, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Thanks" Carl managed to breathe.

"That was too close" Lana said, exasperated.

A sound from behind them caused them both to jump, as Daryl opened the doors and exited with the group trailing behind him. He ran to Lana and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"You alright?" he asked her.

Lana managed a quick nod and a smile. Daryl looked down at her proudly.

"You two did a lot a good today, saved us from some real shit. I'm proud a ya both" he said with an approving look in Carl's direction. He grinned at the man happily.

"Come on, we gotta get going, quick" Daryl continued, urging the two teenagers towards the vehicle hurriedly. The three of them piled into the back and from the front Tara started the engine with a rumble.

In the distance, a whir of brown and white appeared over the top of the horizon, with dozens and dozens of shambling, decaying corpses on his heels. He managed to break away from the crowd for long enough to jump into the back of the truck before it sped off, tyres screeching on the asphalt as it skidded along the road.

The herd continued to tail the truck for a good few miles. They were slowing, but the group wasn't loosing them fast enough to be rid of the lot of them before reaching the school.

"At this rate, we won't lose them before we get back" Maggie said from the passenger seat, a worried tone in her voice. "We have to do something, take a detour to loose them or—"

"No, we can't afford to waste the gas" Michonne piped up from back.

"Well we have to do something. The fences are strong but we can't take that risk"

Glenn's face lit up in realisation from the other side of the truck and he dove for his backpack, rummaging through its contents urgently.

"Wait guys, I found these on a run a few weeks ago. I thought they could come in handy" he said excitedly, pulling out three road flares.

Glenn removed the cap of one flare and struck the flare against it. A bright, red flame ignited on the tip, lighting up the features on his face with a red glow as a thankful grin spread across his face. Without hesitation he hurled the flare to the side of the road, only metres ahead of the hard of shambling corpses that followed them. Barely half changed course and started heading towards the luminous glow. The rest were undeterred.

"We lost some of them" Lana exclaimed.

"Yeah, but not enough" Daryl grumbled. "Throw another one"

Glenn hastily agreed, grabbing another flare from the bottom go the truck.

"Wait until we get a little further away, just incase we draw the other ones back our way" Michonne suggested.

Glenn nodded. "Sounds good"

Once they'd driven a few more miles, Glenn repeated the process, open, light, throw. A few more scrambled towards the new distraction, but a substantial amount still remained.

"We gotta throw the last one Glenn" Daryl said.

After they'd put some distance between the truck and the previous flare, Glenn struck the last one against the cap, a fiery glow once more emitting from the end. With as much force as he could he threw the last flare at the herd. It landed close enough to the walkers for them to see it, but off their path enough for most of the rest to get distracted from their prey and instead shuffle over to the bright flare. The remaining few would be no problem for them to pick off once they got back to the school.

"We did it, we got rid of them" Carl said to Lana happily.

"I don't know where we'd be without Glenn, he's saved our asses more times than I can count" Lana replied.

"Hey, watch your mouth kid" said Daryl, giving Lana a playful nudge. She smiled playfully.

It was sunset by the time they made it back. It was only when Carol heard the rumbling of the pickup entering the gates that the anxious feeling in her gut began to subside. They'd taken their sweet time. She'd been worried sick all afternoon.

It seemed to Carol that it became harder and harder to find distractions as the day wore on. Everything that needed doing had been done. She had resorted to her favourite pastime of immersing herself in a novel that either she or one of the others had picked up on a run. It was her own little luxury, being able to escape this world if only for a few seconds and explore new and exciting places. Books were often her comfort during her days with Ed, a way to imagine a better life, both for her and Sophia.

Sometimes she wished that Sophia lived even just long enough for her to know what it was like to have a real father. She would've loved Daryl, and he would've loved her. She knew. And Lana and Sophia would've gotten along so well, as sisters, as best friends. Carol didn't even need her books, just thinking about this little fantasy was enough of an escape.

Except the realisation of its impossibility was a lot crueller.

As soon as the sound of the engine reached her ears she dropped the book wide open onto the step and jogged around the corner of the building to the front. From where she stood, one hand shielding her eyes from the light, she began counting heads. Seven had gone, seven had returned. Eight including Sheriff.

Carol breathed a sigh long. They'd all come home.

The truck pulled up round the front near where she stood, and no sooner had Daryl jumped out of the back of the truck than Carol had flung her arms around his neck, pulling him into a deep hug. Lana and Carl both followed. After planting a kiss on his lips, Carol released Daryl from her grip and turned to Lana, pulling her into an embrace.

"So, how was it?" she asked her.

"We got heaps of stuff, there were loads of clothes there. We had a few close calls but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle"

Carol pulled back to face the teenage girl, her hands still on Lana's shoulders.

"Close calls?" she repeated, her tone becoming slightly worried.

"It was nothing, really. We're fine, see?" Lana responded.

Carol looked at her uncertainly, before slowly pulling away. She turned to Daryl as a hand was placed softly on her shoulder.

"It was nothin'" he said with a reassuring nod.

Lana offered a sweet smile before she was whisked away by Carl, who was chattering to her about some new comics he'd managed to grab. Carol bit her lip, but forced herself to smile. The two most important people in the world to her had come home safe and sound. There was nothing to worry about now. She felt Daryl wrap his arm around her hip and urge her forward.

"Come on, 'm more than ready for somethin' to eat" he said, expression showing his determination for dinner.

"Y'know It might be nice to actually eat something today. I'm feeling a bit better now" she said with a grin as the pair strolled up the concrete steps and pushed open the large double doors.

Even after making their way back to their room following a quick dinner of some stew-like concoction consisting of canned beef, caned corn, and a variety of other products found in cans, Carol's mind still wasn't quite at ease. She fiddled with her white banded watch as she lay on the makeshift bed, the ticking seeming to match the thoughtful look on her face.

"So, what exactly happened out there?" she asked, looking up from the watch.

Daryl paused from where he stood on the other side of the room, pulling his sleeveless button-up shirt over his head. He knew he would have to tread carefully with this. There was definitely no way he was going to tell her about how close Lana had come to being bitten in the store room.

"Just a couple walkers we ran in to, no problem" he replied as he pulled the shirt the rest of the way off and threw it in a crumpled heap to one of the chairs.

"Just a couple?" she asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. There were hardly ever 'just a couple'.

"Yeah a couple… dozen"

Carol sat upright, pressing her hands into the mattress beside her. A worried expression was plastered on her face.

"What?"

"Hey, it was fine. When we were in the store, a herd came outta' nowhere and blocked all the exits. Lana and Carl were the only two small enough to fit through the only exit we could find. Sheriff lured 'em away and the kids took down the remainder" Daryl explained calmly, nearly too calmly for something usually considered to be incredibly dangerous.

Carol's expression was somewhere between uncertainty and disbelief as she processed this new information.

"And you let her? Out there, with a herd?" she asked, half hoping she somehow hadn't heard right. Theres no way Daryl could let her do something like that.

"She can hold her own out there, 'sides, if she didn't then none of us would've come back. Includin' her" he said in a comforting tone.

Daryl sat down on the bed and wrapped his arms around her, as she lay her head against his shoulder. With his other hand he moved a few loose curls out of her face and kissed her head softly.

"You know I'd never let anythin' happen to her, don't you?" he asked with lips pressed to her forehead.

"I know" she replied quietly. "I just don't want to loose her. Don't even want to come close to losing her. Not again. Not after Mika and Lizzie. Or Sophia…" she choked back a sob. Daryl tightened his grip around her.

"I know" he said soothingly. "I lost her too".

The words caught her by surprise. She nuzzled her face further into the crook of his neck, her breath warm on his skin.

Yes, he would've been perfect for her.