Chapter 4

Leave it Behind

"Harper this ain't up for debate. More people are getting sick an' dyin' everyday. You ain't been exposed to it yet and I intend to keep it that way," Daryl told her.

"Daryl you can't just go off on a medical supply run and leave me behind!" Harper protested. She was in the part of the prison where visitors would come and now here she was, separated from Daryl by a glass window. "I can help find what you need!"

"Harper, if ya wanna help me, stay here with the kids. I'll be home soon and everythin's gon' be okay," Daryl sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Can you get the kids so I can tell 'em I love 'em?"

Her eyes welled up with tears, "Daryl please-"

"Harper," Daryl began.

She bit her lip and nodded, "Just give me a second."

Daryl watched Harper turn around and leave the room.

"Daryl!" Lilah squealed as she ran up to the glass, only seconds later.

"Hey Princess," Daryl greeted, "You behavin' for your momma?"

Lilah nodded her head, "Yes."

Harper walked into the room, holding Oliver against her hip, who instantly began to squirm when he saw his father, "Da!" The child cried.

Daryl put his hand up to the glass, a pain in his heart as he looked at his son. Everything felt so foreign to him and his child seemed far away. He was reminded of the few times he visited Merle when he did his stints in jail. He would have given anything then to bust his brother out so that they could hit the roads, causing trouble, and chasing tail. Now, Daryl would have given anything to have fallen asleep in a bed, with this beautiful woman beside him, and his son in his arms. "Hi Oli," Daryl greeted.

"Da!" Oliver cried again, pressing his tiny hands against the glass.

Daryl tapped the glass against Oliver's hand, "I gotta go away for a day or two," he tried to explain to the child, "Daddy loves ya."

Oliver began to cry, "Da!"

Harper reached up and quickly brushed tears away from her face, "Shh baby boy." She shifted her son, so that he was held against her chest, but Oliver only squirmed and cried harder.

"Go ahead and take him for a nap," Daryl told Harper.

"Daryl," Harper pressed her hand against the glass, "Please don't go."

"Baby, I gotta," Daryl sighed, "I'll be home safe and sound. Ya know I will."

"I love you," Harper told him.

"I love you too," Daryl said.

Harper squeezed her daughter on the shoulder, "Lilah tell Daryl you love him and goodbye."

Lilah looked up at her mother and then turned her gaze back to Daryl, "I love you Daryl."

"I love you too," Daryl sighed, "Take care of your momma, and I'll be home soon."

She nodded her head, "Yes Daryl."

Daryl looked back up at Harper, he chewed his thumb nervously, and then turned to leave.

Xx

Harper walked out of the cabin and sat down on the steps, watching Daryl set up the tent. "Lilah is eating and wrapped up by the fire. Carol is still insistent we all pile into the cabin though." She pulled her coat closer to her body as the wind rustled the trees and a breeze brought a cold feeling down on her.

"There ain't room," Daryl shrugged, "With the extra blankets you and I will be fine in the tent."

"Sheesh," Harper frowned as she thought about it, "This will be our first night alonesince before the sickness broke out."

Daryl looked up from where he was hammering a stake into the ground, "Damn, you're right."

Harper got to her feet and walked over to the pile of supplies sitting on the ground. She unzipped the door and let herself in while Daryl finished the work. She laid out pillows and blankets, until the side of the tent she and Daryl slept in, was suited for sleep. She popped her head out of the tent and watched Daryl as he hammered the last stake in, "House is ready."

He turned his head up to look at her, "Oh great. You got my dinner on the stove and my clothes dryin' by the fireplace?"

Harper rolled her eyes, "Oh shut up." She stepped out of the tent, "Your butt looks cute from here though."

It was Daryl's turn to roll his eyes, "Oh yeah, 'm sure." He set the hammer down and got to his feet, "Did you eat supper?"

Harper shrugged, "I was waiting for you."

"Well let's eat and then get to bed. We got a long day tomorrow," Daryl placed a kiss to her cheek.

They walked back into the cabin and sat down on the floor beside Lilah, who was already falling asleep. Harper brushed her daughter's hair out of her face and sighed as she looked down at the child. When Lilah was a baby, everyone had told her to value what time she had with her daughter. She was supposed to be enjoying these days with her little girl, but instead, her daughter was aging rapidly, Harper was convinced she was missing the important steps as her daughter grew closer to adulthood. She blanched as she thought about what she was missing with Oliver. Her son would be walking soon, and Harper was missing it.

"Harper, Carol asked you a question."

She turned her head to look at Daryl, her brow furrowed in confusion, "Sorry I uh-" Harper looked up at Carol, "I zoned out there."

Carol nodded her head, as if she understood completely, "I asked if you want some crackers with the soup."

Harper looked up at the package in her friends hand, "We should hold onto them until there's nothing else."

Carol shrugged, "It's fine, you can have some."

"No, hold onto them," Harper glanced at Daryl and then back to Carol, "I'm fine, really."

"Alright," Carol walked back over to where Beth was sitting and sat down beside her.

"What do you think we'll find in Peachtree?" Beth asked quietly.

Harper looked at the girl and then to Daryl. He shrugged, "Ideally? Michonne will be there but who really knows?" He spooned up the remains of his meal, swallowed it, and then set the bowl down, "Likely though, that the city is just gone."

"What if we're walking into a death trap?" Carol asked.

Daryl looked at her, "Well Michonne said last time, the city wasn't that bad. But if she headed there, we gotta try an' see what we can dig up. Who knows," he looked at Harper, hoping to re-assure her, "The others may have seen the sign and the kids might be there."

"I guess we won't know 'till we try, right?" Beth asked.

Daryl nodded his head, "Right."

Harper finished her food and yawned, "Well we should all head in."

Carol got to her feet, instantly gathering the dirty dishes, "I wish you two would just stay in here."

"Carol, I'm telling you. We'll be fine," Harper fussed, "We have plenty of blankets."

"Besides," Daryl said, getting to his feet as well and pulling his poncho over his body, "That tent is the only thing keepin' the outside world from gettin' in here. We can better protect the cabin from the tent than cooped up in here."

Carol nodded, "Alright fine. Go ahead and get some sleep then."

Harper hugged her friend, "Call for me if she wakes up or needs anything, okay?"

"Of course," Carol smiled.

Harper walked over to Beth and kissed the young girl on the top of her head, "Love you Beth."

"I love you too, Harper," Beth said quietly.

Daryl was standing at the open cabin door, waiting for Harper, who quickly joined him outside. "God," Harper complained, "The temperature has dropped badly."

"Come on," Daryl glanced around and then crossed the small space from the porch steps to the tent. He opened the door and ushered Harper in.

She sat down on the pile of blankets and pulled her boots off her feet, which she placed in the corner of the tent. Harper climbed under the blankets and watched as Daryl zippered the tent shut. He sat down on the makeshift bed beside her, removed his own boots, set the crossbow down beside the bed, and got under the blankets beside her. He opened his arm and Harper instantly curled into his body, where Daryl held her tightly.

"I was thinking earlier," Harper whispered.

"Oh that ain't ever a good thing," Daryl said, his voice was light and carried a laugh. He glanced down at her and smiled at the annoyed expression, "I'm sorry, what?"

"I was thinking about when you left for the Vet college," Harper sighed and wrapped the arm she had around his abdomen, even tighter, "I was so scared and freaked out. It wasn't even that I was afraid of you getting killed but more that you were gonna contract the illness on the road and then never make it home because of how sick you were."

Daryl sighed and squeezed her arm gently, "I'ma always come back to you. I always do."

She nodded, "I know but I'll worry regardless."

"A day don't go by where I don't thank my lucky stars for you and the kids," Daryl whispered. "I know I've told ya before, but if I was ever gonna get a family of my own, I'm thankful it was with you."

Harper leaned her body closer to his, "He's going to be walking soon."

Daryl stared up at the ceiling, his mind thinking about his son, "Yeah?"

"God I hope we get to see his first steps," she whispered.

"We will," he assured her, "I promise."

"I'm sorry Daryl." Harper stared at their fingers that were loosely linked, her ear listening to the gentle thumping of his heart.

"What are ya sorry for?" He asked.

"For rehashing this every single night. I just think about him at every single moment of every single day and when we're running and fighting, I can ignore the pain in my heart. But when it's just us, alone and together like this, I can't help but think about it and it's so hard."

"Don't be sorry. You're his momma, how else would I expect ya to act?" Daryl reached for her chin and brought it up so that he could see her face.

"You deserve a stronger woman," she mumbled.

"Harper, you're the strongest woman I've ever known. Certainly the strongest I've ever been with." Daryl shook his head, "Stop second guessing yourself and get some rest."

She nodded, "Okay."

–

The next day they were up early, the tent was broken down and the blankets packed up, before Carol was even ready to leave. The sun was high in the sky that day and it was casting a warmth over the Georgian highways, so Harper rode on the motorcycle with Daryl. They left the truck at the cabin, while Beth and Lilah rode with Carol in her car. There was little trouble on the road, thus they arrived outside of the city before noon. Daryl waved an arm and he pulled his bike off to the side of the road, killing the engine, and kicking the stand down. Carol pulled in behind him and they were out of the car at once.

"So what do you wanna do from here?" Carol asked.

"We need to walk in," Daryl said, "Cars gon' cause too much attention. So we go in together, we stay together. Move quietly and see if Michonne left us anymore messages."

Harper got off the bike and walked over to the car to retrieve her rifle and machete. She shouldered the weapons and placed a pistol on her holster. The others quickly grabbed their weapons while Daryl pulled his bike off into the woods to keep it from view. They locked up Carol's car, and then the small group hit the pavement as they walked into the city.

"Welcome to the not so beautiful Peachtree City," Lilah read aloud, "Someone added in the not so bit."

Daryl glanced at it, "Looks old."

"How can you tell?" Lilah asked as she ran to catch up to the older man's longer strides.

Daryl glanced down at her, "The paint is faded and looks like the weather has done a number on it."

"Oh." Lilah frowned but said nothing more as her eyes took in the view of the city.

There were buildings that had been burned, but for the most part it seemed as if the city was in tact.

"Someone must be here," Harper said, when her eyes fell on a pile of walkers that had been recently burned.

Lilah gagged at the smell and Daryl instantly handed the little girl a cloth. "Cover your face, don't breathe it in," he told her.

"Look," Harper began to say, "If we happen to come into a group of people who have claimed this place as their own. We're a family, we may need a back story to protect one another."

Carol looked as a walker began to approach them, she rammed her knife into the skull, pulled her knife back and kept walking, "What did you have in mind?"

Harper bit her lip and looked at Daryl, "Ideas?"

"You're my wife, Lilah's our daughter," Daryl began to say, still keeping his eyes roaming around the dead streets, checking for signs of life, "Carol is your aunt and Beth is your cousin."

"Alright," Carol agreed.

"Daryl," Harper reached out for his arm, "There's a sign over there."

Daryl followed her gaze and rushed over to the makeshift sign that was hanging up, "Shelter straight ahead. Safe. Food and Water for All."

"Think that's her?" Harper asked.

"Dunno, Michonne ain't the type to leave a sign up like that. She would've left something else to let us know it's her," Daryl studied the sign.

"She may have gone there though, see if any of our people were there," Carol said.

Harper reached for her daughter's hand and held her close, "Daryl, what do you wanna do?"

Daryl looked at her, "We should go I guess."

"Alright," Harper began to walk, followed closely by Daryl, Beth, and Carol.

They had little trouble the rest of the way, which seemed strange to the group. For a city, it was as Michonne had described it just a few months before, essentially empty and safe to travel. There was an odd walker or two, but not the herds that they had grown accustomed to on the roads or like in Atlanta. The signs for the shelter grew more and more frequent as they got closer, until finally, out of nowhere, large blockade appeared, making main street difficult to access to the typical walker. There was letter spray painted on the side of a large white van that read, "Shelter for all who need it!"

"You'd think if it was a shelter, there would be people waiting to let us in," Beth whispered.

"Maybe we're supposed to just climb over the cars ourselves?" Carol asked.

Harper walked over to one of the cars and peeked around the van, "There is no one down here."

"Let me go first," Daryl said.

He walked over and climbed over the car. Daryl stood up straight and then turned back to the women, "Pass Lilah through next."

Harper picked her daughter up and handed her over the hood of the car to Daryl, who wrapped his arms around the child tightly before setting her down. Harper helped Beth and Carol over next and then she climbed over. She slipped and slid off the hood of the car, toppling onto the hard pavement.

"Fuck," Harper winced at the pain in her leg.

"Jesus, you okay?" Daryl asked, reaching down to help her.

She nodded, "I'm fine."

Daryl pushed the leg of her jean up and frowned at her skinned calve, "Sorry, I shoulda helped ya."

"You're a lousy knight in shining armor," Harper joked, "It's okay."

"Yeah well-"

"Halt! Who goes there?" A voice boomed from a nearby building.

Harper was on her feet instantly and grabbed Lilah close to her, instantly shielding her daughter with her body.

"Hello?" Daryl called out, frowning.

"You lookin' for shelter?" The voice asked next.

"Not really," Daryl answered, "We're lookin' for our family."

A door on an old looking building opened, and a small group of armed men piled out and into the street. Slowly approaching them.

Daryl stuck his arm out, as if to shield the women he was with, "We saw the signs on the road and hoped maybe some of our people had come through here. We don't want no trouble or anything."

"Is it just you?" One of the men asked, finally at a distance close enough to Daryl where he didn't need to yell. The men were dressed in similar clothing, dark shades of green, as if they were in a military unit. The one who had addressed Daryl carried himself as if he was a leader, but Harper couldn't help but feel like he answered to a hire power.

"My wife, daughter, and my wife's family," Daryl nodded his head, "Yeah."

The man in front of Daryl looked Harper, Beth, and Carol up and down, as if he was sizing them up. Then he turned his gaze back to Daryl, "You said you're looking for your people?"

Daryl nodded, "Yeah that's right. We got separated because of a heard. Hopin' to try and catch back up."

"Well," the man moved his gun down so that it was out of the way, "We've had a few people pass through with the same story. Some stayed and some kept going, so we may have your people here. Edward keeps track of people who come in and out of here, so you can ask him to check his records." He offered his hand to Daryl, "The name is Harry."

Daryl shook the man's hand loosely, "I'm Marcus, my wife here is Rose, and our daughter Mary," he began to spew the lie, ignoring the confused expression on Harper's face, "Rose's cousin Anne, and her mother Jean."

"Nice to meet you," the women all said.

Harry looked at the group and nodded slowly, "Right well, Edward's office is this way. We'll get you checked in, he can check the records, and then we can get you some water and food."

"Right," Daryl still held his crossbow at the ready as the group followed the man up the street. They turned down a side street and then up onto another main street, following Harry until he lead them to a brick building that had the word 'Lawyer's' painted in gold on the window.

"Hey Ed," Harry called, "Got a new group they wanna check your records."

"Yeah? Cool, I'm coming!" The man, who Harper assumed could only be Edward, replied. There were footsteps moving above their heads and then they heard them on the wooden steps. The man entered the room with a large ledge in his arms, "Sorry about the mess," he said, not looking up, "I was never good at keeping my work place clean."

Harper's hand instantly reached for Daryl's and she clenched it tightly, recognizing the voice. Daryl turned his head to look at Harper and frowned as all of the color drained from her face. Harper was breathing through her nose hard and she shoved Lilah behind her and Daryl, completely obscuring her child from view.

Edward set the ledger down on the desk, put a pair of wire rimmed glasses on his face, and lit a lantern, "Alright now-" He stopped when he saw Harper, "Harper Jefferson? Well I'll be God damned."

Harper's vision clouded and then she was falling to the ground and everything went black.

Xx

A/N- Ut ohhhhhhhhh. Who could it be? Reviews?!