A/N: So… I'm following canon. I think that's really all that needs to be said for this final chapter. I watched "Killer Within" yet again and it still hurts. This chapter turned out to be a jumbled mess but I really didn't know how else to end it. I'm not that happy with the way this whole little 'story' turned out but oh well... I should have expanded a lot more on this but I got into this when I had too much other stuff going on. So maybe I'll write a different Daryl and Lori fic down the road. Who knows.

Things had finally felt like they were beginning to look up for once. The group had managed with the prisoners and Hershel was on the mend. Lori had found crutches for him to use and it was one of the most relieving sights to see that man standing again.

Rick grasped onto the chain link fence as Lori ran her hand through her hair. The smile they shared didn't go unnoticed by Daryl. It was one of the first real acknowledgments they had given each other in such a long time.

It was the next chain of events that had everyone's blood running cold though.

Walkers had begun to pile into the prison surrounding the group as Rick took off like a bat out of hell screaming Lori's name. Daryl following right after him, wishing to hell he could just climb the damn fence and save the time they would waste running to the gate.

This was what it took to snap Rick out of it, to bring him back to reality. The man had never seemed so desperate and so eager to reach his wife, to pull her into his arms and protect her. Something he should have already been doing way before they found the prison.

But he just couldn't pull himself together.

Lori did what she could to fend off the walkers that were entering in through the open gate and she followed Maggie with Carl back into the prison. Had she known she was going to go into labor at that moment, she would have ran in the opposite direction. She had never wanted Rick more in her life than in that moment. She needed him. She needed Hershel and Carol to help with the baby.

And when Maggie had found that boiler room, Lori knew. She knew this was it. She knew that the baby was coming and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She knew Carl would have to see everything happen before him. And when there was blood… Lori knew this was the last room she would ever see.

Because she wanted her baby to live. That was the one thing she could at least give Rick if she couldn't make it out of this alive.

All she could think about was the baby, Carl, and Rick. She prayed that Maggie could save her baby because in that moment, that's all that mattered. She was able to tell Carl everything that she could, everything that she wanted to say. She tried to stay strong for him. She hoped that her family would be okay. She hoped everyone was okay.

Rick had torn through the prison with Daryl and Glenn at his side only to come up short. He wasn't able to find Lori or the others—only what remained of T-Dog, and Carol's scarf. What had seemed to be looking up had just crashed down. Rick wasn't willing to give up. He had determination etched into his face and Daryl was ready to back him up at a moment's notice.

They were just about ready to storm the prison again before a baby's cry reverberated out into the open air, stopping Rick dead in his tracks.

When Maggie emerged from the very door they had entered earlier with a baby cradled to her chest and Carl at her side, everyone knew what had happened. Tears had streaked down both of their faces as Carl hung his head, unable to make an eye contact with his father.

Lori was gone, just like that. She was taken from them—taken from her family.

Daryl could only stare at the door, not wanting to give up himself. He was waiting for Lori to walk out that door but she never came. But the realization hit him a lot sooner than it hit Rick. It hit everyone before it hit Rick.

"Where is she?" Rick stumbled forward on weak legs, his eyes jumping back and forth from Maggie to Carl. And the man just broke down.

Here Daryl was trying to support Rick all this time and he hadn't even realized it. He was taking care of Lori for him because he couldn't. And now things were out of his control—Daryl and Rick's both.

Maggie had brought the baby over to Hershel to let him check. Daryl wasn't even sure he caught everything Hershel had said. He heard 'she', 'healthy', and 'won't survive' and that was enough for him. He immediately spoke up and headed for his bike. He wasn't about to lose another life on top of Lori, as well as T-Dog and quite possibly Carol.

The baby was a girl after all. It was what Lori wanted, what Lori said it was going to be. And so far, the baby seemed healthy. Daryl knew there was no way to console Rick at this time and he thought it best to just let the man grieve for his wife. There was at least something else he could do to help him though, and that was to go on this run. He had to find formula and any other baby stuff he could round up. If he couldn't help Rick himself physically, he could help him by taking care of his newborn baby girl.

And when Daryl had returned with Maggie and the things they needed, he was the first one to swoop that little baby up into his arms and give her the first ounce of food she'd ever received. He was determined to make sure she got everything she could ever want or need. For Rick, and for Lori.

"Lil Ass Kicker," Daryl found himself staring down at the bundle in his arms, a faint smile crossing his lips as he recalled the conversation he had with Lori that night. "It's a good name, right?"

It didn't take long to notice that Rick was still missing from the group and Daryl didn't have to ask. He knew Rick was probably trying to tie up any loose ends, venting and grieving all together. This was the harsh world they lived in.

Daryl knew this was it, that this was the push coming to shove. These people needed him just as much as he needed them. There was no way around it. They were a family now. They had been a family all along and just never realized it. All because Lori had found comfort where she least expected it, seeking it from a man who looked like he needed comfort himself. This baby girl would be the daily reminder of those they lost, but also what they gained. Because she would provide them with hope and they would push on.

This baby girl would be the glue to keep them all together.