Hi there! Here's another chapter for you all! It's a little longer than the last couple because jeanf requested that I try to make the chapters longer. I'm a slow writer, so it's a double edged sword, but hopefully it's worth the wait. Thanks to those of you that have recently added me to your alerts. I keep walking around with a big smile because of you guys!

Guest: Your reviews always make me grin and this last one was no different! I'm so glad that this story keeps you guessing and interested. I thought that being able to move through the trees would give a person a definite advantage in that world, so that's why I chose to let her do that. Of course it fits with her name as well! I'm also glad that you liked that I had Rick ask the three questions. I just couldn't see him going with someone if he hadn't, even if the situation was dire. You made me laugh when you said that waiting for my updates is like waiting for next season! You are far too kind! At least I don't make you wait six months. I can be slow to update sometimes, but I've never been that bad. Thanks for your wonderful reviews, you are keeping my muse happy!

Chapter Six – Touch

Every choice we're making, every road we take, Every interaction starts a chain reaction, We're both affected when we least expected it, And when we touched then it all connected
- Natasha Bedingfield

Emma walked behind Rick, the boy taking the rear, and the woman's arm slung over her shoulder so she could half carry her over the deep leaf litter on the ground. The sun was just peeking its head over the horizon, and for that she was thankful. She knew the area well, but her new companions didn't, and they had been struggling over the terrain for the last couple of hours due to the darkness. That was why she was clinging to the sword wielding woman with all her fading strength. Rick had started out carrying her, but after he had gone down for the third time she had insisted on taking over the chore. She couldn't lift her up and carry her the way Rick had, but she was doing her best.

She scanned the trees ahead of them noting that they were less than a mile out from her camp, where Daryl was – in theory – waiting for them. She had no way of knowing if the pack of biters was still there as well, and she didn't particularly want to just walk up on them to find out. Ideally she would leave them behind and scout ahead to see if they had left yet, but she didn't think the leader of the rag-tag group would like that very much.

She had apparently passed his little test with the three questions, since he had started following her immediately after. However, she could tell by his posture and the way he kept an eye on her that he didn't really trust her. That was fine with her, she didn't trust him either. It did make this next part more difficult though, and that made her feel more than a little bit annoyed.

They had made it another quarter mile while she tried to formulate a plan, and she knew they needed to stop before they all wound up surrounded, so she halted and called out, "We need to stop here."

Rick was instantly at her side, trying to get the woman – Michonne was her name – off of Emma. "I can take her if you're getting tired. I don't think we should stop until we get to your camp."

Emma let him get Michonne off her shoulder, and then she ran her hand through her hair, pushing the loose strands back toward her braid. "About that…"

She glanced up and met Rick's instantly furious eyes. "What?" he growled lowly.

Emma sighed quietly, Not gonna give me trouble, my ass, she thought sullenly. "Look, I want to get you guys there as fast as I can. I know your woman needs help."

"My name is Michonne." Said woman grumbled quietly.

"Okay, I know we need to get Michonne there as quickly as possible, but there's a small problem."

Rick shifted slightly, his hand going to the knife on his hip with an all too serious look on his face. "And what would that problem be?" His tone sounded reasonable, but she could see a slightly manic light in his eyes that she didn't much like.

"There was a pack of biters at camp when I left, and I don't know if they've moved on yet."

Rick's hand shot out and had her shirt in a death grip before she could even begin to move. "You left Daryl to a pack of walkers? What were you going to do to us? Save us for the next bunch that came through?" His voice was nothing more than a violent whisper, and Emma felt goose bumps prickle on her skin.

"No." She ground out through tightly clenched jaws. "My camp is in a tree, and the biters were at the bottom. There's no way they could get to him. There's also no way we could get to the ladder and up to safety if they're still there." She watched his eyes carefully as he processed what she had said. When she felt that he understood, she stepped back slightly, and felt his hand drop from her shirt.

He glanced down at the ground and seemed to try to collect himself. After a moment he looked back at her and nodded his head slightly. "Sorry for that."

She wasn't really in the mood to accept his apology, but she also wasn't ready to have it out with him. She had told Daryl she would bring his people back, and damn it all, she would. Then she could deck the presumptuous ass for grabbing her like that. She glared at him for a moment, then pointed off into the forest toward the little tree house. "I need to go and check it out. One of you can come with me if you want, but I don't think we should all go until we know it's clear. Now am I going alone, or is someone coming along?"

They were all silent for a moment then Rick carefully set Michonne against a tree and approached Emma again. "Can my boy have one of your guns to protect himself and Michonne with? We're out of ammo."

She turned to the young man that had moved beside her by that point. He looked to be about 14, but his eyes were as cold and hard as any grown man's. He hadn't spoken a word to her yet, and she wasn't sure what to make of him. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he promptly answered her unasked question. "I know how to handle a gun. I won't use it unless I have to."

She studied him for another second, before pulling her gun out of the holster and handing it to him. "You shoot me with it, you better prey I'm dead." She was surprised when the boy smiled at her a little as he took the gun. She hadn't been joking and she wasn't sure she liked that he was smiling about it. "What's so funny?"

The kid smiled even bigger and shook his head. "It's just that Daryl said almost that exact same thing to Andrea after she accidentally shot him."

Though she didn't think someone getting shot was a laughing matter, she couldn't stop the small smile that tugged at her lips. The kid had seemed incredibly serious, but when he loosened up a bit he seemed more like the kid he really was. She was still smiling when she spoke, "I agree with his sentiment. Now don't make me regret giving you that gun."

He smiled up at her for a minute before looking down and studying the gun. "Yes ma'am."

For some reason she wanted to reach out and pat the boy's shoulder or something, but she restrained herself and turned to face his father instead. "I assume you're coming with me then?"

He nodded, the anger and distrust having left his face to be replaced with a grateful smile. "Yes. You shouldn't take on a herd alone if that's what's there."

With the walls down around him, she was surprised to see the kind and gentle man beneath the shell. There was still a hardness to him that she understood, but he was no longer a dangerous animal, and she let loose a breath she had seemed to be holding since she found them. She hadn't been sure of his intentions until that moment, and now she was fairly certain that Daryl had been telling the truth. They were good people.

She smiled slightly at him, and saw his eyes soften even more, his lips quirking up in response. "Let's go then."

The sun had risen about an hour earlier, and Daryl was scanning the small clearing with growing apprehension. Squirrel had been gone for several hours now, and though he didn't know how far Rick could have made it with Michonne injured, he couldn't help but think she had been gone too long. The only bright spot in his day was the fact that most of the Walkers had wandered off as the sun came up. At that point there were only about six of them grouped at the base of the large tree, and a few others scattered in the area around it. There were still too many of them for him to get through on his own, at least in his current condition, but he felt confident that if Squirrel returned with his group they would be able to get into the safe house.

"Where you at girl?" he whispered quietly.

He reached up and rubbed his burning eyes. He was fried, and really wanted to just go to sleep, but he couldn't until Squirrel brought his people back. If they weren't back by midday, then he was going to pick off the walkers below with the bow, and go after them. He knew he wasn't in the best condition to do something like that, but he couldn't just sit around waiting for much longer. His eyes were fully functioning again, and the only parts of him that were hurting too bad were his ribs and hip. He wasn't in the best shape ever, but he was good enough to help out if they were in trouble.

He looked down and checked everything over on the bow for the hundredth time that morning, and then looked up to search for them again. The forest around him seemed completely still for a long moment; not even a single leaf fluttering in the breeze. Then as if that stillness had announced their arrival, Rick's head appeared over a small rise about 100 yards south of the tree house.

Daryl's chest constricted painfully at the sight of Michonne hanging limply in his arms. Carl was a few feet to Rick's right, with his gun drawn, but he wasn't firing. Squirrel was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly the walker closest to Rick went down, an arrow sticking out of the back of its head. Daryl looked down at his crossbow as if it had just fired by itself, but the bolt was still firmly resting on the rail. Then he jerked back with a very feminine yelp as a body launched itself through the window next to him.

"Start shooting!" Squirrel snarled as she turned back to the window and let loose another arrow.

He was quick to get his head back on straight, and raised his bow to help. He fired at the first walker he saw, dropping it instantly. Then he pulled the bow back in and reloaded it. By the time he had dropped another target, he could see that Squirrel had already taken out three. He knew that compound bows had the potential to be faster than a crossbow, but he had yet to see someone that was proficient enough to actually outdo him. He wasn't sure if he should be impressed or annoyed, but in that moment he decided to settle for thankful, because it just meant there were fewer walkers that needed to be taken down for his friends to get to safety.

It took less than a minute for the remaining six walkers to go down, and then Squirrel was back outside the window, moving swiftly over to a small floating platform he hadn't noticed before. She untied the rope holding it up, and lowered it to the ground.

"Put her on here, then come up the ladder."

Rick did as he was instructed and she struggled to pull the platform back up using the leverage she had with the rope over the large branch above her head. Michonne was half way up to the tree house when Daryl noticed Rick looking around with a confused expression on his face.

"Um Emma… Where is the ladder?"

Daryl turned his attention to Squirrel, who he had just discovered was really named Emma. He was slightly annoyed that she had told Rick her name, but not him. Of course Rick was a more likable person than he was, so he could understand it in a way. He wouldn't a' told him his name either. As he was looking at her she jerked her head toward him, a bead of sweat running down her forehead, and her muscles straining with the weight she was pulling up.

"Drop the damn ladder Daryl." She hoarsely growled at him.

He shot her an annoyed glare for an instant, then scanned the small landing before him for the ladder. It took him a moment to spot the rolled up rope ladder, but once he did he climbed out the window and released it into Rick's waiting hands. He didn't wait to see it they made it up or not, instead he strode over to where Squirrel was still struggling with the rope to pull Michonne up.

He wrapped his hands slightly above where hers were on the rope, "Let go." he commanded softly. She didn't budge from her spot, instead straining even harder to pull the unconscious woman up without his help. He released an exasperated sigh and braced his feet better so he could pull when she did. On the next tug he pulled with all his strength, and the rope jerked up swiftly. Squirrel lost her balance, and nearly tumbled out of the tree, but Daryl caught her elbow with one hand, while keeping tension on the rope with the other.

She glared at him for a moment, and Daryl was waiting for a biting comment, but it never came. Instead she righted herself, and placed her hands back on the rope. "On three this time?" she asked softly. He grunted his agreement, and she counted it out. The last pull went far more smoothly, and Michonne was level with them by the end of it. "Thanks." she whispered as she dropped to her knees next to the prone form of the woman on the platform.

Daryl wanted to say something, maybe thank her as well, but then Rick was there. He dropped to a crouch and picked Michonne up, carrying her to the window where Carl waited to help his father through the window.

Daryl stood out on the landing for a few moments while the others bustled about the crowded space inside the house. He looked over the clearing, and decided to go down and collect her arrows and his bolts before another bunch of walkers made their way into the area. He carefully made his way down the ladder, being mindful not to strain the muscles over his ribs too much. They were already screaming in protest over his foolish display with pulling Michonne up. He wasn't sure what had gotten into him. Sure Emma hadn't been making fast progress, but she would have gotten her up, and he hadn't needed to act like a dick to help her. Hell, he could have hurt her if she had fallen out of the tree because of his antics, and who knows what would have happened. She might have just kicked them all out for it.

He walked around pulling arrows out of skulls while he thought it over. He wasn't sure if Rick had seen it or not, but he was surprised that the older man hadn't even spoken to him. Maybe he thought that Daryl had been in on the attack by Joe's guys. That was a thought that made his heart ache a little, and he pushed it away as quickly as he could. He had plucked the last bolt out of a corpse when he heard the wood creak above him, and he glanced up to see Rick standing there looking pale.

"How is she?" he softly called as he made his way up the ladder.

Rick just nodded his head slightly, and looked Daryl over with tired eyes. "Emma said you were pretty beat up, but I had no idea." Rick was practically whispering, and Daryl had to strain to hear him "What happened?"

Daryl looked at his friend for a minute then cleared his throat. "They said you killed oen of their guys in some house. They were out for blood. I didn't know what ta do." He shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "I'm sorry."

"Can we trust her?" Daryl glanced up and saw Rick nod toward the woman that was currently leaned over Michonne, obviously working hard on the wound in her side.

He shrugged again. "She stopped those guys from killin' me, and went after you. Seems like a good enough person."

Rick nodded, and moved to go back in the small building, but paused and looked back at Daryl, "Thank you. For everything, brother."

Emma sat with her back against the wall, knees to her chest, and her eyes closed. She had finally finished up with the woman, and now she could take a few minutes to catch her breath. She had been moving nonstop for the last 36 hours, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could go on like that. It had taken her almost three hours to tend to Michonne's injuries, and she still wasn't completely pleased by the results. She had lost a lot of blood, and there was quite a bit of damage done to the muscles in her side. She had been lucky in that it hadn't hit any organs, and the bullet had gone clean through her, but there was only so much Emma could do without the benefit of being able to do a blood transfusion.

"Here." Emma's eyes jerked up at the sound of Daryl's rather rough voice, and she found that he was holding a steaming can of beans out to her. She looked at him for a minute, then stretched her hand out and carefully took it from him. She hadn't eaten since the previous morning, and she was famished.

"Thanks." She whispered softly, as she plucked a few beans out with her fingers and placed them in her mouth. She was thankful that she had washed the blood off her hands before she sat down. It would have been unpleasant to eat otherwise.

Daryl moved to her side and sat down with a grunt, his body mirroring her own. "She gonna make it?" he asked quietly after a moment.

Emma shrugged and glanced over at the sleeping woman. "I think she'll pull through. She seems tough, but I've done all I can for 'er at this point. It's up to her now." She took another couple bites of her food, then turned to look at Daryl. "You look a lot better."

She saw him shrug, and pick at one of his cuticles nervously. It looked like he was about to say something else, but they were abruptly interrupted by Rick and Carl dropping to the floor in front of them.

Carl smiled at her, raising his own can of beans up toward her in a salutation while Rick dug into a can of tuna in oil. "Thanks for feeding us and helping Michonne, ma'am." Carl said.

Emma smiled at him, and didn't resist the inclination to muss up his hair this time. "You're welcome kiddo."

Rick cleared his throat, and Emma turned to him. He had a serious expression on his face, and his eyes were grim. "Have you seen anybody else come through here? We're part of a larger group, and we got separated a few weeks ago… We need to find anybody we can."

She felt her stomach shift uncomfortably, and she had to set her food down, drinking some water instead to settle it down. She hadn't seen anybody, but that didn't mean they hadn't gone by on the tracks. She didn't spend much time at this camp usually, so they could have easily moved by her territory without her knowing. She looked back up at Rick after finishing the canteen off, and sighed. "I haven't seen anybody except you four and Joe's group, but they could have passed without my knowledge."

Rick nodded, "Do we have your permission to search the area nearby for them?"

"My territory is everything west of the tracks to the river, north to the county line, and south to the Terminus boundary line. You're welcome to look all you want, but be careful of the traps I have out there."

Rick smiled at her slightly, "Thank you. We'll help you with chores or anything we can to pay you back for your help and hospitality."

Emma was thinking over her possible responses when Daryl cut in, "I was with Beth for a while…"

Rick and Carl both jerked their eyes to him with matching expressions of shock, but Carl was the first to speak, "Where is she?"

Daryl didn't look up them, just continued to pick at his fingers. "She's gone."

Rick sighed quietly, and ran a hand through his hair. "She get bit?"

"No. She's just gone…"

Emma's head was jerking back and forth between the three people, trying to figure out who this person they were talking about was. Obviously she was someone from their group, but the tones they used when speaking of her were odd. Carl had seemed happy at the news of her apparent survival, but when Rick had asked if she had gotten bitten he hadn't sounded even a little bit surprised. Perhaps she was a child?

Carl interrupted her thought, "What do you mean she's just gone, Daryl? Is she dead, or not?"

Daryl sighed, and shifted around a bit before looking up at the boy. His expression was so full of self-loathing and sorrow that Emma felt her heart break simply from looking at him. "We were stayin' at this funeral home, and it seemed so good… Too good I guess. The second night we were there we got surprised by a bunch of walkers." He paused and rubbed his face roughly, and Emma saw that he was trying to hide a tear that had been threatening to escape from his troubled eyes. "I told 'er to go out the window, that I'd meet 'er at the road. I was only a minute behind 'er… but when I got out there 'er bag was layin' on the road and she weren't there with it. A car sped off, an' I knew she was in it… I chased it all night and half the next day, but she was just… gone."

He abruptly jumped to his feet and was out the window before anybody could move. Emma felt alarm bells going off in her head. Though her area was nothing but forest, she hadn't always lived there. She had traveled around for a while with her group, and then alone after they split up, and she had met people during that time. Some of those people had seemed okay, and others had been terrible. The man at the funeral home had just been crazy.

She looked up at the man and the boy across from her, and saw that they both looked fairly shocked and lost. She cleared her throat in hopes that it would break the spell over them. Carl remained shut down, but Rick looked at her with tired eyes. "What is Beth like?"

He smiled a little at her. "She's real sweet, hasn't let this life change her as much as it has the rest of us."

Emma nodded, "How old is she?"

Rick frowned slightly, and scratched the scruff on his chin for a moment, obviously trying to come up with an answer for her. "She must be nearly 19 now. Her birthday is in the fall sometime. Might have already gone by. Why?"

Emma didn't answer his question, instead she jumped to her feet, knocking the half full can of beans over in the process. "I need to talk to Daryl. I'll be back in a minute." She didn't wait for Rick to respond, just climbed out the window and walked over to where Daryl was sitting at the end of the narrow ledge in front of the house. She sat down next to him, and looked out into the forest for a moment trying to collect her thoughts. She wasn't sure she wanted to get any more involved with the group than she already was, but she also knew she couldn't just send them away. They would die over the winter without a safe place to stay, and it wouldn't be right to leave the girl where she was. If she was where Emma thought she was, anyway.

She turned to him, and carefully touched his shoulder, noting that he stiffened under her touch. "What did the car look like?"

He shrugged her hand off, and looked at her with a dark glare. "Wha'chu care?"

She merely raised her eyebrows and waited for him to answer the question. He huffed out a harsh breath, and looked away from her. "It was a dark color, had a cross on the back window. Big ol' caddy or sumfin."

Emma was still for a long moment. If she said the next words then these people would become her people. She would have to take them to the big camp, open it back up, and let herself open up to the human species again. She didn't know if she was ready for that, but she did know that if she didn't say those words then she would lose what little humanity was left within her. There wouldn't really be a point in surviving anymore. With that realization she took a deep breath, "I know where she is."