"So Jess, I hear you're from Texas," Bob asked to break the uncomfortable silence in the car.

Jess was leaning forward in the middle of the bench seat between the two black men as they sped down the road. She couldn't lean back because both men had really broad shoulders and she would have been wedged between them. She was suddenly wishing she'd just rode on top of the car or in the trunk as she answered the man's question. The silence had bothered her as well, though.

"Yeah, born 'n' raised," she answered as Daryl glanced at her in the rear view mirror.

"So I understand the horse and how good you are at riding but I also heard you're lethal with that bow and a knife. Where'd you learn that?" He thought it was a safe subject to fill the silence with.

"Archery's sorta a hobby since I's able ta walk 'n' my sister was in tha army 'n' she taught me a bit." She smiled at the memory. "She was bad ass. Let's jus' say if she 'n' Michonne went up 'gainst each other it'd be tha fight a tha century."

The swordswoman smiled in the front seat.

"We'd have a pretty epic battle ourselves, Jess."

"Naw, I'd have'n arrow in ya 'fore ya got in twenty feet," she joked, pleased that they were easing the tension with banter.

"Where did she serve?" Bob asked, curious to hear of a fellow army woman.

"Iraq. She was a army medic like ya only 'cause they wuddn't let 'er inta real combat roles. Ended up earnin' a silver star anyway," she stated proudly. At the time, her sister had only been nineteen and Jess had been the proudest big sister in the world.

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that, your last name is Davis right? Third woman to earn one since World War II and the youngest. Saved the lives of her whole unit." He recalled the word spreading through his unit like wildfire.

"Yeah, she never talked'r bragged 'bout it though. Even when mom 'n' dad asked 'er 'bout it she'd say she jus' did what she had ta." Jess had a slightly forlorn look on her face as her mind filled with memories of her sister.

The car fell into silence again for another several miles and this time, it was Daryl who spoke. He decided to pick up his conversation with Michonne where they'd left off earlier even though Jess was in the car.

"Hey, I know ya weren't runnin' off. Thing is, that trail went cold. You know that right?" He asked, glancing over at the woman in the passenger's seat.

Michonne's lips tightened in a line as Jess spoke up to defend her despite knowing she wasn't invited to the conversation. Jess didn't necessarily agree with Michonne about finding the governor but Jess had her own mission. However, she was beginning to second guess her search for her parents because she had a feeling now that she had a new family and a place to call home, her parents and sister wouldn't want her out there risking her life just to find out what happened to them. Even so, Daryl didn't need to push Michonne like that because she knew how her friend felt.

"Last time I talked ta my parents they was north a Atlanta, headed away from tha city ta find some open country 'n' I been lookin' for 'em 'long their route since tha turn. Ya thank my trail's still warm?"

Daryl glanced at her again with a slightly apologetic look before focusing back on the road. He didn't want to get into the argument with Bob, Tyreese, and Michonne in the car. It was a conversation he needed to have with her alone.

"If it's any different, I'd be right out there with y'all," he confessed.

Jess and Michonne shared a look as Daryl decided the conversation was over and started fiddling with the radio.

"Why don't you hand me one of them CD's right there," he suggested motioning to the glove box.

Jess's eyes widened as a word came through the speakers on the radio.

"Is that a voice?" Bob asked behind her.

"Shh!" Daryl commanded as he held up his hand before trying to tune into the sound.

They heard a few more words, one of them being "survive". They all shared a look before Daryl suddenly hit the brakes and started dodging the smattering of walkers that were on the road. Jess braced herself on the two seats before her as he swerved and finally came to a stop. When she looked up, her heart sank.

They were surrounded by walkers, thousands stretching down the road for as far as they could see. Several approached the car.

"Grab somethin'," Daryl yelled as he threw the car into reverse and turned around to watch out the back window.

Jess ducked down as far as she could so he could see out the back and braced herself on the center console while instinctively grabbing the crossbow at her feet to keep it from getting damaged. Jess held on as she felt them drive over several walkers before coming to an abrupt stop.

"Go to the left," she heard Michonne say from the front seat.

Jess could feel the tires spinning and the car tilted forward as she looked up to see walkers bearing down on them. Her adrenaline was pumping as she pulled Daryl's crossbow out of the floorboard.

"It's jammed up," Daryl noticed as he looked around.

"Runnin' time, ya'll," Jess declared as she held up Daryl's crossbow for him to grab.

"Alright, we make a run for the gaps right there," he said pointing out of the right side of the car, "you make a run for the woods and you don't stop for nothin'," he commanded as he locked eyes with Jess, "you hear me?"

Jess hardened her gaze and nodded. He had meant that last part for all of them but he wanted to make sure she heard him. She heard him but it didn't mean she was going to listen. She would bring up the rear, covering their escape because someone had to. There were too many of them to not have someone watching their backs.

"Now!"

Michonne threw open her door as Daryl threw open the sunroof then holding out his hand for his crossbow. As soon as he felt it in his hand he was standing out of the sunroof and fired a shot to help cover Michonne who was quickly moving toward the treeline, easily lopping off heads as she moved.

"Move it, Bob," Jess demanded as she reached for her quiver behind her on the dash and hit both men's heads in her haste.

She saw Bob struggling with his seat belt and paused to help him hit the button. As soon as she heard the click she was raising her bow and quiver through the sunroof. She didn't have time to wait on the medic and decided to take the same path Daryl had through the sunroof. She had a death grip on her bow in case a walker grabbed it as she pulled herself through the roof onto her knees her eyes on the deadly teeth a few feet away.

"Ain't this great," she mumbled to herself as she threw on her quiver and stood on the roof of the car, immediately pulling out her first arrow to make a path for her and the other two men in the car. She'd made the right choice to switch to the practice arrows for quantity.

She glanced ahead and saw that Daryl and Michonne were moving quickly and were already halfway to the treeline. She sent an arrow through the head of a walker that was coming up behind Michonne as Bob finally stumbled out of the car. She stayed on the roof for a few more seconds to take care of a few more walkers in their way before leaping down to the ground next to a kill Daryl had made with his crossbow. She quickly pulled the bolt from the walker's head before pulling out her tactical knife to take care of a few walkers that were too close to handle with her bow. Her arrows wouldn't work for Daryl's crossbow and he'd need as many of his as he could get. She fought her way to Bob who was just a few feet away to help him clear a path to the trees. It was then that she realized Tyreese was still sitting in the car.

"The heck's he doin'," she asked no one in particular as she stood with Bob. She switched back to her bow and arrows to take care of those that were coming their while Bob shot the walkers getting close. Now she was doing the opposite of what Daryl told her to do but she wasn't about to leave a man behind. She could afford to give him a few more seconds before they were overrun.

"Ty!" The medic yelled.

"Get outta tha car!" Jess yelled as she loosed an arrow into the head of a walker that was dangerously close. There was still no move by the large black man in the back seat of the car and Bob became a bit more panicked.

"Ty!"

Jess realized they were out of time and pushed Bob toward the treeline as they'd cleared enough of a path to move.

"Leave 'em!" She ordered as she shot a few more walkers that were approaching quickly. She wasn't about to die for Tyreese because he couldn't get his head on straight. Why had she suggested him for this mission again?

Right about that time, she glanced back to see Tyreese finally out of the car but surrounded by dozens of walkers and he was hammering away at any skull close enough. She shook her head as she and Bob shoved their way through the last few walkers to Michonne and Daryl at the treeline. She heard the twang of Daryl's crossbow and looked up to see he'd taken care of a walker right in front of Bob. Her eyes met Daryl's before they turned to look at Tyreese, trying to decide what to do.

"Go!" She heard the large man yell followed by some taunts to the undead.

"Man's gotta death wish," Jess realized as she started backing towards the treeline in a mixture of surprise and anger. She should have known better than to recommend him for this run because he was more unstable than she'd realized. Without a word, they all did as the large man had asked and disappeared into the trees.

They ran for a few minutes through the brush, dispatching any walker that got in their way. When they broke through to a clearing Daryl had them stop.

"Hold up," he called as he turned around to the brush they just passed through. He reloaded his crossbow as the branches rustled.

"He ain't comin'," Jess informed angrily as she paced. Her adrenaline was still pumping and causing her to be antsy. They needed to keep moving.

For the third time that day, Jess ate her words as two walkers followed by a blood and brain covered Tyreese stumbled out of the bushes.

"We'll I'll be tarred 'n' feathered," Jess whispered as Daryl rushed forward to help the man that had fallen to his knees, followed quickly by Bob.

She and Michonne shared a look before the swordswoman stepped forward to run her katana through the second walker. Bob and Daryl hauled Tyreese to his feet and they continued their run through the forest.

They spent the rest of the day and part of the night on foot, moving through the trees in the direction of the college. Michonne had pulled out the map at one point and gauged where they were and where the best place to stop and rest for a few hours would be. If they were where she thought they were, there should be a stream close by they could camp out at. They stumbled upon it under the dim light of the moon after several hours and Daryl decided this was as good a place as any to get their rest.

"Alright, we rest here 'til daylight. Can't go on if we can't see where we're goin'," Daryl said as he took a seat at the base of a tree close to the stream.

"I'll take watch," Jess declared as she went to the stream to wash the dark blood off of her hands from the few walkers she'd killed with her knife.

"Wake me in a couple of hours," Michonne said indicating she would take over watch from Jess as she picked her own tree to rest against that was close to Daryl's. She fell asleep immediately and Jess was envious. As long as she knew someone she trusted was keeping an eye out, that woman could sleep anywhere.

The cowgirl watched as Tyreese collapsed into a sitting position next to the creak silently and watched the water rush by while Bob easily sat down close to him to keep an eye on him.

The hours went by slowly as Jess watched over their group on high alert yet she let her mind run freely over everything that had gone on the past two days. She couldn't remember a time that had been that stressful and it all happened so fast that she hadn't had the time to process it all yet. She did have time to stop and gently press her hand to Daryl's forehead every hour or so. She was pretty sure she woke up him every time she did it but she didn't feel guilty for it. She had to make sure he wasn't getting sick for her own peace of mind. Thankfully, though he was a little warm from the heat from the warm Georgia air, he wasn't overly hot to the touch.

Jess did not wake Michonne for watch because both her friend and lover would need all of the strength and rest they could get for what was to come. Besides, she could handle going a few days without sleep, as long as she had something to eat. When she'd been out on her own, safe places to sleep were hard to come by so she'd often have to go a couple of days without it until she could find one.

She wasn't the only one who didn't sleep, however. Tyreese had sat still all night, staring at the running water of the creek they were camping by. She'd left him alone though because she knew he needed some time to get himself together.

As soon as the sky started to gather light, she woke the others up.

"Come on guys, it's time ta get goin'," Jess called out as she splashed water on her face from the river. Michonne stirred and looked up at the gray sky as she stood to give Jess a hard look.

"I told you to wake me for watch," Michonne grumbled as she stretched.

"Yeah well I didn' listen," Jess stated with a mischievous smile. "'Sides, I reckoned ya needed tha beauty sleep more'n I did."

Jess heard Michonne scoff behind her while she opened up her map. Jess was startled by Daryl who came up beside her at the river to also get a splash of water to help wake him up.

"Ya gonna be ok on no sleep? How ya feelin'," he asked her as he rubbed the back of his neck with his wet hand. He was worried about her but he was careful to keep it all business. They had a job to do and neither one of them could afford to be distracted.

"Done it many a time," she drawled as she stood. "I'm feelin' peachy keen, all things considerin'."

"Alright, if we go up stream we should find a road pretty quick," Michonne concluded as she folded the map back up.

They did as she said and just as the sun was visible through the trees, they found a bridge. Jess, Michonne, Bob, and Daryl moved up onto the bridge to form a new plan as Tyreese stayed down at the edge of the stream to wash out his bloody shirt. Once he was out of earshot Jess leaned over the railing of the bridge very close to Daryl to whisper to him while Michonne looked at the map with Bob.

"That man is done with life," Jess whispered as she watched Tyreese clean his shirt.

"Well that's his business," Daryl asserted as he also leaned back against the bridge next to her, cleaning off his hunting knife.

"When he puts one'a us in danger, it 'comes our business," she hissed. She was mad that she had vouched for Tyreese to come along on the trip when he was obviously not handling the situation as well as she had expected him to. She expected him to want to do whatever it took to save his sister.

"We'll handle that when it happens, right now we gotta get the meds and get 'em back to the prison," he concluded as he sheathed his knife. "Since yer the one that suggested he come, yer in charge of him," he added as he pushed away from the bridge to go check on the map with Bob and Michonne. Jess would have protested but she agreed that it was her idea and she should take responsibility.

So instead, she listened as the three of them talked about where they were going next while she kept her eyes on Tyreese. Despite her pity for him, she wouldn't tolerate the big man if he put any of them in danger. She knew how hard it was to make it to the next day and how hard it'd been for her to get through Erin's death but she hadn't given up until there was no other choice. At that point, Daryl had shown up and given her a new one.

It occurred to Jess that she was being insensitive to Tyreese and the fact that he'd lost his lover and was probably going to lose his sister. Losing Erin had nearly killed her but her sister had been smart to give her a goal. Even though she was upset with how Tyreese was handling his emotions, she still felt for him. If she'd known Daryl at the same time as Erin and lost them both, one right after the other back then, she'd probably would have gone ahead and put a bullet in her brain then. Since meeting Daryl, she had new purpose and a new look on life. If he died, she liked to think that she would be able to continue on, for him because that's what he'd want her to do. However, she didn't know what she would do if that happened. When it came to Daryl, it was hard to say how she would react. She wouldn't put others in danger though. Tyreese was well on his way to getting one of them hurt or killed. She had some sympathy for him but but if he put any of them in danger, she would take measures to make sure he never did again.

"Yo Ty, come on, let's go. Vamanos," Daryl called, pulling Jess from her thoughts as he folded up the map he'd taken from Michonne.

The large man at the river continued to wash his shirt as Daryl and Michonne started walking down the gravel road. Jess stood from leaning against the bridge as Bob walked up beside her and she gave the man a hard look. Bob blinked at her before he started reloading his gun.

"Ty," he called out and waited for a response. When he didn't get one, he rose his voice, "Ty. There should be a town a few miles south."

"Lost a whole night. My sister, everybody else. They're probably dead," he whined in a voice that made Jess' teeth clench. She'd heard enough and pushed off the bridge to quickly leave the two men behind to work out whatever Bob thought he could help Tyreese with. No one could help Tyreese but Tyreese.

Jess and Michonne followed along behind Daryl, keeping a sharp lookout on the trees lining the gravel road they were following. When he stopped to pick something up they came to stand beside him to see what he had found.

"Is that jasper?" Michonne asked quickly recognizing the stone.

Daryl nodded as Jess raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't seem the type to be a rock hunter.

"It's a good color. Brings out your eyes," Michonne teased with a big smile as she winked at Jess. The archer couldn't help but smile back as she watched Daryl clean off the rock so he could get a better look at its color.

"When Mrs. Richards went into A block, when we were leaving, asked me to keep a lookout," he explained as he stood, "I'm gonna use it for her old man's maker."

Jess watched him stand holding the stone with eyebrows raised. She knew Daryl cared for all the people at the prison but she had no idea he'd gotten to know them well enough to plan their graves for them. Apparently, Michonne was just as surprised.

"You know all of them back there?"

Daryl looked between the two of them before walking off.

"When you stay in one place for more than a couple of hours you'd be surprised what ya pick up," he retorted flatly as he tossed the rock up to catch it again while walking away.

Jess watched him walk away until Michonne's defeated expression caught her eye. Apparently, something was going on between the two of them about their venturing out for weeks at a time. The cowgirl was starting to catch on from what little she'd heard in the car and from the comment he'd just made.

"So what's goin' on with ya'll, Chonne," Jess asked as they started walking again, making sure to keep her distance enough from the man in front of them so he wouldn't hear.

"I thought it was just he didn't want me looking for the Governor anymore but I'm beginning to think he resents me for taking you away from him," Michonne concluded as she scanned the treeline. Jess scoffed as she adjusted her quiver on her back.

"That's a load'a bull. He knows I ain't jus' out there fer ya, I got my own reasons." Michonne shook her head.

"We both know that your trail has been cold for longer than mine, Jess. You've been searching much longer than I have. What're the chances that you find your parents before you die out here?" The woman asked as they continued to walk. Jess could tell that whatever this conversation between Daryl and her friend was about, it was seriously causing Michonne to rethink her position on searching for the Governor.

Jess wasn't surprised or hurt by what Michonne said because she'd been thinking it for several weeks now. Jess had lost track of how much time she'd been searching and how far she'd searched for her parents. There were endless possibilities of what could have happened to them and the most likely one would be death. Even if they weren't dead, then Jess and her sister could have just missed them in their search. Jess had been doing the math lately and the longer she searched, the less likely she was to find them before a walker got a hold of her or one of the living killed her. Both already came pretty close to ending her life.

Her thoughts had even gone so far as to what her parents and sister would do if they were in her situation or what they would want her to do. Even though she'd promised Erin she would continue to look for them she knew her sister had done it to give her life purpose, to give her a reason to continue surviving alone. Now, Jess wasn't alone and had a new reason to keep breathing.

Jess sighed as she stopped walking, getting the woman to stop with her so she could voice her thoughts.

"Look, I know I'm beatin' a dead horse tryin' ta find 'em but I cain't jus' let ya go out there 'lone. We've both tried that 'n' we would have both been dead by now if we hadn't a found 'em," Jess reasoned while looking at the winged back of the man in front of them, "I'm beginnin' ta thank my sister wouldn't want me ta go on lookin' fer 'em if it meant I could have a safe place 'n' a family. Neither'd my parents."

Michonne shifted as she really thought about what her friend just said. Her reasons and mission were different from Jess' but the cowgirl was making a lot of sense. What would Andrea want her to do? She chose not to say anything and turned away from Jess to keep walking, hoping to stop the conversation.

"Fine, we'll finish this later," Jess conceded. She was nowhere near finished talking this out with Michonne but she let the woman go for now.


A few hours later they were cleaning up some vines, which Daryl told Jess were called kutzu and grew like crazy in Georgia, to the entrance of a gas station to get a new battery for a car Daryl had found under more kutzu. Jess was to Daryl's right, pulling away vines that they were both cutting through when Tyreese's wild chopping had all of them pause to take notice.

"Hey man go easy. We don't know what we're dealin' with," Daryl cautioned as he continued to pull the foliage away from the building.

"He cain't hear ya. Grief's blindin' 'im," Jess observed as she kept an eye on the larger man and helping Daryl pull away the vines.

Jess couldn't help the surprised shout she let out when her right forearm was suddenly grabbed roughly by an arm through the bushes and another hand grabbed the collar of her shirt. She tried not to struggle too much as she could feel the fingernails of the walker trying to break through the fabric of her shirt on her arm. When her surprise dissipated, she tried to switch her blade to her left hand so she could stab the walker but she ended up dropping it as she was pulled forward into the vines, the band holding her hair caught on a vine causing it to fall free from it's braid. She closed her eyes to wait to be bit but suddenly the grip loosened and an arm was around her waist, pulling her free of the foliage as her free hair caught on the vines.

"You okay," she heard Daryl ask above her as he pulled her back to his chest, her wild hair tickling his chin. That had been a close call and his heart was racing in fear while he looked her over for injuries.

Jess was in too much shock to notice much of anything but her body acted on instinct and she pushed away from him to pick up her knife with shaking hands. She needed her weapon to defend herself. She'd been half a second away from getting bit before he'd killed the walker and pulled her free. Once she had her knife, she looked up into Daryl's eyes with her own wide ones and was able to give him a nod that she was okay. She was shook up but she wasn't hurt.

Daryl returned the nod before he turned his attention to the struggling Tyreese. In any other situation, Jess would be rushing to help but she was still too stunned to really do much but stand there defensively. She had really expected to die in that split second.

Daryl understood that she needed a moment and stood between her and the man trying to pull the walker through the vines. He would protect her if the situation got worse than it already was.

"Tyreese!" Bob yelled from behind the man, gun up to take care of the walker as soon as Tyreese was out of the way.

Jess finally came back to her senses and grabbed Daryl's wrist, forgetting that they weren't supposed to touch each other, as he began to step forward to help. Tyreese had lost his mind and Jess didn't want Daryl anywhere close to the man with a death wish. She was afraid for Daryl.

"Ty," Daryl warned as Jess held onto him. He could have easily pulled out of her grasp but he didn't because he felt that she needed him close to her. Besides, both Michonne and Bob were also close by to help Tyreese.

"Ty, let him go," Michonne begged from behind him.

When Tyreese finally got what he wanted and the walker came through the vines, he tripped and the walker was on top of him. Jess finally let Daryl go to pull the walker off Tyreese and Bob took care of it with a shot to the head.

Jess watched, adrenaline still coursing through her system wildly and blood flowing so fast she could hear it in her ears, as Daryl helped the man stand. Her body and mind finally began to get over their shock and anger surged through her. When the hunter walked over to her to double check and make sure she wasn't hurt or bitten, he looked up and saw the same look in her eyes from the altercation with Tyreese earlier that morning when she had a knife against his neck.

"Jess," he warned in a deep tone as he saw her knuckles turn white from her grip on the knife. She was furious and he didn't know what she was going to do next.

"Why the hell didn't you let go," Michonne asked.

Daryl was barely in time to grab Jess around the waist as she lunged at Tyreese with her knife. The others turned to stare at the sudden shuffle behind them and watched Daryl hold her back as she tried to get free of him, looking like a banshee with her free hair and wild, angry eyes. She yelled in adrenaline fueled rage at the man in front of her as the hunter held onto her as best he could.

"'Cause tha bastard wants ta die! I'll be happy ta send ya ta yer maker 'fore ya get's us all killed," she practically spat as she struggled against Daryl.

"Jessica!" Daryl warned as he held her to him, hoping her full name would catch her off guard, "calm the hell down."

He'd never seen her lash out like this before but he wasn't surprised. Also, he couldn't really blame her, she would have been dead had he been just a second later in pulling her free of the kutzu. That would be enough to have him spitting mad too. Not that he wasn't at the moment, he was just more relieved that she was alright. He was also afraid she really might kill Tyreese.

"No," she sneered in anger mixed with fear as she turned her head to him, "I almost got bit 'cause a this crow bait!"

Michonne came to stand between Tyreese and Jess to help defuse the situation.

"Jess, this isn't helping," the swordswoman insisted.

"She's right, Tex. We got work to do." Daryl tried to sound reasonable as he waited for her to relax. He leaned down close to her hear and lowered his voice to speak to her calmly. "Breath." It took her a few moments but she finally started taking deep breaths. When her body finally started relaxing and her expression changed to disgust towards Tyreese Daryl let her go. Michonne still remained between Tyreese and Jess as Daryl started giving orders.

"Bob, Jess, with me. You two finish getting that van clear," he growled as he opened a path into the building.

Jess followed Tyreese with her eyes as he and Michonne passed her to go around the building to do as they were told. Once they were out of sight, Daryl turned back to Jess. He took the sleeve of the arm the walker had grabbed and looked it over closely for injury. It was the third time he'd checked on her.

His concern for her finally took off the last edge of her anger and she was filled with relief. She closed her eyes with an exhale of breath and let herself feel Daryl's hands through the fabric of her shirt as he checked her over again.

"Ya good?" He broke the silence, his eyes finally moving back to her closed ones. When she opened her eyes to look at him there was still a tinge of anger in them but he could tell she was more relieved than angry.

"As long as he stays away from me. I swear if he puts one'a us in danger, especially you, again I'm gonna put'a arrow in his kneecap 'n' leave 'im fer tha walkers." Her voice was deadpan with barely any emotion as if she were stating fact. She sheathed her knife and pulled her bow from around her to notch an arrow. All pity she felt for Tyreese was gone now that he'd put her and the group in danger.

"Damn woman," he said as he entered the building for a sweep. If she hadn't almost died he'd be smiling. He loved his woman and how she could take care of herself and how much she wanted to take care of him. He couldn't really blame Jess for getting angry. He was mad too but there were people's lives at stake. Besides, it wouldn't do him any good to get mad at Tyreese while the larger man was still crazy with grief. It'd just make matters worse. It didn't mean Daryl wouldn't slug the man later for almost getting his girl killed.

By the time they were done with the initial sweep, Jess' adrenaline had finally faded along with her rage and she focused on what was behind the register while Bob and Daryl went in search for a battery. She stopped her search when she heard Daryl and Bob's voices floating from the other side of the store about how the people that were here killed themselves so they didn't have to see the end of the world. She could tell that Daryl wasn't impressed by their desire to opt out. When she looked away from her search she caught him staring at her as he stood in front of the door to the office. She had been one of those douche bags at one point, all she wanted was to just pull the trigger and let it all go. Granted she was trapped alone in an office with a dozen walkers outside, a bullet through her side, and no way out but it didn't change the fact that she had given up. That she quit fighting.

They shared a smile as they realized they were thinking about the same thing and that she was here with him now. The memory was obviously on both of their minds and they both knew that the Jess he found on the floor of that office was different now. She was a fighter that would die fighting for those she loved and for herself. Before he looked away she held up a pack of Marlboro Red One Hundreds and a can of lighter fluid for his lighter that she'd found in one of the desk drawers for him to see and his face practically lit up. To think if she'd actually pulled that trigger before he found her she would have missed these little moments, missed that small smirk he gave her for finding his particular brand of smokes. He was her hope just as much as she was his.

"Got what we need," Daryl informed before he turned to go pick up the battery he'd set down on one of the shelves.

The cowgirl nodded as she slipped the pack into the front pocket of her shirt, ignoring that Bob was taking care of the walker outside the office. As he stood he stepped back for her to pass in front of him so she could leave first. He was a little afraid of her but fully respected her.

They rounded the building to find that Michonne and Tyreese were waiting just outside so they could go in and ransack the place for more supplies. Jess completely ignored the two as she passed them and went around to the van to set down her bow and quiver. When she returned to the front of the van, Bob was leaning against the wall of the building as Daryl began pulling out the old battery. She passed the medic as she pulled out the pack of cigarettes from her pocket and began to tap them on her wrist to pack them in for Daryl.

"Still ain't found non-filters," she pointed out with a bit of disappointment before continuing, "got some fluid fer yer Zippo though," she added as she pulled off and tossed the wrapping aside. She tapped the bottom of the pack until one of the cigarettes popped up from the others and she held it out to him. He leaned over and pulled it free with his lips as she pulled out the Zippo from his pants pocket and struck it. He then held the cigarette over the flame and inhaled deeply before thanking her in his own way.

"I knew there's a reason I keep ya around," he mumbled around the cigarette as he leaned back over the engine, cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

"I thought ya liked me fer my ass," she joked, referring to his comment two mornings ago, as she offered one to Bob. The medic nodded and she tapped another one out for him but he took it with his fingers and held out his hand for the lighter. He knew that what she'd just done for Daryl was an intimate thing between them and he wasn't about to ask her to do the same.

"That too," she heard Daryl admit from behind her as she pulled out one of the cigarettes herself. It'd been quite a while since she'd had a cigarette and she paused to actually think about the last one she had. She hadn't picked up anymore since the incident in Zebulon so a few weeks after that must have been the last one.

Jess took her time to tear the filter off the cigarette and pull a bit of tobacco out of the end before taking the lighter back from Bob who gave her a surprised look as she lit the unfiltered cigarette. She stuck Daryl's lighter into her own front pocket as she looked up at him.

"What?" She grinned as she exhaled the thick smoke.

"Just didn't peg you for a smoker. Much less non-filter," he commented as he watched her take another long, blissful drag.

"There's a lot more ya don' know 'bout me, my friend," she stated in a deadpan voice as she leaned back against the passenger door of the van to enjoy her cigarette.

There were several minutes of silence as they waited for Daryl to get the car working. Finally tired of just watching the man work, Bob turned his attention back to Jess. He obviously didn't like silence.

"So how'd they find you?" He asked Jess as he shifted against the wall to look at her.

"Well, first ran in ta peach at a creek 'round here. He was out huntin' 'n' I happened to kill his deer," she revealed as she smiled at the memory.

"Suddenly the 'kill stealer' comments make sense," Bob concluded as he glanced over at Daryl who was listening as he worked.

"'Kill stealin' whore', ta be exact," she smirked. "Anyway, we parted ways a li'l' sore with each other. Few days later, I got shot. Hit me right above the hip bone," she rubbed at the spot as if it hurt, "'n' it knocked me off my horse, dislocatin' my shoulder in tha process. Made my way ta a grocery store ta patch myself up but I was stupid 'n' got trapped in tha back office. Was 'bout ta put a bullet in my head 'n' this guy shows up 'n' hauls me outta there. Took 'im a while ta warm up ta me though."

"How'd he know you were in there?" Bob inquired.

"We were on a run and I heard her singin' fuckin' 'Ain't No Grave' and knew something was up," Daryl explained as he worked.

"You seem pretty lucky, Davis," Bob commented as he inhaled more smoke.

"Seems like I used tha last a tha luck on findin' 'im," she nodded to Daryl.

"You ain't the only one with luck 'round here," Daryl quipped from under the hood.

They shared a few more minutes of silence before Daryl walked around to the side of the car to stand in front of Jess. He was just a few inches in front of her as he reached into her front pocket to pull out the pack of cigarettes then her front pocket for his lighter, his eyes never leaving hers. He pulled out another smoke and lit it before replacing both lighter and cigarettes back in her breast pocket.

"Found my own," he whispered quietly to her, knowing that she'd be able to tell he was talking about her, how he was lucky to have her.

Jess ducked her head to hide her blush by tossing her nearly burnt out cigarette on the ground and stepping on it with the heel of her boot. That was the most surprisingly romantic thing he'd ever said to her and it made her heart skip a few beats. She wasn't a romantic by any means, and Daryl knew that because neither was he, so it made the comment mean much more to her than a bundle of roses. Daryl smirked at the color on her cheeks as he went back to work.

At that time, Michonne and Tyreese reappeared, laden with grocery bags from the store. Michonne could see Jess bristling as they walked towards the van and she directed the large man to leave the bags on the ground just in front of it then motioned for him to follow her to sit on the trunk of the fallen tree. Seemed like Michonne was going to have to play middleman between the two for a while.

"So you never told us about the group you were with before," Daryl speculated to Bob to change the subject.

"Which one," the medic asked seriously as he exhaled smoke.

Jess listened to Bob explain his run with the past two groups he was with and how he was an alcoholic and that's what had gotten Zack killed. Jess pulled her crazy hair up off the back of her neck and into a ponytail with a rubber band she'd found in the store as Daryl explained to Bob it hadn't been his fault. Even though Jess had been hurt at the Big Spot, Daryl was still adamant that the incident wasn't Bob's fault. The more Jess heard the more she was convinced Daryl was cut out to be a leader, despite what he believed. She didn't think it was possible but it made her love him more than she already did.

When the van started up behind her and Daryl whistled for the others, Jess met his eyes one more time, another memory of Jess' joining of the group and the acceptance she wasn't alone passed between them. She had the group. She had Daryl.