Hi to anyone reading this! Sorry about the delay...I've been busy! Hope you like this chapter. Red finally meets Team Prison! More to come soon...

Emily stood rooted to the spot whilst Daryl opened up a hole in the fence and slipped through. "You comin' or not?" he asked, holding the chain link apart for her.

She ducked through and watched as he carefully and securely closed the fence behind them and then followed him as he headed towards the prison. They walked silently through various gates and past a sign identifying the building as the West Georgia Correctional Facility. She felt increasingly nervous as they approached, wondering whether his group would be hostile or whether she would even like them. Her heart pounded in her chest and she twirled her curly red hair in her fingers, a nervous habit she'd never quite grown out of.

Emily hung back as Daryl pushed open the doors to a cell block and greeted the unseen occupants inside. "Come on in," he called.

She nervously slipped through the door and took in her surroundings. Five people were sat around a table, eating a late breakfast. They were solemn and quiet, but nonetheless looked like a family. There was an older, white-haired gentleman, a handsome young Asian guy, a pretty brunette woman, a blonde teenage girl and a young boy in a sheriff's hat. Over by the stairs was a strong-looking black guy in prison overalls. They all stared at her with a look of confusion.

"Hi," she ventured, hoping to break the ice. "I'm Emily."

The boy and the Asian guy responded by drawing guns and aiming at her. "Drop your weapons," the guy demanded.

She slowly lowered her shotgun, Beretta and machete to the concrete floor then raised her hands in the air. Some welcome.

"She's the one I shot," Daryl explained in her defence. "Turns out she can hunt pretty good. Thought maybe we could use someone like that."

"Please excuse us young lady," said the old guy politely, struggling to stand using crutches. Emily noticed that his right leg was missing below the knee and wondered how he had survived this long. "We don't wish to be rude but we weren't expecting you to be joining us. Would you mind giving us a minute to talk this through?" He gestured for her to go back through the open door. She took an immediate liking to his kind Southern voice and so nodded, heading back the way she came. She jumped as the barred prison door slammed behind her with a metallic clang. The kid in the Sheriff's hat locked it and slid the keys back in his pocket, keeping a watchful eye on her.

Emily kicked the wall in frustration before settling cross-legged on the cool floor. How could she have been so stupid? These strangers could easily force her out now, keeping her weapons in the process. She listened intently and managed to hear the hushed conversation taking place in the next room..

"Daryl, what were you thinking?" It was the old man talking. "You said you were just going to make sure she was fit and well. What's Rick going to say about this?"

"What do you even know about her?" A woman's voice this time. "How do you know we can trust her?"

"She saved my ass at the store." Daryl murmured. "Didn't have to but she did. I think we can trust her."

"I don't know man...we need to run this by Rick," said a different male voice.

The old guy spoke. "Rick's not exactly in the best place to be dealing with this right now. Not after what's happened."

Emily frowned, curious to find out who this Rick guy was.

"I'm willin' to vouch for her," Daryl said. "I owe her that. And if she don't work out, she can leave."

"I can leave now if you'll give me my weapons back." Emily stood with her hands round the bars of the door, fed up of them discussing her future like she didn't have a choice. "I really don't want to cause any trouble. Just give me my stuff back and I'll go."

The strangers exchanged meaningful glances whilst Emily gestured for Daryl to pass her the guns and machete. He hesitated, apparently waiting for a decision from the group.

"Would you mind waiting in there until we speak to Rick?" said the white-haired guy, moving towards her on his crutches. "He's the man in charge around here and it wouldn't be right to make this decision without him."

She chewed her lip thoughtfully and looked to Daryl. He nodded subtly, encouraging her to accept the proposal.

"Sure," she said, hoping that the elusive Rick would show his face soon.

"Can we offer you something to eat?" The blonde girl handed a bowl of food to Daryl and held another out for Emily.

"Thanks, but I don't think it'll fit through the bars," she replied sarcastically.

The boy unlocked the door so Emily could take the bowl of porridge, then locked it behind her again.

"My name's Beth." The blonde girl said with a friendly smile. "And this is Carl," pointing to the kid in the Sheriff's hat. He offered nothing more than a weak attempt at a smile.

"I'm Hershel, Beth's father." The one-legged man leant on a crutch and managed to shake Emily's hand through the bars. "That there's my eldest daughter Maggie." The brunette nodded in greeting as she sat back down at the table to eat.

"I'm Glenn," said the Asian guy with a small wave. "Sorry to point a gun at you earlier. You can't be too careful any more. If Daryl is willing to vouch for you, I'm sure Rick will let you stay."

They were interrupted by a dishevelled man, who pushed open the barred door across the room and approached the table. Was this Rick? Emily wondered.

"Everybody ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, we are," Maggie replied.

Hershel looked at the man with concern. "What about you?"

"Cleared out the boiler block."

Daryl spoke from his seat over on the stairs. "How many were there?"

"I don't know. Dozen...two dozen. I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl." He rested a caring hand on the boys shoulder briefly.

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies. You don't have to," said Glenn as he stood, answering Emily's question about the man's identity.

"No," Rick responded forcefully. "I do." With that he strode over to Daryl. "Everyone have a gun and a knife?"

"Yeah," Daryl replied between swallows of food. "Running low on ammo though."

Emily wandered away from the door as Glenn began to talk of making a run for bullets and formula. She realised she hadn't seen or heard a baby since arriving. There were so many questions about this group that remained unanswered and she wasn't sure how to go about asking, or if she even wanted to. They seemed like such a tight unit and she wasn't sure she would ever fit in. She couldn't deny that she wanted to spend more time with Daryl, not just for the sex but for the sweet person she thought she could see hiding behind the walls of his abrasive exterior. But was it worth the trouble? Would he even let her get close to him now they were around his people? He had barely acknowledged her since they arrived and seemed happy to let them lock her away, unarmed and vulnerable.

"Rick!"

She was jolted out of her thoughts by Hershel calling to their leader who was apparently headed back out of the cell block.

"The girl Daryl shot a few days back. He brought her here with him. Thinks she could be of help to the group."

Emily pressed her face against the bars to watch Rick's reaction. Daryl stood up and spoke.

"She can hunt and she saved me from a walker when I hit that store South of here for supplies. Rick, we need more people who can fight," he reasoned.

Rick did little more than glance at her before turning back to Daryl. "I trust your judgement. But if there's any problems it's on your head." He turned and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

After she'd been allowed into the cell block and her weapons had reluctantly been returned, Emily took a minute to properly look around. They had managed to make this bleak setting almost homely, with an area for preparing food and a number of cells set up for sleeping in. She spotted a box in the corner and found herself gazing down on a sleeping baby. It was so strange to see such an innocent being in the midst of all the chaos, completely unaware of the dangerous world she had been born into.

"She doesn't have a name yet." Emily hadn't notice Beth standing next to her. "Daryl calls her lil' ass kicker. I guess that will have to do for now."

Emily smiled and glanced over at Daryl, who was sorting through ammo with Carl and the man in prison overalls who she'd learned was called Oscar. He was completely different around these people, who he'd obviously known for some time. Calmer and less tetchy. He'd even given the baby a cute nickname, for God's sake. Emily suddenly realised that they hadn't used condoms either time they'd slept together and was filled with panic at the thought of possibly becoming pregnant. Could she go through with it knowing what a child would have to face nowadays? Would Daryl be a good father? Could he be a good father? She mentally calculated her dates and breathed a sigh of relief when she realised it was unlikely that she would fall pregnant at this time of the month. If anything was to happen between her and Daryl again, they'd have to be more careful.

As the baby began to stir and Beth picked her up, Emily struggled to find a way of asking about what happened to the baby's mother. She watched as Beth skilfully cradled lil' ass kicker and started to feed her some formula.

"You're great with her. Is she a relative?" she asked carefully.

"No." There was a long pause. "Her mom died when she was born. Lori is...was...Carl's mom too. And Rick's wife." Beth's eyes clouded with tears and she looked down at the baby instead.

Suddenly, the sadness in the boys eyes and the distractedness of Rick made perfect sense. The baby was newborn, no more than a few days old. Their loss was fresh, raw and painful. Despite having only just met them, her heart ached with sympathy for their broken family and she choked back tears.

"If there's anything I can do..." She didn't know what else to say. Beth didn't reply so Emily left her in peace to feed the baby and walked across to where Daryl, Carl and Oscar were checking their weapons.

"Are you guys heading out for supplies? I'd like to help."

Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder and fixed her with those blue eyes of his. Her mind briefly flashed back to their encounter earlier that morning and she blushed slightly as he replied. "Maggie and Glenn are doing the run. We're gonna sweep the lower levels. You in, Red?"

"Sure. Show me the way." She picked up her shotgun and followed them out of the cell block.

To be continued...