We'd been waiting for hours, killing walkers as they came, laying low. Carol had been the one to suggest our movement away from the designated meeting place. The noises coming from the prison had diminished. The walkers would be getting restless now, heading in different directions based upon the noises of the afternoon. Any and all dead persons were eaten and those that were going to escape, had.

My heart had dropped the further the sun had in the sky. It was now tangled uncomfortably with my stomach, both of them in painful knots, wound up tightly. If I thought hard enough about Daryl's death, I'd throw up. I couldn't think about it. Not now.

"We need to put some distance in between ourselves and the prison. Make a camp for the night, start a fire," Carol suggested.

I gauged Maggie's reaction, could see her forthcoming protest before she even opened her mouth. "I'm not leaving Glenn. I promised him…" she trailed off, tears glossing her eyes over. "I promised," she repeated, choking the words out the second time around.

I knew her pain, understood the desire to stay even when you knew you shouldn't. It'd been that way with my dad, and it was that way now. "She's right," I said, pushing my body off of the tree I'd been leaning against. "We should move. There were a lot of walkers at the prison. I don't want them happening upon us during the night. There will be too many for the three of us to hold off."

"Any thoughts on food?" Carol asked.

I realized that she was speaking directly to me. Funny she'd look to me for suggestions when clearly I was the burden that would lead death right to your door. "I've got a knapsack in a tree not far from here. There's not a whole lot, but there are some berries and jerky that might still be good. It should be enough to hold us over."

They both turned to look at me, Maggie staring numbly, Carol suspiciously. "You have a bag. In a tree. Were you planning on running?"

Yes, I was at one point. She didn't need to know that though. "I was hunting when they found me. I'd tied it in a tree that morning. It's where I slept. Didn't exactly have a choice of returning once I was taken prisoner."

Our conversation seemed to have lulled Maggie out of her daze. At least for the moment. "We'll head for the bag and hope it's still there. Got anything else we should know about?" she asked, scratching at some dried blood on her face.

I shrugged. "A bottle of water, some extra bolts, a knife and a gun. The gun doesn't have any bullets," I explained. I'd used the last of them on a particularly rowdy bunch of walkers a day before my capture.

"We shouldn't trust her. She could use the gun to kill us both," Carol warned.

"I'm standing right here," I said sarcastically, giving an exasperated wave as I said the words.

"If she had wanted to kill us, she would've. She helped me fight my way to Glenn and she saved your ass earlier. She knows how to use the bow," Maggie said, jerking her head in my bow's general direction. "She'd have put an arrow right between your eyes if she wanted to."

Maggie's comment seemed to shut Carol up. At least for the moment. I figured with the basics ironed out, we were free to proceed. If Daryl had any intention of showing up here, he would've already. He must've gotten holed up protecting someone. I refused to believe that he was gone.

We walked the distance back towards my bag, the sun setting making the travel harder than it should've been. Well, that and my physical health. My legs had sprinted on flat surfaces, the stairs acting as my only incline over the past week, so my muscles ached a little more than normal. I tried to fight past the nagging pain that plagued both my joints and my weary heart.

My feelings and the distraction that they posed, were precisely why it wasn't a good idea to feel anything for anybody in a time like this. I'd been able to fight, but to say that it hadn't impeded my progress through the prison, in helping others, would be a lie. I'd paused too often, scanned entirely too much.

"What was Daryl doing last night? In your cell block?"

I'd been so entirely caught up in thoughts of the man she was referencing, I hadn't heard her approach. Another bad sign. If she had been a walker, I would've been dead. And she would've gladly let them kill me.

"He was bringing me a light and some blankets. He'd noticed that no one had thought to give them to me in the first place," I explained, skirting around the truth but not exactly lying either. I hoped she caught the added sprinkle of sarcasm that I'd thrown in for spite.

"And your bow. How'd you get that?" she pressed on.

I wasn't sure why I was honoring her with responses. It wasn't like she deserved them. Maybe so Daryl could remain in good graces with the group? I didn't want people upset with him for breaking the rules. "Daryl and Glenn," I answered, shifting my gaze towards Maggie. She didn't seem surprised. Obviously she'd known about it. "They brought it to me last night."

"And thank God," Maggie muttered, hopping over a large tree root that obstructed her path. "I'm not sure I would've made it out of the prison without her help."

At least someone was on my side.

"And he stayed there? All night?"

"Are we playing twenty questions?" I countered, growing more irritated by the second with her and all the grilling. "Or were you some kind of detective prior to the apocalypse and you're just exercising some burning desire to interrogate someone because you no longer can?"

"Please, stop. The both of you," Maggie attempted to cut in.

"I'm the one who is being questioned here, Maggie. Not the other way around. I'd be perfectly fine without all of the questions."

"Carol, please, save your questions for Daryl. He's the one you're closest to." I didn't appreciate Maggie's reasoning, but because she was at least semi-taking up for me, I didn't butt in. "If he feels the need to answer you, then he will."

"You know he won't," she said, her words barely above a whisper. "He hasn't spoken to me since…"

There was a moment that passed between the two, some unspoken conversation being had right before my eyes. I wasn't a complete idiot. I knew that this supposed rift between Carol and Daryl was being blamed on me, even if it wasn't the truth.

Maggie sighed, it was long and drawn out and loud enough to have me cutting my eyes in her direction. "I'm sure that once we meet up, all will be forgiven."

I glanced over at Carol. Her face showed indication that she didn't exactly feel like that were the case. "There it is. Up ahead," I said, pointing towards a tree about fifty yards to our left. I was glad that we'd reached the end to our little journey. Glad too to have something to focus on other than Daryl and Carol's intrusive questioning. "I'll run up and get it. You guys scout the area for a feasible camp site." There was an agreeing nod from them both as I set my sights on my bag.

A half hour after the fact, we were as full as we would be for the night, having divvied out the few rations that I had. Most of the berries were rotten, but Maggie'd found a few to replace the ones that I'd had to throw out. Between that and the jerky, we were, at the very least, not famished. I'd already promised to hunt the moment the sun came up.

Carol had started the fire, the three of us hovering around it, our backs to one another in an attempt to see approaching walkers before they saw us. We'd been that way since the sun had gone down. Maybe a few hours. I think we were all deep in thought, our minds back at the prison with the people we may or may not have lost.

"Did you hear that?" Maggie whispered, her voice causing my ears to perk up.

I strained to hear what she might've, leaning forward, restless elbows digging into my thighs before I thought better of it and reached for my bow. A few minutes later, I thought I heard it too. "Shhh…" I instructed, just in case someone got the idea in their head to speak.

More rustling, the sound coming from Maggie's direction. I shifted around on my rear, aiming my bow into the darkness, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. "Maggie, is that you?" a voice called out to us. Glenn appeared out of the darkness, blood and guts smattered across his face.

"Oh Glenn," she squealed, already in tears as she ran towards him, their bodies colliding forcefully somewhere in the middle. They embraced, touching each other as if they couldn't believe the idea of being reunited, alive and unscathed.

Carol stood, an emotional hand over her mouth, questions in her eyes. Glenn must've seen her from the distance. His face was pained, unsure, as he shook his head back and forth. "Last I saw, Rick and Carl and Michonne were together. Daryl was with Beth."

Maggie released a gasp, backing out of Glenn's grasp. "She'll be okay then. If she's with Daryl."

Glenn nodded, certain too of her statement. "I'm sure they made it out okay," he added, giving her back a reassuring pat, pulling her back into his side.

"It's bad isn't it?" Maggie asked, looking to Glenn for the answer.

He nodded. "We lost a lot of good people," he agreed, a sadness sweeping across his face, "Your father included." Maggie fell into another round of tears.

I sucked in sharply, unsure of what to say. Hershel had died? It didn't seem fathomable. He'd nursed my wounds, been responsible for mending so many things. He'd patched Daryl up the day prior. My heart bled for Maggie over her loss. And for the rest of the people around the campfire, the heaviness of their hearts just as apparent.

"I'll take the first watch," I offered, feeling like maybe they needed the time to mourn. I had cared for Hershel in the way that knowing him for only a week had allowed me to. But not like them. And no one could understand the pain of losing a father quite like me. "I'll scan the perimeter. We'll do hour-long shifts. That way, unless all hell breaks loose, we should all get at least three hours of sleep apiece."

They all seemed okay with my plan, Glenn and Maggie nodding, Carol turning her nose up like I didn't exist. I assumed that no protest from her was basically like an agreement. I set off in the opposite direction to start my watch, hoping I'd somehow, by some grand miracle, stumble upon the blue eyes that plagued my thoughts.


The night had been long, but with next to no issues, just the occasional walkers on each of our shifts. I hadn't slept during Carol's. Thankfully, hers had been last. I wasn't certain that my safety could be trusted in her hands. The sun was coming up by the time she returned, my cue to head out on my hunt. I, again, was thankful to have something to do that would take my mind off of its turbulent thoughts.

As I set off into the woods, I recalled the dream that I'd had. It was of my dad and Daryl, walking shoulder-to-shoulder along the bank of a creek that ran through our property. I'd stood there, fifty yards away or so, watching two people that I cared about in deep discussion.

My heart had felt full, my life fulfilled. Daryl said something to my father, his face turning towards him, the sun glinting off of his tan skin. He squinted, shooting me the tiniest of grins from across the way. I smiled back, waving as I watched in horror as both of their forms disappeared into nothingness.

I'd stirred awake with a jolt, my heavy breathing earning a sideways glance from Glenn. He'd gone right back to sleep once I reassured him that I was okay.

I let the memory of the dream fade into the back of my mind, settling my thoughts on the hunt. My stomach growled into the silence, catching me off guard, making me jump. I needed to get a grip on my fear if I had any desire to eat.

I heard the subtle signs of rustling, leaves scurrying like something was running over it. It wouldn't be a walker. There was more of a step-slash-drag sound that came along with them. I listened for the sound again, heading swiftly in the right direction once I heard it again.

I reached a small clearing, a large rabbit hopping leisurely over the grassy ground. I readied myself for the kill, seconds away from releasing my bolt when a deer stepped into the clearing, just across the way. I couldn't believe it.

I paused to assess the situation. Of course, I wanted the deer, it would go a lot further than the rabbit, but it was too far, the distance possibly too great to get a clean shot. My odds were better if I stuck with the rabbit. Just to be sure, I waited for the deer a little longer, hoping that maybe he'd step further into the clearing. He didn't. His subtle movements doing little more than making the rabbit nervous. If I wanted to ensure breakfast for both myself and the others, I needed to take the shot.

I pulled back, inhaling a deep breath, holding my entire body still before releasing. The rabbit toppled over onto its side. A clean shot. Somewhere in the distance there was another noise, something that had startled the deer. I readied my bow for a walker, surprised to see the deer charging past, another's arrow in its side.

"Sage," a female voice called from behind me.

I recognized it as Carol, stepping out into the clearing, ignoring her as I searched for the other archer. My heart lodged in my throat as he came into view. The familiar walk, the shaggy hair, the unmistakable leather vest walking my way. He approached slowly, cautiously, his eyes narrowed as he tried to work out the situation in his mind.

Everything inside of me wanted to run to him, to throw myself at him like I had in the cell block the day prior, but I refrained. I didn't think he'd appreciate me making a scene in front of Carol.

"Daryl," Carol shrieked, her voice a high-pitched sound into the silence.

My head spun back towards her, the shrills tumbling from her lips indecipherable, reminding me of the cheerleaders at my high school from years ago, cheering on their star quarterback. This was way more than a crush, certainly on her end anyway.

Daryl's free hand went up to shield his eyes from the rising sun. "Carol? Sage? That you?" he asked, continuing his approach.

I nodded. An idiotic thing to do considering he was still a fairly good distance away. Carol responded for the both of us though, eliminating my need to. "Yes, it's us. It's me, Daryl." Her correction didn't go unnoticed.

He ran to us, literally threw his crossbow over his shoulder and charged in our direction, hair flying every which way. He slowed only when he was about the same distance from both of us, the three of us creating some warped triangle of awkwardness. It was like Daryl didn't know what to do. I don't know what I expected from him, but I know what I expected of myself – for something like this not to matter, for it not to hurt like it did. I eliminated his choice, turning and heading towards my kill, plucking it from the ground, taking my time as I dusted it off.

Pulling the knapsack from my back, I pretended not to watch as Carol ran to him, their arms embracing one another. The rabbit was forcefully shoved into the bag, my anger doing a good job of not exercising the care with the carcass that I normally would've.

I needed to look for the deer. It would give me something else to do, something that didn't leave me staring them both down, bearing witness to their reunion.

"Carol, back ta the camp. Sage and I will track tha deer."

"No, I got it, Daryl. Don't you worry about me." I sent the scathing remark in their general direction, not even bothering to give them a backwards glance. The tears in my eyes were my own unfortunate circumstance, a circumstance that I had next to no desire of sharing with either one of them. "Done this a million times before. Alone."

I hadn't made it ten yards into the woods, walking in the general direction that I'd seen the deer run, when heavy footsteps sounded off behind me. I knew it was him before he even spoke. "Daryl, I said I got it," I said angrily, jealous nostrils flaring as I finally turned to look at him. He looked hurt, confused, his face making me feel downright guilty. Well, fuck. So much for my plan to appear unaffected.

"I spend all night searching fer ya, lose one o'our own in tha process, and this is how ya act when we finally see one 'nother?"

I didn't like hearing that he'd lost someone. She'd seemed important to Maggie the night before. Beth was it? I couldn't quite remember, the events foggy, but I didn't know her enough to mourn her in the moment. "We're going to lose the trail," I said finally, again fighting the urge to run to him. But my brain just wouldn't let me forget the vision of the two of them embracing. It was practically seared into my mind.

"That what ya want ta talk about."

"Quite frankly, I don't want to talk about anything. Not after that fucking reunion back there," I said, pointing a frustrated finger back at the clearing. I hadn't even meant to bring it up. It exposed my emotions, made me seem week. I was harder than this, tougher.

"Ya wouldn't even look at me. She came at me. What was I supposed ta do?" he yelled, sinking a finger into his chest.

"God, this is so stupid," I said, exasperated, plunging my fingers into my eyes, trying to work the tiredness out of them. "Me even being upset over this. Over you and her. This is exactly why-" I stopped short when he moved towards me, his face determined. "What're you doing?" I asked, taking hesitant steps away from him.

"What I shoulda the minute I knew it was you."

He closed the space between us in two quick strides, his hands moving up to my hair, cradling my head, smashing it into his chest. Beneath the dark leather, his heart was beating a million miles an hour. I hesitated before reciprocating, the realization that I could've lost him finally hitting me full-on. My arms slipped around his waist, pulling him towards me with a fierceness that I didn't know I possessed. His body trembled, his breath coming out in haphazard spurts.

We rocked clumsily, my feet shifting over the forest floor after his, like we were doing some fucked up version of the tango. His back hit a tree, our bodies sliding down the base of it. I don't know how we managed, but I ended up on his lap, cradled in his arms. Heavy breathing still wracked his lungs as he buried his head in my hair.

"I fuckin' thought I lost ya," he mumbled, running one of his hands over my braid, the other squeezing me tight against him. "I fuckin'…I can't…lose…ya."

His words pricked over my sensitive heart, my sentiments towards him the same. I brought my hands up to cradle his face, pulling our foreheads together. "Then don't."

"You'll stay with us?"

"With you," I corrected. "As long as this world allows me to," I confirmed, rubbing my thumbs over the sweat trickling down his cheeks, appreciating the small smile when it came into view.

"You'll not leave my sight. Ya hear me?" he said, shaking me within his grasp. "Not even if ya beg me."

I was seconds away from asking him if I could touch him, the moment seeming ripe for some deeper familiarization, but the sounds of approaching walkers had us struggling to our feet.

"Let's find that deer. We'll continue this later," I suggested, eager to rid ourselves of the walkers. I wasn't in the mood to fight. My heart was too full.