It was a peaceful night despite the chaotic day they had experienced. A cool breeze made a chill run up Skye's spine as she sat staring out over the endless cars, still wet from her run in from the walker. Her clothing underneath her vest had been taking far too long to dry so she had taken it off, but now sat with constant goosebumps tickling up her arms. There hadn't been a single sign of any walkers the entire time she had been on watch. Seeing all the cars full of people's personal belongings made her think about how alone they truly were and also about how outnumbered they had become. It was a sad truth that a huge percentage of the owners of these vehicles had been turned into nothing more than walking flesh eating monsters. Thoughts of old family road trips also ran through her mind. She had always grumbled when she had found out they would be going on one of their 'family adventures'. What she wouldn't give for one of those right now…

The RV shook slightly as she was joined on the roof. "Skye?"

Looking over her shoulder she looked back at Dale.

"I'll take over watch."

"Can't sleep?"

He shook his head.

"Me either." Getting up from her seat, she grabbed her jacket from her seat, swinging it around her shivering body.

"Hey, Dale!"

Skye and Dale looked down to see Daryl standing with his crossbow on his back.

"I'm goin' out to look around a bit."

"Is that safe?"

"Easy, old man. I know what I'm doin'."

"Wait," Skye called, hurrying down the ladder and jumping off about halfway down. Jogging up to Daryl, she said, "I want to help."

He looked at her, thinking it over, then jerked his head towards the trees ahead.

"Skye, here…take this," Dale threw a flashlight down to her and then they were off.


Nothing but the pitch black of the woods surrounded them as the rays of moonlight were blocked out by the vast leaves that swept above them. Skye could barely make out Daryl's figure even as he walked alongside her only about a foot away. His flashlight sent out a ray of light darting from left to right in search of any walkers or Sophia. Crickets filled the air with chirping, mingling with the rustling of the leaves as they swayed in the night breeze. Even though she was with Daryl she couldn't help but feel nervous that a walker would jump from the darkness, seizing her.

As if he could sense her nerves, he asked, "You scared?"

"A little," she understated.

"Don't worry. No walkers are gonna get us . Not tonight anyhow. Won't be out here very long."

"How are we going to find Sophia? I can't even see you without shining my light on you."

"Thinkin' she might see the light and run towards it."

Skye nodded.

"But honestly, I just couldn't stand it in that RV anymore. Between Carol's cryin' and Andrea sittin' there messin' with my clip."

"They're just worried."

"Carol, maybe. But Andrea," he shook his head. "She's just bat shit crazy. Just itchin' to get her hands on a gun."

Skye couldn't argue there. "Some don't think we'll even find her."

"What the hell is wrong with these people? We just started lookin'. Ain't the mountains of Nevada. It's Georgia. She's probably holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost and survive. Happens all the time."

"But she's just a little girl. Scared in a strange place. She doesn't understand how to find things in the woods to make her way back."

"Hell, I was younger than her and I got lost. Nine days in the woods eatin' berries and wipin' my ass with poison oak."

Skye smiled to herself. "But they found you, right?"

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doing another stint in juvie. Didn't even know I was gone. Made my way back, went straight in the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear. Except my ass itched somethin' awful."

Skye shone her light over in his direction. She laughed lightly and he did something unexpected; he laughed along with her. It was the first time she had seen him actually laugh and it was genuine. Going back to sweeping her light in front of them, her mouth spread into a smile.

"Only difference is Sophia's got people lookin' for her. I call that an advantage," he assured.

As Skye's light swept back and forth she caught a glimpse of something reflective. "What's that?"

Daryl looked to where her light went by again, yet more slowly to try to find the same object. "There." He pointed and they crept up through the bushes. Pushing a branch out of the way, a campsite came into view and they saw the reflective object was a part of the tent. There was a fire pit in the center and Daryl walked around it, crossbow raised. Skye's right hand rested on her machete as she shined the flashlight with the other, catching sight of something moving in the tree.

In a whisper, she said, "Daryl!" He looked over at her followed her flashlight to the leaves shaking above. Gesturing for her to get behind him, he moved in. As they drew closer they could see a walker hanging in the tree.

"What the hell?" Daryl looked down and noticed a piece of paper attached to the tree trunk. "Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to shit. Might as well quit." Stepping back, he added, "Dumbass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head. Turned himself in a swingin' piece of bait. A mess."

Skye took notice of the legs. They had been gnawed on till they were just a mess of bone and ligaments. She felt her stomach turn a bit, but not because of the gory mess that hung before her. Seeing him hanging there struggling to get down to her, to feast on her flesh, made her realize this could be her fate. Not the hanging from the tree part, but turning into something so mindless that only knew one thing - hunger for human flesh. What if it came down to it and she was out of ammo or lost her guns entirely. Her only hope was that someone would be there to shoot her in the head, preventing that fate.

Daryl stopped at the front of the tent and turned. Seeing her standing there gazing up at the camper, he walked up behind her. "You wanna live now? Or not?"

She just stared at him.

"It's just a question."

Looking back at the walker she thought back to that day at the CDC how he had fought to keep her from staying behind, from letting it all end there… from giving up.

"If I give you an answer will you shoot him? Put him out of his misery? No one deserves this."

He nodded. "Mhm."

Yet again, she returned her eyes to the hanging meaty mess. "After your talk at the CDC about finding something worth finding for, it made me want to keep fighting, searching. I want to live only to find out if there is something truly worth living for in this world. Something worth risking a fate like this and to live in terror everyday and have to constantly look over your shoulder. I want to find that one thing that makes fighting worth it. After everything… I owe it to her."

Daryl was confused. "Who?"

Turning around Skye replied, "Riley." She walked past him. From behind her she heard the bolt surge through the air and then the movement in the tree ceased.


Daryl was sitting on the RV watching out over the highway when he felt someone join him, checking to see who it was he froze. Skye stood there setting a blanket on the roof but it was the sight of her that kept his eyes to her. Now without her jacket and vest he saw the unitard she kept hidden underneath them. Its spaghetti straps clung to her shoulders dropping down into a plunging neckline. Realizing his eyes were following her curves as she spread the blanket out on the RV, he cleared his throat. "What're you doin'?"

"You don't mind if I join you, do you? Want to enjoy this beautiful night sky."

"You need sleep."

"Not tired," she lied as she layed back on the blanket staring up into the wondrous view above them, admiring the stars. Each and every one was beautiful. One good thing that came from the world being the way it was now was that there was no light pollution. It was amazing how much clearer the sky was. Where before you could only see the little white star shining in the blackened sky, now it was as if you were staring into the heart of the universe. The colors themselves were astonishing, and the amount of stars and whatnot that could be seen was overwhelming. It completely blew Skye's mind.

"I wish I had taken the time to learn the constellations."

"Huh?"

"You know, in the stars."

"I know what a damn constellation is," he rolled his eyes.

"Sorry. Just wish I hadn't taken them for granted."

Pushing up from the lawn chair, Daryl sat his crossbow down and closed the space between them, crouching down next to her. "It's easy. See, this one here."

Skye leaned up on one elbow bringing her face in closer to his to follow his gaze and where he pointed. "Yeah."

"That's Canis Minor. And here," he moved slightly. "Is Gemini… Cancer… Monoceras…"

"How'd you learn all these?" Skye asked, impressed.

"My uncle. He's the one who taught me how to track. My dad was never really around much and if he was he was drunk off his ass." He looked down at her. The way the moonlight hit her hair that fell in loose waves around her face and her eyes that shone brightly back at him had him feeling something deep inside of him. Biting his cheek, he looked down and something shiny caught his eye.

"What's that?"

Skye saw where he was looking and picked her pendant up into her hand. She held it out so he could see it better. Smiling faintly, she said, "It was my sisters."

Daryl swallowed hard, remembering it was what she had held when he caught her in the cemetery. Taking it in his hand he saw the beautiful flower in the center of the stone.

"It's a Stargazer Lily. I was told once they represented the freeing of one from obstacles and worry." She let out a small laugh. "How fitting…"

"What was her name?"

"Riley," she smiled fondly.

Daryl realized it was the name she had mentioned in the woods. Handing the pendant back to her he stood, picking at his finger. "Older?"

"Younger." A tear escaped her eye but as quick as it had come it had been wiped away. He barely even had time to notice it.

"I'm sorry." Sincerity filled his voice.

"How about your brother? Merle? Is he younger?"

"Nah. I'm his 'baby brother'."

Hearing that Daryl was the youngest didn't particularly surprise her at all. They sat there, not saying a word, while they looked up into the night sky. It made her feel like everything here on this planet was so insignificant compared to the vastness of space.

"I always wanted to go to space. See what's out there for myself, ya know?"

"Not me. I like my feet where they are… firmly planted on the ground." Skye raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know what I mean."

"Aww, come on, Daryl. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I got all the adventure I need. Nowadays, I have more than I want."

"Don't we all."


"Skye. Skye. Wake up, dear."

Skye's eyes fluttered open and saw Carol standing over her. Pushing her self up to a sitting position she realized she was still on the roof of the RV.

"We're gettin' some food and supplies together. I was wonderin' if you can make the sign up."

"Of course, Carol. I would love to do that for you. I'll do it right away," Skye smiled at the broken woman.

"Thank you."

Skye jumped up and stretched her arms above her head in attempt to wake up.

Searching through the abandoned cars, Skye found a child's finger painting set. Snatching the white paint from the case, she hurried back to where she found the others placing food on a car hood. Popping the cap off she spread some paint onto her index finger. Carefully, she spelled out, 'SOPHIA STAY HERE. WE WILL COME EVERY DAY'. Stepping back to make sure it would be visible from a distance, she dropped the empty tube onto the ground and went to wipe her hands in the grass. Daryl's motorcycle sprung to life and everyone headed to get into the other vehicles. Dale tossed a set of keys to her.

"Here. You drive Shane's car. We'll follow you."


Pulling up into the driveway the woman on the horse had mentioned, they saw they were coming up on a fairly large white farmhouse. It looked welcoming, cozy. They were greeted by many unfamiliar faces as well as some they knew. Rick and Lori moved to the front.

"How is he?" Dale breathed.

Lori's face lit up. "He'll pull through. Thanks to Hershel and his people –"

"And Shane," Rick inserted. "Carl wouldn't be alive if it not for him."

Shane lifted his gaze to Skye, who stood taking in his new look. The haircut she liked, but she thought he was taking the new farm aspect too seriously with his baggy overalls.

Dale wrapped Rick into an embrace while Carol followed his example with Lori. The rest of the group began to exchange hugs, all the while Daryl and Skye hung back.

"How'd it happen?"

"Hunting accident." Rick rubbed his chin.

"Everything else go smoothly with you guys?" Lori looked out seeing they were still only short Sophia.

"Just the two attacks. No bites."

"Two?" Lori was shocked. "But who-?"

"After you rode off on that horse Skye got knocked into the creek with a walker," Daryl piped up.

Lori's hand went to her chest. "Oh my god."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we should go ahead and have the service for Otis," a white haired man Skye assumed to be Hershel suggested.

All in agreement, everyone followed him to where a pile of stones sat under a tree.

Throughout the service, Skye couldn't help but notice Shane acting strangely. It was even more evident when asked to say a few words about the man that had sacrificed himself for Carl. He seemed really twitchy, as if he was constantly on alert. This was something that worried her.

After the funeral, she saw a group of them crowded around a truck looking to be talking about the search for Sophia. Stepping up next to Hershel she was just in time to see his daughter, Maggie, laying a map out onto the hood. She caught Daryl's eyes just briefly before observing the map.

"County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations."

"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organized." Shane shifted in place.

"We'll grid the whole area. Start searching in teams," Rick advised the group.

"Not you. Not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't hike five minutes in this heat before passing out." Switching his attention from Rick to Shane, Hershel continued, "And your ankle. Push it and you'll be laid up a month. No good to anyone."

"Guess it's just me then. I'm going to head back to the creek. Work my way up from there."

"I can help, too," Skye spoke up, peeved at Daryl for forgetting about her. "Just tell me where you need me."

Rick nodded.

"I could still be useful. Head back to the interstate and see if Sophia wandered back there," Shane scratched at his head.

"Tomorrow then. We'll start doin' this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. We need to get them the training we've promised."

Shane's words had Andrea leaning on the truck, anxious.

"I'd prefer it if your people weren't carrying guns. We've made it this far without turning this into an armed camp.

Putting his hands on the truck, Shane shook his head, "With all do respect, get a crowd of those things runnin' in here-" He chuckled at the thought.

Rick lowered his head. "We're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." He looked to every one of their group as he spoke the last sentence, stopping on Shane. Pulling his gun from the back of his pants, he placed it on the hood with a thud. Frustrated, Shane did the same. Skye jerked both out of hers from their holsters and laid them in front of her. She had no problem respecting Hershel's wishes, but she would be lying if she said it didn't make her nervous. Sharing a glance with Shane, she saw him biting his lips to keep his mouth shut.

"First things first, set up camp and then find Sophia."

"Now, I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that," Shane pointed out.

Uncomfortable, Rick replied, "You do what has to be done."

"And her mother, what do you tell her?" Maggie looked upset.

"The truth."

Skye could tell this really upset Maggie. The look she had given her father was that of worry and fear, as if she knew something Hershel didn't want them to know. He shook his head at her.

"I'll gather and secure all weapons. Make sure no one is carryin' till we're at a practice range offsite. We would request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience," Shane offered.

Everyone looked to Hershel.

In an attempt to persuade Hershel, Rick spoke, "Our people would feel safer. Less inclined to carry a gun."

Hershel reluctantly nodded.

"Thank you."

Skye walked off, followed by Daryl and Shane. Shane went around collecting the guns into a bag. Skye slowed to allow Daryl to catch up to her.

"What was that?"

"What was what, Skye?"

"You now I can help. You know I'm just as dedicated to finding her."

"Never said you weren't."

"Then why say it's just you?" she looked over at him incredulously.

"I said I knew you wanted to help. Didn't say I needed it. Better on my own. Don't need to be looking after you and splittin' my focus in half."

"You don't have to look after me."

"Look, you're not going. You'll just drag me down."

Skye stopped and shot him a glare. "You're an ass."

Daryl just kept walking. Why was he letting her get into his head? This was a time he needed to stay focused and she was making it harder and harder. Sure, she could say he didn't have to look out for her, but that's all he could find himself doing while she was out there with him. Her getting hurt was the last thing he wanted to see and he didn't know why. Finding his way around the house he stomped towards the woods.

"Daryl!"

Daryl slowed to see Rick coming over to meet him.

"You okay on your own?"

"Better on my own." Why did everyone think he needed people around mucking up the trail? "Don't worry I'll be back before dark." He went back on his way.

"Hey!" Rick stopped him yet again. "We got a base. We can get this search properly organized now."

"You got a point or we just chattin'?"

"My point is it let's you off the hook. You don't owe us anything."

"My other plans fell through." This time Daryl didn't stop, but kept on moving for the forest. Of course he didn't owe them anything. What the hell was Rick going on about? Daryl was dedicated to this group. He could've left ages ago and yet he was still here. Despite the fact he knew he could make it on his own, something just held him here.

Skye walked along behind Shane and Andrea as they headed back to the farm after their trip to the highway. There was no sign that Sophia had been back. None of the food had been touched. Carol walked a few feet to her right clearly feeling down after not seeing Sophia sitting there waiting for them. Shane and Andrea stopped ahead at a fence so Skye turned to Carol.

"Daryl's going to find he,r Carol," Skye reassured her.

Carol just kept staring out into the field.

"I know how it feels to lose family but I can't imagine losing a child. I just want you to know I have every faith that she will be found. You'll be holding her in your arms soon. I believe that."

Carol turned to her with tears in her eyes.

Shane and Andrea were on the move again.

"Now let's go make that RV nice and pretty for her arrival."

Skye was sitting at the table in the RV when Daryl stepped in looking around the place like he was confused. He walked right past her back to Carol who was sitting mending a blanket. Skye listened.

"Cleaned up," Carol said. "Wanted it to be nice for her. It was Skye's idea."

Daryl looked back towards Skye and back to Carol. "For a second I thought I was in the wrong place." There was a sound as if glass was sat on the table.

"A flower?"

"It's a Cherokee Rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grievin' and cryin' so much because they were losin' their little ones along the way. Exposure and disease… starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer asking for a sign to uplift the mother's spirits. Give them strength. Hope. The next day, this rose began to grow right where the mother's tears fell." He paused. "I'm not fool enough to believe there are any flowers bloomin' for my brother."

Skye's heart sank.

"But, uh- I believe this one… it bloomed for your little girl."

Skye couldn't take it. She had to leave. Getting up she walked out as quietly as possible. Not knowing exactly where she was going, she ended up finding herself at the fence lining the property. Leaning on the fence she looked out over the field, thinking of her family. She wished they were here with her now. Her parents had always talked about wanting to leave the city to live on a farm, but Skye had always been against it. And still, here she was.

Suddenly, there was a white flower in front of her face. Taking it, she looked down at the velvety soft petals. Daryl leaned on the fence next to her. She didn't look over at him, but kept looking at the flower in her hand.

"There were two blooms. Figured that one was for Riley."

"Thank you," she replied quietly. They stood there in an awkward silence for a good five minutes before Daryl drew her attention.

"Look, Skye. I want to say I'm sorry. For earlier." He fidgeted in place anxious from not being used to apologizing to anyone. Her silence just made it all the more worse. As he looked at her he noticed she was no longer in her all black leather outfit, but now wore some short jean shorts with a brown belt, and a red flannel long sleeve shirt that she had rolled the sleeves up. Underneath the flannel shirt was a white tank top that clung to her curves. Her black boots were also replaced by a pair of dark brown ones that came up to her mid calf. "So, where'd you get the new clothes?"

Glancing over at him, she said, "Maggie loaned them to me. She only had a few outfits in my size. Not my typical style, but then again either was the last outfit so…" she chuckled.

"It's- It's nice," he said, not looking her in the eye. He liked the new look, and it wasn't just about the clothes. It also made her look less hardened and more… sweet. He imagined this was closer to how she would've looked before the outbreak. "I like it."

Her head turned and she smirked at him, not used to getting compliments, especially from Daryl. "Come on, Daryl, you're going to make me blush."

He shook his head and looked down, smiling in embarrassment.

"What do ya say we go grab some of this wonderful food we've been hearin' about?" He nudged her arm.

She nodded and she let him guide her back towards where the group sat around the fire.

I want to thank you guys for the wonderful PM's. 3 I'm trying to make the chapters as long as possible without running them too long or if they have to stop to benefit the story. As always… I would love some reviews. Getting feedback really pushes me to keep posting. J Thanks!

PS. I added a board for Skye for Season 2. Hope you like! (Link on my profile)