The group was packed up and ready to head out. Herschel and Patricia and Otis had elected to stay behind on the farm. No amount of pleading could sway them. Herschel insisted that his daughters go along with Rick's group. "My family's owned this land for generations. I was born here, and I'm going to die here. My life is mostly over anyway. I've lost my son and my wife. I want to send my girls off with you so they have a chance at living-they won't have it here." Herschel hugged both girls as they sobbed and then he turned to Rick and shook his hand. "Please take good care of them," he whispered, tears coursing down his cheeks. He turned and headed back to the porch where Patricia and Otis sat.

Glen pulled Maggie toward Rick's truck where they would ride with Rick's family. Amy and Andrea pulled Beth toward Dale's RV. Merle took up the lead again on his bike and Daryl and Isabeau took the tail end of the caravan. They had decided to stay on back roads, following a map Herschel had given them. They had also decided to keep to a northerly route, headed toward the mountains. They knew they were in South Carolina now, and wanted to make it up to the mountains in Virginia to look for a place to settle.

They drove all that late afternoon and into the evening before stopping at an abandoned mom and pop grocery store and gas station. It looked to have been abandoned long before the virus had hit-probably whoever had owned it had left when the traffic had dropped on the old highway and their business had gone the way of the traffic. They circled the trucks and Rv to have an area in the middle to sit and stretch. The men decided on who would stand watch when. The women set about fixing some kind of supper for the group. Isabeau checked on Carl, who had been laid on a fold out couch in the RV while Lori had kept watch over him. He had woken up and talked a bit, still no fever and the wound still safe from infection. He had some pain, but it was manageable. Isabeau suggested he try to stick to broth and crackers and water for now, maybe some real food tomorrow. Isabeau then asked Lori how she was feeling and checked Lori's ankles for swelling and took Lori's pulse and temperature. She had gotten a couple of thermometers from the mess inside her duffel and given one to Lori so she could keep an eye on Carl.

After seeing to Carl and Lori, Isabeau stepped out of the RV and stretched. Riding in the car had made her restless, but she knew better than to try to run anywhere out here in the dark. She decided to do some Yoga stretches and walked away a bit so no one would be in her way and started to do her warmup moves. As she stretched and turned, she could feel her tension easing out of her. Her breathing slowed, and she closed her eyes slightly and smiled as she went through some basic moves. She wished she had thought to put some kind of mat or towel or something down so she lie down and do some of the poses on her back. She started doing her cool down poses, and heard a cough to her right. Opening her eyes, she saw Merle watching her, an appreciative look in his eyes.

"What's that you're doing girlie?" he rasped.

"Yoga. It's good for balance, posture, relieves tension," Isabeau replied, finishing up and wiping the sweat from her face.

"You must be the healthiest woman I've ever seen," he said, nodding his head. "Probly smart if all the women here learned some of that-maybe help 'em get some strength in 'em. They're gonna need to learn how to take care of themselves at some point." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Isabeau nodded in agreement. "You're right. Once we get settled I'll see if any of them are interested. Lori especially, it'll help her when it's time for her to deliver the baby." Merle nodded again and headed off outside the circle of vehicles toward the abandoned building. Isabeau headed toward Daryl's truck to rummage around for a towel to wipe herself off with. She would be glad when they settled somewhere and hopefully had some running water on a regular basis.

"Isabeau, we have dinner ready," Andrea called to her. Isabeau wasn't particularly hungry, but she crossed over to see what they had prepared. She saw they had fixed up a little fire to cook over and heated up some cans of soup, had some bread with peanut butter spread on it, bottles of water and juice. Not bad for having to cook on the road with little amenities. She took some bread with peanut butter on it and sat down next to Beth and Amy. She watched as Maggie came over and joined her sister-Glen was with the other men setting up a watch schedule or had been assigned watch now. She was grateful Amy and the others were working to make Beth and Maggie welcome and soothe their minds about their family back at the farm.

Isabeau turned toward the abandoned building, hearing a shout. She quickly stood up just as Glen came rushing toward them. "Everyone get in the vehicles!" he shouted. "Walkers are coming!" He grabbed Maggie and pulled her frantically toward Rick's truck. Andrea and Amy jumped up and pulled Beth along with them toward the RV, where Carl and Lori had remained. Carol looked about for Sophia and started calling her name. Isabeau called with her and squeezed between the vehicles to see Daryl pulling Sophia toward her.

"She was out here wandering, good thing I grabbed her," he explained, pushing her roughly toward Isabeau. "Take her to her momma and make sure everyone gets in the vehicles," he yelled as he sprinted back toward the area the other men had run to. Isabeau took Sophia to Carol and told them to get in their truck and stay there. She hastily put out the fire and packed up what little food and supplies they had set out and handed them to Andrea in the RV. She grabbed a gun from Daryl's truck and stood by his vehicle waiting to hear something.

Suddenly she heard shouts and shots. She wanted to run over toward the men, but knew as dark as it was she might get mistaken for a walker and get shot. She paced impatiently for a minute, then looked up as some of the men came running back toward the vehicles.

"Get in!" Daryl yelled at her as he ran around to the driver's side and slung himself in. He started the truck up and pulled out of the parking lot rapidly, pulling to a brief stop to see where the rest of the group had gone. Rick motioned him to drive on, so he pulled onto the old highway and punched it. They sped rapidly up the road, Isabeau peering anxiously through the back window toward the other vehicles.

"What happened?" she whispered. Daryl kept his eyes on the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"A fucking herd-that's what happened. That cocksucker Shane did something to draw them up from the woods." Isabeau gasped. "Yeah, we heard Jim yell and they were on him before we could get to him. Ed too," he glanced over at Isabeau. She had confided in him early on that she suspected Ed was physically abusive to Carol, and worried he might be hitting Sophia as well. Daryl and Merle had kept a close eye on him after that, but had seen nothing amiss. Isabeau however had seen some telltale signs-Carol's low self esteem, hesitation when speaking to Ed, the way she flinched ever so slightly whenever he raised his hands near her. She had seen women like Carol during her rotation in the ER-women who had been beaten but insisted they had tripped or walked into a door. Invariably the women would go home with the husband who had made it necessary for them to be in the ER in the first place. Some women were seen on a fairly regular basis-once a month, every couple of months. It was heartbreaking. She had been thinking about speaking to Carol, to tell her as bad as this world had become she didn't need to put up with abuse from her husband. Now maybe the walkers had taken care of Carol and Sophia's problem.

Daryl was watching her out of the corner of his eye for her reaction. He watched her face reflect her thoughts and grunted, nodding his head. He had always had a knack for reading people-it was a necessity growing up with the parents and brother he had, he had learned to read them and anticipate when it was best to avoid them. As he got older his skills had sharpened and he had learned to remain silent and watch folks whenever he was around anyone. He was soon able to detect quickly when someone was lying to him or to anyone else, when they were trying to screw he or Merle over during some deal. So it was no surprise when he found how easily he could read Isabeau-her face was pretty much an open book, she would never be able to play poker with a face that reflective of her every thought and feeling. What surprised him was how quickly she had been able to read him-more to the point, that she seemed to make an effort to study him and anticipate his moods. He had never had anyone give him a second look before, much less make any effort to understand him. He appreciated it, and was still unable to believe his good fortune that she was in the least bit interested in him.

Daryl pulled over to the side after half an hour to wait for the others to catch up with them. Rick and Glen and Maggie pulled up a few minutes later. Then the RV pulled up behind Rick's truck. A few minutes later, Merle pulled up driving Carol and Ed's truck, Carol and Sophia beside him. Isabeau looked at Daryl. "Where's Shane?" she whispered. Daryl looked over toward Rick and whispered a bit louder.

"Where's Shane?" Rick looked grim and shook his head.

"Your brother shot Shane," he started. Daryl groaned in disgust. What had his brother done now? "No, Daryl, Merle did good. Shane had gotten bitten so Merle shot him so we could all get away." Rick nodded toward the truck Merle was in. "He did good. He saved Carol and Sophia by driving their truck, Carol was in no shape to drive. He left his bike back there and told us he'd take care of Carol and her little girl," Rick finished. Daryl's mouth dropped open in shock. His brother? His brother had saved Carol and Sophia? Rick laughed a short, bitter laugh and nodded.

"Yeah, your brother. Seems we've underestimated him in a lot of ways. Well, let's head out and find someplace we can rest for what's left of the night." He started off in the lead, Daryl following and Merle, Carol and Sophia bringing up the rear.

Daryl turned to Isabeau with a bemused look on his face. "Ain't that something?" he wondered aloud.

"Maybe Merle didn't like the way Ed was treating Carol and her daughter and decided to take care of when the opportunity presented itself," Isabeau murmured. Daryl looked over at her sharply and hummed, thinking. Merle was a jerk, loudmouthed, abusive, querulous, forever picking fights with him and anyone else handy-but Merle had also always been the one who had tried to protect their momma from their daddy. Merle had often got the worst of it from their father because he refused to back down and move away from his protective stance in front of their mother. For all the awful things Daryl had ever seen Merle do, he had never once seen Merle put his hands on any woman. Maybe Isabeau was right-maybe Merle had helped Carol in a way he hadn't been able to help their own mother. He sighed. Maybe the end of the world was actually a good thing for both he and his brother after all.

"Hey, lean over here and rest your head Beau," he murmured. "Don't know how long we'll be driving and what we'll stop at, might as well rest while you can." He pulled her closer to him and felt her head settle against his arm.

"Don't you ever sleep?" she asked softly as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Never have needed much sleep," he murmured, "always been a light sleeper and now I feel like I gotta stay alert in case anything happens where I'm needed right away. Don't trust some of the others to stay awake on their watches." She nodded against her arm sleepily and yawned again. He put his hand back on the wheel and felt her settle into a more relaxed position. Soon he heard her breathing settle into the soft and slow breathing of sleep. He smiled slightly, grateful for the feel of her against his body.