I don't own it.

I do want to thank all of the lovelies that reviewed, favorited and followed. I appreciate the love.

At the moment that it happened, the moment she decided that she would try to get this Dawn person to keep her instead of Noah, she really wasn't thinking of the consequences. All she saw was the heartbreak on Beth's face, and the fear in Noah's. She had offered herself up without another thought, which she realized now was sort of dumb. She had no idea what the hell was going on in this hospital. For all she knew, she might have placed herself right smack in the middle of a another Terminus. What ever the situation was, she knew that those two kids were not staying, and she would do what she had to do to make sure of it.

Which brought her to her current situation, sitting on a hospital bed, waiting to be given instructions. She had been informed by a female police woman to wait in this room for Dawn to decide what to do with her. She sat back on the bed, leaning against the comfortable pillow. She closed her eyes to ease the headache that was coming on.

"How long are we going to let her sleep," heard Carol as she began to wake from what must have been a nap, but keeping her eyes closed. It was a man's voice.

"What do you care?" replied Dawn, whose voice Carol recognized.

"I don't care," answered the male voice, "except that when her group got back with Beth and Noah, one of the guys in the group freaked out because this one wasn't with them. He threaten to kill us. All of us, if he didn't get her back. The guy that came here tried to calm him down, but I don't trust it. I think someone should keep an eye on them to make sure they get out of Atlanta and get on with their business. This chick is ours now. Its best if they just go."

"This chick is mine. I kept her to replace Noah. What goes on with her is none of your concern. If it makes you feel better, have two guys follow the group until they're out of Atlanta."

Carol heard footsteps walking away from her room and she slowly opened her eyes. Dawn was still standing just inside her room.

"Hello Carol," Dawn said, approaching Carol's bed.

Carol quickly got out of bed and stood to face Dawn. "Dawn."

Dawn smiled. "It was very brave of you to offer to stay here."

"I couldn't see either one of those kids being kept prisoner here any longer then they were."

"They were repaying a debt. Nothing is free in this life. You look like a woman who knows that."

Carol smiled tightly. "Yes. I do.'

"Good. I think you and I are going to get along very well. It really is simple here. Do what's expected of you. Stay close to me. If you follow those few rules, life here will be way easier then its been in a long time."

"How long do you expect me to stay here?"

"How long do you think saving two peoples lives is worth?"

"You didn't really save Beth's life. Your people took her. She was fine where she was."

Dawn took a step closer to Carol. "She was being chased by biters. That sounds like that little girl needed help if you ask me."

"She was safe with the person she was with. He wouldn't have let anything happen to her. Instead, her family has thought she was dead all this time. Its been torture for them…for all of us. You didn't save her life. If anything, you wasted some of it. She doesn't owe you anything."

"Fine. But that isn't the case with Noah. He would have been dead a long time ago if we hadn't kept him safe. To be honest, I can't believe he would leave. I guess when you aren't thinking with your brain…"

"I don't think there is anything surprising about wanting to be free to make your own decisions. To not want to be someone's slave."

"It's stupid when it's a life or death situation. There is no guarantee that he will be safe with that group you were with. Here, we are safe and we know how to survive."

Carol smiled. "You think that you've had it hard here? Everyone here is living in a dream world if you think you're completely safe. We have been out there where every day is a struggle just to find food or a sip of water. You have no idea how to really survive."

"If it really is that bad out there, then thank your lucky stars that you're here. There are scrubs in that drawer for you to change into. If you want to shower first, it's the 2nd door on the right. But make sure if you do that, you have a female spotter."

"A spotter?"

"Not all of the men here are gentlemen, if you know what I mean." Dawn turned and left the room without another word.

"Ya, I'm so much safer here," Carol said to herself, going to the drawer to see what her wardrobe was going to be for the however long she was stuck in this hellhole.

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Daryl was walking back and forth in front of the big front window of the apartment that the group had decided to stay in for the night. Through that window, he could see the roof of Grady Memorial in the distance. He had refused to go anywhere else in the apartment.

"What are we going to do about Carol?" whispered Michonne, who was in one of the bedrooms with Rick and Glenn looking for supplies.

"I don't know yet," answered Rick.

Glenn moved next to Rick and whispered, "I've never seen Daryl like this. He is freaking out. We need to come up with a plan before he losses it."

"He blames me," Rick said sadly, taking a deep breath.

"He's upset. But he knows there was nothing you could do. I think he's really mad at her but he's too scared to even think that right now," replied Glenn, putting his hand on Rick's shoulder.

"What if something happens to her?" said Rick.

Michonne stopped opening draws and came to stand near Rick. "Carol's strong. She made it on her own, through losing the girls, Terminus….if anyone can survive, it's her."

"Rick!" they heard Daryl yell from the living room. All three left the bed room to see Daryl's face pressed against the window looking down at something on the street below.

"What's going on Daryl?" asked Michonne.

Daryl turned around to face the group. "We have to get going. I know how we are goin' to get her out."