Yay tenth chapter! This thing is almost 100 pages long now (98 technically). Had been hoping to post this this morning, but accidently slept in and had to rush out the door to drive two hours to a college tour haha so here it is now twelve hours later. The college I visited is about half an hour away from my grandma and a couple aunts/uncles and cousins so I stopped and visited some family. That was nice. Brought my laptop along hoping to write in the car, but that just didn't happen.

Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed this story. Special thanks to sillygabby, las131984 (I've memorized the numbers in your username now), Starcrier, Black Roses Wilt, and redangel2463 (oh woop, got your numbers too) for the reviews!

Chapter 10 - Life Choices

Part of her wanted to take up Lori on that offer to talk. Part of her wanted to forget that last night had ever happened. She was almost grateful for the hangover, between the headache and the nausea she couldn't feel her arm. It was just a bruise, not even a deep one, looked worse than it was. It was still a painful reminder. Dale had noticed it in the hallway this morning, it wasn't like she could lie - the fingers were clearly outlined - but she could do exactly as she had when it came to Merle, not tell the truth. She'd just shook her head and gone off to the kitchen.

Shane was another ill reminder, none of this would have happened if she hadn't listened to him. He'd had good intentions, good reasoning even, wasn't his fault that Renee couldn't keep her trap shut. Whatever the reasons he'd given her though, it wasn't the same, Rick had been a different situation. There was nothing he could've done for him, but she could've told Daryl. She should've told Daryl - before, back when they could've done something about it.

Shane nodded to her as they turned the corner together, he looked a little worse for wear too. Two red scratches tracing down his neck.

The kitchen was quiet, any conversation kept to whispers and non-committal grunts. She swallowed heavily when she saw Daryl - when he saw her. His eyes flicked between hers and the mark he'd left on her arm, and she brought a hand up to cover it. She just wanted coffee right now. Lori pulled out a seat next to her, and she quickly took it, keeping her eyes on the plate of eggs.

Every time one of the kids giggled her headed started pounding again. She could feel Daryl's eyes burning holes in her skin, but she didn't want to look up to see if he was still angry. Instead she poked at the breakfast - apparently the eggs had been powdered, she didn't even know that was a thing. The texture looked all weird though. Her stomach roiled and she shoved the plate away.

Waking up had been a mistake. It was too early, and her head hurt too much, and everytime she thought about Daryl it just got that much worse.

"Renee will you play tag with us?" Jada asked just a little too loudly, the other kids giggled.

"Not right now," she groaned, standing up. She needed to go back to bed, "Maybe later."

"Renee?" Lori called as she headed for the door, "Where are you going? You need to eat."

"I think I'm going to go throw up," she grumbled.

"Damn, and I thought my cooking was good," She heard T-Dog laugh as she turned into the hall, and slunk back to her room. She was going to stay there for a while.

Daryl watched her go, wondered if he should go with her. Instead he half heartedly picked at his eggs - maybe she had the right of it, they tasted like shit. Food was food though, and they'd been running low on that for a few days. His thoughts came back to Merle. She'd said they'd found a trail - he could pick it back up again, find him...he didn't want to believe Merle was dead. Renee had said she didn't know, there was still a chance. She hadn't exactly been clear last night, if he could talk to her, find out what she'd seen. Or better yet go back to the van himself.

He had a feeling she didn't want to talk to him though.

His lip curled when his eyes found Shane over by the coffee maker. He forced himself to take a deep breath. He needed to cool it. Wasn't going to make it easier to find Merle by pissing off everyone who could help him. Cleaning off the last bite of eggs he left his plate and stood. Renee could have her space, she needed it right now, but Daryl didn't give two fucks whether Shane had a nice morning or not.

He sucked on his teeth, leaning up against the wall next to him, "Renee told me about the van."

"So that's where that bruise came from," A smug grin pulled at his lips, "you know I expected that from Merle-"

Daryl's fist clenched and he had to try his hardest not to punch him, "Yeah, and you got scratched by a cat." That shut him up pretty quick. Daryl let out a heavy breath, running his face through his hands, "Look, I need to know where that van is."

"No. Ain't gonna happen, Daryl," Shane said, pouring himself a mug of freshly brewed coffee.

"Why the hell not?"

"I don't know what there is, or was, between you and Renee. That don't change the fact that you're responsible for her," Shane took a sip, meeting his eyes, "Taught the girl to look at some leaves in the dirt and shoot sticks, and now she practically thinks she's rambo. Ran off to track Merle on her own, and the way she was shootin' last night...she was lucky whoever got your brother didn't show up."

"Whad'ya mean who?"

"She said that he fell. Bunch of foot prints came out of no where and then there was no more trail to follow. Didn't know what to make of it, thought walkers were followin the road. Now I think it was someone with a car, but I didn't tell her that, cause the more likely it was that he was dead, the less likely she'd tell you. You can't go runnin off without her, not now."

Daryl took a deep breath, he had a point. Renee had hardly been able to get an arrow in a walker the other night. She was a damn near perfect shot when she wasn't thinking, but the moment her brain started going into overdrive she'd miss the broad side of the barn. That didn't mean she'd keel over if he went to find Merle, after last night she might be happy if he checked out.

"Look, I don't trust that doctor. Rick doesn't see it, but you and I both know there's something off here. I got a feeling we ain't going to be staying much longer, and if you disappear… it's gonna come down to a night when we're low on food. She's gonna wanna go hunting, she's gonna wanna go on a run, she won't have you teaching her how to use that bow anymore. She's gonna miss, and she's gonna end up dead in a ditch...or worse. You hear me?

"Now I know we don't get along all that well Daryl. But I think we can both agree we don't want Renee dead. Maybe I shouldn't have interfered the way I did, but I was just trying to look out for her. For that little girl she's got. Lori and Carl have me and Rick looking out for them, Andrea and Glenn've got Dale. Renee has you. Don't let her down."

With that Shane took his coffee and went to sit down.

She hadn't been able to sleep, the buzz of fluorescent lights was too loud. She'd turn them off if she had the willpower to get off the bed. With a groan she rolled onto her back and eyed the pistol on the bedside table, maybe if she shot them...Nah, that would be too loud too. She closed her eyes, her head felt like it was under a ton a rocks.

Just like that the buzzing stopped. She opened her eyes, and didn't see a thing. The power had gone out. As much as she was grateful for the darkness, if there was anything that she had learned over the past month - the dark didn't bode well. Ignoring the stones on her head in favor of the ice in her chest, she set one foot then the other on the floor, and felt her way to the door.

Even from in her room she could hear them yelling.

Emergency lights left the hallway in a dim glow, shadows creeping up the walls. Rick, Shane, and T-Dog ran past in the adjoining hallway, it was like watching Scooby Doo except they didn't comically burst through the door on her left. She stood still, waiting for the monster to shamble up behind them, but it never came. Monster or no, something was wrong. She stumbled back through the room, clipped the knife to her belt, put the quiver over her back and bow over her shoulder.

With that she jogged after them.

The sound of an argument grew louder as she turned the corner into the control room. Practically everyone was around Jenner, some were yelling, some were quiet, Carol clutched Sophia looking like she was about to cry. Renee's heart stopped.

"The building automatically shuts down non-vital functions." Jenner's words were hardly more than background noise, "The computers need to be kept running until the last second."

"What happens then?" Rick asked, voice dangerously low.

"The French were the last to go -" Jenner didn't answer the question. Renee wasn't listening anyway. She kept scanning over the faces. Dale, Glenn, Andrea, Jaqui, Rick, Lori, Carl, Carol, Sophia, T-Dog, Shane...Daryl. Where was Jada? Fingers were inching towards triggers, voices were raised, lights brought down low. In all of that, it would have been so easy to miss a little girl.

The automated voice of the computer echoed oddly over the metal surfaces of the control room, such a cheerful tone to define death in.

"It'll be quick," Jenner assured them. Renee glanced at the entry to the hallways, just at the end of the hall - a little girl with a one armed bear.

"Jada!" She yelled, running back up the ramp as the door closed, "Jada!"

"Painless," Jenner continued.

"Renee!" The little girl was running too, but the door was falling faster. It closed with an all too final thud, and she slid to her knees - Jada was gone, all she could see was her own warped reflection.

"You won't even know it's happened."

She whirled about, ignoring the pain in her head, the bruise on her arm. The ice in her chest melted away as she flew down the catwalk, "Open the door!" She could hear Jada crying on the other side, "Open it!"

"There's no point. Everything's on lockdown, whether I open the door or not -"

"There's a little girl out there!"

"You won't be able to leave." Jenner wasn't listening. Everything outside of that head of his wasn't worth his time anymore, was it? She wanted to scream. Jada was crying. Daryl and Shane were beating at the door with axes. The sharp crash of metal on metal was hollow in the cavernous room. "It's pointless!" He called out them, "That door was built to withstand missiles."

Daryl lowered the axe, breathing heavily he turned to stare at Jenner. Before anyone could even respond Daryl was stalking back to the control room floor, he flipped the axe grip in his hand. Shane was the first to realize what he was about to do, dropping his own axe to sprint after the other man. For a second Renee thought it was to stop him, but next thing she knew, Shane was going for a gun.

"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl yelled, raising the axe to swing at Jenner. T-Dog, Rick, and Dale were on him in seconds, ripping the axe from his hands. Shane was talked down a few seconds later. Apparently they were all going to die, didn't need to get all bloody killing Jenner, he was more than willing to do it himself. If there was any hope though, any chance the door would open and she'd see Jada again. Jenner was it.

There was a strangled sob from the floor behind her, "My girl, she doesn't deserve to die like this." Carol had Sophia wrapped in her arms, Sophia was crying too, face buried in her mother's shoulder.

"Does she deserve to live like that?" Jenner pointed towards the door, "Does anyone? There isn't a world out there for her, it's all gone. Wouldn't this be kinder?" What did he mean it was all gone? "When that clock hits zero, you don't have to worry about it anymore. You don't have to live, to survive. Your daughter won't suffer."

"That isn't your choice to make!" Renee met Daryl's eyes, just for a second, "You don't get to choose who lives and who dies! If you're so damn sure we're all gonna kick the fucking bucket, why did you let us in? We don't deserve to die, you knew that! We deserve a chance!"

Other voices added in, Renee tried to get her breath to even out. Tiny fists were banging on the door outside, Jada hadn't stopped crying. She looked up at Jenner, "Please."

The weight on her chest was lifted with the door, "Renee!" Jada sobbed, sprinting towards her, and she swept the child into her arms, gently cradling her head in her hand. She stroked Jada's hair as the sobs quieted against her shoulder.

"Thank you," Rick said. The clock was at four minutes. There wasn't time to go back for their things. Clothes could be replaced, another copy of Narnia could be found - they wouldn't get to come back to life. At least not in a good way.

She was a few feet out the door when Jada let out a cry, "Franklin!"

Renee slid to a halt, the bear was at the foot of the catwalk, down near the control center. She glanced back down the hall, the others were starting to distance themselves, "Lori!" She called, "Lori! Please, take her!" She handed off the little girl into Lori's arms.

"Renee, what are you doing?" Lori called, but she didn't respond hair flying behind her as she sprinted down the catwalk.

This would be the second time she risked her life for that damn bear.

He let others pass, craning his neck for a familiar flash of red hair. Where was she? Lori was coming up near the end, Carl's hand in her's, Jada pressed into her side. She wasn't there. Jaqui had decided to stay, he glanced at the dark entrance to the control room. Renee hadn't, had she? He reached a hand out to stop Lori.

"Where is she?" He asked, looking towards the door again. Why the hell had she gone back?

Lori looked back at the door, "She went back. I-I don't know why -" Daryl cursed, pushing past her and running for the control room. He'd already fucked up enough where Renee was concerned, he'd be damned if he let her die too. Girl hadn't given him a choice when it came to Merle, if he had to he'd pick her up and drag her out.

"Renee!" He barked, standing in the door. She was down there, watching Dale and Andrea with a defeated expression, Jada's teddy bear dangled from her hand. It suddenly hit him she hadn't gone back to die, the girl had gone back for a fucking bear. If they got out of this alive, he was gonna kill her.

He was down the catwalk in seconds, "C'mon," he growled, looping his arm around her waist.

"No!" She snapped, voice cracking. He loosened his hold, arm still cradled around her midsection. "Dale...please." They needed to go, he held back another snarl, shifting impatiently. That clock was running down fast.

"I'm not going unless she goes." Dale said, holding up his hands, and then jerkily folding them back across his chest.

"Dale…" Andrea sounded tired.

"Dale you're not helpi -" Renee sounded like she was about to start crying. He glanced at the clock. They had just under three minutes.

"It's his choice. He wants to die for his righteous bullshit, let him." Daryl spoke softly in her ear, though all he wanted to do was yell, "We need to go. Now." He tightened his grip and pulled her back, she struggled at first, but pretty soon he had pushed her in front and they were running. That dumb ass teddy bear flopping back and forth. He held back a bitter laugh, nearly gotten herself killed for a bear.

The scent of smoke lingered heavily in the air. Her ears were still ringing from the blast, her head still pounded from her hangover. At least the kids had stopped crying. They all sat on the curb in front of the RV, staring at the cream colored metal instead of the blackened building and the piled up corpses. Jada had Franklin clutched to her chest, Sophia held her doll, Carl just kept glancing up at Shane.

Dale and Andrea had come out after all. Still, that was three people in as many days. Amy, Jim, Jaqui. She shut her eyes tight and tried not to think about it, her head hurt too much to cry right now.

Jenner had said something, the world was gone...the French were the last ones to lose power. The fact that no one was coming to save them didn't hit her as hard as she'd thought it would. She'd been expecting a mactruck, it was more like prius - quiet and roomy. There was this odd hollow feeling as she tried to grasp the concept she'd so wholeheartedly been denying since day one.

She'd seen the national guard die in Atlanta, she'd watched the city burn. Yet she kept dreaming of beaches and happy reunions, dance recitals, and a future that didn't smell like rot and death. It didn't matter if her family was alive, it didn't matter if they were happy. She was never going to see them again. She'd never tease her brother again, never lean over a car engine with dad, or lay on mom's shoulder while she stroked her hair.

It was time to let go.

"We're going to need to leave a couple cars," Rick said, "Siphon their gas, redistribute it among the ones we take." Everyone nodded, silently agreeing. They needed to leave, fast. The blast had been huge, every walker in the city would be headed this way - and they barely had the fuel to get half a mile.

"We can leave the Camaro," she said quietly. The old thing took up too much gas anyways. "Me and Jada can just ride in the RV."

"Thank you," Rick said with a nod. Just like that.

"What are we gonna do now?" Shane asked. Glancing between the men, "If we can scrounge up some gas, some food, we can make it out of the city - get up to Fort Benning."

"Why?" Renee asked, and they turned to look at her. "You heard Jenner, there's nothing left - there's got to be something closer, something like the quarry."

"Just cause the government fell doesn't mean the soldiers will be gone." Rick reasoned. "They had weapons, ammo, food. It's worth a shot."

"So was the CDC," she said, gesturing to the burnt rubble, "Look where that got us."

"I don't think you can blame, Rick -" Lori started.

"I'm not...I just, its a hundred and twenty miles. Is that going to be worth it, for a...for a shot?" They'd already lost so many people. They'd come so close to losing more today. The past was in the past, this was now. She had Jada and Lori, Andrea and Dale, Shane, Glenn...Daryl. Ever since this had started she had been dreaming that her family was happy on a beach somewhere. She was awake now. She knew that she couldn't guarantee her family, this family, would be happy. Couldn't guarantee they'd live, or survive, couldn't guarantee anything these days.

But she had to try.

Well that was chapter 10! We're done with season one now! We won't jump straight into season two, there'll be a bit of an interlude going over some deleted scenes, some scenes of my own making etc… So we have a couple more chapters before we'll make it season two. I really hope you guys enjoyed, and I hope to hear back from you all :)

See ya soon!