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The men didn't notice Daryl when he slipped away. He crossed the field, walking towards his tent. He was ignoring Lori and Andrea as they called out to him. He just needed to talk to her, needed to see her. He took a hold of the straps across his chest, holding onto his cross bow comforted him. It helped him to refocus. He took a deep breath as he came to the door of his tent. She was sitting on his cot, looking through their pictures. He cursed silently. He had been looking at them earlier in the day and had forgotten to put them away. Sage was frowning as she slowly moved through each picture.
" Sage." He said. Her head snapped up and she looked at him through the mesh that was his tent door.
" Where did these come from?" She asked.
" Took them out of your backpack when I found you." He said.
" Why?" Daryl shook his head but didn't answer her. He had no answer for her. " We didn't just have sex, did we? We won't have take these pictures if we were just sleeping together. We were a couple, won't we?" Sage asked. He sighed and looked towards the field. The men were moving towards them. "Daryl?" He looked back at her and nodded.
" We were." Sage frowned as she shook her head.
" Why didn't you ever tell me? Why did you keep this from me?" She asked as she stood up. She was holding the pictures against her stomach.
" Sage?" Rick's voice reached her a second before she saw him. Daryl moved out of the way slightly. "There's someone here to see you." The man who claimed to be her husband stepped forward with a smile and Daryl wanted to stab him in the throat. His mouth went tight as his eyes narrowed.
" Hi, Sweetheart." The man said. Daryl tighten his hold on the straps to keep from launching at him and wrapping his hands around his neck.
" Who are you?" She asked.
" It's me, Mike, your husband." Mike said. Sage shook her head slowly.
" I don't know you." She said.
" It's okay. I can prove that I know you." Mike said.
" How?" She asked.
" You have a tiny tattoo right here." Daryl's eyes followed Mike's hand as he pointed low on his stomach. Daryl's stomach contracted. It was so low that only someone who had seen her naked or at least in her panties, would know she had a tattoo there. " It's time to go home, Sweetheart. We have a little one waiting for us."
That was it for Daryl. He walked away without another word. He couldn't hear anymore. One of his worst fears had just come true. She had been intimate with another man and married. She even had a baby with someone else. He disappeared into the woods. His face was dark, his mouth was tight and his stomach was upset. He moved silently.
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No one noticed him at the edge of the woods. No one noticed him watching as she walked out of the farmhouse with her backpack. His face was hard and his eyes were shut down when she climbed into the backseat with her husband and another man. He was forcing himself to take slow, deep breaths to calm himself. For the second time, Daryl watched her drive away from him. For the second time Daryl let his pride let her go.
As soon as the cars disappeared from sight, Daryl started back to his tent. He was going inside and not going to come out for a while. The group could go hungry for a night, he could care less. When Rick said his name, Daryl ignored him and kept walking. The cop knew better than to push the hunter. Daryl needed his own space, it was written all over his face. He moved to his tent and unzipped the door.
When he went inside, he turned around and zipped it close again. He slipped his cross bow off and set it on the ground. He walked to his cot and sat down. He picked up their pictures where she had left them then laid down. He held them above his face and started looking through them again. He frowned and started flipping through them faster. Some were missing, she had taken a few of his favorites. He sighed and dropped his hands to his chest.
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Mike's arm was around the back of seat and he was smiling as they drove. Sage felt uneasy and wished she had fought to stay at the camp site. She clasped her hands together and stared at her lap. Why hadn't Daryl came and said goodbye to her? He had disappeared and never returned. She frowned as she thought back to him. He was the key to her past, she felt it. Mike may be her husband but she felt nothing towards him. She at least felt a pull towards Daryl. She sighed as she shook her head. Why hadn't he come for her?
The ride didn't take long so Sage was hopeful that she could go back to the camp when she wanted. She could try and go back the next day to talk to Daryl about her past. She sat up straight, suddenly concerned with the complex in front of her. Mike had said they had a little one waiting for her. What was she going to do with a little one? She didn't know the first thing to being a mom. How old was this little one? How could she have a child and not remember it?
" Excited, Sweetheart?" Mike asked as he took her hand.
" I'm not sure. I'm nervous. I can't remember anything." She said when the car stopped.
" Oh don't worry, I will help you remember." He said.
Mike was out of the car first. He reached in and held his hand down to Sage. She frowned slightly but slipped her hand into his. Mike smiled again as he pulled her out the car. She took her hand back and slipped her backpack onto her back. She just wanted to get inside and look at the pictures she had taken from Daryl. She was sure if she stared at them long enough, it would trigger something.
Sage followed Mike inside the complex. He lead her down a hallway and Sage noticed there were jail cells lining each side of her. She started to get nervous, something wasn't right. Mike stopped at a cell and took out a key. He unlocked the door then faced Sage with a smile. She glanced behind him and met eyes with a little girl who couldn't be more then 13.
" What is going on?" Sage asked when she looked back at Mike who smiled and pulled out a gun from his back.
" Welcome home, Sweetheart." He said a second before his gun made contact with the side of her head. Blackness surrounded her at once.
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It was in the middle of the night when an idea pulled Daryl from his sleep. Mike was lying. Sage wasn't wearing a wedding ring. She hated to called Sweetheart, hated it. She never let anyone call her that and had told him many times how much she hated that nick name. They had only been apart a year and half, a year and half. Sage would never have married a man that fast. She had to have met him as soon as she moved and started dating him right away and Daryl knew better. She didn't move that fast. She won't have married someone that fast, he kept repeating. He found her not far from where he was now so that meant she had to be close. He was going after her, something wasn't right and he was going to find out what it was. If nothing else, if she was really married with a child, Daryl would know then. He would know and he could live with that. He wanted a chance to explain himself and wanted to make sure she was okay, then he would leave if she wanted him too. If she didn't want him to leave, he smiled in the darkness. Well, he'd deal with that in his own way.