[Author's Note: Alright, here's a long chapter because I've been terrible at updating. I didn't really know how to break it up, but here ya go.]

I saw Rick walking Carl up to the camp as the last rays of sunlight fell away from the world. I hiked back up the hill after them, seeing Rick pull Lori away from Emma. I walked over and sat across from her at the table.

"Hey." She said, looking at her hands. "Done?"

I shook my head. "The kid walked in."

She looked up sharply, looking over at Carl. "Did… did…?" She started.

I shook my head again. "We put him back in the slaughter house."

She nodded and sat silently for a long moment. "Daryl… did Merle make it?"

I looked over at her. I'd never known her to care about Merle, but she looked genuinely concerned. "They got trapped in a store in Atlanta. They handcuffed him to a vent because he kept runnin' his mouth. We went back for him and all we found was his hand."

She nodded. "Well, I'm sure he's still out there somewhere. Probably hip deep in some girl that asked what happened to his poor hand." She smiled.

I smirked. I knew it was probably true too.

All of the sudden, there was a scream from somewhere in the lower field. I stood up, grabbing my crossbow as I took off through camp, towards the field. I heard footsteps thundering beside me as the screams kept coming. I couldn't have braced myself for the scene though. I ripped out my knife before I'd even stopped running.

A walker was on top of Dale, tearing into his stomach. I jammed my hunting knife into its head. I yelled for the rest of the group, seeing Emma behind me. I looked back at Dale. He was sputtering. I knew he'd gone into shock. I could barely take in the sight of him, all of his insides spilling out of his stomach.

Andrea fell down behind Dale, telling him to hang on. "Save him!"

Hershel looked sorrowed. "I'm sorry. The damage is too intensive. He can't be saved."

"Help him!" Andrea cried, looking up at Rick.

Rick upholstered his gun and stood over Dale as Andrea cried. His hand started shaking and I knew he wouldn't be able to pull the trigger.

I swallowed, stepping up to him and taking the gun out of his hand. He made no protests, taking a step back. I pulled the hammer back, pointing the gun at Dale's head. He was still sputtering and his eyes were pleading with me. He knew he couldn't be saved.

"Sorry, brother." I said, pulling the trigger.

Andrea let out a sob, leaning over Dale's chest.

I felt like the gun weighed twenty pounds as I handed it back to Rick. I looked back at the group and Carl had his head buried in Lori's lap. Lori, Carol and T-Dog looked horrified. Emma had a single tear running down her face as she locked eyes with me.

"We can have a funeral for him tomorrow. Let's get him into the barn so he's not out in the open like this." Hershel said.

Rick numbly nodded and I waved over T-Dog. Andrea still crying moved to his shoulders as Rick and I stood on each side of his torso and T-Dog picked up his feet. Hershel had grabbed an old quilt to wrap around him. Andrea thanked him before disappearing.

I started walking towards the camp when I heard the sounds of retching. I looked around and saw a hunched figure in the grass. I walked over to see Emma on all fours, puking. I kneeled down next to her, taking her hair and pulling it away from her face.

She turned to look at me, startled by my appearance. "I'm sorry. I should… should be used to it by now." Emma said, turning away from me and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"That's the only thing that separates us from them." I said, nodding to the pasture where the dead walker still laid.

She nodded. "He was a good man."

I nodded with her. "C'mon." I told her, standing up and holding my hands out for her.

She took my hands and I pulled her to her feet. She walked a few feet before she grabbed her stomach and leaned over like she might puke again. "Sorry." She said, righting herself.

I shook my head, wrapping my arm around her waist to keep her upright. I walked her out to my tent in the field, sitting her down on a log. I started a small fire, knowing neither of us was going to go to sleep anytime soon.

Emma looked so small and fragile, sitting on the log. She was staring intently at her left forearm and I remembered the day I took her to the hospital because it wouldn't stop bleeding. She looked up at me and saw me watching her. She gave me a sad smile. "You know why I did it?"

I shook my head. I'd never asked. It hadn't mattered to me. I just needed her to live.

"I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted everything to stop. My mom being so overprotective; my dad giving up on us; David for only ever calling me bad names or for hitting me." She said, her eyes glazed over, like she wasn't looking at me anymore. "But after I did it, after the scissors sliced open my arm and I couldn't get it to stop bleeding, all I could think about was you."

I threw a stick in the fire before I stood and moved to sit next to her on the log. "Why?"

She gave me a sad smile. "You were always my guiding light. I knew the second you walked into that library, drunk out of your mind, you'd be the biggest part of my life. And you were. You saved my life."

I shook my head. "I drove ya to the docs. That's what saved ya."

She leaned into me. "If you hadn't picked up the phone, if you hadn't gotten a job to fix up that truck, if you hadn't made me talk to you on the way there. The docs didn't do any of that. And I never thanked you."

I shook my head again. "It ain't nothin' I wouldn't do over." I told her, pausing for a moment. "You were the only one that ever gave a shit about me. I couldn't let you go."

I hadn't meant to word it the way I did. I'd meant it to come across less sincere and a little harsher, the way I talked to everybody else. But I couldn't. I couldn't make myself talk to her like that.

"What'd you do when you got that fancy paper?" She asked quietly.

I hesitated and the silence between us was incredible. "I took the lug wrench out of my truck and dented the wheel well bad 'nough I couldn't drive it without fixing it."

She looked surprised. "Your poor truck?"

I nodded. "And then Jesse had the nerve to ask if I was fuckin' goin'." I scoffed.

"Always a charmer." She commented.

I nodded, sitting there in the quiet until I heard footsteps. Carol appeared, holding two plates. She gave us a soft smile. "We cooked up the rabbit and squirrel. Since you caught it, we didn't figure you should miss out."

"Thanks." I said quietly, standing to retrieve the plates.

"You alright honey?" Carol asked, sitting on Emma's other side.

She nodded stiffly. "He was…" She cleared her throat and I saw her blink a couple times. "He was a good man."

Carol nodded sadly. "That he was." She said, running her hand over Emma's back. "Let me know if there's anything I can get you." She said, standing up and glancing at me before leaving.

I handed one of the plates to Emma and she just looked at it. "Best eat."

She looked up at me before looking back at the plate and taking a bite of the rabbit. We sat there in silence until I saw the fire at the camp go out.

"Ready for bed?" I asked her quietly.

She nodded numbly.

I stood up, pulling her to her feet and leading her to the tent. "There an extra bag in there."

"What about you?" She asked.

"I'll sleep out here." I said, gesturing to the open space in front of the fire that was dying.

She gripped my hand, making me look at her. "You think that little of me? That you can't even sleep in the same space?"

I looked down at her, my hand laying gently against her cheek. She closed her eyes and for a brief minute, I forgot the world had ended. It was just me and her. "Ya really want me to sleep in there?"

She nodded, opening her eyes. "I don't want to sleep by myself any more. I ain't askin' ya to sleep with me. I wouldn't ever do that. I know I left and broke your heart. It's all my fault, Daryl. And I'm so, so very sorry. But I can't be alone anymore. Not even in a tent because it's too hard." She said in a rush, a tear falling from her eye.

"Shhh darlin'. I ain't goin' anywhere." I told her, running my thumb along her cheek.

She nodded quickly. "I'll uh… I'll let you put out the fire." She said, ducking her head as she unzipped the tent and disappeared inside.

I turned, doused the fire and making sure it was out before crawled through the tent mouth. Emma was snuggled into one of the bags against the far wall. She watched me as I fell onto mine. I toed off my shoes and shrugged out of my denim jacket. I started to pull off my shirt when I looked over at her.

"Sorry." She said, quietly. "I know you don't like people seeing them." She said, turning around to face the other way.

"I just didn't want to scare you." I said quietly, pulling the shirt over my head. I couldn't sleep with the stupid thing.

"I've seen them before." She said from the other side of the tent.

I nodded to myself. "Not all of them."

She was quiet. "I didn't know you had more."

"Got some new ones." I told her.

"I ain't gonna look at 'em if you don't want me too. I ain't got that right no more." She said.

A lump formed in my throat and I figured it was my pride clogging my windpipe. "You got more right than anybody."

She was silent for a long moment and I wondered if she fell asleep. "I kept the ring, ya know." She told me.

I was quiet, trying to process her words. "Why?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"I ain't gonna lie; I tried to get rid of it twice. With the college loans and my momma goin' into the hospital, I thought about it hard. But it was the only thing I had left of you. I couldn't let it go." She said.

"I didn't know your momma went into the hospital." I told her.

She rolled onto her back so she was staring at the top of the tent. "She had a stroke. She's been gone almost four years now."

"I didn't know." I said, feeling the guilt weigh on my chest.

"I knew I had no right to come back and just start talkin' to you again. I invited her friends and her side of the family. There was almost fifty people show up. I sold the house to pay off the rest of my student loans." She said.

I ran my hands through my hair. "I never even knew you were in town."

She glanced over at me in the dark. "I know. I told Merle not to tell you. He told me when you went in and got off work. He grows on you."

I shook my head, somehow a laugh escaped my throat. "That he does."

"I'm sorry." She said after a moment of silence.

"Ain't nothin'." I told her, crawling into the sleeping bag.

We didn't say anything else. It took a while, but I heard her breathing even out and I felt myself relax a little bit.

I rolled over, opening to eyes. I'd heard something. I sat up, looking around the tent. The first rays of light were coming up over the hills. I looked over at Emma and figured out what woke me. She was crying in her sleep, balling the sleeping bag around her fists.

"No." She cried softly. "Daryl. I'm sorry." She whispered against the nylon materiel.

I pulled myself out of my bag and unzipped hers, pulling her into my arms.

"I'm sorry." She whispered through tears, gripping my arms.

"Shush, darlin'. It's alright. I'm right here." I whispered in her ear.

She opened her eyes and looked up at me. She seemed alarmed by the water on her face, quickly wiping it away. "I'm sorry. I-I guess I had a bad dream." She said, trying to pull away from me.

I couldn't let her go, seeing her hands shaking. I pulled her back to me and she let me. I held her close. "I thought you died. You were covered in blood and you couldn't breathe." She said, finally hugging me back. "I thought I lost you." She whispered.

"I ain't goin' anywhere. I'm right here." I told her.

We stayed like this until the sun came up over the hills in the distance. "C'mon baby girl. Let's get you somethin' to eat." I told her.

She nodded, sliding off my lap. She put on her shoes while I pulled on my shirt and jacket and tied my shoes. I grabbed my crossbow and opened the tent door, holding out my hand to help her up.

She said a quiet thank you and we walked up to camp together.

Rick spotted us and waved us over. "Daryl, I'd like you to help me and T-Dog dig the grave."

I nodded, giving Emma one more glance before I followed him over to the oak tree.

We all stood in a semi-circle around the grave that was now Dale's. Hershel said a few nice words and then Rick stepped up. "We're going to prove Dale wrong. We're going to show that we can still work together. I'd like to let the boy go free, out of harm's way of course. It was Dale's last wish and I'd like to do right by it."

Andrea had been able to hold her tears until then. She cried and Carol pulled her arm around Andrea's shoulders, trying to comfort her.

We all kind of hovered for a minute before Andrea and Carol turned, heading for the RV. Lori took Carl back to the camp. Emma turned to follow them and I caught up with her. We didn't say anything.

We all ate breakfast in silence, none of us willing to talk about what happened.

"Daryl, I'd like to talk to ya, if I can." Rick said as we finished eating.

"I'll take your plate." Emma said.

I nodded to her, standing up and walking towards the porch.

"I'd like you to go with me to drop Randall." Rick said.

"Why don't you take the sheriff?" I asked.

Rick shook his head, glancing at Shane. "I need someone I can trust going with me." He said quietly.

I nodded, processing the information. "So what's the plan?"

We had a plan. Rick and I were going to take Randall into one of the nearby towns, but far enough out that he'd have problems getting back on foot. We called over T-Dog to go get him out of the slaughter house for us while we loaded the rest of our gear.

T-Dog came back, informing us that Randall was gone.

Emma came up to me looking worried. "I haven't seen Shane either."

We started searching the farm house and the barn. After a short while, Shane stumbled back into camp, looking like he'd gotta into a fight. "Randall," He said, out of breath. "Randall got the drop on me."

"Daryl, Glenn, go comb the east field. See if he got far. Shane and I will go look through the south pasture." Rick said, going full leader mode.

I grabbed my crossbow from the tree it was leaning against when Emma stopped me.

She looked fearful. "You be careful. I don't have a good feeling about this."

I nodded. "I will." I said, jogging to catch up with Glenn.

The sun was setting in the distance as Glenn and I searched the woods. I'd found where Shane and Randall entered the woods, catching the tracks in the fading light.

"There was a struggle, right here." I said, gesturing to the area of ground that was disturbed.

"They fought? There's no way Randall could take down Shane." Glenn said, keeping a look out.

"Nah, I don't think he did. The tracks are all wrong for what Shane said happened." I told him, trying to see them better in the fading light.

"Walker." Glenn whispered, tapping me on the shoulder.

I ducked behind a tree as Glenn did the same thing. It saw me standing behind the tree and dived at me but Glenn impaled him with his machete.

"Thanks." I said, looking down at the body. "Ain't that what Randall was wearing?" I said, leaning over to roll the body.

"Holy shit. That is Randall." Glenn said.

"He bit? Scratched?" I asked, standing to look out while he examined the body.

"No. He's not bit or scratched. His neck's broken though." Glenn said.

"Shane lied." I said. Like that was any surprise.

"We gotta tell Rick." Glenn said and we rushed back to the farm house. "Randall turned. He's a walker."

"Did ya find the walker that killed him?" Hershel asked us from the deck.

"He wasn't bit. His neck was broken." I told them.

"Oh no." Maggie said, covering her mouth and wordlessly pointing.

Down, in the field where Rick and Shane were supposed to be searching, a massive herd of walkers was coming through the trees.

Lori ran up. "Carl! Carl's gone. Have you seen him?"

We shook our heads.

"We have to get to the basement." Hershel said.

"We can't just hide in the basement. A herd that size? They'll tear the house to pieces lookin' for us." Maggie said.

"The cars. We can use them to lure the walkers away from the house." Glenn said.

"We got some guns. We can kill as many as we can." T-Dog volunteered.

"We won't be able to fend off a herd that size." Emma said, appearing at my elbow.

"This is my farm." Hershel said firmly. "I'll die here."

"What're we waitin' for?" I asked, running to the motorcycle. I kicked it to life and everybody else grabbed a car and we headed for the barn. I caught sight of the smoke and saw fire licking at one of the corners. I fell back and shouted to Jimmy to take the RV to get Rick out of the barn.

He did as he was told. I saw the walkers swarm the RV and I could hear Jimmy scream. T-Dog and Glenn and Maggie broke out of the caravan. I saw T-Dog pick up Lori, Beth and Emma. Trying to corral the walkers wasn't going to work.

I saw Carol, running from a group of walkers. I revved the engine and ducked around them, shooting two as I went. I stopped in front of her and she climbed on. We took off down an old dirt road, leaving the burning barn and the herd of walkers behind.

We rode through the night, trying to find a road to get us back to the highway. Glenn was right; the noise did attract the walker's, but I couldn't exactly stop to pick up another vehicle. And I'd already lost my truck; I wasn't going to lose Merle's bike too.

Carol and I decided the highway was the best bet. We'd left supplies for Sophia that we'd forgotten after we found her in the barn. It took a while, but we found a paved road and not too long after that, we found T-Dog's truck with the girls in it and Glenn and Maggie's SUV.

I pulled up beside the truck. I needed to know that Emma was okay. I saw her nod and that was all I needed. I fell back a little behind the truck as the path through the abandoned cars got narrower.

We stopped, parking the cars.

Lori ran over to Rick and Carl. Maggie and Beth ran over to hug Hershel. Carol and I got off the bike. I wanted to hug Emma, but I didn't want to be obvious. I never was all that good at PDA.

"I'm fine. Just… shaken." She told me.

Even after all these years, she knew the look I was giving her. "I'm glad that's all you are."

She nodded and we joined the rest of the group.

"Shane attacked me last night. Told me I wasn't a good leader for the group. He tried to shoot me, but I killed him. Jimmy died too, trying to save Carl and I. The RV got overrun." Rick said, his voice heavy with sorrow.

Lori covered her mouth at the news of Shane's death. We all knew Shane and Lori had a thing before Rick came back; thinking Rick was dead. None of us brought it up though. We knew better.

"Patricia got attacked trying to save me." Beth said, almost too quiet for us to hear.

Hershel pulled her close. Maggie rubbed her sister's back.

"Andrea might still be alive. She got separated from us, but I didn't see her go down." Carol offered.

"We could go back. Go look for her." I volunteered.

Rick shook his head. "There's no way to find her. If she made it out, she'd head for the woods. It's dangerous, but she'd be away from the farm. What we need to do is move forward."

We agreed to keep moving. Maggie and Glenn took Beth and Carol. Hershel's SUV fit him, Rick, Lori, and Carl. Then T-Dog took Emma.

It was early evening when our caravan stopped in the middle of a country road. Hershel's SUV ran out of gas.

"We'll camp near the road and scavenge for supplies in the morning." He told us when we were all gathered around each other.

I could almost feel the doubt in the air.

"We found each other, against all odds. We stay here, together. Or else we risk getting stranded." Rick continued.

"We're already stranded. And there's walkers everywhere." Glenn spoke up.

"There's a place out there for us, where we can build a new life. We just have to find it." Rick told us.

"Tell them about Randall." Emma whispered from next to me.

"Glenn and I found Randall. He turned without being bitten. His neck was broken." I spoke up.

Rick nodded and looked conflicted. "We're all infected." He said solemnly. "At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever this virus is, we all carry."

"What?" Maggie hissed.

"We're infected?!" T-Dog exclaimed.

"I had no way of knowing if it was true or not. I'm sorry." Rick said, walking away from us.

I looked down at Emma. She looked scared. "We're all going to turn into walkers?" She asked.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Nah."

It started getting dark and T-Dog and I collected wood to start a fire. We were all huddled in the ruins of an old stone structure. The quiet was nearly eerie. Nobody was talking or planning. I hadn't liked the constant chatter, but it was better than sitting here stupidly.

Emma leaned into me unexpectedly. "Do you remember the second day you got outta juvie?"

I was surprised she brought it up. Honestly, I was surprised she remembered it at all. "Which time?"

"Don't be like that. The time I met you." She said.

I nodded, aware we had the attention of the others.

"You paid off my car repairs."

I shook my head. God that was a long time ago. "It was the third day and you were so mad at me."

"Why did you get mad?" Carol spoke up.

"Up until that point, I was pretty much paying my own bills. I lived with my mom, but I had a part time job after school. So I paid for my phone extension, my car loan, my car repairs, my school supplies." She said with a little smile. "And this guy is outta juvie for three days and thinks he can just pay my crap off."

I shrugged, slightly uncomfortable with the attention we were receiving. "I owed you."

She shook her head. "Nuh uh, cowboy. Don't even start that one again."

"How'd you two meet?" Maggie asked us.

I looked over at Emma. I didn't want them to hear the real story.

Emma cleared her throat, looking over at me. "It was a Thursday night, my junior year. I was within a half hour of closing the library when somebody," She said, giving me a pointed look. "Stumbles, drunk off his ass, into the children's section. He's screaming and hollering, making a bunch of noise. Pretty much everybody abandoned the place."

I ducked my head, appreciating the fact she left out the major details.

"So I walked over and told him to get off the little stage he was on. He said make me. I told him I would, except that would involve me pulling his legs out from under him and if he fell, I wouldn't be able to pick him up." She smiled, like it was a fond memory.

"Ten bucks says the cops got called." Glenn spoke up.

Emma smiled. "They did, actually. One of the librarians, I think. Anyway. I think it was a… drunk and disorderly? Or drinking under the age?"

I shrugged. "A friggin lifetime ago. I got no clue."

Emma shrugged. "I showed up for the next visiting hours at juvie and he had been so drunk, he didn't remember any of it."

"Little shit came to see me every damn Wednesday." I said to no one in particular as I watched the dirt below my boots.

"Oh, it was fun. I knew all the wardens by name. I'd talked with them enough; I knew the exact procedure for when he finally got released." Emma spoke up. "I think Merle was even in Jail then, right?"

I nodded. "Alabama State Pen. Did a year for attempted robbery."

"That sounds just like Merle." T-Dog said, shaking his head.

We spent the rest of the night in comfortable quiet.