A New Road

by jemlou

The work of one man had destroyed everything they had, everything they loved. After losing what they had worked so hard to keep, the group have to find a new path to follow in the world. (BOOK TWO) -HIATUS-

10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

I had seated myself down on the floor beside the bed when Carl walked in. Daryl had sprawled himself back out across the cot, hissing pitifully at his injured foot, and I had decided to move off the bed to provide him some room. My cheeks were still slightly flushed from the previous moment between Daryl and I, though Carl didn't appear to notice and smiled at us both in greeting. He eyed the room around him carefully, and I couldn't help but notice his hand tightly on the gun on his belt, before the young boy walked over to stand at the end of the bed. His eyes immediately glanced down at Daryl's bandaged foot.

"Got something ya wanna say to me, Kid?" Daryl muttered, his voice grumbling irritably. Carl smirked at his tone.

"Merle told me what happened." Carl replied before pointing at Daryl's foot. "Is it true you have big holes in your foot now?" I saw Daryl's eyes narrow slightly into a glare. Carl took that as his answer and his eyes widened with curiosity. "Can I see?"

"Has Michonne gone with your dad and Merle?" I asked quickly before Daryl could reply. Carl smirked again at Daryl before turning to me and nodding. He glanced around the room again.

"Dad told me to stay behind and keep an eye on things while they go back and get the others." He told me before frowning, thoughtfully. "Is it true we're going to stay here tonight? With that man?" I swallowed hard before nodding.

"Morgan has said we can stay on the floor above. Apparently there's enough room for all of us." I explained, though I noted Carl's displeasure at this immediately.

"So, we're going to stay here with him after he tried to kill us?" The boy folded his arms across his chest and I couldn't help but admire how much he looked like his father then. I nodded anyway, regardless of Carl's unwelcome tone.

"Yes we are." I replied. "And we're also going to try and convince him to come with us." Carl didn't even hide his surprise. "He's a friend, Carl. He saved your father's life and took me in when I needed shelter. Though that was a long time ago, we can't forget what he did for us. We can't just leave him behind." I watched as Carl glanced at Daryl, as if expecting the man to back him up. I was unsure what Daryl's were feelings toward us wanting to bring Morgan along with us, though I was thankful that the man remained silent, choosing not to involve himself. "I know it's not expected and I know what he tried to do, but you have to try and understand what we're saying." Carl studied me for a while, his expression thoughtful, before he nodded slowly. He didn't seem happy about it though I was glad he wasn't going to argue the subject further for now.

"Where's Morgan at now?" Carl asked.

"He went up onto the roof." Daryl muttered, pulling himself up so he was sitting up on the bed, his back against the wall. Carl eyed the door in the corner before nodding and taking a seat at the bottom of the bed, in the space below Daryl's feet. The hunter said nothing of it as Carl began to rummage through the bag on his shoulder.

"Look what Michonne and I found." He said, his voice even, before handing me what looked to be a picture frame. My heart leapt at the sight of the photograph.

It was clearly taken a very long time ago, years ago no doubt. Each of the people in the photograph looked exceptionally younger, though it could have been the cleanliness of them that made them look so different too. They were all smiling, happiness evident in their eyes. The little boy in the picture was certainly a different sight to behold than the boy that sat on the bed beside Daryl now. He looked so young, so innocent. His eyes weren't full of the heavy weight that his gaze held now. He looked more like a child and not the little man that he was becoming now. His father's face looked younger too without the stubbly beard on his face and with cleaner, shorter hair instead. Though there was so mistaking that man's identity. Studying his smile, a true smile, I realised I hadn't seen this smile for a very long time now and I was saddened by the thought. The remaining figure in the picture made my heart clench more. There was no denying it; she looked beautiful.

My mind immediately jumped back into the past, my darkened memories fighting through. Screaming, gunshot, a baby wailing. That final cry of 'Rick!' before the bone-chilling moment of the bullet piercing through two bodies and ending two lives in one. I thought of her face then, so vacant and empty, the life gone from her eyes. I recalled the Lori from my nightmares. How her eyes were so much darker and blank. So unlike the eyes staring back at me in the picture in my hands.

Swallowing hard, I drew myself away from those thoughts, knowing no good would come from reliving it all again. Instead, I plastered a smile on my face and raised my head to look at Carl. However, I saw the boy wasn't smiling back. His eyes were trained on the photo and out the corner of my eye, I saw Daryl reach towards me and I handed him the photograph without a word. In silence, the hunter studied the picture too. Nothing was spoken for a while and the silence was heavy with tension.

"Huh." Daryl muttered before snorting. "Nice haircut, little man." I watched as Carl provided a small smile in return before taking the photograph back from Daryl. He stared at it for a few moments before sighing.

"I was worried I would forget what she looked like." He admitted, his voice quiet. Neither Daryl nor I spoke and Carl continued regardless. "I wanted to go get it myself, on my own, but Michonne told me she'd come help me. We'd left all our photo albums behind at the prison and I wanted to have something of her." There was a long pause. "It's just a shame we were never able to take a picture of Judith too when we had the chance. We'll never have one of all of us together as a family." My heart shuddered at Carl's words and I provided a watery smile when Carl met my gaze. Carl smiled sadly back before turning back to the photograph. He flipped it over and got to work undoing the latches at the back so he could open up the frame. Once inside, he pulled out the picture and discarded the frame aside. Eyeing it one last time, Carl folded the photograph in half carefully and then tucked it away into his shirt pocket above his heart.

"I err," I began, pausing to clear my throat. "I found a camera when we were out getting supplies before. One of those polaroid ones that print the picture out pretty much straight away." Carl's eyes widened slightly and I shrugged. "I'm sorry that we didn't have one sooner but I guess you can have that one now. Maybe you can take a few pictures of the rest of the group? I'm sure you'd like a nice one of you and Sophia together to keep with the one of you and your parents?" After a pause, Carl nodded, beaming at me as he did. The sight of it made me feel a little better, though there was still a hint of sadness in the room.

"How long do you think the others will be?" Carl asked, changing the subject quickly. Daryl shifted a little on the bed, hissing when he jolted his foot slightly.

"Shouldn't be long." Daryl replied. "They'll 'ave to pack everything up 'nd I'm sure everyone will 'ave a few questions but they'll be back before it's dark, no doubt." Carl nodded, his eyes catching onto something.

"How'd you hurt your hand?" He asked, curiously, pointing at my bandaged hand. I glanced down at it before sighing.

"Cut it on some glass." I shrugged. "Guess we've all be through the wars today." My eyes passed over Daryl's bandaged foot and I thought of Rick's and Merle's injuries too.

"I'm fine." Carl muttered, almost triumphantly.

"Little shit." Daryl grumbled, earning himself a smirk from the boy. The hunter snorted, glancing at me. "I reckon he's takin' a few tips from Merle too. Look at the smirk on his face!" I grinned at Carl as the boy laughed to himself. "I swear if Sophia starts too, I'm gonna go crazy with all these kids smirkin' like they're that jackass." Carl snorted once before heaving himself to his feet. Pacing the room, he studied the writing on his wall, the silly smirk on his face still. Daryl and I glanced at each other briefly, curious at the sudden turn in the boy's mood, before I turned back to observe the boy in silence. He stopped in front of the wall that had the words 'Duane turned' on, a frown falling on his face. I expected him to say something, but Carl stayed silent.

The three of us chatted quietly for a while, keeping ourselves content while we waited for the others to get here. Occasionally, we'd hear footsteps from above and we'd expect for Morgan to appear from the door in the corner, though he never did. I debated going up there, to talk to him and see if I could bring any sense into the man. Though thinking it over, I realised it wasn't probably the best idea. Given Morgan's previous state, I wasn't sure how safe I would be in his presence without the aid of someone there too, as Rick was before. While I hated to admit it to myself, I couldn't deny that Morgan was dangerous in the state he was currently in. So I knew that leaving him alone right now was the better move to make.

During our conversation, Carl brought up the topic of Washington, asking us what we'd do when we got there. Though I knew both Daryl and I weren't quite sure ourselves, knowing the experts on that matter weren't here to answer though, we tried our best to reply to the boy.

"Head to Mister Scientist's lab, I guess." Daryl muttered, lounging back with his hands behind his head. I sat, leaning against the wall next to the bed, my legs outstretched before me. Carl had taken to pacing around the room again, seemingly quite agitated about something as he hadn't stopped moving for a long time.

"What if we can't get to it though?" Carl probed, thoughtfully. "What if it's overrun by walkers or there's too many around it to get in?" Daryl and I glanced at each other.

"I guess we'll solve that problem if we come to it." I replied with a sigh, leaning my head back against the wall. Carl frowned at my answer, though didn't speak up anymore about it. We were silent again once more before the sound of footsteps above were heard again. None of us moved or spoke about it, expecting nothing to come from it, so therefore it was a shock when the door in the corner opened.

Morgan stood there and regarded each of us in turn. His eyes were blank and the expression on his face was chilling to observe. His entire body was rigid and I swallowed hard at the large rifle thrown over a strap on his back. Morgan's eyes lingered on Carl for a long time, taking in his appearance and the no doubt familiar sheriff hat on top of the boy's head. Carl stared back, matching his gaze with a cool one of his own. I noticed Daryl's hand clenched the bed tightly and almost reached for the crossbow propped up beside him. However, Morgan drew his gaze away from Carl and swung his eyes towards my direction. The eyes that met mine almost made me shy away, though I braved meeting them and swallowed hard.

"Your friends are here." Morgan spoke, his voice emotionless. He paused to prop up the door he stood beside and glanced back to us all. "You can take your stuff upstairs." He eyed Daryl once more. "Better take him up there too." I noticed the glare on the hunter's face and I watched as Daryl opened his mouth to speak, before I quickly cut in.

"Thank you." I tried, attempting to smile at the man. He didn't smile back and instead walked out the room without another word, his footsteps echoing down the stairs to ground level. Sighing to myself, I got to my feet. "Carl, go help the other bring our stuff up here. I'll help Daryl upstairs." Carl nodded at my command and quickly scuttled off in the same direction as Morgan. When the boy was gone, I turned my attention then to the man on the bed.

Daryl pulled himself to his feet with a little strain, though the man refused to moan about the pain he must have been feeling. Using my shoulder for support, he steadied himself before we attempted to move towards the door leading upstairs. At first, Daryl insisted he didn't need the help and would limp awkwardly on his own before I held out my arm for him, just so he could occasionally take it to keep himself balanced. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Daryl gave in and grudgingly accepted my offered help, slinging a heavy arm over my shoulder so I could help take his weight as we ascended the stairs. Though the stairwell was narrow, we managed to climb it together, Daryl holding back the hisses of pain when he could help it. Reaching the top, I allowed the man to stand on his own and walk a few steps without any help. As he steadied himself against a doorframe, I eyed the rooms we would be staying in for the night.

It had the same layout as the floor below, though was a considerable amount duller. No writing covered the walls, which I had to admit, I was thankful for. The furniture in the rooms were dusty and dirty, though they looked in reasonably good condition beneath the grim. There was a hatch in the bigger of the rooms that led out and no doubt up to the roof, as well as a door leading into a dingy little toilet in the smaller of the rooms. There were three beds on this floor; two single cots in the smaller room and a big double bed in the larger room. The sheets looked a little to be desired but we could definitely work with it. Three beds though didn't seem very practical to accommodate our large numbers, I realised though. Before I could think much more about the arrangements, Daryl grumbled something about claiming the double bed for his own and I helped the hunter over to it.

"It'll be a squeeze but I guess we can make it work." I shrugged, smiling at the hunter as he sprawled himself out, hands comfortably behind his head. "It's only for one night after all." With a sigh, I sat myself down on the space beside Daryl, leaning back against the headboard. My stomach tickled a little at the appearance of this; Daryl and myself lay side by side in a coupled bed such as this. Chewing my lip, I felt my cheeks burn though Daryl grunted in reply, not taking in my suddenly flustered appearance.

"Ya sure about takin' him with us?" He asked, carefully. His question made me start and I glanced sideways to see Daryl staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling. Swallowing hard, I turned away and picked at the dirt beneath my fingernails absently.

"You think it's a stupid idea?" I threw back, softly. Daryl hummed.

"Ain't my place to say."

"You're the council, of course it's your place to say." I sighed, leaning my head back against the board behind us. "It's just," A pause. "After everything we've been through, after all we've lost, I guess I'm just tired of losing people. Tired of leaving people behind." There was a moment of silence before Daryl's shuffled a little beside me.

"Seems to me, that Morgan ain't the man ya thought he was though." Daryl pointed out, no malice in his voice. "Ya sure that bringing him with us, won't just cause more problems?" I thought for a moment before rolling my head to look at Daryl, slightly surprised to find his gaze already on me.

"I don't know." I replied weakly. Daryl nodded slowly before sighing.

"The man ain't thinkin' straight." I couldn't help but chuckle bitterly at this.

"I can think of a few people in our group who aren't thinking straight either." I retorted and I knew I didn't have to elaborate on who I was referring to. Daryl eyed me carefully for a moment before the sounds of footsteps coming up the stairwell cut his reply off. I turned towards the archway just as Abraham entered the room. The red-haired man eyed the room around him before his eyes drifted towards Daryl and myself seated on the bed. A smirk then emerged and I had to repress a sigh.

"Well don't you two look cosy!"

The group's belongings were all carried up the two flights of stairs and left in the corners of the rooms, ready for when we needed them. I helped those carrying the stuff upstairs, while Daryl was forced to stay on the bed and watch. I knew the hunter didn't enjoy his 'incapability' for the time being, but he didn't have much choice on the matter. Not until Herschel had had a proper look at his injury.

I smiled at Elliot as the kid limped into the room, only balanced now on one crutch for support. His leg was recovering very well and he was finding it easy to work without the aid of both crutches now. He grinned back at me before eyeing the hunter lounged on the bed. Daryl sent the boy a grimace before Elliot limped over, his crutch clicking against the wooden floor.

"Looks like you're gonna be needing my crutches soon." Elliot pointed out, nodding at Daryl's bandaged foot. The hunter grunted once. "How'd you do it?"

"Got my foot impaled on a couple of spikes." Daryl muttered. "Morgan's got 'em set up under his door mat." Elliot raised his eyebrow.

"What a welcome." He observed, glancing back at me briefly. "Is Morgan the guy outside?" Daryl nodded.

"He's letting us stay the night." I told Elliot. The kid raised an eyebrow.

"Merle says he tried to kill you all." Elliot said, his voice a little confused. I gritted my teeth, thinking about all the crap Merle had no doubt rattled off to the others.

"He's a friend of Rick 'nd Ruby's." Daryl replied before I could. "Helped 'em both out a while back." I smiled, thankful for Daryl's words. The hunter provided me with one brief nod back. Before anyone else could answer, Herschel stepped into the room, placing down a box of supplies as he did. His eyes scanned the room before landing on the three of us. I noticed his gaze drift down to my bandaged arm before turning to Daryl's foot. Nodding slowly, Herschel sighed.

"Which one of you would like to go first?"

After Daryl's insistence, I had to go first and I took a seat at the end of the double bed for Herschel to examine my cut. While I kept saying it was nothing, Herschel remained silent, cleaning out the cut before replacing Rick's former bandage with one of his own. He smiled then at me, telling me that I had to keep the cut clean and everything will be fine. At this, the farmer turned his full attention to the hunter on the bed.

With everyone in the group set up on the one floor, the rooms looked quite full as I observed from my position in the corner. Everyone was up here now and either chatting in small groups are getting medically checked out by Herschel. Both the Dixon brothers and Rick stood by or sat on the double bed while the old man took in their injuries, tittering at their idiocies as he did. Beside me, Sophia and Carl were talking quietly to each other and on my other side, Elliot stretched out, prodding and poking at his injured leg. I watched as the kid pulled back his trouser end and I flinched a bit at the sight of the bite wound etched into his skin. Swallowing hard, I kept my gaze on it, steadying my breathing as I watched the kid tugged a bit at his knee bandage.

"They too tight?" I asked, quietly. Elliot glanced at me before sending me a large smirk. One that made me grimace.

"I've got an itch." He told me, beaming still. "Wanna scratch it for me?" I raised an eyebrow, shaking my head with a scoff. Elliot sniggered to myself before attempting to scratch his itch himself. After a few minutes, the boy winced loudly, apparently catching his wound in the process of his methods. The sound halted the conversation beside us.

"Are you alright, Elliot?" Sophia asked, voice dripping with sweet concern. I eyed her innocent, doe-eyed face as she stared at the pretty boy beside me. I had to repress a sigh at the dreamy gaze she held for Elliot and struggled more so when I saw Carl's face of anger, beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, sweetheart." Elliot muttered, not looking at her as he tried to readjust his bandage again. "Don't worry about it." With that, he looked up and sent Sophia one of his charming smiles, one I'd seen many times myself. Of course, while I was immune to Elliot's attempts, I watched as Sophia blushed bright red and smile back, apparently not so lucky. I coughed abruptly and Elliot glanced at me, meeting my narrowed gaze with his own. I saw the understanding in the kid's eyes and Elliot looked away quite quickly, turning back to his bandage without looking at anyone else. It was almost comical. Sophia pouted a little to herself at this before turning back to the conversation with Carl. I studied the girl as she was occupied before turning back to Elliot.

"What a bloody carry on." I sighed, shaking my head. "Elliot, I think it would be wise to turn your charm elsewhere." I said, loud enough for only the kid to hear. Glancing over his shoulder at me, he smiled sadly.

"You know I don't mean anything by it." He told me, his tone sincere. I believed the boy, without question. His charm was just part of his character, though sometimes it was a nuisance. Especially considering Sophia's growing infatuation for the kid.

"I know you don't." I replied, shaking my head before glancing meaningfully at Sophia. "But not everyone knows it." Elliot glanced at Sophia before nodding slowly.

"I'll tone it down." Elliot said, beaming at me. I narrowed my gaze.

"You'll turn it off." I hissed back and Elliot smirked a little before nodding.

Soon enough, the chatter began to die down and I watched as Rick, Herschel and Abraham all gathered beside the double bed Daryl lounged in, the four of the them talking quietly to each other. Merle left the group to it, walking over and seating himself down on Elliot's other side. The pair smirked at each other in greeting before Merle told us that the council were discussing the 'issue at hand'. As if sensing there was to be a group meeting, the rest of the group all brought themselves into the larger of the two rooms, waiting for the council to talk. It was Abraham that got everyone's attention.

"Now listen up, everyone!" The big man hollered, silencing the murmuring. "First thing's first, this is only a temporary situation. One night is what we're hoping for and after that we carry on like normal. Daryl, Merle and Ruby gathered us a bunch of supplies today so we'll take stock and decide whether we need to get anymore in the morning before heading out. Like I said, don't get too comfortable. This ain't permanent."

"Then why are we here?" Rosita asked, her voice curious. "I didn't think we liked to camp in towns? Due to the likelihood of a bigger infestation of walkers than out in the countryside?" Abraham nodded slowly before glancing back at Rick who stood beside the bed.

"And who is that man outside?" Maggie piped up from her place in the arched doorway. "Can we trust him?" Slowly, Rick nodded.

"His name is Morgan." He told everyone, his voice tired. "And he's a friend." Silence followed.

"Are you sure about that?" Glenn asked carefully, standing beside his girlfriend with his arms folded across his chest.

"He helped me back when the outbreak first struck. Saved my life." Rick told them all, his eyes glancing at me briefly. "Later on he gave Ruby a roof over her head and gave her sanctuary for a little while, while she was travelling." He paused, his hand rubbing over the injury in his shoulder, which I knew was no doubt sore. Being shot and hurt again in the same spot wouldn't be without more pain I could imagine. "He's a good man."

"That's been thrown around a mighty lot recently, Sheriff." Merle muttered, shaking his head. "Lets not forget, this 'good man' did try to kill us today." This definitely got the group's attention. Rick glared at the Dixon brother.

"We were strangers to him then." I said, eyeing the older Dixon with a narrowed gaze. "We were walking into his home and he didn't know better." Merle scoffed before nodding.

"Right." He turned to me, eyeing me over Elliot's head with a smug sort of look. "The man's crazy though, ain't he? Lost the plot, so to speak. He's gone a little loco 'nd I'm not sure if I feel comfortable livin' with that asshole if he wants to come with us." I opened my mouth to speak, though Maggie cut me off before I could.

"What do you mean 'wants to come with us'?" She asked, glancing between Merle and Rick quickly. At this, Merle laughed a little.

"Officer Friendly asked the man to come with us." He told everyone, his voice ever the mighty. In the corner, Rick was glaring at Merle with pure distaste. The younger Dixon was no better.

"Reckon ya should shut the hell up right now, Merle. Stop stirring shit." Daryl muttered, though Merle turned to him with a dark gaze.

"Don't tell me what to do, baby brother." He hissed.

"This ain't exactly the time for you two to be having a domestic." Abraham stepped in quickly, raising his hands in mock peace. "No offence guys but take it outside if you're gonna be like that. We've got better things to talk about." The brothers both eased off slightly, turning away from each other's gazes and glaring at something else instead. The rest of the group were silent for a moment, tense at the situation, before Glenn quickly cleared his throat.

"So, you've asked this Morgan guy to come with us?" Glenn began, nodding. "Don't you think that was something we all should have discussed together before you did that? You know, as a group?" While his tone wasn't angry, I saw the accusations in his words as his gaze turned on Rick. The man, himself, nodded slowly.

"I know I should have conferred with the group first but there's no way I can leave him behind." Rick said, running a hand through his hair. As he did this, he winced slightly as he pulled the injury in his chest. It didn't go amiss.

"What about that?" Michonne asked, carefully. Rick raised an eyebrow. "Who did that to you?" She pointed vaguely at Rick's injury and the man tensed slightly, giving Michonne her answer. "Is he really safe enough to be around after he's done that to you?" Rick glared a little at the suggestion but still didn't deny anything.

"He's a friend." Rick enforced once more.

"So you keep saying." Glenn nodded. "But the truth is, a lot has changed since you knew him. People change, Rick. A lot of people who've done bad things wouldn't have dreamed of doing them before all this, but when the situation calls for it, sometimes," He paused, swallowing hard. "Sometimes it just happens. And I'm sorry that we've had to come across your friend again like this, Rick, but you need to think about what's really best here. What's best for the group. Do you really want to carry on from here, living on edge all the time, waiting to see if he'd do something again? I mean, you said he was crazy-"

"I did not!" Rick hissed, pointing at Merle. "He did and Merle Dixon's word isn't exactly God's gift, is it?" The man in question scoffed.

"Ya wound me, handsome." The man muttered, though he was ignored.

"If it wasn't for Morgan, I would have died." Rick said, his gaze drifting amongst the faces. "I woke up into this world, alone and confused in a hospital bed, with no one there for me. If it wasn't for Morgan and his kindness then I wouldn't be standing here right now. And I cannot forget that!" His eyes stopped on me and I flinched at the sudden finger pointed in my direction. "And Ruby," I glanced awkwardly around as everyone turned to me. "Morgan helped Ruby when she was all alone. He gave her shelter and food and somewhere safe to be. He didn't have to do that. He didn't have to do that for either of us, but he did. So I'm sorry if what I'm saying sounds crazy to you all, but I owe him my life and I know Ruby feels the same! I sure as hell ain't going to let him stay here alone without putting up some sort of a fight. Because, you know why? Because he deserves it! He deserves some good in his life after all he's been through. I owe a debt to that man! One I intend to repay."

The silence carried once more as Rick's harsh words were left to sink in. His eyes were flared still and I watched as his chest rose and withdrew violently as the man attempted to calm himself down. When his gaze met mine, I saw the sadness behind them. Herschel lay a hand on the man's arm, trying to relax him. With a sigh, I decided to speak.

"Back when we both knew him, he had a son. A little boy called Duane. I think he was around Sophia's and Carl's age, no more than twelve or thirteen." Glancing at Rick, I saw the man swallow hard, already anticipating the news. "He was a nice boy, kinda quiet. When I first met him, he instantly fell in love with Toby." I turned briefly to Abraham, Eugene, Elliot and Rosita. "Toby was my German Shepherd, my pet since he was a puppy. He was with me ever since the outbreak but he died a while back now." The four of them nodded and I paused to briefly ponder over my old four-legged friend. "Morgan and his son took care of me, they confided in me. Morgan told me about how his wife turned and I, in turn, told him a few things about myself too. We shared stories and if it hadn't been for the circumstances, I wouldn't have left them." I shrugged, sadly. "But I had to. I was being chased and I knew if I'd stayed then both Morgan and Duane would suffer because of my actions. And they didn't deserve that. They were good people." The silence after my words was a little shorter than Rick's.

"I didn't see any kid with him." Elliot spoke, carefully. I turned to him before smiling sadly.

"Duane turned." I breathed, turning to pick at my fingernails again. "Morgan's little boy turned, leaving him with nothing left to care for in this world. Morgan is alone. And I won't sit here and deny that he's not changed, because it's too painful to miss. But he is not evil and he most certainly isn't a bad person. After everything he's been through, he needs people. And I think if he was around others again, then he'll improve." I shrugged, glancing around everyone. "I don't think it'll be easy, but I think Morgan is worth it." I paused, an idea suddenly coming to me. "But if you people aren't happy with it, then I'll volunteer myself forward to make sure he isn't a danger to the group and to keep people comfortable. I'll be his guard if you like."

"And I will too." Rick spoke up, nodding. "If safety is what everyone is worried about then Ruby and I will make sure Morgan isn't a danger to anyone in the group. We'll keep an eye on him."

"Like babysit him?" Maggie asked, raising an eyebrow. Rick shrugged.

"If that's what it takes for everyone to feel safe, then yes." He nodded. "But I don't feel comfortable leaving him behind." I swallowed hard.

"I don't either." I breathed, levelling the silence. From a distance, a door slamming from below was heard, though no one spoke anything of it. No footsteps were heard and the group all glanced at each other, no doubt thinking about what had been said.

"Morally," Abraham was the first to break the silence. "Bringing the guy with us if the right thing to do. Though practically speaking, we're already tight for space and supplies. Is another body really the best choice? Plus we ain't really got room in the vehicles, I gotta point out."

"We could get another one?" Rosita suddenly suggested. She staggered a bit at the attention suddenly directed to her, but she smiled anyway. "I mean, I'm sure they'll be some abandon cars somewhere in town. Surely we can just hotwire one up and that'll give us a little extra room anyway?"

"I saw a few vehicles when we went out before." Daryl muttered. "Some looked in good condition, pretty sure they'll run fine." Rick nodded, grateful for the pair's input judging by the expression on his face.

"Plus Morgan's packing an entire armoury downstairs." Carl said suddenly, shrugging. "He cleaned out Dad's sheriff department so he's got plenty of weapons. He's given us half but if he came with us, then we've got them all. Plus he had a lot of supplies himself too, food and medical. More than enough for everyone." I was a little taken back by Carl's productive input, smiling when the boy met my gaze. Carl grinned back.

"His supplies would surely be something useful to have." Abraham mused, smirking a little at the thought.

"Yes, but are we just going to forget how dangerous he is?" Eugene spoke up for the first time. "Merle said he was crazy and look what he did to you!" He pointed at Rick, shying slightly away from Rick's glare. "I'm just saying, is it really wise to trust this man?"

"Like I said," Rick grounded out. "Ruby and I will take guard over him. We'll keep everyone safe."

"Yes but what happens when she's out fucking her redneck boyfriend and you're off in crazy town, both too occupied to watch over him and he then kills one of us?!" Eugene spat back. Immediately the group was in uproar.

"What did you just say?!" Rick demanded, starting forward on the man, only for Abraham to jump in between them.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl attempted to roll himself off the bed to start on the man himself, though ended up standing awkwardly on his injured foot and crying out in pain. Herschel quickly steadied the man and sat him back down. "Let me go, so I can beat that fuckin' asshole!"

"I'm just trying to think logically here!" Eugene called, raising his hands in attempt of peace.

"Logically, my ass!" Daryl hissed.

"Eugene, what you said is out of order. Though I can't let you hurt him, Rick. You know how important that man's life is right now." Abraham muttered, pushing Rick away and letting the former sheriff stumble back. Rick didn't make another attempt at the man, though Abraham remained in between them just incase.

"What I said was the truth." Eugene shook his head, his eyes wide. When his gaze turned to me, he pointed an unnecessary hand in my direction. "She is clearly seeing the delightful Daryl Dixon over there, which is all fine and dandy, but what happens when she's on guard duty over this guy and gets a little 'distracted' by her lover?" I glanced awkwardly at Sophia beside me, who was staring around with wide eyes, no doubt confused on what the hell everyone was talking about right now. "She turns the other way and 'poof', this guy wanders off and shoves a knife in one of our throats." Then he turned his attention to Rick and pointed at him around Abraham's body. "And him! What happens when it's his turn to keep watch and decides to start drifting away into his lovely bubble of crazy dreamland. He looks the other way and 'poof'," Eugene narrowed his gaze. "Same story."

"The hell ya talkin' 'bout, Mister Scientist?" It was Merle to argue with the man this time. His expression was confused as he eyed the slick-haired man. "'Lovely bubble of crazy dreamland'? Is that supposed to be some sort of scientific term?!"

Rick was staring at Eugene with a darkened expression, not breaking contact. While I knew Eugene's babblings had confused most of the group, what he was saying, dangerously touched upon the truth that only Herschel and myself truly knew. The old farmer met my gaze with a thoughtful one and I knew the same question was going through each of our minds. How did he know? Furthermore, I wondered how on earth the man had picked up on Daryl's and my relationship as nothing had been announced to anyone yet. Due to Daryl's lack of comfort with physical contact, nothing had ever been initiated in front of the group either. We didn't even share car journeys or a tent so I wasn't sure how Eugene had picked anything up. We weren't openly sneaky about anything, but we just weren't public. It was a private affair, because I knew that's what Daryl more comfortable and that was fine with me. I had always known that given enough time and the hunter would come around to the idea of being more open about it all, he was beginning to slowly already. Though Eugene had caught onto something and yet Eugene never appeared to be in the midst of anything to notice. This only infused my confusion for Eugene's apparent knowledge for it all, both Rick's and my business. Had the man been sneaking around? What else did the man know?

"What the hell are you trying to get at here, Eugene?" Abraham asked, slowly. His gaze was heavy on his friend. Eugene glanced between Rick and myself.

"I just think those we're trusting to take guard over this man, might have to be reconsidered on their ability to carry out the job to the proper standards." Eugene grounded out. "I mean, everyone's safety is at risk here."

"Hey, if you wanna volunteer for the job, no one is stopping you!" I hissed, earning myself a scowl from the man. Of course, he didn't offer.

"I'll help do it." A voice suddenly spoke up. I glanced at the two beside me, as did everyone else in the room. Carl nodded firmly, though it wasn't him who spoke. "I'll help guard Morgan." Sophia's voice was strong and confident, not wavering beneath all the adult gazes in the room.

"And I'll help her too." Carl pitched in, not without glaring once at Eugene. "Though you're wrong about Ruby and my dad. They won't make a mistake, they'll do the job right. They've helped protect this group for a long time now and they'll carry on doing so." He narrowed his gaze. "You just need to back off." At this, Eugene raised an eyebrow at the kid before shaking his head and scoffing.

"So, we're going to let a couple of kids take care of the crazy man?" He hissed.

"I'll volunteer myself too." Herschel suddenly said and finally, Eugene's expression wavered. "Unless you think that I am incapable too? Like Ruby has graciously said before, no one is stopping you from volunteering if you feel the job won't be done to your standards?" At this, Eugene didn't say anything. "With the five of us, I think the safety of the group will be just fine, should Morgan decide to join us. Unless anyone else feels anymore discomfort? Because I'm sure Daryl would also volunteer himself for guard duty," Beside him, the Dixon brother smirked at Eugene. "As would a few others to keep the security of the group if people are still not happy." No one spoke.

"Well, I guess that settles that." Abraham nodded slowly, still standing firm between Rick and Eugene. "If your friend decides to come we can scout out a vehicle in town to load up his stuff and give everyone a little extra space. For the time being though, someone better rustle up something to eat. We dine and then we rest. Another big day tomorrow, friends."

As soon as the meeting ended, Eugene 'mysteriously' vanished from sight, no doubt lurking away into some corner. Thinking over his words, I had plenty of questions to ask the guy though given his disappearance, I couldn't get my answers. Rosita and Maggie were rustling through some of the boxes, trying to gather some stuff to eat, while Glenn suggested a watch duty on the roof, offering himself forward. Michonne decided to join him and the pair climbed up through the hatch in the corner to the roof above. Herschel insisted he check Elliot's leg while the opportunity arose, just to see how it was doing and the kid climbed to his feet and took his turn on the double bed beside Daryl. I couldn't help but feel the hunter's gaze on me, his mind no doubt racing about the revelation that had just occurred. While no one had asked any questions yet, I knew it was only a matter of time. The group were certainly a curious bunch of people and I anticipated dinner to be a fun affair.

I turned to Sophia beside me, surprised to find the girl looking at me already. She smiled when I met my gaze and I was taken back by how happy she looked. Smiling back, I raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you look as if you're up to something?" I asked, carefully. She giggled and shook her head.

"I'm not up to anything. I'm just happy for you." She countered and I was taken back for a moment, a little confused. Before I could question her, the girl pouted her lips and provided an answer to my unspoken question with a series of her kissy noises. I narrowed my gaze, only succeeding in making the girl giggle. "I knew something was going on anyway." I scoffed, strangely happy that Sophia seemed to provide her approval over Daryl's and my relationship. I didn't realise until now how much I really wanted it.

"Did you?" I questioned. Sophia nodded furiously. "And how'd you work it out?" She smiled big.

"How you talk to each other, how well you get on. I mean, you're really close. At first, I thought it was just like being best friends, like Carl and me." She rattled off, her mind a buzz, no doubt. I was thankful her voice was quiet enough for just me to hear. Merle had gone from my side and even Carl had taken to wandering off, leaving Sophia and me to talk privately. I wondered if the pair had done that on purpose but Sophia continued to chatter before I could think much of it. "But you have this smile when Daryl's around." I raised an eyebrow at this, very curious.

"What kind of smile?" I asked, hesitantly. Sophia smiled softly.

"Just a really happy smile, one I've never seen you do when anyone else is around." She told me, earnestly. "And it's the same smile that Maggie and Glenn give each other." Sophia paused, her eyes drifting to look past me, in Daryl's direction. She shuffled closer. "Daryl never really smiles properly, hasn't done even since Atlanta. He kinda smirks sometimes and sometimes he would smile a little at Momma and me, but it was too small for me to be sure. But back at the prison, I started to catch him smiling properly, though I think it was whenever he thought no one was ever around to see. I wanted to know why he was smiling, because he looks nice when he smiles and I wanted him to smile more. And then I realised!" She stared at me as if she'd just made some great revelation. I eyed her with confusion, staring expectantly and waiting for her to continue. Sophia rolled her eyes dramatically, sighing loudly as she did. "He smiles like that when he's around you!"

I continued to stare at her, surprised at her thought process and how much thought had apparently gone into it all. The happiness radiating from Sophia's face though was enough to make my heart jump happily. Whatever approval I may have required from her, seemed most definitely granted judging by the look on her little face. I braved a smile.

"You figured everything out through smiling, huh?" I breathed before admitting; "Heck, nothing was even made official until the last time we were on the farm."

"Yes, but you loved him long before then, didn't you?" Sophia probed. I was taken back by her statement, how simple and easy she made it. My breath caught and I opened and closed my mouth wordlessly for a moment, struggling to know what to say. Sophia though, suddenly continued. "Okay, it wasn't all just the smiling. Daryl was always nicer when he was around you at the prison, nicer than he with anyone else. Especially when he was alone with you."

"And how'd you know that?" I asked, laughing at her serious tone on the subject.

"You'd take watch in the guard towers together, so I decided I'd ask to come join you." She said, grinning as she did. A revelation did hit me then, as I recalled all the times the young girl insisted on joining us on watch. "Sometimes I'd pretend to be asleep, so you'd think I wasn't listening." She paused, frowning. "Of course, sometimes I actually was asleep but when I wasn't, I listened to everything you talked about and he is nicer with you! Plus you both smiled like crazy and once or twice, I saw you practically hold hands!" I scoffed.

"It's as if we're married." I muttered and Sophia shoved me as I laughed.

"It doesn't matter though, because I was right!" She concluded with a massive grin. "I told Carl something was going on and he said I should stop being so nosy, but it doesn't matter anymore. I was right all along." Sophia smiled, smugly and I shook my head.

"Would you like a medal for your efforts?" I asked, receiving another shove from the girl. Despite my comments, she was still grinning like an idiot at everything, apparently nothing diminishing her happiness at the moment. Seeing her like that definitely fuelled my own happiness and I was sat smiling beside her.

Before either of us could talk, a shadow grew over us and we both looked up as Rick stood above us. He smiled at us both before turning fully to Sophia.

"I think Carl is going to go help Abraham do a stock check, do you want to go help them out?" He asked the girl, softly. Sophia nodded, happily. After giving me one last grin, the girl got to her feet and bounded into the next room where Abraham and Carl were. When she was gone, Rick turned to me, his expression turning slightly grim. "Lets go outside for a moment." He held out a hand and I accepted it, letting Rick haul me to my feet. "Herschel, we're just going to step outside for a moment, maybe talk to Morgan if we can. Is that alright with you?" The old farmer was stood beside the bed, both Dixon brother beside him, one lounging on the bed still and the other leaning against the wall. The farmer glanced between us, carefully.

"You both alright?" He asked, his question serious. I saw Rick grind his teeth together before nodding slowly. After studying us both a little more, Herschel nodded. "That's fine. Stay safe, the both of you." With that, Rick turned and headed towards the stairs. I paused, glancing between the three men one last time. I lingered on Daryl, thinking about all Sophia had said. With one last smile, I followed after the former sheriff.

Rick bounded quickly down the wooden stairs, pausing at the bottom for me to catch up to his lanky strides. When I joined him, he knocked a few times on the door leading into Morgan's room before opening it. Eyeing the place, Morgan was nowhere to be seen and we carried on through to the next flight of stairs to ground level. The welcome mat at the bottom has been discarded, so the spikes were in plain view for people to see. Rick stepped over it, carefully, before ducking out the way of the spears. I followed his movements and soon we were stood out in the medieval looking street once more.

Morgan was still nowhere to be seen and Rick glanced up over his shoulder to the roof of the building we were in. Glenn was looking over it, eyeing us from above.

"He went that way!" Glenn hollered down, pointing in the direction he meant. "He was carting a few walkers bodies on a gurney! We reckon he's probably the one making that smoke over there!" I eyed the smoke cloud drifting up in the distance, only just visible. Chewing my lip thoughtfully, I turned to Rick, wondering what he was thinking.

"Are we going to go see him?" I asked, curiously. "Talk to him again?" Before Rick could open his mouth and speak, Glenn hollered once more.

"Eugene went for a walk too!" At this, we before turned to look back up at Glenn, Michonne now standing beside him. "Went in the same direction as Morgan!" Rick met my gaze briefly and nodded once.

"Thanks Glenn!" Rick called back, before turning and making his way towards the smoke and again, I trailed after him.

"What do you think Eugene will do?" I questioned, trying to keep up with his long strides. "He's not exactly the bold type, is he? I hardly think he's gone out here to hurt Morgan."

"Yeah, well, lets just make sure." Rick muttered back.

We continued on, down the same route we'd followed when we first came here. I glanced down at the yellow painted arrows on the floor, now pointing the other direction. I frowned curiously, before we rounded the next corner and I realised where the smoke was coming from. Recalling earlier that day, I remembered the six of us walking into town and the sight of what seemed to be a pile of burnt bodies. Eyeing the rising smoke, I put the pieces together, along with Glenn's observation of Morgan carting walker bodies in this direction.

We both stopped briefly when we saw the familiar shape of Eugene stood before us. He wasn't confronting Morgan as I dreaded, but instead was observing the man from behind the wall. Sneaking, once again. With a hiss, Rick stormed forward and grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and pulling him away. Eugene made to yelp, though Rick covered his mouth with his hand. With one forceful shove, Rick shoved the man's back against the brick wall. Eugene eyed him with fear though Rick glanced to me.

"Go check on Morgan." He muttered.

"I didn't do anything to him-" Eugene tried to say, though Rick quickly hushed him. Without another word, I quickly walked towards the hole in the wall that Eugene was peering around to see. Morgan had his back to me, currently heaving one of the walker bodies into the already burning fire. I cringed at the smell that hit my nose and I eyed the remaining walkers still on the gurney. Not waiting another second, I quickly made my way back to Rick and Eugene.

"He's fine." I told Rick, watching the man relax. Rick rounded on Eugene.

"The hell you doing out here, huh?" Rick hissed. Eugene held his hands up in peace.

"I just came to see what he was doing." He countered. "Ain't no harm in that! This is a free country after all!" Rick scoffed, shaking his head. "Look, I wasn't going to do anything to him. I'm telling the truth, I just wanted to observe him for a little while."

"Why?" I asked, though Eugene sent me a very patronising look.

"I'm a scientist, it's what I do. I make observations and draw conclusions and theories from my findings." He muttered and I raised an eyebrow.

"And what do you have to conclude about Morgan now?" I rounded. Eugene scoffed, pointing in the man's direction.

"You saw what he was doing!" He hissed. "He's burning bodies!"

"Walker bodies." Rick pointed out. "There isn't anything wrong with that-"

"And what the hell is with all the writing? It's all over town!" Eugene threw his hands up in exasperation. "You only have to take one look at that street, with all the spikes and the traps, to know that his mind is seriously warped right now!"

"I thought you were a scientist, not a psychiatrist!" Rick muttered, shaking his head. "We've established all this with the group. Morgan is coming if he chooses to and we will make sure the group's safety is considered in doing so. You really want to start that argument again?!" Eugene ground his teeth before leaning his head back against the wall, apparently not wanting to start up a fuss again. "We're done discussing this, alright? If Morgan wants to come, he's coming. You best just stay out of his way if you don't like it." Eugene nodded slowly, before making a move to go. Though he was stopped by Rick's hand. "We ain't done talking to you yet." Eugene raised an eyebrow, glancing back at me as if for help.

"What else is there to talk about?" Eugene hissed. "I'll leave your crazy friend alone, alright?! Just let me head back!" He tried to move again, though Rick shoved him back against the wall.

"How about we talk about what you said before, huh?" Rick almost snarled. "About Ruby and me?" A look of understanding passed over Eugene's face and he shook his head, suddenly looking frantic.

"Look, I didn't mean anything by it alright?" He tried, suddenly very scared it seemed. "It was just in the heat of the moment. Heck, I don't even remember what I said anymore!" He tried to laugh it off, glancing between us awkwardly.

"How did you know about Daryl and me?" I asked, bluntly, knowing it was easier to get to the point. "It's not exactly public knowledge, so how the hell did you know? And please don't tell me it was a guess." Eugene eyed me carefully, looking thoughtful. I raised an eyebrow in question, though Rick growled, shoving Eugene once more.

"She asked you a question!"

"I saw you both!" Eugene quickly let out, eyeing Rick frantically. I was taken back and frowned. Saw us? "I saw you both, you know," He trailed off, a little awkward. He looked a little flustered though swallowed hard quickly. "Kissing and whatnot. I wasn't sure if it was something everyone knew or not and I got curious. I asked around subtly but everyone said the only proper couple in the group were Glenn and Maggie." He shrugged and I stared at him in disbelief.

"You 'got curious'?!" I cried. "That is none of your business! How dare you sneak around like that, you vile pig! What, do you get off on stuff like that or something?!"

"What, no, I-!"

"How many times?!" I cut in. "How many times did you 'see us'." Eugene stuttered a little. "Once? Twice?"

"It may have been a few times." I could only stare in shock.

"A few?!" Before I could stop myself, I had launched myself on him and had landed a slap across the man's face before Rick pulled me away. "What do you do, just lurk around camp, hoping to cop an eyeful?" Eugene glared at me, but didn't say anything. Instead the man scoffed and I turned to Rick then. "Am I being unreasonable here? Is this not wrong?" Rick eyed me carefully before opening his mouth to speak, only to be cut off.

"Look, I wasn't sneaking!" Eugene continued. "The first couple of times it was by accident and after that, like I said, I was," He paused, eyeing me cautiously. "Curious." Rick held a hand up before I could slap the man again. "Like I said before, I like to make observations, especially when things are unknown to me."

"You have no right to sneak around and watch people like that." I hissed. "That is Daryl's and my business, not yours! We are not some experiment of yours that you need to theorise over, got it?!" I paused and Eugene nodded briefly. "You know, you're lucky it's me you're talking to right now and not him because he sure as hell won't like what you've just told me." Eugene paled slightly.

"You're not gonna tell him are you?" He braved asking and I sent him a look of disbelief. "Look, I won't do it again, but please don't tell him! Jesus, the man would kill me!" I eyed the man before shaking my head, feeling sickened and astounded by the man's nerve.

"I'll have to consider it." I muttered, sarcastically. "Though now we've established your love for sneaking around, why don't you explain your 'theory' on Rick?" Eugene glanced at the man, warily, before ducking his head in shame.

"I've seen you talk to yourself." Eugene admitted with a sigh. "And yes it has been a few times. No, I have not told anyone. Well, I did before but I guess that doesn't count because no one believed me." He attempted to chuckle before turning to Rick, who was staring coolly back.

"Like Ruby said before, that isn't your business." Rick grounded out, his voice dangerous. Eugene nodded, frantically.

"I know, I know!" He gushed. "I just think you should be a bit more subtle, you know. Jesus, I wouldn't have thought much on it if I'd just seen you chattering away to yourself. But you were talking into that telephone, man! Stopping and starting like someone was replying to you on the other end! I won't lie, it was freaky shit!"

Rick had paled considerably, the more Eugene spoke. As soon as he started to talk about telephone, I frowned in confusion. Telephone? What telephone? I glanced at the former sheriff and noted how edgy he suddenly looked and knew there was something the man hadn't told me. And apparently this telephone was it. Eugene was oblivious to this reaction and continued to babble on about nonsense, no doubt hoping we'd stop this interrogation and let him off. I was more concerned now about whatever Rick was hiding to listen, though the more Eugene spoke, the more angry I got with the man's sneaking.

"Look, I'll stop it all now, I promise." Eugene concluded quickly. "I won't say anything to anyone about the telephone thing or your fling with the redneck and you don't tell anyone about my err, 'sneaking'." He glanced between us, desperately. "Please?" I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"Fine. As long as you stop." I muttered. Eugene nodded.

"You won't tell Daryl either?" I raised an eyebrow, not bothering to even answer that question. Eugene swallowed hard though didn't push it further.

"Head back to the others, I'm sure there's a job for you do to." Rick told the man, firmly. Eugene nodded quickly and without a word, scuttled away when Rick let him pass. I watched as the man left, disappearing around the corner from view before turning to Rick with a sigh.

"Telephone?" I braved asking. Rick glanced back at me, his expression more like a grimace now.

"Can we talk about that another time?" He tried, his voice tired.

"You know," I began, not sure I would be so willing to drop the conversation just yet. "Michonne used to talk to herself." At this, Rick looked up. "She doesn't do anymore, somehow she must have got over it." I met Rick's gaze with a shrug. "Maybe you could talk to her about what's going on? Share stories and tips or whatever?" Rick breathed a chuckle before shaking his head.

"I don't think that'll help." He muttered and I just stared back at him.

"Well, I'm running dry of ideas, Rick." I admitted. "I know things are hard, but they won't get better if you don't help yourself." Rick didn't say anything. "I told Herschel about it all. He wants to help you too but I don't know how much either of us can do without actually knowing what it's like. That's why I thought maybe someone like Michonne, who's been down that road, can help you." I shrugged again. "The longer if carries on, the more you're letting it eat you up."

"I'm handling it." Rick gritted, narrowing his eyes. I couldn't supress a scoff.

"Eugene saw you talking into a telephone and you claim you're 'handling it'?" I challenged. "Doesn't seem like handling it to me."

"And what do you know?" Rick hissed.

"Exactly!" I sighed. "I don't know anything and that's why I can't help you. I'm not the right person who can and I'd like to hope Herschel might be. But if he isn't, then you've got to start helping out, Rick, because I can't keep covering you like this. What are you going to do if your son finds you talking into this telephone you apparently have, what are you going-?" I paused, my mind tinkering back to a time a while back. Back in a place I never wanted to see again, but where we'd found shelter for one night and found two of our friends once more. Back in Woodbury for the last time. I recalled that single night we spent in that place, not against our will of course. I recalled the scene I had accidently walked into. I recalled finding the man before me sat talking into a telephone. "Where did you get the phone, Rick?" The man swallowed hard and he seemed to know I already knew the answer.

"Woodbury." He breathed and I wasn't surprised one bit. Running a hand through my hair, I sighed.

"You've been carrying a telephone around with you ever since Woodbury?" I demanded and Rick nodded. I decided I didn't want to know the details and shook my head in disbelief. "Well, first things first, you need to get rid of that phone." Rick stared at me with a look of pure horror. "Do you not want to get better?! Do you want to stay this way forever?! Huh?! Jesus, Rick, you can't go on like this!" Instead of shouting like I expected, Rick stared at me with eyes full of sadness.

"I hear her voice on the other end, Ruby." He breathed. "I know she's not real because she keeps telling me things aren't my fault. She's telling me things I want to hear, things that aren't the truth. But I can't stop," He shook his head. "Not yet."

"Then when?" I countered, softly. "When are you going to let go, Rick?" He said nothing, merely staring back with wide eyes of pure devastation. It upset me to see my friend like this, though I knew there was nothing I could do to make things right. I attempted to say something else, to prompt the man to speak some more, but a sound caught our attention. The sound of a squeaky wheel. Turning we both found Morgan stood down the path a little, the empty gurney out in front of him. He was stood dead still, his eyes stocked on the pair of us and his expression blank. I was unsure how long he was stood there, not hearing any sound of his approach. After glancing between the pair of us, his eyes finally set on Rick.

"Whose voice?" Morgan asked. I saw Rick frown a little in confusion. "On the end of the telephone." Rick tensed slightly and apparently Morgan had been stood longer than either of us expected him to have been. Rick shuffled a little, glancing down at the ground.

"Err," He began, his voice strained. "My, err, my wife." At this, Morgan nodded once.

"She didn't turn though." Morgan said, not a question though Rick nodded anyway. "You didn't have to watch as she turned into one of those monsters, have her die in your arms, watch the life leave from her beautiful eyes?" Morgan's words were bitter and I was surprised to see Rick still standing strong after. "She died. That's what you said."

"She was shot." Rick told him. "When we were running away from the place we were last holding up in, after a group of people had attacked us." He paused, eyeing the ground once more. "She was shot as she was trying to get away and was dead by the time she hit the ground." Raising his gaze, he met Rick's eyes. "She was carrying our new-born baby in her arms." At this, I finally saw the emotions flitter across Morgan's face as he took this in. His eyebrows burrowed and his lips fell down into a frown. "Neither of them made it."

"So much death." Morgan breathed. "So much death to those who don't deserve it."

"We've all lost people, Morgan." Rick tried, his voice a lot stronger. He stepped closer to the man, facing him at the end of the wheeled bed. "And doing this," He patted the mattress heavily. "Won't bring them back." Morgan stared back, blankly.

"But talking to your dead wife down a telephone will?" The man countered, voice bitter once more. I watched as Rick ground his teeth together, attempting to keep his resolve. "You stand there and tell me how to control my life and yet you can't even control your own." Morgan titled his head, eyeing Rick carefully before looking back at me. He studied me carefully before letting a sickening grin light up his face and turning back to the man before him. "Look at us, Rick. Who'd have thought this would be where we'd end up after how we started out? Who'd have thought we'd be so," He paused, as if struggling to find the right word. When he did, he smiled once more. "Broken."

"We're not broken." Rick shook his head. "We can fix things." Morgan laughed, one that sent a shiver through me.

"'Fix things'?! Is that why you're going to Washington, to fix things?!" Morgan cried and the man didn't answer. "Rick, you're so broken, I can see the cracks beneath your skin right now." Morgan ran a hand over his own face as if to demonstrate these 'cracks' he spoke of. "Heck, I can't even remember where I left the rest of myself. So God damn broken, there's pieces of me all over the place! Make sure you mind your step, don't wanna trip!" When Morgan made an attempt to move, Rick grabbed hold of the gurney so he couldn't, holding the man in place. Morgan's smile vanished from his face as he turned back to Rick.

"Morgan, we want you to come with us." Rick stated, firmly. Morgan stared back, his expression blank once more.

"Why?" He asked, slowly and drawling the word out.

"Because no one should have to be alone." I answered before Rick. At this, Morgan turned to me and I was surprised to see the smile on the man's face. It wasn't sickening or strange, it was an essence of what he once was.

"I deserve to be alone." Morgan replied, his voice soft despite his bitter words.

"No you don't, Morgan." Rick tried, though Morgan turned on him.

"And what do you know?!" He practically screeched. "You don't know anything!"

"I know that you blame yourself for what happened to your family!" Rick began, raising his voice to match Morgan's. "You said it yourself, if you had shot Jenny when you intended to, if you had put her down, then Duane might still be alive! That's what you said!"

"Because it's true." Morgan whispered, shaking his head. Rick shook his head too.

"Morgan, guilt will always follow when you lose someone you love." He tried, calming his voice down. "You feel as if it's all your fault, that you failed them, that you could have done more to protect them." Morgan nodded frantically, his eyes welling up as he listened Rick's words. "No, you know you could have done more. And the guilt eats you away until you don't care anymore." Morgan was frowning now, staring at Rick in a strange way. Rick took a deep breath and gripped the gurney before him with tightly clenched fists. "Morgan, I watched as my wife, the mother of my children and the woman I love, died right before my very eyes. I had to watch as the bullet pierced through her body, as she stared at me with lifeless eyes and as she fell to the floor." He paused, taking another deep breath. "I had to watch as my," At this, Rick bit back a sob. "As my baby girl, my sweet little baby-" He cut himself off, bowing his head. I watched as his back staggered slightly and wondered if I should do something. Though refrained and kept well back. "Her name was Judith and she was barely alive before she was taken from me." Rick raised his head to meet Morgan's gaze. "I blame myself for what happened because I didn't keep them safe. I know exactly what it's like, Morgan. I know what it's like to watch those you love most of all die right before your eyes and to feel helpless as you do so. Both of us, we're the same." Morgan still remained silent, eyeing Rick with an odd expression. "We consider ourselves as failures." More silence followed before Morgan tilted his head, frowning at Rick before him.

"You have a son, Rick." Morgan said, his voice almost sounding normal. Slowly, he shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "You did not fail him." His eyes flitted back to me briefly. "And these people that you travel with. You did not fail them either. I do not think you're a failure, Rick." I smiled slightly, glad that Rick could hear these words from someone else. I nodded once and smiled in encouragement when Rick glanced my way. When Rick turned back to Morgan, he straightened himself out, pulling back from the gurney.

"These people," Rick began. "They can be your people too. If you gave it a chance." Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"I have to clear, Rick." He said, though his voice didn't sound as strong as it did last time. A little hope began to flicker it seemed.

"Forgive me, Morgan." I began, stepping forward. "I don't want to speak out of line here, but do you think this would be what they'd want?" At this, Morgan's eyes widened slightly. "Duane and your wife, do you think they'd want you to carry on like this? I didn't have the fortune of knowing your wife, but I got to know Duane a little and I know he wouldn't want this for you. He loved you, Morgan, and he'd want you to be happy." I paused, glancing at Rick, who sent me an encouraging smile of his own. "One upon a time, you helped both Rick and I out. Rick would have been dead and I was losing my sanity at the time. You helped us, you saved us. And you didn't have to, but you did. Because you are a good man, Morgan." It had been thrown around a lot, according to Merle, but it needed to be said. "So, Rick and I would like to return the favour to you now, we'd like to try and save you if we can. Though it's hardly enough gratitude for what you've done for us both, asking you to come with us, it's a step in the right direction." I swallowed hard before continuing. "We can't replace your family, heck, we wouldn't dream of it. But we'd like to give you a chance to live again, not just surviving or clearing. We want to give you a chance to live, as you did with the both of us."

There was a sadness in Morgan's eyes, one I didn't truly notice until I stopped talking. His lips were pursed together tightly and his eyes glistened slightly in the light with unshed tears. Though he didn't cry. When I'd done talking, he stared at me for the longest of times before smiling. A smile that definitely was one long forgotten and one I couldn't help but smile back at. Sniffing loudly, Morgan was the first to look away, eyeing the gurney with a thoughtful frown now. He did so for a long moment, Rick and I glanced at each other as he did, before he turned back to the pair of us, his expression back to being almost blank. His eyes still glistened.

"It'll be dark in about an hour. We best head back." Morgan said, his tone attempting to be emotionless, but too tinged with his sadness to be believable. Rick and I nodded and I smiled one last time at Morgan when he met my gaze, before the three of us made our way back to the building in silence.

Glenn and Michonne were still on duty when we arrived back and waved at us as we approached. Morgan didn't wave and instead pushed the gurney away before making his way back inside without another word. Rick hung back a little and I paused, glancing back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What we said to him," He began, eyes trained on the door Morgan had just gone inside. "It's got him thinking."

"Do you think he'll come with us tomorrow?" I asked, curious and hopeful. Rick gave me a large smile in reply.

"Maybe." He nodded. "Though I guess we best not be too hopeful." I nodded in agreement. "You alright, by the way?" I raised an eyebrow again at the man. "With Eugene and all that." I scoffed, anger fuelling itself again.

"The man's a creepy, sneaky bastard." I muttered, shaking my head. Rick nodded in agreement before eyeing me strangely.

"You going to tell Daryl what Eugene said?" He asked, curiously. I thought a little before shrugging.

"Probably." I admitted. "Though I'll probably tell him not to say anything to Eugene, that I handled it." Rick nodded some more before a smile graced his lips. I eyed him for a moment before frowning. "What?"

"You and Daryl." Rick muttered, an amused expression on his face, and I shook my head, hoping the blush wouldn't creep onto my cheeks. Rick chuckled a little. "I'm happy for you." I turned back to the man, taking in his honest expression before smiling.

"Thanks, I guess." Rick smirked.

"Not that I didn't see it coming." He said, sarcastically.

"Please don't tell me." I sighed. "You worked it out through the smiles too, huh?" Rick grinned before shaking his head.

"I'd like to think I'm quite good friends with the pair of you and know you well enough to see something was going on." Rick shrugged. "Plus the pair of you may be good at hiding some emotions, but others," He shook his head before smirking at me again. "Not so much." I stared on, almost horrified and baffled at the same time. Rick chuckled at my expression. "Hey, I'm only joking. Like I said, I am happy for the pair of you. And I'll make sure to tell Daryl too." I scoffed, shrugging.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it." I muttered.

"And I'm sure Merle will have plenty to say on the matter too." Rick threw out, casually. I turned to him, taking in his amused expression. The bastard was too smug for his own good. "He always has plenty to say about everything, so I'm sure his brother's girlfriend will be a hot topic. Hmm."

"What you 'hmm'ing at?" I hissed.

"Just thinking about your lovely brother-in-law and all the nice things he'll have to say." Rick threw back, sniggering as he did.

"You are an ass." Rick laughed some more, before making his move to go inside. A thought suddenly occurred to me then and I quickly stopped the man. "Rick!" He turned back with a raised eyebrow. "Can I asked you something?" I asked hesitantly. Rick must have sensed the seriousness as his dropped the jokes and nodded.

"Yes, of course." He said. I studied him for a long moment, trying to bring myself to ask the question. Chewing my lip thoughtfully for a few moments, I glanced up at the building, thankful to see Glenn and Michonne weren't in view to watch us.

"How did you," I began, quietly. My heart was thumping in my chest at the thought. Rick raised his eyebrow, trying to prompt me. With a sigh, I decide to bite the bullet. "How did you know you were in love with Lori?"

Rick stared at me for the longest of times, just studying me. I shuffled awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to do. Though finally, Rick's face erupted with the largest of smiles.

"Are you-" He began.

"I don't know." I breathed, shaking my head. Rick smiled, fondly. Slowly, he nodded.

"I think you do know, Ruby." He told me, gently. After sighing deeply, the silly smile still on his face, Rick stared off at a spot above my head. "There wasn't a fixed point in time when I knew I was in love with Lori. I always used to say I was in love with her as soon as I laid eyes on her, though I think it was a childish notion. She was a year younger than me and we got introduced to each other by my brother, Jeff. As soon as I saw her, I thought she was beautiful, though we didn't start properly dating for a long time afterwards. We became good friends first, before I finally psyched myself up enough to ask her out. I think we'd been dating six months when I first told her that I loved her." He paused, smiling to himself and I couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. Finally, he zoned his gaze back to me and grinned. "There isn't a fixed period in time when you know, I guess it just depends on the person and whether or not it's the right time."

"Yes but what if I say it and it's not the right time?" I demanded quickly. "Or what if I say it and I realise that I didn't actually mean it? I mean, it would be hard enough if it wasn't Daryl too. Hearing this is going to be a big deal for him and I don't want to hurt him."

"Daryl's a lot stronger than you give him credit for, Ruby." Rick pointed out, gently. "But honestly, I can't tell you whether it's the right thing to do or not. I mean, only you can know if it's right. I can give you my personal view on what I think, but it's just an opinion." I thought for a moment, before licking my lips.

"And what do you think?" I braved asking. Rick grinned widely.

"I think you should tell him."

Morgan was sat on his bed when we entered his floor. His back was turned, facing the window in the corner, and he made no movement to acknowledge our entry into his room. We both stood there for a moment, glancing at each other awkwardly. Finally though, I cleared my throat.

"Morgan, do you want to join us for food?" I braved asking. "It should be ready in a bit." There was a tense silence and the man before us didn't move at all.

"No thank you." Morgan said, finally. "Are your people done with going out for tonight?"

"Yes, we're going to eat then probably rest." Rick replied. Morgan nodded his head.

"I pray you keep the noise down." Morgan muttered, before lapsing back into silence. Rick, beside me, sighed.

"We will." He assured the man. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Morgan." I said, before the pair of us headed for the door and up the stairs. I watched Morgan's figure as I slowly shut the door behind us, watching as the man bowed his head, before I closed it completely and bounded up the stairs after Rick.

We were greeted by the group and Rick quickly excused himself to go talk to Herschel. I glanced around the room, noting Eugene sat in the corner beside Elliot though there was a look of displeasure on his face as Merle had just sat himself down beside the injured kid. Elliot was all grins as he and the older Dixon talked and I watched as Merle began his usual routine of merciless taunts towards the scientist. I was mildly glad to see the man's discomfort. Smiling to myself, I went further into the room and found myself beside the double bed.

Daryl still lay on it and was cleaning his crossbow furiously with a concentrated expression on his face. As Herschel had been taken aside by Rick, Daryl had been left alone and with a sigh, I plonked myself down on the space beside Daryl. My weight on the bed jolted Daryl's attention and he stopped his actions to turn at me. Studying me carefully, he nodded once.

"Hey." He said before turning back to his crossbow. Instead of cleaning it now though, he placed it back down on his lap with a sigh. Immediately his eyes found a figure across the room. I followed his gaze and saw his glare was directed at Eugene. With a sigh, I reached forward and grabbed the man's hand, pulling it into my lap to hold in both my own.

"Please don't murder the man in his sleep." I muttered, running my fingers along his callous ones. Daryl snorted.

"He's a jackass." Daryl grounded and I nodded.

"He is, but please don't do anything." Daryl glanced at me, meeting my gaze.

"How'd he know?" I glanced over towards Eugene, finding the man already staring at us with wide eyes. I smiled slightly before shaking my head.

"He saw us." I turned to the man beside me. "He saw us and worked it out." Daryl narrowed his gaze.

"Saw us?" He hissed and I gripped his hand tighter. "Was he sneaking around or something?!" My lack of answer for a moment was enough for the man. "Son of a bitch-"

"I think it was by accident at first." I admitted. Daryl turned his glare away from the man and back to me.

"At first?" He picked up quickly and I shrugged, letting Daryl take his answer from that. It only made him glare harder.

"I sorted it, don't worry." I intervened quickly, before Daryl could at least start yelling at the man, his injury rendering him incapable of getting up to beat him. "He won't do it again." Daryl raised an eyebrow, studying me carefully. "If it happens again and you catch him, then you can do whatever you please. But for now, leave it. Especially not in front of the rest of the group and Sophia and Carl." Daryl continued staring and I sighed. "Please, Daryl?" After thinking some more, the man let out a loud sigh before nodding.

"Whatever." He muttered, glaring once more in Eugene's direction. "How'd things go with Morgan?" I smiled at this.

"Better." I admitted. "I think we may have at least gotten a little through to him. But I guess we'll see how things pan out tomorrow." I sighed. "I hope he makes the right choice." Daryl hummed at this.

"The right choice for him though, might not be the one ya lookin' for." He pointed out, softly. I nodded.

"I know." I breathed. I stared at our hands with a frown for a long moment before turning to the man beside me, finding him already looking at me. I smiled wide at the man.

Thoughts raced through my head immediately as I thought over some conversation. I thought of my conversation with Andrea, right back in Woodbury. She was the first to ask me if I loved the man beside me now, the first to get me questioning whether I did or not. She had even told me that things will become clearer. After that, I had been scared to think anything of it, taking Lori's and Rick's relationship almost as an example. Though a lot of things had changed. Things were more official between us and even scarily so, everyone appeared to know now. While initially it had been daunting, I knew I could warm to the idea of everyone knowing. I didn't care, though I wished for Daryl's comfort. Sitting beside him right now didn't seem to bother him, neither did holding his hand in front of everyone. Sophia's words played in my mind. "Yes, but you loved him long before then, didn't you?" Such an innocent question from a girl who knew a lot more than she let on. She was observant and she had known about Daryl and myself long before the others did. Perhaps she knew of my true feelings long before I did myself?

From across the room, I met Rick's gave briefly as he stood speaking to Herschel. His eyes glanced between Daryl and myself before he zoned in on me, the most encouraging smile fleeting onto his face immediately.

"I think you should tell him."

"Daryl," I began, eyeing the man carefully. He raised an eyebrow, though seemed confused by my careful tone. "Daryl, I think-" I stopped myself there. Think? Did I just think this? As soon as the word left my lips, I knew it sounded wrong. "No, I don't think. I know." At my own revelation, I smiled. My stomach fluttered a little, almost dancing a little. Rick was right, it seemed.

"Ya know what?" Daryl asked, a large frown on his face and his eyebrows burrowed. "Girl, ya got a weird look in ya eye." I breathed a chuckle before zoning back in one Daryl's face. He stared back, curiously.

"I know that," A pause. "Despite everything that happens around us, despite all the pain and the loss and even after all those we've lost and everything we've had to go through recently, I know that I'm sure of one thing. Well, one thing other than how much I love Sophia." Daryl's expression softened a little, though he still appeared confused.

"What else ya sure of?" He prompted, still frowning. I grinned at the hunter, finally deciding just to bite the bullet.

"That I love you."

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(Author's Note): Sorry that this upload wasn't up sooner! Like I said, things wouldn't be updated over the weekend and there's been a few mishaps today so I've not been able to until now! Very sorry for the wait anyway. I think after this chapter, there's two more left before things return back to normal again. Then the updates won't be so quick, I'm afraid! haha

Thanks, as always, for the support. Things will sort themselves out soon and things will get on track again. I'll upload the next one ASAP :)