When Daryl reached the highway, his anxiety was at an all-time high and he wasn't handling it well. He was worried about his mate and his brother, but there was nothing he could do right now because he had Carol sobbing in his ear and needed to tell the others where the remaining two women of their group and his brother had gone. He was slowly starting to get pissed off because people kept throwing questions at him all at the same time and Carol kept sobbing in his ear still. He didn't know how much more he could take of all of it before he snapped and no one would like to see his actual temper. He was a mated man that had an injured mate and his brother was injured too. He knew Isa was probably healed already, but seeing her injured had his anxiety at an all-time high. He was used to seeing her as the strongest being around, but watching that damn vamp hurt her had him realizing that there were stronger beings out there that could hurt her worse than any bullet could.

Once he told Dale, the old man had nothing but bitching to do to him. Daryl couldn't believe how ungrateful these assholes were being with him. He had other things to worry about then what they thought about him and the decisions that he'd made out in those woods, especially when it came to his brother and mate. They weren't there and they didn't know Isa like he did. She's a headstrong woman and there was no telling her what to do, especially when she thought what she was doing was right.

"You just let them go off with some woman you didn't even know? Did you even bother questioning the woman before you let them go with her? How could you let your mate go off without you with some woman neither of you knew?" Dale questioned and Daryl couldn't take it anymore. Between worrying about his family and Dale's bitching his temper got the better of him. He kind of liked Dale and he knew Isa did too, but everything had just built up so he went off on the man and there was no stopping what he had to say, not that he really wanted to at the moment.

"Climb out of my ass old man. The woman knew Carl, Isa and Lori's names. Plus, she knew Rick. What did you expect me to do? Did you expect me to follow them and let these three try to get back here on their own? Or did you expect me to forbid my mate from going off with the woman when she knew she could help Carl? You just don't get it! Back off or I'll make you!" Daryl yelled and then started to walk off again towards Merle's bike. The sooner he got back to his mate and brother the better off he'd be. He would finally be able to calm down once he knew they were alright.

"We can't just leave. We need to stay here and continue looking for Sophia. My daughter is out there on her own and no one cares." Carol cried out and Daryl was getting even more annoyed. He knew he'd probably feel the same way, but all he wanted right now is to be with his mate and brother. He quickly walked further away from the group so he wouldn't say something that would disappoint his Isa. She loved Sophia just like she loved her pups and he knew she'd be disappointed if he went off on a mother that was worried about her child while she was missing, even if he did think the woman didn't do enough to keep her own daughter safe to begin with.

"She'll be fine man. Isa is a tough woman and she's got Merle to look after so she will be on her guard at all times no matter how much she might trust the woman. She'll follow her instincts. She won't let anything hurt either of them, but she had to help Carl. It's pack instinct when it comes to pups and there's nothing that can hold those instincts back unless it's an injured mate. Her wolf probably figured she could get Merle the help he needed too if they were headed to a house." Paul said to him as he came up next to him where he was by the bike once again.

"I know that, but Merle is hurt and Sophia is still missin'. This day has just been so fucked up and it isn't even half over yet. That damn vamp almost got a good shot on Isa damn it! She also hurt Merle and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. I can't protect her or Merle from these damn vamps and it kills me." Daryl raged and he knew he was taking his anger out on the wrong person, but he couldn't help it. He was so fuckin' worried about his girl and his brother that nothing else mattered at the moment. He also knew that Paul would take it just so the anger wouldn't build up any more than it already had. He had quickly become a friend to him and he knew that Paul thought the same way.

"She'll be fine. My sister knows what she's doing. She's been in worse situations and come out on top man." Jacob tried to reason with Daryl, but all he kept seeing in his mind was that damn vamp breaking his girl's paw and hearing her pain filled whimper. It echoed in his mind over and over again. His thoughts must have shown on his face because Jared decided to talk.

"Enough man. She's fine and she will continue to be fine. Have some faith in your wolf and trust her to know her limits. You know we heal extremely fast so that injury she got earlier is already healed man. It's nothing but a memory to her." Jared said and Daryl looked each of them in the eye. Their expressions were serious and he knew he needed to take their advice. He nodded and then walked back over towards the group with the wolves following him. He definitely needed to start trusting Isa to take care of herself and them when it came to the supernatural.

"What are we doing?" Carol asked once more.

"We need to get to that farm. My injured mate is there along with my injured brother plus we need to get Leah to her imprint. They need us more right now and we can have a base of operations to try and find Sophia." He said as he watched the female shifter moving restlessly. He knew how she felt. He had felt Isa's pain when her paw was broken and he was feeling the pain of separation now.

Leah looked over to him and he could see the gratitude in her eyes for him speaking up for her.

"We can't leave. What if Sophia comes back here? This is the only spot she knows. She'll wander back here and not know where we've gone." Carol said hysterically and Daryl was about to the end of his rope with the woman. He could understand her reluctance to leave the highway, but she wasn't even really doing anything productive when it came to finding Sophia. All she was doing was crying hysterically and blaming everyone else for Sophia still being missing.

"We can leave her a message and some supplies by one of the vehicles. Tell her to stay here and we'll check every day to see if she's come back. We won't stop looking. You know Isa won't stop. Sophia is considered a pack pup. She'll look for her just like she'd look for Carl, Seth or Brady." Daryl reasoned with the mother and he could tell Carol agreed, but still didn't want to leave. She was going to be stubborn and drag this out.

"TDogg needs to get somewhere soon. He's got a nasty infection in his cut and it's only going to get worse the longer we wait." Dale said to the group and Daryl looked over at T Dogg's arm. It did look pretty nasty. Isa was right about the infection going to his blood. This group would learn to listen to her eventually.

"Why didn't you say so? I've got Merle's stash on the bike. It's got antibiotics in it." Daryl said and marched back over to the bike to reach into the saddlebag to get Merle's stash. There was Crystal, OxyContin, and finally Doxycycline, which is what T Dogg needed to fight the infection. He tossed it over to Dale who gave the man two pills.

"Let's wait out the night and then we'll head to the farm in the morning. Glenn, you need to drive ahead of us and get T Dogg to the farm. Leah can go with you so she can be close to Carl. Let him rest. The pack should scout ahead of the convoy to make sure we're not surprised by anything. You guys can smell the emotions on a human so you'll be able to smell any deceit or if any of our group is in trouble." Dale ordered and Daryl could see that the pack didn't mind taking his order, but he wasn't sure how long that would last for. He figured it might last until Dale took advantage of it, then the pack would rebel against him just as they were doing to Rick and Shane.

He walked away back towards his bike and the rest of the pack. He'd stay with his own tonight. He no longer felt like he could trust any of the others in the group so he'd stick with his own from now on. He knew Isa would be happy about that. Although, he still wanted to trust Rick. The man was trying to get back to his family when he left his brother up on that roof, but he'd never forget what he'd done. He knew Isa liked Rick too even though she tried not to. The man had that quality about him, but it would still take a very long time before Daryl was even willing to listen to him. He knew the same went for Isa and the rest of the pack as well. Merle would probably never follow Ricks commands. He'd only ever follow what Isa did.

His mind continued to swirl around thoughts of the pack and the group as he settled in for the night, wishing he was with his girl now. He didn't like being away from her and not knowing how his brother was doing. For all he knew Isa could be in danger along with Merle or Merle's injury could be worse than they originally thought it was. He wouldn't know until the next day and it was driving him crazy.

"Come over here Daryl. You'll need to be kept warm. You can rest against Embry for the night and then in the morning you'll be able to go see Bella." Emily said to him and he nodded. He'd be next to Sam and Jacob that way and he knew if Isa shifted she'd see he was safe for the night. She would worry less with that. Plus they would tell him if she shifted and something was wrong with her or Merle.

~oOOo~

Merle had no idea where he was when he first woke up, but he knew he was on a bed and it was comfortable. He could hear someone moving around the room he was in, but he didn't know who it was. The last thing he really remembered was some woman coming up to them in the woods on a horse saying Lori and Isa needed to follow her which his girl did. That was all he remembered before everything went blank in his mind.

He jumped as someone touched his forehead, but then settled down as the heat let him know it was one of the wolves.

"Hey baby. I know you're awake. I need you to open your eyes for me honey." Isa whispered and he was never so glad for her soft voice in all his life. His head was hurting like a bitch.

"Hey suga'. I'm alright." He said in a raspy voice. He heard his Isa sigh and then a sob escaped her.

"I'm so glad you're ok. I've been so worried about you. You lost consciousness on the way here and I didn't know what to do. I may have medical training, but you're my imprint and I'm no good at you or Daryl being hurt. My wolf goes insane when she knows something is wrong. She's not very good at that sort of thing." She said and Merle could see the tears flowing down her cheeks. He quickly reached up with a hand and wiped them away before pulling her down next to him

"How long have I been out suga'?" He asked her softly as he ran a hand through her hair.

"Only about a couple hours, but I was still scared." She whispered and he nodded. That was typical with a head injury. He didn't think anything else was wrong with him now besides a headache. He wasn't dizzy or anything, at least not yet. He knew that might change as soon as he got up out of the bed, but for the time being his head was the only pain he felt.

"It'll be alright Isa. I'm fine. Let's get up and movin' so I can see how dizzy I'll be. It'll also help us figure out if anythin' else is wrong wit me." He said and then watched as she sat up quickly before helping him to stand. The dizziness wasn't too bad. He swayed at first, but then got his balance quickly.

"Glenn, Leah, and T Dogg got here about thirty minutes ago, we're waiting for Shane and Otis to get back with the respirator before we operate on Carl. The shot went through the deer he was standing by and broke apart so now there are pieces in Carl. One has nicked an artery so he's bleeding internally." Isa told him and he nodded, but then a question popped into his head.

"Who the fuck is Otis?" He asked gruffly.

"He's the one that accidentally shot Carl." Isa informed him and he was pissed. Someone had shot one of the pack pups and they were relying on this man to bring back something that was vital to an operation for said pack pup.

"Why the hell are we relyin' on the asshole that shot the pup?" He asked quickly. He knew Isa could tell he was pissed off, but she took it in stride.

"Because he knows the area in which they needed to explore to find the respirator. None of us know this area very well, especially me. I would have gone, but with you hurt and me not being from around here we all decided it was best that Otis go. He used to volunteer around here. Shane went because Rick can't stand to be apart from Carl right now, plus he's also Carl's blood type." He heard her say and he knew she was feeling guilty, which wasn't surprising. She had told him that taking care of the pack pups was one of the Alpha Females main responsibilities. He knew she felt like she had failed Carl and her pack which would mean him and Daryl too.

"Hey now. Don't go thinkin' like tha. You didn't fail 'im. He's still kickin' and we'll get 'im healed before ya know it." He told her as he ran another hand through her hair. He knew it calmed her down and he needed her calm right now so when the two men got back she could assist… Well, he didn't really know what was going on right now which he needed to fix. He needed to know the situation before he let his girl go in a room by herself with someone he didn't know.

"Why don't you tell me what all is goin' on so I can know the whole situation? I like being prepared and knowin' what's goin on will do just that. It'll also let me help in any way that I can." Merle suggested and she nodded. He knew she wouldn't keep anything from him.

"Well, Shane, Carl and Rick were looking for Sophia like we had all agreed on. They ran across a deer and Carl wanted to see how close he could get to it. He was standing beside it when Otis fired. The bullet went through the deer, fragmented and went into Carl, which is why he has pieces inside of him right now instead of the bullet being whole. Hershel, who owns this farm, was able to get a couple of the pieces out, but the surgery to remove the pieces that are further in is too risky without a respirator to keep him breathing. I'll be helping Hershel as soon as the men get back. I've given blood along with Rick to keep Carl's blood supply up since he's losing it pretty fast." Isa informed him and he nodded. He knew she told him everything so they continued to walk down the hallway and Merle could see Carl laying on the bed with a bandage wrapped around his chest.

"Will he be alright?" Merle asked the old man that was taking his blood pressure.

"He should be as long as those men get back here soon. If they don't get back here by nightfall, then we'll have to do the operation without it." The man, who he assumed was Hershel, told him. Merle didn't like those odds though. He might not be a very smart man, but he knew operations needed to be done with breathing tubes down your throat, otherwise you could die because the stuff that put you out would slow your breathing down real low. He knew the pack would be devastated if one of the pack pups died. It would devastate his Isa the most. He thought it might even hurt her more than it would Lori because the wolves' emotions were stronger than a regular human.

"I'm sure he'll be alright Isa. We'll take things one step at a time." He told her as he hugged her close, but before he could say anything else Carl woke up.

"Hey baby." He heard Lori whisper and it was the only time he felt sorry for the woman. No one deserved to see their kid hurt like this. He had never thought about having kids, but he wanted to with his Isa. He wanted to be a better man for her and she helped him with that. He'd take anything she was willing to offer him because he knew he didn't deserve her. She was his rock and she helped keep the withdrawals away. He still had some shakes, but she helped immensely. He was brought out of his thoughts when Carl started having a seizure.

"He needs more blood." Hershel said and he felt Isa move out of his arms.

"What are ya doin' suga?" He asked her as he moved with her.

"It's my turn. I can give more blood than Rick can because of my healing ability. My blood replenishes just as fast as they take it. I can give two to three pints whereas Rick has problems giving one because of lack of food." She told him and he nodded. He watched as the young girl stuck the needle in her arm and the blood started flowing from Isa to Carl.

"How is your blood going to affect him?" He questioned.

"We're not really sure, but we don't really have a choice. I'm the only one in our group besides Rick and Sophia that has Carl's blood type." She told him and he nodded. They'd deal with whatever happened when it happened.

~oOOo~

It had been a couple of hours since Isa had given her last pint of blood and Merle was starting to get real anxious. Carl hadn't woken up since his last seizure and it was making everyone go crazy, but none more than his girl.

"We need to do the surgery now. We can't wait any longer. We just need to pray that things go smoothly." Hershel said and the older woman started getting everything ready as Rick and Hershel moved Carl onto the metal table. Isa went into the bathroom to wash her hands for the procedure.

"Wait, they're back." The young girl said and they all rushed downstairs, except the older woman and Lori. They both stayed back with Carl to tend to him and make sure he didn't wake up.

When they got outside the only person there was Shane. He had everything they needed and was spouting off at the mouth about how Otis saved his life by sacrificing his own but Merle didn't buy his story about Otis sacrificing himself so they could save Carl. One look at his Isa and he knew she didn't buy it either which meant they'd have to be extra careful around him because Shane hated the pack.

"I have to go back upstairs baby, but I want you staying away from Shane. Please?" She begged and he quickly agreed.

"I'll stay with Glenn, Leah, and T Dogg." He told her, even if he didn't really want to be around the black man, but he'd do anything to make this easier on her and he knew being around one of the pack would help soothe her nerves and let her concentrate on the pup.

"Thank you, baby. I really wish Daryl was here with us. I'd feel a lot better if the three of us were together." She sighed as she walked back upstairs to get ready with Hershel. He knew she wouldn't feel right until Daryl was back with them. He hoped his brother got there soon. He didn't like being separated from his brother simply because they were the only ones that ever had each other's backs. Now they had Isa and the pack, it still felt a little strange at times though.

~oOOo~

Daryl woke up to the pack moving around and getting ready.

"What's goin' on?" He said gruffly.

"We're getting ready to head out. Paul has already left the message for Sophia and the cars are packed up. Isa phased in this morning to let us know that Carl made it through the surgery that needed to be performed last night and Merle is doing alright. He still has a bit of a headache, but that's to be expected from how hard he hit his head. She also said his back is pretty bruised up from where he hit the tree, but that it isn't anything serious. Isa would know. We'll be there soon. Isa said it should only take us about twenty minutes going at the speed that the others will need to move in the cars." Sam told him and he nodded. He wanted to be with his family and his instincts demanded that he be with the injured pack pup. It felt strange to have instincts that no normal human should have, but he knew he'd eventually get used to it.

"That's good. We'll be able to be with them soon. I can't wait to get back to Isa." He said with a sigh and then started to get his things packed up. He could hear Carol bitching in the distance that she didn't want to leave, but he wasn't about to have her ruin his reunion with his mate so he decided to speak up.

"We're leaving Carol, but just because we leave doesn't mean we'll stop searching for her. With this farm, we'll be able to have a base to search from like I said yesterday. It'll make everything easier too." He told her and she finally shut up long enough to listen to someone.

"You just don't understand Daryl." She sighed and he watched her walk away into the RV.

"She'll come around. She should have been watching her kid to begin with. If she had, then none of this would be happening. Carl wouldn't be hurt right now and Sophia wouldn't be lost. Isa would have never allowed this to happen if Sophia had been able to be with us like she wanted her too." Seth said and then transformed next to him. He was a little too close for his comfort and he knew as soon as Isa saw it in her thoughts or the other pack members that he'd get in trouble. He could have easily scratched him or broken one of his bones.

"Yeah, Isa is going to kick yer ass for that." He told him and Seth nodded, but took off in front of the RV as Daryl got on the bike. He couldn't wait to be with his girl and brother again.