DARYL

Red's smilin' like crazy, real happy I got that picture back for her I suppose. Lookin' at her now, she's completely different than when we were back inside. When I found her still in that computer room after everyone had bolted, aside from Andrea and Jacqui, she was just standin' there, lookin' lost and dazed. When I called out to her though, she came runnin' over right away, like a damn dog. That hesitation before though, that's what I can't get outta my head. She definitely thought about stayin' there, giving up like Jenner.

She looks up from the picture, still all happy but a bit more serious. "This really does mean a lot to me, Daryl. Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumble. She keeps lookin' at me with those big ol' eyes of hers. I can't take it so I get up and jump outta her truck. "You comin' or what?" I hear her scramblin' to pick up all her books and jump out after me. Everyone still looks pretty shaken up over what happened here. I have to admit, seeing the big pile of dirt where the CDC used to be is insane. The reality of losing Jacqui hurts more than anything though. Didn't know her too well, but she seemed sweet as anyone. Looks like people want to move on fast. Don't blame them, that blast probably has everyone walker in the damn city riled up. I go over to my own truck, ready to split. I look over to see Red starin' at some small white envelope, her smile gone. Now her face just looks blank as she gets in her truck.

ASHLYN

Getting back in my truck feels so strange. Even though it's only been one night, so much has happened since I was in it last. Just yesterday I had so much anxiety about joining the group but now I have no doubts. I pull down my sun visor and clip Dr. Hanson's letter and the picture to it, my emotions mixed. Ever since I ran into these people, I haven't been able to think straight; I've been on the brink of losing my mind. I can't be like that anymore. I almost ended everything back in the CDC. If it wasn't for Daryl—I don't know what would've happened.

Up ahead the RV and the rest of the cars start heading off so I follow after. I suppose we'll be going to Fort Benning now that the CDC didn't work out. As we're making our way out of the city, we pass by several walkers. It looks like they're all heading in the direction we came from, until they here our cars of course. Luckily we're moving fast enough for them to not really be a problem. It seems like the explosion really drew their attention though.

We stop off on at an abandoned school yard, getting some supplies. The atmosphere is still heavy after what happened, everyone just seems to be on autopilot. On my way to find a car to siphon for gas, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I spin around and see Glenn, staring at me, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Hey," he starts. "I'm… I'm glad you're here." He pulls me in for a hug. For a moment, I'm completely stunned, wondering what's gotten into him, but I hug back anyway.

"Glenn, what—"

"When we were leaving the CDC, I didn't see you heading out, Daryl was looking for you too, I thought… I'm glad you're here." He says it all in one breath, his hands up on my shoulders.

I look away, ashamed for a moment. I hate that I made him worry like that. I look back at him, smiling weakly, "Nowhere else I'd rather be." It's so strange, having people worry over me. I never thought that would happen with these people, but I have to admit. It feels nice.

He nods, gives me another quick hug, and helps me siphon some gas.

Before we had out, I gather up my things from the RV, glad they were rescued from the CDC. I notice Daryl's taken the motorcycle out from the bed of his truck. Looks like he'll be riding that instead. Makes sense, considering how much harder it's getting to find gas.

I'm about to hop in my own truck when Andrea walks over. "Mind if I ride with you? The RV's getting a little cramped." It's obvious what's really going on—she's trying to get away from Dale. I didn't see everything that happened between them at the CDC, but it's pretty clear Dale somehow forced her out of her decision to stay behind.

I nod, "Sure. Wouldn't mind having some company." I clear out the passenger seat and we drive off behind Rick's car.

We drive in a comfortable silence for some time before Andrea notices the picture and letter. "That picture, it's your sister isn't it?"

I grip the steering wheel tighter but otherwise stay calm, not letting my emotions take over again. "Yeah. Jim and their boys, too. They visited me in Florida last year. Took them fishing. Their oldest boy, Kenny, loved it." I smile, remembering the trip. "The younger one, Ashton; he clung to my sister the whole time."

"They look really happy," she replies earnestly. She seems deep in thought for a moment, but asks, "You and Daryl, what's going on with you two?"

My head spins to face her, surprised at her question. Going on? Nothing's going on. What's she talking about? She must see the confusion on my face because she continues, "He just seems different around you. And I know you two stayed up late drinking together last night…" Her voice trails off, the implications obvious.

"Wha—No! We didn't—we just talked. And played darts. Glenn and T-Dog were there too." I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks. Does everyone think we-?

Andrea laughs, clearly amused at my reaction. "Okay, okay, I believe you. Still, there's nothing going on between you two?"

I open my mouth, ready to tell her no, but then I think about it. Of course we're not going out or anything. He's saved my life several times but I'm not naïve enough to think that means he cares about me in any special way. That's just what he does, he saves people. I remember how I ran to him without even a second thought back at the CDC. And how happy I was when he told me he came back to look for me. I bite my lip, remembering him on top of me in my truck—

I catch Andrea's sly smile and realize I haven't answered her yet. "No, no we're just friends. He's saved me on a couple occasions. We're not—we're just friends." Wow. That didn't even sound remotely convincing. From the look on Andrea's face, I can tell she's thinking the same thing.

"Well, if you say so." Yeah, there's no way she believes me. I don't even know if I believe myself.

She interrupts my new, strange thoughts of Daryl, suddenly serious. "You almost stayed back there too. Do you believe what Jenner said? About there being no hope left for humanity?"

She really gets to the point, huh? I sigh, exacerbated at all her questions. "Humanity has survived epidemics before. I don't see any reason to start jumping to conclusions about this one." I hope she'll leave it at that, but she's still curious.

"You knew your sister was dead before you found Jim. How have you kept going for so long, all on your own?"

"Before my sister died, she was upset with me. She told me to stop running away. That's what I'm trying to do."

I can tell Andrea is confused by my vague answer, but she seems to accept it. We drive along the interstate in silence, Atlanta in our rearview mirror.

Eventually it seems the caravan runs into a roadblock so we get out of the truck and check out what's happening.

The group gathers around the RV. Apparently they're having problems with the radiator hose. Daryl joins the group and immediately starts looking through the trunk of an abandoned car. I freeze when I see him, thinking about my conversation with Andrea, and tune the rest of the group out. He's so different from all the men I've dated, almost the complete opposite really. He's not exactly a suit and tie kind of guy, and definitely not someone who spends their weekends ass kissing at company picnics. I don't find myself surprised when I realize none of that matters to me.

I gasp and turn away when I notice he's caught me staring at him, his eyebrow raised. Fuck, fuck, fuck. That was probably the worst way to react. I put my attention back to the group, trying to suppress my blush.

It seems everyone with the exception of Lori seems to agree we should take this opportunity to scavenge for extra supplies, so that's what I do. I find a couple things that might come in handy. Some double A batteries, a box of granola bars, and a knife. My crowbar works well when I have room to swing it around, but not for those really close calls. I strap the knife to my thigh and head back to my truck.

I pull out my map and journal, logging in the approximate number of walkers I saw today and the direction they were headed. It's strange we haven't seen any in a while. Examining the arrows on my map, I feel like there's some sort of unaccounted for mass of walkers. I should let Rick know, I don't think we should hang around here any longer than we have to.

I go to find him and see he's looking through the scope on his rifle. I turn around and see a walker come out from behind a car, then another. A few more round the corner before I see a whole herd of them coming this way. Shit.

I duck behind a car and run over to Rick. He nods at me, knowing I saw them too, and we run off to warn the others. He gets to Lori, Carol, and the kids and I see Shane's already pulled Glenn under a truck. I keep going, looking for anyone else. I see T-Dog, his arm cut wide open, already aware of the walkers.

"T-Dog," I hiss, waving him to come over. I pull off my hoodie and tie it tightly around his arm, trying to put pressure on the cut. I see a walker approaching us so I grab my new knife, but Daryl runs over and stabs the back of its' head. He puts a finger to his lips and pulls T-Dog down, throwing a corpse over him. Picking up on his plan, I lay on the ground and roll a body on top of me. Daryl pulls one out of a car and does the same. Fighting the urge to vomit from the stench, I lay still as I watch the walkers shuffle by us. When they all pass, I throw the body off me. Daryl's up too and already pulling the body off of T-Dog. Screaming startles all of us. We pull T-Dog to his feet and start running back to the rest of the group.

"Sophia!" Carol's wailing makes us all run faster. "The walkers are after my baby!" Lori holds Carol back as she cries, looking into the woods.

"Oh fuck no," Daryl curses as we reach the others. He turns to me, "You take care of T-Dog."

"I can come too-" I start, wanting to go after Sophia.

"No," he commands, still running, "get T-Dog cleaned up. Go!"

I nod, knowing he's right. I rush T-Dog into the RV only to find Andrea covered in blood, a screwdriver in her hand and a dropped walker on the floor. She looks up at me, then at T-Dog, her eyes wide. We do our best to clean up the cut and wrap it, but it's so deep, I don't know if we did any good.

"Anyone else hurt?" Andrea asks.

"Not hurt, missing. Two walkers chased Sophia into the woods." I sit by the window, hoping to see the rescue party returning with the girl. I never really talked to her, just that one time at the lake. Still, I feel like losing her would hurt more than I even understand right now.

"Oh my god," Andrea says, clearly worried.

After we clean the walker brains out of the RV, I only manage to wait two minutes before running to my truck and getting my crowbar. I change out of my now dirty dress and into pants, a tank top and hiking boots. I can't just sit here knowing Sophia's out there. Daryl, Rick, Shane, and Glenn are all out looking for her but the more eyes the better.

I run into Andrea on my way into the woods, "Where are you headed?"

"I'm looking for Sophia. Can't just sit here," I say.

She nods and I head into the woods.

DARYL

This little girl's got to be out here somewhere. Couldn't of gotten very far. Rick and I come across a walker so I take it out with my cross bow.

"Sophia!" I shout for the hundredth time. Damn, where is she?

Rick notices blood on the walker's mouth and finds flesh in its teeth. Wanting to be sure it didn't eat Sophia, we cut the bastard open. Luckily, all we find is what's left of the woodchuck it ate for lunch.

We keep at it, looking for the girl another couple hours, but the sun's stating to set.

"We won't make any progress this way," Rick says. "No visibility. Not safe either."

"I agree. We'll have to pick it back up in the mornin'." I'm reluctant to go back, but he's right. Won't find her like this.

We circle back to the group. Once we make it outta the trees, I see Carol standin' there, waitin' for us. This ain't gonna be easy.

"You didn't find her?" She asks, her voice shaking.

"Her trail went cold," Rick says. "We'll pick it up again first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there to find her way in the woods."

"Huntin' in the darks no good. We'd just be trippin' over ourselves. More people get lost."

"But she's twelve, she can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?" her voice gets higher, more urgent.

"I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there."

Rick tries calming her down. She breaks down though, throwing blame on Rick for what happened. He tries to defend himself, Shane speaks up too. She keeps cryin' though. I can tell Rick's not takin' it too well.

By now, everyone else has come over, looking for news on Sophia. I search the group, not seein' the familiar bright red hair.

"Hey, Ashlyn isn't with you?" Andrea speaks up before I can ask if anyone's seen her.

"With us? Why would she be with us?" Rick asks.

"She went to help look for Sophia. I thought she would've met up with you."

"We never saw her." The group goes quiet, realizing what that means.

Son of a bitch. What's that girl thinkin'? I told her to stay put and she runs off into the woods alone? Fuck. "You all just let her go off? By herself?" I hiss.

"I thought she was in her truck!" Glenn says defensively.

"Now we got two people lost in the woods?" Shane asks annoyed. "She can find her way back on her own."

"God dammit," I spit, turning back into the woods. I swear, this girl gets in more trouble than I can handle.

I start picking up my pace, trying to spot any red through the trees. The fuck am I doin' out here? We just called off the search for Sophia. I guess I didn't think too much about it. But seriously, what's she thinking?

I hear a twig snap, not too far off. Must be a walker. I lift my crossbow, and walk cautiously over to the noise. I hear faint rustling behind a large tree. Sounds too big to be an animal. I slowly walk around the tree, ready to catch it by surprise when something jumps out from behind it. Just before I pull the trigger, I catch a flash of red.

Where I was expecting the walker to be, I see Red standin' there, crowbar raised over her head, eyes wide.

Both of us exhale, lowing our weapons.

"Fucking Christ, Daryl! I almost smashed your head in! What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?"

"What am I doing? I'm looking for your stupid ass!" I yell back at her. "What're you doing?"

She looks taken back for a second before she responds, "I'm looking for Sophia! I don' know if you've noticed but she's kind of missing," her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I was heading back though, since it's going to be dark soon."

"What if you got lost too?" I keep yelling, "Do you even know what you're doin' out here? Last thing we need is another person to find!"

She looks surprised but her face softens a bit. "Look, Daryl, I didn't mean to freak anybody out, but yes, I do know what I'm doing, okay? I was on my own for two months and took care of myself just fine."

She doesn't get it, does she? I step closer to her, getting in her face, "Well, you ain't on your own anymore! You can't just run off and do whatever dumb shit you want!" She's backed up against the tree now, avoiding eye contact. I keep screaming at her though. "Do you know how worried I was when I didn't see you—" Shit, what am I saying?

She turns her eyes up at me, her eyebrows raised. I back away and storm off, back towards the interstate. "You just gonna stand there all night?" I call.

I don't hear her footsteps, but I don't give a fuck anymore. If she wants to stay out here and play rescue in the dark, fine. I won't be comin' back for her a second time.

After a moment though, I hear her come running after me. Then, suddenly, there's something soft and warm on my cheek. "What the fu—" I spin my head around, but she's already five steps ahead of me. My hand goes to my cheek and I stop walking. Did she just…?

"You just gonna stand there all night?" She calls back to me.

ASHLYN

What the fuck did I just do? I hear Daryl grumbling something that sounds like "Crazy bitch" followed by his footsteps. I slow down but stay a good 5 yards ahead. I didn't plan on walking ahead of him but after I kissed his cheek, I could feel my face start burning up and I don't need him seeing that. I keep telling myself a kiss on the cheek isn't a big deal or anything. I just surprised myself—and probably him—that's all. This must be because Andrea got in my head today, talking about Daryl. I keep replaying what he said over and over again in my head though. Was he really that worried about me? I try not to let myself get too obsessed with the idea. Maybe he just thinks I'm really incompetent and can't take care of myself. He got so worked up though, maybe he really was worried.

I climb the slope leading up to the road and step over the guard rail. It looks like everyone's getting their stuff together to call it a night. That's a good idea, we'll need to be well rested for the early search tomorrow. I set myself up in my truck, trying to fall asleep. There are so many thoughts running through my mind though. The deaths of Jacqui and Jenner. Sophia lost in the woods all alone. Daryl. The last few days play back in my head, every moment with him. Restless, I bury my face in my pillow. God, is this really happening?

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm definitely going to move their relationship along because of things I have planned for season 3 stuff. As always, thanks for the reviews and follows!

Also, in case anyone missed it, season 4 trailer is up and it looks fucking awesome.

sPaRkzZz: I'm so glad you like it! Daryl and Glenn are definitely my favorite characters in the series, Michonne a really close third. I am hoping to start giving other characters a bigger role in the story though.