Travis staggered back, barely remembering to wave the match out as he sat across from Sadie, her body still drenched in the gasoline he'd splashed on her. His mouth was still quivering and silently mouthing the word "what?" to her over and over, as the moments passed by with no answer. Sadie, realizing she had control of the situation once more, mumbled, "untie me so I can actually talk to you."

He moved toward her and popped the handcuffs from her swollen wrist shortly before he fell back to his previous position on the musty wooden floor. She stood, looking more like a fawn learning to walk than a strong, young woman, her manicured nails broken and dirty, her black and red hair tangled and knotted from the struggle. A standing mirror in the corner made her realize what a mess she was. Not that it mattered. She was too weak to stand any longer and she fell on the floor next to Travis, her hand somehow making it to his knee as he stared dead ahead. In the opposite corner, Sadie's step father disappeared in the shadows of the broken house although his snores were still evident throughout the room.

"I… Just found out not too long ago," Sadie rasped, finding it harder to talk with her mouth as dry as cotton.

"Is… it…" Travis couldn't find the words to say, his mind was so jumbled with inconceivable thoughts that his girlfriend had conceived a child.

"Is it yours?" Sadie finished his sentence for him, the gasoline still filling her head. She searched for a lie. Travis wasn't dumb. He should have known there was no way Sadie could be bearing his kid considering what she'd told Daryl was right… they hadn't done anything like that since the world had gone to hell. Maybe he'd buy it though and it could buy her enough time to get out and get back to Daryl. "Y-Yeah…"

"You… didn't sound too sure," Travis mumbled, wiping his eyes as tears came to them.

"Yes, it's your kid Trav… has to be?"

"Why's that?"

"I didn't… I didn't do anything with Daryl until after I found out… I'm so sorry I fucked around with that backwoods hick, Travis… All I ever wanted was to be with you… I was just… so confused." She cried as the bitter lies poured from her mouth. Travis set his hand on hers as she trembled, unsure if her ruse was working.

"Let's get you back and cleaned up." He started to stand.

"What about him?" Sadie said, looking toward Ralph who was still unconscious on the floor.

Travis was quiet for a moment, then he helped her up and shoved her toward the door, emptying the rest of the gas around the house. "Head back to the prison…" He tossed a rifle that was sitting against the wall in her direction and she caught it and tossed it over her shoulder. "I'll take care of this…" As Sadie limped for the door, Travis looked back for her, the same evil glare returning to his eyes, "Sadie, don't run on me… Straight to the prison."

"R-Right…" She pushed her way out as Travis shuffled through the abandoned home, finishing the job he'd intended for Sadie.

Meanwhile, Daryl pushed onward to find a campfire nestled in the woods, burning steadily as the occupants of the camp lay ripped to shreds by a few walkers that Daryl put down soon after they discovered the area. He scratched his chin, disgruntled. "Guess she ain't here," he mumbled, looking around for more clues.

"These woods are massive… there's no way we can look all over Daryl. Maybe it's best if we just go back an-"

"No!" Daryl advanced toward him angrily, "Ya'll go back if you want but I ain't leavin' until I find 'er. She ain't gonna end up like Sophia… she ain't gonna end up alone in the woods. I'm gonna find er and bring er home." Glenn was silent as he wiped the sweat from his brow, Daryl's passionate eyes lit up by the fire in the darkness.

"It's late Daryl… They need us at the prison for security," Glenn moused, gathering the courage to turn away. In an instant, Glenn and Tyreese disappeared in the trees, leaving Daryl to sit on a log around the camp and listen to Merle growl at him in his head.

She ain't worth all this and you know it, brother.

"She's havin' my kid…"

Yeah, an' that ain't gonna matter if she'd dead out there is it? You're wastin' your time out here, Daryl… Just head back with yer friends. Let 'er rot out here. Why should you care?

Daryl was quiet and didn't bother arguing with his brother, who he could almost see squatting on the log across from him. In the back of his mind, he wanted to take his advice and walk home, but he knew he'd hate himself more. His thoughts were interrupted as some leaves crunched in the distance, sending echoes through the night air. He turned his bow in the direction of the noise after standing, half expecting Sadie's undead corpse to stagger from the brush and crawl after him. Instead, he heard her whimpering quietly from the pressure of walking through the woods with her already damaged body.

When she saw him, her first instinct was to run and fall into his arms, finally feeling safe again after hours of torment, but instead, she composed herself, and kept walking, pushing further into the woods without a word.

"Sadie…" Daryl walked toward her, trying to catch her before she disappeared again. He grabbed her arm but she smacked him away, tears filling her eyes once more.

"Get off of me." He looked at her messy hair and her shattered silhouette as she backed away, covered in blood, sweat, and obviously gasoline. He hadn't seen a girl this broken down in a long time.

For the first time in his life, Daryl Dixon was at a loss for words. He was silent as her tears ran down her face in front of him until the question finally escaped his mind. "What happened to you?"

Sadie scoffed a bit, unsure of what to say herself. She knew somewhere deep down that she couldn't blame Daryl for what happened. He had no way of knowing, but, for some reason, she felt that Daryl should have protected her somehow. In her mind, Daryl was some sort of superhero who could tackle any task and save her from anything… but he didn't. Passed all that, she knew that she couldn't be close to Daryl… not until after the baby was born if it had even survived the brutalities that she had. She looked at him, her once platinum eyes grey and dull with black rings forming around them in the night. "I fell…" She pushed forward, tears overflowing and leaving acid streams on her face. Daryl grabbed her once again and pushed her against a tree to corner her, but quickly realized his mistake as Sadie yelped out in pain. The scar tissue on her back stung and the pain lingered as she sank to his feet, sobbing.

"God damnit, it hurts!" She cried, balling her fists together against her eyes.

"I…" He was quiet again, as he thought back to a time before he knew young Sadie.

"God damn it, Daryl, you always fuck up everything!" Merle growled as his little brother stood across their room in their rickety trailer. "When you gonna learn just ta keep yer mouth shut!?"

"He asked if ya came home last night an' I told him ya didn't. It was the honest ta God truth, Merle. It ain't done no good lyin'"

"We'll get beat either way! How bout this… how bout from here on out, I do all the talkin'. You just stand there an' look pretty from now on… you ain't never got nothin' good ta say."

Merle's voice chimed in his head again as he looked at Sadie curled on the woodland floor.

You always fuck up everything… When you gonna learn just ta keep yer mouth shut?

In a last attempt to get her to safety, Daryl held out his hand and mumbled "least lemme take ya home… then you ain't gotta have anythin' to do with me… don't even gotta tell me what happened. I jus' wanna get you home, little lady."

Sadie stood, her wounds still reminding her of every second in the house hiding in the woods and she prayed that Travis wouldn't find her walking with Daryl. Until he did, she enjoyed every second of her fingers intertwined in his calloused hand for what could be the last time.