We found a pair of crutches and it took about a week, but Maggie and Beth got Hershel on his feet. It took another couple days for him to get comfortable enough to travel outside the cell block, out into the yard. Lori and Beth stood on each side of him as he trailed outside, Carl following close behind.

"Well look at that." Glenn said happily.

"Way to go, Hershel." Emma smiled at the older man. She looked over at me and I couldn't help but smile as she ducked her head to hide a little blush.

It seemed like things were finally coming together. Rick was right; this might just be a place we could build a new life.

Gunshots made me freeze. Emma was holding her pistol, sounding off rounds. I turned and saw Walkers heading right for the yard. Rick and Glenn took off at the same time I did, heading for the walkers. I heard Beth scream and hoped she got Hershel inside.

I took a second to glance back at them and saw Hershel, Beth and Maggie locking themselves in a fenced in area. I wanted to know where Emma went, but we were too busy fighting off the walkers that were swarming.

We finally killed the last one and Glenn was the first one at the fence. "It's cut. Somebody cut the gate open."

"There's someone in the prison?" I asked.

Just as the words left my mouth, the prison's alarms sounded.

"They must be on a back-up generator." Glenn said over the sirens.

"Daryl, help Glenn patch the fence." He said, taking off to hopefully shut down the noise.

Glenn and I tied the fence back up before following Rick inside to see if we could shut down the backup generators. We came to a fork in the hallways and I told him to go left and I'd go right. We jogged off and his footsteps quickly fell away.

It took me longer than I'd liked and the noise was making my head pound, but I found the generator room. Rick was in a struggle with what looked like a prisoner when I came to the doorway. The guy knocked Rick's gun from his hand in the struggle.

I nocked an arrow and held the crossbow up. "Hey!" I shouted, making both of them pause for a minute. A pull of the trigger and he was slumped over Rick.

Rick threw him off and went to the generator, powering the whole thing down. He sighed and looked at me. "Ya aight brother?" I asked.

He nodded. "Let's find the others." He said.

I yanked my arrow out of the dead guy's head and followed Rick back. We met up with Glenn at the fork we had split up. He hadn't seen any of the girls or Carl. We followed the hallway back, pausing. T-Dog's mutilated body laid on the floor of the hallway. Rick shot him in the head, just to make sure.

We found our way outside. Thankfully, Maggie, Hershel and Beth were unharmed except for the shock of the attack. It was the best we could hope for.

"Where's Lori and Carl?" Rick asked.

"They ran inside. T-Dog and Carol went in too." Maggie said.

"T-Dog's dead." Glenn said, coming to hold Maggie.

"We need to go back and search for the others. We haven't found Carol or Emma either." Rick said.

The sound of a baby crying made us all freeze. We looked over to see Carl trailing behind Emma, who held a crying baby. She had tears coming down her face.

"Lori… she… is she…" Rick sputtered, coming towards her.

Emma barely shook her head, but we all knew she didn't make it.

"Wha… what…" Rick said, doubling over to grab his knees.

"Rick, I'm… I'm so sorry… I tried…" Emma stumbled over herself.

Rick screamed and I could feel the pain he felt. We all looked at each other, wondering what to do. Carl stood next to us, his face full of grief.

"You want me to take her?" Maggie asked Emma.

She stiffly nodded her head and I realized she was covered in blood.

"Let's get her inside." Hershel said.

Rick screamed once more. We looked over to see him grab his axe and head in the door that Emma and Carl came out of.

Emma stood there, just staring at the side of the building until I touched her shoulder. She jumped. "Sorry, Daryl." She said quietly, following the others inside. I was the last one in and closed the cage behind us, hoping Rick would be alright on his own.

We got her into the visitor area and Hershel looked her over. "She's healthy, but she's going to need formula in order to survive." Hershel said.

"No. No way. Not her. We ain't losing nobody else. I'm goin' on a run." I spoke up.

"I'll back you up." Maggie said.

I nodded. "Beth." I called her over. "Kid just lost his mom. His dad ain't doin' so hot neither." I told her, nodding to Carl.

She nodded. "I'll look out for him."

Hershel nodded.

I looked over at Emma. She looked up at me, looking lost. "Hey." I said softly.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"It'll be okay. Alright?" I told her as the others conversed.

She nodded briefly. "Be careful, okay?"

I nodded to her with a smile and called for Maggie as we headed out to the yard where the bike was parked.

It only took us fifteen minutes to get back to the daycare that Maggie remembered. We swept the whole building, not finding any walkers. Then Maggie raided the kitchen, stuffing a backpack full with formula and bottles.

"So. You and Emma…" She trailed off as I took a look around.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You didn't just go to high school together." She commented.

"How do ya figure?" I asked.

"She told me she was supposed to be married once, but she found the guy in bed with her roommate." Maggie said.

"Ya gettin' to a point?" I asked, sharply.

She smiled over at me. "But yet she wears a ring on her right hand with a pretty diamond in the middle."

I paused. I hadn't looked at her hands. I was too busy forcing myself to think about things other than Emma. She'd told me she kept the ring, but I hadn't known she still wore it.

"You gave it to her, didn't you?" Maggie asked softly, looking at me.

I shook my head. "I was a stupid kid. Ain't no more than that. You get the kid somethin'?" I asked.

She nodded, accepting my change of conversation. "Enough for a little while."

"Aight." I said, heading back out to the bike.

Maggie stopped, seeing a diaper bag on the floor. She smiled up at me. "It's got diapers, wipes and clothes."

"Grab it. We got a kid to feed." I told her. I dropped a walker on the front lawn of the daycare before we got on the bike and rode back to the prison.

We dismounted and ran back inside. Beth was holding the baby as we dropped the supplies on the table. I don't know what it was, seeing a baby in the room. I'd never much been one for lil' kids, but somethin' I couldn't explain washed over me.

"Here, lemme." I told her and she smiled, handing over the baby.

"She's probably hungry." Beth said, handing me a bottle of the formula.

I rocked her gently back and forth in my arms and she hungrily drank from the bottle. I glanced over at Carl, sittin' on the stairs. "She got a name yet?"

He shrugged. "I was thinking about maybe Lori. Then there's Carol too. Andrea, Amy. Jacqui, Patricia. Or Sophia, I don't know." He said, lookin' lost.

I nodded for a minute, thinking. "How 'bout Lil' Ass-Kicker?" I smiled.

Maggie, Glenn and Hershel laughed. When I glanced over, I saw Emma smiling.


Maggie and Beth traded off taking care of the baby the rest of the day. We still hadn't seen Rick yet and as we started a fire, I was worried for him. Emma had barely said two words since we'd gotten back from the run for the formula. I wanted to talk to her, but not in front of everybody.

She glanced at me for a second, nodding to the visitor area. I nodded once and she stood up, walking out of the room. I gave it just a minute before I followed her. She was pacing when I found her.

"I know this is asking a lot. But I need you, Daryl." She said, looking so scared.

I wrapped my arms around her and she pulled me close.

"She didn't want to die." She said quietly through tears. "But she knew she had the save the baby."

I rubbed her back in slow circles, pulling her against me.

"She went into labor and I freaked. I was so scared. But she talked me through it the whole time. Even while she was crying and screaming." Emma said.

I pulled her tighter to my chest. "I'm sorry you had to do that."

She let out a sob. "Carl… Carl said we couldn't leave her, Daryl. He… he shot her so she wouldn't come back."

I felt regret coursing through my chest. Carl was just a kid. He shouldn't have to deal with any of this shit; let alone taking down his own mom. "I'm so sorry, baby." I caught myself saying.

She cried against my jacket and I wanted to take all her pain and wash it away.

"It'll be okay. We'll figure it out." I whispered, running my fingers through her hair.

She nodded, pulling away from me. She turned her back to me and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I touched her shoulder, trying to let her know I was there for her. "Ain't nothin'."

She gave a little laugh, still trying to rid her face of the stray water. "It's always something." She said quietly, walking away from me.

I felt torn. I wanted to make her feel better, but I didn't know what I could do. Reluctantly, I followed her back into the main area. I took a seat on the floor, glancing over at her. Maggie whispered something to her and she shrugged wordlessly. We sat in the quiet for longer than I would've liked. It was almost painful. Even the baby didn't make much noise.

"Hey Wilson." I said, across the circle.

Emma looked up at me, obviously surprised by my usage of her last name.

"You 'member that song they played in Sophomore year for the kid that was killed in that car crash on 75?" I asked, remembering how all of us kids were gathered in the gym. I painfully remember talking to a buddy, not much paying attention to the memorial that was being held.

"For Bobby Baker?" She asked.

I nodded. "The song?"

"Country Roads by John Denver." She said.

"Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River. Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing in a breeze." I sang quietly.

She shook her head. "Country roads, take me home to the place I belong. West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home, country roads."

"All my memories gather 'round her, miner's lady, stranger to blue water." Glenn added with a little smile.

"Dark and dusty, painting on the sky, misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eyes." Beth sang along.

"Country roads, take me home to the place I belong. West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home, country roads." Hershel smiled as we sang along to the chorus.

I smiled, seeing everyone remember the words. It felt, for just a moment, like we were a family, camping somewhere remote. No cell service, no TVs, no cars haulin' ass on the freeway. Just our small group, remembering what it was like to be human.


Rick was still MIA. Hershel said he found Rick in the boiler room where Lori gave birth, waiting on a call; but the phone line only had static. I was worried about him and the rest of the group, but I knew he needed time to grieve.

"We need more supplies. Formula mostly. We could use more diapers and clothes for her." Hershel told us after breakfast.

"I'll go." Glenn volunteered. He looked at me like he expected me to object.

"You'll need someone to go with you." Maggie said.

"I'll go with Glenn." Emma spoke up.

I looked over at her. I knew she was still shaken from the day before.

"Ya sure you're okay with that?" Maggie asked her.

She nodded, looking at me. "We need the formula. It wouldn't hurt if we found a bag of Cheetos either." She said with a little smile.

Glenn nodded. "That's good. You're a better shot than me anyways."

I clenched my jaw. I wasn't gonna tell her not to go, but I sure as hell didn't want her goin' out there. Not after what she'd gone through yesterday. "Mere." I said, nodding my head to the other room.

She rolled her eyes, standing and following me.

"Ya don't gotta go." I told her.

"Yes I do. If I don't go help Glenn, I'm gonna go catatonic and that's the last thing we need. Rick's AWOL, you're the new leader, and the baby needs formula." She countered.

I sighed. "I don't want ya out there."

"Daryl, I'm a big girl." She told me.

"I can't protect ya out there." I told her sternly.

"Ya ain't gotta protect me either way." She said and I could hear the anger in her voice. "I'm goin'." She said with finality as she walked away from me.

Glenn and Emma gathered their stuff and loaded up into one of the cars. I wanted to tell her goodbye, but my stubborn ass just watched Glenn drive her away.

"Ya shoulda said goodbye." Maggie said from my elbow.

"Ain't one for goodbyes." I told her.

"So I'm seein'." She said, turning and walking back inside.

I sighed, following her back into the cell block. I looked around the group and decided we best not be twiddlin' our thumbs the rest of the day. "Carl, Maggie, think we best search the rest of the prison, clean out the walkers."

They nodded solemnly, heading for the weapons cage.

"Ya'll aight here alone?" I asked, looking at Hershel and Beth.

Beth smiled and I remembered she was so much younger than the rest of us. "We'll be fine. I'm a pretty decent shot if anything does happen."

I nodded to her. "Best lock that door behind us."

They nodded and Hershel held the baby while Beth locked us out of the cell block. I taped a flashlight onto the bottom of my crossbow so the light shined where I was aiming. I looked over at Maggie and Carl, who nodded that they were ready.

We scanned the lower levels together and I felt a tug towards Carl. "My ma, she died in a house fire. I was just old enough to ride a bicycle." I said, knowing he stood next to me. "Fell asleep with a cigarette in her mouth, least that's what the cops said. Ya know, she was just gone. Erased. People said it was better that way. I don't know. Just made it seem like it wasn't real, ya know?"

"I shot my mom. She was out. Hadn't turned yet. I ended it. It was real." Carl spoke up.

I had a moment of silence for the kid, scanning the area in front of me.

"I'm sorry about your mom." Carl told me.

"I'm sorry about yours." I said.

We walked for another twenty minutes before we hit a fork in the road. "Maggie, you and Carl head down that way. You need help, you holler." I directed them.

They nodded, heading away from me.

I hadn't walked down the hallway very long when I found a walker, stumbling towards me. I nailed it in the head, taking it down. I went to retrieve my arrow, but paused, seeing a knife sticking out of the side of it's throat. Carol's knife.

My blood boiled. I took the knife and stabbed it mindlessly into the wall, then turned and stabbed at the ground. I felt defeated. I didn't want any more dead bodies. I didn't want to dig anymore graves. I let out a huff of air as I leaned against the wall and slid down it, resting on the floor.

The door in front of me on the other side of the hall moved. I figured it was a walker, stuck because of the bodies in front of the door.

It banged again and I could feel my temper rise.

Another bang and I stood quickly, yanking the door open and ready to stab whatever son of a bitch walker was inside.

I almost dropped my knife, seeing Carol. She was weak, but she stared at me, then her lips quirked a little bit. "Thought you'd never find me." She croaked.

I slung my crossbow over my shoulder, leaning down to pick her up. By the time I reached the fork, Maggie and Carl were wandering back. Carl smiled, seeing Carol alive.

Beth unlocked the gate for us and I laid her down in one of the closest cells. Even with only one leg, Hershel was still a doc by any other name. I moved out of the way so he and Maggie could take a look at her.

I sighed, feeling better. I turned around and saw Rick standing there.

He ducked his head when our eyes met. "Thank you, Daryl." He told me.

Carl watched him carefully. "You wanna to meet her?"

Rick nodded. "Yes."

Carl took the baby from Beth, slowly walking over and handing Rick his daughter. He smiled, looking down at Carl.

"She's gorgeous." He said. "Have you named her yet?"

Carl shook his head. "There's too many to choose from."

Rick nodded. "Come outside with me."

Carl nodded and followed the sheriff out.

I milled around the main area for a while until Rick and Carl came back in. Carl was carrying the baby and a red shopping cart full of formula, and Rick was carrying a girl. I felt a little bit of panic. The shopping cart was from the little store in town, where Glenn and Emma were supposed to be.

"What's your name?" He asked, getting the girl to open her eyes.

She said nothing, watching us all carefully.

"Rick." I called.

He turned to me and nodded, locking her in the main common area.

Carol had just woken up not too long ago. She wasn't doin' so hot, but she was better than when I found her. Rick smiled, giving her a hug.

"Poor thing fought her way into a cell. Must've passed out, dehydrated." I told Rick.

Beth took the baby from Carl and went to sit next to Carol. There was a look of realization on Carol's face as her eyes welled up.

"I'm sorry." She said, standing to give him another hug.

I saw the girl watching from behind the bars and knew we had to interrogate her.

"Your friends were kidnapped." She spoke up and I felt every muscle in my body freeze up.

"What?" I asked, walking over towards her.

"Asian guy, pretty girl. I knew who took them." She told us.

Rick unlocked the door and I followed him in, shutting the door behind me.

"There's a town near here, Woodbury. There's maybe 75 people there. Run by this guy, calls himself The Governor. Pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type." She said, watching us both.

"Why are you telling us this?" Rick asked.

I didn't care why the hell she was tellin' us; we needed to know where the hell this place was.

"Woodbury isn't the safe haven everybody thinks it is. And I got a friend I need out of there. I can get you in, but I can't do it by myself." She told us.

I took Rick's shoulder, pulling him to the other wall. "We gotta get Glenn and Emma. We ain't losin' nobody else." I told him sternly.

He nodded. "But we need to be careful. She could be leadin' us right into a trap."

I nodded, agreeing with the sheriff.

"Alright." Rick said, turning back to her. "We'll help you get your friend if you help us get ours."