"Liz! Liz! Look!"

Liz opened an eye and tried to assess the situation. No one was bleeding. No one was screaming. That warranted going back to sleep after Hershel and Daryl had tormented her and waken her from sleep every so often during the days after her fall down the stairs. "Later, Carl," she grumbled into the pillow.

"Come on." Carl pushed her door open and a series of footsteps on the floor caught the girl's attention. "This is Traveler," the boy said proudly as a German Shepherd snuffled at Liz's face.

"Where the heck did you find a dog?" Liz exclaimed, her exhaustion completely forgotten. "Hi, baby!" She ruffled the dog's ears and stuck her nose up against his. "Oh, you're beautiful."

"I'm glad you think so," Carl said with just as much enthusiasm. "He was just wandering around outside. I think he was looking for people. He's not even bloody or anything. I bet he's been catching animals, not eating the walkers." He beamed as the dog licked his hand. "He's hungry now. What can dogs eat? I never had one. Mom doesn't like them."

"He can eat a lot of things we can eat," Liz replied. "Traveler, huh? Fitting. Why don't we travel down to the kitchen and see if there's anything we can spare?"

***

"No." T Dog stared in horror at Traveler, who was contentedly licking the juices from an empty can of Spam. "We ain't keepin' no dog in here. How we know that thing won't tear us up in the middle of the night?" He shook his head. "No, no, no."

"He's just a puppy," Liz replied, patting the empty space on the couch between her and Carl. Traveler jumped onto the cushion and immediately curled up with his nose under his tail. "He's such a good boy. He has to be trained already."

"That there's a police dog," Rick said as he entered the room. "I heard you two got yourselves a pet." He sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He looked weary, as usual these days. "Carl, you know we can't have another mouth to feed, especially a non-human one."

"It's not just me," Carl argued. "Liz wants him too." His eyes were wide as they pleaded with her. "Right?"

"Ah," Liz said. "I see why you got me involved in this. Needed me to team up against your dad, huh? Smart move." She winked at Carl, then turned to Rick. "How do you know he's a police dog?"

Rick barked out a command in German, and the dog immediately sat up at attention.

"Whoa," Liz and Carl breathed in unison.

"Just had a feeling. Acts like our K9s I worked with." Rick gave another command and the dog barked. A smile came to Rick's face; something that hadn't happened since the farm.

T groaned and shook his head. "C'mon, man. A dog? Ain't we got enough to worry about? Carl even said Lori don't like dogs. You gonna torment a pregnant lady with this killer?"

"Whose dog?" Daryl asked as he strode into the room.

"Ours," Carl said.

"Sweet," Daryl replied, scratching the dog behind the ears and giving him a piece of the jerky he was eating.

"Naw, man, not you, too." T made a sound of disgust. "You didn't strike me as a dog person."

"Had a retriever before all this," Daryl said. "Duke. Huntin' dog."

"What happened to him?" Carl asked apprehensively.

"Don't know," Daryl replied as he leaned against the doorknob and tore off another piece of jerky with his teeth. "Probably out there tearin' walkers apart."

"Let's focus, people," T said. "Time to set this dog loose. Bye, bye, Killer."

"No!" Carl and Liz protested at the same time.

"That dog's gotta earn its keep," Rick said warily. "You two want to keep him around, you'll have to take care of him. And you gotta keep him from bothering the ones who don't like animals." He turned to T-Dog. "Could come in handy. Company. Protection."

"Hunting," Daryl said. "I'm 'bout to go out now. I'll take the dog with me."

"Good. Leave him out there," T grumbled.

"C'mon, Mutt." Daryl patted his leg. "Time to go get us dinner."

"His name's Traveler," Liz called as the dog jumped up and trotted toward Daryl. "And be safe out there." She'd found it was easy to settle into a relationship with him. Though Daryl seemed hesitant, he hadn't fought off her affection for the most part. There was no formal recognition or announcement; just a quiet acceptance. Liz had been fine with that; she'd learned Daryl wasn't the chatty type.

"Traveler, got it," Daryl said. He gazed at Liz for a moment before leaving. He'd begun doing that after the herd attacked the farm. He suddenly understood the any moment could be their last, and he wanted to remember exactly what Liz looked like in case he got into trouble and didn't see her again.

"Daryl's good, but hopefully having the dog will cut time off of his hunts," Liz said hopefully.

"Cool," Carl said, sitting back and nodding in contentment. "No more school, and I got a dog. Things are going okay."

*****

"What is that thing?" Lori gasped, backing up against the kitchen cupboards that evening.

"It's a dog," Carol laughed. "Where did you come from?" She patted the dog as it trotted by, sniffing everyone.

"Yeah, where did it come from? How did it get in here?" Lori subconsciously held her large stomach and turned away from the dog, who was wagging its tail and looking up at her.

"I'm sure someone let it in," Carol scoffed. "Isn't that right, boy?"

"Mom! Mom! You already met Traveler." Carl bounded into the room and threw his arms around the dog's neck. "Dad said we can keep him if I take care of him. He went out hunting with Daryl and helped him catch a turkey! They're cleaning it now," the boy excitedly said. "We're gonna give Traveler some, since he helped and all."

"That's only fair," Carol agreed. She petted the dog before it left the room with Carl.

"Mom met Traveler. She didn't seem to like him," Carl reported to Liz and Daryl as he arrived on the porch with his new pet.

"Well he's sure earned his place, at least for tonight," Liz replied, grimacing and pulling out a clump of turkey feathers. She tried not to gag.

"Food don't come from no grocery store anymore," Daryl said, noticing the look of disgust on her face.

"I'm gonna find a ball or something we can play fetch with!" Carl exclaimed, bounding down off of the porch and into the yard with Traveler at his heels. The dog yipped happily; clearly ecstatic to be with living people again.

"Don't go too far," Liz called. "Stay where we can see you." She laughed when Carl turned and made a face at her. "Geeze. They said it takes a village to raise a kid and they weren't joking. Never thought I'd be nagging at someone else's kid."

"Rick's doin' fine by himself, far as Carl's concerned. He's a smart kid," Daryl replied. "Don' know about him watchin' a baby by himself, too."

"Don't say that!" Liz gasped. "Lori's had a hard time, what with being pregnant and Rick killing Shane. For all we know, she could be carrying my niece or nephew. I'm sure that's what's got her so mopey. I've tried to talk to her about it, but I can't figure out a tactful way to bring up Shane."

Daryl stopped plucking and stared at her. "And you're still friendly with her?"

Nodding, Liz replied, "I don't have too many options left for human contact. Cutting one off just because she cheated on her husband with my brother wouldn't be a smart move on my part."

Daryl nodded and ripped a handful of feathers from the bird. This was the first time in months Liz had brought Shane up. From what he'd seen, the girl hadn't cried a tear or lamented Shane's loss in the months they'd been on the run and he'd been dead. No one else noticed, but sometimes in the dead of night Liz would sit up and stare into the darkness, sighing every so often. Daryl never disturbed her, but instead kept her secret and pretended to sleep.

"I really am fine, you know," Liz said as she pulled a small feather from Daryl's hair.

"I know," Daryl replied genuinely. Liz didn't buy it.

"I am," Liz argued. "I see how everyone looks at me if someone brings Shane up. Lori looks at me like she hates me. You and Rick look at me like you're expecting me to fall apart." Liz pursed her lips and tugged at a tuft of feathers. "Carol gives me this look of pity and T-Dog avoided me completely for a while. The Greene sisters and Glenn are the only ones who haven't treated me any differently.

"I ain't waitin' for you to fall apart."

Liz looked up and narrowed her eyes. "You sure?"

"'s the same look you gave me when we came back from Atlanta without Merle. Were you waitin' for me to break down?" Daryl stopped plucking the bird and looked at the girl. Her amber eyes were focused on his; she was the only person he'd ever met who wasn't afraid to make intense eye contact.

"I wasn't. I didn't really know you then, but I kept trying to think of a way to tell you I was around if you ever needed to talk to someone, or talk about something else. I didn't know what to say."

"There you go," Daryl replied. "Maybe they're lookin' at you funny 'cause you forget you're famous."

Liz smiled and turned her attention to Carl and Traveler, who were both running around the open pasture across the drive. "Nah. I wasn't ever famous. I was just a Georgia girl out there in the big, strange world." She laughed as Traveler caught a stick from out of the air.

"Did you see that?" Carl called. "We're keeping him!"

A rustling from the nearby woods caught the dog's attention. Traveler barked and snarled, his ears back and fur on end. One walker stumbled out of the trees. It moaned and headed for the dog, who stood his ground and bared his teeth.

"Got it," Liz said, jumping up and grabbing her bow from the porch swing. She let an arrow loose and added the dead walker to her mental kill count. The smirk fell from her face as the dog continued to bark at the body. "What's the German word for 'quiet?'" she asked. "I can't remember what Rick said. The barking is going to bring in more of them."

"Shh, Traveler, quiet!" Carl said, tugging at the dog's collar. "C'mon, boy! Shh!"

A few yards behind him, more walkers emerged from the trees. Their grotesque faces were twisted into expressions of delight and hatred; their attention focused on the dog. Traveler snarled and charged at the walkers, tearing a leg from one and chomping down on another's arm.

"Get back here!" Daryl hollered to Carl.

"Traveler," Carl panted desperately. "Traveler, come on!" The dog darted off to rip at another walker's skirt hem.

"Carl!" Daryl yelled as he shot down three walkers dangerously close to the boy. "Now!"

"What's goin' on?" Rick called as he burst out the front door.

T-Dog was right behind him. "Shut that dog up!" he hissed as soon as he saw the small group lurching toward the house. "It's gonna be dark soon and we can't go back out there."

"Traveler!" Carl cried, ducking under a walker's arms. He reached the dog and got hold of his tail. "C'mon, boy! Now!"

"Carl!" Rick and Daryl called as they charged toward the group. Daryl went left and Rick went right – their hunting knives stabbing into walkers with lightning speed.

"Get back to the house," Rick growled as he caught Carl by the back of the jacket. "Now."

"Not without Traveler," Carl cried, reaching out for the dog again.

"Now."

Carl hesitated, then ran back toward the porch. "Liz," he panted. "We have to get Traveler."

Liz pulled Carl up onto the porch and stepped in front of him. "I think we should be more worried about your dad and Daryl, yeah?" She watched at the dog continued to tear walkers apart, snarling and giving short barks every so often.

"I knew that dog was bad news," T said. "We ain't keeping that thing. Can't have it barking at these things and bringing more down on us." He shook his head. "Sorry, kid. We ain't keeping him. I don't care what your dad says."

Daryl tugged his knife free from a walker's skull and scanned the area. He kicked a walker to the ground and stomped its rotten skull. No matter how many of the monsters he killed, the crunch of bone under his boot always left him with a sick feeling in his gut. "Rick!" he called as a walker opened its jaw wide and lunged for Rick's neck.

Rick spun and caught the walker by the shoulders and Daryl handily sunk his blade into its temple.

"Thanks," Rick breathed.

Traveler started barking, stirred up into a frenzy over the remaining walkers. They turned and headed for the dog.

"Help him," Carl pleaded, tugging at Liz's arm so hard she wondered if he was slowly dislocating it, bit by bit.

"What the hell's going on out here?" Lori asked. "What's that dog-" she hesitated. "Oh, my god. Rick." She pulled out her pistol and took aim.

"Don't!" Liz exclaimed. "You could hit one of them."

"I'm going to hit the walkers. There are too many for them to handle," Lori replied shakily. She raised the gun and fired off a shot before Liz could stop her.

Carl cried out in horror as Traveler fell to the ground. Liz said nothing, but gave Lori a side-eye that could have killed. Lori raised the gun and popped off a few more shots. This time, the bullets found their marks.

"Jesus," Rick exclaimed as a bullet whizzed past his head. He dropped to the ground.

"What the fuck?" Daryl growled as he dropped until the gunfire stopped. He glanced around and saw all the walkers he been wiped out. He looked for the dog, and swore when he saw he'd been hit. He crawled over and touched the dog's head. He frowned back at Rick. "Ain' good."

Traveler was whining and panting in pain. He'd been hit in the chest. Blood dribbled from his muzzle, but he managed to thump his tail a few times when Daryl spoke.

"Carl!" Liz cried as the boy took off toward the dog. He hurdled walkers' bodies and collapsed at the dog's side. "Someone get Hershel! We have to save him!"

"Hershel's on his way," Liz said as she caught up to him. She knelt down next to Carl and stroked the dog's fur. Tears immediately filled her eyes. "I wouldn't count on Hershel being able to help, bud," she said softly.

Carl looked up at Rick. "You were supposed to protect him! He was one of us! Why didn't you protect him?" He stood up and ran back to the house, ignoring Hershel as they passed each other.

"I'll go after him," Rick said, frowning down at the dog and turning to leave.

The dog looked up as Hershel approached, but whined and let his head drop back down. All at once, Liz burst into full-blown sobs. She stroked Traveler's fur and rubbed his ears. "You're okay, baby. You're okay." When Hershel strode over, she moved over so he'd have room beside the dog.

"As I hear it, the dog got in the line of Lori's shot." Hershel said. He raised an eyebrow at Daryl, then turned his attention back for the dog.

"It's bad, huh?" Liz choked out. Tears streamed down her face and her lip quivered. She'd loved animals forever, and the dog had seemed like a sign of hope in the middle of their travels. Guilt washed over her when she realized she was crying harder for the dog than for any person they'd lost so far.

Hershel gave a slow, single nod. "Even with the proper equipment, this dog would have a tough go. He's in a lot of pain." He looked to Daryl, who nodded. "The only humane thing is to put him down, unfortunately. I wish there was another way."

"I'll do it," Daryl said gruffly. He pulled out his knife and sat it on the ground next to him.

Hershel put a hand on Liz's back as she cried. "Liz, we have to -"

"I know," Liz interrupted. She sniffled and took a deep breath. She bent down and pressed her lips to the dog's head. He whined and gave his tail a thump. "You're a good boy," Liz whispered. "I'm sorry." She sat up and nodded to Daryl.

"Get out of here," Daryl mumbled. "You don't need to-"

"I do." Liz stroked the dog's fur and leaned in again and whispered kind, gentle words as Daryl put the dog down.

Behind them, Carl gave a soft sob.

"Come here," Liz said. "Aren't you happy that he got to see nice people like us before he got hurt?"

Carl sobbed. "Everything good gets taken from us. Sophia. Traveler. It's not fair. We can't have anything good."

Daryl watched the tears roll down Liz's face and he hoped to God Carl was wrong.

Author's Note: I figured we'd spend a little time following the gang around during the winter they traveled between the farm and prison. Eight months is a long time... lots can happen!
Also, sorry for the unfortunate animal death. I love dogs. I feel for Carl and Liz, big time. Life on the road is hard, even for the four-legged friends. :(