Alright everyone, I know that a few of you were concerned with the way the last chapter played out but I think after this one all will be right again. Stefani has a history with Rick that was way before the world went to shit, and I think that it's one of those things that someone would hold onto when everything around them is falling apart. Please keep reading and don't let that aspect of her character turn you away. Remember this is a Daryl/OC story!

Daryl tried to fall asleep. He was lying across the floor of the RV, forcing himself to close his eyes. Every time he did though, her face would show up. At first it was her dark eyes and messy curls as she smiled up at him with a flushed face after sex, those were the moments he wanted back. It didn't stay that way though, too quickly did her dark eyes go milky and she skin pale and decomposing. She was out there for another night on her own and he couldn't bear to think of finding her in anything but perfect condition.

He sat up frustrated, angry at himself for caring as much as he did. Stefani was the first woman that he cared about. No matter what Shane or anyone else in the group had to say, he was falling hard for her. Getting up, he grabbed his crossbow and turned to Andrea. It wasn't long before the two were walking up the side of the highway. Andrea occasionally looked his way, something obviously on her mind.

"Do you really think we'll find them? All of them, I mean." He shined the flashlight in her face, scoffing at what he saw.

"You got that same look on your face same as everybody else. What the hell's wrong with you people we just started looking. This ain't the mountains of Tibet, it's Georgia. They could be holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost, they survive, it happens all the time."

"Sophia's only twelve, what if she didn't find the others?"

"Hell I was younger than her and I got lost. Nine days in the woods eating berries, and wiping my ass with poison oak."

"They found you?" Andrea asked carefully not sure what to think just yet. She was still in shock that Daryl Dixon was sharing something so personal with someone.

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was going another stint in juvie. They didn't even know I was gone. Made my way back though, went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear, except my ass itched something awful."

Andrea couldn't hold onto the laughter that bubbled over. She apologized as she bit back a smile, surprised when a small laugh escaped his mouth as well. For a moment she understood. There was a completely different side to Daryl than what everyone else saw. He wasn't only an explosive redneck. She wondered if Stefani had heard this story, or any other story that had changed her perspective.

"Are we looking for Sophia or Stefani?" Andrea asked as she kept her eyes on the ground. She wasn't sure of the reaction she'd get from him with the sudden subject change.

"Does it matter, hell finding any of them right now would be an advantage." He sighed. "Who knows they might be together."

"Would you have gone after her?" She glanced at him quickly as she waited for a response, surprised by his hesitation.

"I've never been around when bad things happened to her. At first I didn't think much of it, probably didn't care all that much. But that night the walkers attacked camp and I thought she'd been bit, I've never been that scared of losing someone that wasn't blood. Told myself I wouldn't leave her side again." He stopped for a moment, turning to look at Andrea briefly. "What's it matter to you anyway?"

"She's my friend too. I want to make sure that the guy she's decided to be with is worth it."

"You and everyone else." He said quietly.

"For what it's worth, I think she made a good decision." She smiled at him as he nodded in appreciation.

He wanted to ask her how he was supposed to tell Stefani that. She was the one that was pushing him away now. It was a strange feeling to try to hold onto something that he wasn't even sure was his to begin with. Stefani was the first and definitely only woman that he would ever allow to drag him along like this. In spite of Shane and everyone else who thought he wasn't good enough for the group's princess, he wanted to stay with her. If it was up to him, he probably would've stayed just for the hell of it. Now it was Stefani that didn't want anything to do with him and he hated feeling like it had something to do with the new sheriff.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Maggie stepped out of the house, moving along the side of the porch. With all the commotion going on in the house, it was nice to get a moment alone. She was surprised to see Stefani leaning against the porch railing, through the moonlight she could see tear streaks running down her cheeks. Tentatively, she took a step closer to stand beside the other woman. For a second she thought about leaving, but the look on Stefani's face made her rethink that idea. Instead she moved closer and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Is everything alright?" She asked softly.

Stefani reached up to wipe at her eyes before giving her a small smile. "Not really, haven't been for a while."

"Are you worried about your brother?"

"Yeah, him and everyone else, we've had a tough few weeks." She turned and leaned back against the railing. "You're lucky, having a place like this somewhere safe, away from all the death out there."

"We haven't been completely untouched. We've lost people too." Maggie sighed as she took a seat in the chair against the house. "Can I ask you about the bruises?"

"Which ones?" Stefani tried to laugh. It had occurred to her that with a shower and fresh pair of clothes, the beating her body had taken was much more obvious. "Like I said, a tough few weeks."

"Those seem pretty fresh."

"There's this guy I've been sleeping with. He's not exactly prince charming, but he's got this soft side that only I seem to get out of him most days. We were at the CDC a few days ago, drinking and feeling safe for the first time since the world went to shit. My brother's always been kind of an asshole, but lately something's just pushed his buttons wrong. He brought up a past relationship and it flipped a switch. Daryl, my guy, kind of lost it. It was an accident, I'm sure of it."

"Do you love him, this Daryl?" Maggie asked as she watched the tears fill Stefani's eyes again.

"I don't know. I want to, but it doesn't feel the same as before."

"Nothing is the same as before."

Their conversation was cut short as Stefani heard a car pull up the drive. She slowly moved towards the porch steps as she saw the familiar station wagon coming towards the house. For a moment her heart stopped as she waited to see who was going to exit. She felt awful that her heart sank as she saw the two men walking closer to the house. With tentative steps, she moved down the stairs and waited until they were close enough to wrap her arms first around Glen then T-Dog.

"How long have you been here? Did Rick and Shane find you? Where's Sophia, Carol?" Glenn started with the questions as she moved out of T-Dog's slack grip.

"I'll explain everything, but first I wanna know how the hell that happened?" She asked looking down at T-Dog's arm.

"Cut myself when that herd passed by us. You're boy, Dixon saved my ass."

"Sophia's inside sleeping. She's had a tough day. I told her that I lost Carol and with Carl hurt, she's been crying all afternoon." Stefani sighed as she looked at the men. "Where are the others?"

"Stayed behind, wanted to see if you girls would make it back. We'll head back tomorrow to get them."

"Did you close the gate on your way in?" Maggie finally asked as she joined the group.

"Uh, yeah we closed it and did the latch. It's nice to see you again. We met before briefly." Glenn stammered causing Maggie to smile.

"We need to get someone to look at this cut on T's arm." Stefani said as she moved towards the door.

"I'll make you something to eat," Maggie said as she led the way inside.

Stefani paused as she saw Sophia stir on the couch. Still in a half sleep daze, the little girl sat up and glanced over the group. Tears filled her eyes once again as she noticed that there were only two new faces. Stefani stepped towards her and wrapped her arms about her. The group stepped into the room with Carl as Glenn and T-Dog made sure Rick and Lori knew that they were there to help.

Again Maggie led the men out as Stefani and Sophia sat together by the window. The older of the two rocked gently back and forth trying to calm the little girl. It was a strange role for her to take on: mother. She never thought she'd have the chance in the world they were living in today. Strangely enough she found it comforting too, running her fingers through the girl's hair. For a second she caught Rick's gaze and her stomach seemed to drop.

"When are Dale, Andrea, and Daryl coming?" The little girl asked quietly. "Are they safe?"

"Yeah sweetie, they're fine. We'll see them tomorrow." Stefani leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Why don't we go check on the others?"

It was a relief to be out of the room. As much as Stefani wanted to stay and be with Carl, but she felt awful sitting there with a grieving Lori and Rick. It just didn't seem right for her to be there. She never had anything against Lori, even when to pair originally met. Most of the time they two got along great, but in the later years, the ones when their marriage became rocky, Stefani felt like the other woman. Rick would never cheat he wasn't that kind of guy. He would end up calling her every day, wanting to meet for lunch or just spend a few hours together talking or doing nothing. It was selfish of Stefani to love those few hours she got to have with him alone.

"How are you doing there, Theodore?" Stefani asked with a smirk as she sat down at the table. Sophia had resumed her spot on the couch.

"It hurts, but I'll live. Unfortunately, thanks to Merle's clap."

"What?" She asked trying to hide her laughter.

"Nothing, I'm glad you're alright. We were worried about all of you. Running off like that was stupid." He scolded. "I thought we'd never see you again. You know what that would do to some of the men in this group?"

"I'm sorry." She sighed. "You would've been fine. They would've been fine." Her eyes glossed over with tears as she thought back to what Shane had told her yesterday.

They both looked up when they heard another car pulling up to the house. Again Stefani felt her heart stop. For some unknown reason she moved quickly to the door, hoping it was the man she desperately needed to see. If he was here, she wouldn't have to think about all the other craziness. It suddenly occurred to her how stupid it had been to push him away. He was the only one that was consistently by her side over the past few months. There was really no one else she could depend on like him.

Letting out a sobbing breath, Stefani moved off the porch and headed towards her brother. She was overcome with tears as she felt him hold her against her body. No matter what he had said to her, it was always a relief when he held her tightly. It was only when the others came running out of the house did Shane pull away. He was handing the bags she hadn't even noticed off to Hershel and Glenn as he asked if Carl was still alright. It surprised her to feel the tears that fell from her eyes as she heard that Otis didn't make it.

She kept her arms wrapped around her brother as he explained what happened at the high school. His muscles were tight, still stressed from the experience he had. It was selfish, but she was glad that he'd made it back because she knew that if it meant Carl's life, he'd have sacrificed himself. Rick and Lori stayed outside as Hershel worked on their son. Stefani felt as though she couldn't detach herself from Shane in fear of losing him somehow.

"You do some scary shit, sometimes, you know that?" She whispered as she leaned against his side. He kissed the top of her head, but didn't say a word. "I'm sorry you couldn't save him."

Again all she got was silence, but feeling the way his relaxed body had gone rigid again she suspected that he was still feeling guilty about the run. Stefani glanced up her eyes meeting the same hazel, she knew he wasn't telling her everything. It was late, and had been a long day and she didn't want to push him. Tomorrow she'd ask.

Hershel came out with the news that Carl was going to be okay. Stefani only headed inside to make sure that Sophia had heard the good news. The little girl was already asleep next to him in the large bed, her broken arm laid out next to her carefully. Lori didn't seem to mind having the little girl intrude, and with that, Stefani left.

She was sitting on the porch steps, leaning against the post. Absently she ran a hand over her stomach, trying to calm the fluttering that she knew would end in her hugging the toilet. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of anything that would keep her mind off of it. She was surprised when a pair of cerulean eyes popped into her head. In that moment she knew that she'd go to the highway tomorrow, just to see him again. She was pulled from her thoughts when the door squeaked open. She was expecting T-Dog, maybe even Glenn, but not the man that sat beside her.

"One hell of a day, huh?" Rick said as she carefully sat beside her.

"Yeah, we've had a lot of those lately." Again she hand came to a stop on her stomach. "About what you said earlier, you're wrong."

"Earlier?" She glanced at him for a moment before turning back out to the darkness around them.

"Daryl, he cares about me. Maybe more than he should, but he does. It's not like you or Shane, it's something so much deeper. He's stronger than you. I can't break him as easily." She smiled softly to herself. "You and Shane have always put the greater good above the one. Before that was admirable. In this world, it will get the people you love killed. Daryl is selfish and I love that about him. I know that no matter what, he's going to take care of me, protect me."

"Stefani, are you sure…"

"I'm sure that you're wrong about him. You and Shane have never liked a single man I've been with, but this time I'm not going to let you make that decision for me."

She slowly got up, trying hard not to jostle her stomach contents. Heading inside, she laid on the couch with a satisfied smile on her face. It felt like Christmas Eve, the quicker she fell asleep the sooner tomorrow would come. All she could think about was being wrapped in Daryl's strong arms again, and this time she wouldn't push them away.