Carlin slept late the following morning, so she was alone in her bunk when she woke up, tangled in the sheets in nothing but one of Daryl's t-shirts and a pair of panties. She rolled over and cast a quick eye through the RV. Daryl was the only one there, sitting at the table (it was no longer a bed) with a cup of coffee.

"Good morning," she mumbled as she climbed down from the bunk, stepping on the back of the driver's seat on her way down.

Daryl leaned back to get a good view of her rear, quite visible in her panties. "I'll say," he grinned.

"Perv," she accused, reaching for her jeans and shimmying into them. "Where is everyone?"

Daryl set down his coffee cup. There was actually steam coming from the top. She'd have to get herself one of those. "The lawman is teaching some of the younger ones how to shoot a gun."

Carlin hesitated halfway through putting on her bra on underneath the t-shirt. She half-turned to him, panicked.

"Yeah, Ryan and Lauren are with them, but so are Nary and Kiri," Daryl answered before she could even ask. "That lawman won't let anything happen to them."

Carlin exchanged the oversized t-shirt for a clean one that fit a little bit better. "Let's go join them," she suggested. "No offense, but I don't particularly trust Nary with kids."

Daryl shrugged and the two of them pulled on their coats and left the RV. It was much warmer today; the snow had all but disappeared.

"You about ready?" Rick was asking as they approached, surreptitiously holding hands. "I'm giving you guys some low caliber guns so they'll be a little easier to handle."

"Let's do it!" Chris said eagerly, a semi-automatic in his hand.

Julie, standing as always at his side, nodded her eager agreement. "Yeah, this'll be fun!"

"This isn't a game, Julie. This is serious stuff," Tyreese said grimly. "You listen to Rick and do everything he says."

"She knows, man," Chris sneered. "You don't have to worry. We're taking this seriously."

Tyreese aimed his own gun. "Good to know. Thanks, Chris." And he fired off several rounds. Every bullet hit his target, a tin can sitting atop the fence post. It fell to the ground, suddenly decimated.

"Nice one, man," Rick smiled.

Tyreese grinned back. "Thanks, but my teacher deserves all the credit."

"Whoa, whoa!" Hershel shouted, running up to them from the house. "Stop shooting! Stop right now!"

Rick held up his hand for everyone to cease fire. "What's the problem, Hershel?"

"The Thompson's house is just on the other side of that tree line!" their host exclaimed. "Your bullets are probably ripping right through their house! You can't keep firing in that direction!"

"Jeez, sorry about that," Rick scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I had no idea. The Thompson's, huh? They, uh...Are they in your barn?"

Hershel glowered. "That's not the point! I don't want their house to be destroyed! You can't just-"

"That's not what I meant. I didn't-" Rick began, but he stopped when Hershel's face went from angry to shocked. "What? What's going on?" He turned and saw exactly what. It was a dead one, missing it's left arm entirely. It was dressed for summer even though it was February. "Oh. Damn." He raised his gun. "I think I can get it from here."

"No!" Hershel shouted. "I can't let you shoot him. There's only one...He'll be easy to get into the barn."

Rick hung his head. "Jesus."

"I've done this a few times before, you know," Hershel muttered. "They're only really dangerous when there's more than one. Go over there and get his attention."

Rick sighed but did as he was told. "Over here, ugly!"

Hershel moved up behind the dead one and grabbed its remaining arm and its head. "Got you!"

"Looks like you've got your own little system," Rick said, sounding begrudgingly appreciative.

"Piece of cake," Hershel muttered. "Lacey, Arnold...I'm going to need your help getting him in the barn. Go around back and distract the others while I throw this one in." While the group of Atlanta survivors watched, Hershel, his son, his daughter, and the dead one moved towards the barn. While Lacey and Arnold moved around to the back, out of view, Hershel unlocked the main door. As soon as the lock was removed, the door slammed open and a rather portly dead one came tumbling out. Hershel stumbled backwards and released the dead one he'd been holding.

"Oh shit! Hershel!" Rick yelled.

"Dad!" Arnold yelled from the loft inside the barn as the assembled dead ones made straight for Hershel, lying helpless on the ground. "I'm coming, Dad!" And he and Lacey launched themselves down from the loft as Rick came rushing to the rescue.

"Oh god!" Hershel panted. "Oh, please god!"

"No!" Arnold shouted, body-slamming the dead one next to his father.

"Lori! Kiri!" Rick barked as he ran. "Make sure all the kids are in the house and keep them there! Stay inside! Chris! Julie! Into the house with Lori and Kiri!"

Arnold punched the dead one repeatedly. "No! Not my father!" he shouted. "Not my father!" That's when another dead one bit a hole through his neck.

"Arnold!" Lacey screamed, rushing forward.

"Shawn, no!" Hershel reached for the dead one chomping on Arnold. "Please, son! He's your brother! Don't do this! You've got to remember!"

"Daddy!" Maggie shrieked, rushing up with her gun drawn, Glenn hot on her heels.

"Maggie, stop!" Glenn begged, but she ignored him. Carlin, Nary, and Daryl drew their own weapons and joined the bloodbath as Lacey was overwhelmed and eaten.

With all of them working together, it didn't take long to dispose of the remainder of the dead ones. Hershel himself put bullets through the brains of his children. "I'm sorry, Shawn. I'm sorry, Arnold." He put the barrel of his gun against his temple. "I'm sorry."

"Hershel, no!" Rick shouted, slapping the gun away.

There was a pause, and then Hershel fell to his knees, sobbing. "I'm so sorry."

They buried Hershel's three deceased children that afternoon, decorating the graves with simple wooden crosses. As they stood there in silence, Hershel turned to Rick with tears coursing down his cheeks. "You were right," he said simply.

"You knew it was going to happen," Daryl muttered bitterly as the group slowly went their separate ways, eventually leaving only Hershel and his remaining children at the graves of Shawn, Arnold, and Lacey. "He was being an idiot."

Carlin was surprised by the bitterness in his voice, and then she realized his thoughts were probably on Meryl. She wondered again just what had happened while she'd been away. So instead of saying something, she simply slipped her hand in his. His fingers clamped around hers moodily.

Again, this is sort of what happened in the show, but more what happened in the comic. In the show they left out most of Hershel's kids... Anyway I hope you enjoyed!