Guys, I'm not really sure what I think of this chapter. Honestly, I don't much like it, but it's whatever. You could say I've had a rough week. The next one will be better. Promise.

I only own Rose and her family.

PS-don't flame if I got something wrong medically, timeline, or location wise. 'cause that's just rude.

Kaythanks!

"Rose? Rose, stay with me!" Glenn held tight to her as she fell, her eyes closing. He was so confused and didn't understand what was happening, his heart and mind racing, laced with a panic usually reserved for running from walkers. He was so unsure of what to do it was unreasonable. He didn't want to lose her, he couldn't. Not after everything they'd been through and there was too much he wanted to say to her. He felt as if he'd never wanted anything more than to know who she was, what made her tick and her hopes and dreams, who she was before the dead walked the streets. He sat there holding her for a bit, staring at her with a look of desperation that she couldn't see.

"Help! Somebody!" he called out the door, keeping his arms around her the whole time. He could feel his breath quicken with panic and he glanced from her face to the hallway probably a hundred times before anyone came, but he never expected it to be Daryl Dixon. He had a bottle of whiskey in his hand and he looked like he'd had quite a bit to drink but seemed focused nonetheless.

"What happened? What'd you do?" Daryl snapped, falling to his knees beside them.

"Nothing! I-I…" Glenn stuttered, unsure of what to say. He watched Daryl take her from his arms in a fireman carry and laid her on the cot as if it she was a pillow he'd dropped on the floor. Something fell out of her hand in the process and Glenn picked it up, his eyes going wide.

"Answer my question, damn it!" Daryl called over his shoulder and when Glenn didn't answer he turned to him, about ready to smack him upside the head, but he was just as stunned when he saw the pill bottle in his hand. They both knew what she'd done and they were shocked, even through Daryl's tough as nails composure anyone could see the shock in his eyes. He took the pills from Glenn, staring at them a moment nut it didn't take him long to snap back to reality, throwing the bottle on the ground and turning back to Rose who lie completely still on her cot. He positioned her head back and beckoned Glenn over in a harsh tone.

"Breath air into her mouth." He demanded.

"What?" Glenn was almost in hysterics and Daryl rolled his eyes.

"We have to pump her stomach of those pills or she's gonna die, now breath air into her lungs. Three deep breaths, now!"

Glenn did as he was told and when he lifted his head Daryl folded his hands on her sternum, pushing down several times before instructing Glenn to repeat the process. This was done a good four or so more times and both boys were completely silent the entire time, hoping and praying that the redhead would open her eyes again. Her lips were beginning to turn blue when her eyes shot open and she sucked in a huge breath, coughing up the drugs and trying to catch her breath. They didn't know how long she'd gone without air in her lungs and neither did she but all she knew was that she didn't think she'd ever felt so much pain in her life. Every breath felt as if she'd swallowed the sun on top of all the pills she'd taken coming up from her stomach. It was not a very pretty combitnation.

"Glenn, go get that trashcan!" Daryl instructed since Glenn seemed to be in a state of relieved shock. He did as he was told and returned quickly, letting Rose throw up the rest of the medicine in her system, both men hoping they'd gotten to her in time so most of it hadn't gotten into her bloodstream. She finally started breathing somewhat regularly but it still hurt like hell. She sounded as if she was wheezing from an asthma attack when she looked up at the two boys staring down at her, Glenn with a huge smile on his face and Daryl just gave her that look that she could never understand or describe. He didn't look angry, But God knew she was.

"What the hell did you do?" she yelled at them, still in a daze and unsure of what was happening. All she knew is this was not the afterlife, at least not the way she pictured it, and she was not happy about it.

She stared right into Daryl's eyes and tried to stand. He didn't look fazed by the anger in her partially glazed eyes, but when she tried to walk towards him she stumbled over, still dizzy from her close call with death. Daryl caught her and Glenn watched helplessly as she began to beat on his chest, calling out with sudden tears streaming down her face. Daryl didn't seem to notice, he just grabbed onto her wrists and she continued to try and throw a few more punches before simply crumbling at his feet, shanking from the pills and crying and God knows what else. Glenn couldn't believe what he was seeing, she always seemed so sure of everything and never in a million years thought she would give up. But there she was, falling apart right there in front of himself and Daryl. He could feel his heart breaking in two as he kneeled down to take over when Daryl let go of her wrists, holding her in his chest. Daryl kneeled down on her other side and rubbed his face with his hands. He wasn't really sure what to think. What he wanted to do was yell and scream at her, slap her in the face for being such an idiot; that was his usual tendency, what he was used to with his family, his brother, but he was starting to learn that was going to get him anywhere, especially with Rose. He sighed and leaned his head back. What had she done? How had she pulled out this seemingly soft side of himself that he hadn't seen since he was so very young? He couldn't understand it, and didn't think he ever would. She just had this thing about her where she saw the good in everybody and she radiated this positive energy that gave even him hope; even when she was scared and unsure it was like this force driving him to keep her alive. He remembered the first day they'd met back at the camp when Rick had told him that they'd locked his brother up on a roof in Atlanta. He was so angry then, but he also remembered the tears that threatened to spill over that nobody had noticed, except for her. Rose had noticed and he knew she had seen the pain in his eyes that nobody in the camp even tried to see. It was as if she wanted to help him, like she knew his pain. Of course now he knew that she did know his pain, the loss of a sibling was no easy feat, but she'd done it and she was still here. He knew in that moment when she saw what nobody else did that this girl would mean something to him like nobody else had in such a long time. Nobody had ever done that, seen him as anything but Merle's brother and automatically assumed that he was to be just like him. Sure, he looked up to Merle but he was his big brother, it was all he'd known his whole life and the world ending was not going to change that. But she didn't. She saw Daryl as Daryl, a damaged man who'd seen much pain and suffering. He wasn't sure he liked how she looked at him but he did admit to himself that it was nice to be looked at like at least somewhat of a human being, but he would never tell anyone, not even Rose. He watched Glenn hold her like he thought if he let go she would break or melt right there on the floor. That was what she needed, someone like Glenn to hold her, to talk to her, maybe even love her. She was so young, but still at that awkward age; she knew so much, but she also knew so little and that was hard enough without having to deal with walkers coming after her all this time. Daryl cursed under his breath. What would Merle say if he were here? That he was getting soft? That he needed to man up? He rolled his eyes and looked around when he spotted something lying on the floor a few feet away. He stood and walked over to pick it up, his tracking skills kicking in. It was a photo album, and he guessed it was Rose's and began skimming pictures.

The whole book was full; full of pictures of pretty much the same five people, but the further he went the more people there were. He came across one photo of two Roses. He looked at the redhead in Glenn's arms then back. She was a twin, he guessed and he wondered if she had been infected or simply died some other way, or maybe they got separated and she was still alive somewhere. He could hear Rose muttering from Glenn's lap, and all he heard was her repeating a bunch of 'sorrys' and he wanted to roll his eyes and tell her to quit whining. Some things would never change in him he guessed.

Daryl approached them and kneeled down in front of Rose with the photo album, "Is this yours?"

She stared at him and hung her head, "Yeah."

It was quiet and Daryl looked her straight in the eye, "Why'd you do it?"

She looked up at him with confusion, "Huh?"

"Why? Why'd you try and kill yourself?"

Rose looked away quickly, taking a deep breath before speaking, "I dunno. I guess I just wanted to…opt out." She looked up out of the corner of her eyes and found him staring at her with that look again, but he looked as if he wanted to slap her upside the head. She didn't blame him. She just tried to kill herself and didn't even have an explanation as to why for the two people who just saved her life. She looked at Glenn and he had a softer look, one of worry and care. She remembered the kiss and couldn't even begin to explain how much she wanted to kiss him right then but decided against it. Now was probably not the best time.

She turned back to Daryl who was still staring at her. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but knowing him it was probably that she was an idiot and deserved to die and from her point of view at this point, she probably did. She let everyone down, Glenn who blatantly kissed her just thirty seconds before she blacked out, and Daryl, who had somehow developed a soft spot for her, probably wanted to throw her out for the walkers to eat now. Rick, who took her in and saved her life, something there was no way she was ever going to be able to repay even after all this. Then she remembered Sofia, the little girl who brought out a smile in her even in the darkest times. She sighed. How could she have been so stupid? She shook her head, looking down and letting all the shame she felt seep into her words.

"I don't have an excuse. At least, not a good enough one to want to kill myself, it's just…" she trailed off, unsure if she wanted to truly express what she was thinking. She looked up and Glenn was looked down at her with patient eyes and she was dumbfounded when Daryl took a seat across from them, leaning on the cot, though it seemed he was still watching her with judging eyes, he was still listening.

"When Jenner was talking at dinner," she began, not looking at either of them. "He said that everyone else had 'opted out.' They'd given up. And it just blew my mind that these people who probably trained almost all their lives for this one purpose, to solve problems like this and keep people safe just gave up like that. And if they can't do it, then how in the hell am I gonna do it?"

"Do what?" Glenn asked.

"Survive. Survive and get through this. I'm nineteen years old, I'd only been to college one year, how am I gonna make it in this world? Without my mom and dad and my sister and my best friends and family and," she stopped suddenly, finding herself staring right at the photo album still in Daryl's hands. That was what really bothered her and that was the thing that had even brought up the thought of killing herself because even if she did find a way to survive all of this she would not share it with the people she once loved. She leaned into Glenn's chest and he wrapped his arms around her while Daryl followed her gaze to the picture he last looked at, the one with two Roses. He set the book down in between them and pointed to the photo.

"Is this your sister?" he asked.

Rose sat up a bit and looked at, "Yeah, that's her."

"What," he paused, "What was her name?"

"Lillian. Lilly Alice." She smiled for a second.

"Is she…?"

"Infected? Yeah, third week. We didn't even make it off campus." She chuckled, "We were both going to school at Western Kentucky University, I for Spanish at first, but I eventually changed it to Social Work and she for Music Performance. They tried to evacuate us, but by the time they had something organized most everyone had been infected and it was too late. I sat with her until she changed then I ran. I tried to get back home but I only made it as far as Rick found me." She shrugged and whipped a few more tears from her rosy cheeks before pulling the book closer to her and flipping back to the front. Glenn watched ever every movement with his arms around her waist, never wanting to let her go. Daryl watched her face and he could just see the emotion drain out of her. She wasn't completely broken yet but it wouldn't be long, he could tell. He looked down when she pointed out a few of the pictures. After a few pictures he'd gathered that she was trying to hold onto these people and let them go at the same time. These pictures were her only connection to these people that she'd surrounded herself with all these years, created a circle of people, a security blanket. Eventually she would crumble without this blanket and he could already see it happen with her actions tonight. But in that moment, he made one of the strangest decisions he'd ever made in his life. Made a vow, gave himself a mission and he made this pact silently and he knew he would never tell anyone, not even his brother if he ever saw him again.

He would not let her break.