Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead or its characters. I only own Elise Young.

A/N: Hi again, guys! Sorry for the small delay in updates. Hope you're enjoying the fic so far and thank for the support with it!

ShadowXMoonlight: That is the part I'm dreading writing. Glad you enjoyed the chapter!

shika93 and MonkeysGoBoo: Ohhh I miss you guys! Hope you're still enjoying the fic and I get to read some more reviews soon!

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Can't Make It Alone

Chapter Twenty-One: Prayer

The following morning, the group made haste in preparing to go and find Sophia.

None of them had slept much the night before. Elise had spent most of the night sat up beside Daryl on the roof of the RV, but had eventually fallen asleep. She still looked exhausted the next morning. Carol hadn't slept at all. Most of the group had listened to her sobbing, and they'd taken it in turns to try and console her. They needed to pull together to find her daughter, but all Carol could do was blame Rick.

Elise hadn't eaten that morning. She'd passed her food to someone else in the group instead, because she couldn't stomach food. This had angered Daryl, who had taken her food over to her and slammed it into her hand. He had told her to just suck it up and eat. He knew that if she didn't have food in her belly, she'd collapse in the heat, and they didn't need her to fall sick on them. They had enough problems. Elise had promised him to eat it later if she felt hungry, and that had been good enough to make him back off.

After breakfast, the plan for the day had to be set out, as did the ground rules. Rick had called everyone around to set out looking for Sophia, and was laying out weapons on the body of a battered car.

"Everybody takes a weapon." He told them, watching as Elise stepped back, "Elise?"

"I don't need any of those. Got my knives and my bow." Elise answered, "Leaves more for you guys."

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need." Andrea said, hands on her hips, "What about the guns?"

"We've been over that." Shane spoke up, "Daryl, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about." Andrea replied, watching Elise smooth out her green swing vest with an arched eyebrow, "Elise, I thought you would've backed me up on this."

"Andrea, even I can't carry." Elise answered, folding her arms across her chest which gave Daryl an amazing view of her cleavage, "And I know how to shoot. Just drop this stupid argument. We gotta go and find Sophia. Your needs aren't the priority here."

"What?" Andrea asked, "You got something you wanna tell me?"

"Yeah, quite frankly." Elise spat, walking over to Andrea slowly with narrowed eyes, "You're obsessed with having a gun. No wonder Dale thinks you're gonna blow your own brains out if he gives yours back to you. If someone pops off at the wrong time and there's a herd passing by, we're all royally fucked. Every single one of us. Then who's gonna help Sophia? You're being childish and selfish."

Andrea scoffed but Elise didn't stop there. The priority here was Sophia. She'd been just as pissed at Daryl for trying to force her to eat. She wasn't a priority either; none of that group were in this situation. Sophia was.

"That little girl is out there, scared, alone and tired, and all she probably wants right now is to be with her mother." Elise said with a snarl, "You wanna sulk like a five year old? You go ahead and do that. But we have a lost girl to find, and she is our priority. Suck it up and get over yourself."

When Andrea was rendered speechless by the outburst, Elise just turned away from her and walked back over to Daryl, while everyone stared in amazement at Elise. Andrea had been reprimanded like a kid in front of the whole group, and Elise hoped it had shamed her into keeping her mouth shut.

"Daryl... What's the plan?" She asked, ignoring the glare Andrea was sending her way.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around, come back down the other side." Daryl told the group, trying to stop thinking about how hot Elise looked when she was telling Andrea off, "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."

"Stay quiet. Stay sharp." Rick said as the group slowly began to disperse to get ready, "Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other."

"Everybody assemble your packs." Shane instructed, passing Elise and giving her a pat on the shoulder.

"Dale, keep on those repairs. We gotta get this RV ready to move." Rick told the older man, who was sitting in the doorway of the RV, clearly concerned about Andrea.

"We won't stay here a minute longer than we have to." Dale assured him, "Good luck out there. Bring Sophia back."

Elise passed the small group and wandered towards the guardrail, hearing footsteps approaching her. She hoped it wasn't Andrea because she was frankly tired of the woman already and the day hadn't even started. She turned to see Daryl approaching her, crossbow strapped to his back. It was such a hot day. Her neck was already sweating due to her hair, but when she saw Daryl all armed and ready to go, she felt her body heat up even more. He looked gorgeous.

"Hey." She said quietly, folding her arms as he got to her side, "You doing okay?"

"Yeah." Daryl replied, "Even better after seeing you tackle Andrea like that. Damn, woman."

"Someone had to say something." The young woman replied, quickly tying her hair into a messy bun, "I swear, if I hear her going on about her gun again..."

At that moment, a heated conversation between Dale and Andrea about the gun was coming into earshot of the others, and Daryl had to grab Elise to stop her going over there and battering some sense into the blonde woman. When Dale was left looking upset, and Andrea stormed towards them, Elise stood in her path and stopped her going any further.

"Don't take it out on him." She said, teeth gritted with anger, "It isn't his fault. He was trying to help you. If you were that desperate to get out of this life you'd do it by any means necessary. You wouldn't be here now. You'd have slit your wrists or gone for a walk in the woods and hung yourself. You wouldn't be here bitching and whining about the fact that Dale took a choice away. The option's still there, Andrea. You just don't have the balls to do it."

Andrea looked to the floor and then back up at Elise who was staring at her angrily still.

"If you're gonna be like this the whole time we're out, I'd rather you didn't come along." Elise told her, "I don't know about anyone else. I mean, I'm your friend, but I'm sick of you already. Get rid of the petulant attitude and get your damn head together."

In her shock, Andrea arched a brow and stepped back a little, putting some distance between her and her friend. Elise looked up at Daryl, gesturing with her hand for him to lead the way. They walked almost silently, sharing minimal conversation. Elise didn't pay any attention to Andrea, who hated it that she was being ignored by her friend. Instead, Elise was watching her man walking in front of her, who kept turning to make sure everyone was alright. A while into their walk, people were growing hungry, and the rustling of bags could be heard as the group began to have small snacks to keep them going. Daryl made sure Elise had eaten something substantial to make up for the lack of breakfast before they progressed further.

Not long after, they came across a tent that was set up just in the trees, and Daryl gestured for everyone to get down. They had no idea what was in there, but everyone was hoping Sophia had found this tent and stayed inside for the night.

"She could be in there." Rick said, watching Daryl stand slowly, followed by Elise.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." The hunter answered, moving forward and beckoning Shane and Rick with him.

Elise stayed put as Rick asked her to, staying by a frightened Carol who stood wringing her hands out of anxiety. Trying to be reassuring, Elise put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing small circles on it to calm her.

"Carol!" Rick whispered, beckoning her forward.

Elise turned and told the group to hush before beckoning them closer as well, all of them creeping towards the tent which Daryl was standing outside of, armed with a knife. His arms were glistening with sweat, muscles flexing as he gripped the knife tightly in his hands. Elise's mouth went dry, not just at the tension of the situation, but at how turned on she was due to Daryl's large biceps.

"Call out softly." Rick instructed Carol, who had a hand to her mouth, "If she's in there, yours is the first voice she should hear."

"Sophia, sweetie, are you in there?" Carol called softly, tears in her eyes, "Sophia, it's Mommy. Sophia? We're all here, baby. It's Mommy."

When they got no answer, Rick gestured for Elise to go to Carol, and the young woman did without hesitation, hugging her tightly as they watched Rick and Shane approach the tent. They could barely breathe. God only knew what was inside.

When Daryl pulled back the door to the tent and gagged, Elise's arms tightened around Carol, who immediately threw a hand to her mouth. Elise saw Rick and Shane coughing too as Daryl entered the tent and her heart was in her throat.

"Daryl?" She called out, getting no response as Lori came and took Carol from her arms, "Daryl?!"

"It ain't her." Daryl said as he emerged from the tent, "It's some guy. Did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?"

Everyone was relieved that it wasn't Sophia, but now were more worried about where she was. Elise approached Daryl who was loading up his crossbow, stopping in her tracks at the sound of church bells suddenly ringing out through the woodland. They followed the direction of the sound, stopping suddenly as it seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"What direction?" Shane asked, looking around for any hint as to where it was coming from.

"Over there." Elise answered, pointing ahead of them, "I'm almost certain."

"If we hear them, Sophia may hear them too." Carol said, wiping her eyes.

"Someone's ringing those bells. Maybe calling others." Glenn suggested.

"She could be ringing them herself." Rick said, "Come on."

By the time they'd done running, they came across a churchyard, but the building in question didn't have a steeple or bells. Elise sighed and ran a hand across her sweating forehead, bending down to catch her breath.

"That can't be it." Shane said, "Got no steeple, no bells."

Despite this, Rick set off running, and so did the others. They sprinted towards the building, desperate to find the child alive inside. They reached the giant red doors, and Rick signalled for Daryl and Elise to move forward and go in first. Elise stood on the top step opposite Daryl, getting an arrow ready to fire. She backed down a step, aiming her bow and raising a foot to rest against the door. They slowly pushed the door open, revealing three bodies sat in the pews of the church.

"Oh, please..." Elise breathed, handing Daryl her bow, "Here. I got it."

"What are you doing?" The hunter asked her, watching her draw her knives.

"Come on, Daryl. It's only three." Elise chuckled, "I've taken on more than three at once before."

With that, she stepped inside the church, whirling the blades around in her hand as the walkers got from their seats to approach the group. Elise moved forward, stabbing the female walker in the head and sending her straight to the ground. As she moved to grab her knife, the other two approached her hungry and fast. She stamped on the female's head, weighing it down with her foot as she retrieved her knife before slamming her blades into the chests of the other walkers, sending them stumbling back. She put her knives away, backing towards Daryl and taking the bow from him before lining up two of her arrows, aiming right for the hungry beasts' heads. She fired, hitting them both right through the brain and sending them crashing to the ground.

"There." She whispered, moving forward and retrieving her arrows, "All clear, guys."

Rick started screaming for Sophia which caused everyone to wince, but Daryl approached the bronze statue of Jesus at the end of the aisle, watching as Elise bowed her head and said the Lord's Prayer under her breath.

"Yo, J.C.," He spoke loud enough to catch her attention, "You taking requests?"

"Daryl." She scolded quietly, "Please..."

Daryl stared at her as she moved over to one of the pews and sat, head lowered and hands together. He watched as her lips began to move slowly, and he took the opportunity to sit by her, respecting her need to pray.

"Dear Lord... If you're listening..." She began, her voice soft, "I'm asking you to send healing to Carol and her daughter Sophia... And to help us find that little girl. Please... I'm also here to pray for the regulars. Mom, Dad, Rebecca, and of course, Amelia."

Daryl heard her voice crack at the mention of the last name, and it made him begin to wonder who it was she was referring to. Maybe a sister or a friend? Whoever it was had meant the world to her, though. It was obviously hard for her to speak of Amelia without it causing her a lot of emotional pain.

"I also want to say a prayer for the people I'm with, and ask that you help us in these dark days." She continued, "I just have one more prayer especially for Daryl and Merle Dixon. Please, keep Merle safe, and bring him back to us soon. We haven't given up on him. Amen."

Opening her eyes, Elise didn't even need to look at Daryl. She just reached across and held onto his hand, gripping it tightly in her own. She smiled as he leaned forward and kissed her head softly, which caused her to finally turn and face him.

"Thanks." He said quietly, fighting the blush that was creeping onto his face, "You didn't have to pray for me or Merle."

"I wanted to." Elise answered, "I just hope I wasn't wrong when I said God had left us."

When the bells started up again, everyone raced outside, only to find a speaker sat on the wall outside the church. It was just on a timer. Carol headed back inside the church, clearly upset, and Glenn followed her in, leaving the others outside. Elise set off in the direction of the churchyard, arms wrapped tightly around her torso, which concerned both Daryl and Rick.

"Daryl, I want you to go with Elise." Rick said quietly to the hunter, "Have a little time to yourselves. I think she might need you."

Daryl looked over to where Elise was, watching her take a seat on a large tombstone as she began to look through her small canvas bag, which she'd picked up from one of the cars back on the highway. He nodded to Rick in thanks and headed over to the young woman, sitting next to her as she pulled out a diary from the bag.

"You doing okay?" He asked her, noticing the tear tracks on her face, "You need to... Talk or something?"

"I'd like to share something very special with you." She whispered, sniffling as a tear fell from her eyes, "Not even Rick knows about this. But you heard my prayer, so... You're bound to ask me about the other people I prayed for, right?"

"I was thinking about it." Daryl answered, "Not everyone likes digging up the past."

He watched her as she reached into the back pocket of the diary and took out four photographs. She held them all with such gentleness, like they'd break if she held them too hard. Carefully she leaned closer to him, a weak smile on her face despite her tears as she began to show him the people in the pictures. The first one was of her and a young girl with dark blue hair, who couldn't be much older than twelve.

"This is my sister, Rebecca." She explained, "She got a really aggressive form of cancer just after my fifteenth birthday. She didn't make it past thirteen. She was wearing a wig in this photo. Dark blue was her favourite colour."

Daryl bit his lip as Elise took a deep breath, hiccuping as tears slipped from her eyes again. He carefully rested a hand on the other side of her, readying himself to put an arm around her should she need him to comfort her. He watched her take out the next photograph, putting the one of her and Rebecca underneath the others.

"These are my parents, Steven and Jenny." She told him, wiping her eyes quickly, "They died I a car accident when I was twenty."

She held the photos to her chest then, taking a deep breath before continuing to explain them to him. Daryl reached out and wiped a falling tear from her face, waiting for her until she was ready to carry on.

"When I told you that my boyfriend raped me..." She began, "I didn't tell you that I got pregnant by him... I was eighteen."

She pulled the photos away from her chest and showed Daryl a scan photo of her baby, feeling the urge to sob as she looked at her child. It was her thirty-four week scan, taken just a month before Elise went into labour with her.

"This is Amelia..." She whispered, "I had an easy pregnancy. I didn't want to get rid of her because her dad was an evil bastard. That wasn't her fault. So, I went through it with my parents by my side... And then it got to the birth..."

She took the scan photo back and showed Daryl the final picture of Elise holding the baby in her arms. Elise's eyes were tearful in the picture, but full of so much love for the child in her arms, whose skin was a horrid shade of grey.

"She was stillborn." Elise told him, "I went into labour a week early. It was a hard and long labour. Very painful. By the time she came out of me, she was dead. I know what it's like to lose a child, Daryl. That's why I'm desperate to find Sophia. No parent should have to bury their child."

Daryl watched her as she broke into tears again and he pulled her into his side, resting his cheek on her head. She was a lot stronger than he initially thought her to be. He felt for her. He felt angry that she'd lost her child like that. He felt sad that she'd had to go through all of that stuff. But, he was proud that she'd found the strength to get through it. She'd lost all of her family, and her own daughter. To get through that, it took pure strength.

"Thanks for listening to me." Elise said to him, wiping her eyes.

"Don't gotta thank me." Daryl answered, "I'm sorry about all the people you lost... Especially your little girl. Can't believe how strong you are to get through that..."

"You gotta." Elise whispered, giving him a weak smile, "Life doesn't stop because someone dies; that just ain't how it works. You have to keep going, no matter how hard it is."

Daryl nodded, sitting in comfortable silence with Elise as she put her photographs and diary away, watching her warily as she stood up, wiping her eyes with shaking hands. He stood with her as she regained her composure and leaned in to give her a small kiss on the lips, which she returned with a slightly deeper one.

"You alright to go back?" He asked her, earning a soft nod from the young woman who took his hand in her own, squeezing it tightly.

They set off back to the church, ready to regroup and continue the search for Sophia.

-TBC-

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