When Daryl and I came back with some squirrel for dinner, Tyra and Jimmy were making a fire. We started cooking the squirrel and sat down.

"Remember that time in chorus class when we laughed so hard at something one girl said?" Tyra asked me.

"And when we went on that trip and that kid kept shaking the fence?" I smiled.

"Oh yeah, and we told him he had the maturity level of a five year old, and he called us forty."

"And when we sang in the talent show and I almost tripped on the microphone cord?"

"Wait, you two sing?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah," I said, and Tyra nodded.

"Sing something for us," Daryl tried to persuade us.

"What should we sing?" I wondered aloud.

"How about the song we sang for the talent show?" Tyra offered. "Do you remember the words?"

I nodded. "Do you?"

"Yeah. Let's do it."

Tyra began, "And the blood will dry underneath my nails. And the wind will rise up to fill my sails. So you can doubt and you can hate. But I know, whatever it takes, I'm coming home, I'm coming home. Tell the world I'm coming home. Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday. I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes. I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home."

I started my part, "Still far away from where I belong. But it's always darkest before the dawn. So you can doubt and you can hate. But I know, no matter what it takes, I'm coming home, I'm coming home. Tell the world I'm coming home. Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday. I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes. I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming..."

Tyra and I sang together, "I'm coming home, I'm coming home. Tell the world I'm coming home. Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday. I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes. I'm coming home, I'm coming home. Tell the world I'm coming... Home."

"Wow," Jimmy breathed.

"That was amazing," Daryl said.

Tyra and I looked at each other. "Well, it seemed to fit the situation," she explained.

"Before we all go to sleep, I'd like to have a word with my wife," Daryl told the other two, getting up and grabbing my hand.

Daryl led me into the woods a little ways. He sat down on a fallen tree and pulled me into his lap.

"I just wanted to show you how much I appreciate-,"

"Daryl!" I screamed.

Almost close enough to touch, a few walkers had made their way out of the shadows and had been stumbling towards us.

I jumped off his lap and he quickly stood up. We looked at each other and started running. Daryl tripped over a rock and I grabbed his hand to pull him up.

"Shit!" Daryl yelled.

"What happened?" I yelled in a panicked voice.

Daryl showed me his hand. His left pinky finger was bitten off right above the knuckle. I stared at him in shock.

"Don't worry about it," Daryl told me. "We need to go. Now."

We found Tyra and Jimmy and told them what was happening.

"I'll get my gun," Jimmy said, starting towards his tent.

"The sound will attract more of them," Tyra disagreed. "It's best to just nip this in the bud without making it worse."

Tyra and Jimmy each grabbed two knives and started running to the herd. I focused on Daryl.

"What are we going to do?" I asked tearfully.

"It's alright," Daryl muttered.

"No, it's not! You'll die!"

"Hand me my knife," he demanded. "It's in my back pocket."

I handed him his knife, which was wrapped in a doo rag. Daryl pulled the rag off and put it in his mouth.

"Hold this in my mouth, no matter what I do. I don't wanna make any noise."

I did as he asked. I sat next to Daryl, gaping, as he brought his knife down on his finger. Daryl grabbed the rag and wrapped it around the bloody area that used to be his finger.

"I had to stop the infection," Daryl explained when he saw my face. "Like Tyra said; nip it in the bud."

"How do you know you stopped the disease?" I choked, finding my voice.

"I don't. But I'm willing to take that chance. Lose a finger versus lose my life and lose you. It was an easy decision."

I wrapped my arms around Daryl and he pulled me against him. Tyra and Jimmy departed the woods at a sprint. They halted in front of us, panting.

"Everything okay?" Tyra asked.

"My finger got bit," Daryl told her. "So I cut it off. Just in case, though, I'll sleep outside tonight."

"Daryl, that's suicide!" I exclaimed.

"I can't risk anyone else's safety. Goodnight, guys," he said, giving me a kiss. "Love you," Daryl whispered in my ear.

"Come on, Annie," Tyra reassured me, grabbing my arm. "Let's go. He'll be okay."

We entered our tent and Jimmy went into his. I waited until I knew Tyra was asleep before leaving the tent. I paused in front of Jimmy's and listened. After a few minutes, I heard deep snoring and knew it was okay to pass. Daryl had isolated himself and was away from the tents. He was also asleep, so I curled up against him and soon my breathing fell into rhythm with his.

It only seemed like a few hours later when I felt Daryl stir. I opened my eyes and he was looking at me.

"Are you crazy?" he asked. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"You could've too," I said quietly.

"I was bitten! What if I turned in the middle of the night and killed you?" Daryl yelled.

"But you didn't."

"That's not my point, Annie," he sighed, getting up.

I pulled myself to my feet and stared him down.

"I understand that, but I wasn't going to leave my husband-,"

"It's not about me; it's about you!"

"I don't care!" I contradicted as I let my voice grow louder.

"You don't think you're important?"

"That's not what I… Look, I know I could've gotten hurt. But I didn't want you to spend the night alone out here."

"You don't need to look after me!" Daryl spat.

"I was just trying to help! You're acting like my father! I'm not a kid!"

"Your father? How is a father supposed to act, Annie? Cuz I'm pretty sure I'd fuck that up just like my own father did!"

"Is this what this is about? We don't even need to talk about kids right now," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"I just… I don't want to mess someone up like my parents did to me."

"I don't care. I don't care about kids. Hell, we're still teenagers! It doesn't matter."

Daryl started laughing.

"What?" I asked irritably. "I thought we were having a conversation."

"We're fighting over kids and the world is ending," he gasped.

I looked at his sideways smile and started giggling. Pretty soon we had collapsed on the ground and out of breath.

"Guys?" Tyra called. "Are we still going?"

"Yeah, yeah," Daryl assured her, wiping his eyes.

"We're coming," I told her, standing up.

The four of us packed up the tents and our belongings.

"We should find a truck to transport your bike so we don't use the gas," Jimmy told Daryl.

Daryl nodded and climbed on to the motorcycle. I followed suit and watched Tyra and Jimmy get into the car. Tyra waved for us to lead the way. I let Daryl know and the camp was soon far behind.

Author's Note: I want to know if you guys like the idea of putting music in this chapter. It won't always be singing; it could just be some lyrics in the beginning or the end. I've seen some other fanfic writers do this and I wanted to try it out. Let me know in the reviews what you think of this. Love you all :)

The song used in this chapter is called Coming Home, Pt. II by Skylar Grey. You can find it on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, and probably any other music program. I am in no way affiliated with the song or the artist.