After Alyssa's frantic call, Jess contacted Rick and explained that they believed that Merle and Daryl were in trouble and that they would fill them in on the details later. Jess also asked if Rick could accompany them because if something had gone wrong with the men, then they would need two vehicles to bring them back. As soon as he hung up the phone he took Hannah and Clarissa to stay with Beth, and Alyssa met them with some blankets and her medical kit. She wasn't taking any chances.

They met Rick at the intersection that headed up to the cabin and Jess was surprised to see Shane was also following in the patrol car. Abe, Gorman, and Eugene would cover the town while the two deputies went out in search of the Dixons.

…

Daryl's military training had kicked in once he and Merle were semi protected from the boughs of the tree he had covered them up with. As much as he hated to do it, he stripped both of them down naked and wrapped their bodies together, using body heat to create some warmth beneath the evergreens. It was humiliating, but it was also survival and right now, all that mattered was that they stayed alive until someone, if anyone came to their rescue.

He refused to let himself or Merle sleep, so he did something that he wasn't very good at, but needed to be done. Daryl began to talk. He talked about how much he loved Alyssa, how much he missed his mother, and then he began to speak about the farm and the future. If Merle didn't respond to the questions Daryl asked, then he would nudge his brother until he got some sort of response. For once in their life, Daryl was the chatty Dixon and Merle was the one who was mostly silent.

The feeling in Daryl's feet and hands was all but gone and he knew that frostbite was beginning to kick in, but he was more concerned about Merle. The wound wasn't bleeding anymore, which was good, but that meant that the blood flow was being directed from the extremities towards the heart. Their bodies were sacrificing the limbs to keep the heart beating. If he escaped this ordeal with all his fingers and toes it would be a miracle. He didn't want to think about what Merle's prognosis with that hand would be.

Daryl wasn't sure how long they had been there, but Merle was no longer responding to his questions or nudges for about the last thirty minutes. Daryl was continuously checking for a pulse and then he would rub his brothers arms desperately attempting to get some sort of circulation flowing through his brother's body. Merle still had a weak pulse, and Daryl could detect a heartbeat. Daryl himself was finding it harder and harder to speak and was trying hard to stay awake, but if help didn't get to them soon, he didn't think he could hold out any longer. He was desperate, and desperate people did desperate things, so Daryl did what Merle suggested, and he began to pray.

His prayers must have been heard because it was about twenty minutes later that he heard vehicles heading down the old road and for a minute he thought he had died or was hallucinating. The first voice he heard was Jess's as he heard him yell to someone else "Over here."

Before he knew what was happening, the branches were being pulled off of Merle and he, and the cold wind hit him in the face like a train. Someone was shining a flashlight and that was when he heard Alyssa whisper "Oh God" as she dropped down on her knees beside him.

"Alyssa I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"Shhh Daryl, we got to get you and Merle someplace warm." She said as she instructed Rick and Jess to move Merle first and then she and Shane would move Daryl the warm vehicles. It was obvious to her that Merle was in much worse shape than Daryl, but Alyssa didn't say anything to Daryl as she didn't want to put any type of mental stress on him.

Daryl was unable to move as he was picked up off the ground and quickly wrapped in a warm blanket and literally carried by Shane to Jess's truck. Daryl was in a state of confusion and things were happening that he had no control of, or much understanding at the moment. All he knew was within what seemed like seconds he was sitting in the warmth of Jess's truck, but he was still shivering, uncoordinated, and couldn't feel his feet or hands. Every part of his body felt like glass, but he knew Alyssa was near by and that comforted him. He was going to survive this horrific ordeal and now he could only pray that Merle would too.

Alyssa had taken charge of making sure that both men were stabilized so that they could get them to the hospital in Canton. Severe hypothermia and frostbite were not in the realm of what Alyssa was comfortable treating. This was Georgia, and rarely did temperatures drop this cold.

Daryl was definitely suffering from hypothermia. His lips were turning blue and his skin was like ice to the touch. He showed some beginning signs of frostbite on his feet and hands, but nothing compared to Merle. The men stripping their clothes and covering themselves with the tree branches had been a smart survival technique. Alyssa had no idea about what had happened, but she knew something had gone wrong because the snow was covered in blood, both vehicles were gone, and the cabin had been burned to the ground. She only prayed that Noah and his family had escaped before all hell had broken loose.

Merle was much worse off than Daryl and Alyssa didn't say it out loud, but she was concerned that he might actually not survive the trip to Canton. They had wrapped him up in warm blankets and placed him in the backseat of Shane's patrol car. Merles hand was mutilated and he had a definite concussion, but what scared her the most was that he was completely unresponsive. Merle was a strong man, but even the strongest of men could succumb to these conditions. She cleaned the wound through his hand and loosely wrapped it in a sterile bandage in anticipation of the warmth from the vehicle warming his body temperature back up and then causing the bleeding to start back. She then made the difficult decision to let Daryl ride with Jess and she would ride with Merle in case she needed to resuscitate him. Merle had too much to lose and she would do everything in her power to keep him alive until they could make it to the hospital.

Once they had Merle secured and as warm as possible in the back of Shane's car, Alyssa quickly went over to check on Daryl one final time. He was wheezing, and that had her concerned, but he was still breathing and in considerably better shape than his older brother. She gently reached for his hand and he opened his eyes when he felt the warm contact "Daryl I need you to listen to me. I'm going to ride with Merle to the hospital, but Jess will be following us and if something happens, he can flash his lights at us and I will get right out and check on you. You hold on for me and I'll check on you as soon as we arrive. Are you OK with that?"

Daryl rasped out weakly "yes Alyssa…I gotta tell Rick what happened."

"Don't you worry about that, we'll tell him once we get you to the hospital. I've got a warm thermos of chamomile tea here and you need to try to drink and get some in you to begin to warm your body. Do you think you can hold it on your own?" She asked.

Daryl nodded, but she still helped him lift the bottle to his mouth so he could drink it. "Drink slowly so you don't get sick." She told him, and once again she was treated to a weak nod.

She went over to Jess and explained to him to make sure that Daryl stayed warm and drank slowly. "How's Merle?" he whispered so that Daryl couldn't hear.

Alyssa looked to Jess, but just shook her head. "We'll do everything we can, but he's bad off. Just don't let Daryl know. I need him to focus on trying to get warm."

"I'll pray, for now it's the best I can do." Jess said, and Alyssa reached out and gave Jess's hand a squeeze. Praying was the best any of them could do right now. To be honest, with the weather conditions as bad as they were, the mere fact that Daryl and Merle were still breathing was a miracle.

…

It was seven in the morning by the time they made it to Canton. Daryl had somehow remained awake the entire trip, but he was far from feeling any better. His hands and feet were burning and itching something terrible, but he knew that was a good thing, it meant the blood flow was returning to the extremities. He was still cold and his teeth were chattering, but he was alive. The tea had helped to warm his internal body temperature, but he knew he was still hypothermic. He could barely move without a lot of pain, but it wasn't himself that he was worried about. It was Merle. Even though his thoughts were still somewhat muddled, he knew that Merle must have been in bad shape if Alyssa had chosen to stay with him instead of Daryl.

When they arrived at the hospital both men were swiftly taken from the vehicles and whisked away to separate rooms. Alyssa had found Milton and begged him to do anything he could to try to save Merle. She had to resuscitate him twice on the three hour ride to the hospital and new he was teetering on the edge of death. All she could think of was Beth and their unborn child and it just kept her more determined to keep him alive. She loved Merle almost as much as she loved Daryl, and she would do anything to make sure he fought as hard as he could to survive this ordeal.

On duty that night along with Milton was the Chief of Staff, Dr. Stevens and since he also knew Alyssa, and respected her, he was more than willing to make sure both Dixon men received top notch treatment. Both men told Alyssa it was best that she wait with the rest of the family while they examined the patients and that they would update them as soon as they properly diagnosed their injuries.

Within an hour a frantic Beth was brought into the hospital waiting room with Clarissa and Hannah. The stress was not optimal for Beth, but right now she deserved to be with her very sick and possibly dying husband.

"What happened?" Beth said through hysterical tears.

"We don't know yet Beth. Neither of them has really been able to speak. Somehow they managed to build a nest around their bodies and use their body heat to try to stay warm. Merle's body temperature was eighty four and Daryl's was eighty seven when we got them here, which means that their core temperatures were much lower when we found them. Beth I did everything I could with what I had to work with, but Merle's hand is in bad shape. I have no clue what happened to it, but I am not sure it can be saved." Alyssa told the young blonde.

"I don't care about his hand, all I care about is him…he has to be OK. I can't lose him, not now when he has so much to live for." Beth said through her tears.

"Look, Merle's a fighter and he will get through this, we just need to be strong for him. We can do that for him." Alyssa told him.

Alyssa wrapped her arms around the tiny woman and just held her. Beth had every right to be terrified, and to be honest, Alyssa was scared for Merle as well. Daryl didn't appear to have life threatening injuries, but that didn't mean she wasn't worried for him. He was battered and if anything bad had happened to Noah and his family, then Alyssa knew Daryl would blame himself. She had just gotten him to finally let go of the guilt from the war twenty years earlier, and now something like this could set his mental state back.

After another hour Dr. Stevens and Milton came out to update the family. All of them were exhausted and nervous and Dr. Stevens gave Merle's update first. "Unfortunately we were not able to save the older Dixon's hand. He has an infection and the hand was damaged beyond repair. He also has a concussion and some bruising from some type of assault, but he should survive once we get the infection treated. We've managed to get his core body temperature up to eighty nine degrees and we are slowly continuing to warm him with IV fluids. He is resting comfortably for now, but we want to keep him here until we are sure that infection is gone."

"Can I see him?" Beth asked.

"Absolutely, I'm sure seeing you will help immensely with his healing." Dr. Stevens said offering Beth a small but comforting smile.

"And Daryl?" Alyssa asked.

"He's got some minor frostbite on his feet and several lacerations on his legs and arms. He mentioned falling through ice and it appears that the ice is the cause of the lacerations. He also has symptoms of an assault. His core body temperature is up to ninety-one and he should recover without any issues. However, we've noticed what could be the early stages of pneumonia as apparently he was held under water and inhaled some of the water in the lake, which may have had bacteria in it. We've caught it early enough that we can treat his lungs and he should recover nicely. I'd like to keep him over night, and then I'll release him to your care Dr. Cambridge." Dr. Stevens said, accidentally calling Alyssa by her maiden name and causing Milton to smile briefly.

Alyssa had to fight back some tears of her own knowing Daryl would be OK. He would be out of commission for a week or so, but that didn't matter. Yes, she knew she would have to fight with him to keep him in bed, but it would be worth it.

"Thank you both so much." Alyssa said as she hugged Dr. Stevens and then Milton. Milton might have hung onto her for a few seconds too long, but the feel of Alyssa's body in his arms was too much for him to let go.

When he had first spotted Alyssa at the hospital entrance with the two injured men, he had been concerned for her well being. But after he determined she was fine and that it was just the Dixon men who had been injured, he felt somewhat resentful. He didn't want to treat the man that had taken Alyssa from him, but when Alyssa begged him to help, he couldn't refuse her. He would do anything for the woman he loved. Now that she was no longer getting treated for her burns, he really didn't have much of an excuse to see her without rousing suspicions. Now here she was in front of him and close enough that he could smell the lilac in her hair. Milton had thought that maybe with the passage of time his feelings for the woman would fade, but having her again this close just re-ignited the spark that he had for her and just made him want her more. Why couldn't she see that the two of them would be an ideal match? If Dr. Stevens hadn't been monitoring him so closely maybe he could have done something untraceable to eliminate the animal she was married too and blame it on sudden cardiac arrest, but Dr. Steven's assessed him first and anything Milton could have done would have been suspicious. So for now, he would treat Daryl like a normal patient and at least know that he had kept Alyssa happy. He still held out hope that things would fall apart and that he could be there to step in and save the day.

…

Rick had asked Alyssa if he could speak to Daryl if he was up to it, and she agreed. She wanted to know what happened as well, and since Merle was in no shape to answer questions, she knew for now that Daryl could help. He had wanted to tell her what happened when they first found them, and she had told him to wait until they had him somewhere safe. So if Daryl was willing to talk, then maybe Daryl could get them the answers they needed.

When they walked into Daryl's hospital room Alyssa had to hold back a gasp when she saw Daryl's appearance. He was weak and bruised, and paler than she had ever seen him before. But as long as blood flowed through his veins, the she was happy. Immediately when he saw her he lifted his hand to motion for her to come to him. She sat down in a chair beside his bed and pulled his still cold hand into hers.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"About as good as I look. Just thankful to alive. How's Merle? No one will tell me anything." Daryl asked in an exhausted voice.

"He's gonna make it Daryl, but he lost his hand." Alyssa told him. Daryl didn't say anything, but gave her a knowing nod. He had seen the shape Merle's hand had been in and wasn't surprised. Merle was tough though, and he would make it through this. The good news was that he would live to see his child born and live his life with Beth. He didn't know how the loss of the hand would effect his ability to work on the farm, but Merle would figure it out, and if he could no longer do it, then they would come up with another plan. Daryl knew that no matter what he would never turn his back on Merle.

Rick then spoke "Can you tell us what happened? Are you up to it?"

"Yeah, find my pa and you've got your answer." Daryl said angrily

"You're dad did this to you boys? Why were you up there in a blizzard to begin with?" Rick asked.

"We've been hiding Noah and his family up there for months. It was safe and there wasn't anyway anyone knew about that place." Daryl told Rick.

"Well what happened?" Rick asked again.

"We were taking Alyssa's truck up there to give it to them so they could leave and head to Richmond to be with their family. We had supplies and money for them so they could get a clean break from this place and finally be safe and live a life. The asshole must have seen us leave town and followed us." Daryl informed Rick as he jotted down notes.

"Did you see your father? And if so what did he say?" Rick inquired.

"No, it was his goons, Mitch Dolgen and the other two fuckers he is always with. They killed Noah's momma in front of the kids. Shot her between the eyes and she dropped immediately. Told Noah to take off and hide and Merle and me tried to get the kids to safety. They were terrified and I think they thought we were trying to kidnap them or something. They took off and the two assholes with Mitch went after them in the woods while Mitch kept me and Merle at gunpoint. Noah ran out from his hiding place when he saw them string up them little boys and Mitch fired and shot Noah dead. Me and Merle went after Mitch and Merle managed to get the gun and went to try to save the boys and I fought with Mitch. We ended up in the lake falling through the ice and I was winning, until the other's jumped in and held me under. I played dead and it must have fooled them because they left me there. Merle had been knocked unconscious and then they stabbed his hand with Merle's knife, impaling him to the ground. When we came too the cabin was on fire and the trucks were gone. I had made it to the bank of lake and Merle helped drag me up towards the only warmth we could find, which was the burning cabin. The bodies were gone too, but I bet they show up in town real soon. We just tried to survive at the point and prayed someone would come for us." Daryl told Rick in a voice that became angrier as he spoke.

"I thought you said your dad did this?" Rick asked again.

"He had to have but he must have waited for them to do the dirty work." Daryl told them.

"Did you actually see your father?" Rick said and Daryl knew what he was hinting at.

"No. But it had to be him Rick. He's the only one that could have known where we were. They couldn't have followed the tracks from the truck because the snow was coming down hard enough to cover 'em up. The only way they could have found us was to specifically know where we were headed. He probably saw us when we turned North. We shouldn't have gone out in this weather, it looked too suspicious and now it costs that family their lives. Rick, they were good people and didn't deserve to die like this." Daryl told him, now almost hysterical, and Alyssa squeezed his hand tightly when she saw how upset Daryl was becoming.

"We'll find 'em Daryl and bring 'em to justice. I just wish y'all had told us what you were up too. We could have gotten them to safety." Rick told Daryl.

"No, not with Gorman on the force. I don't trust him, he would have tipped someone off, but I guess it don't matter, it still happened. He won again, and I'm a failure once more." Daryl said, his breathing becoming more rapid as he increasingly grew upset.

Alyssa then gave Rick a look to let him know that it would be best if he left for now. She was right, the guilt was already starting to eat at Daryl, and she needed to get him to calm down and let his body rest.

"Daryl, just get better and let us handle this for now." Rick said as he reached out and gave Daryl a light pat on the shoulder.

"I'll try my best. Just do what you can to find 'em." Daryl said in an almost defeated tone. Something deep inside of him told him that even if they did find them that somehow Will would weasel his way out of the charges. It seemed like no matter what evil Will did, he couldn't be touched. Sometimes it seemed that Will Dixon was Satan himself.

When Rick left Alyssa scooted closer to Daryl. "Honey I'm so sorry you had to go through this. You did everything you could to help them. None of this is your fault."

Daryl laid his head back against his pillow and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, and cold, and ached terribly, but the worse thing was that he couldn't believe that none of this was his fault. They should have been more careful, and they shouldn't have gone up with the weather the way that it was. Another few days wouldn't have made a difference, except that the family would still be alive. The fact that they had taken the bodies let Daryl know this wasn't over. They would be displayed like trophies to benefit "the Cause." It wasn't fair, but then again, other than Alyssa, when had Daryl's life been fair. His only consolation was that Merle would survive, but even he paid a high price by losing his hand.

"Alyssa, I just want to get some rest right now. They gave me some pain killers and they are kicking in. Do you know how long they are gonna keep me?" He asked as he held her hand to his chest.

"You've got a touch of pneumonia, but they say if you are doing better then you can leave tomorrow. If you still want I can schedule an appointment with Milton before we leave. Is that OK?" She asked him.

With everything that had happened Daryl had almost forgotten that Alyssa might be pregnant. At least there was something hopeful in his life for right now. "Yeah, that sounds real good. I want you to do me a favor though." He asked her.

"What is it baby?" She asked him.

"Keep an eye on Beth and make sure she is OK. With everything going on with Merle it can't be good for her or the baby. Then I want you to go back to the farm and get some rest. This chair ain't no place for you to sleep. I know you gotta be tired." He told her.

" Daryl don't push me away." She pleaded.

"Shhh…I ain't, I promise. I just want you to be sure to stay as healthy and rested as possible. I know it was a long night for you, and the fact that Merle is still alive is because of you. If I'd lost him I don't know what I would have done. He's always looked out for me, and he did again last night. If he hadn't pulled me out of that water I wouldn't have made it. We gotta take care of him and Beth." Daryl told her.

"I will Daryl. And I'll be back later to check on you and to bring you some clothes to change into. You and Merle weren't wearing anything when we found you and I realized that you had received survival training in the military. Smart thinking on your part." She told him giving him a small smile.

"Something good came out of all that training. Just don't remind me I was snuggled up naked with Merle." He replied trying to lighten the situation a little bit.

…

By the time Alyssa was ready to leave, Beth's family had arrived to be with her. Alyssa was going to ride back with Jess, Clarissa, and Hannah since now she and Daryl had no vehicles of their own. Merle still had not regained consciousness, but his vitals were improving. Alyssa was thankful that both Merle and Daryl were strong and healthy men, or the outcome of the previous night could have been much worse.

Beth was insisting on staying with Merle and her mother and sister had brought a change of clothes for the young mother to be, and Dr. Steven's agreed to allow them to roll in another bed for Beth to rest in while Merle recovered. It seemed that Dr. Steven's had remembered Beth from her days of nursing school and had been quite impressed with the tiny blonde. He also knew she was in a delicate condition and that for now, being with Merle was the best thing for her.

Hershel had informed everyone that Daryl's warning had come to fruition. The town of Holly Springs awoke this morning to a coating of snow and four dead bodies hanging from the old oak tree in the center square in town. Shane and Abe had been quick to remove the bodies when they were first discovered and then Eugene had asked that they be sent to the coroner's office so that he could retrieve any evidence possible. He also was insisting to be brought out to the scene at the cabin to gather anything that could pin the crime on the Klan. Of course everyone knew it was the Klan that had committed the act, but they weren't sure about the specifics of who. For now Rick was keeping what Daryl had told him under wraps until they could gather more evidence. Something like a fingerprint would go a long way to support Daryl's eye witness report. It was no secret that there was bad blood between Daryl and his father, and Rick feared that a judge might think it was just a way for Daryl to get revenge on his father.

…

Hannah was kind enough to lend Alyssa her truck until her and Daryl could find a replacement. They still had Jess's truck and Beth still had access to Merle's. After Alyssa had come home that morning she fell into a deep sleep and when she awoke she quickly got dressed and gathered up some items for Daryl. The weather had let up and now it was sunny and in the forties. The snow was quickly melting and the roads were in good shape. Alyssa was thankful for that because the trip up into the mountains the night before was harrowing. Fortunately the trip between Canton and Holly Springs was a short one and it wasn't a bad drive.

When she arrived at the hospital Daryl was sound asleep (apparently they had given him a sedative on top of the pain medication so he would finally rest). She left his belongings on the counter in his room and then wrote him a note to tell him she had stopped by. The last thing she wanted to do was to wake him up knowing he needed rest.

She dropped in on Beth, and Merle had finally woke up. He was heavily medicated, but he was still smiling like Merle always seemed to do. "I'd offer you a wave Doc, but I gotta come up with some new moves. Looks like I'm gonna be a lefty from now on." He told her. She was impressed with how positive Merle was about everything.

"Merle, I'm sorry about everything." Alyssa told him.

"Ain't no need to be sorry Doc. I'm alive and breathing and I get to see my purty little wife and soon my baby. I heard you had to bring me back twice, and I ain't never gonna be able to thank you enough for that. It seems old Merle still has a few lives left in him." He told her.

Alyssa couldn't suppress the sob that escaped her. "Merle I'm not gonna lie, you scared me so bad. I didn't know if you were gonna make it and I didn't know what or how I would tell Beth."

Beth quickly rushed to Alyssa's side "Shhh…you did everything perfectly Alyssa. Even Merle knew the likelihood of keeping his hand was low. We will all live to see another day and like Merle said, we have you to thank for that."

"How's Daryl? They won't let me out of here to go see him." Merle asked.

"He's asleep…finally. You know him Merle, he feels like this is all his fault." Alyssa informed him.

"Damn that boy and his guilt. Don't worry, I'll set him straight. There wasn't anything we could have done. If it hadn't happened last night, they would have found him somehow. The Klan has long arms, and if they hadn't reached him in Georgia, there is a good chance they would have eventually caught up with him in Richmond. Just wished maybe we had done this sooner, but we didn't know." Merle said.

"You're right Merle. We just need to convince your brother. For now, I'm going to let you two get some rest. Looks like you are gonna be here for a little while Merle. Is there anything I can do for you?" Alyssa asked him.

"Just take care of Daryl for me. He's gonna need ya." Merle told her.

"Don't worry, I've got him covered." Alyssa assured her brother in law.

...

The next morning Alyssa returned to the hospital to help with getting Daryl discharged. He had been offered the opportunity to be wheeled out to the truck in a wheel chair, but he insisted on walking himself. They had one final stop to make before they left, and both of them were beyond nervous.

Milton had reluctantly agreed to perform a pregnancy test on Alyssa, and Daryl had insisted to be there with her the entire time. It was not easy for him to see his wife in a hospital gown while the creepy Dr. Mahmet had his hands in a place that no one but Daryl had the right to be, but he had to remind himself that Milton was a doctor. Even though Daryl thought the man was creepy and had feelings for his wife, he also knew that Milton would take care of Alyssa. Daryl couldn't believe that Alyssa wasn't dying of embarrassment as she went through the examination, but instead she just held tightly onto his hand and kept her eyes trained on his face while she endured the poking and prodding.

When Milton was done he went to the sink and washed his hands and then wrote a few notes down on Alyssa's chart.

"Milton, are you going to tell us or not?" Alyssa asked in a frustrated voice.

Milton let out a sigh. "It looks like you're assumptions are correct. It would appear that you are around seven weeks pregnant. Based on your last cycle date I would put your due date around September second." Milton told them both.

Daryl looked at Alyssa, and she at him. Both of them had tears in their eyes as they realized that they would be parents.

"Really…Oh Milton, thank you so much." She said ecstatically.

"Congratulations to both of you." He said, but the enthusiasm in his voice didn't meet his eyes, and Daryl caught on quickly.

"Oh Milton this is wonderful." She told him.

The dejected Milton just shook his head, unable to speak. "I'm going to refer your care to a new female doctor here on staff. I'm afraid that I don't feel comfortable with obstetrics." He told her, and she could sense something wasn't quite right with her friend.

"Are you sure Milton? You've handled child birth many times in the past." Alyssa challenged.

Daryl was thrilled that Milton didn't want to treat Alyssa, but Alyssa genuinely seemed hurt.

"I'm sure, now if the two of you will excuse me, I have a personal matter to attend too." He told them as he walked out of the room without speaking another word.

"That was strange." Alyssa told Daryl.

"No, it wasn't. I told you all along that man had feelings for you. Now that you are carrying my baby he can't deal with it anymore. Fuck him." Daryl said emphatically, trying hard not to show how elated he was not to have to deal with the strange man. Alyssa just shook her head in disbelief.

"So Mr. Dixon, It looks like we have a baby nursery to put together in our new house." Alyssa told him smiling brightly.

"At least I got something positive to focus on. Alyssa, you just gave me the greatest gift I could ask for. After everything we've been through over the past few days, we've got a little ray of hope to get us through. I love you girl." Daryl told her as he helped her get dressed. "I'd carry you to the truck if I could, but baby I just ain't got the energy right now to do it." He confessed.

"Maybe I should be carrying you." She teased as she pulled him into a final embrace and the two finally headed home.

OK- Shorter chapter- But I really wanted to get this out and it was a good stopping point. So Yes, we are going to be parents.

Please leave me a quick review and let me know what you think. There will be a small time jump in the next chapter, and we've got a lot to follow up on with regards to Will and the crimes they committed.

I had truly hoped to update earlier, but my trip for work took up more of my day than I expected, and by the time I got back to the hotel each night I was exhausted.

Once again, Please let me a note and let me know how I'm doing or if you have any suggestions.

Special thanks to the following for leaving the sweet and encouraging reviews last chapter:

Irrelevant86

Avaleigh1

.2017

Miss October 13

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ArcheryLefty

DarylDixon'sLover

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Cheers and Happy reading-

Missy XXOO