This should have been out yesterday but alas it wasn't. I'll try to keep updating Monday and Thursday but like I've said I'm running out of pre-written stuff so I'm trying to get ahead of the updates again. I just did a quick run through for editing so I'm sorry for any mistakes!

If these next few chapters seem kind of jumbled together it's because they kind of are. I get just as impatient with my own writing as I do with other people's so I really just want to get to the good stuff instead of write the stuff I think of as 'filler' material. Anyway, I hope you continue to like the story all the same!

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever, own The Walking Dead comic or TV show and do not make any profit from this story. This is purely for entertainment purposes, no copy-right infringement intended

CHAPTER 25

Rick left Carl's room the next morning with a relaxed shoulder shrug. He'd spent the night on the couch in the living room and it was the most comfortable bed he'd had since he'd stayed with Morgan and Dwayne in King County. When he'd woken, Maggie told him that Carl was awake and asking for him. They spent an hour in the guest bedroom eating some eggs and toast that was clearly homemade talking about anything except the walkers, Lori, or Sophia. Carl clearly didn't want to talk about any of that, so they focused on the rest of the group and what they might be doing now. When Eliza came in to sit with Carl, Rick got to his feet and left them alone.

"Hey, how's he doing?" T-Dog asked from the dining room table where he was reading, a glass of water sitting on the table in front of him forming a sweat ring on the place mat.

"Seems fine, he'll probably be on his feet by this afternoon. Hershel just wants him to lay low for a little while so he can gain some strength. In the meantime, I have to go get the others. They'll be wondering where we are and we shouldn't be split up like this."

T-Dog nodded, "I'll watch Carl and Eliza while you're gone. But, you need to find out how to get back to the interstate. No point going wandering through the woods when there's roads to get you back there faster."

"Right," Rick agreed. He patted the black man on the shoulder before walking out onto the porch. Hershel and Maggie were just walking back from the memorial they'd made for Otis. Rick had told them what happened the night before and Patricia was still standing by her husband's memorial with Beth's arms around her for comfort. T-Dog had come back late last night, out of breath and looking a little ragged, and noticeably absent one large white man. He'd explained that he'd tried to retrace their steps back to where they'd lost Otis but he never found the man, not his body or his corpse walking around.

"Hershel, do you have a map or something that will tell me how to get to the highway?" Rick asked once the duo had climbed the steps.

"What do you need a map for?" the old man asked suspiciously. Rick couldn't quite explain the vibe the man gave off. He was clearly religious, which meant he should be kind and helpful, but he was also abrasive and obtuse in a completely unreligious way.

"I need to go back and get the rest of our group. They have to be worried about us by now, and I can't just leave them out there alone. I'd like to bring them here, just for a few days so we can regroup. Then we'll be out of your hair. We'll even camp out here on the lawn," Rick said, pointing vaguely to a spot in the yard under some tall shady trees.

Hershel looked like he didn't want to respond and Rick could only imagine that it was because the man was too polite to say he wanted them gone before they even had time to strike the first tent. Finally he just gave an uncertain nod to Rick's request.

Maggie glanced at her father before taking a step forward. "You don't need a map, I'll take you there myself. It's too dangerous to be looking at a map and watching for other things while you're driving. I know the way; it'll take twenty minutes, tops."

Without another word she headed back down the steps and over to her car. Rick nodded once to Hershel before following Maggie's lead and getting into the passenger seat of the car.

"So, you've got women and kids waiting for you? And more men?" she asked to fill the silence once Rick had gotten back in from closing the gate behind them.

"Yeah, I'm hoping everything was okay last night, that herd that overtook us came from the direction of the interstate. Poor Molly was probably freaking out trying to keep the baby quiet."

"The baby…" Maggie said absently. "How old is this baby?"

"Um…you know, I don't actually know. I'd say around three months, but we've been so long without a calendar I'm sure Daryl doesn't even know for sure anymore. We had some trouble with him crying a while back, but Molly's gotten real good at keeping him happy."

"So Daryl is the father? And Molly is the mother?" Maggie asked. No matter what her father thought, she knew these people would be around for a few days at least, and it had been so long since she'd spoken to anyone besides those already on the farm that she wanted to learn as much as she could so she could interact with them.

"Well, Daryl is the father, but Molly isn't the biological mother. Keegan's mother died shortly after he was born, Daryl came to the quarry with the baby and his brother and Molly apparently snuck her way into their lives. For all intents and purposes, she is Keegan's mother, but she didn't give birth to him, and neither she nor Daryl has acknowledged the role she's taken on."

"And is your wife with them? Waiting for you?"

"Um, no. She and my best friend got separated from us in Atlanta a few weeks ago. Keegan started crying, drew a crowd, they got lost when we got away." Rick had expected it to hurt more, talking about Lori, but it kind of felt like he was talking about the weather.

"I'm sorry. And what about Eliza? Are her parents waiting for her?" Maggie inquired.

"With any luck they will be. Miranda and Carlos should be waiting with their son Louis. They will be so happy when they find out Eliza is safe back at your farm."

"You were looking for another girl too though right? What about her parents? How will you tell them that not only did you not find her, but that Eliza thinks she's been infected?" Maggie asked quietly. She didn't know if she was overstepping with all her questions. But she would keep asking until she either ran out of questions or Rick told her to stop.

"Sophia's father died before we went to Atlanta. Her mother, Carol, was devastated when the girls were lost in the woods. I don't know how I can tell her the news without feeling guilty for not protecting them in the first place. Carol was an abused wife, and Sophia was the only good thing she had in her life. This will probably crush her," Rick replied just as quietly as Maggie had asked.

Maggie was quiet for a moment before forging ahead again. "So is that all of them? Seems like a pretty even mix of guys and gals."

Rick shook his head, "no. There's also Dale, an older man who's more like the grandpa and conscience of the group. He also owns the RV we travel with. Then there's Glenn. He's a tough guy in a nerd's body. Saved my life when I first met him, really great kid. And there's Amy. She lost her sister when Carol lost her husband. I think she's handling it better now and turning her grief into action by becoming stronger and less of a victim. She's actually really strong and helped me through losing Lori."

"Does someone have a crush?" Maggie asked with a smirk as she drove off of the back road and onto the interstate.

Rick blushed at her words, but he couldn't figure out if it was because she was right, or if it was because he was too old to be having crushes and the words embarrassed him. It was true that he and Amy had gotten a little closer over the weeks following the Atlanta disaster, but he had no idea if that meant anything more than what it was.

"Anyway, is that where your group is?" Maggie asked, pointing with one finger over the steering wheel. Rick brought himself out of his thought about his and Amy's potential relationship to look around him.

"Oh, yeah. The RV is right there in the middle. Looks like Molly and Glenn had some luck moving cars out of the way," Rick replied as they pulled up right behind the Morales vehicle.

They got out of the car and had only been looking around for a few minutes before three figures came around the front of the RV. Rick pulled his gun and aimed before he realized who it was, but once he did recognize Daryl, Glenn, and Morales he lowered the weapon and smiled.

"Hey! I was worried about you guys," he said, walking over to stand in front of the men. They weren't emotionally close enough to embrace each other as brothers might, but he did give them each a nod of acknowledgment.

"You shoulda been. We almost got caught in a big ass herd after your boy was shot. Took us all damn day to get back to the road. And then Molly and the kids were gone," Daryl replied gruffly.

Rick looked around more closely then and realized that no one else was coming to greet him, no one else was even there. "Oh, I… are they…?" he couldn't formulate the words he needed to make the appropriate inquiries.

"Everyone's safe, they're waitin for us at the overpass, just like we planned. We came back to start searchin for the girls again, figured just cus it wasn't safe for the women and kids to be here don't mean we can just leave them out there."

Rick sighed in relief and replied, "well, I have…somewhat good news. We got Carl to the doctor and he's going to be okay. Otis, the man who shot him, he saw Sophia running in the woods. Carlos, we found Eliza yesterday. She's waiting for us with Carl and T back at Maggie's family's farm," he said to the tall curly haired man.

Rick smiled when Morales's face broke into a huge grin and the man pulled him into a hug. He could only imagine the relief the other father was feeling, it had to be similar to how he'd felt when he knew Carl would be okay, or how he might feel if Carl had been lost and they'd found him alive and well.

"And Sophia?" Glenn asked once the two had stepped back from each other.

Rick shook his head, "we didn't find her, but Eliza said that she was bit, and that Sophia made her leave the barn they were hiding in so that she didn't get hurt when she turned. We won't know if Eliza is right until we go to that barn to see. I didn't want to go without Carol, I figured she had a right to be there when we found her."

Glenn's hopeful expression disappeared at Rick's words and he nodded. Glenn had younger sisters back in Michigan, he knew how terrified the girls must be, and he couldn't help but hope that they'd all come out of this alright.

Maggie moved up to Rick's side and cleared her throat suggestively.

"Oh, right," Rick said with a chuckle. "Guys, this is Maggie Greene, her father is the doctor. Maggie, this is Daryl Dixon, Carlos Morales, and Glenn Rhee."

It's another shorter one I know, but it seemed like an okay place to stop and now Rick's been reunited with part of the group. Also, in the special features for Season 2, they said that Maggie was extremely forward, so I didn't think that her asking all these questions was really out of character for her.

I love that you all enjoy this story so much but I would appreciate more reviews than I've been getting. I think I only got 4 for the last one. I can start asking more questions if you need something specific to comment about (I have that problem when I review), just let me know what you think! I'd really like to hit 150 with this, the 25th chapter.