A scratching noise roused Kagome first. It wasn't loud, but it was persistent. She groggily opened her eyes and glanced around to find no change to the inside of the shack — except for the shadow moving under the door. Suddenly wide awake, she slowly and quietly stood up while motioning for Daryl to keep silent as he woke with her movements. Pointing to the door, she watched as his featured registered the situation. There was a walker at the door.

"One?" he whispered.

"Sounds like it, but can't be sure." She replied as they packed up their stuff as quietly as possible. If there was more than one, then they were going to have to make a run for the bike and try to get away fast. They shouldered the packs and all the bags, then with Daryl at the ready with a dagger, Kagome opened the door.

On the ground was a walker with an apparent broken leg; Daryl quickly put an end to the animated corpse. Then, with a sweeping look, they found three other walkers close by. They left the building, took out the two closest ones, and then circled the shack to the bike. Kagome managed to put all her cargo on the bike before she turned to bury her blade into the rotting skull behind her. Another quick glance found no other unwanted visitors, so they mounted the bike and were back on the road in no time.

OoOoO

Thankfully, they made it back to the prison without any more close encounters. And, thankfully, the others had arrived about an hour or so before them safe and unharmed. It was rare, but they were grateful for the good fortune.

They all unloaded the bags, but there had been some damage done to a fence during the night so several of them went to survey and repair the problem. Somehow, Kagome and Carl were nominated to do an inventory of the goods and put everything away. She didn't mind, but she wasn't anticipating the question Carl had been working up the courage to ask while alone.

"That night, what was Shane going to do to you?" Carl asked. Kagome froze, she was just about to start unpacking canned goods but froze with her hand mid-air.

"What did you see, exactly?" Her voice was low, but he heard her.

"He was behind you, and your face was turned away…." He sounded so uncertain.

"Oh Kami…." Kagome breathed. He had seen more than he should have. I hope Shane is burning in hell right now, she thought. She turned and squatted down to Carl's eye-level before continuing. "I had hoped you didn't see all that, but since you did I'll try and explain as best as I can kiddo."

He nodded and Kagome took a deep breath.

"Shane was going to hurt your dad, and I found out about it. So, I made sure to follow them to keep things from going badly. Shane…tried to…tried to rape me but your dad stopped him." Kagome could feel her heart beating all over her body, the memory was still vivid, the feeling of his person on her was still vivid.

"Dad's explained what that is before, when he worked a rape case as a cop." Carl nodded and wrapped his arms around the woman before she realized what he was about to do. Kagome managed to hold back the tears as she hugged the quickly growing boy tight.

"You're going to grow up fast in this world, I hate that for you Carl." Kagome pulled back and brushed some hair out of his face. "You should be playing video games and learning that girls have cooties."

"But instead I'm fighting walkers and watching people die." His voice went hollow, and in that moment Kagome knew he was talking about his mom.

"Sadly, yes. And, sadly, more people may die. But Carl I want you to know something…it doesn't define you. It will shape you, yes. Your personality will evolve based on what you see and what you do, but it does not define WHO you are." Kagome looked deep into his eyes, hoping his clever mind would understand the message.

"Meaning, I can still be a good person?" He seemed confused, but Kagome smiled still.

"You are a good person, as long as you choose to be. You're going to want to do horrid things when horrid people do bad things, but it's a choice if you actually follow your thoughts. You choose if you react badly, or find another way to react." She patted his shoulder and sighed again. "Shane made some horrible choices, and he became a bad person because of it."

"He saved me and my mom…."

"Yes he did, and that was a noble choice. But when your dad came back, Shane made evil choices that could've impacted you and your mom too."

"I know, it's just...how do I react when a good person turns evil?" Kagome heard the quiver in his voice, and it made her heart clench.

"I don't have a solid answer for that, it all depends on the person and the situation. What I do know, is that you killing Shane when he turned was the right choice. I'm the one who killed Shane, but you made sure his body stayed that way. Make sense?"

"I think so."

"Ok, then lets finish putting this stuff away and check on the others." Kagome smiled lightly as she stood.

"Kags?"

"Yeah?"

"Would it be alright, if I…if I came to you when I need to talk?" Kagome glanced at the boy.

"Why me?"

"I dunno, you listen and you don't treat me like a kid." He shrugged while pulling bottles of water out of a bag and putting them on a shelf.

"Well, I'd say anything needs to be discussed with your dad first but my cell is always open if you need to talk, ok?" She winked and finished one bag before moving on to the next one.

"Ok." He nodded with a smile.

"And Carl, don't worry, you're not going to become an evil person. You're stronger than that." Kagome nudged him with her elbow and he smiled in return.

"You think so?" He asked, his dad's hat sliding down slightly to cover his face.

"I know so."

Carl didn't hear the double meaning of her statement, and even if he had he wouldn't have been able to comprehend what she really meant. Kagome knew she was lucky Rick was as understanding of her situation as he was; honestly, she had been expecting him to blow her brains out without a thought. But he didn't, and it seemed he was slowly gaining even more trust in her than before.

That evening they'd all enjoy a decent sized meal together, including Axel and Oscar. Kagome had informed Rick that they were truly harmless and would be beneficial to the group, so they were allowed to move into the block with the others. Kagome had also managed to find out Rick had tried to use the phone again, but hadn't heard from the younger her, instead he indeed spoke with Amy, Jim, Jacqui, and Lori.

"You ok?" Kagome asked quietly.

"No, but then again it's not as crazy as your stuff." His smirk eased her nerves and she shoulder-bumped him.

"Trust me, I know. But just know everything will be up and down, we're going to have good times, but a lot of bad. The timeline from here on is going to different than what I know." She glanced around to the others. "They can't know any of this though, the less who know the better."

"I agree. But know I'll also be asking you about what's coming just to hopefully be better prepared." His side look was familiar, but it made her squirm a little.

"Not everything will be the same, Rick. And there are some things that will need to happen even if I don't like it and you're going to hate it."

"Or else, what? Things will be completely different?"

"Yeah! Meaning people who are supposed to live may die, and vice versa." She really hoped he understood the magnitude of the whole situation.

"I get that, but even a little heads up would be helpful."

"I know, and I'll try but you'll probably get pissed at me at some point."

"Like I haven't already at least once?" Again, his smirk was reassuring. "Even then, I trust you with my life Kags. This group trusts you."

"Yeah, yeah, but just know it'll happen again." Kagome stood and bid everyone a goodnight as she ambled her way to her cell. Once her shoes were off, her belt off, and she felt less confined by the clothing she still wore, she stretched out on her bed with a sigh.

"Wan' some company?" The gravelly voice brought a big smile to her face.

"Are you offering yours?" She asked slyly.

"What do you think?"

"I'm wondering how many times we can answer the other's question with a question." She watched as he walked in and sat next to her.

"Ya just broke it, so there's your answer." Kagome laughed a little while moving to give him room.

"True, but I also wasn't expecting you to want to sleep in a cage." The returning poke to her side made her chuckle all over again.

"I'll go back to my spot you ain't careful."

"Whatever." She replied as he pulled her against his side. Her legs were over his legs, and his arm was wrapped around her shoulders; Kagome's head fit nicely under Daryl's chin. That's how they fell asleep, wrapped around the other. They wouldn't move the entire night because both would sleep deeper than they could ever remember sleeping.

It was a good night for everyone; though, two of them knew the peace wouldn't last long.

I LIVE! I know it's been forever, and this chapter isn't near long enough but I wanted y'all to know I'm still breathing and working on these when I'm able. No promises to the next update being soon, but I'm working on my stories. I hope everyone likes this update, let me know in reviews or PMs. Thank you!