"Blue Eyes" is by Jill Andrews. The verse Sera mentions here is Psalms 100 (King James Version), and is another thing women in my family do a lot.

A tranquil calm eased Daryl into consciousness, his ears registering the sough of the trees sighing in a light summer breeze. He lay cradled to Sera's naked breast, her fingers running gently through his hair and tracing indistinct patterns across his shoulders and spine. Their legs were laced together, his thigh pressing against the heat of her, most of his weight resting on his side so that Sera was surrounded by his bulk and warmth without being crowded or crushed. There was a soft, rhythmic mumbling under his ear, and he wrapped his arms more securely around her middle as he listened to her sing quietly in the vague light of the predawn world.

God gave you your eyes and made them blue
And your daddy's too
God gave you a heart and made it strong
Because he knew the hours could be so long
God gave me these arms so I could hold you
So let me hold you
It's all I want to do
God gave me these ears so I could hear you
Say the things that truly are so dear to you
And you got me for all time
Always and forever, right beside
And you've got me for all time
Always and forever, right beside

You
I have seen the ocean in your eyes
Your big blue eyes

Her voice was clear as crystal, and twice as lovely as a spring morning in the mountains. Even when she sang something he had heard growing up, she put something different into it so that a little of her people's backwoods swagger peaked through, flirty and exuberant. When she finished with a soft kiss to the crown of his head, Daryl allowed himself a stretch and a yawn.

"Like when you sing."

"That's probably a good thing, since I do it a lot." Sera extended her arms and legs in the same manner as Daryl, sighing as her spine aligned itself with quiet sounds of protest. "My mom was always singin' too."

"Yeah? Why?"

Sera nodded and began gathering clothes together for the day. "She sang to babies, she sang nonsense, or about whatever we were doing at the time. Then there were church songs and mountain airs."

Looking to him, she sighed at the picture he made propped up on one hand, only the light blanket thrown over his hips to guard against the slight chill. "She used to quote Psalms. 'Serve the Lord with gladness: Come before his presence with singing'."

He gave an embarrassed, gasping chuckle. "It's nice."

Daryl grinned slightly as he watched Sera step softly through the large tent, obviously attempting to lessen aches in her back and hips. A map of his teeth was laid out on the back of her shoulder, and she hissed slightly as her deep grey sports bra fit down over it. There was a replica of his hand on her hip in shades of blues and greens, and she chose a light, flowing skirt that wouldn't bother her stitches and allowed the barest hint of color to show above the waistband. Her tank top was not particularly low cut, but he knew the feathering bruise from his bite on her breast would be a bit visible by mid afternoon.

Sera turned as she pulled her shirt into place and caught something raw and primal in her husband's possessive, proud smirk. "What?"

"Like the way yer dressed."

Sera snorted and shook her head. "Like makin' me a marked woman, huh?"

"Hell yeah." Daryl stood and began the process of dressing himself for hunting. "Like people knowin' yer mine."

"But how will they know you're mine?" Sera grinned at the wrinkle that formed on his forehead. "If I give you something, will you wear it?"

"Ain't one for rings or anythin'." Curious, Daryl felt his face assume the scowl that usually accompanied uncomfortable situations. "They get caught on shit."

"What if I gave you something adjustable, that is also replaceable?"

"The hell you goin' on about?"

Sera chuckled quietly, pulling a thick curl over her shoulder and braiding it quickly. Securing it with two tiny rubber bands, she used her sewing scissors to snip the section free before moving to stand in front of Daryl. Wrapping it around his thick wrist, she adjusted it until it was tight enough not to sag or snag, but he had full range of motion.

"There." Sera's beaming smile tugged a soft grin from Daryl's lips. "Now, no other girl will think you're available."

Flexing his wrist to test the feeling and get used to its presence, Daryl smirked. "Bit possessive, aren't ya?"

Sera's laugh twirled out around the tent until those already awake outside were smiling in return. "Yer damn right, redneck."

Daryl slid an arm around her waist and drew her in for a deep, slow kiss before he finished getting dressed. The thin twist of fire at his wrist caught the slowly rising sun in its waves.

O:O:O:O:O:

"Are you sure no one would mind?" Sera followed Beth up the stairs to the back hallway.

Beth smiled shyly and used a long pole with a hook to snag the thin door leading to the attic. "No one else knows how to use it, and Momma wouldn't want it to go to waste."

Daryl had taken Carl and Sophia out into the woods, using Sera's injury and inability to effectively hunt as an excuse to evaluate the teens' hunting abilities. Having finished the mending, and with nothing new to read, she went to help the others with their chores. After laundry was washed and dishes gathered together, the farmer's youngest daughter had mentioned that their mom had left a large amount of yarn and supplies that no one else knew anything about, and offered to take Sera up to look through it all. Now, she stood below the dim opening feeling a bit intrusive.

Too many unexpected encounters with walkers had Sera drawing Daryl's knife from her waist as she limped up the thin stairs, but the single room was empty of anything more frightening than some cobwebs. Beth followed her up and opened the curtains on the few windows. The morning light revealed some boxes and a few project bags overflowing with colorful skeins and balls of yarn.

Sera fought the urge to tear into it all like a child at Christmas and turned to Beth. "Did you want to go through it with me?"

"No, thanks." Beth sighed heavily. "I think I'll go help with our laundry. Is it okay with you if I put the steps up so I don't have to dodge them? They'll push down from up here easy."

"No hun, that's fine." Sera watched the younger girl leave and waited for the door to close before she settled down in front of the nearest window.

Taking a deep breath, Sera began going through the nearest project bag. One look at the cerulean alpaca and wool blend, and she knew what she would be using to make Daryl's hat, warm and soft for a hunter used to coarseness and discomfort. There were multiple skeins of hand dyed sock yarn in various colors, and Sera made a mental note to double knit the heels and toes so they would last longer. The rest of the bag was full of scrap yarns, so she emptied those into a nearby plastic shopping bag and put the more readily usable yarn inside the project bag. The next project bag held more bits and pieces, so it was emptied into the plastic bag before she moved on to the first box.

The small box was stuffed full, and Sera allowed herself a gentle smile at the light blues, pinks, greens, and yellows clearly bought with babies in mind. Below the dozens of baby yarns, soft and washable, there were even a few pattern books for bonnets, booties, and little sleeper sets. She knew some of the yarn would go to making little sleep sacks to keep the new Grimes baby warm and swaddled in its first few months. The bottom of the container was populated with buttons and ribbons that would go well with the yarns, so everything went into the first project bag, though she shuffled everything to keep Daryl's yarn on top.

The next box had once held a large tube television, and was bursting with nothing but skeins of rich, warm wool. Noting that adding cables would double the warmth of anything made with the material, Sera decided to take the entire box. When winter set in, they would need warm clothes to guard against the freezing rain and snow that occasionally descended upon Georgia.

The rest of the cartons were likewise filled with cottons and even a few luxurious silks, with the last containing hundreds of pattern books and magazines. Sera decided that it would have to be sorted and packed away in the cars that had some room, to guard against it all being lost if they had to leave the farm. She would need help, however, and moved to stand when a muffled shout from outside drew her attention.

O:O:O:O:O:

Daryl nodded slightly as Sophia brought down her sixth squirrel of the trip. "You usually get them in the eye like that?"

"Sometimes," she shoved her hair behind her ear for the hundredth time that day, and made a note to ask Sera to teach her how to braid it back. "Either there or in the head and shoulders."

Carl was content to keep an eye out for walkers as they moved through the woods, occasionally leaning down to study tracks or set a snare. When they drew close to one of his traps, he would quickly check them and either take the animal and reset the wire or decide to move it.

Daryl's observant eyes took this in as well, and he commented on Carl's quickly improving abilities. "Nice work."

"Thanks. Sera says I'm learning really well."

"She's right." Daryl nodded slightly. "Ya both 're doin' a lot better."

Sophia beamed up at him, and Carl gave a huge grin. Daryl was suddenly uncomfortable with the attention and looked to the sky to measure time. "C'mon. Gotta get back if we're gonna have this ready to cook for supper."

Carl tried to follow Daryl's line of sight. "What time is it?"

"About 2:00. We've been out here for about four hours."

Sophia skipped lightly over the ground in front of them in much the same way that Sera moved. Daryl watched her tracks, noticing that she left little evidence of her path. Sera had taught her well.

"How can you tell?" Sophia's light voice was honestly curious and not bratty at all.

Daryl gave a slight shrug. "Just do. You'll learn it too, bein' out here as much as ya' are now."

Sophia giggled and turned to face them as they drew closer to the farm, motioning to her left. "You mean like knowing that way's north?"

"Yup." They were close now, and Daryl nodded. "Chickadee, you go grab some knives and the buckets. We'll clean 'em over here."

Handing her line to Carl, she disappeared around the tents to do as he bid with a quiet "Yes, sir."

Daryl was turning to let Carl know that they would set up on a fallen tree when a sharp, small scream had him wheeling around and sprinting toward camp before the sound had died from the air. Carl was two feet behind him, silenced gun drawn and held up and at the ready. The sight that greeted them when they came around the tents drew them both up short.

Everyone on the farm was sitting in a loose group, hands tied tightly behind their backs. Glenn's lip was punctuated by a sliver of bright blood, and Herschel's right eye was swollen until only a thin sliver of eye could be seen between the distended, red and purple flesh. Rick and Shane wore mutinous frowns, both glancing at a sobbing Lori who was sporting a bruise on her jaw. No one else appeared hurt, though it wasn't hard to see why they cooperated. Beth was sitting on the ground in front of a newly freed Randall, who was holding a black handgun to the back of her head. Sera was nowhere in sight, and Daryl wondered briefly if she was safe.

Sophia's quiet sobs drew Daryl's eyes away from the amassed group and toward the dark man holding a beat up Ruger .22 to her temple. The little blonde's large brown eyes spilled over as she looked at him, as if she knew there was nothing he could do. Carl made an angry sound low in his throat, and Daryl wrapped a restraining hand around his small wrist. Without being told or looking behind him, Daryl slowly drew the guns from Carl's hand and waist and laid them down on the grass against the nearest tent before doing the same with his own weapons.

Randall spoke up from his post against the clothesline. "He's the hunter I told you about."

"Don't forget the knives, Andy." A third man stepped out of T-Dog's tent carrying an armful of supplies, a knife at his hip and a crossbow on his back. His sallow face and milky eyes were haggard and tired, but alert. He moved quickly, though, and Daryl knew from experience with Merle that whatever drug he was on at the beginning of everything had leached out of his body long ago.

"Gonna need that knife, too." Andy's voice was thick with thirst and whiney in a familiar way.

A glance between him and Randall told Daryl they were related. Most likely brothers. A vision of what he would do if Merle was held captive flashed through his mind, and he felt himself become very still.

"The knife," the younger man motioned toward Daryl's belt. "Now."

When he hesitated, the hammer was pulled back on the Ruger. Sophia whined low in her throat, and Daryl slid his eyes to Rick's. When the deputy barely shook his head, Daryl understood that Sera was still free. Taking a deep breath, he drew his knives from his belt and laid them with the guns.

"Hey, sweet thing!" Beth and Sophia both jumped at his shout, but it was the older girl that started moving. "Come tie these two up."

"Hey, hick!" Randall grinned, his obvious enjoyment clear on his face. "Where's your girl?"

Daryl's sniffed heavily and spat the results at the younger man's feet. "Went huntin'"

"Alone?"

"Yeah." Daryl grinned evilly. "Don't get the big game with people hangin' around."

"Randall, shut up." Andy motioned to Beth. "Get to it, bitch."

Beth's blue eyes swam as she followed orders, whispering quiet apologies to Carl as she secured his wrists as loosely as possible, tugging his pant leg down over the small knife Sera had given him when she worked on his ankles. Daryl moved slowly, his blue eyes alert and watching for the moment Andy was distracted or the other stranger was within reach, but the other man neither took his eyes off Daryl's, or his gun from Sophia's head. Beth apologized to him as well, and he could see bruises forming on her neck and arm.

"Sera was in the attic." Beth's lips barely moved as she pretended to have trouble with the rope. "They didn't know to look there. Carl has his ankle knife."

Daryl kept his mouth closed but caught her hand to squeeze it lightly in thanks. Not like I can talk right now.

Andy pushed Sophia roughly toward Daryl. "Her, too."

Carol whimpered in fear, and Beth quickly led Sophia over to her mother without looking at the antagonistic men ordering her around. Securing her quickly, Beth attempted to sit with Hershel and Maggie, but Andy stopped her and called her back to his side. With a mocking grin, he grasped her arm and drug her against his chest.

O:O:O:O:O:O:

Sera looked out the window to see Randall leaning against the clothesline. What the hell is that little piss ant doing out? As she watched, an unfamiliar man stepped into view, holding Beth against his chest. From where she crouched, Sera couldn't see every detail. However, she could see that her friends as well as Daryl were sitting unnaturally together. A third man came out of a tent and stood between the other two. Looking around, she quickly realized that her only weapons were the knife Daryl had given her and some knitting supplies.

"Well. . . Shit."

Why didn't I know something was going on?

Sera tiptoed to the steps and listened closely before deeming it safe to push them down. They lowered quietly, and the house was silent in the afternoon light. She glanced in each room as she passed, but none contained a threat. By the time she was downstairs, Sera's heart thundered against her ribs and her palms were slick with sweat.

When she reached the front door, her skirt twirled around her ankles, and she gave a silent prayer of thanks that her father had thought to teach her in skirts as well as pants. "Assholes don't give a shit what yer wearin'." She adjusted her hold on the knife and looked out the window carefully.

The men were now shouting back and forth, their backs to the house and most of the tents. If she could make it to the camp without being seen, she hoped to find another weapon. She sprinted to the backdoor, throwing it open and then skirting the open area until she reached the closest tent. Peeking through the small window flap, she saw that it was in total disarray.

Dismissing it, she stepped lightly around the other structures until she reached the last one. Easing her head around the side, she spied Daryl's Horton leaning against the heavy canvas material, a bolt notched and ready. Randall and Hershel were yelling at each other as Beth whimpered and shrank away from her captor. Knowing what she had to do, Sera began to ease forward.

O:O:O:O:O:

"Uh, uh, uh, pretty girl." Andy made a show of nuzzling against her cheek and then her neck as she cringed away. "Always did like blondes."

"Get your filthy hands off my sister, you piece of horse shit!" Maggie began struggling against her bindings, surging to her feet before Randall leveled his stolen gun at her face.

"Now, Maggie," Randall shook his head. "Is that any way to talk to an old school chum?"

"What?" Maggie's eyes darted from Randall to her sister and back again. "I don't know you."

"We went to the same school. You were a year ahead of me." Randall smirked and glanced at Andy. "Remember the barrel racer I told you about?"

"Ah, the girl you had such a crush on." Andy's left hand began brushing over Beth's hip and side as he spoke. "That her?"

"Hell yeah it is." Randall ran his eyes over Maggie's athletic body, swiveling his hips at her suggestively. "Think we can make her ride me like she does those horses?"

"Hey now," the third man made his way out of Carol's tent and came to stand between Randall and Andy before the older brother could answer. "Who says he gets the brunette? I came back lookin' fer you two! I oughta get somethin' fer my trouble."

"Hell, Johnny, if hair's all that matters, take that skinny little bit of nothin'." Andy pointed toward Lori, and she started whimpering and scooting back toward Rick. "You could probably bend that bitch in all kinds of ways."

Rick moved forward quickly, pushing Lori behind him with his shoulder and speaking quickly. "Now, let's all try to remain calm. There's no reason for anyone to get hurt."

Shane's shouted threats were accompanied by Glenn's worried attempts at placation. Daryl didn't bother with words, instead using the distraction and fighting to begin moving closer to Carl's right leg. He wasn't sure who else was carrying, and he knew the boy's knife was still at his ankle.

Dale's voice echoed over the din. "You boys don't have to do this!"

"What'd you know about it, old man?" Andy squeezed Beth's waist harshly, his fingers digging into her flesh and making her cry softly. "It's a dying world. We gotta take what we want now. No time for bein' nice 'bout shit no more."

"God will forgive your past misdeeds if you repent them." Hershel's voice shook as he spoke up in the hopes of saving his daughters. "Please do not make things worse for yourselves by doing these things."

"I ain't worried about God, you dumb fu-"

Randall's voice cut out as one of Daryl's bolts lodged itself in his temple. Andy and Johnny wheeled around in surprise. Beth, utilizing a move Sera had shown her and Sophia when they were practicing, stomped on Andy's insole. When he loosened his grasp in shock, she sprinted to her father, curling against his aging chest and sobbing hysterically as Maggie laid her head against her shoulder. Glenn worked himself over in front of the small family.

Sera sunk down until her weight was distributed on the balls of her feet, fighting a cringe at the pulling in her stitches as Andy faced her. "Should've been worried 'bout me, you pathetic little quab."

All at once, the men seemed jolted into action. Rick rolled up onto his knees, fighting to get the attention of the interlopers. Shane's barking voice machine-gunned over the crowd, a mix of explicatives and demands. T-Dog and Dale were calling for reason and discussion.

Daryl chose to use his energy in another manner, wrenching Carl into a better angle and torqueing his head around to look over his left shoulder. Finally freeing the small knife from its concealed sheath, Daryl twisted the blade around until he was holding it against the rope. With small, sure movements, he began sawing through his bindings. Watching Sera and the men in front of him, he just hoped he was fast enough.

Don't drop that knife, you asshole. Can't leave yer girl up there on her own like this.

"That was my brother, you fuckin' cunt!"

Andy smirked before raising his gun and firing. His aim was off, and the bullet grazed her bicep. Her flinch and shout of pain failed to garner further damage, as the old, neglected gun immediately jammed. Throwing it to the side with an enraged shout, Andy drew his knife to mirror his friend.

Rick and Shane were falling over trying to reach the melee about to take place while Daryl continued to saw at the nylon bindings. He wanted to shout at the men, but was worried that he would distract Sera at a bad time. Glenn began talking to Beth, trying to get her to listen to him and start untying them.

Sera refused to pay attention to the abrasive language when her arm was already bleeding with a burning throb. "And you messed with my family, motherfucker."

The two men came at her as one. Raising her knife over her head, Sera rushed Andy, forcing him to hurry backwards away from the blade. Backpedalling quickly, she brought her hand down to her side, reversed the handle and embedded the blade up through Johnny's lower jaw and into his skull.

Andy was back within reach, and her blade was not coming out easily. Throwing herself away from the body, she put some room between herself and Andy. When he came at her again, she grasped the wrist of the hand holding the knife, guiding it past her body. Elbowing him in the throat, Sera watched helplessly as his knife flew out of his hand and disappeared over the tent. Eyes locking once more, the two combatants slowly began to circle each other.

Spotting Carl's guns a few feet from where she had seen Daryl's crossbow, Sera tried not to give her intentions away before diving for the weapons, but a dusky olive arm shot out past her and grasped for the gun as well. Sera rolled to her back and planted a foot against his shoulder, shoving him away from both herself and the guns. She yelled out as the stitches in her leg ripped savagely, a torrent of blood flowing down her leg and staining the grass.

Daryl's left hand was suddenly able to move much more freely! He began franticly pulling at the binding on his wrists, his short nails and sweating palms doing little to help.

Andy, paying no attention to the group's actions, threw himself at Seraphim. He tore at her skirt and raked his nails down her leg as his hands slid through the blood. Finally pulling her away from their shared goal, he wrapped his hands around her throat and planted a knee in the small of her back. He had a moment to wonder why she wasn't fighting back before she sagged below him.

As he chuckled through his panting and began to draw away, Sera's head whipped back. The rear of her skull caught him squarely across the bridge of the nose, the answering crunch and curse of pain drew a savage smile from her lips. Linking her left arm under his right knee, she spun to the side and dumped him on his back. Before he could recover, she landed a sharp punch to the area directly between his legs.

Daryl's hands were free and he began ripping at the ropes around his ankles, cursing and growling to himself. Rick and Shane were sitting with their backs to Dale and T-Dog, the deputies keeping an eye on the action while trying to hurry the others along.

Struggling to the side, Sera pushed off with her injured leg. The sharp throb that answered let her know that her adrenaline was flagging, and she tried to focus on the task at hand. Andy pulled himself over, army crawling after Sera.

Her hand made purchase on the butt of Carl's gun just as she felt a hand close over her knee. "Kids! Eyes closed!"

Andy rose up over her, Daryl's discarded knife in his hand. She did not hesitate when she leveled the pistol at his forehead and pulled the trigger.

Staggering to her feet, shocked to find that tears were streaming down her face. "You Do. Not. FUCK. with my family."

Daryl freed himself with a final, savage curse and ran to Sera's side. Without a word, she sank into the warmth and safety of his arms. As the others began to chatter excitedly, she tucked her head under his chin and sobbed quietly.

Return of Seraphim, the badass.