Rick held Judy close as Daryl went over the areas they'd look for the others, and Daryl sent Jeremiah and Bobby to find something good for dinner since Maggie needed protein and Rick was impressed by how Daryl lead them. He was good leader, better than Rick, but Daryl would never admit it.

"So, how you been?" Daryl glanced over at him.

"It's been rough." He let Judy nibble on his pinkie. "Not knowin' if Carl or Judy were alive or if I'd ever see y'all again." He swallowed. "Nearly killed me."

"Same here, bro." He leaned back. "So, you and Michonne?"

"I expected this from Carol, but not you."

"I was askin' 'bout the livin' situation. I was gonna ask if you wanted us to move another trailer. There's somethin' to tell?"

"No. There's nothing to tell." He shook his head. "A lot of shit happened."

"Got time before dinner. Those assholes will be out all night."

"Before this long talk begins." Sasha poked her head in. "Where can I wash clothes?"

"Just through those trees." Daryl pointed to them. "Carol oughta be there."

"Okay. Thanks." She made a note and went to finish moving their belongings.

Rick and Daryl began to speak, Bob and Sasha moved into their trailer, and Michonne walked the perimeter, passing Jeremiah and Bobby, and Lilly looked over their medical supplies and began to sort through them. They all had a lot of reconnecting to do, but they were a family. Different races and origins and DNA, but they were still a family.

The dish slipped through Carol's finger, rolling into the water, and Carol stood up on shaky legs, trying to make the world stop spinning. Her vision was tunneled, and she fainted.

– – –

"That's better." Hershel smiled at the horse Carl affectionately called RG, and he brushed him down. Carl and Lizzie were running around with the small puppies they'd found, laughing, and it made Hershel happy to hear children's laughter again.

"Over here, Nick." Lizzie whistled. "C'mon. Over here."

The Doberman pup ran over to her, and Carl laughed when it jumped up and licked her right on the mouth. She cringed and wiped her mouth on her sleeve, and she sent JJ after Carl. He tripped over a rock and she licked his face.

Glenn smiled as the kids played. He walked to relieve Tara, and he passed by Jeanette's grave. The old woman has passed peacefully in her sleep, and thankfully, the door was locked, so they found her scrapping against it that morning. They had a ceremony and a moment of silence, and it was hard, but they moved on.

"Hey, Korea." Tara grinned.

He smirked. "You don't hear me calling you America."

"Okay, Ko-Ko?"

"No."

"You're still no fun." She climbed down and groaned. "You need to expand the space up there."

"I'll get right on that, Highness."

"I'd shoot myself."

He laughed. "Ty needs help checking the fortifications."

"Right. I'm on it." She jogged to catch up with him before he left the first gate without her.

Carl and Lizzie took the dogs inside, Lizzie snuck him up to her room since no one was in the house, and Hershel had one rule about her bedroom: No closed doors when Carl was in her bedroom. The dogs curled up on the bed that was made for Beth, and Carl and Lizzie climbed into bed and finished reading the newest comic Glenn found when he and Ty went to look for the others. They were tempted to try the local hotels and trailer parks, just for supplies. They might get lucky, but Hershel didn't want them to risk getting caught by a herd.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" Carl groaned.

Lizzie giggled. "The dreaded "To be continued..."."

"And we have to wait a whole week before Glenn goes back out, and he might find it." He sighed. He got lost in comics and books to keep this mind off his father and sister. "Damn it."

"No cussing in the house." Lizzie swung her feet off the bed and went over to the closet. "I have a few new books that Glenn brought. You can read them if you want."

"I want to be on guard rotation," he admitted. "Glenn wants me in the house to protect you and Hershel should anything happen, but that's bullshit. He doesn't want me out there helping, because I might get hurt."

She studied the covers of the books closely.

"I know how to protect myself, and I want to keep being a good shot." He sighed. "I'm almost fifteen, and they're treating me like a kid. It's so stupid."

She stood up. "I know what you mean. I'm getting restless too."

He locked eyes with her. "How restless?"

"I'm about to go stir crazy. I hate just sitting around and letting everyone else protect me." She crossed her arms. "I want to go out and look for the others with Glenn and Tyreese."

"We can." Carl stood up and closed the space between them. "We can go out on TJ, and we can look for them. It'll be night, and we'll need to be extra careful, but we'll be smart about it. There'll never know."

"How will we get out?"

He licked his lips. "Ty always gets something to drink before he wakes Glenn for his watch. We can sneak out before then and wait. I'll get the gates, and then it's a straight shot out of here."

"And getting back?"

"We can go around, jump the fence, and we'll just pretend we were out there all night."

"That's insane."

"You aren't saying no." He smiled slowly.

"When?"

"After dinner, we'll stuff our beds with pillows in case Hershel checks in on us, and we'll wait until we see Ty enter the house."

"Okay. We can climb out my window. It's closest."

"If we get caught, we're going to be in so much trouble."

"It's kind of exciting, though. It's like a video game, but there are no redos. We need to be really careful. We can take the gun Hershel has in the stable, and I have some rations and water for late night reading."

"Me too." He laughed.

"I thought I made myself clear." Hershel opened the door, they jumped apart, and Hershel narrowed his eyes. "Lizzie. Carl. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"We were just reading." Lizzie gestured to the comic. "We were picking another book to read to the dogs."

"Leave this door open." Hershel scolded.

Carl crossed his arms. "What do you think we're going to do?"

"If I told you, you'd get ideas. Don't make me send Tara in here to watch you two."

They rolled their eyes and sighed.

"Heard my name." Tara appeared behind him. "What do we have here? A cause of naughty door? Tsk, tsk, children."

"Hershel," Glenn called down to him. "I need you for a sec."

Hershel left, Tara sat Carl and Lizzie down for a talking to, and Carl and Lizzie hoped it wasn't as disturbing as the explanation of adult male and female body.

"Okay, kiddos." She met Lizzie's eyes then Carl's and gave them a serious, stern look. "I'm only saying this once, and you'll let me get through it, because I lost my niece, and I won't be able to threaten her like this, so shut up and listen."

They exchanged glances.

"Your underwear will always remain on and in place when you are together—and that does apply if you don't wear anywhere at all, and I will give you a pair if I have to. There will be no sexual acts under or above or beside this roof. If I even think I hear a condom open, I will tie you to your beds at night with a jump rope, and you will never be alone. I will be on your ass like a mole, okay? Be responsible and respectable young adults or it's the jump rope for the both of you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Carl asked.

"Have you never had the sex talk? Either of you?"

"No," they replied.

"Well." She laughed nervously. "This is awkward." She glanced between them. "Well, how do I explain this?" She chewed her bottom lip. "Oh, right, I don't." She left the room quickly.

A beat.

"Let's go check on Nick," Lizzie suggested.

Glenn and Hershel prepared dinner, Ty was on watch since he didn't want to cook, Tara checked the medical bag, and Lizzie and Carl went to the stable, leaving JJ and Nick inside to pester Rick. Lizzie made sure the extra saddle was hidden, Carl looked over the few guns Hershel had found—and hidden—in the barn, and they climbed into the hayloft in the barn and looked over a map of the town, finding the mall and trying to see if any place stuck out.

"We can try the town here." She gestured on the map.

"It's been months, and I doubt Dad went to see Morgan. With Glenn finding small herds near the here, we should avoid the main roads." Carl grabbed the permanent marker and traced out a trail. "We should use our time wisely, otherwise we'll get caught."

"Okay."

"I wish we had some of those suits from the prison." He pursed his lips. "It'd be so much easier, and we wouldn't have to worry about getting bit."

"We can't take that kind of a risk." She took the marker and made an X over the prison, the mall and her hometown. "Your turn."

He took it and marked an X over the quarry, the farm, and the city. "Luckily, this narrows our search."

"Luckily." She nodded.

"Dinner's ready, kiddos," Tara called up.

Their eyes met, Lizzie folded up the map and fitted it into her boot, and Tara squinted to see them, but the straw was stacked up too high. She waited, Lizzie came down first then Carl, and she narrowed her eyes at them. They walked back to the house, Hershel and Glenn had set the table, and Tara carried a plate out to Ty. Hershel made them say grace, Glenn seemed distracted, and he gave up half of his plate to Lizzie, because she often skipped meals. She felt guilty about the others, because she didn't felt they had hadn't gotten that lucky, and she would hide until Carl or Glenn or Ty ate the food she didn't eat. Jeanette would track her down and force her to eat it, but the men here were awkward and didn't want to hunt her down and force her to eat it. Tara would just follow her around like a hound for a few days to make sure she ate, and Carl would lecture. She couldn't make her guilt go away. It only got worse the more she ate.

Lizzie and Carl washed the dishes then went to bed, Glenn was looking over the map as they climbed the stairs, and Hershel rested downstairs as Tara and Ty checked the perimeter before letting Glenn take the night shift.

Ty checked in on them then Carl snuck out of his room, leaving a pillow stuffed bed and JJ behind, and Lizzie had the bags ready, and they climbed out the window, leaving Nick to snooze on the lumps in her bed. They ran to the stable, Lizzie saddled the horse, and Carl grabbed the rifles and their guns.

"Here." Carl held out her gun with its own makeshift silencer.

"Thanks." She climbed onto the horse. "I used to take lessons."

"And you just assume I haven't?"

"Did you?"

"No." He climbed on behind her. "I was going to suggest this actually. We might run into trouble, so it's better I'm back here. You watch the road, and I'll watch our backs." He strapped on one of the rifles.

She guided the horse out and they checked for anyone. Lizzie didn't hesitate to the out of there, Carl held onto her, and they managed to get out unnoticed. It was the getting back that was harder. It always was.

The night air felt good against their faces. It'd been so long since they were away from the ranch. It was peaceful out here. Untouched by walkers for miles, so they could enjoy the stars and the sound of bugs. They could hear them only a little at the ranch, because of the pond belonged to the frogs and all the noise they made. It reminded Carl of Shane and the quarry, but it wasn't the time to get sentimental. He needed to keep his guard up. It wasn't just his life at risk. He wouldn't let anything happen to Lizzie or himself. They would get back alive. He would keep her alive. He would do what he father failed to do on numerous occasions, and he wouldn't lose his mind in the process. It was horrible to think, but it was true. He truly hoped if his dad was alive, he had...come back and was protecting everyone with him. That's the man Carl wanted to be, and he hoped he got the chance to tell his dad that.

They made their way into town, the growls were spooking the horse, so Lizzie found a secure place for the horse to stay. They got their bags and snuck along the back allies, relying only on their hearing as they did so. The walkers would see the light from the flashlights, and as a result, they could only used them indoors. Hopefully they found some batteries with some juice in them, because their batteries were very low.

"Get down," Lizzie whispered so softly Carl almost didn't hear it.

"Do you see something?"

"Yes, because I can totally see out here."

He exhaled a laugh. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I hear some walkers ahead." She felt the wall beside her. "I think there's a door here."

They felt out the wall, Carl found the cold metal door, and they tentatively opened it. They were holding their breath, praying it didn't creak, and they both exhaled when it didn't. They went inside, Carl left the door ajar so they could easily leave if they ran into trouble, and Lizzie flicked on her flashlight. It was an office building. She looked over all the moldy pictures the kids had drawn, the pictures with shatter glass, and the framed notes from the kids, the handwriting sloppy and curved. It made her chest ache. Her dad used to do the same thing with her and Mika. He had a lot of pictures of them... What she wouldn't do for just one picture.

Carl looked through the drawer, but most of the items were indistinguishable and useless. He found a few items that could be used as makeshift shivs. They could use them to open locked doors. He glanced over as Lizzie gazed at a picture. "Find anything?"

"No." She averted her eyes and cleared her throat. "Sounds empty. I don't hear any walkers."

"Me neither." He shouldered his bag and grasped the doorknob. "Cover the light, just in case."

She clicked off the flashlight, he opened the door, and they groaned. The scent of rotting flesh filled the room, Lizzie gagged, and Carl shut the door, not breathing. They weren't walkers. That smell was somehow different. They were people who opted out. It made him sick. Why would anyone ever do that? This world was hard, but... It's all about will, he supposed. If your will is weak and you've nothing left, death would be...a blessing. He would never see death as a blessing. He refused to let his will weaken. He had to live. This world did not belong to the dead.

He tested the second door. "It's clear."

They searched the building, finding only a little bit of supplies. They found a few books to use to throw at walkers to get their attention away from their actual location, and they snuck out of the building. They were close to where they would start looking for the others. If they could get into the building next to them and sneak by the walkers there, it would be smooth sailing. If they were lucky enough that is.

Their hearts were racing as the door to the building was jammed shut, and with the walkers so nearby, they couldn't just turn around and go back. They would only lead them back to the ranch, and they would be in deep shit. They needed to get into this building, and that meant making noise. It would just have to be worth it. They were damned if they do and damned if they don't, and neither of them planned on dying tonight. They had to be quick and quiet and lucky. They had two down.

Carl used one of the makeshift shivs, it made quite a bit of noise, and Lizzie threw some empty soda cans from the garbage when the growls got close to where they were. Lizzie played softball often before the world went to hell, and she could throw better than anyone on the team. She was glad for that, because it distracted the walkers and got them to turn back.

Carl finally managed to open the door, Lizzie tossed four more cans just in case, and they scurried inside. Their chest were heaving from the nerves, Carl had blood on his palm from the shiv, but other than that, he was fine. They shared a nervous laugh then Lizzie stood up and dug out her flashlight. She nearly dropped it when she saw what was in the room.

From wall to wall, there were walkers, all facing the same way, all, shuffling and now growling. Hungry, deep-bellied growls, and those decomposing fingers were starting to grab.