The day passed by rather quickly. It was much different traveling through the winter weather when it wasn't just Daryl and Lilly. There was less stress, their shoulders lighter knowing that they weren't the only ones taking care of each other. The comforting sound of people talking and the companionable feeling of simply being around others was one that even Daryl was happy to have for once.

They made a few stops throughout the day and snacked on the little food they had. Oatmeal mixed with melted snow wasn't terribly exciting, but it would keep them going long enough to get to Blackforest Retreat. With the blizzard long past now, the sun was fully emerged from behind the clouds and helped keep the chilly temperatures from getting too threatening.

Nighttime was a little different. The temperature dropped with the sun. Huddling in their jackets and blankets, the group worked together to form a few lean-to's against trees a little ways off the road. They lit a small fire in the middle, Rick crouching near it as he prepared to take first watch. The others grouped together for warmth in the lean-to's they'd created and settled in to sleep.

Daryl and Lilly opted to stay together in their own lean-to. Neither of them were super comfortable with getting squished against a bunch of bodies, preferring to help each other stay warm instead. It felt strange as the couple leaned against the tree trunk and Lilly rested her head on Daryl's shoulder. They'd done this before, but were now surrounded by the group they'd almost died trying to find, their relationship so much stronger after what happened at the ranger's station. In spite of the weird, almost nostalgic feeling, Lilly easily decided she liked it better this way.

Daryl had the fourth and last watch of the night. Glenn nudged him awake and tiredly shuffled off to sleep next to Maggie. As he watched him go off, Daryl bit back a yawn and found himself struggling to find motivation to get up. Lilly's small frame was so soft and warm against him, her foresty scent soothing, her even breathing lulling him back to sleep. Everything about Lilly was wrapping up his mind in an enchanting embrace. It was irritating. But nice.

But irritating, Daryl mentally grumbled, finally prying his arm from Lilly's grasp and easing her off his side. Lilly stirred and let out a small moan of protest, tightening her hands on his arm and burying her face into his shoulder.

"Where're you going?" she mumbled tiredly.

"Gotta take watch."

Lilly huffed and didn't budge, refusing to release Daryl. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and yawned widely. Her hand slid down to Daryl's and entwined her fingers with his. "'M coming too," she croaked, voice scratchy with sleep.

Daryl buried his face in her hair. "Nah," he told her softly. "You were gettin' some sleep for once."

"'Cause you're here," Lilly told him. "Come on. I'll have nightmares anyway."

Knowing it was useless to protest, Daryl relented and squeezed her hand. "Fine."

Fingers intertwined, Daryl helped Lilly out of the lean-to and lead her to sit down by the small fire in the center of camp. It was barely alive, the tiniest of flames flickering timidly. Lilly leaned forward and took a few twigs from the pile they'd made nearby so that nobody would have to wander around at night to get more firewood. She busied herself on feeding the fire and helping build it up just enough that it wasn't on the verge of sputtering out.

The sky was crystal clear and littered with twinkling stars. Moonlight flooded across the snow and made it look like it was glowing. Daryl glanced around at the sleeping group, for once at peace with the situation. He sat with Lilly in companionable silence for a good hour without incident.

That's when a twig snapped somewhere in the distance. Daryl was immediately crouched on his feet, automatically reaching for a crossbow that wasn't there. Lilly froze with a stick in her hand, peering through the tree's intently. The pair both waited in utter silence, their eyes picking through every shadow and crevice in the forest. Something rustled around in the darkness, clearly far away.

"What do you think it is?" Lilly whispered.

"Only one way to find out," Daryl answered quietly.

Without further ado, Lilly stood and swiftly moved in the direction of the sound. Daryl blinked in surprise. He'd intended to go himself and leave her by the fire, but she clearly had different ideas. "Lilly, wait," he tried to call out without waking anyone or getting the mystery intruder's attention. Either she didn't hear him or was simply ignoring him, as she didn't stop for a second. In moments, Lilly was carefully picking her way into the shadows and away from the camp. Swearing under his breath, Daryl came after her, following her away from the light of the fire and into the trees.

There was more rustling far off, and Lilly kept her body low to the ground as she crept closer to it. Behind her, Daryl's attention was split between the girl and the thing in the forest. Lilly moved like some ethereal creature of the night, slinking through bushes and shadows, barely making a sound. The only reason Daryl was able to follow her was the small footprints she left in the moonlit snow.

It wasn't long before the source of the disturbance was discovered. Lilly came to a halt between some trees and sunk to the ground. Daryl came to a crouch behind her protectively. A few yards away, a walker was stumbling through the trees. Moonlight fell down on the reanimated corpse like a spotlight. It was a larger body, well built with muscle that must have once been the pride of this man. On thick legs, the walker managed to keep balance in spite of its towering height. A tattered wife-beater hung off his round shoulders. His jaw drooped off of his sunken face, thick blood vessels sticking out of his pallid skin. He slowly tripped on closer, snarling and hissing excitedly at the smell of live bodies nearby.

Daryl rolled his eyes in annoyance. Barely even a threat. Without a second thought, he reached up again for a crossbow that wasn't slung over his shoulder, then huffed in frustration when he remembered he didn't have it. From his spot crouched between the trees, he looked around for something to take the walker out with. As his eyes fell on the empty space in front of him, he froze.

Lilly was sneaking towards the walker, only feet away from it. Her small figure scurried through the bushes and behind tree's like a ghost. "Lilly," Daryl hissed. What did she think she was doing?

The walker snapped his large jaws as it heard Daryl and took a few quick steps towards him. Daryl rose from his crouched position, prepared to take the thing out with his bare hands, when the large corpse paused. A loud squelching noise sounded, and a moment later, the body had fallen face down in the snow with a thump. Lilly stood behind it, her hand clutching a bloodied stick.

Daryl blinked in awe. As his eyes met Lilly's, she gave him a small, slightly cocky grin. With blood sprinkled onto her pale face, moonlight shining down on her long, tangled hair, she'd never looked more beautiful.

Covering his wonder with a look of indifference, Daryl snorted. "Bit tall for you, wasn't that one?"

"I jumped," Lilly responded without missing a beat. She dropped the bloody stick and grimaced at the sticky liquid that had gotten onto her hand.

"Here," Daryl stepped around the walker's now unmoving body and pulled out the rag that was always in his back pocket. He wrapped her hand in the material and gently wiped the blood off. Lilly watched on, standing a little taller, pleased with her success. When Daryl finished with her hand, he gently took her chin and tilted her face up towards him. He meticulously dabbed the small drops of blood off of her nose and cheeks.

Lilly thanked him quietly when he finished, tucking the rag back into his pocket. She put her hands on his shoulders and stood on her toes to kiss him quickly, pulling away with a smile. Both stepped away from the walker and headed back to the camp to finish their watch.

The next morning, waking up was slow but optimistic for the group. Everyone stretched out their limbs, achy from the cold though not severely so. After using the fire to melt some snow and heat up a few packets of oatmeal, Lilly stamped it out and helped Carol pass around portions of food to the group. Rick pulled Daryl aside while everyone ate.

"Thought I heard something last night," he told the hunter. "Anything happen?"

"Just a walker," Daryl responded with a shrug. "Lilly took care of it."

The corner of Rick's mouth lifted at the thought of little Lilly, almost feeling like a proud father. "Strange that we used to think she wouldn't make it," he mused.

Daryl breathed a small chuckle. "Yeah, she's done alright." He thought back to last night, when he'd twice reached for his crossbow and twice been disappointed to remember it was gone. "Would feel better with some weapons," he thought out loud.

"We should reach Blackforest Retreat by nightfall," Rick nodded. "Hopefully we'll find some there."

"You sure it'll be safe?" Daryl frowned, sensing Rick's own unease.

Rick shuffled his feet in the snow with a sigh. "No, I'm not. But what other choice do we have? We need supplies. Going as we are now, we won't last long without it."

Daryl chewed on his bottom lip, unable to shake his own discomfort with the idea. Rick was right, he knew that. Blackforest Retreat was the group's best shot. They couldn't afford to risk wandering out in the cold, not with their limited supply of food and lack of weapons. His gaze unconsciously sought out Lilly, who was currently laughing brightly at something T-Dog had said. The sound chimed through the air happily, her smile wide and carefree for once. Daryl wanted her to be this way forever. He couldn't bare to see her scared one more time. Lilly had already had enough fear in her life.

He had to protect her at all costs, and Daryl knew that he couldn't do that as well as he'd like without weapons. So Blackforest Retreat it was.

Shrugging his jacket tighter over his shoulders, Daryl jerked his head towards the rest of the group. "Then what're we waiting for? Sun's only up for so long."

…..

The day went by all too quickly. It was strange that the journey back to Blackforest Retreat was so short, considering they had spent almost a week moving away from it. Lilly supposed it was due to the fact they were travelling along the road now, rather than wandering aimlessly through the forest.

As the sun started to go down, Lilly couldn't help but eye the tire tracks on the road with apprehension. Those tracks belonged to Orren and the others, left behind from when they left the cabin to find Rick and his group. They should have made Lilly feel better as they were an indicator that Orren had left and not returned, but instead they left a pit in her stomach. She viewed them more as cruel reminders that the sick men were out there, existing somewhere, thirsty for blood.

Daryl could see the way Lilly's shoulder's sagged with the weight of stress as they drew closer to their destination. He could sense her anxiety increasing with every step, could practically hear the rush of thoughts and memories swirling around in her mind. Without even needing to ask, Daryl knew that Lilly was mentally reliving the memories of their escape and of what almost happened to them. He knew what she was thinking of, because he couldn't stop thinking about it either.

There was just enough sunlight left that they could see each other's silhouettes. The snow almost looked blue as the sky got darker. The temperature was beginning to drop, crystallizing everyone's breath and sending chills up their spines.

At the front of the group, Rick came to a stop and squinted. "We're here. Everyone needs to say quiet from this point on."

Sure enough, before him was the sign on the side of the road that read 'Blackforest Retreat'. Tire tracks and footprints from Orren's departure littered the snow, the only sign that they'd been there at all. A tense silence fell over the entire group as they eyed the old tracks and the sign. Nobody knew what to expect once they reached the cabin.

With only the crunch of snow under their feet in their ears, the group followed Rick past the sign and onto the side road that led to the cabin. Daryl and Lilly stayed at the back, their arms brushing against each other's for assurance. Lilly kept her gaze forward, peering over the heads of the group nervously. Daryl did the exact same thing, anxious to see what lay ahead.

Like a slumbering monster, the intimidating silhouette of Black Forest Retreat emerged from the darkness. The group came to a stop a few yards away from the fence so they could make an assessment. From outside, it appeared that nothing had happened at all. All of the group's vehicles, save for one, were parked on the property and covered with snow. A couple additional trucks were parked nearby, also buried in white. The sight of Cain's old vehicles was unsettling, to say the least. No light came from the building's windows, and from where the group stood, the cabin looked as empty as when they'd first found it.

At this point, a few stars were beginning to twinkle to life in the sky, the sun leaving the moon to take its place. All was completely still and silent. So far, all signs pointed to Blackforest Retreat being safe for the time being.

"So far so good," Rick uttered quietly, turning to address the group. "But let's not take any risks. I don't want Lori, Carl, Hershel, or Beth goin' inside until we're sure it's clear."

"I'll stay with them," Carol volunteered.

Rick gave him an approving look. "Good. If you see anything out of the ordinary, you warn us if you can, but get out of here at all costs." Carol nodded in understanding. Lori clutched Carl close to her, not liking this talk of what to do if something went wrong. Everyone hoped beyond hope that all went well.

Rick continued firmly, set on getting this all over with. "Everyone else, split into two groups. I'll take one group through the front, the other through the back."

Daryl stepped forward quickly. "Lilly and I will take the back." He wanted to be sure that Lilly was at his side at all times, not wanting her out of his sight for a moment. Lilly was more than okay with that, needing the security Daryl brought to keep her head level.

"T-Dog, you go with them," Rick ordered. "Maggie and Glenn, with me."

"Let's do this," T-Dog shifted his weight back and forth eagerly.

Turning back towards the cabin, Rick took a deep breath and nudged the gate open with a hand. The fact that it was left unsecured was encouraging - there was no reason to keep a place locked up if you didn't plan on returning. Wincing out the loud creak of metal, they watched as the gate swung open and began to slip through.

"Be careful," Lori pleaded softly.

"We'll be fine," Maggie gave her a reassuring smile before following Glenn through the gate.

All senses on high alert, Lilly stepped onto the property with Daryl leading the way. The hunter glanced back at her and T-Dog. "C'mon." He broke into a jog, Lilly and T-Dog following suit as they made their way around to the back of the cabin. With a final wave of good luck at Rick, Lilly rounded the corner and locked her eyes on the pair of angel wings in front of her.

Daryl, Lilly, and T-Dog all reached the back door of the cabin quickly and came to a pause, listening intently for any sign that someone was inside. After a moment of tense silence, Daryl exchanged a look with T-Dog. Then, his eyes fell on Lilly. "Ready?"

Lilly swallowed back a lump of anxiety and pursed her lips. "Ready."

With bated breath, Daryl cautiously tested the doorknob to find it unlocked. The door swung open easily, it's hinges complaining only slightly at the movement. Lilly peaked around Daryl as their first view of the inside was revealed.

It was way too dark. The hallway that was once familiar to the group now looked slightly haunted. Potential monsters seemed to lurk in every shadow, around every corner. The doorway gaped open before the three survivors, beckoning them inside like some sort of mouse trap.

Daryl's booted feet took careful steps into the hall, Lilly and T-Dog right behind him. A gust of wind followed them inside, brushing Lilly's hair across her face. She flicked it out of the way quickly and looked to the right. The door leading to the living room sat in waiting. All three regarded it with apprehension. This was the room where the group had crawled through a window to escape. The same room that Daryl had almost died in, that Lilly had almost been ravaged in.

Daryl moved to open the door, but to his surprise, Lilly beat him to it. Shoving away all thoughts of what had happened and what might have been, Lilly summoned her courage and boldly twisted the doorknob. With a gentle nudge, the door cracked open and she peered into the room. Both T-Dog and Daryl watched patiently. After a moment, Lilly turned to give them a nod, saying it was clear, and slipped inside.

They were met with an encouraging sight. Even in the darkness, it was clear that the room was littered with various supplies. The trio spread out, checking every shadow and nook for a sign of danger - a body, a walker, anything. Daryl nearly stepped on a cylinder-like object and bent down to discover it was a flashlight. Pleased with his luck, he picked it up and switched it on.

The beam of light helped illuminate the room and made searching it much easier. Walking with more confidence now that she could see better, Lilly crossed the room and stopped at what looked like a junk pile. There was a ton of the group's clothes tossed in, especially the women's things. It only made sense - one would hope that Orren and his men didn't have a use for women's clothing. Discarded garbage was mingled with the pile, empty boxes that once contained canned goods. As Lilly sifted through its contents, her hand landed on something cold and hard. She wrapped her fingers around it and lifted, only to find that the object was quite heavy. Using both hands, Lilly pulled the mystery item from the pile and immediately grinned.

"Daryl," she called quietly, standing and crossing back to where he was examining the fireplace. "I've found an old friend."

Daryl looked up at her with a frown, his entire face brightening as he saw what Lilly was holding; His crossbow.

The hunter eagerly handed Lilly the flashlight in exchange for his weapon, running his hands over it to check for damage. It was practically untouched.

"Looks like they were too stupid to figure out how to use it," Lilly smiled.

"Didn't even think to take the arrows," T-Dog spoke up, approaching the pair with a sling of arrows in his hands. Daryl took them and slung them over his shoulder, feeling much more empowered now that he was reunited with the weapon that had served him so well throughout the apocalypse.

The happy moment was cut off by the sound of footsteps above them. Lilly glanced at the ceiling timidly. "That's gotta be Rick, right?"

"I should hope so," T-Dog murmured.

"We can look through the rest of this stuff once we've cleared the rest of the cabin," Daryl said as he armed his crossbow. With its comforting weight back in his arms, he felt ready to take on the world. "C'mon." He wasn't the only one to feel reassured by the weapon, Lilly and T-Dog following him with more confidence.

They left the living room and continued down the hallway. Just as they moved to round the corner to the kitchen, a set of footsteps on the stairs brought them to a halt. Daryl aimed his crossbow at the staircase, Lilly pointing her flashlight in the direction the noise came from. "Rick?"

"Just me," was Rick's quiet response. Daryl immediately relaxed his aim while Lilly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Scared the crap outta me," T-Dog mumbled.

Rick came down the stairs, followed by Glenn and Maggie. "Upstairs is all clear," Glenn announced. Rick eyed Daryl's crossbow approvingly.

"We still have some rooms to check down here," Daryl told them.

"Great, let's spread out. Just a few bedrooms and the kitchen." Stepping around Daryl, Rick headed down the hall to check a bedroom. Maggie followed while Glenn and T-Dog went to check the other bedroom. That left Lilly and Daryl to take the kitchen.

The kitchen didn't have a door, so the pair peaked around the corners of the archway before stepping inside. Daryl kept his crossbow ready to shoot, looking under the table and scanning the corners of the room. Lilly adjusted her flashlight in her hand and checked the cabinets under the sink, feeling fairly secure at this point. After seeing that the cabinets were empty and free of danger, she moved to open the pantry door. The moment the beam of her flashlight hit the inside, she staggered back with a yelp.

Daryl jumped at the sound and was rushing to Lilly's side in a flash. The girl stumbled away from the pantry, her back hitting the edge of the counter with a thump. The flashlight clattered to the ground. "Someone's in there," she gasped.

Daryl aimed his crossbow at the dark shadow that was the pantry and waited for something to come out. But nothing did. A long, rattly sound floated to their ears and Lilly let out a breath. Just a walker. Heart still pounding from the scare, she slowly bent down and retrieved the flashlight she'd dropped. Lilly directed the beam of light at the pantry and winced at the sight.

One of Cain's men was curled up on the floor of the small closet. Angus, she thought she remembered him being introduced as when they'd first met Cain. His skin was shiny with sweat and deathly white, sunken eyes bloodshot, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. A gurgling sound escaped his throat as he listlessly gazed at them.

Daryl was about to pull the trigger when he heard something more.

"St… St…" Angus was trying to speak. With a jolt, Daryl realized that the man was still alive.

"What happened to him?" Lilly wondered aloud, unable to tear her eyes away from the sickly image.

The corners of Angus's mouth twitched as he gagged on what must have been a laugh. "Pneumonia," he wheezed. "No meds…"

"You deserve to die," Daryl scowled, readying his crossbow to fire once more.

"Wait…" Angus gasped weakly. "Wait."

"Daryl." Lilly put a hand on the hunter's arm and lowered his aim. Ignoring the look of frustration he gave her, she crept forward and crouched down in front of Angus, eyeing him warily. "What is it?"

Angus choked on another laugh as his bloodshot eyes blearily met hers. "Stupid girl," he managed to whisper. "Should've… stayed… away…"

Lilly's heart sunk and her muscles tensed. "Why?" she breathed, though some part of her already knew the dreaded answer.

Angus coughed up a glob of blood, the red liquid staining his teeth and lips. He tried to take in a breath, but his lungs were too clogged up. Coughing again, he gagged on his own blood but kept his eyes glued on Lilly's. She stared into his dim iris's with a very sick feeling. They held something that was a almost a sense of… regret.

"They went… to find me… meds…" he managed between coughs and gasps for air. "They're… coming… back…"

With that last message of doom, Angus's eyes rolled back and he choked on his last breath.

With wide eyes, Lilly shakily stood and backed up so that she was at Daryl's side again. The hunter easily aimed his crossbow and let an arrow fly into Angus's head before the corpse could reanimate itself. The pair stared at the arrow lodged in its target as they processed what they'd just heard.

"We need to get out of here," Lilly uttered. Without another word, she stepped forward and yanked the arrow out of Angus's head, handed it to Daryl, and rushed out of the kitchen. Daryl followed quickly, sticking the arrow back in his crossbow and preparing it to shoot.

They ran into Rick in the middle of the hall, his face concerned. He'd heard something happen in the kitchen, and the looks of dread on Lilly and Daryl's faces was enough to let him know that it was nothing good. "What's wrong?"

"They're coming back," Lilly told him quickly. "We need to go."

Rick tensed and gave her a brisk nod. "Alright. Let's grab what we can and get moving."

"There's no time for that," Lilly protested. "We need to leave now."

"They're not here yet," Rick tried to reason with her. "We'll be long gone before…"

"Listen," Daryl interrupted him. They all fell silent, watching Daryl expectantly. His eyes were wide, his hands gripping his crossbow so tightly that the knuckles were white. After a moment, everyone heard a sound coming from outside. Their hearts jumped in horror.

Gunshots. Screams.

It was too late. Orren and his men were back.