A/N: Alright, so firstly… I just wanted to give you a wee bit of insight into my future intentions as far as Daryl/Jesse/Carol goes. When I started writing this, the idea I had in mind (being a huge Carol fan after all) was that the three of them would end up as a little quasi, fucked up family. Carol –being the nurturing woman that she is –would end up as a sort of mother figure to the two younger people; that between the loss of Sophia, and those nurturing instincts, Carol would take the two on as surrogate children. So no fear about 'Caryl' getting in the way lol. I wouldn't have wasted all this time to make poor Jesse survive the ZA alone at the end lol.


Carol hadn't stopped crying for hours. Ever since they'd gotten back to camp, she'd laid in there on the damn bed, sobbing her heart out.

Jesse twisted around in the front passenger seat, trying to get comfy, trying to ignore the heart-breaking sobs. Idly, she wondered how much anybody would mind if she turned on the radio, before dismissing the idea. Figured Andrea would give her hell over it at the very least. And Daryl, who was laying on the floor between the kitchenette, and the bedroom, probably wouldn't appreciate the added noise. As it was, she could hear him tossing and turning as much as she was, occasionally tapping his foot against the wall in time with the steady clicking of Andrea loading and unloading all the clips.

Click, thump, sob. Click, thump, sob. Click, thump, sob.

She was gonna go insane; at the very least, she wasn't gonna get any sleep.

Click, thump, sob. Click, thump, sob. Click, thump, sob.

Just as she was about to get up and leave -to go anywhere, just to get away from the damn noise- she heard Daryl grunt. Turning her head a bit, she seen him pull himself to his feet, grabbing his crossbow out of the seat, and slinging it over his back.

"Gonna need my clip back," He muttered, staring at the table. Jesse pushed herself to her feet, stretching her arms above her head.

"Gonna walk the road. Look for the girl."

"I'm goin' with ya," Jesse said quickly, picking her bow and quiver up off the floor, clipping the quiver onto her belt loop as she followed him outside.

"Where you two off to?" Dale called out quietly, from on top of the RV.

"Gonna shine some light on the woods; if she's out there, she might see it," Daryl called back.

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"Don't ya worry ol' man; we ain't gonna pull the herd down. We goin' in ta the woods," Jesse retorted, softening her words with a smile.


"Dale ain't too bad."

Daryl glanced over at the midget. They'd been walking for a few minutes before the girl spoke, her voice low. He shrugged, feeling the tenseness in his shoulders from laying on the hard floor for the past few hours.

"Guess not. Nosy as hell though," He grunted.

"Ya really think we're gonna find her?"

"Jesus, not you too. What the hell is wrong with y'all? This ain't the mountains a Tibet; it's freaking Georgia! Probably… holed up in a farm house somewhere, waitin' for us ta find her," He snapped. "Hell, I was younger than she was, an' I got lost. Spent nine days in the woods… eatin' berries, an wipin' my ass with poison oak."

The midget grinned at him. "Really? Thought ya knew ya way 'round the woods," She said with a chuckle. "Ya family find ya?"

Daryl snorted, the idea of his father traipsing through the woods, fat ass sweating, beer can in one hand, and cigarette in the other almost amusing. "Hell, if my ol' man had come after me, I wouldda run the other direction. Ma'd been dead 'bout a year; Merle was in juvie again, an' dad was off on a bender with some waitress. I made my way back though; first thing I did was march in ta the kitchen, an' made myself a sandwich. None the worse for wear… though my ass itched somethin' awful."

The girl's laughter surprised him. He was pretty sure the deep, throaty laughter was the first time he'd heard a real laugh from her. Not a drunk laugh, or a chuckle, or even a bitter laugh, but a real, honest to goodness laugh.

He was surprised at just how much he liked the sound.

"Ya should laugh more often; ya got a nice laugh."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt his face turn red; felt the butterflies start in his stomach, especially when the midget gave him a shy smile.

"Thank you. That's uh… First compliment I've gotten in a while," The girl said, her own face blushing a bit, her cheeks turning pink.

Daryl chuckled, trying to mask his embarrassment. "So strippin' ta ya underwear, nothin'. Offerin' ta sleep with me, nothin'. Give ya a compliment, an' ya go pink. Interestin'."

"I ain't pink."

"Ya pinker than a damn rose there, shorty," He said with a grin, glad for once to have one up on her. Usually, it was her making him blush.

"Keep it up, redneck –"

Jesse stopped short, both of them dropping low simultaneously, the growling sound hitting both their ears at the same time. Daryl quickly pinpointed the noise from a few yards ahead and to the left of them. Moving silently, they both advanced forward, when they came into the clearing.

"Well looky there," Jesse said, grinning as they caught sight of the hanging walker, standing up straight, and strolling up to the tree that the Geek was hanging from. The midget stared at the note attached to the tree, before turning to him, her face red again.

"I uh… What's that say?"

Daryl gave her a funny look. "What, letterin' ain't big enough for ya?" He asked curiously.

The midget shrugged uncomfortably, folding her arms across her chest as she shifted from foot to foot. "I uh… I'm dyslexic," She finally muttered. "Can't read."

"Merle was dyslexic," Daryl said casually, trying to make up for his screw-up, feeling bad at the look on her face. He moved by her, and peered at the note. " 'Got bit. Fever hit. World went to shit. Might as well quit.' Stupid shit didn't know 'nough ta shoot himself in the damn head. Turned himself into a giant piñata," He said with a chuckle.

"Ya know… I don't understand this… this whole 'opting out' thing. Don't make any sense. I mean… I guess I understand it, but I don't get it," Jesse said slowly. "It's suicide. Plain an' simple. Throw whatever name ya want on it, but ya takin' ya own life. Ya ever think 'bout it?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"What? Offin' myself?" He hesitated for a second, before slowly nodding. Girl had told him some of her secrets, only fair he returned it. "Couple times. When I was a kid. Real young. Usually when Merle was in juvie. Tried it once. Merle made sure I didn't do that 'gain. Kicked my ass so bad, for a while I thought he might a saved me the trouble."

"How old were ya?" Jesse asked quietly, returning her gaze back to the Geek.

" 'Fore my ma died; musta been… eight, maybe nine?"

"An' ya never thought 'bout it after Merle beat ya?"

"Nah. An' not 'cause he whooped on me; it was what he said." At Jesse's questioning look, he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "He uh… he tol' me that… nobody in life was worth my life. That by killin' myself, I was lettin' the world fuck me over. Tol' me not ta be a bitch. An' I might a been pissed; little down or whatever, but uh… I ain't never been nobody's bitch. Guess it uh... made me angry 'nough ta get over whatever shit I was feelin' then. Ain't never thought 'bout it sense."