Okay, I have a tiny bit of bad news. I am going to have to put this story on a temporary hiatus for at LEAST a couple of weeks - no longer than three. The reason for this is because, Wednesday, I am undergoing surgery (nothing major, just cosmetic, so don't worry) and I'll be incapacitated off of pain meds for at least a full week after my surgery - maybe even two. So, just letting you guys know what's going on, so you don't worry when I haven't updated for a good 2-3 weeks :)

Ah, a nice big chapter for you guys - your welcome, by the way. And I am also really, really sorry for the amount of angst I am going to put you guys through with this chapter - especially in the beginning. I put you guys right in scene and immediately, I hit you with a two-by-four of drama. Again, I'm sorry, but . . . here is it. Hope you guys like it :)

HaloHunter89: Its not that I've never like Glenn - cause I do - its just that I don't like where they're taking his character. I like the jokester Glenn back in the first and second season - this new Glenn doesn't seem right for Maggie, which is why I made this change. And I want to portray that Sam loves Maggie in a way that he didn't love Tessa. With Tessa, he was with her because he was afraid of what she would do if she didn't have someone she could lean on. With Maggie, he doesn't have to worry about that, so his love for her can be genuine. And Hell yeah, I'm finally making Sam grow a pair of balls - I got tired of him constantly pussy-footing around ;)

DarylDixon'sLover and smittendebs - thanks for reviewing - always appreciated :)

"Shit! Deddy -!"

"Gurneys – use tha gurneys!"

Daryl had to admit – in hindsight, maybe telling Tessa and the girls to run with the twins while they lured the walkers down into the basement, wasn't such a good idea - them running down into the basement with the walkers, that was. Daryl would tell Tessa and the girls to run with the twins to safety, every damn time. Fighting wasn't exactly Tessa's strong suit, but she was smart. She would make sure they could outmaneuver the walkers and if backed into a corner, he had no doubt in his mind that Momma Bear wouldn't take over. He just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

The snarls of the walkers echoed around the room and their hot, rancid breath poisoned the air as Ethan and Daryl both grabbed two of the gurneys and pushed themselves into two separate corners of the room. Lumbering walkers blocked his line of sight from his oldest son and his heart began immediately pounding in his chest.

Jesus, how many walkers were there?

"Take down as many as ya can!" Daryl yelled over the cacophony of noise surrounding them, hoping that Ethan could hear him. He heard grunts and loud curses coming from the other side of the room and his hope that his son had heard him, strengthened.

"Shit! Shit, shit – shit!"

Daryl felt his blood run ice cold in his veins. For a few precious seconds, there was a temporary gap in the sea of walkers surrounding them. For a few precious seconds, he could see clear across the room to where Ethan was pinned – right when a walker grabbed ahold of him from across the gurney, and sunk his teeth into his shoulder.

"ETHAN!"

Daryl's roar split through the air – so much pain and rage evident in the tone, that for a moment, it seemed to bring the walkers to a stunned stop. Blood rushed hot in his ears, clouding his vision – tinging it scarlet - as his movements grew more frantic. He had to get to Ethan – he had to get to his son -!

Without thinking (or hardly thinking, more like it) Daryl dropped to his knees and scrambled underneath the gurney and the moving legs of the walkers that had been trying to get to him. Dropping as many as he could with his knife through their heads as he fought his way to Ethan's side, he slid underneath the legs and the gurney before jumping up beside him. Eyes wide with terror, they flitted down to the bite mark on his shoulder – at the torn clothe located there, and it took Daryl a moment to realize that Ethan was trembling like a leaf. And when he turned his eyes onto his son, he saw that they too were wide with fear and uncertainty. The sight caused a lead ball of anxiety to appear in Daryl's stomach. He never should have separated them two. He should never have brought Ethan down with him – he should have sent him with Tessa and the girls, he should have . . .

A voice stopped him there. A voice that sounded suspiciously like his father's, stopped him and told him to save the hysterics for later – for when they were out of the woods. For the moment, all they should be worried about was survival – on getting out of that damn basement that had probably cost him his son.

This is why Daryl didn't like leading. He had made a judgment call, and that call turned out to be wrong. That call, probably cost his son his life.

"We have to get out of here, okay?" Daryl told him, his heart twisting when he saw Ethan fight to get himself under control – to not allow his emotions to rule him - his heart wrenched. His son was so like him - so like a Dixon - a fighter to the end.

"Okay. And how do we do that?"

"Here, get that side. On my lead, we'll push 'em away and pin 'em against tha other gurney. Then, we'll run." Ethan nodded and swallowed hard. For a moment, Daryl could see his control of his emotions slipping, and his heart skipped a beat at the sight. "What is it?"

Ethan shook his head. "Deddy, if I don' make it -"

"Ya will make it!"

"Tell momma and Wren and the twins that I -"

"Listen, ya little Dixon shit!" Daryl interrupted him with a hiss, and Ethan's eyes widened in shock as Daryl grabbed him by the back of the neck and forced him to look at him. "I'm gettin' ya outta this, ya hear? Ya ain' dyin' here – not here, in this Goddamned basement! Ya gonna tell ya momma and Wren and tha twins tha' ya love 'em yaself! Then ya gonna . . . ya gonna . . ." Daryl trailed off then, not able to get the words: "die in his and Tessa's arms" past his lips. He couldn't accept it. His son wasn't going to die – he wasn't!

Ethan gazed at him for a moment before nodding. Daryl returned the nod as the two of them took their positions. Bracing themselves, Daryl counted down from three. When he shouted "Go" was when they pushed with all their might against the group of walkers on the other side of the gurney. They pushed back and at first, it seemed like nothing was happening, but then, slowly, the gurney started moving forward until they were running – pushing the walkers away from them. When they had pushed them away enough to make a bid for the stairs leading upwards, they took it, relentlessly stabbing their knives through walker heads as they moved.

Their pulses raced in their veins – pounded in their heads. And when they had run a sufficient distance away from the house to where Ethan was sure they had some spare time, he came to an abrupt halt. Daryl stopped with him as Ethan tore at his clothes, desperate to get his jacket and his shirt off of him so that he could see the amount of damage that walker bite had done to him. Daryl shook his head.

"Ethan, son, there ain' time -!"

"Yes the fuck there is!" Ethan viciously interrupted him, fear thumping a mad course through his veins now that the adrenaline from earlier was starting to leave. He shook his head as he pulled his overshirt over his head. "I have to see how bad it is, deddy - I have to -!"

He came to an immediate stop and both of their eyes widened when they saw . . . nothing. The flesh of his shoulder was as smooth as the day he was born, and Daryl felt sweet relief flood through his body and tears to well up in his eyes - blurring his vision slightly - as he reached out a shaky hand to feel the skin of his shoulder – to make sure that his eyes weren't playing a cruel trick on himself. When he brushed his fingers against him and felt the smooth warmth of Ethan's olive-colored skin underneath his callused fingertips, their eyes met. Relief surged through them both and before Ethan could even react, Daryl grabbed his son and yanked him into a hug tighter than anything he had ever experienced before. And as he stood there, it took him a moment to realize that his father was trembling as badly as he had been back in the basement when Daryl first reached him.

"Don'cha ever scare me like tha' again!" Daryl snarled at him, blinking back the tears that were determined to come, and Ethan nodded as he hugged his father back for a moment.

"Next time we're in a house surrounded by walkers, let's not into the basement!" He told him with a wry laugh, and Daryl nodded in agreement as they separated. Daryl gazed at him for a moment before shaking his head.

"We don' tell ya momma 'bout this, okay? This never happened – it won' ever happen again . . .!" He trailed off, and Ethan nodded, getting the picture. Losing one of the twins was one thing, but Daryl knew it would absolutely devastate Tessa if Daryl came back to her one day and told her that he had lost Ethan. It would devastate her on an almost nuclear level. Ethan had been the one thing that she had, had when she had nothing else left in the world. Ethan was the one thing in the entire universe that had put things into perspective for her over the years she had gone without Daryl – that had made her survive when it would have been much easier to just lie down and give up.

He had almost lost his son . . . he had come close to almost losing his son – closer than he ever had before. The thought made him sick to his stomach.

Ethan bent down and picked up his jacket that was torn from the teeth of the walker who had bit him. He swallowed hard and so did Daryl when he saw the thickness of the leather that had saved his life. "Thank . . . thank God for leather, right?" Ethan spoke, his voice trembling with emotion, and Daryl nodded.

"Yeah . . . thank tha fuckin' Lord for leather!"

"Tessa . . . Tessa, oh my God!"

Tessa never thought Daryl had ever hugged her so tightly in her life, until then. He hugged her with a ferocity that had almost taken her breath away, and from what little space there was in-between them, the twins let out indignant little cries. Daryl immediately released her and pressed a relieved kiss to Danny and Aayla's heads – beyond thankful that they were okay too.

"Thank God ya two are alright! I was so worried -!"

"Momma . . . momma, where's Wren?"

Tessa stumbled to a stop when Ethan's concerned voice interrupted her. It took Daryl a moment, but then he realized that Ethan was right. Wren or Beth were nowhere around – it was just Tessa and the twins. And by the look of confusion on her face, Daryl could tell that Tessa had no idea where they were, either.

"I . . . I swear, they were just behind me . . ." She trailed off as she spun around trying to find them, a bewildered look on her face, and once again, Daryl's blood turned to ice. Ethan's did too and he could see that once again, fear was pumping madly through his son's veins. Wren . . . where was Wren? Where the fuck was his daughter?

"Tessa, where did ya guys -!"

Daryl was interrupted by two simultaneous screams breaking through the quiet din of the woods surrounding them and they immediately took off after it. Daryl had the lead for a moment but then Ethan powered past him. He shouted out his name – was going to tell him to be careful, especially after what had just happened, but he wasn't entirely sure that Ethan had heard him.

They skidded to a stop when they reached the road, and Daryl swallowed hard when he saw the bag that Wren had been carrying, lying on the black asphalt with its contents spilling out. "Oh God . . . oh God, please no!" Tessa murmured in fright as her eyes welled up with tears, and Daryl opened his mouth to say something, however the squeal of tires interrupted him. Immediately, their eyes fell onto a black car taking off not far from them, muffled screams being heard from within. Daryl didn't think Ethan could adopt a look of any deeper unadulterated terror, and before he could stop him, Ethan was taking off after the car.

"Ethan!" Tessa screamed, but the headstrong Dixon ignored his mother. He ran as fast as he could after the car, but when it was clear that it would be impossible to catch up to it, he came to a stop, his chest heaving with exertion. He took a moment to catch his breath before he raised his rifle. It took him only but a moment to line up his shot before pulling the trigger. The loud gun went off and while Daryl had to admit that his son's eye at that moment would have put even Will Dixon's hawk eye to shame, the car swerved to the right at the last minute, allowing the bullet to speed off into the distance instead of piercing through the back windshield like Ethan had intended for it to do. The young man gritted his teeth and let out a sharp curse as he lowered the gun and as Tessa and Daryl numbly walked up to stand beside him. Together, the three of them watched the car as it sped down the road, the only thing visible the two glaring red breaklights that resembled the eyes of a monster in the thick blackness of the night.

"Where do you . . . where do you think they're going?" Tessa asked, her voice trembling as she held the twins close to her, and Daryl licked his lips and shook his head.

"Anywhere, babydoll . . . they could be goin' fuckin' anywhere."

Ethan shook his head. "They can go fuckin' anywhere they wanna . . . but that doesn' change the fact that they're dead men walkin'." He growled and the sound of his voice sent a trill down Tessa's spine. At that moment, the voice hadn't reminded her of Daryl when he was angry like it normally did – the voice reminded her an angered Merle out to get his revenge.

Maybe her son was more alike his uncle than she thought.

They walked for the rest of the night and into the early morning – when that Southern morning fog hung close to the ground and the bright sun lit up every drop of dew that had been placed there during the night, as it pulled itself above the horizon. They walked in complete and utter silence, with Ethan their silent guide. Back straight and gate purposeful, his eyes never wavered from the direction the car had gone with his girlfriend and ex-girlfriend in tow.

"You think he'll be alright?" Tessa asked Daryl, and Daryl gazed at his son for a moment.

"Depends. If he's anythin' like Merle, he won' be okay until he gives those fuckers what's comin' to 'em." Tessa swallowed hard at his words and they dissolved into silence again. Even the twins were absolutely silent – feeding off of the tense energy that now surrounded their family.

When they came to a fork in the road, Ethan's sudden stop brought them to a sudden stop, as well. They gazed at his back warily and for the longest time he seemed to stand there, eyes still pinned straight ahead. For hours, he had walked in the same direction like a robot – determined to get his girlfriend back or avenge her if those sick fucks had done something to her. Hell, he was even willing to get Beth back, too. However, at the fork in the road, where it was completely heads-or-tails as to what road they had taken, Tessa and Daryl watched as the walls their strong son had hastily erected around himself the previous night, crumbled. He seemed to finally accept the hopelessness of the situation and his shoulders fell. When he sunk to the ground, sobs wrenching forth from his mouth as he bent over to place his forehead to the asphalt, Tessa gave Daryl only a fleeting glance of concern. He nodded and quickly took the twins from her before she trotted over to him and dropped down beside him.

"It'll be alright, Ethan . . . it'll be alright, baby, I promise!" Tessa soothed him and Ethan didn't object as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled her into him. She rocked him back and forth the way she had when he was younger and had awoken from a nightmare or had been frightened by something completely inconsequential. She rocked and soothed him in only the way a mother knew how and gradually, Daryl saw Ethan's tears dry up until Tessa's shushing sounds were no longer needed. But she continued to hold him, and eventually, when Daryl moved to take a seat beside them, they didn't object. None of them objected.

They were down to jus them three and the twins. The thought terrified them.

Sam heard the shattering of glass, before Maggie did. He shot up from where they had been lying, and when he looked up to see Sasha standing in the open window on the top floor of the building beside them, he immediately moved to shake Maggie awake. She awoke quickly and sat up too, right when the snarls of walkers could be heard coming from all around them. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she felt Sam move closer to her as Sasha disappeared from the window. She reappeared seconds later holding what looked like a pretty solid table leg and ready to kick some major walker ass to get to them.

Standing on the front hood of a white Jeep Grand Cherokee, she took down every walker foolish enough to get near her. Sam and Maggie both quickly scrambled to their feet to help, Maggie picking up a broken off road sign while Sam quickly grabbed at the crowbar he had been packing for the last couple of days. Eyes crossing, Sasha quickly hopped down from the car and moved to join them. Backs pressing together again, they slowly circled the walkers nearing them, hands tightly grasping whatever it was they had they were packing.

When all the walkers had been dealt with and their chests were heaving, Maggie and Sam turned to each other, where they embraced in a tight hug. Maggie closed her eyes and allowed herself to calm her breathing, before slowly letting go of her man. "Where's Bob?" She asked Sasha, and Sasha gazed at her for a moment before wordlessly shaking her head.

"He's out looking for you guys. Why . . . why are you guys even here?" Maggie swallowed heavily, and her eyes crossed with Sam's briefly.

"We were looking for another walker."

"And we found more than we wanted, let's just say that." Sam quietly added, and Sasha threw them both confused looks as Maggie continued:

"And then as I was lyin' there, I remembered what you said back at the camp. I heard you said that you thought you should leave me in a town . . . but that wouldn't be feasible because then Sam would have refused to move on without me . . ." Her eyes crossed with Sam's again, briefly, and he gave her a smile as Sasha swallowed hard.

"What else did you hear me say?" She asked her, and Maggie glanced at her. "That odds are, Glenn is dead, but that's . . . that's not why I want to find him anymore, Sasha." She told her and she saw the subtle bob of Sam's Adam's Apple as it was his turn to swallow hard. "You said that we should stop . . . but you're wrong. Me and Sam – we need to find Glenn. It's not an option – we need to."

"Why?" She asked, and neither deigned to answer her question, causing her to roll her eyes and ask a different one. "So why are you two here, then?" Sasha asked as she turned to face her, and Maggie looked down as she moved to Sam again. Hands curling around her waist as hers curled around his arms, they held each other for a moment as Maggie thought about how best to answer Sasha's question. When she turned around to face her, she gave her a small smile.

"We were waiting for you," She told her before shaking her head. "I'm not giving up – we're not giving up. Me and Sam want to be together, Sasha. And we can't do that until we find Glenn and tell him the truth. That's why this has become so important to us. We can't move on, until I close that chapter in my life. And then we're going to find Tessa and Daryl and the others, because . . . because I can't live without knowing if my best friend is alive. But we need your help, Sasha, 'cause we can't do this by ourselves." Sasha was in shock at the news that Maggie was willing to break things off with Glenn for Sam, of all men, but didn't say anything as Maggie glanced up at Sam again. "We didn't . . . I didn't think I could ask you to risk your life. But I can, because I know what you would be risking it for."

"Look, Sasha, we get that you're afraid -"

"I am." Sasha interrupted Sam, and he nodded. "I am afraid."

"We can get there!" Sasha nodded.

"I know." She spoke before she gave them both a small smile. "So let's go get Bob. And then let's get there."

The last thing they hadn't expected to see, was the men who approached them, seemingly out of nowhere. Carrying rifles, compound bows and other weapons, they looked the epitome of big, tough bikers. And Tessa immediately found a red flag popping up when she gazed at them.

"Well, would ya'll look-it here . . ." One of them spoke – a grizzled-looking older man with salt-and-pepper colored hair and a matching beard. When they found themselves surrounded, was when the three of them slowly got to their feet, Tessa's grip on her children tightening. And feeding off of her nervousness, she felt Daryl and Ethan step closer to her.

The older man – the one who had spoken – made a move to pick up the diaper bag at their feet and immediately, Daryl slammed the butt of his crossbow into the side of his face before moving to loom over him, bolt pointed squarely at his eye. The man's friends jumped at the sudden movement, and moved to point their weapons at Ethan, Tessa and the twins. Only the man shouting out for them to stop, kept them from making mincemeat out of them.

"I'm claimin' the vest. I like them wings . . ." One spoke out, his compound bow pointed at the ground instead of at them, and they immediately realized he was referring to the leather vest that Daryl always wore. Tessa let out a snort of laughter, and the man shot her a look. "What's so funny?"

"Good luck with that. The only one he takes that vest off for, is me, and that's only because I won't let him into my bed with it on!"

The man scowled as Daryl's curt voice told her to be quiet. His eye was still trained on the man lying on the pavement underneath him, hands up but amusement in his eyes. "I said: hold up!" The man put a finger to his nose and brought it back stained with blood. The entire time, his gaze never wavered from Daryl's, although he did break out into laughter as he slowly got to his feet, Daryl following him the entire time. "So . . . we have a bowman, a mother, and a pipsqueak. Don't find these three people together often, now do we boys? But you know, I happen to like seeing you with a bow. A man with a rifle, he could have been anyone – a photographer, soccer coach back in the day, but . . . a bowman's a bowman, through and through. A bowman will protect his family to his dyin' breath, am I right?"

Daryl waited for a moment before giving a nod and stepping back closer to Tessa and the others. "I'd fight through Hell for 'em." He answered him without thinking, and the man's smile grew into a grin.

"What do you got there – a hundred and fifty pound draw-weight? I'll be a donkey's ass if that thing doesn't fire at least three hundred miles per second. I've been lookin' for a weapon like that, course, I . . . want one with a bit more ammo. And since I'm speaking to a family man right now, try this on for size: you pull that trigger, these boys here will drop you, you're pretty little wife over there, and your kids too. Suicide or stupid? Take your pick. Why hurt yourself when you can hurt other people?"

Tessa stiffened at his words. Those were the exact same words that someone like Merle would have said, and the words leaving his lips, made her dislike the man even more. "Daryl -"

"Hush up now, gorgeous – the men are talkin'." The man interrupted her, and her eyes darkened as her teeth gritted. However, she didn't say anything more, and the man returned his gaze onto Daryl. "The name's Joe."

It took a moment, but eventually, Daryl lowered his crossbow. "Daryl. Tessa, Ethan and then Danny and Aayla." He told him, and Joe nodded towards each of them as everyone lowered their weapons. Daryl's eyes met each of them, however, when his gaze crossed with Tessa's, he couldn't help but see uneasiness and fear echoing in their beautiful depths. His eyes pleaded with her to trust him – that he would protect her – all of them, but as he gazed at the men surrounding them again, and at the way they leered almost lecherously at the woman standing in the middle of them, suddenly, Daryl wasn't so sure.

If God was testing him at that moment, then please Lord give him strength.