Okay it's finally here! Took way longer than I expected and I wish I could say it was to make it longer and better but really it's because it's been so long since I did something that wasn't based off the script I had no idea if it would work! Also I got a new job and had to settle into that, I got some of my other shit together so now I just need to learn how to juggle it and plan things!

Sorry for mistakes, i'll edit later because I need to go to bed soon in order to get up for work.

Review Responses:

Gingerman454: Aw you're a sweetie! Don't worry I'm getting my life together pretty well now.

Guest: Your review touched me so much. I'm glad you liked Nicotine (I'm guessing your the one who confused me when they said they never even saw Boondock Saints. I was wondering how they would have found the story if they didn't lol.) Also to know that people miss my writing and Natalie means so much because even I miss Natalie when I don't get to write about her and writing really does make feel good and like i'm good at something. Also I completely fell in love with the song Broken Girl and it's on the playlist. I thought it was so great because it gives hope that no matter what happened to you you can get through it. Which is kind of what I try put in as one of the themes in the story.

Guest (Sakura): Yeah I'm having a walking dead withdraw after the season ended lol. I'm so glad you like the story and it's one of your favorites.

It hit me like a brick smashing through a window. It took me practically all of yesterday and a good majority of this morning to remember where I might have heard the name Randal before. I don't even know what caused me to remember it all of a sudden but I remembered that Randal was one of the names mentioned by the guys at the camp. I guess with all of trauma I'd been through it slipped my mind when Rick brought him back. Since then though Randal's been kept in the barn with Hershel, Rick and Shane going to check in on him every now and then. It's probably better that way to be honest. Even though I don't know the guy I feel a lot safer with him put away. After that night… I just don't think we should risk it. The things those men told me, what they've done, what's been done to them, I can't risk letting that happen to my group. And if that guy was right, if that really was my sister then I can't just sit here anymore. I need to go out there. I need to look for her, look for any signs of Randal's group or other rogue groups that could hurt us. But I can't do it alone. I realize now that it was a mistake.

"Rick?" I knock on the door frame to the study. Rick was in there leaning over a desk that had a map. He looks up at me waiting for me to speak. "Sorry to interrupt but, I need to get something off my chest. It's about what happened that night and Randal."

He walks towards me and gently leads me in, poking his head out the door frame to see if anyone is around before closing it. I can't help but feel self-conscious. I've barely spoken to Rick for the past few days, actually I probably haven't really talked to him since we got here. He's been so busy with both the group's problems and his own problems that he just seemed unapproachable. I never wanted to bother him unless I thought it was absolutely necessary.

"You okay?" Rick asks concerned noticing my hesitation and nervous posture. It's probably because I stopped bothering trying to hide my bruises, they were now a greenish yellow color against my skin that made everyone uncomfortable looking at me for too long.

"Yeah. I just- I'm sort of-"he takes a step toward me and I immediately step back. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." He says calmly. "Just relax, take a deep breath and tell it at your own pace."

I inhale sharply and exhale. "You've done this a lot haven't you?"

"Part of being a cop." He says.

"Guess that's why I'm nervous."

"Don't be. It's not an interrogation. I'm not going to lecture about what happened or accuse you of anything. I'm just listening to a friend tell me what happened to her."

"I know I shouldn't have gone by myself. I should have waited and trusted that you guys would come back. But after burying Sophia I was wasn't thinking straight. I was distraught and ashamed that I wasn't able to help her, so I guess seeing Beth helpless and Maggie upset made me want to do something."

"I get that." he says. "So did you borrow a car or walk there."

"I asked Maggie if I could borrow a horse and not tell anyone where I went. On my way there though I saw a car pulled over on the side of the road, the exact same model of Carol's car. Thinking that it was you and Glenn in trouble I stopped to investigate it. Right away I realized something was off but I was ambushed and taken back to their camp. They had my hands and feet bound as they interrogated me. Wanted to know if I was with a group that attacked them a while back and where I was staying. I wouldn't tell though. No matter how hard they hit me I wouldn't tell." I rub the rope mark that was still on my wrist. It was taking a long time for it to heal.

"I know you wouldn't. Since I met you I knew you were tough. You were the first person willing to go to Atlanta to save Merle, didn't need to convince you to help me save Glenn, and what impressed me most of all is not many people, woman or man, would go toe to toe with someone like Daryl like you would."

I chuckle at that, a small smile returning to my face remembering better times. "I think most people aren't as reckless as I am. Most people know when to give up, but I couldn't. I've come to think of this group as family. Which is why I want to ask you if we could go back to the camp I was at. I think that if Randal is a part of their group then maybe something there would give us a clue about where the others might have gone."

He ponders it for a moment and my stomach tenses nervously waiting for an answer. Maybe it was a stupid idea but if I didn't bring it up I'd feel guilty if something happened.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" he asks.

"I'll deal with it. One of the five guys that was there left to go find his brother, if he's still alive I'd feel guilty if he ended up leading the others they mentioned back here."

"Okay. You and I will check it out. I won't ask for a lot of people this time, Randal being here has everyone wound up enough."

"So just you, me, Shane-"

"Shane should stay here with the others." He interrupted me. I see that he looks conflicted when he mentions Shane. "We'll just say where checking the area and going into town."

"Okay…" I say hesitantly. "I'll meet you by Carol's car in a little bit then." I walk out of the study, making my way to my tent to get my stuff and see who I might want to invite with us. Reaching the porch I look off into the distance towards Daryl's camp.

"Let's just cool off." Dale said. He was right. Now was not the time to discuss Randal's fate if no one could think rationally. Everyone dispersed from the dining room, I followed Carol's line of vision and saw Daryl. I wonder what he was thinking about the whole situation.

"Hey-"I try to call out to him as I get out of my chair but he acts like he doesn't hear me and walks out the screen door. I stand there dumbfounded, he rarely ignores me like that. Carol turns her head away from the door to look at me.

"Maybe he didn't hear you." She says to comfort me. I can see that even she doesn't believe it.

"No." I say. "He did. He's just pulling away."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Maybe you're right. It just… feels like I fucked things up."

"Why would you think that?"

"I-"

Flashes yesterday fill my mind. I see myself pleading with Daryl not to leave, him telling me he's done looking for people, brutally killing Richie and watching Daryl attack Scott like a mad man, the look on his face when I pulled him off Scott and he saw my disheveled appearance, and then I saw the kiss.

"I just do." My face feels scalding hot thinking about it. Carol looks like she wants to ask but I hear Shane calling for me.

"Guess I couldn't avoid getting yelled at by him for too long." I walk away from her to see Shane standing on the porch with a disappointed look on his face.

I haven't seen him since then. I thought about inviting him to come with us but I decided against it. I was actually kind of afraid to see him. The way he looked at me made uncomfortable. Almost as if if he said the wrong thing I would shatter into a million pieces and like he was afraid of me. I felt embarrassed. That wasn't how I wanted anyone to see me, especially him. It feels like in less than I day I changed our whole friendship, but I'm too scared to find out if it was for the better or worse.

"You're going out?" I turn to face Dale.

"Yeah. Doing an area check."

"Are you sure you're up for it? With what happened yesterday?"

"I can handle it. Besides, Rick will be with me."

"Anyone else?" I see he's looking behind me towards Daryl's camp.

"We can handle it. Besides with what happened yesterday there should be more people here to protect the place."

"Good point, but I'm worried about you. I know that we've been through a lot, and I am truly sorry for all the pain you felt with Sophia. But you don't have to bear all this alone. All of this pain, anger and sadness is changing you but it doesn't have to completely take over."

"I know I do. But it's not easy. I can't just spring back up on my feet and act like everything is normal."

"I'm not asking for that. I just want you to heal, even if Daryl is the one to help you."

"Not this again. Look there's nothing going on between us. Besides, after everything that happened he's trying to distance himself from us. Even me." I fiddle with my pendant and swallow the lump in my throat. "I gotta go get my stuff. Rick should be out soon."

"Turn right at the next intersection. It should be a couple miles after that." I direct Rick as we drive along. It was mostly quiet except for when I gave a few directions. He didn't say much but would nod his head to let me know he heard me. I wish I brought Glenn or even T-Dog with us, it was so awkward just the two of us. Like I was some punk he picked up and was taking to the station for something stupid like vandalism or drunken disorderly. Actually with the way I've been acting recently that's probably exactly how he viewed me.

"I- I'm sorry." I blurt out. He looks at me confused.

"For what?"

"You know. For leaving the farm like that, giving you a hard time about Sophia going missing, you know being a pain in the ass in general." He laughs at that.

"Please. Have you really been around some of the others? You're the least of my problems."

I laugh at that. "Thank you, for everything you've done." He stops smiling but I continue. "I mean it. Shane may believe he has everyone's best intentions at heart, maybe he does, but he's been too reckless. You can't just go charging into situations without thinking. You need to be diplomatic, plan ahead, weigh all the pros and cons of the situation. Like you do."

"Sounds kind of like you think that way too. Why don't you speak up a little more?"

"I'm not much of a leader. I don't like to get involved in other people's business."

"Like when you found out Lori was pregnant?"

"Glenn told you huh?" he really couldn't keep a secret.

"Don't worry. I'm not mad at you two, you did what you thought was right."

"I thought you'd understand. It just wasn't my place to tell, but I did want you to know. Oh stop the car!" I point towards the car up ahead and he pulls over to park the car. We get out and approach it, looking around to see if anyone has been near it recently. Walking over towards the passenger's side he stops and looks down at the walker I took out the day before.

"Your work I'm guessing?"

"Yeah."

"Not bad." He says impressed. "You were riding down the road when you saw the car and stopped?" He goes to check out the inside of the car as I talk.

"Yeah I saw the walker clawing at the passenger's seat so I took it out with the bat. But when I looked in it no one was there and everything in their confirmed it wasn't your car." He picks up the picture of the man and the twin girls and looks at it.

"Was he one of them?" I shook my head taking the photo from him.

"I think whoever attacked me stole the car from them. After they… it's not important now." I pocket the photo. "What is important is that I was attacked here." I saw motioning to the blood and broken bat pieces on the road. "Then I got away and ran that way before they grabbed me and dragged me to their camp for the night."

I lead him through the woods remembering the path that they dragged me down by my bound hands. I never felt more grateful to actually be walking there and to not have my body being scraped against rocks and broken twigs.

Snap.

We stop pulling out our weapons and getting into defensive stances as a walker walks out from behind the trees. Rick points his gun at him but I stop him.

"We don't know how many more of them there could be out here." I say before throwing my knife at the walker. It sinks into its skull and collapses on the ground. I walk over to make sure its not going to get up before taking my knife out and cleaning it.

"Almost forgot how good your aim was. What happened to your bow?"

"It got destroyed when the herd came through. But I'm making due. Gives me an excuse to try out new weapons like the machete."

"Not a bad idea. The others should probably learn how to use other weapons and I'm thinking of having another shooting lesson soon that I want you to come to."

"Why are you so adamant about that?"

"Because I believe you're a valuable asset to the group. After all that's happened I need people I can trust at my side." His words surprise me but I also feel touched. But I also couldn't help but feel guilty by his words. He trusts me but I'm leaving out something important. Something I'm afraid to bring up because I'm afraid it might be true.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" A scream in the distance breaks me out of my thoughts. Rick and I waste no time and start running towards the source, the very same campsite we were looking for. The source of the scream was a man being attacked by a walker and his cries attracted more of them here.

"Get away from me!" He manages to throw the walker off him and tries to run towards us but he trips and falls to the ground. I see it's the guy who got away, Willie. He's covered in blood so he must have already been bitten.

"Help!" he screams when he sees us. "Please!"

"He's been bitten." Rick says to me warningly, like he's also debating helping him.

"We can't let him die like that though." I say to him. "Not without doing what we can." He nods his head and start running towards them. He starts shooting at the ones still trying to get to Willie and I take out the ones closing in on us with my knife. The sounds of Willie's screams and the Walker's yowls fill the air like a battle field. I stick my knife in their eye sockets like butter and they crumble to the ground. Rick makes his way to Willie as I'm taking out what I thought was the last walker, when I turned around though I saw a walker ganging on Rick who was crouching down by Willie.

"Rick!" I shout and sprint towards them.

Before the walker could grab him though I fisted a part of his jacket and pulled him away before his fingers could even graze him. It was Wesley, the boy who tried to help me the other night. His hair was tangled, his glasses were broken but surprisingly stayed on his face that was now covered in blood and skin was stuck to his teeth. I take a step back only to step on something fleshy. Looking down I see a body that has most of the flesh and chunks of it ripped off. The face was almost unrecognizable but I could tell by the clothes it was the other guy Quint. The one who I heard pleading for Daryl for spare him. Swallowing the acid in my mouth I look back up at Wesley only to have blood sprayed in my face as a loud gunshot rings through the air. I drop Wesley to the ground to see Rick standing there with his gun in his hand.

"You okay?" he asks me seeing that I'm in shock, I can tell that he's concerned but also grateful at the same time. I nod my head speechless and come towards him and Willie. He's breathing heavily and I can see the huge bite marks on his left shoulder and arm. He's definitely not going to make it.

"You." He says noticing me. "Why? Why'd you help me?" he asks.

"I had to." I say honestly. "I just couldn't watch someone die like that."

"Huff…Huff. You're… not like them… Not like her…" Rick looks at me confused but I mouth later to him.

"What happened here?" Rick asked him. "Where are the rest of your people?"

"Ah!" Willie grunted in pain. "Dead. They're all dead. My brother… everyone here."

"We know there's more of you." I say to him. "The others you went to look for in town. Where did they go?"

"I- I don't know. We- were afraid after what happened… wanted to be careful. Scout up north." He closed his eyes and let out another scream. "Please! Don't let me turn."

I look up at Rick to see him thinking, he looks at me asking if he should and I nod my head. We get up and take a couple steps back as he aims the gun at Willie's head.

"You don't have to suffer anymore." He said before shooting him in the head. We stood there in silence listening to see if there were more coming but all we heard were the sounds of the animals running and crying in fear. Then silence, eerier silence as I looked around at the massacre around us. I turn my head back to look at Wesley, something Rick noticed.

"Was he one of them?" he asked him.

"He was but he didn't hurt me. He was going to let me escape."

"Because you weren't who they thought you were? Do you know who they were talking about?"

"Yeah." I lock eyes with Rick. "There was a reason they attacked me. They thought I-" I try to get the next words out of my mouth but I can't. It feels like a foreign language because I can't understand it. I can't imagine my sister doing that to someone, I wouldn't allow myself to. "They mistook me for a thief. Someone who pretended to need help only for her group to attack them and steal their supplies."

The sound of rapidly crunching leaves startles us and Rick pulls me behind him aiming his gun at the source. A deer runs through the camp at lightning speed running over some sleeping bags and walker bodies on the ground. We both let out a sigh and he lowers his gun when something catches my eye. A beige piece of paper slightly torn was laying in the dirt. I walked over and picked it up to discover it was a map with several areas circled.

"Rick look." I say showing it to him. "These must be locations they were considering."

"I think you're right. Most of them are a good amount of distance away from the farm. Up north like the guy said." The sound of thunder crackles through the sky and I look up to see gray clouds threatening to rain all over us.

"We should get back." he says.

"Yeah, it looks like it's going to be a bad one."

"Natalie." Rick calls out as I try to walk back. "Thank you, for warning me."

"It's what friends do."

Sorry it's short. Also I know that there was a serious lack of Daryl but there is a reason for it. I realized that I've had Nat around him she basically hasn't had much of her own plot besides what's already in the show and much she doesn't really interact with a lot of the others besides maybe Carol, Glenn and Dale. She also barely talked to Rick since Atlanta and I do want them to build a friendship and have her work her way up to becoming more part of the group. Don't worry, this is still about Nat and Daryl but I just want to try to make Natalie her own person and even give her more of a story than just being Daryl's love interest. I did have a story planned out for her and I still do but I realized that along the way I kind of haven't been developing it as well as I wanted to.