A/N: Hi everyone! I am super excited about this chapter for many reasons. Number one: this is chapter thirty-five! Can you believe it! Secondly, this marks the end of season two and the beginning of my adventure into the winter months. Exciting! And lastly, there is a super secret surprise in this chapter for all of my loyal fans XD! So, as I mentioned surprises, there are a couple for you to take note of. First of all, the content surprise that will make you smile. Then, if you notice, there is a title change. This is for a couple reasons, the contest being the main one. Finally, if you go to the image for the story, you will see a picture of the one and only Adeline Walsh. A big thanks to my best friend (Zale136) for drawing that for me. If you all get a chance, drop by and tell her thanks and check out her story, it's fantastic. Moving on, I would like to thank all of you who have sent me ideas, please keep them coming. Honestly, I'm a little nervous with the whole winter thing so any suggestions are welcome! Anyways, please read and review! Hope you enjoy:)

We started driving down the highway, needing to find shelter before dark. Daryl and I were up front on his bike with the others following close behind. We were heading east, like T-Dog had suggested but were sticking to back roads in hopes of avoiding another herd.

"Addie, if ya need to talk…" Daryl trailed off and I hugged him tighter but didn't speak. Right now I was holding on by a thread that was in real danger of breaking. I had to focus on survival because as soon as my brain had time to wander, the walls I had built would crumble, and I couldn't survive the onslaught that would ensue.

A horn honk sounded and I turned around to see Rick pulling beside the road and Daryl did the same, as did Glenn. I hopped off the bike and everyone climbed out of the cars as well.

"You out?" Daryl asked Rick, assuming that the reason he had stopped was because he was out of gas.

"Running on fumes," he said and I started chewing on my lip.

"We can't stay here," Maggie said, looking panicked. We were all more than a little jumpy after what happened at the farm.

"We can't all fit in one car," Glenn pointed out, running a hand through his hair.

"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning," Rick decided.

"Spend the night here?" Carol asked skeptically.

"I'm freezing," Carl whined, rubbing his arms. I noticed how cold it really was, our breath visible in the air. Winter had finally arrived and it wasn't playing nice. We could very easily freeze in our sleep.

"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori offered, rubbing Carl's chest to try and warm him and looking around for a place to build a fire.

"You go out looking for firewood, stay close," Daryl called. "Only so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?"

"Not enough."

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out," Maggie cried and I looked at the fear that was so evident in her eyes. It was weird, I wasn't afraid. I didn't feel anything. I had lost the only thing that really mattered to me so I had nothing else to lose. Death would be welcomed, not feared.

"Watch your mouth. Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick," Hershel called to everyone, chastising Maggie.

"All right, we'll set up a perimeter. In the morning we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on," Rick took charge again, using his leader voice to let everyone know he was serious.

"Glenn and I can make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas,' Maggie said, a desperate note in her voice.

"No! We stay together," Rick's voice boomed over us. "God forbid something happen and people get stranded without a car."

"Rick, we're stranded now," Glenn pointed out. He was calmer than Maggie but I could tell that he was shaken too.

"I know it looks bad. We've been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other," Rick said, his voice dropping to nearly a whisper. "I wasn't sure- I really wasn't. But we did, we're together. We keep it that way," he commanded and looked at the ground. "We'll find shelter somewhere. There's got to be a place."

"Rick, look around, okay?" Glenn said, his voice pleading but firm at the same time. "There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something."

"There's gotta be a place! Not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other! I know it's out there, we've just gotta find it!" His voice was so sure and passionate that I almost believed him and my heart squeezed and I pushed back against the feeling that were trying to break free.

"Even if we do find a place, and we think it's safe, we can never be sure for how long," Maggie said, calmer now. "Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that was safe."

"We won't make that mistake again," Hershel said.

"We'll make camp tonight over there. Get on the road at break of day," Rick said, pointed to a place off of the road where we would be partially hidden from walkers and protected from the weather.

"Does this feel right to you?" Carol asked Daryl.

"What if walkers come through, or another group like Randall's?" Beth asked Rick.

"You know I found Randall. He had turned but he wasn't bit," Daryl said, narrowing his eyes at Rick.

"How's that possible?" Beth asked.

"Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori asked him and he stared out at the road.

"Shane killed Randall. Just like he always wanted to," Daryl said, looking at me as he did. It was like a knife twisted in my chest but I took a deep, shaky breath, and remained calm. I couldn't let my mind wander. Not now.

"And then the herd got him?" Lori asked and I bit my lip to keep from crying out. I needed something to keep my full attention.

"We're all infected," well that will do it. I completely focused on Rick as we all waited for him to elaborate.

"What?" Daryl asked, taking a step towards Rick.

"At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it," he said and my jaw dropped.

"And you never said anything?" Carol accused as we all processed the information. I felt like something was crawling in my skin. I finally felt something. Anger. Anger at Rick for keeping this from us.

"Would it have made a difference?" Rick asked.

"You knew this whole time?" Glenn sounded hurt as he looked at the man who was supposed to be our leader.

"How could I have known for sure?" He asked, looking at all of us, begging us to understand. "You all saw how crazy that mon-…"

"That isn't your call!" Glenn yelled, looking utterly outraged.

"Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn I told, for the good of everyone!"

"Well I thought it was best that people didn't know," he barked and his tone told us that was the end of the discussion. We all started walking around anxiously, starting to prepare for the night, praying we made it through.

…

Shane is dead. That was all that ran through my mind as we sat around the small fire that night. Now that there was nothing to distract me, silent tears rolled down my face and my heart clinched with every breath. I was shivering in the frigid late November air. I knew we would have to find shelter for the winter before long. All of us were haggard and battle worn, mourning our individual losses in silence. Carol was whispering to Daryl about Rick, and he finally snapped.

"I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!" He exclaimed. Everyone's head snapped up and looked between Rick and me. I shot up, red clouding my vision as my heart thundered in my ears.

"What?" I practically spat at him, fists clinching at my sides. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to lunge at him. Everyone around the fire tensed, Rick and I staring each other down.

"You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean," his voice was calm, contrasting sharply with the rage boiling inside me. Daryl was at my side in an instant. I was shaking violently, not trusting myself to speak without bursting into tears, and I would not give Rick that satisfaction. I let out a growl that rivaled that of a wild animal and lunged at Rick. Daryl grabbed for me but I wiggled out of his grasp. My fist made contact with Rick's jaw and the force of me running into him sent us both flying to the ground, me on top of him. I was able to get a few more punches in before strong hands wrapped around my waist and yanked me away, my feet leaving the ground for an instant. I was planted back on solid ground behind Daryl, his hands still gripping me tightly.

"Breathe, Addie," he whispered to me as Rick got back on his feet. I took a shaky breath and the tears started coming. There was nothing I could do to hold them back anymore. Daryl wrapped me in a hug, but I shoved him away. He let me go, looking stunned.

"Go to hell! All of you!" I screamed and started walking away.

"Addie!" I heard Daryl call after me but I sped up, breaking into a sprint to get away from them. I ended up in the woods, alone, at night. I found a large tree and sat down, leaning against it. I yelled and cried and yelled some more, until my chest and eyes hurt from the force of it all.

Once the wave of undiluted sorrow and grief had passed, I realized how stupid I had been for wandering out here alone. As soon as the thought ran through my head, I heard a rustling in the bushes. I tensed and shot up, grabbing for my gun. I only had five rounds left, hopefully enough to take out whatever it was in the brush.

"Addie," a familiar voice called and I groaned internally. I wiped at my eyes, knowing they were puffy and red.

"Go away Daryl," I called back and he came into my line of sight then. I put my gun back and flopped back down next to the tree.

"What the hell were you thinking? Are you trying to get yourself killed? I understand you lost your brother, but quit acting like a spoiled child and get your ass back to camp," he was angry, rage apparent on his face, which only made my anger flare up as well.

"Why do you care? You aren't my brother, it's none of your concern what happens to me!" I yelled back, standing back up to get in his face, a difficult task since he was at least six inches taller than me.

"Of course I care! Addie, where have you been? We're a family, all of us! We have each other's backs and we stick together!"

"Well one of our family just murdered another member," I spat, no longer yelling.

"You don't know what happened. You need to listen to Rick's side of the story too," he was calmer now as well.

"So you think he had the right? I thought you were smarter than to fall for Rick's idiotic stories! Shane was his best friend, no way would my brother hurt him," my voice caught, the tears starting to fall again. I turned away from Daryl, not wanting him to see me like this.

"Addie, come on, let's go back to camp," he whispered, coming around so I would be face to face with him. When I tried to turn again, he grabbed my arms and held me in place. I was shivering even worse now that I didn't have the heat of the fire to keep back the cold. I had no ammo, no food, nothing. I knew I needed to go back to camp, but I wouldn't let Rick think I needed his help.

"No, I won't go back and sleep in the same camp as the man who murdered my brother!" I was trying to be angry now, trying to hate Daryl and everyone else at camp so I wouldn't go back.

"Quit being a brat Addie, we've all lost people! It sucks yeah, but you getting yourself killed isn't going to make anything better!"

"Don't you ever talk to me like that, I oughta.." I trailed off because Daryl gripped me tighter and pulled me closer, crushing his mouth to mine.

I tensed, my first instinct was to kick him in the groin and run away, but after a second, I relaxed. I started kissing him back, putting all of my pain and grief into the kiss. When we finally separated, we were gasping and I knew my eyes were wide with disbelief. This was Daryl Dixon, the man who felt nothing and never showed emotion, there was no way he felt anything towards me.

"What the hell was that?" I shrieked.

"What do you think it was? Now come on, before you freeze to death out here," he said and started walking away, a light flush coloring his cheeks.

"Fine, I'm coming. But not because I want to," I said and jogged to catch up with him. We walked back to camp in silence, but when we got to the edge of the tree line, he kissed me again, this time softly, before walking back over to everyone else, leaving me blushing in the darkness.

So, Daryl and Addie finally got their kiss! What will happen next? What adventure await our heroine during the dark winter months? Tune in next week for the next installment of As the Walkers Rule, AKA Chomp Chomp Motherfreaker (Haha Zale136!)