Eventually Tallahassee stopped the ATV and Chicago got off. "We can hoof it back so the zombies don't follow the noise as much," she sighed. He moved his arms in big circled stretching out.

"Yeah good idea," he sighed. She took a moment to watch him finish stretching out.

"That was pretty cool by the way," she added. He cracked a smile.

"Oh my god! A compliment," he joked. She chuckled.

"Don't get a big head, your hat won't fit," she replied as she started walking. He followed matching her pace.

"You think they're freaking out yet?" he asked.

"Probably," she sighed.

"Nice to finally be on our own though," he said.

"We aren't on our own. We have each other," she said not wanting the conversation to go where he was heading.

"You know what I mean," he said knowingly.

"We have to go back," she sighed.

"We don't have to do anything anymore. You just feel like you need to go back," he said.

"So I'm not made of stone," she shrugged. He smirked.

"How's the leg?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I think I got zombie kill of the week by the way. I stabbed one right through the throat and then I kicked it backwards and it knocked all of it's buddies over. Wish you could have seen it. A thing of beauty."

"Where did you learn to fight?" he asked offhandedly.

"Same place as you I imagine. The movies," she joked. "I took six years of gymnastics as a kid. Senior year I got hurt and quit, but I went to the gym four times a week religiously ever since," she said.

"Oh! You were one of those girls!" he laughed.

"One of which?" she asked confused.

"You know the girls that cook and work out and just you know always busy busy," he said kicking a rock along the ground.

"No," she insisted.

"Yes," he argued.

"No. I was sloth like a lot of the time. Instead of writing I would take naps and wake up at six only to write my bit twenty minutes before show time," she laughed.

"Oh a shirker huh?" he smiled.

"Well what were you?" she asked turning the tables on him.

"Construction worker," he said.

"What did you build?" she asked.

"You name it I built it," he said shoving his hands down in his pockets. "Lots of hotels and condos though. I have the blueprints for those things seared into my brain," he said.

"What did she do?" Chicago asked.

"Who? Maria?" he asked. She nodded. He sighed. "Not much of anything in hindsight," he smiled. "What about your boy?"

"He was a writer like me… well, not exactly like me," she smiled, "he didn't need fame. He was happy with what we had, while I had to go looking for more."

"How did he propose to you?" he asked. Chicago smiled fondly.

"We were at a concert. My favorite band. He waited until my favorite song, pulled out the ring and screamed over the music," she said getting bleary eyed. Tallahassee smiled softly.

"He seemed like a good guy. The way you talk he deserved his name," he said letting the rock he'd been kicking fall behind.

"Yeah, he was my angel… Do you feel like you'll always love Maria?" she asked crossing her arms.

"I do. When you love someone like that I don't think it's possible to get them out of your system. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her and Buck," he said honestly.

"How many years has it been?" she asked gently.

"About four I guess. He was about eight months old when she took off," he sighed.

"I bet you made a good dad," Chicago said reaching her hand out.

"Not good enough," he sighed taking it in his own.

"Whatever happened wasn't your fault," she said hoping to end it. He walked for a while without talking until at last he took a deep breath.

"I'd been leaving him with this teenager during the day while I worked. She was just out of high school trying to make money for collage," he said. Chicago listened intently. "All the crazy sickness things in the paper, I just didn't take seriously. She came at seven like always. I kissed him goodbye and left for work. I couldn't afford to miss because so many of the other guys were sick," he said looking older as he told the story. Chicago gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I punched in and started doing my thing. She called me at ten and said people were trying to get in the house. She'd already called the police, but they were so busy it was no good. I ran as fast as I could and drove like hell. I ran every stoplight in my way and I bet I did ninety," he sighed.

"You don't have to tell me," she said making sure he didn't feel obligated.

"Nah… put it in your book," he shrugged. "I got there, jumped out. She was still screaming when I ran in. There were four of them chewing on her and there was such a mess. She was trying to protect Buck but it was just no good. I grabbed a flashlight and beat them off… couldn't save either of 'em," he took a deep shuddering breath looking up at the sky. "I buried them in the backyard, packed up and left. I'm never going back," he said regaining a little composure. Chicago nodded.

"I'm sorry," she said and her voice truly let him know how much she meant it. He let go of her hand.

"You got more than me that's for sure. You faced your shit while I took off and ran," he said taking another deep breath. She gave a small laugh.

"Right… You deal with it every day just like I do," she sighed. He looked at her. "If you want to get over it, you're a fool. I will never let go of him. I will do everything I can to hold onto Michael. Forgetting them? Ignoring them? I don't know if we could do anything worse," Chicago said.

"You want to feel like you're dieing everyday?" he asked stopping. She stopped and turned back looking at him. No one could know just by looking at Tallahassee how much pain he must be in all the time. Still waters run deep.

"No. I want to think of all the good times we had. I want to think about what an amazing person he was and how much I love him. I refuse to let those fuckers win and that means I have to live for the both of us," she said smiling.

"Buck was four years old. I was supposed to protect him," Tallahassee said coldly. Chicago frowned because of how broken the man before her sounded.

"Blame yourself if you want, but I think you should avenge him. We survive and we kick ass. We make the ones who took them from us pay. Each and everyone… and most importantly we don't let the same thing happen again. That's why I feel like I need to go back. I refuse to let those kids die as long as I'm still standing," she said looking fierce. Tallahassee saw a fire in her eyes.

"Not so long ago you were ready to blow your head off," he took a step forward studying her, "when did you change?"

"When you said you needed me. It hit me like a ton of bricks that they took Michael away and god gave me you. He gave me the kids and you and you're my purpose now," she said looking him dead in the eye. He furrowed his brow.

"You're religious?" he asked. She smiled and turned around. He'd meant it as a serious question but she couldn't help throwing in her sick humor.

"When they would have free noodle suppers at the chapel I was very religious," she replied. He followed her keeping a straight face fishing for a real answer. "Since it all went down it's been nice to believe someone's watching out for me," she said answering more seriously. "Everyone needs a crutch now and again."

"Amen," he murmured. They walked along in silence for a long while until he took her sleeve and made her stop again. "How can you not be afraid that they'll take away your purpose?" he asked. She didn't fight how close he had pulled her.

"Have a little faith," she smiled gently pulling away so she could keep moving. If he followed her he was accepting what she said. If he stayed rooted he was still fighting the idea. She kept walking waiting to see what he would do.

Tallahassee followed after her slowly.

Thanks for reading! I am so happy to be posting again, things were crazy there for a while.

This chapters song is:

'Call Me' (acoustic version) by Shinedown

I do not own anything.

Seriously guys look this up on Youtube. It's powerful stuff. I like this version even better than the studio version. I thought it really fit with this chapter.

Thanks again for reading! Please review :D