New Meanings To Old Words: Love

This was two segments away from being a vignette….and one part was gonna be a chap in A Thousand Words… but then I said NAH…and reworked a bit of things and BOOM chapter. LONG Chapter. With LOTS going on. We've got a good bit of Callie/Daryl in here for those of you thinkin' they may have needed a little 'uninterrupted moment to themselves' *wink wink*. There's also a good bit of digging into Callie's background—something I was a bit hesitant about. A sort of symbolic exchange that I hope y'all get (or fuck I did it wrong). And then of course, a good jolt of plot movement at the end for ya!

So yeah, lots going on here.

As always read, review and enjoy!

~michelle

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Callie and the crew of misfits (Danny, Miles, Jenna, Mike, Nina, Ben and Gracie).

Shake It Out

Regrets collect like old friends; Here to relive your darkest moments

I can see no way; I can see now way

And all of the ghouls come out to play

Lori's hands were shaking as she stared at the small plastic tester in her hands.

It had taken her a long time to actually build up the nerve to sneak way and do it. Taken her a long time to finally realize that she needed to take it, even if she didn't want to.

And now that she had, the weight of it was settling deep into her bones. The sight of those little blue lines forming that solid unmistakable little plus sign in the box; the confirmation that she needed, that she'd asked for. The one that she'd made Glenn risk his life to find her. It was staring back at her in an almost mocking fashion.

Lori's fingers clenched around the small plastic stick again, her eyes watering and her vision blurring to the point where that little plus sign faded away. She blinked and it was back again, as clear and taunting as ever.

She deserved this. She did - for what she'd done. She deserved this.

But Rick didn't. Carl didn't. The rest of these people didn't.

Lori's breath hitched and she sucked back the sob that she wanted to let fly from her lips. Her head tilted up, her watering eyes staring into the dying sun above as evening rushed in on them. So many things had happened in the short time span since they'd left the CDC.

But everything had come back in a rush when they buried Jenna. When she watched Callie holding herself together as she placed a child-her child whether the woman would admit it or not-into the ground. It had come back and pressed so tightly against her that she just couldn't put off taking that test any longer.

And now here it was. Her fate spelled out in two tiny blue lines on a plastic stick.

Lori let out a shuddering breath and firmed her lips as she again stared down at the plus sign.

"Despite what you may think," Danny's voice broke through the silence and had Lori jumping out of her skin as she turned to face him. Her hands lifted and wiped at her eyes as she worked to hide the test from him. He tilted his head in a sort of amused fashion and she let out a sigh as she remembered. He already knew. Her hands fell limp to her sides as she stared at him from the ground and he pushed forward limping slowly towards her, continuing his quiet slightly humor-laced words. "Despite what you may think, starin' at it, don't do jack shit to change it."

"That's very comforting, Danny," Lori said shaking her head and running her hands through her hair. "What are you doing here?"

"Glenn and I were on the RV," Danny said quietly as he winced and moved closer his hands reaching out for the tree next to him as he worked his way slowly to the ground beside her. Lori reached out and helped him get situated and he waved off her hands with a gruff sigh as he finally hit the ground. "Saw you headin' off on your own."

"He knows," Lori said nodding her head and holding up the test. "Glenn. He got it."

"Yeah," Danny said nodding his head and staring at the test. "Boy damn near shit a brick when I said I was gonna go check on you." Lori smiled just a bit and Danny stretched out his wounded left leg with a sharp exhale. "Honestly, though I think he feels better knowing that it's not just him keepin' this secret."

"Well, I'm glad for him," Lori said in a short tone that had Danny chuckling and shaking his head as he regarded her through lowered lashes.

They sat in silence after that, both of them staring down at the small plastic tester stick that was still settled in Lori's shaking fingers. Finally, after what seemed like too long Danny sidled closer and bumped his shoulder into hers.

"I remember when Leslie took that test," Danny said jutting his chin towards the test strip. "Different brand. Same mockin' symbol starin' back at us." Danny let out a little chuckle when Lori smiled and nodded her head at him. "We were so young. So unprepared. She looked at that test for a long time, we both did. But there was something in her eyes that hadn't quite settled in my head. Something she caught onto right off the bat."

Lori's eyes tipped up to him and she felt the wetness gathering in her lashes. She worked so hard to keep it from falling but she knew she failed when Danny's brow furrowed at her. Lori shook her head and wiped at her eyes, giving him the respect that he deserved as he shared a bit about his life before this. About the woman he loved that he'd had to kill.

"While I was busy thinkin' bout how things were going to change, and I how I was gonna support us," Danny continued his eyes slipping down to the pregnancy test. "She was caught up on how things were gonna end. She said it to me more than once during the pregnancy, 'Her life was over'. Don't get me wrong, she loved Jake with all her heart when he was born," Danny said shaking his head as if he'd said something ill about the woman and he needed to wipe it clean. "Loved him like only a mother could love her child. But that day, when she stared at that test, she wasn't thinkin' about the future. She was thinking about that day alone and how life as she knew it was comin' to an end, and how there wasn't any way around it."

"I appreciate you trying to-" Lori shook her head and dragged in a breath, unable to even voice the words she wanted to as she watched Danny sniff back his own tears. His pain was palpable, and she felt guilty that he was putting it out there for her in order to try to make her feel better. "I appreciate it. I do. I love you for it, Danny. But this," she lifted the test and shook it at him. "This is a little different than a teenage girl worryin' about her life comin' to an end. Life is different now. This," she shook it at him and held his gaze as he looked up at her. "This is a death sentence."

A heavy beat of silence flowed between them, and Lori watched Danny's eyes shift between hers. His expression changed quickly, his eyes hardened for a moment as he looked at her, but then slipped back to a soft expression. Understanding coming to the surface even though he wanted to be angry at her for her words. Because while they were harsh, and probably not the words that any expectant mother should ever even think to utter, he knew just as well as she did that they were true.

"That's a crock of shit, Lori." Danny said finally, a bit of his anger sliding to the surface. Lori stared at him, realizing as she looked into his eyes that even though he knew the words were true, that didn't mean he believed them. Didn't mean he was going to let her believe them. "It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, sweetheart. You make that shit a reality with your own actions. You start believing that now, what chance do you have?"

"What am I supposed to do?" Lori shot back, her voice quavering with the emotions she was working hard to keep in check. "Just walk around like the world isn't crumbling down around us? That this baby is gonna be fine? That it's gonna be born without any problems? That it's not gonna be a burden to more than just me and Rick? That-"

Danny reached forward and put his hand onto her stomach at that point causing her tirade to stop mid-sentence. She stared hard at him, her mouth trembling with the effort not to weep. She stared at his hard eyes as he pushed forward and got close enough that he could whisper his next words at her.

"This is a miracle," Danny said quietly, each word sharp and precise. His slow Savannah drawl falling away as he continued. "The world around us doesn't change that, Lori. Nothing changes that but you." Danny slipped his hand away from her stomach and lifted it to cup her face and hold head from turning away. "You've got all these questions. All these worries. All these doubts that are mountin' on you, workin' to crush you. And you ask what you're supposed to do," Danny slipped his hand away and shook his head sniffing in frustration. He shifted and worked painfully to his feet, looking down at her upturned expectant face with a long lingering look. "Step one. You tell the man you love you're havin' his baby. And you let him support you. You let him carry that burden with you. And you stop takin' the weight of the world on your shoulders."

Danny shook his head and let out a gruff laugh before extending his hand down to her.

"Fuckin' women," Danny muttered as he wagged his fingers in her slightly confused face. "All the same. You and Callie. Damn idiots the both of ya, thinkin' it's all on you to carry." He lifted his brows at her and shook his hand in front of her face. "C'mon now. Let's get back before anyone else comes lookin' for ya."

Lori slipped her hand into Danny's and let him help her to her feet. She stared down at the test in her hands for a few moments more as she stood next to him. She took a breath and rolled her shoulders as she wrapped her fist around that plastic stick quickly before shoving it into her pocket. She wiped at her face and collected herself while Danny waited patiently against the tree. He lifted a brow at her when she turned to him and she smiled lightly at him.

"Good girl," Danny said quietly as he pushed off the tree and reached out to circle his arm around her shoulders. Lori scoffed out a laugh and shook her head as she wrapped her arm around him and supported him as best she could without letting on that she was doing it.

"You know Danny," Lori said quietly as they trudged along. "There's this part of me that really hates you sometimes."

"I get that a lot," Danny responded in a serious tone that had Lori barking out a laugh as they broke through the woods and back towards the campsite.

And every demon wants his pound of flesh; But I like to keep some things to myself

I like to keep my issues drawn

It's always darkest before the dawn

"You know it's weird," Danny's voice echoed out around their small little campfire outside of the RV and had everyone's eyes sliding to him. "I'm usually the one doin' this shit." He waved his hand out at the now grinning Miles, and Callie shook her head. "I'm a bit scared."

"Now you know how we feel," Glenn muttered earning a smack upside the back of his head from Danny. "Hey!" Glenn said rubbing at the back of his head for a second before his fingers settled back down onto the notebook that Miles had handed him earlier. The one he'd given express instruction not to open until he said it was okay.

Glenn's chuckling eyes slid from the shaking head of Danny out towards where he could see Maggie standing on the porch. Callie watched Danny's eyes slide to follow Glenn's path and she shook her head when Danny's brows rose and he met her gaze again. With a deft smack to the back of Glenn's shoulder Danny broke Glenn's eye contact with the figure of Maggie. Glenn looked back at Danny and then realized that Danny was sportin' his shit-eating grin and started shaking his head.

"Hey Ben," Danny called out, getting the boy's attention away from where he was working to re-lace Daryl's boots for the seventh time. "Go get Maggie for us."

Ben's brows lifted in confusion and Daryl took the opportunity to grab his boot from the boy and smack him off on his way. A grunted 'Get', followed by a disgruntled sigh at the state of his boots had Ben shifting confused eyes to Callie and then Danny.

"No, really," Glenn started to stammer. "She probably doesn't-" he floundered for words and Callie shook her head as she nodded for Ben to go get the girl. "She's gonna feel out of place."

"She'll be fine," Callie said settling down onto the vacant chair next to Miles across from where Daryl was grumbling as he worked to properly re-lace his boots. Gracie bounded up beside him and reached out and he glared at her before shaking his head and pulling the boot away from her reaching hands. "Daryl's boots on the other hand may never be the same," Callie said earning a bit of a chuckle from the group. "C'mere Gracie sit with me. Leave Daryl and his shoes in peace."

"Fuckin' boots are all shades a screwed up now," Daryl grumbled as he tore at the laces.

"Maybe you shoulda thought better of havin' a seven-year-old fix 'em for you." Miles shot back from his seat beside the grumbling redneck. Daryl moved quick, and obviously jarred something as he held the laces tight and smacked his boot into Miles' arm. But the pain of whatever Daryl jarred was pushed aside when the steel toe made good contact with the shoulder of the kid. "Hey! That shit hurts."

"Maybe you shoulda though better of havin' opened your big mouth," Daryl shot back, gathering his shoe up so that he could get it ready to once again send at the chuckling kid. Callie's head was shaking back and forth and her eyes lifted to meet the smiling gaze of Rick settled in close by Lori and Carl on the other side of the fire.

"A'right, enough children." Dale's humored voice rang out, chuckling a bit more as Daryl let his boot fly one more time into Miles' arm. The smile on the faces of both Daryl and Miles was a sight for sore eyes and had Dale's eyes lifting over to Danny and then Callie. "Since we're all here now," Dale said his eyes lifting a bit as he watched Ben bound back over and settle between Daryl's feet, grabbing the boot from the man's hands which then flew into the air in defeat before sliding back down to cradle his wounded side. Maggie settled in next to Glenn on a log and lifted a brow at everyone before piercing Glenn with a look that had the boy blushing and shifting a glare to the chuckling Danny on his other side. "Why don't you tell us why we're all here, son?"

Miles was quiet for a minute, his smile fading as he turned back and drummed his fingers on the notebook on his lap. Everyone was waiting for him to answer. Callie shifted a bit as Gracie slipped herself up onto her lap and slid her eyes to Danny who returned her questioning look with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"On the highway," Miles began slowly, his eyes settled on his fingers on the notebooks. "On my birthday," he said even more quietly as a hush settled over the group. His eyes lifted to Callie and he held her gaze steady with a small sad smile on his face. "You made Jenna a promise that I just realized you aren't gonna be able to keep."

"Miles," Callie shifted, Gracie sliding forward on her lap a bit as she reached out towards him. Miles lifted a hand, his fingers waving around as he worked to ward off her obvious concern. He shook his head and smiled at her.

"I spent all day reading these," Miles tapped the notebook in front of him and then pointed to the one Glenn held. "Jenna wrote in them all the time. And I never knew what she was doin'. Never asked." He lifted his eyes again to Callie and she smiled just a bit. "I'm bettin' you know what's in here?" She nodded and he let out a slight scoffing laugh. "Yeah, figured."

"What's in here?" Glenn asked eyeing the notebook he held. Maggie shifted just a bit beside him, almost imperceptibly closer and he shifted his eyes to her before moving them back to Miles.

"Questions," Miles said with a laugh. "Each and every page is full of questions. About all of us." Miles flipped the pages and smiled around the group. "It didn't really dawn on me until I started reading them that when Jenna mentioned not knowing much about you," Miles looked to Callie and smiled at her. "That really she was just tryin' to get a few answers to her questions. Sneaky."

"She wanted to be an investigative reporter," Callie supplied leaning back in her chair and staring at the fire as she brushed her fingers through Gracie's curls. She felt everyone's eyes on her but didn't look up, just kept staring at the fire. "Instead of crumbling with everything around her she used it to hone her skills. Amazing is the word, Miles. Amazing."

"Yeah," Miles said laughing and nodding as he fingered the book in his hands. He looked up and caught Dale's eyes. "I figured we could maybe say good-bye to her by answering a few of the questions." Miles lowered his chin as Dale smiled and nodded. Lifting his eyes to scan the group he smiled almost shyly. "Figure it couldn't hurt for us to maybe get to know a little more 'bout one another either, ya know?"

Silence filtered around the group and Callie watched as Miles dragged his thumb over the pages of the worn spiral bound notebook in his hands. There was a small almost imperceptible smile on his face as he opened it up and tapped his finger on the page, while Jim's hat settled on his knee began to bob with the agitated movement of his leg. Miles lifted his eyes then, and caught her gaze before slipping it around the group.

"If y'all are shy," Miles said quietly his eyes holding on Maggie who smiled a bit back at him. "I'll go first." He flipped the notebook open fully and pulled out a pen from the wire spine. "Uh, here we go. What did Miles' parents do for a livin'?" Miles tapped the pen on the paper, his leg bobbing a bit madly under him for a second before he schooled it and put a hand to the hat on his knee. "My dad was a mechanic," Miles said quietly, and Callie watched the muscle of his jaw clench a bit.

The camp was quiet as Miles stared down at the hat on his leg. Jim's hat. The one Jenna had cleaned up and given back to him on his birthday. The entire scenario in that station wagon outside the CDC replayed in Callie's head and took on a whole different light. A light that caused a lump to form in the throat for the young man settled near her. Callie's head shifted her hand lifting to cup over her mouth and her eyes sliding to where Danny had slumped forward slightly forearms on his thighs.

"Had his own shop in Macon," Miles continued, his fingers working the pen over the paper as he wrote his answer in. "Used to work nights with him every so often since I was like thirteen."

"And here I thought you were just a fuckin' savant." Danny quipped in and Miles lifted his slightly humored eyes to his friend across the fire. The unshed tears were on display in that flickering light and Callie felt the power that boy was exuding as he held them in.

"What about your mom?" Carl asked quietly causing Miles to slip his eyes to him.

"Teacher," Miles said quietly and then shifted his eyes over to the now chuckling Danny. "Shut up." Miles lowered his eyes to the notebook and finished writing. He then lifted his eyes to Glenn and jutted his chin. "A'right G-man. Why don't you take a pick. The ones in there are less involved and less-" he waved a hand and looked at Callie tapping the notebook he held twice with the pen. "I just didn't want you to feel bad 'bout sharin' when I got to the good stuff in this one."

"Oh I'm all shades of excited now," Callie said shifting around so that Gracie could bounce off of her lap and slide over to where Danny was. She popped up onto his lap, causing him to wince and shift painfully, and leaned over to look at the notebook smiling widely at Maggie who was also interested to see what the pages held.

"Okay," Glenn said squinting a bit in the low light of the fire and shifting under the stares of the group. "Uh," Glenn's face contorted in confusion. "How smart is Danny? I don't get that one." Glenn lifted his eyes to the man next to him who was shaking his head.

"She was payin' closer attention than I thought at times," Danny said shifting his eyes to Callie who lifted both brows in agreement. Danny shifted his eyes around and then looked at Glenn. "Smart. Very smart."

"How smart?" Dale asked shifting in his seat and smirking at Danny across the fire.

"I got me a nice little MENSA membership card in my wallet," Danny said holding the man's gaze with a smile of his own. "Got it when I was fourteen." There were quite a few responses but the one that caught Danny's ear came from Maggie.

"Wouldn't think it to look at ya," Maggie practically mumbled and Danny shifted his hundred-watt smile at her. She widened her eyes and looked around at the group, as if she'd said something out of turn and Danny just smiled wider.

"Oh I do like you, Miss Maggie Greene. I really do," Danny said shifting over and leaning closer as Gracie smiled widely on his lap. Glenn's eyes widened and he shuffled the pages of the notebook a bit clearing his throat loudly and slipping a bit further forward between Maggie and the still grinning Danny.

"Uh, here's one," Glenn said loudly earning a laugh from Danny as he slipped back into his chair. Dale shook his head and wagged a finger at Danny and Callie felt this sort of odd happiness settle into her. "How old is Daryl?"

Daryl's brows knit together and Callie barked out a laugh before quickly covering her mouth with her hand. The redneck sent her a glare and she waved her hand around at him.

"Lucky I don't throw my boot at you, girl." Daryl snapped before glaring over the fire at Glenn who now looked like he'd swallowed a bug. Daryl slipped his eyes around the group, all of them watching him with an interested sort of look and he shrugged them off. "Forty-one."

"Wow you're old!" Ben practically yelled from the ground before Daryl. Everyone laughed at that and Daryl thumped the boy on the back of the head with his open palm.

"The outdoors have been good to you, son." Dale piped up earning a confused glare from Daryl at which the older man ran a hand over his balding head. "You don't look it. But I do believe that puts you as second eldest in our ragtag group."

"Miles," Danny said between chuckles as he shook his head at Daryl's glowering face. "Why don't you get to the good stuff there, man, 'Fore Grampa Daryl has himself a heart attack."

"Gimme my fuckin' boot," Daryl snarled reaching down as Ben pulled it laughingly out of his reach.

"C'mon, man," Danny said ignoring Daryl and watching Miles. "You're practically bouncin' outta your seat with whatever you got on that page in front of you."

Miles chuckled a bit and looked around at the group, while Danny grabbed the notebook out of Glenn's hands and gave it to Gracie in his lap. Miles shifted his eyes to Danny and then to Callie and then sat up straighter in his chair.

"Just remember," Miles said pointing a finger at Danny. "You asked for it." He cleared his throat and then held up the notebook, shifting his eyes up before beginning to read. "Just so you know this is fuckin' word for word. 'Did Danny and Callie 'do it'?'" The group started chuckling and Miles was shaking his head back and forth and grinning madly as he looked up at them. "Swear to God 'Do it' is even underlined a couple times."

Danny chuckled lightly as he slipped his eyes to where Callie was sitting. Her eyes lifted to him and she smiled too, a slight shake of her head.

"What's it?" Ben asked from his position at Daryl's feet causing the group to chuckle again. Daryl shook his head and stared steadily at Danny and Callie as they exchanged sly glances. "C'mon what's it?"

"I'll tell ya later, kid." Miles said watching Danny and Callie intently as they remained silent.

"Much later," Lori piped in shaking her head at her grinning son. Rick chuckled and shifted his eyes to her and she rolled hers in an exaggerated movement to where Carol was smiling nearby.

"Well?" Miles said leaning forward on his elbows as he smiled at her.

"No," Callie said with a smile and Danny chuckled as he sat back and shifted little Gracie off his lap and onto the ground at his feet. The little girl was intently looking at the notebook at words she probably couldn't read yet completely ignoring the adults as they talked.

"Pretty heavy make-out session though," Danny said idly as he smiled widely at Callie. Callie's eyes rolled, slipping over the amused gazes of everyone else and landing on the slightly interested raised brow of Daryl. "Very heavy."

"Yeah, after which you called me old," Callie shot back with a half-hearted glare.

"Old-er," Danny clarified lifting a finger at her as if correcting her in a classroom. "Old-er. There's a difference there, Cal." Danny continued as he shifted his eyes over the chuckling Glenn beside him and offered the younger man a slap to the back of his head. Callie slipped her middle finger up and Danny barked out a laugh as he looked over the group. "Honestly, woman ya got like ten years on me. Cradle robber."

"Keep it up," Callie said shaking her finger at the man who just kept grinning like an idiot. God love him.

"So the older remark killed the little flame of desire?" Miles asked scribbling in his notebook. Callie smacked at his hand as he wrote and grabbed his pen shaking it at him while he laughed.

"No," Danny said still laughing and smiling at Callie who shot him a small smile. "Just happened to be my luck that kissing the beautiful woman I found myself stuck with at the end of the world was like kissing my sister."

"Thanks, Danny, that's sweet." Callie said back and Danny laughed and flipped her off. She shot her gaze around to the rest of the group and nodded her head. "He's right. It was so," she waved her hand around and shook her head, leaving the explanation to the wind.

"Is it like that when you kiss Daryl," Ben asked, his innocent little voice piping up so loud and clear that she instantly felt the fucking blush rise in her cheeks. Callie looked down at the boy then up to the man settled in the chair behind him and shook her head.

"Nope," Callie said with a smile at both. "Not in the slightest." Callie shifted awkwardly in the strange bit of sweet silence that clung in the air and then looked back at the grinning Miles. "Moving on…" she waved a hand around and Miles ducked his head and nodded.

"Here's a good one," Miles said tapping the notebook with his finger as he looked up at Callie. "Who are Sammy and Hannah?"

"Next question," Danny barked out, his voice quick and harsh and everyone turned to face him. Callie gave him a sad smile and shook her head. The weight of the group's stares fell back onto her and she looked right at Miles as she answered.

"My niece and nephew," Callie said quietly and Miles nodded his head slowly. He firmed his lips and Callie shook her head knowing that the boy was feeling bad about asking a question that was obviously painful for her.

"So what happened to them?" Shane's voice echoed out and Callie slipped her eyes up to him. He was settled atop the RV, his eyes shifted down to her as he stood looking down on them all. Callie's jaw clenched a bit and she heard a distinct snarl coming from both sides as Daryl and Danny both glared up at him.

"They didn't make it," Callie said angling her face up to him and waiting for him to say something else. Shane stared down at her hard for a few moments and then. After a second he nodded his head and then put his eyes back towards the tree line as he continued his turn on watch.

"I'm sorry, Cal." Miles said quietly and she smiled at him with a nonchalant wave of her shaking hand.

"Don't be," Callie said clenching her hands into fists a few times. "You didn't know. Which is exactly why we're doing this right," Callie shifted her gaze around the group and caught Rick's sad little smile as he watched her. "Hit me. What's next?"

Miles hesitated for a moment, watching her with a strangely assessing eye that she'd never known the boy to have before. After a few moments he nodded and shifted his eyes back to his notebook.

"A'right," Miles said quietly, his finger skimming down the page and then tapping twice. "Here we go. The question I've always wanted to know the answer to," Miles looked up at Callie and smiled. "Why doesn't Callie have kids?"

"That is a good one," Danny said leaning forward a bit. "I always wondered that myself. You're a fuckin' natural, Cal. Why no kids of your own? Just hadn't found Mr. Right yet?" Danny slipped his eyes to Daryl who glared back before sliding his eyes to Callie. Callie's head dropped and she stared at her hands for a minute. Question and answer night was really starting to be a bit more than she'd been prepared for. Her brow twitched as yet again she felt the stare of everyone on her shoulders. "Cal?"

"I can't," Callie said with a sad smile as she looked up, her eyes settling on Miles and then Danny.

"Why not?" Ben asked again, his innocence just crushing her a bit. Callie sighed and reached out to ruffle his hair.

"I just can't buddy," Callie said quietly trying to figure out how to explain it to a seven-year-old. "Some people are just missing that little piece that makes it possible." Callie's eyes lifted over to where Carol was situated beside Lori. Both women were staring back at her with a palpable sense of sadness in their eyes. Callie's eyes slipped down for an instant to see Lori's hand clutching into the fabric of her shirt over her stomach tightly. Callie felt her brow furrow a bit at the sight, something Lori must have noticed because she quickly unfurled her fingers from her shirt and slipped her hand to her knee while smiling sadly at Callie.

Shaking her head, Callie let her gaze move around the faces of the group around her. Men and women that were her family now. People she trusted with her life. Her eyes slipped to where Daryl was settled, Ben at his feet and she smiled tightly at the pair.

People she trusted with more than her life.

"I remember when we found out," Callie said settling back a bit into her chair and running her hands through her hair. The feeling that she owed it to them, owed it to Jenna to for once actually give them more than just those cryptic answers that she was so good at giving. "We'd just gotten married. We were so young and Denny was so keen to start up a family right away," she felt her skin heat up as Daryl's piercing gaze steadied upon her. She chanced a look up at him and saw his brow furrowing, no doubt putting two and two together. She shifted her eyes over to the rest of the group catching Maggie's sad smile. "We tried for months and months until finally we figured a trip to the doctor was in order. God, when the doctor said it wasn't going to happen, Denny was crushed. He tried to hide it, but I could tell," shifted her eyes to Miles who smiled a bit and nodded. "We stayed married for a year before I let him go." Her eyes caught on the slowly shaking head of Dale not far off and she smiled. "I just couldn't make him give up something he wanted so badly. Ya know?"

"From experience," Dale's voice sliced through the heavy silence. "If he loved you as much as I'm sure he did," Dale continued his own pain clear in his eyes. "It wouldn't have mattered."

"Ah, but you didn't see him with his children," Callie said lifting a finger and wagging it at Dale. "He was remarried and expecting two years after our divorce was final. And he never looked at me the way he looked at Sarah and his kids. Things always work out for the best I suppose, huh?" Dale shook his head and continued to stare at her as she smiled sadly down at her hands. She could feel Daryl's eyes sliding over her and was reluctant to turn and face him. Luckily someone else broke the noise in her head, shattering her stroll down memory lane and bringing her back to the reality of this world.

"Denny," Danny said quietly. Callie's eyes slipped over to him and she smiled just a bit. "Denny. As in Denny the poor bastard that was in that Army Jeep at the reststop outside of the CDC? The guy that Whitmore put the bullet-Good fuckin' god woman! That man was your husband?"

"Callie," Rick's voice echoing out along with a few other gasps and heartfelt sighs of sadness had her head shaking again.

"Ex-husband," Callie said her eyes slipping to Rick first. She'd been avoiding his gaze, knowing it would be too full of sadness.

"You should have told us," Rick said shifting forward a bit in his seat. Callie shook her head and held Rick's gaze for a long time.

"Honest to God, Callie. Rick's right. You should have-" Danny shook his head and let out a groaning wince as he sat forward to fast. "Ex or not that's not easy. I know."

"There was kind of a lot of shit going down to be lingerin' on it, Danny." Callie said staring hard at him and watching him shake his head. "And thirteen years of divorce is a hell of a lot different than a year and a half. And honestly, I think I'm entitled to a bit of privacy when I want it." She lifted her finger at him and he shook his head at her.

Letting out a low sigh Callie finally shifted her attention over to Daryl. He held her gaze for a long time, something completely unreadable passing through his eyes as he shifted painfully in his seat. For some reason that bandage covering the angry stitched area of his head where the bullet had grazed his flesh stood out as the flickering light of the flames of their fire hit it. She took in a deep breath and again ran her hands through her hair. After another beat of silence Callie pushed to her feet.

"Cal I'm sorry," Miles said shifting around and putting the notebook on the ground. "I didn't really think-"

"Quit apologizing," Callie said stepping forward and putting her hand to his shoulders. His eyes skipped up to her and she ignored the stares of everyone else on her as she bent down to the boy feeling horrible for the old wounds he'd unwittingly re-opened. "We're family right. Family doesn't have secrets." Miles stared at back at her and she watched his eyes widened just a bit. "We'll talk tomorrow, hmm?" Slowly he nodded his head and Callie squeezed his shoulder before shifting away. "I think I'm a bit spent on question night," Callie sent a smile around the group. "G'night everyone." Callie turned, catching Maggie working to her feet in her periphery.

"C'mon back to the house," Maggie said quickly as she stepped up and put a hand to Callie's arm. "I'll check those stitches in your hand see how that infection's doin'. Get you another dose of antibiotics before you crash." Callie smiled a bit as she fell into step with the younger woman.

The stares of the group seemed to follow her as she walked towards the house. Callie shook her head idly as she walked, Maggie a silent calming force settled in beside her.

"You're a brave woman to share so much of yourself with them," Maggie said quietly as they walked and Callie's eyes shifted to the young woman beside her. "I mean they're strangers really. Y'all have only known each other for a few months."

"You can't look at it like that, Maggie. Months. Days. Time is irrelevant now. Those people, they're my family." Callie shot her gaze over her shoulder and smiled as she saw Glenn and Danny laughing at the contents of the notebook that they'd taken back from Gracie. Her gaze shifted to catch Daryl's eyes following her as she stepped up onto the porch. "I'd die for them."

And I've been a fool and I've been blind; I can never leave the past behind

I can see no way; I can see no way

I'm always dragging that horse around

Daryl took a deep breath before settling his hand on the knob to the room that he was still currently bein' confined to. He wasn't gonna complain 'bout havin' a nice soft bed for a bit. But the odd times of night that Hershel or Patricia came in to wake him were gettin' old quick. They fuckin' tell him to rest, then they wake him up every coupla hours to make sure he was still 'okay'.

The fuck was that shit?

Luckily Callie had apparently called off the dogs for the night. At least that's what good ol' Calamity Jane had growled at him when she helped him into the house moments ago. She'd said quite succinctly that Callie would be takin' care of wakin' his ass up from now on.

Which meant that the woman was most likely sittin' in that room waitin' for him.

Which was why he was still outside.

Her confession this evening 'bout her marriage and her inability to have kids, had settled somewhere strange in his stomach. Not really hard, or painful, just kinda settled somewhere strange. It wasn't like he hadn't figured she'd been involved with other people, but it just wasn't somethin' he'd really thought about. And now that he had thought about it, he was just a bit unsure of where he stood with the woman.

Close. She'd said they'd been close.

Shakin' his head at himself he turned the fuckin' knob, growled at the scoffin' sound of Calamity Jane watchin' his back down the hall, and stepped inside the room. The small lamp on the nightstand was on giving the barest hint of light to the room and he squinted in the semi-dark as he searched for her.

His eyes found her and he quietly closed the door behind him, the soft click not registering with her as she stared out the window in front of her. The cool breeze floating in from that open window fluttered the t-shirt—his t-shirt—around her bare thighs and had him swallowing hard. Daryl tore his eyes from the sight of her bare legs in the low moonlight and watched the small trail of smoke filter from the lit cigarette between her fingers.

He pushed off of the door and slowly made his way towards her, he could almost feel her unease as he worked closer and it was killin' him. Fuckin' killin' him. Daryl slid up to the end of the bed and settled his tired, beat-down ass on the soft mattress. He felt his face scrunch up a bit as he searched for the words that he wanted to say. But fuck if he knew what they were. Finally he settled on the ones he figured mattered most.

"You a'right," Daryl asked at the exact same time she ducked her head and asked 'You okay?' in a quiet tone. Daryl let out a scoffing laugh and shook his head as Callie shifted around and smiled down at him. She shook her head after a second, tossed her cigarette out the window and then settled her backside along the sill as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You said you two were close," Daryl said quietly his hand lifting of its own accord so that he could mumble his words as he chewed on his thumbnail. He watched her through his lashes as he nibbled, her head tipping to the side to regard him with a raised expectant brow. Daryl dropped his hand and shook his head a bit. "You're honest to a fuckin' fault," Daryl said lifting his finger and wagging it at her as she smiled wider. "But you sure as hell know how to pick your truths."

"It's a gift," Callie said quietly stepping away from the window and up towards him. "You okay?"

"World stopped spinnin' every time I fuckin' move," Daryl said eyeing her as she barked out a quiet laugh, her arms still tucked across her body as she watched him. He held her gaze for a moment, tellin' her more with his silence on the other subject than he could have with his words.

Callie nodded her head and smiled at him. There was one thing that she'd forever be thankful for in this new fucked up world that they lived in. True survivors knew the importance of letting the past go, and living the life you had been handed.

"I had a question for you," Callie said quietly as she shifted on her bare feet under his stare. He lifted a brow and watched her for a moment and she couldn't help but smile. "Well it was Jenna's question," Callie said shifting her eyes to his open pack near the wingback chair. "What's in the canvas bag?"

Daryl shifted his attention to his pack and narrowed his eyes at the sight of the small canvas bag with the words US ARMY printed in faded black letting on it. He snarled for second at his own hurried re-packin' of his shit after he'd thrown it around lookin' for his shirt earlier. Letting out a sigh of frustration he raked his hand through his hair before skipping his eyes back to the woman patiently and fuckin' amusedly waiting for his answer. Slowly pushing to his feet, and wincing at the pull of his stitched up fuckin' side as it threatened to tear apart he snatched up the bag and glared at it.

He thought about tellin' her what it was, but yet again he found the words comin' up short in his feeble emotionally-stunted brain. So instead he held it out to her, actin' like a kid caught with something they shouldn'ta had and averted his gaze while she took it from him. He watched her from the corner of his eye as she slowly opened the bag, his hand lifting to his mouth so that he could chew the side of his thumb as she stared down at those dog tags with confused eyes.

He fuckin' felt the moment that she realized what it was and he again felt his lips curl in a snarl as he looked away.

Callie stared down at the bag full of dog tags in shock; images and memories slowly clicking into place. Whitmore's humored tone as he told her about her brother and the bag of dog tags that she could check through if she wanted. Daryl stalking off to that Jeep where Whitmore and Denny's bodies lay after the blow out about her, Miles and Jim being infected. Daryl seated at a table in the CDC's cafeteria slowly going through items in a small bag, searching for something she knew now he wouldn't have found.

Her eyes lifted to him, watching him fidget and turn from her as if he was trying to get away from her gaze. He crouched down again, pain etching over his features as his hand fell from his mouth to cover his wounded side. He put his hands to his pack and she watched him snarl at himself before he opened his mouth.

"It's important to have those pieces of the people we love," Daryl said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper as he spoke. His hands dug into his pack and he searched for something else. "Part of me wanted to make sure they weren't in there," he lifted his eyes to her. "'Nother part wanted to find 'em for you so you'd have something of his." He shook his head. "But they ain't in there."

"Daryl," Callie said her voice crackin' a bit as she set the bag on the chair beside her. Daryl pushed to his feet and shoved his hand out at her, her eyes catching on the small black photo album. Her breath hitched and she reached out with slightly shaking hands to touch on the familiar item. Her eyes lifted to his, this time catching and holding his steady gaze. She stared in wonder at the man as she tried to figure out when he'd gone back for it.

"You need to stop blamin' yourself for shit that wasn't your fault," Daryl said quietly shaking the photo album at her. "You need to understand that you didn't murder his kids and his wife." Daryl's eyes shifted down; catching on the wrinkled blue shirt he was wearing. "That he ain't gonna blame you. And that he loves you," his eyes lifted to hers and she firmed her lips against the push of the emotions flaring to life inside of her. "You get me?"

Callie didn't trust her voice, knew it was going to fucking break if she tried to use it so she just nodded. Her shaking hands held tight onto her brother's photo album and she shifted her nodding head down to watch Daryl's fingers slide over hers before slipping off. She lifted one hand off of the album and slid her fingers over the fabric of his wrinkled blue shirt.

"I get you," Callie said finally, pressing her fingers just a bit into the rapid beat of his heart under that blue shirt. "I get you."

"I put a few others in there," Daryl said quietly again averting his gaze and shifting back down to his pack. "The ones you shoved into that backpack of yours." His eyes skipped up to hers and he shrugged under her stare. "Figured it'd keep 'em from getting' all crumpled up and ruined."

Daryl stood back up and lifted up a pack of cigarettes his brows lifting as he smirked at her. She shook her head and he shrugged slipping past her towards the open window. The flare of the lighter illuminated his reflection in the glass and she watched him stare out at the night.

"Heard you're gonna be goin' out to look for Sophia tomorrow," Daryl said quietly and Callie let the photo album fall to the wingback chair with the bag of dog tags as she stared at his slightly pain hunched shoulders.

"Yeah," Callie said nodding. She closed the distance between them watching his head bounce as he nodded as well. His eyes follow her shadowed reflection in the dark glass before him, that piercing stare settling along her skin. "Rick and Shane are gonna hold a bit of gun training for the group," Callie smiled when he shifted his head to raise his brow at her. "You know gun safety, bit of target practice. Little bit on how to listen and assess before takin' a shot."

"Andrea must be lovin' that," Daryl spat over his shoulder chuckling a bit as Callie nodded.

"After that we're splitting up and tackling the area around where you fell," Callie's hand moved at that point, her fingers trailing his arm in an almost automatic response. The thought of how close she'd come to losing him making her want to touch him. Need to touch him.

Daryl's head nodded and he took a long drag off of his cigarette. She watched him release that stream of smoke, and then take two more long drags, her fingers idly playing with the rolled sleeve of his shirt. He watched her from the corner of his eye as he finished his cigarette and surprised her when he turned abruptly towards her. His left hand flicked the smoldering butt out the window, while his right shot out between them. She looked down in shock at his hand, open in offering, the small shape of the leather bound compass she'd seen that last day at the rest stop settled on his palm.

"I want you to take it," Daryl said almost angrily, his hand shaking once to get her to reach out for it. She lifted her fingers to the compass and looked up at him in confusion. "I don't need it. Only held on to it 'cause," Daryl shrugged before he shifted his eyes over hers and then back down to the compass. "Merle gave it to me. Only gift the fucker ever bought me." His hand fell away as Callie lifted the compass, her fingers sliding over the top before she flipped it to where she felt the depressions in the back.

Small lettering was etched into the leather. Words that obviously meant something to Daryl with the way his eyes lingered on them. 'Always remember where you're going and where you already been.' Callie looked up at him and opened her mouth to say something, but she snapped it shut again when she couldn't quite figure out what that something was.

"Gave that to me when I was twelve, s'all I had of him for the longest time," Daryl said quietly, his brows twitching a bit and his mouth twitching to the side. "All that time he was in Juvie, or in the Marines, or fuckin' lock up. I carried that thing with me everywhere. Didn't need it, but I still carried it." Daryl shook his head. "I want you to keep it." He said quietly, his voice almost unsure and if they'd been in better light Callie was sure she would have been able to see the blush riding his cheeks. His eyes lifted to her then and she smiled at the wicked spark she saw there. "You out in the woods with Glenn and Miles," he caught her eye and smiled. "You're gonna fuckin' need it."

Again words seemed to fail her, and Callie shifted on her bare feet. Her fingers slid over the words etched into that leather a few times before she finally shook her head. She put the compass to the window sill, causing Daryl's brow to furrow. She slipped her fingers to the chain around her neck and slipped the dog tags over her head, Daryl's scrutinizing gaze boring holes into her as she did. She held the tags out in front of her for a minute, watching as Daryl's piercing gaze followed the swinging pendulum movement of them.

"Miles found them," Callie said quietly, Daryl's eyes lifting to hers for a second before his fingers reached up and to hold onto the tags. He shifted them and she watched his eyes widen as he read Bobby's name on the metal, his thumb sliding over the words just as hers had. "At that FEMA station. A Walker hand curled around them." His eyes slipped up to hers sharply and she shook her head. "Just a hand."

Daryl let out a scoffing sort of huff and let the tags go, his eyes again settled upon hers and she held his gaze. He twitched a bit as she moved forward, her hand grabbing his and lifting it so that she could press the chain and tags into his palm.

"What you doin'?" Daryl asked confusion on his face as she curled his fingers around her brother's dog tags.

"There all I have of him. I want you to keep them for me," Callie said slipping her hand away from his slowly. "You know, so I don't lose them out in the woods tomorrow. I just found them," Callie said quietly as she turned away from him. She shifted over to the where she'd settled the small photo album and settled her fingers on it. "I don't want to lose them." Her eyes shifted over her shoulder to him and she smiled. "You get me?"

"Yeah," Daryl said nodding and closing his fist around her brother's dog tags. "Yeah I get you," he said pushing the tags into his pocket. Daryl shifted and worked his way towards the bed, letting out a low sigh as he sat down on the mattress and kicked off his loose boots. He put his hands to his knees and watched her for a minute, his eyes roaming slowly over her bare legs as she turned to face him and settling heavily on her eyes. The heat in that stare, the blazing fire behind his eyes, had Callie's nerves flaring to life and a pins and needles sensation working over her entire body. A sensation that damn near exploded when he lifted his chin just a bit and uttered a simple, "C'mere, Callie."

Callie shifted, her bare feet leading her to where he'd settled at the end of the bed, and she stood in front of him for a moment. Just as she was planning to crouch down and help him with getting undressed he stood up and cupped her face between his hands. His lips found hers in a slow tantalizing kiss that stole her breath and had her hands seeking purchase on his shoulders to keep her knees from buckling. He tipped her head to the side so that he could deepen the kiss, his tongue sliding over hers as the fingers of his left hand tangled into her hair pressing her lips harder to his. His right hand slipped down her back settling at her hip and he dragged her flush against his body.

That flare of passion ignited in a manner of seconds and they broke apart panting out their desire. Daryl pressed his forehead to hers and Callie opened her eyes to stare at his face. His eyes were closed as he breathed deeply, his hands still kneading into her flesh. After a second his eyes opened and met hers. A switch flipped somewhere, in both of them so it seemed, slowing that quick-fire burn of their usual time together down to a simmering rolling heat.

Callie stepped back just enough to be able to slowly unbutton his shirt. His hands slipped down to her hips holding her steady and sliding gently up under the hem of her shirt causing a shiver to run down her spine. She stared hard at the expanse of bandages around his trim midsection for a few moments before his fingers squeezed her hips and shook her from her thoughts. Her eyes met his as she spread his shirt wide and slipped it over his shoulders and down his arms to fall at their feet. They maintained that heated eye contact as she lifted her arms to allow him to slide her shirt-his shirt- up and over her head.

She was naked now, save for her panties, and the sound of her shirt hitting the ground at their feet echoed in the rush of blood pounding through her head. She watched the deep rise and fall of his chest as he stared at her, his hand lifting slowly up towards her. Warm calloused fingers traced the faded shadow of the scratch marks on her neck and then down to the ragged still healing slice along her shoulder and collar bone. His fingers skimmed down her arm and lifted her left hand. He used both hands to slowly undo the bandage around her palm and let that too fall to the floor. She lifted both of her hands to cup his face and kissed him just as slow and tenderly as he'd kissed her; that simmering heat building almost to the point of bubbling over.

Callie broke away, completely out of breath yet again and before he could pull her back into that devastating kiss she moved her hands to the waistband of his pants. Her fingers faltered a bit, passion riding too high on her blood to allow her to keep from slipping and rubbing at his erection. She unbuttoned and unzipped and slipped right out of his warm calloused hands as they settled on her arms. Her hands slipped into the fabric of his boxers and she silently thanked their horrid diets for how easily she was able to slip the loose-fitting pants down to his ankles. She tilted her head up from her crouched position before him, watching his head tip back so that his neck was stretched taut as he stared at the ceiling above. His eyes closed as she leaned in and she closed her own as she pressed one open mouthed kiss after another to his abdomen and lower. He shuddered as she slipped his pants off his ankles he let out a ragged growl and dragged her up to his lips and crushed her against him.

He winced, and she pulled away. He growled and pressed her closer, his legs hitting the bed behind him and settling them both down on the bed. She made quick work of discarding her last bit of clothing as he tugged her impatiently back to him. Her legs straddled his body and her fingers delicately wove through his hair, mindful of the horrid bruised flesh hidden under his hair. Her fingers slowly removed the bandage wrapped around his head and she dropped it to the ground. Her lips left his to skim lightly over the stitched wound in the side of his head and she felt him shudder out a breath against her chest.

She pressed herself against his hard length then and let out a low moan against the rapid pulse point in his neck as he gripped her hips and shifted her body against him again and again. Their ragged breaths mixed together as Callie's lips trailed from his neck back to his waiting hungry mouth. Her body pressed against him and he instantly understood her plea for him to lie down, his body lowering slowly to the mattress while she writhed against him. His fingers dug into her hips tightly as the mattress no doubt pressed painfully against the wound at his back.

Callie tipped her body to the side and he rolled with her in automatic response, his low growl of approval reverberating in her chest as it filtered through their battling lips. Daryl settled himself atop her, and pressed up onto his right elbow while his left hand held his injured side up a bit higher. His gaze met hers in a moment of such deep feeling that Callie's breath left her on a ragged sigh. His body rocked against hers and she felt her eyes flutter closed as her neck arched her head back into the mattress.

"Daryl," she breathed out as he rocked against her again. Her eyes opened for a split second before snapping shut at the feel of his length slowly sliding into her. Her back bowed her body into him, her chest pressing into his as left hand lifted from the mattress and moved to hook her leg higher over his hips. Her nails were digging into his shoulders as his hot mouth sucked and pulled at the rapid pulse point in her neck and then at her taut nipple while he rocked himself against her.

She heard herself say his name again, a ragged moan of it sliding out of its own accord from her dry throat. Rapid searing breaths burning out of her as she turned her head to try and put her lips to his warm flesh as it rode and writhed above her. The lovemaking was slow, completely unlike all the times before. His hard length moved in and out of her in a slow wicked pace that had her begging, scratching and pulling for him to finally just lose control.

He continued his pace, and his wicked assault on her breasts and neck until she was gasping and pulling wildly at his shoulders. Words echoed in her head as she again turned her mouth towards his head, her lips finding his ear. She placed kiss after kiss against his cheek and onto his neck below his ear, those words ringing so loud through the pounding rush of blood through her ears. So loud that she wasn't sure if they were in her head or if she'd actually finally said them out loud. Said them on the heated whisper that remained of her passion-stalled voice right into his ear.

When his forehead pressed deep into her shoulder, and he finally lost what vestiges of control he had and pounded into her harder she shattered around him. Her body convulsed around him as his hips bucked around hers and she felt the moment his release came, his own body shuddering in jerking movements that she knew no matter how hard the man tried he'd never be able to control them.

The blood was still rushing through her head when he dragged his lips up neck, his body still rocking against hers as they rode out the aftershocks of their release. His heated breath fanned her ear as she panted against his shoulder. Those words echoed again, on a voice that was barely a whisper in the static between her ears. And again she was left to wonder if they were really said or just so clearly understood to exist in the space between them that they echoed even without being uttered.

And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't

So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road

And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope

It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat

Maggie watched Cletus finally build up the nerve to open the door to the room that Callie had been waiting for him in and let out a scoffing sort of laugh at the man's stubbornness. She shook her head thinking of the few conversations she'd had with Callie, and marveled at the strange sort of way that the two of them just seemed to fit so perfectly together.

Shifting her eyes out the door behind her Maggie made her way on to the porch and slid her gaze to where the small group was slowly millin' about and getting ready for bed. Shane was slowly descending the ladder of the RV, the man's movements being watched by who she assumed to be Danny as he limped slowly over towards the chair settled up there. Her arms crossed over her chest as she continued to watch the group.

Callie's words echoed in her mind as she watched them wish each other good night. It was amazing to think that these people had only known one another for a few months. A few months; not the years that it would appear if you didn't know any better.

Time is irrelevant.

Callie's words sliced into her head and Maggie let out a little sigh as she shifted her eyes to the house. Her fingers trailed down her side and slipped into her pocket where the small piece of paper that Glenn had passed to her earlier sat. She'd been blushing like mad when she'd slipped the note to him as she sat down next to him at their little campfire bonding. And then she'd felt almost ridiculous when he hadn't even so much as looked at her for the rest of the time.

But then just as she'd pressed her hands into the log she'd been settled on beside him she felt his fingers slip over hers. He tapped that paper on the back of her hand and she'd spared a single glance at him. The small tilt of his lips had her heart thudding wildly in her chest and she knew she wasn't gonna be able to sit a moment longer next to him without burstin'. She'd jumped at the chance to leave when Callie excused herself and felt almost bad about rushing the woman along.

Time is irrelevant.

Maggie supposed that was true enough. Especially now. When the world and all but ended, and nothing remained but the hope of survival. What she felt growing with each and every moment she spent with Glenn was something she'd always imagined to take longer. But then seeing how Callie and good ol' Cletus were with each other; seeing how deeply they cared for each other and knowing that they'd only really known each other for a few months. It made her think that maybe, just maybe love didn't need time to grow.

Maybe it just happened, whether you were looking for it or not. Maybe that's the way it really worked.

And who knew what was going to happen tomorrow. Dad had said that he told Rick he'd consider allowing them to stay. Maggie wasn't really sure how all of that was going to work out, but she did know that it meant that there was a possibility that Glenn was going to be stayin'. That he was gonna be around for her to actually get to know a bit better.

That maybe what happened in the pharmacy didn't have to be a one-time thing.

And that's what spurred her to write that note to him in the first place. She'd felt childish in a way that had her chuckling at herself as she folded the note up after she'd written it. Childish, and yet excited in a way that only someone old enough to really understand that sort of excitement could really appreciate. She'd gone onto the porch to see if she could possibly figure a way to slip the note to him, and then Ben had bounded over tellin' her she needed to come with him in a strange answer from on-high sort of way.

And as she'd walked beside the little boy she went back and forth with if she was actually gonna pass Glenn that note or not. The feel of that paper had burned a hole right into her leg. Kinda how it was doing now.

She still hadn't read his response, and as she slipped her fingers over the paper she again thought back to Callie's words.

Time is irrelevant.

'And not to be wasted', Maggie thought as she pulled the note from her pocket and opened it. She squinted in the dim light filtering out on to the porch from the window behind her and her smile fell. A small breeze blew over her, fluttering the paper held tight in her fingers and her blood ran cold.

"The barn?"

"Oh God," Maggie rasped out, her eyes instantly lifting to the structure off in the distance. She could just barely make out the sight of a flashlight beam as it circled around. In an instant she was off the porch and dashing through the grass. She didn't care if Danny, settled up on sentry duty atop that damn RV, saw her or not.

She didn't care.

All she cared about what getting to Glenn before he got to that barn.

She stumbled over the uneven path way down and skidded forward, her palms flattening to the ground for a moment before she pushed up and was running again. Her breathing was harsh and ragged as she ran, and she seethed as she saw that flashlight beam slip behind the barn towards where she knew the ladder to the loft lay.

"Shit," Maggie breathed out as she rushed forward. Her legs worked on impulse alone, pushing her body faster than she'd have ever thought possible. She made it to the back of the barn and stared almost helplessly up at the ladder that led to the loft. Her head rolled this way and that on her shoulders as she shook it in idle horror at what she was gonna find at the top of that ladder.

The sounds of the moaning and groaning people inside whispered through the slight breeze and tickled the back of her mind. Her conversation with Miles days ago filtered into her head and her eyes went wide with the realization.

She ain't sick. She's dyin'.

He wouldn't understand. None of them would. They didn't think this was a sickness to be cured. They thought it was death. Plain and simple. Maggie shook her head and put her hands to the ladder, her forehead resting against the rung. A sound above her had her shifting her eyes up. She met Glenn's wide eyes as he stared down at her, his flashlight held limply at his side and his mouth shut tight.

Time may have been irrelevant, but what was in this barn was anything but.

'Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me

Looking for heaven, found the devil in me

Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me, yeah

Shake it out.

Shake It Out / Florence + The Machine

AN: I hesitated with this chapter. I wasn't quite sure how you would all feel about it and then I seriously thought about chucking it, but then I apparently grew a pair and said 'FUCK IT'.

I really wanted to give Lori this moment, especially after the wonder of what happened in the last episode. I read in an interview that Sarah Wayne Callies said that Lori always thought of the pregnancy as a death sentence. And I wanted to play with that a bit…Callie's revelations about her inability to have children play into that and will play with that a bit as we go on.

There were loose-ends tied up with a lot of things I brought into the fray in NM:SAFE and I'm really happy about that. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter… 'Cause shit's gonna be hittin' the fan pretty soon.

See ya next chapter!