This got a lot heavier and more romantic than I intended. For that reason, I split it in half. I'll hopefully have that up next week (fingers crossed).

"Wait, wait, wait! They can help her!"

"We can't leave her! We gotta git her!"

"Daryl, we can't."

"They'll take good care of her! They'll help her! They have medicine! Machines! A doctor!"

"But she's one of us!"

"If you go out there, you'll have to kill them and then she can't get their help! Is that what you want?"

"We can't go back to Grady. No one will ever find us. We have to get back to Rick. Carol will be fine. She's a survivor. You remember what she's done. What she's been through."

"We'll get her back! We'll get Beth back!"

"What's it gonna take?"

"A lot."

"They've got guns."

"People."

"Yeah? So do we."

We found a van we could hot wire a few blocks from where Carol was hit by the station wagon outside of Grady. The ride north of Atlanta was quiet and tense.

I could tell that Daryl was upset that we had lost Carol on what was supposed to be a rescue mission for Beth, but I wasn't sure that anything I could say was going to help.

To top it all off, I was beyond frustrated with the entire situation and I had a lot of questions that I knew wouldn't be answered by Daryl. Not now, anyway.

Noah lay in the back of the van. The entire trip out of town, but he was still within earshot.

An hour or so later, Daryl pulled over on the side of the road and shut off the ignition, pocketing the keys. "Group's this way. We'll 'ave ta walk."

"Okay." I muttered, following suit behind him and slipping out of the car. We walked around the cabin to the back doors and swung them open, helping Daryl pull the weapons and our supplies.

"The church is about three miles into the woods. Ye'll be able ta walk?"

"I'll manage." Noah mumbled. He shouldered his back pack and I did the same with mine. Daryl grabbed his crossbow from the back of the vehicle as well and slammed the doors shut.

It was dusk now and we would be walking through the woods at night. I checked by Glock was secure in the back of my jeans, my knife in my front pocket securely.

Daryl looked us both over and then began skulking into the woods, Noah and I in tow.

The walk did nothing to quell the tension and I was trying my best not to snap. I must have been expressing my frustration through my breathing because Daryl spun on his heels and snapped at me. "Ye got somethin' ta say ta me?"

"I have a lot of things to say to you, but I think they're left best unsaid until we get back to the others."

"Why's that, huh? You think I'm a loose cannon 'r some shit?"

"Or some shit." I muttered, pushing past him.

Poor Noah wasn't sure what to make of things. "This really should wait. We don't need any rotters following us all the way to camp."

"Yeah? And what's it to you, huh kid? You ain't gonna do nothin' about it!"

"Don't yell at him!" I screamed back. "He hasn't done anything!"

"What, you stickin' up fer him now? He's lucky someone saved 'is fuckin' ass. If it weren't fer him, Beth woulda made it out of there."

"You don't know that, Daryl. You don't know anything about that place."

"What I know? You wanna talk about what I know? I know you sure did make it outta there real easy. I know you always seem to end up in the midst of shit and you always come out smellin' like roses. You did it in Woodbury, you did it when you left me in the woods fer Martinez, and then now."

"Is that all you know? Did your friend Carol come up with that shit when she came back from Purgatory? Or maybe you came up with that on your own when you were doing God knows what while I was wandering the woods looking for you. It sure does seem to me like you don't know shit." I was practically running ahead of them now, my face was one fire and all I really wanted to do was hurt something.

"Yeah? Well at least I know where the hell I'm headed!" He shouted back.

"Fuck…" I hissed, kicking the dirt. He was right.

Daryl and Noah caught up to me and Daryl was raging mad, walking out in front of me. "We ain't doin' this out here. Got shit ta do."

Noah was limping severely by the time we got to the church. He was leaning on my shoulder now. I had to help him walk the past half-hour.

It was quiet out and pitch black but Daryl insisted on coming out first in case anyone had heard us. We waited in the bushes a few more seconds before Daryl muttered, "Come on out."

So we did.

I barely had time to move before Michonne's arms were wrapped around my neck and she was screaming for Rick. "It's good to see you, too."

Michonne pulled away to look me in the eye, tears filling hers to the brim. "I really thought I lost you out there. I got back to the tracks and things didn't look good."

"I'm sorry." I whispered. She held my face in her hands and pressed her forehead to mine.

Rick and the other's came out of the church at this point and Daryl was walking off with Rick to no doubt discuss saving Carol while I was left with the kid and the others.

Sasha and Tyreese came out of the church after Rick, followed by Carl. They all took turns embracing me. "Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"This is it, right now." Michonne said.

"Right now?" I asked.

Noah cleared his throat.

"Oh, right. Guys, this is Noah. We rescued him in Atlanta." I acknowledged him.

"Atlanta?" Tyreese asked.

"Long story. I guess we should have some sort of meeting about it."

"As soon as my dad's back." Carl nodded.

They took turns greeting Noah and by the time they were done, Rick and Daryl were back. "Everyone inside." Rick said. He stood by the door as everyone filed into the church and patted me on the back. "It's nice to see you back."

I bit my lip. "It's nice to be back."

At the meeting I learned that after the siege of the prison, we were all split into pairs. For certain we knew the children didn't make it, meaning Katie was gone. I shed many tears for her, as well as the others on the bus.

Somewhere in between the siege and now, everyone was captured in some place called Terminus and managed to escape thanks to Carol. They encountered another group while they were there and Glenn, Maggie, and Tera, who I'd met in "Brian's" camp, had left with them for Washington, DC. They believed they had the cure for this plague.

Bob was bitten and wandered off over a week ago and was returned without a leg. He had been cannibalized by the very people they had encountered at Terminus. While Daryl and Carol where in Atlanta, the Terminites attacked the church run by Father Gabriel who seemed to be a skiddish, naïve man. Everyone left over took care of the threat.

Rick asked Noah and I to regale our accounts at Grady. I told them everything, leaving out the fact that I was almost raped again. I admitted to killing Aaron in self-defense. My first human kill. I knew it would matter to Rick if I never said anything about it to him. It was the first thing he ever asked newcomers. He asked Noah at the end of the meeting. He told him none.

After the meeting, Michonne asked me to come outside with her on her watch so we could talk. She assured me it wouldn't be long in case I had plans with Daryl. I assured her that wouldn't be an issue.

All of this was a lot to process. Up until today, I was unsure if the prison group was even out there, if I'd ever be able to find them. Now, I was in the middle of them once again, but time hadn't been out friend. We were separated for what must have been months. We all went through different trials. We didn't know each other anymore.

"I went back looking for you." Michonne broke the silence, her words sharp as knives. We stood behind the church, the only light was the soft gleam of the moon. By now it must have been close to midnight.

"I knew you would have. I'm sorry I was so weak."

"You had no way to tell me. I got to the tracks and all there was left was your boot. I could tell there was a struggle. I had no idea where to start looking."

"How'd you guys get back together?" I asked quietly.

"I found Rick and Carl the next day. I kept following the tracks. You were right."

"That's good." I tried to smile through the welled up emotions, threatening to stream tears down my cheeks.

"We found Daryl a few weeks later. He had been with Beth. He lost her, then found another group. The group tried to kill us. He helped us lay them down."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I know he wouldn't." She smiled that all-seeing Michonne smile that I had missed for so long. "He admitted to me that he and Beth circled the prison. They were looking for us. It was too much mileage and we were all headed different directions. The odds weren't in our favor."

"We knew that." I hissed. "I don't hold it against anyone… We did what we could to survive."

"And somehow we all made it back here." Michonne laughed. "Do you believe in fate?"

I sighed, kicking dirt with my heel. "I don't know what I believe anymore."

Michonne's eyes flitted past me, just to my right. She smiled and I spun to face Daryl in the pale moonlight. "Ladies." He nodded his head.

"Dixon." Michonne scoffed.

"I, uh – I wanted to talk to ya." Daryl said, finally looking me in the eye for the first time since he flipped on me in the woods.

"Like earlier?" I raised my brow at him.

"Not like that." He growled. "An actual conversation." He said the words so sincerely, I almost questioned who he was, but I could still look at the work face, the chiseled cheekbones, the scraggly hair, the pale blue eyes. I knew exactly who he was.

"Yeah. We can talk." I nodded.

"Alright." He adjusted the strap on his crossbow and led the way towards the woods. I was expected to follow. I looked to Michonne apologetically and she just smiled.

Daryl walked far enough into the woods that we could no longer see the church in the clearing. He stopped, dropping his crossbow at his feet and turned his back towards me. His breathing was forced and he paced a bit before he turned to face me. He drug his hand down his face. "I didn't think I'd ever see y'again." He finally said.

"Sorry to disappoint." I muttered.

"Stop." He growled. "I'm trying to tell you something." When he was convinced I was listening, he continued. "I searched the woods after the attack on the prison. I didn't know where Martinez left you. I had no idea where they had taken you. We went to the convenience store a few days later. I couldn't track shit."

"He took me to the prison." I mumbled the words incoherently.

"What?"

"I saw the Governor take down the prison. I was there."

"So you saw-"

"I saw everything." I reiterated my words carefully. He was quiet a few more beats so I kept going. "I ran with Michonne. We made it a while before I was captured." I sighed before continuing. "I was supposed to meet Martinez at the convenience store. We got there. He never showed."

"I'm sorry about Martinez." Daryl said in hushed breaths.

"Carol had his gun." It wasn't a question, but a declaration. An accusation.

He grunted, looking at the ground. "I did what I had to."

I suddenly became very upset. Daryl confirmed my suspicions in six little words. "We should be heading back." I muttered after a few more moments. "The others will worry."

"I'm trying to tell ya I missed ye, girl!" Daryl snapped.

My eyes shot up, locking with his and I could tell by the look on his face that he was shocked and embarrassed to have admitted that out loud to me. "I missed you, too." I whispered, then I began to cry.

"I know Michonne told ye I was lookin' for ye." He muttered. When I wouldn't stop crying, he told me to come to him, so I did. He held me in his arms, practically suffocating me with his chest. "What happened in there?" He asked quietly.

"I already told Rick." I muttered.

"That was all? Cause ye never mentioned that cop prevokin' you. You just killed some guy for no reason?" He asked. "That doesn't sound like you."

"Things weren't good there." I muttered, breathing him in. He smelled like sunshine, smoke, and leather. "I had to get out, Dare. That's all you need to know."

He grabbed me roughly by the arms and held me at arm's length, studying my face. "Yeah, alright."

I bit the flesh of my lower lip, trying to decide how to approach the next question. "Did Rick say that we could go back to Atlanta?"

Daryl sighed, lowering his arms and releasing his grip on me. "He aint said yet. Don't matter no ways cause I'm going back with or without help."

"You can't take on all those officers alone." I scoffed. "Its suicide."

"I gotta git em back." He shrugged.

Silence loomed between us longer than usual. "I'll go with you." I decided.

"You shouldn't go back there." He said plainly.

"That doesn't mean I won't. No matter what happens you'll need me or the kid. You can't go in blind. I don't know if Noah's up for another trip to Atlanta any time soon. He's dead weight as it is."

He rolled his eyes, but nodded his head. "We'll give Rick until morning to decide."

"You're not gonna sneak off in the middle of the night by yourself then, are you?" I asked, doing my best to smile though my eyes hadn't dried yet.

He smirked at me. "Naw, I ain't leavin' ye no time soon."

I demolished the space between us and slipped my hands under his shirt to feel his skin against mine for a moment. I was afraid he may break away for a moment. It had been so long and we were doing so well together before we were torn apart, but it had taken a long time to get there. I wasn't sure if everything we had built had come crashing down around us or if we would be able to pick up the pieces and make ourselves whole again. To my delight, Daryl pulled away only to grip my chin in his hands. He tilted my head and locked his lips to mine and sent shivers down my spine. I was crying again, this time tears of joy and triumph. My knees became weak and Daryl became my only support.