"Finn, not now, okay? Harper isn't feeling very well."

"Is she sick?"

"No, no, she's not. She'll come see you soon, okay?"

"Okay..."

I squinted hard against the sunlight as it peeked in through the blanket that covered Daryl's cell door. Beth hurried to squeeze into the cell, wrapping my world in darkness once more. I knew she meant well by holding out a wet cloth to clean my face with, but I just didn't want to see anyone except one person and she definitely wasn't him. "Do you need anything else?" she asked, forcing a smile onto her face.

"No," I managed to say. She stood to leave, but I hurried to lift my head from the pillow. "When does Rick want to have the funeral?"

Beth stopped, the blanket grasped firmly in her hand, and glanced at me through teary eyes. "Whenever you're ready."

I ran the cloth over my forehead and cheeks, trying to rid myself of any tears that lingers on my skin, but fresh ones came in no time. I gave up and sobbed into his pillow.

o-o-o

I made my way outside to find that the entire prison had been waiting for me. Nobody looked angry or irritated to have been standing in the heat for what could have been hours. Their eyes were full of pity and sorrow as I stood between Maggie and Michonne, who wrapped a tight arm around my shoulders. I stared down at the two graves we'd put together for our lost ones. Neither of them held actual bodies.

Hershel stood between the two graves, a bible in his hands. I couldn't stand to listen to his words. God was something nonexistent to me; if there truly was a higher being looking out for everyone, the dead wouldn't be groaning from the other side of our fence, trying their hardest to get in and eat us. My body and my mind felt numb as Hershel called me to him to say my peace to the two.

"I...I, um," I started, wrapping my arms around myself for protection from their stares. "I'll start with Griffin." One of the older men in the crowd let out a cough to cover his urgent sob. "Griff was...He was amazing. From the second he joined us from Woodbury until his death, he was a loyal, trusting friend. I was lucky to have him for the time that I did and I swear, I'll never forget his bravery during his final moments." Once more, tears fell from my eyes. "I-I can't..."

I couldn't do this anymore. Saying these things about Griffin felt too heavy on my heart. I couldn't imagine doing it a second time for someone who meant so much more to me, but as my gaze lifted from the ground in front of me to Daryl's figure beside Rick, a sleeping Judith securely in his arms, I inhaled deeply.

"My sister," I said, looking down at the next grave. "Many of you didn't know Adeline, but she was great before this and even during all the times we were running for our lives. Just before she died, she told me that I wouldn't have gotten far without her. That was true. When my real parents were killed during the mass murder at Home Depot in Atlanta, her parents were babysitting me. The second Adeline heard the news, she begged and pleaded her parents to take me in because she didn't want me going to people who could hurt me. She's always protected me and in the end, it drove her crazy." I pressed my lips to my hand then touched the wooden cross that Carl had put together for her. "I love you, Adeline."

The crowd that surrounded me quietly clapped as I hurried to Daryl's side. Judith stirred slightly, made a strange noise, and fell back into a heavy sleep. Finnegan grabbed my hand from behind me and rested his head against my arm. He didn't say anything or cry. I wondered if it was because the last time Adeline was around, he was too young to engrave her face into his mind. He tilted his head upward and squeezed my pointer finger. "I'll take care of you now, okay?" he said.

His words only sent another wave of pain through me. I pushed a smile onto my face and nodded. My body jolted slightly as Daryl's free hand wrapped around mine. His thumb, which had been bandaged the second we got back to the prison, rubbed tiny circles on my skin. For a split second, Maggie's eyes wandered to us, but she didn't say anything. She wouldn't at a time like this, just as her father finished the prayers over the empty graves.

When the ceremony was over, Rick took his daughter from Daryl and suggested that Finnegan help him with tending to our growing farm on the other side of the courtyard. Instead of going right away, the child motioned for me to kneel down to his height. He cupped his hands on my cheeks and kissed my nose. "I love you, okay?" he told me, his eyes boring into mine. "I'll keep you safe from the dead people and the living people."

I planted a kiss on his forehead. "You're my hero," I told him. "Now, go help Rick, okay? I love you, Finn."

I watched him run after Rick as I stood up straight. Daryl turned to me, a look of uncertainty written on his face. He jutted his chin toward the prison and I nodded. As we headed toward the entrance, I kept my arms crossed over my chest. Even though it must've been at least ninety degrees out, I felt like my body was going to freeze over at any moment. In fact, since the moment Adeline's body fell in front of me, the feeling lingered.

We passed my cell; Daryl knew I hated being in it now. Every time I looked at it, I pictured her face as I pulled the trigger. I didn't remember much after that - just the archer running to me, circling his arms around me protectively as I fell to my knees and let out a blood-curdling scream. It had taken a lot of convincing to get me off the ground and moving toward the prison again before the walkers reacted to the gunshot. Finally, he had fastened his crossbow onto his back and forcefully pulled me to my feet, shoved a dagger through Adeline's skull, and carried my sobbing self the entire way back. That was the day before.

I'd spent the entire night throwing up in the bathroom. Daryl had stayed by my side, letting me cry into his shirt and then holding my hair back when I felt more stomach bile pushing its way up. I'd fallen asleep only once when he had wrapped his arms around me and I settled my head into the crook of his neck. I didn't dream, but when I'd woken up, I thought everything was okay again. Then, I had realized that I killed my sister and sent myself into another fit of hysterical crying.

"You hungry?" Daryl asked as I curled myself up on his bed.

"No," I answered, turning to face the wall. I heard him sigh and suddenly the cell was dark; he had closed the blankets. "I'm sorry, Daryl. I'm just..."

"I know," he said, lying down behind me. I could feel his heavy, rapid heartbeat against my back. "Hurts like a bitch. When I lost Merle, I wanted to die. I would've taken a thousand beatings from my old man if it meant my brother would come back."

"Does it go away?"

I shivered as his fingers gently grazed my neck as he pushed my hair back. "No," he answered honestly. "It don't."

I turned around to face him. Realizing just how much bigger he was than me, I put a hand against his chest. His eyes scanned my face, probably searching for any sign that I would ever smile again. "When Adeline had that gun to you and started to pull the trigger, there was only one thing that was going through my mind when I pulled mine," I told him in a low whisper. "'Don't shoot him,' I kept thinking. 'Don't shoot him because I love him. God, I love him so much.'"

A light flickered in Daryl's eyes as his mouth twitched. At first, I thought he was trying to fight off a smile. "Life and death situations make people do and think weird things," he said, trying to make up some excuse for what I had just told him.

I shook my head slowly, inhaling deeply as his hand trailed down to my waist. "No, it wasn't that. I'm in love with you, Daryl Dixon. I really am."

Daryl didn't say anything, but in all honesty, I didn't really expect him to. Instead, he closed the space between our lips and before I knew it, we were entirely entangled in each other.

o-o-o

My eyes cracked open slowly. I found myself alone, but underneath blankets that smelled like Daryl. Inhaling calmly, I waited for the pain to come. When Adeline's lifeless face flashed in my mind and a burning, tight pain erupted from my chest to every part of my body, I bit down on the blanket, stifling a cry. My tears soaked the fabric and my shoulders shook with my sobs.

Daryl was suddenly at my side, his fingers gently running through my hair as I cried myself out. "Here," he said once I had pulled myself together. In his hands was a bowl of some sort of soup. I sat up and he placed it in my lap. "Try to eat, okay?"

"Okay," I mumbled, staring down at the dark liquid. I was beyond starving, but every time I thought of taking a bite of something, my stomach churned.

"I'm goin' on patrol with Glenn," he informed me, "so I'll be outside if you need anythin'."

I nodded as he pressed his lips to my head. Then, without another word, he was gone. I sighed deeply and swirled the soup around with the small, bent spoon that had been placed inside the bowl. My eyes felt incredibly heavy even though I'd slept through the entire half day and night. Placing the uneaten soup onto the concrete floor, I stood and left the cell only to find three pairs of eyes instantly lock on me.

"Hey, you," Maggie mumbled with a tight smile. She pulled me into a warm embrace. I pressed my cheek against her shoulder, peering over at Carol and Beth. They wore the exact same expressions as the woman holding me. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, of course," I answered mechanically as I took a tiny step from her. "Just...it hurts, you know?"

"We know, sweetheart," Carol said, stepping in front of Maggie to give me one of her hugs. "Losing someone is the hardest thing we can experience now."

I broke away from them silently and wandered out into the courtyard just in time to see a car pull out from the prison gates. From the garden, Rick waved me over, shielding his eyes from the sun with his free hand. As I passed the graves, I made a point to not look at them. "We need to get you a pair of sunglasses," I told the sheriff as I approached him. From the corner of my eye, I could see Carl and Finnegan crouched near a blooming plant. The older boy seemed to be giving his partner tips.

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," Rick answered. He pushed the shovel he had been holding into the ground and leaned against the handle. "I need to ask you something and I understand if you don't want to answer, but-"

I shook my head, watching the horde of walkers follow after the car. "Its okay," I told him. "Better to talk about whatever it is now than drag it out."

He sighed heavily and ran a hand over his sweaty face. His fingers stopped at his unruly beard and as he fondled strands of his hair between his fingers, his eyes scanned around the courtyard. The wait for him to choose his words right was almost unbearable, but I remained quiet. "Daryl told me Reanna got away during the fight," he finally said. "Do you know which direction she went off in?"

The mention of Reanna's name sent a fire of utter hatred through me. I pictured her hands on Daryl, touching him in places that only I had ever before. "No," I replied, my voice tight. I lifted a fist to my mouth as I cleared my throat. "I only saw her just as she jumped over a bush and disappeared somewhere in the forest. Is that where they're going?" I pointed a finger toward the direction of the car.

"Yeah. Daryl wants to track her."

"What is he going to do to her?"

Rick grabbed for his shovel and began to dig more holes for the fence he was going to put in for the pigs. "I didn't ask," he mumbled darkly, obviously done speaking on the subject.

I said my goodbye to him and turned on my heel, heading toward the walkers that were gathering at the fence again. As I passed the two boys, I placed a hand on Finnegan's head and ruffled his hair, enjoying the slight smile that found its way onto my face when he started to complain behind me. Approaching the group that shoved weapons through the walker's heads, I was greeted by Tyreese and Karen. They both gave me tight hugs then placed a rusted metal rod in my hands.

For hours, I put down walker after walker. When the sun began to fall behind the tree tops, Tyreese placed a giant hand on my shoulder. I froze and turned my head to look at him. "Dinner," he informed me. "I think you've done your share for the day."

"I'm okay," I said, stabbing another walker. "I'm not hungry at all."

Letting out a sigh of defeat, the man returned to Karen's side and they strolled to the prison hand-in-hand. Once they were gone, I allowed the tip of my rod to fall to the ground as tears gathered in my eyes. A struggled sob caught in my throat as I wiped at them with the sleeve of my shirt. I didn't want to cry anymore. It didn't make me feel any better, but my body still seemed persistent on it. A scream gathered inside my chest, but I knew better than to let loose. There were too many walkers around and if someone from the prison heard it, they would think that something was wrong and fly into another frenzy.

So, all the anger and despair and hate inside me leaked out little by little with every walker that hit the ground. Before I knew it, I was imagining Reanna's face on every single one of theirs. I lost count of how many I killed, but a pile of stinking, rotting bodies started to gather in front of me. I moved down the fence, shoving my rod through every opening I could that gave me access to a head or a chest. Every walker wore a different expression that I had once seen her sport. Some were laughing, some were pouting, and the especially ugly ones wore the seductive smirk that had been on her face as she held the knife to Daryl's throat and trailed her fingers down toward his pants.

Then suddenly, I was staring at the real thing. Reanna stood, watching me from the cover of bushes and trees. She probably thought I didn't see her, so instead of making it obvious that we were making eye-contact, I continued to kill walkers. My body started to tremble with rage as I told myself to keep calm. The second that someone else came outside, we would go after her.

But I wouldn't have this chance forever, so I inched my way closer to the gates until finally, I was able to open them and squeeze through the small opening. As I sprinted toward her, I dodged walkers that grabbed for my clothes and my hair. When she realized I was coming for her, her eyes widened in fear and she began to run from me.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" I shrieked as I jumped over a bush. "I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"