No one was surprised that Daryl and Bay wanted to get married, least of all Hershel. Over the months he had been able to watch the couple, and despite them having their ups and downs, he knew that their love was the real thing. He couldn't wish for a better husband for Bay. Daryl would go to great lengths to keep Bay safe, and not just from walkers. Daryl cared and provided for her, made sure she ate enough and rested enough and drank enough water when she was working outside, and he did it selflessly and with a lot of love. Even though Daryl hadn't asked for it, they had Hershel's blessing.

Daryl wanted to do it right away, but then Bay had surprised him.

"Let's wait." she had told him when he had brought it up.

"What? Why? Thought we didn't wanna wait no more?"

"I know, but... you'll think it's silly, but..."

"What?"

"I want to wear a real wedding dress. Like, a really real one, you know?" she blushed as she said it, embarrassed by her desire to look like a beautiful princess at least one day in her life... like it was supposed to be. Just this once. "I want the dress and the shoes and the something new, something borrowed, something blue thing..."

"Yesterday ya didn't even want rings."

"I know what I said, but... I'm still a girl, you know? I never got to go to prom or anything... I never got to dress up and have someone take my picture... I know these things shouldn't be important anymore, but I think it's important to me to do it like that. Not completely conventional, I won't ask you to wear a suit, unless you would want to, but I want to be a real bride and I want to get a polaroid camera and have a picture of us on our wedding day. I want that memory, even if it's silly."

"Ain't silly. If that's what ya want, it's what you're gon' get, baby girl." Daryl said decisively before he kissed her long and hard. "One of the next trips, we're gonna find you all that stuff you want." he promised, but he knew that it wouldn't be within the next couple of days, since getting things at the prison up and running had top priority.


Two days later the men found the armory. As Rick had predicted, it was still stuffed to the brim with weapons, smoke bombs, riot gear, ammunition, etc. It enabled them to finally clear out the yard that was still full of walkers. The day after that, they found the infirmary and they were able to clear out and secure the A block as well. In this case "A" stood for administration. They had found the offices, which were extremely coveted by the couples among the group, since they meant "alone time"in a safe space, behind a real, closed door.

Every day the men of the group were able to secure more and more of the big complex, and after a week, they no longer needed to lock everything and were able to roam freely, without the threat of walkers looming around every corner. Long lists were written, with all the things they would need now, in order to make it a home, and to have all systems working, so to speak.

Daryl's observant eyes skimmed the lists on the table in front of him, because he wanted to plan out some trips to local stores. It very quickly became obvious to him, where they would have to go first. "Looks like we should hit Home Depot first. They should have almost everything we need. All the shit for planting and the irrigation system, plus the stuff for inside... curtains, space heaters, padlocks, mattresses.. Shit. Maybe we should just all move into that store. Might be easier." he scoffed when he realized how many times they might have to go there. Pat and Erin had told them, that Dalton had been one of the first places the virus (or whatever it was) had hit, and that it had spread fast. All the stores had been left almost untouched since then, so they might get lucky and find everything they needed without having to drive around hundreds of miles.

Rick nodded in agreement. "Sounds about right, but Home Depot isn't exactly a fortress, I assume. Not like this prison. Damn, even with two cars, it's gonna be a lot of trips. We're gonna be needing a lot of fuel."

"Maybe not." Bay spoke up. Her brows were furrowed in concentration when she looked at her fiancé. "Can we remove a couple of seats from the bus that's outside? Is that possible? And put them back in later?"

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, the seats are bolted down. We'll just need a couple of wrenches to get them out. Ain't gon' take long at all. Why?"

"That way we only need one 'car' and less trips." Bay explained.

"The bus needs more fuel than a car." Rick argued.

"Bay's idea ain't bad, though." Daryl said. "Even if 8 of us go, we only need the first two rows of seats. If we remove the other seats, we can cram a lot of shit into that bus. We can stack, like, 10 mattresses in there in one go. And a lot of other stuff on the same trip. It might be our best option."

Rick nodded slowly while he mulled it over. "Who's going with you?"

"Pat, Glenn, Maggie and Hershel."

"Hershel?" Rick's eyebrows rose. "Why?"

"He's the farmer." Daryl stated. "Only one who knows for sure what he needs for the crops and shit."

"Don't worry, we're not making him go. He asked to go." Bay added.

Rick nodded and made a mental note to talk to Hershel. He knew that the oldest member of their group was able to handle himself, but he would still like to talk him into wearing the riot gear they had taken off some of the prison guard walkers. "Fine. You're not going?" he asked looking at Bay.

"No. I'm gonna sit this one out."

Rick narrowed his eyes at her and studied her for a moment. Bay didn't look at him, so eventually, he nodded. "Alright. Get the bus ready. First trip is tomorrow. The earlier, the better."

"Gonna ask Dale to help me with the seats." Daryl said. "Or you need him for something else?"

"No, go ahead and ask him. Bay? A word?" Rick shot her a quick look before he walked away from the table and then out into the yard.

"How I hate when he says that." Bay sighed, making Daryl smirk.

"Don't we all." he scoffed. "Hey... c'mere." he motioned her closer before he cradled her face in his hands and kissed her lovingly. He barely ever said anything, but he was proud as hell whenever Bay came up with a good idea. Like with the bus and removing the seats. "Good call with the bus and all..."

"Thanks." Bay brightly smiled up at him, after he had pulled away a little. "I'm gonna go."

"Yeah, me too. Gonna get Dale and get started on the bus. See ya later, babe." he kissed her again and gently squeezed her ass once, since her behind was facing the exit and nobody would see what he was doing.

"Mmmm... yeah... later." Bay sighed dreamily and went outside to meet up with Rick. Things between her and Daryl had been better since the night Nick had died and Bay had opened up to Daryl. No more secrets, and it felt damn good. She loosely tucked her fingers into her pockets and casually strolled up to Rick. "What's up?"

"You're still not talking to me?"

"I'm talking to you right now, Rick."

"Not like you used to. It's been a week, Bay. You seriously still mad at me?"

"Let me ask you something first." Bay pulled her hands out of her pockets and crossed her arms over her chest. "Let's say that in, I don't know, six months from now, Dale or Hershel start to change..."

"Change how?" Rick furrowed his brow in confusion. He had no idea where Bay was going with this.

"Little changes at first. Like suddenly going into the wrong cell to lay down at night. Repeating themselves more often. Forgetting things... Then it gets worse. They start seeing their dead wives or pets. Talk to them, interact with them, like they're really there. Getting aggressive when you tell them they're just imagining it..."

"You talking about Dale or Hershel developing dementia?"

"It could happen. It's quite common on Hershel's side of the family. Now, I've been asking myself in the past week... what happens when they reach the stage when they would no longer be able to talk or go to the bathroom by themselves or feed themselves? Some people with dementia can't walk anymore...? Uh, what if one of us gets some kind of cancer and suddenly gets sicker and sicker? Hm, Rick? What happens then?"

"Bay..." Rick sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What? It's a valid question. Survivors like us can still get sick with all that crap from the old days. Think because humanity is being eradicated, the sicknesses are getting eradicated with them? I don't think so, Rick. So please tell me, what's gonna happen when one of us gets sick and can't fight anymore and becomes a liability?"

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it. If we ever get to it. You're overthinking this whole thing, Bay. We need to worry about what's going on now, not what's gonna happen in some hypothetical future."

Bay didn't reply to that. She only sighed and looked to the side and off into the distance. Rick was getting frustrated with not getting through to her. "Look, I didn't want to let Nick die, Bay. You heard what Hershel said, Nick was a goner. If things would have been different,... if Hershel would have said that there was a chance... but there was none."

"I get it, Rick. I know I didn't get it when it happened, but I see it now. Hershel would have done something if he could have. He would have tried, no matter what you would have said. You're right, Nick was a goner. I just... I don't know... I keep worrying about things lately..." Bay shrugged and looked down at the ground for a moment. Rick was about to speak up after a couple of seconds of silence, but then Bay stunned him into silence. "I might be pregnant."

Rick's eyes widened and it took a moment for him to find his voice. "How's that possible? You all took those birth control shots..."

"Yes, we did. We were supposed to wait seven days until we had unprotected sex, though... The night Nick died and Daryl and I stayed in the other cell block? Guess we got a little carried away... It was only a couple of days post-shot... so... it might have happened..." Bay muttered under her breath as her stomach clenched unpleasantly.

"Does Daryl know?"

"Of course he knows. He was there..." Bay laughed humorlessly.

"That's why you're sitting this one out."

"Yeah. He wants me to take it easy, just in case... until we know for sure." Bay explained.

"He's right." Rick agreed with Daryl. "Whenever he's gone, I'm gonna keep my eye on you, make sure you don't overdo it."

"Don't worry, I'm being careful this time around." Bay reassured him. "But hey, don't tell anyone, okay?"

"I won't." Rick promised. "You okay to work the field?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"Good. Get some water and then let's get started." Rick said and gently squeezed her shoulder as he led her inside.


A couple of days later, Daryl and the rest of his small group were taking yet another trip to the store. Bay's idea of removing the seats and taking the bus had turned out to be pure gold. They needed a lot of big items, though, so numerous trips were still necessary.

It was an incredibly hot day, with the sun beating down mercilessly on Bay and Beth, who kept planting the crops. Bay usually wasn't one to complain, but today, she felt herself suffering from the intense heat. She still didn't know if she was pregnant or not, which made her want to play it safe. So, around noon, she straightened and looked over to Beth, who was sweating rivers as well. "Let's take a break and cool off for half an hour. This heat is crazy. Won't do any good if we drop in the dirt like flies."

Beth squinted at the older woman, nodding in agreement as she wiped some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "I hope Daddy's okay. He's wearing that riot gear. It looked like it would be really hot under there."

"He's fine, I'm sure. He can take a lot." Bay tried to sound reassuring, but she just ended up sounding tired and annoyed. She brushed some dirt off her knees and motioned towards the prison. "Come on."

Before the women were able to go inside, Rick met up with them and held out two bottles of water. "Here. Looks like you two could use it."

"Thanks, Rick." Bay took the bottle and immediately opened it to take a sip.

"Thanks." Beth smiled at Rick before she, too, quickly drank some of the water.

"We're gonna take a little break." Bay informed the leader, who nodded.

"Good idea. Make sure to drink plenty of water today. It's like a desert out here."

"Will do." Bay nodded, before she nudged Beth with her elbow. "Excuse us." When Rick stepped aside, they finally went inside.

"I'm gonna go to my cell for a bit." Beth said.

"Okay, see you later." Bay smiled and put her hand on Beth's back for a short moment, then she took off to the coolest place inside the prison she knew: the tombs. The place still kinda gave her the creeps, so she didn't venture too far into them. She stopped at a random spot and sat down, moaning quietly in joy when she leaned her back against the wall. It wasn't super cold, but noticeably colder than her own body, and the small relief it provided felt damn good.

Her joy was short-lived though. As soon as she started to relax, she felt a weird sense of dread sneak up on her. It wasn't related to any dangers from the outside, it was, like it was focused on her own body. Suddenly she realized that she kept clenching her right hand into a fist repeatedly. She felt a dull, throbbing sensation in her right forearm, which she now regarded with a frown settled on her features. It wasn't pain. It felt different. It felt uncomfortable, but at the same time, like it wasn't really there.

Not infected. Bay screwed her eyes shut and shook her head lightly when she heard the words inside her head. "What the hell?" she muttered, because it actually hadn't been her own voice inside her head just now. "Damn sun." she sighed and reached for her bottle of water, thinking that she might have been too late in taking a break. The heat had affected her already.

"What's goin' on here?" Merle's voice suddenly echoed off the walls. Bay groaned quietly and squeezed her eyes shut once more. "You takin' a siesta or somethin'?"

"Go away, Merle."

"No can do, sorry Sugar." Merle said jovially and sat down next to her on the dusty ground. "Promised Daryl I'd keep my eye on ya."

"Huh... and you're actually doing what he told you to do? Guess hell really has frozen over." Bay scoffed before she took another sip of water.

"Maybe." Merle shrugged. He looked at her, studied her, during a moment of silence. Bay felt his eyes bore into her, so she eventually turned her head and met his gaze full on. It didn't show, but Merle startled a little at the sudden eye contact. No matter how much of a tough guy he was, no matter how little he let things affect him, like many others, he wasn't immune to Bay's big, beautiful eyes; especially this up-close and personal. They made his heart soften, they made him feel guilty, and he didn't like it. Therefore, he quickly averted his gaze and stared at the ground. "Ya know, ya can't ignore me forever, Miss Bayanne. We're stuck here together... Gonna have to work together eventually. Gotta trust each other ta have one another's back out there, right?"

Bay let out a humorless laugh at that. "Meaning? What? You think I'd let you get bit to get my revenge on you?"

"Nah, but you don't trust me. Think I'd let ya die to get rid of you. Ain't true, Sugar. Never was. One day you're gon' have to believe that."

"And how exactly am I supposed to believe that? What you did back then? It was all about getting rid of me."

"It wasn't. Was about saving my own hide... and Daryl's... get a fresh start somewhere else. Had nothin' to do with you."

"You're kidding me, right? I know you're smart, so you can't expect me to believe that."

"What are you sayin'?"

"I'm saying, that there were other options, Merle. And I don't believe that you didn't know that. If it wasn't about getting rid of me and having Daryl to yourself, then why didn't you let him come to me? Why didn't you let me come with you guys, then? No, you wanted me out of the picture." Bay said and took Merle's silence as confirmation. "You know, if you would have come to me and asked me for the money, you could have spared all of us a lot of heartache."

Merle's head snapped back to the side to look at her at that. "Shut up... Ya never would have given me yer hard earned cash."

"Really? You think my money was more important to me than a human life? The life of the brother of the love of my life, no less? Even if I wouldn't have done it for you, I still would have done it for Daryl, because you're his brother and he loves you." Bay wore a small, sad smile on her face. Yeah, she might have had a hard time letting go of the money, but to save a life, she would have done it, no matter how much Merle had screwed up to end up in that situation to begin with. "Back then, when we had our thing going, with our jobs and everything... I started thinking about changing my plans. I was so happy with the way things were... my desire to go to college started to fade more and more with each week. I felt guilty about that, because I had promised my grandma to go to college and become a psychiatrist... but first and foremost I had promised her to work hard on making my dreams come true... I guess my dreams changed when I met Daryl. We were making a life for ourselves. We were happy. After the hell I went through with my family, I was living a dream with him. I could have kept on doing that for a long time. At least until the baby would have been born. We could have used some of the money for the baby, but the rest of it... Might not have missed it, had I given it to you to help you out..."

Merle swallowed hard when she mentioned the baby. His niece or nephew, gone, because of the shitty things he had done to his or her mother. That one hurt him physically. He had never really been any good with kids, they were annoying and whiny, but damn, that baby had been his own blood. Learning about it had felt like a punch to the gut. When Daryl had told him, for a split-second, Merle had seen himself and Daryl when they had been way younger, and he had seen little Daryl get ripped away from him, without him being able to stop it from happening. It had been a helpless and devastating feeling that had filled him upon hearing about the lost Dixon baby. He felt sorry, but he had no idea how to say the words out loud. "I'm... about that baby... it's a damn shame." he pressed out without looking at her.

"It's not on you." Bay sighed. "Like Daryl said, it's on all of us and it's on none of us..."

"Yeah." Merle nodded slightly. "Too late to take any of it back now."

"Damn right." Bay agreed. "Would you even want to take any of it back?"

"Yeah..." Merle responded truthfully. He looked at her and saw her frown deeply. At the same time, she looked like she wasn't paying attention to him anymore. "What?"

"Nothing... I don't... I feel weird." Bay wasn't able to describe what was going on. She suddenly felt restless and like something was building inside her body. "Shhhh!" she grabbed his arm and shushed him when he opened his mouth again. "What's that noise? Do you hear that?"

"Hear what? You got a heatstroke or somethin'?" he frowned at her while she strained her ears.

She swore she heard a low drone and a beeping noise. "What the hell is that? Do you seriously not hear that?" She didn't wait for an answer. She jumped up and ran out of the tombs and back into the cell block. It was empty, but she heard the shouts of the others outside. Bay looked up to the windows, firmly rooted in her spot at what she was seeing. Her brain had trouble catching up with what was happening. She didn't even realize that Merle had followed her, until she heard his voice.

"Is that a damn helicopter?" He couldn't have been more surprised, but unlike Bay, his brain caught up quickly and he realized what was happening. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! We gotta get outta here!"

Merle pushed her, and because she was so flabbergasted, she stumbled and fell. Suddenly it was all pure chaos. She had no idea what was happening, but she must have hit her head. All of a sudden, her world went black, but unfortunately not quiet. It got horribly noisy. The beeping noise was incredibly insistent and incredibly loud, it hurt her head and she was barely able to take it. She wasn't able to see, she felt dazed and alert at the same time. She must have fallen face first and inhaled the dust from the ground. She couldn't breathe and was gagging up a storm. She clawed at her throat, trying to catch her breath, while she felt someone pushing and pulling at her. It was all too overwhelming, the darkness, the noise, the pain, no air... she tried to scream, but nothing came out. It was the last thing she did, before an imaginary black cloud swallowed her whole and everything stopped.


Outside by the fences, Rick was kneeling on the ground, protectively holding Carl and Lori in his arms. He was panting heavily, while he tried to come out of his shock and tried to comprehend what was happening. His eyes scanned over the other people next to him, trying to find out if everyone was accounted for. It had all happened so fast... It took him a moment until he realized that not all of them were by his side. "Where... where's Bay? And Merle?"

Erin was cradling little Alex in her arms, both of them just as pale and shocked as the rest of them. "I... I don't know... but if they're not here.. they might be... i-in there..." she pointed towards the building with a shaky hand. Rick followed the direction with his eyes and looked at the prison again, still unable to believe what he was seeing.

The helicopter had crashed into cell block C and exploded. The cell block was destroyed and a fire was working on destructing even more of the prison. The realization made Rick spurt into action. "Water! Get buckets and water! Now, now now!"

They spurted into action, even Lori ran as fast as she could, one hand always on her pregnant belly. It might be futile, but they had to try saving the prison, and hopefully, Bay and Merle.


Thank you for reading!

Uh-oh? What happened there? Thoughts?

Sorry if there's more typos than usual. I proof-read it, but the fact is, my son had his last two teeth come in the past week and I am damn exhausted, lol.

Special thank you to all the reviewers. Keep 'em coming;-)

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