*** Enjoy everyone! Not exactly an action packed chapter, but I gotta build some stuff up :) I OWN NOTHING - except Linney :) ***

When Rick relieved Linney from watching Carl, she pressed a kiss to her fingertips and placed them on the little boy's forehead, before leaving the room, tossing Rick an encouraging smile on her way by. She paused in the living room and saw Maggie in the distance, in the kitchen, comforting an older blonde woman at the small table there. The woman was sobbing quietly in a way that made Linney's stomach tighten. The other girl looked up and Linney held her serious gaze for a moment before blushing, realizing she was interrupting a private moment.

She walked outside, onto the front porch and looked around, completely astounded. This was her first look at it and the farm was beyond idyllic, completely untouched. She watched as Daryl, Dale, and Glenn worked to set up the tents near the RV, in a small grove of trees between the farmhouse and the little dirt road that served as a driveway. She could see multiple fences looping around various sections of the yard, the house, the barn, the forest. Such security, she thought. There were even cows and horses grazing in the distance as well.

"It's beautiful," she murmured quietly, as Hershel walked up and leaned against the porch railing next to her. "I like to think so," he replied and Linney peered up at him. His face was so serene; she had the feeling that as protected as this place was, it had sheltered its inhabitants from having to experience too much.

"Been in my family for 160 years," Hershel added, holding his hand out towards the large porch swing, helping Linney sit down before sitting beside her carefully.

"You don't know how lucky you are to have this place," she replied, wistfully. He glanced over at her and studied her battered face for a moment, as she stared out towards the small cluster of her remaining group members. "I think we do," he responded, and she looked over at him, her eyebrows drawing together.

"Hershel, out there... it's, I mean, it's gone, it's madness," she found herself fairly incapable of properly describing it to him. He patted her shoulder lightly and nodded. "For now, I know it seems bad, but eventually, they'll get this sorted out, they always do." His voice was steady and confident and Linney felt her features stiffen.

"No, I don't think you're right," she said almost immediately, shaking her head at him, "There is no 'they' this time." Hershel gave her a sympathetic smile, "Humans have dealt with plagues since the beginning of time and they always bounce back, it's nature correcting itself." Linney got to her feet, unable to rock back and forth any longer.

"Hershel, listen, we were at the CDC, there is no 'they', no one's cooking up a magic brew to fix this, there is no one in charge anymore." She turned away from him and stared out Daryl, watching as he fussed with a tent peg, then pausing to look over at her, his eyes narrowed against the glare of the sun.

She swallowed and turned back to the old man, "We met a man, at the CDC, a doctor, the last person there, and he told us there is nothing out there, nobody out there. Everything is gone." She took a step closer, staring hard into Hershel's kind eyes, her good hand cradling her bandaged one against her stomach.

"He told us that this was our extinction event, what finally takes us down." Hershel shook his head at her assertion and got to his feet. "I can't believe that, these people are sick, and eventually, it'll work itself out, either through a cure or through some kind of natural intervention." Linney was confused for a moment before she realized that he was talking about the walkers.

"Are you serious?" She asked him, her voice slightly raised and he looked over at her, his expression going tight for a moment. "They are sick people, anyone can see that, they simply need a cure, to heal, to get better." Linney blinked at him and found she had backed up a step away from him, her hand going to her chest in distress at such a ludicrous notion.

"No one is coming to 'fix' these monsters. We are on our own, we have to take care of ourselves, not worry about those undead shitheads." Hershel smiled sadly at her, "I don't believe that," he said again and Linney felt her jaw clench, sudden and rapid fury coursing through her at his smug sureness, his ignorance.

"My dad died, and he tried to eat me. Eat me while I was still alive!" Linney realized she was yelling at him, "He wasn't sick, he was fucking dead! Dead! Rotting already! I had to stab him in the fucking eye so he wouldn't rip me apart!"

Hershel swallowed and shook his head, the pity on his face palpable and Linney felt an angry snarl growing on her face. She wanted to slap the stupid man and drag him out to the highway, show him a herd, drag him to their camp at the quarry, show him their fallen group members. But instead she turned around and limped down the steps, stopping at the bottom and looking back up at him.

"You've been sheltered here, you don't understand what it's like, but you really should, that kind of ignorance will only get your family killed." His face remained impassive and she closed her eyes for a moment. "Sorry," she finally said, waving a hand at him. He nodded and gave her a small smile, before turning and going inside. Linney hung on to the railing and looked down at her feet. Nice way to treat your host, scream and swear at him, good going.

"What's goin' on?" Daryl asked behind her and she turned to look at him, not wanting to get into it. She gestured lamely back at the house. "They live in a dream world," she managed and he nodded, extending a hand to her. "C'mon over to camp." Linney began to limp towards their new camp and ignored his hand.

"For gods sake, let me help you," he grumbled at her and she shook her head. "No, it's just some cuts and scrapes, I need to walk this off as soon as possible." Daryl dropped his hand and walked along next to her.

"Why such a hurry?" He finally asked and she looked up at him briefly, "We need to find Sophia, and I don't think it's safe for us to linger some place where the other people living here don't see the walkers as threats. It's too dangerous for us." Daryl looked around at the safety of the farm and then back down to her. "I think you need to rest," was all he said and she shrugged.

It became obvious, after he gave her the quick tour of their new camp, that Daryl was itching to get back out to find Sophia. But they both knew they had to wait until after the memorial for Otis, out of respect for the Greenes.

Linney sat in a lawn chair outside the RV and Daryl leaned against it next to her as he detailed what he'd like to do that day. Andrea strolled out of the door, overhearing him, and looked over at him askance.

"Do you still really think we're gonna find Sophia?" The blonde asked, her expression unimpressed. Daryl glanced over at her, his face disgusted, and he snapped at her, "You got that look on your face, same as everybody else - what the hell's wrong with you people?"

Andrea said nothing, just raised an eyebrow and looked away. Daryl ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "We just started lookin'!" Linney looked away then too, not really interested in involving herself in an Andrea argument right then, but it looked like Andrea intended to press Daryl.

"Do you really expect to find her, though?" She asked again and Daryl stood up from the RV and walked a few steps away. He turned back to Andrea, his face impassive again, "It ain't the mountains of Tibet, it's Georgia. She could be holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost, it happens all the time." Linney understood that he was reaching the end of his patience with Andrea, he was not a wordy person; for him to go on at length like this meant he was seriously close to losing his cool.

Andrea shrugged and leaned against the RV, "Well, you know, she's only 12." Daryl smirked at her, waving his hand in her direction dismissively. "Hell, I was younger than her when I got lost. Nine days in the woods eatin' berries n' wipin' my ass with poison oak."

Linney pressed her lips together and looked down at her hands in her lap. She felt terrible for young Daryl, but at the same time, was able to see that he probably handled it with a fair amount of Dixon panache, even as a kid. So she felt justified in the wild bubble of laughter that was threatening to push out of her throat. What the hell is wrong with me today? From sad, to furious, to laughing in a 30 minute period.

"They found you?" Andrea asked, curiously and Daryl shook his head, casting a quick, dark glance at Linney, clearly noticing her struggle not to laugh and not happy about it.

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress, Merle was doin' another stint in juvie. They didn't even know I was gone." His voice was casual, but Linney could hear that it was forced. He walked towards her and knelt down next to the lawn chair she was in, making it look like he just wanted to rest, not get closer to Linney.

"I made my way back, though. Went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. I was no worse for wear, 'cept my ass itched somethin' awful." Linney pressed her lips together, the bubble of mirth threatening to escape and she started shaking with silent laughter. She risked a peek over at him and his face was torn between mild amusement and irritation. She tried harder not to laugh and ended up snorting, which threw her over the edge and she burst out into wild peals of laughter.

Daryl and Andrea looked at her in shock, and Linney felt her face going red and couldn't contain her laughter, even as she apologized, "Sorry, I'm sorry, that is a terrible story, I shouldn't laugh!" She laughed harder and Daryl rolled his eyes at her and looked back up at Andrea.

"Well the difference is, Sophia's got people lookin' for her, I call that an advantage." Andrea nodded and said nothing, before heading away, towards the house, her posture clearly stating that her faith in his assertions was nearly non-existent. Daryl glared over at Linney who was struggling to sober herself.

"I'm sorry," she managed, giggling again. "Somethin's broke in yer head," he muttered and she licked her lips before biting down hard on the bottom one, trying to calm herself. "You really shouldn't tell people about having an itchy ass when you tell that story, no one will feel sorry for you."

"Ain't lookin' for sympathy, supposed to be, ya know, inspirational." He said, his voice low, his eyes roving over her face. Linney reached a hand out and patted his cheek once, before looking down at her lap and giggling again.

"Dixon, I gotta tell you, the story is very you, and I would have expected no less than for you to make it home alive, but there is nothing inspirational about an itchy ass."

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Linney listened as Hershel spoke over the cairn they'd built for Otis, the man who'd gone with Shane to get the medical supplies for Carl, the man who died. She glanced at Patricia, his wife, whose stricken face spoke of a depth of pain that Linney hoped she'd never have to know. Linney peeked up at Daryl, standing next to her, his face hard as he stared at the cairn.

Is he thinking of Merle? We never did this for him. Linney shifted uncomfortably, the standing starting to cause her hip to ache. She reached out tentatively and put her hand on the back of Daryl's arm, gripping his forearm lightly, needing the contact, and the balance. He didn't move, but when she looked back up at him, he was looking back at her, his eyes softer. She gave him a small smile and then stiffened when she heard Shane begin to speak, having been urged on by Patricia and Hershel.

Linney barely heard his words; her eyes were glued to his face, watching his features while he spoke. As he spoke she realized that he was lying about something. She blinked several times, looking around to see if it was as obvious to everyone else as it was to her. What is the lie about? What Otis said? What he did? She couldn't figure out what the lie was for. Something niggled at the back of her mind, but when she tried to capture the thought, it slipped away, something about a gun.

She nearly jumped when Daryl's other hand lifted hers off his arm, and she flushed when she realized she'd been gripping it so tightly there were little half-moon crescent nail marks in the skin there. He gave her a curious look and released her hand and she quickly rested it on top of her sore hand.

"If ever a death had meaning, it was Otis'," Shane was saying solemnly to Patricia, and Linney felt her eyes narrow. What meaning does it have though?

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Rick spread the map out on the hood of T-Dog's truck and held the corners down with a few rocks, watching as Daryl lifted Linney up to sit on the hood above it, to get her off her bad hip and leg. She should be resting, he thought, glancing at her worriedly. Shane, Andrea, Maggie and Hershel gathered on the other side of the hood and Hershel looked around at them all before speaking.

"How long as she been missing?" The older man asked, meeting Rick's gaze for a moment.

"This is the third day," Rick replied, noting Linney's wince at the number. Rick turned back to the map, pulling out a pencil and began to draw and sketch on it.

"Ok, so now we'll cut it into grids, search each unit in teams - do this properly." Everyone nodded to him, except Hershel who folded his arms across his chest and nodded towards Rick.

"Not you, not today," Rick looked up at him in surprise and Hershel rolled a hand towards him, "You gave three units of blood, you wouldn't last 5 minutes hiking in this heat." He turned to Shane next and pointed at his feet, "And your ankle; push it now and you'll be laid up for a month." Shane pressed his lips together and looked down at his feet.

Hershel turned to Linney and her face screwed up, angry already, ready to argue. He held a hand up to her, asking for her to keep quiet, one white eyebrow raising, "I don't believe I need to tell you the reasons why you aren't able to do this yet. You need rest and healing, making sure you don't get an infection or rip a stitch."

"I'll be fine, Sophia needs - " Linney began, her voice heated. Rick caught Daryl's eye and the man put a hand on her leg, squeezing a little, and she stopped. "Sophia doesn't benefit from ya gettin' sick or killed," he said in low tones and Linney clenched her teeth but finally nodded to Hershel.

Everyone was silent for a moment and then Daryl tapped a finger on the map. "Looks like it's jus' me, then. Gonna head back to the creek n' work my way back." Rick nodded at him and shaded in an area of the map.

"I'll drive back to the highway, see if she's returned." Shane offered and Rick turned to look around at all their faces. "Tomorrow then, we'll start this thing right," he paused and looked over at Linney, "Except you, you won't be good to look for a while yet." Her face was a thundercloud, but she nodded, looking down at her one clenched fist.

"Everyone needs to be armed, man, if we're gonna be sendin' them out to search. And I mean everyone." Shane said, leaning both hands against the hood, his face hard. Rick nodded but Hershel held up a hand.

"I don't want you to carry guns on my property, we've managed so far to not turn this into an armed camp." Rick turned in surprise to Hershel and stared at him, weighing the determination he saw there. Taking a deep breath, Rick pulled his weapon and put it down on the hood of the truck, looking up to Shane, who glared hard at him, but eventually put his weapon up too, Andrea and Daryl following suit.

Rick looked over at Linney who looked like she might keel over in fury. She met his eyes and spoke through teeth ground together. "I don't have my guns on me anyhow, can't wear them with this," she gestured impatiently at her hip, and then looked up to Hershel.

"This is a huge mistake," she snapped at him, maintaining a level gaze on the man, until he finally shook his head and spoke to Rick. "If it makes your people feel secure, you're welcome to have someone stand on watch, one person with a weapon."

Rick nodded gratefully at him and then turned to Linney. "I'll go ahead and nominate you for that," he said, his voice wry. She smiled, "Good choice, sheriff." Shane surprised him by grunting in agreement, "Absolutely."

There was a moment of silence and Shane cleared his throat, "I don't like to be the one to say this, but someone's gotta: what do we do if we find her and she's been bit?"

Rick took in a deep breath, feeling his chest burn at the thought. He saw Daryl's face harden at the thought and everyone else look away. I don't even want to say it, he thought, his mind flashing briefly to Carol, to Carl, to Lori, to what he was about to instruct them to do.

"We do what we have to do."