A/N: Thanks so much for all the views.

fccbr77, thank you for commenting, it means so much to me! Yes, you'll see what happens to the group throughout those 8 months. Maybe not day by day, cause that could be a book by itself. And definitely more Elena and Daryl, that I promise :)

Review if you like it guys, it motivates me greatly.

Cheers :)

Day 67

I woke up shortly before sunrise, people were still sleeping around me. Small shivers ran down my spine, even with a blanket, it was still cold, and sleeping in the open made it all worse. I stood up quietly, trying to make sure that I wouldn't wake up anyone.

Daryl was gone, so was Rick, though I suspected that the latter didn't get any sleep at all. I moved slowly around the sleeping bodies and walked outside. The sheriff was sitting down, seemed like he's asleep. But the second my feet made noise on the ground, his head turned to me, gun pointed in my direction.

I ignored it and sat down next to him.

"You should go get some sleep."

"Hmm." He didn't move an inch, and I shook my head.

"You not going to be a very useful leader if you'll die from exhaustion," I told him, taking out a cigarette and lighting it up.

"I'm not in the mood for your snarky comments." He snarled at me, and I chuckled, not intimidated one bit.

"Alrighty, but I'm serious. You took a big responsibility. The sun is not up yet, you can get a few hours sleep."

"I killed Shane." He stated simply, that one short sentence showing all the emotional turmoil inside him.

"Yeah, you did. But it was either him or you. We both know that."

"I should've listened to you."

"It's too late now. You have people you're responsible for now."

"Don't you think I know that? All I did since I woke up from the coma was to try to save this group!" He told me, dropping his anger, now only a sad reminder of what he did to his best friend remained.

"Rick, that's why I came here," I told him slowly. "You have Daryl and me. You said last night to leave if we think it's better for us. We didn't, we believe in you."

"You could easily lead the group, why did you allow me?" He obviously didn't understand, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to tell him.

"I could. But I don't want to. Sometimes, even if I usually try to think before I act- well, sometimes I act first and then think."

He nodded, and we were quiet for a second, I flicked the cigarette and watched it land somewhere ahead.

"But I want you to know, you can't have secrets." When I said that, he glanced at me again. "If you think the group shouldn't know, I'm fine with it. But you have to talk to someone, Daryl or Hershel, to me. The burden is yours now, but it doesn't mean you can't share it sometimes."

"Hmm."

It was the end of that conversation. Rick did go to sleep, and I stood guard, waiting for the rest of us to wake up and for Daryl to come back from the hunt. We would have to think about what to do during winter. Most of the forest animals will hibernate, so hunting won't be resourceful. Finding shelter obviously is a priority for the cold months ahead, we can't really afford anyone to get ill, we don't have enough medicine for that. Hell, we don't have any fucking medication. Alright, so that's something we need to think about.

So, the shelter, food, medicine. How hard it can be. I chuckled to myself at that thought. We were fortunate, first with the quarry, then with finding the farm. I wasn't sure how easy it'll be to find another safe place to bunk up. And how long it'd actually last.

Weapons, we also needed knives, so we're not wasting any more ammo, and so we not attracting any more of the walkers. Potentially new wheels or chains to put them over so we can still travel through snow. Oh, Daryl will be so pissed when we have to pack his bike away.

"We going to Senoia first," Rick stated when we were ready to move out. Maggie and Glenn took a car earlier on and managed to collect enough gas to get us going. We stood around the car, map spread on the hood. I was standing next to the sheriff, looking at the map.

"I might have a place to hold up during the winter," I spoke softly, looking at the man next to me. He glanced at me and then at the map.

"Show me."

"Um, here, Palmetto. My house."

"I thought you're from DC," Glenn commented, making me sigh at that.

"I'm from Chicago. I moved to DC to go to university, and my parents moved here to Georgia."

"OK, that's not important," Rick said, impatiently.

"Right. So what I'm saying. If we going to Senoia first, we could try to pick carefully through those towns." I pointed at the map, tracing a journey throughout Sharpsburg, Peachtree City, Newman, and then ending it in Palmetto.

"OK, we'll scavenge what we can see how the towns are looking, maybe they weren't picked up." The sheriff said, and then turned his face to me. "Why do you think your house will be good for winter."

"Um, my dad. He was a bit of a wacko about safety. It's a brick house, so it can't be easily torn apart two entrances, heavy-duty too. It would be better to show you. Sort of hidden."

I could see that he was thinking about it and finally nodded. We quickly packed the rest of our stuff and got into the cars.

Day 75

We picked through Senoia thoroughly, even found a suitable house to stay for some time, until we discovered that we're not the only alive people in the town. Rick decided that it's dangerous to stay there, with unknown people.

Therefore we packed up once again and moved to Sharpsburg. Daryl, Rick, and T-Dog went ahead to scout the area and found a place to hole up. The rest of us stayed on the edge of town, waiting for one of them to come back.

After about an hour, Rick came back, and we got into the cars. We drove through the main street, and it made me realize how small this town was. There were a few shops, houses scattered around, I noticed a gas station and some repair station.

Rick pulled over into a small driveway, and I saw one-story long in shape house. Sheriff maneuvered the cars, so we parked behind it, hidden from the street view. Daryl's bike was already there, the hunter himself nowhere in sight. T opened the doors, inviting us inside.

"We searched the house, opposite we have auto repair. A few minutes away, there's gas station and Dollar General." Rick said once we moved what we had into the house. At that point, we didn't have a lot, only a few backpacks with our clothes, my duffel with guns, a box of canned food, and some blankets. We still needed winter clothes and tires, hopefully, here we'll find it.

"Walkers?" Maggie asked, and Rick shook his head.

"There were few in the streets and two inside here."

"So they either gone or inside the stores," Glenn commented, looking anxious.

"Or there are other people here as well," Beth whispered.

"We didn't see any signs of other people," Rick told us, Lori and Carl took a small couch and were looking around.

"So, what's the plan?" She asked her husband. Their relationship wasn't the best at the moment. And that's putting it mildly. They didn't really talk at all, only at times like that. I could see that she still blamed him for killing Shane, and Rick felt now, that maybe they affair meant more to her than she cares to admit.

"We still got a few hours of daylight." The sheriff said and then pointed at me. "Elena made a list of things we might need through the winter. We gonna go across the street. Search for a good condition pick-up truck and winter tires."

"We have a great location. Auto shop and gas station under our noses." I told them. "Today, we should have time to pick up both."

"Splitting up?" Maggie asked, pacing around the room.

"No." I shook my head. "We don't know this town. We go together to both places. Search for tires or chains we can mount on them. The truck has to got enough space for Daryl's bike; he won't be able to use it once snow hits. And I doubt he'll be happy with leaving it behind."

"Damn right, I won't." Gravely voice said from behind me, making me smile widely.

"Welcome back, Dixon. Anyway, I was saying. Also, look at blunt weapons, we can't keep using guns. And then we move to the gas station, see if there's anything left."

"OK, here's how it's gonna go. Daryl, Elena, Glenn, and I will go in first. We check for walkers, clear it. Maggie, you and T-Dog will stand guard. The rest of you'll stay here, organize our things." Rick ordered, and we started to move around. I made sure that my knives are secured in the reins and on my thighs. I passed the machete to Rick, informing him that it's just borrowing, and he can't keep it. There was a shadow of a smile, so I took it as a small victory. My quiver sat nicely on my back, and the bow was in my hands.

I watched Daryl pass a few squirrels to Carol, so she can skin and prep them while we're gone. In the past week, we showed her how to do it properly without spoiling the meat.

Rick showed Hershel place on the map and instructed him to go there if they hear multiple gunshots. Just in case we're attacked or overrun by walkers. Wait for us for a day, if we're not back... Well, to keep his family safe. Quite grim instructions, if you'd ask me.

We left the house and quickly made it across the street, a single walker was wandering around, and he was immediately taken down by Daryl. I took Glenn with me to check the back, making sure that there aren't any more behind the shop, but it was empty.

When we reached the front again, Rick and T stood next to a white truck, looking at it and whispering between themselves. It was four-seater with a big enough tail to fit Dixon's bike.

"We gonna take that one," Rick said as soon as he saw us come back. "It has gas in it and right tires."

"Sounds good. It's clear behind." I told him and moved forward to the door. In the past week, we got a system going. If possible, bang on the door first, wait to attract walkers, so we're not surprised in constricted spaces. And that's what Daryl was doing right now.

The shop looked untouched. I mean, windows weren't covered, and doors weren't busted, but we couldn't be sure if it's empty. After a few moments, we heard shuffling and groans from the inside. One walker threw himself at the window, making me jump a little.

"Sounds like four, maybe five," Daryl told us, listening carefully through the door.

"OK, people, stand back. Daryl, you open the door. Elena, you first, take down two, then switch to the bow. Glenn you and I on both sides of her, once she throws her knives, we take down the rest." Rick ordered, and we all moved further back, so we had enough time to react when walkers bust from the door. I swang my bow around me and grabbed two knives, breathing steady.

"T, Maggie, watch our backs. Daryl, ready?"

Hunter nodded in reply, and Rick told him to go for it. Daryl pulled the door and- nothing. It was locked. I laughed at that, gaining myself a glare from both men.

"Are ya gonna laugh or do somethin' about it?" I smacked my lips and strode over to the door, reaching into my back pocket.

"You should be nicer to the only person who can break in without destroying the door," I told him when I worked on the lock. Walkers behind the door were getting restless, all the noise we made getting their attention, groans got louder, and they were scratching at walls, banging on the windows. After a few minutes, I finally heard the clicking sound and quickly hid my picklocks, jogging back to my position.

"Now we're ready. Open her up, Dixon." I told him, spreading my legs for better balance, watching the entrance. He did just that, hiding behind the doors as geeks spilled out.

One. I threw the knife at the first that came out that door, making it fall forward, slowing the others by a bit.

Two. They were starved, the white eyes looking through us, hands reaching, trying to make us the next meal. I thrust the second knife, and the walker stumbled back, pushing the other before it fell down.

Three. I moved back and grabbed my bow, linning the arrow on the notch. At this same time, Rick moved forward, grabbing one of the geeks and swinging the machete right in its forehead.

Four. Glenn stepped aside when dead woman launched herself at him, he kicked its legs, making it fall down. Swinging the hatchet over his head, he plunged it in the walker's brain.

Five. Daryl stepped from behind the door and used his crossbow to take down the last one. Or it would be the last one. When he moved, he stood in front of the entrance, so he didn't see the other walker that was sneaking behind him.

"Duck, Dixon!" I shouted, pulling the string and letting the arrow go, the second I saw hunter crouch down.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Rick moved forward. I walked between the bodies, collecting my knives.

The rest of the day went smoothly. There weren't any more surprises inside. We found two sets of tires and some chains that could be easily attached. We gathered some tools, both T-Dog and Maggie grabbing something that could easily be used against walkers. We might be able to get something better at Dollar General tomorrow, though. We loaded it all into the pick-up, and T drove it to the gas station.

When we got there, three walkers lied on the ground around the car, T-Dog looking so proud of himself, until Rick grilled into him for risking his life, all by himself. But that was it, no more geeks inside, even though the station was mostly scavenged, men managed to get some gas into the containers.

Overall it wasn't a bad day. We ate some dinner, barricaded both doors, and assigned watch. I would take the first one, then Daryl and finally Rick. I was actually sitting with both men right now, discussing plans for tomorrow. The sheriff listened to what I said a week ago. He's in charge, having the last word but using us to bounce the ideas was helpful.

"So Dollar General. What you think we need?"

"If we're going to spend winter at my house we'll need candles, or maybe like oil lamps? There's only one generator, and it's quite small. Winter clothes. If they have a gas canister. The canned food, of course, if there's any left. Winter clothes, mainly jackets and shoes, thick socks."

"Water, blankets," Daryl added, and I nodded.

"Palmetto is bigger, and I think it might have more walkers. And because it has more stores and supermarkets, I think it will already be scavenged. We can't risk going into the winter without the supplies."

"And you don't think it's dangerous for us to go there?" Rick asked me, stroking his chin, something he always did when deep in thought.

"No." I shook my head, taking a deep breath. "It's on the outskirts. Three other houses around. A pharmacy and a small food store. That's it, the rest is further into the town."

"Why didn't you mention it sooner?" I knew that sheriff will ask me that type of question. "Why didn't you stay there, if you're so sure it's safe."

"I never said it's safe," I told him dryly, looking earnestly at both men. "It's safer than what we're doing now. I didn't stay because I had orders to head to Atlanta." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second. "And I didn't mention it because that house is full of memories, bad memories."

"What kind?" Daryl asked me softly, his husky southern drawl, calming my nerves, making me warm inside, like every time he spoke.

"My parents were murdered there." They went silent, and I could feel their eyes on me, but stubbornly I looked through the window. "Both of you, off to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow. We can talk more about this once we're at my house. I might need it then."

Day 76

Morning came too quickly, my muscles were sore, and I was hungry. Not eating enough was starting to show, I couldn't imagine how Lori felt. She was throwing up every day for the past week, and whoever named it 'morning sickness' was stupid, because she was going at it all day.

Carol smiled at me when I walked into the main room, passing me a plate with meat and some canned peas.

"Morning, you slept well?"

"Hmm." I grabbed the plate and water sitting down next to Glenn. "I miss fucking coffee."

"You're not the only one." The young man replied, shoving a portion of a squirrel into his mouth.

"OK, you're all up and about." Rick came into the room, rest of the group quickly following. Yes, I was almost the last one to wake up, but for once, I didn't feel guilty. I was taking a lot of night watches, past few days, and I had to regenerate. "We going in just like yesterday. Plus, Carl." At that, I nearly choked on my food. Is he mental? Taking the boy wasn't a good idea.

"Are you sure?" Maggie asked him, voicing my own thoughts.

"Yeah, he wants to come, and he needs to learn. Elena, can we please borrow your Wesson with suppressor? He's a good shot." Still, in a slight state of shock, I nodded. I'm mean, what else was I going to say? "Great. Inside the shop, we'll spread out. Maggie and Glenn, you'll look for hygiene stuff and meds. Elena and Daryl, you'll gather all food you can. Carl, T-Dog and I will see if we can find a grill, candles, and winter clothes. We move out in ten."

I quickly finished my breakfast and put my weapons on. I grabbed my spare gun and screwed in the suppressor, checked the clip. I found Carl by the door, bouncing on the hills of his feet, ready to go.

"Alrighty, kiddo," I spoke and showed him the gun. I handed him a spare magazine, and he stashed it in his pocket. "Here's safety, always on when you put it away, you don't want to shoot yourself. You release the magazine in here and load it like that." I showed him the mechanics of the gun, then put the safety on, giving him the gun.

"I know." He answered and hold the gun, getting used to the weight.

"Please, remember it's not a toy," I said softly, squeezing his arm gently.

I went back to my stuff and put on a jacket, now I was ready to go.

The store wasn't a bust per se, but it was already picked through. There were only a few walkers inside, and we quickly took care of them.

I suspected that this town fell early on, or the majority of the people went to Atlanta. There was dust on all the products, suggesting that no one was here in some time. We went all together to the clothes section first, grabbing spare bags. Rick, Carl, and T stayed there, sheriff holding a piece of paper where Lori wrote down our sizes.

Daryl and I moved into the food section, and that's where we didn't have much luck. Most of the shelves were empty, but there's always something that people missed. We filled three bags, full of cereal and cans. There were soups and fruits, sweetcorn, beans. It seemed like a lot of people went for a fresh food first, their first mistake. I packed snacks, chips, and sweets, cookies, which were still in date. There were few boxes of crackers left, some nuts. If we're lucky and smart about all of that will get us going for a few weeks. But it means we need to find another shop, more food to stock up for the winter.

I grabbed the remaining pasta and rice, even if by itself, it's something to eat, as long as we have water to cook it with. That's riskier. On the subject of water. There was one sixpack, rest just a fizzy drinks and cans left.

"That will have to do," I told Daryl, and he nodded at me. He just finished packing forth bag with drinks. There wasn't really anything else to take, so we strolled towards the entrance. Glenn and Maggie were already waiting, they had only one bag, and didn't really look happy.

"You alright?" I asked them, and they nodded.

"Close call with a walker," Maggie answered, now that she mentioned it, I could see that front of her shirt and neck were covert in blood.

"And there wasn't a lot left. Some tampons and shampoo. And one package of aspirin, that's it." Glenn added, making me frown. True, hygiene shit wasn't that important, but meds were.

"There's a small pharmacy, two miles out," Daryl said, leaning against the wall. "Elena and I could check it out."

"Sounds like a plan." Rick's voice came from behind me, making me turn, to look them over. They had a few bags with them, and a fresh set of clothes on.

"We got clothes, new underwear, shoes, socks. Next time, one of you goes for panties and bras." The black man said, visibly embarrassed, pointing between Maggie and me. We chuckled at that, and I waved my finger at that.

"It better be nice, I don't need granny panties."

"OK, let's roll back, Elena; if you going with Daryl, I want you to take your walkie-talkie. We found some spare batteries." Rick said, handing me the box. "If something goes wrong, you can tell us. We don't need surprises like in Senoia."

I had my backpack with me, with some water and protein bars, but that's it. We needed it empty for the medicine, if there was any left, of course. We took one of the spare bags as well. I loved the feeling of riding a bike with Daryl. The wind in my hair and warmth of his body felt incredible. The only problem was that I had to touch him. I mean, it was a problem only because it didn't help me in slightest in trying to squish down those feelings I had. No, instead, they seemed to grow and progress with each passing day, with every conversation where I'd found out more and more about him.

Daryl parked the bike, and I took my hands off him, momentarily feeling colder. I ran to the entrance and checked the door. It wasn't locked, I banged on it and listen intensely for any sounds.

"I can't hear anything."

"Open it," Daryl told me and stood with his crossbow up, pointing at the entrance. I grabbed my machete, which Rick politely returned and yanked the door, but nothing came through. The building was small, one counter, shelves on the two walls, and one single row in the middle. We quickly checked it, making sure that they aren't any walkers inside.

"It's clear," I told him, and he grunted.

"Yeah, so are meds." He commented, looking at semi-empty shelves.

"Well, let's check that, for sure." He was right, there was some cough medicine left and more aspirin. Well, there was gauze and bandages, so I packed that too. A lone bottle of Tylenol, and that's it. I chuckled when I found some condoms, reaching out for them."

"Why ya laughing?" Daryl furrowed his brow at me, so I showed him. His face got crimson red in seconds, making me just laugh more. "What ya need it for, woman."

"It's for Glenn and Maggie, you idiot. I don't need that." The last sentence was quiet, and I kicked myself for how sad and bitter it sounded. I think he realized it too, because he moved towards me, searching my eyes.

"Why?"

"Can't have kids, don't need protection." Well, that conversation changed quickly. I cleared my throat and looked around the room, spotting some cabinets behind the counter. Walking over around it, I noticed a dead body lying on the ground. It used to be a woman, still dressed in a white coat, a small revolver in her hand. And a gaping hole at the side of her head.

I tried the cabinets, but they were all locked. I crouched down, knocking down some bottles off the counter. Glass shattered, and I closed my eyes for a second.

"Fuck. Sorry," I said out loud.

"Ya fine?"

"Yeah, just fucking clumsy, sorry. I'm looking for keys to those. If we're lucky, they kept more serious meds inside." I told him and searched the body for keys. I found them in the left coat pocket, and I stood up, making victorious noise, smiling widely at Daryl. But that quickly morphed into the panic as I noticed dozens of walkers walking towards the door. They already passed the bike, and there were so many.

"Daryl!" I moved around the counter, pointing at the front, and he spun around reading his crossbow. I ran to the door, shutting it, before any could get in, twisting the lock.

"Move!" Daryl told me and started pushing one of the hefty, metal shelves from the middle to the door. I walked over to him, together we blocked it, but now we were trapped. And there was a possibility that they'll bust through the windows.

I quickened my pace and got behind the counter again, opening the four cabinets. They were fully stocked. I completely filled up my backpack, and there was still more.

"El, they gonna breakthrough," Daryl whispered from behind me. "Check that door."

He pulled me behind him when the first cracks of glass were heard. He opened the door behind the counter, quickly raising his crossbow, pointing around.

"Empty, come on!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me in, shutting the door. I locked it with one of the keys and rushed to the bookcase that was on the left of a small office and started moving it towards the only entrance. Daryl quickly helped me, and we stepped back, listening. There was breaking glass noises and shuffling of feet, groans everywhere.

I looked around for the first time, noticing a desk with a chair and small sofa with ugly as fuck orange, patterned blanket. There was a small round window just under the ceiling. Too high, plus we wouldn't fit through it. So we're fucked.

"We need to wait them out," I told the man. Daryl moved the sofa, so it was against the bookcase, blocking the door further, and sat down on it. Well, at least it'll give me time to sort through the meds. But first I had to talk to the sheriff, he probably won't be very pleased.

"Rick, do you copy?" I talked to the radio and released the button, waiting for a reply.

"Copy. What's wrong?" Yeah, I could hear it in his voice when walkie-talkie cracked, he was worried.

"So, funny story." I started, and Daryl cocked his eyebrow at the choice of words, mumbling something under his nose. "We're in the pharmacy. In the back room. The main one is full of walkers."

"We're coming to get you."

"No, wait! No point. There's too many now. We going to wait 'till the morning. By then, the majority of them should move on."

"Are you sure? We could drive them away."

"Look, no point in wasting gas. We got water and something to eat. You could come in the morning, get the remaining walkers."

"Alright, I'll talk to you in the morning. Over and out." The radio cracked for the last time, and I sighed.

I won't hear an end to this, letting ourselves get trapped. I sorted through the meds, putting aside ones, which won't be useful to us, and repacked them. I took out protein bars and water and shared it with Daryl in comfortable silence.

We talked for a while about the past and future. The hunter told me about his mom and how she died, and I told him some funny stories from my childhood. I don't even know when exactly I fell asleep. What I know, though, is that I woke up the next morning with Daryl's arms wrapped around me. We moved during the night, and he was lying on his back with me on top of him. And it was the best damn sleep I had in years. It was a good morning.

Until he woke up, of course.