Rhiannon couldn't erase the smile from her face as she stared down at the shining ring on her finger. She was completely lost in thought, reminiscing about the day before, and the night before.

She wouldn't trade the memory of Daryl's smile as he placed the ring on her finger or the pleasurable ache between her thighs for anything.

"Hey, you listening?" Michonne's voice caught her attention, making her stand up straighter and face the woman with a look of innocence.

"Yeah, of course."

"Ok, what did I just say?"

"Given what all of you have been talking about all morning, I'm sure it was something about me and Daryl." Rhiannon smiled, teasing her friend for all the giddy smiles the newlywed couple had received the moment they showed their faces that morning.

Michonne playfully glared at Rhiannon, though the mention of the married couple had yet another smile forming.

"Actually we were talking about the plan for today, but good guess." Michonne answered smugly. "But I don't blame you for not listening, that ring is pretty damn gorgeous. He did a good job, or did you pick that out?" She asked as she grabbed Rhiannon's hand to look at the shining diamond up close.

"Nope, that was all him."

"Damn, who knew Dixon had it in him?"

Rhiannon laughed softly. She still couldn't believe it. Even when Daryl had woken her with soft kisses across her shoulder, as she stared up at those blue eyes of his and as he whispered the words 'good morning Miss Dixon' did she still think it was a dream, too good to be true.

The dreamy look in Rhiannon's eyes and the small smirk on her face had Michonne smiling knowingly and nudging her in the side lightly, catching her attention once again.

"I'm guessing that night of consummating was good?" She teased playfully, making Rhiannon's eyes widen and look over at her friend with minute fear that her and Daryl had been too loud and everyone knew exactly what they'd been doing at all hours of the night.

"Shut up." She mumbled bashfully.

Michonne laughed loudly at her expense just as Daryl was approaching, the two of them sharing a sly smile to each other as he came to her side.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Rhiannon said quickly before Michonne could give her explanation and embarrass him. He looked down at her with a raised brow, clearly suspicious.

"So, how'd you sleep?" Michonne asked and Rhiannon looked at her with wide, pleading eyes, begging her not to tease her husband. Daryl, not understanding what she was insinuating and just what she was teasing him about, stared back at her with narrowed eyes.

"Fine, you?"

Rhiannon and Michonne looked at each other for a second before they both burst out laughing at Daryl's clueless response. Daryl scowled halfheartedly at both of them before rolling his eyes.

"Crazy women." He muttered as he walked away, moving to fill the cars with supplies for the day.

"How that man ever gained the awareness to propose, I'll never know." Michonne joked.

"Stop. If you must know, he was actually very romantic."

"That, I'd pay to see."

"Hey, you guys ready? We're headin' out soon." Daryl called out to them, interrupting Michonne's non-stop teasing before Rhiannon could even respond.

"Yeah, we're coming."

Before Rhiannon made her way towards the gates, she turned back to the house, walking back to Carl who was cradling Judith in his arms. She couldn't leave without saying goodbye. She kissed the baby's forehead, running her fingers across her downy hair.

"See you later, Jude. Make sure you look out for your big brother and keep him out of trouble." She cooed, making Carl roll his eyes playfully at her.

"Be safe out there." He told her and Rhiannon looked at him, a soft smile on her face.

"I will. You be good, take care of the little one." She patted down the brim of his hat over his eyes, as she'd done what seemed like years ago when he was younger. Her actions caused Judith to giggle as she watched her big brother fix his hat.

Rhiannon felt an aching in her chest at the sound and her smile faltered slightly before she quickly steeled her expression to avoid anyone seeing her weakness. But Carl noticed, he saw the sadness in her eyes and the pure love she had for Judith that made her long for her own baby.

But he didn't say anything. Something that made her love him all the more.

"I'll see you soon." She said softly, giving the teenager a quick hug before she left his side.

Rhiannon was stopped by Carol along the way to the cars, earning her yet another lecture to be careful.

"It's just a test run, I'll be fine." Rhiannon assured her, but the motherly sternness in her expression didn't change.

"I know, but anything could happen, right? You wanna live to see your honeymoon, don't you?"

"Oh yeah, gotta live so Daryl and I can jet off to Hawaii."

"I'm serious, Rhiannon. You be careful out there, you need to watch your back with those Alexandrians."

Rhiannon frowned at the dark tone in Carol's voice and the fierceness in her eyes. She didn't think she'd ever heard her sound so callous before. It was unnerving.

"They're inexperienced, not malicious, Carol. I'll be ok. It's just a test run."

"You just never know." Carol told her. "If it comes down to you or them, you choose yourself, every time."

Rhiannon opened her mouth to argue back, but suddenly stopped, a deep frown growing when her gaze lifted and she spotted Alex across the street, his steely glare locked on her. Carol, noticing how tense her friend was beside her, looked down at Rhiannon questioningly before raising her head, following her gaze to her ex.

Carol clenched her jaw and moved to grab the knife she kept at her belt, but Rhiannon quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"Don't, he's not worth it."

"He keeps pushing his luck, I don't know how much patience I'll have left." Carol spoke lowly, her cold scowl locked onto Alex.

"I know. Trust me, you're not the only one wanting to skewer him, but we can't, not now. We got a whole bunch of shit more important to worry about."

Rhiannon watched as Alex pulled a leggy redhead into his arms and kissed her heatedly, obnoxiously groping her in view of everyone. She guessed that was his fuckbuddy her friends had told her about. She watched with a narrowed gaze as her ex tried to rub in her face his new relationship, if you could even call it that.

"Classy." Carol spat out, rolling her eyes as she averted her gaze from the scene in front of her. "I'm guessing he heard the news about you and Daryl. Does he really think that's gonna make you jealous?"

Rhiannon shrugged. "I don't even wanna take a guess about how his mind works."

Carol sighed and reached out, grabbing Rhiannon's hands in hers. "Don't let him get to you, don't even think about him out there. You just focus on getting back to us."

"I will."

Carol smiled and pulled her forward, hugging her tightly. "I'll see you soon… Mrs. Dixon."

Rhiannon rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile widely. She didn't think she'd ever get over hearing that.

"Bye." She said exaggeratedly, pretending to be annoyed as she finally made her way to the gates.

She gave a wave to Maggie as she passed, the sisters sharing a smile with each other. As she made her way to Daryl where he sat on his motorcycle, she couldn't help but think of Carol's earlier words.

Her eyes carefully watched the Alexandrians as they got ready to leave and a shiver rushed down her spine at the thought of them losing their cool out there, of leaving her behind to save themselves.

She shook her head. She might not have known them all that well but she knew it was unfair to judge them. But she couldn't help the nagging worry in the back of her mind.

Daryl looked up, his eyes searching across the crowd around them before finally landing on her, his shoulder's relaxing instantly.

Rhiannon shared a sultry smile with him as she got on the back of his bike, wrapping her arms around him tightly, maybe squeezing a little more than what was necessary, but she didn't care.

"You ready?"

She nodded, laying her head on her husband's back as he started the engine, the purring underneath her a calming sound. She suddenly felt Daryl tense against her and she looked up, her body going rigid herself as she saw Alex passing by them, a smug smirk on his face as he made his way to the truck beside them.

"Asshole." Daryl muttered.

"Don't let him get to you." She whispered in his ear. "It's a beautiful day and I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to a lot more celebrating once we're done today."

Daryl looked back at her, his brows raising teasingly, that knee trembling smirk on his face.

"When I was out there with Aaron, I saw a cabin a few miles out. Once we deal with the quarry tomorrow, wanna head out, take a little time away?" He offered and Rhiannon smiled shyly, the prospect of alone time with Daryl making her stomach flutter with butterflies.

"I'd love that."

Thoughts of Alex and whatever manipulation he was trying to accomplish were long gone as her mind was now overcome with the dirtiest thoughts of her and Daryl and what they could do with no one around.

The ride to the quarry was quick and soon all good feelings were gone as Rhiannon stared down at the thousands of walkers that were trapped below them. She suppressed a shiver and took large steps back from the edge, pointedly looking away from the walkers.

"You think we'd be used to it by now." Michonne muttered with the same look of horror on her face.

"I know this sounds insane, but this is an insane world." Rick said, addressing the group as he took center stage. "We have to come for them before they come for us, it's that simple." He looked back at the walkers behind him with a grimace. "This is where it all starts tomorrow. Tobin gets in the truck, opens the exit and we're off. He catches up with his team at red on the west side of the road. Daryl gets on his bike-"

Rick was cut off as a loud crash sounded behind him. Everyone tensed, their stony gazes turning to the quarry.

"You see that?" Sasha yelled frantically.

Rhiannon instinctively took a step closer to Daryl who was already at her side and they watched with terror as one of the trucks blocking the exit fell, opening the quarry.

"It's open! We gotta do this now!" Rick yelled to them.

"Fuck." Rhiannon muttered and she pulled the weapon off her back as she prepared for the crowd of walkers that was slowly approaching. She was stunned as she watched Rick bark out orders, as the others raced to where they needed to be.

She moved forward, stopping Rob as he walked past her.

"Be careful." She told him, her voice sounding weak, betraying just how nervous she was for her friend.

Rob smiled at her, though it was barely convincing. She could see the fear in his eyes clear as day.

"You too."

Rhiannon watched with a lump in her throat as her friend left her side. She was terrified for him, he'd never done anything like this before, had never faced walkers at this scale before. She had some relief knowing he would be with Michonne, Rick and Morgan, but nothing could ever make her feel better until she saw Rob back at home, safe and sound.

"Hey, you with me?" Glenn asked her, breaking her from her thoughts and she nodded, getting back into gear.

"Of course."

"Rick, we'll hit the tractor place."

Rhiannon moved to follow Glenn, but a tug on her arm stopped her. Daryl was looking down at her, a deep crease in his brows as worry and fear plagued him. He had a million things he wanted to say to her. He wanted to tell her to be careful, to assure her that he would be careful, to promise that they'd see each other again, that things would go according to plan and they'd get to that cabin in the woods.

He wanted to tell her he loved her, that he always would, no matter what happened today. He wanted to run away with her, be the husband she deserved, love her the way she deserved. He wanted to grab her tightly, hold her, kiss her until he was breathless and tell her everything was going to be ok.

But he couldn't say anything. His mind was moving a mile a minute and he was too scared to voice any of what he wanted to say to her.

"Rhi… I-"

"I know." She interrupted, knowing he was struggling. "You can say it all when I see you at home."

Daryl let out a harsh breath and squeezed his eyes shut tightly in what looked like agony. He hated this. He knew it wouldn't be easy to leave her side, but he thought he'd have another day to get his mind around it.

He wasn't ready for this yet. None of them were.

"Be safe." He told her. He looked at her intently, a tortured expression on his face, before pulling her into his arms tightly, letting his forehead rest against hers. "God damn it, you better be safe." He whispered to her, his voice sounding tortured with worry.

Rhiannon swallowed the lump in her throat and held him tightly, inhaling his woodsy scent she loved in an effort to calm her nerves. The thought of him with all those walkers at his back made her stomach turn.

"I love you."

"Love you too, Darlin'." He leaned down, pressing the quickest of kisses to her lips. "I'll see you at home."

"I'll be waiting for that warrior's welcome home." She teased, sending him a wink as she walked backwards away from him.

Daryl was stunned for a moment, his wide eyes watching her walk away, before he slowly smiled at her, his stomach fluttering wildly at her words, at the way she so effortlessly made everything easier to face.

"Don't you worry, Half pint. We'll keep your lover boy safe." Abraham called out to her with a teasing grin as he got into the passenger seat of the car that would be leading the walkers away with Daryl.

Rhiannon sighed and shook her head before looking to Sasha who was rolling her eyes.

"Good luck." Rhiannon said to her pointedly. Sasha laughed slightly and nodded.

"You too."

Rhiannon, sparing one last glance to Daryl who she found already looking at her, let out a deep exhale, her heart racing rapidly in her chest, before finally allowing herself to tear her eyes away from him and focus on the job she had to do.

Though she doubted it would be possible for him to leave her mind at all.

She ran with all her might and caught up to Glenn, her eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of Nicholas running beside Heath with them.

"What the hell is he doing here?" She hissed to Glenn as they ran together.

"He wants to help."

"He makes one wrong move-"

"I know." Glenn interrupted her. "I don't like it either, but we don't have a choice now. We need all the help we can get."

Rhiannon bit her lip in an effort to keep her mouth shut, to not argue against Glenn. She knew they needed every capable hand at their disposal, but that didn't mean she could accept Nicholas, or even begin to trust him.

"Glenn, you guys have to hurry. The noise could distract them right off the road." Rick's voice came in through the walkie Glenn held.

Rhiannon and Glenn shared a worried look before running faster, their chests heaving with effort, as the building came into view.

Rhiannon panted, her steps slowing as they all stood in front of the store that was bustling with walkers. She peered in through the dirty window, trying to gage how many were in there, how much of a threat this place posed, but the windows were so dirty, it was too hard to tell.

"Sounds like a lot." Nicholas said fearfully.

"We gotta get it quiet."

"How?"

"We gotta take them out." Rhiannon answered simply with a shrug, as if it were obvious.

Seeing the hesitant looks on both Nicholas and Health, Glenn sighed and stepped forward.

"We'll do it a few at a time so we don't get overwhelmed." He told them in an effort to ease their minds, though they still looked fearful at what they were about to face.

They made their way to the front of the building, finding the entrance doors.

"Alright, Nicholas, you're at the door. You let one or two out then you close it. That's the trick, that's how we control it." Glenn ordered.

Rhiannon's surly gaze was locked onto the doors as she pulled her gun out of her waistband, preparing herself for what was next.

"Wait, what if we can't close it?" Heath asked nervously.

"Then we take them on."

"We take them on?" He asked in disbelief.

"You got a better idea? Either we get rid of them or they get rid of us and they blow this whole plan to shit. We don't have another choice." Rhiannon told him sternly. They didn't have time to waver, they needed to do this now.

"If we get into trouble, we go behind the building and into the woods where we draw them away." Glenn offered as a solution, one that sounded much better than the harsh one Rhiannon had propsed.

Health still looked skeptical and he shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, we gotta listen to them. They know what they're doing. Me and Aiden, we didn't." Nicholas told him.

Both Glenn and Rhiannon looked at the man with shocked expressions at his willingness to stick up for them. After everything they'd been through together, that was the last thing either of them expected.

Heath sighed, but reached for the knife in his waistband, showing his will to help.

"This was supposed to be a dress rehearsal." He stressed.

"I'm supposed to be delivering pizzas, man." Glenn told him and Rhiannon laughed lightly.

"I'm supposed to be twirling around in a tutu. Life's fucked if you haven't noticed." She added lightheartedly, making Heath scoff lightly.

"Oh, I definitely noticed." He muttered darkly.

"Look, Daryl's leading them this way and they're closing in. That noise is gonna pull the herd right off the road and then we have serious trouble. We have to do this."

Health looked at Glenn and Rhiannon, his eyes flickering between the two with a look of contemplation before he finally sighed, bowing his head slightly before nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, ok." He finally relented.

"Alright, let's do this."

"On three, ready?"

Rhiannon tightened her grip on her gun, moving closer to the door as Glenn counted down. She raised her weapon, ready to shoot as soon as the door opened, but her shoulders sagged and she squeezed her eyes shut in frustration as she saw the shutters behind the door, the barriers keeping the walkers behind and effectively derailing their few at a time plan.

"Fuck." She hissed angrily. She craned her neck, her eyes frantically looking to the road behind them, as if expecting to see Daryl with a thousand walkers behind him, ready to see this all go to shit.

She didn't hear that familiar roar of an engine, she knew they at least had a few minutes to spare, but that was it. They had to figure something out and fast before this plan was ruined.

The thought of Daryl getting hurt, of the walkers coming after him, all because they couldn't keep the building quiet, made her feel sick. She shook her head from the thoughts, knowing she'd be no help if she went down that train of thought.

"Now what?" Heath asked frustratedly.

"We gotta do this now. Take them all on. You ready?" Rhiannon asked, looking back at Nicholas and Health who looked like they were shaking in their boots.

"No, but I ain't really got a choice, now do I?"

"That's the spirit." She muttered sarcastically, sharing an impatient look with Glenn who glared at her softly for her attitude. "Let's do this." She told him, unbothered if she was being too harsh with them.

Glenn rolled his eyes and aimed his gun, firing at the window the walkers were banging on, shattering the glass. Within seconds, the corpses were falling out of the gap, their jaws snapping at the sight of them as they started to approach slowly.

Rhiannon fired off shot after shot, watching with satisfaction as walker after walker fell. It wasn't long before she was out of bullets and the walkers kept coming, making their way closer to them, a little too close to comfort for her. She threw the gun to the side and quickly pulled her sword off her back.

She swung at the walker that was closest, it's rotting arms just inches from her. As soon as it fell, she was stepping closer to the building, swinging viciously at every walker in her path. The crowd of the dead began to get bigger as the others reloaded her weapons and Rhiannon grunted with effort as she took out every walker she could so they didn't get to the others.

Her arms ached at the continuous swinging and she could feel herself beginning to get tired. Her shoulder injury wasn't completely healed and she knew she would be feeling it by the end of the day.

"Watch the aim!" Glenn yelled to the others as he pointed his newly loaded weapon, making sure no stray bullets fired too close to Rhiannon.

Rhiannon stabbed the last walker to stumble out of the building and she quickly turned on her heel, her eyes narrowing as she saw Glenn struggling with a walker that was close to taking a chunk out of his neck.

She sprinted forward, grabbing the walker by the shoulders and throwing it to the ground. Glenn quickly raised his gun, taking the corpse out with one shot.

Rhiannon exhaled loudly, blowing a strand of hair that fell in front of her eyes. They all waited a few seconds, but there was no sound, no sight of any other walker.

"That's it."

"Good. Let's go."

Rhiannon looked at the corpses on the ground and sighed heavily before they all began to run to the meeting point. She felt better knowing they had taken care of one kink in the plan, that the rest of the day could run smoothly now, that there was one less threat to Daryl.

It didn't take them long to meet up with the others.

She spotted Michonne first, who sighed in relief at the sight of them. She approached Rhiannon quickly, her hand reaching out for hers and squeezing tightly.

"Everything go ok?"

"Yeah, we got it sorted, no problem."

"Good." Rick answered, his eyes locked onto the herd of walkers past the tree line. "We need to finish this, we have to keep movin' and fan out, front to back. Glenn you take the back. They get sloppy, we fire our weapons, pull them back on track."

Rhiannon, seeing the majority of the group following Glenn to cover the back half of the herd, started to make her way to the front with Rick and Michonne.

"Be careful." She called out to Glenn who nodded, smiling lightly at her.

"You too."

As they made their way forward, Rhiannon tensed as she noticed Alex following them. She kept her eyes on the ground, refusing to make eye contact with him. She felt her skin crawl as he stepped closer to her, practically walking side by side with her.

Rick looked over his shoulder, making sure everyone was in line, and his eyes narrowed as he saw Alex next to Rhiannon. His jaw clenched as anger washed over him.

"No, you go to the back." He ordered, making Alex look up in confusion.

"What?"

"We got enough people up here, go watch the back."

Alex scoffed, having the audacity to look offended that Rick was giving him orders. He squared his shoulders, readying himself to argue, but Rick wasn't having it. He stomped forward, grabbing Alex by the collar of the shirt and pushing him against the tree behind him.

"I know what you're tryin' to do and it ain't gonna work on me. You're jealous, you're angry, I don't give a shit. Any other day, I'd just beat your ass into the ground and call it a day, but I don't have the time right now. So you go to the other group, you stay away from Rhiannon and keep that big mouth of yours shut or I will make time to beat your ass. I don't care if there's a herd beside me or not, I will make that my new number one priority."

Rhiannon stood frozen in spot with her mouth agape as she watched Rick threaten her ex.

"You understand?" Rick asked when he received no answer from Alex who was watching the leader with a narrowed gaze, uncertainty in his eyes.

He nodded slowly, shamefully, refusing to meet the leader's glare.

"Good. Now go." Rick sneered, finally letting him go.

Alex didn't look at Rhiannon as he left, but he gave the others a dirty look before turning his back on them and jogging to meet up with the other group.

Rhiannon let out a shaking breath as he left, running her hands over her face.

"You ok?" Rick asked and he moved to her side, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder comfortingly.

She nodded wordlessly. She felt embarrassed by her ex boyfriend's behaviour, as if it were her fault. She hated that she had this target on her back, that Alex didn't stop in his attempt at getting under her skin every possible second.

She hated him.

"You didn't have to do that." She spoke quietly.

"He's been playin' too fast and loose with the rules and gettin' away with it. I had to say somethin'." Rick told her softly, sensing that she was feeling embarrassed.

Rhiannon smiled softly at the protectiveness she heard in his voice. She looked up at him, finally meeting his eyes and the relief he saw in her gaze had him smiling sadly at her.

"Thank you."

Rick nodded to her, understanding how much it meant to her that he had stood up for her. He squeezed her shoulder one last time before letting go and continued on with his fast pace, his shoulders tensing as he once again became the hard ass leader of the pack.

From in front of them, Merle stood rigidly, his stony glare still locked on Alex's retreating form. Rhiannon sighed and grabbed his arm, forcing him to start walking again, practically dragging him along with her.

"He can't-"

"Just wait until after this is over to kill him, ok?" Rhiannon interrupted him. Merle scowled, looking over his shoulder again, as if to make sure Alex really was gone.

"Fine." He grumbled. "But if Daryl finds out 'bout him pullin' that shit, he ain't gonna let anyone stop him from throwin' the prick to the walkers."

"Well it's a good thing no one's going to tell him, isn't it?"

Merle looked over at her with a look of incredulity and shook his head, a growing smirk on his face.

"You been married one day and you're already lyin' to your husband? That's gotta be breakin' some type'a record."

"Fuck off." Rhiannon nudged him. It wasn't lying, it was withholding information, she told herself, but it did little to actually make her feel better. She didn't want Daryl to be angry. She knew telling him about Alex would only lead to another fight and that was the last thing she wanted.

She didn't get to stew in her thoughts for long as a loud, pain-filled scream tore through the air.

Rhiannon's footsteps faltered at the sound and she shared a terror stricken look with Merle beside her before they both sprung into action, quickly racing forward towards the sound.

Her eyes moved to the road every few seconds and her stomach dropped when she noticed crowds of walkers beginning to verge off the path, towards them. The source of the scream, the thought that someone was hurt only made her feel sicker.

She skidded to a stop, her eyes widening with horror when she saw Carter laying on the ground, blood gushing over his face. She winced, turning her eyes away at the last second as Rick plunged his knife into the back of his head, ending his suffering and silencing his torturous screams.

"Shit." Rhiannon breathed out, cringing at the blood she saw on Rick's hands. Her head raised, eyeing the walkers nervously, but thankfully the gunfire Tobin fired from across the road was successful in bringing the dead back on track.

She let out a sigh of relief, hanging her head slightly as she allowed the adrenaline rush to dissipate. Her eyes moved over to Carter and that sick feeling settled in her stomach again.

She shared equal looks of horror with Michonne and Morgan.

They knew this plan was dangerous and they wondered just how many more people they would lose today.

"You got it Tobin, it's working." Rick spoke into his walkie, his voice slightly stilted, his mind running wildly as he looked down at his blood soaked hands.

"Good. What was that screaming?"

Rick sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. "It was Carter. He got bit. I stopped him."

There was no answer from Tobin. There was no need for one.

Everyone knew what they had to do, they didn't have time to grieve or take a moment of silence for him. They just had to keep moving.

Rhiannon tuned out as Rick gave out orders to Morgan and Merle. Her eyes were locked onto Carter. She didn't know him very well or particularly like him, the coup he staged against Rick in the pantry just days before made sure of that, but she couldn't help but feel shaken.

It happened so quickly. There wasn't anything anyone could do. It could happen to anyone. The thought put a chill down her spine and she shook her head, forcing herself back into the present.

"We've got an hour before we make it to green. I got this one." He said motioning to the line walker making its way toward them. "Michonne, take point, we'll follow."

Rhiannon began to walk, but she stopped as she saw Morgan still in his place, refusing to move, his eyes on Carter's motionless body.

"You ok?"

"I know how it is. I do." He insisted, as if trying to prove he wasn't weak.

"I know. Doesn't make it any easier though."

She patted him on the arm softly before beginning to walk. She heard his footsteps following her just seconds later.

They all walked in tandem, keeping a wary eye on the hoard of walkers on the road beside them. Rhiannon's hand twitched, ready to take her sword off her back and fight like hell the second any walker got derailed and came their way.

She was on edge. Almost too on edge to think straight. Things were going according to plan so far, but all she could think about was the idea of something going wrong. The tractor place had almost been a colossal blunder. Carter was dead. The walkers almost got off track.

This plan was good, but shit could still happen. That was out of their hands.

As if the universe had heard her worries and decided to make their shitty luck known, a loud horn suddenly started blaring, sounding louder than the cacophony of the dead beside them.

Rhiannon jumped at the loud noise, her head raising, her eyes widening. What the fuck is that?

A hand on her arm pulled her back. Rick dragged her behind him, pulling her along as they ran further into the forest, away from the road that was now clearing of walkers as they made their way towards the loud noise, towards them.

"The fuck is goin' on?" Merle yelled angrily.

"It sounds like it's coming from…."

"Home."

Rhiannon let out shaking exhale, her thoughts drifting to the people she had said goodbye to just that morning, the people that were in unknowable danger.

She thought of Maggie, how she'd only given her sister a wave goodbye before leaving. She felt like throwing up at the thought of that being their last interaction. Had she known the plan would go to shit, she would've held Maggie tighter than ever and never let go.

"W-what do we do?" She asked shakily.

The silence that answered her was stifling.

"We gotta move." Rick said after a few seconds, ushering her forward as they all began to run from the approaching herd of walkers.

It wasn't long before the rest of the group found their way to them. Rhiannon wanted to weep with relief as she saw Glenn and Rob, both unharmed.

"You ok?" Rob asked her nervously, the stricken look on her face hard for him to see.

"Just peachy, you?" She answered sassily, giving him at least some comfort knowing she hadn't lost her attitude. He rubbed her back comfortingly, knowing exactly what it was that was making her worry.

"They're gonna be fine." He said to her in a low voice. Rhiannon didn't answer. She couldn't think about Alexandria, about everyone she loved that was there, she would drive herself crazy if she did.

"Tobin, it's not stopping, light it up!" Rick yelled into the walkie but all he got in response was static and they kept moving.

"Rick! What's goin' on back there?"

The sound of Daryl's voice had Rhiannon's heart skipping a beat. She ran faster so she could be next to Rick, so she could hear his voice.

"Half of them broke off, they're goin' towards Alexandria."

"Towards you?" Abraham's voice joined in.

"We ran ahead. There's a horn or somethin', loud, comin' from the east. It's not stopping."

"Imma gas it up and turn back."

"We got it. You keep goin'." Rick told him.

"They're gonna need our help." Daryl stressed, sounding impatient and worried.

"We gotta keep the herd movin'!"

"Not if shit's goin' down, we don't."

"The risk that herd turns around, the bad back there gets worse." Rick argued and he sighed in annoyance when he got no answer, placing his hands on his hips. Rhiannon took that as her cue.

She grabbed the walkie from Rick's hands, her running steps slowing at the anticipation of hearing his voice again.

"Daryl?"

From miles away, atop his motorcycle, Daryl's heart jumped to his throat at the sound of her voice. He hated that he could tell she was scared just by the way she said his name. That barest quiver was agony to hear.

"I'm here."

"We have to keep going. I don't like it either, but we have to."

"Rhi, I can't. What about-"

"You have to." Her voice shook as she answered and Daryl tightened his grip on the handlebars. It took every ounce of his strength to not jump off his motorcycle and march through the forest to find his way to her, to wrap his arms around her and force every ounce of her fear to disappear.

It killed him to hear her so unsure. So scared.

"Daryl, I can't lose you. You have to be ok, you have to be smart. That's how we win this." Rhiannon paused, before lowering her voice. "That's how I see you again."

"I know." He said quietly.

"I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, I'll see you at home... and then we'll go to that cabin, just the two of us."

"You promise?"

Daryl smiled softly, the thought of her warming something inside of him. "Yeah, darlin', I promise."

As soon as the conversation ended and he didn't hear her voice anymore, the anxiety was back full force. His smile fell and his heart began to race once again.

Daryl felt conflicted. As he continued to drive, his eyes drifted down to his hand, his gaze zeroing in on the shining, new ring on his finger. He thought of Rhiannon, of his wife, and how brave she was, how selfless she was.

He could tell this was killing her, that she wanted to get to Alexandria and protect the people she loves.

Carol was there. Maggie was there. Carl, Judith, Jenelle, Jack. They were all in danger. The thought of those innocent kids, of the herd getting close to them, made his blood boil.

He couldn't live with himself if they got hurt. He couldn't live with himself if Rhiannon lost yet another person she cared about and slipped back into the ghost of the person he'd seen on the road. He didn't think either one of them could go through that again.

He slowed his bike down until he was next to Sasha and Abraham in the car.

"Hey, we gone five miles out yet?"

"Give or take some yardage. Why you askin?"

"The next intersection, I'm gonna spin 'round and go back."

"The plan is to go fifteen more." Sasha argued.

"I'mma change that. Five's gonna have to work."

"The magic number's twenty. That's the mission." Abraham added calmly, sensing that nothing he said would change Daryl's mind, but he was willing to try.

"You wanna go, we can't stop you. But without you, they could stop us." Sasha added.

Daryl hesitated, looking at Abraham and Sasha intently. He knew he had to help them, that this plan relied on him just as much as it did them. But he couldn't help but think of all those innocent lives in Alexandria.

It wasn't just about him. He felt as though he'd just gotten Rhiannon back, that she'd finally become herself again after all the losses she'd suffer. If she lost Jenelle or Jack, if she lost Maggie or Carol, Carl or Judith, that would be the final straw. It would destroy her.

The voice in his head that told him he was doing this for Rhiannon made it make complete sense. He knew there was no other way.

"Nah, I got faith in you." Daryl told them before stepping on the gas, flooring his motorcycle and leaving them in the dust, ignoring their yells for him to stop.

He had to do this. Not just for himself, not just for those in Alexandria, but for his wife. For the person he would do anything for.

That was all he needed to think to make his decision an unselfish one.


"Come here." Rick ordered, gesturing to Rhiannon, Michonne, Merle and Glenn who all followed him away from the rest of the Alexandrians. "If somethin's in front of you, you kill it. No hiding, no waiting, you keep goin'."

"I'm going with you. You can't do this on your own." Glenn argued, thinking back to Rick's dangerous plan of getting to the RV by himself.

"I can do this." Rick argued, shutting him down, causing Glenn to look at both Rhiannon and Michonne, as if expecting them to step in and talk Rick out of it.

"You need to help me." Michonne started, looking to Glenn pleadingly. "We gotta get these people back."

"Thing is, they aren't all gonna make it."

Rick-" Rhiannon started, feeling nauseous at the thought of something happening to Rob but Rick held his hand up, stopping her.

"You try to save them. But if they can't keep up, you keep going. You have to. You make sure you get back."

Rick's words signaled the end of the conversation and Michonne, Merle and Glenn began to make their way back to the others. Rhiannon only took a few steps before she stopped and turned back to face Rick.

"No, I don't care what you say, whatever matcho game you wanna play, I'm not letting you do this alone." She argued and Rick sighed, barely able to contain his frustration.

"Rhi-"

"No! They have Merle, Michonne and Glenn, they don't need me. You need me."

Rick paused, eyeing the group of Alexandrians briefly before turning his attention back to her.

"What about Rob? You really don't wanna be there with him?"

Rhiannon felt her breathing hitch at what he was insinuating, but squared her shoulders, not letting it show just how much the thought terrified her.

"They can handle it, they have each other. I can't let you go alone. Besides…" She paused, taking in a ragged breath. "If something does happen… I don't wanna be there to see it."

Rick's face fell. He couldn't argue with her there. She had seen her father die, seen her baby sister die so horribly. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to be there to see her best friend potentially die. But that didn't mean he wanted him with her. No matter how much of a comfort it would be to have her at his side, one of the people he trusted most in this world to have his back, he would never feel comfortable putting her danger.

"Rick-"

"This isn't a good idea. They might need you." He told her straight and she rolled her eyes, her arms crossing over her chest, her face twisting into her best sassy, argumentative face, one he knew all too well.

"You remember the prison? You would never let any of us do this alone. I'm going with you."

Rick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked like he was about to argue and Rhiannon rolled her eyes, raising a hand to stop him.

"I'm not taking any more arguments, I'm going with you." She said sternly, leaving no room for him to say anything back to her.

He exhaled loudly, obviously annoyed, but it was clear he didn't have a leg to stand on. He just placed his hand on her lower back, guiding her back towards the others. She knew by his silence that she had won him over, causing a smug grin to grow.

"Come back safe." Rick told the others, giving Michonne, Merle and Glenn pointed stares, as if reminding them of what he'd said, the mantra to save themselves seared into their mind.

Rob looked at Rhiannon, like a deer in headlights. He was scared at the idea of not being with her, of not having her at his side at this terrifying moment. He swallowed thickly and plastered on a fake smile, trying his best to hide his fear.

"See you soon."

"I'll see you guys at home." Rhianon said with a sad smile. She forced her eyes away from Rob, knowing she would lose it if she looked at him and how scared he was any longer.

Her eyes moved to Merle, Michonne and Glenn and she gave them serious looks, both wishing the safety but also warning them to make sure her best friend came back safe and sound.

"I'll see you later." Glenn told her with a soft smile, understanding exactly what she was saying just in that one gaze.

Rhiannon waved, her heart feeling heavy as she and Rick separated from them. As the distance between them grew, she looked over her shoulder at the others and she wondered who she wouldn't see again.


Sorry for the long wait, again!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. From here, things are going to be a little different and I'm going to start changing cannon. If you have any questions you can reach out on my tumblr which is the same name as here!

Thank you all for reading! xx