We made it back to the prison in complete silence. No one wanted to mention the murder that occurred before our eyes. There was no other word for it. Carl killed that kid in cold blood. Even if we won this fight, we lost. If this is what this world turns our kids into, I feared for what my son was going to become.

I held Hunter as we waited for the others to join us in our cell block. I said a silent prayer to whatever god would listen. I loved Carl and was disappointed in his decisions, but was it his fault or ours? We made him grow up so fast, especially with what happened to Lori. We should have protected him from ever having to make a decision like that. We failed him.

It wasn't long before Daryl came rushing to my side, giving me a kiss on my cheek and grabbing Hunter from me. "Everything okay?"

I shook my head and touched his cheek, thankful he was alive and unharmed. I wanted to tell him everything and share every feeling I've had in the past hour, but I didn't have time to explain. "I need to talk to Rick."

Daryl didn't try to stop me, but I knew he was confused. I mean, I would be too if he did this to me, but this couldn't wait. Rick needed to know about what his son had done. It was going to be his responsibility to correct it and soon. If Carl continued down this dark path, who knows what's going to come of him and the rest of this group.

Rick was on his knee talking to his son, so I gave them a minute. Whatever Carl was telling his father was complete bullshit. I could see it in his face. He thought what he did was right, but it was far from it.

When Carl finally walked away, I approached Rick. "We need to talk. Alone." Without a second thought, Rick walked with me to the upper floor of the cell block. "What did he tell you?"

"Carl said he did what he had to."

I shook my head. "Rick, he didn't have to do anything."

He leaned his hand on the railing. "What are you talking about?"

"That kid was running from the fight. I told him to drop his weapon. He was surrendering, Rick. He tried giving his gun over. Carl shot and killed him."

I could tell Rick was having trouble believing me. He tore his eyes away from me, trying to process my words. "No, he told me he did what he had to. Carl wouldn't lie to me."

"Rick, look at me," I begged. "Does it look like I'm lying to you? Listen to what I'm saying. Carl killed that kid for no reason. What you do with that information is up to you, but believe me when I say what he did wasn't right and he needs to know that. If you don't believe me, then ask Hershel. Ask Beth. We can't all be lying to you." I walked away from him, not wanting to defend my stance on what happened any further. All I wanted to do in that moment was hold Hunter and hug Daryl.

Daryl was waiting for me at the entrance of the cell block. "What was that all about?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed tight with Hunter between us. "I'll explain later. I'm just glad you're alive and we're all safe."

"You too. It's not over yet, though."

I released him and grabbed Hunter from his grasp, already knowing what he meant. "You're going to Woodbury."

"Yeah. We need to finish this once and for all."

I stroked his arm, processing what going to Woodbury would mean. "That son of a bitch needs to die. I'm tired of living in fear."

He was genuinely surprised. "You're not mad that I'm going?"

"Not at all. I want our son to be safe and as long as the Governor's alive, that's never going to happen. He needs to pay for what he did to you, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, and" I hesitated, "and Merle. Just bring back Andrea, please. With all this, I'm very worried about her. Knowing she's been with us, I know he's got something in store for her. Please bring her home."

"We will." Daryl's hand caressed my cheek. I knew the sound of his brother's name was still painful, but I couldn't leave him out. Merle sacrificed himself for us, for Daryl. He needed to be avenged.

"When do you leave?"

"Soon."

"Okay. Do you need anything? What can I do?"

His face furrowed. "I don't know what happened out there, but you've got me worried. We will be fine. Will you?"

"I'll be fine until you get back. Then we can talk. I don't need you worrying about me while you're out there."

His finger played with Hunter's small hand. "Now, you know that'll never happen."

I grinned. "Yeah, I know. Just come back to me Daryl Dixon. I can't do this without you."

He gave me a kiss on the forehead. "I always do."

We joined the rest of the group in prepping for the attack on Woodbury. They wanted to go in without killing anyone other than the Governor and I believed in them. If his people see what he dragged them into, maybe they wouldn't have a problem with letting him go. I honestly didn't care what happened behind those walls, just as long as all of our people made it home safely.

It wasn't long before they were ready to leave. Daryl climbed onto his bike, started it up, and rolled it over to the car. He climbed off and met me at the gate. I turned my gaze towards the walkers in the field. His hand gently stroked my back.

"When this is over, we need to repair that gate. We're going to need this field." Hunter grabbed my hand and played with my finger. "He's going to need a place to run. If he's anything like you, god knows he's going to need the space."

"That'll probably be the first thing we do."

I inhaled deeply as my shoulders relaxed at his touch. Things were changing for us. I felt a feeling I thought I would never feel again. "For the first time in a long time, I'm hopeful, Daryl."

His arm moved from my back to my shoulder. "It's not over yet."

"I have this strong feeling that this is the start of something real. Like, really real. We are going to turn this place into a home. We can plant crops over there and then build stables. Imagine all the people we can help with all this space. We could have a whole community one day. Hunter could have friends. One more obstacle and then we can start our lives." I was rambling. I had so many thoughts running through my head that I had to force myself to stop talking and look at Daryl. I shoved my lips against his. This felt different than all the other times I kissed him goodbye. This time, it wasn't goodbye at all. It felt more like a 'see you later.' I pulled away from him. "Now, get going so you can come back. You still owe me a weekend in the guard tower."

He grinned. "You're weird, you know that?"

"You love me," I teased.

"I do." He leaned down and pecked me on the cheek.

Without another word, we walked back to the car where Glenn, Maggie, Rick, and Michonne were standing.

Glenn adjusted the gun on his back. "We're staying. We don't know where the Governor is. If he comes back, we'll hold him off."

"Just the three of us?" Daryl asked. "All right." He wrapped his crossbow around his shoulder and sat down on his bike.

I leaned down and said "You got this. I'll see you when you get back."

"Hold down the fort."

"Oh you know I will."