Winchestergal78, just wait...after I'm done with this I'm planning on jumping over to Supernatural with a spunky god's daughter pestering the boys roughly around the time they meet up with their dad the first time, but one series at a time, or rather, I'll switch to that when I hit a stall in this one...Won't be able to post every day soon (seriously need to clean tomorrow and helping my brother move Thursday), but I'm gonna do my damnedest to post as often as possible.

As the sun rose over the quarry, many members were moving around camp, trying to clean up from the walkers. Tea had been sent to her tent by Daryl a few hours ago for some rest after she nearly fainted from exhaustion. Andrea was still in the same position she had been in when she had laid down, standing vigil over her sister's dead body. They all knew they were just waiting for the girl to reanimate. Several members were were sitting around a campfire watching Andrea. Tea watched as Rick walked up to the woman, who simply aimed her gun at him. Soon enough Rick had backed off and walked away as Tea walked up to the campfire at the same time as Daryl.

"Y'all can't be serious," he said when Rick caught up, "lettin' that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb."

"And what do you suggest?" Rick said.

"Take the shot. Clean in the brain from here. Hell, I hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance," he said before being cut off by Lori.

"No. For God's sake, let her be."

"Why?" Tea asked honestly. "It's for the betta a the camp ta take the shot now. Ain' that what ya and Shane are always talkin' 'bout when ya get onta me? Betta for the camp. Takin' the shot is for the betta."

"Not for Andrea," Lori said incredulously.

"So now ya argue for one person? Yestaday ya were arguin' 'gainst goin' and gettin' Merle 'cause it was jus' one person, now ya arguin' for one person's benefit? Make up ya mind on ya viewpoints, woman!" Tea was getting frustrated.

"Tea," Rick said.

She looked at him as Daryl looked around at everyone. They all shared looks before Daryl scoffed and walked off. Tea stood there a moment longer looking at Rick who simply shook his head. Still feeling frustrated, she turned on her heels and marched away. Walking up to Glenn, she helped him move one of the walkers onto the burning pile.

"Wake up Jimbo, we got some work to do," she heard Daryl say as she and Glenn stood and turned around.

She watched as Daryl and the Morales man grabbed onto one of the dead group members and drag it towards them when Glenn stopped them, "Woah, woah. What are you guys doing? This is for geeks. Our people go over there!"

"What's the difference? They're all infected," Tea said.

"She's right," Daryl nodded.

"Our people go in that row over there! We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand? Our people go in that row over there," Glenn said as he tried not to break down, unable to convey why it was so important.

As Morales and Daryl resumed dragging the body, although towards the row to be buried, the irritated redneck called out to the camp, "You reap what you sow!"

"Hey, shut up man!" Morales said.

Of course, that didn't stop Daryl. "Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this comin'!" he yelled as he stomped away, moving onto the next corpse.

They continued to clean the camp until they heard Jacqui yell out, "A walker got him. A walker bit Jim!"

"Oh fuck," Tea said as she, and the remaining survivors, walked up.

"Show it to us," Daryl said before repeating himself.

Jim turned around and grabbed a shovel in self defense. There was a lot of hollering then, some telling Jim to put the shovel down, others yelling to grab him. Tea went to go forward, only for Daryl to pull her behind him which earned him a scowl. He hadn't stopped her when she'd run ahead last night, so why was he getting protective now? Her assistance wasn't needed anyway, as T-Dog was standing in Jim's blind spot and managed to grab the man around his biceps. Daryl stepped forward as Jim began a mantra of 'I'm okay' and lifted his shirt. Plain as day, there was a bite on the bottom of his ribs.

Everyone backed away from him then, all with various looks of horror-filled shock, except Tea and Jacqui. While the dark skinned woman looked like she was about to cry, Tea was contemplating what their next step should be. Amy was dead; there was no way to save her, but Jim? Jim was still alive and breathing, so was there a chance he could be? She continued thinking as Rick lead Jim to sit behind the RV. The remaining survivors huddled together to discuss what they should do.

"I say we put a pickax in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it," Daryl said.

"Is that what you'd want?" Shane asked as if it was a stupid idea. "If it were you?"

"Yeah and I'd thank you while ya did it," Daryl responded.

"I hate to say it I never thought I would," Dale started, "but maybe Daryl's right."

"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog," Rick said.

"I'm not suggesting-"

"He's a sick man. A sick man," Rick cut him off. "We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The line's pretty clear," Daryl said, "Zero tolerance for walkers, or the to-be."

"What if we can get him help?" Tea cut in. "The CDC?"

"I heard the CDC was working on a cure," agreed Rick.

"I heard that too," Shane cut in. "Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell."

"What if the CDCs still up and running?" Rick asked.

"Man, that is a stretch right there," Shane insisted.

"Why?" Tea asked. "If there's any kind a system left, they'll be protectin' the CDC at all cost."

"I think it's our best shot," Rick backed her up. "It's got food, shelter, protection."

"Look, we all want that too," Shane said. "Now if they exist, they're at the Army base, Fort Benning."

"A hundred miles in the opposite direction?" Tea asked incredulously.

"That is right," Shane said, shutting her down. "But it's away from the hot zone. Listen man," he said to Rick, "That place is operational, it'll be heavily armed, we'd be safe there."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They were over run. We've all seen that," Rick stressed. "The CDC's our best choice and Jim's only chance."

"You go lookin' for Asprin," Daryl said. "Do what you need to do. But somebody's gotta have some balls to take care of the damn problem," he said while raising the pickax and stalking over toward Jim. He had it raised and ready to yield when Rick loaded, cocked, and aimed his Python right against Daryl's head for a second time. It all happened so fast that Tea had barely been able to say no.

"We don't kill the living," Rick said slowly as Shane put himself between Jim and Daryl.

Daryl turned to look at Rick while lowering the ax, "That's funny. Coming from a man who just put a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things," Shane said regarding him and Rick, "but not on this. You put it down. Go on."

Daryl all but threw the ax down before storming off. Tea watched as Rick helped Jim into the RV. Apparently, that was the end of the discussion seeing as everyone just walked off. She ended up following after Daryl, finding him leaning against a tree smoking a cigarette. Walking up to him, Tea took the smoke from him and sucked in a hit before handing it back.

"Smoke cigs now too?" he smirked.

"On occasion. Usually when I drink. Right now 'cause shite's jus'," she had no words to finish her sentence.

"'Mere," he said, opening his arms to her. As she settled against his chest, he could feel just how bad her body was shaking. She was fighting with all she had against her nerves and to stay in the moment to help the camp. "Don' gotta worry 'bout nothin'. I got you. Just relax and deal with your head for now, got it?"

"Ain' right for me ta do that," she said.

"You're different from 'em," he said seriously. "I can feel your body shakin', Ania. Ya gotta take care of yourself."

Feeling like she had no fight left, Tea simply nodded her assent. She watched him go around camp for the rest of the morning, slamming the ax into every one of the fallen bodies's heads. When he'd gone to do Ed's, Carol had walked up and insisted on doing it herself. She broke down stroke after stroke, she made it to where the already misshapen man was indistinguishable. They continued on like that until they heard a gunshot. He had been standing next to her telling her it was nearly time to go. Tea had been avoiding Daryl's gaze and not even talking to him for a while now. She'd jumped at the sound of the gun and he just grabbed her hand and led her to his pick-up setting her in the passenger seat. He left her there, going to help the others load the now wrapped bodies of the dead group members, save Amy's, who Andrea insisted on doing everything herself for. He drove backwards up the hill where Rick and Shane were digging graves. Daryl climbed out of the truck and went over to Tea's side, opening her door and helping her out as the others made the hike up the trail. He'd meant to keep her hand in his, but she pulled away again. He'd noticed her doing that a lot since this morning.

"I still think it's a mistake not burning these bodies," he said walking up to the two cops. "That's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all? Ain't that the idea?"

"At first," Rick said.

"Bodies were burned in pyres long 'fore they were ever buried. Burial was more for royalty and nobles with personal crypts made of stone, not layin' bodies in the dirt," Tea chimed in flatly.

"China-man gets all emotional, says it's not the thing to do and we just follow him along?" Daryl said. "These people gotta know who's in charge here. What the rules are."

"There are no rules," Rick said.

"That's the problem," Tea started before Lori cut her off.

"We haven't had one minute to hang onto anything of our old selves," Lori said. "We need time to mourn, and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do."

"Most people actually cremate, not bury," Tea said rather unhelpfully, though honestly.

"That's enough, Tea," Shane shot.

"I'm jus' sayin'," she defended.

"It's alright, Tea," Rick said. "I know you aren't meanin' anythin' by it."

She nodded her head at him, thankful that at least he understood that she was just giving facts. It seemed to take forever to get the burial process done and over with. So many members of the group were crying that Tea was seriously thinking about walking away. She understood why they were upset, she'd cried when her papa died after all, but the sound was so grating on her already shot nerves. If she felt more comfortable with the idea, she'd go out to her log to smoke. The problem was that with walkers hitting camp and everything that was happening, she just couldn't bring herself risk it. She'd already caused so many bad things to happen all because of her selfishness. Her selfishness at wanting something she was never supposed to have. She loved Daryl with all her heart, but was her selfishness really worth all the pain it had caused others? The thought had her beginning to pull away from Daryl, and she knew it. She knew he noticed too, because he was standing close to her, trying hard not to pull her into him. His hands kept twitching towards her only to clench into a fist back by his side a moment later. She took a small step away from him in the form of shifting her weight.

Ania was trying to pull away, Daryl could tell. He wasn't sure why; they were fine and they were safe right now. He'd told her to rest and deal with whatever she was thinking, but that seemed to be backfiring. She had shifted her weight so that she was further away from him than she already felt, and his anger started boiling. As the burials wrapped up, he stopped caring about her wanting space and grabbed her bicep. He wasn't rough, but he was angry and it showed in his grip. Ania wasn't going to do this to him now. Whatever her reasons, he was going to find out and stop this bullshit before it started. Practically dragging her back to his truck, he didn't even bother with the passenger side and directly shoved her in the driver's before climbing in afterwards. Neither of them noticed the others in the camp watching them, let alone Shane's look of absolute horror and rage as the two disappeared back towards camp.

"What the hell, Ania?" Daryl asked.

"What?"

"You know what! What's goin' on in that head that's got you actin' like this?"

"Nothin'."

"Don't give me that crap, Titania!" Daryl spat angrily. "You're pullin' away and I know it! So start fuckin' talkin'."

"This is selfish!" she cried, stunning and confusing him.

"What's selfish?"

"I'm fuckin' selfish!" she cried hopelessly. "And look at the price everyone else has ta pay for it! What the hell have I lost, Daryl? Hmm? What the fuck have I lost when all a y'all are jus' stackin' yas up?! It's my fault Merle's gone, my fault the camp was attacked, that Amy's dead. My selfishness caused all a this!"

Daryl was taken by surprise. He knew she had been blaming herself, but to say their relationship was selfish? He couldn't really deny that it was, but that sure as hell didn't make her selfish. If she was, she wouldn't have helped the camp or taught the kids everything she had; he'd spied on her once as she'd given them a lesson on how to take down a larger opponent. The blame and guilt she felt about Merle he shared too, but the camp and Amy had nothing to do with them. If this is what was bothering her, he felt it was stupid and opened his mouth to say as much until he saw the tears running down her cheeks. This was one of the things she had warned him he would hate about her; she would always blame herself irrationally before blaming others. While she hadn't told him how to help, he figured that maybe pointing out the facts would help her get over this hill.

"Look at me, Ania," he said, turning her to catch her eyes. "I know how you feel about Merle. I feel it too. So if you gotta feel that blame, you ain't alone in it. I was selfish that night too. But what could we a done here? One extra gun and two crossbows weren't gonna do shit. Those guns were what saved the day, losses be damned. Camp would a gotten attacked with or without you here and ya know it. Amy would a died, too. Yeah, maybe this is selfish, but I'm okay with bein' selfish if it means keepin' you mine. Price be damned. So you cry, shut down, do what you gotta, but don' keep doin' this shit where you pull away from me, ya hear?"

She launched herself at him and sobbed into his chest. They stayed like that until they saw the others returning to camp. He sat her up and wiped off her cheeks as best as he could before climbing out of the cab. He led her over to his tent and got in after her, closing it. They both needed some sleep and nobody was going to disturb them after everything that had happened. And if they did, he'd just tell them off and let her sleep anyway. She needed it. Leading her over to his sleeping bag, he took off his boots before unlacing hers. She stepped out of them and allowed him to pull her down next to him, laying her head on his chest. As his arm wrapped around her, she was already falling into a blissful sleep.

Some time later, Rick's voice called out to the two and roused them from their dreams. Daryl leaned down and kissed her, internally smiling when she pulled him closer to her and returned the kiss; she wasn't trying to pull away anymore. They both put their boots back on and grabbed their weapons, exiting the tent to find Rick standing by her tent in expectation. He only shook is head and smiled when he saw them both coming out of Daryl's. Motioning for them to follow, he, Shane, and Dale walked over to the fire pit where the rest of the survivors were.

"I've, uh, I've been thinking about Rick's plan," Shane started. "Now look, there are no, uh, no guarantees. Either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning. Okay."

Tea looked from Shane to Rick to Dale, realizing something had happened. Shane was more pissed than he had ever been, but was managing to keep it in check. Rick had a look of guilt on his face when looking at his friend, but it was combined with a calculating, critical gaze and Dale looked like he'd seen a ghost. Something was definitely off, but that was something to face another day. The group started to disperse, Daryl telling her that he was taking a moment to himself. She just nodded her head and walked over to her SUV to pack whatever she could in it up. Just in case Daryl wanted her to ride with him, she needed to make sure there was nothing useful left behind. She climbed up into the back and was about to shut the door when a hand stopped it from moving.

"So, you and Daryl, huh?"

"Go away, Shane," she said irritated.

"No, I don't think I will," he stated just as irritated. "What you thinking goin' with a guy like that, huh?"

"I'm thinkin' it ain' any a ya damn business," she said, looking over his shoulder and seeing Rick watching their interaction from not too far away. Lori was beside him trying to talk to him, but he was keeping a close eye on their situation. Maybe she wouldn't have to get into an altercation this time after all. The other cop seemed to genuinely understand her, so she could only hope that he wouldn't treat her as many others in the camp had.

"I'm makin' it my business," Shane said as he grabbed her bicep and pulled her out of the car, putting her back against the driver's side door harshly and holding her there. "Now you're gonna listen once and for all. You're going to stay in camp, going to listen to everything I say, and stay away from Daryl fucking Dixon from now on, you understand me?"

"Fuck you!" she roared at him as Rick walked up, trying to push him away and failing due to how he was holding both her biceps firmly, half tempted to knee him in the nuts. "Ya don' get ta tell me what ta do, Shane! I ain' gonna fuckin' listen ta ya jus' 'cause ya tell me ta! Ya ain' got a single damn right ta say shite 'bout me relationships with anyone! 'Specially not Daryl!"

Shane pulled her forward before he roughly shoved her against the door, "You're not all there in the head, girl! Someone's gotta keep you from making mistakes you don't even know you're making!"

"That's enough, Shane," Rick said, taking notice of the hold he had on her. He was completely flabbergasted at the way his friend was treating the young woman. He could see how the color had drained from her face and the way her hands were shaking. She was doing her damnedest to contain whatever emotion she was dealing with and not have a meltdown. High functioning, he thought ruefully, angry at himself for not making Shane attend the same classes he did when he'd been made a deputy. It made him want to protect the young woman like an older brother would, like he had his younger sister before she'd gotten sick. The girl was only three years younger than his sister had been when she died of cancer, and it brought out a protective side to Rick he had long since forgotten.

"Naw, man, you ain't seen this girl like we have. She's a danger to herself and the camp with how she acts," Shane argued.

"Fuck you, Shane," Daryl said as he walked up from their other side. "Ain't fuckin' true and you know it."

"The only fuckin' mistake I made was followin' that RV inta this quarry," the girl in question said quietly.

"Don't fuckin' start that shit again," Daryl said, grabbing the girl's bicep and pulling her away from Shane. He nodded to Rick when the man grabbed Shane's arms to break his hold. "Don't be listenin' to this bastard's nonsense, Ania."

Shane smirked, "Ania? So you're name's actually Ania, huh?"

"Don't fuckin' call her that," sounded from Daryl as she said, "Don't fuckin' call me that. Only Daryl gets ta call me that, got it?"

"And why's that?" Lori said as she walked up.

Tea looked at the brunette like she was dumb, "'Cause that's the name he picked out. It's his."

Daryl smirked at the emphasis she put on the fact that the name Ania belonged to him. Possessions really were something she took with the utmost seriousness. He wasn't really sure how he felt about her feeling like a part of her was his possession, but he tried not to dwell on the darker thought. It was gratifying enough that she considered herself his as a lover, let alone cherished the name he called her. He leaned her back against his chest, smile growing wider as Shane's scowl formed.

"So you're saying if we pick a name for you, we can call you it?" the woman asked.

"No. I gave y'all what ta call me."

"That's not exactly fair now, is it," Shane said.

"Her name's for her to share if she wants to, and to be used by those she wants to," Rick said, trying to end the meaningless conversation that was clearly making Tea uncomfortable as she curled her side into Daryl's chest.

"No," Shane countered, "everyone else in camp gave their names. She's the only one who only goes by a nickname. Hell, even T-Dog explained how that's really just a shortened version of his name. She's never once given us nothin' but 'Tea.' Now there's a completely different name someone else is calling her and we're supposed to be okay with that? Something smells fishy."

"Fuck, me name's Titania Parker, alright? Everybody fuckin' happy now? Everybody done gettin' inta everybody else's business? Yeah? Good, 'cause I'm sure as hell done with everyone gettin' inta mine!" Tea burst out before tearing herself away from Daryl and storming off towards her tent.

"You had no right cornering her like that Shane," Rick said, watching her retreating figure. "And calling her out like that. You know she's the reason we didn't get into any trouble in Atlanta? There was a mix-up and Glenn got taken. She got beat all to hell when he was taken and just took it with stride. We had one of theirs, and she reasoned with him to show us where they were camped. It was some random building and she still knew where we were; an old folks' home. She was a volunteer there and worked some cases for the old folks. The people there knew and respected her. Some even outright admired her. She sang to them for nearly an hour, taking requests even from those who had different religious views. Those people spoke nothing but praises, same as a few of the members around here. I don't know what you got against her, Shane, but you can't be acting like this."

"Girl's been through more shit than either a y'all with ever know," Daryl cut in. "Shit that'd break anyone else. Her name's just one of the things she hates 'bout the past. Shoulda just let it go, man. And you wonder why she don't like you."

"We've all been through shit," Shane started.

"Nah, man," Daryl cut him off. "Ain't my place to say what all happened, but that girl spent her entire life bein' dragged through the mud like you just did and worse. Those bruises she's covered in? Child's play 'ccording to 'er. So keep your trap shut, Shane, else wise I'm gonna make it stay shut."

He walked away after that. Walking over to her tent, he became worried when he found it empty. Daryl rushed to his tent, relieved when he found her curled on top of his sleeping bag. Daryl grabbed her up and sat down, placing her in his lap. He rubbed up and down her arm and circles on her thigh. She had one arm under his and draped around his back, clutching at the fabric of his shirt, the other doing the same above his heart. Her head was tucked under his chin and he simply held her as she shook, trying to will away all the emotions inside as he felt the dampness on his collar. He was pissed and wanted nothing more than to stomp Shane's ass for how he'd cornered her, but Ania needed him, so he was here. They shifted together until he was laying down with her still laying mostly on top of him; her entire torso on his chest and stomach, hips on his lap, legs draping over his left side. Slowly, they fell into a dreamless sleep.

In the morning, they were all gathered together as Shane stood in front of the group, "Everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal, anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

Morales spoke up then, "We're, uh, we're not going."

"We have family in Birmingham. We wanna be with our people," his wife spoke up.

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane reasoned.

"We'll take the chance. I gotta do what's best for my family," the man said.

"You sure?" Rick asked.

"We talked about it. We're sure."

"Alright. Shane."

"Yeah."

They bent over the bag of guns. ".357?"

"Yeah, and ammo."

The two handed the gun and the ammo over with Shane saying, "Box is half full."

Daryl scoffed and walked off, Ania murmuring a 'called it' in his ear, as the group said goodbye to the Moraleses. Looking around, Shane couldn't help but look at Rick and say, "What makes you think our odds are any better?" before turning to the camp and urging them into action. Everyone climbed into vehicles, Daryl sure enough pulling her to his truck and abandoning the SUV. They were taking up the rear of the caravan and just enjoying the silence of the ride, although Tea was upset she hadn't been able to bring her CDs; Daryl's truck didn't have a CD player. They were munching on venison jerky when the car ahead of them pulled to a stop. Grabbing their crossbows, they made their way up to the front of the caravan where Dale was looking at the engine of the RV.

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose," he told Rick. "I said I needed the one from the cube van."

"Can you jury-rig it?" the cop asked.

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape."

"I see something up ahead," Shane said, holding binoculars up to his eyes. "Gas station if we're lucky."

That's when Jascquis came out of the RV looking shaken saying, "Y'all, Jim. It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore."

"Hey Rick, you want to hold down the fort. I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back," Shane said.

"Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up," T-Dog said as Rick went into the RV.

"You all keep your eyes open now. We'll be back real soon," Shane said to the group, scowling as his eyes scanned over to Daryl and Tea and then to Lori and Carl.

Tea looked at the remaining survivors as the two left. There were no words to be had for most of the survivors as the better majority were still trying to process the last 48 hours. They had gone from relatively safe to up shit's creek without a paddle in two days. While this was nothing new to Tea, who was mostly just wracked with guilt she was fighting against, the rest were having difficulty accepting this new reality. While she didn't like change, Tea was used to being thrown into constantly changing situations due to her parents' actions and was dealing just fine for the time being. She could see both Andrea and Jacqui breaking under the probability that they were all going to get bit and die. Dale was being over vigilant with Andrea, but trying to respect her space. Glenn looked completely lost. By the time Shane and T-Dog returned with what meager supplies they'd found, including more duct tape, the group was milling around and trying to make small talk.

When Rick came out some time later, he explained that Jim wants to be left to die, "It's what he says he wants."

"And he's lucid?" Carol asked.

"He seems to be," Rick said. "I would say yes."

"I can go in and check. I mean, I am a psychologist. Evaluations are a part a me skill set," Tea offered.

"I don't think that's necessary," Rick replied, "but thank you."

There was a pregnant pause before Dale spoke up. "Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shot me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing someone. I was just gonna suggest we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer."

"We just leave him here? We take off?" Shane asked. "Man, I'm not sure I could live with that."

"Not your call," Lori said. "Either one of you."

"She's right for once," Tea said, shocked she would agree with Lori of all people. "This isn' suicide. Ain' even really givin' up. The inevitable is gonna happen and he jus' wants ta let it. Seen it happen 'fore, and ain' nothin' wrong with it. It's his choice. Swallow ya own pride and honor it."

The lawmen looked at each other, contemplating her words. They nodded and went into the RV together. When they came back out, they were supporting Jim between them. As gently as possible, they carried him off the road and into the brush.

"Hey look," he commented. "Another damn tree."

"Look, Jim," Shane said quietly. "I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this."

"No," Jim replied, "it's good. The breeze feels nice."

"Okay. Alright," Shane said walking away.

The members went up one by one to say goodbye, Rick offering his gun, and Jascquis giving him a kiss. Daryl stood in the back and waited for Tea, who walked up to Jim. "I'm sorry."

"Titania Parker, huh? You keep them safe, ya hear?" Jim said. "Only you can keep them safe."

"I'll do me best," she promised, sensing the man's urgency and determination that only she could keep the camp safe.

"You'll do more than that," he insisted.

Daryl walked up and gave the man a curt nod before taking Ania's hand and leading her back to the truck, "You didn't have to make that promise."

"I only said I'd do me best. That's all I can," she answered.

Before he helped her into the passenger side, he gave her a quick kiss. When he entered the cab, he noticed that she had moved to sit in the middle, closer to him. He gave a her a genuine smile, albeit small, turning the key and shifting into gear. Reaching over, he grabbed her hand, brought the back of it to his lips, then held it in his lap. She smiled at him and leaned her head on his shoulder. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep against him. When they stopped because one of the others needed a piss break, Daryl took the opportunity to lay her down with her head on his thigh so he could keep one hand holding her safely but she could lay down. He didn't wake her up until they got to the CDC, though he wasn't sure he even wanted to.

It was a scene straight out of a nightmare. There were dead bodies everywhere and the stench was atrocious. Tea had wretched a couple of times involuntarily at the first sight and whiff. And then thoroughly berated herself for being so weak stomached. Shane was ushering everybody to stay moving forward, stay together, and stay quiet, though the buzzing of insects almost drowned his whispers out. The people without weapons stuck to the center while all those with weapons surrounded them. Unsurprisingly, Tea was the only woman that had a weapon; Andrea had hers out, but the safety was still on. She and Daryl both had their crossbows, though Daryl also carried a rifle. Walking around the barricades and past a tank, they finally made it to the doors of the CDC only to find the shutters were down.

"There's nobody here," T-Dog said.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick reasoned.

"Walkers!" Daryl shouted, pushing Ania further away from the approaching walker and taking aim. After he fired the bolt, he angrily turned on Rick, "You led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a call," Dale tried.

"It was the wrong damn call!" he said storming up to Rick.

"Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up. Shut up!" Shane said as he got in between the two and pushing Daryl back. "Rick, this is a dead end," he said rounding on his friend.

"Where are we going to go?" Carol whined.

"Do you hear me?" Shane continued. "No blame."

"She's right," Lori cut in. "We can't be here, this close to the city after dark."

"Fort Benning, Rick, still an option," Shane tried.

"On what?" Tea asked. "No food, no fuel. Roughly a hundred twenny miles."

"Hundred twenty five," Glenn said. "I checked the map."

Daryl loaded the rifle he was carrying as Lori said, "Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now."

"We'll think of something," Rick said.

"Come on. Let's go," Shane said, ushering everybody to move. "Alright, everybody back to the cars."

Daryl had grabbed Ania's hand and was pulling her away.

"The camera. It moved," Rick said suddenly.

"You imagined it," Dale said.

"No, it moved," he said.

"Rick, it's dead. It's an automated device. It's gears okay. Just winding down," Shane said. "Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead. It's dead, okay? You need to let it go, Rick."

Rick just fought against him and banged the shutters as Lori screamed, "Rick, there's no one here!"

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me," he said up at the camera. "Please, we're desperate." As he pleaded his case, Shane was rallying everybody to go back to the cars. "Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left." Lori ran back to him, urging him that there was no one there. "We have nowhere else to go. If you don't let us in, you're killing us!" He banged on the shutters as Shane pulled Lori away and made a grab at Rick. "You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!"

Everyone was a flurry of motion. Daryl had Ania behind him but still in a position that allowed her to take aim. They both had their respective weapons at the ready, him switching to the rifle, though she was also keeping an eye on the camera and door. The kids were crying and the other women weren't doing much better. All the men and Tea, aside from Rick and Shane, were encircling the women and kids as best they could with everyone being so anxious, all on high alert for walkers. Shane was all but hauling Rick away from the shutters while the cacophony of noise that surrounded them brought Tea's hackles to rise. Just as he managed to get Rick back to the group and looking resigned bright light engulfed them. The shutters to the door were opened, shocking them all into silence.

Screw it...another double chapter...I've got up to 13 chapters done and will be eventually only be able to post as I complete and edit them, but for now...Well, I'm enjoying the traffic and the fact that something I'm writing is actually being enjoyed by others...^_^ Thinking about making it an 'M' in the next chapter...let me know if you want it or are enjoying the snippets I'm providing...

Updated 8/29/21