KEZZ 1: As always, you're welcome!

RaphaeltheCowboy: All I can say is that I do have things planned and she's more sympathetic after the long time jump after Rick disappears. There will still be a dynamic between the two, but it is anything but friendly at first. You'll see, and I promise, you're gonna love it. ^_^

"Hey, Gabe."

"Ani? What are you doing in the house of the Lord?"

"I dunno, ta be honest," Ani answered. "Don' got fait', but t'at don' mean I don' believe. And right now, belief's t'e only t'ing keepin' me goin'."

"Belief that Daryl is still alive?" Gabriel cleared up.

"I...he...I can' get a hold a him on t'e walkies. He should a been back by now. Should a been back yestaday."

Gabriel gave her a soft smile and sat next to Ani before saying, "You have the patience to bring a doubter back to his faith. The courage to stand up for the wronged and defend the abused. The strength to lead by example and friendship even while dealing with your weaknesses. The sense of self enough to show your weaknesses openly even during times you're expected to be strong. Surely, such a small bump in the road is not enough to break your resolve."

"I don' know what t'e fuck is wrong wit' me," Ani chuckled as she sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Eva since Tom and Ellie, I'm havin' a lot a issues wit' keepin' meself in check."

"You are overly critical of yourself," Gabriel told her. "You blame yourself for needing to express your worry. You hide in the one place no one expects you to be just to let yourself feel everything you need to. Do you even realize that you're still crying right now?" Ani reached up and felt her cheeks, realizing he was right. "The only person you ever willingly breakdown in front of is Daryl. You hide away the rest of the time, only allowing snippets of yourself through. You were kind enough to me to help me find my way again, to let me help Rick set up his plan, even if he asked me to remain here while they ran it, to make amends. Now, allow me to help you. You don't have to be strong all the time, nor should you be. Allowing others to see you in your most vulnerable state will only make you seem more real to them," Gabriel told her softly. "You should stop hiding your truth, as you once told me, not that long ago in fact. Stop hiding yourself from others and trying to be strong all the time. You're allowed to be human, Ani. You're allowed to feel. Even if you're a bit different from us. That difference is what's helped you survive all this time, hasn't it? Helped the rest of us survive."

Ani sniffled, "I guess so."

"You know so. You've just been fighting it and needed council. That's why you came here."

"Maybe."

"You once mentioned how I was a shepherd and it was my job to lead my flock," Gabriel told her, standing up and gong over to his desk to pick up the fliers he'd made for a prayer circle later that day. "Much like all those within these walls are your family, they are my flock. You are my flock. So please, listen to my advice. At the very least consider it."

"T'anks, Gabe. Ya parishioners are lucky ta have ya," Ani told him, drying her eyes and standing to leave. "Want some help?"

"The pagan helping the preacher hang prayer circle posters?" Gabriel chuckled.

"Ain' like I don' pray. I jus' pray ta a different set a gods, ta t'e Fae, and ta the cosmos or enagies."

"The Fae? As in fairies?" he outright laughed.

"T'ey don' like bein' called t'at. It's disrespectful. Collectively, t'ey're called t'e Fae. And laugh all ya want, ya bald bastard, ya believe in a guy t'at's supposedly all powerful, all knowin', and all lovin', yet a shite ton a shite gets ya sent ta hell jus' for livin'! Like Tara and Denny! They're jus' in love, so why's t'at a sin?"

"Some things I believe were more written by man than by God," he admitted as they left the church. "As you so boldly stated that first real conversation we had, nothing in the Bible is what it seems. An unfortunate truth of religion; it is open to interpretation."

Ani laughed a bit at that, "I can accept t'at. How'd ya get inta t'e ministry anyway? Me granda on me daddy's side was a Bishop. Evil motha fucka. Had a walkin' stick 'e liked ta break ova me back ova t'e holidays. Me granny, t'ough, she was a fuckin' angel. She'd sneak me t'ese oatmeal raisin cookies every time she came ta visit 'cause she knew I didn' like sweet cookies, or sweets in general. And she'd always get me a present for Yul, made sure it was somet'in' I really wanted but wouldn' be taken by me sista, who'd take anyt'in' I got for 'erself if she wanted it. She was t'e only saint in t'e entire family. She played t'e piano at church and got me inta singin' and instruments. Granny Caroline," she chuckled. "Funny, only now rememba she was called Carol for short. Maybe t'at's why I damn near neva called Cars Carol."

"So you did have one person in your family that looked out for you," Gabriel said almost as if he had won a prize.

"Yeah, on t'e holidays. Least 'til I was nine. She passed away, N-stage kidney failya."

"My father died of liver failure, so I can understand how that must have felt going through it."

"Nah, ya can'," she corrected. "No offense, Gabe, but ya a normie. Ya prolly were devastated; I was bored waitin' in t'e hospital t'e entire week 'fore she finally died. Even now, her death don' bring me sadness; I was jus' happy she was gone. She wasn' sufferin' and I wasn' stuck in a hospital no more. Pissed me family off when I cova'd 'er face, t'ough. Isn' t'at what ya supposed ta do, t'ough? Cova t'e face? It's kinda freaky jus' lookin' at a face frozen like t'at. Her jaw jus' hangin' open, but ya couldn' shut it. I didn' wanna see her like t'at! It was creepy and honestly scarred me more'n t'e fact t'at she actually died. More'n t'at, she wouldn' a wanted ta be seen in such an unlady-like manna, even in death. I t'ought I was bein' respectful ta her, but I got beat by me granda and me daddy."

"It is generally viewed as the respectful thing to do. Death isn't what the movies make it out to be. It truly is a disturbing sight to see a person right after death. However, it is also very much a cultural occurrence," Gabriel told her as Rick, Carl, and Ron passed, Ron giving her the stink eye as she high-fived Carl. "However, the way they treated you is beyond atrocious. No child deserves to be beat for such a thing, let alone beat in general."

"T'anks for seein' it like t'at," Ani said, spying Rosita training some of the Alexandrians and Eugene, though he was just standing there. "I'm gonna go see how t'at's goin'."

She watched as Rosita stopped and looked at Eugene before turning around and grabbing a second machete, hitting it against the one in her hand causing the man to yell, "Hey!" As Ani quickened her pace to see and hear what was going on, Rosita rounded on Eugene as he said, "I'm a weapons novice holding a significant blade here and there are people in my proximity with open toed shoes."

"That's right," Rosita scoffed. "So get a grip." Ani walked up closer to the pair as Eugene looked out at the wall. "What are you so scared of?" Rosita crudely asked him.

"That would be dyin'," he answered quietly.

"Dying is simple," she told him roughly. "It all just stops. You're dead. The people around you dying, that's the hard part. 'Cause you keep living, knowing that they're gone and you're still here. What you should be scared of is living. Knowing that you didn't do everything you could to keep them here." She took in Eugene's face and finished with, "Too upset to keep going? Are the noises scaring you or can I get back to my lessen?"

"Geez, Rose, don' be a bitch."

"You're one to talk, you just coddle him!"

"No, I don'," Ani defended. "I jus' teach 'im in a way he undastands it without demeanin' 'im! Come on, Gene, I'll train ya meself."

"I do not think-"

"Did I give ya an option? Or did I give ya an orda?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"We're gonna go with Tara on watch and ya gonna learn ta shoot," Ani said, dropping in at the armory. "Hey, Olive, how ya doin' taday?"

"Oh, I'm doin' just fine, sweetie. What did you need today? We have a decent amount of food left, but those bucks you and Daryl brought back are being processed now, so that will be useful. Thanks again for that."

"'Twas not'in'. I need a pistol, silenca, and a couple a clips. Buddy-boy here's gettin' a lesson on shootin'," she told the woman. "Ya don' mind, do ya?"

"No, of course not!"

"And hun, I want ya ta close t'e garage and lock ya doors. Cova t'e windows and everyt'in'."

"Why?"

"I jus' got a bad feelin'. I'd appreciate it if ya told a few a t'e ot'a's as well. I don' feel like riskin' it."

"Alright," Olivia said, turning around to find Ron standing there. "Oh! Ron! You startled me. Is there something you need?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, my mom cut her finger on accident and we don't have any bandaids. It's not bad, but, I mean, no point in wasting supplies at the infirmary, right?"

"Right, go ahead and grab a box, they're at the end of the hall," she told him before turning back to Ani. "I'll be right back with that for you."

"T'anks, hun!"

Receiving the weapon with an attached silencer and the clips, she told Olivia thanks again and dragged Eugene with her while explaining why it was important that he knew how to swing a machete, forcing him to practice a few times as they walked to the gate, seeing as there was no one around and she had steel-toed boots on. He was smiling and slightly proud of himself when they made it to the gate. Ani reminded him that he wore his reason to fight on his wrist and he could still be the weak guy who didn't want to fight so long as he was willing to step up and fight to defend his family. She managed to get him up by Tara, the gun firmly in his hand, before he started frowning again.

"Breathe, Genie, ya got t'is," Ani encouraged.

"Yeah, Genie," Tara told him. "You got this. Keep the sight up at your eye level. No, keep your arm straight," she said as Eugene bent his arm to get the sight where they wanted him to have it. "Yeah, straight from the shoulder like that."

"Now take ya shot," Ani said, Eugene taking down a walker with relative ease. "See? Shootin' ain' so bad, now is it?"

"I suppose not," Eugene said, feeling encouraged by Ani and Tara's support, taking another five down before handing the gun back to Ani, smiling away.

"Now you just need experience with blades and you'll be fighting right alongside us," Tara told him.

"I'm not so sure I'm best suited for that."

"Well, I t'ink ya jus' need ta practice up a bit. Again, Gene, ya don' gotta be the strongest a us. Ya jus' gotta be willin' ta fight for us as much as we fight for you."

"Thank you, ma'am. For the faith and courage buildin' you give me. I do not know what I would do if it weren't for the two of you being in my corner and I am well and truly thankful and grateful in equal parts," he told both her and Tara, who just smiled and gave him a hug; Ani just poked him in the side before laughing at how he squealed because of it.

They settled down, just chatting and keeping an eye out for Daryl, Glenn, and the others until Ani asked, "Ya hear t'at?" Standing up and looking around, she couldn't help but cry out, "Ya fuckin' idjit, Spencer! Ya gonna fuckin' die! Get ya ass back ta t'e wall!"

Rick was yelling from on top of the other platform as Tara stood up and saw what was happening. The man had used a grappling hook, not very stable in it's hook on a piece of metal across the way, to try to create a way out. He, himself, was currently on the rope attached to the hook and halfway across with a gun and a pack strapped to his back. Tara yelled at him to keep moving as the hook began to slip, causing Spencer to lose his grip on the rope with his legs. He was now hanging only a foot above the walkers' outstretched arms and unable to move. It was only a matter of time before he fell.

"Eugene," Tara said. "Have Rosita and Maggie fire their guns out from their posts."

"Why?" he asked.

"Just do it!"

"Tara, Ani, I cannot in good conscience-" he began as she climbed onto the barricade, Ani moving to have a single foot on it while keeping her other foot on the guard post.

"Jus' do it, dammit!" Ani yelled at him, both she and Tara aiming their firearms as the hook failed and Spencer fell into the horde beneath. "Keep yaself braced, Tara!"

Together, they fired down into the horde, keeping as many of the walkers off the man as he struggled to climb the rope back to safety. Both of them kept firing until their clips were empty, Ani reaching down as Michonne came up and taking Tara's hand. With Michonne's help, they got Tara over the wall relatively easily with neither of them being any worse for wear. She and Ani shared a look of satisfaction before Rick called out, scolding them.

"Tara! Ani! You both have almost died for these people enough times!"

"What?" Tara asked as Ani looked taken aback.

"What the hell were you doing?!"

Almost in sync, both Tara and Ani flipped him off, Ani calling out, "Makin' sure Deanna didn' lose anot'a son! Fuck ya, Rick, if ya t'ink I'm gonna sit on me ass and watch it happen!"

Angrily stalking off together, Tara ranted about how much of a dick Rick had turned into, prompting Ani to snort at the rhyme. They stuck together for a while, but Ani ended up wandering off at some point. She saw Merle on Francine's porch and waved at him, but otherwise kept walking. While Gabriel might have been right that she should try to be more open about what she was feeling towards the others, no one needed to know how scared shit-less she was at the thought of Daryl not returning. No one needed to know that all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. They didn't need to know she'd barely slept last night, only getting an hour or two from crying herself out before the need for water woke her up. They didn't need to know that she was barely holding herself together for the sake of the people around her. Walking to her house, she let the kittens out, the things following along beside her as she began to head to the infirmary, where Beth and Sophia were currently studying with Denise. She was walking past where Gabriel and the others were holding their prayer circle when he stood up.

Looking up at what he was, she couldn't help the sad smile and scoff that came out of her at the sight of the green balloons floating upwards. The only thing that could mean was that Glenn was alive and close by. It brought a smile to her face until the sound of breaking wood reached her ears. Watching on in horror, she told everyone to run as the tower they used as a lookout fell and broke right through the wall. She ran as fast as she could through the town, Bobby and Catty hot on her heels, yelling at everyone to get their asses inside and shut the doors. That's when she noticed Eugene standing in the middle of it all. Bringing out her daggers, she fought her way too him as he dropped a walkie.

"Pick it up and stay close!" she yelled at him, killing a walker as Rosita and Tara came up. "Where's Maggie?"

"I don't know," Tara told her as they got Eugene moving.

"Dammit!" Ani yelled in frustration as she looked around motioning for the kittens to run. "In t'ere, come on!"

They ran into an open garage, Bobby and Catty , Tara yelling, "The door! Eugene!"

As soon as they got the door closed, she grabbed the walkie from Eugene. "Daryl? Daryl?!" All she got back was static causing her to cuss up a storm and throw the thing so hard at the wall it broke, making her start to bawl. "No, no, no, no. What did I do? What did I do?!"

"You broke it, so what?" Rosita asked.

"Ya don' undastand! T'at...t'at was how we get outta here. T'at was how ta tell Daryl what's goin' on. I broke it. I fuckin' broke it," Ani sobbed.

"Ani, it's going to be okay," Tara told her, coming up and rubbing a hand back and forth across her shoulder blades. "They're probably on their way back right now. Everything's going to be okay."

Ani took a couple deep breaths and tried to calm down, but she barely managed to contain herself. Wiping her eyes, she stood with conviction and went over to the door. Unable to bring herself to speak, she simply pulled out the clips she kept on her and began to pick the lock to the house they had taken shelter in. It didn't take her long at all before they were inside.

"You are so full of shit!" Denise's voice sounded out.

"Denny!" Ani yelled as she came into the room with Tara and Rosita, Denise yelling for Tara as the man with a W on his forehead grabbed onto her, threatening her with the blade in his hand.

"Just be still," he warned as Denise begged. "Lower the guns." He repeated himself once more when the three women did not move from their positions, guns raised and ready to fire, only for Tara to lower hers, prompting the same from Rosita and Ani. "Good," he said. "Now slide them over. I want them."

"Ya can take me," Ani said, lowering to the ground and sliding her gun over before taking a step towards him cautiously. "Ya don' need ta take 'er. Ya can take me instead."

"You don't need her," Tara said as the man bent over and traded the knife for Tara's gun.

"No," he agreed. "I don't."

With the gun in his hand pointed at them and his arm wrapped firmly around Denise's shoulders around her neck, he demanded the quartet to back up. He did not expect Bobby to come up and bite into his leg at a signal from Ani. Yelling and letting go of Denise, the man tried to kick Bobby off, but he had already jumped back as Ani grabbed Denise away and turned and kicked the man right in the chest. The gun went off, hitting the wall as the man fell, Ani wasting no time in bringing her dagger down into his temple.

"What t'e eva livin' fuck was 'e doin' 'ere?!" she roared as she whipped around and looked at Denise. "Are ya alright, Denny? Are ya alright?!"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," she answered from Tara's arms. "I have to get to the infirmary. I have patients."

"You can't!" Tara said. "There are too many out there. We make a run for it, we're dead."

"Nah, we can do it. T'e t'ree a us can clear t'e way wit' our blades. T'e two a ya jus' have ta keep 'em from comin' up from behind. We can get back ta t'e infirmary. It's jus' across t'e way. T'ree houses down, two up."

"Hey," Eugene called. "They're wakin' up."

Carol was the first to her feet, noticing the body and nodding her head while Morgan slowly rose to a sitting position, "Where is he?"

"Dead, ya stupid fuck! Ya should a killed 'im or locked 'im up a hell a lot more secure'n what ya did!" Ani told him. "He tried ta take Denny! It's a damn good t'ing I've been workin' on signals ta attack wit' Bobby! I don' know what he would a done ta her!"

"Ani, I'm okay," Denise told her.

"Look, we gotta get ta t'e infirmary. It's gonna get dark soon and we gotta get t'ere 'fore t'en and movement becomes really bad."

"Alright, Rosita, give me your gun. I'll cover you from the balcony. If you go out back, you just have to go through the garage and next house to the alleyway."

"Yep," Ani said, popping the p. "Let's go. The two a ya, stay here," she told Carol and Morgan, more him than her. "Ya injured, but not ta where ya can' take care a yaself in here. But ya would only slow us down. And I ain' takin' t'e twins out in t'is. I don' trust t'ey won' get grabbed. I know ya not happy wit' me 'cause I killed 'im, but I do t'ings by instinct, not planned t'ought. I was jus' protectin' me people, specifically me best friend."

"Alright," he agreed. "And I understand, I do. But I had to try. All life is precious."

"I know, but t'at don' mean all lives are precious ta me," she countered him. "Gene, ya comin' too, ya too, Rose. We're gonna make a run for it."

"No, not Eugene," Rosita said. "He'll only slow us down."

"Ya'd be surprised," Ani defended as screaming sounded from elsewhere. "Now's our damn chance. T'ey're headin' for whateva's makin' t'at sound. Let's go!"

Ani and Rosita shoved and mowed down any and all walkers in their way while Eugene and Tare helped to shove the walkers on the side that were too close. They didn't even try to kill them unless they absolutely had to. Ani was grateful when they got into the open garage, slamming it shut and going up into the house, taking a breath. They only had to get up the alley now and they'd be in the infirmary. Carol took down several walkers with her gun, yelling and screaming at them to run and gaining the attention of the walkers behind them. Reaching the building, Ani stopped at the porch and made sure the other four were in the infirmary before she herself ran in, Heath and Eric slamming the door shut behind her.

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked them.

"I'm fine," Denise told him, the rest just nodding their heads. "How are my patients?"

"They're doing well," Heath told her as Beth came down the stairs and asked about Maggie. "We moved them upstairs just in case."

"Oh my God," Aaron said, prompting Ani to look out the window where he was.

"Fuckin' shiteballs!" she said before ripping the door open and heading outside with her daggers.

Rick was carrying Carl, Sophia and Michonne clearing a path to the infirmary. Ani helped clear the way to the porch and keep it clear as they came up, carrying Carl into the house as he was bleeding. Bright light shown from the house, the walkers starting to come towards it. Ani was doing her best, but that wasn't going to be enough until Rick came out of the house and joined her with his hatchet. The two of them began killing any and every walker they came across, Ani's daggers flying just as fast as she could make them, killing walker after walker as Michonne, Spencer, Aaron, and Heath ran out to help as well. Eugene surprised Rosita when he sucked in a breath and stormed out the door, machete in hand and took down his first walker before doing the same again and again until he made it to Ani's side. Other Alexandrians came out and joined the circle, Olivia and Eric being the first.

"Knock 'em away!" Rick called out. "Knock 'em down!" As more people came out to form a circle, he shouted, "We can beat 'em! We can beat 'em!"

More and more joined their ranks, Gabriel and members of the church coming out as well. They ended up fighting their way to the wall, it behind them with the horde of walkers fighting in front. Ani was winded, but still working like crazy to save her home and her family. Everyone paused for a moment as something exploded in the middle of town, Ani crying for joy and yelling Daryl's name. It seemed like an eternity before she spotted him fighting his way through the walkers with the others, everyone making their way towards each other now that the walkers were all going one direction.

~x~

Daryl and the others were traveling along as fast as he could push the fuel truck. They'd tried to radio a few times back to Alexandria, but all they'd received so far had been silence or static. Sasha had tried to reassure him, but why would someone simply say help and then go silent like that? After a short amount of time, they had all fallen silent, only talking when they tried to check the radio again. They were making good time, at least, and should be able to make it back today with no issue. That's what Daryl was hoping, but as he rounded a curve he could see a roadblock in the form of a group of motorcycles with a rough looking bunch straddling them.

"Daryl," Sasha warned.

"Yeah, I see," he responded.

"What in the holy shit?" Abraham asked as Daryl pulled to a stop.

"Why don't you come on out?" the guy at the head of the roadblock asked. "Join us in the road." When they didn't move, he gave warning, "You know, if you wanna resist, try something. I mean, it's a choice I guess. But we will end your asses, split you right in two, straight through to the sinuses. So, come on." Daryl shut the engine off while Abraham opened his door, the three of them exiting the vehicle but Daryl being completely over everything at this point as the man said, "That's great! It's going well right out of the gate. Now, step two—hand over your weapons."

"Why should we?" Daryl asked.

"Well, they're not yours," the man stated as if it was obvious.

"What?" Abraham asked, righteously peeved at the situation.

"See, your weapons, your truck, the fuel in your truck, if you got mints in your glove compartment, if you got porn under the seat, change in the seats, hell, the seats themselves, the floor mats, your maps, the little stash of emergency napkins you got there in the console. None of those things are yours anymore?"

"Who's are they?" Sasha asked.

The man walked closer a few steps as he said, "Your property now belongs to Negan. And if you can get your hands on a tanker, you're people our person wants to know. So let's get those side arms shall we?" He walked up in front of them almost cockily as he gestured with his hand, "Right now." Daryl reached behind him and produced his pistol, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. "Thank you," the man said as he took the gun, moving over to Sasha and thanking her before moving onto Abraham, who just stood there stoically. "If you have to eat shit," the man told him. "It's best not to nibble. Bite, chew, swallow, repeat. It goes quicker."

He walked away after Abraham slowly handed over his weapon only for Sasha to ask, "Who are you people?"

"I get the curiosity," the man said, turning only slightly as he kept walking back to the bikes, handing out the firearms. "But we have questions ourselves. And we'll be the ones asking them while we drive you back to wherever it is you call home. Take a gander at where you hang your hats. First, though, your shit. What have you got for us?"

"Yeah, you just took it," Daryl growled out at them.

The man looked down and chuckled before gesturing with a hand and asking, "Come on. I mean, can we not, okay? There's more. There's always more." When they still didn't move, he sighed and said, "T, take my man to the back of the trunk, start at the inside of the back bumper and work your way to the front."

The man he'd called T move and roughly shoved Daryl towards the back of the truck. As soon as they were out of the line of sight, Daryl swirled around and punched the man right in the face. His response was to swing at Daryl himself, Daryl dodging it and trying to knock the man to the ground. What he got instead was a knife in the shoulder and an elbow to the back of the head. Turning to fall on his back, Daryl kicked the man in the knee, forcing him to fall back against the truck and drop the knife. Pulling his own out of its sheath, he felt the carving on the hilt as he brought it down on the man's head, ending his life. As the man fell to the ground, Daryl grabbed one of the cases Abraham had found and opened it, retrieving the RPG. Taking aim, he fired it, watching as all the motorcycles blew up at the same time, pieces of flesh and machine strewn everywhere.

"Son of a bitch was tougher than he looked," Daryl said as the other two stood from where they'd been knocked back.

"Did he cut you?" Sasha asked, noticing the trail of blood coming from his shoulder.

"A little," he said. "What a bunch of assholes."

Pressing a hand to his wound, Sasha told him, "Let's get you fixed up at home."

"Yes ma'am," he told her, opening the truck door and climbing in before starting it back up.

"Nibble on that," he heard Abraham say as the man opened the door for Sasha and him to climb in, smacking Sasha's ass in the process.

The sun had completely set and darkness had begun setting in by the time they got to the gate. They could hear Maggie screaming, Glenn yelling, and gunfire close by, so Abraham and Sasha climbed onto the back of the truck with their guns. Daryl sat in the driver's seat looking at the walkers he could see through the gate. Worry crept into his gut as he thought about Ania and Merle being somewhere in that mess. The sound of the automatics the pair up top had going off brought back to the present and forced him to focus. When they figured out how to deal with the walkers, then he could worry about his family's whereabouts. It had to be first things first.

"Could you get the gate?" Abraham's voice rang out as the gunfire died down. "We'd appreciate it!"

The passenger door opened and Glenn climbed in, taking in Daryl's scared expression as he asked, "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know," Glenn told him. "I just got back. Listen...we can—we can lead some of them away, but they're scattered."

"No, if we get 'em all together," Daryl told him, remembering what Dwight had done in the forest. "Won't have to lead 'em away."

He banged on the roof of the truck to let the others know he was moving and cautiously moved the truck through the gate. Driving into the center of town, he backed the truck up as close as he could to the pond that was there. Daryl jumped out at the same time as Glenn, the latter going to keep cover as the former moved to the back of the truck. Along with Sasha, Abraham, Maggie, and Enid, Glenn kept the walkers from getting close to Daryl as he opened the valve and let the gas pour. He let it pour for a good five minutes before giving the okay. As he climbed onto the back of the truck with the RPG, the others scrunched into the truck with Abraham behind the wheel.

When they had the truck far enough away to not explode itself, Daryl banged on the roof and shouted, "Alright, that's it!"

Standing up, he shot the rocket towards the center of the pond. All at once, every single walker in the vicinity turned toward the fire. They walked into it, all of them, seemingly just blinded by the fire. Daryl and the rest got out and off of the truck, doing what they needed to do to fight through the walkers and the horde. It took forever to find their way to the others who were making their way slowly through the horde that was no longer so intent on feeding on them, but instead were drawn to the fire. He couldn't help but shout her name when he saw Ania fighting in a group with Merle, Eugene, and Gabriel. She looked up and smiled in a way that told him she was fighting not to cry. Her group fought towards his until the two of them were finally side by side. They fought almost all the way through the night, everyone covered in blood, until all the walkers were taken care of. As the morning broke, the remaining survivors moved to the infirmary. Even the people from Alexandria who survived the attack were worried about Carl.

Ani was standing in between Daryl's legs, just looking at him in wonder with tears falling down her cheeks. He held still until Denise was done with his stitches before holding her to him, Merle leaning against a medical cabinet and watching them. Daryl had his face in her hair while she had hers nestled in the crook of his neck, both holding each other as closely as they could when Denise came back with stuff to bandage it.

"So, I kinda guessed you'd want Ani's bandage over traditional, so, um, I brought both, just in case, but..."

"It's fine, Denny, I can take it from 'ere. Go look afta ya ot'a patients, and t'ank ya," Ani told her.

"It was nothing," Denise told her.

"Ya saved Carl, Denny. Quit sellin' yaself short. I know damn well ya had ta take a moment and ya didn' panic," Ani said, giving the woman an honest hug. "T'ank ya for savin' one a me kids."