Most of the Packs were awake and circling the truck with the map before the sun reached the farmhouse. Rick was splitting the map into color-coordinated grids for the Packs to divide and conquer. Jimmy came over as they started discussing where they were going to search, offering his services. The group slips, and Rick follows Shane to the section they will tag with red cloth. The Alphas stay quiet, not speaking for a while.
"What are we doing? You got everybody at your disposal out scourging these woods for a little girl we both know is likely dead." Shane growls.
"You think we should abandon the search?" Rick asks quietly.
"It's not my call, is it?"
"I'm asking, Shane." Rick stares at the other Alpha, trying to make eye contact.
Shane scowls, never needing encouragement to meet his Prime's gaze. "I mean you honestly think we're just gonna find Sophia alive?"
"Are you that sure we won't?"
"If we'd just moved on, man, we'd be halfway to Fort Benning right now and Carl wouldn't have gotten shot. You said so yourself; us being out here, we're risking lives. What the hell are we still doing this for?"
"I had her in my hand, Shane." Rick whines, "What if it had been my pup, what if it was Carl?"
"Carl's not a 12-year-old Omega."
"His second-gender has nothing to do with it; he hasn't presented yet. And he was 11 when this started, he'll be 12 soon. What then?"
Shane looks away from his Prime and taps a tree with cloth tied around the small trunk. "It's blue. Looks like we wandered into the other grid. Come on, let's head back."
…..
Daryl had borrowed one of the horses and was hunting while looking for the lost pup. The forest was quiet except for the sound of the horse's hooves on leaves and the twang of the bow as he shot at squirrels. Daryl made his way to the farmhouse he found Sophia's Nest in, planning to start his search for her there. He ties the horse to one of the porch beams and makes his way in, checking all the rooms again but not finding anyone. He checks the trash can first, goes into the kitchen, and finds a jar of peanut butter sitting on top. That was new. The Nest looked the same too, but the smell was more potent. Omega, and one that would be entering Heat soon.
The older Omega kneels next to the door and starts pulling out flashlights and batteries along with food and water bottles he had stocked up. Placing them on top of his winged jacket, along with a bottle of Suppressants, Daryl pulls out the shirts he had borrowed from Carol and rolls them around the supplies like a mini Nest. Pulling out a dry erase board, he writes a simple note for the pup and leaves it on top of the pile.
'Sophia,
Stay here; we're looking for you. You're going into Heat and will need this stuff. Take one pill a day if you can keep track of them. Ration the supplies. I will come back every other day to see if you're here. STAY PUT HERE. Lock the closet as tight as you can and stay quiet. The scent of your mom and us will help. We are looking for you.
Daryl Dixon'
Hoping the pup would find the stuff and stay in the farmhouse, the Omega heads back out and grabs the horse to continue the search. Daryl urges the horse to a halt as he passes a steep decline into the riverbank below; a flash of pink under a log makes him pause. A sniff of the area tells him only what he can see; water, dirt, rotting wood, and small rodents that live nearby. Masking those scents was the dead, and under it was a faint hint of honey and what smelled of puppy breath. Daryl holds his crossbow tight as he descends, moving to a lower part of the small cliff and jumping off the animal. Placing his feet carefully, so he doesn't slip, the Omega walks through the shallow part of the pond and picks up the pink item.
Daryl whines in his throat as he holds Sophia's doll, the one she had gotten from Martinez's pup. Looking around, the Omega calls out to the pup, not caring how loud he is, just hoping his voice carries so the pup can hear him. Once he was up the slope with the doll in hand, Daryl turned the horse around, determined to get back to the farmhouse and Sophia's Nest to wait for her to return. Daryl heard the hiss and braced himself as the horse startled. Daryl gets thrown from its back and down the cliff. He lands in the pool of water with an arrow through his side. The hunter wipes the blood from his eye with shallow gasps; the head wound must have been where he hit his head on some rocks.
He crawls to the dryer banks on the other side of the cove and cuts off the sleeves of his shirt, tying them together and binding the arrow to his side. Looking up, he could tell that the horse was long gone, and Daryl was below the highest point on the cliff. He looked around for another hill to climb up, but they were all surrounded by water. Daryl didn't feel like swimming and climbing. He grabs a stick half his size to help him walk and beats it on the ground a few times to test its strength. A bush rustles to his left, along with the sound of shuffling feet. Daryl reaches for his crossbow but finds it missing. He makes his way towards the spot he fell in the water and uses the stick to dig the bow out of the muck, ignoring the pain as much as he can.
Keeping his injury in mind, he uses the stick and his bow to drag him up the hill, grabbing the thin trees as he goes. He gets halfway up, having grabbed another stick to feel out substantial parts of the ground to use to pull himself up through the loose dirt when things go wrong. The stick breaks, and he tosses it away, holding on to the tree to balance himself. "Come on, you've done half, stop being such a pussy."
Lunging for a higher tree causes the dirt to shift from under him, and he starts sliding back with a surprised whine. Tumbling down the cliff again, he hits another rock as he rolls and blacks out.
He comes to slowly, his body twitching and gently rocking like someone was trying to shake him awake. The scent of milk and puppy was more potent than before; the hint of Heat was heavy in the air. Sophia, she was here. Loud whining was turning into deep growling as Daryl pushed himself into consciousness. A Walker was biting at his boots but looked up and hisses as the Omega started to move.
Daryl yelps a high-pitched noise and kicks the Walker away, whining and whimpering as it follows him. He reaches for his bow that's not quite in reach, then stabs and punches the Walker, rolling it under him. The Walker grabs at the hunter's hair, and Daryl rolls away as a second Walker comes out of the woods, drawn by the sounds of the fight. The Omega knocks the Walker onto its back and grabs the broken stick from where it had fallen before, and uses it to bash the Walker's head in. Falling, Daryl pulls the arrow out of his side and loads it into the bow, landing on his back just as the Walker gets over him and aims for the head as best he can while in pain. The body falls beside him, and Daryl lays there, panting. He drops the bow, and when he wakes again, everything is the same.
Pulling off the button-up shirt he was wearing, leaving him in his white beater, Daryl folds the shirt and uses it to put pressure on his wounds. He takes one of the squirrels he shot earlier that had stayed on during the fall and cuts it open, eating it raw. Tucking Sophia's doll into his belt, and starts the climb again. He hears a muffled scream and looks up towards the top of the cliff a few feet away. Sophia. The Omega in him pushes its way to the surface and takes over with his adrenaline, pushing him past his pain, and he climbs a little faster. Digging his fingers into the top-soil at the top of the cliff, Daryl drags himself up, searching the trees for movement. Seeing neither Walkers nor Sophia, the older Omega swallows and does something he never thought he would do; he chuffs and thrills for a pup.
His instincts and memories of his mother help him make the sounds to call to the missing pup. His mother used to stand at the edge of the woods and thrill for him and Merle until they responded. He would hold Daryl when he was young and chuff at each chirp that Daryl made to calm him when their father would beat Merle. Getting no answer, Daryl makes his way back to Sophia's Nest and past that, the Greene farm, softly calling to Sophia as a mother would call to their cub.
…
The old Alpha stands in the dining room doorway, looking into the kitchen as the Beta and Omega from Shane's Pack help Patricia and Beth prepare food. Maggie passes her father as she sets up a spare table, drawing the Alpha's attention.
"What's going on here?" He points, upset, towards the group of women.
"They're cooking dinner for us tonight. They want to thank us for helping them, I didn't think it was that big of a deal." Maggie stands up, a silent challenge for her father to question her decision. The older Alpha had started her training to take over the Pack before the outbreak, and she was going to take over as Prime soon. With the new Packs on the farm, though, it wouldn't surprise her if he held off until they left.
"What's going on with you and the Asian boy?" Herschel rumbles.
"Glenn." Maggie rumbles back, "Don't worry about it. He's just a friend."
"Friends don't come back smelling like each other like you did after going into town. It's bad enough that I have to chase Beth and Jimmy around. I would rather you didn't get off with one of theirs. They're not staying, and I don't want you to get attached to one of them, especially another Alpha."
"Why? It's not like we're going to Mate dad. And if I'm going to be the Prime next, I'm going to let them stay." Maggie raises her hand, cutting off whatever her dad was going to say, "Daryl is bringing us food and furs, which we need now that Otis is gone. The others are helping with chores and they have Omega's and pups, something I think would be good for Beth."
"They're not going to be around forever. When your Prime I hope you'll take how I feel into consideration." Maggie leaves to go get more supplies.
…..
Dale finds Andrea standing on top of the RV with the rifle pointed at the woods. "Hershel doesn't want the guns to be visible from the house."
"I don't want to wash clothes anymore Dale, I want to help get the Packs safe. Is that alright with you?" Andrea snaps at the Elder with a slight growl.
Dale flinches a little, hurt, but walks off. Andrea rolls her eyes and huffs, bringing the rifle to eye level to look out the scope at the woods. Dale goes into the RV, and after ten minutes, Glenn comes out, the Alpha's head low as if he had been scolded. The Beta on the RV watches the Asian Alpha walk into the camp and make himself busy with a misplaced sense of justice. At least she wasn't the only one getting Dale's shit. Looking back out to the woods, she sees a figure stumble out of the trees.
"Walker. Walker!" The others gather around and look where Andrea's pointing. Glenn stays behind Rick as the Alpha and Shane grab blunt weapons.
"Just the one?" Rick asks.
"I bet I can nail it from here." She grabs the rifle and sets it up, looking down the scope. The light glare made it impossible to see a face, but it didn't matter.
"No. No, Andrea put the gun down." T-Dog comes up with a baseball bat and a crowbar and hands the bat to Glenn with a soft purr. The shaky Alpha's last encounter with the Walker in the well had pushed Glenn back a bit in his recovery.
Shane takes off for the Walker, and Rick curses, waving his Packmates on as he grabs his gun from the RV, running to get ahead of the others to keep them from doing anything stupid. Andrea scoffs and lays down on the roof, setting the rifle to get a good shot from behind the group.
"Andrea don't."
"Back off Dale."
Rick gets a few feet away and points the gun at the Walker's, Daryl's head. The group holds their breath, and Glenn whimpers, "Is that Daryl?"
"That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head Alpha." Rick laughs, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. "You gonna pull the trigger or what?"
Rick lowers his gun and clicks the safety on, putting it back into its holster. The tension drains from Daryl's body, and he grins. A sound like thunder and the Omega was on the ground, head bleeding again.
"NO! NO!" Rick screams. T-Dog and Glenn scream too and rush to their Packmate's side. Shane looks back to the RV where Andrea was preening with pride at taking out the Walker…. Until they heard Rick and the others scream, wiping the smug look off the Beta's face.
Hershel and the others come rushing out of the house, "WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON OUT HERE?!"
Rick kneels next to Daryl's head, praying Andrea had missed. The Alpha in him ignored Rick's warnings of Daryl's personal space and brushed the Omega's hair back, seeing where the bullet had grazed the side of his head. Daryl reaches up and touches it with a wince but lets the Alphas drag him to his feet. "I was kidding."
The Omega lets his head fall to Rick's shoulder, scenting his Alpha silently. Rick heaves him higher so he can scent him as well, smelling a wound under all the dirt and blood. He could also smell the scent of honey and puppy breath, the smell of a presenting Omega in heat. The puppy smell and the fact that there weren't any pheromones meant the smell wasn't coming from Daryl. The older Omega wasn't the one in heat. Rick breathes a sigh of relief at that but growls when Shane goes to help lift him. Glenn comes over and slings an arm over his shoulders. Andrea and Dale sprinted down to the tree line while the group made their way back to the farmhouse.
"OH MY GOD!" Andrea sobs, "Oh my god is he dead?!"
"You just grazed him." Shane pushes her back when the two Alphas holding their Packmate flash black eyes to her, Daryl leaning heavier on his Alpha. T-Dog follows at a slower pace. Shane grabs the Beta by her neck and starts to drag her along, ignoring Dale. "What the hell were you thinking?! I fucking told you to let us handle it and you fucking ignored me and now Daryl's out with a gunshot."
"He was injured before, while he was out there. That's why he was limping, and now you've put another hole in him." Glenn flashes his teeth at Andrea when she tries to get a closer look at the injury. Shane pushes her back and puts himself between the two of them.
"Guys!" T-Dog huffs behind them. The group turns and looks at the doll he holds up; the red yarn hair, the tattered dress, yellow leggings, and button eyes. "Isn't this Sophia's?"
"It's hers." Daryl groans, "Found it, found her. She's…. She's…. Heat…. maybe…" Daryl goes limp, his body shutting down to heal, now that he was with his Pack.
Rick looks to Shane, the discussion about dropping the search running through both of their minds. Rick and Glenn continue to carry the unconscious man to Hershel to be patched up. They get him inside and, in a room not too far from Carl, the pup still asleep. The older Alpha cleans the bullet wound and wraps up his head while the Omega is still out. Rick sat at the man's bedside, holding the doll and looking at it and then at Daryl like he couldn't believe it was in his hand. Shane stays by the door, refusing to come into the room while Rick is still on edge. Hershel had just started to stitch up the arrow wound when Daryl came to again.
"...Gon' on?" Daryl blinks.
"What?"
"What's going on?" Rick rested a hand on Daryl's shoulder, ensuring the hunter could see it the whole time.
"You said you found Sophia; you had her doll?" Rick shows Daryl the doll he had been holding and nods at Shane to grab the map. When the Alpha leaves, Rick asks Daryl if he is alright with Shane coming in to talk about the plans.
"He says nothin' bout them." The hunter points at his scars, "He doesn't stare either."
"I'll tell him." Rick meets Shane at the door and gives him Daryl's warning. The two Alphas come in and get an idea of where down the creek the doll was found, cutting the search area in half. Once Hershel leaves with a snide remark about his horse and the medicine they were going through, Shane turns to Daryl, watching as he pulls the covers up to his shoulder.
"You said you found her, but you didn't bring her back. Why; she bit?"
"Don't know."
"You don't know." Shane laughs, ignoring Rick's rumbles, "You've seen her but don't know if she is bit?"
"Ain't seen her." Daryl flashes his teeth at the Alpha, "Said I found her. Seen where she's hiding, her Nest." He turns his attention on Rick, not paying Shane any mind, which raises the Alpha's neck hairs. No Beta had a right to treat him like that. If Rick hadn't claimed the Beta hunter for his Pack, Shane would have shown the little bitch precisely what happens when you cross an Alpha.
"She's hiding in this old farmhouse, one of the neighbors most likely. I left her some Suppressants cause she's in Heat; maybe started it yesterday. Carol gave me one of her shirts to give her and some food. Left a note saying we'd come by every day. The smell was stronger today than it was yesterday, so she came back even after I entered her Nest, which is a good sign. I'm going back out there tomorrow, and ya ain't coming with." Daryl cuts Rick and Shane off when they try to protest, "Your both Alphas, with overpowering scents. If she's there and smells you, she'll bolt. Even if she recognized your scents, with her Heat and the fact that she's terrified, she'll leave. Then we lose any trace we might have of finding her."
"You won't be able to move much with your injuries," Daryl snarls, and Rick backtracks, knowing where the Omega would take it, "I'm not saying you're not going, you are."
"Rick, man, he's..."
"The only one you know where the house is." Rick cuts the other Alpha off with a look, "And the one that Sophia has been smelling in her Nest. But I think it would be a good idea to take someone with you. T-Dog would be the best choice. He's quiet in the woods, he knows to give you space and he doesn't talk much, plus he's a Beta. He won't scare her off; the two of them hung out on the road and at the CDC, his scent might help. Take him with you?"
"I can do that." Daryl watches his Alpha, "He's still hurt though. I'll take Glenn if he's not up to it."
"Glenn's an Alpha, or does your Beta nose not tell you shit?" Shane growls, pissed that Daryl would allow the wanna-be Alpha to join him but not Shane.
"Glenn's so subservient he smells like a Beta half the time. Plus, Sophia trusts him more than me, if I can't get her out, he can." Daryl growls back. Rick lays his hand on Daryl's arm and gently pushes him down to rest. The two Alpha's leave. Daryl listens to them growl at one another in the hall, with Lori trying to play sides again. Rick leaves to check on his son, and Lori and Shane whisper a little longer before Shane storms off to punish Andrea, his Mate following on quiet steps.
It was hours before anyone came up to the room, and Daryl spent the time sleeping and looking at the doll. When the door opens, Daryl pulls the sheets up to cover his scars, looking over his shoulder to see Carol with food and water.
"How are you feeling?" She asks. Daryl could hear the quiver in her voice. She could probably smell Sophia on him.
"About as good as I look."
"I brought you dinner." Carol places the tray on the bedside table, "You must be starving."
"Thanks." Daryl looks at the food in hunger but doesn't move to grab it. Carol smiles at the younger Omega and places a kiss on the bandage near the bullet graze. Daryl just blinks at the woman and croons, trying to comfort her. Realizing what he had done, Daryl turns over after clearing his throat with a huff, "Watch out, I got stitches."
Turning to leave, Carol opens the door and looks back at the hunter, "You need to know something. You did more for my pup today than her daddy ever did in his life."
"She's Pack." Daryl grumbles with a low croon, purposely comforting this time, "Didn't do nothin' the others would have."
"Rick and his maybe; Hershel's too if she was one of theirs. But Shane's tried to call off the search multiple times now. He's even stopped looking for her with the others. You're better than Shane; and you're just as good, if not better than 'bout everyone else out there. Cause you're trying to not just find her but taking care of me and the others on top of it. They might not say it, but I will; thank you." Carol was gone with a final kiss and low croon, leaving Daryl to stare at the little doll in his hands.
…..
Glenn had been watching the barn all morning; the image of the Walkers trapped inside had kept him up all night. Why would Hershel's Pack be keeping Walkers in the barn?
"Could you be any more obvious?" Maggie drops a basket of fruits by Glenn's feet.
"Buying my silence with fruit?"
"Oh, course not." The female Alpha pulls out a Ziploc bag of meat from her waistband, "There's also jerky."
Glenn laughs and opens the bag, pulling out the smallest piece and splitting it in two, handing half to Maggie and eating the other. She smiles, takes it, enjoying the shade of the tree and the smell of wet dough and pineapple coming from the male in front of her.
"Why do you smell like that? Dough and pineapple?"
"I delivered pizzas downtown before all this. I had these regulars, an old couple that ordered a Hawaiian like once a week. They always gave me a slice along with a tip. More often than not the slice ended up on my lap than in my mouth while I drove back. I had the job since I was in high school, so after so many years doing the same thing the smell just kind of stuck." Glenn shrugged. Maggie gets closer and takes another whiff, freezing Glenn in his place. When she moves back with a hum, Glenn clears his throat.
"Why does your dad have a barn full of Walkers?"
"Daddy thinks they're still people; that they're just sick." Maggie looks at the barn and swallows, "I used to but after the well, I don't know. The others in my Pack still think so though, and we know how yours deal with the infected. You can't say anything to them, please."
"I'll try. They'll see right through me if I try to lie though, especially Shane." Glenn looks at the other Alphas, who were getting the guns together for the first shooting class.
"Promise me, you'll try."
"Of course. Your land, your secret. Just don't hate me if I can't." The Asian Alpha watches the other walk back to her home before he grabs the peaches and goes to give them to Dale and the ones staying behind. He passes Andrea on her way to the tents and hands her two, asking her to give one to Daryl, which earns him a small smile and an eye roll.
The female Beta finds the hunter in his tent, poking holes in the screen with one of his arrows. She steps inside with a soft "hey."
Sitting down, she hands him a book she had gotten from Dale's RV and the peaches. "The peaches are from Glenn, though he got them from Maggie; and the book is Dale's. It's not that great but…. I'm so sorry, I feel like shit."
"Yeah, you and me both." He taps the book and nods, a silent thanks, and puts it next to his cot. "You were protecting the Packs. You don't ever have to apologize for that. We're good."
"Thanks." Andrea shifts in her seat.
"That bruise," Daryl points to the purple fingers on her throat, "Shane's punishment?"
"Yeah. For shooting you after he told me to put the rifle down and let them handle it. Hershel yelled at him and Rick about the guns again." Andrea gets up opens the tent up.
"He ever crosses that line, of being an Alpha and being an asshole, let me know. I got ya." Daryl smiles, "And the next time you shoot me, you best pray I'm dead."
….
Daryl was up, walking around listening to the others talking around the map. He grabs a third peach from Glenn as he passes and flicks his baseball cap down, lightly scenting the Alpha. Watching Beth and Patricia talk Rick and Shane into letting them come to practice, Daryl notices Carl up and next to the RV. Daryl makes his way over to the youngest member of his Pack and sees something bulk out of the boy's shirt. He was hiding something.
"Hey, pup. Nice hat." He flicks the sheriff's hat his dad gave him and sits against the back of the RV. "What's going on?"
"I heard you got shot too. Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. It grazed me." Carl puts the hat on Daryl's head and grins. "What that for?"
"You're a part of the 'I Got Shot and Survived' club. Me and dad are members too. We share the hat." Carl puffs out his chest and gestures for Daryl to put the hat on. The Omega man places it back on the pup's head and rubs it in, ruffling the boy's hair underneath.
"Alright let's see it. Whatever it is bulging your shirt right there." Daryl points at the front of his pants. Carl looks at the other adults and lifts the corner of his shirt up, showing a pistol tucked in his pants.
"Come here." The pup whines but approaches nonetheless. Daryl holds out his hand and watches as Carl hands the gun to him. He keeps the barrel facing the ground and not pointing at either of them or the camp, checking the safety and fingers away from the trigger. The kid knew gun safety at least a little. Daryl opens the chamber, and the bullet falls out, four out of six.
"Alright, this is what we're gonna do. The gun wasn't loaded but you had the bullets on ya too. That right there might save you an ass-whooping cause yes we're telling your dad." Daryl looks at the pup.
"Please don't tell him, Daryl, he'll be really mad. Mom too."
"Your mom ain't got a say in yer raising anymore, so don't worry about her. Rick is our Alpha and your dad. We have to tell him even if we don't want to. But I'll help ya out as long as you behave and follow my lead." Carl nods.
"Good, now why do you have this?"
"I want to learn how to shoot, to look for Sophia, and protect the camp."
"Where'd you get it? RV?"
"I told Dale that dad sent me to get a walkie."
"I'll come up with something to get you in as little trouble as possible, but this is it. You fuck up again and it's on you." Carl nods, and Daryl pockets the gun and bullets, "Sit here. Be right back."
Daryl goes over to Rick and Shane and bumps his Alpha's shoulder for his attention. "Rick, we need to talk."
"Hang on. What's up Daryl?" Daryl pulls out the gun and hands it to Rick.
"Daryl we can only have a few guns out at a time. What's wrong with it?"
"I ain't the one that got it out."
"Who did?"
"That's why we need to talk, but ya can't just go yellin' at him. You do that and he's gonna hide a lot more than a gun."
"Carl." Rick sighs, looking over at his pup. "Come on."
They make their way over, Shane following them. When they get to the pup, Rick pulls the gun out and kneels. They talk about the gun and how he got it. Daryl decides to not mention the bullets, and Carl doesn't either. Shane offers to teach him and leaves it up to Rick. As the Alpha starts setting down rules for both Shane and Carl to follow, Lori shows up.
"What is going on? Why are you all over here with a gun in front of Carl?"
"Because Shane is going to teach him how to shoot." Rick clinches his jaw, preparing for the fight.
"Excuse me?!" Lori points at the pup. "He was just shot!"
"It's better he learns to handle them safely than him being afraid of them." Rick crosses his arms over his chest, "We have guns in camp for a reason."
"I don't want my kid walking around with a gun." Lori growls at Rick.
"Who's kid?" Carl stands up, "You renounced your claim to me; which, in Beta world, means you signed away your rights and dad has full custody now. You don't get a say in this anymore."
"Hey!" Daryl smacks the back of Carl's head, just enough to snap him back to attention, "Watch your mouth. Renounced claim or not, she gave birth to you and raised you. Don't bad mouth in front of her and yer dad."
"I'm sorry." Carl turns to Rick, "Can I learn to shoot?"
At Rick's consent, Daryl steers the pup away from the others, calling over his shoulder with a little bit, "Come on. I'll show you how to skin rabbits until your gun lessons. They're needed skills nowadays."
…..
After Rick gets Hershel's permission to teach the Pack how to shoot, those that were going left in the cars closest to the road. They set up cans on the fence post and line everyone up to one. Carol kept an eye on Carl while they took turns, and Rick and Shane walked around. Shane stays with Andrea when everyone goes back, and they work on moving targets, a dog tied to a tree and swung side to side.
The ones back at camp were talking about how well they did and congratulating Carl. Dale and Glenn weighed the pros and cons of telling everyone after Hershel's comment concerning Shane and maybe Andrea doing something drastic. Lori goes down to talk to the older Alpha while he's fixing the fences and learns that the Greene's Pack was expecting them to leave after Carl fully heals. Pissed, she goes back to the camp to confront Rick because, of course, it would be his fault none of them knew they weren't welcomed anymore.
"Hershel expects us to leave?" She asks after she gets close enough to the Alpha. When he doesn't respond, she huffs, "Does anyone else know?"
"Glenn, Carol, T-Dog, Daryl, and Shane."
"Were you going to tell the rest of us?"
"The only one I can tell is Carl, and I was waiting until we found Sophia to do that. The rest of you are Shane's Pack and by Traditional Law, he has to tell his Pack news like that."
Lori walks back to her tent to write out a list of stuff they would need. She had made her decision. She finds Glenn chopping wood and asks him to make a run into town, handing over the list before she can change her mind.
…
They make it all the way to town before Glenn tries to make conversation, "Maggie I-"
"I asked for your trust and you betrayed it." The Alpha female snaps, "Now my dad's pissed at me."
"I told you they would find out. I didn't tell them but when Dale came to me with his own suspicions I didn't lie to him. Why does your dad think the Walkers are sick?" Glenn asks as they pull up to the pharmacy. They tie the horses to the poles outside.
"I wish you'd stop calling them that."
"I'm sorry. What do you call them?"
"Mom, Shawn, Mr. and Mrs. Fisher, Lacey, Duncan." Maggie walks into the building and leaves the other Alpha outside. She passes Glenn at the feminine hygiene section and scoffs, "What does she want now?"
"I can't say."
"So, one of them asks you to keep your mouth shut-" Glenn hands over the paper with the item on it. To think what Lori was asking them to get, what she was going to do with them…
"You've got to be kidding me." Maggie storms off in a huff behind the counter. While grabbing the pill bottles, Glenn starts scanning shelves for anything else the group might need. Picking up one of the bottles and reading the label, a hand grabs Maggie's wrist. The Walker's growls could almost be heard over the female Alpha's screams of fright.
The Walker pulls Maggie's arm closer to her, and she screams, "GLENN!"
Glenn reacts quickly, grabbing a shelf of one of the stands and jumping the counter, swinging it at the Walker's head. It falls to the ground, releasing the sobbing Alpha. Glenn rushes over to Maggie, crooning.
"Are you bit? Did it get you?" When Maggie shakes her head, Glenn gathers her in his arms and presses her face into his glands, still crooning.
"Glenn!" The Walker was up again, and Glenn swung the board into its head, knocking it back down. Keeping himself between Maggie and the Walker, The Alpha grabs his knife and makes sure it goes all the way through to the brain. Dropping the dead body, Glenn stabs it a few more times to ensure the threat is gone. Pulling Maggie into the corner of the room, he sits her down with his knife and checks everywhere for another Walker. Finding none, he goes back to Maggie and croons, keeping her against the wall, away from everything until she can calm down.
The ride back to the farm was at a sprint, pushing the horses to get them there quickly. Maggie jumps off and runs towards Lori the second she sees her. "HEY! We got your stuff!"
"Maggie hang on, please."
"Well come on in here." Lori tries to usher them into the tent before the Alpha causes a scene.
"Why?! You ain't got nothing to hide!" Maggie starts throwing things on the ground as she pulls them out of the bag, "We got your lotion, your conditioner, your soap opera digest. Next time you want something, go get it yourself.…. And here's your abortion pills."
Maggie takes off towards her house, and Glenn sighs, following her. Lori sniff and makes her way to her tent, taking a handful with her and heading out to the fields, wanting to get it over with quietly. Rick watches her leave in a hurry and decides to grab the last of Carl's things while she is occupied elsewhere. It's while he is gathering Carl's comics that he finds the pills. Four were missing; one pill a day would match up with when Maggie and Glenn had gone before. Or she got them on today's run and overdosed on them. Rick wonders if he should go to her and see how she's doing. Instead, he grabs his son's things and leaves. It was her and Shane's baby, and therefore their decision.
…..
Daryl had been out in the woods all day looking around for Sophia with T-Dog. They had stopped by the farmhouse right after shooting practice that morning and left another note and more clothes. The two Packmates had spent a few hours sealing up the windows and doors so the smell wouldn't leak out when the pup hit full Heat. Sophia hadn't made it back the previous night, which was worrying because Daryl could smell signs of other Betas and Alphas hanging around. Someone's group was getting too close to the pup's Nest, and that was unsettling. They comb the woods looking for any sign of her, following her tracks back to the creek.
"Maybe we should check the highway?" T-Dog suggest. They get back to the camp and check-in with Dale before making their way to the highway. Not expecting to find anything, they were pleasantly surprised to see the food and drinks gone. They check the car with the sign and the surrounding cars too. They're disappointed to realize that the supplies had been nabbed when another group came through. The car tracks, more Walker bodies, and missing six-packs Daryl had found and ignored in one of the trucks pointed to a group instead of Sophia.
Daryl was checking to see if there was anything helpful left and found a kit. A Heat kit. Pocketing that in case one of them went into Heat, Daryl noticed a whiteboard on the ground. Picking it up, he could see a bit of his own message to Sophia on the outlines, but someone had wiped the middle clean to draw a house and write Mr. Dixon on it.
Sophia.
"Hey man. I'm dead on my feet, we have to go back." The sound of a car pulling up, demanding their attention. Seeing it was Rick and Carl, the two men go over to the passenger side, and Daryl opens the door, helping T-Dog in, then leans over Carl's open window to talk to Rick.
"He's done for the day, take him back and get him in the shade with some meds. I found another clue for Sophia and I think she's only staying at the farmhouse during the night. Thinking I'll stay there tonight and hopefully can bring her back by tomorrow."
"Really?!" Carl jumps up and down in his seat, "She'll be home by morning?!"
"Maybe pup. But she's going into Heat." Carl calms down with a look of understanding, "I might not be able to move her until nightfall or the day after."
"Can you make it back to the farmhouse from here?" Rick asks.
"I'll catch a ride with you all and head back from camp, pick up a few more things for overnight." Once they get back to camp, Daryl grabs another shirt from Carol with a remark of getting her some new clothes since he was stealing all of her, earning him a laugh and a kiss on the cheek. He grabs one of Rick's and Carl's, too, as well as her doll and more food. Getting back to her Nest, Daryl sets everything up in her tiny closet then goes and catches himself dinner.
He leaves a portion of the rabbit for Sophia and goes upstairs, dragging a mattress down into the living room. Falling asleep wasn't part of the plan, and it was after dark when he finally woke up. Hearing a growl in the other room, Daryl notices two Walkers in the kitchen, one by the sink and the other pushing at the closet door; Sophia's Nest, which was locked uptight. Daryl shoots one with his crossbow and takes the other out with his knife. Moving the bodies outside the Omega was going back to the bed he'd claimed when he heard it…. A chirp.
No.
It couldn't be.
Please be her, please be her.
Daryl let out a loud chuff and was rewarded with a happier chirp.
"Sophia?"
A heartbeat…. then two…. then….
"Mr. Dixon?"