The front door to the farmhouse opened while Daryl walked outside and he held his son in his arms. Four days had passed since Henry was born, but Carol still had to stay in bed.
Daryl walked down the stairs when he watched Henry blinking and Daryl moved the baby blanket down a little. He headed for the camp when he saw Dale sitting on the lawn chair on the top of RV and Dale smiled.
"Good morning," Dale said.
"Mornin'," Daryl said.
"How's Carol?"
"She's good. Hershel said she could get up in a day or two."
"That's good. How's Henry?"
"He's good," Daryl said, looking down at Henry.
"Where are you going?"
"Just goin' fer a walk."
Dale nodded while Daryl walked off and Daryl headed for the paddock fence. He looked out at the cows grazing while adjusting his hold on the baby when he heard someone walking up behind him and he turned, seeing Rick walking closer. He had Judith in her arms and Daryl titled his head to one side.
"Hey," Rick said with a nod.
"Hey," Daryl said. He noticed Judith looked at Henry as Daryl smiled and she frowned. "Looks like someone's not happy with me holdin' Henry."
"Wanna switch?"
Nodding, Daryl gently handed Henry to Rick then he took Judith from him and Judith looked at Daryl. She frowned until Daryl lifted her into the air and she giggled. He slowly spun around in a circle with her over his head and she giggled louder. He lowered her to his chest as she leaned her head against his right shoulder and he held her.
"You good with us usin' yer middle name?" Daryl asked.
"Yep," Rick said, rocking Henry. "Are you ok?"
"I'm a little tired. Takin' care of Carol, Sophia an' him is hard work."
"But you're loving every second of it."
"Yep."
"Been talkin' with Hershel. He wants to seal the barn up."
"Why?" Daryl asked. He turned to look at the barn. He still got a strange feeling whenever he walked by the barn and he swore he once heard what sounded like Walkers coming from inside the barn.
"He's got his reasons."
"Like what?"
"That's for him to explain."
"Yeah," Daryl said with a nod, still looking at the barn.
"That's why me, T-Dog, Glenn, Otis and Jimmy are going to check out the lumber mill we found the other day."
"You want me to go with you?"
"Only if you want to."
"Hell yeah!"
"Then let's go."
Nodding, Daryl adjusted his hold on Judith and they headed for the farmhouse.
The lumberyard
Rick, Daryl, T-Dog, Glenn, Otis and Jimmy walked cautiously by the large stacks of lumber as they looked around and Daryl listened for any sounds of Walkers.
"Why don't I have a weapon?" Jimmy whispered. "I've been practicing. I want a weapon."
"An' people in Hell want Slurpies," Daryl grumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Here," Glenn said, handing Jimmy a knife.
They walked on when Daryl held his right hand up to stop them and he looked around the corner of the large stack of lumber. He saw several men walking closer as Daryl signaled for Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, Otis and Jimmy to move back and he watched the men.
"You sure you heard something moving by the stacks?" Jake asked, looking at Randall.
"Yeah," Randall said with a nod.
Otis walked to Daryl as Otis looked at the men and Otis frowned.
"I know some of those men. That's Randall Kent. Used to go to school with Maggie," Otis whispered and Daryl looked at Randall.
"Looks like he's fallen in with a rough crowd," Rick whispered after he, Glenn and T-Dog walked to them.
"What do you think we should do?" T-Dog asked.
"You are gonna die," came from above them and they looked up to see four men pointing rifles at them.
"How the hell did they get up there?" Glenn asked.
"Ladder," Daryl said, pointing at the metal ladder connected to the stack of lumber to their right.
"Great," Rick sighed.
"Put yer weapons on the ground," one of the men said.
"Do what he says."
They slowly lowered their weapons to the ground when they heard a loud scream and the men aimed their weapons at something Daryl and the others couldn't see.
"Shit! Not again!" one of the men said, firing his rifle.
Daryl, Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, Otis and Jimmy picked up their weapons as they ran then saw Randall and the other two men fighting Walkers.
"Stupid question, but do we grab the wood and let these assholes deal with the Walker or do we help them?" Otis asked.
"We help them," Rick said, pointing the Colt Python at the male Walker and he pulled the trigger. The Walker's head exploded as the body fell to the ground and Rick signaled for them to spread out.
Daryl ran for one of the large piles of lumber when he looked around the corner and he saw two Walkers heading for Glenn. Aiming the crossbow, Daryl pulled the trigger and the crossbow bolt sailed through the air. The crossbow bolt hit the Walker in the head as the Walker fell to the ground and Glenn slammed the knife into the head of the other Walker.
"Thanks," Glenn said and Daryl nodded. They headed toward the others when Daryl pointed to the right and three more Walkers headed toward them. Sighing, Glenn took aim as he threw the knife and the knife sailed through the air. The blade of the knife slammed into the Walker's forehead as the body fell and Daryl fired the crossbow. The crossbow bolt hit the Walker's forehead as the body fell and Daryl reloaded the crossbow. He fired as the crossbow bolt the Walker in the head and the body fell to the ground.
"That all of 'em?" Daryl asked, retrieving the crossbow bolts.
"I think so."
"Daryl!? Glenn!?" Rick called out.
"Over here!" Daryl called out.
Rick, T-Dog, Otis and Jimmy headed for them while Otis pushed Randall in front of him and Daryl noticed Randall looked a little beat up.
"What happened to the others?" Glenn asked.
"They got away," T-Dog said.
"Let's get what we came for and let's get outta here," Otis said.
"What about him?" Daryl asked, looking at Randall.
"We're taking him with us," Rick explained and Randall glared at him.
"Why?" Glenn asked.
"We need to know about the others."
"I ain't telling you shit," Randall said.
"Move," Otis said.
After they got the lumber and Daryl retrieved the crossbow bolts, Otis placed a blindfold on Randall before he shoved Randall in the truck and Otis closed the door.
Daryl got onto the motorcycle when he started the engine and he steered the motorcycle toward the road.
The Greene Farm
The vehicles came to a stop near the ranch house when Otis pulled Randall out of the truck and Hershel walked closer. Rick hushes Hershel as Rick and Otis lead Randall to the shed and Daryl headed for the farmhouse. He took the steps two at a time when he opened the screen door and he walked down the hallway. He stood in the doorway as he watched Carol sitting on the bed while rocking Henry and Daryl smiled.
"Hey," he said and she looked at him.
"Daddy's home," she said, smiling down at Henry before looking at Daryl. "Wanna hold him?"
"I'm all dirty."
"And yet you used to eat food with dirt, mud and who knows what on your hands."
Snorting a laugh, Daryl removed the leather vest then his shirt when he left the room, quickly washed up then he walked back to the room. He reached for his son and Carol handed Henry to him. He held the baby to his chest as Henry looked at him and Daryl smiled.
"How're you doin'?" Daryl asked.
"I'm bored."
"Well, now you know how I felt."
"Yeah, I guess I do."
Daryl rocked the baby when Sophia appeared in the doorway and she walked to Daryl.
"Hi, Daddy," she said.
"Hey," Daryl said, slightly leaning over to kiss her right cheek.
"Where did you go?"
"Had to help Rick get some wood at the lumberyard."
"Why?" Carol asked.
"Rick said Hershel wants to seal the barn."
"I don't like the barn," Sophia said with a slight shiver.
"I don't either."
"I wonder why he wants to seal the barn," Carol said.
"Rick said I should ask Hershel," he said when he noticed Sophia was looking behind him and Daryl stood a little straighter. He forgot he had taken his shirt and the vest off and he handed the baby to Carol. He looked at Sophia as he sighed and Sophia gave him a sad look.
"What happened to your back?" Sophia asked.
"Uh…," he said, looking at Carol. Carol nodded her head and Daryl sighed. He explained as Sophia nodded her head a few times then she hugged him. She placed her face against his chest as he held the back of her head in his left hand and she looked up at him.
"Do they hurt?" Sophia asked.
"No," he said with a shake of his head. Sophia let go of him when Daryl went to put on a new shirt then the vest and he smiled at her. "I better go see if Rick needs any help."
They watched him leave the room as Sophia went to sit on the bed with Carol and Carol slid her right arm around Sophia's shoulders.
The shed
Randall sat on the floor, handcuffed to a pipe, as he glared at Rick and Otis when the door opened and Daryl entered the room.
"Has he talked yet?" Daryl asked, moving the chair closer. He turned the chair around when he sat down and he placed his forearms over the top of the chair.
"I ain't tellin' you shit!" Randall said.
"Watch yer mouth, Boy," Otis said.
Daryl tilted his head side-to-side when he got up, walked to Randall then Daryl knelt down on his haunches.
"Here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna tell us what you know. Do that an' I don't break every bone in yer body," Daryl said with a small growl in his voice and Rick's eyes slightly widened.
"Fuck off," Randall said.
Sighing, Daryl stood up when he punched Randall in the face and blood rolled out of Randall's nose. Daryl shook the pain out of his right hand while Rick walked closer and Daryl glanced at him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Rick whispered.
"Gettin' answers," Daryl whispered, looking at Randall.
"Let me handle it."
Nodding, Daryl walked to the door when he leaned against the wall and Randall looked at Rick. Rick knelt down in front of Randall while Randall locked eyes with him and Rick sighed.
"Where is the rest of your group?" Rick asked, removing the Colt Python from the holster. Randall looked at the gun then at Rick, but he didn't speak. "Do you want my friend to hit you again?"
Randall pressed his lips into a thin line while Daryl kicked off the wall and Daryl walked to Rick. Randall looked at the blood shimmering on Daryl's knuckles, but he didn't speak and Daryl flexed is fingers.
"Be right back," Daryl grumbled.
Rick wondered where Daryl was going as Daryl left the shed and he stormed toward the white truck. He looked in the back of the truck when he reached in for Merle's backpack and he opened the backpack. He knew he should have gotten rid of what was inside as he reached inside the backpack and he removed the handkerchief. He had removed the handkerchief from Glenn's backpack when they were walking back to the quarry and Daryl looked at the handkerchief.
"Dammit, Merle. Why did you have to be such an asshole?" he whispered.
He held the handkerchief in his left hand while he walked back to the shed and he opened the door. Walking inside, he walked to Rick as Daryl knelt down next to him and Randall looked at the handkerchief.
"What's that?" Randall asked.
"This is what's left of the last asshole who pissed me off," Daryl grumbled.
"Hold on," Rick said, standing up. He walked to Otis when Rick pointed to the far wall and they walked over to the wall. Otis looked confused and a little frightened as he looked at Daryl then at Rick and Rick placed his right index finger to his lips. Softly, Rick explained what was in the handkerchief as Otis nodded then they walked back to Daryl. "Go ahead."
Daryl opened the handkerchief when he showed Randall Merle's severed right hand and Randall's eyes widened.
"You're a fuckin' psycho!" Randall shouted, trying to get away from Daryl.
"No, I ain't," Daryl said.
"Are you going to talk to us?" Rick asked.
"I… I can't. They'll kill me if they find out," Randall said.
"Not if they don't know where you are."
"Look, Man, these guys… They ain't people you wanna mess with."
"How did you get involved with them?" Otis asked.
"Hang on. I know you. You work for Maggie's dad," he said, looking at Otis. "Are we at his place?"
"Just answer the question," Daryl said.
"I… After high school, I went to college. Flunked out. Ended up drifting. Going from one place to another…"
Daryl thought about his life with Merle as he nodded and Randell sighed.
"When the world fell to shit, I found myself on my own. Ended up meeting those guys. They didn't care. Just took what they wanted. Hurt people. When we got here, I told them this is where I grew up. That I knew places where we could get shit."
"Where are they?" Rick asked.
"I can't tell you."
Rick looked at Daryl and Otis when he pointed toward the door and Daryl picked up the handkerchief then he stood up. They walked to the door while Randall tried to get free and Rick turned to look at him.
"We'll come back later. Maybe by then, you'll change your mind," Rick said. Daryl opened the door as they left and Rick closed the door. They started walking while Daryl looked at the back of his right hand and Rick looked at the handkerchief. "Why did you keep that?"
"It's all I got left of Merle," Daryl said.
"What are you going to do with it?" Otis asked.
"Dunno."
"We could find a nice spot and you can bury it."
"Maybe."
Daryl walked faster as he headed for the truck, placed the handkerchief back in Merle's backpack then he headed for the farmhouse.
The farmhouse
Carol read the book Hershel gave her when she heard footsteps and she looked at the doorway. Daryl entered the room when she noticed the bandage wrapped around his right hand and she placed the bookmark between the pages before she closed the book.
"What happened to you?" Carol asked.
"I punched someone," he said, sitting on the chair near the bed and he removed his boots
"You punched someone?!"
Nodding, he stood up when he walked around to her side of the bed, knelt down and he looked at Henry, who was sleeping in the small cradle Daryl had found in an antique shop in town. He had cleaned the cradle and fixed it up and he planned to carve Henry's name in the wood.
"Who did you punch?" she asked and he stood up. He carefully sat on the edge of the bed when he looked at his right hand and she saw the look on his face.
Sighing, Daryl started talking as he told her about Randall and she crossed her arms under her breast.
"Anything broken?" Carol asked.
"Nope," he said with a shake of his head.
"Do you think he'll talk?"
"Dunno."
Henry made a small cry as Daryl got up, walked to the cradle, picked up his son and he held the baby to his chest. Daryl walked around the room as he made soft hushing noises and Carol smiled.
"Damn. This is one time I wish I had my camera," she teased and Daryl gave her a puzzled look. "You look so cute, holding him like that."
"How else am I supposed to hold him?"
"That's not what I mean. Just like how content he is when you hold him."
"Oh."
He went to sit on the small chair near the bed and he held the baby in his arms. Carol noticed the look on his face. She knew he was drifting off into his head and she waited for him to say something.
"No ghost in the room," he grumbled.
"Are you thinking about Merle?" she asked.
"No."
"Your dad?"
"Hell no."
"Your mom?"
"Yeah. She always fussed over someone's baby."
"So, she wouldn't mind being a grandmother?"
Daryl shrugged his shoulders.
"My mom would've loved being a grandmother," Carol said.
"You miss her?"
"Yep."
Henry started sucking on his lower lip and making a small whimpering sound and Daryl looked at Carol.
"He's hungry," Carol said. She watched Daryl stand up as he walked to the bed and he handed the baby to her. He sat back down as she started nursing Henry and Daryl stretched out his legs, folding his arms over his chest.
The shed
The dust particles floated around the dimming sunlight while Randall sat on the floor and he looked out the window.
"Shit," Randall sighed, pulling on the handcuff.
"Dad wouldn't've done that if you had just told him what you wanted," made him look toward the door and Carl walked in the room.
"Who the hell are you?"
Carl knew better then to answer him as he stood near the doorway and Randall glared at him.
"Are you gonna talk to him?" Carl asked.
"Hell no."
Carl staring at him was making Randall nervous. Randall tried to think of something when he licked his lips then he sighed.
"Look, Kid, I'm getting thirsty. Mind getting me some water?" Randall asked.
"If I do, you might try and get away," Carl said.
"How?! I'm cuffed to this fucking pipe!" he said, pulling on the handcuff.
"You could knock me out."
"Why would I do that? You got the key?"
Carl remained quiet as Randall sighed and Randall leaned his head back against the wall.
"Are you gonna go get me water or not?" Randall asked.
Carl looked at him then Carl turned and he headed outside. He saw Rick walking toward him when Rick saw the worry on his son's face and he stopped.
"What're you doing here?" Rick asked, looking at the shed.
"Just wanted to see him," Carl said.
"He's dangerous. Stay away from him."
"He wants some water."
"And you were going to get him some?"
"No. I was gonna get you."
"Go back to the ranch house."
Nodding, Carl walked by him as Rick looked at the shed then he walked to the doorway. Randall looked at him as Rick walked closer and he knelt down on his haunches.
"I am going to only say this once. Stay away from my son," Rick said with a growl and Randall saw the fierce look in his eyes.
"How the hell am I gonna do anything?! I'm chained to a fucking pipe!" Randall said as he pulled on the handcuff and Rick back up a bit.
"He said you're thirsty," Rick said.
"Yeah. Can I have some water?" Randall asked.
"Not unless you agree to talk to us."
"Come on, Man. That's not fair."
"You talk, you get water."
Randall mumbled something as Rick frowned and Rick titled his head to one side.
"What did you say?" Rick asked. He knew he shouldn't get closer, but he inched closer and Randall glared at him. Before Rick could move back, Randall headbutted him and Rick fell unconscious to the floor. Moving as close as he could, Randall searched Rick until he found the keys. Laughing, Randall unlocked the handcuffs when he slowly got up, kicked Rick in his right side then Randall ran out of the shed. He looked around as he tried to figure out which way to go when Glenn, Jimmy and T-Dogg appeared and Randall growled.
"Dammit," Randall said.
"Stop!" Glenn shouted, but Randall started running and they chased after him.
Jimmy had gone inside the shed as Rick slowly sat up and Jimmy knelt down next to him.
"Easy," Jimmy said.
"Randall?" Rick asked with a groggy voice.
"He got out. Glenn and T-Dog went after him."
"Shit."
Jimmy helped Rick to his feet as they left the shed and Jimmy pointed where Randall went. They started running as Rick growled and he ran faster.
The barn
Randall had gotten turned around when he saw the barn and he smiled. He ran faster when he saw Hershel and Otis and Otis' eyes widened.
"Who let him out?!" Otis asked.
"Stop!" Hershel said.
Randall ran left when he saw Daryl and Daryl pointed the crossbow at him.
"Better do what he says," Daryl said.
Running right, Randall stopped when he saw Otis and Otis pointed the rifle at him.
"Don't make me shoot you," Otis said.
Randall panted while he tried to figure out his next move and Glenn, Rick and T-Dog ran toward Daryl. They pointed their guns at Randall when a loud banging sound filled the air and Hershel turned to look at the barn doors.
"Hershel, get away from there!" Rick called out.
Nodding, Hershel ran to Otis as the barn doors started bucking then opened enough for hands to appear and Hershel frowned.
"Am I going nuts or are there Walkers in there?" T-Dog asked.
Randall looked at them then at the barn when he ran and Daryl took aim. He pulled the trigger as he fired the crossbow and the crossbow bolt hit Randall in his right thigh. Screaming, Randall limped around the corner and he smiled, seeing the stairs.
"Yes!" Randall said.
He limped toward the stairs when he felt the crossbow hit his right shoulder and he nearly fell.
"Don't move," Daryl said while aiming the crossbow at him.
"Fuck you," Randall said as he limped up the stairs and Daryl followed him. Randall almost fell when he kicked Daryl in the stomach and, dropping the crossbow, Daryl tumbled down the stairs. Daryl grunted as his head hit the ground and the world started spinning. "Asshole."
Using his good shoulder, Randall pounded on the door while Rick, Glenn and Otis ran around the corner and Rick aimed the Colt Python at Randall.
"Stop!" Rick shouted just as Randall got the door to open and Randall went inside the barn. Glenn and Otis went to check on Daryl while Rick carefully went up the stairs and he held the Colt Python in both hands. He appeared in the doorway and he saw Randall standing at the railing. Randall was looking down at the Walkers when he turned and looked at Rick. "Look. Don't do anything foolish."
Suddenly, Randall charged at Rick as Rick fired the gun and Randall's body jerked back. He headed for the railing as Rick moved closer and Randall fell over the top of the railing. Rick stopped as Randall's screamed filled the air and Rick looked down to see the Walkers tearing into Randall.