Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.

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Daryl and Isabell had arrived back to the farm before sundown, just as they said they would. They wandered through the small camp searching for Carol to tell her about their futile efforts. When they were told Carol spent most of the day in Dale's RV, they headed in that direction.

Isabell entered the camper first, looking around. The inside was cleaner than it was the last time that she saw it. Isabell smiled, thinking Carol had at least tried to be productive instead of moping around camp like she had been. Isabell hoped that it was because of everything that she had shared with Carol that night.

Daryl joined Isabell inside the RV, and the two joined Carol in the back as she worked on a sewing project.

Isabell sat on the couch she'd sat on the night before, across from Carol.

Daryl stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"I cleaned up." Carol said, looking up from her project for only a second. "Wanted it to be nice for her."

Daryl chewed on a piece of straw he found on the way back to camp. "For a second, I thought I was in the wrong place." He joked.

Carol smiled at the joke.

Isabell looked up at Daryl, wondering when he was going to reveal the flower she knew he had behind his back.

Daryl showed the beer bottle that held the flower. He used the bottle as a vase for it and set it on the shelf next to Isabell.

Carol looked closely at the bottle. "A flower?" She questioned, tilting her head towards Daryl.

Daryl took the piece of straw from between his lips and cleared his throat. "It's called a Cherokee Rose." He paused. "The story is that when the American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losin' their little ones along the way."

Isabell, and Carol, were hanging onto every word for Daryl. Isabell hadn't ever heard of this legend, and was surprised that Daryl knew it. If Daryl had told her that's why he was bringing the flower back to the farm, she probably wouldn't have given him so much shit for it.

"They died from exposure and disease and starvation." Daryl looked to the rose and shook his head. "A lot of 'em just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer. They asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits. To give 'em strength and hope." Daryl continued to watch Carol for a moment before he looked to Isabell, noticing the tears in her eyes.

Carol looked to the rose.

Daryl continued. "The next day, the roses started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell." He took a breath. "I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers bloomin' for my brother. But I believed this one bloomed for your little girl."

Carol smiled and looked to Isabell before averting her eyes to the sewing project in her hands. Carol took a breath and laughed quietly, looking to Daryl with tears in her eyes.

Daryl nodded and turned to leave. Before he opened the camper door, Daryl paused, looking back. "She's gonna really like it in here." He sighed and left the camper, leaving Isabell with Carol.

Carol smiled and looked to Isabell.

Isabell tried hard to erase the obvious tears on her face.

"You were right." Carol said, gaining Isabell's attention in an attempt to cheer her up. "He's a good man."

Isabell nodded, unable to stop herself from breaking into a hard cry. She leaned her arms down onto her knees and hid her face. "He was a good father, too."

! #$# !

Ten Years Earlier….

Isabell had been asleep for a good few hours. This time was rare now that she had her daughter. There wasn't ever much sleep to be had with a newborn. Isabell didn't mind it though.

Harley was Isabell's little ball of sunshine.

Before Isabell could even begin to think that she was way in over her head with the baby, she'd look at Harley and realize that the thoughts weren't worth it. Isabell loved Harley. She knew Harley needed her and that's all she ever thought about most of her days.

Isabell slowly woke up and rolled over to glance at the clock on her nightstand. She noticed that it was slightly past Harley's feeding time, but she hadn't yet heard her daughter's cries for attention and food. Isabell groaned and pushed herself out of bed, towards the side where Harley's crib was set up. She reached into the crib through the dark automatically, like she had done so many times. However, Isabell's hands never found her child. Isabell panicked slightly, but quickly realized that Harley was barely a few months old and couldn't have gotten herself out of her crib. Then, Isabell heard her daughter's small whine.

Isabell grabbed one of Daryl's plaid shirts that laid on top of her dresser and put it on over her tank top in case Merle was around. She didn't like being barely covered when he was in the house. Isabell walked quietly out of her room and into the main living room.

Daryl was sitting in his armchair, with the back of it facing Isabell. He had Harley laid softly in his arms, holding her as she ate from her bottle. "'At's my girl." Daryl sad out loud. "You eat up so one day, you'll be big 'nd strong. Just like yer mama. And if yer anythin' like yer mama, you'll need that strength to keep all the boys off'a ya."

Isabell stood behind Daryl, leaning against the door frame, listening to Daryl talk to their daughter.

"When yer a little older, Daddy's gon take you out all the time. Ima treat you like the princess ya are, like ya know ya are. But yer gonna be tough, too." Daryl insisted. "I'll teach ya ta hunt and fish. Mama'll teach ya how ta cook whatcha catch. Yer gonna know how ta take care of yerself." He rocked the chair a little, staring down at Harley. "And yer gonna know that even when ya can't handle things, Daddy's always gonna be there when ya need him. And so's Mama." Daryl leaned down softly to kiss his child's forehead as she fell asleep gently. "We love ya, baby girl."

Isabell pushed herself off of the wall and made her entrance into the room. "Yes, we do." She said, moving to sit on the arm of the chair that Daryl wasn't using to hold up Harley. "I can take her." Isabell said, holding out her hands.

Daryl shook his head, glancing up at Isabell. "Nah, I got her. How long ya been standin' there?"

"Long enough." Isabell said, smiling and leaning down to kiss the top of the man's head.

"I'll bring her back in a bit." Daryl gestured with his head back to his room. "You go on and lay down."

"I'll wait." Isabell shook her head, moving to the couch to put her feet up and watch the two of them.

Daryl leaned down, looking at Harley. "Ya know, yer mama's a piece of work, Harley."

"Am I?" Isabell joked.

Daryl nodded and looked over at Isabell. "But you know it."

Isabell smiled and watched her two favorite people together. The minutes went by in a peaceful silence as their daughter fell asleep. Isabell had managed to nod off herself until she was gently shaken by Daryl. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and squinted up at Daryl.

"C'mon Izzy, let's get the two of you to bed." Daryl said.

Isabell slowly pushed herself off the couch and followed Daryl towards her room.

Daryl placed Harley in her crib slowly, receiving only a bit of protest from his child. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "G'nite, Harls."

Isabell, in the meantime, climbed into her bed, curling herself into the comforter.

Daryl leaned over Isabell's bed, using his hands as a support across the bed. He kissed the side of her head. "I'll see ya in the mornin', Iz." Daryl said, moving to retreat to his own room.

"Nah." Isabell said, pulling back the comforter from under him. "You sleep here tonight." She insisted.

Daryl tilted his head to her. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Isabell responded. She was jostled slightly as Daryl joined her in the bed. After he managed to get comfortable, Isabell curled herself into him instead of her blankets. She laid her head on his chest and his arm went around her. Isabell yawned and gripped his shirt tightly between her fingers. "Ya know, yer gonna be really good at bein' a dad."

Daryl smiled and pushed the hair out of Isabell's face. "Good night, Izzy."

! #$# !

Isabell woke up to the calming sounds of the surrounding farm. She slowly opened her eyes, taking a deep, relaxing breath, remembering that they were safe for the time being. Isabell smiled and sat up to gather herself and put on new(ish) clothes for the day. She noticed that Daryl had already left for his morning run-around, checking on things around the farm and maybe doing some hunting. Isabell left the tent and went straight for Carol's, seeing her sitting at the opening and putting on her shoes. "Mornin' Carol." She smiled.

"Good morning." Carol responded, quietly.

"Laundry day, innit?"

"Yeah, I'm wonderin' where Lori is. She's normally up to help me by now."

"We could let her sleep." Isabell suggested. "Everybody needs a day to sleep in sometimes. Let me help you out today."

"You sure?" Carol asked, pushing her brow together. "I mean, everybody has jobs. You're normally out with Daryl."

"There were a couple times yesterday that he didn't seem to want me there. I think I got in the way a lot, but he just puts up with it." Isabell shrugged. "'Sides, he'll be fine just one day." Isabell offered her hand out to Carol to help her to her feet.

Carol took Isabell's hand, using it to pull herself up. "That'd be lovely." She smiled. "Thank you."

Isabell leaned over and grabbed one of the baskets of dirty clothes that Carol had.

Carol snagged up the other. The two worked on the laundry in silence for a while before Carol said anything. "Harley." Carol stopped with the clothing in front of her, watching Isabell.

Isabell's head snapped up to look at the other woman. Hearing that name from one of these people was different and something that she'd never expect.

"That's your daughter, right?" Carol asked, wondering how far she could take this conversation. "That day in the woods after Carl was shot, you said that name."

Isabell nodded, but couldn't meet Carol's eyes. The moment was making her uncomfortable. "Yeah." Isabell swallowed the small lump in her throat. "That was her name."

"How old was she?"

"She was ten. When…." Isabell answered slowly, but she couldn't finish.

"Right, I'm sorry." Carol said, turning her attention back to the laundry. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's okay." Isabell promised, nodding and trying to psyche herself into believing that it was. "I just — I haven't really talked about her since then." She shrugged. "Daryl and I don't really like to bring it up. We're not exactly adjusting well."

Carol nodded, ending the conversation so that she wouldn't upset Isabell more than she might have already.

"She and Sophia would have gotten along great." Isabell said, this time making Carol's head to snap up. "Harley was a good kid. Despite havin' Merle for an uncle."

Carol smiled. "You know, before all this happened with Sophia, I couldn't picture Daryl being a father. It never even crossed my mind that he might be."

"Well, Harley wasn't exactly planned." Isabell smiled, recalling the day that she told Daryl that she was pregnant. She felt goosebumps rise on her arms at the thought. "She was a big surprise. Daryl nearly fainted."

Carol laughed at that.

Isabell quickly looked to Carol, a serious smirk on her face. "Don't tell him I told you that."

Carol shook her head, stating that she wouldn't. "What I mean is, seein' him now and how set he is on findin' Sophia." Carol nodded over to where Daryl sat against a tree, sharpening his bolts with his pocket knife. "I can see it now."

Isabell followed Carol's eyes to look over at Daryl, too. "Yeah, he's definitely got 'Papa Bear' written all over him." Isabell turned back to Carol. "He just hasn't forgiven herself yet for her. I kinda think he's thinkin' that findin' Sophia will make up for Harley."

"He'll get there." Carol insisted.

About an hour later, Isabell started to notice a shadow that was beginning to stir in the Grimes' tent. She and Carol were starting to hang the laundry to dry.

Lori came out of her tent and put on her shoes before walking over towards the other women. "I can't believe I slept in." Lori moved to grab some clothes to help the others hang them.

Carol shrugged. "You must have needed it. You feelin' alright?"

"Next time wake me, alright?" Lori asked, ignoring Carol's question. "Especially on laundry day."

"I had Isabell's help. We managed."

Isabell smiled at the brunette. "We all need to sleep in some days."

"Aren't you going out to help Daryl?" Lori asked, seeming to not want Isabell hanging around them.

"Not today." Isabell said, hesitantly shaking her head. "Carol had an idea that I think would a very nice gesture for Hershel and his people."

"Oh yeah?" Lori asked, looking to Carol with curiosity. "What's that?"

"That big kitchen on theirs got me thinking. I wouldn't mind cooking in a real kitchen again." Carol admitted. "Maybe we should all pitch in and cook dinner for Hershel and his family tonight."

"I didn't know you could cook." Lori snarked towards Isabell, giving her a hard stare.

Isabell narrowed her eyes slightly, but remained pleasant. "I'm full of surprises." She smiled. "Somebody had to cook all the stuff Daryl brought home after hunting all weekend." Isabell shrugged. "It's mainly for Carol anyway."

"Kind of looking for things to keep my mind occupied." Carol explained, with an unsure look.

Lori nodded, finally agreeing with the action. "After everything they've done for us, seems like the least we could do."

Carol looked down at the article of clothing in her hands, nervously. "You mind extending the invitation?" She asked, then noticing the look of confusion that Lori gave her. "It would just feel more right coming from you." Carol further explained.

"How so?"

"You're Rick's wife. It sort of makes you our 'unofficial first lady'."

Isabell shot her eyes towards Carol and looked back to Lori. She hoped that Lori wouldn't let that thought get too far into her head. Isabell's eyes followed a newly appeared Rick as he passed by the camp.

"Mornin' guys." Rick called. "Let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

Isabell set the shirt that she held in her hand back into the laundry basket. She looked to Carol. "I'm gonna go see what the plan is for today and say goodbye to Daryl. I'll be back." After receiving a nod from Carol, Isabell walked towards the car the others were gathering around.

Rick had placed the survey map on the hood of the Cherokee, just like he had done the day before. "Alright, everyone's gettin' new search grids today."

Daryl set his crossbow down on the ground, against his leg, and attempted to put his flannel shirt on over his tank top.

Isabell smiled at the trouble Daryl was having in getting the shirt over his arms. She knew his arms were sore from riding his bike and arming himself very often in the last couple days. Isabell reached over and helped him put the shirt on.

"If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl and Isabell found, she might have gone further east than we thought." Rick explained.

Jimmy, Beth's boyfriend, was walking towards the car awkwardly. "I'd like to help." He said. "I know the area pretty well and stuff."

Rick raised a brow to the young boy. "Hershel's okay with this?" He asked.

"Yeah." Jimmy said, hesitating. "Yeah, he said I should ask you."

"Alright then." Rick nodded. "Thanks."

Shane opened the passenger side door and took a seat on the chair. "Nothin' about what Daryl and Iz found screams Sophia to me." He complained. "Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."

"Anybody includes her, right?" Andrea asked.

"It was a small pantry, Shane. Tiny." Isabell reminded him. "There's no way an adult could have been sleeping there for long."

Daryl scratched his nose and nodded. "Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high." He motioned a correct height with his right hand, agreeing with Isabell.

"About as tall as Sophia." Isabell insisted.

"It's a good lead." Andrea encouraged towards Daryl with a nod.

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." Rick said.

Dale came up from behind Daryl and Isabell with the gun bag so the other's could arm themselves for their journey.

"No maybe about it." Daryl insisted, stepping forward. He pointed towards the map and gestured his head back towards Isabell. "We're gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here. Take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her."

"Good idea. Maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there, too." T-Dog joked.

Isabell smacked Daryl's arm lightly and smiled at him. "You told them that story?"

Daryl scoffed towards Isabell. "Wan't no story." He insisted.

"Chupacabra?" Rick asked, with his brows pushed together.

"You never heard this?" Dale asked, unzipping the gun bag. "His first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time he was squirrel hunting, and he saw a chupacabra."

Jimmy laughed loudly.

Daryl shot him a glare. "What are you brayin' at, jackass." He threatened.

"Daryl." Isabell chastised, earning a quick angry stare from Daryl.

"So, you believe in a blood-sucking dog?" Rick asked Daryl.

"Do you believe dead people walkin' around?" Daryl asked.

Jimmy realized that the group was starting to disperse, so he went to grab a shotgun from Dale.

Rick put a hand over the boy's, stopping him. "Hey, hey. Ever fire one before?" Rick asked, taking the shotgun off of the car.

"Well, if I'm going out, I want one."

Daryl smirked and shook his head. He lifted his crossbow off of the ground and threw it over his shoulders. "Yeah, and people in hell want slurpees." Daryl flicked his head so that Isabell would follow him.

Isabell stayed on his heels as he walked towards the stables where the horses were kept. Her mind flashed to a couple days earlier when she was in here with Maggie, preparing a horse to get Lori. Isabell cleared her throat. "I'm gonna stay here today. If you don't really need me with ya."

Daryl stopped just outside the barn, looking her way with a furrowed brow. "Ya sure?"

"Yeah." Isabell nodded. "Carol, Lori, and I are gonna make dinner for Hershel and his people. We're gonna use the kitchen. Have a big get together tonight."

"I don' want ya gettin' comfy here." Daryl paused, biting his lip and looking away from her for just a second. "They're gonna kick us out as soon as Carl's well enough."

"I know." Isabell said, even though she didn't want to admit that Carl was the reason they were still there at all. "Just tryin' to help out. He fixed up Carl and lost someone in the process. We gotta do somethin' for it."

"Alright." Daryl nodded. "Just be here when I get back." Daryl said, worried about splitting them up and letting her out of his sight.

Isabell sighed. "I know that we've not really been separated since you found me at the mall, but I'll be okay. As long as you come back." Isabell joked with a smile. "And don't make me wait up all night."

"Wouldn't think about it." Daryl said. "You got your knife?"

Isabell nodded. "I'm good."

Daryl moved forward and kissed Isabell's forehead for a long moment. His eyes glanced down real quick to her lips.

Isabell took a small step away from him, noticing the look. "You be safe, alright, D?"

"I will." Daryl met Isabell's eyes, but then continued towards the stables.

Isabell watched Daryl for a moment, studying him like she always did when she was trying to figure him out. She shook her head and then went back towards the main camp with Carol and Lori.

Lori was alone, holding the last piece of clothing in her hands ready to hang it on the clothesline.

Isabell walked up next to Lori. "Have you asked Hershel yet?" She asked, squinting her eyes in the morning sun. "'Bout the dinner tonight?"

"I asked Maggie." Lori responded shortly. "She said it'd be fine."

"That's good." Isabell said. When she didn't get another answer from Lori, Isabell continued. "I'm sure Carol is excited."

"Yup." Lori turned away from the blonde and hung the flannel shirt up.

Isabell narrowed her eyes and watched Lori for a quiet second. "Hey, you alright?"

Lori flicked her bangs out of her face. "Of course." She snapped.

"I'm just askin'. You seem frazzled."

"I'm fine." Lori insisted.

"Alright then."