Okay, so after this, we have two more flashback chapters and one more present-day chapter before the show comes back on the air, hopefully. Hopefully, I won't have to do a hiatus. Finger crossed? This nice long chapter is also pretty fast paced too, so hope you guys enjoy :)

wickedclownsmile: Finally, have ya back! Thanks for leaving a review! As for much of your review, I resolve that this chapter, so yeah, keep reading :)

DarylDixon'sLover: Keep reading :)

HaloHunter89: I think bringing Jeremy back would have stressed me out just as much as it would have stressed Daryl out. Because, even though I am fanatically Dessa/Taryl and I only wrote them together for about two chapters, I did like writing them together. So yeah, take that as you will, but that was one reason I didn't bring him back. And BTW, your going to hate me in the future - JUST warning you now. Actually, you're either gonna hate me or hate what I have planned SO much your gonna love it for its sheer ingenuity ;)


"WREN! Wren, honey, where are you!"

Tessa and Beth skidded to a stop when they saw Wren run out of the cell that contained the babies, a wide-eyed frightened look to her face, especially when she saw the tear-stained faces of the both of them. "W-what's going on?" She asked and Tessa shook her head, feeling herself harden even further as she marched past the young girl and into the cell, Beth hot on her heels.

"There is no time to explain. You need to pack the essentials for the twins. Beth, you need to do the same for Judith. We need diapers, formula and bottles, warm clothing and blankets . . ." She ordered her before trailing off. She reached underneath one of the cribs and withdrew a weathered looking diaper bag before placing it on the nearby changing table, where she started stuffing things into it. Her mind was whirling five miles a minute and she hardly took time to notice the looks of wide-eyed alarm on Danny and Aayla's faces as they stood in their crib watching everyone dart around packing things like their asses were on fire. Beth was doing the same with Judith's things like she had been ordered – anything to keep her mind off of her now deceased father - and Tessa glanced at Wren still frozen there. "Wren, honey – now, please!" She snapped at her and Wren jumped to attention. She quickly nodded and darted over to them, where she began packing things as well.

"To answer your question, Wren, we're being attacked. The Governor appeared at the fence with a bunch of people and a tank. We've been ordered to evacuate. Like I said, we need to work fast," Tessa began again as she zipped one diaper bag closed before picking up her backpack and after unzipping it, began filling it with things as well. She ignored the look of fear and horror on Wren's face, knowing that if the young girl was anything like her, she would be strong until this was over.

In fact, Tessa counted on that.

"Daryl said he would come for us when he could. Knowing him, it'll be when things are lost but there's still a good chance we'll get out. He said to wait here for him and we're gonna do that."

"What about Ethan? Was he with him?" Wren asked, and Tessa nodded, starting to feel herself get a migraine from how fast her mind was reeling, trying to comprehend everything that was going on.

"Of course. He'll be fine." She promised her with a confident nod, although she couldn't deny the bolt of uneasiness that speared through her heart. She knew Ethan being with Daryl, was one of the safest places he could be, but she knew the heat of battle and how it could be to misplace him in a crowd . . .

Tessa shook her head as she zipped up her backpack before slinging it over her shoulder. She couldn't think like that – she had to be strong and optimistic, if not for her, then for Wren and Beth – especially for Beth.

"Beth, go get Judith." Tessa told her as she reached in the crib and picked up Danny. Immediately, the little boy threw his arms around his mother's neck and buried his face in her hair, where he held her as tightly as he possibly could. Wren did the same with Aayla and the little girl followed her brother's example.

Tessa hugged her son close for a moment, using him as an anchor in order to assure herself that this was indeed very much real – that Hershel was dead and they were being attacked by the Governor and needed to flee before they were caught and killed or worse.

Tessa was drug out of her thoughts and back into reality when Beth came running back to them, her eyes wide with horror and unadulterated fear. "Tessa – oh my God – Judith is gone!" She told her and for a moment, Tessa felt as if the breath had been swept from her lungs. Her eyes widened in stunned shock and for a moment, she held Danny tighter than she intended and quickly remedied the situation when he let out a whine of protest at the tight grip.

"W-what do you mean Judith's gone?" She asked and Beth had tears in her eyes as she helplessly shook her head. Her fingers ran through her stringy blonde hair and for a moment, Tessa felt the keen urge to slap her but had to stop herself, firstly because she reminded herself that she was holding her son and secondly, because she also reminded herself that Beth was probably having a shittier day than anyone else there save for Maggie.

"I mean she's not in her crib!" Beth finally answered her, her voice tinged with irritation, and Tessa let out a sarcastic little laugh before shaking her head.

"What do you mean she's not in her crib? For the love of God, Beth, it's not like she got up and walked away!" She spoke coldly before pushing past the girl and moving into the nearby cell. Wren and Beth both were on her heels and when she stepped into the dimly lit interior and saw that Judith's crib was indeed empty, she felt an icy finger of dread slowly move down her spine.

What. The. Hell?

"Oh my God . . . oh my God, where is she?" Tessa asked, her voice bordering on coming out shrill, and both girls helplessly shrugged their shoulders as Tessa stood there for a moment, unable to tear her eyes away from the empty crib.

"Lori, you won't survive! You know this!" She told her as a tear ran down her cheek and Lori nodded.

"My baby has to survive, Tess. Please, do this for me – for my baby!" . . .

"Holy shit . . .! Forgive me, Lori – holy shit, honey, forgive me!" Tessa murmured as tears appeared in her eyes. Could this possibly get any worse? She had promised Lori on her deathbed that she would look after Judith like she was her own. And now here she was, in a very dangerous situation, and having misplaced her.

Tessa shook her head again and whirled around, where she faced the two of them. "Look around – she has to be here somewhere! I mean, for the love of God, she can't even walk yet!"

Beth and Wren nodded and immediately darted away to search for the little girl and Tessa stood there, mentally kicking herself, before Wren and Beth's frightened screams came from around the corner. Immediately, Tessa's heart kicked up into overdrive and she ran as fast as she could to them with Danny still in her arms, only for her eyes to widen when she saw just why they had screamed.

There was a man standing in the gated doorway to the cellblock, wearing army camo and a smirk on his face. It was a man that Tessa did not know from their group, which only meant one thing.

He was one of the Governor's men.

Tessa swallowed hard, her grip on her son once again, growing tighter than she had originally intended. "Fuck . . ."


Just Five-Ten Minutes Earlier . . .

"On ya right – ya right! For tha love of God, Ethan – get into cover!"

"What do we do if they decide they wanna bring the tank in?" Ethan asked his father as Daryl shoved him behind a wall of pallets, not missing a beat in his shooting in the process. The action made Daryl smile. It seemed like he had trained his son well after all.

"Ya mean when they decide to bring the tank in?" Daryl corrected his son and he swallowed hard before nodding. Maggie was sobbing as she shot her gun, all of them desperately covering Rick as he made a limping, slow way to the gate; Carl standing beside them being surprisingly stoic. Out of the corner of Daryl's eye, he saw Sam dart forward to stand beside a tear-stained Maggie, where he continued shooting while offering Maggie support.

"If tha' happens, let me handle it. I know how to take down a tank." He finally answered him and couldn't ignore the look of shock and slight awe that his son shot him.

"How . . . how do you know how to take down a tank, exactly?" Ethan asked and Daryl grinned and glanced at him.

"When ya grow up with a deddy who was a Corporal in 'Nam and liked to boast about his wartime exploits when he was particularly shitfaced, ya learn a few things – namely how to take down one fully armored tank with jus' one grenade."

As if Daryl speaking had jinxed them, their eyes grew wide and there was a temporary pause in fire, as everyone in the Governor's entourage started filing back in the cars and the tank started its lumbering, extremely intimidating lurch forward. Driving straight through the fence with absolutely no thought as to keeping out the walkers that had started filing out of the woods due to the sounds of gunfire, Ethan swallowed heavily as he slapped an encouraging hand on his dad's shoulder.

"Well, it seems like its about time to put your money where your mouth is, deddy." He told him, his voice holding a falsely cheerful note, and Daryl nodded, suddenly finding it had been much easier to say that, than actually follow through with it.

Maggie stopped firing and after slapping Sam on the side, left the fence, the older man following hot on her heels. When one of the tanks missiles blew out a window near to the cellblock where Tessa and the others were in, he gritted his teeth but managed to keep his cool and focus on the people who were now cutting a steady path through the yard towards the courtyard, accompanied by the tank and moving vehicles armed with their own gunmen. Rick had also yet to make his way to the gate and Daryl found himself hoping – for Carl's sake more than anyone else – that he wasn't dead – that he would make his way up to the courtyard eventually.

The tank blew out another window slightly underneath the previous one, and which was directly behind Tyrese, Martin and Sasha, and Daryl cursed as he shot a look over his shoulder before continuing to shoot.

"It's getting closer and closer to the cellblock . . ." Ethan spoke, his voice strained slightly and Daryl nodded.

"Don' remind me . . ."

Maggie and Sam had gotten off to God only knew where and Daryl hoped to Hell that they were starting to file people onto the bus for evacuation. They needed to start getting out now, before the prison was completely overrun and once again, Daryl found his mind flitting to Tessa, the girls and the babies that were back in the cellblock. As soon as they were able, they needed to get to the cellblock and get them.

The tank had entered the courtyard by then, smashing over water barrels as soon as it smashed through the gate and Daryl nodded as he straightened up and after taking a handful of Ethan's shirt, backpedaled them backwards. He shoved him behind a couple of oil drums a few feet away, Ethan taking a longer time this time to get his mind back into shooting that time.

"Focus on tha people movin' in – ignore the tank for now. Don' make yaself a target, got it?" He told him and Ethan nodded. He took aim at a middle-aged woman with an SMG and shot her down before moving onto the next one.

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna do tha same until tha' tank gets closer." He told him and Ethan nodded, but couldn't help but feel a pang of fear at his father's plan. How the Hell did you take down a tank? Was it even possible without getting yourself shot all to Hell?

People were finding cover behind the tank now, making them harder to pick off, but somehow, they were managing.

Then, Ethan felt a cold, clammy hand wrap around the back of his neck. His blood turned to ice and his eyes widened as a walker moan appeared like a bullhorn in his ear and he immediately let out a pathetic little cry as he was yanked backwards. He was shoved to the ground, his gun immediately moving in-between him and the hunk of dying meat struggling on top of him, yawning mouth full of yellowing, decaying teeth trying desperately to eat his face off. And for a moment, Ethan marveled at how strong they were.

His strength was failing him . . . his arms started trembling with the exertion of keeping the gun in-between them and when the walker's teeth were much to close to his nose for his liking - he couldn't help but let out a loud sigh of relief when a loud and very violent curse broke through the rushing of blood in his ears. There was a loud series of 'pops' and the walker lumbered towards them fell to the ground before rough hands grabbed ahold of the shoulders of the one above him. He was yanked roughly backwards and Daryl ruthlessly stabbed his knife through the walker's head before kicking him away. His eyes were fierce and angry, his chest heaving as he gazed murderously down at the walker for a moment before turning to his son. His eyes replaced the fierce look of anger with one of apology as he shakily grabbed ahold of Ethan's shirt and hefted him effortlessly to his feet.

"Holy shit, Ethan, are ya okay?" He breathed and it took a few gasps of air before Ethan quickly nodded.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Took ya own sweet time, though, didn't ya?" He asked and Daryl shot him another apologetic look.

"I'm sorry! I took ma eyes offa ya for two seconds to see where tha' Goddamn tank was and when I turn 'round, ya almost got ya face eaten off!" Daryl explained before shaking his head. He gazed at him for a minute before pulling him into a tight hug. "Holy shit, I thought I was gonna lose ya! I swear to God I ain' never -!"

There was a loud 'BOOM' that split through the air directly above them and which caused Daryl to come to an immediate stop. When he turned his eyes onto Ethan, he saw a small smile playing out on his face. "How about you save your apologies when we're out of this mess, okay?" He suggested, and Daryl nodded.

"Yeah . . . let's go take care of tha' tank." He agreed and Ethan nodded as they spun around and made their slow way toward it, taking advantage of every amount of cover they could along the way. Ethan covered them as Daryl dug the grenade out of his pocket and after shoving his SMG into Ethan's hands who quickly shouldered it before returning to his own gun, Daryl finally had the grenade out. He pulled out the pin before tossing it in the general direction of the three men guarding the tank and they scattered as the grenade went off. Daryl pulled out another one as they continued inching their way forward and palmed it as they drew closer.

"When I say so, ya run, ya got it?" Daryl told him and Ethan nodded.

"You don't need to tell me twice!" He muttered and Daryl chose to ignore him as Sasha's loud yell met their ears.

"Daryl – the bus is gone!"

Daryl glanced up just in time to see the bus moving off and he nodded. "Give me a minute to get rid of this tank okay? Then after tha', I gotta go get Tess and the others!" He shouted back and she nodded as her and Tyrese continued covering them as Maggie helped a wounded Martin off.

"Okay, Ethan – RUN! Make your way to the cellblock!"

Ethan nodded as he took off, Daryl pulling the pin to the grenade before jumping it up and sliding it in through the tank missile barrel. Ethan's eyes widened as Daryl ran to him, right when the tank's operator scrambled out and it exploded.

Daryl promptly shot the man after standing up and turning to face them, before turning to Ethan. "Now, tha', is how ya take care of a tank." He told him and Ethan nodded.

"Good story – needed more dinosaurs – now come ON, deddy! We gotta go get momma and the others!" Daryl nodded in agreement before taking off at a run for the cellblock, shoving Ethan in its general direction as she did so.


Meanwhile, Back in the Cellblock . . .

"Let me introduce myself – I'm Brandon. You are?"

Tessa swallowed hard as she gently handed Beth Danny while Wren stood beside her, eyes wide with horror as well, her arms full of Aayla. "Why would you want to know? You are obviously here because the Governor told you to be here." She replied and Brandon stood there for a moment, thinking, before eventually nodding.

"You're right, he did. Said something about . . . making sure no one inside, would get out alive. Sucks that I found no one but you guys, but Hell . . . gotta follow orders right?" He spoke with a grin and a shrug and Tessa shook her head as she gritted her teeth.

"You're not killing my kids." She told him and he arched his eyebrows.

"So these are yours? All of them?"

"You could say that." She replied and he nodded.

"The best I can do is kill you first. That way, you won't be alive to hear your babies cry as I dash their brains out on the cement floor."

Tessa shook her head, her vision seeing red as she marched towards him, withdrawing her knife as she did so. "You sadistic son of a -!"

She felt the wind being knocked from her lungs as he smirked and grabbed her by the arm, where he wheeled her around and threw her across the room. She landed hard on the floor, her arms catching her fall, and cried out at the shocks of pain that spread throughout her body. Beth and Wren both cried out and made their way forward but Tessa quickly shook her head and told them to stay back. Brandon smirked and glanced at them, nodding.

"Listen to her. After all . . . mommas know best, don't they?" He asked and Tessa gasped out, trying desperately to regain her breath as she slowly pushed herself up on tingly, aching arms. Her knife had slid not that far away from it and she could reach it if she tried . . . if she was careful.

Brandon adopted a slightly interested look in his face as he moved slowly towards her and it took her a moment to realize that the silver dog tags dangling around her neck, had caught the light and refracted it, bringing them to his attention. He nodded towards them and upon reaching her, took ahold of them, where he flipped them over so that he could read what was stamped on them. His eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion then.

"Jeremy . . . Jeremy Roth . . ." He spoke, his voice coming out slow and deliberate, as if he was testing out the name on his tongue before cocking his head slightly to the left. "Now where in all the Hells have I heard that name before . . .?"

He got to his feet then and stood there for a moment, gazing down at her in curiosity for a moment before immediately breaking out into a grin and as a look of recognition appeared in his eyes. "Oh yeah, I remember him! Now ain't this a damn fuckin' small world? Jeremy Roth was my group leader back in the SEALs! Good man, Jeremy – good fuckin' man!" He nodded before moving to squat down beside her again, wanting to laugh at the venomous look in her eyes. "So if you're wearing his dog tags, then you must be that Tessa woman he wouldn't shut up about. Good Lord, woman - you have no idea how badly I feel like I'm in the presence of royalty right now! Do you want me bow?" He laughed and she didn't deign a reply, just continued her furious gaze on him.

"But see, the one flaw your man had, was that he trusted too easily. Just because I was a SEAL, he thought I wouldn't shoot him in the back over stealing my wife – his ex. Wife and the mother to that pretty little girl of his, actually. And you know, for a while there, he just wouldn't die. He was a stubborn ass – almost shot my damn foot off when he hit the ground and got ahold of his gun, but . . ." He gave a shrug as Tessa found herself blinking back angry tears for a minute. Fuck this guy . . . fuck Brandon!

Her inching fingers finally found a grip on the knife handle and she slowly wrapped her hand around it, where she brought it slowly towards them an excruciating inch at a time so that he wouldn't notice she was doing it. Her eyes locked briefly with Wren and Beth's across the way and she saw the fear echoing in the young girls' eyes as they held the twins close to them, each burying their faces into their shoulders so that they wouldn't see what their mother was about to do.

In a minute, Momma Bear was about to majorly rip someone's throat out.

"He died with your name on his lips, though, so I guess there's some consolation for you. And when I snapped off his dog tags and checked his pockets for anything he had on him – military regulations, you know – and found that picture of you guys – the one of you guys all cozy-like in bed . . . first thought in my head was how that fuckin' assholey, holier-than-thou Jeremy Roth, managed to bag himself pretty-little-ol' you!"

"Oh, I don't know . . ." Tessa spoke breathlessly before giving a sarcastic, flippant shrug. "You probably saw him shower in the barracks once – what do you think?"

She meant the words as sarcastic and flippant as her shrug had been, but apparently, they struck a chord in Brandon. His eyes darkened and suddenly, Tessa realized why his wife had left him for Jeremy in the first place. Probably not the best of reasons, but still – it was an embarrassing one, nonetheless. He leaned in slightly, his words lowering into a menacing growl as he did so.

"You know what - I begged them to let me accompany Admiral Vega when he went to give you Jeremy's things and to tell you that he had been killed in the line of duty. I fucking begged them, just so I could see tears falling from those pretty little eyes of yours when you heard that your scumbag fiancé was dead! But unfortunately, they denied my request, so I didn't get to see." He gave bark of a laugh then. "But Jeremy always liked what he couldn't have – or what he wasn't supposed to have, anyway. He always got his women by stealing them from other men -!"

Daryl and Ethan both skidded to a stop and turned the corner to the room, right when Tessa let out a scream of rage and launched herself up, where she stabbed the knife deep into the side of his throat. Brandon's eyes widened in shock and horror and Tessa gritted her teeth before pushing him backwards while yanking forward on the knife. The blade that Daryl sharpened to a dangerous point so religiously every day, sliced through the front of his throat like it was tallow, bathing her in blood and causing her to cringe away slightly. He fell to his knees, blood still spurting from his wound, and stayed like that for a moment before she planted her boot on his chest and unkindly kicked him backwards. He fell onto his back and with her teeth gritting in anger, immediately moved to straddle him on her knees. With another scream of rage, she brought the impossibly bloody knife blade down into his torn neck and face again and again and again, constantly bringing up more blood to drench her until she looked like a serial killer in a horror movie. Daryl, Ethan, Beth and Wren's eyes widened in shock and horror as well and they found – Daryl especially – that they could do nothing but watch in horror for a moment, as the scarlet red blood arched up along with every up and down motion of the knife.

As for Tessa, she didn't know what had come over her for a moment. She kept thinking of everything this man had taken from her, as she continued the brutal descent of her knife into his body. With a bullet or two and an overwhelming need to get even, Brandon had taken Jeremy from her and then subsequently Evan. He had denied her the happy family life she would have finally gotten if Jeremy had lived long enough to come home and they succeeded in getting married after her divorce from Sam was finalized. He had taken from her the man that Ethan possibly could have grown up looking to as a father.

He had taken so much from her . . . and finally was she feeling some closure.

For a moment, she didn't register Daryl's arms enfolding around her sternum and yanking her off of the twitching corpse underneath her, until the red in her vision and the memories finally disappeared and bitter, angry tears replaced them. She immediately dropped the knife and it landed with a clatter to the blood-soaked cement floor. She felt the warm, sticky blood coating her as well and could tell by the urgency in Daryl's voice, that for once, in a long time, she had shocked him.

"He's dead, babydoll – he's fuckin' dead!" Daryl assured her and after a moment, Tessa nodded.

"I know . . . I know . . ." She finally replied to him, her voice quiet and shaky and for a moment, Daryl didn't know what to do or say next. He had just watched Tessa positively butcher a man. What could he say? "And believe me . . ." She continued, her voice dropping down to an angry hiss through tightly gritted teeth. "That fucker deserved me ripping out his Goddamn throat!"

It was then that Daryl's eyes caught sight of the silver dog tags hanging around her neck and immediately felt a wave of confusion wash over him. He had never seen those dog tags before – let alone around her neck! Where did they come from - who the Hell did they belong to?

But then Ethan urgently telling them that they needed to get out and fast, drug him out of his thoughts, and after hefting Tessa to her legs, pulled her after him in a sprint down the hall, the others following close behind, twins and diaper bags filling their arms.