A/N: First off thanks so much for dealing with my ramblings, fears and nervousness. This is my first fanfiction and so it's all a little new to me still! So this chapter jumps around a little bit so I hope it's easy to stay with and understand. I hope you all like it. I needed to post it before I changed my mind again and started to second guess everything (I was up to like 1 in the morning the other night); so sorry if it's a little rushed. I also didn't want to put to much in this one as I think I'm going to devote the next couple/few chapters to different characters and their POV's. I really wish we knew what happens with Beth though. Anyway please please please review and leave your thoughts and suggestions; they really mean a lot to me. Thanks so much!

Chapter 22: The Aftermath

Riley felt like she was underwater, there was no more sound, no more shouts, no yelling or gun fire. She didn't feel anything or think anything. All she knew was that suddenly her hands were free from the bounds and she was rushing over to the man who become like a grandfather to her and so many others. She gripped Herschel underneath his armpits and began to drag him away from the chaos going on; she got him behind a truck before looking down and seeing the blood pooling around the collar of his shirt

"shit, shit, shit" Riley yelled out placing her hands onto the wound "what do I do Herschel tell me what to do" Riley frantically spoke locking her ocean blue eyes onto the pale blue ones of the dying man

Herschel simply opened and closed his mouth unable to talk, Riley quickly looked around searching for something to help him, she turned her attention back to him and lifted her hands running them through her hair "come on Herschel….don't…you can't…I can fix this…..fuck...it should have been me….God damn it" she brought her hands back to the wound applying pressure to something she knew could never be fixed

Herschel stared up at Riley and the look she received will forever be with her. It was a look of sadness, fear, and sympathy. "I'm so sorry Herschel…" Riley whispered, she stopped however when a shadow appeared blocking the sun from Herschel's body, Riley looked up and fall back as the Governor walked forward. Riley scooted herself away and watched as he pulled Michonne's sword back out and proceeded to finish the beheading of Herschel Greene. Riley sat knowing there was nothing she could do but that didn't stop the guilt or the panic. The Governor looked up at the girl, he stood and swung the knife making drops of blood fly through the air. He then slowly walked towards her; he stopped however and dropped the sword when something above Riley's head caught his eye.

Riley didn't stick around to see what or who had made the Governor stop his assault. She quickly got to her feet and with one last look at Herschel, grabbed Michonne's sword and started running back towards the prison.

Riley weaved in and out of the trucks and cars, dodging people and Walkers as she went; she made a quick beeline for the truck which she was held and reached into the back, grabbing her crossbow. Swinging her bow on her back she made her way towards where she hopped her family was; praying they were all still alive.

Daryl watched as the sword brought down to his sister neck, he clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes

"I can end this now" he heard Carl voice

Daryl took a quick glance at the boy before looking back down at the scene before him

"like hell you will, let your dad handle this…he's got a sword at Rye's neck…you shoot him he loses control of that thing she's dead too"

Carl hadn't thought of that and simply re aimed his gun ready for whatever may happen.

Daryl looked down the line and noticed Beth had gone completely white, and was gripping the fences so hard he saw little droplets of blood flow down her palm. He turned his eyes back and watched as Rick did his best to make the Governor see reason and end this war. It must have worked because slowly he removed the sword from Riley's neck and took a few steps back. The moment of hope was short-lived as everyone watched in horror as the sword was brought back down this time slicing into Herschel

Daryl heard Rick, Maggie and Beth yell 'NO' all at the same time before shots were fired and the war truly began.

Everyone ran off in different directions. Maggie brought Beth to the bus telling her to get on and get ready to drive. Beth didn't want to leave without Maggie; Maggie wouldn't have it

"we all have jobs to do Beth, this is your job" and without another word she was off in search of Glenn who was still in block A

Beth looked at the bus, before shaking her head and running off in hopes of finding the kids, most importantly Judith.

Beth ran looking for the children but also hoping to see a blonde head weave her way through the mass of people and Walkers. She had just lost her dad in the most horrific way and wanted nothing more than to see Riley and have her here to protect and comfort her. She knew Riley would be feeling guilty as the sword was on her neck only moments before, she needed to tell Riley it wasn't her fault, she wouldn't let her slip back into the girl she was before. She turned left and came up empty-handed

"RILEY" she screamed into the cloud of smoke. She spun in a circle and realized there was no way she would find the girl within all this destruction

Daryl made his way towards the tank that had moved up and into the courtyard of the prison, shooting off rounds and taking down a guard tower. As he went he kept an eye out for any member of his family; he was hoping that Riley was some how making her way up towards the prison, but truth be told he knew that was a shot in the dark. He just hoped she was okay and at least trying to find him.

He finally reached the tank and ripped the pin out of one of the grenades Tyresse had picked up on a run, he shoved it down the tank's fire launcher and ran.

Rick was on the ground getting punched left and right by the Governor. The man had his hands around Rick's neck and was slowly cutting off all air supply. Rick was close to passing out when the tip of a sword came crashing into his vision as fast as it was there it was gone. He watched as the Governor released his hands bringing them up to his own chest. The Governor then tumbled off of Rick rolling onto his back, he came face to face with the blue eyes of Riley Dixon

Riley looked down at the Governor one last time her eyes showing nothing but anger, hate and disgust. She then turned her attention to her broken and beaten father. She walked over and helped him up; he wrapped his arm around her waist

"Carl…Judith" he rasped out

Riley shook her head "I haven't been that far up yet"

Rick nodded his head and pulled away making the painfully slow walk up to the prison courtyard. Riley made to follow after him but a voice calling out stopped her. Michonne had appeared in time to see Riley plunge her sword into the back of the Governor. She then watched as Riley helped her father to his feet and then the man walk away from the girl

"…Riley…" Michonne called out

Riley looked up and over at the voice, seeing it was Michonne she simply shook her head, she couldn't look at the woman, her eyes held sorrow and pity she couldn't deal with that now; she had more important things to focus on "I got to find Daryl… Beth….I got to find them" and with that Riley ran up the hill taking out Walkers as she went.

Michonne watched the Dixon girl go. She knew Riley would be holding onto the guilt, sadness and anger of what just happened and what she witness with Herschel as well as being the one to end the Governors life

Riley made it to the courtyard and the sounds of rapid gun fire caught her attention she proceeded with caution and slowly made her way towards the noise. When she turned the corner she saw Rick holding Carl both in tears

Riley sped up a bit "Carl…dad.." she called out softly

Both men turned; Carl dropped the gun and rushed forward embracing his older sister. Riley held onto Carl tightly

Her heart stopped as Carl whispered "Judith" into her shirt

Riley pulled Carl away and moved forward; in her sight was an empty baby carrier; Riley bit down on her bottom lip, looking up at Carl and her dad

"she ain't dead…" Riley mumbled out loud enough for the men too hear; she raised her eyes and saw a herd of Walkers making their way towards them "we should get moving"

"Riles…" Rick's battered voice called out as the girl started to walk towards the forest

"she AIN'T DEAD….we got to move"

Carl looked from Riley to his dad before he started to follow the girl. Rick took one last look at the carrier before following his other two children

Beth was trying to make her way back to where the bus was located her attempt to find the kids or locate Riley were fruitless. As she ran she saw Daryl and sped up getting to the hunter as he took out a Walker

"I was trying to find the kids get them on the bus" she breathed out

Daryl looked at Beth and then to the Walkers that were slowly filling the place they once called home.

"we got to go Beth we got to go"

Riley was a good few yards ahead of Carl and Rick; Carl watched as Riley gripped her crossbow keeping her eyes focused on the path in front of them. He then turned looking behind him to see his father limping slowly along, holding onto his side; his face bloody and bruised

"Riley slow down" Carl hissed

A moment after Carl uttered the words Rick spoke them as well "Riley slow down…"

Riley either didn't hear or didn't care

"RILEY" Rick yelled

Riley stopped but didn't turn around. Rick made his slow way over and stood beside his daughter placing a hand on her shoulder

"we have to stick together"

As he spoke Carl made his way over standing on the other side of Riley. The two men watched as Riley lowered her eyes, clenched her jaw, and slowly nodded her head; without looking at either Rick or Carl she continued forward. Rick looked at his son before letting his eyes fall to the retreating back of Riley. He watched as Carl walked after her. With a sigh he too marched on.

Daryl and Beth had been running for what felt like hours. The sun had set and for safety the decision was made to set up a small camp for the night. Daryl made a fire and sat down on the cold ground; his eyes focused intently on the flames. Beth sat down on the opposite side and she too stared at the glowing fire.

Daryl glanced up and watched as Beth pulled out a small green journal from her back pocket. As she did she felt the eyes watching her; she looked up and then back down at the small book

"Riley picked it up for me on a run…." Beth trailed off gripping the book tightly in her small hands

'Beth was sitting on Riley's bunk waiting for her to return from a run she had gone on with Maggie, Daryl and Sasha. She looked around the room and noticed the Dixon didn't have any photo's drawings or artwork hanging anywhere in the room. Beth frowned for a moment before a smile overtook her face she quickly jumped off the bunk and ran towards Glenn's cell. When she approached she saw the Asian sitting on the floor reloading ammo into all the guns. "hey Glenn" Beth spoke getting the young mans attention; when Glenn looked up he smiled and Beth stepped fully into the cell "do you still have that camera you picked up at the Big Spot" Glenn stopped what he was doing and reached over into an oversized duffel bag. After a few minutes of pulling out various items; he retrieved the camera, he handed it to Beth with a grin; knowing she was up to something that probably involved Riley, why the two just didn't just come out and say they were together was beyond him, he was happy for them and knew everyone else would feel the same. "thanks" she replied before turning and making her way back towards Riley's cell. Once inside she closed the curtain and sat back down. She fiddled with the camera in her hands unsure of what kind of picture to take. She wanted it to be sweet, something Riley could have with her. Beth settled on just holding the camera out with one hand and smiling up at it. Once the picture was taken and the photo popped out Beth looked at it and smirked 'prefect' she thought. She then heard the familiar sound of Daryl's motorcycle and knew they had returned. Within a few minutes Riley was walking into the cell; she smiled when she saw Beth sitting on the bunk waiting for her. She walked over and placed a small sweet kiss to her lips before swinging her bow off her shoulder and leaning it against the wall. Beth watched as Riley pulled out a little green notebook from her back pocket; she handed it to Beth and smiled "I saw this and thought of you…I remember you saying your other one got left at the farm" Beth reached forward and pulled the book from her hands "I love it…" Beth looked up smiling at the girl, she held out her hand and Riley pulled her to her feet. Beth leaned over and kissed the blonde girl "thank you" she mumbled against her lips. Riley pulled away and ginned she then turned and leaned down looking through the other supplies in her bag. "I should go help Carol with dinner" Riley nodded her head; Beth walked forwards and pushed the picture into the back pocket of Riley's jeans. Riley turned her head and looked at Beth as she walked from the cell; before opening the curtain the farmer's daughter looked back and smiled "love you Dixon" and she was gone.

Daryl watched as Beth was clearly remembering something that happened between the two. He looked down into the flames again and made a promise to not only find his sister but get Beth back to her as well.

Riley, Rick and Carl had found a few supplies along their way and now where making their way through a small suburban neighborhood. Riley walked in front of a large white house and looked back at Carl and her dad

"looks as good as any" she spoke before heading up the walkway.

Carl looked back at his father and then followed Riley up the porch steps. He watched as Riley pushed on the door and it swung open; she then took the butt of her crossbow and pounded on the door frame, she waited and then did it again; she repeated this process three times before looking at Carl and nodding

As they entered the house Riley saw that it opened up into a living room and then a long hallway that led to what looked like a dining room and kitchen

Riley had started to move towards the stairs "I'll check the upstairs" she spoke already halfway up. Carl watched his sister go with sadness in his eyes; turning to look at his dad he whispered

"what do we do?"

Rick looked away from the stairs and into the blue eyes of his son

"we stay here, regroup; heal and then look for the others…we need time" he spoke softly returning his eyes to the stairs

Riley stood at the top of the stairs; she knew no Walkers were here, they would have come barreling down already with all the noise that the knocking created. She looked down the hallway and made her way towards the first room she saw; it was obviously a teenage boy's room as a huge TV and video games lined one whole wall.

Riley walked into the room; her hand subconsciously going into her back pocket. Her fingers gripped at the small square paper; she pulled it out and walked over to the bed sitting down. She fingered the photo in her hands before bringing her blue eyes to the blue eyes in the photo.

'Riley watched Beth leave the cell before returning her eyes back to her bag; she pulled out a small black box and clicked it open inside their was a necklace that held the pendent in a shape of a crossbow. Riley couldn't believe she had found it she didn't even know why she was looking. She grabbed it though and knew that someday she would give it to Beth; it wouldn't mean anything just something for the girl to know that Riley cared for her deeply and would be there for her through it all. Riley snapped the box closed and stood, she went to push the box into her pocket and her fingers grazed a hard piece of paper. Riley pulled it out and smirked at the image. Beth was holding her left arm straight out and was grinning up at the camera for blue eyes shining. Riley pushed the photo back into her pocket and walked out of the cell. Looking down she saw that Beth was busy with Carol so she set her plan into action'

Riley was broken from her thoughts when the sound of footsteps caught her attention, she quickly stood shoving the picture back into her pocket, just as Carl appeared in the doorway

"you okay" he boy questioned looking at his sister as she stood from the bed

Riley removed her hand from her pocket and straightened the strap of her crossbow

"yeah…you"

When Carl nodded his head Riley let out a heavy sigh "you should rip that cord out of the TV can use it to tie the door"

Daryl and Beth had stayed up the night, neither being able to think about sleep or close their eyes without seeing their family, friends and home be killed, taken away and destroyed. As the sun started to rise Beth got anxious; she knew that they couldn't be the only survivors; they couldn't be

Beth looked over the dying fire into the defeated eyes of Daryl

"we can't be the only survivors….the others had to have gotten out…you know Rile.." Beth stopped herself. All night she thought of every possible outcome involving Riley and as the night wore on each outcome become worse than the one before.

"you're a tracker…track…" Beth spoke out voice raising a bit as she did. When Daryl didn't move she stood walking over and ripping the knife out of the log it was stuck in

"fine.." she spoke as she turned "I'll go find them" and she vanished into the thick forest around them.

Daryl watched as Beth walked into the trees, he stood, used his foot to push dirt over the last few embers and set off behind her. Deep down he knew Beth was right; the others at least some of them had to be alive and knowing Riley she was one of them 'only a Dixon can kill a Dixon'. For Daryl however it was better to assume the worse that way it would be easier to accept it when the worse actually happened.

Riley watched and waited for Carl and her dad to fall sleep. For Rick that was the second his head hit the pillow of the couch. For Carl it took a little longer. As the night wore on Carl got angry at his father and what had transpired at the prison. Riley sat leaning against the wall. There was nothing for her to say and she knew Carl needed to go through this; the different stages of grief. She started to wonder what stage she was in. She watched as Rick did his best to calm Carl down but in the end both men went to bed, angry, sad and bitter. Riley sat against that wall watching and waiting for Carl's breathes to even out. Once they did she stood from the floor and slowly made her way into the kitchen. She opened a drawer and pulled out a notepad and a marker.

The following morning Carl was the first to rise. Looking around his eye's land on his father still asleep on the couch; assuming Riley is awake as well and somewhere in the house he stands and ventures into the kitchen. Carl locates the bowls and some cereal, walking over to the table he glances down; dropping both the bowls, and cereal

'went hunting….be back in two days'

Riley stood at the back door looking back at the two sleeping forms of her brother and father. She knew that when he woke up Carl would hate her; her dad would be even more pissed. Riley needed to go, she needed to try. She only needed a couple of days; if she turned up with nothing she would return…hopefully though she would turn up with something….she needed to try.

Riley needed to find Beth….she promised Herschel and she wouldn't…couldn't live with herself if she broke that promise

She loved Beth…she needed to find her

Okay...so I decided to just shut off my thoughts, fear and nervousness and just write. I hope you guys liked it. The next couple of chapters I think I'm going to devote to different characters and their storyline with Riley thrown in there of course. I just really wanted to get this chapter done as it was the one that was giving me the most trouble, I thought it was better to post it then to keep going over and over things as that is when I start to doubt myself. Anyway let me know what you think; as always open to ideas, suggestions and thoughts! Thanks so much =)