*Cautiously peeks out* Hi guys! I'm finally back. Lockdown has been useful for one thing I guess. I'm sorry for the long reply, Uni, work, Covid its all been happening since September and I got behind on everything.

"TEDDY" was all either of the two males heard before a tall blonde blur slammed into the younger and sent him almost flying off the porch.

"Sophiaaaaa" Teddy groaned before laughing and hugging the figure back.

"You're okay! I mean your Dad said you were but now I can see you and oh lord I'm glad you're okay!" Sophia chattered "I'm so sorry about Andrea!"

"Why are you sorry? You didn't shoot me" Teddy said

"Well… I mean I know but... It was still my fault; I mean I brought you back here. I put you in harms way"

"No Sophia" Harry interjected "It wasn't your fault at all, we brought you back to your Mom and unfortunately some people don't understand when to listen to leadership, and people get hurt".

"Okay Mr. Harry, if you're sure though, I hope you forgive me anyway Teddy? I never wished for you to get hurt"

"Don't worry about it, already forgiven, whoever shot me though? That fucker is in for it" Teddy growled

"Teddy, language kid, Merlin knows these lot just need another excuse to have a go at me" Harry rolled his eyes.

Teddy and Sophia both stifled a laugh.

"C'mon Teddy, come meet my Mom" Sophia said tugging suddenly at both men's arms.

"Wait, is Dad allowed over to your camp? He said he yelled at them all" Teddy laughed "I wish I'd seen it to be honest, Dad's the best at yelling at stupid people"

"It was amazing Teddy! He listened to everything I said on the way through the forest and used it all against them! They didn't know where to look after he was through, everyone's started making changes already though, all except Shane who's fully decided he was right about Mr. Harry having you with him Teddy"

"What do you mean 'decided he's right'?"

"He thinks I have you with me for 'Nefarious Purposes'" Harry said making air quotations with his fingers and rolling his eyes. "I assume he's decided because I argued against him and stormed off that I must be guilty"

"Pretty much, your Dad completely let them have it Teddy. Told them all that the group was going to get themselves killed and that he wouldn't need to do anything. Shane said the group needed protecting from your Dad, so he highlighted more of their bullshit, completely brilliant! Of course, Lori didn't think so"

"Who's Lori?" Teddy asked

"Ricks wife" Sophia replied, "Not that she's much of one to him"

"Well Ms Sophia, that's not nice" Harry laughed, "Where's the nice, polite girl gone I saved yesterday?" He asked teasingly.

"To be honest Mr. Harry, I don't think Shane and Rick deserve politeness, Lori definitely doesn't" She shrugged "You and Mr. Dale do, you're both good men, respectable men, and you've both done a lot for me and my Mom. Shane is a horrible bully, and what I've heard and witnessed since coming back yesterday only tells me that that assessment is beyond the right one. As for Rick, it's strange, I know in my head it's not entirely his fault I got lost, but I can't help but blame him a little for leaving me alone, and the way he just lets Shane and Lori walk all over him is so bad when he's a sheriff, and the people here, they look to him as a leader, but all he's done really is make mistakes, especially since the CDC incident, it's like he's given up on himself so he's letting other people dictate and then he has to act like he's made the decisions, which clearly, I mean, whoever put Andrea on watch needs shooting themselves, she's not been in a good place since Amy died" Sophia trailed off going silent for a few seconds before continuing. "And Lori, well, can't be much of a wife to someone if you're pregnant with another man's child" Sophia finished with a finality that Harry and Teddy were beginning to recognise from her.

"Wait, Maggie was talking about that this morning" Teddy said, "About how if she had an inkling or is having morning sickness then she has to be further along than the two weeks Rick has been back"

Harry noticed Sophia had gone silent as they walked past the small grove of trees near the driveway to the house, she seemed hesitant, like she wanted to share something but didn't want to get in trouble.

"Sophia, if something is bothering you, believe me when I say it's easier to speak about it rather than let it fester" Harry consoled the distraught looking girl.

"Okay, but I want it known beforehand I'm not a sneak or anything, I really didn't mean to listen in but I was walking in the woods near the old campsite, I was looking for a place to practise my magic, my wand was with me because I was going to practise that cutting curse 'Diffindo' I wasn't sure how powerful it could be, whether it could chop off a walkers head in you were in a tough situation, so I was aiming to go and get it right figured if I practised on trees then I could at least take the branches back for the campfire; but I was distracted by other branches breaking in the area and I thought Walkers were coming so I climbed into the trees, it was Lori and Shane and they were in a pretty heated argument arguing about Carl but then Shane kissed Lori and clothes came off… to be honest I didn't come down from the tree I didn't want to get caught, but then Lori started saying these things, horrible things about Rick and I just couldn't believe that someone could be so heartless I wanted to use a silencing spell but I didn't know any so I had to listen, she was going on about how she was glad they could be together now Rick was gone, she said Shane would always come first now that they were free, then Shane caught sight of a necklace Lori had on, got angry and ripped it off and threw it away. Lori just laughed, and then, well you know…" Sophia finally trailed off mumbling

"They kept having sex?" Teddy guessed

"Yeah, but anyway, it's part of the reason I don't like Lori, the necklace, I went and got it when they'd finished, it was three rings and a small frame. It was hers and Ricks wedding rings, and a small picture of Rick and Carl, but she never came back for them, I know she didn't because I still have the necklace, and I know that baby isn't Rick's because Lori won't go near him, oh she plays a good game and acts loved up, but I've seen it for years in my parents, believe me, she can't stand the fact he's back, and her and Shane are still meeting up, god knows where but they are, I saw them whilst doing my chores this morning"

"Oh, really now?" A new voice grumbled behind them.

Spinning around Harry drew his knife quickly and moved the kids behind his back in one move. He relaxed slightly when he saw it was Rick, but tensed again at the sight of someone new at the side of him.

"Woah, easy, we're not going to do anything to you" Rick placated holding his hands out

"Sorry" Harry said

"Yeah, new guys and all, someone's already shot me" Teddy piped up

"And there seems to be some people in the Camp who have it out for me too" Harry laughed.

"Guys!" Sophia interjected, "Really not the time for jokes" she huffed

"But it's better than being miserable" Harry pointed out

"Oh yes because having Zombie's as well as people out to get you is obviously what everyone needs right now, having the time of my life lately Dad" Teddy shot back sarcastically

Harry frowned at Teddy before dramatically pointing and saying "You're grounded"

"You can't do that" Teddy pretested

"Can too"

"Cannot!"

"Erm, who is the parent here exactly?" Harry pondered "Oh yeah, me! So, hah!" Harry stuck his tongue out at his son.

"Guys?" A giggle broke out and Teddy and Harry threw a quick smirk at each other before turning their attention to the three others who looked highly amused.

"You two always like this" Rick asked chuckling

"More or less" They shrugged

"I came over here to thank you" Rick said looking Harry in the eyes so he showed he meant it.

"Thank me?" Harry asked bewildered "For what?"

"For a huge kick in the backside to be quite honest" Rick replied sheepishly rubbing his hand over the hair at the back of his head "You were right, this group is going to get themselves killed soon, and it will be our own faults. A few are starting training today though; we need them all up to scratch to survive. Glenn is on a run now, Maggie said something about an Ammunitions store in town, would you like to join us?"

"Will Shane be there?" Harry asked sharply "Because, no offence, I'm not putting myself or my son around him if he'll have weapons"

"No, he said he couldn't be bothered babying a bunch of rookies at something they'll learn eventually without the training. Lori won't be there either because 'she has no need to learn, she'll always be protected' I thought at first she just trusted me, but I guess I know the real reason now" Rick trailed off looking back to the house "She also mentioned something about Carl being alone in that house, 'imagine him waking up and he's all alone, we can't do that to him, he hasn't woken up yet and I'm scared he won't' which I do agree with, but I can't believe she was lying" Rick shook his head

"Wait, she didn't tell you?" Harry asked

"Tell me what?"

"Carl woke up last night, it wasn't for long, about 5 minutes, he had some water and Hershel checked him over again after she kicked me out of the room"

"She… she kicked you out?" Rick asked "What the hell for? You told us you're a doctor, why would she do that?"

"Well, Hershel asked me to look at him, I believe the exact words were 'I'm a vet not a doctor, and have you seen the size of a cows stomach?' He did a great job by the way" Harry said looking at Rick "Carl will be absolutely fine. She came in just as I was finishing up, pitched a fit at Hershel and accused me of being a paedophile all in 30 seconds, apparently because Shane said it, it must be true" Harry said sarcastically.

Both Teddy and Sophia suddenly took a step back at the amount of fury that covered Ricks face. First from being told his son had woken up and he hadn't been told, and second that his wife had insulted and refused help from an actual doctor! Not that he didn't appreciate Hershel's help, but like he said to Harry, he's a vet! What if he had actually missed something? What if Carl had needed further treatment?

"Rick" the stranger snapped "Pull yourself together, there's no point being angry now, you know the truth now, and clearly this guy will help if Carl goes downhill again. Start being rational"

Silence reigned for a moment whilst Rick forced himself to calm down.

"Rick" Sophia said uncertainly

"Yes Sophia?" Rick replied kindly

"How… how much of our conversation did you hear?" Sophia looked nervous, overly so, a small blush started covering her cheeks at the thought of the things she had said.

Both Harry and the stranger gave Rick hard looks over Sophia's head, warning him silently not to lose it at Sophia or there would be hell to pay.

"From when you said Lori was saying she was glad she could be with Shane now, it's okay Sophia" Rick reassured the young girl at the sudden look of horror on her face. "I would also like to apologise for leaving you alone in the woods, I shouldn't have, and that was an almost grave mistake on my part, I'm guessing with the dropping of the 'Mister' in front of my name that you blame me a lot, and that's okay. I've made a lot of mistakes since the CDC and they've all had something bad happen to an innocent person. I must admit I was embarrassed about being wrong and truthfully Lori and Shane were not willing to let it go, after you went missing the looks and comments got worse so I let them call the shots so they can know how it feels, however it's clearly a power trip to them, and then, Carl got shot and that was my fault despite Lori giving the final say, I guess it makes sense now though, she blames me because she hates me. She's shagging Shane to get back at me for some perceived wrong, if I know her like I thought I did then shes not doing it because she loves him but because it'll hurt me. So, after last night's lecture" Here he winked at Harry who laughed "I'm going to step back up, this group is a priority like no other because we need everyone to survive. Things with Lori and Shane, well they can just play out, fuck them, but if she is pregnant Sophia's right, it's definitely not mine so Shane can have her, she how he deals with her full time, I've done everything I could over the years to please her and it's ending like this" Rick sighed

"Rick, it's not your fault" The stranger consoled.

"I know Daryl I know"

"Rick, Sophia isn't the first person who's said that baby isn't yours, forgive her, but Maggie said Lori had asked her to grab her some tests and pills from town, so Lori knows definitively one way or another, however, I'm about to trust you both with a secret of mine, and I know you'll see the advantages of it" Harry said seriously.

And so, Harry told Rick and Daryl about himself, his world, the war, the years of training and suffering he endured, the training for both his jobs, everything he was and could do was laid out, including how he was Teddy's father in all but blood after his parents died in the war. Rick looked slightly disbelieving, but Daryl was nodding along which Sophia noticed.

"Daryl, you don't seem surprised?" Sophia said

"Because I'm not" Daryl shrugged, "I'm not magical" He continued at the looks from Harry "But some of my family are, or were rather, at one point anyway" Daryl said.

"At one point?" Teddy asked before Harry could scold him for such a personal question, Daryl shrugged it off and just said "There was apparently a curse, we're basically squibs, locked away from our own magic but still able to interact with anything else that's magical like the animals and potions and things"

"But, but that can send people crazy!" Teddy cried

"It can if you let it, I just accepted my lot in life"

Harry looked at Daryl approvingly before turning back to Rick, "One of the reasons I'm telling you Rick, is because I can perform a small charm on Lori, with or without her knowing, so you have evidence you can use, also there's the small matter of protective wards and charms I can do to help you and everyone else"

"That all sounds wonderful Harry, but I'm not sure Hershel will be accommodating to magic on his premises" Rick sighed

"Hershel already knows" Harry replied easily

Rick looked dumbfounded at that piece of information and Harry laughed, he supposed that since Hershel was a clearly devout Christian that anyone would think he wouldn't react well to any form of magic whatsoever.

"It shocked me too, turns out he has a magical cousin, that's why he could accept it so easily, but knowing something like that your whole life I guess you get time to come to terms with it. I will warn you now though Rick he really isn't happy with either Lori or Shane being here at all, not to mention the fact he thinks Shane killed Otis in cold blood, at the moment he wants the whole lot of you out of here, especially after Andrea shot Teddy after he said no guns, so you need to speak to him soon to clear things up.

"He thinks Shane killed Otis? But why? Shane told us what happened" Rick exclaimed

Daryl snorted "Rick I'm sorry, but you are about the only person that believes that story, it's too perfect, too convenient"

"Convenient?! What's convenient about death?" Rick spluttered.

"Yes, Rick, convenient, I mean, he comes back with Otis' gun and pack! A story about how Otis sacrificed himself to the walkers so he could get away, I'd understand handing the pack over but not the gun, he could survive for a time without it. It also doesn't explain the chunk of hair missing, or the fact the small scratch in the wound has healed and he hasn't turned, means it was human not Walker that scratched him! Also, Rick, you said Otis kept up with you and Shane throughout the whole run back to here after Carl went down despite him being a bigger guy, do you really believe that Otis just slowed Shane down? Because I'm telling you now, I don't, especially not with the way he's been acting since he came back. He was too calm, cop or not no one is that calm talking about watching someone go to their deaths"

"So, who doesn't believe it?" Harry asked

"Me, Dale, T-Dog, Glenn, Carol, clearly all the Green family, Andrea is on the fence but mostly because I think she want's to fuck Shane" Daryl said.

Rick opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a large commotion by the tents that made all five of them run over to see if someone needed help.

"Here's your magazines, your lotions, your clean underwear! The next time you want Glenn to be your fucking errand boy don't bother even asking! I'm pretty sure he's through listening to your orders!" Maggie snarled looking at Lori with pure disgust on her face with Glenn stood as silent support next to her. "Oh" Maggie continued her voice going dangerously low as she reached into the bag for something else "Here's your abortion pills. Funny how you knew exactly which ones to ask for. Makes me wonder just how many times you've used them before" Maggie spat on the ground in front of Lori and stormed off, visibly shaking with rage.

"Are you just going to let your bitch talk to me like that?" Lori screamed red faced.

"Yeah, yeah I am and you know why? Because shes fucking right! I'm tired of running around into dangerous situations without proper back up! We almost got bit today, we were swarmed whilst out on a run specifically for you! To get you the 'home comforts' you claim you so deserved because Rick is your husband and your fuck buddy and baby daddy is the deputy! Well news flash princess, you're not any more special than the rest of us. Don't call Maggie a bitch just because she has the balls to call you out on your shit"

Glenn turned and jogged away from Lori, to where Maggie was standing by a fence leading into the cows pasture, their hands entwines and they were off. Meanwhile Lori has started raging and screaming, kicking hers and others things around the campsite. Rick made to move towards her when he was grabbed suddenly by Harry and dragged behind Dales RV as Shane came out of nowhere and embraced Lori from behind, his hands automatically splaying protectively over Lori's stomach. The sight made all the muscles in Rick's body clench as it took Daryl and Harry both to stop him storming over towards them.

"What's wrong babe, you know you can't be this stressed" Shane said already sucking lightly on Lori's neck.

"Didn't you hear what that skank and Glenn have just said to me?!" Lori snarled

"No, what did they say?" Shane growled out, a definite possessive note in his voice

"They said it was my fault they almost got bitten today, they're saying that because they supposedly went into town just for me! And Maggie, I asked for some tablets, to help with the morning sickness, and she accused me of trying to abort our baby! And she said that because I asked specifically for them that I must have used them before" Lori fake sobbed into Shane's arms, the act was good the three older gents would admit, but they could tell it was fake. But Shane bought it completely.

"That jumped up bitch! How dare she! The babies you've lost before this we're all natural, you can't control a miscarriage! How could she accuse you of all people of something like that?!" Shane was good at a lot of things, but holding anger didn't appear to be one of them, he was nearly foaming at the mouth and his eyes were starting to bulge.

Lori sighed, snuggling further into Shane's arms so he couldn't see she wasn't actually crying "we've been together nearly five years Shane, there's nothing I want more than to give you a child, I'm so sorry for all the miscarriages, but I'm so happy you believe me, I couldn't bear it if you believed her lies"

"Lori of course I believe you! But I must admit I am getting sick of hiding my love for you, when can we be in the open?"

"Shane you know this! I can't keep going through it, you have to kill Rick then we can be how we were at the Quarry again" Lori snapped

"Why does it have to be me? He's my best friend, and you're closer to him anyway and you're the one that's hated him since Carl was born"

"Some best friend you are" Lori snorted "You're sleeping with his wife, and have been for a long time, not to mention the times you've stolen evidence to fuck with his cases, or the time you beat the shit out of him on a stake out and then blamed some poor guy who's now in jail. Grow some balls Shane, you had no problem killing Otis for hurting Carl, this is exactly the same" Lori said with finality.

And there we goooooo, longest chapter yet, which isn't saying much really hah! Next chapter is in progress. I should hopefully have it up soon.

Crossfire.