I left that place that day feeling so much better. It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I guess maybe it was that I told someone, I talked about it. And…Daryl comforted me. I let him, I let myself be. And the fact that it was Daryl made it so much better.

Yeah, so, things were better there. However, I needed to talk to my dad and fix things with him. It doesn't all fall on me though. He hurt my feelings pretty bad so he needs to apologize as well. And because of that, I decided to wait for him to come to me. In the meantime, though, I want to make sure he and the others know I'm not mad.

Daryl and I put everything we found on the kitchen table once we got back to the house. "They better appreciate the haul we brought in." I joked.

"Yeah." Daryl let out a small laugh.

I started thinking and debated on whether or not to tell him my idea. "So, I was thinking…" I started but trailed off. "If we're going to be here for a while, I'm gonna ask Sasha if she'll move over here and I'll move in with you guys."

Daryl turned slowly and looked at me. "Why?" He kind of squinted at me. I hesitated. "Abby, yer gonna have to talk to him eventually."

"I…just wanna put some distance between us for a while." I shrugged. He was still looking at me weird so I felt the need to further explain. "Look, I'm not mad at him, but…he really hurt me and I want him to know that."

"So, you doin' this cuz you wanna hurt him?" Daryl then said. I couldn't read his expression. Was it disappointment?

"No, Daryl, that's not it…" I sighed. "You just don't get it—

"No, I don't get it." He cut me off. "But," he put both hands on my shoulders and looked at me, "you do what you gots to do." He nodded. He gave me his approval. I was thankful. I just nodded in return.

I had already talked to Sasha and got everything figured out. She was going to take my place over here and I was going to take her place over there. I was packing a bag with clothes in it when my dad walked in. "Goin' on vacation?" He joked.

"Somethin' like that." I said without looking at him.

"Abby." He stopped me and said more seriously this time. "You aren't gonna do anything stupid like try to run away, are you?"

I almost gave him a dirty look. Does he think I'm sixteen? "No. I'm moving out." I walked passed him.

"What?" He kind of laughed.

You won't be in a minute. I thought. "Yup. I already talked it over with Sasha. She's gonna move in here and I'm moving next door with Daryl and Carol."

He stared at me. Now, I got his attention. He was giving me a serious dad look. "Abby, you don't have to do that." He shook his head.

"I want to." I shrugged. "It's better this way." The next thing that happened was almost unbearable. My dad kind of looked down and there was this look in his eyes that I have never seen before. It made me feel bad and I almost rethought this whole thing. He looked back up at me sadly and nodded. I left hurriedly because I didn't want to look at him like that anymore. I stopped dead in my tracks halfway down the hall. Maybe I should just go back and tell him? I thought. Then, I remembered and shook my head. No, I can't do that. "Bye, daddy." I called back then left.

I walked right next door. Glenn and Maggie didn't live there anymore, they moved to another house because they wanted their privacy. I can't say I blame them. It's kind of hard to be intimate when there's twelve other people watching you.

Daryl answered the door a few seconds after I knocked on it. "Hey." I said.

"Hey." He stood aside so I could come in. "Ya got all yer stuff?"

"Yeah." I said quickly.

"Hi, Abby." Carol said to me. I said hi back. "You can put your stuff in that room at the end of the hall."

"Okay, thanks." I hurriedly walked back there and closed the door. I held it together until I got inside then sobbed immediately after closing the door. I had my hand over my mouth so they couldn't hear me. I hated what was going on between my dad and I. That look he gave me…it was so sad. I just wanted to run back over there and jump into his arms and let him hold me. But I couldn't. I continued to sob silently.

It took me longer to calm down than was planned. I needed to stop crying before I went out there. Every time I stopped myself, I would start again. And, so, I spent a longer time in that room than I wanted to.

I did eventually calm down though. I went to join Daryl and Carol afterwards. They both looked up when they saw me. "There ya are." Daryl said. "Fer a minute, I didn't thank ya was comin' back out."

Carol laughed. "Yeah, sorry." I smiled. "I had some stuff on my mind so I took my time unpacking."

"That's okay." Said Carol. "I hope you're hungry. I made you some soup."

I blinked in surprise. "You made me food?"

"…well, it's only soup." She smiled.

"Wow. I like it better over here already." I laughed.

"Right?" Daryl joked with me.

The three of us sat there and talked while I ate and then afterwards too. I was feeling better and better about my move. I mean…I still felt bad about my dad and I want things to go back to the way they were but soon that image of him faded.

"And then he was like, 'you look like you don't know, just say I don't know'. And I was like 'wow, what a jerk'." I said. I was telling them a story about a guy that was rude to me at work.

"You should have said, 'excuse me, sir, but I don't know. It's my first day and I'm a little unsure still." Carol said.

"Yeah, or ya coulda decked 'im." Daryl said.

I laughed. "Believe me, I wanted to." We all laughed then.

"I went for this one job one time." Carol started to say. "Everything was on a computer and I had no idea what I was doing." She let out a small laugh. "I was never good with that stuff? Are you good with that stuff, Abby?"

"What, technology? Yeah, I was pretty good with that." I nodded. "I was the one who dealt with most of that crap at my house. My mom wasn't too good and my dad was completely clueless." I smiled. "Although, I ruined my phone pretty bad one day."

"What did you do to it?" Carol said with a laugh.

I hesitated. They're going to think I'm so dumb after I tell them this. "Well, it needed charged only I couldn't find my charger so I…put it in the microwave." I said nervously waiting for a response.

"Ya put the damn thang in the microwave?" Daryl asked roughly.

"Yeah." I smiled innocently. "Well, I mean…it charged it. But then it broke." I said the last part quietly. They laughed but Daryl shook his head. "I told ya I was dumb."

"No. Ya just didn't get it out in time." Daryl said. We all laughed some more.

We talked for a while longer and then Carol went to bed. It was just Daryl and I now. "You okay?" He asked me.

I looked at him for a minute not knowing why he asked me that. "Yeah, I'm fine." I shrugged.

"I was just askin' cuz…you was in yer room fer a pretty long time earlier."

"Oh yeah." I looked down. "I may have…cried a little." I let out a small laugh. "But it was only because…when I told my dad I was leaving. He looked really sad. I'm okay now, though." I nodded.

Daryl shook his head. "You two need to stop bein' stupid and just make up."

"I didn't do anything." I said wide-eyed. "He's the one who accused me of being on drugs." I crossed my arms in front of me. "And brought up past shit."

"You never made a mistake before?" He gave me a stupid look.

"Yeah, but…I'm letting him to come to me." I said stubbornly. Daryl sighed. I didn't let it get to me how he was acting. We all know how he is when he has a beef with someone.

"Alright, it's gettin' late." Daryl said.

"So?"

He looked at me. "So get yer ass to bed."

I let out a short laugh. "Uh, well…I usually stay up pretty late. It takes me a while to fall asleep anyway." He gave me that look like back on the road mixed with a little bit of annoyance. I could feel my face heat up. I let out a nervous laugh. "Huh, I think I'll go to bed now." I grinned at him.

"Yeah." He nodded. We both laughed.

"Night, Daryl."

"Night, sweetheart."

The last few days here I have been great. Daryl, Carol and I get along real well. I wasn't really even missing my dad after that. And I mean…he lives right next door, it's not like I will never see him again.

However, on this particular day, my dad, Abraham, Glenn, Maggie and Michonne went on a run together. The rest of us stayed back. I went to go see Carl and Judith during this time, which was good because I was missing my brother and sister. I was attempting to feed Judith, she was giving me a hard time. "Come on, Judy, eat. You gotta eat." I told her.

"Sucks when you're trying to get someone to eat and they won't, doesn't it?" Carl said. He smiled at me.

"Oh shut up." I smiled back.

He laughed. "Try the peas. I don't think she likes carrots."

"I don't blame her." I raised my eyebrows. I opened the baby jar lid and tried giving her the peas. She finally started eating. "There ya go, Judy. There ya go." I smiled.

"Hey, Abby?" Carl started. "Why are you mad at dad?"

I turned around giving him a surprised look. "I'm not mad at dad." I shook my head.

"Then why'd you move out?"

I shrugged. "We just needed some time apart."

"Well, he's been real…sad. I think he misses you."

I perked up some. "Really? He misses me?" I felt bad that that made me feel good. My brother gave me a strange look. "Don't worry. We'll talk soon."

"How soon?" He pressed.

I started shaking my head. "I don't know. Just…at some point."

"He needs you. He needs all of us." Carl's voice was raising and so was my temper. "Just talk to him, Abby. It's not hard."

"Enough!" I yelled taking him by surprise. "Just stop it, Carl!" Judith started to cry then. "Shit." I put her food and spoon down and went to pick her up. "Thanks. Thanks a lot for that." I held her close. "Shhh." I rocked her.

"You're going to try and blame this on me?"

"Carl." I said calmer. "Listen…I've got some…anger issues going on." I nodded. "I've got problems, I know that. I don't know why, but they're there."

My brother was silent a minute. "It's because of dad."

I sighed. I was losing here. "Carl."

"It is!" He snapped. "You need him. How can you not see it? It was always you and dad. He always helped you. Made you feel better." He nodded. "You need him, Abby. You need each other."

I thought about what he said. He might actually be on to something. My anger issues started when he wasn't around. And when I was little and I would cry or something, I always wanted my dad. I rarely went to my mom. I put my head down. "You're right."

"So go talk to him."

I nodded. "I will when he gets back." Judith was calmed down so I put her back in her chair. "Thanks, kid." I smiled at my brother then we hugged.

We were gathered together a little later while we waited for the others to get back from their run. Carol was holding Judith. Daryl, Carl and I were sitting there talking occasionally and I'm not sure what the others were doing.

We heard a noise at the door, just then, and knew they finally got back. Abraham was the first to walk into the house. He had a strange expression on his face but it soon left when Rosita greeted him. Glenn and Maggie were next followed by Michonne. They, too, had the same expression only it looked a little worse. I made my way over there. "Any trouble?" Daryl was the first to ask.

No one said anything right away. "A little." Michonne finally answered.

"Hey, where's my dad?" I asked her. "I gotta talk to him. Is he still outside?" I started walking towards the door.

"Abby, hold up." Glenn stopped me. "We gotta talk."

"About what?" I gave them a questioning look. They all just looked at me.

I was sitting on the couch with my head down. Daryl was next to me rubbing my back. Some of the others were talking lowly about going back out tomorrow to look, but I wasn't listening. All I kept thinking about was that my dad is missing.

How could this have happened? There were four others there! What were they doing? Picking daisies? I was feeling sick and faint. I couldn't even eat. I just want my dad to walk through those doors. "I'll be right back." Daryl told me. He got up and walked away.

Just then, Tara sat down next to me. "Hey, how ya holdin' up?" She put her hand on my back. I just shook my head. "Don't worry. We're gonna find him and he's gonna be just fine." She nodded. I appreciated her words, but I just couldn't right now. I went to take a breath and a sob escaped. I sniffled.

"We know you're upset and worried but crying isn't going to do anything." Rosita said to me.

"Leave 'er alone." Daryl said roughly.

"Well, it is her fault." Carl said. Everyone seemed to turn their attention to my brother, everyone except me.

"Carl." Michonne said.

"No, she needs to know." He said. "He went out because of you. Because you made him feel bad! He hasn't been right this whole time because of you. If something happens to him, if he doesn't come back, that's—that's on you—

"Carl, STOP IT!" Daryl yelled taking everyone by surprise. "I know yer just mad but, she has nothin' to do with this, alright? It ain't her fault. Stop tryin'a pull the guilt card on 'er. She don't need it." He spoke roughly. "Now sit down and be quiet."

Carl did what Daryl said. I saw that he looked like he felt bad and Michonne rubbed his arm. Daryl stuck up for me but he didn't have to. Carl's words had no effect on me. I was feeling completely numb. All I wanted to do was lay down…and maybe drink. But I didn't move from my spot.

"Here's a good question," Rosita started. I feel more tension coming. "Why aren't we out looking instead of here yelling at a kid?" She glanced at Daryl when she said that. He scowled back.

"Because it's dark and it'll be useless." Abraham said to her. "Don't be stupid."

"Don't call me stupid." She snapped.

"Everyone stop." Glenn said. "Look, we're gonna start looking first thing in the morning. Right now is too dangerous."

"It's always dangerous." Sasha said. "If we wait, it might be too late."

It felt like someone punched me in the stomach just then. I got up slowly and made my way to the back door. "Abby?" Someone called. I ignored them and went to sit outside by myself. I realized then that my dad was the glue that held all of us together. That's why everyone started fighting in there. My alone time didn't last for long, though. I heard footsteps behind me, I knew it was Daryl. "Hey." He said and sat next to me. "It's gonna be okay. We'll find 'im, alright? And where ever he is, he's fine. Yer dad's a tough sum'bitch."

I tried to swallow the lump that was forming in my throat. "Carl was right. It is my fault."

"Don't." He said. "Don't go there. Don't put that on yerself."

I looked down and started breathing heavily. I knew the tears were coming, I couldn't fight it anymore. "I don't want my last memory of him to be his sad face." And there it was. I started balling. Daryl had his arms around me and let me cry into his chest.

They organized two search groups. Daryl took his group out early this morning. I wanted to go with him but he made me stay home along with Carl. We looked after Judith. They came back…and no luck…my dad was still MIA. The second group, which is Abraham's, is out there right now.

I had to be tough. So, I sucked it up and pretended like this all wasn't happening. After all, this is what it's going to be look like if we don't find him. I mainly looked after my sister the whole time. "Ya okay?" Daryl asked me.

"Yeah." Was all I said. I continued rocking my sister and eventually got her to go to sleep.

"I can never get her to go to sleep." Carl said to me. I was surprised that he actually talked to me.

"Yeah, well, I can't get her to eat. So, we're even." I raised my eyebrows. Carol took her from me and put her in her crib.

"Hey, Abby?" Carl said. "What I said to you…I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I was just angry."

I thought about what he said and nodded. "Yes, you did. And that's okay." I let it go.

A little later, I was sitting by the fireplace. Daryl was comforting me again, even though I told him I was okay, I don't think he believed me.

We heard a commotion outside and I jumped up. Abraham and everyone walked in. I was looking at him wide-eyed. He just sighed and shook his head. My face fell and I looked down. Daryl put his hands on my shoulders. "Ya find anythang at all?" He asked them. "Any leads?"

Abraham sighed again. "Well, we were thinking maybe he— There was a noise outside. Everyone turned like at the same time and pointed their weapons. We waited in anticipation to see what it was. "It's him." Abraham said. My eyes widened immediately. He helped my dad inside. He didn't look hurt, but he was probably weak from dehydration.

"Dad!" Carl said and ran to him. They hugged. I just stood back and watched them sadly. Others hugged him and Daryl and Glenn shook his hand. He glanced at me for a second.

"You alright?" Daryl asked him.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm good. I was hiding out in a deli after that herd came through. I didn't have enough bullets so I had to just wait it out." He kind of laughed. There were some other laughs around the room. And a few 'glad you're okay's' and 'good to have ya back's'. Carol went to go make him something to eat and most of the others went back to their normal stuff. I stayed right there in my spot, though.

My dad stared at me again. I made my way over then stopped just in front of him. I looked at him sadly. There were things I wanted to say but for some reason, I couldn't speak.

All of a sudden, we hugged each other at the same time. I exhaled. I needed this. "Are you okay, daddy?" I said quietly and looked up at him with tears in my eyes. I refused to let them fall, though.

"Yeah, I'm okay, baby." He touched my cheek and gave me a small smile. I just latched myself onto him again and we held each other tightly. I was so happy and relieved.

He finally loosened his grip on me but kept his arms around me. I looked up at him. "We're gonna have a talk later, okay?" He said to me. I nodded. He kissed my forehead twice, then we hugged one more time.

Way later, I was sitting out on the back porch by myself. I left my dad alone while he was eating. I figured he would come find me when he was done and wanted to talk. I heard his footsteps and knew I was right. "Hey." He said.

"Hey."

"You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." I looked at him. "Are you?"

"Yes." He answered. He sat down next to me. His hand touched my back for a second. We were both quiet for a minute. "Are you feeling better about…what ever it was that was bothering you?"

"Yeah." I looked at him and nodded. "I talked to Daryl." I paused for a second. "It's not that I didn't want to tell you, it's just—

"It's okay, baby. You don't have to explain. I understand." He said. I gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry about the 'intervention'." He let out a small laugh. I sighed and put my head down. He must have realized that I wasn't laughing. "Really. I am."

I looked back up and swallowed. "I'm sorry I left." I then said. "Carl asked me why I was mad at you the other day, and I told him I wasn't…but the truth is…I was." I nodded and looked at him. "You really hurt me, dad."

"I know." He looked sad.

"No, I don't think you do." I shook my head. "You accused me of doing drugs. I'm not that irresponsible…kid anymore. You brought that up from the past like a grudge. And you embarrassed me." I gave him an annoyed look. "You could have come to me yourself and we could have talked about it. Instead you said it in front of Daryl and Carol and embarrassed me."

"Abby, I-I know." He turned a little so he could face me better. "And I'm so so sorry I did that to you." He grabbed my hand in his. "I wish I could take it back. You don't know how bad I felt that I hurt my little girl. I'll never forgive myself but…I hope that you do."

Now I started to feel bad again. It wasn't completely him. I was being pretty difficult to be around lately. "I do." I nodded. "And I'm sorry for the way I have been acting."

He nodded. "It's okay." We were quiet for a few seconds. "Come here." He put his arm around me and I leaned into him. I missed this.

"Although, it's been a few days since I've seen you." He said. I smiled. I knew where this was going. "How many days?"

"I think like four." I admitted.

"Four days?" He said it like he couldn't believe it. "Well, then…I'm gonna have to…" He suddenly kissed me a bunch of times on my cheek. I giggled. My dad could be corny, but I was just super glad we made up. "I want you back home tomorrow. Got it?"

"Okay." I smiled.

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