The car led them out of the forests and fields and across the free-way towards down town Atlanta. The sun set as they followed and the darkness allowed them the extra cover they needed to keep back and out of sight.

They slowed and followed the car as it entered the city, crawling past buildings down long deserted roads. The car in front of them slowed and pulled to a stop.

'Wha'the hell's he waiting for?' Daryl murmured.

The car door opened and a man dressed in a police uniform climbed out; Maggie and Daryl lowered their selves as best they could in their seats as the man looked around. Then he walked off and disappeared around the corner. Daryl and Maggie stayed sat in silence, waiting.

A loud bang on their side window elicited a small gasp from Maggie, who nearly jumped straight out of her seat and onto Daryl. A lone walker had discovered their car, and was clawing at the window, growling. Maggie glared at it.

The man in the uniform came back. He looked around again, stopping for a moment to look at the walker against their car, then got back in his car and pulled away.

Daryl turned the key; the engine spluttered, then stopped.

'Damn,' he cursed, 'engine's out.'

Maggie looked at him, her eyes nervous in the dark, the backdrop of the walker behind her adding an eerie quality to the picture.

'We gotta move,' Daryl said, looking out over the road where several more walkers were beginning to converge, undoubtedly drawn to the sounds of the engine. 'Find a place t'hole up til sunrise.'

'I think we passed a shelter back there,' Maggie said, 'we can make that.'

Daryl nodded.

Maggie wound her window down and stabbed the walker between the eyes with Beth's knife. It finally shut up and fell to the ground in a slump. Carefully, she opened the door and stepped out, stepping over the body and rounding the car to be with Daryl.

The walk to the shelter was easy enough; they stayed low and close to the buildings, only taking out lone walkers if they got too close, not wanting to attract a larger crowd. The darkness provided them extra cover too, which they were both grateful for. They remained on edge the whole time, constantly expecting a car to pull up or a man in an officer's uniform to find them, but nothing did. Maggie had been right and there was a shelter not too far, close to the edge of the town they had entered on. The door had been boarded, but Daryl was able to pry it apart with his knife, pulling down the planks before the walkers converged on them. Maggie kept watch, her eyes wide and her breath shallow, as she watched a group of walkers coming their way. They were quiet so she was unsure whether they had spotted them, but they would be near them enough to smell them soon.

'Come on,' Daryl grunted, and grateful, the two of them ducked inside and closed the night out.

They walked steadily through the foyer, watching and listening for any threats. There was one body on the floor, laying slumped against the wall behind the counter. Daryl inspected it and found a set of keys on its belt, which he took.

Using the keys, they were able to progress through the foyer and down the corridor beyond. They stopped to push a cabinet in front of the door, keeping as silent as they possible could, then moved on up the set of stairs to the top floor, which took them to an identical corridor. They stepped through into a small room beyond, with bunk beds and a cabinet. Daryl closed the door behind them.

Maggie paced the room for a moment, stretching her arms out. She felt on edge, wired. The sight of the car had made her nervous, and she was buzzing with an excitable electricity at the thought of finding her sister.

'You get some sleep, I'll take first watch.' Daryl said from behind her.

'This place is shut up pretty tight,' Maggie said, 'I think we're safe.'

Daryl moved towards the beds; he shrugged his jacket off and sat down on the bottom bunk. Maggie wandered over to the window and stood beside it, looking out over the city, now bathed in a silver moonlight. The buildings were singed with dark burn marks and ash lined the streets beneath. From their advantage point Maggie could see the wandering walkers as they made their aimless ways around the city. Maggie watched them, thinking of how Atlanta had been bombed, and all the people trying to escape into it had died. She wondered how many of these walkers had been those pour souls, trapped when the bombs fell.

They were quiet for some time.

'What's on yer mind?' Daryl asked, making Maggie jump.

Maggie kept her eyes out on the city below.

'You think they're out there?' She asked. 'Beth. Rick. Glen.'

'Yeah,' Daryl said, rubbing his hand across his chin. The sound of his skin against his beard was audible in the silent room.

'You think we'll see them again?' Maggie asked quietly.

'Yeah,' Daryl said, 'I do.'

Maggie turned to face him, folding her arms over her chest and leaning her back against the glass.

'Do you think he's looking for me?' she said softly. 'Glen.'

'F'sure,' Daryl nodded. 'He loves the bones off'a yer.'

Maggie smiled, turning the ring on her finger again.

'Do you remember,' Maggie said, her lips breaking into a smile, 'that afternoon we went to the bar? Me, Glen, Beth and you?'

Daryl nodded; of course he remembered. Beth had drunk herself stupid on an old bottle of cognac and made herself sick.

'Y'gave me a run f'my money,' he said with a smile.

'I didn't like the way you were eyeing up my baby sister.' Maggie said.

Daryl snorted.

'I weren't eyeing her up,' he said.

Maggie laughed loudly.

'You were all over her!' she said, shaking her head, 'mind you she wasn't any better, but I expected better from you!'

Daryl shook his head.

'Getting my baby sister drunk and drooling all over her,' Maggie said, a glint in her eye.

'Oh come on,' Daryl said, shaking his head all the more, 'tha'wasn't my fault. An' I paid for it th'next day.'

Maggie cocked her head at him.

'She spewed her guts up on m'floor,' he told her, slightly amused that Maggie hadn't known.

Maggie laughed loudly again, the sound pure and light in the dark room; it took years off of her and lit up her face in a way Daryl had not seen since the prison had fallen. Daryl smiled.

'I guess you thought you were being dead clever, the two of you,' Maggie sighed as she wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve. She looked across at Daryl, narrowing her eyes at him. 'It was so obvious.'

'It weren't obvious t'me,' Daryl said. 'Yer sister messed m'head up real good. Damn,' he sighed, 'she still does.'

Maggie chuckled softly. She crossed the room and sat down gently on the bed beside him.

'I really hated you for a while,' she sighed.

Daryl turned to look at her, his brows furrowed in the darkness. She had spoken about it to him already in the car, but he guessed she was trying to fill the silence.

'I hated the thought that you were takin' advantage of my sister.'

'It weren't like that,' Daryl said.

'I know that now,' Maggie nodded. 'But I saw the way she looked at you – so in awe. I thought maybe you would use that. You proved me wrong, Dixon,' she smiled and playfully leant into him, knocking his arm with hers, 'You're a good'un.'

Daryl shook his head, but he was smiling.

'Y'gave me hell, girl,' he said.

'I had to,' Maggie shrugged, 'I'm a big sister.'

Daryl nodded softly; he understood. Maggie had had every right to be suspicious of him, not just because of the age gap, but because of the seeming clash in their personalities. Daryl was quiet and brooding while Beth was soft and optimistic. But that was what worked for them, she was the light to his dark, and Daryl realised these last few days that he needed her. Without her, he felt darker and a lot more hopeless.

Maggie sighed and leant forward on her knees, leaning her elbows on her thighs. She looked down at the floor, her boots planted firmly on the wood.

'Glen'll be fine,' Daryl said.

Maggie looked up at him, and offered him a smile she didn't really feel.

'He will,' Daryl said. 'An' if we don't find him he'll find us. There aint no way he aint out there right now lookin' for ya.'

Maggie bit her lip.

'I should be looking for him, too.' She said.

'Y'will,' Daryl said. 'Y'can go now if y'want, I'll find Beth.'

Maggie sat up with a sigh. She looked up and ran one hand over the bars of the top bunk whilst Daryl watched her through narrowed eyes.

'No,' she said, letting herself slump back down. 'We find Beth first.'

Daryl nodded. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his top pocket and took one out, then stopped to look at Maggie.

'Go ahead,' she said.

Daryl lit the cigarette and then laid himself back, his feet still on the floor, knees bent. He took several deep drags, feeling the nicotine flood his system. He shut his eyes and sighed, letting his body relax for a moment.

Maggie laid herself down beside him and as he took the cigarette from his lips, she took it from him and took a drag of it herself. Daryl sat himself up on his elbows and looked across at her, his face shocked. Maggie laughed as she took the cigarette away, causing her to cough. She put her hand to her chest and tried to steady herself.

'Careful,' Daryl said, taking it back off of her. He balanced the smoke between his lips and smacked Maggie on the back. She took a deep breath and then chuckled at him. She looked up into his eyes, sparkling above the light of the cigarette, and smiled.

As she sat close to him in the darkness, his hand still on her back, Maggie suddenly realised what it was Beth saw in him; there was a softness to him she had never seen before.

'Y'don't smoke,' Daryl said around the cigarette, 'leave it t'the experts.'

Maggie laughed again, shaking her head.

'I'm stressed.' She said, then she shook her head again, her dark hair falling about her face. 'You should give it up.' She said. 'No good for ya.'

Daryl shrugged.

'I'm past dying young,' he said.

Maggie laughed lightly and stood up, stretching her arms high about her head.

'We should get some sleep,' she said, stifling a yawn. 'I'll take the top bunk, I think this one is more to your style.'

Daryl smiled as she gestured to the pink sheet he was sitting on.

'Sure,' he said.

It was still dark when Daryl woke, but he pushed himself up and swung his legs from the bed onto the floor anyway. He stifled a yawn on the back of his hand and then stood up. Maggie was still sleeping, her back to him as she faced the wall, her knees curled up to her chest. Daryl kept his eyes on her as he shrugged his jacket on and picked his crossbow up. Checking things were secure, he headed out of the room and onto the small roof area just beyond.

The sky had taken on a lighter hue now and Daryl knew the sun would be rising within the hour. He shouldered his crossbow and stepped over to the edge, looking out at the world below. There were buildings around him that towered above their small shelter, but Daryl could make out the roads and paths from where he was. A lot of what had been shops and houses were now completely devastated, often no more than a derelict structure left. There were plenty of trucks and lorries left abandoned, and as Daryl looked out, he spotted a white van teetering over the edge of a bridge. He squinted; there were white crosses on the back windows. A strange feeling rose in his gut.

Daryl stayed out on the roof as the sun rose, earlier than he had expected it to, staring out across at the van. He stood, his boots rooted to the concrete, looking out over the fallen city as inch by inch it was lit up, dark building after dark building illuminating.

He took his last cigarette from his pocket and lit it up, breathing in the smoke to his tired lungs, and breathing it out over the lightening sky.

Maggie woke in her bed as the room around her lightened. She groaned lightly, then rolled over onto her back, blinking her eyes open. For a moment, she was unsure where she was, then she remembered and sat up. She climbed down the ladder and landed on the wooden floor with a light thump. Daryl's bed, she saw, was empty, but the blankets were ruffled so she new he had slept in it, for a while at least.

She pulled her jacket on, checking her knife was still there, and headed out to the roof, where she had spotted Daryl standing against the sun.

'Hey,' she called gently as she walked across to him, wanting to let him know she was there and not startle him. She wondered whether it was possible to startle Daryl.

He nodded to her and gestured her over.

'Look' he said, pointing across to the bridge. 'See that van?'

Maggie squinted.

'Yeah,' she said.

'See the cross on it?'

Maggie nodded, turning to look at Daryl. Daryl noticed the expectancy in her eyes as she looked at him; it was a look he knew from Beth, but he never thought to see it from her sister.

'We should check it out, see if it gives us any ideas t'where Beth could be.' Daryl said.

'Okay,' Maggie nodded. 'Let's go.'

'Eat somethin' first.' Daryl said to her.

Maggie rolled her eyes but smiled.

The two of them ate a cold can of spaghetti hoops and a pack of crisps each before they gathered their belongings and left the shelter.

The two of them made their way out through the streets Daryl had studied from above, past the burnt down stops and houses, staying low and close to the walls. Daryl had expected there to be a lot more walkers than there were, but in the general streets there didn't seem to be that many. He thought maybe the initial amount had filtered out of the city as it grew less populated in search for food. They had seen a few hordes during their time on the road, he expected an Atlanta horde was around somewhere, maybe they had already run in to them.

Daryl found the van with relative ease and only a few run ins with walkers. The bridge could be seen from a while off so they headed towards it, stepping on and crossing it. Daryl felt a little vulnerable on the wide bridge, so out in the open. He kept his wits about him as he walked.

They reached the car and pulled open the back doors. Daryl peered in as Maggie looked towards the end of the bridge, where several walkers were starting to make their way towards them.

'It doesn't look stable.' Maggie said.

Daryl turned around and put his hands on the edge of the van, pulling himself up backwards until he was sitting.

'I'll go. I'm lighter.' Daryl said.

He pulled himself up by holding onto the roof and swung himself round, where he stayed stood in a low crouch. There was a gurney in the back of the van but nothing else. Daryl went to the front and climbed over into the seat. He sat down and pulled down the sun visor. There were papers stashed away, hand written notes and printed sheets. He flicked through them, gaining nothing. He opened the glove department and rummaged through, finding more paper and a flashlight.

Maggie pushed a tire to the back and use it to climb up and into the back. She trod carefully across the floor and joined Daryl in the front. The sounds of the walker's outside grew.

'There's more coming.' She said.

'I see 'em.' Daryl nodded.

He climbed back from the seat into the back and turned the gurney on it's side.

'We're going to have to fight through,' Maggie said.

'GMH?' Daryl said pointing to the bottom of the gurney where the letters were engraved. 'What's that? A hospital?'

'I don't know – Grady Memorial Hospital?' Maggie said. She made her way to the end of the van; the walkers were closing in.

'Grady,' Daryl mused, 'might be where they're holing up.'

The snarls of the undead grew.

'Daryl!' Maggie called.

Daryl let go of the gurney and jumped out onto the bridge; they were surrounded. He pulled his knife from his belt and grabbed the closest one, pulling it towards him and stabbing it in to its skull. He kicked them back, but they kept coming. As he looked about, the more there seemed to be.

'Stay back!' Daryl called to Maggie, sticking out his arm before the van to stop her from getting out.

'Anything we can use?' Maggie asked desperately, searching around the van.

'Nothin' but what we got.' Daryl said.

He stabbed the nearest walker then pulled himself back into the van and slammed the doors shut behind him just as they begun to pile against the doors, their hands slamming against the windows, the sounds of their groans tinny against the metal.

'A'right,' Daryl said clamouring to the front and falling into the chair. 'Buckle up.'

Breathless, Maggie climbed into the seat beside him, her heart hammering in her chest. She pulled the seatbelt over her and held her breath as the walkers manoeuvred their-selves all around the van, their hands just reaching her side window, dirty finger nails scraping across the glass.

Daryl had his hands against the dashboard, bracing himself. Maggie leant across and placed her hand on his. He looked at her, then laced his fingers in with hers.

Slowly, the van began to tip. Both Maggie and Daryl held their breath. Maggie's stomach turned itself inside out as the van somersaulted over, flipping off of the bridge and plummeting down to the ground. Maggie felt herself lift from her chair; she squeezed her eyes shut tight and screamed, the air whooshed from her lungs. The seatbelt burned against her chest, papers and debris tumbled all around them as the van righted itself, slamming into the concrete beneath and then bouncing back up. Maggie's head slammed down and snapped back up, smacking into the back of the chair, the seatbelt broke the skin on her chest.

Silence. Maggie and Daryl stared at each other.

'We're alive,' Maggie gasped as Daryl groaned in pain.

She let go of Daryl's hand, her knuckles white as she gripped him. She touched her hand to her chest, wincing in pain.

Suddenly, a body smack landed right in the middle of the van screen, smashing it and splattering it with blood. Maggie jumped. Another body fell, then another, and another as the walkers on the bridge fell from the side onto the van.

Maggie and Daryl sat back and watched and listened as they fell, their breathing shallow.

Slowly, Daryl pushed the door open and fell out of the van. Maggie did the same the other side. Both parties limped in agony, their bodies cut and in pain.

'Y'okay?' Daryl asked Maggie as she stepped around to him.

She nodded, but she was struggling to walk; her chest burned.

Daryl put an arm around her waist and helped her along. Gingerly, she put an arm around his shoulders.

'There's only three blocks between us and Grady,' Maggie grunted.

'We need t'find a place near by, scope it out, see what we see.' Daryl replied.

Maggie looked up at him.

'You really think we're gonna find what we need to know by watching?' She asked him.

'It's where we start.' He said.

Maggie could see the pain in Daryl's face as they walked, his arm tight around her waist. She was reminded of how she had helped Beth in the same position only days ago, and she so desperately hoped she was nearby. She felt strange, being so close to Daryl, but she felt she had warmed to him these last few days. She had never really understood what Beth had seen in him, but the longer she spent with him, the more she could understand it. He walked slow and steady, keeping one arm around her as she leaned into him, limping. It was sweet of him to help, and it showed Maggie a different side to him, a side Beth undoubtedly must have seen.

Slowly, but together, they made it to a building opposite the hospital. There were buildings between them, but the high rise they were in allowed them a good view into the windows.

'That's them.' Daryl said. 'Let's see what we see.'

Maggie leant her shoulder against the window and looked over to the hospital building. It looked harmless.

Daryl leant one hand on the cold glass of the window and peered out. Absent-mindedly, he dug the blade of his knife into the windowsill and twisted it as he looked out. Maggie watched him; she could sense the nerves radiating from him.

She stepped away from the window and limped across the room. Her back to Daryl, she pulled her shirt down to check her chest; there was a deep laceration across her chest where the seatbelt had been and had tore into her skin. She winced as she looked at it.

'How bad is it?' Daryl asked, making her jump.

'I'm fine,' Maggie lied. 'I've had worse.'

'Drink some water,' he said. He left his knife in the windowsill and headed over to her, grabbing up one of their water bottles from his bag. He stopped and held it out to her.

'No it's fine,' Maggie shook her head.

Daryl just looked at her until she sighed and took it. She unscrewed the top and took a deep swig from it, her throat bobbing painfully as she swallowed. She lowered it and let out a long sigh, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

'Tha-' she begun, but a noise broke her off.

Both Daryl and Maggie turned to face the direction the noise had come from at the same time. Daryl glanced down at Maggie before going to grab up his knife.

They shouldered their bags and headed out into the corridor, keeping close together as they headed towards the source of the noise. As they went, they heard a loud cry. Daryl, crouching, moved at a faster pace.

They turned the corner to see a young boy grappling with a female walker. He shoved it hard and it fell on top of Maggie, taking her off guard and knocking her back. She fell to the floor with the walker on top of her, struggling to hold it at bay, her fingers around its neck.

She begun to yell as Daryl swung his knife down into the walker's head, killing it and splattering Maggie with gore. Maggie pushed its dead weight off of her and pushed herself to a sitting position, groaning in pain. Daryl held out a hand, which she took, and yanked her to her feet.

Her chest burning, they carried on as she wiped the sludge from her eyes. They reached a large open room at the end where the same young boy was attempting to block the glass doors with a book-case.

Daryl dropped his bags and ran at the boy, knocking both him and the bookcase to the floor. Maggie stood in shock as Daryl rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet, leaving the boy trapped beneath the shelving. He struggled against it, pleading. A walker began to claw its way through the doors.

'What are you doing?' Maggie hissed.

'He threw that walker at ya – damn near killed yer.' Daryl spat.

'Please – please – I'm sorry!' The boy begged.

Maggie stared at Daryl as he paced the room, his crossbow held low beside his calves; he was like an animal, watching as his prey struggled. It made her blood run cold.

'Help him.' Maggie said.

Daryl stared down at the struggling boy.

'Please! Please!' He begged.

'Daryl!' Maggie shouted.

'Daryl?' The boy gasped, struggling for breath as he pushed against the cabinet, 'Daryl Dixon?'

Silently, Daryl lowered himself to his hunches before the boys head, as the boy stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

'How you know me, boy?' Daryl growled.

'I – I know Beth!'

Maggie gasped and Daryl blinked. He shook his head then stood up. He fired a single bolt into the walker, who was now half way through the door, leaving it to slump against the frame.

Daryl moved to the front of the book case and bent down. In one heave, he lifted it up from the boy, who frantically scrambled backwards and out from it before Daryl let it crash back down to the carpet with a thud.

'Thank you – thank you!' He gasped, as Maggie approached him.

'Beth,' Daryl growled, walking over the back of the fallen shelves and facing the boy as he pulled himself to his feet, gasping for breath. 'Tell me about Beth.'

The boy nodded frantically.

'The hospital – she's at the hospital. She helped me get out but she's still there.' He said.

'The hospital' Daryl said, 'what's it gonna take t'get in?'

The boy looked at the man before him, his chest heaving.

'A lot.' He said.