"Hello? Rick? Rick?" Daryl's voice sounded hoarse. He grabbed the microphone and it almost slid through the fingers of his shacking hands.

"Rick, can you hear me?" He asked louder.

The voice on the other end said something, but Daryl couldn't understand it. The radio was making cracking sounds again. He turned some switches, but there was only a whistling sound after that and then silence.

"Damn it!" Daryl ran out of the room.

"Where's Eugene?" He shouted.

Eugene came out with a surprised look on his face.

"The radio, there was..." Daryl was out of breath.

"I heard Rick."

"What?" Everyone looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"I heard him, I tell you, do something to the radio, maybe he's still there."

Eugene went into the room, Daryl behind him, followed by Connie, who didn't quite understand what was going on, and then the others came too. Soon the little room was so crowded, there was no place to turn.

Eugene tried to find the frequency where the voice came from but there was only a whistling sound.

Daryl tried to turn some switches too and almost threw the radio off the table, when he was bending over it. Eugene told him to move back. He tried a couple of times but it had no use.

"Well, whatever dimension Rick was calling from, he's gone," Eugene said and Daryl looked at him, narrowing his eyes which made Eugene back off slightly.

"Daryl..." Carol started with a concerned look.

"I ain't crazy," he cut her off. "I heard what I heard. It was him."

He looked around and most of the people in the room were starring at him, worried.

"Whatever," Daryl scoffed and stormed out of the room. He started to doubt himself. Did he really hear Rick? Was that even possible that he was alive? At least he had never found his body. But wasn't that crazy, that Rick called Hilltop right in the moment when he was there with Connie? He looked at her, feeling sorry that he had forgotten about her for a while. However, she just smiled and touched his arm.

Would she want to marry a man who was probably about to lose his mind?

Wherever you are, brother, Daryl told him in his mind. When I see you again, I'm gonna kick your ass for interrupting my proposal.

They spent a couple of days in Hilltop and Daryl was checking the radio every day but there wasn't any sign of Rick. When it stopped snowing and the snow began to melt, they decided to relocate some people from Hilltop to Alexandria. Daryl and Connie decided to return to Oceanside because of Lydia. Henry asked Carol if he could go with them.

"We talked about it," Carol said in a strict voice.

"But mom," Henry took her arm and went with her in a quiet corner.

"I know things between you and dad aren't so good recently," he said quietly.

"Henry..."

"I'm not stupid, I can see it. Maybe… Maybe you should have some time alone to work things out."

Carol narrowed her eyes.

"Nice try, Mister," she said. But after she quickly looked at Ezekiel, she sighed.

"Alright, if Connie and Daryl agree, you can go with them."

Henry cheered and hugged her.

They asked Connie and Daryl, who didn't mind to take Henry along. So soon they said their goodbyes and left Hilltop.

The journey to Oceanside wasn't a difficult one. They barely saw any walkers and when they arrived there, the place was in the same shape, they left it, but with far less snow left. Lydia was happy to see Daryl and Connie again, she even hugged them both first, although she saw that Henry was with them and they both were a little bit surprised, about that. Dog, who stayed with her all the time, seemed to be happy too. It was a happy reunion, everyone was smiling, Dog was running around and licking their hands.

It was late in the evening and they were all tired, so they went to bed. Lydia was so excited, she spoke like a waterfall, telling them about everything what happened in their absence and she also told them there would be a big dinner on Christmas Eve in two days.

When she fell asleep, Connie and Daryl were still awake.

You're still thinking about Rick? Connie wrote.

Daryl nodded.

"I thought I heard him," he told her. "It was his voice."

She wrote: If he's still alive, you'll find him.

Then she put her arms around him and he pulled her closer.

"Or maybe I'm just losing my mind," he muttered mostly to himself.

On the next day Daryl was thinking about the proposal. He wanted to make sure that nothing got in the way this time. He was pacing up and down, Henry and Lydia were sitting at the table outside, watching him. Connie wasn't with them, she was visiting her friend Martha.

"What is it? You're nervous about something?" Henry asked him finally.

Daryl was biting his nails. He thought for a while and then he said:

"You think you can take care of yourselves for a while? I'm taking Connie to the beach."

"Sure," Henry said.

Lydia was watching Daryl closely, she could see his nervousness and was curious what was causing it.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"What? It's nothing," Daryl tried to play cool, but then he saw in the eyes of them both that they didn't believe him.

He sat down.

"Alright," he said. "I'm gonna ask her..."

"You're going to ask her to marry you?" Lydia said out loud, even before he finished his sentence. She must have guessed it already.

"Psst!" Daryl looked around, afraid Connie was nearby and would hear it, but she still wasn't back.

"I'm planning to, yeah," he continued then silently.

"That's great!" Henry said.

"I'm so happy for you!" Lydia told him.

They both wanted to hug Daryl but he suddenly saw Connie in the distance and stood up.

"Don't say anything!" he warned them in a silent voice.

When Connie came to them, the kids were both grinning at her and she was a bit surprised, but smiled back.

Daryl told her that he wanted to take a walk on the beach with her and she agreed. They went away.

She looked back one more time and Henry and Lydia were still both grinning and looking at them. Daryl looked back too and narrowed his eyes, so they quickly turned away.

What's up with them, why are they so happy? Connie wrote.

"Oh, I guess... they're happy to see each other again." Daryl said hesitantly.

Connie examined Daryl's face and he knew she must have noticed something. The expression in her eyes told her that. He was such a bad liar.

They went along the beach and Daryl tried again to remember the right sign for asking her to marry him. He realized happily, that the memories of the sign were back again and his heart started to beat so fast, he thought it would break his chest. He also had an uneasy feeling in his stomach and he thought for a moment that he had to vomit. He took a deep breath.

Connie was looking at the ocean, so he walked in front of her. He went down on one knee and Connie raised her eyebrow. He closed his eyes, trying to remember the right sign and he was also too anxious to look at Connie's reaction. He took another deep breath and made the sign: "Will you marry me?"
He opened his eyes to slits and saw that she was starring at him. She was surprised and held her hand in front of her chest. Then she went on her knees and kissed him.

"So that's a 'yes'?" he asked, still nervous.

Connie nodded, signed "yes" and kissed him again. She had tears of joy in her eyes.

Daryl was so relieved and happy, he was smiling so hard, his jaws even started to hurt a little and he felt some tears filling his eyes.

"Sorry I had a ring, but kinda lost it during my diving into the lake."

Connie shook her head, telling him it was okay.

"I get you one, I promise. Just didn't want to wait with the proposal any longer."

I don't need a ring, I'm glad I didn't lost you back then. You are all I need. She wrote, her hand trembling with excitement. Daryl got up and held her hand, helping her getting up too and then they went back, still holding hands.

When they got back, Henry and Lydia were already waiting and greeted them joyfully. Dog was walking up and down between their feet. They didn't dare to say anything but Daryl gave them a slight nod, so they knew he asked her. They hugged them both, and congratulated them. Everyone was very excited.

Suddenly Daryl heard a strange noise. It sounded like a helicopter and he thought he started to imagine things.

"You hear that?" he asked Henry and Lydia and looked up in the sky.

"Yes, something makes that noise."

All of them looked up and they saw something in the distance, flying by. Daryl's eyes widened, he pointed into the sky.

"You see that, right?" He asked Henry, Connie and Lydia who were looking up, afraid he was really beginning to lose his mind, but they all nodded.

"It's a damn helicopter," Daryl said not believing his own words.