Next chapter up, a day late but up none the less! So, I'm not sure if the next chapter is going to be the last one of the season or the chapter following that. If I decide to have the next chapter as the last chapter, I will try my hardest to get that finished and up before the holidays. If not, I will return with a new update during the 2nd week of January as I'll be on vacation starting this Saturday!. Once we get to the last chapter update for Season 2, I plan on taking a few weeks off to plan out my plotline for Season 3 and get things situated so if you haven't already, follow me for updates on when I post up for Season 3 as well!

If I don't talk to ya'll before the holidays, everyone have a safe and awesome holiday!

New Followers: DanieMarieBoo1999, heathermh, Assenavira, ToxicTears14, emmymay96, and Skylar97!

Reviews:

Dark Rose Charm: Lol not yet the end of Shane, unfortunately, but I promise that it is coming.

KyraNoelle: I'm glad you enjoyed my take on Daryl's point of view. It was kind of nerve-wracking because I wasn't sure I was doing him right or not but I'm glad it came out the way ya'll wanted it to!

UmiNight Angel Neko: The DarylAna Ship has sailed!

Lavendor Queen: I definitely plan on doing more Daryl POV's in the future, that's for sure. I was a little hesitant to write for him but once it was done, found myself enjoying it a bit more so you can definitely plan to see more.

shadowoftheblackdeat: I was wondering why you were no longer sending him reviews, so glad you got a new computer!

Frankie: Awwww, I got a favorite chapter status from you, YESSSS! I actually have not watched Boondock Saints, though I've heard about it and seen clips here and there. I may have to give it a try one day.

Disclaimer: I do not own the AMC's The Walking Dead or its characters, just Ana.

Ana's POV...

I knew I shouldn't have said anything to the man but how could I have lied to him after our conversation? I couldn't, even if I wanted to. So I continued to chase him through the forest, screaming for him to stop as I intently watched his form running ahead of me through the dimly lit treeline.

Fuck, were we out here that long? I could have sworn I left the camp just a bit after noon and already, the sun was almost completely gone.

"Daryl! Wait!" I called out again, realizing I had almost lost track of him after getting lost in my thoughts.

He didn't budge though, continuing to head in the direction of the camp, his curses easy to hear even with the distance between us.

What felt like hours of running, I could vaguely see the lights of the farm house along with the various camp fires just through the treeline ahead of us.

Fuck.

"Daryl! Come on, stop!" I called out desperately, wanting to reach him before the treeline only to skid to a stop when a blood curdling scream echoed from the pasture and towards us. I didn't hesitate for long before I was kicking up speed, easily meeting Daryl who was peering around the tree he was hiding behind, grabbing me before I could make it past him.

"Let go!" I yelled, fear bubbling up in my chest as I came to realize why that feeling in my chest was trying to stop me from entering the forest earlier in the day. I couldn't remember the plotline then, but I could clearly remember it now.

"It's Dale, let me go." I begged through tears, letting out a sob that I could see startled Daryl before I stumbled away from him, already searching the dark for the man I knew was lying somewhere nearby.

"Dale! Where are you?!" I screamed, trying to listen over the sounds of my blubbering before I heard him yell again, giving me the opportunity to single in on his location before I took off running towards him.

"Ana! Wait!" Daryl's voice behind me sounded like it was deep beneath the surface of the ocean as I cleared a section of tall grass, not waiting as I took my machete out, screaming in anger as I dove against the walker currently chewing into the man. Through tears and sobs, I stabbed the walker repeatedly in the head while cursing him to death.

"A...ana." A gargled voice yanked me from my crazed killing as my eyes snapped up and over to Dale, where the man was attempting to hold a hand out for me.

My machete was forgotten as I crawled over to him quickly, eyeing the damage with a broken sob as I attempted to rack my mind for a way to help him. I grabbed at his hand as soon as I got close enough, feeling the way his grip would tighten and then loosen before someone broke through the brush I had just come from.

"Dale...I-I..." I sobbed out, my mind unable to whip up a way to save him as I looked up at Daryl desperately.

"I...I don't know...don't know what to do." I mumbled through my tears, ignoring the voices shouting behind me before what I assumed to be the group came charging through the brush.

"Who is it?!" Someone yelled as I shut my eyes tightly, leaning down to press a kiss to Dale's knuckles as his eyes peered up at me in fright just as someone knelt across of me. I slowly lifted my eyes, meeting those of Rick who stared at me in confusion and expectancy as I glanced away.

"What the hell are you doing? Help him!" Andrea suddenly screamed through a sob, startling me as I flinched, having not expected it as my hands shook, my free hand swiping what was left of his shirt out of the way to inspect the damage a bit closely.

What the hell was I supposed to do? I couldn't stop the bleeding even if I tried. And if I tried, I'd just be putting him in more pain than he was already in. I was helpless. Nothing I knew would be able to help him.

"Yeah, aren't you a fucking nurse?! Then fucking help him!" Shane added as I let a sob bubble its way up my throat.

What did these people think I wanted? I wanted to help him, to save his life, but I couldn't. There was nothing I could do, nothing I could think of to do to save him, no matter how much I wanted to save him. I should have never left camp to search for Daryl. I should have listened to my gut and stayed back, then maybe, I could have came out here with him, stopped all of this from happening before this happened. I had never felt so helpless here until this moment.

"We gotta get Hershel out here, quick! Someone call for Hershel!" Lori screamed as I hung my head, completely defeated that I had not been here to stop this from happening.

"He needs blood. We gotta operate, now." Rick barked back as I gripped Dale's hand a bit tighter, leaning down so that he could see me a bit better.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry Dale. I...I should have been here...should have been here to stop this from happening." I whispered down to him as his wide eyes gazed up at me in pain.

"I...I don't know how to save you. I should be able to but...I don't know how. I'm sorry..." I mumbled, leaning down to press my forehead to his, hoping to give him just a bit comfort before I was all but ripped away from him and quickly put to my back in the brush.

"Get the fuck off of him if you're not going to help!" Andrea had been the one to pull me from Dale as I gazed up at her, my emotions all over the place before Daryl had marched into view, pushing her to the side while yelling at her.

By then, I had it. I rolled onto my side, the emotional stress of the day leading up to something, or should I say, someone I could have clearly saved, being the last straw. I didn't even have the energy to retaliate against Andrea as I pulled myself into a ball and sobbed out. The voices around me began to flutter out, sounding as if they were underwater while I cried silently for a man I had been planning to save. Had it not been for my feelings for Daryl, I would have been here to help.

Author's POV...

They had lost Dale.

With the wound he had received from that walker, it was inevitable but no less heartbreaking.

Many of the group had taken his death hard, everyone standing stiff as they buried him out in the field.

Well, mostly everyone as no one had seen Ana since last night after Daryl had put Dale 'out of his misery' as they had put it. Poor guy had been suffering through the pain and no one had the stomach to end it, aside from Daryl. When the deed was done, Ana had silently climbed off the ground and walked away, ignoring the voices calling out for her. Glenn had made to follow her though T-Dog swiped a hand out to stop him, shaking his head down to the Asian man's confused face before nudging his head in the direction of where Daryl was, silently watching the woman heading towards the house.

Daryl knew the woman could take care of herself, but watching her walk away last night, as if possessed, Daryl had never seen her this way. But that wasn't what worried him. No. It was the way she knew it was Dale screaming before they even saw him. How the hell did she know it was him? Even he didn't know who the unlucky son of a bitch was but she knew on the dot who the fuck it was. He admitted, she was good, she had a good intuition about things but this, this was impossible. There was no way in hell anyone knew who the hell it was, especially the two of them who had been in the woods for most of the afternoon.

He couldn't stay away from her though. No matter how much his thoughts had nagged him, he always found himself worrying for her. Wondering where she had run off to, if she was alright. He couldn't wait for her to get her shit together and return. As soon as the sun had risen, he was out of his tent and searching for her.

"Have you found Ana yet?" Carol inquired on Rick who had finally approached the fire pit after a long day of digging and burying Dale. The sheriff sighed, shaking his head before plopping down into the nearest chair, clearly in need of some me time.

"Haven't have the fuckin' time." he muttered, running his fingers through his sweaty hair as Carol quickly offered him a bottle of water.

"I'm worried about her. She took Dale's passing, harder than any of us." Carol whispered worried, her motherly eyes glancing around the campsite along with the surrounding fields, hoping to see a shadow of the woman, but coming back empty-handed.

"Ana's a strong girl, she can take care of herself, where ever she is, I'm sure." Rick gulped the water down greedily as Carol passed him a condescending look.

"I know she's a strong girl, Rick, but she lost someone she cared about. And with her background, I'd never seen her as helpless as she did last night, especially with Andrea and Shane breathing down her neck." Carol defended as Rick glanced up at her in understanding, nodding alongside her.

"Mama?" A soft voice cut into their conversation as Carol's eyes shot over to Sophia, clutching her teddy bear.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Carol quickly covered her concern for Ana's disappearance and gave her daughter all her attention.

"Ana, where is she? Carl's said she's missing, she's alright, right?" Sophia's eyes slowly grew glossy as Carol bit into the side of her cheek, looking over at Rick for answers.

"She's fine Sophia. Just needed some time to herself after last night. She cared for Dale, a lot." Rick lied through his teeth, not enjoying the look of fear on the little girls face.

"I'll go look for her and let her know your lookin' for her, alright?" Rick stood, putting a comforting hand on the little girl's shoulder before she passed the older man a nod.

Ana's POV...

I let him die.

It was all my fault.

If I had just stayed back at camp, I could have backed him up in the argument for Randall and stayed by his side.

I could have saved him.

But I didn't.

I had left, and for what? A guy?

A guy that I had feelings for but I had no idea if he returned them?

Sure, he had kissed me numerous times, but I've been around enough men to know that kisses can be passed around like a nasty fuckin' cold.

Dale was gone.

And it was because I didn't listen to my gut and instead, went with my emotions.

Granddad always said women who let their emotions rule them, always lose in the end.

Guess he was right about one thing, I had lost Dale because of my emotions.

I was fuckin' useless and weak.

I was nothing.

I lost track of how long I had been in the forest. After someone had put Dale out of his misery, since I had failed as a nurse to help in any way, I had taken off into the forest. I don't know if anyone followed me or if anyone cared to follow me, but it was nice to be alone, even just for a second.

I had failed Dale. I had failed to help a man I had told myself I would save, just as I did with Sophia. I planned to save Dale, counting the days and scanning over the plotlines repeatedly in my head whenever I had the opportunity, but as soon as Daryl came into the picture, my mind had been all over the place.

For the first time since I arrived in this world, I had forgotten the plotline. I had watched the 2nd season enough to know every inch of a line spoken and every move everyone made, but when that nagging pain in my chest had hit me that morning, for the life of me, I couldn't remember. Was this fates way of getting me to stop changing the plotline as I did with Sophia? It allowed me to save Sophia, maybe this was the consequence of saving one that had been set to die?

No, I should have been able to help Dale. I knew enough, even in my 6 months of medical school, I had learned enough to help where I could. I was smart, I had read every medical book possible about a dozen times each. I hadn't learned much hands-on, but I knew enough to get through.

I should have been able to help him. I should have but I didn't. He had died, in my hands while I just sat there, staring at him helplessly.

What good was it to know everything and be good at everything if I couldn't do a damn thing to save the people around me?

I had failed him, a man who had been nothing but kind to me from the second I had stepped foot into this reality. He truly was the father figure everyone had preached about.

Author's POV...

Mid-day had come and gone and still, Ana found herself in the same place, leaning against a tree while staring down into the large pasture that oversaw Hershel's farm. She hadn't gone far, guilt eating at her about leaving once before, she couldn't push herself to go any further than this. Hershel's farmhouse standing out in the distance, the now empty barn sitting beside it while bodies roamed the campsite, going about their days.

She hadn't slept all night and quite frankly, she couldn't tell you the last time she had eaten anything.

Crunch

A sudden chill shot up her spine at the distant sound of twigs breaking on the forest floor before the sound of a boot silently hitting the ground followed. Keeping her eyes on the farmhouse, she subtly slipped the handgun out of her thigh holster, cocking it quietly before waiting. It was too quiet to be a walker but the living was just as terrifying as the dead.

When another boot hit the dirt just a few feet behind her, she didn't waste a second and spun onto one knee, her gun aimed and ready as her eyes met Daryl's relieved ones. They stared at each other for a few silent seconds before Ana sighed, dropping the gun before turning away from him again.

Of all the people to come out and find her, he was the last one she wanted to see.

"Ya didn't go fuckin' far." Daryl commented as Ana shoved her pistol back into its holster, her eyes scanning the tall grass of the pasture.

"Ya alright?" He then asked as she sighed, shutting her eyes, silently telling herself that it was not his fault Dale died, it was hers.

"Do I look fuckin' fine to ya?" Ana mumbled defensively, unable to meet his eyes as he took a seat to the right of her with a grunt.

"Ain't yer fuckin' fault, what happened ta Dale." Daryl wasn't stupid, he knew why she had run off.

"Ain't helpin'. I should have been fuckin' able ta help him." Ana whimpered, cursing herself inwardly for being so weak in front of Daryl who had not stopped staring at her from the moment he had sat down.

"Ain't no way in hell ya would have been able ta help him. He had his fuckin' guts ripped out and spread across the ground, stop fuckin' blaming yerself for that. Not even the farmer could have done shit." Daryl didn't enjoy her belittling herself, especially since he had heard the shit both Andrea and Shane had spat at her the previous night. He didn't know if it was because of that or if she really blamed herself, whatever it was, he didn't like it, not one fuckin' bit.

"Should have kept my ass 'ere. Shouldn't have fuckin' gone out into the forest, none of this shit would have happened." Ana muttered unconsciously, not realizing the effect her words had on Daryl who had already been wondering many things about her.

Daryl in turn, stared a bit harder at her before turning to stare in the same direction as her.

"How'd ya know it was Dale?" Daryl didn't like to dance around the bush, he was blunt and to the point about everything, including this.

The question had seemed to catch Ana off guard, like most things, as her eyes snapped over in his direction, meeting his eyes for the first time since he had taken a seat.

"Ya knew it was Dale before we even saw the man. Ain't possible to just fuckin' narrow in on a person based on a fuckin' scream. How'd ya know it was him?" Daryl knew, from the moment he had met her, that deep down, this woman was hiding something. He couldn't pinpoint what she could possibly be hiding but many possibilities had crossed his mind at least a dozen times over the past month.

She had another group.

She was on the run from another group.

The family she spoke of, she had run from them and ended up in that ditch he found her in.

Her family was dangerous people, which is why she ran.

But he knew, none of those possibilities were the right one.

Ana could feel her throat slowly closing up, the need to cry bubbling to the surface as she realized there was no way around this. She could lie, like she had done a billion times before, but Daryl knew her. He knew her too well to know when she was lying. But how could she tell him how she'd known it was Dale. He'd think she was crazy. Well, maybe that was for the best. But would there be consequences?

Fuck the consequence, where she was sitting, Dale dying was the worst it could be.

"Ya wouldn't believe me even if I fuckin' told ya." Ana carefully began as Daryl eyed her up in suspicion, not liking the way those words felt to him.

"Well, in this fuckin' world, really ain't shit I wouldn't believe." Daryl mockingly answered as she let an unconscious laugh bubble up her throat before she shook her head, taking in a deep breath.

Daryl watched her silently as she seemed to have an inner conversation with herself, picking at the dirt in her nails before fiddling with the stray threads hanging around her jeans. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, she had beat him to it and had effectively thrown him for a loop.

"I'm not from this world."

Since the previous night, the camp had been hard at work both moving their items into the safety of the Hershel home along with situating cars at each door in case of a quick getaway. Rick didn't want to leave any stone unturned and wanted to prepare for the worse now that it was possible for a walker to simply sneak up on the camp in the dead of night.

"T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house, keep track of everyone coming and going." Rick instructed T-Dog who didn't waste a second in nodding in agreement, his gun resting on his shoulder.

"What about standing guard?" Shane inquired as Rick nodded, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

"I need you and Daryl on double duty." Rick pressed as Shane nodded, T-Dog's and Glenn's eyes shooting around the area.

"No one's seen Daryl since this morning." Glenn whispered to Rick who gazed around in worry, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"No one's got time for that, if he's run off to find that bitch, let um. We got shit to do around here." Shane barked, marching off in a huff as Rick and Glenn quickly shot forward, stopping T-Dog from running after the man.

"Man, just give me one fuckin' second with that asshole. Teach him some shit." T-Dog grumbled, shrugging off both men as Rick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"When's the last time ya'll saw either one of them?" Rick tried to hide the fact that he was overly worried about not seeing Ana since last night. He knew what Carol said was right, even with that woman's capabilities, there was so much shit out there to fear that Rick found himself fidgeting in fear for her safety. If anything happened to that woman, he didn't know what he'd do.

"Last time I saw Shorty was last night. Daryl, ran off this mornin', assumin' to look for her." T-Dog explained as Glenn nodded in agreement from beside the larger man.

"If Daryl went to look for her, I'm sure she's alright?" Glenn didn't even sound sure himself as he spoke those words, passing T-Dog an unsure look.

"Once we get everyone situated, we'll set out a search group for the two of them. Keep that between us, kay?" Rick lowered his voice as both men nodded, glancing around before splitting.

"Do I even wanna know what shit yer spoutin' now?" It was the first thing Daryl could find himself saying after Ana literally threw a bomb on him.

After laying it into him, Ana was completely regretting it as that same nagging feeling that occurred when she went into the forest looking for Daryl, began to bubble in her chest. She couldn't take the shit back though. She had already said it and honestly, if she threw it out as a joke, Daryl wouldn't believe her for one second.

Groaning in frustration, knowing that feeling deep in her chest was a warning that something bad was about to come her way, probably because she was telling Daryl shit he didn't need to know, but she had to tell him, even if he thought she was crazy.

Running both hands viciously through her tangled hair once more, she took one last peek at the campsite before turning to him.

"This isn't my world. I know it sounds like some crazy shit, believe me, I tell myself the same fuckin' thing every day, but it's true. And honestly, I don't expect you to believe a single fuckin' word I say but this world, this place ya'll live in, it's not real where I come from." Ana waved her hands around for emphasis while Daryl continued to stare silently at her, not sure if he should consider the possibility that made she was going stir crazy on this farm or that she was somehow telling the truth. But there were two things wrong with that, one, Daryl knew it would take much more than Dale dying for this woman to lose her shit completely to come up with some messed up fuck like this, and two, there was no way her coming from 'another world' was a possibility. So, he chalked it up to her lying to him once more which pissed him off.

Rolling his eyes in disbelief that this woman would choose to lie to him again after everything they went through in the last 24 hours, he pushed himself to stand, completely fed up with it.

"If ya wasn't plannin' on tellin' me the fuckin' truth, at least come up with shit that's believable." He gruffed out, already heading down the hill towards the pasture that leveled up with the farmhouse.

"Hey! I ain't lyin'! I told ya you wouldn't believe shit that came out of my mouth, but I ain't lying!" Ana snapped, stumbling to catch up with the man, pissed that when she finally decided to tell the truth, the man wouldn't believe her. Daryl scoffed over his shoulder at her words, spinning to face her as she slid to the stop.

"Fine, then ya fuckin' lost ya mind and even believe yer own fuckin' lies." He hissed as her eyes snapped wide, her hands clenching beside her as she watched him eye her briefly before turning to the head to the campsite.

"I ain't fuckin' lying! I knew Sophia would go missin', that's how I found her! I knew it was Dale screamin' because I've seen that scene happenin' a billion fuckin' times and that shit I said to Jenner at the CDC, shit I shouldn't know, I knew it because I saw it happen!" Ana was huffing at the end of her rant, waiting for Daryl to turn and face her, which he didn't.

"Anyone could have known shit like that." She barely caught him muttering as she let a small growl slip from between her teeth as she marched to stand in front of him, her eyes hard on the man.

She knew any sane person wouldn't believe her. But, in some dark corner of her mind, she believed that Daryl, of all people, would at least believe something she said. Sure, she had a history of lying to the man but after their conversation earlier in the woods, her confessing her feelings to the man, the fact that the one time she was being upfront and honest, yet he still didn't believe her, it hurt. She didn't want to admit it, but it hurt that he didn't believe her.

Maybe it was for the best that he didn't believe her.

He shouldn't know about any of this to begin with.

But she couldn't let him walk away thinking she was lying to him again. She refused for him to look at her the way he was now. So, fuck it.

"Yer dad was abusive, used ta beat ya, bad. You thought Merle be around ta help but he hit the hills and left ya to fend for yerself. You got scars on yer back as proof. Ya never said it, but that bike is actually Merles too, side bag was full of meds, both legal and illegal that you gave to T-Dog when he hurt himself up on the highway. Merle had the clap, right?" Ana began, watching the way Daryl's eyes widened before he scoffed, pushing her aside to get past.

"Anyone could know that." He spat back again as she rolled her eyes sky high.

"Yer dads name is Will, Will Dixon. You grew up in the mountains of Northern Georgia. Ya lost yer mom in a house fire caused by a cigarette while she was asleep, most likely drunk too. Ya took yer mom's death hard and got lost in the woods. Ya lived off of wild berries and poison oak for toilet paper. Ya believe me now?!" She knew, if anything she knew would get Daryl's attention, it was that. And as she thought, he slowly turned to face her, his hard eyes baring down on her in suspicion and anger.

"How the fuck ya know that?" He hissed, his grip on his bow easily noticeable.

"Like I said, I ain't from here. All this shit, ain't real in my world."

I'm going to try and post up, what could possibly be the last chapter of Season 2 before I go on holiday vacation, but no promises on that. If i don't get the last chapter out in time, the next chapter will be up the second week of January where I will then take some time to go over my plotlines for Season 3 and return to ya'll. So, if you haven't done so already, follow me for updates on Season 3.

Until next time~