A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.

Chapter 47-Paint it Black

Daryl sat on the roof, staring out into the night sky. They'd finally found the house just after nightfall. Up until that point, Daryl had resigned himself to staying up all night with Dani in the woods. He was still walking, his mind numb, still carrying Dani and about to collapse from exhaustion when Beth touched his arm and pointed out the two story house. It was surrounded by a high wire fence, the windows boarded shut but the door was unlocked. Daryl had made sure it was clear while Beth stayed in the large living room with Dani. They both set up perimeter alarms from hubcaps and a few old metal signs they found in the detached garage and settled in for the night. It was well after midnight and, even as exhausted as Daryl was, he couldn't sleep. His mind kept wandering as he waited for Dani to wake up. It had been almost a whole day without his son and the emptiness was gnawing at him. Memories of Jesse flooded his brain and suddenly he was back in the infirmary with Dani right before Jesse was born.

"Daryl, help her up a little more. Dani you're doing great. Just one more push and you'll see your baby." Daryl helped Dani lean forward so she could push again. She was squeezing his hand tightly. He looked down at Alice and saw her reach between Dani's legs, her hands guiding the small head from her body.

"Dani, stop pushing for a second." Alice looked up at Daryl's frightened expression. "Daryl, can you see?" He nodded. He was watching his baby come into the world and it was both amazing and terrifying.

"Ok Dani, one more push." Dani grabbed her knees and pulled herself up, pushing hard with the contraction, whimpering through clenched teeth as she focused all her energy on pushing the baby out. Daryl looked down and saw his son emerge, the tiny red face screwed up in anger and he was crying before he had even left his mother's body.

"Oh he's got some good lungs on him Dani!" Alice laughed as Hershel moved forward with a towel to clean him off. Dani looked up at Daryl, tears streaming down her face.

"Did you see him?" Daryl could only nod. The lump in his chest had risen to his throat and he couldn't speak. His son. He had a son. Jesse. They were going to name him Jesse, after Dani's granddad. Jesse Dixon.

"Daryl you want to cut the cord?" Daryl looked up, startled, as Alice held out the scissors towards him. He shook his head. His hands were shaking too bad to do anything like that. Once Jesse was finally separated from his mother, Hershel placed him on Dani's chest.

"I'll let you get some time in before I check him over." Dani nodded and ran her finger down Jesse's cheek. Daryl carefully placed his hand on the baby's head. He was so focused on Jesse that he jumped when Carol touched his arm.

"I'm gonna go tell everyone in the hall that you're all ok." Daryl nodded to her and Hershel picked up the baby.

"Let's get him weighed and checked out." When Jesse let out an indignant cry at being separated from him mother, Hershel laughed. "You know, I think he's one of the healthiest newborns I've seen, especially given our circumstances." She nodded to him and turned to Daryl, reaching for his hand.

"Daryl are you ok?" His hands were shaking and he looked like he was struggling to breathe. Dani squeezed his hand. "Hey, Mountain Man, he's fine. Nothin's gonna happen to him ok?"

"Daryl?" Beth's voice shook him back to the present. He looked back at Beth and saw her leaning out the window, her face furrowed in concern. He quickly climbed back through the window and closed it behind him.

"Dani awake yet?" Beth shook her head.

"Not yet. Are you alright Daryl?" He looked away, not wanting Beth to see him cry. His baby boy was gone. He'd sworn to protect his boy and he'd failed. As they walked downstairs, Daryl kept playing moments from Jesse's short life over in his head: his birth, the first time Daryl held him, the first time Jesse smiled at him, holding his boy, listening to his squeal of excitement when Dani took him to the chicken pen, feeding him from the bottle, Jesse's blue eyes locked on his, how Jesse looked so much like him…and he'd never see that little face ever again, never be able to give Jesse everything he'd promised him.

"Daryl, I think she's starting to wake up." Daryl hurried over to Dani as she mumbled in her sleep.

"Daryl…Jesse…" Daryl's heart dropped when she said Jesse's name. He reached over and brushed her hair from her face, letting his fingers trail down her jaw.

"C'mon Dani, you need to wake up." Her eyelids fluttered and she lifted her arm, looking for him. Daryl took her hand. "That's my girl. C'mon, wake up." She opened her eyes and tried to focus on him.

"Where…" her voice was hoarse and Daryl turned to Beth.

"Go get one of those bottles of water in the kitchen." When Beth ran to get the water, Daryl turned back to Dani and kissed her hand.

"You scared us for a bit, you know?" Dani finally focused on him and frowned.

"The prison?" Daryl shook his head.

"It's gone. We're in a house, probably about five miles from the prison. We're safe for right now so we can stay here until you feel better then we'll figure out what we're doin'." Dani struggled to sit up and Daryl pushed her back down on the sofa. "Hey, stay down. You hit your head hard."

"No, I need to feed Jesse." Daryl kept her from getting up as Beth came back into the room. Daryl took the water from Beth and tried to get Dani to drink. Dani took a sip and turned to Beth.

"Is he hungry? I don't have to get up, just bring him here and I'll get him fed." Beth's eyes widened and her eyes leapt to Daryl. Daryl looked down and then back at Dani, holding her hand tight.

"Jesse…" Daryl heard his voice crack and he tried to clear his throat. He felt the tears starting in his eyes and Dani's face fell.

"No…" Dani shook her head. Daryl put his head down.

"Carol had Jesse and she…she didn't make it. Walkers…" Daryl couldn't finish the sentence and finally broke down, unable to stop from crying. Dani pulled her hands out of his grasp and looked at Beth.

"What's he talking about? Where's Jesse?" Beth covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head. Dani looked down at Daryl. "Daryl, where's our son?" Daryl lifted his head and the pain Dani saw in his eyes made her blood run cold. "Where's my baby Daryl? Where the hell is my son?" Daryl shook his head. Dani sat up and tried to stand despite the dizziness. Daryl tried to stop her and she pushed him away. "Don't you dare touch me until you tell me what happened to my son! Where is he Daryl?" Daryl took a deep breath.

"He's gone Dani. Jesse's gone." Dani's face went pale and Daryl caught her as she collapsed forward.

"Nonononono!" Dani screamed in anguish. Daryl tried to comfort her but she pushed him away and Daryl was startled and hurt by the anger on her face.

"You didn't take the shot," she hissed. "You could've shot the Governor but you didn't. He killed Hershel. He destroyed our home and he let walkers in that killed our baby and you could've stopped him! Why didn't you take the shot when you had the chance Daryl? Why?" Beth watched in horror as anger washed over Daryl and he slowly rose to his feet and stood over Dani.

"This isn't just my fault darlin'," he snapped back. "If you had stayed with Jesse like I told you to this wouldn'tve happened! You could've gotten him on the bus and he would've been fine if you'd just done what you were told for once in your life!"

"Stop it! Just stop it both of you!" Beth couldn't stand listening to them tear each other apart anymore. "Stop blaming each other because it doesn't matter! They're still dead! I lost my dad and my sister. You may have lost Jesse but you're still together. Do either of you realize how lucky you are?" Daryl whirled around on her.

"You got a funny idea of lucky little girl! Look around! We got no home, no safety, everyone else is dead. We ain't never gonna see any of 'em ever again. Hershel, Rick, Michonne, Maggie….Carol….my son..." Daryl's voice cracked and his face crumbled. He quickly turned his back on the girls, running his hands through his hair.

"Dani's right," Daryl said, his voice shaking as he tried to keep his emotions under control. "I should've done somethin'. Should've gone with Michonne to look for him last winter. Should've taken that shot when I had it. Then maybe Hershel would still be alive. Maybe Jesse..." He punched the wall and collapsed forward against it as he finally broke down. He felt two hands on his shoulders and flinched away.

"Daryl I'm sorry," Dani's voice was soft. "It's not your fault." Her voice trailed off and she leaned against his back. "I love you Daryl. Please." He turned around and gathered her in his arms, both of them crying as they grieved their baby boy together.

Michonne carefully crossed the field. She'd quickly dispatched several of the remaining walkers but still hadn't found what she had come back for. Then she saw it, the snarling, snapping disembodied head of Hershel Greene. Michonne closed her eyes and drove the sword through the head's temple and the snarling stopped. She withdrew the sword and turned. Lying not far away was the Governor's body. His girlfriend had put him down but Michonne knew he'd gotten off easy. She shook her head, trying to forget the memories, the people that she had grown close to who were most likely dead. Instead, she decided to try and find Carl and Rick. Rick was hurt bad, she knew, and they couldn't have gotten far. Out of everyone, she should be able to find out their fate quickly.

Carl woke up to the sound of his dad moaning in pain. Carl shot out of the chair and over to the couch to check on him. His heart was pounding and he thought that more walkers had found their way to the front door like they had earlier that day. Carl had lured them away from the house and Rick but almost got himself killed in the process. He'd also gone on a run for medicine. His dad's face was swollen and bloody and Carl had heard Hershel's voice in his head to watch for infection. The first house on the road was a bust but the second one had a lot of prescription medications. He recognized Oxycodone ("Hillbilly heroin" his dad and Shane had always called it) and standard Tylenol with Codeine. The pain pills would come in handy he was sure but he was grateful to find a large, almost full bottle of liquid Amoxicillin. The name on the prescription said "Anna Claire Webster" and the instructions read "One tablespoon twice daily for treatment of ear infection". Carl had figured that would work as well as anything else. Knowing the medicine was for a little girl who was more than likely dead twisted his gut, reminding him of Judith, but he pushed her memory down and focused on the task at hand. In the kitchen he'd grabbed some canned goods, found a bag of jerky and almost forgot passed out from happiness when he saw a giant can of chocolate pudding on a high shelf. Sitting down at the table, Carl had eaten every bite of pudding, savoring the sweetness he had forgotten existed in the world. Afterwards, Carl had gone back to the house, pushed the couch against the front door and passed out in the chair.

Now, his dad was waking up. He ran to Rick and put his hand on his dad's sweaty head. Carl was sure that Rick had a fever. A fever meant an infection.

"Dad, wake up. C'mon Dad. You have to take some medicine." Rick's eyes opened and then closed again.

"Carl don't you run off. Just stay inside." Carl almost laughed.

"Dad, it's alright. I've got the medicine I just need you to wake up." Rick's eyes opened again and focused on Carl.

"Carl where are…what happened?"

"We're in a house. We've been here for two days." Rick frowned and sat up slowly.

"Two days?" Carl nodded and handed his dad the pills and the bottle.

"I found these for you. They should make you feel better." Rick stared at the medicine and chuckled.

"I'm supposed to be takin' care of you." Carl smiled.

"Just get better alright? Then you can do that." Rick nodded, took two of the Tylenol and a large swig of the amoxicillin.

"Where'd you find this stuff?" Carl went to his backpack and got a can of soup. He walked into the kitchen for a spoon and brought them both back to his dad.

"Couple houses down." Rick looked up from the can of soup and Carl could see that he wanted to yell at his son for leaving on his own. Instead, he smiled and took a bite of the cold soup.

"You're not eatin'?" Carl shook his head and laughed.

"No. I ate some chocolate pudding at the house." Rick frowned.

"That's not much to eat." Carl took a drink of water.

"It was a big can of pudding." Rick lowered his spoon.

"You ate the whole can?" Carl nodded and Rick laughed. "Well I guess that'll last you a bit then. You bring me any?" Carl shook his head and smiled.

"Sorry Dad. It was good though." Rick laughed again, even with the pain in his ribs. It felt good, normal even, to have this conversation with his son.

"Alright but the next giant can of pudding you find, it's mine alright?" Before Carl could respond, there was a knock at the door. Carl unholstered his gun but Rick held up his hand.

"Just stay back Carl." Rick looked through the peephole and saw a crying, smiling Michonne. Rick's face broke out in a grin and he turned back to Carl.

"It's for you."

Rick was asleep in the upstairs bedroom when he heard the door slam shut downstairs. At first he thought it was Michonne and Carl returning from their run until he heard a man laugh.

"Pretty lil' thing belongs to this sweater I reckon," said the one man. "Like to still be here when she comes back." Rick heard a scuffle and then a punch landing on a jaw.

"Goddammit! What I done told you 'bout takin' shit that ain't yours huh?" Another man was moaning.

"Y'all need to shut the hell up. Take care of Richie down here while I go upstairs." Rick heard heavy boots on the stairs and a fight breaking out just downstairs. Panicking, Rick grabbed his coat and gun and slid under the bed just as the man walked into the bedroom.

"Oh yeah. Now that's what I'm talkin' about." He flopped down onto the bed and the mattress sagged dangerously under his weight. Rick saw another set of boots walk into the room.

"Claimed it," the man on the bed said.

"Aw shit man. You've taken every bed we've found. That's not fair."

"There's two other beds in the house."

"Yeah, kids beds. I'm too big for those. Come on. I need to sleep." The mattress creaked above Rick and the man's boots swung to the floor as he sat up.

"I said I claimed it." He stood up and walked towards the other man.

"Yeah? What if I take it?" The man from the bed wrestled the other man to the floor. Rick jumped when the other man made eye contact with him right before the first man's sleeper hold knocked him out. The annoyance dealt with, the man climbed back up on the bed. It didn't take long for the snores to start. Rick waited a few minutes to make sure that the man was really asleep before slowly sliding out from under the bed. He'd have to climb out onto the roof and drop down. His broken ribs would make it hard but he had no choice. Michonne and Carl would be back any time and he did not want them walking in on this bunch.

Rick started across the hall towards one of the other bedrooms but froze at another set of footsteps on the stairs. He ducked back into the bathroom and slightly closed the door. As he balanced behind the toilet, he tried to steady his breathing, to keep quiet. Suddenly, the door swung open and a tall man walked in, unbuckling his belt. He was looking down as he walked in and almost didn't see Rick. Rick knew it would be his only chance. This guy outweighed him by about sixty pounds and even on his best day, Rick would have a hard time overpowering him. As he moved quickly, the man looked up.

"What the…" Rick grabbed the plunger and wacked the wooden handle into the guy's throat, cutting him off. Rick got behind him and used the handle as a choke bar, pressing hard up and back against the man's throat, crushing his larynx. It seemed like an eternity before the man stopped thrashing and went limp. Rick pulled back harder until he heard something snap in the man's throat. He checked for a pulse and, finding none, carefully shut the door. When the man turned, he'd make a nasty surprise for his buddies.

Rick climbed out the small window and carefully walked across the roof towards the lower porch. His ribcage felt like he was being ripped apart as he carefully dropped down from the gutter to the ground. He waited a moment before circling the house to see if there were any guards outside. Finding none, he walked low and slow back towards the front of the house. He paused by the front porch when the door slammed. A man sat on the porch railing and began eating one of Carl's cans of soup. Rick swore at himself and saw that Carl and Michonne were starting back down the driveway leading to the house. He quickly and carefully motioned for them to get out of sight. Michonne grabbed Carl and backed up into the heavy bushes along the drive. Her eyes met with Rick's and she stayed still, waiting for his instruction. As Rick thought of his next move, a commotion could be heard in the house.

"Jesus H Christ what did those braindead fucktards do now?" The man threw the half eaten can of soup onto the ground in front of Rick and ran back inside. Rick took his chance and ran to Michonne and Carl.

"Let's go. Hurry!" The three of them ran for the road and headed back towards the train tracks, trying to put as much distance between them and that group as they could.

A/N I promised you all some chapters and baby I have them! At least two more are being edited for release over the next couple of days. I really want to keep you all in suspense but I just can't be that cruel…unlike TPTB who left our crew in a boxcar until October…bastards…