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

Bonus points for whoever picks up the not to well hidden tribute to another of my fav AMC shows.

Chapter 48-Rock-A-Bye

Tyreese woke with a start. He didn't sleep deep, hadn't since leaving the prison two days earlier. With the kids in his care, he didn't dare sleep too long, even though Lizzie had proven she was more than willing to do what she needed to do to protect her sister. Little Mika walked over to him, carrying Judith. The baby girl was awake and hungry.

"We're almost out of formula. Lizzie said we've got enough for another day, maybe." Tyreese nodded and rubbed the sleep from his face.

"What time is it?" Mika shrugged.

"Sun's been up for a while." She turned towards the back of the small cabin. "Sound's like Jesse's awake." Tyreese smiled at the cries. He'd been worried about taking care of Jesse but the kid seemed fine. Tough little guy, very much like his father.

"Why don't you and Lizzie get the babies fed now and I'll go lookin' for somethin' to eat soon, ok? Save the formula for Jesse and give Judith that applesauce in the cabinet." Mika nodded and walked to the back room of the cabin. Soon Jesse's cries were silenced and Ty knew he was eating. He'd have to find more formula. Judith could eat solid foods but Jesse wouldn't be able to for at least a couple more months. Tyreese didn't have kids and remembered very little from when Sasha was a baby but did remember when his goddaughter was born. His old teammate and best friend Reggie and his wife Camille had read every baby book ever published before and after Chloe was born. Reggie had talked about it constantly.

Tyreese walked to the back room where Lizzie and Mika sat on the floor with the babies, Mika feeding Judith the applesauce and Lizzie rocking Jesse as she fed him, singing rock-a-bye baby softly to him. Lizzie looked up at Tyreese.

"Are we going to find Judith and Jesse's parents today?" Lizzie had asked that question the past two mornings and Ty wasn't sure how to answer it. He didn't know if Rick, Daryl or Dani were alive. He also didn't know if he would be able to protect the kids on his own, especially the babies.

"I'm gonna go try to find us something to eat," he said, dodging her question yet again. "You guys stay in the back room. Keep the front door locked and stay away from the windows. And try to keep the babies quiet, especially if you hear any walkers out there." Mika nodded. Tyreese smiled at the girls, threw his rifle over his shoulder and slipped his hammer through his belt loop.

"Just remember don't fire that gun unless you have to. We don't have much ammunition and can't risk the noise." Lizzie smiled and adjusted her hold on Jesse.

"I'll remember." Tyreese nodded, turning to leave the cabin. He opened the door slowly but didn't see any walkers nearby. He shut the door and heard Mika latch it shut behind him. He looked around the woods and decided to head north. East would take him back towards the prison and he didn't know how many walkers were there now. He'd gone west yesterday and found nothing. They'd already eaten the small stash of canned food in the cabin so he couldn't come back empty handed today. Plus, they needed that formula.

Tyreese hadn't been walking for an hour when he smelled a campfire burning nearby. He followed the smell and came upon a small campsite. He ducked down when he saw movement behind a tree on the other side and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Abraham. He stood up.

"Abraham!" Abraham turned quickly towards Ty's voice, instinctively raising his gun but dropped it immediately and ran over to hug his friend.

"You made it huh?" Abraham asked. Tyreese nodded. Abraham turned towards the small tent.

"Andrea! It's Tyreese!" Andrea emerged from the tent with Dylan, smiles on both of their faces.

"Oh Ty we're glad to see you!" Tyreese hugged her and felt Dylan's arms wrap around his leg.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you guys. It's just been me and the kids the past couple of days and I didn't know what I was gonna do." Andrea smiled in relief.

"Which kids?"

"Lizzie, Mika, Judith and Jesse." Abraham looked startled.

"What are you doin' with the babies?" Tyreese shrugged.

"The girls and Judith were with Carol heading for the bus. Carol got shot while carrying Jesse so Lizzie grabbed him and started herding the kids off towards the bus but it took off. I found them as they were trying to fight off walkers, loaded them into one of the trucks and left. I felt bad leavin' with Judith and Jesse but with the walkers comin' I just wanted to get those kids someplace safe. I didn't even see Rick or Daryl. Did you?" Abraham nodded.

"I saw Daryl and Beth. He was carrying Dani but I don't know if she was alive or not. They took off towards the woods on the eastern side of the prison towards the river. They were on foot so I don't think they could've made it far." He looked over Tyreese's shoulder. "You said you had a truck?" Tyreese shook his head.

"Damn thing was on empty. We didn't make it that far before we ran out. There were too many walkers out there to stay near the road so we headed into the woods and found a little cabin. We've been there for two days now but we need food and formula. Lizzie had a bag packed with a bottle and a can of formula but we're almost out." Andrea frowned.

"We'll pack up here and head back for the cabin. I'll stay with the kids while you and Abraham go find a car. We can get the kids out of here and at least try to find Daryl and Beth." Abraham nodded.

"We'll do that. We've got some food here that will hold them over today. We kind of stumbled over this site and took it over. Don't know what happened to the person who was here before. Might've been one of those bastards that attacked us." Andrea shook her head.

"More likely it was someone like that Greg. Had a tent and some matches and thought they'd be set." Tyreese helped them pack up the camp and they walked back towards the cabin.

"Not a lot of walkers out here," Andrea noticed, looking around. "I'm surprised." Abraham nodded in the direction of the prison where dark smoke could still be seen from the dying fires.

"They probably all got drawn in to the prison. All that noise and the fire…damn walkers can't resist that!" He glanced over at Tyreese.

"Where were you plannin' on goin'?" Tyreese shook his head.

"Wasn't plannin' on much at the moment except keepin' those kids safe and fed. It scares me being out in the woods with the babies. They start cryin' they'll draw in any walker that can hear them." Abraham nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinkin' too. Andrea's right. We'll have to find a car real quick. Can you drive to the cabin?" Tyreese shook his head.

"There's no road. It's just a two room hunting cabin. There's not much to it. I found this rifle, three cans of stew, some jugs of water and a bunch of applesauce." He jerked his chin forward. "Not that much further up that way." He suddenly stopped and the four of them ducked down as five walkers staggered past them. They hadn't been spotted and Tyreese kept his hand on his hammer.

"No sense tryin' to take them out," said Abraham quietly. "I don't even have my knife. Dropped the damn thing at the prison. And we can't risk gunfire." Once the walkers were out of range, Dylan looked up at Andrea.

"Are we ever gonna find a place safe like the prison again?" Andrea sighed and exchanged a look with Abraham.

"I don't know honey. I don't know if there is a safe place anymore." Tyreese looked around and motioned everyone forward.

"C'mon then. Let's get goin'."

Daryl and Beth sat quietly on the floor in the living room, Daryl glancing occasionally up the stairs where Dani lay in one of the bedrooms.

"Is she better today?" Beth was worried about Dani. To some extent, she was worried about Daryl too but he was as strong and stoic as he'd always been. Dani didn't want to eat and barely touched the water that Beth brought to her. She spoke in one word sentences and stayed curled up on the bed most of the time. The evening before, Daryl tried to talk to her, to get her to eat, to yell at him, to do something but she just stared through him, her brown eyes dark and empty. Daryl finally gave up and had walked into the kitchen where Beth found him there crying over the sink. Beth walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He'd flinched away from her, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.

"I miss him bad Beth. I miss Jesse so much. And I don't know what to do for Dani." Beth nodded and hugged him. He stiffened before slowly and reluctantly hugging her back. When she backed away, he looked down at her.

"Hershel would be proud of you." Beth smiled.

"We've all got jobs to do, you know? I guess right now my job is to take care of you." Daryl had nodded and walked back into the bedroom. He still slept with Dani, holding her in his arms and hoping that she'd talk to him but she just lay there, curled in the fetal position, keeping her back to him. Beth slept on a makeshift bed on the floor, not wanting to be too far away from Daryl. Though the house was secure, neither Daryl nor Beth slept soundly so Beth was awake when Dani began to cry. She heard Daryl shift on the bed.

"What've you got?" Dani didn't answer and Beth rolled onto her back to see. Daryl was sitting up, holding a small piece of paper. "You still have Abigail's picture?"

"Yes." Dani's voice was small. She didn't sound as strong as she had been at the prison. Daryl pulled her into his arms.

"Is that why you're cryin'?" Beth could see him rocking her slowly back and forth on the bed. She doubted he was even aware he was doing it.

"I don't have a picture of Jesse. I can remember Abby but I'll forget what my baby boy looked like." Beth saw Daryl's head drop onto Dani's shoulder.

"You won't forget him Dani. You won't. Neither one of us will ever forget him. Even if we have more kids like we talked about, we won't ever…" Dani pushed away from him and lay back down on the bed as far away from him as she could.

"I can't do that Daryl. I can't go through losin' another one. I've lost my daughter and I've lost my son. I can't lose anymore, not now." Daryl reached out to touch her shoulder and she jerked away. "Daryl please. Just leave me alone." Daryl's head dropped down and he slumped forward as if he'd been punched. Beth could see his shoulders jerking as he cried quietly. Not wanting to embarrass him, Beth turned over on her side and tried to go to sleep. It had been a long night.

Now, sitting in the living room, Daryl looked at Beth at shrugged.

"I don't know what else to do. The only thing she wants is Jesse and I can't give him to her." Beth frowned and then stood.

"I'll go fix something to eat. There's plenty of peanut butter and crackers. It'll be good for Dani to eat something. Maybe I can bring you a jar of those pickled pigs feet you liked?" Daryl nodded and smiled slightly.

"Yeah. That'd be great." He looked up as Dani walked slowly down the stairs. Beth smiled at her as she hurried out of the room. Dani sat next to Daryl and drew her knees to her chest. He looked over at her and she finally met his eyes.

"I'm sorry about last night Daryl. I know you were just tryin' to make me feel better." He reached over and ran his fingers down her face.

"Don't be sorry. I miss him too." She leaned over and cupped his face, kissing him softly before pressing her forehead to his. They sat like that for a few minutes until Beth cleared her throat.

"Ummm I've got dinner ready." Daryl stood quickly, helping Dani to her feet. Keeping hold of her hand, Daryl led Dani into the kitchen where Beth had carefully set out three places on a red and white checkerboard tablecloth. She had even placed a bunch of daisies in a mason jar in the center and lit candles to illuminate the darkening kitchen. Outside, the night had come on fast. Dani smiled.

"It looks beautiful Beth." Beth blushed slightly.

"It's not much. Just peanut butter, crackers, canned peaches and water. Oh!" She turned back to the counter and grabbed the jar of pig's feet. She set them down in front of Daryl, her nose wrinkled in distaste. "I don't know how you can eat these." Daryl fished one out of the jar and took a bite.

"What? They're good." He held it out to Dani. "You want one?" She quickly shook her head.

"Hell no. My dad and cousins ate those things like they were candy. I think they're disgusting." Daryl shrugged.

"More for me then." They all jumped as the hubcaps strung up on the on the porch as an alarm began to rattle. Daryl stood quickly and grabbed his crossbow.

"Y'all stay here!" He ran to the door and peered outside. Seeing nothing, he carefully opened the door. Sitting on the porch was a shaggy, one-eyed dog. Daryl snorted and smiled.

"Hey buddy. Where'd you come from?" He glanced over his shoulder as both Dani and Beth walked up behind him. "Thought I told you to stay in the kitchen." Dani shrugged and put her hand on his shoulder.

"If you wanted someone obedient you picked the wrong woman." She knelt down and held out her hand.

"C'mere puppy. We won't hurt you." The dog jumped to his feet and skittered backwards. "C'mon buddy. You hungry?" She inched closer and the dog turned with a yelp and ran down the steps. Dani stood and Daryl closed the door.

"Damn stupid dog." He said as they headed back to the kitchen.

"I don't know," said Beth. "Can't be too stupid if he's lived this long." They sat back at the table and ate in silence. Beth suddenly smiled.

"I bet I know where that dog came from. Someone's got a camp around here. We should probably try to find them tomorrow." Daryl snorted.

"Why? We don't know who they are." Beth shrugged and spread peanut butter on another cracker.

"They have to be good if they have a dog." Daryl shook his head.

"No they don't. Back in old days, when I was runnin' around with Merle he had this meth dealer, this janky little white guy we stayed with for a while up near Calhoun. Guy was skinny as all hell, real nervous and paranoid. Think he probably used as much as he sold. He said he had a little boy but he never got to see him so the guy had gotten this damn little rat dog to live with him to replace his son. Real yappy little shit dog. I don't know what they're called."

"Chihuahua?" Dani asked and Daryl nodded.

"Yeah one of those. Anyway, that tweaker babied that thing and treated it like his kid. And you better not do anything to that dog neither, especially if the kid was high. So one night he and Merle got strung out on that blue shit the kid was dealin' and just kinda passed out in front of the tv watchin' some kids show. I was drunk off my ass, had been for a couple days, and I was gettin' sick of hearing the songs they kept playin' on that show so I got up to turn the tv off and stepped on that damn dog. It started yappin' and cryin' like I'd broke it or somethin'. Anyway the kid shot off the couch, knocked me down and just started punchin' on me. He was screamin' that I killed his dog but that little shit wasn't even three feet away just barkin' and growlin' at us both. I told him his dog was fine but he grabbed his gun and shoved it in my face sayin' 'I'm gonna kill you bitch'! Merle was laughin' and he pulled the guy off me. The kid saw the dog was ok and put the gun down. He picked the rat up and started cryin' and talkin' all funny to it. Merle and me, we stayed there a few more days before we took off. Thing is, not all people who have dogs are good people Beth. Some of them are mean and some of them are just bat shit crazy." They ate in silence until it was broken again by the rattle of the hubcaps on the porch and the yipping of the dog. Daryl pushed his chair back and walked to the door clutching a pig's foot in his hand.

"I'm givin' that damn mutt one more chance." He threw the door open and was faced with a herd of walkers in the doorway. "Shit! Dani! Beth!" He yelled as he tried in vain to close the door. "Get your shit and get out! Run!" He gave up on the door and led the walkers away from the kitchen towards the basement. As he ran down the stairs, his brain ran wild with escape possibilities and he hoped that Dani and Beth and made it outside. Down in the basement, Daryl hurried over to the shelves. He waited until the first wave of walkers were a few steps away and pulled the shelves down on top of them. He quickly climbed over the shelves, headed back for the stairs, using his knife to slice through in the walkers that grabbed at his leather coat, gnashing their teeth at him. His heart was pounding in his ears, his hands were steady but his muscles were tense. All he could think of was Dani and Beth. Did they make it out…did the walkers get them…would he go upstairs to find them ripped open like Carol…he growled low in his throat and stabbed a female walker in the head, clearing the path upstairs. On the main floor, he ran for the kitchen. It was clear of walkers and the back door was wide open. Over his ragged breathing and pounding heart, he heard a car door slam shut. Running outside, he saw the taillights of a tan sedan speed past the side of the house. Looking around, he couldn't see Dani or Beth anywhere.

"Dani!" He started running after the car as fast and as hard as he could. "Beth!" The glow of the taillights disappeared but Daryl kept running. They had Beth. They had Dani. They had taken his wife. The word flew through his mind as he ran. Dani was, for all intents and purposes, his wife. They had pledged themselves to each other, knew that neither wanted to live without the other, that they loved each other mind body and soul. They hadn't done a ceremony or had rings like Glenn and Maggie had but that didn't matter. The promises they had made to each other were what mattered and here he was breaking another one. He'd promised to protect the prison and keep the whole family safe and had failed. He'd sworn to protect Jesse and, now that Jesse was dead, Daryl had promised Dani that he'd keep her and Beth safe. Then he'd gone and let a hoard of walkers into their safe house for a goddamned dog and some freak had taken the girls, his girls. Dani was his wife and Beth was his sister. And what was happening to them now was his fault. He hated to think that his stupidity and carelessness could've caused Dani to get raped again. He couldn't bring himself to think of what someone could do to Beth. Dani could fight back, take care of herself but Beth…he ran harder down the road throughout the night. When the sun came up, he found himself at a crossroads. Turning in a circle, he looked desperately for tire tracks, any sign of fresh disturbance in the dirt, trying to get an idea as to where the car had turned and realized that he'd lost them. He collapsed to the ground, exhausted and panting. He'd lost them. They were gone.

Daryl couldn't cry anymore. He'd cried so hard for Jesse, for Carol, for Hershel, for Rick and everyone at the prison. And he couldn't cry anymore. When the footsteps approached him, he didn't look up.

"Well look what we have here." The voice was mocking and reminded him of Merle. "You lost boy?"

"I like his vest. Them wings are nice. Think I might take 'em." The voice behind him was a younger man and reminded Daryl of Cash and Tripp, those rednecks he'd killed for Dani.

"No no, not just yet," the first man said. "Let's see who he is first." Daryl gripped his crossbow and in one move, was on his feet and had it pointed in the older man's face. The man laughed. "You're a bow man. I like that. Any banker can grab a gun but a bow man, that takes years to master. I bet you've shot that thing a thousand times in your life haven't you? But before you do something stupid son, take a look around. You might kill me but you won't live long enough to enjoy it." Daryl didn't speak and didn't take his eyes off of the man. The mask of kindness and friendship didn't hide the malice and cruelty that was hiding just beyond the surface. The man nodded slightly and Daryl glanced around to see the guns aimed at his head. Realizing that he had no choice, Daryl lowered his crossbow. The man grinned broadly.

"Now that we have the ugliness out of the way why don't we introduce ourselves? The name's Joe." Daryl didn't look down, wouldn't show submission to this guy.

"Daryl." He almost didn't recognize the sound of his own voice. "M'name's Daryl." Joe nodded and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Alright Daryl. Why don't you tell us what you're doin' out here this fine morning?"

A/N I'm just torturing you guys aren't I? I will say that I'm torturing myself too because I'm still not sure what's going to happen!