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

Trigger warning: If you watched the season 4 finale or read the comics, you know why. Yeah, I'm going there with Carl and a little more. Just...basically...if anything non-con triggers you, don't read the last section alright?

Chapter 49-Brother

Rick and Michonne had decided to follow the railroad tracks but to stay in the woods. It seemed safer that way that they were less exposed. There were a few walkers, some harder to take out than others. Rick was impressed with how Carl had matured, that he didn't fire first just to kill the walker. He would wait and only use the gun if he had to. Mostly, both Rick and Carl would hold back and let Michonne take out the walkers with her sword. It seemed almost therapeutic for her. At night, they rigged their campsite with the perimeter alarms and took turns standing watch, even Carl. On the second day, they saw a female walker staggering up the path towards them. She picked up speed as she saw them and Michonne pulled her sword.

"I got this." As she walked closer, she could see that this wasn't a walker. Michonne put her sword away and ran to catch the woman as she collapsed forward into her arms. "Rick!" Rick and Carl both ran quickly to Michonne.

"Who is it?" Rick asked. Michonne brushed the woman's matted hair out of her face.

"Rick, it's Danielle."

Daryl walked quietly through the woods. The rabbit hadn't heard him yet and Daryl was hungry. Joe's group wasn't a very ambitious group, that much was obvious. They preferred to scavenge and steal then do any real work. He didn't want to stay with them. This was worse than being with Merle. At least with Merle and his buddies, you know what would set them off and the worst that would happen is you'd get jumped and possibly get your ass beat. With these guys, Daryl knew that most of them were itching to skin him alive and that it was Joe's doing that they hadn't done it yet. At first, he stayed because he thought that they may have taken Beth or Dani or knew who did. It didn't take long for him to realize that if they had taken either of the girls, they would have used them up, cut their throats and left them to die.

Daryl squatted down and raised his crossbow, aiming at the rabbit. As he fired, an arrow flew past his ear and landed in the rabbit a split second after Daryl's bolt found it's mark. Daryl stood and spun around. Len stood behind him with a shit-eating grin.

"Claimed." Daryl's eyes narrowed.

"The hell it is. That's mine. Been up since dawn huntin'. What the hell you been doin'?" Len walked up close, getting right in Daryl's face.

"I said it's claimed." Daryl clenched his fist and tried not to rise up to the bait. Len looked down at Daryl's fist and smirked. "What you gonna hit me?" Daryl backed away first. He had no choice. He walked past Len towards the rabbit.

"So who was she?" Daryl froze. "Figured you musta lost your nice piece of ass to have you all messed up like ya are." Daryl's hand went to his knife under his jacket. "It was a young one too, wasn't it? Yeah, they don't last too long out here." Daryl pulled his knife and spun around, determined to slit Len's throat when someone grabbed his wrist.

"Easy there son, what do think you're gonna do?" Joe's mock concern made Len laugh.

"He's tryin' to steal my rabbit," The skinny runt whined. Daryl glared at him.

"I killed it. It's mine." Len shook his head.

"I claimed it." Joe nodded, as if he understood the source of the problem.

"Yeah Daryl see, the way it works here is you see somethin', you claim it. Then it's yours. Makes it a helluva lot easier to keep to the rules." He nodded at the rabbit in Len's hand. "Let me see that." Len shook his head.

"But I claimed it." Joe nodded.

"I know but Daryl don't know all the rules yet. We'll make an exception this time." In a flash, Joe pulled his knife and sliced the rabbit in two. He tossed the head to Len and handed the tail to Daryl. "There. Now we're all friends again." Daryl silently took his half of the rabbit and glared at Len. Len returned the glare with a look that unnerved Daryl. Joe headed back to camp and Len followed him, eyeing Daryl hard as he passed him. Daryl waited until they were just out of sight before following. He couldn't think of Dani or Beth or Rick or anyone. He especially couldn't think of Jesse. The night before, he'd dreamt that old dream he'd had months before Jesse was born where his little boy was running to meet him, happy to see him. Only this time, when Daryl ran to scoop him up in his arms, a walker appeared out of nowhere and ripped the boy's throat out. Daryl woke up in a cold sweat and refused to go back to sleep. He'd decided to go hunting to take his mind off of everyone he'd lost and now, he only had the ass end of the rabbit he'd been hunting for hours. As he got closer to the camp, he could hear the yells and laughter of his new companions and he couldn't stop his heart from aching for his family.

"You didn't see anyone?" Rick asked Dani and she shook her head.

"Daryl said for us to run so we did. Beth was right in front of me when something hit me over the head. I don't remember anything after that. I woke up in the bushes right next to the back door and I know someone had to of put me there. I looked for Daryl, I looked for Beth and I couldn't find either of them so I just started walking and that's what I've been doing ever since." Michonne frowned.

"Where were you?" Dani shrugged.

"Some house Daryl and Beth found when I was passed out. I don't even know where I am near the prison. Nothing looks familiar." Rick took her hand.

"We'll find him Dani. I promise. You know he won't stop lookin' for you or Beth. We'll find them both." Dani smiled, her eyes tearing up.

"I'm just glad I found y'all. Daryl didn't think anyone else was alive. Makes me think that maybe other people made it too." Rick smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. I think maybe they did." He got to his feet and helped her stand. "If they did, we'll find 'em." The four of them continued walking along the train tracks. The woods had gotten thicker and walkers were hidden under logs, against trees, their hands reaching for legs, teeth snapping at them and Rick made the decision that being exposed in the open was less of a risk than stepping on a hidden walker. Michonne and Carl balanced on the rail ties, making a game of who could walk the furthest without falling. At stake was the last Big Cat bar, Michonne and Carl's favorite. Dani and Rick walked a little further ahead, glancing occasionally back at the two.

"Michonne's good for Carl," said Dani glancing back as the two laughed and tried to trick the other into stepping off first. Rick looked back just as Michonne slipped and stepped down, which prompted a round of ribbing from Carl. She handed over the candy bar and Carl promptly broke it in half to share with her.

"Yeah she is." He looked over at Dani and couldn't ignore the dark hollows under her eyes. "You doin' alright?" Dani tucked her hair back behind her ear and nodded.

"I'm better than I was." She watched Rick for a moment. "What about you? How are the ribs?" Rick touched the bandage under his shirt.

"I think I'll be alright if I don't jump off of any more roofs." They both smiled and they walked a little further. "Dani you remember when Daryl and Michonne went on that big supply run with Jeremy? The night that big storm hit us?" Dani nodded, remembering the thunder, lightning and fear that Daryl wouldn't come back to her. Rick looked back at Michonne and Carl before speaking again. "You know, Daryl made me promise to watch out for you if he didn't come back and I did. And I just want you to know, I'll do the same now until we find him." Dani bit her lip.

"What if we don't? Find him I mean. Then what?" Rick shrugged.

"We'll just keep looking. Daryl won't die easy, you know that. I know he's still out there and that he's lookin' for you." Dani smiled.

"He's lookin' for you too. Think it's torn him up being separated from y'all. Almost as much as it tore him up losin'…" Dani trailed off and took a deep breath. Rick stopped walking and touched her arm.

"Dani," she stopped and looked at him. "It'll be alright." Dani looked back at Michonne and Carl, both of them laughing as they played another game.

"Will it Rick? Will it ever be alright? The walkers…this world…it's taken our kids, taken your wife, taken Daryl, scattered us all like leaves. How can you even say that it'll be alright?" Rick met her eyes and Dani was surprised at the determination she saw in his.

"Because it has to be. We have to make sure that it is otherwise, what was the point of fighting?"

Maggie opened her eyes and stared up at the sky. It was early morning and she could hear birds high up in the trees. Glenn. Always her thoughts went to Glenn. When she saw the bus driving away she felt like her world had fallen apart. Her father was dead, she didn't know what had happened to Beth and Glenn was on that bus.

"Morning," said Taylor. He stoked the fire, rubbed his hands together and glanced around. "We should find something to eat and then head out." Maggie began folding her bedroll.

"We need to find that bus. I need to know what happened to Glenn." Taylor sighed and shook his head.

"Maggie, you don't know where they went. Rick and Abraham kept that bus topped off and Daryl rebuilt that engine himself. The bus is a long way from here." Maggie raised her eyebrow.

"Then we should be walking already." Taylor shook his head.

"Maggie, we need to find someplace safe. We can't stay out here." Maggie loaded up her bag and bedroll.

"Then go find someplace safe. I'm gonna find Glenn." She walked away from the campsite into the woods.

"God damn stubborn woman," Taylor muttered under his breath as he quickly extinguished the fire, grabbed his own bag and followed her. He caught up to her as she reached the road.

"You don't have to come you know," she said without looking at him. Taylor snorted.

"Yeah I did. I'm not gonna find Glenn and have to tell him that I let his wife take off on her own. If you're goin' to look for him, then you're stuck with me." Maggie glanced over to see the frustration on his face and stifled a grin as they walked up the empty road.

Daryl hung back with Joe while Len, Dan, Richie and Tony walked ahead on the train tracks. Joe was infinitely better company than the other three though being beholden to the man turned Daryl's stomach.

"Where are we goin' anyway?" Daryl asked. Joe nodded ahead.

"The end of the line my boy. Terminus." When Daryl didn't respond Joe looked over at him. "What? Haven't you seen the signs?" Daryl shook his head and Joe laughed. "Hell,they're all over the place! 'Sanctuary for all! Refuge for all! At Terminus!' Sounds like some ad for a damn fancy hotel." Hearing that reminded Daryl of the radio message he heard in the car when they ran to get medicine.

"I heard somethin' about that. Weeks ago." They walked a little further in silence before Daryl spoke again. "So what? We goin' there to live or somethin'?" Joe laughed.

"Live there? If they're good people they ain't gonna accept men like us. Nah, we're lookin' for a man. Coward like him will want to find someplace safe to hole up." Daryl nodded.

"What the guy do? Steal from you or somethin'?" Daryl knew, according to Joe's rules, theft was considered a capital offense. Joe snorted.

"No. He killed one of my men. Strangled him and left him to turn in this house we found. He's gonna pay for that." Daryl remained silent. He kept his eyes on the ground. Whoever Joe was following, they weren't that far ahead of them. Daryl had already seen a fresh candy bar wrapper about a mile back. The others had walked right past, not even noticing it. Looking a little further ahead, he saw a piece of paper on the ground next to a wild radish plant. Dan started for the plant and Daryl moved quick to cut him off.

"Claimed!" Daryl leaned over to pull up the plant and grab the paper in one quick move. Dan backed off and Joe laughed, clapping a hand on Daryl's shoulder.

"Thatta boy!" Daryl hung back under the pretense of cleaning the radish and looked at the paper again, to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. His heart was pounding when he saw that it wasn't his imagination.

It was Abigail's picture.

"We'll stay here tonight," said Rick as he built a fire. "We can decide what we're gonna do tomorrow." He ruffled Carl's hair as the boy climbed into the empty car to get some sleep. Dani put the skinned squirrel she had found on the stick to roast it. It wasn't much and she knew that it was a lucky shot when her knife nailed it to the tree. Michonne had raised her eyebrow, impressed.

"Remind me to keep on your good side." Dani had laughed, the sound foreign to her ears. It had been a long time since she had laughed.

Now, she sat by the fire, her knees drawn up to her knees as Rick slowly rotated the squirrel. The cooking meat made her mouth water. Rick looked over at her.

"What did you think of that sign we saw earlier?" Dani shrugged.

"I don't buy the whole 'sanctuary for all' thing you know? Been there done that before remember?" Rick nodded and flipped the squirrel over again.

"We heard them over the radio," said Michonne. "When we went to get the medicine. That was why we wrecked." Rick looked over at her, thinking for a moment that her face was beautiful lit up in the light of the fire.

"You think it was the same place?" Michonne nodded.

"Makes sense. How many sanctuaries do you think are around here?" A branch snapped as the men stepped out of the woods.

"You ain't in one now darlin'," the older man laughed as he shoved his gun against Rick's head. Michonne felt a gun press against her temple and saw another man pulling Dani's head back by her hair and held a knife against her throat. "I owe you for one of my guys, that one you let turn in the john? Yeah, you thought you were real slick on that didn't you? Well now you owe me. Blood for blood." He pulled the hammer back on the gun and Rick closed his eyes.

"Wait!" Another man stepped out of the shadows and Dani had to keep from crying out when she saw Daryl. The man behind Rick smiled.

"You know them Daryl?" Daryl held up his hands and nodded.

"If you want blood, you can have mine. Just let them go and you can go ahead and kill me." Rick shook his head.

"Daryl no." Daryl leaned over and placed his crossbow on the ground. "Don't do this. Don't do this to Dani." Daryl's eyes flicked over to Dani and Joe grinned.

"That your woman Daryl? The one you been moonin' over since you been with us? Well, I ain't heard you claim her yet." The men laughed and Rick heard the car door open. Two other men joined the group, the bigger one holding on to Carl. The other one walked behind Daryl holding a metal baseball bat. The man leaned down to Rick.

"Tell you what. I'm not gonna shoot you. First, I'm gonna let Len other there claim Daryl's woman and make him watch." Daryl started towards Dani and the man weilding the bat hit him across the back of his knees, dropping him in his tracks. The man pulled the bat across Daryl's throat, holding him up. "Then, Richie over there's gonna beat Daryl to death. Then they'll take turns with the other one. Think I'll even let Dan have the boy. He likes 'em real young. Then, after all your friends are dead, you'll be beggin' me to kill you." Len reached down and grabbed Dani's breast through her shirt.

"Don't you touch her!" Daryl slammed his head back against Richie's stomach but the bigger man quickly hit Daryl with the bat. He kicked Daryl in the gut and alternated beating Daryl with his fists, the bat and his feet. Len threw Dani onto the ground, laughing as she fought him. Rick turned from Dani to Carl in time to see Dan doing the same to his son. Carl was screaming and fighting. Dan punched him and flipped Carl onto his stomach, forcing his face into the ground.

"Dad!" Rick's vision went red and he stood and spun around, knocking Joe's gun to the ground. Joe looked surprised but reacted quickly, punching Rick in the jaw and again in the ribs. Rick doubled over and charged Joe, grabbing him in a bear hug. Joe laughed.

"What do you think you're gonna do hoss?" Rick growled in anger and bit Joe's neck. Fighting the urge to vomit, he bit down harder and ripped back. He turned to spit the flesh and blood on the ground, noticing that Len had stopped his attack on Dani as he watched Rick in horror. Dani took the opportunity to grab his knife and slashed his throat, Len's blood spraying her face before she pushed him off of her. Michonne turned and grabbed her attacker's wrist, forcing his gun on him and pulling the trigger. Daryl knocked Richie to the ground and wrenched the bat from his hands. He dropped Richie with a well aimed blow to the knees, threw the bat aside and then stomped the man's skull in.

During all this, Dan had paused in his attack on Carl. His group was dead, killed violently and bloody and when he saw Rick walking towards him, he knew he was next. Dan scrambled to his feet and backed away as the four advanced on him. Dani handed Rick her knife and Rick walked up to Dan. Before Dan could say anything, Rick stabbed him in the stomach. Never looking away from Dan's eyes, Rick slowly jerked the knife upwards, the rapist's guts spilling out on Rick's feet. When the knife stalled on the man's breastbone, Rick jerked the knife out and dropped the man in a heap on the ground. Michonne helped Carl to his feet and held him, comforting the boy. Rick walked over to them and pulled Carl into his arms, finally crying in relief and out of horror for what he had done.

A few hours later, the sunlight highlighted the carnage from the night before. Michonne sat in the car with Carl, holding the boy while he slept. Dani was curled up asleep on the ground with her head in Daryl's lap. Daryl and Rick leaned back against the car and Daryl stroked Dani's hair, his head hung low in shame.

"I didn't know they was like that Rick. And I didn't know it was really you until I walked up and saw..."

"It's not your fault Daryl." Daryl dropped his chin to his chest, not believing. Rick leaned down.

"Hey," Daryl glanced up at the tone in Rick's voice. "It's not your fault, alright? Those guys, that wasn't on you." One corner of Daryl's mouth turned up in a half smile but Rick could still see the doubt in his eyes. "You're my brother Daryl. You know that right?" Daryl smiled, looked down at Dani and then back at Rick.

"Yeah?" Daryl's voice was hopeful but still not believing. Rick nodded.

"Yeah."