Reviews:

Galwidanatitud: Thank you! It took me a while to work out how I was going to do it but in the end I just thought go for it! Same I don't know how long though.. Thank you for reviewing! XXX

AnimeHunter411: Thank you so much! I think that's what everyone is waiting for that beautiful Daryl/Joelle moment but I think that I'm going to play a few angles first! Thank you so much for the Review! XXX

ThaliaJoelle: Thank you I love it when people enjoy my work and this is mind-blowing! I know I know Joelle and Daryl.. it will happen soon I think! Thank you so much for your Review! XXX

SPARKELS77: Thank you so much! I really appreciate it and thank you for taking the time to review! XXX

Mikeysrevenge: Neither hahah Thank you so much for the Review! XXX

A/N: Hello Lovelies I know, I know I'm a horrible person that should be sent to the pits of hell for taking so long to review but I have a good excuse.. I moved out of home into college and started university and if that's not a good enough excuse I don't know what is. Its been completely stressful and terrifying and I was loosing my mind not being able to right but everythings been totally hectic. I am so so so so sorry guys fir making you wait like three months for this but here it is! Anyway I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to R&R! XXX

Chapter 26

Lucas POV

It was dark and cold in the dank cellar they had chosen for the night, a bleak reminder of their dropping spirits and hardening hearts. Lucas was on watch while Joelle slept beside him, her head resting in his lap. His fingers gently brushed through her hair in soft, even strokes. She sighed in comfort despite the hard ground she was sleeping on. He took a moment to assess her appearance, her hair once long and glossy was matted with blood and dirty making it dull and lifeless, her face was drawn and tired, the massive circles under her eyes a testament to her sleepless nights. They had both lost a lot of weight but Joelle was becoming unusually weak. Lucas inwardly scoffed, she was literally dying from a broken heart.

Joelle stirred and whimpered lowly, pulling Lucas out of his spiraling thoughts. He sighed, not in annoyance or anger, no, he sighed in exhaustion, he knew it didn't matter where they were or how safe they were she would never feel safe or survive until Daryl and Artemis were once again by her side.

He knew her pain, he felt it himself, he didn't know how or where Roxie and Daniel were, he didn't know if they were alive. Hell he didn't know anything and it was tearing him to pieces. What he did know however was that even though they were lingering in the back of his mind and would remain there, he knew needed to keep Joelle safe, keep her sane until he found the others. There were others from their group, he had to believe that, had to have some hope that they were alive and okay.

She whimpered again, Lucas pulled her into his arms, cocooning her in his strong, safe embrace. Jo curled into him, clinging like he was the lifeline to her sanity, and he supposed he was, seeing as he was all that was left of her humanity. He didn't want her to wither away into nothing but it was, inevitably, her choice.

A low rattling from the cellar door instantly stole his attention, his hand at his weapon, he woke Joelle with haste. Her eyes snapped open and she was aware in seconds, her hands on gripping her knife steadily.

They weren't ready for the door to fly open, they weren't ready to be face to face with monsters far more fearsome then the dead that were walking. Four men steadily flowed into the small cellar, a variety of guns easily pointed at the two of them. Lucas' hand was gripped tightly around her wrist as he stealthily pulled her protectively behind him. There was no need though because a second latter darkness filled her vision, and then his.

Rick POV

They were camped in another abandoned home, it was in good condition considering the state the rest of the world was in. His eyes drifted to Beth who was, aggravatingly enough, sitting next to Daryl.

He had noticed how Beth seemed to cling to Daryl, if Maggie wasn't clinging to her, he didn't like it. He didn't like how she looked at him or spoke to him, like she was something special in Daryl's life and most of all he didn't like how she cared for Artemis like she was her own. Rick had watched as Beth had taken a peaceful sleeping Arty out of Roxie's hands as if she had the right, as if it were her child, it was okay to care for Artemis, to become attached was fine, but to try and make her a daughter was out of the question. She was Joelle's and Rick would be damned before he let her be forgotten.

He didn't blame Daryl, hell no one did, Beth's soft manner was a reminder of Joelle, so was the way Daryl seemed comfortable around her. He knew it had something to do with their time after the prison, something to do with how close they had gotten. But he was worried, worried that his sister would soon be a distant memory floating on the wind.

"Shit!" Glenn's curse echoed through the quiet house, in seconds everyone had run towards him weapons at the ready. He wasn't being attacked though and there were no walkers in sight, Rick followed Glenn gaze to the hard wood floor and his breath stuttered in his throat. Scratched deep into the wood were three very distinctive, very familiar names. JOELLE. ARTEMIS. DARYL.

He could feel as Daryl came up beside him and watched in regret as he took one look at the scratches and stormed out of the house. Daryl wouldn't be back anytime soon that much he could tell and he knew deep in his heart that the group was falling apart in front of his very eyes. Rick sighed and rubbed his tired eyes, "everyone get some rest, we'll move in the morning." Rick smiled inwardly, perhaps she wouldn't be so easily forgotten.

Joelle POV

She woke to her head pounding and her body bound tightly to a large tree trunk, arms down by her sides. Lucas wasn't next to her though, he was a little way in front her, his hands a feet bound and a gag tied around his mouth. The four men surrounded him in a deadly and monstrous wall of flesh, one that Joelle had come to fear far more than the dead. These men though seemed slightly familiar, her breath stuttered and came to a stop as she realised exactly who they were.

One of them was the Father of her dead child, her lungs strained and she realised she hadn't taken a breath for some time now. She forced herself to breathe and the rush of oxygen to her lungs made her feel faint.

This couldn't be happening, the monstrosities before her should be dead, but she knew why they weren't, things like that, demons like that survived by praying on the weak. No caring who they slaughtered to survive.

They weren't too far away but she couldn't hear a word that came out of their vile mouths, they were discussing something and whatever it was had made Lucas become deathly pale and stone cold still. His eyes locked with hers and she saw the horror brimming in them.

Joelle's eyes then locked with her former Sergeant, James, "Ahhh, look here lads our favorite specialist is awake."

"..J-James… Please just… Just l-let us go please," she stuttered, mentally she was kicking herself she had wanted to be strong and brave, to let them know she was no longer the weak little Medic they had destroyed those years ago.

"Shh… Don't you worry Jojo we'll let you go…. After we've had our fun of course… and without your little protector here to keep you safe… What do you say Jojo?" His voice was more menacing than she had remembered, more threatening.

"Yo James, she's still looking too pretty seeing as shit hit the fan! Maybe we should make her a little uglier you know, so no one else will touch what ours!"

Lucas was straining against his bonds now, but before he could move much, the one who had just spoke, Garrett, if she remembered correctly, kicked him hard in the stomach. With a pained grunt Lucas fell forward. Joelle let out a strangled scream, "Lucas!" in protest to the blatant brutality.

"I think you're right Garrett, let's start with that pretty little face," he spoke with a low voice and grinned menacingly, he pulled out a very large, very sharp hunting knife. She didn't see it coming, neither had Lucas but Joelle heard him scream, heard herself scream as the knife came plunging down straight across her left eye and down her cheek. The pain didn't hit her immediately, it didn't even hit her at all, Joelle became completely numb in that moment. Her screams stopped, blood flooded the left side of her face.

James and his lackeys noticed her lack of screams and stopped their laughter, "Ahh little Jojo, don't worry we'll have you screaming in no time!" James laughed at her and began to pulled her ratty jeans down. The knife he'd been holding thrown down next to them, next to her hand, her mind went wild looking for a plan.

Joelle began to panic as she realized James had now began unbuckling his belt, seeing as her pants were at her ankles. She thrashed her breath coming in short rasping gasps. Just as she thought she was going to pass out a single thought drifted through her head, Daryl. And that was enough to calm her, to push away her panic, to clear her head and he did, Daryl pushed away her fears, she wasn't weak, she had never been, she was still here. They were still here.

Lucas began struggling, managing to get out of his bindings, he launched himself at one of the nameless soldiers, there was a screaming crack and the struggling stopped, Joelle's heart stuttered, but it wasn't Luke.

The others, whose attention had been on her and James, ran back to Lucas and tacked him down, beating him into submission. Pounding his flesh to the symphony of Lucas' pained groans. They dragged his nearly unconscious body closer to the tree where Joelle was tied.

Unbeknownst to them while they had all be distracted, James included, Jo had managed to take hunting knife into her hands, steadily carving away at the ropes until they gave way.

"Come on, Lucas, is it? Now watch as we destroy your sister, after all it's surprising she's lasted this long," James said turning his full attention onto Lucas at which point Joelle launched herself at him, the force knocking them two the ground. His blatant surprise gave her enough time to plunge the heavy knife into his cold, monstrous heart.

The other two stood there stunned at her actions giving Joelle even more time she pulled her jeans up and ghosted her way over to them, stalking her prey. They only had their knives, she knew because she'd watched them, in all their foolishness, set their guns' aside. The second nameless soldier backtracked quickly noticing her hostile and violent gaze as it was directed on him.

He turned to run, to try and gather his gun but Joelle was quicker and despite her impaired vision, the knife flew true hitting him straight through the throat.

Her single eye zeroed in on Garrett he wasn't moving in on her though, no, he had his knife out and it was straight across Lucas' throat.

"Now now Jojo, that wasn't very nice, yeah I was planning on killing James but Nick, I liked him. See what you're going to do is back away very slowly in the opposite direction, put your hands on your head and turn around, quickly now Jojo, I don't have all night."

She did as she was told slowly backing away until she was 6 feet away, "Now turn around," Garrett commanded.

She turned around and just as she was about to put her hands to her head she heard a moan before a strangled yell came from Garrett, a walker. Joelle span just in time to see Garrett slam his knife into the walker's skull, it was the soldier Lucas had killed earlier and it had sunk its teeth into his shoulder.

It shocked Joelle when Garrett began to laugh manically before stabbing his knife deep into Lucas's chest.

Time froze completely, she couldn't breathe, couldn't think. She stumbled forward and pulled the knife out of the soldier's throat before slamming it in his and James' heads and turned her gaze onto Garrett. She launched herself at him much like she had James but unlike James Garrett fought back slamming his fist into her injured eye, causing her to flinch and yell in pain. Joelle was angry though and used her rage to fuel her movements her elbow cocked him in the face disorientating him enough for her to heave the blade through his chest, multiple times before sliding it into his worthless brain.

She rushed over to Lucas, dropping the blade as she reached him and pulled him into her lap, his breathing was labored and weak. She cradled him gently pushing her palms against his would, trying, helplessly, to stop the bleeding. "No, no, no, no, god please no, I can't, I can't Lucas, not you too, please god, please," She sobbed, crying out her distress, broken and bleeding as her brother, her big brother was bleeding out in her arms.

"Hush Joelle, it's okay, it's okay, you're safe now… you need to…" he coughed blood choking out of his mouth in a deadly splutter.

"… You need to find them… Daryl… Arty… Find them… Roxie too… she'll need you…. Now that…" Lucas gasped out, trying to make her listen.

Tears were gushing out of her lone eye in a river of pain and despair and Lucas wanted nothing more than to comfort her, to tell her that it would be alright, that she would be alright. He knew she was strong, that she was capable but he hadn't expected to encounter the very men that had previously broken her, hadn't expected things to end like this.

Darkness seeped into his vision as the pain ebbed away like a distant memory, his thoughts touched on Daniel and Roxie hoping deep in his heart that he wouldn't see them where he was going, that they were well.

Joelle looked down on him as he drew his last breath, his eyes drifted shut and he looked at peace, looked like he was sleeping.

She let out a choked, sobbing scream, her voice cracking as she rocked him back and forth, begging him to come back, to not leave her alone, to be okay. Her screams echoed into the darkness, being swallowed up by its bleakness.

Joelle screamed until her throat was raw, cried until her eye was dry and tearless. She didn't know if she could do this, be alone like she was, broken like she was. Pain and grief flowed from her heart like an endless river filling her whole body up until she was an aching mess.

Lucas stirred in her arms and her heart lifted before plummeting deeper as she realized it wasn't her brother. It was just another soulless beast one that needed to be put down. Her had reached out to the hunting knife she had dropped, what seemed like years ago, it slipped through her blood stained fingers but she managed to catch it before it fell.

Trembling she placed the blade at his temple, "I'm sorry Lucas, I love you brother," in a quick motion she pushed the blade through his skull. Just as quickly she removed it and began to sob tearlessly.

Joelle didn't move, her eyes stayed on her brothers cold, lifeless face, gently she smoothed back his hair leaving a bloody mark as she did so. A branch snapped to her right but she didn't turn, she guessed walkers would have heard her sorrow.

"Hello?" the voice was soft, calm, friendly even, Joelle turned her gaze on him watching him flinch as he looked upon her marred face. "I'm a friend."

A/N: I cried, I cried so hard writing this… I didn't want to do it but… it needed to happen.. for the story.. I wrote it and reread it before bursting into tears… It was a mess RIP Lucas.. And no they're not really closer… or wait are they? I'm thinking of doing a time skip or something similar and you'll see how I bring them together! But there may be new challenges and problems not in the TV show such as BETH! Why the hell did I keep her alive… well you'll find out pretty damn soon! How do you reckon Joelle's going to go now that all her ties to her family and happiness are gone? Apart from that knife.. I apologise again for my lack of updating I'm really sorry I'll try to manage my time better! If you have any questions regarding this chapter or future chapters feel free to drop a Review or PM me! Gigantic thank you to those who followed and favourited this story it is amazing! Huge, gigantic massive hug, kisses and thank yous to those who reviewed, you guys are absolutely amazing and I love you! R&R I love you all! XXX