I do not own TWD or it's characters.

Later, when mouthwatering smells wafted up to their position in the trees, Dan appeared with some food.

"You guys wanted the possum, right?" he asked, half joking. Daryl reached for his portion gratefully.

"No thanks," Judith whispered, trying to bring a chuckle into her voice. She failed.

"I was kidding. Daryl's was possum. I brought you rabbit." He offered her the roasted meat. Taking it, she chewed on a piece thoughtfully. He hadn't left, instead settling himself on the branch next to Judith. Taking the hint, Daryl jumped out of the tree.

"I'm sorry for being mean earlier," Judith said after a few minutes of quiet chewing lapsed.

"It's okay. Why were you mean, though?" Dan asked. She looked him straight in his eyes before answering.

"I came to get you, and you come out of your house with a girl your age. Twins didn't cross my mind. To me, she was too close to your age to be your sister. It hurt." He chucked her softly on the shoulder with a fist.

"Next time, just ask." He suggested, smiling broadly. "It's nice to know you like me enough to care about something like that, though." Concentrating on her food, she nodded. He didn't break the silence until they were finished.

"You know what the plan is?"

"We'll probably get you guys somewhere safe," she answered.

"You guys? You won't be staying with us." Not trusting her voice, she shook her head. "Why not?"

"That wasn't an accidental turn. It was planned. Daryl and I are going to hunt down the men responsible for it."

"And what are you going to do when you find them?" he asked. She looked directly into his blue eyes, knowing his opinion of her would change with her answer.

"Kill them."

After everyone had eaten, Daryl led the group further away from Hilltop. After some discussion, he had suggested that they should hike away from the town for a few days before settling down. Daryl and Judith had explained to the group how this wasn't accidental. When they reached a new settling place, Daryl would go back to hunt up other survivors and send them that way. No one unknown was to be rescued, especially men. Judith allowed everyone to believe she would be staying with the group. She didn't want to argue with her brother the entire trip. Thankfully, Dan kept quiet about it.

Daryl led the group, with Judith at the rear. They had the best weapons for range and silence if the group were to come upon any walkers. After an hour of walking, Dan came back to her side. Seeing that Carl was way ahead of her, she slowed her pace slightly, to bring the two out of earshot.

"You shouldn't go after those men," he began. Glancing down at his hip, she noticed the sword dangling from a sheath.

"You have a sword," she commented incredulously, not wanting to start an argument.

"Made it myself. Don't change the subject."

"I should go after those men. They're the reason my dad's dead. And possibly my mom. And my Aunt Carol. And scores of others that I loved. We have no idea who even made it out of Hilltop. They have to pay."

"I agree they have to pay. I don't agree you should be an active part of that payment."

"My dad is dead because of them. I will be part of that payment," she spit out. Anger crept into her voice.

"I don't want anything bad to happen to you," he whispered after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't want anything bad to happen to me either. My uncle's trained me. I'm good at hunting. I'm good at concealing myself. I've met these men numerous times and they hadn't a clue I was with them. I'll be fine." He simply nodded, still not keen on the idea.

"Are you going to tell your brother?"

"Haven't decided yet. He'll say no and they're will be a huge argument. But he can't stop me from going. I might just bypass the whole thing and leave with Daryl without saying anything. Once he finds me missing, he'll know."

"You don't think he'll go after you?"

"I don't think so. He has Sandy to consider. Plus, he can't track for shit. He knows that."

"I want to come," he stated matter of fact.

"That's a very bad idea. I'll be worried about protecting you and you'll be worried about protecting me. We'll make mistakes. And," she trailed off, not wanted to hurt his feelings.

"And what?" he prompted.

"You're really loud." She glanced over to see him staring at her.

"I'm loud?" he asked, not understanding since they were whispering and no one had noticed their conversation.

"Yeah. I mean, I could hear you coming in the woods a mile away. You don't know how to step." Paying attention, he realized she was right. He also realized he couldn't hear her footsteps even though she was right next to him. "I've been trained," she said again.

They walked in silence for a few hours. Stopping for lunch, they found a spot away from the others.

"I don't want you to go," he stated simply.

"I know," she replied, afraid this would change everything between them.

"But I understand why you have to. I still don't like it, and I want you to reconsider. But I get it." Ending the conversation, they finished lunch.

They hiked for 4 days before coming across a small city that was mostly clear. Only a few walkers remained. Disposing of them, everyone settled into a house near the center. That night, everyone settled around a small fire in the backyard.

"Jude and I will hunt tomorrow, get you a small stock of meat. You'll need to keep up the hunting, and maybe do some scavenging. Get this place shaped up. The next day, I'm heading back out to find others. I'll send them your way." Slightly embarrassed from all the attention on him, he kept it short and sweet. Sitting back down, he let Carl take over, giving everyone instructions on what to do. Judith kept her mouth shut when he told her she'd be responsible for keeping their meat stocked. She felt sorry that she would be leaving the group without a great hunter. But not without a hunter. Her brother knew how to set traps and snares. They would survive.

Two days later, she set out with Daryl, leaving before the sun had risen. She didn't say goodbye to Dan. She didn't know how. He knew she was leaving. No sense saying goodbye. Creeping into the edge of the forest, she heard drumming steps behind her. Turning, she saw Dan running up the street toward them.

"You can catch up," Daryl muttered, giving them some space. He had completely disappeared before Dan reached them.

"You were going to leave without saying goodbye?" he asked, slightly winded from his run.

"Yes," she answered matter of fact.

"Why?" She shrugged.

"What good is goodbye?" Pulling her toward him, he kissed her. He felt her body melt into his, her mouth opening to allow his tongue access. Breaking the kiss, he started down at her green eyes, burning with passion.

"Don't die," he whispered. Smiling she repeated him.

"Don't die."

It took her a minute to catch her breath before she could head after Daryl. Seeing his trail, she followed in. A few minutes later, Daryl emerged from the brush to join her.

"Some kiss," he muttered. "Sure he ain't yer boyfriend."

"I dunno. He might be." Heading off the way they came, they headed for Hilltop.

It only took them 2 days to make it back to their first campsite. Without anyone to slow them down, they were able to quicken the pace. There were some shuffling footprints around their camp, indicating walkers had been there. Not staying long, Daryl chose a different direction to lead them back to Hilltop. He didn't want to be on their old trail in case those men decided to track the survivors. Getting close, the two climbed into a tree to look over the fence. Their were men inside, gathered near the back gate. A wagon was parked in the middle of the street, and the men were loading things in from the houses.

Judith looked at Daryl, in silent acknowledgment of their guess being right. They observed for a few hours before crawling out of the tree and away from the town.

"Guess we were right," Judith said, once they were far enough away.

"Yep."

"What's the plan?"

"Too many of them to take them out. We'll need to draw them away in small groups." Thinking about this, it took her a minute to respond to him.

"We could light a fire nearby. Let it get smokey, using some green branches. They might send a small party out to investigate."

"They'll be on guard if they come up on an empty fire still burning."

"Don't need to be empty," she whispered back.

"No."

"I'll just do it on my own."

"We ain't using you as bait."

"Why not. Can't be you. They know you. They don't know me. You can be nearby in a tree."

"What if too many come?"

"Then you fall back. Come up with another plan and rescue me."

"Not gonna happen," he muttered, shaking his head. "Those men will rape you first chance they git. I ain't leaving you to that. Too many come, I'm still attacking. We just might die."

"So you be a little further away, so you can scout them. See how many are coming. Then, you bird call if there's too many and I'll get outta there."

"I don't like it."

"Got a better idea?" Grumbling to himself, they set up a green fire. As soon as it lit, he took off. Night was approaching and he needed to get into position. She sat by the fire, barely keeping warm in it's insignificant flames. Her bow and quiver were lying next to her. Several hours passed before she heard the careful approach of the men. She waited until one stepped on a twig near her, before grabbing her bow and knocking an arrow. Standing up in bad form, she shakily held the arrow in the general direction they were coming at her. She knew it wasn't pointed at any of them, but she didn't want them to know she knew what she was doing.

"Who... who's there?" she whispered, instilling as much fear into her voice as she could.