Danni remained silent, literally biting her tongue and tasting blood, knowing Daryl had this. Whatever this was. He stood as solid as a stone wall between her and Len.

"You've got to be kidding! Give it here."

"You step back," Daryl repeated voice low in his chest.

"My half was in the bag. Now it's gone. Now ain't nobody around here interested in no half a damn cottontail except you. Ain't that right? Especially now, you got a second mouth to feed huh? Now you got your bitch with you."

Danni barely saw over Daryl's shoulder, but she couldn't miss Len's wild, angry yet shifty eyes, weaslily face and greasy hair as shouted at her husband, "Empty your bag!" His voice echoed off the grimy, gray walls and concrete ceiling of the garage.

"Hey I told you, stay back. You're the only one still thinking about that crap." Daryl swung his arm out in defense and frustration causing Joe to swoop in and grab the plastic trash bag that contained Daryl's few belongings. He held it up standing between the two men as a referee.

"Did you take his rabbit, Daryl? Just tell me the truth."

"I didn't take nothing," Daryl grunted the answer more than spoke the words. Danni tensed behind him trying to read his next move and assess the situation in case he needed her to act. Joe dumped the bag without hesitation the gesture reminding Danni of a teacher on the schoolyard breaking up a fight.

"What do we got here?" Joe mused as the front half of the rabbit hit the concrete with a slapping sound. "Well, look at that."

"You put that there, didn't ya?" Daryl accused. "Last night, when I went out to fucking take a piss?" He stepped forward and shoved Len. "Didn't ya?"

Len pushed back. "You lied! You stole!"

Danni wanted to rush forward to Daryl's defense but knew she had to hold on to her temper and follow his lead. She crossed her arms tightly across her chest as if the gesture could slow her racing heartbeat. The muscles of her legs tightened and urged her to run, but she kept her feet planted.

After an another hard shove from Daryl Len's face took on a smug look and he turned. "We gonna teach this fool or what, Joe?"

Daryl advanced again only to be held off by Joe's hand on his sternum. "Whoa, whoa. Now, Daryl says he didn't take your half of the rabbit. So we got a little conundrum here. Either he's lying, which is an actionable offense or…." Joe scratched his head and chuckled. "Or you didn't plant it on him like some pussy, punk-ass, cheating, coward cop, did you Len? 'Cause while that wouldn't be specifically breaking the rules, it'd be disappointing."

"It would." Len nodded.

"Mm-hmm." Joe raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't."

"Good," Joe said to the other men who by that time had gathered to watch the show. "Well, teach him a lesson, gents." With Joe's words, Daryl turned to Danni his eyes urging her to run while he braced himself for the onslaught. Before she had time to nod at him, the group of men unexpectedly descended on Len, beating him to the ground.

"He's a lying sack of shit. I'm sick of him. All the way boys."

Daryl's questioning look was met with Joe's matter of fact response. "I saw him do it."

"Why didn't you try to stop him?" Danni couldn't help her question.

"He wanted to play that out. I let him." He turned to Daryl pointing an index finger. "You told the truth. He lied. You understand the rules. He doesn't."

Danni leaned against Daryl trying to block out the sound of the fleshy blows and Len's groans.

"Looks like you get the head, too," Joe said with finality tossing the rabbit to Daryl and turned to the brawl.

Danni dropped to her knees and began shoving Daryl's things back into the bag. He crouched to help.

"Daryl we have to get away from them.' Danni whispered. "Now. Joe is crazy. Fucking crazy."

"I know." Having Danni among this group of men was asking for trouble; he had to get her out if here as soon as could and then get on the road to the ghost house. "C'mon." Daryl took her hand and led her outside. Before they had a chance to slip away, Joe was behind them.

"Leaving so soon? Without any kind of good-bye? Expected more from you Daryl. I really did. "

Daryl tensed and instinctively pulled Danni closer. The hair rose on the back of her neck.

"So where are you two headed? "

Daryl held her arm and they jumped to the ground together from the loading dock, then he turned and shrugged.

"What do you care?" Danni couldn't help herself.

"I don't really care, little missy just want to express my condolences seeing as wherever you're going to, well... you ain't never gonna get there." His tone was chilling.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. Daryl squeezed her wrist warning her to be quiet, sensing her back rising.

Joe hopped down to their level. "I'll tell you, you little bitch."

At that Daryl moved to raise his bow only to be stripped of it from behind by Tony, who raised a rifle on him.

Joe continued. "Now see right before we found you Daryl, we were in a house minding our own business and some walking piece of shit was hiding in the home. Shot our colleague Lou and left him to turn. Lou came at all of us. The killer, he lit out. We tracked him to those railroad tracks but thought we lost him. Until your little wifey here stumbled upon us. Now, how lucky is that?"

"Wha…?

"Turns out the him is a her."

"Danni?" Daryl asked realizing they were talking about her. "You ain't saying-"

"Tony caught a picture of the kid climbing out the window. Same clothes, same backpack. Pale face, dark hair. Course it was all hiding up under the hood so we thought he was a young guy. Now like this..." Joe yanked Dannie's hood up. "Yup. That's the kid we saw running across the field. She killed Lou."

"No doubt Joe," Tony confirmed.

"Now like I said figured we were looking for a some young fella but as soon as I saw her and Tony come to me and agreed... I knew I was wrong about that, but it's an equal opportunity world. Actions get you consequences whether you are a man or a woman."

Danni had a flashback to the house and realized the voices of the men indeed matched.

"Come on." Joe grabbed Danni's arm and wrangled her away from Daryl.

"Don't you touch her," Daryl growled moving toward him only to be stopped by the cock of the rifle at his head.

"Boy, what the hell? You think cause I let you fuck her you got rights?" Joe laughed derisively, "This here is my bitch now and I can treat her any way I want." Joe grabbed Danni's arm and shoved her forward. "Come here honey."

"Don't you fucking touch me!" Danni yanked her arm and twisted but Joe held tighter and the men laughed, commenting on the mouth she had.

"Oh, dearie me. You screwed up little lady. You hear me? You screwed up. Today is a day of reckoning. Restitution. A balancing of the whole damn universe."

"You knew all this time...you planned this?" Daryl choked out. He felt his stomach twisting as bile rose in his throat. "Sick son of a bitch."

"I was waiting for just the right time. Watching the two of you gave me ideas on how to make this all more satisfying. Now Daryl I like you, I think you fit in good with us so you got a choice. You stay out of this and let us exact justice and well, we all move on with everything right with the world."

Daryl shook his head, desperate to try to save the situation but feeling it slipping further from his control. He'd been failing miserably at protecting Danni. He couldn't fight, they'd taken his weapons and they had a gun to his head. If he moved, they'd shoot him and she'd be alone. Again. He had only his voice. "Joe! Hold up. Just hold up. She's a good person. C'mon let her go. Just let us go. She's not a killer."

"Now, I think Lou would disagree with you on that. I'll, of course, have to speak for him and all 'cause your bitch here shot him in a bathroom."

"You want blood, I get it. Take it from me, man, but just let her go." Daryl pleaded.

"Daryl no!" Danni shouted.

"Come on." He pulled away from Tony with his hands up in surrender. "Joe, me..."

"This girl killed our friend. You say she's good people. See, now that right there is a lie. It's a lie!"

"No! You leave her be!"

"You'll get yours. You just wait your turn."

"Listen, it was me. It was just me. Don't hurt him!" Danni cried. "Daryl wasn't there!"

"See, now that's right. That's not some damn lie. Look, we can settle this. We're reasonable men. First, we're gonna beat you to death Daryl. Then we'll have your girl. All of us."

Daryl lunged for Joe and Danni but was cut off by the command "Teach him, fellas. Teach him all the way."

With that the five men surrounded Daryl, the sheer size and will of the group overpowered him. They were beating him mercilessly and sound of meaty fists connecting with Daryl's face was more than Danni could take, but her shouts for them to stop were futile. Daryl was doing his best to ward off the blows and throw the men from on top of him. He started to panic, not for himself but for her when he was able to get glimpses of Danni being dragged by Joe, doing her best to fight.

Then Daryl heard it. A hoarse, screaming kee-eeeee-arr that lasted three seconds and it came again. Two more sharp calls and Daryl was sure. The bird call he and Merle used when they were hunting to answer if the other was in distress. It was the scolding call of the red-tailed hawk. He braced himself and answered the call with his own. Automatic gunshots rang out with rapid fire and the men holding Daryl stepped away looking for the source of the attack. The surprise of the onslaught gave no one time to react until the Dixon men broke loose. As soon as a frenzy of gunfire came from the roof of the garage Daryl twisted away and wrangled his crossbow from Tony already riddled with bullets.

After the group of claimers lay dead on the ground, Daryl saw that only Joe was left; he was holding a knife to a struggling Danni's throat using her as a ticket out. He was scanning frantically for the source of the bullets. Daryl raced to her, but Joe threatened "I'll do it Daryl. Don't think I won't. How many? How many men you got?"

As if to rub it in that there was only one man, Merle strode up with the coldest smile Danni had ever seen. It spread slowly across his face with each heavy footfall, his lips thinned eyes ablaze with a welcome violent crazy. He glanced casually down at the four dead men in his path. "Well, well. What do we got here?"

Danni felt an absurd rush of relief and adrenaline that you get watching a movie and the hero busts in and saves the day. As stupid and cliche as it sounded she wanted to laugh and yell. Fucking Merle. Fucking Merle! She repeated in her head never happier to see the smug, inappropriate son of a bitch in her life. He'd been tracking her all this time. He said he'd always find her.

"Merle," Daryl said with a sure tone. "I got him." Daryl raised his bow at Joe's head.

"I see that brother." Merle made a noise that was halfway between a disgusted grunt and an amused chuckle, "Nervous as a bear caught with his head in the hive ain't ya?" He said to Joe, who looked around to see the members of his group dead around him.

"You gonna drop that knife now."

Joe shook his head. "No, Let's see what you got."

"What the hell are you gonna do now, sport?"

"See I'm gonna walk out a here. Otherwise, I'll kill the girl so-"

"I don't fucking think so'" Danni yelled elbowing Joe in the gut knowing that Daryl would grab the knife at the exact moment she did as fate could always choreograph their moves. Daryl couldn't let him hurt her anymore. She deserved better. He promised to take care of her. He took the knife and stabbed Joe in the neck, thinking only of Danni.

Joe froze, crimson saliva spurted from his mouth as he fell forward then lay in the dirt coughing up blood. Though it seemed to Daryl like hours went by as he listened to Joe fight to stay alive, it really took the man only a few minutes to die.

Merle nodded and kicked Joe. "Piece a shit." He summed up hearing him expel his last soggy breath.

"You have no idea." Danni agreed stepping over the body. She looked up with a smile for Daryl, but he turned away.

"Hey…" she walked up and hugged him leaning against his back. He stood frozen except to reach behind and grasp her hand.

"Alright let's get the fuck out of here," Merle announced knowing he needed to get Daryl moving and focused. "You did the right thing Daryl. "

"I know." Daryl's voice was ice.

... ... ... ... .. .

The Dixons trudged on until dark, fighting off the few straggling Walkers they met, grateful no herds came their way. Daryl spoke little as they walked. Danni wanted to talk to him. She had so much to say but knew it wasn't the right time. She was feeling the relief of finally being able to process that they'd found each other again, but Daryl had killed a man in cold blood. A living man, not a Walker. Hand to hand in a personal way. Danni knew he was dwelling on it. Merle kept the conversation going. She babbled on with him, fighting off exhaustion and nerves and the desire to just jump on Merle and hug him until she had no strength left. They found an abandoned car by the side of the road as dusk turned to darkness. Danni crawled into the back seat and stretched out weary and ready for sleep. She motioned for Daryl to join her, but he shook his head with a weak smile.

"Daryl talk to me. What's going on? We haven't talked since... we're safe now. Please-"

"I gotta keep watch with Merle. You sleep. You need it."

"So do you."

He shrugged and closed the back door.

It's hard to be married to a difficult man. love. You spend your life taming a stray dog. Danni heard Nan's voice clear as a bell in her head.

... ... ... ... .. .. .. .

"Momma!" The tiny tot screamed at the top of his lungs. Danni dropped the laundry she was folding and ran out of the kitchen to see what the yelling was about. By the decibel of the scream, she figured her Ryder must have hurt himself.

She entered the living room ready to rush in and comfort her son. However, all she could do was stare and blink at her little monkey Scout. The girl had had climbed out of the playpen and on top of the dog and was currently playing horsey, saying "Neigh, Neigh..."

The dear dog took it like a champ and carted his little package around like the pony he was, without the aid of sight since the little imp had thrown her favorite blanket over the dog's head. When he crashed into the wall, she slid off and bonked her head on the floor, too stunned to cry. Her brother let out a true scream of warning. Danni ran in and rescued Scout with one arm and whipped the blanket off the dog with the other, pushing him to safety.

"Thank you, baby." She said to Ryder. "What are we gonna do with that sister of yours?"

"Stubborn little thing, ain't she? " Daryl walked up behind Danni. "Never does what she's told."

"Never just sits still and listens. One of these days, she's gonna get in real trouble." Danni lamented as the toddler grasped her daddy's fingers and giggled.

"Remind you of anybody?"

"She gets it from you."

He smiled. "Yeah, me. Its all from me." He rolled his eyes affectionately and kissed the back of her neck.

Danni would have answered him if her eyes hadn't snapped open at that moment. "Shit. Only a dream" she muttered stretching out on the back seat of the car as much as she could. She propped her boots up against the window. She pushed the hair from her face, feeling upset at being pulled from her vision. She held on to the image of the four of them together, in their own house with a dog of all things. She knew dreams were not always what they seemed, but she hoped this one meant they'd be with their kids soon. She was about to get out of the car and rejoin Daryl and Merle when she heard their voices, low and serious.

Merle took note of the bruises Daryl was covered with and he saw how severely his brother had been beaten.

"I didn't know what they were." Daryl rasped softly.

"Sure you did."

Daryl shook his head. "I figured I'd lose them before I ever found Danni again. But she showed up. We were gonna hang back leave right then. I Didn't think-"

"How'd you wind up with them?" Merle asked.

"I was with Beth. We got out together. I was with her for a while."

"Is she dead?" Merle asked.

"No. She's looking for Maggie. Met up with Tyreese and they took off together."

Merle nodded understanding Daryl would never have given up his search for Danni.

"After that, that's when they found me. I mean, I knew they were bad, but they had a code. It was simple. Stupid, but it was something. It was enough."

"You were alone."

"I didn't know what they could do."

Merle wanted to argue that Daryl should have know better, but he knew Daryl was feeling too responsible for Danni.

"It's not on you, Daryl. Hey, queenie is fine. That girls got guts, I tell you what, but even so you did that cocksucker who was threatening her right. You did that. Look, us being back together, here, now, that's everything." Merle paused. "You're my brother."

"Merle what you did today- "

"Anybody would have done that."

"Naw. They wouldn't. You saved our asses."

"Yeah I did so what's the look on your face?

"M' fine. Jesus Merle-"

"My cow died last night, so I don't need your bull. "

Daryl looked at the ground. "She was alone. Damnit Merle, Danni was alone out there. I fucking took better care of Beth…shit."

"Hey, I took care of queenie."

"She told me. And I … I well…you know…"

Merle cleared his throat.

"But later when you got split up. I shoulda been there from the beginning. I should have gotten her away from the Gov-"

"You're here now little brother and that's not a fucking thing to take lightly."

Danni opened the car door and slid out. She didn't close it just took a couple of steps toward where Daryl and Merle sat leaning back against the front end.

"You okay?" Daryl asked immediately when he noticed her. "You sure?"

"Yeah." Danni sat on the ground beside him. He touched the old scar beside the new injuries to her face. She felt how brutally guilt tore at him.

"I gotta take a piss." Merle grumbled pulling himself up and heading to the tree line.

Daryl's own bruised, battle-scarred cut face was the worst she'd ever seen him endure. His black eye stood out. Blood smeared over his cheek. His lip was busted and swollen and he had cuts everywhere from tough knuckles wounding the features of the face she loved.

"Here." She pulled a bottle of water from her pack and reached around to his back pocket for his red rag.

"Should save it for drinking."

She shook her head. "You can't see yourself. I can."

His smile was tight and he remained stoic. "I'm a filthy mess huh?" He looked up squinting at her. "Thought you'd be used to that by now. Hell, you should be."

She sighed and fingered the hole in his knee again. "Alone. That I was alone? That's what this is about? This silent treatment. Pushing me away." Two steps forward one step back. "Still? The way you're acting now makes me feel alone."

He winced.

"Daryl I heard what you said to Merle. I wasn't asleep."

Danni realized Daryl's guilt was threatening to shut him down. They had been through yet another tragedy that had threatened to tear them from each other and she knew he was overwhelmed. She placed her hands firmly on his shoulders and tilted her face to meet his gaze. "I'm not trying to fix this. We know I can't. I am not trying to make you smile because you need to be angry and that's fine with me; I get it. But if you don't let me in, then I am really am alone. With that said, she reached for his hand. "Give me a chance, please." She kissed his hand and brought it to her cheek. "Fuck your guilt Daryl. I don't accept it."

His eyes widened and he began to argue but she put her palm over his mouth.

"You can be pissed, you can be sad, but you don't get to feel guilty. There's no reason for it. Do you hear me? No reason."

He didn't know what to say. How could he tell her it hurt too much to know he'd let her down and she'd lost the baby. He'd promised to protect her and all he could think about was what she went through out there alone without him. He didn't want to scare her. If he told her, that might make it worse somehow. He'd rather just be frozen in an earlier memory, but that was no longer an option. He realized how funny it was when the person you loved was in front of you, part of you still felt like you needed to be this perfect being in their eyes. Especially after they've seen all your failings and all the shit you carry around in yourself. You want total acceptance. That's the perfect part. Acceptance is perfect; it's what makes us perfect.

"Daryl, are you listening to me?" She soaked his rag and began gently wiping his face.