The entire group sat within their tent. Some sitting on chairs, others on their cots, while a few stood, listening as Rick addressed them all. Carol rocked little Judith, keeping her quiet as she looked over at Kate. She could see the blank expression on her face and knew she was worried. Merle stood behind everyone, standing in the shadow with his arms folded over his chest, while Michonne stood in the other corner watching intently.

"All right, listen. Reese has asked for volunteers to go on a mission." Rick stated, looking at each one of their group.

"The army won't give him permission to go and take Breed out, so he's asked us to do it. He said he'd supply us with equipment, weapons, and vehicles, but if he sends troops, he's violating direct orders." Rick continued.

"Breed's got a whole stable of young girls that he's kidnapped at some farm. Jackson believes they know where the farm is and that Breed goes there often. He wants us to kill Breed, and rescue the girls." Rick finished, not seeing any point to dragging the whole thing out. He was just going to put it on the table and see what happened.

He looked around at the faces of the battered and bruised survivors. He saw the darkness that now shadowed their eyes and the deep lines of stress on their faces. He knew what he was asking and he wanted to make sure they knew it was completely their choice.

"Listen people. This is entirely voluntary. No one has to go, and no one is gonna be upset if you don't. We have a place now that's safe. He's asking us to give up a lot." Rick assured them, trying to make them all realize that they were all heroes in his eyes.

"Each and every one of you has shown the most heroic bravery I've ever seen. Each of us has lost more than any human being should ever have to lose. There is no shame here. We have all proven our worth in the eyes of God. There's no shame in saying no to this." Rick finished, looking each of them in the eyes, letting them know that he believed every word he said.

Everyone was silent. They looked around at each other, gauging each member of the group's reaction. They were all thinking the same thing; they were exhausted and they'd been through so much but they knew what fate lay in store for those girls if they were left there.

Merle Dixon was the first to step forward.

"I'll go." He said, his raspy voice filling the silence.

"I'll go." Andrea stated next. She needed a place to put her rage. She needed to do something to change the world.

"I'm in." Michonne said, nodding at Andrea in understanding.

"Carol, will you take care of Judith for me?" Rick asked, turning to look at her.

Carol's hand flew to her mouth as tears filled her eyes, but she nodded, smiling lovingly at Rick.

"Then I'm in as well." Rick said.

"I'm in and so is Sasha." Tyreese stated, moving to stand beside Rick.

Daryl stared down at the floor. He'd told Katelyn earlier about what was going on and in his heart, he knew he couldn't let them go without him. He thought about those girls. Girls, just like Katelyn; victims to the depravity of evil men, and he couldn't stand by.

"I'm in." Daryl said softly, earning him a few gasps from Carol and Maggie whose eyes shot straight to Katelyn.

Katelyn's eyes filled with tears and she bolted out of the tent.

Daryl sighed in sadness.

"Wait a minute Daryl. I think you better stay. The baby could come before we get back and Kate's already…stressed." Rick tried to talk him out of it.

"I know, but I can't…I think about those girls and I remember when I first found Katelyn. I can't stand by and let that happen to someone else's girlfriend, or daughter, or wife. I can't live with myself." Daryl said passionately.

Rick nodded, a sad expression on his face.

"If you're sure." Rick said.

"I'm sure." Daryl answered.

"I'm in." Ben said, stepping forward.

"I can't let you do that. You're not 18." Rick stated, smiling at him to soften the blow.

"It don't matter anymore. I got no one left and boys may age fight in wars all the time. I'm doing this." Ben asserted.

Rick paused for a moment then nodded.

Glenn looked at Maggie who started shaking her head, "no", but he stepped forward anyways.

"I'm there." He said, refusing to look at her.

"Then I'm going too." Maggie stated, gritting out her statement through her teeth.

She was mad as hell at Glenn but she wasn't about to let him go off on her own.

"All right then. I'll let the Major know." Rick said, incredibly proud of the family they'd become.

Daryl ducked out of the tent to go find Katelyn.

She was pacing in the corner of the gym, her head tipped back as she stared at the ceiling trying to prevent the tears from falling. It didn't work and the tears ran down her face as she shook her head, saying "no" over and over again.

Daryl came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. The minute she felt him touch her, she fell forward on her knees. Dragging in breaths, she struggled to breathe and Daryl knelt down behind her to rub her back and try to calm her down.

"It's gonna be okay. I promise." Daryl said gently, pulling her back against him.

She didn't say anything, just shook her head silently.

"You know why I have to do this, right?" He asked, sliding his legs out so he was sitting on the ground and pulling her back so she was resting against his chest.

Katelyn nodded miserably. She understood, but it didn't change anything.

His arms came up across her chest to hold her firmly. Using one hand he pressed her head back, bringing it to rest under his chin as he laid his cheek on the top of her head.

"I love you." He said softly, kissing the top of her head.

Katelyn just sat there and cried.

#################################################################################

Jackson stood a ways off, watching the scene unfold. He hadn't expected Daryl to volunteer and now he was left feeling awful for asking this of them. He had started calling them his "Atlanta Braves" because they were the most damn courageous people he's ever met. They, in his mind, were the epitome of the word heroic.

He wasn't sure what to do about this one though. He understood completely why Daryl thought he had to leave, but he wasn't sure he was willing to allow it with the state of Katelyn's health. He knew it was none of his business but he cared about these people's lives.

Turning, he headed toward their tent to speak with Rick.

Passing by a few of them, he was taken aback when Andrea smiled, winking at him. If he didn't know better, he'd say she was flirting. Scratching his head, he turned for a second and watched her walk away. Smirking and shaking his head, thinking that she was one dangerous woman, he entered the tent.

"Rick. Can I speak with you?" Jackson asked, nodding at the others. He saw Carol holding the baby and smiled. She was a sweet woman, everything he knew about her said that she and that baby shouldn't be alive, but it was a testament to the strength of this group that they were.

"Yeah." Rick walked over to him.

"I'm not sure Daryl should go." He said bluntly.

Rick rested his hands on his hips and nodded.

"I know. We're all thinking the same thing, but if Daryl's made up his mind, there's not much I can do." Rick told him. "He's not exactly the type that follows orders."

Jackson smirked, nodding in understanding.

"So what you're saying is, if I force him to stay, he's gonna do something stupid." Jackson asked, sighing.

"Yeah, basically." Rick answered, laughing a little in appreciation of Daryl's rebellious spirit. It had certainly gotten them out of many scrapes.

"Shit." Jackson muttered, thinking about how Katelyn would handle this.

"I just don't see this going well with Katelyn." Jackson stated, concern dripping from his voice.

Rick agreed.

"Yeah. I just worry she's gonna lose it…or try to follow him." Rick said quietly, looking around the tent.

The Major took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

This wasn't good.