Disclaimer: I do not own TWD

Thanks to everyone who reviewed (personal thanks at the end to you guys), followed this story and added it to their favorites. I didn't expect so many people to like it out of the gate, but I'm not complaining =)

I've been sick this week, so I've had time to catch up on my fanfic reading and two people you MUST check out are x XRoweenaJAugustineX x and Nelle07. They're both great writers and if you like Game of Thrones (especially Jon Snow and Robb) or Inception, their stories are must reads.

Dale stood on top of the RV, staring down at the road behind them through his binoculars. He lowered them for a moment and wiped the sweat that had gathered at the bridge of his nose. Rick had been standing on the pavement beside the RV. He stopped peering through the scope of his aimed rifle and looked up to the older man.

"Everything alright up there?" Rick asked, sweeping the back of his hand against his damp forehead.

"Yeah. Everything's alright." Dale replied before bringing his binoculars back to his eyes. He had a lot of things on his mind and Andrea was one of them. She had barely spoken to him since leaving the CDC. He had seen her through the rearview mirror sitting with Shane and flashing him flirtatious smiles. Dale had been around long enough to recognize one when he saw it. He was worried she would cling to Shane. She was mourning over Amy the wrong way, but after getting her to leave the CDC, he was sure she didn't want to hear his advice on anything. Shane wasn't someone she needed to be around. He was dangerous and Dale knew it because he witnessed it.

He had a special fondness for Andrea, he wanted to protect her. Having no children of his own, he was instantly drawn to Andrea and her sister. The two girls gave him something to care and worry about at his old age. They were what he had imagined his daughters would be like if he had children. There was no way for Dale to express how much he cared for Andrea. All he had been trying to do at the CDC was help her. Andrea's anger and resentment wouldn't allow her to see that was all Dale had been trying to do that day. He wasn't trying to control her or guilt her into living. He just wanted her to see there was life after Amy, but no matter what he said, she refused to see what he did as anything but bad. Now she was in the RV alone doing God knows what and avoiding him. She hardly spoke to anyone but Shane now.

Dale shook the thought from his head and focused on keeping watch with Rick. For a moment, he thought his old eyes had deceived him when he spotted a walker staggering in their direction. He glanced down at Rick and knew he had seen right when he heard the safety come off his gun. Dale looked again, but this time he saw two. No five. He felt his heart begin to beat rapidly. There was a large number of geeks heading their way. He silently cursed to himself as he dropped down as quietly as he could on the RV roof and laid still.

Alice had been sorting through a basic first aid kit, trying to find more than just bandages and alcohol pads. It was strange that she couldn't find pills such as painkillers or even a basic aspirin. Without warning, she felt a hand slap over her mouth. She dropped the kit and grabbed onto the hand on her mouth. She tried to scream, but it came out muffled.

"Shut up, it's me!" A voice hissed in her ear. "Be quiet or I'll give your bony ass to them walkers as a snack pack." Her eyes wondered down the highway. They grew wide in fear when she spotted a large group of them heading their way. The large hand moved from her mouth.

"Thank you Daryl." She whispered.

"Don't thank me. Get your ass under a car before they see us." He ordered as he dropped to his knees and crawled under the vehicle.

"Right… Right." She spotted T-dog up ahead looking for a hiding spot. She was tempted to call out to him, but knew it would draw attention. Alice got down and crawled under the car Daryl had hid under.

Daryl looked at her, rolling his eyes. He meant for her to find her own car, but he was lucky enough to be sharing with Walsh. His crossbow laid under his body, digging into his chest, but it was ready for action if needed. He could hear Alice's heavy breathing and feel her trembling beside him. He looked at her and placed his index finger against his lips. She nodded and covered her mouth.

Alice felt her breath get caught in her throat when she saw the feet of walkers heading in their direction. She tried to control her breathing, but it was becoming shorter and quicker. The walkers were a few feet from them and she could smell their putrid odor as a few passed. The Atlanta heat had caused their bodies decomposition to happen more rapidly. Alice heard a grunt and looked to the other side of the car. T-dog was still trying to find a safe spot, but this time his arm was gushing blood. Daryl's nostrils flared as if annoyed T-dog managed to get injured. He looked at Alice sternly.

'Don't even think about moving' he mouthed to her before taking a deep breath and rolling from under the car and towards T-dog. Daryl was a good man no matter what he tried to make others believe. He may not have been the nicest, but Alice appreciated him for more than hunting and saving her life twice. She appreciated him as a human being and man.

Alice slowly reached for her gun, trying her hardest not to make a sound, but as she pulled it from the back of her jeans and up to her front, she had scraped the metal against the ground. She gasped and held the gun tightly as a walker stopped walking for a moment. It began to drag its feet towards her. When it reached the car she hid under, she closed her eyes tightly and said a quick prayer. She was too scared to even exhale. The low moan she heard forced her eyes to fly open. The feet were still there, its shoe soles worn out and looked like they would fall apart at any moment.

A wave of relief hit her when the walker began to stagger away. She had been lucky and she knew it. Had the walker found her, she would have been in serious trouble. Alice couldn't afford to fire her gun.

As the last few walkers past, everyone stayed in their hiding spots for a few extra minutes. Alice's forehead rested against the pavement as she tried to catch her breath. She made it. From her hiding spot, she could see Daryl and T-dog. They both were out in the open but had dead bodies thrown over them. It was a clever plan because it threw off the walkers from their scent. Daryl was also a lot smarter than he gave himself credit for.

Just as Alice was about to roll from under her car, she heard the scream of a child. Her mind began to race. Was it Carl? Should she help? Why was she even thinking about this when she should have been acting instead?

She rolled from under the car just in time to see Sophia running into the woods, two walkers behind her. Rick was running between cars trying to catch up with them. She could see the panicked yet determined look on his face.

Carol crawled from under a van with Lori and began to cry. She ran towards the woods, her arms wrapped around herself. By then everyone had crawled from their hiding spots to see what happened. What greeted them was the pitiful and heart breaking site of Carl crying and holding herself tightly.

"My baby! Two walkers are after my baby!" Lori grabbed her as she began to run after Sophia. Lori tried to shush her, but Carol just cried harder as her knees began to give out. Her little girl was missing and walkers were after her. Why couldn't she have stayed under the car just a little longer?

"Rick's gone after her, she'll be alright." Alice tried to assure, placing a comforting hand on the older woman's shoulder. "He'll get her." She truthfully had no idea if Rick really would. She didn't know if Sophia would get bitten or not, but she did know Carol didn't need to hear doubts. Everyone looked unsure of what to say, everyone's heart breaking with her cries of Sophia's name.

Shane cleared his throat uncomfortably as he took a few steps forward. "Um… Let's just keep looking for supplies till Rick gets back. Everyone stick close." He glanced at everyone before walking off. No one questioned him. It had pretty much been established that he assumed the position as leader when Rick was gone. It didn't sit well with Shane from time to time considering he was the original unspoken leader. But that was taken from him like everything else when Rick returned.

"There you go. It's the best I can do for you." Alice explained as she finished bandaging T-dog's forearm. The cut was deep and needed to be stitched, but they had to make do with what they had. His arm was shaking slightly and she could see the blood begin to seep through the bandage. "I'm gonna need to change that for you every few hours, you hear?" He was bleeding heavy and wasn't looking too good.

T-dog gave a weak nod. "Yeah. Thanks." He felt nauseous.

"I wish there was more I could do." Her voice was low, almost too low for him to hear.

"It's cool. You did what you could."

Alice gave a short nod before standing up from the cot in the RV. As she passed the table, she didn't miss the look Andrea gave her. She hadn't been able to decipher the look, but something about it didn't sit well with Alice.

Alice liked to believe she and Andrea were on good terms. She wouldn't go as far as to say the women were friends, but definitely associates. After the events at the CDC, Alice couldn't be sure what to call them. Andrea brushed her off every time she tried to start a conversation, and Alice most definitely noticed the way she began looking at Shane. She hated the feeling she was getting when around Andrea now. It wasn't fear or pity. It was dislike. Something in Alice was beginning to dislike Andrea and it had a lot to do with her treatment of Dale, the kind old man that told her many stories. It also was due to her recent bratty antics over the smallest things. Alice knew Andrea couldn't stand that Alice got to keep her gun but she didn't. Maybe that was when the ill feelings from Andrea began.

Unlike Andrea, Alice understood the reasoning behind a majority of the group not having a gun. Rick and Shane had to keep theirs for obvious reasons and Dale being the oldest and most trusted got to keep his. The reason for Alice getting to keep hers was she was a straight shooter, Shane made sure of that years ago. Letting her keep her gun was for extra protection and those moments the men couldn't be around. It made sense to everyone but Andrea,

"Rick's back!" she heard Glenn yell from outside.

"I found her, but the walkers were too close. I told her to hide and I'd go back to get her." Rick explained, wiping his forehead of sweat. His pants were wet and shirt damp. "I need some help, just in case." Everyone nodded. Carol cried even harder.

"You know I'll help brother." Shane assured.

"Me too." T-dog started to walk forward, but felt a small hand press against his stomach.

"It ain't wise for you to be running 'round the wood's. You should stay." Alice advised. T-dog wanted to go, he didn't want to feel useless. But he was at that moment and he knew it. Him passing out wouldn't be much help.

"She's right T-dog. You stay behind and focus on healing up." Rick looked at Alice. He felt his stomach tighten when she looked away. She was still mad at him. "Daryl, I was wondering if you'd come. You know the wood's better than anyone here." Daryl nodded in agreement. "So it's settled-"

"I want to help." Alice cut in. She was toying with her fingers in front of her stomach.

"I don't think that's a good idea-"

"I want to help find her Shane. How is that not a good idea?" Her voice was strong, no signs of shakiness or uncertainty in her tone.

His lips tightened for a moment before speaking. "I think you'd be safer here."

"The more eyes the better. I know how to fire a gun, you know that."

"We're wastin' time." Daryl interrupted, annoyed. "Just let her go, it'll shut her the hell up." A part of him really didn't want to admit it, but he was more than sure she could hold her own. She was alright with him.

Alice frowned at Daryl, but began to walk forward. Shane roughly rubbed his face with his hands. Saying he was agitated would have been putting it nicely.

"Guess I'll go. It's the manly thing to do, right?" Glenn asked no one in particular.

"You just gonna let her tag along Rick?" Andrea looked at Rick then to Shane, her eyes lingering on him. Dale stood silent, but he had seen the look.

"We don't have time to argue." He spoke before walking towards the woods. He wanted her to stay behind too, but he also didn't want her to be anymore mad at him. He was sure she'd be fine she wasn't going to be alone.

"I can't believe this shit." Shane mumbled as he followed behind his wife into the woods. He wanted to keep her safe and she was going to throw herself into the middle of danger.

A/N: I appreciate every review and I try to personally say thanks, but sometimes life get's too hectic and I don't get to until weeks later. Soooo I figured I'd try this way.

JDMlvr1, Dean's Dirty Little Secert, Savannah's Angels, bluecrush611, DayDreamingInTheAir: Thank you guys! I'm so glad you all liked the start to this =) It means a lot that you guys like this story because I thought it would take a while before anyone enjoyed it.

deelove1: I want to and I've been toying with the idea, but I'm not sure how it would fit in with the flow of the story. If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them =)

x XRoweenaJAugustineX x: Thank you so much. You have no idea how much your review mad my day. For a while I wasn't sure if what I was trying to do was translating well, but wow... That's how I felt when I read your review. WOW! It's a great compliment coming from an awesome writer. Which reminds me, WHY MUST YOU TORTURE ME? I'm in love with your Jon Snow story and I just finished it. I was so sad because you haven't updated and I want to know what happens so bad!

Leyshla Gisel: I always love that you have great feed back =) Thank yoooou!

Nelle07: I love trying to make Alice more... Tougher I guess would be the word. And you! I started reading your Inception story and just finished today. You haven't updated and I MUST know what happens!

-Hale: Thank you so much and I never did thank you for reading my work. I appreciate you reading my stories so much, you have no idea!