Chapter 27

Daryl turned on the generator to get some heat going in the house, as the members of Michonne's group sat drinking hot coffee courtesy of Carol. There were a handful of them. There was a very tall, very quiet black man named Tyreese who kept a protective eye over his younger sister Sasha, who was several months pregnant. From the story they'd told, Sasha's husband Bob had been killed weeks ago when a herd had happened upon their campsite. Michonne had been the one to find the group struggling to survive after losing several of their group members.

Other than Tyreese and Sasha, there was a young man named Noah, who appeared to be all of eighteen or nineteen, and he held firmly onto a sleeping child, bundled snugly up in blankets. Michonne kept a close eye on Noah, making certain to stay close, keeping watch over him and the child.

"You've been out there? All this time?" Carol asked, handing Michonne the last cup of coffee. Michonne took a long sip and nodded her head.

"We've been staying in barns and houses when we can. Last night, a wolf got into the barn we were in."

"We lost Abe. And Eugene," Tyreese said quietly.

"I'm so sorry," Carol said gently. "You've been through so much." She looked to Sasha, who winced in pain. "Are you ok?"

"Baby's moving a lot. I'm all bruised up."

"She fell," Tyreese pointed out. Carol frowned in concern.

"The baby's moving. That's a good thing," Carol said with a nod. "You should rest. We have plenty of houses, and we'd be happy to help you clear out a couple of yourselves. This little group? This is all we have, but we have each other." Sasha rubbed her stomach, wincing again. Carol knelt down next to her.

"May I?" Sasha nodded, moving her hands away from her belly, letting Carol gently touch her stomach.

"You a doctor?" Tyreese asked. Carol chuckled at that.

"Me? No. I'm a mom. The baby's really moving. That's good." She looked up at Daryl. "She can rest here for a few hours while we clear out one of the houses." Carol smiled and looked back at Sasha. "You can have your pick."

"I'll stay wherever Ty stays." She reached for her brother's hand and gave it a little squeeze. He nodded toward Carol.

"Thank you. For having us." Carol gave him a little smile and a nod, and Daryl stood, shifting his crossbow onto his shoulder.

"C'mon. I'll show you one of the houses." Tyreese nodded and followed Daryl away. At that point, the young child in Noah's arms began to squirm, and Noah unbundled him, letting him stand on the floor. He blinked and rubbed his eyes tiredly, looking around at his new surroundings.

"Mama?" he asked, before spotting Michonne sitting close by. A smile spread over his face, and Michonne smiled back, holding her arms out. The little boy, not much older than two, rushed over, and she picked him up.

"He's yours?" Carol asked with a little smile.

"He's my Andre," Michonne said with a nod. "He clings to Noah. I think it's 'cause he misses his daddy." She kissed Andre's forehead.

"He's beautiful," Carol murmured. She nodded toward the kitchen. "Come on. I'm pretty sure we have some cookies in here. Does he like cookies?"

"Oh yeah," Michonne said with a little chuckle. "We used to call him our cookie monster." She shifted Andre onto one hip and followed Carol into the kitchen. Michonne was surprised to find a high chair at the table, and she glanced at Carol. "You guys have pretty much everything here, huh?"

"The homes were furnished when we got here. We got out once, twice a week to get more supplies. We were lucky." Carol sighed softly and opened up the cookie jar before pulling out one cookie and handing it to Michonne's son.

"Your daughter. Sophia, right?"

"Yeah," Carol said with a nod.

"Was that her?" Michonne asked. "I saw she was wearing the bracelet." Carol made a little humming noise and nodded her head. "You're lucky you found her." Carol looked up to see the distant look in Michonne's eyes as she put the boy down in the high chair to enjoy his snack.

"You will stay, won't you?" Carol asked softly. "It's safe here. It's been…good."

"I'm ok on the road," she admitted. "But I have to take care of my son first. I want him to be safe. If anything were to happen to me, I want to know that he's safe from those…things. I've lost enough to them. They can't have him, too."

"God damn, it's fuckin' cold," Shane muttered as he pulled the door closed of the old convenience store they'd been holed up in for the last two months. He tripped over one of the sleeping bags and kicked it across the store in frustration. "Where is she?" He looked over at the spot on the floor they'd lined with sleeping bags for Andrea as she waited out her illness. She was gone. Glenn, Maggie and Hershel stood with somber faces as they watched Shane stalk across the store toward them.

"She's dead," Hershel said grimly. "Died 'bout a half-hour ago." Shane's face was emotionless.

"You put her down?"

"I did," Maggie said quietly, her eyes brimmed with tears, her jaw set tightly as she glared at him.

"Thank you," Shane said with a nod. "It's what she'd want."

"We've had a talk," Hershel said quietly, his voice even, grandfatherly and gentle. "We're going to need you to leave."

"The hell you just say to me, old man?" Shane asked, balling one hand into a fist while the other rested on his hip above his gun.

"Andrea had a lot to say before she died," Glenn said stiffly. "She told us what you did to Rick."

"What?" Shane balked.

"Said you just couldn't handle carrying what you did all alone. How you told her you brought down the perimeters while she was distracting Daryl that night. How you waited until the walkers started to swarm, how you waited for Carl to leave Rick's tent so you could murder him."

"You watch your goddamn mouth," Shane shouted, coming for Glenn. Maggie pulled a gun from the back of her pants, holding it evenly aimed at Shane's chest.

"Oh, I'm far from done," Glenn spat. "You let the walkers in that killed my wife. You waited for the gunshots to start before you put a bullet in your best friend's back. You killed them. You did that."

"We were gonna die!" Shane yelled. "Daryl came along and had Rick's ear, and Rick's focus was split. How the hell could he lead when he had somebody else tellin' him what we were supposed to do?"

"You told him Jenna was dead," Hershel spoke up.

"What?"

"You told him Jenna was dead, and Andrea told us you didn't know. She told us that you didn't want to go back to look for her." Shane's gaze went from Hershel's to Glenn's.

"You left my daughter to die, you piece of shit," Glenn seethed, pulling a knife from his pocket, flicking it open and lunging at Shane, pressing him against the steel door frame. Shane tried to fight back, but Glenn pressed the blade of the knife against his neck. "You look me in the eye and tell me my daughter was dead. You tell me she was dead and you didn't leave her there to be ripped apart by those things." Shane gasped and held his hands up.

"I got you out. I got all'a you out, and you're gonna fuckin' question me?"

"She was four!" Glenn spat, shaking with anger, the knife digging in enough that a little trickle of blood flowed down Shane's neck. "You looked me in the eye that night, and you told me she was dead. She was four! She was just a baby, and you left her behind!"

"I had to get us out, or we were all gonna die!" Glenn tightened the knife against Shane's neck.

"You think for one second I wouldn't die to get my daughter back if I had even one shred of hope she might be alive?" Tears ran down his cheeks as he stared into the eyes of the man responsible for his family's destruction. "I wanted to stay! I wanted to look for her, but you were telling me she was gone, and everything was a mess! I wanted to go back. I wanted to look for her, but you told me she was dead. You fucking liar!" Glenn released the pressure on Shane's neck and stepped back from him, wiping the droplets of blood off of his knife, as Shane's hand moved to cover the cut. "Get out."

"I got you this far."

"I said get the fuck out!"

"I got you this fuckin' far!"

"Yeah, you got us this far. You can go the rest of the way by yourself. I'm going back."

"What? You think you're gonna find your girl? It's been months! She's not there! She's dead!"

"Fuck you!" Glenn seethed. "You killed your best friend. You may as well have killed my wife. You did that. You. Now get the fuck out, or I'll put this knife through your heart. You ever come near me again, and I will kill you." Shane's gaze washed over Hershel and Maggie, who looked at him with no sympathy.

"You're making a mistake."

"Yeah, well, if I am, it's mine to make, and I won't have you here."

"We won't have you here," Maggie spoke up, stepping forward, linking her fingers with Glenn's, gun still pointed at Shane's chest. "Go." Shane shook his head.

"Dumbest fuckin' people I ever met in my whole goddamned life. Ya'll deserve whatever you get." He zipped his coat up and grabbed his pack and headed to the door. "Ain't gonna find nothin'. Even if she wasn't dead that night, she's sure as hell dead now. Dead and gone, and that's just what you're gonna be, asshole." He opened the door with a bang and headed out into the snow. Hershel moved to shut the door in Shane's wake, securing it to keep out the walkers that were sure to have been attracted by all the noise.

"C'mon," Maggie urged, tugging at Glenn's hand. "Let's pack up." Glenn wiped at his eyes, his hand shaking as he did so. "Hey. Hey. It's gonna be ok. We'll go back. We're going back. Ok?" Glenn simply nodded, and Maggie wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. When she pulled back, she brushed her lips over his, and he sighed, leaning his forehead against hers. "It'll be ok. It's gonna be ok."

Carol shivered as she checked on Judith and Jenna that night. They were sound asleep, and so was Sophia when she went to check on her. Beth was sitting up in bed writing in her diary, and she gave Carol a smile and a nod before turning back to her writing.

As Carol shut the door, she felt his strong arms pull around her middle. She bit her lip as he nuzzled the back of her neck, pressing soft kisses there.

"Hey," she said softly, turning in his arms and giving him a tender kiss. "Tyreese and Sasha got settled?"

"Yeah. Noah's stayin' with 'em too. Michonne and her boy are settled across the street."

"Good," Carol said with a smile. "We have more people. I like them."

"I'm gonna take Tyreese out 'fore dawn tomorrow, get a supply run in. Show him the way to town so he knows if I ain't with him next time."

"Oh," Carol said gently, brushing her fingertips over his jaw, her eyes filled with suggestion. "I was hoping we could sleep in tomorrow."

"Fuck it. He can go by himself. Ain't that hard to get to town." He scooped her up in his arms, and she stifled a giggle against his neck.

Daryl carried her into their bedroom and promptly shut the door with his foot. He carried her over to the bed and deposited her in the middle, crawling over her to kiss her hungrily.

"Daryl Dixon!" she laughed, as his fingers trailed down her sides.

"Wha?" he mumbled against her mouth. She gently pushed back on his chest.

"You should go," she murmured. "Show him the ropes." Daryl grinned down at her. "I'll be here when you get back."

"Ain't leavin' yet. Few more hours."

"We should sleep," she giggled. "You need your rest."

"I'll be quick."

"How romantic."

"Woman, we gonna do this or not?" he chuckled, kissing her neck. She laughed, tugging at his shirt, helping him pull it off of himself.

"God, I love you," she laughed, as his lips brushed over her collarbone. And they both froze. "Oh…shit." Daryl snorted against her collarbone, and she covered her eyes with her hand. "Oh, God. That…I didn't mean for it to…to just come out like that." He raised his head and looked into her eyes, a grin spreading over his face. "I…I meant it though."

"I know," he murmured, stroking her cheek as her fingers threaded through his hair.

"You do?" she asked softly.

"Yeah." His grin widened as she bit her lip, and he leaned down to kiss her. When he pulled back, he saw the redness in her cheeks subsiding. "You know I love you, too, right?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "I know. It's good…it's good to…to hear it, but I knew." He kissed her again.

"Good," he said gently. "Ain't never loved nobody like this before."

"Me neither," she admitted. "It's good. We're good. Great, even."

"Great, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah," she giggled, gently running her hand down his back. "We're great." Her heart thundered in her chest, and even though he'd said it too, she couldn't help that her nerves were all firing at once, and her stomach was a jumble of coiling emotions. She was trembling, and as he kissed her neck, he could feel her pulse pounding.

"You ok?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "I'm good." Her smile matched his, and she pulled her arms around her shoulders and relaxed as he began to ease her nerves and remind her just how great they really were together.