Jo perched on the roof, her legs swinging limply over the edge of the two-story brick building. She watched dawn break over the trees and inhaled a slow, deep breath. She'd made her decision and it was time to act on it.
She swung her legs back onto the roof and climbed down the fire escape quickly. Her backpack was waiting on the ground where she'd left it hours ago. She swung the bag over her shoulders, glancing one last time at the front gate before making her way toward the woods. She waited for the watch to change before climbing over the wall, disappearing into the still darkness.
Daryl rubbed his eyes, refusing to fall asleep on the ride back to the base. His thoughts were disjointed and garbled. He looked at Beth, who was sleeping on Glenn's lap. Her frail frame was bruised and dirty, but she was all right. He glanced down at his hands with their rough callouses and cuts. He was calloused everywhere else too, right down to his heart. He knew how he spoke to Jo before he left was wrong. He regretted it immediately, but he was hurting worse than he ever had. It was worse than when she first blew him off after the camp outside of Atlanta was run over. She was just as broken as he was. Maybe it would be better if they stopped playing out this romance; if they stopped hurting each other.
The caravan pulled into the base and everyone began to groggily exit. The group walked toward their barracks as the door burst open and Maggie ran to her little sister.
"I'm so glad you're OK!" Maggie yelled, pulling Beth into a hug. Beth sobbed into her sisters T-shirt as Hershel hobbled up to them.
"Daddy," Beth mumbled, hugging the crying man. Maggie kissed Glenn and thanked the team for bringing her sister back safely.
"We should all get some shut eye," Rick said, and everyone followed into the barracks.
Daryl's brows furrowed as he stepped into an empty room. He flicked on the light, doing a quick sweep of the small room. His eyes landed on a folded piece of paper on their bed. He cursed under his breath and snatched the paper off the sheets. He recognized Jo's handwriting immediately.
Daryl,
I'm sorry. I love you. Keep the group safe.
Jo
"Sonofabitch," Daryl yelled, crinkling the paper and running out of the room. Carol and Hershel were in the hallway at the sound of Daryl's yell.
"What is it?" Carol asked alarmed.
Daryl held up the crinkled paper. "Jo fucking left. She's gone. How could you guys just let her go?"
Carol's jaw dropped in shock. "Where did she go?"
"The fuck should I know? I wasn't here. Did she say anything?" Daryl yelled, as the rest of the group joined them in the hall.
"No. She was really upset about the way things happened with you and the baby news, but I thought she was going to work it out with you," Carol said, her voice shaking.
"Fuckin' shit. Where the fuck do we even start?" Daryl asked, running his hand through his hair. "We need to go now. There's no way she left at night. She maybe has an hour or so on us."
The exhausted group was murmuring to each other as Daryl and Rick exchanged glances. Rick raised his hand to quiet the group. "Daryl and I will go. The only way she coulda gotten out unnoticed is going over the back wall and straight into the woods. We'll find her," he said.
"Give me a minute," Daryl said, walking back into the room. He closed the door just as a sob escaped his lips. His back slid down the door and he uncrumpled the note in his hands. "God dammit, girl," he said as he read the note over and over. He didn't blame her for leaving. He was a complete fucking asshole and she was still hurting from the miscarriage. He had to find her and get her back. He needed her.
He tucked the paper into his pocket and wiped the tears off his cheeks before exiting the room. Rick was the only one left in the hallway. "You all right?" he asked, moving off the wall and walking down the hall with Daryl.
"We have to find her. She won't last long alone," Daryl responded, avoiding Rick's question. "She's a good shot, but she can't take on a group of 'em."
"We'll find her. Carol said Jo was up on the roof after we left. Let's start at the fire escape," Rick said. They pushed the door open and walked to the side of the building. Daryl squinted in the sunlight and bent down, eyeing the crushed grass below the ladder.
"Looks like something was sitting here for awhile," Daryl said, pointing to the area to the right of the ladder. "Probably her backpack. She went that way, toward the back wall." Daryl pointed at broken pieces of grass leading to the back of the base. He followed them to the wall, slinging his crossbow over his shoulders.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" a voice yelled from the look-out tower to the right.
"One of our group members is missing," Rick yelled as Daryl ignored the guard and climbed over the wall. "We're tracking them. Go ahead and tell Col. Schwartz, but we ain't stopping for permission."
"Come on!" Daryl yelled from the other side. Rick glanced at the guard before climbing over the wall and disappearing.
Daryl already found Jo's path by the time Rick jumped over the wall. He crouched low, eyeing a broken twig at the edge of the woods. "She went through here," he said, following the path.
Rick stayed close, keeping an eye out for the dead or the living while Daryl focused on following Jo's tracks deeper into the woods. The path stayed straight for about a mile before veering to the left.
"Looks like she's headed toward the water. I'm guessing that's a stream I hear," Daryl said, cursing. "She might be trying to lose us."
Rick's head shot up at the sound of moaning to their right. "We have company," he said, spotting the walker making its way toward them. He unsheathed his knife and ran toward the mangled monster, stabbing it clear through the eye. Rick turned around in time to see Daryl kick a decaying walker away before shooting it with his crossbow.
"Come on, she headed straight for the stream," Daryl said, ripping his arrow out of the walker's head.
The stream was about a half-hour walk and was deeper and wider than they expected. Daryl followed Jo's tracks to the edge of the stream, losing it in the water. "Fuck. I lost it. She could have gone anywhere," he said.
"All right, well she honestly can't be that far. Let's keep walking along the water and see if we can pick up the trail again," Rick said.
The pair walked side by side in silence scanning the banks for any sign of Jo. Daryl's eyes never left the banks, but as time passed his frustration and anxiety began to show. His hands were balled into fists and any twig or branch that got in his way received an angry swat. Just as Rick was contemplating turning around to search the other side of the bank, Daryl stopped dead in his tracks.
"What?" Rick asked.
Daryl bent down and picked up a torn piece of purple cloth. He inspected it thoroughly, even smelling it. "It's part of Jo's shirt. Smells like her." Daryl searched the ground, moving out ahead of Rick toward the edge of the bank about three feet above the stream. Daryl followed the footprints to the edge and looked down, spotting a familiar brunette washing her hands in the stream a few meters away.
Daryl jumped down to the bank, splashing in the water. Jo jumped in surprise and pulled her gun out quickly. Daryl stood in a crouch waiting for her to lower her gun. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it, bounded off the rock she was perched on and made for the other side of the stream.
Daryl quickly followed her, wading through the knee-deep water right on her tail. "The fuck are you running away for?" Daryl yelled.
"Just let me go, Daryl," Jo yelled over her shoulder, stumbling over a rock. Daryl lunged for her, submerging them both in the cold water. Daryl lifted her out of the water as she grasped for something to hold onto. She was sobbing.
"I ain't gonna let you go off on yer own. Stop being an idiot," Daryl said, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to face him.
"I don't wanna hurt you anymore. I've ruined everything," she cried.
"No ya haven't. I forgive you, OK? I forgave you the moment I walked away from ya. I'm just a stubborn ass. It's not yer fault the baby died. It just happened. You were scared. I get it."
Jo wiped the water out of her eyes and looked up at Daryl. "Truly? You forgive me?"
"Of course I do. I love ya, ya idiot. Now stop running and come home." Daryl let go of her shoulders.
"But I killed our baby…"
"Miscarriages happen all the time. Stop blaming yerself. Besides, if we want a baby it's not like we can't make another one," Daryl said, smirking.
Jo smiled for the first time in what felt like weeks. She jumped into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck and kissed him. Daryl lost his footing and stumbled onto his backside in the water. He let out a laugh and kissed her again.
"Will you two lovebirds get the hell outta the stream so we can head back?" Rick yelled laughing as Daryl lifted his left hand out of Jo's hair to flip him off.