Daryl would never grow tired of waking up with his arms around Kit and her tiny body pressed tight up against his chest and every morning he was equally irritated when they had to wake up. (He was especially reluctant that particular morning because he had been having an intensely vivid dream involving an owl. Maybe he had been hunting it.) That morning they had to be up even earlier because they were on breakfast duty. "Come on Dex, time to cook for the pussies." Daryl had his own special nickname for the rest of the group.

"Why?" she moaned. "They can go without."

He gave her a sharp nudge to try and force her awake because he didn't feel like trying to climb over her to get his stuff. She slowly raised her body then threw his clothes at him as she dug to find her own. They were both dressed around the same time but she wanted to try and pull her hair back so he stepped out into the morning air while he waited.

The sky still had a grey morning haze to it when Daryl saw an owl sitting in a tree near their tent. He had always been a man who followed his gut and between the owl in his dream and the one staring at him, his hairs began stand on end. Kit stepped out of the tent – her hair barely held together by the hair tie and bobby pins, still a little short to be tied back – she saw the owl and smiled. "A barn owl? I've never actually seen one before."

They began walking towards the main camp and Daryl decided to share his feelings towards the owl to Kit. "The owl gave me the creeps." He felt stupid saying it but at least he knew Kit wouldn't tease him about it – probably just dissuade him from superstition.

Her reaction was very different from what he expected as her eyebrows rose and then knitted together. It almost looked like she was interested in his concerns and trying to figure them out. "Any particular reason?" she asked.

He shrugged, not wanting to sound stupid. "I had a dream 'bout one, then we saw the one in the tree. Jus' don't sit right."

She nodded, considering what he had said. "I've never been particularly superstitious but later today you can look through a few of the books in my van. There are a handful in there that probably talk about what it might mean. I have one on dreams," she suggested. "I have always held a particular fascination with the meaning in dreams, so that would be a good place to start."

As he had figured, Kit wasn't particularly concerned, but she hadn't completely shot him down like the others probably would have. "Didn't think you'd be so open," he mused.

"Who am I to say what is or isn't suspicious anymore? Look into it and we'll see from there."

After breakfast, Rick and Shane left to drop Randall off at his specified 'release' location. This left Daryl and Kit relieved to have a day without the two men. "It probably won't go well, considering how tense they've been with each other lately, but I honestly don't give a damn," Kit said with a smile as she headed towards the house. "Look through my books and tell me what you find."

Kit usually didn't do domestic-type duties on the farm. Her experience with guns and her attachment to Daryl usually had her saddled with outdoor, physical work. Today, on the other hand, she was cooking in the kitchen with Maggie and Lori while Bernie weaved in and out of their legs. "You're going to get stepped on," Kit chided him.

Again, Kit had found herself missing girl talk and it was refreshing to have that again, even if it was with Lori. (Kit had no qualms with Maggie.) Maggie was apparently worried about Glenn because he blamed her for the fact that he froze while he was with Rick and Herschel.

Lori's advice was for Maggie to tell Glenn to man up. That, to Kit at least seemed a little harsh.

"He definitely shouldn't be blaming you," Kit told her. "But I would just give him some time and space to sort through all of this on his own. My guess is that he'll come around soon enough, knowing Glenn." Now she turned to Maggie really seriously. "He cares about you, Maggie."

After Lori had taken food up to Beth, she gave Maggie a small smile. "Men are just as stupid now as they were before. It took me and Daryl a little while, but he finally realized that he doesn't have to spend every waking moment worrying about me – Glenn will get there."

Maggie left to go be with Glenn and Kit stayed in the house, petting Bernie, when Lori came downstairs in a panic, holding a knife and looking completely helpless. "It's Beth…"

"She's suicidal," Kit said knowingly.

"How can you be so calm?" Lori asked.

"Panicking won't help anyone," Kit said as she stood up. "Get Maggie; I'll stay with Beth. But I need to talk to Maggie before she says anything to her sister. I don't want her to make things worse."

Kit ascended the stairs and entered Beth's room without making any sort of grand entrance. "So she told you," Beth said.

Kit nodded. "I don't think you actually want to kill yourself," she informed her. "Or, at least, you aren't serious enough to go through with it."

Beth looked at her dubiously. "And how would you know?"

Kit raised her eyebrows dismissively. "Your 'plan' was easily noticed by Lori which means you either wanted to be caught or you didn't think this through enough to prevent that. Also, if you were planning on slashing your wrists which also implies you haven't thought this through enough to actually be serious about it."

"Slashing your wrists can kill you," Beth insisted.

"It could potentially take hours for you to bleed to death that way and you live in a house of people who are likely to find you before that happens," Kit informed her, causing Beth to drop her eyes. "There are ways to speed up the process but I doubt you've had the opportunity to do much research. So, this leads me to believe that there are only one of two answers to how serious you are about this. Either you don't want to die because you haven't put the effort into learning the facts or you do want to die but it is solely impulsive. What I will tell you, as I've told others, is that suicide is not a choice to make on impulse."

"How do you know so much about killing yourself?"

"Because I've been exactly where you are right now," Kit said casually. "I understand what you're going through – probably more than most. Now, though, I'm happy I didn't go through with it. Humans have a remarkable ability to heal; it just takes time and patience."

Kit heard Maggie coming up the stairs. "I'll try to make this easier," she sighed before closing the door behind her.

Kit squared herself in front of Beth's older sister. "I don't think she seriously wants to do this. Either way, yelling at her and blaming her is not the answer. Be understanding and speak calmly with her or you'll make it worse."

With that, she left the sisters to figure things out together.

She stood in the kitchen with Andrea and Lori, listening to the screaming. "I guess Maggie didn't listen to a single fucking word I said."

"I guess not," Andrea grumbled. "This could have been handled better."

"No shit." As Kit and Andrea glanced at each other they began to finally feel their relationship going back to normal, realizing their common bond with the girl upstairs.

"By giving her a loaded gun?" Lori scoffed.

Andrea shrugged. "If she wants to die she'll find a way."

"Thankfully," Kit added. "I don't think she's serious. If she actually wanted to die she would have thought of a more sure method than the wrists."

Lori stared at them in disbelief. "I can't believe I let you go in there!" she said to Kit. "I hope you'll understand if I don't send either of you in there again."

Now she had pissed both Kit and Andrea off. "Excuse me?" Kit asked angrily. "I advised her against suicide but unlike you, I actually understand what she's going through. I can tell her from my own experience that it is possible to work through the pain she feels."

"I worked through my issues, too!" Andrea added indignantly.

"And you two are such productive members of the group," Lori said sarcastically. "Sitting on top of the R.V. with a gun, working on your tan or running through the woods with your boyfriend like you're sixteen and have the weekend alone! The men can handle this on their own. They don't need your help."

This caused Kit to drop her jaw in complete and utter shock and anger. "Forgive me if I don't want to revert back to the 1950's when women did all the housework and cooking. If there's a job that needs doing, I do it regardless of whether it's 'women's work' or 'man's work'." Kit's tongue was like acid. "I can shoot a gun, keep calm in a dangerous situation, and take care of my own damn self which makes me ten times more useful protecting the camp than you are. The same goes for Andrea now that she seems to have moved past her itchy trigger finger. I spent days looking for Sophia alone in the woods, not you Lori. I also haven't crashed a car on an empty road recently, injuring the person who was trying to help me find my husband."

"We contribute to the group just as much as you do. Are you seriously on our backs for skipping laundry?" Andrea was solidifying her friendship with Kit more and more by the second.

"There is plenty to be done. It puts a burden on the rest of us," Lori said haughtily. "On me and Carol and Maggie and Patricia. We provide stability."

"We protect the camp from walkers," Andrea retorted. "That's what matters."

"Look, I went after Rick and took down a walker," Lori began.

"You crashed Maggie's car, nearly killed Kit and never actually reached your destination to look for your husband. Did you ever apologize to either Kit or Maggie?" Andrea asked. Kit internally thanked Andrea.

"Maggie's car," Lori scoffed. "My husband is out there for the hundredth time, my son was shot! Don't you dare imply I take this for granted."

That was it! Kit, up until Lori had crashed the car, had not held anything in particular against Lori and had tried desperately not to judge her. Now, Kit was done trying to understand. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. Yes, your husband is out there for the hundredth time along with anyone else on this farm who can shoot worth a damn which includes me and Daryl. Daryl was impaled with his arrow and shot; your son is not an isolated case. Moreover, you have lost nobody," she said harshly. "Andrea had to put down her own sister. I had to put down both of my parents and all three of my sisters. I had no family left when I went to Atlanta. Rick and Carl, your family, are fine."

"We've all suffered losses – Carol, Daryl, everyone but you. You stay here playing house and act like the queen bee. Tell that girl that she can have everything she wants – husband, son, baby, boyfriend – she just has to look on the bright side."Damn, Andrea, Kit thought, it's really nice to have you back.

Andrea left the room and Kit gave Lori a hard stare. "You took down one walker, whoop-de-fucking-doo. I don't think you should be pissing off the people who protect you and help you, Lori. It's been made very clear that you need protecting and you need all the help you can get."

Kit stormed out of the room after Andrea and left the house altogether, trying to find Daryl so she could be in the company of someone she liked.

Later, she learned that Beth had made a half-hearted attempt on her life, but that she wanted to live. Kit was happy to at least have been right about that, though it didn't take away from the pain the young girl was in.

Dinner was tense that night was incredibly strained as Kit and Andrea glared at Lori. Maggie glared at Andrea. And Lori glared at both Kit and Andrea. Daryl was absent from dinner again; he told Kit he wanted to read through her books and see if there was anything to his dream with the owl. She would have preferred to have him there, but she could handle herself.

"So Daryl's gone again," Lori muttered.

"Yes," Kit replied tersely.

"Any particular reason he doesn't think dinner with the group is good enough for him?" she asked.

"He has something else he wanted to do." Kit's voice was cold and everyone else at the table, apart from Andrea, began to feel uncomfortable. They had no clue why Kit and Lori were being so aggressive.

"It's probably for the best. He doesn't really belong with the group, anyway."

Kit stood abruptly. "I apologize for leaving, Herschel, but I have completely lost my appetite."

As Kit was leaving the room, trying not to retaliate, Lori decided she didn't want things to end peacefully. "It only makes sense, when you look at his family. Merle didn't belong, either, and neither of them are the type of men we'd want around."

Kit spun around. "Don't you dare say anything against Daryl or Merle. Both of them have done more for the group than you ever could."

"By getting high and wearing walker ears?"

Someone said "That's enough, Lori" but Kit didn't hear who. She was seeing red.

Kit bit the inside of her cheeks, keeping things as civil as possible. "Both of them can hunt, provide for, and protect the group. Daryl cares about other people and puts their needs above his own, unlike a few that I could mention, and he has contributed in more ways that can be counted. Merle, while reckless, was a decent man too."

Lori scoffed at Kit's statement. "Merle? A decent man?"

"He saved my life, which is a claim you certainly can't make" Kit spat icily. "He convinced me to go to Atlanta and I don't know whether or not I would have lived otherwise. Moreover, he's Daryl's brother, and out of decent human respect for Daryl, you should hold your tongue regarding Merle. I won't hear a word against him."

Kit left the house before she lost her self-control and the cool night air along with the brisk walk to the tent she shared with Daryl calmed her down a little but it did nothing to ease the hurt she felt. She had thought she and Lori were beginning to become friends but after what Lori had said earlier that day and at dinner, Kit didn't think she could ever forgive her. Anyone who made Daryl out to be less than worthy of the group would make an enemy out of Kit in the process. He had worked so hard and she couldn't stand to think that his hard work had not changed people's minds.

When she entered the tent, Daryl immediately knew something was wrong. "Hey." He wasn't very good at calming people down, but he didn't think that was what Kit needed. "What's wrong?" She just shook her head in response, apparently not wanting to talk. "Thas okay, ya don't need ta say anythin'."

She sat down and he wrapped his arms around her, wanting to know who he would be shooting daggers the next day. All she managed to say was "I'm not sure if we belong in the group anymore."

That immediately put him on edge. Kit had always been adamant that they should stay with the group and that both of them had a place in it. He didn't know what had happened at dinner but whatever they had said must have been beyond terrible. "I looked up what the owl means. Apparently it means change is comin'."

"If leaving the group is what's best, then I won't hesitate to do it. Especially for you."

Daryl had wanted to leave the group for a long time and take Kit with him. Even so, he couldn't believe that she would do that for him. It was so much to ask. "Ain't no reason ta make a decision tanight."

"If change is coming," she whispered. "I just want you to be here when it's all said and done."

He gently kissed the top of her head. "I ain't goin' nowhere."

They sat in silence for a while, when Kit said something that Daryl had not been expecting. "I never got to thank Merle."

"Fer what?" He couldn't think of anything Merle had done for Kit.

"He saved my life. Remember, he was the one who convinced me to go to Atlanta. If you think about it, if it weren't for him, then I wouldn't be with you now."

That was a thought that Daryl would prefer not to have. "I guess we do got somethin' ta thank Merle fer."

"Come on, Griz. Let's get some sleep." All Kit wanted to do was forget the events of that day.

She sat at the campsite glaring at Rick. "This isn't right. If you want to know so damn bad, then find out yourself."

"Daryl can be more persuasive." Rick didn't look happy about the situation, but he didn't exactly seem to feel guilty, either.

Daryl was walking toward camp and Kit felt as if she might cry. He wasn't some animal they could order to attack someone they didn't like. His face broke her heart. "Our boy's got a gang of thirty men with heavy artillery and they ain't lookin' ta make friends. They roll through here and our men are dead…and our women will wish they were."

The blood on Daryl's hands made it very clear what methods of 'persuasion' Rick had asked him to employ; his face was darkened from what he had been forced to do. He walked away, rattled from his encounter with Randall and Kit quickly ran after.

At their tent, far away from everyone else, he was beginning to break down. He pulled her in so tight she was having trouble breathing as he remembered what Randall had said about the two teenage girls. Kit couldn't be more than a handful of years older than those girls and the thought of anything that horrible happening to her was more than he could handle.

When he released her he saw that she was crying. "You shouldn't let them treat you like their attack dog."

"Someone had ta do it," he deadpanned.

"You're not an animal!" she cried. "You shouldn't have to do that if you don't want to."

He slowly let himself fall to the ground. She was right and he damn well knew it. Hell, Shane should have been sent in there. He was every bit as capable as Daryl and he may actually enjoy it, the sick bastard. "Why do ya have ta be right so damn often?"

She lowered herself to the ground, not responding and eased his head onto her lap. Now more than ever she was beginning to believe that she and Daryl should leave. If they only thought he was worthy of tasks like beating the shit out of people, then she didn't want to belong to a group like that. She began stroking Daryl's hair thinking to herself that she would be fine as long as she had Daryl. "They'll want to kill him now. I'm sure Rick's already decided."

"Probably."

"I accepted the fact that civilization was gone a long time ago but that doesn't mean that I'll accept a descent into barbarism. I'm going to put most of our stuff into my van so we can leave quickly if we decide to leave the group." The look on his face was beginning to scare her. "Please say something."

"Ain't no one ever tried to stick up fer me the way you do. Not even Merle."

"I'm sticking up for human decency," she insisted. But after a moment she added darkly "And if anyone ever tries to do anything that will hurt you – whether it's making you do the dirty work or actually getting physical – I will fight them to my last dying breath."