A/N: This story has gotten over 2,400 hits since I started posting it! Woo-hoo! (Happy Dance) Let's just hope the numbers are as impressive in May. Thanks for reading, everybody! Here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I'm not making any money from this, plus my name has been cleverly disguised so you can't sue me. So there! :-P

Lia hated cold mornings. Staying in her cocoon of blankets was far more appealing, especially since she was sharing it with another warm body. Seriously, a frigid late autumn morning outdoors, or curled up in bed with her cozy boyfriend? It was no contest.

"We should get up." Damn her conscience!

"Why?" Daryl mumbled, "Got sumthin' planned fer today?"

"No," she answered, voice partly muffled by the pillow, "But-"

"Place ain't gonna fall apart if y' sleep in, y'know." So far, neither of them had opened their eyes. If not for the fact that they were talking, it would've been easy for an outsider to assume they were fast asleep.

Lia muttered a weak protest. She felt Daryl's arm tighten around her waist as he snuggled closer. The man actually snuggled! Oh, he knew how to manipulate her, alright.

"C'mon." His breath tickled the back of her neck.

Lia's mouth twitched. "Mmn-maybe a few more minutes won't hurt."

"Atta girl."

And then a timid knock at the door.

"Sonuvabitch," Daryl groaned.

Lia uttered an unhappy noise as she slowly disentangled herself from the blankets and Daryl. They'd managed to wedge a slightly larger mattress into the room, but as clingy as they both tended to get while they slept, they might as well have stuck with the original single. The second Lia's bare feet touched the cold floor her toes curled up and a shudder ran through her. She heard a rustle of fabric as Daryl pulled the covers over his head. There came another knock.

"I'm coming!" Lia groused, hobbling to the door and yanking it open. She blinked tiredly until her foggy brain told her it wasn't double vision, but the twins standing before her.

"Sorry," said Casey.

"Were you sleepin'?" Cadence asked.

Lia sighed. "Not really. What's the problem?"

"No problem," Cadence assured her.

"We just wanted to let you know," Casey informed her, "that we're ready to go."

"Whenever you are," Cadence added.

Lia squinted at them, utterly clueless. "Um...okay?"

"You know."

"The trip to the Big Rock."

The twins' prompting jolted a memory. Crap, was that today? "Oh! Right, uh, gimme a few minutes to," she made a vague gesture with her hand, "get ready."

The girls flashed identical smiles.

"Okay!"

"We'll be downstairs!"

Lia shut the door and leaned against it, running a hand through her braids with a tired grimace.

Daryl's voice emerged from the covers, "The hell was that about?"

"When you took all the older boys out on that guys-only wilderness thing, I promised the girls I'd do something with them so they wouldn't feel left out," Lia explained, "There's this big boulder sitting out on top of a hill. I dunno, maybe some glacier left it there a million years ago. Anyway, the view's nice, and I figured it'd be a good spot for us to have a picnic or something. Just us girls."

Daryl's squinting eyes peeped out from beneath the blanket. "So, what, yer gonna paint each other's nails, pretty up yer hair, 'n' talk about who's got th' hots for who?"

Lia smirked. "Something like that."

"Hmh," he grunted, eyes disappearing once again, "Have fun with that."

"Oh, no," she chuckled, stalking towards him, "If I gotta get up, so do you. Misery loves company, y'know. Up and at 'em!" She yanked at the covers. Daryl stubbornly held on.

"Lemme alone, woman. I need my beauty rest."

Lia laughed. "Sweetheart, you'd have to put yourself in a coma to make that mug of yours beautiful."

"Aw, see," he flung the blankets aside, "That's just plain mean." Daryl lunged and grabbed her, flinging her down onto the mattress. Lia squeaked a surprised laugh as she was pinned down. Daryl loomed over her, grinning dangerously. "Yer gonna pay for that hurtful remark."

Lia shook her head regretfully. "It'll hafta wait. The girls are liable to mutiny if I don't hurry up and get ready to go."

Daryl sighed. "Gimme a kiss at least."

Smiling, Lia raised her head and met his lips with hers. The kiss lasted longer than either of them planned, and when they finally parted their breathing was noticeably heavier. With obvious reluctance, Daryl got off of her. He stood, helping Lia to her feet as well. "Guess I got sumthin' t' look forward to," he smiled.

They got dressed and went downstairs. Lia bolted down a hasty breakfast, then packed a few things in her backpack and gathered up her bow and arrows like always. The older girls who would accompany her were similarly equipped, packs and bows. Even on a day planned for recreation, they couldn't let themselves forget the possible dangers out there.

Lia accepted a hug from Nana Shino, then put her free arm around Daryl's neck while he put his hands on her waist. Their goodbye kiss was all-too-brief, but still enough for some of the girls to giggle over. Lia rolled her eyes, "Yes, grownups kissing, so funny."

Daryl still held her close, staring intently into her brown eyes. "Yer gonna be back 'fore nightfall, right?"

"Now who's fretting?" Lia smiled. She kissed his mole, a gesture that always made him smile. "I promise we'll be back way before it starts getting even a little bit dark. Okay?"

His arms tightened around her a brief instant, then let her go. Lia knelt down to give Sally a hug and kiss the girl's cheek. "You be good. Keep Daryl company while I'm gone."

The little girl nodded and promptly toddled over and put her little arms around Daryl's leg. Daryl glowered and gave his leg the barest shake. "Get off, y' little rug rat."

Unfazed, Sally stuck her thumb in her mouth and sucked contentedly, still clutching the man's leg. Daryl crossed his arms. "'M gettin' soft."

"Naw," Lia chuckled, "You just know when to pick your battles."

She and the girls zipped up their jackets, went out into the crisp autumn morning, mounted their bikes, and headed out. Daryl stood at one of the windows with Sally in his arms, watching the procession of bicycles leave. Sally waved.

"Guess it's just you 'n' me," Daryl sighed. The toddler turned her solemn gaze on him. "What?" he asked, "Y' got other plans?"

Sally shook her head, her expression so serious Daryl couldn't help but crack a smile. "Wanna hear a secret?" He leaned in and whispered in her tiny ear, "Yer th' cutest thing alive."

Sally grinned and instantly wrapped her arms around his neck in an enthusiastic embrace.

"Don't tell no one I said so," he admonished. She shook her head emphatically.

The air warmed as the morning progressed. That and the exertion from biking uphill encouraged everyone to take their jackets off and tie them around their waists. They saw their destination well before they reached it, a massive round boulder of pale stone, grass growing thick at its base making it look as if it had partially sunk into the earth. The girls whooped happily as they dismounted their bikes. Some of the more adventurous ones clambered up the sides of the Big Rock and waved their arms at the others below. Lia smiled. It was good to see them acting so carefree.

"You guys be careful up there!" Jessie called up to the rock climbers. Since her thirteenth birthday elapsed, the now-teenaged girl felt it her duty to occasionally henpeck her younger peers.

Lia patted the girl's shoulder. "Lighten up, Jess. We're here to have fun."

Jessie grimaced. "Who says I ain't havin' fun?"

"Ain't havin'? Good grief, Daryl's mangled English is rubbin' off on ya."

The blonde girl laughed.

Aside from the rotating shifts for lookout duty, the rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent doing nothing of any real importance. Just girls being girls, a state which had become a rarity for all of them. They ate junk food, played silly games like Truth or Dare, exchanged harmless gossip, and confessed to various crushes on the older boys (and even on Daryl, in one or two cases).

Lia couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this relaxed, the sort of relaxation that could only come from spending time with girlfriends, free of pressures and responsibilities. Not like when she was alone with Daryl. With him, it was more like sharing her burdens; the load she carried became lighter, but it was still there. Here with the girls, these burdens simply didn't exist. She'd left them all at home, waiting to be picked up once again on her return. For now, Lia was free.

Eleven-year-old Tanya (soon to be twelve) was perched atop the Big Rock, the spot everyone naturally picked for lookout duty. A small pair of binoculars hung from her neck, cheaper and more expendable than the ones used by the lookouts on the roof at home, but good enough to meet their needs out here. Tanya was a thin, quiet girl who before the apocalypse was a chubby, bookish wallflower. The sort of girl who learned at an early age to vanish into the background in order to avoid schoolyard bullying. It was a trait which proved invaluable in evading the hordes of walking dead. Tanya knew she could've survived indefinitely on her own, but living in the office building under Lia's and Nana's care, she found something she'd never before had; acceptance. For the first time in her life, this shy, quiet, unassuming girl was surrounded with friends. There were no more nerds or jocks, rich preppies or welfare losers, cool kids or dorks. There were only survivors.

Tanya squinted as something in the distance caught her eye. She raised the cheap binocs to her eyes and twisted the knob to bring it into focus. "Lia!"

The woman's head jerked up at the sound of her name, all the tension that had seeped out of her abruptly returned. "What is it?"

Tanya pointed, "Smoke, like from a campfire."

Everyone's expressions shifted between fear and hope. Campfires meant living people. This was not necessarily a good thing.

"Can you see the fire?" Lia asked.

Tanya shook her head. "Woods 're in the way."

"Small favors," Lia muttered. If they couldn't see whoever was out there, chances were whoever couldn't see her group either. Lia preferred to keep a low profile until she knew for sure the stranger or strangers posed no threat to her kids. "Tanya, come on down from there. Everybody gather around."

The girls obeyed, their serious expressions contrasting with their earlier childish joy. Lia felt a pang at having to cut their day of escapism short. They had so few chances to just be young girls.

"I want you all to head straight for home. Jessie, you're in charge of getting everyone safely back. Tell Nana and Daryl about the smoke.

"What about you?" Jessie asked, her youthful brow wrinkled with worry.

Lia took a breath. "I'm gonna go check it out."

There was a moment of stunned silence, then several high-pitched voices rose in protest. It could be dangerous. They might have guns. They might catch her, hurt her. Kill her. It took a while for Lia to shush everyone before she spoke again, "I'll keep my distance. Whoever's out there won't even know I'm there. I just wanna see what we might be up against, then I promise I'll head right back home."

Jessie shook her head vehemently. "You shouldn't go out there alone. Lemme go with you."

"No," Lia stated firmly, "Get the others home and tell Daryl and Nana." She squeezed the girl's shoulder. "I'll be fine. I promise."

The girls clearly wanted to argue against this plan, but when one of the adults took that tone Lia was using now, the kids knew better than to disobey. Sullen with worry, the girls gathered up their belongings and mounted their bikes. Lia waited until they disappeared from her sight before she set out. She left behind her bicycle and her pack, taking only her bow and arrows and the binoculars she'd taken from Tanya. The sun was still fairly high, perhaps three or four hours 'til nightfall. The smoke column rose in the distance like a gray thread against the backdrop of the blue sky. Whoever set that campfire - if it really was a campfire - did a sloppy job. It was possible there were walkers out there with enough braincells still functioning to connect smoke with fire and fire with living humans. Not to mention bands of dangerous marauders on the hunt for unfortunates to attack for their supplies. Unless, of course, the ones who set that fire were the marauders.

Don't jump to conclusions, Lia admonished herself. That smoke plume might not even be a campfire. Maybe lightning struck a random tree. Lia's eyes glanced up at the cloudless sky. Yeah, right.

The sun was noticeably lower by the time she reached her destination. Lia pushed her anxieties aside and began moving with the same silent care she used in hunting. Once again, she was grateful for Daryl's lessons. The methods for sneaking up on prey were certain to work even better in this case. Most people, being "civilized", wandered through life largely oblivious to their surroundings. They forgot that humans weren't always at the top of the food chain, nor would it occur to everyone now that they had fallen from that pedestal. Gone were the park rangers with their tranquilizer guns, the clearly marked hiking trails, and the conveniently stocked "rustic" cabins. The larger predators that were once brought to the brink of extinction would soon have a comeback, and none of the future generations would have any reason to fear humanity. Daryl knew this, everyone he taught knew this, but Lia was betting whoever made such a visible campfire possessed little or no knowledge of woodlore. Keeping them unaware of her presence should prove relatively easy. She hoped.

The moment he heard the girls were back, Daryl felt a twinge of worry. They'd returned much sooner than expected. Something had to be wrong. When he found out Lia wasn't with them, the twinge became a knot in the pit of his stomach. When Jessie and Tanya told him what happened, the knot unraveled into full-blown distress.

"She went off on her own? Goddamn it, that-" He let out a frustrated growl and turned away, hands tangled in his hair and elbows jutting to either side. The smaller kids inched back nervously.

Jessie swallowed, "She promised to keep outta sight. She just wanted to see who's out there."

"There could be fifty sumbitches out there with guns waitin' t' shoot at anything that moves," Daryl snarled, "Or lookin' to catch themselves a woman."

A light touch on his arm gave him pause. He turned to meet Nana's gaze. Daryl could tell the old woman was anxious, but she kept herself on an even keel. "Calm down," she said quietly, "You're scaring them."

"They should be scared," Daryl retorted in a low voice.

"No, they should be wary. There's a difference." Nana took a step closer to him, her voice dropping to barely audible. Daryl had to lean in to catch her words. "We both know Lia isn't one to act recklessly. She's doing the sensible thing, assessing a possible threat to us. It wouldn't be wise to put it off, and she certainly wasn't about to send one of the girls instead. Lia's doing what has to be done for the sake of these children. Now you need to do what has to be done for the sake of these children and keep a level head." The last words were whispered almost harshly. It was enough to tip Daryl off that Nana felt just as scared for Lia as he did.

Daryl exhaled through his nose, chewing the inside of his lip in frustration. His head bobbed once in a terse nod.

Bobby voiced the question all the kids were thinking, "What're we gonna do?"

Nana answered him, "We keep our eyes open and our bows ready, and we wait for Lia to come back."

"What if she doesn't come back?" six-year-old Tina asked.

Jessie spoke up, firm and authoritative, "She's gonna come back." Her tone left no room for doubt. Daryl almost smiled. The more the girl's confidence grew, the more her natural leadership surfaced. Lia mentioned to him more than once that she had high hopes for Jessie's future role in this little community.

Daryl abruptly turned away and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Nana asked.

"I'm gettin' my crossbow, then I'm goin' after her."

Troubled, the older woman started after him. "You're needed here."

Daryl paused on one of the risers and turned to face her. "Th' kids know how t' protect themselves in here. They don't need me fer that. But Lia...she ain't got the experience t' spy on people. I wanna be there t' back her up in case things go south."

Nana pursed her thin lips. She knew from the stubborn set of the man's shoulders that she would never talk him out of this. Truthfully, she wasn't certain she wanted to. "Remember what I told you about keeping a level head."

Daryl nodded and continued up the stairs. He returned minutes later with his crossbow and a quiver of arrows, his hunting knife sheathed at his hip as usual. Jessie suddenly stepped into his path as he headed for the door. "I'm going with you."

"Th' hell you are."

"I can show you where she went easier than I could tell you," the girl argued, "You'll be able to catch up to her faster."

Daryl gritted his teeth and glanced at Nana. The older woman obviously didn't like this anymore than he did, but she gave a slight nod. He turned to the girl. "You stay behind me th' whole time. When I tell ya t' do sumthin', you do it, an' if I say run, you don't try t' pull any stupid heroics. Got it?"

Jessie nodded.

"C'mon, then." They went outside while everyone else bustled in preparation. Daryl made a beeline for his motorcycle. Despite the ominous situation, Jessie couldn't help a flutter of excitement at the realization that she was finally getting the chance to ride. Daryl slung his crossbow across his back and mounted the bike. "Get on," he jerked his head, indicating the girl get behind him. Jessie hesitated the barest second, then climbed onto the saddle.

"Hang on."

The crossbow made putting her arms around his waist somewhat awkward. Jessie wedged her fingers under his belt for good measure. Daryl kick-started the bike, its motor came to life with a throaty purr. Before Jessie even had a chance to brace herself they were off, speeding towards the path that would take them to the Big Rock and towards Lia.