Daryl Dixon didn't waste time. He gave the squirrels he'd been carrying to Dale, spoke briefly to his brother Merle and then retreated back into the forest. Every morning at the crack of dawn he'd go out into the forest and wouldn't come back until dusk. Sometimes he wouldn't come back at all. Those times were hardest, her chest felt tight and it wouldn't loosen until he felt something for Daryl, a strong something, she just wasn't sure what it was.

It was pretty clear that Daryl was more comfortable out there than he was here in the camp. Not that she blamed him, the few times she had ventured out of the RV she thought she'd suffocate under the curious stares and whispers. The other survivors treated her like she was some strange wounded animal they should steer clear of. She was damaged goods. Broken. The worst part was, they weren't entirely wrong.

Since she got into camp she spent most of the time in Dale's RV trying to work up the courage to be around other people. So far she'd failed miserably. She was trying to be patient with herself but her patience was quickly running thin.

Amy had been a help to her. The young woman would come and visit her every few hours. Mostly Amy talked while she listened. She told her about her sister Andrea and the epic road trip they'd been on when the world ended. She told her about the people in camp. Like Carol and her daughter Sophia and Carol's husband Ed. Everyone was sure he beat Carol. And there was Glenn, who basically served as the camp's delivery boy. Fitting considering his job as pizza delivery boy before. He would go on supply runs into the city when the camp ran out of supplies. She spoke about Lori and her little boy Carl, whose dad had been in a coma when everything went to hell. It was hard on him, but Shane- the camp's supposed leader- softened the blow. He was a friend of Carl's dad and he cared for Carl as if he was his own son. Amy suspected that Lori and Shane might have something going on. She talked about Daryl and his brother Merle. Merle was the older sibling and someone she should stay away from. Amy's stories made her feel like she knew these people. She liked Amy and appreciated her attempts to make her feel more comfortable.

A car alarm blared outside. Curious she stuck her head outside. A bright red sports car pulled to a stop near the base of the camp. Glenn stepped out with a big smile on his face. He was immediately bombarded with questions from Amy. She had been worried sick about Andrea all day.

Earlier, Glenn has gone on a supply run into the city. Normally, he would go by himself but this time, he took others with him. T-Dog, Jacqui, Andrea, Morales, and Merle Dixon had all volunteered to go. Glenn had seemed uneasy at the thought and by the look of things his instincts had been right.

A big truck pulled up and from the back the rest of the volunteers poured out. Amy and Andrea held on to each other for dear life. The Morales children ran to their father. Everyone was glad to see the volunteers' back home safe. She looked over at Carl. The boy was fighting back tears. Clearly he still held out the hope that his dad had somehow survived. Not wanting to see him cry, she turned back ready to go sit again when she heard Carl yell.

"Dad!" Curious she looked out again. Sure enough Carl was hugging a man in a police uniform. The man picked up Carl and walked towards Lori who seemed to be in a state of shock. Everyone else looked on in astonishment. She smiled to herself.

She sat and quietly watched the new man Rick Grimes sit with his family. She could hear the quiet conversation from her perch at the window of the RV.

"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion…all those things but…Disoriented comes closest." Rick held Lori and Carl in his arms as he stared into the fire.

Dale shook his head. "Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short."

Rick spoke again. "I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever."

She stopped listening. Rick's words had hit a little too close to home. Shaking she turned her back to the window and pulled her knees to her chest. She breathed deeply. She knew how that felt to wake up in a strange new world; vulnerable and alone. At least Rick Grimes had the memories of his family and the hope that they were still alive to keep him going. Some days she wasn't sure why she was still alive. Probably sheer stubbornness more than anything else.

"…Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind." She shifted to look out the window once more. Leave it to Dale to bring up the tough question. What were they going to tell Daryl? She supposed it didn't really matter. Whatever they told him she had the feeling he wouldn't react calmly to it.

Sighing she got up and stretched. She padded over to the small cot Dale allowed her to sleep in. She snuggled under the covers and settled in for another fitful night of sleep.

She blinked awake. Someone was yelling outside. She recognized Daryl's southern twang.

"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up."

This couldn't be good. She sat up in bed; rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she yawned. She stood up and walked to the window. Daryl moved restlessly while Shane spoke to him. She couldn't quite make out what he was saying. Rick walked up to him and said something. Daryl turned around and wiped at his face. She held her breath.

"Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?"

There was a pause and then Daryl threw the rope of squirrels that had been hanging off his shoulder at Rick. Shane tackled him from the side. T-Dog dropped the firewood he had been holding and ran towards them. Daryl pulled out the knife attached to his belt. He swung at Rick like a man possessed.

Her heart was in her throat. She felt for him. He was angry, hurt and probably scared. Merle seemed to be the only person in his life and to have him ripped away so abruptly was brutal. She of all people knew what it meant to be alone in this new, violent world. She didn't wish that on anyone.

She went to the front door of the RV and stood in the entrance. Everyone was too focused on the man falling apart in front of them to notice.

Shane put Daryl in a choke-hold on the ground. "You'd best let me go!"

"I think it's better if don't," Shane answered.

"Choke-hold's illegal." Daryl choked out.

Shane grunted. "You can file a complaint." He shook Daryl a bit. "Come on man, we'll keep this up all day."

Rick bent down to Daryl's eye- level. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?" Daryl struggled a little more. Rick raised his voice a little bit. "Do you think we can manage that?"

Daryl stared at Rick for a long moment; anger flashing in his eyes. She furrowed her brow. Daryl had just been told his brother was tied to roof and left for dead. No matter how much of a bastard Merle was, he was still Daryl's brother. She thought it was a little unfair of Rick to demand that of him right that moment. Daryl grunted the affirmative. Shane let him go. Daryl struggled to his knees.

Rick spoke firmly, "What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others."

T-Dog stepped forward. "It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it."

Daryl looked at him incredulously, "You couldn't pick it up?"

"I dropped it in a drain."

Daryl seemed to fold in on himself. He rested his head on the ground for a moment; struggling with himself. A part of her wanted to do something for him but the other part of her was too afraid to try. Daryl stood and brushed himself off. "If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof with a padlock. So the geeks couldn't get at him," T-Dog replied.

Rick tilted his head. "It's gotta count for something."

Daryl shook his head. "Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him." Daryl's voice cracked with emotion. He ran a frustrated hand down his face again. Pride not letting him break down and cry in front of the people that caused his pain.

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori asked Rick.

Rick nodded back gravely. "I'm going back."

Lori walked into the RV. She went back to her perch by the window. The excitement done, everyone else slowly went back to their business. She stayed at the window lost in her own head.

In the end, Glenn, T-Dog, Rick and Daryl went to retrieve Merle. Shane had been adamantly against it until he heard about the bag of guns Rick had left back in Atlanta when he'd been swarmed by a horde of walkers upon entering the city. Lori still hadn't warmed to the idea by the time they left. That had been hours ago. It was starting to get dark. She didn't think it was a good idea to be in the city after dark.

She looked over at Jim. He was tied to a tree because Shane didn't trust him enough to let him go yet. Amy had told her that he'd been digging graves all morning. When the group had gone to confront him about it because he was scaring everyone, he'd been hostile. Shane had subdued him and that was when he told everyone how he survived before coming to camp. Walkers had attacked his wife and children. The only reason he'd gotten away was because the walkers were too busy eating his family. She shuddered. His eyes met hers and he smiled. She smiled back, he didn't seem like a bad person. Just a little broken inside. He'd told Shane that he dug the holes because of a dream he had last night. He couldn't remember the dream though. She wondered if he ever would.

More often than not her thoughts strayed to Daryl. She hadn't spoken to him since he saved her. She wanted to say something, anything to make him feel better. Repay him at least a little bit for all that he had done for her. Probably best that she hadn't, she wouldn't know what to say anyway. There were only so many ways to say thank you.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Earlier that day Amy and Andrea had caught some fish. Amy had all but dragged her out of the RV, saying something about enjoying the fruits of their labor. She sat between Amy and Dale, quietly nibbling on her food.

There was a lull in the conversation. "What's your name?" Everyone looked at Carl. Carl looked at her. She swallowed.

"Carl! Mind your manners. Let her eat in peace." Lori scolded him quietly.

Carl opened his mouth to say something but Shane cut him off. "Hey," he pointed at Carl with his fork. "Listen to your mother." Carl slumped in his chair and started to pick at his food.

There was a pregnant pause. No one seemed to know what to say. "Hope." All eyes were on her now. She met Carl's eyes and smiled a bit. "My name is Hope." Her eyes fell back to her plate.

No one said a word; they seemed to be in a state of shock. This was the first time she had spoken to anyone in the camp.

Amy smiled at her, "That's a beautiful name."

Dale cleared his throat, "And we can certainly use more of that around here. I propose a toast." He raised his glass, the others followed suit. "To Hope!" They clinked glasses and laughed. She smiled slightly.

Hope tuned out the rest conversation. She glanced back at the RV. Eating dinner with the group had been nice but now she longed to go back to her little cot in the corner. Baby steps, she reminded herself, baby steps.

Amy stood up abruptly. Andrea looked up, "Where are you going?"

Amy glanced down at her, "Have to pee. Jeez, you try to be discreet around here…" The young blonde trotted to the RV.

Hope smiled. She shook her head. A few more minutes and then she would go inside.

"Are we out of toilet paper?"

Hope turned and saw Amy at the door of the RV. Her eyes widened when she saw a walker heading straight for Amy.

"Amy!" She screamed scrambling up from her chair.

The walker grabbed Amy's arm and sunk its teeth into her flesh.

Hope watched in horror as more walkers came out of the woods. How had they gotten past the string of cans that lined the camp? Why hadn't anyone heard their approach?

Chaos ensued. Everyone was screaming and yelling. People were running in different directions. Frightened and confused she wasn't sure where to go. A man pushed her onto the ground in his attempt to get away. She watched as a walker grabbed him and pulled him to the ground. The walker tore into his throat as two other walkers ripped into his limbs. She turned away and looked for a safe place to hide. She got to her knees and crawled over to baseball bat someone had left resting against a seat nearby. She stood shakily. A male walker ran towards her. She swung the bat; hitting the walker's temple. His head snapped back from the force of the blow, the momentum sending him sprawling to the ground. She brought the bat down on his skull once more, watching as it caved in; brain matter leaking onto the ground below.

"Get to the RV! Get to the RV!" She heard Shane's voice over the fray. Another walker grabbed her t-shirt; she swung her bat at him; knocking him back. She ran towards the RV. She saw Andrea kneeling next to Amy sobbing. There was blood all over Amy's neck. Hope knew that there was nothing either of them could do. If the blood loss didn't kill her, then the fever from the walker bite would. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Amy had been kind to her; she didn't deserve to die like that.

Just as soon as it started it was over. Everyone stood around waiting for more walkers to come out of the woods. Adrenaline was still coursing through their veins.

Hope dropped the bat; her shaking hands could no longer grip it tight. She looked around and saw that Rick was hugging Carl. She spotted T-Dog and Glenn nearby. Apparently they had returned just in the nick of time. Concerned she searched the small crowd of survivors for a familiar face. She met Daryl's eyes. Tears pricked the back of her eyelids. She blinked them away. They were both alive. That was good thing, wasn't it?

She heard Jim speak, "I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes." Bile rose in her throat. She met Daryl's eyes once more before retreating to the safety of the RV.