Daryl wasn't watching her sleep. He just happened to be facing the same direction as her and he was too lazy to turn around. It was a nice, serviceable excuse that just happened to be complete bullshit.

Hope was perfectly still; only the steady rise and fall of her chest showed that she was alive. She was curled into a ball so tight, Daryl wasn't sure how she was comfortable. Even in sleep she tried to make herself as small as possible. Daryl knew from experience that kind of behavior was learned not natural.

He believed that everything happened for a reason. It was the only thing that kept him sane growing up. There had to be a reason his dad was such a bastard. There had to be reason he'd been born into a family so messed up. Alcoholic parents, junkie brother, the abuse it had to be for something right?

Daryl remembered the one time his dad had dragged him to church. That was when the old man was still pretending like he gave a shit. Merle had been in juvie for the second time. Lucky bastard, he didn't have to sit through a long ass sermon. The sermon took so long his ass went numb and by the end of it his dad was shaking and sweating with the need for a drink. As they passed by the preacher on their way out, the preacher put his hand on Daryl's head and said 'God never gives us more than we can handle, it's up to us to rise to the occasion.' Daryl remembered that. Made sense most of the time, except when he looked at people like Hope and Carol and Sophia. There wasn't a good enough reason in the world for them to have suffered the way they did. People like him and Merle sure; no one gave shit what happened to them but Hope? Carol? Sophia? They were good people and he was sure they didn't need to be shit on like they had been. Looking at Hope made his chest hurt and that pissed him off. He cared and that was a stupid idea because the people he cared about always ended up dead or wishing they'd been. Besides she was smarter and way better looking, what the fuck would she want with him. Hope deserved better and it was only a matter of time before she realized it.

The door opened and Carol came in. "How are you feeling?" Carol placed the tray of food on bedside table.

Daryl pulled the blanket a little higher over himself. "About as good as I look."

"Brought you guys some dinner, you must be starving." Carol looked over at Hope. "She hasn't moved since you got here. Poor thing, she was worried sick."

Daryl looked at Hope. "Don't know what for. I ain't her problem."

Carol took an extra blanket from the closet and covered Hope with it. "She cares about you."

"Sentimental shit," Daryl huffed. "It's not like we're going steady or something."

Carol smiled. She leaned over a placed a tentative kiss on Daryl's forehead. He flinched slightly. "Watch out, I got stitches."

Carol paused at the door. "You need to know something. You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did in his whole life."

"I didn't do anything Rick or Shane wouldn't have done."

"I know. You're every bit as good as them, every bit." With that Carol closed the door to his room and left.

"She's right you know."

Daryl turned to see Hope stretch her legs out.

"You are every bit as good as them."

"How long have you been up?"

"Just for that bit. You should eat something. Keep your strength up." Hope stood up and walked to the bedside table. She took her plate off of the tray along with her drink and set them on the table. "Sit up."

Daryl stared at her for a moment before complying. Hope placed the tray on his lap. Grabbing her own plate she returned to her seat and started nibbling on her food. She wasn't particularly hungry but she didn't want to pass out again. Hopefully, if she ate Daryl would too. He was too stubborn for his own good sometimes.

"What happened out there?"

Daryl shrugged. "Fell." Daryl picked up his fork and started eating.

Hope arched a brow. "You fell?"

"That's what I said." Daryl snapped.

Hope sighed. "Did I do something?"

"What?"

"You're angry with me and I don't know why."

"I'm fine."

For a long moment only the scraping of forks on plates could be heard. Hope smiled.

"What?"

Hope shook her head. "Nothing, this just seems a little familiar. A lot can happen in a day."

Daryl grunted.

Hope finished her food in silence. Tension swirled in the air like a thick fog that threatened to choke her. "Okay," Hope stood up. "You know where to find me if you wanna talk. Good night." Hope leaned against the door after she closed. With a heavy sigh she found her way back to the RV.

Hope woke up the next morning in a somber mood. The whole situation with Daryl was messing with her head. Things had been good between them or at least she thought. The tenuous confidence she had built up was more than a little shaken by the recent turn of events but Hope was determined to not let it affect her recovery.

"Morning!" Hope called to Glenn as he passed by.

Glenn smiled nervously.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." Glenn rocked back and forth on his feet. "Yup everything is good."

Hope tilted her head. "Okay."

Glenn groaned. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"That thing with your face that makes me wanna tell you all my secrets."

Hope blinked. "Sorry?"

"I'm a terrible liar. Why do I have to be the secret keeper this isn't Harry Potter!"

"Who's Harry Potter?"

"You've never heard of Harry Potter?!"

"Glenn is that really important now? What's wrong? Who are you keeping secrets for?"

Glenn banged his head on the table. "I can't tell you."

Hope leaned back. "Okay. That's fine. I'm not pressuring you."

"Lori's pregnant and there are walkers in the barn. Want a peach?" Glenn blurted out after a moment.

Hope grabbed the peach. She ate it in silence.

"Say something please."

"I don't know how to process that information."

"Yeah me neither."

"Whose baby is it?"

"Well, it's gotta be Rick's right? I mean who else could it be?"

Hope scratched her nose.

Glenn eyed her suspiciously. "Oh come on. What do you know?"

"I'm not sure. I could be wrong."

"Who is it? Can't be Dale, I mean after a certain age…and it's not mine, T-Dog? No, he doesn't seem the type. Definitely not Daryl. That leaves-" Glenn's eyes widened.

"Shane." They said in unison.

"No way, Rick's his best friend."

"I don't know for sure."

"You must've seen something though right? I mean, you didn't just pull that out of thin air."

Hope took a breath. "When we were in the CDC, I went to go take a shower and I passed by the rec room. The door was closed but I heard yelling. Shane came out and he smelled like alcohol. Lori looked a little worse for the wear and I think that's why he had that scratch on his neck."

"You think he tried to," Glenn lowered his voice. "Rape her?"

"Like I said, I don't know what happened but by the sound of it they had something going on and I think Lori ended it when Rick came back. Maybe Shane didn't want it to end."

"Damn, you are a way better secret keeper than I am."

"I guess I am."

Both sat quietly digesting the information they'd just received.

"You really haven't heard of Harry Potter?"

Hope rolled her eyes.

"Hey Hope can I talk to you for a minute?" Andrea trotted up to Hope at the picnic table.

Hope gave a tense smile. "Sure. What's up?"

Andrea sat down. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I should've listened to you. I know how close you and Daryl are and I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Hope nodded. "I'm not really one to keep a grudge. I get why you did it, just be more careful next time."

"I will. Believe me, I will." Andrea took a deep breath.

Hope smiled, "Anything else?"

Andrea pulled a large duffle bag from under the table. "I wanted to give you these. They were Amy's."

Hope looked at the bag of clothes. "Are you sure?"

Andrea nodded. "She liked you. I think you would have been friends and I'm sure she'd want you to have them. And if you wear them I won't have to throw them away."

Hope nodded. 'Thank you."

"No problem. Well, I should be going. Target practice, you coming?"

"I don't think so."

"You should come."

"I'll think about it."

"Okay, see you around."

"Yeah."

Andrea walked away.

Hope grabbed the duffel bag and put it in the RV where the rest of her meager belongings were. Walking back out she saw Daryl leaving his tent.

"Hope! You coming?" Andrea called out.

Hope looked at Daryl, unsure. Daryl looked away. Hope tilted her chin up. "Yeah, I'm coming." It seemed like the time had finally come when Daryl wouldn't be there for her. Hope walked towards the car and tried to ignore how painful the thought was.

Hope looked up as Shane and Andrea came back from their search for Sophia. There was an awkward tension between the two. They kept sending smug looks at each other. It made her skin crawl. Evidently Dale noticed it too because he went after Shane. Judging by his body language Dale was angry. Curious, Hope casually walked near enough so she could hear what they were saying.

"I wasn't there but I was the time you raised your gun on Rick. You had him in your sights and you held him there." Dale looked Shane up and down. "I know what kind of man you are."

"You think I'd shoot Rick? That is my best friend. That's the man that I love. I love him like he's my brother. You think that's the kind of man I am?"

Dale nodded. "That's right."

"Well maybe we ought to just think that through. Say I'm the kind of man that would gun down his own best friend. What do you think I'd do to some guy I don't even like, when he starts throwing accusations my way? What do you think?"

Hope frowned. "Dale!"

Both men turned towards her. Shane's nostrils flared.

Hope put on a cheery smile. "I was just wondering if you had another pen. Mine ran out of ink."

Dale cleared his throat. "Yes, I think I do." He hurried off to the RV. Hope remained behind.

Shane walked towards her. "You have an uncanny knack for being in my business. I don't think I like it." Shane stared hard into her eyes. "You'd best stay out of my business, girl you don't know what I'm capable of."

Hope leaned close and whispered in his ear. "And you don't know what I'm capable of. Threaten me again and you'll find out."

Hope rubbed at her shoulder. It still ached from target practice earlier. Hope realized pretty early on that she was a terrible shot. She sighed and turned the page of her medical book. A thought suddenly hit her. So much had happened that she hadn't really had time to process her dream. Swallowing hard she flipped to the index. Her hands traced the page as she searched for the word. She tapped the spot when she found it. Miscarriage page 394. In the dream she'd been pregnant. It was just a hunch, but if the dream was a memory then that meant that…Hope shook her head. She had to be sure. Hope read the paragraph:

A miscarriage is the loss of a fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy. The medical term for a miscarriage is spontaneous abortion, but the condition is not an abortion in the common definition of the term.

According to the March of Dimes, as many as 50% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage - most often before a woman misses a menstrual period or even knows she is pregnant. About 15% of recognized pregnancies will end in a miscarriage.

More than 80% of miscarriages occur within the first three months of pregnancy. Miscarriages are less likely to occur after 20 weeks gestation; these are termed late miscarriages.

What Are the Symptoms of a Miscarriage?

Symptoms of a miscarriage include:

Bleeding which progresses from light to heavy

Severe cramps

Abdominal pain

Fever

Weakness

Back pain

Hope sat back and took a shaky breath. She'd been in so much pain anyway when they held her prisoner the symptoms had been easy to miss. And the blood, there was always so much of it. Logically she knew that she'd been through so much it wasn't her fault she didn't know. She had amnesia but that didn't stop the guilt from churning in her stomach. How could she not know? How could she not feel her baby dying inside her? Hope scrambled up and ran to the bathroom. She bent over the toilet and threw up. Her mind was scattered, she couldn't think, couldn't breathe. The RV was too small; the whole world was too small. Her skin was tight, she needed to get out. Hope didn't even think about what she was doing she just ran.