Hi Everyone, I am amazed at how many people are following this story! It is truly humbling. Just so you know, I spend a lot of time trying to honor these characters by not making them go to OOC. It's actually quite nerve-racking. I know how much fans are dedicated to their favorite characters.

Just a few reminders:

-In this story Carol did NOT kill Karen and David.

-Rick was regretting exiling Carol BEFORE this Chapter.

-Carol rivals Rick in her leadership and decision-making skills.

-Carol is now equal to Daryl in her ability to survive and take care of herself. This has made Daryl somewhat insecure due to that having been what he thought he could always provide for Carol in the past.

-Daryl believes that Tyreese and Carol are becoming a couple even though it is platonic.

I do not own any part of or any ideas regarding The Walking Dead. Nor do I profit.

Chapter 8: Reunited

Tyreese POV

Rick and Carl stood there staring at Tyreese and the girls. Both their eyes on Judith. They were so stunned that neither of them could speak or move for a minute.

"Oh my god." Rick whispered. "How? What?..." Rick fell to his knees in shock. Carl ran forward towards Judith. Carl gently took Judith from Mika's arms. Tears shown in his eyes as he looked down at his little sister. Rick had finally stood and tentatively walked towards Carl and Judith. Tyreese thought he looked scared. Possibly scared that seeing his daughter was just another one of his hallucinations.

"Oh my god Tyreese. You kept Judith safe!" Rick told Tyreese. His eyes showing how grateful Rick was and the astonishment that someone had gotten his daughter to him safely.

"It's not just me you need to thank." Tyreese told him in a clipped tone. "You wouldn't be holding your daughter now if it wasn't for Carol." Tyreese told him. Tyreese couldn't help but feel anger towards this man. He knew that Rick had told Carol how he didn't trust her around his kids. It had hurt Carol. Tyreese had spent some time comforting her with his words. While they had been on the run, he had discovered how gentle this woman really was when it came to children and her family.

Rick had also told her that no one would want her. That Tyreese himself would have killed her when he found out she had killed Karen. All of it was lies, even if Carol had killed Karen, Tyreese wouldn't have hurt her. Rick had used Tyreese to threaten Carol. Manipulate her. Reject and abandon her. Tyreese was pissed.

"What do you mean, what are you talking about?" Rick asked Tyreese. Curiosity and bewilderment shown in Rick's eyes. He had taken baby Judith into his arms and was gently rocking her back and forth.

"I don't have enough time to explain." Tyreese told him. "I need to go." Tyreese looked over at the girls and grabbed his bag.

"Wait, what is going on?' Michonne asked. Tyreese quickly outlined the group of men and how Carol had sent him and the kids ahead.

Tyreese wasn't sure what Rick was thinking.

"I'm going back to try to get Carol. I can't just leave her there." Tyreese told them. Silently he prayed she was still alive.

"I'll go with you." Michonne told him. "Me too." Carl added.

"Now just wait up a second. Look I can't have you all risking your lives for someone who has..." Rick began. "Why would you want to help her? She killed Karen." He asked Tyreese. Carl quickly looked up at his dad. Obviously, Carl hadn't been told about Carol.

Tyreese felt anger at how easily Rick spoke those words. He didn't have time to lead Rick by the hand and explain what had really happened. To be honest, Tyreese didn't give a shit enough about Rick right then to bother. Tyreese only had one focus at the moment.

"Are you serious man? She saved your daughter's life, mine and Lizzie and Mika's...I don't have time for this." Tyreese told him angrily. Then he started towards the tracks.

Rick stood there holding his daughter. Tyreese could tell Rick was holding back a series of questions. Judith cooed lightly.

"Just give me a second to think." Rick told them in frustration. "Tyreese tell me what we are up against here?"

So, quickly Tyreese did. He told them he wasn't sure how many men were there, but that they had seen two stalking them in the woods. Tyreese argued with Rick that this could be a suicide mission. Finally, Rick looked up at Tyreese. Rick then looked at Michonne, and Tyreese saw silent words pass between them.

"Okay. Okay. Tyreese take Michonne with you. Carl and I will stay here and protect the girls and Judith." Rick told them. "We'll wait here for a short time and then keep moving forward to Terminus..."

Rick pulled Michonne to the side and they had a quiet conversation. Then Tyreese and Michonne took off back towards the house to get Carol.

Rick POV

His daughter was alive. Judith was safe and alive! Rick was in shock. When they had first come through the brush, he thought he'd lost his mind again. He believed his exhaustion and grief had put the image of Mika holding baby Judith into his head. Rick had never gotten back to trusting himself because of his break down at the prison. So, he'd fallen to his knees, astonished when he realized what he was seeing was real.

After embracing Judith, he'd argued with Tyreese. Rick had expected Tyreese to be shocked when he told him Carol had killed Karen and David. The large man had barely even flinched at his words. He wasn't sure what Carol had told him. Rick's earlier conversation concerning his regret at banishing Carol came back to him. Though he regretted it, he still felt she couldn't be trusted. Tyreese seemed to believe something totally different. Rick had tried to talk about it, but the man was just in too big of a hurry to get back to her.

In the end, Rick decided that it was obvious Ty wasn't going to leave Carol behind. Rick figured they could discuss why Tyreese seemed okay with Carol later. He'd pulled Michonne aside and asked her whether she really wanted to risk her life for a murderer?

Michonne had told him that no woman deserved a fate at the hands of those types of evil men. She'd told him that whether they were in time to save Carol or not, she still wanted to remove these men from this world.

So, now...he watched as Tyreese and Michonne walked back down the tracks towards Carol. Rick and Carl gathered up their supplies and guided the girls and set up a perimeter.

The Men

Scout and the other two men exited the woods and headed towards the house. They all couldn't wait to get back and enjoy the woman and other spoils of their day. That's when they noticed something was wrong. The other two men, who'd been left at the house, were out circling the house obviously looking for someone or something. Scout noticed Joe was not with them. Nor was Daryl. Something wasn't right. The men brought their weapons up in expectation of a fight.

The two groups of men met the other three half way.

"They killed him." one man told Scout. He was out of breath because of his adrenaline high.

"Who fucking killed who?" Scout asked. There were mumblings from the men.

"Walked into the fucking room where Dixon and Joe were supposed to be breakin' in that woman. Found Joe laying on the floor. Neck slit and broken. He was just turnin' when we found him." the man explained.

"Fuckin' Dixon!" another man shouted. It was true that most didn't trust Dixon. He'd never really put off the vibe that said he was one of them.

"This shit isn't gonna fly. We gotta find 'em and make 'em pay." Scout told them all. He guessed he was their leader now. There were sounds of agreements.

"Get your shit together. I'm going to look for tracks. We're goin' after 'em. Leaving in ten minutes." Scout told them. The men went to the house and grabbed what supplies they could. Scout grabbed a flashlight and found tracks leading from the window back to where the men had come out of the woods. He was surprised that they hadn't run into to them. They must have taken cover Scout thought to himself.

After about ten minutes the men were ready to go.

"All right boys. Just like before. Two to scout ahead. The rest stay back but not too far. We're moving at night, so it's more dangerous. Stick together. Can't lose these motherfuckers!" Scout told them.

With that they headed off in the direction of Carol and Daryl.

To be continued...