okay, this chapter is a bit longer but I wanted a reunion. I hope you like it.

"Keep up."

This had to be the fifth time Michonne had said this as they ran and Carol was getting really tired of it. They were over the hill and far away from Woodbury by now and, with every step, the crossbow seemed to gain extra weight on Carol's back. The woods they were in showed no sign of stopping and even Maggie was gasping for breath as they ran. Her brown jacket whipped around her and Carol's own cardigan was wrapped around her. Michonne was in front of them, jogging at a steady pace, when she came to a halt and leant against a thick tree.

"We'll stop for a minute," she muttered.

"How will we meet up with them again?" Maggie argued, looking over her shoulder. "We should go back."

"No. We've got to keep going. Get as far away from there as possible."

Maggie looked to Carol but, trying to be strong, she just shrugged and faced Michonne. Inside, she felt sick. She hadn't eaten or drank in hours and the fact that they might never meet up with Daryl again made her heart clench. Just the simple fact that he had been ripped away from her hours ago was enough to scare her. What if they got caught? What if she never saw him again? She knew her face started to resemble a panicked expression so she calmed herself and touched Maggie's arm.

"They'll be fine. Don't worry," she said, trying to convince herself.

The young woman looked at her and nodded bravely. Michonne looked at them and then her face took on some alarm. Carol whipped around just in time to see a walker not ten feet from her. Expertly swinging the crossbow around and into her arms, she took aim and fired the already loaded arrow into the head.

"Woah!" Maggie laughed.

Carol looked down at the weapon in her arms and smiled. She only had a couple more arrows left.

"We can't stop," Michonne stated. "We need to go."

Carol turned back and looked at the arrow. If Daryl and the others came through here, she knew he'd see it. It could mark a sign that she was alive.

...

"Daryl, we need to slow down," Glenn panted.

He turned his head to see Glenn on the other side of Rick, struggling to hold him up.

"Right. Jus' for a minute," Daryl agreed.

He carefully placed Rick down against a tree and looked back at Carl and Andrea.

"You alrigh'?" he asked Carl.

The boy nodded and went to sit by his dad. Rick was breathing steadily but needed to lie down somewhere safe for a while. His face was pale and his eyelids fluttered open and shut randomly. He had been beaten badly at Woodbury and bruising showed all over him.

"Your old man'll be alright. Said I'd keep an eye on him, didn't I?"

Carl nodded and smiled slightly but gratefully up at Daryl.

Andrea had her back to the men and held her gun by her side, looking out for any walkers. Glenn was doing the same but, after a few minutes, he gave up and came closer to Daryl.

"Where d'you think they are?" he whispered.

Daryl glanced at him. He knew what he meant.

"I dunno. I'm as good a tracker as any but," he said, looking at the ground, "I don't see any clear paths."

Glenn sighed angrily. Daryl knew it wasn't his fault. He loved Maggie and Daryl thought about Carol. Would he get to see her again? He also thought about his feelings- something that he rarely did. Did he love Carol? But what good was that if he couldn't find her? He glanced at the ground then Glenn gasped.

"What?" Glenn pointed to the bushes but Daryl didn't see anything.

"The leaves," he stated, pointing to a torn leaf with blood on it. "It's been cut... Someone could have been here."

Daryl turned the leaf in his fingers and glanced up at the man. "Ya think?"

Glenn didn't say anything but then saw feet sticking out of the next bush along and stepped back. They looked rotted and were not moving. So, raising the unfamiliar gun in his hands, Daryl approached. As he neared, he saw that the feet belonged to a walker. In it's head was an arrow. It looked like one of his. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It had to be her.

"They're alive," Daryl said, fully smiling now and hope returning. "C'mon."

...

The constant jogging was getting tiring now and Carol was just ready to give up when the back of a shop loomed into view. She almost collapsed with relief. Michonne stopped just before it and announced she would go in first. After a few moments, and the sound of a sword meeting it's target, Michonne signaled them to come inside. There was bottled water, cans of food and medicine. Quickly taking advantage, Maggie grabbed a flimsy bag that was discarded on the floor and started snatching up any goods she could. Once the bag was full, she drank. As did Carol. It was astounding how thirsty she really was when the bottle came to her lips.

"We can't stay here," Michonne said.

Carol and Maggie stopped. She felt deflated. They had ran a great distance and what little chance there was of finding Daryl again seemed to be decreasing by the second. Yes, she had left the arrow. But had he even walked down that path?

"What the hell d'you mean? We can't just wait here a second?" Maggie snapped.

"There'll be walkers," Michonne replied flatly.

"There's walkers everywhere!" Maggie cried, the tone of her voice rising.

Carol's eyes widened. The sound of groans from the floor above them came alive and Maggie stared at Michonne as though she had two heads.

"You didn't check upstairs?" she asked incredulously.

Michonne looked guilty for a few seconds then it quickly vanished. "C'mon," she snapped, gripping her sword and making for the front door.

They ran out into the street and stopped. There was nothing here. No walkers. Nothing at all. It was a small street with a few houses. They were large and spacious houses. Houses that Carol would have dreamed of living in before the world went to Hell. Without saying a word, all three of them started to walk. The doors and windows had been boarded up with long planks of wood and scratching came from inside. Carol looked nervously from Maggie to Michonne before they decided to tear down the wood. It was a hard task even with all three of them but finally the door was clear. With a harsh kick from her boot, the door flew open in front of Michonne and they were met with the sight of four walkers. A family. An old man, a woman aged no more than thirty, a man of similar age and a little girl of around five. With seemingly no hesitation, a sword was sliced through two and a bullet in another. Carol loaded up the crossbow again and aimed at the girl. But an image of Sophia formed in the girl and her finger faltered. She couldn't. The little girl bared her teeth and snarled and then Carol fired.

...

Rick was putting some weight on his own feet now (with some help) as they continued down the path they had set out on. Daryl was ready to stop for another break when Andrea called out in front of them.

"There's a house up here!"

Daryl's hope returned. "Well, go on. Keep goin'!"

They made it to the back door which was thrown open and swinging on the hinges. He felt even happier. They had been here, he knew it. The goods in the small shop were gone. It was stripped bare.

"They've been here!" Glenn muttered with a faint grin on his face.

Daryl nodded, firmly grasping Rick's arm and fighting off a smile. From the front of the shop, they heard a noise. As Daryl approached the front door, he heard someone. It came from down the street. Voices. Other people. Something tugged inside his chest and he raised his gun. Andrea was close behind him. He threw open the door and stepped out onto the porch of the shop and looked down the street. At the front of a house he saw three women carefully carrying dead bodies of walkers to the grass at the front. On closer inspection, he lowered his gun. He opened his mouth to call her name but it wouldn't come.

"Daryl?" Andrea appeared at his side then followed his stare. "Oh my God!"

This seemed to alert the women and they faced them with their weapons raised. Daryl smiled as she expertly swung the crossbow around her back and into her arms. She was looking down the weapon, aiming at him, then stopped and raised her head. Her mouth fell open and he saw her mouth his name. The weapon in her arms was pushed back as she broke into a run. He started to walk forward but she collided into his chest from a sprint and his arms instantly came around her waist as he swung her around once. Her arms were around his neck as she pulled back and looked at him with her brilliant blue eyes. Her hands came up to his face, a feeling he had missed so much, and she kissed him. It didn't matter who had witnessed the reunion, he just hung onto her feeling determined he would never let her go again.

"I found you," he mumbled into her shoulder. "I got you."

"Daryl," she whispered, sounding relieved.

He pulled back from her shoulder to smile and absorb every detail of her.

"Nice shooting."