Chapter 6: What a Wonderful Life

Ryder couldn't tell how long she had been sitting at the top of the guard tower. She hadn't seen anyone leave the prison after she saw Daryl leaving. She looked down at her left shoulder which was still bleeding. Her body couldn't start to heal with the bullet still in there. The problem was the longer she took to get it out the weaker she got. If she tried digging the bullet out as is, she was probably going to pass out, and she needed to be conscious.

The blonde stood up leaning heavily on the railing of the tower. The field and building were both covered in walkers. She didn't have enough bolts, and she didn't have enough ammo for her gun. She couldn't fight her way out of the tower with only her machete. Ryder sat back down looking up into the sky. She couldn't help but think that this was when she was going to die. After everything that she had been through in her crap shoot of a life, she was going to be done in by walkers. She looked down at her gun that she hadn't let go of. She held the button and slid the clip out. She couldn't help but scoff at the coincidence of only having one more bullet left in the clip.

Ryder weakly slid the clip back into the gun. Her finger clicked the safety off, and she pulled back the slide cocking the gun. She sat with it in her lap thinking. This was the first time she had ever considered… this. She hadn't had the worst life possible but she sure as hell hadn't had the best life. Even still during her personal hell, she had never even thought about it. It could have been because she had always held out some kind of hope. There was always hope that someone would save her if she were in a bind. There was always hope that she would be able to think her way out of her predicament. She was lost now. Everyone had run from the prison, for good reason. She had had the unfortunate luck of getting her ass stuck in the horde and having to take cover in the tower successfully locking herself in there.

She looked down at the heavy weapon in her lap. She picked it up in her hand feeling the cold metal. She wrapped her palm around the grip laying her finger over the trigger. Ryder closed her eyes as she held it up to her head. She would have thought that even at this moment she would have cried. It had been so long since he had cried about anything. She started to put pressure on the trigger squeezing her eyes shut tighter, waiting for the inevitable bang.

Ryder was pulling the trigger, but then she got a flash of blue, steel blue. She knew those eyes. They belonged to him. They were always calculating the situation. They seemed cold, but she could tell when she had first met them it was to keep people away. It was a defense mechanism so people wouldn't get too close. She knew the look. It was familiar to her because she did the same thing. She just took it a step further, and she made herself a loner.

The blonde violently pulled the gun away from her head pissed off at herself. She slammed her head backward into the tower frustrated. The word weak kept rolling around in her head. She was weak for not doing anything for herself. She had been fighting her entire life. She was used to this, and now when it was hard again, she was going to give up. Her eyes opened as she stood up again. She scanned the yard trying to find a way out of her situation.

The walkers were everywhere, but they were all condensing in the prison. There were bodies there, so they were going to try to feed. She looked down to the entrance of the tower. If she could time it properly, then she could pop the door open quick and make a run for the entrance where the tank came through. There were still walkers coming through, but it wasn't many. Ryder grabbed her crossbow after holstering her pistol. Taking inventory, she noticed she only had four bolts left. She would have to use them sparingly, and she could only shoot walkers in front of her so she could regain the bolt once it was used.

Ryder walked down the stairs of the tower as quietly as she could. She didn't need to draw any more attention to herself then she was going to be in the next few minutes. She made it to the door and gently grabbed the handle. She listened to the walkers on the other side of the door. Once she couldn't hear anything, she busted through the door dodging a walker right off the bat. She started sprinting through the field with her bow pulled up. She thanked whoever was watching over her that her bullet was in her left shoulder and not her right. The task of getting the hell out of the area would have been harder if she had to try to use the bow with a bad right shoulder.

She looked behind her and noticed that all the walkers in the yard were looking at her and now moving towards where she was running. "Shit," she swore under her breath. She got up to the fence having to use her crossbow to take out a walker. As she was running beside it, she pulled the bolt out. She was trying to dodge as many as she could. If she gave them a chance then she was going to be trapped, and she wouldn't be able to get out of this like she did at the college. She had done that with pure luck which apparently had run out.

Once Ryder was out of the fence and running into the woods she could breathe a little easier. Walkers had a difficult time moving fast through woods with all of the branches and shit that she had to jump over.

She had been running for about 20 minutes when she had to stop and take a breath to compose herself. Ryder looked behind her and noticed that she still had walkers following her but since she wasn't taking breaks the herd following had thinned down significantly. She still didn't dare take them on by herself though. Taking a final breath, she looked down at her shirt. She grabbed the blood-soaked cloth and took it off her body tying it around a tree. She was hoping that the fresh blood from her wound that had soaked the shirt would slow down the walkers or possibly distract them so she could get away. When the shirt was secured to the tree, the blonde took off running again.

Ryder had been running for another 20 minutes or so when she had come across a road. It was the road that led to the prison, but she was far enough away that she couldn't see the gray building anymore. She leaned forward pressing her hands to her knees panting heavily. She had been running and dodging and jumping for almost 40 minutes. Plus, her shoulder was still bleeding. When she was able to slow down, she could tell that she was in trouble. She needed to find a building or something around for her to take the bullet out of her shoulder. She also needed to cauterize the wound. She didn't have any means to stitch her wound, and she couldn't let it stay open like it was.

Finally, she pushed herself from her knees and started walking down the road. Her head was on a constant swivel considering she wasn't a hundred percent sure she had lost the walkers that had been following her. After walking for maybe 10 minutes, Ryder's attention was starting to thin. She was losing focus of everything around her. The cocking of a gun pulled her from her state. She pulled her crossbow turning around pointing it at a gray-haired woman. She squinted her eyes then they grew wider when she noticed who the woman was. "Carol?"

Carol's gun fell slightly as she took in who the blonde was standing in front of her. When she had seen her walking down the road, she thought it was someone who was bitten but hadn't turned yet. There was blood covering the entire left side of her body. She also was wearing cargo pants and a sports bra. The blonde's hair was an absolute mess also. "Ryder?"

Ryder sighed in relief dropping her crossbow. "Damn am I happy to see you."

Carol didn't say anything. She was taking in her appearance. "Ryder… Are you bit?"

The blonde squinted confused at her question. Then, she looked down realizing Carol was looking at her shoulder. She shook her head. "No, when the prison was attacked I was hit with a bullet. It's still in there. That's why it hasn't stopped bleeding."

"Did you see anyone else get out?"

Ryder paused for a minute. "I saw Daryl running away with Beth. It wasn't in this direction though. I couldn't get around in the prison. I could only run out through one way. Did you see what happened?"

Carol nodded. "The end of it. I saw Tyreese, and the kids run this way. I was trying to find them, but I didn't think I would run into you."

"Well, then let's go. If they are out here somewhere, we should be able to find them." Ryder turned and started walking the way she had been before Carol stopped her.

Carol followed the young blonde but watching her lethargic movements. "You need help. You need to let me look at your shoulder."

Ryder just waved the woman off. "No use now. It's more important finding the kids and making sure they are safe first."

Carol sighed but didn't argue with her. She was like Daryl. She was sure that other people at the compound had noticed. They both put everyone else before themselves. They always needed to be the strongest in the room thinking if they were the strong ones then they would be able to protect everyone else. They were also both completely stubborn with everything.

Ryder looked over her shoulder when she had heard Carol sigh. "What?"

The older woman walked up next to her keeping pace. "Nothing, just you not accepting help."

"I'm not the one in need. This isn't the first time I have been shot. It probably won't be the last either."

"When was the last time you were shot?"

Ryder pointed down to her right side where she had a tattoo of praying hands with a rosary wrapped around them. "It's under the tattoo. I was shot when I was in Iraq."

Carol lazily nodded not surprised. "A Marine."

"Nope… I was in the 75th Ranger Regiment in the army. We were special ops."

The older woman took a moment to think. Ryder was weak. She could tell with how she was walking. If she could get the younger woman to not think about her body getting weaker then maybe she could push herself longer. It wasn't an ideal situation, but it was better than her passing out on the side of the road. "Why were you in Georgia? You don't sound like you're from here."

Ryder snorted. "As opposed to who? Daryl? He has the thickest accent out of everyone. Rick doesn't even have a thick accent. Neither do you."

"Fair point."

"I was stationed at Fort Benning. There is a Ranger Training Brigade there. When I wasn't cleared for active duty anymore, they allowed me to come here so I could at least teach."

Carol turned looking at her. "What do you mean you weren't cleared?"

Ryder rubbed her hands together. When Carol had joined her, she put her crossbow on her back. She was getting more tired when she was holding it. She rubbed her palms feeling the metal holding her hands together. She didn't mind talking about her time as a ranger, but she wasn't sure about everything else. "I have PTSD."

Carol didn't take her eyes off the young woman. She was surprised that she had PTSD. She didn't seem like she was suffering. Of course, that didn't mean anything. She also could tell the way that Ryder seemed clipped talking about it. She didn't want to talk about this. Carol wasn't going to push her. When she mentioned it, the blonde started to get fidgety. Carol smirked to herself. Another way that she and Daryl were alike. They both had fidget quarks. Ryder rubbed her palms and looked away from the person when she would normally look them in the eye. Daryl would chew in the inside of his cheek or his thumb cuticle. He would also look away from the person talking.

The sound of a gunshot going off pulled her out of her thoughts. Both Carol and Ryder looked at each other and started running towards the direction that they heard the shot. Ryder had adrenaline pumping through her again. Her body was sore and fatigued, but she was able to push herself especially with the access amounts of adrenaline she kept getting.

Ryder and Carol burst into an opening where there were two walkers. Ryder had pulled her crossbow when they were running to the area. She shot one of the walkers in the head while Carol went over and killed the other one with her knife. When the walkers fell out of their way, they both noticed two little girls standing back to back. One of them had a gun pointing up, eyes wide with fear. The other one was holding a baby.

Carol walked over to them and hugged both of them. "Lizzie. Mika. Where's Tyreese?"

Mika pointed off into a direction. Ryder pulled the bolt from the head of the walker she killed. After she had reloaded it, she started walking the way the young girl pointed. She looked over her shoulder seeing that the girls were following her while Carol was bringing up the rear.

After a few minutes of walking, they entered out of the trees. They had a train track on the side of them, and beyond that, there were more woods. Ryder could see Tyreese beating a walker to death with his hammer he carried with him. She slowed down, but Carol and the girls walked ahead of her. She heard Carol call his name. "Tyreese."

The black man turned around eyes wide when he heard his name called. When he noticed Carol, he hurried over to her. "How- how…" He walked over and hugged the older woman. "How'd you find us? Where were you? How'd you…"

Tyreese was cut off by a man sobbing surrounded by dead bodies. Carol walked ahead of the girls. "Stay here, girls." Both Ryder and Tyreese followed her.

The man was walking around looking at the carnage around him. He dropped to his knees when they walked closer to him. "Stay on the tracks. That was my mistake."

Ryder stepped forward. "The woods have more cover."

The older man just started to sob more. "No, you don't understand. There's a place up the tracks. It's safe you can take the children there." All three of them just looked at each other without saying anything. The woods did have more cover but it the tracks lead to a settlement then they had a chance to possibly meet with the group. "Trust me. Please. Follow the tracks."

When he was done talking they turned away and started down the tracks as he had said. They didn't know where they were going, but they hoped that they could actually trust the dying man. Ryder kept walking next to Carol while Tyreese went over to the girls moving them along.

After walking for a while, they heard Mika speak up. "Tyreese. I didn't run. I didn't leave Lizzie."

The older man just smiled down at her rubbing his hand on her head. "See that? Tough little lady."

Carol spoke up. "Hey, there's some water in there..." She pulled off the pack that she had been carrying on her back. "… and some food."

The group stopped for a break. Ryder sat down on the tracks. She could feel that her breathing was becoming labored. Her body wouldn't last much longer. She was already in the dangerous territory of possibly needing blood, but that wouldn't be possible for them.

Tyreese kneeled down in front of her. He handed her a canteen that had water in it. "Here. Drink this. You need it."

Ryder just shook her head refusing the water. "The kids need it more than I do."

Carol looked down at Ryder. Her face was pale, and she was breathing heavy even though they had only been walking. "We need to find a place to stay. She won't be able to go on much longer."

Ryder pulled herself up from the ground everyone watching her. "Come on. Let's keep moving. Wasting daylight." She walked past them along the tracks. She could hear them talking behind her but she needed to stay focused on walking, or she was going to fall over.

Lizzie and Mika walked ahead of her when they came across a wooden structure. There were two signs posted on the structure. One was a map with a big star that was labeled Terminus. The other sign said "Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive survive."

Everyone stopped looking at the map, but Ryder kept walking. If they were going to find it staring at a map wasn't going to help them. They just needed to keep following the tracks. When she kept walking, she heard the rest of the group follow her. She took a couple more steps when her knees buckled under her. She dropped down to one knee with her hand leaning on the ground. She looked down at her hand and noticed that it was pale. She had only seen it like that one other time.

Ryder sighed pushing herself off the ground which was easier said than done. When she was almost stood up, she felt a hand grab her around her bicep. Her entire body tensed but it soon relaxed. She didn't have enough energy in her body to care if people were touching her. She looked over and noticed that Tyreese was helping her. He wrapped his large arm around her waist while he placed her arm around his neck. They began walking with him trying to carry as much of her weight as he could.

While they were walking, she heard Lizzie speak up behind her. "Is she going to die?"

Ryder couldn't help but smirk at the young girl while Tyreese turned looking at Lizzie. "No. We will find a house and fix her up there."

They had been walking for about 15 minutes when they came to a house that was off of the tracks a ways but not too far they would miss anyone walking on them. The entire group walked over to the house both Carol and Tyreese on alert. Tyreese set Ryder down on the ground leaning her against a tree. "Lizzie, Mika stay here with her while Carol and I go in and check if it's safe."

The girls both nodded their heads as Tyreese and Carol walked off to the house. Ryder leaned her head against the tree, closing her eyes. She knew that she shouldn't be closing them, but she was so tired. Her bleeding had slowed down, but it was because her wound was starting to clog with sweat, dirt and dried blood.

Ryder opened her heavy eyelids as she saw Carol and Tyreese making their way back to her place at the tree. This time instead of helping her Tyreese came over and picked her up carrying her into the house. She didn't like being handled in that way, but there wasn't anything she could do at the moment. She relished in the feeling of not doing anything because when they got settled Carol would be digging in her arm and cauterizing it which she wasn't looking forward to.

Tyreese walked her into the house laying her on a couch in the living room area. Carol and the girls followed him. Once she was safely on the bed, Carol started giving orders while digging in her bag. "Mika, will you go find a shirt and a cloth for me. Lizzie I'm going to need your help here. Tyreese, will you start the fire in the fireplace? I'm going to need it hot."

Tyreese stood there not moving while the girls went off to help Carol and get what she needed. "Why do you need a fire going?"

Carol didn't bother looking up at him as she was pulling different items from her pack. "I don't have anything to sew her wound up. She's going to be bleeding again when I get done digging around in her arm. We are going to need a quick fix for the hole in her shoulder. Cauterizing her wound in the easiest way for that to happen."

Ryder watched as everyone moved around the room. She also saw that Tyreese didn't say anything but just nodded his head in understanding. He went over starting to get a fire ready in the fireplace. The blonde woman unbuckled her belt that she was wearing. She folded the leather and placed it between her teeth when she noticed that Carol was practically ready.

The older woman looked up watching Ryder. "You know what's going to happen, right?" Ryder nodded her head. "Ok, here we go. I don't know how long it's going to take me to find the bullet. I don't have any training with this."

Ryder pulled the belt from her mouth. "I trust you." She replaced it, laying her arm flat on the couch while she grabbed at the fabric of her cargo pants.

Carol nodded. She grabbed the antiseptic that she had in her bag and poured a generous amount on the wound getting it wet again. She felt Ryder tense underneath her. Carol grabbed the cloth that Mika had found and wiped at the wound as gentle as possible. Finally, she was able to clear off the dried blood and dirt. She poured more antiseptic over the wound cleaning it again. Carol grabbed the large tweezers that she had in her bag that were in a first aid kit she found a while ago. She took a breath, and she stuck the end of the tweezers into Ryder's wound. The older woman could tell that Ryder was trying to be as still as possible. Carol was also trying to feel around in the wound for the bullet without moving too much and doing more damage. The more that Carol dug around in her shoulder, the more that Ryder was tensing and screaming. Her teeth were clamped down on the belt.

Tyreese was watching the scene in front of him, but he couldn't do it anymore. He didn't like it when his friends or people from his group were hurt. Seeing Carol digging in Ryder's arm while the woman was screaming in pain wasn't something that sat well with him. He also didn't want to be present when Carol had to burn the younger woman.

"Lizzie," Carol called. Lizzie was right next to her in the moment. "I need you to sit on her stomach so have her stop moving. Ryder is weak, and she can't control her movements much now. Hold the belt in her mouth. We can't have it falling out. I need to move deeper into her arm." Lizzie nodded but seemed reluctant. After a second the young blonde moved onto Ryder's lap with her torso between her legs. Lizzie leaned down and started holding the belt down, so it didn't fall out of Ryder's mouth.

Carol looked up at the blonde. Her face was full of sweat, and she was breathing heavy. She felt sorry for the young woman. "I need to go deeper." She saw Ryder nod once in conformation, Carol sighed and pushed the tweezers deeper into her shoulder. Ryder's back arched off the couch, but with the added weight of Lizzie, she was able to keep her down for the most part. Carol pushed the tweezers in further, and she was able to finally feel metal. "Hang in there Ryder. I can feel the bullet." Pushing a little deeper Carol pulled the tweezers open and was able to get them around the bullet. Her spreading the metal made the young blonde scream more as it also opened the wound. Carol pulled gently on the bullet making sure to not slip off the metal in her arm.

After what felt like hours to Ryder Carol pulled the tweezers from her shoulder along with the damn bullet that had been giving her problems since the prison. She smiled weakly at the older woman. "I want to say thank you now because I know I'm going to pass out when you cauterize my shoulder."

The older woman just nodded smiling slightly. She had to give this woman props she was tough. She thought that Ryder would have passed out when she was digging around in her arm. She saw Ryder pull her machete from her holder on her hip, handing it to Carol. "Use the antiseptic to clean it. It should be wide enough to cover the hole in the arm, so this only needs to be done once."

Carol took the blade pouring antiseptic on it and wiping it off. She made sure it was clean and went over to the fireplace. She held the edge of the machete in the fire. Carol watched the metal heat up to an orange color. Once it was hot enough, she walked over to the couch. Ryder had placed the belt back into her mouth and was watching Carol wield the hot blade. With one quick nod from the blonde Carol pressed the blade onto her skin.

Ryder lurched her back up practically throwing Lizzie off her. The searing hot pain on top of searing hot pain wasn't a sensation that she missed. After a second of holding in on her skin, Ryder saw black as she passed out from both the blood loss and not wanting to be awake to feel more pain.

Ryder woke up in the cell block of the prison. She looked around at the cell she had been assigned. What was going on? She couldn't remember what was happening. She stood from her spot in the bed. She instinctually went for her bow she always had at her side, but it wasn't there. She looked around and noticed that she was missing all her weapons. There wasn't anything in her cell that she usually carried with her.

Ryder scowled. What the hell was going on? She never left without her weapons. She also never took off her machete. If she was missing that there was something very wrong. She cautiously walked out of her cell looking around. There wasn't anyone in the block. Everything was dead silent, and that made her feel even more uneasy. She walked past Daryl's cell, and he wasn't in there. She made her way down the stairs checking the other cells on the ground floor. Everybody had their things in the cells, but there weren't any people around.

She moved to the door and opened the door leading outside. When the door slid open, she was met with everyone milling about outside. There wasn't any sign that the Governor had just busted through the gate with a tank and started blowing their shit up. She walked outside slowly waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.

People were walking past her smiling, waving and saying hello to her. That was strange. Everyone at the compound except for a select few would say hello to her. She had apparently come off too intimidating for everyone to be friendly to her.

"Mommy!" She heard someone call behind her. She turned around as there was a force that ran into her legs. She looked down and saw there was a young girl with dark brown hair and steel blue eyes. She was smiling up at her hugging her around her legs.

Ryder was at a loss for words. She was also utterly confused. She couldn't have children. When she was going into the war, she decided to get surgery to prevent pregnancy. It wasn't like she could get pregnant before that. She had been told that there was something wrong with her ovaries so it was slim she would be able to get pregnant. She just decided to stop it there before anything happened.

The little girl at her feet was smiling up at her. "We were wondering when you were going to wake up."

Ryder frowned at the young girl. She looked to be about eight or nine. She also said we. What the hell did she mean? "Look, kid, I think you have me mixed up with someone else." Ryder flinched at the complete look of devastation on the young girls face.

"Mommy… what are you talking about?" The girl looked behind her and took off running for something.

Ryder turned, and her eyes grew wide. The little girl was running up to a guy who familiarly looked like Daryl. He had his crossbow around his back and machete at his thigh like always. He had a string of rabbits and squirrels at his side also. What was different was the young boy walking next to him trying to keep up. He looked to be about 10 or 11. He had platinum blonde hair and startling crystal blue eyes. She noticed the little girl run up to Daryl and wrap her arms around the man's legs.

He didn't even have time to react to her. He bent down and wiped a tear from the little girl's cheek. He was talking to her, but Ryder couldn't hear anything that they were saying. Once the two were done, she noticed Daryl stand up. He was walking straight for Ryder. He didn't seem mad or pissed off or annoyed. He seemed calm and friendly. He had a different air around him than when she saw him last time.

Ryder took a step back away from him involuntarily when he walked up to her. He noticed her step and gave her a short questioning look. He didn't bother saying anything though. He leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss.

As soon as their lips met Ryder froze. What the actual fuck was going on? She apparently had kids, and it seemed like she had them with Daryl Dixon. Who was also kissing her right now. She felt Daryl pull away from her a short time after. His questioning gaze was even more prominent. "What's wrong?"

Ryder couldn't say anything she was too stunned to speak. She was also too confused to be thinking about anything.

Daryl turned around to the two kids behind him. "Go on and play for a while." She saw both kids take off after a moment of looking at her. She could tell that they were scared. Daryl grabbed her arm and led her into the prison once he dropped off the animals that he shot earlier. He brought her into a cell on the top floor, but it was one she didn't recognize. There was stuff in this cell. She looked over, and he sat on the bed. When she followed, she noticed that all her stuff was in the cell. Her crossbow was seated in the corner. Her machete, gun, and tomahawk were all laying by the bed. She took notice that the bed was also a little bigger. It wasn't much bigger, but it was big enough for two people to sleep on it.

She looked back down at Daryl who patted the spot next to him. Ryder hesitantly sat next to him but still made sure there was a little bit of space between them.

Daryl went to take her hand, but she pulled away before he could grab it. He stopped moving and was just watching her face and her reactions. "This 'bout the fight we had last night?"

Ryder didn't talk for a few seconds, but she was able to find her voice. "What?"

The hunter just scoffed at her. "Not goin' to even acknowledge it."

"Daryl. I have no idea what you're talking about."

He squinted at her trying to figure out what she was doing and why she was being strange. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I don't know what I'm doing here." Ryder stood up and started to pace in the room. "I woke up in my cell… well, my old cell. The last time I remember being here was when that shit head Governor came busting through the fence with a tank! He blew holes in the side of the prison. He caused walkers to fill this place, and we lost people. Everyone was separated."

Daryl didn't say anything. He could tell she was freaking out. "You said the Governor came?"

Ryder nodded her head. "Yeah."

He stood up making her stop pacing. He grabbed her hands not letting her pull away from him this time. "Darlin' you must have been dreamin'. Michonne found him a while ago and killed that bastard."

Ryder was looking at him like he had a second head. "Daryl. What the hell is going on? I don't remember anything."

Finally, there was some realization on Daryl's face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I only know my story. I didn't know Michonne killed him. I don't know those kids that mistakenly called me mom. I'm not in a relationship with you either." She tried pulling away, but Daryl held onto her firmly.

"Those kids didn't make no mistake. His name is Mason. The little girl is Victoria. They're our children."

Ryder couldn't say anything. She had kids. She had kids with Daryl. He said our. She didn't miss the word our. "What?"

"I'm your husband, Darlin'. We got married years ago around the time you gave me two beautiful children."

Ryder looked down at their hands. Sure enough, they were both sporting rings. The only thing that was going through her brain was "shit."

(A/N): Alrighty, guys here is the next chapter. I really hope you guys like it! We didn't see where Daryl went because don't forget this story is about Ryder. We will get to see more of him next chapter though. *wink*

Don't forget to R&R!