Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry it took so long to post this chapter, I've been doing quite a few other things on fanfic, including starting and managing my own roleplay forum(Survivor: Author's Arena). Also, good news; I've done some thinking regarding the ending of Alone Together, and I've decided to extend the series' run. I'm not sure how many chapters it'll be, but it'll certainly be longer than the original 6 planned chapters. I've been considering expanding my writing into normal fiction, so I've been writing some fiction lately.

MONTHS AFTER THE OUTBREAK.

Daryl's mind was racing. After everything he'd done to find her, Carol's daughter was dead. Sophia was dead. He sat by himself on the edge of the farmhouse, thinking. What was the point?

Searching the forest. Painting signs for Sophia to read on the highway. Searching the nearby houses. Taking an arrow to the leg. Falling down a ravine. None of it mattered anymore, not after what happened.

Even more, he was furious, not to mention confused. What did Carol do to deserve the death of her daughter? He could only imagine how she felt. He wasn't quite sure why, but he had grown a connection with her, one that even he didn't understand. It wasn't fair, and that bothered him more than anything else.

He was used to having control. To controlling the factors in his life, and being free of responsibility or cares. Over the past months he'd slowly lost control over his life. Control of anything. To add to his distress, his brother was gone, quite possibly dead. And yet somehow, Carol was the one who occupied his thoughts. The middle-aged woman with the dead daughter.

PRESENT DAY.

Carol's eyes fluttered open, having been awoken by Phyllis's touch. She sat up on the couch, rubbing her eyes.

"Time to get up?" she asked, turning to her, as she stood over her.

"Yeah," replied Phyllis, "Daryl's out hunting with Ellie, she wanted you to keep an eye on Savannah for her."

"He's hunting with Ellie?"

"Guess so, something wrong?"

"No, he just usually hunts alone. Does Ellie know how to hunt?"

"Don't look at me," replied Phyllis, walking away, "I'm just the messenger."

Carol sighed, finally arising from the couch. She was unusually tired, regardless of her age. She'd completely forgotten how old she was over the past years, although her grayed hair served as a constant reminder of how long it had been.

Standing up, she walked to the room where she assumed Savannah was sleeping. However, upon entering, she found her wide awake. Anna was sitting against the wall on a backrest, reading a wide-paged children's book.

"Oh, hi," greeted Anna, raising her head to look at Carol, "Mrs. Peletier."

"Hi," replied Carol awkwardly, "What're you doing up so early?"

It had been quite a while since she'd been alone with a girl of Sophia's age, and conversing with her was almost surreal. She was awkward, unsure of how to act. She was used to people like Daryl - People like her. Despite all that'd happened, Anna had an innocence to her, one that Carol wasn't used to.

"I was just reading."

"Ellie's out with Daryl, if you need anything, ask me."

Anna nodded, and continued reading. It was clear to see. Carol intimidated her.

Carol couldn't think of anything else to say, and instead left the room.

Daryl ran his fingers through Ellie's hair, enjoying her warmth. Together they lay on the decayed mattress, in a tangled mess of limbs. He wasn't quite sure how things between she and him started, or even when, but he wasn't sure how he felt about it. One minute they were friends, the next they were in bed. He hadn't told Carol, and certainly didn't plan on it. She didn't need to know. It had been years since he'd been with a woman, but Ellie had a way of making it feel normal.

He wasn't exactly sure what they were. There wasn't much intimacy between them, it was mostly just sex. He liked it that way, he didn't really need anything more.

"We should get goin'," he said, sitting up in bed, "Carol's gonna be wonderin' where we're at."

"What are you going to tell her?" asked Ellie.

"Nothin'."

"She's gonna find out eventually, Daryl."

"Maybe."

He and she got dressed, walking out of the decayed house they'd been in for the past few hours. There were walkers in the street, but they didn't bother putting any of the down. Nowadays the walkers were so decayed they could barely walk.

Entering the house where the others were, Daryl took off his vest, and set it down on a couch.

"You guys catch anything?" asked Phyllis.

"Nah," replied Daryl, vaguely.

"You guys down to keep moving today?"

"Ain't got a choice."

"I'll get packed."

Carol's aching knees served as a reminder of her age, as she walked with the others down the road. Walking along endless roads seemed to be a habit for them, one that she hoped to one day end. She was tired of walking.

Daryl was like a machine, walking at a steady pace nonstop. He and Ellie seemed to be walking closer to each other than usual. Savannah was in the back, her short legs working to keep up. Having been meaning to talk to her when the opportunity presented itself, Carol dropped back to talk to Savannah.

"So, Savannah," started Carol, "How old are you?"

"Nine," she answered awkwardly, "...I think. That's what Ellie tells me."

"What's that in your hand?" Carol pointed to the small stuffed giraffe in Anna's hand.

"Her name's Carly."

"Nice to meet you, Carly." Carol pretended to talk to the dirty giraffe. No response, interestingly enough.

"She's a bit shy."

Daryl's calves were sore as usual, as he and the others came upon a minivan in the middle of a rest stop parking lot. Deeming it worth a try, he found the passenger window rolled down just enough for him to squeeze his arm through and unlock the door. His brother had vaguely taught him how to hotwire a car before the outbreak, and others had solidified this knowledge afterwards. The car had apparently belonged to survivors sometime after everything happened, but it was clear that they were long gone.

For the first time in quite a while, they had a vehicle. A dusty, rusted van with chipped red paint, but a vehicle nonetheless.

Ellie drove, while Daryl sat shotgun, having an oddly difficult time keeping his eyes off her. It was odd, being attracted to someone, after so long of merely keeping himself alive. She occupied his thoughts more than he was comfortable with, and the thought of her beneath him, autumn red hair sprawled out on the bed, made it difficult not to sneak glances.

Ellie's hazel-colored eyes stayed focused on the road, her thoughts keeping her occupied. Their search for the possible refuge down the road. Savannah's ever-growing maturity and need to be protected. And above most, Daryl. He was an interesting character to say the least. He wasn't exactly one to show feelings, and despite having traveled with him for over a week, she barely knew anything about him. Then again, could you truly know anyone nowadays?

Suddenly, a large semi-truck parked across the road caught her eye. She was forced to stop, blocked by the large vehicle. It was a relatively desolate road, and the truck had obviously been parked this way on purpose.

"What do we do?" She asked, turning to Daryl.

"Let's check things out, there might be an easy way to move it." Commented Carol from behind her.

"Look, there's people in the forest!" Savannah exclaimed from the middle backseat, pointing out the window.

"Guys," Phyllis said, removing her knife from its sheath, "We may have a problem."

Looking to the side, Ellie could see several men approaching from the passenger side window. They began to surround the van, wielding an array of weapons.

"Ellie...back up. Now." Daryl ordered lowly, reaching for his pistol.

Ellie began to drive away, but one of the men fired a shot through one of the front tires, stopping their escape. The car was able to skid further, but one of the men had already reached the passenger window, pointing a gun through the glass directly at Daryl.

"So," the man jested as Daryl rolled the window down, "Where ya headed?"

Author's Note: I ought to be updating more often from now on, sorry for the long wait! Reviews always help.