Hope you all enjoyed the show! No spoilers because I know a few folks that have to wait to watch it tomorrow. And now we have what? Seven months... I do NOT like that! Anyway, here's a chapter that I hope you like! I want you all to give me your guess after you read it! Tee Hee! Thanks for all of your reviews! Much love ;)

Chapter Thirty One

It wasn't quite dawn yet but Daryl knew he wasn't going to get anymore sleep. He felt rested. He wasn't in as much pain. And even if that wasn't the case, he would have gotten up anyway. No one else was going to bring those kids back and he desperately wanted to be able to give Carol her daughter back. Not just because he wanted Carol to be happy again but because he wanted the kid back himself. Ever since that first day when they had gone to get water together there was something about her that he liked. And at the time he didn't like many people.

She had instantly trusted him too. And he didn't think he would ever get used to people trusting him. But she had. And when her own daddy had called her over she had turned to Daryl to protect her and he had liked feeling like he could. Like he could save her from the man. He'd never admit it to anyone but it was the truth. He saw a lot of himself in the girl. Everything she had been through hadn't broken her. He had always thought that he was broken, but he wasn't. He just needed someone like Carol to show him that he did have a lot to offer the world.

He wasn't Merle's little brother when it came to these people. He was Daryl Dixon. He was his own man, not the shadow of Merle. Not some hot headed white trash redneck criminal. He wasn't a punching bag and he wasn't a ticking time bomb. He had a lot to offer. And he had never even known it. He'd always believed what people had told him. Always accepted his lot with his mouth closed and had kept himself sealed off from anyone who might tell him any different.

He sat up and ran a hand through hair and then glanced down. She was still asleep, which meant she must have been exhausted because usually as soon as she felt him move she would wake up.

He got out of bed and stretched a little to test out his wounds. Other than a little pain and little tugging sensation here and there he felt like a new man. He needed to talk to Hershel. Maybe the old man had a map of the terrain he could check out. He would probably be able to figure out a decent plan if he had an aerial view of the land. It wouldn't be too hard to make a few educated guesses on where the kids would have headed from the highway. And he already knew they had made it to the creek. That meant he already had a starting point that was further into the woods.

He quickly changed his clothes and slipped out of the room, carrying his boots with him so he wouldn't make any noise on the hardwood floor.

There was light shining out from the kitchen so he figured somebody must be up. When he looked through the doorway he saw Hershel and Rick sitting at the table. Milton was lingering by the counter and the youngest girl that he really hadn't even met yet was at the stove. He thought her name was Beth.

Daryl felt a pang of guilt at the sight of Rick. He had his arms folded on the table with his head lying on them. Hershel looked on sympathetically and then reached out and patted Rick on the shoulder before he looked up and caught Daryl spying.

Daryl gave him a nod and then walked in and took a seat, easing his crossbow onto the floor next to him.

"Hey, Rick. You get any sleep last night?" He asked, just to make conversation. He was really starting to feel like a piece of shit for that move. He should have thought that one out better. But it was true what he had told Carol last night. If it was him he would want to know what was going on. Maybe he could have broken it to him a little more gently than that but still. He felt like he at least kind of did the right thing by sending the man out to catch them himself.

When Rick raised his head to look at him he flinched a little at the sight of his face. He had a wicked black eye and a couple of scrapes. He hoped, for Ricks sake, that Shane looked worse. Rick shook his head and then Daryl remembered to act like he didn't know what had happened already.

"What happened to you?" He asked.

Rick gave him a humorless smile and shook his head. "Shane happened." He said in a low voice.

"Shane? Thought you and him were thick as thieves."

Rick shook his head. "I'll tell you about it later. I don't feel like talkin' about it anymore."

"Alright. You want me to go get T-dog to go with me to look for the kids?" He felt awful the more he sat there and had to look at Ricks tortured face. Carol was right. Daryl had thrown him to the wolves.

"That's a good idea. You two head out first and then maybe Glen and I can go in a little later." Rick said but he wasn't looking at Daryl anymore. He was just staring off into space now.

Hershel cleared his throat. "Rick. Maybe you should get some rest. Take one of the spare rooms upstairs."

Rick nodded and stood up. "Thank you Hershel. It's appreciated. Everything you've done for our group. It hasn't been easy on any of us."

Hershel just nodded so Rick turned to walk away. He stopped next to Daryl's chair and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're a lucky man, Daryl. To have what you have. Make sure you don't take that woman for granted. Not for one minute." He gave Daryl's shoulder a squeeze and then hurried out of the room.

Milton walked out wordlessly after Rick did.

They all watched him go and then were silent for a while.

"Beth, could you pour Mr. Dixon a cup of coffee?" Hershel asked his youngest daughter.

Beth turned around and gave them a smile, already holding a cup in her hand that she handed to Daryl. He nodded his thanks and she nodded back.

"You're a lot quieter when you aren't delirious." Hershel noted dryly.

Daryl had heard all about all the things he had said while his head was rattled and Hershel was trying to dig the buckshot out of him. He did have the good since to look sheepish even though he thought that he had every right to cuss out whoever he wanted if they were digging around in his guts.

"Sorry bout that." He said as he ducked his head and looked off towards the windows over the sink.

Hershel smiled slightly and then took the plate of food Beth handed him. Daryl was next but he shook his head. She looked towards her father who gave her a nod and she sat the plate down in front of him anyway.

"You need to eat before you head out there, against my better judgment I might add." Hershel said quietly. "You need to keep up your strength. I wish you would give it another day or two. Your friend Theodore can go out with my Maggie."

"A girl?" Daryl scoffed and then he caught himself. Carol was right, he had been such a fucking hermit he couldn't even have a conversation with this old man.

"Maggie was born and raised on this farm. She knows the woods. She insists on helping even though I've told her that you and your people can manage just fine on your own."

Daryl wanted to argue and tell the old man that these weren't his people but he couldn't. And he wanted to tell him that he didn't need some girl slowing him down. But whether he wanted to admit it or not, they had become his people and if the girl knew the area then that really could prove to be helpful. "I can't lay around in bed while those kids are out there." He shrugged, "But maybe your daughter can help. Guess we need all the help we can get." He shut his mouth and concentrated on his food.

"You are a stubborn man, aren't you?" Hershel asked.

Daryl glanced up and had to hide a smile. He'd been hearing that a lot here lately.

~H~

Sophia was so sick of walnuts that she wanted to puke. They had gotten up with the sun and climbed down from their tree. She was starting to get really worried. She never knew what direction they were going in and this was their third day out here. If her and Carl were heading further and further into the woods then it was going to make it that much harder for them to be found. But she was too afraid to just sit still and wait. So far they had seen a few Walkers but they weren't that much of a problem. Her and Carl were fast and quiet. But she knew their luck would run out soon. They were down to their last bottle of water and she wasn't sure if they would run into any creeks or anything today.

She was also a little concerned about that camp they had came across yesterday. Carl's dad was a good guy and even Shane wasn't a bad person, even though for some reason she couldn't stand him, so Carl didn't understand things the way she did. She knew for a fact that there were more bad people in the world than good. Like Ed and his friends. She remembered the way some of those men had looked at her and even though she didn't understand what it meant she knew that it had made her afraid. So afraid sometimes that she would just hide in her room any time they came around.

And, even though it wasn't something she liked to think about, Ed had started giving her those same looks. Any time her mom wasn't in the same room with her he would look at her like that and it made her feel so sick to her stomach that sometimes she would actually vomit. Never knowing if or when he was going to start hurting her the way he had hurt her mom. He had slapped her around a few times but she knew it could get much worse than that.

"I still think we should have asked those people for help yesterday." Carl said quietly, snapping her out of her reverie.

"We didn't know those people. They could have caused more harm than good." She said as they climbed over a fallen tree trunk.

"Not everyone in the world is bad, Sophia. There isn't a monster behind every corner." He said in a low voice.

She stopped. "Yeah? And not everybody out there is like your dad, Carl. Believe it or not I think there's a lot more bad than good and I'm not taking a chance. They'll find us. We just have to give them time."

They started walking again and then from the corner of her eye she saw him shake his head. "It's been three days now. I'm startin' to think that they looked for us and then gave up."

"That's bullshit Carl. You can think that your dad gave up all you want but I know Daryl hasn't and he'll find us."

"Sophia, how do you know our people even made it off the road. You saw those things. Maybe there were just too many and no one made it. Everyone was out in the open when they came by." Carl said quietly.

Sophia had thought of that. She had thought about that a lot but she wasn't going to tell him that. She had to believe that her mom was okay. She had to believe that Daryl was looking for her. Because if she let herself think otherwise then she would just sit down and wait for the next Walker. And she didn't want to do that. She wanted to live. Her life had just started getting better and she refused to think that it was all gone. That her mom and Daryl were gone.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. We're gonna be okay. They'll find us." Carl muttered without looking at her.

They continued on once more, each lost in their own thoughts so she was startled when she looked up and saw what looked like a shed. It was a shelter. Maybe they could actually just make camp and stay here for a little while. The thought of sleeping under an actual roof sounded so good, even if it was barely morning. Her muscles ached from sleeping in that tree and on the ground so this run down shack seemed like luxury.

"You think there might be somethin' in there that we could use for a weapon?" Carl asked.

"Guess we'll find out." She said as they approached the door. On closer inspection it wasn't just a shed. It was like a small cabin. There could even be a bed in there. The only thing that concerned her was that if a big group of those things came by they would be trapped again. It wasn't safe like the tree stand had been. But the thought of a decent place to rest sounded to good to pass up.

She reached for the doorknob and pushed it open on squeaking hinges. It was dark in there but she could still make out the inside of the room. There was a table with a lantern on it. One wall held what looked like some sort of tool collection and just her luck there was a small bed pushed against the wall. But unfortunately it also held a dead body.

Before she could say a word to Carl that dead body coughed a few times, groaned, rolled over and muttered in a whispered rasp, "Come on and get it mother fuckers. Free meal right here."