DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of The Walking Dead. This is for entertainment purposes only.

A/N: This one's pretty long. Oops? Let me know what you think! :)

Miracle.

"…Daryl?" Leah stepped away from the two men and started towards him.

Daryl just completely dropped the crossbow to the floor and met her half way, falling to one knee. Her eyes watered as she threw her arms around him, grabbing onto his shirt and crying into his shoulder. He hugged her tight in return. He couldn't believe it. He was almost positive that he was dreaming now. Leah was okay. She was right here, in his arms.

"Hey—whoa, whoa! What's going on?" The black male took a few steps forward.

"Andrew, put the gun down!" The woman warned.

Daryl rubbed Leah's back before he grabbed her by the shoulders and slightly pushed her back at arm's length, looking her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. "You alright?"

Leah managed a small nod as she wiped her face. She looked perfectly fine, just covered in a bit of dirt.

He gently placed his hands on the sides of her face, kissing her on the top of her head. His eyes caught a couple new figures by the first two men now as he slowly got back to his feet.

One of the new figures was another male. He looked maybe a bit younger than the others, his dark blonde hair styled in a crew cut. His dark eyes searched Daryl and Carol out, looking for any sign of a threat. He didn't have a weapon drawn on them though.

But the other figure… Daryl was shocked once again. It took him a moment to realize who he was staring back at. Her slightly disheveled hair and dirty clothes threw him off because she was always so clean before.

"Skyler—" Daryl shook his head. He couldn't help but smile.

Skyler had tears in her eyes as she followed Leah's lead and threw her arms around him. He hugged her in return, though it didn't last as long as the hug he had shared with Leah.

"My God—I thought you were dead," Skyler covered her mouth, closing her eyes and trying to take it all in. She wiped her tears before she looked back at him.

"Wait, you both know him?" One of the first males spoke up, clearly confused at the events that had just transpired before him.

"Yes, now back off! Lower the weapons," Skyler demanded. "Daryl, meet Olivia, Alex, Andrew, and Lucas. Everybody, meet Daryl and…"

"Carol," Carol stepped forward now that they were no longer considered a threat. At least she hoped.

"That's everybody?" Daryl glanced back at the others. He had somewhat expected a larger group.

Skyler nodded, "We all kind of ran into each other and here we are." She looked back and forth between him and Carol, "Are you a part of a bigger group?"

Daryl glanced down at Leah by his side and pulled her closer, keeping an arm around her with his hand planted on her shoulder. "Yeah. There's a handful of us. Just relocated to a farmhouse with a few new people as well."

"Is your group open to having more people?" The woman with the black hair, Olivia, questioned. She looked hopeful.

"Probably won't be too thrilled…" Daryl paused. He had to watch what he said in front of Leah. He had to bite back any anger that still existed. He just had to remember he had Leah and Skyler back—and that was the best thing that he could ask for at the moment. "But I'm sure it'll work out. That's if you ain't too trigger happy."

"Not a problem," the dark haired man immediately tucked the pistol into the back of his jeans. Daryl assumed his name was Alex, according to Skyler. That left the black man to be Andrew and the newest man to join the rest of them Lucas.

Daryl noticed that Andrew still kept his pistol gripped tight in his hand. And even though it wasn't targeted at him, he still took it as a threat. He took a step closer to Skyler and lowered his voice so that only he and possibly Leah could hear him. "How long have you been with these people? You trust 'em?"

"Since the beginning really," Skyler shrugged. "I'd say with my life. They haven't done anything to prove to me otherwise."

Daryl looked back at all of them. If he could, he'd just take Skyler and Leah with him. But he had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy. If they had been together as a group all this time they weren't going to just up and separate. Daryl just didn't see how the others back at the Greene's farm were going to be too happy about bringing six people back. They had a hard enough time on their own with the number of people they already had.

"We don't mean any harm. It's just that we didn't know you, we still don't, and we couldn't take any chances. So, I apologize for waving my gun in your face." Alex came forth. His words seemed sincere enough.

"Right. Like he said. We didn't know. And if we could join your group, we'd feel a lot safer. More eyes to keep a look out. The whole 'safety in numbers' thing…" Olivia tried.

"We still have some of our own supplies. And we'll mind our own business," Lucas added.

Jesus, these people were desperate. The more they practically pleaded, the more Daryl actually felt sorry for them. He knew he couldn't just flat out trust them at their words. And Andrew still wasn't easing up any. He seemed pretty timid about the situation just as much as Daryl.

"You got your own vehicle?" Daryl asked no one in particular. "It's the only way yer gonna be able to follow."

"We're parked around back," Alex replied. "Does this mean you're taking us with you?"

Daryl sifted through his thoughts. He had to think of all the possibilities. What if these people were lying through their teeth? What if they were only being kind to Leah and Skyler because of who they were? For all Daryl knew, these people could just turn in the snap of a finger and kill him and Carol. They could attack everyone back on the farm.

"They're good people." Leah's small voice broke the silence, causing Daryl to look down at her. He couldn't resist the innocence displayed on her face as he ruffled her hair, a faint smile playing at his lips.

"Yeah…" Daryl finally nodded with approval. The group immediately looked relieved and before he knew it, Olivia was running to him. She crashed into him with her arms wrapped around him in a hug.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how happy we are to have come across you guys," Olivia muttered into his chest.

Daryl pulled his arms free from the hug and slightly pushed her back, "Yeah, don't mention it…"

"It's been hard on all of us. We've… lost others," Skyler lowered her head.

Daryl knew there would be quite a bit to talk about with Skyler once they got away from everyone. Until then he had to keep to himself. He would have to tell her what happened. And she would have to explain her side of the story too.

"Alright. Get whatever is yours and you can follow behind us," Daryl began. "You didn't already raid this town by chance, did you?"

"We got quite a few supplies from a couple houses," Andrew finally spoke.

Daryl nodded, "Good."

As Daryl maneuvered the Triumph down the long and winding gravel road to the farmhouse, he could see everyone begin to disperse from their camp. The second vehicle had caught everyone's attention as they stepped out into the open, waiting for an explanation.

Daryl shut the bike off and Carol had immediately headed straight for the RV. He watched as she slammed the door behind her, slightly flinching at her actions from afar. He made a mental note that he'd have to talk to her later…

"What's this?" Andrea was the first to ask, eyeing the old Toyota Land Cruiser as everyone began to climb out of it.

"Whoa, now hold up here. Y'all just stay where you are!" Shane stepped in front of Andrea, pushing her back. He shot Daryl a look, "Who are these people?"

Daryl got off of the bike and shrugged. "Family… And people trying to survive."

"Family?" Amy repeated, looking back at the people who had huddled together by the SUV.

Leah joined Daryl's side. She wasn't about to be intimidated by all of the strangers when she had him beside her. Skyler walked over with her.

"Daryl said we could follow him back. We'll keep to ourselves," Alex explained.

"Where did you see the logic in this?" Shane took a few steps closer to Daryl. "Bringing strangers back here? I suppose their armed too?"

"We only have a few handguns. And we're not going to shoot anyone." Skyler kept an eye on Shane as he seemed to be the most unstable one thus far.

"The logic was I wasn't leavin' Leah and Skyler behind. Couldn't just take them from these guys either. Figured it wouldn't hurt for everyone to work together." Daryl looked over at the small group that he had just found, "And if there are any problems, I'll be sure to fix that."

"So, now what? We have to carry a gun on us at all times and hope we can trust them?" Andrea crossed her arms.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about here. They're just people. We should treat them as such." Dale voiced his opinion. "There are more of us than there are of them. So if you're really concerned about someone turning their back… Well, I think it's a bit foolish."

Right on cue, the screen door to the house shut as Rick and Lori were making their way over. Carl was still resting in one of Hershel's spare rooms, recovering from the gunshot wound he had received.

"What's going on?" Lori switched her gaze back and forth between everyone.

In the end, after there was plenty of discussion, Rick had decided it was okay for everyone to stay. Of course when he ran it by Hershel, the man was none too pleased. Hershel wasn't too thrilled about them being there in the first place let alone another six strangers.

The deal had been that they could stay with the group as long as they managed themselves. They were responsible for their own supplies, their food, their water, etc. And even though Daryl hadn't known Rick all that long, he knew the man would eventually cave. Those rules wouldn't stand for very long seeing as these people were pretty genuine. Rick was far too caring to just toss them to the curb.

"Hey Leah, sweetie. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself to these nice people? I'm sure they'd love to meet you." Skyler offered. Leah hesitantly nodded. The look on her face suggested that she just wanted to be with Skyler and Daryl but she listened to her aunt, walking over towards Amy and Andrea first.

Daryl could already tell what was coming. He was already walking a little ways away from the group so that he and Skyler could have a little privacy as she followed. She bit her lip when she looked up at him.

"She's not with you, is she? She's not even alive, is she?" Skyler had tears in her eyes as she rattled the questions off.

Daryl stared back at her for a moment before he forced himself to look away. He lowered his head, "She… She didn't make it…"

Skyler stared at him, "Did she…?"

"She was bit," Daryl quickly replied, hating the words that escaped. He wasn't even sure how to explain to her what fully happened—that it was his fault, that Merle knocked him out, that he never even tried to go back. That's when he figured he'd just keep it to himself. He'd only try to explain if she specifically asked.

"All this time…" Skyler shook her head, wiping under her eyes. "All this time I was hoping she was okay. I mean for crying out loud—I lost Matt. I lost Hannah. And now it's just been confirmed that I lost my sister?" Her voice cracked towards the end, fighting back tears and trying not to cry.

Daryl gave her what he thought was a genuine apologetic look. "I'm sorry…" He frowned at her appearance. She looked like she could just collapse to the ground at any given moment. The conversation was inevitable but he didn't want to relive the pain. He certainly didn't want Skyler to have to face it. Now he couldn't even imagine having to tell Leah…

"We're all fucked over anyway, right?" Skyler sighed. "At least I have my niece and… well, you."

Daryl nodded. There wasn't much else he could really say. He glanced back towards the group and his eyes landed on Leah. She was still talking to Amy but she had managed to glance back at just the right time, catching Daryl looking at her. He forced a smile but Leah's mouth remained in a straight line. That's when he noticed she saw Skyler was crying beside him. Or at least her tears were quite evident.

"Who was the woman that was with you?"

Daryl looked back at Skyler. She seemed a little more composed now, her face wiped clean of tears. "That was Carol. She uh… lost her daughter. Brought her with me to go on a supply run so she could get some fresh air…"

"I'm guessing she locks herself in that RV?" Skyler glanced over at the vehicle.

"Yeah. That's where she's been here lately," Daryl explained.

"And does she always take off like that? She looked pissed the way she kind of stormed off…"

Daryl sighed, "I don't know. I'm gonna talk to her later." If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn the look Skyler was giving him was suggesting there was something going on between the two of them. But he didn't want to start anything by calling her on it. He had absolutely no feelings for Carol like that. He just wanted to help her.

"…Is everything okay?" Leah slowly approached them now, coming up behind Daryl.

"Yeah, don't you worry about it." Daryl rested his hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want her to be upset.

"Then why are you crying?" Leah looked to Skyler. Skyler could hardly look back at Leah, fixing her eyes on Daryl. It was obvious Skyler didn't know what to say.

"Leah…" Skyler began. She kept her voice low as she tried to think of what to say next.

"It's my mom, isn't it?" Leah asked rather bluntly, shocking both Skyler and Daryl.

"Leah," Skyler reached out for her but Leah stepped back. "Daryl did everything he could…"

Daryl bit the inside of his mouth at her words, hard enough to make him slightly jump. He didn't do everything that he could have. He could have done more. He could have saved her. But he left her alone for just those few minutes… And she got bit… And Merle…

Leah shook her head, "She's dead? That's it?"

Skyler tried to reach out for her again, to pull her into a hug—something to comfort her. But Leah just backed up even more as tears began to roll down her cheeks. She turned and took off running, away from the camp and away from everyone else.

"Leah!—" Skyler went to take off after her but Daryl stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll go," Daryl informed her. "I'll bring her back. Just stay here."

Skyler hesitantly nodded, tears in her eyes once again. Daryl was beginning to realize how much he really hated seeing her upset, as well as Leah. And there was nothing that he could really do to fix it.

Daryl took off in the direction he saw Leah run in. He didn't have to go far before she came into view, sitting with her back propped up against some old brick wall in the middle of nowhere. He sighed in relief as he made his way over to her. At least she didn't try to run off into the woods.

"Hey…" Daryl bent down in front of her. Leah kept her gaze down at her feet, refusing to look up at him. This was the first time he had ever been completely ignored by her and that in itself hurt.

Daryl didn't know what to say and he wasn't very good with words or trying to comfort anyone for that matter. But he knew he had to do something. He couldn't stand to see Leah upset, and knowing it was his fault only made him feel that much worse.

"I thought that maybe she was here… Maybe she was inside that house…" Leah mumbled. "I don't know why. I had a bad feeling as soon as I saw you with that other woman… But I just wanted to believe she was still…" She shook her head, wiping away a few more tears that fell.

Daryl placed a hand on her knee, "I'm sorry, Leah. I truly am. And I—I don't know what to say. I wish I could change things, I do. And if I could take it all back I would." He got down on his knees now as he fished the necklace from his pocket. He looked down at it before he reached over and grabbed Leah's hand. He placed the small necklace into her palm and squeezed her hand. "It was your mom's. I'm sure you already know that, but—"

Leah immediately looked up at him as she took her hand back, looking down at the necklace. Her eyes watered even more as she turned it over in her palm. It was in that moment that she gripped it tight in her hand and fell forward, throwing her arms around Daryl in a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her in return and let her cry into his shoulder. He could only hope that giving her the necklace was a good idea, that hopefully it didn't necessarily upset her even more.

Daryl rubbed her back for a couple minutes before she began to settle down again, her sobs and sniffling disappearing all together. He carefully pushed her back out at arm's length to look at her again and gently wiped away her tears.

"She loved you. And she would be proud of you for being so strong," Daryl whispered.

Leah nodded, her bottom lip beginning to tremble at his words before she pulled herself together again and blinked away the tears. "Can you help me put the necklace on?"

"I think Skyler might have better luck with that than me. My fingers are too fat," Daryl forced a small smile as he wiped away another tear from Leah's face.

Leah returned a small smile of the sorts and kept the necklace firmly grasped in her hand. "I'm ready to go back now."

Daryl got back to his feet and offered Leah a hand up. She took it and she kept a hold of his hand all the way back to the camp. Daryl didn't fight it. It felt good knowing she was there by his side.

Once they returned to the camp, everyone caught a quick glimpse of the scene. Daryl told himself right then that if anyone wanted to give him shit, he'd knock them flat on their ass.

The sky was beginning to darken as night approached. The others had a fire started up and it looked like they had already fixed something to eat. Daryl walked with Leah over towards Skyler who was near his tent. She forced a smile at the two.

"I already made both of you a plate. You need to eat," Skyler mostly focused her attention on Leah.

"We will," Leah confirmed. "But can you help me with this? Daryl said his fingers are too fat." She held the necklace up to Skyler.

Skyler took the necklace from her hand and looked at Daryl. Daryl only provided her with a small nod before he entered into the tent, giving them some space. She smiled to herself as she had Leah turn around and hold her hair up, clasping the piece of jewelry around her neck.

"Now eat," Skyler brushed her fingers through Leah's hair. "Plate's inside the tent."

Leah nodded before she entered the tent after Daryl. He already had a plate in his lap as he offered the other one to Leah. She sat down next to him and they just ate in silence, having already said what needed to be said. Daryl figured she'd just need some time before she bounced back to her normal self. It was a lot to take in all in one day.

When they had finished eating, Daryl took the plates outside and put them with the rest to be washed later. He noticed Carol must have still been in the RV while everyone else was still sitting around the fire. There was only some small conversation between everyone. Rick and Lori were still inside at Carl's bedside. Daryl hadn't managed to go check up on the kid but he assumed he'd be able to get up and start moving around about any day now. Alex, Lucas, Andrew, and Olivia seemed to keep to themselves just as they had said. They had their group separated from everyone else, a little ways away.

"How's she doing?" Skyler stopped Daryl before he returned to Leah.

"'Bout as good as she can," Daryl shrugged. "She's strong."

"Okay… I'll be back. I'm just going to go check on Olivia and the others." Skyler placed a hand on Daryl's arm in passing, a gesture he took as a small thanks.

Daryl ducked back down into the tent to see Leah lying down on her side. She looked up at him and smiled, patting the vacant space next to her. Daryl forced a smile in return and lay down beside her on his back as she curled up next to him, resting her head in the nook of his arm. She tossed an arm onto his chest and gripped his shirt in her hand.

"I missed you…" Leah whispered, shutting her eyes to rest.

Daryl managed to kiss the top of her head and smiled to himself, "I missed you too."

It didn't take long for Leah to fall asleep as Daryl closed his eyes, listening to the sound of her breathing. Skyler had returned shortly after and lay on the other side of Leah. She smiled at Daryl when she first entered the tent, seeing Leah curled up next to him. He had planned on talking to Carol about earlier, and what exactly was going through her mind when she stormed off. But he figured he'd let it slide until tomorrow. Right now, he was exactly where he wanted to be.