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

A/N: I have to admit, I was a bit excited for this chapter… Because reasons. :P Just as a heads up, this chapter is pretty much all Leah's POV.

And another heads up, I… may or may not have posted the first chapter to the new story I'm going to slowly work on with this one. I'm sorry! My brain is just like a hyper-active child bouncing off the walls. So, if you want to check that out you can. It's titled 'Promises' and it's mostly going to focus on Daryl, Maggie, Carl, and Judith. Technically, yes it's the sequel to Prisoner of War—but it can be read on its own. Okay! Enough about that. Onward!

Broken.

"Shit…" Daryl reached up and rubbed his head, yawning. He opened one eye and noticed Skyler was still lying on his chest. "…The hell?"

Skyler carelessly threw her arm up and smacked her hand to Daryl's mouth, "Shut up… My head is pounding…"

Daryl was just trying to sift through his thoughts and piece together what happened last night before Skyler jerked herself up and onto her knees next to Daryl. She held her head as she stared down at him.

"Holy shit—"

"Yeah, you fell asleep on me…" Daryl glanced down at his shirt. "And you managed not to throw up. Good job."

Skyler groaned, "Sitting up that fast wasn't one of my brightest moments."

"That's kind of why I'm still laying here," Daryl muttered, resting his arm across his eyes. He had a bit of a headache but it wasn't bad. He figured whenever he actually got up, he'd get some water. That usually helped.

But when Daryl looked back over at Skyler, he could tell she was feeling miserable. She had crashed back to the ground on her side slightly curled up with her arm across her head as well.

Daryl forced himself back to his feet at a steady pace. He stretched until he was able to get his shoulder to pop before walking over to Skyler's side. "C'mon. I'll walk ya to the house. See if Hershel has any remedies for a hangover."

Skyler peeked up at him through squinted eyes, the rising sun already providing bright enough light to interfere with both of their headaches. Daryl offered her a hand up as she took it and practically fell into him once she was back on her feet.

"Never… let me drink again," Skyler shook her head. "Ugh…"

Daryl hid his smile as he ushered her towards Hershel's house. She was walking alright but he figured he'd stay with her just in case—not to mention it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to see Hershel about his stitches too. He glanced over towards the camp and quickly realized everyone was beginning to get up for the day as well. At least they weren't too far behind.

When Leah crawled out of the tent, she noticed Daryl and Skyler were gone. She'd be lying if she said she didn't hear them last night. They sounded happy and she could hear both of them laugh every so often. She figured that had to be a good sign. She hadn't heard either of them laugh in a long time, so it was comforting in a way. She tried to peek over at them in the night but could never quite make out their figures in the dark. The fire was too small to really provide that much light from there to the tent. But she could now see the half empty bottle of alcohol sitting in the grass and she could tell they had been drinking. She'd never really seen anyone drunk before besides her uncle Matt during the Super bowl a couple years back—and he was funny drunk. She wasn't sure if that was the same for everyone or not.

Leah smiled to herself as she headed over to the others. There was quite a bit of movement among everyone as they were still settling on where to sit. Carol was fixing eggs again for breakfast as she hummed happily, a slight smirk on her face. That alone was enough to make Leah even happier. She could tell she was so distraught before and now that Sophia was back, she seemed a lot more chipper.

Leah gave a small wave to Sophia before she sat down next to her. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better," Sophia answered. "It feels good to be back with everyone."

"I bet. I can't even imagine being out there. You're brave." Leah figured it was true and it would also make her feel maybe that much better. Encouraging words always made Leah feel better anyway.

Before Sophia could say anything in response, both of the girls realized someone was standing just behind them and casting a shadow. They looked up to see Shane as he pulled his pant legs up, gripping them just above his knees, and squatted down between them.

"Hey, girls… Sophia," Shane nodded. He forced a smile as he continued, "Look… I just wanna say I'm real glad to see you're back and alright. We were all worried about you here. Now, see… There were some people who wanted to give up looking for ya, but I—I told 'em we couldn't. Told 'em we had to keep searching because I knew you were out there."

Leah narrowed her eyes at Shane's lies, "Daryl found her and brought her back."

Shane caught the look Leah was giving him as he reached a hand out and landed on her shoulder, giving a rather hard squeeze. If Leah didn't know any better, she'd think that was his way of telling her to shut up. "That's right, but he only went out looking for ya because I told him to, ya see? I would have gone looking myself but I messed up my ankle there for a bit and then I was needed around here, help make sure things were safe…" Shane paused. "But I just want you to know, Sophia… I'm glad you're okay."

Sophia exchanged looks with Leah, looking at her confused since her face displayed some sort of anger before she muttered a small, "Thanks, Mr. Walsh." Shane patted her on the shoulder before he got back up and left.

"He's lying," Leah immediately blurted. "Everything he just told you was a lie."

"What do you mean? Shane's always seemed nice. He beat up my dad when he was still alive…" Sophia paused. "I know that doesn't sound nice—sorry…"

Leah didn't know anything about Sophia's dad, or really Carol. But she figured she'd skip over those details. It sounded like Sophia's dad apparently needed to be hit so there was no need for an apology on Sophia's part.

"He may seem nice but he's faking it. I don't trust him," Leah folded her arms. "He hurt Daryl. And ever since then, I've been kind of watching him. He gives Rick and Daryl some really nasty looks. And he keeps trying to bother Lori and Carl."

"I thought Shane was Carl's dad when I first met them. Before Rick came back… I thought they were married," Sophia confessed.

Leah nodded as she took in the information. It was certainly interesting all the things she could learn about the others.

Once everyone had finished breakfast, Leah decided to head back to the tent. She still hadn't seen Skyler or Daryl so she figured they must be inside. She hadn't really seen much of Carl this morning either, and she was surprised to see him pilfering through the bag on Daryl's motorcycle.

"What do you think you're doing?" Leah crossed her arms as she walked over closer to him. She realized her voice must have startled him because he slightly jumped. That's when she noticed he was holding onto the gun Skyler had used before.

"I was just looking…" Carl mumbled.

"Well, put it back. It's not yours. Didn't your parents ever teach you not to snoop?"

"…You want to go for a walk?" Carl looked over at her as he changed the subject. Leah could only look back at him confused.

"…Sure?" Leah raised an eyebrow.

Carl grinned, "Well, let's go then!"

Leah watched as he stuffed the gun into the front pocket of his jeans. She was already biting her tongue in telling him to put the gun back but, "Make sure you put the safety on" came out first.

"Don't worry, I already did. Shane taught me all of that." Carl continued, "And don't worry. I'll give it back. But for now, I need it to protect you."

Leah felt her cheeks grow warmer as she quickly glanced down at the ground, anywhere but back at Carl. Had he really just said that he was going to protect her?

"I could have protected myself just as easily. Daryl taught me how to use a gun," Leah challenged.

"Well, we're going into the woods. I heard the others talk about some sort of creek or something over here and I want to see it. Figured morning was the best time to get away from everyone because they're all busy doing stuff," Carl explained.

Leah gave it some thought. Should she really be going into the woods with Carl alone? Should they be sneaking off like this? She felt like she should have told Daryl or Skyler where she was going but the more she thought about it, Daryl probably wouldn't let her go. But they'd be just fine. She wasn't going to let Carl wander too far into the woods because she'd stop following him then.

They walked for a little while, Carl occasionally messing around with the gun by waving it around in the air, pretending to be cautious and ready to shoot. Leah thought it was sort of funny at first but it got old pretty fast. Carl must have noticed that because he quit afterwards.

"Whoa."

Leah saw what Carl was looking at now as she took a couple steps back. There was a walker right there in plain sight, completely stationary on its feet. But it heard Carl's voice and instantly started moving, reaching forward as it tried to get its feet to cooperate. That's when Leah realized it was stuck in the mud.

Carl laughed, "It can't get out. Sucker." He bent down and picked up a good sized rock, testing its weight in his hand before he threw it at the walker. It hit its shoulder as it grunted in response, snapping its jaw and reaching forward once more.

"Carl…" Leah warned.

"What? It can't get us. It's stuck. Besides, I'd kill it before it could ever hurt you." Carl pulled the gun from his pocket and pretended to aim at it, making little 'pew pew!' noises. He even imitated the kickback.

"That's not funny," Leah crossed her arms. For some reason, she felt a pang somewhere in her stomach. Like it was doing somersaults. But she didn't feel sick. She didn't even feel all that nervous about the walker. She felt more nervous of Carl. And when he looked back at her and their eyes locked, she felt her stomach do that weird thing again.

Even though Carl Grimes was a bit childish, he was still pretty cute.

But the sound of the walker falling broke them out of their little gaze as Leah let out a small scream and Carl covered her with the gun raised. The walker was still stuck but it looked like it was close to getting out now, clawing at the mud and dirt underneath it.

"He's not going anywhere. Come on, let's just go back," Carl turned around to face Leah again. She could only nod in agreement. Carl crammed the gun back into his pocket. "When we get back, you can have the gun. I don't want Daryl finding me with it…"

Leah grinned, "Afraid he'll bite your head off?"

"Wha—no," Carl quickly replied. "…I'll just let you return it."

It was obvious Carl was a little afraid of Daryl and that news had plastered the slightest grin on her face as they split up once returning to camp. Leah had the gun tucked into the back of her jeans so that it was out of view, just in case. She figured if she ran into Daryl she'd at least have time to try and explain her story before he freaked out about her having it in the first place.

But when she noticed Dale was talking to Daryl by their tent, she slowed to a halt. Neither of them had seen her yet, and for that she was thankful. She tried to stay out of their line of sight as she picked up bits and pieces of what they were talking about.

"This group's broken. I'm better off fending for myself." Daryl wasn't even giving Dale his full attention. He was distracting himself, doing everything possible not to look at him.

"What about Leah? And Skyler?" Dale badgered. "You act like you don't care."

"I care about them, but that's it."

"So you're okay with… with going through what's going to happen to Randall? You think it's right to have him executed?"

"Sure, might as well. He don't mean anything to me."

"You make it sound like it doesn't matter. So why not take a stand with me? Try to save the kid's life. He's only a kid!"

Daryl scoffed, "Didn't peg you for a desperate son of a bitch."

"Your opinion matters and it can make all the difference."

"Ain't nobody looking at me for nothing."

"Your family is—Skyler and Leah. I am right now. And you have Rick's ear—"

Daryl turned his attention to Dale now, his eyes narrowed. "Rick just looks to Shane. Let him."

"You cared about finding Sophia. You didn't give up. I know you care about what happens. But torturing people? That isn't you. You're a decent man. So is Rick. Shane—he's different."

Daryl crossed his arms, "Yeah? And why's that? 'Cause he killed Otis?"

Dale's expression immediately changed. He looked shocked as he dropped his voice down a little lower as Leah strained to keep listening. "He tell you that?"

"That bullshit story about how Otis covered him and saved his ass? Shane could hardly walk after twisting his ankle. Rick ain't stupid. If he didn't figure that out, it's 'cause he didn't wanna. It's like I said—group's broken."

Dale gave him a small nod before lowering his head and leaving Daryl to be left alone. Leah figured she'd wait a minute or two before she just waltzed right over. She wondered if she should let on about everything she was beginning to figure out. Shane killed a man, Daryl tortured Randall, Skyler and Daryl were drunk the previous night. She almost regretted standing there with the gun behind her because she knew Daryl would eventually spot her.

"I'm guessing you heard all of that…" Daryl muttered. He wasn't looking towards her but she knew he was talking to her.

"Some of it," Leah confessed. She walked over to him now and into plain sight. She wondered if she should tell him anything about going out into the woods with Carl. Then she figured she'd try to hide it if she could. Daryl didn't look too happy and she didn't want him to get angry.

"I don't mean anything bad against you or Skyler. I don't know what all you heard or what you got out of all that—"

"I know," Leah cut him off. "But when you said the group's broken… You're not leaving… right?" She couldn't help but ask. The thought suddenly occurred to her.

"We are not leaving," Daryl corrected her, placing emphasis on the 'we'. This made Leah smile. She didn't think Daryl would ever leave her or Skyler, but for whatever reason the thought still crossed her mind in that moment. She wasn't sure what exactly happened between her mom and dad but she just assumed Michael left her mom—something bad happened. She kind of regretted not ever talking to her mom about everything, personal or not. Because now she would never know…

Leah closed the gap between her and Daryl and hugged him. Even if she had only known him for a little over two years, she felt like he should be her real dad. She'd never be able to express how much she truly loved him and how happy she was to have him in her life. She didn't know what she would do without him or if something ever did happen to him. She didn't want to think about it.

She felt Daryl rub her back before kissing her on top of her head. And she couldn't help but smile.

It was once again nighttime as Leah sat around the main camp's fire next to Skyler, her head resting against her shoulder. It was beginning to get a bit chilly at night and Leah dreaded what that meant. Winter would be upon them before they knew it.

While Leah was out in the woods with Carl earlier that day, she realized that's when Rick and Shane must have returned. But they came back all bruised and beaten with Randall. Leah wasn't sure what exactly happened. She didn't think Randall could have gotten the jump on both of the men, that didn't seem likely. However, since they didn't drop Randall off somewhere, it left him back in the barn to be killed… And of course, Daryl was the one who had to take care of it. Shane and Rick barely looked at each other and Leah was beginning to think their bruises were from one another. After learning what she did earlier, it wouldn't surprise her. Shane didn't seem like a safe guy to be around.

Carol and Sophia were sitting next to Skyler as Lori had Carl wrapped in her arms across the campfire from them. Leah caught Carl's eyes staring back at her and she smiled at him. Carl smiled in return. Leah noticed Sophia was shivering slightly and she reached out to grab her hand. The action startled Sophia as she glanced over and gave a weak smile. Leah wanted her to know that she was there for her, she wanted to be friends. The world was too cruel now. It wasn't like you got to choose who you wanted to have as a friend anymore. Everyone just had to stay close and work together.

Nobody really said much of anything. The only sound was the crackling of the fire emitting heat. Everyone was crowded around and leaning on someone, shoulders almost touching. Leah had Skyler, Sophia had Carol, Carl had Lori, Lori had Rick, Glenn had Maggie, Amy had Lucas, Olivia had Shane… The only people that were missing from the circle were the rest of Hershel's family and neighbors, and Daryl and Dale. Leah just figured Dale was probably inside the RV or something. Or maybe he was keeping watch. She was too tired and chilled to move.

Just as she felt her eyes get heavy, the warmth of Skyler next to her lulling her off to a light sleep, someone screaming had caught her attention. She stayed still for a moment. Maybe it was just a dream. Maybe she was just hallucinating it. The world had a funny way of doing that now—scaring her.

But her eyes shot open as she sat up straight, wide awake. The screaming was real, and it was Daryl. He was screaming for help.

Leah felt like her heart had stopped when she looked out at everyone else. They all wore the same panicked look as everybody began to jump back to their feet and take off running. Leah didn't bother to hesitate. She didn't wait for someone to tell her she had to stay back just in case, just to be safe. She didn't care. Daryl was in trouble. And now she regretted sneaking the gun back to the satchel on the Triumph.

Okay… "obvious cliffhanger is obvious". But for the sake of stopping and picking this back up, it felt like a good place.

P.S. I'm not going to abandon this story. No worries. I might eventually get a little hung up from time to time, but I will not completely abandon this.