Disclaimer: Nope, nada, zilch, zero. Well... one. But nobody else!
Author's Note: Again, thanks to everyone who has favorited/followed this story. :)
And thanks to the lovely reviewers.
Padme4000, halfemptyflask, jasminedragonemployee (your comments crack me up!),
fabsch1, velvetemr73, and workitblackjesus.

As Rick would say, I guess you're all a bunch of sweethearts. ;)

CHAPTER FIVE.
AND THEN THERE WERE THREE.

Lori raked her hands through Shane's hair as her body collapsed on top of his, both panting quietly. They were laying in a beautiful patch of green grass and flowers along the creek bed. They were completely intertwined in each other. The words he had said to her- she couldn't tell him no. She laid next to him now with her head rested on his chest and stared up into the bright blue sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight and it was truly a gorgeous day out. He watched her attentively as her eyes fluttered closed, she was clearly worn out. His sex always had that affect on her since the first time it happened. He let her fall asleep the way she was and observed her chest rise and fall in perfect sync with his. Her lips were slightly parted and he could feel her warm breath flow across his skin sending a tingle down his spine.

"I really do love you," he whispered in her ear softly even though he knew she could not hear him. His face became crestfallen at the thought that eventually this would not happen. He wouldn't have her in his arms and he wouldn't be able to make love to her anymore. The thought of Rick doing all those things provoked him from the back of his mind and he cringed at the thought of him touching her. He knew he was wrong to think that way- she was his wife after all, but he had come to love her in a way he never loved a woman before. He wasn't sure if he was capable of having it all ripped out from under him and still manage to keep it together.

She began to stir whenever he brushed her bangs out of her face. She peeked up at him with a small smile. Her fingertips caressed his arm and sent every inch of him on fire.

"How long was I out?"

"Only a few minutes," the longer her fingers wandered the greater his desire burned inside. He could truly never get enough of this woman.

"Maybe we should try again… then I can sleep for once," the smile she had before transformed into a mischievous grin. He shook his head and guffawed at her similar insatiable appetite for him that he had for her. Shane detangled himself from her arms and climbed on top of her, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Anything for you baby."

T-Dog grabbed the first person that rounded the corner by the white wife beater he was wearing and held it tight in his fist. He slammed him up against the wall with eyes wide open. He was caught completely off guard and unsure of what to do, this wasn't in Glenn's big plan.

"Who are you?" He demanded an answer with suspicious eyes not parting from the strangers. Daryl's focus was taken off the street and he hastily left his post to join the scuffle behind him.

"Who the hell's this punk?" He came over wielding his crossbow with utmost caution which made the kid pin his own back to the wall in fear of his life.

"Whoa, don't shoot me!" His voice cracked as he squealed out. His mind was racing as the whole situation unraveled, he wasn't even supposed to be doing this, his only job was a look out and now he was suddenly a hostage. Without even thinking of the impending consequences he cried out to one of his partners for help only to have Daryl cover his mouth with his hand.

"Shut up, you're gonna bring the geeks down on us!" He hissed at the squirming kid. Suddenly he recoiled and began cussing under his breath all the while gripping his hand tightly. He became enraged with the audacity of this little punk ass kid, he bit him!

The young gang member recognized another opportunity and screamed out into the air at the top of his lungs. T-Dog was seconds from taking over the silencing when a metal baseball bat cracked him in the back of the head with a thunderous blow. His fist unclenched the shirt and released the person responsible for the whole fiasco. He fell to the floor holding his head as disorientation and agonizing pain engulfed his whole frame. Daryl tried to retaliate but had stalled too long and was met with fists and baseball bat beatings. Glenn rounded the corner and stared in utter shock, it was a grim sight to take in as they beat both of them violently, raining blow after blow on the defenseless men. With eyes wide as saucers he began to back away when one of them noticed him and lunged full force.

"That's it, that's the bag! Take it! Take it!" The smaller man commanded his larger counterpart while continuing to keep the others down. He vindictively thrust his large forearm directly into the nose and eyes of Glenn before giving him a fair share of the beatings. One of the unknown assailants dragged him through the gate to a car that screeched to a sudden halt in front of them.

"Daryl! T-Dog!" Glenn's panicked voice was strained with trepidation, everything was falling out from under him. His cries for help were rendered useless when they shoved him into the backseat. Both of the beaten men struggled to their feet with every ounce of strength they had left.

"Come back here!" Daryl ran forward and hung on the door which swung slowly inward under his weight. A group of walkers staggered over and clung to the fence with faces dripping of blood and torn flesh; they were definitely hungry and T-Dog and Daryl were definitely caged in. They were animals caught in a trap.

"Sons of bitches!" T-Dog watched Daryl's rage escalate and explode as he turned his attention to the wounded looking kid.

"Glenn?!" Taylor called out near the surrounded fence as the car sped into the distance and out of sight.

"I'm gonna kick your-" Rick held Daryl back from the young stranger that neither of them had even noticed was there. T-Dog used one hand to restrain the clamorous teenager back against the wall again.

"What the hell happened?" Rick could barely even hear his own voice over all the ensuing chaos. He glanced over Daryl's shoulder to see a mob of zombies honing in on them. They were barricading the fence and he was not sure how much longer it could hold their weight.

"Let me go!" He struggled relentlessly against T-Dog's much larger frame.

"Chill out!" He shouted back to him equally as loud and held him firmly in place. He was not going to let the little creep out of his sight.

"They took Glenn! This little bastard and his bastard homie friends! I'm gonna stomp your ass!" Daryl warned with malice in his voice and repeatedly attempted to get around Rick. The act was hopeless since the leader of the whole escapade did not plan on letting happen.

"Guys! GUYS! We're cut off!" T-Dog quickly reminded them of the horror that laid behind a few feet of fence. Rick pointed his finger off into the alley as a silent direction that T-Dog followed obediently. He dragged the trouble maker away with Taylor trailing close behind to cover them. They were headed back to the initial meeting point with or without Glenn.

"God damn… let's go."

Rick grabbed the bag of guns and paused for a moment making sure to grab his sheriff's hat. It was like a security blanket to him and he was not going to leave it behind now that he had it back in his reach again.

"Those men you were with, we need to know where they went," Rick had himself propped up on the desk in a relaxed manner. He had done a few interrogations in his time and he knew being aggressive usually proved to be worthless and would only make the suspect clam up more.

"I ain't telling you nothing," the kid wiped his lip where dried blood had formed and looked up at him with emotionless eyes. T-Dog sat nearby with a gun seated neatly in his lap just in case their new hostage decided to bolt. He glanced over out the corner of his eye and decided it was not worth it to run, their little scare tactic had worked.

"How did all of this happen?" Taylor stood up from the seat and looked between the three who were actually present for Glenn's kidnapping.

"They jumped us," T-Dog said quietly and gave the little brat next to him a dirty look.

"We didn't even see 'em, came outta nowhere," Daryl added while he pacing the room like he always did.

"You jumped me puto," he corrected with annoyance in his voice. None of this would have happened if he didn't offer to help to try and win brownie points with his own leader. Taylor giggled at his comment, she didn't know much Spanish but she knew enough to know that they wouldn't have appreciated his choice of word for them.

"Come on this is bullshit, tell us where they are!" Daryl was beginning to lose his cool again and was not willing to negotiate anymore. He attempted to attack when Rick shoved him back to keep them apart for the umpteenth time. Taylor sat back down on the edge of another desk in the corner of the room. She didn't feel like interfering this time and could have really cared less what happened to the kid. He was with the people that stole Glenn and was not willing to offer his knowledgeable services of the hideout. She really didn't have any sympathy for him at this point.

"Stay back Daryl, back off!" He warned him with a pointed finger. He could not play babysitter at the moment if they intended to find Glenn.

"You want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" Daryl rummaged through the backpack until he came upon the blood soaked blue bandana. He unwrapped it swiftly and smiled to himself before approaching the smart mouthed kid. He threw it haphazardly onto his lap in hopes that he would be scared enough to talk.

"Ah!" He jumped out of his seat faster than a cheetah chasing down an injured meal and cowered in the nearby corner.

"I'm gonna start with the feet this time," he knelt down eye to eye and wrapped his hands around his throat. He just wanted to strangle the information out of him, he was so damn tired of playing games. Rick returned to his duty as guard dog and yanked him away again- also getting tired of playing games.

"You guys really need to work on your good cop bad cop routine," Taylor said with a roll of her eyes. None of them were any closer to finding Glenn than they were before and horsing around wasn't seeming to help. Rick glanced back at her with a glimmer of humor in his eye at the snide remark but did not react to it.

"They took our friend, all we want to do is talk to them, see if we can work something out," his voice was soft now even after all the frustration of everything going awry. The kid locked eyes with him and nodded slowly. He finally agreed after mulling it over, as much as he didn't want to do it for fear of being outcast when he got back he decided he needed to if he wanted to stay alive.

They crouched down outside a crumbling wall just before the entrance of the gangs hideout. T-Dog, and Rick scouted the area while Taylor and Daryl stayed back with their captive kid. She tilted her head to the side slightly to get a good look at him and decided he couldn't have been older than fifteen.

"Like what you see mami?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes at his not so subtle attempt at flirting. Daryl stood with his back to them watching the perimeter intently but listening to every word.

"Were you with this crowd before the uh… virus?" She decided to change the subject and not even acknowledge what he had said.

"Yeah, I didn't just stumble up on them or anything," he folded his arms across his chest and watched T-Dog and Rick as they surveyed the scene.

"But you're so young, like what, fifteen?"

"I'm old enough to know you're trynna find out if I'm jail bait," he smirked confidently and continued on, "I could probably make you say there's no way I'm sixteen."

"Watch it," Daryl demanded over his shoulder when he'd heard enough of the come on's from the little chump.

"If he doesn't cut your hands off than I might," she said with a mischievous smirk. He shut his mouth tightly and deduced that it was better to remain silent until he was reunited with his group. She had to admit he had perseverance but did not think it wise to indulge in his futile attempts of getting into her pants, and rile Daryl up in the process.

Rick and T-Dog finished their evaluation of the tucked away building and nodded for the three to rejoin them at their 'base'. They hurriedly discussed the plan that was meant to take place within the next few minutes. Time seemed to be running out on the invisible clock that loomed over them.

"You sure you're up for this?" Rick asked T-Dog as he loaded his own gun quietly near the wrought iron fence. He already knew the answer but had to make sure nobody was going to back out at the very last second. Then they could all be dead.

"Yeah," he grabbed the duffle bag full of guns and forged on through the thick woods, he needed to sneakily comb around the outskirts of the factory's fortress to find a non-dangerous way to the top. It also had to have an excellent vantage point for his sniping. T-Dog knew he had some work cut out for him. As he left sight of the remaining four Daryl dropped his head to look down at the only person seated on the floor.

"One wrong move, you get an arrow in the ass, just so you know," he warned with no sign of hilarity in his voice. He could not have hated a person more than he did at that exact moment. This whole entire fiasco could have been avoided had this little snake not slithered into their way. Probably coulda found Merle by now, he thought to himself with contempt deep seeded in his mind.

"G's gonna take that arrow outta my ass, and shove it up yours, just so you know," he spat in arrogance. For someone in his position none of the three remaining Atlanta Survivors could fathom why he was so conceited.

"G?" Rick's curiosity was now peaked. The kid had not yet mentioned anyone named G and if he didn't know any better he would have assumed that he was the leader of their gang.

"Guillermo, he's the man here," he tried to hide the worry in his eyes but Rick could see it from a mile away. His initial assumption was right and he knew that this 'G' character was clearly the one who called all the shots around this part of town.

"Okay than," he cocked his shotgun and nodded towards the entrance, "let's go see Guillermo." In their usual single file fashion each person ducked through a broken window that had iron bars that clearly had been taken care of already. Daryl and Rick cautiously followed close behind their captive with Taylor in the far back. She always hated how she could not be the leader- not even once, she wouldn't complain about it though, other than to herself. As they drew closer to the large wooden doors the intensity became physically overwhelming. To say you could cut the tension with a knife would be a drastic understatement. The doors crept open agonizingly slow and offered the exact person they were looking for.

"You okay little man?" He eyed him up and down and seemed satisfied when he did not see any injuries. He stood silent without an answer, there were guns to his front, and guns to his back. He didn't exactly feel safe at the moment. "I would like to cut to the chase," he added whenever no response was made.

"So would we," Rick had his everlasting composed and assertive attitude shining through as he spoke. Taylor was equally as impressed as the last time.

"You got my brother in there?" Daryl could not resist asking, he was hopeful that it would be true and he could finally stop wondering if he was alive or dead.

"Sorry, we're fresh out of white boys. But I got an Asian… Interested?"

"You got one of our guys, we've got one of yours. Even trade." Rick was trying his best to keep everyone from popping off, but the group he was dealing with seemed to be a little jumpy and trigger happy. He was not sure he could pull this off with the non-negotiating Guillermo.

"I don't think so man," his answer and tone were both clipped. "My people got attacked, where's the compensation for their pain and suffering?" He sniffled and continued on with this short speech, "more to the point, where's my bag of guns?"

"The bag your speaking of is not yours, so we won't be handing it over," he kept his eyes locked with a fellow leader. They both knew what was on the line and what the world was like out there. Neither one was going to compromise when it came to the bag.

"What's to stop my people from unloading on you right now, and I take what's mine?" Half-way through the question everyone's guns clicked and were brought up to be aimed at one another. T-Dog squinted through the scope internally praying that it would all be over in a matter of minutes, no… seconds. His crosshair was focused only on Guillermo's face, and could not see anything else that was happening outside of that. Rick peered up at him from the corner of his eye which only made G's follow suit. He spotted the sniper and chuckled to himself at the audaciousness these strangers had within them. He signaled for his boys on the roof to bring Glenn out to the edge. They ripped the bag off of his head and let him see where his possible forthcoming death was to be. Glenn was soaked in sweat just as everyone was from the nail biting situation they had found themselves locked in. They could hear his muffled shouts and screams all the way from down below. Rick and Daryl looked up to him with sympathy but were essentially helpless with the numbers game not being in their favor.

"I see two options. You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks. Or you come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood," his smug smirk made both men grimace with pure loathe running through their veins like they'd never experienced before. His eyes burned into them as they began to back up and retreat like little puppies with their tails tucked between their legs.

"One more thing," he rose his eyebrows and the same haughty grin reappeared on his face. "We're going to need just a tiny bit more collateral." Rick and Daryl exchanged an apprehensive fleeting look with one another. G's smile widened as they began turning in circles looking for his new deal sweetener. "We snatched her while you were playing the price is right. You may be good with guns but you are not good with your own people."

"Let her go," Rick held out his arm to keep Daryl back without even looking . He didn't need a degree in biochemical engineering to know his rowdy partner was going to charge regardless of the twenty plus guns set on them. "This wasn't part of the deal," his jaw was clenched so tight he thought his teeth might crumble from the pressure. He could barely handle having the kidnapping of Glenn be on his shoulders let alone Taylor.

"She your daughter ese? She's real pretty," he ran his fingers through her hair with a sick satisfaction playing in his eyes. One of the larger gang members held her firmly in place with one giant hand covering her mouth. She stood stalk still and silent without even as much as a flinch. Even though she was not always the sharpest crayon in the box she knew that the last possible thing she wanted to do was try to get away and cause gun fire to rain down on them all. Not to mention the person keeping her hostage had at least two hundred pounds on her.

G could easily tell by their reactions that this was going to change everything about their feeble excuse for a deal. He wanted, no needed, those guns and he was going to do just about anything to get them. Taking the girl may have been the golden ticket he required.

"You touch her n I'll gut you like pigs, all a ya'll!" Daryl fought against Rick as he stood in front of him to block his path. He shoved him back so they weren't even close to the doors anymore and grabbed the kid by the arm to drag him along as well.

"Not the time or place Daryl!" Rick knew that as much as he didn't want to leave both Glenn and Taylor abandoned that the best thing to do was to regroup and come up with a new plan. Taylor's eyes were dead locked with his silently pleading for help, she cast them away to the floor unable to deal with the fact that she might not see any of them again. Once the doors had sealed themselves shut with a thunderous clap the minutes began working against them.

"TAYLOR!"