Author's Note:

Guess what, it's me! FINALLY! I know, I know. I've been pretty sucky at updating lately, but I've been working really hard and hopefully I can get back to updating at least once a week now. As always, thank you a ton for being so amazingly patient! To anyone who's left reviews or messaged me, I love you. To any new followers, welcome to the gang and the wonderful ship that is Darlie. Before we get to the story, though, there is one minor thing I'd like to address...

Sooooooo...Charlie's pregnant. I really was not expecting so many people to be against that. I honestly had no idea this was a common thing in Daryl fanfic. I mean, I've read a lot and I've only ever come across one story where the girl actually gets knocked up. That being said, it was almost sort of the plan that this would happen all along. It seemed like the right course to take. I'm sorry to those of you who feel it's a cliche and don't like it. I can't change it and I wouldn't even if I wanted to. Just have faith in my decisions, okay? Okay. Glad we all got past that. Phew.

Now we can get onto the chapter.

Enjoy biscuits, next time I won't make you wait so long.

-Nikki

Charlie

Daryl trailed quietly after me as I made my way towards Beth's cell, my stomach twisted into knots. I practiced reciting the words over and over in my head. I couldn't think of anything, though, that would make what I was about to tell her any easier. There was never a good way to let a person know that someone they cared about was gone. I slowed to a stop outside her cell door and looked over my shoulder at Daryl. He gave me a quick nod. His way of encouraging me to just get it over with. I sucked in a deep breath and stepped into the doorway.

"Hey." I said softly.

She was sprawled on her bed, scribbling away in a notebook. Despite it being a prison cell, her room resembled almost exactly what mine looked like when I'd been a teenager…clothes everywhere, books piled on the floor, and pictures and drawings tacked to the wall. She looked up at me, blonde curls spilling over one shoulder. Her eyes searched my face and shifted towards Daryl behind me. I saw understanding suddenly register in her expression.

Her face fell for a moment before she was sitting up, smoothing back her hair. "It's Zach. He's dead, isn't he?" When she looked back at me again, there was no trace of sadness or shock. Nothing.

I hesitated before nodding slowly. "I'm so sorry, Beth. There was nothing any of us could've done. It happened so fast." My voice shook just slightly, hopefully unnoticeable to anyone other than myself.

She reached out then and grabbed my hand. "It's alright, Charlie." She gave my hand a squeeze and I knew the surprise on my face was obvious.

This was not the reaction I'd been expecting. This was not the emotion I'd been preparing myself to deal with. She let out a breath before standing and crossing the room. She had an old sign balanced on top of a shelf…one of those old factory signs that kept track of how many days without an accident. I watched as she changed the number from 30 to 0. I snuck a glance back at Daryl again to see him watching her with eyebrows furrowed. Like me, trying to figure her out. Was there no emotion there at all or was she burying it too deep to surface?

She turned back around and looked between the two of us. "What?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing." I said quietly. "I was just preparing myself for the worst. You sure you're alright?"

"I don't cry anymore." She shrugged. I'm just glad I got to know him."

"Me too." I heard Daryl answer in his quiet, gruff tone.

I nodded. "He was a good person. He saved Bob's life." I held Beth's gaze, but didn't see any sign of tears lurking behind her eyes. It made me wonder what kind of place the world had become for us to start becoming so immune to the sadness of losing someone. I reached out and pulled her into my arms. "You know where to find me if you need anything." I couldn't stop myself from saying. I gave her a weak smile when we pulled a part, one that she easily returned. I turned to Daryl. "I'm gonna check on Gabe."

He nodded. "I'll come find you in a minute."

I nodded and turned to leave, footsteps feeling heavy. I heard their quiet muffled voices fade away as I took the stairs to find Gabe. He was alone in his cell, a comic book in his hands but eyes staring blankly at the cement ceiling. He looked up when I came into the room. "Hey."

"Where'd you get that?" I asked, leaning against a small, makeshift desk. I gestured to the comic in his hands.

"Carl, of all people." He smiled a little. "He's got a pretty impressive collection going on."

"Probably nothing compared to the one you had when we were kids." I added, smiling back. His smile grew, no doubt remembering exactly what I was referring to. My mom had to clean out an entire linen closet in our house just to store all his comic books. "Just wanted to make sure you were alright. I know you and Zach were friends."

He nodded, and I watched as his smile twisted into a frown. "Yeah…he was a good dude. Sucks to lose him."

"I'm tired of losing people too." I agreed with a sigh, running a hand through my ponytail. "I'm worried about Beth. She took it way better than I thought she would."

Gabe raised an eyebrow. "Did she give you that 'I don't cry anymore' crap?" He asked, catching me by surprise. He rolled his eyes at my expression. "She's fed me that a few times before. I don't believe it for a second."

"I don't know, Gabe. I wouldn't be surprised. People can get used to anything with enough time. Still makes me worry, though. She's a sweet girl, I'd hate to see that part of her fade." I admitted.

"Maybe I'll try talking to her. See if that helps at all." Gabe offered with a shrug.

I smiled softly at him. "You're a good kid, Gabe." I took a step towards him and ruffled his hair affectionately. He batted my hand away halfheartedly. "I'm gonna lay down, I'll see you at dinner."

I headed down the hall till I reached the last cell, the one Daryl and I now shared openly. While we hadn't came right out and said we were together, it was pretty much an unstated fact at this point. The knowing looks and smiles were hard to miss whenever anyone saw us together. Plus, life was so short anymore. Why waste time hiding something that made us both happy?

Daryl was already inside, seated on the edge of the mattress. He was bent over, elbows resting on his knees and head in his hands. He looked like a man with the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. Sometimes I thought that was true.

"She say anything else?" I asked, crossing the room to sit beside him.

He glanced up at me and shook his head. "Nothin' much. Almost felt like she was tryin' to comfort me instead. Tried givin' me a hug and everythin'."

My eyebrows shot up and I couldn't help but crack a small smile. It wasn't a secret that Daryl wasn't a fan of being comforted by anyone. I wasn't surprised that Beth had been the one to completely disregard that. "You think she's really okay?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Dunno…seems that way. Maybe she has her own way of dealin' with this kinda shit."

I nodded, leaning back against the wall and propping my feet up on the bed. "Gabe said he'd check on her anyways. Maybe she'll open up to him instead."

Daryl nodded before giving me a sideways glance. "He's alright?"

I gave a halfhearted shrug. "I guess…it sorta shocks me sometimes, how grown up he seems. I still remember him as this little kid with paint stuck in his hair. You know?"

One corner of his mouth pulled upwards in a half smile. "I remember." He scooted backwards until he had back pressed against the wall too, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I grabbed his hand, lacing my fingers through his. I was lost in thought for a long moment, burying myself in old memories. It was something I used to try to avoid doing at first, because it was so painful. Now, though, the memories of what the world used to be gave me a happy place to revisit. A small voice in the back of my mind, though, was always there to remind me that had the world not ended, I might not have ever found Daryl again. Imagining a life without him, any life at all, was always worse.

"Where'd you disappear to now?" Daryl's voice broke through my thoughts and I blinked, looking up at him. An amused smirk played across his lips.

"Nowhere really. Just thinking." I answered, running my hand over my small, swollen belly. Daryl's hand suddenly slid over my stomach, resting on the tiny bump. I felt a small smile flitter across my lips at his gentle touch.

He suddenly cleared his throat and leaned back against the wall, angling himself to face me. I could tell by the hard set of his jaw that he was about to say something that he knew I wasn't going to like. Like he was bracing himself for a tornado. It was almost funny how well I knew him, that I could sense his intentions just by his expressions and body movements. Most of the time anyways…sometimes the man was as much as mystery to me as he was to everybody else.

"After what happened today, I dunno if I want you out there anymore." He finally said, lifting his eyes to mine. "Before you bite my head off about it, though, hear me out. Today was supposed to be real easy. In and out, no big deal. Even that turned into a shit storm. I can't think straight when you're out there with me. All I can think about it somethin' happenin' to you….it's always been that way, but now you have our baby inside you and if somethin' were to happen to the both of ya'…." He trailed off, shaking his head.

I didn't know if it was the hormones amplifying everything I felt, but my heart suddenly hurt. How was it possible for someone to love me, of all people, as much as Daryl Dixon did? And how had I gone so many years without being able to see it? I didn't know if I deserved it sometimes, but I felt so incredibly lucky to have this. To have him. I scooted closer to him and pressed my lips against the corner of his mouth.

He perked an eyebrow as I pulled away, clearly surprised. "What the hell was that for? I was waitin' for you to blow up at me."

I smiled at him and leaned back against the wall. "For being you. For being around when we were kids. For finding me in those woods and bringing me back to the farm with you."

He still had an eyebrow raised, but his mouth slowly lifted into a smirk. "Crazy pregnancy hormones." He muttered.

I shrugged. "But you're right. I mean I want to argue, trust me, but deep down I know you're right." I admitted and Daryl's expression showed just how surprised he was to hear me agreeing with him. "Me being out there puts both of us in extra danger. You're too worried about me to be worried about you…and I need you to worry about you, for me. I need you." I finished quietly. "And because of that reason, and the baby too, I'm willing to sit on the sidelines for a little while."

Daryl pressed his palm to my cheek and turned my face towards him. His gaze raked over me before his blue eyes found mine and his steady gaze held me. "I'm not goin' anywhere. You know as long as you need me, I'll be right here."

I placed my hand over top of his, his skin warm against my cheek. "I know." I said quietly. "So I guess that means you're stuck with me forever."

He let out a low chuckle and pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me as I laid my head in the crook of his shoulder. I could feel his warm breath against the top of my hair before his lips pressed against my forehead. "Lucky me."

"You're up early. Not used to seein' you before Daryl." Rick grunted, giving me a small smile as he passed by into the pig pen, Carl at his heels. "When'd you become such an early riser?"

I ruffled the younger boy's hair as he passed by and he scrunched up his face, sending me a dramatic glare. "No idea…I'm just as surprised about it as you are." I smiled. I folded my arms across the fence post and watched as the two of them dumped two buckets of food into the trough. One of the little piglets was sniffing around the dirt near my feet and I crouched down, reaching my hand through the gap to stroke the bristled fur on its back. "You're too cute to eat." I mumbled under my breath. I heard Carl snicker. I looked up at him and stuck at my tongue, only for him to return the gesture without any hesitation.

"Better not get too attached to that thing. That's dinner." I heard Daryl's familiar drawl coming from behind me.

I looked over my shoulder and gave him a playful glare. "Not so loud, the pig might hear you." I joked. I wiped my hands on the front of my jeans and stood up, the joints in my knees popping. I closed the space between us, wrapping my arms around his middle and breathing him in.

"Surprised you got yer ass outta bed at this hour." I heard him mutter, his lips slightly brushing against my head.

"That's what I was just sayin'." Rick agreed.

I rolled my eyes, a tiny smile tugging at one corner of my mouth. I was willing to excuse their teasing for the simple reason that Rick was finally starting to come back around again. Sometimes I saw little snippets of the man he used to be come out, like now. It was a relief when that happened. For a while we had all started to wonder if he'd ever be even remotely the same.

I opened my mouth to quip a half-hearted comeback when two gunshots suddenly rang out, clear as day. I felt my heart falter in my chest as I looked up at Daryl, his expression rigid with alarm. His eyes met mine for a single second before we were both off, racing towards the sound.

"Carl, get to the guard tower with Maggie and Glenn!" I heard Rick order his son before following after us, easily matching my stride.

I could hear the blood pounding in my ears as I followed Daryl towards the cellblocks. Some small part of me hoped that we had all heard wrong, that it wasn't gunshots but something else. The better part of me, though, knew it was foolish to hope. That usually it was a wasted action. We had just lost Zach less than twenty-four hours ago, though. Losing anyone else so soon…it made my stomach churn.

We finally reached the cement walls of the prison just in time to see Sasha and Carol racing out of cellblock C.

"Walkers in D!" Sasha shouted, pointing in the direction of the other cellblock, where all of the newest members of our group had been staying. Dozens of them.

"What about C?" Rick demanded.

"Clear! Just D!"

Suddenly, I heard two small voices crying out for help. I put on a burst of speed and reached the doors of cellblock D just as Mika and Lizzie, two little girls from Woodbury, came barreling out. Both were in tears and looked terrified.

I stepped forward and scooped Mika up into my arms, cradling her head as she cried into my shoulder and clutched at my shirt. "Shhh…shhh. I got you. I got you." I mumbled, rubbing her back as I looked over her blonde head towards Lizzie who was clinging to Carol with wide eyes.

"They're everywhere!" Lizzie was crying, her voice high pitched and panicky.

"Stay with the kids." Daryl said shortly and before I could say a word, he was racing into the cellblock, Carol, Glenn and Rick hot on his heels.

I fought the urge to run in after them, wanting to help. Instead, I reached for Lizzie's hand and pulled her away from the doors where the sounds of screams and gunshots streamed out of. Lizzie's tiny fingers curled around mine, Mika tears soaking the shoulder of my shirt.

"You're safe now. Rick and Daryl will handle this. Everything will be fine." I told them as calmly as I could, keeping my eyes on the cellblock door. I knew whatever was happening inside wasn't fine, though. Far from it. I took in a breath and let it out slowly, reminding myself that Daryl was the most capable person in there right now, that he could handle anything. Like I had just told the girls.

"What the hell is goin' on?"

Tyreese had appeared at my shoulder, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. I remembered he had been out at the fences, trying to clear them out.

"Walkers. Daryl and Rick went in with some of the others, I don't know how bad-" Before I could finish my sentence, he had taken off at full speed towards the door. It was then that it dawned on me that Karen, his girlfriend, was in there. God, and Daryl was in there too.

It felt like a lifetime as we waited outside, flinching at every gunshot and Mika's tiny fist clutching my shirt tighter at every scream. Suddenly, though, the cellblock door burst open as people began to pour out. Only some were bloody, but all of them looked horrified. I gently set Mika on the ground and pried her hands from around my neck.

"No-no-no! Don't go, Charlie!" She stammered, her blue eyes still wide and filled with tears, her voice bordering on hysterical.

I crouched down and wiped a tear from her cheek with my thumb. "I'm not going anywhere. I just need to make sure everyone else coming outside is alright. Lizzie will stay with you." I looked up at Lizzie who nodded quickly and took her sister's hand.

"Good girl." I forced a smile and stood back to my feet. Before I could take a step, though, Carol was there. The look on her face sent a chill down my spine. Her eyes slid from me to Lizzie and Mika and I watched as her shoulders sagged.

"What is it?" I asked in a hushed voice.

She shook her head and grabbed my arm, leading me just a few steps away and turned her back towards the two small girls. "Their father was bit."

I felt like the air had been knocked from my lungs as I pressed a hand to my mouth. I stole a glance at Lizzie and Mika before looking back at Carol. "Where was he bit?" I asked quickly, thinking about Hershel and his leg.

"I tried, but he was bit in two different places. That's both their mother and their father that they've lost now." She sighed, bringing a hand to her temple. "I don't know what this will do to them."

"Do you want me to tell them?" I asked hesitantly, although the idea of telling the two little girls they were orphans now shattered my heart.

Carol shook her head again. "No, I can do it. I should do it. Ryan asked me to." Her eyes slid from me towards the cellblock. "I don't know how this happened. Walkers didn't get in…someone inside turned and started attacking."

"Is Daryl-" I asked hesitantly.

Carol nodded and I felt relief rush through me. "I think it's all been taken care of. They're just making sure no one turns."

"I'm going inside."

"He won't like that." She said, but I was already jogging towards the doors, not caring if he liked it or not. He couldn't get mad if the danger had already passed.

I pushed open the heavy door to the cellblock and it creaked open. I stepped inside, holding my breath, not sure what I was about to see. Nothing could prepare you for the worst, though, no matter how many times you'd been through it. I inhaled sharply as the door swung shut behind me. It was quiet now, aside from the murmur of voices and the soft sound of someone crying. Bodies littered the concrete floor, blood pooling around them in sticky, wet puddles. My hand had automatically gone to my mouth as I gingerly stepped around the carnage, eyes sweeping the room.

I saw Tyreese and Karen huddled together outside a cell and rushed over to them, feeling relieved to see them alive. "Are you two okay?" I asked quickly. I leaned around them to see a woman crying over what looked like a very small body wrapped in a blanket. I breathed in deeply and quickly looked away.

"We're fine…just a little shook up." Tyreese answered, rubbing Karen's back. "Daryl's upstairs with Rick and Glenn." He gestured towards the stairs.

I turned and headed towards the rickety metal staircase, taking the steps two at a time. When I got to the top, I followed the sound of voices to the very last cell at the end of the corridor. I approached the small group of men quietly. Caleb, our group's doctor, was talking in a hushed voice.

"…this is a sickness that's most likely been around a while, pre-walkers."

I stepped closer, my eyes searching for what they were clustered around. I sucked in a breath seeing Charlie, one of our newest members. He had been so nice too, and was completely floored when he realized my name was also Charlie. Now, he didn't even resemble the same person. He was chalk white, blood caking his entire front, leaking from his eyes and ears. His eyes were a strange, cloudy white color. Nothing I had ever seen on a walker before.

Daryl's eyes snapped towards me at the sound of my footsteps. "Jesus, Charlie! Every damn time I tell you not to do somethin' you do it anyways! I said to wait outside with the girls!" He was on his feet, pushing his way out of the cell towards me.

"Carol's with them now! I didn't think it mattered, she said you put all the walkers down already." I said defensively.

He had latched on to my arm and was trying to tug me away from the cell. "You need to leave. Now."

I gave him a bewildered look. I had expected him to be pissed, definitely, but the look on his face was more than just anger. He looked…afraid almost. "Why, what the hell is going on?"

"There's no point, Daryl." Hershel called after him. "She's been inside so she's already exposed."

Daryl's grip on my arm didn't slacken, even though he froze to a stop. I looked up at him, trying to read his expression. He was chewing the inside of his cheek, which was a nervous habit I'd only ever seen him do a few times. "Daryl." I said quietly. I wrestled my arm out of his grip and grabbed his hand. "Exposed to what?"

Before he could answer, Caleb stepped out into the corridor and cleared his throat. "To whatever the sickness is that started all of this. Most likely some type of flu. Patrick got it first. It killed him sometime during the night, he turned and start attacking the others."

I furrowed my eyebrows together, shaking my head. "The flu did this? It-it killed him in less than twenty-four hours?" I asked, my voice shaky. I leaned against the wall, trying to let it sink in. The flu. A very normal, human sickness.

"That's what we think…anyone who's been in here has been exposed. Which is why Daryl probably isn't happy to see you right now." The doctor finished carefully, shifting his weight.

I glanced back at Daryl who was still looking at me with that same clouded expression. More than half the group had been exposed then. Rick, Hershel, Glenn, Caleb, Carol, Daryl, me…I lifted my eyes to meet Daryl's gaze. His blue eyes glinted.

"I told you to stay put." He grunted.

I shook my head. "It wouldn't have mattered. I was holding Mika, she was crying all over me…she was in here. She's been exposed. Lizzie too."

"She's right, Daryl. Whether she came in here or not, Charlie may have been exposed either way. There's no guarantee any of us will even get sick, but we can't take the chance. We should probably stay away from the others. For now." Hershel said gently, joining us out in the hall. "I think our next move should be to call a meeting. Only those of us who have been exposed. We can figure out what to do next."

"I'm need find Gabe first." I said, suddenly thinking of my brother and relieved that he hadn't been here or else he would've been exposed too.

I looked at Daryl, watching as he run a frustrated hand through his hair. He finally met my eyes and nodded curtly. "Just don't get too close to 'em." He said in a quiet, gruff voice.

I sighed. "I know."

I turned and took the steps down, leaving the rest of them behind to murmur to each other in low voices. I tried to ignore the sick feeling in my gut and the fearful fluttering in my chest. I remembered a long time ago, in college, reading that pregnant women had a lower immune system than most people. That when it came to getting sick, they were prime targets for viruses and all other kinds of sickness. I swallowed hard and tried to bury the thought away, at least for now. I was either going to get sick, or I wasn't. Either way, it was out of my hands.

When I came outside, I saw Gabe right away. He and Maggie had Michonne in-between them and were helping her make it inside. She was limping, each step looking excruciating for her.

"What happened?" I called out, hurrying towards them. I remembered to keep my distance, though, and hung back once I was close enough.

"Charlie!" Gabe exclaimed, looking relieved to see me. He carefully untangled himself from Michonne's arm and came towards me. "I heard what happened, are you okay?"

I held out my hand as he got closer. "Stop."

He stopped short, looking at me with confusion. "What's wrong?"

"There's some sort of flu going around…it killed Patrick sometime last night and he turned and started attacking the others." I explained carefully, gauging Gabe's reaction. Patrick had been his friend too. Like Zach. "Everyone who's been inside cellblock D has been exposed. Me included. Rick says to stay away for now."

"The flu? How can a cold kill someone in a night?" Maggie asked in a hushed voice.

"Charlie…" Gabe started, but paused. He looked wounded all over again and it was all I could do to stay put and not pull him into a hug. When he looked up at me again, I felt crushed. The look in his eyes made him look so small, like a little kid. "Are you gonna be alright?"

I shrugged and forced a smile. "I'll be fine. Now that we know what it is, we can get to work on finding some medicine. It'll be okay." Even as I said the words, it sounded too forced. I quickly changed the subject, looking at Michonne. "You okay?"

"Fine." She said through gritted teeth. "Came back when I heard the gunshots and some walkers cornered me. But I'm fine."

"We're taking her inside to get cleaned up." Maggie explained.

I nodded. "Get inside the cellblock…I'm gonna meet with the others and try to figure out what the next step is." I caught Gabe's eye and gave him another tight smile. "Everything will be fine."

After a moment he gave me a weak smile in return. "I know, Charlie." I watched as he moved back towards Michonne and Maggie, taking Michonne's arm and swinging it over his shoulder. I watched them make slow, steady progress towards the cellblock for a moment before turning away, heading towards the administration part of the building. No doubt the others were all inside already, wringing their hands and holding hushed conversation about what the hell to do now.

As I got closer, I saw Daryl leaning against the wall next to the door. When he saw me coming, he pushed himself off the concrete wall and took a step towards me. I could tell by the way his eyes were narrowed and his fists were curled that he was pissed. At least I already knew why.

"Not now, Daryl." I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Please, can we do this later?"

He stared at me with a hard gaze for a long second before shaking his head, pacing a few steps away with his back towards me. "God damn it, Charlie. We just talked about this last night. You stayin' outta danger. I told you to stay put." He said in a low voice before turning back around to face me. "You never listen, though, do ya'? Always been stubborn as all hell."

"I did stay put!" I shot back defensively, taking a step towards him. "Daryl, I waited until I thought it was safe before going in after you. How the hell was I supposed to know I was walking into a breeding ground for some sort of killer virus?" I ran both hands through my hair before letting them fall back to my side. He wouldn't meet my eyes, glaring at the far wall, shoulders tense. I reached for his hand. "You can't protect me from everything. This is something out of both our hands."

He didn't respond for a minute, but finally he looked at me and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I know that…I just- I wish you wouldn't've gone in there. That's all." He said. His fingers curled around my hand, his thumb brushing over my knuckles.

"Nothing we can do about it now." I told him quietly.

"We should tell the others, though." He suddenly said.

I looked at him quizzically for a second, but then it dawned on me what he meant. I pulled my hand from his. "No, Daryl. I'm not giving anyone anything else to worry about right now. There's enough happening." I shook my head, placing my hand on my stomach.

"We have to, Charlie. Yer' more at risk than anybody, ya' know that. I can tell by the look on yer' face." He argued. "If something happens-" He paused for a moment and I could see how much it pained him to even think about the possibility. He cleared his throat. "If something does happen, they should know. This ain't somethin' we should be hidin' now."

I bit my tongue, but only because deep down I knew he was right. "Fine. Soon, but not right now." I finally said, defeated. "I just don't want everyone freaking out about it. I don't want anyone worrying about me more than they have to. You do enough of that."

He stepped forward then and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. "It's my job to worry 'bout ya', baby girl. Nothin' you can do 'bout that." I felt his lips on my forehead before he stepped back, pulling open the door to the building. "Come on, let's not keep 'em waitin'." I brushed past him as he held the door open for me and I led the way down the narrow hall towards one of the many little room that we'd been using for meetings.

I could hear Carol's voice carrying down the hall as we got closer. "…Patrick was fine yesterday and he died over night that quick?"

I slipped inside the room and Hershel pushed out a chair for me. I sank down next to him. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Daryl leaning against the bookshelf next to the table.

"Without any medication, it's lethal. That being said we can work on trying to find something to at least slow it down for now. But it's only going to keep spreading if we aren't careful." Hershel said, leaning back in his own chair.

"So that means we have to separate everyone who's been exposed." Sasha chimed in.

"Well that's all of us here. Maybe more. Over half of the group has been in there." I said, shaking my head. Just the numbers alone looked bad and I could tell by the expression on the others' faces that they felt the same way.

"So we separate anyone who shows symptoms. Quarantine them somewhere safe until we get this figured out." Hershel said. "I don't see many other options."

"We can put them in cellblock A." Glenn suddenly said, leaning forward. "It's clean, it's empty."

"You mean put them in a place that used to be death row?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "That's sure to boost morale, make them hopeful." Might as well just keep calling it death row.

"Like Hershel said, it ain't like we gotta a whole lotta choices. We can even have the doc in there with 'em." Daryl countered. I opened my mouth to argue, but realized there was nothing I could say. He and Glenn were both right, as morbid as it seemed.

The conversation halted, though, as the sound of someone coughing drifted into the room. After everything that had happened, everything that had just been decided, it sounded almost ominous. Everyone in the room exchanged glances before quickly rising and gathering outside the door.

It was Tyreese and Karen and my heart fell when I saw her. Her skin was sickly pale and shone with sweat. She coughed again and Tyreese wrapped his arm around her, watching with concern.

"How long have you had that cough?" Hershel asked.

Before Karen could answer, Tyreese spoke up as he tightened his arm around her protectively. "I was just taking her back to my cell so she could rest."

"Judith is in there, though." I said quietly, looking at Hershel who was watching Karen with a worried expression.

"Which is why I can't let you go anywhere near the cellblock. You understand. We'll have to put you back in the tombs for now and I'll go check the infirmary to see what meds we got." He said. Karen and Tyreese exchanged a long look. His expression was just as fearful as hers was.

"David. He's been showing symptoms too." Karen finally admitted.

Barely any time had passed at all and already two people were sick. I wondered how many more were starting to feel it. If it spread this quickly and worked fast enough to kill a person overnight…I let the thought trail off in my head. It made my stomach turn to knots. I didn't want to keep thinking what would happen if we didn't figure out what the cure was soon.

"I'll go get David." Glenn said shortly. Without another word, he disappeared down the hall.

"I'll get started burying the dead." Daryl suddenly said.

"I can help." I added quickly. Daryl gave me a sharp look, but before he could argue Hershel was speaking.

"Make sure you both wear gloves and a mask." He warned.

I nodded and followed after Daryl as he headed back towards the doors that led to the prison yard. Carol fell into step with me.

"You okay?" She asked quietly.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Fine, I guess. Trying not to let myself worry too much about something that may or may not happen."

"I shouldn't have let you go in there." She said, shaking her head as we walked out into the warm Georgia air. "I could've stopped you."

"Stop, Carol. You didn't know then. I've been telling Daryl the same thing." I took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry about me."

She looked at me uncertainly for a moment before letting out a breath and nodding. She looked back towards Daryl who was a few steps ahead, his broad shoulders facing us. "What about you, Daryl? You alright?"

He turned over his shoulder. "Gotta be."

The conversation fell silent after that and Carol left us as we went to retrieve the shovels from the shed near the pig pen. There was already a stack of bodies in dirty, blood stained sheets piled on the pavement. It made a shiver ripple through me. It had been a long time since we'd lost so many in one day.

"Here." Daryl said suddenly, stepping towards me. I turned to face him as he pulled a red bandana out of his pocket and tied it around my lower face, covering my mouth and nose. I breathed in deep. It smelled like him, sweet, musky, and almost earthy. For some reason, it made me feel calmer. I took in another deep breath as he tied a bandanna around his own face and handed me a shovel.

I looked back towards the pile of bodies and felt myself sway on my feet a little. I leaned heavily on my shovel.

"Hey, you okay?" I heard Daryl ask. He was suddenly standing in front of me again, and I tilted my head up to look at him. His blue eyes were filled with worry.

"Yeah…just…tired of digging graves I guess." I finally said.

I waited for him to answer, but a long moment passed as he took a strand of my hair between his fingers and tugged on it gently before tucking it behind one of my ears. "Me too." He finally answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

He abruptly turned away then and walked a few paces away where he had left his shovel lying on the grass. He picked it up and began digging. I watched him for a moment, noting the tension in his shoulders and the furrow between his eyebrows. Maybe Daryl wasn't as good as other people about voicing how he felt but I could tell just by looking that he was just as worried as the rest of us were, that he was really beginning to feel the burden he had been carrying ever since Rick stepped down as group leader. I looked away and grasped my own shovel in my hands and shoved the spade into the dirt, wondering how many more graves I'd be digging before this lifetime was over.