Okay, people have already probably started figuring this out but I'm putting this in here anyway - I am NOT going to include any Andrea and Michonne parts in here for length's sake until they meet up with the group or have a scene that includes the group, for obvious reasons. So no, don't expect any scenes including Woodbury as a backdrop, so-to-speak, until Glenn, Maggie and *spoiler* Tessa get taken there by Merle. So yeah, just thought I'd clear that up lol.

HaloHunter89: Yeah, I'm kinda trying to give Seth more of voice now and I'm not entirely sure what personality I want to make him although I can tell you that he does play a pretty important part later in the story. I'm still trying to sort out all the details of where everything is going to go in the story, as well as what happens where, but eventually, he will acquire a much bigger role! :)

Thanks as ever, HermioneandMarcus for reviewing and HumanDustbin for many PM'ing sessions that allow me to bounce ideas back and forth off of someone, as well as have someone who can keep me focused on what needs the focus . . . sometimes LOL

As per many PM's asking about this, the people I have envisioned as Seth, Ethan and Wren have actually taken some thought. Right now, I'm kinda sticking to Shiloh Fernandez (Seth), Thomas Dekker (Ethan) and a very, very young Victoria Justice as Wren. And of course, Tessa is the amazing actress Janina Gavankar, so yeah, just thought I'd clear that up here so the PM's will stop :)

Luv ya bunches and be sure to review!

- Nagiana


Favorite Line(s):

"So you're with me?" T-Dog asked and Daryl shook his head.

"Hell fuckin' no!" He immediately replied and everyone's eyes immediately snapped onto him. "I say let 'em take their chances out on tha road like we did for damn near a year, 'cause I ain' even gonna begin to allow 'em 'round ma kids – 'round Aayla and Danny and Wren! Fuck tha' shit!"

A Week Later . . .

"Daryl! Daryl – get your ass up here!"

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion as he heard Tessa's slightly irritated voice come up from the office doorway above him. After he shared the same look of confusion with T-Dog, of whom he had been organizing the food with, he turned around and moved to the foot of the stairs leading to the upper floors. He could hear the cries of one of the twin as he did so - the indignant cries – and broke out into a grin, immediately knowing what was wrong.

"What'cha need, babydoll?" He called up and Tessa appeared moments later on the landing, a weary look to her eyes as she held a fussy Aayla.

"She won't go to sleep." She told him simply and Daryl grinned and shook his head as he trudged up the stairs towards them. Wren was standing beside her, a slight smile on her face and when Daryl finally reached them after taking his own sweet time, it seemed, Tessa's lips were pursed in irritation. "I want you to know: I blame you." She immediately told him and Daryl continued to grin as he took his daughter in his arms, the baby's cries coming to a rather abrupt stop when her blue eyes settled onto her father's face looming above her. His eyes twinkled with amusement as Tessa gave a roll of her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Why are ya blamin' me? It's not ma fault our daughter came out a deddy's girl and who won' go to sleep unless deddy's tha one who puts her in tha cradle!" He told her with a cheeky grin on his face and Tessa shook her head as she turned around and headed back into the office, where Danny was already sound asleep in their makeshift cradle. He was the easy one - always the easy one. He was the easy one to feed, to put to sleep, to placate and entertain. Aayla was the difficult one who had to have the same nipple every time she fed and who refused to go to sleep unless Daryl was the one who put her in the cradle. Deddy's Girl was a little bit of an understatement, Tessa figured.

Daryl smiled at Wren as he moved past her, hot on Tessa's heels. "What's up, Little Bird?" He asked her and Wren gave him a playfully mean look as she allowed him to walk into the office first.

"Nothin' much – old man!" She fired back and Tessa shot Wren an amused look as Daryl threw her a glance over his shoulder and let out a bark of a laugh in response. He knew she hated that nickname but he had started running out of creative nicknames for her after she eighty-sixed 'Little Bit'. Aayla was 'sweet-pea', Danny was 'little man' and Tessa garnered much of the rest of his creativity when it came to nicknames and pet-names. And for some reason, she hadn't liked 'Little Bit' even though he thought it was a pretty good one until he had thought up 'Little Bird'.

He moved towards the cradle, Aayla already falling asleep in the gently bouncing arms of her father and when he slowly lowered her down beside her brother, she hardly shifted a wink from the deep sleep she was now in. Tessa shook her head as she took a seat on their bunk, Wren sitting down beside her. "Again, I blame you!" She told him and Daryl chuckled as he leaned over and pressed a loving kiss to each of their heads. He got down on his haunches then and shook his head as he gazed at the clothe structure in front of him with slight distaste.

"We gotta get them a crib or somethin', Tess. This cradle ain' gonna cut it pretty soon, especially when they start growin' . . ." He told her and she nodded in agreement.

"I know – I noticed that too when I set down Danny a few minutes ago," She bit down on her bottom lip then and turned a halfway sheepish, halfway curious gaze onto him. "You don't think Rick would object to a quick run into town sometime in the near future, right? I noticed a daycare when we were driving through and it looked pretty damn deserted. Might have what we need, plus a few excess supplies that could always come in handy . . ." Her eyes flickered towards the open doorway then and Wren and Daryl immediately knew that she was thinking of Lori. "It wouldn't hurt too to get another crib, as well. For . . . for Lori . . ." She spoke and Daryl heaved a slightly weary sigh. The two of them still hadn't made up and for once, Daryl couldn't say it was from Tessa's lack of trying. She tried every day to help out Lori and the others whenever she could – help her and Carol out with the laundry, help her and Beth with the food – help her with anything that needed helping with and while Lori never turned her down and while she was always cordial to her, they still weren't what you would call 'being on the mend'.

Goddamn, it made Daryl wonder how long Lori could hold a grudge for!

"Things will sort themselves out, ya'll see – they always do!" Daryl assured her as he remained hunched down beside the clothe cradle containing their twins. "So watch, she'll go into labor and tha first words outta her mouth will be her screamin' ya name 'cause it ain' exactly like Rick's gonna be there for her," He shook his head. "It's inevitable, babydoll," Tessa nodded and shot him a small smile as Daryl returned his eyes onto the twins. "But don' worry 'bout tha crib - I'll figure somethin' out. I always take care of ma own, ya know this," Tessa nodded again as his eyes fell onto Wren then, where he grinned. "Ya need me to pick somethin' up in town for ya too while I'm there, Little Bird?" He asked her and she shook his head, although a slightly thankful look appeared in her eyes. Daryl nodded as they descended into a silence then. He had always liked Wren and he'd be damned if he didn't consider the little girl as partially his own now. After all, Tessa practically did.

After a moment, Daryl heaved another sigh and got to his feet, wincing as his joints popped, something he saw Tessa do as well. He was getting old . . . and pretty soon, he'd have to be chasing after two kids, too. And while others would not be looking forward to that day, he thought it couldn't come any slower!

Tessa furrowed her eyebrows. "Where are you going?" She asked him and Daryl shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Rick wants to do some shit down in tha lower yard. Guessin' he needs ma help for it or else he never would have asked me to help in tha first place. Ya two wanna come and help out? Ya guys need tha sunshine – ya 'bout to wilt in here!" He told her and Tessa grinned and shook her head as she glanced at Wren sitting beside her – the girl that had practically become her shadow since they arrived at the prison and she had the twins.

"Wren can, but I can't. Who will watch the twins?"

"Lori."

Tessa shook her head at the finality in his tone. "Daryl, I couldn't ask that -!"

"And why could you not?" He asked, a look of genuine confusion appearing on his face. "Ya haven' been outside since tha birth when everyone else has at some point – the twins are asleep and it's not like Lori doesn' have Beth and Carl hangin' 'round to help if they do wake up, as well as Seth being here to handle shit in case somethingbad happens! And besides, I think she owes us!" He stood there for a moment in silence before shaking his head defiantly. He then took her hands and hauled her to her feet. "Actually, come to think of it, ya ain' gettin' outta this – ya too, Little Bird!"

"Daryl, what are you -!"

"Hey Lori, would ya watch tha twins for a minute? They're asleep and I'm takin' Tess and Wren outside to help us do whatever Rick needs help doin' down in tha yard." He called as he dragged her down the stairs to the first floor, Wren jogging down alongside them. Lori glanced up, a wide-eyed look to her face but then she slowly nodded as she returned to working on the newly washed clothes.

"Yeah, Beth and I can do that," She smiled weakly. "And yeah, no offense, Tess, but you definitely need some sunshine!" She told her with a slightly sympathetic look and Tessa shot her an inquiring one as Lori continued on with what she was doing and as Daryl propelled her towards the door. The pregnant woman then avoided her eyes the rest of the way and while Tessa wanted to say something, the words caught in her throat when the door was suddenly thrown open and she felt herself cringing away from the bright light like a vampire when it landed on her. She immediately fell back against Daryl standing behind her and she heard him chuckle as he expertly caught her.

"See what I mean?" He asked and Tessa nodded as she straightened up, her hand immediately flying to shield her eyes as they swept along the courtyard and then grassy yard that descended below it. They could see the rest of the people milling around like ants near the gate and that the walker corpses that had been cleared from the surrounding area and burned. It looked a lot better than she had thought it would.

"Alright – bring the other car through!" Rick yelled before he found himself distracted by the three people walking down the grassy hill towards them. Carol grinned and immediately moved to hug Tessa when they finally crossed the distance between them.

"You're finally out in the sun – the both of you!" She spoke, grinning, as she moved to hug Wren next, and Tessa nodded as she placed her hands on her hips and glanced at Daryl standing beside her.

"Yeah, no special thanks to Daryl from dragging me out here!" She muttered and Daryl grinned as he nodded towards Rick.

"So what are we doin'?" He asked and Rick gave a shrug.

"Mainly rounding up all the bodies we still have out here in the yard and burning them. It's gonna be a long day, too, just warning you." He spoke and Daryl nodded in agreement as Carol's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Where are Glenn and Maggie? We could really use them." She spoke and Daryl continued to grin as he gestured to the guard tower rising high behind them.

"I think they're in tha guard tower." He spoke and even Rick couldn't help but allow a little grin to appear on his face.

"Guard tower?" He asked and Daryl nodded. "They were just up there last night."

"Glenn – Maggie!" Daryl called, his hands cupping around his mouth as he yelled, and Tessa and Carol came up on either side of him then, their eyes squinting in the harsh spring sun. It took a minute, but finally, the door to the top of the guard tower banged slowly open, revealing a very sleep-deprived Glenn and Maggie. Maggie was holding her shirt to her chest whereas Glenn himself was shirtless.

"H-Hey . . . what's up guys?" Glenn called down hesitantly and everyone immediately adopted grins and laughter on their faces at the realization of what exactly they had been doing up in that guard tower, although a sharp pang speared through Tessa's heart nonetheless. What she wouldn't do for her and Daryl to be in their places! And judging by the look that flickered through her man's mirthful eyes, he was thinking right along the same thing. But alas, sex was still a no-go for them for about two and a half more months – something Tessa could tell bothered Daryl much more than it bothered her.

"Ya comin'?" Daryl called to them, his hands appearing on his hips as he fought to hold back a snicker, and they could practically see the stupid look on Glenn's face as his brain clawed its way out of the gutter long enough to fully understand what he meant.

"What?" He finally asked and everyone snickered like schoolchildren as Daryl adopted a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Are ya two comin'?" He called back, his voice louder and slightly more understandable and this time Glenn nodded in dawning recognition which only seemed to make the whole thing funnier.

"Y-yeah, we'll be down in a minute!" He called and they nodded as they turned around and began heading towards the various bodies that needed to be pulled for the fire. Tessa grinned and shook her head as she and Daryl headed to a couple of dead walkers lying on the ground close together, Wren disappearing after Carol for once.

"So glad that wasn't us. I'd be fuckin' mortified!" She joked, glancing at him with a grin and Daryl couldn't help but share her grin as he bumped his hip into hers.

"Hey . . . who says we're gonna get caught?"


"Are you serious? You honestly want them living in the cell next to you?"

Daryl returned to the group huddled behind the toppled over prison bus, hooking the ring of keys back around his belt-loop as he did so. Before they could even begin to drag the bodies into a pile, T-Dog had alerted them to the two prison inmates left from the group they had originally encountered, walking down the gravel road towards them. They put up an emphatic argument about how they couldn't live in their designated cellblock any longer and how they would do anything to be a part of their group. It would be that, or they'd risk the road.

After Daryl locked them behind the gate where Maggie's SUV and Merle's bike were still currently sitting, they had all huddled behind the bus, T-Dog immediately saying that he thought they should join them, something which was greeted by immediate shock by Rick. Tessa simply crossed her arms in front of her chest as Daryl took his customary place beside her. "They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons – do you want to go back to having to sleep with one eye open?" He asked him and T-Dog shook his head.

"You mean you stopped?" He asked him, his voice quiet and diplomatic and Tessa could see in Rick's eyes that he had to give him that. Not one of them had stopped sleeping with one eye open and even to this day, Tessa could tell that by Daryl sometimes jerking in his sleep, that he still had the occasional nightmare (although whether the nightmare was about something that happened in the past year or his past in general, was up for debate) and the same also went for her. Only the kids (Seth alone seemed an exemption) and the twins slept completely still and restful. "Bring them into the fold," T-Dog continued, "If we send them off packing, we mine-as-well execute them ourselves."

"I don't know guys . . . Axel seems a little unstable." Glenn spoke up, referring to the inmate with the stringy blonde hair and beard and a few of them nodded in agreement.

"After all we've been through – what if one day they just decide to try and take it?" Carol spoke up and Tessa couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"It's like I told Rick a week ago when you guys first encountered them, I have young children now – children that can't even begin to protect themselves. I don't know what they're in for – I don't know what they did to land themselves here. I can't allow them around my children with that big of a question mark hanging over their heads." Maggie nodded in agreement as well.

"It's just been us for so long and they're strangers. Tess is right, what if they did something bad to land themselves here?" She gave a shrug then as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "But I don't know, it just kinda just feels weird having them around, I guess."

"You brought us in," T-Dog spoke after a moment before nodding towards Tessa and Wren. "You brought in Tessa and Ethan and then Wren and Seth." Maggie nodded in reply.

"Yeah, well, with us, you showed up with a shot little boy being cradled in your arms. How could we turn you away in good conscious?" She asked and Rick nodded in agreement.

"And I don't know how it was before I came, but back then we were together, simply because survival meant more people in your group. Now . . . now it's almost survival of the fittest."

"And need we bring up the fact that they can't even kill walkers?" Glenn brought up and it was like that fact hadn't even occurred to Rick before then. Daryl nodded silently in agreement then as well.

"I think it all boils somewhat down to what Tess said. They are convicts – bottom line!" Carol spoke up and T-Dog shook his head.

"But if ya think about it, those two might actually have less blood on their hands than we do!" He replied, his eyes moving to hold Rick's and Tessa shook her head.

"That's not the point, T! What we did – what we do is for survival! If they remotely committed something akin to murder or whatever, then how do we not know they did it because they were forced to or they did it because they could get their rocks off to it?" She shrugged. "We can't!" Daryl shook his head, his hand appearing on Tessa's lower back.

"No, babydoll, I get guys like this. Hell, I grew up with them! They're degenerates but they ain' psychos – not in tha way ya'll are talkin', anyway," His eyes settled onto Tessa's then. "I could have been in there with them jus' as quickly as I could be out here with ya'll now, ya know tha'." He told her and he didn't need to say that Tessa had been the one who had kept him from following in Merle's footsteps but they got the feeling that everyone figured that.

"So you're with me?" T-Dog asked him and Daryl shook his head.

"Hell fuckin' no!" He immediately replied and everyone's eyes immediately snapped onto him. "I say let them take their chances out on tha road like we did for damn near a year, 'cause I ain' even gonna begin to allow them 'round ma kids – 'round Aayla and Danny and Wren! Fuck tha' shit!" Tessa smiled a small smile at Daryl's words as she wrapped her arm around the smiling little girl's shoulders, where she pulled her closer to her.

"Look, what I'm saying, Daryl -!"

"Look, I arrested someone one day, okay?" Rick interrupted T-Dog and everyone attentions appeared on him then. "He was just nineteen-years-old and got arrested for stabbing his girlfriend. Kid blubbered like a damn baby during the interrogation, during the trial – he suckered the jury! He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence and two weeks later, he shot another girl," Rick shook his head. "We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands." He spoke before him and Daryl moved off in the direction of the gate between which the two prisoners were still standing, Glenn taking off seconds later after them, leaving T-Dog with Maggie, Carol, Tessa and Wren. T-Dog stayed silent, avoiding their eyes and eventually, the four of them heaved their own sighs and walked after the three men.


"Drive the cars in and move them where their noses are pointed towards the road. They'll be out of the way but easily accessible in case we need to bail." Rick spoke and they nodded as Daryl tossed Glenn the keys. He caught them easily and took off as a jog towards the cars. Rick moved closer to T-Dog then. "We'll give the prisoners at least a week's worth of rations for the road."

"They might not last a week." He replied and Rick gave a shrug.

"It's their choice."

"Did they have much of one?"

Rick's teeth gritted in anger then as he stopped and wheeled around to face the man he normally got along with so well. "Hey, hey, hey – whose blood would you rather have on your hands? Would you rather have theirs or Maggie's or Glenn's or, God-forbid – Tess or one of the twins or Wren's? 'Cause if that's your answer, then you can be the one who can tell Daryl that your wanting to put the lives of a couple of prison inmates you don't even know, over his family and the little girl he considers his family!" T-Dog stood there for a moment before giving a shrug of his shoulders.

"Neither." He told him as he got into the truck, Maggie's SUV starting up seconds later. Tessa and Wren hung around the gate with Glenn and they watched, impassive, as Daryl moved over to Merle's bike, Axel stepping forward slightly as his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Twin-cylinder ain't it?" He asked and Daryl glanced at him.

"Why, you look at it?" He asked as he started it up and Axel continued, his voice rising above the sounds of the motor.

"Sounds like it could use a tune-up – I'm pretty handy with bike. Your heads are leaking – I know my bikes!" He shouted as Daryl ignored him and rode the bike into the yard. Tessa and Glenn couldn't help but laugh as they slid the gate closed and locked it, right when Oscar looked at him and upon shaking his head, said,

"Damn man, can't you ever shut your mouth? Have some balls!"