Dear Readers,

As Vicki H put it so well in her review, you knew the big bads would be coming, They are coming and it is up to our intrepid band to find them before they make McAllister Mountain a graveyard. So hang with this story as yet again our group battles the forces of darkness.

Alone

"No, no, no," Carol's reaction was more of a keening wail than words. As soon as Rick finished talking she had understood what would happen. Daryl would be the one to go. Rick was appalled, "I was just thinking out loud. We need to keep an eye on the new recruits, that's all I am saying." Everyone hugged Daryl and Carol and assured them that it would never happen.

It took two days of planning and going through scenarios before they came back to the original. Rick had gone to visit with the few Woodbury people still left in the nursing home. Most had moved on in the last week or so. They had been some new survivors find their way in, one larger group of ten and that one was mostly women. The other three bands were: Group One; a man and a woman, Group Two: Three men, and Group Three: Four men. They were concentrating on Group Two and Three. They could be working together and came in a week apart to keep suspicion tamped down.

They had enlisted Sam and Dave, partly because they were in the path of the oncoming trouble, partly because they were producing alcohol products and that would be a target, but mostly because they could trust them to keep this to themselves.

Whether or not to tell Ashton was the next big question. He deserved to know, it was his wife, sister, daughter, and niece in that house. The problem was that Ashton would surely tell Jo, the generous and talkative Jo. The group decision was that as soon as they had some concrete evidence they would tell Ashton.

Carl had protested the piano lessons, but he jumped at the chance to be a Arya's protector. He could keep an eye on anyone they were encountering when they were off the mountain. He was now attending home school with Emily and the girls. It was a good reason to be there and he had a backpack full of weapons ready to go. If someone was watching the sight of a boy carrying a backpack to school would not attract attention.

Joaquin had been brought in; they trusted him not to tell anyone else. Many of the new recruits worked with his men on community projects. He added extra men to all the roadblocks in town and made certain that their radios were working. He knew that they would be sending someone in to be their undercover guy.

Daryl knew that he would be the narc. He had two days to spend with Carol and he took her riding around on a Harley. One of Carol's cousins had a Harley that had belonged to his son. The boy had been working in Charlotte when the ZA hit and he had never come home. The man had kept the bike in perfect condition in a dry garage but it was too much of a reminder of his loss. Daryl had traded an automatic rifle and plenty of ammo. They could spare the weapon and ammo and the man needed the weapon. Frank's house was less than a half mile to Ashton's. He was in the path of whatever was coming.

Daryl and Carol went fishing the first day and came home with enough trout for supper. The next day they just rode the Harley on country roads. It reminded Carol of their search for a home before they settled in the prison. She was trying to keep up a positive attitude. Daryl was the care taker; he was doing this to prevent a massacre. The last thing he needed to add to his plate was a whiny assed wife crying that she needed him. She knew his tender heart; he loved them all and separation from them would be enough pain for him to bear.

That last night as Daryl and Carol were about to go to sleep he started talking about how much he loved their house. He told her that he loved their bedroom the most. Daryl said, "I love lying here with you in this big old bed that your grandfather made. I like that our dressers are side by side and that picture of Jesus knocking on some door has been there forever. I like that these fine sheets that I found on a run and the quilt that your grandmother made are on the bed. I love the hand blown glass lamps that some rich cousin gave your grandmother for a wedding present. I love the chest that your grandfather made for her. I love that there is room for Judith's crib. I love that my clothes are beside of yours in the closet. The very best thing about this room is that I have you with me when I am here. You are going to be with me tomorrow night in my heart. No matter where I am when I lie down I will be here with you in my heart."

Carol looked at the room; she hadn't changed it when she moved in. She had slept in a trundle bed here sometimes when she had visited. Everything in this room was a testament to a lasting love between her grandparents. They had loved each other and they had loved her. Being with Daryl here just felt like a continuation of that love. She had once told Daryl that the prison was their home now and he had not echoed that sentiment. He had wanted this, someplace where love had dwelled so long and so intensely that it had seeped into the every facet of the house. "I will be with you here tomorrow night, my good husband".

The next day Carol had kissed him at the front door of the house and said, "Be safe". She waited until the door was closed to break down and she shed her tears alone in the room that Daryl loved the most of all in the house. She felt closer to him there. She walked to his dresser and opened the wooden box on the top; his wedding ring lay there.

Rick and Daryl had worked out the plan. It involved Daryl having a few facial contusions and he allowed Rick to hit him a few times. Daryl took only a few clothes and weapons. Joaquin was giving him a room at the nursing home. The story was that he had been using drugs and had hit Carol during an argument. The group was tired of the way her treated her and his drug use. They threw him out and he was angry at them.

Daryl walked to town and Joaquin met with there. Daryl looked pretty rough; he had a black eye and a split lip. Daryl had decided that he had spent enough time with Merle to know how to pull this off. He was quieter than Merle but he had the pissed off attitude going when he ate dinner that night at the nursing home. He ignored anyone from Woodbury, he hadn't really every been close with them anyway. He could tell the way they looked at him that they believed that the Dixon had finally come out in him. He was a mean son of a bitch that would slap around his woman because he was high on something. They knew that Rick would never stand for that and they gossiped among themselves and into waiting ears.

Daryl appeared to ignore everyone, but he was watching the new guys. They all looked battle worn, but that was to be expected. He ate alone and went down the hall after dinner alone. Tomorrow he would be put on a work crew with all the new guys. Tomorrow he would express how pissed off he was about being booted out, and look for someone with a particular interest in his old group. He was thankful that he didn't have a roommate. He was better by himself.