Everyone gathered early the next morning. Carol and Lori had made eggs for breakfast. Much to my chagrin, Shane was awake and walking around the fire. He met me with an icy stare and I shied away from him, going to sit at the other side of camp. Daryl didn't leave my side and he followed me, watching Shane.

We ate breakfast in silence, which seemed to be a trend now a days. Glenn stood from next to me, walking to the center of the tent circle. I watched him as he passed, my brow furrowed.

"Uhm, guys." He said, catching everyone's attention. "So… The barn is full of walkers." My mouth dropped, as did the eggs that I was chewing. The camp stared at him, full of fear. My eyes darted to the barn that stood, now menacingly, behind him. Daryl tensed next to me.

Rick and Shane led the posse down to the old building. Daryl and I brought up the rear, neither of us too excited about coming in such close proximity with a zombie so soon after our last encounter. Shane had gone to the door, peeking through the cracks but I knew what Glenn said was true. I could hear the moans form where I stood.

"You can not tell me you're alright with this!" Shane huffed walking back towards Rick.

"No, I'm not, but we are guests here. This isn't our land." Rick said evenly, watching as Shane brushed past him. Shane groaned, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"This is our lives here!" He yelled. For once Shane and I agreed on something. "We've either gotta go in there, make things right, or we gotta go." Shane laid out, the situation clearly black and white. "We have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time now."

"We can't leave!" Rick said a little to quickly. The group stared at him, but I glanced over to Lori. She stared at me silently before looking away. I knew she had told Rick about the baby.

"Why not?" Shane questioned him, obviously angry.

"Because my daughter is still out there." Carol spoke up. She hadn't realized it, but she had just saved Rick and Lori from a very embarrassing situation. Shane scoffed, angrily placing his hat on his head.

"Okay. I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility." Shane's words were cruel and Carol bit back tears. I closed my eyes, shaking my head, turning to Daryl. He watched the deputy stonily, his eyes briefly flickering to me.

"We're close to finding this girl!" Daryl said, gesturing to him and I. He looked at Rick for support and the sheriff nodded at him. "We just found her damn doll two days ago!"

"You found her doll, Daryl, that's what you did. You found her doll!" Shane argued. His words didn't sit well with Daryl and the hunter approached him angrily.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" I walked forward, standing between Daryl and Shane, putting two hands on his chest and gently easing him back. The last thing we needed was brawl in front of a walker infested barn.

"I'm just saying what needs to be said!"

"Shane! Enough!" Rick commanded him.

"Let me tell you something else man! If she was alive out there, saw you coming, all methed out with your buck knife, all bloody and beaten, she would run in the other direction!" I could no longer hold Daryl back and he sidestepped around me lunging for Shane.

"No Daryl!" I grabbed for him, clutching his shirttail while Rick stepped in front of him. Once Rick stepped in he calmed down, cursing under his breath. I finally pulled him away, one hand on his chest, and he looked at me, still seething.

"Just let me talk to Hershel, let me figure it out!" Rick asked.

"And what are you gonna figure out?!" Shane screamed at Rick. Something broke inside him and I watched in horror as he walked to Rick, getting in his face.

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it! This is his land!" Rick argued back. Tensions were high between them, they were about to fist fight, when Dale stepped in.

"Hershel sees those things in there as people, sick people. His wife, his stepson." Dale pleaded with Rick.

"You knew?" The sheriff was in disbelief. Dale nodded his head. I looked at Dale, wide eyed. How could he not have told us?

"Yesterday, I talked to Hershel."

"And you waited the night?!" Shane demanded, his anger not subsided.

"I thought we could wait one night!" Dale shouted back at him. "I was waiting till this morning to say something, but Glenn wanted to be the one."

"The man is crazy Rick!" Rick went to yell at Shane again but the rattling at the door grew louder. The walkers inside of the barn pounded mercilessly on the beaten wood. Chills ran down my spine and I began to back up, not taking my eyes off of the barn doors. Daryl stepped in front of me, shielding me.

Rick had set up barn duty, sitting one person at the barn at all times to make sure it was secure. Daryl had disappeared, but I had an idea of where he went. I made haste to the stable, where I found him grabbing a saddled off the wall, struggling to hold it.

"What are you doing?" I asked him as I entered the barn. He looked up at me before returning to the saddle at hand.

"I'm fine" he argued. I walked over to him quickly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You just got stitched up from our last adventure. You need to let them heal-" he pulled his shoulder away from me harshly, going to grab bits and reigns.

"Yeah, I don't care." His tone was harsh. I narrowed my eyes at him. I crossed my arms in front of my chest, watching him as he entered the stall to grab a horse.

"Well I do." I said matter of factly. He didn't reply as he led the horse out. "Rick's going out later to follow the trail. Let him go."

"While I sit around'n do nothin? No thank you."

"No, you're just gonna go out there and get yourself hurt even worse." My words were ripe with smart-assery and he looked up at me, glaring. He said nothing though, returning to the horse and attaching his reigns. I sighed, knowing I would have to talk some sense into him. "We aren't sure if we're even going to find her, Daryl." He stopped what he was doing, turning to me in disbelief. I wished I hadn't said it, but there was no going back now. "We don't."

Daryl walked up to me slowly, deliberately. I watched him as he did, not taking my eyes away from his.

"What?" he asked quietly, testing me. I swallowed hard, looking at the horse behind him. He watched me expectantly, daring me to say it again.

"We can't lose you too." I said as confidently as I could. He scoffed, shaking his head, turning back to his horse. I grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks. "I can't lose you…" my voice was quiet and he stared at me, seeming to soften. Daryl didn't take his eyes off me and I knew he wasn't happy. He threw down the reigns that he had been fiddling with and walked past me.

I turned, watching him walk away, when he stopped at the saddle he laid out. In one swift movement he threw it to the ground. He winced in pain, grabbing for his side and I ran over to him, grabbing his shoulder to help him up.

"Are you alright?" I asked. Daryl shrugged me off angrily, glaring back at me coldly. I stood there, shocked and unmoving.

"Just leave me be!" he shouted. I flinched as his words echoed around the stables, biting back a sob. Daryl's eyes flickered to my lips before he turned, walking out of the barn. "Stupid Bitch." Daryl muttered under his breath as he walked.

Once he was out of earshot I began to cry. His words cut me like a knife and my head hurt. I felt nauseous and I sunk to the floor, my back against one of the stall walls. I brought my knees to my chest, hugging myself tightly.

Angry Daryl is ANGRY. anyways. Review, PM if you're feeling industrious.

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