They turned and raced away from their tent, in opposite directions. Georgia raced towards the RV where her son was supposed to be sleeping and Daryl raced towards the sound. She made it to the RV as DJ was coming out and she grabbed him in a hug quickly, sweeping him up off the ground and pressing him tight to her body.

"Mom, what's going on? Where's Daryl? Are you guys alright?"

"It'll be fine. Daryl's seeing what's going on. Come on, we need to get to the tent. Come on."

She raced with him still scooped up in her arms, stumbling and almost falling but keeping herself up just barely. Daryl was in the back of her mind but she didn't pay any attention. She just ran with her son in her arms and his safety in her mind. At the tent, she pushed him inside and ordered, "Baby, there's a gun in my bag. Get the gun out of my bag. Do not come out of that tent until you hear one of the voices you know. Me or Daryl will come get you."

DJ handed Georgia's gun to her and took his own up in his hands, waiting in the dark tent. Georgia zipped it tight and took off running in the direction the noise had come from when she heard a single shot echo through the air. No screams, no big deal, just a single shot that rang out in the night. She ran faster towards it and stumbled upon the already gone Dale with his entrails painting the ground at her feet. Daryl looked over from his place at Daryl's head as she turned to the side and emptied her stomach across the ground, her puke steaming in the cool night air. Nobody else paid her any attention but Daryl moved to her side almost immediately. He whispered, "DJ?"

"Tent. He has his gun," she choked. "You?"

"Fine. You?"

"Alright. Let's go."

He helped her up and helped her to the tent where DJ was waiting. Daryl tugged her arm outside the tent, pulling her short so he could stare at her for a long moment.

"What?" she whispered.

"I just…next time ya hear somethin' like this…I just need ya to take DJ an get gone, ya got it? I'll find the two of ya. Just make sure yer gone next time. Don' be waitin' round on me."

"Next time?" she responded. "What do you mean next time?"

"Ain't the first time this happened, Georgia Rayne, ain't gonna be the last. Don' get comfortable. Ya get comfortable, ya die. An ya ain't fuckin' dyin'."

"I'm not getting comfortable, Daryl." Georgia turned towards the tent but Daryl grabbed her arm again. He pulled her back to him and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. She whispered, "What was that for?"

"Fer not dyin'. C'mon." He called out, "DJ!"

DJ scrambled out of the tent quickly and threw himself into Georgia's arms. She hugged him tight and he cried, "What happened, Mom? What's going on?"

"It's okay, baby. Shh. It's alright. It's okay." Georgia Rayne stared over DJ's head at Daryl, begging for help from him.

Daryl stepped closer and put his hand on DJ's shoulder. Surprisingly, DJ turned away from Georgia and threw his arms around Daryl's waist. Daryl awkwardly patted DJ's head and rested his hand on the boy's shoulder. DJ's voice was muffled when he cried, "I didn't know….if you and Mom….would be….okay."

"We're fine, boy. Yer gonna sleep in the tent wit me an yer mom tonight. And tomorrow we're gonna see what we're gonna do bout the rest of the place, kay?"

DJ nodded against Daryl's stomach and Daryl reached out to pull Georgia Rayne closer so that she was pressed against the boy's back. He snaked his arm around her waist and held her close to him and their son. Georgia rested one hand on DJ's shoulder and the other on Daryl's. After a moment, he murmured, "I gotta go talk to Rick. Get in bed. Be back fore too long."

He released the two of them and Georgia pulled DJ back close to her body. They watched as he walked away, slowly disappearing into the night. DJ whispered, "Mom?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"He really is going to take care of us, isn't he?"

"Yeah, baby. He really is."

When Daryl returned from talking to Rick, he slipped into the tent quietly and found Georgia curled around DJ, her hand gun resting just above her head. When he knocked against her foot, she grabbed the gun and sat up quickly, cocking it and aiming it almost blindly at him. He hissed, "Just me, Georgia Rayne. Calm down."

"Shit," she growled. "I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'm getting way too fucking comfortable."

"Shh. Yer fine. Yer alright here. Ya need yer sleep. Go back to sleep. We're fine fer tonight. Gonna get fixed up right tomorrow, kay? Gonna get our boy up in the big house where it's safe. Now get to sleep."

He kicked off his boots and made his way to the tent floor behind her. He looped his arm around her waist and pulled her back into a laying position. She whispered, "Daryl, don't you think this is going to be a little weird for DJ?"

"Lotta things weird fer DJ right now. I'm worried bout ya right now. Go to sleep, Georgia Rayne."

"Daryl…"

"Go to sleep, Georgia Rayne," he repeated calmly.

"Daryl, this deer is fantastic. Thank you so much. You've halved our grocery bill, I swear." James Carson grinned at him and he did his best to smile back. It was hard when he was about to ask the man's daughter a very serious question. Even if James did know that Daryl was going to ask, it didn't make it any more comfortable.

"Are you going duck hunting this week, Daryl?" Georgia Rayne asked, looking up from the bowl of chili in front of her. Daryl only brought the meat to the Carson house, Georgia and James always cooked for him. He preferred it that way. Georgia Rayne could make anything taste good. Even scrawny squirrel.

"Nah. Gonna be doin' somethin' more important."

"What? I thought you weren't working this week."

"Ain't workin' this week." Daryl took a deep breath and looked over at James. James smiled encouragingly at him.

"Oh. Is Merle out of jail again?"

"No, Merle's still servin' time."

"What are you doing this week then?"

"Georgia, I have some paperwork I need to get done," James interrupted. "If you need anything, yell. Do you mind cleaning up?"

"Not a problem, Dad. Are you sure you don't want any dessert?"

Daryl watched James and Georgia interact with a tinge of jealousy about him. He wished his family had been like that but he promised himself that any kids he had would have that experience. They'd have family dinners with parents who wanted them. James left the dining room and Georgia stood up to gather the dishes. She said over her shoulder as she left the room, "You're not getting out of telling me what you're up to next week. I'll be back in just a second. Do you want a slice of cake, hon?"

"I'll help ya." He gathered the last of the dishes from the table and followed her into the kitchen. She was over by the sink, rinsing dishes and swaying her hips to music only she heard.

"What is it that you're up to, Daryl? Is it a surprise?" The excitement in her voice made him smirk. He liked making her happy.

"Yeah. Gotcha a surprise."

She spun around from the sink and bounced over to him. He raised the dishes in his hand up so she wouldn't knock them to the floor. She stood in front of him with her head tilted back to stare up at him. She demanded, "What's the surprise?"

"Lemme put these in the sink an then I might tell ya," he teased.

"Daryl Dixon, don't be cruel."

"Cruel'd be not tellin' ya at all, woman."

She rolled her eyes and he dodged her easily on his way to the kitchen sink. He dumped the dishes in the sink and made his way back to where she was waiting patiently by the counter. He backed her up against the counter and put his hands on either side of her waist. She pressed her hands to his cheeks and stared into his eyes with a smile. She asked, "What is the surprise, you silly man?"

"I bought somethin'. For ya. For us."

"What?"

"Somethin' all our own. Ain't nobody else kin tell us what to do wit it or how to be bout it. We kin do whatever we want, if ya want it."

"I have to know what it is to know if I want it or not, Daryl Dixon."

"Look, ya don' have to accept if ya don' want, ya know? Ya kin tell me ya don' wanna an that's okay. I get why it'd be weird fer ya."

"Daryl, just tell me what it is."

"Don't feel like ya gotta want it jus cause I want it."

"Daryl! Just tell me what it is!"

"I got us a trailer, Georgia Rayne, an a plot a land out there. Fer us. It's ours. Got my name on it but, ya know, it could have yer name on it too if ya wanted. I got us a place to live an do ya wanna come live with me on it?"

"Daryl, you're the best man I've ever met in my life."

She threw her arms around his neck and dragged him down to kiss the wild grin on her face.