To be honest I don't write very much detailed smut just because this is not a porno, it's a story.

But if you guys really want me too I can. It does not bother me to write it in. Whatever pleases you all

Once again I plea to you all to give some comments on anything. I can handle criticism and compliments. I'm neutral over here just looking on if I should even continue on with this story.

Thanks

"Where's Glenn and Maggie? We could use the help." Carol wiped the sweat on her hands off onto her jeans.

Daryl stepped forward pointing upward. "They're up in the guard tower."

"Guard tower? They were up there all night." Rick sounded astounded. My eyes flickered to Daryl who was looking back at me giving me a sweet wink. A sudden prickly feeling shot through me with thoughts of our blissful night running through my head. My hand wandered up to my neck where he had laid countless subtle kisses while his hand trailed down my arm across my midriff down my thigh. His mouth traveling the same distance as his hands leaving love bites on the bone's of my hips and collars and shoulders. A heat was building in my stomach just thinking of our actions in that cell and I longed to reach over to touch him, to feel him, to need him. I wanted him close to me afraid this feeling would fade. No, not just the lust I craved for the redneck but my love for him was a burning flame. I wanted to feel his veins, feel the blood rushing in him to know he was alive. I wanted him to do that same so he could feel how alive he made me feel.

I hadn't noticed I closed my eyes, or the fact my hair was blowing in my face blocking out everything around me. But Daryl's arm was quickly around my waist pulling me into his warm side. "Stay close to me." He whispered.

I smiled up at him pushing the hair from my face. "Did you read my mind?"

"What? No. Those prisoners are back." Daryl furrowed his eyebrows but then smiled. "Why what were you thinking of?"

"You," I reached up running my hand along the hair next to his ear.

"Oh really?" he smirked wrapping the other arm around me pulling me up to meet his lips.

"Daryl. Rose. Knock it off." Rick hissed as we began following him up towards the convicts.

"You got it Hook." I softly gripped onto Hershel's shoulder helping to steady the old man.

Carl looked at me sideways a glimmer of some forming respect but also confusion. "From Peter Pan?" he asked.

I nodded. "Didn't Hook only have one foot?"

"I think you should rewatch that film Rose because Hook only lost his hand." Beth laughed. "Hence the name Hook."

"Oh…" I trailed off. "Still one of my favorites right next to Beauty and the Beast."

Lori laughed this time. "Sounds like you at the moment."

"Excuse me?" I looked at her a bit taken aback by her rude comment on my relationship. Who did she think she was? She was the one about to give birth to a baby she didn't even know the father to.

"Don't get me wrong Rose I'm just saying it's a bit ironic." She shrugged. "Him being who he is and you being who you are. I guess opposites attract right."

I glared at her stepping forward. "Don't get me wrong Lori I'm just saying maybe you should stop burring you nose in other people's business and focus on yourself for once like that fact you have Shane Jr. about to pop out of you any day now or the fact your husband hates you." Another step forward and Hershel's crutch was against my stomach stopping me. "When he's upset he doesn't go to you because you're untrustworthy, you're not loyal. Learn the basic before insulting an expert."

"Oh so you're an expert on life now are you? Tell me how old are you 17, 18 because you couldn't pass a day over twenty with your attitude; cowering half the time, relying on Daryl to do everything for you. Tell me Rose how much I am doing wrong with my life that makes you doubt my whole existence." Lori spat.

"Enough." Hershel sternly said. "You are both upset, tired, and just emotional. Take a step back and reevaluate the situation. Lori didn't mean to insult Daryl and you, Rose. Now Rose you didn't mean to insult Lori's decisions. Now apologize like grownups."

I sighed realizing how immature I had been. "Lori I'm sorry I didn't mean that I'm just…ya know…well moody I guess. I didn't mean what I said I just said because I wasn't thinking. It's your life you can live how you want to and you aren't doing a bad job. You're a great mother and wife."

Lori opened her mouth a slight glare in her eyes but Carl had screamed. Screamed something that would send everyone into a panic.

"Walkers!"

We all took off. I grabbed Beth's hand as she tried to guide her hobbling father to safety. Guiding them to a set of stairs surrounded by gates that locked. Beth was breathing heavily behind me helping Hershel take out a walker sneakily coming to attack him. I yanked him up the stairs using one crutch to lock the gate shut barricading ourselves inside. Watching around as the prison fell apart. Daryl was still gone but I bet they were running back because if I listened hard enough I could hear him yelling. I knew best than to run out to him, I had to watch over Beth and Hershel. I looked across from where we were seeing Lori, Carl, and Maggie disappear into a cell block. I looked behind me Beth and Hershel were safe it's only right to go after Maggie to see if they were safe.

"I'm going to make sure Maggie got them in okay." I started for the gate.

Hershel stuck out his other crutch. "You will not. You will stay right here to make sure Beth and I am safe you understand?"

My face fell. "Hershel please what if something happened? I need to check. It's the brave thing to do."

"Daryl will want you here with us out of harm's way." He stated flatly. "You don't need to prove yourself Rose, you need to be safe. Bravery is much better done alive than dying a death no one wants. You staying here, helping us is braver than throwing yourself into danger."

My fingers clutched the rungs of the fence surrounding us. "A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once." My knuckles were turning white as the war raged in my mind watching my boyfriend be a knight out on that battlefield where I desperately wanted to be. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes trying to block out the now sounding sirens. Without hesitation I ripped the crutch from the door and sprinted off.

Daryl sometimes asks me at night 'Why did you do it?' I respond with something along the lines of I must prove to everyone I'm not weak. Because all of my life all everyone ever called me was weak. Keegan knew I was and spent most of his life trying to help me through it because he knew I was too weak to handle the insult and everything else going on. Daryl then would tell me I'm not weak, but I know he says this just to please my thoughts. But that's not why I ran out to close the fence, that's not why I ran out now. Taking out these zombies weaving my wave through the tombs I finally realized why I did do it. I wasn't proving anything except I was willing to fight because all I ever wanted to do was be by Daryl. Of course it was a stupid reason to want to be brave for someone, but maybe that's my best shot. I never had anybody to be brave for, no one to push me to get strong for them. Because I wanted to fight alongside him and the only way to do that was to prove I could fight. I wanted to be on that battlefield. I didn't need Daryl as my knight and shining armor because I wanted to be my own. I wanted to be independent and brave and selfless and everything it took to survive in this world; to survive in any world. Surviving isn't hiding away until the monsters are gone. Surviving is putting yourself out there not in an act of dauntlessness but in an act of hoping to solve the problem maybe not to 'save the day' but to save yourself wishing of living another day. I am not selfish when I say this but living for yourself was what got you through a day against walkers. I now understand why Daryl was afraid to let me in. I understand why Carl had so much resent for me. I now understand why Keegan left me. Not because he knew I was weak, but because he knew I would become strong without him.

And then the baby's cry and a gun shot rang through my ears.

I followed the sound of the gunshot walking carefully towards the echo trying to piece together everything that just sounded through my canals. Surprisingly the whole corridor I was walking in had no walkers in it so why a gun would be fired? I heard the shuffle of footsteps and turned around seeing Maggie's shadow disappear down the hallway. I walked in her direction catching sight of the sloppily closed door and smell of blood. I yanked the door open lifting my gun eye level keeping my mind sane as the guesses of what went down flying through my brain. But the gun slipped from my hands, the gasp left my mouth, the legs of Lori's dead body now seen. Blood pooled around her like paint sticking to her hair and clothes. Her stomach was cut wide open the umbilical cord hanging carelessly out of her abdominal. The baby was gone and so were Maggie and Carl. I stepped closer to her corpse falling to my knees as the sob choked its way out of my throat. "I'm so sorry," I whispered trying to wipe her sticky bloody hair from her face my fingers lingering over the bullet wound deep in her forehead. "You didn't deserve this." I cleaned the tears off my own face streaking her blood onto my cheeks along with walker debris that was already splattered on me from events before. "I promise I'll look after your baby, and Rick, and never forget how much of a great person you were. Because Lori you were a magnificent person. I love you." I pressed my body into her trying my best to hug her but my form crumbled at the thought of her being gone. Although I knew I was never her favorite she was still my friend and I cared deeply for her. Her blood pool began to seep through my clothes as I fell down to hold her. I let myself cry for five more minutes before I breathed, taking in her already rotting smell, and I stood up regaining my composer as I picked up my gun heading back out to everyone.

Are we all safe? Me, Daryl, Rick, Carl, any of us? Are we really all safe? These turn of events had made me realized we aren't invincible. We all die. We are all going to die. Now it's my choice on how I will die. I will not be torn apart by these things that torment my dreams. I will not cower away in fright wasting away by means of starvation, dehydration, or even loneliness. I will fight. I will be brave. I will survive.

His body was crumpled into a ball on the ground as he wept for his wife. I yearned to go over and shake him to make him realize these things are going to happen but it was far too soon for tough love. "Rose! Rose!" Daryl ran at me crushing me beneath his strong hold he called a hug. I was sheepish to return to tender gesture. "I told you to stay with Hershel! Why did you leave?"

I stepped back my eyes locked on his shoes. "I had to fight. I will not cower."

I couldn't see his expression but I saw his feet shuffle and his voice was dipped deep in confusion. "Are you alright Rose? You got blood on you…did you get bit?"

"No," I shook my head finally looking up to meet his gaze. His beautiful hurt eyes quivering at me with a scared look thoughts of my death flickering through his mind. "It's walker blood and-and…" I trailed off her name refusing to come out of my mouth the sight of her mangled body flashing in my conscience. "It's her blood. I saw her, after she left us."

"Oh Rose…did you?" He asked but I didn't know what about. Did I kill her? Did I deliver the baby? Did I cause her untimely death?

I bit my tongue biting back the tears the fought to get out of my eyes, I would not allow it. Not now, not in front of Daryl. "I found her after she had already passed. I heard the gunshot and saw Maggie. I needed to see what went on in there, but then I found her. Dead. Drenched in her own blood. It looked like she was massacred…It was devastating."

Once more he pulled me into his arms and I tried to keep my knees from wobbling so I wouldn't concave. "It's going to be okay." I ignored his please to make me feel better by pressing my head into his chest. I felt his heart thump against my ear feeling as every pulse got slower as his adrenaline washed away. His hot breath was against my head as he lingered over my temple seeing if it was okay to press a kiss to it to try and calm my state of shock. I didn't need his comfort though. I didn't need his pity for my sadness. I wasn't sad. Lori was a great loss, but I'm not going to string myself up over it. Maybe I was sad by the state of my trembling body or these unconditional tears that had somehow slipped from their prison and streamed down my face. Maybe my body was sad but my mind wasn't . "It's going to be okay." He told me again.

I just buried my face deeper into his chest blocking out everything around me losing myself in the sound of his organs working. "Yea…" I mumbled letting myself submerge into darkness.