I stare blankly ahead of my realization joining the sweat and tears streaming down my face. My focus goes downward to the small puddle beneath my feet layering moisture on the dirt floor of the woods. I hear growling and more growling until it closes in around me surrounding me in dead. I do the only thing that comes to mind and it is a movie I remembered from my childhood. I pull a knife from the back of my jeans and slice my palm open blood spurting from the fresh wound. It drips onto the ground before I get enough free movement to smear it onto a tree. I take a left a jog ignoring the searing pain in my lower half. My head felt ready to explode with pressurized pain, my body ached with exhaustion, and now a new wound sent virgin pain through my body. Fear and determination were coursing along in me. Fear that labor would be dangerous and unsafe, but I could not stop to give birth soon so what was I to do? Determination to lead these idiots away from me and hunt for a safe house to bring my child into this world…alone. I cry as I run smearing blood onto more trees as I go stopping ever so often to deal with painful contractions. Daryl would not be here with me for help, support, or to see our creation brought to life. He would not be here to see our child take its first breath, cry its first cry…He would not be her to hold our baby, hold it tightly into safety. He would not be her to help me deliver it. He would never be seen by me again. I lurch forward a struggled groan slipping past my lips. "Stay in," I mutter as contractions began to enclose around me like those walkers. I dig the knife into my palm one more time and smear it against a tree leaving this as the last trace of me. I take a left turn doubling back in the opposite direction. I gridded my teeth struggling with pains I could not fathom to count. My eyes screw up a strangled cry emerging as I collapse against a tree. Those walkers were defiantly off my trail I had no doubt in my mind. Spending so much time with Daryl makes you pick up a few things. They would stop at each tree and sniff like dogs then move on when the smell catches them. The blood on the last tree was fresh so they would think, though they can't, that I had kept moving forward; instead, I went in another direction leading them away from myself. They were no longer a threat.

I don't know how long I had walked/jogged away from them. This forest all looked the same to me. All I knew is it was no place to be stuck in alone about to give birth. I scream out a wave of pain crashing over me along with unreleased anguish. I don't know what to do. I know this baby needs to come out soon, but lying down and giving birth now would leave me and this child extremely vulnerable. The pain subsides long enough for me to get in four breaths before along wave came this time worse than ever. I scream louder than I ever screamed before white-hot knives piercing every part of my body, my head would surly burst. Walkers emerge from the trees, but these are different ones I notice by their clothes and numbers. There were only about seven of them while I had several on my tail. I turn to run but only scream again with agony. Where was there to go? I pull out my gun and shoot the two closest ones, then wait until the third one gets near to take it out. I point my gun at dead women in a brown shirt but a hand sneaks out from behind the tree grabbing at my skin snarling at me with a blood thirst. The ambush sends my hurtling towards the ground my side cushioning the fall but only sending more pain into my system. With difficulty I turn onto my back to aim my gun upward at this dead man advancing on me and shoot shakily hitting his shoulder taking another shot through his skull. I scramble backwards more to get a better aim on the woman, but when I shoot my gun just clicks. My rounds were gone. I think quickly and wait until she is almost on top of me before bringing my arm back and shoving my gun into her eye socket. She falls to the ground beside me. There are still three more left now nearing me on the ground panting sweat dripping off my body like rain. My hand tightens around my knife as a man with a bloody blue shirt approaches. A contraction hits me as I begin to raise the blade, but I don't need to kill this walker.

An arrow slides through its skull before I have the chance.

My head falls back onto the ground a ringing in my ears. Shock and exhaustion keep me from moving. A thud sound lands beside me, and when I look it's a crossbow, but no owner. Instead Daryl's face in above mine almost hard to see from a patch of blue sky shimmering through the canopy of trees around us. He is shaking me. He is talking, but I can't respond. He throws my limbs around checking for bites only lingering long on my cut up hand. Then a pain brings me back to him. "It's time." Is all I can say before screwing my eyes up as my back arches. If we had been back in the prison, back in the infirmary with Alice our emotions would have been lighter and happier, but here, in these dark unreliable woods…happiness was hard to find. All I see is worry in his eyes when I look back to him hovering over me. His mouth fumbles over words and his hands tremble on my skin fright obvious to both of us. We knew this labor would not be easy, or smart in here, especially now.

"Do you think you could walk?" he asked dumbly and I squeeze his hand tightly not remembering when our hands got entwined. He was just as inexperienced as I was.

"Rose." Beth appears on the other side of me. "Try breathing like they do in those shows you know." She gives me examples and I follow her instructions. I don't know if I am crying because of the pain, or that they both or alive and with me. "Go take guard." She pushes Daryl away from me and shifts over to sit by my feet. Beth removes all the fabrics from the waist down pushing my shirt upward to just show my belly. "I don't know how long this will take but you are defiantly having your baby tonight." She laughs and I want to slap her for laughing.

"Hurry." I spit out biting my lip until it bleeds.

She pushes my legs apart wider peering in. "Alright. Well my dad told me a few things when Lori got pregnant and health class taught me some stuff." I glare at her. "Push." She says uncertainly but what else have I got to do than get this child out of me. My fingers grip onto my moist thighs and I push hard feeling more pressure than ever before. I can't help but unleash a scream.

"How you doing there?" he asked propping my head up against his legs as I breaths heavily waiting for Beth to say push again.

"I hate you," I say between gasp and he just chuckles. With my head upward sum I see he fastened some wire around the small tree enclosure we were in perhaps to stop walkers from reaching us if they happened to examine what was going on.

Daryl's fingers brush over my forehead removing drenched pieces of hair from my skin, and then he leaned down pressing his lips to my head. "Hang in there champ." I scream again not able to wait for Beth any longer as I lean forward to push harder. I just want it out of me. I just want to be done with this pain. Beth and Daryl are yelling at each other about the matter but I can't listen as I push and push and push heaving every possible energy I had left to push this baby out. All around me was getting bright as the sun was setting, how long had I been at it? The sky above was no longer blue, but instead an orange and pink color. I try to focus on the sky, try to think of colors for comfort but nothing can distract me from the excruciating pain forming inside of me. I cannot do this anymore. This baby is stuck. It won't come out. I'll have to endure this for the rest of my life. I look at Daryl's sad eyes begging for him to just put me out of my misery. This is too difficult, too painful. My head was banging loudly along with my heart as my lower part felt almost numb with agonizing work. How much longer would I last?

Suddenly I felt a pull from behind my navel jerking me forward and then back again. I huffed out breaths quickly as the pain began to die away very slowly. I stared up at the darkening sky spots of black appearing in my sight as my brain rang with dizziness. I felt lightheaded and exhausted swaying against Daryl's legs. "Oh…" he gasps.

A cry passed through my ears.

Beth walks towards me her shirt covered in blood and other substances. She is crying as she kneels beside me. I begin to cry as well, relief present in the air, holding out my arms to take my child. "Hello there," I smile down at this beautiful, perfect, little angel of mine not knowing how to feel anything but love. I glance behind me at Daryl who is tucking his head away into my shoulder.

"It's a boy." Beth says and I look down just to check.

"My baby boy." I cooed pressing my nose lightly to his head and crying.

He tips the cup against my lips pouring water down my throat. "Thanks." I mumble pushing him away slightly to make the cup retreat from my mouth. He sets it down on the ground analyzing everything. Our child was nestled away in my arms asleep, me leaning against a tree for support, and Beth digging through our things for some unknown item. We had cleaned him off with a wet rag damped by the cold water stream just a half-of-a-mile away from where we were. He did not defiantly like the cold water on his soft skin, but he was easy to calm down. I knew I would have to get used to silencing him to help not attract danger, but he was corporative for a newborn. I closed my eyes leaning my head backwards. I was extremely fatigued from the whole turn of events. I tried to stay awake for my boy but all he needed was milk and then he was out like a light; a trait he must have gotten from Daryl because I rarely slept as a child.

"Get some rest," Daryl sighs pushing hair away from my face running his rough hands along my skin tingling my face with delight.

I shake my head opening my eyes. "I can't."

He shifts around on the ground beside me. "We got the place secure Rose, please sleep."

"How did you find me?" I ask the question bugging me since they first showed up.

Daryl's eyes avert mine a sudden noise making him jumpy, but it's just Beth setting some things on the ground to lie down. "I knew you were on the bus, I knew you were safe. When it pulled away I knew it would be taking you somewhere safe before things got worse. I knew I could just go find you by tracking the tracks. We couldn't hold out anymore. I grabbed Beth before she killed herself trying to find the kids…once the prison fell we had to take to the woods. The roads were packed with walkers coming from every angle; we had to run. We got a pretty decent ways away taking refuge in a field. We were just lying there in the grass when I heard my name. I heard someone screaming my name, so I got up and ran to you. I didn't know which way it was coming from, these woods were big, but I kept hearing my name. Then my name got replaced by screams." He looks away. "I didn't know what was happening to you I just knew I had to find you fast. Your screams were ringing louder and louder throughout here. We found a tree with blood on it and I knew you were close, the blood was still wet. I followed your line of trees and when I reached the end I didn't have a clue which way you went. But you screamed again. I kept following your voice when I found you where I did."

"I didn't have enough bullets." I frown.

"You made it through," his mouth turns up to smile but it falters. "You found a way to kill them." He leans over to kiss the side of my mouth. "Thank you."

I furrow my eyebrows. "For what?"

"Staying put. Staying out of danger." He glances over my face. "Even though you took off into the woods you still stayed partly out of the danger."

"I couldn't find Keegan, or Beth. I told the driver to drive me back but he let me out instead…" I stare down at our baby. "Did you see him at all?"

Daryl shakes his head reaching out to softly run his hands over his boy's head. "We're all scattered."

"We have each other." I reassure him. He doesn't reply. "I must have dropped our things along the way."

"No," he says. "We found them while we were looking for you." His hands are on my hands gripping them tightly. "What are we going to name him?"

I close my eyes again. "I haven't even thought of it…"

"How about after you brother?" he asked.

"No." I reply flatly. "How about after yours?"

His eyes become dark. "Defiantly not." Then they suddenly light up again. "Dar-!"

"I am not naming him that." I chuckle. I didn't really want our boy to be named after anyone we knew, or anybody who we had lost along the way. I wanted this child to represent out new futures, to represent a new beginning in this world, our new world Daryl and I lived in together. I didn't want to be reminded of our loses but instead of our gains. "Benjamin."

Daryl peers down at Benjamin. "It suits him, it suits us." He presses him mouth to mine again. "Middle name?"

I fight the urge to roll my eyes; did he really need a middle name? "You pick." He shrugs mumbling something unknown self-conscious taking over. "How about Harley for you brother's bike?" I poke out there but he shakes his head furiously. I rack my brain. "Hunter, for you since you know…you hunt." I smile and his lips curve upward slightly."

"Benjamin Hunter Dixon." He lets his tongue find comfort in the words but I would not change his name. It fit our child; it fit our family like Daryl had said. Daryl only pronouncing the full name was enough for me to be set on this name. "I like it."

I can't help but start crying.

Daryl runs his hand along my arm trying to soothe me, but I am not upset. I catch his eyes looking over at Beth for a second before he turns to me. "Hershel's dead."

I stop crying starting at him. "Wh-What?" I stumble on the words.

"Hershel's dead." He repeats. "The Governor…he-he killed him with Michonne's sword by decapitation."

My focus fades from him out into empty space trying to comprehend our loss. I don't cry instead I look over at Beth. "How is she?'

Daryl shrugs. "Haven't had time to speak to her." His voice lowers even deeper. "She was crying though while we ran."

I bring my hand up to my face wiping my skin free of tears. We all had to deal with loses, we all knew death was common in our world, but to see your father executed in front of you must have been…I could not find the words to place it. I had never heard of such a thing to happen. "I'll speak with her." We don't talk the rest of the night. We sat there in silence both staring at Benjamin thinking the same thing.

Perhaps Hershel's had been reborn into Benjamin. The thought was preposterous and a mere wish, but it kept us from sorrow.