Warning - scenes of abuse in this chapter.

You may want to skip the flashback if that's your trigger.

xxxxxxxxxxxx Flashback xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Shane, please," Sarah whispered. "I said I was sorry."

"Sorry what? That the house is a mess or that you haven't finished ironing my shirts?" he demanded, grabbing a hold of her arm tightly.

"Shane, I worked a 12 hour day. I just got home a few hours ago. I cooked dinner and gave the kids a bath, then put them to bed. I just got a chance to do your shirts." He flung her arm away and she stumbled.

"Whatever, Sarah. Just get it done." He went over to the bed and sat down, pulling his work boots off.

Sarah unfolded the ironing board, grabbing his work shirts. "So, how was work today?" she asked, trying to change his mood. "Did you catch any bad guys?" she asked, attempting to joke like they used to when they were first married.

He scoffed. "No. I was in traffic court all damn day. Don't you remember anything?"

She was confused. "If you were in court all day...then why are you just getting home at 10?" she asked, bending over to plug in the iron. She stood up and found him in her face.

"I went out," he spat. "Do you have a problem with that?" he asked. She stepped back, smelling the whiskey on his breath.

"N-no," she replied, knowing that he was out with another woman because she could smell the perfume that wasn't hers as well. She didn't dare say anything. The last time she'd confronted him about her suspicions he had roughed her up, breaking the door to their room when he pushed her up against it.

"That's right. I can do what I want, go out whenever I damn well please. I know YOU make more money than I do, but I'm still the damn man of this house!" He sneered. "So what if I want to go out and have some drinks at the bar?"

"But Shane...we have kids! They haven't seen you in a week! Noah keeps asking about you..." He got right in her face, their noses almost touching.

"You sayin' I ain't spending enough time with our kids?" he spat, his brown eyes flashing.

"I - I just wanted to tell you - I think that - " He lifted his hand and slapped her hard across the face. She cried out as her head flew to the side and she saw a flash of lights and her ear started to ring, tears immediately filling her green eyes as she fought to steady herself.

"How many times I have to tell you to stop thinkin' and tryin' to tell me what to do?" He glared at her. "Stupid bitch," he muttered under his breath.

She grabbed her face as the tears spilled over onto her cheeks. Shane stormed past her into the bathroom and slammed the door.

She let out a sob as she grabbed the iron, her cheek starting to throb and her hands shaking, and went back to ironing his shirts before he really flew off the handle.

"Mommy?" she heard a voice from the door.

She quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and put a smile on her face before turning around. "Noahbear? What are you doing out of bed?" she asked her 5 year old.

He sleepily rubbed his eyes. "I heard Daddy yelling."

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie. Let's get you back to bed." She grabbed his hand and led her sweet and innocent child back down the hall, her ear still ringing from Shane's slap. She helped Noah into bed and tucked him in and handed him his stuffed dog. She ruffled his hair and bent over to kiss his forehead, still mulling over her argument with her husband.

"Mommy?" Noah asked softly as she went toward the door.

"Yes, Noahbear?" she asked as she turned toward him again.

"Why does Daddy hurt you?" he asked.

Her stomach dropped.

Her mind starting racing. "He doesn't mean to, sweetie," she said, going back across the room to sit on the side of his bed, trying to hold in tears and gather her thoughts. She heard the shower start down the hall as she pulled Noah to her.

"I don't like when Daddy does that to you. He's mean and I don't like him anymore," Noah stated, his eyebrows creasing as he gently stroked his mom's cheek.

Something clicked inside Sarah when she heard those words. She squeezed Noah as tightly to her chest as she could as she allowed silent tears to fall down her face.

She knew what had to be done.

xxxxxxxxxxxx End Flashback xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rick and John helped Sarah and Christy put up the two tents they had packed while Olivia and Noah played nearby with Carl and a few other young children, Lori keeping a close eye on them. Sarah drove in the last spike when she felt eyes on her. She looked around and saw Shane watching her from the top of the RV. She stared back at him until he looked away.

Rick put his arm around her shoulders, looking over at Shane. He moved to stand in front of Sarah. "You know I couldn't leave him. He was all alone, no friends and no family. He wouldn't have made it long," he said, looking into her eyes. "I'll make sure he stays away from you."

Sarah shrugged. "I can handle myself. You forget, I know self-defense." She winked at him, trying to lighten the mood. He cracked a small grin but she could tell he was still worried. "In all seriousness," she said, "it has been three years since I left him and this is the first time I've seen him in person since court; Mom usually did the visitation drop-offs and pick-ups for me. Maybe things are different now especially given the circumstances. Maybe we can co-exist here together without negativity."

Rick nodded. "I sure hope so, my sweet girl." He hugged her tightly. "Let me officially introduce you to everyone."

He led her around to meet all the other campers.

She really liked the woman named Carol, who gave her a timid smile and introduced her to her daughter, Sophia and husband, Ed. But Ed didn't speak instead chose to ignore Sarah and his family. Sarah wondered what that was about but chose not to jump to conclusions just yet.

Next, Rick introduced her to an older gentleman named Dale who reminded her so much of her father. The RV belonged to him and he offered her use of the restroom for herself and her family. She smiled at him knowing that she would be sure to get to know him. Dale introduced her to Andrea and Amy, two sisters who met Dale on the highway when their car broke down. He took to them immediately and didn't think twice about taking them in. Yep, she loved Dale's spirit already.

She met Glenn, who Rick had described as a "stealthy errand guy" - he had already been into the city twice since they'd arrived to get some needed supplies and had a knack for getting in and out of places without detection from people or the undead. He grinned and offered to get whatever she and the family needed. She thanked him.

Sarah really liked T-Dog - the black gentleman with a big, bright smile. He reminded her of one of her friends, a former classmate from med school, named Jovan. He had been there for her when she first confessed to him about Shane's abuse. Jovan wanted to kill him but she talked him out of it. He was the one who convinced her to tell Rick and Lori who were the ones to introduce them in the first place. She wondered where Jovan was.

She met a few more handfuls of people most of whose names she would eventually remember. She headed back toward the tents as the sun started to set behind the mountain. Lori and Christy started a small fire where they had set up across from Lori and John's tent and near Rick's, and Sarah could smell the fish they were about to fry.

They settled down around the fire to eat dinner when the sun went down. Sarah looked up as Shane made an appearance, taking a seat next to Rick. Olivia grinned at him, while the rest of her group frowned.

They made small talk, mostly about the weather and camping since the kids were there. Carl was telling Olivia and Noah about frog-gigging with Shane earlier that day and he promised them he would teach them the next day.

As Lisa and Lori started to clean up, Sarah turned to her kids and announced their bed time. They went to the RV to use the restroom and brush their teeth. Sarah thanked Dale repeatedly who told her it was nothing. Olivia went and kissed Shane goodnight while Noah went straight for the tent. Sarah grabbed Olivia's hand and they followed him. She settled them into their sleeping bags and gave Olivia her bunny and a small flashlight to keep under her pillow.

"I'll be back in a little while. Nana is going to sleep in the tent with Christy. If you need me, just come get me. I'll be right out here, okay?" Olivia nodded, yawning and kissing her mom before closing her eyes.

Sarah crawled over to Noah who was staring at the ceiling of the tent. "What's going on buddy?" she whispered to him, fluffing his hair.

"Why is he here?" he asked sullenly.

"Well, Rick brought him. He thought Daddy might want to camp."

"I don't want to see him. I don't like him one bit," he said, looking at his mom. She looked at her son, who looked so much like Shane and felt just awful. A son should look up to his dad, but she couldn't fault him for his feelings seeing what he had seen from his dad in the past. That didn't stop her from wishing he had a better relationship with Shane.

"I know, honey, but he is your dad," she replied, rubbing his cheek. "At the same time, no one will be angry if you choose not to talk to him. It's your decision, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy." He yawned, giving in to sleep. "I love you," he mumbled.

"Always," she replied, leaning over to kiss him.

The next morning Sarah woke up as the sun started to rise. She looked over at her children who slept like angels and smiled.

Then she remembered the conversation from last night after the kids went to bed.

Rick explained what he knew from keeping in touch with some of his police buddies since that previous evening: The virus was wide-spread. Atlanta, Savannah, and most of the other big cities in the south had apparently been overrun with these "walkers" as he called them. A few of the bigger hospitals had been burned to the ground in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. The military and police forces had been called to protect the local and state governments and military installations - they had initially opened FEMA camps, but had to start turning people away when injured and sick people started to turn on the healthy ones. The government had pretty much kept mum about their plans to fight whatever this was and just kept repeating the emergency broadcast all day. Dale, Glenn, T-Dog, Andrea, and Amy joined the campfire, listening to the conversation.

"So basically, my boss told me to get out of dodge...said he had a sick feeling about what was happening. He told me to get my family and run," Rick finished his story. He glanced over at Sarah and gave her a grim smile.

Sarah took a deep breath and shared with the group what had happened at the hospital. In he middle of her story, she got choked up talking about Dr Jones. Rick scooter closer to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly. She smiled at him gratefully through tear-filled eyes and continued.

"So basically it's spreading faster than they can contain it," Sarah finished. "And it looks like there's no cure. You can't come back from the dead...again..."

Rick dropped her hand and sat back, heaving a sigh as he ran his hand down his face. Sarah suppressed the urge to reach out and hold him.

He began to explain to everyone that if a walker bit a person, that person became infected and died soon after and then returned as a walker too.

"Zombies," Christy had muttered, shaking her head. Shane just stared at Sarah who felt uncomfortable but said nothing and gave him no acknowledgement.

"Exactly," Rick replied. "And the only thing we can do is kill these walkers." Everyone looked alarmed. "And you have to go for the brain or they don't die...again."

"How do you know this?" Andrea asked as Sarah wondered the same thing as everyone started to argue.

"I've seen it first hand." Rick looked upset. "We had a prisoner at the jail that bit another prisoner...we tried to use the taser and it didn't work at all...so I shot him in the leg to slow him down and cause lesser injury...just maim and not kill." Rick sighed. "Nothing stopped him...and he...he bit a fellow officer...Ben...when Ben shot him in the chest...it didn't phase him...he lunged for me and I just shot him..." Sarah reached over and grabbed his hand as he put his head down in defeat. "It was over." He sighed again and squeezed her hand tightly. "Until the other prisoner died and also started trying to eat people. I had no choice. I shot him too...and then Ben died and turned into one of them...and the sheriff had to take care of Ben too. He was just a rookie.." Sarah reached over and put her other hand on his arm. "We have to defend ourselves and each other from these things...so we don't end up like them."

He let go of Sarah's hand and went to his tent while the entire camp sat and thought about what he said. Rick returned with weapons for his small group. He handed Sarah a knife, a Beretta 92 FS Compact Inox, and a leg holster. "You remember when I taught you how to shoot this, right?" Shane scoffed. She nodded just looking at Rick. "You were a pretty decent shot with this gun from what I remember...use it. Protect yourself and your kids." She nodded as she took them from him. He turned to Christy and handed her a small handgun and knife as well. When he motioned to Lisa, she shook her head. "Please," he'd said, "at least take the knife." Her mom made a face as she took the weapon.

Rick sat back down next to Sarah as more people started telling their stories. They admitted they had witnessed this as well - other people shooting these undead in the head to escape them. The only way to survive was to arm themselves and put them down like executioners.

Sarah shook her head, clearing the thought from her mind and sighed as she sat up. She pulled on her black running capris, a pink tank top, and sneakers. She added the holster Rick had given her last night and unzipped the tent. She looked around their camp and saw that she was the first awake other than Dale who was on top of the RV with his shotgun in hand.

"Morning!" he called softly to her as she approached the RV.

She smiled at him. "Morning! Mind if I wash my face?"

"Sure. Amy and Andrea are still asleep in the back, so just keep it down," he replied.

"Of course," she said, smiling at him.

"There are some new toothbrushes in there; help yourself."

"Thank you, Dale."

After she brushed her teeth and washed her face, she stepped off the RV and headed back toward her tent. Suddenly, she heard someone come up next to her. She jumped back and saw Shane.

"Oh!" she said, putting her hand on her chest, her heart thumping. "Shane! What do you want?"

He scowled. "I wanted to talk to you without Rick, John, and Lori around."

"Why?" she asked, stepping back to out more distance between them, her mind and heart racing.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm glad you and the kids made it here okay. I - I've missed y'all."

Sarah felt angry all of the sudden. "Oh really. Now you miss us?"

Shane scowled. "I'm allowed to miss my family!"

Sarah felt her anger coming to the surface and bubbling out. "You should have thought about that before! And guess what Shane? We are no longer your family and therefore, no longer your concern!"

He stepped toward her, growling his displeasure. Her heart skipped a beat. She put her hand to her gun as she heard a rustling in the woods next to them.

They both turned abruptly seeing a man with a crossbow and a string of squirrels emerging from the woods.

"Tha hell is goin' on here Shane?" he asked.

Shane scowled and stepped away from Sarah. "Nothing Daryl," he replied, running his hand over his face like he did when he was frustrated.

"Don' look like nothin'," he said, turning his attention to Sarah. "Ya okay?" Sarah nodded at the stranger. "Come on," he said to her, glaring at Shane. Sarah followed leaving a scowling Shane behind as her heart continued to race, the whooshing sound in her ears still going.

"Yer new to camp. Wha's yer name?" Daryl asked.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her anger.

"Sorry. I'm Sarah. Sarah Jenkins," she replied. "I'm Lori Grimes' cousin." He nodded.

"Heard ya was comin'. Wha's up with you an' Shane?" Sarah heaved a sigh.

"He...he's my ex-husband."

Daryl stopped walking, gently grabbed her arm and spun her toward him. She stared into his blue eyes and got a good look at her rescuer. He was kinda hot - in a non-conventional and not really her type kind of way. His blue eyes pierced her green ones as he stared back into her eyes.

"He us'ta hit ya, din' he?" Sarah looked shocked and let out a sound of surprise.

"Yea-yeah...how'd you know?"

"Shane's a douchebag...an' I could tell by tha way he was tryin' to intimidate ya. Ya was standin' ya ground though," he said, looking slightly impressed.

"Well, after all was said and done, Rick taught me self-defense and how to shoot. I guess I have better confidence now." Daryl barked a laugh and they continued walking, side by side.

"Damn, maybe I shoulda sat back an' watched ya kick his ass instead'a steppin' in!" She smiled, enjoying his company.

"Thank you, though, for what it's worth."

"Yep. Jus' make sure ya ain't alone with 'im again. Shane jus' ain' righ' in tha head. I don' trust 'im."

She nodded. He gave her a small wave as he walked off.

She smiled - she'd made a new friend.