A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed/favorited since the last chapter! Sort of a different writing style this time...not sure quite how I feel about it.

-tardislover1: I actually respond to you at the end….

-redangel2463: Luckily you will find out in this chapter! Glad you have been enjoying it!

The farm was gone.

The group had gathered on the highway, near the car where they had left supplies for Sophia. Rick tried to take count of everyone who was missing. Andrea, Daryl, Carol, Anna and Patricia. He knew Jimmy had met his end in the RV, but he wasn't sure what happened to the others.

"Patricia's dead." Everyone turned to Beth. She was sitting in the seat of the truck, head leaning against the door, looking at no one. Rick gulped and nodded.

"Does anyone know about anybody else?"

"Last I saw her, Anna, was cornered by the woods." Maggie gasped and covered her mouth, as Lori spoke. "All she had was her pistol."

Rick shook his head turning away, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears. Suddenly the sound of a motorcycle could be heard coming down the road. The group turned collectively holding their breaths. Daryl could been seen arms wrapped around his waist. He pulled up swinging a leg over the side of the bike and stood, revealing Carol.

I woke up freezing and huddled myself together hoping to conserve some body heat. It was obviously not working so instead, I crawled slowly to the edge of the stand and peaked over. The walkers were still at the base of the tree, but not as active as before. They were simply milling about, but they weren't far enough for me to get away. I rolled onto my back and sighed. A small amount of light filtered through the trees. I realized there wasn't much else to do so I rolled back onto my side and curled up. I spent the first day sleeping.

I spent the second day staring at the gun.

Daryl and Carol walked over the the group spread amongst the cars. Carol sat on the hood of one of the cars her shoulders slumping, while Daryl stood at the edge looking around.

"Andrea's gone." Everyone turned to Carol. "She saved me, but she got pinned against the shed. I saw her go down."

"Was she dead?" Carol turned to Maggie.

"I didn't see, I just saw her go down."

"Well we need to make sure."

"No!" Rick stood up. "The farm is overrun, it's too dangerous to go back. We go on together, as a group."

"Where's Anna?" Daryl watched the group and Carol suddenly sat up again looking around frantic. No one spoke for a few moments.

"In the woods...we think." Maggie spoke softly. Daryl loaded his crossbow and turned back towards the woods.

"Daryl, wait!" Rick ran up and walked beside him. "We need you, we won't survive the winter without you."

"Jus' wait here, I'm gonna go get her and be back in a couple a days, tops."

"We can't just wait, another herd could come through and we'd be sitting ducks." He put a hand on Daryl's arm. "I know it's hard, but you may need to consider the possibility that she…" Daryl slammed Rick into the truck next to him a forearm across his throat.

"She's fine!" Daryl put his face up close to Rick's. "Ya can do whatever the fuck ya want, but I ain't leavin' without her." He removed his arm from Rick's throat and turned, walking into the woods.

I had never been this hungry. Back before society broke down, I had missed meals. We weren't always able to keep enough food in the house, but it had never felt like this. It felt like my stomach was collapsing in on itself, painfully. Being constantly cold didn't help either. The sunlight was hardly able to penetrate the leaves, so it never really warmed up. My finger joints became harder and harder to move. I found myself looking over the edge every half hour or so. I didn't think the walkers would have actually gone, but they were being so quiet it was hard to tell. In between looking over the edge I would stare at the gun with it's last bullet.

On the third day, I repeatedly put the gun in my mouth.

"What do we do?" Maggie sounded near tears and Glenn, tried to comfort her from behind.

"We wait." Carol was staring at the woods. "Daryl will find her and then he'll come back."

"And if she's…." Lori trailed off. Carol continued watching the woods.

"He'll come back." Rick nodded slowly.

"We can't wait forever. We'll give them three days."

I kneeled on the deer stand and took a deep breath. I raised my hand and put the barrel in my mouth before I panicked and lowered it again. I had been doing this for hours. I didn't want to starve to death and it was already unbearable now, even though it was just the third day. Or maybe the fourth, I couldn't remember how much I had eaten the day the farm got overrun. I sighed and raised the gun again. I put in my mouth and breathed deeply through my nose, shutting my eyes. I put my finger on the trigger and started at the sudden jolting noise that filled my ears. I didn't think I'd be able to hear after I died, but I could hear the walkers getting restless.

I opened my eyes and took the gun from my mouth. I wasn't sure what made me think I had pulled the trigger, but it seemed silly looking back on it. I crawled to the edge of the platform and looked over. Walkers were on the ground and the others were moving off into the trees. I sat up quickly and gathered the rope ladder. If they went far enough this was my chance to make a run for it back to the highway. When I saw Daryl leave the underbrush kicking dead walkers away as he went. I forgot what I was doing. He walked to the as of the tree and looked up at me, as I stared down down at him, mouth hanging open.

"Get the fuck down here! I don' want to climb up there." I shook my head and pushed the ladder over the edge. I slowly climbed down the ladder. It was hard to make my hands wrap around the planks, but I tried. I felt Daryl grab me around the waist and lift me off, setting me on the ground. He flipped me towards him quickly and began running his hands over me.

"Ya alright." I nodded and he grabbed my hands, pulling back slightly. "Shit, yer freezin'." He put my hands up his shirt resting them on his stomach and holding them there with his hands. My hands almost immediately began to tingle, as they heated up. Daryl rested his head against mine repeatedly asking if I was alright and I nodded continually. He pulled his hands out and wrapped his arms around me tightly, rubbing his hands up and down my back. He took a step back reaching down into one of his pockets and pulling out a granola bar. He shoved it into my hands before going to collect his arrows.

"Eat that. We need to get ya warmed up and I don' have anythin' here." I scarfed down the granola bar, dropping the wrapper before following Daryl through the woods. We walked most of the night, stopping every few hours to rest and we made it back to the highway at daybreak. We walked up the embankment and onto the road weaving between cars, until the group came into view. They were loading up cars, when my mom turned and dropped the clothes she was holding.

"Oh, Anna!" She hopped over the clothes she dropped, running over to me arms open. I closed my eyes and buried my face in her neck while she held me, rocking us back and forth. I could hear everyone shouting as the ran over to us and when my mom released me, Maggie immediately latched on. I wrapped my arms around her and looked over her shoulder as Daryl and Rick hugged briefly, Rick smiling widely.

"You lucky son of a bitch, we were just about to leave!" Daryl scoffed, with a smile on his face.

"Told ya I'd be back in a few days." Maggie let go of me smiling widely and I was surprised when Beth launched herself into me.

"You saved me." I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and laid my head against hers.

"I bet you're hungry." Lori walked up smiling holding a jar of peanut butter out to me with a spoon. I took both, as Beth took a step back wiping her eyes and immediately began shoveling it in.

"Easy now, just a few bites then drink this. Water is more important right now." Hershel handed me a water bottle and I took it drinking quickly, as we all walked back towards the cars. Blankets were piled over me in my seat as we started off down the road. I slept until Rick blared the horn signaling he had run out of gas. We all gathered in some old ruins with a fire between us when Daryl spoke up.

"When we found Randal, his neck was broke, no bites, no scratches, but he had turned anyway." Rick rubbed his face.

"We're all infected." His voice was quiet. "That was what Jenner whispered to me before we left the CDC."

"What does that mean?" Lori looked up at her husband shocked.

"Whatever this is, it's already inside all of us. When you die, you turn." All of a sudden everyone was shouting. Over the yells I could hear my mom talking to Daryl.

"We could go. The three of us, you'd be able to take care of us." I shook my head.

"No, we stay here with Rick." I turned to my mom and Daryl nodded.

"I'm with you." My mom watched us and sighed before nodding her head.

"I have done everything for this group!" I hadn't heard Rick raise his voice like this since the CDC. "I have made every sacrifice. I killed my best friend for you." My mouth dropped and everyone went silent. Rick looked close to tears. "If you want to leave, leave, but if you stay this isn't a democracy anymore." Quietly we all broke off into groups and laid down for sleep. Rick stood by the fire before leaving the ruins and slowly circling the area. He continued his march and I realised he was keeping watch. I lay down in front of Daryl and laced my fingers with his when he put his arm over my waist.

I woke up and feeling cold for the fifth day in a row. I looked around and saw the fire had gone down to coals. I pulled away from Daryl and scooted over to the fire stirring the flames and putting another log on it. I saw T-Dog walking around the small perimeter and smiled at him when he raised his hand to me. I looked around and saw Lori and Carl curled up together. I frowned and wondered if Rick had gone to help on watch. I saw him stirring from sleep across the fire and frowned. I guess things were really over between him and sat up rubbing his eyes and I walked around the fire, standing near him. He looked up at me, eyes sad before pulling his knees up and resting his arms on them.

"I'm sorry about Lori." Rick shook his head at me, standing and dusting off his pants

"Don't be. Things haven't been right between me and Lori since I came back." He sighed and looked down. "If we're being honest, things weren't even right before I got shot." He laughed slightly and looked up at me.

"You know what I miss the most?" I shook my head slightly and hoped this wasn't about to get awkward. "Somebody always had my back. No matter what." He rubbed his heel into the dirt.

"Everytime I make a decision, I feel like I look at her and she's just shaking her head." He sunk down, squatting on his knees, shaking his head. "I feel like I'm alone in this. I can't remember the last time I was alone." I walked closer sitting down beside him and I leaned over bumping his side.

"If it makes you feel any better, I've got your back." He looked over at me arms resting on his knees. "You've made mistakes, but there hasn't been anything that you haven't gotten us through. I owe you my life. Everyone does." I smiled at him. "And if you've got me, you're stuck with Daryl." He laughed. "And no one is brave enough to cross Daryl, so you've got everyone along for the ride."

He smiled standing up and grabbing my hand pulling me up to my feet. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. He pressed his head against mine and I could feel the vibrations from his chest as he spoke.

"I would do anything to protect you and this group." I nodded and wrapped my arms around him.

"I know."

Winter was brutal.

Walkers had appeared in huge numbers. Whether it was lack of food or the cold I don't know, but something was driving them out into the rural areas. We were barely able to stay in one place overnight and usually we had to move again after a few hours. Lori was huge. We had little food, so she had mostly ballooned out at the stomach and stayed thin everywhere else. We were all starving and tired and things were starting to look hopeless. Until Rick and Daryl found the prison.

A/N: Yeah Season 3! This sure was a jumpy around chapter wasn't it….hope it wasn't super confusing. It wasn't how I originally planned to arrange it, but I like the way it turned out.

-Tardislover1: I had never even thought of that! Not sure why it makes perfect sense, but not for the way I envision this story going. To me Anna hasn't found herself enough yet to survive on her own. She's been getting stronger every day since her sort of "awakening" after Sophia's death, but she isn't quite there yet. Because of that I feel that she needs a support group, to help her along the way which is why she is back with the group. That being said I have compiled events for a different Daryl story, with scenes that didn't quite work for this story and you sparked a huge plot line for that next story…..it won't be coming out anytime soon, but I have been keeping every idea for it so that when this one is done (or at least caught up with the show) I will start on that one.