One night, a noise woke me from my sleep. I opened my eyes and lifted my head off the pillow and listened…but didn't hear anything else. I laid back down, rolling over on my other side and tried to get back to sleep.

However, now that I was woke up, I realized that I had to pee. So, I got up and went into the bathroom, quickly did my business then washed my hands at the sink. As soon as I turned the water off, I heard another noise. This one was definite this time. I peeked around the corner, Daryl was up too now. We locked eyes for a moment. He put a finger to his lips telling me to be quiet. We stayed where we were and listened.

There was a long moment of silence…then all of a sudden…we heard someone yell then a bunch of gunshots and more yelling. Daryl and I each grabbed a weapon and ran up the stairs, fast as ever.

A man was running down the stairs, he saw us and stopped. I shot at him and missed because he ran. Daryl shot an arrow at him but missed as well. The guy pushed me down and knocked the wind out of me. He also knocked the gun out of my hands. It went under the couch. He was coming too quickly at Daryl so he threw his crossbow aside and tried fighting him.

I could hear other gunshots going on outside and wondered briefly what was happening. We must be under attack. Michonne was yelling a lot from upstairs, but I couldn't hear my dad.

Daryl got a few good punches on the man, but he quickly recovered and started fighting back. He was tougher than he looked. He practically lifted Daryl off the ground and threw him down hard, then gave him some good kicks in the stomach. My eyes widened. I've never seen Daryl get beat before. I knew he needed my help.

I recovered and scrambled for my gun and felt around for it under the couch. Finally, I found it. The man realized and made a run for it out the door. I aimed and got him in the shoulder before he did, then I started running after him.

"Abby, wait!" Daryl yelled.

I ignored him and ran after the guy shooting at him. I could see from here that the gate was open, some people were running out. The man headed for the gate as well, he got to it before me and ran out. I crouched down behind a car and pointed my gun getting a good aim, then pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. I was out of ammo.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance looking down at the gun. I still wanted to go after them so I got up to run, but felt arms wrap around me. Looking up, I saw that it was Daryl. He was holding me back. "Let go of me!" I yelled.

"No." He snapped. "They're gone."

"I can catch up to them!" I said.

"No, Abby." Daryl said. "It's the middle 'a the night. And…you gonna chase after them like this?" He was referring to my attire. "You ain't even got shoes on." He was right, I knew it. I was still mad but calmed down. He let me go. "And…I thank you need to go see yer dad."

His words sunk in. Daddy. I turned to look at him with wide-eyes, then I bolted home. I ran up to my dad and Michonne's room. She was standing over my dad, he was bleeding in multiple places. No! "Daddy?"

"Abby." My dad said weakly. He held out his hand. I went to him and knelt down next to his bed and held his hand. Michonne had his other hand, Judith was there too on the bed with him. Daryl hung back in the doorway. We were all crying but no one was saying anything. "Daryl." My dad said calling him over. Daryl slowly walked over and stood behind me. "Take care of my little girl." He said to him.

Daryl nodded. He had tears in his eyes, but I guess he refused to let them fall.

My dad smiled at me, Judith and Michonne. "My three girls." He said softly. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, then a moment later he stopped breathing.

My eyes went wide. "Dad?" I cried. "Daddy! Dad, no!" I put my face in his side and cried.

"Daddy!" Judith cried.

"Rick!" Screamed Michonne.

We all wailed expect for Daryl, I felt him put his hands on my shoulders. "Come on." Daryl said gently and helped me to my feet. "Come on."

"He's gonna turn." I said.

"I'll do it." Daryl offered.

"No." I said immediately. "He's my dad." I grabbed the knife off of his nightstand.

Michonne still crying, took Judith out of the room. Daryl left too. It was just me and my dad now. My eyes welled up with tears as I held the knife to his head. I put my face in his chest and cried some more. "Daddy." I said. "I'm sorry."

I recuperated and was about to stab him in the head, but I was still sobbing and shaking which made me hesitate.

All of a sudden, I saw an arrow go through my dad's head. My eyes widened and I looked at Daryl. "I was gonna do it!"

"You didn't have to." He said softly.

"He's my dad! That wasn't for you to do!" I cried.

"You didn't have to." He said again.

"I could'a did it!"

"Abby!" Daryl said. "It's done." He pulled me to him hugging me, I didn't hug him back. "It's okay."

But it wasn't okay. I wonder what things would be like without my dad?

We buried my dad that night along with the other people that died in the attack. I sat on the ground feeling depressed. Daryl questioned Laura and DJ about the attack to see if they knew anything about it. They swore that they never saw those people before. I believed them because I saw that guy's face and didn't recognize him. They were from a different group. Looks like we have a new enemy.

We had a funeral for my dad and everyone else that died the next day. Everyone came from all over to pay their respects. Everybody knew who my dad was, he had a great impact on all of the communities. I've never seen Alexandria so full before.

Right before the ceremony, I started crying really hard and didn't think I was going to be able to face everyone. I stayed downstairs and cried.

"Abby?" Daryl came down. "We're ready." I just nodded. "You okay?"

I didn't hide my tears and looked up at him. "I don't think I can do this." I sobbed.

"Hey." He came over to me. "You can. Yer tough." He reassured me. "I'll be right there beside ya and if anyone starts botherin' ya, just let me know and I'll handle it, okay?" He rubbed my shoulder. "Come on, you gotta go to yer dad's funeral."

I let out a cry when he said that, but took a breath and calmed down some. We left together.

I saw Maggie first, she looked like she'd been crying. Once she noticed me, she hugged me immediately then gave me a sympathetic look. I just tried to hold my emotions in. Carol came to me next and held me tightly and kissed my head. King Ezekiel was with her along with their son, Henry. The king also hugged me.

Everybody was hugging me and being super nice to me. I just couldn't wait for it to be over so I could go back to my house and lay in bed and cry.

Michonne was super depressed and barely talked at all. After seeing her like that, it made me sort of hold my emotions in so I could be there for her and Judith. I started acting like everything was fine and made breakfast the next day.

"I could'a did that." Daryl said taking notice to what I was doing.

"It's fine." I shrugged. "It's ready if you wanna get a plate." I told him. "Judith, come get some breakfast." I called. I made a plate to take up to Michonne. "I'm gonna take this to Michonne." I said then took it upstairs.

She was laying on the bed on her side, she looked a lot like me after Leon. "I made you some breakfast." I told her and sat the plate on her nightstand. She didn't respond. I put my hand on her arm. "We're all here for you." I said. "We're all here for each other." With that, I walked out of the room.

I put on a fake face and stayed strong for my sister. I took care of Judith and made dinner for everyone and acted like everything was normal. Only it wasn't, it was all an act. Inside of me was a volcano of emotions waiting to erupt.

I finally couldn't take it anymore and went out onto the porch one night. I sat out there alone and just sobbed and sobbed. I was under a lot of stress. With caring for Michonne and looking after Judith all while I was going through it too was really taking a tool on me, and I just couldn't do it anymore. The one person I really needed right now was dead.

"Abby?" It was Daryl. Great. The one person I've been trying to avoid is the only person I had right now. "You okay?" I just nodded with my head down. I couldn't hold it in though and continued to sob. "No, yer not." He said. "You gonna tell me what's hurtin'?"

I hesitated. "…how are we supposed to do this without him?" I cried. "We're all here because of him." I looked down and sobbed. "I want my daddy." Daryl got down in front of me and hugged me to him, I didn't hug him back. Even in the state I was in, I couldn't hug him. He held me like that for a little, then he quickly lifted me and sat down with me on his lap.

I sniffled and lifted my head in surprise, I never sat on Daryl's lap before. It made me a little uncomfortable at this age. I wanted to escape, but let him hold me for a little. "Everythang's gonna be okay." He said. "I know you miss 'im, I do too but…you got a whole lot 'a family. You don't gotta be alone in this."

My dad's words came back to me. His last words to Daryl were, take care of my little girl. I wondered at the time why he didn't say girls instead of just girl. He was obviously talking about me because Daryl and I used to be super close. Maybe that's the only reason why Daryl is comforting me.

I sat up but stayed on his lap and looked down. "Abby?" Daryl questioned.

"I think I'll go to bed now." I said lowly and got up.

I decided to check on Judith before going to bed. I went upstairs to the room that used to be mine, and I heard crying as soon as I opened the door. My sister was upset.

"Judith?" I said and walked in. "Hey, it's okay. C'mere." I sat on the bed and hugged her to me. I didn't bother asking what was wrong, I knew what was wrong.

"I miss daddy." She sobbed. "And mommy won't talk."

"I know." I pushed her hair back like my dad always did to me. "Michonne—I mean…your mom…just needs some time. She's just really sad right now. But…she'll get better." I told her. "Hey." I made her look at me. "Things won't always be like this." I gave her a serious look. "I promise."

Judith sniffled and wiped her tears away. "Will you stay here with me?"

I gave her a sad excuse for a smile. "Sure." We both got under the covers and laid down. My sister scooted close to me, I wrapped my arms around her.

It was quiet for a while. I started to think that she fell asleep already and almost laughed. I wish I could fall asleep that fast. But she was still awake because she started talking again.

"Abby?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Are you still mad at Daryl?"

Her question caught me off guard because I didn't even think she knew about that. I hesitated unsure of what to tell her but also because I didn't know how to answer it myself. "…sometimes." I finally said. "Sometimes I'm still mad at him." That was the best answer I could come up with right then.

"Do you think you'll ever forgive him?"

I breathed out. "I don't know, Jude." I said honestly and decided not to lie to her. "I just don't know." I paused. "He killed someone very close to me. You never met him but…we were gonna get married."

Judith rolled over so we were face to face. "So you were in love with him?"

"Yeah." I smiled thinking back on some of our adventures.

"But you love Daryl too, right?"

I swallowed coming back to the now. "I do. But…it's a different kind of love."

"But if you love him, you should be able to forgive him."

I shook my head. "It's not that simple, kid." I started to feel irritated and thought about what to say next, but I had to remember that she's only five years old. "You'll understand one day."

"I wanna understand now." She pressed.

I sighed and thought about how to explain it to her. "Do you see how upset your mom is right now?" I started. "She was in love with dad how I was in love with Leon. Do you think she'd ever be able to forgive the guy who killed dad?"

"No." She answered. "But that's different."

I shook my head. "It's not."

"Yeah, it is."

I was annoyed but quickly calmed down. "Why do you think that?"

"Because it's not just some guy. It's Daryl." She stated. I stared at her thinking about what she was saying. All of a sudden, she smiled. "And you're wrong. It's not a different a kind of love."

My eyes widened and I blinked a few times in confusion. "W-what do you mean?" My face flushed a little.

"You know." Judith continued to smile. She rolled over facing away from me again without another word.

My sister left me with my thoughts after that. She actually had me questioning myself for a moment. Then I came back to reality and my expression hardened. What does she know? She's just a stupid, little kid. I breathed out, then rolled over so our backs were facing each other.

The days went by and things were pretty much the same. I looked after Judith and took care of Michonne, cooking and cleaning. However, I wasn't taking care of myself, I wasn't eating or sleeping much. It's not like I was doing it on purpose though. I would just be going about my work for the day, then I would realize when I went to bed that I didn't eat anything that day. I was starting to get really skinny again.

I was cleaning up the kitchen after making Judith something for dinner when Daryl came to talk to me. "Hey, you know you don't have to do so much." It sounded more like a statement than a question.

I shrugged. "Someone has to do it. Might as well be me."

There was a pause. "Did you eat?"

"…I had a little." I lied.

"What?" He pressed. I hesitated. "That's what I thought. You need to eat, Abby." He scolded me. "Why don't you sit down. I'll make you something."

"I'm fine." I gave him an annoyed look.

"Bullshit." He said roughly. "Yer gettin' skinny again. I can see yer ribs." He paused and I didn't say anything. "I know ya feel responsible fer Judith and yer also takin' care 'a Michonne but if you don't take care 'a yerself, how you gonna take care 'a them?"

I slammed a drawer closed and spun around. "Alright. You made your point." I snapped. "I'll eat something, okay?" We stared at each other for a moment, then I opened the fridge to see what I could quickly eat. Daryl put his hand on my shoulder for a second, then walked away. I looked over my shoulder at him as he went downstairs.

Putting my hands on the counter, I leaned over with my head down. I remember how close me and Daryl used to be, I remember teasing my dad and trying to get a reaction out of him, I remember making everyone laugh. Everything is so different now.

I hated the way things were now. Michonne is depressed, Judith is lost without her parents, Daryl and I are at odds with each other and I'm angry. I'm filled with so much anger inside.

Whoever said, life's not fair, should get a raise.

Michonne had been sick for about a week, anything she ate she would throw up. I convinced her to go see the doctor and she actually did. I offered to go with her but she said she wanted to go alone.

The door opened and Michonne slowly walked in. I could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong. "Michonne?" I questioned. Her head snapped up. "Everything okay?"

She hesitated, then slowly walked over to me. I gave her a questioning look because of the way she was acting. "I'm pre-pregnant." She said.

My eyes widened. "What?" Then I broke out into a big smile. "No way!" I said excitedly. "Michonne, you're pregnant!"

"Yeah." She said like she didn't believe it. Then she looked up and smiled, it was the first time I've seen her smile in a long time. "With his child."

I breathed out feeling genuine happiness. "With my dad's kid." I nodded. We smiled at each other. "Well…let's go tell everyone the good news."

That night, I lay in bed thinking about Michonne being pregnant. I was thrilled for her and also because even though my dad is gone, his legacy with live on through another kid. Maybe the baby will be a boy. I smiled for a moment.

However, there was something else that was bothering me about this. It was the fact that, my dad doesn't get to be here.

He doesn't get to be here for Michonne and to see his kid or raise them. He'll never get to meet them, and that kid will never get to meet their dad. Because someone took his life away. And for what? That makes me angry. It makes me so so angry.

I sat up and breathed out angrily. There's no way I can sleep right now. I was too fired up for sleeping.

Turning my head, my eyes fell on Leon's shirt. I always lay it on the bed next to me, almost like he's there. I picked it up and looked at it while thinking.

I wasn't able to do anything about Leon's death. There wasn't anything that I could do. I mean…I could've killed Daryl but…that wouldn't've solved anything. Leaving him alive was better because he saw what he did. The way I was with him after was his punishment.

Besides, I didn't think I could actually kill Daryl anyway. I hated him in that moment, but…I could never hate him enough to actually kill him.

Anyway, there wasn't anything I could do about Leon's death. But…there is something I can do about my dad's death. I looked up with a hard expression.

I'm going to find the guys who attacked us. I'm going to find the guy who killed my dad. And I'm going to kill him.

I quickly got dressed and packed my bag with essential items, then I headed up the stairs. Daryl was asleep on the couch down there, but I didn't even really care if he woke up. I made up my mind what I wanted to do and no one is going to stop me.

I started opening the gate myself.

"It's a little late for a run, don't you think?" Mick said who was on guard. I ignored him. "Hey, where you going?"

"You don't need to know." I said. "In fact, it's better if you don't." I went out and closed the gate, I could hear Mick lock it on the other side. I'm glad he didn't bother me too much.

I quickly walked down the street before someone else found out and tried to stop me. It's dangerous going out at night, but then again, it's dangerous during the day too so I guess it doesn't matter. Besides, if I get to them in the dark, they'll never see me coming.

Walking through the woods seemed like the better choice, it's safer to stay off the road in case a car would drive by. I heard snarling somewhere and prepared myself to fight. A walker emerged from the darkness in front of me. I let it come close enough that I could stab it in the head, then I threw its body to the ground.

Just then, a twig or something snapped behind me. Immediately alarmed, I spun around with my knife still up. There was a person behind me, but with the moonlight, I quickly realized that it was Daryl. I relaxed.

"What the hell are you doin' out here?" He snapped.

I turned and started walking again. "I think you know what I'm doing out here." I said. "You of all people should know."

"Yeah, I know what the hell yer doin'." He walked in front of me stopping me. "Yer gonna get yerself killed is what yer gonna do."

I shook my head and stepped around him. "As long as it's him first."

"Abigail!" He yelled. "Thank this through!"

"I did think it through!" I snapped and spun around to face him. "He killed my dad! Now my dad doesn't get to meet his kid." I stated. "He doesn't get to live. I can't live knowing that he's out there alive after what he did to my dad. What he took from him. And Michonne and her unborn child…and me."

Daryl and I stared at each other for what seemed like a long time. Finally, he nodded at me. "Okay, I get it." He said. "But I'm comin' with ya. I ain't lettin' ya do this on yer own."

As much as I wanted to do this myself, I knew it was better to have another person. Plus, Daryl can track. I needed him. "Okay." I agreed.

Happy Valentine's Day! :D Hope you liked this chapter!