Disclaimer- I do not own the Walking dead or any of its characters, just my own.

Alwaysand- I've never heard of that fan idea but honestly yeah I can see that to. He wanted to survive and that's all he could think of at the time. If he didn't have that purpose he thought no one would help him. He had to be important to think he was worth saving.

Angeljjk- here's the chapter you've been waiting on.

Shadowoftheblackdeat- here it is my lovely. And it's a long one.( well twice as long as they usually are)

Danny's POV

I don't know how long I stand outside the room being held by Glenn but I know I can't stay out here any longer. Riley is screaming and it's just getting louder, I can hear Judith start to cry but she's being drowned out.

I step back from Glenn and rub my hands over my eyes and cheeks to wipe away any of the tears that are left.

"We'll find him, me and you. We'll find a way out of here and we'll get him back". He hunches down a little so he's eye level with me. "Okay?"

I nod, "Okay".

Every single pair of eyes land on me as I walk back into the room, except for one. Abraham, he is still sat slumped against the wall staring out at nothing. He's in shock. His entire reason for living has just been ripped away from him. I get it but the way he acted was verging on psychotic. He didn't care what Eugene wanted, he was prepared to take Eugene kicking and screaming if he had to.

I ignore everyone as I go straight over to Sophia to take Riley from her. His face is bright red and as I hold him against me he squirms against my hold. The sound he's letting out sends fear running through me because there's no way the Walkers outside can't hear him. If too many of them push up against the door there's definitely a good chance they'll be able to push it in. We need to get them out of here. My need to find Daryl can't outweigh Riley and Judith's safety.

I take a quick peek outside the window, but the rear car is no longer free, there isn't even a slim chance of making it there. I turn to Merle. "We have to get them out of here".

"Alrigh' you got a plan in mind?"

I shake my head but then Glenn steps into the room. "I do". He then holds up some car keys and gives them a little shake. "Found these and I've already checked, the car's out back in the carpark."

"How big's the car?" I ask.

"Only a five seater, not much of a boot either, so it can fit five people and the kids".

I nod my head a couple of times. "Okay. I have a plan. Merle, Carol, Beth and Sophia you get in that car, you take my children and you get them out of here. As far away as you can possibly get."

"Danny, no". Merle starts as he comes over to me. "I'm not leavin' you".

"Please…." My voice breaks. When I know I won't cry I try again. "Please, you have to protect them. You have to get my babies out of here".

He looks up, takes a couple of deep breaths before looking back at me. "What if….", he cuts himself off. I don't know what it is he was going to say but whatever it was he clearly doesn't want to say, and part of me doesn't want him to say it either. What if you don't come back? What if Daryl's dead? I wouldn't be able to answer either of those questions.

I kiss the top of Riley's head before I reluctantly hand him over to Merle, still screaming and crying. I run my fingers through his little tuft of hair. "I'll come find you. I love you".

As soon as I step back Merle places a very quick kiss against my forehead and then follows Glenn out of the room. I'm glad he didn't hang around because of this feeling I'm feeling right now. Sending them away makes me feel like the worst mum in the world, it doesn't matter that it's to protect them. It doesn't matter that it's what's best for them. I will always feel guilty for this moment. Sophia hugs me on her way past, it's only a brief hug.

"I'll protect them with everything I have" She whispers at me before running after Merle. Herschel leads Beth from the room as she holds Judith, Maggie going with them.

Carol touches my arm on her way past but doesn't say anything. She knows what I'm feeling and she knows there's nothing she can say to make this moment any better. She picks up my bag I always carry with me, it has baby formula in the bottom of it just in case it was ever needed and then she's gone.

"Urm," Karen's voice sounds loud against the silence that's filled the room now that Riley's gone. "What now?"

I turn to look at everyone that's left in the room, I look at all their faces. Some are terrified and my god do I wish they could have all gone instead of being stuck in here. They don't deserve to be here. The rest are putting on brave faces, not wanting to show that they're scared but deep down they are, I know I am.

"I lead as many Walkers away as I can".

"On foot?" Sasha remarks a little surprised.

"We don't have any other cars and even if we did I would use them to get the rest of you out of here."

"No, you can't…." Tyreese starts but is cut off by Michonne who scoffs.

"Don't bother. There are only two people in this world that can stop her doing it and neither one of them are here." She looks at me. "I'll come with you".

"Me to", Glenn says from the doorway. Before Maggie, who is standing beside him, can object he grabs her hand. "I need to do this. Throwback to the good old days, Walker bait remember". He smiles at her. They stare into each other's eyes without saying a word for ages before she finally nods.

"You stop her if she does anything reckless" she turns to me. "And you, you listen to him okay? You two have something and right now is the time to listen to it. If either one of you comes back without the other I will hunt you down and I will kill you myself."

I just stare at her. What I want to say is that I will get him back to her alive, that I can promise but I cannot come back until I know where Daryl is. Alive or…dead I have to find him. Finally I offer her a nod, it's the best I can do. I can't lie to her and she knows that but my nod allows her to pretend.

"You've had a baby Danny". Herschel says, "I don't recommend this much physical exertion. Surely we can think of something else."

"I can do this. Rosita", her back straightens as I say her name. "If we can clear enough room for the back car to clear, you take Eugene and drive that car, lead as many of them that are left away. Even if we can't get rid of all of them, just the majority will do."

"And then what?" Sasha asks.

"I'm not expecting any of you to leave this room if you don't want to, but the three of us will circle back, we'll kill what is left and we will find Daryl".

Sasha glances at her brother. "As soon as that street is cleared we'll start killing what we can".

"Thank you". And I mean it with all of my heart.

My boots land heavily on the tarmac. We exited through the same window Merle and the others did half an hour ago. There are a few Walking milling about here now and more are appearing which is why we couldn't wait any longer. It's now or never.

Glenn lands behind me and then my gun is held in his hand. "Merle said to give this back to you. But only when we were outside".

I take it from him. "He knows what I'm planning doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he would give anything to be here with you right now, he's angry that he isn't but we all know that you aren't going anywhere and Riley had to be removed. He wanted me to tell you that if he can't protect you then he will protect Riley with his life. He always will." Glenn lowers his voice. "He also told me why he was sent away, and don't worry I'd be the same if I ever had a kid". I trust everyone here but the idea of leaving my son alone with them is hard, it requires a level of trust I only have with two people in this entire world.

Michonne drops down and then pulls her sword out. "You ready?"

I put my gun away and pull out my bat. "Let's go".

Michonne leads the way from this car park to an alley that runs along the back of the majority of these buildings. We stay at a light jog until there's a right hand turn that leads onto the street. She peers around the wall but when she looks back at us she shakes her head. This one doesn't lead to a clear bit of street. She leads us about 400 yards up to another right hand turn and after she peers around this one she steps into it.

"There's some stragglers at the end but we can get through them and then we're clear of the herd."

I step up beside her and roll my shoulders. "Let's do this". I take the lead this time. It's my plan, my stupid idea so I should be the one that runs into danger first. When I get to the end of the alley I swing my bat at the Walker closest to the entrance. When he's down I head onto the next one.

With all the stragglers down I turn towards the herd, standing this close to one this big is beyond terrifying. I can feel my hands clamming up, and the smell. My god I wish I had that rag Daryl kept on him when I was pregnant.

Michonne and Glenn stand on either side of me waiting for my signal, and as some of the walkers nearby realise we are here, I give it. I shout at the top of my lungs, not words, just noise. I use this scream to let out all my anger and all my fear, to the point it actually makes my throat hurt a little.

"Come on you fuckers, come and get us", Glenn shouts as loud as he can.

Michonne doesn't shout but she does grab my arm to start walking me backwards as the Walkers start stumbling towards us.

As they get closer we turn to start jogging away. Glenn is still shouting, raising his arms in the air. When we pass a car on the side of the road and I smash my bat into the side of it. Shattering the window.

"You guys keep them coming, I'll protect your front", Michonne says just before sending her blade through the head of a walker that's in front of her.

I lean up against the car we're standing beside.

"You alright?" Glenn asks, worry etched all over his red, sweat covered face. We're all looking just the same, we've run for miles with no water in the scorching sun and we're slowly running out of energy.

I shake my head, not trusting myself to speak because if I do it won't be words that come out. I'm barely holding it together, the pain is excruciating, so bad that it's making me feel sick. It's like someone's dragging a blunt knife through every layer of my lower abdomen, slowly.

Another wave of pain shoots through me causing me to squat down. "Don't say it" I grit out with a clenched jaw.

Glenn holds his hands out. "I wasn't going to but I will say that we're done. I don't care if you want to go further, we get this car started and we go back. Even with them at this distance it gives us just over two hours to look for Daryl if the walkers decide to turn around and go back".

The car suddenly turns over and then Michonne has it running. "Get her in the car".

I let Glenn help me up and into the back seat. When he's climbed into the passenger seat he looks back at me. "When we're all back together you're on a strict rest ordinance. And I will tell Daryl so that he makes sure you do it".

Once Michonne gets far enough away from the herd she turns off this road and drives us back. Honestly with how far we ran it's weird to make it back to town in only fifteen to twenty minutes, running that distance felt like it was never ending.

Michonne parks the car right next to Daryl's motorbike, I look out the windscreen to find everyone standing out on the street. Walkers lying on the ground at their feet…. But Daryl isn't there.

I fumble at my door but before I can get out Glenn is blocking it. "Slowly," Michonne appears beside him holding three bottles of water, she hands two to Glenn who then hands one to me. "Drink a little of this and then move slowly.".

I do as he says and then take the hand he offers me when I'm done. He pulls me to my feet but doesn't let go of my hand when I'm up. Even when Maggie barrels into him, he still keeps his grip, even with me trying to pull it free to let him have space. When she's finished kissing him she turns to me and wraps her arms around me.

The others gather around. "You three okay?" Herschel asks.

"Yeah, hot and worn out but we're fine", Michonne answers for the three of us.

"Daryl?" I ask no one in particular.

Oscar shakes his head. "We looked in the buildings along here but nothing. We were about to go look on the street up there when you turned up".

"Okay, Where's Abraham?"

Tyreese tilts his head towards the building we were hiding in. "Still inside, he ain't listenin' to anyone so we're just lettin' him be for now".

I nod my head to show I heard him before walking through them all, hand still in Glenns. The pain isn't as bad now I've had a little time to recover but it's still there but it's low enough I can push through it.

There's no real plan to how we search through these buildings because the more we search through with no luck the more panicked we start to get. In fact Glenns hand in mine has turned from stopping me moving too quickly to stopping me from having a full blown panic attack. Everytime someone shakes their head at me to say he wasn't inside I have to blink away the tears.

No body can mean two things, either he got away or he turned. We were gone for hours. Long enough for him to have died and turned. What if he was in the herd Rosita is leading away, or he was in the herd we led away. I know that is what everyone is thinking, they won't say it but I can see it written on all of their faces, they're losing hope.

I let out a sob, snatch my hand away and with both hands gripping my bat I send it swinging into a lamp post, and I don't stop at once. I keep going until I hear the wood split. I keep going as the tears run down my cheeks. I ignore the pain and I ignore the shouting from the others as I keep hitting that pole until my bat splits in two. I then throw the handle straight through a broken shop window where it clatters against some shelving causing them to fall with a loud crash.

I yank out my gun and spin around to face everyone around me. I don't raise my gun as I stare at all of them. "Leave", I shout, "Get Abraham and get the fuck out of here". Some of them start trying to talk to me but I don't listen to them, I can't. I can't have them here any more. "Get in the cars, go and find the others. Just leave me alone". I then walk away from them all, heading towards the next shop along.

I shove open the broken door and step inside. I look under every rack, behind everything that can be used to hide in. I search every cupboard, every nook and cranny but nothing. He's not here.

When I step back outside I scream his name.

"Danny". Glenn's voice is soft as he calls me. I look at him to find him alone. Everyone is gone. "They're gone, I've told them how far Merle planned to drive away, okay but I'm not leaving you. I told you I would help you find him and I mean it".

"He's gone. I know you're thinking it, they all were".

"It doesn't matter what we think, I will do whatever you want to do. I will stay by your side and help you look for as long as you want to. I don't care how long it takes".

"Why?"

"Because I know you'd do the same for me. You would stay out here with Maggie if I was missing or with me if she was missing. I never want to have to feel what it would be like to lose her, I can't even imagine it but I don't think it would be any different to how you are right now".

"He saved me, he protected me, he trusted me, he made me part of his family. He loved me, we made a family and now he's gone. He's my everything. Those people trust me to keep them safe, they look to me but I can't do that without him. Before him I was useless. I didn't have the strength to survive out here. Everything I am now is because of him. He made me into this person, he made me stronger. I can't raise Riley and Judith by myself." I can feel my legs getting weaker. "He told me he would always help me".

"Please sit down".

I listen to him and sit on the curb, he sits down beside me. "I love him so much. We've barely ever said it to each other, but I never felt like we needed to. We showed it in other ways. The way we looked out for each, what we would do for each other. That was enough for us."

Glenn lays a hand on mine. "I would see your face everytime he would call you his wife. Did you know he came to me after Maggie and I got married". What? He chuckles. "I guess not. He asked me why we wanted to get married and then he said that he spoke to you about it. He told me what you said about not needing something like that to say you loved each other. Everyone is different, for me I want that ring, I'm a romantic but he was worried you were just saying that you didn't need it because you thought that was what he wanted. But I know you, and I know that sort of thing doesn't matter to you. You don't need the flowers, the ring, or the wedding. You don't want that attention, all you need is for the two of you to know that you are each other's person. You don't care what your relationship looks like to others. I mean compared to Carol and Merle you two would technically be classed as an over the top couple. Everyone knows those two are together. They sleep in the same bed, they share whispered conversations but I have never once seen them hold each other's hands, or even share one small kiss." He then looks around as if he's checking that no one can hear him. "One day I want to have a family like yours. I know you're terrified but when I look at you and Daryl holding Riley, and now Judith I get jealous. I would love to see Maggie pregnant and then to see her singing our child a lullaby at night. And you know what, I know I'm gonna get that chance. Because you are leading us to a place we can make our own. Make our home." He squeezes my hand. "You are doing that. Daryl does what you want to. You may think he's doing it but he's not. No matter what happens next you need to know that you can do it because you have been doing it. And you will never be alone".

I sniffle and look down the road. "You think after what they saw that they'll still trust me?"

"With their lives. They know what you're going through, a lot of them have gone through something similar at one point or another with family or husband and wives of their own they're more than prepared to wait for as long as it takes."

The sound of a car approaching has us both on our feet within seconds but as soon as it appears at the junction we relax. It's Rosita and Eugene. The brakes squeak as Rosita brakes harshly she then turns and comes our way.

"Where is everyone?" She asks as she climbs out.

"Sent them to catch up with Merle and the others." Glenn answers for me.

She looks at me and then nods completely okay with the answer. "Alrigh' we'll stay and help look in more buildings. Where have you got up to?"

We kept searching even as night started to roll in. It isn't until night fully settled in that I decided we should stop. We can't be doing this at night, they wanted to keep going but our safety has to come first at some point today so it might as well be now.

I'm lying on the backseat of Rositas car, pretending to get some rest. There's no way I could sleep even if I tried. Glenn and Rosita have gone to get Daryl's bike. I didn't want it left on its own so they're walking it down to us. Eugene is sitting in the front seat and for the most part he's been quiet but every now and again he'll mutter something to himself. None of us have brought up what happened back at that store, about the lie he'd been living and none of us are going to. It seems to be an unspoken rule between us.

Eugene suddenly sits forward in his seat. "Danny!"

"Mmm?"

"What is that?"

I shoot up right and look to where he's pointing. Wha…. What is that? I get out of the car and point my torch at it. It's a way off but it looks like it's half a walker, dragging itself along the floor. I move forward a couple of steps, there's something sticking out of it. Is that? No it can't be.

I hurry over to it, ignoring Eugene as he calls me. But I know he's following me from the heavy footsteps that are behind me.

I shove my knife into its head and grab the stick that's sticking out the back of its neck. It's an arrow, it's one of my crappy arrows. He threw most of mine away secretly so as to not hurt my feelings but he kept one, the first one I ever made. He'd never used it as it was pretty much useless but this is definitely it.

"This is Daryls".

"Are you positive?" Eugene asks.

"Yes, yes it is." I shine my torch on the trail of blood the walker has left. We follow it and we can see where it came from. "Come on".

"Maybe we should wait for Glenn and Rosita to come back".

I shine my torch at him but then instantly regret it. Now he wants to wait, he couldn't have listened to me this morning when I said the exact same thing. "It's too late for that now, come on".

I follow the trail to the end of the street and then right. This walker has been dragging itself for hours, it clearly heard me scream Daryl's name earlier and has been slowly dragging itself over since. After ten minutes I find where the trail disappears, but I don't immediately go inside. What if I'm too late?

No, he might need help.

I breathe in and then let it out rather forcefully and then I walk inside. There are dead Walkers all over the floor. Some with crushed faces, some with arrows. I can even see where he's used his boot to crush in one's skull. I follow the bloody footprints all the way through to the back of the shop but then they disappear. A shelving unit has fallen over and it's blocking the only door down here.

Please, please be in there.

"Daryl?" I close my eyes as if that will allow me to hear better but nothing. I drop to my knees and then crawl my way under the tallest gap, when I get to the door I squeeze myself back up onto my knees. "Dary, are you in there?" I then knock really lightly against the door. I press my ear against it.

"Danny?" The voice is faint but I would know that voice anywhere.