Now everyone will be together! Finally! It just drags when they're split, plus, nothing else bad has happened since, just dragging out chapters for the surgery.

Disclaimer I don't own The Walking Dead just my ocs and plotlines.

Callie's POV

Callie sees Hershel leave the house and everyone perks up, tense at the news coming for them. It was a risky surgery.

"He seems to have stabilised." Hershel announces and Lori cries.

"Oh god." Rick says and immediately hugs the man.

Lori has tears running down her face. "I don't have words."

Hershel smiles warmly at her. "I don't either. Wish I did. How do I tell Patricia about Otis?" Hershel asks and Rick and Callie look at each other.

Rick turns to his wife. "You go to Carl." Then he turns to Callie. "I'll go with Hershel."

Callie gives one look to Shane to see him nonchalantly resting on the truck's hood. A blank look on his face. Then she follows Rick and Hershel inside to tell the news.

They see Patricia and Tabby in the kitchen cleaning up. Using alcohol to sterilise the equipment. Callie gives a look to Tabby who has blood on her hands still. She looks tired, well... exhausted.

"Patricia. I need to tell you something." Hershel coaxes gently and she raises a brow at the man. "Otis is... he's gone."

"I'm so sorry."

Patricia cries and falls into Callie who catches her with a humph.

"Easy. Let's sit you down."

Patrica sobs hard and they all stay with her.

"H-how?" She chokes on a sob.

"Getting the medical supplies. It'll be better if it comes from Shane himself. He'll tell you everything." Callie explains to her and she nods her head before her head falls into her hands.

"I've got this." Hershel tells Callie and Rick and they both nod. Callie quickly grabs a glass of water before heading back to see Josie, who was sleeping. She flinches awake at the sound of the door opening.

Callie winces. "Sorry." She apologised before lifting the glass of water. "Brought you some water."

"Thank you."

The sun rises and Callie drinks a coffee while overlooking the farm. It was beautiful. Untouched by everything. It felt like a fantasy. Imagine not worrying about the dead every day, just normal routines.

"Morning."

Callie looks to see Beth, holding some toast out to her.

"Thank you."

"Thought you'd need some after the day you had yesterday." Beth explains to her and Callie scoffs.

"One way to put it. But thank you." Callie falls silent while eating. "It's peaceful here."

Beth nods her head. "Yeah. Daddy works hard everyday at the farm but I try to enjoy myself horse riding when I can."

"How many horses do you have?" Callie asks the girl.

Beth frowns for a moment before her face lightens up. "We have five."

It wouldn't hurt for Callie to learn one day. Might hurt her legs while doing it.

T-Dog suddenly runs in. "They're here."

"Get Rick and Lori." Callie tells him and he runs into the bedroom.

Callie runs outside and the others follow.

The group pulls up and steps out of the RV and Daryl gets off his motorcycle.

"How is he?" Dale asks Rick and Lori.

Lori smiles brightly at the man. "He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people."

"And Shane." Rick adds and everyone looks at Shane, who looks down from the praise. "We'd have lost Carl without him."

"Thank God." Amy smiles.

"We were so worried." Carol adds.

The group embraces the couple about the good news.

"How'd it happen?" Dale asks him.

"Hunting accident." Callie looks at Rick after the comment. "That's all... just a stupid accident."

There was no need for everyone to hold pitchforks and start a rally when the guy in question is dead, and the Greene family are grieving.

The group arrives at the makeshift grave that they made for Otis. Hershel opens up a book.

"Blessed be God, father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in Grace." Hershel finishes, and even though Callie wasn't religious in the slightest, she found the ceremony beautiful. I guess it was nice to find some normality now. Especially in this crazy world. "Shane, will you speak for Otis?"

It falls silent. Shane looks like a deer in headlights. Callie's eyes fall on Daryl, who is watching her intently. He gives Shane a look and she subtly nods her head. He knows too. Thank god that she wasn't that insane, doubting him.

"I'm not good at it. I'm sorry." Shane denies the request.

"Please." Patricia sobs and Callie purses her lips. "You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." She begs him.

Everyone looks at Shane.

"We were about done." Shane speaks, his voice steady. "Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. 'We've got to save the boy.' See, that's what he said." He pauses. But why did he have the gun? Why did he have the colt if they were down to their pistols? "He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. 'Run'. He said. He said 'I'll take the rear, I'll cover you.' And when I looked back." Patricia at this point was sobbing, her hand was to her lips, hearing the story of how he died. Everyone knew what that meant. Everyone who believed that story. Callie looks at Dale, who looks bewildered at the story. He doesn't believe it too. "If not for Otis, I'd never make it out alive. And that goes for Carl too." He walks up to the grave with a stone. "It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death had meaning. It was his."

He places the rock on top of the grave. Callie didn't believe a word that he said, same with Daryl, and maybe Dale too.

Callie walks over to Daryl. "You believe a word he said?"

"Nah. He's talking horseshit. He turned up with the dead guy's gun."

"Thank you."

Jeremy walks up to them. "You okay?" He asks Callie and she nods.

"Yeah, I got scraped by the bullet that hit Carl. It was nothing though." Callie tells him truthfully and he grabs her shoulder in response. "I need to show you something." Jeremy tells her before he looks to Daryl. "We need to show you where it happened."

Callie looks at him confused and Daryl does too for a split second before realising.

"Yeah. It's weird." Daryl adds and Callie nods her head.

"We need to go tell Rick and Shane now, while they go out to look for Sophia." Jeremy says and they walk over to the truck where Shane, Rick, Hershel were conversing.

Maggie comes up with Noa, holding a map.

"How long has this little girl been lost?" Hershel asks, looking at each of us.

"This'll be day three." Rick answers.

"County survey map." Maggie tells us as we lay the map onto the truck hood.

Noa smiles. "Shows terrain and elevations."

Everyone brightens at that comment.

"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organised." Rick says.

"We can grid the whole area, start searching in teams." Callie points out and Rick nods at her.

Hershel shakes his head at Rick. "Not you. Not today. You have three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." He turns to Shane. "And your ankle... push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody."

"I'll be careful." Callie tells Hershel who nods his head.

"Just take it easy for today." Hershel instructs and Callie smiles warmly at the man.

"Guess it's just us." Daryl comments, looking at Callie and Jeremy. "We're gonna head to the creek, work our way from there."

"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back."

"Alright. Tomorrow then." Rick says. "We'll start doing this right."

Shane gives Rick a look. "That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them."

"He's right." Callie backs him up, and looks at Rick. She could guess everyone was shocked that she was siding with Shane. But this is what she wanted all along, everyone needed to learn how to survive, not just the men.

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." Hershel explains. It was reasonable.

Shane starts to argue. "All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here-

"Look." Rick interrupts him. "We're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick gives Shane a direct look as he sets down his gun on the bed of the car. Shane pulls a face before doing the same. "First things first, set camp, find Sophia."

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find her and she's bit?" T-Dog asks and everyone goes quiet at that. That was one possibility that Callie doesn't want to encounter.

"I think we should all be clear on how we handle that." Shane says, looking at everyone.

"You do what has to be done." Callie begrudgingly admits and they all nod their heads at her words. Why were they looking at her like this?

"And her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie asks, looking slightly horrified. They've been untouched by the outside world, they haven't done any of that yet.

Andrea's next words hit hard. "The truth."

"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at the practice range off site." Shane tells Rick who nods his head.

"I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience." Rick tries to convince Hershel, who looks very skeptical. "Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." It goes silent for a moment before Hershel nods his head to consent it. "Thank you."

Noa and Maggie have a silent conversation with one another. "That stuff you brought, got more antibiotics, bandages, anything like that?"

"Just what you've seen." Callie answers.

"We're running short already. I should make a run into town." Maggie looks at her father who nods his head.

Rick and Callie share a look. "Not the place Shane went?"

She shakes her head. "No, there's a pharmacy just a mile down the road. I've done it before."

"See our man there in the baseball cap?" Rick points out Glenn who is struggling to set up a tent and Tabby laughing at him. Maggie looks at him, then back to Rick. "That's Glenn, our go-to-town expert. I'd ask him along just to be cautious."

Maggie looks at her father who nods his head.

Tabby's POV

At that point, it was herself, Amy, Summer helping Glenn put up a tent. Glenn was red with embarrassment and she was having the time of her life. Dale and T-Dog were enjoying the show. It was nice to have some normalcy in this crazy world.

She hears footsteps approaching. "I hear your fast on your feet and know how to get in and out." Glenn looks at her confused and Tabby giggles at his face, Amy was covering her mouth. "Got a pharmacy run, you in?"

"Uh..."

Dale steps up to Maggie. "Miss, what's the water situation here?"

"Got five wells on our land. House draws directly from number one. Number two well is right over there." Maggie points in a direction. "We use it for cattle but it's just as pure. Take what you need. There's a cart and containers in the generator shed behind the house." She explains throughly to us.

Dale smiles and walks off with T-Dog. This whole time, Glenn has been staring dumbly at Maggie.

Maggie turns to Glenn. "I'll go saddle your horse then." She walks off before he could get a word in.

"Horse?" Glenn turns to Tabby who bursts out laughing at him.

Thought I'd do a nice shirt and sweet chapter. Especially having the group bond. Don't worry, there will be a few chapters that the group will bond with the Greene's, I was weirded out that they didn't get to know them properly in Season 2, well, only Maggie and Glenn were getting to know each other. But I want Beth to have more interaction with the group. Anyways, show some love!