Daryl

I spent nearly half an hour searching the prison for Tyreese. I was way past frustrated when I finally did find him. We were on a clock here, the people we were trying to help were on a clock.

"There you are. Took me damn near forever to find ya. Watcha doing?"

Tyreese was standing in the small area outside the doors to A block. His face had swollen up bad from where Rick hit him. His arms were hanging loosely at his sides but I could still see how tense he was. Wouldn't take much to set him off again.

"Somebody needs to keep watch," he snapped. He was still pissed at me. It made me hesitate. Maybe Michonne was wrong, and this was a bad idea to invite him along on the run. The last thing we needed was more emotional garbage to wade through.

"Man I get it," I said stepping up towards him, "I wanna find them too. Put a bolt in them for what they did."

Tyreese turned away from me, looking through the glass at the people inside.

When he didn't say anything I kept talking. "These people are cut off. Ain't nobody gett'in in and out without a whole bunch of people seeing them."

Tyreese turned and glared at me. "Sasha's in there. I ain't going no where." He frowned at me. "Jo's in there, if it wasn't her like you said, ain't you worried some one might get to her? Ain't you worried about your girl's safety?"

I felt like he punched me in the gut, of course I was worried about Jo. It was all I could do to not be sitting in that cell beside her. I was instantly pissed he questioned me on that. I stepped forward into Tyreese's space. "This stand'in guard ain't gonna do neither of them no good unless we come back with the meds." I said pointing my finger in his face.

Tyreese turned away from me again, pushing his hands against the glass.

I nodded behind his back. "All right," I turned away from him. "We're gassing up by the front gate in case you change your mind." And I walked away from him.

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Jo

I woke, startled awake by unfamiliar surroundings. The jerk made me cough and I couldn't stop. It forced its way up my throat until my throat felt raw and bleeding. A warm hand cupped my shoulder and when I finally quit I looked around. I was in a cell. I tried to jerk up, to get on my feet, remembering all those times I had woken from unconsciousness in a cell but my body wouldn't respond, it couldn't respond, it was too weak. The feeling of helplessness roiled through my body and my already struggling lungs tried to fly into a full blown panic attack.

"Jo," a kindly voice said. "Jo!" It called again and warm, dry hands cupped my face.

I blinked a few times, expecting Daryl to be standing there, pulling me away from the nightmares of my past, but it wasn't Daryl, it was Hershel. And as I looked around the clean, empty cell of A block, also known as death row, I knew I had entered a whole new nightmare.

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Daryl

I was just tossing the last of my shit in the charger when Bob came walking down from tower two with gas cans in his hands. "Everything look all right?" He called, setting them down beside the car.

"Yeah, Zack kept this thing running pretty good."

"This is Zack's car?" Bob asked. When I pulled back and looked at him he was staring at the car sadly as it him of the dead teenager.

"Fastest one we got," I said watching him. "Ya all right?" I felt like I was asking every body that these days. We had stuff to get done and couldn't be worried about everyone's feelings. Why couldn't everyone just keep moving forward?

Bob nodded, but he still looked troubled. "You really want me coming along?" He asked uncertainly.

I knew he was thinking about the trouble at The Big Spot, but that wasn't his fault. He wouldn't be my first choice for making runs in the future but I didn't think he was going to get anybody hurt on purpose. He survived on his own for a good long while before I found him and we needed him for his expertise.

I nodded and patted my pockets before finding Hershel's list. I pulled it out and stepped close to Bob holding the list up so he could read it. "What's that word?" I asked pointing to the first name on the list.

"Zanamivir," Bob responded without hesitating.

"Yep, we need ya," I replied not looking at him as I walked away. I tucked the piece of paper back in my pocket and turned as Tyreese came around the corner. "What's up?" I asked, fighting to keep my voice level.

There was a glint of determination in his eye. "Still got room for one more?"

"Hell yeah."

"Good," he said nodding. "I just gotta get my gear." And he headed back towards C block.

I nodded as he walked away, reached down and swung my crossbow up into my hands. "All right."

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Jo

Hershel leaned over me, running his hand over my forehead to check my temperature. "Here," he said, he helped me sit up. "You need to drink this," and he handed me a cup of tea.

I sniffed it, but didn't recognize it.

"It will help with the fever."

I glanced around. "Hershel," I said.

He nodded, and didn't seem impatient or surprised by the molasses pace of my thoughts.

"How?" I looked around again. I could hear crying and coughing from out in the block, but I was alone in my cell.

Hershel pressed his lips into a thin line. "Daryl found you, passed out in your tower. He brought you here. Do you remember anything?"

I thought back but my memories were murky. I shook my head, sipping the tea. It was bitter and room temperature but it felt good on my dry throat. "Just fighting with Daryl," I confessed.

Hershel nodded but he looked confused. "What about?"

I tried to snort but it made me cough. He reached out and took the cup from me so I wouldn't spill it. Once the coughs were done wrenching their way from my body I looked back at him. He gave me a sad smile and handed me back the cup.

"Tyreese thought I killed Karen and David."

Hershel looked taken aback. He opened his mouth a few times as though he couldn't believe it. I closed my eyes and quietly dipped the tea. I was already exhausted from the conversation. "That's ridiculous," Hershel said firmly. Once I finished the tea he took the cup from me and slowly began examining me. Checking my eyes, my heart rate and listening to my lungs. He blanched when he lifted his ear from my chest.

"Daryl didn't think so," I said quietly. The hurt was somehow still raw in the face of all that was going on around me.

"That boy cares for you, a great deal," he said decidedly.

I only nodded, I was exhausted and didn't feel like talking about this anymore. Hershel helped me lay back down after another coughing fit and he lay a cool rag over my forehead.

"All I've been through," I said in a quiet voice as Hershel stood up to leave. "And it's gonna be a glorified cold that finally gets me."

"Don't say that," Hershel reprimanded me sharply." Don't even think it."

I snorted and coughed again, rolling onto my side. This wasn't something I could fight with my knives, this was something I had to be strong enough to beat. "Okay Hershel," I agreed, but my voice sounded hollow even to my own ears.

He sighed in frustration and bent down to pick up the cool rag. He put it on my forehead a little roughly. "You will get through this," he said briskly. "Now, keep that on your head, veterinarian's orders."

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Daryl

We drove in uncomfortable silence for a while. I shifted a few times in my seat but couldn't really think of anything to say. Tyreese and I were working together but I doubted we would ever be friends. Not with the way he treated Jo. And Bob was hunkered down in the back seat looking more nervous than he did before the run to The Big Spot. I glanced over at Michonne. She was staring almost angrily out the window, pointedly not talking to me. I had hurt her feelings when I accused her of running off.

I cleared my throat. "Hey, I know you weren't running off." I said, keeping my eyes on the road. "The thing is, that trail went cold. You know that, right?" I glanced at her, but her face was still blank. "If it was any different, I'd be right out there with you for what he did to Jo."

She still didn't respond. I glanced at her again but she was still facing forward. I could have been wrong but it looked like she swiped once at her eyes. I chewed on my lip, I was such an asshole. I reached forward and flipped on the radio out of habit to break the silence. It was nothing but static like always.

"Hey, would you hand me one of them CDs right there?" I asked, jerking my chin towards the glove box.

I gave the dial an impatient spin anyway while I waited for Michonne to hand me one. There was a faint crackling and a few distorted words.

"Was that a voice?" Bob asked excitedly, leaning forward from the backseat.

"Shh," I snapped, holding up my hand for silence.

I played with the tune dial but the only words I could make out were determined and survive. I fiddled with the nob and more words came through. Keep alive.

I met Michonne's shocked gaze. We held eyes for too long and when I turned back to the road there were Walkers everywhere. We hit two as I jerked the wheel around fighting to keep the car on the road. They rebounded off the hood and fenders. I finally managed to straighten it out and get it under control enough to slow down but when I looked up a herd of over a hundred was coming up the road towards us.

"Grab something!" I yelled and I threw it in reverse not bothering to avoid the Walkers. We had to get out of there now. The wheels screeched as I gunned the engine.

"Go to the left!" Michonne exclaimed.

I jerked the wheel around, slamming the car into drive but the rear tires just spun and spun. Blood sprayed up from the back, coating the rear windows. They fell beneath the car and it slammed to a stop. I laid on the gas, watching in horror as more piled towards the windshield.

"It's jammed up!" I turned around. I pointed out the rear passenger window. "Make a run for the gaps right there. You two make a run for the woods and you don't stop for nothing, you hear me?" We had to get Bob and Tyreese clear. I trusted Michonne and I to take care of ourselves, but they were the newbies on this run. I glanced towards Michonne and nodded to her.

"Now!" I yelled. She shoved open her door already drawing her katana as she stood.

I jumped to my feet and came out the sunroof. I fired a bolt at the first Walker I saw. I jumped up and slid down the windshield. I pulled my knife and threw it at the Walker at the bottom of my slide. She fell against the hood. I pulled the knife as I slid sideways off the hood.

Michonne already had a pile of bodies at her feet as I stabbed with one hand and bashed their skulls in with my crossbow with the other. I ducked under another and came up stabbing the next in the forehead.

Behind me I head the car door finally open and Bob started firing his gun. I was pissed it took him that long to move and even more mad he was wasting ammo but I kept moving. Now it was up to him to save himself.

I was right behind Michonne. She was killing everything to the left and I was taking down everything to the right as we cut our path towards the trees.

Behind me I heard Bob scream. "Ty!"

I didn't look back, we had to keep moving. If I turned away Michonne would be flanked from the right.

"Ty!" he screamed again and continued to fire his gun.

At last I heard Tyreese respond. "Come on!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

We hit the woods and spun around. Bob was coming through the gap we cleared. I fired at a Walker that was about to take a bite out of his shoulder. Bob flinched as the bolt sailed passed him. I jumped forward, shoving him towards Michonne and pulling the bolt.

Tyreese was surrounded by at least twenty Walkers. He was swinging his framing hammer with all his might, damn near knocking the heads off with the force of his blows. But there were too many. I took a step forward, determined to save him.

"Go!" he yelled. "Just go!" There were too many, I knew that. I also knew Jo and Sasha were depending on us.

"Come on," I said grabbing Bob by his collar and dragging him into the trees.

"Come and get me!" Tyreese screamed to the Walkers as we fled.

We fought our way through the underbrush, running along game trails. There were Walkers in here but they were struggling even more than we were. Being in the woods made me feel like a sudden weight came off my chest. They couldn't beat me in here. I was at home.

"Go!" I yelled to the others as I fired another bolt at a Walker in our way. I jerked it free as I ran past.

Michonne continued to slice through anything that came near us. Finally we slipped the last of them and were running on our own. I slowed as I heard movement behind us.

"Hold up," I called. I turned back and reloaded the crossbow.

Two walkers shambled out of the woods. I aimed for the one on the right. Just as I was about to fire, the walker collapsed, a framing hammer lodged in its skull. Tyreese stood behind it, shaking and covered in gore. Michonne leapt forward and killed the other one. Tyreese dropped to his knees. I ran up to him and pulled his arm across my shoulders. I could hear more coming.

"Come on," I called, Bob and I supported Tyreese between us while Michonne covered us from behind as we fled into the woods.

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Jo

Glenn helped me down the stairs. He had my arm across his shoulders and one of his around my waist. I moved my legs with him but he was supporting most of my body weight. My brain was fuzzy and I was shaky and cold. He brought me down into the visitor room.

We passed Lizzy as we went. She met my gaze and smiled brightly at me. I couldn't help feeling a flicker of recognition at the look in her eyes but I couldn't place it and my thoughts were too disjointed to be trusted.

Carol sat on the other side of the glass. When she saw Glenn practically carrying me in she stood, covering her mouth with her hands. "Jo," she said in an almost whisper.

Glenn helped me sit and gave Carol a nod before leaving us alone.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked, my voice croaking.

Carol nodded. "I promised Daryl I would check up on you. How are you feeling?"

I snorted. "Like death."

She blanched at my words and I closed my eyes. When I looked at her again she had carefully schooled her face back to neutral. "Where's Daryl?" I asked, changing the subject.

"He went on a run, with the others to get medication to help you all."

I nodded along with her.

"And Rick and I are leaving to go on a run, but I wanted to see you before we left."

I frowned at her words. It didn't make sense to send more people out on a run, not when there were so few left who weren't sick. "Do you think Daryl's dead?" I asked bluntly.

"No!" Carol exclaimed. "The medicine is over fifty miles away so we don't know how long they will be gone. Since we lost our stores in D we are going out to find more food."

"Fifty miles?" I muttered the words half under my breath, shaking my head.

Carol frowned as she leaned forward. "What did you say dear?"

"Who?" I coughed and sagged forward against my knees. I didn't look up at her. "Who went with him?"

She frowned down at me for a moment and then her face changed into something compassionate. She reached out and touched the glass. "He'll be all right Jo."

"Who went with him?" I snapped out the words but with them came another coughing fit. When I was done I could taste blood in my mouth.

"Michonne," she said.

I nodded along with that. Good, I trusted Michonne to watch his back.

"Bob," I closed my eyes on that one. I still didn't trust what had gone down at The Big Spot. At best he was a klutz who got Zack killed with his incompetence. At worst he was a liar who got Zack killed for his own selfish reasons which we still didn't understand.

"And Tyreese."

My eyes snapped open at that and I staggered to my feet, slamming my hand against the glass. "What?" I asked at the sinking feeling settled in my gut. Tyreese had just tried to attack Daryl that morning.

<><><><><>

Daryl

It was hours since sun set. I was on the lead as we moved through the trees. I tried to rein in my impatience but they were moving slower and slower.

"Daryl," Michonne's voice called behind me but I didn't slow down. "Daryl!" She called again. Then her hand locked around my bicep, pulling me to a stop.

I swung around to face her, jerking my arm away from her. She was glaring up at me when I finally met her gaze. "We have to stop," she said.

I shook my head and turned back to keep moving. She grabbed me again. I pulled away, glaring.

"Daryl," she said in a quiet voice. "I know you are worried about Jo, but we can't keep on," she said motioning to the men behind her.

I looked over her shoulder. Tyreese was in rough shape. He was still coated in gore and leaning against a tree for support. Bob was looking shocky and like he was ready to bolt at any minute. I exhaled, she was right. I nodded and glanced around us. I motioned to our right and led the way to a small clearing that would be safe enough for the night.

"I got first watch. Y'all get some sleep."

Bob and Tyreese both looked uncomfortable, but Michonne found a tree and settled in against the base of the trunk, closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep.

I couldn't help thinking about past runs I made with Jo, and how we would sit close together, and share warmth. I knew Carol was back at the prison and she would be keeping an eye on her but I couldn't help but worry. The last thing between us had been a fight. I couldn't let it end like that. There was nothing to do now, but wait til morning.

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Jo

I dragged myself back to my cell. It was late by the time I got there. I could hear Hershel, Glenn and Sasha working in the cell next to mine. It sounded like they were bagging Henry. I wanted to help but I was so exhausted I could barely stand.

I lay in my cell drifting in and out of consciousness and sleep, uncertain how time was passing. Earlier Sasha made me swear to stay in my cell and keep the door closed. When I looked ready to argue she shook her head coughing. "Daryl made me promise to keep you locked in so you would be safe."

I looked away at her words, fear running through me. The college was over fifty miles away, fifty miles. It may as well have been on the moon. Making a stupid run like that with only one of the people trustworthy enough to watch his back. Warm tears flowed down my eyes as I drifted off into a fitful sleep.

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