The group drove down the same roads they had driven the previous day. Daryl's truck was on its last legs, and the RV was beginning to emit steam from the hood.

Daryl sighed to himself when he saw Rick's arm come out of the window, ordering those behind him to come to a stop.

Everyone left their vehicles and gathered at the RV.

Daryl spoke up first, "going to leave the truck, get some gas for the bike." he mumbled.

Rick nodded in agreement and looked at his sister, "you okay riding in the RV once we get it going?" he questioned.

Megan nodded, "sure, but it doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon," she replied as she watched Dale and Glenn waft the steam from their faces, trying to locate their problem. 

"For now, let's just search for supplies. We can't go anywhere until we have some more fuel anyway," Shane spoke up. He was pacing back and forth with his hands on his hips, "need water desperately," he mumbled as an afterthought.

Everyone began to make their way to the array of cars scattered across the highway. Megan followed suit. With Shane's mention of water, she suddenly realised how desperate she was for fluids.

The first car she came across had nothing of use to them, just a rotting corpse and a glove compartment full of mints.

She approached the next vehicle, a small van. She checked the window, making sure there was no movement before she opened the passenger side door.

Again, her search of the front of the vehicle brought her nothing but a half-drunk bottle of whiskey. She smirked, thinking of Glenn, curious to know whether he would ever drink again after the previous night's antics.

"Now, now, little lady, I think that belongs to me," a familiar gruff voice came from the back of the van.

She gasped out loud, "Merle?" she questioned the shadows.

Merle's face came into view, the bright Georgia sun highlighting his features. He leant his arms against the driver and passenger seats to get a closer look, "the one and only," he grinned.

Megan stepped back as her eyes dropped to his arm, well, his stump. Her face contorted in disgust; it was wrapped in duct tape, with a large knife attached.

"Clever, right?" Merle grinned as he followed her gaze to his arm, "no thanks to your prick of a brother."

She scowled, "what are you doing here? Why are you hiding? Daryl will want to see you," she said, "he went back to get you," she snapped.

Merle shrugged and awkwardly claimed into the passenger seat. Megan took another step back, keeping a fair distance between them, "didn't know who you were. Hid just in case."

"Well, let me go and get Daryl," she said, attempting to leave.

"Nah," Merle sighed, causing Megan to stop in her tracks.

Megan furrowed her brows. She didn't understand why he wasn't desperate to see his brother, "I'll just shout him over-"

A flash of anger flickered across Merle's features, and before she could grasp what was happening, he had removed himself from the vehicle and wrapped his handless arm around her neck. He held the knife that was attached firmly against her throat, "he's already replaced me with Officer Friendly," Merle hissed. "You're going to leave the whiskey behind and run along to your little friends."

"But-" Megan began, trying to reason that Daryl really would be grateful to see his brother again.

Merle tightened his grip, "but nothing. You never saw me." he hissed against her ear.

Megan nodded her head the best she could with the blade against her throat. She let out a deep breath when Merle let go and held her hands against her throat.

"Go," Merle muttered before sitting back in the passenger seat of the van and unscrewing the bottle of whiskey.

Megan shut the van door and slowly returned to the rest of the group.

She looked back at the Van, debating whether to tell Daryl that Merle was there. She approached him cautiously with widened eyes, her hands still caressing her neck, "Daryl," she called out, swallowing hard.

Daryl frowned as he turned to face her, "what?" he replied gruffly, "you look like you're going to pass out."

Megan stared at him, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to speak.

"N-nothing, it doesn't matter," she mumbled before quickly rushing past him.

Megan leant against a nearby car, chewing at the skin around her nails nervously, occasionally looking back at the Van she had found Merle. She wondered if he was still there, why he didn't want to see Daryl and if there was a possibility he was going to take revenge on Rick for handcuffing him to the roof.

Her last thought was why she began to walk towards Rick. She didn't want him to be in danger, but she only managed three steps before Rick called out in a hushed but firm tone, "walkers, get under the cars."

Megan's eyes widened before she followed his orders; she shuffled under the nearest car, her small but protruding belly making it complicated.

She looked to either side of her, Carl and Sophia to her left, Lori and Carol to her right. She raised her finger to her lips in a silent plea for Sophia and Carl to remain as quiet as possible.

Megan held her breath as the walkers began to shuffle past the cars, their bodies swaying and banging against the vehicles.

She watched as Lori gripped her hand over Carol's mouth to try and contain her cries before turning back to Carl and Sophia.

Sophia had her head down, gripping her doll firmly in her hands, while Carl looked under the cars curiously.

The groans of the walkers began to silence, and their shuffling had long gone, but Megan remained under the car, waiting for her brother to announce it was safe.

"Come on," she heard Carl say to Sophia as he rolled out from under the car. Sophia followed quickly behind.

"No, Carl, Sophia, wait," Megan hissed as she attempted to get out from under the car, "wait," she shouted louder.

As she finally made her way from under the car, she heard the sound of walkers snapping their jaws. When she finally got to her feet, she came face to face with two walkers who had strayed from the herd, but they weren't focused on her; instead, they were following Carl and Sophia.

Megan could hear Carol calling out for
Sophia, "Sophia, stop."

Carol and Lori appeared behind a nearby car, their voices distracting one of the walkers, who turned its attention to Megan.

She was pinned against a car, pushing the Walker back by its shoulders as it snapped its jaw in front of her face. Megan could no longer hear the shouting around her as the walker's teeth came closer to her face.

She was about to scream when she felt blood splatter across her face before the walker released its grip and dropped to the ground.

Megan could hear the voice of someone asking if she had been bitten or scratched. Still, she couldn't formulate a response as she watched her brother climb over the barrier of the highway and chase after Carl, Sophia and the remaining walker that was following them close behind.

"Megan, Megan!"

She felt her body shake, and she finally met eyes with Daryl, who was shaking her shoulders in an attempt to snap her out of her shocked state.

"Are you okay? What the hell happened?"

Megan swallowed hard as she forced the words to leave her mouth, "walkers - Carl, Sophia, they ran," she cried. "I couldn't stop them, they didn't listen."

Daryl hesitated slightly before pulling Megan against his body in an uncharacteristic hug, "it wasn't your fault," he whispered as she sobbed against his chest.

"It is. I couldn't get out from under the car quick enough," she cried, "if I weren't fat, I'd have been able to move quicker."

Daryl sighed and pulled her away by her shoulders, "ain't nothing there; this isn't your fault," he grunted, placing her hand over her stomach before thinking better of his action and moving away quickly.

Megan stepped back, wiping her dust and dirt-covered hands across her face, "I'm sorry; I know you don't like people near you," she said, suddenly embarrassed by her outburst.

Daryl shrugged, "wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to; you kinda stink though," he smirked.

Megan laughed, momentarily forgetting what had just happened. Her laughter soon changed to a soft smile as she observed Daryl. "Do you think Rick will find them?"

Daryl nodded firmly, "he wasn't far behind. He ain't no tracker, but that's his son out there; you do everything you can for family."

Megan nodded slowly, her thoughts drifting back to her encounter with Merle, "do you miss Merle?" she asked.

"Nobody misses Merle," Daryl replied bluntly.

She wasn't sure whether to mention her encounter with Merle. Everyone else had other things on their mind. She wasn't sure they appreciated having the added worry of Merle being in the area.

Before she could make a decision, Daryl had already walked away, leaving her behind with her thoughts as she looked down the embankment the two young children and her brother had left down.

_____

Rick appeared twenty minutes later, shaking his head sadly. Tears formed in his eyes as he held his wife close while she sobbed into his chest.

"We should head out back out to look for them; I'll be able to track them," Daryl insisted.

"I want to come," Megan said instantly.

"'No way," came the echoes of three voices.

Megan sighed and walked away from the scene towards the RV. She leaned her back against the outer body and crossed her arms over her chest.

"They'll find them," Dale spoke up in an attempt to reassure her.

"I hope so. Just wish I could help instead of being useless," Megan grumbled.

Dale chuckled, "I know, I know, but you've got precious cargo to look after."

She scoffed, "precious cargo that could tear me apart from the inside, she muttered as she walked away from the older man and towards Daryl's truck, where her belongings still lay across the passenger seat. She picked up her gun and walked towards Daryl. "I'm coming," she stated matter-of-factly.

"No, you ain't," he responded sternly.

"Yes, I am, and you can't stop me," she said as she climbed over the barrier that separated the highway from the wooded area.

"Megan, you're not going," Rick snapped when he realised what she was doing.

"Yes, I am! He's my family, too. I'm useless here, and you know it. I'm only pregnant," she snapped, "I can still walk, run and fight walkers off; you can stay here and comfort your wife; she needs it. Me and Daryl will find the kids; now, are we going or what?" She snapped, her focus turning to Daryl, who was looking between her and Rick with a confused expression.

Rick looked away, holding his hands on his hips before nodding towards Daryl, agreeing for her to go with him.

"Keep her safe," he muttered to Daryl as he walked past Rick.

"Whatever, man, attitude on that woman will scare the damn dead away," he muttered back.

Daryl soon caught up with Megan, who was stepping over branches and looking for tracks despite not knowing what she was looking for. However, she was determined to be of use.

"Stupid girl," Daryl hissed in hushed tones as he began to walk beside her.

She rolled her eyes, "I'm sick of being watched over and told what not to do. I am still capable, so why won't anyone let me?"

"We- Rick and Lori, they don't want you or your baby getting hurt," Daryl stuttered.

Megan sighed and ignored his words, focusing on the unmarked path ahead. She watched Daryl curiously. He appeared to be in deep thought as he looked down at the ground, occasionally brushing away some leaves with his foot as he walked.

"Do you care about me? That why you don't want me out here, too?" she finally questioned, having heard his slip up previously.

"No," Daryl scoffed.

Megan grinned, "you're a bad liar."

"I ain't lying," he snapped, turning towards her and getting in her face. "You're really bugging me, you know that?"

She smirked and nodded slowly, "so you're saying I'm not even your friend?"

"No, don't need friends," he said plainly, stepping over a fallen tree. He held out his hand as he jumped back to the ground.

Megan tried to hide her smile, "see, you do care, and I want to be your friend," she said as she took his hand and jumped down from the fallen tree.

"Fine," he sighed, pausing, "whatever, we're friends. Don't tell anyone, though," he huffed.

"Oh, sorry, wouldn't want to ruin this whole bad boy vibe you've got going on," she winked.

"You're annoying."

She gasped dramatically, "whatever— friend."

______

Daryl stood in one spot, looking around the area. An hour into their search, he appeared to have come to a dead end.

"Makes no sense," he muttered to himself as he inspected the tracks in the dirt.

"What doesn't?" Megan asked, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"Their footprints just stopped," he said, looking around, "almost like they got covered up, but why would Carl and Sophia cover their own tracks?" he questioned rhetorically.

"Well, I can't see blood, so at least they aren't hurt," Megan said, gazing around the area.

He shook his head, " no, there ain't any recent walkers tracks either."

"Should we keep looking?" She asked, suddenly feeling exhausted, not that she would admit it after the commotion she had caused just to go.

"Let's go back to the others. Tell them what we've found. Doesn't make any sense, though," he muttered before looking around the area once more while biting the inside of his cheek.

As they walked back towards the highway, Megan brought up the subject of Merle, the silence making it harder to keep him off her mind.

"You know if Merle had turned up and spoken to one of the group but told them not to tell you. Would you be mad?" She asked, trying to sound casual, but she already knew she was an awful liar.

He stopped walking and looked at her, confused. "why would you ask that?"

"I-I-" she stammered.

He walked towards her, looking with a scowl. His face was just inches from hers.

"You keeping something from me?" He questioned suspiciously.

She jumped slightly at his tone, "back on the highway. He was hiding in a van; he told me not to tell you," she confessed, swallowing hard as she took in his angry glare.

He backed away and turned his back to her. He ran his hand through his hair, muttering in frustration. "My brother is back there?"

"Well, he probably isn't anymore-"

"You dumb bitch! That's my brother, and you didn't bother telling me?"

"He held a damn knife to my throat!" She shouted louder than intended.

He growled in annoyance and began walking away faster than she could keep up. "Daryl, wait!" She called, but he ignored her and continued walking without even looking back.

He only stopped when he heard Megan scream. He turned around quickly to see her on the floor.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He asked, his tone almost sounding like he found the situation funny.

"Oh, you know, just relaxing," she snapped sarcastically, "I tripped trying to chase you," she added as she got up and wiped her dirt-covered hands on her jeans.

"Whatever, come on," he muttered as he began walking away, but he slowed his speed down to accommodate.

She followed behind, able to keep up with his slower speed, "I'm really sorry for not telling you about Merle," she finally said just before they reached the highway.

"It's fine," he mumbled. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to be angry at her.

"It is?"

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face her. He brought his hand to her throat, tracing his thumb across the small, fresh cut on her throat. She hadn't even realised there was a mark until she felt the sting of his thumb touching the wound.

"The cut on your throat," he said in almost a whisper before pulling away and continuing walking towards the highway, "more pissed at him for doing that to you than I am at you for not telling me. Still going to look for him when we get back."

Megan nodded slowly in response, even though he couldn't see her.

Everyone was waiting for them at the barriers on the highway; they all had hope in their eyes as they saw them approach, but it all died away when they saw that Megan and Daryl hadn't brought the kids back.

"No sign. Tracks just disappeared," Daryl told them shortly as he jumped over the barrier.

The only sounds came from the heartbroken mothers as they sobbed, staring back at the tree line, hoping that their children would appear.

Daryl turned back to Megan as they walked towards the RV, "Now, where's my brother hiding?"

_____

Shameless self-promotion, but I have an original work in the making called Second Chance; the first chapter is available to read. I would love to hear your thoughts!