Regardless of Parker's constant fear that the Governor would return and slaughter them all, she and the rest of the group managed to make the prison function as a home- as much of a home as you could get during the apocalypse. Over the course of six months, the group began farming, built more structures, rebuilt the prison for the newcomers, and had a routine. Although Parker became even more relaxed as the months passed, in the back of her mind there was that nagging voice that the Governor was planning something and she feared his retaliation. 

Parker took on the job of cooking in the mornings, preparing meals for the others, and handing them out when she wasn't out with Daryl or Glenn. It was a good job for her because it allowed her to meet everyone who had become a part of the group. The boy who helped her in the mornings, Patrick, was sweet. Very talkative. So their conversations flowed easily. He was fascinated by Parker and what she and her group had achieved together. During the few mornings they had worked together, she told him stories of what happened before the prison, like Atlanta, the CDC, and the farm. She loved listening to him and enjoyed his questions, even though most were about her and Daryl's relationship. Parker didn't mind telling Patrick everything he wanted to know, because he was sweet and seemed really excited to know about her.

"Are you telling me he proposed to you and you said no?" Patrick asked, sounding a little surprised, Parker nodded her head chuckling lightly.

"Yeah. I wasn't sure if he was just saying it, but then he came back with a ring after asking Rick for permission and I knew he was serious." Patrick sighed, a small smile on his face. 

"You guys are the best. If I see him, I'm trying for a handshake." He nodded his head firmly, trying to work up his confidence.

"Thank you. And good luck with that." Parker responded, smiling at Patrick. "Believe me, it wasn't always as perfect as it seems. It took us a while to get to where we are now." Across the yard, Parker saw Daryl making his way over to them. Patrick noticed him coming and let an excited squeak, returning to his work while Parker waited for Daryl. As he passed by the people sitting at the benches, most turned towards him, recognizing him from when they were rescued from Woodbury.

"Morning, Daryl," Greeted one of the men sitting at the table.

"What's up, Doctor S?" Daryl said back in response. Many of the others greeted him, and when he arrived at the counter, Parker smiled at him. 

"Good morning, Mr. Popular."

"Shut up," Daryl scoffed, looking around as everyone continued to say good morning. "Smells good. What is it?"

"Just a reminder, I loved you first," Parker winked with a soft smile playing on her face as he reached for a bowl.

"Stop." Daryl muttered, his face turning red. "You know, Rick brought in a lot of them too."

"Not lately," Parker countered, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. "You brought strangers in, you're keepin' them fed, and you'll just have to learn to live with the love."

"Right. I get enough from you already," Daryl stated and Parker just smiled.

"What a shame." She replied sarcastically, sighing dramatically as the ring on her finger sparkled in the sunlight, she leaned over the counter to pull Daryl towards her, kissing him softly. While she loved watching him squirm under the constant affection he received from people nowadays, she also hated it. She would never admit it, but seeing everyone with their eyes on him because he was the best hunter and the one responsible for bringing over half the people here made her jealous. Parker wasn't a big fan of change, and the difference in the way the prison was compared to the previous months seemed strange to her. She never thought she would see so many people in one place again, and she was constantly worried that it wouldn't last. "I have to show you something," Parker finally told him once they pulled away from the kiss. "Patrick, you want to help?" She stepped to the side as he instantly rushed over.

"Yes ma'am," Patrick quickly walked over, dropping everything he was holding. Patrick was a good kid, there was no denying that. He was much, much younger than Parker and Daryl, closer to Carl's age, but he was always willing to help in any way possible. He admired Parker and Daryl as much as anyone else in the prison because they were two of the few founders of this civilization that they had built. "Uh... Mr. Dixon," Patrick stuttered nervously, catching Daryl's attention. "I just wanted to thank you for bringing that deer back yesterday. It was a real treat, sir. And I'd be honored to shake your hand."

"Daryl would love to shake your hand. Wouldn't you?" Parker nudged his shoulder, nodding towards the kid in front of them, practically vibrating with excitement at the idea of being able to shake his hero's hand. Daryl looked at Parker as Patrick held out his hand. Licking each of his fingers, Daryl then shook Patrick's hand and Parker had to turn away and cover her laugh at the elated look on the kid's face and the confused look on Daryl's.

"Ma'am?" Daryl asked as he reached for Parker, his hand wrapping around her waist. She laughed, leading him away.

"Mr. Dixon?"

"Shut up."

"About today... I don't know if bringing that many people on the run is a good idea." Parker looked back at him.

"That place is good to go. We're gonna move on it." Daryl replied through a mouthful of food.

"Alright," Parker shrugged, figuring he was right. They stopped at the fence, walkers had grouped up in different spots on the outer fence again. "The thing is, overnight, walkers piled up quite a bit. There are several more near tower three. It's getting just as bad as last month." The walkers were crowding against the fence and had been doing so for a few months. The constant sightings of people had been drawing them in more. They had a team on the fence dealing with them, but killing one walker only ensured that three others would take its place, and it was getting ugly. "They're no longer spacing themselves out anymore," Parker sighed loudly, looking out at the small herds that lined the fences.

"With more of us sitting here, we're drawing more of 'em out." Daryl pointed out. "You get enough of those damn fence-clingers they start to herd up."

"Pushing against the fences again," Parker nodded over at the eager walkers trying to bite through the fence to get at the people on walker duty. "It's manageable, but if we don't get it under control... it won't be for long. Sorry, Pookie." Daryl let out a dry laugh and nudged Parker with his elbow. She crossed her arms, a proud grin on her face as she laughed at him.

"Don't call me that."

"No can do, Pookie." Daryl turned to look at Parker and before she could protest, he lifted her over his shoulder. She let out a startled laugh as Daryl spun around several times, causing Parker's hat to fly off her head. "My hat!" She said through her laughter. Letting go of him with one hand to try and reach for it.

"Don't call me Pookie."

"Grab my hat!" She continued reaching for it, the smile never falling from her face before she hit his shoulder.

"You do it."

"I would. If I was on the ground!" She let her body lay over his shoulder limply, sighing in defeat. Daryl put her down and kissed her before bending down to retrieve her hat. She put it back on her head and Daryl watched her. 

"I don't know why I asked you to marry me. You're annoying."

"You have tons of new people to pick from," She joked, looking up at him. Daryl wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close so that her back was against his chest.

"Yeah. But none of them are you." Parker laughed, her hands holding his arm.

"You're so cute."

"Woman, I swear to-"

"Okay!" Parker cut him off, laughing. "I'll stop bothering you, Mr. Dixon." Daryl rolled his eyes as he let go of Parker.

"Are you going out on the run with me today?"

"Is Glenn?"

"Yeah, why?" Daryl raised an eyebrow before sighing. "No, not again."

"Beyonce, baby!" Parker cheered throwing her fists in the air. On their last run together, Glenn and Parker found an old CD store and grabbed the CD they thought would bother Daryl the most. They decided on Beyonce because they thought he was more of an 'anything but Beyonce' type and now just to piss him off they'd always start singing Beyonce songs to him randomly.

"You're not coming."

"It ain't up to you," Parker reminded him, mocking his accent. Two hours later, Parker was ready to leave with the rest of them. Daryl had his motorcycle, and Parker jumped on the back before he could protest. He didn't like having her on the back of his motorcycle because if he had an accident and she ended up hurt, he would never forgive himself. As they rode out towards the gates, Parker pointed to Michonne, and Daryl slowed down as they neared her and Rick.

"Well, well, look who's back." Daryl turned the bike off so they could hear her better. Michonne smiled at the two. 

"Didn't find him." She informed them, a hint of disappointment in her voice. She had been out constantly on the hunt for the Governor. 

"I'm glad to see you in one piece,"  Daryl said while Parker eyed her brother with a knowing look.

"I'm thinking of looking over near Macon," Michonne casually brought it up, getting defensive once she noticed all of the looks she was getting. "It's worth a shot."

"Seventy miles of walkers?" Parker voiced her opinion, skeptical of her idea. It might have been worth a shot but it would probably be damn near impossible to get through safely. "Could run into some not-so-friendly groups. Is it really worth it?" Michonne put a hand on her hip, exhaling through her nose as she stared between the three.

"We're gonna go check out the Big Spot," Daryl said to Rick. "The one I was talking about, just seein'."

"Yeah, I gotta go out and check the snares," Rick responded. "I don't want to lose whatever we catch to the walkers." Carl stayed silent, petting the horse, just listening to everything.

"I'll go," Michonne offered, not wanting to stay cooped up inside the prison.

"You just got here," Carl spoke up.

"And I'll be back," Michonne said confidently. Parker slid her arms around Daryl's waist.

"Come on, Pookie."

"Woman, I'll make you sit in the car," Daryl threatened her.

"Fine! Okay, I'm sorry." Parker apologised. "But don't pretend that you don't secretly love the nickname."

"I hate it." Parker smiled. She and Daryl had moved forward in their relationship. They currently shared a cell and were happier than they had been in months. They were happy just to be engaged because there was no rush. Currently, they were safe and had time to plan They kept their engagement a secret for a long time, and when Daryl accidentally called her his wife and Patrick dropped his spoon in surprise, that's when they realized there was no way to keep hiding it. Everyone knew they were together, but no one thought it was that serious.  

As they got outside the gates, Parker smiled. This was a life she could get used to, especially if it meant spending every day with Daryl. Once they arrived, Daryl informed them of the herd that he had seen in the previous week. They had explored the supermarket and the military base next door, finding out they had been abandoned and scavenged through. It was too good an opportunity to turn down. Stores and places like this were the big hits when the world had ended. Hopefully, everything inside would be intact, or if they were lucky at least some food. 

"Army came in and put these fences up," Daryl explained to the group's newcomers. "Made it a place for the people to go. Last week, when we spotted this place, there was a bunch of walkers behind this chain-link." He rattled the fence a bit. "Keepin' people out like a bunch of guard dogs."

"So... they all just left?" Bob asked, confused about how it was filled with walkers just a week ago, and how it was empty now.

"That would have been nice," Parker mumbled under her breath.

"Give a listen," Sasha insisted, and when everyone quieted down, the faint sound of music could be heard in the distance.

"You drew 'em out," Michonne pieced together, impressed by how they had done it.

"I put a boombox out there three days ago," Sasha replied.

"Hooked it up to two car batteries," Glenn added.

"What a terrible choice of music," Parker commented.

"Sorry, we didn't have Beyonce," Glenn grinned earning a scoff from Daryl at their interaction.

"This is better." Daryl nodded towards the faint music. "Alright. Let's make a sweep. Make sure it's safe. Grab what you can. We'll come back tomorrow with more people." Parker went in one direction with Glenn while Daryl headed in another. They moved cautiously, not straying too far from each other in case of an attack, and as they ducked into a random tent to see if they could find anything, they encountered a walker. Parker pulled the knife from her belt before stabbing it in the head. She took a step back as the body fell.

"Disgusting.." Parker grimaced. "I don't think you can ever get over how gross they are." Glenn laughed quietly.

"We've been through so much and you still find killing walkers disgusting?"

"Yes," Parker answered, ducking out of the tent. "They are walking corpses. It's not natural." Glenn rolled his eyes at her.

"There is nothing here. We should move on." Parker and Glenn joined the rest of the group at the front of the store. Daryl was sitting on the windowsill while Parker stood nearby, watching as Glenn, Sasha, Tyreese, Michonne, and Bob walked away to keep guard. Zach, who was leaning against the wall, scooted over to Dary.

"Okay. I think I got it." Zach piped up.

"Got what?" Michonne asked, sneaking up behind him. 

"Oh, I've been trying to guess what Daryl did before the turn." Zach quickly explained to her.

"He's been trying to guess for like six weeks," Daryl added, hiding the amused smile on his face.

"And each guess is way better than the last," Parker added in, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Yeah. I'm pacing myself," Zach defended, sitting down beside him. "One shot a day."

"Alright, shoot" Daryl gave the go-ahead, secretly enjoying the daily guesses. Zach smiled, trying to figure out his explanation, glancing around at everyone before looking back at Daryl.

"Well, the way you are at the prison. You know, you being on on the council, you're able to track, you're helping people, but you're still being kind of uh... surly." Parker laughed quietly at his choice of words. "The only person you're not  'surly' around is your wife. Big swing here... homicide cop." The confidence in the kid's voice had both Parker and Michonne burst out laughing, Daryl looked at the two raising an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing."

"I wasn't laughin'." Parker tried to cover it with a cough, looking at Michonne making them both laugh again. "It totally makes sense."

"It makes perfect sense." Michonne nodded, trying to fight back her laugh.

"Actually, the man's right " Daryl replied, slightly nodding his head at the shocked gasp that came from Zach. "Undercover."

"Come on, really?" Parker knew that he was lying but Zach seemed pretty excited.

"Yep," Daryl responded. "I mean, I don't like to talk about it because- 'cause  it was a lot of heavy shit, you know?" Parker couldn't control her laughter when Zach looked at Daryl, proud of himself.

"Dude, come on, really?" Daryl turned to look at him, the hint of a smile playing on his face. Parker patted his shoulder.

"Better luck next time, buddy." Parker knew what Daryl did before the turn. He wandered with his brother, never able to stay in one place. He wasn't particularly proud of his background or what he'd done in his life, but Parker never judged him and never would. She understood that everyone had different lives before this. Because of that she never looked at him any differently when he had told her that he was normally drunk before noon most days and could never keep an actual job. That is what Daryl loved about her, she saw the best in him

"Okay, I'll just keep guessing, I guess," Zach grumbled, pushing himself off the building.

"Yeah, you keep doing that." Daryl shook his head when Zach just hummed in response. Daryl nodded towards the door and Parker hit her fist against the glass. After a second a walker slammed into the glass window and Daryl stood up, getting ready to kill it. Michonne looked around at the group, raising her eyebrows in question.

"We gonna do this, detective?"

"Let's do it," Daryl responded, raising his crossbow. Daryl and Michonne took out the walkers gathered at the doors and threw them onto the ground. Parker and Glenn were both on either side, hands on their guns in case things went sideways or in case of any stragglers that got past them. When they were sure the coast was clear, they stepped back and waited for instructions.

"Alright. We go in, we stay in formation for the sweep." Sasha explained to them. "After that, you all know what to look for. Any questions?"

"Was there ever a time you weren't the boss of me?" Tyreese asked.

"You had a few years before I was born," Sasha replied with a smile. Parker split off from the group with Daryl, doing a quick sweep of the store to make sure the walkers were all dead. The supermarket was relatively intact but as they walked down one of the aisles, Parker tripped over her own feet and crashed into one of the shelves full of canned goods. Daryl was too slow to catch her before she hit the ground, so she fell into the pile of canned foods and looked up at him with a half-embarrassed and half-proud smile.

"Well, I found the good stuff."

"And alerted what's left of the population on where we are." Daryl shook his head, muttering stuff under his breath.

"Hey," Parker said through her laughter as Daryl pulled her to her feet. "It was an accident."

"You tripped over nothin'." He looked at the ground double checking the floor. "How'd you manage that?"

"I'm just that talented." She shrugged her shoulders. When they met up with the rest of the group, they all stared at them, worried something had happened.

"Did you run into a walker?" Glenn questioned as he scanned them over briefly, quickly looking them over for any bites.

"Yup. Mhm." Parker lied, scratching the back of her neck as she looked at her feet. "There was, uh, just one."

"She's lyin'. She tripped over her own feet." Parker hit his arm glaring at him, Sasha had her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, but can she like actually pull the stick out of her ass?" Parker muttered quietly under her breath to Daryl.

"Alright, let's split up. Grab a cart and load it with whatever you can find." Sasha announced over all the mumbling of the group. Parker went off on her own, pushing a cart and loading it up with all the supplies she could find that was necessary. As she passed through the electronic aisle, she spotted a camera on one of the shelves. Realizing that she had no photos of her friends and family, she grabbed the camera along with some batteries and stuffed them in her bag. She saw Glenn looking at a poster with pictures of babies and made her way over to him.

"Are you thinking about having one?" She asked him, nodding at the poster.

"Maybe," Glenn answered, glancing over at her. "You?"

"Sometime in the future, hopefully," Parker said after a second of thinking. "And from your answer, I'm assuming you're thinking the same."

"Maybe," He fully looked at her this time, his face serious. "Listen, if you have a baby.. can I be the godfather?"

"Only if I can be your baby's godmother." Parker held out her hand.

"We have a deal." Glenn shook her hand, sealing the deal.

"Now Maggie or I have to get pregnant." Parker pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Glenn laughed and Parker let out a nervous chuckle.

"Jesus, I can't imagine having a baby during all of this." Parker sighed, having a baby was the reason Lori had died and they weren't able to do anything for her. "I don't know how Lori did it."

"Didn't you say that you wanted kids before dead people started coming back to life?" Glenn asked her as they headed down the aisle together. She hummed in response, nodding her head as she scanned over the random stuff left on the shelves.

"Yeah. I always wanted a boy. Probably because I watched Carl grow up. What about you?"

"I've always wanted a boy too," Glenn spoke after a moment of silence. "But I'd settle for a girl."

"What would you name them?" Parker asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"No idea. Never really thought about that."

"I like the name Alexander." Parker smiled at the name. "Alexander Dixon has a nice little ring to it. Alex for short."

"So it would be a Dixon, eh?" Glenn quirked an eyebrow in question as he picked up a box of diapers.

"Dixon-Grimes," Parker corrected. "There's no way I'm giving up my name. My last name is too cool."

"Of course," Glenn laughed.

"It would be even cooler if it was Croft." She regretted that as soon as she said it, checking around her to make sure Daryl wasn't nearby.

"Eh... I'd say you're pretty close." Glenn tilted his head slightly as if agreeing with himself. "Parker Grimes, shoplifter." Parker gave him a fake scoff of offense.

"Doesn't matter. I'm way cooler as a shoplifter anyway. Hey, you think there's any alcohol in this place?"

"There might be," Glenn stood on his toes trying to scan the shelves for any.

"Imagine if everyone got drunk." A small laugh escaped from her lips at the thought of it.

"Never again, remember?" Glenn reminded her, vividly remembering when they were both hungover back at the CDC.

"I was terrible when I was drunk. It was definitely a good end-of-the-world memory." Parker sighed, scooping a few boxes of noodles into the cart. "Hypothetically... if we were to get enough to keep drinking for a while, we wouldn't have to deal with the hangover." Glenn scrunched up his face, his face contorted with confusion.

"I don't think that's how it works but sure." A loud crash was heard and with a cynical look, they abandoned their carts and walked cautiously, looking for the source of the crash. It sounded like glass had shattered and Parker heard someone scream. Whether it was pain or fear she couldn't figure out. "What happened?!" Glenn yelled as they ran. When they turned the corner, Parker saw the overturned shelf and the wine that covered the floor. She stopped with a disappointed sigh.

"There was alcohol. Now it's gone." Something fell onto her head and she ran her hand through her hair, looking at what she pulled out and saw the chips from the roof in her hand. "Guys.." Another loud crash echoed throughout the store and the roof above their heads fell apart as a walker fell through. Getting caught in some cables, it tore in half, its insides spilling out onto them. "This. This right here is why I find walkers disgusting." Parker gagged, wiping blood off of her face with the collar of her shirt.

"Yeah, uh... we should probably go now." Glenn stuttered, looking at the dangling walker.

"Bob's still stuck. Get him out of there!" Daryl demanded, taking a defensive position by them.

"We'll get the others." Michonne took off down an aisle, looking for the rest of the people. As they ran, more walkers fell through the ceiling and Parker shot the ones that somehow survived the drop. One fell through right next to her, hitting the floor and exploding, blood and guts covering her. Using her hand she wiped off some that was close to her mouth and a hand on her arm yanked her away. Panic spread through her body before she realized it was Glenn pulling her out of the way. She continued shooting at walkers until one snuck up behind her. 

Parker fell to the ground and her gun fell from her hands, sliding across the floor, just out of her reach. She screamed as she hit the ground, more walkers climbing on top of her. She struggled beneath them, using her arm as a block between her and the walkers piling up on her. She kicked and pushed as they tried to bite her. She was wearing the police gear so she was somewhat safe, using one hand to blindly search for her gun. It was out of her reach so she tried to reach for the knife on her belt. Somehow able to grab it she stabbed the closest walker. As Parker let out another cry for help, gunshots rang through the store and the walkers clinging to her legs got dragged off, Glenn staring down at her. Parker hurriedly grabbed her gun before standing up.

"Thanks." She breathed out, shooting a walker that snuck up behind him. Splitting up from him, she followed the sound of rapid gunshots, sprinting around the shelves to try and find whoever it was. She skidded to a stop seeing Tyreese backed up against one of the shelves with walkers closing in on him. She shot down five of them, giving him enough room to get past and make a run for it. Running back to the center of the supermarket, Parker saw Daryl standing on a pile of boxes, surrounded by walkers. She and Glenn were able to get most of the others out on their way over. Parker looked up at the sound of the roof creaking and saw an army helicopter threatening to bring down the roof, she yelled at Daryl to move.  "Daryl, go!"

Shooting down walkers in his way, Daryl jumped down and ran over to help Bob. Zach lifted the shelf while Daryl helped Bob to his feet, but then a walker bit him on the leg and Zach fell to the floor. Parker screamed his name as he disappeared beneath the walkers that tore into him. She felt frozen in place as she heard walkers growling and her friends screaming before a hand on her arm brought her back to reality. Her head whipped around, her knife gripped tightly in her hand before her eyes landed on Daryl as he pushed her towards the exit, shouting words she couldn't hear over the sound of her heart. While keeping a firm grip on his hand, they fled from the store abandoning everything they had gathered. It wasn't until she was able to process everything she had just witnessed that she heard Daryl's voice, yelling at the group.

"Come on!"