Carl ran into the cell block yelling that Andrea was at the gate. They ran out to the courtyard and found Rick already at the gates as Andrea headed towards them, a walker on a pole. Parker had her weapon ready in case Andrea's presence was a smokescreen for an attack. Rick waited for her to get through the herd of walkers as everyone stayed on high alert. 

"Are you alone?!" Parker shouted at her.

"Open the gates!" Andrea demanded, wary of the walkers that were slowly closing in on her.

"You heard her," Rick yelled. "Are you alone?"

"Rick!" They opened the gates and let her in, but the moment Andrea walked through the gates, Rick made her put her hands up and pushed her against the fence. He began searching her, looking for some kind of weapon, before walkers jumped at her through the chainlink and forced them to move. Rick pushed Andrea to her knees before finishing his search, stepping away from her as he did so. 

"We asked if you were alone," Rick hissed.

"I am," Andrea responded with a dumbfounded look, not understanding why they were treating her like an outsider. Rick ripped the bag off her shoulders and tossed it away from her.

"Welcome back," Rick welcomed her with no emotion in his tone, pulling her up. "Get up." Although Andrea had once been his friend, the fact that she had voluntarily taken refuge in the Governor's town and seen how two of her former friends were subjected to a fight to the death. And the other two were tortured, it had made Rick doubt her. They brought Andrea to the room they used as a storage area for extra supplies and where they made their food, the room on the other side of the metal bars that separated it from their cell block. They were aware of the amount of time they had already spent outside in the open, and once inside, Andrea hugged Carol in greeting, relieved to see another familiar face from Atlanta.

"After you saved me, we all thought you had died," Parker stated, catching Andrea's attention. "I never had the chance to thank you for that."

"You're welcome," Andrea replied. "Have I redeemed myself in your eyes?" Parker shrugged, Andrea's redemption being the last thing on her mind. 

"We'll see. Depends on what happens in the next few minutes." Andrea noticed Hershel's crutches and she covered her mouth in shock. 

"Hershel, my god. I can't believe this. Where's Shane?" She looked back at Rick and Parker seeing how they had known him the longest. Rick shook his head, looking at his sister.

"He's dead," Parker answered bluntly.

"And Lori?"

"She had a girl," Parker spoke up when no one else did, although her voice trembled when she said it. "Lori... she didn't survive."

"Neither did T-Dog," Maggie added to the list of their dead.

"I'm so sorry," Andrea gasped. "Carl... Rick I-," She looked around, a combination of confusion and amazement on her face. "You all live here?"

"Here and the cell block," Glenn responded from behind her. Andrea pointed to it. 

"There? Well, can I go in?"

"I won't allow that," Rick stopped her, Parker stepped towards her, blocking her path.

"I'm not an enemy, Rick," Andrea tried to say but not a single one of them cared.

"We had that field," Parker pointed out, anger radiating off of her. "That courtyard. Until your boyfriend decided to knock down the fence with a truck and shot us up. If you're living with the enemy, who's to say you aren't just some distraction?"

"He said you fired first," Andrea defended, a clueless look on her face.

"Well, he's lying," Rick replied.

"He killed an inmate who survived in here," Hershel mentioning Axel caused a few people to lower their heads.

"We liked him," Daryl continued off of Herhsel's comment. "He was one of us."

"I didn't know anything about that," Andrea reasoned, and from what Parker could see, she was telling the truth. She had no clue about what had actually happened here at the prison. "As soon as I found out, I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out."

"That was days ago," Glenn cut her off, his arms loosely crossed.

"I told you, I came as soon as I could," Andrea tried to explain, but her attempts were falling on deaf ears. She turned to Michonne, a betrayed look on her face. "What have you told them?"

"Nothing." She clung to the metal cage, leaning against it as she stared at Andrea with no hint of emotion on her face.

"I don't get it," Andrea scoffed at their sudden coldness towards her. "I left Atlanta with you people, and now I'm the odd man out?"

"He almost killed Michonne, and he would have killed us," Glenn worded it for her so she'd understand. "His people shot Parker and almost killed her. He sat and watched her bleed out and didn't even blink."

"Then he threw walkers at Daryl, Merle, and Me," Parker added on, Andrea's eyes following their voices. "And you saw how well I handled that shit festival."

"With his finger on the trigger!" Andrea argued, pointing at Merle. "Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?" She sighed, trying to collect herself. "Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done."

"Philip," Parker mocked, snickering at the name. "I can see why he would want to be called the Governor."

"But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out," Andrea concluded.

"There's nothing to work out." Rick stated, walking towards her, a murderous look in his eyes. "We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will." Andrea shook her head, not liking the words coming out of his mouth. 

"We can settle this. There is room at Woodbury f- for all of you." She stuttered, quickly trying to think of a way to get them to agree with her plan. Merle laughed from his spot on the stairs that led to the outside. 

"You know better than that."

"There's no chance in hell I'm going back there," Parker shot down the idea, subconsciously moving to be closer to Daryl.

"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate?" Hershel asked. "Did he say that?"

"No," Andrea replied and Parker threw her arms out, completely lost on what she was trying to get out of all of this. The guy who ran the town she was arguing for wasn't even on board with what she was doing.

"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked, clearly thinking the same thing.

"Because he's gearing up for war," Andrea finally admitted, dropping her arms down to her sides. "The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack."

"Well, if they come here, us being killers might end up becoming true." Parker shrugged, shifting her weight.

"I'll tell you what," Daryl sat down on a table. "Next time you see Philip, tell him I'm goin' to take his other eye."

"We've taken too much shit for too long," Glenn added. "He wants a war? He's got one."

"Rick." She whispered, turning around to face him. "If you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen," Andrea explained, getting in his face. "He has a whole town. Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."

"We aren't alone," Parker assured her, her distaste towards Andrea showing through her fake facade. "As long as we have each other, we are stronger than anything or anyone else. This right here, what we have now, is a family. Can you and your Cyclops of a boyfriend say the same?"

"And I guess I'm not part of that family anymore?" Andrea scoffed, eyeing Parker as she asked it.

"I don't see how that'll be possible when you are literally in bed with the enemy," Parker countered, mirroring her actions.

"I saved your life and this is how you repay me?" Andrea asked in disbelief. "I saved you!"

"Okay, and what did you do before that?" Parker tilted her head as if challenging her to continue. "Do we need to go back and re-live some old memories? Because none of them are good on your end." Andrea staggered for a moment before looking at Parker, hatred in her features.

"I never should have saved your life."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Parker nodded, biting her lip. "But you did, and that was your decision, and even though I'm grateful..." She sighed boredly. "That doesn't mean you're forgiven."

"Rick, I just want to help you," Andrea backed down from her previous argument, looking at Rick as she realized that arguing with Parker was useless. "Please."

"You wanna make this right?" Rick questioned, after standing there for a second to think things through in his head. "Get us inside."

"No."

"Then we got nothing to talk about."

"There are innocent people!"

"We are innocent too!" Parker snapped. "We didn't ask for this!" She pointed around the room, at the people who were left. Her, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Hershel, Merle, and of course Andrea. "We don't want this! Your boyfriend decided to torment us. He almost beat Glenn to death! He humiliated Maggie! He shot me and sat there while I bled to death in front of him and then he made Daryl, his brother and I entertain your psychotic fucking town!"

"You can't just kill them all," Andrea protested.

"He didn't seem to have a problem with killing us, you want some proof?" She lifted her shirt to reveal the bandages, a small patch of blood seeping through. "Goddamn it.."

"I'll check on it later, probably just popped a stitch or something," Hershel assured her. 

"No, we won't." Rick shook his head at Andrea. "Only one man needs to die, if others get in the way, it's their fault."

"You're not the Rick I knew," Andrea whispered.

"None of us are the ones you used to know," Parker spoke up, her voice calm. Or at least she tried to seem calm. "We changed. All of us, even you. But you know what hasn't changed? The fact that we would die for each other, and your precious Philip threatened us, so we are going to do what we have to do. If innocent people die in the process... then so be it." Rick nodded in agreement with her words. "One way or another.. we will kill him." They escorted Andrea outside and gave her a car to take back to Woodbury. No one wanted her there, regardless of whether or not she had been part of their group before everything went wrong at the farm. Parker, although she knew it was probably wrong, didn't want Andrea to rejoin their group due to the very clear enmity she had with her.

When Andrea left, the group went back in, not knowing what to do for the rest of the day. Parker got her bullet wound checked by Hershel and as suspected she popped a stitch. She had managed to catch up on a few hours of sleep, using one of her jackets as a pillow. When night fell, Parker was wide awake, as was everyone else. She ventured over to where a small group had lit a lantern and some candles, casting shadows across the room as they sat in silence. When Parker joined them, she caught Beth's attention and smiled. Hershel asked if she could sing and when Beth started singing, everyone stopped to listen. She leaned her back against the wall, slowly sliding down it with her legs stretched out in front of her. Carl came to sit between her legs, his back against her chest as she hugged him. When everyone retired to bed, Parker made sure Carl was asleep by reading him a story. 

She used to do it when he was little, create little stories in her head and tell them to him to help calm him down. When she noticed how restless he was, she offered to read him a story and it didn't take him very long before agreeing. He fell asleep halfway through the story, and when Parker was sure he wasn't going to wake up she got out of the cell and quietly walked up the stairs and walked down the row of cells till she got to Daryl's. She leaned against the bars and under the intensity of his gaze, she suddenly felt nervous. "I didn't get the chance to say that I'm glad you're back," When he continued to stare she cleared her throat nervously. "Look, I'm sorry for how I acted, but you have to understand that the last time I saw you, we were literally about to die. And then you left and I just.. it hurt me."

"I'm sorry," Daryl muttered quietly, moving his leg off the bed and patting the space next to him "Want to sit down?" Parker nodded, sitting down beside him. 

"I missed you."

"I missed you too," Daryl replied. "You're the reason I came back. I realized I made a mistake. I..." He didn't know whether to say it, he didn't know if it was too early after hurting her for him to come out with that, but when he saw Parker waiting for him to finish his sentence, he forced down the nerves he was feeling and leaned towards her, kissing her softly. His hand came up to her cheek, fingers running through her hair that hung loose around her shoulders. When they pulled apart, he rested his forehead against hers. "I love you." She felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing those three words, and a smile appeared on her face, her eyes lighting up for the first time in days. She blinked and there were tears in her eyes. 

"I love you too."

"I meant to say it before," Daryl admitted quietly. "I was just scared you didn't feel the same."

"Me too," Parker replied, laughing at how stupid the two seemed. "Just promise me you won't leave again."

"I'll never leave you again," Daryl promised. Parker hugged Daryl, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed her face into his shoulder, feeling the soft leather of his vest beneath her fingers. He held her tight, and when his fingers brushed the bandages around her waist, she shuddered slightly and moved away. "Shit, did I hurt you?" Daryl asked, a worried look crossing his face.

"I'm fine," Parker assured him, lifting her shirt above the bandages. "See? Hershel stitched me up."

"I shouldn't have left you," Daryl said. "You could have bled to death."

"I almost did," Parker told him as if it was something she was used to by now. "I was unconscious for a day."

"I'm an idiot," Daryl sighed. Parker shook her head. 

"No, you're not. You were doing what you thought was best. He's your brother, but he's no good for you." Daryl frowned at her words. "Don't let him destroy you. Look at how far you've come. You're not an idiot, far from one. At least not anymore." Daryl laughed. 

"Are you saying I was an idiot?"

"Oh absolutely. You were very idiotic." Parker clarified. "But now you're less of one just because you came back."

"We're okay now." Daryl told her, and Parker felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had been waiting to hear those words for a long time. She felt like she had finally found the person she could be with. Even in whatever type of life she was living. This was the man she had grown to love with all her heart. He was sitting on his bunk beside her, messing with an arrow.

"Can't sleep?"

"No."

"You want to go on a walk?" Parker used the bunk above them to pull herself up.

"Where to?"

"I don't know," She shrugged lightly. "Anywhere." Daryl stood up, setting the arrow on the bed. 

"Sure." They walked out of the cell block, ignoring Merle and his crude comments about where exactly they were going and what they would do, before heading to one of the back hallways. It was one of Parker's favorite places because it was perhaps one of the safest places to be. It was outside but at the same time closed in, the gates on either side meant no walkers could get through, and the fortifications they had built gave them room to breathe without the fear of being picked off by potential snipers. They sat down and, as Parker leaned closer to Daryl, she looked up at the sky. It was crystal clear, and Parker had never seen this many stars before.

"You know, when all this started, I never imagined that I would be living in a prison," Parker sighed, looking around at the prison yards. "I thought it would be something quick, you know? That everything would be back to normal by the end of the year or something."

"A lot of people thought that," Daryl responded.

"I realized when they bombed Atlanta," Parker started, memories of the bombing flashing through her mind. "That's when I realized the world we knew was gone. Hell, I can't remember the last time I thought of algebra or fractions. Isn't that stupid? You spend a lot of your life learning about formulas and equations, but you never learn to... live, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it" Daryl agreed with her. "They never prepare you for something like this." Parker shrugged her shoulders slightly. 

"I don't think anyone really thought this would happen, but it's still surreal. Before this we worried about taxes and rent... now we are free, and seeing how some people have chosen to use this freedom... it's terrifying."

"What do you mean?" Daryl raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at her through the corner of his eyes.

"I don't know," Parker replied. "I mean, think about it. We've barely survived as is. We've fought, and killed. None of us would have met each other if it weren't for this. So I was thinking, what if I didn't know this group? What if I ran into someone like the Governor? Bad people. It seems to me that people like him thrive in this world, while good people suffer. It's not fair."

"We ain't suffering," Daryl told her. "We found each other. We found this group."

"And I appreciated the luck we all had in doing so," Parker responded. "This group is my family. No matter what happens, this group is where we belong."

"I know," Daryl said. "I'm glad you took me back."

"Are you kidding?" Parker laughed quietly. "Rick was practically lost without you. But he knew you would come back. But isn't it crazy to think that if this never happened, if the world never ended, we would never have met?" Daryl nodded. 

"Yeah. it would still be just Merle and me."

"I would be playing baseball games on Fridays at Ricks," Parker chuckled at the memories of the old world. "I would babysit on Saturdays and let Carl stay up all night. To tell you the truth, I don't even know what day it is."

"Me neither," Daryl replied. "It's just another day, right? We're still alive, that's all that matters."

"This is not how I imagined my life would play out. I wanted to get married and have kids. Now that seems like a... distant memory."

"Why?" Daryl asked but she just shrugged her shoulders in response. "Why don't we get married?"

"Are you joking?" Parker stared at him with wide eyes. "Don't joke about that."

"I'm serious," Daryl insisted. "What do we have to lose?"

"You're right," Parker said. "But what if.. what if we survive all of this and you find someone else?"

"Are you serious?" Daryl scoffed, almost offended by her words. "I'll never find anyone else."

"You can't or you don't want to?"

"Both," Daryl responded. "I don't want anyone else. I don't know.. I'm shit with feelings, you know that already. But with you it's different. I love you, and if you don't believe it, what can I do to prove it?"

"I never said I didn't believe you," Parker pointed out. "I was thinking, alright? After you left. I was thinking, what if he finds someone out there?"

"Woman, you have to stop overthinking," Daryl told her. "There's no one else out there for me. Hell, the first time we met I almost shot you, so if you can keep talking to me after that, then it's you."

"I remember that," Parker said, laughing, Daryl laughed with her. 

"So what do you say? Do you want to get married?"

"You don't seem like the type to get married," Parker sounded hesitant. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do just because I said I wanted to get married when the world was normal."

"I'm not the type to go around saying 'I love you' either," Daryl argued. "But I love you, and if I have to marry you in front of the whole group to prove it, then I will."

"You would die of embarrassment," Parker commented, knowing she was right.

"Probably. But I'd still do it."

"I'd probably also die of embarrassment," Parker added. "Do you really want to get married?"

"To you? Yeah," Daryl replied.

"Don't you think it's too soon?" Parker pulled her knees to her chest.

"Now you're making me think that you don't."

"No! I definitely do," Parker reassured him a bit too loudly. "I just.. I want to be sure, you know?" Daryl nodded, seeing where she was coming from. 

"Well, we could be dead tomorrow. Why waste the time we might not have?"

"Do you want to get married right now?" Parker asked, raising her eyebrows. Daryl sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"That's not what I said."

"That's what I heard."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're annoying?"

"Yes. You have." Parker replied, hitting his arm. "We don't have to do it yet, but I know that I'd love to marry you if that's what you want."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Parker moved to lean against Daryl, her arm around his shoulders. She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. 

"I love you." They didn't need to say it all the time, because the truth was that they had been saying it all the time. Every time they said 'Be careful' or asked 'Are you okay?' It was clear in those small exchanges that the love was there. Daryl Dixon had loved Parker Grimes for a long time before he had even said it, and although he enjoyed hearing those words leave her lips, the more he thought about it, the more he realized they had been saying it for a long time, in their own way.