Daryl didn't mean to pry, but on his way back from his little adventure around the CDC, he saw Parker and Lori together in the game room, discussing different book titles and looking happier than he'd seen in days. When Parker said goodnight to Lori, Daryl quickly returned to his room, leaving the door open for Parker. When he heard a thud in the hallway, he headed to the door and looked outside, searching for the source. Parker was on the floor, a couple of books scattered around her as she lay on the floor.... laughing? What could she possibly be laughing at when she had just fallen?

"Are you drunk?" Daryl asked as he approached her. Parker, who had rolled over so she was lying on her back, looked at Daryl.

"Shh, no." Then she paused for a second and her face crumpled in confusion. "Maybe a little."

"Come here, let me help," Daryl said, bending down to pick up Parker's fallen books before helping her to her feet.

"Why are you so nice?" Parker asked, her words jumbled together a little. "You're never nice to people."

"Cause most people are idiots," Daryl replied.

"Aren't I 'most people'?" Parker slurred, air quoting him.

"No, you're alright," Daryl responded. Parker smiled like a little girl on Christmas.

"I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." She told him sarcastically. She was having trouble walking and Daryl could see it clearly, so he forced her to lean against the wall for a moment.

"Stay there."

"Don't leave me," Parker pouted like a little kid.

"I'll be right back," Daryl said. He headed to his room, throwing Parker's books on the couch before returning to the hallway. When he saw Parker, she was sitting on the floor, having slid down the wall while Daryl was gone. When he saw her, he frowned.

"It took ages." She said, sounding tired. "Where did you go?"

"Ten feet down the hallway," Daryl answered bluntly. "Let's go." He helped her up before lifting her into his arms. She laughed as she wrapped her arms around Daryl's neck.

"You're strong."

"And you're way heavier than you look," Daryl grunted, taking Parker into the room. She gasped once she realized what he said or what she thought he had said.

"That's rude! Are you calling me fat?"

"No." Daryl was quick to defend himself, placing Parker on the couch. "I wasn't calling you fat."

"You just did it again," Parker shrieked, pouting slightly. "I'm not fat, am I?" She poked at her stomach, before rolling over and yawning loudly. Daryl sighed. Although he could feel the rush of alcohol, he still had control over his actions, unlike Parker. She wasn't thinking before she spoke, and Daryl already knew she wouldn't remember this in the morning.

"I didn't call you fat," Daryl repeated. "Now, lie down and sleep."

"You're bossy," Parker murmured into the pillows. "And rude. You know, I tried to be your friend, but you make it so hard."

"I'm not the kind of person you want to be friends with," Daryl explained to her, while Parker lay back on the couch.

"Just because you think that doesn't mean others do." Parker huffed dramatically, looking like she was going to be sick. "Having friends is not a bad thing. Like Glenn. Glenn is a good friend. He's fun."

"Yeah, he is," Daryl agreed with her. "Go to sleep."

"Don't tell me what to do," Parker countered. "You're not my dad."

"No, I'm not. I'm just the one who has to take care of you."

"Well, no one asked you to." Parker pointed out, "I can take care of myself. I'm like... what's her name? The really cool woman..."

"Who?"

"She has a weird name that's somehow easy to remember..." Parker said, struggling to remember. "Lara... Lara," She laughed drunkenly. "Hey, that's part of it."

"Lara Croft?" Daryl asked, trying to speed up the process.

"Yes!" Parker exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Call me Lara Croft." Daryl almost laughed at Parker at that moment but kept his composure. "Oooh, no. You should call me Parker Croft."

"No one is gonna call you that."

"You should," Parker stated, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm cool, right?"

"Mhm," Daryl hummed, suddenly questioning why he agreed to let her share his room.

"Cool as a cucumber," Parker mumbled with another giggle, looking at Daryl. "You're cool. The way you are all 'pew-pew' with your crossbow." She gasped. "Can you teach me how to shoot your crossbow?" She stared at him blankly for a moment, "I'm not drunk." She tried to clarify with him.

"Yeah, you are," Daryl deadpanned.

"No, I'm not," Parker replied. "I'm just ..." She looked around making sure no one else could hear. "Almost drunk. There's a difference."

"Yeah," Daryl said, "Now go to sleep."

"Can you tuck me in?" Parker asked. "And tell me a story?" She snorted at the face he was making at the question.

"No," Daryl responded. Parker groaned.

"Please..." She dragged out in a whiny voice

"Please go to sleep," Daryl sighed, covering his face with his hands. "You're drunk."

"I'm not drunk," Parker insisted. "I'm just..."

"Almost drunk, I know," Daryl cut her off. "You already said that." Parker pouted.

"I want to hear a story." Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Once upon a time, Parker went to sleep. The end."

"That was boring."

"Then you do it." Daryl threw his hands out not knowing what else to do.

"No."

"Stop complaining then." Daryl finally laughed. Parker turned to look at him.

"Why are you so mean?"

"I'm not bad," Daryl replied. "You're just drunk. Almost drunk." He corrected. Parker groaned, sagging her shoulders.

"I'm not drunk!"

"And my name ain't Daryl," Daryl retorted. Parker laughed.

"But your name is Daryl, you fool. Daryl the idiot."

"You're out of line."

"You're out of line!" Parker mimicked him. "Ah! Go get some ice for that burn!" Dary ran his hands over his face.

"Please go to sleep before I send you to Rick."

"Don't do that!" Parker whisper shouted. "Rick is boring. Don't tell him I said that"

"Just go to sleep." Daryl made himself comfortable on the floor, giving up.

"Why are you on the ground?" Parker asked suddenly.

"Because you're on the couch," Daryl pointed out the obvious.

"Why aren't you on the couch?" Parker asked.

"Cause you are."

"Should we share it?"

"No."

"Fine. Meanie." There was movement above him before Daryl felt a thud on the ground next to him. He turned and saw Parker lying on the ground beside him. She smiled at him, "Now I'm on the ground too."

"Why?"

"Now you can have the couch."

"I don't want the couch." Parker touched Daryl's cheek.

"Could you just say 'thank you'?"

"Go back to the couch," Daryl told her, leaning away from her touch. "Go to sleep, alright? You'll feel like shit in the morning."

"I always feel that way." Parker huffed as she dragged herself back to the couch. Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Goodnight, Parker."

"Goodnight, Daryl," Parker responded, with an attitude, drifting to sleep. "Wait, are you really going to sleep?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry for calling you an idiot."

"It's fine," Daryl assured her. "Night."

"Goodnight." When Parker walked into the food court the next morning, she felt like death. She was one of the last to arrive, having slept until she had to get out of bed to look for food. Carl looked up when he saw her approaching, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face.

"Are you hungover?" Carl asked loudly, "Dad is, and Mom said you'd be."

"Mom is right." Parker rubbed her eyes as she clumsily walked to the table, sitting down.

"Mom has that annoying habit," Lori said through a mouthful of food. Parker was sitting next to Glenn, who was resting his head on his hand and moaning ever so slightly. T-Dog was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.

"Eggs!" T-Dog exclaimed, Parker covered her ears. "Powdered. But... but I do them good. I bet you can't tell." He began loading eggs onto Parker and Glenn's plates. "Protein helps the hangover."

"So does not talkin' so loudly..." Parker muttered, T-Dog purposefully made as much noise as possible after her comment.

"Where'd all this come from?" Rick wondered out loud, holding a bottle of aspirin.

"Jenner," Lori replied. "He thought we could use it. Some of us at least." The last part was directed at Glenn, who groaned, holding his head.

"Don't ever, ever, ever let me drink again."

"I'm with you on that." Parker agreed, patting his back. "My head feels like there are tiny people inside trying to hammer their way out." Rick tossed Parker the bottle of aspirin and she offered a pill to Glenn.

"Hey." Rick greeted Shane as he entered the room. "Feel as bad as I do?" He followed him over to the counter as Shane poured himself coffee.

"Worse," Shane responded.

"What the hell happened to you?" T-Dog leaned over slightly to get a better look at the scratch marks. "Your neck?"

"I must've done it in my sleep." Shane sat down at the table with everyone else.

"Never seen you do that before." Rick studied the scratch marks.

"Me neither." Shane looked over at Lori. "Not like me at all." Even though she was hungover, Parker realized that Lori was hiding something. The way her eyes landed on her plate when Shane looked at her made Parker believe that the two had some kind of altercation the night before. As for what it was about, Parker didn't know, but knowing the two of them, it probably wasn't good.

"Morning." Jenner greeted as he walked in. A chorus of 'Hey, Doc.' was the response to the doctor who entered the room.

"Docter, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing." Dale leaned back in his seat as Jenner walked past.

"But you will anyway," Jenner muttered as he poured himself coffee.

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea motioned toward the food on her plate. "We came here for answers."

"Very well." Jenner complied, taking a large sip of his drink. "I'll give you all the answers you want after we've finished eating." Once they finished breakfast, Parker felt a little better. She caught up with Daryl as he walked, walking beside him.

"Hey, did I say something last night?"

"You said a lot last night," Daryl answered. Parker groaned.

"Jesus, what did I say?"

"You got mad 'cause you thought I called you fat." Daryl began, looking at her.

"Understandable."

"Which, I didn't do." He stated, looking at her through the corner of his eyes. "Tripped on a flat surface." Daryl continued. "You refused to sleep on the couch even when I told you to, and you were talking shit until you fell asleep." Parker sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"It was funny," Daryl replied. "Some of it, at least. When you started talking about how attractive you think I am, it was interesting.."

"I didn't..." Parker said, with a mortified expression on her face.

"No, you didn't," Dary assured her after a second. "But you said I'm cool."

"That's not so bad."

"And then you called me an idiot."

"Ouch." Parker grimaced, massaging her temples. "I'm sorry about that."

"I told you you'd feel like shit in the morning," Daryl added.

"I do."

"And you said, 'I always feel like that.'" Daryl finished his list, and Parker groaned in embarrassment.

"Don't let me drink again, or be around other humans when I'm drunk." Jenner led them to the large room from the night before, where he touched one of the computers, talking into it.

"Give me the playback of TS-19."

"Playback of TS-19," Vi repeated, and the screen in front of them lit up.

"Few people ever got the chance to see this," Jenner said, as a scan of what looked like a human brain appeared on the screen. "Very few."

"Is that a brain?" Parker asked, leaning forward to get a better view.

"An extraordinary one." Jenner stared blankly at the screen. "Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for EIV."

"Enhanced internal view," Vi said.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked, pointing at them.

"It's a person's life," Jenner answered. "Experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light. Is you. The thing that makes you unique. And human."

"You don't make sense... ever?" Daryl asked him, clearly having no idea what he was talking about.

"Those are synapses. Electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages." Jenner continued. "They determine everything a person says, does, or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death?" Rick repeated. "That's what this is, a vigil?"

"Yes. Or ra- rather the playback of the vigil." Jenner confirmed Rick's idea which earned a couple of concerned looks from the group.

"This person died? Who?" Andrea asked, curious to know who this test subject was.

"Test subject nineteen" Jenner told her, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Someone who was bitten and infected... and volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event."

"Scanning to first event." It made something appear on the screen that looked like a branchless tree inside the brain, expanding and devouring everything it touched. Glenn's eyes widened.

"What is that?"

"It invades the brain like meningitis," Jenner explained. "The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were or will be.. gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mom.

"Yes," Carol responded. Andrea seemed uncomfortable and Lori spoke for her.

"She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister."

"I lost somebody too," Jenner tried to connect with her, letting her know she wasn't alone with what she was feeling. "I know how devastating it is. Scan to the second event."

"Scanning to second event."

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We have reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute, seven seconds." Jenner said. The brain screen went dark, indicating that the subject had died, and shortly afterward red tendrils began to appear. Parker was amazed.

"It restarts the brain?"

"No, just the brainstems. Basically, it gets them up and moving," Jenner told her, his eyes locked straight ahead as he watched the red overtake.

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked.

"You tell me," Jenner said, pointing at the screen.

"It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark," Rick pointed out.

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part... that doesn't come back. The you part." Jenner explained, "Just a shell driven by mindless instinct." There was a flash on the screen, tearing the person's brain apart. Carol jumped a little.

"God. What was that?"

"He shot his patient in the head," Parker mumbled, not taking her eyes off the screen. "Isn't that right?"

"Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations," Jenner ordered, avoiding Parker's question, which was an answer enough for her.

"Powering down main screen and work stations."

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic... fungal," Jenner listed off.

"Or the wrath of god?" Jacqui quietly asked.

"There is that," Jenner nodded, not even trying to make it sound like he thought it was a possible cause.

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere." Andrea argued, not wanting to believe that there was no way to stop whatever this was from spreading.

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked.

"There may be some. People like me." The way he started talking almost turned robotic. He was talking without emotion all of a sudden.

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Parker wanted to know more.

"Everything went down. Communications, directives... all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month." Jenner explained to the group.

"So, it's not just here?" Andrea's voice broke as the severity of things hit her. "There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?"

"Jesus." Jacqui gasped softly.

"Man. I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk again." Daryl announced, walking away.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you, and I hate to ask one more question," Dale said. "But that clock... it's counting down. What happens at zero?"

"The... basement generators... they run out of fuel," Jenner sputtered quickly, looking everywhere but at Dale or anyone else.

"And then?" Rick asked when Jenner didn't continue he decided to ask Vi. "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur." The group all shared knowing stares before complete panic set in.