Exhaustion took over Parker for a while, and she fell asleep sitting against the wall outside Carl's room. When Glenn saw that her head was resting at what seemed to be an uncomfortable angle, he sat down next to her and gently shifted her position so that her head was resting on his shoulder. She didn't wake up, she didn't even make a noise.

Later in the night, Carl had a seizure, so they started preparing him for surgery and that's when Glenn woke Parker up by gently shaking her shoulder.

"Carl?" Parker asked immediately, the thought of losing him was crushing her.

"Still breathing," Glenn assured her. "They're operating."

"But Shane and Otis- they aren't- are they back yet?"

"No, but he's going to die if they don't." Glenn tried to sound calm but it didn't cover up the panic that he was trying to hide. Parker stood up when she heard a truck approaching. She knew it couldn't be Daryl and the others, not until morning, so she looked at Rick.

"Is it Shane?"

"Yeah," Rick said. They ran off with the old man who was helping them, whose name was Hershel, and Shane got out of the truck, limping and out of breath.

"Carl?"

"There's still a chance," Rick responded. Hershel looked behind Shane, waiting for another door to close.

"Otis?"

"No," Shane answered quietly. Hershel looked around.

"We say nothing to Patricia. Not till after. I need her." Parker hurried inside with Hershel and Glenn, carrying the medical supplies Shane had returned with. Once she had dropped off the supplies, she headed back out to be with Rick and Lori, who couldn't stand watching Carl go through surgery.

She sat on the steps next to Rick, her arm around his shoulders as she leaned against him. They stood there for what seemed like hours before the creak of the door behind them made them turn, looking to Hershel for good news.

"Is he okay?" Parker asked.

"He seems to have stabilized," Hershel responded. Parker let out a sigh of relief as Rick stood up and hugged Hershel.

"Oh god." Lori was crying.

"I don't have words."

"I don't either." Hershel looked down at his hands. "Wish I did. How do I tell Patricia about Otis?" Rick looked at Lori.

"You and Parker go to Carl. I'll go with Hershel." Parker didn't wait for Lori before heading to Carl's room and found him asleep in the same bed as before. She sat next to him, taking his hand in hers as Lori joined her and sat on the opposite side of the bed. 

Shane entered the room, stopping at the door as he looked at Parker and Lori before his eyes landed on Carl. Parker, who had her doubts about Shane in his recent days, offered him a smile that was clouded by the tears of relief that fell down her face.

"Thank you," Parker said, her voice no more than a whisper. "Thank you. If you hadn't- you saved him."

"I would do it for any of you," Shane said, before looking at Lori and walking away. Parker already knew that Lori and Shane had been secretly dating during their time at camp in Atlanta, but she wasn't going to be the one to bring it up and possibly start an argument between them. What Lori did was her business, and although Parker had a hard time hiding things from her brother, she wasn't sure what had happened between them. She fell asleep again with her head resting against the mattress of Carl's bed, and Hershel woke her up again in the morning by gently shaking her shoulder.

"I'm sorry to make you move, honey. Can I come in and check on him?" Hershel asked kindly. Parker nodded and stood up.

"Yeah, sorry. Go ahead." Rick and Lori were sitting on the other side of the bed while Hershel checked Carl's temperature.

"Fevers gone down." Carl's eyelids began to flutter, and when his eyes opened, the first thing he saw was his parents and his aunt sitting around him. Rick leaned toward the bed.

"Baby?" Lori jumped out of her chair.

"Carl?" Rick followed quickly after, the two leaning over the side of the bed.

"Sophia?" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth. "Is she okay?" Rick tensed slightly before telling a lie to make his son feel better.

"Fine. She's fine."

"Rest," Lori whispered. "We'll be right here, okay?" T-Dog appeared in the doorway.

"They're here." Parker looked at Rick and Lori before bolting out of the room and running towards the front door. She pushed the door open and jumped down the steps, running straight to Daryl and hugging him. He seemed taken aback when she did so, but he put his arms around her and held her as she hugged him tightly. 

He heard her sigh into his neck and despite trying his best not to, Daryl smiled. Parker didn't have anyone like Rick had Lori, and although hugging her brother was comforting, it wasn't the same. Hugging Daryl was different and although it was the first time, Parker felt like it was something she could get used to. His arms felt safe when he held her, and she felt safe when she was with him like he would never let her get hurt.

"Hello to you too," Daryl said as Parker walked away from him, a slight blush reddening her cheeks.

"How is he?" Dale asked hesitantly.

"He'll pull through," Lori said with a smile. "Thanks to- to Hershel and.. and his people."

"And Shane," Rick added. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Parker looked back at Daryl, tears in her eyes. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm happy, dumbass" Parker responded with a smile on her face. "These are happy tears."

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked after he and Rick pulled apart from their hug.

"Hunting accident," Rick replied. "That's all... just a stupid accident." After that, it was just a matter of getting settled. Daryl approached his motorcycle and Parker followed him, removing the gun from the waistband of her jeans and bringing it subtly closer so that no one would see it.

"I didn't need it," Parker said. "But thank you."

"Im glad you had it," Daryl took it and put it back in his bag. "Better than nothing." Parker nodded, running a hand through her hair.

"Hey, listen... I'm sorry for hugging you. I was overwhelmed with everything that's been going on and then with Carl it's ju-."

"It's fine," Darly cut her off. "I'm glad he's okay."

"Me too," Parker huffed, nodding her head.

"He's a tough kid," Daryl said. "Like his aunt." Parker smiled at his words.

"I don't think so. Have you seen me? I'm a disaster."

"You're wrong. And besides, he's alright, ain't he?"

"He's like a son to me," Parker whispered. "If something happened to him.. I don't know what I would do."

"Hey, he'll be okay," Daryl said, putting a hand on Parker's shoulder. "I'm also glad that you're okay."

"I'm okay," Parker replied. "Although I think I scared Glenn with how fast I drove to get here." Daryl laughed.

"That's understandable."

"I'm good at driving!" Parker protested. Glenn, who was passing by, looked towards them and pointed a finger at her.

"No, no she is not." They attended Otis' funeral and Parker stood next to Daryl while Patricia asked Shane to relive his last moments. It was a grim affair, but Parker was already used to people dying, so she stood next to Daryl and sympathized with the family who was grieving the loss of their loved one. After the funeral, the search for Sophia resumed, and Parker was ready to do whatever it took to find her. She stood next to Rick as they gathered around the hood of a car. Shane, Daryl, and Andrea were also there, and Hershel joined them shortly after.

"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked.

"This'll be day three" Rick responded. The girl who appeared on the horse, Maggie, arrived with a map and spread it out on the hood.

"County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations."

"This is perfect," Rick said. "We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, and start searching in teams."

"Not you," Hershel interrupted. "No today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out.'' Then he looked at Shane. "And your ankle. Push it now and you'll be laid up a month. No good to anybody."

"I guess it's just me and Parker," Daryl said. "Let's head back to the creek, work our way from there."

"I can still be useful," Shane offered. "I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back."

"Alright." Rick nodded. "Tomorrow, then. We'll start doing this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives," Shane said. "They need the gun training we've been promising them."

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property," Hershel spoke glancing at Shane before turning back to Rick. "We have managed so far without turning this into an armed camp."

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here-" Shane started.

"The shooting could make things worse," Parker said over him. "And besides, we are guests here. This is Hershel's property and we will respect that." She shot a look at Shane.

"We will," Rick agreed with her, placing his gun on the hood of the car. Shane reluctantly put down his gun and Parker looked at her brother. 

 "We don't need guns if we're here. There are fences and I haven't seen a single walker wandering through those fields."

"You're right," Rick placed a hand on her shoulder, turning back to the map. "First things first. Set camp, find Sophia."

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to," Shane eyed the gun that he'd set down. "What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

"You do what has to be done," Rick responded.

"And her mother?" Maggie asked. "What do you tell her?"

"The truth," Parker answered. "We don't lie, especially not about someone's kid."

"I'll gather and secure all the weapons," Shane said. "Make sure no one has one till we're at a practice range off-site. I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience."

"Our people would feel safer," Rick said to Hershel, who didn't seem sympathetic. "Less inclined to carry a gun." Hershel nodded reluctantly. "Thank you." Daryl nudged Parker as he walked by.

"Come on."

"You don't mind me coming, do you?" Parker asked as she followed Daryl.

"No," Daryl said, shaking his head, "But you're not going out alone with knives."

"I'll talk to Rick," Parker told him. "See if I can borrow his gun. Also, if I'm with you I'm not alone."

"Okay," Daryl said, nodding. "Pack light." Parker nodded.

"See you in ten?"

"Got it." Rick wasn't too sure about leaving his prized weapon out of his sight, but he felt safer knowing that Parker was armed with a firearm she knew how to handle. Countless times, he had taught her how to fire that particular weapon, so she was familiar with the weight and feel. She was also an expert marksman, so Rick preferred knowing that she could handle herself. When they were ready to leave, Rick approached them.

"Daryl? You okay on your own?"

"Yeah, because I'm not going all of a sudden," Parker said sarcastically.

"I'm better on my own," Daryl replied. "Parker has experience, we're gonna find her."

"Don't worry, Rick," Parker assured her brother. "We'll be back before dark."

"Hey!" Rick called after them. "We've got a base. We can get this search properly organized now."

"You got a point"? Daryl asked. "Or are we just chatting?"

"My point?" Rick repeated, "My point is it lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anything." Daryl turned around.

"My other plans fell through." Parker smiled at her brother.

"We'll be fine, Rick." After that, they set off, with Parker hurrying to catch up with Daryl before walking next to him and smiling. "So... are you going to teach me how to use a crossbow now that I'm not drunk?"

"You remember that?" Daryl asked as they headed across the fields.

"I remember parts of that night," Parker shrugged slightly, scratching her nose. "I remember throwing up around three in the morning."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Daryl muttered. "Woke me up."

"At least you weren't throwing up," Parker countered. "Honestly, I've never thrown up that much." Daryl figured as much because when he woke up to the sound of Parker vomiting, he had gone to the bathroom to help her. She was half asleep and teary-eyed. She clearly didn't remember much about it, because she didn't mention the fact that Daryl was holding her hair back and he wouldn't tell her. Daryl Dixon didn't show feelings, no matter how he felt for this girl.

"It's your tolerance," Daryl told her. "And let me tell you, it is low."

"I miss alcohol," Parker sighed. "I miss wild nights with my friends."

"What happened to them?" Daryl asked. "Your friends?"

"Either they left town or they're dead," Parker responded, sounding so nonchalant that Daryl was surprised. "But it's okay. I found a better group."

"Yeah," Daryl agreed.

"You know, if you were a little more... open to new things, you'd probably find that you fit in," Parker looked over at him. "I know you'd probably say "I don't need anyone.'" Using her best redneck accent. "Which is probably true, but life is better if you have someone to share it with."

"Yeah, sure."

"I mean, these people we're with now, they're my family," Parker rambled. "You can't go through what we've been through without forming a bond, and no matter how much you want to deny it," She tapped Daryl on the shoulder. "Now you are one of us."

"You talk too much." Daryl blew out a breath.

"Well, sorry for trying to lighten the mood," Parker replied. "Anyway, how did you end up learning how to use a crossbow?"

"My dad," Daryl replied. "He used to hang out with me and Merle." He had a sad expression on his face, and Parker sighed.

"I'm sorry about your brother."

"If he's out there, I'll find him," Daryl said confidently. "One way or another."