They said goodbye to Bob the next morning, burying him in the cemetery outside the church. Parker stood beside Rick and Carl, her arm around her nephew's shoulders as they listened to Gabriel read from the bible. Now that the danger had passed, it was time for the group to be split up, and after their mini-funeral for Bob, they gathered to discuss their next moves. Abraham handed Rick a map, pointing to a few different places. 

"This is our route to DC. We'll stick to it as long as we're able. If not, well, you got our destination. Once Eugene gets to the big brains left up there, things are gonna bounce back. This group should be there for it" He gave Rick a look that said he meant every word. "You should be there for it."

"They will be," Maggie assured him, knowing these people better than most.

"We will." Michonne agreed, giving him a firm nod.

"We will," Rick confirmed when he saw all eyes land on him. Abraham nodded, getting the answers he had wanted to hear.

"Let's go." Parker couldn't let Glenn leave without saying goodbye, so when he turned to go for the bus, she ran over to him and hugged him. He hadn't seen her coming, so he was taken aback for a moment before hugging her back.

"Be careful out there, okay?"

"I will," Glenn promised, "Are you crying?"

"I think a bug flew into my eyes," He laughed at her terrible excuse. "Just.. don't die, alright?"

"I won't," Glenn pulled her back in for another quick hug. "Take care of yourself, Parker. We'll cross paths again."

"We better," She added before pointing her finger at him. "You're not allowed to get a new best friend."

"No way," Glenn agreed. "You're the only one." Parker walked over to Maggie and pulled her into a tight hug, muttering a quiet goodbye into her shoulder.

"You better promise to be safe too."

"I got a feeling I'm gonna be keeping more than just myself safe with them." Maggie laughed and she nodded in agreement.

"See you soon then I suppose." Parker gave her a small squeeze before stepping back. "Some words of advice, don't get bit." Abraham waited for them to get into the short bus impatiently, waiting a few seconds after they'd shut their doors before driving away. Parker watched the bus leave, standing next to her brother as they watched it disappear.

"They'll be back," Rick stated, sounding like he knew something the others didn't. "So will Daryl."

"I'm worried about him," She admitted, still staring straight ahead. "Worried myself almost to the point of being sick this morning."

"Well, that's not good for anyone," Rick peered at her through the corner of his eyes. "You don't have to worry about him. He's tough."

"I know," She sighed, "He promised not to leave again and then he up and ran the night we got married."

"He must've had a good reason." Rick comforted her, both knowing Daryl well enough to know he wouldn't run away unless it was necessary. Especially after the first time.

"I'm sure he does. He better, that is. But until I see him and hear his reasons, I'll continue to be worried and pissed off." The rest of the day was quiet, with Rick and Tyreese cleaning up the bodies of the dead, burning them in the back of the church. Parker comforted Sasha for a while, knowing how it felt to cry for a lost loved one, before leaving her alone. Company was tolerable until it became suffocating, and sometimes it was necessary to leave people alone and give them time to process their trauma before accepting help.

 When night fell and the church grew dark, Parker sat on the floor, the wood of the stage cold against her back, her legs outstretched in front of her and a half-empty can of beans beside her. Everyone was scattered about the church, but she was furthest away from all of them. She looked up at the widow, her eyes drifting over to the cross before she closed her eyes, letting out a quiet sigh. Her eyes fluttered shut as she slowly started to drift off. The church doors opened and Michonne stepped in, looking for Parker in particular. When Michonne noticed the familiar hat peeking up from above the pews, she took a few steps closer.

"Parker!" Her head shot up in alert, her hand instinctively reaching for her gun as she looked over at Michonne with wide eyes. Michonne stepped to the side and Parker slowly put her gun back in its holster when she saw who was standing behind her. Standing up, she took a few tentative steps forward, watching as Daryl stepped through the doors. Then, when she was sure she wasn't seeing shit, Parker ran over and jumped into his arms.

"Asshole!" Parker whispered angrily as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her off the ground. "You're an asshole! Why'd you leave?"

"I'm sorry," Daryl whispered into her neck, as he set her back on the ground. "I shouldn't have left. But I saw a car like the one that took Beth and chased after it."

"Did you find her?" Parker asked, her arms still around his neck. Daryl shook his head, seeming upset about not finding her but also proud that he knew where she was.

"Where's Carol?" Parker stepped back, looking around for Caro thinking she had snuck by or something. "Is she here? Is she okay?"

"They got her too," Daryl muttered, his eyes showing the emotions he refused to show. "Whoever it was, they got to her before I did. They hit her with a car and took her."

"How did you get away?"

"Long story," Daryl answered, looking back over his shoulder. "There's someone I want you to meet." He whistled and gestured to someone who was hiding behind the door and a boy came forward. Parker looked between him and Daryl with an unsure look.

"Who's this?" He couldn't have been more than eighteen years old- maybe even younger. He was dark-skinned and had a terrified look on his face as he walked forward with a bad limp. He stared at Daryl, presumably for reassurance, and received a subtle nod in response. He walked with a noticeable limp, visible from the few steps he took.

"This is Noah," Daryl introduced him. "He stole our things, then we got them back and he helped us get out. He knows where Beth is."

"Okay... and where would that be?" Parker raised an eyebrow in question.

"Atlanta," Noah answered awkwardly. "At Grady Memorial Hospital."

"That place is still running?" Parker looked at Noah, waiting for him to answer her. "How?"

"I- I don't know," Noah stuttered. "But we have to go back and help Beth. That place is... not what it seems. The woman who runs it is going to make the place fall. Beth's not safe there. We have to get her out."

"And Carol," Parker added. "We have to get both of them out of there." Rick seemed skeptical, having been listening to the conversation.

"We can't just go to Atlanta. The city is overrun."

"We can do it," Noah insisted. "Your friend got in and out without getting caught. It's easy if you know where you're going."

"Slow down," Parker told him, raising her hands. "I don't want to be the one to say this. But how do we know we can trust you?"

"We don't know," Rick answered for Noah, looking straight at Daryl. "Do you trust this guy?

"Yeah."

"If Daryl trusts him, that's enough for me," Parker shrugged her shoulders. "What?" She furrowed her eyebrows at the look Rick sent her. "He trusted you. And besides, this kid seems harmless."

"Really? That's what you're going off of? 'He seems harmless'?" Rick pointed at Noah, as he stared at his sister who had a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Not just that, dumbass. I also said because Daryl trusted him." She rolled her eyes, looking at Michonne. "And to think, this guy used to be a sheriff." She pointed over her shoulder, and Michonne tried to hide the smile that formed on her face.

"What happened while I was gone?" Daryl broke up their little sibling fight when he noticed the blood that covered the walls.

"Do you remember Gareth?" Parker questioned him. "He and his little straggler group took Bob, cut off his leg, and ate it in front of him. He was bitten apparently back at the food bank... and... he died. The Terminus people then came to the church to try and kill us."

"Every time I leave you get into some type of trouble. I ain't leavin' you again." Daryl's eyes roamed the room, noticing all of the blood stains that were on the floor. "God, they could have killed you."

"Could have. But they didn't." Parker nudged Daryl's shoulder. "You need to stop making promises you can't keep." She turned to Noah, holding her hand out. "Hey, it's nice to meet you. Im Parker. Parker Grimes-Dixon."

"Noah," He replied, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you too. Daryl's told me plenty about you."

"Oh, has he now?" Parker glanced at Daryl out of the corner of her eyes and He cleared his throat, picking at his crossbow. "What's he told you about me?"

"Good things," Noah instantly assured her thinking he had done something wrong. "I swear on it." Rick took a step towards him and he subconsciously took a small step back.

"Can we trust you?"

"I hope so, sir," Noah answered him, his face paling a bit. "I mean no harm. I just want to help Beth." For some strange reason, Parker actually believed him. Parker had spent the rest of the night curled up in Daryl's arms listening to the stories of the adventure he had gone on. The next morning was spent fortifying the church, destroying the pews to provide boards for the windows, and pulling apart the piano to create a sort of metal barricade outside the entrance. While Parker, pulled out one of the metal pipes from the piano, Gabriel continued to watch her and Daryl.

"Are you gonna take the cross, too?" He asked bitterly. Angrily watching as they destroyed his church to keep them all safe- including Gabriel himself.

"If we need it," Daryl nodded as he took a pipe, jamming it down into the dirt. Parker knew that Daryl was eager to return to Atlanta to rescue Beth, but Rick was still adamant about the whole plan. After an argument with Michonne, he finally agreed and they prepared a group to head to Atlanta to organize their rescue. Parker was forced to stay behind again and she was not impressed when she was informed of their decision.

"Why can't I go?" Parker decided to ask after a while. "I'm a great shot and I can fight.

"But you're also pregnant." Rick reminded her, handing Judith over to her. "Stay here. There will be other fights." Parker looked down at her stomach.

"Stupid baby."

"Hey, that's my baby too," Daryl stated as he slung his crossbow over his shoulder. "Don't call it stupid." Parker stared at him silently.

"My point exactly." She deadpanned, looking around for the one person who she knew would be laughing before she remembered he wasn't there. "I want to go with you guys."

"No," Daryl finalized, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her. "I'll be back soon. I promise."

"I hate this," She huffed, adjusting her hold on Judith. "You better come back, because otherwise, you can bet your ass I'm coming for you, with or without this baby." She pointed to her stomach. "And you've got a nice ass so you better not lose that bet." Daryl sighed dissapointedly.

"Just stay out of trouble."

"Always," Parker smiled, hugging Daryl with one arm while holding Judith in the other. "Love you."

"I love you too," Daryl smiled at her.

"Take care of Carl," Rick told Parker before loudly whispering the same thing to Carl just about her instead. Judith began to cry in Parker's arms as Michonne and Carl started to block the door once the group had left. Parker gently rocked Judith while the sound of Carl hammering the nails agitated her even more. Now only Michonne, Parker, Carl, and Judith were left in the church, with Gabriel, of course. Gabriel didn't seem the same, and Parker became worried when he started scrubbing at the dried blood on the floors with his nails. Carl placed his arsenal of weapons in front of him while Parker changed Judith's diaper on the other side of the room.

"Pick one," Carl nodded at the weapons he'd laid out in front of Gabriel. "You need to learn how to defend yourself. We can teach you." Gabriel looked at him, almost disgusted at the offer.

"Defend myself?" He sounded incredulous. "They said they'd leave."

"Well, they lied." Parker commented from across the church.

"They were liars," Carl told him, "And murderers."

"Just like us," Gabriel argued, continuing to scrub at the blood.

"And they literally ate people," Parker added, her voice echoing throughout the church. "Don't forget that crucial detail."

"We protected ourselves" Carl defended, looking back at his aunt. "They wanted us dead. You're lucky your church has lasted this long. You can't stay in one place anymore. Not for too long. And... and once you're out there, you're gonna find trouble you can't hide from. You need to know how to fight." Gabriel reluctantly picked up the machete, holding it as far away from himself as possible. Carl nodded approvingly at his choice. "Good choice. But you're- you're not holding it right. You've got to be able to drive it down, 'cause sometimes their skulls just aren't as soft and you need to able to-"

"I- I'm sorry," Gabriel interrupted, standing up abruptly. "No. I need to lie down." He disappeared into his office and Carl turned to look at his aunt, his eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

"Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

"Nope," She shook her head as she placed Judith back in her makeshift crib, covering her with the blankets. "Some people just aren't cut out for this world."

"He needs to learn," Carl sighed, sitting at the end of the stage.

"And he will," Parker assured him. "One way or another he will have to face what is out there. Just like we did. He will learn the easy way or the hard way. And I only hope that for his sake it is the easy way."