THE DARK NIGHT had rolled by as slowly as Ellie anticipated — a night filled with gentle whimpers from Coda, whose nightmares had begun to overwhelm her. She had witnessed the most gruesome, chaotic scene that any child would be disturbed by, and it pained Ellie to know she couldn't soothe her thoughts. Daryl and Ellie had sat up through the night, waiting for the moments where she would call out in fear in order to soothe her.

The two had stayed awake the entirety of the night, waiting anxiously in fear that Coda would succumb to the nightmares once again, after she had barely been asleep for a few minutes. They had watched obsessively over her, with their love for her keeping them awake. Before they had realised it, the sun had begun to peek through the white clouds above them, and Coda had begun to stir awake once again.

"Dad?" she called out through a quiet, sleepy voice, and began to reach out towards Daryl. He scooped her up into his arms with care, and she sleepily placed her head on his shoulder, "Can I sleep here?"

Daryl chuckled slightly, and cradled the child in his arms, holding her close, as though he never wanted to let go. The truth had been — he simply never did want to let her go. The adoration he felt for Coda was tenfold, and would carry him through the rest of their lives. Ellie couldn't help but feel the sharp sting to her heart as the two bonded so easily together. She had never been jealous of those who connected with Coda, but it appeared as though Coda had truly picked her favourite parent, and that stung Ellie's heart.

"Do you want breakfast?" Ellie asked the small child, to which she merely received a sleepy nod, and a small yawn. She glanced up at Daryl through irritated eyes, and raised an eyebrow, "Do you?"

"Nah, thanks," he muttered, as though he hadn't been paying attention, and continued to run his finger over Coda's cheek, earning small giggles as it had tickled her.

In irritation, Ellie stood to her feet with a huff, and exited the tent, leaving Daryl to roll his eyes at her absurdity. He recognised the signs of jealousy, and he found it comedic that Ellie had been jealous over his relationship with Coda, but he chose not to press further on the matter out of fear of an argument. Shortly after Ellie had greeted the group, and sat down to arrange breakfast, Daryl strolled over with a babbling Coda hanging off his arm.

"Great," Ellie muttered under her breath, earning concerned glances from Lori. She sighed, and leaned in to whisper, "I think Coda is a daddy's girl, and it's just getting to me. It's been us against the world for so long, I feel like I'm being replaced."

Lori let out a soft chuckle, and shook her head at the woman, "It's normal to feel bothered by that, but she loves you both the same. Weren't you a daddy's girl?"

Ellie clenched her jaw as she attempted to withhold the cry that dared escaping her lips as her mind wandered towards the last time she saw her father alive. It had been true that Ellie was a daddy's girl, but having lost her father left her with a resentment towards favouritism, as she knew it was only a matter of time before life would have an impact on the relationship.

"I was," she whispered, rubbing at her aching temples as memories of her father began resurfacing, "He passed away when I was a teen."

Lori nodded in understanding, and placed her hand gently on top of Ellie's — a reminder that she wasn't alone in her battles with parenthood, "Ellie, you're doing a great job. But, this is new for her. She went years without Daryl, she's making up for lost time. She'd be absolutely lost without you."

Before Ellie could open her mouth to reply, Rick clapped up a thunderstorm with his hands, drawing the attention of the entire group. He covered his mouth his trembling hand, and stared down at the group as they stared directly up at him, despite his silence. He then finally released a sigh, as gestured outwards towards a small makeshift memorial for Dale nearby, his eyes glazing over as they drifted over. With reluctance, the group slowly ushered themselves in the direction of the funeral, with nothing but silence encapsulating them.

Ellie stood quietly by her lonesome, only to be disrupted by Daryl, who stood behind the woman protectively. He placed his hand around the woman's shoulders, and leaned closely in; her sugary scent intoxicated him until he was free of all demons within. She parted her lips as if to speak, but felt the lump that had formed deep in her throat trap the words within.

"Dale could get under your skin," Rick started, his voice steady despite his battle with his grief within, "He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare," he paused, engulfed in the despair they had all radiated at the loss, and eventually uttered, "And brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look to Dale, and he'd be looking back with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were."

Ellie stepped forward, her sapphire eyes delicately fixated on the ground below her, instinctively to avoid eye contact. She let out a shaky breath, and finally tore her teary eyes to meet Rick's, and uttered, "Dale was the very essence of kindness. Dale was the voice of reason, the one that kept us grounded. Without Dale, I don't know how we'll go on. It'll be hard, but he'll be with us in every step of our journey — in our decisions. Dale will forever be at the core of our mercy; our kindness and our integrity. True kindness and forgiveness is the very essence of being a warrior, and that's how we will live. For Dale."

Ellie and Rick continued to stare at one another as hot tears pooled in their eyes, until finally Rick tore them away by approaching Ellie, and curled their fingers together, before holding their interlocked hands up into the air, and finally finished by uttering, "In the end, he started talking about losing our humanity. He said this group is broken, and the best way to honour him is to unbreak it; to put aside our differences and pull together; to stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We're not broken, we're going to prove him wrong. From now on, we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honour Dale."

An undisturbed silence settled over the mourning group as they each took a turn to place a small rock on the makeshift gravestone that Hershel had provided, just as a forceful gust of wind washes over them. They each raised their eyes to the clear sky above them, and immediately recognised the wind to be Dale's soul, telling them that he was safe, and they didn't need to worry anymore.

>>>

"Your kindness is always appreciated, but how are you going to fit extra people in the house?" Ellie questioned as the group scurried around with assortments of items and clothing from their campsite. Hershel had deemed the weather inappropriate for campsites, and had requested the group move their belongings inside the house, despite their arguments.

"Don't you worry. We should've moved you guys in a long time ago," Hershel stated, before flashing Ellie a genuine smile.

Despite their connection previously over their speeches for Dale, Rick had appeared to have been ignoring Ellie's presence since Hershel had decided to move them into the house. She could feel the coldness radiating from him, but decided to observe before she were to question him on his suddenly cold behaviour towards her.

"I need you and Daryl on double duty, T-Dog," Rick informed T-Dog through the hurriedness of the group as they rushed back and forth between the campsite and the farmhouse.

"Rick, Daryl shouldn't be on—"

"Look, I'm sorry, Ellie, we need him," Rick sighed, avoiding her painfully sincere eyes as they attempted to make eye contact with his.

She watched as he dismissed her so easily, and stormed off in the opposite direction to where she had been walking alongside her. Rick was hiding something. Ellie paused immediately, and kept her eyes on his figure as he became smaller and smaller to her vision, until she was alerted by Shane nearby. He slumped himself against the same truck that Daryl had been, looking worse for wear, until their eyes finally met. She stormed over to Shane, and paused with her arms folded over her chest bitterly.

"Are you hungover?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at the nonchalant man.

He shrugged his shoulders, and gestured over to Daryl, whose face held a permanent scowl from Shane's mere presence. Daryl then finally spoke, "Caught him goin' through the stash, Rick doesn't want him on duty."

"So, that's why Rick hasn't assigned him a job today," Ellie murmured, awkwardly rubbing at the nape of her neck as she avoided Daryl's eye contact. She nodded in the direction of their campsite, and raised an eyebrow, "Are we not moving inside the farmhouse?"

"Nah," Daryl grunted, his jawline clenching as he stood awkwardly, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Right," Ellie began, unfolding her arms from her chest and pinched the bridge of her nose as she felt the anger simmer within her, "all of you are acting strange and it's creeping me out."

Shane cleared his throat, and dropped his head low, "You think we could take privately, El?" Shane had been hinting to Daryl to leave them be, earning a small growl from Daryl. Ellie placed her hand reassuringly on his arm, and felt him immediately relax at her soft touch. He slowly leaned down, and planted a gentle kiss on Ellie's temple, glaring daggers at Shane as he did so. Ellie noticed his jealousy, but she remained quiet as Daryl left the situation.

"What do you need?" Ellie questioned once she knew Daryl had been out of earshot. She tiptoed closer to Shane, and sunk down onto the truck next to him.

"I need your help with somethin'," he whispered, glancing around nervously, as though paranoia had been creeping up deep within him, "Promise me you'll help."

"Unless it endangers Coda, then I'll always help you."

Shane hesitated, his dark eyes circling the farmland in effort to scope out anybody that might have been in earshot. Once he knew he was in the clear, he stepped forth and whispered into Ellie's blonde locks, "I need to kill Randall. I need to take him to the woods, and get rid of him."

As shock and fear were birthed deep in her soul, Ellie felt goosebumps begin to form on her cold skin as she realised Shane had truly lost sight of what was right. Ellie stumbled backwards slightly, and felt herself gulping at the enraged man, "W-what?"

"Do you really believe somebody like that deserves to live? After what he did?"

Ellie pondered her previous statement on her viewpoint on the release of Randall, having Dale's death looming over her decisions. She released a sigh of sympathy, and placed her hand on Shane's arm, "Shane, I vowed to make all of my decisions in honour of Dale and his mercy. I can't have that kid's blood on my hands."

Shane felt his heart sink as he heard the one person who had truly had his back completely ignore his desperation. He faltered, and felt his skin pale over as he clenched his jaw, realising he would have to take action into his own hands. He reached out to Ellie and sighed, "Maybe it's best to keep you out of this." He could never endanger Ellie, for he knew his plan would truly push her away from him if she were to know the truth.

Ellie guided the two in the direction of the rest of the group as they prepared for their duties for the day, despite Rick not assigning Shane nor Ellie a role. They paused ahead of Rick, with nothing but awkwardness filling the gaps of silence between them. Shane finally managed to utter to Rick, "You want Daryl as your wingman? Be my guest, I get it."

Rick locked his sparkling eyes with Ellie's, and remained staring at her for several moments as he awaited her response, only to be disappointed when she remained silent. He knew that he had abandoned giving Ellie a role, but with Ellie being close to Shane, he knew the difficulties associated with having Ellie separated from Shane. He shot a disgusted glare in Shane's reaction, before locking eyes with Ellie once again. He then finally clenched his jaw, and stepped away from the two as they stood in awkwardness.

"Don't let this discourage you," Ellie muttered, avoiding Shane's intensive eye contact, "But, please rethink your plan with Randall. This is dangerous." As Ellie continued to speak, Beth had approached with a babbling Coda in her arms, and politely handed her over to her mother. Ellie gestured down to Coda, noticing how Shane's eyes softened at the sight of her, "For her."

Shane glanced up as his chocolate eyes glazed over, and immediately felt guilt for his imminent plan. He released a sigh, and pinched Coda's cheek, "I would never hurt her."

Ellie smiled at the man's softness in regards to her daughter, and held her out to Shane as she had already begun to reach out, "You should spend some time with her today." He glanced up at her, and tilted his head as he realised Ellie truly trusted Coda with him, "If anything can make you see sense, I hope it's Coda."

"She's everything," Shane agreed as Coda leaned up in his arms and grabbed at his nose playfully, "I'll take good care of her, I promise."

As he walked away with the babbling child in his arms, Ellie caught Rick's eye contact from where he had been leaning against the blue truck, his eyes had originally been firmly planted on the map. Ellie dropped her gaze from the man, and headed for the farmhouse, feeling nothing but concern as the deep tension between herself, Rick and Shane began to thicken. As she entered the quiescent of the farmhouse, she caught a glimpse of Hershel sitting by his lonesome at the dining table.

"I'm not sure if I've ever complimented you on your home, but it's truly beautiful here, Mr Greene," Ellie spoke, her voice soft and gentle to mirror the softness of the atmosphere.

Hershel let out a gentle chuckle, and gestured for Ellie to join him at the table, "Thank you, Ellie. You're a kind and polite young lady."

Ellie bowed her head in shame, and felt her bottom lip begin to quiver as she relayed images in her mind of all the wrongdoings she had been a part of, "If you really knew me, you'd think otherwise."

"No, everybody's made mistakes," Hershel admitted, his warm smile managing to bring a sense of security to Ellie, "Including myself. I had sworn not to drink another drop of alcohol, and yet Rick found me in that bar."

Ellie nodded, despite the growing feeling that she had been responsible for the destruction around the group, but kept it internalised. She smiled warmly at Hershel, and gestured towards the abundance of sleeping bags surrounding the living area, "Do you mind showing me a spot where I can sleep?"

Hershel raised an eyebrow in suspicion, and leaned outwards to get a glance at the sleeping arrangements, "Daryl isn't staying in here. You do know that, don't you?"

Ellie merely pursed her lips, and whispered in response, "Yes, I am aware."

"Has something happened?"

"Not exactly," Ellie murmured, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment, "We've been fighting a lot. We bicker, but it concerns me. I get jealous of his bond with Coda. And he... gets jealous of, literally, everything else."

Hershel laughed and shook his head, "Couples argue. It's normal, it's what keeps the relationship strong. You needn't worry."

"I just don't like the favoritism," she mumbled, nervously fiddling with the hem of her shirt, "Or the possessiveness, but... oh, well."

"She adores her parents equally! You have been her entire world since the moment she was brought into this world, the both of you were."

Awkwardly, Ellie cleared her throat and felt the embarrassment creep up on her cheeks like a crimson blanket once again, and whispered, "She's only known Daryl since the beginning of all of this. He was never around."

He nodded, and simply raised his eyebrow, "She's making up for lost time. It may seem like she prefers Daryl, but she is just making up for his absence. She loves you, that's clear to see. You should discuss this with Daryl."

"He isn't much of a talker," Ellie laughed, rubbing at the nape of her neck awkwardly, "I try to, but he shuts off, and I get angry. Passionate, he calls it."

"So I've gathered," he said sarcastically, "That doesn't mean it's impossible to talk about things," as Hershel spoke softly, Rick entered the house, immediately dropping his gaze from Ellie as he placed a box on the ground nearby, "You could sleep next to the sofa, Rick and I are sleeping nearby."

"You're not sleeping in your own bed?"

Hershel cleared his throat, and nodded in Rick's direction, earning a smile of embarrassment from Rick, "Lori needs the bed more than I do."

Ellie raised her eyebrow in suspicion, and locked her eyes with Rick's piercingly blue orbs, "I take that everybody knows of her situation." Rick nodded politely, and forged a smile on his lips, earning a small whisper of, "Congratulations," from Ellie.

The tension between the two hovered longingly over them, with Hershel being in the centre of their issues. Ellie excused herself politely from the situation in effort to release Hershel from their turmoil, and immediately headed outside of the farmhouse. Once she had entered the outside, she leaned down, feeling the tension escape her body; all the heat of the awkwardness releasing from her body as she leaned down, resting her hands on her knees.

"I let him down," a small whisper from beside Ellie drew her back to reality, revealing the voice to be Glenn as she glanced up through her hair.

Ellie stood up straight, and shook her head aggressively at the mourning man, "No, he was so proud of you, Glenn," she panted as she sunk down next to him.

"How can you know that?"

"Because I saw it in his face every time he saw you achieve something new for the group," Ellie admitted, a warm smile plastering across her face as she met Glenn's eyes, "You've done so much for us, it would be impossible for anyone to not be proud of you."

Glenn hadn't admitted it aloud, but deep within his soul, he was grateful for Ellie's soothing words. He knew the group was grateful for his help, but to hear the words from Ellie had been enough to soothe the ache in his heart from the loss of Dale.

The breeze nipped at Ellie's delicate skin as she sat patiently next to the man, only to be interrupted by Daryl's gruff voice, drawing her attention up towards him. He threw down a jacket of his, and nodded his head at the woman, "You'll get cold without this." She awkwardly accepted the jacket, but remained focused on Glenn beside her, rather than Daryl. Daryl noted her reluctance to talk to him, and let out a soft scoff as he kneeled down next to her, "Ellie, what is this shit?"

As Glenn widened his eyes, he glanced between the couple, and awkwardly flashed as a smile, "I should go..."

Once Glenn had been out of earshot, Daryl hissed, "You've been actin' weird, woman."

Ellie clenched her eyes shut, and buried her face deep in her palms before finally uttering, "I've been acting weird? I was alone for so long, Dixon. You left me, and I was alone." Daryl clenched his eyes shut as guilt ran through his bloodstream, "But, then I had Coda. And she's been my rock for so long. It sucks knowing she's all over you, and not me."

Daryl let out a sigh as he understood the issue that had been truly bothering Ellie, and sunk down next to her. He let out a small chuckle, and picked up her soft hand in his own, and planted a kiss on it, "You're stupid."

"Thank you, Dixon."

He let out another laugh, and leaned his head against hers, truly feeling the adoration for her, "Coda ain't somethin' we should fight about."

"Luke always knew what to do, he was always the one that kept me on the right path," Ellie hoarsely declared, her eyes flashing over with thin tears.

Daryl didn't know how to reassure the woman, nor did he know if he would ever find Luke for her, but what he did know, was that there wasn't a single thing he wouldn't do for her.

>>>

Once the night had rolled in, Ellie had settled her sleeping bag close to the sofa, where Hershel had previously instructed her to do. The surrounding members slept peacefully amongst themselves, while Ellie stared up at the ceiling above her, counting each crevice; each bump as she attempted to pass the time. She finally stealthily crept out of the living room, and entered the kitchen, where she searched endlessly through the cupboards for even the tiniest drop of alcohol - something to soothe the ache in her soul.

"There's not any alcohol here, you know." Ellie stumbled slightly as the voice has startled her, causing her to grab for her knife instinctively. She spun on her heels to reveal Rick standing above her, his eyes twinkling against the moonlight.

Ellie relaxed at the sight, and sunk down against the cupboard, and buried her face in her palms, "I forgot Hershel doesn't drink."

The woman heard Rick release a sigh, and eventually felt him sink his frame down next to her, "I'm sorry."

Ellie shrugged, and removed her face from her palms in effort to read Rick's face, which held the utmost of sincerity. She paused as she studied his pale face, and finally whispered, "I know what's bothering you, and I'm sorry I can't fix it."

Rick hesitated, before he finally scrunched his face up, and felt the lump that formed in his throat begin to grow. He hadn't wanted Ellie to see that side of him, but he couldn't help but let out a soft whimper of, "How could they?"

Ellie sighed, and leaned her head against Rick's reassuringly, feeling the warmth between them escalate, "She wanted to get rid of it, but I think she's changed her mind." Ellie gently placed her hand on top of Rick's, and squeezed slightly, "You're not alone in this."

"Why aren't you saying this to Shane?" Rick inquired suspiciously, his untrusting eyes lingering over Ellie's bright eyes.

Ellie hesitated, before she finally smiled, and whispered, "Because you're the one who suffers here the most," she cleared her throat awkwardly, and bowed her head down as her thoughts travelled to Shane, "You both lose something here, but ultimately it's your life that was meddled with."

Rick swallowed the lump down, and blinked away the tears that dared to pool in his piercing eyes, and muttered, "Sometimes I think I should have stayed in that —"

"Don't say coma," Ellie hissed, her eyebrows furrowing as rage began to rise deep in her stomach at the idea of Rick not being around, "You have saved us time and time again, and I have no doubt you'll continue to save us. We would never have got this far without you." She bowed her head, sighing before she added, "I never thought we'd need saving to begin with. But, I'm glad it's you who's saving us."

Rick remained silent in their encounter, as he couldn't fathom Ellie's words. He didn't feel like their saviour, he felt responsible for every wrong that was brought to the group. He connected their eyes momentarily, and noted the sincerity deep in her sapphire eyes, and finally smiled in response. Ellie knew that Rick didn't need to say anything for him to be grateful for her words.

>>>

"Randall is gone," Rick stated the next day, his eyes glazed over with concern as he stepped outside of the barn, and faced Ellie, who had been standing nearby with worry etched on her face as she carried her daughter. Rick didn't know why, but her concern had been suspicious to him, but he knew better than to doubt her.

"Oh, Shane..." Ellie whispered to herself, feeling her eyes clench against the anxiety swirling in her stomach, "What have you done?"

Shane suddenly appeared nearby, his nose bleeding profusely as he approached the group, shouting profanity, before stating Randall had done the damage, and escaped. A concerned Rick stood with his hands on his hips as he pondered the situation, and finally ordered Hershel to keep the group locked safely inside the farmhouse for protection. Ellie observed as a frantic Rick rounded up a few members of the group to assist him in his search for Randall, leaving Ellie to stand in concern with Coda inside the farmhouse, looking out through the window as Daryl speedily ran out towards the woods.

Ellie turned back to face the group, her eyes entirely vacant as she declared, "Everything is going to be alright."

>>>

Time strolled by entirely too slow, leaving Ellie to pace back and forth and ponder Daryl's safety as the sky began to darken above them. She waited patiently next to the window, until the intoxicating silence was disrupted as Daryl and Glenn burst through the farmhouse door. Ellie leaped forwards, and engulfed Daryl's cold body into a tight embrace, gripping at his shirt as he held her close. His scent comforted her nose until nothing was left behind but his love for her. Filling her like hot cement in all the empty places. Completing her.

"He was a walker," Daryl stated to the group through the embrace, locking eyes with Hershel, who stood behind Ellie worriedly.

"Did you find the walker that bit him?"

"He didn't have any bites, weirdly enough. Somethin' went on down there," Daryl replied, shrugging his shoulders as he looked out of the small window and out towards where Rick had left with Shane.

Ellie clenched her eyes shut, and let out a small whisper of, "Shit," which alerted the members of the group surrounding her. She finally reopened her eyes, and met Daryl's ocean eyes with her own, "I–I have to go out there."

"No, you ain't leavin'."

Ellie huffed, and pinched the bridge of her nose as her thoughts relayed Shane's previous plan, and she knew how reckless he had become. If Shane were to be alone with Rick, Ellie knew Rick was in imminent danger.

"You don't understand," she started, the desperation in her eyes suddenly becoming evident to Daryl as he watched her gather her weapons, "I'm the only one who can stop this." Without another word in their encounter, Ellie had shot out of the farmhouse, despite Daryl standing at the doorway in an attempt to bring her back.

She stormed upwards towards the forest nearby, ignoring the blistering ache in her muscles as she knew where Shane had executed his plan with Randall, and followed nearby footsteps on the ground. She was finally faced with an intense scene, revealing Rick and Shane in a showdown, with Shane raising his weapon directly at Rick, despite Rick himself being unarmed.

"What the hell is this?" Ellie panted, her wide eyes connecting with Rick's as they pleaded with her to leave.

"Murder," Rick stated angrily, "You really believe that they're gonna believe whatever bullshit story you make up for this?"

"Shut up," Shane hissed, evidently feeling the pressure of the situation begin to rise in his chest, "It ain't no story. I saw that prisoner shoot you right down. I snapped his neck. It ain't gonna be easy, but Lori will get over you. They've done it before, they're just gonna have to."

Ellie leaped forward, and gripped onto Shane's arm, and immediately felt him tense at her touch. She slowly stood in front of his gun, and connected their eyes. He immediately softened his eyes as Ellie whispered, "There is no way back from this. Otis was an anomaly, but this... there's no way back."

Shane slowly began to descend his gun from the air, as he appeared to ponder the situation for a millisecond, until he immediately lifted his gun up once again, and pushed Ellie out of harm's way, "I have to do this!"

"Don't do this," Ellie hissed, her sapphire eyes building with tears as she stared over at Rick in desperation. She finally took a deep breath in, and whispered, "For Coda."

Shane immediately paused, and felt the breath hitch in his throat as he stared down at the gun, his hands slowly beginning to tremble as he faced the reality of the situation. He clenched his jaw, and furrowed his brows, "She'll be better off without Rick, we all would be."

"Lori won't want you if Rick is dead," Ellie snapped, which appeared to have an impact on Shane as he widened his eyes at her comment. She scoffed, and shook her head, "Do you think any of us would? We want the good Shane. I want the good Shane." It seemed to have struck a nerve.

"You wanna screw my wife? Have my children — my children call you daddy? Is that what you want?" Rick asked, his voice cracking as he reached out, and pulled Ellie closer to him protectively. He slipped his arm around her waist, and Shane's eyes immediately fell upon their connection.

Feeling entirely betrayed, Shane tucked his gun in his pants and stared Rick down, the two staring one another down in a battle of bravado, "Come on, Rick. Raise your gun." Ellie's eyes widened at his evoking threat, "I thought you ain't the good guy anymore. Ain't that what you said?" Shane taunted Rick, "I'm a better man than you, Rick. I'm a better father than you, Rick."

Ellie immediately stepped forward, and loosened Rick's grip on her, despite his attempts to claw her backwards. She allowed her tears to trail down her cheeks, and connected her eyes with Shane's empty orbs, "I already lost one brother... I can't lose you, too."

"I don't want to hurt you," Shane smiled — a maniacal smile that brought impending fear with it.

Ellie reached into her boot, and removed the knife she had buried, and dropped it on the ground. She held her hands up, and smiled, "None of us are armed now, it you hurt us, you're harming unarmed people."

Shane clenched his eyes shut momentarily, and finally reopened them, revealing how bloodshot they had been. He finally reached forward with one arm, with the other still holding the gun up, and shoved Ellie into the ground with his vicious strength, "Enough! I won't hurt you, Ellie!"

As Ellie collided with the ground, she let out a blood curdling scream as she felt the blade she had previously dropped to the ground pierce her skin. She immediately unfolded her shirt, to reveal a small, seeping wound of blood begin to open on her torso. Her hands trembled as she attempted to apply pressure to the wound, and could merely muster a few yelps.

"W–what?" she breathed out, her hand shakily rising to cup at her wound, and brought it back to her view as the damp blood shocked her in place.

"Ellie!" Rick cried out, and attempted to dart towards the wounded woman, only to have Shane cock his gun, and scream at him.

"There's still a way back from this. Nothing happened here. We can put down our guns, walk back to the farm and get Ellie some help," Rick reasoned with Shane, holding his hands up in surrender as his tearful eyes connected with Shane's.

Shane suddenly glanced down at Ellie, and felt the shock soar through his body, causing him to shakily drop the gun to the ground. The two men stared at one another for several moments, before the two dropped to their knees, and immediately began to soothe Ellie. Rick's eyes landed on the blade as it protruded through her pale skin, and grimaced.

Rick let out a shaky breath, and began to stroke Ellie's hair out of her face soothingly, before whispering, "You're going to be fine, but I need to remove the knife."

Ellie let out a piercing scream as she felt the blade begin to twist in her skin, feeling nothing but agony rise through her entire body. She felt nothing but pain as the blade continued to tear her skin and her insides; ripping up every layer of skin she had. Shane immediately applied pressure to the wound, pushing down on the gaping hole as Rick shakily grabbed onto the blade with his hands. He let out a grunt as he yanked on the blade in effort to remove it, leaving nothing but Ellie's screams filling their ears.

They glanced down at the woman, only to realise she had succumbed to the darkness.

Shane rapidly grabbed Ellie in his arms, and carried her bridal style down towards the farmhouse, only to be stopped in his tracks as he faced an overwhelming flood of walkers begin to stumble towards the farmhouse. As Rick ordered Shane to carry Ellie towards the farmhouse through a particular gap in the herd, Ellie felt herself begin to dip in and out of consciousness, and began to wail uncontrollably.

"Daryl," she whimpered, her eyes fluttering open slowly as she felt the energy begin to drain from her body once again.

Ellie felt every twist; every bump as Shane rapidly stormed towards the barn, where Rick imminently tore open the doors, and pushed Shane inside clumsily. He stumbled inside, and gently placed Ellie against a hay bale, where she felt the blood truly begin to splutter from her wound. She felt her once bright eyes begin to slowly shut as tiredness began to overwhelm her aching body, until Shane gently slapped at her face.

"N–no, stay awake!" he fearfully stuttered, his chocolate eyes meeting her clouded orbs.

Ellie let out an exhausted groan as she felt more blood begin to trickle from her wound, and finally whispered, "I can't do it," before she succumbed to her darkness once again.

From behind the two, Rick had intensely poured an abundance of gasoline on every item in the barn that surrounded them, leaving only themselves dry of the substance. He trembled slightly as he gestured towards the small ladder that led upwards in the barn, where they would be able to make their escape. Rick assisted as Shane attempted to carry Ellie up the ladder, glancing backwards at the rattling doors in fear with each slow step that he took. Finally, Shane had managed to reach the top of the ladder, and Shane immediately nodded down at the frightened man. He dove forward, and tore open the doors of the barn to reveal an endless flow of walkers as the entered the building, enough to fully take Rick out in seconds.

He desperately scrambled for the ladder, and hauled himself up towards the top, where he finally lit a match he had kept in his pocket, and threw the small flame down into the barn. The walkers below him immediately shone with flames surrounding them, leaving them with one thing left to do. Rick pushed forward with vigorous strength, and helped Shane carry Ellie out through a small gap in the roof of the barn.

As if by miracle, Rick spotted the RV being driven nearby, and immediately called out to the RV, in attempt to bring it close enough for the two men to get Ellie to safety. The RV came to a sudden halt, and revealed Jimmy as the driver, until the window to his left smashed, and in came the claws of hungry walkers as they tore and ate at his flesh. Despite their loss, Rick ordered Shane to carry Ellie through the opening that led towards the farmhouse as the walkers nearby had been distracted by Jimmy's corpse, and darted straight for Hershel.

"Where the hell is everyone else?" Rick called out as they approached the elderly man, his eyes wide with frantic concern.

"I told them all to leave," Hershel panted, and lowered his shotgun down as he stared at Ellie's unconscious body, "Is she—"

"You need to fix her, now!" Shane called out, and placed Ellie in the back seat of a nearby truck, and gestured for the two men to join him as he leaped inside it.

Rick desperately clawed at the keys in the ignition, and shakily brought the car to a start, and met Shane's tearful eyes in the mirror above him. The two nodded at one another in understanding, and Rick knew to head in the direction of the highway — the last place before the farm that the group knew was relatively safe as a meeting point.

Hershel desperately toyed with the first aid kit that he had found under the seat of the truck, and began attempting to stitch up the gaping wound in her abdomen, despite his trembling hands. He wove the stitches delicately into the wound, and ensured that he had used antibacterial wipes to clean the surface of the wound. Once he was satisfied with the wound closing, he connected his eyes with Rick's, and flashed a smile of relief.

"She's stable, but I'm not sure how long these stitches will last, it was a deep wound," Hershel stated, and rubbed at his temples.

Rick let out an elongated sigh of relief, and immediately felt his tense body relax. He knew that Coda would have her mother back, and that he'd saved her. The remaining minutes of the drive were silent, despite the radio playing "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League, until Rick finally pulled up at the abandoned highway, which appeared more so as a graveyard than a road. He parked the car up at the nearest clearing, and sat with his eyes locked on his trembling hands.

As the car came to a halt, Ellie began to slowly and steadily stir, her pale face scrunching up in pain as she began to ascend into consciousness. Shane glanced down at the woman, and cupped her face in his large hand, "Ellie, open your eyes, baby."

Ellie battled against the darkness as it began to consume her once again, but managed to grip onto Shane's free hand, and squeezed with all of her might. She gripped as tightly as she could as her eyes slowly began to flutter open, glistening against the light. Shane gently cupped her face in his hand as she finally became conscious to the world, and slowly lifted her up, despite the searing pain in her stomach.

"Coda!" Ellie cried out, and attempted to frantically search around the highway, only to be knocked by down by the pain in her stomach, "Damn it, where is she?"

Rick rushed to Ellie's aid, and carefully helped her to lean upwards, despite her whimpers of pain as the pain in her stomach increased. He gripped tightly onto her damp shirt, and pulled her close to him, and whispered, "I'm—" his speech was cut short by the loud roar of engines ringing out in unison, drawing the attention of the small highway group.

They glanced up to see Daryl's motorcycle revving loudly to alert the others, and Ellie couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with relief. She spotted her small daughter sitting between his legs as she gripped onto the motorcycle; a large helmet sitting on her for protection that drowned her small frame more than anything, but he wanted her to be safe.

"Daryl," Ellie whispered as she watched him approach the scene, his daughter sobbing softly in his arms.

His soft eyes landed on the pool of blood surrounding her wound, and all he could feel, was pure rage.