THE MORNING SUN rolled through the windows of the prison like a thick haze of the summer. August had proven to be a blistering month, spreading a heatwave throughout all of Georgia. The clock read the time as 11am, which was later than Ellie had typically awoken. The group had all arisen and continued with their duties, while Daryl sat in the perch, cleaning his crossbow as Coda played quietly to herself, leaving Ellie to sleep.

Ellie let out a squeak as she stretched, and gained Daryl's attention as he dropped to the mattress, and curled his arms around Ellie. The warmth of her body caused his to sink delightfully into the softness of the bed. She shut her eyes once again, and rested her head against Daryl's arm as he laughed at her sleepiness.

"Mornin'," Daryl let out a slight nasal laugh as Ellie pretended to be asleep once again. He leaned down to kiss the woman on her forehead, but she leaned up, and shifted his kiss to her lips, "Good mornin', I mean."

Ellie laughed and curled her arms around Daryl's torso as she pulled him closer. Daryl then cleared his throat, and gestured towards the small child at their side. Ellie propped herself up on her elbows and glanced over at Coda as she sat quietly, colouring in one of her books they had discovered for her. Ellie flashed Daryl a fake frown, but immediately sat up, and held her hands out to her daughter.

"Come here, monkey," she whispered as Coda cheerily stood to her feet, and ran over to her mother, "Careful, you're heavy now."

Coda giggled as Ellie blew raspberries onto her face and neck, but immediately pushed her off, while smiling still. Coda folded her arms over her chest, and flung her hair over her shoulder, "I am not a child anymore."

Ellie scoffed and pulled Coda down onto her lap and confined to mercilessly tickle her daughter, aided by Daryl as he tickled her feet gently, "You're not a child anymore, huh?" The child's innocent laughter filled the entire prison, leaving everyone to smile with happiness as it filled their ears delightfully. "You're always going to be my baby."

Breaking their playtime, Coda leaped onto Daryl's lap, and clung to his shoulders, "Mom is the princess, isn't she, Dad?"

Awkwardly, Daryl bowed his head down to avoid Ellie's eye contact, and merely nodded in response. He then buried his face in Coda's blonde hair, to conceal his blushing cheeks.

Ellie raised her eyebrow in suspicion, and turned to face Daryl, a smirk toying at her lips, "I'm a what, Dad?"

"Daddy—" Coda begun to explain, only Daryl covered her face with his hand, and scooped her into his arms from behind, tipping her upside down as he did so.

Her giggles filled the entire room with a melodic chime, which only made the small family feel warm inside. They were truly the family they had always wanted to be, with the exception of Luke nor Merle being present. Both Daryl and Ellie were in the same boat, and neither of them knew how to fix it.

Ellie knew in that moment, that despite Merle nor Luke being present, there wasn't a single place she would rather be, for her daughter and Daryl were the most important people in her life. Her life didn't have a meaning without them, and she had proven endlessly that there wasn't a single thing she wouldn't do for her family. That included the group, for they had grown to become family, particularly Rick. Ellie knew that if she didn't have Rick, she would truly not be alive.

>>>

The dining area was silent, with the only sounds to be heard were the clinking of cutlery against plates and glasses being placed on the table. The last time the group had sat together as a group had been at the farm, which had been almost an entire year prior to then. Time was an energy-defeating concept, leaving them all fatigued with the constant needing to move. The prison just had to be their haven, otherwise they truly weren't going to make it.

Ellie glanced up at Rick, only to discover he had already been staring ahead at the blonde. His cheeks flushed a shade of red as his eyes lingered over her, until she finally broke the silence, "Rick?"

He cleared his throat, and glanced over at the woman, placing his fork and knife down, "Yeah?"

"I was wondering..." her voice trailed off as she glanced over at Shane, whose eyes smiled at her. She then nodded, and sighed, "I was wondering if we could continue to search for my family."

"Look—"

"I know we're in a different direction, and we've come so far," Ellie muttered, bowing her head as she fidgeted with her fingers, "He may also have travelled, and I don't even know where to begin to look but I have to. I can't ever stop for as long as I'm here, you should know that."

"Ellie—"

Ellie sighed, and connected her eyes with Lori's, whose eyes held a certain bitterness for Rick. "I don't see why not?"

Rick shook his head in defeat, and bowed his head. He ignored Lori's comment, and connected his eyes with Ellie's once again, "You really want to do this? After..."

Ellie cleared her throat, and dropped her cutlery onto the table. She stood to her feet, and smiled down at Rick, "Finding my brother has nothing to do with this."

Rick sat in silence, the two in a small standoff with one another. He then faltered, and sighed, "Take whoever you want. Enough supplies for the night, come back tomorrow."

Ellie's eyes twinkled with excitement as she grinned at the leader, "You won't regret this. I promise."

"You can take two people, but—"

Without allowing Rick to speak another word, Ellie leaped over towards Daryl, and yanked at his arm excitedly as he stood to his feet. She leaned down to plant a kiss on Coda's head, and Daryl mirrored her actions, but wasted no amount of time. The two of them rapidly ran out of the door together, and immediately jumped onto Daryl's motorcycle, and the two were off in a flash.

>>>

Ellie's head rested gently against Daryl's warm back as she watched the greenery roll past; her arms were curled tightly around his torso, and she couldn't help but release a scream of delight as the wind blew through her blonde locks. Daryl grinned as she appeared to be happy, and immediately sped up, earning a yell of delight from Ellie once again. There was nothing he loved more than hearing her laughter, or seeing her smile against the sunlight. He adored her.

"Last time we rode alone like this we were much younger," Ellie laughed, squeezing Daryl's torso gently as she pulled herself closer to him, "I was such a baby."

Daryl scoffed, and shook his head, "A long ass time since then, Eleanor."

Ellie leaned back down as she internally reminisced her childhood, all the great parts Daryl had been present for, but also all the great parts he hadn't been present for. It pained her to know Daryl didn't have the same memories as she did when it came to Coda — all the times she tried to talk as a baby, or the times she tried to run before she could walk, or all the times she copied Luke or Ellie with their behaviour. Daryl was new to parenthood, but Ellie, was a veteran by now.

"Do you know where we're going?" Ellie questioned, clenching her eyes shut as she allowed the sun to roll over her olive skin.

Daryl shook his head, and stared off into the distance, "Wherever feels right."

>>>

Once the motorcycle had been parked up along a road, the two strolled casually through an empty neighbourhood, which appeared to have been hit lightly by the outbreak. Houses and cars appeared untouched as they strolled past, which left Ellie unsettled. She wasn't sure if Luke had been anywhere near this location, though it seemed likely this had been where his new home would be. She knew without a doubt she couldn't give up without a fight.

Ellie fumbled with the hem of her sweatshirt as they quietly stalked through the neighbourhood, a clear indicator to Daryl that she had been anxious. With his crossbow aimed in his other hand, Daryl gently curled his fingers around Ellie's, and gave her hand a squeeze of reassurance. She smiled up at the man, and pulled him closer as they continued through the neighbourhood.

"Where should we look first? There's so many houses," Ellie muttered, overwhelmed with all the material they had to search through.

Daryl merely shrugged his shoulders, and nodded in the direction of a large house, accompanied by a beautiful motorcycle. He whistled as he inspected it, and pulled Ellie over to it, "I'm hopin' Luke has good enough taste to come here. Well, bad if ya ask me. Look at these pansies."

Ellie snorted, and nodded, "Of course he does. He has the most expensive taste."

With bewilderment plastered on her face, Ellie stepped up the front doorstep, and sighed as she prepared herself to enter. She held a small flashlight in one hand, and her gun aimed ready in her other hand, and slowly pushed the door open. She stalked carefully around each corner as she inspected the inside, and jumped as a small cat startled her. She smiled, and immediately leaned down to stroke the cat. She grinned as it purred and rubbed its head against Ellie's hand, allowing her to continue petting it.

Daryl smiled down at the simple things that made Ellie happy, like seeing an animal she could pet. The world was in dire need of happier things, and a cat was one of the best things they could discover. The cat survived through its natural instincts; proving to be a veteran in hunting and scavenging, sleeping rough or cold. Cats were designed to be warriors against everything, and they were to be idolised by survivors.

"I had a cat when I was younger," Ellie grinned up at Daryl as she sat cross-legged, allowing the cat to curl up and sleep peacefully. "Her name was Ashleigh but we called her for Ash short. Because her fur was the purest grey. She was beautiful."

Daryl nodded and leaned down to pet the cat gently, "I never had nothin' like that as a kid. We hunted, but never kept nothin' alive. Only Merle to keep me company, and he ain't worth it."

Ellie snorted, and shook her head, "Merle is one son of a bitch."

The two shortly left the house and the cat alone, upon discovering Luke hadn't been there. Ellie strolled casually up towards a larger house, and paused outside it. She had been drawn to that house in particular upon her arrival at the neighbourhood, it radiated Luke's essence. It was a large, beige detached house, with a Mercedes-Benz in the driveway. Everything that was pertained to the house and its residents was modernised and truly the essence of rich.

"It's like this place was built for Luke," Ellie scoffed, shaking her head as she paused outside the door.

Daryl held his finger to his lips as he gently pushed the front door open, and allowed Ellie to sneak through the gap quietly, her gun raised. In a flash, Ellie hit the ground with a thud that echoed loudly throughout the house, and immediately knocked her head on the ground. Her ankle felt tight as snapping teeth attempted to bite at her leg, as a walker had grabbed her from the doorway. She glanced over at the walker — half its body had been missing, its guts spreading behind it like a trail of decay.

Ellie screamed as she attempted to kick the walker from her, instantly alerting Daryl from the outside. He pushed the door open with vigour, and immediately shot the walker down, without any hesitation. He grabbed at Ellie's body, and peeled her from the ground, worriedly grabbing at her face as she whimpered softly.

"You're okay," Daryl whispered, and traced the gentle tears that landed softly upon her cheek.

Ellie sniffled, and wiped away the tears from her cheeks, "It shocked me."

Daryl nodded, and leaned down towards her forehead, leaning his own against hers. He then whispered, "I'm here." He then stood tall, and gestured widely outward, in no particular direction, "Your pick which room we go to first."

Ellie glanced upwards at the stairs, and sighed, "I saw there was an attic space. I want to check there first. Luke always loved small places to hide, even as an adult."

Daryl simply nodded, and aimed towards the stairs, and climbed to the top floor. He led Ellie towards the attic's ladder, and gestured for her to go first, so he could balance the ladder, as a gentleman should. Ellie cautiously climbed the unbalanced ladder, and pushed open the small hatch, allowing herself access to the attic. She crawled inside, and immediately gagged at the putrid stench surrounding her, and lifted her hand to cover her mouth and nose.

Daryl followed suit, and immediately mirrored her actions as the stench hit his nose, and blocked his nostrils with his shirt, and groaned. The two steadied themselves, and glanced around at what could only be described as a graveyard. The dead lay everywhere; a family had died here with one another. Limbs were merely bone; fleshless and covered in rotted skin. Knees and elbows were clumped like knots of rope, sticking out the heap at incongruous angles.

Ellie whimpered at the sight of flies whizzing joyfully around the decaying corpses, and immediately stumbled backwards from shock. Daryl steadied her body, and gently inched around her, aiming his crossbow up as he glanced around the gargantuan room. Ellie simply trailed behind, and sheepishly glanced around at the corpses as she watched her footing against the wooden slats on the ground that formed a quasi-flooring.

"See anythin' you recognise?" Daryl inquired as he searched through a duffel bag on the ground, hoping to discover and indicator that Luke had been there.

Ellie shrugged, and trailed her index finger across a chest of drawers nearby, made of plastic, and decided to inspect its contents. She slowly peeled open the drawers, and searched rapidly through the books and batteries scattered inside. She finally came across a small book, lettered "FAMILY" in golden glitter on the front — an immediate memory trigger for Ellie.

She lost her footing once again, feeling her face pale over with sickness as she glanced down at the book she recognised. The blonde shakily held the book out to Daryl, and released a small whimper as he took the book from her hand. He glanced down at the book that was also familiar to him, and took a sharp inhale of breath, before he slowly opened the book.

His eyes landed upon the many family photos that were all too familiar to Daryl — Ellie and her sister as a baby, cradling her in her arms warmly as a teenager; Luke cradling Ellie as a baby. However, there was one picture he hadn't been familiar with, which was the small portrait of Ellie cradling Coda in a tiny blanket while in the hospital, which appeared to be after her birth. Daryl felt his heart suddenly leap into his throat at the sight of his daughter as a newborn, and he, too, lost his own footing.

"It's mine, isn't it?" Ellie whispered, her eyes glued to the floor from the shock of the discovery.

Daryl gulped, and simply nodded in response. He flicked through the pages of the book, observing all the family photos they'd acquired over the years together. It left a bittersweet taste in Daryl's mouth, for his own family had never radiated such love and closeness. He glanced back over at Ellie, and observed her hot tears dripping into the wooden slats below her. He sighed, and continued to flip the pages, gently so that the paper didn't bend.

He finally stopped on the final entry, revealing some polaroid pictures of Luke, with a woman who appeared to have beautiful honey skin and jet black hair, sitting together next to some candles in their pyjamas. Daryl tilted his head as he examined the date of the photos, and gulped as he discovered they had been much later than the beginning of the outbreak. Luke was alive, and wherever he was, he was with a beautiful woman. It was Harvie.

"Uh..." Daryl's voice trailed off as he simply outstretched his arm, handing the book over to Ellie, "was taken downstairs."

Ellie's eyes widened as she glanced down at the beautifully decorated page, indicating someone had put a lot of effort into the decoration. Ellie gulped as she trailed her finger gently over her brother's face, and the small date "05.01.11" which immediately caused Ellie to stare up at Daryl.

"He was here only months ago," she whispered, her eyes rapidly beginning to form with tears, "He—he was here."

Daryl nodded, and sighed, "Why was it in the drawer?"

"Maybe they didn't leave because they had to," Ellie suggested, glancing down at the book. "He could've put it in the drawer for safe keeping."

"Maybe," Daryl whispered as he stared down at the scattered clothes on the ground. He squinted for a while, until he kneeled down, and picked up a police badge. "Luke?"

Ellie took the badge from the man, and held it up into the light, watching it sparkle against the attic light. She released a small puff of air, before she turned to Daryl, her glazed eyes twinkling against them light.

"What do we do now?"

>>>

Several miles out from the prison, a stranger stalked silently through the streets of Woodbury, a highly fortified town run by none other than the Governor. An intelligent man named Philip Blake ran the town with his loyalist constabulary; his lieutenants and his army. He had established one of the greatest outposts of survival in Georgia, and he would do anything to keep it afloat.

The shadowed figure crept silently towards an empty building, ensuring to avoid any guards on active duty. They strolled towards the door, and gripped onto the handle as tightly as they could, and tore open the door. This proved to be their most fatal mistake, as Philip Blake himself stood above them, hovering high with dignity and authority, and simply folded his arms across his chest.

"I think you need to come with me," he spoke, his accent a strong, southern drawl.

He simply placed a large bag over their head, allowing time for their lieutenant to bind their hands behind their back with some rope. Despite their struggles, the Governor had them carried to a small room, where they would be kept until they had mastered subordination.

"Get off me!" they yelled, struggling against the lieutenants as they carried their body roughly.

They dropped their body onto the floor in a heap, and allowed them to shift their body upwards, propping themselves up on their knees. The Governor maliciously spat at their feet, and kneeled down, inching closer to their face.

"You don't need to be afraid," the Governor stated, shaking his head at the visibly shaking person below him.

They scoffed, and bitterly allowed, "You don't scare me," to roll off their tongue, although the Governor didn't hear it through the muffling of the bag.

The Governor turned to their lieutenant, and gestured towards the hammer on the ground. He then whistled in the direction of the stranger's fingers, "You know what to do."

With that, he simply left the lieutenant alone to deal with the stranger. The lieutenant peeled the stranger from the ground, but kept the bag fitted over their head, to remain anonymous. He then pushed the stranger towards the hammer, and cackled.

"Pick it up," he ordered, his husky voice making the stranger cringe. "You look strong enough for it, pick it up."

The stranger simply huffed, and bowed their head down, "Let me go."

"Look," the lieutenant started, twirling his blade between his fingers menacingly, "I'll get you back to your family, man."

The stranger scoffed, "Jekyll and Hyde ain't got nothing on you, sir."

"You know what the boss man is like, am I right?" he laughed, before he leaned back into a small, plastic chair, and folded his legs across one another. "Ya gotta do what ya gotta do."

The stranger dropped onto their side, and simply begun to whimper quietly, "Jackass."

The lieutenant rolled his eyes at the pitiful scene, and kindly strolled over to them, and cut the ropes from behind them, freeing their hands. They grabbed at their sore wrists, and rubbed at them from the fiery rope burn they'd endured. They then sunk back onto the floor, curling into the foetal position.

"Not gonna take the bag off?" he questioned, raising his eyebrow at them, "I know you, man. I would've thought you'd be fightin' me by now."

The stranger pushed their body up against the cold wall, and leaned their head back in disappointment. They then turned their head to face the lieutenant, and released a puff of air, despite not being able to see them.

"Maybe you don't know me at all," they stated, shaking their head as they bowed it down.

The lieutenant merely sighed, and bit his lip as he pondered his next statement. He then settled on a simple smirk, accompanied by, "I'll get you out of here, don't you worry. You take that hammer. Believe me, kid. Take that damn hammer."

"I'm not worried about you getting me out of here," they simply announced, and stood to their feet slowly, "It's them who should be worried about how I'll get out of here."

A simple silence of fear befell them.