The next few days were spent planning and packing for the group's next move. The morning of the day where the group would put their plans into motion, Ava was in her cell room packing the last few items away. Stuffing some clothes into a duffel bag, her hand grazed the forgotten pregnancy test. As she took a steadying breath, she pulled the small, foil package out and unwrapped it. Ava took a moment to study the results, her heart beating in her throat. Content with what the test showed her, she wrapped it back up and slipped it into the inner pocket of her jacket and made her way outside to the courtyard.

As Ava made her way to the car, she noticed how Carl was in what one would call a "pre-teen funk"; pulling away from his father as Rick was trying to talk to him. She shook her head and tossed her bags into the trunk as Rick and Glenn made their way to stand next to her. "I've never seen him this angry before," stated Ava. "Not even after what we went through with Lori."

Glenn shrugged his shoulders as he kept his gaze on the boy. "It's like he's shut down", he muttered. Rick shrugged, his grip on his hostler relaxing before tightening back up again as he gazed off after his son. "He's still a kid", sighed Rick. "It's easy to forget and bounce back."

"If you say so", mumbled Ava under her breath as she walked over to where Daryl was crouching on the ground, packing his saddlebags. Daryl turned his head to glance at Ava as she knelt next to him. Sighing, he said "You know Merle never did nothin' like that his whole life." Ava nodded in understanding as her hand ran through his hair, her fingers gently kneading the base of his skull. "He gave us a chance, Daryl" she sighed.

Standing up, Ava held her hand out, her fingers curling open and close, motioning for Daryl to do the same. Daryl grabbed her hand and pulled himself up, pulling her body towards his. Ava held his hand in both of her and lifted it to her lips, placing a gentle kiss across his knuckles. Looking up with a small smile gracing her lips, she whispered, "I love you." Daryl nodded, his teeth catching his bottom lip. Ava kissed his knuckles once more before leading him to the prison for one last meeting before the plan went into motion.

The second round of gunfire startled everyone in the woods. Ava passed Judith to Beth and made her way to the edge of the woods were Hershel and Carl were kneeling behind some brush and fallen tree trunks. With a soft growl, Carl muttered "I should be there." Ava shook her head and looked at Carl in disagreement. "Like hell you should!" she admonished. "Your dad has already lost your mom. He doesn't need to run the risk of losing you too."

Within moments, the gunfire ceased. Ava stood up and helped Hershel. "Good," she said. "They got 'em on the run."

The trio frose and drew their guns at the sound of rustling leaves and snapping branches hurriedly coming closer to where they were. Suddenly, a young teenage boy breaks through the bushes, freezing in his tracks at the sight of three guns aimed at him.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed with hands raised. "Don't shoot!"

Hershel spoke up, "Drop the gun, son." The boy nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing as he acquiesced to the older man's request. As Hershel and Ava lowered their guns, Carl shifted on his feet, his gun still raised. Ava spoke through clenched teeth, "Don't you fuckin' dare, Carl."

With a quick inhale, Carl crooked his finger and pulled the trigger.

It wasn't long before everyone was gathered back at the prison. As the small group from the forest walked in, Rick walked up and hugged Carl. The boy pulled away from his father, stating that he wanted to go back to Woodbury with him. Rick shook his head, trying to protest his son's request but Carl cut him off. "Dad, I did my job." he said proudly. "I even took out one of the Governor's soldiers."

Ava stood beside the duo, tightening her grip on her bow. "One of his soldiers?" she asked skeptically. "Carl, he was a kid! A kid who was just a little bit older than you and running for his life!" Carl shook his head, denying what was being said, "No, Ava. He drew on us!"

Rick silenced Carl's argument by placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm sorry you had to do that." Carl shrugged and nodded, firmly stating once more, "That's why I was there and I'm going to Woodbury."

As the boy walked off, Ava waited until he was out of earshot before turning to his father and looked him in the eye. "That kid was scared for his life, Rick." She added, "He even put his gun down when Hershel told him to." Rick shook his head, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose before stating, "Carl said that he drew, that he shot the kid in self-defense."

Ava shifted on her feet and scoffed, "Rick, I was there and Hershel was there. The only thing that wasn't there, was the need to shoot the kid in cold blood." Rick sighed and muttered, "Maybe that's what you think but-"

"Rick!" snapped Ava. As the man looked up at her, she held his gaze. "What I think", she hissed, "is that you need to believe that it was your flesh and blood that shot that kid down." With a huff, she turned and walked over to where Daryl was sitting.

Ava stood next to the hunter and watched as he reloaded on bullets and arrows. Crossing her arms over her chest, she questioned "Going back out to Woodbury, huh?" Daryl nodded, looking up at her, continuing to load his gun clip. "You comin' with?" he asked.

Ava shook her head with a grin and motioned around the prison with her hand. "Nah," she smirked. "Gonna try to get this palace back to its shining glory." Daryl snorted and went back to his preparations.

Ava leaned down, her hands on his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "When you come back, I've got something for you." Smiling, she placed a quick kiss to his cheek and gently squeezed his shoulders before walking off to the cells.

When the men were gone, those who stayed behind at the prison spent the rest of the evening cleaning up around their home. When night fell, Ava and Carl were found perched on the catwalk keeping an eye out for their family's return.

About an hour or so after sunrise, Ava perked up at the sound of rumblings and the sight of dust billowing along the horizon. The woman smiled at the sight of her lover's motorcycle breaking through the dust cloud. With a whoop, she ran into the prison to inform everyone of the family's return.

Standing in the courtyard, she smiled as Daryl came into view with a bus following him. With her arms crossed over her chest, she waited as Daryl got off his bike and watched the people from Woodbury exit the bus and walk into the prison. When Daryl made his way over to her, she nodded towards the bus and asked "So I take it they're staying?"

Daryl crossed his arms, his stance mimicking that of his love's as his gaze roamed over the group. With a grunt and a nod, he answered, "Yeah. Can't let that psycho prick come back and fuck with their minds again." Ava glanced over at the man standing next to her, her heart swelling with pride at what he had become. With a smile on her lips, she nodded.

atitudSuddenly, Daryl turned to face her with a smirk on his lips. "So", he said as his hands shifted to hold the straps of his crossbow. "You said you had something for me?"

Ava bit her bottom lip as she reached into her jacket's inner pocket and pulled out the wrapped pregnancy test. Even though the test was wrapped up, she had left a small opening on the top where the results could be seen.

"Yeah," she started, handing the object out to him, "I took the pregnancy test the other day like you wanted." Daryl tilted his head before taking the test and studying the results. After a few minutes, he looked back up at Ava, his head shaking in confusion.

"Are you plannin' on tellin' me what these lines mean?" he asked.

Ava shrugged her shoulders, her teeth releasing her bottom lip before answering his question with a question of her own. "What do you think it means, Daryl?"

To Be Continued….

WOW! 87,444 words, 157 pages on Word, and 53 chapters later and this story is now FINISHED! But have no fear, there will be a sequel. I'm just not sure when I'll have it up because it is going to take a lot of planning. Hope you've enjoyed Don't Let Me Go. If so leave comments below and I hope that you will be eagerly awaiting the next installment. Love you all!

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