"So, you wanna talk about where you came from?"

Rick looked up. He'd been lost in his own thoughts, watching his hands hang over the space between his knees and how they move with the van's rocking. It had gone silent in the van, the excitement of their escape all bleeding out of them in an instant when they they realized they left a man trapped like an animal on the roof of the department store. Merle was now in fate's hands, exposed to the heat of the sun without shade, water, or food. If the walkers didn't get him first, nature surely will. Morales looked pale and hadn't changed since the last time Rick looked at him. No one stepped up to comfort him and his own storm of thoughts raging behind those brown eyes. Across from him, Jacqui had this look to her, her face screwed between guilt and relief. Everyone else was within range of both their demeanor, either laden with guilt or letting it slide off like water off their back. Andrea was looking back at him from the passenger's seat up ahead, her face a mask of curiosity, dandelion hair swaying around her face. The corner of Rick's lips quirked into a tight, nearly there smirk and he looked away to glance down at his palms that were now held open to himself.

Rick answered a beat late, "Ain't much to tell you."

Andrea didn't let it drop. She shifted in her seat even more, knee early knocking out the shift. Glenn shot a hand out, muttering 'hey, hey!', pushing her long leg aside and making her roll her eyes before continuing. She dropped her chin demurely, "No. Everyone's got a story." She went on, trying her best to redirect all their dark thoughts as best she could, "I got a sister back with the group. We were on a road trip when all this happened... I'm glad I got her."

Rick nodded and absently felt the smoothness of his blunt fingernails. He breathed out and repressed a flinch as his past caught up to him after it being suppressed in the haze of the present. His memory supplied vividly the yelling and screaming – almost too sharply, the crying. He remembered nights spent alone on the couch after making sure Carl was tucked in in bed, doing his part to keep his boy blissfully unaware by the broken marriage he held with his mother, who laid cold upstairs in their bed. "Yeah..." Rick shifted, "No stories to tell, Andrea. Just out here looking for my wife and son."

Her sigh was loud from up front, as well as the sound of her looking away and pushing herself back against the seat.

T-Dog said, "Well, I got something to say – and that's that, you Andrea, is a damn lucky bitch. Ain't got a hint of where to begin on my pack." Rick felt a nudge on his knee and T-Dog nodding empathetically, "Hurt's everyday, not knowin'. But i'm takin' it as a sign that they're all still out there and alive."

"Just yesterday you told me you could smell a geek from a mile away. What, now you're saying werewolves got a sixth sense?"

"It's called faith, Andrea... and maybe knowin' that us wolves have more of a chance out there than you people."

"Hey, what do you mean by you people..." Andrea snickered and threw a pad of paper back at T-Dog. For the first time since meeting them in the heart of Atlanta, the group allowed themselves a moment to laugh. "Hey look! There's our camp. Man, they're sure gonna be happy to see us safe."

The van crawled right in next to the Winnebago and came to a halt. Rick sat in the van and from there he could hear the people outside celebrating their return. He felt an emptiness knowing that his family wouldn't be out there to greet him warmly, and maybe even see his wife's face light up for the first time in months. It was down time for him, sitting alone and with not a single lead on Lori and Carl, that he was able to sit and remember that he'd been in a failing marriage before all of this – and that maybe he was wasting his time looking.

He heard Morales mention him, but not by name. Rick figured now was as good as time as any to introduce himself to the crowd of people, so he jumped out of the van to join. It was a sea of unrecognizable faces, but their expressions were grateful, enough to make him grin wide and bashful at anyone who met his eyes.

"Rick?" It was that recognizable voice that stopped Rick in his tracks, his breath catching in his throat so that all he could reply with was this choked gasp. He whipped his head around, looking over people's heads until he saw the person he was looking for, staring at him with brown eyes shining with recognition and awe. When he felt he could breathe again, he found his legs have gone ahead of him, walking towards the man standing there shocked with his mouth hanging open hoping to catch the words he wanted to say. "Jesus, man. You're alive!" Shane exclaimed and when Rick was close enough, he was dragged forward against his body, arm wound tight around his neck. Rick's arms wrapped around Shane, disbelief present in each ragged, overwhelmed exhale that the man he'd come to call his brother was right here.

"Jesus Christ. I thought you were dead... when Lori didn't-"

"Lori? Where's is she?"

Shane looked away when Rick backed up, a deep sigh escaping him as he pushed a hand through his hair. He made a point of keeping his gaze fixed over Rick's shoulder and his lips firmed into a straight line.

"Where's Carl? Come on, Shane... talk to me." Rick had a pleading tone in his voice as he reached for Shane, anchoring himself as he gripped his biceps. He looked up at the man that he trusted, searching for something in his shuttered expression, and unable to shut off his own thoughts whirling around screaming that his family was still missing.

"He's in the..." Shane flung his hand towards a tent just at the edge of a clearing, recognizing it as his own whenever he took his boy out in the woods. Shane looked uncomfortable, but it didn't even register to Rick who muttered to him, "Thank you. Thank you," before rushing over to the tent.

"Wait." Shane grabbed his forearm, getting him to stop before he could check in on his son. There was that guilty look to his face again, like he'd figured something out while Rick was gone and didn't know how to say it. The people around them seemed to fade away into the background as he stared at Shane and how he fidgeted and worried over his words. It was unlike him. "Lori ain't with you?"

Something buried deep within Rick cracked at the question and he could feel a cold wash fall upon him. He zeroed in on what Shane had just said to him- that Lori should have been with him, but she wasn't. She wasn't here. "Shane... what aren't you telling me?" Rick said, and its only a decibel above a whisper. He watched Shane rub a hand over his mouth, his other going to his hip as the things Shane needed to say seemed to hurt on its way out. "You need to tell me right now."

"She went back for you." Shane said finally and then stuttered as he tried to explain, broken up over how Rick shuddered and caved in on himself, "And- and- and I tried to go with her, Rick. Believe me, I did. But she wouldn't let me-"

"- No. Shane you let her go alone?-"

"- Listen to me, brother. It wasn't my- wasn't my intention, you know that. To leave her out there to fend for herself. She needed me to keep Carl safe and I did. She made me promise her, Rick- promise that I wouldn't go lookin' for her and leave Carl behind."

Rick's feet nearly gave out from under him. He stumbled towards a tree to keep balance, eyes downward and away from Shane, feeling the bubbling of blame that he wanted to pin the other man, but couldn't. He swallowed thickly, eyes reddened with the tears he refused to let fall, words choked up in his throat that needed to be said to the one person missing. "She went back to the hospital?" He croaked.

"Yeah. She had to make sure you were okay, but- Its been two months. That's all I know- that's it." Shane looked away, hands running harshly through his own hair in defeat. With a shake of his head he muttered, "Should a' been me. I should have been the one to go."

"God, Shane." His voice cracked. His hands come up to press the heel of his palms against his eyes until it hurt. There was so many things that needed to be said and fixed and now it looked like there will never be a chance. Now Lori was out there fending for herself, maybe even dead. They had been so selfish and angry before, it was funny how things worked when they were suddenly torn away from each other. Now his son was without his mother and his small pack was broken. He failed his family and protecting what was his.

Rick tried his best to swallow around a lump in his throat, ignoring how his eyes spilled a couple of tears that were heavy with regret and guilt. Shane murmured to him, shook his head and beat up over Rick's fall, squeezing at his shoulder and invading his space. Rick could only look at him for second before he rasped out, "Carl... how is he?"

"Missin' you. Missin' Lori. Boy never gives up, you know? Got a strong a kid."

"What do I say about his mom? If he brings her up?"

Shane sighed, the hand on Rick's shoulder coming up to cup his neck, "I don't know, man... I'll be right there." He held him there and made sure their eyes met. Rick latched onto what strength Shane was extending to him before patting his forearm and moving away.

Rick ducked under the opened flap of the tent, and saw his boy kneeling with a blonde little girl, looking over a couple of comic books Rick recognized getting him a month earlier, the same comic books that Lori threatened to throw away if Carl's grades suffered. He looked at his son, safe and whole, felt his heart swell with relief. His voice shook with emotion as he called the name of his pup. The kid startled, brown hair whipping around to show him matching blue eyes, then widened when he saw who it was in front of him.

"Dad!" Carl yelled and scrambled onto his feet to jump on his father. Rick soon had his arms full, laughing and teary eyed as he buried his face in his son's hair, breathing in his unmistakable scent. Carl nudged his head against his chest, puppy-like and searching, before he was looking up at his dad. "Where's mom? I don't... I can't find her on you."

Shane ushered the girl out of the tent, and she hurried to a gray haired woman after a final look at the father and son. At the lost look Rick sent him, Shane bent forward, "Hey, little man." He put his hand on the small shoulder, gaining his attention, "Thought I told you not to pull those out until after you do your school work. Lori'd have my hide if I let you fall behind. Now, did you finish?"

"No, but I want to talk to my dad." Carl said and looked up at Rick to see if it was okay. "I want to know where mom is."

"Well, that's the thing, Carl... Me an' your dad need to talk about that."

Carl's smile faltered and his transparent blue eyes shifted between both men. They could see the tears welling right over the surface, his small body tense and trembling before he was looking out the open tent. People were celebrating, but his mom wasn't here. "She's not..."

"Shh, shh, shh... Carl, she's alright. " Shane said and stood as tall as he could in the tent, trying to block Carl from looking outside, "She's okay. She's coming back."

Carl nodded quickly enough that the tears actually fell down his round cheeks. "You think so too, right, dad?"

"I..." don't know. Rick searched Carl's face, not wanting to lie to him, but also refused to make him worry. He pushed back straight, brown hair, "She's out there. She'll come back to us."

"Yeah, she will. She's the strongest human I know, which is sayin' somethin'. I know a lot of people." Shane said with a grin and Carl was smiling up at him, wet, ruddy cheeks pulled up high for a full grin. "Now why don't you go out and join Sophia with Carol... don't you whine at me now. Promise if ya finish your school work before tomorrow, we can wake bright and early and we'll take your dad out and teach you somethin' new."

"He's right, you need to study. I'm not goin' anywhere." Rick said and held Carl by his forearms, giving himself another chance to look the boy and up and down. From his knees, he looked straight at Carl and gave him a crooked, little grin, one that the boy returned with a sniffle.

"You promise?"

"I promise. I love you." He leaned down and kissed his son's exposed forehead, letting his lips linger as he heard his boy say the words back. He was given some privacy with his son, so Rick sat there for the few minutes with his boy in his arms, renewing a vow that he'd protect his son with his life.

It was a much later night when he decided to crawl out of his tent and sit by the small fire with everyone else. Food was being passed around to the small group that had been gone and a plate was even given to him by a graying woman with a young face. She had a timid smile as she handed the plate to Rick and a quiet voice when she answered him saying 'thank you'. She shuffled away just as silently and Rick watched her, piecing together what he saw and having them settle into place when she returned to a squat looking man who hissed at her and dragged her to the ground.

"That's Carol. She got a little girl, Sophia. She plays with your son." T-Dog said between bites, not even looking up. It prompted Rick to start eating too, who kept his eyes roaming. "Her husband is an asshole."

"Yeah, I figured." Rick muttered. He wanted to help, but it was years into his profession that taught him that you couldn't help those who didn't want any. Right now he could only watch from a distance, ready to step in if anything became violent. His eyes drifted over the group, landing on Shane who sat next to Andrea. He focused on them for a bit, smiling to himself as he watched his friend flirt casually. It was nice and with everyone calm, Rick could almost force himself into believing this as another camping trip with friends. Underneath the stars, the woods around them undisturbed, it was like the earth was at peace and that there weren't dead walking around, that there weren't people out there lost and desperate in between.

The silence between them stretched.

"You know, I'd be wary of Daryl when he comes back." T-Dog said suddenly, breaking Rick from wandering his eyes from face to face.

"Daryl?" Rick recalled T-Dog mentioning that name before. He blinked, scoring his memory of Dixon and came up blank. He didn't remember the crew he crowded himself with when he entered the station, didn't remember anyone that resembled the sharp, closed features of the tough brawler. Maybe he never showed up the few times Merle's crew came around, or maybe the younger Dixon was easy to miss in a crowd.

T-Dog sniffed and nodded. "Merle's brother. Hunters. Think you already know that." The other man set his fork down on his empty plate before setting them down by his feet, "He's gonna be pissed when he finds out Merle was left on that roof. Blame us." T-Dog snorted dryly, "His temper is legendary."

A wry smirk found its way to his lips. "We'll face it when it comes." He said this confidently, but he couldn't help feeling discomforted knowing there was a wolf hunter among them, around his son. His blue eyes scrolled over to his boy, still too young, too weak to present clearly, but Rick knew the stories of what happened to young Lycan pups found out in the open. His parents had made it clear when as he grew up as the first generation of his family to be registered upon the world has changed now, he still couldn't find himself trusting a man who hunted his kind for the sake of safety for humans. "How is he with..." Rick started, eyes still on Carl, maybe the only wolf child in the camp.

"The pups?" T-Dog asked and even nodded to Morales' family with the two children he had. Rick was surprised, haven't even noticed their scents, but breathing in now, the scent of wolf came upwind from their location. "Leaves 'em be. Ain't as bad as Merle, but still a pain the ass."

It didn't do much for the protectiveness he felt that slammed up like a wall.

"How're ya feelin'?"

"Hm?" The question caught Rick off guard. T-Dog had turned towards him, hand on his knee and widening his stance on his seat. He looked at Rick with concern, empathy, and suspicion. It made Rick sit back, felt his muscles tense unnervingly.

"How are you doin'?" T-Dog said more clearly. His words came out carefully, like he was unsure if he should even voice it, "You know, with you're mate missin'."

"My mate." Rick repeated and thoughts of Lori, and all his worry, and everything before that fell upon him hard at the mention of her. He'd just gotten a hold of himself separated from the group and with his son safe besides him, but it was a splash of ice cold water that his wife was still out there and in danger, if not dead. He didn't think he'd ever know. "Keepin' it together. I'll look for her."

"And leave your son?" T-Dog asked. "Because he ain't goin' out there-"

Something snapped within him, making Rick snarl, "He's not yours." T-Dog flinched under his intense and unwavering stare, caught under the ice of his blue eyes.

The other backed down in an instant and Rick stopped the slight baring of his teeth. Rick hadn't even noticed and he looked away, fingers twitching around his plate at being challenged so openly for one of his own. "Didn't mean it that way! I'm only sayin' its safer here, he's got protection here." He nodded over to the woman Morales was with and like she heard she was being talked about, looked their direction and gave them a nod back. Rick calmed at the sight of her, at knowing there was more like himself that had survived the Turn. T-Dog settled his eyes back on him. "There's more of us here, and we protect our own." He scrutinized Rick next, plate set down over his lap half done with his meal. He leaned in and whispered, "You've been on your suppressants?"

"Been a couple of days," Rick said.

T-Dog grunted and kicked out his feet. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an orange bottle, tossing four large pills into his palm. "Here. Ain't an alpha, but this should do it, right?"

Rick nodded and took the capsules in hand. "I got some in the bag I left in the city... if I can get back to it..."

"It's nothin'. If we live long enough to go feral, I'd rather deal with my own demons than deal with your alpha bullshit."

Rick swallowed down the pills dry, one by one. If he didn't find a new bottle tomorrow, he knew he would eat through the beta's subscription faster than they'd see coming. When T-Dog shook more into his palm, probably for Rick so he had some to take in the morning, Rick held his hand out and shook his head.

"Shouldn't skip so many days."

"Ain't going to let you go through the withdrawals on my behalf."

T-Dog took a minute to watch him. Rick tried to not let it show how it bothered him to be stared at and it took a lot of self-convincing that this wasn't a call of dominance. The skin on the back of his neck prickled, nose flaring, eyes raising to meet those soft browns. This was simply one man concerned for another. It suddenly felt too long since he's been in the presence of another wolf.

–

The small camp at the quarry was a flurry of activity by the time the sun hung high in the sky of midday. The people had come into a routine that worked, landing the women to do a lot of the 'house' hold chores while the men went out and checked the perimeters, snares, and for any food they could possibly gather for the night. Rick hadn't been given a job just yet, made to hang back with Shane and flag him as he trudged about. They talked together like time hadn't even passed, Shane laughing and joking about his conquests and how much he missed that, how he could have been a better man, but hell, did he have fun.

It made Rick laugh, made him throw a few jabs Shane's direction in jest, and Shane took it all in good humor, throwing a few back of his own. Their conversation soon moved to Carl and how the boy was doing. It made Rick smile that Carl was able to befriend the shy little girl and bring her out of her shell, seeing a lot of his mother in him with how he so easily distracted her from her terrors. After Rick and Shane took Carl out to the quarry to try and catch some frogs, an expedition that got all three of them soaked to the bone, Carl had been dropped off to get dry under the sun as he chatted with Sophia.

That was hours ago and both Rick and Shane found themselves strolling back from the river when the children they thought they left secure in the camp came running out of the woods, screaming for help. At the sound of Carl's voice, Rick was running and scooping the boy into his arms, immediately checking for injury and breathing in for the scent of blood. His skin had grown cold at his boy's panic. He couldn't hear much other than Carl's and Sophia's whimpering.

"Come on, man." Shane said, patting his shoulder casually. Carl was passed over to Carol who opened her arm and let his son relax in her comfort so he could follow after the other man, and he turned away so they wouldn't have to see the primal sternness in his face as he marched behind Shane.

"What is it?" Rick pushed himself to the front, seeing that already Dale and Morales stood watch over the snarling, feasting carcass of a dead man over its prey. Rick's face pulled into a sick scowl at the thing and he took the offered shovel before stepping around it and dealing the first strike. The decaying face twisted away, a crack of teeth and bone making Rick flinch. Shane joined in, and then the rest, making sure the walker didn't get up again. The ground underneath them became dark and sticky with walker blood, the stench of it making them all grimace and make noises of disgust.

"That's the first one we've seen that's come this close to the camp." Dale said, still out of breath. "Maybe we should move."

Shane shook his head, "No, we shouldn't. It took us weeks to get us to feel this safe and set our borders."

"It doesn't look like we're very much safe here now, does it?" Dale pressed. "More can be headed this way."

Shane looked at Rick, lips pressed in a tight line as he searched him silently for his opinion. If he looked at what they had now, Rick could easily admit that their camp was good for what's been happening so far. Miles away from the city, and from what Rick understood, hadn't been bothered the couple of months they've all sought refuge here, with water that can easily be boiled down into something drinkable and a route to and from Atlanta so they could get food, he could understand why Shane didn't want to leave. The area had been secured, and for the most part, hadn't had a walker come past the lines of strung up cans that alerted them if there was a breach. Maybe this lone walker was the only one for miles. Maybe they were safe all along.

Maybe there were more coming their way.

"Well..." Rick looked at the creature at his feet, still hissing, still very much alive in its own sense. It didn't have the strength to pick itself back up and simply clacked its teeth at them, arms reaching out uselessly. Rick shook his head and looked between them both, "I think we should bring this information back to camp."

"We're safe here, Rick-"

"Didn't say we aren't. But Dale is right to worry, and the others should know." He set his foot down on the dry chest of the walker, hearing bones crunch easily, not minding the way it grasped tightly to his leg and writhed on his back, trying to find a piece of him to chew into. Rick ignored the grunt of disgust coming from Shane's direction, just catching the way the other man turned away and rub his hands through his dark hair. Ignoring the disapproval, Rick raised his ax high before letting it fall over it's cranium, ending its life swiftly.

There was an explosion of voices and opinions the moment Rick opened up to the group and told them of what they found. They were all already shaken up from the possible threat, that something could be so close to their borders and they all hadn't even known. Though they were protecting themselves by setting up cans for an early warning, it all became very real how little that could protect them all, that they could all remain completely unaware.

Amy was the first to raise her voice to Rick, her eyes showing true fear under her furrowed brows. She stuttered as she said, "What if- what if they surround us? Just... just a crowd of them, just on our borders, building up until we can't handle them anymore?"

Rick shifted his stance, hands on his hips as he sighed. His head felt dull and full with the barrage of noises and emotion going on around him, but he still managed to find his sense of self in it all. His thoughts were harder to pull together, but he managed, "I can't promise nothin' that won't happen, but we can prevent it as much as we can."

"Now, calm down, Amy, it won't come to that- that is just a scenario if we don't keep our guard up, if we get too comfortable." Shane butted in. And they have been. Living in their secluded camp, its almost like they've forgotten that there was that threat hanging over their heads. Andrea came around, wrapping her arms around her sister comfortingly. Shane did his best with words, "We'll tighten our rounds and no one goes off alone now."

"And how long will we live like that?" Dale pushed his own opinion on the matter forward, standing into the circle the officers were standing in. He played the devil's advocate, saying things no one wanted to hear and wanted to bring up. Rick could respect him for that, unlike Shane he seemed to bristle at the other, like he was angry that the man was scaring them all. "We can't keep that up forever, we'll burn ourselves out."

Another wave of noise, a burst of anger and fear that made Rick have to shut his eyes and attempt to block it all out. Rick turned around and pressed the heels of his palms over his eyes, victim to this sharp twist of impatience at the discord. It only seemed to be getting louder, more distracting, the longer he allowed this to happen. "Quiet!" He barked and rounded his sharp eyes over the group. "Calm down for just a few minutes. One. There was one. Not five. Not twenty."

The silence was a reprieve. Rick rubbed a hand over his stubble and then walked off to find a place to sit. He could almost hear the few afraid of him murmur between each other, bringing up this fabled lack of control simply because something else ran through his veins that didn't make him like them. He didn't know what they wanted, and hell, he didn't think they even know what they wanted, and it simply started to look like a hound chasing his tail at this point.

"I'm not sayin' one way or the other, but it looks like we got enough time that we don't need to be makin' any rash decisions."

"We understand, Rick. Here, why don't you just... cool off. Have some water." Jacqui stepped forward in an act of bravery the Lycan nearly snorted at, holding out the bottle in a steady hand. She tilted her head down and her dark gaze was unwavering, like this was some sort of peace offering. Rick grabbed it before they all get the wrong idea and think he refused to back down. Shane took advantage of everyone united attention, and followed Rick's lead, prompting that they should take the night. T-Dog met his eyes right behind, and he noticed the shake of his head. Rick resisted the urge to sigh.

–

Carol took it upon herself to teach Carl in Lori's stead. Rick sat on an empty cooler next to the older woman, listening in as she instructed basic algebra to the children. The little brown head of his son was bent over a book next to this wavy blonde, both with faces of concentration. It was one of the only bits and pieces of normalcy they all held onto, that despite them all picking up and leaving their homes and jobs and responsibilities, there was still this dedication to make sure the kids got some form of education. Maybe it was from holding on to the silly hope that things will get better again, but for now, it was a great distraction.

Rick had actually gotten down at one point, pencil in hand and eraser tip down, pointing to Sophia a trick that hadn't worked for Carl while learning division that she took up like second nature, grinning goofily as she got the right answer each time while Carl pouted and continued on with the long way, having given up on that long ago. He reached over and scratched the dark head, getting those straight locks to tangle and mess while the boy laughed and kicked out, screaming at his dad to leave them alone.

Then someone new turned up to the camp. Shane's voice was loud and recognizable, following the fast shuffle of the other man's feet as he came to the center of the camp. He heard the stranger call out for Merle, his narrow eyes darting over to a single tent that had been unoccupied since the night before, and then to turn around and glare at Shane with his ever present scowl.

"Where the hell is he? Huh?" Daryl asked defensively while the line of squirrels swung behind him. Rick approached them at a safe distance, hand on the gun at his hip. "You said you had somethin' to tell me? What's so damn important?"

"No, let me." Rick said before Shane could say anything and soon he was under the icy stare of the other man. Rick gave him a once over, took in the dirty clothes and smudged face, the blond hair cut close to keep it out of his eyes. He said to Shane, "You weren't there. It was my fault."

The blond scoffed, Daryl, Rick remembered. "Your fault? And who are you?"

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes..." The man repeated and stepped up in his space. "I know you. Literal wolf in sheep's clothing." He was practically thrumming for a fight. "You got something you'd like to say to me?"

Rick held his hand out towards Shane to keep him back, but the other hovered just in case. Rick let go his loose hold on his gun, hoping to go for non-threatening. The redneck looked like he had a trigger-finger on his temper, and at this moment he just wanted to do as much as he could to make sure he never pulled. "You're brother, Merle? We had a few complications with him and he's still back there in Atlanta."

Something visibly cracked in Daryl's harsh demeanor, the furrow of his brow tensing in a different fashion and blinking back disbelief. He rounded lost eyes at the crowd, noticed how they all came around them and being put under the spotlight had him curling in towards himself. Different, but he still looked like an animal ready to bite. "He dead?" He asked, and his voice came out gruff and quiet. He even backed off a few steps and the hold he had on the line of squirrels tightened. Rick was suddenly reminded of young children lost or abandoned in a park, or of a puppy that's been kicked one too many times.

"When we left him? No."

Those sharp blues darted back towards him and the anger flooded back into Daryl's face. "You just left him?" He roared and the next thing Rick knew, the man was throwing his catch at him. He managed to duck it in time, but not fast enough to see the underlying intent, catching the shorter man with a grunt as he crashed into his stomach. His shoulder knocked into his chest painfully and he was shoved back with his weight.

Shane grabbed Daryl by the arm and managed to throw him to the ground. As Rick shook the world back into place, he saw the hunter pull out his knife. "Shane!" Rick called and the other was fast to grab the man crouched on the ground, twisting his arm back in an awkward position until he dropped his weapon. A thick arm went around his neck and the man was taken to his knees.

"Shh, calm down, man." Shane murmured to him like he was calming a beast.

"Chokehold's illegal- Get the fuck off me!"

"You can file a complaint," Shane wisecracked.

"Fuck you." Daryl hissed and stared up at Rick under his brows. "Should of known somethin' was up. Smelled wet dog a mile away! You're all- you're all the same! Merle- " – a sob, "You- you cuff him, or somethin'? Trapped him?" His breath came out in heavy sobs, teeth gritted as he worked himself up. Rick could only give him a curt nod and watched the pieces snap into place. Daryl struggled even more, "You asshole! You left him there to die!" He dug his elbow into Shane's stomach with a growl, "Let go of me!" He audibly choked as Shane tightened his grip against his neck, and both of Daryl's dirty hands held on tight to the forearm cutting out his air supply.

"Let him go." Rick demanded and met Shane's eyes over the redneck, giving him a nod to let him know things are in control again. Daryl still had this look of distress to him, whimpers pushing through his thin lips with ever gulp of air he took in and released once Shane let him out of his hold. He kept himself close to the ground, glaring up at Rick as Shane backed away and came to his side.

Shane murmured to him, "He was going to kill you."

"If I didn't have a son to take care of, I might of let him." Rick got down on Daryl's level, peering at the hunter and meeting him right in the middle. "Morales left him unconscious on a roof with the door padlocked shut. For all we know he might not be alive, but I'm saying there's a chance."

"A chance?" Daryl rasped and spat at the space between them. "Then I'll take it. I'm gonna get my brother. The hell is he?"

"You won't do it alone." Rick said and stood up to his full height. He watched as Daryl struggled to his feet and noticed the easy way he squared his shoulders and squinted his eyes at him him in challenge. "It was my fault. I'll go with you."

Daryl huffed and a grimace took to his features. "I don't need no backwards hound to find my damn brother!"

"Well, I don't care if you need me, or not. You're not going back to the city alone."

"I'll take the fuckin' China kid with me, then!" Daryl growled. "You're not coming with me." With that, Daryl was turning around and heading back to his tent, his movement tight with anger.

Rick sighed heavily while Shane hung over his shoulder. "You are going. Aren't you?"

Rick took a second to think about it, then nodded. "I owe it to him."

Shane whistled with a shake of his head.