On their way into Atlanta, Rick makes every effort to make some kind of meaningful eye contact with Daryl. But Daryl tries just as hard to keep his eyes away from Rick's. He is confused and feels betrayed and can't bare to look at the man.

When they make it to the rooftop they find that only Merle's severed hand remains.

Daryl loses it.

He can't catch a break. Merle is missing. He might already be dead from blood loss or eaten by walkers.

Rick, who he thought he could be developing feelings for, is part of the reason Merle was left behind in the first place and it turns out the man has a wife and son.

Daryl is still running on fumes after being in the woods all night and getting almost no sleep. It's all too much to bear. Emotionally and physically.

It all comes out in blood curdling screams of "No! Noo! No!"

Rick's heart breaks. He's failed Daryl twice now and longs to console him.

Rick wants to explain to Daryl about Lori. To tell him that the relationship was over in his mind before he met Daryl. That he wishes he had explained everything before they kissed so that Daryl would have had the choice to wait until after Rick had ended things with Lori.

Rick wants to apologize to Daryl for leaving Merle on the roof. To beg for forgiveness and make Daryl understand that he wishes he could change the past and give Daryl his brother.

But Rick can't do anything right now. Can't say anything he wants to say. Not in front of Glenn and T-Dog.

Daryl is distraught. He wants to make his pain stop. But he'll settle for hurting everyone and everything.

Daryl raises his crossbow and points it at T-Dog.

Rick whips his gun out of its holster and places it right in front of Daryl's face and the three men stand in this triangle for a few moments.

Rick doesn't really know what Daryl is capable of and he has to stop him before he does something he will regret.

From Rick's experience being a police officer, he knows sometimes people need the fear of a threat on their own life in order to stop threatening someone else.

"I won't hesitate", Rick states in an authoritative but soothing voice. "I don't care if every walker in the city hears it."

Daryl feels the same hypnotizing feeling that he got the last time Rick had to talk him down from something. It's comforting. Like he really believes Rick cares.

He calms right down, chokes back his tears and lowers his weapon.

Daryl shakes his head to himself.

No, this is not T-Dog's fault, he thinks.

"You… you got a do-rag or somthin'?" He asks T-Dog as if nothing's happened.

T-Dog looks at Daryl with disbelief but then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a rag.

Daryl takes the rag calmly and kneels in front of his brother's bloody hand. He caringly places the hand into the rag, and wraps it up like a gift.

"I guess the saw-blade was too dull for the hand-cuffs," he says.

Then he motions to Glenn to turn around and he puts the hand safely into Glenn's backpack.

A few moments pass as the four men collect their thoughts.

"There's a bag of guns and ammo on the street," Rick offers. "I dropped it before Glenn saved me yesterday."

"oh yeah, I forgot about that!" Glenn says.

"Good stuff?" asks T-Dogg.

"I got it from the police station ammunition locker," Rick answers. "So we'll find Merle and grab the guns along the way or after."

The men nod in agreement.

Before they move on, Rick sees this as the closest thing to an opportunity he's had since leaving camp, to get Daryl alone for a conversation and he decides to take it.

"Glenn, T-Dog, would you two mind going on ahead downstairs? I'd like to talk to Daryl alone"

Daryl panics for a moment. He's not ready to hear what Rick has to say to him and he doesn't know if he ever will be.

"We don't have time for talkin'. C'mon let's go", Daryl demands. He glares at Rick and it's the first time he's really looked into the man's eyes since finding out that Rick has a wife.

For a moment Daryl falters and he wants to hear what Rick has to say. He feels himself hope for words that will make everything better. Words that will erase all the anguish he's felt in the last day and night.

"It'll only take a few minutes, T-Dog and Glenn can clear the stairwell ahead of us and we'll be right behind them," Rick says, looking at Daryl with sincere eyes.

"Well go on then," Daryl says, waving Glenn and T-Dog towards the door to the roof.

The two men head through the door without protest, leaving Rick and Daryl alone.

Daryl folds his arms and turns his body half away from Rick and looks into the distance at the skyline.

Rick takes a couple deep breaths and gathers his thoughts together as he waits until he's sure Glenn and T-Dog are gone and then begins cautiously.

"Daryl… I know this looks bad, but Merle is out there. He couldn't have gotten far. He may even be still in this building. So we'll keep looking and we'll find him."

Daryl looks away from the Atlanta buildings, down at the ground and then side-eyes Rick.

Squinting his eyes at Rick, he allows a moment of silence to pass and then, with each word dripping with as much sarcasm as Daryl can muster, he says, "Well we should hurry so you can get back to your wife."

The comment is meant to sting Rick. And it does.

Rick knows he deserves it. And he feels nauseous. He's really made a mess of things.

"Let me explain..." Rick starts, but Daryl doesn't let him.

"Nothin' to explain," Daryl says, turning around to face Rick and shrugging his whole body nonchalantly. "I did what I did in my tent, and you didn't stop me, but you have a wife and a kid. It's no big deal. We can just pretend it never happened."

That's the last thing Rick wants.

Daryl is trying so hard to seem casual and uncaring, but inside he is so mad, so upset, it takes all of his stubborn will-power not to shout at Rick.

"You don't understand..." Rick tries again, "I swear! I'm not in love with Lori. I'd already stopped having feelings for her long before you and I met…" Rick gets choked up and tries to contain himself. "…Jus' the timin' was bad is all."

"Don't you get it?!" Daryl yells, pointing a hand at Rick, "It didn't mean anything to me! It was just a one-time thing! I don't even know why I…"

Daryl's voice begins to falter because the lies that he is saying are so far from the truth that it hurts to say them. But he has to do this. He has to push Rick away. He can't fall for someone who's married.

"… I don't even know why I kissed you! It meant nothing!"

Rick can't believe what he's hearing. He thought all Daryl needed was an explanation and then they could move forward. He hadn't even considered that the kiss didn't mean anything.

As gutted as he feels, Rick can't argue. He can't make Daryl have feelings for him.

"I guess we shouldn't keep Glenn and T-Dog waiting," Rick says softly.

"Right", Daryl responds flatly.

The two men look at each other for a few moments.

Rick wants to ask Daryl if he's sure. He wants to beg Daryl to say it isn't true. He wants to ask him how he could kiss him like that in the tent back at camp and it mean nothing. When it meant so very much to Rick.

Daryl wants to break down. He wants to hold Rick and tell him none of what he just said is true and that the kiss meant Everything! That from the moment he saw him in the woods he knew he felt something.

But neither man speaks. Daryl walks past Rick and makes his way towards the door and Rick follows. And they head down in silence to meet up with Glenn and T-Dog. Only looking at each other to confirm a hall is safe or to nod in the direction of a near-by walker before one of them kills it.