A/N: Alright, here it is – the final installment! Thank you to the following for reviewing the previous chapter (I've never gotten so many!): DarylDixon'sLover, Guest, mrsreedus69, rocknrollprincess131, An Amber Pen, WishfulThinker66, m0nalisat0ldalie88, Billy, this moment is stardust, wabi-sabi1090, my-forgotten-rose, lollipop2404, Prettyprincess45, and Straight Edge Queen. I have to say this, though – if I receive a guest review that isn't polite/constructive and is just downright rude, I will delete it. Don't waste your time and mine.

My song choice for this chapter is 'Keep Falling' by Fink. I hope you enjoy it!

ONE YEAR LATER

"I miss him," Michonne said as she stared at the wooden cross before her.

Lindsey frowned and glanced at the dark-haired woman to offer an empathetic smile. "I do, too. He could be pretty thick-headed sometimes, but he was a good man."

The two women took in the rows of graves, which had tripled the year before when Luc and his men attacked the island and left behind complete carnage. She was well aware of the weight of her Glock where it rested at her hip – another reminder of how things had changed. After that horrible day, they needed to keep their guard up. She'd been hesitant to take back her cherished handgun, especially after learning that it had been used to kill Abraham, but it was just a weapon. Luc had killed him, and guns were in short supply. Putting the weapon away wouldn't bring back their fallen brother.

"At least he, Rosita, Zoey and Bill are all together now," she said. Her comment was meant to be light but she felt herself become sadder at the thought. With a half-smile, she added, "I especially miss his red hair. He always brightened up a room – even when he didn't want to."

Michonne flashed her white smile as they stared at Abraham's grave marker.

Feeling less gloomy now, Lindsey walked over to a bush blooming with fragrant, white flowers and snapped two off at the stem. She returned to the last row of crosses and placed one in front of Rosita's and the other at the foot of Zoey's.

After releasing the rest of her sadness in the form of a sigh, she turned to the two little girls playing under a shaded grove of palm trees.

"Judy, Zoey, time to go…"

The three-year-old and one-year-old stopped what they were doing and ran over to her, their sundresses flowing in the gentle breeze.

"We going to the beach now, Mama?" Judith asked, her blue eyes bright with hope.

Lindsey smiled as she gave them the answer they'd been awaiting. "Yes, we just need to find your father and brother, and then we'll go."

Judith cheered, and Zoey, sensing her sister's excitement, began to jump up and down while clapping her chubby little hands.

Michonne and Lindsey laughed at the celebration taking place before them. The two girls took off down the trail and the women followed, walking quickly to keep pace.

"You're welcome to come with us if you'd like – Daryl, too. How is he anyway? I've hardly seen him around lately," Lindsey said.

"He's been taking the boat out every day to train that new group from North Naples. Got a lot of young guys to help out now – it definitely makes fishing easier. He's been saying to me, 'I ain't gettin' any younger!'" Michonne said, mimicking Daryl's rough voice.

Lindsey could totally picture the man saying that. She was thankful for every moment they all had together – they'd come so close to losing him the year before. After giving birth to Zoey and the odd exchange with Daryl, Rick had disappeared. She'd gone out of her head with worry, only to find out later that the hunter had been bit by a walker – which explained his strange behavior. Rick had dragged him to the clinic, where they'd found Doctor Stevens in the bunker (with Maggie, her family and Eugene) and administered the cure. Daryl hadn't wanted it but was too weak to fight them off at that point.

When he was better and his wound had healed, he'd been somewhat bitter toward Rick – not that he'd wanted to die, but mostly he'd wanted to save the cure for someone else and go out on his own terms. Glenn had responded with something like, "We'd much rather have you pissed off at us and alive, than liking us and dead." Rick agreed. Daryl grumbled.

Months passed and Daryl began to warm up, finally letting go of it altogether – he simply loved Rick too much – or that was what Lindsey told herself, she thought with a smirk.

As they neared the clinic, Michonne took an adjacent path, saying that she'd probably see them later. Lindsey gave the woman a quick wave and jogged after the wild toddlers. She caught up to them when the clinic came into view, along with Rick, Carl and Eugene.

"Daddy!" Judith squealed, running up to the bearded man.

Rick looked like he was describing something to Eugene, but stopped when he heard his daughter's excited voice. His focused expression broke and a wide smile peeked out from under his substantial facial hair as he bent over and picked up the girl.

"Hey, beautiful."

Zoey eventually caught up and stood at her father's feet, her large brown eyes shining up at him.

"Da-da…" she babbled, hugging his sturdy leg with her petite arms.

"Hey," he said, his smile growing. "Come here." He secured Judith against his hip and groaned as he strained to pick up Zoey in his opposite arm. "You're both getting so big! You'll have to start carrying me around soon."

"Nooo!" Judith said, laughing as if the idea was preposterous.

As Rick chuckled, Lindsey glanced at the other men.

"How's it coming? Do you think it's going to work?" she asked, referring to the small makeshift windmill behind them.

Eugene nodded. "Wind turbines are not as complicated as many people might think. They have a pretty basic structure. Once we get a couple of these going we may be able to do away with the clinic's gas-operated electricity altogether."

"That's awesome. You taking notes, Carl?" Lindsey asked the teenage boy.

"Don't have to! Eugene's been talking me through it. I set up all of the wiring today," he said proudly.

Lindsey gave him an impressed nod. "Very cool. Sounds like you've found your calling."

Before the topic could be discussed any further, Judith hung her face in front of Rick's, forcing him to look at her.

"We going to the beach now, Daddy? Please, please, please…"

"Oookayyy," the man conceded. "Can we finish this tomorrow, Eugene?"

"Sure thing, boss."

After stopping at home to change and get their bags, the family of five strode down to the beach. Not a cloud hung in the sky, rendering the summer sun extra hot, but a pleasant sea breeze made it feel just right.

When they reached the sandy dunes, Rick and Lindsey paused to remove their shoes. Carl stayed with his sisters and helped find a good place for their blankets. He wound up choosing a spot between the water and the tree line. They also happened to be by Glenn, Maggie and Shawn, who were building an epic sand castle.

As Carl spread out on his Ron Jon towel with a tattered comic, Lindsey unfolded a plaid blanket and laid it on the scorching sand. She greeted the other family with a warm smile and watched the girls immediately join Shawn in his wet sand adventure. Rick joined Lindsey on the blanket and put his arm around her in a comfortable gesture of affection.

"Hey, do you remember that day on the way to New Canaan when we stopped at the beach and I asked if you thought everyday could be like that?" she asked out of the blue.

"I do," Rick replied.

She directed a look at him and her soft eyes said everything.

We made it.

Rick acknowledged her thought with a kiss, his mouth brushing against her parted lips in an unhurried fashion, as if they had all the time in the world.

After parting, Lindsey leaned into his chest and he pressed another kiss to the top of her head.

"Do you think the world is going to change?" she whispered.

"That remains to be seen, but what we have here…it's enough for me." He let his gaze wander over the carefree group of children as they dug their shovels into the soggy ground. At the same time, Daryl and Michonne crested the hill and made their way toward the group. Both adults were wearing humored expressions, as if they'd just shared a joke. Rick took in the beautiful scenery surrounding his beautiful family and said, "It's enough."

Lindsey admired the same sight and smiled as she melted into her husband's embrace.

"It is."

A/N: Well, that is it! (You honestly didn't think I'd kill Daryl off, did you? I love that man!) I cannot thank you guys enough for taking this journey with me and for loving Rindsey as much as you have. I've learned so much from this experience and it will always be a special part of my life. If you've enjoyed reading this week-to-week, please leave me a line or two – especially if you haven't left a review in the past. It would mean the world to me. :)

I also want to extend a huge thank you to Caren (WishfulThinker66) for being my unofficial Beta reader, soundboard, backup editor, emotional outlet (haha), and friend. Thank you for everything! Seriously. Thank you.

At this point, I will be going back and editing earlier chapters, but a part of me still doesn't want to let go of this story. I've been playing with the idea of starting a casual series of one-shots called 'Solace – Deleted Scenes,' featuring parts from before, during and after the story that you didn't see. (Requests will be accepted, too!) If this interests any of you, let me know and/or add me to your Followed Authors list. Also, please be on the lookout for a cameo from Lindsey and Jared in Chapter 21 of rocknrollprincess131's story 'Stubborn Love.' Thanks for that, girl!

So one more time, thank you to my readers for being so awesome! Xoxo

~Ariel aka bluecrush611