Hope waited anxiously as Daryl, Rick, Carl and T-Dog scouted the empty house. She waited with Glenn and Maggie for the signal that it was safe to go in through the back door. From there she would search out what supplies she could. Sure enough moments later Carl tapped on the window. Glenn led the way into the house, Hope brought up the rear. They split up to cover more ground. Hope went into the parlor and searched through the bookcases just in case, a few houses back she'd gotten lucky and found a book on natural childbirth and parenting. Upstairs she heard Daryl's familiar whistle and allowed the tension in her shoulders to ease.

She quickly walked up the stairs and went into one of the bedrooms. Cautiously she opened the door and looked inside. She looked behind the door and when she found nothing she quickly began to look around the room. Hope sighed in frustration when she found nothing. Running a hand through her hair she tossed the empty box she had picked up to the side. Hope froze when she heard a thud. Looking up she heard it again coming from the closet. Hope stood up slowly and gripped her axe in her hand. Stepping carefully she walked to the closet door and held the doorknob. Taking a deep breath she opened the door. A walker turned around and snarled at her. Hope swung her axe, the blow connected with the walker's forehead stopping it in its tracks. Hope grunted as she pulled her weapon from the walker's skull. She made a noise of disgust as she wiped her axe on the walker's clothes. Glancing briefly around the closet Hope grabbed a sweater that seemed to be her size. Downstairs Rick whistled to Lori and the others that it was safe to come inside.

The group was silent as they set down their things. Once, what seemed like a lifetime ago Hope had found silence comforting, now it was a painful reminder of how grim their circumstances were. There wasn't much to talk about anymore. Not that they could if there was, sound attracted walkers.

Hope helped Lori lower herself to the ground. The woman was heavily pregnant and due any day now. Hope bit her lip nervously, when Lori went into labor she would be expected to help Hershel deliver the baby. She wasn't sure she was ready for it, hell she wasn't sure Lori was ready for it. She'd been having some anxiety about it and shared her fears with Hershel. Hershel assured both women that when the time came, they would all be ready and the baby would be fine. Not that it mattered if they were ready, she mused. The baby was coming whether they were ready or not.

Daryl walked into the parlor plucking what seemed to be an owl. Hope tried not to show how grossed out she was. Since the turn Hope had eaten a lot of things she was sure she wouldn't have before. Daryl assured her that one day she would get used to it. Apparently that day wasn't today. Hope sat next to him and watched with morbid fascination as he plucked out its feathers. Daryl glanced at her before pretending to throw the bird at her. Hope squeaked and ducked her head. Daryl snorted and went back to plucking the owl. Hope lightly punched his arm.

Carl walked into the parlor holding a can of something. He opened it using a can opener from one of the bags and Hope could see that it was dog food. The group watched as Carl opened the can, no one said anything. They all felt the pains of hunger, they all knew what it felt like to eat but never feel full. Had it really come to this? Rick turned around and watched Carl. Angrily he took the can from Carl and threw it across the room. Hope flinched as the can hit the fire place. Carl stared down at the floor; Hope reached across and squeezed his hand. The gesture brought a small smile onto his face.

T-Dog made a small noise of warning as he jerked his head towards the window. Hope craned her neck to peer out of the window and saw walkers approaching the house. Hope's stomach tightened. While the presence of walkers no longer filled her with the cold dread it once did, anxiety still ran through her all the same.

Everyone moved quickly as they left through the back door. They had gathered all the supplies they could from this house and the homes around it. The process was quick and efficient, perfected over the winter months.

They packed the cars quickly and drove off. Hope looked back to see the group of walkers trailing in their wake. The car pulled to a stop after driving for a few miles. Glenn pulled out the map and set it on the hood of his car. Carl and Beth stood watch as everyone else poured over the maps looking for their next destination.

"There's nowhere left to go," T-Dog said.

"When this herd meets up with this one we'll be cut off," Maggie pointed to two red marks on the map. "We'll never make it south."

"What'd you say; it was about a hundred and fifty head?" Daryl asked Glenn, leaning on the hood.

"That was last week; it could be twice that by now."

"This river could have delayed them; we might have a shot to tear right through this." Hershel suggested.

"Yeah but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way." T-Dog pointed out.

"So we're blocked." Maggie said.

Hope tuned out the rest of the conversation, content to let the others decide which direction they should go in. She walked over to Lori, who had stayed in the car. "How are you feeling?"

"I've had better days."

"Yeah," Hope motioned to her protruding belly. "May I?"

"Sure."

Hope felt around the stomach the way Hershel had taught her. She nodded to herself, nothing seemed wrong. Without an ultrasound machine it was difficult to tell but so far the pregnancy had gone well.

Lori sighed and closed her eyes. Hope looked down. She knew how difficult this pregnancy was for Lori. It wasn't because of the walkers either. Rick and Carl barely spoke to her and when they did betrayal laced every word. Hope took Lori's hand. "Here, feel this. That's the head."

Lori let Hope guide her hand around her stomach, showing her where each part of her baby was. She appreciated the gesture. It seemed that only Hope and Carol had a kind word for her nowadays. Everyone else treated her like she had the plague or was a nuisance. Worst of all, Lori missed her family. She wasn't sure she would ever get them back. It hurt so much to have them so close, yet to her they were miles away. Lori blinked back tears. "Damn hormones," she said wiping them away.

Hope smiled sadly, "If you ever need me, I'm right here. For anything."

Lori gripped the younger woman's hand. "Thank you. Thank you so much for everything you've done."

"It's what we do."

"Come on!"

Hope started at Rick's voice. Alarmed, she looked around for any sign of danger. Lori gripped her hand tight. Seeing none, she patted Lori's hand. "I'm gonna see what's going on."

Lori nodded and released her hand.

"What's going on?" Hope asked, walking towards Rick.

"There's a prison up ahead."

"A prison?" Maggie asked. "So what?"

"I think we should check it out."

"Want me and Glenn to do a run?"

"No, we stay together. We'll check it out, see if it's worth taking a look at. Let's move."

Everyone began to pack up things and get into the cars, no one questioned Rick's decision. No one had for a long time.

Hope looked around warily as Daryl clipped the fence. There were walkers everywhere, the sound of the snarls echoing across the empty yard. Glenn held one against the fence with his shovel as Maggie smashed its head with her hammer. Daryl went through the hole he'd made and Glenn followed him. Hope squeezed through the hole in the fence after Lori. T-Dog was the last to come in before Glenn began to mend the fence with some wire.

Daryl led the way through walkway separating the outside world from the prison. Walkers crowded the fence, drawn in by the scent of warm flesh. They reached the end of the walkway and Rick dropped the bag of weapons. Hope set down her medical bag.

"It's perfect," Rick said. "If we seal that gate and prevent more from coming in, we can clear this field out by nightfall."

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked.

"I'll do it, you guys cover me." Glenn volunteered.

"No," Maggie told him. "Suicide run."

"I'm the fastest."

"No," Rick disagreed. "You and Maggie are going to draw as many of them over there, pop em' through the fence. Daryl go back to the other tower. Carol you've become a pretty good shot take your time we don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel you and Carl take this tower. I'll run for the gate."

"You shouldn't go alone," Hope protested. "I'll go with you."

"No."

"Yes," Hope crossed her arms. "If you get swarmed you're going to need back up. No one is going to be able to reach you in time from here."

Rick shook his head. "Fine, but I'll take point. If I go down, don't be a hero get the hell out of there."

Hope nodded. "Understood, same goes for you."

Rick nodded.

Daryl grunted at her.

The others began to draw the walkers away. Lori held the gate and at Rick's signal she opened it. Rick ran, Hope right behind him. They jogged up the winding path to the gate, killing any walkers in their way. Hope stopped abruptly as walker fell right in front of her, an arrow protruding from its skull. She looked up at Daryl in the tower. He gave her a small salute. Hope shook her head with a smile.

They reached the fence and Rick kicked a walker that tried to go through. Hope helped him slide the gate closed. Rick used two large carabiners to hook the gate to the adjacent fence. Meanwhile, Hope shot any walkers that got too close. Rick opened the door to the tower that was closest to them and shot a walker that was in the doorway. Hope closed the door behind her, seconds before four walkers began to pound on it. Rick shot two more walkers that were on the stairs. They reached the balcony.

"Light it up!" Daryl yelled.

Everyone pulled out their guns and began to fire on the walkers in the yard. Rick looked over and smiled at Hope. Hope smiled back, for the first time in a long time Hope could see a light at the end of the tunnel. A few minutes later the final shot rang through the yard as Rick took down the last walker. He patted Hope on the shoulder and walked back downstairs. Hope took one last look at the yard before following him.

The sun set and the group sat down for dinner. Rick walked the fence while Daryl held watch at the entrance. On Rick's third time around Hope went to talk to him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She said as she approached him.

Rick didn't turn at the sound of Hope's voice. "I was wondering when you'd turn up."

"Just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine."

Hope stared at the walkers growling just a few feet away, the thin metal fence the only barrier between her and them.

"I want to take the prison."

"Do you think we can do it?"

"I know we can, we have to." Rick looked at her. "We can fortify this place, secure it, make it a home. This is what I've been searching for. We can't keep running from place to place. We have to start thinking about our future. We need a place we can hunker down. There should be food, medical supplies, and weapons. Everything we need is right inside this prison."

Hope crossed her arms against the night chill. "We just have to get in first."

"We will."

That night Hope tossed and turned. She couldn't seem to get comfortable. Frustrated she sat up and ran a hand through her hair. Quietly she stood and wound her way through the sleeping bodies. Maybe a walk would calm her restless mind. Grabbing her axe from the pile of weapons, she walked aimlessly through the yard. Heading towards the overturned bus that now served as a blockade she climbed up and sat on it. She folded her knees and rested her head on them. The axe lay beside her.

"Hey."

Hope looked back and saw Daryl climbing up.

He took a seat next to her. "Can't sleep?"

Hope shook her head. "Did I wake you?"

"I'm a light sleeper."

"Sorry."

"It's all right." Daryl laid back and stared at the sky. "You okay?"

"I think so."

Daryl nodded. "You afraid?"

"No." Daryl tugged on Hope's shirt. Hope lay back so that her head was pillowed on his chest, tucked beneath his chin. "Have you ever read Alice in Wonderland?"

"Nah," Daryl shook his head. "I saw the movie though."

Hope lifted her head and stared at him in surprise.

"What?"

"Just doesn't seem like your type of movie."

"It was the only movie they played in the rec room at the community center Dad used to leave me at sometimes. What about it?"

"Sometimes I feel like her, Alice. Like I fell asleep and I'm in some strange dream. Sometimes I feel like I'm waiting to wake up."

"Yeah, I get that." Daryl was quiet for a few minutes. "Do you miss it?"

"What?"

"Before...your old life."

"No, not really, I don't remember much of it. Bits and pieces but it seems so long ago you know, miles away. When I think back it's like watching a movie. It doesn't feel real, it doesn't feel like it belongs to me. It belongs to someone else, someone that died a long time ago."

"I don't miss it. In a way, I guess I'm glad this all happened."

Hope tilted her head. "Why?"

"If this hadn't happened, you know. I probably wouldn't have met you." Daryl cleared his throat and looked out into the blackness.

"Oh." It was the first time Hope really thought about how far apart their lives had been, how unlikely it was for their paths to have crossed. "Me too." And she was glad, in a small way. While she may have still been married to Tucker Lawson, he was dead. Daryl was a warm, solid presence next to her. He was alive and he cared about her and that was all that mattered now.

"Do you think we can do it? Take the prison?"

Daryl nodded. "If Rick says we can do it, then we can do it. He's kept us alive this long. You ready?"

Hope thought for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready." She smirked. "Down the rabbit hole we go."