DISCLAIMER-I DO NOT OWN THE WALKING DEAD OR ANY OF ITS BEAUTIFUL CHARACTERS!

****WARNING**** EXTREME VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN THIS CHAPTER-NO RAPE, BUT BRUTAL BEATINGS

Anna woke to Daryl limping over to Hunter's crib to approach his daughter. Since returning from Laurel Springs Daryl had become inseparable from his daughter. Something about the child soothed him like no one else had been able too since his injury. Daryl had been different, but not in a bad way. For the first time since Anna had known him, he was completely content.

She smiled as he leaned over and picked up the baby. "Yeah sweetheart, you're my sweet little baby girl and one day I am going to build you a castle and a swing set, and anything you want. I love you so much princess." He said to the little girl in the most tender of voices.

Anna just observed, not wanting to spoil the moment. She was thankful that she had her husband with her, in one piece and healing up. It had been almost a month since that night he returned from Laurel Springs talking of death and giving up on life. Now he spoke of the future and all of the things he wanted to do for Hunter, for her, and that they could do as a family. Disney World was obviously out of the question, but there were other things they could do safely together.

"So you know Mr. Dixon, a girl could get jealous at you speaking sweet nothings to a younger woman like that" She joked with him.

"Well when the other woman is as beautiful as her mother, what do you expect?" He quipped back.

"Now how am I gonna be mad with that answer?" She said moving over so him and Hunter could get back in bed.

It was now a cold February morning and the sky looked like it could snow at any moment. Tomorrow Daryl and Anna would permanently return to the home that would now be theirs, the house that Gus had built.

"So what is on your agenda today Mrs. Dixon?" Daryl asked.

"Maggie and Beth are going to meet me up at the house with Hunter, and we are going to make sure everything is clean and stocked up. I want everything perfect for you when we move back in." She told him.

"The house could be falling down and empty and it would be perfect for me as long as I got my girls" he told her. She nuzzled into him and kissed him gently on his sweet lips.

"I don't think I could be happier. Finally we don't have to worry about someone coming in and taking what is ours" She told him.

He pulled her in tight and wrapped his arms around her and Hunter. They remained like that until finally Anna had to get up and get ready to meet the Greene girls up at the house.

Anna got dressed, ate breakfast, and then loaded Hunter into the truck to go up the mountain to the house. She was excited to finally be moving back in where her and Daryl could have some privacy. The groups from Richmond and Charlotte had returned, with the exception of Antonio, who had opted to stay and help with rebuilding the communities in the area. Anna really liked Antonio, and she suspected someone else in the group did too, One lady who went by the name of Sasha.

Maggie and Beth were already up at the house waiting on Anna as she pulled up in the truck, "Sorry I'm late ladies, we had a little family bonding time this morning and I didn't want to leave Daryl."

Maggie just giggled, "Uh huh…Bonding, I'm sure."

"No Maggie, it isn't like that. He's still out of commission with is injury, though I can't wait for him to get back to where he can move normally. I know he is still hurting, but he would never admit it." She said.

"Daryl is one tough son of a bitch. I remember when he was impaled with a bolt from his crossbow, and then he yanked the thing straight out to kill a Walker that was coming at him. I adore Glen, but he could take some clues from Daryl on being a Man's man." Maggie joked.

"Shoot" Beth said.

"What is it honey." Anna asked.

"I made some potpourri to freshen the house up and I left it out in our truck. I'll be right back we can put it in your room so it smells nice and clean." Beth said as she headed down around the back of the house where she had parked the truck her and Maggie had driven.

Beth was leaning down in the seat when she heard a scream. She ducked down low enough in the floorboard of the truck so she could see out the window without someone seeing her. She caught a glimpse of Maggie, Anna, and Hunter being dragged off into the woods and recognized one of the individuals pointing a gun at Anna. It was Carol. There were three other men, one of which was a very tall scarred greasy looking man. She wasn't sure who the men were, but suspected they were remnants of survivors from Laurel Springs. She knew she needed to go and get help so she waited ten minutes, and then started the truck and headed off towards the Martinelli house.

Anna, Maggie, and the baby were being dragged roughly down a steep incline that led through the woods towards the remains of McGrady. Maggie started to speak, "Carol, what is going on, why did you come back? You know you aren't welcome here. If Daryl finds you and realizes you have us, you are as good as dead."

"Shut the fuck up bitch" the man said as he smacked Maggie in the face cutting her cheek.

Anna winced seeing what the man had done to Maggie. Carol spoke, "Damian, take it easy, we have plenty of time for that. These two whores are going to wish they had killed me before this day is up."

Anna pleaded, "Carol, if Daryl ever meant anything to you then you realize you can't do this to him. He will kill you if he finds you, and I won't be able to stop him."

"Shut up you stupid whore" Damian said. His other two minions were roughly handling her and Maggie, and Anna was trying hard to keep Hunter protected from the violent men.

Damian spoke again, "We know Daryl is a gimp now. He can barely walk across the yard with his fucked up hip. He ain't a threat to me or anyone else. Hell my Grandma could take him out."

Carol then added, "You fucking ruined him Anna. You took a man and made him weak. I made him strong, and you destroyed everything I had done for him. He deserves what happened to him, and I have every intention of making him hurt as much as he made me hurt."

Maggie and Anna were tied up and Hunter was taken away. Anna fought with everything she had to keep her baby, but was met with a violent beating. Both women had been beaten badly and were covered in blood as Damian and Carol took turns punching, kicking, and verbally attacking them, venting all their frustrations and embarrassment at the failures they had suffered at the hands of their family.

Beth made it the Martinelli house and was screaming at the gate so someone would let her in. The gate opened and she burst into the house telling them everything she had witnessed. Marty immediately grabbed his gun and headed out the door, Joe following closely behind him.

Marty then shouted to Beth, "Beth hurry and go get Rick and Glenn, we need them. Tell them to meet at Daryl and Anna's house and head down the eastside of the mountain and look for any tracks they might find. We are heading west." Beth jumped in the truck and took off to find the other men.

"Hey, I'm going too." Both men turned to see Daryl limping down the steps.

"Daryl you can't, you won't make it three hundred feet on that hip." Joe said.

"I protect what's mine, and I WILL not let anyone take my wife and baby girl. The mother fuckers are as good as dead." His voice was menacing and his eyes were on fire, there was no mistake that Daryl wasn't backing down from his decision.

Marty opted to take the Gator out so that they could reduce the actual amount of walking that Daryl would have to do. They drove up to Daryl and Anna's home, and then headed into the woods to track. All three men were heavily armed, and Daryl would have them stop regularly so he could follow the sloppy trail the men had left behind.

The trail led to McGrady, and Marty maneuvered the Gator across the creek and back up the embankment. They continued to follow the trail until they came to an old house. Daryl saw the house and realized that he had been there before. It was the home that Sheila and Ricky Liles had once occupied, and where Him and Anna had almost died at the hands of Anna's brother Marco. Life had a funny way of coming full circle. The last time he had been here, Gus had saved their lives, a move that would eventually cost him his own life.

Marty didn't pull up close enough to where they could be detected by the individuals inside. Daryl struggled to get down out of the Gator, refusing to allow Joe or Marty to help him. He winced silently in pain, but pushed it down so he could focus on determining what was going on in the house. What Daryl saw sickened him to the core.

Maggie was lying on the floor still attached to the chair she was tied too. She was covered in blood and more blood was pooling on the floor around her. Anna's face was beaten, both eyes were swollen shut and blood was dripping from her mouth. Her hands were bound behind her back and her shirt had been ripped, exposing deep bruising on her ribs and stomach. Daryl fought to keep himself from vomiting. Then he heard it, Hunter's cries. He looked slightly to the left and saw Carol bouncing the baby as Hunter screamed in terror at her unfamiliar surroundings.

Daryl signaled to Marty and Joe that they would storm the home on the count of three…One, two, and three and then they burst into the dilapidated house. Immediately Joe and Marty killed the two unnamed henchmen that accompanied Damian. Damian used one of the men as a shield and managed to avoid taking a direct gunshot, but he was grazed by Daryl's shot, but not before he managed to jump out an open window and escape.

That left Carol, who now had a knife up to Hunter's throat. Daryl tried to quickly assess the situation. He didn't get a chance to finish, before Carol spoke, "Daryl you took EVERYTHING from me and now I am going to take EVERYTHING from you." She raised the knife to slit the child's throat.

A barely conscious Anna fought with the last breath she had in her body and managed to kick her legs to the point she was able to reach and cause Carol to lose her footing. It was just enough for Daryl to rush Carol and grab the baby before she could be injured by the mad woman. Marty and Joe quickly rushed to Anna and Maggie and untied them. Maggie was practically lifeless, and Anna wasn't in much better shape.

Daryl raised his gun and looked directly in Carol's eyes, "Any last words bitch?" The anger in his voice was biting, but Anna could see that his hands were shaking. She could barely focus, but she wasn't going to let Daryl struggle with the memory of killing one of his first true friends he had. She reached into Marty's holster and pulled out the gun and shot Carol straight through the head. Carol's body dropped into a heap on the floor and Daryl rushed to Anna as she collapsed into a bloody heap.

Joe felt for Anna's pulse and shook his head; "I can't find a pulse."

Daryl felt panic and began CPR on her immediately, but to no avail, he still couldn't feel any sign of life in her battered body. Tears were streaming down his face as he felt her slip away from him. Marty was working on Maggie and Joe had Hunter in his arms. The little girl crying for the comfort of her parents.

Daryl had lost the one truly good thing in his life. He had lost his precious Anna all because Carol couldn't handle his rejection. He was overwhelmed with guilt again, a feeling he had been all too familiar with for so long in his life. He was sobbing holding his wife's body in his arms. He didn't know how he was going to live without her, but knew he couldn't give up on life, he had to stay strong so he could continue to raise their daughter. He had promised Anna he would always protect Hunter, but he never dreamed it would be without her by his side.

It would be just a matter of time before she woke again as one of the risen dead. He couldn't bear the thought of those lifeless cold gray eyes staring at him. He raised his gun and placed it to her temple, but he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. He knew he had too, she wouldn't want to return as one of those monsters. He felt her body twitch and he raised the gun to end it, her eyes slowly began to open. With his finger on the trigger he looked at her one last time, only he realized he was looking into HER eyes, her big beautiful brown eyes, not cold dead gray eyes.

He grabbed her wrist and could feel her pulse again. A miracle had happened and she had returned to him. She whispered weakly, "Hey, why do you look so sad, I'm still here baby. I'm never going to leave you"

Daryl's body shook as he was overtaken by emotion. God had given him another chance. He had given up and had come so close to ending her life, but she fought to come back to him. She didn't give up when he had. He cradled her damaged body in his arms, "I love you Anna, I always have and I always will."

Well this is the last chapter folks. Please leave me a Final Review and let me know how you would grade this story. I am taking a break on this story, already working on the next one. I should have the first chapter or two up this weekend.

Thanks to each and everyone of you for reading and giving me a chance with this story. There will be a sequel and it will be called "The fruit of their labor"...same characters, but there will be a two year time jump.

When I began this story, I was originally writing it with the intention of Anna remaining at the prison, but this one grew a life of it's own, and morphed into the story you just read. It is very relaxing to write fiction like this and I encourage anyone who has ever thought about writing to go ahead and do so. There is no right or wrong, its your gift to all the people who enjoy fan fiction.

Always feel free to PM me or drop me a note. I really truly hope you will continue to follow my other stories as I venture off onto another universe.

Take care and Love to each and every one of you!

Missy

XXOO