"You can take off, Hope," Elliot says. "We've got this."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Yeah! Take the rest of the day off," Pete replies.

"Thanks boys. I'll see you at the party tonight?"

"Definitely," they respond.

Lightning barks her goodbyes to me as I leave. I head down the street, my ponytail swinging as I walk. I reach my house, where I change into my normal clothes swiftly. I look around at the pictures on the walls, my eyes skipping over the smiling people in the photos.

I wander over to the drawers, rustling through the little doodads that us humans used to love to collect. Stamps, postcards, and other trinkets from different countries line the drawers. I stop on one, pulling out a small automatic camera. I smile, thinking of how nice it'd be to be able to take pictures of Daryl, the group, and the baby once he or she comes along.

I sling the strap around my neck, heading out of the house again.

Daryl's POV

I wander through the trees with my crossbow in hand. I breathe deeply, enjoying the smell of the leaves and feeling the wind in my hair again.

Something snaps in the trees and I'm instantly more alert. I raise my crossbow and move towards the spot.

"Come out! Now!" I snap.

There's a few more rustles before Aaron emerges from the trees, his hands held above his head. I lower my bow, narrowing my eyes as I stare at him.

"You can tell the difference between walkers and humans by sound?" he asks, amazed.

Yeah, I can. I can also tell when it's Hope or when it's just someone else, I think. But I ain't tellin' you that.

"Can you tell the difference between a good guy and a bad guy? Rick doesn't seem to be an expert at that," he continues.

"There ain't much of a difference no more," I say, shifting on my feet a little.

"That how you feel about your people?"

I let out a short huff. "Why you followin' me?"

"I didn't know I was. I came out to hunt rabbits." He swallows nervously. "I know why you're out here. Mind if I join?"

That comment makes me stop momentarily. In truth, I'm out here for a few reasons. One is simply that I want to hunt. Two is that I don't want to be around the community with all those people giving me weird stares and judging me twenty-four seven. Three...I need to feel useful to someone other than my wife.

"Keep up," I say. "And keep quiet."

I keep moving through the trees with Aaron following close behind. I see light hoof prints in the dirt and I start tracking. It looks like a horse's tracks.

We get to an open field, where sure enough, a sleek black horse stands among the tall grass. He nickers to himself as he eats.

"I've been trying to catch him for months, bring him inside," Aaron says. "His name is Buttons. One of the kids saw him run by the gate a while back. Thought he looked like a Buttons." He chuckles. I keep watching the horse. "I haven't seen him for a while. I was afraid it was too late."

"Well, it ain't," I mumble, swinging my crossbow on to my back.

He digs around in his bag, finding a rope. I take it, wrapping it around my hand while my eyes remain fixated on the horse.

"Every time Eric or I come close, he gets spooked," he adds. "Have you done this before?"

"My group did," I reply, thinking of Flame. I can't help but wonder if that old horse is alive too. "But they weren't out there that long. The longer they're out there, the more they become what they really are."

I move through the brush carefully, not wanting to scare Buttons. As I get closer, I get a good look at him. He's certainly a pretty horse, the kind of animal Hope would squeal about. She has such a soft spot for critters.

"I ain't gonna hurt ya," I murmur as I get closer. Buttons lets out a snort and shakes his head a little. "A'ight? Come on, boy. Yeah. Just keep on eatin'. Yeah."

He whinnies and keeps eating the grass.

"Good boy. Yeah, you used to be somebody's, huh?" I ask, getting almost close enough. "Now you're just yours."

A twig snaps and Buttons becomes immediately more alert. Walkers snarl as they stumble towards us.

"Shit!" I cuss, readying my weapon.

Buttons rears up before taking off into the brush. I shoot one walker down, looking to Aaron.

"Come on, they're comin'!" I yell as he starts popping off his silenced shots. I stab the walkers that Aaron doesn't hit, looking down the path Buttons took. "Come on," I urge as we take off.

Hope's POV

"It's all good. I've got permission from Deanna," I explain to the gate guard.

He tilts his head a little. "You're Dixon's wife, huh?"

I nod. "That's me."

"Yeah. I let him out a little while ago. Go ahead." He pulls the gate open and I head out after thanking him.

I head through the woods, the twigs snapping beneath my feet every now and then. It feels nice to have my pistol back in its holster as I move amongst the trees. I also have a rifle on my shoulder, just in case I need some rapid fire work. I keep an eye out for walkers, but don't find many.

A blur of black races past the trees near me, making me let out a yelp. A beautiful jet black horse circles around, snorting and whinnying in fright.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I say soothingly, holding my hands out in front of me. The horse snorts again, pawing the ground. "No one's gonna hurt you. It's alright."

I reach forwards and touch his nose. He snorts, but doesn't move away. I hear walker snarls nearby and look in its direction swiftly.

"Alright, let's get out of here," I say, grabbing the horse's mane and swinging up onto his back.

He nickers a little, stomping the ground with one hoof. I grip his mane tightly, glad for the practice I had with Flame.

"HYAH!" I call, spurring the horse away through the trees.

Daryl's POV

"You ride horses?" Aaron asks as we follow Buttons' trail.

"Nah. My wife does. I ride bikes," I answer.

"I take it you don't mean 10-speeds." He smiles. I don't respond, focused on the task at hand. "I know you're feeling like an outsider. It's not your fault, you know. Eric and I, we're still looked at as outsiders in a lot of ways." He sighs. "Well, I've got Eric, you've got Hope. At least we've got people who accept us, right?"

I nod. "Yeah. We're lucky that way."

He purses his lips. "Eric and I...we've heard our fair share of well-meaning, but hilariously offensive things from some otherwise really nice men and women. People are people. The more afraid they get, the more stupid they get." He adjusts his gun in his hand as we step over a fallen log. "Fear shrinks the brain. They're scared of you and me for different reasons. They're less scared of me because they know me. It's less and less every day." He pauses, watching the back of my head. "So let them get to know you. You should go to Deanna's party tonight."

"I got nothin' to prove," I say. "I met a lot of bad people out here doin' a lot of bad shit. They weren't afraid of nothin'."

"Yeah, they were."

We keep moving in silence. I don't mind it. It's much easier to think when there isn't any noise. I think about Deanna's party with distaste.

Hope's probably gonna make me go anyways. But then again, she isn't much of a party person. Maybe we can stop by, say hello to some people, grab a beer or two and head home.

Yeah, I'd like that much more than sticking around.

We emerge from the trees, no sign of Buttons anywhere. I let out a sigh, looking to the walkers wandering around everywhere. There's a sizeable amount, nothing I haven't handled before.

"I got the far ones," I say to Aaron.

He nods. "I'll take the others."

We race into the field, shooting and stabbing. The deadheads go down easily and I find that I'm falling into a rhythm.

"Daryl!" Aaron screams.

I spin, seeing that more walkers have gathered around us. We're cornered on every side.

I feel my heart rate speed up. I have to get out of here, alive. I have a family to look out for.

"Keep fightin'! Don't let them overwhelm you!" I order, stabbing one that gets too close.

Easier said than done.

The walkers get closer, herding Aaron and I in until we're back to back. His breathing is rapid and I can only hope that mine is less noticeable.

The walkers keep growling and I shut my eyes. I don't want it to end like this.

Rapid fire gunshots sound, taking down nearly all the walkers. A loud whinny sounds and the galloping of hoofbeats rumbles on the ground.

My eyes fly open as the last of the walkers fall to the sudden gunfire. Buttons pulls to a stop, snorting. My mouth falls open when I see Hope on his back, panting. Her hair flies around her face in a wild mess and the muscles in her legs remain pulled taut as she grips onto the animal's sides. She swings her gun on to her back, her brown eyes wide and amazed as she thinks of the stunt she just pulled.

Damn...

"Holy shit, that was close!" she exclaims, brushing some sweaty strands of hair from her forehead.

"H-Hope?" Aaron stammers.

She remains on the horse's back, gripping his mane. "The one and only. Now, are you two gonna shut your mouths and get back home or wait until more walkers show up?"

"Um...lets get back." He grins nervously.

She smiles. "Good."

Aaron starts walking back, Hope watching until he's out of sight.

I move forwards and tie the rope around Buttons' neck. He doesn't move as she slides off of his back and strides towards me.

"You dumbass! Don't scare me like that!" she snaps.

I blink a few times, confused. "Huh?"

"Surrounded by walkers and you just stand there accepting your fate? Seriously?"

"What? Hope, we were fightin' back! There were too many!" I say, annoyed.

"I took them down while riding a freaking horse bareback. No hands, might I add." She crosses her arms and looks up at me.

"Quit worryin'. I'm still alive," I remind her.

"I'm your wife! It's my job to worry about you!" she retorts.

"I'm your husband, and it's my job to...uh...make sure you don't do anythin' that stupid again!"

"I'm not a baby!"

"You're actin' like one!"

"God damn it, you're a piece of work, Dixon!" she screams.

She gasps, realizing what she just said. She covers her mouth, her cheeks turning a little bit pink. She never uses the Lord's name in vain, ever, and she never calls me by my, no, our last name.

My scowl disappears, replaced by a smirk. "You're so cute when you cuss."

"Then I'm about to be freaking adorable!" she hisses.

"I'll be more careful, angel," I whisper, placing my fingers under her chin and pressing my lips to hers.

She pushes me away, scowling. "Don't kiss me when I'm mad at you!"

"How else will you forgive me?"

My mouth curls into a sly smile as I pull her close and kiss her again, harder this time. She gives in and returns the gesture, her soft hands on the back of my neck as she hugs me.

"This is why it's so hard to stay angry at you," she murmurs as my fingers caress her cheek.

"Nah. It's hard to stay mad 'cause you love me." I chuckle. "Sorry for scarin' you."

She laughs. "It's not every day I get to save your ass."

I smirk and smack her butt, making her yelp. I laugh as she grabs Buttons' rope, leading him away while she blushes. I follow after her, still smiling.