Daryl's POV

"Better luck next time, huh Daryl?" Aaron calls from his car as we pull up to the gates.

"Yeah," I call back, running my hands over the handles of the bike.

I have to admit, all the sweat and blood I put into restoring this bike has been worth it. This ride today felt amazing, not only because of being back on the familiar vehicle; it also reminds me of the first time I took Hope on a motorcycle ride. She had eyed my old bike with such longing it was almost comical.

The gates slide open as we drive in. I park the bike and scan the horizon for any sign of Hope. To my surprise, she's nowhere to be seen.

I shrug and drive the bike back to the garage. She's probably in the house cleaning or at the clinic. I shut the garage and head to her work building.

I knock on the door, hearing the wild barking of a dog. When the tall doctor opens the door, the Labrador leaps up at me, trying to lick my face.

"Woah there, Lightning," Elliot says, scratching her ears. "Daryl, what a surprise!"

"Hey Doc. Is the nurse in?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"No, actually. I gave her the day off." He leans in a little closer. "She seemed a bit moody, if you ask me."

I shrug. "Baby stuff."

"Exactly." He looks around. "I haven't seen her all day, actually. Good luck finding her."

"Yeah. See ya," I mumble.

"Nice seeing you!" he calls as I walk away.

I jog to our house, opening the door and strolling inside like I own the place, which I sort of do.

Silence. Complete silence.

An uneasy feeling of dread seeps into my stomach. I race up the stairs, my heart starting to pound.

"Hope? Angel?" I call, not seeing her anywhere upstairs. "HOPE!"

There's the sound of a door opening from downstairs and I practically tumble down the stairs as I go down. Rick stands in my entryway, his eyes wide.

"Daryl, you've got to come, now," he says.

"What's happenin'? Have you seen Hope?" I ask, my voice more panicked than I'd like.

"She took Buttons out for a run this morning," Rick says. "One of the guys at the gate told me."

"They let her leave?!" I exclaim.

He flinches. "That's the other thing." His entire body seems to sink with sadness. "Buttons is standing at the gate...with no rider."

That's all I need to hear before I'm barreling out of the house and racing towards the gate as fast as my feet can take me. A few concerned onlookers are already gathered near the gate, including Deanna and her husband, Reggie.

Sure enough, Buttons paces nervously in the empty space around the crowd. An empty saddle is all that sits on his back. I skid to a stop, everyone looking at me. The horse takes notice and trots towards me, neighing softly.

I forgot for a moment that the only people Buttons trusts are Hope and I.

"What...what happened? Where is she?" I demand, knowing that no one knows.

"Calm down, Mr Dixon," Deanna says.

"How can you say that?!" I shout, angry. "My wife is out there!"

"I understand that, but we have to keep a level head," she responds smoothly. "We need to try and figure out where she could've gone."

"We don't have time for that! She could be hurt, or-" I cut myself off, not daring to say that word.

"Daryl, take a few deep breaths," Rick's voice sounds behind me as he places a hand on my shoulder.

"What's going on?" Michonne asks as she joins the crowd.

"Hope's missin'," I tell her. "And I'm goin' after her."

"Daryl, we need to think rationally," Deanna exclaims as she follows me towards the gate. "You can't just-"

I spin towards her, drawing up to my full height. "My pregnant wife, the most important person in my life, is somewhere out there. I'm not goin' to stand around discussin' what to do." I narrow my eyes. "Open the damn gates."

Before she can respond, Maggie cuts in.

"Daryl's a tracker," she says. "If anyone can find Hope and bring her home, it's him."

Deanna looks to the farm girl, nodding. Reggie opens the gate as I shoulder my crossbow. I hit the road faster than I can shoot a squirrel dead.

Hope's POV

I don't know how long it's been, but it must've been hours since I left. The sun seems to crawl across the sky, and what can I do?

I can lay here, trying to keep myself from slipping into unconsciousness. I fear that if I let myself do that, I'll never wake back up.

"Hope, sweetie, what are you doing?"

I blink in confusion. I know that voice.

"Come on, you're tougher than that."

"Who's there?" I ask weakly.

Two figures appear in my peripheral vision; a woman with greying brown curls and a tall, balding man.

"Mom? Dad?" I croak.

My mom moves to my side, looking down at me. "Honey, are you really gonna let yourself stay here and die alone?"

I shake my head. "You can't be real. You aren't here."

I hit my head way too hard. This is obviously all a hallucination.

"Of course not." My dad chuckles. "We're up in the afterlife, watching over you."

"Chester, honestly, now is not the time," my mom scolds him gently.

He smirks and kneels down on my other side as he apologizes to my mom with a, "Sorry, Penny."

I choke up a little. "I'm sorry I failed you. I never got to tell you that I'm sorry."

My mom strokes my forehead, her hands soft. "You never failed us."

"It's I who should be sorry," my dad says.

"But...you said-"

"We never stopped loving you."

"We couldn't be prouder of you. It was wrong of me to do that to you." My dad's kind blue eyes seem to shine.

"I wish you could've met Daryl..." I whisper.

"Angel?"

My parents disappear in a flash, replaced by my redneck. He walks over to me, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You found me?" I ask.

He shakes his head. I look closer, realizing that he's wearing sweats and a tight black sweater with a maple leaf on it. It's my "dream world" Daryl.

"Hope, you can't die," he says softly, kneeling down next to me. "Keep breathin', ok? Think of the baby."

I shut my eyes, taking a deep breath. "The baby."

"Mommy! Mommy!"

My eyes shoot open as the hallucinated Daryl spins to see an absolutely beautiful little girl racing towards him. Her brunette girls bounce as she runs and her Dixon blue eyes sparkle.

"Melody Taylor Dixon, my little songbird," Dream Daryl says lovingly, scooping her into his arms and kissing her nose. "How are you doin'?"

"Melody?" I murmur.

"I'm good, daddy," she replies, hugging his neck and looking at me. "Is mommy ok?"

"Mommy is gonna be just fine." Dream Daryl looks at me again. "She just has try a little harder."

I let out a groan of pain. The hallucinations disappear as I hear the snapping of twigs nearby. I strain to look out of the ravine, trying to see whether it's a walker or a friend.

A walker growl announces the answer. I fumble for my pistol, raising it as the walker takes notice of me. I shoot, the bullet missing by a long shot. The walker snarls, continuing its slow gait towards me.

I fire again, grazing its head. It's not enough to take it down.

The thing grows closer.

I let out a scream as I grab my knife and lunge forwards, sinking the blade down to the hilt in the freak's head and making it go still.

My knife rolls out of my hands as I collapse, my heart beating in my ears.