LIFE WORTH LIVING [Daryl Dixon]

| TWO |

"We, as adults, can barely survive In this world, never mind a newborn baby," she sighed, trying to hold back the tears once again, "it could already be dead."

Rick sighed and hugged her, "It's going to be okay, Meg; I'll look after you, you know that and Lori and Shane."

'Lori and Shane,' her mind wondered.

Megan had forgotten what she had seen unfold in the tent just hours ago. She was battling right and wrong, wondering whether to tell her brother what she had seen or prevent him from any more heartache. It wasn't like he could divorce Lori, leave, and only see her when he picked up his son. He was stuck with her now; there was no escaping, and the more logical side of her brain knew that Lori had thoroughly believed Rick was dead. Was it even cheating?

Megan thought about it carefully; she would give Lori a chance. If she didn't suspect anything between her and Shane again, she would forget it happened and hope Rick never found out, but if she ever saw the pair together or suspected anything, she would tell him.

__________

Hearing the birds tweet in the early hours of the morning became something Megan looked forward to. The sound was calming and somewhat comforting, and it took her mind off, reminding herself of the growls of the dead.

When Megan finally exited her tent, she was surprised that Daryl still hadn't returned from his hunting trip. She was torn between whether it was better he was away longer so her brother didn't have to deal with the repercussions of leaving Merle behind and wanting him to return sooner to get the arguments out of the way.

Regardless, she was just thankful she had no involvement, but she did worry for her brother.

She casually approached the fire, briefly greeting Andrea and Amy, who sat by the fire, grilling up some fish for breakfast. The smell made her stomach churn, and she had to force the bile back down her throat, "I don't think I'll ever enjoy fish again because of this baby-" she began to laugh, but the sound of a child screaming caught everyone's attention.

Everyone jumped into action, shouting for Carl and Sophia, who were now both screaming for their mothers. Megan followed along as Dale, Shane, Rick, and Glenn picked up the closest weapon to take with them.

They reached a small clearing by the tree line where Sophia and Carl had run from; everyone watched from a distance as the four men got a closer look.

They could hear the snarl and the crunching as a Walker chewed upon the flesh and guts of a young deer; four of Daryl's arrows were stuck into the deer's body in various places.

The smell of the walker's rotting flesh reached Megan's senses, but it was when Dale finally detached the walker's head from its body that Megan began to vomit.

"You kids okay?" Rick asked Carl and Sophia, who were hidden behind Lori and Carol's legs shaking in fear. The terrified children nodded, clinging to their parents.

"Too close for comfort," Megan muttered, spitting out the last taste of bile, "and to stomach," she groaned.

"They haven't been up this far before," Shane stated, glancing over at Rick, "we might need to think about finding someplace else, don't you think?"

The bushes rustled, and everyone raised their weapons once more. A few terrifying seconds went by before Daryl appeared, holding his crossbow up in preparation to shoot if necessary.