Daryl was in the woods because he wanted to hunt for the group, who were his family now.

He'd already bagged a couple of squirrels, but if only he could get something bigger for them. He needed to prove his worth to the group. A couple of small squirrels would barely prove anything. If only he could get something bigger like a boar or a moose, he'd really show them he was good enough to be their friend.

But he hadn't been able to track anything big like that in weeks. He had found some boar tracks a few weeks ago but was never lucky enough to find the boar and he couldn't remember the last time he even saw a sign of a moose.

So when he saw the big thing moving in the bushes, he was really excited because it might be the longed for creature he'd hoped for for so long.

The moan gave it away. And then the big thing lumbering out from the bushes wasn't a boar or a moose. Not even a dear, but a walker!

It was so close Daryl had to throw his arms out to push it back, pushing his crossbow against its chest and grunting mightily. He looked upwards as he pushed the dead thing away from him and saw who it used to be. He stepped back, gasping in surprise.

It was the mean boy from high school who always beat Daryl up and took his lunch money. It was the only thing he ate all day sometimes because his dad was abusive, but the bully took it all the same. Daryl cried every night when he was fifteen because of the bully.

His hands were shaking as he stumbled backwards, releasing his gripe on the crossbow. It didn't crash to the ground like he expected, the walker had hold of it! Just like he stole his lunch money, the walker now had a hold of his beloved crossbow. The one Rick got especially for him.

He watched the walker stumble into the bushes and felt emotion swelling all over him. Rick would be so mad he lost the crossbow! It was a special present-the only present Daryl ever got and losing it was the worst thing that ever happened to him. A severe beating at the hands of his father was nothing compared to the look of disappointment that would be etched on Rick's face when he came back without the crossbow. He took out his knife, ready to use it, but his hands were sweating with fear and it slipped out of his grasp. It was hopeless-there was nothing he could do!

Daryl walked back to camp, crying a bit on the way. He didn't want them to see that he was crying, and he tried to think of ways to explain his red eyes. But they all knew he didn't have allergies and never got sick, so there was no way to do anything about it.

When he stepped into camp, everyone looked at him and their faces were totally shocked. Glenn dropped the frying pan he was putting over the campfire, and Carl covered his mouth with his hand. Carol rushed over to him straight away. "What's happened?" she asked, in a motherly tone.

Daryl gasped and tried to answer, but it was hard because he was trying not to cry.

"It's ok," Carol said soothingly, "You can tell me."

"Their was a walker…."

"Oh my God, you're bit!" Rick said.

"No," Glenn cried in distress. "NO, GODAMMIT! Why Daryl? Why did it have to be Daryl?"

"Where are you bit?" Maggie asked, wringing her hands like a dish towel, "We can cut off your arm and save your life!"

Sensing the distress around her, Judith began to cry and Tyresse pulled the little girl closer, comforting her and himself all at once. "It's okay, baby," he whispered.

"No, I'm not bit. I wish I had been…" Daryl mumbled.

"Just tell us what happened," Tara said kindly, "We can get through anything if we're together."

"Let's take a seat and let Daryl tell us what happened," Rick said, dictating to the group what they should do. Everyone did as he said, Carol choose to stand beside Daryl, to comfort him.

"The walker…. I knew him..."

"Oh no!" Carol said, "When I saw Sophia it was the worst moment of my life! I can't imagine you seeing a friend as a rotting walker. It changes you."

"He wasn't…." the emotion choked him up too much. He didn't want to have to relive this all over again. "Jus' some guy from school."

"You're clearly very upset and we all care and love you. You're safe with us. You can tell us," said Rosita. "I remember when we first met, in that boxcar, Glenn said we were his friends and straight away you said we were your friends too. Well, friend, I hope you meant that. Let us help you."

Daryl sobbed like a hungry dog, He was so lucky to have nice people like Rosita who were so close to him. They didn't know what he was like before, when he was just a teenager getting beat up by the bully.

"He used to hurt me…." Daryl said, voice thick as yogurt with emotion. The others gasped at the shocking revelation. Why would anyone hurt Daryl?

"I was bullied in school and he was my bully. He took my lunch money and beat me up!"

"Bullying is wrong," Tara said, shaking her head sadly.

"I was… scared." Daryl admitted.

Carl didn't say anything but a tear glistened in his eye. He'd never seen a man so brave as Daryl, talking about this with them all. He admired him so much. Loved him like an uncle. Like the uncle Shane should have been to him but wasn't because he tried to kill his Dad and died.

Rick looked at Daryl with tears in his eyes, too.

"I'm sorry, Daryl. What can we do to help you?"

Daryl shook his head. "Don't apologise to me… I-I lost the crossbow you gave me. I'm sorry.. I…" he couldn't hold back any longer as a single tear slipped down his face.

Carol put a supportive hand on his shoulder, and Michonne got up and wrapped her arms around him.

"We got the crossbow for you because we wanted you to have it. We want you to be happy,

Daryl. Can we do anything to get the crossbow back?"

He looked at his group, his family. They loved him so much for some reason. And he knew he couldn't ask them to risk their lives to help him. He had to do it alone. "No, I have to do this alone." He wiped the tears from his face and nodded to Rick.

This might be the last time he saw any of them.

"You're right, Daryl," Rick said, "As always, you know what's best. We'll wait for you here. We support you."

So Daryl went back in the woods and looked for the bully that was now a walker. He felt nervous like a cat on its way to the vet-like something could jump out and hurt him at any moment.

But he remembered what the group said. That they loved him and supported him, and he kept moving forward despite how scared he felt inside. He found him after some tracking. He was easily able to track the walkers tracks and find the former bully.

"I'm not afraid of you," Daryl said as the walker groaned and slobbered, "I have friends who believe in me. So give me back my crossbow and give it to me now!"

The walker stumbled towards him and when he got closer, Daryl gripped onto the crossbow. But the walker didn't listen to his warning and kept hold of it too. They struggled over the crossbow, the walker trying to bite him all the while.

"Give it back!" Daryl shouted.

"Graaaahhhhhhh…." the walker moaned, getting drool on its letterman jacket from the high school football team.

Daryl gave a mighty push and the walker toppled over! He thought about all he'd been through and he shoved it so hard that it couldn't stand up anymore. It fell down in the bushes, and the crossbow rolled out of its bony grasp.

Daryl used his boot to push down on the walkers throat, pinning it to the ground. It was useless, helpless. Daryl knew that feeling well. "You know, I used to hate everyday of my life at school because of you. And now you're dead and I'm still alive. who's the real winner in life, huh?"

The walker burbled like a helpless kitten. It wasn't scary after all! And that's when Daryl remembered-he'd dropped his knife in the bushes. And it was right there where he left it-right next to the walker's head!

So he dropped the squirrels he'd hunted onto the walker and it pawed at them-trying to push the string and tails away so it could reach Daryl and bite him. But it was too late, because Daryl already had the knife in hand and he was ready to lunge at him once and for all!

He stabbed its head and it slid in like carving a pumpkin. And just like that, his bully was gone. Gone forever and Daryl was free.

"I may not have found a moose today, but I did get to hunt somethin' big," he said, wiping his knife on his shirt to clean it.

Something shiny rolled out of the walkers pocket. A dime. Daryl bent down and picked it up, smiled. "About time I got my damn money back," he said to himself, flipping the coin in the air and catching it, before putting it in his pocket.

When he got back to the group, everyone cheered. They saw that he looked like a new man! They were very happy for their friend and they told him so.

"Wow everyone," he said, "I'm a lucky guy because I was so lonely and sad before, and then I found you and now I have a family."

"We're all lucky," Tara said, "I'm gay but nobody minds, and everyone accepts me for who I am even right after I attacked the prison with The Governor. Being gay didn't matter because we're friends and friends don't care why we're different."

"And I admire you, Daryl," Eugene said, "Seeing you kill walkers and do nice things for the group really made me want to be strong and help out-even though I'm not a scientist."

"Yeah, Daryl!" Carl said, "I want to be just like you when I grow up."

"The thing is Daryl, we're not perfect, none of us." Rick said, putting an arm around his friends shoulders. "But together, somehow, we all make one another better. To us, you're perfect and you always will be."

"C'mon, Daryl," Carol said, "We have some dinner ready. Let's all eat together."

And so they did, and talked and laughed and Daryl felt better than he did ever before, and everything was ok.