AN: Thank you for the reviews. They are greatly appreciated c:

Chapter 2

A delayed muffled cry of pain escaped Lily as she continued to stare at the arrow stuck through her arm. Keep calm, she thought, just keep calm. She just had to keep a level head and figure out how to handle her situation. She definitely didn't want to pull the arrow out. She could cut part of it and then pull it out, but the only object she had worthy to cut was a knife with a very dull blade and she was sure that she might end up hurting herself even more if she used that.

But where did the arrow come from? That was what she wanted to know.

Lily, using her arm that didn't have an arrow stuck in it, moved her stuff against a tree. She pulled her bandana off her face and gracelessly wrapped it around her wound to put some pressure on it. She then walked in the direction the arrow came from.

She came across a man lying on his back. A crossbow lay next to him, a string of squirrels slung across him, and a green dart in his hand. It registered in Lily's mind that she must have hit him. "We must've been after the same deer," she whispered to herself.

She gently gave the man a kick to make sure he was out. Once she was convinced she began assessing the state of things. She knelt down next to the man and examined him. He had close to nothing except the squirrels, the crossbow which also held some arrows, and rag in his back pocket, and a knife. That was it. Lily deduced that he must been residing nearby, but whether he resided there alone or with others was indifferent to her.

She eyed the knife and carefully pulled it out of its holster. It was a lot bigger than the one she had and looked a lot sharper. She would hold onto it. The crossbow looked promising but it looked like a pain to carry around everywhere. Then again, Lily thought, it saves me the trouble of using the tranquilizer gun. She smiled and took the crossbow, not thinking that she might be sentencing the man to death by taking his weapons. Wherever he is staying is nearby, he can run back there, she thought.

She stood and walked back over to her things and took off the bandana. The arrow simply had to go.

Lily uncomfortably rested her arm on the tree so that the arrow ran parallel to it. She took out her new knife and began severing the arrow. It took a minute and it hurt but in the end it was worth it. Once one half of the arrow was cut she pulled out the other half. Blood started flowing down her arm but she stopped it by once more tying the bandana around the wound. She made sure it was tied tight before moving to get her stuff. She needed to leave before the man woke up. Once she was a safe distance she could attend to her wounds. Being a doctor definitely had its benefits at times like this.

Even for the simplest thing it had its benefits.

It helped to be a doctor. It helped her to treat the minor cuts, burns, and scrapes of life, but it couldn't help her treat broken hearts.

Memories of a child crying to her about a scraped knee flooded into her mind. She could recall the numerous band aids used and the numerous kisses she gave to the child's wounds. She could practically see the child; his brown unruly hair much like her own, green ethereal eyes different from her hazel ones, and a smile full of innocence and a carefree spirit. She could hear him now; his infectious laughter, his sorrowful sobs, and pleas for her to play with him.

Lily felt tears threaten to fall and she tried shaking away the memories as she packed the tranquilizer gun in her backpack, but she was too far gone because now her other senses kicked in as if forcing her to remember everything all at once.

The smell of sweets baked with his eager assistance and the smell of flowers he always picked for her; daises and tulips. She could feel his small arms wrap around her, hanging on for dear life or to remind her of how much he loved her.

Tears flowed down her face and she seemed to be staring off into space as so many memories came back to her. One after another in a unyielding steady flow. She didn't realize that she stayed put like that for a while.

Daryl slowly opened his eyes and it dawned on him that he was on his back. He remembered the deer, how he missed, and then….the dart. He slowly sat up and looked in his hand and sure enough there was a green dart in his hand. He tossed it aside and put his hand to where it stabbed him. "Who the hell shoots someone with a tranquilizer out here?" He muttered to himself. A sigh escaped him as he reached for his crossbow and a frown formed on his face as he grabbed at nothing. He turned to look beside him and saw his crossbow gone.

His eyes widened in confusion. Who would even think about thinking about taking Daryl Dixon's crossbow? Obviously someone with a death wish, but still. It didn't change the fact that his crossbow was gone.

Quickly he stood and steadied himself as his vision blurred a bit. Whoever took his crossbow probably got the hell out of dodge.

Lily groaned in frustration and angrily wiped her tears away. Now was not the time to be dwelling on the past. She composed herself and picked up her backpack and then picked up the crossbow. She thought about loading an arrow just in case but decided not to. She didn't want to accidently pull the trigger and shoot someone else. Just as she lifted her foot to take a step forward she stopped.

Daryl was a few feet from the girl. She looked like she was leaving but she stopped. He dismissed the fact that she was there and was more interested in why she had his crossbow in her hand. He scowled and threw off the string of squirrels and walked over to the girl. "Just who the hell you think you are?" He demanded. "Over here takin' what ain't yers. You must be real stupid thinkin' you can take from me."

Lily, a little offended and taken aback by the prominent southern accent, turned to face him and said, "Call it payback for shooting an arrow in my arm."

Daryl snorted. "I didn't shoot nothin'. Yer the one who shot me."

"Then I guess that," she pointed to the cut arrow on the ground "isn't yours and neither is this mighty fine crossbow."

Daryl's jaw clenched. "Crossbow's mine, so give it here." Daryl held his hand out. He was going to give this girl one chance to hand over his property in a civilized manner. He had no problem with taking it from her.

She looked at his hand and then met his frustrated gaze. "Finders keepers," she said softly with a mocking smile.

"I ain't got no problem takin' it from you the hard way," Daryl said as he reached for his knife, but that was gone too. Lily noticed his confused expression and held up the knife. "Looking for this?" she asked in an honest tone.

Again, Daryl scowled. Before Lily knew what had happened Daryl snatched the knife by the handle. He held it with the tip of the blade pointed at her and said in a menacing tone, "Give me my crossbow."

"No," Lily firmly stated a little too loud as she took a few steps back.

Before Daryl could say anything he heard it. It wasn't too close but it was close enough. Maybe too close. Lily furrowed her brows and went to say something but stopped. She heard it too.

Walkers.

They're low guttural and rasping noises could be heard well enough now and they were only growing closer.

While she was distracted Daryl snatched his crossbow. He put his knife back in its holster and loaded an arrow to have at the ready. He then slung it over his shoulder, went and picked up his squirrels, and began walking away. He wasn't in the mood to deal with walkers.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked softly but in a demanding tone.

Daryl turned to face her and said, "Away from you." He started walking away again.

The wheels in Lily's mind rapidly turned. Walkers were around and she had nowhere to go. He did though. He had somewhere to go.

"I'm going with you," she said as she caught up with him.

"The hell you are. Look, I ain't gonna-" Daryl faced her and stopped talking when he saw that she had a gun pointed at his chest.

"I am going with you," she stated in a tone that left no room for argument.

Daryl wasn't amused or too pleased about the gun though. "You wouldn't," he said.

"I would," she quickly retorted.

Again the walkers could be heard and this time they sounded a little too close for comfort. Daryl frowned. "Fine," he said. "I'm only takin' ya cause I don't feel like puttin' up with any walkers an' I sure as hell am getting' tired o' putting up with you."

With that he turned and led the way to wherever it was that he was going. Lily put her gun back in its rightful place. She mentally let out a sigh of relief because she had remembered in the heat of the moment that the magazine in the gun was empty. Even the safety was still on.

"This is why I don't like guns," she quietly muttered as she followed him.

AN: I couldn't sleep yet again, so bear with me if this chapter is not all that great. Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you.