A week seemed to be the average time between conversations with Rebecca and Daryl. The brunette girl only spent a grand total of three days healing, or well…she refused to stay down for any longer than that. No one could talk her out of getting up and going outside. She seemed to like it there more than inside the house with all the people, and she often sat under a tree in the shade, her knife in one hand, the sharpening steel in the other, quiet as could be. She got up and returned inside on occasion, maybe to rest where she wouldn't have to run from something and reopen her still healing wounds, but for a week, Daryl hadn't laid eyes upon her.

The country man had heard her before he heard her; for once, she wasn't blabbering on with that Louisiana accent of hers. The girl was humming to the side, an unfamiliar tune leaking from her lips as the blade scraped on the long steel. With the sound of her low melody guiding him to her, he found her at the base of a thick oak, the leaves crunched underneath her boots as she tapped her feet to the tune that was clear in her head, but even though she seemed to be wrapped up in her own thoughts, she still managed to be aware of her surroundings and initiate conversation with the older man.

"Ever watch Sweeny Todd?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion. What the shit was a Sweeny? "Never heard of it."

"It's a good play, but I liked the movie a hella lot more," she hummed a few more bars, a low, soothing melody, the scraping of the blade adding a layer of uneasiness to it. Her brown eyes were focused on the task at hand. "Th' barber, Sweeny Todd, got shipped off to a prison camp by this judge who wanted his wife's ass, but she ended up poisoning herself because he raped her or something, and she was upset. The dumb bitch seemed to forget her kid though, and the judge took charge of it," an exceptionally angry scrape emphasized her displeasure," Well the barber comes back, and he gets pissy because h the judge is an asshole, and he goes on this epic killing spree with this psycho baker lady who wants his D." She threw a glance up at him for a moment before returning it to her hands. "Well, in the end, he ends up killing the judge and getting his revenge, but his wife was alive and he killed her too, and nearly killed his daughter, who he didn't know was his daughter, and the psycho baker lady. But this kid they took in ends up killing him…Oh, and there's this cute lil' boy who ends up marrying Johanna in the end. That's the daughter's name."

"You just like to hear yourself talk, don't you?"

"Can't say I don't," she gave a chortling laugh and put her knives back into the case that was beside her, then picked up her gun and began working on cleaning it. "You know, I really hope Johnny Depp is alive."

"Who the hell is that?"

The girl practically slammed her gun out and threw him a dirty look. "Who's Johnny Depp!? That's like asking who Ghandi is!"

"Hey hey, let's calm down," he rolled his eyes and plopped down on the opposite side of the tree so he wouldn't have to look at her ugly face. He grumbled out an insult at her, "Dumb bitch." She didn't seem offended by that, and she merely threw a grin over her shoulder and returned it playfully.

"Stupid hick."

A comfortable silence fell over them as he skinned the eight or so rabbits he had caught and killed. The clacking of her gun gave him the indication she hadn't left. And it seemed that they would both be there for a long time, and the sun had moved its position from one horizon to the middle of the sky before she spoke again.

"Ever been married?"

He raised a brow and looked back at her, to catch her gaze with his. "Do I look like the type to get hitched?"

"Not really…A boy asked me to marry him before all this. The kid bought the ring and all."

"And? What did you do?"

"I kicked him."

"Damn girl. Rude."

"I knew him for two weeks, barely remembered his name when he asked. It was Adam, by the way…he was kind of crazy."

"Had to be to like you."

She sucked in a playful breath and placed her hand over her heart, as if she had been wounded. "Wow. Ow, that one stung a bit."

He rolled his eyes and picked up the last rabbit. "You've heard worse."

"That's true."

And no more words were spoken between the two. Both were comfortable with the silence, though it was strange for the chatty girl to be quiet, Daryl was pleased with the fact that she was silent, no stupid stories about Sweenies, no movie actors, no ominous melodies being hummed. Just…Silence. Even as they walked back to the house, her eyes drooping slightly from being so weary; healing had taken more out of her than she had let on, so when she stumbled from being so exhausted, he snatched the back of her shirt and yanked her up onto her feet with a quiet word of chastisement, and took her shotgun from her hands. There was a low growl from her, but she didn't attempt to take it back. She'd yank it from his cold, dead hands later. "Percy…"

"What?"

A finger flicked to point at her gun. "His name is Percy…Keep him safe." She hobbled on inside, the soreness returning to her short frame, and he rolled his eyes, a motion that was becoming alarmingly second nature to him.

"Crazy girl…"

Another week passed before that boy, the one that had a bum leg, arrived. Rebecca had gotten significantly better by then, and hadn't paid half a mind to the boy, but when the two feuding cops returned with the boy in tow after announcing they were going to released him, she was intrigued. She hadn't spoken more than two words to Shane outside of a greeting or two, but it was becoming evident that he was losing it from the way he interacted around others. She stayed a good distance from him as often as possible, not wanting to have to draw her knife on a man that seemed to be twice her size. He'd have to go after her for that to happen.

Rebecca's interest was now invested in that boy though…Daryl had gone to talk to him, but a tingle in her tiny frame told her that it wasn't words that were going to be exchanged. Her pink tongue darted over her teeth as she pulled on her army pack and made her way to the barn they kept the boy as stealthy as she could, darting around the back and out of everyone's sights. She took one careful step at a time, her hunting expertise keeping her out of sight as Daryl stormed out, his fists bloody and his expression darker than before. With his back turned, she slipped into the rapidly closing doors and laid eyes upon the boy.

His eyes widened as he saw her, obviously panicked by her presence, but before he could scream and alert the others to her presence, she placed a finger over her lips and put down her back and the knife in her grip. It seemed to relax him a bit, but his tight lips and the slight wriggling motion he made as he tried to scoot away from her told her that she was still alarmed. "Hey hey…I'm the nice one. What's your name, kid?"

The boy licked his lips tentatively, deciding whether or not answering her was a good idea, but eventually, he settled and told her. "Randall."

"Alright…Rebecca," she approached him, crawling over on her hands and knees while dragging her back pack with her. He flinched and turned his head away as one hand came up to his face and hovered over the fresh wounds. "Geeze…Harsh. I can't give you ice or anything for the swelling but…" She dug into her pack and pulled out a small medical kit from its depths, and upon opening it, it was more spacious than it seemed. Gauze and bandages were haphazardly thrown in, but she was rooting around in it for something else. She found it a moment later and a bottle was wrapped in her worn fingers. "Here…Asprin is the best I've got for you, and I can clean your wounds, but I can't wrap them…They'll find out and then I can't come help. So shh…" he nodded, and after fishing out a small bottle of water, she put the pills in his awaiting mouth and poured water in slowly, trying not to choke him. A drop dribbled out, and her thumb swiped over his bottom lip, shooing the droplet away gently.

The young man hissed as she patted a cloth of disinfectant over his open wounds, but it the sting passed, and she packed her materials away. His eyes followed her, and before she got to the door to leave, he called to her softly. "You're very kind, ma'am…"

She scoffed offhandedly and waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, right. You're just glad that I'm not beating your face in…" She gently went to work on him, her rough hands working on them gashes shakily. She shoved a roll of bandages in his open mouth as she poured a bit of alcohol on his wounds to keep them clean, and she was glad she did because he screamed into it out of pain. After the initial pain and a few moments of silence, she removed it from his lips. "Sorry…It'll be worth it…"

"Thank you…Could you maybe…Help me get out? I won't do anything, I swear!"

"Sorry, kid…Just because I fixed you, doesn't mean I can trust you…You've gotta prove it to me, to everyone…" She threw her brown gaze at him from over her shoulder and held his own gaze steadily. "I really hope you can do that…You seem like a good guy…" With that, she silently slid out.

For the next few days, she tended to him after each beating, her supplies slowly dwindling down little by little…until she made the mistake of bandaging his shredded wrists with clean white bandages. A certain redneck had seen them by chance, and instead of going to the rest of the group to consult them, he immediately went after his suspect himself.

Daryl found her underneath her usual shady oak, taking care of her arsenal. The man stalked up to her and held the bloody bandages out for her to see, and her shit brown eyes slowly glazed over them, widening just a touch in surprise and horror. "You do this?" He spat out angrily, acid lacing his southern accent.

"No…" She lied straight to his face, and even she seemed a little ashamed of that.

Clearly, he didn't believe her, and his deep set scowl worsened. "Who did then?" He snapped, his patience worn. They were trying to get information from this guy, who could possibly lead an antagonistic group to them, and she was trying to help him? Stupid little-

"I dunno…" She mumbled lowly, like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Her worn fingers plucked at the grass beneath her.

"Don't lie to me girl."

It was her turn to scowl as she turned her gaze from the ground she had been intently watching. "Ok fine; I helped him, okay?"

"No! Not okay. What if he did something to you? Got away?"

"Well he didn't! It's not a big deal!"

"I don't know why you think yourself invincible, Rebecca!" He seemed to hit the nail on the head as her sour look only deepened. "You're gonna get yourself fuckin' killed!"

"Mind your own business," the smaller girl practically snarled at him, a low grumble resonating in the back of her throat as she more or less threw everything show owned into the bag at her feet, wanting to get away from him as quick as she could, "You don't know me."

Daryl gritted his teeth, but didn't make a move to stop her. "You better stay away from that boy…I won't come to save your ass when you need me to."

She brushed past him in annoyance, making sure to slam her slight shoulder into him roughly, though seen regretted it because he was considerable more solid. Her braid swayed behind her as she trudged away from him, a black cloud hanging over her and her defenses visible again. He just watched, his blue irises narrowed in annoyance at her foolish actions. His fist tightened until his knuckles were white, and his lips pursed together into a fine line. With a snarl, the youngest Dixon slammed the side of his clenched fist into the tree and trudged off into the woods, the bloodied bandages in his hand. He'd throw them where no one would find them. If he brought it up to rick or anyone else, they would make a big deal of it, possibly throw the girl out. He didn't care much, but they needed everyone they could get.

Despite the warning, Rebecca made her way to the barn after dark, her lithe form skirting against the walls until she made her way to the barn and slipped in soundlessly. At the motion, the boy awoke from his slumber and immediately started flailing and making noise, his vision obstructed by a blindfold. "Shh!" She chastised as she approached him,"We've been through this before, Randall. Shut it."

"S-Sorry…" He mumbled, a little relaxed, "Its dark, and I'm always afraid that those other men will come out…"

"This time of night? Doubt it…" She gently touched a cut after removing the blindfold from his eyes, testing to see if it was warm and infected. He sucked in a deep breath. "Oh, sorry."

" It's okay…Try not to do it again."

"Yeah," she gently began dabbing at his cuts, each touch drawing a pained breath from him. "Almost there..."

"…You have any idea what they plan on doing with me…?" She remained silent, pondering how she should answer him…Rebecca heard whispers of an execution for him, and it sounded as if it would be carried out within the week. "Not good then…"

"No…" She moved away, her job complete, "Not good at all."

"Run away with me." There should have been a snap with how quickly her head turned back to him. "We can leave! Together! My group will take you back!"

"No…" She sighed and shook her head, her long brunette locks fanning out slightly with the motion. "I can't do that, hun…I've got responsibilities here."

"No no! Don't leave me here Rebecca!" he pleaded pitifully, his voice high pitched and panicked. The handcuffs around his wrists rattled noisily until suddenly stopping. His warm touch was tightly gripped around her thin wrist, the blood dripping down her skin and her fingers. He had practically broken his wrist to get it out of its binds, and torn so much skin that the skin around both sides of his hands. The flesh was angry and raw , and she could feel it against her worn skin. "Please Please! Don't go! I don't wanna die!"

"Let go of me, Randall…" Her eyes were boring into his, not angry, but clearly displeased. His grip only tightened on her wrist in response. "One…"

"Listen to me!"

"Two…"

"Rebecca I love you!" Her eyes narrowed, but she paused in her count down. "I love you, and I want you to come with me! We'll start a life and it'll be wonderful! Just let me go and I'll take you away from these people. If they're doing this to me, what will they do to you?"

"Three." She lashed out, a thin, needle point dagger held tautly in her small hands. Its cold steel bit into his face from the corner of his lip to his temple. With a yelp of pain, his grip slackened and she turned on him, taking his wrist in her hand and bending it awkwardly behind his back and tightening the grip of the metal handcuffs painfully around him. Now that he was contained, she grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall of the barn, hard enough to make his vision swim, but not hard enough to do lasting damage. "You touch me again boy…" Her brown eyes were rock hard in their gaze, and held little emotion in their depths. She twirled the knife around her fingers, and stabbed the blade into the wood close to his head, her eyes on his, watching to see his horrified reaction. "…And I won't miss next time…" With a sharp tug, she pulled it out, the silver glinting in the moonlight. The girl trudged out wordlessly, her supplies and weapon in hand.

The next morning, Daryl made his way out to check on Randall to make sure he wasn't dead, his knife on his hip and the remainders his breakfast that he had caught an hour prior in hand. Throwing the bone off to the side, the country man opened the gate and took a peek inside, only to see the boy was bleeding from a large knife wound on his face that he or Rick's second in command hadn't caused. His lips turned into a deep scowl as he stalked over. Without his blindfold, Randall got to witness Daryl's change in demeanor, and writhed around, trying futilely to escape. Disregarding the younger man's panic, he grabbed his jaw roughly and forced the boy to look at him.

"Did you touch her?" Daryl snarled as he tightened his drip painfully on the others face.

"N-No-"

"Don't lie to me, boy!"

"I-I didn't mean to hurt her! I-I Just-" Daryl's fist never moved so quick as it cracked across the boy's face. A tooth went skittering across the floor as a mixture of saliva and blood spattered across the wooden walls.

"She fixed your stupid ass up! And that's what you give back?!"

"I didn't do anything-" Another strike across his face cut him off, but he was quick to start up again," I just wanted her to leave with me! I'd take care of her!"

His words just brought more pain to him as Daryl was upon him again, his knife in his hand and placed at his neck. "I should kill you right now for that! You don't know that girl!"

"You don't either-" He drove the knife into his injured leg, effectively stopping his train of thought with a scream.

"You shut your mouth; you are not going to talk to her ever again!" Daryl pulled away and left his threat lingering in the air as he stormed out. He latched the door tightly, and the noise of metal hitting metal drew the attention of a few other who were nearby, but he didn't seem to care much. His mind was on someone else, and he could see her sitting up in the branches of the oak close by. Once the man was at its base, he looked up at her, squinting slightly from the sunlight that peered through its branches. "I warned you." She didn't respond, or even acknowledge his presence. He growled and watched her for a moment before growling a low ,"Fuck it…" And scaling up the tree up to her level.

"It's my birthday, you know…" Rebecca said lowly, her eyes focused on a family of birds that was far out of her reach. "I'm Seventeen now…Getting' old, huh?"

"Tell yourself that when you're thirty…" He settled himself in the branch, intent on chastising her, but he was met with half a chocolate bar. His dark brows furrowed and he looked at her, confused. She stared back for a moment, then shrugged. "Want it? I can eat it all myself if that's what you want. I'm not exactly worried about gaining weight anymore, and I sure as hell can't have a birthday cake." He took it, mostly just to appease her so he could talk with her, and he took a bite of the thin bar. It was overly sweet to him, but she seemed pleased with it. "I know what you're here for, and it's not the fact that I'm one year closer to being legal."

"Then let's cut to the chase…" He reached out and took her wrist lightly; she didn't object as he moved her long sleeves back to revel the obvious purple bruising on her wrist. He had noticed it when she held out the chocolate to him. "Is that all he did?"

"Yeah…I've had worse…" He opened his mouth to call her stupid, but she cut him off. "He told me he loved me."

Daryl was shocked to say the least; of course Randall liked her; she was there to fix him instead of hurt him, but he didn't expect him to proclaim his love just like that. "You believe him?" He managed to get out after sucking on the melting chocolate in his mouth to save some time.

"You look at his face? Of course I didn't."

"Smart girl." She raised a brow skeptically; that was the first time he called her intelligent. "He would have killed you if you let him go. Isn't it every girl's fairy tale to get whisked away, anyway?"

"Romeo isn't my type." She bit into her last square before wiping her hand on her pants, as the other was still being held lightly. She gestured to his hand. "You're kind of bleeding there," She said as she chewed on her chocolate. He hadn't quite noticed the cuts that formed, and he had only socked the boy twice. "Must've hit him pretty hard, Balboa; good job." He stayed quiet and just gave her the customary eye roll before she pulled away from him and jumped down to the ground, hitting it and rolling straight to her neatly packed bag. "I fixed him up enough. I'll fix you too."