"Rick, there's a barn, a couple miles away. Do you think we can manage that far?"

Rick looked at Abe, then at the sky. They'd been on the road for twenty minutes. When the sky had darkened alarmingly in the morning they had decided that they had no choice but to move, and hope they'd find shelter quickly. No sooner had they set off than the rain had started.

While the water was welcome by them all in their parched state a few things had become obvious quickly: Having Daryl exposed to the heavy downpour was both painful for his head and cooled him down so fast that he could barely move for shivering now. In addition, the rain was quickly turning into a storm.

Rick looked over at where Daryl was slumped against Carol. They were cowering under a nearby tree and she was trying to shield him from the worst of the pounding rain. All their clothes and blankets were wet and the hunter was shivering so hard Rick could see him shaking even from fifteen yards away. They needed shelter now.

"If you help me again we can. Anyway, we don't really have a choice."

For another mile or so Daryl still managed to put one foot in front of the other more or less consistently as long as Abe and Rick took most of his weight. As the storm became stronger, and Daryl's strength waned, every yard became a struggle. His breath now came in tiny, hissing gasps, and his low moans soon turned into sobs. Finally, with a desperate cry he slumped almost unconscious between the two men, nearly bringing them all crashing down onto the slippery, muddy road.

"How far, Abe?" Rick gasped, holding Daryl up with his own waning strength, one hand supporting his chest to keep him upright, feeling his man's heart beating wildly, ribcage rising and falling erratically with each rattly, uncertain breath.

Abe looked down at the hunter. "Less than a mile. Here…"

He bent down, slid Daryl's arm more firmly around his neck and picked him up with the other arm behind his knees. Daryl's head immediately slumped against Abe's shoulder. He moaned quietly at the sudden shift in position but didn't open his eyes. Rick knew he was barely conscious.

He looked at his man's face with worry. Wet from the downpour it was no longer merely pale but looked gray, almost translucent. There were huge black circles under his eyes, and his lips were almost purple. He was shivering hard. Rick could only imagine how much the cold was affecting him in his condition. When he arranged Daryl's arm so it wouldn't hinder Abe from keeping his balance his hand was like ice.

And so they continued. Rick walked by Abe's side, making sure the road held no obstacles, and ready at all times to catch both Daryl and Abe should the latter lose his footing. Finally, just as Rosita had let them between the trees a way, a small wooden building came into view. Rick walked ahead of Abe now, knowing just how treacherous the promise of safety was – and how much they needed even this uncertain respite.

The day crawled by. The storm steadily grew worse. And as if they hadn't enough to worry about, when Abe, Tara and Michonne came back from scouting the area they brought with them a report of water bottles left in the middle of the road, with a sign reading "From a friend". Rick, nerves already at breaking point, grew more and more tense as they sat and waited out the storm, mind revolving around this mysterious new development – was it a threat? – and their overall desperate situation.

Again he left a lot of their usual tasks to the others as all his efforts centered on making Daryl comfortable, and – he couldn't hide the thought from himself any longer – do what he could to keep his man alive.

After trying for a frustratingly long time they finally got a small fire going. Maggie helped Rick spread their bedding close to try and get it dried out. All of their belongings had gotten thoroughly drenched in the downpour. Daryl was on the bare ground with his head in Carol's lap, shaking uncontrollably, whimpering. She looked up at Rick with a frown as the hunter's moans of pain grew louder.

"We need to strip that wet stuff off him, he'll never be able to stop shivering otherwise. Have we got anything at least halfway dry?"

Rick and Maggie rummaged through their things, but everything was damp if not positively dripping. Carol thought for a moment, then pointed towards the small space at the front of the barn where they'd killed a single, female walker on arrival.

"In there. I saw an old horse blanket, off to the side. It might not be too awful."

It turned out to be pretty awful, and smelled worse, but it was dry and had no visible blood on it. Carol motioned at Rick as he inspected it doubtfully.

"Come here and help me. We need to strip him down completely, and you're going to do the same." She saw the look on his face and rolled her eyes. "Believe me, I wish I could come up with a better plan… Body heat is the only thing we got. You'll lie down with him to try and warm him up, or he's not going to survive the night."

Rick knew Carol was right. He did as he was told. He wasn't bothered about his modesty, or how dirty the floor was. All he could think about was saving his man. He felt a paralyzing fear creeping up inside him at the thought that it might already be too late. As he helped Carol and Maggie undress Daryl, then stripped himself, Rick prayed for the first time in many years.

Maggie hung up his and Daryl's clothes with the bedding. Rick stretched out on the ground next to Daryl, and Carol helped him pull the hunter close, settling down with as much skin on skin contact as possible. Rick caught the horrified look on Carol's face as her gaze slid up and down Daryl's emaciated form. When her eyes met Rick's he could see tears in them.

"I had no idea how bad it was… oh Rick!" She motioned at his back. "And did you know about the scars?"

Rick shook his head. "I suspected, but he never lets anyone see them…"

Carol briefly stroked Daryl's head where it lay against Rick's chest, then squeezed Rick's arm. He had to look away to refrain from crying himself. He pulled Daryl as close as he could and slowly relaxed as his man's shivers subsided. Carol tucked the coarse blanket around them both, then got up.

"Rick, you try and get some sleep too. With a little luck things will look less bleak in the morning."

Daryl, shielded against the light from the fire by Rick's body, was finally calming his restless shivering. His skin, like ice against Rick when they'd first touched, was getting warmer now. His breathing seemed to ease up some, too. Maybe, if he got some real sleep now and took the last pill in the morning things could still work out ok.

Rick wasn't too hopeful, but if he allowed the despair to take over now he might as well just give up.