I sighed and looked down at my leg again. I looked ridiculous with two mis-matched pants legs. I leaned onto one side and pulled my knife out of its sheath, and I set to work cutting up the other pant leg. I tossed the leftover material onto the coffee table next to the other one. I put my knife away and sat back on the couch, wondering where to go from here.

Daryl came back into the room, and he was carrying two bottles of water and two cans. The lids had been pried off of the cans. "There's plenty of food here." He handed me a can, and I saw that it was mixed beans. He put my bottle of water on the coffee table. "We can stay for a while if you want."

There was that 'we' again. What exactly was he planning? He kept everything so close to the chest it was impossible to tell. "Daryl," I said. "You don't have to stay here and help me if you don't want. I'll be okay."

He scraped around in his can for a bit before answering. "You can't get around." He shrugged again, and for the first time I began to wonder if it was a defensive gesture he was making, not a dismissive one.

I set my can down on the coffee table and pushed myself into a sitting position on edge of the couch. I was taking a huge chance, but I was pretty sure he wasn't the killing type by now. "I was going to this place called Terminus. There are signs everywhere saying that anyone is welcome. You should come with me."

Daryl squinted at me in that way that he had. "I was heading there anyway. I was with a group. We got split up."

A group. Daryl was with a group. So he wasn't a loner after all. Or maybe he still was, even when he was around other people. Some people just preferred to be alone. For the first time since I had met him, I smiled. "Then we can go to Terminus together." Daryl didn't smile back at me, but he nodded, and that was good enough for me.

He stood up then and went over to his backpack. He pulled out the homemade alarm system and went back through the kitchen, and I heard him open a door in the back. I leaned back onto the couch and closed my eyes, listening to the faint sounds of him setting it up. I was feeling the effects of the past day, and my body was tired from losing so much blood.

I drifted off again, and it was hours later when I awoke. The house was dark, but Daryl had lit some candles and placed them around the living room. I yawned and looked around the living room. Daryl was sitting in the recliner, his crossbow next to his chair, and he was watching me. I sat up, feeling embarrassed. He had the most unnerving way of looking at someone.

"How late is it?" I asked, only because I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Probably about ten." Daryl said.

I grimaced. "I didn't mean to sleep that late." I gestured to him. "You should sleep now. I can stay up and keep watch."

Daryl shook his head. "Don't need to trade. If we both stay upstairs in one room we should be okay. Walkers can't get up stairs."

Walkers. I had never heard them called that before. Still, something he said made me pause. "One room?"

"Makes escape easier if we're together." he replied. Again, I didn't sense that he meant anything inappropriate. He was just thinking logically. He was extremely matter-of-fact. In a way it both pleased and offended me, just a little.

"Okay." I said. "But if you're tired you can go ahead and go up there. I don't want to keep you up."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "How are you gonna come upstairs if I'm asleep?" He pointed at my leg.

"Oh." I said. He was right, of course. The thought of him carrying me again made me feel flush all over. "Well, uh, okay. I'm ready when you are, then."

Daryl stood up and began blowing out all of the candles except for one, which he slid off of an end table and handed to me. "Hold this." I took it from him, and he shouldered his crossbow and then bent down to slide his hands underneath me. The touch of his fingers on me made my skin erupt in goosebumps, and I prayed that he didn't notice. It had been a long time since I had had regular human contact, and I didn't realize how much I had missed it. He pulled me up against his chest, and to distract myself I focused on keeping the candle lit. I curled a hand around it and guarded the flame as he started upstairs. On the fourth step from the top the flame flickered and went dangerously close to going out, and Daryl stopped still on the stair. We both watched as it disappeared and then came flickering back, holding our breath together. When it popped back into existence, I looked up at him and laughed, and he rewarded me with his first smile. It changed his entire face. The hard lines softened, and his eyes lightened considerably. They were as blue as the sky on a crisp summer day.

When his eyes met mine, however, he dropped the smile on his face and settled it back into its neutral state. I looked back down at the candle, feeling like I was somehow worse off than before. Daryl continued up the stairs and down the hallway to the last bedroom on the left. He pushed open the door with his foot and walked into the room. He deposited me gently on the bed, but he wouldn't look at me again. He went back to the door and closed and locked it. He walked over to the dresser and began to push it in front of the door.

I set the candle on the nightstand next to the bed, feeling duly embarrassed. I hardly knew this guy, yet I was being a giant fool in front of him. Me, who told herself every day that she needed no one and that she was just fine on her own. One day in another guy's company and I turn into a gigantic wimp. I felt shame wash over me. For all I knew, he was married and trying to find his wife again. God, I hated myself sometimes. If I got to Terminus, would I make a gigantic ass of myself there, too?

Daryl finished moving the dresser and turned back around to me. "Do you, uh, need anything?" This time it was me who couldn't look back at him; I shook my head. Daryl walked over to the bed. "Can I have one of those pillows?" He gestured to the other side of me, where two pillows were neatly stacked on the other side of the bed. I reached over and picked one up, handing it over to him. He took it from me and walked to the side of the room, dropping it onto the carpet. He sank down to the floor and stretched out his legs, crossing one over the other. He closed his eyes. I opened my mouth to tell him that I didn't mind sharing the bed, but then I remembered the look in his eyes when our gaze had met, and I closed my mouth. I leaned up to blow out the candle next to me, and then I curled up tightly into a ball on the bed. I didn't sleep for a very long time.