Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead.

A/N: Whoo! Double digits! Long one, too. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Please keep doing it! Enjoy!

Gimme Danger

Chapter 10: We Will Fall

The camp was under a clear divide by the time the sun had gone down that day. Lori had Shane's back, Jim, Jacqui, Carol, Morales and his family all seemingly still on Shane's side of the fence. The Dixons, Amy, Andrea and presumably Roxy were all on the other, Glenn, Dale and T-Dog straddling the line, not sure which way to go, and not happy about the invisible line crossing through the camp.

Daryl was still waiting for Merle to come back. He hadn't seen hide or hair of his brother all day, not since he'd ventured off alone. Roxy hadn't left her tent at all either, Daryl only knowing this because he'd been in the same area most of the day, just starting a small fire at this point, only enough to keep the embers burning. Glenn had been in and out of the tent three times that day, trying to give her food Daryl had overheard her rejecting.

People were starting to get worried. They were whispering about how she'd been bit or something and was trying to hide it, staying cooped up in there all day. Usually, she spent all free time lying out near the water in a bathing suit Daryl himself couldn't even ignore, or sitting outside her tent reading some sappy looking paperback novel with sexually fuelled scenes on the covers.

All Daryl knew is she'd better make some kind of appearance soon before they all turned on her and accused her of trying to fuck them all over. Daryl hadn't seen any scratches on her or anything though.

As if reading his mind, the zipper slowly and tentatively crept up until there was enough room for her to crawl out, eyes shifting around the area in search of something ready to attack, he bet. She seemed satisfied enough, though he noticed the vice grip she had on the baseball bat she dragged out with her.

" 'Bout time you showed yer face. Startin' ta scare people," Daryl let her know.

"Why?" she wondered as she adjusted her cotton shorts, white fabric contrasting against her bronze skin. He caught himself scanning her legs, not sure if it was to double check and make sure she wasn't hiding anything, or because they looked so dark and long against the white and it distracted him. He'd go with the former.

She slowly made her way towards him, waiting for his answer with a creased brow as she pushed her hair away from her shoulders. "People're thinkin' ya got bit or somethin'. Thinkin' you were hidin' in there cause of it."

"I didn't get bit. I wouldn't do that to everyone," she defended herself softly, looking down at the ground. She didn't understand all the animosity that had been surrounding her. She hadn't done anything but help as best she could. "I have to pee," she said, looking over at the RV. It was a long walk and Daryl saw her looking from the motor home to him, then back again.

"I ain't walkin' ya to the damn bathroom. Think ya can manage it yerself." She wasn't a baby. This was the world now, looking over your shoulder paranoid every second. If she couldn't handle it, then just opt out already.

"I didn't ask you to," she replied, but he had to say he hadn't seen her looking this particularly fragile thus far. She definitely ran with more confidence than this usually. The shuddering breath she let out and tightening of the grip on her bat made Daryl curse and stand.

He grabbed her by her upper arm, crossbow on his back, and pulled her towards the RV, mumbling the whole time about how he felt like he was 'babysitting in hell' or something.

She was grateful he'd walked her to the RV, leaning against the side of it once they'd reached the vehicle. "Hurry the hell up," he insisted and she nodded before walking inside.

Glenn, Dale, Andrea and Amy were all in there, looking pleasantly surprised to see her out of the tent for the first time since she'd been attacked earlier this morning. "It's good to see you up Roxanne," Dale greeted with a friendly smile.

"I just wanted to use the bathroom" she requested, and Dale stepped to the side so she could pass by him. "Thanks."

"Hey, I made you a plate. You should sit and eat when you come out," Amy called after her. Amy had been frightened too, but her encounter hadn't been quite as close as Roxy's; the geek hadn't gotten the opportunity to come in physical contact with her.

"Oh… uh." Roxy glanced back to the door and thought about Daryl waiting for her. It was almost a sweet gesture on his part. "Do you mind if I just bring it back to my tent?"

"Of course not," Amy answered sweetly, getting up from her seat and grabbing the plate she'd made and covered, though it was cold by now regardless.

Roxy did what she came to do and was offered the plate of food from Amy as soon as she walked out, taking it and thanking her.

"I'll walk you back," Glenn volunteered, but Roxy waved her hand in protest. It looked like they'd been in the middle of a game of Monopoly.

"It's okay, finish your game. Daryl's outside. He walked me here because…" She just kind of trailed off, not wanting to actually say she was scared, but knowing they were fully aware of her reasons. Apart from the young kids, Roxy was the baby, a few months younger than Glenn himself, both only being twenty-one, and they all kind of saw that now. Not to say she shouldn't be scared, but this was the world.

Andrea's eyebrows rose, and she chuckled. "That's… uncharacteristically nice of him." She leaned back in her seat, cheek dimpled and clucked her tongue once. "Even the steeliest men can't seem to resist a pretty girl, huh?"

Roxy's lips parted with lost speech. She hadn't even asked him to escort her, though she had wanted him to offer. Dale and Amy both chimed in with light laughter, but Glenn scowled, not liking the idea much, and not knowing how to protest without seeming as though he was purposely attempting to distance them.

"Thanks for the plate. Good night," she said as she walked down the stairs and pushed the door open, exiting the RV and closing it up behind her. Daryl was still waiting where he'd been, puffing on a cigarette, looking like a redneck James Dean with the way he was propped up against the aluminum siding.

"Took ya long enough," he grunted, taking a drag before he offered it to her and they began to walk back to their tents.

"I don't smoke," she declined, never having picked the habit up. Maybe she'd had a couple when she was drinking back when she was in high school and college, but she'd never really enjoyed them.

"Suit yerself. Lung cancer's the leasta yer worries these days though. Might calm yer nerves," he said as he inhaled "Think ya need it more than me right now. Can't even go ta the damn bathroom by yerself." The sad thing was, she'd figured out this was another one of Daryl's attempts at joking around. It wasn't one of his strong suits, and she could never quite tell if he knew he was a little mean or if he genuinely had no idea why people got offended by the things he said.

Even sadder; Roxy thought it was funny and laughed, despite her mood. Things like that wouldn't usually make someone more interested in the socially unaware person who'd said them, but for Roxy, it worked. When it came to Daryl, it was almost an endearing quality. Which, when it came to men, was probably a big reason she'd been so unlucky, because she attracted to things like that. But she enjoyed how Daryl was. He didn't bullshit her. He was straightforward, and if you didn't like it, too bad.

She was beginning to develop a little crush, though the timing was completely inappropriate for that sort of thing.

Daryl's words kind of managed to lighten her mood, and she closed her lips tight and shook her head. "I don't want yellow teeth. I suffered through braces for three years in junior high to get my teeth looking this perfect. I'm not fucking it up now."

Daryl laughed almost silently at her reason as they got to where the tents sat. "Only one thing that'll calm my nerves, but I don't feel like being chastised by the lord dictator again," Roxy muttered, referring to Shane.

"Screw him," Daryl scowled. "Roll it myself 'f it'll keep ya from mopin' around. Don't suit you." He stomped the rest of his cigarette out on the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. " 'Side's, ya really think he'd say shit after he fucked up today?"

He made a point. Roxy thought about it for a second before she shrugged her shoulders and reached down to unzip her tent. "I guess you have a point."

Daryl smirked and held the tent flap open behind her as she climbed in, then followed her inside. At least he could spend the last few hours he planned on being at the camp with the person he disliked the least.

He made himself more comfortable this time, lying to the side with only his upper body on the mattress, legs on the bottom of the tent, going towards Roxy. He actually took the time to look around too. The whole tent had clothes and other stuff thrown around; the two of them were messy as hell. On her side of the tent there were three bags overflowing with clothes that looked clean. A bunch of makeup was in a little open bag near him and he shook his head at it. She wore it daily, and half of him wanted to ask her what the hell for, especially at a time like this. But he figured it was probably her clinging to the last bit of routine from her old life and didn't really want to make her feel stupid for it.

There was a photo album he could clearly see near the little lantern between the mattresses. And those damn romance novels were scattered all over the place. Daryl let out an amused sound, thinking how he'd had no trouble fitting his life into one backpack, not including his hunting gear anyway, and it was mostly his clothes.

"What?" she asked, sitting down where she had the night before near the head of her bed. She put the plate aside while Daryl reached behind her and stole her pillow, tucking it under his head. It was smooth and satiny, covered with a pink case that felt silky against his rough fingers. The smell really caught his attention though. It was so distinctly feminine, flowery and sweet, it made Daryl's hair stand up on the back of his neck.

Roxy reached for the Ziplock baggie, Daryl seeing she'd put it inside one of the clothing bags, and she handed it to him, uncovering her food and looking distastefully down at it.

Daryl sat up a little so he could get to work, filling one of the thin wraps with the broken up bud, just enough to get them there. If she got too fucked up he was afraid she'd start getting paranoid or something. He rolled it briskly, licking the edge of the paper and sealing the end shut with a little twist of his fingers.

"Speedy," Roxy commented as he handed it over to her, and she rummaged for the lighter, successfully finding it. Daryl saw it was covered in some kind of glittery, reflective stuff and had butterflies all over it.

"Yer such a damn girl," he commented, not able to hold it in.

"Well.. yeah." She didn't really know how to respond to that. Was it some kind of insult? He didn't look aggravated, so she guessed not.

"Look at this thing." He picked the lighter up where she had dropped it as she sucked on the joint, and she laughed, realizing why he'd said it, which made her choke on the smoke. She coughed, reaching for her water and trying to pass him the joint at the same time.

He took it from her and she gulped down some liquid quickly, letting out a relieved breath afterwards. "Jesus Christ."

"You gonna be a'right?" he asked, seeing she was clearly trying not to cough again.

"Fine," she answered, waving him off. Daryl sucked some of the smoke into his lungs before he passed it over to her again. She'd uncovered her plate and was picking at everything but the meat. "I'm not gonna eat the meat. Want it?" she questioned, figuring it may as well not go to waste. She just didn't have the stomach for it at the moment.

"Maybe after a couplea hits," he answered, not all that hungry. They continued passing the small joint around.

"So, how many times has your brother been to prison?" Roxy wondered, trying to start a conversation, because they'd been sitting in silence for a little while. She'd noticed he wasn't much for talking about himself, but he'd talk about Merle.

Daryl snorted, taking the joint from her and inhaling a small amount, then a little more before he released the smoke. "Fsh, served time more than once," was all he revealed.

Roxy wasn't surprised. There was just a certain aura of not giving a fuck that surrounded Merle. "What about you?" She took her hit and passed it back immediately.

"Did a stint 'r two in juvie. Couplea overnights for fights an' shit." He didn't know why he was telling her this. "Hey, what about you Fast n' Furious, stealin' cars."

"Just a few overnights for fighting. I got caught holding a couple of times and had to go but Glenn bailed me out. Had a court date coming up actually. Looks like the pressure's off for that at least, huh? Never got caught stealing cars though." She threw him a proud little smirk.

"Damn girl, you bad," Daryl teased, hardly able to picture her thieving expensive sports cars with the Korean.

"Shut up." Her arm lifted and she pushed his shoulder playfully, Daryl flinching slightly. "I wasn't always like that. The city just changed me."

Silence settled again, and Roxy was the one to break it again.

"You need to shave," she commented, after staring at Daryl while he puffed the joint, and then she reached up and rubbed the scruff of his chin.

"The hell you always gotta touch me?" he finally asked, using his forearm to swat her hand away and pass her the joint at the same time.

She snickered, clearly a little high, and shrugged her shoulders innocently. "I don't know, I touch my friends when I talk to them. It's just how I am. I don't really think about it."

Daryl wiped the smirk of his face at her explanation and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, we friends now?" His tone was condescending, and it made Roxy look down, away form him and shrug her shoulders again. She'd thought they were sort of building a bond. It seemed almost too convenient he was always there to save her. He always seemed to be around. Then again, maybe she'd just forced herself on him.

Silence filled the tent as they finished off the small joint and Daryl put it out in an empty can. "Ain't gonna get all quiet an' weird again, are ya? Don't seem right when you ain't blabbin'," he asked, not feeling comfortable at all in the new silence.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I'm just… terrified. Maybe I'm in shock still. I don't know. I just don't want to leave this tent any more than I have to. I want to sleep and pretend this isn't happening."

"It is happenin'." Daryl was quick to remind her. "Pretendin' it aint's only gonna getchya killed." Daryl sat up a little straighter, and then crossed his ankles. "You ain't got no choice. Me an' Merle 're leavin' soon as the sun's up in the mornin'. Ain't gonna be around ta save ya no more."

Her head snapped to look at him instead of her fidgeting hands. They were frozen now. "What?" She thought she'd heard wrong.

"Said we're leavin' in the mornin'. I ain't sittin' around here, waitin' for more of 'em ta find us. It was two this time, could be twenty next," he elaborated.

She looked shocked by this news, and Daryl wondered why. How long did she think this fighting amongst each other would last before something bad happened? And how long did she think they could stay in one place? "You can't go. Please don't go."

"You don't even fuckin' know me. The hell you care for?" He sat up completely, bringing his knees up and leaving his legs bent spread apart, hands hanging between as his elbows rest on his knees

"I know, but right now, I've spent more time with you than anyone else alive besides Glenn. You're my only other friend really." That's just how it was. She'd pretty much assumed everyone else she'd known was dead.

"I ain't ever said we were friends," Daryl contested. She needed to realize there was no room for feelings during this ordeal. She needed to get her head out of the clouds and wake up, or she'd be sorry.

"But we are because if we weren't you would've chewed me out like you chew everyone else out by now." She took in a big breath and let it right out. "And you wouldn't be sitting here."

"Don't matter whatchya think. We ain't friends," he deflected again.

"Please. We can talk about moving on, whatever. We'll convince Shane and everyone. Tomorrow." She was desperate to keep him here.

"Tomorrow ain't gonna save us tonight." Roxy pursed her lips. Why was he doing this? She knew when they'd come she said they could leave if they didn't like it, but they should've done it right away. How could he just bail on them now?

"If you go, we'll never see each other again. I don't want that to happen. Why do you?" she wondered aloud. He could be one of those guys who wanted to completely close himself off all he wanted, but she knew there was something there between them. He had a soft spot for her; she was sure of it. "You make me feel safer," she confessed.

"I ain't gonna keep riskin' my neck like that. Sooner or later, my luck'll run out. And it ain't gonna be fer you, or no one else here, cause we ain't friends!" he hissed.

Roxy shook her head in protest. "No Daryl, we need you. Please, you can't leave me right now. You are the only person I trust to keep the camp safe. We need you so bad." She reached out and squeezed his hand tightly. "I'm already so scared. And I'm begging you."

He didn't like the warmth her eyes made him feel, looking at him like that, so sadly, and he liked the bold grip she had on his hand even less. It was pathetic. Snatching his hand away form her, he stood, taking his weapon with him and opening the tent door. "I ain't gonna be here in the mornin'. 'f it makes any difference, I hope ya don't get yerself killed."

As he walked out, closing up the tent behind him, Roxy's stomach plummeted.

She was doomed.