Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead or its characters. I only own Elise Young.

A/N: Chapter fifteen is still in progress. The new arrival of a rescue puppy at our home means I'll be quite busy for the next few weeks but I will try to work on this fic as often as I can. Thank you to all who read, review, favourite and follow this fic.

ShadowXMoonlight: I agree with the "Mmmmm" part. Elise's reaction to Daryl's muscles was the same as mine. Yes, my mouth actually watered! Thanks for your continuous support. It really, really means a lot.

shika93: Thanks again for your reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!

Happy reading!

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Can't Make It Alone

Chapter Ten: Keeping The Peace

The sight of Merle's hand and the blood around it led Elise's stomach to finally give in its fight against emptying itself.

The young woman fell to her knees, shaking like a leaf as she knew what was coming. It scared her so much. Just the thought of vomiting was enough to scare her, but knowing it was about to happen was so much worse. Luckily for her, Glenn and Rick had seen her go down and as she tried to calm her breathing and ignore the horrible feeling in the back of her throat, she heard a gentle voice in her ear.

Rick was right there beside her, talking her through it slowly. He never knew a person could be so scared about just throwing up, and he didn't really know what to do or what she needed to calm down. She reached for his hand and gripped it tightly, thankful she'd tied her hair up as she emptied her guts onto the rooftop. She didn't make a single sound apart from the deep breath she took after each time hurled, but the splattering of her vomit as it hit the rooftop wasn't enough to drown out the horrendous sounds of grief coming from Daryl.

"She okay?" Glenn asked, watching Elise's face pale as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Deep breaths, Elise." Rick coaxed her gently, "You aren't going to have a panic attack today. You were sick, but now, you're clean and you're not gonna be sick any more. You're okay."

Elise breathed deeply, trying to ignore Daryl's distress. As the grieving man became quiet, Elise was steadily helped to her feet by Glenn and Rick, who checked her over and made sure she was okay. She felt better, and the colour had come back into her face as she regained control of her breathing and the violent shaking of her body. She smiled gratefully at Rick and wiped the tears from her eyes, leaning over slightly to take more deep breaths of fresh air.

Recovering from the shock of finding his brother's mutilated hand, Daryl was quick to pull his crossbow on T-Dog, aiming it right between his eyes with a loud grunting noise. The group hadn't been prepared, due to dealing with Elise, and therefore they knew they had to quickly jump into action.

And the first to react was Rick, who thought it was a good idea to aim his gun at Daryl's head. Elise could only shake her head and let out an exasperated sigh at their antics. Daryl was clearly distraught, and all Rick was doing was making matters worse. They had to move soon if they wanted to find Merle. She didn't get it. What was it with men and their weaponry? They were acting like they were in a Die Hard movie. All trying to be badass tough-guys.

"I won't hesitate." Rick threatened, "I don't care if every walker in the city hears it."

"Now, now..." Elise said calmly, walking to the group slowly and shakily, "Let's play nicely, boys. No need for any of this stupid macho crap y'all are pulling."

Steadily, Elise reached across and put a hand on Daryl's crossbow, pushing it down away from T-Dog. She also did the same to Rick's gun. It was clear that Daryl was much calmer, and to her amazement, he gave her a respectful nod.

"Thank you." She almost whispered, her expression changing to one of guilt and sympathy, which twisted in Daryl's gut, "I'm so sorry, Daryl. I really am."

He hated sympathy. He hated pity. This woman barely knew him. She barely knew any of them. So why the hell was she so sorry about all of this? Why was she so bothered about his brother; the same man who bruised her face? Why did she care about what he felt? He didn't know. But it was a refreshing change from people judging him, and people avoiding him. He didn't really know how to take it. And then she smiled at him, giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder, which made his feelings conflict even more. Was she his friend? He had no idea. He was never good at reading people.

Now that the atmosphere was calm, Elise stepped away from the trio and gently gestured for Rick to join her, giving Daryl and T-Dog some space. Much to everyone's surprise, Daryl turned to T-Dog and spoke to him in the most civil manner anyone had heard from him before. He was still shaking, though, and still clearly upset.

"You got a..." He began, taking another breath, "You got a do-rag or something?"

Glenn's jaw dropped. Elise had to fight back a chuckle as she saw Rick's face fall into a similar state. She was a master at this, Rick realised. Bringing high energy and high stress situations down into a calm, collected atmosphere was a great skill to have, especially in times like these. When tensions were high, mistakes were made, so someone with Elise's skill was a vital asset to the group.

"Where'd you learn to deal with people like this?" He whispered, watching her shrug her shoulders lightly.

"I was a kindergarten teacher." She said, "You know, people are always gonna get into arguments and confrontations. If you know how to separate kids, it's not that hard with adults. Just gotta try a few different tactics. Its all the same underneath. My father had one hell of a temper sometimes, but I could deal with him just fine. If I could deal with Dad, I can deal with anyone."

They watched as Daryl approached the mutilated hand with the rag T-Dog had given him and Elise let out a quiet groan as he knelt down in front of the limb. There were flies buzzing around it and on it, which sent a whirring sensation through her belly. She grimaced, putting a hand over her mouth and turning away.

"I guess the, uh..." Daryl said quietly, "The saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs..."

He picked up the hand and studied it, giving the others a quick glance to see them all looking grossed out. The noise the flesh made as he turned the hand was enough to cause Elise to cover her ears at the awful noise.

"Ain't that a bitch..." Daryl muttered, wrapping the hand up in the do-rag.

He turned to Glenn, gesturing for him to step closer. Glenn looked more freaked out than Elise had ever seen him when Daryl put the hand in his backpack, and she let out a low whistle, swallowing thickly.

"Man, am I glad I didn't bring my backpack."

"He must've used a tourniquet." Daryl said, looking to the others before picking up his crossbow and going back to examine the blood, "Maybe his belt... Be much more blood if he didn't."

As Daryl started following the trail of blood, Rick beckoned Elise closer as he sent T-Dog to pick up the tools that had been left the previous day. They had promised Dale they'd bring them back, after all.

"You stay at the front with him." The ex-cop said quietly, gesturing to Daryl, "He does respect you. I can see that. You're the only one who can keep him in line, so I need you there with him."

"He needs someone by his side. Not everyone against him." Elise replied, "Try and be a little more positive around him. He's not like his brother. He's okay."

Rick nodded in agreement before placing a gentle hand on her lower back to send her forward to catch up with Daryl. He watched as Daryl acknowledged Elise with a nod, and then he smiled as she armed her bow and arrow and nodded back to Daryl. They'd make a good team while it lasted. She was leaving after they got back, but Rick had no doubt that she'd do well on her own, whether he liked the idea of her leaving or not. As the group entered the building, Daryl wasted no time in shouting out for his brother.

"Merle? You in here?!"

The group descended the stairs, all armed and ready to attack any walkers that came their way. Elise shot a look at Rick and gave him a weak smile, earning one back in return. If Daryl kept shouting like that, they'd have walkers all over them in no time. There was only five of them. That wasn't much in the way of man power.

Moving into an office, Elise put her hand up to stop the others and indicated a walker that was stood growling to itself near the door to the next room. Elise lowered her hand in a way that told them she was going to take this one. Carefully she aimed her arrow and gave a short whistle, almost like she was calling a dog, and the walker turned around to reveal the most disgusting mess of a mouth she'd ever seen.

She quickly released her arrow, hitting the walker square between the eyes and sending it tumbling to the ground. She moved forward quickly and retrieved her arrow, again, wiping it on her jeans before beckoning the others towards her. They headed through the hallway in silence, Daryl slightly ahead of Elise, all armed and ready for any stragglers left in the building. They came across two dead walkers in a room at the end of it, and the smell was enough to make them all wince. You never got used to the stench of a walker.

"Had enough in him to take out these two sons of bitches." Daryl commented, "One-handed."

Spotting the wrench near the second dead walker gave the group the answer as to how he did it. Arming his crossbow, Daryl bent down, making quick work of the string. Elise reused the arrow she'd just retrieved from the walker in the other room. No point wasting ammo she didn't have.

"Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother." Daryl said quietly, "Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."

"Any man can pass out from blood loss." Rick almost scoffed, "No matter how tough he is."

They continued on silently, only sharing looks and easy-to-understand hand signals. Elise and Daryl moved at the front, both armed and moving gracefully together, scanning each room they passed through. As they got into a kitchen however, Elise recoiled away from the doorway with a surprised cry as she covered her mouth and nose.

"Shit...! You know how people say that burning flesh smells like cooked pork?" She asked, earning nods from the others, "I bet he's cauterised the stump because that smells like sickly sweet cooked pork, man..."

Dreading what they might find in that room, the group edged in warily, noticing the gas rings lit up and the belt, dripping with blood, laying on the cooker top. The burnt flesh on it suggested that Elise's theory was right.

"God, the pain of it..." She breathed, "I can't imagine the agony he must've been in. He's got some balls, I'll give him that."

"Told you he was tough." Daryl murmured, noticing how pale the woman's face had gotten, "Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."

"Don't take that on faith." Rick answered as Elise moved away from the cooker and hunched over, taking deep breaths, "You doing okay, Elise? Can't have you being sick again. You've got literally nothing in your stomach now."

"I'm fine." She replied, holding up a hand and standing back up, looking towards the other end of the kitchen, "Shit..."

"What?" Rick asked, following her as she moved to the window.

"Damn! He busted outta here?" She asked, looking at the bloodied rag on the window ledge before letting out a low whistle, "Jesus..."

"He left the building?" Glenn asked as the others moved to join them, "Why the hell would he do that?"

Elise took deep breaths in the fresh air that came through the window, feeling the little bit of breeze on her face which caused her eyes to roll with happiness. She was so hot and so exhausted, which was contributing to her headache and her nausea.

"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl countered, "He's out there alone as far as he knows. Doing what he's gotta do... Surviving."

"You call that surviving?" T-Dog asked, "Just wandering out in the streets, maybe passing out?"

"We left him up there." Elise responded, crossing her arms, "Yeah, his odds aren't great out there, but they're better than the ones he had on that roof. That's on us."

She watched T-Dog and Glenn's expressions as they took in her words and she knew they didn't need reminding of it. But at the end of the day, they'd done what they'd done, and it was their responsibility to find him.

"What's done is done. Instead of arguing about this, we need to think about how to get him back. I don't think he'll have gone that far." She said quietly, "Stop bitching at each other. It's not gonna change what's happened."

"He can't have gotten far with that injury." Rick agreed, looking to an agitated Daryl who was glaring at T-Dog and Glenn, "We could help you check a few blocks but only if we keep a level head."

Daryl turned to Rick and then looked at Elise. What was it about this damn woman? She seemed so wise. She said stuff that made complete sense to him. She stuck up for him, and stood by him. That actually meant something to him. So, he agreed with Rick. She was making the real effort here. She was the one who came up with the plan to go back. She was risking her ass for his brother. The least he could do was take in and listen to what she had to say, even if it meant taking orders from Rick.

"I can do that." He said finally, earning a bright smile from the young woman.

"Only if we get those guns first." T-Dog said, holding his hands up, "I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?"

"Okay." Elise responded with a nod, "Let's find somewhere we can discuss this without the scent of burning flesh in the back of our throats, huh?"

The men all looked to each other, and then followed her as they headed back towards another room to formulate a plan.

-TBC-

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading so far!

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