*** Hope you all enjoy! Can't promise the updates will always come this fast and furious, but since I've got the time, I'm going to keep cranking them out - there's so much story in my head I can hardly type fast enough haha *** As per usual I OWN NOTHING... except Linney, she's mine :)

The man rushing towards her was not dead, that was the first thing that registered in Linney's mind. The second thing was that he was babbling something at her in a nearly incoherent voice. Linney scrambled backwards, gained her feet, nearly fell again, and then spun around, her back to him, and jabbed her elbow into his gut as hard as he could, to stop his head-long rush towards her. She didn't want to hurt him, just calm him down.

She could hear Merle, Daryl, and Andrea yelling things at her, as they ran over, and Linney watched as the tall, thin man she'd just hit, bent forward, her elbow having driven all the air from him in a rush. He sank to his knees and looked up at her from the ground, his expression hurt and truly baffled. She thought he muttered a name at her before he bent all the way to the ground, his long arms slung around his stomach.

Their feet pounded the cement and suddenly Daryl and Merle were there, stopping at her side. Andrea hooked an arm around Linney's stomach and tugged her back gently. The men closed rank in front of her and Linney watched in glazed horror as Merle drew his knife and moved to stab the folded-over figure in the head.

"No!" She screamed and Merle paused, he looked over his shoulder at her, startled. Linney pulled from Andrea's grip and put her hands on Merle's knife arm, trying to tug it down, feeling the muscles grow tense and stiff below her hands in resistance.

"He's not one of them! He's a real guy!" She explained, her voice high-pitched with strain. Dale jogged up to them then and Linney nudged Daryl in the side, forcing him to make room for her to stand between him and Merle. Dale walked calmly around Daryl and knelt at the groaning man's side. He gently helped the man sit up and lean against the car next to them. Linney grimaced at the pale, almost green tinge to his face. She knelt down too, near the man's feet and was surprised when Daryl did as well, close to her side.

The man coughed harshly and looked around, his eyes slightly unfocused. "I'm... sorry... didn't want to... scare you... been so long..." He leaned his head back exhaustedly and Dale placed a hand lightly on the man's pulse.

"He's weak," Dale started, meeting Linney's eyes before looking over at Daryl, "Probably hasn't eaten in days." Linney looked back to ask Andrea to grab some water and food for the man, but saw she was already jogging back from the RV with those items in hand.

"I don't give a fuck, he ain't our problem." Merle said, his voice harsh. Linney wrinkled her brow and glanced up disapprovingly at Merle before leaning forward and putting a hand tentatively on the man's arm. He opened his eyes again and looked at her.

"Miranda?" He asked, dazed and unbelieving. Linney frowned. "No, I'm Linney. What's your name?" The man's face crumpled and he looked ready to cry, then he turned his face away and mumbled the name Miranda again.

"Here, water," Andrea said, handing a bottle to Dale. The older man nodded and twisted the cap off, putting the bottle to the man's lips. "Please drink, just a little." The man pressed his lips together, his face strained with inner pain. Dale met Linney's eyes briefly and held the bottle out to her.

Sighing, Linney took the bottle from Dale and scooted closer to the man, sitting right up against his hip. She put a hand on his cheek and turned his face to look at her.

"Please, have some water, will you?" She asked softly, coaxing him as if he were a small child. He turned back to face her, his eyes lighting up briefly when he saw her face again. He drank slowly and steadily and Linney looked back when Daryl nudged a handkerchief into her hand. She smiled at him and poured a little water on it, pulling the man's grimy cap off his head. She placed the rag on his forehead, wiping at the sweat there.

"What's your name?" She asked him carefully when she'd taken the rag and started to press the cool, damp cloth to his neck. He smiled at her, "Jim, my name is Jim."

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"Look, it's hard enough with six of us, we don't need another mouth." Merle said, glaring at Linney. She stood toe to toe with him, aware that he was legitimately mad, and not about to hide the fact that she was too.

"He's alive, Merle." She said, angry emphasis in her tone. "We can't just leave him for dead!" She gestured back at the RV where Amy and Dale were sitting with Jim. "What the hell is the point of us going all the way to frigging Atlanta, if not to group up with others?" Merle glared hard at her.

"I'm goin' for the food n' the guns, not the fuckin' people. Don't think for a second that I give a shit 'bout anyone but Merle." Linney crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh, bullshit," she said under her breath, so only he heard. His jaw jutted out angrily and he leaned aggressively closer to her. Linney held her ground and didn't look away from his eyes, even though she could hear Daryl behind her, muttering to his brother to back off.

"We need people, Merle." She said softly, looking from one angry blue eye to the other. "When he's got his strength back, it'll be another helping hand, someone more to stand watch, to help get supplies." Merle's face twitched and she wondered idly if he'd hit her or just give in and then hate her for the rest of the day. Rolling his eyes in disgust, he turned away and threw his hands in the air.

"Fine, whatever." He spun back and pointed at Linney, "If he fucks up n' gets someone killed, that's on you." Linney breathed in a deep, slow breath and kept her face unchanged.

"Yer a pushy little shithead, ya know that?" He snapped, his voice irritated. Linney smiled with one side of her mouth.

"And you're a grouchy bastard." She replied, calmly. Andrea snorted behind them and walked back into the RV. Linney could hear her announcing that Jim was welcome to stay with them, if he wanted. Merle went back to his bike and started it back up.

"Let's get the fuck outta here, we wasted too much time already." He started to slowly make his way through the path they'd cleared and Linney finally released the huge amount of tension she'd been trying to hide during the confrontation with the elder Dixon, by way of a shaky laugh.

"C'mon, let's go before he fucks off permanently." Daryl said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder and slowly urging her towards the truck. Linney went and climbed into their vehicle. She glanced back to make sure that Dale was also ready to get going in the RV and was pleased to see him in the driver's seat, starting the engine.

"You know he's just worried, right?" Daryl said to her after they'd been following behind Merle for a bit. Linney looked over at him with one eyebrow raised. "Yeah," she answered, before rubbing her hands over her eyes, roughly and tiredly.

"You feelin' ok?" Daryl's voice was concerned. Linney nodded and leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes for a second.

"I'll be fine; those fucking pills have me all strung out. I've been running on fumes all morning." She said wryly. Daryl grimaced and she could see him getting angry about the pill situation again.

"Don't hate Andrea, it was an accident." Daryl smirked at her. "Oh yeah, lettin' someone OD, that's just a whoopsie." His voice was angry and mocking.

"We need more people with us, Daryl." Linney said, switching topics abruptly, closing her eyes again. She heard Daryl grunt in response.

"I'm serious, there's safety in numbers. This guy looks capable, just tired and hungry." Linney spoke softly.

"Go to sleep for a bit, we got a ways before we stop for the day." Daryl answered, his voice firm. Linney cracked an eye open and looked at him. He was glancing between her and the road. Finally she nodded and grabbed the sweatshirt she kept on the seat between them, pushing it up against the door, laying her head against it, stretching her legs out and purposely digging her feet into Daryl's leg.

"Ow, quit it, ya seat hog." He muttered at her. Linney chuckled and pulled her feet back a little bit, curling up more comfortably to nap.

When she woke, she was deeply confused, it was dark out and the truck wasn't moving. She sat up quickly and saw the driver's side of the truck was empty. She felt her stomach drop and wondered for an instant if she was dreaming. Then she looked out her window and saw the RV and Merle's bike, all crowded on a wide gravel driveway around Daryl's truck. The truck jumped and she spun around to look through the back window. She saw Daryl's back, bending down to grab something and pass it to Dale over the edge of the truck bed.

Linney blushed and looked away when she realized she was staring at Daryl's ass. She grabbed her sweatshirt and opened the door, sliding out to the ground, pleased that her head felt clear again. She quickly slipped into the sweatshirt, shivering slightly against the cooler night temperature. The air felt heavy with the prospect of rain, and Linney just bet that if she could have seen the sky, the clouds would have been dark and swollen, ready to burst and drench everything.

"Mornin' sleepyhead," Amy said pleasantly, as she carried an armload of stuff from the RV, past Linney, to an open door on the side of the house. Linney smiled weakly and walked back to Daryl. She looked up at him and smiled guiltily.

"Sorry, I'm shitty company to drive with, falling asleep like that." She said. Daryl raised an eyebrow at her. "Ya needed to get that shit outta your system, don't worry 'bout it." She nodded and reached her hands up to him.

"Pass me some stuff, let me help." He handed over two backpacks and waited while she slung one on her back before handing her a sleeping bag as well. Linney shot him a brief smile before turning away and heading towards the house.

The side door they were using lead into a small mud room, which then opened up onto a huge, farm-style kitchen. Everything looked comfortably worn from many decades of use and Linney was honestly surprised with how instantly comfortable she felt in the house. Andrea was standing at the huge oak island in the middle of the kitchen, piling things on it from the floor, two lanterns at either end of the kitchen lighting the big room up for her. She looked over and saw Linney slowly drinking in the details around them.

"Pretty nice, huh?" She said, her face happy. Linney nodded and held up her armload of stuff, a questioning look on her face.

"In the living room for now, please." Andrea pointed to the doorway to her left and Linney immediately walked into the other room. It was another huge space, decorated with old, homey pieces, worn and comfortable looking. There was a lantern on the huge, scarred coffee table in the middle of the room and it provided a dim cover of light. Jim was laying on the couch there, and Dale was sorting bags in piles on the ground next to the prone man.

Linney put her armload down and slid the backpack off with a moan of relief. Dale looked up at her and smiled while she rubbed her shoulders.

"Heavy one, hmm?" He asked her and she nodded, ruefully. He nodded towards her, "How are your shoulders doing?" She shrugged before answering. "Well, you all know the bruises are lighter," she said, knowing that everyone stared nervously at her bruises from time to time, in pity, in worry, and in Andrea's case, in suspicion, "But yeah, they still ache from time to time, I sort of wonder if he didn't sprain them or pull a muscle of something."

Dale looked at her sympathetically, understanding the vague reference to her father attacking her, and nodded, "It's hard to say, but you're handling it very well." Linney gave him a one-sided smile and walked back through the kitchen to the yard to see if Daryl needed help. She reached the truck just as he was jumping down. He slammed the tail gate shut and looked over at her.

"What?" He barked at her, and she made a face. "No need to be pissy, I was just checking to see if you needed help." She retorted, trying not to sound overly bitchy. He shook his head and walked past her, towards the house. She leaned against the truck and watched him walk away, wondering why he had to go from hot to cold all the time. I don't think it's me, I think he's just a stupid grump, she thought, her inner voice haughty.

Daryl paused at the door and looked back at her. His face was hidden in shadow, but Linney was willing to bet he was irritated. "What're ya doin'? Get your ass over here." He said loudly. Linney crossed her arms over her chest and decided to screw with him a little, to try and get him to lighten up a bit. So she shook her head and remained casually leaned against the truck.

Daryl, took a step forward and hissed at her, "No one's out here, we're all done, now get inside!" She grinned at him, a big smart ass smile, and moved towards the front of the truck.

"Make me." She said, tauntingly. His face was clear now, as he stepped out into the driveway, the dim light of night displaying his features in a cool, blue light. He looked confused and slightly mad. Linney chuckled quietly and ducked down behind the front of the of the truck, out of sight. She heard him laugh very quietly, so slight that she hardly caught it, and then everything went silent. Linney quickly moved, on light feet, along the side of the RV, hiding at the front.

She knew Daryl was there somewhere, but she heard nothing, just the regular soft sounds of nighttime. She moved carefully, peeking down each side of the RV and didn't seem him. She realized then that he was literally hunting her, and that made her mad, knowing she had little chance of winning this little game.

Quietly and slowly, Linney peeked around the edge of the RV again, down the passenger side, it looked empty. She quickly dropped to the ground and peeked underneath the vehicle, trying to see if she could spot his feet on the other side. The way was clear. Where is he hiding? She thought, her stomach jumpy, even if it was a game. His ability to be so quiet was almost frightening.

Linney got to her feet and looked over her shoulder to make sure the way was clear and saw nothing behind her. She decided that she would make a break for the door to the house. When she turned around to dart to the house, she shrieked in surprise when he was suddenly right there, his arm whipping out quick as a flash and wrapping around her shoulders, covering her mouth so her shriek was muffled and cut off. He was laughing quietly and she struggled against his hand and finally stepped away from him.

"You can't win hide n' seek with me." He said, his voice low. Linney shoved his shoulder, her heart still frantically racing from surprise. He was standing so close, Linney could easily make out his features. Daryl had a small smile on his face and he reached out slowly to tuck a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, distracting her so much she could barely move, it was such an unusual gesture from him.

His hand lingered for a moment, and then suddenly he ducked down and scooped her up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Hanging upside down she tried to keep her giggles quiet as he ran with her towards the house. At the door he used the hand not holding her steady around the waist to crack the door to the mudroom open. He stepped inside with her and she poked him in the sides.

"Hey!" He said, "I won fair n' square, ya keep your hands to yourself." He gently put her down on the floor in front of him. Linney could feel all the blood rush out of her head and put a hand on his arm to steady herself for a second. He raised an eyebrow at her slight wobble and put a hand on each of her shoulders, holding her still.

"Last time you fuck around outside, ya hear?" He asked, his voice teasingly gruff. Linney rolled her eyes at him, but wasn't able to keep the big smile of pleasure off her face; she had succeeded in putting him into a good mood and making him laugh, which was the whole point of the exercise.

The kitchen lanterns shone dim yellow light into the mudroom and Linney realized they were still gripping each other's arms. Her chest constricted and she looked up at his face again, feeling strange about the look she saw there; regret, softness, happiness, all mingled together. They seemed to realize the mood had changed from playful game to something more charged and tense, at the same time and they both dropped their hands and Daryl shoved her ahead into the kitchen.

"Alright, little coward, make me some dinner." He joked and pushed past her to the living room without looking her in the eyes again.