The lantern was all but dead. Its small fluorescent light had dimmed to little more than a white glowing tube. A nothing compared to the morning's sun lighting the dome. A battery was a small price to pay if it gave her security and a good night's sleep.

She hadn't moved much at all, perhaps curling in a little tighter to herself during her dreams.

Daryl, overheating a bit from her body warmth and not quite use to sharing a bed all night, had rolled onto his back, his arm pinned beneath her neck. He had been looking at a small twig, no bigger than a matchstick, that was stuck in Rose's braid. It was tangled in good, and he didn't know if he could pull it out without waking her.

It was still early, maybe only half an hour past dawn. The stick had been there all night, it could wait a little longer.

Pushing the open sleeping bag off himself to cool down a little, Daryl kept it up on Rose, tucked under her arm. She was naked under the blanket, pressed up against his side. Suddenly he felt stupid for wearing his shirt, because all he wanted was to feel her skin against his own. Even if it was just while they were asleep.

He brought his free hand up to his eyes, roughly wiping away the sleep with the back of his hand. Daryl sighed softly, thinking about nothing in particular, until Rose shifted against his body. He had been less than a half second away from settling his hand down on her side and curling up to her again, when Rose sat up. Slowly and facing away from him, she pushed herself up with her arms and let the sleeping bag fall away behind her, resting in a crumpled pile at her hip.

Daryl pulled his arms back in, lacing his fingers together and resting them on his chest, letting the circulation return to his right hand. He watched her as she found her shirt and dragged it over her head. He didn't say anything as she pulled on her jeans and collected up her underwear and socks, just watched regretfully as her skin was being covered up and removed from his sight. She tugged on her boots, tucking the laces in the sides and stood up on wobbly legs and a bad knee as quietly as she could.

Rose only glanced briefly at Daryl, maybe just for a second, as she exited the dome. Confusing and fleeting.

The tent flap fluttering as she let it drop behind her, and Daryl, pulling his lips in to bite at the inside of his mouth, watching it.

…...

Rose closed her eyes and sighed softly, outside the tent. She kept her mind blank, fighting away anything that tried to creep in and ruin the morning for her. She opened her eyes again and limped slowly towards the green van, looking around at the sweet vista of the Greene farm.

Don't think about anything. Just look at the scenery and the sunrise.

Elliot had slept in the van, crawling in after swapping out from watch with Rick at 2am. The nights had been warm, and with Rick on watch, Elliot had been sleeping with the side doors open for the last few. He broke from his sleep as he saw the dishevelled creature approaching. A smirk crept on his lips at the unkempt appearance of Rose. Her filthy clothes and hair, her limp and the knowledge of her and Daryl's night time activities made a thousand quips run through his mind and beg for release at his lips. But he held his tongue. For once.

Reaching the Econoline doors, Rose leant into the van and sought out her bag of clothes, flicking her eyes briefly to Elliot's face with a disdainful glare that told him if he said anything right now, she would scratch his eyes out. He just quietly observed her, a twisted smile on his face and in his eyes. Rose gathered up her fresh clothes and turned to limp away again to the farm house.

She only took a few slow steps before she raised her middle finger and flipped off Elliot over her shoulder. He laughed softly to himself and rolled back on the mattress, just glad she was more-or-less okay.

…...

Rose got herself up the steps of the white board farm house, slightly out of breath and a bit noisier than she had meant. Standing in front of the door she was torn between knocking, or just quietly creeping in. The decision was made for her by Maggie, who opened the door to go outside at that same moment.

"Hey." She said quietly, the look of anxiety waning on her face. "How long you been standing there?"

"Not long." Rose admitted, following Maggie's gaze over her shoulder to the camp behind her. "I just came to see if I could use the bathroom."

Maggie looked back to Rose's face, almost as if only just noticing her for the first time. "Uh… yeah. Of course." Maggie stepped back and held the door open for Rose. "Do you need a hand?" Maggie asked watching Rose limp over the threshold.

"Um, no. I'm okay. How is Sophia?" Rose asked, unsure how she would feel about the answer.

"Her arm was broken." Maggie said, confirming Rose's thoughts and sending a hot dagger through her chest. "And she was malnourished, but daddy said she will be okay. We'll have to get you in to see him next." Maggie said, guiding Rose forward through the house. "But now you've got two options; downstairs shower, or upstairs bath?"

A bath was what Rose was really aching for, hot water to settle in and soothe her aching muscles and damaged knee. But all those stairs…

"Shower." Rose replied sighing. "Please."

…...

A red dot of blood, leaching through the white bandages around his middle, evidence he popped a stitch last night. Couldn't say it wasn't worth it.

He pulled on a fresh shirt and jeans, dug out from the bottom of his bag. A small twitch flitted through his face as he softly prodded his wound. Daryl switched the lantern off, pointlessly just out of habit, and collected up his socks and boots. The morning air was always refreshing after a night in the tent. He sat down in the doorway of the dome, tying off the door to the side, and pulled on his footwear.

"Hey man." Elliot's quiet austere greeting interrupted Daryl's thoughts about Rose.

"Hey." He replied flatly.

Here it comes.

Daryl had heard this once or twice before in his life. 'If you hurt her, I'll kill you.' Protective brothers or friends of girls he was with always assumed he would be the one to hurt them.

"Look man." Elliot began, crouching down in front of Daryl and his tent, keeping his voice low. "She say anything to you about what happened out there yesterday?"

Elliot's question caught Daryl by surprise. It took him a second or two to get his brain into gear and answer. "Yeah. She told me what happened."

"Walkers? Did she have to… do anything?" Elliot's vague questioning made Daryl unsure what the hell was happening.

"Yeah. She shot a couple. In a barn." Daryl shrugged and squinted at Elliot, confused about the line of questioning.

"Fuck." Elliot said bluntly, looking away to the farm behind him. He looked back to Daryl and shook his head, standing up. Daryl got to his feet, angry, and ready to punch Elliot if he didn't start talking. "She ain't like us man." Elliot half explained, rounding on Daryl. "She don't see 'em the way we do."

"See 'em how?" Daryl asked, eyeing Elliot apprehensively.

"As monsters." Elliot shook his head, keeping his voice to a harsh whisper. "She looks at 'em and can't help but see… their faces, their clothes. She can't look at them not see the humans they were, instead'a the monsters they are now. She ain't killed any of 'em before now."

Daryl screwed up his face and looked at Elliot disbelievingly. "Didn't you an' her just clean out the church the other day?"

"Yeah." Elliot replied, nodding his head. "Same play we always run. She's the bait, I take 'em out."

"The fuck…?" Daryl hissed angrily.

"Don't worry man." Elliot reassured, looking towards the farmhouse where he knew Rose was. "I don't let her get in danger. I keep her alive."

"She fucked up her knee, being your bait." Daryl said a little louder, stepping into Elliot's space.

"Hey man. It's her plan, and I never let them get anywhere near her." Elliot stood a little taller. He had a good four inches on Daryl but neither was scared of a brawl.

Their words and tension had drawn a few onlookers. T-Dog, Andrea, Glenn and Carol peering discreetly to watch the disagreement. Rick emerged from his tent behind Lori, stepping forward to break up the argument before it could blow.

"Hey guys." Glenn called, standing with his hat in hand. He shifted his weight around, uncomfortably looking around at the faces of the group as he tried to find the best way to say what needed to be said. He swallowed dryly and opened his mouth. "The barn's full of walkers."

…...

Stepping out onto the front porch of the family home, Rose could see the flurry of excitement beside the barn. The whole group was there, discussing something that Rose just didn't have the energy or will to care about.

Her knee was feeling good. After her slightly clumsy shower, Hershel had redressed it with an elasticised bandage and the extra support felt miraculous.

The old veterinarian had chosen not to chastise Rose for taking Nellie, but he did mention he would like his equipment returned. Only once the dressing was complete, did he speak to her again, telling her to let her leg heal and rest.

Rose decided to just keep away from the group for now. She needed some space. She tied her laces on her boots and found her cane, beside the front door. Despite Hershel's advice, she had things to do.

Making herself scarce was easier than she thought it was going to be. The farm was big and almost everyone was at the barn anyway. For whatever reason.

Walking around the back of the house, to avoid interrupting the heated discussion between Maggie and Glenn near the chicken coup, Rose ran into Beth, who had just finished hanging out some laundry on the clothes line. Empty basket in hand, the young girl smiled at Rose, a little shy.

"Hey …Beth?" Rose asked, double checking the youngest Greene's name.

She nodded a reply and stepped towards Rose, cradling the laundry basket on her hip.

"Doin' anything?" Rose asked.

"No." Beth smiled sweetly.

"Wanna come for a walk?" Rose asked. "I need to go get your pop's horse gear from the tree line back there, and I could use some mindless girl talk on the way."

"Okay." Beth shrugged.

"Bring the basket." Rose said, limping towards the back fence. "So tell me about you…"

…...

Dale was watching Shane get more and more agitated, from his position beside the RV. His concern for the safety of the group was swelling with every step Shane took closer to dangerous waters. Not to mention Andrea.

It hadn't escaped Dale's attention, the strange familiarity between Andrea and Shane after they returned from the housing estate the other day. Sad desperation for the safety of the daughter-he-never-had had him seeking another outlet for Shane's attention.

And with all his shouting about the safety of the camp, it wouldn't be long before the spiralling former police officer came for the weapons.

"Elliot." Dale said quietly to the man sitting at the picnic table, who had been discreetly watching Daryl packing up his tent and gear, while sharpening his knife. "I think we need to talk about Shane and Andrea."

…...

"This world, it changes you. Either into one of them or something a lot less than the person you were."

Rick's words had made an impact on Hershel, even if he chose not to show it. He had listened to the desperate leader plead to let the group stay on his property, but it had been Maggie who's words really convinced him to consider it.

It was only when Jimmy had come into the house and announced that 'it had happened again', that Hershel saw the opportunity to see how willing Rick was to bend to his beliefs.

…...

Daryl threw his bedding into his tent, a little winded from the physical activity. Moving his gear and bike on this hot fucking morning hadn't been such a great idea, but it had to be done. It was time to get a bit of space between him and these people.

He stood up, wiped the sweat away from his forehead and shielded his eyes from the sun, looking around the farm grounds. He saw who he was looking for.

Rose, and the little blonde one, were walking (or limping) towards the horse stables, carrying the stolen equipment back from the property fence line.

Picking up his canteen and slinging his crossbow over his shoulder, Daryl decided he could make up the bed properly tonight and walked over towards the stables.

…...

"Where the hell is Dale?" Shane asked, sweaty and worked up.

He had stomped over to the RV, determined and decisively. His morning beside the barn had done him no favours.

"DALE!" Shane hollered.

Elliot jumped out of the van and walked over to Shane, shoulders back. "What's your problem Shane?"

"I'm looking for Dale." Shane answered, spinning around to face Elliot, but not looking up to meet his eye. "The old fool has gone and hidden the guns, right when we need them more than ever."

"That's not what I asked." Elliot spoke slower, stepping up into Shane's space. "I said, what's your problem?"

Shane stepped back a little, caught off guard but quickly collecting himself. He tilted his head, and fixed his eyes directly on Elliot's. "What do you think you're doin' man?" He hissed.

"I think it's time we had a fuckin' talk." Elliot growled back.

"I ain't talkin' shit with you." Shane drew himself up taller, missing Elliot's height but not letting it deter him. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, like a pitbull backed into a corner. "You want someone to talk with, you go see Rick. Me? I'm gonna do what shoulda been done this mornin'!" He spat back at Elliot.

"GUYS! Stop it!" Glenn shouted from the RV roof.

"Stay the fuck away from Andrea. And Dale." Elliot warned as he stepped up to Shane, leaning down into his face.

Shane didn't buckle, despite his hand instinctually moving to where his sidearm should be. A small glint twisted into his face as he realised what this was actually about. He cocked his head slightly and whispered real quiet , so only Elliot would hear. "She wanted it."

…...

Daryl stopped short of the horse stables, hearing the two girls chatting away on the other side of the wall. He didn't want to interrupt their conversation because he could hear Rose. She was talking quite animatedly to the younger Greene sister, and it sat right with Daryl to hear her actually in good spirits.

He leaned back against the barn wall, waiting for the moment he could shoo away the little girl and have Rose to himself. Ask a few questions that needed answers. The conversation behind the wall caught his attention when he realised they were talking personal.

"There ain't no point getting tied down or worked up about some guy." Rose spoke with Beth as they worked together brushing down Nellie. "He ain't the only man out there left alive. And just cause you enjoy having sex with a guy does not mean you are married to him. By the way, DO NOT tell your dad I told you any of this."

"I wont. But you really believe that?" Beth asked, smiling unsure at the woman's words.

"Of course!" Rose laughed in reply. "Keep it light, I say. The lighter you travel, the further you go."

Daryl nodded his head to himself. He bit at the side of his mouth and stalked off, back to his private camp. There was no need to ask the question now, he got all the answers he needed.

…...

"Elliot? What the hell happened to your face?" Andrea asked, scowling at the split skin on his cheek bone and the discolouration of fresh bruises blooming and swelling on his jaw.

"What the fuck is going on with you and Shane?" Elliot asked, his words edgy with a sheen of barely controlled anger. He had sought out Andrea to see if there was any chance Dale had been mistaken. Elliot angrily swatted away her hand as she reached out to touch his face.

"Shane did this?" Her voice was a shrill whisper. Andrea's eyes dropped from Elliot's damages to the ground before she looked past him to the camp, searching out the man in question.

"HEY!" Elliot barked, Andrea's eyes snapping back to his face. "I asked you what happened."

Andrea, tight in her chest, could only shake her head, speechless.

It wasn't until Shane's voice broke the quiet of the farm, near the house, that Andrea finally dropped her eyes, ashamed.

Elliot turned his back to Andrea, spat to the side and walked back to the camp. Ignoring Shane's ranting and handing out guns to the startled group, he sought out some solitude on watch atop the RV.