A/N: OHH I'm sooo sorry that is has taken me FOREVER to post! I really hope that everyone is still paying attention to this story. I have been a serious slack ass on all my stories but I'm getting back in the groove of things so look forward to more. Chapter 15 is also in the works as we speak. I hope none of you have given up on me yet. Please read and review. I miss hearing from all of you!

Enjoy ;)

Chapter 14

Daryl couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to find the man that had hurt her and beat him within an inch of his life. But then he remembered that it was the end of the world and he was probably dead already. It wasn't by his hand so it didn't satisfy him too much. He just stood there watching Rayne's face change and tears well up in the corners of her eyes. He didn't want to see her cry so he walked over to her and took her hand in his.

He gave it a squeeze and told her, "Come on babe, enough talk about it for now. Let's head back to the others and get some rest."

She nodded at him and without saying another word they were heading back the direction they came. They walked together in silence, side by side. Rayne didn't want to talk about it anymore, but cared for Daryl and there are no guarantee of seeing tomorrow, in this new wasteland.

Rayne looked over at him, "His name was Rob. He had a monstrous look in his eyes. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was looking into an empty soul, like looking into the eyes of a killer." Daryl looked over at her and just let her talk. He didn't want to interrupt her, so he stayed silent. "I have seen that look again. I have seen it in, Shane. He is a killer, Daryl, I just know it. In time her will show us, just you wait."

As they came up the road through the maze of abandoned cars they were greeted by Dale. He was sitting on top of the RV, as usual, looking like a worried father. Daryl gave him a sad look and shook his head, letting him know that they didn't find her. Daryl headed into the RV to let Carol know that they didn't find her.

Rayne needed to be alone for awhile so she headed off to her car. Usually she would let Kelsey and James sleep in it but tonight they stayed on the floor of the RV. She grabbed her blanket out of the front seat and curled up in the back. She laid her head against the window, just watching the stars. She tried everything not to cry, but it was no use. The tears came weather she wanted them to or not. The memories from that hell hole were horrific. The looks she used to get from the other guards could make your blood run cold. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the car door open. She was snapped back when she felt hands on her shoulders pulling her toward his warm chest.

Daryl leaned back and laid her on his chest. He wrapped her up in the blanket again. She sobbed quietly as he whispered to her, "I'm not good with words, Rayne, but as long as I'm around no one will ever hurt you again. I will protect you and keep ya safe. Now sleep girl, your gonna need your strength."

He kissed the top of her head. He ran his fingers thorough her hair as she drifted off to sleep. Through all the bullshit and killing that was going on now, there was nothing better than holding this woman in his arms at the end of the day. Not long after, Daryl found himself drifting off to sleep.

The next morning everyone woke up early so they could all head over to the farm. Some of the others helped Carol set up some food for Sophia and left her a note on the windshield of the car. Rayne handed James the keys to her car this time. She didn't want him to throw another fit about not driving it. Rayne rode with Daryl on the back of his bike. They followed the road till they came across the farm. They pulled up to the house and saw Lori, Rick, Shane and an older gentleman come out of the house. Carol was the first to ask if Carl was alright. Lori told everyone that he would pull through thanks to Hershel, his people and Shane. Rayne breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Carl was going to be alright.

Rayne noticed Shane standing in the background looking haggard and wearing clothes that were two sizes too big for him. She took notice that his eyes were dark and empty, more than they usually were. Rayne knew something was wrong with him but couldn't put her finger on it.

Before everyone could get settled in, they made their way over to a makeshift grave that was made for a man named Otis. He was the one who took Shane to the school to get the equipment that was needed to save Carl. Rayne stood behind Daryl in the background. She watched as tears were shed and Hershel read from his bible. Patricia, who was Otis's girlfriend, asked Shane to speak. He was the last one with Otis and was with him during his final moments. Rayne listened as Shane spoke of how Otis gave his life to save Carl's. She knew it was all bullshit from the moment he opened his mouth. Rayne could smell a lie from a mile off. She couldn't listen to it anymore so she turned her head to the beautiful Georgia sky, to try and block him out.

After everyone was saying their goodbyes, Rayne went and gathered her tent and other supplies from her trunk. Once everyone was semi settled, a few people gathered at a truck. Maggie, one of Hershel's daughters, pulled out a map of the surrounding area. Rick was hoping that with a better lay out of the land, they would be able to continue the search for Sophia. Hershel told Rick that he had given too much blood and was in no shape to be out in the woods.

Daryl spoke up, "Guess it's just me."

"And me." Rayne wanted to help him look some more.

"I'm a head back to the creek, work my way back from there."

Shane said that he would head back to the interstate and see if Sophia went back. He also mentioned that he needed to give everyone the gun training he had promised them.

Hershel looked over at Rick and Shane, "I prefer you not carry guns on my property. We managed this far without turning this into an armed camp."

Of course Shane had to make some dumb comment that Rayne chose to ignore. Rick made it perfectly clear to all of them that this was Hershel's property and everyone needed to respect that. Rick and Shane placed their guns on the hood of the truck. Rick gave Rayne a look, knowing that she had a gun as well. She rolled her eyes and pulled her 9mm out of her pants, placing it on the hood as well.

Rick made eye contact with everyone, "First things first, set camp, find Sophia."

Shane just had to bring the mood down, "I hate to be the one to ask, but somebodies got to. What happens if we find her and she is bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

Rayne gave Shane a nasty look, "I think the only thing we are ALL clear on, is that your a fucking dick head. How about we focus on finding her first. Let's not get a head of ourselves."

Rick looked between the two, knowing that a fight was coming. "She's right, well for the most part, but we do what has to be done."

Shane shot Rayne a murderous glare until Daryl stepped into his line of view. Shane needed to know that he couldn't look to her like that, while he was around. Daryl walked away from the group with Rayne not far behind him. They gathered their gear and Rayne grabbed a few more arrows shoving them into her back pocket.

The two hunters began to walk toward the woods when they were stopped by Rick. "Are you two alright going out there alone?"

"Do better jus' the two of us. Don't worry, be back before dark."

Rick looked over into the field before he addressed Daryl again, "We got a base, we can get the search properly organized now."

Daryl was starting to get agitated, "You got a point or we jus' chit chatting?"

"My point, it let's you guys off the hook. You don't owe us anything."

As Daryl walked away from him, "My other plans fell through."

Rayne nodded to Rick and walked along side Daryl toward the woods. They walked the woods for an hour in silence, looking for any sign of Sophia. They came across a clearing where an abandoned farm house stood.

Rayne crouched down beside him, "Think she could be in there?"

"Only one way to tell. Come on."

Daryl kicked in the door to the house with his boot and stood back expecting walkers to come out. When nothing came out he entered the house slowly. He checked around before giving Rayne the signal to come in. As they walked around the house more, they noticed the back door was open. Daryl was extremely cautious when he found the kitchen. He found a can of sardines in the trash can that was recently opened. He lifted it up to her nose so that she could smell it to before he put it back in the trash can. Rayne nodded to him toward a small pantry door, in hopes that she would be hiding in there. Daryl moved silently over to the door, crossbow at the ready. He opened the door and at first look, there appeared to be nothing in it. Until Rayne tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the bottom of the closet. There was a blanket and pillow set up on the floor, like a makeshift bed. They exchanged a look with each other knowing that she had been in there at some point.

They left through the back door, still being cautious of walkers. When Daryl didn't see any around he called for Sophia a few times but didn't get an answer. Rayne was walking around and noticed a beautiful white flower that was growing near the house.

She stopped and stared at it, "Funny how amongst all this chaos and death, that beautiful flower can still grow."

Daryl walked up behind her, "It's called a Cherokee Rose. Come on, let's keep looking. She can't be too far off."

They continued to search the woods for another two hours but found no sign of her. It was starting to get late so they began to head back to the farm. On the way back, Daryl stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, "How did you deal with that shit that happened to you?"

Rayne stopped and looked toward the sky for a moment, "Drugs, lots of drugs. I tried therapy for awhile but it wasn't helping. It was easier for me to build up walls and hide behind a mask of drugs. If I was numb, I wouldn't feel any kind of emotion. Then no one would be able to hurt me."

Daryl picked up a piece of grass and stuck it in his mouth. He wasn't sure what to say to her. He didn't even know why he asked her that question. He wanted to know how her mind worked. Wanted to know everything about her. Her watched her pull her hair up and out of her face. He saw her shirt lift up, exposing her skin. It took everything in him not to take her right there. He wanted to touch her, feel her soft skin move underneath him. He could feel his erection pressing against his jeans. He closed the gap between them. He took the grass out of his mouth and kissed her forehead. She laughed as she saw him wiping his mouth from all the sweat of her forehead, "Sorry."

Daryl gave her a smirk, "Don't be. I like my women sweaty and dirty."

Rayne could hear the lust in his voice, "I bet you do, baby. I bet you do."

When they reached the farm, Rayne had noticed that Daryl had picked the white flower from before. As he got closer to the RV, Daryl looked over at her. "I'll catch up with you later. There is sumthin' I gotta do."

Rayne gave him a wink and went off on her way as he entered the RV. Rayne knew that Daryl was going to go talk to Carol. She knew that he felt bad for not finding her yet. Rayne didn't want to be the type of girl that was always up his ass. They both needed their space. Rayne walked through camp and went over to join Kelsey, James and Glenn. Glenn seemed to be upset for some reason.

She dropped her gear on the ground, "What's wrong, Glenn?"

"Nothing, I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright fine, Cranky ass. Did you happen to find any smokes on your supply run?"

"No, but it wasn't on the list so I really wasn't looking."

"Damn it, I'm getting low. Oh well, guess I'll quit when I'm out."

Rayne sat around with them for awhile and talked about the farm and how safe it felt. She grabbed her gear and went over to her car and grabbed her bag and Daryl's tent out. She took them a little ways away from the rest of the group. She had a feeling that Daryl would be tired and not in the best of moods so she was going to get everything ready for him. After she got the tent set up and threw his bags inside when she noticed that it had become dark out. She was close enough to the others that there was still some light around her from their fire. She had sent the tent up between two tree. She went inside and grabbed her sketch book from her bag. She leaned against the tree and began to drawl. She wrote some things down as well. Like a journal but not really. She just wanted to remember what had happened today. She wrote about what Daryl had asked her and they she was happy that he was opening up to her.

Daryl looked around the camp for her but couldn't find her. He bumped into Glenn and he asked if he had seen her. Glenn told him that she had take some stuff out of the car and was over near the trees. He walked quietly over to where she was. He saw that she was busy writing or drawling. He leaned against a tree, just watching her bite her bottom lip as her pencil went a mile a minute.

Rayne finally felt safe enough to let her guard down so that she could let her mind run free. She didn't notice he was there till he cleared his throat. She jumped at the sound and he smiled at her, proud of himself that he had scared her.

Rayne threw her book at him, "Damn you, Daryl! You scared the hell out of me! How long ya been standing there?"

He grabbed the book from the ground, "Long enough. Where is all my shit?"

"I put it inside, but I also got your tent in case you didn't want to sleep with me."

Daryl was puzzled by her statement. He didn't understand why she would think that he didn't want to sleep next to her. He sat down on the ground leaning against the other tree across from her. "Now why would you think a fool thing like that?"

Rayne sighed, "I don't know Daryl, I guess I was just preparing myself in case you didn't want to be around me anymore. I tend to over think things I guess."

Daryl just shook his head, "Trust me girly, if I didn't want ya around, you would know it. Now git your tight lit'le ass in that tent."

Rayne smiled as she watched the faint light of the distant fire dance across his face. She stood up, dusting herself off. "Don't tell anyone, but I think I like it when you boss me around."

Daryl smiled wickedly, "Don't worry it will be our little secret."

Daryl and Rayne spent over an hour kissing, touching and exploring each others bodies like they never had before. He took his time with her, teasing her till she couldn't take it anymore. Keeping her quiet was a different story. He knew that he would get some interesting looks around the camp come morning.

After they were finished with each other, Rayne walked outside to get some fresh air. Who knew that you could actually fog up a tent. She stretched her arms out and felt his rough hands creep around her waist. She turned her head to the side and kissed his cheek, "I gotta go."

Daryl looked confused, "Go where? It's the middle of the night."

Rayne turned and looked at him in her usual annoyed way, "I gotta pee if that's alright with you."

"You want me to come with you? In case of walkers."

Rayne laughed, "Hell no you can't, pervert. I''ll be just fine. Besides if a walker comes around, I'll piss on him."

Daryl scoffed and sat down on the ground to wait for her to come back.

Rayne walked off into the field away from the group to get some privacy, but when she walked out far enough to do her business, she found Lori in the middle of the field. Rayne whispered her name, startling Lori. "I didn't mean to frighten you, I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

Lori messed with her hair as she buckled her belt, "Yea I'm just fine, why?"

"You don't look good. Your pale as a ghost." Rayne looked down at something Lori was trying to hide in her hand. Rayne knew exactly what it was and looked back up to Lori. "Lori, is that what I think it is?"

Lori's face turned to panic and took off back to the house as fast as she could. Rayne was left in the middle of the field so very confused and shocked.