A/N: Don't own (although I'd love to have my very own Norman Reedus :D) don't sue!

Lyrics are from 'Rain' by Patty Griffin

So sorry for the late update, my new job is exhausting! But I'm back on track now :)

Rain

Chapter Twenty Seven

It's hard to listen to a hard, hard heart
Beatin' close to mine
Poundin' up against the stone and steel
Walls that I won't climb
Sometimes a hurt is so deep, deep, deep
You think that you're gonna drown
Sometimes all I can do is weep, weep, weep
With all this rain fallin' down
Strange, how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I'm holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
It's hard to know when to give up the fight
Some things you want will just never be right
It's never rained like it has tonight before
Now, I don't wanna beg you, baby
For something maybe you could never give
I'm not lookin' for the rest of your life
I just want another chance to live
Strange, how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I'm holdin' on underneath this shroud
Rain

Cassidy staggered slightly as a huge burly guy with his shirt open bounced into her. He stared at her uncomprehendingly, wild eyes darting fearfully at her. He stumbled away without apologising, disappearing into the crowd. She tugged the shoulder of her jacket back up irritably. It was the middle of the afternoon but the only shops that weren't shuttered up had already been looted. The few people surging along the usually crammed streets were rushing by each other warily, bags tucked under their arms full of looted goods or the belongings they couldn't bear to part with. Traffic was still moving but sluggishly, disobeying all signs and light signals in their hurry to leave.

Cassidy unlocked the doors to Lochie's apartment. Several people were dashing across the tiled lobby, a woman shoved past Cassidy with a frightened look dragging a small uncooperative child along behind her. Cassidy pushed open the door to the stairway, climbing up the five flights to Lochie's apartment. Lochie was curled up in her bed, rolled into a tight ball right in the middle of the big mattress.

"Lochie." The ball stirred slightly then went still again. "Lochie, get up." Cassidy ordered abruptly. "We're leaving."

A ruffled head of white-blonde curls appeared from beneath the blankets.

"We are?" Lochie broke off to give a huge yawn. "Why?"

Cassidy crossed to the window. The woman with her child was on the sidewalk outside arguing with a man packing food into the trunk of his car. She didn't seem to be getting very far.

"I don't know what's happening, but people are starting to turn on each other. That never ends well."

Lochie padded over to stand besides her, frowning down at the scene playing out below them. A fire was burning steadily somewhere in the distance, a car alarm was echoing a few blocks away. Lochie looked at Cassidy. She was frowning, her brow furrowed darkly.

"Get your stuff."

Lochie did not like the tone of her voice. She scurried over to her scattered clothes. She tossed everything she could grab into her duffel bag, checking her lock-picking tools were in her jacket. It was only as she was passing a mirror that she realised her wig was still on. She unpinned it hastily as Cassidy re-appeared in the doorway with her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Where are we going?"

Cassidy shook her head a fraction. Lochie could feel her blood thundering in her ears. She was brave in her own way, aware of her skills and her ability to pretty much talk her way out of any situation, but anything causing that look in her friend's eye was worth worrying over.

"We need to get out of the city."

"Cassidy. Cassidy! Hey!"

Cassidy blinked blurrily, trying to clear her fuzzy vision. It seemed to take forever for her surroundings to come into focus. Eventually she managed to take in the wet muddy ground underneath her and the puddle of water inches from her face. Looking at her slightly distorted reflection cleared up why she was having trouble focusing. One of her eyes was swelling blue-black and what should have been white was almost completely red. A nasty gash had split her hairline and blood had dried along the length of her cheek and neck, staining her grey t-shirt. Her head was pounding.

"Hey."

She forced herself into a sitting position. Lochie was coiled into a ball a few feet away, the dull light filtering through the leaves overhead made her skin look sickly yellow. Her lip was split and swollen up badly and she was holding her wrist strangely in her lap.

"What happened?" Cassidy managed to get out, pain flaring through her throat as her voice gurgled harshly.

She lifted her hand to her neck. It felt swollen and delicate. She leaned over the pool of water again. Her throat was ringed with long red marks, like fingers, like someone had tried to strangle her.

"Where's Dixon?"

Lochie's face twisted. She crawled across the small clearing to her side, still holding her left wrist delicately. Cassidy reached out to her instinctively, only then realising her hands were bound together. Lochie indicated the frayed rope still wrapped around both of her wrists.

"What do you remember?"

Cassidy shook her head, immediately regretting it when searing pain shot through her skull.

"Going through the trees looking for food. Or lack thereof. Dixon was ahead tracking a deer. You heard a noise-" She broke off, looking down at Lochie who was picking at the knots in the rope with her good hand. "Where's Daryl?"

"What do you think they want?" Lochie said in a small voice. She didn't want to point out the obvious, if these guys had beaten the crap out of two women, what would they do to someone who posed as big a threat as Daryl Dixon?

"I don't know." Cassidy croaked. She didn't like to mention the fact that both of them were still fully clothed and, apart from the beating, relatively intact.

Lochie finally managed to unpick the knots and Cassidy shook out her hands to regain some feeling.

"Why would they bring us here?"

"I don't know."

"They can't want to sell us or anything, right? Why would they beat us up if they wanted to pimp us out?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think Daryl's okay?"

"For Christ's sake, Lochie. I don't know!"

Lochie merely stared at her with huge eyes. Cassidy pushed back her fear and panic over Daryl's conspicuous absence and took as deep a breath as she could manage with her damaged throat.

"We have to get out of here, before we end up as lunch."

Cassidy tried to get to her feet but her ribs were agony and the sudden blossom of pain doubled her up. The two of them hobbled as best they could into the trees. Cassidy had no idea what direction they were heading in, towards the motel or completely in the wrong direction. She usually relied on Dixon for this sort of thing. Her gut twisted just thinking about him but she couldn't let herself be distracted.

"Does any of this look familiar?"

They'd been walking for what felt very much like miles, hours of forcing one foot in front of the other in a relentless plodding along that didn't seem to be getting them anywhere. Lochie obediently lifted her head and peered at the identical trees surrounding them. She shook her head.

"I'm scared." Lochie whispered, her thin shoulders shaking under Cassidy's arm.

Cassidy pulled her a little tighter against her, masking her wince when she bumped her bruised ribs.

"What if they were coming back for us? What if they tied us up for later?"

"Well we're not there. And if anyone thinks they can get the drop on me twice in one day, they are very much mistaken."

Lochie's smile flickered weakly and Cassidy grinned.

"Can I ask you something?" Cassidy grunted her permission. "Why is it always us?" Lochie sighed unhappily. "Maybe Carol and Lori have the right idea about things. They never end up in situations like this."

"No. And yet they always manage to get kidnapped anyway." Cassidy muttered. "Give me a leg up."

"What're you doing?" Lochie asked in alarm.

"Trying to get a better view of things." Cassidy grunted as Lochie helped her clamber painfully up a tree trunk.

"See anything?"

"A whole lot of fucking trees." Cassidy cursed. "I goddamn hate these motherfucking woods."

"Nice language there, Red."

Lochie squealed and bounced painfully off the tree trunk in her surprise. Cassidy slid down the trunk, catching her stomach on the rough bark.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Lochie demanded, startling all of them with her vehemence.

"What happened to you?" Cassidy asked weakly, gathering her energy to drag herself to her feet.

Daryl crouched down and helped her up. She pushed her hands into his hair, running her fingertips over the nasty bump at the back of his head. Dried blood was matted in his hair, staining the back of his shirt.

"You look like shit." She grinned, wrapping her arms around his chest and squeezing him as tightly as she could until her ribs ached. "Were you worried about me?"

He muttered something grumpily but she didn't care. She was revelling in the feel of him warm and sturdy against her, his distinctive scent flooding her senses. She loved him. She felt weak and vulnerable and so very tired and all she wanted to do was stay right here forever. She could practically feel her carefully constructed walls crumbling away and she didn't care. Right now she wanted someone to take care of her and that was a feeling she didn't think she'd ever experienced before. It took her a moment to steady her emotions enough to pull away from him.

Lochie was sitting on a rotted tree stump being checked over by Rick. Not being used to having the crap kicked out of her on occasion, she looked far worse than she was and Rick was fluttering around her anxiously.

"What happened?"

Cassidy looked at Glenn over Daryl's shoulder.

"I don't know." She sighed grouchily. "I was having a pretty intimate encounter with the business end of a fist at the time."

Rick was poking at Lochie's wrist, which was rapidly swelling to the size of a purple and red grapefruit.

"What did they want?" Cassidy asked Daryl in an undertone as he carefully examined the injuries to her face. "Why did they beat the crap out of us and then just leave us here?"

Daryl ignored her, pushing her hair behind her ear so he could get a better look at her eye. His eyes got darker and darker as they took in the gash on her cheekbone and the purpling bruises around her throat.

"Don't lie to me, redneck. There's a thought rattling around in there. Tell me."

Daryl grimaced, scrubbed his hand over his face and touched her hair again.

"We look pretty healthy."

"Speak for yourself." Cassidy muttered, touching her sore ribs.

"You know what I mean." Daryl glowered at her. "Three pretty much healthy and well-fed people walking around these woods. They knew we had a base around here, somewhere with food."

"That's why they tied us up." Cassidy looked down at the rope still chafing the delicate skin of her wrists. "If they couldn't find our base they needed us to show them." She touched the lump at the back of his head lightly. "How come you got off so lightly?"

"Played dead." He growled.

"Did they find the hotel?"

He shook his head.

"Not yet."

Rick was helping Lochie to her feet, handling her like she was glass and likely to break. It was kind of adorable.

"Something tells me I'm not going to be resting any time soon." Cassidy groaned, letting Daryl take her hand and lead her after Rick and Lochie.

"Yeah. Everyone's freaking out thinking we're going to get raided any second." Glenn almost swallowed his tongue he shut up so fast when Daryl shot him a glare.

"Dixon's right, Glenn." Cassidy sucked in a deep breath of pain as a hidden ditch in the ground sent pain shooting through her ribs and head. "It's only a matter of time. People are desperate. They want to survive, by any means necessary."

"That doesn't sound good." Glenn swallowed uneasily, glancing over his shoulder as if he expected them to be tearing after them.

"We just can't catch a break." Lochie complained bitterly, leaning against Rick as they ducked under a low hanging branch.

"Well, no offense, but you guys don't exactly look ready to take anyone on." Glenn hurriedly back-pedalled when Daryl whirled on him. "I meant Cassidy…"

Daryl's glare only got deeper and Glenn danced around them and darted in front of them out of harm's way. Cassidy snorted with laughter, wincing at the pain it caused, then laughing again at the look on Daryl's face.

"He has a point." Cassidy said quietly, taking a few quick steps to catch up to him. "I'm not exactly in fighting shape. If that's what it comes to-"

"We'll be gone by then." Rick cut her off firmly, his grip on Lochie's shoulder tightening imperceptibly as she shuddered.

"Gone where?" Cassidy pointed out in an undertone.

Lochie glanced at her, then up at Rick who was staring fixedly ahead of them. His face was fixed into a frown, his brow furrowed in concentration. Cassidy had a pretty good idea of what he was thinking; how to move their group in a few hours when they had nowhere to go and no form of transport and half of their group was comprised of complaining useless women. Even Carl could shoot better than most of them. Cassidy felt anxiety flutter in her stomach. She could barely make it down this muddy path with Daryl's help, how could she get them out of this? She felt a rush of exhaustion surge over her pounding head and she leaned sideways against Daryl's arm.

"Oh my god." Carl bit his lip and shot a nervous look at his father but the Sheriff was too distracted by their injuries to discipline his son for cursing. "Are you okay?"

Carl took Cassidy's free arm and draped it along his shoulder. He wasn't much help but Cassidy didn't have the heart to disillusion him so she let him follow them to her room.

"Rest." Daryl ordered, pushing her back onto the end of the bed when she tried to get back to her feet.

"I don't have time to rest." She muttered mutinously, trying to force herself back to her feet. Carl pushed her back down. The two of them stared at him in amazement and his cheeks flushed pink.

"You could have a concussion." Cassidy told Daryl as he tossed their few belongings into a battered duffel bag.

"So could you." He pointed out over his shoulder.

"Are you leaving?" Carl asked worriedly, chewing on his finger and staring at her with those big cow eyes that made her want to hug him.

"We all are." Cassidy touched her sore throat gingerly. "You should go see your dad, find out what he wants you to do."

Carl looked out at the still open door for a moment, watching them all gathering in a group ready to hear the bad news. They'd all known it. As soon as Daryl had blown into the camp a few hours ago, covered in muck with blood all over him and murder in his eyes. He'd marched straight past them all, not stopping until he reached Rick. Whatever he'd said to the Sheriff, he'd gone as white as a sheet and followed him back into the trees.

"They'll all be arguing."

He looked wiser than his years again and Cassidy felt unutterably weary. Daryl muttered something about talking to Rick and stalked out of the room. After a moment he came back, his hands thrust deep into his pockets. He glared at Carl until the boy scampered into the bathroom. They stared at each other for a long moment, then Daryl crossed the room and pressed his lips against her forehead. Before she could blink in surprise, he'd turned and vanished out of the open door. Carl returned from the bathroom with a dripping wet cloth in his hands. He touched her bloodied, muddy dirty face tentatively, apparently under the impression she might swing for him. She smiled, which came out as more of a grimace given the mess her face was in. She held still and let him clean her face and neck.

"So how do I look?" She asked when he was done. He peered at her anxiously. "That bad, huh?"

"Does it hurt?"

She shrugged one shoulder. The one that wasn't attached to her bruised ribs.

"I've had worse." She tried to laugh but that hurt too. "I'm going to need you to help me, kid."

"Anything." He promised eagerly, his blue eyes glimmering.

"I need these ribs bandaging." He looked at her t-shirt curiously, seeing no blood where she indicated. "I have to restrict my movements or I'll make it worse, if I strap them up they'll heal quicker." She pointed at the duffel bag Daryl had left on the floor by the door. "There's some bandages we looted in there."

Cassidy hesitated after Carl had handed her the bandage. On the one hand, she needed to take off her shirt, on the other hand she didn't want to scar him for life.

"Okay I'm going to take my shirt off. You can close your eyes if you want."

Carl snapped his eyes shut. Cassidy managed to struggle out of her ruined t-shirt with some difficulty and muttered curses. When she was ready, she unravelled the bandages and placed the end over her bruised ribs.

"Here. Keep this here for me."

She guided Carl's shaky fingers to the edge of the bandage. He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, his fingertips barely grazing her ribs. She managed to bandage her ribs well enough herself. When she was done she gave Carl the two end of the bandage and ordered him to tie them in as tight a knot as he could.

"Okay, now get me a clean shirt and we're good to go."

Carl grabbed a shirt from the duffel bag and tossed it to her, still averting his eyes as if her bra were infectious. She noticed, but didn't comment, that he'd given her one of Daryl's shirts. She slipped it on and Carl helped her work her hair into a messy braid. Overall she was feeling and looking a lot more like her usual self when Daryl stumped back through the door. Carl beat a hasty retreat in search of his father. Daryl marched straight over to her, yanking her chin up so he could study her injuries properly. He slid one hand up under the shirt, gingerly exploring the bandages.

"Carl helped me." She got carefully to her feet, feeling every bone start to ache.

"You took your shirt off in front of that kid?" He demanded, his stomach knotting jealously.

"He's thirteen, redneck." Cassidy protested, slipping on her jacket.

"I was thirteen once." Daryl said pointedly

"Really? You didn't just sprout out of the ground fully formed? No way."

Daryl glared. She poked her tongue out at him.

"So what's going on? We running?"

Daryl hoisted the duffel bag onto his shoulder.

"We're running."

LadyLecter47 – I know I hate it when shows just do the obvious plot stuff, Daryl and Carol would just be too stupid! Oh she will be set very straight, I can't wait :D

JDMlvr1 – well they couldn't stay mad at each other forever, where's the fun in that? Yeah Carol needs to get her ass kicked and back off my Daryl lol

C0nt0rt3dM1nd – I love Carl I think he's awesome, he's got so much potential and they just don't use it!

FanFicGirl10 – thanks hope you enjoy it

piratejessieswaby – thanks, I'd very much like to kill Carol

ILoveAnime89 – here's your update, sorry for the wait

GemmaTellerSoa – well everyone needs Christmas and thanks very much! :D much love

.H – glad you liked it

Icec – here's the next chapter for you, sorry it took so long

Dark-n-Twisty – thanks a lot, I think Lochie's getting a bit too soppy nowadays I might need to bring her back to her sarcastic roots. Don't worry they'll be entering Season 3 territory soon enough :D