A/N: Ok, so maybe I came across harsher than I meant to last chapter, I wasn't mad at anybody. Several people have mentioned the chapters being short -and trust me, I won't even try to deny that my chapters are short -and I wanted you guys to know that if you wanted, the choice was up to you. But, that being said, I wanted to give a special shout-out to FanFicGirl10, because -even though I didn't realize it til last night- she was my two hundred reviewer! Wow! I can't believe this is already up to two hundred reviews. If we can get 229, that will make this story my one with the most reviews! YAY!


To say that Daryl was irritated would have the fucking understatement of the goddamn year. Watching the midget stalk off –and damned if he hadn't stood to follow her almost before he knew what he was doing – and then to have Shane of all people –Shane, who wasn't exactly the most stable guy ever –go after… Well… By the time the ex-deputy had come back to the fire, Daryl had been working his way past 'pissed', and when he seen that Shane was alone…

Shit.

"Where the fuck's the midget?" He demanded, pushing himself to his feet again, one hand going to his side as a wave of pain shot through his chest.

Shane glared at him. "She told me she wanted to be alone for a bit. Hey!" He called, as Daryl started towards the field. "Didn't ya hear me? Said she wanted to be alone!"

"She's a fuckin' kid; don't care what she wants, she ain't gonna be out there all 'lone!" Daryl shot back, turning just long enough to return the other man's glare. "Can't believe you'd jus' leave her by herself."

"Daryl –"

"Did I fuckin' ask for yer damn opinion? I said she ain't gonna be out there alone!" He barked back over his shoulder, pain coursing through him with every step as he moved into the tall grass of the field. "Shorty? Shorty, where the hell are ya?" He called, trying to sound a lot calmer than he felt. Damn idiots, leaving a fucking kid alone in a damn field during the fucking end of the damn world. "Shorty!"

"Jesus, don't none a ya understand 'leave me the fuck alone'."

"Holy shit!" Daryl cussed, jumping in surprise, the midget's voice coming from just a few feet away from it, somewhere off to his right. He frowned, and moved a bit closer, finally spotting her laying in the grass, practically invisible in the darkness. "Tryin' ta give me a damn heart attack?! What the hell are ya doin'?"

She glared up at him, not moving as she snapped, "Tryin' to get half a damn second a quiet. What're you doin'?"

"Lookin' for you," Daryl retorted, dropping down next to her, trying to situate himself without aggravating his side anymore. "Thought you had more brains than ta sit out here by ya self at night."

"Well, maybe I thought bein' walker bait sounded more fun than havin' everybody at the camp askin' me how I 'feel'. Better than havin' ya glare at me the rest a the damn night," She said with a snort.

"I wasn't glarin'," Daryl muttered, even though he knew it was a damn lie. He had been glaring at her as soon as she'd limped down to the fire. But he hadn't actually been glaring at her. Or maybe he had.

Fuck if he even knew anymore. Damn girl had his head all twisted up, he didn't even know what he was thinking half the damn time. He'd spent all day trying to figure out what the hell they were. What the hell her problem was, and how he even fit into all of it. Why it bothered him so much.

"Sorry 'bout… what happened to ya."

Well, shit. That hadn't been what he meant to say.

Then it was her turn to glare, pushing herself on her elbows. "I don't need yer damn pity, Daryl. Don't want it. Shit, don't know why I ever fuckin' told ya," She said quietly, before laying back down, glancing up at the stars.

Daryl sighed, moving closer to her, before folding his hands under his head. He'd briefly considered putting his arm around her, but after the previous night's fiasco, he decided it was piss poor choice.

"Shorty… I'm jus'… I'm jus' tryin' ta figure… I mean… Shit, why the fuck would ya try an' feel me up?" He asked awkwardly, with more than a bit of desperation.

That was what had his mind reeling. Trying to figure out why the hell she'd try something like that while he was asleep. Why she'd do that when he hadn't even hinted at it. Had he? Fuck.

"Ya ever stop ta think maybe I jus' like ya?" She asked, and he could hear the nervousness in her voice.

"No. It didn't," He said, a bit harshly. "Ya said it was 'cause I was… 'cause I was nice. Jus' what the hell was that supposed ta mean?"

He felt more than seen her fidgeting beside him. "I… Whaddya want me to say?" She finally asked, sounding so lost and broken that it made him uncomfortable. He should have let Carol come out and talk to her, or Dale. Somebody who actually had a fucking clue how to make… whatever the hell 'this' was, right. How to fix it.

But since they weren't there, and he was, and the midget was looking at him, waiting for him to say something…

"I want ya ta tell me that ya grabbed my dick 'cause ya honestly wanted ta… ta have sex with me. Tell me that it wasn't some… some fucked up idea ta pay me back." When she was silent, he sighed. "Yeah. S'what I thought. Jesus, Jesse… That… That's not how… You don't just have sex with somebody jus' 'cause they're nice ta ya."

"Most guys don't have a problem with it."

He groaned as he sat up, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Why we gotta do this again, girly? I told ya before, an' I'm tellin' ya now: I ain't like that. I was nice ta ya 'cause ya needed a damn friend. Not 'cause I wanted ta get in ta yer damn pants. I let ya tag along with me 'cause I like ya. As a friend," He added quickly, wanting to make sure she didn't get the wrong idea.

"Why?"

"Why what?" He asked, confused.

"Why do ya like me?" She asked quietly, sitting up next to him. "I know I'm annoyin', an' I'm loud, an' I got a temper… I know I'm stupid. Only reason anybody's ever wanted me ta stick around before was for sex. An' I think we've know you ain't interested in that," She said with a sad chuckle. "So why the hell do ya let me hang out with ya?"

Daryl chewed on his bottom lip for a minute. "Ya ain't annoyin'. Least ways, a hell of a lot less than everybody else 'round here. An' it takes somebody with a hell of a temper ta deal with me all day. An' you sure a fuck ain't stupid. I… It's kinda nice havin' somebody I can actually stand 'round here," He grumbled, careful to not look at her. "An'… maybe I… Maybe I jus' like ya."

He finally reached out, and put one arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him, sighing softly as she cuddled tighter against him.

"Ya know… Think that's the first time ya called me 'Jesse'," She said after a while.

"Yeah well… Don't get used to it. Shorty," He muttered, rolling his eyes.


It was a few hours later when he heard somebody approaching. Instinctively his hand went to his knife, and he turned his head, every muscle in his body tensing.

"Daryl? Jesse?"

He relaxed, easing up on the hilt of his knife as he heard Carol's quiet voice.

"Over here," He called back, keeping his voice low as the girl shifted beside him, muttering something in her sleep as she pushed herself further against his side.

"I brought you out a blanket," Carol said with a smile, holding up a large quilt. "Hershel sent it out. He said –and I quote – 'I'm not going to have those kids freeze to death after all the work I've done keeping them alive'," She finished with a chuckle, laying the blanket over them.

Or at least, laying it over his legs, and most of Jesse's body, seeing as how she was curled up next to him, her head and one arm laying on his chest, her fingers curled into his shirt.

"Uh… thanks, I guess," He muttered, laying his head back down. As Carol nodded, and disappeared from sight again, he moved his hand back to Jesse's head, running his thick, calloused fingers through her curly, black hair.

He wasn't even sure why he was doing it. But it felt like the right thing to do, and for once, Daryl was just gonna go with the flow.