How could she have been that stupid.

She might have been hunting far away from the others, still she hadn't been on her own. Why she had been forgetting about their presence, she didn't know. This is what caused people to die, nowadays. You love, you lose. That's why being attached to someone was the end – for you or the other. Or both. It was distracting. It was the reason for you to let your attention slip.

But then, literally bumping into him after all those years, to see him alive and well, handsome as ever ... when she had realized it had been him, her world had stopped.

Daryl.

Dog had been a bonus. It warmed her heart to realize that he had kept him. It had made her happy to learn that the animal had survived at all. He was a pet, after all.

And yet, they were there. Daryl, his vulnerable nature displayed to the world at seeing her again, his confusion, his grief. It had made her lose track for a moment, only to be harshly yanked back to reality by the sound of a gun shot.

She flinched, registered Dogs alarmed barks and watched in horror as Daryl's eyes rolled back and he fell backwards, hitting the soil with a sickening thud.

"No!"

Leah dropped the rifle and ran up to where Daryl had fallen, followed by a now very upset Dog. The animal reached his masters side first and nudged Daryl's head, whimpering in bewilderment. For the second time that day Leah fell to her knees.

Daryl lay on his back, groggily gazing up to the canopy. He was breathing hard and fast, obviously not getting enough oxygen into his lungs. Every gravelly exhale was accompanied by a soft groan, the sounds of utter distress cutting into Leah like a blunt knife.

"No ... please ... no", she muttered, her eyes welling up again. She put a hand on Daryl's cheek while she checked his body for injuries. She found what she was looking for when she pushed his vest back and noticed the black fabric of his shirt glistening right underneath his ribcage. Without hesitation she pressed both of her hands onto the wound, causing an alarming amount of blood to squelch out between her fingers and Daryl to arch his back, crying out in pain.

"L ... leave it ..." He groped for her hands clumsily, trying to push them away.
"I'm sorry", Leah sobbed, "oh god, I'm sorry."
Dog was everywhere, crying his dog-cries, sniffing, poking, offering as much of his warmth and solace to his ailing master.
"Y ... ya need ta ... go ..."
Leah shook her head. "Daryl. Look at me ... can you do that? Daryl?" She examined his face, tried to catch his unfocussed gaze with hers. When she did, she shrank back from the sheer despair she found in his tired blue eyes. He was giving up. Right here and now.
"No, you're not", she hissed, unconsciously repeating one of the first sentences she had ever said to him years ago. She took one bloodied hand to his collar and shook him. "Daryl!"

She was aware of the men emerging from the foliage behind her, but couldn't seem to bother. They surrounded them, hands on their weapons, watching the drama to their feet. Dog, overstrained by the whole situation, started to growl once again, sending all the wrath he could muster towards the three new enemies.

"Gut shot", one of the men stated dryly, "this one's a goner."
"Couldn't have been aiming for the head, could ya?" Another one. Slightly amused.
"Sorry, I'm having a bad day. I'll make it right."
The second the words left his mouth Leah abandoned her place at Daryl's side and jumped up right into the guys face. She took a strong grip on his shotgun before he could even raise it.
"Craig. Don't", she commanded, trying to sound more confident than she felt.
The man, Craig, squinted at her. "Why do you care, anyway? What's it with you having your arms inside of him?"
"Why waste a bullet?", Leah replied, ignoring the second question, her voice cold. Without another word she knelt down again, taking off her cape in the process. She bunched it up and pressed it against the wound in Daryl's stomach, mentally pushing away the possibility of infection caused by all the dirt clinging on the worn-out garment. Daryl's lack of reaction spiked her worries. His eyes were closed and if it weren't for his harsh breathing, she wouldn't know if he was still alive.

Leah felt Craigs eyes burn a hole into her back. She waited for the shotgun to be cocked and prepared herself for shielding Daryl with her own body. But the sound never came. Instead Craig raised his voice to address the others.
"Right. Let the dead take care of him then. Get his crossbow and knives and let's go. It'll be dark soon."
He started to walk away with the other two following and Leah felt the panic crawling up her spine. She whirled around to face them.
"We need to take him to the camp", she blurted out.
Craig stopped dead in his tracks and and looked at her with his eyebrows raised. "We what?"
"He can be of use for us."
One of Craigs sidekicks, Leah remembered him as Noel, threw his hands up.
"Come on, you can't be serious", he said, "Look at him, he's barely breathing."
"Trust me", Leah replied, "He is important."
Noel shook his head like a petulant child and turned away, kicking a stump in the process, while Craig went down into a crouch, intently eyeing first Daryl, then Leah. She cringed, but didn't so much as twitch under his observant eyes. She held his gaze, all the while feeling Daryl's blood run through her hands even slower and his trembling dying down to tiny tremors.
"Important, huh?", Craig asked slowly and reached out, caressing her face with a calloused thumb. "And to whom, Leah?"
She didn't answer, and fought the urge to pull her face out of his reach until he finally let go of her and got up.
"At least shoot that thing", Craig nodded at Dog, who was resting his head on Daryl's chest, "might be a good dinner."

Leah paled. In the blink of an eye she gave Dog a smack, startling the animal to action.
"Dog! Go home! Now!", she commanded loudly.
Dog was on his feet in seconds, barking and baring his teeth at Noel and the other man aiming their guns at him. He took a few hesitant steps backwards, not happy to leave his master behind, before he realized the danger he was in. With a final yelp he turned and started to run. Leah looked after him, flinching with every shot that rang out, hoping, begging for the bullets to miss their target.

She prayed to whoever that he would find his way home.

Only seconds later the woods were quiet again. Even Daryl had now turned completely still, his breaths coming in soft, shallow gasps. Leah searched his neck for a pulse and left her hand on the weak, but reassuring thrumming. She looked up at Craig, who was watching her like a snake observing it's prey.

She was in trouble and she knew it.

"Damnit", Noel swore and spat to the ground. "I'll get the horses. And find a way to move this guy ... don't sue me if he doesn't make it."