Leah had been biting her nails the whole night. They had kicked her out of the infirmary after yesterdays arrival, even given the fact that she could have helped. Her medical knowledge was okay, she could have done something. Making herself useful would've spared her a sleepless night of tossing and turning.

She went to the window for the hundredth time. Dawn was breaking already, making the shapes of the camp visible again. Leah didn't care. Her only interest was the dimly-lit infirmary barrack. Lights in there meant they were working. It meant hope. It meant that Daryl hadn't died tonight, was still fighting for his life, only a few yards away from her.

A particular loud snore cut through the silence, startling her. She turned and pulled her woolen jacket closer, glaring at the man in her bed. For once, Craig was wearing something, after he hadn't gotten what he had wanted last night. She had feigned a headache – the good old classic – and had mentally prayed for him to leave her alone. It had worked, like many other times before. The other times it hadn't, she had endured it.

Leah pushed herself away from the window sill and grabbed her clothes from the chair in the corner. Then she tiptoed out of the room. She hurriedly got dressed and crept out of the shack, wincing at the crunching sound of her boots on the ground. Making sure no one else was up and the guards were occupied with checking the perimeter instead of the camp, she crossed the courtyard and made a beeline for the infirmary.

The interior of the barrack smelled of antiseptics and alcohol-drenched gauze bandages. In the semi-darkness of the room she made out Daryl's still form. Seeing him on his back on the exam table was something Leah could hardly bear. Usually he slept on his side, fully dressed in case it was necessary to skip out of town ASAP. Now he was bare chested, a stark white dressing covering most of his stomach and a thin sheet draped over his hips and legs. With dread she noticed his hands were bound to the sides of the table.

A clatter from the other side of the room caused Leah to jump, and she retreated into the shadows. A small figure in a white coat appeared, cursing like a sailor and rummaging through a drawer. Leah smiled and cleared her throat. The petite woman whirled around and searched the room for the source of the voice, raising her eyebrows at seeing Leah.

"Geez, hun, you're up early."
"Good morning, Eva." Leah emerged from the dark corner. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
The doctor shook her head. "I live." She turned her back to Leah and resumed her rummaging. "Why are you already on your feet?"
"I couldn't sleep."

Leah carefully walked up to Daryl's side, as if every step might hurt him. She noticed a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. She reached out and ran a trembling hand through his hair. It was soft and damp, his skin feverish. With a pang of guilt she remembered how her dirty cape had worked as a tourniquet and had probably done nothing for Daryl's injury. When she looked up, she was met with Evas worried gaze.

"You do realize that you're in trouble, Leah. When Craig notices ..." Eva didn't finish and let out a sigh instead. Leah looked down at Daryl again, drank in the sight of him. His beard had grayed slightly over the years, the scar on his face was still visible. His hair hadn't grown too much and she wondered if someone had cut it for him or if had done it by himself. She gingerly touched the rope around his right wrist.

"I'm sorry. Craig ordered for him to be restrained, said he might be a threat. And ... well ... if he doesn't make it, we have to be sure that ..."
"How is he?", Leah interrupted in a hushed tone, afraid of what she was about to hear.
"He's not fully out of the woods yet", Eva replied, putting the back of her hand at Daryl cheek, checking his temperature. "They got him good, but I was able to remove the bullet. He needs much more medical support than we can give him, or anyone can give him these days, but I did what I could, the rest is up to him."

Leah nodded and kept on caressing Daryl's hair. "Thank you, Eva. A lot." She didn't mean to cry, still she felt her eyes welling up. She sniffed and wiped her nose with her jacket sleeve.
"You're going to tell me who he is?", Eva asked softly, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her coat, "He's not some random dude, that much I can see."
"It's him, Eva."
The doctor frowned. Then her eyes widened. "Wait ... this is Daryl?"
Leah looked up at her and nodded.
"God Leah. If this ... when Craig founds out ..." She put her hands to the sides of her head. "I bet he already suspects something. I don't know why he allowed to bring Daryl here in the first place. It's not part of his MO to bring strangers into the camp..."
"Well, he dragged me here, didn't he?"
"All I'm saying is that I don't like it. It means he's up to something and you should be careful. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I get it." She took a deep breath and glanced out of the window. "I should go. I'll be back as soon as I can." Leah leaned in and placed a kiss first on Daryl's, then on Evas cheek. "Take good care of him for me, okay?"
The doctor smiled. "Promise." She gave Leah a little push towards the door. Before she was out, Eva called after her.
Leah stopped and looked expectantly at her.
"Is he worth it?", she asked.
Now it was Leah's turn to smile. She nodded and slipped out of the infirmary only a few seconds later.

Stepping out into the already humid break of day, her gaze wandered over the scattered barracks they called their camp. It was still quiet and deserted and Leah had their hopes up high nobody had seen her visiting their Daryl. She still had no idea what she was about to tell them. She knew she had done a piss-poor job by feigning sovereignty at finding him out there. Eva was right – Craig had realized something was up the second he had witnessed Leah's reaction. There would be questions. And she didn't know if she should lie or tell the truth. Either way, they were both in trouble.

She hurried over to the shack she shared with Craig and froze when the door opened before she even touched the handle.

"Morning, Sunshine", Craig murmured, squinting down at her, leaning casually against the door frame. He was shirtless, the gray hair on his chest a stark contrast to his tanned skin.
"You're up early", Leah stated with a slight tremble in her voice and crept past him into the living room, shuddering when she felt his fingers brush her thigh.
"Could have said the same about you", he replied, turning to her and closing the door. He kept his position and eyed her. "Does your head still hurt? Should I get you something for it?"
For a second she didn't know what he meant. "No, I'm good, thanks."
"Okay then. How about some coffee first." Craig stepped up to her, uncomfortably close, and buried his face in her hair. His hands started to roam her body, gripping her butt, squeezing her breasts. "Or coffee later, other things first."

Leah held her breath and slammed her eyes shut in disgust. The smell of old sweat and bed linens crawled up her nose while stubble scratched along her skin. She wanted to push him away with all her might – still, she knew that doing so wasn't a wise thing to do. It never had been.

"What about our new arrival?", Craig purred, his lips wandering up to her mouth, kissing her hard in between the words. "He doing okay?"
Leah knew the question was purely rhetorically and remained silent. Truth was, he didn't care how Daryl was. Craig would've killed him right there in the woods if it hadn't been for her. She hated him for speaking of Daryl. And she hated him even more for speaking of Daryl all the while he was occupied with her.

"I know you've been over at the infirmary", Craig went on, pushing her roughly backwards. One of his hands crept up along her neck lovingly to the back of her head before he suddenly gripped her hair hard, and pulled her back. She cried out.

"Let go of me", she spat, hitting his chest and preparing to kick her knee into his groin. As if he had read her mind, he slammed her against the nearest wall and pressed one of his legs between hers, leaving her immobile. He captured Leah's wide-eyed stare with his mean one.
"Tell me who he is", Craig hissed, still uncomfortably close, "or I will march over and finish what I started. And this time you won't be there to save his sorry ass. Your choice."

Leah's breath came in short puffs. All her attempts to wriggle herself free of his strong grip were to no avail.
"He's a friend", she replied, only giving him the basics.
"Ah, I see. Before you became a part of our group, I assume?"
Her face darkened. "I didn't become a part of your group", she spat into his face with as much venom as she could muster and renewed her efforts to get away from him. He held her in place easily.
"What kind a friend, Leah?", he asked, tilting his head. "I mean, apocalypse and all that. From what I saw he's not the ugliest guy around. And women have needs, too."
"Shut up, Craig."
"Tell me his name."
"No."
"Tell me. His. Name."

Leah closed her eyes. This wasn't right. She couldn't bring this innocent, beautiful chapter since the world had ended into this. It was hers. And Daryl's. She wanted to protect it and couldn't think of a way how.

"Fine", Craig growled. Leah grunted when Craig forcefully pulled his hand away from her head, tearing some hair out in the process. "You know what the good part is? I just need a syringe filled with air. Or a pillow. Easy as pie."
He turned, marching towards the door. Leah watched him leave in shock.
"No, wait!", she cried, stumbling after him. "Daryl. His name is Daryl."

Craig stopped and looked at her. A smile grew on his face while he closed the distance between them once again.
"See. That wasn't so hard, was it?", Craig whispered, caressing her trembling lips with rough fingers. Leah didn't dare to move. She started to breath freely again while she watched him retreat and get dressed. She couldn't hide the hate pouring from her, wasn't able to suppress the tremors that wrecked her body.
"I'll be out with a few men for the next weeks", Craig said, buttoning his shirt. "I'll decide what to do when I'm back." He took his weapons and went for the door. Before he left, he turned to her. "With both of you."
The second he slammed the door shut, Leah sank down to the floor, hugging herself tight, and started to cry.