ChildishAssassin: Thank you! I hope you continue enjoying them!

KEZZ 1: Again, thank you! Here's a new one for ya!

Holy shit. I am in love with Negan and Jesus...Also, next chapter, we got nuptials!

Ani was sitting behind Daryl on his motorcycle as he left the prison, both of their crossbows on their respective perches. She had her arms wrapped around him as they rode down the road heading to a strip mall about twenty two miles out from the prison, the feather he'd given her securely attached to her top braid much to Daryl's delight; he'd been the one to attach it the first time she wore it. Glenn and Maggie were in a truck behind them, followed by Mark and Brian in another. They were hoping to get enough supplies to last at least a couple weeks, giving the newly weds a bit of time to just enjoy their spouse's company. Daryl was planning on taking Ani on a longer hunting trip than just a half day like they'd done after the council meeting in the morning.

He was hoping they could bag another buck or two since they hadn't been able to get anything more than squirrels and a decent sized pheasant the other day. They'd long since run out of the jerky Ani made and they needed to get some more fresh meat. Canned goods were decent, but they weren't as nutritional as Ani wanted the prison to become. For fighters to build muscle, they needed protein, and that meant meat. Looking forward to some much needed alone time where no one else was even around, Daryl had talked Merle into taking over for Ani for at least three days with the training. While she only trained one small group a day, it was crucial that the training continue while she was gone.

Ani had roped Merle into keeping an eye on Carol and Sophia back at the prison even though he wanted to go on the run too. Sophia was smart, but she was starting to become reckless as Carl settled into the life of a farmer with his dad. It wasn't that he wanted to be a farmer, but Rick wanted him to, and that left Sophia on her own or with her mother or Ani or on her own. And the times she went off on her own, she always came back through the fence-line, never even letting anyone know she'd left. She started doing it after the walker attack that got Lucas, said attack changing the girl and not in a good way. It got to the point that Ani had begun putting the girl on watch teams just so that she knew where she was at all times. Ani was truly afraid one day the little girl was going to walk out of the prison without telling anyone and never walk back in. She and Carol both were, Carol going through the added measure of telling Ani it wasn't her fault.

No matter what she did, though, Ani couldn't help but feel as if it was her fault that Sophia was turning into what she was. It was Ani who'd trained her, Ani who'd taught her weapons to begin with, Ani who'd been the one to toughen her up. Now that she had more know how, the little girl thought herself indestructible. Ani had tried to talk to her about going outside of the fence without telling anybody, but it went in one ear and out the other. So knowing she would be taking a prolonged hunting trip with Daryl, she had to be precautionary. That's why she asked Merle to look after Sophia, and to make sure that Carol was fine if something did happen. He was watching after them now, too.

Daryl pulled the bike up to the strip and turned it off. Looking around, he spotted a couple walkers nearby, but nothing they couldn't handle with the six of them. The run went pretty smoothly at first, managing to collect multiple cases of canned goods, a few more sets of cutlery and tableware, and several more blankets. They'd even managed to get a few tools to help build up supports on the fence if they could find enough metal and pipes. They were almost done, loading up all their finds, when a swarm of walkers came up from the road and took them by surprise.

They were able to manage at first, trying to get to the vehicles from the store front, but when Ani got snuck up on from behind by a walker, all hell broke loose. Brian got bit pushing her out of the way, but pushing her ended up putting her in the claws of two more that came out of nowhere in front of her. Maggie and Daryl were yelling while she simply used the momentum of the push to roll under the outstretched arms. Turning as soon as she was behind them, she pushed up with the balls of her feet and slammed her daggers into the base of their skulls. Ducking back down, she spun around and swiped the feet of the two walkers behind her, hearing screams from one of the men and praying it wasn't Daryl. They fell backwards, knocking down a couple of the others. Before she had a chance to get away, one of the downed walkers grabbed her ankle. She cried out as she felt something slice the outside of her leg as she struggled and pulled trying to get free, using her heel to kick the skull in of the walker trying to bite the inside of her calf.

Glenn grabbed her and pulled her to her feet, supporting her as Daryl shouted for them to follow him. He lead them into one of the stores, a specialty clothing store, closing the door and then the shutters as the two of them and Maggie ran in. Turning around as soon as the shutters were locked in place, he took the lead and ran through the store to the back. Keeping his bow raised, he checked the storage room, killing one walker before he pulled his knife out and killed another. Maggie took out the last one while Glenn helped a limping Ani to a seated position on the floor. As soon as the walkers were down and the room was clear, Daryl rushed to Ani's side. Glenn was rolling up the leg of her pants to look at the wound.

Seeing all the blood, he practically pushed Glenn out of the way, grabbing the rag out of his back pocket and wiping at the wound, "What happened?"

"Dunno," Ani said slightly numb and moving her leg to get a better look herself. "Went down and tried ta get back up. Got grabbed. Didn' feel anythin' bite me. Gods, D, I ain' losin' me leg taday am I?"

"Don't look like," he said, letting out the breath he was holding. "Looks like a rock or glass or somethin'."

"Where's Mark?" she asked. "Was it 'im who screamed?"

"Yeah," Glenn said. "He got taken down."

Daryl tied his rag around the wound while leaving his hand pressed against it and told them, "Alright, we gotta wait 'em out. Too many of 'em to fight our way out with Ania down for the count."

"I can fight!" Ani protested.

"No," Daryl said. "Ain't riskin' it."

"He's right," Maggie told her before she had a chance to refute. "You're leg is gonna be callin' the dinner bell with how it's bleedin'. We need to wait it out and get this wound treated."

"With what?! We're in a damn clothin' store, Mags!" Ani whisper-shouted, pain starting to form in her leg as the adrenaline wore off, making her angry, scared, and frustrated.

"There's gotta be a first aide kit or something here," Glenn said.

"There's definitely needle and thread," Daryl said. "Gonna have to stitch it up."

"Daryl, no! We've got no way of knowin' if it's infected. No way of knowin' if there's anythin' in there," Maggie said. "We close it without knowin' we've cleaned it properly, we could be condemning her to an infection we can't treat. The best we can do now is look for a first aide kit and stop the bleeding. Keep putting pressure on it, Daryl."

"It's not stoppin'!" he growled out in frustration, noticing the blood seeping through the bottom of the rag and staining his hand.

Ani put her hand on top of his, bringing her other up to his face and forcing him to look at hers instead of the wound, "Anemic, rememba? That's why ya always make me eat the livas and kidneys a the stuff we shoot. It's gonna bleed. Jus' keep doin' what ya doin' and it'll stop. Ain' no where near any a the artaries or nothin', so it's jus' a cut and an abrasion. I'll be fine."

"This ain't fine, Ania! You almost got bit!"

"But I didn', D. Ya wanna be pissed 'bout somethin' be pissed we lost Brian and Mark! Don' be pissed 'cause I got hurt. We both know the risks comin' out 'ere and we both take 'em. This was jus' a stupid run a bad luck. So if ya wanna do somethin', make me forget 'bout the damn pain 'cause it's startin' ta smart like a son a bitch!"

Daryl just scoffed and untied the rag away from her wound as he grabbed a piece of clothing from the box and used that to apply pressure. He figured a clean shirt was better than the dirty rag he used to wipe sweat, blood, and grease on. Maggie came back with a first aide kit while Glenn was carrying clean fabric they could use for a bandage. She moved Daryl out of the way and told him to hold Ani from behind. Telling Glenn to hold Ani's leg, she moved it so that she could see the wound. Daryl was holding Ani around the waist and across the shoulders, telling her not to look at the wound. It was a pretty deep, jagged gash along her calf, roughly four inches long, still bleeding lightly as Maggie looked at it.

"This is gonna sting and we can't make a lot of noise, so try to keep quiet, okay?" Maggie said as she picked up the bottle of alcohol.

Both she and Daryl took deep breaths and held them as Maggie began to pour the alcohol on the wound. Ani hissed and stiffled a giggle, bringing one hand up and around Daryl's head to clasp his head and the other to close on her mouth to keep any sound from coming out. She watched as the blood washed away from the wound while Maggie shown her light on it. Maggie couldn't see anything inside the wound even after cleaning it, so grabbed a stitching needle from the kit and a thread. Holding it up and looking at Ani, she began to blanch.

"If ya can' do it, I can. Not the first time I've stitched meself up," Ani offered. "Can' imagine ya likin' doin' it with what happened ta Lori."

"No, I can do it," Maggie told her, threading the needle.

Daryl watched every time the needle entered her skin, holding her as tightly as he could and shaking in rage while she did her best to keep quiet. Her hand was grasping his neck and hair so tightly it hurt, but that helped him deal with watching her getting patched up. She was right, it could be him instead of her right now, but he couldn't help but be pissed that she'd gotten hurt. The fear he had when he saw her go down made him work harder to kill as many as he could, but they'd just swarmed around them. Seeing the blood when they got into the store had him almost throwing up with worry that she'd been bit. He'd worked so hard, so very hard to get her to safety, and she was bleeding on the floor when he got the chance to take a good look at her. Now she was going to have another scar to add to the seemingly never ending assortment.

She was sweating and shaking like a leaf by the time Maggie got the last stitch put in, a total of thirty seven going into her leg. After the seventh stitch, she bit into her hand at the base of her thumb just to take some of the pain away from her leg. Unfortunately, she bit so hard that she opened the skin on her hand, too. Daryl noticed the blood on her hand and released her shoulders to take it away from her mouth. He held onto her hand tightly, moving his head so that he could speak in her ear.

"Already bleedin'. Don't make it worse," he told her. "You need to bite, you bite me, not your lip, not your hand, me."

"Can' do that, D," she whispered.

"Yes you can," Daryl said, all but forcing his hand into her mouth as Maggie continued to stitch.

Both of their hands needed to be disinfected and wrapped, but there was nothing else wrong with their hands. Thankfully, Ani hadn't bitten through the muscle, instead just breaking the skin and bruising them. Glenn joked that they might have a matching set of scars with how deep the bite marks went. Daryl told him to shut up while Ani leaned against him, exhaustion hitting as the pain became a dull throbbing and the fear and anxiety left her. They were most likely going to have to spend the night in the store, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It being a clothing store, at least they could take back some new clothes for the prison. Settling in, the four of them shared the rations they had in their packs, thankful that Ani had told them not to take them off yet when they were still putting items in the car.

~x~

Making it home after sunrise the next day, Ani had a mild fever. She wasn't worried about it, making her poultice and commenting to Daryl how she was out of one of the main ingredients to it, and would need someone to go foraging for it if she was going to be able to make more. Daryl told her he had it and left the cell, only to come back in with Merle and tell him to sit with her. He left with Michonne, who'd shown back up while they were on the run, telling her what Ani needed and what it looked like. The two spent hours in the woods, gathering a decent amount of all the herbs she needed, but even more of the one in particular she was out of. Happy with their supply, they were on their return when they found Sophia strolling through the woods with a good supply of her own.

Grabbing her by her pack, Daryl dragged her back to the prison. When they entered the commons, he slammed the door shut and headed straight over to Carol who then dragged her up to Ani. Ani took one look at her and the looks on Carol and Daryl's faces before leveling Sophia with one of her own.

"You needed the herbs!" the girl said in defense of herself.

"That don' matta. Ya didn' tell anyone ya were goin'."

"But you needed the herbs!"

"Dammit, Phia! Daryl and Michonne were handlin' that! Ya didn' tell anyone ya left! Ya didn' tell anyone where ya were goin'! Don' ya know what it'd do ta ma and me if ya neva came back and we didn' even know when ya left?! Ya jus' don' get it ain' jus' 'bout you! Ya got people who'd die lookin' for ya and ya willin' ta make 'em do it 'cause ya can' jus' fuckin' stay put!"

"I got the herbs you needed," Sophia said, throwing her pack down and stomping out of the room.

"What are we going to do with her?" Carol asked, picking up the pack and bringing it over to Ani. "We try and try to talk to her, but it's getting worse."

"I think it's time I have a sit down, one on one conversation with 'er. Figure out what's goin' on in 'er 'ead 'fore we do anythin' else. Let 'er cool down for a bit, then send 'er back up," Ani told her. "We'll figure it out, ma."

Ani's fever stayed steady throughout the day even though she applied the poultice and ate some of the herbs as well. They could only help so much in keeping the infection at bay, needing them more to keep the symptoms at bay so that her body could fight off the probable infection without wasting resources in other areas. Carol, Beth, and Maggie had hung the herbs like Ani had instructed while Daryl stayed in cell with her looking after her. She sent him to have dinner with the others when Sophia came up with two bowls meant for them, but Ani telling her to sit and eat with her.

"Why do ya keep runnin' off?" Ani asked. "It's been gettin' worse and worse. Ya don' even try ta tell us when ya leave anymore. What's that 'bout?"

"You wouldn't understand," Sophia said, looking down into her bowl.

"No, I wouldn'," Ani told her plainly. "Not if ya won' tell me."

Sophia didn't speak for a long time as they ate, Ani watching her closely. Her movements were slow and deliberate with each bite she took, cautiously chewing and keeping her eyes fixed to her bowl. She knew Ani was watching her every movement and trying to read her. It was how Ani got a fix on everyone. But Sophia didn't know how to explain it herself.

"I don't know why," Sophia said, finally.

"Pardon?"

"I don't know why," she repeated. "I just want to prove myself."

"There's otha ways ta do that, sis," Ani told her, laying a hand on the girl's knee. "And that ain' what's botharin' ya, is it? This is 'bout ya mom and me and me callin' 'er ma and 'er bein' okay with that, ain' it?"

"It's not just that. But you too. It used to be just you, me, and Carl. Now it's everyone all the time. You never have time for just us. I thought, maybe if I started doing things like you do, maybe...maybe..."

"Maybe I'd start spendin' more time with ya?"

Sophia sighed and said, "Yeah."

"Hun, why didn' ya jus' ask? All ya had ta do is ask me ta spend some time with ya and I'd a made at least an aftanoon free and clear for trainin' with ya in the woods, jus' us like old times. But goin' out in the woods by yaself? It has ta stop. Ya can' be doin' that anymore. It's risky, dangarous, and plain and simply, Phia, it's stupid. Completely and irrevocably idiotic," Ani told her.

Sophia looked down, hurt by what Ani was saying, "You trained me."

"Ta get ya strong, give ya a distraction, teach ya what ya need ta know ta survive in this world, not so ya could go out without tellin' anyone ya went, let alone by yaself. Dammit, Phia! That trainin' ain' gonna do ya any good against a large group! Ya might, might, be able ta take down three, maybe four, walkas, but what happens when ya get inta double digits? Ya ain' me, Sophia. Ya not trained in MMA, ya not trained in muay thai. Ya ain' got the years and years a fightin' unda ya belt! Ya got a few months! Ya know the basics a followin' a trail, ya can forage a bit, and ya can set a sprain and treat a cut. That's it! What happens if ya meet up with people who don' wanna make friends?! What then, Phia? Tell me!"

"I don't know!" the little girl shouted as she stood up and started making gestures with her hands. "I don't know, okay?! I just wanted things to go back to normal! Back to how it was! When we were actually fighting for something and not hiding behind a fence!"

"Sophia, sweetie," Ani said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I know it's hard. I know change ain' easy. Hell, I'm the epitome a hatin' change, but that don' mean I ain' handlin' it. I ain' lashin' or actin' out in a way that could get people hurt or meself killed. I'm lettin' otha people help me. Yeah, I close up, sometimes I lash out at a person, like I did with ya. I get cold and get distant. But I don' make stupid choices that can get me killed. I'd ratha ya call me a bitch and get pissed at me, or tell it like it is, than eva put yaself in harm's way, specially if no one knows where the fuck ya are. Things ain' eva gonna go back. Neva. They can only move forward. We are fightin' for a life here. Ta build a real life where we can survive and grow and become somethin' betta. I know it's hard ta get used ta stayin' in one place when ya got used ta fightin' and doin' more'n ya are now, but ya gotta stay in the prison. Ya gotta stop these jaunts inta the forest, 'cause one a these times, ya gonna get yaself killed. If ya have ta go, tell somebody and buddy up, please. We need ya ta stay safe. Can ya do that for me?"

Sophia just looked down, refusing to meet her eye. She knew it was a stupid thing to do, but she could take care of herself. She'd taken down eight walkers herself since they'd gotten to the prison, three of which were out in the woods. Carl was being treated like a child all over again, Rick being overprotective and stopping him from going on runs. While he didn't seem to mind, Sophia wasn't going to let that happen to her. There was no way she was going to stop going into the forest and she didn't want a chaperon. She could handle herself.

"Sophia, so help me, if ya don' fuckin' promise me ya gonna stay inside or buddy up, I'm gonna have ta take ya knives and stop ya trainin'. Don' make me be a bad guy when I'm tryin' ta compromise," Ani warned.

"Fine, I promise."

"Promise what? Gotta be specific, Phia," Ani told her, looking very strict.

"I promise to let someone know when I leave the prison and go with someone," Sophia said, hoping she sounded truthful.

"I'm tellin' ya now, this is ya last chance. Ya go out again without us knowin', ya lose ya shite. I'm gonna take ya weapons, and I'm gonna stick ya with an adult," she told the girl in all seriousness. "I promise ya, Phia, ya break ya promise, ya not gonna like me no more, and I doubt ya momma'd blame me for it. 'Specially since she's the one who wanted me ta take ya shite ta begin with. I told 'er we need ta give ya a chance. Don' make me give ya a chance for nothin'. Now go on. Ya momma wants ta talk ta ya too."

Sophia left the cell as Daryl walked in, giving the girl a clap on the shoulder as she passed him. He looked at Ani who was watching the little girl before catching his gaze and shaking her head. Daryl turned around to look at the door, both having a feeling of dread when it came to the little girl. Walking over to her, he grabbed her leg and carefully unwrapped it. He gently removed the poultice pack and checked the wound.

"Ain't as red as it was this mornin'. Swellin's goin' down too, looks like," Daryl said as he leaned up to check her fever. "Fever's still there, but you don't feel as hot. How you holdin' up?"

"I'm alright. It don' hurt as much as I thought it would," she told him as he prepped more herbs to put on the wound. "Worried 'bout Phia, that's all."

"Me too, but can't do nothin' about it if she don't wanna listen," Daryl tried consoling her.

"Think it's me fault. All the trainin' and shite. Maybe if I didn' do it, she wouldn' be goin' down this path."

"You don't force her to go out there. She does that herself. It ain't your fault the girl can't listen. Can't blame yourself for every little thing that goes wrong."

"I know. But I'm a leada. Every choice I make effects everyone else. Trainin' 'er might a changed 'er."

"Changed everyone, bein' 'onest. Hell, look at Merle," Daryl said, finishing up wrapping her leg back up. He moved to lay down next to her on the bed, simply watching her as she pondered over what he said. "You've been doin' nothin' but right by everyone here, Ania. Don't forget that."

Ani sighed and turned towards him, "I know, D. I'm tryin'. Ya know I been tryin' ta let go a the blamin' meself shite. Jus' hard. Really hard ta change how I think."

"I know. You need sleep. Ain't fightin' off an infection if you don't sleep."

She rolled over and grabbed onto his arm, snuggling her face into his bicep as she got comfortable. He held her hand for a moment before he let go and comfortable himself. A little while later, Merle came up to get him to go on watch. He kissed Ania's temple gently and moved his pillow into her arms before leaving with his brother. Even though he was still worried about her, he'd taken up her shift on watch for the next couple of days so that she could rest and heal. It was an uneventful watch ending late in the night, Merle complaining about being bone ass tired.

Daryl walked into his cell and, after taking off his boots, vest, and coat, sat on the bed next to Ania's legs. He gently checked her leg, noticing as she woke up and smiled down at him. Changing her bandage again, he put everything away before return to her side and laying down. He wrapped his arms around her and listened as her breathing evened back out. The fever was low now and the redness and swelling were acceptable given the wound. Daryl managed to start relaxing as he listened to her breathing and tried to match it. Eventually, he managed to fall into a dreamless sleep, holding her tightly all through the night.