Holy crap you guys are the best people in the entire planet. I love all the things you say and the Pms and all the random information you give me. You have no idea just how much I love you guys.

Sorry for any errors- I broke my nose, so I am on so many pain killers right now. So tired. Seriously though, it hurts like a bitch.

Please, please, leave me review or some feeback. You guys are amazing!

Nicole POV

"I hurt myself today, to see if I could feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real."- Hurt, Johnny Cash

It hurt. Everything hurt.

I wanted desperately to open my eyes, but I couldn't muster up enough energy to do so. Even when I did, it would hurt so much that I couldn't even get them all the way open. So for now, I was just going to keep my eyes closed.

I could feel the fabric underneath me vibrating softly, and I could feel the soft jerks of the stops and starts. I was in a car, that I knew. I could vaguely hear voices speaking around me, but they were muffled and distant, like they were coming at me from far away, instead of being in the small car with me.

"Is she okay?" A once was fairly low, but still on the higher side of things. It was etched with worry and fear, like they were afraid of something. Carl, a voice in my head told me.

"Not sure." A voice answered. This voice was deeper, with a heavier drawl than the boy. Rick. "We'll have to have Hershel take a look at her, but I don't think she'll be able to walk for a while."

I heard a snort come from beside him. "Serves her right too." Lori. "What was she thinking, lighting that barn on fire? It was reckless. She could've gotten herself killed!" Even in my state, I had the urge to open my mouth and unleash some sarcastic retort on the woman, but the rest of my body seemed to be disagreeing with my brain, because every time I tried to move, searing pains wracked my entire body.

Luckily, Rick came to my rescue. "Lori, she was doing it to draw the walkers away. She saved our lives! They would have swarmed the cars and broken the windows before we had even made it down the driveway." I thanked Rick in my mind. He was always there, ready to come to my rescue.

Then it hit me. I had absolutely no idea how I had gotten in this car. I had been so intent on listening to what they had to say that I hadn't even stopped and collected my own thoughts. The memory washed over me like a flood, soaking not my brain.

I was running outside to throw my stuff in a car. I saw the walkers swarming and heard them shooting. There were too many of them. There had to be a distraction, something to draw the walkers away from them. I ran around the house, just in time to watch Patricia go down. I sprinted as fast as I could to the barn, where I used the leftover oil we had in there to light the entire thing on fire. Somehow, I had climbed onto the roof of the shed next to it to get away from the walkers. I remember seeing the others at the top of the hill, staring at me. Run! I had thought. Run you idiots! And then, I was falling, the shed crumbling around me, being engulfed in flames. Everything was falling, landing heavily next to me, shattering, sending flames and embers everywhere. I had just lain there, letting the pain engulf me. I was past the point of feeling. The pain was now a part of me. There was a numbness spreading up my left leg, into my hip. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to care. I had already accepted the fact that I was going to die. Now I just had to wait it out.

I just laid there, waiting to die. I could feel myself slipping away, everything getting a little bit darker, even though I was surrounded by bright lights. And then, as my eyes began to droop even further, a figure emerged from the flames. It was a and, in dark clothes. He ran over to me and knelt down beside me, extinguishing the flames that I hadn't known were surrounding my body. He leaned over me, looking down with worry.

"Daryl…" I said weakly, meeting his gaze. But then, with a fiver of light, his face had changed. No longer was it the softened gaze of my friend, hovering over me in fear. No, it was now the steely eyed gaze of someone I thought would be gone forever.

Shane. I thought. Why are you here? Come to take me with you?

And that was all I remembered. I had absolutely no idea what happened after that, how I got out of the fire, how I got into this car. I had no idea where we were, where we were going, what we were doing, or what our plan was.

All of this thinking caused my head to start spinning. Obviously, I was in no shape to be using that much brain power. Everything became fuzzy in my mind before I finally went under once again.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I was hoping that the second time I woke up everything wouldn't hurt as much. Boy, was I wrong. If anything, it hurt worse. The numbness in my leg had subsided, giving way to a sharp, searing pain that ran the entire way up my calf. Tentatively, I moved it a little, and instantly regretted it. I let out a low moan of pain and bruised myself deeply into the backrest of the car seat.

Wait, since when do car seats have heartbeats? Since when did they breathe?

Suddenly, I noticed the arms that were around me, underneath my back and my knees, keeping me cradled above the ground. I could feel the steady rhythm of their footsteps, slowly lifting me up and down with each stride. I could almost hear their heart beating next to me.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. I was prepared to be met with the harsh glare of sunlight, but instead was met with a blank wall of gray. My head was spinning with dizziness, it I forced myself to turn my face away from the wall of warmth and instead to look up. This time, I really was met with the sunlight, and I swear it burned. I took a long time for my eyes to adjust to the harsh glare, and I squinted to try and ease the process alarm. When I could finally see straight, I peeked upwards, trying to see the face of my unidentified ride. I was surprised when I looked up.

It was Daryl that was holding me. His head was framed in sunlight, making it look like he was glowing. His eyes were steely as they looked forwards, focused on the path in front of him. From thankless I could see that he was starting to get a bit of a beard, not a full on hillbilly nightmare, but more like manly scruff, which outlined his powerful jaw. I found myself staring at him for about a minute or so, before he finally glanced down and noticed me.

I had not expected to see the smile that proceeded to light up his face. He looked down at me, his eyes now warm with content. "Hey there idiot." He said softly, smirking at my face. "Never took you to be a fan of pyrotechnics." He said the last part jokingly.

"I basically threatened to dismember a guy the other day, and you think I don't like fire? Daryl, I'm disappointed." I retorted, forcing the words out with as much strength as I could muster. I was still exhausted, all though I had no idea why. I hadn't done anything but sleep in the past…. who the hell knows how long.

"True, true." He laughed. I felt the vibrations from his laughter as they came off his chest, causing goosebumps to erupt all over my arms. I fought with all I had to keep a blush from rising in my cheeks. If I was succeeding or not, I had no idea.

"How long was I out?" I asked, very curious.

The smile on his face wavered, but did not go away. "Almost a whole day. But, you didn't miss much. It. Was all a bunch of driving. Rick had you in the back of his car."

I nodded. "I knew that. I woke up a few hours ago, heard them talking."

He shrugged. "Makes sense. Hershel thought you would go in and out for a while, until the pain went away."

My face went pale. Up until that moment, I had completely forgotten about my injury, about all the pain. Talking to Daryl had distracted me from it, and really had just shoved me back into the deep end. A pain shot up my left leg, and it began to throb limply. My stomach rolled with the sudden feelings and I let out a pitiful cry, cringing slightly. Gently, he pulled me in closer, pressing me even more so against his chest. I could feel a few tears slipping down my face, and I was worried that he could feel them too, but there was nothing I can do about it now.

"It's alright Cole." He said soothingly, even though that tone of voice sounded utterly foreign coming from him. "It's alright. Once we get settled I'll get Hershel look at your leg. You'll be okay." I was crying now, not even bothering to try and stop it. THe pain was too real. Every time I thought it was going away it would just resurge and wash over me once more. My mind was fuzzy with pain and I squeezed my eyes shut, as if that would help me feel better. My breathing was ragged and strained, like it was a difficult chore rather than a natural occurrence.

"Ahh." I cried, my stomach flipping once more.

"Shhh. Shhh." He cooed, readjusting his grip so I was a little higher up. My mind was spinning, and I knew that I was going to go back under any second.

But before I slipped, I felt a warm pressure on my face as I felt a kiss being pressed to my temple.

And with that, I went into the blackness once more.

Daryl POV

My heart broke for her. She clung desperately to my shirt, whimpering pathetically. I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt, but I couldn't bring myself to mind.

Her leg was nasty. It was messed up. The flesh was burned, definitely 3rd degree. The little flesh remaining was red and raw, with the edges charred and torn. Lori had wrapped it up in an old t-shirt to protect the newly exposed flesh, but until Hershel could take a look at it, she was stuck with just the wrap. Maybe we could find her some painkillers or antibiotics at a pharmacy nearby. Maybe we could find some medical supplies. God I hoped we could. Seeing her in this much pain almost cut me to the core.

Slowly, her grip on me weakened, until her hands fell limply on top of her. I smiled a little, knowing that she was passed out. At least she wasn't in pain anymore.

I looked down at her tired face. Her blonde hair was braided messily. Her pants were ruined and torn, creating a half pair of pants. I could feel her soft breathing against my chest, and I smiled gently.

Slowly, I leaned over a planted a soft kiss on her temple. If I couldn't kiss her while she was awake, this would have to do.

"I'm really glad you didn't die."

Please leave a review!