And one more final update because the last chapter lacked some Daryl.

Katarzyna88gb: Just saw your review seconds before I posted this. Convenient I'm an insomniac and wrote up another chapter to post haha! Enjoy :)

Rick stopped me in the hallway, his voice low. "He's fine now, just resting. You should let him get some sleep."

"What happened?" I asked him.

"Andrea shot him accidentally when he was coming out of the woods. He looked like a walker with the way he was limping. And he was covered in dirt and blood."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "He was limping?"

"He said the horse he'd taken from the stables threw him off. He fell down pretty far into the creek. One of his arrows pierced him in the side." When Rick saw the worry on my face he added, "He's okay. Hershel took care of him. The bullet only grazed his head. The arrow to his side was the worst of it."

I nodded, chewing my lip and staring at the closed door behind Rick. I heard him sigh before he turned the doorknob and opened it.

"Just don't wake him," Rick whispered. "Took Hershel forever to convince him to stay put. When you're done, come back downstairs. Lori and Carol helped Beth make dinner for everyone."

I nodded silently and watched as Rick made his way downstairs. Turning my attention to the room, I stepped inside.

The room was Hershel's room, something I could easily gather from the furniture and the way it was decorated. The curtains were almost entirely drawn, allowing only a small stream of light in. Daryl was on his back, his eyes closed. He was snoring softly. My eyes stared at the bandage on his head. I frowned slightly before my eyes caught sight of the white bandage on his side where his arrow must have cut through him.

For a minute I stood in the room, watching his bare chest rise and fall as he slept. I decided that I should head back downstairs so I didn't accidentally wake him and began making my way out of the room. I shot one last glance at his sleeping form before shutting the door behind me. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding when I was standing in the hallway.

At least I know he's okay.

I made my way down the stairs, finally noticing the smell of cooked food. I saw Maggie and Beth setting up plates around the table, pulling up extra chairs I hadn't seen before. Everyone was piling into the kitchen now and getting settled in for dinner.

I turned and saw a young man I hadn't yet met helping Glenn pull a smaller, round table into the kitchen. I gave them a hand positioning it into the room before helping them set chairs up around it.

"I see you've finally had a chance to meet Jimmy," Beth's voice called out to me.

I glanced over and saw the young man smiling at me. We introduced ourselves to each other, Jimmy making a joke about how I was the last one he'd had the chance to meet.

Bowls of food began being passed around the tables and my stomach growled at the smell. Dinner wasn't anything too special—ham, mashed potatoes, green beans—but it was an actual meal. Once everyone had gotten food, the kitchen was void of all conversation. The only sound was the scraping of silverware on the dishes.

I was seated at the smaller table with Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Sarah, and Jimmy. Partway through dinner I saw Maggie and Glenn exchanging sly looks at each other. That was different from how they had been all day. When they saw me watching them, I sent them a smirk, which made them both turn bright red.

After dinner finished, I helped clean up the dishes with Sarah and Beth. It took a little while before we had finished and I began eyeing the leftover food.

"You mind if I bring a plate up to Daryl?" I asked the two girls.

"Course not," Beth said with a smile. "Daddy should be done checking in on him now, so I'm sure he'll be awake."

I began piling some food onto a clean plate, all the while hoping Beth was right about him being awake. My eyes caught with Sarah's as I grabbed some clean silverware and she smiled at me.

"What?" I asked her.

She shook her head and mentioned that she was going to get ready for bed before she left the room. I stared after her for a moment before shaking my head and making my way up the stairs to Hershel's room with a tray of food.

The door was still shut and for a moment I wondered if I should knock or just walk in. With a sigh, I awkwardly maneuvered a hand out to make two light raps on the door before I opened it.

I was stepping into the room, trying to balance the tray of food and the glass of water as Daryl was suddenly pulling the blankets up towards his neck, trying to cover his bare chest.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him as I shut the door behind me.

"Bout as good as I look," he answered quietly while he avoided my gaze.

"I brought you some dinner," I told him. "Figured you would be hungry."

He let out a grunt in response but said nothing.

Quietly I set the tray of food down on the nightstand beside the bed. I stared at it for a moment, not wanting to leave but not sure what to do. Daryl wasn't exactly making conversation.

"I'm glad you're okay," I told him before turning to leave.

My hand was barely on the doorknob when Daryl's voice stopped me.

"Already leaving?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw him looking up at me, one hand desperately clutching the blanket to keep himself covered. My hand dropped to my side and I turned to face him.

"You didn't seem like you wanted company," I said sheepishly with a shrug.

He eyed me for a moment before looking at the food. "You can stay. I'm already awake. Kinda boring in this room already."

I smiled at him and made my way over to a chair that was against the wall. I dragged it over to the side of the bed as Daryl struggled to sit up against the headboard while still keeping himself covered. I frowned and turned my head towards the dresser, spotting Daryl's shirt folded up on it. I stood up and grabbed it, bringing it over to him. He stared at it for a minute before taking it and putting it on, buttoning it a few buttons. Once he felt more comfortable, he grabbed the plate of food and began eating. I sat with my legs crossed on the chair, making myself comfortable.

"I heard you found Sophia's doll in the creek," I said as I watched Daryl shovel some potatoes into his mouth.

"I'm gonna find her, I know it," Daryl said before he took a bite of ham.

I smiled at him, which made him frown at me as he chewed.

"What?" he asked with his mouth full.

"You've done a lot searching for her. I know Carol appreciates it."

"Nothing Rick or Shane wouldn't've," Daryl said before eating a forkful of green beans.

"You know you're just as good as them," I told him before I could stop myself. I bit my lip when I realized I'd spoken that aloud. "I mean, you're not some villain or some asshole. You're a part of this group. You're important."

Daryl didn't respond, just took another bite of ham and chewed silently. His eyes were on his plate. When he swallowed, he changed the subject.

"Did you go to your house today?" he asked.

"Yeah," I told him, remembering the two story house with its white shutters and that big kitchen.

"And?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the folded up photo. I handed it to him and he set his plate in his lap to take it from me. He stared down at it, looking it over for a minute.

"Your parents?" he asked before turning to me.

I nodded my head and took the picture back from him. I folded it up and placed the photo back into my pocket. "I blacked out or something when I was looking at this picture in my room. I remembered when it was taken. Not much, but it was something."

"That's good, ain't it?"

I let out a sigh, running a hand through my still matted hair. "Yeah I suppose so. Just feels a little weird."

Daryl finished his dinner in a few more bites and set the plate back on the tray. He grabbed the glass of water and nearly chugged the whole thing before laying back down in the bed.

"Stuck in here for the night," he grumbled.

I smiled at him. "Least it's warm in here."

"Feel like a trapped dog."

"If it makes you feel better, I'll be sleeping down the hall again tonight. It's a little too late and a little too dark to go pitching a tent right now," I told him. "Plus…I still haven't told Sarah about my new sleeping arrangements."

"You two seem to be getting along," Daryl observed.

"Seems like it," I agreed. "Though she doesn't act like the world's gone to shit beyond this farmhouse. I think she thinks what Hershel and the others think. That the walkers are just sick people in need of a cure."

"That's the kind of thinking that'll get you killed," Daryl muttered.

Silence passed between us as Daryl closed his eyes. My eyes lingered on his face for a moment before his suddenly shot open again. I looked away quickly, turning my attention to the now empty plate.

"I should let you get some sleep," I told Daryl. I stood up quickly from my spot and made my way to the nightstand.

"Thanks for bringing me food," Daryl said. "Not sure the others would have."

I let out a snort. "I doubt that."

"No one else would have sat with me," Daryl muttered.

I raised a brow at him. "Really? Would you have wanted one of them to come sit here and make conversation with you?"

His eyes caught mine and he smirked. "Probably not. Only one who doesn't make me mad or bore me is you."

I felt my stomach jolt at his words and I tried to ignore it. "You've yelled at me plenty, Dixon."

I shot him a cheeky grin which only turned his smirk into a smile.

"That was different," he mumbled.

I reached out a hand and placed it on his bare arm as I gave him a genuine smile. "I'm glad you're alright."

Daryl's eyes were locked on my hand, staring at it on his arm. It was the first actual physical contact we had ever had. The first I'd ever seen him let anyone have. I could feel the muscle of his arm beneath my fingers. I could also feel something else, something fluttering nervously in my stomach. His eyes slowly trailed up my arm to my face where he held my gaze. The look in his eye was different than it'd ever been when he'd looked at me before—different than he'd ever looked at anyone else in the group. I couldn't place it. It was making my stomach do flips and my knees feel weak.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I slowly slid my hand off his arm. My tongue felt like a dead weight in my mouth and I swallowed two more times. I had completely forgotten what I was about to do until I broke the eye contact and spotted the dirty dishes. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"I should go clean those," I blurted before grabbing the tray from the nightstand. I shot him one last quick glance. The expression on his face had changed, his eyes narrowed in a focused manner now as he watched me fumble with the tray. "Goodnight," I said quickly before practically sprinting out of the room. I could feel my cheeks burning with every step I made towards the kitchen.

What the hell was that?