I woke up early in the hours of the next morning, already feeling better than yesterday. After Glenn had said his piece, he had sent Carol back up. She brought some of my spare clothes and helped me wash up as much as possible. Climbing out of bed was a little easier than yesterday. It took me a while, but somehow I made it down the flight of stairs without taking a fall. In a way, I knew that it was stupid but I hated being in bed and of no use to the others. I was aware that putting too much weight on my leg too soon might do some additional damage, but again, I needed to get out of this house. I needed to be with my people. I needed to be out there searching for Adam and Sophia.
With a frustrated sigh I leaned against one of the beams on the front porch. I felt exhausted from just getting down here. I hated the limits of my body even when it was only natural after the amount of blood I lost just two days ago.
"Hey, what are you doing up already?" I looked up with a fake smile. The scowl on T-Dog's face told me that he didn't buy it.
"Getting some fresh air. Can't stay in bed forever, can I?" His scowl deepened and he walked up the few steps to stand next to me.
"You know that nobody's gonna think any less of you for recovering from a gunshot wound that nearly killed you. Just take a step off the gas for a few days, hotshot." He let out a little laugh when he saw the look on my face.
"Everybody else is doing everything to find my brother and Sophia. I can't just sit down and do nothing. Would you if you were in my place?" T-Dog didn't answer. He didn't need to. He knew I was right. I looked back over to the makeshift camp a few yards away from the house. Slowly, everyone was getting ready for the day and I spotted Carol with a basket full of laundry.
"I'm gonna see if Carol needs any help…" I trailed off. Normally I liked talking to T, but right now I was annoyed with everybody telling me to take it easy.

"Hey. Need any help with that?" I asked when I finally closed the distance between myself and the other woman. She smiled at me and motioned for me to sit down in the chair next to hers.
"If you don't mind, honey. This pile of clothes seems to never vanish," she chuckled. With a small smile, I sat down and took a shirt out of the overflowing basket to fold it up. Somehow Carol had taken doing the laundry for everyone as her task, her way of contributing, if anybody asked her why she would still do it without Ed telling her to. We sat in silence, folding clothes and putting them into piles according to whom they belonged to.
"How's your leg?" I looked up from the button up with the sleeves cut off, apparently one of Daryl's. Carol was the first one to even bother asking how I was doing and not tell me to lay back a little.
"Getting better. I know I shouldn't put too much weight on it yet. But I am sick of sitting down and doing nothing. It's hard for me to watch others do what I should be doing…" I couldn't help the scoff and blinked hard to keep in the tears of frustration threatening to spill.
"Let me tell you something, Rachel. Everyone appreciates how much you have done to help and keep this group safe since Atlanta. And I for one can never repay you for what you did for my little girl. I can't blame you for recovering from almost dying, because you tried to not only find your own family, but Sophia as well. And I'm sure none of the others blame you because they know you would do the same for any member of this group without even giving it a second thought. I understand how frustrating it must be that you can't look for Adam yourself. But you can't help anyone if you get lost out there or lose consciousness in the middle of the woods." She took my hand in hers and gave me a sad smile.
"I just wish I could do more, Carol." I let out a deep sigh and continued to fold up the rest of Daryl's clothes. We finished up in silence as people started getting busy with their own tasks around us.
"Would you do me a favor and drop these off with Daryl?" Carol pushed the stack of clothes into my arms and I nodded. Looking around, I frowned.
"Where is his tent? I don't see it." The older woman turned me slowly and pointed towards a sole tent next to the rest of what must have once been some brick wall.
"Said he needed some space from everyone else. You know how he can be." She gave me a mischievous smirk and I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, sounds just like him." I slowly made my way towards the stray tent. Of course the hunter would seek some space away from the others. Back at the quarry it had been the same, except that he shared the tent with Merle back then.

"Hey, Daryl? You up?" I hesitantly approached the tent and waited a few minutes when I got no response. I knew from experience that he wasn't necessarily a morning person. When there was still no sign of life from inside the tent, I decided to just leave his clothes in the chair next to the entrance. I turned to make my way back to the RV and ask Dale if he had a spare tent for me.
"Thank you for helping me." Carol's voice greeted me upon entering the vehicle. She was throwing pieces of clothes and towels into the empty basket next to her. I looked around to see if Dale was there until my eyes landed on the single white flower on the table.
"Daryl got it for me yesterday. Told me it was a Cherokee rose and that he hoped it would make me feel a little better. I think it was really sweet of him," Carol started chattering when she noticed my eyes on the very familiar flower. I barely registered the words that followed as something hot started burning somewhere near my stomach. I felt like someone had punched me in the guts. I definitely recognized this feeling, but didn't understand why I was feeling like this.
It's not like we have something special going on, we just get along. Why did I think he would do something nice just for me when Carol is crying for her little girl to come back to her? He probably just brought me one too so I wouldn't feel bad over the fact that he thought of Carol when he found the stupid flower. I hated myself for these thoughts, hated that I felt so betrayed for no reason at all. I was aware that I had opened up to him in a way that I hadn't with any other member of the group, but that didn't mean I had any feelings other than sympathy for the man. I was lucky he didn't run when he learned of my past.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard Rick gathering the group around the hood of the old blue jeep. Apparently, Hershel had given him a map of the area so we could finally organize our search. Good thing, because we couldn't run around clueless for much longer. I joined the others standing around Rick, ignoring Daryl as he gave me a slightly confused look. I listened while the others went on about how high the chances of finding Sophia and Adam were after what Daryl found yesterday. The planning trailed off after Daryl stated that he would take one of the horses to head out to follow the creek at a distance until T-Dog and Dale started making fun of him maybe even finding a chupacabra out there. Of course that got the hunter riled up and I could understand that a little.
"With the dead coming back to life, who knows what else might be out there?" I bit my tongue when everyone turned towards me. I hadn't meant to say that out loud. "What? I'm not saying a bloodsucking dog is real, but not even two months back, nobody would have thought we would be fighting for our lives and be on the run from flesh eating corpses." I shrugged my shoulders and crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"You're just as fucked up in the head as the redneck." I shot a glare at Shane.
"At least I have no illusions about where I stand and where I come from, deputy!" I spat back. I had come to realize that whenever the former cop started to lay into me, I tended to use his former title as some kind of insult, and it always had the desired effect. With a death glare by himself, Shane stood up straight, eyes fixed on me, and I felt more than saw Daryl shift so he was just an inch or so in front of me. I almost scoffed. What right did he have to act like he cared?
"Alright, calm down guys." Rick, as always trying to keep everyone in line. I didn't pay much attention to the discussion about Jimmy, Beth's boyfriend, joining the search. I only tuned back in when Rick started to divide the group into smaller search parties.

"And who am I going with?" Rick looked at me and opened his mouth to answer.
"You're not comin'." I felt my blood starting to boil when I turned towards Daryl.
"And why is that? Everyone else is going, and so am I." I didn't cower under the hunter's glare, I was far too pissed at him by now to back down. Him having the nerve to tell me what to do was just the tip of the iceberg. He took a step towards me and looked down.
"'Cause it's only been two days that ya almost died out there." His voice was calm and controlled, but I was close enough to see the barely visible tick in his jaw.
"Exactly. That was two days ago. I am outside on my own two feet, so give me a better reason for me being left behind!" My voice was getting louder as the frustration and anger mixed inside my body.
"Tell ya what, darlin'. Ya walk from here over to my tent without stoppin' or fallin' on yer nose without help and ya can come." His voice was a low hiss and full of malice, a tone he had never used with me before. I bared my teeth in frustration. We both knew I wouldn't be able to do that. My leg was already throbbing and I felt the energy being drained from my body.
"Fuck you, Dixon!" I practically yelled at him and was tempted to try and wipe that goddamned smirk off his face.
"That's what I thought. Ya stay here. Don't need ya slowin' things down or gettin' further injured." Daryl's voice had softened a little but his words threw me over the edge. A loud smack resonated in the silence around the two of us and the hunter's cheek turned a dark crimson.
"You are so full of shit! Stop pretending to care about me! You just don't want me to slow you down, you fucking jackass!" I turned to storm off as fast as possible, which wasn't very fast in all honesty.
"Yeah, just run away. That's what ya do best! Fuckin' stubborn bitch." At his last words I whirled around and almost lost my footing.
"Screw you, Dixon! Hope you fall down and crack that stupid skull of yours on a stone!" I turned back around and stormed into the RV and slammed the door behind me, only to collapse on the floor from exhaustion and hurt.

"The hell y'all lookin' at?!" Daryl lashed out as soon as Rachel had slammed the RV's door shut. He hated being the center of attention, but everyone was staring at him as if he was the one at fault here, which made him furious.
"Look, son…" Daryl shoved Dale's hand off his shoulder and took a step back.
"Shut the fuck up, old man. Imma get a horse an' head out. Y'all lay the fuck off me for one damn day!" He stomped off towards the barn where he knew the horses were in.
He was at a loss as to what had caused the blonde's outburst. He had done nothing but tell her what everyone was thinking, and she fucking knew that he was right. Something had been bothering her before he even looked her way. He readied the first horse that didn't flinch away from him and climbed into the saddle, crossbow slung over his shoulder. He didn't see any sign of Rachel when he left the farm.

It took the hunter several hours of riding through thick brush to find his way to the creek… and to get the blonde and her tantrum out of his head. It still confused him why it bothered him so much that she wouldn't listen to him. He just wanted her to be safe for one more day. He almost scoffed at that thought. When had he started caring about her safety? It wasn't his place to do so, but something had changed since yesterday. It had made him feel special that she told him about her past, that she trusted him enough to tell him what happened. And if he was honest, bringing her the flower hadn't been for the same reason as with Carol. Sure he liked the woman so much closer to his own age, but it was different from the way he felt around Rachel. He didn't just want to do something nice for her. He had wanted to see her smile, just make her forget her past and her brother for a second.
"Stupid fucking idiot… Flowers are for pussies. Not like she would even care about it…" the hunter muttered under his breath and the dark horse shook its head. Even the animal was getting annoyed with his monologue.
Daryl stopped the horse on top of a low slope leading down to the creek when he spotted something familiar caught between some fallen trees. He left the horse and carefully descended down into the creek bed. Drawing closer and picking the drenched item up he was proven right. This was Sophia's doll, the one she always carried around like a safety blanket.
"Sophia!" he screamed into the quiet forest, but to no avail. At least he had found something. She had been here and maybe so had Adam. The hunter turned back around and decided to go further up the creek on top of the slope, giving him a better view over the surrounding area. Shortly before leaving the creek something else caught his eye. He brushed away the stray leaves and picked up what looked like an old photograph. It was the size of those tiny pictures some people carried in their wallets. It showed a boy and a young girl sitting on a horse, the little girl grinning from ear to ear. He turned the picture and found a faded inscription. 'Still love you, idiot brother. Rachel' He felt relief wash over him. So Adam and Sophia were still together. At least they had been when they moved through here. The hunter put the picture in his pocket and made his way back to the horse.

Daryl followed the creek further into the forest, the slope climbing higher and becoming more rocky where it fell towards the creek. If he had been paying more attention, he might have seen the snake hiding between the fallen leaves before the horse scared it away. He didn't, and so the horse shied back, throwing him off and down the rocky cliff in the process. When he landed in the water, it took the hunter a moment to regain all his senses. He had banged his head on some rock and could tell from the throbbing headache that he was likely to have a concussion.
He let out a short laugh that turned into a pained hiss a second later. Seemed like Rachel would get what she wanted after all. Turning fully onto his back, another groan escaped him and looking down he realized one of his arrows had pierced his left side during the fall. He cursed and struggled to his feet to drag himself back to shore.
He cut off his sleeves with his hunting knife and tied them together to secure the arrow in place. Pulling the thing out would have caused more damage than he could deal with right now. He struggled back to his feet, the pain in his side almost blinding him. Grabbing a large stick that he could use as some sort of walking stick, he tried to make out a way of getting back up on top of the cliff so he could find his way back. The stupid horse had run off of course.
A rustling in the bushes caught his attention and his instinct was to reach for his crossbow, only to find that it wasn't there. With another curse, Daryl went back to where he had landed in the creek as quickly as he could, mindful of the bolt tearing through his side, to search for his weapon with the stick. When he found it, he slung it back over his shoulder and decided it was time to get the fuck out of here. Who could say how many walkers were out here and had heard the noise of him falling down?
The hunter struggled for what seemed like a lifetime to get up the cliff, digging his fingers into dirt and roots and using his stick to get some leverage in the murky ground.
"Oh, come on. You've done half. Stop being such a pussy. Come on," he spurred himself on. A second later he lost his footing and grip and fell back down the cliff.

When Daryl came back to his senses, the first thing he noticed was that the sun shining down on him through the leaves had wandered across the sky, telling him that hours had passed while he'd been unconscious. Above him he could make out a blurry figure looking down at him.
"Why don't you pull that arrow out, dummy? You could bind your wound better."
The hunter blinked a few times, fighting to keep his eyes open and escape the numbing dizziness. "Merle?" he asked, confused. His brother cackled and made fun of him for being weak.
"Screw you," Daryl spat weakly.
"Huh-uh. You're the one screwed from the looks of it. All them years I spent trying to make a man of you, this is what I get? Look at you. Lying in the dirt like a used rubber. You're gonna die out here, little brother. And for what?" Merle continued taunting him and the hunter started questioning just how hard he hit his head.
"A girl. They lost a little girl," he tried to explain to his 'brother'.
"So you got a thing for little girls now?" Merle kept taunting with a vicious smirk.
"Shut up."
"Nah. Don't think it's little girls. More like blonde army bitches. Tell me one thing, she even worth risking yer life for that stupid brother? Abandoned yer own flesh for the chance of finally getting some pussy ya didna need to pay for!"
"Ain't like that. So shut the fuck up, Merle."
"Didna think so. All she'll ever see's some no good stupid redneck. Someone ya take for a ride until somethin' higher up the food chain comes along…"
"Don't talk 'bout her like that! She ain't nothing like those stupid bitches y'always brought home. She's worth more than those dumb bimbos will ever be." Daryl regretted his words the second they left his mouth and Merle's laughter was confirmation of that.
"Fuck, would ya look at that. Little D's got a crush on that bitch. Too sad she's only goin' for military superiors…"
"Shut the hell up!" he screamed and nearly blacked out again. Merle's chuckle slowly turned into growling and, coming completely to his senses, Daryl realized his brother had in fact never been real. Something that couldn't be said about the walker trying to chew through his boot.
The hunter jerked back only for the corpse to attack right away. When reaching his crossbow proved impossible, the hunter tried to throw the walker off. Finally succeeding, he grabbed his walking stick and, getting on top of the stunned corpse, used it to smash and impale its head with the stick. Another growl had him jerking around to see another walker had been attracted and was coming for him fast. Daryl did the only thing he could think of if he wanted to make it out of here instead of becoming an easy meal. He ripped the arrow from his side with a pained groan and hurried to get the bow ready. Just in time, he managed to get the arrow loaded and fire it through the corpse's forehead. Scrunching up his face in pain, the hunter fell onto his back, fighting hard to stay awake. He needed to get out of here and fast.

I took out my anger about Daryl on the interior of the RV, tossing things around as emotions surged through me. After an hour or so, I realized he was right. He just made the mistake to be the one telling me what everybody else, myself included, was thinking. Once I calmed down and saw the damage I had caused, I spent the next couple hours cleaning up the mess I had made as my mind worked through everything that had happened between us that morning. He couldn't have known that I was pissed before for no good reason at all. He probably didn't even give it much thought what giving me that stupid flower would have caused my idiotic brain to think.
As the day went by, I grew more and more restless. My pacing back and forth had started wearing a hole into the ground in front of the RV by afternoon when Daryl still hadn't returned, although the horse he had left on came running back. Something wasn't right.
"Fuck it," I groaned and went into the RV to retrieve my bow, ignoring Carol's wrinkled rose that had fallen victim to my rage.
"And where might you be going?" I looked up and shielded my eyes with my hand against the setting sun to see Dale sitting in his lawn chair in the shade of the RV.
"Looking for Daryl," was my short reply before I started walking towards the trees. I could hear scrambling and quick footsteps behind me.
"Wait a second. You can't go out there, Rachel. You might not agree with him, but Daryl was right about you being better off by staying here." I threw my hands up in frustration.
"Someone's got to look for him, Dale. I know Daryl can take care of himself better than anyone, but I was the one yelling at him that I wished for him to crack his skull open. If anything happens to him, I won't be able to forgive myself." Dale's expression softened and he slowly took my hand between his.
"You really care a lot about him, huh?" The old man's question caught me off guard. I had never really thought about it if I was honest.
"I… Well, yeah. I mean, I trust him. More than I've trusted any man in a long time. It's not like… I mean… Oh would you stop grinning like that?" I flushed a deep red and shook my head at a smiling Dale. With a sigh he pulled me into his side.
"Let an old man share some wisdom with you. You have to figure out some feelings, my dear Rachel. I might do a lot of talking at times, but it's the things I don't talk about you've got to pay attention to. When I met my late wife, I knew she was the one for me. You know how? Trust. I could trust her with anything and vice versa. You and Daryl… I have never seen him open up to anyone in the time I've known him, especially not in a physical way. Don't think I didn't notice how he's started looking out for you. He might not realize it himself that he's doing it. And you? I think the fact that you are willing to go out there and look for him, despite being injured and probably still upset with him, speaks pretty much for itself. Before you say anything, I am not saying there is something going on between the two of you. All I am saying is that you are helping each other in ways nobody else could." Dale squeezed my shoulder and I leaned my head against his.
"I don't know what I am feeling, Dale. He just makes me feel calm. And I don't want anything happening to him while he is looking for my brother. That should be my responsibility, not his," I tried to explain to the older man. He had an air of calmness to him that was so familiar to my deceased grandfather that I felt comfortable with opening up to him.
"You will figure it out one day. Until then, I want you to come back with me and do what you do best: stay safe so we still have our doctor if and when we need you." Dale winked at me and started leading me back towards the camp next to the old farmhouse.

"Walker! Walker!" Andrea's voice suddenly cut through the late afternoon from the top of the RV and I followed her gaze back towards the tree line where a stumbling figure came shuffling towards the farm. I couldn't make out much from where I stood except for a shadowy figure, probably male, against the orange sky and dark forest. I leaned into the RV and retrieved my rifle, not trusting Andrea to hit the target despite claiming to be able to do so. Rick, Glenn and Shane started walking towards the walker while Dale tried talking some sense into the blonde on top of the caravan.
I lifted my rifle and adjusted the scope to be able to see what was coming our way. I gasped. That was no walker, even though it moved like one. I opened my mouth to tell Andrea to lower the weapon when she took the shot despite being told no.
"No!" I screamed and dropped my rifle. While Andrea was celebrating her victory, I tried reaching the three men and the figure that just went down from the shot. I pushed Rick out of the way and fell to my knees next to the person without caring about the pain in my leg.
"Shit. Please, don't be dead," I whispered and took Daryl's blood and dirt-stained face in my hands to examine him. With great relief I saw the streak on his head where the bullet grazed his skin and I thanked the heavens for Andrea's shitty aim. A second later he opened his eyes with a groan and looked up at me and then at the other three looking over my shoulder before fixing his eyes on mine again.
"I was kidding," the hunter scoffed while Rick and Shane pulled him off the ground. He tried pushing them off, but lost consciousness the second they let go of him. Following instinct, I stepped forward to break his fall, but the two cops caught him immediately.
"Oh my god. Oh my god, is he dead?" Andrea gasped behind me and without thinking I turned on my heels and stormed towards her. Before anybody could stop me from doing so, I sucker-punched the blonde and she went down in an instant while holding her nose, blood already seeping through her fingers.
"Why did you do that?!" she whined as blood stained her face and shirt.
"You're lucky I only broke your nose, you stupid bitch! You were told not to shoot!" I screamed at the blonde on the ground. Only Shane catching me midair prevented her from a second punch.
"Okay, calm down, wildcat," he growled in my ear and shoved me towards the farmhouse.
"She deserved it!" I spat and turned to follow Rick and Glenn who were carrying the unconscious and who knows how injured Daryl towards the farmhouse where Hershel was already waiting on the porch as Dale tried to calm down Andrea.