Chapter 49 - Got the message

Motoring down to the gardens the next morning, Daryl slid off the bike and went to find Tahlia to see if she was ready to head out to the woods. Spotting her over by the tomato plants he could see her trying to fix part of the trellis that had broken. Focused on the task at hand, she hadn't noticed him yet, so Daryl stopped a few yards from her, just observing her for a long moment. It wouldn't be obvious to anyone else, but her movements were brusque, and even from this distance he could see the slight frown on her face and the tight set to her shoulders, and he knew that something was up.

"Mornin'." he greeted her, squinting in the sunlight.

Tahlia jumped a little at the sound of his voice, but a smile quickly spread across her face as she saw it was him – although Daryl could see that it didn't quite spark up her eyes as it normally would, and that cemented his suspicions.

"Y'all good?"

"Yes!" she replied brightly. "Just let me fix this, then we can go."

Daryl propped his hands on his hips. "Tell me what's up first."

Tahlia gave him a blank look and shrugged. "Nothing."

"Tahly."

"Nothing!"

"What did I tell ya last night?" He waved a hand around at her. "Book. So ya gonna tell me, or should I start readin'?"

"There's nothing to tell!" insisted Tahlia, wide-eyed.

"Suit yourself." sighed Daryl. Quietly studying her, he thought about the previous night when it had only taken her a second to spill her jealousy of him and Irina, then he said, "Ain't somethin' I done, otherwise I reckon you'd be comin' right out and tellin' me."

A tiny flicker of her brow and almost imperceptible shake of her head told him he was on the right track.

"So, somethin' someone else done." he continued, still staring at her intently. "Somethin' ya don't wanna tell me."

And with those words, he caught a flash of worry in her eyes, a slight flinch at his statement before she quickly dropped her gaze to the ground.

Daryl paused for a moment longer, then folded his arms. "Brody."

It wasn't even a guess. He just knew.

At the name, Tahlia's eyes snapped straight up to Daryl's, a stunned expression on her face.

Damn, he really could read her like a book! The thought that she was completely transparent to him was slightly unnerving.

"What'd he do, Tahly?" Daryl managed in an even tone, despite the anger that was already churning in his stomach.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Tahlia squirmed uncomfortably. "Nothing! Nothing, really. I mean, well, it's not a big deal. Honestly."

"If it ain't a big deal, just tell me."

Usually Tahlia wouldn't want to keep anything from Daryl, but she didn't want him overreacting to this. Although, it was unlikely he'd let it go until she told him, so, with a reluctant sigh, she acquiesced.

"Ok. Ok. So, he came down here just before to thank me for what we did yesterday, bringing Elise back safely. Then... he tried to kiss me. I told him no, but he tried again, so I told him no again, a little more forcefully. He got the message, he apologised and now we're all good."

"He put his hands on ya?" asked Daryl, his voice dangerously quiet.

Tahlia expelled a breath and squeezed her eyes shut for a brief second before looking back at him. "Yeah."

Daryl's eyes flashed with anger and his expression hardened.

"Right." he growled before spinning on his heel and starting back up to the prison.

"Daryl, wait!" Tahlia ran after him and grabbed his arm. "Stop."

"Nope." he said sharply, shaking her off.

"Daryl. I handled it."

"Yeah?" replied Daryl through gritted teeth. "Well, now I'm just gonna go handle it too."

"Stop!" Tahlia repeated as she jumped in front of him and grabbed hold of both his arms this time. "Please, stop."

At her plea, he stopped, but pulled out of her grip as he threw one hand in the air.

"Tahly! That asshole has been after ya ever since he set foot in this place, and after the shit he pulled at the party and now this, I'm gonna go let him know that tryin' anythin' with you ever again is a death sentence. Ain't havin' no one touchin' my girl!"

As she registered those last words, a small smile tugged at Tahlia's lips and she gazed up at him, arching a brow. "Your girl, huh?"

"Course y'are!" stated Daryl assuredly, then a spark of worry crackled across his eyes and hesitantly he added, "Ain't ya?"

Giving him a light shove, Tahlia chuckled. "Yes. I think in a way I always have been."

Softening, Daryl couldn't help but smile back at that.

Tahlia's grin widened. "It was just really nice to hear you say it."

Losing himself in her eyes a little, Daryl went to take her hand, then suddenly jumped back and frowned. "Stop that!"

"What?!" asked Tahlia innocently.

"Stop lookin' at me like that and tryna make me forget that I'm on my way to beat Brody's ass into the ground!"

"But you're not."

"Am."

"No." Tahlia's tone was gentle but firm. "I need you to listen for a second, and I need you to hear me."

It wasn't very often that a shadow of seriousness darkened her eyes, so on the rare occasion that it did, Daryl always paid close attention.

"'Kay. Am listenin'."

"Alright." Tahlia nodded and held both her hands up in a mildly placatory gesture. "I love that you're fierce and protective and ready to go in to bat for me no matter what. I really do love that. But there are some times that I need you... not to do that. Sometimes I have to take care of myself, and you have to let me. You have to trust that I can. Especially in a situation where there's a guy trying to... exert some power over me. I need to know that I can handle it myself and that I don't have to go running to another guy to deal with it for me. This is important."

Daryl was silent as he chewed on his lower lip and considered this. He hadn't looked at it from that angle before, and begrudgingly had to admit that he understood where she was coming from. This was one way of proving to herself that she could still be in control of things that happened to her.

"But this is your home, Tahly. Ya need to feel safe 'round here without worryin' 'bout anyone jumpin' ya!"

"I do feel safe here. And honestly, Brody is actually a good guy. He was just hopeful that something might happen between us."

"And he thinks that just chuckin' a kiss on ya is the way to find that out?!"

"Well," Tahlia gave Daryl a smile and a pointed look. "Sometimes that strategy works out. And, to be fair, he doesn't know that I'm spoken for."

Daryl looked a little wounded at that last comment, but couldn't argue.

Mulling it over, eventually, he nodded. "'Kay. I get it. I don't fuckin' like it, but I get it." He was quiet for a moment more, then asked, "Y'sure he got the message?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

Daryl heaved a sigh. "Alright. But he tries anythin' with y'again, I ain't holdin' back."

"You can have at him."

"And... if y'ever need me to handle anythin' for ya, I'll do it. No questions."

"I know. Thank you." Tahlia gave him a warm, affectionate smile. "That just makes me want to kiss you."

"Well, get your ass on the bike so we can go to the woods and do that, girl."

A short while later in the woods, Daryl pulled a few branches over top of the bike to cover it, and then took hold of Tahlia's hand without a second thought as he led her through the trees, Tahlia smiling to herself at his easy gesture.

Things between them were still so new, that even the smallest intimacy from him made butterflies storm in her stomach. Although they had become physically close and comfortable with one another throughout their friendship, she had half expected him to be a little hesitant and shy around her now that they'd moved beyond friends, and because she was so naturally tactile, she had been actively trying to hold back a little and let him set the bar of what he was comfortable with. But, to her delighted surprise, it seemed that Daryl had a very affectionate side which he was not afraid to display around her (although they still acted as 'just friends' in public), and what's more, he seemed to be more than happy to initiate contact - and Tahlia was more than happy to lap it up.

Daryl's voice brought her back down from her fluffy clouds. "I only got a couple hours out here then I gotta get back. Sorry."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Headin' out with Glenn to drive by that Big Spot. Been a while since we were there, so thought we'd just go check it out, see if them walkers have scattered any, see if it ain't been picked over yet."

Tahlia stopped walking, pulling on his hand to stop him too. "You can't hit that place with just two of you!"

"What would you know?" snorted Daryl. "You only saw the fences of that place."

Tahlia gave him an indignant shove for that. "Yeah, coz you were an asshole who was so threatened by my mad skills that you wouldn't let me in."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Naw, just didn't trust the batshit crazy hippy that floated in from outside like she ain't seen people bein' eaten alive."

"Floated in?! You guys practically took me hostage!"

"I wanted to leave ya!" declared Daryl stubbornly.

Tahlia arched a brow. "Bet you're glad that you didn't, now!"

Something contemplative descended on his face, and abruptly he pulled her into his arms. "Real fuckin' glad."

"Yeah?" Tahlia's voice husky. "You trust me yet?"

"Naw." Daryl's mouth was on her neck now as his hands ran a slow track down her back. "Ya still batshit crazy."

"Batshit crazy for being into you." she retorted, although the last half of her sentence was a breathy moan as his lips worked their way up, eventually alighting on hers.

The concept of time slipped away from them, but at some point, Daryl managed to pull himself back from her, Tahlia looking dazed.

"Uh... so... what were you saying before... this?" She waved a finger in the air near his face. "Everything's kind of disappeared."

Daryl couldn't help but give a smug grin at that, loving that he could have such a heady effect on her.

"Goin' to Big Spot."

"Shit. Yes." Tahlia grew serious. "You can't go in there with only the two of you!"

"We ain't goin' in." Daryl assured her. "Just gonna do a drive by, check what the situation is, see if it's worth takin' a team back to try again. That's it. Gone couple hours at most."

Tahlia nodded, but her brow was still furrowed.

Daryl gave her a gentle push. "Why ya worried? Been out on God knows how many runs since I known ya, and y'ain't never cared before."

"I've always cared!" protested Tahlia. "I just didn't let you know how much. And I care even more now. I mean..." She could feel herself getting irrationally emotional, so she aimed for lightness. "You know, you're a really good kisser, and it upsets me because I feel like if something happened to you, it'd take me a really long time to train the next guy up to your standard."

She knew she deserved the loud growl and accompanying hard smack on the ass as he scooped her into his arms once again, squeezing her tight as she giggled. Inevitably, his grip lightened into soft caress, his lips ended up on her skin, and she felt his breath hot against her ear.

"Dunno how I managed to spend so much time with you alone out here and keep my hands off ya."

Abruptly, Tahlia pulled back to arm's length. "Um... excuse me?! You didn't keep your hands off me!"

"Huh?! Did so!" argued Daryl, affronted.

Tahlia raised her eyebrows and scoffed. "Please. You normally spend your time snuggled up against people doodling all over their bodies? You normally teach people how to use a crossbow with this method -"

She sidestepped behind him and slipped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her body firmly against his, grinding on his butt a little, then stood on her tiptoes so she could get her mouth close to his ear and she imitated his low, raspy drawl. "Just hold your arms like this, girl. That's it, I'll be your shock absorber."

Daryl let out a playful growl and spun around, catching her in his arms.

"Oh really?" he said, tickling her until she squealed for mercy. "Really?! Like you were much better!" he accused, still holding her tight, then proceeded to mock her in a high-pitched tone. "I'm just gonna parade around in my sexy underwear again, but I only wear these for me, no one else! Daryl, shall we hug it out? Oh, please let's hug it out!"

"As if you didn't look forward to every single one of those hugs!" laughed Tahlia in return. Then she managed to wriggle out of his grip and swung a leg around to kick him in the butt. "Ain't a hugger, you said, yet that didn't stop you from snuggling into a hell of a lot of cuddles with me!"

"Like I had a choice! And don't say 'cuddle'!" retorted Daryl in faux-annoyance as he swiped at her head, Tahlia only just managing to duck in time. He grabbed her arm, but ever nimble, she spun away, and then again a second time with his next attempt.

As she whirled back to face him, he was already on the move lunging towards her, and the next thing she knew, she was on her back in the grass with Daryl lying heavily on top of her.

"And don't even get me started on the tackling!" she wheezed, as they grinned at one another.

"I just..." he began, the smile fading from his face as he gently swept her hair back from her forehead. "Fuck, Tahly." he said, shaking his head in what seemed like disbelief. "Fuck."

And then his mouth was on hers once again, this time with a slow intensity that sent a heatwave rolling through Tahlia's body, all the way to her toes. Shifting a little, Daryl nudged her legs open so that he could rest his between them, and Tahlia bent her knees and angled her hips into his, eliciting a simultaneous moan. One of his hands burned a trail all the way down her side, then worked its way back up underneath her top until his thumb found her nipple and gently circled it into a hard peak, Tahlia gasping with every pass. She was fairly certain that if a walker happened upon them now, she wouldn't even have the sense to form words of warning. And she was also fairly certain that as long as Daryl kept doing what he was doing, she didn't really give a shit. Now he was slowly sucking a path down her neck, then he pushed her top up further, exposing her bra and brought his mouth to her breast, his breath hot through the flimsy lace.

Then, as suddenly as he had tackled her, Daryl rolled away, and Tahlia whimpered, bereft.

"Gotta stop 'fore I can't."

Tahlia just drew her hands over her face and held them there.

"Oh my God." she muttered. "You're gonna kill me." Then she peeked over at him from under her fingers. "Is this payback? For me being a pain in the ass? That what this is?!"

Mirth sparkling in his eyes, Daryl bit back a smile as he rolled onto his side next to her and slipped a hand over her belly, but she quickly slapped it away.

"No more touching! I can't take it! I'm gonna fucking implode!"

Daryl let out a laugh at her blatant frustration, secretly enjoying the fact that she was obviously desperate for him, when he felt like it'd been the other way around for so long.

"How have you got such impressive self-control?" Tahlia asked him seriously.

"I been practicin' it for a long time 'round you." he said with low sincerity, which only served to melt her even more. "This ain't the place neither, babygirl. Not today."

Then, before she could say anything to sway him (which wouldn't be very goddamned difficult given his near bone-breaking need for her) he pushed himself to his feet. "I know what'll take your mind off the... touchin'. Wait here."

"Don't think I could move even if I wanted to." mumbled Tahlia, dropping her arms out to the side as she starfished on the grass, gazing at the treetops above her, wriggling her hips a little as she was uncomfortably reminded of the fact that Daryl really did make a mess of her, and in a much more physical way than ever before.

About fifteen minutes later, Daryl emerged from the bush in front of Tahlia brandishing two squirrels, and she quickly sat up.

"Don't even think 'bout namin' these!" he warned sharply, before she could open her mouth. "Gonna practice skinnin' and cleanin' again." he announced, throwing one at her.

With a gasp, she caught it, its furry body still warm under her fingers.

"Why?! You've made me do this so many times." she complained.

Daryl sat down next to her. "Y'always hash it up. Gotta get better at it."

"Why?" she asked again. "Can't I just get you to do it for me?"

"And if I ain't around?"

"Where would you be?"

Although intended to be light, those questions fell heavily between them and mirrored shadows of unease passed across their faces with the knowledge that, in this world, someone just suddenly 'not being around' was a very real and awful possibility, so Daryl just shook his head.

"Get your knife out."

"Fine." sighed Tahlia, wriggling closer to him.

"Start by cuttin' the feet off."

Tahlia swiveled a wide-eyed look of horror at him. "That's barbaric."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Ya seen me do it a hundred times. And I know for a fact you chop animals up in the infirmary all the time with Hershel."

That was true, but that was in the name of practicing amputations, sutures and surgeries for the good of other people. And Daryl had always thought Tahlia was way too soft when it came to animals, so she liked to overplay that card and wind him up.

She patted her squirrel on the head before taking her knife to its feet. "Ugh. I'm so sorry, Nutkin."

Daryl let out a loud groan. "Can't help yourself, can ya?! Now cut there, and then just pull the skin off, like this."

He demonstrated on his own animal, and deftly removed the pelt all the way to the head in a matter of seconds.

"Wow." remarked Tahlia, impressed. "How'd you manage to remove Princess Acorn's coat so quickly?!"

"My one ain't called Princess Acorn!" Daryl objected indignantly.

"Look," Tahlia replied matter-of-factly, "If you're not going to pick a name, then you just have to live with the one that I choose."

"Fine." said Daryl grudgingly. "This is Skinner."

With a delighted laugh, Tahlia nudged him. "I knew you'd come around eventually."

Daryl couldn't help but chuckle as he shook his head. "Jackass."

After a moment of staring at the dead animal in her hands, Tahlia held it out to him. "Can you just do it?"

He shook his head again. "Naw. But I'll help ya."

Moving in to kneel behind her and shuffling forward so his thighs were on either side of her hips and he was as close to her as he could get, Daryl slipped his arms around her and placed his hands over top of hers.

"Cut here." he murmured, his chin on her shoulder and his voice low and gravelly in her ear, feeling the shiver that ran through Tahlia's whole body in response. "Gonna pull it like this."

Tahlia gave a hard swallow as her vision started to swim a little, all her ability to concentrate quickly ebbing away with every warm puff of Daryl's breath on her neck. She wondered if she would always have such a full-bodied, delicious reaction to his touch. Hoped she would. Although sometimes it was highly inconvenient.

In between murmured instructions, Daryl started to lightly lick and kiss her neck, and Tahlia all but gave up on the squirrel and just let his big hands over top of hers do all the work.

"Yeah." she breathed sarcastically as she leaned back into him. "More touching is really helping to take my mind off all the other touching."

The vibration of Daryl's laugh against her skin sent a fresh ripple of tiny shockwaves through her, but he didn't let up.

"Well, y'are a huge pain in the ass, so you're gonna need a lotta payback for that." he told her lowly before biting her lightly on the shoulder.

Then his tone lifted. "Now we just gotta pull the guts out."

Opening her eyes, Tahlia saw squirrel entrails on her hands at the same time that Daryl sucked on a particularly sensitive spot just below her jawline, and she gave a startled gasp.

"Fuck!" she exclaimed. "I'm really turned on and really grossed out all at the same time. This is very confusing."

Laughing again, Daryl let go of her and moved to her side, causing her to grunt in displeasure at the loss of contact.

"And we're done." he announced with a roguish smile, once again enjoying how completely undone she'd become from just those few minutes.

He bagged the squirrel carcasses as Tahlia took a few steadying breaths. "Take these back to the prison. C'mon, wash up in the stream just up here."

"I thought you're meant to be protecting me out here!" Tahlia complained as she followed Daryl the short way through to the stream and washed the squirrel from her hands. "But you're just torturing me!"

Daryl sank down at the base of a tree. "I'll protect ya from everythin' else, just not myself." he rasped with a devilish grin. "Now, come sit for a bit 'fore I gotta get back. Ain't drawn on ya in forever."

Tahlia lay down next to Daryl and rested one arm across his lap and tucked the other behind her head as he began to draw.

"So, if you do end up taking a team to Big Spot, are you going to let me come along?"

Considering this, Daryl shrugged a little. "Guess so. I mean, I know ya can take care of yourself. Just worry 'bout someone else doin' somethin' dumb and puttin' ya in danger."

"We've got a pretty capable crew here, though. I mean, have you ever been around so many bad-ass women in your life?!"

Daryl chuckled at that. "I dunno what's more terrifyin' - the walkers or you girls."

"Just make sure you stay on our good side." joked Tahlia. "Hey, well maybe me and you could go on a run sometime. Go a little further out, see what we can find?"

Slowing his pen strokes, Daryl chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Yeah. Maybe we could. Maybe we could."

They were both quiet for a long while until Daryl pulled the pen away from her arm and admired his handiwork. "There ya go!"

Sitting up, Tahlia looked down at her arm and then gasped in horror.

"Daryl!" she exclaimed as she smacked him in the chest.

He'd drawn two headless squirrels on her upper arm, their heads lying in a pool of blood down by her elbow.

"To commemorate a guttin' lesson y'ain't never gonna forget!" he said with a sly grin.

Tahlia rolled her eyes. "Dick."

And then he caught her elbow and pulled her into his lap so her back was against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head in the crook of his neck and sighed contentedly.

Daryl squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

This.

This feeling right here.

This full-bodied outside-in compression squeezing every part of him into something weightless and glowing, tightening his chest in a pleasurably painful way and making it hard to breathe, but that didn't matter because oxygen wasn't something he needed to survive anymore – his life support was already tucked tightly in his arms, keeping his heart beating, helping him live.

He would bottle this feeling if he could because it felt so damned good.

And all that negative shit was gone.

Reservations, hesitations, doubts, misgivings. All gone.

All that was left was her and him and this big fucking bottle, full to the brim.

All too soon, it was time for them to make their way back to the prison, and they had just dismounted from the bike in the vehicle bay when Brody and Joel, who had been working down on the fences, were heading past on their way back up to the main buildings.

Daryl took a step forward then felt Tahlia's fingers on his elbow, a light reminder of what he had agreed earlier, so he settled for folding his arms staunchly and fixing them with a dark stare as they passed.

Brody glanced over nervously, only chancing a tight smile in Tahlia's direction before quickly averting his gaze again.

With narrowed eyes, Daryl waited until they were well out of earshot, then he gave Tahlia a curious nudge.

"Ya leave any details outta your story 'bout Brody this mornin'?"

"Hmm, no I don't think so." she said innocently, smiling a little.

Turning to survey her, Daryl fixed her with a skeptical look. "He's got a split lip."

"Like I already told you," she replied airily, "When he didn't take 'no' for an answer the first time, I had to tell him again... a little more forcefully."

Daryl's eyebrows shot up. "Ya hit him?"

Tahlia shrugged. "I mean, not exactly hit, just..." She demonstrated an open-handed strike with the heel of her palm. "Like I said. I handled it."

With a proud grin, Daryl couldn't help but throw an arm around her shoulders and hug her tightly against him for a brief moment. "And he got the message."

"He got the message." repeated Tahlia. "Loud and clear."

"Good girl. Alright." Daryl picked up his crossbow and pack. "Here's Glenn comin'. Gonna head off now."

"Ok. Be careful out there."

"It's only just a drive-by." Daryl reassured her as Glenn arrived next to them.

"Hiya Tahly!" Glenn greeted her with a smile, then turned to Daryl. "Ready to go when you are."

"Let's go then."

With one last glance at Tahlia, Daryl led the way over to the station wagon and in the next moment, they were off.

This was the only bit about keeping their budding relationship under wraps that left Tahlia in knots. The fact that Daryl was heading out beyond the fences into a world that was crawling with danger, and she couldn't even hug and kiss him goodbye, couldn't even show open concern that the most important person in her life might not even come back.

Then she quickly caught herself and gave herself a mental slap on the wrist. For God's sake, she was acting like a clingy little kid. They had just spent the past couple of hours practically attached to one another - what more did she want from him?

Just get on with it, girl. She told herself sternly, and with that, she was on her way to finish fixing that damned trellis.

Late that afternoon, Tahlia and Hershel were sitting at a table just inside the open door of the infirmary poring over an old medical textbook and discussing amputations.

Hershel gazed down at his missing leg. "Still find it hard to believe that I survived that one. Rick hackin' it off on the floor in the tombs, no antibiotics or sterile equipment. No equipment at all, really."

"Wow." said Tahlia quietly. "You were really lucky."

"I know." Hershel agreed gravely, then winced a little as he flexed his thigh.

"Do you get phantom limb pain?" Tahlia asked curiously.

Hershel looked surprised. "Why yes, I did, darlin'. Not for a long time now, but the months following the amputation I could feel shootin' pains that would go all the way down my non-existent leg to my non-existent toes, especially at night. I'd want to rub it, but..." he gave a wry laugh. "Nothin' there. How do you know about phantom limb?"

Leaning forward on the table a little, Tahlia said, "There was a guy I knew who had lost most of his leg in a car accident, and even years later he said he still felt strange sensations all the way down the missing leg, as if it were still attached. And you know what, he used to go to a massage therapist who would move her hands over his leg as if it were still there and he swore that he could feel it and that it helped with the pain! I found that so interesting."

Nodding thoughtfully, Hershel rubbed a hand through his beard. "That is interesting. Maybe I'll have to try it out for myself." He then gave Tahlia a pointed look. "Keep learning the joints and keep practicing on the animals, darlin'. I know you don't like it, but there's every chance you're goin' to have to do an amputation at some point, and the cleaner you can make it, the better chance of survival that person will have.

"Yeah, I know, and I'd rather be able to-"

Just then Maggie popped her head through the door. "Hiya daddy, Tahly. You guys ain't seen Glenn or Daryl come through here, have you?"

"No, sorry honey." replied Hershel. "Haven't seen them today."

"Damn." muttered Maggie, a frown on her face. "Their car's not in the vehicle bay but I was just hoping there was another reason for that and that maybe they were here."

"They're not back?" Tahlia asked, hearing the waver in her voice.

"No. Glenn said they'd be back around midday, but..." Maggie shrugged helplessly, then forced a smile on her face. "I'm sure they're fine, but if you see them 'round before I do, can you please tell Glenn to find me? I just want to know he's ok."

"'Course." nodded Hershel. "Don't get too tangled up over it, darlin', Glenn and Daryl are very capable. Sure they've just had a little hitch, is all."

Despite Hershel's reassuring words and her rational mind telling her that they would be ok, Tahlia couldn't help the worry that began to crawl like a cold centipede up inside her chest.

The evening meal had been cleared away in the courtyard and some people were already turning in for the night, when Tahlia caught sight of Maggie who had just come up from the fences.

"They're still not back yet?!"

Maggie's eyes shone bright with anguish. "No! No sign of them! They were only supposed to be driving by the Big Spot then straight back. Something's gone wrong, Tahly! Something's happened! What if they're... what if they're..."

"No, no way. Don't even think that." Tahlia said as she rubbed Maggie's shoulder reassuringly. "There'll be some simple reason why they're taking a little longer, that's all. I'm sure they're totally fine."

But she wasn't sure at all.

She wanted to lose it herself, give in to wide-eyed panic, but that wasn't who she was. She was the one who held it together and stayed positive and smiled and made other people feel better. She was the one who reassured, not the one who needed reassuring. And what's more, she didn't even have an official claim on Daryl like Maggie had on Glenn, so she didn't even have the right to showcase the same level of worry.

So.

She stayed calm, hugged Maggie and draped her in words of comfort before walking her back to her cell and leaving her with a sure smile and the best advice she could think of: "Try and get some sleep, honey, there's nothing more we can do tonight."

Not that Tahlia had much luck heeding her own advice.

In the gloom of her cell, she tossed and turned until sleep would slowly wrap its fingers around her and squeeze her tight before suddenly releasing its grip, sending her plummeting back to startling wakefulness.

She wanted to take comfort in the fact that if there was one person who could handle whatever was thrown at them out there, it was Daryl. But she couldn't find comfort, or consolation or even rationality, because the cold flood of fear inside her had already washed everything away.