Night had already fallen inside the warehouse, darkness leaching from the corners across the stained concrete floor. It smelt familiar to Daryl, of rust and oil and dirt, and husks of vehicles in various state of repair hunkered in a loose semi circle on the main part of the floor.

Their late entrance and his refusal to play Joe's claiming game meant that he and Asha were spending the night outside the ring of vehicles rather than in the trayback of a ute or back seat of a car. Once the others had staked a claim, all that was left was a tiny Datsun with the seats ripped out. It was no good for sleeping in, but it gave them something to lean against, and at least the semblance of a barrier between them and the others. He could see a certain amount of natural efficacy in the simplicity of Joe's rules, but he could too clearly recall Asha's look of revulsion when he'd told her about them.

'That's what Len said when he first saw me,' she'd muttered.

In his focus on Joe at the time he hadn't even noticed.

He shifted uncomfortably as he looked at Asha slumped against the Datsun a half a body's length away from him. Not that far away, but definitely not beside him. They hadn't spoken since she'd trailed him into the warehouse. He grimaced as he heard the echo of the words he'd growled at her. From the look on her face, he might have well as slapped her. He hated that he'd been the cause of that look. But her interest in him baffled him at the best of times, and with Joe in his ear…

Well, in his past experience with women, Joe's words weren't far off the mark.

He just wished he knew how to take it back.

Almost despite himself, his eyes were drawn back to her. Her face was drawn, dark circles under her closed eyes, shoulders folded in on herself. She seemed more than just tired, though he knew the blow to her head was still bothering her. He watched her discreetly from the corner of his eye while he searched for the word.

Fragile.

He didn't like it.

Her head was drooping on her chest and she jerked suddenly, skirting the edges of sleep.

'Here,' he said roughly, shuffling across and holding out an arm so he could rest against him. She hesitated, just an instant, but enough that it cut him, before nodding blearily.

'Thanks,' she mumbled, leaning against his shoulder, eyes closing.

'Don't,' he muttered. 'Don't thank me after I was such an ass.'

'It's alright,' she mumbled. 'I shouldn't have been such a smartass to start with. I never meant to suggest you were the same. You're nothing alike.'

Daryl grunted, unsure what to say and relieved when Asha seemed content to let the issue go.

If he and Merle had met this outfit in the early days, they'd have figured they had it made. They would have slipped into line with men who were just like them, and Daryl would probably have ended up just like they were now, if he hadn't been killed in some sort of pissing contest long ago. The thought that it might be him or Merle looking at Asha with the hungry eyes he'd seen Len or even Tony turn on her made him feel physically ill. His arm tightened instinctively around her shoulder.

Ironic that the end of the world had raised his standards about who he associated with.

Joe was permitting them a small fire. Daryl could hear low voices from the other side of the car as Billy and Harley worked on it. Dan was outside on watch. Daryl knew he'd have to get up and cook his half a rabbit at some point - he and Asha both needed the food - but for the moment he was happy to have some distance.

He was only listening with half a mind, so was surprised when Len suddenly appeared in his face.

'Give it here,' the lean man snarled.

Daryl's hackles rose. He set Asha gently upright against the car - her eyes suddenly wide open and sharp - and stood up slowly.

'You step back,' he said, bunching his shoulders.

Len's lip twitched. He was taller than Daryl, but not bulkier, and he gave ground reluctantly. Behind him, Joe and the others eased between the cars, thick on the scent of violence.

'My half was in the bag,' Len spat. 'Now it's gone. Ain't nobody round here interested in no half a damn cottontail except you. Ain't that right.'

'You're the only one still thinkin' about that crap,' Daryl growled incredulously.

'Empty ya bag,' Len demanded, stepping forwards as though to reach for their pack from beside Asha.

Daryl stepped into his path.

'I said step back,' he hissed.

Len glared at him, close enough for Daryl to smell the sour stink of his breath.

Joe suddenly appeared in Daryl's peripheral vision, black bag swinging from one hand. Daryl risked a glance over his shoulder. Asha was on her feet, but leaning heavily against the car, clearly in no condition to have prevented Joe taking the pack.

'You take his rabbit Daryl?' Joe asked, hefting the bag slightly. 'Tell me the truth.'

'Didn't take nothing,' he spat disgustedly, glaring at Len. The tall man glared daggers back at him, but a faintly smug expression had crossed his face at Joe's involvement.

Joe looked between them a moment and then shrugged, upending the contents of the bag on the concrete floor. Daryl and Asha's scant belongings tumbled out – including the tail end of the rabbit – and were followed by the head.

'What have we got here?' Joe asked.

'Ya put that there didn't you,' Daryl snapped, shoving Len hard in the chest. 'When I went out to take a piss? Didn't you?'

'This is bullshit,' Asha hissed venomously behind him.

Len shoved him back, lip curled but with a definite look of satisfaction gleaming in his eyes.

'You lied,' Len grinned. 'You stole and since ya stole from me, when you've been taught a lesson, I get ya stuff.' His eyes flickered across Daryl's shoulder towards Asha and his tongue scraped across his lips. 'All ya stuff.'

Daryl didn't think. His fist was through Len's face before the intention to do so registered in his brain.

Not that he would have acted otherwise if he'd had time to think.

'Whoa,' Joe said, stepping quickly in between them as Len wiped blood from his nose. Daryl let the older man push him back a step.

'Never happen,' Asha said in a deadly calm voice behind his shoulder. No longer leaning on the car, her eyes were hard on Len, knife gripped by her thigh.

'Knew you were going to be trouble,' Joe said to her.

'Don't blame this shit on me,' she spat. 'Len looks more than capable of starting trouble on his own.'

Joe shrugged. 'Well, you may be right.'

'We gonna teach him or what?' Len demanded through the hand over his nose. 'Ya rules say we gotta teach 'im.'

'This is bullshit,' Daryl growled, a knot of frustration forming in his belly as he realised how bad things could turn over half a scrawny rabbit. It wouldn't be the first time he'd caught a beating, but he had no doubt that if Len was involved, this beating would leave him dead on the ground.

Joe nodded consideringly, holding up a hand as he spoke to Len. 'Now, Daryl says he didn't take your half of the rabbit. So we got a little conundrum here. Either he's lying, which is an actionable offence, or…' Joe broke off to snigger softly. 'Jesus Len, you didn't plant that half a rabbit on him like some pussy, punk ass cheating coward cop did you? Because while that wouldn't be specifically breaking the rules it would be disappointing.'

Joe raised his brows, waiting for an answer.

Len glowered for an instant. 'It would,' he said finally. 'And I didn't.'

'Good,' Joe smiled, and Daryl's hopes of escaping this mess without his blood all over the ground dwindled away to nothing. He had barely an instant to be afraid for Asha before Joe was looking at him intently.

'Well,' he said solemnly, and if Daryl had been hoping for any reluctance he would have been disappointed. All he could see in Joe's eyes was anticipation, but that was a pale shadow of the blaze in Len's eyes.

Then the grey haired man spun quickly and punched Len in the face, knocking him to the ground in a splatter of blood from his now certainly broken nose.

'Teach him boys,' Joe said shaking out his hand. 'He's a lying sack of shit and I'm sick of it. Teach him all the way.'

Daryl blinked a couple of times and drew in a shallow breath as Harley and Billy began administering the belting Daryl had thought he was about to receive. There was the barest hesitation from Tony as he shot a quick look at Asha, before he too joined the fray.

'I saw him do it,' Joe said, tugging a cigarette from his vest pocket.

Daryl narrowed his eyes as the increasingly wet sounding cracks and thuds echoed through the warehouse.

'Why didn't ya try to stop it?'

Joe shrugged, lighting the cigarette and inhaling deeply. 'He wanted to play that out. I let him. You told the truth, he lied. You understand the rules. He doesn't.'

He scooped up the top half of the rabbit from where it had been discarded on the ground. 'Looks like you get the head too,' he grinned, tossing the bedraggled scrap of flesh to Daryl and settling back against the car to watch.

Daryl caught it instinctively, staring blankly at the limp bag of bones in his hand as Joe's men worked on reducing Len to the same state until Asha nudged him in the shoulder.

'Come on,' she said, looking just a touch green around the gills. 'I could use some fresh air.'

They settled on the warehouse step. There were faint traces of light in the sky which hadn't been discernible inside. Neither the distance nor the corrugated iron walls were enough to drown out Len's lesson.

Daryl didn't care two shits about Len. He'd never been one for lost causes even before the world had changed, but nonetheless he would be more at ease when the sounds inside stopped.

He pulled out a smoke and lit it, sucking in a lungful of the harsh but comfortably familiar smoke.

'We could just slip away,' Asha said softly, hunched over her knees beside him. 'Won't matter who they're following if we're dead before they catch them.'

Daryl grunted. She wasn't wrong, but they hadn't had a lead on any of their group since the prison and they might never get another. And strange as it sounded, he didn't get the feeling Joe's real interest was in hurting them. He chewed his bottom lip a moment.

'We'll be alright,' he said. 'Their system ain't great, but it's something. Without Len, if we play along, we oughta be able to keep things smooth for a bit. Shouldn't be that much longer. Joe reckons we're gaining on them.'

'He seems happy enough to keep you around anyway.'

Daryl snorted roughly. 'If I can use it I will.'

He took another long drag, exhaling into the darkening night, and then gestured with his head towards the door. 'Besides all our stuff's in there.'

Asha accepted it easily, nodding and resting her head tiredly on her knees.

He had barely finished his smoke when the door creaked and Joe appeared in the open doorway.

'Daryl,' he said, face hard. 'Get in here.'

Face impassive to mask the sinking feeling in his gut he ground out the cigarette butt on the step and got up, frowning at Asha as she got wearily to her feet beside him.

'Don't,' he muttered. He was pretty sure Joe wasn't asking him in to get his opinion on how best to cook half a rabbit.

She didn't say anything but her mouth settled into a determined line and he knew better than to waste time arguing as she followed him into the building.

In the fading light, the concrete floor was splattered black and shiny and the air was full of a metallic tang. Len was bloody on his hands and knees, sucking wheezing sodden sounding breaths.

Joe slapped a pistol in Daryl's hand.

'Finish it.'

Daryl turned the cold metal over in his hand. 'Nah. Your group your rules.'

'Your call,' Joe said. 'But I've been reminded that Len's been with us a long time. He earned his place. Wouldn't be fair if he didn't get a chance at reprieve.' Joe shrugged as if it made no difference to him either way. 'He stole from you, so it's up to you to teach him all the way. If you don't, well, he still might die anyway. But if not, well, that would be an admission that it weren't no fault of his for stealing from you cause you weren't strong enough to hold ya own.'

In the gloom, he could just make out a calculating gleam in Joe's eyes. 'You'd have to forfeit all your property to Len, and you'd have volunteered for every shit job between now and whenever we chose to forget about this.'

Asha stiffened at Joe's words.

Weren't no choice really.

'Ya rules ain't leave much room for mercy,' Daryl grunted hefting the gun.

Joe laughed. 'Mercy's just another word for weakness Daryl. You know that.'

His lips twisted sourly. His old man had had strong opinions on mercy and weakness too.

He raised the the weapon. Len was a dark shape grovelling at the end of the barrel. He looked barely human already. Just a slobbering, wheezing black heap. Still, Daryl was strangely reluctant to squeeze the trigger. Maybe it was the echo of Beth's belief that tit was just a choice to be good or bad. Maybe it was just that he'd only ever killed when his life had been on the line. He'd never had to execute someone. Though he wasn't really surprised it had come to this, world being the way it was.

Asha's hand slid over his, her skin cool over his where he gripped the weapon.

'You just make these rules up as you go along Joe?' She asked, a hint of derision colouring her voice. All traces of her earlier fragility were gone, her eyes like iron.

'They adapt to the general tenor of the day,' Joe admitted.

The pressure on his hand was insistent as Asha tried to ease the gun away. He resisted.

'Trust me,' she murmured, and he reluctantly let the weapon go.

Len, watching through bloody eyes, sniggered as he relinquished the gun. 'He ain't got the stones. Told you bastards he didn't have what it took to be one of us.'

Len's laugh suddenly turned into a cough and he spat blood. 'What are ya gonna do bitch?' he jeered at Asha.

Asha ignored him and spoke to Joe.

'Rules do have to have some flexibility if they're going to be practical,' she admitted blandly. 'That's why the English common law system was so effective. It was governed by precedent of course, but it grew up on a case by case basis under the guide of experienced magistrates. However,' she glanced down at Len, who was looking a little perplexed under his mask of blood by the turn of conversation. Then his face suddenly slackened, body jerking once and then collapsing as the sharp crack of gunfire echoed.

From the corner of his eye Daryl saw Tony flinch at the sudden gunshot.

Asha tilted her head a moment studying Len's corpse before lowering the gun. She looked back at Joe and continued in that same bland voice.

'However, most common law jurisdictions ultimately passed legislation to codify or at least supplement the common law because it was prone to inconsistencies. You know, corruption, idiocy… Adaptations to the general tenor of the day.'

Joe's eyes had narrowed, but he seemed otherwise unperturbed by Len's sudden demise.

'I know what you're doing,' Asha said to him quietly. 'Indoctrination 101. Hard for us to criticise when we've had to participate.' She glanced around. 'And there's nothing like shared guilt to bind a group together. But for that to work, you need two things. One you need the reason for me doing that,' she gestured to Len with the gun barrel, 'to be because you wanted me to do it, rather than for some reason of my own. And two,' she paused to stare for a long moment at Joe, who returned the gaze evenly. 'You need me to feel bad about it.'

She flicked the safety on and flipped the pistol over so she was holding it by the barrel. Her hand was rock steady as she extended it to Joe. His face was speculative as his hand closed around the grip.

Asha held on a moment longer. 'I don't need anyone to do my dirty work,' she said quietly before letting go.

Joe's brows lifted just a fraction. 'Guess not,' he said. 'But actually I wanted Daryl to do it.'

'I know exactly what you wanted,' Asha said in a deadly quiet voice. Daryl caught a glimpse the implacable set to her face as she turned away.

There was a weighing look in Joe's eyes as he watched her turn. 'Guess your alley cat's got her own claws,' he said to Daryl. 'You watch yaself with that one son, she's got ice in her veins.'

Daryl grunted, putting a hand out to catch Asha's elbow as she passed him and steer her away towards their gear behind the car.

Behind him, Joe ordered Tony and Harley to take out the trash and sent Billy outside to take over watch.

She shrugged him off almost the instant the car blocked them from view, shuddering visibly. 'Sorry,' she muttered. 'Just... Don't touch me right now.'

Daryl watched her perplexed as she slumped down by the car, rubbing tiredly at her face.

Obviously what had just happened was having some effect on her. He supposed they were supposed to talk about it? He almost snarled. What the hell did he know about dealing with this shit? But he'd be damned if he was going to let her slip away into herself again.

'Ya didn't have to do that,' he growled, frustration making his voice angrier than he meant.

She shrugged, eyes intent on her hands, laying slack in her lap.

'I'm tired Daryl,' she said. And she sounded tired, more tired than he'd ever heard her. 'I'm tired of pretending this isn't part of me. I'm tired of being scared of myself.' She looked up, eyes black in the darkness as her lip twisted. 'The way the world is now, it keeps putting me in situations like this, and it turns out i am the person who will pull the trigger, or hamstring the crazy guy...' She hesitated an instant. 'Or castrate the rapist. Maybe I never would have discovered that in the old world, but that doesn't make it any less a part of me.' She sighed heavily, and then gestured with her head back towards the group. 'The only thing worse than accepting that about myself, was accepting being scared of them.'

Daryl sank down beside her. 'Would'a been stupid to have let him live.'

'What about mercy?' she asked a little wryly.

'It ain't weakness,' he grunted. 'When ya got power or control, but right now we ain't got either. Would'a just been stupidity for us.'

'You're right.' She lifted her hands out of her lap and held them rock steady. 'But maybe I'm still supposed to feel something about it.' Then she dropped her hands. 'At least something more than just slightly dirty.'

Daryl sighed, scrubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. 'Ya still didn't have to do it. I would taken care of it.'

'I know,' she said immediately, eyes flashing to his. 'But… I think it would have bothered you more than me. You haven't had to do that before and you know I've already done worse.' She turned away, unwilling to look him in the eye. 'That type of thing leaves a mark.'

'Another mark on me ain't gonna make no difference.'

'Maybe not. But I'll be damned if I'd let him force you into that, not when there was something I could do about it.'

He stared at her in shock, trying to remember the last time anyone had tried to spare him anything.

Her lip twisted a little sardonically. 'Besides, in this case there were added benefits.'

Daryl raised a brow. 'On top of being rid of Len?'

She nodded. 'We don't know how long we need to stay with this group and they cannot see me as weak or a target or even entirely dependent on you for protection. Thinking I'm halfway to bat shit crazy is better than that, and...' she hesitated a moment. 'Joe wanted you to do it.'

Daryl frowned, not quite getting her point. 'I would 'ave.'

'Not us. You. He sees you as an asset, but he'd have been just as happy for Len to use me up and leave me behind.'

He snorted derisively. 'Then he's an idiot.'

'Doesn't matter when he's in charge,' Asha said. 'Least maybe I won't be such a liability now.' She tilted her head back against the car and swiped her hands down past the sides her mouth before closing her eyes. 'Even in all this I was looking for an angle to work,' she said in a very quiet voice.

Daryl chewed his lip a long moment and then sighed softly to himself. He couldn't fault her logic, or her assessment of Joe. He scrubbed at his eyes again, exhausted with the whole bloody situation. 'Beth mighta been right 'bout there still being good people left, but they're a long way from here.'

'Not all of them,' Asha said quietly. 'You're here.'

He snorted softly. 'I'll take you working an angle over a good person any day.'

There was a faint gleam of teeth as she smiled slightly and then her head settled against his shoulder as she dropped off to sleep.