You remember that that's when you first started watching him, when that little girl came out of the barn. He'd rushed forward, caught Carol round the middle, sank to the ground with her, unable to pry his eyes away from what was happening by the barn door. You thought at the time he'd gone down cos Carol had collapsed in his arms. Now you're almost sure he would have crumpled in a heap regardless, the sheer horror of what he was seeing making his legs too weak to hold him upright.

You've had your eyes on him ever since, you can't seem to help it. You started worrying about him when he moved his tent away from the camp. He looked ghostly pale when he returned from wherever he'd gone to hide after you killed Sophia, and you wanted to go to him then and tell him to have a break. He'd not even recovered from his fall and the crossbow bolt injury, but you knew he wouldn't stop overreaching until someone told him to.

You didn't go to him, and now you feel guilty cos he's out there alone, and you know he's suffering. You're not sure what's wrong, exactly, why he looks so ill all of a sudden, but you have your suspicions. Thinking back, he looked unwell for a few days even before he almost broke his neck when he fell off that damn horse. You were so angry then, and you know it hurt him, your disappointment. You couldn't help it, you were annoyed cos he was adding to the stress, and you were also scared out of your mind for him. That's a bit of an extreme reaction, when you stop and think about it, over someone you hardly know getting hurt. For now you don't stop, you don't think.

There are a lot of things worrying you at the moment. Never mind the overall misery of this existence, which will become a bigger and bigger problem, you know that. More immediate threats are weighing heavily on your mind right now. Shane, for one. He's creating tension. And you know you'll have to deal with it for good very soon. And then there's Lori. My god, but why did she do it? Why try and kill the unborn child she's carrying? The confession about her and Shane after that… you don't know what's worse.

Your thoughts are all over the place. No way out, they just go round and round in circles, trapped in a hamster wheel of indecision. No choices, really. Stick together, or die alone, seem the only two. Sounds straightforward, but it isn't, when the people you have to stick close to really want to stab you in the back.

He came to you and Shane earlier, telling you what he'd learned from that boy Randall. You were horrified when you saw his hands, knuckles raw and bleeding. You've since seen what the boy looks like, and the thought of what drove Daryl to beat him up like that makes you feel sick.

Sick, that's what he looked like when he came to you. Like he'd been sick. Pale and sweaty, his eyes puffy, glassy, like he'd been crying. There was a haunted air about him, too, and he seemed to be in pain. You have seen him several times press his hand down hard on his stomach since you got to the farm, and his hand never strayed far from his middle the whole time he reported back what Randall had given up under torture.

Torture. Why would Daryl do this? He's not a brutal man, you know that much about him already. Strong, yes, but he doesn't use that to hurt, not without very good reason. On the contrary, he's only used it to help and to defend, until now. He's trying so hard to fit in with the group, and you know that's not easy for him. He wants to pull his weight, you can tell. Maybe that's what this was? Maybe he thought you needed answers and that he'd do the heavy deed, put himself through the agony of hurting that boy, so you didn't have to?

The thought makes you sad, even while you're grateful. You hate the idea that Daryl would think it doesn't matter what this does to his own soul as long as he's able to contribute something valuable to the group. You make a promise, a commitment, to yourself then.

Let the hunter know that he's valued. Make sure he understands he doesn't have to do these things, be the one who takes on the jobs nobody else wants, to be part of this group. He needs to know that he's already part of it, and doesn't have to prove himself, or else risk being kicked out. He's proved his worth enough times already anyway, and he needs a rest now urgently, that much is clear.

You suddenly realize he already is a very important part of your new life. You hadn't seen it so clearly until now, but now that you think about it it's obvious: This man, whom you would have viewed with suspicion, put aside as unimportant at best, or seen as a liability at worst before the world ended, this redneck is going to be essential for the group's survival without even trying very hard.

You already think of him as your hunter, and you have a feeling he'll be much, much more to you, to your family, to all of you, before long.