The next morning I was woken up by a loud knock on the bedroom door. I sat up quickly, startled out of my peaceful slumber. I let out a groan and hissed, falling back onto the bed again. Another louder, more impatient knock filled the room.

"C'min." I called through gritted teeth.

To my shock, Daryl Dixon entered the room. As soon as he saw me clutching my side, he hurried over, placing the plate he held in his hand down on the bedside table.

"Wha's wrong?" He asked, shoving the covers off me.

"I'm fine. Just sat up too quickly." I explained with a wave of my free hand.

His eyes widened in shock as he looked down at me. I was curious at first, then suddenly it dawned on me; I'd taken my sweat pants off in the middle of the night. I tried to hide my embarrassment.

"What?" I chuckled nervously. "Never seena girl with her pants off?"

You're an idiot, Holden. I thought to myself. That just made it worse.

"Uhh…. Sure." He stammered. "I jus', uh….. Brought ya sum breakfas'. Thought cha might be hungry…"

"Thanks." I said as I sat up, dangling my legs off the side of the bed. My t-shirt hung halfway to my knees, so I wasn't worried about flashing my goods. I really was great at making people incredibly uncomfortable. Idiot, I repeated to myself.

"Uhhh…." He stammered some more, backing away. "I'll get Herschel at look at yer wound. Make sure ya didn' rip any stitches out."

"No, it's fine. I'll check it out in a minute when I take a shower. Thanks though." I said. I wanted to laugh as I watched him slowly back towards the door. It was like I'd scared the shit out of him.

"I'll uh…. Tell em yer gettin' ready. We're, uh…." He coughed and slightly jumped as his back finally hit the bedroom door before he continued. "Almost ready."

"Okay." I smiled a little too much. "Thanks Daryl."

"Yeah." He mumbled as he rushed out of the room and closed the door a little too hard behind him.

I softly laughed to myself as I shook my head and headed towards the bathroom. I took my shirt off and tossed it onto the back of the toilet and turned on the water. I took off my bandages and checked my stitches. Everything seemed to be fine. Sliding out of my underwear, I hopped into the stream of warm water. I let out a sigh of relief, which came a moment too soon. The door flung open and I heard Taylor hiss my name.

"What?!" I hissed back, peeking out of the shower.

"What did you do to Daryl?" He asked, eyes wide.

"Nothing." I said nonchalantly.

"Lies!" He hissed again. "I've never seen a man's face that red, or move that fast away from you."

"Alright, fine." I sighed. "He brought me breakfast and he scared me when he knocked, I was still asleep. So I sat up too fast. When he came in, I was holding my side. He rushed over and pulled the covers down to check on me. I had kinda…."

"Spit it out, woman!" He declared.

"I didn't have any pants on, dammit!" I shouted.

I watched as the realization of what I had said set in. In a matter of seconds, Taylor's face held confusion, then understanding, then amusement. As amusement set in, he broke out in a laughing fit and slid down the bathroom wall.

"Oh, get out, loser!" I said, darting my head back behind the curtain. "I'm trying to shower!"

"Oh, I'm getting out." Taylor barely said through his laughter. "I'm goin' to tell Rhee then go fuck with Daryl."

"Taylor Holden, you better not!" I said sternly, peeking from behind the curtain again.

But it was too late. I caught a glimpse of the bathroom door shutting. I groaned and showered as quick as I could.

As I got out and dried off quickly, I darted into the bedroom in my towel. I dug through my backpack and pulled out a pair of faded jean shorts and a Nirvana t-shirt. I sloppily bandaged my side back up and towel dried my hair the best I could and ran a brush through it. As soon as I finished brushing my teeth, I ran out the door as fast as my injured side could handle.

I was thankful I didn't run into anyone on my way out of the house. Once I reached the porch, I spotted Glenn and Taylor just ahead. I quickly made my way over to them.

As soon as Glenn spotted me, he started laughing.

"You didn't, Taylor?!" I groaned.

"You know I did." He said with a bright smile as he crossed his arms.

I punched him hard in the arm.

"Ow!" He said, grabbing where I'd hit him.

"Aw, calm down, Riv." Glenn chuckled. "It's not that bad."

"Yeah, not yet. Until one of you dorks runs and lets Daryl know you two know." I sighed. "Please, don't say anything. I already spooked him enough. Y'all start fuckin' around and…"

"You like him," Glenn said suddenly.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I barely know him!"

"You didn't say no!" Taylor said loudly.

"Say no to what?" T-Dog asked as he approached.

"Riv likes Daryl." Taylor blurted out.

"Are you serious right now, Tay?! I never said I did!" I shouted at him, pushing him hard.

"But you didn't say no…" T-Dog pointed out with a small smile.

"Oh my God." I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair and turned to walk away. "This is bad." I whispered to myself.

Very bad.

I made my way back into the house and up to the bedroom I was temporarily occupying. I was seriously considering locking myself in there. As I reached the top of the stairs, I spotted Maggie walking out of my room.

"Hey." She beamed. "I was looking for you. Daddy wanted me to give ya your medicine."

"Oh, thanks." I said a little too hastily.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she handed me the medicine and the glass of water.

"Nothing." I answered before I popped the medicine in my mouth.

She raised her eyebrows.

I swallowed and sighed. "Fine. Wanna come in here and talk?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

We entered the room and I shut the door behind us. Sitting down on the bed, I sighed again. Why was I even doing this?I thought to myself. I had never had many friends that were girls but I felt oddly close to Maggie already. I felt confident that she wouldn't tell everyone.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"It's nothing really…" I began. "Daryl brought me breakfast this morning and when he knocked it scared me cause I was still asleep. I sat up too fast and when he came in, he saw me clutching my side and he ran over and threw the covers off me to check on me. I….." I sighed. "I didn't have any pants on."

Her eyes widened.

"I had underwear on!" I clarified quickly. "Now Taylor knows, and he told Glenn. And I was arguing with them and they said I like Daryl and I told them I barely knew him. So, Tay practically shouts 'Well, you didn't say no.' and T-Dog walked over and Taylor told him I liked him! This is getting out of hand…. I don't want to spook Daryl. He's already spooked as it is. You shoulda seen how he stuttered and stammered and ran like hell once he got to the door."

She nodded again. "I'll talk to Glenn and Taylor."

"Thank you!" I said, grasping her hands. "I have to get ready to go on a run with Taylor, Daryl and Rick, so I'll be able to keep a close eye on Tay for a while. I swear he's like a 14 year old girl when it comes to gossip."

She laughed. "Don't worry. We'll get this on lock down."

She got up and walked over to the door. As she reached for the door knob, she paused. She turned around and looked over at me as I was packing my bag.

"Do you like him?" She asked.

I froze in my tracks. "I, uh…. He intrigues me." I stammered.

She smiled and nodded. "That's what I thought."

I met the guys over by the silver SUV we were taking. I quickly ran over to Taylor who was talking to Daryl.

"Hey, uh, Tay." I said. "Lemme talk to you for a sec."

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Now." I said sternly.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Be right back, man."

He followed me to the back of the car. I slung my bag into the trunk and pointed at him.

"Stop. Don't do whatever you're planning on doing." I said. "Please, Tay. I barely know him, I freaked him out….. And yes, I hate that I'm admitting this to you, but I'm intrigued by him. I'll talk you up to Beth. If you so much as step a toe outta line, I'll end you. And you know I can."

"Fine!" He huffed. "You got me. I'll…"

"No, no. I don't want you doing anything." I cut him off.

"But I could talk ya up, ya know." He shrugged.

"No." I said firmly.

"Fine." He sighed. "But in return for my silence, I want to be talked up. Make me seem…"

"Like a decent human?" I said. "Lot of work there."

"You're so funny." He said sarcastically as he closed the hatch.

We walked around the car and up to the two men. They stood at the hood of the car with a map laid out.

"So, we're heading east?" Daryl asked, looking at Taylor.

"Uh, River is the navigator." He said, pointing to me.

I narrowed my eyes at him before I walked over beside Daryl and looked at the map.

"Yeah, we go east. Just about five miles. We parked on this dirt road right off from this one." I said, pointing to the location.

"Good." Rick said. "Not far."

We loaded up; Rick was driving, Daryl in the passenger seat and Taylor and I occupied the back seat. The only thing that was spoken was when I gave directions. It was an uncomfortable silence.

About half way there, I casually slipped my glasses out of my pocket and put them on.

"What the hell are you doing?" Taylor asked.

"Wearing my glasses." I said without looking at him.

"Can we talk about the glasses?" He said exasperated. He hated my glasses more than anything.

"No." I shot back quickly.

"Fine." He said. "But just know you look ridiculous."

"Thank you." I said sarcastically.

"Oh, my God. I know what you're doing…." He said suddenly.

"No, no. just shut up." I hissed.

"There." I said, leaning forward and pointing, cutting off my conversation with Taylor as quickly as possible. "There's our cars."

"That yours?" Daryl asked.

"The Impala?" I asked. "Yes."

"Why two cars?" Rick asked suspiciously.

"We had too many supplies to fit in one." I said.

I saw Daryl raise his eyebrows at the man. I could understand their trepidation. Who could blame them? In this world, you not only had to fear the dead, but fear the living as well. The dead were predictable, the living weren't.

We slipped out of the SUV, weapons at the ready. Taylor ran over to his Honda, followed by Daryl as Rick and I walked over to the Impala. I took the keys out of my pocket and unlocked the trunk. As I opened it, Rick let out a low whistle.

"How'd y'all do all this?" He asked, looking at all the weapons.

"Some were from our father's collection, the rest from a pawn shop that we cleared and a hunting store that was basically untouched." I explained.

"Wow." He said. "Daryl, you're gonna wanna see this."

"Yeah." He replied. "You're gonna wanna see this too, man."

"What all do you have in here?" Rick asked me.

"A couple 9 mms, four machetes, a compound bow, 44 mag, two rifles, one sawed off rifle, three shot guns, an AK, two katanas, and plenty of ammo and arrows. Not including what we had on us." I recited.

Just as I finished my list, Daryl walked over. "Damn." He said. "They got more food in that Honda than I've seen in months."

"How'd you come across that?" Rick asked again.

"Went and raided our parents house, a couple gas stations, a food bank, an elementary school and a grocery store." I told him. "We hit the places in the first week. We knew if we waited, a lot of stuff would be gone. Got a lot of medical supplies and meds from a couple pharmacies in the backseat."

"River is an excellent scavenger." Taylor said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"Alright, let's get back." Rick said, closing the trunk of the Impala. "I only ask that you all keep the information about these weapons to yourselves. I don't won't wind of it getting' out. I'm already havin' enough trouble with a duffle bag full. Let alone a trunk full."

I nodded. "Will do."

"Alright." He nodded. "Daryl, ride with River. In case anything happens, since she's still injured, she needs someone with her."

Daryl only nodded to the man as he rounded the car towards the passenger door.

My mouth slightly opened in shock as I looked to Taylor. I knew, somehow, someway, this was his doings.

"Oh, River." Rick said, just as I was about to slide into the driver seat.

"Yeah?" I called.

"Nice glasses." He smiled.

"Thanks." I said suspiciously.

I flipped Taylor off before he ducked down into his car and started it up. I reluctantly slid into the driver seat of my own and started the engine. Daryl didn't say a word as we took off behind the silver SUV and the black Honda Civic.

I felt myself shifting nervously. I reached over and turned the radio down.

"Hey, uh…" I began.

"Nuthin' to talk 'bout." Daryl said, cutting me off.

"Well, damn. What a shame. I was just dying for that awkward ass conversation." I said sarcastically.

Daryl just huffed. "So, this was yers?"

"My dad's. Gave it to me when I was 16." I answered.

I propped my elbow up on the window and rested my head on my hand.

"In perfect condition… musta cost a pretty penny." He said. "What was he? A damn doctor?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "No, he was a lawyer." I answered sourly.

"Figures." He said simply.

The rest of the ride back to the farm was in silence except for the sounds of Led Zeppelin I'd cranked up so if he decided to huff again, I wouldn't hear it.

Over the next few weeks, Daryl barely spoke to me. Maggie and I had convinced my brother and Glenn to keep their traps shut. And as I had promised, I'd talked Taylor up to Beth. They'd started hanging out some, just getting to know each other. Glenn and Maggie had finally admitted they liked each other and were hanging out regularly. I felt like the third wheel - fifth wheel? - and I hated it.

So, a lot of times, when Glenn and Maggie and Beth and Taylor were together, and I was the left out element, Carl and I hung out. We refilled the water bottles together and I helped him with his homework. I'd grown fond of the young boy. And surprisingly, Lori didn't seem to care. It seemed like she was happy I was taking some of the load off her. I didn't mind. He was a sweet kid.

I had healed great. Just a few days after we had returned with our cars, Herschel had taken my stitches out and cleared me for duty. I was elated to finally be done with all that mess and finally feel like a normal, functioning human being again, but I still felt off.

I had tried to keep myself busy helping out around camp; patching up damaged clothes with Lori, washing clothes, cooking with Carol, picking apples with Maggie, feeding the horses with Beth. I had even finished five books courtesy of Dale. But I found myself increasingly bored. It unnerved me to be doing such domesticated tasks. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind doing them, and I'd help out anyway the group needed me to. But still, I found myself staring at my bow and arrows and then to the woods longingly.

Finally, one day I spotted Rick walking towards the house and decided to make my move. I excused myself from helping Carl with his homework and sprinted across the yard towards him.

"Rick." I called as I approached.

"Ah, River." He said, stopping in his tracks. "Just the person I was wanting to talk to."

"Funny, I could say the same." I laughed. "You first."

"Okay." He nodded. "I wanted to first of all, thank you for helping with Carl."

"No problem. He's a good kid." I said with a smile.

He smiled. "One other thing I wanted to thank you for was keeping the weapons a secret."

"Again, no problem. I understand you'd have some problems. One in particular." I said, referring to Shane.

"And speaking of that one in particular, I want you to be careful around Shane." He said, his tone changing drastically. I could tell he was seriously worried. "He's become very…"

"Erratic." I finished for him.

"Yes." He said. "And I don't know what he's capable of anyone. And I've noticed no matter what, his infatuation with you will not be deterred."

"Yeah, he doesn't take a hint, does he?" I said, nodding.

"No, that he doesn't." Rick said, trying to chuckle to lighten to mood. "I know your brother has had some concerns as well."

"Well, I appreciate your concern. And I'll be careful. But don't worry, I can take care of myself." I said with a smile.

"Oh, I don't doubt that one bit." He said, smiling back. "Now, what'd you wanna talk to me about?"

"Okay… here it goes." I said, readying myself. "I appreciate you letting us into your group. And Tay and I will do whatever you need us to do to contribute to this group. But I'm an excellent hunter and a decent tracker. I could easily be helping double what Daryl is bringing back for the group and help look for Sophia. And I know, I'm not stupid. I know by now we're looking for a corpse or a walker. But I'd never admit that to Daryl or Carol. But, seriously, I'm going fuckin' insane patching shirts and shit. Like I said, if that's what you need and want me to do, cool, I'll do it all day, every day. But, please. Lemme out there."

Rick took in my words for a moment, a smile stretching across his face. "Taylor okay with it?"

"Taylor isn't my keeper." I said firmly.

"Alright." He nodded.

I stuck out my hand for him to fist bump me. He looked at me curiously before chuckling and bumping his fist against mine.

"You go out in the morning with Daryl. I'll let him know." He said.

"With Daryl?" I choked out.

"Yeah, not going alone." He said simply.

I nodded as he walked away. A ridiculous smile spread across my face as I walked back over to Carl who sat waiting for me under the tree.

"What are you smiling about?" He asked.

"Nothing, sport." I said.

The rest of the day I was in great spirits.

The next morning I found myself awake very early in the morning. The sun wasn't even up yet. I groaned as I unzipped my sleeping bag and got out. Since we'd gone and got our supplies, we'd set up our tents with the rest of the group so we weren't invading the Greene family's privacy anymore than we had to. I yawned and rubbed my eyes. I hadn't got up quite this early since coming to the farm. It was oddly nice. I braided my hair quickly to the side before grabbing my clothes I'd picked out the night prior. I slipped into my black jean shorts and black sleeveless top that was slightly oversized; it was better to move in while hunting but still fit my figure nicely. Not that that mattered in the woods, right?Right, I reminded myself.

I grabbed my boots and slipped them on, lacing them up quickly. I put my knife in my stealth and pushed my Glock in the back of my shorts. Grabbing my bow, quiver and backpack from the corner of my tent, I climbed out. I could hear Taylor snoring from the tent next to mine. I rolled my eyes and looked around. I spotted Daryl next to the caravan, talking to Dale. He must be on watch, I thought to myself.

As I approached the men, the sun was just beginning to rise.

"Morning, young lady." Dale called from the top of the caravan with a smile.

"Morning, Dale." I said with a smile and a small wave.

"C'mon. Let's go." Daryl practically growled before taking off towards the woods.

"Have fun." Dale said sarcastically.

"Don't ya know." I said, raising my eyebrows.

I heard him chuckle as I walked away.

Many hours later, I found myself deep in the woods with Daryl Dixon. We hadn't spoke a single word. Not a single one. We'd only communicated through nods. Nod for 'I'll take this kill', nod for 'Good shot', nod for 'I'll get that'. I was sure by the time we reached the farm, my vocal chords would no longer know how to function.

There was only thing that really, really bothered me. It was the lack of trail for Sophia. I'm a decent tracker, and I saw nothing. Daryl was simply searching the woods, not following a trail anymore. By now, it was late afternoon, and I knew he had to have noticed I could track. Therefore, I knew he was smart enough to figure out that I knew what he was doing. But I said nothing. And neither did he. I didn't want to admit anymore than anyone else what the young girl's fate probably was.

We had collected a good amount of squirrels and a few rabbits. The heat was intense and I had soaked my shirt with sweat. I knew I had to smell to high heaven. Not that he was close enough to tell, though.

Finally, I decided to break the silence.

"It's startin' to get late." I said. "We still gotta walk back and skin all these."

He turned back to look at me with a shocked look on his face; obviously taken back I'd finally spoke. I could see him debating what I had said. Finally, he simply nodded and walked by me, back towards the farm.

For the first two miles, it was silence. I was sick of not talking. So, I was happy when he finally spoke to me.

"Yer a decent hunter." He said. "And quietest woman I eva met. Figured you'd slow me down or talk so much all the game would run."

I chuckled. "Well, I'll take that as a compliment, I guess."

"It was." He said simply.

"Thanks." I mumbled. "Um… can I ask ya something?"

"Sure." He grunted.

"What'd ya mean the other day on the way back to the farm? About my dad and Baby?" I asked.

"Baby?" He said curiously.

"Oh, my car. I nicknamed her when I was in high school." I said, slightly embarrassed.

"Nuthin'…" He mumbled.

"Oh, you're a terrible liar, Dixon! You're not gonna hurt my feelings." I said.

"Fine." He shot back. "Ya look like ya came from money, is all."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously?" I shook my head. "Well, if you must know. My father was a lawyer and my mother was a pediatric doctor. He had a huge practice. But the kicker is, he was a compulsive gambler. The loads of money he made went straight down the drain as soon as he made it. It caught up to him eventually; my parent's were murdered on a business trip to Las Vegas. Never found out by who. By the time he died, almost everything was borrowed, owed or invested in real estate. We had to sell almost everything except their house just to have money to bury them and settle their debts. Mom always made excuses for him when he'd come home drunk or get threatened and shit. But none of us were stupid."

"'M sorry, I don't…"

"Don't, it's okay. Shit happens." I shrugged.

I saw the farm just ahead through the dense trees so I decided to say one last thing. "Daryl, you know you can talk to me, right?" I said. "I don't bite. At least not too hard. It doesn't make you stronger to keep people at arm's length. It takes a stronger person to be able to open up and let someone in."

He glanced over at me as we broke through the tree line. I spotted Taylor in the distance. He didn't say anything, he simply stood there, silent, staring at me.

"Well, I'll meet ya in a bit to help skin those. I gotta go talk to my brother real fast." I said. "Just remember what I said, Dixon."

I smiled brightly as I walked away, leaving him there at the entrance to the woods, looking dumbfounded.

Somehow, someway, I felt accomplished.

A little while later, I made my way across the yard. I had spotted Daryl by his usual tree - the large oak far away from the rest of the group.

"Hi there." I said as I got close and took a bite out of the apple I'd gotten from Maggie.

He looked up from the squirrel he was skinning. "Hey." He mumbled.

I inwardly rolled my eyes and sat down next to him. I tossed the apple core behind me and pulled my knife out of its stealth on my belt and held out my hand.

"Will you hand me one, please?" I asked.

Without a word, he grabbed a squirrel and handed it to me. After working a while in silence and I was on my fourth squirrel, he finally broke it.

"So…" He began hesitantly. "What was your boyfriend like?"

I glanced over at his curiously. Maybe my little random speech had worked.

"Well… Nick was selfish, greedy, lazy, inconsiderate and only cared about himself." I explained.

It was such an odd topic he would chose.

"Sounds likea jackass. Ya didn' deserve that." He said. "How long were ya together?"

"Three years." I relied. "Stupid, huh?"

"Why tha hell'd ya put up with that shit for three years?" He asked, surprised.

"Stupidity." I shrugged. "Honestly, I was about to break up with him the day all this started. He'd been cheating on me too. Big shocker there, huh? My sister Cora had come over to mine place I shared with a few friends and Taylor. Her and Taylor wanted to be there for moral support, in case I started to cave - and in case he got violent. Before I could get it out, the warning blared on the TV to evacuate the city. We could hear screams from the streets, all the panic." I could feel his ice blue eyes on me, but I didn't look. I kept on. "We grabbed what we could and ran. The dead were coming at us from every which way…. Tons of 'em. I glanced over from fighting a few off with Taylor to see a few getting close to Nick and Cora. The next thing I saw has replayed in my mind so many times… I watched as Nick tripped Cora on purpose and left her to die. A walker got her. But he got away. As soon as he made it over to us, I knew what I had to do." I tried to wipe a lone tear away and hoped Daryl hadn't seen. "I did what I had to do, or he would've cost us our lives too. It haunts me all the time…"

I finally glanced over at Daryl. I hated the way he was looking at me. I could see the pity… but there was something else. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Would he think differently of me now that he knew my dirty little secret?

Finally, to my relief, he spoke. And I felt myself be able to breathe again.

"I couldn't imagine…"

"Please don't think less of me." I blurted out, wiping away the tears from my cheeks. "And don't you dare tell anyone you saw me crying. Especially Taylor."

"I don't think differently of ya." He said plainly. "If anythin', I think more of ya. Ya did what ya had to do for you and Taylor to survive. I dunno if I coulda done something like that so soon. And yer secret's safe wit me."

I gave him a crooked, sad smile as I sniffed.

"Dun't cry." He said uncomfortably.

"Sorry." I laughed lightly. "I've never told anyone that. Just kinda tried to forget it ever happened. Only Taylor knew."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why me?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. Just feel like I can talk to ya. And one day, Daryl Dixon, one day, you'll open up to me too."

"We'll see 'bout that, Red." He said with a shake of his head.