p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"I slumped to the ground. Taylor knelt beside me on the ground, holding my head against his chest and running his fingers through my hair. I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around what had just happened. I knew, as well as anyone else here, the odds of Sophia being alive were slim to none. But knowing she'd been in this barn all along was unnerving. I couldn't fathom how Daryl felt. All that time he spent in the woods, the lengths he'd went to, putting his life on the line, just to look for this girl were all in / br / "Don't look. Don't look." I heard Daryl tell Carol as he helped her to her / br / She shoved him off of her once she was on her feet and stormed off. I couldn't imagine the pain she was going through right / br / I looked back to see Lori and Carl sat on the ground a ways back, Carl cradled in his mother's arms, crying. Taylor helped me to my feet as Herschel, Maggie, Beth and Patricia headed back towards the farm / br / "You okay?" Daryl asked, placing a hand on my / br / "Yeah, I'm fine." I said / br / All I could think was how I wished I would have stayed in my make shift bed this / br / br / br / br / br / A while later, after I'd wiped the stream of tears from my face, I stood waist deep in a hole I was helping T-Dog dig. Beside me, Andrea and Taylor dug one for Maggie's step-mom and next to that, Shane shoved out dirt for Maggie's step-brother, Shawn. T-Dog had decided to try to lighten the situation by pointing out how short I was. The hole he stood in with me barely came up to his thighs, yet here I was, waist deep. Other than his taunts, we'd worked in silence. I tried to ignore Shane staring at me from across the graves. I caught sight of Taylor eyeing him daringly a few / br / Daryl had taken off towards the RV after Carol not long after she'd walked away from the barn. The clouds had started to darken and the wind was blowing, as if Mother Nature was mourning along with / br / "I'll go let them know we're ready." Lori / br / I grabbed T-Dog's hand as he helped me climb out of the / br / I watched as everyone started to gather around. Herschel had put on a suit for the burial of his wife and step-son. No one said anything. Nothing needed to be said, everyone just / br / br / br / After everyone took off in different directions, I decided to try to stay occupied and offered to help burn the bodies. I moved quietly as I helped Andrea and T-Dog load the walkers onto the back of the truck. br / br / When I helped sling a body onto the bed with Andrea's help, I / br / "Listen, Andrea…" I said. I wrung my hands together. I wasn't good with apologies. In all honesty, I didn't feel I needed to apologize for anything. But to ease the tension between us, and in light of all the other drama happening in the group, I thought it best to be the bigger / br / "Don't." She said. "Don't apologize. I would've done the same thing."br / br / I nodded. "Good, cause honestly, I'd do it again. Not trying to be a bitch, but I care about Daryl. And you almost killed him."br / br / "I know." She said, lowering her head. "It was stupid."br / br / "Everyone makes mistakes. Just thank goodness you're a terrible shot from about fifty yards." I said, / br / She laughed. "Yeah, thank goodness."br / br / "Y'all gonna stop your cluckin' and help me or what?!" T-Dog / br / br / br / br / After we were done, I sprinted across the yard towards Daryl's tent. My eyes narrowed as I noticed Lori standing by / br / "What's goin' on?" I / br / "Olive Oyl here wants me to go looking for her husband." Daryl scoffed. "Herschel went missing and him and Glenn went after him."br / br / "Beth is unconscious." She stated. "She's in some catatonic shock."br / br / "You have some fuckin' nerve, woman." I growled. "He's goddamn injured and you want him to go on a search and rescue for your husband?!"br / br / She frowned. "She needs help. Daryl, you're being selfish."br / br / "I'll check her out. You know I'm trained in the medical field too. I get her dad needs to know as well." I said hatefully. "And selfish? Really?! He was out there searching for Sophia everyday! You can't even keep up with your own son 'cause you're too busy playing games with your little love triangle! But you, you better get the fuck away from him before I make you regret this. Remember what I told you about Glenn? Same applies here. This is the last time I'll fuckin' say anything like this. Next time, you'll get what Andrea did. Now get the fuck out of here."br / br / She narrowed her eyes and squared her shoulders before taking / br / I huffed and shook my head before dropping Daryl's bag and his crossbow I'd retrieved from the house beside his / br / "Damn, Red. Yer scary when ya mad." He / br / "I'll take that as a compliment." I said, shaking my head. br / br / "What happened with Glenn?" He / br / "Oh, yeah. Forgot you missed some of the action." I laughed. "I went on that run with Glenn the other day and apparently ol' Olive Oyl had requested some morning after pills 'cause she's knocked up. Almost got us killed. So, when we got back, I flipped a script on her."br / br / "I tol' ya ass not ta go." He said / br / "Yeah, yeah, I know." I sighed. "I'm gonna go check on Beth."br / br / He shook his head as I stalked off back towards the house. My mind was racing as the anger coursed through me. emWhat was wrong with her? How selfish could/em emyou get?/em br / br / I skipped up the steps and towards the room Beth called her own. Inside I found Patricia, Andrea and / br / "She won't respond." Patricia / br / "Her heart's racing and she's burning up." Andrea / br / I nodded and sat down on the bed beside the blonde. I sat my backpack down and fished out a small flashlight. I pulled open her eyelids and flashed the light into each of her eyes before I took hold of her wrists to check her pulse. I felt her forehead, then turned to look at / br / "She's in shock." I said, clicking the flashlight off. "She just needs rest. Her pulse is strong and she's responsive. Give her time. I'll keep checking on her. Let me know if she becomes coherent. If she doesn't wake in about two hours, I'll need to set up an IV to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated."br / br / I stood up and exited the room. Before I could make it to the stairs, I heard footsteps behind / br / "River." Maggie / br / "Yeah?" I asked, turning to face her. br / br / "Thanks." She said, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a tight / br / "No problem." I sighed, hugging her back. "I'm sorry for what happened out there."br / br / "It's not your fault." Maggie reassured me. "You don't believe my dad knew that little girl was in there, do you?"br / br / "Of course, not!" I / br / She smiled and nodded before walking off back towards her sister's / br / br / br / br / That evening I sat around the table in the Greene's dining room for supper. Poor Carol looked a mess. She barely ate. I couldn't blame her. She had held onto the hope that her little girl would return to her, only to find that she was just a few yards away from her the whole time, in the worst twist of / br / "Has anyone seen Lori?" Maggie asked as she approached with a basket of / br / Everyone shook their / br / "Carl, when's the last time you saw your mom?" Shane / br / "This afternoon," He / br / "Lori asked me earlier to look in on Carl, but she didn't say anything else." Lori / br / "Think she went looking for them?" Maggie asked, referring to Herschel, Rick and / br / "She asked Daryl earlier to go looking for them in town." I / br / "And you two didn't say anything?" Carol / br / "We're not her damn keeper!" I / br / "Don't cuss in the house." Patricia said / br / Shane huffed and took off towards the cars. br / br / "Shane, wait!" T-Dog yelled, sprinting after the / br / I scoffed and shook my head as I poked the piece of apricot on my plate with a bit more force than necessary. br / br / These people were magnets for drama; always thinking about themselves and nothing about others. It was gonna end up getting people killed. br / br / "So, now four people are missing?" Taylor / br / "Guess so." I shrugged. "Glenn is fine…"br / br / I knew that's what Taylor was getting at. br / br / He nodded. "I know…"br / br / br / br / br / Only one of the missing group members returned that evening. Shane had pulled up with Lori, a bloody gash on her forehead, saying she'd been in an accident. As she asked everyone where Rick was, it became clear Shane had lied to get her back to the farm. He'd stated he had to keep her and the baby safe, spilling the beans to everyone about her pregnancy. I felt sorry for Carl that he had to find out that way. After rolling my eyes at the pair and reassuring Maggie that Glenn would return safe and sound, I'd helped Daryl to his tent, with much bitching from his part that he wasn't an imbecile. I'd huffed off to retrieve my tent and moved it closer to Daryl's so I could keep an eye on him. This also had received great bitching from him but I worked in silence and let him ramble /
br / Taylor moved his tent closer as well, being the loving nosy brother he was. We built a small fire near our tents since we were far away from the others and the nights were starting to cool off / br / br / br / br / I lay in my sleeping bag that night staring blankly at the roof of my tent. I felt sorry for Maggie and Carol. Their loved ones were either gone or wanted so desperately to be gone. I couldn't imagine ever feeling that low. I'd lost my parents but never once considered checking out. Even though my actions throughout life had been nothing shy of self destructive, it wasn't because I was consciously thinking I wanted to / br / Cora had taken our parents death the worst. She fell apart. She left home, left school. She bounced around from place to place, city to city, strung out on heroin. It took her three years, two stare downs with death and an abusive boyfriend before she finally called. She had almost pulled a real Jim Morrison on us. We had all flown out to Paris to get her. She was a mess. She'd easily lost fifty pounds; weight the girl didn't have to lose to begin with. Her arm was covered in needle marks. I remember seeing her in the airport, a hallow shell of what used to be my sister. She'd sobbed uncontrollably when she saw us. br / br / "Hey." I heard Daryl's voice say, breaking my train of / br / "Yeah?" I called back, wiping the tears from my / br / "Come here." He / br / I let out an aggravated sigh, got out of my sleeping back and crawled out of my / br / "You okay?" I asked, as I climbed into his / br / He sat propped up in his sleeping bag, camping lantern on. br / br / "Got any liquor left?" He asked. br / br / I chuckled. "Yeah. Wanna drink with me?"br / br / He nodded. I slid out of the tent without a word and fetched my backpack from my / br / "You been reading?" I asked as I entered again, nodding to my book that laid beside / br / "Yeah, a lil," He admitted, rubbing the back of his / br / "It's good, right?" I said, unzipping my / br / I pulled out the bottle and two small plastic cups. br / br / "It's alrigh'." He / br / I poured a little of the clear liquid into each and handed one to him. br / br / "Cheers." I said, raising my / br / "Cheers." He mumbled, bumping his glass against / br / br / br / br / A few hours later, we'd reached the bottom of the bottle. I was giggly from my portion of the undertaking. I could see the effects the alcohol was having on Daryl as well. He was relaxed and comfortable; unlike I'd ever seen / br / "Hang on; I'll go sneak some from Tay." I / br / I got out of Daryl's tent and stumbled slightly over to Taylor's. I tried hard to enter it quietly and not wake him up, but that was hindered when I tripped over his / br / "Owf!"br / br / "Dammit, what the holy hell are you doin' in here, ya crazy bitch?!" Taylor / br / "Shhhhh!" I hissed / br / "Are you drunk?" He said, lips curling up into a / br / "Shhh." I hissed again. "Maybe. Now fork over whatever you got left. I'll get ya back."br / br / "You know the cost." He smiled, reaching for his bag. "What's your poison? Vodka, whiskey, gin, tequila, bourbon?"br / br / "Goddamn, you got all that?" I said eyes / br / "Course I do." He laughed. "I don't breeze through it like you. Why do you like drinkin' alone?"br / br / "I'm not drinkin' alone. Ass." I / br / Eyes widening, he laughed. "You're drinking with Daryl?!"br / br / "SHHHHHH." I hissed once more. "Just gimme the damn liquor."br / br / He chuckled, handing me his whole bag. "Take it all. You need to get laid."br / br / "Oh, god, please stop." I said, taking the bag and darting out of the / br / "Look what I got." I said doing a little dance as I entered Daryl's tent. br / br / His eyes widened as I showed him the bottles. br / br / br / br / br / I yawned and stretched as I moved slightly, waking up just enough to realize I was still in bed. My head was hurting and I groaned, deciding immediately I needed more sleep. I snuggled back up against him and wrapped my arm around his waist, his arm pulling me closer to his chest. I let out a content sigh as I began to drift back into / br / emWait/em…br / br / My eyes flew open. My head was laid against Daryl's chest, arm around his middle. His arm was around my shoulders, nuzzling me closer to him. He let out a sigh as my eyes widened to the size of / br / emOh, fuckin' / /embr / I couldn't slip out. His arm was tight around me. I started to panic, unsure if he even remembered me falling asleep here. Did I even remember?br / br / I recalled getting cold the night before and Daryl offering to let me slip into the sleeping bag for warmth. That was it. That was all I remembered. br / br / emOh, / br / "Hey River, wake up." I heard Taylor's voice / br / emOh, son of a bitch!/embr / br / I shut my eyes as tight as I could possibly get them as if this would make me disappear. br / br / I heard the tent next to Daryl's unzip and Taylor's loud laugh. br / br / "Shit." I / br / I watched as Taylor's shadow came across the tent and stopped. br / br / He cleared his throat and laughed once more. "So, uh… River… if you're in there…you should get up."br / br / "He figured it out, huh?" Daryl's voice whispered in my / br / I nearly shot out of my skin. br / br / "Sorry, didn't mean at scare ya." He laughed lightly. br / br / "I might as well tell him." I whispered. "He'll come in here. I'm not kidding."br / br / I sighed and got up out of the sleeping bag and made my way over to the door. I unzipped the flap and stuck my head out. br / br / Taylor's laughter filled the air. br / br / "Shut your damn face, take your bag and fuck off." I hissed, tossing his bag he'd given me with the liquor in it out of the door and darting back / br / "You know my price, princess." Taylor said as he walked / br / "Oh, God," I sighed. "He's never gonna let me live this down. And we didn't even do anything!"br / br / Daryl shook his head as he sat up. br / br / "Uh, I'll slip out and go change." I said, grabbing my backpack. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."br / br / "It's okay. I told ya to." He said, / br / "Oh. Okay." I said. "I'll see ya in a bit."br / br / I smiled at him before I ducked out of the tent and darted into my / br / I sat down on my sleeping bag, my eyes widening again as realization set in. I sighed and began to get ready for the / br / br / br / As I slipped into the bright sunlight, I scowled. The group was huddled together around the farm house. I saw Glenn and my heart skipped a beat. I whispered my thanks to the breeze that blew by me as I raced towards / br / "Oh, thank God!" I said as I flung my arms around / br / "Hey you," He laughed, wrapping me up in a tight / br / "I was so worried." I sighed as I pulled away from / br / "Heard you been busy," He smiled. br / br / "Shut up." I said, rolling my / br / "What's goin' on?" Daryl / br / "We came across a group of men in town. A boy fell on a gate, impaling his leg. We brought him back here." Rick said. "I need to talk to you alone, Daryl."br / br / Daryl nodded and followed the man away from the / br / "So…" Taylor said, shifting his weight from foot to / br / "No." I snapped. "Don't even. Nothing happened."br / br / "Wait… what?" Glenn asked, raising an / br / "What's goin' on guys?" Maggie asked as she walked / br / "River slept in Daryl's tent last night." Taylor / br / "Oh, for fuck's sake," I sighed, as Maggie and Glenn's jaws dropped. "I'm just gonna walk away calmly."br / br / I started across the yard towards the back of the house. I heard someone running up to me just a moment / br / "Hey." Maggie said as she came up beside / br / "Hey." I said without looking over at / br / "Let's go pick some apples." She / br / I nodded and followed her to the apple tree around the back of the house. I slipped my backpack off and sat it down at the base of the trunk, along with my bow and quiver. We arranged the baskets under the tree before climbing / br / Perched high in the apple tree, I saw Maggie staring at me from the other / br / "Nothing happened." I said, dropping an apple onto the ground, missing the basket / br / "I didn't say it did." She smiled. "What did happen?"br / br / "We just drank some and talked." I shrugged. "I got cold, he let me sit with him in his sleeping bag and we passed out."br / br / Maggie smiled widely. "I think he's really into you."br / br / br / br / br / I walked with Maggie, basket of apples in hand, around the house. We'd spent the good part of the morning high in the tree. We'd decided since today was a warm day, and probably one of the last we'd see for a while since fall was creeping up on us, to take a dip in the pond out back. I walked into the house with Maggie to get ready. After we'd slipped on our bathing suits, we set out, towels in hand and our spirits / br / "This will be so relaxing, and almost feels normal." I sighed as we reached the / br / "Let's do this." Maggie / br / I quickly shed my t-shirt and shorts, down to my black and white polka dot bikini, and rushed into the cool / br / br / br / We spent the next hour splashing around like the world wasn't destroyed. We floated and swam and chatted away as if we'd been friends since birth. It was nice being able to talk to Maggie about anything and nothing at all. br / br / Once we started to prune, we slipped out of the water. I laid out the blanket I'd brought as Maggie got the snacks she'd packed; crackers, peanut butter and apple / br / As we sat eating, a noise came from behind us. We whirled around, knives already in hand, to see Shane. He threw his hands up in mock surrender and / br / "Hey ladies," He / br / "Hey." Maggie said / br / "I was just wantin' to talk to River." Shane / br / "Will you be okay?" Maggie / br / I nodded. "Yeah."br / br / I widened my eyes / br / Maggie stood up cautiously and grabbed her clothes before setting off past Shane. She gave a quick glance back at me. I knew she was going to go tell someone. br / br / "What can I help ya with Shane?" I / br / "Well…" He laughed, walking over to me. "I was just wondering…"br / br / He reached out and brushed his hand over my shoulder and I shuttered. My breathing began to race. br / br / "… you know I like you, River. Why don't we stop kidding ourselves and give in?" He said / br / "Give in to what?" I / br / "To our desires. I know you want me too." He replied, brushing a strand of my wet hair out of my face. "Let's face it. I'm your only option. Glenn is your friend, and if you haven't banged him by now, you're not gonna. T-Dog doesn't seem like your type, ol' Dale is out of his league when it comes to ya, Daryl -" He laughed. "That redneck wishes."br / br / I felt the anger wash over me, consuming every last fiber of my being. My hands began to shake as I felt myself losing control. I shoved Shane back as hard as I / br / "You shut your mouth!" I / br / He raised his eyebrows. "I like a girl with some spunk. But you're a fiery thing. What did I do? Hit a nerve about the redneck? Is that it?"br / br / "Stop calling him redneck." I / br / I glanced down to see the knife laying just a ways away on the blanket. emStupid girl/em, I thought to myself. emWhy didn't you keep that in your hand?/embr / br / Shane must've seen me look because by the time I locked eyes with him again, I could see the anger burning behind them. He lunged forward before I could even comprehend what was happening and grabbed me around my throat. I was lifted off my feet and immediately felt my back scrape against the tree behind me as my head hit the trunk / br / I was slightly dazed for a second from the impact. I was fighting against him as hard as I could as I tried desperately to gasp for air. I could see it in his eyes - he wasn't going to stop till I stopped / br / I felt my strength start to falter as my mind became fuzzy. Of all the ways to go in this new world, I was going to be strangled by a psycho ex-deputy because I didn't like him. / br / "Drop 'er!" I heard a gruff voice / br / I was let go of, sliding painful down the ragged bark of the tree. I gasped and coughed; my throat was so sore it brought tears to my eyes to even breathe. I looked up to see Daryl standing there, the meanest look I'd ever seen on his face, crossbow pointed at Shane's / br / "Look, girly. Your boyfriend is here." Shane / br / "Back away from 'er," Daryl demanded, inching / br / "Or what redneck?" Shane / br / "Or this arrow goes through yer forehead." Daryl replied. "Now move it!"br / br / Shane threw his hands up once more and laughed. He took a few steps away from me, shaking his head. br / br / Glancing over at me, he smiled. "Have fun with your redneck, princess. We'll chat later."br / br / Daryl's aim followed him as he disappeared into the woods. As soon as he was out of sight, he rushed over to / br / "You alright?" He / br / "Yeah." I said quietly, hand still on my / br / "C'mon, let's go get ya patched up." He said, helping me to my / br / br / br / As we approached the house and the group, he started to veer towards the right, away from our tents. br / br / "Where we goin'?" I / br / "Pit stop." Daryl said / br / Rick eyed us suspiciously as we approached / br / "What happened?" He asked as he glanced at my / br / "Yer boy attacked her. She and Maggie were swimming in the pond. Maggie came running over to me saying Shane had come out there and wanted to talk to River alone. When I got out there he had her by her throat off the ground against a tree." Daryl explained with malice in his voice. "Look at her throat!"br / br / Rick sighed and his eyes dropped to the ground for a moment. "I'm so sorry, River."br / br / "Ya gonna take care of this or am I?" Daryl asked. br / br / "I'll handle him." Rick said quietly. "Stay far away from him until then, River. I knew he was losing it, but I didn't think he was already gone."br / br / Daryl nodded before I could even speak. He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the man and over towards our / br / "Get in." He said, shoving the flap of his tent open. "I'll get ya med bag."br / br / I didn't argue with him. Mainly because I knew it would hurt like hell if I did. I climbed into his tent and sat down beside his sleeping / br / "On the bag," He said, pointing to the sleeping bag as he came / br / "Get me something for your cuts. Yer back looks like Wolverine got 'hold o' ya." He said, sitting down beside me. "And some pain medicine. Yer hurtin', I'm sure."br / br / "I can't swallow them." I said as I handed him the alcohol and / br / "I'll get yer bruther so he can give ya summat liquid shit." He said. "Turn around. This is gonna sting."br / br / br / br / br / A while later, I lay in Daryl's sleeping bag. He had insisted I stay where I was. I'd agreed just to make him happy. I stared at the ceiling of the tent, mind a blur. br / br / "Where is she?" I heard Taylor / br / "In my tent," Daryl / br / A moment later, the tent door flew open as Taylor came in, Daryl right behind him. I could see the outline of a black eye forming on Taylor's left / br / "You went and found him, didn't you?" I said / br / He nodded. "I told ya I was gonna end up killin' him, didn't I?"br / br / "Yeah, ya did." I / br / I groaned and coughed, putting my hand up to my / br / "C'mon, let's get ya some medicine so you'll feel better." Taylor said, taking my medical supply / br / "Were ya in med school too, man?" Daryl asked as he watched / br / "Nope, just a needle junkie for a few years," He answered without looking / br / I frowned as I saw Taylor was almost / br / "What's wrong?" Daryl / br / "She hates needles." Taylor said for / br / "Ya were a nurse and I've seen some of yer tattoos. How's that work?" He / br / "I can give shots and stuff but getting them is different. And tattoo guns barely break the first few layers of skin, shots and IVs go a lot further." I / br / "Hey, I brought ya some of yer books from yer car." Daryl said / br / I knew he was trying to keep my mind off Taylor coming at me with a / br / "Thanks." I said with a smile. "What did you bring?"br / br / I scrunched up my face and drew in a quick breath as I felt the needle go into my skin. br / br / "Uh, Harry Potter wizard guy," Daryl said as he took the books out of his bag. "The Great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye. "br / br / "Great choices," I said. "I won't be able to finish all those."br / br / "Sure ya will." Daryl said. "While ya restin'."br / br / "Resting?" I asked. "It's just my throat."br / br / "I'm with Daryl." Taylor said as he put a bandage on my arm. "You stay put. You get in a tricky situation, you can yell for help."br / br / I rolled my eyes. br / br / "Roll 'em all ya want." Daryl said. "Ya trapped. And ya sleep in someone else's tent from now on. Dun't want ya alone. Dunno what that psycho might try 'nd pull."br / br / My mouth dropped open to protest but Taylor snapped his fingers. "Don't argue."br / br / "Did you just snap your fingers at me like a dog?" I asked, raising my / br / "Yes, I did. Now, obey!" He laughed. br / br / "This is my own personal hell." I / br / br / br / br / That evening I sat in Daryl's tent, snuggled up in his sleeping bag with my sweatpants on, book in hand. He'd given me The Great Gatsby to start off with and it was only half a day into my sentence, but I'd already made it halfway / br / "River!" Maggie / br / I looked up from my task of sharpening my knife as I saw the brown haired girl running towards us in a panic. br / br / "It's Beth!" She yelled. "Daddy needs help!"br / br / I jumped to my feet and darted to my tent for my bag of medical supplies. I followed the brown haired girl with haste into the farm / br / As I reached the landing, I could see in the room. There was blood all over the / Entering the room, I saw where the blood was coming from… her / br / I cringed slightly as I slung my bag onto the bed and ripped it open. br / br / "You were supposed to be watching her!" Maggie yelled to / br / I laid out my supplies and quickly began to stitch up her wrist, Herschel on the other side of the bed stitching up the other. I could see Maggie panicking from the other side of the / br / "She's gonna be okay…" I assured her without looking / br / "She had to find her own reasons to live…" Andrea / br / "Are you fuckin' kidding me?!" I snapped. "Get the fuck outta here!"br / br / "What happened?" Taylor's stunned voice / br / "Tay, get me some pain medicine ready." I said, starting to feel myself / br / "Yeah," His voice was / br / I could tell by his reaction he was starting to care for the blonde. I hoped his emotions wouldn't cloud his mind. I needed him right / br / "Taylor..." I said, glancing up at / br / He stood frozen in the doorway looking on at the scene. Daryl crept up behind him, eyes wide as he took in what was going / br / "Now, Taylor!" I / br / He began to move with / br / "Daryl." I said, without a glance up. "Will you dig through that bag and find gauze and tape?"br / br / "Uh, yeah," He mumbled, / br / As I cut the thread and finished up, I held out my hand as if he knew what to hand / br / "I, uh…" He / br / "Sorry. I need gauze." I said. br / br / He placed the large gauze in my hand. "Now, tape. Get another ready for Herschel."br / br / He grunted in reply as I fixed the bandage over the girl's stitched up / br / "Tourniquet," I / br / "What are you giving her?" Maggie asked. br / br / "Morphine for the pain," I answered without looking up. br / br / I could see Taylor's hands shaking as I administered the medicine. Once I was done, I pulled the tourniquet off and reached over, placing my hand on top of / br / "I got it." I said. "Thanks…"br / br / br / br / br / Once I returned to the tent and snuggled down, I heard footsteps approaching. br / br / "Knock, knock." I heard Maggie say from outside the / br / "Come in." I said as loud as I / br / She frowned as she entered. "I brought ya some soup. I'm so sorry!"br / br / She sat the soup down and flung her arms around me, squeezing / br / "Ouch." I / br / "Oh, I'm sorry." She jerked away quickly. "I should have never left ya alone with him!"br / br / "You did the right thing, Maggie." I reassured her. "If you hadn't gone and got Daryl, there's no telling what he would've done to BOTH of us. And no one would've ever known."br / br / She nodded. "But still, I could've done something. Hit him with a pan."br / br / I chuckled. "I'm pretty sure we didn't pack a pan to go swimming."br / br / She / br / "Thank you for helping Beth." She said. "You're a good friend."br / br / "You're welcome." I said with a smile. "With you being with Glenn and Taylor and Beth talking, it's like you're practically family now."br / br / "So, does that mean Daryl is family now too?" She asked, raising her / br / I laughed. "No because we're not together."br / br / "If you say so. But I see you have a guard dog." She said, nodding towards the tent / br / "What?" I / br / "Daryl." She said. "He's sat out there the whole time you've been resting; won't move an inch. Asked Glenn and Taylor if they'd make sure they didn't leave your side if he decided to go hunting tomorrow."br / br / "Oh." I said, blush rising in my / br / "Get some rest." She said, placing a hand on top of mine. "I'll come check on you tomorrow."/span/p