LIGHT A FIRE

{Author's Note: Thank you to all who have reviewed/followed/added to alerts & favourites, *hugs*. I am in the midst of writing an 'M' rated Daryl story set before the outbreak called 'Forget Me Not', so keep an eye out if you guys are interested ;). Enjoy the chapter! Please read and review :).}

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the character(s) you don't recognise.
Lyrics: Nothing Else Matters by Metallica.

Trust I seek and I find in you,
Everyday for us something new,
Open mind for a different view,
And nothing else matters…

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[THE FUNERAL HOME|TWO HOURS LATER]

Pain. I was in so much pain.
It felt as though I had been kicked in the stomach multiple times and then been left down in the dirt.
My eyes instinctively shot open as I gasped aloud from the soreness, trying to check the area where the source of pain was coming from, before feeling someone's hands gently pushing my shoulders down.

"You shouldn't move…"

"Daryl?" I lifted my confused gaze up to his as I smiled in relief, not remembering anything of the last few hours.
"You're here…"

He looked nervous, "You remember nothin'?"

"I…" Grimacing, I then widened my eyes and forced myself to sit up, almost screaming in pain, "Beth! Is she okay? There were walkers-"

Daryl tried to get me to calm down as he sighed at seeing blood start to soak the rag of fabric around my wound, "Tessa! Stay the hell still! Beth's fine!"

Smiling in relief, I then followed his concerned gaze to where my vest top had been crudely torn and a wound was visible, "Oh my God…Harry…please, no! What did he do to me?! WHAT HE DID DO?!"
My voice started to rise in octave as I got more and more agitated before trying to rip off the material obstructing my view of the injury.

"Tessa!" He then grabbed onto my face as he fought against my panic attack to make me look at him, "You were shot, I had to get the bullet out before it got infected!"

My breath was hitching as tears were streaming down my cheeks, "I thought I was going to die…I'd rather die than be with him…"

His hands were shaking as they still stayed on my face, keeping my gaze locked on his so that I couldn't dwell on my injury.
He was troubled and angst-ridden, but I couldn't determine why.
Then he let all of his pent up emotions loose.

"Harry? He one of the assholes who took you?!" His blue eyes glared with rage as he continued, "They…did he…"
Although he trailed off due to not being able to voice the question he wanted to ask, I knew exactly what he wanted to know.

"No…" I answered him back quietly as I shook my head, trying to turn away from him.

"Tessa…"

"Daryl," I paused, before looking back at him, "He…Harry is gone! I don't want to think about what he might have done or even what he has done."
I saw the cogs turning behind his eyes as his brain went a mile a minute to figure out what I might be keeping from him.

Sighing, I carefully moved my hands up to cover his over my cheeks as I said gently, "He was one of the men who killed my brother, that's all I want to say…"

He looked at me deeply, "You were gonna give up; I saw you…"

I shook my head lightly, "I had to make a decision. If I'd of gone back then they'd of…" Trailing off, I enclosed my fingers around his and pulled his hands away, "It wasn't an easy choice to make."

"You promised you wouldn't give up!"
The intense passion behind his tone of voice sent shockwaves through me.

I froze in place as my lips parted in shock, "I didn't know what to do…"
A tear escaped down my cheek as I turned away from him, "Please, I can't dwell on this. I'm just trying to focus on the joy of having Beth with us and…" I then turned back round to face him, "That you aren't hurt."

Daryl chewed on his bottom lip before mumbling, "We should stay here for a while…you need to rest up."

"What is this-" My eyes widened as I finally realised exactly what the long 'box' was behind Daryl.
"Is that a coffin?"

A slight smirk touched his lips as he grunted in response, "Looks comfy…"

I started to laugh but soon regretted my actions as pain once again stabbed into my lower body, "Oh God…"
Groaning, I hung my head down so that I could inspect the wound, as I pulled off the strip of vest covering it.

The injury had been messily-but carefully-stitched together with the smell of alcohol burning my nostrils as the area looked red and swollen.
"Is this normal?" I looked up at him briefly with my eyes wide.

"Yeah, Merle got shot in the arm once and it was worse than that. You in pain?"
He looked concerned.

I shook my head, "I'm fine…"

He must have known I was trying to put on a brave face as he scoffed and leant over to give me a bottle of bourbon.
"Beth found this. We ain't got any meds, but Merle claimed this was better anyway…"

"Bourbon?" I raised an eyebrow but took the bottle from him gratefully as I unscrewed the top and brought it up to my lips, "I'm more of a peach schnapps kind of girl."

Daryl scoffed, "Ain't no peach schnapps helpin' you with the pain!"

"No, but it doesn't taste like you're drinking raw sewage…" I countered back with a slight smirk before taking a swig and coughing, "Okay, I was being dramatic…this isn't too bad!"

I heard Beth come into the room as she yawned before smiling brightly at me, "Tess! Are you okay? I tried to find you some meds, but Daryl thought that alcohol would be better."

Laughing, I nodded slowly, "It…uhm…takes away the edge. You fancy some? I think that we've all aged about ten years since yesterday, so don't worry…I won't tell." I smiled softly before passing her the bottle.

Beth made a grimace as she sniffed the bottle, "Urgh! People actually enjoy this?"

"Some…but I think that peach schnapps would be more your thing. I used to drink that a lot when I was younger."

She looked nervously at the bottle before taking a sip, "It's…better than I thought it would be."

Daryl took the bottle from her as he took a long swig, "Ain't had this in years…"

I smiled to myself at seeing both of them more relaxed, before looking around the room in fascination, "So, this is a funeral home? There aren't any…you know?"

Beth nodded as she the shrugged, "One downstairs. But…he looks peaceful; I think that it's nice…"

Daryl scoffed again, "Why? He ain't gonna care."

"It's meant to be for the loved ones as well. So that we can see that they are gone and no longer there…" I answered for Beth as it was my turn again to take a mouthful of the bourbon.

She nodded, "We forget how things used to be, because we're used to seeing the walkers and stuff."

I sat back quietly, contemplating what she had said, "There will be a time when we have a safe haven again and the walkers will no longer be a threat-"

"No, then people are." Daryl had then looked at me seriously, his expression one of reflection.

We all sat there silently as I shook my head, "No! I refuse to let what happened at the prison shape us! Beth found us, who's to say that we won't find others?"

Beth smiled as she nodded in agreement before looking over at Daryl, "We could stay here for a few more days, and then travel north?"

Daryl looked unsure but nodded anyway.
He was about to say something when suddenly a weird clanging noise outside could be heard as he stood up swiftly and grabbed his crossbow.

"Walkers?" I looked up at Beth in uncertainty before making an attempt to get up and help them.

Beth quickly leant over to keep me still, "Tessa, you're still recovering! You need to stay here, I'll go and help Daryl, okay?"
She gave me a firm look that was reminiscent of Herschel before following after Daryl.

I couldn't stop the anxiety that was taking over as I strained my ears to hear the recognizable growling or snarling, but instead only heard Daryl sounding shocked as the door was shut and he came back into the room.
"Everything okay?" I asked whilst checking them both over with my eyes for any signs of distress.

Daryl had shrugged, "Just some dog…"

I started to settle down again as I laid back down, this heavy feeling washing over me.

Beth had come over to me as she inspected my injury, "We should clean this again…it might hurt."

My eyes followed Daryl as he handed Beth the bottle of bourbon before he climbed up into the coffin and laid down in it.
"You're sleeping in a coffin?" I made a face before hissing in pain at Beth pouring the bourbon on my wound, "Jesus!"

"Sorry…" She smiled sympathetically before grabbing a spare strip of fabric that had come from Daryl's shirt, as she wrapped it around my waist, drenching it in the bourbon whilst she tied it securely, "I'll just clean the graze on your shoulder…you ready?"

"Uh huh…" By now I had my eyes firmly shut and was trying to block out the uncomfortable stinging sensation.

When I had opened my eyes, I could see Daryl watching me from the coffin, his eyes full of remorse as I forced a smile for him, "I'm fine…just stings."

Beth then pulled back, "You should get some sleep, I can take the first watch?"

Daryl made a noise from his 'bed', "Ain't any reason to-"

"No, but I prefer to." She smiled before giving my hand a quick squeeze in reassurance as she went to look out of the window.

I laughed at the defeated expression on Daryl's face, "You can't win against two women…"
My eyelids were starting to droop as I was forced to close them, "Just wake me up when it's my…turn…I…can…"
By the last word sleep had taken its hold on me and even the dull ache from my afflictions couldn't keep me awake.

-+-
[LATER THAT NIGHT]
-+-

I was jolted awake by a strange scratching sound coming from the front door, as I groggily forced myself to sit up.

"Is it the dog?" I asked with a yawn as I placed the palm of my hands either side of me and forced myself to push my body up, shocked at how sore I felt.

Daryl chewed on whatever he had just shoved into his mouth before saying, "Ima' give it one last chance…"

I couldn't help but smile to myself at how he had this genuine love of animals and wanted to help the stray.

Beth had come over to me as she helped me to stand, "You okay?"

"Stop worrying…" I smiled tiredly at her before hearing Daryl open the door and yell to us.

"WALKERS!"

Both of us widened our eyes, as I stumbled towards Daryl, "I'M NOT LEAVING-"

"GO!"

Beth looked torn, but knew that she had to make the decision for us both.
She then grabbed my hand and wrapped my arm around her shoulder as she pulled me out the back door of the funeral home.

Walkers were coming out from every available area, as I found it hard to understand how we didn't have a bigger warning until they were upon us.

"Beth!" I immediately stopped, forcing her to turn to look at me, "I can't leave him…I have to go back!"

"Tessa-"

"Keep going Beth! We'll catch up with you!" I looked at her firmly before making a move to go back.

"Tess!" She then shoved her knife into my hand, "You'll need this! Don't worry; you can give it back when we meet up!"

I looked down at the knife as I smiled at her gratefully, "Be careful!"

Beth looked anxious but nodded as I turned and ran as best as I could towards the funeral home.

"DARYL?!"
The pain in my abdomen was agonizing and I couldn't see past the many walkers that were now over crowding the house.

" DA-"

"Tess!" He had bounded up to me quickly, his appearance dishevelled as he looked worried, "You okay? Where's Beth?"

I ran with him towards where I had left Beth, "She told me that-"

Then I saw it.
Items from Beth's backpack were strewn on the ground as if there had been some sort of struggle.
"BETH?" I called out anxiously before we both turned swiftly at hearing the screeching of tyres as a car could be seen speeding away.

Both of us didn't need to be told twice to go after it.
I was feeling this tremendous guilt of leaving her; I should have been there to stop it.

We followed it as far as we could go before Daryl collapsed to his knees in the middle of the road and hung his head low.
He was feeling the pressure of the last couple of days, and I didn't know what to do to help him.

"Daryl…" I knelt down as I wrapped my arms around him in an embrace, holding onto him tightly so that I could give him any kind of consolation.

"Mmmm…I'll have what he's havin'!"

Swiftly, Daryl had pulled me protectively by his side as he aimed his crossbow at a man who was watching us in fascination.
He wasn't the one that had spoken though, that title fell on a man who looked as though he hadn't seen a bar of soup in decades.
Fear was starting to set in as I noticed more men coming to surround us.

"I'm claimin' that vest…I like them wings!" The same man that had spoken earlier now turned his attention to Daryl, causing me to shakily hold up Beth's knife in defence.

A man-whom I presumed was the leader of the gang-smiled at us as he held up his hands.
"Come on now, killin' me won't make a damn bit of difference…all it'd do is get you killed."

I watched him closely as I remained quiet, feeling the caution emit from Daryl.

The man sighed, "I'm not gonna hurt you both! We live by rules! Codes…Why hurt yourself, when you can hurt others?"
He then gestured to my side, "You're injured? We have painkillers…"

Feeling exposed, I wrapped my arms around my waist to cover up my skin before opening my mouth to protest when Daryl looked over at me, his eyes inspecting my slightly bleeding wound.

The stranger seemed to automatically know what he was going to say, as he said, "We're all friends here…I'm Joe."