Daryl had come unraveled a week after their first time in the forest. They had only stayed at the storage lockers one night, and it had been a miserable one. They had the first really cold spell that night and none of them could get warm enough to go to sleep. The next day Maggie had complained about a sore throat and soon all of them had been feeling ill with flu to varying degrees.

After the lockers they'd spent a couple of days in relative comfort holed up in a small office building and had been able to rest more easily. Now, after a week of coughing, sneezing and fevers everyone was starting to feel better. Everyone except Daryl. The flu hadn't gotten to him as much as to the others, but the constant sneezing and coughing from virtually everyone had made it even more impossible for him to stay asleep at night. His latent headache had reached the proportion of a full-blown migraine.

They had been driving along country lanes all day, looking for a lonely farmstead or small hamlet off the beaten track. After a few days with little walker activity their luck had run out about two days ago and they'd been on the move almost constantly.

Daryl was riding in the passenger seat next to Rick. Over the last few hours he'd been in pure agony. He hadn't told anyone about his headaches so far, reckoning that none of them could do anything about it so discussing it was pointless. Now, though, his vision had started to blur and he knew it was only a matter of time, and a very short time at that, until the nausea would turn to real sickness. The thought had barely crossed his mind when a blinding stab of pain behind his eyes tipped him over the edge.

"Stop t'car, Rick."

Rick threw him a puzzled look but pulled over right away. Daryl was out of the car in a second. He only managed a few step before his whole world gave an almighty lurch and he staggered, struggling to stay upright. His stomach turned over and he bent double, retching. There was hardly anything to come up, but his aching head evidently hadn't gotten that message. He couldn't stop the retching for a long time, each convulsion shooting a new bolt of agony through his head. The stomach acid burned his throat and tears started running down his face from the pain.

The nausea finally receded somewhat, but when Daryl tried to straighten up everything started to spin and he staggered, almost losing his balance. Then Rick was there, catching hold of him as his knees threatened to give way and held him fast.

"I got ya."

For what felt like a long time Rick just held him, until the world slowed its spinning motion and his vision cleared. He finally became aware of the others staring and gently disentangled himself from Rick.

"S'alright now."

But Rick wouldn't let him go completely. He supported Daryl back to the car and helped him lower himself into the passenger seat, feet still out on the ground. Then Rick crouched down and looked at Daryl with a searching expression on his face.

"What was that all about?"

Daryl hesitated, but he knew Rick wouldn't let it go. Besides, his head still felt like it would burst any moment, and he wasn't at all sure he could hold it together when they continued driving.

"'s my head, feels like it's gonna split in two."

Rick frowned, then motioned to Hershel who'd been hovering close by. Daryl leaned sideways into the seat. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the darkness behind his lids was a relief.

He could hear Hershel's voice. "Have you ever suffered from migraines before?"

Daryl started to shake his head, then winced. That wasn't a good idea. "No," he said instead. Hershel didn't try to touch him, for which Daryl was grateful. Instead he went and rummaged in his bag.

"Some painkillers," he said when he came back. Daryl opened his eyes and accepted them, together with a bottle of water.

They waited another ten minutes for the pills to take the edge off, everyone giving Daryl his space, but throwing him anxious glances now and then. Daryl hated being the centre of attention, and to avoid seeing them all tiptoeing around him he sat back in the seat and closed his eyes.

The rest of the drive had gone by in a daze. Daryl had tried to concentrate on keeping his body in check, mostly keeping his eyes closed to avoid the light slicing into his brain. They had finally settled on a house that stood away from the main road they'd been following.

There had been several walkers lurking in the vicinity and it took the group longer than usual to clear the house itself. Daryl knew they were aware that they'd most likely be laid up for a few days and would need a solid hideout. He hated the thought that he was holding them all up, but he was sure that he wouldn't be able to travel for a while, and was grateful that the others took such care to ensure he'd have somewhere relatively safe to recover.

Once the house was clear Rick had come to get him from the car. Daryl was still feeling wobbly, and also quite sick again, but Rick held him carefully and made sure he got inside quickly. He carried on through the living room, though, where they usually camped all together.

"Where're we going?"

"First room off the hall has a bed. We've pulled down the blinds, and it'll be quieter than here with us. You need to sleep, man."

"Bed sounds nice."

Daryl felt a rush of gratitude for Rick. He let himself be led down the hall. In the darkened room he crawled onto the bed with Rick's help, stretched out and closed his eyes. It was a relief to be out of the light, out of the car. He heard Rick move around the room, then felt him sit down on the mattress.

Next, he felt something cool and wet on his forehead. He brought a hand up and it alighted on Rick's pressing a wet cloth to his forehead. For a moment Daryl held on to the other man's hand with a sigh. The coolness of the cloth was bliss. Rick squeezed his hand and pulled away. Daryl felt him shift on the bed.

"Take these."

Daryl opened his eyes and saw Rick hold out some more painkillers and water. He swallowed the pills, then lay back. Rick gazed down at him, looking concerned. Daryl attempted a smile.

"S'ok, man. Thanks for taking care of me."

Rick nodded, briefly held Daryl's hand that was lying between them on the mattress and stood up.

"Get some sleep."

He left, and Daryl closed his eyes. Finally, for the first time in days, he felt the tension ease in his mind and body, and it took only moments for him to fall asleep.

-.-

Daryl woke to complete darkness, and a strange softness all around him. It took him a full minute to remember what had happened, and why he was lying in a bed. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool, but the throbbing had eased. The nausea had mostly passed, too, though he felt quite thirsty.

Then he realized what had woken him. Quiet footsteps, then the feeling of a body carefully lowered onto the mattress behind him. Daryl didn't need to look who it was, he knew it could only be Rick. The other man stretched out next to him and lay very still.

Daryl turned around. He could barely make out Rick's outline in the almost complete darkness.

"Hey."

Rick shifted to face him. "Didn't mean to wake you."

Daryl made a dismissive noise. "Nah. Glad you did."

"Are you feeling any better?"

"Hmm." Daryl reached out until his fingers touched Rick's face. "Stay w'me a bit?"

"I was hoping to, yeah." Rick's smile was evident under Daryl's fingers.

Daryl scooted closer and Rick pulled him into a hug. Daryl's head came to rest on Rick's shoulder and he relaxed into the embrace. He felt like the awful headaches had almost been worth it just for this.