setting: between episodes 6 "Secrets" and 7 "Pretty Much Dead Already"

Salvation

Chapter 15 - Stand Up

The heat of the sun woke Daryl up. He groaned gently and tried to turn on his back but it was impossible. He felt Connor's arm and leg around his waist and thigh and he was holding him so tight that it was impossible to move. He growled and let his head drop again. "Jesus" he murmured and glared at the ceiling for a while. He could feel the other man's chest rising and falling against his back with every breath he took. Daryl sighed and turned his head to look at sleeping Connor behind him. Ever since he had tried to kill himself just a couple of days ago there was always that certain fear of waking up to an empty spot next to him and finding Connor hanging somewhere again. But he could feel him breathing and relaxed a bit. He knew that it was kind of stupid and pathetic. He was supposed to hate the blonde, but it were moments like this that made it impossible for him to hate the guy. Quite the opposite. After that crazy suicide attack he was glad that he was still alive. Just finishing his thoughts made him angry again. Christ, was that asshole turning him into a sissy like him now?He growled and got rid of Connor's arm and leg. The Irishman moaned and turned on his back to sleep on, but since Daryl thought he needed a decent payback he decided to slap his face. The Irishman's eyes snapped open and he grabbed his cheek.

"What te fuck?"

"Morning sunshine" Daryl said and sat up.

"I told yah t'get yer hands off me."

"I get yerhands off ye fer that!" Connor growled and kicked Daryl's thigh, who boxed and kicked back.

Once again they started another day with fighting and beating the shit out of each other until Daryl managed to grab Connor's bruised neck and Connor managed to box Daryl's wound. Both of them groaned in pain and stopped immediately. The Irishman was still lying half way across his friend who pressed his hand on his injury.

"Yah fucker!" he grunted and Connor was still gasping for air.

"Redneck asshole!" he answered and for a while they just lay there like that and groaned in pain. Connor got up and eyed Daryl.

"Yer alright? Fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta hit that."

"Yeah, yah better say the truth. I'll kill yah if yah did it on purpose."

Connor flashed Daryl his tattoo with an raised eyebrow and then lifted Daryl's shirt up.
He slapped his hands away but Connor wouldn't leave it and checked on his stitches.

"Ye're going ta live."

"Yeah ,but I'm not so sure about you yah stupid asshole."

"You punched me in te face, you started et!"

"Because you had yer fangs all over me again!"

"Fuck you, I didn't! I'd never touch ye, you were just having a wet dream, admit it!"

And Daryl punched him again but this time with his fist. Connor groaned and fell back. It took him a moment to focus again because Daryl had hit him pretty hard. He placed a hand on his eye and groaned. One moment Connor considered fighting back but then he remembered Daryl's injury and how furious they both were. They'd end up beating each other dead. He massaged his abused eye and then looked at Daryl. He was having trouble seeing properly because his left eye was swelling already. Connor took a deep breath and relaxed his hands that had been clenched to a tight fist. "Right" he said and grabbed his clothes to change. Daryl was quite surprised himself. It hadn't been their first fight. Most of the time they really meant to hurt each other. They had enough bruises already, but in the end they had still managed to keep track of their injuries. It didn't take long and Connor's left eye was swollen and black. Daryl had never managed to really beat him black and blue before, so he felt uneasy about it.

"Yah ok?" he asked after a moment of gathering himself and calming down.

Connor grinned at him.

"Af course Murph. I just happen ta be the mature one taday" he said and pointed his gun at Daryl.

"Ye know I could beat te shit outta you fer that. But I don't want us ta kill each other in te end. So I'm going ta let ye win this time."

There was a thin line of blood running down his eye and Daryl felt even more sorry.

Hadn't he refused to become like his father?

"Yer bleeding."

Connor placed a fingertip on his cheek and looked at the red spot for a moment. Then he smirked at Daryl. He looked horrible like that.

"Good punch, dear brother" he said and left the tent.

Connor had trouble seeing properly but in the end he managed to get outside the tent and head for the camp.
People looked at him in surprise but he just smiled at them although his eye and head hurt pretty badly.

"Me and Daryl today?" he asked Rick and Shane who stood around a car with the map again.

Both men looked at him in surprise and then Rick frowned.

"What happened?"

"Ah, just fell" Connor said and Shane raised an eyebrow.

"I've never seen someone getting a black eye from falling."

"Yeah? Now yer seeing one. So. I wanna join yer search again. How about I take that grid?" he asked and pointed at the map.

"Connor.." Rick began but Connor pointed at him.

"Don't fuckin start...and you shut the fuck up an don't touch me with yer stupid macho behavior" he said and looked at Shane who snorted.

"How are yah supposed to find a little girl, hiding in the woods, when you can hardly see a thing? You can't even protect yourself or shoot like that buddy."

Connor grabbed his gun and turned around. He aimed at an empty beer can that stood on top of a car and shot it.
One clean shot knocked it off the car, although it was quite some distance away. He turned around again and looked at Shane.

"Oh believe me 'buddy' I can shot an ant fram here."

Shane and Rick looked at him for a moment and Shane smirked.

"Alright, Saint Connor."

The Irishman put his gun away and walked off.

He came to join Glenn, Carol, Carl and Lori and sat down.

"Morning ladies, boys" he greeted them and ruffled Carl's hair.

"You look better every day little man" he said to Carl and smiled at him before getting some food from Carol.

He thanked her and started eating.

"What happened to you?" Lori asked and he looked up. He smirked.

"How come every time I see ye Lori yer telling that me I look terrible? Might as well just tell me that you can't stand me face."

Lori smiled for a moment but then looked worried again.

"Daryl?" she asked and he ate on for a moment, then he shook his head.

"Nah. I fell last night."

Lori raised an eyebrow and Carol looked at him questioningly.

"Seriously, don't you guys think you should stay out of each others way? I mean we can hear you fighting every night and day" Glenn remarked.

"I said t'wasn't him" Connor said and looked at him for a while. Glenn blew out some air and seemed to decide to let it be.

After a while Daryl came and joined the group. When he wouldn't dare to look at Connor people knew the truth and eyed him angrily.
Of course, now that Connor was the group's new favorite pet, they would use any opportunity to hate on him again.

"Daryl?" Rick called and Daryl looked up.

"Come here for a minute."

Somehow it dawned on him that the so called big bosses of the group were going to call him shit because of Connor's black eye.
He was on his way to join Shane and Rick when Connor got up as well and joined him.

"What is it? Can he join the search again? I'd like ta be in a team with Daryl again."

Shane laughed.

"Oh come on."
"No, really! Remember what you said about not going out there alone? I wanna join yer search and so does Murph. 'm tired of sitting on me ass here,
so I'm gonna go out and search fer yer girl taday. Better take someone with me, in case walkers attack and I don't see 'em coming."

"Speaking of which, Daryl. We wanted to have a word with you."

Daryl snorted.

"Why? Yah ain't my boss."

"We heard you two hotheads fighting just a minute ago. We know you gave him the black eye" Shane said and looked at the hunter

"So what? Are yah goin to give me one in return Mr SuperCop forbidden grabs of the year?" Daryl countered and narrowed his eyes.

"We just think..you should stay away from Connor, Daryl" Rick said and Daryl exploded.

"What the fuck do you know?Are yah going to point gun at my head again if I don't? You're not giving me orders, the two of yah!
Thinking yer the kings just cos yah used to be the freakin police! Yer not the authority no more!"

Shane was just about to hold Daryl back again when Connor shoved him and held Daryl back himself.

"Calm te fuck down now! Jesus, Murph. And yer calling me a hothead."

"But they can't just.."

"Daryl!" Connor shouted and looked at him but of course Daryl couldn't look him in the eye.

Because Connor looked horrible. And it was all his fault. The Irishman placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"Easy. Calm te fuck down."

Connor looked at Shane and Rick.

"We're just stressed. Okay. We respect te group and yer rules,but you can't decide over us. That stupid redneck's grown on me, he's like a brother ta me. I fuckin need that bastard in me life. He punched me in the face because I punched him in te guts. It's our bodies, and if we decide ta beat te shit out of each other ye let us do that. As long as we're not attracting walkers ta our camp, it's none of yer business."

Daryl just stared at Connor in surprise. He was surprised because for the first time someone wasn't simply holding him back during a fight. This time someone was standing up for him. He was surprised because of what Connor had just said about him, that he cared about him, even after the black eye thing. And he was surprised to hear a perfect summary of their relationship. Because it was the truth. They happened to be in a violent love-hate friendship. Both of them needed to take it out on each other, because their temper needed a decent fight.

"You're going to kill each other" Rick said with a sigh and Shane snorted.

"Wanna bet who's dead first?"

"Fuck you!" Daryl spat but Connor held him back.

"So what, let him kill me" the blonde MacManus said to Rick and Shane.

"So it's me an him today?"

Shane snorted and shrugged after looking at Rick for a moment.

"No. Daryl should rest for another day. We can't risk his life" Rick answered and Daryl snorted as well.

"Yeah, cos yah care so much 'bout me."

"Okay" Connor gave in because he wanted to get his friend away from the two policemen, especially Shane.

He grabbed Daryl's arm to get him to move.

"So that's why yah not mad at me because of the eye" Daryl murmured and Connor frowned as he dragged him along and back to the camp.

"What are ye talking about."

"Yah fuckin want me to kill yah."

Connor stopped and just looked at Daryl for a moment, who automatically looked down because of Connor's eye.

But the moment he had looked at him was all he needed to know the truth.

"No way."

Connor just snorted and walked on.

"Suicide's a sin, Murph."

For the first time Daryl really thought that the Irishman had lost it.

"No way" Daryl said again and Connor looked at him.

"You really think so? Sooner or later yer going ta snap again,with that temper? I've just seen yah. Yer an animal.
Sooner or later yer going ta kill me if we go on like that."

"Then we fuckin don't!"

When Connor didn't answer Daryl stopped.

"For Christ's sake, no way, you stupid freak!"

Connor turned around and just looked at him.

"Just forget about it. Never said anything."

"You and yer stupid suicidal shit!" Daryl shouted after him.

The group turned around and looked at them in surprise. Connor just snorted and left.