LAILA'S POV:

When I woke up, a pair of crutches were propped up against the bars of the cell I was in, and the splintered pieces of my bow were lain carefully on the ground beside me.

I stared numbly at the pieces for a long while, remembering the day my younger sister had gotten it. She had always wanted a bow and she was so excited the day it finally came in. "Look!" she held up the thick, curved piece of wood with a strong drawstring and a rubber grip.

I had never gotten much into shooting it the way she and my brother had, preferring to watch their attempts, gleaning what I could just from observation. She had shown me in great detail how to replace the drawstring, how to keep the bow in working condition. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have a way to protect myself now.

I sat up stiffly, noting that a homemade splint had been put on my leg. Two sizeable pieces of wood were held on either side of my calf by yellowing gauzy medical wrapping.

I leaned down and picked up one of the pieces of the bow, stroking the smooth surface and trying to forget the day my sister was taken from me, the day they were all taken from me.

A rap came at the bars to the cell, and Rick entered. "How are you feeling?" he asked, taking a seat beside me on the edge of the bed.

I shook my head, dropping the piece back into the pile of disfigured wood. "I don't really know. My leg feels okay I guess, but I feel... empty."

"You're probably hungry. You've been through a lot today."

I nodded with a concealed frown, sure that hunger wasn't what left me feeling so hollow (though my stomach let loose with a loud growl at the mention of food).

Rick gave a chuckle and stood. "I'll go see if I can find you something. You should probably stay where you are, with your leg the way it is."

I nodded, hesitating. "Thank you. For helping me."

He gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes before leaving the room. "Its what keeps us human, isn't it?"

His words hit home. Did I help when my family was being mauled by corpses right in front of me? What did that make me?

DARYL'S POV:

Everyone in the cell block was gathered around a low-burning caged-in fire, eating off of scratched ceramic plates with bent, twisted silverware.

"What's on the menu?" Rick asked, approaching from down the line of cells.

"That buck I brought down earlier this week. Been livin' off squirrel so long, I almost forgot what real meat tastes like," I mumbled around a mouthful of venison.

"I'm going to take some to Laila," Rick told me, grabbing an empty plate and throwing a few pieces of meat onto it from the still-sizzling pan.

Wiping my hands off on the leg of my jeans, I stood beside him. "She's gonna need more than that. Even if she doesn't wanna eat it, she'll need the protein."

I looked up at Rick's face. He was looking a little thinner, a little paler. It was stressful work keeping a prison full of people safe in this world.

I took the plate from him. "I'll take it to her. You stay and eat. Relax."

He gave a sad attempt at a smile. It was obvious he hadn't "relaxed" in far too long. I piled a few more pieces of meat on the plate and headed down the cell block, to the cell she was still in.

I stood in the doorway for a moment, thinking as I watched her staring blankly at the pieces of her bow. I guessed I owed her an apology. I did kind of fuck her chances of lone survival up. I still wasn't really used to the whole apologizing thing, though.

I gave an internal sigh and tapped my knuckles against the metal of the bars surrounding her, ducking inside the cell after she looked up. "Brought ya somethin'," I held the plate out to her.

She took it slowly, gazing at the meat distrustfully. "What is it?"

I gave a smirk. "Dog."

Her shocked eyes shot up to mine. I was unable to prevent the laugh that rocked my shoulders at her reaction. "Calm down, its just deer."

She barely hesitated in delicately ripping off a piece of the meat and taking an experimental taste. When she ascertained that it was edible, she took slightly larger bites, straining to take her time with it.

"Don't hold back on account-a lil' ol' me," I said, leaning back against the wall across from her bed.

She held my gaze for a moment, then stuffed a huge bite of the deer meat into her mouth, tasting it meticulously, obviously enjoying the taste of something that didn't come expired and out of a can.

"Ya had a bow and didn't hunt?" I asked curiously.

She barely looked up. "Never learned how. Never knew where to look. I guess I could've asked my mom, but..." she shook her head, adopting a faraway look. "I didn't think it was important when I had the chance."

"Care if I ask ya a question?" I wondered aloud, as shocked as her by my inquisition.

She shook her head. "You people are all about questions, huh? Shoot."

"How old are ya?"

She smiled. "That wasn't what I was expecting. Before I answer, can you tell me something?"

I nodded, confused.

"What's the date?"

I stared at her a long moment. The days blended together in the wasteland our world had turned into. Though I had been able to keep vaguely accurate track of the date, I was sure I was a few days if not a week or so off. "'bout halfway through February."

Amazement replaced her waiting expression. Wordlessly, she tore her eyes from me and stared out of the bars of her cell. "I guess I'm nineteen, then." She took another bite of the deer meat, chewing speculatively.

We sat in silence for a while, both of us sizing up the other.

"I'm sor-"

"Look, I-"

We both started to speak at the same time, stopping when we realized the other was talking.

"You go first," she said, a small smile appearing.

"I know what happened out there today, with yer leg and the fire escape... that was my fault-"

"No, I shouldn't have said what I did. You were just trying to help-"

"And screwed it up. So... sorry," the word felt awkward coming out of my stiff mouth.

"I'm sorry. For what I said earlier. I wouldn't have lived through that if you hadn't been there. So thanks."

I ignored the fact that I could easily repeat her words from earlier, and chose to nod instead.

She held a hand out. "Truce?"

I eyed her outstretched hand, then smirked at her, turning to the doorway. "Nah, I like ya better as a rival."

She laughed whole-heartedly this time. "I do, too."