A/N

Thank you to all the wonderful people who followed, favourited and reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate it.

Enjoy

Chapter 3

He'd been hiding out, alone in the forest for 2 days before the storm hit. He'd lived on what nuts and berries he could find but now he was hungry, cold and wet. He crept closer to the battered double wide trailer that was home, alert all the time for any sign of movement. As he drew closer he could see no sign of his father's rusting old truck and allowed himself a sigh of relief. He moved into the open and made a dash through the rain to the door. Closing it behind him he shook the water from his overlong hair and pulled open the nearest cupboard, searching for something to eat. He crammed stale crackers into his mouth and turned to go to his room for dry clothes.

He'd taken no more than a dozen steps when a hand grabbed his hair from behind, yanking him back violently.

"So you've come back have yer?" His father's voice was slurred, the smell of alcohol on his breath almost overpowering as he dragged his son back into the small kitchen.

"Yer come back and thought you could just steal the food from my cupboards did yer?" He let go of the boy's hair and backhanded him across the face, sending the skinny child face first into the wall.

"I'll teach yer you can't just walk in and help yerself to stuff that aint yours" He lashed out again, striking the boy in the lower back, sending him to his knees

"Yer thought I weren't here didn't yer? Didn't see the truck, thought yer could just march in and take what you wanted." This time it was his booted foot that slammed into the boy's back.

"Piece of crap truck broke down, had to walk home, aint feeling too happy about that" The boy felt the heavy foot pushing down on his back, holding him in place as he heard the click of a lighter. He smelled the smoke from the cigarette as the man towering over him took a long pull before leaning over his squirming son.

"You know what happens when I aint happy don't yer boy?" His hand reached down pressing the lit cigarette to the exposed flesh on the boy's arm, smiling as the flesh blistered and burned.

The beating and punishment was long and brutal, only stopping when the man passed out on the kitchen table, the booze finally catching up with him. The boy dragged his battered body across the floor and somehow managed to pull himself to his feet. Clutching his damaged ribs he stumbled outside, desperate to get away. He hadn't got far when his legs buckled and he fell, this time he couldn't get up and he lay there in the rain, until everything went black.

This time when Daryl woke from the nightmare he found his face wet and angrily scrubbed the tears away. He knew they weren't for himself but for the only person who ever showed him kindness in his childhood. He didn't want to think of her but his mind wouldn't co-operate and he found the thoughts filling his head.

After that last beating and passing out in the street he'd come round to find himself lying in a soft, clean bed. A damp cloth was resting on his forehead and gentle hands were combing through his filthy, matted hair. With a cry of fear he'd tried to get up and a firm but kind hand had pushed him back down.

"Hush child, no one's going to hurt you now" a soft voice spoke and he realised it was the old woman who lived a few trailers down from his.

"That animal isn't going to touch you again" she reassured him as she helped him sit and take a few sips of iced water.

"I found you out in the street in the rain" she told him "So I bought you back here and cleaned you up as best I could. You've got a couple of broken ribs so I strapped them up" her expression was sad as she looked down at him.

"So many burns, so many cuts and bruises. How long has he been doing this to you?"

He shrugged painfully.

"Long as I can remember" he mumbled, refusing to meet her eyes. She suddenly reached out and pulled him into her arms, holding him close as her fingers stroked the back of his head.

"It's okay now. I'm not going to let him hurt you again. As soon as the storm's passed we'll go into town, get you checked out by a Doctor. We'll find somewhere safe for you to go, you won't have to see him ever again" Hesitantly he reached out, wrapping his skinny arms around her, allowing himself to sink into the warm embrace.

Daryl pushed the memories deep back inside his mind, there was a run planned for today and it wouldn't do for him to be distracted by thoughts of the past. He pulled himself from the bed and began to gather what he needed for the day ahead.

Two hours later and he was on the bike, leading a small convoy of vehicles towards a town he and Aaron had come across on one of their recruiting runs. There was a small grocery store tucked down a side street that for some reason had remained almost untouched and they planned to clear it out of anything useful. Rick was in the car behind him, Michonne at his side as usual and Aaron was bringing up the rear in a large truck borrowed from the construction team. Daryl could see Jasmine through the van's windshield, laughing at something the man said and he wondered again if it was a good idea to have bought the town's only medic with them. She'd arrived as they were about to leave and pleaded to be allowed to come with them, saying she was going stir crazy stuck behind the walls and finally Rick had relented, telling her to stick close to Aaron and to do exactly as she was told. Now she was laughing and joking as if they were on nothing more than a shopping trip to the mall and he was surprised by how much it irritated him.

His angry musings were interrupted by the sight of several vehicles blocking the road ahead. The blockage hadn't been there the last time he and Aaron had driven this stretch of road and as he carefully maneuvered the bike through the haphazardly abandoned cars he realised this was no accident. The vehicles had been placed deliberately to obstruct any travellers. He pulled to the side of the road and climbed off the bike, raising his crossbow as he made his way back to where Rick was waiting on the other side.

"Is there a way through?" The constable asked.

"Only if we move some of these heaps of junk outta the way" Daryl told him as he scanned the treeline, eyes alert for any sign of those who had caused the obstruction.

"Need to stay sharp though, these aint here by accident"

Quickly they began to move the cars, pushing them to the side, making just enough room to get their vehicles through. They had almost finished when the first people attacked. There were at least a dozen of them, men and women armed with machetes, knives and bats and they swarmed out of the trees weapons swinging. Rick noticed they all had the letter W carved onto their foreheads, like the walker Carol had killed just outside the town.

Michonnes katana was in her hand in an instant, scything through the attackers. Daryl took two out with his crossbow but more poured from the forest and he had no time to reset it, instead using the heavy weapon as a club.

Reluctantly Rick drew his gun and fired repeatedly at the group, knowing the noise would probably draw walkers but seeing no other choice. Aaron joined in, firing until one managed to get behind him and swing his machete down, the blade slicing into the Alexandrians arm making him drop his weapon with a cry of pain. At once Michonne was at his side, decapitating the attacker, defending the injured man.

"Drop your weapons or I'll slit her pretty little throat!" The hoarse voice made Daryl glance up. He cursed when he saw Jasmine being held by one of the men, a knife tight against her neck, an arm clamped across her stomach.

Risking a glance at Rick Daryl saw the indecision on his face as he weighed up the odds of a clear shot without hurting Jasmine. There wasn't one. Straightening his back he began to lower his gun when the woman moved, surprising them all.

She gripped the man's hand holding the knife and wrenched it down, at the same time throwing her head back and slamming it into his face. He gave a cry of pain and loosened his grip on her. At once she drove her elbow hard into his stomach and bought her heel down on his foot, stamping hard on his toes. He yelped and let go of her doubling up in pain. Quickly she moved to the side and locked both hands together as she brought them down on the base of his neck. As he crumpled to the ground she gave a satisfied grin and couldn't resist a hard kick to the fallen man's ribs.

At once Rick bought his gun up again, firing at the seemingly never ending group. A familiar groan made him look up and he saw the first walkers heading towards them, drawn by the sounds of the fight. Within seconds there were more they they could deal with. Rick and Michonne flanked the injured Aaron as they fought their way back to the cars, taking out walkers and people as they needed to clear a path. A desperate glance around revealed Daryl and Jasmine trapped on the other side of a large number of walkers. He saw Daryl grab the woman's arm and push her towards the bike as they both fought their way through the hoards of walkers. The screams of the men as they were attacked and the guttural moans of the undead drowned out Daryl's voice as he tried to call to Rick, telling him to take the cars and head back to the town, that he would find his own way back with Jasmine. Even without words Rick understood his meaning. Reluctantly he and Michonne loaded the injured Aaron into the car and she set off, racing down the road to get the bleeding man the help he needed, all too aware that the only person with any medical training was on the other side of a pack of walkers.

Shoving a walker away from him as he climbed into the cab of the truck Rick took a final glance towards his friends. He saw Jasmine climb onto the bike as Daryl plunged his knife into a walker's head before swinging his leg over the saddle. Satisfied they were going to be alright he started the engine and turned the truck around, heading back towards Alexandria.

Daryl kick started the bike, pleased when the engine caught first time but before he could pull away a heavy weight crashed into them, toppling the motorcycle and sending him and Jasmine onto the pavement. He rolled to one side, yanking his knife from its sheath as walkers surrounded them. He saw Jasmine struggling to pull her leg free from where it was trapped under the heavy bike. A walker was reaching for her and he threw himself to his feet managing to drive his blade into it's skull before it took a chunk out of her arm.

He fought wildly and managed to clear a space around them. As he turned to lift the bike a blow to his back bought him to his knees. He dived sideways as a machete flashed down, missing his head by millimeters, sparks flying as it hit the road surface instead. The man that had grabbed Jasmine was standing over him, already raising the weapon for another blow. Daryl swept his legs out, knocking the man's feet from under him. He dived on him and grabbed his arm, pinning it down so he was unable to use the machete, at the same time raining blows onto his head.

Walkers were reaching for them, grabbing at their clothes, trying to rip chunks out of them as they desperately scrabbled and rolled on the dusty blacktop, each trying to get the upper hand. The man lost his grip on the machete and it was kicked away from them by the many feet of the walkers gathered around them.

In a last desperate attempt to escape and steal the bike the man managed to throw Daryl away from him, straight into the arms of a grasping walker. Daryl struggled free and lunged at the man, who had grabbed the fallen bike and righted it, intent on using it for his own escape. As Daryl grabbed him and yanked him away from the vehicle he was suddenly aware there was no sign of Jasmine. He had no time to dwell on her whereabouts as the man suddenly grinned at him and lunged forward, the knife in his hand flashing. Daryl jumped back, stumbling over a fallen body and landing heavily on his back. The man dropped down, straddling the fallen archer as he raised the knife and Daryl threw up his arms to protect himself. The blade flashed down just as the man's gleeful expression turned to one of first surprise, than pain and he slumped forward his body covering Daryl's.

A walker crawled forward, arms outstretched as it reached for the two fallen men, a second dropped to it's knees at Daryl's side, it's mouth gnashing and snarling as it moved closer. The hunter managed to shove the motionless body toward the closest threat and at once it's teeth sank into the still warm flesh. A hand grabbed his arm, trying to pull him to his feet and he saw Jasmine, still holding the bat she had used to strike the man.

"Come on!" she yelled as he scrambled to his feet and she used the bat to take out the crawling walker. He pulled the bike upright again, annoyed to see new scratches and a couple of dents on the fuel tank.

He jumped on and kick started it quickly, pulling alongside Jasmine as she kept the walkers away. As she turned to climb on behind him a walker lunged forward, it's teeth sinking into the thick fabric of her jacket. She squirmed out of the short coat letting it fall to the ground as they accelerated away.

They rode in silence, weaving down side roads trying to find a way back to the town, all the time making sure they weren't being followed. The sky was darkening rapidly and the temperature dropped quickly, soon it was raining heavily, reducing visibility to a dangerous level.

Daryl felt Jasmine shiver against his back and realised she was now only in a short sleeved shirt, the rain soaking through the cotton fabric. He steered into the first side road he saw, following a dirt track for a mile or so and eventually a farm house came into view. Still hidden in the trees they studied it for a while before deciding to take the risk of approaching the empty looking house. Daryl cruised slowly around to the rear of the property and they saw the back door was wide open.

Without speaking they dismounted and made their way inside. A quick search revealed the house to be empty. Daryl wheeled the motorcycle into the kitchen, shoving the table to one side as he turned it so it was facing the exit in case they needed a quick escape as Jasmine closed the door behind them, jamming a kitchen chair under the handle in an attempt to barricade it shut.

Daryl grabbed a grubby dishcloth from the counter and began to wipe the worse of the wet from the bikes bodywork, frowning again at the damage caused when the man had knocked it over.

"I'm going to see if there's anything dry we can wear" Jasmine hid her amusement over the care he was taking of the inanimate object while he was soaked through and clearly cold. He gave a grunt in response and she headed upstairs.

When she returned a short while later he was going through the cupboards hopefully looking for something to eat.

"Aint nothing here, place has been stripped" he told her, noting she was now wearing a baggy sweatshirt and some oversized sweat pants that swamped her slight figure. She rubbed at her hair with a towel as she picked up the small bag she always wore from the table.

"Got a couple of energy bars and some jerky in here, that'll keep us going until we get home"

As they ate she nodded towards his wet hair and clothes.

"You should go upstairs and dry off, I put some clothes that should fit you on the bed" She hid her surprise when he just gave a brief nod and headed upstairs without arguing for once.

Jasmine finished her snack bar and tossed the wrapper to one side as she tried to untangle her long hair with her fingers to no avail. Vaguely she remembered seeing a hairbrush in the small bathroom and headed upstairs. She passed the single bedroom, noting the closed door and assumed Daryl was still changing. Without thinking she barged into the bathroom, stopping dead at the sight in front of her.

Daryl was leaning over the basin, his shirt on the floor at his feet, his bare back in full view. Jasmine couldn't help but notice the scars that criss crossed over his flesh, some long and jagged and many others small and round, everyone clearly old and suddenly everything about him became a whole lot clearer. The professional in her clinically assessed the obvious signs of abuse, now understanding his attitude and defensive behaviour, understanding why he wouldn't let anyone close to him, why he wouldn't trust anyone and why he clearly had such a low opinion of himself.

The human side of her felt nothing but sympathy, her heart aching at what she imagined his life must have been like and she had to fight the urge to throw her arms round him and show him some small gesture of comfort.

"You seen enough?" His voice was rough, anger edged with shame and she forced her gaze up, away from his back. Her eyes met his in the mirror above the basin and she made sure she held his angry stare.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were in the bedroom" she said calmly "I only came for the hair brush"

He snatched it up from the shelf under the mirror and threw it at her.

"Now get the hell out!" he snarled as he turned slightly, bending to pick up his discarded shirt.

Jasmine was about to leave when she saw him flinch as he reached down.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, instinctively moving closer.

"Aint nothin'" Daryl grabbed his shirt and stood, trying and failing to hold back the small groan of pain caused by the movement.

Jasmine stepped forward and pulled the shirt from his hands, eyes widening in shock at the long gash across his lower chest.

"When did this happen?" At once she was reaching for the wash cloth Daryl had been about to use, soaking it with water from the bottle he'd bought upstairs with him.

"Bastard got me with a blade just before you smacked him over the head" Daryl admitted "Figured I'd sort it when we got back to town"

"You should have said something" Jasmine scolded as she dropped to her knees in front of him, leaning in to get a better look as she began to carefully clean the wound up.

"It's not deep but still needs to be cleaned and covered, you can't take the risk of it getting infected"

Daryl looked down at the woman in front of him, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she concentrated on cleaning the wound, her long fingers gently probing the skin either side of the cut as she checked it over. He squirmed uncomfortably, trying to push aside the dirty thoughts that had popped unbidden into his head at her position and closeness.

"Hold still, I don't want to hurt you" her voice was sharp, breaking him from the unwanted daydream.

"Didn't ask you to help" he muttered "Was sorting it myself 'till you barged in"

"Don't be a baby" Jasmine rose to her feet, heading to the door "Wait here while I find something to use as a bandage"

She wasn't surprised to find the bathroom empty when she returned a few moments later with a relatively clean towel found in a drawer in the kitchen and a roll of tape taken from the saddlebag of the bike.

The bedroom door was shut and she tapped lightly on it.

"I'm coming in whatever you say" she announced "only knocking to give you a chance to cover up if you need to"

She smiled when the only response was a muffled curse and pushed the door open. Daryl was standing by the window, now wearing one of the shirts she'd found and put out for him. It was still unbuttoned so she took that as a sign it was okay to tend to him.

He continued to stare out the window as she ripped the towel into usable lengths and covered the wound, holding it in place with strips of tape.

"Rain aint gonna let up, best we stay here tonight" he told her gruffly when she'd finished.

"Okay" She glanced at his face, seeing the signs of exhaustion there, the shadows under his eyes dark and heavy and she was sure he was swaying on his feet as he leant on the wall.

"Why don't you get some sleep while I take first watch?" she suggested "I'll wake you in a few hours"

Daryl didn't want to sleep while she was there, didn't want to take the risk of another nightmare but he was just so tired he could hardly stand. Reluctantly he headed to the dusty bed and lay back. Within minutes he was sound asleep, leaving Jasmine peering out the window, keeping watch through the rain.

Thanks for reading

xxx