We finally got to the Greene's when the sun had begun its trek though the sky. We were greeted by our search party.

I pulled up the drive after shutting the gate, and we stopped to let Hershel rush in to his daughter. I then parked up next to the other vehicles as the group began swarming us.

We all climbed out, the boy still in the back. We found out during a few minutes of consciousness that he was called Randall, and that he was a member of the group that Dave and Tony were in. That was all we got before he slipped away again, and he'd been out ever since.

I saw Helena and Alex, Helena running towards me. I crouched and took her in my arms, lifting her into an embrace. Alex had thrown his arms around me too, and had taken Helena's weight, noticing the pain it caused me. I was relieved to see them.

"Sam, your hair!" Alex chortled. I wanted to blush.

"It sucks, doesn't it?" I sighed. I was past the point of caring, so I simply smiled.

"I like it." Helena giggled, playing with the short strands. I could feel the corners of my mouth pricking up.

"It's lovely." Alex smiled, tugging the strands. I felt my face flush, shocked they they actually liked it. I'd had long hair my entire life. Alex had never seen me with hair this short, and I was pleased he approved.

"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog grunted, pointing to the back of the truck. I silently cursed, momentarily forgetting about the kid in the truck. Now what do we do with him?

The group all moved about to get a look at him, and I looked at who was gathered. No Shane, Dale, Daryl or Carol. I looked up at Alex who looked deeply concerned about Randall's presence. I knew he wouldn't be answering anything until he knew who the kid was.

"Randall." Glenn said grumpily, before marching away towards the house.

We all stood about Hershel's dining room, the entire group gathered to talk about our Randall situation. All of the group had to be there, bar Andrea who was keeping watch and the kids who were playing upstairs.

I was leant against the mantelpiece, playing with the short strands of my hair. Without the weight of the rest of my hair, it had gone wavy. Maybe I could get used to it being short. Maybe.

The door to the hallway opened on Hershel. He'd been tending to Randall's injury since he checked on Beth. I was amazed at how brilliant Hershel was, medically speaking.

"So, what do we do with the boy?" He asked as he stood in the circle of people. He wasn't going to waste time.

"Well what are his chances like? That was a grizzly injury." Rick offered after a stifled silence.

"It could take some time, but I expect him to be able to walk properly again in a few weeks. Though, he could walk in just a few days." Hershel estimated, resting his hands on the back of a chair. He looked incredibly weary, but that was totally understandable.

I felt Carol shift suddenly next to me, and I followed her gaze to see Daryl walking towards the house. I sighed and looked back to Shane who was talking. Well, he was on the verge of shouting.

"They were shooting at you all, Rick. His group were going to kill you or leave you for dead, and you want to help him?" He spat, his face appearing disgusted.

The door to the house opened as Daryl stepped in, bringing the smell of the outdoors and a wave of heat with him. Everyone's gaze flicked from him back to the conversation. He nodded at Carol, and she smiled like a schoolgirl at him.

He then looked at me and his forehead creased. He took in my hair and assessed my face before looking at my hair again. His eyes then shot to the ground where they remained for a while. I tried not to smile at how innocent he seemed.

"Well we'll wait until the boys fit to talk. Find out what he knows. If he's not a threat, we'll take him somewhere and release him. If not... We'll sort that then." Rick asserted, trying to please everyone. I bit my lip in thought as I let his words sink in. It made Randall sound like an animal.

"But what if his people start looking for him?" Lori asked. It was a fair point. I'd thought about it when I was driving back, so I had already been forming an answer.

"We're a fair way away from the town. Even if they knew which direction we went in, it'd be a long time or possibly even never before they found us. Besides, they practically left him for the walkers anyway. I doubt they care more about finding him than they did leaving him." I sighed, my eyes darting to meet Lori's and Rick's before fixing out of the window.

"She's right. I doubt they'll be looking for him considering they just left him there." Rick nodded.

My eyes met his understanding ones and I smiled. I looked back at Alex who was staring at Hershel. He seemed incredibly uneasy. Daryl looked like he was smouldering when our eyes met. I wanted to flinch at the intensity of his stare. What was that about? Was it because I shared an understanding with Rick, or that I had a brain? I raised an eyebrow at him, but he merely huffed and looked at Rick.

"But what if them leaving him behind is an indication of what he's like? Or his group? We don't know what his personality is like. He could be dangerous." Alex exclaimed, his eyebrows creasing and his arms crossing.

"We don't know that. Well have to wait until he's in a position to talk. He's also quite outnumbered." Rick asserted. He was met by silence.

"So what d'we do when he can walk? We can't leave him around." Daryl asked, his forehead creasing. Shane rolled his eyes.

"The barn." Hershel said, his voice cracking at the painful memory. I gulped hard.

"Only if you're happy with this." Rick said gently, turning to face Hershel.

"I'm not happy about any of this, but I know what's safest. It'd be best if he went in there." Hershel shrugged helplessly.

"Thank you." Rick nodded, turning back to face the group.

"I'm not sure about this." Dale sighed, Alex nodding beside him. Shane tutted, and received a glare from me.

"There's nothing we can do about it now. The kid is still recovering from a grim injury." I shrugged, the strands of hair falling from my hand as I crossed my arms, looking gently at the older man.

"I know. We've just got to keep our morals here, is all I'm saying." He trailed, and I nodded in agreement.

"This is crazy. You're all crazy." Shane muttered angrily, but no one responded.

I rolled my eyes at his petulant behaviour. He was behaving like a child. Not even Helena acted like that. Alex nudged me with his elbow, having obviously noticed my eye roll. He gave me a warning raised eyebrow. I know he doesn't want me to get involved in another argument, but it was hard. Especially if it's with Shane and his moronic attitude.

"If there's nothing else, then we'll call this meeting a day." Rick said, and with that, the group began to leave the house. I moved to leave, but stopped.

I waited for everyone to filter out of the room so I could check myself out in the mirror. However I paused near the door to the hallway, deciding it'd probably be better if I didn't look. Maybe it's better to not know how bad my hair was. There was nothing I could do about it, and what good is vanity in this new world anyway? It doesn't help one bit.

I walked out, pushing open the swinging door and ran my hand through my hair as I walked down to camp.

I stood by the fire, not wanting to sit down. I had done a quick check of my butt cheek before the group meeting to see that it was possibly going to start bruising, and I didn't want to encourage it. Many of the camp had dispersed into doing their own thing, so I joined with Dale and Alex. We were later joined by Daryl, Carol and an incredibly glum-looking Glenn just as the sun had started to set.

"So, what happened?" Dale asked, and I briefly recounted the previous day's events. I subconsciously began running my fingers over the area where the glass entered my palm. It was still incredibly sore and the skin was still broken and uneven, but the swelling had gone.

By the time I got to where Glenn and Hershel tried to leave, Glenn had stood from the log and walked off. I watched him go as I talked, growing slightly concerned. I'd have to chat with him at some point to see whats wrong. I hadn't seen him that grumpy before. Saddened, yeah, but not this kind of sourness.

"And that walker is why your hair is now short?" Carol asked. I laughed.

"It was my fault really. If I hadn't stabbed my left hand with that glass, I would've had more control over my machete. I guess I'm just awkward like that." I smiled.

Subconsciously, I walked towards the space on the log where Glenn had been, throwing myself down. I winced at the pain, feeling like a complete idiot for forgetting about my sore cheek. I just hoped they didn't see my face.

"They hurt ya?" Daryl blurted, his shoulders squaring and his face hardening as he noticed me wincing.

"Yeah Sam, are you okay?" Dale asked. Damn, I should've just stayed standing.

I looked between the two men, both displaying different emotions. Dale was worried and concerned at my slight display of pain. Daryl appeared defiant. Protective, even. The thought of that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Why would Daryl be protective over me, of all people? I sighed.

"I'm fine. One of the guys just got a bit too excited and slapped my backside a bit too hard." I shrugged, trying to play it off like it was no big deal. It wasn't really, but all their eyes widened in shock. Even Daryl's.

"What?! Sam, why didn't you say something?" Alex rushed.

"Oh Sam, are you alright?" Carol gasped. Dale said pretty much the same thing.

"Good thing Rick shot the bastard." Daryl mumbled, and I almost missed it. I nearly choked in surprise.

"I was ducking gunshots and barely fending off walkers, but you're all worried I can't handle a pervert or two?" I smirked, trying not to show genuine surprise at their priorities. I can look after myself.

After a brief silence, Alex let out a slightly relieved chuckle. Dale joined him, while Carol let a small smile slip on to her face.

"I ain't worried. I don't care." Daryl grumbled quietly.

A quick look towards him didn't exactly say that, though. His eyes were slowly examining me, his grip on the dagger sheathed at his side dangerously tight.

Hope you enjoyed!

I know it's not very long. I'll try to make up for it in the next couple chapters. I'm pretty much coming off the story line for now though. I want to let things... develop. ;D

I've started writing another Walking Dead fanfiction. I don't know if I'm going to upload it just yet though. I want to see how it pans out. If I think it's got something worth sharing, I'll definitely upload it. I think it's going pretty well though! I quite like writing it. Stay tuned. ;]

As ever, thank you for reading, commenting, following and favouriting!

- Loré. X