As always, thank you greatly for the reviews. Inspiration and love is what they are and make me feel. I kind of rearranged this chapter regarding Daryl's feelings on what happened to Paige. Originally, I was going to do it from his POV, but Paige wanted to be written so I've done it through her POV instead. Hope you enjoy as our duo begin exploring each other...emotionally!

Chapter 8 - Running

"You're staring at me. Again."

Daryl's eyes flicked back to the arrow, fingers deftly wiping at the sharp steel with a cloth. He made no indication that he'd heard her, but neither did he hide the fact that he'd been cleaning the same part of the weapon for a good ten minutes.

Paige glanced around, understanding she wasn't going to get a response from the moody man. Which irked her slightly, but what did she honestly expect? The man guarded his true thoughts on impulse.

So, stifling a yawn, she blinked a few times, fingers rubbing out the crust in her eyes.

This early in the morning, with the light hardly cracking through the horizon, she and Daryl were the only ones awake, currently settled around a gently crackling fire.

Normally, she'd take whatever hours she could get and indulge in sleep, but a nightmare had knocked her out of a restful slumber. To find solace (and escape Dale's voluminous snores), she'd snuck out into the early dawn, hoping to cool off from the rising heat in her body.

The escape from the stuffy camper had worked tremendously, giving her a public setting to focus on instead, and if she squinted far enough toward the canopy of the trees in the east, she could detect the transformation of a navy blue sky into a faint, faded orange.

Already, she felt safer in this new haven, an intriguing thought of its own, though a worrying one as well.

It's not going to happen here. These are good people. They have unity and structure. They...understand.

For the moment, this thought reassured her. And of course, what she saw out of the corner of both eyes, helped as well.

Every so often, she'd catch Rick and T-Dog's diligent figures meandering around the site, guns strapped to their sides. Rick had noticed her as soon as she sat down by the dim embers hopping in the fire pit. He immediately offered her a smile, and with it, Paige felt better. More assured of her place among the group, even if she didn't quite know what that place was yet.

In fact, in just that little gesture of acceptance, she could finally acknowledge, only to herself of course, that she trusted and respected Rick. More than anyone else at the camp site, save for Daryl. Though sometimes, she wondered how the hell that was possible since the hunter constantly appeared as if he didn't give two shits about her.

Despite the admiration for what Rick and T-Dog were doing, she also couldn't help but feel shame anchored inside her. Quite honestly, and she made it an annoying habit to remind herself of this whenever she felt she was getting too comfortable, if it weren't for her, at least one of them would get a proper rest and not have to worry about the threat she had brought into their lives.

Instead, they were preparing to fight her battle with no proper understanding of what the two psychopaths could do.

She physically had to restrain her thoughts from considering escape. Even if in that way, they'd at least be safe.

Shut up, Paige. You know that some group would eventually stumble upon them, with or without you. It's better this one is not only informed, but ready for them.

Releasing a tense breath, Paige nodded shakily to herself, eyes flying up from the fire pit.

Only to detect Daryl's blue gaze aimed on her once more through his lanky bangs.

"Take a picture, Daryl. Your staring is creeping me out."

The man released a low grunt, head shooting back to the arrow in his hand.

"I ain't starin' at you."

"No, of course not," she deadpanned through a tired smile, casting him a sidelong glance. "You're just admiring the particular set of trees behind me. So very different than the ones all around you."

The man renewed cleaning the head, though she noted his movements were a bit jerkier.

He knows I'm on to him. How do I go about this?

"I can't listen to Dale's snoring anymore," she remarked nonchalantly. "Since there's a spot open in your tent, I think I'll go and cozy up next to Glenn."

Instantly, Daryl's head snapped in her direction, arrow slipping from his calloused fingers.

"He's warm enough without y'er help," he stated tersely.

"I don't know," she mused. "You are further away from everyone else, leaning more towars the woods where there's a stronger breeze. Maybe Glenn is in need of some...body heat."

Paige would have laughed at the murderous expression possessing Daryl's features, if it wasn't so damned imposing. In fact, with the look he gave her, she briefly regretted using Glenn as bait.

Then again, at least she got him talking.

"He ain't interested," Daryl assured, though the danger still hadn't exited his voice.

"I'll decide that for myself."

And with that, she moved to stand up.

"Th'a hell you so interested in that kid for?"

Allowing a small smile to form, Paige shrugged. "First, he's a grown man, not a kid. Secondly, if he wanted to discuss something, he wouldn't resort to petty staring when I wasn't looking in order to discuss it."

"I ain't-."

"Shut up."

The order successfully quieted the man, though Paige couldn't let it show that his compliance surprised her.

"Daryl," she tried more gently, "I don't know what you're thinking. I'm not telepathic. But I have the impression you want to talk about what you're thinking because you're letting me catch you staring. Please, let's talk about it now before the moment is lost and I really do take myself up on that offer and settle down with Glenn."

Indecisiveness briefly flickered across Daryl's face, as if he wasn't quite sure whether her words held truth in them.

But Paige made sure to keep her eyes glued to his own. He needed to know her offer wasn't conceived out of a false sense of pity.

"You were raped."

Daryl spoke this quietly, and with the soft admittance, Paige slowly sat down again.

"I was," she agreed.

"Y'er...handlin' it pretty well."

Unsure if this was a statement or a question, Paige brought both hands together. She knew without hesitation from the emptiness in Daryl's voice that her story had been weighing down on him for a good few hours. And while a part of her shied away from any further talk of what happened, another understood that this would be good not only for her state of mind, but Daryl's as well.

"I didn't really have the luxury of crying or admitting defeat. I had to accept it and move on. Which isn't anything new. I've had to move on from tragedies in my life before. It was just a bit tougher this time because I hadn't realized how lonely accepting what happened would be."

"Bad stuffs happened to ya before?"

She knew he didn't mean to pry with the question, and solely because of this reason, Paige didn't feel that initial reluctance to talk about such a sensitive memory like she had for so long.

"I lost my family in a car crash four years ago."

"That's tough," Daryl noted, eying her carefully. "That part o' the reason you ain't good friends with th'a man upstairs?"

"Mostly, yes."

"And the reason you'd been in therapy?"

"Yes. Biggest pain I've had to accept to this day."

A thick silence fell between them, interrupted only by the few birds chirping in their nests as the horizon gradually allowed more light to filter through.

"Bigger than what happened t'a you at the base?"

"Yes," she admitted easily. "At the base, a part of me was taken without my consent. And as horrifying and humiliating as it was - humiliating because I was cowardly enough to consider ending my life - eventually, I found the strength inside me and survived. I healed because I assured myself I would never let it happen again. So far, I've been successful in that promise. Not to say I still don't have some of the nightmares that place gave me and that both Adley and Lawrence can't manage to scare me stiff if I give them too much thought. But I'm coming to be comfortable around people again. And that tells me whether I'm aware of it or not, I'm moving on. A far different process than what happened after my parents and brother died. After they were gone, I felt nothing for a long time. I didn't make the attempt at feeling anything either."

"World weren't what it is now," he pointed out. "Ya had the choice t'a grieve."

"That is true. But even if it were, I fear I might have allowed myself to stay isolated and numb."

"Y'a survived. Like y'a always do. That don't exist in everyone. I...admire y'er preservation skills. Remind me o' mine own."

His words stirred something warm and pleasant inside her tummy, oddly reminiscent of the fake kiss they'd shared in the woods. And the more Paige comprehended Daryl was telling her he admired her, the warmer that feeling got. It wasn't pesky like her body had been inside the camper. Rather, it felt familiar. Like the way her family used to make her feel.

"Maybe the tough stuff in life prepared us for the kind of world we're living in now," Paige reasoned, never really having taken the time to wonder how it is she'd gotten so far.

Survival was what she had always assumed. If you took the time to stop and cry, a flesh eating bastard would take advantage of that weakness. There simply wasn't the chance to anymore.

But maybe she'd been better prepared for handling the turbulence of a post apocalyptic life because she'd already suffered loss and heartache before. Maybe she was moving on so soon because she knew from previous instances, that life would keep going on without you if you didn't.

As she studied Daryl, who in turn studied her, Paige could finally not only understand, but visually see in just his eyes that reflected something so familiar swimming in her own, their mutual ability to survive. And that he'd faced many hardships in his life much like she had, most likely more physical, but just as momentous to him in the long run as hers had been.

"What are the chances we actually find each other in this craziness?" she marveled, unable to hide a smile. "Two survivors who were probably more prepared for living like lonely wanderers than either of us realized?"

To her surprise, Daryl laughed, quietly but enough to where it caused his chest to rumble.

"Dunno," he shrugged, eyes finding her own. "Never thought my bein' a redneck would ever pay off."

This time, it was Paige's turn to laugh, the noise a melancholy music to her ears. It'd been entirely far too long of a time since she'd had the opportunity to engage in something so simple, yet soothing as laughing.

"So you're okay with me calling you one?"

"Don't care. But be careful what ya say. Few months back, some yankee at a bar 'ccused me of bein' married t'a my sister. Don't have a sister, but the asshole thought he was bein' funny. Things got real fuckin' hilarious when I smashed a bottle over his head."

"Nice," she approved. "I can tell I'm in the presence of a real badass."

"No speech 'bout how stupid my actions were?"

Puzzled, Paige tilted her head.

"Should there be one? The guy had it coming, spewing off on stereotypes and harassing you. Maybe that crack to the head nudged his common sense."

"Don't think there was any t'a begin with," he stated soberly, though a smile sparked at her words. "Week or so later, people started turnin' into walkers. Here I am with Merle, runnin' home when we run into the bastard. Figures he'd be one of th'a first t'a be turned."

"Did you kill him?"

"Merle did. But it was a learnin' experience on how to kill the walkers. Didn't stop twitchin' 'til Merle shoved his huntin' knife through the guy's skull."

"Christ," she exclaimed. "It takes a lot of strength to get the knife through the skull."

"If there was anyone more prepared than I was, it'd be Merle. Killed three of 'em just on the way back home."

"That is impressive," she whistled, glancing up at the sky.

Above them, pinkish hues and oranges were running rampant like molasses, making way for the eventual baby blue to overtake them. In the atmosphere, a mugginess had settled in, making it probable that rain would hit that sometime later in the day. Thankfully, a breeze out of the north supplied their skin from succumbing to the sweats.

It took a good minute for Paige to put a finger on the feeling currently spreading its way through her. One she hadn't felt in an unbelievble amount of time.

Contentment.

For just a moment, she could honestly forget that there existed walkers in this world, intent on depopulating the remaining survivors. She could forget there exited people like Adley and Lawrence, terrorizing whomever they could to feel an inkling of control over their lives. She could even forget her loneliness.

Right now, all that existed was the gloriously vast sky above and Daryl. A combination that suddenly made all the troubles in the world tolerable.

She didn't know how long the sky had taken her attention for, but when Paige finally manged to tear her eyes away, Daryl's intense gaze was aimed focused on her.

Something mystical and knowing existed in the indigo blue of his eyes, and because of it, her next question seemed unstoppable.

"Do you feel it too?"

It was nearly a whisper, almost softer than the crackling of the twigs in the fire pit.

But Daryl heard it loud and clear.

Rather than answer her, however, his eyes fell to the pathway T-Dog currently guarded, features sober once more. No one would have been able to tell that only minutes prior, they'd both been engaging in a humorous banter about Daryl's life before the apocalypse.

"I ain't gonna let them hurt ya," the man suddenly proclaimed.

Surprised, Paige replied, "It's not your responsib-."

"Listen to what I'm sayin', woman," Daryl restated decisively, gaze snapping back to her. "From day one, you were my responsibility. Moment you saved my life. I kept thinkin' the need to repay ya would go away, but th'a opposite happened. Not sure how, but I ain't gonna ignore it. 'Specially since you got th'a guts t'a be more open wit' me than anyone else. Tells me y'er deservin' of some peace after the months of runnin'. And don't think I'm callin' ya weak. Don't know if many people coulda survived what happened at the base in one piece. But whether ya like it or not, I ain't restin' or lettin' ya outta my sight 'til both cadets are dead."

"But-."

"End of story," he decided. "Runnin' from them ain't movin' on. Facin' them is strength. Ya did it before and look at what ya managed to do. Not only save y'er own ass, but everyone else at the base. Difference this time around is ya won't be alone to face them."

The urge to disagree was there, but so was understanding in what he said. By running, she had only delayed the inevitable. And she always would so long as she isolated herself from any form of aid.

But now, the time had come to where a decision would have to be made. And even though Daryl made it sound as if it'd already been made for her, she knew he was gauging her for a reaction. For an answer. Either face these people who had made surviving nearly impossible at one point or look over her shoulder for the rest of her life.

Sighing, Paige glanced at the fire pit, knowing already what her answer would be. And unfortunately, it wasn't until this moment that she realized she needed somebody like Daryl to make her see reason again. To force her to acknowledge the strength inside her, especially since she wasn't going to.

"Do you offer personal body guard service to all women you meet?"

"Just the ones too stubborn t'a accept the help. So far, that'd only be you."

A smile tugged at her lips.

"Okay then. I accept your help, Daryl. Officially. But the following me around wherever I go...I'm hoping that's just an exaggeration."

"Depends on how smart ya are when it comes to y'er surroundings."

"I'm always smart," she defended.

"Each time I've left ya alone, you've almost died. 'Xcuse me if I ain't investin' much in y'er smarts."

"Dick."

He glanced sharply at her, and Paige fought back the urge to laugh.

"Sorry. That was supposed to stay in my head."

"Bit afraid of what goes on in y'er head."

"Me too," she agreed with a sigh.

Seconds later and Paige finally realized what exactly she'd agreed to.

But hell would freeze over before Daryl knew how safe and...relieved his promise made her feel. If she let him know now, he would never let her live it down. Silent he may be, but he had a wicked confidence about him. One she didn't need to unfairly unleash upon herself. Even if it suited him quite nicely.

Very nicely, actually.

Let's look at the sky, Paige. The sky is nice this morning, isn't it?

Yes, yes it was.

Bit of a short chapter, but we're working our way through the beginnings of a relationship. I promise someone will be kissed next chapter. Let me know your thoughts in a review!