A/N Hope you are still all with me and still enjoying. The next few chapters will have elements of season 4 part 2 but will mostly be my own ideas.

Enjoy

xxx

Chapter 20

Eleanor awoke sometime in the middle of the night, Daryl wasn't in the room. When he didn't return after several minutes she decided to go and find him. She slipped from the bed and searched the upstairs rooms, there was no sign of him so she went downstairs. She found him in the kitchen. He had his back to the door and was leaning over the sink, hands clutching the sides. His shoulders were stiff and she could see he was shaking. She went over to him and put her hand on the small of his back. He stiffened instantly.

"Don't touch me" he snarled at her as he turned, knocking her arm away from him. She followed him as he stalked into the sitting room.

"Get away from me" he yelled at her

She ignored him and moved closer. He grabbed her upper arms and shoved her to one side, almost causing her to fall "I said get away from me" His voice was cold and angry.

She shook her head and reached out for him, again he knocked her arms away. He turned away, resting his hands on the mantle shelf of a fireplace. There was a group of framed family photographs arranged there and with a cry of anger he swept the whole lot onto the floor.

"Daryl" Eleanor stepped forward again and he span round to face her.

"What do you want from me" He shouted leaning into her, getting close to her face "You're better off without me, I can't protect you. I couldn't save you from the assholes in the woods and I couldn't protect any of you from the Governor. They're all gone and it's my fault. I stopped going after him, I shouldn't of stopped 'till I found him, 'till he was dead. It's my fault" She reached for him and he tried to push her away but this time she avoided his hands and wrapped herself round him, holding him tightly. He tried to free himself but she held tight.

"It wasn't your fault. He was a crazy bastard, how were you to know he'd get hold of a damn tank" she kept holding on. "You have been protecting the group for months, feeding them, finding medicine when it was needed. Nobody could of protected from what he did." She felt his body sag and his legs suddenly buckled as he fell to his knees, taking her with him. His arms clung to her as he broke down, great choking sobs that almost broke her heart. They stayed locked together as they both wept for what they had lost, grief pouring out of them in waves. Finally, exhausted, they returned upstairs and crawled into the bed. They fell asleep holding each other and didn't awake until the sun was high in the sky.

They both looked and felt terrible the next day. They desperately needed to find food and water, but the whole area appeared to have been picked clean. There had been no rain for a while and most of the streams they found were full of sluggish, muddy water that was undrinkable. There didn't seem to be any game around either. Finally four days after fleeing the prison they found a bar in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't much more than a shack used by hunters but there was still a few bottles of soda and some water. They also found a small stash of canned food. They attacked the food and swigged down the soda, pacing themselves not to eat too quickly on empty stomachs. Finally feeling a bit more human they relaxed a bit. They sat side by side on the floor, both were filthy and smelly, both desperate for a shower and a change of clothes. Eleanor brushed lank, greasy hair away from her face and tried to scrub away some of the dirt on her arms and hands.

"What I wouldn't give for a hot bath and a coffee right about now" she muttered

"I'd like an ice cold beer and a cheese burger" Daryl commented "and I'd settle for a cold shower, anything to get this crap off me" He indicated the walker blood and guts they were both covered in.

"All of that sounds great" she rested her head on his shoulder, yawning. As she settled they both heard the familiar groaning and shuffling. They pulled themselves to their feet again and gathered up what they could in the way of supplies, before leaving the shack and hitting the road again. A few miles down the road they came across a sign pointing down a track.

"Fairview Equestrian Centre" Eleanor read out, she turned to Daryl "You think it's worth checking it out?"

"It's gonna be dark soon, we need to find somewhere to stay and there don't seem to be anywhere else around, might as well give it a go." They set off up the track. After a mile or so they came across a large house with several stables arranged around it. A quick glimpse in the stables revealed nothing of any use so they headed to the house. The doors were all locked so Daryl picked the locks on the back door and they entered. It was obviously some one's home but a business as well. One room had various horse related items for sale, including clothes. Eleanor found a tee shirt and some shorts, as well as a shirt and some strap tops. She found a bag with a long strap so she stuffed the clothes into that and put it over her head, so the strap rested across her chest. She found a flannel shirt that looked about the right size for Daryl and that went into her bag as well. They found the kitchen and were surprised to see how well stocked it was. There were boxes of crackers and biscuits as well as jars and cans of food and even a box of breakfast cereal.

"Do you think someone still lives here?" Eleanor asked "It's not very clean, but this is a lot of food"

"We'll take what we need for tonight and leave the rest. If anyone still lives here maybe they'll be back by morning." Daryl opened another cupboard and found several large bottles of water. Eleanor tried the tap at the kitchen sink, the pipes creaked but no water came out.

"Damn" she muttered. Daryl pulled out one of the bottles of water and passed it to her.

"Enough here we can spare some to clean up" he told her. He passed her the red bandana he always kept in his back pocket "Use this" After they had both cleaned up and changed into the fresh clothes she had found they made a meal with some of the food from the cupboards. They began to feel slightly more human.

They slept in the same bed again that night, it was more practical for safety, and they both took comfort knowing the other was close by, even though they were back to back on opposite sides, not touching. In the morning they took a better look at their surroundings. In a yard next to the stables they found an old hand pump. Daryl pumped the handle a few times and a stream of water gushed out. They found several almost clean buckets in the stables and filled them, taking the buckets into the kitchen.

Daryl told her to stay in the house while he went hunting in case the owners came back. He knew she could take care of herself and she would be better at persuading the strangers to allow them to stay for a few days.

He managed to catch a small rabbit and while he built a fire to cook it outside Eleanor found some tinned vegetables they could have with it. They enjoyed the first fresh meat they'd had in days.

Eleanor had found a half empty bottle of scented shampoo in the bathroom and couldn't resist using some of the water from the pump to wash her hair. She was disgusted by the amount of dirt and blood that was rinsed down the sink, as well as several unidentifiable bits of debris.

"Gross" she muttered. Going back downstairs she found Daryl checking the doors and windows, making sure there was no way anything could get in without their knowledge.

He glanced up as she walked over to him, her damp hair hanging down her back.

"Feeling better?" he asked, she nodded.

"Still some shampoo left and some water if you wanna take a turn" she smiled as he pulled a face.

"Why'd yer think I wanna go around smellin' of coconut" he grumbled as she laughed at him.

They stayed in the house for several days, it seemed safe and it gave them time to recover their strength. It had now been over two weeks since the fall of the prison and they had begun to accept that they wouldn't see any of the others again. That didn't mean they didn't think about them and they had both had moments of despair and tears had been shed more than once. The owners of the house had never returned and they felt more comfortable at using the supplies. Daryl managed to find enough small game to keep them supplied with fresh meat and with the pump in the yard they had plenty of water.

He awoke one night to hear Eleanor muttering in her sleep, she was tossing around and he heard her say Hershel's name. When she threw her arm out and just missed hitting him in the face he reached out and touched her shoulder, trying to wake her. Instantly she lashed out, this time landing a blow on his cheek. Cursing he reached out again and caught both her arms. She struggled against his grip, crying out in panic. He managed to sit up, pulling her with him, holding her firmly against his chest as he called her name. With a jolt she awoke and stared at him wide eyed her breathing heavy. He kept hold of her until she calmed down and her body stopped shaking.

"Dreamt about Hershel" she whispered "Thought the Governor's man had got me again" she shuddered against him and he felt her finally relax, her head sagging against his shoulder.

"He aint gonna hurt you again" he reassured her, holding on to her until she fell asleep. Carefully he lay her down and unwrapped his arms. He made sure she was covered by the blankets, then stayed awake the rest of the night, quietly watching over her as she slept.

She didn't remember any of it in the morning and he didn't mention it. There was no point bring up old memories.

Poor Daryl and EllieXXXXX