-only short but I'll try to update as often as I can until I run out of ideas-

"What do you mean we need to leave?" Carol asked, stepping back to look at him properly. His hair was messy and windswept and he had multiple cuts on his face and up his arms.

He looked at her. "Woodbury." He looked at Rick. "We need to go. They're comin' here and they have a lot more people than us."

Rick frowned. "We're not leavin'. This place is ours."

For the first time, Daryl looked mildly angry. "Ya' don't understand. They have guns, loads of shit. We need to go."

"Look, we can defend this place. We have strong walls, weapons and people. New people," he added, looking towards the new group to the side witnessing the confrontation.

Daryl looked at them. "Who the hell's this?"

"They came in through one of the blocks and Carl found them being attacked," Carol interrupted.

He looked at her. "They good people?"

She nodded. "They seem okay."

Daryl had lost his train of thought then memories of Woodbury came to him again. "Look, it don't matter. We just need t' go."

"Just calm down. We know what they're like. We can go up against them," Rick said, looking at him intently.

Daryl ran his hands through his hair. "Y'just don't get it, do ya? They're comin' for us. They're comin' for the prison and we won't be able to defend ourselves!"

Carol watched him. He looked tired, agitated but- most of all- upset. His gaze switched from Rick to her and he looked at her for a few seconds before taking off outside the cell block again. She looked at Rick who was already crossing over to Tyreese, Sasha and the other members of the new group.

"We need you on our side. Can you defend this place with us?"

…

Outside, Daryl felt much calmer. The air was cool on his face and he walked down to the grass. He sighed and sat down and then it hit him. How tired he was. How hungry and thirsty he was.

A few moments later, as if she had been reading his mind, Carol appeared behind him with a bowl of food and a cup of fresh water.

"Thanks," he said, taking the food and water from her.

Without saying a word, she settled down on the grass beside him. Their shoulders were barely brushing but it was comfortable. He ate the food and washed it down with the water quickly and felt slightly better.

"You okay?" she asked and he knew, from her face, that she had braved the question. She looked unsure.

As much as he wanted to, Daryl couldn't nod his head. He couldn't say he was fine but that's what she was counting on, wasn't it?

"Daryl?"

He dropped his head. His arms fell over his knees that were slightly bent and his head rested comfortably on them. Daryl felt his eyelids dropping and, maybe it was from the fatigue, he felt his eyes start to water. He kneaded them furiously with the heels of his hands but that only made it worse. In the end, he let his eyes water but he couldn't look at her.

"What happened?" she asked, edging closer to him.

He didn't feel threatened by her and he didn't flinch any more. He needed to tell someone.

…

Carol noticed how tense and tired he was but she didn't expect him to start speaking.

"In Woodbury… they caught me. Threw me in this ring with Merle. There was a crowd around us shouting that… that we needed t' be killed." He paused. "Merle knocked me down. Then I think he thought about it and… and he helped me back up. Untied my hands. Said that everything was his doin' and tried to get me out of it. Then…it just all happened at once." Another pause. "Merle ran at the Governor. Think it caught him a little off guard. Andrea was there- yeah," he added, noticing Carol's face. "She was probably with him. She tried to help but it didn' work. The Governor cried out to his men and, uh, they shot at them. Probably caught him as well. He screamed. Merle did. They both hit the floor. Then everyone started to run to them. Loadsa people. So I… I just grabbed my crossbow and ran. They knew about the prison so they'll probably come here. I don't wanna stay."

Carol sat in silence. What he had just said felt like a punch. "So… Merle…"

"Dead, probably." His answer was short and harsh and she realised then how fragile he looked. Yes, he was tired but that wasn't the main thing. He looked like a boy. Scared, unsure and broken. "But if Rick doesn't get the stick outta his ass, we're all gonna be targets," he said, standing up and throwing his hands over his head, dragging them through his hair. "I don't wan' anythin' to happen t' you- the group," he quickly corrected.

It didn't matter. Carol heard and she closed the gap between them, standing up. "Everyone's gonna be fine. You don't need to worry as much as you do. You protect everyone and never stop to think about yourself."

She saw his shoulders drop a little as though a massive weight had been lifted from them and the corner of his mouth flicked up in a smile. He nodded.

"You look exhausted, you should get some sleep," she said, resting her hand on the bicep of one of his arms, surprised when he didn't recoil. She let her hand drop.

He nodded again and they walked back up to the cell block again, their arms slightly brushing.