I've really appreciated the reviews this far! Thank you so much! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've had exams but here you go!

As soon as Carol was fully conscious, Rick decided the group should move on- much to Daryl's annoyance.

"She's hardly better an' you wanna jus'-"

"We need to... Who knows where Woodbury could be?" Rick answered.

Daryl stared at the other man for a few seconds before storming off upstairs to where she was resting. She was still in pain, he could tell by the way she winced with each movement. But she continued to shrug it off and insisted she was fine. It was different when he looked at her now. She looked different. It was a look of... defeat.

"You alrigh'?" Daryl asked, shuffling into the room and crouching down next to her.

Carol sighed heavily and looked at him. "You should all go on," she said quietly.

"What?" He must have misheard her.

"Look, I can't walk properly. I'm a burden. I won't have you carryin' me everywhere. That's jus' stupid. You should all leave me here. I'll be okay."

"No way," he growled. "Are ya mad? After all the shit we went through at the prison and gettin' out?"

She looked ashamed. "I'm sorry. I just don't want to keep dragging you all down. We could have been further away by now if it wasn't for me," she whispered as her voice broke.

"Hey, hey, c'mon," Daryl said, moving so he sat next to her on the bed over the blanket that was covering her legs. He threw an arm around her shoulders, something he wouldn't have been comfortable with a year ago. But circumstances change. "We're not leavin' you, alrigh'? We're gonna wait 'til you're better. I'll carry ya if I have t'."

Carol smiled into his shoulder. "Thank you."

"What're ya thankin' me for?"

"Everything."

...

A little while later, Carol was sat on the edge of the bed and was trying to put weight on her feet but, every time she tried, a bolt of pain would rocket up her side and she would be left gasping and waiting for the pain to go away. From upstairs, she could hear Daryl arguing with Rick.

"We're not leavin' when she's like that! She can't walk!" he persisted.

She heard a sigh. Probably from Rick. Then-

"We leave tomorrow morning."

Carol felt her eyes water. It wasn't sadness, it was anger. Why did it have to be her who was shot? Why was she always in the damn way? Most importantly, why couldn't she get her legs to work? She was frustrated so, gritting her teeth, she planted both feet on the floor and pushed. Unsteady was an understatement. The pain that was so familiar resting came back with one hundred times that effect standing up. Her knees buckled as soon as the door opened and she saw someone skid across the floor quickly on their knees to stop her. They caught her before she hit the hard wooden boards.

"The hell d'ya think you're doin'?"

It was Daryl. She curled up against his chest, willing the pain to go away, and sobbed. There was no way she could have held back this time.

"I'm so sorry," she wept. "About everything I've put you through. Sophia, making you uncomfortable, being a burden, everything. Judith as we- Oh God, Judith!" Fresh tears fell. "You should never have saved me from the farm. Not after how I made you feel after Sophia. You looked for her every day. Every single day. Even when you knew she was gone!" Her voice was broken now. "Y- you never gave up. I'm s- so sorry. It wasn't- It wasn't your fault. I'm s- so grateful." She sniffed.

Daryl's arms just tightened around her like he was trying to stop himself from crying as well. One hand came around her waist gently and the other rested on the back of her head. His forehead pressed against her temple.

"I ain't never gonna leave ya, alrigh'?"

She nodded weakly against his shoulder and then felt herself being lifted onto the bed. Her blanket was pulled gently from under her and she felt Daryl's chest press against her back and her blanket was thrown over both of them. His arm came around her upper arms and he pulled her in. Carol felt more relaxed and more protected. She felt like nothing could hurt her.

...

Their rest was interrupted in the middle of the night. Tyreese was keeping watch from an upstairs window and his shouts echoed through the house.

"THERE'S A HERD COMIN' THROUGH THE WOODS!"

Daryl woke with a start and shook Carol awake before pulling on his boots and throwing open the door. He heard Rick curse from down the corridor and then he came running into view.

"How big?" he asked quickly.

"About a hundred," Tyreese said, meeting the other two men on the landing.

"They just passing through?"

"I don't know. Could be anything."

"Shit." Rick ran his hands through his hair. "Get into a room and lock the door. We can't outrun them."

Daryl silently thanked Rick's change of heart and backed into the room where Carol was sitting upright on the bed. The house was in total darkness as he bolted the door and sat with his back against it, clutching his crossbow in his left hand, and rested the back of his head against the door.

"Are we going to be safe?" Her small voice cut through the silence.

Daryl sighed. "D'ya think I'd let us stay here if I thought we weren't gonna be?"

He saw the corner of Carol's mouth flick up into a smile and she pushed herself slowly off the bed and onto the floor. Knowing she wouldn't want his help, he let her do it on her own. Despite a frown knotting together on her forehead, she managed to manoeuvre herself across the floorboards until she sat next to him. She let out a sigh and leant against his right arm with their backs against the door. Before she could say anything, he pressed a finger to his lips and she soon realised why. The groans of slow passing walkers suddenly became apparent and she grabbed his right hand. Even after the outbreak, she still got scared every now and again, he knew. He squeezed her hand back in comfort. There were scratches coming from the front and he heard shuffling and then a bang from downstairs. It sounded like something hard had just hit the floor. But he couldn't move. Carol glanced up at him with questioning eyes but he could only shrug. Merle was downstairs in a room and he prayed that the front door had been locked as well as his brother's own.

What felt like hours after the scratches stopped, Daryl heard Tyreese.

"They've all passed," he called. "There's just two of 'em at the front."

He heard Rick's door open from down the hallway, heard him say, "I've got it," then he ran down the stairs.

Daryl looked down at Carol to find her sleeping quietly on his shoulder. He smiled for the first time in a while and, with his best attempt at not waking her, he picked her up and placed her on the bed. He watched her for a few seconds then heard footsteps on the stairs. They were slow and it couldn't be Rick. Daryl went back to his door and unlocked it. When he opened it, Merle was stood in front of him with a grin on his face but water in his eyes.

Blood was running down his arm from a bite on his left shoulder.

"Hey, little brother."