Once they were inside the doctor's empty office, he locked the door and spun on the hunter.

"You piece of shit," he growled, "You told, didn't you?!" He backed the shorter man into a corner.

"I didn't," Daryl defended himself, feeling dread in his gut the second his back met the wall. He was trapped.

"Then WHERE have you BEEN the past week, you complete IDIOT?" Pete nearly yelled, grabbing Daryl by the shirt and slamming him back into the wall. "You stayed with those fags. There's no WAY they didn't notice!" He was shaking with rage.

"I didn't say nothin', jus' needed somewhere t'-"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Pete bellowed, then held his forearm against the trapped man's neck.

Daryl gasped shallowly as his air was nearly cut off. His hands grabbed Pete's arm. "'M not, they don't know-"

"YOU'RE LYING!" Pete pushed his arm forward, effectively cutting off Daryl's air. The hunter struggled, pulling at his attacker's arm and trying desperately to draw air from his lungs. His feet scrambled against the floor as he jerked. Pete pressed harder, enraged and fully content to watch this scum struggle.

Daryl fought for thirty seconds before his lips got a faint tinge of blue and he was spluttering, his mind begging for oxygen.

He tried to speak, but he just spluttered, having no air. "Stop," His lips formed the word. "Stop."

Pete sighed and stepped away, allowing the hunter to fall. Daryl choked and heaved in air, holding his neck as he breathed greedily. Pete kicked him harshly and knocked him back into the wall. Daryl was still gasping, but his listless eyes ended up on the man standing over him.

"You told."

Daryl shook his head jerkily.

"No, you did. Now, you will make sure it doesn't happen again. Because if I find out that anyone so much as thinks I am anything less than a selfless doctor," He kicked Daryl again, and again, and continued kicking until the hunter cried out in pain as another rib broke. "If you tell..." He kicked more, but this time, he didn't stop of his own accord. Daryl panicked as he realized he might not stop. He looked up and saw the unbridled rage in the man's eyes. He wasn't going to stop. Daryl choked on a scream as one brutal kick broke two ribs at once. He could barely breathe through the agony.

"P-plea-" The word was cut off with a wet gasp as the next kick hit the newly broken ribs. "Please," He begged, the end of the word rising in pitch as the next kick hit ribs damaged a week before.

"Shut up," Pete sneered.

"Ple-e-ease," Daryl's breath hitched as he desperately tried to breathe. "Stop."

"Shut UP!"

A few more kicks and the hitter was near passing out from the anguish. "I'm s-AHH!" He cried out brokenly. "'M sorry! I-I'm sor-" A grunt of pain. "-ry, 'm sorry, 'm s-sorry."

Pete stopped kicking him. "What was that?"

Daryl was hyperventilating, his mind overridden with panic and agony and shame. "'M... 'm sorry."

"I'll make you sorry, boy," Pete promised, kneeling to grab the shaking man by the shirt. Dragging him up to his feet this time was harder than before because Daryl tried to twist out of his grip. This made Pete angrier. He was about to go off when Daryl panicked again.

"Wait, 'm sorry, it just h-hurts..."

"Not yet, it doesn't!" He raised his fist and the hunter cringed.

"PLEASE! Wait, please, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY!" He begged.

Pete stopped. "Then make sure you keep quiet, got it?"

Daryl nodded quickly, holding his hands in front of him placatingly.

The doctor reluctantly accepted the answer and pulled the hunter up by his shirt. Daryl groaned, earning him a backhand across the face.

"You're weak," Pete scoffed.

Daryl didn't respond, he just followed as the doctor pulled him over to a seat to properly wrap his injuries.

It got a lot harder from then on out to act normal. Now he knew that it wasn't over, that Pete had complete control and could get him anytime. And Daryl couldn't stay with Aaron and Eric anymore since that apparently counted as telling, just letting someone else see the damage or help in any way. He stayed in an empty house on the far end of town. The town being a small walled-in area, he wasn't that far from the center of activity, but since he woke up early and got out and about before everyone else, no one saw where he stayed. He interacted with the group so they knew he was still around, of course, but he didn't tell them anything. He listened to their stories and concerns and he even watched Judith sometimes, keeping appearances.

Meanwhile, the beatings got worse, if that was even possible. It took all of his willpower to act normal every day when at every sundown he had to go to Pete's office where the lightest punishment for the day's grievances was being thrown into the wall, and the worst was getting beaten until he passed out, only to wake up to a kick in the side and an order to "get the hell out".

Every time he was taking the punishment, Pete reminded him that there was nothing he could do to speak up against the town's only doctor. And honestly, would he want to speak against the town's doctor? What if Pete was kicked out and someone important, like Judith, needed medical help?

It was a stupid reason to let it go on, but honestly, he saw no other option. Pete really was needed. And naturally, Daryl now realized the guy was an abusive husband and dad - no normal guy could do this to another person without experience - but he wasn't laying into his wife and kids now that he had a "scumbag hick" at his disposal. So basically, everyone was a lot safer if Daryl could just shut up and take it like a man.

That's how he convinced himself to take it. Because he had to.

He actually started to revert back to his old thinking. To the way he got by before all this, way back when he was living with his Pa. Daryl still acted the same with his group, but his mind was all fear and anger and shame and overthinking what he could have done wrong. Literally anything could go wrong and he flinched, sure he would have to pay for it later.

And usually, he would.