Hi! Sorry about the break, it was a bit longer than planned :) hope you'll like this chapter. I'd love to read your thoughts about it!

Huge thanks to my beta, Amory.

I put Rosie to sleep in the camper and left her under Dale's supervision, and then walked towards Daryl's tent, hoping he wouldn't kick me out the second he saw my face. At first, I thought about taking Rose with me, but then figured he might scare her if he decided to yell, which seemed to be a pretty probable option. I stood in front of the tent's entrance for a second, wondering if I should knock. Deciding against it, I pulled on the zipper and I found Daryl lying on his back on the camp-bed with his hand resting over his eyes. I looked at him for a couple of seconds, and when he refused to acknowledge my presence, I sighed.

"Can I come in?", I asked quietly, standing awkwardly in the very same spot, not inside the tent, but not outside it as well.

He chuckled breathlessly, not changing his position, "Y'already did. Askin' me now?"

I bit my lip, swallowing the bitterness of his voice. I took two steps inside and sat down on the grass, cross-legged. I pushed a strand of hair that had escaped my ponytail, behind my ear in a nervous movement, desperately trying to figure out a way to calm him, "Can we talk?"

"'bout what?"

About planting fucking daisies around your tent.

"You know about what." I whispered, doing my best to stay calm, but I failed horribly, as my heart raced in my chest.

"About ya' goin' all buddy-buddy with Shane?" Daryl's voice held a hint of something that for a moment I interpreted as jealousy, although it was probably just hidden rage.

"I didn't go, uh-," I felt a blush creeping up my face, and at that moment I was grateful he refused to look at me. I started pulling on a strand of grass nervously, just trying to keep my hands occupied as I struggled to finish the sentence.

"'S that why he started taking you with him?" Daryl asked me, moving his arm from his face and sitting up so abruptly I saw the stitches loosening in my imagination. He was so angry, though he didn't even flinch, and I found myself staring into his stormy eyes, being smart enough to realize reminding him about the stitches wasn't a good idea at the moment, "To fuck yer pretty body in the woods, 'stead of looking for a lost child?"

"Daryl-", I started, but was cut short by his humorless laughter.

"What, ya' don' fancy my choice of words?" He asked, now moving to kneel in front of me and his breath was all over my face, making me nervous and calm at the same time, "Would ya' like me to call it makin' love, princess?"

Without waiting for my response, he grabbed his crossbow and left the tent. I sat there for a couple of seconds with my mouth agape, breathing heavily and trying to collect my thoughts.

"Fuck." I muttered, getting up and leaving the tent as well. I wanted to make things better, and I just made him leave the camp in an unknown direction, fuming in fury, after being half dead just two days ago. Yay me, seriously.

I looked around, and I knew at least some people in our group were staring, but I couldn't care less. Putting my hand over my eyes, I tried to spot Daryl and after a few moments I saw him stalking away in the forest's direction with long strides.

I started jogging behind him and by the tension in his back I assumed he knew I didn't give up. He didn't slow down, but he also didn't pick up his pace, and since he wasn't far, I caught up to him just by the line of trees. "Can you please talk to me?"

Another chuckle left his mouth as he pointedly ignored me, walking even further into the woods. I noticed humorlessly that I hadn't heard him laugh so much since I came to the farm, so I guess that was some sort of achievement.

"Daryl!", I hissed, grabbing him by the arm, but he just pulled away and kept on walking as if I were an annoying fly.

Well, I obviously had no way of physically making him listen.

Be that as it may, I thought grimly, running after him again. When I caught up, I found myself kinda breathless and questioning the existence of my physical condition, as he walked quickly into the woods.

"Daryl, I don't know what gave you the idea I did anything with Shane, but it was nothing like that," I said fervently, jogging next to him to keep up, "We just-"

He stopped abruptly and turned, glaring down at me as I almost ran into him, stopping at the very last moment on unsteady legs, "Spare me the details."

"There are no details!" I squeaked angrily, waving my arms furiously, not caring whether I would catch the attention of the undead creatures present in the whole of Georgia or if I looked like an angry chicken, "No details at all! We just talked! Quite a lot, frankly, but for fucks sake, I had more physical contact with you today checking your stitches, in front of a baby, than in two days of wandering in forest with Shane! He just told me over there he thinks Sophia is dead, and I didn't disagree, that's why he tried to get my backup!"

I was standing in front of Daryl, panting furiously after my little tirade, my hands clenched into fists. We were really close, and I could feel the heat radiating off his body, which was equally calming and unsettling. His breathing was uneven and his eyes were wider than usual. "Besides," I added in a hushed tone, "Why do you care what I do anyway?"

He growled, the sound reverberating in his chest and I could almost feel the movement on my breasts, as we were standing inches apart, "I don't."

"Then stop acting like this," I murmured, waving my hands. He looked down at me for a few seconds, and then nodded, turning around and walking away. I stood frozen in place, completely dumbfounded. I watched his retreating back, desperately trying to come up with an idea to get out of this shit, when quiet growls and characteristic, shuffling noises reached my ears. Daryl turned around abruptly, putting his crossbow at the ready. His gaze moved around, as he tried to spot the source of the sounds. Then his eyes fell on me for a moment.

"C'mere," he murmured commandingly, and I obeyed, pulling out my knife as I moved towards him as quietly as possible, "Stay close."

I nodded, trying to even my breathing to make as small a noise as humanly possible. When I looked around in an attempt to spot the walkers, I suddenly felt myself being pushed against a big tree right next to us. Daryl's hand on my mouth, catching my surprised yelp, his body covering my much smaller frame completely, pinning me to the wide bow. The back of my head hit the tree pretty forcefully, but I didn't feel the pain at that moment. Daryl slowly moved his other hand and placed his index finger over his mouth, his eyes boring into mine for a second. I nodded once, and he removed his hand from my lips. I licked them, trying to slow down my breathing as much as possible at the same time, which, in all honesty, I found pretty easy with Daryl's presence right next to me. Absentmindedly, I hid my face in his chest, gripping his shirt with my free hand; the other hovering down my body with my knife at the ready.

I knew it wasn't smart, but for a moment Daryl's embrace made me feel like a kid hiding from the monsters under the bed, and I closed my eyes, as if it could make me invisible. I couldn't see the biters, and in all honesty I think I didn't want to, but the fact that Daryl decided to hide told me there were definitely too many for us to take down. The hissing and shuffling sounds were moving closer to us and I hugged my face even tighter to his chest. [Hell, for one idiotic moment I even thought if I had to die that day, it wasn't a bad way to be killed in an embrace of a guy who was making all my senses go crazy.] Well, there were worse ways to go anyway. I could feel his tense muscles all over me and I had to admit it was a nice feeling, which provided me with a sense of much-needed security. His heart was beating rapidly a little below my head, close to my hand gripping his shirt, and I spread my palm unconsciously to savor the feeling. I could feel his nervous breaths on the top of my head and the warm air leaving his lungs was yet another comforting detail, which made me almost calm even in those unpredictable circumstances. Somehow, I knew he wouldn't let anything bad happen to us, and it was relieving to rely on someone else for the first time in a while.

The material of his shirt was soft against my face, but despite my willingness to do so, I knew I couldn't stay like that forever. Thus, I forced myself to move my head away a few inches to look up at Daryl. His eyes were alert, but now his gaze turned to the right side of the branch, which probably meant the biters had already passed us, but were still relatively close. His right hand was holding the bow at the ready, his arm muscles tense. I took my time to stare at him shamelessly, as I never had a chance to do so from such a small distance.

His lips were slightly opened, and a short stubble was visible on his chin, making me imagine how it would feel grazing my skin. There were a few small scars on his face and I wondered whether they were a token of fights, abuse or simply an aftermath of wandering around in the forest.

As I allowed my eyes to wander over his face, I noticed Daryl was now looking back at me and the noises of passing walkers could no longer be heard. Even though it must have been safe, since he allowed his guard to go down a bit, he didn't make a movement to let me go, and the realization of that fact made my knees feel weaker. I slowly sheathed my knife, as there was a big chance I would just drop it and I moved the hand which was previously holding the weapon to Daryl's chest slowly, giving him enough time to let go of me if he wanted to do that. To my great relief he didn't even budge, and I started feeling arousal between my legs, while my heart started hammering in my chest yet again.

"Were ya' serious?" He asked in a husky voice and I blinked a couple of times to focus, "Nothin' happened? Ya' don' think the little one's dead?"

I shook my head frantically and whispered, not trusting my voice to speak any louder, "I swear we just talked. I certainly hope she's not," I hesitated for a moment. "But I'm afraid-", as his eyes opened a fraction wider; I stopped again to think over my next words, "I'm not sure she could have survived this long on her own. But I have no intention of stopping, even if all we find is a- body. Carol deserves to know," I inhaled deeply, feeling my front push harder against his with that, "You all deserve to know."

For a moment, his eyes searched mine, as if he tried to assess whether he could trust me. Then, I felt Daryl's hands moving to my hips and the memory of my dream came flooding into my mind, almost making me moan in anticipation. Just like in the scenes presented to me by my brain, his palms slowly moved upwards, under my shirt and the feeling of his warm, calloused skin on my own was so much better than what my imagination managed to produce that I moaned quietly, my head falling back and a sudden sting of pain as it collided with the tree yet again that day brought my senses back, "Ouch!"

I touched my occiput carefully with one of my hands, tears filling my eyes. There was already a huge bump forming and I winced when my fingers touched it. Daryl moved a step back, taking his hands away and my skin felt freezing without his touch even with my head throbbing in pain.

"Y'okay?" He asked with concern, his eyes following my hand, as I tried to check my head for any cuts despite the sharp pain in my scalp. I felt two big hands turning me around, and I obeyed, removing my own fingers and allowing him to inspect the injury. He remained quiet for a moment, as he parted my hair with unexpected gentleness, and then he murmured, "Give me your knife."

I pulled it out of its sheath slowly, grabbing it by the cutting edge and handing it to him over my shoulder. Daryl placed the cold metal over the bump on my head, easing the pain a bit. Though, honestly, he did a way better job with numbing my senses a few moments later, when he moved closer to me, his front almost touching my back, and whispered straight into my ear. "Either ya' hit yer head real hard or ya' completely lack self-preservation instinct, if ya' gave your knife to someone standin' behind your back."

Lack of self-preservation next to you, Mr. Dixon? You have no idea.

"There are easier ways of murdering me," I murmured instead of voicing my thoughts, feeling a sudden blush creeping on my face, "Just pushing me to the other side of that tree a few minutes ago, for one. It would be such a waste of your effort if you just stabbed me to death right now."

I heard a low chuckle behind me, as he moved the knife's cutting edge to another sore spot on my head, "You're something else."

XXX

When we got back to camp, Rose was still asleep with Andrea sitting nearby and Dale on top of the RV. However, before I could even decide what to do, Shane emerged from the forest with a bag full of guns. The very bag that was supposed to be under Dale's supervision.

He approached us quickly and shoved me with a Glock so forcefully I had to take a step back to steady myself, "Now's your chance to show me your shooting skills, sunshine."

I took the gun numbly and followed Shane, Andrea and Daryl hot on our heels. The scene wasn't comforting at all, and I had a pretty good idea what the man's plan might have been. I took a slow breath, trying to figure out how to solve this mess.

"Shane!", I exclaimed, as he handed more guns to Daryl, Andrea, T-Dog, and Glenn, all of them taking the weapons obediently, "For fuck's sake, that's not how we should do it!"

"We're at risk every minute!" Shane snapped, coming closer to me, waving his free hand angrily, "Do you want us dead? Do you want the little one dead?"

"Of course not!" I yelled at him, looking up at his angered face, "I'm not even telling you not to do it at all, I'm just asking you to wait!"

"Wait for what? One of ours to get bitten?", his voice was now a quiet hiss as he stood in front of me. He was towering over me even though he was bending slightly to come closer to my level, evidently trying to threaten me with his proximity. I didn't move as I stared him straight in the eyes, pursing my lips.

"Man, back off," Daryl appeared next to me, pushing Shane away angrily. I grabbed Daryl by the arm and shook my head, trying to tell him it wasn't worth it. I slowly loosened my grip, making sure no further fight would emerge. Then, I turned my gaze back to Shane, who stayed away obediently, but I could sense the anger pouring out of him. He was holding back by a thread and pushing him wouldn't help stabilize the situation.

"Shane, please," I said quietly, trying a different approach, now pleading. I allowed my hands to fall to my sides as I took a careful step closer to him, "Let's just talk about it."

"There is nothing to talk about," he said, pursing his lips.

"Shane!" Lori's voice came from behind me and for the first time the man actually looked concerned, "She's right, we can't do it like this! Hershel will kick us out before sundown, and we need to stay!"

"We aren't going anywhere." He stated calmly, opening the bag with one swift motion and taking a gun for himself out of it.

Breathing heavily, I unlocked my gun, feeling tears welling in my eyes. I was about to pull my hand up, not seeing any other option than to threaten our way out of this, at least until Rick was here to handle it, but Daryl was quick to grab my wrist and murmur, "Bad idea, princess."

Before I could react, we heard T-Dog exclaiming something in a voice full of disbelief. As I turned around abruptly, pulling my hand out of Daryl's grip in the process, the most bizarre scene appeared in the distance, as Hershel, Rick and Jimmy emerged from the forest, leading two walkers on some sort of long arches. I think I gasped in surprise, though the whole thing seemed so unreal it might have been my imagination. I felt my legs shaking and if it wasn't for Daryl who grabbed my elbow, I would just fall right on my ass.

"Get back to Rose." He commanded and to be honest, I wanted to obey, but Shane was faster, grabbing my other arm and pulling me with him harshly, making Daryl loosen his grip on me so as not to hurt me. Not seeing any other option, I nearly jogged next to Shane, trying to keep my balance.

"No man, she's coming with us. Ain't about to test her shooting skills on my head." He barked over his shoulder and I could hear Daryl's growl of anger, as he hurried after us.

I was pretty pleased at that moment that I was always fast on my feet, as otherwise, Shane would've probably just dragged me across the ground on my knees just to make me keep up with him. When we approached the three men, Shane was literally boiling with anger and I could feel it in his tightening grip, which was becoming painful. Suddenly, he let go of me, moving rapidly towards his friend.

I could only hear a loud ringing in my ears as Shane argued with Rick, who desperately tried to keep his walker at bay. Daryl kept hovering next to me, his gun at the ready, pointed at the walker on Rick's snare pole. I tried as hard as I could to keep breathing slowly and steadily, moving the invincible. I moved my shaking hand, gripping Daryl's arm, desperately seeking any kind of comfort I could get. Shane and Rick were yelling something, but I couldn't make out the words through the loud ringing.

Daryl shot a glance at me, moving a step closer. I must have looked like shit, because he asked, "Ya' okay?"

All I could do was nod my head, as I focused on Daryl's arm muscles contracting under my fingers. I tried to count the movements and when it didn't help, I just allowed myself to focus on his presence next to me. To my great relief, the ringing got quieter, which meant I was good — for now, at least.

"Enough of risking our lives for a girl who's gone!" Shane yelled, walking towards the barn, no one even trying to stop him. I slowly removed my fingers from Daryl's arm, listening to Shane. "Enough of living next to a barn full of things trying to kill us. Enough. Rick, it ain't like it was before!" He turned his attention to the rest of us, "Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you gotta fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now."

With that, he took off running towards the barn with the intention of opening it. I stood frozen in place, as I tried to decide what to do. I looked around frantically, but no one seemed to be eager enough to stop Shane, so I moved closer to the front with Daryl by my side, positioning myself with the gun. The ringing was growing louder again, and yet again, it was all I could hear as I counted slowly in my head, breathing to the rhythm.

It seemed there was no going back right now, and I had every intention of leaving this place alive. Never, in my worst nightmares have I imagined I would use the shooting skills I gained during lessons with my dad to kill a barn full of biters, kept there by someone who trusted they could be cured. Seemingly it was me or them, so the choice was pretty obvious.

The door to the barn opened and Shane backed off a bit, fixing his stance. The walkers started leaving the dark area, growling loudly and hissing at us. I took a deep breath, suddenly thankful for the ringing in my ears, and I placed my legs further apart, gripping the gun almost painfully and unlocking it.

As a bullet from my Glock hit the first walker straight between the eyes; I just turned off thinking. Aim, shoot, repeat was my calming rhythm as others did the same next to me. Soon, it was over and everyone was standing there, panting heavily. A quiet snarling came from the inside of the barn. It wasn't over. After what felt like an eternity, a small girl shuffled out and the pained scream of Carol, who tried to pass us but was grabbed by Daryl, told me everything.

If that was possible, the ringing in my ears became even louder, as I watched the walker, which once used to be Sophia, the girl we were all looking for, move towards us. The oxygen I was trying to bring to my lungs while breathing couldn't quite reach its destination and everything was going white in front of me. I knew I had only a few moments to react, so I started running, pushing my legs to their very limit until I was hidden behind a tree. At the same time, I prayed to all the gods that I could think of; no one followed me.

I slid down the rough bark, feeling a slight pang of pain go through me, welcoming it with a bit of relief as a sign I was still there, conscious and alive. My heart was thumping in my chest so hard it threatened to leave my ribcage, and it was impossible to breathe. The air just wouldn't enter my lungs. They were sealed and refusing the needed oxygen. I started to feel slightly dizzy from the lack of air and all my thoughts were just a scattered mess, and I did my absolute best to recall something nice.

I was sitting in my room at the camp with Jake next to me and I stared at him with a small smile as he desperately tried to fix my bracelet. I could see his fingers working the tiny parts and failing horribly.

"It's broken, face it," I mocked, leaning my back against the wall, "You broke it, and it will stay that way as your remorse. I should just kill you."

"No way Vicks, I'm going to fix that shit," he muttered with his thick, British accent, leaning forwards in concentration, "Besides, killing me would mean a lot of broken hearts."

"And, by all means, could you please make a list for me?" I asked, grinning, "You know, so I can send cards with condolences?"

"I don't believe you own a piece of paper big enough for that," he said, focused on his task. Honestly, seeing this six foot four inch dude fussing with a clasp of a tiny bracelet made my day even better.

"No, why, I own a lot of the sticky notes," I mocked, pointing at my desk, "I'm sure you'd manage to write down your grandma's address if you use small letters."

"You wound me," he said, and after that, I could hear his triumphant yelp, "I did it, baby!"

My fingers grazed the bracelet and I took a huge gulp of air, as if I had just emerged from under the water. Feeling my lungs filling with air again, I placed my hands over my ears to shut the cries coming from behind me. I stayed like that for some time and suddenly, someone appeared right next to me, not giving me time to react.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Shane asked, as he stepped in front of me, "Are you fucking trying to get yourself killed?"

"Not my intention, no." I murmured, getting up. My legs protested as I struggled up inch by inch, breathing slowly. I must have been sitting there longer than I thought, feeling my jelly-like legs giving up under my weight. To my great surprise, Shane was next to me instantly and grabbed both my arms, propping me up gently, so I could lean against the tree.

"Seriously though, is everything okay? You didn't even notice when I came, and I wasn't exactly being quiet." He stared at me pointedly, still holding my arms. I nodded, taking a couple of breaths. He slowly let go of me, letting his hands hover near me for a couple of seconds as if he half-expected me to fall.

"I'm fine," I murmured, putting my hands over my face for a moment to collect myself. When I pulled them away, I forced a smile, which probably looked as if I had a sore tooth, and added, "Just needed a moment for myself."

Shane searched my face, seemingly unconvinced, but grabbed my arm and pushed me towards our camp gently. At the line of trees he stopped, looking down at my hand, where I still held the gun he had given me before. I made a move to hand it to him, but he shook his head, "Keep it, might come in handy."

I nodded, unable to voice a proper reply, and placed the gun in my back pocket. Shane started towards the camp again and barked at me, not turning around, "Just don't try to shoot me, or I'll kill you."

XXX

Yet another funeral was held at the farm and I couldn't stop thinking that in these times, it probably wouldn't be the last one we had to attend. As I hugged Rosie tightly to me, now asleep, I started wondering what was the better option: being buried or burying the dead. At that moment, I couldn't help but selfishly think the first was way easier.

Carol didn't want to attend the funeral and Daryl tried to talk her into going with quite an amount of passion. He told me she seemed to be in shock, and asked me — begged, almost — to talk to her. I knew very well it wouldn't bring any effect, because what could I tell her? I was trained to heal the body, not the soul; besides, we only talked a couple of times and my opinion didn't really matter to her. But I tried for Daryl's sake, knowing it was important to him, if he asked me so fervently to at least give it a try.

I knew I wasn't as shaken as all of them, because as terrifying as it was to be a part of the events outside the barn, I didn't know any of the people we were now burying, so I could actually consider myself lucky. Yet, I wasn't feeling like that, and it wasn't because of the people whose funerals we were holding. I was pathetic enough to pity myself, thinking about my sister and mother, who didn't have a proper funeral, and my father, who could be dead for all I know. The walls I'd built around myself were crumbling, and I had to find a way to rebuild them, fast or otherwise, I knew very well I would be kicked out, especially if Shane had any say in it. I was pathetic enough to only think about myself and ways of keeping it all together. I took a long, steadying breath, leaving my thoughts for later.

Everyone seemed resigned, and I couldn't really blame them. I looked at Daryl, who decided to hover near us again. He looked as if he was on the verge of tears, and I took a cautious step towards him. Both my hands were busy holding Rose, but I wanted to show him I was there for him somehow, so I allowed our arms to touch gently. He didn't move, which meant something in his weird dictionary.

XXX

After the ceremony was over, Daryl stalked away, not looking at anyone. I decided to give him some time and went to feed Rosie, who was awake by the time everyone said their goodbyes. I went into the camp and sat down next to the fire hole, placing the baby in my lap. I was alone, as everyone seemed to be dealing with the situation on their own. After a short moment, Dale joined me, propping his hat.

"Hello there," he greeted politely, smiling at me and Rose.

"Hi," I said, trying to smile back, but my lips didn't seem to remember the movement.

"I just wanted to say that if you need to talk to someone, I can stay with the little one," the man said, looking at me pointedly. I blinked a couple of times, trying to catch up.

"And who would I want to talk to?" I asked slowly.

Instead of answering, Dale looked somewhere. When I followed his gaze, I could see Daryl, who was now setting up his tent like 300 or so feet away from the others, almost in the forest. I raised my eyebrows, surprised to say the least. "What's going on?"

"I figured you might be the one to find out," the old man smiled, handing his hat to Rose, who was desperately trying to reach it. Absentmindedly, I noticed Dale looked better in it.

"Why me?" I asked.

"I think you know why," Dale shot me another smile, "But I will tell you anyway. It looks like you can get to him. He was always closed like an oyster and mostly kept with his brother, but he talks to you. And right now, I think we need to stay together more than ever."

I regarded his words for a moment, staring at the grass in front of us. It was dried out and definitely needed some help, like we all do these days. I nodded slowly, "That we do," I agreed with Dale quietly. As I looked back up, I could see Daryl preparing his camp, "But I'm not so sure about getting to him. I mean, yeah, he talks to me, but mostly looks at me as if I'm a huge pain in the-"

I stopped myself, my manners taking precedence over the present situation. Though the world wasn't the same anymore, swearing in front of an elder still felt like an exaggeration to me, "Well, I'm not sure he likes me at all."

"Still, if you can't succeed, I don't really see who can," the man said, and stood up, stretching out his hands towards Rose. The little traitor smiled at him and held out her little hands as well, so sighing, I handed her to Dale and stood up, dusting off my jeans.

"I'll see what I can do, but no promises." I muttered, "I was about to feed her." I gave Dale a small jar full of baby food, and he accepted it with a smile. For a moment, I started wondering if his face was ever sad, but I shook off this stupid thought.

"Don't worry about us," he answered, adjusting the baby in his arms, "We'll have fun."

As if she wanted to confirm his statement, Rose burst out with laughter. I nodded again and started walking towards Daryl's new camp, not exactly sure what I wanted to say to him. Rubbing my palms on my jeans, I regarded my options. " Hey, you moving up here?"? Or " It's okay to feel sad! Now come the fuck back to our camp, what were you thinking!"? I snorted. I didn't feel in shape to do any more comforting, since I felt a huge need of being comforted myself, but well, there we were.

As I approached, Daryl looked up at me for a second, then returned to setting up his camp, almost as if I was just a stranger passing by. It seemed like it was all the greeting I was going to get, so I accepted it grumpily.

He was currently preparing some space for a fire, digging a small hole in the ground. I bit my lip and after a short hesitation, I asked: "What are you doing?"

"Diggin' a hole."

"Yeah, I can see that," I snorted, rolling my eyes, "But why are you doing it here," I made a circular motion with my hand, "And not back there?" I pointed towards the camp with my thumb.

"'M'better on ma' own." He murmured. Now he stood up abruptly and moved a couple of paces back, and I followed him absentmindedly. He was looking at some logs, probably trying to pick one best suited for sitting. I sighed, shaking my head slightly.

"We've been there, Daryl," I said quietly, regarding him carefully, "Can you truly be better on your own with one eye open at all times?"

He didn't answer, dragging the log towards his camp, wincing slightly when his muscles tightened, pulling at the stitches. I grabbed the other side of the damn thing and pulled as hard as I could; the last thing I needed at that moment was his stitches busting. As we placed the piece of wood a few feet from the fireplace, I took a deep breath, "Please come back."

"Why?", he almost growled, looking at me angrily. I stared into his stormy blue eyes, wondering what my best approach was. Appealing to his senses? Telling him the fucking truth, that I honestly needed some stability at that moment?

"Would it be enough if I told you that I want you back there?" I asked quietly, almost shyly, and this show of weakness angered me a bit. Something between surprise and another emotion I couldn't name appeared in Daryl's eyes, but was gone just as fast. He sat down on the log, resting his elbows on his knees and staring in the distance. I looked at him for a moment, deciding it was an invitation.

I sat down next to him, hugging myself. I knew I was doing a shitty job at convincing him, but that was about all that I had left in me at that moment. He cast a sideways glance at me, "Why are ya' even here?"

"Because Dale asked me," I answered truthfully, but then added, barely audibly, "And because I really want you back."

He was silent again, so I tried to push the matter, "We need you."

This time, he chuckled, taking a stick from the ground and drawing circles with it in the dirt, "'F'course ya' do. Y'all can't hunt for shit."

I nodded slowly, sending him a weak smile, "That's true. But that's not the only reason," I murmured. I looked at his profile. At that moment, he was purposefully avoiding my gaze and I wondered why, "I think we won't be the same without you."

Another wave of silence fell on us and as it seemed he didn't plan on answering, I continued, "I think we all need each other. Even people like Shane-"

"Yea, ya' need your boyfriend, right?" Daryl snarled, interrupting me. He turned to look my way, suddenly so mad I literally felt the anger radiating off him, and I couldn't understand the sudden change of air, "The good cop, savin' the day! Ya' must be pretty happy he was right 'bout the girl!"

"Jesus Christ Daryl," I hissed, getting up with my fists clenched, "It's like taking one step forward and two steps back with you!"

"'M sorry 'm not good enough for your highness," he snorted, getting up as well and towering over me with an angry expression on his face. I came closer to him, putting my index finger on his chest, simultaneously trying to look threatening and ignore the heavenly hardness of his muscles.

"Stop calling me that," I demanded, stabbing him with my finger a few times to make my demand clear. I wondered for a second if I was touching him to prove my point or just to humor myself, but I decided to leave the thought for now.

"Weren't ya daddy's princess?" He chuckled darkly, staring down at me. It hurt, I had to admit, but by now I had a pretty good idea that when Daryl felt insecure, he was also insulting. Trying to get a grip on the anger boiling inside me, I took a few steadying breaths.

When I was sure I wouldn't snap at him, avoiding making the situation worse, I shook my head slowly, moving my hand to my side, "Why are you like this?"

"Like what?", he asked, taking a step closer to me, so now our chests were touching oh-so-lightly. It was becoming a habit for him, one I was enjoying horribly, but I had to stay focused, so I allowed my left foot to fall a step back as I gave up the body contact. If he noticed my action, he didn't show it.

"Mean," I muttered, moving my chin up to stare into his eyes, "Angry with me."

The blue pupils were boring into my eyes and after a short moment, a small smirk appeared on Daryl's lips, "Angry? I jus' don' like liars."

"And I lied how exactly?"

"Ya' tellin' me there's nothin' between ya' and Shane and I see ya' two comin' outta that forest. Ya' think I'm blind? That I couldn' see how flushed ya' were?", he hissed, taking another step closer to me, and now we were back at square one, our bodies touching, or more like brushing against each other. I took a deep, steadying breath.

"Daryl-", I started, placing one of my hands at my hip, "It's not-"

"What it looked like?", he snapped, interrupting me and this time taking a step back as if I had slapped him and my body suddenly felt cold, "not important? Not my business?"

I sighed, looking at the ground and biting my lower lip. Measuring my options, I started slowly, "I just- I just needed a moment to myself, and he found me, that's all."

Short, humorless laughter reverberated in Daryl's chest and I could literally feel it all over my body even though he wasn't touching me. I looked up at him to find him staring coldly at me. He took another step away and whispered, "You 'spect me ta believe that bullshit?"

Sudden weariness hit me and I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling cold and empty inside, "I don't know, Daryl. I literally have no expectations in that matter. You, on the other hand, seem to expect a lot of me."

I looked at him, but no response came as he only stared at me with a blank expression, so I continued, "You interrogate me literally every time I am alone with Shane. I have to explain my actions, but please tell me-" I stopped for a second, looking at Daryl pointedly, "On what grounds?"

"He's jus' no good." He murmured angrily, but didn't elaborate. I raised an eyebrow.

"And you're telling me this why, exactly?"

"I-" he stopped, as if changing his mind, "He was messin' with Lori. Before Rick came back."

"Daryl, and how does that concern me?", I muttered wearily, "Against your suspicions, I am not, what did you call it? Going buddy-buddy with him? I am also not messing with him, and I am not doing anything that would require any sort of physical contact whatsoever. Yet, even if I did-" I stopped for a moment to regard him carefully, "Why do you care?"

He glared at me for a moment and then hissed angrily, "I don't, dumb bitch."

The old me would fight back. Heck, I would have done that just yesterday. But today I had nothing left in me. Because really, was there a point? Apparently, it was just my imagination giving me some unhealthy ideas about him being jealous, ones he wasn't looking to fulfill, and it was time to make peace with that. I took three deep breaths to steady myself and murmured, "Okay. Just for the record, I'll pretend I didn't hear you call me that just this once. Keep in mind that I won't let it slip again."

I took a step back, still staring into Daryl's eyes as I did so. For a short moment I thought he looked almost disappointed, but it must have been my mind playing tricks on me, as just milliseconds later his expression was a poker one. A feeling of danger started coming down at me and I found it hard to breathe.

Not now, fuck, not now.

I turned around and started walking away with my fists clenched at my sides as I kept on breathing deeply. I desperately wanted him to say something, anything really; to run after me, to stop me, just fucking move and act, but it wasn't a romantic comedy, and we weren't miserable lovers. There was just me and the fucking walls giving up.