Newly Revised

"I'm sorry, Miss Tea!" Sophia said once again as headed back to the waterfall they'd found in the creek.

"Sophia, hun, I promise, it's fine," she consoled the girl. "I'd go back for any of me knives, too. Ya don' got ta apologize anymore, ok?"

They'd been on the move for three days and Tea had decided that the girl could use a little break. Tea was certain this was the right stream they needed to follow because it was running in the opposite direction as the one Sophia had been left in and it also was heading the same way, with the sun on their left shoulder. She figured that she'd also want to clean up after getting walker blood on her pants when they'd killed a couple downstream since they were heading the right way finally and Tea didn't feel like going around. Instead, she told Sophia to get her knife out and she would get the walkers down, but Sophia had to take care of them. She had to give the girl credit because even as she paled while pulling her knife, she still dove forward and stabbed them in the eye as soon as Tea had them on the ground. Compliments were about to be given about the girl's lack of hesitance when another group of walkers stumbled onto their path. There was no way to get around them without being thrown off course, and there were only ten of them. How bad could it be? she thought to herself, immediately coming to regret the thought as four more walkers came to join the others.

"Fuck, stay behind me, Phia, got it?"

"I can help," the little girl said weakly.

"Not this time, hun. Ya not ready for it, jus' stay back," Tea told her forcefully before opening her sheath for her throwing knifes.

One after another they flew through the air and hit the eyes of five of the walkers, making them fall instantly. The rest, however, she would have to fight with her buck knife and machete that she quickly drew as soon as the other knives were gone. Tea had progressively moved herself and Sophia back so that the walkers wouldn't gain so much ground but it was too slowly as she'd tossed her knives. Her back was nearly against a tree with the girl hiding behind it after she'd only been able to kill four more with her blades. She didn't have much choice but to dodge and weave up under the walkers, only to have her boot catch on a root and for her to fall. Her ankle popped as she yelled out in pain, drawing the remaining five's attention onto her when they'd been heading towards Sophia, even though she had run a little farther away. She was able to kill the first one that fell on her with her machete, losing her grip on it as the walker fell on top of her. Her buck knife she lost on the second one, her arm getting stuck under the combined weight of the two walkers. It was difficult for her to even get one of her arms free in an attempt to hold another one back as the last two crept closer. Tea yelled at Sophia to run towards the highway and not to stop for nothing, completely willing to die if it meant the little girl lived, only to be surprised when one of the walkers fell.

Little, frightened Sophia, that beautiful, wonderful child, was standing behind where it fell, still looking absolutely terrified but Tea could see it in her eyes, that glint of determination, the will to live and never give up. She'd seen it in her own when she finally left home. Tea kept the remain two walkers' attention on her as Sophia ran towards the one that wasn't on top of her and practically jumped on its back with a yell of her own and slammed her knife into its skull. She quickly made her way to Tea and killed the last one as she held onto it to make sure it couldn't get up. She couldn't help it, really, she tried to keep it in, but the entire situation made Tea's inappropriate reaction to serious situations pop up as she began laughing her ass off at the fact that her ankle was killing her and she had almost died. Sophia managed to pull the walkers off of her after a relatively short amount of time considering how heavy they were, but Tea helped as much as she could until she was free and she was able to try to stand up. They ran into a little problem, though, when she tried to put weight on her ankle only to immediately fall back to the ground while cussing before laughing some more.

"Well, that ain' good," Tea told her, accent obscured by her laughter.

"What happened?" Sophia asked, dropping to her knees beside Tea still scared.

"Ah, I hurt my ankle somethin' fierce," Tea said, sitting up and gingerly touching the already swelling joint before putting a hand on Sophia's shoulder, moving it to her cheek as she talked. "Look at ya! Look at what ya did! I'm damn proud a ya, Phia. Damn proud a ya, kid! My gods! I told ya ta run! And ya didn'! Ya saved my life, love! And ya didn' even flinch while doin' it!"

Sophia started blushing before saying, "I...I didn't do much."

"Ya 'didn' do much?' Ya literally saved my life jus' now! How is that not much?" she asked before pulling her in for a hug. "Gods, I think I might jus' keep ya when we get back."

"Miss Tea!" Sophia said as she became flustered and fiddled with her hands.

Tea laughed, telling her, "Hey, now, I need ya ta do somethin' for me, eh? Can ya go find me a couple pieces a flat wood. Need somethin' ta brace my ankle 'til we get back. Gonna need a stick and ya ta lend me ya shoulda, too, probably. I don' know how much weight I'm goin' ta be able ta put on it 'til we get it braced."

"Flat pieces of wood?"

"Ay, lass," Tea told her as the girl looked around nervously, causing Tea to grab the girl's fidgeting hands. "Hey, ya took down three walkas by yaself without thinkin' 'bout it much, right?"

"But you-"

"But nothin'. Ya can do this, Phia. Ya got the guts. Ya got the strength. Jus', be smart. If there's more than one or two, run. Ya run and ya don' stop 'til ya get back ta our people and then ya tell 'em ta run. Ya don' stop and ya don' try comin' back for me. But, if ya can, go find me a couple pieces a flat wood so we can hopefully get back tagetha, okay?"

"Okay," Sophia told her a little disheartened, but still getting up and walking off a bit, her knife out and her back stiff.

There was no point in Tea denying to herself that she had been partial to the girl even at the quarry. As soon as she started training her, as soon as Sophia started opening up to her, she'd been able to piece things together as to how Ed treated his family. She'd watched time and time again, stepped in a couple times, kept an eye on the man just in case he decided he was going to pull anything out in the open. Honestly, she hated the fact that it had been Shane that had been the one to be the man down instead of herself. Ed was a piece of shit monster just like her family had been, and that had been the first block in her bridge towards Sophia. The girl's story was similar to her own and she wasn't about to let it end differently than her own. No matter what happened, that little girl was going to be strong enough to fight, smart enough to survive, and still have enough heart not to lose hope when all seemed lost. She was going to need those things in a world like this and she was only just now gaining them. Tea wasn't about to let Sophia stop on the road she was headed down, no matter what anyone said.

She'd been coming up with a game plan to keep the kids training now that they were on the move when the brush to her right started rustling. She managed to crawl on hands and knees over to the other walkers to grab her throwing knives before scooting backwards to grab her machete and buck knife. There was no way in hell she was going to go down without a fight. She knew what she'd told Sophia and she had meant every word of it; the kids had to survive even if every adult died to keep them that way. That didn't mean she, herself, had to lay down and die just because her ankle was screwed. The rustling in the bushes got louder to the point that she had a Dart up and at the ready, botching her throw at the last second so that it fell in front of the man's foot rather than in his eye.

"What the hell happened ta ya?" she asked Daryl with a laugh if joy as he and Sophia walked out from around a tree near her and Tea got a good look at him.

He was filthy, covered in dirt and scratches with his shirt all torn to hell and wrapped around him, blood on the side of his head. It didn't look like he had a single bolt left and in all honesty, she wasn't even sure if the man had a knife on him by the look of it. She would have been crying and running to him if it weren't for her ankle and the fact that she wasn't about to appear weak in front of Sophia after all her big talk. It didn't matter that she almost died and was still shaken from that or that her ankle was the size of a grapefruit and hurting horribly. From the look of it, she'd probably managed to dislocate it or at the very least sprain it really well. Daryl must've noticed it too, as he kneeled down and gingerly took the appendage into his hand, causing her to start laughing again as he answered her question.

"Got tossed by a horse, fell down into the ravine. What happened to you?" he asked her, his hand going to her face and wiping a bit of walker blood off her cheek.

"Kept tryin' ta get around the walka groups 'round 'ere," she told him, Daryl for once not caring that her damn accent was out even though he'd come to know that it was worse when she was upset. "Finally found our way back this mornin'. We stopped ta let Phia wash up at a dip in the creek bed, a little watafall area, ta get 'er cleaned up and have some fun. Lost 'er doll-"

"Mr. Dixon found it for me!" the little girl exclaimed excitedly, showing it to her with a happy face that Tea just couldn't help but smile back at.

"Thank ya, love," she told Daryl, taking his hand from her ankle and holding it in hers. "Anyway, we were goin' back for the doll, stayin' close ta the creek ta make sure we were goin' the right way, but it dipped down inta a cut off. Didn' have much choice but ta go around and look for a place we could get down, but this lot got in the way. I should a jus' ran away with Phia. I should a jus'...I wanted ta get back, so I decided ta fight 'em. Got caught on a root and fucked my ankle up. I jus'-I jus' wanted us ta get back. What about Carol? She out 'ere with ya?"

Daryl didn't say anything, just took the wood from Sophia and started working on bracing her ankle, "Gonna need that shirt to tie the wood. Might gotta pop it back into place, first."

"Do what ya got ta," Tea told him, bracing herself for the pain.

Sophia knelt down next to Tea and grabbed a hold of her hand for a moment before Tea took it away, afraid she might hurt the girl if she squeezed too hard. She quickly took off her outer shirt and handed it to Sophia, telling her to cut it into a long strip while Daryl did what he needed to. Daryl grabbed her foot and her leg and forcefully pulled the ankle until quite the sickening pop sounded out and Tea started cussing up a storm with tears streaming down her face. He put the pieces of wood around her ankle to keep it from dislocating again before they got back to the farm and wrapped the pieces Sophia handed to him around it until he tied it off. They both grunted and groaned as they stood up and began the long trek back with Daryl in the lead. He surprised her when he grabbed her and brought her into the side that hadn't been shot through and helped keep some of her weight off he ankle even after she protested. Sophia was awesome as she grabbed Daryl's crossbow and threw it over her shoulder, keeping her knife in one hand while holding onto the strap of the weapon. As they breached the fields surrounding the farmhouse, Tea was barely able to put her foot down without crying out and Daryl had his head down, only managing to just hold onto Tea to help her walk. Even Sophia had stopped talking after she had offered to take some of Tea's weight too, though both adults just laughed while Tea told her she was heavier than she looked. Sophia had been embarrassed for offering only to be told she'd done way too much to feel embarrassed over being a little too weak to take an adult's weight. After everything they'd been through, the little girl had grown a backbone thick enough to rival Tea's, encouraged by the woman's constant praise, and no longer looked as scared as she had when they'd first been forced to run.

"Is that Daryl?" Glenn asked as he, Rick, T-Dog and Shane ran up, everyone stopping to stare at each other as they panted from effort. "And Tea?!"

"That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head. You gonna pull the trigger or what?" Daryl growled out to Rick, who's Python was aimed at them.

Rick put the gun down, looking at the pair of hunters in disbelief for a moment before a shot rang out and Tea fell back while Daryl fell on his ass. Even though he sat up, she remained on the ground, blood now flowing from the side of her head as Sophia dropped to Tea's side. Daryl moved her hair out of her face and took a better look at the wound. He was thankful that it was only a graze, but the amount of blood she was losing for just a graze had him worried. The fact that her ankle might had twisted again on the way down didn't go past his notice, either. The pain in his side grew exponentially itself the longer he stayed bent over her, and it didn't get any better as he tried to get her into a sitting position so he could pick her up. Rick and Glenn came over and helped him get her up while Dale and Andrea ran up and Daryl began glaring at them.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Is she dead?" Andrea cried as the guilt washed over her from not listening to Dale this time.

"Unconscious. You just grazed her," Rick said.

"Fuckin' lucky that's all you did, you dumb bitch," Daryl spat as they looked over the girl, Andrea trying to apologize the entire time.

"Is Miss Tea going to be okay?" Sophia asked, causing the others to stop and do a double take of the girl.

"You bet your ass she will," Daryl told her even though he could barely tolerate the pain in his side. "She ain't gone and kept you safe this whole time just to die 'cause some dumb broad don't know how to shoot."

"I'm sorry, Daryl," Andrea tried again.

"Save it for Ania," he spat at her, though he sat back as the other two got Tea up and headed to the house and Shane and T-Dog helped Daryl up.

"Look at you guys. What the hell happened?" Glenn asked as they walked. "Why are you wearing ears?!"

"Had a close call with some walkers," was all Daryl replied back as Rick turned around and snatched the ears from around his neck and put them in his pocket. "Best give those back later. They're my trophy."

"I will, but right now we need to get you two up to the house," he replied.

"He fell down a big hill and Miss Tea got hurt fighting walkers," Sophia told them, Daryl scowling at her as they hurried towards the farmhouse, where Lori, Carol, Hershel, Maggie, Patricia, and Jimmy had congregated to see what was happening.

"Carol," Rick said loudly upon approach, the woman running as fast as she could towards her daughter.

"Oh my god!" Carol exclaimed, wrapping her up in a tight hug before grabbing her arms and moving her away. "My baby! My precious baby! Oh my god, you're covered in blood! Are you hurt? Are you okay? "

"She's fine," Daryl told her. "You can thank Ania for that."

"I killed some walkers!" the girl told her mother proudly before showing her her bloodied knife. "Miss Tea gave it to me and taught me how to!"

"What?!" came her mother's exasperated reply. "How could you let her kill walkers?!"

Carol whipped around angrily to snap at Tea only to notice multiple scowls and the unconscious woman between the Asian and the cop. Rick was scowling because the woman hanging between him and Glenn had literally risked her life in order to save Sophia's, taking on who knows what with who knew what amount of rest. Glenn and T-Dog were also upset for similar reasons, both feeling like it was wrong of Carol to be scolding the woman after she'd saved her daughter's life. Sophia's proud smile had quickly dissolved into a look of disbelief before she got upset herself as she looked at her mother while the farmer walked up. They all knew that the only reason Daryl hadn't said anything was because he'd blacked out when they'd been on the way to the farmhouse, otherwise the man would have a few choice words for the woman. Everyone in the group had come to know how defensive he was over how they spoke about her and for the most part had taken to keeping quiet about her around him.

"Right now is not the time for this," Hershel told them as he assessed their injuries. "We need to deal with those wounds. Let's get them inside," he told Rick. "I'll treat him in the spare room. You can put her in mine."

"It might be best if you treat them in the same room, respectfully," Rick told Hershel. "She's...different."

"Different how?"

"She's bat shit crazy, that's how," Shane shot out unhelpfully.

"She's au...au...autistic!" Sophia spoke up, her voice holding a lot more anger than anyone thought the little girl could muster as she remembered the word correctly. "She's not crazy! She's smart and brave and amazing! She kept me safe and found us places to sleep and food and water! She taught me how to follow a trail and how to use the knife! You don't know anything about her, Mr. Walsh."

"Is what she said true?" Hershel asked Rick, hearing everything the young lady had done for the girl and questioning the hot-headed man.

"Yes, sir, she's autistic. She's not a danger to anyone, I promise, but I don't know how she'd react to waking up in an unfamiliar house. Just to be on the safe side, I ask that they be in the same room together. He was a help in calming her down at our last camp, both when she was angered and when she was upset. I really think it's in their best interest. It's your house, your call. Like I said before, we will respect it."

Hershel looked back and forth between the two hurt individuals before Glenn spoke up and told him, "Daryl's the only one she trusts. They've, they've shared a tent before."

"Is that so?" the farmer asked.

"He's the only one I've ever seen touch her without getting punched in the nose," T-Dog offered. "And trust me, the girl's not afraid to throw a punch. Ask Shane."

"Ain't nothin' wrong with her head except the way its screwed on," Shane insisted.

"That's not helping anyone, Shane," Rick told him as they walked into the house. "She's gonna be exhausted, hurt, scared. It might not be such a bad idea to have someone she knows and trusts in the room with her. I ask on her behalf."

"How old is she?" Hershel asked, thinking that she couldn't be anymore than his seventeen year old daughter, Beth.

"She's twenty-two," T-Dog answered. "Though she acts like she's old enough to command an army," he said with a laugh.

"And do you know their relationship?"

"He's said she's his girl. I...I assumed they were together," Glenn admitted as they climbed the steps to the porch. "They shared a tent for the night back at our old camp, and then a room when we went to the CDC, too. So, I just..."

"Alright, take them both to the spare room," Hershel finally agreed.

They carried the two injured people into the house and up the stairs into a smaller room than the one they'd treated Carl in. About the time they got Tea laid down on the bed and were working on getting Daryl on it, the man came to, telling the doctor to make sure she was fine first when he came to check on him. Her head was still bleeding and the man was more worried about why a little cut was still gushing blood when the wound in his side had already stopped bleeding. He made sure to tell the man that her blood was thinner or she lacked iron, something like that, to which Hershel asked if he meant anemic. Knowing that, Hershel wasted no time in turning Tea onto her side and looking at the wound, pressing a towel onto it and telling Rick to hold it there while he went and got his stitching kit. By the time he came back up, there was a decent sized splotch of blood on the towel and the wound kept bleeding. Hershel made Rick keep dabbing at it every few stitches until it was finally all done and the blood had stopped flowing. He took the wooden splint off her ankle and wrapped it in an ace bandage to give it better stability before moving over to Daryl while Maggie came in and changed her into a shirt that covered her more than just the sports bra she'd been in.

"How're they looking?" Rick asked Hershel as the man finished stitching up Daryl.

"She's going to have a pretty large bruise around that wound. You said she's anemic, which means she needs more iron. The only other reason I can think for her to be bleeding this much is lack of sleep. She'll be fine after a day or two of rest," he assured both men. "I had no idea we'd be fighting infection so much. If it weren't for the stuff you brought with you, we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly. How did you know how to make it?" the man asked Rick.

"It's Ania's," Daryl told him, looking at Tea in wonder before pulling her closer, wrapping an arm around her.

"Any idea what happened to my horse?"

"Yeah, the one who almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country," the redneck quipped.

"We call that one Nelly, as in Nervous Nelly. I could have told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask," he told Daryl before walking up to Rick, "It's a wonder you people have survived this long."

Rick and Shane left the room, their quiet conversation entering the room as Hershel cleaned his hands and began packing up his equipment. Tea was still out cold and hadn't even moved since they'd laid her down and Daryl had come back around. The only assurance that he even had that she was still alive was the fact that he could feel her breathing in his arms. Daryl could handle Merle being in a doped up, passed out state, but seeing Tea so vulnerable with her injuries and sleeping so hard, he was worried about how to handle it. She moved to every little bump in the night, even if it was just a twitch, something that he knew because he barely slept through the night, either. Now, she'd been stitched up, hadn't even flinched when the doctor set her ankle a second time, and hadn't even jerked during their conversation. He pulled her flush against his chest in a vain attempt to get her to react before he looked at the doctor and then back to Tea.

"Hey, doc?" he asked him in a quiet voice. "She gonna be okay?"

"She just needs rest, that's all," Hershel assured the injured man. "She's had a rough few days according to the little girl. She'll need to stay off that ankle as much as possible and keep it wrapped for a while if it's going to heal right. Let her rest. She should be up by tomorrow, at the latest."

"Thanks," the hunter said, eyes still on the back of Tea's head. "Hey, uh, sorry 'bout the horse."

That surprised Hershel as he stepped out of the room. Glenn, Andrea, Sophia, and a rather disgruntled Carol were waiting outside. Daryl heard the muffled conversation about Tea's state of health and closed his eyes as he leaned into her hair. He tried his hardest not to let his emotions out as he thought about everything that had happened in the span of a week. First, she'd knocked his brother out and the two of them had ended up basically making it clear that they weren't leaving each other any time soon. Then they'd learned everything they had at the CDC before almost dying by literal fire because a basket case who'd rather 'opt out' then face the world. No one could have expected the herd on the highway let alone how Sophia would run off with a couple behind her. He should have known as soon as he heard the little girl had run that Tea would immediately go after her, but it had taken four days for her to find her way back. They'd both had near death experiences with the walkers and been injured to the point of needing medical attention, and that had been before Andrea had shot the girl. Now, although he had her back, she was still out cold to the point that not even the doctor knew when she would wake up. He ended up falling to sleep for a couple hours as the exhaustion from the climb overtook him and he listened to her breathing. The only reason he woke up was because he felt her move in his arms, starting to struggle against him as her body shook and her breathing became shallow.

"Easy, girl. I got you," he told her, feeling her body instantly relax in his hold.

Tea turned around to see him smiling softly at her, her own smile smothering out as her face began to flush as she watched him looking at her. She'd seen the smirks, half smiles, and relaxed and content smile when they were intimate, but the softness in his gaze as he moved a hand to her face had her practically unable to breath. She placed her own hand on his cheek before leaning in and placing a light kiss to his lips and wrapping her arms around him as best as she could given their injuries and position. Tea laid her ear against his chest as gingerly as she could given the fact that the side of her head on it hurt like a bitch. She didn't care as she tucked herself under his chin as his arms came around her and she felt him place a kiss on her forehead. Daryl sighed as he felt her shift to be more comfortable in his hold, forcing him to let her leg between his as she got as close to him as she could. They stayed like that, just silently listening to each other breathing, until the light outside the window disappeared and a knock on the door broke them apart. Daryl grunted while laying on his back and put an arm around Tea who sat up and covered them both up as much as possible as Sophia came bounding into the room. The girl wasted no time and had no problem in skipping up to Tea's side of the bed while Carol walked into the room and basically plopped down facing the two occupants. She smiled brightly, happy to see Tea awake and moving before throwing herself around the woman, giving her a big hug. Tea gave her a one armed hug back, a small smile on her face.

"How are you feeling?" Carol asked the pair a little tersely while looking them over and frowning.

"'Bout as good as I look," Daryl replied.

"Tired, but the doc says I'll live," Tea told her, even though she told it more to Sophia than the woman who'd raked her eyes over her man.

"I brought you some dinner. You must be starving," Carol replied before looking back and forth between the two again and frowning deeper, placing the tray on the nightstand next to Daryl. She took a deep breath and put a hand on his shoulder while Tea and Sophia both frowned at the action and told him, "You need to know something. You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did in his whole life."

"I didn't do anythin' Rick or Shane wouldn't a done, anythin' Ania didn't do," he told the woman a bit heatedly.

"I know," Carol told him gently, waving her hand for Sophia to go with her.

"Are you going to be okay?" the little girl asked the hunters.

"'Course we will," Tea smiled warmly at the girl. "Ain' nothin' stoppin' us but us. Go on with ya momma."

Tea reached over Daryl and grabbed the tray, bringing it onto the bed with his help as each of them used one hand to hold onto it. It had two plates of potatoes, chicken, fresh green beans, and homemade cornbread along with a couple glasses of lemonade with mint leaves in it that made Tea balk and ask if they just had water in the room. As she said, lemonade wasn't supposed to be minty, it was supposed to be sour sweet and taste of lemons and whatever other random fruit was thrown into it, not leaves she'd use for tea. She complained about it the entire time she was handing him a plate and silverware and his own glass of mint-infused 'whatever it was' before sitting cross-legged beside him and putting her own plate on her lap. They were eating in relative silence, even though Daryl was being a bit of a pig abut his which made Tea look back at him with a scrunched up nose at the sound of it.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Nothin'," she told him with a laugh. "Jus' happy ta be back with my redneck and all the joys that come with it."

"Like what?" Daryl asked as he took a bite and smacked his lips again.

"Like the sound a an animal eatin' next ta me," she cackled, causing him to look at her wide-eyed before scoffing and shaking his head, going back to eating and being even louder than before.

Tea couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as she pushed him a bit with her elbow before fretting when he groaned and told her to watch his stitches. She apologized and tried to look at his wound only for to Daryl scoff at her and stop her hands with a gruff 'it's fine' as her only comfort of the fact. They finished the meal in relative silence after that before returning the tray to the nightstand and laying back down with nary a word spoken between them. Tea put her head on his shoulder as he lay on his back, one hand on his chest to avoid his wound, one tucked up under her chin as Daryl wrapped an arm around her and started rubbing up and down her bicep. It took a few minutes before he felt the wetness on his shirt and the shakes that had overtaken her body become exponentially worse. He replaced his arm around her and just held her until the doctor came in, making her jump and grab a hold of his shirt before he had a chance to introduce himself. After he did, Tea sneakily dried her tears and pretended she wasn't in the middle of a breakdown, introducing herself properly as well. Daryl kept his arm around her as she rolled over when Hershel came over and checked on her wound, changing the bloody bandage and cleaning the area with a soft cloth before attempting to wrap it back up.

"Do ya got my herbs from my pack?" she asked, looking behind her at Daryl when the man tried to apply ointment as she held a hand up to stop him.

"Yeah. Had Glenn bring 'em here," Daryl replied.

"Could I get those herbs, please?" she asked the doctor.

"This ointment will heal it faster," Hershel tried to argue.

"Then shouldn' it be used for if we need it for somethin' worse? Not a little scratch on my head."

"You got shot," Daryl growled out. "Ain't a little fuckin' scratch when you needed stitches just to stop the damn bleedin'!"

"Oh, well, they say head wounds bleed the most," she shrugged before turning back to the doctor. "Those herbs, please? If I had any fresh wooly lamb's ear, I wouldn' be usin' up ya bandages, eitha. Got ta keep that shite for the real emergencies."

"Alright," Hershel said as he began checking Daryl. "I have a couple questions, if I could?"

"Shoot," Tea told him, not thinking about what he could ask until he'd spoken and her face turned dark.

"Glenn said the two of you are together," Hershel started, making both of their hackles stand on edge, "and Rick said you were twenty two and autistic, is that correct?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Daryl answered.

"I told ya," Tea said, her voice wavering as she tried to hold back everything that was crashing around her. "I told ya, people are goin' ta judge ya 'cause ya with me. They're all goin' ta think the worst 'cause I'm younga and fuckin' crazy ta them."

"I told you. I don't care 'bout any of that. You ain't crazy and what we do ain't any of their business," Daryl told her.

"Ma'am, I was not meaning to be offensive or judge your relationship," Hershel said gently, watching as her body was wracked with tremors. "I was simply trying to make sure that information was correct. I'm sorry for upsetting you."

"It's fine," she whispered, unable to keep the floodgates closed any longer.

Hershel couldn't help the concern he had for the girl simply because she looked as young as Beth, but his concern turned to guilt as he watched the two. The young girl turned around in the older man's arms and started to sob while holding onto his shirt as he held onto her around her waist, pressing a kiss to her head. It was obvious to him that the two of them cared deeply about each other even if they had a decent amount of years between them. The exhaustion she must have been feeling had also gotten to the point that her emotional state was displaced so much that the mere inquiry he'd made had been what set her over the edge. Daryl had his chin on the good side of her head as the tears kept flowing even though she did her best but still failing to stop crying. He nodded at the man who did the same back before he moved out of the room and closed the door behind him. Rick stood in the hallway and asked if the pair were alright, hearing Tea's sobbing in the room even through the door. The doctor told him that she was exhausted and her mental state was as bad as Rick had predicted, apologizing for doubting his group's words.

"It's understandable. A young girl with an older guy, that'd turn heads even before everything went down hill," Rick told him as he nodded his head. "I'm not surprised she's exhausted. Sophia said that she only slept a couple hours, ate the least amount of food, carried Sophia on her back several times. She took down quite a few walkers before she hurt her ankle, too. I should thank you for letting them stay in the same room."

"I can see why you wanted them to," Hershel admitted. "She's going to be having a tough time calming down with how strained both her mind and body are."

Back inside the room, Tea was a sobbing mess. She wasn't going to be able to stop any time soon and Daryl wasn't even going to try to stop her. He just held her close as her body shook, letting her cling to him tightly. Her body was shaking badly, not only wracked by the sobs. It took a long while for her to calm down enough to start talking against his chest.

"I thought I was dead," she sobbed. "There were three on me and I was pinned by the one I'd killed. If she hadn' a been there. Oh gods, Daryl! Why didn' I jus' grab 'er when I grabbed Carl? Why didn' I jus' tell 'er ta run when we came up on that group? We should a jus' run. And Carol, fuck Carol?! She's actin' like I cursed 'er kid by bringin' 'er back! She hasn' said two words ta me for some reason and I don' know what I fuckin' did except bring Sophia home! Kid ain' even mine and I almost died for 'er for 'er motha ta treat me like shite! Woman was busy makin' dinna and doin' laundry while 'er kid was fightin' for 'er life and savin' my ass! I should a jus' grabbed 'er and Carl and kept 'em both safe. Gods, none a this would a happened if I'd a jus' gone ta fuckin' Atlanta with Merle! I'm so fuckin' useless!"

"You really goin' back to that?" Daryl growled at her before putting his forefinger under her chin and forcing her to look up at him. "You ain't at fault for what happened back then. We both made that choice. As for Carol? Who fuckin' cares? You're the one who kept that little girl safe. You're the one who brought her back. The one that taught her how to fight in the first place. Hell, might as well be her mother, all you done for 'er. Ain't even yours and you almost died only to get shot in the head. You can't be blamin' yourself for this, you hear? You did right by that girl and her momma even if her mom ain't gonna give you credit."

"She blames me for makin' Sophia fight. I should a jus' told 'er ta run and held 'em off myself. She'd a been fine. You would a found 'er," she tried to reason. "I should a jus' made 'er run."

"And you'd be dead. Might of found her, but I'd of never found you. You'd really do that to me after Merle?"

Tea's breathing came to a halt as she looked into his eyes before closing hers, her tears still falling as he brought her face back to his chest and held her. Her nerves were still a mess if how she'd been talking since she woke up was anything to go by. Any other time, she really did sound more like him and Merle than anything else, but when she was worked up like she was right now, the Irish she got from her mother came out thick. Daryl knew she'd have a hard time calming down after everything that happened. She hadn't had a chance to do much more since Merle went missing than he had when it came to dealing with anything and she was taking an awful lot of guilt on herself for it all. The difference between them was that he already knew there wasn't much else that they could have done differently and it was Merle's own fault for not waiting. To her, though, if she had gone with him to help keep him under control, none of what had happened so far might have happened. She had a butterfly effect-type complex that made her see everything as connected to a single point in time that would have changed the outcome of everything if she'd have just done one thing different. Even if he pointed out everything wrong with that train of thinking, like the fact that the walker pack would have attacked anyway and they wouldn't have had the guns that saved the day, she would still find a way to blame herself.

"You know you did all you could, right? Ain't nothin' anyone could've done different," he told her. "Hell, you did more than even Carol did."

"Did she even look for 'er?"

"One day. Went out with us one day, that's all. Told me to give up when I was gettin' the horse ready."

"That child deserves more than that for a motha," Tea spat. "Neva once protected 'er in 'er life long enough for it ta matta and then didn' go afta her? How can she claim ta be a motha if she fuckin' gave up 'fore she even really tried lookin'?"

Daryl stayed quiet, unable to answer her questions, and just held her as she talked about everything that had happened while she'd been gone. Apparently, Sophia had thought she heard a walker and had veered off course in her fear, only to run into the pack that Tea had found trying to get at her. The girl had been so scared that she'd completely forgotten about the knife at her back and had instead been screaming and crying and drawing attention to herself. All it took was a little encouragement and a training session with a couple solitary walkers to get the girl to realize she didn't need to be so scared. While she didn't go into detail, she explained enough about what Sophia had shared with her to make Daryl understand just how much Ed had truly been a major bastard. Tea turned back around and cuddled as close to Daryl to get off the injured side of her head as he told her what had happened while she'd been gone. He told her how he'd talked to Andrea after he'd gone looking for them in the woods the first night, how Carl had been shot the next day when they'd split into two groups, and how they'd left supplies and a sign up on the highway for them. When he got to the point where he'd found the abandoned farmhouse, Tea began crying again and apologizing all over again, saying she should have just stayed put. She and Sophia had left the farmhouse not too long after the sun had come up and had moved as fast as they could to try to find the way back. If she'd have just waited a couple more hours, he would have found her and neither of them would have sustained the injuries they were laid up with. He told her to shut up, she'd done exactly what he would have done if the situation had been reversed, only to be called a liar because he knew these woods while she was basically an amateur. She didn't know nearly as much about these woods and hadn't had time to mark her trail when they'd run during the night, which meant that, even if he'd have gone after Sophia instead of her, he'd have found the highway before they even left. Once again he stayed quiet because what she'd said was true and instead opted to just hold onto her and tell her to go to sleep; they both needed it if they were going to heal.

Daryl woke up a couple hours before Tea began to stir, just watching her sleep as she lightly snored against his chest. She looked almost childlike with her arms folded under her chin while she laid curled on her side in his shirt and a pair of shorts she'd borrowed from Maggie. She looked so fragile and innocent laying there until she moved her head just a bit and hissed as one of the stitches snagged on the pillow. Tea fully woke up a couple minutes later, sitting up and holding onto her head. The bandage on her head had fallen off while she was sleeping which didn't surprise either of them considering how much hair she had. It'd be hard to keep any kind of gauze-type bandage wrapped around her head. An older lady who introduced herself as Patricia brought them up some breakfast and double-checked their stitches before letting them know they were free to head back out to the group when they were done. They wasted no time in finishing the food before they both slowly got up and left the room, Tea using the wall for support before Hershel walked up with a cane.

"You two better take it easy today. Do too much, you're gonna rip the stitches in your side open," he told Daryl, turning to Tea and warning, "And you, you walk on that ankle for too long, there's a chance you could break it if it rolls again. You need to rest. Can you promise me that?" he asked, though he mostly looked at Tea when he said that after hearing how she had pushed herself with the little girl.

"Uh, I'll try?" Tea answered, unsure of what he was getting at while Daryl just scoffed, making sure to have his good side against her when he put his arm under hers and started helping her out to the tent.

Neither of them said much when they got to the tent, Daryl laying down on the cot while Tea sat and pulled a book out of her bag. He wasn't sure how much time had passed with them being silent before he looked over at her and saw her staring into space while facing the pages of the book, not reading a single word. She was too busy going through all the scenarios and decisions that could have played out and the changes to reality they would have made. There was no going back and hindsight would always be 20/20, but what good was dwelling on a past she couldn't change and coming up with a thousand ways it could have been different? It was a stupid thing to do, but she just couldn't get out of her head long enough to focus on anything but the fact that there was a book in her hand and Daryl had been staring at her for a few minutes. Tea looked up at him and tried to give him a smile, but it didn't even fully form before it fell and he sighed and let her return to staring at her book. Daryl picked up one of the bolts he'd managed to leave behind when he'd been looking for Sophia and made sure it was in good condition before he began poking holes into the mesh window. Tea looked up from her book and watched him for a while as a soft look on her face grew and she snorted a quiet laugh through her nose.

"Ya goin' ta let the bugs in doin' that," she warned as she watched Andrea walk up to the tent.

Tea wasn't entirely too thrilled with the woman for shooting her without the proper training let alone having a clear shot. The sun had been behind them when they broke through the woods, which would have distorted the view given through the scope. Andrea hadn't even thought of that and instead had been stupid and reckless and damn near killed someone in her desire to prove her worth to the group. It was an admirable thing to want to do if she had known what the hell she'd been doing with a rifle when she'd barely known how to use the safety of a handgun for a week. She was pretty sure that if it hadn't have been for the glare that was bound to be on the scope, Andrea would have definitely killed her, and possibly Sophia who had been walking behind her. While she was trying to protect the group, that didn't mean that being a fool wasn't a liability in its own right. Andrea came through the door, holding out a book to Daryl as she watched Tea clearly ignore her, or at least thought she was.

"This is not that great," she said as she handed it over to Daryl and kneeled down next to Tea.

Daryl flipped through it and quipped, "What? No pictures?"

"I'm so sorry. I feel like shit," she told Tea, the woman not even looking at her.

"Yeah, that's what happens when ya don' know what ya doin' and shoot someone in the head," she shot back before sighing and calming down. "Ya need a bit more trainin' with a handgun 'fore ya start with a rifle. Ya only jus' learned how ta use a handgun, and ya don' have the trainin' needed for a rifle. If it weren' for the glare and the kickback, ya would a killed me right when I managed to get back."

"I truly am sorry. I don't expect the two of you to forgive me, but if there's anything I can do..." she trailed off.

"Ya can do betta next time and rememba that if there's a glare on the scope, ya need ta move 'fore ya take the shot so ya know what ya shootin'," Tea told her. "I don' mind ya tryin' ta protect the camp. I get it. But if ya goin' ta do it, ya got ta do it right. Ya can' tell if it's a friendly or a walka if the sun's in ya eye."

"I'll try to remember that," Andrea told her, surprised that Tea wasn't really angry and instead giving her advice. "You're not angry?"

"Nah, no point in it."

"We're good," Daryl agreed now that his anger had passed making Anrea smile as she got up to leave. "But hey," he called, "Shoot at us again and you'd best pray I'm dead."

He listened to Tea giggle at that and couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face. Daryl loved the sound of her laughter, whether it was a giggle or a quick laugh, but he rarely ever got to hear it. Aside from when he'd told her about his itchy ass and when he'd managed to tickle her once when they were stoned, he hadn't heard her do more than a chuckle. Grabbing her hand, he kissed the back of it before asking her if she had any other books in her bag that wasn't such a shitty book as Dale's. She had three thick volumes that consisted of several volumes of the same series were in one book; The Lord of the Rings, His Dark Materials, and The Chronicles of Narnia. The last book he recognized from his mother's collection, Belgarath the Sorcerer, picking it up and flipping through it before turning back to the first page. Tea watched him became completely engrossed by the story as he read through the first few pages relatively quickly.

"Didn' take ya for a deep book kind a guy," she commented.

"Why? Didn't think I'd get it?" he asked a little heated, Merle's words coming back to him before she blushed and quickly answered.

"Nah, nothin' like that! I swear! I didn' mean nothin' by it! Ya smarta than ya show, let alone ya and the othas give yaself credit for. I jus' didn' think ya'd actually like books like this. Pictured ya as more a Field and Stream or Classic Bike kind a guy. Ya know, magazines 'bout huntin' and fishin' and motorcycles and mechanics, that kind a thing."

Watching as she got flustered and tried to explain herself, Daryl just scoffed and shot her a smirk, admitting. "I had a collection of books back home. Favorite one was one of the copies of the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe."

"Ya got ta be shite'n me!" Tea said, her voice finally having some emotion as a genuine smile broke out across her face.

She reached over to her bag and pulled it onto her lap so that the smaller pockets were facing her. From the middle one, she pulled a well worn book whose writing on the spine was barely visible. She was giving him the same smile as the one she had when he'd given her the crossbow while Daryl wished he had a camera. While he didn't like having his picture taken, if he could have one of that smile of hers, especially when she had that excited glint in her eye, that's all he could ask for. She held out the book to him and practically shoved it into them when he stared at her in confusion. He gave her a dirty look before he opened the front to find "The Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" written on the front page, along with a note from her grandmother. His scowl quickly turned into shock and then to awe when he looked back at her and found her expectantly waiting for him to say something. Rather than saying anything right away, he reached out and grabbed her neck, pulling her down into a searing kiss that had her sigh out a moan.

"God I love you," he told her when he pulled back.

"God ain' got nothin' ta do with it," she laughed.

Tea reached over and closed the flaps to the tent before carefully straddling his hips before leaning down . One of his hands found its way to hers and the other tangled in her hair, holding her against him. She moaned against his lips as his tongue wrapped around hers and they both began moving their hips slowly against each other. Daryl wanted nothing more than to flip them over and take her, but the straining in his side just from trying to move against her held him back. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her back and pressed her stomach to his, causing her breasts to push up against his chest. She pulled back just enough to be able grind against him while they kept fighting over who would dominate the kiss. Tea willingly lost as his hand went under her shirt and up to her nipple, teasing it between his thumb and forefinger, making her moan and drop her head to the side. Daryl gladly took the opportunity to attack the mark that had barely started to disappear from the CDC and make it dark again for everyone to see. She moaned again and ground against him as he moved his hand from her chest and down to her ass, grabbing it and pressing her harder against him.

"Ya ain' gonna be able ta do nothin'," Tea smirked down at him as she pulled away to sit all the way up, her hips still moving against his large bulge. "All them times ya spent takin' care a me. Let me take care a ya taday."

She bent down and gently captured his lips before pulling back, enjoying the sight of his eyes following her every movement. Taking the hem of her shirt in her hands, she slowly lifted it up and off her frame, giving him a view of her bare chest, his eyes immediately going to them as she smirked down at him. Tea known she would condemned to a life of rest in one place or another, so she'd forgone her normal comfort bra and just put her shirt on. The look on Daryl's face as she slowly slid the shirt from her long locks had her happy she'd made that decision as she flicked her tongue over her lips. Bending down to steal another kiss, she lightly traced the open sides of his shirt until she found the few buttons he'd bothered doing up, making quick work of the things before moving from his lips down his jaw.

"I love ya, Daryl," she whispered into his ear before taking the flesh of the lobe into her mouth and pulling on it lightly with her teeth, making him hiss and slowly roll his hips.

The slow motion of everything she was doing was driving Daryl crazy. It'd been four days since he'd been able to feel his girl, all of it spent apart until last night, not even really knowing if they would see each other again. Even though he wasn't sure if this was right with how she had been acting, if she was willing to initiate it, who the hell was he to stop her? Besides, once she got started, it was just as hard to shut her off as it was him. He happily followed her with his eyes as she moved down having spent some time on his neck peppering kisses and nips along his flesh. Her eyes met his as she moved on to his chest, taking one nipple between her teeth before moving on, making him groan as he watched her, her lips constantly switching between kissing his skin, which was fast becoming sensitive, and nipping at him. Tea was careful around his stitches, head straight to the area above the button of his pants rather than kissing along his Apollo's belt, keeping her eyes on his as she worked them open. She pulled them down his hips until they reached his thighs and freed his rather stiff member. Licking her lips, she used one hand to tuck her hair behind her ear while wrapping her other hand around him. Kissing the head softly, she liquid his shaft down to his testicles, meeting his eyes as she sucked one into her mouth and twirled her tongue around it. She repeated the action around the other one as Daryl groaned, his head falling back before coming back to look at her. He move his hand into her hair and moved it so that it would completely free of her face so that he could get a better view as she licked her way back up to his tip.

Daryl watched the mischief and desire grow in Tea's eyes as she looked up at him while slowly twirled her tongue around his head and shaft as she took his length into her mouth. She moaned at the taste of him as Daryl closed his eyes and hissed while she worked her way downward. She smiled as well as she could with her lips wrapped around his girth, his head hitting the back of her throat as she swallowed and relaxed around him, burying her nose in his pubes. Daryl's shuddered breath was all that she needed to hear to know he was thoroughly enthralled by what she was doing as she worked her way back up to his tip. She kept one hand on his hip while moving the other down to his balls and fondling them at the same time as she sucked on just the tip before swirling her tongue around it. Tea loved the sounds Daryl was making as she moved back down, repeating the action several more times while he began bucking more aggressively into her mouth.

"Fuck, baby girl," Daryl huffed, looking down at her, that look still in her eyes. "Keep it up like that..."

Tea didn't even bother to answer, wrapping her tongue around his head before flicking the tip right against the slit of his dick, collecting the precum there and tasting it before twirling her tongue around the tip again. Burying her nose back in his pubes, she looked up at him as she swallowed around his head, allowing him to buck into her throat slowly while using her hair to force her to take him as deep as he could get. It was pretty damn obvious to him what she wanted, and he was all too willing to oblige as her throat began to seize around him, Tea unable to stop herself from gagging at the feel of his tip against the back of her throat. He let her slide his dick halfway out of her mouth before he stopped her movements and bucked a couple more times, releasing a guttural groan as his seed shot into her waiting mouth. Daryl didn't know how the hell to react when, rather than dropping his member from her mouth, she simply swallowed down his cum and kept sucking on his softening member, moaning around his shaft at how he tasted.

"Dammit, Ania, stop" he groaned, using his hands tangled in her to force her up and off of him. "Take them pants off."

Tea pouted, but got off the cot and stood facing Daryl. With her eyes locked on his, she had a playful smirk on her face as she slowly slid the button from it's hole and the zipper down it's length, shifting her weight back and forth and making sure to make him wait as she slid the tight jeans down her hips. Using the need to take them off her legs, she bent forward to give him a full view of her chest only for him to reach out. He twisted the nipple before he ran his thumb over the hardening peak while her lips parted and her breath hitched. She barely managed to step out of the offensive garments before Daryl was positioning her how he wanted her.

"D-D-Daryl!" she complained as she blushed furiously at the position they were in.

She was on her knees facing towards his cock while her damn near dripping sex was facing Daryl. It was so embarrassing to Tea how open and exposed she felt. They'd never been in this position before, and while it did turn her on to be face first with his dick and knowing what he wanted to do to her folds, she couldn't help but want to hide her head in shame as she was sure it wasn't a pretty sight. All reservations went out the door, though, when she felt the flat of his tongue take her from clit to opening before diving right in. She tried to return the favor, but the most she could accomplish with the feel of his tongue overwhelming her was to pump him with her hand and occasionally twirl her tongue around his head before sucking as far down as she could and repeating the action. His thumb found its way to her clit as his tongue and lips sucked and lapped at her, her juices flowing down his face as she mewled for him. He moved from her opening back to her clit as two fingers found their way to her opening and began thrusting inside her. Daryl was completely enthralled when she sat up practically sat on his face, her orgasm building as he worked at her. Tea couldn't even describe what she was feeling even if she wanted to, his fingers working her insides while his tongue and teeth worked and sucked and nipped at her sensitive bundle. With a cry of his name, she bore down on his face, grinding against his tongue and lips as he brought his hand away and pushed her up just enough to be able to breathe.

"Fuck," she said as she turned around, blushing as she saw his face slick with her juice and a smirk etched there as he wiped it off.

"Liked that, huh," he teased before bringing her lips down for a crushing kiss.

Tea could taste herself on his tongue, moaning as the taste of their combined juices as she traced one hand lightly down his chest. Carefully positioning herself to where she wouldn't hurt his stitches, she straddled him once again and lined up his member with her entrance. Sinking down on him as slowly as she could to be careful, she felt as his girth penetrated her to the core inch by slow inch until she was firmly seated on his cock. Daryl put his hands on her hips as she brought one hand up to her hair to get it out of her face while the other pressed against his chest. She rolled her hips in a circular motion, feeling him as she raised herself slightly as she continued to gyrate. The slow motion had her rolling her head back and moaning out load as his hand moved to her breasts. Tea could feel his head hit deep into her core as she sunk down, rolling her hips in a circle before raising them all over again.

"Damn, baby girl. Just like that," he told her breathlessly.

"D-oh, fuck," she sighed even as she quickened her pace.

Daryl couldn't stop himself up into her as she began to roll her hips against him, his hands moving to them to help guide her movements, the pull from the stitches in his side all but forgotten as he watched her. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she bounced on his member, her breasts jumping in tandem with her movements as her hair cascaded around her shoulders. She was a vision of beauty as he dug his heels into the cot and guided her harder while thrusting up into her. Her eyes met his and she bent down, capturing his lips, her breathing haggard as she moved back and brought her knees up to press the flat of her feet onto the cot. The new position allowed her to literally hop on his dick, allowing him to hit her back walls, causing him to cuss all over again. Her walls began to flutter around him as she lost control of her voice and began to alternate bouncing up and down and rolling her hips. He sat up as best as he could and reached up to her neck, pulling her down for a kiss as her knees fell back to his side, her feet sliding back down to his hips as they moved together. Once again, he used one arm to trap her against him, thrusting up into her, barely able to keep control of the pace she'd set. If it weren't for his stitches, he would have been taking her with wild abandon, but instead, his heels dug into the cot all over again as they both moved together to chase their release. It slowly built as she leaned back yet again, capturing his hands in hers as their bodies moved to their torturous rhythm. Entwining their fingers, she used his arms as leverage to move faster, meeting his thrusts so he could go deeper, all while staring in his eyes. Her breasts peaked through her hair as it began to fall over her shoulders, offering a curtain of honeyed embers against her pale skin. The visual of her riding him as she keened and moaned his name, her walls clamping around him, made him cum hard inside her as she fell to his chest. They were both panting and slick with sweat as they hissed when she moved off him and laid down next to him.

"Fuck, baby girl," Daryl said. "Supposed to be takin' it easy."

"Thought that was," she quipped with a smile. "Compared ta how ya normally throw me 'round, this was supa easy."

"Mm-hmm," he said, grabbing her neck and giving her a soft, lingering kiss.

"Ya know I love ya, right?" she asked.

"I know. Fuck, that wore me out."

"Mm-hmm," she said as she kissed his shoulder and settled beside him, both falling into a blissful sleep completely unaware of the truck coming back from gun training.