Whenever Daryl left his cigarettes in their tent, Zayla knew he was going out on a solo hunting mission. She knew he was still irritated at Rick for not only abandoning Sophia in the woods, but then going and allowing Carl to get shot. Hershel was up early that morning with him and encouraged the hunter to take one of the two mares along for the hunt to help carry back whatever game he found.

…

Daryl still couldn't believe how stupid he was, going and getting thrown down that damn cliff. It was the horse's fault for getting spooked by whatever the hell it was that scared the mare away. It was too fucking hot and he was covered in blood and he just wanted to go to sleep, but he had to get back to the farm…back to Zayla.

Back on Hershel's farm, the afternoon watch shift changed from Dale to Andera as Maggie and Zayla were bringing in milk bottles to be washed in the kitchen. Sophia, Glenn and Carl harvested the eggs earlier that day and had them cleaned for breakfast, which was always a treat. The preteens were now watching the only male horse frolic with the female horses and spending some alone time together while Carol and Hershel were taking on the porch while everyone else was scattered around the farm.

Andrea was overly-excited when she realized it was time for her to go on watch for the next three hours. She was determined to shoot down ten Walkers in that time, even though activity was low and she knew Shane was waiting on the ground as her backup with the walkie if she needed him. She aimed the M1 Garand and planted herself firmly on the roof of the RV as she eyed the handmade scope for her first shot. The Walker was about 55 to 60-yards away and she got the former woman right in the head. She smiled as she reloaded and searched for her next one, frowning when there wasn't another in sight. She had to pace around for fifteen minutes before she saw activity and there were to one them, one at 90-yards and the other standing at 60. She went for the closer one and missed, so she took a breath to steady herself before lining up the shot again, getting it in the throat. She waited for three minutes, but it didn't get back up, so she chalked that one up as her second one. She was unsure if the further Walker could smell the new blood or not, but after five minutes; it was walking the 50-yard line and it stopped, so she fired and down it went.

She put the rifle down to give her arm a break and almost jumped for joy before remembering that she was on the roof of the RV and that she'd likely fall if she did. She rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath, then got back into her previous position and was surprised to see a Walker crossing the 45-yard line. She waited until this one got to the 30-yard line before she fired.

"Andrea, dont'!" The walkie suddenly squealed, scaring her, but watever warning that was was a moment too late because she saw Shane and Rick yelling something in her direction.

Back in the kitchen, Zayla and Maggie were chattering away as they finished cleaning up the milk glasses, getting them ready for milking in the morning.

"Tell me if I'm stickin' my nose where it don't belong…." Maggie offered beforehand, glancing at the gorgeous redhead she was happy to call a friend. "You and the other hunter, Daryl. You seem close. He's around you more than anybody else."

"I've known Daryl since we were little kids. That's gotta be…twenty-odd years." Zayla admitted with a warm smile, reminiscing about her younger days with Daryl and Merle.

"Sounds sweet." The brunette complimented. "So, what's going on between you two?"

"Nothing." Was Zayla's reply with a slump of her shoulders, but Maggie scoffed and caught her attention. "I'm serious, Mags. There's nothin' going on with me and Daryl."

"Since y'all got here, that man's always kept you in his sights and if he can't find you, he asks Carol or Glenn where you are. Same goes for you." She told the Huntress. "You expect me to believe that you have a strictly platonic relationship with him?"

"Alright, you got me there. When we were teenagers, there were some kisses and touches, but it didn't mean anything. We were young and hormonal…but Daryl's been through some tough shit, Mags, and I was his first real friend, ya' know? I didn't use him or pity him or hurt him and that's what he was used to. Once he figured out that I gave a shit and wasn't going anywhere, he warmed up to the idea and we've been tight ever since."

The sound of some the men clamoring in the house made Zayla fall silent. She went outside and found Glenn and the others coming inside to investigate as well.

"What's goin' on?" She asked him, concerned.

"Andrea was on watch and she shot Daryl, grazed his head." Glenn answered, having witnessed the whole thing. "Listen to me, Zayla. He's gonna be fine. Hershel's gettin' him patched up right now."

"That dumb broad almost killed someone and you expect me to be calm?" She snapped at him, pushing him to the side as she made her way to the RV. "Why the fuck did she have a gun in the first place?! Y'all know she can't shoot!"

"Zayla, wait a minute!"

"Get away from me!" She warned him before she turned to Andrea and punched the blonde square in her fucking nose.

Zayla managed to pull some of Andrea's hair out and seriously bloodied the woman's face with a few more punches before Glenn got to her and pulled her off, but she wasn't finished with the bitch. She managed to slip out of Glenn's hold for a moment, but Sophia suddenly appeared in front of her and it stopped her for a split second, just long enough for Shane to get her in a bear hug she couldn't kick herself out of.

"You best pray to every god you know!" She screamed at the blonde as Glenn and Lori helped her up. "If he dies in that house, I'm gonna skin you alive, Andrea! I'm gonna slit your fuckin' throat! You gonna wish you were gettin' torn to pieces by Walkers!"

"I'm sorry, Zayla!" Andrea pleaded through a mouth of blood as she was taken to the RV.

"You're gonna be!" Zayla yelled back.

Once Andrea was locked in the RV, Shane turned Zayla to the house and let her go, his hands immediately going to cover his balls just in case the redhead decided slugging him wasn't enough. To his luck, Zayla stormed into the farmhouse and up the stairs, almost throwing Rick down the staircase as she made her way to the door Hershel was coming out of.

"Is he awake?" She asked him, her voice gentle.

"No, he's still unconscious and I reckon he'll be that way for the rest of the night." Herschel advised, much to Zayla's dismay. She was going to skin Andrea alive like the stupid bitch she was as soon as she got her hands on the dumb broad. "Before he got shot, Daryl looked like he got impaled near his hip. He managed to get the blood flow under control, but I'm worried about how much he lost. Without knowing his blood type or having the equipment for a transfusion, all I could do was stitch him up. We just have to wait for him to wake up."

"Thank you, Hershel."

"Zayla." He stopped her before she went around him and into the Hunter's room. "I don't think I need to remind you how scarce and precious our medical supplies are. I'd rather not waste them on a victim of your anger."

"Don't worry, I'll stay in here and be good." She promised before disappearing into the guest bedroom.

She knew Daryl had to be completely out of it if he allowed someone to take his clothes off because they were in a pile on the floor at the foot of the bed; his vest was draped on the chair next to the bed. The blanket was pulled up to his chest and his hands were on top as he lay there. She went to the edge of the bed and put her hand on his cheek, hoping that she'd somehow be able to get him to wake up with her touch, but he didn't even flinch.

She sighed as she took the chair next to the bed. "Damn it, Dixon. You'd better wake up."