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Daryl's POV

"Hey, lil bro" Merle grunted at me from around the corner. "I need a favour.." He smirked with a wink.

I ignored him and continued to move my bag and sort through my arrows. "Aw, come on man, don't be like that!" He said with a loud and open voice.

"What is it?" I grunted quietly.

He smiled and nodded, staggering into the tent where I was stood. "It's about.." He cleared his throat and looked around. "Kel'z and the kid.."

"Kel'z?" I raised my brow.

Merle nodded, pushing his lips out slightly. "Yeah, you know, Kelly and the kid"

I threw my bag on the floor and sat on my cot. "What about em?"

"With me goin' to Atlanta, I don't know what'll happen..I just..I care about em, you know? I wanna know that you'll keep em safe for me if I don't come back.." Merle's tone was suddenly very low and I got the impression he was deadly serious. Merle wasn't one for words and promises which was why it surprised me.

Shrugging, I growled. "Well you are comin' back so it don't matter" I was fiddling with my arrows when Merle grabbed my wrist.

"You don't know that lil brother.." He said with a cocked head.

Suddenly, I snapped. "Why's it gotta be me? You wanted to bring em with us! If you're scared you ain't gonna be around maybe you shouldn't go...you sure as Hell shouldn't dump em on me!" I whispered and soon, it turned into a heated discussion.

Merle stepped forward, getting in my face. "You saw how they were, she was terrified and he kid was even worse! How long do you think they would've survived if we hadn't found them? Huh?"

I didn't answer, instead, I let my head hang low. He nodded. "That's what I thought. If we ad left them, they would've died. Then that's on us man. Just watch em, if not her then the kid.."

He turned to leave the tent. My head snapped and I looked up. "It wasn't about the kid. It isn't about the kid. It's about her..." I snapped and Merle hesitated before he walked away and joined everyone as they got their gear together.

"Daryl..Daryl!" Kelly shouted causing me to jump up from my cot. "Will you watch Charlie and put him to bed, while I go for a shower please? Jenner said there was hot water and I'd like to make use of it" She chuckled. I nodded slowly. "Thanks" She smiled as Charlie bounced in from behind her.

She nodded and turned away. Charlie looked at me with a grin on his face. "Were you dreaming?" He asked slowly.

"Hm." I nodded and grunted.

He smiled. "I had a dream that we found a cure.."

I sighed. "Maybe one day kid"

Kelly's POV

Slowly, I unclipped my bra and let it fall down my arms and onto the floor. I couldn't take my min off what Jenner had said about the doctors.

"When things got bad, a lot of people just left. Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted..."

"Many couldn't face walking gout the door. They...Opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time..."

People were so ashamed that they couldn't carry on anymore. Humanity had fallen yet they still felt ashamed, so ashamed they couldn't bear to walk out. The world had ended. Rule of law was dead, despite what Rick thought. Human instinct was taking over, primal instinct. The new world wasn't a place any of us wanted to be in, but it was a place that some of us most definitely belonged in.

The water ran down my back and my hair as I smiled. The water was comforting and soothed my aching back. Running my hands through my hair, I began massaging my scalp with a grin on my face. A shower was a luxury, and was certainly something we all missed. I decided that I had been in there long enough and was conscious about the amount of hot water I was using, so I turned the tap off and hopped out, wrapping a towel around my body.

With a towel around me, I stumbled into the room that Charlie and I were staying in, we had a separate room to Daryl because, despite sharing a tent with him, we wanted our own space. Charlie was routing through my bag as I walked in. "Sweetheart?"

He looked at me. "I can't find my things!" He yelped.

"Has Daryl got them?" I asked. He shrugged. "I'll go ask.." I mumbled and made a quick trip across the hall.

With a quiet knock on the door, I wandered in.  "Come in--Oh.." He stopped and sat up. "Y'alright?" He asked.

"Have you got Charlie's bag? He's panicking thinking he's lost it..." I asked looking around the room.

Daryl nodded and pulled out Charlies blue FireMan Sam rucksack. "Thank you!" I smiled and took it off him. "Oh, Daryl.." I muttered as I was about to walk out of the door.

"Hm?" He grunted.

"I appreciate what you've been doing for him. I really do. He needs a father figure in his life, now more than ever, I appreciate it. He adores you..." I said quietly with a small smile. Daryl wasn't a man of words and I wasn't expecting him to say much if at all so when he uttered back:

"He's just a kid, he doesn't deserve this.." It took me by shock as I exited the room.

Daryl's POV

That damn kid. I kept telling myself that I was doing it for Merle, not for myself, and not for Kelly. But in truth, I wasn't sure who I was doing it for. Kelly knew that the kid was growing fond of me and I knew it too. I just didn't want to be a father figure for him, I wasn't a good father figure for anyone. Shane. He was the best father figure, strong, a good leader. Not me. Not me at all...