Guys, we hit 6,000 reads. I can't believe it. I'm in absolute shock. I have no idea how we got here so fast! Thank you so much for your continued support. Please vote/comment. You guys are the best! To mark the milestone I'm going to try to get a second update out tonight still. I hope you enjoy this one!

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Jo

I woke the next morning to someone gently shaking me awake. I rolled over, mumbling when the hand closed around my upper arm and I jerked awake. Rick was bent over me, but he didn't pull away. He was making sure I was okay. He waited for me to see it was him and make eye contact before he nodded and stepped away. I blinked a few times and looked at the sky. It was barely dawn.

"We should get going before it gets too hot," he said gently.

I sat up slowly and nodded, scrubbing at my face with the heels of my hands. "Alright," I replied and he moved on to rouse the rest of the group.

It was more obvious today exactly how much more exhausted everyone was. The little food and lack of water was definitely wearing on everyone.

"Dad," Carl called. I snapped my head in his direction, but he was looking ahead down the road. "Look."

I followed his gaze to see a half a dozen cars that had crashed together blocking the road.

Daryl and Rick stopped side by side, they shared a long look.

"Imma head out in the woods, circle back," Daryl rasped. Rick nodded, his focus on the cars in front of us. The windows were all covered in dirt and grime obscuring the interiors.

"Alright everyone, be careful, no risks. See what we can find," Rick called to the group. They all stepped forward towards the cars.

They wouldn't need me here, there were thirteen people to search just six cars. I might as well go with Daryl and be useful. I turned to follow him but he rounded on me. His shoulders were tight and he glared down at me. "Just me," he growled.

I let out a shaky sigh as he stalked off. I stood and watched him go. I was torn between stomping after him and shoving him up against a tree, and just leaving him be. Someone bumped my shoulder. I turned to see Rick standing beside me. I grit my teeth for a second. That was something Daryl had done and I resented Rick for reminding me of times when things were better between us.

"He'll be okay," Rick promised me.

I swallowed hard but nodded because that was what would make Rick feel better.

"Hey," Rick said turning towards me.

I glanced back at him and suddenly realized my eyes were burning with the effort to hold back tears. I felt like an idiot. I turned away and drew my kukri, fully intending to stomp off towards the cars. Rick caught my arm and pulled me into a hug. I stiffened for a moment and then let myself relax into the comfort he was offering. He rested his cheek on top of my head.

"Things are gonna get better, we just gotta keep moving."

I nodded and pulled back and Rick let me go. I swiped at my eyes and sniffled.

"You okay?" Rick asked, tilting his head so he could try to catch my eye.

I chuckled once, humorlessly "Gotta be," I said resolutely. I took a deep breath to steady myself and turned to search a car. When I looked up Daryl was standing at the edge of the trees watching me. We stood there for what felt like a long time before I shook my head and turned and walked away. He could go back to being a surly loner if he wanted but I wasn't going to let him take me down with him. I was done with that.

I stomped off towards a van whose windows were nearly black with dirt. Everyone else had left it. I tried rubbing away the grime, but as soon as I touched the window something slammed against it from inside. I took a cautious step back and cocked my head. I had my kukri but now was down to only two other knives since I gave Beth's to Daryl. I needed to find more and soon. I pulled the bigger of the two and took a deep breath before I jerked open the door.

The smell was overpowering. I took another step back just to get away from it. A walker fell out of the van. I stepped to the side and brought my kukri down easily into it's temple. It collapsed. I heard a growl behind me, I turned just in time to see another coming out towards me. I stayed crouched but kicked up catching it in the chest as it fell. 

The movement was too much, too foreign. I hadn't tried an upward kick since I had been injured and it knocked me back as well. I hit the asphalt and grunted as I landed. The walker rebounded off the side of the van. I tightened my grip on the knife in my hand and prepared myself for the walker to fall back on top of me. I tightened my knees, ready to bring them up to my chest to keep it from landing fully on me.

I flinched at the thwack of a crossbow. The arrow landed in the Walkers forehead and it dropped. I whirled around to find an angry Daryl standing over my shoulder. I flopped back against the road with a disgruntled sigh. 

I lay there on the hot asphalt and looked up at the clouds. They were building, but I wasn't sure if the storms would come today. The heat and humidity had to break at some point. I heard the quiet tread on the road just over my head and I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see how pissed off he was at me now. I was sick of getting yelled at. 

I felt his shadow fall over me and I finally opened my eyes scowling up at him. 

"That one was mine," I growled out the words, doing my best to sound as pissed off as he had lately. 

Something in his face faltered and then it was swallowed back up again. He reached down and grabbed my arm, jerking me roughly to my feet. I only just recovered my balance before he was pulling me off into the forest behind him. 

I glanced once over my shoulder to see Rick standing there with a smirk on his face. But this wasn't what Rick thought it was going to be. I stumbled and nearly fell and was forced to turn my attention back to my feet. Daryl was moving with fast, angry strides and it was a fight to keep up without jogging. Once we were deep enough into the woods I jerked back away from him. He rounded on me, his eyes flashing. 

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he roared. 

I felt my eyes widen. I have seen Daryl pissed off before, I have seen him fight and threaten and growl at people. Hell I have seen him kill, but I have never seen him this mad. Certainly never at me. I took a step back away from his anger. 

His eyes widened for a minute and then narrowed in first disgust and self loathing before he whirled away to hide his emotions from me. He slammed his palm against a tree. His breath was coming fast and with his back turned I could see his shoulders heaving. 

"Don't do that," his voice came out a soft, emotional rasp. "You know I would never hurt you." 

I swallowed and nodded but he couldn't see me. "Daryl," I said gently. He didn't turn around. "Daryl," I said again this time with more strength. He still wouldn't look at me. I sucked in a breath and fisted my hands at my sides. "Goddammit Daryl!" I finally yelled. "I know you won't hurt me! And I'm not gonna die on you! Just-!"

He moved fast, faster than I thought possible. I heard his crossbow clatter as it hit the ground as he whirled around and grabbed me. His hands were hot as he grabbed my face and pulled me roughly against him. His lips smashed against mine desperately. I only hesitated for a moment before I dropped my knives to the ground. I fisted my hands in his vest and pulled him closer. He backed me up until my back slammed against a tree behind me. I moaned low in my throat as his hands gripped my waist almost painfully. I could feel, see, and hear nothing but Daryl. Nothing else mattered. 

His hands dropped from my waist to my hips and I jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist. He made a rough noise in the back of his throat and I felt his fingers teasing the skin of my low back as he held me up pinned between him and the rough bark of the tree. I trembled in his arms. 

"Dare," I gasped against his lips. 

He stopped then, letting me go so suddenly I staggered back against the tree. He swung away from me and snatched up his crossbow before disappearing into the trees. 

I stood there swaying on my feet completely baffled by what happened. One minute we were yelling at one another and the next we were all over each other and then he was suddenly stomping off angry. I had no idea what I did wrong. 

I cupped my forehead in my hand. I was getting a serious headache and it was named Daryl Dixon. I stooped down and snatched up my knives before I stalked back towards the road. 

The group were all sitting along the side of the road when I reappeared. I met Rick's gaze and he shook his head. They hadn't found anything in the wrecked cars. Rick glanced behind me and looked to me in confusion. I rolled my eyes and just shook my head. He sighed and I could see in his eyes that he was also worried about Daryl. 

I turned to the rest of the group. Everyone looked exhausted. I moved to sit a little away from the them, I needed some time to myself. I dropped down to sit on my butt and cupped my forehead in my hand. 

"So all we found was booze?" Tara asked in a gentle, sad voice. 

I followed her gaze and saw Abraham pull out a small bottle of dark liquid. He opened the cap and tipped it back to his lips. I was torn between wanting to tell him what an idiot he was being and thinking it wasn't Tara's business. 

"It's not gonna help," Tara said quietly. 

I just shook my head. Sometimes being with the group felt more claustrophobic than I could stand. 

"He knows that," Rosita responded but she didn't bother to look at Tara or Abraham. 

There was a crack of a stick and everyone flinched. I rolled up into a crouch, my hand dropped to the handle of my kukri. Daryl stepped out of the woods. His face was drawn and tight and his eyes looked red. I frowned, wishing there was something I could do for him. Rick nodded to him and Daryl dipped his chin and came over to drop down on the ground beside me.  

Everyone took a breath and settled back to rest. Abraham took a long pull off the bottle. 

Tara cleared her throat and looked at Rosita once more. "It's gonna make it worse," she pushed. 

Rosita covered her mouth with her hand. "Yes it is," she said quietly. I don't know why Tara didn't back off. She was pushing Rosita when there was obviously some tension going on between Rosita and Abraham. 

It surprised me when Eugene spoke up. I hadn't heard him speak in days. Something had happened between him and Abraham. No doubt when Abraham discovered Eugene's deception, but he still came to the defense of his friend. I had to respect that. "He's a grown man. And I truly do not know if things could get worse."

I groaned softly, he was just asking for trouble. It was like he was daring the universe to throw something awful at us. 

Daryl glanced down at me, his brows drawn low over his eyes. I shook my head and shrugged. I turned back to the forest. I frowned as I saw a flash of brown and black moving through the tree. I lifted up onto my feet, staying in a low crouch. It was some kind of animals, low to the ground and moving fast. Prey didn't move like that, only predators did. 

"They can," I said in a low urgent voice. 

There was a rustling of leaves and a pack of four mangy dogs came out of the bushes. I drew my kukri and dropped my head down, glaring out of the top of my eyes at the huge German Shepherd that was closest to me. Daryl was already in motion and had his knife in his hand. He moved subtly, pushing his body forward and in front of mine and the rest of the group. The dogs snarl and snapped at us. 

I moved my other hand to a knife I can throw. This was not normal pack behavior. They were starving and desperate. Had they been behaving like a normal pack they would have hunted us and attacked from behind. The German shepherd had it's eyes locked on mine and it started barking aggressively. It took a step forward and I felt Daryl tense beside me. 

I touched him with my left hand, I had it. He understood and turned to face one of the dobermans. Rick stood, putting himself between the dogs and Carl who was holding Judith. The German Shepherd barked again, it's tension rising as Rick stood. 

I moved. I let the first knife fly, there was a canine yelp but I didn't look. I was already throwing the second where it landed in the neck of the smaller collie. There was a quick succession of two silenced gunshots and the doberman's both dropped to the ground. I glanced back at Sasha and nodded at her. 

I let out a shaky breath and climbed roughly to my feet. Daryl followed. I jerked my knives out of the dogs' necks and wiped them on the matted and mangled fur. Daryl came over and immediately began butchering the dogs. I turned away from the sight. For some reason seeing dogs laying dead was harder for me than other animals. I used to like dogs. 

Rick was snapping branches angrily to build a fire. I looked back at him. It was a hard thing to face that we looked like a weak enough target that four dogs attacked us. It made everything feel more desperate. I wasn't the only one feeling it. Everyone seemed shaken up. 

I sat off to the side by myself while Rick and Carol cooked the meat. Carol came over to me and handed me a skewer of meat. I smiled up at her and set about the business of eating. I glanced around as I noticed the sun was setting. It looked like we were going to stay here tonight. I pulled off my mostly empty backpack and made a pillow for myself before I laid down to get some rest. My head was starting to pound from dehydration and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to sleep. My estimate allowed for only one more day without water. I had just closed my eyes when I heard someone stop near me. 

I blinked them open to see Daryl crouching near me. I didn't bother to sit up, he didn't look like he was staying. 

"Are those the only two knives you have?" he asked gruffly. 

I nodded. "And my kukri." 

He nodded and pulled his hunting knife off his belt and set it on the ground in front of me. "That should fit in your spine sheath," he said. 

"What-" I started to ask but then I saw Beth's knife at his waist. "Thanks Daryl," I said, accepting his peace offering instead of starting another fight.

He nodded briskly and stood and walked away.

Something woke me in the middle of the night. I glanced around, and spotted Noah on watch. He wasn't very good at being quiet. I rolled over to go back to sleep and saw Daryl sleeping. He was curled up on his side with his back facing me, but he was only a foot away. I rolled towards him, not close enough to touch, but close enough to make me feel better. 

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