It had been two days, nearly 48 full hours, and the man hadn't yet woken. He was still laid almost spread eagled on the bed, his hands were both handcuffed to the bedposts above his head, and his feet were tied to the bottom corners of the bed with sheets.

Hershel was beginning to get concerned, but the man was breathing steadily, someone had been sat with him since his medical treatment and at the moment it was Beth. She had been up and out of bed since the previous day, and had insisted on taking that afternoon's watch duty, wanting to keep herself busy. She sat and looked at the heavy bandage on her arm, the pain of cutting herself and the smell of her blood flashing back to her.

She tried to push the memory out of her mind and looked up at the young man in front of her. Her eyes opened wide and her heart rate increased as he began stirring and groaning. Beth was on her feet in an instant, rushing out of the room and yelling "Daddy, Daddy! He's awake!"

She ran downstairs and looked around, unable to find anyone, and so continued out the door. She looked across to the barn and saw most of the group, including Rick and her father, standing near its door having a discussion. She began to run over.

--~--

Shane was sat around the side of the house, by himself. He was at odds with the rest of the group. Hershel and his family were angry at Shane for the incident at the barn, opening it and killing all the walkers inside, including Hershel's wife and son, Shawn. Rick and Shane meanwhile were butting heads over everything, from the barn, to the kid Randall that Shane wanted to straight up kill, and then there was Lori.

Lori was doing Shane's head in, one minute he was the biggest prick on the planet, the next she was telling him there had been something real between them. One thing was for certain to Shane. It was definitely his baby growing in her womb, not Rick's.

As Shane sat by himself he heard Beth screaming that "He's awake!" and he watched her exit the house. He swiftly headed over the balustrade rail on the porch and into the house. He moved quickly, his gun raised as he shot up the stairs and into the room.

He looked down coldly as the man was grunting and pulling on the handcuffs, trying to free himself. Shane smiled sadistically, chucking as he pointed the gun at the young man. The man noticed him and looked up, snarling and growling.

"Yeah, bit hard to kill me when your hands are tied, ain't it?" Shane asked. The man didn't answer, instead he just glared at Shane.

"What? Cat got your tongue? How big's your group? Where are they?" Shane asked in his paranoid delusion. The man didn't answer, he just glared, and as Shane got closer and pushed the gun against his face the man pushed his face back against the gun, glaring at the older man silently, other than the low growl that emerged from his lips.

Shane chuckled, whispering "hard motherfucker are you?"

He got an idea and swapped his gun to his left hand, taking his right thumb and jamming it as hard as he could into the bullet wound on the man's left shoulder. The man glared and grunted, holding out from showing the agonising pain he was in for as long as he could. Shane though chuckled, enjoying the challenge, and jammed his thumb in even harder. He saw the agonised desperation in the man's eyes before he broke and screamed in immense pain.

--~--

Beth had ran over to the barn, telling Hershel that the man was waking up. Rick looked to the others and told them to wait and he'd let them know what was going on soon, as he and Hershel headed back towards the house. Beth looked over at her sister, Maggie, who shook her head. Beth ignored her and turned, following her father back to the house.

Rick and Hershel arrived at the porch and immediately heard someone screaming in pain.

"Wait here" Rick said as Beth arrived and stood next to her father. Rick rushed through the front door and up the stairs as the screaming continued, getting to the bedroom when he heard Shane yelling:

"How many? Where are they?"

Rick rushed in to see Shane jamming his hand into the man's shoulder injury while sticking a gun in his face. The man was seething and growling, breaking into pained screams as more pressure was applied. Rick grabbed Shane by the collar and ripped him backwards, throwing him down as Shane hit the floor and rolled back, hitting the bedroom wall at the bottom and his handgun skidding off out of the door.

"What the hell are you doin' Rick?" Shane roared, but he was shoved backwards and out the room as soon as he got to his feet.

"What are you doing?" Rick roared back, continuing furiously:

"Torturing this kid, what the hell is your problem?"

Before Shane could reply Hershel roared at the bottom of the stairs, Beth hiding behind him:

"Get out of my house! Now!"

Rick escorted Shane to the top of the staircase, Shane picking up his gun and snorting derisively before storming out the house. Rick watched him leave and looked at the worried face of Hershel and the scared eyes of Beth. He sighed and said to the pair:

"I'll go in first."

Hershel nodded and began to ascend the staircase as Rick slowly walked in the room. The man was pulling violently on the handcuffs, cutting into his wrists as he tried to get free.

"Whoa whoa whoa" Rick said to the man, his hands help up to signify he was no threat.

"Just take it easy, I just want to talk and we can you get you out of those."

The man glared at Rick with an expression of pure hatred, practically spitting at him in his unusual accent:

"Fuck you and fuck ya dog mate. I got every other fucker you were running with, so you do your fucking worst, Sunshine. But you better fuckin' bury me deep!"

Hershel and Beth shared an apprehensive look as they heard Rick reply:

"Look I'm sorry for what Shane did, and I will speak to him. We're not who you think though, I'm here with my family and my group, staying here on the landowner's farm. We'd never seen you before you shot at us the other day, but judging from what you said I think we had a run in with the group about a week ago. We exchanged bullets and killed three of them, just before your run in, from the sounds of it."

"You think I'm gonna believe this bullshit your pedalling? I don't know what you're playing at but-"

The man cut himself off as Hershel stepped into the room. He hadn't seen an old man at the group, ever, and he'd watched them a few times as he'd picked the maggots off one by one.

The old man held his hands in the same supplicant position as the other man, and spoke calmly:

"What this man is saying is true, son. My name's Hershel Greene, and this is my farm. It's been in my family for well over a century."

The man looked between the two, as Rick followed up with:

"My name's Rick Grimes. I was a Sheriff's Deputy here in Georgia before the world fell, I'm here like I said with my family."

Rick and Hershel could see the anger begin to leave the young man, replaced with doubts before they turned as Beth surprised them both by bravely stepping in the room. She instantly noticed the man's bright blue eyes and smiled saying:

"My name's Beth Greene, this is my daddy" as she locked her arms with Hershel.

The young man looked between them and replied:

"You're really not those sickos, are you?"

Rick smiled and replied: "No, we're really not."

The man sighed and looked down towards his midsection, replying:

"Y/N, Y/N L/N-Taufau. Sorry for shooting at you."

Rick smiled and nodded, reaching over slowly and undoing Y/N's handcuffs. Y/N rubbed his sore wrists, both bleeding in some places as Rick untied his feet.

Y/N sat up with a groan, before slowly swinging his legs off the bed gingerly.

"Careful son, you had a bullet wound on your hip. It wasn't deep fortunately but you still need to take it easy."

"That explains the pain, but..."

He lifted up the sheet in a way to only allow himself to look down and asked:

"Why am I naked?"

Beth broke out in a deep red blush, Hershel chuckling:

"Sorry son, you had quite a few injuries and we had to be thorough with the amount you were bleeding."

Y/N nodded and gripped his left shoulder, grunting he pulled his hand off and looked at it, blood on his hand, and Hershel scowled:

"He's popped your stitches I think. I'm sorry that he did that. I'll stitch you up again."

He walked out the room and there was an awkward silence. Rick asked as Y/N sat looking down:

"So where in England are you from?"

Y/N looked up in anger, Hershel entering as he replied, clearly not impressed:

"England? I'm a bloody Australian!"

Hershel chuckled and Beth giggled as Rick apologised and Y/N muttered to himself, clearly miffed: "call me bloody English."

Hershel sat in front of Y/N and began to remove the bandaging on his left shoulder, and asked:

"Could you help me, Doodlebug?"

Beth smiled and nodded, bringing in a seat from the next room and sitting next to her father, holding a disposal tray for him as he began to work.

"Will Y/N be able to come down when you're done?" Rick asked. Hershel shook his head:

"No, he should keep off his hip for a few days at least."

Rick nodded.

"I'm gonna go fill in the others, let them know about Y/N, he's awake and he seems OK, after... how we met. I'll be back later, Y/N. Have a chat, get to know you a little better."

Y/N nodded and Rick smiled before leaving the room. The trio sat in silence before Hershel said:

"Yeah, you've got three stitches popped here, son. I'll have to restitch you. This may hurt."

Y/N didn't answer, other than to say.

"Thank you for fixing me up."

Hershel smiled and replied:

"No thanks are necessary, just my Christian duty. So tell me, where in Australia are you from?"

Y/N's lip curled slightly, the only hint that a needle had been stabbed into him as he answered:

"Town on Western Australia's southern coast called Esperance. Absolutely beautiful place. Blue waters, white sandy beaches, fantastic surf. Nice people."

"You're a long way from home."

"I came here on a holiday with... someone... first leg we went to Hawaii, second half Nashville. We were there when this all... happened."

Hershel nodded as Beth looked on sadly at the pained expression that grew on his face.

"They are two very different parts of the United States" Hershel chuckled.

"Hawaii was for me, the surfing there. I've been on a surf board since I could walk. Nashville was for... she... she loved country music. Half Moon, Keith Urban, Garth Brooks, I got dragged to so many..."

Y/N laughed, barely holding back tears.

"We had to leave Nashville after it all went to hell. It was chaos. We'd headed south, just trying to survive..."

His voice trailed off. Hershel looked at him sadly.

"I take it you're alone now?"

Y/N nodded.

"So what were your plans going forward? Were you heading anywhere specific?" Hershel asked, trying to change the subject.

""I was just after them, the animals who... only really planned to go bush after that."

"Go bush?" Hershel chuckled.

"It's an Aussie expression, when you've had a gutsful and decide to go bush, put a gun in your mouth and-"

He stopped himself, seeing a look of sadness from Hershel and what looked like guilt from the girl next to him.

"That's never the answer son, there's always another day. It can't rain all the time. How old are you?"

"Nineteen. I've got nothing left to live for. It was just revenge pushing me on for the last month, and if I have got them all..." Y/N replied, his voice trailing off. Hershel sighed.

"Just a year older than my Bethie here. It might not be my place to say but you have to push on. Your loved ones, even if they're gone, would want you to. Now I'm going to be direct here, you've made allusions to killing people several times. Is that true?"

"People is too good a word for them. They were monsters, the worst kind of filth. I'd been tracking them for a month, picking them off when I could. They took everything from me..."

Y/N's eyes and tone darkened as his fists clenched and his muscles tensed.

"Relax this arm son, I'm on the last stitch" Hershel said calmly. He tied the last stitch and cut it off, placing a bandage on it and asked staring intently into the young man's eyes:

"Are my daughters, my people, safe around you, Y/N?"

Y/N looked at him with a tinge of hurt:

"Of course, I... they were... I would never hurt a woman, hurt someone who... I did what I did for what they took and to stop them ever hurting anyone again."

Hershel nodded and smiled. He had a natural ability to read people, and although he would never condone the man's actions, he could sense he was a good person. He answered as he smiled:

"Fair enough. For now continue to rest and heal, and when you're on your feet again, we can go from there. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, sir. Pretty hungry" Y/N replied, his stomach growling on cue.

"Bethie would you fix something for Y/N to eat. Are you up to it?" Hershel asked kindly.

Beth nodded and left the room quietly. Hershel looked at Y/N as if considering something. He finally spoke after some internal deliberation as he bandaged Y/N's wrists.

"We had a personal loss, a significant one very recently. I take it you noticed that bandaging on Beth's arm?"

Y/N nodded.

"She tried a couple of days ago to... go bush... she's a sweet girl, innocent. I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about it too much, just in front of her."

Y/N nodded and Hershel smiled and stood, walking out of the room with his medical supplies and waste.

"I'll come and check on you later. Rest and recover, Y/N. Rest and recover."

Y/N nodded and thanked Hershel again. He stretched his sore body and tried to block out the thoughts that began attacking him. It had happened constantly for the last month. He was forced to relive that night when he slept, it attacked his mind like a virus as soon as he stopped and the quiet began.

It was like her qaitu was following him, blaming him for failing. Either that or he was losing him mind. He reached up to his temples, closing his eyes and rubbing on either side of his head, trying to get rid of the images that plagued him.

--~--

Rick walked down and out of the house, unsurprised to find the whole group, minus Shane, standing at the foot of the porch.

"So what's going on?" Glenn asked as Rick looked out at a number of frightened faces.

"Well he's awake, and talking. His name's Y/N, he's 19. He's an Australian, don't call him English... he really didn't like that... it seems like he had a run in with Randall's group, like we thought. Seems he took out most of them, but a couple may have gotten away. He's gotta rest, for a couple of days at least, and then we'll go from there. He's really been through it by the sounds of it so let's give him some space to heal."

"Can I talk to him? I've never met an Australian before" Carl said excitedly.

"Maybe just wait a few days" Rick chuckled to his son.

"What was Shane doing in there? Maggie asked apprehensively. Rick sighed and decided to be honest.

"There's no nice way to say this so I'll just say it. He was torturing him. Hershel and I will deal with him in due time."

The others gasped at his words.

--~--

"Are you ok?" a soft spoken voice asked from the doorway. Y/N looked up, still clutching his temples. Beth was stood in the doorway with a plate of food and a large glass of orange juice.

"Yeah, just... the quiet, I'm not doing well with the quiet" Y/N replied.

"Because of what happened?" Beth asked innocently.

"Yeah, because of what happened" Y/N nodded.

Beth walked across and sat down, handing Y/N the plate.

"It's a beef sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mustard. I hope that's OK" she smiled as Y/n thanked her and tore into it.

She then giggled when he moaned as he ate.

"Thanks Beth, this is... amazing" Y/N stated.

"You really were hungry. When was the last time you ate?" She smiled as he finished the sandwich and she handed him the orange juice. He had a drink before replying:

"Three days before... whenever it was Rick brought me here. I caught and cooked a... I don't know if it was a giant rat or a skunk or what it was, didn't taste the best but what can ya do?"

Beth made a disgusted face at the mention of a rat or a skunk but giggled nonetheless. Y/N finished the orange juice and she smiled, taking the glass from him. She was about to leave with the plate and cup but stopped momentarily. Y/N saw her staring at his right shoulder and she asked:

"Can I ask you, what your tattoo means?"

Y/N looked down and half smiled at the large geometric design which covered his right shoulder, bicep and down to his pectoral.

"It's a Polynesian tribal tattoo. I got it for my parents on my eighteenth birthday."

"Your parents?" Beth asked in confusion.

"My parents are Samoan" Y/N replied. Beth looked at Y/N in confusion, taking in his dirty blonde hair, his bright blue eyes and his tanned but clearly Caucasian skin.

"Confused?" Y/N asked and Beth nodded, slightly embarrassed.

"My birth parents died in a car crash when I was three months old. I was adopted. My mum and dad were my godparents and they took me straight in. My dad and my birth dad had done a blood brother ceremony before I was born, so by Samoan law I was Samoan even if it wasn't by blood. We used to go to Samoa to visit our family every year. I had thirteen Aunties and Uncles and fifty four first cousins" Y/N chuckled.

"Wow" Beth replied, her eyes wide open.

"And not a single one ever treated me like I wasn't a full blood relative. It's why my last name is hyphenated. L/N was my birth parents name and Taufau is my Samoan tribe. I got this tattoo, like I said to honour my parents. It was the only time I ever saw my dad cry. I hope they're OK, that back home and Samoa are OK."

Maggie had been standing outside the room smiling, listening to the conversation between the pair. She could hear the happiness in Beth's voice as she spoke, the first time hearing it since the barn incident, and especially with Bethie trying to hurt herself. Maybe a friend her own age could be what was needed, she just had to make sure this guy was as ok as Rick thought.

Maggie walked in the room and smiled, Beth turning and looking as Y/N looked above her head.

"Hi, I'm Maggie, I'm Beth's older sister. How are you feeling?"

"Sore, but OK. I'm Y/N."

Maggie nodded and Beth looked at her curiously, asking "is everything OK?"

"Just time for us to start helping Patricia with dinner" Maggie answered. Beth nodded and stood, but handed the plate and cup to Maggie, turning and opening the wardrobe. She picked up a box of books and grunted at how heavy they were before Maggie rushed over and grabbed the box, chastising her. Beth asked her to place it next to where Y/N was sat on the bed.

"My old boyfriend Jimmy lived with us at the very start, he's gone now" Beth explained quickly.

"I'm sorry, for your loss" Y/N replied. Beth nodded.

"We only really dated for a couple of weeks before everything started, and he died early on, but thank you" Beth replied before opening the box.

"He left a bunch of books here, Stephen King, that sort of thing. If you're having trouble with the quiet I thought maybe these will help. I only really have romance novels in my room."

"Thanks, Beth. Thanks a lot" Y/N smiled. Beth returned it before leaving with her sister.