Daryl, regardless of his promise to Parker, was not as careful as he could have been. Falling down a slope into a river after his horse freaked was bad enough, but impaling himself on his own arrow was just the icing on the cake. As he lay on the rocks, he felt the water soaking his back, or maybe it was blood. He saw Parker appear in his vision and wondered how she had found him. 

She looked different. Her hair was clean, tied in a ponytail under the cap on her head. She was wearing different clothes, not covered in walker blood or dirt. It was Parker before the world went to hell. Daryl had gotten so used to seeing everyone, not just Parker, covered in blood and dirt that she now looked like a completely different person. 

"Hey," Parker said, crouching down next to him with a worried look on her face. "You're hurt."

"It ain't that bad," Daryl mumbled, his vision a little blurry.

"You have to go back to camp," Parker said. "You can't die here."

"Go get help," Daryl murmured.

"I won't leave you," Parker told him, and her fingers hovered over the arrow in his side, she touched his face with her other hand. "You can't die." When she touched his cheek, Daryl felt as if he had been electrocuted. A tingly feeling spread through his body, to the tips of his toes, originating where Parker had touched him. She withdrew her hand and Daryl wanted nothing more than to reach for it, missing the feeling of her soft fingers against his cheek. "Did you slip?" Parker asked, squinting up at the ridge he had just fallen down.

"I fell," Daryl answered with a wince, nodding towards the cliff. "Damn horse threw me."

"That is quite the drop." She 'tsked.' "I knew I should have gone with you," Parker bit her lip, shaking her head slightly. "We make a good team, you and I."

"Yeah, we do," Daryl agreed, his voice hoarse and weak.

"You shouldn't keep running from your feelings, Daryl," Parker sounded angry for a moment, and when Daryl blinked, for a second.. she was gone. Then she came back, this time standing over him. "You have to admit to yourself that you don't want to be alone. You already lost Merle. Why would you want to be alone? These people could be your family. They'll all accept you."

"I don't need family." Daryl ground out bitterly.

"But what about the people who need you?" Parker asked. "Carl admires you, Rick needs you and Parker couldn't be who she is without you."

"Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?" Parker crouched down next to him, tucking her hair behind her ears and a few strays under the cap she was wearing.

"Daryl, you don't have to be alone. Family doesn't always mean blood. It doesn't always mean you're going to get hurt. Parker is not your father. She is not Merle. And she sure as hell isn't going hurt you."

"She's a good person," Daryl whispered. "She doesn't deserve me."

"I think it's up to her to decide that one, pal." Parker put her hands on her hips. "You can't stop something if it hasn't started yet. That's like trying to stop a war before it starts, more people get hurt. Or attempting to stop the end of the world with just one person."

"I don't want to hurt her," Daryl murmured.

"You won't," Parker replied. "You just have to be honest with yourself about what you want. She sees how you look at her, she's not blind. You could feel your heart stop, remember how you felt when you heard her scream in that house when the walkers almost got her?"

"Because she was in danger." Daryl hissed in pain, looking at the arrow sticking through his side.

"No," Parker said, shaking her head. "You were terrified because you weren't there. Just like you weren't there when Ed put his hands on her. That fear you felt when she screamed... you don't fake things like that. You can't."

"She was in danger," Daryl refuted. "Rick would... would never have.."

"Rick has nothing to do with this," Parker countered. "Regardless of how he feels, you can't deny that you've had feelings for Parker since you met her in the woods a few months ago. Why do you think I'm here now? In front of you?" When Daryl didn't say anything, Parker smiled knowing she was right. "Because she's the one you're thinking about right now. You don't know if you're going to survive this, and you're afraid that you'll never see her again. I'm here to remind you that you can survive this. You are strong enough." Parker looked back as if she had heard something. "I have to go. Just... promise me you'll come back to me."

"Don't go," Daryl whispered. "Come back."

"I'll be waiting," Parker said. "Just come back to me." She spoke about herself again in the first person, her voice scared, and worried. Daryl thought about the possibility of her being right while he was lying there, watching Parker get up and walk away. He didn't know what was happening, but the pain in his side was making him sick, so dizzy that he didn't realize Parker's figure had been replaced by a much broader and more muscular one. His brother crouched in front of him, a smile playing on his face. 

Parker, on the other hand, wasn't having as bad a day as Daryl. Although they had found no clues about Sophia and returned empty-handed, she was helping with the laundry at camp trying to distract herself from the fact that Daryl still hadn't returned. He had taken a horse, so he should've covered more ground and returned before them, but when they returned, there was still no sign of him. Even though Rick told her he would be fine, that didn't stop her from worrying. Andrea, who was on guard duty, suddenly shouted out a warning that there was a walker.

"Walker. Walker!"

"Just the one?" Rick asked. Andrea looked through her binoculars.

"I bet I can nail it from here."

"No!" Rick replied. "No, Andrea! Put the gun down!" Parker looked at Andrea.

"You know the rule. Don't you dare shoot."

"You best let us handle this," Shane said, walking towards the fence with T-Dog and Glenn.

"Shane, hold up," Rick ordered. "Hershel wants to deal with walkers."

"What for, man?" Shane asked. "We got it covered."

"Damn it!" Rick hissed. Parker looked at Andrea once more.

"Don't you dare."

"Parker, stay here," Rick said.

"What? No!" Parker protested.

"Stay!" Rick demanded.

"I'm not a dog," Parker scoffed, before crossing her arms. "Fine." As she watched Rick and the others run across the field, Andrea looked into the scope of her gun before lying down to steady herself.

"Andrea, don't!" Dale warned.

"Back off, Dale," Andrea replied.

"Andrea, I swear to god," Parker said, approaching the ladder. "Dale. Move!" Before Parker could get up the ladder, Andrea shot the gun and even from the other side of the field, Parker saw the body fall. Then she heard Rick shouting at them.

"No!" Something was wrong, and when Parker heard Rick scream, she was already on the move, running across the field to catch up with her brother, Andrea, and Dale hot on her heels. When she got to Rick and the rest of them, she saw him and Shane holding a body between them. The body was Daryl.  At the time Parker was too worried about Daryl to consider the anger building in her gut at the thought of Andrea shooting him when she was explicitly told not to shoot. When Parker had reached them, she saw the scene before her and a look of horror crossed her face. 

"Oh my god, is he dead?" Parker asked terrified.

"Unconscious," Rick responded, as he and Shane dragged Daryl's body across the field. "You just grazed him." Rick glared at Andrea. "Parker, tell Hershel we're going to need him." Parker, too shocked to consider ignoring Rick, headed back across the field and met Lori at the entrance.

"What happened?"

"Daryl," Parker panted, grabbing Lori's arms. "He was shot. Andrea shot him. Hershel.... Hershel, can you help him?"

"I can try," Hershel responded, as Rick and the rest caught up with her. "Take him inside." When they dragged Daryl through the door, Andrea tried to follow them, but Parker grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall next to the door. Glenn, who was behind them, gasped.

"Parker! Stop!

"Shut up, Glenn," Parker warned through her teeth. Andrea's hands clawed at Parker's, trying to break her hold.

"Get off." She choked out.

"He told you not to shoot!" Parker hissed, pushing Andrea back as she tried to escape. "He told you not to shoot! Why did you do it? Do you like being a little bitch and ignoring every order they give you?"

"I swear, it wasn't my intention!" Andrea said.

"But you still did it!" Parker yelled, slamming her head off the wall. "You ignored orders even when Dale told you not to. You shot Daryl! It's a good thing you're a shitty shooter because if he had died, believe me when I say this, you would have been next."

"Parker!" Glenn shouted, pulling her away from Andrea. "Stop!" Parker looked at Andrea as Glenn pulled her away by the waist.

"If you ignore someone again, I'll do more than just give you a little push." She pried Glenn's hands off of her, pushing him away. "Get away from me!" Parker didn't know where the anger had come from, and she didn't know that she had it in her, but knowing that Andrea, once again, had ignored orders made her absolutely furious. This time, however, it had caused more than just a disagreement to break out. Daryl had been shot, and from the looks of him when Parker saw him, he wasn't doing very well before that.

"I'm sorry," Andrea apologized.

"This is why Dale took your gun from you," Parker spat. "You can't be trusted."

"How dare you?" Andrea ground out angrily.

"Oh, how dare I?" Parker repeated, pointing to herself. "Someone has to put you in your place. You think that just because the world has gone to shit, you can do whatever you want? Welp, news flash, you can't. Grow the hell up and start listening when people tell you to do something." Parker walked past Glenn and headed inside Hershel's house, finding Rick and Shane with Daryl while Hershel examined his wounds and began stitching him up. When she walked into the room, Rick noticed the anger shining in his sister's eyes, an expression he remembered vividly from when they were kids. But as soon as her eyes moved to Daryl, the look softened. Anger was replaced with worry. "Is he okay?" She asked, noticing that he was still unconscious.

"He should be fine once I sew it," Hershel said, readying his needle. Rick grabbed Parker's arm, pulling her to the side.

"I heard yelling. Is everything okay?"

"I'm tired of Andrea thinking she can do whatever she wants," Parker responded. "I thought it was time someone put her in her place."

"Parker," Rick said, his tone full of warning. Parker just shrugged at him not really caring what he had to say at this very moment.

"What? I didn't hurt her. I just scared her a little and told her to grow up. Someone clearly had to do it, have you met her?"

"You shouldn't have done that," Rick whispered angrily.

"Why? Because you wanted to do it?" Parker mockingly asked him. "Someone had to do it. She'll get us all killed. You know that, Rick." She pulled up a chair next to Daryl's bed and sat down as he moved around a little. She leaned forward and Rick didn't miss the way she held out her hand to him, the same way he had when Carl was lying in that bed. "Hey," Parker whispered, the softness of her voice a stark contrast to the shouting Rick had heard earlier. Daryl opened his eyes.

"Hey."

"What happened out there?" Parker asked. "Are you hurt? Well, you know besides that." She pointed to the graze on the side of his head.

"It's not a big deal," Daryl responded.

"Hey, Daryl," Rick chimed in. "You found Sophia's doll."

"I can show you where," Daryl said, as Rick placed the map on the bed and Daryl pressed a cloth to the gunshot wound on his head. He pointed to the map. "I found it washed up on that creek bed right there. She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere."

"Cuts the grid almost in half," Rick said, looking back to Shane.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Daryl replied gruffly.

"How's he looking?" Parker looked to Hershel.

"I had no idea we'd be going through all the antibiotics so quickly," Hershel answered, working on sewing the arrow wounds. "Any idea what happened to my horse?"

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

"We call that one Nelly," Hershel started. "As in 'Nervous Nelly.' I could have told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask. It's a miracle you people have survived this long.." Rick rolled up the map and he and Shane left the room, leaving Parker and Daryl alone with Hershel. Parker sat on the bed and took the cloth that Daryl was holding. Hershel handed him a roll of bandages.

"Let me take a look," Parker offered, taking the cloth off and looking at the wound.

"You're going to need a bandage," Hershel said.

"I'll do it. Thank you, Hershel."

"Are you sure?" Hershel asked.

"Yeah," Parker answered, taking the bandages. "Thank you." Once Hershel handed over the bandage and gauze, he left the room and Parker and Daryl were alone.

"How do I look, doc?" Daryl asked, while Parker carefully cleaned the wound. "Am I gonna live?"

"Don't joke about that," Parker said, her voice almost breaking. "I was terrified." As she pressed the cloth against the wound, Daryl looked at her. 

"Why? Were you worried about me?"

"I didn't want you to be dead," Parker replied. "I knew I should have gone with you." Daryl didn't tell her she was there, just as a product of his subconscious, but regardless, she was there.

"No, then we'd both be in trouble." Parker laughed, but it was cut off as she let out a sob.

"Jesus, you're such an idiot."

"Well, I'm not the one who shot me," Daryl responded. She began bandaging Daryl's head, securing the bandages in place with medical tape, before sitting back down in the chair next to his bed. Daryl had stayed silent as she applied the bandages, watching her work in admiration.

"You should get some rest," Parker said, and when she stood up, she noticed the scars that covered his back. A soft gasp left her lips before she could stop it. "Daryl.." Daryl pulled the blankets up to cover his back, looking embarrassed.

"It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like 'nothing.'" Parker said. Daryl almost told her he didn't want to talk about it, but he stopped himself. Any other person and he would have yelled at them to get lost after seeing the scars he tried so hard to hide, but this was Parker. This was the girl who had tears in her eyes because she seemed afraid for his safety, the girl who blamed herself for what happened to him, for not being there to help him. This was Parker Grimes.

"They're from my father," Daryl said quietly, as Parker sat back down. "He was an abusive asshole."

"Daryl, I'm sorry," Parker whispered, "I didn't realize it was something like that."

"Yeah, well, I don't like to talk about it," Daryl murmured. "Merle used to try to intervene. He took some of the beatings, but it was mostly me. I was the youngest. The easiest to pick on." Parker took Dary's hand, surprised that he didn't pull away.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's in the past," Daryl said. "Things happened."

"That's not just, 'things happened.'" Parker replied. "That's horrible. I can't believe you had to go through that." And suddenly everything made sense. Why Daryl was so cold with people, why he didn't open up easily. The only person who was supposed to always be there for him was the one who had caused all this pain, both physically and mentally. Now it made sense why Daryl and Merle shared such a close bond even though Merle was a piece of shit. It also made sense why Daryl was so hell-bent on finding Sophia because he didn't want her to suffer anymore now that her own abusive father was gone. Instead of offering words of comfort, which so often fell short, Parker simply squeezed Daryl's hand, a reassurance that she was there for him, that his secret was safe with her, and that she would never hurt him.