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The Hunter and The Fox

Summary:

When Merle was dishonorably discharged from the army, it wasn't so cut and dry. And when the dead start to rise, he runs into the only other person who knows the truth behind it: This is a Daryl/OC story. She's an old friend of Merle's basically. I came up with this summary in a rush. I'll fix it if I come up with anything better.

Notes:

Another story when I'm not done with my other ones? Yup. But this one is complete! It's finished! Yay! (Though there might be a sequel)

Merle's backstory is a bit different in this story. You'll see overtime. He's still an ass but he has good reasons and you know, we love a good guy Merle, even if it is buried really deep down. But this story is more about Daryl and the OC.

Also, there's a comment about the Dixon's bike, it's not the same as the show but that's just because...well, you'll see.

There's a few little and big details that are different from the show. Obviously.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Chapter Text

Harley Fox had always thought she'd die before seeing the end of the world. But here she is, still alive, still here to see as the dead rise only to eat the living. And to think she thought she'd seen every evil this world has to offer. How wrong she was.

The beginning was full of chaos. Terror, screams, confusion. Harley had almost thought to hold up in her crappy apartment, but she knew better. She'd thrown on some dark cargo pants, a tank top under a t-shirt with her leather jacket and packed a single backpack. Something the military had taught her was how to easily fit a lot of things, things she needs, into a small bag.

She loads her weapons last for easy access if necessary. She straps a single handgun to the holster on the back of her belt, covering it with her loose shirt. A single knife on her waist hidden the same way and one in her boot. A tip given to her by an old friend turned habit a long time ago.

Combat boots securely laced up, Harley strides purposely to her door. She stops when her hand wraps around the handle, her other going to the chain around her neck. She takes a deep breath before exiting the building. It's not like there's anything keeping her here, anyway.

As luck would have it, she just had her bike serviced last week. Only at the thought of her mother's disappointed look does she slide her helmet over her head before setting off.

She takes the highway out of curiosity more than anything. It's a stupid decision but she figures she can maneuver well enough through the cars if she needs to. And she does. Most people are annoyed at her, angry that she's passing by them while they're stuck in their own cars but she pays them no mind.

Eventually, she stops. Most people are out of their cars, talking amongst others, trying to figure out what's happening.

She meets a man, a cop. She asks him about the signal when she hears him listening to the radio but he shakes his head with a sigh. He's traveling with a woman and her son who converse with another couple and their daughter in the car next to them.

Shane and she speak about the situation, but their combined information doesn't give them much to go on. Harley is about to scout ahead some more when it happens. Helicopters fly overhead and her heart sinks. She knows what's coming before it does.

They see the lights first before the distant sounds of explosions reach their ears. Screams sound out around them, some people crying, some gasping. Harley's breath escapes her as she stares at the bombs being dropped over the city.

She's seen war zones, plenty enough for a lifetime, but it's always been somewhere else. She never thought she'd see it in her own home.


After everything on the highway, Shane and Harley manage to get a sizeable group away unharmed. They find an isolated area at a quarry. One side is surrounded by tall stone walls and water and the other a forest. Harley is less happy about that but with the former cop's help, they set up alarms with rope and tin cans. It's not the best, but it'll have to do.

It takes a while to get settled. Some people are reluctant to believe they'll be there for long. They hold out hope that this whole thing will be over soon. Harley leaves Shane to convince them that they need to set up camp for the time being.

A few people trickle in overtime, not many but they do. They're all so...normal. Civilians. Harley can't help but feel that they're all helpless people who just need protection. When the noise and her thoughts become too loud, Harley takes a silenced gun into the woods to hunt. She's not a fool to believe that the food they have will last a while. Hunting isn't just an excuse to get away and clear her head, it's a necessity.

Hunting was something Harley never saw herself doing as a child. But as life would have it, that changed. Now it's something she quite enjoys. In some situations. She never likes taking an animal's life, doesn't enjoy it, but she understands that it needs to be done. She knows she won't lose any sleep over something as simple as the lives of a few animals.

At the end of the day, after she finally decides to head back to camp, Harley has six squirrels thrown over her shoulder. It's not a lot for the number of people they have, but it'll do for now. She can worry about more tomorrow.

With her head down, Harley drops her kills next to a log with the plan to skin and gut them. She's even worse at that than hunting but if she doesn't do it, who will?

After dropping her stuff off at her tent, Harley looks up only to freeze when she sees a face she never thought she'd see again. It takes a moment for the shock to leave her system before she can bring herself to speak.

"Dixon?" Two men turn at the sound of her voice. Harley's eyes are only on one, the one she knows. She doesn't recognize the other man but she somehow knows exactly who he is. "Merle Dixon?"

The large man lets out a loud guffaw when he sees her. His arms spread out at his sides while his lips form a large grin on his aging face. "Well, I'll be damned," He says, no caution to how loud his voice becomes. "I must be seein' things! Is that really you, Fox? C'mere, kid."

"Not a kid, Merle," Harley gives an exasperated sigh but she smiles at the older man and moves towards him. They both stop a few feet from one another and lift their arms at the same time. Both with strong holds, they grab onto the other's forearms and shake them slightly. "You got old. And even more ugly. Didn't think that was possible."

"Ha," Merle snorts and scoffs at the same time, tightening his hold a moment before releasing Harley's arm. "I sure did miss that mouth of yours, little Fox," Harley rolls her eyes at his tone while Merle looks over his shoulder. "Get over 'ere little brother, there's someone I want ya to meet."

"This," Merle starts again when Daryl reaches his side, the younger Dixon's eyes switching curiously between the woman and his brother. "Is Harley Fox," He announces her name like she's someone famous and she shakes her head at him. "The best damn combat medic you'll ever meet."

"What, you two served together?" Daryl finally speaks, his confusion lessening but not his surprise. Harley isn't sure what to think about that.

"For a short while," She answers vaguely. Neither she nor Merle elaborates anymore on the subject. "I saved his life a few times."

"That's not how I remember it," Merle starts but Harley cuts him off.

"Well, you've hit your head far too many times for me, or anyone, to trust your memory," She shoots back but her lips are still turned up into a small smile. "How's the arm, anyway?" As an answer, Merle twists his left arm towards her, showing the long, ragged scar down the back of it. "Oh, look at that," Harley mumbles and leans in to get a closer look.

"Not very pretty," Merle turns straight again with a fake pout. Harley rolls her eyes once again.

"I was more focused on keeping you from bleeding out," She reminds him. "Not like it matters, nothing can distract from that face of yours." Grumbling, Merle reaches up to ruffle her hair and pushes her head to the side. "Please tell me you have more sense than your brother." Harley directs her words at Daryl and she thinks she sees his lips twitch up.

"I'm not gonna stand here if you're just gonna insult me," Merle announces, his hands rising from his sides as if he's going to turn away, but Harley stops him.

"No, I'm sorry," She chuckles. "I'm sorry. It-it's really good to see you again. And it's good to meet you," She once again turns to Daryl. "I've heard many things. Mostly good, I promise."

"She's lyin," Merle says to his brother. "I only told her the bad shit."

"Stop," Harley lightly smacks his arm and Merle hops away from her with a laugh. Daryl observes the whole scene with an unreadable look on his face. It annoys Harley, she prides herself on being able to read people, but she can't seem to read him.

"That your bike?" Merle gestures to the motorcycle parked next to his own and Harley nods, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, told you I was gonna get one,"

"That you did," Merle nods approvingly. "Still think you shoulda got a Harley."

"Didn't want you to think I was copying you," She says, smiling at him. Daryl stands on her other side now, also looking over at her preferred mode of Transportation. He's not much of a talker, not compared to his brother, at least. That's pretty much all Harley has been able to figure out about him so far. "Besides, mines faster."

"You willing to bet on that, little lady?"

"I am," Harley responds confidently.

"Let's go look at this," Merle starts towards the bikes and Harley follows. She notices quickly that Daryl doesn't but makes no comment. "This is a fine piece of machinery." The older man nods while throwing his leg over the bike and grabbing onto the handlebars.

"Yeah, don't get too comfortable," Harley warns. "You've got your own."

Merle chuckles, the sound deep but when he sits back onto the bike, he turns serious. Or, serious for him. "How you been?" He questions, his eyes looking around before finally landing on her.

"I'm good," Harley nods after a moment, her lips pursing. "Some days more so than others." She adds honestly. "You know."

"Yeah, I know," Merle sighs with a small nod of his own. "What happened? After I left?" He ventures to ask. If you could ever get whiplash from a person's change in behavior or mood, Harley has no doubt Merle would be that person.

"They transferred me to another unit," She informs him while shifting her stance. She bites the inside of her cheek and lowers her eyes. "That was a shitty thing that happened," She tells him. She hadn't gotten the chance to, all those years ago. "It wasn't fair, what they did to you."

"Eh, life ain't fair, Fox, you know that," He says, a more forced smile on his lips.

"I do know," She mumbles. "I never thanked you, for what you did. But I am grateful."

"Hm," Merle bites his lip, almost looking uncomfortable. But it's gone a moment later, replaced by that cocky smile of his. "They ever say how many teeth he lost?"

"Five," Harley happily informs him. She crosses her arms back over her chest and leans back o her heels. "Knocked clean out. Except one, got stuck in his lip."

"Well, damn," Merle slaps his knee, looking proud. The two speak for a little while longer before Merle wanders off somewhere. Harley turns and catches Daryl's eye. He still has that look on his face. He almost looks...confused. Harley smiles and waves to him and he nods back before turning away.

Sighing loudly, Harley wipes her sweaty palms onto her pants before going back to where she'd dropped those squirrels.


The fire crackling and the sound of bug is the only noise that fills the silence. The moon and stars shine down, providing little light over the sleeping camp. The Dixon brothers sit across from each other in silence. Until one of them breaks it.

"Who is she?" Daryl finally asks, nodding towards the tent Harley entered not that long ago. He's been curious since the moment he saw her approaching them after calling out his brother's name. He knew he'd never seen her before, never heard Merle mention her either. Then he learns they served together. It was a surprise because Merle never talks about those days.

Merle seems to think about the questions a bit before answering, his eyes shifting away from the tent and back to the fire. "She's a good kid," He mutters. "Deserves better than she got."

Humming, Daryl looks away from his brother and back to that tent. He's still confused. He hasn't seen Merle act this way since...in a really long time. It's weird, almost like he's a different person.

He doesn't know what to make of Harley. He was surprised to learn she was in the military; he didn't realize you could be that small and serve. She smiles a lot; he knows that for sure. Though earlier when he saw her skinning those squirrels, blood covering her hands, she'd almost looked menacing. Her face had been completely blank, no sign of her earlier smile, her eyes filled with something he couldn't quite place.

Daryl shakes his head to himself. He doesn't know why he cares, he's even more confused as to why his brother seems to care. It's just been them for a while now, Daryl didn't know Merle was capable of feeling anything for anyone else. But this girl, this woman, it's like she's brought out another part of him that Daryl thought died a long time ago.

"Best get some rest, baby brother," Merle's voice pulls Daryl from his thoughts and the younger Dixon looks to him, but Merle continues to stare into the fire. "Got a long few days ahead of us."

Nodding, Daryl hesitates before pushing himself to his feet and turning into his own tent for the night.

Chapter 2: Quarrels Among Friends

Notes:

Thank you guys for reading! I'm so excited for everyone to see how these relationships grow and learn more about Harley's past. I've decided I'm for sure going to do a sequel.

I had a thought for a while about rewriting some of this but decided against it. It's how it is for a reason lol. I just second guess myself to much.

I'll for sure have to update tags as I go with this story, I'm just terrible at it.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

A couple of weeks into setting up camp, everyone's settled enough and found a routine of sorts. Everyone pitches in and does their part. Chores of all kinds. Laundry, food, gathering water. The only ones who hunt are Harley and the Dixon brothers. Mostly Daryl. Harley thinks he likes to get away and be on his own sometimes too.

She tries not to wander off too often. Daryl's a good enough hunter that she doesn't need to do it as much. But she helps him clean the kills he brings back. She's already so much better at it. He's a good teacher. They sit together in silence for the most part. Harley finds it peaceful. At first, she had expected him to ask questions, but he hasn't. Not about her, about her past with his brother. She's thankful for that.

It baffles her, the difference between the two brothers. They're a lot alike in some ways, but so, so different in others. They both care, deep down. Even if both would die before admitting it, they do. Harley only knows that about Merle because she knew him before. She sees it in Daryl through the things he does for the people in camp, never once seeking so much as a thanks.

That's how they're alike, they care, but they don't want others to know. As if they think it'll make them appear weak. Harley thinks Daryl gets that from Merle. But while the elder brother is loud and harsh, Daryl is quieter, reserved. She had no doubt he has a fire in him much like this brother though.

The first time she ever sees him really smile is when Merle is behind them, griping about something or another. She lifts the rabbit she was about to skin and pulls his mouth open and closed in time with Merle's voice.

Daryl snorts at her antics and shakes his head, looking back down at his own animal. Harley smiles brightly at her accomplishment before sliding her sharp blade through the rabbit's skin.

It's the next day, around noon, when something out of routine happens. Merle has just finished helping Harley move some firewood. She's walking behind him when she spots something fall from his pocket. Her eyes narrow at the ground where it lays while Merle continues forward, unaware that it had fallen.

Moving slowly, Harley lowers herself down and picks up the little, clear bag with a heavy sigh. She looks around and when she deems them both far enough from the others, she stands.

"Hey," She calls softly but sternly to Merle. The man spins around, lips still turned upwards but when he sees what she's holding, he frowns. "What the hell is this?"

"Well," Merle starts, his voice is light but it's too light for Harley to believe it's real. "That right there is a little-"

"It was a rhetorical question, Merle," Harley cuts him off, lowering her hand and the drugs along with it. "What happened to stopping?"

"That was a long time ago," Merle argues. His face hardens before he smiles that stupid smile of his again. "It's just for when it gets bad. I mean, ya know how it is." He gestures to her but Harley only shakes her head. She sees Daryl approaching slowly from behind his brother, being close enough to have heard their slightly raised voices. Or her slightly raised voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I do know," Harley whispers, her face falling from anger to disappointment. "I know better. And so do you." Merle opens his mouth to argue more but Harley shakes her head at him. "No," She says, holding up a finger to stop him. "I don't want to hear it. Take your damn drugs and leave me the hell alone." Throwing the bag at his chest, Harley doesn't wait around to see him catch it before spinning on her heels and stomping away.

Harley walks, trying to control the anger fuming inside of her. She strides forward until she reaches the water. It's quite a ways from where she started but the walk helps calm her, as well as the peaceful view. She lifts her shaky hands from her sides and clamps them together, biting down hard onto her lips.

"Hey," The voice startles Harley. She'd been so lost in her head, and along with his crazy quiet footsteps, she hadn't heard him approach. She turns her head in time to see Daryl push his nose up in a single nod to her.

"Hey," She greets back softly, moving her eyes back to the water. It really is a beautiful place. She sees Daryl watching her before following her gaze. He lifts his hand to his mouth and chews the side of his thumb. He wants to say something, she can feel it.

"Goin' hunting tomorrow," He finally speaks, eyes once again flickering to her face. "Further out, ain't nothin' but squirrel's around here."

"Yeah," Harley huffs. "Those little buggers are everywhere."

Daryl pauses again, shifting his stance from foot to foot before asking. "Wanna come?"

Harley finally turns to him then. Daryl looks down when she meets his eyes but brings them back up after a moment. She looks back towards camp with a quiet sigh. "That run is tomorrow," She hadn't said she was going but she had planned on it. Now the thought of being around others makes her exhausted.

"Merle's goin'," Daryl's quiet statement draws Harley's attention back to him. She raises a single brow.

"Is he now?"

"Hm," Daryl hums quietly, still watching her closely as she turns back to the water. "So?"

Looking over at him, Harley offers him a smile. "Yeah, yeah, I'd like to come with you." He's never invited her on a hunt before. She knows he knows that she hunts, but only have they ever gone separately. But she won't question why he's suddenly doing it. She really needs to get away for a bit.

Nodding again, Daryl turns to leave but stops when Harley calls out to him. "Thank you," She says after a moment and Daryl chews his lip, nodding one more time before starting back towards camp.


Bright and early the next morning, two groups head out. One into Atlanta, the other into the woods. Harley packs a light bag, anticipating an overnight trip. She brings her knives and her silenced pistol.

"Not much of a huntin' weapon," Daryl observes a few minutes into walking. Harley figures there's no point in trying to be too quiet just yet, they're just moving further out, after all, not hunting just yet.

"A bullet is a bullet," She shrugs. "Don't have anything else, my aim with a knife isn't as good and I won't risk the rifle. Too loud." Daryl studies her from the corner of his eyes for a moment before shrugging.

They walk in silence for a while longer. Harley feels some kind of weight settling in the air around them. It's distracting and she doesn't like it. She thinks about asking him what the hell is up when he stops walking and turns towards her but keeps his eyes down.

"Ya know, Merle..." He trails off, as if unsure what to say, and Harley sighs.

"Don't make excuses for your brother, Daryl," She tells him, ducking her head to catch his eyes. "I know Merle, I know how he is. You're not his keeper and you're not responsible for his actions, only your own. Now come on, I thought we were supposed to be hunting."

And hunt they do. For the rest of the day they're moving silently through the woods, killing any sizeable animal they can find...Squirrels, they kill a few squirrels. By the time night falls, they're both a little irked by finding nothing else.

They set up camp. Or they find a small clearing to settle down in. They don't bother with a fire, unwilling to draw any unwanted attention. It's colder out at night but nothing a sleeping bag won't help with.

"I'll take first watch," Harley volunteers before Daryl can. She half expects him to argue but he doesn't. Only nods and settles onto his own bedding, his back to her. Harley settles against a large tree, an unlit flashlight in one hand, her knife in the other. She rests her gun by her hip and stares off into the trees.

She thinks about the day before, maybe she'd overreacted. Merle is a grown man, he can do whatever the hell he wants. Why should she care? She met him years ago for a few months and never saw him again. Why should she let the shitty decisions he makes about his life affect her?

Harley huffs quietly to herself and shakes her head. She removes the sharpening block from her bag and runs her knife over it for something to do while she waits.

A couple of hours later, Daryl wakes on his own. He sits up against the same tree while Harley lies down. She turns away from him as he had her and grips her knife in her hand, her eyes closed. But despite this, she doesn't sleep.


Daryl knows Harley isn't asleep. Her breathing is too heavy and he can see the tension in her shoulders despite the dark. It's as if she's waiting for something to jump out and attack her. It took him a while to see it past that smile on her face, but she's always watching, always waiting for something to happen. She's always ready.

After the whole thing with her and Merle the day before, he figured she'd want to get away. She goes off hunting sometimes, he knows. He figured if he was going and she was going, why not go together? And he knows how his brother is, he needs to get away from him himself sometimes.

Yesterday was the first time he's seen that practiced calm shield around her crack. She didn't shout but she did raise her voice. He could see the anger in her eyes, the furry. After she'd stomped off, Merle had scoffed and pushed past Daryl harshly. Best to leave him alone, Daryl knew, so he went after Harley instead.

Not many people have ever stood up to his brother. Those who have have either lost some teeth or gotten a broken nose. But here this girl is, joking around with him, insulting him, and Merle merely laughs. She even has the balls to call him out on his shit and Merle might get frustrated, but he does nothing except scoff and wanders off. Not that Daryl expects him to do anything else, despite what most seem to believe, there are lines even his brother won't cross.

It's safe to say that Harley Fox confuses Daryl Dixon.

He thinks Harley will eventually fall asleep, but she doesn't. Every time he glances at her, she's in the same position but clearly awake. Clearly to him, anyway. He doesn't say anything, just sits silently with his elbows propped onto his knees.

Harley sits up as soon as the first light of dawn appears. She glances at Daryl and he nods a good morning. She returns the actions before rolling up her sleeping bag and putting it into her bag before standing. They continue their hunt moments later.

Daryl finds a deer trail soon enough. They track it for a little while before stumbling across him. Daryl raises his crossbow and takes a shot. He hits the animal but he doesn't go down, instead, it runs away.

"Shit," Daryl curses, quick to follow after the animal. Harley follows him with a quiet sigh.

"He's headed back towards camp," Harley observes a couple of minutes later and Daryl nods with a quiet hum. They find the deer a little while later. The animal stands in the distance, holding his leg up, a bolt still embedded in his side.

"Want me to take the shot?" Harley whispers to Daryl just loud enough for him to hear. She doesn't want to risk spooking the animal again. Spending the rest of the day chasing him through the woods isn't what she wants to do.

"Nah, I got it," Daryl mumbles while lining up his shot. He takes it and again, it hits his mark but it's not fatal and the deer bolts once again.

"I'd clap, if you know, we weren't supposed to be being quiet," Harley mumbles. She's starting to feel bad for the poor animal. It's supposed to be quick, one shot and done. They don't feel pain and they're not scared. But this poor guy is dealing with both those things.

"Shut up," Daryl grumbles before once again starting after the animal. Harley pulls her lips into a thin line as she follows behind him. There's that Dixon anger she knew was in there. It's not much, but he's frustrated. Maybe she shouldn't try her luck so much.

They follow the tracks closely back to camp. Harley holsters her weapon and uses both her hands to push the thick brush they move through out of her face.

She nearly runs into Daryl when he stops walking all of a sudden. She looks up to see Shane on the edge of the forest, his gun in hand. But he relaxes when he sees it's only them.

"Son of a bitch," Daryl exclaims when he sees the deer lying dead on the ground, his neck cared out and eaten by the walking next to it. "That's my deer. Look at it all gnawed on by this undead asshole." While the hunter delivers a solid kick to the dead man's body, Harley retrieves his arrows from the animal. What a waste. Poor guy.

"We've been tracking this deer for miles," He continues, taking the bolts from her when she holds them out to him. She only then notices the new guy. A man she hasn't seen in camp before. She silently observes him while the others speak. "Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Think we can cut around this chewed-up part here?"

"I would not risk that," Shane shakes his head and Daryl sighs in disappointment.

"That's a damn shame. Got some Squirrel though, about a dozen or so, it'll have to do," Throwing said squirrels higher onto his shoulder, Daryl starts back towards camp only to stop by the severed head when its jaws start snapping up at them. He lifts his weapon and fires a single bolt into its brain. "C'mon people, what the hell? It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" With those as his parting words, he pushes past the others. Harley goes to follow but stops when Shane grabs her arm. She steps away from his hold quickly, looking up at him in question.

"There was a problem in Atlanta," He tells her quietly. Her eyebrows unfurrow and she looks back to the way Daryl disappeared to. Shane doesn't have to say it, she knows it has something to do with Merle.

Before he can finish, they all hear the younger Dixon calling out to his brother and make to follow.

"What happened?" Harley questions Shane, her legs moving quickly to keep up with his long strides. She huffs when he only holds his hand up to her.

"Daryl, just slow up a bit, I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Daryl questions and Harley goes to stand near him as she wonders the same thing.

"About Merle," Shane rubs a hand over his face and Harley makes herself take a deep breath. Doesn't matter how she feels about this, whatever happened, it'll be hardest on Daryl. "There was uh, there was a problem in Atlanta," The former cop repeats the words he'd said to Harley while propping one of his hands onto his hips.

Glancing around at everyone in camp, noticing all eyes on him, Daryl shifts around and asks. "He dead?"

"We're not sure," Shane answers honestly. Harley's eyebrows furrow at that but before she can speak her confusion, Daryl does.

"He either is or he ain't!"

"There's no easy way to say this so I'll just say it," The new guy starts forward and both Daryl and Harley turn towards him.

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" Shifting just a little bit closer, Harley looks from Daryl and Rick with apprehension. Daryl might be much calmer than his brother but he's still Merle's brother. He's still a Dixon. She can hear the anger in his voice, see the grief in his expression. Not a good combination.

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him to a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there," Harley scoffs in disbelief and looks away only briefly. It's not her place to be upset over this (even if she is). She has to keep a level head because she knows Daryl won't.

"Hold on, let me process this," Daryl turns away, lifting his arm to wipe his eyes. Harley only takes one step towards him, her eyes watching his movement warily. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there!?"

"Yeah," Rick answers in a much quieter voice after a few seconds. Harley looks back to him and then to Daryl who paces, his face scrunched up in anger. She sees it coming before it happens. Maybe she should've gotten a little closer. When Daryl throws the line of dead Squirrels at Rick, he jumps for him. Harley moves to intercept him but Shane beats her to it and knocks him onto the ground.

But this time she's quicker. She reaches Daryl's side when he reaches for his knife and grabs onto his wrist. "No," She holds up her hand to Shane and Rick sternly while taking the weapon. "Stop!"

Though he lets her take the knife, Daryl still jumps to his feet and tries to go after others again but Harley pushes him back with her hands on his chest. "Hey, hey," She shouts up at him. He stills stalks forward and backwards, pushing against her but not as hard as he could. If he really wanted to, he could push her out of the way, she has no doubt. "It's done! Look at me! It's done, okay?" When he finally does as she said and meets her eyes, she softens, lowering her voice. "It's done. You heard him, he's still there. So we'll get him back. Let's just go. We'll find him and bring him back."

Daryl's nostrils flare but when he lifts his gaze to look over his shoulder, he nods once. He takes a step back and Harley lets her arms fall back to her sides and turns to the others.

"It's not Rick's fault," T-Dog jumps in. "I had the key, I dropped it."

"You couldn't pick it up?"

"Well, I dropped it in a drain," Daryl scoffs and Harley feels much the same. She counts to five in her head and makes herself see it from their point of view. She knows how Merle can be, he probably got himself into that mess. And people under pressure don't typically think straight. They're scared, nervous, they do stupid shit like dropping the key down a drain.

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't," Daryl grumbles, throwing his hand out towards T-Dog. He's calmed down now, Harley releases a sigh of relief. But he's still upset.

"Maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him. With a padlock."

"It's gotta count for something," Rick adds but Daryl only wipes his eyes again. Harley feels a pang in her heart when she catches the tears he pushes away.

"The hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so we can go get 'em."

"He'll show you, isn't that right?" Harley looks to the RV entrance when Lori speaks, her eyebrows furrowed. Isn't Lori's last name Grimes? Harley looks between the two, it finally clicking that this new guy is her husband, it's gotta be.

"I'm going back," Rick nods, his shoulders slumping in defeat. Daryl stalks off and Harley hesitates to follow but does after a moment. She can make introductions later.

"Hey," Picking up her feet, Harley hurries to catch up with the younger Dixon.

"Hey, look, I know this sucks. I know this is shitty. You can be angry, be upset, whatever you've gotta be but you need to keep a level head, or this'll never work."

Jaw clenching, Daryl stops walking and shifts where he stands. He's still looking ahead but after what Harley thinks is a moment of thought, he looks down at her and nods. "Okay," She sighs. If only Merle was as reasonable as his brother. "Let's get ready to head out."

After arguing with Rick over saving a man's life, Shane approaches Harley who still stands with Daryl. "I don't feel like you should go." He tells her and she scoffs. She thinks she hears Daryl do the same, but she can't be sure.

"Oh, I know how you feel," She says back coolly. She also knows he's been screwing Lori and now with her husband back, she's sure that'll end. And probably not well either. Sometimes she hates how observant she is.

"Look," Shane forces his voice to stay calm and holds up a hand. "We're already losing four men, I need you here to help protect camp in case something happens."

Though Harley sees the logic in that, she shakes her head. "I'm going."

Huffing, Shane shakes his head with a disbelieving chuckle. "For Merle Dixon?"

"Yes," Harley nods strongly and steps up to him. Daryl hears this but thankfully stays silent. "I don't care how big of an asshole he is. He saved my life once, stood up for me when no one else would, at great cost to himself. I owe him enough to at least try and save him." Shane deflates at her words, seeming to accept defeat. Harley stares him down a moment before turning around. She freezes when she sees the others. Daryl has an odd look on his face while some of the others just look...almost ashamed. She hadn't realized she'd spoken that loudly. Scoffing, Harley runs a hand down her face. "Geez."

A little while later, Daryl paces the inside of the cube van loudly while Harley leans against the outside. She bites her tongue when he honks the horn and shouts at them all to hurry up.

She nods to T-Dog when he moves past her to climb into the van. She watches Shane and Rick speak before the latter approaches her. "Rick Grimes," He holds a hand out to her and she looks down at it with only her eyes.

"I heard," She says but takes his hand and shakes it. "Harley Fox."

"Shane says you were military?"

With a deep breath, Harley nods. "Yeah." Why do people make a habit out of telling others her business? It was annoying enough when her mother did it, now near-strangers are doing it too? "Combat medic." Rick nods it what seems to be an approving way but before he can say anything else, a voice above them speaks.

"Enough chit chattin', let's go," Harley looks up to see Daryl standing above her and hears Rick sigh. The man rubs a hand over the back of his neck before moving around to the passenger seat. When Daryl offers her a hand, Harley accepts it and lets him pull her into the back of the van with ease. She closes the door behind them and everyone settles down for the ride into the city.

"He'd better be okay, that's my only word on the matter," Daryl says as the cube van rolls to a stop.

"I told you, the geeks can't get at him. The only thing that's going to get through that door is us." For his sake, Harley hopes T-Dog is right.

"We walk from here," Glenn says back to them and everyone climbs to their feet and exit the vehicle. After a small argument about what they do first, get the guns or Merle, they navigate their way to the man with little trouble. Inside the store, they take down one walker before marching up the stairs.

T-Dog uses the borrowed bolt cutters to cut the lock. Daryl kicks the door open and is the first to run out, calling his brother's name. Harley knows somethings wrong when she hears no response. He's been out there all night, very well could've passed out, but she has a feeling that's not it. Though she was hoping for it because the reality is much, much worse.

Harley's breath leaves her lungs in a rush and she runs a hand over her braided hair. Daryl shouts a stream of 'no's' while she stares down at the floor of the roof. At the bloody handcuffs, the saw, and the severed hand lying next to them both.

Notes:

The drugs are to blame for Merle's actions in Atlanta. He served a lot longer in this story than in the show, and his childhood was terrible. So he just wants to feel better you know, forget. Turns out they just make him a giant asshole.

Harley is able to stay calm (For the most part) and calm Daryl down for a reason. One we'll come to learn more about at the story continues. Also, I just love the idea that she's the only one he'll listen to.

Merle is actually a better brother in this story. Like we all know he wanted to be in the show. And because of that, Daryl is a little different as well. You know, the butterfly effect and all that.

So, what did you guys think! I love reading your reviews, don't hesitate to leave one! Also feel free to point out any errors, my spelling is terrible.

'-'

Chapter 3: Concussions and Rescues

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rick and T make their way closer but as soon as they do, Daryl rounds on them and points his crossbow at T-Dog's face. In return, Rick points his gun at Daryl. Harley resists adding to the fire by pulling her own weapon and instead, lightly places her hand on the end of Daryl's crossbow and gently pushes it down.

"Hey," She says to him, looking into Daryl's eyes and moving between him and T-Dog. "Level head." She whispers to him and he squeezes his eyes shut before relaxing.

"You-you got a do-rag or something?" He asks T, his voice quiet. The man in question reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bandana before handing it over. Daryl takes it and holds his crossbow out to Harley who grabs it without question.

Everyone watches then, as Daryl crouches down and picks up Merle's hand. Harley thinks she hears Glenn gag behind her. She can't blame the kid, it's a sight to see. She still remembers her first severed limb.

"I guess the saw blade was too tough for the handcuffs," Daryl says while wrapping Merle's hand in the cloth. "Ain't that a bitch." When he stands, he options for Glenn and puts it in the boy's bags.

Harley licks her lips before turning her gaze back to the ground. "He used a tourniquet. Had to have, there'd be much more blood if he didn't." She observes while following the blood trail with her eyes.

"Maybe his belt," Daryl nods and takes his weapon back from her. They follow the trail to another door and down another staircase. Harley has about had it with stairs.

Daryl calls out to his brother but again, they receive no answer. Rick warns him against being loud but Daryl shakes him off.

Harley isn't sure the others notice it at first. The smell of burnt flesh is very distinct, even over that of rotting bodies. She enters the room behind Daryl to see a burner still on and winces, lifting an old metal plate of some kind.

"What's that burnt stuff?" Glenn questions from over her shoulder and Harley glances at him.

"Flesh. He cauterized the wound."

"Told you he was tough," Daryl says to Rick. "Ain't nobody can kill Merle but Merle."

"Don't take that on faith, he's lost a lot of blood."

"Yeah? That didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap," Harley isn't surprised, hell, she was expecting this. Merle thinks he's on his own out here, as Daryl says to Glenn. Merle Dixon isn't the type to just sit around and hope someone comes to help him. He's not the kind of person to wait for help he knows is coming.

"Only if we get those guns fist," T-Dog says after Rick mentions searching around a few blocks for Merle. "I'm not strolling around the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?" Harley hums in agreement.


"You're not doing this alone," They're in an old office of some kind. Harley only paid close enough attention to make sure it was secure before focusing on Glenn. He sits, crouched on the floor where he'd drawn a crude map of the street where the guns are.

"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you very much," Daryl grumbles from the corner and Harley shoots him a look over her shoulder. He likes Glenn just fine, she knows it. She knows he knows that she knows. She likes him too. He's a good kid.

"It's a good idea, okay, if you just hear me out," Glenn argues and Rick sighs, motioning for him to continue. "If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast."

"I don't feel right about this, maybe I should go," Harley shakes her head. She can't seem to shake this heaviness in her gut at the thought of him going out onto the street like that. She might not have been trained for this specifically, but she does have training.

"No," Glenn shakes his head impatiently and gestures towards the floor. "Look," Marker still in hand, he moves a paper clip between the lines for reference. "That's the tank, five blocks from where we are now. That's the bag of guns. Here's the alley I dragged you into when we first met." He directs to Rick before looking back at her. "That's where you, Daryl, and I will go."

"Why us?" Daryl questions, now closer to the others to hear the plan better.

"Your crossbow and your silenced gun are quieter than his," Glenn answers with a nod towards Rick. "And even numbers. While Daryl and Harley wait here in the alley, I run up the street, grab the bag. Rick and T-Dog, you'll be in this alley here."

"Two blocks away? Why?" Rick asks.

"I may not be able to come back the same way," Glenn explains. "Walkers might cut me off. If that happens, I won't go back to Daryl and Harley. I'll go forward instead, all the way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me. Afterward, we'll all meet back here."

"Hey, kid, what'd you do before all this?" Daryl asks after her silent curse, curiosity filling his voice.

"Delivered pizzas," Glenn shrugs. "Why?"

"Damn," Harley whispers after a silent moment passes. He's a better strategist than some of the people she's met schooled in the subject. "Color me impressed."


Harley is the first one down the latter into the alley. Glenn follows her with Daryl last. She sweeps the area quickly and deems it safe. No walkers wandered in since she looked from the roof. No people either.

They move quickly, down the alley and between two dumpsters. Daryl loads his crossbow while Glenn and Harley survey the exit.

"You got some balls for a Chinaman," Daryl says and Harley has to resist rolling her eyes. She thinks Glenn does roll his eyes.

"I'm Korean," He mumbles before darting out from behind the dumpster and starting towards the street.

"Whatever," Daryl mumbles and Harley turns to him.

"Unnecessary," He merely shrugs at her words and Harley huffs. They duck down behind the dumpsters and wait. Harley worries her lower lip between her teeth but stops when she hears shuffled footsteps from the other end of the alley. She nudges Daryl's arm, waiting until he looks at her before looking pointedly in the direction and he nods.

Harley moves only a second before Daryl, standing from behind the dumpster and raising her gun at the approaching person. She only falters a little when she sees how young he is but keeps her gun up.

"Woah, don't shoot me! What do you want?" The kid shouts and Harley winces. There are walkers right in the street behind him, what's this kid thinking?

"I'm looking for my brother. He's hurt real bad. You seen him?" Daryl asks while slowly advancing on the boy, his crossbow aimed at his head.

"Ayudame!"

"Shut up!" Daryl quickly says over the kids yelling. Harley is set more on edge by the loud noise and what he'd said. Why else would be he calling for help unless he's got people close by? "You're gonna bring the geeks down on us. Answer me."

But the kid only shakes his head before yelling out again. Harley winces and finally takes her eyes off him, assured that Daryl is watching him, and turns to the alley. She doesn't see any walkers approaching but she's sure they're on their way.

A thud brings Harley's attention back to her company. She spins around only after Daryl has knocked the kid onto the ground and is crouching over him, trying to quiet him down. "Shut up. Shut up."

"Daryl," Harley holsters her weapon to free her hands and starts towards him. Yeah, the kid needs to shut the hell up, but he's scared and Daryl's only succeeding in making him more so. "Daryl, hey-" She didn't hear the other footsteps. She should've but she didn't, to focused on making sure her companion didn't knock the idiot child's teeth in.

A hand grabs a hold of the end of her braid and pulls her head back. Harley immediately lashes out but something hard makes contact with her temple, causing her vision to black out momentarily.

She struggles to sit up when her vision swims. Harley hears Glenn calling her name and Daryl's and the sound of squealing tires. Then suddenly Rick and T-Dog are there, the former holding Daryl back while the latter holds the kid to the wall so he can't run away.

The shouting stops when she pulls herself to her feet. Harley grasps onto the side of the dumpster to steady herself while the other braces against the side of her head. She really hates getting hit in the head.

"You good?" Daryl grips her shoulder and Harley gives a thumbs up. "We gotta go." Still holding onto her, Daryl guides Harley back to the ladder and pushes her to go up it before him. She blinks heavily a few times and does just that.

Soon, but not soon enough, they're back in the office space. Harley sits on one of the desks, her head leaning against her hand while she observes the others interrogate the kid. Said kid then decides it's a good idea to antagonize Daryl who then jumps for him. Rick and Harley are quick to intercept and stop him.

"You need to watch what you say," Harley growls at him while Daryl opens Glenn's bag and reaches inside.

"You want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" Daryl asks while unwrapping Merle's hand from the bandana. He then proceeds to toss it into the kid's lap. The kid screams and jumps from his seat before falling onto the floor. "I'll start with the feet this time." Rick pulls him back by his shirt and pushes him away. Harley closes her eyes and sits back on the desk.

"Hey," Daryl stands in front of her, chewing his lip. Harley blinks up at him and hums in question. In response, he lifts his hand and nudges her head up and to the side with a single finger under her chin. He runs his thumb under the growing bruise with furrowed brows. Harley is surprised the skin didn't break. But grateful for it.

"Just a little bump," She mutters but Daryl scoffs.

"Bit more than that. Bastard took a bat to your head."

"Really? I couldn't tell," She hadn't actually known it was a bat. But it makes sense. "Sorry." She mumbles and sits up straighter.

"How bad is it?" Rick asks, seemingly done with his conversation with the kid.

"It's not, probably just a low-grade concussion," She won't mention her vision going dark for a moment. That's not a good sign but she's not slurring her words and, yes, her head may be pounding with every heartbeat, but her vision isn't blurry...anymore.

"Concussion doesn't exactly instill confidence," Rick argues Harley sighs.

"Are you the medic?" She shoots back, frustration slipping into her words. She shouldn't get upset, he's just worried. But she's plenty capable. Even with a little headache. She mentally counts to five and releases a sigh before deflating a little. "Are my pupils even?" She asks no one in particular but Daryl places his finger under her chin again and moves his face closer to hers. Harley looks into his eyes while he looks between her own and he nods.

"Yeah,"

"Then I'm good," Not exactly the most reliable thing but, what else is there right now? If it makes Rick feel better and not treat her like she's fragile, then it'll do. "We gonna do this or not?" Standing, Harley hears Daryl scoff again but it sounds different than it usually does. Almost...impressed? But that doesn't make much sense, does it?


The kid leads them to his group. They meet with the leader, Guillermo, to negotiate a trade between their people. It doesn't go well. The man decides it's not a fair trade and demands the guns they came back for. They threaten Glenn's life by walking him to the edge of the roof. They retreat and find yet another office space, this one much closer, to discuss options.

T-Dog wonders if they can trust Guillermo's word while Daryl asks if Rick's willing to give up his life for Glenn. Because it's a likely outcome. Rick looks to Harley after the others give their input, raising an eyebrow at her silence. She sighs and sits up from where she'd leaned against the wall, her hand coming away from her lips.

"I'm not accustomed to leaving men behind," She tells him, her gaze meeting his. "No matter the risk." Maybe that's just the soldier in her talking. Either way, doesn't matter. Glenn is one of them, there's no way she's just leaving him.

Everyone shares a silent nod before moving. Harley holsters her gun her grabs a shotgun from the bag and loads it. She shares a look with Daryl before sighing. She'd thought her fighting days were over. Guess the end of the world isn't very considerate, is it?

Rick keeps an eye on the kid over the short walk to the old warehouse. Harley doesn't realize it until they're entering the building that she's fallen seamlessly back into her 'soldier mode'. It's been a while; she'd thought maybe she'd fallen out of those habits. Some things are just harder to shake than others. Especially those kinds of things.

"I see my guns but they're not all in the bag," Guillermo says as a way of greeting. He doesn't even blink when Rick points his gun at his chest.

"That's because they're not yours," The sheriff tells him. "I thought I mentioned that."

"Let's just shoot these fools right now, ese," Another man says. Harley glances at him out of the corner of her eye but keeps her weapon pointed at the man in front of her. "Unload on their asses."

"I don't think you fully understand the gravity of the situation."

"No, I'm pretty clear," Rick lowers his gun and pulls out a knife, cutting the bindings off the kid and pushing him forward. "You have your man, I want mine."

Guillermo threatens to feed Glenn to his dogs then. Harley shifts on the balls of her feet and listens closely. "My hearings fine," Rick starts after Guillermo finishes his little rant. "You said come locked and loaded," On cue, everyone readies their weapons and raises them high to point at someone else. "Okay then, we're here."

Harley holds steady, her finger hovering next to the trigger but not over it. She never liked this part of the job. She became a medic to help people, not hurt them. But sometimes you've got to. You've got to make the tough decisions, do the tough thing, even if it doesn't feel right.

"Felipe, Felipe," Harley blinks at the new voice but doesn't waver her hold on her gun. It's clearly the sound of an elderly lady's voice. Harley's eyebrows furrow and she risks a glance towards it.

"Abuela, go back to the others, now," The man from before says to the old lady. His grandmother, apparently.

"Get that old lady out of the line of fire," Daryl barks and Harley sees Guillermo sigh before speaking.

"Abeula, listen to your mijo, okay? This is not the place for you right now."

"Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing," The lady informs them, seeming to not hear or choosing to ignore Guillermo. "He needs his asthma stuff."

Well shit, Harley thinks. She's confused as hell, that's all she knows for sure. But she has a feeling she knows a little more about what's going on here.

"Felipe, go take care of it okay?" Guillermo demands the other man. "And take your grandmother with you." Felipe does try to lead the woman away but when she catches sight of Rick's group, she steps forward with questions. Harley almost snorts when Rick stutters that he's not there to take away her grandson. This is not at all what she expected going into this.

"He's...helping of find a missing person. A fella named Glenn."

"The Asian boy? He's with mister Gilbert," Harley has lowered her gun all the way now. She keeps a close eye on those around her but she's pretty sure there isn't going to be a gunfight here today. For that, she's thankful. "Come. Come, I show you." The little old lady then grabs ahold of Rick's hand and starts leading him from where she came.

"Let 'em pass," G sighs and waves them through. Harley studies his face as she moves by, noting how tired he looks. She feels a stab of empathy for him.

After leading them out back and through a sunny yard, they end up back in another building. Harley can tell what it is immediately by the smell. It's a very distinct smell, one she knows well. As they pass by the rooms, she sees glimpses of older people sitting or being helped by someone else.

They take a turn at the end of the hall and enter what appears to be an auditorium. Harley's eyes land on Glenn soon enough and she relaxes when she sees he's unharmed. Though he does look worried as he stares down at the old man struggling to breathe.

"What the hell is this?" Rick asks quietly and Glenn finally looks up to them.

"An asthma attack," He answers simply and this time, Harley can't hold back the scoff that escapes her. "Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden."

"Thought you were being eaten by dogs, man," T-Dog explains much louder, his voice bouncing off the walls around them. Glenn looks over his shoulder and they all follow his gaze to the three chihuahuas resting on a pink and leopard print bed. Harley grits her teeth.

"I have met some stupid people in my life," She whispers to Guillermo, her voice slowly rising into a quiet yell. "You have got to be one of the dumbest!"

"She's right," Rick says, his tone matching her own. "We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you!"

"Well, I'm glad it didn't go down that way," G nods calmly and Harley pinches the bridge of her nose. This isn't doing her headache any good. He then leads them into a private room after telling them a little about what's happened. Harley feels terrible about it all, she hadn't even thought of places like this, what would happen to them. But these people stayed, at risk to themselves, to help these people.

"What about the rest of your crew?"

"The vatos trickle in," Guillermo shrugs. "To check on their parents, grandparents. They see how things are and most decide to stay. It's a good thing too, we need the muscle. The people we've encountered since things fell apart, the worst kind. Plunderers, the kind that take by force."

"That's not who we are," Rick shakes his head adamantly.

"How was I to know? My people got attacked and you show up with Miguel hostage-" Yeah, Harley can see how that looked bad. "Appearances." Not her best first impression, that's for sure. Probably not her worst either, though.

"Guess the world changed," T-Dog mumbles but Harley shakes her head along with G.

"No," The man says. "It's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken." A harsh breath escapes Harley and she pushes herself to her feet and walks to the window, her legs suddenly feeling restless. "So, we do what we can here," Guillermo continues after glancing back at her. "The vatos work on the cars, talk about getting the old people out of the city. But most can't even get to the bathroom by themselves, so that's just a dream. Still, keeps the crew busy, and that's worth something."

"So, we barred all the windows, welded all the doors shut except one entrance," Harley winces at that. Yes, less area to guard but what happens when your one-way in and out is blocked? Then what do you do? Sit on your asses and die because you're trapped, that's what. "The vatos, they go out, scavenge what they can to keep us going. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait."

"The people here, they all look to me now," Guillermo shrugs, his voice almost mournful. "I don't even know why."

A beat of silence before Harley moves back towards them. "Because they can," Squeezing the shotgun in her hands twice, she holds it out for him to take. Rick follows her movement and does the same before taking a few from the bag. Harley hears Daryl scoff quietly but ignores him.

This place, these people...they're something good left in this bad world. Doesn't matter how long they think they'll be here or how long they will be here. They deserve a chance and if she can help give them that, then she will.


"Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat," Glenn accuses Rick while they walk back to the van.

"Don't tell anybody," Harley allows herself a quiet chuckle at that. Though she doesn't feel too joyous, with not having found Merle, the day ended much better than she thought it would for a while there.

"You've given away half our guns and ammo," Daryl isn't too happy either.

"Not nearly half."

"For what? A bunch of old farts that are gonna die off momentarily anyhow?"

"Daryl," Harley all but growls at the man, cutting off any other words he plans to say. He opens his mouth, ready to keep going only to freeze when they all round the side of an old bus.

"Where the hell is our van?" Daryl asks the question on everyone's mind as they all stare at the empty place they'd parked.

"We left it right there, who would take it?"

"Merle," Rick accuses and Harley runs her hands over her head and takes a step back.

"He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp," Even though Daryl's known Merle his whole life, much longer than Harley, she doesn't want to believe his words. She hadn't known his brother long, and yes, he was clearly an ass. But he wasn't a horrible person. Or maybe she only thinks that because she's met some of the worst the world has to offer. Either way, she refuses to believe it.

But still, when the others start to run back towards camp, she's quick to follow. Maybe the day wasn't ending so well after all.

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 4: Infected

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

They're close to camp but not nearly close enough when they hear the screams and gunshots. The others pause when the noise reaches them, but Harley only speeds up. They're quick to follow.

Harley holds her pistol out; her knife gripped on her left under it. She aims and fires at the first walker she sees. It goes down with a bullet to the brain and she moves on to the next. She hears the others behind her, doing the same.

When Harley runs out of ammo, she switches to her knife but at that point, there's only a few left. It feels like it's over the moment it started and everyone's left scared and panting as they look around the carnage of what's left of camp.

Lacing her fingers together, Harley rests her hands on top of her head and breaths deeply. She tries to focus on that, the air filling and leaving her lungs, not that of the dead at her feet. Not just the walkers, but her people. The ones they weren't quick enough to save. The ones she wasn't quick enough to save.

No one really sleeps that night. Those with children move their young into the RV while the sun slowly makes its way up into the sky. The others set to work.

"One, two, three," Hands under the dead walker's feet, Harley lifts on her count with T-Dog and throws the body into the fire.

"Can't just leave Amy like that," The medic hears Shane say when she wanders closer. "We need to deal with it, same as the others."

"I'll tell her how it is," Rick says but Harley shakes her head.

"Best not to," She tells him. The man pauses and looks between her and Andrea. A slight condescending look overtakes his expression, one that makes Harley's face twitch, before he tells her that it's fine. She holds her hands up and backs off. Fine, but he's not allowed to say she didn't warn him.

Their experience with grieving family members is much different, she imagines. As a cop, she doesn't have a doubt that he's had to inform a friend or family and their loved ones passing. He's probably had people fall down, maybe cry into his arms. Harley has informed soldiers' family's that they're never going to see their son again. Their husband, their wife, their daughter, mother, father. She's dealt with their anger, taken their harsh words, and even a slap to the face once.

But Andrea already knows Amy is gone. She's mourning over her sister. Harley's seen the way people can react when someone else tries to take away their loved one. Dead or not. And she might not know Andrea well, but the blonde can be a bit of a hothead. A hot head with a gun.

Harley only clicks her tongue when Andrea turns, pointing her gun right in Rick's face.

"Y'all can't be serious," Daryl says when Rick rejoins them. "Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girls a time bomb."

"What do you suggest?"

"Take the shot," Daryl states simply. "Clean, in the brain, from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."

"No," Harley denies. Though she doesn't completely disagree. "Her sister just died in her arms, for goodness sake, leave her be." Daryl scoffs, spitting on the ground and Harley continues. "She has a gun, as you very well know," She directs to Rick. "She knows how to use it. Trust when the time comes, she will."

"And if she doesn't?" Shane raises his eyebrows and Harley shrugs.

"We'll get to Amy before she can cause any real damage."

"Except to Andrea," Dale adds. Harley purses her lips before nodding slowly.

"She knows the risks," With a weight settling over her shoulders, Harley walks away. She continues to help clean camp, staying silent through Glenn's outburst about burying their own dead. She doesn't disagree with him, but burning is a type of burial, in a way. She knew plenty of people who were cremated. There's nothing wrong with that.

"You reap what you sow," Harley stands up straight when she hears Daryl's raised voice. "Y'all left my brother for dead. You had this coming!"

"Hey," Hurrying to catch up, Harley shouts at the younger Dixon's back, reaching out to grab his arm when close enough. "I know you're upset about Merle, I am too, but you can't just say shit like that. The people who died tonight had nothing to do with what happened in Atlanta."

Scoffing, Daryl pulls away from her. "They might not have been there, but they did," He argues. "None of them care. Never liked either of us anyway."

"That's not true," Harley shakes her head. "And if you pulled your head out of your ass for two seconds, you'd see that. Look-" She's quick to start again before he can. "I know it's shitty, I know. Merle saved my life, and I will never forget that, but he's gone. I don't believe he's dead, but he is gone and there's nothing to do about it now."

Harley thinks she sees Daryl's eyes watering, but he looks away from her before she can really see. "And I hope one day you find him, alive. Hopefully as less of an ass but that would be nothing beyond a miracle," It's a risk, making the joke. But a risk she had been willing to take. She thinks she hears an amused noise escape Daryl, but she can't be sure. "And you know, doesn't matter if the others care because I do." Finally looking up, Daryl meets Harley's eyes with a look she can't quite read. There he goes again, being all confusing. "So, pull it together. We need you."

Daryl opens his mouth to respond but before he can, Jacqui's voice reaches their ears. "A walker got him, a walker bit Jim!"

"Shit," Rushing over with the others, Harley stops in the circle of people forming around the man.

"Show it to us,"

"Easy Jim,"

"Grab him!"

"Stop!" Everyone freezes at Harley's exclaimed word and turn to her with surprised expressions. Sometimes she forgets how loud her voice can be. "What the hell is wrong with you people?" She continues once she has everyone's attention. "Back off." Raising her hands in a placating manner, Harley approaches Jim slowly.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," He whispers to her when she gets closer and Harley nods.

"I know," She assures him. "Just let me see, okay? I just want to make sure you're okay. I'm a medic, remember?" As she'd hoped, her words help calm Jim and he lets her lift his shirt to show the bite along his side. She sighs and drops the fabric back down. "Okay, come with me. Let's get you into the shade." With a light hand on his arm, Harley guides Jim over to the back of the RV and sits him down.

The others all gather a little ways away, no doubt to discuss the situation. She doesn't join them and instead sits next to the older man. "How're you feeling?"

"Just a little tired," He answers while she places her hand against his forehead.

"You're warm, but that could just be from working in the sun," She informs him while dropping her arm back to her side. "Do you have chills? Body aches?"

"Hm," Jim hums, seeming to think about it before reluctantly nodding.

"Okay, I'm going to go get you some water, just relax, okay?"

"Thank you," Harley offers him a smile and squeezes his shoulder before walking off. She's not delusional, not blinded into thinking he might be okay. People who get bit turn, there's no way around it. That doesn't mean she can't make him comfortable, try to ease his fear.

"Harley, come here for a sec?" Rick calls her over to the group and the woman complies with a questioning look. "The CDC," He starts when she reaches his side. "If there was any government left, any structure at all, they would protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they?"

"I-" Harley stutters in thought. She sends a glance over at Jim before nodding. "Yeah. It's definitely a priority zone."

"I think that's our best shot. Food, protection-"

"I know you want those things, Rick," Shane cuts his friend off. "I do too. And they'll be at the army base, right? Fort Benning." When did everyone start turning to her for answers? Oh, right, she was military. Maybe she should've kept that to herself?

"If they're still standing," She nods. "It'd be safe. Protected. Food, shelter. But it's a hundred miles in the opposite direction." Taking her words, Rick and Shane continue to argue. Harley steps away on her earlier mission to bring Jim some water.

She helps him take hold of the cup and glances over at the others. Daryl keeps sending looks over his shoulder to Jim and for once, Harley can read the look on his face. "Alright, come on." Harley grabs Jim's arm and pulls him to his feet.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere safe." She gets it, he's upset. A few years ago, she probably would've done the same as he's thinking. But it's not a few years ago and this isn't how you go about things. Jim isn't dead yet and unless he wants that, they're not going to kill him. If they start doing that, where do they draw the line? And maybe Rick is right, maybe the CDC will have a cure. Harley doesn't feel hopeful about it.

Harley checks his temperature again after getting him settled. He's already so much warmer than before. She grabs his wrist then and counts his heartbeats while watching the seconds tick by on her watch.

"How do I look, doc?" Jim rasps out after she's given him his arm back.

"Not a doctor," She reminds him with a small smile. "Never got my doctorate."

"But you were trying," Jim guesses and she nods.

"Yeah, I was in school," It's what she'd always wanted to be, a doctor. But school is expensive. The military isn't. "Then the dead thought they'd had enough snooze time and wanted a snack. We just so happened to be that snack."

"Tell me about it," Jim mumbles and leans his head back. Harley winces internally. Maybe that wasn't the best way to say it.

Sighing, the young woman thinks about what to say but jumps to her feet instead when a gunshot goes off. She leans forward and looks out the window, letting her shoulders drop when she sees it was only Andrea.

"Amy?" Jim questions and Harley nods silently. "That'll be me soon enough."

"You don't know that," Harley reminds him gently. "Rick's trying to convince Shane to go to the CDC. Maybe they can help you."

"Maybe," Jim whispers, his eyes falling shut and his head dropping back.

The others drive up the heal to bury their dead. Harley stays in the RV with Jim, trying to keep him cool with a wet cloth on his head. When they make it back to camp, Rick and Lori come in. "How's he looking?" Rick asks her and she looks to him over her shoulder.

"His fever is getting worse."

"Do you need anything, Jim?" Lori asks kindly from behind her husband.

"Uh, some more water would be nice,"

"You got it," Lori nods before making her exit. Harley lays the wet rag on top of Jim's head before moving and allowing Rick to take her place. They speak for a bit, Harley leans against the door, staying close to her patient. She only really starts to listen after Jim finishes coughing.

"Watch the mangroves," He mumbles, and Harley feels her heart sink into her stomach. "Their roots with gouge the whole boat, you know that right. Amy is there swimming. You'll watch the boat, right? You said you would."

"Yeah, I'll watch the boat," Rick says after a moment. "Don't worry."

"It's the fever," Harley whispers to him when he stands. "He's delusional. I'm not sure how much longer he has."

Rick nods and wipes some sweat from his forehead. "Stay with him?"

"Yeah," She nods softly and lets him slip past her before returning to Jim's side.

It's late when everyone gathers around outside except Jim. Rick and Shane have decided to try for the CDC. Shane clearly isn't happy with the decision but it's what they've decided on. Harley's biggest qualms are that it's late, it'll be dark soon. And going that close to the city. But if the CDC is still standing, it'll be safe. And it's Jim's best chance.

Morales and his family decide to split up from them. Harley shakes her head to herself but doesn't voice her thoughts. They want to be with their people, she understands that. But is it worth the risk?

Morales shakes her hand and nods silently. Harley copies the motion before returning his wife's hug. She offers the kids small smiles and fist bumps. She doesn't know them well but the little ones seemed to like her.

Daryl offers to help her load her bike into the back of his truck along with Merle's. "Will it fit?" She asks a little skeptically.

"We'll make it. No point in wasting gas we don't got," Daryl grumbles and Harley nods. In the end, they do make it fit. She's happy about that, no way she's leaving it behind.

"I'm going to ride in the RV," She tells him while he wipes his hands on a piece of old cloth. "Stay with Jim."

"The dead guy?"

"He's not dead," Harley says sternly and Daryl shrugs.

"Yet," He mumbles. Harley rolls her eyes before moving over to the Rv.

The ride is tough. Every single bump they go over Jim winces in pain. Harley tries her best to make him feel better but there's not much she can really do. So, she continues to wipe the sweat off his face with a cool rag and helps him sit up when he needs to cough.

When the RV comes to a stop, Harley checks quickly to see what's going on. Dale never got the radiator hose from the cube van and the RV's is shot. "It's okay, we'll be back on the road soon."

"No," Jim shakes his head. "I can't go anymore."

"It's not much further," Harley tries to convince him but he continues to shake his head.

"I can't, I know. My bones feel like glass, this ride is killing me," Reaching out, Jim pats Harley's hand. "I'm done. This is my decision, not your failure."

"Okay," Harley whispers, scared her voice will break if she tries to make it any louder. She squeezes his hand and offers a tight-lipped smile as she stands. "Hey," Gathering the other's attention, she looks to Rick and nods behind her. "It's Jim. He can't go anymore." The former sheriff lowers his head before following her back into the vehicle. Harley catches Daryl's eye on her way, but she looks away quickly.

She stands back while Rick talks to Jim. He tries to convince the man to hang on a little longer but much as he had with her, Jim just shakes his head. He tells them both that he wants to be with his family. That he's ready. Who are they to deny him that choice?

"It's what he says he wants," Back outside again, Rick addresses the rest of the group at the bottom of the stairs while Harley stands in the RV's doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.

"And he's lucid?"

"Yes," Harley answers Carol's question with a quick glance at the woman. But her gaze soon returns to her feet. "As lucid as he'll ever be."

"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right, you shut me down," Dale begins, his voice calm and even. "You misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just going to suggest we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have the answer."

"We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I can live with that."

"Doesn't matter," Harley says in response to Shane's words. "It's not your call to make, it's his. Whether you can live with it or not."

There's a moment of silence around before Rick and Harley go back in to get Jim. They each take one of his arms and hold it over their shoulders. Outside and up a heel before placing him back against a tree.

"The breeze feels nice," He mumbles while Harley slowly removes her hand from the back of his neck.

"Thanks for fighting for us," She whispers to him, offering him her biggest smile. He tries his best to return it before Harley moves away, allowing the others a chance to say goodbye. Now that Jim's...now there's no need for her to ride in the Rv. She doesn't want to be near anyone right now. She'd like to get on her bike but that's not an option for many reasons. So, without even asking, she marches towards Daryl's truck and climbs into the passenger side, slamming the door closed with more force than necessary.

When the hunter joins her, he stays silent a moment before asking. "You good?"

"Yup," Harley responds shortly, still refusing to look at him. Instead, she stares out the window and chews on her lower lip.

It's near dark when they make it to the CDC building. Harley braces a hand over her stomach at the sight that greets them. The ground is littered with bodies ranging from civilians to soldiers. She tries not to think about that and avoids their faces as best she can. She doesn't want to look down and see the dead eyes of someone she knows.

She keeps her gun drawn as they approach the building, sticking to the back of the group. She makes herself breathe through her nose and ignore the sounds of the flies. She glances at the ever-darkening sky before returning her attention to the area around them, watchful for any threats.

"There's nobody here," T-Dog says when they get to the door but Rick's quick to argue.

"Then why are these shutters down?"

"Walkers," Daryl warns and raises his bow, taking out one as Harley does the same with her silenced pistol. She's never been more grateful for silencers than she is right now. "You led us into a graveyard!"

"Shh," Harley harshly shushes Daryl over her shoulder. "He made a call."

"Rick this is a dead-end," Shane tries to tell his friend while Harley bounces on the balls of her feet. They've almost lost all the light. "Do you hear me? No blame."

"We can't be this close to the city after dark,"

"Fort Benning, Rick, still an option," While the others continue to fight, Harley steps away from her watch post and approaches Rick.

"Hey-"

"The camera, it moved," Rick speaks over her and Harley follows his gaze to said camera. She didn't see anything, but she won't be so quick to discount what he says he saw.

"You imagined it," Dale says but Rick shakes his head and steps forward.

"It moved," He insists. "It moved."

"Rick, it's dead man," Shane tries to convince his friend. "It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on."

"I know you're in there," Rick moves out of Shane's grasp and bangs on the shutters, looking up into the camera. "I know you can hear me! We're desperate, please help us!"

"Everyone, get back to the cars, go now," Shane shouts to everyone while Rick continues to scream up at the camera. Harley hesitates, looking between the retreating group and the two men before a hand grabs onto her arm.

"Let's go," Daryl urges her and Harley starts to fall back with him, her eyes flickering back to see Shane dragging Rick away. And as soon as the former sheriff sags in defeat and starts to come willingly, the shutters open and a bright light shines out over them all.

Notes:

We learn more about Harley's past in the next chapter. A little about what happened with the whole Merle thing. Any theories?

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you guys think!

'-'

Chapter 5: CDC

Notes:

This chapter has one of my favorite moments between Harley and Daryl in it! I can't wait to know what you guys think about it.

There is a heavy topic, I don't want to blindside anyone or spoil anything. Nothing is specifically described though. But tread carefully. I'll add tags.

I stayed up until two a.m editing chapters last night. Got to like, 16, still a lot to go. It's fun to go back and reread this though, I might add a few things as I go.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Get inside, go!" Harley ushers everyone in while keeping her front to the outside. She keeps her gun up, aimed and ready to shoot.

Once inside, she turns at the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked. "Anybody infected?" A voice calls out from the dark. Only one voice. Only one person.

"One in our group was," Rick answers honestly. "He didn't make it."

"Why are you here? What do you want?"

"A chance,"

"That's asking an awful lot these days," The man says while slowly inching forward. He's not a soldier, Harley can tell immediately by his stance, the way he holds that gun. Probably a doctor here. If there were any soldiers left at all, they wouldn't allow a doctor to come greet the big group of strangers they just let into their building.

"I know," Rick nods and everyone waits with bated breath.

"You all submit to a blood test, that's the price of admission,"

"We can do that," Rick nods.

"You got stuff to bring in, you do it now," The guy tells them. "Once that door closes, it stays closed." Rick, Daryl, Harley, and Shane move out quickly and grab everyone's bags before returning. The door shuts firmly behind them.

"Rick Grimes," Harley turns when he introduces himself and watches the man closely.

"Dr. Edwin Jenner," So she was right. Not a soldier.

The elevator is small just big enough to fit all of them. Crammed together. Harley smiles at the thought of an old friend; he couldn't stand to be in small spaces. The gesture soon turns sad when she remembers that same man's fate.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asks Edwin from beside her.

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough. Except you," He says to Carl. "I'm going to have to keep my eye on you." The boy can't help but smile at the doctor's words. He looks up and catches Harley's eyes. She grins at the boy and winks.

Jenner is the only one left, they soon come to find out. There's no other scientist, no doctors, no soldiers. Nothing. Just him and the computer to keep him company. Harley feels disappointed but not surprised.

She's fifth in line to get her blood drawn. She's glad needles aren't a problem for her. She's given blood often enough over the years to have grown used to them.

When Edwin ties the rubber band over the top of her arm, she sees him hesitate while his eyes study the scars there. "Shrapnel from an IED." She explains simply. It's not the prettiest part of her, not the ugliest either.

"You're a soldier?" She tries not to be offended by the surprise in his voice.

"Was," She shrugs while he resumes the motions of drawing her blood.

"Once a soldier, always a soldier, in my experience."

"Oh, yeah? And what experience is that?" Pausing again, Jenner looks up to meet her hard stare before shaking his head in lieu of answering. Once he's finished, Harley holds pressure against the hole in her arm and goes back to stand with the others.

After Andrea, the last to go, Jenner leads them into the kitchen. Only minutes later everyone is gathered around the table, eating and drinking with large smiles on their faces. Harley herself sits on the counter not far from Glenn, a plate resting in her lap.

She smiles for the first time when Carl tries the wine, shaking her head softly. She had much the same reaction to her first introduction to alcohol. Was nearly the same age as well.

"Not you, Glenn. Keep drinking little man, I wanna see how red your face can get." Daryl says across the way. Harley smiles again. This is the happiest she's seen him, the most carefree. But she's pretty sure that's just the alcohol. "You too," Daryl approaches with a wine bottle but Harley shakes her head and holds up a hand.

"I don't drink."

"Oh, come on," Glenn pouts and gestures out to the others. "We're celebrating."

"I said, I don't drink," Harley grimaces as soon as she speaks. She hadn't meant to be so harsh. Closing her eyes, she takes a breath before smiling at a now frowning Glenn and Daryl. "I want to be sober, so I can remember this. Hold the stupid shit you do and say against you for the foreseeable future."

Glenn smiles at her again, chuckling but Daryl is still giving her that odd look of his, the one she can't read. Harley holds his gaze this time until he backs down.

"So when are you going to tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" As soon as Shane speaks, the mood dies down. Everyone sombers and the room becomes silent. "All the uh, all the other doctors, that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"We're celebrating, Shane," Rick reminds his friend. "Don't need to do this now."

"Woah, wait a second. This is why we're here, right?" Shane's tone makes Harley's stomach churn. He's drunk, and clearly not a happy drunk. He sounds almost dangerous, and she doesn't like it. Her eyes narrow at the back of his head. "This was your move, supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we-" Shane huffs a laugh. "We found him. Found one man, why?"

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families," Jenner starts to explain after a moment. "And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?"

"No," Jenner is quicker to answer Shane this time. "Many couldn't face walking out the door. They...opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave, why?"

"I just kept working, hoping, to do some good."

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man," Glenn grumbles to Shane and Harley nods in agreement, her lips pursed. That wine sounds really good right now. Closing her eyes, Harley shakes her head and stands to excuse herself from the room.

Daryl follows her out into the hall a minute later and leans against the wall across from her. "You good?" He's been asking her that a lot lately, hasn't he?

"Yeah," Harley response quietly, gaze set on her hands. "Just needed some air away from the others." Daryl hums but stays quiet. He doesn't leave either. Just stands there with her until the others all come out, following behind Jenner.

"Most of the facility is powered down," He tells them while leading them down another hallway. "Including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable but there are cots in storage if you'd like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies- if you shower, go easy on the hot water."

"Hot water?" Glenn asks no one in particular after Jenner leaves them.

"That's what the man said."

Harley is used to being covered in sweat and dirt. Even blood. That does not mean she likes it one bit. It makes her skin itch and all she wants to do is scratch herself until it all falls off. She nearly melts under the hot spray of water pouring down onto her. But she remembers the doctor's words and only stays long enough to scrub herself clean.

Once dressed, her wet hair falling freely over her shoulders, Harley wanders from her room. She realizes a few rooms down that's she's patrolling. Checking around to make sure it's safe. They're underground, how would they not be safe? She drops her head into her hands and groans before moving forward.

She finds him in the room next to her own when she comes back. She doesn't know if he planned that or just chose at random. Does it matter?

He's sitting on the floor, his back to the couch. Harley hesitates but figures if he really cared, he would've closed the door. She moves quietly to Daryl's side and lowers herself down next to him. He looks much less cheerful than before. He looks...sad.

Reaching over, she takes the bottle from his hands and sets it beside her. He looks at her then but doesn't resist. "Did-" Cutting herself off, Harley bites her lips. She continues to stare forward when she decides to continue. "Did Merle ever tell you how he got discharged?" She keeps the 'dishonorable' part out because that was total bullshit. Too bad only she and Merle really knew that.

Harley looks up at the man in time to see him shake his head. "Didn't think so. I have to admit, I think it was partially my fault," Daryl's expression shifts from blank to one of disbelief and confusion. Harley gives a quiet chuckle. "It was my first tour, a few months in. And- I'll spare you the gory details," Pausing, Harley licks her lips and looks down at her knees. She hasn't told this story since it happened. It's not exactly one you tell around the campfire.

"Uh, this Sergeant, he uh..." Biting the inside of her cheek, Harley scrunches up her nose. "Well let's just say he didn't know how to keep his hands to himself." The words come out harsher than she'd meant for them to and she clenches her jaw shut.

"Merle wondered onto him one night, onto us...He-uh, the sergeant, he-he had his hand around my neck. Pressed me up against a wall, said people would believe his word over mine. We both knew it was true, doesn't mean I wasn't going to fight back. But before I could try, suddenly he's on the ground with blood pouring out of his mouth and nose and there stands Merle."

She chuckles but there's no humor behind the noise. She remembers that night so vividly even though it was so many years ago. She was just a kid back then. She remembers how she felt, how scared she was. And she remembers Merle, split knuckles and all, standing there, his face the perfect picture of fury.

"He got a dishonorable discharge for that," Harley continues before she can let herself think about that night anymore. She still doesn't look at Daryl, doesn't think she can, but she can see him looking at her from the corner of her eye. "For preventing a rape. Just because he was a lower rank than the man whose face he beat in. I learned that night that it doesn't matter what position you're in. How high your rank is, doesn't mean shit about what kind of person you are."

Finally, Harley turns to meet Daryl's eyes. She swears they're glassier than before, maybe a little red, but that's probably from the wine. "Your brother is a good person," She refrains from using past tense. "I know he doesn't often act like it, but he is. Deep down. Really deep," Harley tries for the joke and she thinks she sees Daryl's mouth twitch up but not for long.

"Why don't ya drink?" Daryl seems tentative to ask. For some reason, Harley feels compelled to answer.

"I used to," She mumbles honestly, not turning her head away but looking down with her eyes. "Too much." She shifts towards him, lowering her voice as if she's about to tell him a secret. And in many ways, she is. "That's my light way of saying I almost drank myself to death nearly every day for a while there." She chuckles, feeling her face heat up at the admission. "Oh, man, I really hope you don't remember this in the morning."

"I ain't that drunk."

"Eh, I girl can hope," Harley smiles up at him but it doesn't hold. "I wasn't even a happy drunk," She continues for some reason. It feels nice, to talk about it. She hasn't had anyone to talk to in a while. No one she trusts...does this mean she trusts him? "I wasn't mad, I wasn't sad. I was just...nothing. I think that's what I liked most about it."

"You stopped," It's not a question, of course, he knows from before that she doesn't drink anymore. It's an invitation to keep going.

"Yeah, I stopped," Harley nods, looking forward once again. Inhaling deeply, Harley releases the stuttering breath and rubs her arms. She leans onto her side to better access her pocket and pulls out a coin, handing it over to Daryl. He takes it from her, his fingers brushing over her own.

"That's my one-year sobriety token." She explains. "Took me two and a half years to get it. I think that's why I carry that one instead of my four year. The last one I got. Guess it means more somehow."

Daryl hums, turning the small, circular object between his fingers before giving it back to her. He watches Harley look down at him before his eyebrows furrow. "How old're you?"

Harley lets out a loud laugh at the question, this one real. "I'm thirty," She answers once she has her breath back. "I remember, I had this friend. A few years older than me. I remember her twenty-ninth birthday and she just couldn't believe it," Harley emphasizes. "She couldn't believe she was already twenty-nine. And I-..."

"What?" Daryl prompts after Harley sits in silence a moment too long. She turns her head to look up at him.

"I can't believe I'm only thirty," There's a sad tinge to her words but she smiles a mournful smile. "I feel much older." Clearing her throat, Harley breaks eye contact for only a moment. "How about you? What's your age?" Daryl grunts and looks away. Harley laughs and lightly hits his arm. "I told you mine, you tell me yours."

"I got seven years on ya."

"Don't think that means you can just start bossing me around," Harley points to him and he nods, pushing her hand away. Harley chuckles and leans her head back against the couch. "I think it's about time to turn in." She mumbles, allowing herself to relax for the first time since the dead started walking. She should've waited until she got back to her room, now she doesn't want to move. "In a minute."

"Jus' stay here," If Harley isn't mistaken, she thinks she hears an eye-roll in Daryl's words.

"Can't take your room," She argues weekly, her mind already half gone to the world of sleep.

"S'fine," Daryl shrugs. "I'll get a cot."

"Hm'kay," Harley hums one last time, allowing herself to slip away.


She wakes up on the couch. Harley only remembers after she sits up that she'd fallen asleep beside the piece of furniture, not on it. She tries not to think about it. She pushes herself to her feet and stretches her arms over her head. She sees the cot across from the couch, a blanket thrown over it but no archer insight.

Only then does she hear the shower. She hadn't even noticed he was still dirty last night. Stretching out her sore muscles a little more, Harley takes to folding up her own blanket to pass the time. If she sits back down, she's not so sure she won't just fall back to sleep. And the clock on the walls tells her it's past time to be awake.

When Daryl comes out of the bathroom, clean and dressed, hair still wet, Harley smiles at him. "Though I'd walk you to breakfast, old man," Grumbling, Daryl throws the towel in his hands at her but she only catches it and tosses it back. "Wouldn't want you to fall down."

"I'm thirty-seven, not ninety-seven," He glares at her but there's no real heat behind it. Harley continues to smile at him until he somewhat returns it.

"How's your head?" She asks while pushing off the couch and walking beside him out of the room.

"Ain't bad," Daryl shrugs.

"Good, that's good," Harley nods while chewing her lip. "Take it that means you remember last night?"

"Yup," Daryl pops the p and nods along with her, his eyes forward. Harley looks up as he looks down and he gives her a small nod. She smiles.

"Alright then."

They enter the kitchen and grab breakfast, but the peace doesn't last long. Jenner comes in and Dale questions the man and soon enough, he's leading them back into the big room they first entered.

"Give me playback of TS-19," VI repeats the doctor's words before doing as she was commanded. On the big screen, a video shows up. It looks almost like an MRI scan of a brain but it's slightly different. Harley isn't sure she's seen anything like it. "Few people ever got the chance to see this. Very few."

"Is that a brain?" Carl asks in curious fascination.

"An extraordinary one...Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for EIV."

"Enhance internal view," VI says and the angle changes on the brain from above to a side view before zooming in. Jenner proceeds to tell them all about what they're seeing. Few people have questions that he answers. He shows how the virus invades the brain, how it shuts down the body before restarting it. But only the brain stem, only enough to get the dead body up in moving with only the basic instinct to eat left.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea accuses, her arms crossed over her chest.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal," Jenner lists off.

"Or the wrath of God," Jacquie adds, and Harley finds herself agreeing with that one most of all. With all she's seen humans do, she wouldn't be surprised if they brought this all on themselves.

"There is that," Jenner nods thoughtfully.

A month ago, Jenner lost contact with everyone else. All other facilities like this one everywhere. As far as they all know, this is the only place left.

"So, there's nothing?" Andrea asks. "Nobody, nothing left anywhere. That's what you're saying, right?" In response, Jenner merely looks down.

"Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk, again," Daryl mumbles and drops his head into his hands.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you," Dale cuts through the silence. "And I hate to ask one more question, but...that clock, it's counting down. What happens at zero?" Harley would really like to know the answer to that as well. The sinking feeling inside her says she already does; she prays that she's wrong.

"The basement generators, they run out of fuel,"

"And then?"

Once again, Jenner doesn't answer. He only walks away. "VI, what happens when the fuel runs out?" Harley calls out, no longer able to wait for an answer. She needs to know.

"When the power goes out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."

"Shit," Harley whispers to herself. She barely sees Jenner look at her before he falls into one of the desk chairs. Without much thought, Harley sinks her watch up with the timer.

"Decontamination, what's that mean?" Glenn asks her and Harley looks up at him. She notices that everyone's looking at her now.

"Nothing good," She mumbles to him before motioning Rick to follow her. He does, along with Shane, Glenn, T-Dog, and Daryl. "We need to check the basement, check the fuel." She urges. The group grabs lights and follows here, thankfully without question. "Alright, split up, search them all." She gestures both ways and everyone follows her orders, checking the oil drums for any more fuel.

Rick and Shane go one-way while Glenn and T the other. Harley marches forward with Daryl at her back. It's weird, having people follow her orders again. She'd risen in the ranks over the years, but she had never wanted to be a commanding officer. Her own former commanding officer once told her she was good at it, that her not wanting it made her good for the job. Harley couldn't see the sense in that.

Suddenly, the main lights shut off and much more dim ones replace them as Vi's voice sounds out around them "Emergency lighting on."

"Let's go," She grits out to Daryl and turns back to find the others. "Anything?"

"Just a bunch of dead generators," T-Dog answers her first. "And more empty fuel cans than I can count."

"It can't be down to just that one," Shane insists, his light shining on the fuel gauge. Harley leans over to look at it herself, seeing the needle hovering over E.

"It can and it is," She says before pushing away and starting back towards the stairs. They reach the main room just in time to meet Jenner and the others.

"What's happening?" Rick asks the doctor who takes a swing of the drink in his hands before answering.

"The system is dropping all nonessential uses of power," He explains. "It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started right as we appeached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule." Thirty-one minutes and twenty-seven seconds left.

"The French, they were the last ones standing, as far as I know. They thought they were close to figuring out a solution."

"What happened?"

"The same thing that's happening here," Jenner shrugs. "No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?"

"Let me tell you something-" Shane marches towards the man but Rick grabs ahold of his shoulder.

"To hell with it Shane, I don't even care. Lori, grab our things. Everybody get your stuff, we're getting out of here now!" Everyone goes to do as Rick said but before they make it two steps, an alarm rings out around them.

"Thiry minutes to decontamination."

"What's going on here, doc?"

"Everybody, Y'all heard Rick! Get your stuff, come on, let's go!" Shane shouts down at everyone, but Harley ignores him. She narrows her eyes at an oddly calm Jenner and watches as he types something into a keypad. Seconds later, a heavy door slides over their exit.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asks in panic. Harley feels much the same way but she tries not to show it. She honestly hadn't been expecting that. "He just locked us in!"

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl shouts and rushes towards Jenner but Harley moves into his path.

"Hey, hey!" Hands on his chest, Harley pushes against him as he tries to get past her. "We need him! If we want out, we need him!" Despite not trying to get past her anymore, Daryl still throws the bottle in his hands at the doctor but thankfully misses.

"Hey, Jenner, open that door, now," Rick demands of the doctor.

"There's no point," Jenner says. "Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well, open the damn things," Dale shouts but Jenner sighs and shakes his head.

"That's not something I control, the computers do," Talk about stupid, let's let the computers have control over everything. "I told you, once that front door closes, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way."

At hearing those words, Harley's hands start to shake. She lowers them from where they were still pressed against Daryl and sags into herself.

"What is? What happens in twenty-eight minutes?" When Rick receives no response, he shouts his question again.

"Do you know what this place is!?" Jenner jumps to his feet, raising his own voice for the first time. "We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!" Wiping a hand over his face, Jenner lowers himself back into his chair. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure in a terrorist attack, for example, HITs are deployed to prevent any organism from getting out."

Harley's eyes fall shut and she wraps her arms around herself. She stumbles back a step and bumps into Daryl but can't bring herself to care or to apologize.

"HIT's?" Rick questions. Harley looks up and sees him look from Jenner to her.

"VI, define," She calls out, the energy to explain rushing from her body.

"Hits... high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000° and 6,000° and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."

"It sets the air on fire," Harley's voice is no more than a whisper but the others hear. She knows they do when she hears their reactions.

"No pain," Jenner picks up. "An end to sorrow, to pain. Regret." Harley runs a shaky hand down her face at the all too familiar thoughts and turns her back to the doctor. "Everything."

Daryl and Shane move to the door, hitting it with axes while Rick tries to talk Jenner into opening them. Harley stands where she is, frozen for minutes until she snaps out of it. Just like that, like snapping your fingers and she comes back to herself.

"It's no use," She moves over towards Shane and Daryl, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of metal against metal.

"What're you saying?" Daryl asks angrily, misunderstanding what she meant.

"Those doors were meant to withhold a rocket launcher," She informs him steadily.

"Yeah, well his face ain't," Daryl growls and starts back towards the doctor but Harley stops him.

"You do that, and we lose any chance we have of getting out of here," She cautions him and though his face scrunches up in anger, he listens to her. Too bad Shane doesn't. Somehow, he ends up pointing his shotgun at Jenner. The man himself doesn't blink. He wants to die; Harley doesn't know what Shane thinks threatening his life is going to do.

Rick struggles with him after he shoots out two computers and eventually knocks him onto the ground. "Are you done now? Are you done?"

"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane spits from his place on the floor.

No one speaks after that. The silences surround them until Rick speaks. "I think you're lying,"

"What?"

"You're lying. About there being no hope. If that were true, you would've bolted with the rest, and taken the easy way out, you didn't. You chose the hard path, why?"

"It doesn't matter," Jenner shakes his head but Rick pushes him.

"It does, it always matters. You stayed, why?"

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise," Jenner stands, gesturing towards the big screen. "To her. My wife."

"Test subject nineteen was your wife?"

"She begged me to keep this place going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should've been me on that table. It wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just...Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this, not me."

"Your wife, she didn't have a choice, you do. That's all we want, a choice. A chance."

"Let us keep trying as long as we can," Lori backs up her husband's words, her arms wrapped tightly around Carl.

"I told you, top side if locked down," Jenner says after a moment of thought. "I can't open those." He then moves back over to the keypad, scans his badge, and types in a code. The door opens.

"Come on," Daryl shouts to everyone and grabs hold of Harley's arm. "Let's go!" They rush towards the doors with the others but she stops, ignoring his look and waiting until everyone else is with them.

Jacquie is staying. Harley feels her heart clench. Andrea wants to stay too. Dale yells at everyone to go and they listen. Harley doesn't move until Daryl makes her. With every step further away from them, she feels a tugging inside her.

The stairs are long. Everyone gasps for air while they rush up as fast as they can and into the lobby. The doors don't open, just as Jenner had said. Shane and Daryl go to a window, start hitting it with their axes but it's no use. Then Harley remembers.

It was after they got back from Atlanta, before they left the quarry. Harley remembers she'd been taking a sip of water when Carol approached her. The older woman told her she'd forgotten about it until then. But she didn't feel comfortable carrying it around. A grenade she found while cleaning Rick's uniform his first day in camp. She was going to give it back to him but said since Harley was former Military, she'd felt better with her having it.

Sliding her bag off her shoulders, Harley reaches inside and grabs the explosive. "Okay, everyone get back!" She shouts and everyone listens to her. Shane and Daryl see what she's holding. Shane's eyes widen and he's quick to find cover with the others. "You too," She gestures towards Daryl and he reluctantly listens.

"Okay," Harley whispers to herself. It's been a while since she used a grenade. Or was this close to an explosion. Getting in a position ready to move, Harley times it in her head. She'll have about four to six seconds to get to cover. "Shit." She whispers to herself before pulling the pin, dropping the grenade, and running away.

The all too familiar feeling of heat rushes over her back at the same time a hand grabs her arm, pulling her behind a wall. She ducks down as the small explosions rocks the building, shattering the glass.

"Alright, let's go!" Rick yells and everyone rushes towards the opening. Daryl, the one who had grabbed Harley, pushes her ahead of him. She jumps through the window and offers her hand up to help the others out. She counts them all in her head as they exit, waiting until the last one before rushing towards the vehicles.

They take down a few walkers on their way, not conscious of the noise they're making. It doesn't matter now anyway.

Jumping into the truck, Harley looks back at the building in time to see Andrea and Dale climbing out the window. But no Jacquie.

"Get down!" She leans out the window and shouts to them after a glance at her watch. Seven seconds. Some of the others join in her yelling, telling the two to duck. Harley glances back at her watch and quickly ducks back into the truck when she sees two seconds remaining. She quickly lowers herself down onto the seat right before it happens.

It's been a long time, but the feeling of the ground shaking below her is still so familiar. The deafening sound and the heat washing over her. All familiar. One of the things that isn't as familiar, is the body half-covering her own.

Slowly sitting up, Harley releases a breath as she watches the crumpled building burn. She shares a look with Daryl before sitting back in her seat. She keeps her eyes on Andrea and Dale as they climb into the RV before the truck rumbles to life beneath her and they start forward, away from another lost hope.

Notes:

Oof, what do you guys think? We learn what happened with Merle. Harley was an alcoholic, who saw that coming? And her age! And Daryl's, I really just wanted to clear that up lol.

Love to read your theories and what you like most about what's happening!

Got the whole CDC thing out in one chapter. I love that part of the series, but it can get a little boring. I didn't want to drag it out when I didn't need to.

The next chapters we start getting more into things! Can't wait for you guys to read them!

'-'

Chapter 6: The Highway

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

They stop a few miles out from the CDC. They're too low on gas to continue forward with this many vehicles. They leave Shane's Jeep, T-Dogs van, and Daryl's truck. Everyone will pile into the RV and Carol's car. Daryl and Harley will ride their bikes.

"Why do ya wear that thing?" Daryl asks as she grabs hold of her helmet.

"My mother would be rolling in her grave if she knew I wasn't," Harley says while sliding it over her head. She flicks the visor up to look over at him. "And it's just my luck the moment I stop, I'll wreck." There might not be laws against it anymore, but it'll all be the same if her head hits the pavement.

The group drives on the highway for a while. She and Daryl lead. It's actually nice, despite everything that's happened. Since she started riding years ago, it's always felt freeing. It's always made her feel better.

Glancing over, she sees Daryl's face. He's focused but he looks so unhappy. Harley shakes her head and pushes herself ahead of him slightly, waiting until she's clearly in his sightline before pulling herself up onto her back wheel. She has never been much of a trick rider. She doesn't hold the wheelie for more than a few seconds, but it does the trick. When she looks back, Daryl is grinning slightly and shaking his head at her.

When they reach the roadblock, they slow down enough that they can hear each other speak. "Maybe the helmet's a good idea after all, if you're gonna be stupid like that," He tells her while trying to navigate between the cars.

"I never claimed to be smart," Harley shouts to him over the sounds of their engines. They circle back to the RV and try to lead them through but as their luck would have it, it breaks down. Again. If there was ever a place to be in need of car parts...well.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane trails off, his shotgun resting in his hands.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find here," Daryl says, already rutting through the back of a car.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for starters," T-Dog adds.

"Maybe some water or food?"

"This is a graveyard," Everyone stops and turns to Lori when she speaks. The woman holds an uneasy expression as she looks around herself. "I don't know how I feel about this."

"We pay respects to the dead but they're just that, dead," Harley cuts in, her voice gentle but firm. "They don't need anything anymore."

"Come on, y'all, just look around, gather what you can," Shane says and everyone starts to, only slower than before.

"Hey, Ms. Fox,"

"Oh, no," Harley shakes her head at Carl and Sophia. "I appreciate the manners, but it's just Harley. Ms. Fox makes me sound old."

"Okay," Carl nods while fighting a smile. She crouches down in front of the two children and raises her eyebrows.

"What's up?"

"Just, we saw you," Carl starts with a glance at Sophia.

"Riding," The girl explains.

"That was a cool trick," Carl continues. And if that's not the cutest thing Harley's ever seen. "You're a better rider than Daryl." Harley lifts her hand to muffle her laugh and looks over her shoulder at Daryl. He's squinting at her but there's amusement hiding behind his eyes.

"Oh, thanks, bud," Harley reaches out and pats the boy's shoulder. "That's high praise."

"Carl," Lori calls to her son and gestures for him to follow her. He waves to Harley before he and Sophia go to their parents.

"D'you hear that?" Harley whispers to Daryl as she passes him by. "I'm a better rider than you, the kid says."

"Shut up," He grumbles, and Harley laughs before continuing forward. Stripping off her jacket and T-shirt, she props them onto her bike before scouting ahead of the others. She'll do a quick sweep on the way back, first, she wants to check for threats.

"Hey," Turning at the voice, Harley meets Daryl's eyes with a questioning expression. "Don't wander far." He tells her and she salutes him, chuckling when he rolls his eyes. She turns back to the task at hand.

There're bodies in some of the cars but Harley checks them. They're all dead, and not the ones wanting to come back. A few minutes down the line she feels something. She doesn't know what, just one of those feelings Joey always made fun of her for. She ignores his voice and listens to her own and turns around. Screw you, Joey, those feelings always panned out.

The heard has reached past the Rv. Harley immediately scans for the others but doesn't see them. She hadn't heard any screaming either, so she thinks they're all mostly okay. Hiding. probably in the RV or under the cars. She hopes at least.

She seems movement closer and squints her eyes. Daryl is crouching between the cars, moving with an obviously hurt T-Dog. She catches his eye and he motions her down. She waits until she sees them both get to cover before sliding under one of the cars.

It feels like forever until the heard passes. Harley thinks she holds her breath the entire time, watching as their feet shuffle by. She waits a moment after the last one is gone before slowly looking out. She sees nothing and quickly stands back up, going to where she saw T-Dog.

Daryl's appeared by the man's side by the time she reaches them and heaves the dead body off him. "Okay, let me see," She grabs his arm and holds it out, ignoring his pained sounds. "Daryl, you got something to put over it?" Harley questions while unbuckling her belt to wrap around T's arm above the wound. She does this before taking the offered rag from Daryl and pressing down over the large gash on their friend's arm.

"I know it hurts, T," She says to him in her calm, assured voice. She hasn't done anything like this in quite a while but she falls seamlessly back into the role of medic. "You're probably feeling a little lightheaded too, you've lost a bit of blood. That's alright, we'll get you back to the RV and have you fixed up in no time." While keeping pressure on his arm, Harley nods for Daryl to help the man up. Together, they make their way back to the others.

"What's wrong?" She asks when she sees Carol crying into Lori's arms.

"Sophia ran into the woods," Glenn informs her, his eyes widening at the sight of T's arm. But he continues to answer her question before asking his own. "Two walkers went after her. Rick followed. What happened?"

"Cut my arm on a car, that's all," T-Dog assure them with a grimace. "Harley's gonna fix me up though, right doc?"

"Not a doctor," Harley mumbles and in the same breath, asks. "No one else went after them?"

"No," Glenn shakes his head. Harley sweeps her eyes over a bloody Andrea and determines quick enough that it's not her own or anyone else's.

"Dale, first-aid kit?" Harley sits T-Dog down outside the Rv, still holding pressure on the wound. "Open it would you?" She asks the old man and he does just that. "That all we got?" She tries to keep the dismay out of her voice when she asks. She thinks it works, but T's in too much pain to notice anyway.

"Afraid so," Dale nods.

"Okay, get me some of that water Shane found," She instructs Glenn and he nods, quickly moving to do so. "Alright, T, listen to me," Groaning, the man lifts his head and looks down into her eyes. "We have nothing to disinfect this, okay? I'm going to be honest, that's not good. But I'll flush it out with some water, get rid of as much dirt and anything else I can. Hopefully, find you some antibiotics around here. You'll be right as rain in no time."

"This gonna hurt, ain't it?" The man grits out through clenched teeth, thankfully keeping calm. Harley would like to thank her amazing bedside manner for that.

"Yeah," She nods honestly. "But it won't burn like alcohol would."

"I guess there's that," T-Dog mumbles when Glenn returns.

"Okay, Dale, hold his hand out, keep his arm straight. Good, now, I'm going to lift this cloth, wash out the wound then we'll cover it when a clean bandage, okay? Okay." T-Dog grits his teeth, his breaths coming out in short pants as Harley does her best to clean his wound. She talks him through the whole thing and goes as quickly as she can. "Alright, there, all done. I'd feel better with stitches, but that'll do for now."

Taking her belt back, Harley stands and replaces it around her pants and buckles it in place.

"Hey," Daryl nods and approaches her from where he'd been speaking with Shane. "You said somethin' about meds?"

"Yeah, antibiotics for T's arm. Cut like that, it's bound to get infected," Harley lowers her voice. Though the man himself probably knows this, she doesn't see the point in worrying him.

"Hm," Humming, Daryl gestures towards his bike and Harley follows. He drops his crossbow and pulls out a bag from the saddlebags. "Merle's stash," He mumbles, voice apologetic. Harley offers a grateful smile and takes it.

"Doxycycline," She reads after searching through the bag. "Perfect." She looks to the others and pulls out some pain meds, not trying to wonder how the hell Merle got ahold of prescription-grade oxycodone. "Looks like Merle's bad decisions paid off in the end." Without waiting for a response, Harley makes her way back to T-Dog and has him take the medicine. "You'll feel better in no time." She assures with a pat on his shoulder before making her way to Shane and Daryl.

Before long, she, Daryl, Shane, and Rick are in the forest where the former sheriff last saw Sophia. They track her for a while. Harley is a little amazed by Daryl's ability to track so easily. She can follow footsteps in the mud, maybe see the occasional broken limb. But other than that, she's lost. He sees things that seemingly aren't even there.

When the trail diverts away from the highway, Shane and Harley head back to the others while Daryl and Rick continue.

"Hey," Daryl snags hold of her arm before she can walk away and speaks to her quietly. "Be careful."

"When am I ever not?" She questions, clearly sarcastically, grinning when Daryl rolls her head. "Same goes for you."

Carol is understandably upset when they return without her daughter. But Harley assures her that the others are still on her trail and Shane works to distract everyone with more chores.

"Hey, Harley," Dale approaches her not long after getting back. "Would you mind keeping watch for me?" With his question, the older man holds his rifle out to her.

"Yeah, sure," Harley nods and takes the offered gun. She doesn't mind keeping watch, but she still prefers to be doing something. She'll get restless up there and she knows it, but how can she say no to Dale? He reminds her too much of her grandfather.

"Thank you," Dale smiles and pats her shoulder as he walks by. Harley doesn't waste time climbing to the top of the Rv. Can't risk not having someone keeping an eye on things, not after that herd passing through.

Not much happens for a while. Harley keeps an eye out but it's quiet. Harley knows she shouldn't, it's an 'invasion of privacy, as someone once told her. But she can't help but observe the others in her group. Carol is distraught with worry and fear over her daughter. Glenn is his normal self, if not a little more worried as well. Andrea is...Andrea. Dale's acting a little weird but she's pretty sure that's because of the blond. What really has her attention is Lori and Shane

She's not an idiot, she sees how they act around each other. She saw the way they were back at the quarry, how things changed when Rick got back. Despite her joke earlier that day, she's not stupid. She was top of her class, anyway.

They can fight and be whatever the hell they want with each other, Harley doesn't care. What she does care about are the possible ramifications on the group or Carl. The poor kids is caught between whatever's happening between the two of them.

"Hey, bud," Harley calls down to Carl with be stumbles onto the RV, his feet dragging behind him, the weapons tarp still held tightly in his arms. "Whatcha got there?" She knows what it is, saw but didn't hear the argument with his mother and Shane. Poor kid.

"Just some stuff," Carl shrugs, his mood souring. "Weapons."

"Wow, that's cool," Harley praises and crouches down on the edge of the roof. "Can I see?"

"Yeah," Carl nods, a little more enthusiastic. He carries them around to the ladder and hands them up to Harley who motions for him to come up.

"Look at that," Harle mumbles after unrolling the tarp to reveal the weapons. "This is a great find, little man." Carl smiles at her compliment.

"Mom wouldn't let me have one," He complains quietly.

"Ah," Harley sighs and sits back on her heels. "Well, she's just worried you're going to get hurt. It's a mother's job. I don't think these are your size anyway." Shifting her leg out, Harley pulls the small knife off her boot. "This would be better. But I can't give it to you," She says before he can take it. "What I can do is speak to your mother. I make no promises, but maybe I can make her see reason." She shrugs. Has Lori looked around lately? Yes, she's worried he'll hurt himself, but Harley only sees it causing more damage if he doesn't have any means to protect himself.

"But it's so small," Carl observes the knife still held in her hand.

"Never underestimate the power of a small knife in the hands of someone who knows how to use it," Harley tells him seriously, pointing to his chest. "Remember that." Carl nods, his eyes a little wider than before. "Now, if your mother says it's okay, I can show you how to handle it properly."

"That'd be so cool!" Carl smiles brightly and Harley grins at him before tapping the point of his nose. "Can you talk to her now?"

"Well," Harley chuckles. "I can't right now, I'm on watch. And I think..." Harley glances over to Lori before Shane and sighs. "I don't think now is the best time. Maybe tomorrow, yeah? You don't need it tonight."

"Okay," Carl sighs, a little disappointed.

Clearing her throat, Harley quickly looks around them before pulling the chain out from under her tank top. "Hey, you know what these are?"

"Soldiers wear them," Carl answers and Harley nods with a smile.

"Yup, that's right. See, it's got my name, my ID number, and my blood type," She points out each line to Carl who pays close attention.

"O-neg?" He reads, voice confused.

"O-negative. Now," Licking her lips, Harley grips the dog tags tightly in her hand. "How about tonight, until I can talk to your mom, you hold onto these for me. We've been through a lot together, so I expect you to take really good care of them."

"Yeah," Carl nods rapidly, his smile even bigger than before. "Okay, I won't lose them."

"I sure hope not," Harley mumbles while sliding them over his neck. He's so small, they nearly reach his belly button.

"So cool," Carl mutters to himself while looking down at the tags, lifting them in his hands. "Can I go show my mom?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Harley nods. It's nice, to see him so excited, so happy, and she's glad she was able to make him feel that way. But she was serious, those tags and her have been through a lot together, she'd be devastated to lose them. "Just don't mention the knife thing, I'll talk to her in the morning."

"Okay," Carl rewards her with one last smile before he rushes down the later and over to his mother. Harley checks around, she is on watch, after all, before turning to see the boy talking to his mother. He shows her the tags and Lori nods before looking up at her. Harley meets her gaze for a moment before looking away.

It starts getting dark quickly. Harley tries not to worry that the others are back. She tries to stick with what some of her classmates used to say. No news is good news. It doesn't feel right to apply that here, but what else does she have?

"Where's my gun?"

"Oh no," Harley whisper to herself, pushing her lips out before pulling them together. She's never liked drama. Especially not those reality tv shows. She could never understand how people actually enjoyed watching them.

"You have no right to take it."

"You don't need that just now, do you?" Dale asks Andrea.

"My father gave it to me, it's mine," Harley understands where Andrea is coming from, really, she does. If someone took her gun, her knives, she'd be pissed. She'd punch them in the face and then take them back. But she also understands where Dale is coming from. Andrea tried to kill herself only days ago. So, sue him if he's a little apprehensive about giving her a loaded gun.

"I can hold onto it for you."

"Or you can give it back to me," Blowing out a loud breath from her nose, Harley closes her eyes only a moment before continuing to stare out across the cars.

"Everything cool?" Perfect timing, Shane.

"No, I want my gun back," Andrea huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't think it's a good idea right now," Why am I still listening to this? Harley thinks to herself before answering her own question. She's bored and worried. It's a good distraction even if it annoys her.

"Why not?" Really Shane? Why not?

"I'm not comfortable with it," Dale decides after a moment of hesitation. Andrea scoffs before looking from the old man to Shane and back.

"The truth is," The deputy starts. "The less guns we got hovering around camp the better."

"You turning over your weapon?" Hell no. Oh, wait, that question wasn't for her.

"No," Shane chuckles. "But I'm trained in its use. That's what the rest of y'all need is proper training. But until that time, I think it's best Dale keeps them all accounted for." He's not wrong, Harley reasons.

"Uh-huh," Andrea hums with another scoff before walking away. Harley decides to look down at the same time Shane looks up. She meets the man's gaze for a moment and raises her eyebrows before looking towards the woods. She jumps to her feet when she sees Rick walking out of them.

Reluctant to leave her post, Harley watches from the edge of the RV's rood, her toes hanging over the edge as Daryl and Rick climb back onto the road. No Sophia.

"You can't just leave my daughter out there, alone to spend the night in the woods," Carol cries.

"Out in the dark is no good," Daryl says gently in a voice Harley has rarely heard. "We'd just be trippin' over ourselves. More people get lost."

"But she's twelve, she can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?"

"I know this is hard," Rick holds up his hands in a calming manner. "But I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there."

"And we tracked her for a while," Daryl adds, voice still soft and comforting.

"We have to make this an organized effort," Rick now announces to the whole group. "Daryl knows the woods better than anybody, I've asked him to oversee this."

"Is that blood?"

"We took down a walker," Screw this, Harley thinks with one last look around before lowering herself off the side of the Rv. "There's no sign that it was anywhere near Sophia," Rick assures a hyperventilating Carol.

"How can you know that?" Why is Andrea's voice suddenly grading on Harley's nerves?

"We cut the son of a bitch open," Daryl answers. "Made sure." Looking over, Harley catches his eyes. She holds them, searching his gaze for...something. She doesn't know what. When she finds no answers, she looks away.

"How could you just leave her out there in the first place?" Carol accuses, her tone angry. "How could you just leave her?"

Sighing, Harley walks away. She can't listen to this. Carol is a grieving mother; she's dealt with plenty in her time. Maybe it's selfish but she doesn't want to ever have to do it again. So instead, she leaves it to the others and climbs back on top of the Rv.


Daryl's on his way to the RV when he pauses. Carl's just walked by him, his hands gripping the chain about his neck. "Hey," The hunter calls out to the boy who stops and turns to him "Watcha got there?"

"Harley gave them to me to wear until she can talk to my mom about letting me have a knife," Carl tells him proudly, a smile pulling his lips up. "Cool, right?"

With a glance up at said woman sitting atop the RV, Daryl nods before waving the boy away. He's only seen Harley's dog tags once before, back at the CDC. She's just fallen asleep on the floor like an idiot. He thought about leaving her but shook his head before lifting her onto the couch. She was right there anyway and it's not like she weighs more than a buck ten.

The chain had slipped out from under her shirt, pooling around her neck. He'd narrowed his eyes, turning his head to read them but Harley had shifted onto her side, curling into a little ball. A surprisingly small ball at that. But it had blocked his view and he had left it alone, covering her with the blanket resting over the back of the couch.

Shaking away his wandering thoughts, Daryl shifts his crossbow onto his back and climbs the ladder up to the RV's roof.

He greets Harley with a quiet hum, lowering himself onto the roof beside her. "Hey," She says back in return, glancing at him before out at everything around them. "How was it out there?"

"Quiet," Daryl answers honestly. "Just the one walker."

"That's good," Harley mumbles and he hums again. "So, boss man, you got a plan for tomorrow?" Daryl scoffs at the name and nudges her shoulder with his own, fighting a smile when she laughs.

"Yeah, gonna take the creek up about five miles, circle back, it's her only landmark."

"It's a good plan," Harley mumbles. Daryl looks over at her profile, studying her. She's still looking forward but he's not sure she's seeing anything. Her eyes look like she's lost in thought. He's seen her do that a few times but mostly she's present, paying close attention to the situation around her. She's an observer. But not a judger.

Other people tend to judge him. He and Merle. But not her. He could tell immediately that she saw him. She sees him but not like others do. She treats him like an equal. Commends him for the things he does and also calls him out on his shit. No one's ever really done that before. No one's looked at him the way she does either.

She still confuses him but he thinks he's starting to understand.

"The kid isn't gonna want to give those back," He starts again with a nod towards Carl.

"He'll be happy to trade if I can get him a knife," Harley shrugs, looking down at the boy with his parents.

"Ya think you can?"

"Yes. Despite her faults, Lori can see reason sometimes."

"Sometimes," Daryl repeats with a snort and Harley huffs a quiet laugh. "Should get some rest."

"Probably," Harley mumbles but makes no move to do so.

"I'll keep watch," He says, watching Harley still not move.

"You're running point tomorrow," She reminds him. "You need more sleep than I do."

"Dale," Daryl calls down to the older man and gestures for him to come there. The old man isn't going with them tomorrow, neither is T-Dog.

"Thank you, Harley," Dale says without prompting and takes the rifle back. He settles back in the lawn chair there, taking overwatch.

"Fine," Harley sighs and stands along with Daryl. He lets her down the ladder first before following. He stays behind, watching as she goes to her bag and unwraps her sleeping bag before jumping into the bed of the truck next to her.

"I ain't sleeping in the RV," She says as a way of explanation. "To crowded. And I love sleeping under the stars."

"Hm," Daryl hums, nudging his nose up in a single nod. As long as she sleeps. The bed of the truck seems a safe place as any around here.

"There's room, if you want," Harley calls to him after she's settled down on the far-right side. Daryl raises his eyebrows and looks at her. There is room, right beside here. Wouldn't be cramped or anything. He waits, probably long enough to make it awkward before grabbing his own sleeping blanket and jumping into the truck beside her.

Harley lets out a quiet laugh when he rocks the whole vehicle. She lies on her back, one of her arms resting over her forehead with the other over her stomach, her eyes closed. Daryl lets his own lips twitch up while he spreads the blanket out before falling onto his back beside her. He wiggles around a bit, and when he finally stops Harley speaks.

"Comfortable?" He glances over at her to see her eyes still closed and grunts.

"As I'll ever be."

"Good, now sleep," Daryl scoffs and rolls his eyes at her. He was the one telling her to sleep but now she's telling him?

"You sleep," He throws back, watching Harley's nose scrunch up in that way it does sometimes.

"You sound like a child."

"I'm older than you," Oh great, that sounded childish too, didn't it? If Harley's laugh is anything to go by, it did.

"Shut up and go to sleep," Harley throws her arm out and hits his shoulder and Daryl smirks.

"You shut up."

"Okay, now you're doing it on purpose," Harley finally opens her eyes and looks over at him. She shakes her head when she sees his expression and turns her back to him. "Goodnight, Daryl."

Snorting, Daryl liftings his arm to rest under his head. "Goodnight."

Notes:

And so the hunt begins.

Thank you for reading! As always, I would love to know what you guys think of this chapter and theories on what's to come!

'-'

Chapter 7: The Search

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It's three in the morning when Harley wakes. She has to light up her watch to see the time. It's still dark out. She'd gasped awake only moments before, luckily quiet enough not to wake Daryl who sleeps soundly beside her. He's shifted in his sleep, now lying on his side, facing away from her.

Running a shaky hand down her face, Harley scoots back to rest against the back of the truck and hugs her knees to her chest. She sits and waits, watching the sun as it rises into the sky.

Daryl wakes with the sun. He sits up and rubs his eyes. Harley starts to roll up her sleeping bag now that there's no risk of waking him. He looks over to her and she smiles a good morning. He nods in return.

Everyone eats a quick breakfast. Once she's finished her water, Harley heads over to Lori and Carl. She catches the boy's eyes and smiles. "Hey, Lori, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Uh, yeah," The woman nods, looking down at her son. She runs her hand over his hair before telling him to go to his father. "What's up?"

"Well," Harley starts with a deep breath. "It's about Carl and I know," She stresses before Lori can cut in. "I know I have no say in anything, I'm not his mother, you are, and I respect that. But I think you should consider letting him have a knife."

"I'm just not comfortable with it," Lori tells her, glancing over her shoulder towards her son.

"I know, and I get that, I do. He's young," Harley agrees. "But Lori...Look around you. Look at what we're getting ready to do. We're about to search for a little girl lost in the woods because monsters chased her away. The world isn't like it was. And I am happy to teach him how to handle it properly. Make sure he won't hurt himself."

Lifting a hand to her forehead, Lori looks around her while thinking over Harley's words. "I- You'll teach him?"

"Yes, I'm very capable with a knife, I can show him how to use it safely," Harley assures. Lori bites her lips, still looking hesitant but she soon nods.

"Okay," She sighs. "Okay, just, let me talk to Rick."

"Of course," Harley nods. He is Carl's father, he has as much say in the matter as Lori. But Harley is smart enough to know he wasn't the one she needed to ask permission on the matter.

"And hey," Lori starts again before she leaves. "Carl, he-he was so excited about wearing your tags. Cheered him up, I appreciate that."

"Any time," Harley smiles. "He's a good kid."

"Thank you," Lori smiles before going over to join her husband and son. Harley tries not to make it obvious that she's watching but when Rick looks over, catching her eyes, that goes out the window. She decides to stand and wait, her hands on her hips.

Soon enough, Carl is smiling and rushing over to her. She figures that's answer enough to how the conversation went. "They said I could have a knife!" Carl tells her happily.

"Alright," Pulling the same knife as the night before off her boot, Harley crouches down in front of the boy. "I remember my first knife. It was much like this one," She tells him, not yet handing the weapon over. "I was excited too, but I had to learn that it wasn't a toy. It's dangerous and needs to be treated with respect, yeah?"

"Yeah," Carl nods seriously. "I know. I promise."

"Okay, you need to keep it in the sheath unless you're using it," Harley proceeds to go over the basics of knife safe before tapping the dog tags still hanging around his neck. "Trade ya."

Grinning, Carl removes the chain and passes it to her while she hands over the knife. "Now, what did I say?"

"It's not a toy," Carl repeats. "And to treat every weapon with caution and respect."

"Good boy," Ruffling his hair, Harley stands back to her full height and slips the tags back around her neck, and stuffs them inside her shirt. "Now, go to your parents. Don't run with that out."

Everyone gathers around the hood of a truck. Rick rolls out the weapons Carl found the day before and has everyone take one. Harley sticks with her hunting knife. And if she were to need it, she still has her silenced gun.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need," Andrea gripes and Harley looks down to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She'd beg to differ though; these are the exact weapons they need. Has barbie not been paying attention? Sound draws these things. Just the day before a herd passed through. No telling what else is nearby. Silent weapons are a blessing. "What about the guns?"

"Haven't we been over that?" Shane asks. "Daryl, Rick, Harley, and I are carrying. Can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about,"

"Pft," Harley blows out quietly, exaggeratedly raising her eyebrows when she meets Daryl's gaze.

"Say someone shoots a round while a herd is passing by. Then it's game over for all of us, so you need to get over it." Harley doesn't think she's ever agreed with Shane more than in that moment. And she doesn't think she'll ever agree with him more either.

Daryl quickly informs everyone of the plan before walking off. Harley goes to follow but stays close enough to listen as Carl asks his parents to come. Once they decide yes, Carl looks over at her with a large smile. She grins back and winks before going to stand next to the hunter.

"Blondie over there is going to be trigger happy if she ever gets her hands on that gun again," Harley mumbles to him. Shane had been right before, these people need proper training. They need guns but not unless they know how to use them. Because if they don't, it'll be more dangerous than them not having one.

"As long as I'm not in her line of sight," Daryl grumbles and pushes off the car when the others start towards them. "Don't wander off."

"I'm thirty, not three," Harley gripes as she follows him.

The woods are the same as they always are. Bugs are everywhere, biting Harley with every step she takes. Bug spray would be nice. She's grateful for the shade provided by the trees though.

Harley stays on the outside of the group so she can see everyone, keep an eye out to make sure no one wanders off. They're about a mile into the walk when Carl moves to her side. "You okay, bud?" She asks the boy quietly, taking note of his slumped shoulders. Maybe he's just tired.

"Yeah," Carl sighs and Harley hums.

"Sure about that?"

"Shane's just being weird," The boy shrugs. "Mom says he's worried about Sophia."

"Of course, he is," Harley nods. That's not it though, Harley knows. But it's not her place to explain and Carl wouldn't understand anyway, he's too young. "But can I tell you a secret about adults?"

"Yeah," Carl looks up to her, excited to hear what she has to say. She grins a little and leans down to whisper.

"All adults are weird," She chuckles and ruffles his hair. "It comes with age. We just try to hide it. Sometimes it's not so easy."

"Sure," Carl says like he doesn't completely believe her.

"I'm serious."

"You're not weird," Carl argues but Harley shakes her head with a quiet laugh.

"Oh, kid, I am so weird, trust me. The weirdest of us all," Depends on your definition of weird, and that statement might be true.

They find a tent a couple more miles in. They approach slowly, Rick has Carol call out, but Sophia isn't there. Just some guy who 'opted out', as Jenner put it. Right after Daryl has emerged from the tent, bells sound in the distance. Everyone looks around for a moment before moving forward.

"What direction?" Shane asks after a moment. Harley tries to zero in on the sound but it's hard with it echoing all over the forest. It's louder now, so they're on the right track but it's still hard to pinpoint.

"It's got to be that way," She points and Shane curses quietly.

"It's hard to tell out here."

"If we heard them, maybe Sophia did too," Carol says hopefully.

"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others."

"She could be ringing them herself, come on." Picking up their feet once more, the large group runs through the forests until they break through the trees. There's a small, white church in the distance, a small cemetery surrounding it. But no bells in sight.

"That can't be it," Shane says. "Got no steeples, no bells."

"Might as well look anyway," Harley brushes past him and moves towards the building. They have no other leads at the moment. Does he expect them not to check it out?

She and Rick are the first ones up the stairs. She holds her gun and knife, the weapons both aimed down. The two wait for Daryl and Shane before pushing the doors open.

Three walkers sit on the pews, their heads slowly turning towards them. Harley feels chills shoot down her spine at the sight but doesn't let that deter her. She holsters her gun, keeping her knife out instead, and moves forward with the others.

Moving along the aisle, Harley steps into the one behind the woman walker and stabs her blade through its skull.

"I'm telling you, this isn't the right church. It's got no bells, no steeples," No sooner than Shane spoke, the same bells as before sound out around them, proving him wrong. Everyone runs outside and around the building to see a speaker connected to the wall.

Glenn marches over and shuts it off. "A timer," Daryl pants. "It's on a timer."

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit," Carol tells the group before stumbling her way back inside. Harley lowers her head and watches her go silently.

Taking a deep, steady breath, Harley wonders over to a shaded tree and lowers herself onto the ground beside it. She leans back against the trunk and closes her eyes.

"Ya good?" Daryl asks and Harley hums without looking at him.

"Yeah, just, haven't been this active in a while," She admits. She hates herself for falling out of shape, but...life. "Between working and school, finding the time to work out was few and far between."

"School?" Daryl questions while sitting across from her. Harley peeks one eye open and smirks.

"Right. I was uh, I was in med school, before all this," She gestures around them. "My second year." Harley gives a dry chuckle and shakes her head. "The dead really put a damper on my life plans."

"Ya always wanna be a doctor?" Daryl asks after humming quietly.

"Yeah," Harley nods, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "Guess I just liked the idea of helping people. Healing them. Best I could, anyway."

"Ya still can," Daryl says. "You helped T."

"Yeah," Harley sighs heavily. "His arm still isn't good. I checked this morning, he needs stitches, the wound isn't closing. And despite the antibiotics, I think it's getting infected. I couldn't clean it well enough."

"He's not dead," Daryl shrugs. "Still got his arm."

"Eh, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. It's a gift and a curse," She smirks. "More of a curse."

"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back, okay?" Shane's voice cuts through their conversation and both stand. "Harley, Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so to just be thorough."

"You're splitting us up, you sure?" Daryl asked. Harley curses her horrible sense of humor then. Have these people ever seen a horror movie? Ever?

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

Carl wants to stay. Lori lets him. The boy's eyes once again find Harley's and she nods to him. He returns the motion in the most adorable way. Rick tries to give Lori his gun but she won't accept it, so Daryl gives her his spare. The one he'd found on the dead guy. Andrea scoffs and this time, Harley lets herself roll her eyes. Her mother would tell her it's not ladylike, that she's too old to be doing that. But she'd disappointed her mother in many ways, why stop now?

Waiting at the back of the group, Harley counts everyone and walks behind them all. Daryl glances back at her and she nods. She's not ready to risk any stragglers.

"So, this is it?" Carol asks a while into their trek. She heaves a tired sigh and lowers herself onto a fallen tree. "This is the plan?"

"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups," Daryl mumbles, clearly not having agreed with Rick and Shane's decision to split up. Harley doesn't blame him, she doesn't agree either.

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks," Andrea complains. "I see you have a gun."

"Why, you want it?" Lori asks, holding the weapon out to Andrea. Harley bites her lips to hold back her proud smile. About time someone said something to the barbie. And it's best Harley isn't the one to do it. Her therapist wouldn't have been too happy about what she wants to say. "Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're giving me. All of you."

Harley gravitates towards Daryl while Lori gives her little speech about Rick doing what he did. "Every time she opens her mouth, I'm this much closer to punching her in it," She whispers to him with a glance at Andrea, holding her thumb and index finger a little way apart from each other.

Daryl snorts and shakes his head at her. "Come on," He says back in an equally quiet tone.

Everyone starts walking again. Harley doesn't think about her position this time and just walks beside Daryl. It's another half a mile away before they hear the gunshot. A single gunshot. Everyone pauses at the sound, but they continue forward. There's nothing to be done about it anyway.

Lori worries about it most. Makes sense. It's her husband and son out there. And...whatever Shane is to her. Harley pushes that thought away. She does not want to be confused as someone who cares about that.

They're silent after that. Harley wipes the sweat from her brow and lifts her feet over the leaves. At least she's still used too much hotter temperatures than this. Heat isn't something she has a problem with. Her knee on the other hand...

"How much farther?"

"Not much. Maybe a hundred yards," Daryl guesses. "As the crow flies."

"To bad we're not crows," Wow, something Andrea said that Harley can't argue with. It's a miracle. While Harley is shaking her head to herself, a scream rips through the air. She jumps to attention and rushes towards the sound. How had Andrea wandered so far without her noticing?

She sees the blond on the ground with a walker standing over her. But then she sees a horse...and the rider knocks the walker in the head with a bat and did the heat get to her head? Maybe it affected her more than she thought.

"Lori? Lori Grimes?" Not good, a voice in Harley's head shouts over and over when the girl calls to Lori.

"I'm Lori,"

"Rick sent me. You've got to come now, there's been an accident, Carl's been shot," Harley thinks she feels her heart stop. All the air in her lungs escapes at once. "He's still alive but you've got to come now. Rick needs you, just come."

"Woah, woah, woah," Daryl yells when Lori starts to remove her backpack. "We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse." But Lori ignores him.

"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?"

"Yeah," Harley nods.

"Backtrack to Fairburn Road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox, the names Greene," With those parting words, the woman turns and rushes off with Lori while the others stand in shock.

A groaning pulls Harley's attention back to the walker. He sits up but before he can move any further, a bolt enters his skull. "Shut up," Daryl grumbles.

"Let's go," Harley urges the others loudly and picks up her pace back to the highway. She has no information and it's killing her. Carl has been shot but he's still alive. Where was he shot? How bad is it? What kind of gun was it? Was it a through and through or is the bullet still inside him? Is there a doctor there with him? Someone who knows what to do and how to help? To many unknowns, to many variables.

They reach the highway quick enough. Harley lets the others fill Dale in on what's happened. She notes T-Dog sitting down, his head covered in sweat. Shit. Abandoning her current task, she marches over to the man.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Harley lifts her hand to his forehead, wincing at the heat that comes off. Could be better but it could be worse.

"Not so good, doc," T-Dog answers honestly.

"Let me see?" Lifting his arm, T lets Harley pull the bandage back. "Okay, just hang tight." Letting him go, Harley goes back to her bike and grabs her bag. "Alright, listen up," She says to the others who gather around at her words. "Here's what we're going to do," She never liked being a leader. "Me, Glenn, and T-Dog will go tonight, find this farm, reconnect with the others. The rest of you stay here."

"Why me?" Glenn wines and Harley glares.

"Because I need you to drive. T-Dog can't, he needs his wound properly cleaned and stitched. Let's hope they have the stuff to do that," She tells him, ready to continue but Carol cuts her off.

"What about my daughter? We can't leave with her still out there."

"If Sophie came back and we were all gone, that would be awful."

"Okay, we got to plan for this," Daryl starts, offering Harley a nod. She sighs a little in relief, happy to have someone with her. To help her do this. She's not a leader. "I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign, leave her some supplies."

"Yeah, good," Harley mumbles and lifts a hand to her face only to force it back down to her side. "We need to go now, get there as soon as we can. We don't know what's happened, how bad Carl is and the medical care he's getting. Glenn, get T-Dog into this car, now."

Nodding, the young man does as he's told without another word. Harley turns to her bike and lets out a shaky breath. She grabs her bag and throws it over her shoulders, buckling the strap over her ribs.

"Hey," Daryl taps her shoulder and she turns to him. "Ya did good," He says as if he could see her nerves. Harley doesn't know why she gets this way over giving orders. She's done crazier things. She was a combat medic for nearly ten years! She's seen and done her fair share of shitty things, why does telling someone to drive a car bother her so much? "Be careful, we'll regroup in the morning."

"Yeah," Harley nods. "Thanks. You be safe too, yeah?"

"Course," Daryl returns her nod and backs up a step to allow her the room she needs to throw her leg over her bike.

"Let's go!" She shouts over to Genn before sliding her helmet onto her head. She cranks her bike and looks at Daryl before flicking the visor down over her eyes. She waves to Glenn in the car and turns her bike around, leading the way to the Greene's farm.

Notes:

What did you guys think? What's to come? Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

'-'

Chapter 8: Trails and Tribulations Of The New World

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Harley has to make herself go slower than she wants. She glances back at the car behind her so many times on the way. They can't go as fast as her, especially in the dark through an unknown area.

They eventually get there. Harley pulls right up to the front porch and parks her bike before throwing her helmet off and running up the stairs. "Horse girl, right?" She questions the young woman sitting in the chair by the door.

"Maggie," She introduces herself and stands.

"Maggie, I'm Harley and I'm a medic, can you take me to Carl?"

"Of course, he's right in here," Maggie opens the screen door and leads Harley into the bedroom right off the living room.

"Daddy, this is Harley, she's a medic," The girl relays the information to the older man sitting in the bed beside Carl. She doesn't register the looks of relief on Rick and Lori's faces at the sight of her. Or she refuses to. Instead, she looks from Carl's slack, pale face to the older man.

"How is he?"

"He's losing blood, we can't keep his pressure up," He informs her while standing. "There are five bullet fragments next to his stomach. I got one but the others are too deep. I can't operate without the necessary supplies."

"Are you a doctor?" She asks while taking his previous place on the bed. She'd noticed the stethoscope around his neck and medical supplies strewn around the room.

"A vet," He answers and she nods while lifting Carl's wrist to check his pulse. "One of your people and one of mine are out right now, trying to get what we need."

"Shane?" Harley asks after counting the boy's heartbeats. She looks up and Lori nods. She turns back to the vet. "I don't mean to step on your toes, I'm just here to offer my assistance. If you guys are okay with that." She directs to the boy's parents who nod quickly.

"Yes, of course, thank you," Lori says gratefully but Rick only looks like he's trying not to fall over. Even in his seated position.

"How many transfusions?" She asks anyone with an answer. It's clear by his pale complexion and the bandage wrapped around his elbow that he's been giving blood. And without it, Carl probably wouldn't have made it this long.

"Three," Lori is the one to answer, her hand reaching out to grasp onto her husbands.

It's too many, Harley thinks. He can't afford to lose anymore. But neither can Carl. Reaching out, Harley carefully pulls back the sheet covering Carl's stomach. She keeps her expression carefully blank when she takes in the state of him. A bandage covers his wound, but his entire belly is extended from internal bleeding. She lies the sheet back over him.

"If he needs any more, take mine. Rick can't afford to lose anymore," She tells the man. "I'm O-negative."

"Thank you," Rick speaks for the first time since she arrived, his voice quiet but thankfully.

"Alright," The vet nods.

Rick and Lori leave after that, going outside to get some air. To talk amongst themselves about their options. Harley stays beside Carl, gently moving some of his hair off his forehead. She's seen injured people, dead people. Adults to teenagers. But she's never seen one quite so young.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Harley turns to the man who offers her a small smile.

"Hershel," He lowers himself in the chair beside the bed and leans back. "Glad you're here, too. So are Rick and Lori. You're a combat medic?"

"Yeah," Harley nods. "I was actually in school before this, working towards my doctorate."

"They mentioned you," He nods towards the door. "Rick said you'd be here as quickly as you could. Guess he was right. You have experience with gunshot wounds?"

"Plenty," Harley almost scoffs. "More than enough for a lifetime. And I've operated in much worse conditions. This is a nice change of pace." She just wishes it wasn't Carl lying in this bed. "How far did they go?"

"Five miles out,"

"Five miles," She repeats quietly. She's guessing they left pretty soon after getting here. Five miles...they should be back by now.

"We can't wait much longer," Hershel informs her of what she already knows. Harley only nods silently before asking what happened. It was probably best she waited to do that. She's been itching to punch someone lately; she might just do it when this Otis gets back.

A couple of minutes pass before Carl wakes with a cough. His breathing picks up as he looks around the room and Rick and Lori rush into their son's side. Harley stands and backs up to Hershel to give them some space.

"Where are we?"

"Hey, little man," Rick greets his son, both he and Lori with relieved smiles. "That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident. All right?"

"It hurts, a lot," Closing her eyes, Harley counts to five in her head. She can't do that, this is Carl. She's got to be clear-headed, stay calm, be there for him.

"Oh, baby, I know, I know," Lory cries, trying her best to comfort her son.

"You should've seen it,"

"What?"

"The deer," Carl gasps. "It was so pretty, mom. It was so close. I've never been..." Carl trails off, his eyes glazing over as he stares at nothing. Harley moves forward get gently pushes Lori back.

"What's happening?" The mother asks right as her son starts seizing.

"He's having a seizure, you try to hold him down and you'll hurt him," She explains while motioning for them to stay back. She removes the pillow from under his head carefully and turns him on his side with Hershel's help before moving back.

"You can't stop it?" Lori asks desperately.

"He has to just go through it," Hershel tells her and she lets out a loud sob before turning into her husband's arms. The seizure lasts about twenty seconds before Carl is falling limp once more.

"His brain isn't getting enough blood," She says with a glance at herself before Lori and Rick. "He needs another transfusion. Now."

"Alright, sit down over here," Hershel gestures to the chair on the other side of the bed before grabbing the supplies. Harley moves to do as he said without a moment's hesitation. She sits and holds out her arm for Hershel. He cleans the inside of her elbow before inserting the needle.


Hershel and Harley leave the room after that, to give Lori and Rick some time with their son. Hershel makes Harley sit down and eat something. She complies simply because she knows she'll need it. She needs to keep her strength up so she can be there to help with Carl. He only took enough blood to make her a little sleepy in about an hour, but he'll probably need more.

She sees T-Dog. Apologizes for not helping him but he waves her away. Says one of Hershel's people stitched up his arm and that he'll be fine.

She rejoins the others in the room when Hershel begins to check Carl's vitals. "He's still losing blood faster than we can replace it," He informs the parents. "And with the swelling in his abdomen, we can't wait any longer. Or he's just going to slip away. Now, we need to know right now if you want us to do this because I think your boy is out of time."

Taking the news, Rick and Lori turn their questioning gazes to Harley. She meets both their eyes and nods in concurrence. "You have to make a choice," She tells them gently.

"A choice?" Lori cries.

"A choice," Rick repeats to his wife. "You have to tell me what it is." He begs her. "You have to tell me what it is."

Lori lifts her hand to Rick's cheek, stares into his eyes before nodding. "We do it."

"Okay," Patricia, who Harley met only moments before, rolls in a stainless-steel table while she moves to stand by Carl's head. She grabs his IV and lies it on the sheet next to him before moving the pillow from under his head. "Lori grabs the sheet and his legs."

"On three," Hershel says after taking hold of his corner. Harley holds tight to hers and supports Carl's head when they lift him off the bed and move him onto the table. Patricia brings a lamp in and removes the shade, offering them more light while Harley slips on her gloves with practiced ease.

"Rick, Lori," She turns to them. "Step out." It's not a question, not a request. There's no way she'd allow them to stay here during this. Before the couple can even move, the sound of an engine cuts through the room. Rick moves to the window and looks down the window.

"Stay here with him," Hershel says to Patricia before the other four are bolting from the room. They meet Shane outside while the man limps towards the porch. Harley takes one of the bags from him while Hershel grabs the others, but the old man pauses. "Otis?"

"No," Shane whispers, his voice quieter than his quick breathing. Harley clenches her jaw and turns back inside, not willing to wait any longer than they need to. She says nothing to Patricia. Hershel appears seconds later and they get started.


A couple of hours, the surgery takes. That's it. It feels like only moments before Harley is stitching the boy up, helping Hershel clean and bandage the wound before they're moving him back onto the bed. She sighs so heavily in relief, she almost falls over.

"You have a very steady hand," Hershel compliments her.

"Practice," Herley whispers. She feels a little weak. She wonders if that's from the blood loss or the events of the day.

"Don't sell yourself short," Hershel shakes his head while drying his clean hands with a towel. "You're a great doctor."

"Medic," Harley corrects. "Never finished school."

"I meant what I said," Hershel says in an almost chastising tone. Harley looks up at him and away from Carl, her eyebrows raising. "Would you like to deliver the good news?" Yes, she really does. But Hershel was a part of this too, this is his house, and he willingly took them in to help. If he hadn't, Carl wouldn't be here. He deserves to do that.

"I- that's alright," She shakes her head. "You can."

"I need to tell Patricia about Otis," He says mournfully. The woman herself had left the room only a moment ago. Harley feels bad now, for feeling hatred towards the man who shot Carl. It had only been an accident and he'd risked and lost his life while trying to save the child. She didn't know him, but she'd say he was a good person. "You tell them, I'll do that."

"Come with me," Harley requests. "Let's both tell them, then we can tell Patricia together."

Thinking for a moment, Hershel nods. "Okay." Gesturing towards the door, the old man lets her go first. The others are all outside, waiting on the porch. As soon as she opens the door, they're all on their feet, looking to her.

"He's stable," She tells the parents who sag in relief. Much like herself, Harley thinks Rick is going to fall about but he doesn't. Instead, he moves forward and wraps his arms around her in a hug. Harley freezes a moment before returning it.

"Thank you," He whispers to her before pulling away. Harley thinks she's free before Lori replaces her husband a moment later.

"I don't have words," She cries in happiness as she pulls away, looking from her to Hershel.

"I don't either, wish I did," The man says. "How do I tell Patricia about Otis?"

"Come on," Harley sighs. "You guys go to Carl," She tells the boy's parents. "I'll help Hershel."

"No," Rick shakes his head. "You've done enough today. I'll go."

"It's fine," Harley assures him. "Wouldn't be the first time I've had to tell a wife she's never going to see her husband again." Spinning on her heels, Harley pushes her way back inside with Hershel right behind her.

It's not easy, it never is. No matter how many times it's been done. Patricia acts in the way Harley expected. She immediately starts crying and her legs give out. She and Hershel grab onto her arms and lower her into one of the kitchen chairs. Harley rubs the woman's back in a weak attempt to comfort her but soon leaves her to be. To mourn in peace.


Harley falls asleep on the couch. The events of the day and what blood she lost helped to shut down her mind and body alike. She sleeps like a rock until morning.

There's a blanket over her when she wakes, one she knows wasn't there before. Sitting up, Harley winces when she bends her knee and she leans forward to rub the joint.

It's later than she thought when she realizes the only ones in the house are Carl, his parents, and Hershel. Along with herself, of course. The others are all outside, collecting stones. For Otis's memorial later, she imagines.

"I meant to ask you about that," Hershel greets in lieu of a good morning and gestures to her favored leg. "You were limping a bit last night."

"Huh," Harley hums. "Hadn't even noticed."

"Adrenaline must have been keeping you up."

"Yeah," Harley mumbles and looks back out the window. "How's Carl?"

"He's fine," Hershel assures her. "Improving already. Now, your leg."

"You're persistent, you know that?" Harley smiles over her shoulder to him and he nods with a small grin.

"I've been told." He gives a pointed look to her leg and Harley sighs.

"An old injury acting up," She shrugs. "It's just stiff, I need to walk it off."

"Well before you do that, I want you to eat something," He motions her into the kitchen and starts towards the room without waiting for her. Harley scoffs before following. If Dale reminds her of her grandfather, Hershel's sure as hell does. They're different, but much the same.

The familiar sound of a bike engine reaches Harley's ears while she's drinking a glass of orange juice. She sets the cup down and climbs to her feet as T-Dog makes his way inside. "They're here," He tells her before going to do the same with Rick and Lori.

It's hot outside, a big contrast to the farmhouse. Harley squints and covers her eyes against the sun's harsh glare when she steps off the porch.

"You look like shit," Daryl greets when she approaches him and Harley huffs.

"Well, I woke up yesterday morning, prepared to look for a lost child in the woods, and ended up performing surgery on another. How was your day?" She grins and Daryl raises his eyebrows.

"How is he?" Dale asks Lori and Rick who stand a ways behind her.

"He'll pull through," Lori tells everyone happily. "Thanks to Harley, Hershel, and his people."

"And Shane," Rick adds. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Harley blows out a breath through her nose and looks up at Daryl. He meets her eyes, an odd look swimming within them.

Everyone gathers around the pile of stones. Hershel speaks a little before asking Shane to do the same. The man hesitates but Patricia convinces with her tearful words. Harley watches the man from beside Daryl with narrowed eyes.

She'd never had a big problem with Shane. A couple of days into this thing, she saw a slight change in behavior, but she hadn't known him before. That could've been normal for him. He annoyed her occasionally but otherwise, he was fine. It was when Rick returned that things really changed. His moods have been all over the place and he's lying. He's not the best liar, she doesn't know why everyone seems to believe him so easily. Like when he says what happened to Otis. A clear lie. Still, Harley keeps her mouth shut.

Notes:

Harley has got a good bullshit detector, and good thing to.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 9: The Woods

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

A small group of people gather around the hood of the truck with a map provided by the Greene's spread out over it. "We can finally get this thing organized," Rick starts. "We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."

"Not you," Harley scoffs and shakes her head at him. "Not today."

"She's right," Hershel nods to her. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." He then turns to Shane. "And your ankle. Push it now and you'll be laid up a month."

"So, it's just us then," Harley says with a gesture towards Daryl.

"Now slow down," Hershel says. "You gave blood as well, not as much but still. And how's that knee?"

"What's wrong with your knee?"

"Nothing," Harley doesn't look to Daryl when she answers his question, only continues to stare over the hood at Hershel. "I've done more than go for a little hike with a bit of blood loss, trust me. I'm fine."

"Fine," Hershel says after a moment and Harley grins in triumph. "Don't go alone and if you start feeling faint, you come right back here."

"Yes, mom," Harley whispers under her breath but not quite enough. Most of the others chuckle while Hershel raises an eyebrow at her.

"Alright," Daryl clears his throat and wipes the smirk off his face. "We'll head back to the creek, work our way from there."

"I can still be useful. Drive back to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane adds and Rick nods, happy with the day's plans.

"Alright, tomorrow then, we'll start doing this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives," Shane continues. "They need the gun training we've been promising."

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property," Hershel says. Harley fills a tick of irritation. The way the world is, everyone needs to be armed. But this isn't her land, she supposes he's in charge here. "We've gone this long without turning this into an armed camp."

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here..."

"Look, we're guests here. This is your property," Rick consents, though Harley can tell he doesn't like the idea of not having his gun at all times. "And we will respect that." With his words, Rick unholsters his colt python and sets it on top of the map. Shane reluctantly does the same with his gun. Harley figures she's about to head into the forest, there's no need to give hers up just yet.

They talk a bit more. About what to do if they find Sophia and she's been bit. Harley doesn't want to think about that being an option, but she knows it is. They ask to have a lookout and Hershel consents to it. When they're dismissed, Harley turns to Daryl.

"I'm just gonna check on Carl, then I'll be ready to go."

"Mm-hmm," Daryl nods and walks with her to the house but waits outside when she goes in.

The boy is awake when she enters, talking quietly with his mothers. She smiles brightly while greeting him. "Hey, bud."

"Harley," He grins over at her. "Mom said you saved my life."

"Eh," Harley shrugs while taking the seat beside him. "I just lent a hand."

"Don't be modest," Lori says, patting her sons' hand. "We'd have been lost without you."

Clearing her throat, Harley purses her lips and looks down. She's never accepted praise well. "Well, I just came to see how you were feeling," She looks back up to Carl. "About to head out."

"To look for Sophia?"

"Yeah," Harley nods to the boy.

"You think you'll find her?" Harley shares a quick look with Lori before taking a deep breath.

"I hope so, bud," But what has hoping ever gotten her? "You never answered me. How're you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Carl nods. "Little sore."

"Perfectly normal," She informs him. "Don't worry. Just give yourself time to heal."

"Have you ever been shot?"

"Carl," Lori scolds her son but Harley chuckles and waves a hand at her.

"It's fine," She assures. "I have, actually." Leaning in, she smirks at the boy before mock whispering. "More than once."

"Really?" Carl's eyes widen and Harley laughs again.

"Yeah, but I don't think your mother approves of this conversation topic," Harley offers Lori an apologetic smile. "And I don't wanna keep cranky pants Daryl waiting." Carl laughs at the name and Harley pushes herself to her feet. "See you later, little man. Rest well."

Exiting the room, Harley moves to the side when Rick pushes the screen door open. "Hey, he's awake."

"Thank you," Rick nods and Harley goes to leave but is stopped when he calls her. "Thank you," He repeats. "For everything. I owe you...everything for what you did."

"No," Harley denies. "You don't owe me anything. Just...go be with your kid." Harley turns and leaves before he can say anything else. Daryl is waiting for her but not on the porch anymore. He paces the grass beside it, throwing his arms out in an impatient way. "I'm here, I'm here."

"'Bout time," He mumbles and starts off without waiting for her. Harley blinks and rushes to catch up with him.

"Problem?" She asks. He was fine before she went into the house, what could've happened in that short time to get his panties in such a bunch?

"We're wasting daylight, that's the problem," Daryl grumbles and Harley sighs.

"Fine, don't tell me," She huffs. "But don't get an attitude with me just because something bit you in your ass. Ain't my fault and I'm not putting up with your shitty mood." Picking up her pace, Harley puts a little space between herself and the archer.

They walk silently for a while. Nothing is said between them and Harley wonders if it's because of what she said, Daryl's bad mood, or just because. She doesn't care for light conversation often, but she does enjoy a good talk occasionally.

Daryl's mood does seem to improve. She can tell by the way he holds his shoulders. She's starting to be able to read him better, after spending more time with him. He holds a lot of how he feels in his shoulders. His facial expressions are minimum usually but when she's trying to read him, she now knows to look at his eyes and mouth. That's where his emotions hide.

When they find the old house, they communicate silently while entering the building, weapons raised. It's quiet other than the floorboards creaking under their feet. Harley watches Daryl lift a sardine can out of the trash. She can't tell but it seems fresh.

Tapping his shoulder, she gestures towards the pantry door. It's cracked open, moving a little. He nods to her and she quietly moves behind it, her fingers wrapping around the handle. She counts with her mouth but doesn't speak allowed. When she gets to three, she swings the door open and Daryl steps forward, his crossbow raised.

"Not many people could fit in there," She says after turning to see the blanket and pillows pilled on the floor. Daryl hums before turning back to the door and marches outside with Harley hot on his heels.

"Sophia!" He calls out, pausing to let his voice carry and listen. Harley follows his lead and calls out to the girl next. But all they hear in return is their own voices echoed back at them.

Daryl walks over to the small pond and crouches down next to a white flower. Harley slowly approaches him as he carefully picks the flower. "It's beautiful," She observes, her voice soft. But a smirk slowly pulls her lips upwards. "Brings out your eyes."

"Shut up," Daryl grumbles and harshly grabs the old beer bottle lying on the ground beside him and puts the flower inside it.

"I'm kidding," Harley's smirk turns into a soft smile as she watches him. "I think it's sweet. For Carol, right?"

Shrugging, Daryl stands. "Cherokee rose," He tells her. "Thought- I don't know," He shrugs again.

"I know the story," Harley tells him. "Carol will appreciate it. Come on, we should keep going."

Once they're back in the trees, they're silent once more. They're headed back to the farm when it happens. They take a different route, hoping to cover some more ground. Harley has her eyes up, scanning her surroundings. For threats, signs of Sophia, anything. And it was the right move, she knows it was, but maybe she should've glanced at her feet occasionally.

Harley goes down with a pained shout. She doesn't know what happened at first, only that her ankle feels like it was just ripped off her leg. The pain shoots up through her body and into her head, foggy her mind for a second.

Daryl's crouched next to her when she comes back to herself. He'd rushed over, crashing to the ground the moment he'd heard her yelp. "Shit," He curses quietly to himself when he sees the metal contraption around Harley's ankle. No blood though, there's that.

"Shit is right," Harley grits out through her teeth. She reaches down to her leg, gasping when moving only shoots a whole new type of pain through her ankle. "Get it off, get it off."

"Tryin'," Daryl braces his hands on the ground around her leg, trying to find the release clamp without touching her. He doesn't want to jostle her leg any more than he has to. "Here we go," He mumbles when he finds it and looks up to her. "Deep breath." Only waiting long enough for her to inhale, Daryl loosens the traps and pries it off Harley's leg. The woman groans and falls back onto the ground, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Ugh," Harley bites down hard on her lip and forces herself to sit up. She closes her eyes again and counts to five in her head. Then she counts to five again and two more times. She lifts her hand when the technique doesn't help calm her and brings it harshly down onto the forest floor beside her. "I'm good," She nods when she catches Daryl looking at her. "I'm okay."

Nodding once, Daryl turns his gaze back down to her ankle. He can't see much with her boots, but he slowly pushes her pant leg up to try and see her leg but stops when Harley gasps. "Don't take my shoe off," She instructs him. "The pressure will help keep the swelling down until I can get some ice on it." Because there will be swelling. She only hopes the bone isn't broken. "Help me up."

Holding out her hand, Harley holds tight to Daryl when he grabs her own and helps lift her to her good foot. She holds the other one above the ground and sighs. "Here goes nothing," She mumbles before trying to apply pressure only for it to give out. If it weren't for Daryl catching her, she would've face-planted into the ground.

"Don't be stupid," Daryl helps her get steady once more, letting her hold onto his arms. "I need to carry ya?"

"No," Harley denies quickly. No way in hell is she letting that happen. She's not helpless. "Just...be my crutch?" Shifting his crossbow onto his back, Daryl loops one arm around Harley's waist and lets her hold onto his other as she limps back to the farm.

Unfortunately for her, the others notice and crowd around, asking questions. "What happened?" "Are you okay?" Blah blah. Harley waves them all away and continues towards the house with Daryl's help. She'll need to have Hershel wrap the ankle for her, get some ice from the freezer. Thankfully the farm is powered by a windmill.

She stops when they reach the stairs. Harley takes a deep breath, preparing herself to climb them when suddenly her feet disappear out from under her.

"Daryl, put me down," She says slowly but the man ignores her and climbs the stairs. "Daryl."

"Don't got all day to wait for your slow ass," Daryl mumbles to her and reaches for the door only to have it open for him. Harley offers Hershel a sheepish smile.

"What happened?" The old man asks while leading Daryl into the living room. He gestures for him to place Harley onto the couch, and he does, standing only after her arms unwrap from around his neck. He then proceeds to pull a leaf out of her hair.

"Huntin' trap, looked like," Daryl answers the vet, keeping the leaf in his hands before grabbing another one.

Sitting on the coffee table across from her, Hershel gently lifts Harley's injured leg onto his lap. "We had a problem, couple years back, with people setting up illegal traps. We'd thought they found them all. Suppose they didn't." He explains while untying the laces of her boot.

"Clearly," Harley snaps and stops herself from pushing her head into the back of the couch. Daryl picking the leaves out of her hair is such a contrast to the pain in her ankle. She doesn't want him to stop.

"At least you didn't get one with spikes," Hershel adds while slowly removing her boot. Harley clenches her jaw shut to stop from gasping.

"At least," She whispers, her voice escaping no louder than a breath. Look on the bright side. Could've been worse.

"It's not broken but I can't tell if it's fractured. Would be if the traps weren't old and rusted," Hershel prods around the bone and Harley shoots him a dirty look. "It's already bruising. Swelling is setting it. Son," He turns to Daryl and gestures towards the kitchen. "Get me an ice pack from the freezer? And a towel." Daryl hums with a short nod and moves to do as he was asked.

"I'll wrap it. You know the rest, I'm sure. Keep it elevated, ice. Rest."

"Why'd you say it like that?" Harley mutters but the man ignores her and starts to wrap the bandage around her ankle. It's still painful, but more bearable now. Harley lifts her head from the couch when Daryl returns and sits next to her.

Harley smiles when his hand goes back to her head and scrunches up her nose. "Is there still stuff in my hair?"

"Nah," Daryl shakes his head and lowers his hand back to his side, looking almost embarrassed.

"Well, I didn't say to stop," She smiles when he peeks up at her. He huffs before returning his hand to play with her hair. Harley lets her eyes shut, missing the look Hershel observes them with.

"All done," He says a moment later and replaces his legs with a pillow under her ankle. "Keep it elevated-"

"Ice and rest. Yes, sir, I know," Harley cuts him off, smiling when he just gives her that look of his. She likes Hershel, he's easy to read. He might act annoyed, but he likes her. Walking away, Hershel leaves the two of them alone in his living room. "Shit," Harley mumbles and runs a hand down her face.

"What?"

"How the hell am I supposed to do anything, much less search for Sophia with a fu-messed up ankle?" Hershel might still be able to hear her.

"Ya don't," Daryl tells her simply, his fingers still running through her hair. "We'll handle it."

"It's not that," Harley sighs. "I don't know if you know this about me, Daryl, but I don't like being useless."

"Ya ain't," He assures her, and she turns to him with a disbelieving look. "You ain't useless."

Blowing a breath out through her nose, Harley looks down at her lap. "Thanks," She whispers. She lifts a hand to cover her mouth when a yawn escapes her, laughing a little when her eyes water at the force of it. "Long day."

"Yeah," Daryl hums in agreement. "Get some rest." Harley feels disappointment surge through her when he stands and stops playing with her hair. But he has other things to do, better things than to sit by her side.

"Good idea," Harley says instead and shifts her leg. She reaches for the ice pack with the plan to lie down but before she grabs it, Daryl does. He lifts the pillow, her leg, and the ice all at once and moves her leg onto the couch. "Thank you."

Grunting in acknowledgment, Daryl nods once before finally making his leave. Harley sighs and lies back against the couch and closes her eyes. For the second night in a row, she falls asleep on the couch.

Notes:

This isn't really important but, Harley's hair was in a braid but it came loose.

That was a nice moment with her and Daryl, their relationship is growing!!

'-'

Chapter 10: Nightmare

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Harley jolts awake for the third time early the next morning. She sighs against the fleeting imagines of her dream and sits up only to jump back with a gasp. "Jeez."

"Sorry," Rick apologizes from the chair across the room. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine," Harley waves his apology away and sits up. The ice pack that was on her ankle is gone. She guesses Hershel maybe put it back in the freezer. Her ankle is stiff as all get-out, still hurts when she moves it, and it's still swollen. But it's only the next morning, she had expected it to be a little worse before it gets better. "A little creepy, though."

Rick chuckles and runs his hand down his face. Harley wonders how much sleep he got. "Was just with Carl," He explains. "Stepped out for a moment."

"How is he?"

"He's good," Rick nods. "Strong."

"Just like his dad," Harley smiles and pulls herself back to lean against the armrest.

"How're you?" Rick nods towards her ankle and Harley shrugs.

"Had worse...been better," She grins. "I'll be back up in no time. Don't worry."

"I worry," Rick says. "Don't rush, just...get better."

"Aye aye captain." Smiling and shaking his head, Rick pushes himself to his feet. He gets her a new ice pack before making his way outside.

Harley hates this. She feels like she's going out of her mind, and it's only been a few hours. She shifts around the couch every two seconds but can't seem to get comfortable. And it doesn't help that every time she moves, her ankle gives a stab of pain. Getting shot is almost less annoying.

"Would ya stop moving?" Daryl says from behind her and Harley glances over her shoulder as the screen door closes.

"Don't tell me what to do, Dixon," She glares but there's no real heat behind it. "You heading out?"

"Yeah," He nods, chewing the inside of his lip. "Gonna take a horse, go along that ridgeline."

"Oh, sorry, should've told me. Cowboy Dixon," Harley laughs when Daryl scoffs, throwing his hand out and rolling his eyes. "Be careful, yeah?"

"Yes, ma'am," It's Harley's turn to roll her eyes. She reaches out to pinch Daryl as he walks by and he jumps away from her, flipping her off on his way out the door.

The day passes impossibly slow. Hershel checks on her once. Maggie even sits with her and they talk about nothing for a little while. It's actually nice, Harley likes the young woman. She hasn't had many female friends in her life, it'd be nice to have one now. She's not close with Andrea, she has no real problem with the woman, and she tries to be civil, but she just doesn't like her. Lori's fine by her, maybe made a few questionable choices lately, but Harley likes her well enough. They just haven't really connected. Same with Carol.

She hops her way into Carl's room later into the day after checking Hershel wasn't around. She's not in the mood to be scolded by the man. He's asleep when she comes in, so she just sits with him until he wakes up. Eventually, he does and they chat, joking around. Many of her jokes are too dark or dirty for children, especially ones his age. But she's got a few kid-friendly ones under her belt.

Lori is in and out a few times. The other women make their way inside soon enough with Beth, Maggie, and Patricia. They're making dinner, Lori tells her. As a thanks to Hershel and his family for taking them in and helping them.

It's starting to get dark out when she worries. She and Daryl made it back at this time last night and that was with her injured ankle. She knows he's not back because he would've come told her like he told her he was leaving.

"Harley?"

"Yeah, bud?" She looks away from the window and back to the boy, her eyebrows raised.

"You okay?" He asks, looking from her face towards the window she'd been looking out.

"Yeah, I'm fin-" A gunshot cuts Harley off. Her head snaps back around and she jumps to her feet on instinct. She reaches for her gun, but she doesn't have it. She curses herself and limps towards the door while the others run from the house.

"Harley?"

"It's okay, bud, everything's fine," Harley assures him. "I'm just going to see what going on, stay in bed." Carl nods and Harley pushes herself out onto the porch. The others are already a few yards away from the house. Harley stops herself from going down the stairs when her ankle almost gives out.

Her heart drops when she sees Daryl's limp body being dragged to the house by Rick and Shane. "Get him in here," Hershel directs them inside and Harley sighs in relief to see he's still breathing.

Rick and Shane deposit Daryl onto a bed in another room. The hunter groans and shifts as he comes back to consciousness. Hershel goes about preparing the supplies needed to fix him up while Harley lowers herself onto the edge of the bed.

"Hey, don't move," She places a hand on Daryl's shoulder and pushes him down in an effort to stop him from hurting himself even more. He squints up at her but does what she says. "Let me see." Grabbing a pin light from the nightstand, she pries each of his eyes open and shines it in them. He groans and pushes her hand away. Harley only lets him because she saw what she needed to see.

"Here," Hershel hands her a wet cloth and Harley gently cleans the wound on his head while the vet tends to the one on his side. "You're supposed to be resting." He tells the woman without looking up from his work.

"I'm sitting," Harley argues back while wiping the blood from Daryl's head. "Sorry," She apologizes when he winces. He only grunts in response. "It'll need stitches." Hershel hands her a needle and thread while getting his own.

"Found it washed up on the creek bed right there," Daryl answers when Rick asks about Sophia's doll, pointing to the place on the map. "She must've dropped it crossing there somewhere."

"Cuts the grid almost in half."

"Yeah, you're welcome."

"Stop moving," Harley demands before tying off the last stitch. Now, these kinds of orders she can give.

"How's he looking?" Rick asks, his eyes shifting from Harley to Hershel.

"Like shit," She mumbles under her breath but Hershel answers for real.

"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly," The old man sighs. "Any idea what happened to my horse?"

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

"We call that one Nelly. As in Nervous Nelly. I could've told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask."

"You didn't ask?" Harley scolds. She'd smack him upside the head if he wasn't so injured already.

"It's a wonder you people have survived this long," Hershel mumbles before taking his leave, assured by Harley that she can finish up. Rick and Shane follow behind him.

"What he said," She mutters while cleaning around Daryl's head wound a little more before grabbing the bandages. "Stupid."

"What?"

"I said stupid," Harley repeats loudly. "You're stupid. Doing what you did."

"You didn't have a problem with it this morning," Daryl gripes and shifts onto his back, wincing as he does.

"Stop moving," Harley demands again, her voice hard. "I didn't have a problem with you going to look for Sophia. I do have a problem with you being an idiot. What the hell were you thinking, Daryl? Not even asking about the horse. I shouldn't have let you go alone."

"Yeah? And what could you've done with that ankle?" He throws back just as harshly and Harley sighs. She closes her eyes and counts to five.

"I don't want to fight," She whispers. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried." Busying herself with the bandages, Harley tapes one over the wound on his side before grabbing a new roll for his head.

"Hm, m'fine," Daryl mumbles dismissively and Harley purses her lips.

"Whatever you say, Dixon," Leaning forward, Harley wraps the gauze around Daryl's head. She keeps her eyes on her task but when she feels his breath spread over her face, she flickers her eyes down to his. She didn't realize how close she'd gotten. She also never noticed how blue his eyes really were. "That to tight?"

"Nah," Daryl mutters, his gaze quickly looking over her face before lifting back up to her eyes.

Clearing her throat, Harley sits back and pats her thighs, rubbing her hands over her pants. "Anything else hurt? Not hiding any other injuries, are you?" Shaking his head, Daryl settles back into the pillows.

"Good," Clicking her tongue, Harley looks around the room before back to the bed. Whatever just happened, she'd like to pretend that it didn't. Keep going as normal. It was just a moment, a fleeting moment of...something. Harley doesn't even know what. The point is, she'd like to act like it didn't happen. "You gonna make me hobble back out to the couch or scoot over?"

"You told me not to move," Daryl grumbles and lifts his arm to fold the pillow behind his head.

"Touche," Harley grins. "Do you mind the company?"

Daryl's nose twitches and he looks up at her. Harley raises her eyebrows and he shrugs. "Nah."

"Alright," Smiling a little wider, Harley shifts to the bottom of the bed and crawls over his legs to the other side. She keeps her ankle in the air best she can but winces when she hits it on the edge of the mattress. "So, you gonna tell me what happened?" Harley asks after settling.

"Told ya," In more or less detail.

"I was talking about the wound on your head," She nods towards the bandages. "I know a bullet graze when I see one and I heard that gunshot."

"I was stumblin' in here like a damn walker," Daryl says far too casually. "Andrea thought I was one."

"Oh, that bitch. I really am going to punch her now," Rolling her ankle, Harley grimaces. "Tomorrow."

"She was just tryin' to protect the group," How is he being the reasonable one right now?

"She took a shot at what she thought was a single walker when the others went to take care of it," Harley raises her voice and sits up to look down at him incredulously. "All because she wants to look cool. That is not okay. That's how people die!"

"Hey," Reaching out, Daryl grabs Harley's hand. The contact pulls Harley back down and she shuts her eyes tight and counts to five while squeezing Daryl's hand between her own.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have lost my temper," Harley whispers after she opens her eyes, but she doesn't let go of his hand. It's grounding, she's not sure she's ready to lose that just yet.

"Nah," Daryl shakes his head, letting her keep his hand clasped between her own. "You're cute when you're angry."

Sputtering, Harley blinks and a surprised laugh escapes her. "Was that a tease?" She finally manages to ask. It takes her a moment and Daryl's small smirk to realize what he did. "Oh, you sly bastard." She lets go of his hand to free her own and points to his chest. "And I am not cute when I'm angry. I'm terrifying. You do best to remember that."

"Terrifying like a opossum," Daryl chortles at Harley's offended look. "Got the tiny hands and everything."

"Wow, okay," Harley holds her arms up by her side and sits back. "Well, you're like a teddy bear. You want everyone to believe you're this big, scary guy but really you're just full of soft stuffing." Daryl scoffs and rolls his eyes, but Harley thinks that's a great representation of how he is, if she does say so herself.

"Sit back before you hurt yourself," Daryl scolds when he sees her wince. Harley puffs out a breath of air but does as he said and shifts to sit beside him again. She folds her arms over her chest like a pouting child and whispers.

"Teddy bear."

"Opossum," Looking down at him out of the corner of her eye, Harley cracks a smile when he smirks up at her.

Clearing her throat, Harley scoots down onto her back and shifts until she's comfortable. She rests her hands over her stomach and closes her eyes. "What're you doing?"

"Takin' a nap," She answers, her eyes still closed. "Gotta pass the time somehow." She hears Daryl hum in response and soon enough, she finds herself drifting off.


Daryl tries his best not to move after Harley falls asleep. At least she is sleeping. She might be fooling the others, but he sees the dark circles under her eyes.

He still remembers their hunting trip back at the quarry. She hadn't slept at all that night, and he'd thought it was him at the time. That she didn't want to sleep with just him around. Since then, they've slept in close quarters enough times to know it isn't him that sometimes keeps her awake. He'd been wrong. Like he'd been wrong about many other things.

Harley isn't the calm, put-together person she portrays herself as. She's easy to anger and easy to annoy. But she knows how to calm herself. Usually. Daryl sees her close her eyes and clench her jaw for so many seconds, sometimes longer than others, and take a few deep breaths. And when she opens her eyes again, the fire behind them has died down. But he thinks she still might punch Andrea. He won't try to stop her if she does.

Merle hadn't told him much about Harley. She herself has told him more. It doesn't surprise him, Merle was never one to be too serious unless he absolutely had to. He didn't like talking about himself or similar things. He told Daryl that she'd saved his life. It'd been his last tour and the girl's first. She was nineteen at the time.

It'd been eleven years since they last saw each other, and they'd greeted one another like old friends. Then Harley had told him what his brother had done for her. He supposes something like that can bring people together even if they're apart. Harley was still grateful for what Merle did as well him to her. Daryl could see the protective obligation Merle felt towards her. Maybe now that his brother is gone, he's taken on that role for him. For his brother or because he wanted to. Does it matter?

But nearly a decade of serving...that's got to leave you with some type of baggage. Bad memories at least. Daryl's well aware of how easily a simple memory can haunt you for a long time. Much less ten years' worth of them.

A motion has Daryl looking away from the arrow in his hands and down to the woman beside him. She'd twitched in her sleep, scrunching up her nose in the way she sometimes does. He grins a little at knowing she also does that in her sleep. He doesn't know why but he likes it when she does that. Like he likes it when she smiles. And he likes that he can be the reason she smiles sometimes.

As if caught staring, Daryl quickly looks away from Harley's sleeping face. Her hair is down now, not like it usually is. She braids it somehow, it confuses Daryl. He's watched her do it a few times but hasn't yet figured it out. Not that he wants to, she's capable of doing her own damn hair.

Whatever it was that happened earlier, he has no idea, he'd been able to see her eyes so clearly. They're an odd shade. Brown but almost red like clay. He doesn't think he's ever seen eyes that color before. He thinks it fits. A unique eye color for a unique personality. She puts up with him, anyway. That's a unique quality all in itself.


Harley wakes a few hours later. Carol had just left the room after bringing them both a plate of dinner and Harley gratefully accepts the food. She looks pointedly between Daryl and his own before giving him the simple command to eat. Medics orders, she says. Daryl huffs but does as he's told.

She makes herself go back to sleep again after that. She knows she needs the rest. Your body heals so much faster when you're asleep. It's annoying but she doesn't make the rules. Because if she did, nightmares wouldn't be real.

They've been getting worse since the whole 'end of the world' thing. Either more nightmare fuel or lack of having someone she trusts to talk to about it all. It's everything together, she knows. Doesn't matter in the end.

Harley can't breathe when she wakes from her dream. She bolts up in the bed, her hands going to claw at her throat while her body buzzes alive with fight or flight instinct. She's not here, not on the Greene's farm in the spare bedroom. She's somewhere far, far away, trapped in her own mind. There're deafening sounds around her, explosions, gunshots, walker groans. Hands, dead and alive claw at her, squeezing her neck and preventing her from getting any air.

When one of those hands lands on her shoulder, Harley lashes out. She turns quickly and hits whoever it belongs to, causing herself to fall in the process. When she falls onto the floor, it's enough to snap her back to the present.

Still gasping for air, Harley sits up and shuffles backward until she hits the cold wall behind her. She realizes then that she's not buried in darkness but that there's a warm light coming from the corner, casting a soft glow over the room. Because she's in a room, a bedroom. On the farm with...with Daryl.

The hunter crouches on the floor across from her. He inches towards her at an impossibly slow pace, his hands held up as if he was approaching a frightened animal.

With her legs lifted to her chest, Harley raises her shaky hands over her head and buries her face in her knees. She shuts her eyes tight and counts. One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five. Once, two, three, four, five. Harley doesn't realize she's counting allowed until the fifth time and her whispered voice reaches her ears.

A light touch to her good ankle has her looking up. She meets Daryl's eyes only a second before looking away. He's only close enough to reach out to her but he moves a little closer when she doesn't react. Harley scans the room around her and counts again.

Five things she can see, four things that are blue, three things she can hear, two things she can feel, and one thing she can taste. Harley pauses on the last one. Copper, she can taste copper. Blood. She bit the inside of her lip hard enough to draw blood.

Swallowing harshly, Harley looks up at Daryl again when he moves his fingers lightly up her arm. She meets his gaze and holds it. She opens her mouth to speak but no words come out.

"It's okay," Daryl says when she can't. "You're okay." Harley lets him rest his hand on her shoulder and reaches up to grab his wrist, focusing on the feel of his skin on hers. Letting it ground her. She takes her first deep breath since waking up. "That's it," Daryl praises, his voice soft and quiet. "That's it. Just breath. Was only a dream."

His other hand moves to her hair and Harley uncurls a little more from herself. She does as he says and focuses on her breathing, on the weight of his hand on her shoulder, and his fingers running through her hair.

"Sorry," Harley all but croaks once she finds her voice. "I'm okay." She grits her teeth in frustration after that. She's angry at herself now that she can think more clearly. She hasn't had an episode like that in a long time.

"Don' apologize," Daryl tells her and shifts to sit against the wall next to her. He releases her shoulder with one hand but moves his other arm around her shoulders to continue playing with her hair.

Harley sighs and starts to lean against him only to sit forward with an exclamation. "Shit, are you okay?" She asks, looking over at him. His bandage is covered by his shirt so she can't see if he tore his stitches.

"M'Fine," Daryl assures her and she looks up to him before falling back against the wall. "You wanna talk about it?" He studies the side of her face, watches her swallow as she stares forward, and waits. Waits until she's ready to talk or to just sit in silence.

"I uh...I used to...go to therapy before," Harley discloses after a minute. She still doesn't look at him. "I didn't want to at first, didn't think it would help. I know it doesn't for everyone, but it did for me."

"Hm," Daryl hums only to let her know he's listening.

Sniffing, Harley blinks rapidly and leans a little more into his warmth. "I used to be angry, all the time," Her words are nothing more than a whispered confession. "It was a problem, as well as the drinking. But I got better...Or at least I thought I did."

"You did," Daryl assures her with a nod that she doesn't see. "Here," Tapping her pocket, Daryl prompts Harley to remove the token he knows to live in there and waits until she does. She holds it up and he takes hold of it and her hand together. "See? You did get better. Ya are. Doesn't mean you won't have bad days."

"You charge by the hour, doc?" Harley gives a watery chuckle and leans her head against his shoulder, still focusing on his fingers running through her hair. It's such an intimate moment, it feels so natural even if they haven't known each other long. Harley isn't sure why she feels this connection with him, doesn't know what it is or what it means. She just knows she doesn't want to lose it.

"First session's free," Harley huffs another laugh at the joke. She thinks he's getting it from her, he hadn't seemed like the joking type when they met. Or maybe he was, he just wasn't comfortable enough to be that around her then.

Turning her head, Harley looks into Daryl's eyes a moment before giving a soft nod. "Come on, let's get ya back to bed. My ass is starting to go numb."

"If you think I'll be able to sleep after that," Harley says but stands beside him anyway and they both hobble their way back to the bed.

"Just try," Daryl urges her under the covers before lying on top of them beside her. Close, but not close enough to touch.

"Fine," Harley sighs and closes her eyes. "For you, I'll try. Just..." Peeking one eye open, she looks over at him. "Play with my hair?" Scoffing in mock annoyance, Daryl moves his arm to rest by her head and pushes his fingers through her dark locks. Harley smiles and closes her eyes.

"Hey, Daryl?" She asks after just lying in silence for a few minutes. He hums to let her know he heard, and Harley turns her head to look at him. "Thank you." Reaching up for the hand in her hair, Harley grabs his arm and runs her thumb over the inside of his wrist. He merely nods to her before they're both lying back and trying to sleep once more.

Notes:

They're cute. I almost put this last scene as the first of the next chapter, but I think it goes better here.

Harley's nightmares are getting worse. That's no good.

'-'

Chapter 11: Trust

Notes:

Are you guys enjoying this story so far? I kind of feel like you're not.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Harley's back outside the next day. Her ankle is still sore, but she's always been a fast healer. As long as she takes it easy, she'll be fine. She'll just have to deal with having a limp for a while. Daryl's moved back to his tent. Harley wasn't happy about him moving but he'd promised to stay on bed rest, just not inside.

That morning, she'd woken to herself holding his wrist and his free hand resting over hers. She'd been a little embarrassed but mostly grateful about what happened. Despite herself, she's come to trust the archer. She's glad to have someone to confide in, someone who won't look at her differently. And he doesn't. Not even after the events of last night.

Glenn finds her leaning against a tree and offers her a basket of fruit. "Long time no see," She greets the boy, sweeping her eyes on his frame. Why's he so nervous? "What's up?"

"What? Nothing. Why would something be up?" Glenn asks in rapid-fire, looking anywhere but her eyes. Harley chuckles a little while taking two peaches from the basket.

"Should I be concerned?" She questions with raised eyebrows.

"About what?"

"You," Harley answers simply, still trying to catch the boy's eyes. "Glenn, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He nods but the motion is shaky and uncoordinated.

"Okay," Harley decides to drop it. For now. "Just...I know a thing or two about keeping secrets if you ever need to talk." Glenn seems to regard her a moment before he stutters something under his breath and walks away. "I-okay." Blowing out a breath from her mouth, Harley pushes off the tree and starts towards Daryl's tent.

Just as she's walking around it, Andrea emerges from the inside. She'd calmed down considerately since the day before but when she sees the blond, that all too familiar flame of rage reignites just a little. She picks up her pace and cuts the woman off.

"Pull a stunt like that again," She starts venomously. Her voice is quiet but hard. Calm. "And I'll make sure that for as long as either of us is alive, you never get to touch a gun again. Much less fire one."

"I-" Andrea starts, a scoff in her voice but Harley cuts her off.

"Walk away," Making the smartest decision of her life, Andrea does just that.

Closing her eyes, Harley sighs before ducking into Daryl's tent. She tosses him one of the peaches and he catches it with ease. "You were right," Harley raises an eyebrow at Daryl in question to his greeting. "You can be scary. Even with the limp."

"Thank you," Harley grins before biting into her fruit. All the new recruits used to say she was scary. She always took it as a compliment. "Hey, uh, about last night,"

"Ya ain't got to say anything," Daryl tells her softly and Harley smiles, shaking her head slightly.

"I was gonna say thank you."

"Already did," He reminds her.

"I know," Harley nods and looks down before back up. "But it means a lot, what you did. So, I'm going to say it again. Thank you."

"Ain't nothing," Daryl shrugs, looking almost bashful.

"I won't push you to accept this, as long as you know it. It was something," She insists. "It was." Daryl eventually just nods, and Harley clears her throat. "Well, I'll leave you to your books. I'm gonna go find Glenn. He's being weird."

"He's not always?"

"More so than usual," Harley chuckles and inches her way towards the door.

"Don't scare the poor kid too much,"

"Ha!" Harley gives a fake laugh once she stands outside and lowers her hand back into the tent to flip him off. She walks away to the sound of his quiet laugh.

Something's clearly up with Glenn. She doesn't know the boy well but well enough to know that. Maybe it's him and Maggie, somethings going on there, she knows that much. She saw Maggie briefly earlier and she seemed tense. Glenn just seems full-on freaked out. Jumpy. Harley doesn't care for their personal business, but she'd like to make sure that's all it is.

Harley soon runs into a kid, but not the one she'd been searching for. A large grin overtakes her face when she sees Carl walking towards her. She had given him the go-ahead the day before to get out of bed the next day. She'd forgotten that today was the next day. She was a little preoccupied.

"Hey, bud," She greets, tapping the brim of his hat down over his eyes and crouching in front of him. "How're you feeling?"

"Good," Carl nods while fixing his hat. He shoots her a small glare, but Harley only scrunches up her nose at him. "Still a little sore."

"Dull ache or sharp pain?"

"Uh," Carl hums in thought, his hand lifting to rest against his side. Harley follows the movement and her eyes narrow. "Dull, I think."

"Okay, that's fine. You're still healing, it's natural." Clearing her throat, Harley licks her lips and looks around, settling back a little more on her good ankle. "Something else going on, kid?"

"Can you teach me how to shoot?" Carl blurts out. "The others are learning; I want to learn too. And you're already teaching me how to use a knife." If she wasn't sure before, she is now.

"Well, that is completely up to your parents," She informs the boy. "Now, what do you have there?" The bulge under his shirt isn't that noticeable but Harley saw it. And she's sure she heard a clinking when the boy moved.

Looking ashamed, Carl reaches down and lifts his shirt, showing the gun resting in the waistband of his pants. Harley purses and lips and sighs, carefully reaching out to take the weapon. "Carl, where did you get this?" He's a kid, she needs to stay calm. Stay calm.

"The RV," He tells her truthfully, looking down at the ground and kicking the dirt under his feet.

"Okay," Harley takes another measured breath and runs a hand over her braided hair. "Come on, let's go find your mom." Lifting herself up with one leg, Harley taps Carl's shoulder towards the camp, but he hesitates to follow.

"Do you have to tell her?"

"I'm afraid so, bud," Harley turns to him once more, tucking the gun into the back of her own pants and throwing her shirt over it.

"You convinced her to let me have a knife, you can ask her if I can have a gun."

"A gun is very different than a knife, bud," Harley informs him.

"But-"

"No buts," Harley cuts him off and rests her hand on his shoulder once more. "Let's go find your mom." Sighing in defeat, Carl reluctantly drags his feet after Harley and deeper into camp. "Go sit over there," She gestures to the log they pass, and he does while she continues towards his mother. Fortunately and unfortunately, she's with Rick, Shane, and Dale. "Lori," The woman turns to her with a questioning look. Harley glances once over her shoulder to Carl and sighs. "Uh-" Shit, how is she supposed to do this? "Just had an interesting conversation with the little man over there."

"Yeah?" Lori asks, crossing her arms over her chest and looking towards her son. The boy looks down after meeting his mother's eyes. "What about?"

"He had this," Reaching behind her, Harley pulls out the gun and shows it to her, and therefore the others around. She sees Shane scoff and turn away while Rick and Lori look at their son in shock and disbelief. "Said he got it from the Rv."

"How the hell did this happen?"

"I think it's my fault," Dale speaks up. "I let him into the Rv. He said he wanted a walkie, that you sent him for one." He nods to Rick.

"So, on top of everything else, he lied?" Lori scoffs and Harley wonders why she's still here. This is a family affair. She's not a part of this family. "What's he thinking?"

"He asked if I'd teach him how to shoot," Harley tells her. "Now, this is none of my business-"

"You got that right," Shane huffs and Harley shoots him a glare to rival his scowl but ignores him otherwise.

"It's none of my business," She repeats while looking between Lori and Rick, her voice a little more tense than before. "But I'd be happy to do it."

"I'm not comfortable with it," Lori says as she looks to her husband but he only sighs, looking off in thought. "Oh, don't make me out to be the unreasonable one here. Rick?"

"I know," Rick starts. "I have my concerns to, but-"

"There're no buts," Lori cuts him off. "He was just shot. He's just back on his feet and we wants a gun?"

"Better than him being afraid of 'em," Harley nods along with Rick in agreement but continues to keep quiet otherwise. She thinks she sees Shane shoot her another look and furrows her brows at the man. "There are guns in camp for a reason. He should learn to handle them safely."

"I don't want my kid walking around with a gun."

"How can you defend that? You can't let him go around without protection."

"He's as safe as he'll ever be right here," Lori says but Harley scrunches up her face and shakes her head. This isn't her business, this isn't her family, this isn't her kid. But all that doesn't stop her from stepping forward.

"Until he's not," All eyes turn to her, and Harley purses her lips, her gaze locked with Lori's. "He's safe with us, in camp. Until he's not with one of us or he's not in camp. Or when camp is no longer safe. Lori- I can't understand what it's like having a child. That need to protect them, for them to be safe at all times. But the truth is he needs to learn, sooner better than later. Because no matter how badly you don't want it to happen, a time will come where he needs to use a gun. And it's your decision now, that decides if he'll be able to or not." Does Harley feel a little bad for putting it like that? Maybe. Does she regret it? Not one bit. Because it's the truth and Lori needs to realize that.

Lori, lips slightly parted, looks between Harley and her son before back to her husband. "She's right," Rick urges her gently. "He's growing up. We've got to start treating him more like an adult."

"Then he needs to act like one," Lori insists. "He's not mature enough to handle a gun."

"I'm not going to play with it, mom," Carl jumps to his feet and marches over to them. "It's not a toy, I know that. I'm sorry I disappointed you, but I want to look for Sophia and I want to defend our camp. I can't do that without a gun."

"You know, I'd be glad to teach him," Shane puts in after no one speaks for a moment and Harley blinks. What?

"Did he ask you?" The question is out of her mouth before she can stop it. Harley looks up from Carl, turning her narrowed eyes onto Shane.

"How many kids Carl's age you teach how to shoot?" He asks her, looping his thumbs through his belt looks and cocking his hip out to the side. Harley doesn't appreciate his condescending tone.

"Maybe not as many as you-" None "But that doesn't mean I'm any less capable." She smiles a forced smile at him, standing her ground. She doesn't take nicely to people undermining her abilities to do something she knows she's good at. "But it's not up to either of us, is it?" She continues before he can and turns back to the boy's parents. "Decide, I'll be around." Turning away from them, Harley tries her best not to limp to badly as she walks away.

Back on her earlier mission to find Glenn, Harley huffs out a breath through clenched teeth. She walks around longer than necessary before finding him. She knows where he is, but she knows it's best to cool off before talking to him. She wouldn't want him thinking she was upset with him. That wouldn't get her anywhere.

"Hey," Turning her head against the tree she's leaning against, Harley offers Rick a tight-lipped smile.

"Hey," She greets back, looking forward again.

"I talked with Lori some more," He tells her and she nods.

"Shane will teach Carl how to shoot," She says for him. She offers him a slightly bigger smile. "No offense taken; I promise. It's probably best me and Shane aren't near each other right now, anyway." Shane is Rick's best friend. She knows that. They've known each other at least since high school. He trusts him with Carl over her any day. She'd suspected as much. "Tell Carl I wish him luck. He'll do great, I know it."

"Thank you," Rick nods but makes no motion to leave. Harley raises her eyebrows at him. "I mean that. Thank you, for everything."

"Oh, I thought we went over this," Harley groans and runs her hands over her face. "You owe me no thanks."

"I do," Rick disagrees. "You saved my boy's life, that's a debt I can never repay."

"What can I say to make you drop this?"

"Nothing," Rick shakes his head with the beginning of a smile. "You're just gonna have to deal with my gratitude." Chuckling along with him, Harley nods. "Lori's too."

"Okay," Harley mumbles. "Just, be grateful silently." Rick laughs loudly at that, and Harley can't help but do the same. "Alright now, go, go teach your boy how to shoot. Have fun. Be safe and all that."

"Okay," Rick nods and starts walking away only to stop and turn back to her. "Thank you." As a response, Harley flips him off, but it only causes him to laugh more before finally leaving her be.

Huffing, Harley shakes her head. Finally calm, she pushes off the tree and makes her way towards Glenn. "Hey, short stack."

"I'm-I'm taller than you," Glenn responds in confusion to her greeting. Harley only shrugs and sits down, motioning for him to do the same.

"Sit, let's chat,"

"Uh, a-about what?" He questions nervously but complies and lowers himself down next to her.

"I was hoping you'd tell me," Harley twist her head to look at him. "Just as I know how to keep a secret, I know what the weight of one looks like. If you don't want to tell me, you don't ha-"

"The barn's full of walkers and Lori's pregnant," Harley freezes when Glenn interrupts her. She blinks at him and shakes her head.

"What?"

"The-the barn-"

"I heard you,"

"Then why'd you ask that?" Harley climbs to her feet instead of answering and starts immediately towards the barn lurking in the distance. It just became much more ominous than it used to be. "Hey, wait!" Glenn reaches out to grab her arm but lets go and steps back at the power behind her glare.

"The barn is full of walkers!?" She whispers shouts to him, sure that her voice is quiet enough not to be overheard. "And you just thought to keep this to yourself? What the hell, Glenn?"

"I-I was- I jus-"

"Explain," Harley bits out over Glenn's stuttering. "Now."

"Maggie says her dad thinks they're sick," Glenn finally manages to say. "That they can be cured."

"Oh, dear lo-okay," Closing her eyes, Harley counts to five and huffs through her nose. "Okay, okay, it's fine, it's fine. Is the barn secure?"

"Yeah," Glenn nods. "Padlocked and everything."

"Well, don't blame me if I want to check for myself," Harley clenches her hands into fists and looks back at the barn. Definitely more ominous than it used to be. "How many inside?"

"Uh, I don't know, two dozen maybe."

"Why couldn't it have just been three?" Harley mumbles to herself. "Or five?"

"You can't say anything," Glenn urges over her mutterings.

"The hell I can't," Harley steps towards him and to her surprise, Glenn does the same.

"You can't! Okay? Maggie will kill me."

"Oh, Glenn," Running a hand down her face, Harley forces herself down. "I think that's the least of our worries right now."

"Please, please, just-wait," The pure fear in Glenn's voice gets Harley to pause. She looks at the young man in front of her and sighs. "Let me have today. To think, to talk to Maggie. Then I'll tell the others."

Chewing her lip, Harley looks from Glenn and back to the barn. "One night. That's it," She stresses. "One night and if you don't, I will tell everyone."

"Thank you," Glenn smiles in relief and reaches forward to squeeze her arm. Harley raises an eyebrow at him and he takes his hand back. "Sorry." Harley expects him to walk away but he doesn't. He shifts on his feet, looking nervous again. "Did you hear what I said about Lori?"

"I don't care about the Lori thing," Total lie, she does. But that's not as pressing as a barn full of walkers. "That's her business."

"Okay, but you're a doctor, so,"

"Not a doctor," Harley reminds him but he huffs and rolls his eyes.

"Basically. You know stuff about...that, though, right?"

Chewing nothing, Harley looks to the side and back to Glenn before nodding. "Yeah, I know stuff about that." Hell, she's never actually delivered a baby before though. Hershel has more experience in that area than she does. With delivering animal babies. Harley can pull a bullet out of someone and stop them from bleeding out but don't ask her to help someone give birth. "Don't worry about that, Glenn. And...thank you for telling me. Sorry for freaking out."

"No, no, it's fine," Glenn shrugs, looking better than he has all day. "Thanks for... for listening."

"Anytime," Harley grins. "You can always talk to me, even if I might freak out a little at first."

"Okay," Glenn chuckles and waves to her before walking away. He glances over his shoulder as if he fears she'll run off and tell everyone as soon as he looks away, but she only stands there.

"Oh, what is today?" Harley asks into her hands when she covers her face with them. She takes a deep breath before starting towards the barn.


"You're supposed to be resting," Harley doesn't look away from the field in front of her when she speaks. She hears Daryl try to stifle his groan as he lowers himself onto the ground next to her and shakes her head softly. "How'd you find me?"

"Carl saw you come this way," He answers, leaning against the same tree as her.

"He's a sneaky one, gotta be careful around him," Harley hums.

"What're ya doing out here?"

"Just needed to think," Glenn was right. There are between two and three dozen walkers in the barn. Harley hadn't stayed long enough to count a specific number. She hadn't wanted them to see her and get all riled up. It seemed secure as well from the outside point of view. Wood planks with chains and padlocks keeping them in. And though she'd said it wasn't her problem, Lori being pregnant, it kind of is. She and Hershel are the closest things to doctors and Harley knows the older man wants them gone.

"Yeah? 'bout what?" Harley sighs heavily at the question, still refusing to look up at him.

"Everything," She eventually settles on. "Just...everything."

"Hm," Daryl nods and chews on his lip, following her gaze out into the seemingly endless field beyond them. "Wanna talk 'bout it?"

"This count as the second session?" Harley jokes with a glance his way. "I don't know if I can afford you."

"I'm sure ya can find a way," A laugh escapes Harley at the joked innuendo and looks up at him. She thinks she sees him blushing but he's shaking his head to himself so she can't quite tell. "Sorry."

"Don't be, that was funny," Got her to laugh, anyway. He always seems to be able to do that, she's realizing. "I needed that."

"You talk to Glenn?"

"Yup," Harley says heavily. "There's just...stuff. Him, Maggie, Lori." She'd promised the boy she wouldn't say anything about the barn. "And I don't even want to know what's going on with Shane."

"He say something to you?" Harley looks back to Daryl when she hears his tone of voice. He sounds...worried and suspicious?

"Not really," She says after a moment, still regarding him with narrowed eyes. "Just got mad over nothing. Why?"

"You know," Daryl narrows his own eyes back at her. "You've seen how he is since Rick got back. He can't have Lori, so he pissed."

"Ah, you know about that too?" Harley hadn't been sure at first but it's really kind of obvious. Or so she thinks. "Should keep an eye on him. I saw the scratches on his neck back at the CDC. He did that in his sleep, my ass."

"Yup," Daryl nods. "Pretty sure he killed Otis too."

"Good, thought I was the only one," Harley sighs in little relief. It's horrible but she'd thought she was starting to see signs that weren't really there. "I've known people like him. Only a matter of time before he snaps."

"Mm-hmm," Daryl hums. "Best steer clear of 'em."

"You're not worried about me, are you?" Harley teases. She bumps his shoulder when he looks down at his lap, smiling. "That's sweet...Big teddy bear."

"Opossum," He immediately throws but Harley only shrugs.

"You know, I think that names growing on me," Daryl snorts and Harley chuckles but the noise dies down quickly. As does her smile. "Hey, Daryl?" The man hums and looks up to meet her gaze. "Can I trust you?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Daryl rakes his eyes over Harley's suddenly serious expression before nodding. "Yeah."

"Do you trust me?" It's not an easy question so Harley doesn't blame him for hesitating.

"Yeah," His voice is much quieter than before but it's all it takes for Harley to know this is the right thing.

"I'm gonna tell you something and you have to promise to keep it to yourself, can you do that?"

"This what's botherin' you?"

"One of the things," Harley mutters and sits up straighter. "Promise you'll stay calm and listen to me, okay?"

"Promise," Daryl lifts his nose in a single nod, all of his attention focused on her.

"It's not about me, it concerns the group. A... possible threat. I-" Clearing her throat, Harley clenches her jaw. She'd told Glenn she wouldn't say anything but...but it's Daryl! It doesn't feel right keeping it from him. "It's fine, I made sure. I just-I can't'- I need-"

"Hey," Reaching out, Daryl grabs Harley's wrists to pull her attention back to him. "What?"

"The-the barns full of walkers," Harley watches closely. Daryl's face is always hard to read but she's getting better at it. His expressions are so minimal, they're hard to see. Being so close helps. "I know, I know," She starts when she sees the moment, he processes her words. "It's okay, they can't get out. And I'm not saying it's okay, it's not. Glenn's gonna tell the group tomorrow."

Reaching over with one of her hands, his own still wrapped around her wrist, she takes his hand and holds it, as if keeping him there with her. "How many?"

"Two, three dozen. I looked but didn't count."

"You went in there?" Daryl asks, his voice taking on an angry tone.

"Though the hayloft, it was safe. They didn't even notice me," She assures him, taking his anger for what she knows it really is. Concern. "The doors are locked uptight, they're not getting out unless we let them out."

Letting go of her wrists, Daryl picks up a stick and throws it away from him in frustration. "Hey, stitches," Harley reminds him with a hand on his shoulder. "You said you trusted me so trust me on this. I had to tell you, but we can't do anything about it, not now. Glenn wants to be the one to tell the others in the morning. We'll all discuss it then."

Daryl doesn't look like he agrees but he eventually nods. "Why'd ya tell me then?"

"Because I trust you," Her statement seems to freeze Daryl. He stops moving, except his eyes shifting across her face as if searching for a lie. "And two people who trust each other shouldn't have secrets. That's not how trust works." Unfrozen now, Daryl clears his throat and looks down at his lap. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Nah," Daryl shakes his head and offers her a small smile. "Just wasn' expecting it."

"What, me trusting you? Why's that so hard to believe?" Still looking down, Daryl shrugs his shoulders. "It shouldn't be. I know it can be sometimes but...I know you. I see you." Ducking her head down, Harley catches Daryl's gaze. "I see you." She repeats. "The person you are. You're one of the good ones. Probably one of the few left in this world. Don't ever doubt that. You're worthy of my trust and everyone else's. Even if they can't see that yet."

Just like when she'd been bandaging his head, Harley stares closely into Daryl's eyes, and he stares back. It reminds her of that moment only the day before. It feels like such a long time ago now. And just like before, Harley is the first to look away while clearing her throat, running her sweaty palms over her pants.

"Well," She chuckles breathlessly. "No need to get all serious about it. I just like you because you're nicer to me than you are to the others." The joke succeeds in breaking whatever tension had built. Daryl scoffs and rolls his eyes while Harley laughs. "Makes me feel special."

"Pft," Darl huffs. "Whatever."

"Tell you a secret?" She glances over at him with a smirk and leans in to whisper. "I'm nicer to you than I am to the others too."

Notes:

Again, was going to move this last scene to the next chapter but didn't. I didn't write this with chapters in mind, just kind of went with it.

I might stop updating everyday and go a few days instead. I haven't decided yet.

'-'

Chapter 12: One Last Bullet

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The camp gives off the allusion of serene the next morning. And maybe it is to those who don't know what's about to happen. Everyone has gathered around, silently eating their breakfast. Harley watches in her chair next to Daryl's. She gauges everyone's mood best she can before turning to meet Glenn's eyes. She gives him a small nod.

"Um, guys," The young man starts nervously. A few of the others glance up at him but quickly focus back on their tasks. "So...The barns full of walkers." That makes everyone freeze and look up at Glenn and in turn the barn behind him.

"Here we go," Harley whispers to Daryl and they both climb to their feet and start towards the barn with all the others.

"You cannot tell me you're alright with this," Shane grumbles to Rick.

"No, I'm not," The former Sheriff says. "But we're guests here. this isn't our land."

"This is our lives!" Shaking her head, Harley turns her back to the others and blows out a deep breath. She laces her fingers together on top of her head and scrunches up her nose. She tunes back in at the mention of Sophia.

"Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility," Shane says in a way that makes her think he couldn't really care less.

"Shane, we're not leaving Sophia behind," Rick is quick to argue.

"I'm close to finding this girl," Daryl steps forward. "I just found her damn doll two days ago."

"You found her doll Daryl," Shane laughs. "That's what you did. You found a doll."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Daryl yells at the man, throwing his arm out in anger.

"I'm just saying what needs to be said," Shane continues to argue with Rick shouting back at him. "And let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction!"

"Shut up!" Harley doesn't know who's saying what anymore. She ignores the loud shouting and rushes towards Shane, shoving him back before much more calmly pushing Daryl back with her hand on his chest. He listens to her and backs away but doesn't take his eyes off Shane as Rick and Lori try to calm him down.

"Now just let me talk to Hershel," Rick begins again. "Let me figure it out.

"What are you gonna figure out!?"

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land."

"Hershel sees those things in here as people," Dale starts and Harley looks at him in surprise. She hadn't known he knew. "His wife, his-his stepson."

"You knew?"

"Yesterday, I talked to Hershel."

"And you waited the night?" Shane accuses angrily.

"I thought we could survive one more night," Dale throws back at him quickly. "We did. I was waiting until this morning to say something, but Glenn wanted to be the one."

"The man is crazy, Rick. If Hershel thinks those things are alive or no-"

"Shane!" Harley flinches back when the barn doors cave out towards them. The moans become easy to hear as everyone stops talking and turns towards the doors, watching the cold dead fingers of those trapped inside try to claw their way out.

They take their 'discussion' away from the barn after that. Like they should've done in the first place. Harley leaves them to it. She doesn't want to be a part of another shouting match, whether she participated in the first one or not. It's not good for her temper.

Speaking of tempters, Carol runs across Harley's path a little while later and tells her Daryl tried to go out. Tried to get back on the same horse that threw him in the first place to go look for Sophia. Harley groans to herself and thanks the woman before going off to find the hunter. She should've kept an eye on him. She should've known he'd be just as upset, if not more than herself after what happened at the barn.

She finds him pacing around the same tree they'd spoken by the day before. He's still clearly angry. Harley bites the inside of her cheek and approaches slowly. He sees her standing there, she knows because he glances at her, but he continues to paces back and forth.

"Carol told me what you said," She starts after a few minutes, trying to keep her own anger in check.

"Yeah? She tells you what she said?" Daryl glares, pointing back towards the farmhouse in the distance.

"She did," Harley nods slowly. "She might not have been right about that, but she was right about you. You can't go out there, not right now. You got impaled with an arrow two days ago. You got shot in the head!"

"M'fine," Daryl grumbles harshly. "I can't just sit around here doin' nothin'."

"I'm not saying do nothing," Harley insists. "I'm saying, don't go out there and get yourself killed! What good would that do anybody, huh? Rick's going out to follow the trail after he talks to Hershel. Hell, I'll go to if it makes you feel better but you're not going anywhere."

"You ain't the boss of me," Daryl growls and steps forward into her space but Harley doesn't back down. She holds her stance and even raises her shoulders against his glare.

"You're right, I'm not," She starts quietly, her breath fanning out across his face. "But you are my patient so I can advise against you doing something. And I'm your friend so I can hope you'll believe me when I say I can't lose you. And if you go out there like you are now, I will."

Harley feels Daryl's own breath when he exhales harshly. It blows the escaped strands of hair out of her face while his eyes scan her hard expression. He huffs and moves back. "You can be angry, you can be pissed, you can be sad," Harley starts again after a moment with a step towards him. "You can yell at me all you want, I'll probably forgive you for it later, but you do not go out there." Turning away before she loses it and shouts some more, Harley calls over her shoulder. "And apologize to Carol!"


The rest of the day is...slow. Impossibly so. After her argument with Daryl, Harley finds somewhere alone to sit down. All the excitement of the day has hurt her ankle. She managed to keep it together in front of the others but once she's alone, she falls to the ground beside the house and leans against the wall.

Rubbing her eyes, Harley runs her hands over her hair before carefully lifting her leg up. She unlaces her boots and carefully removes her shoe with a wince. She's a little reluctant to unwrap it but decides it's necessary in the end. Her ankle is still one giant bruise, but the edges are starting to yellow. The swelling is down but still there. The heat and how much pressure she's applied today has irritated it.

"Hey, you okay?" Harley places her hand over her heart, startled by the voice. "Sorry." Maggie apologizes while walking closer.

"You're good," Harley waves her off. "My fault, I wasn't paying attention."

"That looks bad," Maggie observes with a grimace, and Harley chuckles.

"Better than it was," She tells her.

"You want some ice?"

"That'd be nice, actually," Harley nods. Anything to get the swelling back down. Maggie disappears inside the house and returns a few minutes later with an ice pack and a towel. "Thanks." Harley accepts it before applying it to her ankle. She hisses at the feeling before adjusting and sitting back against the wall.

"Don't be to upset with Glenn," She starts after a moment and pats the ground next to her. Maggie slides down the wall and sits.

"My dad's gonna make you guys leave now,"

"Rick's trying to work something out," It's weak, Harley knows, but what other option do they have? "I don't know your father well, but I think he's a good man. I have to believe he'll make the right decision in the end."

Maggie nods while looking down at her hands in her lap. "Talk to Glenn," Harley continues. "I know you're mad at him but...he's a good guy, truly. He only wanted to protect everyone. Protect you." Maggie glances at her, reading Harley's face before nodding. "Now, go on."

"You okay here?"

"Yeah, I think I'll relax for a bit, you know?" Harley smirks. "Prop my feet up." Maggie herself offers a small grin and a wave before she turns and walks away.

True to her word, Harley stays there. She can't bring herself to feel relaxed, though. It's good for her ankle and she keeps the ice on it until it melts. She rewraps her ankle and puts her boot back on and sits there.

She hears the footsteps this time. Maybe because she wasn't distracted or because she knows them so well. Daryl moves towards her and sits where Maggie once had. He's silent for a couple of minutes but he's the first to speak.

"Ya said you'd probably forgive me," He mumbles, and Harley bites her lips together.

"Hmm, that was just me reluctant to admit it," Harley confesses. "You apologize to Carol?" She looks over to see him nod in answer to her question. "Then we're good."

"Didn't apologize to you," Daryl says and Harley looks back at him. "'M sorry. Shouldn't have said what I said."

"Apology accepted," Harley hums. "We both lost our tempers." It was bound to happen sooner or later. Harley's not fool enough to believe it won't happen again.

"Your ankle okay?" Daryl nods to the melted ice pack on the ground beside her. It's covered in dirt now, Harley will have to clean it before returning it to the freezer.

"It's better now," Harley slowly moves her ankle back and forth, testing her range of motion. "Let's go check on the others, make sure they haven't killed each other." Daryl offers Harley his hand and pulls her to her feet when she accepts it, only letting go once he's sure she's steady.

Rounding the side of the house together, Harley sees Glenn and Maggie sitting next to each other on the steps. So, they made up, good.

Carol is there as well and Andrea and T-Dog approach from the other way. "He went off with Hershel," They hear the blond say when they get closer. "We were supposed to leave a couple of hours ago."

"Yeah, you were, what the hell?" Daryl asks. "Isn't anybody taking this seriously! We've got us a damn trail."

"This can't be good," Harley mumbles and nudges Daryl's arm, nodding towards Shane in the distance when he looks down at her. The man's marching towards him with the bag of guns, one already held in his hands.

"What's all this?" Daryl questions Shane but he doesn't answer, only holds out a gun to Daryl who takes it.

"Time to grow up," He announces to the group, holding Harley's gun out to her. Though she already knows she doesn't agree with whatever he's doing, she takes it.

"Thought we couldn't carry," T-Dog asks while accepting the gun offered to him.

"We can and we have to," Shane responds. "Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't. Can you shoot?"

"Can you stop?" Maggie retorts back. "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

Shane continues to rant. He talks about Hershel having to understand. He tries to give Carl and gun and argues with Lori. But it's all cut short at T-Dogs exclamation.

"Oh, shit," Everyone turns and follows his gaze to see movement at the edge of the forest. It doesn't take long to figure out what it is. Rick with Hershel and Jimmy, leading two walkers out of the woods.

Shane is the first to start towards them. He breaks out into a fast run and the others are quick to follow. Harley keeps up best she can with her ankle but falls towards the back of the group by the time they reach the barn.

"You see what they're holding onto!?"

"I see who I'm holding onto!" Hershel shouts back at Shane but the younger man shakes his head. Harley winces when she steps on her ankle and automatically reaches out for Daryl's arm to steady herself.

"Shane, just let us do this, and then we can talk," Rick tries to reason but it's no use.

"What you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead, ain't got to feel nothing for them cause all they do, they kill!"

"I'm fine," Harley whispers to Daryl when he grabs her arm, looking down at her with concern. "I'm fine." Shane continues to rant. Shouting about the walkers before shooting the woman once in the chest. Three times. Then three more times and three more.

"Shane, enough!"

"Yeah, you're right man, that is enough," Striding over smoothly, Shane delivers one last bullet to the walker's brain and she falls to the ground by Hershel's feet. "Enough, risking our lives for a little girl who's gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us! Enough! Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now, if y'all want to live, if y'all want to survive, you go to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now!"

"Shane, don't!" Harley yells but her voice is drowned out by Rick and Lori screaming and Shane taking the locks off the barn doors. He bangs on them a few times before backing away and pulling his gun.

The walkers emerge. One before the rest follow. Most of those with guns run up to the front line and start shooting. "Rick?" Harley calls to the man, looking at him in question. He regards her a moment before nodding.

Lifting her weapon, Harley shoots the walker he's holding onto before limping to join the line of others firing at the dead. The next few minutes are filled with the sound of deafening gunshots. Harley hasn't heard that much gunfire in a long time. She tries not to let it get to her and focuses on aiming instead.

And just as it started, it ends. The last walker falls to the ground and all Harley can hear at first is ringing in her ears. The sound of breathing comes back next. Her own, the others. Crying. Someone behind her is crying. Harley starts to turn but stops when she hears another groan. She lifts her gun on instinct but drops it quickly after.

Two, short, skinny legs carry a small body out of the barn. Carol screams from behind them and rushes forward, calling out to her daughter, but Daryl grabs her around the waist, stopping her. They both fall to the ground.

Harley's breath escapes her in one. She doesn't look away from the girl. She'd known this was a possibility. That'd they'd find her but not alive. She hadn't accepted it, but she knew it was a likely outcome. She never imagined it happening like this though.

Taking a deep breath, Harley refills her lungs and blinks the tears from her eyes before checking her gun. One bullet left. How oddly poetic.

Harley's seen kids die before, on the other side of battle. Doesn't matter who they were, they were still children. It doesn't make it easier, but she does snap out of her shock before any of the others.

"Don't look, okay?" She bends down and whispers to Carol, momentarily blocking her view. "Don't look." She's surprised at how calm her own voice sounds. Steady like a rock stuck solid in the ground with water rushing around it. Unmovable against the heavy weight pushing against it. She does feel like there's a heavy weight on her, but she moves forward anyway.

She barely feels her ankle, but she knows she's limping. Harley moves past the others slowly as Sophia, what once was Sophia, moves towards her. She stops just outside the line of dead walkers and raises her gun, waiting until she feels the girl's head press against the barrel before pulling the trigger.

Notes:

...Tempers will rise next chapter.

'-'

Chapter 13: Loss

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The sound of the last gunshots seems to echo on forever. The only other noise is Carol's wailing cries, but she soon pushes herself up and away from Daryl before running away.

Beth is crying. Harley doesn't realize that's who it is until she sees the girl rush past her and falls to the ground next to one of the walkers. Her mother, it must be. Poor girl.

Then Beth is screaming. Harley drops her empty gun before she really knows what she's doing, and rushes over despite the pain shooting through her ankle. She removes her knife and grabs the walker's hair in one move. She rips the corpse away from Beth and drives her blade into its skull, killing it once and for all.

Standing tall, Harley inhales sharply as Jimmy grabs Beth and leads her to the house with Hershel and Maggie. Shane follows after them, shouting and Rick chases. Harley limps into the barn and finds an old blanket and carries it out, carefully laying it over Sophia's body.

She finally feels the pain again when she tries to stand. She falters a little and winces but manages to stand just as Daryl reaches her side. "I'm good," She holds up a hand to him, her voice coming off harsher than she meant for it too. She clears her throat and looks around at the bodies. "We need to clean this up. Burry the bodies. Burn them."

"You're not," Daryl shakes his head and Harley's eyes snap up to his face. "Not on that ankle, come on." She's going to protest but shifts her weight a little do much. Her ankle gives out and if it weren't for Daryl holding her up, she would've fallen. "Don't be stubborn now, let's go."

Leaning on him, Harley follows Daryl away from the barn and towards camp. She feels tired but her body is buzzing with energy at the same time. On the walk up, she focuses on her breathing, trusting Daryl to guide her when she closes her eyes. She doesn't know how many times she counts to five before they reach the RV.

He helps her inside and to the seat across her Carol who sits, staring out the window. Daryl glances at her before lifting himself onto the counter. And there they sit together in silence until Lori comes to tell them it's time.

"Come on," She prompts gently when Carol shakes her head.

"Why?"

"Cause that's your little girl," Daryl reminds her softly.

"That's not my little girl," Carol denies. "That's some other...thing. My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought...She didn't cry herself to sleep. She didn't go hungry, she didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago."

Lori leaves after a moment without another word. Harley releases a shaky breath and stares across the table at the other woman. "Carol-"

"Don't," She cuts her off, and Harley purses her lips. "Just...don't."

Daryl jumps to his feet. Harley looks up at him and reads the growing anger on his face. He felt the most responsible out of all of them for finding Sophia. Harley had never asked him why, she wasn't sure if he even really knew the reason. And now, after all this time, finding out she'd been dead since-

Harley pushes herself to her feet with him and limps outside. Though he's silent about it, Daryl helps her make her way back down to the barn where most everyone is gathered around three graves.

No words make their way out of anyone's mouth. They only stand in silence, quietly grieving for those lost before everyone splits off.

Regardless of the pain, Harley moves away on her own. Or so she'd thought.

"The hell you going?" Daryl barks at her and quickly moved to catch up. It's not hard, she's not moving very quickly.

"I need a minute," She answers just as hotly. "Kind of hard to have with a shadow following you around."

"You stupid? Wandering off with your leg like that. You tryin' to get yourself killed?"

"When did I become your problem?" Harley stops dead in her tracks and turns to him. "Huh? I don't know if you're aware, but I'm not helpless. Even with a bum ankle. So, I don't appreciate being treated like it."

"Fine! Go off on your own, see if I care!" Daryl yells at her and throws his arm out in the direction she had been walking.

"Fine!" Harley throws her own arms up in the arm and watches Daryl stalk off. She spins around and, in an angry haze, punches the tree next to her. "Fuck." Harley lowers her voice before it can become a shout and cradles her left hand in her right.

Mouth open, Harley pants and looks down at her throbbing hand. Her knuckles are split and bleeding. They'll be bruised by morning, probably swollen too. Biting her lips closed, Harley breaths through the pain and scrunches up her nose.

"Stop being a child, Harley," The woman whispers to herself while sliding down the same tree she'd punched until her butt hits the ground. "The hell is wrong with you?" The force of the punch helped dull her anger, but the newfound pain only annoys her. She feels hot and she wants to punch something else. She would if she didn't know it'd only make things worse.

"Harley!" Turning when her name is called, Harley pushes herself to her feet when Lori rushes to meet her. "Beth collapsed."

"What?"

"I don't know," Lori says and offers her a helping hand. "I think she's in shock."

"Take me to her," Ignoring the help, Harley limps beside Lori all the way up to the house and into Beth's room. She's lying on the bed, unmoving and staring up at the ceiling. Maggie sits beside her, holding her hand but Harley ignores the older girl.

"Beth?" She whispers to the teenager and sits on the edge of the bed beside her.

"She's not responding," Maggie says in a shaky voice.

"She's definitely in shock," Harley holds the girl's wrist, her fingers pressed against her pulse point. "Her hearts racing." Brushing some of Beth's hair back, Harley looks up to Lori. "Hershel?"

"We can't find him," She shakes her head. "We think he went into town."

"Great," Harley mumbles sarcastically. "Find Patricia, tell her to get me an I.V and a sedative."

"Sedative?" Maggie questions after Lori leaves to do as she was told.

"It'll help her body and mind relax a bit," Harley assures her. "The I.V will keep her hydrated, but... other than that, it's up to her. You can stay with her, talk to her. It'll be good, she can hear you."

Patricia finds her way into the room a few minutes later. She helps hang the I.V while Harley inserts the needle into the crook of Beth's elbow before taping it down. She measures out the sedative and gives it to Beth before standing.

"What happened to your hand?" Maggie asks in shock when she finally looks away from her sister and notices.

"Nothing," Harley shakes her head and covers her bloody knuckles with her good hand.

"I'll get you some bandages," Patricia says calmly before leaving the room once more. Harley sighs before falling into the chair across from her. Closing her eyes, she leans her forehead against her good hand and closes her eyes.

"You alright?" Maggie questions softly and Harley only nods in response.

Patricia returns quickly and cleans Harley's hands for her and wraps it in gauze. Harley thanks her quietly before the older woman once again leaves the room.

The sun sets quickly, and Harley doesn't move from that chair except to check Beth's vitals. The sedative kicked in quickly, sending her into a light sleep. Her heart rate has come down and Harley covers her with a blanket when she feels her skin becoming cold.

Maggie heads down to dinner eventually but Harley doesn't. She told the eldest Greene that she would stay and watch her sister. She'll eat later, she promised. It's one she doesn't plan on keeping.

A little while later, Maggie returns looking a little frantic. "Lori went into town to find Rick and the others."

"Why the hell?" Harley questions and pushes herself to her feet. She knew Lori wasn't the smartest, but she never took her to be an idiot either. It would appear that she was wrong.

"Shane went after her," Maggie informs Harley and gestures her back down. "Please sit, your ankle-"

"Is fine-"

"It's not!" Maggie insists loudly. Harley blinks at the sudden change in the younger woman and cocks her head to the side. "It's not fine," Maggie says again, much more calmly. "There's nothing you can do now, so just-just sit."

"Okay," Harley holds up her hands in surrender and does just that. "Didn't know you had that in you." She says after a moment.

"I've been surprising myself a lot lately," The young woman huffs and falls onto the bed next to her sister.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Shane returns with Lori thirty minutes later. Harley limps into the living room and sits on the couch beside the woman, a pin light shining into her eyes. "No concussion," She determines. "Just some cuts and bruises, you'll be fine."

"And the baby?" Shane asks from the doorway and Harley resists the urge to roll her eyes.

"It's too early to tell anything without proper equipment. Any pain in your abdomen?" She asks Lori while lightly pressing against her stomach and the woman shakes her head.

"No,"

"Okay, good. Just be cautious about that. Let me know if you feel anything abnormal, okay? Any pain or bleeding."

"Yes, thank you," Lori offers her a grateful smile. "How's Beth?"

"She's fine, resting." Harley glances at Shane and back to Lori suspiciously. "Which is what you should be doing. For the rest of the night, okay? And the next few days."

"Yes, doctor," Lori chuckles but Harley tuts at her.

"Not a doctor," Pushing herself to her feet, Harley ruffles Carl's hair as she passes and makes her way into the spare room she once slept in. She just needs to be away from the others and it's the only place she could think of nearby.

Carol finds her eventually, sitting there, staring out the window. She tells her about Daryl's behavior and Harley feels a stab of guilt. If she hadn't let herself get angry, she wouldn't have snapped at him. If she hadn't snapped, maybe she could've...maybe he wouldn't be so angry.

"I'll talk to him in the morning, give him time to cool off," She promises the woman with a thankful smile. It's best this way, she knows. She's used to bouts of anger like that, and it was always best she was left alone for some time. It prevented her from saying and doing things she knows she would've regretted.

The sun rises and Harley hasn't slept. She's not sure who has. Hopefully Lori and Carl but she doubts it. They're probably both up still, worrying about Rick.

As she's said, Haley stands when she sees Daryl outside through the window the next morning. He's with Shane and Andrea, getting ready to go into town after the others but by the time Harley reaches the porch, their car is pulling up.

The reunions between the others are quick. Before Harley even gets to look Daryl's way, she's being pulled into the shed to help perform surgery on some kid's leg. Randell, Glenn told them was his name. A kid from a group of men who shot at them. Harley is a little foggy on the details.

Once she, Hershel, and Patricia finish with the boy, they return to the house to join the discussion. Not much is said, not enough anyway, before everyone's splitting off again. Harley sees Daryl shove his way out the door and follows.

"Hey," She calls out to him as she hobbles down the stairs. He stops, clearly reluctantly, and turns halfway to face her. She waits until she's a few feet away before speaking again. "I'm sorry, I'm an asshole when I'm angry," He gives her an agreeing look and Harley points to him. "And so are you, so don't start. It's gotten me into a lot of trouble before and I'm sure it will again." Stuttering over nothing, Harley looks off to the side and sighs. "I am sorry. And...well, I like being your problem." A smile slowly pulls her lips up when Daryl looks down at her with narrowed eyes.

"Ain't no problem," He eventually says.

"Good to know," Harley continues to grin. He doesn't return the motion, but he doesn't look angry. She'll take what she can get. "Rick wants to talk to me a bit more about when the kid will be ready to travel, but after that, I'm going to come to find you. We're gonna talk, okay?"

"'Bout what?"

Releasing a measured breath, Harley looks to her left before back to him. "You offer to listen to me, I'm offering to listen to you. Or to just sit, not say anything," She shrugs. "I know you moved your tent away. You can be there when I come by, or you cannot be there. Your choice." Without waiting for a response, Harley leaves to find Rick.


Harley thinks Daryl chose not to be there when she finally makes it to his new camp sight. Near the same tree they spoke under just the other day. The same one he'd gone to after arguing with Carol. Sighing, Harley shifts her weight solely onto her good leg. Her ankle will never heal at this rate.

"What happened to your hand?" Harley looks down at her bandaged hand before glancing over at Daryl. He doesn't look at her, just continues to tend to things around the camp. It's a nervous habit, though he'd never admit it. An excuse to avoid possible confrontation.

"A tree got caught in the crossfire of my anger," She answers truthfully. No secrets, after all. She'd made that promise and it's one she intends on keeping. "Just like those rabbits did yours, it would seem."

Lowering herself onto the ground in front of a fallen log, Harley leans back against it and rests her ankle. She watches him move around silently and waits. She'd offered an ear to listen or just a presence, his choice. Patients is key with him, she knows.

"I'm not going to tell you how you feel. How you should feel. It-" Harley speaks some minutes later. She doesn't mind silence, loves it usually. But she feels something here that needs to be...spoken. She sees Daryl's movements slow, so she knows he's listening to her. She stares at the side of his face, willing him to turn and meet her eyes. "But I will ask that you don't push us away because of it. Don't push me away."

Finally stopping whatever the hell it was he was even doing, Daryl stands in thought before moving to sit beside her. He doesn't say anything for the longest time and when he finally does respond, it's not with words.

Reaching out slowly, Daryl takes Harley's injured hand and pulls it to himself. He unwraps the loose bandage and gently runs his thumb over the cuts and bruises. Harley lets him do all this with a soft smile on her face.

Seemingly satisfied, Daryl takes the bandages and rewraps her hand securely. Before he can let her go, Harley turns her hand and grabs onto his own. He turns to look down at her, but Harley just stares forward.

"How do ya-..." Daryl trails off, his voice quiet and gravely. Harley turns her head towards him to see he's looking down at their hands.

"Calm down so quickly?" She takes a guess at what he's trying to ask and he nods. She smiles a little before answering. She's getting better at reading him. "Lots of counseling, lots of therapy. Learned techniques to calm myself down," Inhaling deeply, Harley decides to add a joke to break the serious tension of the conversation. "Or I punch something."

Daryl huffs and rolls his eyes, squeezing her hand a little tighter in his. "I always refused meds," She continues. "Now I'm glad I did. It's not always so easy, sometimes it's harder than others. But usually, I can snap myself out of it with a good distraction. I have breathing exercises. Uh, the one that I found works best for me is counting to five, in my head or out loud. Give myself a moment to think before acting. And if I can't do that then I just need to walk away. Stay away from whatever's causing me that anger until I've calmed down."

Pausing, Harley looks up into Daryl's eyes. "I can teach you some things, if you want," Chewing his lip, Daryl sweeps his eyes over her face before nodding. "Okay." Smiling a proud smile, Harley pats Daryl's hand.

Notes:

Part of that feels a little off but I do love this part. It's a very important moment in their relationship, as you'll see in chapters to come.

Harley and Daryl's little fight was lowkey childish, but I love it.

Keep you eyes out for the next chapter, it's one of my favorites! We learn something about Harley and super cute moments. It's a hurt/comfort type of chapter.

'-'

Chapter 14: Weight Of the Past

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The next week passes. Harley keeps busy while trying to keep off her ankle as much as possible. She looks after Randell and checks in on Beth but there's not much else for her to do.

Lori won't accept her help with any chores, saying she needs to stay off her leg. She takes a few watch shifts but stops after the first day when she dozed off. Luckily, Glenn came only minutes later to relieve her from her post. She scared the poor kid half to death when he placed his hand on her shoulder only to receive the barrel of a rifle in his face.

The dreams aren't any better. Some nights are worse than others but she's not sleeping. After the shootout at the barn, gunshots and screams are all she hears when she closes her eyes. The faces of the dead come back to haunt her is what she sees. And not those of walkers.

After the incident with Glenn, and many apologies on her part, she decides to stay with Daryl. It wasn't really a conscious decision, but she's already spending a lot of time with him, teaching him little techniques for controlling his anger every day. He gets frustrated if she stays on the subject for too long. Even if he's the one who asked her to do it in the first place.

While she helps him with his tempter, he helps her with her nightmares. There's nothing he can do to make them go away, she knows that. But he's always there when she wakes from one and can't sleep. Or just can't sleep in general. It's a really long week.

Maybe that's what she's a little more snappish than usual. Running on a week of little to no sleep. Her appetite disappeared a little while ago as well. She got good at covering these things long before the world went to shit. And she's trying now but Harley doesn't think she can keep it hidden like before, not much longer, anyway. It was different before, she was different. Everything's different.

Beth is suicidal. Harley shouldn't be surprised after how the girl reacted to her mother's death. It's a tough thing, no one expected her to just snap back from it. And Andrea's gotten on her nerves for a long time now, she should've just left well enough alone. Let Maggie talk to her sister, leave them be. But no, she had to sit in the kitchen with Lori and the barbie talk.

"You shouldn't have taken the knife away," Harley blinks when the words leave Andrea's mouth. She stays silent and stares forward but Lori is the one to respond.

"Excuse me?"

"You were wrong," Andrea shrugs. "Like Dale taking my gun. That wasn't your decision." Harley scoffs quietly to herself and shakes her head in disbelief. "She has to choose to live on her own. She has to find her own reasons.'

"She can't find her reasons if she's dead," Harley all but growls at Andrea, turning her head to glare at the woman. She'd known she was stupid, but really? She can't be serious.

"She only has so many choices in front of her, and she believes the best one is suicide," Andrea's level, calm tone of voice only serves to further anger Harley.

"That's not an option," Lori chimes back in while Harley climbs back to her feet. She can't sit down anymore, her body is shaking. But she keeps her hands planted firmly on the table to prevent one from making its way harshly onto Andrea's face.

"Of course, it is," The blond argues. "She doesn't need to be yelled at or treated like a child."

"She is a child," Harley snaps. "A child who just lost her mother, a child who just realized the world will never be the same again. She's sad, she's scared, she depressed. She doesn't need a loaded gun right now, she needs comfort from her family."

"You don't know what it's like," Andrea shakes her head softly and looks down. This time Harley feels something physically snap inside of her. Her face twitches and her eyes darken.

"The hell did you just say to me?" There must be something in her voice, or maybe it's the murderous glare on her face because both Andrea and Lori seem to freeze in their places. "I have seen and done more shit than your little mind could possibly comprehend. And I got low. I put a gun in my mouth, my finger was on the trigger, but someone stopped me. And I was mad, I was pissed that he took that from me. But I have been grateful to him every day since for what he did. I thought there was nothing left, but because someone stopped me...I got to realize that there was."

Harley doesn't realize she's moved to stand right in front of Andrea, nearly towering over the woman until she stops for a breath. Her hands are clenched into fists by her side, so tightly that her nails bite into her skin "So don't ever tell me that I don't know what it's like." Hitting the cabinet next to her head, Harley relishes in the way Andrea flinches before she storms past her and outside.

The screen door slams loudly behind her. Harley ignores it. Or rather she doesn't hear it over the blood rushing through her ears. She marches forward, unaware of where she's going until she can't travel any further. She paces back and forth, her hands rising to grip the sides of her hair. It takes her until then to realize she can't breathe.

Hands are on her wrists, pulling her hands away from her head. Daryl's there. Harley sees him but she can't hear him over her own hyperventilating. His mouth is moving, she tries to focus on that as one of his hands goes to the back of her neck.

Eventually, she realizes he's couching her through the breathing exercise she taught him. And they work. If she wasn't coming down from a panic attack, she would feel proud.

Panting, Harley sags forward when she comes back to herself, feeling exhausted. She leans her forehead against Daryl's chest and feels him tense but can't bring herself to move. Soon enough, he relaxes and runs his hand up her neck and into her hair.

"What's that about?" It's not the first time he's calmed her down from an episode but it's the first time she's reacted like that without waking from a nightmare. She doesn't blame him for wondering.

"A bad..." Harley trails off and takes a deep breath, keeping her face down. "A bad memory I buried a long time ago got brought back to the surface, is all."

"Some memory."

"Yeah," Harley huffs. "More like a chain of them." Lifting her hand, she lightly knocks it against his shoulder before forcing herself upright. "I'm good, just needed a minute."

"Ya need to sleep," Daryl urges, his hand shifting to cup her cheek, his thumb running over the bags under one of her eyes. "Can't keep going like this."

"Can't stop it, either," Harley argues. "Getting out, coming home before, it's what helped most. Not seeing all that...but now the world is that. People dying, getting hurt. Actual monsters wandering around. There's no escape anymore."

"Hey-"

"Harley!" Lori's voice cuts Daryl off unintentionally. Harley turns her head towards the woman best she can with Dary's hand still resting against her cheek and neck. "It's Beth, we need you." Lori continues after glancing between the two of them quickly.

"Okay," Nodding, and in a move she doesn't recognize until after she's done it, Harley kisses the inside of Daryl's wrist before following after Lori into the house.

Beth is crying in Maggie's arms, a towel wrapped tightly around her wrist. Maggie's eyes are red but she's not crying, she looks more angry than sad. Harley quickly gathers the medical supplies and sets to stitching up Beth's wrist. The eldest Greene daughter leaves with Lori to find their father. She'd wanted to get it fixed before bringing him into it. She doesn't want to scare him more than she has to.

"I'm sorry," Beth apologizes out of the blue when Harley's halfway done. She pauses and glances up at the teenager. "I thought-..."

"It's okay," Harley assure her with a comforting smile. "I get it, I do." Beth looks up from Harley's hands and meets her eyes. "Mine just didn't leave a scar." Not a physical one, at least.

Hershel arrives in time to check Harley's work - Harley isn't offended, it is his daughter, after all - before she wraps Beth's wrist with gauze. Harley leaves father and daughter be and steps outside just in time to see Maggie tell Andrea to stay away from them. She almost claps.

Instead, Harley pats Maggie's shoulder as she passes her by. The young woman offers her a grateful smile before making her way back inside to be with her sister and father. Lori's looking at her, Harley can see from the corner of her eyes, but she doesn't let her know that she knows.

"Are you okay?" Harley almost scoffs at the question. She opens her mouth to answer but stops herself. Though she appreciates Lori's concern, she almost wishes she'd just left her to be. After what happened in the kitchen earlier...She feels weak, for admitting what she did. She doesn't like that they know that about her now. It was one of her least proud moments. One of her lowest. One she'd wanted to forget about and never wanted another soul to know about.

Harley's' eyes land on Daryl, standing by the group's camp. He's leaning against a tree, already looking at her, rolling a twig between his fingers. Harley meets his eyes and answers without looking away. "I will be."

Moving down the stairs, Harley swipes at an itch on her nose and walks over to Daryl. She moves past him, her hand coming up to slide over his arm and he pushes off the tree, following behind her.

They walk silently back to camp. Harley realizes how much that bothers her then. She wonders if it always has, and she just ignored it or it's just starting to bother her now. She likes the space offered from the others, but it goes against what she's been telling him about not distancing himself. She'll discuss moving back with him later, but now...

"Can I ask you for something?" Harley spins around to look at him. He blinks at her quick movement but nods anyway. "And you can say no, it's fine," Harley assures. "...Can I have a hug?" Daryl's eyebrows immediately furrow, and he starts to shift on his feet. He's put an arm over her shoulders, she's leaned into him before. But they've never actually hugged. Not really. "It's just, I feel like I can't catch my breath and...I haven't had a hug in a long time."

Regarding her a moment, Daryl seems to consider before he nods, lowering his crossbow to the ground. He's ready when Harley moves towards him, her arms going up to circle around his neck. His own wrap around her waist and he squeezes her to him. Harley sniffs and closes her eyes against the sudden tears she feels building in them.

Gripping the back of his vest, Harley buries her face in his neck and inhales deeply. She's conflicted. Where she feels a weight shifting off her shoulders, she also feels a lump building in her throat. She's scared she'll start sobbing any second now and she doesn't even know why. It's a lie, she does know.

Harley pulls back before her emotions can get the better of her. She sniffs and wipes her eyes, smiling gratefully up at him but doesn't hold his gaze for long. Instead, she looks down at the ground to her feet. Or, she tries to. Two fingers under her chin lift her head back up, forcing her to look at Daryl and the worried crease between his brows.

"I'm ok-" She stops her already whispered voice when she feels it breaking. She lifts a hand to cover her mouth, stopping the cry she knows was trying to escape. A few tears finally fall from her eyes no matter how many times she tries to blink them away. She doesn't feel like herself then. Not like the thirty-year-old retired combat medic on her way to becoming a doctor before the world ended. No, she feels like a damaged woman with too many cracks to be worth fixing. She feels like a heavy blanket being held together by very few thin strings and those strings are about to break and take her with them.

A hand slides into her hair and Daryl brings her back to him. But this time he's not hugging her, he's holding her. Cradling her head to his chest while Harley finally stops trying to stand up tall and lets herself fall into him. She doesn't fight the sobs, doesn't hold back the tears. She buries her face in his shirt, gripping it in her fists, and just cries.

Daryl for his part stands strong, one hand running through her hair while the other wraps around her back, holding her close. Harley thinks he's the only thing keeping her on her feet.

He stays there, patiently until she's calmed down enough to move. They eventually find themselves on the ground in front of the log, leaning back against it while staring at the small fire before them.

Daryl still has an arm around her, his wrist turned so he can play with her hair. Harley's starting to think he finds the action just as comforting as she does. Her head rests against his shoulder, her puffy eyes drooping.

"Tell me a story," Harley whispers into the silence a while later, her voice hoarse.

"'Bout what?"

"Anything," Harley mumbles leaning a little further into him. He's just so warm, she doesn't know how it's possible.

And so, Daryl does. He tells her whatever he can think of. Stupid stuff that makes her chuckle and scrunch up her nose. Stuff that distracts her, gets her mind off everything. And there, on the hard ground with his arm around her, Harley falls asleep to the sound of his voice.


Daryl keeps talking even after he feels Harley's breathing even out. His voice is soft and quiet, mumbling in time with his fingers still moving through her hair. He's never been one to talk but it'd be a lie if he said it didn't feel nice to just talk every once and a while. Get things out, even if they're not important.

Finally trailing off, Daryl looks from the fire embers and down at the woman sleeping against him. It baffles him, he can't quite figure out why she finds comfort in him above all people. He thinks it's because they're alike in some ways. Most ways. They share a temper, that's for sure, she's just much better at controlling hers than he is his. But she's helping him. He's learned in the past week that she has the patients of a saint. She has to, to put up with him.

He's never had anyone be like this with him, not really. There was Merle, and he knows his brother tried but then he left, joined the military. He was different when he came back but Daryl knows he cared for him. Just didn't show it all too well. But it's different with Harley. She shows him that she cares, straight up tells him sometimes. She's comfortable with him, trusts him, and in turn, he's the same with her. And he's worried.

She hasn't been sleeping much the past week, ever since the barn. Nightmares plague her mind whenever she tries to close her eyes and the images have caused her to deny food. He's made sure she's eaten something every day but it's not enough. He's not enough for her. So, he needs to be better.

Harley tells him how much therapy helped her. He's no shrink but he knows how to listen. He'll continue to listen, offer his ear and even his shoulder to cry on. That had surprised him. He knows it shouldn't have, but it had. He hasn't seen her be anything other than calm and angry. It was only a matter of time before something else happened. And though he discovered that he hates seeing her cry like that, he's glad it happened. He thinks it'll do her good. She is sleeping now, after all.

The fire dies down even more over the time he sits there. The moon is shining down brightly, providing more than enough light for him to see. But he knows he shouldn't stay there all night, neither should Harley. But he can't wake her, no way.

Shifting slowly, Daryl slides his free arm under Harley's knees and pulls her to him. It's not hard, she's just about lying on top of him anyway, her hand clenching his shirt. That doesn't make his heartbeat a little funny. It doesn't. Taking a breath, Daryl slowly lifts her into his arms and releases it when she doesn't wake.

The tent is already open. He carefully ducks inside and places Harley onto her cot. When he tries to move away, he can't. Daryl doesn't know how she can still have such a tight grip in her sleep, but Harley still hasn't let go of his shirt.

Lifting his own hands to hers, Daryl gently pries her fingers open and sets her arm by her chest before covering her with a blanket. She shifts in her sleep, scrunching up her nose before relaxing. Daryl moves to his own cot after a moment's hesitation. He settles onto his back and turns his head to study Harley's sleeping face. It's not often he sees her look so peaceful. Even when she's calm, there's always this look in her eyes. Like she can't stop thinking. That there's something she can't quite put away. If he had to describe the look in one word, he'd say haunted.

Reaching across the space between them, Daryl lightly presses under Harley's fingers with his own. His lips turn up on their own accord when her hand twitches, tightening around his. Out of the techniques for calming himself she's taught him so far, nothing has worked quite as well as when she holds his hand. Daryl's decided already not to think about it. He did for a while but it just gave him a headache, so he's stopped and just accepted it for what it is.

He likes being near her. Likes that she likes to be near him. He's never sought out another's presence like he does hers. He never had friends growing up, it was just him and Merle through it all. He knew people, sure, but they didn't care about him, so he didn't care about them. Simple as that.

But Harley isn't like that. She cares and so does he. And though it scares the hell out of him, he likes caring. It's a nice change. He's never had friends before but now he has one and he'll do anything not to lose that.

Notes:

Well, that got deep for a second. Did any of you suspect?

Also, Harley for sure has to stand on her toes to hug Daryl like that.

We had a little more of Daryl's POV. How do you guys like those bits?

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

'-'

Chapter 15: How We View the World

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"How many in your group?" Shane and Rick returned late the night before, Randell still with them. The drop went south, they didn't give details, but Harley figured it was obvious. What with both their faces bloodied and bruised as well as their knuckles.

The sound of a knife being unsheathed has Harley looking up. She's leaned against the far wall in the shed, her arms crossed over her chest. Daryl hadn't wanted her in there, had fought to keep her out but she'd convinced him eventually. Telling him that she would be there in case things got out of hand. "You know I trust you," She had whispered to him. "What I don't trust is what he's going to say and how you'll react to it. I'll stay back, but I will be there."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, come on, man," Randell begs.

"How many!?" Daryl surges forward and stabs the knife into the ground beside Randell's leg. It isn't the first time Harley's seen someone tortured before. Or the aftermath. It's not new to her. That doesn't mean she enjoys it but she knows sometimes you have to do things you don't want or like.

"Uh, thirty, thirty guys," Randell answers.

"Where?"

"Uhh..." Randal hesitates again but yelps when Daryl rips the bandage off his leg. "I don't know, I swear! We never stayed any place more than one night."

"Scouting? Planning on staying local?"

"I-I don't know, they- they left me behind!"

"You ever pick off a scab? Start real slow at first, but sooner or later you just gotta rip it off!"

"Okay, okay," Randell pants. "They-they have weapon's...heavy stuff, automatics. But I didn't do anything!"

"Your boys shot at my boys, tried to take this farm," Daryl argues. "You just went along for the ride? You're tryin' to tell me your innocent?"

"Yes!" Randal shouts. "Th-these people, they took me in. Not just guys, a-a whole group of 'em. Men and woman-kids too, just like you people." Pushing himself off the ground, Daryl stands, hovering over the boy as he talks. "I thought I'd have a better chance with them, you know? But..."

Harley looks over at the boy again when he trails off. She narrows her eyes, waiting. "We go out, scavenge- just the men," Uncrossing her arms, Harley breathes through the way her stomach sinks. "One night we-we found this little campsite. A man and his two daughters. Teenagers, you know? Real young, real cute," Randell's eyes flicker through the shadows to her. Harley continues to glare but her view of the boy is blocked when Daryl steps in front of her.

"Their daddy had to watch, while these guys - they...and they didn't even kill them afterward. They just- they made him watch," Harley's always prided herself on having a hard stomach. Not much can make her sick but when a wave of nausea washes over her, she has to stop herself from covering her mouth.

"As his daughters-...they just-just left him there. No, but-but I didn't touch those girls. No, I swear, I didn't-" Randell is cut off when Daryl kicks him in the leg. The kid falls further onto the ground and continues to cry and beg but Harley ignores him. Daryl turns to her for the first time since they entered the shed and she meets his eyes.

Randell may say he didn't do anything, and maybe he didn't, Harley doesn't know. But what she does know is the look she saw in his eyes when he talked about what happened. It's a look she recognizes. One she's seen before.

Resolve hardening, Harley recrosses her arms over her chest and leans further back into the wall. Accepting her response, Daryl turns around and delivers another kick to Randell's leg before bringing his fist down onto his jaw.

A couple of minutes later when they step out of the shed, Harley squints her eyes at the sudden change in lighting. Daryl nudges her out first and turns to lock the door behind them. Harley glances back after a couple of seconds. It doesn't take that long to snap a lock shut.

"Let me see," She says softly and he turns to her but doesn't look at her. Sighing, Harley grabs his arm and leads him a few feet away before lifting his worst hand into her own. "Busted them up pretty good. I'll have to get some bandages from the house."

"Nah, S'fine," Daryl tries to shrug it off but Harley just gives him a blank look.

"Tell me that when you get an infection," Reaching around him, she grabs the rag she knows to always be in his pocket and uses that to clean the blood from his hands. "That'll do until we talk to the others."

Daryl nods and goes to walk past her, but Harley stops him and turns him back to her with her hands on his arm. "You good?"

"Are you?" He questions back instead of answer and Harley pulls her lips into a thin line. She looks back but not quite at the shed and cups his hand between her own.

"I asked first," She retorts and Daryl scoffs.

"I asked second, so what?" Harley chuckles lightly but when she looks up at him, she turns serious once more.

"I really need you to answer my question," Twisting his hand in hers, Daryl grabs onto her hand and nods. "Good." Leaning down, Harley places a kiss to his knuckles before releasing him and moving back towards the others.

Harley lets Daryl relay the information to the group. She stands strongly beside him throughout, watching Rick after he says his final words. "It's settled. We'll do it tonight." He stalks off with Dale following after him before anyone else can speak.

Thunder rolls in the distance as everyone splits off. Harley finds her way inside and grabs something to clean the cuts on Daryl's hands but doesn't bother with the bandages. He won't wear them long even if she does put them on there. As long as he keeps them clean, he'll be fine.

She checks in on Beth before leaving. She's there and figures she might as well. The girl is in better spirits, even gives Harley a genuine smile. Harley leaves quickly enough, allowing the girl to get some more rest.

Harley finds Daryl at camp. She makes him sit down while she cleans his hands thoroughly. Maybe more so than needed. Maybe she's stalling for...something. Or maybe she just likes holding his hands.

And that's where Dale finds them a few minutes later. Harley sighs at the older man before he even speaks. She likes Dale, she really does, but..."Here to talk about Randell?"

"Yes," Dale nods, getting straight to the point. "I want to know where you stand and if that's not with me, I want to convince you otherwise." Daryl stands with a scoff and goes to grab his jacket and vest. Harley sighs and turns to Dale, running her hands down her thighs. "You both have Rick's ear, if we jus-"

"Rick just looks to Shane," Daryl cuts him off. "Let him."

"You," Dale gestures towards Harley. "You're a doctor-"

"Not a doctor," When will these people learn? How many times does she have to say it? She never finished school.

"Well, you're a soldier," Dale continues to push but Harley only shakes her head sadly.

"Exactly, Dale, I'm a soldier. That means I protect. And if protecting what's mine means eliminating a threat...well it wouldn't be the first time I've done it," Dale gives her that look of his. It's enough to break her heart but not enough to change her view on the world. "I love the way you see things, Dale. And I wish I could do the same, but the truth is...I stopped being able to long before the world as we knew ended."

"That was war, this is different," Dale argues, gesturing out to nothing in that way he does.

"No, it's not, Dale," Harley insists. "It might not be the heat of the moment, but it is the same. Always has been, always will be...I'm sorry." Turning her back, Harley walks past Daryl and into the forest. A few minutes later, he finds her.

Moving his crossbow off his back, Daryl lowers himself onto the ground beside her, his eyes shifting over her face. "You believe that, what ya said?"

"Which part?" Harley questions, her gaze moving between the trees in front of her. "Taking someone's life will never feel right. It should never be easy, and I hate myself for saying this but sometimes it's necessary."

Turning her head, Harley meets Daryl's gaze, her eyes almost desperate. Pleading. "You heard what he said, saw that look in his eyes," She reminds him. "Tell me I'm wrong for thinking that ridding the world of someone bad in order to protect the good is wrong. Someone who chose to do those things. Because if it is then I-" Cutting herself off, Harley blinks away the tears in her eyes and inhales deeply.

"I never wanted to hurt people. I've wanted to be a doctor since I was a little girl," Harley continues, her voice shaking. "I joined the military; I became a medic to help people. But I had to make those choices, my life has been those choices for a long time. And I hesitated once. Just once but that's all it took. Because of that, I lost someone very important to me. I will never make that mistake again. And if I'm wrong for that, then..."

Harley feels Daryl grab onto her hand and closes her eyes. She laces her fingers together and brings them to her chest before bending her head down over them.

"It's not wrong," Daryl whispers to her after a moment, shifting closer until their sides are touching.


The two emerge from the woods in time to make it to the house for the meeting about Randell. Harley leans on the door frame across from Daryl and stays silent. The others debate, they argue. They throw out options, but the end result is the same.

Though at some point, she starts agreeing with a few of the things Dale has to say. But she doesn't say anything. She watches the old man storm out of the room, stopping by Daryl to tell him that he was right, that this group is broken, before he storms out the door. Harley meets the hunter's eyes and sighs.

As soon as the meeting is over, Harley pulls Rick to the side. "I'm not gonna try to talk you out of it," She assures him when she sees the argument already on his lips. "I just need you to look me in the eye and tell me that you can do this."

"I've thought about it for a long while now," Rick nods, his hands on his hips but Harley blows out a frustrated breath and shakes her head.

"Killing a man to protect yourself and an execution are two completely different things," She informs him. "You're a good man Rick, I know that. We all do. So before you do this, I need you to be sure you'll be able to live with it. And that you won't let it change you."

Rick looks away, no longer able to hold her gaze, and rubs his eye. "I can do it," Harley whispers after a moment.

"No," Rick immediately denies. "This was my decision, I'll do it."

"You mean Shane's," She's quick to correct. "You wanted to take him out, leave him, let him live. Then you fight with Shane and all of a sudden want to kill him like he did from the start. We're not stupid, Rick. Shane's gotten into your head, and you've let him."

"Why are you fighting this now?" Rick questions, his voice becoming a shouted whisper. "You didn't say anything in there, with the others."

"Because I knew it wouldn't matter," Harley shoots back. "And I'm not trying to fight you on this, I don't disagree. Don't totally agree either. The point I'm trying to make is that this isn't a light decision. You have to be a hundred and ten percent sure you can go through with it and be prepared to deal with the consequences of what comes after."

"Hey," A new voice interrupts and Harley shifts her eyes over Rick's thoughtful face to see Shane. "We doing this thing or what?"

"Yeah," Rick says a moment later. He looks into Harley's eyes, his own expression hardening. "We're doing it."

Shane leads the way to the barn. Rick is right behind him with Daryl leading Randal. Harley takes up the back. They push the boy into the barn, ignoring his protests the whole way.

"Would you like to stand or kneel?" Rick asks Randal who only continues to cry, his tears absorbed by the blindfold over his eyes. Harley feels Daryl look at her, but she ignores him. He hadn't wanted her to be there.

Stepping forward the archer pushes Randell onto his knees before backing up. "Do you have any final words?"

In response, Randell only continues to cry and beg. Harley crosses her arms over her chest and stands stock still in her place. She watches Rick stare down at the boy, watches as Shane looks at Rick, notes the look on his face. She continues watching as Rick lifts his gun, aiming it right at Randell's forehead. And she continues to look up until a small voice speaks from behind her.

"Do it, dad," Everyone turns towards the barn doors to see Carl standing there, looking at his father. "Do it."

Shane is the first to react. He marches over and grabs the boy's arm, pulling him back outside. Harley turns back to Rick just in time to see him lower his gun. "Take him away," He says, his voice heavy. "Take him away."

Daryl moves forward and grabs Randell, dragging him to his feet. He glances at Harley as he passes her, and she turns to follow him.

It's easy enough, putting Randal back in the shed if they ignore his cries and thanks for not deciding to kill him. They handcuff him back to the wall and close the doors once they're outside.

Daryl turns to her in a silent question after locking the door. "He was never going to be able to do it," She whispers. "This whole thing was Shane's idea. He just got it into Rick's head that it was his own."

"You think he was wrong?"

"For not doing it?" Daryl nods and Harley sighs, folding her arms over her chest in thought. "I-" A distant scream cuts Harley off. She looks immediately towards the source of the sound and glances at Daryl before they're both running out into the field.

She sees a figure in the darkness along with their screams. Daryl, running beside her picks up his pace and tackles the walker to the ground before sinking his blade into its brain, silencing it. All the while Harley falls onto her knees beside Dale, her eyes raking over his face and ripped apart torso. There's no other way to put it, the walker dug its fingers into the soft flesh of the older man's stomach and ripped it apart.

"Okay, hey, look at me," Harley whispers to Dale, her hands coming to rest on the sides of his face. She knows already, can see it in his eyes that he does too. There's nothing to be done. "Just look at me. You were right, Dale, you were right, okay? I'm so sorry, you were right, I was wrong."

Daryl shouts behind her, calling to the others before crouching down on the other side. "Hang in there, buddy," He tells Dale just as multiple flashlights appear close by before everyone's gathering around.

Everyone's in a panic, crying and screaming. Harley moves out of the way for Andrea, letting her hold Dale's hand in what she knows to be his final moments. Rick turns to her, begging her but she only shakes her head.

"I'm sorry," She whispers, unable to bring her voice any higher. "There's to much damage, he won't make it. There's nothing I can do." And how much it pains her to admit that.

"No!" Rick shouts into the night air and spins around as if searching for some answer for this. Something to fix it. But Harley only takes a step back. She knows there's nothing to be found, no miracle coming to help them. Dale's going to die, a casualty of their bad decisions.

Looking down, Harley bites the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood. Dale's face is the perfect picture of agony and the noises coming out of his mouth don't even sound human. Harley reaches behind her and unholsters her gun but before she can move any further, a hand on hers stops her.

Daryl nods once down at her and takes her weapon. Harley has nothing inside of her left to fight him. He crouches in front of her and beside Dale, leveling the barrel of the gun onto his forehead. "Sorry, brother."

Notes:

'-'

Chapter 16: Good Riddance

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After they get Dale's body out of the field, they cover him with a sheet in the barn with the plan to have a funeral the next morning. Harley and Daryl return to the tent but neither sleep. They both lie on their backs, staring up at nothing.

Silently, Harley reaches out her arm, tapping the edge of Daryl's cot. He turns his head at the motion, looking at her face before he takes her hand in his own and squeezes. And that's how they stay for the rest of the night, lying in silence, holding the others hand.

The burial is early the next day. Rick speaks and Hershel reads some scripture but everyone else stays silent.

Rick approaches them both after to talk about Randell. Harley gladly notes that Shane isn't a part of the conversation. He wants to go back to the first plan. The right plan, he says. Just had a bad execution the first time around. Harley thinks he could've worded that better.

"You know, Daryl and I," She starts with a nod towards the hunter. "We could take Randell. No need for you to leave, not now." Looking at her thoughtfully, Rick glances towards Daryl who nods.

"Okay," Rick decides. "I appreciate that." They'll go over the plans later, he tells them. After helping move into the house. The weather is growing colder and colder every day. And with what happened to Dale last night, it's not safe to stay scattered out like that anymore. Inside the house might be cramped, but it's safer and warmer.

They all move the vehicles to the house, all around an exit, all facing away. Harley and Daryl park their bikes beside each other to the side of the front porch.

"It's gonna be tight," She states while standing over her bike, looking back at the house as he gets off his. "Fourteen people in one house." Daryl hums and walks around to stand beside her. She smirks up at him playfully. "Good thing I know someone I don't mind sharing with."

"Stop," He grumbles and starts moving away. Harley stumbles to follow.

"What? It's true," She chuckles when he knocks her shoulder with his own. They reach the porch steps and jog up beside one another to meet Rick at the top with a map.

"Take him out to Senoia," Rick points to the place on the map, standing between her and Daryl, giving them both a clear view. "An hour there an hour back, give or take. May lose the light but you'll be halfway home by then."

"This little pain in the ass will be a distant memory," Daryl grumbles and lifts himself onto the porch railing.

"Little?" Harley lifts a brow, and he huffs. "Good riddance."

"Carol's putting him together some provisions," Rick tells them. "Enough to last a few days." He clears his throat a little awkwardly as Shane pulls the car up in front of the house. "About last night-"

"Ain't no reason you should do all the heavy lifting," Daryl cuts him off softly and Harley smiles over at him.

"Thank you for doing this," He holds up the map before handing it to Harley.

"What he said," She nods to Daryl as Shane climbs out of the car. "We'll go get ready," She tells him and nudges Daryl to his feet. "But don't worry, we won't leave without saying goodbye." Rick cracks a small smile at her joke, waving her away just as Shane reaches the porch.

"Ooh, road trip," Harley mutters, clapping her hands once in front of her. "Minus the prisoner part, could be fun." Daryl looks down at her, raising an eyebrow and she shrugs. "Just trying to look on the bright side." It's either that or be consumed by the dark side. S̶t̶a̶r̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶s̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶n̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶

After collecting the supplies from Carol, Harley and Daryl load them as well as their own into the old, blue truck. "You only have so many arrows," T-Dog says while offering Daryl a gun.

"Is that Dale's gun?"

"Yeah," T admits after a moment. Harley pats his arm as she moves past him.

"Wish I knew where the hell mine is," Daryl grumbles as Rick approaches.

"You guys ready?"

"Yup," Harley nods with a glance over everything in the back of the truck.

"I'll collect the package," T-Dog gestures towards the shed and starts that way. Harley runs a hand over her hair and leans back against the truck. It's almost over. Just a few hours and she'll be back with Daryl, this 'little' problem will have bent dealt with.

"He's gone," T-Dog rushes back to them, panting and pointing back the way he came. Harley pushes off the truck, on high alert as she, Daryl, and Rick all follow T back to the shed. "The door was locked when I got here but when I opened it, he was gone."

"The cuffs are still locked," Rick observes as the others all come out of the house, drawn by the commotion. "He must've slipped 'em."

"Is that possible?"

"A lot's possible if you've got nothing to lose," Harley says in response to Carol's question.

"Rick!" The sudden shout comes from the trees. Everyone shuts up and turns to see Shane marching towards them, blood spilling from his nose. "Rick! He's armed! He's got my gun!"

"Are you okay?" Carl asks, trying to move forward but Lori stops him.

"I'm fine, little bastard just stuck up on me. He clocked me in the face," Shane explains as Harley rakes her eyes over his injuries. His nose is definitely broken. It takes more force than you'd think to break someone's nose like that. Especially if you're hands and wrists are already hurt.

"Alright, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house," Rick starts throwing out orders. "Harley, Daryl, come with us.." Checking her gun, Harley holds it and her knife as she heads into the forest with the others.

"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out," Shane explains, pointing off in a random direction. Harley continues to watch him closely. "I'm not sure how long."

"He couldn't have gotten far," Rick says. "He's hobbled, exhausted. Can you track him?"

"No, I don't see nothing," Daryl shakes his head and Harley grows more suspicious. Daryl's a damn good tracker, she knows that by now. If he can't pick up a trail where Shane says he was, then something is clearly wrong.

"Hey, look, there ain't no use tracking him, okay?" Shane insists. "He went that way. We need to pair up. We spread out, we just chase him down. That's it."

"Kids weighs a buck-twenty-five soaking wet," Harley starts, staring over at him. She's sick of his obvious bullshit. "You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?"

"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?" Shane throws back in her face, clearly annoyed but Rick steps between them.

"Alright, knock it off. You and Daryl start heading up the right flank," Rick gestures and Harley glances that way but quickly turns back. "Me and Shane will take the left. Remember, Randell's not the only threat out there."

"Yeah, you're right," Harley mumbles, her eyes glued to the side of Shane's face. "Watch your back." She whispers to Rick, and he looks into her eyes with a small nod. She nods back before turning to follow Daryl.

"Losing the light quickly," Harley states the obvious with a glance up through the trees. "You believing this half-cocked story?"

"Not for a second," Daryl responds while watching the ground closely.

"So why are we letting them wander off alone?"

"Randell's still out here somewhere," Daryl explains. "Might as well try to find the trail, see what really went down. Rick's a big boy, he can handle himself." It's only minutes since they split up, but the light has already completely disappeared and Daryl groans. "This is pointless. You got a light?"

Humming, Harley pulls a flashlight from her pocket and clicks it on before handing it over. He looks around a bit before giving an irritated sigh. "Come on."

"Square one," Harley nods in realization. The woods are Daryl's thing, not her own. She hadn't known where he was leading her.

"If you're gonna do a thing, might as well do it right."

"Truer words have never been spoken," Harley mumbles to herself while Daryl shines the light around the forest floor.

"There're two sets of tracks right here," He shows her. "Shane must've followed him a lot longer than he said."

"Hey," Grabbing his wrist, Harley lifts the light to shine on the tree in front of them. "Fresh blood."

"Yeah," Daryl chimes. "There's more tracks. Looks like they're walking in tandem." They move forward a little more, Harley squints at the ground and stay behind Daryl so she doesn't mess up the trail. "Yeah, there was a dust-up right here. Something went down."

"Shane's a lying asshole, that's what went down," Moving forward a few more feet, Daryl stops and bends down to pick up a strip of cloth. "Randal's blind fol-" A twig snapping behind them cuts Harley off. She spins around with Daryl and raises her gun, aiming it in that direction while backing up behind a tree. Daryl follows her lead while shutting the light off.

Whistling, Harley grabs his attention and nods towards the shadow moving closer. He nods back and she holsters her gun, holding her knife at the ready.

They wait until the figure gets closer. Daryl moves out with the light while Harley circles around the tree and comes up from behind. She hears the walker's moans and kicks out the back of its knee before planting her knife into its skull.

"Nice," Daryl praises and she curtsy for...some reason.

"Guess we found Randell," Harley sighs and gestures down at the boy. Daryl shines his light on him and crouches down. "His neck is broken?" Harley observes and Daryl nods. "Bites?"

"Nope," He shakes his head while continuing to look over the boy. "No scratches either. None that weren't already there, at least. He died from this." Daryl gestures towards his neck.

"How is that-" Harley cuts herself off and runs a hand down her face. "We need to get back, check in with the others."

"Yeah," Standing, Daryl grabs her arm and together they make their way back to the farmhouse. They hear a gunshot on their way but continue forward. No use running around in the dark, Daryl tells her. Get lost chasing echos.

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" He's the first to ask when they enter the house.

"No,"

"We heard a shot."

"Maybe they found Randell," Lori shrugs but Daryl shakes his head while Harley answered.

"We found him."

"Is he back in the shed?"

"He was a walker," Harley explains.

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asks and Harley shares a look with Daryl.

"That's the weird thing, he wasn't bit..."

"His neck was broke," Daryl finishes for her.

"So, he fought back?" Patricia asks.

"The thing is, Shane and Randell's tracks were right on top of each other," Daryl explains to the others. "And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up from behind him. They were together."

"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori begs and Daryl nods.

"You got it," Nudging Harley's arm, Daryl moves behind her and right back out the front door they'd entered minutes before.

"I knew Shane was unstable," Harley whispers to him. "Didn't know it was bad enough that he'd-...holy shit." There, just beyond the back of the barn, Harley can make out what looks to be hundreds of walkers making their way straight towards them.

"Patricia, kill the lights," Hershel whispers to the woman and she rushes back inside.

"Maybe they're just passing like the herd on the highway," Glenn says hopefully. "Should we just go inside?"

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about," Daryl shakes his head, eyes glued to the walkers. "A herd that size would rip the house down."

"Carl's gone."

"What?" Harley is conscious enough to keep her voice lowered as she turns to a frantic Lori.

"He-he was upstairs. I can't find him anymore," She tells them.

"Maybe he's hiding." Glenn puts in but Lori shakes her head.

"He's supposed to be upstairs. I'm not leaving without my boy!"

"We're not," Carol assures her. "We're gonna look again. We're gonna find him." The older woman grabs Lori's arm and together they make their way back inside the house.

Along with her own gun, Harley accepts another pistol that's handed to her. "I got the number, it's no use," Daryl says as everyone arms themselves.

"You can go if you want," Hershel takes a shotgun and starts loading it.

"You gonna take 'em all on?"

"We have guns, we have cars,"

"Kill as many as we can, lead the rest away," Andrea nods along and Daryl lifts his eyebrows.

"You serious?"

"This is my farm," Hershel states. "I'll die here."

Daryl looks down at Harley as she looks up at him and she smiles, shrugging. "As good a night as any, right?" She spent many days thinking they would be her last, she's not so sure she ever stopped. Death hasn't been something she's feared for a long time.

"Stay close to me," Daryl whispers to her before jumping over the porch railing. She's quick to follow after him and they both make their way to their bikes. Harley doesn't bother with her helmet for the first time in a long time. It's too dark and she needs her full range of vision.

Driving around the edge of the clearing, Harley and Daryl shoot as many of the dead as they can until the barn suddenly lights up in flames. She looks at him and gestures towards the Rv.

"Yo! Must've been Rick or Shane that started that fire," Daryl yells up at Jimmy. "Maybe they're trying to get out the back, why don't you circle around?"

"You got it," The boy gives them a thumbs up before moving the large vehicle towards the barn.

A couple of minutes later when she's on her last clip, Harley shakes her head. "It's no use!" She shouts to Daryl over the roar of their engines and the sound of the walkers. He lowers his own weapon and looks back at her before nodding and gesturing for him to follow her.

Together, they ride to the edge of the farm, a safe distance away from the walkers and park. Harley lets go of her handlebars and sits back on her bike, watching the barn slowly burn to the ground. To think that morning there only problem was getting Randell as far away from them as they could.

A scream pierces through the night air. Harley shares a quick look with Daryl before they both make their way over just in time for Carol to climb onto Daryl's bike. This time they ride away from the farm and don't stop until they get a few miles out.

"The highway," Harley finally says. "We'll go to the highway, that's where the others will go." Without so much as a word, Daryl picks up his feet and starts down the road.

Eventually, they come across the little green car. Harley speeds up beside the car and looks over to see Maggie and Glenn. She motions for her to roll down the window and raises her voice enough to be heard. "Get to the highway!" Maggie nods and turns to tell Glenn who's driving.

Not long after that, they meet up with the old, beat-up blue truck. Harley sighs a little to herself, feeling the churning in her gut lessen at the knowledge that at least some of their people made it.

The sun has completely risen by the time they reach the highway. Harley slows enough to maneuver her way between the cars before parking her bike and stepping off. She can't help the large grin that spreads across her face when she sees Rick, Hershel, and Carl already waiting for them.

The others jump out of their vehicles and run to hug their family. Harley turns to Daryl and pats his arm.

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asks them as Carl separates from his mother and, much to Harley's surprise, runs to hug her.

"Well, those guys' taillights zigzagging all over the road," Daryl starts, pointing to Glenn. "Figured he had to be Asian, driving like that." Despite scolding him with a light hit to his shoulder, Harley laughs at the joke along with the others. She ruffles Carl's hair before nudging him back towards his parents.

"Good one," Glenn mumbles but his smile gives him away.

"Where's the rest of us?"

"We're the only ones who made it so far."

"Shane?" Lori asks and Harley leans back against the car behind her, already prepared for when Rick shakes his head.

"Andrea?"

"She saved me, then I lost her," Carol answers Glenn.

"We saw her go down," T-Dog adds.

"Patricia?"

"They got her too," Beth whispers. "Took her right from me. I was- I was holdin' onto her daddy, she just-" Shaking her head, Beth buries her face into her father's shirt and cries. "What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"

"He was in the RV," Rick tells her. "It got overrun." Closing her eyes, Harley leans her head back against the car. She feels Daryl's hand slip into her own and she squeezes.

"You definitely saw Andrea?" Carol asks. "Did you see her?" When no one answers, Daryl steps forward.

"I'm gonna go back,"

"No," Rick steps forward, stopping him.

"We can just leave her," Daryl argues.

"We don't even know if she's there," Lori says quickly and Rick shakes his head.

"She isn't there, she isn't. She's somewhere else or she's dead," Harley bites her lip and furrows her brows at Rick. She understands what he's saying completely but she doesn't agree. She might not like Andrea all that much, or at all, but she is one of them. As she's said before, she's not accustomed to leaving people behind. "There's no way to find her."

"So we're not even going to look for her?"

"We gotta keep moving," Rick informs them. "There have been walkers crawling all over here."

"I say head east," T-Dog says while Daryl grabs his crossbow, his eyes following an approaching walker.

"Stay off the main roads. The bigger the road, the more walkers. More assholes like this one." Firing his weapon, the walker drops, and everyone loads back into the vehicles while Daryl and Harley go back to their bikes.


"You out?"

"Running on fumes," Stopping in the middle of some road, Rick shakes his head. They've just lost a car. Everyone's scared, cold, hungry. It's only a matter of time before an argument happened. And that's exactly what they do. Argue over what's best to do.

Somehow it comes back to Randell. Daryl brings up how he and Harley found him, turned but with no bites...and Rick tells them what Jenner told him. They're all infected. Harley scolds herself for the surprise she feels. It only makes sense. It is a virus, after all.

There's blame thrown around, different variants of reactions from the group. And Rick just walks away from it all. Harley doesn't blame the man, she would've done the same. She would've had to to prevent herself from snapping and saying something she'd regret.

Lori goes to talk to her husband and Harley is the first to start setting up camp with Daryl. They'd been on the road most of the day, so the light is already dying. They set up a small fire and everyone gathers around except those keeping watch.

Harley hears Carol mumbling to Daryl but ignores her. She's got nothing against the woman but she's tired. She hasn't slept in forty-eight hours and after everything at the farm...she just wants to sleep.

When they hear a noise in the woods, everyone freaks out. "What was that?" Beth asks.

"Could be anything," Daryl says calmly but stands. "Racoon, opossum," He glances at Harley and she blinks up at him. Is he trying to joke right now?

"A walker," Glenn adds very unhelpfully. Harley shoots him a scowl.

"We need to leave," Carol's voice shakes when she speaks, drawing everyone's attention to her. "I mean, what are we waiting for?"

"Which way?"

"It came from over there,"

"Relax," Harley snaps, her voice quiet. If it was a walker, it would've made itself known by now. But she's still not going to risk it. "Panicking isn't going to help anything. Running off in the dark is only going to get people killed."

"She's right," Rick says. "We don't have the vehicles and no one's traveling on foot."

"Don't panic,"

"I'm not-I'm not waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now."

"No one is going anywhere," Rick hardens his voice but still keeps his tone quiet. Harley keeps her eyes up and wills herself to stay calm. These are civilians, she has to remind herself. People without training or experience in things like this. Though she was never taught what to do if an apocalypse ever happened, she was more prepared than they are.

"Do something."

"I am doing something!" Rick finally snaps. "I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along. No matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people!" Harley bites her lips and shakes her head. She'd expected it, knowing it was what happened the moment she saw the look on his face back at the highway when Lori asked about Shane.

"You saw what he was like," Rick continues after a moment, appearing calm once more. "How he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean!"

Rick pauses again, taking in the faces of those around him. The only sounds in that time are the crackling of the fire and Lori shushing a crying, Carl.

"Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe-maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe-maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you-why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get," Stopping, Rick looks around but no one moves, no one speaks. Harley folds her arms over each other and leans back on her heels. "No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight-you're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore."

Notes:

Here we goooooo! Between season 2 and 3, got some pure original chapters coming up! I'm so excited to post!

What do you guys think is going to happen over the winter?

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 17: Winter Is Coming

Notes:

Any GOT fans?

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text


Tensions are high after Rick's long speech. Once Harley herself came down, she was a little impressed thinking back. That he just spouted all that from the top of his head. They move on from the old stone ruins the next day, carefully scouting until they find more gas to continue, going nowhere in particular.

Tonight, only a week later, they're hold up in some house. Just some house in the trees. A small group of them cleared it before bringing the others in and blocking off the entrances best they could for the night.

They've taken to staying close together, getting as many people as they can in a single room and the ones close by. It's cozy, that's for sure. But it's safest that way. And it does provide more warmth as the days grow colder. Everyone collects all the usable blankets and winter clothes they can find in every house. It's only been a week but they're already working out a good system. Everyone's finding their roles.

Harley steps away from the group as they settle into the living room. She moves up the stairs, through to a room they already cleared, and falls onto the bed. She lies there, staring at the ceiling until a voice fills the silence around her.

"What're you doin'?"

"Feels like I haven't had a second to myself since the farm," Harley mumbles in answer to Daryl's question.

"Probably cause ya haven't," He says while making his way over to lie beside her. He groans as his muscles contract before relaxing and Harley chuckles.

"Old man," She jabs only to earn a dusty pillow to the face. "Ew," Harley coughs and throws the things off her. She sighs then and turns on her side to face him. "You think Rick would object to us staying in here tonight?"

"Don't know," Daryl shrugs. "I do know it ain't a democracy anymore."

Snorting, Harley shakes her head and runs a hand down her face. "Don't let him hear you say that."

"Hear who say what?" Daryl and Harley sit up when Rick speaks from the doorway. Harley winces.

"Ooh, busted," She mumbles before falling back onto the bed.

"Stayin' up here tonight," Daryl gestures around the room and Harley closes her eyes, ready to be asleep.

"You sure?" Rick asks and Daryl grunts.

"Yeah, house is boarded up pretty good."

"Okay, just..." Rick trails off, still sounding unsure but when he speaks against, Harley can hear a smile in his voice. "Maybe find a sock to put on the door." Sitting up faster than she thought she could, Harley grabs the closest thing she can find and throws it at Rick's quickly retreating form.

"Ass," She mutters while lying back down, closing her eyes. "At least he's less moody today."

"Hm," Daryl hums in agreement. Harley feels him shifting on the bed next to her and opens the eyes closest to look at him.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," Daryl mumbles and reaches for a blanket. "Go to sleep." He says while tossing it over her shoulders. "I know you didn't last night."

"How could you possibly know that?" She hadn't been assigned watch last night nor tonight. Which is suspicious but she's too tired to question it.

"You breathe louder when you're awake," Daryl answers casually as if it's the simplest thing. Harley blinks at him.

"I breathe louder when-wow, okay," Shaking her head, Harley shifts her boot-clad feet. She wants nothing more than to take them off but she's too scared to risk getting caught with them off and losing them. "That's not creepy at all." It's actually kind of sweet that he knows that. But still a little creepy.

"Go to sleep," Daryl repeats louder and Harley rolls her eyes.

"Yes, sir," She mumbles and closes her eyes. After a few minutes of lying there, trying to sleep. Harley reaches out blindly until she feels Daryl's hand. She takes it in her own, eyes still closed, and smiles when he laces their fingers together.


Harley finds a pen. A pen that works. It's a nice Pen. She smiles at the victory and settles down with it next to the fire with everyone else. A month after the farm and the weather continues to grow colder. Lori has barely started to show. She has nothing more than a tiny bump, most of it is just bloating. She and Rick still aren't talking.

"What're you doin'?" Daryl squints over at her, watching as she uses her new pen to draw random doodles on her arm. She shrugs.

"Well, don't got any paper."

"I didn't know you could draw," Carl says from her other side and she smiles over at him.

"Nah, just used to sketch a bit, nothing major," She tells him before finishing the little cartoon-like spider on her arm.

"Can you draw something on my arm?" Harley turns her eyes from Carl to his mother behind him. The woman smiles softly at her son and shrugs her shoulders.

"Alright, what do you want? And keep in mind, I'm no Picasso."

"Who?"

"No one," Harley shakes her head before gesturing for him to answer her question.

"Uhh, a dragon?"

"A dragon," Harley repeats and hears a few of the others around the fire chuckle. She hadn't even been aware they were listening. "Okay, let's see what I can do." Taking his arm, Harley traces the pen over his skin but doesn't start drawing until she has a clear picture in mind. It doesn't take long, only about a minute before Carl's grinning at the simple dragon drawing on his arm.

"Look, mom," The boy turns to show his mother and she grins at him, ruffling his hair. "It's like a tattoo."

"Even better," Harley argues. "You don't have to live with it forever and it doesn't hurt."

"You have a tattoo?" Carl asks her, still cradling the arm with the drawing with his other hand.

"I do," Harley nods. She sees Daryl looks down at her and smirks.

"I've never seen it," Carl says curiously.

"Well, bud, it's in a place you can't see right now," She explains, and he nods but continues with the questions.

"What's it off?"

"Uh,"

"Carl," Lori calls to her son, shaking her head softly when he looks back at her.

"It's fine," Harley assures him. "It's a symbol. The spiral sun. Here, I'll show you." Pulling out her arm, Harley draws a quick representation of her tattoo before showing Carl.

"What's it mean?" He asks while looking down at the drawing.

"Um...well," Harley starts. "I think it has two meanings. The spiral represents evolution and growth of the spirit. It is a symbol of change and development. And the sun...You know Shamans believed the sun to be the first healer. So, that's what the sun represents to me. Healer."

It's dead quiet when Harley stops talking. She looks up from Carl and around the others to see them all staring at her, listening closely. She clears her throat and looks down. "It's not that deep, guys, jeez." She groans and some of the others chuckle quietly.

Glenn squints his eyes at her from across the fire until he finally dares to ask. "So where is your tattoo?"

Picking up a rock, Harley chucks it at him. "On my ribs, you perv," She can't stop herself from laughing. Glenn tries to dodge the small rock, but it hits him in the chest and everyone laughs along with her.

Content, Harley sits back and looks up at Daryl to find him already watching her. She smiles and grabs his arm, rolling up his jacket sleeve enough to expose his wrist. When he doesn't stop her, she starts drawing on his skin. It takes her longer than it did Carl's but when she's done, she sits back to study her work and nods in approval before allowing Daryl to see.

He scoffs when he realizes what it is and wraps his arm around her shoulders. Harley giggles at the action and lets herself relish in his warmth. And when she falls asleep against him, Daryl shifts his sleeve to see the drawing. He smiles softly at the little fox marked in ink on his wrist.

Notes:

Short chapter, not much happened but it's cute. It's one of my favorite moments. Also, Harley has a tattoo.

Get ready to see Harley and Daryl's relationship grow as the snow begins to fall.

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 18: Old Injuries

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The group has been hold up in the same house for a couple of days. They got lucky there, it's fortified enough and they found a bit of food. They're not fool enough to believe it'll last very long so Daryl and Harley go out hunting earlier one morning.

Maybe she should've stayed back. Her knees hadn't bothered her since the farm, but it started acting up the day before. But it was nothing more than just annoying. Now she's struggling not to limp.

Daryl stops ahead of her and crouches down, moving some frozen leaves and light snow out of the way. It hasn't been bad but Harley fears the weather will only grow worse. It wouldn't be bad if they had a base with plenty of food and winter clothing, blankets. All that. But they don't. And as Lori's stomach continues to grow, she grows skinnier and skinnier. Harley's worried she'll lose the baby, or it'll kill them both.

"You good?" Daryl glances back at her and she nods from where she's leaned against a tree. "It bad?"

"Nah," Harley shakes her head and bends down to rub her knee. "Just a little sore."

"Hm," Humming, Daryl abandons the trails and walks over to her. "Ya never told me what happened."

"Broke it," Harley looks up at him through her lashes. Her hair is still pulled back into its normal French braid, but she wears a beanie over it now, providing warmth to her head and ears. "A piece of my kneecap tore off. Healed fine for the most part, just gets stiff sometimes. Sore. Knee injuries are bad like that."

"That help?" He asks with a nod towards her hand still moving up and down her leg.

"Yeah, and rest. All there is to do," She answers truthfully, watching Daryl bite his lips and look behind him before gesturing back towards the house.

"It's enough for today," He shifts the rabbits and squirrels draped over his shoulder. "Let's get back."

"We are not going back just because of a little ache in my knee," Harley argues and pushes herself up but Daryl doesn't budge.

"Was gonna call it anyway, trails gone. We been out here hours, best get back," Nudging her shoulder, Daryl waits and presses harder when Harley doesn't move. "Come on."

"Alright," Harley sighs and moves along. She doesn't bother trying to hide her limp anymore, they're already going back anyway. It takes a bit to reach the house and her knee is worse than an ache by the time they do. She walks as normally as she can past the others before going into the back bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Rubbing her knee, Harley looks up when she hears footsteps to see Hershel. He enters the room, offering her a small smile as he sits beside her.

"He does know I'm a medic too, right?" Harley asks without even questioning why the man is there. She already knows. Daryl's an overreactor sometimes.

"He does," Hershel nods with a small smile. "I just don't think he trusts you not to downplay an injury."

"A years-old injury," Harley corrects. "I've dealt with this many times before. Just needs rest, I'll be good as new tomorrow. I think it was the change in air pressure from the sudden cold or something. Gosh, I'm like an old person." She grimaces and turns to Hershel. "No offense."

"Non taken, dear," Hershel smiles assuredly at her and pats her good leg. "I just came to appease him and to check on you. But you know yourself. Just take it easy the rest of the night. Try too tomorrow if you can."

"Sure thing, doc," Harley grins at the man as he pushes himself to his feet. He gives her a look at the name and hesitates to leave.

"You know you're closer to a doctor than me," He reminds her. "I'm just a vet. You were a medic and went to school for two years. Yet you hate it when someone calls you doctor, why?"

"I thought you were a vet, not a therapist?" Harley raises a brow and Hershel raises both his to rival her. "I just...I don't want to let anyone down," She confesses quietly. "And if they don't overestimate my abilities, then I can't do that."

"No one's overestimating anything," Hershel moves and sits back beside her. Harley sighs. "And you're not letting anyone down, don't worry about that."

"I haven't yet, you mean," She smiles a self-deprecating smile at him and Hershel gives her a disappointed look. "It's only a matter of time."

"Don't say that," Hershel shakes his head. "You do your best, that's all we can ask. Hell, I've seen you push yourself beyond your best."

"Hershel," Harley takes on a scolding tone and places a hand over her heart. "Watch your language." Chuckling, Hershel pats her knee before standing once more.

"Get some rest, I won't have to send Daryl in with some food, I'm sure he's already on his way."

"Goodnight, Hershel," Harley waves lazily at the man and falls back onto the bed, scooting up until just her feet hang off the end.

Harley jumps awake when she feels her leg being moved. She hadn't noticed she'd dozed off until then. She squints down at Daryl and groggily asks. "What're you doin'?"

"What's it look like?" He asks while untying her laces.

"Stealin' my boots?" Harley questions but doesn't try to stop him. Daryl scoffs at her but smiles and removes one shoe before moving on to the next. Once finished, he sets them together by the bed before sitting by her legs. He sets a bowl of something on her stomach with a simple command.

"Eat," Waiting until she takes the food, Daryl slides a hand under her bad knee and lifts her leg over his own. He surveys her knee a moment before grabbing below it and rubbing his thumbs over the sides. "What?" He asks when he sees the smile on her face.

"You're spoiling me," She tells him while shifting the pillow under her head.

"Pft," Daryl looks back down at his hands and continues to message Haley's knees a few more minutes before carefully placing her leg back onto the mattress.

"Did Lori eat?"

"Yeah," Daryl mumbles and moves to sit beside her.

"Did you?"

"Mm-hmm," He nods, lifting his hand to chew on his nail.

"You better not be lying to me," Harley warns him with a sleepy glare. She sets the empty bowl on the nightstand before rolling over into his side. "Shut up, you're warm." Grunting, Daryl grabs her blanket and throws it over her, letting her fall asleep bundled up beside him.

Hours later, Harley wakes with a gasp and sits up. Daryl wakes immediately with her and quickly assesses the situation. "It's okay," He whispers to her, his hand going to run through her hair. "It's fine. It's okay. Come on," Gently, Daryl tugs Harley back down onto the bed, his arm wrapped around her shoulders holding her to him. She complies silently, letting him pull the blanket around both of them and resting her head on his chest while wrapping her arm around his stomach.

She keeps her eyes open, staring into the darkness as she tries to slow her breathing. She focuses on the warmth radiating off Daryl, the way his chest rises and falls under her, and his hand in her hair. Slowly, very slowly but surely enough, those things coax her back to sleep.


Maggie and Glenn have become their go-to for quick, easy runs. Well, there's never so much as an easy run but the two work well together. They're able to go quietly, get in and out quickly with little damage. Most of the time. When they return from this one, Maggie's arm is bleeding.

"Stepped in a hole," Maggie tells Harley while the older woman cleans the wound on her elbow. "Fell hard on the concrete. It was stupid."

"It happens," Harley assures her. "It's not so bad, won't need stitches or anything."

"Thank goodness," Maggie mumbles and leans her head back against the couch. Most of the others are in the other room. Glenn stands in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You hear that, Glenn?" Harley calls over to him and glances back over her shoulder. "She'll live. Relax, you're getting lines."

"I'm-" Glenn cuts himself off and groans, rolling his eyes at her. Maggie chuckles at the two of them before asking her boyfriend to leave them be.

"So," Maggie starts as soon as he's gone, looking down as Harley pulls a tiny rock from her arm. "You and Daryl have been getting real cozy with each other."

"I hear your tone," Harley mutters without taking her eyes off her task.

"And?"

"It's not like that," She shrugs and tosses another piece of concrete onto the floor.

"It's not?" Maggie questions with raised eyebrows and Harley sighs, sitting up and looking to the side in thought.

"I don't know, we're...friends. We trust each other. He's family. Just like you guys."

"Yeah, but..." Maggie trails off, turning her arm more so Harley can see it better. "I mean, you guys just seem close, is all."

"We are," Harley nods with a small smile. She's never been one for gossip but if you're talking about yourself, is it really gossip? Sighing, Harley looks up from Maggie's arm once again. "Daryl has a complicated relationship with his emotions. I'm not the most stable person in that area either. I'm not about to push anything."

"So, you're saying you don't know how you feel?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Harley admits. "I mean, I know I like being with him, but I don't know if I want to be with him? Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," Maggie nods. "Of course. If it's any consolation, I think you guys are cute together."

"Thanks," Harley snorts while starting a roll of bandages around Maggie's elbow.

"And you can always talk to me about it. Or anything. You said so yourself, we're family."

Harley waits until she's taped the gauze down securely before looking up at the young woman. "Thanks, Mags. That means a lot. Now," Patting her legs, Harley begins packing up the aid kit. "Keep that clean and dry. I'm going to check it tomorrow and give you some more antibiotic ointment."

"Thanks, doc," Maggie pats her shoulder as she stands, and Harley pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Not-" But Maggie is already gone, leaving her heavy sigh to be heard by no one but herself. "Whatever."

Notes:

Ah, so that's why Harley always insists no one calls her doctor...

Wasn't that an adorable moment with her and Daryl? And that little talk with Maggie...

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 19: My Breath on Your Face

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Perched on the roof of their next house, Harley curls into herself, trying in vain to block out the cold. She's on watch, hugging her legs to her chest, her chin resting on her knees. More snow slowly falls around her. The group is in low spirits this week. It's gotten bad. Food is harder to come by, hunting is scarce. The streams are all frozen but if they're lucky enough to find a bigger body of water, they can break through the top surface and collect some that way. All in all, it's not looking good.

Lori's showing a lot more but she's still going...as strongly as she can. The others are trying their best but it's hard with how cold it is and how little food they have. Harley gave her rations to Lori that day. Daryl had stepped out and took the opportunity when she saw it.

The ladder creaks as someone climbs up it. Harley turns her eyes and sees the top of Daryl's head before his face. He looks at her and throws a blanket up before following after. He moves to sit next to her and drapes it over her shoulders, Harley hugs it to her and gives him a thankful smile.

Settling down beside her, Daryl gives her a questioning look. "Just thinking," She shrugs.

"'Bout what?"

"You," She turns her head to smile up at him. He rolls his eyes and nudges her shoulder with his arm. "I just..." Trailing off, Harley looks back out into the dark forest surrounding them. "I studied obstetrics some. It wasn't going to be my major, so I wasn't overly focused on it. Hershel's been teaching me what he knows, he has more experience than me. Lori had to have a C-section with Carl. It's more than likely she'll have to have another one."

"That what you been worryin' about all week?"

"Among other things," Harley mumbles truthfully. "Here, it's freezing." Lifting her newly acquired blanket, Harley moves it over his shoulders as well as her own. "How have your fingers not fallen off?" He wears fingerless gloves whereas Harley herself wears her riding gloves. Taking both his hands into her own, Harley cradles his ice-like fingers and lifts them to her mouth to blow hot air on them in an attempt to warm them up.

"I run warm," He shrugs as an explanation and Harley looks up at him, keeping his hands close to her lips.

"Clearly," She mumbles. "Like a furnace, it's crazy."

"You're not complainin'," Daryl reminds her, and Harley chuckles.

"No, no I am not," Grinning, Harley scoots further into him and releases a slow breath. "Wait, why are you up here?" She questions suddenly. "It's not your watch, you should be sleeping."

"Couldn't," Daryl rasps.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Daryl nods and bites his lip. "Just...guess I'm used to sleepin' next to someone."

Harley's grin grows and she lifts one of Daryl's arms to rest over her shoulders and cuddles into his side. "Well, T-Dog is taking over for me in about an hour. I'd love to join you after. Wanna stay till then?"

"Mm-hmm," Daryl hums and reaches with the arm around her to take her hand. Harley holds on tightly and leans her head against his shoulder, missing the way he smiles down at her.

T-Dog greets them both with a silent nod after he climbs the later a little while later. Harley doesn't try to think too much into the expression on his face. Void of surprise and a little smirk on his lips.

Tiptoeing around the others, Daryl and Harley enter the little bedroom next to the others. The only other person staying in there is T and he's on watch, so the room is empty. There're two twin beds and Daryl falls onto one, stuffing the pillow behind his back to get comfortable.

He watches Harley as she sits on the edge and removes her gloves before pulling the tie out of her hair. She starts at the bottom of her braid and slowly untangles it with her fingers. Sighing, the woman runs her fingers over her scalp before lifting her legs onto the bed, lying down beside the hunter.

"Should go hunting tomorrow," She whispers into the dark, rocking a little when Daryl shifts lower and turns to face her. "Walker traffic has been light around here, could probably stay a little while longer."

"Ain't no wildlife either," Daryl informs her, watching as she closes her eyes and sighs heavily. "Might as well try, though."

"Leave after everyone wakes?"

"Yeah," Daryl nods and shifts further away from the edge of the bed. "But not on no sleep."

"You're such a hypocrite, you know that?" Harley questions, her breath fanning over his face.

"Sleep," Daryl demands and Harley rolls her eyes before scooting closer and mumbling into his chest.

"You're lucky you're cute."


Harley wakes the next morning unable to move her legs. It takes a moment for her to wake up enough to realize why. Her and Daryl's legs are tangled together with his on top. Harley's lips slowly turn up into a smile that's hidden in his shirt.

Her head is nestled under his chin, her arms wrapped around his back like his are to her. She knows she said they needed to leave that morning to go hunting, which she can tell it is by the light streaming in from the boarded-up windows. But she doesn't want to move.

"You up?" Daryl's low, deep voice reaches her ears a few minutes later. Harley leans back to look up at him and squints her eyes.

"That's so not fair," She had no idea he was even awake and here he is, always knowing when she's sleeping or not. Daryl shushes her and nods over her shoulder. Harley turns and sees T-Dog's back on the other bed. He probably got in not long ago with the plan to replace the sleep he lost the night before. "We should go, get a head start on the day."

"Hm," Daryl hums but like her, makes no move to get up. Harley pulls her arm up between them and lightly runs the pads of her fingers over his chin. She sighs in content and flicks her eyes up to meet his with a small smile.

"Come on," She whispers before untangling her legs from his and the blanket before sitting up. The icy cold air hits her immediately and she shivers. She gathers her things and looks over her shoulder to Daryl before nodding to the door. No need to risk waking T while they get ready.

The others are awake when they emerge from the room. Harley sits on the couch and starts braiding her hair back while Daryl grabs their rations for the day. Harley's pulling her hat over her head with her glove-clad hands when Daryl returns. He hands her her food and she excepts it with a simple smile before checking her ammo.

"Are you going hunting?" Carl approaches her and Harley nods in lieu of speaking around the food in her mouth. "You think you'll find something this time?"

"I don't know, bud," Harley answers honestly. "I hope so. We'll sure try our hardest."

Looking over his shoulder to his mother, Carl lifts his arm to show the fading marks of an old drawing of a lightning bolt. "Do you think when you get back you can do a spaceship?"

"A spaceship this time, huh?" Harley sits up and taps the end of his hat down over his eyes. "Sure, kid, I'll plan it out while I'm gone." Nudging his arm, Harley hands him the rest of her food before going to find Daryl.

"Stay safe, don't be gone all day," She hears Rick saying when she enters the kitchen. She leans against the door frame and nods to him when he looks over at her. "We'll be here." Harley purses her lips and looks down. Rick looks so exhausted, worn down. He's trying his best, but the role of leader is taking its toll on the man.

"Don't worry," She offers him what she hopes is a comforting smile. "We got this."

"I know," Rick nods and returns her grin but it's strained. He pats Daryl's shoulder as he walks by and out of the room. Harley shares a look with Daryl before gesturing towards the door.

Snow covers the entire ground now. It's not deep but it's deep enough to block everything from view. It's actually very beautiful. Harley takes a moment once they get into the forest and spins around in a circle.

"The hell you doin'?" Turning away from the trees, Harley looks over at Daryl and shrugs.

"Stopping to smell the roses. Figuratively, of course," She adds with a huff before gesturing around her. "It's peaceful, don't you think?"

"I guess," Daryl glances around and shifts the crossbow in his hands.

"Alright, big, macho man, let's find a trail," Pointing ahead, Harley walks by him and deeper into the forest.

And find a trail they do. Daryl's been teaching Harley a lot about tracking, and he lets her take point. She smiles up at him when she finds a deer trail and he can't help but grin proudly at her.

They track the deer for a while. Daryl shoots it with his crossbow, but it doesn't go down, instead, it runs. "Is it just me or is this déjà vu?" She asks while following the blood trail through the snow.

"Tough son of a bitch," Daryl mumbles and slows down, holding up his arm to stop her. "Here," He whispers to her when they have the deer in sight again, holding his crossbow out to her. "You do it."

"What?" She questions just as quietly, her eyebrows furrowing in shock.

"Ya said you wanted to learn," He reminds her, nudging the weapon into her arm until she takes it.

"Is now really the best time?" Harley looks from him and towards the deer before back.

"Best time as any," Daryl shrugs and moves behind her. "You got it, c'mon," Reaching around her, Daryl guides Harley in lifting the crossbow towards the animal. "I've seen you shoot, I know your aim," He whispers, his breath hot on her ear as it blows a few strands of her hair away from her face. Harley glances over at him with just her eyes before focusing back on the target. "More importantly, you do. Just line 'em up and squeeze the trigger."

Taking a deep breath, Harley feels Daryl's arms around her, the way his chest presses against her back, and does as he said. She turns her head a little, lining up her shot before shooting. The bold hits the deer right in his heart, killing him instantly.

"There ya go," Daryl praises, his voice now back to its normal tone. A joyous laugh escapes Harley and she turns to look at him with a wide smile. This is the best thing that happened all week. A whole deer. A big one too. The group will be ecstatic.

Harley realizes after she stops thinking about the group that Daryl's arms are still around her. Her head is still turned to him, their faces merely inches apart. Harley opens her mouth, but no words come out, only her breath. She stares up into Daryl's deep blue eyes and she swears she sees his gaze flickering down to her parted lips. But before she can put too much thought into it, he's pulling away.

"Best get 'em back," He says with a nod towards the deer. Harley clears her throat and nods, holding his crossbow as he lifts the deer carcass over his shoulders.

"Yeah," Harley whispers and licks her lips. She closes her eyes and shakes her head to herself, trying to shake off the sudden disappointed feeling surging through her. She hadn't lied to Maggie that one time, she didn't know how she felt then, and she thought she still didn't but...if how she feels after that is anything to go by...maybe she does know.

Halfway back to base, Harley breaks to silence by telling Daryl to let her carry the deer. He's still going strong, but she doesn't want him to wear himself out. Daryl scoffs and shakes his head. Harley places her hands on her hips and cocks her head at him.

"I've carried injured soldiers across the battlefield, I think I can carry a deer through the forest, thank you," Huffing, Daryl transfers the deer from his shoulders and onto Harley's, lifting an eyebrow when she grunts under the animal's weight. "I was younger then." She defends but hefts the body higher onto her shoulders and starts forward. She was also more active and got to eat the food she needed most days.

"Now who's the old one?"

"Shut up," Harley grumbles. She would laugh at the absurdity of this. It's like they've swapped roles. But the deer is really heavy, she's trying to focus on not tripping and keeping her knee from giving out. She should've thought about that. But can't go back now, Daryl will never let her live it down.

When they reach camp, Glenn laughs in joy and relief when he sees them. Or when he sees the deer. He momentarily abandons his watch to tell the others that they return and just as Harley is dropping the deer onto the ground beside her, Carl comes barreling out of the house and right to her.

"It's huge!" He exclaims and Harley stretches her back with a wince.

"Tell me about it," She mumbles, discreetly flipping Daryl off when he snorts at her. "Wanna help skin and gut him?"

"Ew," Carl scrunches up his face and Harley laughs, knocking the edge of his hat over his eyes.

"It's alright, bud, we got this one," She assures him as Daryl grabs the deer's legs and starts dragging him away. "Go back inside, dinner will be served soon. Ish." Nudging him back towards the house, Harley sighs and watches him go before joining Daryl.

He's quiet while they prepare the dear. But it's different than his usual quiet. Harley can't quite convince herself to bring up what happened. Or what didn't happen. So, she stays just as silent as him.

"I'll finish," Daryl finally speaks when they're nearly done. "Go get cleaned up."

"You sure?" Harley looks to him in question, holding her bloody hands away from herself.

"Mm-hmm," Daryl nods without quite looking at her and Harley sighs quietly.

"Okay," Wiping off her knife, Harley slides it back into its sheet before pushing herself to her feet and walking away. She glances over her shoulder at Daryl and shakes her head before going to clean the blood off her skin.

"Hey," Maggie greets her with a tight smile when she enters the house.

"Hey,"

"What's that face for?" Maggie leans in to ask so Harley can hear her quiet voice.

"What face?" Harley asks, looking around self-consciously.

"That one," Maggie chuckles but takes pity and grabs Harley's arm before leading her into another room away from the others. "Never once have I seen you look like that after returning from a hunt."

"I'm hungry, I'm tired, my knee hurts. I think I pulled a muscle in my back," Harley lists off while sitting down. "That's what this face is. Exhaustion and pain." Sliding over a chair, Maggie sits across from Harley and raises her eyebrows. Harley sighs and looks across the room to the wall. "I think we almost kissed." She admits quietly.

"Almost? Why almost?" Maggie questions, sitting forward in her seat. "Do you know that for sure? What happened?" Harley scoffs and shakes her head at the young woman. She doesn't know why Maggie is so invested in her and Daryl's relationship. It's odd.

"I don't know, there was a moment, definitely a moment, but then he just...pulled away," Harley throws her arms in the air before letting them fall back into her lap, a sad excuse of a laugh escaping her mouth.

"You said so yourself, Daryl and emotions aren't exactly good friends. He might not understand how he feels," Maggie shrugs with her best explanation. Harley turns her head to the side in agreement. "Did...Did you want to kiss him?"

"Not sure why else I'd be so disappointed that we didn't," Harley would like to thank her years of therapy for how easy it is to talk about her feelings now with people she trusts. Well, most people. She'd never have this conversation with anyone else in the group, but she does trust them. "Oh, jeez, why'd this have to happen? Feelings just make things so much more complicated."

"Why is it complicated?" Maggie chuckles. "Look at me and Glenn."

"Have you met Daryl?" Harley retorts and Maggie grimaces, falling back into her seat. "That's what I thought. And now he's being weird but he's trying to pretend like he's not being weird. But I know he's being weird and now I don't know how I should act."

"Ever thought about acting normal?" Maggie suggests. "Or, I don't know, talking to him about it?"

"That'd just make things more weird, I like the normal idea. Let's just go back to normal, it's so much simpler."

"I can't make your choice, can only advise you," Maggie tells her. "And I say talk to him. I mean, look around, Harley. How many chances do you get like this? We might not be here tomorrow."

Harley bites her tongue and lets her friend's words bounce around in her brain before sighing. "Advice you have, Maggie. Thanks," Pushing herself to her feet and ignoring the ache in her knee, Harley smiles at her friend and squeezes her shoulder. "We should go help, get some food before the others eat it all. Piranhas, the lot of them."

Notes:

Bruh, so close! Come on!

At least Harley knows what she wants now. But does Daryl?

'-'

Chapter 20: The Cabin

Notes:

Just gonna leave this here and watch from a safe distance.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Harley considers Maggie's words, she really does. It's great advice, she'll admit. But every time she tries to bring it up, she somehow always psyches herself out of it. She uses their quick departure from that house as an excuse. The deer doesn't last long, the group falls into another slump as they travel between houses whenever to many walkers manage to find them.

Maggie and Glenn spotted a heard on one of their runs. The two went unnoticed by the walkers and they made it back to tell the group, to relay the information about where the herd was headed. Where to go to avoid them.

They come across storage units. They take out a few walkers but nothing bad. It's a strong building, secure. Not the coziest or the warmest but they find a few supplies. A few nonperishable foods but not enough to last three days.

The group splits between three units right across and next to each other. They bunker down for the night, rotating watch shifts as usual. Everyone's too exhausted to talk at all that day. They communicate silently until they all turn in with little hope that the next day will be any better.

"I say we head up this way," Daryl points to the map, his voice quiet. He looks up to see Harley nod, her gaze following his finger. "If anything's out there, they'll be near their biggest source of water."

"Yeah," She nods and looks up, her eyes flickering over his shoulder. "Was just about to come find you. We're going out."

"Alright," Rick nods, his voice quiet. "I-thank you, both of you." He tells them sincerely. "Don't think we would've made it this far without all you do."

"You flatter us," Harley jokes, painting on her biggest smile for him. "It's what we do," She shrugs after a moment. "Take care of each other, right?"

"Right," Rick nods once again and waves them off after making them promise to be safe as he always does. He's such a dad in those moments, Harley thinks to herself.

Harley and Daryl trek quietly through the forest. They have a destination in mind but still keep an eye out for any animal or tracks on their way.

The top layer of the pond is frozen. Harley doesn't know how deep the layer is but imagines it can't be much. Not stable enough to walk on, anyway. Not that they'd need to. There's a house on the other side. A small cabin covered in white snow.

"It looks like it was nice once," Harley observes and Daryl grunts. "Just like so many other things." She mumbles before moving forward. They might as well search it. It was probably used for hunting, fishing. A place to just get away. She'd bet if it wasn't looted already, there's at least some kind of nonperishable food in there.

The walkers come out of nowhere. They sneak up on them. There's not that many but there's enough. Harley and Daryl move as swiftly as they can to take them all down and their numbers dwindle fast but not fast enough.

Harley's reflexes aren't as quick as normal. With the cold, lack of food and sleep. She's slow. She doesn't react as quickly as she should and right after throwing one walker off her, another one lunges, and they both fall backward. Right into the icy water.

Harley's mind nearly shuts off. Shock shoots through her body at the drastic change in temperature but she's aware enough to hold the walker back enough to stop his teeth from sinking into her skin. Her lungs burn in need for oxygen. Harley feels her body about to try to breathe on its own right as the walker is ripped away from her and she's dragged up by a hand gripping her arm.

Inhaling sharply, Harley coughs and falls to her knees. She can't think, she barely knows what's happening around her. All she knows is cold. Everything is cold but burning at the same time. Her throat and chest hurt in a different way and she's just so cold.

It takes her a second to remember Daryl. He quickly lifts her to her feet and pulls her back towards the house. Harley snaps out of her haze and stumbles as quickly as she can beside him. Daryl clears the house quickly before shutting the door and dropping his crossbow onto the ground.

Immediately Harley starts removing her jacket then her gloves. Daryl rips the hat off her head and unravels the scarf from her neck. When she goes to remove her shirt, Daryl turns to the fireplace. There's already wood and kindling in there, as well as a bunch of dust. Daryl pulls out his lighter and opens it, setting the straw on fire before turning back to Harley.

The hunter removes the poncho from over his shoulders before his own jacked and throws them both onto the couch. Then he removes his button-up shirt that he wraps around her. It falls down to her thighs and he quickly helps her button it up, covering her before she removes her soaked undergarments.

Everything wet, including her shoes and socks, is removed, leaving Harley to stand shivering in nothing but Daryl's shirt, her blue lips trembling. He wastes no time in wrapping his arms around her shoulders and bringing her closer to him. He feels Harley's cold lips against his color bone, feels her shaky hands slide under his shirt, searching for warmth. He almost cringes away at the icy feel of her skin, but he holds steady. Holds her to him.

His hand comes up to her wet hair and he winces before guiding her towards the fire. It's still small but it's slowly growing. To slowly for his liking but he's not willing to let Harley go to try and tend to it more.

Reaching down, Daryl removes the tie from Harley's hair and unravels it. He squeezes as much water out as he can before he grabs a nearby blanket and runs it over her head. It's dusty and dirty but absorbs the water well enough. All through this, Harley's shivering form stays pressed against him. Daryl knows enough about hypothermia to know it's time to worry when she stops shivering.

In another attempt to help warm her, Daryl runs his hands up and down Harley's arms. He can still feel her own hands pressed against his sides. He grabs her elbows and pushes her arms further around him. He flinches a little when her fingers glide over his scars, but he takes a deep breath and continues to hold her.

Reaching over, Daryl grabs his poncho and wraps it behind Harley's shoulders. He doesn't put it over her head, he knows that'll only make it worse. Stop her skin from absorbing his body's heat. Nudging her down, Daryl slowly lowers them both onto the old rug next to the fire. He settles her between his legs and grabs his jacket to cover her bare ones.

"You're okay," He whispers into her ear. "I've gotcha. I've got ya."

Nearly an hour later the fire is fully ablaze. Some of the smoke leaks out into the house from the blocked chimney but neither occupant minds. Daryl leans his back against the couch, still on the floor. Harley still sits between his legs and leans back against his chest.

She still feels incredibly cold but she's not shaking as much anymore. Her toes are numb. Along with her nose and lips, but they're tingly as well. The small cabin is warming quicker than she'd thought it could and her along with it.

"Not how I saw my day going," She whispers into the silence. Her nose is stuffy and it affects her voice. Harley already knows she's going to have one hell of a cold. She curls her toes and pulls her feet closer to her chest, staring over at the fire. Her clothes are laid out nearby, drying at an incredibly slow rate. Harley should be thinking about that, about the group, about everything that's happened, and the new problems presented to them. But all she really can think about is the man holding her.

"You really are like a furnace," She mumbles, sliding her hands over the skin under his shirt and turning her head back into his chest. Daryl's quiet but she's not put off by it. She knows he's just upset.

Sniffing, Harley shifts again as Maggie's words ring out in her mind. Is it ironic that it took a near-death experience for her to realize how true they really are?

Pulling her arms back, Harley wipes her eyes and sits up a little, turning to face Daryl. His eyebrows furrow as she moves, his hands grabbing onto her arms. "I could've died today," She starts quietly with another sniff. "And I-...I used to be okay with that, thinking that I could die any day. I accepted it, made my peace with it." Clearing her throat, Harley looks down from his piercing eyes and at his chest. She reaches out with her fingers and fidgets with his shirt. "But when I fell in that water, saw those rotting teeth above me, I-I wasn't okay with it. Because I knew if I died, I'd have a regret."

Blinking away the heat in her eyes, Harley turns her gaze back up to his. He's watching her intensely but not saying anything. "I think with the way things are now, living in the moment is really the only thing you can do," Harley continues, her heart beating faster and faster every second that she does. "So, I'm done pretending. Acting like there's nothing here. Because there is and I know you see it too. Feel it. And if-if I'm wrong, then tell me. Tell me I'm wrong."

Sliding his hand up her arm, Daryl rests it against the side of Harley's neck and runs his thumb over her cheek. "You ain't wrong."

"Then kiss me," Harley doesn't get the chance to inhale again before Daryl's lips are on hers. She fists his shirt in both her hands as his run through her hair, pulling her closer to him, pressing into her. Harley feels like she's complete in a way she never has been before. Maybe it's cheesy, she knows she's never been a romantic, but she can't think of any other way to describe it.

Moving her hands up, Harley cups Daryl's cheeks and his other hand squeezes her waist. Harley smiles into the kiss before pulling away to breathe. She continues to grin down at him and rests her forehead against his own.

"Definitely not cold anymore," Harley squeals when Daryl digs his fingers into her sides and pushes his hand away from her ticklish skin.

"Stop," He grumbles to her, but his lips are turned up into a small smile.

"You're right, I'm still feeling a little chilly," Leaning in for another kiss, Harley wraps her arms around his neck and leans into him. "Yeah, that's definitely better."

Groaning, Daryl moves his hand back to her neck and rubs his thumb over her chin. "Should get back to the group."

"Are you really thinking about the others right now?"

"Not cause I wanna be," Daryl promises, his eyes flickering back down to her lips. "But we don't want 'em coming out to look for us. Could get lost or hurt."

"Yes, incapable, all of them," Harley jokes but it's cut short when she sneezes. "Dust." She excuses weakly but Daryl shakes his head, turning her face back towards him. "I'm fine."

"Ya were two seconds away from being a popsicle, you're not fine," He insists. "Come on," Nudging her off his legs, Daryl drapes the poncho back over her before grabbing her clothes. He moves her still damp jacket closer to the fire before handing her everything else. "Gonna check outside."

"Okay," Standing, Harley grabs her things and starts to dress as Daryl moves the curtain aside and glances out the window. He's not yet ready to open the door and let the cold air in. Not until they're ready to leave.

"It's fine," Harley assures him when he turns back only to divert his eyes to the ground when he sees she hasn't gotten her shirt on yet. "I don't mind. I mean, I've seen you shirtless, it's only fair." Snorting, Daryl rolls his eyes before starting back towards her. Harley sees his eyes glance over her scars before stopping on the ink lining her ribs. "Don't look so surprised, you knew about it."

Shrugging, Daryl looks down again and bends over to grab her shoes. "Thought it'd be smaller."

"It's not that big," Harley looks down at the tattoo over her ribs thoughtfully. Lifting her arms, Harly slides her shirt back over her head before grabbing the one Daryl loaned her. She offers it back to him but he shakes his head.

"Nah, keep it," He nods towards her jacket. "Can't wear that yet. You can use the poncho too, I got my jacket."

"Okay," Sliding her arms through the shirt sleeves, Harley rebuttons them and when she turns around, can't stop herself from lifting the fabric to her nose. She smiles when she smells Daryl on it and wonders if she can keep it even after her own clothes are dry again.

Sitting on the couch, Harley slides on her socks before taking her shoes from Daryl and lacing them up. They're still damp but there's not much to be done about that. She can't walk back barefoot. Pulling her tags out from under her shirt when the cold metal presses against her skin, Harley squeezes them once before dropping them to rest over her shirt instead.

Harley grimaces when she picks up her waterlogged gun. She sighs before holstering it and standing. She turns to grab the poncho but Dary's already holding it, he lifts it up and she ducks her head so he can place it over her shoulders. He runs a hand up her neck and into her damp hair. "Hats still wet."

"Yeah," Harley sighs and lifts her hand to press against his. She turns her face to him and places a kiss on the inside of his wrist before grabbing the rest of her things. Walking back to him, Harley reaches for his hand and laces their fingers together. She smiles up at him before they both make their way to the door.

Harley immediately starts shivering again as soon as the cold day's air hits her. She shrinks in on herself and squeezes Daryl's hand. "I never thought I'd miss being in weather so hot the bottoms of my shoes melted to the pavement so much."

Scoffing, Daryl releases her hand before looping his arm around her shoulders and leading her off the porch. Harley thinks she's nearly frozen through by the time they reach the storage units. Her lips have started turning blue again and she's shivering far more than Daryl. Which isn't saying much because he's not shivering at all. How!?

"What happened, are you guys alright?" Beth jumps to her feet when she sees them, and all eyes turn their way.

"I thought it was such a nice day out, decided to go for a swim," Harley jokes, her voice shaking nearly as much as her body. "Waters still a little cold."

"Had some trouble with walkers," Daryl explains what actually happened as Hershel makes his way over. "Held up in a house for a bit. Waited 'til she was dry to move again."

"Good," Hershel nods. "No telling what would've happened if you tried to make it back like that. Did you inhale any?" He asks while pressing what's probably a cold hand to her head but to Harley, it feels warm.

"Nah, I was only under a couple of seconds," She stutters, shaking her head as much as she can. "Just cold."

"I'll get you some more clothes," Maggie volunteers and moves out of the hall and into one of the units.

"First change then let's get you warmed up best we can," Hershel rubs her shoulder and guides her, and in turn Daryl, over to Maggie who now has an arm full of clothes.

"I'll be right back," She whispers assuredly up to Daryl who finally, after another second, lets her go. She offers him a small smile before following Maggie into the little room.

"We pulled up some mattresses we found in some of the other units," Maggie explains to her as she places the clothes out and Harley starts removing her own. "Cots, even a couch. Should be more comfortable tonight."

"Yeah," Harley gives a breathless chuckle while pulling on the warmest pants she's ever worn.

"You okay?" Maggie asks and bends down to pick up the shirt Harley let slip from her shaky hands.

"I'm great," She says a little sarcastic but then she realizes, despite feeling like her blood is ice, she actually is doing pretty great. "Actually, I uh..." Harley trails off while sliding a hoodie over her head. "I took your advice." Maggie turns to her, her eyes widening. She's trying not to smile, her eyebrows raised in a silent question. "Should've done it sooner."

Maggie squeals quietly but the sound echoes out around them and Harley grabs her arms. "Shhh," She hushes urgently, looking towards the door to see if anyone heard. "Not so loud."

"Well, sorry," Maggie says not very apologetically. "So did...I don't know, did you guys-"

"We kissed," Harley cuts her off. "Nothing else, you perv. You and Glenn both, jeez." Maggie chuckles at her statement and rolls her eyes.

"So, are you guys together now?"

"I-...we didn't actually talk about that, not really," Harley admits. "I was a little focused on not freezing to death and then...other things." Picking up the poncho and Daryl's shirt, Harley folds them around her arms. "Shut up," She whispers to Maggie who smiles suggestively at her. "Come on, five people could've changed by now."

Re-emerging from the unit, Harley moves over to Daryl and hands him his things back but holds onto the shirt. "I was actually hoping you would let me keep this for a bit," She whispers to him. "Smells like you." She explains with a small shrug and smile.

"Don't need no shirt for that," Daryl rasps quietly to her, stepping forward into her space a little more.

"Yeah, guess you're right," She taps his chest with her shaky hand and Daryl lifts his to grab onto it, holding it between his own.

"Come over here now," Hershel calls from behind her and Harley turns to see him by the battery-powered space heater they'd found. "Can't risk you getting any colder."

Still holding Daryl's hand, Harley leads him behind her. They sit against the wall, with her closest to the heater and Daryl wraps his arms around her, pulling her back against him. If the others are surprised by the action, they say nothing. It's not abnormal for the two of them to be together, to lean on the other. But not like this normally, not unless it's night and they're sleeping.

The hunter accepts the food Beth hands to him and brings it around in front of Harley. "Eat," He whispers into her ear. "You're too skinny."

"Looks like my diet has been working," Daryl squeezes her and Harley turns her head to see his scolding look at her poor attempt to joke. "Sorry," She mumbles before taking the food.

"More," He urges when he stops after only a few bites, but Harley shakes her head.

"I feel sick," She confesses quietly.

"'Cause you need to eat," He insists. "I know you've been giving your food to Carl and Lori. You gotta stop that."

"Just let me sleep for a bit," Harley slumps back against him. "I'll eat after, promise." Setting the food aside, Harley grabs Daryl's hands and holds his arms around her waist and closes her eyes.


Harley sleeps more than for a little bit. She sleeps the rest of the day and into the night. After the others turn in sans those on watch, Daryl carries her to one of the mattresses the others found while they were gone and lays her down before covering her with a heavy blanket.

He runs his thumb over her cheek, feeling her temperature. She's still cold but not nearly as much as before. Lying down beside her, Daryl drapes his arm over her waist but doesn't try to sleep. Instead, he studies her face. His heart had stopped when he saw her go down into the water, that walker on top of her. He'd killed those three walkers around him quickly before rushing over and pulling the one-off her before grabbing her.

It was too cold, way too cold to be out there for a long time. Falling into icy water could be a death sentence and they both knew it. But she's fine now, he has to remind himself. Well, she's still there, still with him, at least. He'd seen it when she was getting undressed, felt it when he was holding her close, only the thin fabric of his shirt separating them. She's far too skinny, especially to be out in this weather. It's why she has such trouble getting warm.

Carl told him she'd been giving her food away when he wasn't looking. Daryl had it in him to yell at her, but he'd stopped himself. Now he definitely can't. Seeing her like that, so small and helpless looking. So different from how she normally is.

Shifting closer to her, Daryl presses his nose against Harley's neck and feels her turn into him in her sleep. He closes his eyes and focuses on the feel of her wrapped in his arms.

Daryl will be the first to admit he's not the best with emotions. Growing up the way he did, not ever having any real relationships in his life besides his brother. It took him a long time to see that how he felt about Harley wasn't like you feel about someone who's just a friend. And she made comments, flirted a bit with him but he hadn't been sure she wasn't just joking around. There were times he thought she felt the same, but he hadn't wanted to make that mistake and risk losing her. So, he didn't do anything. Not until he knew for sure, not until the cabin.

And he's terrified now more than ever. Because now that he truly has her, he's scared he'll be the one to push her away. He'll be the reason that he loses her. And he knows he'll never be able to forgive himself for that.

Notes:

AAAAHHHHHHHHH! IT HAPPENED!

Possibly could've done another chapter with tension between them but I couldn't wait! I'll probably write it as a one-shot later.

What did you guys think!?

Though it took him a bit to figure it out, Daryl knew how he felt, he just couldn't bring himself to act on it. But since Harley made the first move...

And I was hoping the first note was misleading and made you guys worried.

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 21: Dip In the Lake

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

They're pushed out of the storage unit days later and continue on. Harley feels like they're going in circles and maybe they are. It's exhausting and harsh on all of them, Lori most of all. As the weather starts to grow warmer, her stomach grows bigger. They're still no more stable than when they left the farm, if they keep going like this, she's going to have to give birth on the road.

While the group takes a moment to stop on the side of the road, Daryl, Rick, and Harley split off into the forest. Daryl, much to Harley's irritation, goes off to hunt while she and Rick refill their water supply at a stream they stumble across.

Harley sniffs as she crouches onto the ground, looking around her before back to the water. It's a warmer day today. She's only wearing a T-Shirt with her leather jacket. Though the clothing item is worn down, she's surprised she's been able to hold onto this long.

Setting a now filled bottle of water to the side, Harley reaches for another and catches Rick looking her way. She stops and meets his eyes, asking a quick, "What?" before continuing with her task.

"You and Daryl,"

"What about us?" Harley questions without looking up. It's not like they've announced they're...relationship or whatever you want to call it, to the group. Harley doesn't know what they are, it feels weird calling him her boyfriend, but they are together. Neither of them are trying to label it. But a change must be obvious to the others, Rick at least. Maggie no doubt told Glenn what Harley told her. She really hopes they're not camp gossip.

"I just..." Turning her head to look at him, Harley sees Rick looking off with a small smile. His wrist rest over his knee, his hand moving up and down in that thoughtful way he does before he moves his gaze back to her. "It's good. You're good for each other."

Snorting, Harley shakes her head and finishes filling the next bottle. "Okay, Rick, whatever you say." Lifting her hand, Harley scratches at an itch on her oily scalp. What she wouldn't give to wash her hair. Or her entire body.

"How, uh," Harley looks back to Rick when he speaks again, observing his hesitant expression. "How's Lori?"

Blowing a heavy breath out her nose, Harley collects the bottles in her bag and stands. "I'm not a couple's counselor, Rick. And I'm not a go-between. You want to know how your wife is doing, ask her yourself," She hadn't been to sound so harsh but maybe that's what he needs. Rick looks upset over her response but not angry. Not at her, at least.

Sighing, Harley continues, softer this time. "Look, I get it, everything that happened was really shitty. But it's been months and you guys still have this cold shoulder thing going on. Now, that's your business, I really don't care how you go about dealing with it, but when it affects Carl, then I do care. He's trapped in the middle of you two, he's starting to feel the anger you feel towards Lori himself."

"He's stopped talking to her," She informs him gently. She has no idea if he's noticed or not but the relationship between mother and son has become strained. "And he's still upset with you. I don't know-" Harley cuts herself off with a frustrated sigh and shakes her head. "That boy needs his parents, both of them, not at odds with each other. I'm not saying you have to forgive and forget, but for his sake, do something."

Looking down at the ground, Rick nods. "Thank you," He eventually tells her, his voice deep but sincere.

"For what?" Harley huffs. "Yelling at you?"

Shaking his head, Rick chuckles. "I needed to hear it," He admits. "But I was talkin' about Carl. I see what you do," He informs her. "You watch out for him, you and Daryl. I appreciate it...I don't think he smiles anymore unless he's with you."

"It's just hard on him," Harley sighs. "You're still a good father, Rick. And Lori's a good mother. Just-there's not exactly a guide on how to raise a child during an apocalypse."

"No, there's not," Rick agrees. "Still, I thank you."

"You already said that," She reminds him, but he just smiles.

"I know."

"Okay then," Licking her lips, Harley looks back into the trees. "Should we head back to the others or wait here for Daryl?"

"Should probably head back," Rick decides. "Drop this off, check the map for somewhere to stay the night."

"Rick," Reaching out, Harley grabs their leader's arm and stops him. "We will find somewhere," She assures him. "We will. Might be a week, another month. Tomorrow. But we will." Biting the inside of his cheek, Rick looks down before nodding to her.

"We will," He repeats before they're both moving back towards the road where the group awaits. They spread the map out over the hood of the car like they've done so many times and discuss what direction to go in.

After it's decided, Harley moves to her bike and sits on it, worrying her bottom lip as she stares into the forest. To most, it looks as if she's just keeping watch, and she is. Just not for threats.

She sighs in relief when Daryl returns unharmed, carrying a few squirrels and a rabbit over his shoulders. She forces herself to stay where she is while the hunter hands the kills to Carol before he saunters over to her. "I see it went well."

"Coulda gone better," Daryl gripes and stops right in front of her. "How'd the water look?"

"Good enough, filled up, we'll boil it later," Harley informs him and glances over at the others. "Had a lovely chat with Rick."

"Yeah? You pull that Lori and Shane size stick out of his ass?" Daryl grumbles, shifting on his feet and Harley huffs a quiet laugh.

"Okay," She whispers and taps his chest, craning her head to look up at him. "Well, I definitely tried. Not sure how much got through that thick skull of his."

"You'd know," Daryl mutters and Harley scoffs.

"You calling me thick-headed?" She accuses in an offended tone, kicking her leg out to knock against his.

"Stubborn," Daryl nods, lowering his face a little closer to hers. "Among other things."

"Yeah? What things?" Harley smiles before Daryl can answer, Rick calls out to them.

"Daryl, Harley," Harley clenches her jaw but turns to him as Daryl does the same. "Time to go."

"Has he always had poor timing?"

"Yup," Daryl sighs and squeezes her arm before moving to his own bike. Sighing, Harley throws her leg over her bike and kicks back the kickstand. She waits until the others are ready before moving forward.


Shifting in her place on the porch railing, Harley looks up into the sky, watching as the sun sets. Something the end of the world can't touch is the beauty of colors dancing across the sky.

The door creaks open behind her and the sound of footsteps follow. Harley doesn't turn around, but she smiles when a warm chest presses against her back and she leans against him. "The others settled in?"

"Mm-hmm," Daryl hums and moves his arm around her, holding out some food. "Eat." He whispers into her ear before she can argue, and Harley looks back at him but does as he said.

"Yes, sir," Harley sits up straight and squeals when Daryl squeezes her sides. She elbows him in his stomach and shoots him a dirty look over her shoulder. "You want to sleep by yourself tonight?" As an answer, Daryl wraps his arms around her waist from behind and buries his face in her neck. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Finishing her food, Harley sets the bowl aside and grabs Daryl's hands, holding them against her stomach and leaning back into him more. Together, with his chin resting on her shoulder, they watch the rest of the sunset together.

Harley giggles when she feels Daryl's lip press against her neck and curses her ticklish nature. Turning her head over her shoulder, Harley looks up at him, smiling when he nudges her nose with his own before leaning in to kiss her.

Lost in each other, neither hear when the door creaks open behind them. "Oh, shit, sorry," Glenn apologizes and the two break apart to look at him. He stands in the doorway, his lips purses and eyes downcast. "Sorry." He mumbles again, his cheeks tinting a light shade of pink. "I-I was-it-it's my watch."

"Right," Harley takes pity on the boy and turns around before jumping to her feet. "Thanks, Glenn."

"Yup," He nods and clears his throat when his voice comes out higher than usual. Harley snorts and pats his arm as she walks by him, entering the house.

"No privacy," She whispers to Daryl when he comes up behind her. He grunts in response and grabs ahold of her hand, leading her into a small bedroom towards the back of the house. "I don't know how I still have blisters on my feet, I swear they're one big callus at this point." Sitting on the edge of the bed, Harley winces and she removes her boots and flexes her feet.

Daryl groans as he removes his own shoes from beside her. He throws them onto the floor before falling onto his back. Looking back at him, Harley smiles before removing her jacket, winces again at her sore muscles. Her entire body is sore at this point.

"A hot shower," She whispers. Daryl hums in question and she lifts one leg onto the bed to face him. "A hot shower," She repeats. "If I could have one thing right now, it'd be a hot shower. If one thing never failed to make me feel better, it was that."

"Hm," Sitting up, Daryl grabs Harley's waist and moves her to straddle his legs. "I'd give it to ya if I could."

"I know," Harley smiles fondly at him, pushing some of his ever-growing hair out of his eyes. She taps his nose with her thumb before sliding her hand to the back of his neck and pulling his lips towards hers. She smiles into the kiss when she feels his hands sliding up her waist and under her shirt, stopping before his skin can touch hers.

Wrapping her arm around his neck, Harley leans into Daryl and gently bites his bottom lip. She smirks when his hands tighten before finally moving higher over her skin, sending chills down her spine. Her hands are sliding back to his shoulders just as a knock sounds at the door.

"Jeez," Harley flinches and jumps, a hand coming to land over her heart. "Oh my gosh," She grumbles quietly. "At least they knocked." Pushing away, Harley stands and turns to the door, opening it to see Maggie's sheepish face.

"Sorry," She apologizes with a wince, her voice nothing more than a whisper. "Was just wondering if you had a tampon?"

"Yeah," Harley sighs. "Just give me a sec." Leaving the younger woman at the door, Harley turns to her bag Daryl had moved in there. He's lying back down now, one hand holding his other wrist with his arms on his forehead. Bending down, Harley opens her bag and grabs a few tampons before handing them over to Maggie.

"Thanks," She says gratefully while taking them but doesn't leave. Harley raises her eyebrows at her. "You know," She leans in and lowers her voice even more. "I have some condoms if-"

"Get out," Harley doesn't give Maggie the chance to respond before she's closing the door in her face. She'd feel bad about being rude if she didn't hear Maggie laughing as she walks back down the hall. Sighing, Harley turns back around and makes her way to the lantern stationed on the nightstand. "Should get some sleep, long day tomorrow."

"Hmm," Daryl hums and stays where he is a moment before pushing himself further up onto the bed. He rests one arm behind his head, his other resting over his stomach as he watches Harley unravel the braid in her hair.

Lifting her legs onto the bed, Harley turns and lies next to Daryl, her head cushioned on his chest. The arm once behind his head moves to wrap around her waist. He pushes the hem of her shirt up with his fingers before running them over the rough edges of skin there.

"Got that when I was twenty-two," Harley whispers to him, her own fingers drawing shapeless patterns on his chest. "First time I was shot. Bye-bye bikinis."

Daryl snorts before fully processing her words. "First time?" Harley grabs his other wrist and moves his hand to her thigh to where she knows a similar scar marks her skin. Neither can feel it through the fabric of her pants but she knows exactly where it is.

When Harley brings her hand back up to his chest, Daryl grabs the back of her knee and pulls her leg over his own. He lifts his head up and leans down to place a kiss on her hair in a move so soft, Harley blinks up at him. "Ask nicely and maybe I'll tell you about the others some time."

"I gotta say please?"

"I don't know," Harley shrugs thoughtfully and brings her hand to rest under her chin. "I kinda like that you don't." Daryl huffs and shakes his head at her. Harley only smiles and leans over to peck his lips before settling back down against his chest. "We need to get some sleep."

"You're the one who won't quit talkin'," In an attempt to sound offended, Harley only manages to chuckle and lightly smack his side. She feels a small laugh bubble out of his chest and rolls her eyes before wrapping her arm around his stomach. He's not wrong, after all.


They find a lake. There's a small, back road leading to the body of water and so it's decided to bring everyone down, refill their water supply, wash their clothes, and whatever else. They have enough food for a bit, a scouted house for the night. The area is beautiful, serene. They didn't even have to take down any walkers. It's a nice change of pace. It's almost like a day off.

Harley is standing back from the water with Rick, T-Dog, and Maggie, talking about future plans while keeping an eye on the others at the water's edge. Harley glances over at Daryl who stands by his bike for a moment, watching him remove his vest before turning back to address something Rick said.

When Daryl starts towards them, Harley offers him a smile that turns from happy to confused when he continues forward and leans down in front of her. "What're you-" Harley yelps when she's suddenly thrown over his shoulder. "What? No! Put me down!" Harley tries to look back at the others for help, but they just stand there, watching them both with a smile. She sees Maggie laughing and shoots her a glare.

"Daryl-" Harley is cut off by the sound of water shifting around the man's legs as he pushes deeper and deeper. She's just about to tell him off but she's once again stopped when he drops her under the water.

Resurfacing, Harley scowls at Daryl through the strands of hair escaping her ponytail. He smirks at her but Harley surges forward and grabs his shoulders, lifting herself up and pushing him under the water in return. Then she feels him, still under the water, grab her thighs and wrap them around his waist before coming back up for air.

Face inches from her own, Daryl stares into Harley's eyes as he reaches around to undo her hair tie, letting her wet hair loose. Despite her clothes now being soaked, Harley smiles at him and brings her hands up to cup his cheeks. The others are completely forgotten as Daryl pulls her closer to him and crashes his lips onto hers.

Whistles and hollers are heard from the shore. Daryl and Harley both lift a hand to flip the rest of the group off without breaking their kiss. Screw privacy, Harley thinks. She may not be here tomorrow, being in front of others isn't going to stop her from kissing the man she loves. Wait, what-

More splashes sound out, and Daryl and Harley finally break away, turning to see some of the others coming into the water as well. "Oh, no," Harley mumbles and wraps her arms around Daryl's neck. "I think you started something."

"Good," Daryl scoffs. "'Bout time too. Walkers gonna track us down from smell alone miles away."

"Are you saying I stink?"

"Yup," Daryl nods before dropping his legs out from under him, knocking both of them back under the water. Unwrapping her legs from around him, Harley stands on her toes and splashes him with water.

"You should smell yourself sometime, handsome," Harley shoots back and hurries away from him as he chases after her. She's knee-deep when he catches up to her, his arm wrapping around her waist and lifting her feet off the ground. "That's so not fair." She grumbles to him over her shoulder.

"Never said it was, sweetheart," Daryl mocks, using the pet name in jest but it still causes Harley to smile. Suddenly, water is splashing onto her and Harley turns to see Carl laughing at her. She gapes at him before struggling out of Daryl's arm and running towards him.

"I see how it is," She says while scooping water into her hands and throwing it on him. "You want to gang up against me? Go right ahead, see how well it ends for you." Water hits Harley's already soaked back and she spins around, flinging water back at Daryl before doing the same to Carl.

Most of the others join in soon enough. Lori watches with a smile from the shore, cleaning herself up but not participating in the strenuous physical activities. Harley sees Rick come up behind his wife and place a hand on her shoulder. Lori grabs onto it before turning to place a kiss on his palm. Harley smiles before dodging more water splashed her way.

When everyone's clean and the clothes have been washed, they start packing up, ready to head back to the house for the night.

"Hey," Daryl nods to Rick who turns to him, ignoring the water drops that fall from his hair and onto his face. "We're gonna stay back," He nods to Harley who's standing before Carl, ruffling the smiling boy's hair. "Circle around, try to hunt some dinner."

Looking back towards Harley and his son, Rick purses his lips but nods. "Thank you for today," He says to Daryl. "He hasn't laughed like that in a long time." Biting his lip, Daryl looks down and nods as Harley walks up behind him. "Be careful, both of you," He tells them sternly.

"Yes, dad," Harley quips, grinning when Rick rolls his eyes before leaving them with a small wave. Once the others are gone, Harley turns to the large rock bathed in sun overlooking the lake. She removes her soaked shirt and rings out the fabric, watching the water drip down onto the stone below her and pool by her feet.

When Daryl walks up behind her, Harley spins around and holds a hand up. "Don't you dare push me in," She warns sternly. "You better just be happy I didn't have my gun on me the first time."

"Not gonna push ya," Daryl grumbles and continues forward until he's standing in front of her. He lifts his hands but drops them back to his side before he can touch her, his gaze going with them.

"What's wrong?" Harley asks, her voice laced with worry. She ducks down to catch his gaze, reaching out to take his hand.

"Nothin'," He shrugs, his hold on her light.

"You know I'm not actually upset, right?" Harley questions, dropping her shirt so she can take his other hand. "I mean, I think I gave as good as I got." She tries to laugh and flicks some of his wet hair out of his face. "Hey," Harley softens her voice and nudges Daryl's nose up with her own. "Today was a good day." She reminds him gently.

"Yeah," Daryl agrees with a small nod and finally takes a real hold on her hand and squeezes.

"Come on, let's dry off a bit before going out, yeah?" Releasing only one of his hands, Harley bends down to retrieve her shirt before leading him further into the sun. Daryl removes his own soaked shirt and rings it out and throws it back over his shoulders but leaves it unbuttoned. Harley sighs quietly and reaches out to hold his hand silently. She's seen enough of his mood drops by this point to recognize one when she sees it. She's not completely unfamiliar with them after having many herself. There's not much else to do about it then stay by his side.

"I never minded sweating," Harley starts randomly. "I don't like the way it makes my clothes stick to my skin but other than that, I don't know, makes me feel better." Daryl hums with a small nod, turning his head to glance over at her still shirtless figure. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" She asks with a small grin.

"Not the word I'd use," Daryl mumbles and looks back out at the water. Harley smiles and shakes her head, looking down at her feet. She lifts her hand to grab onto her tags and glances back at Daryl but drops them quickly before sliding her shirt over her head.

"Do you want to go or stay?" She eventually asks while moving to stand in front of him.

"Should go, don't got much light left,"

Shaking her head, Harley taps his chest, getting him to look down at her. "I didn't ask what we should do, I asked what you wanted to do." When Daryl doesn't answer, Harley raises her arms to his neck and pulls him down to her. He rests his head on her shoulder, his face buried in her neck as his arms wrap around her waist. She runs her fingers through his hair and just holds him until finally, he's ready to move on.

Notes:

This chapter skipped a bit from the last one and the last scene skipped a bit from the first few. I've been thinking about writing some one-shots about more time in the winter. I don't know, if anyone would be interested in reading those.

Thanks for reading

'-'

Chapter 22: Our Future

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

While the others spread the map out across the car's hood, Harley stands back beside the other vehicle with Lori. She's sure she'll be filled in on the plan later. "How are the cramps?"

"Haven't had one in over a week," Lori answers, her hand running up and down over her stomach.

"That's not a bad thing," Harley assures her when she hears the worry in the woman's voice. "You're exhausted, stressed, hungry. This pregnancy isn't like your last, it's different. It'll feel different. No need to worry, it'll only make things worse."

"Easier said than done," Lori chuckles quietly but there's no humor behind it.

"Yeah, it's definitely that," Harley sighs and looks down before over to the others. She catches Daryl's eyes, and he points to himself and Rick before the forest. Harley nods that she understands and turns back to Lori. "You just need to rest as much as you can."

"Cause I haven't been doing that?"

Humming, Harley bites her lip and looks around. "Well, just try to relax right now, okay?"

"Okay," Lori nods. "Thank you."

"For what little good I can do," Harley huffs.

"No, you do plenty," Lori reminds her. "Not just with me. With the others. Carl especially. He looks up to you, not like he does me."

"He's just..." Harley trails off and licks her lips. "He's a kid. Gotta be thirteen by now. Teenagers, the worst." She scoffs in mock annoyance and Lori laughs. It's small but it's real, unlike before. "Give him time, he'll come around. I'm afraid that's all the advice I can offer on the subject. Never spent a lot of time with kids."

"Well, you're good with them. With him," For some reason, Lori's words only serve to make Harley feel worse. "I'm thankful for that," Lori assures her and reaches out, squeezing her hand before releasing it.

When Daryl and Rick return not after not much time, Harley approaches them with a questioning look. Rick tells them about the prison, about the walkers inside but the intact fences. They all load into their cars and on their bikes before heading that way.

They cut a hole in part of the first fence to get inside. Glenn ties it shut with wire behind them and everyone jogs around to the first gate before taking a moment to observe the inner field. "It's perfect," Rick whispers. "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight."

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asks and Glenn volunteers, but Maggie and Rick tell him no before the latter begins giving out positions.

"You, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there, pop 'em through the fence," He points further down the chain length fence. "Daryl, you, Harley, and Carol go to the other tower. Carl, Hershel, you take this tower. I'll run for the gate."

Nodding with their new roles, everyone moves to their assigned place and gets into position. Harley removes the rifle from her shoulders and stands near the railing before taking careful aim. She watches Rick closely, taking out the walkers closest to him until he reaches the other side of the yard and closes the gate before climbing the guard tower next to him.

"Light it up!" Daryl shouts to everyone once Rick is safe and more gunfire soon joins there's until the last walker falls.

Releasing a long breath, Harley allows herself a smile and turns to Daryl. He returns the action with just as much enthusiasm and squeezes the back of her neck before the three of them rejoin the others.

Everyone shares large grins and laughs as they enter the safe field. Harley checks in with Lori, unable to feel more confident than she has in a while about the baby. This is the best they've found and if they take the whole prison, it'll be perfect for her to have the baby.

They gather firewood before the sun sets. Everyone sits around it while they eat except Rick who walks the fence more times than needed. Daryl stands on top of the fallen bus and Harley joins him after a few minutes with some food.

"The stars are so bright," Harley observes quietly after a moment, her head craned back to look up at the night sky. Daryl hums from behind her and shovels his food into his mouth. Harley glances back and chuckles.

"What?" He asks before swallowing and Harley shrugs.

"I just think you're cute."

Scoffing, Daryl shakes his head before setting the empty bowl by his feed. "Stop."

"I do, though," Harley continues and steps up to him, looping her fingers through his belt loops. "Or maybe cute isn't the right word. How about..." With a thoughtful look, Harley brings a hand up and taps her chin. "Ruggedly handsome? Yes, that's the one."

Daryl huffs, turning his head away and Harley chuckles. "Are you blushing? Now that's cute," When Daryl rolls his eyes, Harley lifts her hand to turn his face back towards her. "I'm serious, you know?" She says in a less teasing tone. "I say it like a joke but, it's not really."

"Hm," Daryl hums and looks down into her eyes, swaying when Harley pulls him closer to her.

"Hey," Lifting herself onto her toes, Harley nudges his nose with her own before placing a light kiss on his lips. "I don't know if you know but..." Trailing off, Harley bites her lip and looks down before peeking up at him through her lashes. "I have a huge crush on you."

Daryl growls and grabs her sides, squeezing until she squeals before pulling her back into his chest. "Stop playin'."

"You love it," Harley shoots back before grabbing the back of his neck and bringing him down to kiss her. He holds tightly to her waist as she leans back and returns the kiss fervently. Pulling away slowly, Harley keeps her hands on Daryl's neck and plays with the end of his hair as she looks up into his eyes. "This is good, this place," She starts again after a moment. "We'll make it good."

"We will," Daryl nods in agreement and tentatively leans towards her again. Harley moves the rest of the way to kiss him. It doesn't surprise her anymore, how one second he can be so confident in something and the next shy about it. She's learned that's just how he is, how he grew up. He might act like he doesn't care but deep down, he's still that insecure kid who's scared of his father's shadow and all the bad things he ever said to him. Harley wishes she could punch that man in the face. Many times. With a chair.

"Come on," Harley pulls him towards the edge of the bus. "Need to get some rest. The fences got us tonight." Nodding, Daryl lets her go before lowering himself off the side of the vehicle before turning to her. He raises his hands and grabs her waist, helping lower her to the ground with her hands on his shoulders. "And they say chivalry is dead."

"Pfft, c'mon," Grabbing her hand, Daryl and Harley walk back towards the others in time to hear the ending of Beth and Maggie singing. Harley smiles at the girls and squeezes Daryl's hand before leaning her head onto his shoulder.

Rick speaks up after a moment of silence passes around them. They talk about the plan for tomorrow, the possible supplies this place could hold. Their future safe haven is closer and closer to being their present as the second's tick by.

When the man stands and walks away, Lori follows after him. Harley sighs before grabbing her bag. She and Daryl, like the others, spread out their bedding for the night and settle down.

Daryl lies on his back, one arm cushioned under his head, the other resting over his stomach. Harley rests on her side, watching him. "Worried about tomorrow?"

"Nah," He shakes his head before turning to look at her. "It's like ya said, we got it."

"I am usually right, aren't I?"

"You keep tellin' yourself that, girl," Daryl says with a scoff, moving his arm automatically to wrap around her when she shifts closer.

"I will," She whispers into his ear and kisses his cheek before resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes.


Harley doesn't feel very rested the next morning and she's sure the others feel the same. So, like them, she pushed through. She climbs to her feet with the others, eats while they talk through the plan before they're standing by the gate Rick closed the day before.

She, Daryl, Rick, Maggie, Glenn, and T-Dog all line up, blunt weapons ready. Hershel and Rick open the gate and they charge in, killing the closest walkers before forming a circle, they're backs to each other.

They move forward slowly much surely, killing the walkers in their path. T-Dog splits off to grab a riot shield and they push forward. There's another gate around the corner, full of walkers. Rick tries to close it but is stopped when more walkers in riot gear appear before them. All wearing helmets.

Surging forward, Harley grabs one's head and pulls it back. "Maggie!" She calls to the younger woman who wastes no time in sliding her knife under the walker's chin and into his skull. With a path clear, Daryl and Rick shut the gate before helping dispatch the rest of the walkers.

"It looks secure," Glenn says with a glance around them.

"Not from the look of that courtyard over there," Daryl points. "And that's a civilian."

"So, the interior could be overrun with walkers from outside the prison," T says and Harley sighs, bending down to rest her hands on her knees.

"Well, if there're walls down, what're we gonna do? We can't rebuild this whole place."

"We can't risk a blind spot," Rick says with a glance back towards the group. "We have to push in."

"Alright," Pushing herself up, Harley brushes her hand against Daryl's arm and nods to him before they're moving inside the prison. The door echos into the large, empty space when they open it. Their footsteps are loud in the eerily quiet space. They scan the common room before moving into the cell block.

Trash litters the floors, dead bodies lie in some of the cells. Only on the upper levels, still locked up, do they find a few walkers that are easily taken care of before being dragged outside. Once it's secure, they bring the others inside.

Daryl doesn't want to sleep in a cell and Harley doesn't blame him. Being in a small space, one meant to lock people in...it's not as comforting as it might be to some. She's not claustrophobic and neither is he. There're other reasons for it that her brain is too tired to think about right now. She does think that if they really are able to stay here, they'll both come around to the idea.

She sits on the thin mattress he drug off one of the beds, her back against the wall, eyes closed. He lowers himself down next to her and nudges her knee with his. "You good?"

"Just tired," Harley whispers, peeking her eyes open to look over at him.

"You're shakin'," He observes softly and reaches out to take her hand.

"Really tired," She restates with a forced smile, still leaning heavily against the wall. She closes her eyes again, and when Daryl lifts his free hand to her cheek, she leans into his touch. She feels his thumb swipe under her eye, over the dirt on her skin. He nudges her to lie down against him and she does, drifting off before she can feel him undoing her braided hair.

Harley wakes with a silent gasp sometime into the night. She doesn't remember her dream, only the way it made her feel. Scared, anxious, a little nauseous. Daryl didn't wake, thankfully. He lies on his side, facing her, his face peaceful in sleep. Harley smiles despite her ill feelings and moves a hand up between them to gently push his hair back.

He looks younger in his sleep. Soft. It's not often she sees the absence of tension around his eyes, it's there even in his sleep sometimes. But not tonight. Harley relaxes with the knowledge that he's getting a good night's rest.

For the next few minutes, Harley just studies Daryl's face. She keeps running her fingers lightly through his hair until he tightens his arms around her in his sleep. This causes a giggle to escape Harley without her permission, rousing the man from his slumber.

"Wha're ya laughin' at?" Daryl rasps sleepily, his eyes barely squinting open.

"Just you, handsome," Harley whispers back in response, nudging his nose with her own. "Admiring how cute you are when you sleep."

"Ya watchin' me sleep now?" Daryl blinks his eyes open a bit more, voice still heavy with sleep. Harley isn't a hundred percent convinced that he's even completely awake.

"I've caught you doin' the same to me," Harley reminds him while delivering three taps to his chest. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"S'fine," Daryl closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I ain't cute." He grumbles then, his face scrunching up at the term.

"We'll just have to agree to disagree on that one," Harley hums and laughs quietly when he throws his leg over hers, grumbling under his breath. "Cutie."

"Best not tempt fate, sunshine."

"Ooh, sunshine, I like that," Daryl blows out a breath and rests his chin on top of her head.

"Go back to sleep," He tells her and closes his own eyes, hugging her smaller body to his. Harley smiles, her dream and the bad feelings forgotten as she snuggles into his chest and drifts off once more.

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 23: The Tombs

Notes:

I have another story for TWD I'm writing but I want to see if anyone will be interested in reading. I really suck at explaining things though.

It's not a romance story but it does focus on Daryl and an OC. Set in Alexandria time, Daryl is out by himself when he runs into a mysterious figure. I really suck at summary's, uh...There's also a dog. Trust to be earned, someone gets shot. The dog is there. Uhh, yeah. I don't want to give too much away but the working title at the moment is, 'Immune'.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

After checking up and talking with Lori and Hershel, both Harley and the older man join the others as they prepare to go into the prison tunnels. They take their guns but arm themself with knives and other blunt weapons.

"You won't need that," Rick tells Carl and takes the helmet from him. "I need you to stay put."

"You're kidding," The boy scoffs.

"We don't know what's in there," Rick reminds him. "Something goes wrong, you could be the last man standing. I need you to handle things here."

That seems to be enough for Carl who nods more confidently now. "Sure." Harley smiles and reaches out to push his hat down over his eyes. Carl grumbles but grins at her anyway.

When something is placed over her head and around her neck, Harley turns to Daryl and raises her eyebrows. She looks from him and down at the vest over her chest before back. He doesn't say anything, only mimics her expression while connecting the straps around her sides. Harley lets him.

"Okay, let's go," Rick says and the group files out of the cellblock and into the common room before over to the tunnel door. It's pitch black when they go in, their flashlights providing the only light. Glenn sprays arrows on the walls, pointing the way back so no one gets lost. Harley remembers how hospitals were, those places were like giant mazes. This place isn't much different.

Maggie shifts back and lets out a quiet yelp when she bumps into Harley. Everyone turns to her but is quick to look ahead when they see there's no threat. Harley offers the younger woman a smile and squeezes her arm before pushing forward.

It's quiet after that for a few turns before they nearly run into a group of walkers and Rick's ushering them back. It's chaos after that. There's no other word for it. They're moving quickly through the dark tunnels, trying to find the right path away from the threat chasing after them. They run into more on another turn, and it herds them into a different direction.

"Shit," Harley curses quietly once they're out of immediate danger. "Glenn and Maggie." She swears they were right beside her.

"We have to go back."

"But which way?" No one answers. Rick only stands and everyone follows his lead. He pushes the door to the room they ducked into open and quickly but quietly moves out.

T-Dog and Hershel take the rear with Daryl and Harley following behind Rick. They try to retrace their steps best as can but before they get far, a scream cuts through the air. Everyone immediately turns, rounding the corner to see Hershel on the ground with a walker biting into his leg.

Rick shoots the walker and Harley rushes to the old man's side, lifting him up with Daryl's help. Her mind is in full soldier mode, as someone in her old platoon used to say. She doesn't let herself feel what's just happened, doesn't think about anything other than getting their injured teammate to a safe place to fix him up. Even if she knows he can't be saved.

The others clear the way and they start down the only clear path. They come across a door with handcuffs that T-Dog breaks before they push their way in. The room has light shining in from windows on the far wall. She and Daryl place Hershel onto the ground while T-Dog closes the door, blocking it best he can from the walkers outside.

Harley lifts Hershel's pant leg, looking at the gaping bite wound on his lower calf before back up to Rick. He looks into her eyes before his gaze lowers to his hatchet. Harley follows the movement and nods once to him removing her belt.

She ties it tightly just above Hershel's knee before holding his legs down with Daryl's help. "Only one way to keep him alive," Rick says before lifting the weapon and bringing it down onto Hershel's leg in a quick movement.

Hershel screams as Rick continues to hack through the strong bone in his leg. Harley bites the inside of her lip and looks up when Hershel goes limp under her hold.

Rick looks sick by the time he's done removing Hershel's leg. Harley doesn't expect anything less, it wasn't an easy thing to do. Definitely isn't pretty. The medic grabs the closest thing she can find and holds it against the bleeding wound.

Daryl stands, his crossbow pointed. Harley missed whatever he whispers to Rick, and she continues to ignore them in favor of elevating Hershel's leg. "Hold pressure here," She tells Maggie, grabbing the woman's hands and guiding them to her father's knee. "As hard as you can."

Maggie nods shakily but does as she's told. Harley looks back and sees the problem. Five prisoners, alive, staring over at them. Daryl keeps his weapon trained on them as Harley nudges Glenn and points to the metal rolling table near them. "Grab that," She says and he's quick to do so.

"Rick," Harley calls to the man, lifting Hershel's torso as best she can. The man snaps out of it and helps her and the others lift the old man onto the table. "T, the door!" Only one walker comes in when they open it. T-Dog pushes it against the wall and kills him quickly before moving to clear their path.

It's a rough, quick journey back to the cell block. Harley tries to help push Hershel while holding pressure on his bleeding leg. Rick calls ahead when they're close enough and Carl opens the door for them.

They wheel Hershel into a cell and stop next to the bed. "On three we lift, and Maggie move the table out of the way as quick as you can," Everyone takes a place and grabs onto Hershel. Harley then counts to three and they transfer the man onto the bottom bunk.

"I need towels, sheets, anything we can use for bandages," She says while using the nearby blanket.

"Carl, go get the towels next to my bed," Lori tells her son and the boy nods before rushing off.

"We need to keep his leg elevated, get pillows or anything to put under it," Harley thinks Rick is the one to follow this order but before she can conform, Glenn is speaking.

"We can burn the wood to clot the blood, I can start a fire."

"No," Harley shakes her head. "The shock could kill him, and it won't stop the arteries from bleeding. We just have to keep it dressed and let it heal on its own. Carol," Looking up at the woman, Harley nods towards Hershel's head. "I need you to keep track of his pulse, monitor his temperature."

Raised voices reach their ears and everyone glances back towards them. "What was that?" Beth questions.

"Prisoners, survivors," Rick responds. "It's alright, everybody stay put." Harley takes a deep breath and focuses back on Hershel. She knows Daryl is in there, but she also knows he can handle himself. Hershel needs all of her focus to be on him, not on something she has no control over.

"How's he looking?" Carol whispers to her a few minutes later, her hand resting on Hershel's forehead.

"His body just needs to process what's happened, accommodate for it. The bleeding will stop soon," She just hopes it's not too late by the time it does. "Fever?"

"Not yet," Carol shakes her head. "His heart rate is up, though."

"To be expected," Harley whispers almost to herself. "It's just because of the blood loss." Looking over her shoulder, Harley sees Maggie staring down at her father, her face the perfect picture of grief. "Mags, help me get this off?"

Snapping back to herself, Maggie nods and unstraps the vest from Harley and lifts it over her head. "He's tough, Maggie," Harley continues when the young woman steps back. "I've dealt with this before. Soldiers losing arms and legs. And it's scary, it's bad but they made it through. So will your father."

Glenn and Maggie step out a few minutes later. Harley hears them whispering a bit before Glenn returns alone. "Went to check on Beth," He says in response to her questioning look. "That true? What you said?" He ventures to ask after a moment, his voice hopeful.

"Yeah," Harley nods. It's true, she treated people who lost limbs before. But not all of them made it.

The others return a little while later. Rick and T-Dog pass by the cell carrying food from the cafeteria. Lori updates her husband on Hershel's condition, and he makes Glenn take his handcuffs.

"Glenn, watch him for me? I'll be right back," Harley stands and takes in the unsure look on the young man's face. "He's alright, the bleeding has mostly stopped. I won't be gone but a minute."

"Okay," Glenn nods and takes her seat, his eyes roaming over Hershel.

Harley takes a breath once she's outside the cell. Her hands are still covered in Hershel's blood. Shaking her head, Harley starts towards the common room but stops when Daryl steps out. "You good?"

"Yeah," She nods, stopping right in front of him but she keeps her arms by her sides. "So is he, for now. How about our new problem?"

"Gonna help 'em clear out their own cell block," Daryl nods back towards where the prisoners are. "See what happens."

"I don't like that," Harley shakes her head. "'See what happens'. Doesn't exactly instill confidence."

"We got it," Daryl assures her. "You got this?"

"This," Harley repeats with a glance back towards Hershel's cell. "I did this stuff before. Maybe under different circumstances but a severed leg is a severed leg. It's not foreign territory. But...Hershel is strong but he's old. I don't even have bandages, much less antibiotics to stop infection. Without them, it's inevitable."

"Hey," Reaching out, Daryl grabs Harley's hand despite the dried blood sticking to her skin. "If anyone can help, it's you."

"I'm not a miracle worker, Daryl," She argues but squeezes his hand back.

"Never said ya were," Daryl whispers. "Don't gotta be. It's like ya said, he's strong."

"Yeah," Harley sighs and looks down. "Guess we'll see." Rick comes by then and gestures for Daryl to follow. "Be careful."

"I'll keep my eye on him," Rick tells her and Harley offers a small smile. She squeezes Daryl's hand one more time before letting go and turning back to Hershel's cell.

Maggie comes in a few minutes later, asking for a moment alone with her father. Harley looks to the unconscious man before nodding and pushing herself to her feet. She waves for Glenn to follow her and he does.

"Come on, they'll be fine," Harley assures the young man and grabs his elbow, leading him further away from the cell.

They rest across from each other, Glenn leaning against the stair railing while Harley leans against the wall. After a few moments of silence, Glenn speaks, his voice soft and quiet. "She's already giving up on him."

"She's just scared," Harley whispers back to him. "Sometimes...when all you feel is grief and fear, it's hard to be optimistic." Glenn ducks his head and nods slowly, frown still pulling his lips down. "But they'll be okay," Harley tries to assure him. "They will. I truly believe that."

When enough time has passed, Harley and the others go back to check on Hershel. Lori takes Carol's place in monitoring Hershel's vitals while the others stand behind them.

"I thought you were organizing the food," Glenn's confused statement pulls Harley's attention away from Hershel's leg. She turns her head to the door to see a smiling Carl.

"Even better," He grins and drops a bag by her feet and her eyes widen at the contents.

"Where did you get this?" Lori asks her son while helping Harley pull out clean bandages.

"Found the infirmary," Carl shrugs. "Wasn't much left but I cleared it out."

"You went by yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Are you crazy?" Lori scoffs in disbelief.

"No big deal, I killed two walkers,"

"You-alright, do you see this?" Lori gestures to Hershel while Harley starts wrapping his leg. "This was with the whole group."

"We needed supplies so I got them."

"I appreciate that but-"

"Then get off my back!"

"Carl," Harley finally snaps. Her hands freeze and she turns to look at the boy over her shoulder. "We appreciate what you did but you never go off alone like that. And you never speak to your mother that way." Harley knows if she ever took that tone with her own mother, she wouldn't still be breathing today.

"Listen," Lori sighs. "I think it's great that you want to help-" But before she can finish, Carl is darting out the door.

"Sorry," Harley apologizes. "Maybe give him a minute?" She suggests and Lori nods, deflating a little in her seat. Picking up where she left off, Harley finishes wrapping Hershel's leg before sitting back to admire her work. "That'll do for now," She eventually says to the others. "Help prevent infection along with the antibiotics."

Harley raises her hands to her face but stops herself when she sees the blood still staining her skin. She's exhausted, her body is sore. She feels like she hasn't slept in days and Daryl's still gone with the others. Who knows what could be happening out there-

"Hey," Inhaling sharply, Harley turns and blinks up at Glenn. "Why don't you take a minute?" Looking away from him and back to Hershel, Harley opens her mouth but closes it before getting any words out. "We got it." Glenn assures her and she nods before pushing herself to her feet.

"Thanks," She whispers to him and exits the cell. She walks away immediately, resisting the urge to run her hands over her hair. She turns into the last cell in the room that hasn't been claimed and rests her back against the wall before sliding down to the floor.

Pulling her legs up, Harley rests her elbows over her knees and leans her head back against the wall. She squeezes her eyes shut tight and tries to take a deep breath. When she opens them again, her gaze lands on her pink and red hands. She stands just as quickly as she sat and pushes up the stairs.

Grabbing a water bottle, Harley wets a rag before scrubbing away at her skin. By the time she's done, her skin is more pink from irritation than blood. Finally giving in, Harley runs her hands over her head and grips her hair, forcing out a few deep breaths before something catches her eye.

"Hey, bud," Walking into the cell, Harley lowers herself onto the bed beside Carl. The boy doesn't look up or acknowledge her, just continues to stare down at his feet. "Sorry 'bout that. You know your mom was just worried, right? When moms get worried, when they get scared, sometimes they get angry."

"I can handle myself," Carl finally grumbles.

"I know," Harley assures him with a small grin. "We all do. Do you think I don't worry about Daryl even though he's more than capable? It's just what family does."

"Did your mom get angry?"

"Yeah," Harley snorts. "She got angry. More often than not."

"Because she was worried?"

"Sometimes," Harley nods when Carl turns his head to look at her. "Especially when I told her about the army. But...she was just an angry person. It's no one's fault."

"What about your dad?" Carl ventures to ask, twisting on the bed to face her more.

"I don't know, I never knew my dad," Harley admits, turning to lean back against the bed poles. "He uh, he left," She answers the unasked question in Carl's eyes. "Before I was born."

Carl's eyebrows furrow and he cocks his head curiously. "Why would he do that?"

"I-I don't know, kid. I've asked myself that more times than I can count. Never found the answer." Carl reaches out and takes her hand and Harley smiles sadly at the boy.

"Daryl will be fine, and my dad. They should be back soon."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, bud." Lifting her hand, Harley pushes his hat down right before a shout reaches her ears.

"Help! Someone help!" Jumping to her feet, Harley rushes out of the cell and downstairs. She sees Maggie holding a crying Beth away from their father when she enters the cell before turning to the older man herself. She places her hand on his still chest before placing her ear over his heart. Nothing.

Standing back, Harley laces her fingers on one hand over her other before placing them on Hershel's chest. She leans down and starts compressions, counting them under her breath. When one round has no effect, Harley pulls Hershel's head back and opens his mouth. She plugs his nose before delivering two rescue breaths. She starts pumping his heart once again until finally takes a breath for himself. Harley deflates, her forehead falling to rest on the edge of the mattress and now she's the one who can't breathe.

Sure that Hershel is once again stable, Harley sits back in her normal seat and watches. Waiting. For something, anything. When the door behind them squeaks open, Harley jumps up and looks out of the cell, breathing her first real breath of relief when she sees the others returning, unharmed.

"Still no fever," She tells Rick before stepping out of the cell and over to Daryl.

"Hershel stopped breathing," Carl tells his father. "Harley saved him." Rick looks back at her, now standing under Daryl's arm, and nods before moving to Hershel's side.

Harley lifts her hand and grabs onto the front of Daryl's shirt before leaning into him and closing her eyes. She feels his arm tighten around her before his lips press against her forehead. It's not often he displays soft moments of affection in front of the others, but she figures their attention is all on Hershel anyway. And when she hears Beth's soft voice, that's confirmed.

"Daddy?" Opening her eyes, Harley shifts forward to peek into the cell, her lips turning up into a smile when she sees Hershel doing the same. The older man blinks at the top of the bunk before turning to Rick. He lifts his hand once the handcuffs are gone and grasps onto their leaders before Rick backs away, letting his daughters rush to his side.

"How'd it go?" Harley whispers to Dary but doesn't take her eyes away from Hershel.

"S'fine," He mumbles to her. "Tell ya 'bout it later." Moving his arm, Daryl shifts and turns her until she's facing him. He gently grabs her face in his hands and stares down at her, observing her. "You look like shit."

"Thanks," Harley chuckles. "You really know how to charm a girl." Raising her hands, Harley grabs onto Daryl's wrist, holding him to her. "I feel like shit." She confesses quietly.

"You did good," Daryl tells her before pulling her to him. "C'mon, ya need to eat." Leading her away, Daryl sits Harley down and makes her eat a whole can of food before they both head to bed.

"Long day," Harley sighs while lying on her back, staring up at the high prison ceilings.

"Understatement," Daryl grunts, shoving his pillow under his head before turning to look at her. "You good?"

"Yeah," Harley sighs and lets her head fall towards him. She offers a small smile while lifting her hand to run through his hair. "Just...ready for thing to be calm for a bit, you know?"

"Mm-hmm," Daryl nods while chewing his bottom lip. Harley looks back up and places her arms over her stomach before closing her eyes. "What're ya doin'?"

"Uh," Furrowing her brows, Harley looks back at him. "Sleeping?"

"C'mere," Daryl gestures to himself and Harley huffs but complies.

"Never would've taken you for such a big cuddler," She whispers after resting her head on his chest. She feels Daryl grunt under her and she looks up at him. "I'm just teasing. You know I love this side of you."

"Hmm," Daryl hums, his hand moving up her side and into her hair. "What side?"

"The one no one else gets to see," Harley smirks and lifts herself up to place a soft kiss on his lips. "Gotta clean the yard tomorrow, should get as much sleep as we can."

"Yeah," Daryl whispers, wiping his thumb under Harley's eye before running his fingers through her hair. She sighs contently and settles down once more, closing her eyes.

Notes:

We love Daryl being a supportive boyfriend.

I wish everyone could just relax for a few days but, well...

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 24

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Fitful. That's how Harley would describe her sleep that night. Despite her exhausted mind and body, the former decides not to let her rest. And it would be fine, it's nothing she hasn't dealt with before, she could find a way to handle it. But when she keeps waking Daryl, she gets frustrated with herself.

"Hey, it's fine," He tries to assure her into the early hours of the morning, but Harley shakes her head.

"It's not," She insists, shaking his hands off and standing. "I'm sorry, just-...I'm gonna take a walk, you try to get some more sleep. I won't be long." Bending down, Harley places a quick kiss on his cheek before turning down the stairs and making her way outside.

The air has a chill to it but it's still warm. Harley wraps her arms around herself and walks over to one of the tables in the center of the courtyard. She settles herself onto the bench and looks up at the stars. It's a cloudless night, leaving them to shine brightly in the dark sky, the moon along with them. It provides enough light that when Harley hears the door open and she turns, she can clearly see it's Daryl who's come outside. She sighs and looks away.

He doesn't say anything when he sits beside her. He just sits and looks up at the stars in silence. Harley reaches out for his hand a few minutes later and leans her head on his shoulder when he intertwines their fingers. She'd told him to stay inside and though it annoys her a little that he didn't listen, she's glad he hadn't. She's also glad he doesn't try to talk. Harley likes talking about things sometimes, after she got used to it, therapy was something she looked forward to. But sometimes she just needs to sit and not talk. And Daryl understands that. He understands her.

Daryl doesn't push her to talk or go back inside as time ticks by. He sits strongly by her side, an unwavering pillar of support until she herself says she's ready.

"Ya sure?"

"Yeah," Harley nods and pulls him to his feet. "The fresh air did me good. Just needed to clear my head, I guess."

Quietly, the two of them move back into the prison and up to their bed without waking the others. This time, when Harley falls asleep, she stays that way.


"You are tougher than many of the people I've met," Harley smiles over at Hershel and pats the man's leg. "And that's saying something."

"I'm still here to be tough thanks to you," He grins back at her.

"I can't take all the credit, Rick thought quickly, doing what he did," Harley had beat herself up for not thinking of the same thing. For not doing the same thing. But what's done is done and now she knows.

"Everyone played a part," Hershel nods. "Now how's about me gettin' out of here?"

"Hershel," Harley gives the man a disapproving look. "You're tough but you just lost your leg, at least wait the morning."

"The morning then," Hershel accepts and Harley rolls her eyes. She should've said a few days. "I'll have the others come get you when It's time. For now, I know you wanna be out there, helping. Go on."

"Thanks," Harley smiles and stands. "You need anything just let me know." With a parting wave, Harley takes her leave and moves outside to join the others in the field.

"Now we just need Maggie and Glenn," Carol says in place of a greeting when she joins them.

"They're up in the guard tower," Daryl points, everyone turns, and Rick's eyebrows furrow.

"The guard tower?" He repeats. "They were just up there last night."

Harley snorts but covers the noise with a cough. Daryl smirks down at her before lifting his hand to his mouth. "Glenn! Maggie!" Waiting, the small group on the ground watches as the tower door opens and a shirtless Glenn appears.

"Hey! What's up, guys?" He questions while buckling his belt. Harley stifles another laugh.

"You coming?" Daryl asks and Harley lifts a hand to cover her mouth.

"What?"

"He said, are you comin'!?" Harley shouts up at them, snickers along with the others and Daryl when he nudges her arm in approval.

"Come on, we could use a hand," Daryl finally says and Glenn disappears with Maggie back into the tower. T-Dog notices the convicts before they do. Rick scowls at them before they all walk up to them. He talks to them before waving the group over to talk about it. It's not much of a discussion and by the end of it, Rick's settled on sticking to the original plan.

After they've gotten all the bodies piled up, Lori comes out to find Harley. Hershel is ready to try and get up and they want her there for that. Just in case. Harley nods to the others, squeezing Daryl's arm before starting up to the prison.

"They do say doctors make the worst patients," Harley says as a way of greeting the older man. Beth stands by her father's bed, crunches in her hands, a smile on her face. "You're stubborn, you know that?"

"Takes one to know one," Hershel tells her and Harley laughs as he starts lifting himself up.

"Okay, take it slow," Harley warns. She stands beside Hershel, her hands on his shoulder as Beth takes up his other side. They position the crunches by his arms and help lift him onto his feet. "Don't push yourself."

"What else am I going to do? Can't stand looking up at the bottom of that bunk any longer," Hershel says once he's upright. He stumbles a little but with Harley and Beth's help, he finds his balance. He taps the crunches against the ground and tests his weight on them before taking a step forward. "You know, I think I'm pretty steady."

"That's a good start," Lori praises from in front of them all. "Want to take a rest?"

"A rest?" Hershel repeats with a small chuckle. "Let's go for a little stroll." Harley shakes her head and shares a look with Lori before they're all moving down the row and cells and outside.

"Easy," Harley warns once outside, bracing her hand on Hershel's chest as he makes his way down the stairs. She scans the path ahead, checking for anything Hershel could trip over.

"You cleared all those bodies out?" Hershel overserves. "It's starting to look like a place we could really live in."

"Watch your step," Lori scolds lightly. "Last thing we need is you fallin'."

"Alright, Hershel!" Glenn's distant yell reaches their ears. Harley looks to the outer gate to see the young man with Rick and Daryl, bringing in firewood.

"You're doing great, daddy," Beth says proudly and Harley smiles over at the girl, her hand hovering over Hershel's arm.

"Ready to race, Hershel?"

"You give me another day. I'll take you on," Hershel's response to Carl's question has Harley chuckling. They stop near one of the tables and look out into the field. Harley sees Lori looking down at Rick and the man looking back. They share a small smile, and Harley grins a little herself. They're finally starting to get along again.

Moving her gaze, Harley catches Daryl's eye a offers a small wave. He nods back right before Carl shouts.

"Walkers!" Spinning on her heels, Harley draws her gun. They're already so close, she doesn't know how they managed to sneak up on them and she doesn't try to think about it. Instead, she fires at the closest ones and ushers Hershel to the side.

Carl's still beside her, his own gun drawn as he and Lori also shoot down the walkers. Harley glances to see Beth getting her father to safety and back to the threat. There're too many to handle and they just keep coming and with Lori...

"Come on," Grabbing Carl's arm, Harley pulls him to the side and guides him and Lori back into the cellblock. "Inside!" They enter the common room and start towards the cell block, but walkers cut them off. Harley quickly turns and herds the others into the tunnels.

Ignoring the growing pit in her stomach, Harley navigates the twists and turns best she can. She's only been in here once and that didn't exactly go well the first time. Now she has her pregnant friend and a little boy to worry about.

Lori groans and leans against the wall. Harley immediately turns to her. "What was that? Was that a contraction?" They've known for a while now that the baby could come at any time. It would only be their luck that it would be now.

"Mhm," Lori hums through the pain and nods, her lips pulled back into a tight line.

"What?" Carl asks but before either woman can answer, a loud alarm sounds out around them.

"Shit," Harley whispers while looking around but shakes her head. "Nothing to do about it," She tells the others. "We have to keep moving, get you someplace safe." Grabbing Lori's arm, Harley helps her continue moving.

Turning another corner, walkers start spilling out after them and Harley quickly turns around. Lori grunts beside her with every step, her free hand cradling her stomach. More walkers cut them off and Carl turns down the only way left and opens a door. "In here!"

"Okay," Helping Lori down the steps of the boiler room, Harley quickly sweeps the area with her eyes. "Just focus on breathing, okay? Deep breaths." She's going to have to deliver this baby, isn't she? Harley allows herself five seconds to internally panic before forcing herself to be calm. To focus.

"Lori, let's lay you down," Harley sets her hand on the woman's shoulder and guides her a little deeper into the room. "We can't risk getting caught out there, you're going to have to deliver this baby here."

"Great," Lori whispers sarcastically.

"You-you can do it, right?" Carl asks from behind her as Harley gently lowers Lori onto the cold, hard ground. "You're a doctor."

"I..." Harley trails off and bites her lip. She closes her eyes for a second and takes a deep breath. "I know how but I've never done it before." Turning back to Lori, Harley reaches for her belt and with the woman's help, she removes her pants. "You up for helping deliver your brother or sister?" She asks the boy whose only response is a mortified look. She can't blame him.

"I'm going to see if you're dilated," Harley explains. She's a little grateful Lori has had a child before, at least she's not going into this just as blindly as Harley. "I don't think you are, not enough," Harley shakes her head.

"I need to push," Lori nods breathlessly. "I know I do."

"Okay," Harley nods and takes the hand Lori holds out before helping her to her feet. Lori takes hold of one of the machines but her other hand stays firmly grasped onto Harley's. Harley herself keeps her other hand braced on Lori's back. She winces a little when Lori squeezes her hand, but she doesn't complain, and she doesn't try to pull away.

Lori yelps before taking two deep breaths and pushing against but halfway through, Harley stops her. "Don't push, Lori, somethings wrong!" Lori lets out a pained scream and Harley jumps to her feet and helps her lie back down. She exams her once again and shakes her head. "There's too much blood, Lori, you're not completely dilated, no amount of pushing is going to help."

"I know what it means," Lori says, her voice soft and weak. She's already so much paler, her head covered in sweat. "And I'm not losing my baby. You've got to cut me open." Harley is shaking her head before Lori can finish speaking. All winter this is what she'd dreaded but she had convinced herself that it wouldn't. That everything would be okay. "You don't have a choice." Lori urges.

"I'll go for help," Carl stands and starts to leave but is stopped by Lori calling to him.

"I do-don't," Harley stutters and swallows down her nausea. "I don't have any equipment, no anesthesia-"

"You have a knife," Lori nods to her.

"Lori, Lori," Moving up to the woman's side, Harley takes her hand and looks down into her eyes. "If I do this...you will die."

"My baby has to survive," Lori tells her while squeezing her hand. "Please," She begs. "My baby...for all of us. Please, Harley, please!" Harley doesn't try to stop her lip when it trembles. She lifts her free hand to run over Lori's hair and shakes her head. "Please."

Taking a steady breath, Lori lifts her shirt over her stomach. "You see my old C-section scar?"

"Lori, I can't-"

"You can," She assures her. "You have to." Lori weakly lifts their joined hands to her face. "And don't think-don't think this is your fault. You did everything you could. This is how it was meant to be. This is how it's meant to be."

Rolling her head onto the ground, Lori then looks up to her son. "Carl? Baby, I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want, this is right. Now you-you take care of your daddy for me, alright? And your baby brother or sister."

"You don't have to do this," Carl cries to his mother, his hands grasped in hers.

"You're gonna be fine," Lori smiles up at him and Harley lifts her free hand to cover her mouth. "You are going to beat this world. I know you will." Lori's voice is stronger than it has been in minutes when she speaks again. "You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave. And I love you."

"I love you too," Carl whispers, a single tear falling to join his words.

"You gotta do what's right, baby," Lori tells him, her voice once again quiet. "You promise me, you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So don't-if it feels wrong don't do it. If it feels easy don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you. You're so good. My sweet boy, the best thing I ever did. I love you," Lori breaks when she pulls Carl down into her arms, sobbing into her sons' shoulder. Harley lets a few silent tears fall but wipes them away quickly. Though she and Lori grew close over the winter, the woman is a dear friend to her, she somehow feels she doesn't have the right to cry for her.

"Okay, okay now," Lori and Carl separate after a moment and Lori takes a deep breath. "Harley, when this is over, you're gonna have to- you have to do it. It can't be Rick." With a clenched jaw, Harley inhales deeply through her nose and nods. "Alright, alright. It's alright, it's alright."

Slowly, slower than she thinks she's ever done anything, Harley removes her knife. Her chest becomes tight and air refuses to enter her lungs, but she pushes forward. She looks from Lori and down at her belly before back up.

"I'm sorry," With her whisper's apology, Harley cuts into Lori's stomach. She shuts her mind off, doesn't think about who she's cutting into. She moves her knife aside and reaches inside. "Carl, you gotta help me." She begs the boy after a moment. "Keep the sight clean."

The boy does as she asks and soon Harley feels a leg or an arm. With both hands, she firmly grabs onto the baby and pulls it from its mother. She's not crying. Harley feels her heart stutter, but she turns the child onto her stomach and pats her back until she makes a noise.

Harley's breath escapes her in a rush when the child cries in her arms. Carl quickly removes his button-up shirt and hands it for her to wrap around his sister. Harley cuts the umbilical cord before tying it off and swaddling the baby in her brother's shirt.

"Let's go," Harley chokes out and pushes herself to her feet but Carl shakes his head.

"We can't leave her, she'll turn," Nodding, Harley reaches for her knife, but he stops her. "No, I'll do it."

"Carl-"

"She's my mom," He cuts her off. "I should be the one."

Harley starts to protest again but she thinks about herself in the same situation. She knows it won't matter when she's dead but now, she would want it to be someone close to her, someone she knows. Family. And though Harley considered herself Lori's family, Carl really is.

"I'm not going anywhere," Harley eventually says and moves to stand behind the boy. She places a comforting hand on his back as he bends over his mother. He places a kiss on her forehead before pulling out his gun and places it against her temple. After a few hesitated seconds, he pulls the trigger.

"Come on," Harley pulls him up and nudges him towards the door, the baby held securely in her arms. She peeks out the door both ways, only stepping out when she's sure it's clear. Carl lags behind her but keeps up enough. They don't run into any more trouble on the way back outside and soon enough, Harley is squinting against the sudden change in lighting.

The entire journey out, the baby hadn't made a peep. But as soon as the sun shines down on her eyes, she starts crying.

Harley holds the child to her chest and stumbles towards the others. She looks to Rick who stares back at her, his gaze shifting to the baby on her arms and her bloody hands.

"Where-where is she?" He stutters, the axe in his hands falling to the ground. Harley can't bring herself to answer and merely shakes her head. Rick clenches his jaw and starts past her, but she reaches out to him as best she can.

"Rick, no," The man pushes past her anyway but stops beside Carl and a sob escapes his throat. The boy himself stands stock still, his eyes glued to the ground, but he doesn't cry.

"Hey," Daryl whispers from behind her and Harley turns to him. He lifts his hands to her face and looks her over.

"I-" Harley's voice gets stuck in her throat. She looks up into his eyes and shakes her head, letting him pull her as close as he can with the baby between them.

"How's the baby?" Hershel appears beside them a moment later and Harley pulls back, shifting the child to lie in her arms.

"She's okay," She says after swallowing. "Healthy."

"What're gonna feed her? We got anythin' a baby can eat?" Daryl asks and Hershel shakes his head.

"She needs formula, or she won't survive."

"Nope, no way, not her," Daryl shakes his head. "We ain't losing nobody else, I'm going for a run."

"Me too," Harley nods and gently passes the baby to Beth. Daryl looks at her, about to protest but she stops him. "I'm coming with you."

"Alright," He nods.

"We'll come to," Maggie steps forward with Glenn.

"Think of where we're going," Daryl tells them before leading whispers a few words to Beth. "You two get the fence," He shouts to Oscar and Axel. "To many pile up and we got ourselves a problem. Come on, vamonos. We're gonna lose the light."

"There's a Piggly Wiggly on 85," Glenn says as they jog down to the vehicles.

"No, the baby sections have been cleared," Maggie shakes her head.

"Lori asked us to keep an eye out, we haven't had much luck," Harley adds in dismay.

"Is there any place that hasn't been completely looted?" Daryl asks while removing his crossbow from his back.

"We saw signs for a shopping center just north of here," Glenn nods.

"There's too much debris on the road, a car will never make it through."

"We'll go," Harley says after Maggie's words, gesturing towards Daryl who nods.

"We'll just take mine," He moves towards his bike and attacked his crossbow to the back "Faster that way."

"Be safe," Maggie grabs Harley's arm and whispers to her. She nods and offers the smallest of smiles before rushing to join Daryl. She throws her leg over the back of his bike and hugs his waist, picking up her feet as he starts forward.

Harley didn't bother arguing with him. It won't be faster taking one bike, not really. It'll save fuel but with the added weight, it won't be faster than her taking her own bike. Her's is faster than his anyway. But it won't slow them down much either, so she doesn't comment. Instead, she clings to him as they fly down the road, letting his close presence soothe her.

Rolling to a stop outside an old daycare fence, Harley steps off the bike before Daryl. "Company's close. Stay tight," He says before they make their way into the building. He watches her back as she checks the door before busting in one of the windows and climbing inside.

It's clear in the first room and Harley moves to the first cabinet she sees as Daryl joins her inside. There're diapers and bottles that she grabs and stuffs into her back before moving on. Daryl moves further down the hall, checking the building while Harley moves into the little kitchen. She opens another cabinet and sighs in relief when she sees powdered formula.

After stuffing her bag full of it all, she stops. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, feeling her emotions spring back up on her. Don't think about it, she tells herself. But those imagines move to the front of her mind and before she can stop herself, she's hitting the wall across from her.

When she opens her eyes, Daryl is standing there, looking down at her. Harley shakes her head at him. "I should've-I should've done more, I should've saved her. Saved them both," Her voice cracks and she sniffs, continuing to shake her head as he moves closer.

"Ya did all you could," Daryl assures her, moving the crossbow onto his hand and grabbing her shoulders. "You saved that little girl."

"I killed Lori," Harley emphasizes. "I took my knife and I cut into her while she was still alive, still awake. She felt that-" Tears of anger and grief slip from Harley's eyes a fall down her cheeks. "Then I had to dig around inside of her and pull her baby out. And I-"

"Shh," Daryl moves his arms around her, pulling Harley to his chest, and runs his hand over her hair. She cries silently for a moment as he whispers comforting assurances in her ear before she pushes away.

"We have to get this back," Grabbing her bag, Harley throws it over her shoulders and starts back outside. Daryl follows silently. He doesn't speak but when they both get back onto the bike, he takes a moment to squeeze her hands when they come around his waist before starting back home.


"Beth," The youngest Greene is who Harley sees first. She moves over to the table with the girl and pulls out the formula and bottles to mix for the crying child. She turns as Beth takes the supplies from her to see Daryl gently taking the baby girl from her brother.

She quiets a second at the new face but continues crying as Beth hands the archer a bottle full of milk. "Come on," He mumbles to the baby, holding the food to her mouth. It only takes a second for her to start nursing.

Daryl chuckles softly before looking up at the others before his gaze meets Harley's. Despite the events of the day, she can't help but smile at the sight before her. The strong, rough Daryl Dixon holding a baby in his large, muscular arms, a smile on his lips.

"She got a name yet?" He asks Carl while slowly rocking back and forth.

"Not yet," Carl shakes his head. "But I was thinking maybe Sophia. Then there's Carol too. And...Andrea, Amy. Jacqui, Patricia, or...Lori. I don't know." Harley feels her smile drop once again with her heart.

"Yeah," Daryl whispers after a moment, his attention once again turned to the baby in his arms. "You like that? Huh? Little ass-kicker," Harley snorts and shakes her head as the others chuckle. "Right? That's a good name, right?" He encourages the others and they laugh a little louder. "Little ass-kicker. You like that, huh? You like that, sweetheart?" Harley feels her once-broken heart melting.

She moves to stand slightly behind Daryl, her hand raising to his arm as she looks down at the baby. Daryl smiles at her and she smiles back, leaning down to place a kiss on his shoulder. "You should hold her," He whispers to her, and Harley starts to shake her head, but he turns to her. "Yeah, come on."

"I-" Harley goes to protest but before she can, Daryl is shifting the child into her arms and she takes her and the bottle, still holding it to the baby's lips.

"See, there, ya got it," Daryl smiles encouragingly, his hand slowly slipping out from under the baby's head when he's sure she's secure on Harley's arm. Moving to stand behind her, Daryl looks down as Harley continues to feed the baby, one hand resting on her shoulder, the other on her waist.

Harley chances a glance up at Carl but the boy is solely focused on his sister. Harley purses her lips and turns her head back to Daryl. He smiles at her and she manages a small one back.

"Looks good on ya," Daryl whispers into her ear when he leans down to rest his chin on her shoulder.

"Yeah? Looked better on you," Harley teases, ignoring the swelling in her heart. "Uncle Daryl. Gotta feed her, burp her. Change her diapers."

"Pfft," Daryl huffs quietly, his warm breath blowing over her face. "You too, you know. Aunt Harley."

"Hmm," Harley hums and slowly pulls the bottle back when the child takes the last bit of milk.

"I can do it," Beth steps forward, a towel thrown over her shoulder. "You should get some rest." Nodding, Harley lets Daryl take the bottle from her hands before she hands the baby to Beth who takes the child with ease.

With an arm around her shoulders, Daryl leads Harley upstairs and into one of the cells. He sets her down on the bed and pulls out some water with a rag before kneeling in front of her. He takes one of her arms into his hands and starts cleaning away the blood still sticking to her skin.

Harley closes her eyes at the sensation, focusing on the way his skin feels against hers. He finishes too soon for Harley and she blinks over at him as he throws the dirty rag into the corner of the cell. She stares at him for a moment, her eyes blank before she shifts closer and kisses him.

Harley lifts her hand to Daryl's cheek as he moves his lips against her own. He grabs onto her wrist while his other hand pushes against her back. Harley lets everything fall away, into the back of her mind as he invades her senses. She smells only him. Dirt, sweat, smoke, and a hint of leather. She only hears their breathing when they pull away only for a breath before moving back in. She focuses on the feeling of his hand moving to her head, his fingers sliding into her hair, and the way his tongue sweeps over her bottom lip. She opens her mouth, allowing him entrance but jumps away when a sudden noise scares her.

"Sorry," She apologizes after a moment, realizing that it was only a cell below them closing.

"S'fine," Daryl mumbles. He lifts her head with a finger under her chin. He leans down to place another, soft kiss on her lips before pulling back. "Should get some sleep." He nudges her back until she lies down and moves to rest behind her, lifting his arm to wrap around her and bring her back to his chest.

Harley shifts back into him as much as she can, her arm moving to rest over his, her fingers threading through his own. She sniffs, wiping her eyes, and feels Daryl place a light kiss on the back of her neck before he buries his face in her hair.

"I love you," The barely whispered words escape Harley's mouth before she can second guess herself. She feels Daryl freeze behind her, his warm breath disappearing from her neck. "I don't want you to say it back, not if you don't feel the same. Not if you're not ready. Because it's okay if you don't and it's okay if you're not. That's not why I told you, it's just...I just needed you to know. I need you to know." Squeezing his hand, Harley takes a deep breath as she feels Daryl resume breathing himself. "I can't lose you too." Tears fall with the quiet admission and Harley quickly wipes them away.

"Ya won't," Daryl finally speaks, his voice a deep whisper in her ear. "I'm right here. Not goin' anywhere, I promise."

"Okay," Harley gives a small nod and tries to settle down. It's okay that he didn't say it back, she hadn't expected him to. Not because she doesn't think he feels the same but because it's a hard thing to say. Especially for him. And she's okay with that. She's only glad she found the courage to tell him herself.

A few more tears escape when Harley closes her eyes. She inhales a deep, shaky breath and relaxes when Daryl holds her a little tighter. And eventually, she falls asleep.

Notes:

Is it just me, or does something bad always happened when someone doesn't say something they should? Anyway, Harley said I love you and Daryl didn't say it back, oop-

I am annoyed with how much like the script this chapter is. Oh well, the sequel won't follow it so much if at all. Also, I feel like you guys aren't expecting something that's coming but I don't know. Only five chapters left.

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 25: Battlefield

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It doesn't last long. Harley wakes throughout the night from dreams. Some she remembers and some she doesn't. But the second time she wakes, it's because of a noise. A crying baby. That's somehow worse. It takes Daryl a long time to calm her down after Beth settles the baby. Longer than the dreams.

Come morning, Harley feels worse than she did the night before.

"Should try and rest some more," Daryl tells her after he's out of bed and putting his shoes on.

"Won't work," Harley shrugs from where she's still lying down. "Not while knowing there's so much to do. Not with you gone." Daryl sighs and looks down at her but doesn't protest. He knows she's right, as much as he hates it.

"Just take it easy," He pleads. "Today, at least."

"I supposed I can manage that," Harley agrees and pushes herself up. She smiles at him and leans forward to connect their lips in a soft kiss. When she pulls away, she doesn't go far and lifts her hand to run her fingers over his cheek. She thinks back to what she said last night and she feels a spark inside her. She's glad she said it when she did. "Come on, don't wanna be late to breakfast."

Hand in hand, Daryl and Harley join the others. Harley feels another pang of sadness shoot through her when it's not Carol handing her her breakfast. But she takes it anyway and sits on the stairs beside Daryl and picks at her food.

"Hey," He grumbles and nudges her elbow with his knee. "Eat."

"Yes, sir," Harley mutters like a child before bringing the food up to her lips. It's not tasteful but it doesn't matter, even if it was, Harley isn't sure she would've been able to tell anyway. She chews the food mechanically and makes a show of swallowing it to Daryl who only rolls his eyes.

Taking another bite, Harley scans the room and her gaze lands on Carl. He has food in front of him but he's not eating it, only staring down at it. He doesn't look sad, just blank. It makes Harley feel that much worse.

"Everybody okay?" Rick's voice startles Harley. Everyone turns to the tunnel entrance to see the man coming out.

"Yeah, we are," Maggie responds.

"What about you?" The woman's father asks as Rick comes to stand beside him a Carl.

"Cleared out the boiler block," Rick says instead of answering the question asked to him.

"How many were there?"

"I don't know. A dozen, two dozen," Rick shrugs. "I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl."

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies," Glenn jumps to his feet and assures the man but Rick shakes his head. "You don't have to."

"No, I do," Changing his course, Rick marches over to Daryl and Harley. "Everyone have a gun and a knife."

Harley nods with a hum while Daryl speaks. "Running low on ammo, though."

"Maggie and I were planning on making a run this afternoon," Glenn informs their leader. "Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula."

Daryl continues to inform Rick of what's happening and the day's plans. Harley sets the rest of her uneaten food aside and observes the man. He's changed, gotten cleaned up from the day before but he's not okay. She doesn't expect him to be, not after what happened. Hell, she's not okay and she didn't lose what he did.

"Good, good," Rick nods before turning and stomping out of the room. Hershel calls after him but he's ignored. Harley sighs and runs a hand down her face, suddenly feeling nauseous. She looks up at Daryl and he stares into her eyes a moment before looking down.

True to her word, Harley takes it easy that day. She helps Beth look after the baby when the girl asks for help. She learns she used to babysit a lot, that's how she's so good at infant care. She tries to clean the place up a bit, take inventory of their supplies. She offers to go with Daryl, Oscar, and Carl to sweep the lower levels but he shakes his head before kissing her forehead.

"We got it," He tells her and squeezes her hand.

"I know, I just..." Harley trails off and looks to the side. "Startin' to feel useless." She admits.

"Hey, no," Daryl shakes his head and steps closer to her. "Ya ain't useless, far from it. But you're worn out, ain't no good if you're exhausted. Gotta let yourself rest."

"Wise words from Daryl Dixon," Harley smiles up at him, tucking her fingers through his belt to pull him closer. "Should write a book."

"Stop," Daryl grumbles but Harley shakes her head and pushes herself up to kiss him. "I'll come find ya when we get back."

"Okay," Harley nods but doesn't let him go immediately. "See ya later, handsome."

Huffing, Daryl shakes his head but grins down at her. "Be back soon...sunshine." Smiling, Harley gives Daryl one more parting kiss before letting him go.

Harley sees Maggie and Glenn off when they leave for their run. She goes back inside once their gone, checks on Beth and the Baby before she sees Carl and Oscar. "Where's Daryl?" She asks them but Carl keeps walking.

"Stayed back," Oscar answers her. "He's fine just...needed a minute, I think."

"Okay, thanks," Harley nods and chews her lips. She gets it, people like herself, like Daryl. Doesn't matter who you have, sometimes you just need some time to yourself. So, she'll give him that and if he's not back soon, she'll go check on him.

Harley sits with Beth and Hershel for a while. Carl joins them a little later but he doesn't speak. He only sits there quietly with the rest of them.

Sometime later, Rick reappears. Harley sits up and watches him move to Hershel who holds the baby girl. he looks down at her before taking her from the older man's arms. "Hey," He whispers softly to her, and Harley smiles when he hugs her to his chest.

She stays where she is when the small group walks outside. She'll give them their space while waiting for Daryl to return.

And return he does. Daryl emerges from the tunnels not long later, carrying a body in his arms. Harley jumps to her feet, her heart jumping at the sight of Carol. Silently, Harley leads Daryl into the woman's cell and he sets her down onto the bed.

"How-I thought...?"

"Found her in a cell, passed out," Daryl answers while hovering over her shoulder.

"You're dehydrated but seem okay otherwise," Harley tells Carol, offering the woman a smile before pulling her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay." She whispers into her ear, running her hand up and down her back.

Harley looks over when she hears the others returning from outside. She can hear Rick's raised voice but can't quite make out what he's saying. She looks to Daryl and he nods before going to check it out. Harley continues to fret over Carol until he returns with the others. She stands and moves out of the way, allowing for a tearful reunion.

She rests her chin on one of Daryl's crossed arms and watches the interactions. When Carol finds out about Lori, Harley glances down at Carl to see him turn his head down to hide his tears. She places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes.

Rick tells her and Daryl about the woman he found outside. She hasn't spoken much, didn't give her name. But she was carrying a basket full of formula and she's hurt.

"We can tend to that for you," Rick tells her when they reenter the common room. "Give you a little food and water, and then send you on your way. But you're gonna have to tell us how you found us and why you carrying formula."

"Supplies were dropped by a young Asian guy with a pretty girl," The woman answers. Harley inhales deeply and runs her hands down her face. Rick and Hershel continue to question her until they find out what happened. Glenn and Maggie were taken to a town. Woodbury. Harley feels little relief knowing they hadn't just died. Being taken could mean anything, especially these days. They could already be dead or worse off.

Harley lets Hershel stitch up the woman's leg while she gathers with the others at the far end of the cell block.

"This is Maggie and Glenn, why are we even debatin'?"

"We ain't," Daryl says in response to Beth's question. "I'll go after them."

"We both will," Harley quickly adds.

"Well, this place sounds pretty secure," Rick starts. "It can't just be you two."

"I'll go," Beth volunteers and Axel steps forward to do the same right before Oscar nods as well. Rick looks between them all with that thoughtful look before deciding. Harley, Daryl, himself, and Oscar with the woman, Michonne, to lead the way.

Harley and Daryl are loading the back of the vehicle with supplies when she stops, looking over at him. She watches him for a moment until he notices her gaze and turns to her. "You know, I meant what I said last night. All of it," She tells him and he hums with a nod, eyes flickering to the ground. She offers a light laugh. "Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Nah," He shakes his head with a shrug. "Didn't. Just..."

"I know," Harley assures him and takes his hand. "I know. I just wanted you to know." Looking into his eyes a moment, Harley smiles and squeezes his hand. "Now, come on, let's go get our people back."

They drive for a while before stopping on the side of the road. They're a mile or two out through the forest. They gather their supplies before starting towards the town.

They come across walkers, too many to take down easily and take cover in a small cabin. They find a man inside whose mind has been lost to the world. They try to talk him down but he ends up with a sword through his chest. They end up using the poor man's body to distract the walkers before escaping out the back.

It's night when they finally reach the town. They walk along the walls to where Michonne leads them. A weak spot they enter through and duck into the back of a building the woman says she was questioned in. But no Glenn and Maggie. Harley's been in similar situations, but she's not so used to her surroundings looking so...normal.

Harley stays silent during their quiet argument and when Rick leads them to speak without Michonne. Before anything can be decided, someone knocks on the door before entering. When the man walks towards them, Rick jumps out and knocks him down, pointing his gun in his face. They question him but get no answers so they tie him up and gag him before knocking him out.

They're on the move again when they hear gunshots. Rick slowly leads them out onto the street and they follow the noise until they find where it's likely Glenn and Maggie are being held. Harley takes point from there, leading the group around a corner. She holds up her hand when she hears voices, stopping them.

Holding her hand out behind her, Harley waits until she feels Daryl placing a flash grenade into her palm. She makes sure they're all ready before pulling the pin and throwing it around the wall.

When the smoke starts filling the room, she and Rick quickly move in towards their people. She grabs Glenn's arm and pulls him to his feet while Rick gets Maggie and does the same. They quickly make their escape from the building and duck into another one to hide. To give them a chance to gather their bearings, make a plan of escape.

"Okay, hey, let me look," Harley gently coaxes Glenn as she sits him down on the floor. With a light hand under his chin, she tilts his beaten, bloody face up so she can see it better. When she decides there's nothing more to do for his face, she grabs his arm. "Your ribs?"

"They're fine," Glenn gasps out but she ignores him. Maggie sits by his side, holding his hand and talking to Rick while Harley gently prods around his sides. Michonne is gone, no one saw where she went. Rick says she's on her own.

"Not broken," She decides. "Cracked at worse. Will still hurt like a bitch."

"I've figured that out," Glenn grumbles before turning to Daryl. "This was Merle." Both he and Harley freeze, turning to look at the young man in surprise.

"You saw him?" Rick asks while Daryl stares in shock.

"Face to face," Glenn nods while Maggie helps him slip on a hoodie. Harley clenches her jaw and looks down before standing. She hadn't known Merle that long but it didn't have to to know he's one to hold a grudge. Especially when that grudge is someone abandons you handcuffed to a rooftop, leaving you with the only option to cut off your own hand.

"S-so my brother is this governor?"

"No, he's somebody else," Maggie answers. "Your brother is his lieutenant or something."

"Does he know I'm still with you?"

"He does now," Glenn pants. "Rick, I'm sorry. We told him where the prison was. We couldn't hold out."

"Don't. No need to apologize," Rick assures him. "We have to get back. Can you walk? We got a care a few miles out."

"Hey, if Merle's around I need to see 'im," Daryl insists while they help Glenn to his feet.

"Daryl," Harley lets go of Glenn and moves over to him, reaching up to take his face in her hands. "I know, trust me I do. But we are in hostile territory right now, okay? Glenn is hurt, he can barely walk. We need your help getting them out of here. But we will find Merle, okay? We will, I promise you that."

"Maybe I can talk to him, work something out," Daryl pleads and it almost breaks her but she shakes her head.

"W-we can't, not now," She whispers, pulling his head closer until his forehead is touching hers. "I need you, okay? I need you right now right. And then we will find him, you and me, okay? We will, I promise."

Daryl breaths heavily for a moment before nodding. Harley runs her thumbs under her eyes and nods back before releasing him.

Joining the others, Harley takes Glenn's arm and throws it over her shoulder, helping support his weight. This is far from the first time she's had to aid a wounded soldier across a battlefield. But Glenn isn't a soldier and this isn't a battlefield. It's some street to a small town that children used to run across while laughing. But it's not that anymore. Maybe it is a battlefield. The whole world is a battlefield now.

Rick and Daryl throw more smoke bombs to help hide them before they're running across the street and closer towards the walls. Gunshots ring out all around them and they return fire. Daryl rotates one of his hands from Harley's shoulder to his gun as he takes aim and shoots.

"In there, go," Rick points to an area of cover and they all duck inside. "How many?"

"I didn't see."

"Don't matter. There's gonna be more of them." Daryl grumbles while Harley lets Glenn lean against the wall, allowing her to reload her gun. "We need to move."

"He's right," Harley nods, knocking the new clip into place. "Any grenades left?"

"Uh-huh,"

"Alright, get 'em ready. We need to gun it to the wall, fast as we can," Harley grabs Glenn's arm once again and pulls him up.

"You guys go ahead, I'm gonna lay down some cover fire,"

"No," Harley immediately says and shakes her head at Daryl. "We stay together."

"Too hairy, I'll be right behind you," Daryl argues and even though Harley knows he's right, she continues to protest.

"Daryl-"

"Right behind you," He repeats to her and she moves forward, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him to look at her.

"You better come back to me."

"Always will," He nods before grabbing a flash grenade and pulling the pin. "Ready?"

"Go!" Rick urges them and they all from for the wall. Maggie climbs onto the bus hood first and Harley pushes Glenn up to her before moving herself. She turns to offer Oscar her hand only for him to fall backward with a shot to the chest.

"Rick! Daryl!" Harley calls after them. She pulls out her gun and shoots an already dead Oscar in the head. "Go, go," She pushes Maggie and Glenn over the wall to safety, waiting for Rick before they follow.

Glenn groans and hisses when Harley pulls him along. She slowly lowers him onto the ground to catch his breath when they stop behind a car, hidden from anyones searching eyes. "Come on, Daryl," Rick mumbles to himself before a noise draws all their attention behind them to Michonne. "Where the hell were you?" While Rick and Maggie point their weapons at the woman, Harley checks Glenn over once more with continued glances over her shoulder. Daryl said he'd be right behind them but he's still not there.

"Stop," Pushing herself to her feet, Harley glares at an angry Rick. "Daryl's not back yet, they have him or he would be. We'll need her help. She can take Glenn back to the car, they'll wait for us there." Turning away from her leader, Harley turns to an injured Michonne. "Can you do this? Will you?"

Michonne looks her up and down before towards the others and offers a small nod. Harley returns the motion before checking her ammo. "Glenn, go with her."

"I'm not-"

"You're hurt!" Harley whisper shouts at him, moving closer into his space. "You can barely walk on your own, you'll only slow us down. You know better than any of us, Speedy, in and out, right? Stay here, we'll be right back." Looking back at the others, Harley waits for Ricks's approval before they're moving back into Woodbury.

They sneak in a different way than before. The streets are all empty but it's not hard to find where everyone is. It's some kind of arena. Daryl and Merle are in the center, walkers surrounding them. It's clearly been set up before, Harley tries not to think about what's all happened in this place. She just focuses on getting him back.

Harley takes aim with Maggie and shoots the walkers down before Rick throws another smoke grenade. It's chaos after that. The people of Woodbury shoot at them and they shoot back. Those unarmed run for cover and Harley does something she knows she shouldn't and runs out from behind her safe place towards Daryl. She grabs his arm, barely stopping to glance and him before she's leading him back towards the others.

There's still gunfire all around, adrenaline courses through Harley's veins. She feels something hit her side, knocking her off balance. It burns and she knows what it is immediately but she keeps pushing forward.

"They're all at the arena, this way," Merle urges, trying to lead them down the street but Rick stops him.

"You're not going anywhere with us."

"You really wanna do this now?" Without waiting for an answer, Merle pries open a loose panel on the wall and shuffles through. Maggie goes next and Daryl pushes Harley through and he and Rick follow. They take down a few walkers in the street before pushing into the forest.

Tensions are high. Rick hasn't known Merle more than his first impression. And Merle is anything but good at first impressions, especially when he's high. Harley's not an idiot, she knows he was high on that rooftop back in Atlanta. And Maggie's only impression of the man is him beating her boyfriend's face in. Harley will make no excuses for the man, but she knows that's not just who he is. Not entirely.

Harley's hand stays braces against her side, under the button-down she wears over her tank top. She stays to the back of the group, watching. Rick and Maggie lead while Daryl keeps a close eye on his brother.

She starts feeling light-headed only half a mile back to the car. Her adrenaline starts to fade and the fire in her side grows. As the sun starts to come up, she can see the crimson color soaking into her jeans further and further down.

They're almost back when she stumbles, catching herself on a nearby tree. Daryl notices immediately and turns to her, his expression confused and worried. But when he follows her gaze down to her hand as she removes it from her side, his eye widen at the blood soaking her skin.

"I's bleedin' more than I thought," Harley slurs to him before the world starts to tilt. She's able to see him and Merle rushing towards her before the top of the trees fills her vision.

"Hey, hey, look at me," Daryl's voice sounds like he's in another room. If they were in rooms. But they're not, they're outside. It's muffled. Harley squints up at him, wincing at the sharp pain shooting through her side. "Harley?"

"Hmm," Harley tries to push away whatever is on her side but the hand pressing against her holds strong. But Daryl's hand is on her face? How can he be touching her face and her side at the same time? Looking down, Harley sees Merle kneeling beside her, his elbow locked as he holds pressure against the still bleeding gunshot wound.

"Right here," Daryl's voice comes back and Harley looks back up to him. "You're fine," He says and Harley wonders if he's talking to her or himself. "You're okay, sweetheart, you're okay." Other voices join the party but Harley doesn't care to focus. She's tired and in pain. More so than she has been these past few days and that's really saying something. She reaches up a weak hand and touches his cheek and he grabs her wrist.

Daryl's mouth moves and Harley feels her eyes closing. She doesn't hear his voice anymore but she hears her own whine when she's shifted. A weightless feeling settles over her a moment as she's lifted into his arms before he rushes the rest of the way to the vehicle.

Harley's eyes slit open just enough to see Daryl's own. They're in the car now, she's in his lap, his forehead pressed against hers. She opens her mouth to say something, to assure him that she's fine. She's been here before, has the scar to prove it, but nothing comes out. And in the next second, the black dots dancing around her vision invade her mind.

Notes:

Oops...

That little nickname Harley has for Glenn

No excuses for Merle but he thought he lost his brother, the last person he had in life. Harley too. So he's just a little...Merle.

'-'

Chapter 26: Red

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Hershel!" Daryl shouts for the old man as soon as he's inside the prison. Rick's opened the door for him and the others file in behind him. The hunter doesn't even register the unfamiliar faces in the room as he carries an unconscious Harley into the cell block.

"What happened?" Hershel asks when they come into view.

"She was shot," Rick answers, his voice urgent.

"Not the cell, I need room," Hershel says immediately before Daryl can move any further. Merle is the one to drag in a table without prompting. Hershel accepts the medical bag from Carol as Daryl lifts Harley onto the table, setting her down gently, her head cradled in his hand.

She's so pale but the circles under her eyes are so dark. Daryl wonders if they had been like that earlier. He knows she hasn't been sleeping but she hadn't looked this bad, right? She looks far from peaceful even unconscious.

Hershel cuts her shirt away, revealing the wound and the blood covering her stomach. It stands out brightly against her skin and Daryl feels he's going to be sick. The sight of blood has never bothered him before, but now-

"There's no exit wound," Hershel observes. "Seems to have gone in clean but didn't stay that way. Looks like the bullet swerved, maybe shifted." Carol holds a light in one hand to help Hershel see, a cloth in the other to wipe away blood when needed. "I need to get it out, stop the bleeding, stitch her up."

"So do it," Daryl growls from his place by Harley's head. It feels as if every second, she's fading more and more. He can feel that, a tugging in his heart, like she's slipping further and further away from him. And if she does slip away, she'll pull his heart with her. He can't lose her, he can't. He never said it back. He should've when he had the chance. But he didn't and now he may never be able to.

"You'll have to hold her down," Hershel tells all those standing around. "If she comes to and moves too much, I'll only cause more damage."

"Do what ya gotta do, doc," Merle says and braces his arms over Harley's legs, bending down, ready to push his whole weight against her if need be. Rick doesn't argue and moves up across from Daryl and takes one of her arms. The archer takes Harley's other hand into his own and puts his arm over her chest. He looks down at her face before to Hershel and he nods.

The vet grabs the proper tools from Carol and instructs her on what he needs her to do. Daryl looks away then, his eyes solely focused on Harley's face. He knows the moment Hershel starts because her brow scrunches before she gasps, her eyes flying open. Her once limp hand squeezes his and she struggles under their hold. She whimpers, her lips pulled into a thin line but a moment later, an ear-piercing scream rips its way out of her throat.

Daryl feels his heart breaking at the sound. The way she struggles to get free from the way he pushes her down. Not many things, if anything, in this world could make Daryl feel nauseous, but this does. Eyes clenched shut, Harley throws her head back and continues to scream and struggle. Daryl hears Merle grunting behind him and catches sight of Rick fighting to keep her arm and shoulder down. If he could think past the tightness in his chest, Daryl would be proud of the obvious strength she has.

"Almost there," Hershel announces loudly. Harley's scream dies off almost as soon as it came. She bites down on her lip and keeps her eyes shut as a single tear escapes and rolls down her temple and into her hair.

"It's almost over," Daryl whispers into her ear. He resists the urger to run his hand through her hair. He doesn't want to risk letting her go and her hurting herself even more. "You're okay, I got ya. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Through his near-silent apologies, Daryl hears a small cling of a bullet hitting the concrete floor below them. He glances back to see Hershel swapping tools, preparing to stitch up the hole in Harley's side. "Almost done."

Harley sags against the table, her eyes meeting his before rolling into the back of her head. Daryl feels her go limp under his arm and releases the pressure. Rick backs off after a second and Daryl finally gives in and runs his hand over Harley's hair.

A few painstakingly slow minutes later, Hershel finishes stitching Harley up and sets about cleaning the wound before bandaging it. "We'll have to watch her closely," He says while wiping down his own hands. "We've used up all the antibiotics. Infection isn't something to take lightly and she lost a good bit of blood."

"She gave me blood when I was shot," Carl speaks suddenly and everyone turns to the boy. He's standing by the door to the common room, looking smaller than he has in a long time. "Can I do the same?"

"I'm afraid that's not how it works," Hershel shakes his head sadly. "Any blood type can take Harley's but she can only take the same as her own. But she didn't lose as much as you did, she'll be fine given time and rest." Is it really that simple? Or is he just trying not to worry the boy? "It should be fine to move her into a cell now. Just be gentle."

Like he has to be told, Daryl almost scoffs. But instead be folds Harley's limp arms over her stomach, above her wound, before lifting her torso and head carefully. He rests her against his chest before sliding the arm not behind her shoulder under her knees. Merle and Rick hover and he glares. "I got her," He insists before lifting Harley into his arms and carefully moving her into a cell. He stays on the ground floor, no need to make the trip upstairs.

Once he's got her settled, Daryl covers Harley with a blanket. He'll have to wait until she wakes to help her into a new shirt. He doesn't want to risk hurting her while trying to do it as she sleeps.

Harley's tags pool around her neck, blood now coating their once smooth surface. Daryl pauses before grabbing them. He gently lifts Harley's head and slips them off and over his own neck. He'll get something to clean them later for her. But in the meantime, he doesn't want to lose them.

"Don't worry, baby brother," Merle's voice sounds from the entrance of the cell. Daryl doesn't look his way. "She's a tough one." That grates on Daryl's nerves for some reason. He knows that. More than Merle does. He's known her much longer now, knows her much better than his brother. He doesn't need him to tell him what she is because he already knows.

"Yeah," Daryl says instead and chews the inside of his cheek.

"So, you two got close," Merle smirks in that way he does, moving to lean against the wall. "Should've guessed it."

"Shut up," Daryl grumbles defensively but Merle chuckles and holds his arms up in the air.

"Don't disapprove or nothin'," He tells Daryl. "Treat her right or I'm gonna have to break your nose, ya know that, right?"

"Why do you care?" Daryl questions quietly but there's anger in his voice.

"She saved my life once, anyone who does that tends to stay on my good side," Merle shrugs but Daryl thinks it's not so simple. How can it be, with Merle? She saved his life once over a decade ago and now he's indebted to her forever? That can't be all there is to it.

"S'that why you were hanging out with that psycho back there?" Daryl growls at his brother and finally turns to face him. What he did to Glenn, what he let happen to Maggie, it's not okay. Yes, his brother is an ass, he knows that. He's a hothead who can hold a grudge but that's no excuse.

Daryl sees Merle's cocky, fake smile falter a little but before the older man can speak, Rick's raised voices cut him off. With furrowed brows, Daryl stands and, with one last glance at Harley, leaves the cell with his brother right behind him.

Ricks is in the common room, yelling and waving his gun around. Daryl steps back and watches, confused as Glenn urgently ushers four new faces away. Daryl doesn't get the chance to try and talk to Rick before he's storming outside. The others offer no explanation only not-so-subtle looks thrown Merle's way. Daryl huffs before returning to Harley's side. And that's where he stays until the sound of gunshots from outside reaches his ears.


"Shouldn't she be awake by now?" It's the next day and Harley hasn't woken up. It's been quiet since the governor left, leaving their once cleared field full of walkers and their fences knocked to the ground.

"She's just exhausted," Hershel sighs as he steps back from examing Harley. "Her body needs rest, it needs time to heal. It's not time to worry just yet." Too late for that, Daryl thinks with a silent scoff. "She's a little warm but not enough to cause concern, not yet. We'll continue to keep an eye on it. Let me know if her temperature spikes."

Daryl nods and Hershel pats his shoulder before leaving the cell, passing by Merle as he does. He and Rick 'discussed' it after the man came back to himself a bit more. Doesn't matter what happened now, only that Merle is staying. The others will just have to accept that.

Merle hovers by the door a few more minutes before slowly backing out. Daryl doesn't bother stopping or questioning him. He knows better now than to cause trouble, he's on thin ice here. Daryl just has to trust he'll stick to his word and be civil. Or as civil as Merle can be.

Daryl sits back in his seat and takes out a rag. He dampens it with some water and sets to work wiping away all the blood and grime from Harley's tags. He's set in his work until he looks back up at Harley to see her staring back at him. He drops what he's doing immediately and sits forward, his hand moving to her cheek.

Harley sighs at the contact and blinks her blurry eyes open a bit more. "I got shot?" She asks after a moment, her voice heavy with sleep. Daryl nods and she hums. "Good thing third times not a charm, huh?"

Closing his eyes, Daryl shakes his head and moves his forehead to rest against hers. "Thought I lost ya." He whispers, voice pained.

"Ooh, can't escape me that easily," Harley continues to joke, hissing when she shifts and pain shoots through her side. "I'm okay," She assures Daryl when he pulls back. "M'okay."

Reaching down, Daryl grabs Harley's hand and cradles it between both his own. He scoots closer to her and looks down into her eyes. "I love you."

"You're not just sayin' that cause I could've died, are you?" Harley questions but there's a smile on her lips. Daryl shakes his head and lifts her fingers to his lips. "That's okay. I know. I see it in the things you do. You're not a man of many words, Daryl Dixon, you show how you care through your actions. And you do care, so much. It's one of the things I love most about you."

Lifting the hand not in his, Harley rests it against Daryl's cheek and pulls him down to her. She places a light kiss on his lips when she feels something cold hitting her arm. Looking down, Harley grabs the tags dangling from Daryl's neck. "Was cleanin' 'em," He explains and goes to take them off but Harley stops him.

"No, they look better on you," Harley smiles and pushes them back against his chest and he retakes her hand.

"Ya sure?"

"Yeah," Her grin widens as she looks up at him, her fingers brushing some of his hair away from his eyes. "I'm sure."

"You're awake," The small voice turns Harley and Daryl's attention to the cell door where Carl stands. Harley lifts her head best she can off the pillow and smiles at the boy.

"It would seem so," She mumbles. "What'd I miss?"


Harley falls asleep again soon after she's filled in on all that's happened. She tried her best to stay awake but she was so tired and with Daryl running his fingers through her hair, she couldn't hold her eyes open any longer.

Daryl is still there when she wakes again. Harley scrunches up her nose at him and reaches out to tap his knee. "You sleep last night?" Daryl hums with a small nod but Harley sees through it. "You can't do that, especially not now."

"Ya hungry?" Daryl asks instead of acknowledging her comment. Harley sighs and purses her lips but decides to drop it. He was worried, she wouldn't have been able to sleep if she were in his position either.

"Best I eat in small portions," Harley eventually mumbles. "So yeah. But only if you eat too." Humming, Daryl nods and squeezes her hand before standing. He exits the cell and quickly grabs them both some of the oatmeal Carol made only minutes ago.

He helps Harley sit up a bit more, propped against many collected pillows before he hands her her food. "Gourmet," Harley mutters after swallowing her first bite. "I miss MRE's." Harley chuckles when Daryl scrunches up his face. "They actually aren't so bad. Not all of them, anyway. Once you get used to them."

"I'll take your word for it," Daryl says before shoving a bite of food into his mouth.

"I guess you'll have to," Harley shoots back before copying his motion. She only eats a couple more bites in silence before setting her dish to the side. She hugs one of Daryl's shirts she wears tighter around her shoulder and ducks her nose to inhale through the fabric. "Come on," She says once he finished his food. "You need to rest and so do I."

Reaching as far as she can, Harley takes Daryl's hand and tries to pull him towards her but he resists. "You won't hurt me," She tells him softly and though he still looks apprehensive, Daryl slowly stands, carefully moving to lie beside her when Harley scoots down. "You can relax now," Harley soothes, her hand moving to his hair, her fingernails lightly running over his scalp. "Rest." She whispers before placing the softest kiss on his lips.

"Should take your own advice," Daryl mumbles back, his voice deepening with the edges of sleep.

"Way ahead of you, handsome," Harley sighs, her arm lowering to his chest as it becomes heavier, her eyelids following soon after. "Just don't go anywhere."

"Not goin' nowhere," Daryl whispers with a light kiss to Harley's forehead. "I'm right here." And with his reassurance, Harley lets herself rest.

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 27: Sick

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Everyone gathers by the lower cells the next morning to discuss their next move. Harley stays in bed, propped against her pillow, and merely listens. It's not much of a discussion anyway, she feels any more input wouldn't do any good. With Rick the way he is right now, information just seems to go in through one ear and out the other.

Hershel yells and Rick leaves and Harley sighs. Daryl turns from his place by the entrance to the cell and meets her gaze. She shakes her head softly at him and closes her eyes.

Still exhausted, Harley finds herself falling asleep only minutes later. She doesn't know how long she sleeps before waking again. She winces when she shifts and her hand moves to rest over her wound. She moves her gaze to the chair beside her bed and the person sitting in it.

"Not the Dixon I was expecting," She says in lieu of a greeting to Merle. Her voice is still clouded with sleep along with her eyes. She lifts a hand in an attempt to rub the blurriness from them.

"Sorry to disappoint," Merle jokes and Harley offers a small smile and a quiet hum. "My baby brother just stepped out."

"Something on your mind?" Harley questions the man after a moment, her eyes sweeping over his face. He's looking down at his hand and when he speaks, he still doesn't look up.

"I didn't know he'd do that," He says softly. Softer than Harley's ever heard him speak before. "To the farmer's daughter."

"I know," Harley assures him. "You're not a bad person, Merle. I mean, you've done some shitty things, but I know you'd never do that."

"'Not a bad person," Merle repeats with a little, disbelieving smile.

"You're your own worst enemy," Harley mumbles in response. Merle finally looks up to meet her gaze, face serious. "That and that Dixon pride of yours." Harley huffs a small laugh and he copies the motion. "Honestly, both of you. It's ridiculous."

"You'd know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harley questions, her eyebrows furrowing in both bafflement and offense.

"I don' think ya ever once asked for help when I knew ya," Merle informs her but she just scoffs.

"It's more than just that," Harley argues. "And you know it. And you know why."

"Maybe," Merle shrugs.

"We've all done things we're not proud of," Harley starts again, her voice quieter than before. "Things that weren't right. But...the ability to know they were wrong, to feel it, that's how you know you're not bad." Shaking her head, Harley sighs and looks up at the bunk above her. "I don't know if that made sense, I'm still a little out of it."

"I think ya should stick to fixing physical wounds, little sister," Harley turns back to Merle at the name. She raises her eyebrows but he just smiles. She returns it while holding up her hand. He reaches out a grasps it in his own, squeezing once before letting go.

The sound of crutches coming closer is loud. The noise echos in the space around them and Harley looks to the cell entrance when Hershel nears. "How are we feeling today?"

"Oh, just peachy, doc," Harley offers a sleepy smile and Hershel narrows his eyes disapprovingly but offers a soft smile.

"Time to change your bandages," The older man says and holds up the bag in his hand for her to see. Harley sighs and closes her eyes before nodding. Unseeing, Harley only hears Merle move to allow Hershel to take his place. She blinks when she feels a palm pressing against her forehead and turns her gaze to Hershel's face. "You're a little warm."

"Yeah, it's hot in here," Harley quips but it falls flat when Hershel doesn't even smile. She lies her head back against her pillows and unbuttons Daryl's shirt she's borrowing. She doesn't bother removing the old bandage. Instead, she moves her arms to her sides and lets Hershel do it how he pleases.

Harley is unable to hold back a wince when removing the bandage aggravates her wound. She hisses in pain while clenching her jaw shut. She lifts her heavy head to look down at the wound and grimaces. "Ugh," She groans and looks to Hershel. "Second opinion, doc?"

"It's inflamed but that doesn't mea-"

"Don't patronize me," Harley cuts Hershel off with a quiet voice. "I know what it means."

"What what means?" Daryl's voice pulls a sigh from Harley. She turns her head and offers him her best smile. If she could see it herself, she'd know it wasn't at all convincing.

"I'm fine," She tries to assure him.

"She's running a fever," Hershel says over her and Harley groans.

"Traitor," She grumbles as Daryl moves to crouch beside her.

"The wounds become infected, it's not bad now but without antibiotics, it'll only grow worse."

"Then we'll get some meds," Daryl says as if it's simple but Harley shakes her head while grabbing onto his hand.

"No, you can't leave, it's too dangerous," She urges in a raspy voice, holding onto him as tight as she can.

"I-"

"You can't," Harley cuts him off. Her full attention is on Daryl and the heaviness in her heart. It distracts her from Merle when he moves out of the cell. She doesn't even notice the door closing until the lock clicks in place. "Merle?" She questions the man as Daryl jumps to his feet.

"What're you doin'?" The younger man asks, his hands grabbing onto the bars.

"Sorry, baby brother," Merle shrugs with a small smile. "She's right, it's too dangerous. She needs you but she also needs those meds. So I'll go get 'em."

"Merle, no," Harley tries to sit up but falls back onto the bed with a grimace. Daryl rushes back to her side but turns back to his brother.

"Don't waste your breath, Fox," Merle smiles and gives a mock salute before backing away from them. Daryl leaves her side and rushes to the bars again, grabbing them while yelling for his brother to come back.

Throughout the commotion, Hershel sits at the end of her bed, watching in silence. Harley looks to the old man then back out of the cell and wonders where Merle found the keys.


The only reason Daryl doesn't chase after his brother the second Rick unlocks the cell is Harley. Her fever is rising quicker than Hershel thought it would so he stays by her side, wiping the sweat from her forehead. There's no way of knowing where Merle went anyway, going after him would only cause more trouble.

Wringing the cloth out in the more lukewarm water than cold, Daryl rests it over Harley's hairline as he listens to the ragged breaths escaping through her parted lips. He grabs onto her limp hand and squeezes but she doesn't squeeze back.

Standing in frustration, Daryl runs his hands through his hair as he paces the small room. "What're you doin'?" The hunter barely hears Harley's quiet voice. He spins around to see her looking up at him and quickly returns to his seat.

"Thought ya were asleep," He tells her while taking hold of her hand.

"Really? I finally fooled you," Harley smiles weakly and returns his hold on her hand as much as she can. "Sorry," She apologizes when Daryl doesn't smile back. "I'm okay. Jus' a little tired."

"Here," Grabbing a bottle of water, Daryl helps Harley lift her head and take a few sips. He moves the cloth that was on her head away and runs his hand over her hair. "Get some sleep." He whispers to her with a kiss to her forehead before he sits back, his hand still holding onto hers. Harley nods before letting her eyes drift shut.

Lifting her hand, Daryl cradles it in both of his own and brings it to his lips. He closes his eyes with a silent plea and exhales shakily


"Have you gotten her to drink anything?"

"Not in hours," Daryl shakes his head to Hershel's question and turns his worried eyes back down to Harley's sleeping face. The vet removes his hand from her forehead and sits back. He changes her bandages first thing with a small furrow of his brow. Otherwise, his face was professionally blank the entire time. "Why?"

"She's just dehydrated," Hershel offers with a small uptick of his lips. Daryl doesn't buy it. "And her fever is up." Hershel sighs and looks over his shoulder to Rick who stands in the doorway. Daryl turns his gaze between the two of them and bites the inside of his lip. He wants to scream, yell at him to do something but he knows it's no use. Medicine is the only thing that can help Harley now.

"Just keep a close eye on her," Hershel finally says, his words directed at Daryl. The man barely resists rolling his eyes, as if he hadn't been doing that this whole time. The old man pats Daryl's and Harley's hands before pulling himself to his feet and exiting the cell.

Rick hovers a moment, looking as if he's about to speak but he doesn't. He waits another moment before following after the old vet. Daryl moves back to Harley's side and continues to watch over her.

It's the early hours of the morning when something happens. The sun will be rising in a few hours and Daryl hasn't moved from his spot by Harley's side. He hears the door open and slam shut before footsteps. He releases Harley's hand and moves from her side for the first time that day.

He sees Merle first. His brother is moving towards him with Carol who holds something in her hands. "Someone get me a better light," The woman says and both men jump to do just that. Daryl doesn't bother questioning where Merle got the supplies she drops onto the table. The syringe she pulled out of its wrapper or the medicine she pulls into it. As long as it helps Harley, he doesn't care.

"You know what you're doin'?" Merle's question is only answered with a quick glare from Carol before she continues helping Harley. There's not much to do other than inject the medicine directly into one of her veins for the quickest result. Daryl is grateful that Carol has been learning from Harley and Hershel. There can never be enough people with medical knowledge these days.

"Without an IV, there's not much more we can do," Carol informs them after stepping back. "When she wakes up, make her drink something. Even if she refuses, she needs to stay hydrated."

Daryl only nods in confirmation with a hum. Carol squeezes his arm before leaving the cell. The younger man turns to his brother and shares a silent look before the older Dixon quietly walks away.


Harley's fever finally breaks late the next day. She manages to stay awake, much more lucid than the day before. Harley isn't so sure that's a good thing every time Hershel or Daryl all but forces water down her throat. Like she doesn't know how important it is to stay hydrated. She was in med school, thank you very much.

She gets many visitors, but per Hershel's orders, none of them stay very long so she's allowed to rest. That night, after Daryl leaves to get them both dinner, she gets her next visitor. The man she hadn't seen all day. "Hey," She offers Rick a small smile and watches the man take a seat in the chair beside her bed.

"I'm sorry," He says instead of returning her greeting. Harley's eyebrows furrow and she sits up just a little bit more.

"For what?" She questions, voice full of confusion. Rick clears his throat and braces his elbows on his knees. He won't look her in the eye. Realization dawns on the woman and she speaks again for he can. "I knew," She informs him softly. "And I knew we had to keep moving, get out of there. I wasn't going to be the reason they caught up or that we lost someone else."

"We almost lost you," Rick argues and finally looks up at her. Harley smirks.

"Nah, takes more than a measly bullet to take me down," Cocking her head in thought, Harley shrugs. "Well, keep me down." She snorts when Rick shakes his head in a disappointed way. "Don't beat yourself up, Rick. I'm a big girl and I made a choice, that's not on anyone but me."

Their conversation is cut short by Daryl appearing in the doorway. Harley smiles at him and Rick stands, ready to leave. Harley reaches out and pats his hand. The man gives a small grin before walking away.

"Everything okay?" Daryl asks while taking the now empty seat beside her.

"Everything's fine," Harley assures him and takes the bowl of food he offers. She's not so sure she believes her own words and by the look on Daryl's face, he feels the same.


It's late when Harley wakes the next morning. Noon, her watch reads. She rubs the sleep from her eyes and looks around. She's alone, Daryl nowhere to be seen. That's odd all in itself. He's barely left her side since she was injured. He's always there when she wakes up. Harley's not a child, she doesn't need him with her all the time but it's just strange. She imagines he's just stepped out until she hears voices from the common room.

Using the bunk above her, Harley pulls herself into a sitting position with a wince. She braces her hand against her stomach and takes a deep, painful breath. Clenching her teeth, Harley forces herself onto her feet. It's not the smartest decision. She knows she'd rip anyone else a new one for doing the same thing but she can't just sit here and wait for someone to come tell her what's going on.

Using the wall as support, Harley keeps one hand against her wound as she drags her feet towards the voices. She forgot how tiring it was to get shot. And back then she had access to proper medical supplies and environment. She hadn't gotten an infection either of the previous times either.

When she reaches the entrance to the larger room, Harley grabs onto the barred door to help hold herself up. Daryl catches her movement from the corner of his eye just after Harley notices Andrea. She'd nearly forgotten about the news of the woman being alive. Glenn had been the one to tell her when he visited. Apparently, she knew the woman, Michonne. They had spent the winter together.

"The hell ya think you're doin'?" With tense shoulders, Daryl marches over to her. Though his voice is angry, his touch is gentle when he grabs hold of her, taking her weight off the cold, metal door.

"Stretching my legs," Harley smiles up at him, her voice a little more breathless than she'd like to admit. Daryl looks as if he's about to scold her but Harley cuts him off. "Hey, blondie," She smiles at the woman. She and Andrea never got along. She held no real hatred for the woman, annoyance, and anger at times, but she never wanted her dead.

"What happened?" Andrea asks while Daryl helps Harley to the closest seat and carefully lowers her down onto it.

"Nothing, why do you ask?" Harley jokes, grin still firmly in place.

"She was shot," Glenn responds heatedly. Harley raises her eyebrows at the man but his eyes are firmly on the blonde across from him. "By your new friends."

"We're done here," Rick says in an attempt to placate the man. Harley would like to protest but doesn't. She has no idea what's going on but she can just ask Daryl. She's too tired to deal with this shit.

Harley sees their leader glance at her before to the corner before Hershel speaks. "Let's get you back to bed," He tells her kindly. "You shouldn't be up yet, you're going to tear your stitches."

"Sir, yes, sir," Harley salutes and lets Daryl help her up with an arm around her waist. When they're out of the room and away from the others, Daryl bends down and lifts Harley off her feet. She waits until her head stops spinning to complain but decides against it. Instead, he lies her head against his shoulder until they reach their cell. "Thanks, handsome," Smiling, Harley pats Daryl's chest when he deposits her onto the bed.

"What were ya thinkin'?" He asks quietly and Harley blinks open her eyes.

"Heard the voices," Harley whispers. "Wanted to know what was going on."

"Ya could've hurt yourself," Daryl reminds her as if she doesn't know and Harley scoffs weakly.

"It's time to change your bandages anyway," Hershel cuts in and offers the supplies to Daryl. The younger man takes them before the vet excuses himself.

Lying back, Harley closes her eyes and lets out a deep sigh. "Fill me in."

Notes:

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 28: Morality

Notes:

I just forgot to update yesterday, sorry!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Not much happens for Harley in the next couple of days. She's ordered strict bed rest and is too tired to even protest most of the time. Rick, Carl, and Michonne go on a day trip to find more guns. They return unscathed with what they went looking for.

She's not happy when Daryl tells her about the meeting. Or that he's going. She knows it's the best decision for him to go, he's one of their best fighters, if not the best. Doesn't make her worry any less. She wants to stop him from going but knows she can't. So instead she gives him a parting kiss and watches him walk away.

It's hours later that she's trying to read a book Glenn gave her, trying to distract herself. Trying not to think about everything - It's not working - when she hears raised voices in the common room. She could've rolled her eyes at the sound of Merle and Glenn shouting as she pulls herself to her feet. Harley grimaces and stumbles towards the others just in time to see Beth lifts a gun and fire it into the air.

Reaching forward, Harley places her hand on the girl's shoulder and nods at her. "There a problem?" She asks sternly, her voice stronger than it has been in days.

"Nah, nah, little sis, no problem," Merle smirks and shakes his head, voice sweet. Harley offers him a blank stare before looking at Glenn.

"He wants to go after the others, ambush the governor," He explains and shoots the other man a glare. Harley would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about the same thing but she had quickly dismissed the thought.

Sighing, Harley shakes her head while trying not to make it obvious how much weight she's resting against the table. "You're not supposed to be out of bed," Beth reminds her gently with a hand on her arm. Harley offers the girl a smile.

"Merle," Lifting her gaze back towards the man, she motions him over with her head. "Help me back to my cell." Without much hesitation, the man does as she said and supports her weight as they walk back to her cell. "Don't talk," She tells him as soon as she's sat down. He scoffs but complies.

"I've seen how easy a small situation can escalate too many times. I've seen good men die because of bad decisions. If we go out there now, I can't say what will happen. But if we don't I know they'll come back home," Not for sure, there's always the possibility that something will happen. But she can't let herself think of that. "I've thought about it and It's a risk I'm not willing to take."

"That's my brothers out ther-"

"So trust him," Harley cuts him off. "I understand, I love him too. But going out there now could be killing him. So we wait and we trust that he'll come back to us." Releasing a breath, Harley sags back a bit. Damn, getting shot sucks.

Merle observes her silently for a moment and inhales deeply. "He won't be happy knowin' you was up and walking around," He informs her and Harley grins.

"So we won't tell him," She says with a small shrug. "You know, I don't think I've thanked you yet," Merles leans against the far wall and cocks his head to the side. "You saved my life, again."

"Ain't that what family's for?"

"Yeah," Harley smiles softly. "Yeah, it is."


Daryl comes to see her as soon as they get back. Harley keeps the relief off her face and releases the breath she had been holding since he left. She wouldn't have been able to live with herself if he never came back after the decision she made to not go out there.

Rick gathers everyone around the cells and explains what happened. Explains that there's no reasoning with the man. Harley finds she's not surprised. But it doesn't make her feel any better about going to war. She thought she had put all that stuff behind her a long time ago.

"You good?" Looking up later that evening, Harley offers Daryl a small smile at his question.

"Yeah, just stuck in my head," She motions towards herself with a small shrug.

"Yeah?" Stepping forward, Daryl rests his hand on the side of her face and rubs his thumb under her eye. "Watcha thinkin' about?"

"You," Harley lies with a smirk. Daryl rolls his eyes with a snort but turns serious a second later. "Just everything, you know? I thought I had left fighting behind me a long time ago."

"You won't be fighting," Daryl tells her and Harley lets out a humorless laugh.

"Don't got much choice, handsome," She informs him gently. "I can't very well just sit around while everyone else risks their lives. It's not how us soldiers work. Retired or not."

"Ya ain't fightin'," Daryl urges despite her words, and Harley sighs.

"No point in arguing," She taps his chest and leans against him tiredly. "Now come to bed. It's gonna be a long next few days."

Sighing, Daryl drops his head to place a kiss atop Harley's. He breathes in deeply before stepping back and removing his jacket. Harley lies down first and he's quick to join her.


Harley is alone when she wakes the next day. It's later than she usually wakes. Everyone else is already up, she can hear them moving around. She groans to herself and buries her face in her arms. She's can't wait to be healed already.

Sitting up, Harley presses her lips into a thin line. She looks around the cell for her shoes. They're in the far corner. Harley rolls her eyes are starts to reach for them but a shadow in the doorway stops her.

"I need to get out of here," Harley says before Daryl can speak. "Some fresh air and vitamin D will do me good. Just..help me with my shoes?" After a moment of thought, Daryl silently grabs and shoes and sits pulls up the chair. He lifts one of Harley's legs onto his lap and slides her foot into her shoe. He repeats the process with the other shoes before grabbing her jacket.

"I think I got this one," Harley takes the clothing from his and carefully slips her arms into the sleeves. "As long as I don't bend over, I'm good." She smiles and takes his offered hand, letting him pull her to her feet. "Thank you."

"Yeah," Daryl mumbles and drops his head. Harley furrows her brows and tries to meet his eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She thinks, just for a second, that he's going to deny anything. But a minute later, he looks up and speaks quietly.

"He offered Rick a deal. The governor," His voice is so low, despite how noise usually carried in the prison, Harley doubts it will leave their cell. "Give him Michonne and he'll leave us me."

Scoffing, Harley shakes her head. "Bullshit," She claims. Daryl merely looks at her and she shakes her head. "He's gonna do it, isn't he?"

"Says so," Daryl shrugs.

"It won't mean shit, you know that," Harley says, desperation seeping into her voice. "He says he'll leave us alone but a man like that...He'll kill Michonne and he'll still come after us."

"Maybe-"

"Not maybe, definitely," Harley cuts him off. She bites her lips together when her voice rises a little.

"He's set on it," Daryl whispers.

"It's wrong."

"...I know,"

"He won't," Harley shakes her head. "He can't." She has to believe that. Rick's changed from the man he once was but he's still good. But they haven't known Michonne that long and if it's her or his family, Harley knows what choice he would make. It might be enough to cloud his mind enough that he actually believes it'll work.

Daryl nods and lifts his eyes to look into hers. Harley shares his mournful look and lifts her hand to his cheek. "We'll figure it out."

"Yeah," Daryl nods and kisses the inside of her wrist before moving his arm around her waist. "You need to eat."

Leading her into the common room, Daryl makes Harley some food and watches her eat until she's finished. She would roll her eyes if she didn't find it endearing. She finishes the last of her water before they both head outside.

"Here," Lowering her onto a seat outside, Daryl makes sure she's okay before joining the others. Harley sits in the sun and watches them load the barbed wire traps into the back of the truck.

Maggie passes by and squeezes her shoulder before she can Carl make their way down to distract the walkers. Hershel drives the truck and Michonne takes down the walkers nearby while Glenn and Daryl drop the traps into the grass.

With the noise from Maggie and Carl, Rick comes running outside. If Harley wasn't currently annoyed with him, she would feel bad for worrying the man. But he quickly sees that everything is okay and after making quick eye contact with her, he moves to open the gate.

"They try to drive up to the gate again, maybe some blown tires will stop them," Glenn says in a way of explanation to Rick.

"That's a good idea."

"It was Michonnes," Harley's eyebrows rise on her forehead at Daryl's tone. She's surprised no one else picks up on it.

"We don't have to win," The woman herself says. "We just have to make them getting at us more trouble than it's worth." Harley narrows her eyes at Rick. The man looks at Michonne and nods slowly before Carl and Maggie rejoin them.

"Let's go," Rick nods towards the prison and everyone starts in.

"Rick, hold up a minute," Harley calls and everyone stops. She looks at Rick and he looks between her and Daryl a moment. He gestures for the others to go on. "You too," Harley whispers to Daryl and nods towards the others. He hesitates with a glance between her and Rick before following.

"He told you," Rick says as soon as they're out of earshot.

"Yeah, we have this thing about secretes," Harley informs him. She's looking out at the field but when she speaks again, she looks up at him. "We don't have any." He nods and she continues. "It won't work. You know that. Even if did, it's wrong."

"I've thought about this-"

"Have you?" Harley cuts through his words, her voice even. "If we do this, we're no better than he is," She tells him quietly. "Even the bad guy thinks he's right in what he does...You're not a bad man, Rick."

The former sheriff rests all his weight on one leg and looks down at his feet. "Morality is a thin line," Harley goes on when Rick makes no motion to speak. "And it may consist solely on the courage to make a choice. The right or the wrong choice. He'll do whatever you say, you know," When he looks up, Harley nods towards Daryl's bike. "Because he trusts you to make those choices for all of us. I just ask that while you're here, while you're making these choices for all of us, you remember how to make the right ones."

Regarding her for a minute, Rick runs ahead down his face before silently walking away. Harley slumps in her seat and sighs heavily.


Taping a clean bandage over her wound, Harley sighs and lets the bottom of her shirt fall from between her teeth. She quickly cleans everything up before Daryl can appear and make a fuss about her not asking for help. Like she suddenly can't take care of herself or something.

Shuffled footsteps catch her attention and she looks up to see Merle. She nods and he steps into the cell.

"You once told me I wasn't a bad person," He says in lieu of a greeting.

"Only once?"

"Even though I've done bad things," Merle ignores her comment and continues. "Some you know, some you don't. If you knew 'em all, you wouldn't say that."

"I would," Harley argues. "I mean, you're an asshole but you're not bad, I think..." Sighing, Harley bites the inside of her cheeks and looks up at him. "I think you were dealt a shitty hand at life and you did the best you could with it. That's more than I can say more most. You've made mistakes, chose the wrong things at times, we all have. Anyone who says differently is full of shit. So no, I know you're not a bad person. And buried deep down there's a good man. Somewhere under all that dirt and sweat." She jokes and Merle chuckles but the noise is strained.

"Ya always saw the best in me," He whispers and Harley shrugs. She knows Merle isn't one for sentimental. Easy to lash out just so people can't see that he has emotions. That he can be hurt. Ever the tough guy.

"It's my superpower," Harley shrugs with a sad smile. "I can see through southern men with hard heads and stubborn attitudes."

"Must be how you put up with my baby brother," Merle smirks.

"I won't say it doesn't help," Harley admits. "He's not quite so guarded as yourself, though. Well, not anymore."

"I thought that made him weak," Merle confesses quietly.

"And now?" Harley isn't surprised when she receives no answer. Merle merely grins and reaches forward to squeeze her shoulder. It's an oddly affectionate move from the hardened man.

"Take care of him."

His words cause a rock to settle in her gut but she nods while looking up at him. "Yeah, we both will, right?"

"Right," Merle nods once before dropping his arm back to his side. "See you later, little sister."

"See you later," Harley repeats and watches the man leave, that heavy feeling in her gut never quite lessening.


Rick finds her right after Merle. He tells her the deal is off, that he can't do it, and Harley sighs in relief. Not an hour later, the youngest Dixon brother finds her.

"Michonne and Merle are gone," He tells her hurriedly.

"What?" Pushing herself to her feet, Harley watches Daryl pace the small room.

"He knew Rick wouldn't go through with the deal so he's doing it himself."

"Fuck," Dropping her head into her hands, Harley then runs them through her hair. "I should've known, he came to talk to me, he seemed...off."

"He say something?" Daryl pauses to ask her and Harley shakes her head.

"Not about this, but he was...talking about the things he's done, I should've known," Frustrated, Harley slams her hand into the wall but winces at the strain on her wound. Daryl places a hand on her side but she waves him off.

"S'not your fault," He assures her. "I'm goin' after 'em."

"Alone? No," She shakes her hand and grabs onto his arm.

"I gotta, I can track him, it'll be faster," Daryl argues and throws his bow over his shoulder. Harley opens her mouth to fight but no words come out. There are no words that will stop him from doing this, she knows trying will only be futile.

"If you don't come back I will come after you myself," She tells him instead.

"Not alone," Like she knows herself, Daryl knows there would be no stopping her. No point in arguing the fact. Lifting his hand, Daryl grabs the back of Harley's neck and leans down to kiss her. "I love you."

"Do not make this the last time I hear you say that," She urges and Daryl nods. Harley lifts herself onto her toes to kiss him once more. "Come back to me."

"I will," With one last nod, Daryl rushes out of their cell.

Notes:

Can you tell I was just trying to finish writing this?

One more chapter left! I have started on the sequel, more information about that in tomorrow's notes.

Thanks for reading!

'-'

Chapter 29: 'Til the End

Notes:

Last chapter until the sequel!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

When Michonne returns, Harley feels both relief and dread fill her body. The woman tells her how Merle let her go, that she ran into Daryl. The younger Dixon told her not to let anyone follow after him. Harley wants nothing more than to do just that.

The sun is started to set when she sees him. Daryl, alone. She doesn't have to ask, doesn't need to hear him say it. Tears immediately feel the woman's eyes and she looks to the sky as the air rushes from her lungs.

Sniffing, Harley wipes her eyes and moves towards Daryl. His eyes are red and his lip trembles. He drops his bow onto the ground without care and she wraps her arms around his neck. His face buries in the side of her neck as he wraps himself around her, his body shaking as he cries.

Harley shushes him gently and runs her hand through his hair. Her own tears fall to join his.

When they've both stopped crying and wiped their faces, they make their way inside. Harley stays back to tell Michonne what happened before joining him in their cell.

Crawling into bed, Harley sits with her back propped against the pillows and leans his head against her chest. She resumes running her fingers through his hair while his own trace the bandage under her shirt.

"It's who he wanted to be," Harley whispers. Despite the low tone of her voice, it nearly breaks. Daryl's fingers still against her skin. "A good man. And he was." Twisting her head, Harley places a kiss on his hairline. "He gave us a better chance."

Daryl hums and turns his face into her more and inhales deeply. "You know he loved you, right? It's why he did that," Harley almost regrets saying it when she feels her collarbone becoming damp with tears. She has to take a deep breath to control her own emotions.

"A good man who sacrificed himself to save his family. That's how he'll be remembered. That's how we'll remember him."


Early the next day everything is packed into the cars. Daryl's a little more subdued but he's better. Harley offers him a sad smile while pushing some hair out of his eyes. "It's getting long," She whispers and he nods into her hand. "I like it." Huffing, Daryl's lips twitch upwards.

"You be safe."

"I've got the easy job," She reminds him. Harley had been a little ticked when Rick told her she would be with Hershel, Carl, and Beth during the whole thing. But she does understand. If she was on the other side, she would've given the same orders. "Speaking of," Nodding towards Michonne, Daryl turns to see her with Harley's bike. "Take care of her, okay?" Harley tells the woman. "I know every scratch and every dent. Because there are none...Dents, at least." Michonne chuckles and gives her a reassuring nod. "I'll see you soon."

With her hand on his cheek, Daryl leans down to connect their lips in a slow kiss. "See ya soon," He says back to her when they pull away. Harley runs her hand down his arm and squeezes his hand before moving towards the car.

As Hershel drives away from the prison, she feels her heart growing heavier and heavier. She fears that it won't stop until all of this is over and they've won. If they win. They have to, she thinks to herself. There's no other way this can go.

"You shouldn't be on your feet so much," Hershel tells her when they've parked. "You should stay in here."

"Should," Harley mumbles before opening her door. She glances back at Judith before climbing out of the vehicle. He forbids her from helping them camouflage the car and she reckons that someone needs to keep watch anyway. Once they're done, she holds her gun in her hands and leans back against the hood of the car.

They can hear the trucks approaching but they don't react until they hear gunfire. Harley flinches while Beth and Carl look off towards the prison. Harley shares a glance with Hershel before turning her sights to the forest surrounding them.

It goes quiet after a while. Harley knows better than to think that's all. She counts silently in her head while continuously sweeping her eyes across the trees. The gunfire starts up again soon after. The Governor's men start retreating before it happens.

Harley hears the rushes footsteps and pushes herself to her feet. She raises her gun as Carl joins her side to do the same.

"Woah, woah, woah," The kid exclaims, holding his arms and gun by his sides.

"Drom the gun, kid," Harley tells him sternly and he gives a slight nod before slowly starting to do just that.

"Here, take it," He starts offering the weapon to Carl and Harley glances down at the younger boy. She's quick to return her gaze to the stranger but something doesn't sit right with her. She looks to the hand Carl has wrapped around his gun to see his finger moving onto the trigger.

"Carl-" Reaching out, Harley places her hand under the boy's arm and lifts it into the air right as he fires. She turns her head to see the retreating back of the boy, his gun left lying on the ground. "What was that?" She demands in a quiet but hardened tone.

"He's getting away!" Carl urges but Harley takes his gun from his hands and pushes him back.

"He's an unarmed child, I doubt he'll make it far," She informs him. "He was handing his weapon over, we do not shoot unarmed people."

"He's one of them," Carl argues but Harley shakes her head.

"It's not that simple," Harley doubts he even had a choice in this fight. And even if he did, he's just a kid. The governor probably painted all of them to be the bad guys. As far as they know, they're just fighting to protect themselves. "He was running away from the fight and he was handing his gun over. I don't know to hear it," Harley holds up a hand when Carl tries to talk. "Wait in the car."

Huffing, Carl stomps towards the vehicle and climbs in the back.

After clearing off the vehicle, everyone climbs in and they head back to the prison where the others are waiting. Carl climbs out first and stomps inside. Harley follows behind him.

"I'm coming with you to Woodbury," The boy is saying to his father. Harley assures herself that Daryl is okay before joining the boy and his father.

"Carl-"

"I did my job out there," He cuts him off. "Harley let one of them get away."

"He was a kid," Hershel cuts in before either can speak. "He was handing his weapon over, you fired."

"He couldn't have been more than fifteen," Harley whispers. "He was scared, he was running away. He was surrendering." Rick looks from her and back to Carl.

"Is that true?" The former sheriff asks his son.

"He drew on us," Carl insists before rushing off once again.

"He was handing his gun over," Hershel tells the man quietly. Harley steps away silently while they discuss and runs a hand over her eyes.

"You good?"

"Yeah," She nods in response to Daryl's question. "You?"

"Mm-hmm," He hums. "We're goin' after them."

"I know," She mumbles.

"You're not."

"I know," Harley also knows how to spell liability. "Just-..."

"I'll be back," Daryl assures and lifts his hand to her arm. He presses a kiss on her cheek before joining Rick and Michonne. But before he can get too far, Harley grabs his wrist.

"I love you," She says when he turns back to her. "'Till the end."

Stepping back, Daryl presses his forehead against hers. "'Till the end."


Harley is restless all night. She paces her cell and sits when she tires. Her leg bounces and she chews her nails until the sun rises and Carol's voice calls out. "They're back!"

Pushing herself to her feet as quickly as she can, Harley rushes outside. Sure enough, the truck they took and Daryl's bike is there. Along with a grey bus full of people. Harley wraps her arms around Daryl's middle and holds him a moment before pulling away. He doesn't take his arm off her shoulders.

"He shot 'em all," Daryl tells her without prompting. "He's gone."

"Gone or gone?"

"Just gone," Daryl shakes his head. Harley nods while they watch the people left from Woodbury unload from the bus. "And Andrea."

Closing her eyes, Harley drops her head mournfully. She never got along with the woman but in the end, Harley thinks all she wanted was for them to live together in peace. Though she knew it could never happen, she commends the blonde for trying.

"Looks like we've got a lot of work to do," With all the new people, they've got to make more room. Clear out the yard and fix the fences, move the overturned bus. Start planting crops after winter. Daryl merely hums and turns to bury his nose in her hair. "But I think we deserve a day off."

"You tired?"

"Always am," Harley huffs while resting her hands on the arm wrapped around her stomach. "You can't tell me that you're not."

"'M fine."

"Always are," She smiles and turns to rest her forehead against his. She nudges his nose with her own before pulling him inside. It's noisy, with all the new people getting settled into the same cell block for the day. Harley knows they'll have to clear out other cell blocks, the entire prison. This is their home now, for however long it lasts.

Harley tries to slip her shoes off but ends up stumbling onto the bed. She laughs at herself while Daryl bends down to take them off for her. "My knight in shining armor," She mumbles tiredly. He removes his own shoes before nudging her to lie down. "I'll see you in three to five business days." She mumbles while he wraps his arms around her. She feels his chest rumble and she smiles to herself.

The prison has fences, it has walls. It's filled with people doing their best not to just survive in what the world has become, but to live as well. They won the war and now they can focus on growing and making this place their home. And here, wrapped in the arms of the man she loves, Harley can't help but feel hopeful. But with that hope, comes a sense of foreboding.

Because in her experience, nothing good ever lasts.

Notes:

Not really a cliff hanger, I couldn't do that to you guys without the sequel completed. And speaking off...

I won't be posting it until it's completed. I have no idea when that'll be, reviews always motivate me to write though :D.

The sequel, I will try to go off script mostly, but I'm sure it'll have some stuff from the show, what would you guys like to read?

It will focus on Harley's PTSD, cause girls got a lot of that. There's flashbacks to her life before. Also, might introduce another OC, but I'm not gonna give anything away. Just know there will be no love triangles because I despise those with all of my being.

I wasn't going to kill Merle at first but then I saw it as him trying to redeem himself.

What did you guys think! I'm excited for the sequel, it's going to be so much better and more original. (I hope)

'-'

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