The world was a haze. All was quiet, but not silent. Instead, a constant, ever grumbling moan droned on and on with no break. The world in front of her was dark, but the black would sometimes be interrupted by flashes of red. A sickness grew and then subsided in her stomach, an ache would drift in and out of notice, but that was everywhere. But somewhere had the most pain. A sharp, sharp soreness ate away at her...somewhere. Where, it wasn't clear. But it bugged the hell out of her.

...

"How is she?" Daryl said from the drivers seat. Everyone had changed over; Stevie was a useless, shaking heap in the passenger side, a bottle of water leaning next to her which Daryl had wordlessly offered her an hour before. Eve and Dana were in the back, her still unconscious, while Eve kept a discarded shirt against the new stump. For ages she had only the sloshing around of hidden fuel to listen to; Daryl was a reckless and nerve-wreaking driver to say the least, but it was getting them home faster. But they desperately needed medication for Dana, and, should she wake up, something to numb the pain. Desperately.

"The fuck?" Daryl mumbled to himself, and the car suddenly halted, throwing its passengers forward.

"What was that for?" Eve shouted, and Daryl exited the car, a confused expression on his face. Eve stared at him in disbelief, before concluding that it must be something strange, for him to act like this. She leaned forward, stretching her arm to hold the shirt against the stub. "Stevie? Would you just hold this here for a minute?"

She waited for a reply, but didn't get one. The girl didn't move. Eve peered round to find her reflection in the side mirror, staring into space while chewing on her nail. It was bloody.

"Come on, Stevie. We need your help now. You can do this later," she sighed, losing patience and feeling a little guilty for it. She gave her a little more time, and breathed in to talk again, when the girl spoke for the first time since the factory.

"It's just bottles," she commented offhandedly. Eve frowned for a second, before Eve heard her name being called. She looked ahead and saw Daryl a few yards in front. She then gave a withering look to Stevie, who huffed and told her to go. She went.

"What is this?" Eve asked, walking to meet Daryl, who was standing next to a pack of water bottles, 12 clean, clear water bottles, just like you bought in the convenience store.

"They're cold. Someone put them here not long back."

"Think you can track them?"

Daryl looked up at her, his hands resting on his sides. "Could be a trap. Or poisoned." His eyes mirrored the concerned look she was feeling, and then looked back to the car. Eve crouched to look at the bottles. "They're sealed."

"How are we on water?"

Eve shrugged. "Pretty low." Daryl nodded, and bent down to pick the bottles up. They both returned to the car, and opened the trunk to throw the bottles in. Eve took the chance of privacy, and turned his face to face her own. He met her eyes, and then left them drift to a close for a moment.

"Been a hectic couple of hours, huh?" Daryl sighed through his nose at the under statement, and Eve felt his hand on her waist. As they moved closer, Eve let the realisation once again wash over her, that they were back together. She wouldn't think about anything else until they got back in the car. It was difficult to even consider the outside.

"I missed you so much," Daryl murmured, and tears pricked at the corners of Eve's eyes. She whispered, "and I you," and kissed him for the first time in lord knows how long.

Once they returned to the car, they found that Stevie had shifted to the back, suddenly taking her task seriously, and Eve took her seat in the front. They began driving, well into dusk, and eyes felt heavy all around. By dark, they'd stopped, about half way back home, and the thought brought relatively easy sleep to Eve. That, and Daryl's hand on hers once he'd closed his eyes. Then she drifted off to the sound of night, uneven breathing in the back and the knowledge that she'd wake up, and she'd be where she needed to be.

...

The following morning, Daryl was jolted from his sleep by a noise outside, and immediately pulled out the pocket knife from his pocket and threw the door open, leaving the girls inside. He looked around the clearing they'd found next to the road side.

"Morning," a voice said, clear and casual, and Daryl turned to see a man sat on a fallen tree trunk.

"Who the hell are you," Daryl said in a warning tone, taking in the man's clean appearance. He looked like he'd barely touched a walker in his life. The man stood, and threw his back pack over his shoulder. "I'm a friend. Aaron's the name." The man, Aaron, cautiously edged forward with his hand outstretched. Daryl just stared at him, thrown back by the stranger. Finally he let out a breath, and lowered his hand. "Guess you ain't kind to shake hands. Never mind. Look, I know, I know you probably don't trust me by now but-"

"Daryl? What's going on?" Eve's tired voice asked through the window. Her eyes went from him to the stranger, and she rubbed her eyes. When she was done, she left the car to join him, looking more awake and confused, defensive. "Who're you?" Daryl felt her fingers on the back of his hand.

"I'm Aaron, I'm not here to hurt you. Honestly." He smiled awkwardly and openly. "Guess you heard that a lot, too."

Daryl had had enough. "Look kid, just tell us what you want and be on your way. We ain't got all day."

"Daryl," Eve whispered, and grabbed his fingers, apparently to calm him. He held his tongue.

...

"Are you the one who left us the water?" Eve asked wearily, earning a smile from Aaron. "Good, you got them. I'm sorry, I saw what happened at that building, I thought I was being help-"

"Oh, you were, thanks," Eve managed hastily, interrupting the man's reverie. "It's just that you don't expect that kind of gesture, especially...today. They must have been hard to come by." Eve managed a smile, hoping to establish a trust between their small group and him. He didn't look like a killer. On the contrary, his eyes were open books. He occasionally eyed Daryl nervously, as though he were a dog about to attack on one word. Aaron nodded understandingly. "I know, but, where I come from, theres plenty." Then he peered into the car when something inside made a noise. It sounded like a groan. "Is she okay?" he asked, his eyes hinting concern.

"She's fine," Daryl uttered, clearly not trusting him. Aaron raised his hand, trying to keep any potential trouble at bay. "It's okay, it's just that I had a first aid kit, meds, if she's hurt-"

"She was bit," Eve said, ignoring the look of disbelief in the corner of her eye. "We had to amputate her leg, we don't know if she's..." The words trailed away. The trio stood as silence hung in the air. Then Aaron bent down and pulled some paper from his back pack, talking as he went. "Look, I'm from Alexandria safe zone. Myself and another survivor are responsible for going out and recruiting people like you, people who can help or need help. We have walls," he explained, handing a bunch of poor quality photographs over to whoever would take them. Eve stretched her hand out and positioned them so Daryl could see as she flicked through them. It was of walls, tall and solid looking. Some showed a wide open space, glimpses of suburban houses, grass, trees.

"They're 15 feet tall, no way of anything getting in. When the infection broke out, a group of people got to work and took the land, so we had a chance, and a place to bring people to safety. And we're constantly pushing the walls back, gaining more and more land as we go."

Eve continued to flick through the pictures, until she started again. She waited for a feeling of recognition with the houses, the porches, the clear pathways. It looked like a small haven, too perfect to last.

"I know what kind of questions you must have. And I know I can't earn your trust with a few pictures and a few bottles of water. But we only want to help."

Eve's eyes lingered on the man for a moment, hearing his words, and, oddly, finding herself believing them. She found Daryl's shadowed eyes, his strands of hair reflecting the gold sunlight. He seemed so guarded, and yet, she could tell his resolve was shaky. She also knew that he could kill this man with his bare hands if he wronged them. If he needed to.

"Anything's better than this, right?" Eve said with a shrug and hopeful smile, feeling tears in her eyes at the thought of this part coming to an end. She couldn't let herself believe it now, but to dream was nice, if not a little foolish. With a moment of staring back at her, Daryl nodded his head ever so slightly, the corner of his mouth pulling in. "Theres more of us," he said to Aaron, looking away from her and to him. "11 more."

"Including a baby," Eve added, feeling pride and admiration for the man next to her, her heart beating fast. Aaron chuckled. "Then she'll be our youngest resident. Is that a yes?"

After that, Aaron gave them the meds they might need, should Dana wake, and left them to wait in the car while he found his vehicle. Daryl seemed on edge, but that was natural. So was she. When she explained to Stevie what was happening, she seemed unconcerned. Of course, she didn't care. That was natural, too.

Aaron came riding passed on a motorbike, quite clean considering his job, and they began following him as he led them to his aid and partner Eric, who came to the car and graciously and quickly greeted them. Eve liked him straight away. During the journey back home, Dana continued to groan, but the sounds were human. It seemed like she was going to be okay.