I woke in the same place I had fell asleep last night: on the mattress at the top of the stairs that laid on the catwalk. Daryl sat in the corner with his crossbow, cleaning it. He glanced up at me and nodded in greeting. I sat up, stretching and rubbing my neck. Daryl slid the gun I had left out over to me. I picked it up and held it in my hand.

"You ready," he asked. My eyes flickered over to my sword which rested upright against the wall. It wasn't there last night.

"Yeah," I nodded. Daryl stood up, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. He reached his hand out towards me. I grabbed it and he pulled me to my feet. He kept hold of my hand, our faces and bodies inches apart. Our eyes were locked together, our breathing almost in tandem. Daryl's eyes then flickered up and down my body before he let go. He reached back and handed me my sword. I took it from him, my eyes still lingering on him.

"Let's move out," he instructed, turning around and walking down the stairs like nothing happened. I bit my lip once his back was turned, smiling while my face began to heat up. He didn't fail to fluster me. I followed behind him, quickly trotting down the stairs. I pulled the strap over my head and let the sword in its sheath rest across my back. I shoved the gun in my waistband as I finally caught up to him, walking by his side. We trekked outside, down to the gate and out into the field. Daryl and I headed towards the trees, entering the woods. I felt uneasy being back out here again, out here in the open, the possibility of eyes being on me from all angles. Daryl recognized my aura and brushed his fingers over my hand. I glanced up at him to see him smirking at me, a smile beginning to spread across my lips. I let out a nervous laugh. "You alright?"

"Yeah," I said happily. "I'm good." Especially with him by my side, how could I not be? A sudden rustle in the bush startled me. I whipped out my gun, Daryl whipping out his crossbow. After nothing emerged, the two of us relaxed. He glanced back at me to check on how I was doing.

"You're okay," he reassured me. I nodded, sighing in relief. Daryl ran his fingers over my skin to comfort me again. I gave him a soft smile before he turned to continue on to our destination. We broke through the trees and stumbled into a small clearing. An old, mossy tree stump sat a few feet away from the tree-line. Daryl pulled something out of his pocket and placed it on top: a glass figurine of a blonde boy who held a pail of water. He stuck out his finger and pointed towards a small patch of dandelions, wanting me to stand near them. I followed his instruction, him following me over there slightly after. He stood behind me. "Hold it up," Daryl whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine at the closeness of his voice. I took out the gun and held it out in front of me. "A little higher." He pressed his body up against mine, his hands on my arms. He gently lifted them higher up and pushed them in. "Keep your arms straight." I rolled my shoulders back to loosen myself up.

Just pretend like he's not even here, Aften!

I could feel his warm breath on my neck, my body being cradled by his. His warmth made my heart pick up speed, my ability to maintain focus beginning to slip away. I fired the gun before I could lose any more. The sudden bang caused my ears to ring. The bullet completely missed the figurine. I fired again without hesitation, missing. Another quick shot and a miss caused Daryl to lightly squeeze my arms.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he interjected. "Relax. Concentrate," he whispered. I shut my eyes and sighed, shaking away my nervous feelings. I focused on the figurine that seemed like it was a thousand miles away. A surge of power hit me and I stood confidently with Daryl behind me. I fired. The bullet shot out into the air, hitting the glass. It shattered into smithereens. I felt Daryl's body abandon mine. "There you go." I turned around, beaming. He chuckled, his eyes flitting over my face. His relaxed look made my heart flutter. I quickly shifted my focus to the ground while my palms became sweaty. Daryl smirked at the blush on my face then began to saunter back over to the tree-line. I followed behind him, scanning my surroundings; the morning sun had fully presented itself.

I stopped dead in my tracks at something that caught my eye: someone watching us. They caught my gaze and bolted off. A nauseating feeling punched me in the gut, my head feeling light. I tried to shake my head in an attempt to shoo the feeling away but it didn't help. The harrowing sound of the gunshots from the attempted attack yesterday pounded my brain. My world corkscrewed as my legs buckled and I fell to my knees, everything momentarily turning black. Daryl noticed this and caught me, lightly tapping my face.

"Hey," he said. "Hey, wake up."

"I—I," I mumbled nervously, looking around frantically. "What happened?"

"You blacked out," Daryl explained, assisting me to my feet. "Here, we gotta go back. It's not safe for you out here anymore." He snaked his arm around my waist to help me but I pushed him away.

"No," I muttered. "I—I can walk." I stumbled a few steps before regaining my balance. Daryl's hands hovered nervously around me just in case I fell again. He soon slipped his hand into mine to ease his anxiety about not giving me any support. I glanced over at him. His face had become a light pink while he led me through the trees. I briefly closed my eyes to suppress a smile. We shuffled up the trail, entering back into the prison yard. The person at the gate stared at us holding hands and gave us a weird look before closing it back up behind us. Daryl brought me right into the cellblock, Hershel springing up from his spot.

"Where in the hell have you been," he asked us angrily. "She shouldn't be out wandering around in her condition!"

"She needs somethin'. She blacked out back there." Daryl nodded behind him. Hershel stared at me, observing how pale my face had become. He sighed, pressing the back of his hand against my forehead. His hand was warm against my skin. He sighed.

"I'd say she's dehydrated. Return her back to her block," he reasoned. "I know she's been making great strides towards recovery but it's where she needs to remain for now. Besides, I already made rounds and I don't want people finding out where she was or everyone in there'll be wanting to come out." Daryl nodded, leading me back to my cellblock while Hershel scrambled to find fluids to give me. Daryl returned me to the cold, dark distant block and ran his thumb over my hand before he left me alone.