silent cries |twd|

chapter 10

HARLEY LAID ON THE DUSTY COUCH, NURSING THE HEADACHE THAT CAME ONCE THE RINGING LEFT.

Daryl watched from the fireplace as he lit the logs on fire. If he would've known shooting the gun that close to her would've done that, he would've found another way to save her.

But the walker was so close to her. And he was out of arrows. He didn't have a choice but to fire the gun.

And it brought more of those walking corpses down on them.

He stood, grabbing his canteen from his hip and walked over to her and held it out. She felt the vibrations from the floor and opened her eyes to see him standing over her,

"Thanks." She signed as she sat up and took the canteen from him,

"Sorry." He signed, watching her take a swig,

She put the cap back on and looked up at him in confusion, "For what?"

Daryl didn't know how to sign what he wanted to say. He was the cause for the pain she was in, he should've known better.

"The gun. I should'nt've fired it." Daryl said, making sure she could read his lips,

Harley shook her head and handed Daryl his canteen, "You didn't know."

He stared at her, "Are you okay?"

She gave him a small smile, trying to lessen his worry, "I'll be fine."

Daryl moved to stoke the fire and Harley brought her knees to her chest. It had been a few hours, so she had to assume it was getting dark.

She slowly stood and made her way towards the nearest wall and pressed her hand against the wood. Harley could feel the walkers banging on the outside of the cabin. They would have to stay the night.

Harley turned back towards Daryl and he faced her, "You can take the couch. I'll be on watch."

She sat back down and fished out her notebook and pen, 'Take watch for what?' She wrote before tossing it over to him,

"Make sure them walkers don' get in." He told her, handing her notebook back and sitting down on the far end of the couch,

'You can do that from there. You should get some rest, too.' She put the notebook in his lap. Once he read it, he glanced over at her. Harley shrugged before laying back on the cushions and putting her feet in his lap.

Daryl flicked her boot before leaning back on the couch. Harley watched him for a moment before leaning her head back and closing her eyes with a sigh.

He kept his eyes on the fire and his fingers played with the ends of Harley's laces. They had no food, barely any water left.

He was stupid. Should've brought extra food, in case of a situation like this. When going outside of those fences, you never knew what could happen. He should've been prepared.

"'M sorry." He muttered, even though he knew she couldn't hear him, "Should've done better."

Daryl turned to study Harlow's face in the firelight as he placed his poncho over her sleeping form. Her eyelash's fluttered against her cheekbones, signalling that she was dreaming.

At least she could get some rest after when he put her through.

He sat there for hours, watching the fire turn into embers. The sounds of the walkers dissipated, but he didn't want to leave yet. Daryl knew that being in the woods at night would leave Harley vulnerable. She'd be deaf and blind, not a good combination when trying to survive and outrun walkers.

Daryl had just finished untying and retying Harley's boots when she sat up with a gasp. She reached for her knife and Daryl went to stop her.

She swiped her knife across the palm of his hand before jumping over the couch. Daryl hissed clutching his bleeding hand before following Harley, "Hey, woah!"

Harley reached for the doorknob and Daryl wrapped his arms around her before she could open the door.

He pinned her to the wall, holding her wrists above her head so she couldn't cut him, "Harley, calm down!" He yelled at her, "It's me!"

She was shaking and tears streamed down her face. Daryl squeezed her wrist until she dropped her knife. Her bright blue eyes were looking in his direction, but they were looking through him, not at him,

"I don' know what the hell you were dreamin' about, but yer safe, Harley." Blood from his palm trailed down her arm and she shivered,

Harley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She didn't see the dead body of the man who attacked her and Nora all those weeks ago. She saw Daryl.

Her shoulders sagged in defeat and Daryl let go. He took a step back and watched as she slid down and sat on the floor.

Harlow rubbed her closed fist over her chest, "Sorry." She signed over and over again before putting her head in her hands.

She had attacked him. Something he hadn't deserved.

Daryl bit the skin around his thumb and leaned back against the arm of the couch. He knew she didn't mean it, that she was attacking someone else. He's had nights like that where he woke up and didn't know where he was, or who he was with.

He waited for her to lift her head before signing, "Are you okay?"

She stared at him, "I should be asking you that." She responded before standing and letting out a shaky breath,

Harley slowly walked over and grabbed his injured hand. She quickly ripped a strip from the bottom of her long sleeved shirt, making it into a make-shift bandage. She wrapped his hand, making sure there was pressure on it to stop the bleeding, "Sorry." She signed again as she stepped back.

Daryl picked up her knife and held it out to her. She grabbed it and put it back into its' sheath before Daryl lifted his hands, trying to find the words, "I get it." He slowly signed, before lowering his hands when he didn't know the rest, "We all have nightmares we can't wake from." He spoke the last part.

"Not all groups are good like yours." Harley signed before moving back over to the couch.

Daryl let out a short whistle to get her attention, "Our. Like our group."

She gave him a small smile at his correction as he grabbed the poncho that fell to the ground. He placed it over her head before sitting down next to her.

Harley let out a small sigh before leaning her head against his shoulder, wishing the sun would come up quicker so they could head back to the prison.