A/N: I am terribly sorry for leaving you guys waiting but it seemed I couldn't find my muse to write and my total inspiration was gone until I saw all 123 reviews and I didn't want to let any of you guys down. So I sat down and wrote this. I really hope you guys don't stop writing and I promise not to leave you guys waiting so long again - it's the Christmas holidays off from College now so I'll have plenty of time.

Chapter Playlist:

Shut Up - U Kiss (don't know if any of you are fans of Korean music but they're fantastic)

What You Want - Evanescene

Chapter 16 - Changes

Daryl and Leah rode for what seemed like hours.

She could tell he was getting tired with the way his shoulders would regularly slouch and the bike would go off direction sometimes.

'Daryl, let's stop.' Leah called from over the noise and she could tell he rolled his eyes at her.

'Where to? There is nowhere. Least I can find ya is some shelter.'

Searching the horizon in front of them she spotted a clearing a few yards ahead. Trees made it difficult to see what was surrounding the area and they cast an eerie looking shadow across the ground but it was the only thing Leah could think of.

Before she could even say anything, Daryl was shaking his head. 'Too close ta the road.'

Leah shot him a look behind his back and tightened her arms across his torso, 'and you see walkers trekking down the highway often? It's the further away from the road, the most dangerous.'

Daryl was about to retort when Leah thumped him on the stomach with her closed fist and he jerked.

'Stop. The. Bike.'

Leah was rarely argumentative and after what had happened back at the camp she was hardly in the mood to talk to anyone. But Daryl was beginning to piss her off with the over protectiveness that was totally uncharacteristic for him. She wanted to sit down, close her eyes and dream herself away from the situation.

Finally, Daryl swerved towards the clearing and got off the bike quickly, 'stupid bitch.' He grumbled as he cut away a few loose branches so he could see through them.

There didn't seem to be any immediate danger so he slumped on the floor as Leah began to set up the tent she'd snagged from one of the vehicles.

The silence between them was awkward and Daryl wasn't in the mood to break it. The girl was completely unaware of what was going on and frankly, she was being immature about it.

'Don't call me that again.' She said eventually when the tension was too much.

'What?' Daryl was slumped on the ground leaning on his bike and he watched her get into a right mess with the tent material and one of the spikes was upside down in the ground.

'You know what.' Leah's voice wasn't raised but it was serious and then when she looked up at him, her eyes were set as if she was wishing to kill him with that one evil look. Satisfied that he knew exactly what he'd called her, she got back to work on the damned tent.

'Ya doin' that completely wrong, doll.' But making no move to get up and help her, the statement only made Leah's worse and she threw the tent on the ground with a thud, arms on her hips and she spat at him, 'well help me then, damn it.'

The hunter wasn't bothered by her bad mood at present and cast his eyes to the sky which was becoming dark very quickly.

The clouds were moving with the slow pace and sometimes it seemed like they would stop completely leaving him clueless as to whether to world was actually moving or had just stopped dead in it's orbit.

Then, a smack echoed around the clearing and a few birds flew hastily from their trees.

A stinging sensation was brimming on Daryl's cheek as he brought his face back to the front setting his furious gaze on the woman in front of him who had her hand raised and now a worried expression on her face.

Resting a hand gently on his face, Daryl felt where it would soon bruise. She'd fuckin' slapped him.

Leah stared down at the hunter in front of her who was absolutely crazy with anger. She didn't mean to slap him but the way he was ignoring her made her so frustrated and she needed someone to listen to her bad mood and tell her where they were going and they would be okay.

'Daryl, I-' She started but Daryl had barrelled towards her, crashing into her stomach and sending them both sprawling on the ground with Daryl on top of her.

But it wasn't fun and it surely wasn't sexual. It was violent and Daryl's eyes were unfamiliar to her. She hadn't seem him so angry before.

'Don't lay your hands on me again.' He said harshly to her and Leah was finding it difficult to breathe with his weight on top of her. After he'd winded her she was gasping for air.

'Get the fuck off me, Daryl!' Leah wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt her. Emotionally and physically.

He didn't move right away and instead pinned her arms above her head, his fingers digging his fingers into her flesh until he was sure it hurt and the pained expression on her face made him halt for a moment before finally, unleashing his grip and he got off her.

'Maybe you and Andrea should hook up,' she said without thinking, 'it's obvious she likes it rough.'

Daryl growled and whirled around to slap her before he caught himself and her dark eyes made him think twice about what he was about to do. The red fog in his eyes faded but he couldn't be around this woman at the moment. Or he'd do something he would later regret.

Leah watched him walk away from her with a shake of his head.

One of her biggest downfalls was her insecurity it seemed because her constant accusations and questions was beginning to piss Daryl off until now, he's finally snapped. Leah rested against the bike and embraced the silence. It was calming but then something changed and she heard footsteps behind her.

Turning quickly she didn't know if she wanted to slap or run away from the man that stood in front of her.

'Go away, Shane.' Leah's voice was only a whisper and it was laced in fear as the broad man stood above her with a sadistic smile.

'So you really are a rough kinda girl.' And before she could say anything else, Shane had once again pinned her underneath him, his face close to hers and his musky breath on her face.

Leah squirmed and screamed out with desperation. This wasn't happening again, she thought and struggled against Shane with every ounce of strength she had left inside her after Daryl had scared the living daylights out of her.

She then spotted something out of the corner of her eye and flung her arms out to grab it. Shane was busying himself with the buttons on her shirt and she reached urgently trying to grasp the metal object. Finally when her stomach thought it would tear with all her stretching and the air was just brushing itself against the bare skin of her shoulders, her fingers clamped around the object and she brought it down heavily on Shane's head.

She didn't use enough force to knock him out but she managed to distract him when Shane felt blood dripping down his forehead. Scrambling away from him, Leah panted as she loaded and cocked with much difficulty the crossbow and then aimed it at him.

Her shirt was torn but it still covered her bra cladded breasts thankfully but Leah thought she would never feel so vulnerable again.

'How did you find us?' Leah asked as Shane held his hands up in surrender.

'Highway is a straight road, princess.' He said as he brushed his hand over his head again and cursed, 'damn you can really hurt someone.'

Leah wasn't crying but she was exhausted, petrified and even though he'd been so close to hitting her, she wanted Daryl. 'Daryl!'

'He's gone, princess.' Shane said continuing to use the pet name to ease her but it did nothing but make her more angry and she thrust the crossbow in his face once more. Her finger was on the trigger with the intent to hurt him.

Shane stopped his banter and looked her seriously in the eye. 'Leah, I saw what happened a moment ago. He was about to hit you. Christ, Lee, he was going to punch you in the face!'

'You were going to rape me! Again!' She screamed in his face and then calmed herself down quickly as she rested the bolt arrow on his forehead, 'I want to pull the trigger so badly.'

Shane looked at her and in that moment, Leah's breath stopped. The look on his face wasn't sadistic or amusing or even the slightest bit angry. He looked helpless and sad.

'Then do it.'

'What?' Leah asked bewildered by the demand and gasping when Shane took his hands and held the crossbow to his own head and with pleading eyes he told her once more, 'do it.'

Leah could no longer see the trees in the background or even feel the ground underneath her feet. The wind that was breezing through her face and across her hair was non-existent and she felt her world come tumbling down.

This man was evil, she was sure of it and yet she couldn't find the inner strength and courage within herself to kill him. And then she realized this entire scene was like an execution with a pathetic laugh, she stepped away dropping the crossbow on the dirt.

'No, because then you'd be free from all this bullshit.' She said and turned her back to him. Shane sat there on his knees and watched her raise her arms to the sky.

'To die now, when the world is going to shit, is like luxury now.' Then Leah turned back and leaned towards him so her face was even with his and with the leftover amount of dignity she had left, she pushed him to the ground and spat on the ground near him, 'you don't deserve that.'

Shane lay on the floor with a confused expression and thought about her words. Much of it didn't make much sense or he made no bother to understand because he couldn't care but the fact that Leah the happy go lucky person who didn't even swear much before could think about suicide as a luxury shocked him.

'Daryl!' She screamed into the trees again.

It took a few silent moments before the trees were brought back and Daryl stepped out with tired eyes and a slouch in his step, 'what?'
Leah turned to look at the man who only minutes before was on his back near the bike but was now gone with the wind. Leah knew she should have told Daryl what
happened but all she wanted right now was to sleep so she smiled at the hunter who sighed and said, 'I'm sorry.'

A/N: How was it?
I felt with all the things Leah has had to endure she wouldn't quite be the same person she was when she came to the camp. It's a different side of Leah I wanted to share with you because I'm finding it difficult to throw someone who only has a nice, caring side into the kind of world that is The Walking Dead.

~ Ello Harley

NEXT UPDATE: Sometime this week
PREVIEW: 'I did all that just for you to leave her alone?' Andrea rested her head against the tree bark and glared at the man in front of her who only looked at her like she was crazy.
'Bitch, I will do it soon. Just not now.'
'When?' Andrea stalked towards Shane like she was in charge and Shane backhanded her across the face.
'Don't act superior around me. I'm getting to it.'
The blonde cradled her jaw in her hand and looked up at the man, 'why is she so important to you?'