♤

We had been wandering the direction of the prison for a while, Merle following but from a considerable distance. "Daryl" I muttered to him, he had been silent since the argument between him and his brother. "Daryl, come here, just stop a second"

He stopped and looked at me, his eyes were red. He glanced over my shoulder at Merle who had stopped a way away. I pulled the bag off his shoulder and put it on the ground, "I know you're mad at him, but I think he's sorry..I don't think he realised" I explained in a quiet voice as I routed through the bag.

Daryl grunted slightly as I pulled out another of his shirts and placed it on the ground gently. Then, I stood in front of him, unbuttoning his shirt slowly, his eyes watching my hands at work. I slid his shirt off, exposing him as Mere kept his head turned away from us.

As I slid his shirt off, my hands brushed his chest softly and only for a second until he held my hand on his chest. I tilted my head to look up at him. He was looking down at me as we stood still for a few seconds. He soon cleared his throat and I passed him the new shirt. "I'll get Carol or someone to help me fix it when we get back" I announced with a smile.

Daryl didn't say anything as we set off once more, not too far from the prison. All of a sudden, we heard lots of gunfire. We all quickly looked between us, Merle's ears even pricking up at the sound.

We set off racing in the direction of the prison, our feet carrying us as fast as they could. We emerged from the treeline, Rick struggling against two walkers as Daryl put an arrow through one and Merle put his fist through others.

I grabbed my knife and joined, helping relieve the stress on the fence. Rick nodded at Daryl who nodded back. The 4 of us all stood, looking at the courtyard which was filled with walkers roaming around.

♤

Daryl and I stood against the railing at the top. I had my leg on the second rail as I wrapped my wound once more, this time cleaning it with the correct things. "If Rick says we're not running, we're not running" Glenn grumbled as the group panicked.

"No, better to live like rats" Merle chuckled from the room he had been locked in, separating him from the group.

"You got a better idea?" Rick snapped,

Merle, of course, nodded, "Shoulda been out of here last night and lived to fight another day, but we missed that window, didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of here by now"

I put my leg back on the ground, Daryl moving away slightly, "We ain't scared of that prick"

"Y'all should be, that truck through the fence thing, that was just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the numbers, and the guns. If he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could starve us out if he wanted to" Merle explained to everyone.

Maggie turned her nose up at Merle, "Put him in the other cell block"

Daryl shook his head, "No, he's got a point"

"This is all you!" She shouted, "You started all of this"

"What difference is it who's fault it is? What do we do?" Beth asked, running down the stairs.

Hershel sighed, "I said we should leave and now Axel's dead, we can't just sit here"

Daryl wandered back next to me, slipping his arm around me while no one watched.

Rick began walking away until Hershel stood and yelled, "Get back here!" Everyone watched in silence,

"You're slipping Rick, we've all seen it, we understand why, but now is not the time, you once said this isn't a democracy, now you have to own up to that. I put my families life in you hands. So get your head clear and do something"

Everyone dispersed after Rick walked away, shoving past Merle.

I headed into my cell, throwing a blanket over the door for some more privacy before I grabbed a fresh change of clothes. I was midway through changing, my shirt thrown on the floor exposing the burn on my lower torso as the door creaked open, a shy Daryl poking his head in. "Sorry" He grumbled,

"It's alright, come in" I whispered, pulling my shirt over my head quickly.

I wasn't ashamed to let Daryl see my body, after all, he had seen it before - granted we were both drunk. He shuffled around, shutting the door as he watched me. "Just wanted to check on you, how's your leg?"

I nodded and smiled, "It's fine, should heal soon, already halfway there" As I finished my sentence, I felt the air go weird. There was something he wanted to talk about and I didn't know what it was until he cleared his throat.

"Merle, he's my brother, and I trust him but, back in the woods, when he got angry..- He unpredictable when he's angry, I didn't want him to hurt you--" He rambled on, I could tel that something else was on his mind and this was to just fill empty space.

I placed my hand over his cheek, "You don't have to explain," I hushed him, "But I do have a question.."

He nodded slowly.

"What is this?" I asked, my hand slipping from his cheek, "Are we trying it? Do you want it?..I don't want to pressure you into putting a label on it, but a label might help me understand"

Daryl paused for a second, hesitating momentarily before he nodded at me, "I want it..." He muttered, sounding slightly unsure until he spoke again, "I've wanted it for a while"

I grinned at him, "Me too" My hands snaked themselves around his neck as his found their way around my waist. For the first time ever, Daryl leaned in first, and planted a meaningful kiss on my lips. When he pulled away, we held each other for a second and in that second, I couldn't imagine being without him.

He had made me into so much of the person I was that I couldn't see myself without him by my side.

A/N

Enjoy an early Wednesday gift!!