Two updates in one day! I was going to wait to put this one out tomorrow but I was too excited. 

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Jo

It felt like we were falling forever. The quiet and the feeling of weightlessness was almost peaceful. The sky outside the windshield was a perfect, cloudless blue. I squeezed Daryl's hand again, feeling the strength and warmth of his grip. The last thing I heard before impact was Daryl calling my name. 

I blacked out on impact. I couldn't have been out more than a minute. When I blinked awake Daryl was stirring beside me. He pulled his knife and stabbed the airbags in front of both of us. Above the pounding in my head  my chest and shoulder hurt from the airbags and the seat belt.

I looked over at him and met his blue, blue eyes. "We're okay," I whispered. Everything felt far away, like I was underwater. 

Daryl reached over and cupped my cheek, turning my head gently. He didn't look away, only nodded. "Yeah."

Then the bodies started raining down on the top of the van. I grimaced as the bodies liquified on impact. Rotting blood and entrails splashed up against the cracked windshield. I tried to open my door but it was stuck. Daryl opened his and reached across for me. His strong hands gripped my ribcage as he helped me across the seat. I groaned in pain but bit my lip and didn't say anything. We needed to get out of here. 

I collapsed when my feet hit the ground. My legs were too shaky to support my weight. He caught me with an arm around my waist. I sagged against him, thankful to be out of the van. He pulled me against him, to steady us both. I exhaled and nodded, I wanted him to know I was alright, but my head was swimming and my chest felt tight as I drew in a deep breath. 

He leaned me against the van and reached back inside to pull out our gear. He shouldered all of it, then put my arm across his shoulder and wrapped one of his around my waist. I wanted to walk on my own, but my body hurt so badly and I was so exhausted. I leaned into him, letting his strength and his warmth soothe me.

He led us away from the van and that bridge and into an empty alley. He set me down on some stairs. He dropped our gear beside me and dug out his water bottle. He held it out to me.

I waved him off. "I'm fine," I promised, though I was still fighting to catch my breath. I shifted, trying to ease the pain in my ribs. If I sat straight up they were okay. 

He shook his head and obviously didn't buy it, "prove it."

I looked up at him. I recognized the worried, determined look in his eye and I took the water. He stepped back but watched me closely. As I drank I watched the small, impatient movements of his fingers. He was really worried.

"How bad is it?" He finally asked sighing.

"I've had worse," I promised him. I pulled my shirt to the side so he could see what i was certain was horrific bruising along my shoulder and collar bone. He stepped forward and gently pushed it aside a little further so he could get a better look. I flinched as his warm fingers brushed against my sensitive skin. If he noticed he didn't say anything. Instead he covered my hand that was holding my shirt open with his and guided it back so I was covered.

"That was stupid," he said shaking his head. I could already tell he was going to beat himself up over this.

I shrugged. "We made good time down," I quipped trying to ease some of the tension.

He scoffed at me and dropped down to sit beside me. He wrapped a gentle arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. He laid his head against mine and I swear I felt the feather light brush of his lips against the top of my head.

"Shit, I'm so sorry Jo. I never should have dragged you into this. This is all my fault." 

I pulled back and frowned up at him. The movement made my head pound but I didn't stop. "Daryl, I wasn't going to let you go alone. Ever. We're in this together," I frowned as a wave of uncertainty washed over me. I swallowed as I stared into his eyes. "Right?" 

He let out a deep sigh and nodded, pulling me back into his chest. "Yeah." 

We sat for a few moments together before I cleared my throat. "There's only three blocks between us and Grady."

Daryl nodded. "We need to find a place nearby, scope it out, see what we can see before it gets dark."

"You think we'll find out what we need to know just by watching?"

"It's where we'll start, come on," he said and climbed to his feet.

I grunted as I climbed to my feet. He stood back and was watching me carefully. He didn't move to help me and he didn't say anything but his lips pressed into a hard line and he led the way into an office building. He stepped forward and killed any walkers we came across before I could even think about. He guided me up a dark stairwell and into an office that overlooked the hospital. He left me near a window while he went to secure the area. I would normally have argued with him, insisting on watching his back but I hurt.

"I'll be back," he promised and he pulled the door closed behind him. He was only gone a short time before he returned. There were new splashes of walker blood on his pants and his sleeves but he seemed fine. He had a machete in his hand and he handed me a new knife. I looked over it, weighing it carefully. It wouldn't be much use for throwing, but it was solid and would be good hand to hand. I tucked it into one of the sheaths under my left armpit. Daryl was watching me closely and when I looked back at him I gave him a reassuring smile. 

He nodded and handed me a bag of chips. I took the bag and opened it. They were a little stale but it had been a long time since I had potato chips. 

"It's them," I said, motioning to the hospital out the window with a chip in my hand. 

Daryl nodded and stepped up near the window, "Well, let's see what there is to see."

I settled into the windowsill. It was deep enough for me to sit on comfortably. I stretched my legs out in front of me. Daryl stood over me, watching out the window his face drawn and tense. I ran a hand back and forth through my short hair. I could feel it sticking up in odd places as usual but I couldn't find it in me to care. I hadn't cared in a long time. It was getting long in front and now I could tuck some of it behind my ears. I was going to have to cut it soon. 

Daryl glanced over at me curiously then turned back to the window. "Why'd you cut your hair?" he asked. 

I flinched as I looked back at him. I cleared my throat and frowned. "Um...The Governor liked it long," I said after an uncomfortable moment. I swallowed. "He liked his girls to have long beautiful hair, so I hacked it all off with a knife the first chance I got. I thought maybe he would lose interest." Bad memories surged but I pushed them aside. We were going to get passed our pasts. If I truly wanted this I had to do my part. And I wanted Daryl more than anything. 

Daryl glanced at me and nodded thoughtfully. 

"It didn't help," I rubbed at my short hair again and the longer pieces fell forward shielding my eyes from his. I was feeling self conscious now. I had never given much thought to my appearance beyond what was functional. My hair stayed out of my way when I was fighting when it was short so I kept it short.  

Daryl reached over and tucked the hair back behind my ear and took another step closer to me. He put his hands on my shoulders and pressed his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his warm breath blowing across my face. 

I closed my eyes at his nearness and a small smile tugged at my lips. I reached out and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting them against his back, drawing him closer. He obliged me and once he was close enough I tilted my head up and kissed him. It was brief, just a brush of my lips against his. He shuddered beneath my hands and I couldn't help the smirk that crossed my lips. 

"None of that matters anymore. We've both changed and moved on. So let's get Beth and move on. We need to get out of this godforsaken city and never look back." 

He nodded his head against mine and pulled back. Wrapping his arms around me he held me against his chest and kept his eyes glued out the window. I let him watch and closed my eyes. I hurt and I was so tired and he felt so warm. I'm not sure how long we stayed like that. I may have dozed or not, but then his voice rumbled in his chest beneath my ear. 

"You said we've changed," he said. I pulled back so I could look into his face. "How have I changed?" he asked frowning. 

I gave him a small smile. "You're..." I shook my head. "More open, more willing to try," I motioned from myself to him. "You seem more willing to try this," I said blushing. 

He nodded and looked away quickly as though my words embarrassed him as well. 

"What about you?" he asked after a long moment of silence.

I snorted. "Before...I was a good person. Now...I'm nothing but a weapon, a killer. Everything the world is now...it just consumes you."

"Well hey," he said quietly. "We ain't ashes. And you have always been a lot more than just a weapon and you ain't a killer." I nodded as I stared at him not really believing him. He must have seen that because he shifted his weight and looked frustrated. 

"I think that kid would disagree," I said quietly, looking out the window. The shadows were growing long as the sun had set behind the building. 

Daryl shook his head and reached down, catching my hand in his. "You were right. It was my mistake and we almost died because of it. I'm sorry." 

I let out a breath and gave him a week smile before I laced our fingers together and turned my attention back to the window. "So what do you think?" I asked, looking towards the hospital. "Are we going in tonight?" 

Daryl scowled down at me. "The suns setting and you're injured." 

"But Beth..." I argued. 

Daryl shook his head. "I'm not taking the risk, not with you hurt and us having no weapons. We'll stay here tonight, see what there is to see in the morning and once we scout it out we'll go back for Rick. Do this right." 

I licked my lips frowning but Daryl waved me off. "We're sleeping here," he said firmly. Then he moved away from me to the door. He turned the lock and shoved a bookcase and desk in front of the door. The room was growing dark rapidly and soon I couldn't see anything out the window. I climbed down from the window sill and groaned. My muscles had all tightened up. Maybe Daryl was right and it would be good for us to stay here and rest. I think I was more hurt than I realized. 

Daryl cleared a space for us to lay down near the wall. He pulled off his vest and jacket and lay it down beside us. He took both our bags and set them side by side like they were pillows and he lay down on his back, resting his arms behind his head. I watched the way his muscles flexed and the bottom of his shirt pulled up revealing a narrow band of skin above his jeans. 

"Coming?" he asked, "or are you going to stand there all night staring?" I licked my lips and smiled at his light teasing tone. 

"Shouldn't one of us keep watch?" I asked, shifting my weight. I wanted to lay down with him, but I didn't know how secure this building was. 

Daryl shook his head. "Can't get more locked up than this. We'll wake up long before anyone gets through all that." He said jerking his chin towards the barricaded door. 

I followed his gaze and chewed on my bottom lip. Then I turned back to Daryl, stretch out on the floor beneath me. I brought my hands up to the zipper on my jacket and slowly unzipped it. For some reason I felt suddenly nervous. I could see the flash of Daryl's eyes in the dim light as he watched me. There was an intense possessive gleam in his eyes and it made things low in my stomach tighten. 

I ran the zipper down and pulled off my jacket letting it drop to the floor. I was wearing a tight black t-shirt that rode up a little. I knelt down to lay with him but he sat up to meet me. He slid his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me towards him gently. He pushed his lips against mine and I I shuddered in his hands. I felt his lips stretch into a smile against mine and he kissed me again, this time with more authority. I moved closer. I climbed onto his lap, straddling him. He kept one hand on the back of my neck so he could control the kiss but his other one came around to my lower back, pulling me against him. Then his tongue ran along my bottom lip and I moaned. He took the opening and deepened the kiss, rubbing his tongue along mine as his fingers found the bare skin of my low back. His fingers were warm against my cool skin and it made me shivery. 

"Dare," I whispered against his lips as I trembled against him. He made a satisfied sound low in his throat. I wound my fingers through his hair tugging at it gently. He shifted beneath me and I could suddenly feel him, pressing against me. I wanted more. I wanted all of him. 

I dropped my hands to the buttons on his shirt. He tensed for only a moment but I bit his bottom lip gently and all other thoughts seemed to leave his head and his attention was only for me. I wanted to feel more of his skin. He continued to kiss me as I undid the last button and moved my hands in to touch the firm planes of his chest. He shuddered beneath my hands and I smiled against his lips. He dropped both his hands to my hips and he moved against me. I moaned into his mouth and bit down on his lip again. He shifted me to lay me down beneath him but I  sucked in a sharp breath as pain flared across my ribs. Daryl froze immediately. He pulled back, his eyes clouded with concern. 

"Did I-?" he started to ask but I interrupted him. 

"No," I said quickly, shifting back so I was sitting next to him. I sucked in another breath as I moved. "It's my ribs." 

Daryl nodded and took a breath drawing away. "You should get some rest," he said. 

I grumbled, but knew he was right. He smirked at my reaction. "Can I see?" He asked, motioning to my shirt. 

Now it was my turn to smirk at him. He rolled his eyes, "stop," he said teasingly as he came back close to me. I lifted the edge of my shirt and frowned down at the deep purple bruises that were spread across my abdomen. 

"That doesn't look good," I muttered. 

He looked from my ribs and back to my face. He shook his head. "You need time to heal." 

I nodded. Now that the passion was cooling I was starting to feel the pain again. "Maybe you're right." 

He lay back and lifted an arm so I could lay beside him. I snuggled into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me, drawing me as close as he could. He reached over and picked up his jacket and spread it over me. He brushed his lips across my forehead. "Get some sleep Jo." 

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