"Fuck. Give him here Jacqui," Rick offered, the beta carefully handed off the omega to her prime. Shane hovered to ensure he wouldn't snap and take the unconscious omega. Rick lifted him up and carried him into his room, he had cleaned his sick already and waited for Shane to stop hovering. "I'm not going to fuck him, he needs new pants."

Shane was hesitant but nodded turning around, Rick pulled Daryl's pants off, his cock growing hard seeing the omegas dick. The smell of his heat and slick calling to the alpha. He shook his head and grabbed clean yoga pants. He grunted getting them on and then stepped back, "I don't want to leave him like this." The omega was shuttering in pain. "You know those machines we busted two years back, the ones that make heats for omegas almost impossible to survive without a partner? Daryl's got one."

Shane gasped. "No! You can't be serious. If Merle lived I'll beat his face in."

"I think we should let Daryl do that." He watched 'his' omega convulse in pain. His body was trying to accept the pain pills, they were supposed to be helping but the machine had its own way of working past the pills. Only suppressants could stop the pain, the machine only worked during a heat. Daryl shuttered again before waking sitting up right howling in pain. Both alphas ran to his side as he whined.

Shane offered his hand. "Hey bud..it's okay. You'll be okay."

Daryl whined and shook his head. "This hurts like hell," he looked down. "Who took my pants off?"

Rick smirked a bit and Daryl narrowed his eyes. "He didn't do anything to ya, I turned around but he didn't he's just trying to take care of you." Shane promised. Daryl took a deep breath, courting, maybe Rick was courting.

"Alpha..I just this..you should leave me this is going to make traveling and anything hell. I can't hardly walk without passing out."

"I will not leave you!" Rick snapped, Daryl sat back trying not to cry. He wasn't going to hurt him. He wasn't going to. "I need you 'mega."

Daryl whimpered as he thought about the pack, the pups. "Can you send the pups in here? Their scent might help me."

Rick and Shane nodded, Shane went off to find Sophia and Carl. The two pups came running when they heard their friend was in pain. As the pups piled on top of him Daryl took a deep breath of their scent and smiled, the heat subsiding some, the pain not as strong. He smiled as the two pups cuddled into the omega. Rick felt butterflies again as he watched them. "You two are helping tons." Rick noted. "He's not crying anymore."

Daryl smiled, he was thankful the pups were careful around him and were willing to help. Lori walked in smelling the thick heat and scent of blood. Seeing Carl sitting with the omega she growled. Daryl whined hearing the beta. Shane picked Lori up and carried her out of the room.

"What the hell is that omega doing with my pup?"

"The pups are helping ease the pain of his heat. He has a small metal box in his womb, it makes the heats of any omega nearly impossible to handle. The scent of the pups helps ease him."

"He needs his own god damn pups not mine and Carols."

"Carol is happy Sophia can help him. Just the other day you were so happy Daryl was good with the pups."

"Well my son doesn't need that omega."

"Your son adores that omega, don't act like that Lori." Rick snarled as he appeared out of Daryl's room. "Our son wants to help Daryl. You should trust him."

"He's just a pup." Lori grumbled.

"An alpha pup. He just wants to help his pack." Rick snarled. She stepped back. "Do you want to be a member of this pack Lori or not?"

Lori nodded. "I do, I'm sorry, prime."

"Then act like it and try and help your pack." Rick snapped before turning on his heel.

"Keep fucking up Lori and see what happens. I can't stop him from removing you." Shane snapped at his mate. The beta snarled but turned away racing off no one would offer her comfort. Everyone however was going to check on Daryl.

T-Dog and Glenn sat at the door frame, Jacqui and Carol sat at the foot of his bed, Andrea and Dale on chairs facing him. The pups sat beside Daryl trying to ease his pains, Jenner was standing in the doorway now as Rick sat beside the omega Daryl's head in his lap and Shane sat close to the bathroom door.

"You doing okay Omega?" T-Dog asked finally.

He nodded, the trembling had stopped, he felt safe with his pack around him. Even Jenner made him feel safe, the pups smiled knowing they were helping the most. Daryl felt his stomach flip and he sat up quickly, Rick moved his hands from the omegas hair as he raced off towards the bathroom. Shane sidestepped and Daryl closed the bathroom door, throwing up, he was embarrassed. Everyone was there, he knew they could hear him and most likely smell it, he grunted standing and wiping the rest from his lips before washing his hands. He stepped out and slowly back to the bed, this was only day one of five. He was fucked.

After a while the others went to their rooms, Rick stayed offering to sleep beside him and promised not to touch him in anyway he didn't ask for. Daryl gave in after a while, trying to fight with the alpha was essentially useless. Daryl kept himself turned away from the alpha, Rick sat waiting for him to sleep for a while. Daryl finally gave into sleep and Rick smiled feeling some peace knowing the omega was at least well enough to handle sleeping.

He wanted to touch the omega, wanted to ease the pain in other ways but refused to hurt him like that. He wanted to court him, gain his trust and eventually mate him. Daryl turned in his sleep rolling into the alpha, Rick stiffened as Daryl's arms wrapped around the alpha and he muttered in his sleep. Rick gulped feeling desire. He eyed the omega, want building up on his chest, the omega turned again, fidgeting in his sleep.

"I love you Daryl." Rick whispered and there was no reply.

Could he love the omega? Did he know him well enough to love him? He wanted to, he wanted to love him and care for him.

Rick continued to watch Daryl when the omega began to cry in his sleep, whimpering and whining, Rick sat up shaking the omega. "Daryl wake up, come on wake up."

Daryl woke and slammed his first into Rick's face. "Get off me you bastard get off! You can't have me! I won't be your breeding slave."

Rick sat back. "Daryl, I'm not going to do that to you." Rick said, offering his hand to the omega trying to get him to snap out of it.

Daryl sat back his eyes adjusting as he smelt Rick's scent. "Fuck..fuck I'm sorry I'm sorry. I didn't mean to alpha I'm sorry please don't hurt me I'm so sorry."

Rick watched him, he was panicking, it was clear that hitting an alpha meant something bad to Daryl. "Daryl calm down. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Are you okay? What were you dreaming about? Or nightmaring."

Daryl whined. "J..Joe." He whispered. "If Merle had gone through with his plan. Why aren't you hitting me? I hit you pretty hard."

Rick snickered. "For one you didn't mean to, two I won't hit an omega unless I've got to, and three I care about you. You don't hit people you care about unless you need to."

Daryl lowered his eyes, "what makes it that you would need to?"

"If they are hurting you, hurting themselves, or others." Rick replied. "Or they betray you, like if Shane tried to take you from me or Carl I'd kill him anyway. He's my brother but I'd kill him."

"Is he really your brother?"

"No 'mega figure of speech." Rick said, smiling at the omega. Daryl nodded, he understood that well enough, he was still trying to understand things, he had been free from a cell for only a few years before the apocalypse started. Then there was life on the streets or camping to survive, he still had a lot of things to learn.

"Rick..what would you do for your 'brother'?" He asked air quoting the word.

"Anything, he was my partner at work, and he and I grew up together. I'd take a bullet for him, I mean I let him have my wife and there was no fight about it, Lori and I were mates. Carl is my son, but now it's just me and Carl. Carl loves you, ya know. Lori chose Shane but I don't hold it against him, if it was me or him I'd fight to make sure we both made it out alive. I wouldn't want to lose him. I'd go after him if he got lost, I'd try and save Lori for him even though she sucks."

"You'd do that for him?"

"Yeah I would. I love him like family."

"My brother wanted to sell me, they both wanted to sell me. They hurt me and have hurt me..they keep hurting me." He whined as he felt more pain from his heat beginning to bubble. "Alpha..I want to learn what real love is, what a family feels like."

"Our pack is a family, we do love you Daryl." Rick smiled. Rick watched Daryl as he whimpered, writhing in pain. Rick held Daryl close, hoping his scent would help, Daryl was strong as hell but this clearly hurt him.

"Rick...ah..fuck.."

"I will you know no strings attached, you don't have to want me or agree to my courting if I help with this."

"No. I don't... I don't want to give into it so quickly. I need to get used to it...I need to work through this then..then when you've courted me and mated with me you can help."

Rick nodded holding Daryl in place as the omega sobbed, he hated this more than anything but he was going to push through it. Rick laid his head on Daryl's shoulder, Daryl muttered trying to ignore the need for Rick. He had to push through this, had to, he whimpered more as the pain flushed through him.

Rick wanted to kiss Daryl, let him know he was okay, but he knew he needed to wait. Daryl yipped as he felt Rick's finger brush his scent glands. "Ah.."

"Sorry sorry, I can leave."

"No stay." He whined, "stay."

Rick nodded trying not to move, Daryl wiggled in his spot feeling the weight of the Alpha. He whined again but didn't move, Rick was breathing slowly trying to stay calm for the omega.

Daryl whined this time the call for an alpha. Daryl yelped as Rick was on top of Daryl within seconds. Daryl cried out in panic, Rick looked down at the omega with a horrified look. "I'm sorry." Rick snarled, he stood running out the door, Daryl was breathing heavily. Rick had been on top of him and he wanted it, eve though it scared him he wanted it, he turned to the side tears running down his face. He needed Rick and he had ran off leaving him alone.

Rick sat against the door in the library, he lowered his head, what had he done. Why did he do that? Daryl looked so pretty laying under him even for the seconds he was, and yet he had scared the omega.

"Fucking idiot." Rick growled at himself, he wanted to go to Daryl but thought he should leave him alone. Daryl sobbed harder from both pain and sadness, he should have let Rick help. Should have let the alpha do what he wanted, now he was alone. He rolled over again, the scent of his heat was wafting through the halls. Daryl stood whining, he took three steps before he was on the ground.