I followed Daryl almost silently. We both had our crossbows armed.

“Daryl?” I asked.

“Yeah?” He mumbled.

“Dale thinks ya like me.”

“Why’s it his business?”

“I don’t know.”

He suddenly hushed me and crouched down behind a bush. I hid behind a nearby tree when I spotted the small herd of Walkers he had been looking at. I took a deep breath and nearly screamed when a Walker appeared almost out of thin air next to me. I fumbled around and dropped my crossbow, giving the Walker a chance to get closer. I held it away at arm’s length. Daryl got behind it and stabbed it through the head with an arrow. He hoisted the corpse up and tossed it away. I stared at the monster in fear. Daryl pulled me into a hug and did his best to keep me from crying. I could hear the herd coming toward us.

“Daryl, I’m scared.” I started shaking.

“Sh. It’s alright.” He stroked my hair.

I looked up at him. He smiled slightly, and the sound of the Walkers faded away as they changed course. Daryl pulled me closer, and I gasped when he leaned toward me.

“Old Man Dale mighta been right.” He whispered.

I suddenly felt confused until he pressed his lips to mine. I had never expected him to do anything of the sorts. I hesitated before I reached up and locked my arms around his neck. His lips were soft and warm, and I could feel a small scab, something he must have gotten while hiking through the trees. I melted into the kiss and nearly growled when he pulled away.

“We should head back.” He whispered.

“Why?” I pouted.

“Megs, we can’t make out in the open. It’s too dangerous.”

I sighed and followed him as he walked away, picking up my crossbow as I went. We killed a few squirrels along the way, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill the wild rabbits. I smiled when I saw a deer, and I excitedly pointed it out to Daryl without making it run off. He easily shot it with an arrow, but it yelped in pain and ran away. Daryl growled and chased after it, leaving me with no choice but to follow. I tripped over a corpse, and I could feel the muscle above my ankle pull apart as I fell. Daryl was long gone before I could even attempt to call for him.

“Dammit.” I muttered, trying to get up.

My ankle throbbed, and I fell back down. I froze when I heard leaves crunching. I scrambled to my feet and tried to get away. I started crying as the pain in my ankle got worse.

“Daryl!” I screamed.

I didn’t get a reply. I looked over my shoulder and screamed when I saw three Walkers chasing me. I wandered aimlessly for what felt like hours, and the sun started to set.

“Meghan!” A voice yelled out.

I leaned against a tree to catch my breath. My ankle had already gone numb, so I didn’t have to worry about the pain.

“Help!” I pleaded.

Something made the leaves crunch again. I screamed when something grabbed my arm.

“Megs, it’s me!” A rough voice said. “Calm down! I’m here!”

I realized it was Daryl, and tears came to my eyes. He pulled me into a hug and held me. I buried my face in his shirt and breathed in his smell.

“What happened? Why weren’t ya with me when I chased the deer?” He asked.

“I tripped and fell. I tried to call for ya, but you were already gone.” I answered.

“Come on. I’ll take ya back to camp.”

He lifted me into his arms and started running. It wasn’t long before we reached the camp. Lori and Carol immediately ran to us when they saw me.

“We were so worried! Daryl came back to camp alone, so we thought something bad happened to you!” Lori cried out.

“Who’s this?” A man asked, standing beside Lori and wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Oh! Meghan, this is Rick. He’s my husband.” Lori explained.

“The man Shane said was dead?” I asked.

“Yeah. He came back with T-Dog’s patrol.”

“Where’s Merle?”

Daryl went silent. I looked up at him and saw the anger boiling in his eyes. I reached up and touched his cheek, making him look at me. His eyes melted like iron when they met mine.

“What happened to Merle?” I asked.

“The Bastard cop cuffed ‘m to a roof.” He whispered.

“We gonna go get him?”

“I am. You can’t go no where with that ankle.”

I frowned.

~

“Can’t sleep?”

“Yeah. Wanna help me get to Daryl’s tent?”

“Sure.”

Rick took my arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. His other arm wrapped around my waist, and he helped me walk around the camp. I smiled at him when we reached Daryl’s tent. I unzipped the entrance flap and slid inside.

“What the hell? Megs?” Daryl grumbled.

I zipped the flap back up and crawled over to Daryl. He moved over on the mattress and let me lay beside him. He was shirtless, which really didn’t bother me. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.

“How the hell did ya get over here?” He asked.

“Rick.” I smiled.

He huffed in response and made sure the blanket was covering mostly me. I stared at him when his fingers brushed down my side. I moved closer and smiled at him.

“I’m goin’ to find Merle tomorrow.” He said.

“And I have to stay here, don’t I?” I muttered.

“Ya hurt your ankle. I don’t wanna risk ya gettin’ caught.”

I whined, and he kissed me to shut me up. I moaned, and his muscular arms locked around me. We both fell asleep shortly after our short make-out session. His arms remained around me, and my head was tucked between his neck and his shoulder.

~

“Is that a tattoo I see?”

“Why ya lookin’?”

I fixed my sleeve, hiding the butterfly tattoo I had gotten years ago. Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Daryl were getting ready to head back to Atlanta to rescue Merle. I walked up to Daryl and immediately earned a rough kiss.

“Don’t take too long.” I pleaded.

“I won’t. Just don’t expect me to be back before sunset.” He grumbled, his voice still groggy from sleep.

I pulled a few arrows out of my sheath and held them out to him. He hesitated before he took them. He slid them into his own sheath and looked at me. I lowered my head and kicked the dirt with my uninjured foot. He sighed and forced me to look at him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back before ya know it. Why don’t ya make some more arrows? That’ll keep ya busy until I get back.” He suggested.

“Okay.” I mumbled.

“Time to head out!” Rick yelled.

The three men got into the moving truck they had used to get to the camp yesterday. Daryl caught my wrist when I was about to walk away and pulled me close. He gave me a long kiss and smiled slightly when he pulled away. He held his forehead to mine.

“Stay in camp, will ya?” He said.

“No promises.”

He laughed before giving me one last kiss and running to get into the moving truck. He smiled at me one last time as the truck drove away before slamming the back door down.