“Carl’s been taking care of Dixon for you.”

“He can keep him. I have my own Dixon to mess with.”

Daryl chuckled and kissed me lightly before heading upstairs.

“Holy shit! There’s a herd! We gotta get out of here!” Glenn yelled.

Beth grabbed my hand sometime later in the midst of the Walker herd. I had lost Daryl soon after the Walkers got to the house. I was shoved into a truck, and T-Dog drove away from the house.

“We have to go back! The others will be going to where we lost Sophia!” Lori yelled.

“We can’t go back!” T-Dog snapped.

Lori opened the truck door, and T-Dog slammed on the breaks. After several minutes of them staring at each other, T-Dog gave in and headed to the road where they had lost Sophia. As soon as the truck stopped, we got out. Lori ran to Carl and Rick. Beth immediately went to Maggie and Hershel. Daryl dropped his crossbow when he saw me, and I ran to him.

“I thought ya got left behind.” He muttered, holding me tightly.

“I didn’t see you leave either.” I whispered.

~

“I-It’s cold.”

“Come here.”

I crawled over to Daryl. He wrapped his arms around me, and his body warmth rolled over me. He grabbed a blanket and made sure it was wrapped around me. I smiled and touched his arm lightly.

“Don’t disappear without me in the morning.” I pleaded.

“I won’t.” He mumbled.

He kissed my forehead and reached over to throw another log in the fire. Everyone else was asleep.

“I wish we were alone.” Daryl grumbled.

“I know. We will be tomorrow.”

“I know.”

He used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear that forced its way from my eye. I smiled lightly and reached up to touch his cheek. He smiled when I pulled him closer. Our lips brushed together, and adrenaline rushed through me. I slid my hand to the back of his neck, and the other slid down his chest. I dug my nails into his neck, earning a low moan that almost sounded like an animal’s growl.

His hand gripped onto my leg, and he licked my lips. I hesitated before I opened my mouth, and he slid his tongue inside. An almost silent moan escaped my lips, my attempts to be silent so the others could sleep nearly failing.

"Don't try to be quiet." He begged as he pulled away.

“I have to. The others are sleeping.” I murmured.

He growled and fell back until he was laying down on the sleeping bag, me remaining in his arms. I moved around until I was comfortable, staying on top of him because his arms wouldn’t release me, and he fixed the blanket. I immediately kissed him, and we both kissed until the other fell asleep.

~

“Can you keep up?”

“Yeah. I’m just a bit rusty. I haven’t had to climb a hill in forever.”

Daryl smiled and strapped his crossbow to his back. We had gotten stopped by an extremely steep cliff that we’d have to mountain climb in order to continue on our path. I watched as his muscles expanded and contracted as he climbed. He reached the top and turned to face me. I hesitated before I walked up to the bottom of the ‘cliff’, and I reached up to hand him my crossbow. He took it and set it aside while he watched me. I climbed the same way he did, a rock cutting into my arm as I went, and he grabbed my arm when I was close enough. He pulled me up the rest of the way.

“Did you get scratched?” He asked, looking at my arm.

“One of the rocks cut me.” I whispered, looking at the wound.

He sighed and took his book bag off after removing his crossbow. He rummaged through it until he found disinfectant spray and bandages.

“Oh, hell no! You’re not spraying that shit on me! That stuff stings!” I moved away from him, making sure to go in the opposite direction of the cliff.

“Meghan, get your ass back here.” He growled, standing up.

“No!”

“Now, Meghan, or we won’t have kids!”

I froze in place and turned to look at him. He walked up to me when I lowered my head.

“It’ll only sting for two seconds. I promise.” He said.

“But I don’t want that stuff, Daryl.” I whined.

“Shut up, Woman. I don’t want ya gettin’ a fever like T-Dog did a few weeks ago.”

He grabbed my arm gently and exposed the wound. He sprayed the disinfectant onto my wound, and I held back a scream. It felt as if every nerve in my arm was on fire. He wrapped the bandages around my arm and bit off the end. Tears were flowing down my face by the time he was done.

“I didn’t want to hurt ya, Babe. I had to.” He mumbled.

I wiped my tears away and walked away from him. He grabbed his things and followed me.

“Meghan, don’t do this.” He pleaded. “I didn’t want ya gettin’ hurt anymore than ya had to be.”

“Don’t talk to me.” I snapped.

He grabbed my uninjured arm, removed my book bag, and pinned me to the closest tree. I dropped my crossbow. His blue-green eyes were filled with lust.

“Please, Meghan. Don’t be mad at me. I need you.” He whispered.

He crushed his lips to mine, and I mentally cursed myself for being so forgiving. I kissed back with just as much force as he did and knotted my fingers in his hair. He moaned when I bit his lower lip, and I smirked.

“You’re so hot.” He whispered, attacking my neck.

I moaned as he nibbled on my most sensitive skin. His hands gripped my hips, and he moaned against my skin.

We both froze when we heard soft growls. I pulled out my knife as he picked up my crossbow. He looked around for a few minutes.

“They must be down the cliff.” He muttered.

“This isn’t the right place for this.” I whispered, lowering my head.

“We’ll find shelter soon. Then we can do whatever we want.”

~

“I’m going huntin’.”

“Is Daryl going?”

“Daryl’s already out there.”

Rick nodded once, so I turned on my heel and headed out into the forest. We had been walking for weeks, and we had to find shelter soon. Lori was going to go into labor pretty soon, and it wasn’t safe for a group as large as ours to be out in the open.

It was quiet as I walked. I sighed and thought back to how many lives we’ve lost.

Shane was killed by Rick. Dale got torn open by a Walker and shot by Daryl. Sophia got Walkerfied and shot by Rick. Ed got bit back at the Atlanta camp. Merle is Missing In Action. Andrea was lost during the escape from the farm, so none of us know if she’s even alive.

I heard some leaves crunch to the right, so I immediately aimed my crossbow in that direction. Daryl tilted his head and smiled.

“I didn’t mean to scare ya.” He said.

I sighed and walked over to him. He was confused when I hugged him.

“We’ve lost so many people.” I muttered.

His arms wrapped around me as he sighed. I looked up at him and smiled slightly.

“I won’t lose you, right?” I mumbled.

“Never in a million years.” He answered.

He kept my hand as we continued through the forest. I pulled him to a stop when I saw a large building through a gap in the trees. We were higher up.

“Daryl, what’s that?” I asked, pointing at the building.

“Ya aint ever seen a prison before?” He replied, looking at the building.

“I don’t see a prison.” I smiled. “I see a safe zone. We could clear out the field in one day, and then move on to clearing out the inside.”

“Yeah. Let’s go back and tell the others.”

I shook my head and stepped closer to the edge. “You can go back. I’m gonna start clearing them out.”

Daryl grabbed my arm. “Hell no. Ya aint goin’ down there by yourself.”

I pouted and looked at him. “I’ve done nothing for the group since we left the farm. I have to do something, Daryl.”

“I said no.”

"Daryl, please.”

He glared at me for what felt like an hour. His blue-green eyes finally melted, and he pulled me close. I smiled as I laid my hands on his chest.

“Be careful.” He pleaded.

I nodded once. He reached back and grabbed one of his arrows. We had found cans of spray paint, so we had sprayed the end of our arrows to tell the difference. The end of mine were pink, and the end of his were blue.

“If you run out, make this one your last.” He muttered.

“Okay.”

I took the arrow and put it with my other ones. He pulled me close and kissed me gently. I smiled when he pulled away.

“I love you.” I whispered.

“Love ya, too. I’ll be back with the others soon. I’ll have to find an easier way down for Lori.”

I watched him disappear into the trees before I turned and slid down the hill. I kept running when I reached the bottom, and I easily dodged the few Walkers that roamed around the outside of the outer fence. I pulled a pair of plyers out of my book bag and glanced at the initials scribbled on the handled.

D. H.

I took a deep breath and cut a hole in the fence. Once I was inside, I used a strip of rope to tie the hole shut. I ran through the space between the two fences and killed whatever Walkers crossed my path. By the time I reached the hole I had come in, Daryl and the others were on the other side.

“All clear?” Rick asked.

“The space between the fences is. We still gotta clear the field.” I answered.

I untied the rope and pulled the hole open. Carl and Lori came in first, shortly followed by Hershel and Beth. Glenn practically shoved Maggie through and then came in himself. Rick, T-Dog, and Daryl waited until Carol got through before they turned their backs to the trees and slipped through. I hurriedly tied the rope again before the Walker that was approaching could get me.

“Megs…..” Daryl purred.

I giggled when he grabbed onto me from behind. He buried his face between my neck and shoulder.

“You’ve got blood all over your face.” He chuckled.

“I had to kill some Walkers.” I smiled.

“Well, no kissing until ya get it off of your face.”

“Understood.”

We caught up with the others and nearly missed Rick’s instructions on how to clear the field.

“I want some of you out here to distract the ones closer to the fence. If we can get Daryl and Meghan to the guard towers, we’ll be able to clear this out in no time.” He said.

“And if the guard towers are infested, what then? I aint lettin’ Megs go in alone.” Daryl said.

“Then we’ll check to make sure they’re clear before you go in.”

Daryl looked at me. I smiled and took his hand.

“It’s okay, Daryl.” I muttered. “I’ll be fine.”

He nodded slowly and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Stay close until we get ya there.”

The small infiltration group consisted of me, Daryl, Rick, Maggie, Glenn, and T-Dog. Carl pulled the gate open, and we slowly went inside, the gate being shut behind us. A Walker immediately dove for Daryl when he had his attention elsewhere. I pulled him out of the way and shoved my knife into its head. I yanked the blade free and went to join the others as they continued.

“Maggie, open the door and check for sounds.” Rick ordered as we reached the guard tower.

Maggie hurriedly went inside, and I stuck close to Daryl until she came back. I ran inside and went up the stairs. I had to bust the door open with my shoulder, and I hissed in pain when I felt it pop out of place. I went to the catwalk and aimed my crossbow at the Walkers. I shot an arrow at one that was close to Daryl, and he jumped away.

“Sorry!” I yelled.

Once the Walkers were dead, I went downstairs. Daryl immediately pulled me into a hug when he saw me, and I screamed in pain.

“What happened? Did I hurt ya?” He asked.

“No. I had to bust the door open. My shoulder popped outta place.” I answered.

“Hershel! Megs got hurt!”

I rolled my eyes and followed Daryl as he went to the group. They were setting up camp beside the gate that led into Cell Block C.

“Where are you injured?” Hershel asked.

“I popped my shoulder out of place. Can you fix it?” I asked.

He nodded once. I sat down in front of him, and he moved my arm around. I groaned in pain until he was able to pop it back into place. I flinched as I tried to move my arm.

“It’ll hurt for a few hours. Try not to move so much.” Hershel said.

He handed me a pill bottle. I hesitated before I took it. Tara White was written as the patient name.

“These are some pain meds Daryl found in a bag his brother had. Take one every few hours.” He instructed.

I got up and walked away. Daryl had moved to stand on top of a van that was on its side near the fence. I stopped when I saw Carol talking to him.

“I could make your night worthwhile, Daryl.” I heard Carol say.

“Sorry. I already got a woman.” Daryl huffed.

I smiled as I walked up to the van. I tapped the top of it, and Daryl looked down at me. He got on his knees and offered his hand to me. I took it and let him pull me up.

“Hiya, Carol. What brings ya over here?” I asked, mimicking Daryl’s southern drawl.

“I was just talking to Daryl. He refused to eat.” She lied, smiling to me.

I took the food from her and smiled. “I’ll get him to eat. Thanks for your concern.”

She huffed and left. I turned to face Daryl, a frown on my face.

“What?” He asked.

“She was flirting with you.” I said.

“Yeah. And? I told her I already had a woman. I ain’t lying, am I?”

“No.”

“Then we don’t have a problem.”

I lowered my head. He sighed and looked away from me.

“I’ll prove it to ya when we clear out the cell tomorrow. Alright?” He mumbled.

I blushed. “Y-You should eat something.”

“Did you eat?”

“No. I gave my share to Lori.”

“Ya can have mine.”

“No. You need it more than I do.”

He shook his head and walked along the van. I sighed and took a piece of the meat. Hershel had cooked it long enough for it to still be soft but be completely cooked. I ate a piece, and I caught Daryl’s attention. I smiled and offered the plate to him. He hesitated before he took a piece and ate it.