Your eyes they tie me down so hard
I'll never learn to put up a guard
So keep my love, my candle bright
Learn me hard, oh learn me right

Molly's Point-of-View

I didn't know how long it had been since he had left. Hours, days, weeks – it could have been months since I'd seen those perfect blue eyes and that brooding physique. The only people I'd seen since he last went out had dead eyes and no smile, and were built of rotting flesh. I didn't know whether to stay or leave. I wasn't cut out for this world, you know. I was only alive because Daryl was around, and I didn't know how to live without him.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to, anyway.

"Hunting," he had said, was where he was going. That had been at least six nights ago, and I hadn't heard or seen even a sign of him. The thought alone was enough to break my heart into a thousand microscopic pieces and ripped the seams of my soul into whimsy strings.

I sighed and looked around the empty cabin. I hadn't slept in the bed we'd made for ourselves since he'd left. Even if I had been tired enough to sleep, I couldn't stand to be around his musky scent that saturated my pillows with tobacco and gasoline.

What if he never came back? Surely to God he'd find a way back to me.

This ain't no sham
I am what I am

Daryl's Point-of-View

"Fuck me," I said, tired of the fucking geek bullshit I'd put up with all week. I shoved my hunting knife through one of their heads, and it went down with a satisfying crunch. I wiped sweat from my forehead and shoved past the dead body, headed south.

I had to find Molly. Somewhere she was crying because I wasn't around anymore, and she probably assumed the worst. Made my ass tired – No way I'd let some dead fucks kick my bucket for me.

I went out huntin' one day and stumbled into a motherfucking herd of walkers that were headed right in our direction. I came from the cabin and there was no way I was getting her out in time, so I led them off course as best I could. As far as I know, we ended up six miles southwest of the cabin, so there I was trying to drag my ass back.

There's no way in the world I'd let any harm come to her. Fuck that.

Though I may speak some tongue of old
Or even spit out some holy word
I have no strength from which to speak

you sit me down, and see I'm weak

Molly's Point-of-View

"Lord, please let him come back. Please let him be okay and in one piece. I have nothing left, God. I need him to be okay. I swear that if you let me have just this one man, I will go whenever you want me to go. I won't fight or cry or scream. Just please let him be okay." I sobbed quietly into my hands, praying and pleading with the man upstairs to let me have just this one small victory.

m

This world had made me tired and weak. I was cowered in the corner of a damn cabin, crying my eyes out over someone who had always come back, no matter what. I had to hold onto that little string of faith that he would keep fighting for me, like he always had. I quieted myself and held my shoulders close to me, shivering. I had never been much for cold, or waiting. Here I was, again.

It was then that I heard something. The most miniscule scratch at the door. My heart leapt into my throat. For days I had willed the biters away from our cabin, knowing full well that I was unable to fight in this sort of mental cage I'd barred myself into.

Another scratch, stronger this time, and that fucking undead groaning I'd learned long ago to tune out. The thing beat on the door, its mind not having the capability to know how to open a damn door. My breathing sped up as I looked around the room. There was a knife under Daryl's pillow, that I knew. A shotgun on the other side of the room – noisy, and would attract more fucks, so I ruled it out immediately. I was thinking about any other weapons I could use without making an undead spectacle of myself when I heard a sickening thud and the scratching stopped.

"What the fuck?"

We will run and scream
You will dance with me
They'll fulfill our dreams and we'll be free

"Fuckin' geeks. Tryin' to get into my house." I complained, walking the path up to the cabin warily. Fuckers were everywhere, but it seemed like I got the majority of them to follow me south. Don't ask me how the fuck I did it, but I'd only seen two or three of 'em on my way back up here. I hoped with all I had that none of them made their way to Molly while I was gone.

I held my crossbow up and surveyed the area before heading up the mountain at a snail's pace. I couldn't be too careful. Somethin' bout accidents happening closest to the home 'cause you get a false sense of security and what not. Fuck that, I ain't stupid.

By the time I got up to the top of the hill where the cabin was, I'd killed two more walkers. One wasn't much of a fight 'cause it was just layin' on the ground all pathetic. I got that one with my knife and then downed the other fucker with my crossbow. Easy shot.

When I caught sight of the cabin it all looked okay – none of the windows were out or otherwise fucked with and there wasn't a sign of a struggle. I sighed in relief but that was short lived as hell because there was a walker clawing at the damn back door.

"Miserable fuck." I said to myself as I crept up with my crossbow sights aimed at its rotten head. I shot and it fell to the ground with a thud. I walked up to it and pulled the bolt out before searching my pockets for my key to the cabin.

I searched all the wrong damn pockets before finding it and fiddlin' with the door. Lack of sleep must have had me shaky because I 'bout never got the damn thing open. When I did, I was met with the tiniest squeak and most aggressive hug I'd ever had. Molly clung to me like permanent glue and it was a couple minutes before I could try to get away and close the door.

She looked at me with more want and need than I'd ever seen from anybody, and if I ever doubted where I stood with her before that moment, I sure as hell didn't doubt it now. She wanted a good-for-nothin' fuck like me? She could have me as long as she wanted. I wasn't goin' nowhere.

And we will be who we are
And they'll heal our scars
Sadness will be far away

Molly's Point-of-View

Something was fiddling with the door, trying to get into my cabin. Was someone still alive and trying to get in for shelter? I crept to the bed and pulled the knife from under Daryl's pillow. I had only ever been any good with melee weapons, so this was my best shot at subduing the intruder.

My breath hitched in my throat as the lock clicked – but it had been locked. There was only one key, and only one person could have that key. Did that mean-?

The door swung open and Daryl walked in, a bloody fucking mess. But he was here, he was alive, and he had saved me for the millionth time. The knife clattered to the floor and I jumped at him, holding onto the back of his ripped flannel for dear life.

"You know better than to think some fuckin' geeks could get rid 'a me."

I nodded and replied, "I'm so happy you're back. I can't believe it. It had been so long..."

He pulled away from me gently and closed the door before locking it again, sealing us in our temporary safe-haven. As he placed his crossbow on a side table in the room and pulled his dirty flannel off, I assessed his state. He looked dreadfully tired. If I didn't know better, he could have passed as one of those things. His skin was grey and the bags under his eyes told me he hadn't slept for days.

"You tired or somethin'?" I teased, grabbing a washcloth from the small porcelain sink and dipping it in a bucket of rain water that collected from a leak in the ceiling. I walked over to him and wiped the dirt and grime off of his face – he moaned quietly at the sensation and I bit my lip in an effort to hide my smile.

I placed a soft kiss on his lips, and he wrapped his arms around me.

So as we walked through fields of green
Was the fairest sun I'd ever seen
And I was broke, I was on my knees
And you said yes as I said please

We couldn't have been asleep for long when I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the roof of the cabin. I was a light sleeper before the world went to shit and it seemed like it had only gotten worse after the dead started walking. I rubbed my eyes and lay back in the crook of Daryl's shoulder. Not a peep from him and it seemed like it might be a while before he was up and back in commission.

I had no protests to lying faithfully beside him and wiping him with a washcloth every now and again. I studied his dirty brown hair and could see congealed blood sticking several strands together. I wondered absentmindedly whether it was his blood or something else's. My gaze made its way down to his flickering eyes – it was obvious that he was deeply asleep, and I was glad for that.

It gave me a chance to realize just exactly how much I had missed him. In our previous life, we probably would have never gotten back to this point. I was young and stupid and head over heels for the redneck next door and he was older and more experienced and said it would never work because I was too good for him since I'd gone away for college. We had been perfect together the years that I couldn't afford to send myself back to school – late nights in the bed of his truck, drive-ins, and sneaking to the woods for an hour or two to ourselves.

I went back to college for another year when I was 23 and he wanted no part of it. He said it was too far away and that I was destined for better things. I hadn't taken that very well, and we had a huge falling out as a result.

I looked at him incredulously and scoffed. Never work, my ass. All we had now was each other, and it worked just fucking fine.

This ain't no sham
I am what I am
I leave no time
For a cynic's mind

Daryl woke up about 10 hours after he fell asleep. At that point in time I had cleaned the cabin, got out some cleaner clothes for him, and re-blocked the windows so that nothing could see inside.

"Mornin' sleepyhead." I playfully called from across the small cabin. He sat up and held his hand to his head, a smile playing on his lips.

"How long was I out?" he asked, palming his eyes.

"I'd say 'bout 10 hours. You slept like you was a downed walker." I scrunched my nose at my own distasteful joke and Daryl shot me a look.

"Come 'ere for a second, girl." he said a little more seriously, beckoning me over to sit beside him. I propped the broom I'd been sweeping with up against the wall and stepped over to where he'd wanted me.

"Yeah?" I asked, placing myself next to him.

"You ain't allowed to give up on me again, alright? I ain't goin' nowhere." he stared into my eyes and it felt like he was reading my soul. His hands cupped around my cheeks and I had to look away for fear of getting too emotional. Being a man of action and not of words, he met my lips with his, urgency filling the space between our bodies.

He pushed me back on the bed and allowed some of his weight on top of me. He had always expressed his emotions this way, and I was glad to let him. His tongue weaved in and out of my mouth and his teeth nipped at my lip every so often, driving me absolutely crazy. My hands tangled in his hair and our legs intertwined within the each other's so familiarly. A sigh escaped my lips that elicited a smirk and a gruff chuckle from him, which made me want him that much more.

My hands snaked down to fumble with his belt and he lifted his hips so that I could get it undone. Flipping the button on his jeans open and sliding the zipper down, I continued to kiss him as lovingly as my mind would let me without getting emotional about his return. He pulled my dirty tanktop off of my body in one swift motion and I was surprised by just how cold the air was on my bare skin. I shivered a little and he pressed himself to me in an effort to restore warmth. He planted small kisses on my neck and shoulders before sliding out of his jeans and pulling my pants and underwear down, leaving us both exposed.

He pulled me up higher on the bed and then put his weight back on me – something I welcomed. I could feel him pressed against my thigh and my breath caught at the thought of what was happening. Years later and he still had me begging for him like a fucking dog for food.

"I'm glad you're back." I stated plainly and obviously, laying butterfly kisses on his face. He grunted and ran his hands up and down my body, his tongue licking playfully on every sensitive area he could find. My hips squirmed in anticipation and he smirked again.

"You miss me that bad, girl?" he whispered playfully, his breath like fire in my ear.

We will run and scream
You will dance with me
Fulfill our dreams and we'll be free

"I don't think you have a clue." I spoke breathlessly, as his teeth nipped gently at the lobe of my ear. I could feel the breath on me as he laughed.

He laid a few stray kisses on my face before kissing me roughly on the lips. I felt him position himself at my entrance and I whined in expectancy. He slid into me gently at first, a groan escaping his lips. He watched me intently, making sure that I was as comfortable as he was. When a moan slipped from my mouth, he began rocking himself in and out of me, his entire length enough to make me explode instantaneously. He groaned in satisfaction and began going a little faster and a little harder, my hands clawing at his muscular back and his teeth digging into my lips and neck.

"Fuck, Daryl." I moaned, my breathing erratic and intense. My back arched, bringing his body even closer to mine, if at all possible. His beard tickled my face as he kissed me every now and then, his eyes watching each sign of satisfaction written across my face.The familiar warmth I knew too well was reaching its peak inside me and I grabbed his hair and scraped his back to let him know. It was obvious by his quickened bucking and stifled groans that he was in the same place that I was.

"Shit, Molly, I'm right there." he said, and it made my insides twist and wave with ecstasy I couldn't describe. As I felt him shoot deep inside me, I kissed him roughly, biting his bottom lip and keeping it in between my teeth. I smiled into the kiss and felt him reciprocate.

"Goddamnit, girl."

We will be who we are
And they'll heal our scars
Sadness will be far away

Daryl's Point-of-View

I laid in bed with Molly for what had to have been an hour before I decided it was time to get up and get a move on. This place wasn't safe. Not anymore. Too many geeks walkin' around and tryin' to get to us.

"We need to find some place else to go." I stated, and she looked up at me with big eyes. I knew she liked it here – felt kind of safe, even.

"A herd was headed right for this area but I led 'em south. No knowin' how long they'll be around that way or when another bunch of those fuckers are gonna come through. That's why I was out for so long." I admitted, letting her know exactly how unsafe this place was. She wasn't very happy, but she nodded in understanding.

The last thing I wanted in my life was to let the girl down. She'd come to mean more to me than even I fucking knew, and every time I thought about it I wanted to kick myself. Like a lovesick fucking teenager, and it was disgusting.

But as stubborn as I act, I knew nothin' would ever get near that girl. I'd never let those fucks waste her and I'd never leave her by herself again. Knight in shining armor bullshit, I reckon. Makes my ass sick.

I kissed her anyway.

Do not let my fickle flesh go to waste
As it keeps my heart and soul in its place
And I will love with urgency but not with haste