To understand this story you need to have read RESTLESS first.

Chapter 1

Daryl was coming home. As the sun was starting to dip in the late afternoon sky, the tall imposing metal gates of Alexandria lay just ahead of him. The bike cruised down the walker-free lane that was bringing him back. He had been gone for two long days and knew that Dayna would be worried about him, but he just couldn't help it. He was supposed to have been on a one day scouting trip, but by nightfall, he simply wasn't ready to come back, so he found a place to hole up for the night. He needed this time alone to get his head on straight.

He actually didn't do any scouting or scavenging while he was away, that was just an excuse to get beyond the gates. He simply got on his bike and rode. He needed to think and he did his best thinking while on the back of his motorcycle. The constant loud rumble of the engine let him empty his head and try to put things back in order. When Daryl rode out, he was a very confused man.

A little over six months ago when he and Dayna officially became a couple, everything in his world changed. The man that was a constant loner…was never alone. He loved Dayna. He really did to his amazement. She was the first woman he had ever felt that way about. It was both comforting and terrifying at the same time.

He loved her smile, the way she could make him laugh and her rocking body. His non-existent sex life did a full one-eighty and he couldn't get enough of the way she made him feel. There were just so many other things that were driving him crazy and he didn't know what to do about them.

For most of his forty plus years, he had to worry only about himself. Living on the run as he did with Rick and the group had taught him that he could lean on others and he became an integral part of the family they created. Once they found Alexandria it changed how they lived. Instead of abandoned houses or camps in the woods, they had a secured community.

He had been restless for years, both before and after the world fell apart. It got worse when they moved to Alexandria. He had lived outside for so long that being inside a house made him feel cooped up. He spent more time on the front porch than inside. The urge to go beyond the safety of the walls was constant. Then he met Dayna and that changed. The restlessness in him went away. He enjoyed Alexandria and living with her, but sometime in the last few weeks that changed. The restlessness was back. The urge to be alone and go outside the walls was overwhelming…it shouldn't be, but it was.

Living with Dayna, he was now with someone almost all the time. That was one of the major problems he had...he needed his space and he didn't have it. Daryl was not a guy that was comfortable talking about something like this, even with Dayna. It was festering in him for weeks and their relationship was suffering because of it.

They argued over the stupidest things. Him still not putting the toilet seat down. His clothes dropped wherever he took them off. Her constant nagging at him for things he didn't give a shit about, but apparently Dayna did. In the beginning, he would try to do this stuff for her, but as time wore on and he became frustrated, he just stopped. He was his own worst enemy. He always was.

This is why he took off under false pretenses. He just needed time for himself. Time to figure out what had gone wrong.

And with that time he hadn't come to any conclusions. He didn't want to lose Dayna, as she was more important to him than anyone else in his life. However, he just had to figure out how to live with her without feeling suffocated.

Meanwhile, Dayna was on edge. She kept looking out the infirmary window every five minutes looking for Daryl. He was supposed to have come back yesterday but didn't. When she approached Rick about it, he didn't seem overly concerned. He reminded her that Daryl could take care of himself better than anyone else. His runs had gone overnight many times and she shouldn't worry yet. The thing was since they had been together, he rarely ever did this and she knew he was out there alone. It wasn't a typical supply run or a scouting trip with Aaron. He was by himself. He had no backup and that's what had her worried.

Living the way they did in a communal atmosphere, there was constantly someone around. She and Daryl shared a room in a house with seven other people plus a toddler. That left them very little privacy with only their bedroom to get away from everyone. She knew it was getting to Daryl, but what choice did they have?

The last few weeks they had been fighting and the tension between was them heavy in the air. There was something bothering Daryl that he wouldn't talk about. Dayna had tried and he just shut her down. She knew he was different than any other guy she had known, but at times he was damn hard to understand.

She felt that he didn't respect her when she asked him to clean up after himself and put down the damn toilet seat. Small issues were growing into bigger ones and they were starting to drive a wedge between them. Dayna had a feeling that this solo trip was more to get away from her than anything else and that broke her heart. She loved him deeply and they had to find a way to get past this.

Since there wasn't anyone in the clinic at this time, Dayna sat looking out the window reminiscing about the few past months. When they had gotten back after the deadly confrontation with Marty they were both in a really good place. That last piece of Dayna's history was gone. Marty never understood how sick his brother Mike was. After he raped Dayna and almost killed her, she was smart enough after the rape to realize what he was thinking and she took care of him before he killed her. Marty wanted revenge for Mike's death and he got more than he counted on. He and his friends would never threaten anyone else again.

Dayna knew back then, she and Daryl were in their "newlywed" phase of their relationship. Everything was going great. She was happy. Daryl was happy. And the sex was off the charts. Dayna smiled to herself. Sex was not an area they ever had any trouble with and just thinking about it had tingles running through her body. But they hadn't had sex in a week and that was not normal for them.

Sure they had problems, but didn't every couple? Dayna just couldn't get Daryl to talk about what was going on with him and she knew he was withdrawing from her. A week with no sex absolutely proved it. They never used to go without a day of clothes flying off and him taking her in any position they could manage.

The more she thought about it, the more she knew that when he got back because he was coming back, it was time to talk.

The sound of an engine roar suddenly broke the silence in the room and Dayna knew that it was Daryl. Even though she didn't get any sleep the previous night as she was too worried about him, she had already decided that she wasn't going to make matters worse by yelling at him for going out alone, she would just welcome him back with open arms and wait until tonight to talk to him. They had to work this out.

Dayna called out to Denise that she going to head home. It was the end of her day anyway and she was anxious to see Daryl. She heard a "Good Night" come from the office. She forced a smile on her face and walked out the infirmary. Daryl was parking his bike was outside their house so she headed over there.

Daryl saw Dayna headed towards him and wondered what type of reception he was going to get. He readied himself for what he was sure was going to be another argument.

"Hey, glad you see you back," Dayna said to him with a smile. The second she saw him even as dirty and tired as he looked, any tiny doubt she had about her feelings for him vanished. She loved him endlessly. She was just glad that he came back in thankfully in one piece.

"Yeah, me too. Sorry, I didn't make it back," he told her not quite meeting her eyes. Dayna didn't seem upset at him and that had him a bit confused.

Dayna wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "As long as you are back safe and sound, that's all I care about. I know most times things don't go according to plan. I missed you." She felt Daryl relax in her arms and that's what she wanted. They had to get past this tension that was between them.

He gave her one of his shy half smiles. "Missed you too. Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Not a thing. Hey, why don't you go up and shower and I'll make you something to eat. You must be starved."

"Sounds good to me." Daryl kissed her lips. No matter whatever problems they have, he never could get enough of Dayna. He lips, her breasts, her everything always turned him on. They hadn't had sex in a while and it was definitely time to change that.

Dayna slipped her hand in his as they walked into the house. Daryl gave her a playful swat on her butt before he headed upstairs to their room to shower. Maybe this time away was what they needed as he realized he was happy to see her again.

Daryl went into their room and sat down on the bed to remove his boots and the ties on the bottom of his pants. Even though they weren't living in the woods anymore, he still tied them out of habit. Boots dropped on the floor, the laces he used to tie his bottom of his pants soon followed and he dropped clothes on the floor as he made his way to the shower. Soon he was standing under the hot spray washing away all the grime from the past few days.

Dayna came up the stairs with a bowl of leftover something that Carol had cooked the night before. She wasn't quite sure of everything that was in it, but it tasted good. When she opened the door to the bedroom, Dayna took a deep breath when she saw the clothes all over the floor. This was going to have to be something she needed to accept about him. She would try. She put the bowl down on a table and quickly picked up the discarded clothing and boots and tossed all but the shoes into the dirty clothes basket.

The water was still running in the shower which meant Daryl was still in there…wet and naked. It barely took Dayna a second to whip off her clothes and get ready to join him in the shower. Her hand was on the doorknob when she stopped and turned back to the nightstand taking a condom out of the drawer.

Neither of them wanted a baby…at least not yet. The world didn't seem right to bring a child into. They had a scare after the ordeal with Marty. The night they stayed in the little green house, which they now thought as theirs, ended up with a surprise. The adrenaline of that day had turned into a frenzied night of sex. It was the first time he had ever gone down on her and it turned them both on so much that afterward when he came inside of her, he realized that he forgot to put on a condom. It had been a slightly tense few weeks for them until Dayna was able to tell him that she wasn't pregnant. As awesome is it felt being completely skin to skin, they simply couldn't take the chance.

With the condom in hand, Dayna quietly entered the bathroom. Daryl heard her the second she turned the knob. He was always highly attuned to everything around him. It was not unusual for either one of them to come in while the other in there. Even though he was rinsing his hair, he watched her through the steamy shower stall glass as she approached him. The door swung open and a very naked Dayna joined him under the water spray.

"Hi," she said giving him a sexy smile.

"Well hey. This is unexpected," his voice huskier than normal. He rinsed his hair and face again, before pulling her close. "You got sumthin' on your mind?"

"Yes...you. I missed you." Dayna wrapped her arms around Daryl and their lips met as the hot water poured over them. Her mouth quickly opened at the insistence of his tongue and they played a sensual game of tag with each other.

Dayna wrapped one leg around Daryl pulling him as tight to her has she could. She could feel his erection growing and growing until his hard shaft was nudging for entrance into her. Daryl dropped a hand down to cup one of her breasts. He squeezed her in his large hand, before twisting a nipple between his fingers. Dayna moaned her approval.

She pushed him backward so his bare back was against the shower stall wall and they were partway out of the spray. While Daryl was playing with her breast and causing a sort of wonderful feelings to flow through her, Dayna reached down between them and took his fully erect cock in her hand. Soon it was Daryl moaning as she continued to stroke him. "Fuck, Dayna…missed you and this. Damn," he sighed as his lips now traveled over her face down to her shoulder where he nipped her with his teeth.

Dayna gave him a look that him almost going weak in the knees. "Take this," she told him handing him the condom.

"You came prepared," he laughed.

"I sure did," she whispered as she kissed his lips. Then her kisses slowly traveled all the way down his body until she was kneeling before him with his hard dick still in her hand. She kissed its head first, before running her tongue all around it.

When she sucked just his tip into her mouth, it took Daryl's breath away. He leaned his head back against the glass and closed his eyes as Dayna worked her magic with his cock. She started using both her hand and mouth on him, but soon it was solely her talented mouth that controlled his body.

Daryl's fingers found their way onto her long wet hair as he needed to touch her as the lust driven current of that she was creating started to flow through him. When he felt himself hit the back of her throat, it took every ounce of self-control not to come. There was only one place he wanted to do that.

Dayna heard the wrapper on the condom being ripped off and she smiled as she took him one last time deep into her throat. Even though her mouth felt incredible on him, Daryl pulled her up and smashed his mouth to hers. He could never get enough of her.

When they pulled apart, they switched places and Dayna turned her back to him and put one foot up on the corner bench that was in the shower. This wasn't the first time they had sex in the shower and she knew the best position to be in. Daryl tried to quickly roll the condom on himself eager to be inside of her.

"You gonna get that thing on soon? Dayna laughed over her shoulder.

"Damn fuckin' water ain't making it easy," he growled.

"Need any help?"

Daryl suddenly pushed her shoulders slightly down and her butt now stuck out more. "Does it feel like I need any help?" The swollen head of his cock nudged her once before he thrust inside of her.

Dayna took a quick breath as she felt him fill her completely. "Oh hell no you don't." He felt so good inside of her…it was where he belonged.

Daryl started to move in and out of her, slowly at first teasing her relentlessly. Dayna used one hand to support herself on the glass wall and the other easily found its way to her clit. She rubbed herself for extra stimulation so that she could come with him. "Faster…please Daryl…faster," she begged him.

"Like that, dontcha?" he growled. Daryl held onto her hips so he could pull her back against him as he pushed as deeply as he could into her.

"Yes…oh God," she cried out. Dayna could feel him slamming into her harder and harder, so she started moving her hand faster and faster.

Daryl's breaths were coming in deep gasps that matched Dayna's. They were both getting close…so close. "Oh fuck," he moaned. The tightness of her slick walls that were wrapped around his hard cock felt like heaven. She was made for him and only him.

"Almost there baby, almost there…oh god…harder!" she cried out as she was on the verge of her own orgasm exploding.

It only took a few more thrusts for Daryl to feel that all-consuming burst of electricity that started in his balls and flowed throughout his entire body. Only with Dayna had his orgasms ever been this intense. He felt her start to shudder as her own climax hit her. God, he loved having sex with her. Nothing he had done with anyone else ever came close to what they shared.

Daryl made sure that he didn't collapse on top of her when he finished exhausted and completely spent. The shower water had long gotten cool as it ran down his back. He slipped out of Dayna and went to take the condom off when he noticed that it had ripped.

"Oh fuckin' no!" he groaned loudly.

"What is it?" Dayna asked turning around.

"It broke. The damn condom broke." Daryl turned the now water off and looked at Dayna.

"Shit. Here we go again," Dayna sighed. She looked at Dry and saw the worry in his blue eyes. "Well, there isn't anything we can do about it now. Hopefully, we'll be lucky again."

"Yeah, hopefully. But it was a really good welcome home," he told her with a smirk.

"Yeah it was," she told him. "Let's dry off and then see what other types of welcome back fun we can have."

"I like the way you think," he smiled. "Let's go."

They quickly dried off and headed back into the bedroom. Daryl put his problems on the back burner for now. As happy as he was right then, he wished it would last forever, but sex…incredible sex didn't solve what had kept him away for almost two days. But it could wait. It had to wait. A beautiful naked woman was waiting for him and that came before everything. Tomorrow was another day. Tomorrow he would start to worry again.

A/N – My apologies on the long delay in getting this done. It took longer to write as I had so much going on. My weird style is not to post anything until it is completely done. I'll be back on my normal posting schedule or Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In the meantime, I did publish a book through Amazon/Kindle. If you enjoyed Taking a Chance, there is a non-TWD version for purchase. If you have Kindle Unlimited it is free. I left just a hint of TWD in there for us fans, but it's the similar story, with better editing too. It's under my real name of Lori J. Nelson.

Glad to be back posting! Missed my regulars!