A/N: This story has been swirling for a while so I decided to write it down. I am always hungry for Dasha tales (can you tell I ship them, lol). I do hope you enjoy and as always I look forward to your comments.

Chapter 1

Well, Why Not

I'm sorry to interrupt
It's just I'm constantly on the cusp of
Trying to kiss you
I don't know if you
Feel the same as I do
But we could be together
If you wanted to
Do I wanna know
If this feeling flows both ways
"Do I Wanna Know"
Arctic Monkeys

-oOo-

"You go out into enemy territory with your comrades, set on your mission, and you know, just know, one of you isn't going to make it," Sasha had told Daryl in an animated fashion. They had just come back from a run and were sitting in the bunker, talking things out. "You steel your nerves and pray it's not you and head out anyway. It's not that things can go wrong. It's that they will go wrong. They just have to. The world needs to let you know now is not the time to take a breath, you're not quite there yet."

She had run her hand through her hair, which she had left untied, coiling up and out, making her look free and unrestrained. Not the serious Sasha he dealt with outside the prison but the one he could spend hours alone with in the bunker.

The light of the solar powered lantern had danced off her features. She had found the lantern while out on a run and decided to keep it. A lot of people on runs did that. It was their reward for risking their lives for the community. Their reward for living, for making it back.

Down in the bunker Daryl liked to imagine that they were in their bedroom in their home. In his fantasy life on long nights they would make love, Sasha whispering his name from her supple lips as he stroked her into bliss, her long limbs wrapped tightly around him. Everytime he had those thoughts he had to fight to not rake his eyes up and down her body, lustily eyeing her breasts, her stomach and thighs. He had often imagined peeling off her clothes and running his hands along her thighs and burying his face between her soft mounds.

In the small space of the stone room they would talk, decompress, get away from it all and sometimes would remain in a comfortable silence while she read thick books from the prison library and he read Carl's comics.

Sometimes they would just lay silently, side by side on the small mattress, one side of her body slightly over his on the narrow space. He liked those times best of all. He liked spending time with her.

"So many times I'm reminded of stories my dad would tell me and Ty about 'Nam and humping through the thick," she continued. "Everyday you get up and march to war. Every day you keep a keen eye out for the enemy. Everyday someone dies at the hand of the enemy. Every night you mourn and every morning you start the process all over again."

They didn't speak on the ride back. Sasha sat in the back seat although only her and Daryl were in the car. Earlier she had been laying down, silently watching the tops of trees zip by through the window. Now he could see her through the rearview mirror, chewing on a fingernail and staring blankly at the scenery passing them by. Glenn, Michonne, Bob and Tyreese rode ahead of them in the truck. She was shook up he knew. She hated losing people on runs. It was a reminder that they hadn't yet learned to conquer the new threat in the world.

They had been so careful. Staking out the area, devising a plan to lure walkers away, waiting a few days to make sure the area was clear. It didn't matter. He wondered if any of it ever mattered.

As Daryl drove along the empty road towards the prison he knew they would end up together in the bunker. The Big Shot run had turned out to be a disaster, a costly one. When walkers started dropping from the ceiling, like ripe fruits from some terrible nightmare, it was game over. Everyone scattered. Dodging walkers, falling shelves, puddles of intestines. They ran out with barely anything. The place was too structurally unsound to risk clearing the walkers and giving it another try.

And Zach was dead. Sasha had really liked the kid. They both did. He was good, willing to learn, did what he was told, took care of walkers quickly and quietly, was a team player. He and Sasha had discussed taking Zach out on their scouting missions. And now he was gone. Just like that. Another person Daryl would have loved to get to know but will now struggle to remember in a few months.

As if reading his mind, Sasha reached forward and squeezed his shoulder, "who's gonna tell Beth?"

"I'll do it," Daryl said stoically, "Not sure how she'll take it but I'll do it."

Sasha nodded.

She kept her hand on Daryl's shoulder, the tips of her fingers on his neck. It was the warmth. She didn't want to let go of the warmth she felt on Daryl's neck, the sign of life. She wanted to feel that warmth all over her body, a reminder that she was still here, she was not dead yet.

She moved closer to the back of Daryl's seat and slid her hand down the front of his shirt, resting her palm against his chest, feeling the steamy heat of his body, closing her eyes, enjoying the comfort.

"We're okay," Daryl said to her as his skin pricked at the feel of her hand on him, her fingers softly stroking his chest. His breathing got shallow as he tried not to moan at the feather light touch of her fingers which were snaking further down his shirt and brushing against the delicate skin of his nipples.

She had been doing this for the past few months. Touching him. He didn't know what he was supposed to do in those situations so he did nothing. He had wondered if she knew his feelings for her, the massive crush he had developed over time that had become full blown adoration shortly after she had shown him her secret spot in the bunker.

He was trying to concentrate on driving, but as she got her hand further down, now rubbing just above his stomach, all he could think about was pulling the car over and pulling her clothes off.

He didn't know what the touching meant to her, probably nothing, just something to do amongst the living. It meant everything to him though. Alone on his perch he would remember her touches, the way they felt. He would recall how her eyes would become soft and her lips would form a slight smile. Then he would imagine what it would be like to kiss her, feel her full lips on his, taste her mouth. Would she laugh at him if he tried? At first he was certain she would, but now, he wasn't so sure.

The first few times she had touched him his body tensed so rigid his muscles got sore. The very first time was when they had called it a night on a scouting mission and camped out on top of the cab of a delivery truck. She had lain down, her head on his thigh, her arms wrapped around it. He was suppose to wake her for her shift after four hours but he had remained awake the entire eight hours, shifting every now and again as his leg fell asleep under her head. He held a steady hard-on from the first moment she ran her hand up and down his leg in her sleep and began to have fantasies of them naked together when she would periodically squeeze herself against his thigh, making her cleavage spill upwards out of her tank top and touch the fabric of his pants.

He had tortured himself all that night with thoughts of Sasha being his. He had been torturing himself more and more with those thoughts.

"Why don't you come sit up here with me? I'm startin' to feel like a damn chauffeur."

Sasha removed her hand from him and climbed into the passenger seat. As she sat down she caught Daryl staring, his eyes in sharp focus on her, telling her once again that he wanted her, maybe more than she wanted him. Something stopped him from doing anything though. She would touch him and he would tense but not move away. She learned enough about him on their many outings to know he would never make the first move. No matter the reality, Daryl's perception of himself was low, he didn't see himself deserving of much, especially love.

But Sasha knew he was a man she could fall in love with. It was unexpected, the slow affection she had developed for him. She found him incredibly sexy. He had a confidence and surety in his skills out in the open that she was drawn to. But other than that, he was shy, unsure, and sweet. He was also trustworthy and loyal. And frustrating. His fear of women, fear of intimacy drove her crazy, made her doubtful. She wasn't sure if she should just try to move on from him, give up on the idea of romance but she couldn't. He brought out a desire in her that she hadn't felt since long before the outbreak.

Since the dead began to rise she had been running, simply surviving. Until the prison she had never taken a break, never took the time to simply enjoy the fact that she was alive. A thinking being breathing fresh air. A woman with emotional and physical needs.

She had told herself that she would just have to be patient, but she was now wondering if patience was the right answer. Tomorrow was never guaranteed and she feared that there would come a time when it became too late and he would never know how special he was to her.

They had walked slowly back to the prison across the yard from the fences where they had been taking walkers down that had begun to gather in the fading sun. In the dark they had seen a faint light near the edge of the farm. Slowly, carefully, they walked up to it. Near the light, on the grass, a body rose. Naked and writhing, her breasts in her hands as she moaned low and gyrated on the man under her. The man's grunts came quiet and deep, her stifled cries long and drawn out.

Daryl had turned away immediately but Sasha stared, feeling her center come alive and contract. She unconsciously brought her hand up to her throat, rubbing it as the man sat up and began suckling at the breasts of the woman.

Sasha had wanted to watch the couple all night but was acutely aware of Daryl's eyes on her, watching her watch them make love. Watching her as she stared longingly at the writhing in the field, wishing it were her being touched, caressed, stroked. She had turned to look at Daryl, standing off to the side, facing her in the dark, and she wondered what his hands would feel like on her breasts, between her legs. How heavy would he feel on top of her? How would his lips feel tasting her skin? What would he feel like inside her?

In the bunker they sat side by side on the bed, not touching, not talking, both lost in their own worlds until Daryl broke the silence.

"You need things like that?" He was looking at her, his hair half covering his face, his voice cautious.

"Things like what?"

Daryl jerked his head to the door, "like what we saw outside."

"What? Sex?"

Daryl bit his bottom lip and nodded his head. Sasha had leaned forward and moved his hair from his face, brushing it back behind his ears. She had caught his eyes scanning her body as she did so.

"Are you offering Daryl," Sasha had asked with a wry smile on her face. For a brief moment she clearly saw herself with her legs up in the air, Daryl naked on top of her, clenching his ass muscles as he moved inside her.

"What?" Daryl sputtered. "Never. I would never do that with you."

"Calm down Daryl," Sasha responded dryly. "Don't get your panties in a knot."

Daryl had flushed and smiled at her. "Well, they're g-string panties so they tend to get twisted."

She couldn't help but laugh at his quip before calming and looking at him, his comment hitting her fully as her heart sank to disappointment. "Am I that bad that you would never? With me?"

"I...No. I didn't mean like that." He sighed, looking down at the bed, unable to meet her gaze. "I would just never, you know, use you that way. Like that was all you're there for."

Sasha nodded. She wasn't worthy of a tryst. Was she worthy of something more? "Is there anyone here you would do that with?" He only stared, his expression unreadable. "There are a lot of women here who would gladly do that with you,"

He simply snorted. "Like who?"

"There's Tracy, the tall blonde. Lilly, the short woman with the long brown hair. A few others whose names I don't know." Me, she thought but said nothing. "You've got a harem of women who have crushes on you."

"Stop," he said, chewing on his thumb.

"There's no one you're interested in?" Her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for his answer. He only stared, letting his hair fall back in his face.

"I guess I used to have a thing for Michonne." Sasha's heart dropped. "Then I realised that she was Rick's and got over it."

"Rick and Michonne got something going on?"

"They don't know it yet, but they do. It's plain as day. Been evident since before the Governor attacked."

She nodded, thinking about how down Rick got when Michonne left to search for the Governor and how happy he became when she came back. Daryl's crush on Michonne ended before she and Ty moved back to the prison and she felt relief in that.

"No one since Michonne?"

Daryl only shrugged before slowly meeting her eyes with a guarded gaze. "And you?You got a thing for anyone?"

"I guess I do." She looked up at him as he stared at her, his eyes bright with...was it fear? "I'm not ready to say who it is out loud though."

They both fell back into silence. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared up at the high ceiling and he went back to chewing on his finger. They could hear the soft sound of the wind blowing through the small windows and the air trickled down on them. Daryl lit up a cigarette and blew the smoke upwards in hopes of not bothering her even though she insisted that she didn't mind. The moment ticked on slowly as she tried to figure out what she was feeling after their conversation. The closest thing she could name was loneliness.

Daryl cleared his throat and almost whispered, "Do you need it? Sex?"

"No. I don't need it. It would be nice though."

-oOo-

They were nearing the prison. Daryl could see the towers in the distance, patched up with corrugated steel and used as housing for couples. As they got closer they sped up so as not to be swarmed by the mass of walkers that kept growing daily at the fences. He wasn't very impressed with the work the fence clearers were doing. They didn't seem to understand the importance of keeping the fences free of walkers. A mass of them pressed against the chain links, growling and pulling at the steel barricade. They would have to install more logs to reinforce it again soon.

"Almost there," he said to Sasha as he watched the gate open. As they pull through and he went to park he looked at her. "You gone be okay?"

"Yeah." She began to gather her things as he shut the engine off. "Will you come later?"

"After dark, yeah."

She didn't move. She watched him as she slowly came to a final decision about them and then she leaned forward and rested her head against the dashboard.

This was the norm. She wasn't going to say anything. She wasn't talkative, she was always straight and to the point. That's what he liked best about her. After a few times out scouting they had simply begun to gravitate towards each other, towards the lonely togetherness they shared. People in the prison started calling them the Chatty Cathys due to the way they never seemed to speak except the few directives they would give each other when out on missions, always seemingly in sync with one another.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I just need a moment." She didn't want to leave the vehicle. Out there she would be confronted with the stench of the walkers whose numbers grew larger each and every day. They couldn't figure out how they kept constantly drawing so many. Why they never moved on in the night when there was no activity, what kept attracting them to the same spot in the fence day after day.

She just wanted to feel normal for a little while longer before she headed down to help the fence workers to get her mind off the disaster of the day then go get something to eat, a shower and sneak down to the bunker.

Daryl hadn't attempted to move. She could feel his eyes on her and she was grateful for the company but she didn't need him to feel obligated.

"You don't have to wait with me," she told him, wanting to crawl into his arms and be held by him.

"I don't mind. I'll wait." He gave her a half smile and reached out for her before pulling back. "Do you feel responsible because you shouldn't."

"No. Not really. There was no way to know what was on that roof but...," she paused, unable to comprehend how she really felt. "I just want to take a break from reality for a while. Not wake up to the walking dead. Not see them. Not smell them. Not hear them."

She felt the roughness of his calloused hands on top of hers and looked down as he grasped her hand.

"Are you burning out?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. But I can feel it coming."

"Maybe you can take a few days. Hide out in the bunker and disappear for a while."

If only, she thought. "No. The time to rest is not now. Maybe after we become more self sufficient, but not now."

Her face fell for an instant and all he wanted to do was pull her to him and comfort her. The most he was able to give her though was a squeeze of her hand before pulling away as she sighed deeply.

Sasha sat up and nodded her head, grabbed her gear and opened the door. "Gotta face it," she said as she stepped out.

"Tonight," Daryl said stepping outside too. "We can escape it for a little while tonight."

Sasha smiled, "I'll see you later Daryl."

He leaned against the car and watched her head down to the outer gates, regretting he didn't take the chance and at least pull her into a tight embrace. One day he'd work up the courage to tell her that he cared about her and not just as a friend. One day he'd work up the nerve to lean in towards her and plant a soft kiss on her mouth when they were alone. One day. He sighed and headed inside to find Beth and let her know that another person she cared for was lost.

Daryl had turned away from the sink only to see Sasha there, eyeing him cautiously. He had come down to the showers so late to be alone, so no one would be able to see him without his shirt. But she saw. He could almost feel himself shrink at knowing she had seen the scars on his back. No one was allowed to see that, he had always made sure.

A part of him was angry at her for witnessing it. His childhood pain, the reason behind his anger. The reason behind the knowledge that he wasn't worth anything.

"You need something?" He glared at her, almost daring her to mention his back to him.

"Your back." Her eyes had been steady on his. She was always fearless that way.

"My dad liked to use the belt, buckle and all, when I got out of hand."

Her eyes filled with concern and he scowled at it. She took a step back. "I'm sorry."

"I ain't asking for your pity," he spat out at her, trying to move around her to get to his shirt and shoes on the bench behind her.

"I'm not trying to give you pity."

"But you feel sorry for me?"

She paused and went to sit on the bench next to where he picked up his shirt to put on. "I guess I do. No child deserves that kind of treatment. And if you were anything like you are now, then you were a good kid. Kind and smart. Adventurous and brave."

He didn't answer her. All he had been able to do was stare before taking a deep breath and sitting down next to her. A part of him had wanted to ask her why she believed those things about him. Another part was mistrustful of her words.

Sasha shook her head. "When I worked as paramedic, before I became a firefighter, I saw all kinds of things parents did to their kids," she played her hands against each other. "Thing with kids is, they're so sweet and innocent that no matter how terrible their parent's were, they wanted nothing more than to love them, wrap their little arms around them, defend them."

"If I was such a good kid, why would my dad beat the living shit out of me?"

Sasha had lifted her hand up and brushed his hair from his face. His body tingled at her gentle action that came so naturally to her.

"Sometimes people don't love themselves. Sometimes they see things in children that remind them of their own failings and that insecurity turns into hatred and jealousy of the child. Maybe you reminded your dad of everything he wasn't, couldn't be and he wanted to do nothing more than to bring you down to his low level."

Daryl snorted. Ridiculous, he thought and he looked away from her. He felt her hand cup his face to turn his gaze back her way.

"I truly wish you saw yourself the way the rest of us do. Or at least believed that we saw the things we do." She looked sadly at him, as if his insecurities affected her personally.

And just like that, he was hers. He had known for a long time that he was developing feelings beyond friendship for her, but in that moment it became a solid knowledge. Sasha Williams was the woman he would pine for, possibly fall in love with, until the day he died. It was a new feeling for him. And long after that night his mind would turn to her in the dark hours of night. His heart would start to beat faster when she got near him. His desire would move from longingly thinking about her body to longingly thinking about her heart and how he wanted nothing more than to possess it.

She had stood up and held out her hand, "come on."

He stared at her, confused and timid, noticing the lantern in her hand.

"I want to show you something. You'll like it."

He had taken her hand and followed as she led him behind the showers, down a long corridor where no one ever went until they reached a solid door. Sasha pushed it open and they walked down three steps before she turned back and shut the door behind them.

"Where are you taking me?" It was dark back there, almost a pitch black. Sasha lit the solar powered lantern and he saw that they were in a short hallway where the windows were narrow rectangles at the top of the wall.

"My bunker," she had led him to another door made of steel that opened up to a small cell that he presumed had been a place for solitary confinement. The ceiling was high, at the top were more slat windows that allowed for the flow of air. It was decorated with a prison mattress topped with a thick comforter and pillows on top of two pallets. Next to the bed were stacks of books. Nothing else.

"I found this about a month back. I come here to get away from everyone. Maybe," she paused and shrugged. "Maybe you can use it too."

-oOo-

Daryl showered and dressed quickly and, grabbing up his crossbow, made his way down to the bunker. He was still in a bit shocked and upset at Beth's reaction to Zach. The sad reality that this world had been able to take away Beth's sweetness, her innocence. He recalled her words about not getting close to anyone anymore. The way she had shrugged the death off, as if the boy she had been running around with for the last two months meant nothing at all to her, saddened him.

He ran his hands along the walls of the corridor as he walked towards the dim light of the bunker. The door was open and he stepped in to find Sasha sitting lengthwise on the bed in nothing but a tank top, her pants and shoes resting neatly in the corner with an axe lying on top of them. Her shapely legs protruding from the hemline, her foot shaking as she looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes rolled towards him as he stepped into the room. If she had noticed him staring at her legs she didn't give it away.

He cleared his throat after he closed the door, taking off his shoes and making his way to lay down in the space behind her on the bed near the wall. As he turned on his side she slid further down the bed so that they lay almost spooning each other. Instinctively Daryl grabbed a pillow and placed it between them near his groin.

The tank top had ridden up higher and exposed almost all of her thigh. He only dragged his eyes away when she reached back and grabbed his arm, pulling it over her waist and resting the palm of his hand on her stomach.

Sasha relaxed when she felt Daryl's grip on her tighten, his thumb brushing against the fabric of her shirt. The silence enveloped them like a warm blanket and they settled into it.

"Do you want me to turn out the light?" Sasha's head turned slightly to him.

"Just dim it," Daryl said. "I don't want it completely dark." As Sasha leaned down to grab the lantern her shirt rose up past her hips, exposing her backside clad in cotton panties. The edge of the left cheek showing where the panties had shifted, displaying the roundness of her ass. Daryl came alive in his pants, unable to tear his eyes away as the light in the room grew darker, softening the texture of her skin in the now faint glow from the lantern.

Sasha turned as she got back fully into the bed and saw Daryl's eyes drag from her exposed underwear and settle, with a burning hot desire, on her face before he averted them completely. As his arm came back over her waist without her prompting she felt her stomach plunge with excitement. She reached back and removed the pillow from between them. Daryl said nothing as he took it from her while she pushed back against him, feeling his hardness against her.

"Do you remember that time we saw that couple in the field? And the question you asked me after? If I needed it?" Sasha's voice was barely audible as she forced herself to ask.

Daryl's heart thundered in his chest and his breathing became loud and ragged. "Yeah."

" I don't need it but what if I wanted it? With you?" Her voice was still quiet and unsure.

A slow breath was released from Daryl's lips as he began to comprehend what she was saying. "What changed?"

"I kept telling myself to wait. When things settle, then I could think about those things. But things may never settle. I want to feel alive, no just like someone existing. I don't want to wait to feel joy in my life."

He nodded. He could understand that. If they waited for the perfect moment to enjoy their time on earth they may end up waiting forever. There would be no perfect time. "And you want it? Or you want it with me?" The question came out in a shaky voice. He needed to know if it was him and only him or if he could be just any guy to satisfy her needs.

Sasha turned to face him, her eyes searching his face. "I want it with you."

The sides of Daryl's mouth twitched and a look of raw discomfort came over him briefly before being replaced with determination. "If you wanted it, with me, then I guess I would give it you."

He forced his eyes to meet hers, trying to remember to breathe as he did. Her large eyes softly resting on his face while the corners of her mouth curled gently upwards. He stopped breathing again as her hand touched his face and she leaned forward, her eyes closed, and pressed her lips against his.

There was nothing. No give back from him on her kiss at all. She opened her eyes and was met by Daryl's eyes wide and fearful as her mouth moved away from his stiff lips. Everything inside her plummeted. She felt the hot sting of tears in her eyes and a deep embarrassed shame.

"Wow," was all she could think to say as she began to slowly pull away from him, a strong desire to be swallowed up or to simply disappear came over her. She then moved faster, needing to get away from him, away from that room, to deal with the sudden humiliation of being rejected that was engulfing her.

Daryl reached out and placed his hand on her back, stopping her. His strength making it impossible for her to continue her backward motion.

"Don't," he said.

"I thought...," she began but he cut her off.

"I'm just really nervous Sasha." His look was soft, innocent, but his grip on her still firm. "I never had a girl I liked like me back." His hand left her back and came up to stroke her cheek. "Can we try again? I'll move this time, I swear."

He edged his face forward, needing to have a second try at feeling her soft lips against his. Needing to not walk away from this thing that he had spent so many nights dreaming about, yearning for. To show her that his desire for her was great. To show her that all that he wanted in this moment and many others to come was to be with her, completely.

The kiss began gently, sweetly. Nothing more than lips smacking softly against each other, mouths kept closed then widening, allowing tongues to graze together before being swept inside and rubbing along each other. Moans started low and slowly increased in volume and urgency as the kiss became passionate, starting a burning lust in their groins.

Sasha's arms went around his neck, her leg around his waist as he pulled her closer, his hand rubbing up and down her back. He didn't want to let her go. He didn't want to break the kiss. As her body pressed against his hardness she began to rub along it, creating a friction that made him break free of her beautiful mouth and groan loudly.

She gripped his arm that was around her and freed herself from his grasp and slid off the bed standing before it. Jaws slack and in desperate need for more, Daryl sat on the edge of the bed and watched as she pulled the shirt up over her head, exposing her full and firm breasts to him.

"Holy. Shit," was all he could say as he eyed her dark nipples, hard and beckoning him. A smile crossed her face and she began to slowly push her panties down while his eyes darted between her soft mounds and the trim triangle between her legs.

Daryl stood and slowly took off his shirt, his eyes never leaving her, a tingling spreading all over his body. The moment his jeans moved past his rigid member it stood erect and swollen. Sasha licked her lips as she eyed it and he smiled at the blatant desire on her face. He kicked his pants away and stepped towards her. He felt a surge of nervous energy as his hands grazed the skin of her breasts, his thumbs rubbing the hard nipples. He bent his head down and pressed his lips once more against hers, licking his tongue at first her top then her bottom lip, sucking the latter inside his mouth and feeling the plumpness of it, savoring the feeling.

His mind was whirling. Sasha, his Sasha was naked, her soft breasts under his hands, her sweet lips on his, her tongue in his mouth, moaning for him. She needed him and he needed her more than he needed air at that moment.

He dropped his hands down to her ass, giving it a firm squeeze and scooped her up suddenly in his arms as she let out a surprised squeal, her legs wrapping around him. He carried her back to the bed and lay her gently on it, his mouth moving to her neck, his fingers stroking the wetness between her legs. He matched her every gasp with a groan, reveling in the feel of her beneath him. Her back arched up as he took a nipple in his mouth, her hips bucked as he slipped a finger into her slick heat which pulsed with excitement as he moved in and out of her.

This was better than the fantasies he had worked out in minute detail alone on his perch. Her skin was hot under his touch. Her core was dripping and wanting. Her body the most wondrous thing he had ever seen, ever felt. Curvy, full breasts, taut thighs, firm ass. All writhing under him as he slipped a second finger in her and moved his mouth to play with the other nipple. She gripped his hair and lifted her legs around his waist, unabashed in her pleasure.

His tongue tickled her skin as he licked down her, kissing at her stomach. He kept massaging his fingers inside her, sending ripples of excitement quivering through her body and settling in the pit of her stomach. She watched him, his hair falling down around his face and brushing lightly against her skin. His head went lower and he caught her eyes before pressing his mouth against her centre, licking slowly at her bud as his fingers continued to probe inside her.

She worked her hips against him, listening to him moan and grunt, getting pleasure from pleasuring her. The way he worked her body was with the same confidence he showed going up against danger. None of his timidness was there. Not even when he pulled his fingers free of her and sat up on his knees, sucking her wetness from them while his eyes traveled slowly along her body to meet hers.

He couldn't wait any longer. He was rock hard, almost in pain, and he needed to enter her. Feel her heat engulf him, wrap around him and suck him in. Her soft sighs had turned into loud cries as his fingers became soaked with her arousal. He nestled himself, on his knees, between her legs, moving close to her center. Her eyes, soft dark pools, watching him.

"You're beautiful Sasha," he whispered as he grabbed his member and stroked it along her slit, sending electric currents through him, before placing it against her precipice. He looked down so he could watch himself enter her.

"Wait, stop," Sasha said suddenly. The look Daryl gave her when her words registered was one of utter horror. "Stop, we can't."

Daryl let out a pained breath and bent his body until his head rested on her stomach. His bit his lips and fought a very real urge to simply cry. His heart was pounding in his ears and in the background he could hear Sasha speaking rapidly, but he couldn't make out her words. He simply let go of his painfully hard cock and squeezed his eyes shut, breathing heavily.

"I want to, I do, but," Sasha felt horrible for what she was doing. Her pussy was quivering with anticipation but her brain was telling her this wasn't the time. "There are no condoms, no birth control. I like you Daryl. I honestly do, but I don't want to risk a pregnancy with someone, anyone, I only like but don't love."

Her final speech had registered with him and he groaned. Always sensible, always cautious Sasha was speaking to him. And like always, it made sense. Horrible sense.

"If I were to have a baby in this world, I would need it to be with someone I loved. Who loved me. Where taking care of our child wouldn't be a burden. Where being a family wouldn't be an obligation."

"Okay, Sasha." Daryl took a deep breath and pulled himself away from her. "Okay." He stood up and went to pick up his clothes.

"Where are you going?"

"I can't lay next to you. Not tonight. Not when I'm feeling like this," he motioned to his still erect penis.

A smile broke out on her face and she sat up and faced him. "Daryl. Just because we can't have intercourse doesn't mean we can't do other things." She reached out and pulled him closer. Her hand wrapped around his erection and began to slowly stroke him. "There are other ways we can be together." His eyes closed as he enjoyed her hand on him. "Come back and I'll show you."

He stopped the motion of her hand and removed it from him, shaking his head. "Lay back down," he told her. "I want to do you first."

He moved between her legs, his fingers slipping back inside her, his lips back on her body, to continue what it was he had started.

-oOo-

Sasha could still taste herself on his lips as she kissed him. She could still feel the sensation of him at the back of her throat. Her pussy could still feel the orgasm he had given her with his tongue and fingers.

"That was okay?" She snuggled closer to him, both still naked, the quilt over them.

A soft serene smile crossed his lips as he nodded before kissing her again. Her head settled on his chest and he held her to him tightly, possessively.

"You wanna sleep here tonight?" he asked, a yawn escaping him.

"Yeah." She listened to his breathing, content and sated. Her eyes grew heavy under his rhythmic breaths and his fingers softly caressing the skin on her arm.

Daryl let out a low laugh. "I never would have thought you could get so loud."

She smacked at his arm, laughing herself. "You really think I'm uptight don't you?"

Daryl held his hand up to her and placed his thumb and forefinger an inch or two apart and chuckled at the indignant look she gave him. "I like it though. You got a good head on your shoulders."

They kissed again. Slow and deep, his hand stroking her cheek. After they pulled apart he rested his forehead against hers, trailing a finger along her hot skin. She moved back to laying her head on his chest while he stroked her shoulders in the comfortable silence they so often shared.

"Sasha?" his voice came softly in the dim light. "I don't want this to be some kind of...," Daryl shrugged, unsure of what he wanted to say. "This meant something to me. You mean something to me."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. For a long time now. I meant what I said before. I don't want to use you for sex and then act like buddies. What I feel for you, it's more than that. I want us to be more than that."

"So what do you want to be?"

"I wanna be your man Sasha."

She turned her head up and looked at him. "Could you love someone like me Daryl?"

"Easy." His eyes met hers, holding her gaze.

She moved closer to him. "I could love someone like you too."

The stroking of her arm stopped and she could feel his heartbeat become rapid beneath her head.

"You could?"

The shock in his voice was clear and she wanted, needed, to find a way to show him that he was worth so much. That a woman wanting to love him wasn't an anomaly, something far fetched or impossible.

"Yes Daryl. You're the fourth best man I know."

"Who are the other three?"

"My dad, Tyreese, and Hershel."

"That's some club." His voice was quiet as he spoke. Two of those men Sasha thought the world of. Loved and admired greatly. And Hershel. He was the glue that kept everyone together. The voice of reason, the voice of compassion, the person that forced the group to keep their humanity.

"And you belong in it Daryl Dixon and don't ever forget that."

Both arms encircled her and hugged her tightly.

"I'll...I'll try Sasha."

-oOo-

It was early when the walked out the bunker. The sound of water running in the shower could be heard as they opened to door that led out of the corridor behind the showers. Before they stepped out Daryl leaned down, holding his crossbow behind his back and kissed Sasha's neck as she hugged him to her.

They moved slowly and quietly through the showers so as not to disturb the person there. Sasha bent her head and looked beneath the curtain.

"No one's in there," she said, incredulous that someone would waste water in that way. She pulled back the curtain and turned the water off.

"Some of these people are such assholes," Daryl mumbled taking her hand in his.

They made their way along the halls towards their cell block. Going slower the closer they got and finally stopping a short distance from the entrance.

"What happens once we're in there?" Daryl turned to her, stepping so close their bodies touched.

"What do you want to happen?"

"I wanna be able to touch you and give you kisses without worrying Tyreese is gonna break my jaw."

Sasha laughed. "Tyreese won't break your jaw." She leaned her axe against the wall and tilted her head up and moved towards him for a kiss. Her eyes closed and she sighed as she felt his lips against her and she hooked her fingers in his belt loops to pull him in and keep him there.

Then there was screaming. Shrill, terrified. They broke apart looking around.

"Let's go," Daryl said breaking from her and running back down the hall, Sasha following.