Chapter 6

Days turned into many weeks and Daryl never found the opportunity to thank Dayna. He meant to seek her out the next day, but he and Aaron went hunting instead. One day turned into two and then too much time had gone by. He felt too uncomfortable just walking into the infirmary with other people around to talk to her, so instead he said nothing.

He had been hoping to work this out, but after all this time he figured it was just too late. Daryl was completely miserable and most everyone was a recipient of his foul mood. He missed Dayna tremendously, but he didn't know how to fix it. He still felt that it wasn't fair that he had to make all of the changes. Plus, even though she had left him those gifts on the bed all those weeks ago, he didn't think she wanted him back.

He figured he had been alone for so long, that maybe that was the best option for him. He didn't notice that his survivor family was currently walking on eggshells around him. While he had always been the quiet, and sometimes the surly loner, now he was argumentative and angry most of the time. Carol was ready to kick his stubborn ass out of the house, but Rick wouldn't let her.

No matter what he did or how many times he ventured beyond the security of those high walls the serenity he had felt when he and Dayna were together never came back. He was restless all over again. The only thing he knew to do was to keep going outside. He was doing occasional recruiting with Aaron and when they weren't doing that, he was on supply runs or hunting…anything to get him outside the community that was closing in on him…and away from Dayna.

Dayna on the other hand instead of being her normally bubbly personality had turned quiet. Only when she was in a situation where Daryl was briefly present did she force herself to put on a smile and pretend everything was wonderful. She would be damned if he saw her as miserable as she really was. It only gave her a little satisfaction to hear how much he was pissing everyone off. It actually made her sadder than anything as she knew they belonged together.

She was folding laundry in the infirmary one day when she realized that she hadn't gotten her period yet. That broken condom from their last afternoon in the shower was still hanging over her head. She wasn't always regular either so she could be pregnant or just one of those skipped months that happened now more than ever. Dayna knew she wasn't showing any of the symptoms of a pregnancy, but that didn't mean anything. There weren't any pregnancy kits in the infirmary so she had to just wait and see. If she was that would mean a very uncomfortable conversation with Daryl.

The memory of the day that she left Daryl flew into her head without warning. It almost crushed her. Dayna had to sit down as even after all these weeks, it still brought tears to her eyes. She had barely made it to her room before she broke down in uncontrollable sobs. It had been years since she cried that hard and felt this devastated. She would still go running back to him in an instant if she thought they could work through their issues, but Daryl didn't seem to understand what was wrong. Sure, her complaints were small, but it was the fact that he didn't even care enough about her to make the effort.

The peace offering of the bolts and cigarettes had gotten her nowhere. He hadn't even said thank you to her, so she was pretty sure he was absolutely finished with them being a couple.

Ultimately, it was stupid for them to have broken up, but Dayna knew it actually went deeper than what they argued about. It always did. She didn't know how she was suffocating him, but maybe she should have asked him. She was never a clingy girlfriend and didn't think she was that way with him. They lived together and since they only had a room to call their own, they were together a lot. Isn't that what couples wanted anyway?

Daryl had always been different than any other guy she had ever dated. He was so used to being by himself, maybe he wasn't ready to live with someone, but then again hadn't he been with his group for years basically doing just that? He was such a confusing man.

Dayna finished the folding of the laundry and put it away. There was nothing left for her to do, so she told Denise she was headed home. During the short walk, she told herself that she had to start moving on with her life. Thinking about Daryl all the time was not helping her get over him. This wasn't the first or the fourth time she had told herself this, but she needed to start taking her life back. There had to be life after Daryl Dixon.

She was almost past the house she used to live in with him and the others when Carol called out to her and she turned to greet her. "Hey, Carol. What's up?"

Carol smiled brightly at Dayna. "I felt like cooking today, so I made a big dinner for everyone. I want you to come." Carol didn't think that Dayna would join them unless she convinced her to if she thought Daryl was going to be there. The two of them had been hiding from each other way too long. It was time to at least get them in the same room for a little while.

"I don't know Carol, I'm not sure…" Dayna started to say, but Carol interrupted her.

"I know what you are thinking and you belong there with us. You are part of this family too. I don't even know if Daryl's going to be there. I haven't seen him all day to let him know. Come and be with your family," she told her. Carol was being very sincere. Dayna had become a part of their survivor family and maybe if she could put her and Daryl in the same room for more than thirty seconds, they would see how stupid they were being.

Dayna thought for a moment and realized that there was no reason for her not to go. If Daryl was there well then, she would just have to deal with it. "Yes, I will come. What time?"

"Around six. And Dayna for the record, I heard you two the day you left the house. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you guys got kinda loud. I told Daryl he was being selfish and needed to basically man up. "

Dayna's eyes widened in surprise, "You said that to Daryl? What did he say?"

"He didn't like it for sure. You know how they say it hard to teach an old dog new tricks, well that's Daryl. His whole life it's been just him and his brother. He hasn't had to have anyone else in his life in a real long time. I'm not sure he knows how to live that way."

"Do I just give up on him?" Dayna asked.

"Hell no," Carol said vehemently. "You are the best thing that ever happened to him and he will realize it. Having a girlfriend was new for him, and he's not used to that. He'll come around. I know he will. He'll have to, cause from what I could tell you both really enjoyed the sex. No guy's going to give that up," she laughed.

Dayna felt he cheeks flush with embarrassment. Carol's room was next to theirs, she must have heard them. "Oh God, were we that loud? I'm so embarrassed!"

"For as often as you called out his name, he must be pretty damn good in bed," Carol teased.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Dayna didn't know whether to laugh or crawl under a bush to hide. "I can't believe you heard us. I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be," Carol told her. "Between you two, Rick and Michonne and Sasha and Abraham, I'm surprised I get any sleep at all."

"Thank God it's not just us," Dayna laughed. "I'll see you at six." Dayna turned to head to her house but stopped. "Carol?"

"Yes, Dayna?"

"He's really good," she told her with a wink before heading towards her house. Carol laughed her way back into hers.

Dayna made sure that she showered, lightly made up her face and dressed casually, but made sure she wore one of her tighter low cut shirts. If Daryl was there he needed to see what he was missing and he did love her breasts.

By chance, she met Maggie and Glenn in the living room so they all walked over together. Dayna was glad not to be showing up on her own, she was nervous enough as it was. When she looked around the living room she saw Rick, Michonne, Eugene, Tara and Denise, Sasha and Abraham and Carl was playing with his sister. Maggie and Dayna headed to the kitchen to help Carol. Daryl was notably absent.

"Is Rosita coming?" Dayna asked.

"No, she isn't. She's pulling away from us more and more," Carol replied.

Maggie looked at Dayna, "We're going to have to talk to her. She's as much as part of this group as anyone. Just because of what happened between her and Abraham, doesn't mean she needs to stay away."

"Exactly. Look at me, I'm here. I told Daryl I wasn't giving up you guys, because he has his head in his ass," Dayna said rolling her eyes.

"And you shouldn't have to," Carol replied while pulling dishes out of the oven. "I haven't even seen him let him know we are having a family dinner tonight. If he shows, he shows."

While the girls waited for Carol to tell them what she wanted them to do, Maggie asked Dayna how she was doing. "Okay, I guess. I miss him. I still don't understand how we ended up where we are, but he needed space…so I hope he's enjoying it because frankly, it sucks," she told her friend.

"I'm sorry, Dayna," Maggie said giving her a comforting smile.

"Alright girls, grab the plates and silverware. I'm almost ready to go," Carol told them. The girls hurried to get everything out and in the meantime Father Gabriel showed up to join them, but there was still no sign of Daryl.

Everyone helped themselves to a plate and then made themselves comfortable wherever they could. Dayna against her better judgment sat on the window seat that she used to share with Daryl. He wasn't here and it was better than the floor.

They had only been eating for a couple minutes when the roar of a motorcycle engine filled the room. Dayna looked up and caught Carol's eye. Silently, they both hoped that he would join the group, but Daryl never was too predictable.

The conversation continued to flow throughout the room with no one aware of Dayna's racing heart. She was praying hard that he would join them. They hadn't talked since they broke up and she wanted to know how he was doing. However, she was still scared to death.

Daryl parked his bike and headed up the stairs to the house. He briefly glanced next door, but the house looked dark and quiet. He wondered for not the first time how Dayna was. His time out beyond the walls wasn't helping him. He felt worse about his life now than he did when he was with her. He never felt bad when they were together, he just was feeling suffocated a little bit and maybe he had blown things out of proportion. He missed her really badly.

He climbed the steps to the front porch and walked through the door into a room crowded with people. He was not expecting that. His eyes instantly found Dayna's and saw she was sitting on their window seat. She smiled at him before going back to eating.

"Hey Daryl, grab a plate and join us," Rick called out. He felt the hesitation in Daryl, "Man, get some dinner. We haven't all been together in a long time."

Daryl knew he couldn't say no, so he headed to the kitchen where Carol was fixing her own plate. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Just a family dinner," she told him. That's what she told everyone, but no one was aware of her ulterior motives.

He looked at her suspiciously, but picked up a plate and started scooping food onto it. Daryl turned to figure out where to sit as he watched Carol take the last chair in the room. The only place left was the floor or next to Dayna. Why did he feel like Carol did that on purpose? He'd bet anything that she did. Daryl did the only thing he could do, which was to sit next to Dayna.

"Hey," he mumbled as he sat down.

"Hey yourself," she said softly. "How've you been?"

"Alright. What's this all about?" he said nodding his head at the room.

"Just dinner together I think. Carol said she felt like cooking for everyone, so here we are."

They ate in quiet for a little while as everyone around them was laughing and talking. "You look good," he said to her without taking his eyes off his plate. He was afraid to talk to her. They had been as intimate as two people could be for a long time and now he was afraid to talk to her. He was afraid that she would reject him like most of the people he had ever loved in his life. He still loved her.

"Thanks," Dayna told him with a shy smile. "So do you."

"I look like shit." His clothes were old and dirty and his hair was its usual mess.

"Yeah, but it works for you. It always did." Daryl was the type of man that cleaned up or dirty as he was from being on the road on his bike, he looked good either way. Even though Dayna used to tease him about being hotter when he was a mess, she really meant it. Daryl Dixon pulled off dirty and messy better than any other man on the planet.

"Always thought you needed your eyes checked," he chuckled. As stupid as he has been, he was certain of one thing…that he still loved her. She was talking to him and there wasn't a hint of anger in her voice. He took a quick glance over to her and noticed how great her boobs looked in that tight shirt. There was plenty of cleavage showing and that was always his downfall.

Dayna was about to take a big chance. She leaned over and whispered to him," You'll always be the hottest guy in the room."

Daryl almost dropped his plate when she said that. He never believed that, but if she did that was all that counted. He didn't say anything to her, but bumped his shoulder into hers. When she looked at him, he gave her one of his half smiles where the corner of his mouth just lifted a little bit. His eyes softened and that look got her every single damn time. Dayna smiled back at him. She was ecstatic that he was not only talking to her after all these weeks, but he was the Daryl that she loved. The anger was gone…at least for now.

Carol was watching them from across the room. As she made herself look busy in the kitchen, she saw Daryl and Dayna talking…then laughing. Her impromptu dinner had worked. With a satisfied smile on her face, she started to wash up a few things in the sink.

"So that's what this dinner was for," drawled Rick as he put his empty dinner plate on the counter.

Carol gave him an innocent look, "What are you talking about?"

"You did this to get them together in the same room, didn't you?" Rick had figured out that Carol was playing matchmaker.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Rick. But it's nice to see them talking again. If Daryl could get over being such an idiot about her, they could fix this. Talking is a start isn't?" she told him.

Rick laughed. He knew that Dayna had finally won Carol over as a friend when she saved Daryl's life. "This could backfire on you, Carol."

Carol stopped washing and looked at Rick. "All I did was have a family dinner. Anything else is on them."

Rick didn't totally believe her, but headed back to Michonne and Carl when he saw Dayna approaching them with two plates in her hand. She stopped at Eugene and took his finished plate too.

"Let me wash, you cooked," Dayna told Carol pushing her out of the way. People started bringing the dinner plates in so Dayna kept washing as more and more showed up on the counter. She looked up at Daryl who indicated with a head bob that he was going outside. "He needs a cigarette," she thought to herself.

While multiple conversations flowed around her in the kitchen, Dayna concentrated on washing and thinking about Daryl. After weeks of not talking and him avoiding her, tonight was a surprise. Not only did he sit next to her, but he talked to her. Maybe, just maybe they could work things out. They needed to get through the issues that they had or nothing would change and they would be back broken up before long.

Living in such a small community made it really hard when a couple broke up. Daryl did a good job of staying scarce, but he was still around. Rosita was continuing to having a difficult time seeing Abraham and Sasha together. Sometimes living this close with everyone simply sucked.

Daryl was smoking at the railing when Rick wandered out. They acknowledged each other with a quick nod.

"You gonna stay put here anytime soon? Seems you're always taking off lately," Rick asked.

"Maybe." Daryl took another drag from his cigarette. They stood in the quiet of the night for a few minutes. "Can I ask you sumthin'?"

"Yep."

"Are all women a pain in the ass?"

Rick burst out laughing. "Man, don't let them hear you say that. You'll be living in a cold, cold world."

"Already am, man. Umm…when you were married did you have to… you know…pick up your shit and stuff?" Daryl asked.

"Dude, I did that as a kid. My mom was adamant about that. She was my mom, not my maid I heard countless times. It just carried over and Lori did the same thing with Carl. Why ya ask?"

"Cause that was one of the things that was pissing Dayna off. She kept harpin' on me about that and the fuckin' toilet seat," Daryl admitted to Rick.

Rick rolled his eyes at him. "Daryl, the number one rule in any relationship is the seat goes down. How many times has she fallen in?"

Here Daryl had been thinking she was after him about petty shit, when it wasn't life or death important, but who knew that when you're living with someone it was shit he had to do. Why didn't he know this? Because he grew up with selfish crazy men who never gave a shit about anything, that's why. He was the one that was wrong, just like Carol said.

Once Daryl realized that, his attitude towards Dayna instantly changed. He was the cause of all his problems, not her. Sure she nagged him, but he was a slob and he should have listened to her.

"I bet it's been at least a dozen times. I never listened to her. Fuck, Rick. I felt like she was suffocating me, when all along I was the one fuckin' up," Daryl said hanging his head.

"Sounds like you have some groveling to do, bro. And I just heard her saying goodnight to Carol, so fix it with her. You've been a pain in the ass to live with."

Daryl chuckled, "Yeah, I have been. Sorry, man."

"Don't apologize to me, tell her. She's the only one that'll put up with your sorry ass, you better keep her," Rick laughed.

Daryl gave his best friend a shove. He couldn't deny that Rick as right. He had to fix this with Dayna and since she was nice to him tonight, that gave him hope that they may have a chance. Before he could curse out his friend in fun, the front door swung open and Dayna stepped outside. Rick kissed her cheek and went inside.

"Guess I'm going to head home," she told him. "It was nice tonight."

When Daryl didn't answer her, Dayna started down the steps. "Hey, wanna go for a walk?" he asked her suddenly.

She stopped half way down to the sidewalk and closed her eyes. A smile came across her face before she turned back to him. "Yes."

Daryl could only grunt his approval as he couldn't trust his mouth not to screw this up. Together they headed down the stairs and automatically headed towards the grassy area where they used to go watch the stars. Their hands bumped together a couple times before Daryl took her hand into his. It was a start.