Thanks to everyone following this story! Feedback/comments/critiques are encouraged and appreciated! J The song featured is "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran. I do not own any rights to the song, lyrics, or Ed Sheeran himself.

Disclaimer:

I'm the author of this story. The Walking Dead is the source of the original work. Daryl Dixon/OC fantasy. I don't know Daryl Dixon, do not own the character Daryl Dixon, and do not mean to cause harm, confusion or headaches. This story is simply intended for enjoyment of the readers. Please don't sue me!

The sharp squall of Judith crying broke the morning, and I woke with an aching tiredness I felt straight to my bones. Daryl was still snoring softly beside me, for once in his life sunk in a heavy sleep. I felt my lips turn up into a smile as they brushed a soft kiss on his forehead before slipping out of his arms, and out of our bed.

I dressed quickly, joints popping as I stretched out the sore muscles. Looking over my shoulder at him, still sound asleep, I felt my eyes well thinking of just how much I cared for that man.

I slipped through the sheet tied up as a make-shift door to our cell, and made my way down to the others, the screams bleating louder and louder the closer I came to the common area. I met Rick's bloodshot eyes, wide with panic as he rocked a squalling Judith, and couldn't help the smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth.

"Beth and Carol went on a run, Judith woke an hour ago and I fed her and burped her but she just won't stop crying," his words tumbled out on a huff of air, rushed and so lost.

A full blown smile burst on my face as I reached my arms out towards the baby. "Here," I cooed softly, wrapping Judith into my arms and starting to sway.

"Go," I whispered to Rick, nodding my head towards the door as Judith started to settle in my arms, still hiccupping little cries.

A song from before the turn of the world flitted back to me on the breeze then, and before I had time to think I heard myself starting to sing.

"When your legs don't work like they used to before

And I can't sweep you off of your feet

Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?

Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70

And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23

And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways

Maybe just the touch of a hand

Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day

And I just wanna tell you I am.."

Beth came in as I finished the verse, Judith snoring softly in my arms. "Thank you! I can take her off your hands now that we're back," she whispered, slipping her arms under mine as I released Judith to her.

"No problem, anytime," I whispered back, turning to look up into a steely blue gaze, the owner of which leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, an expression I couldn't read across his face.

My heart fluttered in my chest as I walked up, and he nodded towards the side, indicating I should follow him out into the sunlight of the yard.

"What's the plan for the day?" Daryl asked, shading his eyes as he surveyed the yard.

I thought for a minute. What did I want to do today? "Target practice," I said suddenly. I could fight pretty well up close, my run-in with those men proved that, but when it came to shooting from a distance I knew my skills were lacking.

Daryl nodded, a hum of agreement coming from his throat. "We found a huge stash of weapons in an armory further in the prison. Carol's working with Maggie on that today too, if you wanna join 'em."

I nodded, excited for the opportunity to practice my skills and have some quality girl time. "What's on your agenda for the day?"

He jerked his head over towards Rick out in the yard. "Helpin' reinforce them gates, then first watch in the guard tower tonight."

I nodded and brushed my fingertips over his, smiling softly up at him and bumping my head against his shoulder.

He snorted, bringing his arm around to pull me in by the shoulders into his chest, where I breathed deep into that leather, sweat, and the musty smell that was uniquely Daryl. "Join me on watch, bring your rifle and you can get some practice in," he whispered into my ear.

I hummed an agreement into his chest then closed my eyes and sighed, just taking him in in one last breath, before sliding out of his arms to head off to find Carol. I felt him watching as I walked away, and couldn't help but swing my hips a little more, throwing a wink over my shoulder when I caught his eye.

Practicing with Carol and Maggie as tough but rewarding, and by the end of the afternoon I was far more confident than I started out that morning, landing each of my shots dead center of the bullseye time after time. By the time I finished dinner the sun had long set, and I made my way over the yard and climbed the steps of the watch tower. I breathed shallowly through my nose, carefully placing my steps, trying to creep towards Daryl without him knowing, a smile as I thought of his face if I managed to startle him.

It was hopeless, of course. As soon as I crept through the doorway and peaked around to look at his back, sprawled out in his chair, I heard a snort. "Herd of elephants coulda' came up them stairs quieter 'en you," he teased, snickering at me.

I huffed and walked up past him, feigning annoyance, but I know I didn't fool him for a second. I set up the rifle and glanced back to get up, but he shook is head, smirking. "Think you're just gonna be able to pop a squat every time you gotta shoot?"

I rolled my eyes, shook my head, but begrudgingly hummed an agreement, turning back around to stand and pick my target out of the walkers lining the fence in the distance. I exhaled, relaxing my shoulders, sinking into my stance like I'd practiced. I took a final deep breath in, and on the exhale prepared to shoot. Just as I was pulling the trigger, a finger tickled the back of my neck, grazing the sensitive skin below my hair, and I moaned as I fired, shot wide right and missing anything completely.

I whipped around to a chuckle and snort. "What the hell?" I pretended to be angry, playfully shoving him, but he knew better.

"Think ya won't have any distractions, neither?" He asked, full on grinning at me now.

I bit my lip and narrowed my eyes, trying to shake the shiver still rippling through me from his touch, before turning around to line up my next shot. Breathed out, relaxing, then in and prepared to fire on the exhale. I was ready this time, when those fingers, rough but light as a feather, tickled the slip of skin peaking out where my shirt had ridden up a bit on my lower back, just above my jeans. I huffed with pride as the walker, and even from here I knew my shot was perfect between its' dead eyes.

I turned to gloat, eyes dancing in the moonlight, a smirk on my lips. "Figured you'd hit one, sooner or later anyways," he drawled, rolling his eyes. I flushed and narrowed my eyes, snorting at him as I turned around to line up my next shot. Before I could take my stance strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me onto his lap as he took the rifle out of my hands and set it on the floor.

I wound my arms around his neck and prepared to feign annoyance until I met his eyes, soft and warm, as he looked at me again with that same unreadable expression from this morning on his face.

I looked back, eyes searching his face, trying to see into those eyes. "What's the next part of the song?" he asked softly, his voice thick, rumbling like thunder out of his chest.

I felt my cheeks get hot as my ears got pink, but settled down into his lap a bit as I twined one of my hands into his hair.

"So, honey, now

Take me into your loving arms

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

Place your head on my beating heart

I'm thinking out loud

Maybe we found love right where we are."

I was bright red by the end of it, and prayed the moonlight hid my face enough from his. A big hand came up to cradle my face, pulling me in for a kiss. He was slow, unhurried, exploring like he wanted to taste every inch of my mouth, one slide of his tongue at a time. I sighed into his mouth as I tilted my head, deepening it further, then closed my lips to lightly suck his tongue as it entered for another taste into my mouth. He groaned into my mouth, and I felt his erection pressing against my hip, straining against his jeans, as he pulled away from the kiss.

"How much longer are you on watch duty?" I asked him, my voice heavy and breathless all at once as I whispered into his ear.

"Hour or so," he rasped out, low and deep.

I swallowed and tried to catch my breath, resting my forehead against his for a few moments, listening as his breathing calmed too. Finally feeling my head come down, just a bit, from the clouds, I pulled my head back to look into his eyes. "Meet you in our room?"

He smiled, his mouth spreading into a sexy grin, eyes hot and burning into mine. "Count on it," he rumbled, and I felt myself shiver as those words shot straight to my clit. I closed my eyes and sighed as I slipped out of his lap, and couldn't help the tremble as his fingertips grazed my bare skin on my hip as his hands fell down to rest on his knees. He hummed at me, eyes darkening into a warmer blue, and I smiled softly while trailing my fingertips up his arm from wrist to shoulder as I walked past him, headed back to our cell for the night.

I lit a few tea candles I'd found and slipped out of everything but my black lace panties and bra set, freshly cleaned that morning. I laid on our bed to wait for him, but with the exhaustion from the past few days, felt my eyes drift shut after a few minutes.

I was warm, my body on fire as heat pooled low in my belly, flickering out to curl around my nipples, my clit. Goosebumps rose across my skin as I felt a trail of fire flicker down the side of my neck, over my chest, down to the side of my hip. I moaned, arched my back, straining for some form of release, and a deep chuckle rolled up to my ear.

I gasped eyes fluttering open, finding myself staring into two deep pools of blue, sparkling up at me from between my legs, hovering just above my belly button. "Oh, Daryl," I moaned, tossing my head back to sigh as the pad of his thumb traced down my hip to my inner thigh, so close to grazing where he knew I wanted him.

"Ya fell asleep on me," he pretended to be angry, his voice raspy and deep, sending a tremor straight down between my thighs. "Gonna pay for that," he rumbled, eyes sparkling as they met mine while he lowered himself between my thighs, spreading them wide.

He blew softly into the apex, lips hovering above the wet lace of my panties, sending a fresh wave of goose bumps dancing across my thighs. Slowly, ever so slowly, he pushed his nose into the fabric against my clit, and I felt him inhale deep, making me whine deep in my throat. He chuckled against my skin, dragging his tongue to trace the outline of the lace, hands holding firm as I tried to buck up against his face.

"Mm mm," he hummed at me, shaking his head. "Gotta tell me what ya want," he growled, alternating between rubbing his nose into my clit and licking the edges, teasing and teasing as my head spun and I gasped for air.

"Please," I whispered, voice husky and strained as I squirmed under his tight hands, desperately trying to push closer.

"Please, what?" He whispered, tone thick and deep, as he continued those torturing circles with his nose and mouth.

I let out a loud moan. "Please, take my- ahh- my thong of and-" I broke off on a sigh as his finger swept up to play, teasing the edge of lace, grazing my inner thigh.

"Hmm" he hummed, open mouthed against my clit as I bit back another loud moan.

My hands gripped the sheets tightly, and I tried to stop the spinning in my head, tried to force the words out. "Please, mmm, make me –ohh- come," I whined again as a second finger joined the first, teasing the other side of lace, hooking under, then before I knew it he was pulling, tearing my panties in half, ripping them off and throwing them across the room as I panted, back arched and needing, needing him to help me find some sort of release.

His mouth came down on my clit, licking and sucking like he knew I liked, while he slid two fingers in deep, groaning. "Fuck, you're so wet," he moaned deep, continuing to thrust his fingers into me as he licked my clit.

I felt my body tightening as I held tight to the sheets, back arching, trying to bit back the moans rolling out of me. He brought me right to the edge, body quivering as I whined a protest, then he withdrew, kicking his pants and boxers off. He wrapped a big hand around my knee and pushed it up towards my shoulder while he held my other thigh down out at my side, then thrust his dick into me, hard and full, taking my breath away on a sob as he filled me completely.

I came almost instantly as he entered me a second time, body quivering and convulsing around him, squeezing tight and pulling him deeper as he growled in my ear, thrusting harder and faster until he collapsed over me, spilling into me as he moaned my name, head coming down to rest against mine.

We lay like that as our breathing slowed, foreheads together while he hovered over me, and I ran my fingertips in slow, lazy circles around his back and shoulders. He slid down to my side, keeping an arm and leg thrown over me as he tucked himself into my neck and breathed deep. "Don't stop," he grumbled, as I shifted to snuggle in closer, resting my head on top of his hair.

I chuckled but obeyed, continuing to run my nails and fingers over his shirt, down the skin of his biceps, then back across his back. He mumbled something I couldn't quiet catch as he sighed into my neck, then reached to pull a blanket over us before re-settling his arm over my chest.

I sighed, still running my fingers over him under the blanket, and listened as his slow, steady breathing turned into a soft snore. I smiled, and turned my head down to kiss the top of his, eyes welling as I thought again of how much he was coming to mean to me, thinking of how he made my heart swell, how empty I felt when he wasn't around, how fluttery I felt as soon as he was. It took until the end of the world, but I felt like I finally found the piece of my heart I didn't know was missing. Found it in the rough, strong man beside me, and knew I never wanted to let him go. As I drifted off to sleep beside him, a word bounced in an out of my thoughts, barely a whisper before it fled then flitted back again. Love, it echoed, a call from the depths of my soul.