AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry, this took me more time than I thought. Anyway, here it is... Hope you like it!

CHAPTER VII: IMPATIENCE

"You have a beautiful body. Had anybody told you that before?" He said, smiling, passing his finger from my neck to the end of my back. "Silly me! Of course somebody told you that. Probably, a lot of men, am I right?"

I sighed. My body was shivering, I couldn't control it. I was covering my breasts with one arm and my genitals with the other hand. Governor was behind me, again in that fucking room. But this time, instead of being tied up, I was naked. And very, very more scared.

"Yes."

He laughed quietly.

"Sure. With how many men have you slept?"

I took a deep breath.

"I don't know."

"Too much to count them, isn't it?"

I nodded. What else could I do? I didn't know what this man was capable of, but I wouldn't put a little piece of my trust in him. For what I could imagine, he was capable of anything.

"That's good. Men got to enjoy this body. Can you open a little your legs, honey?"

A feel of fear ran through my spine.

"The hell ya're doin', woman?"

I woke up with a gasp, my heart beating fast. Daryl was staying up beside me, I was laying on the floor, on a towel with my shorts and my t-shirt pulled up, leaving my belly on sight.

"Jesus, Dixon." I mumbled. "I was asleep. Wanna provoke me a heart attack?"

He shook his head.

"What ya doin'?"

I smiled at his irritated face.

"Sunbathin'."

"Ya think this is the right place for that?"

I looked around. Everybody was doing their things, some of them looking at us dissimulating.

"Yeah. Why not?"

Daryl bended down.

"Everybody's looking at ya."

I laughed.

"They're looking at us, Daryl. Cause you woke me up."

He shook his head, getting closer.

"Nah, they're lookin' at yar body."

I smirked as I looked down. My abdomen had four ugly scars that were turning redder with the sunlight. My legs had some of them too, but I used to wear shorts anyway.

"Maybe they're looking at my scars. Most of them are women."

He bit his lip.

"Don't care."

I looked around to see Rick was there talking with Hershel. As he saw me, he directed me a quick nod. I saluted him with the hand.

"Are you jealous, Dixon? Or is it that you wanna be the only one seeing my body?"

He smirked, licking his lips.

"Wanna come with me to the backyard for a minute?"

I raised my eyebrows and I got up, following him to the desolated backyard, so ruiny and lonely. He pushed me against a wall and his mouth crashed into mine. Four days had passed since our first kiss and we had been hiding to make out since then. Actually, we found out that the prison was a really crowded place and we had no time to be alone without anyone seeing us. The thing was like this: we hided away where we could, we kissed, we kissed more, the kiss turned deeper, we began to touch each other, and when we got really horny, someone appeared and we separated quickly, faking that nothing was going on. Then we came back with the others, feeling frustrated. After four days it was starting to be annoying.

Our tongues were twisting against each other, his hands down my hips, touching me, grabbing me. I bit his lower lip softly and he moaned, letting me get to his neck. I kissed it and bit it and licked it, going up his jaw, as his hand grabbed my ass, making me gasp of surprise. I passed my teeth over his facial hair, feeling it tickling in my lips.

"God, woman, I dunno how much I'll stand this…"

I reached his mouth again, kissing him roughly.

"Can't we go hunting someday? Surprisingly, the floor of the forest seems a comfortable place…" I whispered against his mouth, and I raised my head as he pulled my hair, then he started passing his lips over my neck. I surrounded his waist with my arms, biting my lip.

Then, of course, we heard someone was coming closer. We moved away.

"Hey, you're here." Beth said to me. "Can you help me with the baby?"

I nodded.

"Sure, Beth."

I followed her, but before turning away, I looked back to Daryl and muttered:

"Get a cold shower, Dixon."

He chuckled and nodded, puffing. I needed one too, actually.

At the afternoon, after spending some time with the little Katie while her mother was on her guard time, I decided to go find Maggie and Carol who were washing dishes in the kitchen, near the cafeteria. We appreciated a lot the water, so for washing we used to go to a little pond near the prison and took a couple buckets.

When I got to the kitchen, the two women were laughing, amused. I smiled.

"What's the joke?" I said, putting up my sleeves and starting to help them.

"We were unleashing our imagination." Carol said.

"Oh yeah? About what?" I asked.

Maggie made a shy smile. I hit her with my hip, trying to push her to tell me.

"About my wedding with Glenn. We were thinking of how it would've been if everything was like it used to be"

I nodded. I understood. The girls like Maggie think about their wedding since they are kids. It was a crap that her wedding will be celebrated in a prison yard, with all her friends dirty and on guard and with walkers all around the fences. Yeah, definitely, you didn't imagine your wedding's soundtrack would be a chorus of groans and moans from a bunch on dead people. That's not what a little girl thinks about her great day.

"Knowing you like I know you by now…" Maggie said, looking at me with her eyebrows raised. "I guess you think that getting married is stupid and useless. That we got most important thinks to do. Trying to rebuild the other part of the prison, going to find supplies, try to find the Governor…"

I shook my head, denying. I looked at her with a half smile.

"You're wrong, Maggie." I said. "I think it's beautiful that you've found someone like Glenn. That you've found your man. And it's good that you take a day to celebrate it. And I'll be happy to be there, if I can, and if you want."

Maggie and Carol were looking at me surprised.

"Wow. Thanks." Maggie said, giving me a quick (and a wet) hug.

"I never thought that you think like that, Ali." Carol said.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"In this days we better celebrate the good things, take our time to appreciate them. We don't know how much it's gonna last, so…"

They sighed, knowing that my words were true. I smiled.

"You know, when you told me you were unleashing your imagination, I didn't think about this." I said. Carol giggled.

"What did you think of?" She said.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I thought you've may be talking like 'I wish I was in a bed with Johnny Depp' or something like that." I said, chuckling, and wondering if the man would still alive. I hoped so, what a waste if he didn't. Maggie laughed.

"Oh no. But now you mention it, I wish I was in a desert island, with white sand and clear water, in my bikini's, sunbathing, eating strawberries…" She said with a sigh. I laughed.

"And Glenn?"

She smiled at me.

"He can be there too, if he wants to."

The three of us laughed out loud, like a group of friends hanging out.

"Then, I would like to be in a white and clean mansion, with a fancy dress and a really cold drink in my hand… something with vodka…" Carol said. "My imagination sucks, I know."

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh my God, am I the only one that would wish to be with a naked man? Good Lord, ladies…" I said, drying a plate.

Maggie and Carol laughed.

"And which man would you choose?" Maggie asked.

I tried to contain a smile, but I couldn't. God, I knew with who I would like to be. Carol, seeing I wasn't answering, hit me softly with her elbow.

"Does it begins with 'D' and ends with 'aryl'?" She said. I laughed, surprised and a little embarrassed.

"Carol!" I said. "God, is that obvious?"

Maggie laughed.

"Yeah, is really obvious. Then Carol is right?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I just wish we could have some time alone. And a bed. A comfy bed with white and clean sheets…" I sighed, imagining Daryl in that situation. Oh, my. The silky sheets around our bodies, silence surrounding us, only cut by the sound of our breaths… They laughed again.

"Maybe you should tell Daryl about your wishes." Carol said. I giggled.

"Trust me, he knows."

They both raised their eyebrows.

"You mean you two…" Maggie said. Her face was so funny I just burst into laughs.

"Oh Maggie… No, we haven't had sex… Yet."

"But there's something between you, right?" Carol asked. I nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. "Have you kissed him?"

I couldn't believe how gossips they were. We were finishing of washing dishes, and I was drying the last glass as I thought what to say. Hell, it wasn't a secret, and sooner or later somebody would see us. I took a long breath and then I nodded. The two women gasped, drying their hands and coming closer to me.

"Really?" Maggie said. "When?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Some days ago. The first kiss was in the guard tower, after our last hunting day."

"The first? That means you've kissed more times?" Maggie asked. I looked at her as if she had gone crazy.

"Sure, Maggie. Don't be faking you're innocent with me, I know 'bout your first kiss with Glenn, and what happened later…" Maggie blushed and hit me with a rag. I laughed, sticking out my tongue to her.

"Glenn told you?"

I shook my head.

"I won't say a word, but it wasn't Glenn." Actually it was Carol, but I wouldn't betray her.

"Never mind. So you and Daryl…" Carol said. I smiled.

"Dunno. We're exploring each other. We'll see how it goes."

Maggie nodded.

"Wow. Daryl…"

I raised an eyebrow at her face.

"What?"

"I don't know… he is always so closed, so rough, that I can't really imagine him…"

She bit her lip. I could see curiosity was killing her.

"Oh, God, Maggie, shoot."

She giggled.

"Is he a good kisser?"

I rolled my eyes.

"He's the best kisser." I said. The three of us started laughing like high school girls. It was almost ridiculous, but we just couldn't stop.

"Woman, ya wanna… oh." Daryl said from the door, stopping when he saw the three hyenas we had become with a confused face. "What happened?"

I shook my hand, indicating him he should better stay without knowing it.

"Oh, Daryl…" I laughed, trying to calm myself.

"Who's the one that can't stop laughin' now, huh? May I know the reason?"

I came closer to him, getting off the kitchen and waving goodbye to Maggie and Carol before closing the door.

"You wouldn't understand. It's girl's stuff"

He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

"Why were you looking for me?"

He raised his crossbow.

"I thought maybe ya wanted to know how to use this. Maybe ya're better with it than with the bow."

I opened my eyes widely, staring at his crossbow. Wow. Daryl Dixon would let me shoot his crossbow.

"I thought I couldn't touch it." He smiled.

"Now you can."

I smiled.

"I told you."

"Huh?"

"I told you someday you'll teach me. I didn't think it was gonna be this soon, but I told you."

He smiled and looked around us. We were alone in the cafeteria. He came closer and pulled a strand of my hair behind my ear. Then he gave me a short, sweet kiss. I bit my lip when we separated. I loved when he was that sweet, when we felt the intimacy between us.

"I know ya told me. Wanna come?"

I nodded, excited.

"Sure! I wanna know if it's as difficult as it seems or if you just chose the easiest weapon."

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"In yar hands, all weapons are difficult, so…"

I hit him softly in the arm.

"Ouch…"

"You deserve it! The problem isn't from the learner, it's from the teacher."

He denied with his head.

"Trust me, with yar aim, the fault is yours." He said chuckling. I puffed.

"I'm gonna kick your ass if you don't stop mocking on me, Dixon." I said, surrounding his hips with my arm as we walked. He surrounded my shoulders with his arm as he laughed.

"Easy, woman. Ya're gonna learn how to shoot." I nodded, smiling. But then he added: "Someday."

"Dixon, you're lucky to be damn handsome, if you weren't your nose would be bleeding by now." He laughed.

"Ya'd punch me?"

I nodded, but I was smiling. I liked the way the relationship was evolving. Now we were absolutely comfortable with each other, and we weren't afraid to say something wrong or to mess things up. I could notice it on him. He looked so… happy. He was always joking and mocking on me. I liked it. It's not that he had stopped being the thoughtful and kind of rough man he was. It's just the he felt more confident about me and what I wanted.

We got to the back yard and he made me face the dartboard. I bit my lip when he put the crossbow in my hands, with the arrow ready.

"I'll show ya how to load the crossbow another day. Now ya gotta shoot." He said as I raised the crossbow.

He guided me with his hands. One of his hands was in the lower part of my back, giving me balance, and the other was surrounding my hand, guiding my fingers to the trigger. I breathed deeply. His breath was hitting my neck, and the smell of cigarettes and sweat was driving me crazy. I knew that his smell should've stunk instead of being so terrifically attractive, but it just blurred my mind. It was Daryl. His hot body pressed against mine, as he directed me. I could felt his abdominals against my back, his chest, his strong arms surrounding me… a drop of sweat rolled down my forehead as I was starting to get hot. I looked at the bull's eye, and pressed the trigger.

The arrow hit three inches from the central point, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. Daryl chuckled, his body still against mine.

"Not bad, woman." He said. I sighed.

"You think I can concentrate?" I said, turning my head a little to look at him. He was looking at me, his blue eyes shining warmly. He raised his eyebrows.

"Why can't ya?"

I let go the crossbow with one of my hands, caressing deliberately slowly his arm till his shoulder. He looked at me without blinking, but I noticed his skin was reacting at my touch, his arm's hairs rising up.

"Cause I can't think 'bout arrows when you're this close to me." I turned around completely, facing him, pressing my body against his. He received my mouth with a low moan, holding me against him tightly. Our bodies were palpitating at the same time, reaching for more contact, thought it wasn't possible. I groaned as I let my hands go down, putting them beneath his shirt, touching his stomach. I sighed at his hard, sweaty, warm touch; I was really thinking about tear his clothes off. I pressed harder against him and he sighed against my lips.

"Woman, stop…" He said, though it didn't seem he really wanted me to stop. My hand made the way down to his zipper, but he grabbed my wrist gently. "Not here…"

I kissed him again, hungrily. I wanted him, and I wanted him now. I surrounded his neck with my arms, grabbing his hair, pulling him closer. He smiled against my lips.

"Ya can't help yourself, huh?"

I smirked.

"No, Daryl, I can't. I want it. I want you." He grunted at my words, grabbing my thighs and pushing me against the wall. I was breathing fast, my skin was burning.

A couple of voices brought us back to the Earth.

"I saw them coming this way." Glenn said as he came closer.

"They may be training… or not." Rick said, as he turned the corner and found us.

Though we had separated when we heard the voices, we were breathing hard, our faces inches apart, and his hands on my waist, my fingers grabbing his shirt with closed fists. Daryl was the first one to react, turning away from me, and all my body complained as he got further. I looked at the embarrassed and surprised men that were looking at us; Daryl was giving them his back. I could imagine why as he breathed slowly in and out.

"Uh… Well…" Rick said, scratching his neck, uncomfortable.

"Speak out, Sheriff." I said, sitting on the floor.

"We were looking for you." Glenn said, his face was red. I chuckled.

"For what? Some kid had scratched his knees? Or Judith is crying?" I said harshly. Rick sighed.

"No, actually, we are starting to need some supplies. Food, antibiotics, clothes… you know, all that stuff…" Rick said. Daryl turned around, looking at me for a moment and then looking at Rick.

"We thought maybe you two would like to go." Glenn said. "When you go hunting the result is great, and…"

"We'll go." Daryl said, nodding. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. I nodded too.

"Sure. If you need us to go…" I said, getting up from the floor. Rick and Glenn smiled. It was the perfect occasion; we'll be alone, far from the prison, in a car… maybe we could found some safe house with a big bedroom… I smiled.

"Great. Do you want anyone else to come with you?" Rick asked. "Michonne and Andrea offered themselves…"

I shook my head, denying.

"Actually, we'll go faster if we go alone." I said.

"Yeah, we know how to act together; we'll do better on our own."

The two men nodded.

"Ok. I'll give you a map. There are some stores we hadn't explored yet."

We nodded and followed Rick and Glenn inside the prison, to make a trail we can follow. I looked at Daryl by the eye's corner and whispered:

"Are you thinking the same I'm thinking?" He smiled, looking at me with his blue eyes on fire.

"Hell yeah."