Chapter 7

Daryl and Dayna walked hand in hand towards the grassy field where they used to star gaze from. Neither of them said a word as they headed down the deserted street with only the dim light from the half-moon guiding them. Dayna wasn't sure what to make of this. A walk sure…that may get them talking, but Daryl holding her hand? That was very unexpected and confusing.

After not talking to each other for well over a month, Dayna was sure that Daryl was through with her. Tonight completely changed everything, as a little forced conversation now had them strolling the empty streets of Alexandria hand in hand.

A few months ago, Daryl had made a bench that sat in the open lot so they didn't have to always sit on the ground. Besides star gazing, the quiet darkness encouraged conversations that he found easier to have here. Daryl never found it comfortable to open up to people. He never had to in his previous life, so he always kept everything bottled up inside. Dayna had taught him how to open up more, but it still wasn't easy. Breaking up proved that.

They both sat down on the bench that had two small intertwining D's carved into it if you knew where to look. He marked it as theirs. He wasn't good at romance and it made him a bit uncomfortable, but when he showed this to Dayna, she started to cry. It was his way of showing his commitment to her, and it made her love him even more. Too bad things were a bit different between them now.

Daryl leaned forward so his forearms rested on his thighs. He couldn't say what he had to say if he looked at her, so he just kept looking at the ground. He was so nervous his hands were sweating and that was something that hasn't happened to him since he was a kid.

Dayna turned her body to his so she could see him in the moonlight. "Daryl?" she said softly. He didn't answer her, but she saw him close his eyes and clench his fists. "Oh no," she thought to herself, "This looks bad."

"Dayna…I fucked up. I told you I was gonna and I did."

She looked at him slightly confused, "What do you mean?"

"Told you I ain't done nuthin' like this before and I was gonna fuck it up. Look at us. We ain't spoken a word to each other in weeks…and it's killing me," he admitted. "I miss ya."

A smile spread across Dayna's worried face. "I miss you too. Talk to me, Daryl. We can fix this if we are honest with each other." She saw him shake his head in agreement. "Look at me please."

Daryl turned his head towards Dayna. She reached out and brushed his long bangs out of his eyes and rested her palm on his face. She would never stop loving him. "Why do you feel I suffocate you?"

"Everything does that to me and I was puttin' most of the blame on you. Let me try to get this out." Daryl sat up and relaxed his back against the wood of the bench. "I always hated being home when I was a kid. Before my Ma died, she and my old man would fight nonstop and if they weren't fightin' you knew they were drinkin'. Either way, I'd rather be any place else but home, so I spent a lot of time outside. The only decent times I remember was when I was fishin' and huntin'. I learned to camp, track and hunt…in the end I guess that's all I really ever needed. "

Daryl was more prepared to survive the apocalypse than most people. He easily lived outdoors and could live on the wildlife he hunted. It was what he knew and it had served him well during these last few years.

He took a deep breath before going on. "When the world went to shit, and we were constantly on the move, even though I was with this group, I could still be my own man. Take the walkers away and it was my old fuckin' life. But Alexandria was different. Sometimes the walls of the house close in on me. I ain't used to a place like this. I grew up in run down shacks...each one worse than the next. All of this here is almost too much."

Daryl had talked to Dayna about his past before, but now he was telling her how it felt. He was such a lost soul. She took his left hand in hers and let him continue.

"Now you come into my life and I fought it…fought hard," he said with a little smile.

"You can say that again!" Dayna laughed. "You were so stubborn that we wouldn't work, that you weren't good enough for me. I've told you this before, with the exception of my Daddy, you are the best man I have ever known. "

It was easy to see that Daryl still didn't believe her. "I know you have years of people telling you that you were a worthless piece of shit, and I know you certainly weren't a choir boy before the turn, but the man you are now is what counts Daryl. You're the man that everyone here looks up to, that everyone here counts on and doesn't let us down. You always put yourself before anyone else when there is any chance of danger. You stopped to warn a complete stranger that they were walking into a certain death trap at the risk to yourself and friends. That's one hell of a man and …that's the man I love."

"Is that really how you see me?" he asked softly. Her words were overwhelming.

"Absolutely and it's not just me, Daryl. It's how everyone sees you. Rick may be in charge here, but you are always the first person he goes to for help. He trusts you completely as do I. Don't you see that?" It still broke her heart that he could never see the good in himself.

He thought about her words for a second. He was different now…a better man than he used to be. He liked the friendships he had and family they all had become. He really needed to stop living in the past.

Dayna could see the acceptance wash over him. It was like the light bulb finally came on.

"I think I'm startin' to finally get it," he admitted. "I'm sorry I've been such a fuckin' ass to you. You didn't deserve it."

"I'm still confused about how you feel suffocated. We never got to the end of that and we need to so we can move forward. I get how Alexandria makes you feel at times, but what about me? How did I play into this?" she asked him. If they stood any chance of working this mess out, they needed to talk it all through.

"I'm forty-fuckin'-two years old and living with someone like you is new to me. I've lived with my brother and this group for a long time, but with you it's different. Back then I still answered to me, and did what I wanted to, but now I'm supposed to be thinking about you too and I ain't used to that. I told you I was gonna fuck us up and I did. Apparently being the slob I am and also the inconsiderate prick who laughs when you fall into the toilet is me totally being a selfish dick. I thought you were naggin' like my Ma did, I had no idea it was me doin' it wrong. It started to get to me and everything started to close in on me and I didn't know what to do." Daryl never liked to admit when he was wrong. His father taught him to apologize was a sign of weakness and he couldn't have been more wrong. Admitting to Dayna how he felt and apologizing for screwing them up, was the right thing to do. That was being a man.

Dayna finally had the full picture of what was going on in his head. She was silently kicking herself for not picking up on it. How many times did he have to tell her he was clueless at relationships before she understood how deep that went?

"Daryl, we need to work together. We are going to argue, all couples do, but we can't let it pull us apart. I shouldn't have walked out like I did. You said that you needed space, then we should have figured out what that was, instead of me storming off. That was completely wrong of me," she admitted.

"Let's make a deal, when you feel like everything is starting to close in, please tell me. If you need to go for a ride, then go. Whatever, you need, I will help you," she told him. She would do anything for him. "My Mama used to say, 'There's nothing worse than an outdoor cat thinking he's an indoor cat' and that's you. Sometimes you just gotta be that outdoor cat and that's okay." They were working everything out and Dayna couldn't be more thrilled, now all they had left to do was to make it official.

A past memory hit Daryl. He hadn't thought about Joe in a very long time. Daryl had joined Joe's ragtag group of dangerous men as he had no one else after he lost Beth. Joe had said the same thing to him and they were both right. You couldn't cage him. He needed his freedom sometimes. And Dayna got that. Why hadn't he just told her when he felt everything was closing in on him?

Daryl shook his head as he smiled, "Why do you fuckin' put up with me?"

Dayna squeezed the hand she still held. "Because I love you Daryl. It's as simple as that."

"I am the luckiest son-of-a-bitch in this fucked up world." Daryl pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I love you too." The emotion he felt had his normally coarse voice even more gravelly.

Dayna quickly moved next to him and snuggled up against Daryl as he wrapped his arm around her. Then she tilted her head up to look at him as he leaned over and kissed her. It was a gentle "I'm Sorry" kiss, followed up by a more demanding "I Love You" kiss. The fireworks that she felt every single time he kissed her were back in brilliant technicolor. This had never happened with any other guy. Only Daryl could make her feel this way.

She opened her mouth slightly encouraging him to deepen the kiss and instantly his tongue found hers. Daryl turned his body so that he was facing her with his hand automatically sliding into her long brown hair. God how he loved her hair.

He pulled back for a moment to look at this beautiful woman that was his. He was such a lucky man. Daryl kissed her again, but this time lightly before he nipped at her lower lip. Then he sank his mouth into hers for a deeper kiss.

"Good lord, this man could kiss," ran through her head not for the first time.

The hunger they shared for each other came back full throttle as they made out like teenagers on the bench he had built for them. Their mouths sought lips and then anything they could touch. Chins, cheeks, necks and any bare skin was being tasted and teased. Their hearts raced as their passion for each other rose and rose.

Dayna's hand gently caressed his face, stopping briefly to play with the hair on his chin, before landing on his chest. She could feel his heart beating rapidly. It matched hers perfectly.

Daryl's hand slipped down the front of Dayna's shirt squeezing her breast. Her low cut top gave him easy access and he had wanted to touch her all night. He'd bet his last pack of smokes that she wore that shirt on purpose. She knew he could never get enough of her tits and always teased him unmercifully with them.

Dayna let out a slight moan when he tweaked her nipple through her bra. Then he popped her breast out of both her bra and shirt to caress it while their kissing became harder, deeper and almost frantic. Daryl didn't want to stop kissing her mouth, but he was dying to suck on her nipple.

When Dayna's hand grabbed the bulge in his pants that his rock hard dick was making, he was barely able to keep his mouth attached to hers. Then she dropped her kisses down to his collar bone, Daryl's breathing was becoming strained and very heavy as he realized he wanted to take her right there in public. It may be late in the evening, and not everyone was asleep, but he wanted to rip her jeans off and fuck her right there on their bench.

He tweaked her nipple harder and Dayna moaned, "God, don't stop." She was rubbing him harder through his jeans and suddenly she started to giggle.

"What?" asked Daryl.

"I feel like we are two teenagers necking. My boob is out and I'm rubbing your dick through your jeans. We do have a place to take this further you know."

"I know, but I was kinda thinking we could do it right here," he told her. The grin he gave her told her he was completely serious.

"I'm surprised at you Daryl Dixon. I didn't think you had it in you to fuck me in public," she whispered in his ear. "I love it." Daryl groaned his approval at her. He wanted her right then and didn't care where they were.

Dayna went to unbutton his pants, when they heard the sound of someone running down the street. She quickly popped her breast back into her bra and adjusted her shirt.

"Daryl? Dayna? You out here?" Rick called out.

"Son of a bitch," Daryl mumbled before yelling, "Over here."

Even though the moon was not bright, they could see the worry on Rick's face as he ran over to them. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Judith."

That's all it took for the three of them to start to run as fast as they could.