Heyyyy guys! So I had a dream the other night after the end of the midseason finale, and it really gave me some inspiration to come back to this fic and revise and continue. I hope you like it, and I really like where I am going to go with it! Please review! thank you for reading! xoxoxo


The next morning Lena woke, wrapped in Daryl's arms, snuggled under the down comforter. She grinned and stretched slowly, not wanting to wake him.

Moving gently, she eased herself from the bed and pulled on her underwear and the oversized sweater of Daryl's before grabbing their soup mugs from last night and heading downstairs.

Looking out the window in the kitchen she could see it was another overcast, grey day. –Perfect for staying in bed- she thought to herself with a smirk. She found a roll of paper towels and wiped out their mugs, rinsing them with a little water, and set them down on the counter.

She hesitated, not knowing if she should make breakfast and take it upstairs for them to have in bed, or if that would freak Daryl out. She stood, tapping her foot, trying to make up her mind, when suddenly; she heard the floor creak behind her.

Whirling around with a small gasp, she pressed her hand to her heart when she saw it was Daryl. "Oh my god Daryl, you scared me! Say something next time!" she scolded with a laugh.

He stood in the doorway of the kitchen dressed in his pants with no shirt and bare feet. Lena didn't think she had ever seen him look better.

"Sorry" he muttered.

She smiled at him, "It's ok, I was just teasing. Aren't you cold?" she asked, gesturing to his bare chest.

He gestured to her, "Ya took my shirt."

She smirked, "You took others yesterday."

He frowned, "What ya doin down here?"

Lena shrugged, "Trying to decide what to make for breakfast. Are you hungry?" she asked tentatively.

Daryl made a noncommittal noise, "I guess. Don't trouble yerself."

Lena grinned, "Alright, sit down. I think I have some powdered eggs and some canned beans, sound good?"

Daryl grunted, not saying anything as he sat down at the island bar.

Lena smiled and dug through their supplies till she found a can of black beans and the powdered eggs, working steadily to prepare the food. She hummed softly, and then began singing a French Creole lullaby her dad had sang to her.

Daryl watched Lena work, surprised when she began singing in another language. Her voice was soft but strong, and compelling; he found himself leaning forward to try and better hear what was being sung.

When she turned around with two paper plates full of well spiced eggs and beans, Lena was surprised to see Daryl looking at her with a strange look in his eyes.

She handed him a plate and set hers down beside him, pulling out the chair to sit down. Settling in she smiled at him, "Dig in! It's just got some spices in it to mask the fake egg flavor."

Daryl nodded and took a few bites before commenting around a full mouth, "It's good."

Lena gulped down a hot mouthful, gasping, "Hot! Ow!...Thanks."

They sat in silence for long minutes while they ate until Daryl asked hesitantly, "What were you singing?"

Lena looked up at him, to see him staring at her, "It's a French Creole lullaby my dad used to sing to me when I was a little girl. He was French Creole, and my mom was Cherokee."

He stared at her and then asked, "Was?"

She nodded, "They both died when it all first started happening. They went together, which is how they would have wanted. I had to put them down." She took a deep breath, "I had to put my little brother down too….he was only 17."

Lena looked down at her plate of almost finished eggs and felt her stomach turn. Pushing away from the bar, she stood and grabbed her plate, "You want this before I toss it?" she asked offering Daryl the plate.

He shook his head; sorry he had pushed her to talk about her family. Lena turned away and tossed her plate into the garbage, and stood staring out the window.

"You know, before all this started, my life wasn't all that great. I mean I had a loving mom and dad, a great little brother, but I was kind of a shitty person." She sighed and continued.

"I failed out of college, and drank too much. Partied with my friends too often, and dated the wrong guys. Nobody really horrible, just idiots. At least until my last boyfriend. Jason." She shuddered slightly, the memories of him still enough to haunt her.

"He was beautiful. Like an angel. But his face hid the soul of a devil. When we would go out, he would want me to dress up and look good, so everyone could see what a hottie he had for a girlfriend. But then, when other guys would check me out, or hit on me, even though I wouldn't return the attention, he would get angry with me."

She turned to face Daryl, and he watched as her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach, as though she was holding herself together.

"I still remember the first time it happened. We had just gotten back from a New Years party where some drunk guy had kissed me, and he was so mad. We had been fighting in the taxi the whole way home, and when we got inside, he started drinking more. I was drunk, but I still had enough sense to try and talk sensibly. He was just screaming at me, telling me what a whore I was. That's when he threw his drink in my face. Then he slapped me. Then he grabbed me by throat and choked me till I passed out."

Lena stared at the counter top as she spoke, letting the story fall out. She glanced up and locked eyes with Daryl, "Over the next eight months he broke two of my ribs, my right wrist, and fractured my eye socket."

She lifted up Daryl's sweater and showed him the long white scar across her ribcage, "This is from the last time we were ever together. He stabbed me, and I almost died. I finally left him, pressed charges and sent him to jail. It was about three months later that the world ended and he was still in jail."

She dropped the sweater and smirked darkly, "I went there after everything had gone to hell, and found him, turned. I dropped him and then sat and cried for a while before moving on."

She stared at Daryl and smiled grimly, "So that's my life story. Now you know you aren't the only one who has seen pain and death."

Daryl didn't know what to say, he only knew that if the man Jason were here now, he would kill him for her. He stood from the chair and came to stand in front of Lena who was wide eyed and looking overcome, and spoke in a soft gruff voice, "If he were here now, I would kill him for what he did to ya. Aint right."

Lena stared up into Daryl's blue eyes, and blinked rapidly, feeling her own fill with tears. She knew what Daryl had said was probably the most emotion he would be able to share with her, and she appreciated it.

Daryl could see Lena's eyes filling with tears, and it wrenched at him. He wanted to be able to be better at expressing his emotions, but he didn't know how.

Struck by inspiration, he remembered Beth and her fierce hugs. He moved slowly and wrapped his arms around Lena, drawing her close, rejoicing when her arms came around his waist and her face nuzzled into his chest.

He felt a small shudder run through her body, and tightened his arms, holding her until the shaking stopped. Lena pulled away slightly and smiled sheepishly up at Daryl, "Thank you."

He shook his head, "It's nuthin." She squeezed his biceps, and leaned up, brushing a kiss on his cheek, "It's something darlin."

She pulled out of his loose embrace and walked back upstairs. Daryl watched her go, feeling something warm unfurl in his chest and start to spread, giving him hope that they could be happy. It was a dangerous feeling, but one he didn't want to let go of.