Disclaimer: I don't own the Walking Dead, but I would certainly like to! Let's put Cat in it and see how things go ;P

A/N: So, more Cat/Daryl goodness in this one! Let me know what you think please! =D There might be one moment of OOC Daryl, but I don't think so, not with the latest episodes where we see a different side of him...

Chapter Eight: Drilling

Shane cast an unconcerned – if not unbelievably baffled – glance over his shoulder, still eyeing the two of us sheepishly, but Daryl never looked at me again.

Still, I couldn't help but smile, replaying that explosive kiss in my mind as I trailed after the two of them. He couldn't blame me for running into a tree this time…

So, Shane was being incredibly irritating. For some reason, he felt the need to fill the forest with idle chatter; maybe he felt that awkward that he had to just keep talking. Daryl seemed to be getting more irate as he prattled, and I simply kept my mouth shut, sending Shane a tight-lipped smile and a simple answer whenever he asked me a question.

"An' then this one time, me an' Rick pulled over this massive woman, naked as a jaybird," he chuckled, shaking his head and grinning nostalgically.

"Wanna see that again?" Daryl queried mockingly, earning a sheepish snort from Shane, who held up his hands and grimaced, "Hell no; just… just thinkin' back…"

"Miss him a lot?" I inquired curiously, earning a contemplative smile from Shane, "Rick?"

"Course I do," he replied with a nod, lips pursed tightly in anger, "wish I coulda done more… He'd know exactly what to do, ya know? He was just that kinda guy… Strong an' real calm under pressure; walkers wouldn't stand a chance…"

"I know Lori and Carl miss him," I mused calmly, earning a sharp look from Daryl and an agreeing nod from Shane, "it's a shame… sounds like a great guy."

Breaking through the trees, we reached camp, watching Lori, Amy, and Dale surround the radio, panicked expressions on their faces. Shane made his way toward them, questioning what they were doing, and I paused, watching the goings-on with interest.

All I heard was Amy growl, "That's my sister, you asshole!" and stalk away toward the RV. Dale was quick to follow her and Lori made her way toward Shane, who looked beyond irritated. He rubbed his jaw and rested a hand on her shoulder, muttering something comfortingly. She lowered her head and rested her hand over his.

Yeah, too much awkwardness for me…, I turned, still curiously going over the incident in my head. What had they heard? Did something happen to the others? Was Danny okay? Gnawing on my lip, I jogged over to the RV, waiting for Dale to answer my call.

He peered out, giving me a small, sad smile, and stepped out, nodding his head toward the fire and away from the RV. I followed him, my quizzical frown prompting him to sigh, "We just heard something over the radio. It's not good, Cat."

"Is anyone hurt?" I questioned, alarmed. If it was Danny, I would never forgive myself. Panic welled up inside of me, all earlier ecstasy draining from me; it must have been obvious to Dale, because he patted my shoulder.

"Well, it wasn't much," he replied, "nothing confirmed, but Shane's not too worried about it. Obviously Amy wasn't too happy with that; something could have happened to Andrea, or any of the others. But Shane thinks it's too dangerous to go in on a whim…"

Frowning, I sighed, swallowing nervously, "Well, we don't know anything, right? It could've just been them checking in with us." At least, that's what I was hoping. I couldn't afford to worry about it, not if no one else was willing to go in and check. It was a little asinine anyway; trying to find them in an enormous city full of walkers wouldn't do any good to anyone but the walkers. Still, I couldn't help but will the knot in my stomach away.

"Right," he replied with a complaisant smile, patting my cheek like my grandfather used to, "they'll be okay, Cat; don't worry too much about it."

"I just hope Shane knows what he's doing," I commented heavily; if something happened to the others and we didn't do anything about it, there would be hell to pay, and not just from me.

"So do I," he answered, brows high on his forehead, looking over me in concern, "you gonna be alright, Cat? I should probably go check on Amy, if Riley and Tory haven't gotten to her yet."

Laughing, I nodded, offering him a small smile, "Yeah, you go ahead, Dale. I have to find Daryl, anyway; he's got some questions to answer…"

"Yeah?" the old man seemed too interested for his own good – I had to laugh; just like my grandfather, "how'd hunting go, by the way?"

"Very well," I replied with a none-too-innocent grin, "got myself a squirrel…"

"Congratulations, Cat," he replied, a knowing glint in his dark eyes, backing away toward the RV. He chuckled at my suspicious gaze and turned, jogging slowly back to the vehicle.

Snorting in disbelief, I turned, zeroing in on the Dixon tent. The closer I got, the more my heart raced; how the hell was I going to talk to him about the incident in the woods? Just the thought of it was thrilling, but maybe it was just a fluke? Maybe he just did it to do it…

Daryl was sitting on a log outside of the tent, the squirrels and rabbit on the ground beside his feet, as he sharpened his knife. He lifted his gaze as I neared, his hands stilling immediately, though his impassive expression never changed. He replaced the knife in its sheath and straightened, eyes following me as I took a seat on the log beside him.

My hands were damp and I rubbed them on my jeans, turning to him and trying to formulate what I wanted to say. Every time I went to say something, I frowned, switching tactics. It wasn't working.

He eyed me in amusement, nodding toward the innocent, unmoving animals by his feet, "Ready t' learn how t' gut these things?"

"No," I replied, grabbing the front of his shirt and kissing him soundly. If I caught him off guard, he didn't show it, immediately responding and taking control of the kiss. His lips matched my own fervently, one hand grasping my waist and the other inching up my thigh.

Biting his lip, I smirked into his mouth as he growled gruffly and attacked my mouth with his tongue. Weaving a hand into his damp hair, I was almost too enthralled to realize we were still in camp. Almost.

Pulling back suddenly, I put some distance between us, breathing heavily. Quickly scanning the area for anyone stumbled upon us like Shane had, I ran an anxious hand through my hair. No one was there, not that I could see, and I turned back to face him, grinning slightly.

He had that smug smirk again, but this time it matched my own, and he looked me over, eyes a shade darker in intensity. My heart jolted as he chuckled deeply, "Damn…"

"You put it in my head," I accused with a laugh, nudging him slightly and, earning only a slight tensing of the shoulders – it would obviously take some time to him to get used to me touching him, though he didn't seem to mind the kissing, "anyway, I had to see if it was a fluke."

His penetrating gaze drew me in as he replied seriously, "I ain't like that…"

"Shut up!"

Daryl glanced over his shoulder, shooting a dangerous glare at Tory, who was probably ducking out of sight, beside Riley and probably Amy. Wincing, I refused to look, willing them to go away, and quirked a brow in the redneck's direction. Swallowing my nerves, I fought a grin and failed; I was too pleased with the taste of him on my tongue. He watched them go, before turning back to me and smirking, retrieving a squirrel and his knife.

Rolling my eyes and laughing, I braced myself for this less than entertaining lesson. It was nice to see Daryl wasn't changing; I wouldn't and I would've been disappointed if he would have. Rubbing my hands together, still buzzing from his kiss, I gave him a weathered sigh, "Alright; let's see how it's done..." Next time we did that, I could guarantee no one would be interrupting or spying on us.

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

The girls didn't give me very much time – I was knuckle deep in the rabbit and doing surprisingly well (anatomy hadn't really bothered me until we got to the pigs) – before Riley appeared before Daryl and I, giving us her most appeasing smile.

"Hey, Cat, Jake was looking for you; I told him I'd come find you," she stated, hands clasped innocently before her. Innocent, my ass.

Sharing a skeptical look with the man beside me, I stood, accepting the dirty handkerchief from him and telling him I would be right back. He simply nodded, returning to the rabbit and deftly gutting it.

Riley gagged and turned quickly, so I hid my smile and jogged over to her, draping an arm over her shoulder and leading her toward the center of camp.

"How many people have you told?" I queried neutrally; it was bound to come out eventually and really, if Daryl didn't care about anyone knowing, I certainly didn't. It wasn't as clandestine as Shane and Lori, though I had to admit, it was probably just as scandalous. Cat and Daryl; who woulda guessed?

"I knew it!" she squealed, once we were out of earshot, "I knew it was gonna happen! Oh my God, you were making out with Daryl!"

Oh. Apparently everyone.

"Mind if you keep it down a notch or two?" I inquired with a sheepish smile, "you, Tory, and Amy were the only ones who saw it, am I right?"

"Anyone walking by would've seen it, but I think it was just us," she replied, spinning and laughing, "oh my God, Cat! Wait 'til Danny finds out! You'll have nothing to tease him with now, girl; he's gonna be all over you with this…"

Laughing at the sheer absurdity of it all, I paused her dizzying spinning, "Calm down, Riley… It's not that big a deal…"

"Not that big a deal?" she repeated, aghast, eyes wide and concerned, "you, Cat Dalton, were kissing Daryl Dixon… I'd say that's a pretty big deal, my friend." Grinning deviously, she lightly inquired, "How was he?"

Shaking my head and laughing, I shoved the younger girl and replied, "What, so you can go tell Tory and Amy?"

"Just a curious question," she mused, beaming, before waving it off, "fine, fine; keep your secrets. I know you were enjoying it…"

Blushing, I glowered playfully at her, "Shouldn't you be drilling Tory about Glenn?" Okay, maybe there wasn't anything there – it was the first duo that came to my head before the only other couple currently residing at camp – but I had to try. Of course I enjoyed it; his touch was hot, demanding; who wouldn't melt under that?

"Hmm; don't think so, but for your sake, Cat, I'll drop it," she giggled, "actually, I also came to offer our services for making dinner tonight. As long as those squirrels and stuff – by the way, that was really disgusting; I don't know what you see in him – don't have heads or little arms or anything… Tory's gonna cook up some of those veggies and I'll do the meat, as long as Shane and Daryl don't mind."

Well that was unexpected. Usually the girls shied away from anything to do with cooking, mostly because it was always squirrels and rabbits, or just that Lori or Miranda always cooked whatever canned corn or green beans we whipped out from the quickly dwindling supplies.

Thanking her, I ruffled her hair, earning an offended frown from her since I hadn't washed them of the dried squirrel blood, which quickly dropped into a smile, "No problem… Oh, and, just so you know, we are definitely getting the details out of you…"

"Keep dreamin', Riley; my lips are sealed," I replied with a snort.

She offered me a disbelieving smile, "Not for Daryl, apparently."

Letting out an incredulous laugh, I shook my head, querying, "Did you just drag me out here to drill me about Daryl or was Jake actually looking for me?"

"Oh, you know us better than that, Cat!" she sounded offended, giving me a wild wink and jerking a thumb toward Daryl, "don't want to keep him waiting, do you?"

"Don't think I won't throw a damn rock at your head, Riley," I shook my head, making my way back toward the Dixon tent.

"God, you even sound like him," she laughed, "must've been that tongue-twistin' you two were doin'…"

Flipping her off with a grin, I made my way back to Daryl's tent. He was standing, stuffing the rodents' innards in a small, stained burlap sack and glancing at me, "She finished drillin' you?"

"Yep; it'll probably be all over camp in a few minutes," I replied with an unconcerned shrug, gingerly picking up the skinned animals, repeating it's like a steak in my head, reminding myself to dunk my hands in the quarry for half an hour to get the blood and guts off.

"That bother you?" he questioned, stilling and straightening, eyes narrowing in calculation, as though he were expecting me to deny my attraction to him in front of everyone. Ha; fat chance of that…

"No," I replied, giving him an unimpressed look, "what are you going to do with those?"

"Bury 'em," he replied, retrieving a shovel from beside the tent, glancing down at the sack and pointing toward the woods with the shovel, "don't want any walkers wanderin' into camp after it…"

"Like the giant pool of blood outside your tent's gonna deter them," I retorted, snorting in amusement, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well, least they'll be at my tent," he answered easily, lifting a massive shoulder, making his way toward the trees, "I'm the best one y'all got t' kill 'em; wouldn't even break a sweat."

"I thought you said Merle was the bragger?" I queried, quirking a challenging brow.

"Got plenty o' things t' brag about," he responded with a dangerous grin, disappearing silently into the woods.

Ay Chihuahua, I mused, biting my lip and laughing, more than a little intrigued by that… Wouldn't I like to know?

I made my way down to the quarry, pausing at the water and squatting beside it, dipping my hands in and washing them off. It was hot today (like every other day, it seemed) and the water looked more than inviting. Still, it was getting late and I needed to get mine, Mike's, and Jake's clothes washed. Pity; I'd've enjoyed inviting Daryl…

Done with that, I made my way back to our tent, gathering what dirty clothes were strewn about his and Mike's side of it under one arm. Lori fell in step beside me after departing the tent, a bag of clothes in her own arms, and smiled apologetically, "Sorry if I made you mad before…"

"It's no problem," I shrugged a shoulder; really, Lori was nice and all – we got along before Daryl and I caught her with Shane so there was no reason not to now, "you were just curious."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't my place to talk about anything like that," she replied with a small smile, almost gratefully, patting my arm and making her way toward Carol's tent.

I had to pause a moment; did she know that I knew about her and Shane? The color drained from my face and I hoped to God she hadn't seen the two of us when we saw them… Again, this was too much awkward for me.

WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

That evening, the air had cooled down just enough to make the fire inviting, and as I made my way toward the gathering crowd, I watched Tory and Riley dishing out the food. Tory caught Daryl as he passed, offering him a paper plate and a broad, appeasing smile. Whatever she said seemed to irritate him, seeing as a scowl settled over his face, but he took the food with a nod, finding an empty log and dropping onto it.

Strolling over, ruffling Jake's hair as I passed, I accepted a plate from the smirking girl, "What'd you say to him?"

"Nothin'," she smiled cheerfully, shrugging, "just wonderin' what really happened in the woods… He wasn't talkin', but I think we can get it out of him… Long as he doesn't rip our heads off…"

Shaking my head, I gave her an apologetic smile, "So sorry to inform you, my dear, but nothin' too dirty happened out there. Just a kiss."

"Yeah, like after seein' that little display, I'm really gonna believe you," she scoffed, skipping over to Amy and Riley, shaking her head, upset. They both seemed to share in her disappointment, leaving me blushing and rolling my eyes. Definitely didn't expect it to be such a deal.

Incredibly aware of everyone's eyes on me, I took a seat beside Daryl, giving him a small smile. He nodded, eyes glinting in the firelight, and dug into his food.

Glancing up, most people diverted their eyes, but Dale gave me a soft smile, brows high as he looked between me and Daryl. I shot him a wink and turned to my meal, grinning as the old man chuckled to himself, turning to Amy and leaving us be.

WDWDWDWDWDWDWD

So, thank you all for your awesome reviews! I'm so glad you all liked the last chapter, cuz I definitely did! The next chapter's gonna have Rick in it, which I'm super excited about, because then we can get into the series!

May85: Here ya go!

Autobotgirl4ever: Definitely gonna finish this one; I just don't have a whole lot of time with classes, but that'll be over soon so I can write a lot more =D Glad you're liking it!

Band131: Thanks!

Nelle07: I know right! Definitely not the craziest thing going on there.

Leyshla Gisel: Thanks! I'm so glad you thought so!

Readergirl66: Heehee thanks =D

MigratingCoconuts06: Heehee, it's such a Daryl-like thing

MichelleJoy: Haha yay! Not the dying thing but the loving it!

Dalonega Noquisi: Oh, I definitely feel proud if it doesn't happen! Haha I absolutely love apple pie and I love dessert so I definitely had to put it in there =D Oh, I definitely don't think he would change; lemme know how you feel about this chapter too!

Loquacioiuslethality: haha YES! No, I get annoyed by him too! At some points I really liked him and then some points I just hated him haha!

Nekuranekomegami: Thanks! I really appreciate it! =D

Gaarsaku4ever: Here ya go!

Azalia Fox Knightling: Thanks! Haha sorry you were getting weird looks but glad it kept you giggling!

xXx Tinkies xXx: YEAHH! Ah so glad you liked it! I could totally see them doing that =D So glad you're loving it!

Sierra: Thank you! Yeah, she's definitely going to be in it for the whole series, but I still haven't decided if she's going with them to find Merle. I have a few different ideas for it. But I'm really glad you're liking it!

Watergoddesskasey: Thanks!

LovelySpecter: Thanks! I really appreciate it! Hopefully you like this chapter too!

ClaraC: Haha oh this show has me obsessing too! And so does Daryl =P Here's this one and I'll be working on a second one right after I upload this! =D

WolfAngel75: Oh it's fine; I'm just glad you're still here! Soo glad you're liking it! Gotta love the Daryl/Cat goodness =D