**This story is rated M for mature. As always I own nothing from the Walking Dead. If you have read this far I would love a review.**

Present Day

RickyJo turned over towards the side of the bed and grabbed for the garbage pail out of reflex. Once she got ahold of it, she noticed she wasn't even sick. In fact, she felt wonderful. She got out of bed quietly and tiptoed to the bathroom so she wouldn't wake Daryl. Lately she felt like for every cup of water she drank, she had to pee at least five times. The sun was just starting to come up, so she decided to climb back into bed for a while longer rather than get up. She might just be to the point of her pregnancy where she was no longer feeling sick, but she guessed not sleeping in a hot stuffy tent anymore might have more to do with it.

Daryl was still fast asleep, his breathing slow and even. They had been sleeping in the same bed together but since his ribs were hurt, they had not done anything more than kiss and hold each other. RickyJo snuggled in, putting her head on his chest and putting one leg over him. She could feel him hard against the inside of her thigh. He explained to her after the first night that all guys got like that in the mornings. RickyJo could tell he thought it was funny how little she knew about the workings of the male body. In her opinion, which she had kept to herself, he didn't know as much about women as he thought he did either.

She rubbed his bare chest under the blankets, loving the feeling of his skin where it was touching hers. Rolling away from him, RickyJo pulled her nightshirt off over her head and tossed it down towards her feet and leaving her in only her panties. Then she turned back, pressing her skin against his. He stirred a little, making a pleasurable little moan, but didn't wake up. She was suddenly feeling brave, and very turned on. Kissing his bare chest, she moved down to his stomach, pushing the blankets out of her way. Even with the fan on, it was hot in the bedroom and he was only weaing a pair of boxer shorts, which she pulled down enough to reveal his impressive morning hard on.

RickyJo did not have much experience with giving oral sex to a man. Daryl was the only man she had ever had in her mouth, and only once before this. If how much noise he had made had been any indicator, she guessed she had been doing it right. She may not know much about men, but she knew how to use her mouth. This time she started at the base, running her tounge up the back of him. She circled his head with her tounge, getting a good taste of him. He tasted like she remembered except less like tequilla and limes this time. She took as much of him into her mouth as she could, trying to be careful not to scratch him with her teeth.

Daryl was starting to wake up, fighting it so he could stay in the wonderful dream he was having. He and RickyJo were back at the cabin. It was the day they met but insead of going shooting, she had taken off her clothes for him slowly, dropping them on the floor where they melted away. Then she had knelt down in front of him and taken him into her mouth. When he woke up they were in their bed in Hershel's house and he was coming hard into her mouth. She moved him in and out of her mouth a few more times until she was sure he was finished and then rolled off, wrinkling her nose up as she swallowed it down. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Well good morning," he told her, rubbing his face to try and wake himself the rest of the way up. RickyJo crawled back up, pulling the blanket with her and nestling down in the crook of his shoulder. She didn't say good morning back to him, just lifted her hips off the bad so she could push off her underwear. Then she kissed him on the neck and reached for his hand, putting it between her legs. When he slid a finger into her, he could feel how wet she was. She let out a soft moan and rocked her hips a little to encourage him. He added a second finger and slid them in and out of her, applying upward pressure. Her moans got louder and she turned into his chest to muffle them. Then she was spasming around his fingers, gasping and gripping his shoulder, digging her nails in. He slid his fingers in and out of her a few more times and then took his hand away. She turned into him and wrapped her legs around his thigh, grinding against him and riding out the rest of her orgasm. He felt her relax against him after that, her arms and legs limp like noodles.

"Good morning," she murmered into his neck. He held her close, pulling her tight to his chest. It was the best morning he had in a long time. But now the thoughts of what was happenening that day were starting to crowd in. They were going to have to figure out what to do with that kid Rick and Glen had brought back from that bar when they had gone to fetch Hershel. Some people thought he should be allowed to stay and become part of the group, and some people thought they should kill him. RickyJo had yet to give her opinion on the subject and Daryl was curious what she was going to say. She had her own plans for the day, which involved talking her new friend Beth into getting out of bed and doing some cooking with her. The girl had taken the death of her family members hard, but RickyJo had shut the door and had a long talk with her. Her father had been nervous about what the woman would say to his daughter, but when RickyJo had come out, Beth had seemed much better.

"We are having that meeting later," Daryl said. RickyJo just gave him a little mmhmm noise like she could care less about the meeting. He thought about pressing more and asking her what she thought should be done with the boy, but he didn't want to spoil the mood. They started to kiss again but were interrupted by a small knock on the door.

"Come in," RickyJo said. Beth opened the door. Daryl and RickyJo were both covered with the sheet but Beth turned red anyway to see them there in bed together. She stammed a bit and then spit out what she needed to say in her soft little voice.

"You said to wake you," she reminded the woman, "to help with the chickens."

"I will be right down," RickyJo told her. Beth backed out quickly, shutting the door. With all her tattoos, Beth found RickyJo to be very strange and exotic, and the man she slept with looked rough and dangerous. Beth often found herself wondering what kind of things they did when they were alone together. Probably things that were a lot more exciting than getting groped behind the barn by Jimmy. She swore that kid had two left hands. He grabbed at her breasts like he was reaching for the last roll on the dinner table.

True to her word, RickyJo was downstairs in a jiffy, tying on one of the gathering aprons and talking to Beth about canning the ripe tomatoes and making some fried green tomatoes with the rest. Beth had been surprised to learn the woman knew all about cooking and canning and had grown up on a farm. She sure didn't look like a farmer's daughter. When Beth had been ready to kill herself, RickyJo had talked to her for a long time and told her a lot about herself. She had also promised to give the younger girl bow lessons and teach her how to defend herself against the walkers and against other people. They were gathering eggs from each of the coops when that man that had opened the barn and shot her mother walked up and started talking to RickyJo.

Beth listened to their conversation. They were talking about that man that was tied up in one of the sheds, the man that her dad and Maggie's boyfriend had brought back with them from town. No one had asked Beth what she thought about it, or even bothered to let her know what was going on. She was suprised to learn that they thought the man was dangerous and some people wanted to kill him. It seemed he also came from a large dangerous group that was somewhere in the area. Beth had believed her father when he told them they were waiting on a cure. It was still hard for her to understand that this was the way the world was now, and that life would never be normal again.

RickyJo was worried about Shane. No matter how she felt about him personally, they were a stronger group with him as a member. And it was becoming clear to her that he was losing it. She had followed Dale when he went to hide the guns. Shane had not known she was there, but she had heard what he and Dale had said to each other. She also knew that Lori was pregnant with his baby, and had been debating on telling him. He had a right to know, but she didn't want to make the situation between him and Rick any worse. If she was him, she would want to know.

"Shane," she said, "I think we have something I need to tell you, privately." He glanced towards Beth, who had obviously been listening to them talk about Randall. RickyJo let the girl know she would be right back and they walked away around the side of one of the barns. She sat the man down and took the spot next to him. He started up about that tied up kid again, but she stopped him.

"I don't mean to sound cruel but I really don't care what you do with that guy," she said, "He never should have been brought back here." Shane nodded.

"What you want to talk to me about then?," he asked. RickyJo took a deep breath. She was thinking about the best way to put this. Lying and telling him she knew the baby was Rick's might be the best option. But she would rather try and tell him the truth. Shane was curious. He didn't know much about this woman, he had avoided her back at the camp since she was always hanging around with Merle and Daryl. He had not idea what she would have to talk to to him about.

"Lori is pregnant," she started, and then asked, "she is telling you its Rick's?" He nodded. Now he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"You know different?," he asked her. RickyJo took his hand and explained to him everything she had seen on the blood tests at the CDC. He stared at the ground. The news about Lori's baby he was glad she told him, but he wasn't so sure about the rest. No wonder she had wanted to kill herself after she found out.

"Theres never going to be an end to this, there is no help coming," she said softly to the man, "and we need you here. This isn't about a fight you and Rick are having over a woman. You have got to start looking at the bigger picture. Rick is a terrible leader, he is going to get us all killed. I will back you up, but you have got to stop acting so crazy." Shane was suprised to hear her say all that, but he should have guessed she hated Rick, because of what he did to Merle. She hesitated and then added, "I know what you did to Otis and I don't care."

"How do you know that?," he asked her.

"You said he covered you so you could get away but you came back with his gun," she anwsered. Daryl had told her that. He always noticed things she didn't. "And I followed Dale when he went to hide those guns, when I saw you coming I hid," she added. That made Shane laugh a little, she was sneaky and smarter than she looked.

"What were you going to do with the guns?," he asked. She shrugged a little and figured the truth was best on this as well.

"Keep them and let Dale take the blame for losing them," she admitted. Shane laughed. It was not a bad plan. If he had been thinking smart, its what he should have done instead of confronting the man. He was starting to understand why Daryl and his brother liked this girl so much. "Don't laugh," she said elbowing him a little, "Its your fault I didn't get them. Jerk."

"Alright," Shane said, "so I'm all in now. What are we going to do about the guy tied up in the shed?" He knew RickyJo had said she was going to back him up as leader, but he was thinking now she might be the better candidate for the job. At the very least he was going to want her as a close advisor.

"Its not about what we are going to do with him," she anwsered, "It about what he can do for us."