A/N – IMPORTANT – A family member of mine is very ill at the moment and to be quite honest we're going to be up at the hospital a lot till August hoping that he lives so if progress on this is slow then I'm sorry but that's just the way it is, in the meantime I'll try my best to keep everything going and please enjoy this chapter.


DARYL POV

Although the earlier argument was over Daryl could only watch you from the other side of the church with a mix of fear and regret, prior to the apocalypse any relationship he had had, romantic or otherwise, had been unhealthy and short-lived; to even call previous relationships romantic would be an insult to the closeness that you and Daryl had built.

"How the hell am I supposed to react to her… If I'm not her protector, then what am I?" The group was supposed to be in celebration over the supplies Rick had come back with but Daryl's thoughts remained sour and unsure; he wanted to be happy, but a deadly fear was creeping into him, a toxic thought… the fear of losing you.

"You know you can just tell me what's up right?"

In all his wonderings Daryl hadn't noticed you approach, you sat down next to him; Daryl's expression remained unsure.

"Don't look at me like that, if you have something to say then just come out with it."

"It's nothin'," he was barely audible.

"Oh no, you aren't getting away with it that easy. Come on, tell me what's going on."

He sighed tiredly, deciding to tell you what was on his mind, "I know what you said earlier, but what am I to you?"

You exhaled a small laugh much to Daryl's chagrin, "Sorry, sorry. That wasn't funny, sorry. Daryl Dixon," you used the full name for maximum effect, "Every day I look at you and wonder why, why did you pick me but-"

"(Y/N), you're amazing and strong and-"

"Let me finish. When we're together it's not a case of me looking around and going "Well you know, there's no other options around" I stay with you because you are kind, loving, generous and my word you're hot to boot."

Daryl smiled boyishly, "That it?" the question was of a mocking tone.

"Oh man, really? You are so great; I love you-" The words stunned both of you into silence, you knew that you loved him but saying it out loud, by accident… that was terrifying.

"I mean to say, well I… wellyouknowwhat-".

Daryl pulled you into a passionate kiss silencing your babbling, the moment was short lived as cheering came from the other side of the room, the group clapping and encouraging the two of you. You and Daryl beamed back at one-another until he spoke up, addressing the group, "Well what'd you expect, she said love and you in the same sentence."

He looked back, now only addressing you "I love you too, even if you're a stubborn, clumsy, idiot."

"Ah yes, a perfect moment gracefully wrecked with your eloquent language, this is definitely a perfect moment" you commented, kissing him again.


YOUR POV

You were beginning to panic, shortly after the group had sided with Abraham about going to Washington Daryl & Carol had disappeared, and worse Bob was lying in Gabriel's office missing a leg while everyone remained locked inside to avoid an unprepared battle with what was left of Terminus.

"Alright, be reasonable and pull yourself together, we need to prioritise. Daryl and Carol can take care of themselves and we can search for them later if it comes to that. Bob refuses medical treatment and there's nothing to do there. That leaves eliminating the rest of Terminus and defending the church… not that we'll be here for much longer."

"Rick," you called him as you walked over, "Who's going with you to fight?"

Rick looked up, and for the first time, you noticed that he looked tired, older somehow; it wasn't just that though, there was an anger in his eyes, the anger of a man who was tired of being struck down by an unfair hand, he kept all this out of his voice however, "I was thinking Michonne, Abraham, Sasha, Glenn, Maggie, Tara, and you."

You nodded, calculating the odds, that would be eight vs six, more than enough to win with your combined strength and experience, "I think- I think it would be wise to leave me here, that way everyone here is protected, in case anything goes wrong, you know," it wasn't really a question so much as a reasoning.

"(Y/N), you sure about this? Rosita and Tyreese are staying here so that seems like enough."

"Come on Rick, let's be real here. Rosita is a fantastic fighter but her first and only priority is Eugene, as for Tyreese, he's busy with Bob and not a fighter anyway. Carl will be with Judith which leaves Eugene and Gabriel, now we both know that Eugene's a genius but useless in a fight and as for Gabriel, well I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him, especially not after what he did to his flock or whatever. Even with me here I don't like the odds but fortunately for us we're taking the fight to them and not the other way around, I'm just saying that in case anything goes wrong I want someone here."

You could see your reasoning sinking in as Rick contemplated your request, he nodded agreeing with the prior statement.


Rick's team left as soon as night fell, using the cover of night to their advantage, it was at that point that you turned off all the lights, plunging the church into darkness and ushered everyone into the two back rooms, you remained with Carl, Gabriel and Judith in one, everyone else in the other.

Carl approached you, the closest thing he had to family out of the present company, he looked uncertain about something, "Hey, (Y/N). What do you think's going to happen with Glenn and Maggie?"

"What do you mean?"

Carl sat next to you on the floor, "When they leave tomorrow. Will they be ok? Should we be going too?"

"Come here," you put your arm around him, "We can't be sure what'll happen, but what we can be sure of is that they're survivors, they're going on a great mission and we can only root for them, you know." You were all too aware that your answer was pure bluster and the harsh reality was that you had no idea what was going to happen with them.

You sighed, giving Carl's arm a comforting squeeze "It's ok Carl, I get it. I'll miss them too."

Gareth's voice echoed through the church, grabbing your attention, "Hey, we know you're here. We're armed. We saw Rick leave; we know exactly who's here." You, and Carl grabbed your guns, 1 pistol and a rifle, combine that with Rosita's semi-automatic machinegun in the other room and you had a decent arsenal; decent yes, but good enough to fight six unknown guns, certainly not. The odds were stacked against you but you all remained poised at the doors ready to shoot anyway.

"You know it's not a big church, we can shoot through both doors and still have enough ammo left over to waste anyone left, I can't imagine that's what you all want. You know Priest, we can let you go, you can even take the baby, we're not here for you."

You spared a glance to Gabriel, his petrified face gave away his thoughts, he was considering their offer, not out of concern for Judith but for his own selfish instincts to get out unscathed. You cut your hand across your throat as a warning, a warning that said 'Don't even fucking think about it', all that served to do was make Gabriel even more terrified, you sighed in disgust, turning your attention back to the door.

Judith began crying, ruining any chance to hold out till the others got back, Carl went to quiet her but the damage had already been done. A quiet murmuring had begun outside the door, you strained your ears, trying desperately to hear what was going on; a low voice was giving orders "Well well, someone's looking out for us because here comes the cavalry."

Carl looked over to you, 'Rick' you mouthed over to him, gaining a nod in response; then the screaming began, you leapt over to Carl, covering his ears, this time the killing was necessary but it didn't have to become the norm for him. That was it, the fight was over within minutes. Everyone gathered into the church, horrified expressions on many, especially Gabriel who looked like he wanted nothing more than the empty release of death. The smell of blood lingered in the air, clinging to your nostrils and for the first time you were shocked to find that, like Rick, you felt nothing, no sadness, no disgust, no anger; surely death should come with a price on emotions but there was just nothing, not even a hollowness. Should death really be viewed so lightly, like it's an answer to an unsolvable problem, like there's never an alternative? Even the questions racing through your mind didn't elicit guilt, all you felt was relief, relief that they were dead and you were not.

Relief.