When they arrived home, Danielle locked herself in her room for the rest of the day. She wouldn't speak to Jace or Jed or take any food. Jed finally felt the need to approach Daryl the next night. "Would you mind trying to get her out? She needs to eat something."

"What makes you think I can do anymore good for her than you can?" Daryl scoffed.

"She likes you." He answered, simply. After a moment of silence, he added, "She's not mad at you, if that's what you think. Sure, you killed her father, but he was already dead. He was trying to eat her. I think that gives you a free pass."

"You think that's why we ain't talkin'?"

"Well, yeah. What else could it be?"

"She's way out of my league, son. I mean, look at all of this. She owns a mansion. I've got nothing but the clothes on my back. That's it. I'm nobody. I ain't got nothin' to offer a girl like that."

"I think we all kind of are on the same level, right now. You seem like you're a really important member of your group. Protection and safety is everything at this point. You really need to talk to her." The kid walked off. Daryl pondered the idea that he was valuable. It was still a shock to him. He kept hearing it from members of the group. He knew they needed him and it was great to feel important for once after years of being told you were worthless and learning lessons from Merle about only looking out for yourself and how to screw people over. The suspense finally got to him. He had to know how Danielle felt about him; if she thought he was really worth something, and so he stalked up the stairs and knocked on her door. When she didn't answer, he picked the lock and let himself in. One of the many valuable lessons Merle had managed to teach him. He found her in the bathroom, neck deep in bubbles listening to Patsy Cline.

"Oh, it's you." She beamed.

Daryl blushed and looked at his feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be…ya know, not dressed." He turned around.

"I'm sorry. It's not like it's anything you haven't seen before, right?" She sounded hurt, as if he wasn't interested in seeing her. She wondered if he thought the other night was a mistake.

"No, it's just…"

"You don't have to be embarrassed. Close the door. I'll get dressed." Daryl did as she asked and she came back into her bedroom in an oversized shirt and panties. "Better?" She asked, sitting beside him on the bed.

"Barely." He laughed.

"So, Jace and Jed send you up here to check on me?"

"The kid said we should talk."

"Oh, he did, huh? What did you wanna talk about?" They sat in silence for a few minutes, Danielle staring at Daryl, and Daryl staring at the floor. Finally, she got up, pulled a book from the shelf, and sat back down. She showed Daryl family photos, as they went from picture to picture, she told him stories behind the scenes like how her mom died in childbirth and how on her fifth birthday, her dad relapsed and didn't show up until 11 o'clock because he was passed out drunk in a bar, or how her best friend in most of her high school photos died in a wreck after graduation, or how her prom date threw up all over her dress before they even got to dance and she had to go home early.

Daryl felt the need to tell her something after she spilled her entire life story. He told her about Merle being in juvy and jail most of his life and how his dad was abusive and about how his mother died in a fire when he was real little, and finally about how his brother died trying to save him and his group and how he had to kill his reanimated corpse.

"I'm sorry." It was barely a whisper as she held his chin, making his eyes meet hers. "I never got the chance to thank you for saving me, ya know, the other night."

"We save each other. I've got your back, you've got mine."

"I'm glad." She smiled, then she blurted out, "Why did you leave so quickly the other morning?"

He stared at her, kind of stunned by her question. "I don't do sleepovers." He offered, not knowing what else to say, how else he could justify his actions.

"Intimacy is hard for you. I get that." She sighed. "Are you guys going to leave soon?"

"Not sure. Rick actually wanted to talk to you. They didn't wanna leave without thankin' you."

"That's sweet." She sighed, wishing he would open up more. They had shared so much the past few hours, she just wanted him to admit that it had meant something.

"Would you be open to negotiations?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Like lettin' us stay longer."

She smiled. She felt like maybe she was getting somewhere with Daryl after all. "You can stay as long as you want to. Honestly, I was hoping you wouldn't leave."

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to." He said, matter of factly. With that, he broke the distance between them, grabbing her face roughly and pulling her into a breath-taking kiss. He fell into her, smashing her tiny frame into the duvet cover beneath them. Not missing a beat, Danielle frantically tugged on the hem of Daryl's shirt, forgetting it was buttoned. She broke the kiss to stammer out, "You can't wear something a little easier to remove?" He scoffed at the thought and smashed her back into the bed. She began undoing the buttons on his plaid shirt with nimble fingers, sliding it down his arms and over his back when she was finished. He shook under the touch of her fingers grazing his rippling arm muscles and she pretended not to notice. She leaned up onto her arms, playfully shoving Daryl back so she could sit up, crossing her arms over her chest and pulling her shirt off and casting it aside. Daryl stared at her, awestruck for a moment. He shook his head, enamored at his good fortune. She was flawless. He grabbed her arms, pinning them above her head and holding her wrists down in that position as he began placing frantic kisses and nips at her mouth, jaw, and neck, slowly making his way to her chest. He wanted to savor the sweet taste of her skin, the softness of it. He palmed one of her breasts, flicking his thumb on her perky nipple and he began to suckle the other. She gasped at the sensations as he had her pinned beneath his taught body and the bed. She watched eagerly as he made his way down her stomach, making a trail of kisses down her body before stopping at her panty line. She tilted her hips up, grinding against his chin as he looked up at her with a devilish grin, taking in her scent. He slid his hands up her thighs, looping his thumbs under the flimsy material of the tiny panties she had on, skillfully pulling them off as she lifted up and pulled her legs back to assist. He pulled his arms through her bent knees and placed his hands firmly on her groin, pinning her hips down. Danielle wiggled a little, making herself comfortable and laced her fingers in his shaggy brown hair, encouraging him to begin. She was losing patience. He scoffed and without warning, dove in, flicking her sensitive clit with his forceful tongue. He made soft hums as he sucked and nibbled at her insides, massaging her with his tongue. She gasped at the sensations, trying hard to buck against his mouth, though she was pinned down by his strong, capable arms. He slowed down, pulling his arms free from her legs and reaching up to pinch her left nipple as he flicked his tongue across her clit and used the other hand to slowly insert two fingers inside of her welcoming opening. A soft moan was pulled from her chest as he quickened his pace, massaging her from the inside and out. The hand on her breast disappeared and she heard his belt buckled click and she knew it, he had jumped up, now on his feet. He kicked his pants off and grabbed her knees, pulling her up to the edge of the bed before hastily jamming himself inside of her, filling her completely. She screamed quietly, amazed by the enthusiasm he was showing. He only wanted to feel close to her; wanted to be a part of her. He loved how she made him feel like he could be a better person. He wanted to rewrite his destiny. He wanted to be a part of her world. If he couldn't tell her, he was gonna show her. Her moaning became incessant and stifled her pleasure with the nearest bed pillow, holding it over her mouth and muffling her noises as he brought her to sweet release, quickly joining her with his own exclamations of climax and collapsing onto her chest.