May I make a suggestion before you read this? If you aren't familiar with a song called Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, you should give it a listen towards the middle of this chapter. Trust me... you won't regret it. Huge huge thanks to Halohunter89 on this one. We rely on each other, Ahh Ahh... Oh God. I'm laughing again. Anyway, I really hope you all get a chuckle out of this chapter because it was really really fun to write. Thank you for reading =)

Chapter Thirteen

Glenn shut the door, plunging the hallway into darkness except for the meager light coming from downstairs. Daryl hadn't moved. He'd had the same idea Carol had. In his hands he held a plate piled full of meat. He had known they weren't going to come down and he was really feeling bad for Glenn.

To his surprise Carol took the plate from him and barged right into the room, he watched her step right past a stunned Maggie and slam it down on the table. In the light he could see the anger glinting in her eyes.

Maggie looked up her face contorting with anger now that she had a second to collect herself after Carol's harsh delivery. "You're the one that he should have carried out of Grady. After everything you've done, you deserved it more than Beth."

Daryl's teeth clenched and he was about to storm in there and give Maggie a piece of his own mind. Carol had stopped in her tracks, stiffening at Maggie's words. She met his eyes and shook her head slightly before she walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, taking a step closer.

It took him a second to realize what she meant. When Maggie had first started throwing accusations around like that he had actually taken a step back at their impact. But what Carol said had been right. He had no control over what happened at Grady. No more than Rick or any of the others had. He had felt responsible for Beth because she did get taken right out from under his nose, but really, that hadn't been his fault either. "I'm alright," he said, unable to mask the sadness in his voice. Whether it was his fault or not, being reminded of that day still hurt. He had watched another girl die.

She nodded swiftly and stepped around him. He could almost feel the anger radiating off of her but he wasn't sure how to proceed. He let her walk away, not knowing what else to do. He wanted to talk to her, to make sure she was really alright, but he didn't know how to go about it. He was glad to see that she didn't retreat to the bedroom. She went straight down the stairs and he followed after her, ready to do damage control if she tried to do something stupid, like leave.

He didn't have to worry about that. She went to the fire, where the others were gathered, eating their fill of the venison he had prepared. He would have let someone else do the cooking but it had been so long since they had anything really worth eating he hadn't trusted anyone else and he hadn't wanted to ask Carol. She took a plate from Michonne and sat down on one of the logs surrounding the small flames of the fire. He sat down next to her but she didn't look up. He thought of that look he had seen in her eyes last night, that rare happy look. He wished there was a way he could make her look like that again. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew how much pain the girl was in he would go right back inside, march up the stairs and tell Maggie Greene to go fuck herself. But he understood her anger. He was known to lash out himself when he was hurting like that.

"You gonna eat all that?" He asked, when she cleaned half the plate without saying a word.

She looked up, meeting his eyes. "Daryl, please tell me you're not insinuating that I'm fat." She didn't sound amused.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Can you cut me slack? You know I don't think you're fat."

The ghost of a smile graced her lips. "I got enough for you too. Old habits die hard ya know?" Instead of handing him the plate she did what he had done earlier. She held up a piece.

He glanced around, surprised to see that they were the only two left sitting there. He reached for it but she pulled it away, popping it into her own mouth. He scowled and snatched the plate away, digging in with gusto as she watched.

"I shouldn't even be sitting here sharing. I'm still furious with you," she said as she stretched her legs out and crossed them at the ankles.

He sucked his fingers clean before saying anything, giving himself a few moments to think about how to proceed. Glenn had said that he needed to kiss her ass but he wasn't about to step down to Glenn's level. When Maggie wasn't out of her mind with grief she dragged that poor kid around by the nostrils half the time. It was pretty sad. He wasn't Glenn and Carol definitely wasn't Maggie, thank God. "Don't start. You know damn well what I meant today. You turned that shit around because you wanted too. Any excuse you can find to pull back a little, you take it. Just like that shit that Maggie said. You're gonna find a way to make it work for you so you ain't gotta face things you don't wanna face."

She stared at him, that small spark of humor that he had seen a second ago vanished. "That's not true."

He nodded and didn't bother to swallow his food before he spoke again. "Yeah it is. You know me better than that. You knew what I meant earlier and you were just too fuckin' stubborn to admit it."

She gaped at him and he had half a mind to stick some more food in her mouth so he wouldn't have to listen to her bitching. "So you think you got me all figured out, huh?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I've said it before. You like to think nobody's figured you out. I have."

She met his eyes looking like she was ready to fight it for a second and then she seemed to deflate. "And you aren't gonna use Maggie's words as an excuse to pull away? You're guilty of the same things I'm guilty of when it comes to shutting people out."

He stared at the flames. "I was," he said quietly.

"What changed?" She asked, turning her body so she could give him her undivided attention.

He sat the empty plate on the ground and draped his arms over his knees, keeping his eyes on the fire. "I got trapped in the bathroom at the pharmacy. There wasn't a way out and those fuckin' walkers were breakin' the door down. I wasn't gonna make it out of there and I knew it. You know how they say that right before you die things get clear?"

He saw her slight nod from the corner of his eyes.

"Well, things got pretty fuckin' clear. Every fuck up I've made up until goin' into that building half cocked was starin' me in the face. And then I decided that I wasn't ready to die yet. I still had a whole lot of shit to do."

"Like what?" She asked in half whisper.

He finally tore his eyes away from the fire, meeting hers. His heart was thundering wildly and he was concerned it was going to beat right out of his chest before he could get the words out of his mouth. He angled his body like she had done, their knees barely brushing. "Like there was too much shit left unsaid," he muttered.

She blinked and he could have sworn that he could see the artery in her neck jumping wildly as her own pulse raced. That was a good thing, right?

He decided that this was it. He needed to just man up and finally tell her. He needed to do it now before it was too late and something happened to one of them. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for whatever her reply would be. But nothing came out. Suddenly, breaking the stillness and tension that had enveloped them, there was the sound of music coming from somewhere nearby. Maybe the barn. And then Daryl heard the distinct voice of... Kenny Rogers.

"Baby when I met you there was peace unknown... I set out to get you with a fine tooth comb, I was soft inside, there was somethin' goin' on...

Daryl choked on the words he was about to say, sputtering, his face flaming as Dolly Parton chimed in...

You do somethin' to me that I can't explain. Hold me closer and I feel no pain, every beat of my heart, we got something going on...

Carol glanced around and then her eyes went extremely wide as they landed on him. "Daryl?" But he barely heard her because the blood was rushing behind his ears.

Tender love is blind, it requires a dedication. All this love we feel needs no conversation, we ride it together... Ah Ah... Makin' love with each other... Ah Ah.

Daryl knew then what was going on. And he was going to find Rick Grimes and he was going to strangle him.

Islands in the stream, that is what we are, no one in between, how can we be wrong? Sail away with me, to another world...

"Daryl, are you okay?" She looked worried, and she looked embarrassed and she looked completely stunned.

He shook his head, glancing around to see if that bastard was hiding somewhere and watching.

And we rely on each other, uh huh, From one lover to another, uh huh...

"Daryl, did you... Did you plan this?" She asked, those huge eyes studying him carefully.

I can't live without you if the love was gone... Everything is nothing if you got no one, and you walk in the night, slowly losin' sight of the real thing...

He glanced down at their knees, barely touching as they faced one another. He looked over to the low burning fire. He even glanced up at the stars that filled the night sky. If ever their was a cheesy romantic situation, this was it and it very well did look planned.

But that won't happen to us and we've got no doubt... Too deep in love and we got no way out... And the message is clear, this could be the year for the real thing...

He jumped up from the log because he couldn't just sit there anymore with her looking at him and that son of a bitching song playing. "I gotta go," he said, backing away and nearly tripping over another log.

"Daryl, hold on..."

He stumbled again as she stood up and took a step closer. He couldn't talk to her. Not right now. He definitely couldn't have this be the sound track of his epic confession. He didn't actually run away but he did hurry off, right into the barn, following the sound of the music. He was hoping Rick was in the loft because if he was he was going to throw him out of it. He found the tape player sitting next to the door. He wanted to kick it but he simply picked it up by the handle and pushed the stop button. The night around him sounded exceptionally quiet without the music.

Of all the dirty rotten horrible things to do to a man that you just claimed to be a brother to you! He stormed out of the barn, for once hoping Carol didn't follow him. He didn't think Rick was inside so he walked around the front of the house and, sure enough Rick was sitting out there on the front porch steps with Michonne.

"Islands in the Stream? Really?" He threw the tape player at Rick, who dodged it.

"What?" Rick asked, a sly smile cutting across his face. "I thought I was helping you out."

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl barked, running a hand through his hair. "Did you know about this?" He asked Michonne who had stood up as soon as Daryl started throwing things.

"About what?" She asked, eyes wide.

"About Rick's plan to... sabotage me! Sabotage me with fucking Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton! You son of a bitch!"

Michonne looked back and forth between them.

"What?" Rick threw up his hands. "I thought it would make it easier for him. You know how... shy he is."

Daryl glared, Michonne grinned and Rick laughed like the braying jack ass that he was.

Would Rick actually do something so evil? *shrug* No clue. But he did here and I promise, it only strengthened poor Daryl's game. lol