Author's note: I love this chapter. Officially. I think it's my favorite. You'll see why towards the end. Rickyl FTW!

Chapter Fourteen

If nothing else, they'd learned.

Leave nothing to chance. Cover all your bases. Every opinion is important. Never look at a situation from just one or two angles. Always be proactive. Have a backup plan. Plan an escape route with a meeting place. Survivors' rules for a group who'd seemed to be doing nothing but.

Rick went around waking everyone up while Daryl and Jason headed to kitchen. It never ceased to amaze Daryl how thoughtful the kid was, putting the coffee pot on and getting it running before anyone had even made it downstairs. The rich aroma filled the kitchen air and the scent greeted each person as they trailed into the kitchen, looking sleepy and worried. Daryl sat quietly on a chair at the island, leaning back against the marble top's edge, with his crutch resting beside him. Rick was one of the last ones down, followed closely by Beth and Maggie.

"Glenn'll be just a minute. Then we'll get started," Rick informed them his manner all kinds of serious business. None of them protested, simply found their seats and waited patiently.

"Who wants coffee?" Jason asked and pulled out the appropriate number of mugs for the show of hands. "There's fresh cream in the fridge and sugar in the canister on top of the fridge."

One by one, each of the other members of his family got up and picked up a mug. Rick, being the first to go after a cup, pulled the sugar down from on top of the fridge and the cream out, setting both on the island a seat down from where Daryl rested. Their eyes met briefly, and Rick gave him a small, almost happy smile before taking the seat right next to him. Together they stared out at the room.

Glenn arrived at last and snagged the second mug Maggie had prepared for him as he moved around to stand behind her at the table. Rick looked at Glenn and when the Korean man gave him a nod, Rick opened with a weary note in his voice.

"First and foremost, I don't want anyone t' panic. Jason assures me over an' over that this place is incredibly secure an' it would take a lot of forethought an' preplanning for even a small army t' get in here." He paused and looked around. From what Daryl could see, everyone looked worried, but no one seemed out of hand in their concerns. Rick apparently drew the same conclusion and continued. "Sasha and Bob are on watch tonight. In the distance, they noticed some bobbing lights. Sasha got Jason who got me an' Daryl and the five of us concluded that they were flashlights. Now. Maybe someone is out there lookin' for somethin'. Or maybe it's the cannibals that Daryl encountered. Either way, we need a plan."

"We just don't let them in," Rosita stated immediately from where she sat on Abraham's lap at the far end of the table.

"Shoot on sight if you ask me," Abraham added.

Beth looked at them and even though all he could see was the back of her head, Daryl could just imagine the frown on her face. "What if they're innocent? What if they're still good people?"

"That ain't our problem," Abraham answered and Rosita nodded.

Tara fidgeted awkwardly enough that it caught everyone's attention. She looked incredibly uncomfortable with all eyes in the room on her. "I guess, we could maybe find some way to quarantine them or something? Until we know their safe. Rather than just killing anyone that approaches on sight. Wouldn't that be more humane?"

"But people can be liars and fakes," Carl spoke up, lifting his head from where he'd been resting it on his arms on the table. "We can't just start takin' people in."

"Carl's right," Jason tossed in. The look Beth shot him was a little chilly and Daryl felt himself smirk a little when Jason steadily held her gaze. Good man, not letting a little upset change the way he felt or thought. No point keeping the woman happy if it made you miserable he'd always thought. Jason continuing stole his attention again, and he looked away from Beth's unhappy face and back to the young man speaking. "Our resources are bountiful but not unlimited. If people learn what we've got here, we're never going t' have a moment's peace because word will get out. We'll spend all of our time protectin' this place instead of enjoyin' it."

"Not everyone's a bad person," Beth insisted. "What if there are children?"

"Children can be pawns," Carol responded. "There were times when Ed, my late husband, used Sophia against me just t' keep me in line. I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything. I'm just saying we'll need to be extra cautious when there are children involved."

Beth looked a little mortified and then looked away. Her expression didn't say defeat, but it certainly seemed thoughtful.

Michonne shook her head. "The thing is…we won't know one way or the other until we know."

"We can' just let'em in," Daryl spoke up and all eyes turned to him. It was uncomfortable forcing himself to say what he wanted to say. Normally, it had become his habit to let Rick do all the talking. They thought so much alike it was essentially the same as speaking himself, and no matter what he'd follow Rick to the end of the Earth, but in this matter he really wanted his own voice to be heard even if Rick would have said basically the same thing. He wanted Rick to know how strongly he felt about the subject. "I ain' had much t' call my own in my lifetime an' I'll be damned if I put any o' y'all or this place at risk because I feel bad for someone else. Kids are always gonna be game changers, but y'need t' be responsible for yerself. If you can't make it by now, then that's on you."

Rick had looked over as soon as Daryl had started to speak. Now, their eyes were locked, and Daryl lifted his chin, defying the other man to argue. Rick, after a moment, simply looked back to the kitchen table around which all of their family had gathered. "Daryl's right," Rick confirmed and sighed. The former lawman looked sad as his hand dragged slowly over his mouth. "Can we all agree that our people matter more than any new group o' survivors that comes along?"

It was no surprise when everyone nodded. Beth didn't look terribly pleased with the way things were going, but she didn't seem able to argue that their people took precedent over anyone else. Daryl couldn't say he disagreed with her. Not completely, but there were far more terrible people in the world these days than the good ones.

"Alrigh' then." Rick nodded, glancing at Daryl again but only briefly. Rick knew what Daryl's answer would be. The former deputy didn't need reassurance in that. "We'll try to be fair, but we do whatever is necessary to keep our people safe – our home safe."

"So what do we do about the people with the lights?" Carol asked. Her expression was neutral enough that it was almost emotionless. Daryl was reminded of Karen and David. There was nothing this woman wouldn't do to keep them all as safe as she could. It also reminded him that they had more than a fighting chance to overcome just about anything.

"When there's light to see by, a few of us will go out and see what we can see," Rick answered her. "I'd say three, two to watch both sides and one to focus on the observin'."

"I'll go," Jason offered from behind him. "I'm nowhere near as good as Daryl at trackin' but I know more'n probably most of the rest o' ya."

"Naw, I can go," Daryl said. He started when not only Rick and Jason, but most of the rest of them chimed in for a large chorus of nos.

"Your ankle the way it is would get you killed, if we ran into any trouble," Jason told him. "Not only would you be a danger t' yourself, but t' the rest of the group out there. They'd have t' be worryin' about haulin' your ass back in here instead of gettin' themselves to safety."

Daryl looked from Jason to Rick. The man's mouth was a displeased, this line, but after a moment of staring Daryl down, he turned back to the group. "Who else?"

"I'll go," Abraham offered.

To which Rosita said, "Then I go too."

Rick nodded. "Alright. Everyone try and get a little more sleep. Maggie. Glenn. See if you can relieve Bob and Sasha."

"Sure thing," the pair said in unison and then stood, heading back upstairs to prepare for a few hours on guard duty. Beth got up and moved over to stand beside Jason at the stove where the young man had leaned back after telling Daryl to just forget going out into the wilderness any time soon. Daryl felt rankled and irritable, pissed off by his own weakness. Pushing off the chair, he left his crutch where it leaned on the island and stubbornly forced himself to limp as little as possible as he made his way down the hall and into the bedroom. He immediately made his way to the crib, looking down on Judith as she slept peacefully on, unaware that there might be anything wrong with her little world.

It was only a few minutes later that Rick came into the bedroom. He paused by the door and Daryl's crutch rattled as Rick leaned it against the wall there. The other man's steps were soft as he moved further into the room and stopped just two steps behind Daryl. The silence in the room was heavy.

"Daryl…"

The archer turned, unsteadily, and kept his eyes in the general vicinity of Rick's collarbones. His insides were twisted tight, and he just wasn't sure what to do. Part of him, the only part he'd really ever gotten to know, wanted to cuss Rick out. That part of him wanted to punch the man in front of him right in the face and prove through vicious words and meaner actions that he wasn't some pussy ass bitch that couldn't take care of himself.

The other part of him, the part he wasn't so familiar with, wanted to apologize for being useless. For being a burden. For failing the man in front of him. The only experience he had with that part of himself was from way back when his daddy had first started in on him because Merle had landed himself in Juvie. Daryl had curled up in a little ball and wailed the first few beatings, the noise irritating the old man enough to bring a second beating right on the heels of the first. He'd learned quickly after that.

Lost in thought, Daryl couldn't suppress the flinch when Rick reached slowly toward him, the action taking him by surprise. At some point in the past, Rick might have backed away and given Daryl some space after a response like that. Right now, Rick pressed in close with his whole body not deterred in the least by the ingrained reaction.

"Hey," he murmured, wrapping his arms around Daryl in a comfortingly snug embrace. "You're fine," he murmured, voice rumbling and raspy right next to Daryl's ear. Slowly, Daryl brought his free arm up and wrapped it around Rick's waist, clenching anxiously trembling fingers in the fabric at the small of Rick's back. "You're okay. We all jus' want you t' heal up right."

Cheek pressed into Rick's shoulder, Daryl stared into the darkness of the room. He didn't know what he should say, so he said nothing. After a moment, Rick pulled back and Daryl felt the intensity of Rick's gaze on his face, urging him to look up. Daryl, compelled, brought his gaze up. This close he could still directly meet Rick's eyes even in the dark. The former officer searched his face a moment and Daryl, feeling suddenly vulnerable and exposed, looked away. Rick immediately leaned in and kissed his temple.

"Let's get back t' bed. Judith'll be up and hungry in a few hours." When Daryl bobbed his head, Rick released him and together they made their way over to the bed. Once they were in and settled, Rick spooned up behind him again, Rick murmured, "I know you're itchin' t' get back out there already. But…I can't lose you."

It sounded painful, Daryl realized, for Rick to admit to that here and now. This wasn't their Leader, urging him to understand his value to the group. This was a man he'd kissed. This was the man who'd gone out of his way just to make sure Daryl of all people was comfortable for no other reason than that he'd been concerned for Daryl's well-being. This was the man who'd turned Daryl's life completely around, taming parts of him that Daryl himself hadn't been able to conquer. Two years ago, Daryl wouldn't have been right on the frontline, probably already out there right then sprained ankle and bum arm be damned, and…they probably wouldn't have stopped him. Rick would have tried, for sure, but Daryl wouldn't have been able to listen.

In his mind's eye, Daryl could just see an image, blurred by lack of familiarity with the unknown surroundings of The Grimes' bedroom before the shit hit the fan. Of Rick lying behind Lori just like this, aching to make it better, to do right by the person he so clearly cared about. Her silence had been icy and immutable the whole time Daryl had known her. He could just imagine her stiffness, her stare and her silent walls thrown up to shut Rick out after one of their infamous fights even back then. It occurred to Daryl that they both had ingrained habits and fears that neither of them might ever overcome.

In that moment, Daryl found himself wishing his damn arm and side weren't such a mess for an entirely different reason. Unable to roll around and face Rick, Daryl reached across his own body and awkwardly caught at Rick's elbow where it rested bent over Daryl's side. He tugged even as he leaned back. Rick seemed to get the message on the second pull on his arm and pushed himself up onto his other elbow, giving Daryl room to tilt gingerly onto his back with Rick hovering above him.

Daryl reached up, fingers trailing up the side of Rick's bicep and over his shoulder until his fingers could curl around the side of Rick's neck. Being under the other man sent twin tingles of fear and excitement up his spine. Daryl had cut out the last time they'd been even remotely close to this level of intimacy, overwhelmed and close to terrified of getting any closer to the man than he already was. It still brought to mind far too many unpleasant memories, but Daryl Dixon wasn't one to shy away from something that scared him forever.

"You goin' senile, man?" he rasped into the dark between them. "How many times am I gonna have t' tell you? I ain' goin' nowhere."

Daryl took in the shadowed and grey-shrouded features on the other man's face as Rick's expression eased from aching and confused to gentle and tender. Rick chuckled, dipping his chin and tipping his cheek against Daryl's wrist. His stubble scratched and tickled the sensitive skin there, making Daryl shiver. As if in apology, Rick brushed a soft kiss where his would-be beard had left the tender skin overly sensitized. "I guess I am. You'll have t' keep remindin' me then."

"Seems like," Daryl murmured and let his fingertips press just a little more in the soft flesh at the back of Rick's neck. Rick leaned down without an ounce of resistance, resting his forehead on Daryl's for just a moment before tilting his head and capturing Daryl's lips in kiss so tender Daryl wasn't prepared for the emotional that welled instantly in his chest. The hand on the back of Rick's neck pushed long fingers up into thick curls, deepening their connection. It was the first time Daryl had felt like a full participant in the kiss. There wasn't any other thought in his mind, no other voice, no other focus, but Rick and the way he kissed like a man starved for physical contact.

The angle was a bit awkward at first, but Rick seemed keen to remedy the minor discomfort, shifting farther up so that Daryl could rest his head back into the pillow. The arm he'd left straight on the other side of Daryl's body flexed, dropping Rick down to both elbows, and Daryl immediately felt the loss of an easy escape route. Thing was? The realization that he was trapped beneath Rick's body neglected to send any kind of alarm through him. He was trapped and it wasn't sending him running from the bed and their room. Then Rick slid over just that few inches more, slipping his left leg over one of Daryl's until it rested between them and the hunter arched into Rick's hip, startled by the intensity of the arousal rushing like a tidal wave to burn low in his stomach. Strong fingers tightened in the hair they'd woven into, and the pull of the reaction on his scalp must have done something for the other man because Rick growled – fucking growled – as he pressed his own hips tight against Daryl's pelvis in response. The tiny whimper had to have come from Daryl himself given that Rick's mouth was now busily nibbling along Daryl's jaw.

"Daryl," Rick rasped against the archer's ear. "Tell me t' stop."

Fuck that.

Instead, Daryl brought his right leg up and wound it around the leg resting between his, locking Rick in place as he lifted his hips into the other man's body again. They were both getting hard and fast, the rush of blood to a place other than his brain, making the normally reserved man feel a bit bolder and lot less reserved about the whole thing. So he liked the way Rick moaned into his ear and ground hard into his hips. It was nobody's fucking business but his own and Merle's stupid ghost could just shut the fuck up. Thankfully, Daryl's mind seemed peaceful for the time being, aside from the constant surge of hormones drowning his common sense.

Rick licked his ear, tongue dipping in and making Daryl's breath hitch and his body squirm in an automatic reaction to the tickling sensation. His tongue didn't stop there neither. It trailed around behind the delicate shell and was immediately followed by the graze of teeth. Rick mouthed down the side of his neck, kisses open-mouthed and teeth gentle as he kissed, nipped and sucked his way down to Daryl's collarbone and then up over his Adam's apple and chin. Daryl heard another of those tiny whimpers escape him when Rick took Daryl's lower lip between his teeth and tugged. The action caused a gasping reaction and Rick dove in, tongue sliding right past Daryl's lips as Rick rocked his hips into Daryl's again. Daryl's hips rocked up to meet the downward thrust and as their tongues writhed against each other their hips picked up a slow and steady rhythm.

After a moment, Rick broke away and moaned, the sound half muffled by the muscle joining Daryl's neck and shoulder. "Fuck, Daryl," he whispered.

"Rick," Daryl whimpered in response and buried his face against the other man's shoulder, panting and letting out a low moan when Rick groaned – a long low sound that went straight to Daryl's dick – and his hips jerked hard, rubbing his spasming cock tight up against Daryl's own hard and leaking member. Teeth sank into the muscle that had been tensing under Rick's chin and Daryl arched, head doing back hard into the pillow as he muttered, "Oh fuck! Shit, yeah," groaning as he came. His whole body shuddered and he was so overwhelmed in the sensation that it took him a moment to register the gentle kisses Rick was trailing up and down the side of his neck and over the mark he had to have left on Daryl's shoulder. It was soothing and helped to bring him down from the afterglow high gently.

Rick loved him. He hadn't said it yet, but Daryl knew it to be true.

Loosening his grip on the hair at the nape of Rick's neck, Daryl let his hand drift down the other man's back and then slowly dragged it back it up, palm flat against the shuddering muscles on Rick's back. Rick slowly lifted his head. He looked down into Daryl's lazily slitted eyes for just a moment before leaning in to brush a soft kiss to the archer's slightly swollen lower lip.

"I haven't done that since I was a teenager," he mumbled and Daryl snorted. "Let's get you outta this sling for a bit and into the shower, hm?"

Their noses brushed when Daryl dipped his chin, unable to speak for the tightness in his throat. Rick slid over him the rest of the way and slipped off Daryl's side of the bed. Unsteady, he started and leaned forward catching himself on the edge of the mattress when Dundee bolted up from the floor and walked grumpily over to the dog bed Jason had to have put in one of the corners of the room. Rick chuckled, a little high from the endorphins still and Daryl smirked at him as he straightened again. Boneless as he felt, Daryl forced himself to sit up with Rick's gentle hands helping him and leaned heavily into his partner's sturdy, limping with him as they made their way into the bathroom.

It was easier to sit on the stool sat to the side of the shower and let Rick unclasp the sling from his torso and slip it off his shoulder and arm. He sat still while Rick unwound the bandage from his bicep and helped Rick pull his tank top off by lifting and bending his good arm and bowing his head. He felt a little drugged, but it was more like the pleasant haze of good pot than the uncomfortable ants under your skin buzz of the stronger shit. Rick got his chin and forced him to look up at him once the wrap was gone from his right ankle and the last of the bandages had been pulled from his side.

"No fallin' asleep yet," Rick mumbled, looking drowsy himself but highly amused. Daryl frowned at him.

"I ain' gonna," he protested and then gripped Rick's shoulder, pulling himself to his feet in sync with the other man straightening up. Rick slipped his fingertips into the waistband of Daryl's sleep pants and leaned in for a kiss. Daryl gave in to the sloppy, openmouthed affection with an ease born from orgasm. Distracted, he didn't even twitch when Rick pushed his pants and boxers to the floor. The cold air against the cooling cum on his dick, however, was uncomfortable enough for him to grunt and pull away, balancing unsteadily on his left foot and turning toward the shower door.

Rick came in right behind him, naked as the day he was born, and pulled the door closed as Daryl adjusted the water knobs to his satisfaction. When he was happy with the temperature he made to turn around, but Rick pressed in close behind him, putting them both under the spray and mouthed at the bite mark on Daryl's shoulder as he rubbed a soapy washcloth down Daryl's belly with an open palm. The shower was a slow, sensual come down from the quick, frantic dry-humping and Daryl let himself melt into Rick's touch. It was an unusal delight to watch Rick take pleasure in his own hesitant touches. They washed their own hair at the end and Rick slipped out of the shower while Daryl was rinsing the suds from his too long locks. By the time Daryl had turned the water off, Rick was waiting for him with a fluffy brown towel out of the shower door.

Once Daryl had dried himself off, Rick picked up the wound pack – some blend of triple antibiotic ointment and herbs Jason had insisted would help heal the arrow wounds faster than the antibiotic ointment alone – and the gauze and set about rebandaging Daryl's arm and side as the hunter sat placidly on the stool. Rick kept shooting him these little looks and after a while, Daryl grumbled a soft, "What?"

"I don' think I've ever seen you this…serene before," he murmured.

"That's cuz you ain' never seen me after an orgasm before," Daryl teased and shivered when Rick smoothed the last corner on the last bandage down and let his fingers continue their trail down his side until they rested on Daryl's bared hip. The towel had sagged a bit once he'd sat down.

"Let's get you back t' bed. I'll rewrap your ankle before we get up in the morning."

"The sling?" Daryl queried, eyeing the damn thing and hoping Rick would feel the same way about it.

Rick's smirk said he was on to him. "I'm not gonna let you move once we're back in bed. You don' need it for a few hours of rest."

Stooping, Rick pulled Daryl's right arm over his shoulders and together they made their way back into the bedroom. Rick made sure to ease Daryl back into the bed beneath the covers before moving around and crawling in behind him. Spooning naked was something new, but Daryl found he was too tired to analyze it much. It wasn't unpleasant, a lot the opposite in fact, and he closed his eyes, drifting off to the soft even breathing and steadily thumping heart of the man behind him.

TBC…