Mara woke feeling hot. The prison was filled with the soft muted light of morning. She quickly figured out the reason for the temperature increase was due to Daryl in her bed. There wasn't much room in these pokey cell beds but Daryl seemed to fit around her naturally. They had never spent a full night asleep in each other's arms.
Asleep, Daryl actually looked peaceful. It was so rare for Mara to see him this still because awake he always burned with energy.
Mara was loath to leave him but she didn't have the luxury of lounging in bed all day with her lover. There was work to be done and Nathan would come looking for her if she didn't get her ass in to gear soon.
Mara was surprised but happy when she managed to shift out of the bed without waking him. She always knew that Daryl didn't take enough care of himself, never really getting much sleep, so Mara figured he'd earned himself a few extra hours in bed.
Dressing quickly Mara exited her cell to find some food. She took an available seat next to Nathan and waited for the inevitable interrogation from her captain.
His stern gaze zeroed in on her the minute she entered but he was patient enough to allow Mara few mouthfuls of food before beginning his line of questioning.
"I didn't know you'd taken up with the boy," Nathan began. Mara always found it hilarious that Nathan called Daryl boy. He was ten years older than him at most.
"Everyone else did." Mara wasn't trying to be smart. She was being matter of fact.
"It's true," Yussuf contributed, picking the most inappropriate time to join them.
"This was probably going to be a private conversation," Mara said tightly.
"And?" Yussuf asked, not budging.
"Can you order him to go?" she asked her sergeant.
"I don't think anyone can tell Yussuf what to do," Nathan said in a long suffering tone.
Yussuf grinned cheerfully as he started eating his food. He waved his spoon in the air inviting them to continue.
"So you and Daryl?" Nathan resumed.
"I guess so," Mara said smiling.
"It's not affecting your work?"
"Have you noticed a slip in my professional behaviour?" Mara asked, straightening her back.
"No, I have not." Nathan took a sip from his cup and Mara realised he had coffee. She had missed coffee and had no idea when someone had found some.
"He's very different from your last gentleman," Nathan observed casually.
"You never met Eric!"
It wasn't Mara's imagination that Yussuf and Nathan now exchanged awkward glances. Mara's suspicion was peaked.
"Sarge?"
"After you ended things via correspondences," there was a note of judgement now.
"We weren't allowed to use phones," Mara protested, flushing slightly. She was certainly not proud of how things ended with her and Eric. But writing a letter had been the only way she had of contacting him.
"Well he showed up on the base," Yussuf took over the story.
Mara was shocked. This was the first she was hearing about it, which was interesting considering Yussuf's complete inability to keep a secret.
"He what?"
"He came looking for you."
Mara wanted to groan. That sounded just like Eric. He always wanted to go for the big romantic gesture but never really thought through the consequences. He was exactly the type of person who would sneak on to a secure military base to see a girl. Mara had never really thought of Eric and Daryl having much in common but she supposed they were both impulsive sometimes.
"Did he get in trouble?" Mara had ended their romantic relationship but she still thought Eric was a decent guy.
"We sorted it out," Nathan said cryptically.
"We didn't want to worry you," Yussuf added, "You'd come so far in your training."
"What did Eric have to do with that?"
Nathan looked uncomfortable. "You seemed to have the hardest time letting go of your past life and that was holding you back."
Mara had known Nathan had been distant from them all at the start but this was news to her. "Are you saying I wasn't very good?"
"Oh god, you were all just awful," Nathan snorted.
"Hey!" Yussuf protested. "I was trained."
"Yeah but you were so annoying it kind of cancelled it out."
Mara was looking at Nathan like he had grown a second head. "That's really harsh."
Nathan fixed her with a knowing look. "I'm sure you remember struggling a little."
Mara did recall finding it tough but it was still a little disconcerting. "I feel like my whole world is coming apart, Sarge."
"Interesting, it's normally Yussuf that goes in for the histrionics," Nathan responded calmly, guessing that Mara was mostly joking.
"You're such a bastard," Yussuf muttered. Nathan stared at him until Yussuf felt compelled to add, "Respectfully, Sir."
"Could have been worse! You could have been assigned Cheiny." Nathan named another team leader that had been abrasive, misogynistic and a little bit racist. Mara and Yussuf both winced. Far better to be with Nathan, who had a far more relaxed approach and therefore commanded more respect as a result.
"Enough chatting," Nathan decided. "Yussuf, I need you to help me to organise the guns around the prison. I don't want anyone getting pinned down without a weapon."
"You still think it's better to wait for the Governor to come to us and not go meet him?" Mara asked. The idea of proactively tracking down the Governor had been thrown around but ultimately with the lack of an organised force they had decided it was better to wait for him to find them.
"I do," Nathan said simply. The time for discussion was done. Nathan always listened to his team's opinions but ultimately he got the final say. "When you're finished eating, please do a permitter check."
Mara half heartedly saluted him and turned back to her food.
Carol slid in to the sergeants abandoned seat, swapping a smile with Nathan as they traded places. "How you feeling?"
"Weird. I barely feel like I'm part of the Australian army. I'm anything but neutral now and it's not like I can ever go home."
Carol hadn't expected her to go into that much detail. "I meant after what happened yesterday."
"I'm fine," Mara answered after a moment's pause. "Did you know about his back?"
"I saw it once," Carol confessed.
"I thought maybe he would have told me before now."
"Daryl has a hard time trusting people," Carol said. "You know that."
Mara had to admit the woman was right. Mara was just trying to cover her own shock and sadness with stupid questions.
"I don't think it's uncommon with abuse victims to feel ashamed of it. Like it might somehow be their fault." Carol's voice had turned serious.
It took a beat before Mara remembered why Carol could speak about abuse with such certainty and knowledge. Impulsively she reached out to grab Carol's hand.
"You aren't a victim anymore," Mara said emphatically.
"I like to think I've changed."
"You have," Mara said, even though she had not known Carol before the death of her husband and daughter. The Carol she knew was strong, confident and kind. She was willing to fight to protect those she loved.
"Will Daryl be alright?" Mara asked in a small voice.
Carol smiled reassuringly. "He will be. He'll have to come to terms with what Merle did but I think he's actually comfortable with the idea you know now."
"I told him I loved him last night."
"Did he run away?" Carol asked.
"No."
"That's progress. You should have seen him before we left the farm. He was like a stray dog that was likely to bite your hand off if you tried to offer him kindness."
Mara considered Carol's words. Daryl had been prickly enough with the strangers at the prison. Mara might have ended up with a crossbow bolt in her gut if their timing had been much different.
Carol sighed. "I should go find Judith. Beth is probably in need of a break."
"I could look after her sometimes if you need." Mara shrugged casually. She'd never looked after an infant before but if Daryl could then surely it wasn't that hard. On the other hand, someone let Yussuf mind Judith once.
"I appreciate the offer but I think the military should probably do military things." Carol winked and then disappeared further into the prison. Mara was starting to wonder if anyone in the prison had a simple back story. Maybe Carl? She was going to have to start hanging out with Carl more often.
...
Daryl woke to an empty bed. He was regretful that Mara wasn't there but she had things to do. Hell, they all did. Daryl dragged himself out of bed and winced. Merle had always fought ferociously and had about the same impact as a runaway train smashing into your body.
Daryl ventured out and entered the common area just as Christina, Michonne and Andrea came in. They looked dirty and rough.
"What happened to y'all?"
"It was raining when we did a sweep around the outside of the prison," Christine explained.
"Rick let a gaggle of girls go snoopin' round? Can't imagine you were much in the way of subtle!" His words were met with some very hard stares. No one had a sense of humour anymore. He was being sarcastic. The three in front of him were hardly prone to gossip or giggling.
Daryl cleared his throat. "Ya find anything?"
"Few walkers," Michonne said pulling at her sword. Daryl could see that it needed to be cleaned.
Michonne and Christine drifted further into the prison. Andrea lingered and he could tell from her stance that she wanted to say something.
"I'm sorry about yesterday."
Daryl nodded. "Thanks," he replied awkwardly. Andrea was the only one of the women who had known Merle before he cut off his hand. Not that it made much difference. He'd been a bastard then, he was a bastard now.
He hesitated then gave in to his curiosity. "Is Merle ok?" Daryl knew he sounded a little pathetic for asking. Merle wouldn't have asked after him.
Andrea's face clearly conveyed that she though Merle deserved every ounce of pain inflicted on him. "He's lucky that Elias didn't break his jaw."
"He's got quite an arm on him," Daryl said, rubbing his face absently.
Andrea raised her eyebrows to indicate that was an understatement. Elias had flattened Merle. Daryl really should find the man and thank him. After all, he'd done what Daryl couldn't.
AN: Just a small chapter today sorry. I'm building up to some action and it shouldn't be too far away. I hope you like it. Please review. If everyone who followed reviewed, my head would pop off in joy... well that was a strange visual. Enjoy your day/evening where ever you are.