Enjoy peeps...Review Review Review! And let me know if you want to bring the prison gang back into the story or not.

As usual, I don't own the Walking dead or it's characters, but I wish I did!

XXOO-

Missy

Anna took the baby and laid her down in Gus's room. She had been well fed and was sleeping soundly. She then went through the bag of medical supplies her mother had and found some pretty heavy duty pain- killers. These were going to have to work.

She found Gus and told him to meet her in her and Daryl's bedroom in about an hour. That would give the pain pills ample time to kick in. She asked if her could keep an eye on Hunter for a bit so that she could have some alone time with Daryl. He was more than happy to oblige.

Daryl had finished his dinner and was resting when she entered into the room. She quickly grabbed his dishes and took them to the kitchen making a note that she would clean them after they were done with the medical procedure.

She entered back into the room and sat down beside Daryl. "You ready for this?"

He laughed, "Trust me, I've been through worse. Too bad you can't dress up in a naughty nurse outfit." The both laughed at his comment. He was only half joking.

"Well I had a thought. After we are done there is a Jacuzzi tub in Dad's bathroom. I could fix you a nice hot bath and let you soak. It might help with a lot of the muscle aches and pains you have. I can go in there with you or I can let you have your privacy, your choice."

Daryl now suddenly found himself extremely nervous. Getting your wrist re-broken, that was a piece of cake. He had been used to pain for the most part of his life, but her actually bathing him while he was naked, that was an overwhelming thought. He thought he should just tell her that he would skip the bath, but it did sound enticing. The look on his face must have given him away.

"Honey, I didn't mean to put you on the spot. I'm sorry. I know this all new to you, and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. When the time is ready, you let me know OK. I will prepare the bath for you and give you your privacy, I will sit outside the door and if you need me, you just holler, got it?"

She was so perfect and so perceptive. Hunter was never going to be able to get away with anything with Anna as her mama. Anna read people well. Daryl was thankful that she made the decision for him. In his mind he knew he was like a naïve little kid, and more than anything he wanted to get over that fear, Anna deserved it, but he was just too chicken shit to go through with it right now. He hoped like hell that she would blame his injuries.

"And Daryl, just so you know, I told you before, I can't have…um…. Relations for at least another month or so. Don't get me wrong, I'm not counting down the days so I can jump your bones, I just don't want you to think I am trying to push you into sex. Got it?" He nodded again.

"Yeah, I got it. Wish I were better at this stuff. Guess I'm like a twelve-year-old kid when it comes to sex. Its not that I don't want it, 'cause trust me I do, it's that I don't want to disappoint you. I've spent a life disappointing people and for once I want to get something right."

"You listen to me. I don't want you to even begin to think about disappointment. I was married to a man for twenty years, and do you think that sex was incredible every time? The worse thing you can do is make yourself dread it. We will work on it together, because the last time I checked it normally takes two people to participate in the act. Right now the only thing you need to focus on is getting better and getting your strength back. I doubt Hunter's feeding schedule would afford us much time for proper love making anyway. We are gonna have to get Grandpa Gus to baby-sit for us."

She always knew what to say to make him feel better. "Well hopefully he won't charge too much." The both laughed heavily. They were both so comfortable with each other that what could have been an awkward conversation actually turned into a good conversation. He was feeling much better about himself, Almost Giddy.

"Come here" Daryl said to Anna. She moved closer to him and he gently took her face into his one good hand and kissed her gently and deeply. Suddenly all the pain he had been feeling melted away. She was the cure for every bad thing he had experienced in his life. Being with Anna made it all seem to go away. This new feeling of love he was experiencing was addictive, and he never wanted this addiction to be cured.

Anna could tell that the painkillers were kicking in. Daryl's motions were slowing and he looked like he was fighting to keep his eyes open. The moment she had been dreading all afternoon was now here. Sure enough Gus showed up ready to go into battle.

The actual procedure was pretty brutal, but Daryl took it like a man. He barely groaned. The color in his face drained and he began sweating when the bone was pulled apart again, but he held still and tolerated the break better than expected. Anna followed the procedures for re-setting the bone and felt confident she had done it right. Since they didn't have proper casting materials, they made a make shift splint that would keep the wrist from moving. It wasn't going to be comfortable, but all things considered it was going to work pretty well.

Daryl basically dozed off when they were done. She had given him a strong dose of the pain meds and suspected that would happen. She decided he could take a bath in the morning when he would be much more alert.

She spent the rest of the evening cleaning the kitchen, talking with Gus and taking care of Hunter. She and Gus talked about the good times that they had spent with Ava and all of the things they were going to miss. It comforted them both to be able to talk about her so freely. They both avoided the subject of Marco, and if they never spoke of him again, it would be too soon.

Finally, exhausted after all the activities of the day, she decided to turn in for the night. She nursed Hunter one last time and then laid her gently in the bassinet. Hunter held onto the little bunny that Daryl had picked up for her. It was perfect and it seemed to soothe the baby. Anna pulled off her clothes and let them drop in a pile on the floor. Normally she would have gone in the bathroom and changed, but Daryl was sound asleep, so she simply changed in the room and slipped in the bed beside him. Even with all the bruises, she thought he was one of the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen. Yeah, she had it bad for him.

Gus had decided to do an inventory of supplies before he headed off for bed. Winter was coming quick and they had to be prepared. Sometimes the winters were mild, but other times they could end up with a couple feet of snow. It just depended on whether or not fronts came from over the mountains or if they came from the gulf. He kept meticulous records of everything on hand and was going over them to determine how long everything would last. Since he couldn't rely on solar power if they were covered in layers of snow, they would need to rely on propane for electricity. According to his figures they were low and would need more. That meant they were going to have to do a run. Finding the propane wasn't the challenge, procuring it and bringing it back safely was the issue. He would discuss it with Daryl and Anna in the morning.

Daryl woke first the next morning. Anna was asleep and Hunter was beginning to fuss in her crib. He knew that Anna had kept a few extra bottles of milk in the fridge so he decided he would let her sleep and feed the baby. Getting up was no easy task. He still hurt quite a bit, and his left arm was now pretty much immobile because of the splint. He was just going to have to learn how to get around with one arm for a while. He now sort of knew what Merle had gone through.

He moved very slowly, but he was up. He got the bottle of milk and warmed it up on the stove. He brought it back to the room and carefully picked up Hunter with his good arm. She was such a beautiful little girl. He couldn't have loved her anymore if she was his own biologically. She began drinking the formula and he spoke to her softly. It brought back memories of Judith. He wondered how they were all doing at the prison. He had been gone well over a month now, but he couldn't think about that. His life was here now.

Anna woke up after Daryl had finished feeding the baby and he even managed to change her. She was impressed at how quickly he was adapting to using just one arm. If he could keep it up, he would heal up quickly.

"So good morning Mr. Mom." She said to him.

"Morning beautiful. I get to see both my pretty girls this morning." He smiled at her as he gently put Hunter back down in the bassinet.

"I think someone is owed a good soak in the tub. You were out last night after we finished with your wrist, so I decided to let you sleep, but I think you will feel much better if you let the hot water and the Jacuzzi jets work over your body."

"Just say when, I'm actually kinda excited about it. Been a while since I had a good bath anyway. I sorta got used to quick cold showers or sponge baths over the past year or so." He said.

"Yeah, I figured that out. Let's go get that bath while Hunter is napping."

They went across the house to Gus's room. He was up puttering around. Anna told him that Daryl was going to use the tub and he agreed that it would probably help loosen up his muscles and help ease some of the muscle trauma he had suffered. She went in and poured the bath and set the jets for Daryl. She pulled out some clean towels and even a nice fluffy robe that Gus had but never used. She told him that she would get him some clean clothes while he bathed. She then shut the door to give him privacy.

He pulled off his clothes and let them drop into a pile on the floor. He knew his clothes were in rough shape and made a mental note that they all were probably going to need some new clothes. Especially with winter just around the corner. He eased himself into the deep tub, making sure to keep his arm elevated on the side of the tub.

The warmth of the water and the pressure from the jets was ecstasy. He couldn't remember the last time anything felt this good. Only one thing would feel better, and he still hadn't mustered up the courage for that yet. But he couldn't stop thinking about it. There was a basket of all types of soaps and sponges on the side of the tub, so he chose the soap that smelled the least like a girl and scrubbed. He then washed his hair twice; being sure to get rid of all the dirt and grime that had accumulated over the past few months. He had just been taking sponge baths for so long that he doubted he would ever get clean.

After he was sure he was squeaky clean, he let himself soak for a bit. It felt amazing, and it really did seem to be relieving a lot of the pain and soreness he had been suffering. His wrist still ached, but he had faith that Anna knew what she was doing when she reset it last night. Maybe things were finally starting to look up.

He finally turned off the jets and let the water out of the tub. He felt amazingly refreshed. He toweled off and slipped on the robe. If Merle could see him now he would get a kick out of the sight. Daryl looked and smelled like he was staying in a Four Seasons hotel or something. He decided he would shave and trim up his scruff. He found a new razor and figured Gus wouldn't mind.

When he was finished he looked at himself closely in the mirror. He really was starting to show his age. His eyes were still muddled with colors from his beating from Marco, but he could also see he was developing lines and wrinkles on his face. He guessed all those years of smoking and scowling were finally catching up with him. It really didn't matter though, Anna was in love with him and that was all that really mattered. He didn't care if he looked like a mutant if it meant Anna would be there with him. She was his everything, and he wanted nothing more that to be her everything too. He hoped he wasn't being selfish thinking like that, but it was how he truly felt.

Anna brought him some fresh clothes and he changed into them. He even went so far as to spray on a little bit of cologne he found in the bathroom. He was as proud as a peacock for a few moments. When he walked out of the bathroom, Anna's mouth dropped.

"Oh My God you look and smell amazing." She couldn't help it, and she ran over to him and kissed him intensely. She was careful not to put any type of physical pressure on him because of his healing wounds, but if he had been physically able, she would have jumped up on him and wrapped her legs around him.

"If I knew I was gonna get that kind of reaction I would have bathed sooner." He mused.

They both laughed and he she took his dirty clothes from his hand as they walked out into the main part of the house.

Gus smiled at them and laughed when he got a whiff of the cologne that Daryl had on. He recognized it as his bottle of Classic Kiehl's musk. Ah yes, the ladies loved it. It was one of Ava's favorites.

"Hey kids, I need to talk to you both if you have some time and if Daryl is feeling up to it." Gus pulled up a chair at the kitchen table and both Anna and Daryl sat down.

Gus proceeded to tell them that they were going to need to go on a supply run in the next few weeks. He explained that they were getting low on propane and that the solar panels weren't very effective in the wintertime, especially if they had heavy snow.

Daryl spoke first, "Give me a few days to heal a bit more, and then we can go."

Anna and Gus both shook their heads. "No," Gus said, " you need at least two weeks to heal up. We will go then. In the mean time we will only use the solar panels and hope for the best. There is a weeks worth of propane at best, and we will only use it if we have too."

Anna added, "We can use the fireplace if it gets too cold, and shut off the rest of the house. If we have to camp in the main room, we will do it. I am not going to risk Daryl getting re-injured by rushing into this. By the way, where do we go to get propane?"

Gus sighed deeply, "McGrady."