Notes: I just have to give thanks to all you for your wonderful reviews. I don't know if it was because I sounded so needy, but I was really worried I got off track with the last chapter, so thanks again for all your support.

Lily of the Lake - I hope you kept on reading. Thank you., Tomte Mushroom (you're welcome), Aoi Nami-chan (I'm glad you found it and are liking it), Prince Embree (I'm so glad), GypsyWitchBaby (you crack me up), zaii (I love the kids too), Nymphchild (she'll get hers!), eloquent dreams (yeah) BoneyKingOfNowhere (always so good)...and to all the new Favorites - thanks.

I think it goes without saying I own nothing associated with The Walking Dead - if I did, I probably wouldn't be doing this.

Chapter 25 - Walk on the Wild Side

Days passed into weeks at the prison and the newest residents seemed to be settling in just fine. One of the newest residents however, seemed to be having difficulty sleeping alone in their own bed.

"Lylah, I swear to God, I'm gonna start lockin' that dang cell door," Daryl growled into her ear as he felt a pair of little toddler knees digging into his back.

Lylah half opened one eye before propping herself up and looking over Daryl's shoulder. Sure enough, Jake had crawled into their bed yet again and snuggled up beside Daryl. The little boy was sound asleep.

She turned over and grinned at him, "Give him here, I'll take him back" and Lylah reached over and picked up the little boy. With the little boy slumped in her arms lying between them, she moved to carry him back to bed. Daryl was the one that stopped her from leaving. "Don't matter,... Just leave him be and let's go back to sleep" and he proceeded to put his arm over the both of them before closing his eyes again, briefly wonderin' if he was ever going to have some privacy with Lylah again.

"We've got to find that damn armory." Daryl said as frustration made him louder than he intended. "You all know we're on borrowed time as it is. If Woodbury shows up, we're gonna need more than sidearms to hold them off," Daryl knew he was pointing out the obvious to Rick, T-Dogg, and Glenn. Andrea and Michonne stood by as they discussed the days plan to clear more of the prison. Rick really wanted to clear the rest of the Admin section. That would give them clear access to the courtyard and B-Block. The armory should be there because they were fast running out of options.

"Daryl, would you go get Lylah. I want to see what she thinks" Rick asked Daryl who grumbled and narrowed his eyes at Rick but complied nonetheless. It was Andrea that caught Michonne's eyes roll at Lylah when she came back with Daryl and stood in front of their make shift plan of the prison.

"Lylah, we've got to find the armory - we know it's here" Rick ran a hand through his hair as he squeezed his frustrated eyes shut for a moment trying to think of anything he missed. "We've cleared here, here...and here" Rick pointed to all the quadrants that were walker free and under their control, so to speak.

Lylah was actually thankful to be here – glad Rick had asked her specifically to be involved with this. She had reluctantly left these duties to the men at Daryl's request, even though Andrea and Michonne had been allowed. But she knew how much Daryl hated it when she went out with them and she just didn't want to deal with the argument that it inevitably caused. What was it her mother said 'You have to pick your battles'? Instead Lylah had been spending her days with the kids...creating a sense of normalcy by teaching them math, science, reading. She'd been the default teacher and baby sitter. Now that there were three school aged kids plus Jake - it was a necessary task. But that didn't mean she didn't crave something more challenging..

"OK - let's see. It wouldn't be here or here" Lylah crossed off the more obvious areas she could discount. "What about this. The prison wouldn't have wanted a cache of that many weapons anywhere near here. I'm thinking here or down here." Rick and Daryl both groaned at where Lylah was pointing. They had no clear access to either area. In fact it may take weeks to clear a path to those places.

"I know what you're thinking. But I don't think it has to be that bad. Look...we have this area cleared already right?" Lylah asked to make sure. "What if we go out the window here." she indicated one of the rooms she'd helped clear weeks earlier. "I think if we go out the window we can climb up to this floor above - then clear it if we need to. That should give us a straight shot to back down, then it's what 40-50 yards? That also gives us clear access to what I'm hoping is a motor pool and who know what else?" Lylah had to catch her breath, she hadn't realized she had been rambling so fast.

Glenn came over to get a better look. He studied the plan in depth for a few minutes, chewing on his thumbnail before he finally nodded his approval which earned a smile of gratitude from Lylah. "I think it'll work – I know the wall and I think we can climb up it pretty easy"

"Rick? What do you think?" Lylah asked. Rick studied their options and thought things over for a minute, before eventually nodding his agreement as well.

"Ok, then. Sure beats weeks of going room by room to get there. If this works, we'll be able to go twice as fast by boxing 'em in." It was nice to actually hear Rick sound more optimistic. It was a pleasant change. Lylah hadn't realized how much the pressure of leading had been wearing him down.

"I'll get my stuff" Lylah went and turned to head back to their room to change when she felt her elbow jerked to a halt.

"Ain't no need fer ya to go changin' " Daryl snarled at her. They had plenty of people, there was no reason she needed to go, especially after she laid out the plan.

"You are kidding me, right?" Lylah shot back at him. For chrissakes, she was the one they came up with the plan. What if they had to change it mid-stream when they were out there? It wasn't like they had cell phones. And she was sick and tired of being treated like this.

"Do I sound like I'm kidding you? We don't need you with us - we got this." Daryl knew he hurt her when he said it, but realized he wasn't sure he cared if it kept her here safe and sound. It was his his job to protect her… and if that meant hurtin' her feelin's sometimes. Well, he was prepared to do that.

"Em' Daryl, we need to discuss this somewhere else" Lylah said as she stalked out of the Cafeteria, realizing that Michonne had taken an eerie interest in their discussion.

Daryl eyed the storage room and went to pull her there, but Lylah remembered what happened last time. They always ended up having sex there, and she really needed to talk to him. "Daryl, we need to actually talk" and she gave him the 'I'm serious' eye.

She dragged him to an empty office and shut the door. "Daryl, we can't keep having this same conversation over and over" she started in.

"I agree" Daryl said simply, fully believing the matter was over.

"Uggg" Lylah groaned, "You're being impossible." Lylah struggled with how to deal with Daryl over this yet again, frustrated that she should have to. She loved Daryl more than she ever thought possible, but this caveman thing was something she had never prepared herself for. It would take some getting used to…since she was the one used to being top dog in a man's world - going out onto construction sites and being the one giving the orders and expecting them to be obeyed. To say this was a difficult adjustment was an understatement.

"OK - Daryl. Andrea and Michonne have been out with you constantly clearing the cells the last two weeks. How come it's ok for them to go and not me? You know I can shoot and defend myself at least as well as Andrea if not better" Lylah spat out.

"Yeah, but I AIN'T GONNA DIE if anything happens to one of them" Daryl finally screamed his ultimate fear – having to live in this hell without her. He knew that if he lost Lylah that he would not be able to go on in this shit world. He turned and kicked the wall he was so frustrated at feeling this way, so helpless to these feelings that made him so vulnerable.

"That is SO not fair to do to me" Lylah accused him while simultaneously her heart melted and she knew she would have done anything for this man at that moment. She went to him and pressed herself to his back and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You don't play fair" and she pressed a kiss against his back.

He spun her around so he could hold her face in his hands and meet her deep brown eyes that no longer sparked with anger. He bent down and covered her lips with his own in what only started out as a tender kiss. Soon enough there was heat and urgency as tongues intertwined.

His kisses made her body hummmm and it had nothing to do with anger or disagreement. Lylah realized they still hadn't come to a satisfactory resolution so she forced herself to pull away and tried desperately to refocus, eliciting a groan of frustration from Daryl.

"OK, Let's just say I do agree to stay here" she tentatively offered which put a gigantic grin on his face, "what do I get in return?" Lylah asked, figuring perhaps she could bargain with Daryl.

"Whatya want" he offered suggestively as he brought his erection firm up against her, letting her know exactly what he was offering in return. Lylah rolled her eyes at him and then narrowed them letting him know that wasn't what she meant, which only earned her a flirty grin in return.

"No, I want you to stop hovering so much. I'm not used to this. I want to be able to go on the next supply run or the next trip out of the prison. I want a hall pass Daryl and you can't put up a fuss," Lylah wanted to be clear what she was bargaining for. Daryl huffed and puffed at her negotiation but he finally agreed.

Daryl only felt a moments twinge of guilt as he agreed to their bargain. He knew that if he thought the situation was really dangerous, he would renegotiate their 'bargain' at the time. He was doing what he needed to keep her safe now, so he felt it wasn't a bad bargain at all, for him anyway.

"So we're good?" Lylah asked him. When he nodded his agreement she turned to leave the office room, surprised to find Daryl's arm in the way. She looked up at him, thinking he had more to say but he merely pulled her back into his arms.

"Ya know, it's been a whole bunch a nights since we.. ya know..." Daryl didn't need to finish the sentence. He pulled her closer to him as he nuzzled her neck and pressed his hardness against her so there was no doubt as to his intentions. What he was doing to her felt divine and it was driving her wild, but she decided maybe she needed to play with him a little.

"Since we what?" she asked in mock innocence as she brought her lips within only a millimeter from his, breathing all over his lips but not touching them...not kissing him.

"Since we played….Cards?" now she whispered huskily into his ear the way she knew drove him nuts while pressing her hips slowly back and forth along his thigh. Daryl groaned in pleasure and frustration as he realized what game she was playing at.

"Since we really, really…" she nibbled on his other ear before finishing her sentence , "talked."

Daryl's eyes were squeezed shut and he'd leaned his head to the side to give Lylah more access to his neck. Daryl couldn't decide if it was more pleasure or torture to have her teasing him like that as he felt his member strain against his pants. When Lylah began licking and nibbling on the salty sensitive spot on his neck, Daryl realized he'd had enough.

Lylah had forgotten how strong and unbelievably fast Daryl can be. In the blink of an eye, Lylah found herself pinned against the wall. Daryl had reversed their positions and he was now the one doing the teasing.

"Ya think yer really really funny don'tya?" he teased her as he was now the one in charge of the licking, biting, nibbling…..

Lylah smiled as his mouth finally reached hers. Daryl decided to finish his initial sentence, "What I meant to say in the first place, is it's been too dang long and I need ta be inside ya woman. Ya got a problem with that?" he growled out in between deep sensual kisses.

"You'll have a problem if you don't" Lylah matched him tongue for tongue, as she felt herself get slick at his direct words. Daryl reached his hands down into Lylah's pants as he began to finger her swollen clit, when suddenly the door was slammed open.

"Daryl, we gonna get going or what…. Oh shit…" Michonne stood there staring at the two lovers, Daryl suddenly moving closer to protect Lylah.. They were both fully clothed, but Michonne got a full look at Daryl's arousal for a millisecond while he still had his hand down Lylah's pants.

"Umm, I'm sorry. I'll just uh…..go," Michonne turned and shut the door behind her and smiled to herself…..more than satisfied with her timig. But judging by the the puppy dog look on the dude's face… her work was cut out fer her..

"Grhh," they both groaned at the same time as they realized they both were gonna have 'a problem'.

"Raincheck?" Lylah gave him one last kiss before he left.

"That's a Guaran-Fucking-Tee" Daryl kissed her back, trying become a little more comfortable while sporting a raging on hard-on.

Lylah spent the rest of the day with the kids as planned while waiting for Daryl and the group to return to everyone. Lylah sat there and realized she had become far more attached to Jake and Gracie and Sarah than she had thought possible in such a short amount of time, and they to her; …but watching Jake with Daryl, that was special. She especially loved seeing Daryl with Jake in the morning… It was like they had their own special man time with their own man code….It was Daryl that took him to the bathroom with him in the morning, and sometimes showered with him. Daryl talked a mean game, but Lylah caught him picking Jake up all the time, sneaking him treats, playing with him when he thought no one was looking….

Lylah realized she was lost in thought as Sarah tugged on her elbow asking for help. She had to take a quick second to remember where she was in their lesson.

"Sarah, sweetie no, you have to remember the negative sign" Lylah reminded her causing Sarah's blue eyes to frown in frustration as she tried to figure out where she went wrong. "Don't worry, you'll get it." Lylah was proud of the girls and they were a pleasure to teach and starving to learn. They caught on to everything she taught them so quickly, Lylah had to remind herself to keep to a fast pace and Carl, even though he was older actually had difficulty keeping up. These girls would have been bored stiff in a regular school, she realized.

In order to try and make it fun and interesting, she tried to apply the concepts she was teaching to their crazy new lives. For example, today she was teaching them about gravity so she was incorporating Daryl's crossbow. She drew the bow on paper, and then explained about things like trajectory and distance and acceleration. That really got Carl's attention, when she did things like that.

"Do you think he would show us sometime Lylah?" Carl asked.

"I don't know – we'll see ok" Lylah answered.

"I bet he would if you asked him," Carl suggested all silly and suggestive making kissy faces.

"You're bad Carl Grimes" Lylah ruffled his hair and tried to figure out how to deflect their attention to something other than her and Daryl.

"You kids know what we need?" she asked them and they all looked expectantly at her. "We need a field trip. I don't know where exactly just yet, but I'll try and think of something ok," that got the kids beyond excited. Lylah hadn't realized how cooped up with cabin fever the kids had been feeling and realized she should have. Kids need to be outside and have fresh air.

"Yipppeeee" the shouts and screams and hugs ensued and they tackled Lylah while she struggled to maintain her hold on Jake.

"Hey you maniacs, I can't promise anything – I said I'd look into it ok?" but they were still raining kisses on her when the guys walked in.

"Hey – I'm out slaving, and Lylah gets all the hugs and kisses?" Rick accused his son as he came over and gave him a playful squeeze.

"Yea – that's cuz Lylah's way prettier than you Rick?" Glenn piped up.

Daryl sauntered over to her and picked up Jake before giving her a kiss and then said, "Ya got that right, chinaman."

"Korean, Daryl", Glenn grinned know Daryl would never come around.

Lylah couldn't wait to know if her plan had worked…if they had been able to get to the armory.

"So tell me – I can't stand it anymore?" Lylah pleaded.

Glenn ran towards and gave her a high five and Daryl wrapped her in his arms.

"It worked, it really worked?" Lylah asked with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh Lylah" Glenn gushed. "You wouldn't believe it. There's so many weapons there…" he looked to the others for confirmation. "And your idea. It worked great – hardly any walkers by going that way" he gave her another hug. Daryl looked over at her, the way she beamed and jumped up for joy. He knew she'd wanted to be a part of it and he was the reason she hadn't been. He felt a pang of guilt for denying her that, but then those feelings were quelled by memories of her bleeding out on that very table.

Lylah admitted to herself she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that she hadn't been part of it, the way Andrea and Michonne were. She felt left out and she just wasn't used to that feeling. And if Daryl had any inkling of her other concern….well let's just say, there would be no more discussion.

They celebrated that night. They broke out some of the bottles of wine and began to pour liberally while Lylah pretended to sip. Conversations went back and forth about how they would ward off the Woodbury gang and Governor topped the list, once the children had gone to bed

Later as Lylah prepared for bed she warred with her conflicted emotions. This new world had changed things about her and she began to realize how much they'd changed her. She thought about whether she was happy with all those changes as she lay waiting in bed for Daryl. Her mood began to lighten as she looked forward to his return; remembering their time in the office earlier.

She loved him so much and lately, to see him with his outward gruff demeanor soften whenever Jake or Sarah or Gracie needed anything …well, she fell in love with him all over again. She noticed he was more comfortable with Jake…probably because he was a boy and he didn't talk much – always a plus for Daryl. But he was so protective of the girls. And the way those twins looked at him – she could tell they adored him, and more importantly they could tell he cared for them in his own gruff way. They had never been afraid or intimidated by him – which she thought was funny and he found infuriating.

Lylah tried not to think about that right now. She'd taken special care tonight – she'd shaved her legs and even put on some of the lingerie she'd brought back from the Evanses. They'd had hardly any time alone and she was frustrated as hell. She grabbed a book to read and waited for Daryl.

When Daryl finally ended the extra shift he'd ended up taking up he stood there and just watched her sleep. It was already close to dawn and light was beginning to stream through the prison skylights. He quickly undressed and crawled in beside her, as his limbs began to give way to exhaustion. His gut clenched when he finally was able to see she had put on some of that sexy underwear and it looked like she had tried like hell to wait up for him. He groaned as he realized they'd missed yet another night together. She was still crunched up in an awkward position so he scooched her down under the covers with him to make her more comfortable.

Lylah stirred as she felt him beside her. "Hey you…are you just now getting in?" she asked groggily as she reached for him.

He nuzzled her neck. "Yeah – Michonne needed help on watch" Daryl whispered in her ear before he closed his eyes wondering how in the hell how he had got so lucky in this otherwise shithole.

As he lay there with his arms around her and knowing all the world's gone to shit he realized he had never been happier. Who'da thought it'da take a zombie apocalypse for Daryl Dixon to find happiness? .

Lylah liked everybody, but she hated to admit she realized she had really started to dislike Michonne. In the beginning she thought she was ok because she was Andrea's friend and she was the reason Andrea was even here at all. But lately she'd been getting a very different vibe from Michonne, almost like Michonne didn't like her very much. And more and more as the weeks went by Lylah noticed Michonne found an excuse to partner with Daryl as often and as blatently as possible. Michonne would offer to take evening watch with Daryl….go on supply runs with Daryl… even to hunt with Daryl. It was making her suspicious and uncomfortable. She didn't want to be the jealous, clingy type, but she had to face facts …she was jealous. She couldn't help it. Michonne was spending far more time with him than she was, and worse it seemed like Michonne liked it.

It wasn't blatent. Michonne was far too smart and subtle for that. It was more, 'why don't you just stay here with the kids .. you're so good at that sort of thing'. And Michonne made sure she only did it when they were alone.

It was another one of those evenings where Daryl was on watch with Michonne, so Lylah decided to talk to Andrea about her concerns. "Andrea, am I crazy? I don't want to be 'that girl' – the clingy annoying crazy jealous girlfriend. I just feel like something's off there"

Andrea had to be honest with Lylah, as she recalled all the little things she'd seen lately like the eyeroll and other small things that she'd picked up on. Andrea had never talked to Michonne about it. She was still so grateful to Michonne and they just didn't talk about things like that for some reason. Strangely Michonne never talked to Andrea about Lylah, even though they talked about almost everything else. "Lylah, you know Michonne is my friend, but I don't think you're wrong." Andrea had to look down almost like she was ashamed.. "Hey, you know Daryl is nuts about you and I know he wouldn't do anything, but I don't know about Michonne. I get the feeling like she is going through something." Andrea hated to betray the woman who saved her life and it churned in her stomach.

"Hey, Why don't I take Daryl's watch tonight with Michonne ok?" Andrea offered even though she was bone tired.

"Really, you would do that? I wouldn't want to…you know, cause friction between you …?" Lylah didn't need to continue.. Andrea knew what Lylah meant. But Andrea would have this conversation with Michonne at a later time.

"Come with me and we'll go get Daryl and you two can have that night together that is long overdue ok?" Andrea grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Lylah and her redneck" Andrea shook her head in mock consternation earning her a playful shove.

"Have I told you how much I you missed you?" and Lylah hugged her. Andrea was startled at first by the warm gesture. And then the memories came back… they brought her back to all those times her sister would hug her after her boyfriend broke up or she didn't make the cheerleading squad…Andrea quickly wiped away a stray tear.

Lylah gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as they headed on toward the watch wall..

Michonne had been actin' weirder than normal Daryl thought. She seemed to almost be wantin' to be havin' watch with him lately. It was more than strange and lately it was dang irritatin, especially in the evening when he wanted to be with Lylah. Before they'd go out on runs and she'd never really talk which was more than fine with him. That's one of the reasons he hadn't complained about her always going with him….they could spend hours together and not say a word.

But lately she'd been sayin' weird things about Lylah, things almost like she was puttin' her down. Daryl couldn't quite put his finger on any one thing she said but it was like she was implying Lylah was 'boring' or sumthin?

Daryl leaned against the wall keeping his eyes out in the distance, and keeping his thoughts to himself. They'd snagged some cigarettes and this was his favorite place to smoke so he took a deep drag and let the nicotine soothe his worries. It was at that moment, that Michonne suddenly decided she wanted to talk to him and for some reason she came and stood real close to him.

"Daryl, I know jus' what a man like you needs. Ya know that white gerl cain't satisfy you" Michonne purred as she ran her fingers down his chest. "Not the way I cain. Ain't that right?" Michonne dropped to her knees and pulled down his trousers so fast, Daryl had no idea how it happened. He went to push Michonne's head away – ask her what the fuck she thought she was doing but he was completely unprepared to see Lylah and Andrea standing right there.

Daryl was stunned at that moment. The look on Lylah's face – the shock and hurt and disbelief were written all over it. And Andrea was just furious….she was fuming at the both of them.

Lylah turned and ran away and Daryl just stood there a moment trying to absorb what the fuck just happened. He hadn't done anything but he sure as shit knew what it looked like. If he'd seen Lylah and some guy, he knew what he'd think.

After a minute when Daryl had a second to process what had just happened, Daryl roughly pushed Michonne to the side and yanked his pants back up, desperate to get to Lylah. He'd never hit a woman, but Michonne was close to making him break that oath.

"Hold it right there buddy" Andrea stopped him. "What the hell is going on? And you Michonne – what the fuck?"

"Andrea – you best get outta my way and keep yer sick as fuck friend here away from me and Lylah. I ain't never touched her and I don't know what the fuck she was thinking?" Daryl tried to get past Andrea but she kept the door blocked which infuriated Daryl all the more. "Get outta my way gerl" he warned Andrea again.

"Michonne, is that right?" she asked her friend. She looked into Michonne's eyes and saw the guilt and shame as she confessed. For a moment she considered telling Andrea that Daryl was lying, but after tonight she knew Daryl was never going to touch her and she was actually a little afraid he just might kill her if she did – she was afraid he might kill her anyway.

"Daryl, I'm so sorry – go. She'll believe you," Andrea moved out of the way and with that Daryl ran off to go find Lylah and hoped to god Andrea was right.

Lylah sobbed as she curled herself up into a corner of the generator room. She'd grabbed a pillow and a blanket and ran to the one room in the place that she felt was hers and she could be alone. Lylah was worried something had been wrong lately. She just thought it was because they hadn't been able to spend as much time to be together – and now she knew why. It never occurred to her that he was actually cheating on her. Was it the kids? Maybe she minimized his concerns. She felt like such a fool, such an idiot. How was she going to exist here now? How was she going to make it and see him everyday? God, see him with her? What was she going to do?

Lylah didn't think she could do it – she wouldn't be able to stay here. She would have to try and find a way to make it to Utah. The kids would be fine here with Carol and Lori, even though she'd miss them terribly. Her head began to ache as everything started to jumble together.

Daryl had ran out after Lylah as fast as he could hoping to catch up with her. He wanted to kill Michonne… but he needed to find Lylah first.

When he got to their room he found the blankets and pillows were gone. He ran room to room, floor by floor looking for her. After an hour or so of searching, he ended up back in their room wondering if there was a pain any worse than this. He grabbed a bottle of that booze he'd kept for them and helped himself to a big swig. And then another. And then another.

He began pacing around their room talking to himself. "Fuckin' Michonne…. Like I'd give her a glass a water in fuckin' hell," Daryl took another deep swig only to see Rick walk in.

"Hey Man," Rick wanted to check on Daryl when he'd heard what happened. Daryl didn't talk much, but he'd come to him before he and Lylah had slept together and knew how important Lylah was to him. "It's gonna be ok."

"No, You don' get it Rick. She fuckin' hates me!" Daryl yelled at Rick. "She's never gunna fergiv me!" Daryl leaned his head hopelessly against the prison walls as many a prisoner before him surely had, and he took another healthy drink.

"Daryl, did you do what Lylah thinks you did? Because from what Andrea tells me, it was all a set-up by Michonne . Andrea had it out with Michonne, and she confessed. I know Lylah will forgive you…cause there's nothing to forgive." Rick encourage Daryl…let him know there was still hope.

"I cain't find her Rick" Daryl looked so lost.

"Daryl, there isn't anyone you can't find," Rick helped him up.

Lylah finally thought she'd gotten it together. It broke her heart, but it's what she had to do. She'd take the LandRover and a map back to the Evanses, stock up and look for the nearest airport. She was ready to go for broke. She had no choice. She realized she'd given the kids the best possible odds she could. But the thought of leaving Jake, Gracie and Sarah brought on another round of crying so hard she almost missed the footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Lylah, please baby, talk to me?" Daryl called out, praying she was here because he was running out of places to look.

"Daryl, I came here expressly so I could NOT talk to you" Lylah answered him trying to get her voice under control, not wanting to let him know he'd hurt her this bad.

'Thank god, I've found her' he thought to himself. The heartbreaking sadness in her voice was killing him and he wanted to beat Michonne's ass for doing what she did. He saw she had her pillow and their blanket wrapped around her as she sat in the corner. He slumped against the wall beside her, hating the distance between them Michonne had caused.

"Lylah, you've got to believe me. I ain't done nuthin' with Michonne ever. I don't know why she did what she did tonight." Daryl tried to explain and reached his hand over to hold hers and laced his fingers between her limp fingers. He pulled her hand to his lips gently kissing it.

"Daryl, you don't have to do this." Lylah pulled her hand away and Daryl felt actual physical pain as he realized he might not be able to convince her. "If you want to be with her..you should… I know you've been freaked out about the kids and all. I know you never wanted…. this". ….." Lylah wanted to give him an out as she turned away from him.

"Shut Yer dang mouth woman!" Daryl exploded at hearing her say these things to him, unable to believe she could actually think them. "I know what ya think ya saw….But it wasn't. Yer the only woman I want, the only one I'll ever want. I love you Lylah – only you. And this is exactly what I want. The only thing worth anything" Daryl said the words out loud to her, praying it wasn't too late. "You ain't leavin' me EVER… ya promised" Lylah thought she heard tears but was too afraid to turn her head and look at him.

Lylah's eyes were damp and puffy from crying and she met his stormy blue eyes that were actually wet as well, trying desperately to get a read on them. She wanted desperately to believe him and she never thought she'd hear him say those words. She knew he'd never said them to her before.

"I've waited so long to hear you say that. I just didn't imagine it would be like this," Lylah tried to laugh but her voice was still raw.

"Lylah, please tell me you believe me…I need to hear you say it" Daryl begged her as he caressed her face with both hands, brushing some stray hairs off her cheek. Lylah looked into his eyes, knowing she had to decide. She swallowed as she made her decision.

"Daryl, you've been a jerk, an ass, a racist at times." Lylah was prepared to continue but caught Daryl's look of 'I get the point', "but you've never lied to me. If you tell me it's the truth, then I'll believe you."

Relief flooded through Daryl as he ground his mouth against hers - somehow close wasn't close enough for him after the fear of losing her. Daryl finally pulled away to tenderly kiss each swollen eye before kissing her lips softly this time. "I love those kids too ya know…yer my family now. I won't always do things the right way….I ain't never.." Daryl began to apologize in advance, causing Lylah to shush him..

"Come here" her grabbed her so he could hold her in his arms and she leaned back against him. As she rested he head against his shoulder he whispered, "I was so afraid I'd lost you."

"Me too" Lylah confessed her dark fears. "I wouldn't have been able to bear it – having to live here and watch you be with Michonne. I'd have had to leave" she confessed. Daryl jerked her around.

"The Fuck You Say! Ya ain't ever going anywhere without me – Promise Me Lylah" Daryl's voice trembled with anger and fear at just the thought that she would have left him; he felt like his world had just been yanked out from underneath him again.

"Daryl, I thought you'd decided you wanted to be with someone else" Lylah tried to explain herself. "You can't blame me for not wanting to have to face that everyday. It would have been unbearable. If the situation were reversed, would you be able to stay here and see me with someone else?" Lylah threw back at him. Just the thought made him so angry and ill he could hardly think straight.

"I'd kill him – I'd kill whoever it was." Daryl simply said. "You're mine" and he wrapped both arms around her even more tightly.

"Does that mean I get to kill Michonne, because I want to. I really, really want to," Lylah began putting the pieces together of what the other woman did. .

Daryl was just so happy to have her in his arms at this moment and he had to admit, this violent streak in Lylah was sexy but he figured he'd deal with Michonne later. "Ya know, this is the most time we've had to ourselves in….. fuck, I cain't even remember" he began to slowly run his fingers through her hair, loving the silky texture against his rough hands, the feel of it against his shoulder. It felt so good to have his hands on her without any surprise interruptions.

"I think it's been too long," she said huskily. One of his hands was still interlaced with hers so she brought one of his fingers to her mouth and began to lick it before putting it into her mouth and sucking it. Daryl had no idea something like that could be so erotic and make him so hard – it was like she was suckin on his dick. It shot bolts of electricity straight to that part of him.

"Shit woman, all you have to do is look at me and I'm hard as a damn brick" he growled in her ear, before swirling his tongue there.

"Are you complaining?" she asked saucily, finally sounding like herself again.

"Never" and he used that as an opportunity to creep both hands under the front of her shirt. He cupped her breasts and when he fondled her nipples over the lacy fabric, she had to lean her head back into his neck as she moaned her pleasure. She couldn't stand it any longer; she wanted more of him. She rolled over to lay on top of him and he felt her breasts crush up against him as she straddled him.

"Oh baby, every time I look at you, I can't believe yer mine…I can't believe ya really want to be with me. I keep thinking yer gonna come to yer senses and realize what a mistake you've made," Daryl told her before raining kisses on her.

"Sorry" she said between returning his kisses "No such luck. You're stuck with me. And you're mine too, just so you know." Daryl nodded but the time for talking was quickly disinigrating.

Lylah began raining kisses down Daryl's chest. As she made it to his pants button and she reached in to caress his hard on, she couldn't resist adding possesively, "And I'm the only who does this" and Lylah met his eyes as she took him in her mouth proving beyond any doubt she was the only woman who could ever satisfy him.

They made love again in the generator room before Daryl insisted on carrying her up to their room and making love again. Daryl wasn't sure if it was the fear of almost losing her or the pent up energy of these last few weeks, but he couldn't get enough of her.

After she fell asleep, he lay there in the dark thinking. He wanted more with her. He wanted to make it official. He was going to ask Rick about marrying them but first he needed to get a ring. Tomorrow he would plan a supply run with Glenn… He fell asleep a very happy man.

Glenn hadn't wanted to go initially, but when Daryl finally spilled and told him why, Glenn was all in. Glenn was such a romantic and figured he would pick out some things for Maggie also.

"Daryl… do you know what kind you want?" Glenn asked, not really wanting to be here longer than necessary.

"Fuck – I just figured they'd all just be together or something." Daryl looked frustrated and lost. "I didn't know there were gonna be so many. I dunno. Maybe we should look in the back like at the gun store – they kept the good shit back there?" Daryl headed to the private office in the rear.

Sure enough, there was more jewelry back there stacked in velvet boxes..

"Holy Shit. Look at this one!" Glenn held up a gigantic diamond ring. "What do you think?"

Daryl shook his head 'No".

"Yeah – this isn't Lylah. You need something more, I don't know…elegent" Glenn tried to find the right word..

Daryl looked at ring after ring until her finally saw it. He knew immediately it was the ring for Lylah. He picked it up and held it out towards the light, admiring the way the diamonds bounced and reflected the light. "This is the one". It wasn't gigantic like the one Glenn picked but the diamond was substantial. There were also diamonds on either side . Daryl thought it looked like it had been made a long time ago for someone very important. It looked romantic.

"Oh yeah" Glenn whistled in admiration at Daryl's selection. "Dude – she's gonna love it".

Glenn helped Daryl pick out simple matching white gold wedding bands and some extra baubles to stash away for the holidays.

"What about you and Maggie? I mean since we're here and all. Ya thinkin' bout makin' it official.?" Daryl wasn't usually one to pry so Glenn gave him a strange look.

"I been thinkin' about it. Don't worry. I picked out a coupla things just in case. I'm just not sure we're ready yet." Glenn turned away as his face got beet red.

The next stop before they went back was a small shopping center with a gas station and mini-mart. There were still cars littered around the parking lot which made them both nervous. It was harder to see walkers or humans with so many places to hide. Daryl pulled up beside Glenn to go over the plan.

"Ya see that tanker there?" Glenn nodded at Daryl's question. "We're running low on diesel and we're gonna hafta refill those tanks somehow or it's back to the dark ages. Ya know how to hotwire one of those things?" Daryl pointed to the big truck.

"No, do you?" Glenn asked, realizing the skill would have come in handy. Maybe he should try to learn?

"I'll go check, maybe there's keys under the mat or sumthin. You got the store ok?" Daryl checked.

"Yeah – I got it", Glenn scrambled to do what he did best, scavenge while Daryl went to see if he could get the tanker started.

Glenn was scrambling through the mini-mart grabbing canned goods, flashlights, etc, when he heard the door open. He popped his head up expecting to see Daryl.. Glenn quickly saw it wasn't a walker…and it wasn't Daryl either.

Glenn quietly set down the supplies and grabbed his gun, releasing the safety. It wasn't his first choice, but he'd make it if he had to. Glenn was laying low as he listened to the clomp of heavy boots. He also heard the crackle of what sounded like a radio.

"Grady…- get yer fat ass out here man. We caught us a redneck here trying to steal from the Guvner. He's puttin' up a bitch of a fight, We gonna have to take him to the Outpost …don't have time to take hime to Woodbury."

Glenn could hardly breathe. He didn't know what to do… didn't know how many were out there. Should he shoot this guy and go after Daryl or were there too many out there?

"Hold yer shorts..,.I'm comin" and the man left the mini-mart. Glenn raced to the window to get a glimpse of how many there were. See if he could take them on.

Glenn saw this fat-assed Grady jump into a black SUV that raced up to the front of the mini-mart. When he opened the door to get in, Glenn saw Daryl tied up and his head was bleeding. For a brief second Daryl's eyes met Glenn's. As soon as the door was shut, the truck sped off.

Glenn was shaken, terrified and pissed… He raced back to the prison to get help and go back for Daryl. He tried taking slow deep breaths as he thought about what he was going to say to Lylah.

Lylah was a wreck. She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. They tried to make her stay at the prison, but she insisted on going with them. She rode with Glenn hardly saying a word….all she could think about was getting him back. She felt like a part of her very being had been ripped out and she was incomplete now.

They searched the road in the direction Glenn saw the truck go as long as they could before Rick insisted they turn back. Lylah wanted to keep going, but Rick wouldn't let her. They literally dragged her back to the prison screaming his name and Rick actually threatened to have Hershel give her a sedative if she didn't rest.

Lylah did her best to soothe the kids before bed, but she knew she was doing a terrible job. They cried with her and she stroked their backs as they fell asleep. They'd all lost so much already. She assured them she would bring Daryl back, saying it out loud as much for her as them.

She lay there staring at the ceiling for about an hour as the group settled for the night – thinking about how she would get him back, praying he was ok.. After an hour or so had passed she finally had a plan. It wasn't the best plan, in fact it wasn't even a very good plan, probably a crazy plan – but it was all she had. She silently put her jeans and boots on, grabbed her jacket, knife and gun and went downstairs. She made one little stop to the storeroom to get something she knew she was going to need – and she knew just where Rick kept it.

She grabbed the key and quietly unlocked the door.

The sleeping man saw her walk down the long hall He knew this was a strange time for a visit and Daryl never let her come down here anymore, so this visit warranted his full attention.

"Well hey sugar tits… Daryl ain't keeping ya satisfied…ya come down fer the real thang now," Merle snarled at Lylah.

As she got closer Merle was able to get a good look at her swollen eyes and puffy face. This gerl was upset. "What the fuck happened to him?" Merle asked. That question gave Lylah more hope than she had when she headed down here. Merle might actually care what happened to Daryl.

"They got him Merle – the Governor's guys" Lylah's voice broke in spite of her intention to keep it together in from of him. "They took him to an 'Outpost'. Do you know where that is?" Merle nodded he did as he absorbed that Daryl had actually gotten himself caught. "I need you to help me get him back!" Lylah showed him her weapons, keys and his bag of drugs.

"Are you in?" Lylah asked. "Merle, I need to know if can trust you not to turn me over to the Governor when we get there…because yer gonna be an uncle. I have to pray that means something to you." Lylah looked into Merle's eyes.

Merle looked at the dark-haired woman staring over at him that just admitted she was pregnant with Daryl's kid. "Well fuck me" Merle thought about it for a minute before continuing, "Well I guess this makes you family. Come on, git me the fuck outta here so I can save my little brother's ass."