AN: Here we go, another little chapter! I'm trying to do better with my regularity!

I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

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"You look like you feelin' good," Daryl growled at Michonne with a smile. "Kids OK?"

Michonne was just coming back into the bedroom from putting Zeb down for the third time. He normally went down easily enough, but tonight he had been determined that he wasn't getting enough Mommy time and he'd called her back a few times, threatening to wake everyone else up, to milk out as much cuddling as she was absolutely willing to give him.

"Finally out," she said. "And I am feeling better. Alice released me from my house arrest. I'm free to all 'normal' activity with moderation."

Daryl chuckled.

"She don't know you too well to know what normal activity is to you," Daryl commented, leaning up on his elbow in the bed.

Michonne smiled at him and crawled onto the bed.

"I think she trusts that I'm an intelligent woman with the capacity to listen to my own body," Michonne responded. She kissed him and he leaned into her, following her to prolong the kiss when she would have pulled away. She laughed when he snapped quickly enough to catch her bottom lip between his teeth and hold her for a moment until she kissed him again.

"Requests for runs?" He asked.

"Clothes," she answered. "Clothes for everyone…anything you can find. And blankets…pillows…sheets. Something nicer and more comfortable than some of the ones that we have. Some of those we got from that motel are more fit for the animals than for people."

Daryl nodded at her.

"Yeah, Maggie's leading a small group goin' out for all that," Daryl said.

Michonne hovered over him and dipped her head, bringing her lips back to his.

He pulled her to him gently and she moved to lie down against him. She kissed his chest and teased his nipple with her tongue and teeth.

"Playin' with fire, woman," he growled at her.

She smiled at him.

"Who says I wasn't lighting the matches on purpose?" Michonne asked.

Daryl raised his eyebrows at her.

"Are you ready for all that, 'Chonne?" He asked. "I don't wanna hurt you."

Michonne cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You couldn't hurt me if you wanted to," she challenged. "But I was thinking that I could be in charge of this little encounter? You let me lead the charge?"

To illustrate her point, Michonne got up from her position and took her time shucking off the nightgown that she was wearing and the panties that she had on, hoping that Maggie's group found a good bit of underwear too since things simply had a way of wearing out and none of them had packed much when they'd struck out from the community. Something nice might make all of them feel a little better.

Michonne pulled the cover back from Daryl and he watched her, amusement on his face. She locked her eyes on him while she teased him into full arousal and took him into her mouth. He groaned out her as she worked, his hand going to knead at the back of her neck while he sought something to comfortably hold to.

As he usually did, though, he stopped her before he had all that he could take, barking at her almost to come up to him.

And she kissed him before she straddled him and eased herself down onto him, appreciating his hands kneading into her skin while he helped her move with him. He slipped one of his hands down to rub her into coming with him and she closed her eyes against her orgasm, riding it out even as he was finding his.

She lie across his chest, moving with the rise and fall of him trying to catch his breath, and closed her eyes in the relaxation of the moment, not wanting to break it until she absolutely had to.

And Daryl trailed his fingertips on her back, the rough and calloused skin scratching as he did so. In his search to keep his hands busy, he picked up one of her locks and tickled her shoulder with it. She shivered at the sensation when he trailed close to her neck and then she rolled off him and got up to dampen a cloth to clean up after everything.

"Daryl," Michonne said to get his attention. He hummed at her. "You know what you haven't done for me in a long time?"

He looked concerned.

"What?" He asked.

"Brought me anything pretty to wear for you," Michonne said. She sat down on the side of the bed and passed him the wet cloth.

"Thought you didn't like that," Daryl said. "Thought you said it made you…a…what the hell did you say? Made you a thing or made me make you a thing…I don't know. I don't remember exactly. I thought you didn't like it."

"I don't remember what I said," Michonne admitted with a chuckle. "Was I pissed off when I said it?"

Daryl chuckled and tossed the rag at the floor. Michonne picked it up and tossed it in the basket they were using as a clothes hamper.

"Maybe," he admitted.

"I didn't mean I hated it," Michonne said. "I just meant that I wanted to feel like you loved me for me and not just that you love me as something like a human doll."

"So…so you ain't no doll," Daryl responded.

"Well," Michonne said, "if you were to come across something that you liked…I'd wear it for you."

Daryl offered her a smirk.

"Anything?" He asked.

Michonne gave him her best annoyed look.

"Within reason," she said. "But…yeah. Every now and again? I don't mind it."

Daryl stared at her and chuckled.

"And what you wantin' me to do for you?" Daryl asked.

Michonne considered it.

"Nothing right now," she said. "But…I do want to ask you something."

Daryl hummed at her again.

Michonne had thought about this for some time and she didn't know how Daryl was going to take it. He was a visual man and he was a man of habit. She didn't want to take anything important away from him, but still she wanted to ask his opinion on this.

"I was thinking…if you could…maybe you could find some good clippers," Michonne said. "Maybe something battery operated? I was thinking…that I might want to get rid of my locks."

Daryl looked at her confused.

"You mean get rid of your hair?" He asked.

Michonne nodded her head.

"Yeah," she said. "Maybe. What would you think? I mean I could keep it short or if I let it grow out…it would be a lot like Lisette's is."

Daryl shrugged.

"Well…'Chonne, I don't care," he said. "What's got you asking though?"

Michonne came back to the bed from where she'd been hovering after putting the cloth in the hamper.

"When we were out there fighting," Michonne said, "A Walker snatched my hair. It's easy for them to grab, Daryl. Sadie made the comment that she was thinking about cutting hers, for the same reason, and I just thought that it would be…"

She broke off and laughed at the irony of the thought.

"Daryl, it would be terrible to get caught in something you couldn't get out of because of something like that," Michonne said.

He nodded at her.

"What kinda clippers?" He asked.

She shrugged.

"Tell Ty what they're for," Michonne offered. "He'll help you find something I'm sure. You're sure you wouldn't mind?"

Daryl chuckled.

"What the hell do I care about your hair?" He asked. "Got it…ain't got it…you're still you. I'd rather you cut it off than find out you went and got yourself hurt because of it."

Michonne swallowed and nodded at him.

"And that's why I'll wear something for you…whatever you bring me," Michonne confirmed.

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"The clinic that Alice was talking about is just down that road," Malachi said, leading Daryl and Tyreese down what once was probably a nice street in a somewhat affluent neighborhood. Now it was surrounded by overgrown yards and the houses were beginning to be taken over by vegetation.

"It's a shame," Daryl muttered, looking around as he walked, "how bad all this stuff just gets eaten up when there ain't nobody around anymore."

"Nature takes back what was hers," Malachi offered, obviously hearing Daryl's commentary.

Daryl chuckled to himself.

"Guess that's one way of looking at it," he responded.

"The clinic isn't very big," Malachi said. "But Al said that it's probably got everything she needs to get started. A hospital run can be done later for whatever she needs. But you've had trouble with those before?"

"A lot," Tyreese said. "I lost my sister. I almost lost my wife and my own life too."

Malachi nodded.

"We've been to two hospitals along the way," he said. "Alice went in both times."

"Alone?" Daryl asked.

Malachi nodded his head.

"She says that we slow her down," he offered with a laugh.

Daryl thought there might be more to the slightly hyper woman that they'd been giving her credit for. He didn't know too many people who would go into a hospital on their own…but then again, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. One person wouldn't smell as strongly as several. One person wouldn't attract so much attention from Walkers. And one person could get in and out without the concern about any other person.

There was strength in numbers, but there was stealth in solitude.

"We'll scout out the clinic," Malachi said. "There's something like a hardware store here too. There's a strip mall really. We never went in any of the buildings, but we can go in what you like while we're here."

"How overrun is it?" Daryl asked.

Malachi shook his head.

"Not bad at all, really. It looks like there was some kind of altercation here in the early days. Part of one of the buildings is destroyed," Malachi said. "I'd say a truck or something might have even driven into it. Usually, if a building is half down like that, it seems like the Walkers aren't too built up."

"Why do you suppose that is?" Daryl asked, noticing a Walker like the ones they were discussing walking through what had once been someone's front yard without any interest in them whatsoever at the moment.

"They can get out," Tyreese offered quickly and matter of factly.

"What?" Daryl asked.

"They can get out," Tyreese said. "They're like cows. They move in herds and they can go in a place, but once they're in it's not as easy for them to find a way out. If the building's half destroyed, they can find their way out."

Daryl mused on that a moment before agreeing that it made sense.

"We should check out what we can," Daryl said. "Get everything in the area that we can load up, especially if there ain't a herd around. What about generators?"

"Dick's taking his group that way," Malachi said. "Something he said he knew about. It was a construction site or something. Looks like the end of civilization interrupted some serious building projects so it oughta be good for generators, tools, and building supplies if we're lucky."

"Honestly," Daryl asked, "do you think we're gonna be lucky?"

Malachi nodded.

"I do," he said. "As long as I've been travelling I've seen a lot of things but I haven't seen anyone building much of anything…only destroying. I think we'll have the monopoly on the market."

Daryl hoped the man was right. He'd been right so far.