Wow it's been a LONG time! It took me a long time to even back in the mood of writing and everything so I really hope that this chapter settles some of the anxious dust that has been kicked up.

Be kind where you can and let me know what you guys think of this. Comment, review etc

Thanks guys :) hopefully I'll have more soon for you! Enjoy.

Jess blew the last drag of smoke from her lungs and headed inside to Jayce's room. When she got there the bed was empty but the bathroom door was open and steam was slowly filling the bedroom. She sat on the bed and waited for Jayce to come out. When she did emerge from the bathroom she was clad in a towel,

"Holy crap" Jayce's hand flew over her heart, "What are you doing here?"

"Just seeing how you were doin'"

"Well I'm fine" Jayce dropped her towel and pulled on her panties and threw a bra on, "There something else I can do for you?"

"No I guess not" Jess got up and walked to the door, "You know, he cares a lot more than he allows himself to show"

"Jess, as much as I love the speech you're trying to give; right now I could care less. I got other things on my mind" Jayce was almost eerily calm as she spoke with an intense amount of hostility towards her friend. She pulled her favourite Levi's over the curve of her ass and threw on an old marked wife beater before pushing past and walking out of the house. She got to the back step before Lori stopped her,

"Where you goin'?"

""Jesus Christ" She mumbled, "I got things to do"

"Rick and Daryl and Glenn have gone"

"Good on them. I don't need anyone's permission to go anywhere" Jayce pulled her cigarettes from her back pocket and slipped one between her teeth.

"What is going on with you?"

"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine"

"No, you're not like this. You're uptight, hostile, like you're itching for a fight or something"

"You got one thing right, I am itching. Itching to finish this conversation so I can get out of here for a minute" Jayce slipped her lighter back into her pocket once her smoke was lit and walked out to the barn. Once Badger was saddled, she climbed on and sent the beast flying but no matter how fast the horse ran, Jayce couldn't outrun everything that was clouding her mind. Since Daryl wasn't making a move, Jayce was giving up and right at that particular moment she was lying to herself. It wasn't working in the slightest and that bothered her so did all of the 'how are you?' and 'are you ok?" comments. Now she was pissed and hating anyone that looked at her sideways. So she rode and she rode hard until she decided that she had pushed the horse fast enough for long enough.

It had been almost four hours since she left the house but she had made it into the city safely and taken a few necessities for the house and a present for Hadley. She was on her way back when she smelt smoke. Badger's ear's flicked in every direction and he got a little nervous; telling Jayce that he also felt the company of others.

Jayce urged the steed on, in the direction of what was clearly a fire. She didn't get off Badger in case she needed a speedy getaway but she saw upwards of fifteen men with a few beaten women holding onto small children. She heard herself gasp but didn't attempt to get closer. She pulled on the reins and turned Badger around. She was just about to take off when a man stepped out in front of the horse.

"Now who might you be?"

"I might be minding my own business, now if you don't mind"

"Didn't seem like it" The man snarled.

"Clearly you're mistaken. Now excuse me" Jayce could almost feel the fear reaching her voice but she managed to keep her poker face.

"Where you from girl?"

"None of your concern" She moved the horse forward a few steps but the man wouldn't budge. Moving Badger around him she took off and didn't look back. The man gave a nasty smirk and licked his lips before moving back into the trees with the rest of the group.

"Where the fuck ya been Jayce?!"

"Out" She said simply.

"Out where? I've been looking everywhere for ya"

Jayce jumped down from the horse and handed him off to Glenn; everyone else that had crowded around had stepped way back from the yelling.

"Does it really matter where I was?" Daryl was about to speak again but Jayce cut him off, "And since when do you care about me?"

Daryl turned and was about to storm off when Jayce grabbed him, "Hey you don't get to walk off without giving me an answer. So tell me, since when did you sta..." Jayce was stunned when Daryl attached his mouth to hers. He was still frowning but his heart couldn't slow down no matter how hard he tried to focus. Jayce's anger half slipped away and usually she would have dropped the topic but Daryl hadn't tried anything in over six months and now he was kissing her. It wasn't going to fly for her; not this time. She pushed him back and slapped his face, "What the hell was that? You don't try and do anything like kiss me or hold my hand or anything and now I disappear for a little while and suddenly it's like I've been missing for months. What the fuck is goin' on with you?"

"I thought that was what ya wanted" He got right in her face.

"It was" She spoke as loudly as he did before she let out a sigh and let her head drop a little, "It was" She repeated in a whisper.

"So then why are you getting mad?" Her head snapped up and she glared at him.

"Because you cannot just kiss someone when they take off for a few hours, or when that someone is a person you've hardly spoken to in about six months. Shit just doesn't work like that Daryl" Jayce picked up the bags Glenn had taken off Badger's saddle and stormed inside. Everyone else dispersed throughout the yard and house; steering clear of Jayce and Daryl. Little to the groups' knowledge a few outsiders had heard and seen the fight.

"So it would seem that the little miss isn't happy" The first stranger spoke.

"Tonight?" Other asked.

"Give it some time" The first replied, "I want to figure her out a little more. You remember when you spotted her in the water with the other one don't you?" He looked around to his buddy, watching as he nodded.

"She's a fighter"

"Good. We could use a fighter" They both disappeared back to their camp.

...

Jayce was unpacking the baby supplies when Daryl walked up to the door. She didn't have to turn around to know he was there.

"I'm sorry I lost my shit like that. I've just had a little bit of a stressful day" Jayce admitted. Daryl didn't say anything, he didn't know if he should so he remained quiet, "I ran into a man out there"

This caught Daryl's attention, "What man?"

"I don't know what man but he was out in the woods and he approached me while I was on Badger. He creeped me out"

"He didn't touch you did he?"

"No Daryl he didn't" Jayce sighed, "Look we need to sort our shit out" He opened his mouth but Jayce cut him off, "I know it was my fault and I screwed up royally but to be fair you haven't helped the situation much. We fight; we hardly look at each other. The pleasantries have only really just started and that isn't us. I don't like the way things are and I know I agreed to do it your way but nothing has happened and I want to change it but I don't know how"

...Two months later...

"Daryl stop!" Jayce laughed. He had her pinned to the ground as he sat on waist, tickling her ribs. Both were soaked from the turned over and now empty bucket that Jayce had thrown on him. He turned and ripped it from her hands before dumping the remaining contents on her.

They had been working on their relationship and although they still hadn't shared a bed or had sex; they were content with just having each other back.

"Alright, alright I give" She squealed, "I'm sorry" Daryl backed off and held a hand out.

"Damn right ya sorry. Ain't gon do that no more, ya got that?" He put on his hard ass look but a small smile was creeping across his mouth.

"Yes sir" She mock saluted him before taking his hand and jumping up on her feet. She smiled and rung out her hair before slinking around the disgruntled redneck and grabbing the bucket once again. She headed off to the stables with Daryl still eyeing her with every step. Jayce kept her word and didn't attack Daryl again. She instead walked through the stables and attended to the four horses watering needs. As she finished the last stall she almost smacked into a gutted possum hanging from the back door of the barn.

"Holy shit!" She yelled; her bucket sent flying through the air.

Jess had been walking down towards the barn looking for Jayce when she heard the cry of shock, "Jayce? What's going on?"

The other female turned at the recognition of her friend's voice and pointed to the dead animal.

"What the fuck is that?"

Jayce, having managed to calm herself replied, "It was a possum. Someone gutted it and hung it there"

"Who would do that?"

"Jess I got something to tell you but you have to promise me you won't say anything"

"Jayce you are starting to freak me out. Do you know who did this?" The tattooed woman asked looking between her friend and the dead animal.

"I have a feeling. That's all it is at the moment" Jayce looked at the ground; the slow occasional drop of blood added to the puddle, "I ran into a man when I was out getting supplies. He freaked me out a little. He was in a big group, bigger than ours"

"How many do you think there were?" Jess asked as she moved around, looking for something to cut the rancid possum down before someone else saw it.

"There were at least 15 men. A handful of women and children and they weren't looking overly well" Jayce admitted.

"Does Daryl know?"

"He only knows about the man that approached me. I didn't tell him about anything else, that's why I trust you not to say anything"

Jess sighed, "You know I came out looking for you because I was worried about you. You have been stomping around and snapping at anyone that got too close or tried to comfort you"

"I'm just frustrated with myself and I'm taking it out on everyone else and you know that mood where you're just mad and you have no idea why?" Jess nodded, "I've just been feeling that"

The girls worked in silence, cleaning up the possum and the mess until everything was back to how it had formally been.

"Jess" Jayce wiped the sweat off her forehead, "I don't think we will be safe here for much longer"

"I'm starting to get that feeling myself" She stood her broom against the wall.

"I need to bring this up to someone don't I?" Jess nodded and the pair walked out of the barn.

….One Month Later…

There had been multiple dead animals left around the farm for Jayce to find and as she was making her way back towards the house she noticed something run off away from the farm. That was the last straw.

"Rick I need to talk to you" Jess looked up at her friend; her posture wanting to get up and be with Jayce while she explained. Jayce nodded and Jess followed the pair out to the front porch.

"What is it?"

"For the last month I've been finding dead animals strung up all over the farm"

"You sure they aren't just Daryl's kills?" The old cop asked.

"Daryl hasn't needed to hunt possum or rabbit lately" Jayce paused, "You remember when I took that trip into the small town nearby?" Rick nodded, "I ran into a man out there. He has a group of about 15 to 20 men. If they come at us, we won't be able to hold them off. Over the past month Jess and I have been keeping watch and we have noticed off at the far ends of the pastures there has been some activity. I think they are keeping an eye on us"

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Rick's hands came to his hips.

"I didn't think anything of it. I took all sorts of tracks and paths to get back to the farm to make sure that I wasn't followed. The first animal I found was in the barn. A dead possum strung up on the rafters at the far door" Rick sighed and shook his head. Jess and Jayce shared a look; both worried and exhausted.

"Everyone has to know" Rick stated calmly.

"I think we should also consider the possibility of finding somewhere else to live. We have gotten so comfortable here that we have let our guard down and with that group less than 30 miles from here; it makes me fear for Hadley. She and I have already been taken once and that was by someone we knew, what would happen if they got ballsy and decided to come here and take someone? I'm sorry Rick but I need to look out for her first. I seriously think we should consider moving the group" Rick understood her fear and concerns.

"How many do you think were in the group all up?"

"Around 15 men, maybe 12 women and children. I don't think the females would be much of an issue but there were kids there that would have been learning how to handle a weapon"

"Alright well the group needs to know"

"Yeah I know" Rick nodded and headed back inside.

"I can't imagine this is going to go down well with Dixon 1 and 2" Jayce stated, receiving a hand on the shoulder as a gesture of empathy.