Chapter 51
I stood by the prison wall, waving my hand goodbye at Rick, Carl, and Michonne who left for King County, a place I haven't been in since the outbreak and didn't wish to return to. But we needed guns and more ammunition which Rick knew were located at the police station there, plus I knew they wanted to see the house at least one more time. I sighed as the car drove down the dirt path, moving my ring around my finger. I hated that they were leaving, for I loved them and feared for anything to happen to them on the road and I'd never see them again. But I also wished they would get held up there and couldn't come back...so they could be safe from the Governor and his building army.
All of a sudden I felt two strong, firm but gentle hands on my shoulders. "Hey, are ya alright?" Daryl asked, resting his chin on my head.
I nodded, leaning back into him. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"I was thinkin'," he started. "so ya can get yer mind of things for a bit, you and me go huntin'."
I smiled. "Hunting?"
"Huntin'."
"We haven't hunted together since the farm."
"I know. That's why I thought about it." He turned me around to face him, entwining my fingers with his. "I've already talked to Beth and Carol and they both said they'd watch lil' ass kicker and everythin'. We'll only be gone for a few hours too so we're still on watch for the governor. And-"
"I would love that."
He blushed, smiling a bit from his nervousness. "Really?"
I laughed a bit, grinning up at him. "Of course. We need some time alone, away from this madness. Actually, I'm really glad you suggested it because I think I'm going insane a bit, cooped up in here." I let go of his hands, throwing my arms around his neck, giving him a small peck on the cheek. "Plus, it's pretty romantic if you think about it."
His cheeks turned even more pink as his hands found his way to my waist. "That's me. All full of romantics and that shit."
I rolled my eyes. "Yup so you. You don't have a hateful bone in your body."
"I wouldn't go that far..."
I giggled, pressing my forehead against his. "When do we leave?"
"Few minutes? Grab yer gun and a jacket. We gotta get goin'. It looks like it's gonna rain in a few hours."
"I doubt it's going to rain. It barely has once since the apocalypse started."
"Well way to jinx it." He muttered before retreating back into the prison, myself trailing behind.
I climbed up the stairs to my cell, taking my Honey Badger out of the small chest that Daryl got for us and threw it on the bed, taking Daryl's poncho and throwing it on before slinging my gun on my back. I ran my fingers through my hair, combing it up so I could throw it into a pony tail. I was tieing the elastic around when Daryl came in.
"Ya know, I said grab yer jacket, not my poncho."
I grinned, throwing him his crossbow which he caught effortlessly before slinging it on his back along with his quiver. "I like yours better. It smells like you. Makes me feel home."
I knew my husband a little too well, so I predicted the blush that had formed on his cheeks.
"Although, if I'm with you, I'm already home." I stood up on my tip toes and wrapped my arms around his neck. His arms instantly found my waist before kissing my lips ever so lightly.
"Ya ready to go?" He asked, barring his head in my hair.
I nodded, kind of excited to finally leave this prison.
"Bingo." Daryl whispered has he shot a squirrel in the eye. Like that it fell from the tree, Daryl catching it effortless.
I crossed my arms, a smug smile on my face. "Well aren't you a stud."
He shrugged, a small smile across his lips. "I've gotten good."
"You've always been good."
"I've gotten better."
"You've gotten to be a freaking god."
He chuckled lightly, rolling his eyes at me. "Ah Katie, ya never seize to amuse me."
I grinned, taking the squirrel from him and throwing it in the game bag. "Remember that in a few years. You might get bored of my amazingly witty remarks and I might develop wrinkles."
"First of all, your stupid and not at all witty remarks is one of the many things I love about ya. And 'bout the wrinkles, I'll have them before ya."
"That's right." I exclaimed, throwing the bag over my shoulder. "Your older than me. You know, I can never tell anymore."
"And why is that?"
I shrugged, tilting my head a bit. "Probably because when I met you, you acted like such a child."
He hand fell over his heart, mocking hurt. "Baby, that burns."
I giggled. "You were such a different man, Daryl Dixon."
"Ya changed me for the better."
I rolled my eyes, taking his hand in mine. "You didn't need changing. You just needed to trust someone, and that's what you did. You trusted me."
"Well, ya kinda forced yourself on me."
"I did not."
"Ya did. Peer pressure. First, ya made me give ya shootin' lessons. Then, ya kept on getting me to go hunting with you, so I was stuck with yer annoyin' ass."
"Hey!"
"A very good, but still annoyin', ass."
I hit his shoulder, rolling my eyes again. "Asshole."
"Then, ya got me drunk of cheap wine then dared me to kiss ya."
My eyes widened. "I didn't think you remembered that." I admitted.
"Ya did?"
I nodded, a smile on my face. "How could I forget my first mind-blowing make out session with Daryl Dixon?"
His cheeks went red after the comment, looking down at his shoes for a bit before meeting my gaze. "Why didn't ya tell me?"
"Because I thought you didn't remember. That would have been completely embarrassing if I just woke up that morning and been like 'Hey Daryl, you kiss amazing' and have you be running out the door like that."
He rolled his eyes. "Girl, we could have been together sooner."
"Well maybe you should have said something."
He slung his crossbow on his back before pushing me up against the tree, pinning me their by my wrists. "I have ya now though. Yer all mine. Completely all mine."
I grinned. "So the ring is my silver handcuff?"
Daryl nodded before kissing me.
That was when it started to rain. No, not rain, pour. I was drenched in a matter of seconds. I couldn't help the squeal that came out of my mouth as soon as the freezing cold water hit me.
Daryl laughed, releasing my wrists. He couldn't stop laughing, almost toppling over.
"It's not the funny!" I exclaimed. "Daryl!"
But he continued laughing, smiling the biggest smile I had seen on his lips in ages. That alone made me grin on my own.
"Come on." He said, grabbing my hand. "I wanna show you someplace."
"In the rain?"
He nodded, slinging the game bag over his shoulder too before taking his hand in mine.
We walked probably about a mile in the freezing cold rain, my teeth chattering about a million times per minute.
"Quit it Katie, yer gonna attract walkers." Daryl joked, even though his face showed concern.
"When we get home, I'm going to kill you." I declared, barely making my words out through the chattering of my teeth.
"It's just here." He said before pointing in the middle of the trees. That was were I saw a log cabin, tiny and quaint. "See?"
I nodded before he scooped me up and carried me to the front door. I rested my head on his shoulder, exhausted as I was. He opened the door and walked in carelessly, like he forgot about the walkers or something. He then slammed it shut and walked into the living area that was combined with the kitchen and set me down on the couch. He walked over to the wood pile and threw some logs on the fire, setting a piece of old newspaper on fire from his lighter.
"Cozy." I muttered, my teeth calming down.
"Stay here." He demanded before placing his lips on my forehead.
I stared into the fire, easing my way back into the couch. Here, everything seemed to disappear. The Governor seemed miles away, walkers too. It was just me and Daryl. I pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch, wrapping it around me tightly as the warmth of the fire embraced me.
I heard soft and steady footprints approach me before Daryl sank in the couch next to me, another, much warmer blanket in his hand. He pulled me closer to him before wrapping it around us.
"Did you secure the door?" I asked, resting my head on his chest.
He nodded, pressing my lips on my forehead. "Ya don't need to worry."
I knew he wasn't talking to me about the door as he stroked my hair.
"Katie, I wanted to let ya know that yer my world, my everythin'. If somethin' happens to ya, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
Placing my hand on his cheek, I gazed into his stormy blue eyes. "No, you would have too. I need someone I can rely on for everything, including the protection of Carl and Judith. Between Rick going off the deep end, I only trust you with their lives."
"Katie..."
"Promise me. Promise me if anything happens to me during this battle with the governor, you won't do anything stupid."
"Katherine..."
"Promise me."
He sighed deeply, closing his eyes as if it was painful to look at me. "I promise."
Author's Note:
Again, super sorry about my crappy updating, but I have no idea what you guys are thinking so it's making writing a bit difficult. So drop a review and let me know what you want to see more of in the future of this story. I have a plan for it, but I'm open to suggestions :)
SPOILER ALERT: I'm going to stray a bit away from the original story line coming up! Also there will be some more interactions with Katie and Merle, since I feel like I haven't touched on their relationship as much as I wish I did...
