Disclaimer: I own nothing. The amazing show belongs to the amazing Frank Darabont!


Chapter Fifty: Make it Last

"You're moving back in with me right?" Daryl asked.

"I want too, but we still need to work on this. We can't keep doing this Daryl. It's too dangerous in all aspects. We made a choice to peruse a relationship in this mess. We have to deal with the consequences. Cause if this doesn't work out between you and I…. it's not like we can't just split and go our separate ways. There is so much at stake."

"I know. But, all I know is that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me." He reaches across the space between us and grabs my hand. "It pisses me off that I didn't know you before. What could we have been like? When I could have just grabbed you and we could just go somewhere. Not have to carry a gun or worry about finding shelter somewhere." He sighs and squeezes my hands before he lets them go. "I know nothing good is gonna come from thinking on it, but if I could make one wish, that would be it."

"That you could know me before the walkers?" he nods. "I wish the same thing. I wonder about it too. But like you said, we can't change it. No matter how hard we wish."

"I don't want to mess this up. When I thought you were dead—what I felt—it was nothing compared to what I felt last night. When I thought I had lost you because of my own actions."

"But it wasn't just you. This is what I mean. We need to work on this," I gesture between the two of us. "I don't know about you but I've always had trouble communicating with people, go ask Rick he'll tell ya. To me it is the hardest thing talking about my issues."

"I'm not much better. Hell, Merle can tell you stories."

"He told me about the time you set his bird house on fire trying to burn a bad note from school."

"Yep. If I would have just told Merle about the note he coulda forged old man's name no problem. Instead I got a wippin' and had to cut wood all that weekend."

"We both suck at communicating and we live in a world where communication is vital to survival. What have we gotten ourselves into?"

"Something interesting that's for sure."

We laugh a little. Our talk had been like an ice pack over a burn. Painful at first, but blissfully wonderful at the end. We both said what was on our minds and talked about all we had kept from each other. It was amazing what it did for us. We needed to do this more often. And we needed to make sure a blow up wasn't the cause for one. "Do you think we can do this?" I ask when the mood sobers again.

"I don't know. I want too. I need this. So I'm going to try."

"I'll try too. I guess that's all we can do."


Daryl smacks me on my knee before he stands up. "Well, we have a few things we need to do before we go."

"Go? Go where?" I ask as he grabs my hands and pulls me to my feet.

"We need to go find my brother." Is all he says as we walks towards the door."

"What about the "go" part?" I ask as I walk after him.

"Did you see him on your way down here?"

"Daryl you're avoiding my question." I say as I smack him on his shoulder.

"I am not. We are going to find my brother." he asks with a grin.

"Fine, keep you're secret. I just won't tell you where Merle is." I say back.

"I can find him without you. He's not exactly too hard to find these days."


He was right. Merle was very easy to find, considering he was sitting at one of the tables just inside the prison block. He looks back and forth between Daryl and I a few times. "So I take it I have to carry all your shit back up the stairs?" something in his tone makes me think he's not too happy with this decision. Merle doesn't know what actually happened. After how good he was to me last night, and how protective of me he has gotten, I felt I owed him a little one-on-one talk for himself. Merle Dixon had grown on me.

"Daryl, can I talk to him for just a sec?" I ask, Daryl nods and goes outside. "Merle, I just wanted to thank you for last night. All your help."

"I thought my brother did more than he did too." Merle says when Daryl is out of sight. "Your brother set me straight a few moments ago." I sit down beside him. "I didn't want to believe him at first, considering what I saw. But at the same time, I know my brother. I have seen him with many a fine young lady." A funny gleam shows in his eyes. "Most prettier than you."

"Thanks." I shoot back, rolling my eyes.

"He's never been with then as he is with you. You're something special to him. I'd like to think he has brains enough to know not to throw you away on some pixie cut with a grudge and a crush."

I couldn't help but laugh. I had described Carol many ways in my head and to others, but I had never come up with anything quite like that before. Merle went on. "When I caught him up there last night, I wanted to push him off the side. I haven't known you all that long, but I like you. All things with my brother aside, I respect you. You follow but you don't obey blindly. Big brother tells you to jump you ask why. You're not weak and yet you have a heart. You balanced your brother out when I first got here. I wasn't taught much as a kid. But I was taught to respect those who deserve it. And you deserve it."

"And what I thought my brother did was disrespectful. And even though he didn't do what I thought. He still disrespected you when he got himself in that situation."

"But I didn't tell him-."

"You shouldn't have too. He knew about you and Pixie. He didn't care. No matter what you did to push him, he never should have let her get that close for it to even be an issue."

"I still pushed him-."

"Let me ask you something. If Daryl told you to stay away from Tyreese for the same reasons you want him to stay away from Pixie, would you?"

"Yes."

"Even if you were mad at him, or you were fighting."
"I'd like to think so, yes."

"There is your answer. No matter how he was feeling towards you, he should have stayed away. I won't let my brother get away with hurting you. Especially not when my nephew is in there." He says poking my stomach.

"Thanks Merle. For everything." I say grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Blah. Enough of this. Go get the bum and we'll get ya moved back."


Daryl's PoV

Merle and I left Kelly alone to reorganize the cell while I told my brother everything she had told me about Carter. By the end I was surprised smoke wasn't rising from the top of his head. "Then she said he threatened to beat her."

"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch." Merle said, his hand was shaking at his side. "It's one thing to mess with us. But not her."

"How did you and I even get born with him being like that?" I ask. "He knows Kelly is pregnant, with his grandchild no less, and he's still making threats.

"Mom wasn't around much with you. Just kept away from him. And when she was around him, she was on her toes, kept quiet. Guess she did that same with me."

"Well I'll tell you something, Kelly will not have to "keep on her toes" around here. This is her home. That bastard is a guest. One I'm gonna toss out the gate if he crosses her again."

"Just calm down little brother. I'll deal with him-."

"No, I am going to deal with him." I say pushing off the riling. "Next time I see him, he best pray he's not alone."

Merle grabs my shoulder "Now just simmer down there. You have enough to deal with without adding him to the list. Let me take care of him. I always have and I always will." He points up towards where Kelly's shadow can be seen moving on the wall. "That, right up there, is your main concern. She is all you think about. Got me?"

Merle had this look in his eyes that always seemed to make me tell the truth or agree to anything he wanted.

"I will."

"And if you ever hurt her again, I'll toss you over the fence with Carter. Then I'll send Pixie out after ya."


Kelly's PoV

"Will you please tell me what is going on?!" I ask as Daryl shoves various items in a backpack.

"How long has it been since the farm?" He asks as he attempts to zip the bag closed.

"I don't know, a year maybe, add a few months. Why?"

"It's been far too long then." He says standing up.

"Far too long for what?"

"A hookey day." He says with a grin as he tosses me a coat before he walks away from me towards the door.

I pull the jacket on a chase after him. "A hookey day? Daryl, what are you talking about?" I ask when I catch up with him outside where he is securing thins to his bike.

"I know that making a life can make you tired, I didn't think it made you dumb."

"Excuse me!" I say. He just laughs and wraps his arms around me.

"There was a day when we were still on the farm that we went out in the woods and I taught you to shoot. Remember yet?"

I did remember now. I felt stupid, how could I have forgotten that day, that day was our first time together. And I had made the poor guy chase random, flyaway arrows into the woods the whole time. It was a perfect day, for me anyway. It was before we lost Dale, before they had found Randal. Before I felt like giving up. Before we lost the first place I had called home in this new world.

I nod my head and smile. "You're not gonna make me shoot again are you?"

"No. no training or practice this time."

"Then why are we going out?"

"Because, I think we need this. Just this small chance to be together. Just you and I."

"What about the walkers?"

"My bike moves faster then them. Plus it's not like we're going out unprepared. I just…we need this."

I leaned in a kissed him before I pulled away and climbed on the bike and patted the spot behind me. "I wanna drive." I say with a grin.


The day was amazing. Being out and away from the prison was the best thing we could have done at that point. I wrapped my arms around him as he speed down the highway. The wind and fresh air was so refreshing after being cooped up in the prison for so long. Daryl did his best to scare me by doing a few stunts. But he wasn't risking anything, so at best he took his hands an inch off the handle bars, but I still playfully yelled at him. Soaking up the freedom I was feeling.

Even though there were walkers and Daryl did have to shoot a few, it felt so different not having to worry about them too much. We weren't thinking about finding supplies, food, or water. Daryl kept an eye on the gas and how far from the prison we went, but it was still wonderful to just goof off. Laugh and scream as loud as we wanted too. Live it up.

But the best part had to be when he let me drive the bike. It had taken much begging and a lot of promises until he finally agreed. I was so short that I almost thought I wouldn't be able to do it simply because of my height. But Daryl decided I would steer and he would control everything else. He got a kick out of making me speed up randomly. In the end, I think I did pretty good. And the extra cuddle time with Daryl wasn't half bad. "I think this is how we should ride on your bike all the time."

We got back to the prison just as the sun was going down.

We got off the bike and walked back into the cell block. Dinners had been moved inside due to the clouds that were building overhead, wet food was the last thing anyone wanted. I sat on the bench between Rick and Daryl. Maggie handed me my food and I didn't see Carol anywhere.

Hershel said grace and we started eating our dried gas station jerky sticks, fish Ty and Sasha had caught, and potatoes that we had scavenged from Woodbury. I looked around the room and realized that I was lucky. Sure, I had lost people, family. But I had gained as well. Even though I was only blood related to Rick and Carl. Everyone in the room was family. We all loved and fought for each other.

The same went to the people in the other blocks.

Only together would we beat the walkers and make lives for ourselves again. One day I would have to talk to Carol, one day I would have to talk to Carter. But not right now. Nothing ever lasted in this world, just like nothing had lasted in the old one. But I would fight for this one. I would love everyone I could. I would be a better person for them. Because we needed each other. And I wanted this; I wanted us, to last.

The End


Pretty Please Read & Note about the Sequel!

First Thing: I have said this in every chapter and I am going to say it again, thank you to all my readers and reviews. You all are amazing. You all have made such an impact in my life this past year. When I put up the first chapter I was scared to death that no one would read it, now here I am with 212 followers, 153 favorites, and an amazing 69,123 total views! This is so amazingly humbling for me. To know that so many people looked forward to my updates just like I wait for updates. And I truly thank you all.

Second Thing: More sappy-ness, sorry. This story has been a real learning experience for me. Even though this is just a fanfiction, this story is my baby. And when I had all of those bad and cruel comments and reviews, I seriously considered stopping. But then, all of the negative was literally lost in a mass overflow of support and love. And I want to, again, thank you all for that. It means more to me than you will ever know.

Third Thing: Sorry about the length of this chapter and it's massive time gap. The holidays are a busy time for me and my family; I did a lot of traveling.

Also, I decided to split my story into two parts, I think 50 chapters is an amazing feat. It is one I have never reached before.

So I gave you this cheesy mess as a bad ending.

Sequel: The first few chapters of the sequel are already written. I will put up the first chapter of Everything Changes, hopefully, on the 14th. But it may be sooner.

There are still a few loose ends to tie up, gotta deal with Carter and Carol, gotta get the baby here, and have fun with all the sick people!

Gotta see Big Brother Rick in action and some cute Daddy Daryl action.

Merle gets to be a bad ass a cause I love him so much!

We're also going to get the long awaited Kelly/Governor show down!

Don't forget about the baby pole. Boy or Girl!

In closing, again I want to thank all of you who have stuck with me on this amazing journey for me. I have learned to accept criticism and be creative. I have become a better writer and a better reviewer on the stories I read. Because those reviews were always the highlight of each chapter. I loved reading all of them.

I hope to hear from all of you again!
Thank you all!

Maxy93