This is super late, I know. I blame all of you Meth shippers. ;) This was my first time trying to write any kind of mild smut for this ship, don't get to excited cause it's a bit light... for now anyway, so I struggled a little. Nah, I struggled a lot. I really hope you're happy with it. If there are a billion mistakes then please forgive me, I am super sleepy and may not have caught half of them. Have a great morning and thank you for reading! =)

Chapter Fifty Two

The first night was hard. Harder than she even imagined it would be. Carol didn't sleep at all. She laid there, staring up at the dark ceiling. She could smell him on the pillow and the blankets and it caused her stomach to ache. She was angry at herself for feeling as though she could hardly function while he was gone. But there was nothing to be done about that. She couldn't stop herself from feeling that way. That was just the way things were now.

She thought about going to Merle but Beth was with him and she knew how strange it would have been if she would have just showed up at his doorway with her blanket and then got in bed with the both of them. So she kept herself there, alone, in her empty room and waited for dawn to break.

She already felt ridiculous. She remembered what Jim had said about hiding in there and watching them so she had humiliated herself and asked Buck if he would check her room to make sure it was safe. She stood there while he checked under her bed and in the closet. Her face burned with embarrassment, even though it was just Buck and he wouldn't make fun of her. He even waited by the door until she crawled in the bed so he could turn off the light for her. He left the door cracked after he told her he would be back up to check on her later.

True to his word she counted five times that he stuck his head into her room to make sure she was alright. She would have smiled and let him know she was fine but she didn't want him to worry that she wasn't sleeping. He had enough to worry about so she wasn't going to dump her own misery on his lap.

As soon as she saw the first signs of dawn breaking outside her windows she had gotten up, showered, dressed and then headed downstairs to start the miserable day. No one spoke much. Even Merle was quiet and usually he was the one everyone depended on to crack a joke or give someone hell just to entertain. He was morose as him and Beth chewed their cereal in silence.

Cleaning up the mess from the ill fated party was something that had kept them busy for a while. Andrea was there and so was Beth so it didn't take as long as it could. Dinner was brutal all the way up until the phone rang.

Carol was surprised she hadn't missed the call with the turtles pace she used to get from the dining room to the kitchen.

Her heart almost leapt out of her chest when she heard the voice on the other end of the line.

"The hell took ya so long to get to the goddamn phone? I almost hung up." Daryl grouched into her ear and it was probably the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.

"We were eating. How are you? When do you get to come home? Are they being mean to you in there? How are you calling straight through? I thought you had to call collect?"

"Slow down there, woman." He chuckled into her ear and the grin that split her face was so wide that it hurt. "They ain't too bad. Some of'em are real assholes but not all are. Shane said that the shit they are findin' in Jim's house is crazy. All sorts of pictures of you and shit. Even some of us together. They said it was fucked up. I should get out tomorrow. Rick slipped me his phone so I could call and it wouldn't be collect."

She leaned her back against the counter, pressing the phone so hard to her ear that it was actually hurting. "I miss you."

He sighed. "Same here. This place is bullshit. Whatcha wearin'?"

She laughed and looked down, not even sure what she had grabbed to wear for the day. "Your shirt and some jeans."

He laughed with her. He stayed on the phone with her for as long as he could but eventually Rick needed his phone back. One more impossibly long night and she would get to see him. Buck came in, carrying dishes right as she hung up the phone.

"He's coming home tomorrow." She said with a smile.

Buck nodded but he still looked grim. He had looked grim all day, not even Andrea could coax a smile out of him. Carol knew what it was. Guilt. She hated that he felt that way but there was nothing she could do about it. She approached him as he stacked the dishes for her. He never washed them but he always made it easier for her too. No one was perfect she supposed.

He looked so miserable that it made her want to cry again and she found herself wrapping her arms around his waist before he could step past her to leave the kitchen. It felt strange how small she felt near him. He was nearly a foot and a half taller than her so it made sense. Buck made everyone feel small.

He looked down at her and forced a smile as his heavy arms draped over her slender shoulders.

"He's coming home tomorrow, Buck. Stop looking so miserable." She said in a quiet voice.

He nodded. "I know that. Still don't make it right that he's there at all. Shoulda been me in the back of that goddamn car last night. I let my own kid take the fall for somethin' I did. That's about the most pussy move anybody could do."

Carol felt her feature harden at his words. "No, it isn't. The most pussy thing you could do is leave your family for no other reason than to save your pride. There isn't anything wrong with what the two of you decided to do. He's coming home and you never would have. Now stop your damn pouting." She was in full scowl mode by the time she was done.

He narrowed his eyes and leaned down so only inches separated them. His face grew incredibly dark but she didn't feel one ounce of fear. "You know what happened to the last asshole who talked to me like that?" He growled, his teeth clenched.

She shook her head.

He pecked her lightly on the cheek and then stood up quickly. "Not a fuckin' thing, baby girl. You're the first one with the balls to do it." He winked at her before he sauntered out of the room.

She grinned and followed him, her step feeling lighter after hearing Daryl's voice.

~H~

Merle hated this. He knew that Buck hated it too but he was pretty sure that he felt guiltier than Buck did. At least Buck had been there. Merle hadn't even gotten a chance to say anything to him before he got locked up. Merle had always figured if Daryl ever got himself arrested then he would be right there in the car with him.

He sighed loudly and raised up on his elbows when he heard his bedroom door shut quietly. He had expected it to be Carol but he was pleasantly surprised.

"I thought you went home?" He asked as he raked his eyes down the length of Beth. She had left a few hours ago, planning on spending the night on the farm. He had to swallow hard. She had changed when she got home and the cut off shorts she was sporting were pretty damn short and he was almost certain she wasn't wearing a bra.

"I did. Caught a ride back with Glen. Daddy doesn't even seem to mind anymore. Do you?" She asked as she crawled across the bed towards him.

He shook his head, unable to keep his eyes off her chest as the neck of her loose fitting tank top dipped down. "Don't mind at all." he muttered. He swallowed hard and his eyes widened when she didn't flop down next to him the way she usually did but put both hands on his bare chest and pushed him back down onto his back, swinging one leg over and attacking his mouth with her own.

This wasn't something he was used to with her. She was learning, getting more and more bold but she was still miles away from this. Or so he thought. He had to stifle a groan as his hands ran up her thighs without his brain even telling them too. He wasn't sure what the hell had gotten into her but a part of him wished she would just stop. The other part of him wished she'd rip that goddamn tank top off...

She pulled her mouth away from his and stared down at him with wide blue eyes before she started kissing him again, deeper than before. They had kissed a lot. He liked kissing her. He could kiss her for hours. She was damn good at it but he never let things progress any further than that. It was obvious as fuck that she was even less experienced than his brother had been before he met Carol. But no one would have been able to guess that at the moment.

His hands moved up further until he felt the soft skin at the small of her back. He stilled his hands before they could go any further than that. He usually avoided to much touching, knowing how hard it would be to stop once he started and knowing that she would let him to whatever he wanted to her didn't help matters any. He wasn't that guy. Not anymore and he knew, even if she thought she was, she wasn't ready for all of that yet.

When he felt her hips move over him his eyes went wide. There was definitely something there to feel and she was moving right on top of it. He rolled her over onto her back and moved his body down a little further so his crotch was pressed safely into the mattress instead of right between her legs, which quickly locked around his waist.

What the fuck was this girl trying to do to him? He grudgingly tore his mouth away from hers, she was breathing hard, looking up at him with total trust in her eyes. He felt like putting his fist through a wall. "The hell are ya doin', girl?" He whispered, making sure he didn't sound too harsh even though he was feeling pretty fucking frustrated at the moment. Too much had happened, his nerves ran ragged by the events of the last few days. She didn't understand that a man like him would do nearly anything for a little bit of distraction. Almost anything. He wasn't going to do this. Maybe some day but not right now. Not when the only reason he would be doing it was to forget about the stress of everything that had happened.

Her eyes moved away from his and she looked as though she was trying to work on evening out her breathing. He was working on not ripping her fucking clothes off. He was always torn when he was with her. He was even more torn when she was wrapping those fucking legs around him and begging him for it with every stroke of her tongue against his. He scooted himself down a little further. If his dick had been a dog he'd have locked it in a kennel by now for not wanting to listen to a word he was screaming at it.

"I'm tired of just kissin'." She whispered back, still not meeting his eyes. "Don't you wanna do somethin' else for once?" her eyes finally flicked towards his and held them.

He raised up on his arms and frowned down at her. She kept her legs locked firmly around his waist. "Ain't nothin' wrong with just kissin'. Even if that is all we do." He grumbled, his voice much more husky than he wanted it to be. She didn't miss it either. Her lips twitched.

"There ain't nothin' wrong with kissin', but I know that it gets better than just kissin'." She said as a blush crept all the way up from her neck to her hairline.

God, she had no fucking idea how much better it got. He sure as hell wasn't gonna tell her that though. "You ain't ready for no shit like that and you know it." he growled, trying once more to command certain parts of himself to stop jumping at the mention of things getting better. Stupid hungry bastard.

She actually scowled. "I'm really sick of that, ya know. Why does everybody get to tell me what I do and don't need. What I can and can't have what I am and am not ready for? I'll tell you what I'm ready for, Merle. I'm ready to leave this room feelin' somethin' other than confused. Cause that's how I feel every time I walk out that door. Not in my mind but everywhere else. It's getting real old and I have no idea what to do about that. But I know that you do."

His breath hitched up a few notches as her eyes drilled holes into his own. He knew what she was talking about. He had the same problem. Putting so much restrictions on himself usually had him standing for at least thirty minutes under a cold as fuck shower trying to talk himself out of a hormone driven panic attack. Jesus, the girl was so clueless that she didn't even realize what it was she was feeling. She was horny as fuck and didn't even know how to deal with it.

He swallowed hard. He wasn't gonna fuck this girl. Nope. No way was he going to give into that shit tonight. He glanced over his shoulder at the door she had deliberately closed and then towards the lamp that shone on the nightstand just a foot or so away. He reached out and turned it off. He wasn't going to do anything that he would regret in the morning but he was going to limit the temptation by making it harder to see.

He brought his lips to her ear then, blood rushing behind his own ears with a loud roaring sound. "You want somethin' better?" He whispered. He could swear he could smell the want on her.

Her own breath caught in her throat and she nodded as his lips grazed lightly across the skin below her ear. He raised up onto his knees and looked her over, soft moonlight coming in through the sheer curtains that hung over his windows illuminating her pale skin, darkening her wide eyes as she watch him.

He had to keep his fool self in check. Had to focus on not getting carried away. He had to keep his goddamn dick in his pants. Pants that were fitting a hell of a lot more tight than they did when he had first came to his room. He unbuttoned her shorts and slid them down her legs, grinding his teeth together when he did the same to the light colored panties. He kept his eyes on hers, too afraid to look down for fear there wouldn't be any controlling himself if he saw her like that.

"You wanna stop now?" He asked, barely able to hear his own voice through that rushing sound in his ears.

She shook her head no but her thighs were now pressed together firmly, her knees pulled up. She was wound up tighter than a spring but she looked scared to death. He lowered himself back down next to her, kissing his way up her jaw until she turned her head and kissed his mouth hesitantly. It almost reminded him of that first time he had really kissed her, back in the garage.

He put one hand on her knee and kissed her until she responded the way she usually did and he felt her relax into it. That was when he finally felt her legs part slightly, which gave him access to move one large hand down her inner thigh, very slowly.

His heart was beating erratically. How long had it been since he had touched a woman like this sober? One that he wasn't just wanting to fuck and then kick out of his bed? Or let his brother kick them out of his bed when he felt a little guilty for using them like he always did. He couldn't even remember the last time.

He was almost there, her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she tried hard to catch her breath. This was going to be hell on him. He hadn't even touched her yet. He was close, so close he could feel the heat pouring over his hand, but he hadn't touched her. Just a few more inches to go but he had to brace himself. He had to keep reminding himself that this was Beth and she was quickly becoming one of the most important people in his life and he had to take his time. He had to keep himself from fucking it all up. He could go take care of himself later or something. He couldn't let himself even consider doing more. All he needed to do was give her just a little bit. Just make her feel good and then stop.

The breath exploded from her lungs when his fingers grazed over her, slow and light. He had to clench his teeth together once again when he pulled his face back enough to look at her. She was staring at him again but she didn't look afraid anymore. He took this as a good sign so he started exploring a little more boldly. He was teasing her, prolonging it as much as he could since as long as he could focus on her he wasn't as focused on the painful throbbing in his pants.

She grabbed the sides of his face and pulled his mouth back to hers, kissing him harder than she had ever kissed him before, his head clouded up a bit more and before he could even think about what he was about to do he pushed his middle finger into her as his thumb worked in quick circles. Wet heat surrounded that one digit causing him to growl into her mouth like some kind of pissed off animal at the same time she gasped into his, followed by a quick whimper and for one terrifying second he thought he had hurt her.

He was about to move his hand away from her altogether until suddenly he felt her tighten around that one finger and then whimper once more before her eyes snapped open and her heels dug into the mattress. He could feel it himself then, the tension building deep inside her like a tidal wave right before it crashes. And son of a bitch did that wave crash. She was throbbing around his finger, pulsing liquid heat that had him nearly coming with her when she choked his name out of her mouth right before she covered her face with the pillow that had previously been under her head. The thought of something other than his finger being squeezed dry by her almost had him ready to cry like a bitch. Her legs opened wider and then her back arched. Man, this was something else. He'd never made someone come this hard in his life, he was pretty sure of it. It made him wonder if she had ever even done this to herself. This caused him to growl again as that imagine crashed through his mind.

She finally stilled around him and he moved his hand away from her slowly and yanked the pillow off her face. "You alright?" He asked worriedly when he saw how glazed her eyes looked as she stared up at the ceiling.

He shouldn't have done that. He should have left her the hell alone. He was starting to feel really bad until her eyes slid over and met his.

"What the heck was that?" She breathed right before she attacked his mouth. He grunted at the impact, an arm going around her waist instinctively. The momentum had him reeling, his fragile self control was stretched as taught as it would go but Beth must not have realized that when she pulled him towards her more. He was on top of her before realizing he was even heading there to begin with. She was willing and she was hot for it, he knew that. It would be easy. All he had to do was shuck off those restraining fucking jeans and sink into what he knew was going to be the best pussy he had ever had in his whole fucking life.

With that thought he jerked away from her and scurried off the bed before those incredible legs wrapped around him again. He felt like shit for even thinking about her like that. He ran a hand through his short cropped hair. She wasn't just a piece of ass. She was Beth. Goddamn it this was too much.

She raised up on her elbows and frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked, brow furrowed.

He swallowed and shook his head as he backed towards the door. "Nothin'. I gotta go... do somethin' real quick."

Her frown deepened for a second but then she actually giggled. "Are you about to go...?"

"Shut it, Beth." he grumbled and then bolted out of the room.

He almost slammed the bathroom door in his haste, he locked it, knowing the lock didn't work. He prayed to God then that Carol didn't choose this moment to walk in on him.

~H~

Daryl woke up to the sound of Rick's obnoxious ass voice yelling into his cell. "Rise and shine, Mr. Dixon! Time to go home."

Daryl moved his arm from over his eyes and raised up. "No shit?"

"No shit." Shane said as he came into view. "It's a damn shame too Dixon. You've been a pleasant guest here. My favorite by far. Must be all that conversation. You're a real chatter box, ya know that?" He flashed a grin.

"Fuck off, Walsh." He grumbled as he rolled his eyes. He liked him. He fucking hated him for making him like him and Shane knew it too. That made it even worse. He stepped out of the door that Rick held open for him.

"You just have to go sign a few things and collect your personal items and then you're outta here." Rick said as he led him down the hall, past the other cell doors.

Daryl did all of that in a hurry. He didn't even read the papers he was signing. He was ready to get his ass home. Now. He stuffed his wallet into his pocket after counting the money in it to make sure the asshole that was eyeballing him hadn't stolen any of it. It was all there. All forty three dollars.

"Thank you, I'm sure we'll be seein' you again." The asshole called as he turned to head towards the door.

"Suck it, asshole." Daryl called back over his shoulder.

The cop stood up. "Hey!" He shouted, causing Daryl to turn around.

"Sit your ass down desk jokey." Shane said angrily, causing Daryl's eyes to widen. "What the hell's wrong with you, huh?

He didn't hang around to watch the two of them argue. He was halfway down the steps before he realized he hadn't even called home to tell them he'd been released. He was about to turn around and head back in to use the phone when someone said his name. He looked up and saw Lori Grimes grinning at him.

"Hi, Daryl." She said brightly. It was too fucking early in the morning for anyone to be in that good of a mood.

Daryl nodded and was about to turn to follow her in when Rick and Shane came out. Of course the three of them had to stand right in front of the damn door so he had to wait for them to get done shooting the shit before he could go back inside.

"Hey, you need a ride?" Lori asked as she glanced back at him.

Daryl shook his head, noticing the smiles that Rick and Shane both were trying to hide. "The hell you two snickerin' about?" He scowled.

Shane sighed loudly. "You. You know Carol Mason for a day and then move in with her. Never even seen ya talk to a woman before that and now you're too damn bashful to even catch a ride with Lori here. You're somethin' else, Dixon."

Lori put her hands on her skinny hips and gave Shane a dirty look. "Leave him alone Shane. It's nice to meet a man that don't throw himself at every pair of boobs that walk by." She raised a brow at him.

Daryl was still scowling. Well, fuck. If he ignored the barbs and went on in to call home then he was surely going to end up being the butt of Shane's jokes for a while. If he went ahead and caught a ride with Lori then... well, then he would probably be stuck having to have a conversation with her and that didn't sound too fun at all. He huffed.

"Fuck, lady. Let's go." He grumbled, causing Shane and Rick to both break out in grins. Fucking assholes.

Lori smiled and hurried down the steps. He followed her towards Rick's truck.

"I just have to make one quick stop and then I'll take you straight home." She said as she backed out of the parking space.

He groaned inwardly. Just great. Now he was going to be stuck riding around all damn morning when all he wanted to do was go the fuck home.

"So, how are you and Carol doing?" She asked as she glanced at him with a smile.

Why the fuck was she so goddamn smiley? He shrugged and looked out is window. "Fine." he muttered.

"You're not as talkative as your brother are you?" Lori asked.

"Nope." He answered without looking at her.

"So, your dad and Andrea, huh?" She pressed.

This fucking sucked. He should have called home and had one of them come pick him up. "Yep." He said in response to her question.

"Do they really get along? It's so weird. She hated you all." Lori blurted.

Daryl's head shot to the side to look at her. Her eyes were wide. She was one of them blabber mouths that didn't even mean to blabber.

"I mean... she didn't hate you all." She tried to cover her tracks. Daryl thought it was pretty funny.

"I wouldn't know if she did or not. Kinda hard to figure a woman out with her tongue shoved down your dads throat. But I gotta feelin' she likes us all just fine now. Especially Buck."

Lori flashed him a relieved grin. "I guess she does."

She was thankfully quiet after that until they pulled up in front of Hershel's clinic. "The fuck we doin' here?" he asked.

Lori opened the door and hopped out. "He called this morning and asked if I'd hang some flyers. I guess some people moved away and left their dog tied up in their yard. No food or water or anything. By the time anyone noticed the thing was half dead. Hershel's been nursing him back to health and he's tryin' to find someone to adopt him."

"Abandoned, huh?" Daryl muttered as Lori slammed the door. He got out and followed her into the clinic.

Maggie was sitting behind a desk flipping through a magazine looking thoroughly bored. When she looked up she smiled at Lori and then, to Daryl's surprise she flashed him a grin. "I'm glad to see your a free man, Daryl."

He nodded not sure what to say to her. Maybe she was over hating his brother's guts. That would surely make her sister happy.

Hershel came through a swinging door behind the desk that Maggie was sitting at. He was holding a stack of flyers as he hobbled along on one crutch. "Thank you Lori. This is a big help. Hopefully someone will call soon to take the mongrel." He said without looking away from the flyers in his hand.

On cue the swinging door opened again and out trotted a dog. Daryl frowned.

"That him?" He asked Hershel.

Hershel looked up like he hadn't realized Daryl was even there. "Oh, hello there, son. Didn't even see ya there." He glanced down at the dog that sat down on his haunches in front of the desk. "That's him. We call him Blue."

Daryl glanced up. "That's original." He muttered but his eyes went right back to the dog. It had one blue eye, one brown. It cocked it's head quizzically and then it's tongue lolled out the side of its mouth as it studied Daryl. One of it's ears stood up straight while the other flopped forward. "Ain't this an Australian Shepherd?" He asked as he kept eying the dog.

All three sets of eyes looked towards him. Four if he counted the dog.

"That's right. Beautiful dog but he's stubborn as all get out. Smart though. Smarter than I thought anyway. Jim Rothenberg came by the other day and I had to lock Blue up in the back. I thought he was gonna attack the man. I guess he knew somethin' I didn't at the time." Hershel shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, son. For what you had to do."

Daryl could swear that fucking dog was grinning at him, eyes half closed and that one ear perked just waiting for him to say something.

"I'll take'em." He heard himself say. He glanced up at Hershel and watched the old man's face break out in a grin.

"Son, I could kiss you right now." Hershel said excitedly.

"How much?" He asked, ignoring Hershel's threat to kiss him. He only had the forty three dollars. He just had to hope that was enough. He didn't even know why the hell he wanted to the stupid dog. He hadn't ever had a dog before.

"Free." Hershel said hurriedly. "I'm not in the business of actual pet rescues so it isn't a formal thing. You want him, he's yours. He's been fixed and he's up to date on all his shots. He's healthy."

Daryl scowled and him and the dog both gave Hershel a look. "Ya chopped his nuts off?"

Hershel hid a smile. "Well, it's better for'em. Less of a risk of him runnin' off and getting himself hurt."

"Sorry, man. Didn't get to ya in time." Daryl said to the poor nutless bastard.

Blue made his decision then. He trotted over and took a seat right next to Daryl, leaning into his leg and looking up at Hershel like he wanted him to get on with it.

"Maggie, go grab him a few things from the back to get him started. Free of charge. You're doing me a real favor, Daryl."

A few minutes later Daryl was tossing a bag of dog food and other goods for the dog into the back of the truck. Without a word Daryl unhooked the leash and put the tailgate down. Blue jumped in without being told.

Lori was thankfully quiet on the way back. She just drove with a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth. Daryl decided that, even though he liked her well enough, that she was most likely smoking weed behind Rick's back. She smiled too much.

He thanked her as he climbed out of the truck and gathered up all the stuff Hershel had given him. Blue followed him up the porch steps and sat down, eyes scanning the yard, as Daryl fished his key out of his pocket and opened the door. The dog walked right in like he already knew he was home.

Anticipation kept him from doing anything other than bolting up the stairs after he dumped all the stuff on the floor. Blue followed close on his heels. Their door was open when he reached it. He looked down. "Stay here a minute." He whispered.

Blue sat down and watched him until he disappeared into their room. Daryl put his hands on his hips and shook his head as soon as he looked at the bed. Buck was laying on top of the covers with one arm under his head and the other wrapped around Carol's shoulders. She was curled up into his side with the blanket pulled up to her chin.

It felt like something was beating it's wings against his stomach when he saw her and the smile on his face was so big it actually hurt. He crept around to her side of the bed and shook her shoulder gently. She rolled over onto her back and stretched before she opened her eyes. When she finally did she sat straight up.

"Daryl!" She gasped and then had her arms around his neck, pulling him down almost on top of her as she kissed him.

He felt like he hadn't seen her in a year and the only thing he could think about was how fucking good she felt. Until some big mouth had to shatter the moment.

"Jesus Christ. Couldn't you at least give a man some warnin'? Let me get outta the bed first before you start your shit. I ain't Merle for fuck's sake." Buck grumbled as he climbed out off the bed.

Daryl still didn't break the kiss. "Mmm hmm..." Was his only response.

"I swear," Buck huffed as his voice got further away.

He finally pulled away and then kissed her again, grinning against her lips.

"Hey! There's a goddamn dog in the house!" Buck yelled.

That finally got Daryl's attention. He'd forgotten about the damn dog as soon as he saw her. He crawled off of her and stood back up.

"Dog?" She asked, unable to take her eyes off his, smile still in place.

He nodded. "Hershel fixed him up after his owners bailed on him and left him for dead." He shrugged. "Figured what the fuck. You're into strays." He smirked and then glanced towards the door. "Alright, come on in."

Carol almost squealed like a kid when Blue trotted in and jumped up onto the bed. She was on her knees, scratching him behind his ears and letting him get dog drool all over her face. Maybe now she'd shut the fuck up about kids.

She grabbed Daryl's hand and pulled him back down onto the bed with her. Blue took the hint and hopped down, nails clicking on the hardwood as he followed Buck down the hall. Smart dog.

"I missed you." She said against his lips.

"I missed you too." he muttered, snaking his hand under her hair so he could cup the back of her neck. "I need a shower." He said before he pulled away.

She smiled wickedly reminding him of one of the millions of reasons he was really fucking happy to be home.

"What's with Buck sleepin in here, anyway?" He asked as she dragged him towards the bathroom.

"I had a nightmare and he woke me up. I don't like sleeping alone." She muttered.

"Ain't gonna have that problem no more." he grumbled. "That was about the hardest fuckin' day of my life. And I've had some rough days." his hand tightened on hers.

"Mine too. Record book rough." She said with a shake of her head.

I had to bring in Blue because I used a dog at the very beginning of this chapter and I promised a friend that I would bring another one in. So this is for her! Much love to you my friend! And I have to say right now, the dog I killed at the start of this story was a faceless nameless thing that I had no attachments too. I can't, I repeat, I can not kill animals. Unless it's squirrels and such for food. But this dog will have a long happy life, even in the sequel. Now, It is bed time for me!