Hello Superfaraway! I'm so happy to hear this from you! I have so much more in store!

Hey Danny2016! Always a pleasure :) So, I don't want to give away any spoiler (those who don't want to know anything, skip to the chapter right away!), but you need to know I'll want to explore this 'triangle' (as you said yourself) first, and I want to give each one their time to shine! And, if you remember from the first part, Aideen and Murphy's relationship tended to be a little more...explosive, especially when Connor isn't around. So, there are going to be a lot of twists and turns before they can all be together.

I still hope you'll enjoy each step along the way!

EPISODE 24 – Say the Word

Daryl suddenly takes a step away, quickly spinning on his heels and letting go of Connor. I yield under the weight of his body and catch myself against the wall on the other side. And the gunshot resonates along the corridor. He barely missed. He wouldn't have if Daryl hadn't moved so quickly. But the next second, Tomàs has Rick's hatchet stuck inside his skull, and Daryl aims at the others. Oscar and Axel freeze with their hands up. The last one swiftly runs. The bolt shoots out of the crossbow and I think it hits him in the back. We hear a cry, but the man keeps on fleeing.

"Get them out of here!" Rick yells at Daryl, before running after him.

Daryl swiftly pockets the dead man's gun, then keeps his crossbow aimed at the two remaining prisoners.

"Ya there," he tells the biggest one, "help 'em up, and straight ahead. Any funny business and ya get one through the head, understand?"

So, Oscar helps me carry Connor down to the yard. We stop as soon as we're outside, and let my feeble saint down on the concrete. He's cowering under the sun, wheezing with the effort it took him to get here. Though, despite protecting his eyes, he raises his face toward the light, sighing in relief.

He looks even worse in the sunlight, though it's still him. It's still the love of my life, that I've known since I could barely walk. Even if he's almost unrecognisable, he's alive. I just can't believe it.

Daryl keeps the others at bay. But here in the open, we'll see anyone coming before they can harm us. I put my bow on the ground, though keep it close at hand. And I crouch beside him, just brushing his back, alarmed by the protruding bones of his spine.

After a second, Carol comes through the door that leads to the cell block, gun first.

"Are you alright? We heard shooting."

"Yeah." Daryl grumbles. "One got away, but he's unarmed and hurt. Rick went after him. Hershel okay?"

"He's stable for now. Is that-" she stops herself, probably shocked too by his appearance.

"Aye, d'ye think ye could get us some water?" I ask.

Connor's breathing is calming down, and I think he's coming back to his senses. He turns and looks at me once again. His huge blue eyes, made even bigger by the dark shadows under them and his gaunt cheeks, finally seem to recognise me.

"Jesus fucking Christ, I can't believe- I'm so… But how… How the fuck can ye be here, Tin'?"

I chuckle. He's starting to sound more like himself. "It's a long story, trust me. It was… I just had to come. But… I thought ye were dead…" I choke. And his hand instinctively flies to my cheek. Even after six and a half years, it still feels so familiar.

Then, he asks: "But, what about- What about our daughters, where are they?"

I guess he got my letters after all. I open my mouth to answer, yet it's harder than I thought. He frowns at my hesitation, the dread clear in his eyes.

That's when Carol comes back. Carl is standing guard beside her, though, right behind her leg, clutching at her pants timidly, my little girl peers at the strange man sitting on the ground. I would have preferred for her to meet him when he looked a little less daunting. Yet, until today, I had come to think she would never meet him at all.

So, I smile and gesture for her to come closer. However, she only hides herself even more behind Carol.

"Sive is right here, Conn'."

He turns and props himself on his knees to lay his eyes on her for the first time. And his mouth remains agape.

"I-… Hi." He only says, speechless.

She doesn't reply. She's scowling at him, as if she didn't believe it was truly him. And when Carol comes closer to hand me the flask, my girl runs to Daryl, clinging on to his leg in turn. I'm dumbstruck as well, to realise she's hiding from her father, behind Daryl of all people.

And he awkwardly tries to push her away: "Come on, kid."

She throws him an imploring look, so I feel the need to tell her: "It's okay sweetheart. I know. It's okay. Ye can take all the time ye need." She seems a little relieved. She's clearly not ready.

So, I turn back to Connor. "She's being shy," I tell him, "but I promise she'll come around."

He doesn't care. He's just watching her with a blissful smile: "Christ, she's beautiful…" he whispers.

"Of course," I laugh, "she looks like ye!"

"Nah. She's all Murphy." And I must agree. She's got his piercing eyes and thin lips. It's almost embarrassing how she actually looks more like Daryl at the moment, both sullen and anxious. Aíne was the one that looked like Connor.

As if our minds were in sync, he now turns briskly to me: "And where's-" The expression on my face is enough to stop him. I simply break down.

"I'm… I'm sorry Connor. I tried but…"

I see him crumple before my eyes. He shakes his head, praying to have misunderstood. Though I shake my head as well in response, my eyes filling to the brim with unshed tears. And he knows.

His arms come to press on his stomach and he bends in two as if he was going to throw up from the sheer pain. His breath rasps as he gasps, and suddenly lets out a croaking, bestial roar that makes us all jump back. I just watch him, powerless, petrified.

"I'm sorry. I tried to protect them both," I continue in a quavering voice, "but I- I failed. I couldn't."

He whimpers then; with his forehead pressed on the cement, he just sobs. And I prostrate myself before him. It was his daughter too, and I couldn't keep her alive for him. I feel like I won't ever be able to look him in the eyes.

"…We made it all the way here, but she died behind that fence. And it was all my fault. I'm sorry Connor. I'm so sorry, I-"

Until his hand blindly searches for me to grasp my thigh. He unsteadily straightens himself up, and clutches my shoulders, forcing me up as well. I still avoid his gaze and grit my teeth when he interrupts my pleading:

"Stop it. It wasn't yer fault Tin'."

"Ye don't know… Ye weren't there, I-"

"That's right. I wasn't there. I should have been there to keep her safe. I'm so sorry ye had to do it all by yerself. It wasn't yer fault."

I open my mouth to protest, yet, suddenly, all the tears I never let go for my baby finally start flowing from my eyes.

He wraps his arms around me, still whispering in my ear: "It wasn't yer fault. It wasn't yer fault, Tin'. I'm so sorry. It wasn't yer fault."

And it's simply an incredible feeling to be in his arms again. Even if he doesn't feel like himself. Even in those terrible circumstances. I needed him to forgive me, more than I had ever imagined. I needed his arm around me to tell me it will all be okay.

Though, slowly, I begin to feel his weight leaning more and more on me, as his speech slurs. And he finally collapses from exhaustion, unconscious in my arms.