CHAPTER 20

Kate

"You two are disgusting. I can't even stand it." Maggie teased, pretending to stick her finger down her throat and gag.

"Whatever Maggie! Like you should talk." Kate laughed and drove a piece of rebar through the eye of the nearest walker. It fell with a clink against the chain link fence.

Kate, Maggie and Beth were on fence duty, killing the walkers that were pushing against the outer fence. They had just been gathered in the common room where Rick was informing them of some exciting plans for the prison. The gate repairs had started and after that there were plans to get some water running inside. They might actually get some showers and that was reason enough for everyone to be excited, but Kate had been distracted.

"Seriously, I was trying to pay attention to Rick and all I could see was Daryl making eyes at you like he couldn't wait to have his way." Maggie continued to badger her.

"You're totally exaggerating!" Kate protested, her face turning red.

Maggie turned towards her sister for support. "Beth, did you see it? Tell me you saw it."

Beth looked at Kate apologetically, "I did, but I think its sweet."

"Told you." Maggie said with a triumphant look before plunging a long knife through the fence into a walker's skull.

Kate covered her face laughing. "Oh no. I'm embarrassed and Daryl would die if he thought people were paying attention. Do you think anyone else noticed?"

"Yes!" Maggie exclaimed at the same time Beth said, "No."

They laughed.

"So does Daryl talk at all or do you guys just have sex?"

"Oh my God Maggie! Of course he talks."

"What?! I just can't picture it. He's not exactly a talkative guy. Although I didn't really think he was the boyfriend type either and he looks like a puppy dog following you around."

"Oh I'm sure Daryl would love to hear you say that. Let's change the subject please." Kate shook her head, defeated. "Have you and Glenn decided whether you're having a wedding or not?"

"I don't know. I think whatever we do it'll be kind of simple. I'm not gonna wear a dress or hold flowers or anything. But I kind of like the idea of making a public declaration, you know?"

"Daddy would do a great job." Beth offered.

"He would." Kate agreed. "What does Glenn think?"

"He'd be fine just saying that we are married, but he'll do whatever I want to do."

Beth sighed.

"I always dreamed of a big wedding. A huge dress that Mama would help me pick out, Daddy walking me down the aisle. Now I just hope Rick or Daryl find someone alive out there on a run that isn't 70 or 13. My choices at the moment seem to be Patrick or Carl."

"Don't forget about Mr. Jacobsen. I think he's only 65." Kate teased.

Beth laughed, but there was some sadness there. "I'm serious. I need a boyfriend."

Maggie and Kate looked at her sympathetically.

"It'll happen Bethie. We aren't the only ones alive." Her sister promised.

"Maybe less talking and more killing ladies!" Glenn joked.

The three of them turned to see him and Daryl approaching them.

"Hey guys." Maggie laughed. "We were just talking about you." She looked right at Daryl.

He looked back and forth between the girls, clearly uncomfortable at the idea. Choosing to ignore Maggie, Daryl turned to Kate.

"Can you help me with something for a minute?" He asked.

"Unbelievable!" Maggie laughed loudly as if her whole point had just been proved.

Daryl looked at her, narrowing his eyes, "What's so funny Greene?"

Kate shot Maggie a warning look.

"Nothin' Daryl." She said, still amused, as she turned her eyes to Kate. 'Go on and help your man with whatever it is he so desperately needs your help with. We'll finish up here."

Kate handed Glenn her rebar and apron and walked away with Daryl.

"What was that all about?" Daryl asked.

"Nothing. Just ignore Maggie. She likes giving me a hard time. Where are we going?"

"Generator room." He said with a shy smile, barely meeting her eyes.

They made their way inside the prison, passing a few others on the way. Daryl still wasn't comfortable with all the new faces, honestly Kate wasn't sure he ever would be. Most of them knew that Daryl was a key member of the group and although they were all friendly to him, he always seemed surprised that they'd acknowledge him at all. His usual response was a nod or a grunt. Kate on the other hand was so outgoing that when they were together she more than made up for it.

In the short time it took to get to the generator room, they had stopped several times so she could make small talk. The final time, when Kate stopped to talk to Jeanette, a woman from Woodbury, about how her day was and if she'd been sleeping better, Daryl could hardly hold in his impatience.

"It ain't exactly sneaking off if you talk to everyone on the way." He said to her as they walked away from Jeanette.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "No one is paying any attention to where we are going Daryl."

They reached the generator room and Daryl shut the door behind them. There wasn't a lock, but the room was split by a row of machines (what kind she didn't know) that formed a private area on the side opposite the door.

Daryl let his crossbow clatter to the cement floor and stalked towards her determinedly. He wasn't going to waste any more time. He backed her against a yellowing wall between two machines and started kissing up and down her neck.

"Pretty cool that we are going to get showers. Hot showers are one of the things I miss the most." Kate began rattling on, acting like she didn't now what they were here for.

"No one said anything about them being hot." Daryl mumbled against her throat.

"Oh I know. I'm still excited." She continued, trying hard to ignore how her body was reacting to his. "Rick said a group is going on a supply run tomorrow. Are you going?"

"Mmmhmm." He said, tugging her shirt upwards. She raised her arms in the air and he pulled it off, tossing it aside.

"How long...will you...be gone." She asked, between kisses, finding it harder to concentrate as he started to push her bra straps off her shoulders with his thick fingers. He ignored the question and instead reached down and hooked her leg around his hip and pressed himself against her. She completely abandoned her questions and grabbed for his shirt. She worked on his buttons while he started on her jeans and then his. She pushed his shirt off his broad shoulders and he was already inside of her - lost in the rhythm, pushing her up against the cement wall. She loved when they were together like this. It was like they were the only ones that existed. Maggie could tease her all she wanted about it being about the sex, but she knew it was more than that. Daryl was addicted to the connection, the reassurance of her love and commitment, the chance to let himself go in the safety of her acceptance. She could see it in his face, feel it in his touch and in the urgency of his movements. When they were alone he didn't have to wonder what people thought of him, he didn't have to be on guard, he could be himself. He did need her. Needed to belong to her and needed her to be completely his in return. And she was.

When they were done she started rebuttoning his shirt, his eyes on her the whole time. She looked up and smiled at him.

"What?" She asked quietly.

"Nothin'. I just like watchin' you."

She smiled again.

"Probably only one day."

"One day?" She asked, confused.

"Your question, before, about how long we'll be gone. Rick thinks there is a place pretty close up in Decatur, we can get a lot of the tools and supplies there. You ok with that?"

"I am." She smiled, glad he was trying to check in with her about his plans. "I've got to get used to it. Its what you do here and I don't mind the short trips so much. Plus things have been going pretty well lately. Where is Decatur? How far?"

"About an hour away, Northeast of here."

They sat on the floor against the wall, Kate with her head on Daryl's shoulder, her hands sitting in his lap wrapped around one of his, tracing the small star tattoo on his hand.

"Anything you want me to get you if I come across it?" He asked.

"Oh I see, there are advantages to sleeping with the guy who goes on the runs." She smiled.

"Hell ya there are. I'm gonna keep my girl taken care of with the best of scavenged goods."

"Well in that case," She laughed. "If you happen to see any curtains or sheets we can hang in my, our, cell. Maybe we can get a little privacy in there and not have to do so much of this sneaking around."

"Good thinkin'."

The door to the generator room opened and Kate and Daryl scrambled to their feet. Daryl grabbed his crossbow off the ground just as Rick, Hershel and Greg appeared.

'Daryl, Kate..." Rick nodded as he greeted them with a huge, knowing grin on his face. The three men just stood there with amused expressions, watching Daryl squirm. There wasn't any logical reason for the two of them to be in there except for exactly what they had been doing and everyone there knew it.

"We were just leavin'." Daryl said, walking quickly past them and out the door. Kate smiled at the three of them and followed him out.

By all accounts the Decatur run was a huge success. Everyone came back in one piece, Rick's lead on supplies proved to be even better than he had hoped and they had come across a group of twelve survivors. The group consisted of men and women in their 20's and 30's, including a doctor. They had been living in a warehouse for the last six months and their supplies were running low. Sending runners further and further out had worked for awhile, but last week they had lost two of them. When Rick told them about the prison and asked if they wanted to come back they took a quick vote and unanimously decided to join the group.

Kate, who had taken it upon herself to be the unofficial welcoming committee, led the Decatur group to Cell Block B. They had been making progress in clearing out other parts of the prison and there was plenty of room for the newcomers.

"You guys can stay in here. There isn't much in the cells, probably just a mattress, I'm not sure what you brought with you from your camp. If there is anything you find you need, you can let me know and I can add it to the supply list. When they head out on runs they try and keep an eye out for things. It takes a couple trips sometimes, but they usually eventually get it. If its within reason, of course. We sometimes just eat in our common room areas within each block, but we've recently opened up the cafeteria and so more meal prep will happen in there now that we are growing. You guys are welcome to eat in there too. Oh and we even have a library now. That was cleared out a couple days ago and Carol and I have been working to get it all cleaned up - so books!"

The group looked happy to be part of everything. They immeditely started choosing cells, some bunking up together and others walking to the far end of the block to find some solitude.

"We are so grateful to be here." A dark haired man approached her with two others at his side. "I'm David. This is Gabe and Chloe."

"Nice to meet you guys, we are glad to have you. It is really nice having new people around here."

"We'd really like to help. Is there anything that we can get started doing?" Chloe asked.

"Well, there is always plenty to do, but the easiest thing to just start on is fence duty. You might have noticed we have walkers that pile up against the fence. We try to kill them so that there aren't too many at a time. The job never really ends, but we try to have people out there most the time to stay on top of it. There are aprons and tools hanging on the fence by the gravel path. You guys can head out and whoever is on duty now can show you the ropes. Although it really doesn't consist of much. Once everyone gets settled we can see what other jobs there are too."

"Awesome. Thanks again." David said enthusiastically.

"Of course. Please let me know if you guys have any questions or need anything. I'm in Cell Block C. " Kate turned and headed out the door.

Daryl, Rick, Michonne and Glenn were unloading the trucks in the courtyard.

'Did you get them all settled in?" Rick asked as she walked up.

"Yes. I think they are going to be a good addition. Everyone is so nice and they seem eager to help out."

"Group that big, surviving as long as they have. Seems like they'll have some skills to contribute - plus Dr. S. They might be worth it just to have another person with some medical skills around." Michonne added.

"Definitely more mouths to feed though." Daryl sounded concerned. "I'll probably head out in the morning to hunt. See if I can get some meat in here. Haven't been out enough lately."

That night as they got ready for bed, Kate sat on the edge of the narrow bunk rubbing some lotion Daryl had brought back all over her legs and watching him straighten the blue and yellow curtains he had found and hung over their cell door.

"They are perfect." She said appreciatively, clapping her hands together. She was genuinely excited, now she could change her clothes without having to worry about someone walking by.

"I found enough for everyone in C. I'll keep looking each time I go, probably a good idea if everyone has them."

He stood in front of her, shirt off, fiddling with his belt.

"We got a bunch of tools on the run. I think I can manage to get the bunks off the wall. Maybe Glenn and I can go with the truck and get a couple mattresses from an abandoned house or something. There wouldn't be room for much else in the cell, but it would be better than the bunk."

"Seriously? That would be awesome. We've been sleeping on a mattress that God only knows how many prisoners have slept on, any real mattress would be amazing and we'd have more room."

He leaned down and she scooted back towards the wall before he climbed onto the narrow bed and pulled her into his arms.