Chapter 26

- KATE -

Kate watched the dark red blood balloon over the man's chest. As dark as it was, it still wasn't the black, sludgy blood of a walker. There was no doubt that the life she just took was human, even if it was the worst kind of the species. His eyes remained open and fixed in her direction, but it was the blood she couldn't stop looking at. The last sign of being escaping from the doomed ship.

The immediate thought she had in the seconds after taking a life for the first time was of her mother. It was a bizarre thought: a girl should be able to share the fact that she had just killed a man with her mom. It was like her soul was a big gear and she felt the wheel move and the teeth push her further from where she started. The less her mother knew, the less of the person she used to be existed.

She'd heard him running through the woods after his friend had called his name and heard the panic in Daryl's voice as he yelled for her to run. But she didn't, she couldn't let Daryl sacrifice himself for her. Instead, without giving it a thought, she had bent down and grabbed the gun that had come to rest in the dirt and leaves a few feet in front of her after Daryl had sent an arrow through its owner's brain. Whether it was loaded, whether she could hit her target (and what would've happened if she couldn't), whether it would bring down a thousand walkers on them, none of these thoughts came close to entering her mind. She saw Billy point his gun at Daryl, dismissing her presence and not even seeing the gun at her side, she raised it, squeezing the trigger, like she had so many times at target practice since this whole thing started. Like she had when she was blindly trying to hit the Governor or his men the first time they attacked the prison. Except this time she could see her target's face and the shock and pain that contorted it when her first bullet tore into his shoulder. Panic seized her when she realized he wasn't dead and that she would be if she didn't finish the job. She strode towards him, determined to do it, and with his eyes looking right at her, she shot him again, hitting him in the chest. Both times she'd been aiming for his head.

"Kate! Kate!" Daryl's voice made its way through her dark reverie. She looked up at him, like she had forgotten he was there at all. "We gotta go! Move!"

He was collecting the rifle that had dropped when the bullet had hit Billy's shoulder. She felt the weight of the gun in her hand and realized it was still fixed on the body.

"KATE!" Daryl said again, forcefully. She picked up her feet and moved in his direction. Satisfied, he turned and rushed into the trees. They hadn't gone very far, maybe 100 feet or so, when Daryl stopped behind a thicket of bushes and motioned for her to get down.

"No sense in us runnin', they'd hear us crashin' through a mile away." He explained.

She knew it was true, she could already hear Joe and his remaining men tearing through the forest, presumably towards wherever they thought they'd heard the shots from.

"Gotta get underneath there." Daryl whispered, checking the rifle's ammo.

Kate dropped down on her belly, the damp soil spongy and cold through her shirt. Her breath hissed as her sore ribs pressed into the rocky ground. She dragged herself as best as she could into the thick brambles as they tore and scratched into her skin. Daryl followed behind her, the branches snapping and rustling as they gave into his body. He crawled up next to her, pulling himself by his elbows as far to the edge of the bush as he could without risking notice and readied the rifle.

Kate was trembling. It wasn't because of the cold autumn night, although if they weren't literally fearing for their lives she might have noticed how chilly it was in the same way she might have worried about what snakes or spiders she was sharing space with right now. And the shaking wasn't just from fear, although she was plenty afraid. Her body was reacting to it all: the many hours spent in the company of men wanting to do them harm, the sudden, violent escape and the resulting situation. They could be minutes away from a painful and torturous death. There was no chance that Joe would show mercy or be interested in their truck as a bargaining chip. It would go from something he had found amusing, a sadistic game, to something much more personal. She closed her hand around the gun tighter, prepared to use it again. If her mother could only see her now.

The night sky suddenly echoed with profanities and they knew Joe and his men had found the bodies.

"When I get my hands on that cocksucker he's gonna beg for a bullet!" Joe boomed.

Kate concentrated on taking deep, quiet breaths. Willing the waves to stop trembling out of her. The men were moving again. She had hoped they would have gone in the opposite direction, but the cacophony of heavy boots crashing through branches and dead leaves grew louder. She watched from the ground as the shadowy figures emerged from behind trees about 30 feet away. She shrunk back against Daryl and held her breath.

'Joe, I think I can hear 'em." One of them men shouted.

In the distance she could hear something too, and she prayed silently that whatever it was would lead them far away. They watched as their backs vanish into the trees, in pursuit of the noise, and listened to their steps long after they no longer were seen. They laid there until the last whispers of their retreat disappeared and quietly inched their way out. Daryl crouched down, working on untieing the knot that held the two shoelaces in his hands together. In all the confusion, she hadn't even noticed his boots were missing them and she wondered briefly why. He started weaving the first lace through his boot and she took the other from his bloodied hands. Her hands shook as she tried to lace it and she marveled at the fact that Daryl's hands were steady. As soon as they were tied, he motioned her to follow him and they made their way through the woods in the opposite direction as Joe.

They picked their way slowly through the underbrush, stepping over roots and climbing over fallen trees. It was hard enough terrain to navigate in the day, much less in the dark. She was thankful that autumn had caused most the trees to drop their leaves or even the dim light of the moon would be hidden.

Their slowed speed also allowed them to stay relatively quiet, which not only kept their location hidden from their pursuers, but the walkers that surely infested these woods. She stayed glued to Daryl's side, every muscle in her body tense and her eyes straining in the darkness. Every shadow might be a walker. Every noise could be Joe ready to kill them. They hardly spoke a word to each other, not being able to risk any unnecessary noise.

They'd been moving through the woods like that for about 45 minutes when they heard the snapping of a branch echo not far from them. Daryl came to a stop and aimed his crossbow into the darkness in the direction of the noise. Kate gripped the gun. The noise was followed by the rustling of leaves as something large made its way towards them. Daryl quickly pushed her in the direction of a large boulder and they ducked behind it. She knew hiding wasn't Daryl's style, that this duck and cover routine was for her benefit. She was sure it took everything in him to not run to meet the threat, be it walker or human, but he didn't want to risk her life or even his, leaving her to try (and likely fail) to get back to the prison on her own.

Kate leaned against the cold boulder, praying whatever it was would pass, straining to hear any clue that would give them an idea as to what had just made its way feet from where they were hiding. It was difficult since the loudest sound was her own blood pounding in her ears. They heard a deep growl and Daryl quickly stood, "Never thought I'd be so glad to see a walker." he said, sending a bolt flying.

She stood with a sigh of relief and followed him as he collected his arrow and continued on.

This same scenario played out several more times and everytime they would find cover, she was convinced it would be this time that it was Joe and that they were discovered.

Kate had no sense of how far from the truck they had been when they first ran into the men or how much further they had gone the hours and hours they wandered the woods with them, but as the first hints of morning turned the sky from black to gray, Daryl said they weren't too much further. They pushed harder, risking the noise in an effort to put an end to the nightmare. Her ribs ached and her face throbbed from where Len's fist made contact, but with the promise of safety so close, she hardly cared.

Not long after, Daryl pointed through the trees and there was just enough light to see the red roof of the feed store. She wanted to shout for joy and run as hard as she could, but she held back. They had no way of knowing what was between here and the truck. As they neared the shop, they began to see more walkers wandering through the woods aimlessly. The herd had passed, but plenty of stragglers remained.

"Stay close." Daryl said, unnecessarily and they continued weaving quietly in and out of the trees. The big silver truck sat exactly where Daryl had parked it and a strangled sound, made of equal parts relief and glee, escaped from Kate's throat. There were a couple walkers they'd have to deal with to get there, but they exchanged relieved smiles.

Once, in high school, Kate had gone snorkeling. She had been underwater, breathing comfortably through the tube and watching the colorful fish flit in schools in front of her face, when suddenly she was absolutely sure a shark was behind her. She had no reason to believe this, aside from an active imagination and a recent viewing of Jaws, but the feeling was powerful enough to send her thrashing around in the water to see behind her. There wasn't a shark, but she managed to inhale a mouthful of salty seawater in the process.

The last hundred yards in the woods was just like that. She could almost feel Joe and his men approaching. She felt like a shot would sound at any second. Her elbows and knees felt weak and her stomach flip flopped, but as they came out safely on the other side of the treeline, the woods remained silent. They ran across the yellowed grass that grew in the field between the trees and the shop. Daryl slamming his crossbow into any walker that came close enough to be a danger. She almost expected to find Joe on the porch of the store, waiting to take them by surprise, but as they reached the truck, she found they were still alone. She wrenched the door open and scrambled in. Daryl opened the driver's door and handed her the crossbow and then the rifle before getting behind the wheel. The keys were still in the ignition and he started the engine and drove away.

Kate took in what felt like her first full breath since they went running from the store into the woods. Her ribs ached in protest.

"How far are we from home?" She asked, frantically searching out the window for any sign of the men in the trees.

"'bout an hour."

They drove down the tiny main street, the small buildings of the town flying past in a blur as Daryl sped away. Relief, as well as disbelief that they had escaped at all, was initially all she could feel. But as distance separated them from the woods and the adrenaline that had kept her going all these hours began to fade away, a heaviness settled in her chest. She hadn't slept, they'd hardly stopped moving, her injuries were beginning to throb and she felt the emotional toll start to pester the edges of her mind. She suddenly wanted to be comforted. She wanted Daryl to stop the truck so she could crawl in his lap and bawl her eyes out, but she knew they couldn't risk it. They had to get home, far away from here, from the woods, from those men. She glanced over at Daryl, his eyes fixed on the road. He looked exhausted and upset.

"You ok?" She asked softly.

" 'm fine." He mumbled dismissively, without a glance in her direction, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

She stared at him for a minute longer before he looked over at her briefly, returning his eyes to the road with a sigh and sticking his thumbnail in his mouth. She turned back to the window, the heaviness in her chest evolving to a dull ache. Something in Daryl's response wounded her. It made her feel rejected and alone. She fought back the hot tears that welled up in her eyes, wiping them away quickly and forcing herself to think about something, anything, so she wouldn't completely break down in front of him. She stared at the road, counting the broken, yellow traffic lines as they slipped by. Before long, exhaustion took over and she fell asleep.

- DARYL -

Daryl drove the truck up the path to the gate. The prison loomed in the background and he felt both relieved to have arrived and some dread at the prospect of having to explain what happened to them.

The gate slowly opened and Daryl drove in, he didn't bother waking Kate who had been sleeping almost the entire drive home. He came to a stop as soon as he passed through and rolled the window down as Maggie and Glenn approached.

"Hey guys!" Glenn said. "Where've you been? We expected you back by last night, we were starting to worry."

His voice was enough to pull Kate out of her sleep and she raised her head, groggy and blinking hard. The left side of her face was swollen and the mark Len had left was blossoming in darker shades of purple and violet across her cheek and under her eye.

"Holy shit!" Maggie exclaimed. "What the hell happened to you?!"

Daryl winced and looked straight ahead, out the window. It was like her face was a walking billboard for his failure to protect her.

"We ran into some trouble. She probably should see your dad or Dr. S." Daryl answered.

Maggie crossed to the other side of the truck. As Kate climbed out and Maggie wrapped her arms around her, Daryl was pretty sure he heard her start to cry. It felt like his chest was going to rip in two.

"Daryl, what happened?" Glenn asked.

"I gotta get this truck unloaded and find Rick." He put the truck in drive and drove away from a confused Glenn, passing Maggie and Kate on their way up to the prison.

He parked the truck in the courtyard and realized there weren't many things to unload, but he started anyway. He took the bags of food Kate had collected at the house and walked them to the cafeteria. When he got back to the truck, Rick and Greg were going through the plumbing supplies. Rick looked up when he saw Daryl returning.

"Heard you ran into some trouble. You guys ok?"

Daryl looked over at Greg disapprovingly before motioning with his head for Rick to follow him several feet away.

Rick was the only one he didn't mind having to tell. He needed to know, since technically it was a threat to the group and if anyone understood the shame of failing to protect your woman, it was him.

"Ran into a group of men, 'bout 40 miles south of here. We'd been at a feed store, got overrun by walkers. We had to run into the woods. They got us there. They weren't lookin' to make friends. We were lucky we got out at all."

Concern darkened Rick's face. "Is Kate alright?" He didn't specifically say what he was really asking, but Daryl understood.

"Ya, but it was close. She has some injuries, I think she's gettin' checked out now."

"How many were there?"

"Seven, to start. Three of 'em left. Kate killed one of 'em."

Rick raised his eyebrows and then shook his head slowly.

"Any chance they followed you back?"

Daryl shook his head.

"You ok?"

Daryl gave him a hard look before finally nodding his head in his typical jerking motion. Rick looked at him doubtfully , but nodded and walked past Daryl towards the truck, patting him on the shoulder as he went.

Greg was still sorting through the supplies and Daryl figured he and Rick had it handled, he wasn't in the mood for awkward small talk. He headed to "C Block" to make sure Kate was getting checked out. He took the stairs to the upper cells two at a time.

Recently, he had followed through on his promise to Kate and he and Glenn managed to remove the bunks from the wall in both their cells. A quick run to a neighborhood close to the prison and they had two queen sized mattresses. One of which was taking up the majority of their cell, leaving little room for much else. Their curtains were pushed all the way open, allowing as much light as possible into the square, cement room. Maggie sat at the end of the bed by Kate's feet, while Dr. S. stood talking softly. They all three turned their eyes to Daryl as he leaned against the bars on the outside of the cell.

"Good Morning Daryl." Dr. S. said, a kind smile on his face.

"Mornin' Dr. S. She going to be ok?" He asked, finding it hard to even look at Kate without hating himself.

"She's going to be fine. Her biggest problem is her ribs, I can't know for sure without an xray, but it seems likely that a couple of them are cracked. Nothing much we can do for that anyway, she's just got to take it easy. They should heal on their own in about 6 weeks. I told her if the pain got to be too much to let me know and we'd get her some pain killers. Other than that, she's pretty bruised and battered, a slight concussion, but nothing I'm overly concerned about. She'll probably be really tired for a couple days, but should be fine after some rest." Dr. S. turned back to Kate, "I'm going to let you sleep now. I'll be back tomorrow to check on you, please let me know if you need anything before then."

"Thank you." Kate said as he walked out the cell door. Daryl thanked him too and Dr. S. stuck out his hand, Daryl looked at it for a moment like it was a foreign object and then shook it and the doctor headed down the steps.

"Well I should let you two get some sleep." Maggie said, standing.

"Naw, not me." Daryl said, shaking his head. "Got some things I need to do."

"What things?" Kate asked. "You haven't gotten any sleep."

"I'm a'right." He replied. "Get some sleep"

He turned and walked away, but not before seeing the confusion on Kate's face. Daryl almost turned back. Part of him wanted to get in that bed and fall asleep with her in his arms. But he didn't deserve to. The one thing he thought he brought to the relationship was protection. He could keep her safe, believed he was more capable of that than anyone else. But now he knew that wasn't true at all. It had been his idea to take her on the run. He left them vulnerable in the woods, not even aware enough of their surroundings to notice seven men approach. His escape plan had nearly gotten her raped and she'd killed someone, something he had hoped she'd never have to do. That might have been a naive thought given the world they lived in, but he hated that she had to do it and that he was the cause. He knew Kate wouldn't reject him, but she should and that is what kept him from turning back around. He walked out to the yard. Either Rick of Greg had parked the truck with their other vehicles. Daryl climbed into the bed, rolling up his vest and stuffing it under his head. It took awhile, but eventually sleep claimed him.

- KATE -

Kate was dreaming. She was lost in the woods and it was dark. There wasn't even a sliver of moonlight. She could hear her mother calling for her, but she couldn't tell from where. She tried to find her, stumbling in the pitch black, but her voice had disappeared. In its place was the low growl of a dog. She knew it was near her, but she couldn't see where. She started to run and heard it snarling close behind her, it's warm breath on the back of her legs. She tripped over a tree root and went sprawling to the ground. The dog was about to tear into her, a scream tore from her throat.

She woke suddenly, damp with sweat, her head pounding. It was dark, but she knew she was home, safe in the cell she shared with Daryl. Except she was alone in their bed.

As she remembered the events of the last 24 hours, the heaviness returned to her chest, seeping in slowly until it felt like something real. Like they could crack open her aching ribs and find a big black mass just taking up space. She couldn't shake it. Unwanted memories of their ordeal played in her mind over and over. Joe pointing his gun at Daryl's head as Tony dug his fingers painfully into her arm. The vile things Len was saying, for the sake of terrorizing her and baiting Daryl into doing something stupid. The fear that coursed through her body when Len knocked her to the ground and covered her nose and mouth with his hand. She could still smell him, a ripe, spoiled stench like raw chicken that has just started to go bad. And of course, over and over, in agonizing slow motion, she replayed the moment she killed that man. Billy. She didn't feel guilt or remorse, she knew he would have killed Daryl. She knew she had no choice. But whenever she recalled the fear that widened his eyes before she shot him dead, the dark thing in her chest would swell. Taking a life, even in self-defense, was still something awful and she didn't know what she was supposed to do with that. She wondered if Daryl felt that way and she wished he was here so she could ask him.

Where was Daryl?

She sat up, her bare feet landing softly on the cold, cement floor. She felt a little dizzy and gripped the side of the bed until it passed. She clicked on the battery powered lantern that sat on the upturned milk carton that they used as a nightstand. The cell filled with soft light and she noticed that someone, probably Maggie, had closed the curtains and left a granola bar for her. Kate bent down to pull her socks on and shove her feet in her boots. Her ribs screamed in protest. She looked down and realized she was still wearing her mud caked shirt. She dragged it over her head and tossed it in the corner. She was sure she'd never wear it again. She grabbed a thermal and slowly slipped it over her head, working her hands down the sleeves and trying to move as little as possible. She stood and grabbed the flashlight off the metal shelf and headed into the quiet of a sleeping 'C Block'.

The moon shone softly through the long, narrow windows and Kate made her way silently down the steps and headed into the yard. She didn't know who was on watch tonight, but thought maybe they'd know where Daryl was. She walked quickly in that direction, shivering in the cold air, the flashlight beam bobbing out in front of her. As she drew closer, she could see the outline of his crossbow leaned up against the rails.

"Daryl? Are you up there?" She shouted into the darkness.

"What are you doin' out here. Doc said you needed to rest."

He was a master at avoiding the question.

"I woke up and you weren't there. Have you gotten any sleep?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm coming up, ok?" She wasn't sure why she felt she had to ask.

"No. I'm fine. Go back inside and sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

She couldn't see his face, she could only hear his tired, rough voice. She wanted to refuse. She thought for a second about ignoring his order, like she so often did, and heading up there anyway, making him talk to her or at the very least make him sleep, but she didn't have any fight left and that heaviness was grabbing at her again. Sleep was the only way she had been able to quiet it, so she sighed heavily and turned around to find her way back to her cell.

Back inside she kicked her boots off and crawled into their bed. She didn't understand why Daryl was being so distant, didn't know if he was angry at her because she had wanted so badly to go on the run with him, or maybe because she was the reason he had to give in to those men. She made him vulnerable. Maybe he just looked at her differently now, maybe all he could see when he saw her was Len or maybe Billy. She didn't know, her head hurt and her heart was aching. She buried her face into Daryl's pillow, trying to comfort herself with his smell. Tears filled her eyes and there was no reason to stop them. She cried into his pillow until sleep dragged her back under.

"Sweetie. Sweetie." Maggie's gentle voice woke her. The cell was filled with morning light and her friend was perched on the side of her bed, smiling down at her brightly. "You sleep ok?"

"Ya." Kate lied.

"Hungry? Wanna go get some breakfast?

Kate rolled on her back, groaning softly at the pain it caused her ribs, and looked up at the gray ceiling. The dull ache returned to her chest and with it the dark feeling that seemed to be a permanent part of her now. Everything flooded back to her mind, including the fact that Daryl had stayed in the tower all last night. His absence made everything seem worse. She threw one arm over her eyes, thinking it could prevent the tears from escaping.

"I don't know Maggie. I don't think I'm very...hu..hu..hungry." Her voice betrayed her, she didn't get the sentence out without the emotion tripping up her words.

"Oh honey, are you ok? Do you want to talk about it?" Maggie laid down next to her. Kate kept her arm over her face and took a deep breath. She didn't know where to start, but she needed to get it out so it wasn't just festering inside of her.

Once she opened her mouth, the whole story came spilling out of her in a sobbing, snotty flood. She told Maggie everything, for some reason starting back at the house with Doug & Christine's wedding album. She told her about Joe and his group, the horrible things Len had said and tried to do, how Daryl had beat him to death, not stopping even when he'd been dead. She told her how she kept thinking of the man she had killed, the look on his face as she pulled the trigger and ended his life and how she felt haunted by it. That she felt like she'd never escape the suffocating heaviness of that action, no matter how necessary.

"And now Daryl won't talk to me, barely looks at me. I don't know what I did or what he's thinking. He hasn't been up here since Dr. S. was here and I just want him so badly and I don't know what to do."

Admitting the last part brought a fresh onslaught of tears. Maggie listened carefully the whole time. When Kate finished she waited a few seconds before talking and then spoke softly, barely above a whisper.

"I know how you feel, I really do. I know we've never really talked about it, but when Merle took me and Glenn to Woodbury, they had us in different rooms. The Governor, he wanted me to tell him where the prison was. I wouldn't and he made me strip down, threatening me with Glenn. I was sure he was going to rape me. Kill me. Kill Glenn too. I've never been so afraid in my life. I know Glenn felt so helpless and guilty. Like on top of the fear he had for his own life, he felt like he had failed to protect me. I'm sure Daryl feels that way too."

Kate turned to look at Maggie, realization dawning in her eyes. Maggie shook her head.

"It took me and Glenn awhile to get back to ourselves, and I know Daryl is a harder nut to crack than Glenn."

Kate managed a little laugh. "That's the understatement of the year."

"And Kate, that feeling you have, about killing that man. It gets better. Everyday it gets a little easier. You get used to the fact that it happened and you move on. Somedays, I don't even think about it and on the days I do, it's not overwhelming anymore. I don't know why, but I promise it'll get better."

Maggie's words had the desired effect. Kate felt the weight on her chest ease up just a little and she could swear it was actually easier to breathe. She didn't feel so alone.

"Thank you Maggie. Really."

Maggie smiled, her green eyes full of kindness. "You're welcome. I'll go get you a washcloth and some water and then maybe we can get something to eat."

Kate nodded and Maggie left the cell.

- DARYL -

It was early afternoon when Daryl slipped back through the gates, a string of squirrels to show for his efforts. Shortly after Sasha relieved him from guard duty this morning he escaped to the woods, away from prying questions and away from Kate. He didn't know where to start with her. What to say. How to apologize for failing her when she needed him most. Maybe if she was pissed this would be easier. If she would scream right out loud that he was to blame for the whole fucking situation, maybe then he would know what to do. Instead she just seemed sad that he was avoiding her, just another way he was letting her down. She should be angry. She should blame him for for everything. He felt frozen, no clue what to do. In over his head and wondering why he ever thought he could make this work.

He carried the squirrels to a table in the courtyard that had become the designated place for the carnage that was gutting a catch and went to work on the small creatures.

"There you are. You're a hard man to find today." Carol said, a smile on her face and her hands on her hips.

"Somethin' you need?" He grumbled, without taking his eyes off the squirrel as he ran his knife down its furry belly.

"Wanted to talk to you."

"'bout what?"

"Talked to Maggie this morning." Carol said, like he should know what that meant.

"Ya."

"Kate's upset Daryl. She says you've been avoiding her" She paused and when it was clear Daryl wasn't going to respond she continued. "You two just went through something awful together. You really going to make her deal with that on her own? She needs you."

Daryl threw his knife down on the table, turning angrily towards Carol.

"What she needs is a man that can protect her!" He snarled.

"Is that what this is about Daryl?" Carol said incredulously, folding her arms across her chest. "You don't think you can protect her?"

Daryl looked away from her bitterly, picking up his knife again.

'Daryl, do you think she'd be alive right now if you hadn't been there? Unless I heard wrong, there were SEVEN men and you managed to get you both out, unharmed. If that's not protecting, I don't know what is."

"We shouldn't have been out there!" He shouted, gesticulating wildly. "I shouldn't have put us in that position."

"Daryl, you didn't do that. It's just the shitty world we live in."

"I can't, Carol." He stopped, trying to collect himself, wondering if he could find the words to explain how he felt. "I can't look at her face like that without seeing that asshole on top of her. I should've…If I had just...I don't know."

"You need to get over that. For her sake. Don't punish her for something that filth did. You did everything you could to save her and you did. It sounds like she saved you too. Something like this can break you or bring you closer, don't be a fool Daryl. You'll hate yourself for it."

Daryl looked at her, desperation in his eyes. "I don't know what to do."

"Just go find her. You'll figure it out. You both will."

Carol walked away, leaving Daryl standing there. He stared down at the half gutted squirrel. Fuck it. Carol was right, what was he doing. He tossed the knife down again, abandoning the squirrels. They weren't going anywhere.

He headed to find her, stopping only to wash up in the water buckets before heading to their cell, hoping she'd be there. He pulled back the curtain and found her sleeping, curled up on her side. He kicked off his boots and slid in next to her, pulling her into his arms gently, mindful of her ribs. She still let out a little cry.

"I'm sorry Kate."

"Daryl?" She said, still mostly asleep. "I've missed you so much."

"I know. Go back to sleep."

She turned into his arms, burying her face in his chest and was out again. He laid there listening to the soft sounds of her breathing and realized how much better he felt already.

A short time later, Maggie poked her head in to check on Kate.

"Oh sorry. I didn't know you were in here." Maggie whispered, a big smile on her face as she backed out of the cell, pulling the curtain behind her.