We slept in, only waking up when the corridors filled with morning noise. I realized I should have been downstairs helping with breakfast and quickly pulled on clean clothes while Daryl dressed more slowly. I untangled my hair with my fingers but stopped short before leaving the cell.

"Shit!" I hissed. "We weren't exactly quiet last night. I'm not going out there on my own." Daryl rubbed his hands over his face and stood slowly. "They ain't gonna say anythin' with everyone else around," he said, unconvincingly, and I rolled my eyes. "Just come with me on this walk of shame before you take off," I instructed, and he raised his eyebrows. "I thought I gave orders in here," he teased, but followed me out of the cell.

We descended the stairs, my face burning, and I avoided looking at anyone directly, just made a beeline for the kitchen where Carol and Ben were setting out food. Daryl veered off before we reached the door, probably going to check the fences before breakfast and avoid talking to anyone.

"I'm so sorry!" I apologized to Carol without meeting her eyes. "I just overslept. Ben, thanks for stepping in." Carol raised her eyebrows. "No problem. Seems like you didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

I blushed furiously and turned away, grabbing more bowls out of the cupboard, ignoring her grin. Ben, oblivious, followed me into the yard, with the vat of oatmeal. "If you're having trouble sleeping, I know some good remedies," he suggested, at the exact moment Maggie and Glenn joined us.

I couldn't meet his eyes and busied myself dishing up oatmeal into bowls. "I think she's recently figured out a good method for falling asleep," Glenn offered, with a straight face. "Oh?" Ben queried, "What do you use?"

"I slept like a log, actually" I replied, avoiding the question. "Could you go grab some spoons?" As soon as he left, I smacked Glenn on the arm.

"I've had to listen to you two go at it like bunnies for months, so give me a break!"

"I'm just hoping he offers you a sleep remedy when Daryl's around," Maggie laughed as they walked away with their breakfast.

I grabbed a bowl for myself and sat at an empty table, but Rick, Michonne, Carol, and Beth plopped down moments later and I buried my face in my hands and groaned. Rick patted me on the back. "Hey, I came over here to thank you! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the fact that Daryl won't be yellin' at everyone who looks at him today. It's not healthy to build up that much sexual tension," he teased.

I knew my face was bright red, but I looked around for Daryl, annoyed that he was leaving me to deal with all the teasing. I saw him leaning against the prison wall, eyes on me, face neutral.

"Coward," I muttered, and Michonne laughed. "Not gonna argue with you there," she said, "but don't worry - Rick'll corner him eventually." I relaxed slightly and met her eyes. "Sorry about last night," I said. "I'm sure that was awkward."

Beth, cheeks pink, offered "Well I was putting Judith down and I heard Rick say 'finally', so I don't think anyone was mad", sending the whole table into snorts of laughter, including me. "I'll try to keep the drama at a minimum from now on," I promised, and headed inside to get ready for the day's run.

Daryl and Glenn were in charge as usual, and all business. Maggie and I hopped in the back of the truck and looked over our list. I was looking forward to getting away from the prison for a while, especially since Ben wasn't coming. I had enjoyed the challenge of creating a functional program that sufficed to feed and house everyone, and there was plenty of satisfaction in seeing things run smoothly, but I needed new challenges occasionally.

Unfortunately, Dani and her friend Sarah had volunteered to go as well, so we sat awkwardly in the truck during the bumpy ride. Maggie was giving me little glances occasionally and I rolled my eyes at her and mouthed, "I'm fine". I was, too, though I didn't particularly want to be reminded of the fact that she probably still thought she'd be hooking up with Daryl sometime soon. I felt a little bad, actually, that he'd led her on just because he was insecure about what was happening with us.

She didn't know any of that, of course, so I tried to just ignore her and focus on where we were going. Rick had spotted a small natural food store along a quiet road a few weeks back, and we thought it might not have been picked clean yet. I was hoping to find some herbs that were less available in the wild, and work on some new remedies to supplement what medical assistance Herschel could provide. There was no shortage of bruises, cuts, scrapes, twisted ankles, and sore muscles, and salves and poultices were effective treatments when prepared properly.

We got to our feet when Glenn opened the back and hopped out. Daryl had parked in the grassy area to the side of the store, which looked like a house, apart from the small sign in the window that said "Natural Foods".

Daryl kicked open the door and knocked his bow against the frame, drawing out two walkers with the noise. He took one out with a bolt, and Glenn stabbed the other in the head, shoving the bodies to the side. They entered, swept the building, and then beckoned for Maggie and me to come inside. Dani and Sarah stood watch out front.

The lower floor of the house had been converted into a store, and Daryl said it looked like someone had lived upstairs but he hadn't found anything useful up there. We had brought crates with us, and Maggie began clearing out cans of food while Glenn hoisted sacks of grain onto his back and carried them out to the truck. I found a good supply of dried calendula, arnica, and St. John's wort, along with chunks of beeswax, white willow bark, and echinacea. I didn't find any elderberries, but Herschel knew of a patch that grew outside the prison so we could always find fresh ones, and we grabbed several jars of honey off the shelves that would be useful in making medicinal syrups.

I saw Daryl studying some sort of tool, and walked to the back of the store to see what it was. He'd found a shelf of spice grinders, mortar and pestles, and food mills, all of which we could use. He carried them outside while I helped Maggie with the rest of the canned and boxed goods. We were in good spirits as we emerged from the house, but my smile faltered when I saw Dani, hand on Daryl's chest, leaning in to whisper something to him. He stepped back quickly and brushed past me and Maggie heading toward the house again for the last few boxes.

"That's gonna need to get handled", Maggie muttered to me, and I nodded. "Not by me though," I said firmly as we climbed back in the truck. "That's all on him."

Dani was quiet on the way back and Maggie and I chatted for a bit with Sarah about our plans for the stuff we'd collected. I thought that if Daryl needed to deal with Dani's affections sometime soon, for her sake as well as mine, then I needed to figure out a way to let Ben know - nicely - that his attention would be better spent elsewhere. It was tricky though because I knew Daryl was intensely private and wouldn't want anyone outside our group of family knowing anything about us.

We unloaded the boxes at the prison and I spent some time going over my haul with Herschel. He'd taken an interest in my herbal concoctions and was happy with what I'd found, so we mapped out a schedule for brewing up some different remedies.

Dinner was ready by the time we were finished, so I headed outside and sat at a table with Herschel, finishing up our conversation. Daryl sat on my other side, and Herschel asked him about the progress on the motorcycle. Maggie and Glenn were making their way over to us when Ben plopped himself down across from me and, with no lack of irony, Dani sat down across from Daryl, along with Sarah. I saw Maggie and Glenn slow up, and then take the table next to us, watching curiously.

Ben tried to draw me into a conversation about where I'd gone to law school, but I wasn't paying much attention. Dani was asking Daryl where he'd learned to hunt and he was giving her one-word answers, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. He started to get up, but I grabbed his thigh under the table and gave him a glare. If I had to sit through this, so did he.

Dani looked at us curiously, noticing the exchange, and Ben paused in the midst of recalling some sort of horrible psychology class. "Everything okay?" he asked warily, and Daryl shot him a look. "Mind yer own business," he growled, and Sarah giggled nervously. Ben glanced at me, and I shook my head slightly, warning him to let it go.

I got the feeling that Ben wasn't used to people disliking him. He leaned over the table toward Daryl and tried again. "Look man, I don't know why you can't just give me a break. I didn't do anything to you, and I don't deserve to be treated like crap. If you can't sit through a meal with me, that's on you. I'm just trying to have a nice conversation with Ana and your attitude is ruining it."

Daryl met his gaze and narrowed his eyes. "Ya ever listen long enough to find out whether she's interested in talkin' to ya?" he asked calmly.

Ben flushed and glanced toward me uncertainly. I sighed. "You're a nice guy Ben, I just don't want to discuss the past quite as much as you do," I said as gently as possible. Ben stood up from the table and gathered up his dishes. "I'm sorry for bothering you then," he said stiffly. "I'll leave you alone."

Daryl got up a moment later and cleared his plate. I was still eating, but Dani bounced up and followed him to the kitchen. I shoved the last bite into my mouth and trailed after her, debating whether or not I should say anything.

Daryl was in the hallway on the far side of the kitchen, and Dani was standing close to him running her hand up his arm, neither one facing me. He stepped back and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Look, that thing we talked about the other day ain't gonna happen, ok? I ain't . . . into it. An' I need ya to back off."

She murmured something I couldn't hear and continued down the hall, and Daryl looked up to see me watching him. "I guess you took care of both our problems," I said as he walked toward me. He shrugged, "M'tired of the drama. This ain't a damn romance novel."

"Damn straight," I whispered, kissing him briefly before the rest of the crowd reached the kitchen. There was enough drama in our past and outside the fences to last a lifetime.