The next morning Kayla woke up to the feeling of a pair of strong arms around her. Picking her head up she saw Daryl sound asleep. She smiled to herself and nuzzled her head in his chest. She never thought it would take an apocalypse to find the one person who she thought was right for her. Anyone who met Daryl saw him as a backwoods redneck that came off as mean and distraught. But Kayla saw him for who he actually was. He was caring and protective of everyone in the group which is a lot to say after hearing the man he was when shit first hit the fan. Apparently when his older brother Merle was around he was a lot like him, just more reasonable and not as hot headed. But once Merle was out of the picture Daryl became different…different being better.
It was still dark out and everyone was still asleep when Kayla woke up. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Daryl's sleeping face. A smile formed on her face and she gently swept his hair out of his face. He moved his head slightly to the side and the arm he had around Kayla tightened. She lowered her head and kissed his cheek which was enough to wake him up. Kayla sat up and looked at him as he opened his eyes.
"Morning." Kayla whispered. Daryl half smiled and closed his eyes again. "Morning." He mumbled back. Kayla laid back down next to him and put her head on his chest. "You slept through the whole night." She told Daryl.
"You didn't." Daryl replied.
"Lori needed me for something. Said something didn't feel right" Kayla responded. Daryl kissed the top of her head and held her a little tighter. "Try to get some more rest." He told her after a few moments of silence.
They laid like that for a while until the sun started to come up and everyone began to wake up. Kayla got up and changed her shirt that she's been wearing for over a week. It was a simple tan button up shirt with dirt and blood stains on it everywhere. She swapped it out for a dark blue shirt she cut the sleeves off of. The heat was bad today and if they were going in to slaughter every walker in behind the fence she didn't want to be in sleeves.
Kayla armed herself with two hunter's knives she hooked onto her belt and a machete that Glenn had given to her. She tied her now long again hair up in a bun just as Daryl approached. "You stay close to me." he told her in all seriousness. "No matter what happens you stay right next to me."
"Daryl…" Kayla began to say.
"No." Daryl cut her off. "You stay next to me."
Kayla saw the look in his eyes which read complete seriousness and worry. Kayla set her machete down and put her hands on his shoulders. "Right next to you." She repeated. "No matter what." Daryl met her gaze and she moved her hands to the sides of his face. She leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth. "I got it." she told him as she picked her machete up.
Once Glenn, Maggie, Rick, T-Dog, Daryl, and Kayla were all ready, they went up to the fence and waited for Rick to open it. Once he did they entered the area in formation and began to take out the walkers. Kayla stayed next to Daryl like he told her to and killed any walker that got too close. She swung her machete around and decapitated a walker along with killing more and more in similar fashions. The group was doing well and almost to the courtyard in no time. They stopped at the one cell block entrance via Rick's signal once he saw all of the walkers in the courtyard that had an open gate. Looking ahead a couple of walkers in riot gear appeared and then two more from the side. Daryl fired an arrow at one, but the helmet deflected it. Rick, T-Dog, and Daryl went ahead, but Kayla, Glenn, and Maggie were cut off when another walker came out of the cell block with a gas mask on. Maggie hit it with her cleaver and pushed it back while Glenn and Kayla took care of the other walkers in prison uniforms that were approaching.
Kayla jammed her machete into the skull of the one walker and Glenn killed the other one next to it. They took out two more when the walkers dressed in riot gear reached them. T-Dog rushed over to help Glenn while Kayla helped Maggie. They tried jamming their blades anywhere on them, but the gear forbid them from doing any damage. Kayla finally went behind the one walker and grabbed its head, pulling it back which allowed Maggie to jam her knife up under its chin. Kayla let go of the walker and it fell to the ground dead. She looked at Maggie and let out a breath of relief. "See that?" Maggie said to Glenn and T-Dog who did the same as what Kayla and Maggie did. Turning around, Kayla came face to face with another prison guard walker that was coming too close for comfort. Before she could react, Daryl came up behind it and jammed his knife in the back of its skull. Kayla stepped backwards as it fell and looked at Daryl.
"I said stay next to me." he reminded her. "Circumstances were a little complicated." She replied as the two of them regrouped with the others.
"It looks secure." Glenn stated as he looked around.
"Not from the look of that courtyard over there." Daryl responded as he pointed at the courtyard. "And that's a civilian." He added, pointing at the dead walker who was dressed in a white sweater and had long brown hair.
"Some of the interior of the prison could be overrun with walkers from outside the prison." T-Dog agreed.
"Well if there's walls down what are we gonna do we can't rebuild this whole place." Glenn interjected.
"We can't risk a blind spot." Rick told them. "We have to push in."
The group walked over to Cell Block C and opened the door. They entered the cell block and inside it was cool and quiet, the sound of water dripping being the only sound. Kayla walked with Daryl as they swept through the first part of the cell block while Rick went up to the warden's room to find keys. He was up there for about a minute before coming back down with keys. He then opened up the door leading into where the prison cells were. Daryl went in first and the others followed, Kayla right by his side as they swept the cells. Daryl and Kayla went up the stairs to the upper level cells and Rick soon joined them. There were two walkers in two of the cells that they took out with their knives and then threw over the balcony as Glenn came in the others.
Kayla and Daryl opened the rest of the cells and then heard Rick talking to the others about the cell block. "We sleep in the cells?" Beth asked. "Found some keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too." Rick told the group.
"I ain't sleepin' in no cage." Daryl stated. "I'll take the perch." Kayla leaned against the banister and rolled her eyes before turning around and going into the cell behind her. She grabbed the small mattress off of the bottom bunk and took it out to the perch, setting it down and then laying a blanket over it. Then she saw Daryl come up the stairs with her bag. She gave him a smile as she sat down on the mattress and untied her boots, feeling exhausted after the day's events.
Daryl walked over to Kayla and sat down next to her, putting her bag next to the mattress before kicking his boots off. He heard Kayla lay down and didn't waste any time laying down next to her. She rested her head on his chest and put an arm across his stomach which caused Daryl to wrap his free arm around her. It wasn't long before they both fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
OOOOO
The next morning Daryl woke up to Kayla still fast asleep. He kissed her head and quietly got up, letting her sleep a little longer since she didn't get much sleep the night before. Once he pulled on his boots he went downstairs to where Rick and Glenn were. "It'll be you two, me, T-Dog, Maggie, and Hershel going in." Rick informed them as they walked into the other room to look at their weapon supply.
"What about Kayla?" Glenn asked. "We don't know what's down there and if something happens in there or out here, we need her. She is the only one with extensive medical training who knows how to deal with an emergency medical problem." Rick explained. Daryl had no objection to the because it meant Kayla would be out of harm's way for once and in the safety of the cell block.
While all the guys checked the weapon and ammunition stash, Kayla checked in on Lori who was convinced she lost the baby. She was a mess about everything that she did to Rick and her damaged relationship with Carl. Kayla tried to keep her calm, but then Lori started talking about what happens if she died in child birth.
"I won't let that happen." Kayla told Lori.
"Kayla you worked in a hospital. You were an EMT and trauma room doctor… you know you can't stop death from happening…" Lori replied.
"I will do my absolute best to make sure you and your baby come out alive." Lori smiled and wiped the tears away. "Now let's make sure everything is alright." Kayla said.
OOOOO
After examining Lori, Kayla went down to the group and walked over to Daryl. "You better come back alive." She told him. Daryl smirked and put his hands on the sides of her face. "Don't worry. I will." He said to her. Kayla smiled and then felt his lips on hers. She smiled as she moved her lips with his as she put her hands on his sides. It's been a really long time since Daryl kissed her like this and she was enjoying it…a lot.
After what seemed like forever, she finally pulled away and looked at him. "Just be careful." Was all she said before kissing him once more.
