FINAL CHAPTER FOR SEASON THREE!
That night after Daryl got back, him and Kayla stood in the generator room for a long time with their arms wrapped around one another. Daryl stopped crying after a couple of minutes, but he didn't want to let go of Kayla. It was the closest he's been to her since he left and was afraid if he let her go she'd disappear. But after a while, she spoke up. "We should get back to the others." She said quietly. Daryl recluantly pulled away from her and looked at her. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "For everything. I shouldn't have left but I can't undo what's done. I don't deserve another chance, but-"
"Daryl." Kayla cut him off. "It's okay…stop apologizing."
Daryl nodded his head and hugged her again. "I love you…" he told her. Kayla smiled. "I love you, too." She replied. She pulled away from him and took his hand in hers, leading him out of the generator room and back to the cell block.
When the two got back to the cell block, everyone saw it was just Daryl and Kayla and they knew what it meant. Merle was gone. No one asked questions and let them be. Daryl and Kayla walked up the steps to where their cells were and Daryl let go of Kayla's hand to go in his, her voice stopped him. "Daryl…" she said. He turned and looked at her. She held her hand out to him and jerked her head towards her cell. He took her hand and walked with her to her cell.
Once in her cell, Kayla kicked her shoes off and took off her flannel off so she was just in a tank top and her jeans. She crawled underneath the sheets and made room for Daryl who joined her after he took his boots and vest off. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, a sense of happiness coming over him when she laid and arm across his stomach and rested her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head before relaxing and letting sleep overcome him within a few minutes.
OOOOO
The next morning, Kayla packed up all of her belongings in her cell into her bags with the help of Alex and then packed her car with her, Alex's, and Daryl's things. She and Daryl were on good terms, but she wasn't sure of where their relationship stood. It would take some time. What he did was something that couldn't be forgiven easily, but Kayla was willing to try.
The plan was to make it look as if the group left the prison and then attack when the Governor and his men had their guard down. Kayla was hiding out in the woods with her car and Beth, Hershel, and Carl. She felt like she would have been more useful at the prison, but Rick asked her to watch out for Carl and the others. She agreed and once her car was packed, she hugged Alex who was staying behind. "Be careful." She told him.
"Will do, babygirl." He replied.
When Kayla pulled away from Alex, she saw Daryl by his bike. She walked over to him and gave him a smile. "I'm gonna get them out there a while." She informed him. He looked at her and nodded in response. "Be safe." Kayla said.
"You too." He replied.
Kayla turned and walked over to her car where Beth was sitting in the backseat with Judith and Carl. Hershel got into the passenger seat as Kayla walked over, but Rick pulled her aside. "If something happens out there." He said. "Get them out of here and to safety."
"I will. Don't worry." Kayla assured him before walking over to the car and driving out to the edge of the tree line outside the prison.
From where they were in the woods, Kayla and the others watched as the Governor and his group fire on all the walkers in the field and the group's defenses. They even blew up the one guard tower with a grenade launcher. When they advanced inside the cell block, they were only inside for a few minutes before running outside in fear where Glenn and Maggie opened fire on everyone. The Governor and his group fled from the prison and once they did, Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. That was before one of the Governor's child soldiers stumbled across them. Kayla instantly raised her gun to him as well as Hershel and Carl. "Woah, Woah, Woah, don't shoot." The teenager said.
"Drop it." Kayla told him.
"Sure… here take it." the teenager handed his shotgun out towards Carl, who still had his gun aimed at the teen's head. Kayla took a step forward to take the gun from him, but Carl pulled the trigger and killed the teenager. Kayla looked at Carl in shock. Carl looked at the dead body on the ground and let out a few deep breaths. Kayla put on a serious face as she walked over to the kid and grabbed the shotgun he had. She put it over her shoulder and walked back to the car. "Let's go." She said flatly.
Back at the prison, Kayla was greeted by her father with a hug as well as Daryl when he saw she was unharmed. "We're going back to Woodbury." He told her. "To end this for good." Kayla looked at him when she noticed Carl. Her eyes followed him as he walked by before looking back at Daryl. "Who's going?" she asked.
"Me, Rick, and Michonne. Glenn and Maggie are gonna stay here."
"Do you want me to come?"
"No." Daryl answered. "Stay here and protect the others if the Governor comes back."
Kayla agreed and then walked outside with him to his bike. Rick and Michonne packed their car as Daryl started up his motorcycle. "See you soon." Kayla said, kissing his cheek and then backing up. Then just like that, he was gone and off to Woodbury...again
OOOOO
When Daryl and the others got back the next morning, they weren't alone. They brought over the people from Woodbury who were mainly older men and women and kids with their parents. It was a surprise to everyone, especially Carl, when they saw all the people. Kayla helped everyone off of the bus and saw Daryl park his bike by the courtyard. When everyone was off the bus, she noticed Andrea wasn't with them. She looked over at Daryl and he just shook his head. Kayla instantly felt sadness. She and Andrea didn't get along, but she was still one of them.
A majority of the day was spent getting all of the new people settled at the prison. Daryl helped, but when the afternoon came he snuck off, saying he was going to check the fences. It was half of the truth, he had to check the fences, but he also wanted to see if he could find a ring on any of the walkers to give to Kayla. He got the idea from Glenn, but Daryl was quick to find that Glenn may have gotten the only ring. He looked at each walker and was discouraged when he didn't find a ring. Telling himself he's look again tomorrow if more walkers showed up, he went back to the cell block where Alex pulled him aside.
"What were you looking for out there?" Alex asked him.
"None of your damn business." Daryl said. He still didn't care much for Alex. Kayla may have set good terms with him, but he couldn't and wouldn't.
"I saw you looking at all those walkers…"
"What's it matter to you?"
Daryl walked away, but stopped at the sound of Alex's voice. "Do you love Kayla?" he asked. Daryl turned around. "Yes." He answered. "I do."
"Come with me." Alex told Daryl, leading him into their cell block. Daryl hesitated, but followed Alex inside where they went up to his cell. He opened up a small box and pulled out a small black box from it. He walked over to Daryl and opened it, revealing a diamond ring. Daryl raised his eyebrows at it. "This was my wife's…" Alex explained as he took the ring out. "Kayla's mother…I loved that woman more than anything else in the world. But now that I have my daughter back, she's all that matter to me. I know you don't like me, you have every reason not to, but you make my daughter happy. You have a good heart, Daryl, and you're the kind of person I want to see Kayla with." Alex held out the ring to Daryl who took it from him. "But I know one thing. She is my daughter. I know I hurt her a lot when she was a kid and she didn't deserve that, not in the least. I can't forgive myself for the things I did and neither can she which I understand, but I am here now and intend to do good by her for as long as I am around. So know this: If you hurt her, like the way you did when you left or in any way at all…I will throw you to a walker."
Daryl looked at Alex for a long moment before tucking the ring in his pocket. "I'm never gonna hurt her again. And I won't let anything else hurt her either." Was all Daryl said before leaving the cell.
OOOOO
That night, Daryl was sitting outside on the picnic bench looking at the ring in his hands. How was he going to do this? He's never proposed before…never thought he would. He looked up at the stars and could practically hear Merle telling him to grow a pair. He stood up and tucked the ring in his pocket before walking over to Cell Block C. Inside some people were asleep or talking quietly in their cells. He climbed the stairs to Kayla's cell and saw she wasn't inside. He automatically knew where she was after that.
Walking into the other cell block which was still vacant until the group had a chance to clean it up, Daryl found Kayla sitting on the steps. She saw him walk in and smiled at him as he walked over. "Hey." She greeted. "Hi." Daryl said as he stopped in front of her. "What are you doing in here?"
"I forgot what it was like to be around so many people…"Kayla said through a laugh. "Needed some space. But you stay."
Daryl smiled as he put his hand in his pocket and fiddled with the ring in his fingers. "Can I ask you something?" he asked. "You just did." Kayla teased, putting her elbows on her knees and resting her chin on her hands. Daryl smiled and fiddled with the ring again, feeling more nervous than he's ever felt. "Are you okay?" Kayla asked him. Daryl nodded and let out a breath as he finally just mentally said here we go as he got down on one knee. Kayla immediately sat up straight when he did.
"I was never the marriage type of guy." He began. "But you made me change my perspective, Kayla. I love you and I don't know how else to prove to you that I'm here to stay other than this." Tears filled Kayla's eyes as Daryl reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. Kayla immediately noticed it was her mother's ring which meant her dad already knew and approved. She couldn't stop the tears as Daryl held it in front of her. "I don't know how long it might last, but you're the one Kayla. I promise that I will never, ever hurt you again." Kayla wiped her eyes and looked at Daryl and then at the ring. She couldn't really talk because of how much she was crying, so she nodded vigorously. "Yes." She managed to say. "A million times yes." Daryl smiled and reached for her left hand, taking it in his and sliding the ring on her finger.
Kayla threw her arms around Daryl's neck and he didn't hesitate to hug her back. He stood up with her and held her close. He picked her up off the ground a little and buried his face in her neck. When he set her down, she pulled back just enough to press his lips to his. Sparks flew right away and Daryl kissed her back passionately. It was their first kiss since he left to go to Woodbury to rescue Glenn and Maggie.
Daryl wrapped his arms around Kayla as her arms stayed around his neck. She moved her lips with his and smiled when she felt his hands run up her back. "Everyone is asleep." Kayla said, pulling away. Daryl met her eyes and smiled, kissing her again before pulling her into a nearby cell. He immediately pulled up her long sleeved shirt and pulled it off of her. He threw it to the side as he went back to kissing Kayla. She pushed his jacket off of his shoulders before undoing the buttons on his shirt. Once she undid the last one, she ridded him of that article of clothing too. Kayla pulled away from him and went to take her boots off. Daryl did the same and once they both had their shoes off, Daryl pulled Kayla to him and gently pushed her down onto the bed. This time, no one came to interrupt them.
So Season Three is officially concluded and Season Four will begin on the next chapter! Stay tuned!
