When Kayla began to stir the next morning, it was a slow process. She felt better than she did yesterday, that was for sure. She didn't feel hot and feverish and she wasn't nauseas. There wasn't an urge to break out into a coughing fit wasn't present and her bones didn't feel like glass. But still, she took it slow. She remembered passing out after killing the walkers with Alex and wanted to make sure she wasn't dead. Because after the way she felt before she fell into darkness, she wouldn't be surprised if she was. Carefully, she wiggled her toes and moved her legs a bit. Then she clutched the sheet under her and rubbed the fabric in-between her fingers. Now she was ready to open her eyes. When she opened them, she was greeted by a dim lit room that little sunlight was coming into. She knew she was in a cell and that meant she was alive. A breath of relief escaped her mouth. Looking down, she saw Daryl asleep with his head on her bed side and an IV was in her arm. She immediately sat up when she saw Daryl, but light headiness overcame her and she returned to a laying down position.
Daryl immediately woke up from the feeling of the bed moving underneath him and he sat up to see Kayla's eye open. All tiredness evacuated his body and he sat up. "Kayla?" he said in a groggy tone. She met his blue eyes wither her warm brown ones. Daryl immediately noticed that life filled them like they did before she got sick. "Hey there." She replied, her voice scratchy from the dryness in her throat. Daryl leaned forward and took her hand in his, his other one smoothing down her hair. "How do you feel?" he asked.
"A lot better."
Daryl smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I got back and you were on the ground…" he explained to her, the events of last night returning to him. "I thought…" Daryl's voice trailed off and he kissed Kayla's hand. She went to sit up again and this time, Daryl helped her. He put a hand on her lower back to hold her up and looked at her. Underneath her eyes were bags that were a light shade of purple and her hair was a tangled mess. She was still a bit pale, but it looked like it had a lot more color to it than it did then when she was sick. As far as clothes went, she wore a loose t-shirt and jeans which she's been wearing for a few days now and she was in desperate in need of a shower.
"Are my dad and Glenn okay?" she asked Daryl. He nodded. "I gave Alex the medicine after I gave it to you and Maggie is with Glenn upstairs." He told her, leaving out the part when he almost died from choking on his own blood and couldn't breathe because his airway was blocked.
"Where's my dad?"
"Asleep in the next cell."
Kayla went to stand up, but Daryl stopped her. "Maybe you should take an easy." He warned her. She looked at him. "Daryl I'm fine." She assured him. "I wanna check on my dad and then take a shower because I can smell myself right now." A small smile stretched across her face which made Daryl smile. He stood up and helped her up, putting an arm around her shoulders as they walked out.
The two walked into the next cell where Alex was just getting up. Kayla immediately rushed over to her dad and wrapped her arms around him. He didn't hesitate to hug his daughter back and gave her a bone-crushing hug. When he woke up and she was gone he was worried that something else had happened while he was asleep, but now he saw she was just fine.
After a few moments, Alex pulled back and looked at Kayla. "Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded. "Are you?" she retorted.
"Good as new."
Alex noticed Daryl leaning in the doorway. "Glad to see you made it back alright." He said. "Is everyone alright?"
"We gave everyone the medicine that needed it." Daryl answered. "I got back and found you two on the floor with two dead walkers next to you."
"Yeah there was an incident…some people turned…" Alex remembered.
"I know."
Kayla stepped back from her dad and met his eyes. "I'm gonna go clean up, are you sure you're alright?" she asked again. He nodded. "You go ahead babygirl." He told her. "You could use a shower." Kayla smiled and kissed his cheek before leaving the cell with Daryl.
Daryl and Kaya went back to C Block and Kayla dug out some clothes from their dresser. Daryl was standing in the doorway and kept an eye on her as she pulled out fresh clothes and a towel for the shower. When she went to stand up, Daryl noticed her having to lean against the dresser for support. He rushed over and put an arm around her waist. "Are you okay?" he asked her. She nodded.
"Just a bit light headed." She admitted, turning to meet his eyes.
"Maybe you should sit down."
"I need to take a shower and change out of these clothes."
Kayla stood up straight again and gave Daryl a smile, pressing her lips to his cheek. He was alive, she was alive, and their friends were alive. Right now, things were okay.
In the bathroom Kayla pulled off her clothes and tossed them into the laundry bin to worry about later. She stepped into the shower and turned on the faucet, cool water raining down onto her skin. The sense of relief filled her as she washed away the sweat and smell from her skin and hair. She made sure she washed her hair thoroughly and wash every inch of her body. Once she had all the suds rinsed from her, she dried off and pulled on her underwear and then her wardrobe selection. She chose to wear a pair of black skinny jeans and a loose grey muscle shirt as well as her most preferred boots to wear on her feet. Her hair was still damp, so she let it hang loose to her shoulders and figured she would put it up later.
Daryl was still waiting outside the bathroom for her and stood up when she came back out. She already looked better. She didn't look as sickly and tired compared to what she looked like after she first awoke this morning. He smiled at the sight and instantly wrapped his arms around her. Earlier he was afraid if he held onto her too tight she would break, but he knew now that she was healthy and going to be alright. He was terrified that he was going to lose her when he found out she was sick once he knew how bad the sickness really was so words couldn't describe the relief and gratefulness he was feeling right now.
He felt Kayla relax in his arms and smiled when her arms wrapped around him in response. She buried her face in his shoulder and pulled herself close to him. He always made her feel safe when he held her like this; like nothing in the entire world, not even walkers, could hurt her if she was in his arms.
"I love you." She said, her voice muffled by her face pressed into her shoulder.
"I love you, too." He whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss to her head.
Kayla pulled back far enough to press a kiss to his mouth. She slipped her arms around his neck and he placed his on the small of her back, removing any space that was left between them. Her lips were dry, but soft, and Daryl has never been so happy to kiss her again. It was a gentle, but passionate and intense kiss and when they parted, both of them wanted more but they knew there were other things to do at the moment such as helping outside with clearing the bodies of the walkers that broke through the fence the night before. "Why don't you go check on Jonathan and take an easy today." Daryl told her. "Carl said he was asking about you." Kayla smiled at the thought of the little guy. She hasn't seen him since she got sick after he was moved into the quarantine area.
"Okay." she agreed. "I'll go do that."
Daryl kissed her once more and then watched as she disappeared outside, her long brown hair swaying behind her as she walked.
OOOOO
Kayla found Jonathan outside Cell Block D sitting against the wall. "Hey there kiddo." She said walking over. He looked up and saw it was Kayla, his face breaking out in a grin. "Kayla!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running over. Kayla got down to her knees and he wrapped his arms around her neck when he was close enough. Kala hugged him back, happy to see he was alright. She pulled away from him after a few moments and looked at his face, placing her hands on either side. "Oh look at you." She said. "A few days go by and it feels like weeks."
"Are you all healthy now?" Jonathan asked her.
"Yes I am." She told him.
"So I don't have to stay away from you anymore." Kayla shook her head again and hugged Jonathan again. She hugged him for a while, so glad that he was alright and unaffected from the sickness. "Kayla?" he said after a few minutes. "Yeah?" she retorted, pulling away from him.
"I don't have any parents anymore. I don't have any family left."
"I know sweetie…"
"I was wondering…if you wanted…could you be my family?"
Kayla looked at him in surprise, but eventually smiled and smoothed his hair down. "Of course I will be your family. I already consider you a part of mine." she told him. "But you know I'm not your mom, right?"
"I know, but my mom's gone. And I miss her, but I don't have anyone else."
"Oh honey you have me. And Daryl. And everyone else here."
Jonathan smiled and Kayla felt her heart warm at the sight of him smiling again. He was barely nine years old and lost so much to this world. She knew she couldn't make the bad things go away, but she would try like hell to keep them from hurting him. In this world not a lot of things made sense, especially to kids like Jonathan, but when they finally did understand what the world was, he'd know what it means to survive and what it takes.
I apologize for such a prolonged wait, but I just kept putting this chapter off and have been working on my other story so I've been juggling some things around. Anyway, the next chapter will me the mid-season finale and then were will be going on with the second half of season four! Hope you all are excited!
