Kayla was woken up by someone gently nudging her shoulder. She opened her eyes and found Rick looking down at her. "Rick?" she asked as she sat up on one arm. "What is it?" She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked behind Rick at the group. They were all standing in silence, Jonathan with Carl and Judith sitting on the benches next to Angela. Gabriel was standing at the front of the church, Sasha and Tyreese were by the church doors whispering. Kayla could see something was wrong with Sasha. As she looked around at the others, Kayla saw the same worried looks on everyone's faces. But then she realized they were missing some faces. Bob, Carol, and…and…Daryl.
Looking back at Rick, he was no longer looking at her but rather the floor between them. She began to stand up as her stomach began to feel sick and her heart began to pound. "Rick." she said as she got her feet, her tone as serious as it has ever been. Rick stood up and met her eyes. "He's gone." he told her. "Him, Bob, and Carol…they just…"
"What do you mean gone?" she questioned, her tone now angry. "Gone how?"
"We don't know." Rick told her, remaining calm as she grew more visibly angry.
Kayla was seeing red. He didn't know? How didn't he know? Daryl wouldn't just leave. He wouldn't do that to her, to the group. In the corner of her eye, Kayla saw Angela stand up from where she sat with the kids.
"You don't know?" Kayla snapped. "What do you mean you don't know? He didn't just…"
Kayla couldn't even finish her own sentence as the angry feeling faded and was replaced with sadness. She felt her the angry tears turn to sad ones as Angela rushed over to her. "What do you mean he's gone?" she choked out as Angela arrived at her side and Rick's eyes went to the floor. Angela put an arm around her, but Kayla pulled away from the embrace. All the group's eyes were on her now, watching to see if she went off like an atomic bomb or disappeared into a puddle of tears.
Before she could say another word Sasha began to speak to Gabriel, but Kayla didn't understand a single syllable. A million thoughts were storming her mind as she absorbed the information. Daryl…her husband…was gone. He wasn't dead, but he also wasn't alive. No one knew. No one knew where he was, where he'd gone…and it was Kayla's fault. She fell asleep. If she hadn't fallen asleep, Daryl may not have left the church and disappeared. If she hadn't fallen asleep he'd still be here in the safety of four walls and a roof. He had to come back. He's always come back.
That's when the sobs took over her body at the realization that maybe this time around…he didn't come back. Maybe this time his luck would run out and he'd really be gone. Kayla couldn't lose him. She didn't know what she'd do without him. He was her light at the end of the tunnel, a reason to not give up…he was her everything. After everything they've been through since the farm. Being on the road, the prison, the governor, Terminus…they did it all with the other person right next to them. Kayla's hands went into her hair as black crept into her vision. She wasn't breathing. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. How could he be gone? No, no, no… The black completely filled her vision when suddenly her legs went numb and out from her. She felt gravity take her body to the floor only she didn't feel the falling sensation or the floor when she landed. All she could remember was the darkness she slipped into.
OOOOO
The first time Kayla realized how much Daryl cared for her was when she got hurt on the road. It was two months after the farm and the group was holed up in a house in a neighborhood to escape the December winter. Rick was right about the cold slowing the walkers down. Ever since the temperature dropped and the snow came, they haven't had too many problems with walkers. A lot of them were half frozen on the ground and made little attempts to move even with the presence of their food source a mere few feet away.
The house they were in was real nice. Two floors, three bedrooms, two large living rooms, a kitchen and basement with some canned food in boxes…it was a win. The living room in the back of the house had a fireplace where they had their dinners and Carol and T-Dog slept. Maggie and Glenn took one of the bedrooms with Lori, Rick, and Carl in the second and Beth and Hershel in the third. Daryl and Kayla claimed the front living room where they could also take watch. They had been confined to the house for about two days while snow came down in the tons outside. They kept the house warm with the fire and wrapped themselves in blankets every night to keep the rest of the cold out. Luckily for Kayla, Daryl was like a personal heater. She told him that every time her toes were numb and after only two minutes of lying with him she could feel them again. Daryl always just rolled his eyes at the comments, but had no complaints of his girl cuddling close to him every night.
The first night at the house, Daryl was already under the blankets reading a book he found in the one bedroom while Kayla finished checking up on Lori who was getting a bigger belly day by day with the baby and Kayla wanted to make everything was alright. She came down the steps about forty five minutes after Daryl laid down already changed into her sweatpants and hoodie to sleep in. She rushed over to where Daryl was and quick got under the covers and nuzzled up to his side. Daryl chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her.
"I have a theory that genetics gave you an elevated body temperature." she told him.
He scoffed. "Or you're just cold-blooded."
Kayla immediately picked her head up and had an offended look on her face. "How dare you." she said through a laugh. "I am anything but."
Daryl tossed his book to the side and rolled over on top of her, making her laugh as she put her hands on his chest. "Then maybe you're just meant for the sunshine." he told her.
Kayla smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. "Maybe." she replied with a small smile. Daryl met her eyes for a moment and hesitantly leaned in to kiss her. He was still nervous around her and still tread lightly, but he was slowly building up more confidence around her. Her lips were soft and warm ironically whereas the skin upon her cheek was in fact freezing. She felt her fingers run through his hair and he smiled against her lips, enjoying this moment with her more than anything else he's ever experienced.
Once the snow fall finally came to a halt, Rick wanted to take the opportunity to search a few nearby houses for supplies they needed. Daryl and Kayla volunteered to go as did Glenn and Maggie. By the end it was decided that the four of them would go and search the three houses on either side of the one they were staying in. Since walkers weren't as dangerous as they were in the warm weather, they could risk going out in groups of two.
When she first got outside, Kayla was surprised at how much it had snowed. It went up to the middle of her shins and it was only a matter of seconds before she felt water seep through her ratty jeans to her skin. She and Daryl made their way through the first and second house without much trouble. There weren't any walkers inside and they managed to scrape together some pain killers, band aids, gauze, two cases of water bottles, and a better jacket for Carl. The one he was wearing was on its last life. "One more house." Kayla told Daryl as they walked through the snow to the front door.
"Good timing, too." Daryl replied as. "Sky is getting pretty gray. Might have more snow coming."
"Oh lovely."
The next house was smaller compared to the other two they were in. Only two bedrooms, one bathroom, one living room, and a kitchen. They set the cases of water by the front door and Daryl whistled to see if it would draw any attention from anything inside. Nothing reacted. No growls or shuffling of feet. "I'll check out the bathroom." Kayla said as they approached the steps that would lead to the second floor. "You take the bedrooms. After that we can check out the kitchen and basement" Daryl simply nodded in agreement as he raised his crossbow. Once they were up the steps they cleared the rooms before going to search their respective rooms. The first bedroom Daryl searched was the master. A large bed sat in the middle with a dresser on the same wall as the door. After putting his crossbow on his back, he opened some drawers and moved stuff around, hoping to find something-anything. When he came up empty handed, he frowned. "Damn."
He was just about to turn and head to the next bedroom when he heard the crash and scream. In half a second he went into survivor mode and ran out of the room towards the bathroom down the hall. "Kayla!?" he shouted. When he entered the doorway, he didn't see Kayla, but instead saw a giant hole in the floor. He approached it and saw the hardwood floor was weak from water damage. Looking down he saw Kayla's form lying on the kitchen floor unconscious.
"Oh my god." Daryl said as he quickly turned around and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time. When he reached the kitchen, he rushed over to Kayla and kneeled down next to her. "Kayla?" he whispered as he looked at her still form, a hand going to her face. He saw red on the floor by her head and reached his hand there, only to pull it away and find it painted in blood. Looking up he saw blood on the edge of the counter. She whacked her head on the fall. He looked up for a moment, seeing that the fall wasn't too great to begin with but was enough.
Not wanting to waste any time, he slipped his arms under her and lifted her up. "I gotcha." he said. "I gotcha." He hurried out of the kitchen, keeping her head on his shoulder so it was supported. He couldn't get out of the door fast enough, but once he got outside he had to take it slow he didn't fall over in the deep snow. He took it one big step at a time, keeping his balance and Kayla's head supported on his shoulder. "Stay with me." Daryl whispered. "Stay with me. Please baby." When the word left his mouth, he could barely believe he said it. He never used "baby" or "sweetie" or "honey" on any girl until that second. But he didn't have time to relish in the new fact. He needed to get Kayla to Hershel.
The walk from the house he and Kayla were in to the one the group was holed up in was only about fifty or so yards, but it felt so much farther than it was. When Daryl finally reached the house, he kicked in the front door and yelled for Hershel. He didn't wait for anyone to show up and headed for the stairs to take her up to a bedroom. He heard footsteps heading his direction as he climbed the stairs.
"Daryl?" Rick called out as he rushed up the steps after him. "What happened?"
"Get Hershel. Kayla's hurt."
Daryl headed into the first bedroom he saw and pushed the door open with his shoulder. The bed was directly to the left when you walked in with a night stand next to it and a window overlooking the front yard. Daryl laid her on top of the unmade bed gently just as Hershel came through the door.
"What happened?" the farmer asked as Daryl stepped back so Hershel could get to her.
"Floor went out from under her." Daryl said as he watched Hershel open her eyelids to look at her pupils. "Fell into the kitchen and hit her head."
Hershel saw the blood begin to stain the pillow and turned her head to the right to see the wound. Daryl watched as Rick appeared with Lori and Carol in the room. Once he set his crossbow against the wall, Daryl balled his hand into a fist and bit his knuckles, terrified that Hershel was going to give bad news. "I need someone to get me the disinfectant, gauze, and a flashlight." Hershel said.
Rick turned and rushed to go get what Hershel asked for as Daryl stood frozen to his spot. "Is she gonna be alright?" he asked, his voice breaking a bit.
"I'll know more once I check to see if her pupils react to the light. She's still breathing and has a strong pulse which is good."
Rick reappeared and handed Hershel a flashlight and first aid kit. He flicked on the flashlight and used his free hand to open her eyelids again before shining the light in them. Daryl's heart began pounding in his ears, desperate to hear the words that she was alright. "That a girl." Hershel said as he put the flashlight away. "Her pupils are responsive which is a good sign. Luckily she won't need stitches so I'll clean the wound and wrap her head."
Daryl let out a breath of relief at the words and dropped his arms to his sides as Hershel opened the first aid kit and retrieved the disinfectant. "Some space please." Hershel requested as he looked at the crowd that had formed inside the room. Lori and Carol stepped out, but Rick and Daryl remained. Daryl didn't want to leave her side.
"I'll only be a minute." Hershel said as he looked at Daryl. "Once I'm done you can sit with her."
Rick reached out and put a hand on Daryl's arm to which Daryl pulled away from. He walked out of the room reluctantly and Rick followed, closing the door on the way out. Daryl paced back and forth across the hall for a moment. "Daryl-" Rick began.
"Not now, Rick." Daryl cut him off. "Not now."
Rick backed off and headed downstairs when he heard footsteps coming through the front. Glenn and Maggie. Daryl didn't budge though. He sat right outside the bedroom door and waited for Hershel to be done. It wasn't until he was seated that he noticed her blood covering the entire shoulder of his jacket. He quickly unzipped it and tore it off, throwing it across the hall to get away from him. He ran his hands through his hair twice and let out a frustrated breath. "She's fine." he said to himself. "She's gonna be alright."
"You stay with me, Kayla." Hershel's voice sounded. "We all need you."
The sound of Hershel standing made Daryl stand. The door opened and Hershel came out with the first aid kit in hand. "I'll check on her every thirty minutes until she wakes up to make sure she's responsive." he told Daryl. "Until then, just sit with her, hold her hand, and be there until you see the browns of her eyes again."
Daryl simply nodded and let Hershel through before going into the room and closing the door. He looked down at Kayla's form which was completely still. She had gauze wrapped around her head with a pad over the wound to control the bleeding. Hershel had taken her jacket off and set it to the side so she was just in her jeans and long sleeved flannel. He walked down to where her feet were and pulled her boots off as carefully as he could before pulling the dark green comforter over her. He pulled it up to her neck and made sure she'd be warm. He looked down at her face and frowned at her closed eyes. Bending down he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Don't go." he whispered against her skin. "Please don't."
For the first hour, Daryl paced back and forth in the room while he waited for Hershel to come back and check on her. The second hour he managed to sit on the chest at the edge of the bed and watch her unconscious form sleep. Somewhere in the third or fourth hour, Carol brought Daryl something to eat which he didn't touch. He had no appetite to eat. He couldn't think of food when Kayla was still unconscious. Even though she was responsive to Hershel's tests, Daryl wouldn't be convinced until her eyes opened.
As the sun disappeared and moon made its appearance, Daryl laid down on his side next to Kayla and just watched her face in hopes her eyes would open. Eventually Daryl lost track of the time and number of times Hershel came in to check on her. The veterinarian was the only other person who came into the room, the rest of the group knowing not to bother Daryl. He didn't express care right out in the open by saying it, he did it with actions. Like when he searched for Sophia and volunteered to go look for Hershel, Rick, and Glenn when they hadn't returned from town the night after the farm shootout. Daryl never said he cared, but his actions said it for him. So when the sun rose again and Kayla's eyes were still closed, his pleas began. "Please wake up." Daryl said in an almost begging way. "Please baby wake up."
Despite the pleas, Kayla's eyes remained closed.
The minutes felt like hours and the hours felt like years as Daryl waited for her eyes to open. He hadn't slept a wink as he waited to see his favorite brown eyes again. Then after being unconscious for a full twenty-five hours, those brown eyes finally opened again. Daryl was still lying next to her holding her hand and allowing his eyes to shut for a few minutes when he felt the squeeze on his hand. His eyes shot open and he saw Kayla's eyes begin to flutter open. "Kayla?" he said as he sat up on one arm. Turning her head just barely, Kayla saw Daryl looking down at her with worry filled eyes. "Hey." she croaked. Daryl smiled and let go of her hand to place his on her face. "You finally woke up."
"Finally?" she asked. "How long have I been out?"
"A day."
"A day?"
Daryl nodded and bent down to place his forehead against hers. "Do not scare me like that again." he told her. "Ever."
Kayla smiled and bumped her nose against his. "And here I thought you were fearless." she replied.
"Not when it comes to you."
Kayla looked right into Daryl's eyes and smiled. Stroking his thumb on her cheek, he closed the distance between them by pressing his lips to hers. He could feel her smile against his lips which made him smile. He didn't kiss her that often. Not nearly as often as the other couples in the group. t's not that he didn't want to. Kissing her was one of the greatest things, but not only was he self-conscious, he never had a real relationship so everything was new territory to him. He didn't know when it was the right time to kiss her or hold her hand or any of that. And one thing he was never a fan of was excessive PDA. He only ever kissed her when it was just him and her and he rarely held her hand in front of the others. He'd occasionally put his arm around her when she shivered from the cold, but other than that…that was it.
Daryl pulled away from her lips, but kept his forehead against hers. "I really thought you weren't going to wake up." he whispered as he looked at her. Kayla's eyes shined with tears she didn't let fall and put her hand over his that was still on the side of her face. "It's going to take a lot more than a bump on the head to get rid of me." she told him, making Daryl smile.
After having their moment, Daryl called in Hershel who checked her out. She looked to be in good shape, but Hershel declared her to stay in bed for a couple of days to be safe. He and her both knew there was the possibility of a brain bleed, but neither of them mentioned it in front of Daryl. If it turned out that was the situation, than there wasn't anything they could do. That kind of fix required surgery and not only were they unequipped for that sort of thing, that was an operation Hershel couldn't do. They just shared a look that the both of them knew what meant. Kayla's gash may heal, but she wouldn't be in the all clear for at least a month. Some people hit their head, go to the ER, only to go back a month later to discover they have a brain bleed that was too small to show up on a CT when they came in the first time. Kayla prayed to every God she knew for her life not to be cut short and she'd find out later that someone somewhere listened to those prayers.
Rick and Lori came into to check on Kayla after she woke up as well to see how she was feeling as did Glenn and Maggie. Daryl left the room for five minutes to change his shirt and get him and Kayla something to eat. Carol cooked up the last of the rabbits Daryl brought back from a short hunt the day before they arrived at the house. There were peas and black beans on the side, Carol loading up Daryl and Kayla's plates. "You both need some strength back." Carol told him when he went to say something about the amount of food. "You haven't eaten in over a day and she's been unconscious. Now go."
Daryl went upstairs without another word and entered Kayla's room just as she sat up against the headboard. "I feel bad for taking Glenn and Maggie's bed." she told Daryl as he entered.
"Don't." Daryl told her as he set her plate on the nightstand next to her. "Injury equals bed rights. 'Sides, those two can go a night without having their hands all over each other."
Kayla laughed as Daryl took a seat on the chair Hershel had pulled up to the side of her bed. He leaned back and looked up to see her looking at her food. "Eat up." he told her.
"I'm really not hungry." she replied. Daryl was about to respond, but she spoke again before he could. "But I of all know I need to eat so…"
Daryl rolled his eyes as she picked up the plate and began eating once she took the first bite of her food. After she took her first bite, Kayla realized she was actually starving and wiped out the food on her plate. Once they were done, Daryl set the plates to the side to take down in the morning while Kayla laid down on her side. Daryl closed and rubbed his eyes, the exhaustion from not sleeping finally setting in. "Daryl?" Kayla's voice sounded.
"Hm?" he responded.
"Did you sleep at all while I was out?"
"No."
He opened his eyes and saw a guilty look on her face. "Hey." he said as he moved to sit on the bed next to her. "I didn't wanna sleep until I saw those eyes of yours open again. But now that I have I could use a few minutes of sleep."
Kayla smiled and reached behind her, pulling down the comforter to make a spot for him. Daryl looked behind her at the spot and then back at her. "The chair will suffice." he told her. "You should have some space to sleep."
"It's just that I am freezing despite the blankets so I could really use my human heater."
"Kayla-"
"Fine let me sleep in the cold and let me freeze. Whatever. It's fine."
Daryl smirked at her guilt tripping and stood up, kicking his shoes off and walking around to the other side of the bed. He laid down behind her and slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her temple.
"So warm." she said happily.
"Pff." Daryl sounded as he closed his eyes. It didn't take long for him to doze off, but Kayla remained awake. She did have a pretty bad head injury and knew better to fall asleep again. Besides, she wasn't all that tired. Instead she listened to Daryl's steady breathing and relished in the new found realization that he really cared for her. He was afraid to lose her as much as she was afraid to lose him and that made warmth spread through her. She smiled to herself all night as she kept replaying the moment she woke up and how Daryl was the first person she saw.
OOOOO
I am so sorry it's been so long. I have been going through a lot the past couple of months, school started, and I just lost motivation to write period. I have been slacking on all my stories. I've had this typed for a while and I just added the finishing touches. Enjoy.
