The following day Kayla sat in the doctor's office doing inventory like Pete showed her, writing a number next to the item on the chart and marking the priority level it was. If they were low on something, those who went on supply runs made sure to look for it whereas if the supply was pretty plentiful, they didn't have to worry about it. The thought of runs made Kayla think back to the argument that took place in the kitchen this morning between her and Daryl after he told her about the recruiting job with Aaron.

OOOOO

"I just don't see why it always has to be you." Kayla snapped from across the counter at Daryl. Once again it was him taking a job that put him at the most risk, going out on the road where there were walkers, dangerous people, and an unpredictable world. Kayla knew it was just the way he was wired, wanting to help out in the areas that he knew he was the most capable, but he also wasn't the only capable person around. They were in a community of people where at least a few knew the world.

"It's not just me." Daryl snapped right back. "Glenn took a job going on runs, too." Even though he knew this was the type of reaction he was expecting, he had the right to defend his side.

"Yes going on runs." Kayla pointed out as her voice grew angrier and angrier. "Runs that overall will take a day, some taking a few tops, and then the occasional week or two run. But you are going out for weeks at a time to go scour the D.C area, an area you aren't familiar with no less, to try to find people. And then what you come home for a few days and then leave again?"

"What else I am supposed to do around here, huh Kayla? I ain't a doctor, I ain't no damn constable, and you know as well as I do this is the type of thing I am good at."

Kayla took a deep breath, trying to remain level headed. She knew he was right; this was his area of expertise. In all her years, Daryl was the best judge of character she's met and if anyone could hold their own on the Earth's worst day, it was him. But no wife wanted to see her husband in danger that can be prevented. She also knew being within these walls weren't the most comfortable setting for him. Although he was slowly getting used to the new home, he still felt out of place.

Kayla's head dropped and she stared at the floor, trying to hide her wet eyes. Only she couldn't hide from Daryl if she tried. He saw the water filling her eyes and his shoulders instantly dropped. Of all the things in the world, seeing Kayla cry was one of the things he couldn't stand to watch.

Walking around the counter, he was careful and gentle with his steps as a sign of surrender. He didn't want to argue. He didn't want to fight. He just wanted to keep the tears out of his wife's eyes.

"Kayla…" he said softly as he went to his wife's side, putting a hand on her shoulder and gently turning her towards him. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face, his heart falling at the site of her tears. "Don't cry."

The way he said it, it sounded like the most desperate of pleas.

He wiped the water from her cheeks as she stood their silently avoiding his eyes. She knew if she met his gaze, she'd know he was right. They were part of a community again. A community he wanted to help and as a wife, that was terrifying. She knew the danger he'd be in trying to help this place. At the end of the day though, this was his thing as much as helping people who were sick and injured was her thing.

Feeling his calloused hand on his face, she looked up at him finally. His eyes searched her face in hopes the tears had stopped and he was happy to see they did.

"Okay." Kayla said somewhat defeated. "If this is the job you want to take on then as long as you promise you stay safe out there, I won't fight you anymore on it."

Daryl gave her a smile and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Always am." He reminded her.

OOOOO

Kayla meant what she said, but knowing that Daryl would be stepping out into the ugly world again soon kept her feeling anxious. She tried to distract herself with work, but her mind kept wandering back to Daryl. Knowing once the bike he was working on was ready to ride, he and Aaron would be going on their first outing together.

Jesse wandered in to say hi in the early afternoon, bring Kayla a cup of coffee as a surprise. The sight of coffee alone made Kayla's mood enhance as it was her favorite beverage of all time.

"Just how you like it." Jesse commented as she handed Kayla the to-go cup.

"I like it with soy milk though." Kayla replied as Jesse sat across from her.

Jesse just smiled and Kayla's eyebrows raised. "No way." She said as she eagerly took a sip, shocked to taste the familiar taste of a dark roast with soymilk and a dash of sugar.

"You have soymilk here?" Kayla said happily.

"There's a few people who are lactose intolerant here." Jesse explained. "We grow soybeans in the gardens and it isn't that complicated of a process to make some soymilk."

"I've never been so happy to hear about people being lactose intolerant." Kayla joked as she took another sip of her coffee.

"No Angela?"

"She's talking to Deanna about a medical supply run in the future."

"I thought we were pretty well set up here from what Pete tells me."

"Well you guys are for the most part." Kayla confirmed. "But most of this stuff I can tell came from pharmacies and doctor's offices. It's a lot of over the counter or everyday medicines and pain killers. That stuff won't cut it every time so Angela and I were thinking of setting up a run to go to a hospital to get more of the stronger stuff."

Jesse nodded in understanding, figuring that Kayla had been witness to a few incidents where over the counter painkillers and cough syrup weren't enough. She could only imagine some of the things Kayla had been through in her years on the road, except what her imagination put together came nowhere close to the horrors her friend had witnessed and endured.

OOOOO

At home, Daryl worked on his bike in the driveway. It was coming along nicely, but still would take him a few days until it actually ran. He spent most of the morning replacing the handlebars and swapping out the motor's old hardware for some of the newer stuff Aaron had picked up on his travels.

Jonathan came along after a while after spending some time with Sam at his house. He immediately walked over to Daryl when he saw what he was doing. Daryl noticed the boy walk up and half smiled.

"What's up, kiddo?" Daryl asked as he went back to what he was working on. "Thought you were spending the day at your friend's house."

"Sam's dad came home so Sam said I should go."

The comment made Daryl look up. "Why's that?" Daryl knew the signs of abuse in a household when he saw or heard it. He used them in his own life at one point. Brusies were always a bad fall, a black eye was always getting too rowdy with Merle even though the older Dixon sibling wasn't often around, and extended absences from school because of a serious injury was always because Daryl was "sick". Daryl also never had anyone over to his house, not that anyone ever wanted to go to the Dixon house anyway.

"His dad helps him with the work from his morning school sessions."

The explanation eased Daryl's tension a bit. When he also thought of how Kayla knew the family and the signs of abuse as well as he did, it made him think he was just overthinking it.

"What are you doing?" Jonathan asked, switching topics as he approached the bike.

"Doing some mechanic work." Daryl explained as he stood up. "'Cept I think I'll call it for the day. Have another project I wanna start elsewhere."

"Can I help?"

Looking at the boy, Daryl could tell he was just eager to do something constructive. He was growing up faster than kids normally had to, but they had to in this world. With a nod, Daryl told the boy to follow him.

The two wound up at the house Daryl stumbled upon a few days prior that Deanna offered him, Kayla, and Jonathan. He ended up talking to Deanna and asked if the offer still stood. She confirmed that it was and was pleased to hear Daryl accept the offer. She had a few people go in and finish putting the lower level together. All Daryl had to do was unload the boxes of medical supplies for the downstairs doctor's office. He also had to put the upstairs together to make it a home rather than a house. Luckily now he had an extra set of hands to help him out.

When he first told Rick his plan he wasn't crazy about the idea of the group splitting up into another house that wasn't right next door, but went with it nevertheless. Kayla and Daryl were married, had took a child under their care, and the space doubled as a doctor office for Kayla. Plus, it was only right down the street. Maybe it wasn't a terrible idea.

OOOOO

Kayla wound up staying at the infirmary well into the evening. She didn't even realize the time until she saw the sun taking it's evening descent behind the trees. Luckily she opted for comfortable clothes to wear for the day. Leggings, a hoodie, and a simple pair of Converse sneakers. Since she was within Alexandria's walls, she figured she could switch it up from the typical boots and jeans she's worn for years.

Looking out the window, Kayla smiled as the memory of Hershel's farm came to her mind. One of her first nights with the group she had walked to a tree and took a seat to watch the sunset as she took her daily moment. A moment to remember the world wasn't always overtaken by the reanimated corpses that walked the earth. Daryl ended up following after her, curious to see where she was wandering off in the hours do close to dark. It made her smile at the memory, realizing the stranger she met on a highway outside Atlanta would wind up putting a ring on her finger.

A knock on the door broke her attention from the window, making her spin around in her chair. It was Daryl, except the surprise that played on her face when she saw what he was wearing. Clean jeans with no holes, a dark gray button up with the sleeves still intact, and his hair was actually brushed. He even had on a new pair of steel toe boots.

"Wow." Kayla said with raised eyebrows as she stood up. "Look at you."

Daryl shoved his hands in his pockets as his cheeks heated up a bit. He felt weird in such clean clothes, seeing as though his filthy ones seemed to become a second skin on him at this point. But he wanted to look nice for what he had planned.

"What's the occasion?" Kayla asked as she walked over to him.

"It's a surprise." Daryl told her.

"If this is about this morning-"

"It ain't." Daryl cut her off before he thought about it. "Okay it's a little bit about that, but just trust me, alright?"

"Okay."

Daryl reached into his back pocket and pulled out a sleep mask. Kayla's eyebrows raised in confusion as he held it out to her. "Put it on." He told her. Kayla took it from his hand hesitantly and then looked at him.

"Trust." Daryl repeated.

Rolling her eyes, Kayla obliged and put the mask over her eyes. Smiling Daryl took her hand in his and led her out of the doctor's office. He watched to make sure she didn't trip on the steps on her way down to the sidewalk. That would definitely ruin the moment.

Once she was on the pavement, he told her to put an arm around his shoulder. She did as he said and once her arm was around him, she felt his go around her lower back. In a quick motion he lifted her up, placing his under arm under her legs.

A sound of surprise escaped Kayla's mouth followed by a laugh as she held onto Daryl. She felt him begin to walk, carrying her bridal style down the street.

"What are you up to Daryl Dixon?" she asked.

"Not I ain't gonna ruin the damn surprise." He replied as he carried her effortlessly.

Kayla just laughed again, resting her head on his shoulder as he walked. He rested his cheek atop of her head, loving every second in the current moment.

As he carried her down the street, Kayla tried to figure out just what is was he had planned. He's had his romantic moments in the past, but this was definitely a first. Rather than overthink it though, she just enjoyed the moment.

When Daryl finally reached the house, he looked at his wife who was still blindfolded and smiled.

"Alright, go on and take it off." He told her.

Kayla took the mask off and looked in front of them to see a small house. Confused, she looked at Daryl who just started walking up the porch steps. "Daryl what is this?" she asked.

"Deanna offered us a place of our own." Daryl explained as he reached the porch and nudged the front door open with his foot. He left it cracked before he went and got Kayla. "The downstairs is a doctor's office for you and your kind of work." Daryl went on, but he was eager to show her the part of the house that was upstairs.

He was careful carrying her up the steps and when he reached the top, Kayla's mouth dropped at the sight of…a home. The stepped into a hallway at the top, but to the left was a kitchen and to the right was a living room complete with a couch with pillows, a coffee table, a small bookshelf, and large window overlooking the front part of the house. The kitchen was furnished as well and a table with three chairs sat against the one wall.

Daryl carried her down the hall and to where the bedrooms were, seeing her face light up when she saw what had to be Jonathan's room. There was a twin sized bed with a blue comforter over the mattress that matched the white walls. Comic books and a few chapter books sat atop the bedside table and dresser. On a shelf, there were even a few board games. The sight brought a huge smile to Kayla's face which made Daryl smile.

Moving on, he skipped the extra bedroom they had since they didn't really have a use for it quite yet. He went to where their bedroom was, opening the door and finally setting Kayla down on the floor. She walked into the room, leaving Daryl to lean against the doorway. Their bedroom was bigger than the other two, complete with a queen sized bed in the center with end tables on either side and a dresser against the front wall. Daryl watched as she went over and ran her fingertips over the top of the maroon comforter on their bed.

"It's ours if you want it." Daryl told her. "We can have our own house. A house that I promise to always come back to when I leave with Aaron on scouting runs. Because as long as you and Jonathan are here, there's nothing that's going to keep me from coming back to you two."

Kayla looked at him with a smile and tears in her eyes, but they weren't sad tears. "Daryl you," she began but got a little choked up. "This isn't a house."

Walking over to him, she wiped her eyes and collected herself so she could say what she needed to say. She stood in front of him and took his hands in hers. "This is a home. This is our home."

Daryl smiled as he removed his hands from hers and placed them on the sides of her face. "So I take it you wanna move in?" he asked. Kayla nodded vigorously and Daryl smiled wider as he pressed a kiss to her lips.

OOOOO

A/N: I know, I know. SO MUCH FLUFF. I just can't help it. Knowing how dark things will get, I just want to take this time to write a few happy, fluffy chapters. As always, please review! :)