Hello you guys. I am so sorry to have been leaving you high and dry for so long. But this story is going on. If you still follow: Have fun reading and anjoy the chapter.

Daryl's POV

I woke up feeling something heavy on my chest. I slowly opened my eyes to see Ella's head resting on my body. It was still dark, but it would be morning soon. I closed my eyes again and enjoyed the moment. My left arm was holding her to my body and I never wanted to let her go. It felt good, like really good. Happiness flushed me but in the next moment I felt like it wouldn't be forever. But I wanted it to be. Ella needed this, we all needed this to work.

I thought about Rick's words. How this people were lucky. They have been protected since the beginning, they had never seen a walker attack or a fuckin' governor. We needed this, we deserved this. Ella shifted in my arms and I slightly opened an eye to see her still sleeping on my body and she fitted there just perfectly. She deserved this. Her hand on my chest showed some scars and reminded me there were more hidden on her body and soul. She wanted this to work, I had heard her talking to that Noah-kid. Maybe it was just some dreamy wonderland in here, but it existed long enough … I couldn't tell her about Rick's plan. I didn't want to lie to her and yet I wanted her to believe in this place while I couldn't.

I carefully took her hand in mine and closed my eyes again. I would do it all for her and she didn't need to know about Rick's plan. All she needed to worry about was what was going on inside here. She was more open than me, she could befriend with this people. She was the one to be able to socialize, to settle in. And while my older self would have leashed out, now I only knew she would never let me. There was an unseen bond between us. We had always found our way back to each other and finally I gave in to that feeling … and while I thought I would never be this kind of happy, now I felt happier than in my whole damn life.

Ella's POV

I woke up with my head resting on Daryl's chest. His breathing was even, maybe still asleep. I didn't dare to move afraid I would wake him up, when all I wanted was to savor this moment. I looked out of the window where birds sat in a tree. For a moment all evil was gone, all walkers vanished. This was a normal morning, waking up next to my man.

A nice thought, but when you walk down, there will be a strange new normality. Maybe your friends are already waiting in the kitchen or walking the streets while outside the walls walkers are roaming around. And the day hasn't started yet …

I sighed to his words. For a moment I was lost in this place, lost in a dream.

And that's what this is. A dream. But maybe this dream can come true. Maybe this can be a normal day.

Hmmm … How would a future look like for us living here? I took a deep breath and let the air fill my body. I slowly exhaled trying to breathe out all dark thoughts. A normal morning …

"Mornin'" Daryl shifted and I looked up to him. "How was your sleep?" His voice was raspy.

"Great." I smiled. "What would you have done in the past on a morning like that?!" My mouth was quicker than my brain.

Daryl studied my face as if the answer was written somewhere in my eyes. There was something in his glance and I bit my lip for being so headless. He stared at me but then relaxed and crossed his arms behind his head. "Definitely not like yours!"

"Because you know how my day would start?!" I gave him a challenging look enjoying the easiness.

"You look like a coffee girl." He grunted. "While you would go into the kitchen first and make a coffee, I would go check on Merle to see if he made it home alive."

I started laughing. "Not bad." I laid back down next to him. "I loved coffee. But it was not the first thing." I looked out of the window again. "I love music, so the first thing was putting on my morning playlist and dance into the kitchen to make coffee." Would there be coffee downstairs? We had some coffee at the prison too, but that was a long time ago. Suddenly this place didn't sound so bad. Living in a house with a coffee maker … I chuckled.

"The dancing shoes …" He whispered.

I blushed remembering how he had come to know of my tattoo. "What are you up to today?" I changed the subject. "Any job?" Deanna hadn't given us a job yet. Daryl looked at his hands wordlessly. Did he feel left out – like there was no place for us? I took his hand to squeeze it gently. "What about just lying in here and read all day?"

Daryl scoffed. "That sounds like a job for ya. But ya never could rest your ass more than a few minutes."

"Honestly. We both do not have any jobs in here … yet."

He looked out of the window. "I am going to check the surroundings. Need to know what is around this place."

"I can join you." I smiled.

He looked at me. "Na, ya should explore this place. Find out what's there to protect." Was he holding something back?

"Okay." I was a bit disappointed he wanted to go alone. We finally had a place again and the both of us could enjoy some moments in peace. But when I looked down on me, light scars still covered my skin. Moments of peace had always been followed by a hurricane of terror. And there was this unknowingness again, the one that gnawed on my heart.

And maybe this man just wants you out of reach of the walkers outside. He wants you safe behind the walls.

Was this place safe? What was this place anyways, who were these people and what was Deanna's plan? Maybe he was right to check the surroundings, he wanted to know a way out when this place would go down. And I would do same thing in here. Explore more of this utopia and its residents. "There is this dinner party today …" I started but I saw the answer already in his eyes.

"Never been that kind of guy."

"We could just go there to get some information out of these people, eat the good things and steel their booze. Like when I was a teen." He raised an eyebrow at my words. "I used to steel the good alcohol of my father with my brother." I emphasized good and laughed at the memory. Finally there was a real smile on his lips and I leaned forward to kiss his smiling lips. When I sat back again, he captured me with hungry eyes.

"Okay." He stated.

"Okay?"

"I'll think about going …"

"I don't want to force you."

He rolled his eyes and footsteps were heard on the other side of the door. The others must be awake too. Daryl stood up to gather his clothes and got dressed. He threw a comic into my lap. "Have fun." He went for the door but I stood up quickly and grabbed his arm. He looked at me surprised.

"Be careful!" I wanted to go with him but he seemed to want to be left alone. I kissed him again and nothing had ever felt better. When our lips parted he opened his mouth but instead of saying something he grabbed the back of my head to kiss me again. A heat ran through my body and I wanted more.

"Always am." He sad while I still had my eyes closed. The warm feeling inside my body grew and butterflies started to fly. My eyes opened slowly while he winked at me and left with a smile.

I thought you would nail him down. I pushed the voice aside. So why does he want to go alone? I shook my head. No dark thoughts! There were other things on my mind. I went to the window and looked over the place. Opposite was the wall. High trees leaned into the wind and I thought about Merle's tree with the carved M. A movement made me shift my attention turn to the house next to me. Through one of the windows in the upper floor, a girl who was going through the drawers. The moment she saw me she turned and stepped out of my view. Trying to look into the other windows I couldn't see her, she just vanished. Maybe she had went through the back door to leave.

My eyes wandered to the wall again. Behind it were some houses. They looked untouched, but who could tell if someone was in there. Walkers could get trapped in there, plunderers could camp there. No, these people would have cleared it, Daryl definitely would have. Merle too. My lips started to twitch and I smiled: Yes, we definitely would make this place more save.

I sat back on the mattress and took the comic Daryl had thrown at me, but I was distracted by the girl. We still didn't know anything about this place and people. The dinner party probably was a start to learn about it all. This couldn't be another Terminus. It wasn't, it felt different.

There was a notebook on the floor. Someone had begun to write something but it was all crossed out. Had someone been living here before us? An unwelcome feeling spread in my body. Was this something like a refuge house, where you get washed and fixed before you get assigned a job and a house? I shook my head, I would find out … Daryl was right about me exploring this place. Something was odd and I wanted to find out what it was. Taking a look around, there was no pen or anything to write. Maybe I could start a journal or something like a chronical, for the surviving people, for the ones that will outlive us. Maybe something like a guide to survive. And to make some notes about these people and place.

So far you have survived for sure. Maybe it could be something you could hand down to Judith and Carl. How your group made it through the storm of the apocalypse. And maybe finally found a place here?

"Sounds more like a novel to me." I laughed but smiled. Yeah, maybe something like that. Or maybe notes about the old world – about how the world used to be. Would they ever know what it would be like to go to the cinema, to have a first date at an ice cream parlor? Standing up I got dressed in the same clothes as the day before. I hadn't cared what I was wearing before so why did it matter what I was wearing now?

Maybe because now there is a shower and clean clothes.

I put the notebook in the back of my jeans and went down the stairs to find Sasha and Abraham sitting at the kitchen counter. "Morning."

Sasha looked at me with lost eyes. "Mornin'." It was more a grunting than a greeting.

Abraham gave me one of his full-teeth-smiles. "Morning Scar Girl."

I rolled my eyes and approached them to sit at the counter too. "How are you guys?"

Sasha looked out of the window. "You are in an awful good mood."

When I wanted to say something, Abraham stood up and went for a cupboard to get a cup. "Your day will get better!"

There was something in his voice that made me follow his moves. I couldn't believe my eyes when he went to a coffee maker to pour some coffee. "You must be kidding me!"

Abraham laughed again and handed me the cup. "I would never be kidding over a cup of coffee."

I took the cup in both hands and smelled the coffee. It smelled good but maybe just because it was actual coffee … the aroma clouded my mind. It was taking me back to my apartment and my beloved coffee brewer. The one my father had once bought for me. It had been my best friend in the morning. When the warm cup met my lips and the hot liquid ran over my tongue I didn't mind the burning. It was the best coffee I had in months … in years.

Time flies in the apocalypse. My brother snorted in the back of my head. Indeed I had no idea what month it was or how long I had been on the road, on the run, with Daryl.

"Unbelievable …" Licking my lips the black gold made its way down into my belly. I felt more energetic.

"I know!" Abraham purred himself a cup. Sasha grunted and left the house. "Not a morning person." Abraham laughed but I looked after her with an uncomfortable feeling. The green jacket of Bob had grown to be her second skin.

I turned to a counter and searched the drawer for a pen. "Looking for ya youth?" Abraham laughed out loud. This one was a morning person.

"Just a pen." I gave back.

I went for the living room, still in search for a writing implement. "Hey!" Noah came down the stairs.

"Morning." Noah looked better, as if this place gave him strength. "What are you up to?"

"I am meeting up with the doc. He's checking on my foot again." He went for the door. "See you later."

Maybe the doc would have a pen for me. It might have been easier to write on a computer or something like that, but any writing instrument would be just fine. "Wait up." I followed him out of the house and into the sun. "How was your night?"

"I don't know … I was on and off …" He scratched his arm in discomfort.

Maybe because he was sleeping alone. Poor kid is new to the family.

"I have some books … okay comics to read. Maybe you want to read some later?!" I tried to distract him and he smiled at me. We walked on together.

"Thanks." He stammered. "It is nice to …"

"Hello, I hope you two had a good night." Deanna interrupted our conversation with a smile and again in a clean white blouse.

"Yes, thank you." Noah said shyly while I gave her a short nod.

"Great!" Deanna looked at me. "May I talk to you for a second?"

"See you later Ella." Noah walked on while I stood next to Deanna. Lucky kid got out, I chuckled.

"What can I do for you?" I asked her.

"Come on, let's take a walk." She mentioned for me to follow her. When I started to walk after her, she made sure to always walk side by side. "This is a great beginning, don't you think?"

"Yeah." I wondered where this talk would lead to.

Maybe she finally got a job for you.

"I see you are around Noah, Daryl and Merle, Glenn and Maggie very often." She told me.

I raised an eyebrow. "You sure are observant."

"I have to be. This community is my home now. I want to start something here, something great. This should be a town, with a government, with people having jobs, helping each other." Her eyes lit up. She did believe in what she said.

"You really think so …" I stated and looked around. There was the pond in the distance, grass and flowers. It looked like a small park. "Why did you take me here?"

"To show you all the good things." The way I looked at her she knew I needed explanation. "I don't know anyone of you, yet." She smiled. "You look like you have been through enough. You deserve a little peace in life. And I see same for Noah. I am not quite sure what to do with the brothers." She laughed lightly. Was she talking about Daryl and Merle? "But you get along with everyone just fine. While some of your group avoid Merle, you have the ability to talk to him. So many different characters and you have a connection to all of them."

"So you have your eyes everywhere."

"Like I said before, I have to." She smiled again.

We stopped at the pond. Some ducks were swimming in it, birds were chirping and a rabbit was on the other side eating grass. I was almost waiting for Alice's return from Wonderland. My eyes wandered the scene and I saw a man standing behind a window in one of the houses looking at us. He waved and Deanna waved back. Even the windows were clean.

"Everyone of your group seems to have a partner. You and the brothers seem close too."

"Yeah." Was she trying to winkle out some information?

Maybe just trying to figure out what the hell to do with you. There hasn't been a job offer yet.

"You have met them out there?" I shot her a look and she held up her hands in defense. "I only want to get to know you."

"Yes." I sighed. "I have met them on the road. Merle got lost on the way – two times." I laughed to myself.

How many times have you gotten lost?

"But you and Daryl always stuck together?!"

"Do you want to know if we are a couple?" I looked back at her. "If you have a question, just ask."

"When people tell me their stories I can better understand when they tell their story from the beginning and not when I ask questions about specific things. I like to hear the information on free will rather than to sound like a teacher in school."

Somehow I understood what she meant. "We are in this together." I told her.

Still not ready to admit the boyfriend-girlfriend-relationship to others?

"I can work with that."

The both of us fell silent while we looked to the water. I wondered if it was deep enough to swim in it. Her eyes were on the houses then at the gate.

She has her eyes everywhere.

"So you have been observing me. Anything you like or don't like? You got a job for me now too?"

She laughed out loud and clapped my back. "And straight to the point, I like that." I was a bit surprised by her touch. "I like how you can talk to everyone. And I think I got a job for you. If you come to the dinner party at my house later, I will tell you." She was about to turn and leave when she turned to me to look deep into my eyes. "And whenever you're ready or want to, I am there for any talk." And with that she turned to leave.

"Do you have a pencil?" I threw after her.

She stopped walking, turned around and smiled at me. "Of course. Why?"

A few seconds past and we stared at each other. "I want to write down what had happened until now." I wondered why I told her my intentions, but on the other hand her whole appearance was charismatic. She was good …

"Like a chronicle?"

"Something like that. So the kids will know what it was like back then." Will they ever be in a cinema or watch a movie at all? "And how it all started. For me, for the others …"

"Have you been a reporter?" She laughed and this time it sounded like from the heart and not forced.

"No."

"Maybe I have to rethink some things." She mentioned for me to follow her. "Come on, I have enough pens in my house."

I approached her and together we walked on. She started to tell me of her intentions in this small town. While she was believing in her words and her hopes, I knew these things never lasted. I wanted to believe her words and liked her ideas, but in times like these I had witnessed too many destructions of what one had built up. In the old world I would have cheered up.

"Seems you two get along quite well." A tall man stood at the street.

"This is Reg, my husband." Deanna introduced her husband who smiled. He looked cultivated and somehow trustworthy.

Reg held out his hand and I slowly took it. He gave me a firm handshake. "Ella, right?" I nodded. "Nice to finally meet you in person."

Looked like they were talking about us.

Who else would she talk to? You talk to Daryl too.

"Yeah …"

"Ella was asking me for a pen to write a chronicle." Deanna explained and Reg smiled.

"More like a journal – something for the ones that outlive us." I stated not knowing why I even commented.

"What a nice thought. I like that." Reg took a pen out of his breast pocket and handed it to me. "You can have mine." I took the pen. "And I would like to talk to you about your ideas." He smiled looking at the pen in my hands. "I write everything down too, everything of note. But I like your idea, that what you will write will be useful for later generations."

"Okay …" I still didn't know what to say to them.

"Maybe at the dinner party." He looked at is watch. "We could talk later."

"Thanks again." I simply nodded. "See you." I turned and went back in the direction of our house.

Our house. My brother laughed. Someone already settling in?!

"Why not … we make this place safe." I silently retorted and watched the wall again. I wondered what Daryl was doing out there. What was he seeing behind this wall? While I walked towards the wall, some people watched me. A woman with a young boy smiled, she waved but the boy had a somewhat frightened look on his face. A man came to meet them and gave her a kiss. A family … What was it like to be in safety the whole time, to not have witnessed death and destruction almost every day? My walk slowed when my thoughts tumbled.

"Hey Ella." I looked up to see Sasha walking the wall. Maybe she was exploring this place too.

"Hey you."

"Can you believe they have no lookouts around here?" Sasha told me.

"I cannot believe this place existed right from the start and is unharmed." I sighed. "I mean you have experienced it too – just like me and the others. There is not only the zombies to fear, but people are just as much a threat to us."

"Finally …" She started and I looked at her with questioning eyes. "You seem to be all blue-eyed. Everything is a wonder to you. Even the warm coffee was enough to believe in this dreamy wonderland."

"Sasha." I touched her arm carefully. "Do you really believe that anyone of us is believing in this utopia?" She looked from my hand on her arm to my face. "We all want it to be a new start, that doesn't mean we change. We will make this place work." I emphasized. At first she starred me down but then she relaxed a bit. "Will you be at the dinner party later?"

"I have not yet decided …" Her eyes wandered to the walls again.

"I heard there will be food."

"Is it really all you can think of?" Again she sighed.

"No, but all I want for my family." Now she looked at me. "We have to try it Sasha. For Carl and Judith. I want them to be safe, to have a place to live without sleeping with one eye open. They are children and don't need another governor." I took a deep breath. "They are too young to have already seen so much killing, blood and evil."

A bit reluctantly she nodded. "Let's see." She turned around and walked away. I would have followed her but I didn't want to push my luck. She had already talked to me, I was glad she didn't push me away.

I turned to our house again. With the pen in my hand and the notebook in the back of my jeans, I wanted to start, start something for the survivors.

"You ready?" Merle was suddenly next to me. A bit baffled I examined him. Had I missed something?

"What for?"

"Seize the day?!" He winked.

He walked on and I fell into his step. "I have nothing better to do."

"Right." He eyed the notebook in the back of my jeans. "Another comic to read?"

"No." I laughed. "This will be a journal. I want to write down how it started and how we all met. How our group emerged and fought all obstacles to make it till her."

"So it will end all here?" He grunted. "Is this the safe heaven, the peaceful nursing home you have been dreaming of?"

"I don't know. But it is nice to know we will have a place to stay for a while. The camp wasn't safe for sure. After this it went pretty much down. The hotel I stood at was overrun too. All the places we had thought were safe, fell. And just for a moment, for a brief breath of air, I want this place to be a fortress against all evil."

A bit sentimental. Haven't I heard these words once?

"Write your book. Maybe some publisher will copy it." He laughed sarcastically.

"Where are we going?"

"This is the house of Jessie and Pete." Merle told me when we passed a house. He knew their names as if he had been here long time. Two boys were sitting in front of it talking to each other. A girl joined them. She looked familiar.

"I have seen her before." I wanted to stop but Merle walked on and notched me to walk with him. We went for the wall.

"I like her … she reminds me of ya." He laughed and stopped at the wall between some trees.

"How so?"

"While you are having fun with ma brother, I have been exploring this place." He stated. "She sneaks out." He said and pointed to a place at the wall. "Right there. Saw how she climbed the wall and strayed outside." He laughed.

While I was impressed she would go out all alone, I wondered why she had to sneak out. As if not everyone was allowed to go behind the walls. I couldn't see the kids anymore but saw a blonde woman. "This is Jessie." Merle told me. "Had seen her talking to Officer Friendly." For a moment I was taken aback. Officer Friendly … those were the days. "The boys are her sons."

"Why are you telling me all this?" I wondered and watched the woman entering the garage. There was a lot of metal hanging from the ceiling, almost looking like a wild wind chime. She started to work on something and looked quite happy. She smiled a lot when she looked at what she had manufactured.

"Because you believe in this place." Merle interrupted my observation without looking at me. "You want this all to work. So you have to understand these people." He had a plan … and he wanted this to work too, I smiled to myself.

This is a new chance for him. Like for the rest of you. Everyone is a blank page, ready to write a new story. Just like your book.

That got me thinking … a new chance for everyone. I looked up again and saw a man coming to the house. When he entered she retreated and walked around her metal object. Maybe she was making a statue or something alike. An artist in the apocalypse. She was cautious to keep something between her and the man, as if to avoid coming too close.

"That is her husband." Merle was like subtitles to my thoughts. "Yeah, a little beating here and there is still bon ton." He chuckled. "I was just guessing, but her gestures are just like my ma's."

And watching her again, he did seem to be right. As soon as the man left, she relaxed and started to work again. I closed the distance to Merle and hugged him. He immediately pushed me away. "Back off!" He spat, but I smiled at him. "Fuck ya."

I leaned into him and rested my head on his shoulder. "Thanks Merle." Maybe no one of us was working so hard to see the whole picture. Merle was prepared – I remembered the tree where he had buried some guns. He was exploring and reasoning. I could count on him and trusted him with all my life. "Thanks Merle."

The next chapter is already in the making. See you soon and thanks for reading!