r2j591: These next two chapters are for you. I might not be able to post much for a few days so I figured I'd give you two bonus chapters. The next chapter will conclude all I have for season one.

This chapter is not named after the song The Promise, but that is a good song.

Lily is mine and the rest belongs to whoever on earth made the Walking Dead.

Many glasses of wine later, Lily helped everyone back to their rooms but when she was heading back to her room someone took her arm causing her to jump.

"I gotta tell you somethin'." It was Daryl.

"What is it?"

"Come in my room."

She followed the man into his room making sure he didn't fall and hurt himself. She should have been more concerned about what he was going to do but he'd done nothing to make her think other wise. He pushed her to the bed and she immediately sat upright ready to run but instead of sitting on the bed he sat on the floor.

"Five years ago, my girlfriend was walkin' home from a late night meeting. I agreed ta meet her and when we linked up, three men were trailin' her a block back. I thought that by bein' there they would go away, but they didn't. We tried takin' a short cut home to out smart 'em but that didn't work. That's when they jumped us. Two of them grabbed me and made me watch as the third raped my girlfriend." He sighed before continuing. "Each of them took turns attackin' us. By the time they were done she was unconscious and I had three broken ribs. I carried 'er to the hospital. The damage report was broken ribs, bruised guts, bruising just about everywhere else. I also left with this." He'd lifted his shirt to reveal a scar that ran down his side and disappeared below his pant line. "My brother Merle stopped by and brought us clothes. I had moved over to her room to be beside her and was dressing when it happened. The belt buckle on my pants startled her. She woke up shoutin', the doctors had ta come in and medicate her because she'd just scream. Days later she'd gotten no better. She was off her medication but she refused to do anything. A few more days later she died. Not because of her physical injuries but because of her psychological scaring. She'd stopped doin' everything and eventually her body allowed her to quit."

That explains how he knew what had happened to her. He'd seen the effects of it up close.

"What was her name?" He hadn't opened his eyes once during the tale, but they opened to answer her question.

He chuckled. "Petunia." His drunken serious face returned as he set his wine bottle aside and crawled over to her on the bed.

"I need you to do something for me." Ever so slightly, he inched even closer to her taking the back of her neck in his hands. Her heart rate increased fearing the worst and she held up her hands to keep him away should he make a move. "Don't give up. He's dead now."

"There was another..." Her words were hard to string together but he could hardly tell the difference.

"Yeah, there may be. But I'll deal with him too. In any way I can. But you are safe now."

"He could have killed some of you..." It was all she could do to not cry. Not in front of Daryl.

"But he didn't damnit! He didn't. He almost killed YOU." Daryl took her face in his hands and forced her to meet his eyes. "Don't stop fightin'. He's gone now. You can move on with your life, so do it. Promise me that. I kept my word. Now it's your turn to keep yours." He gave her a shake before pressing his forehead to hers. "Don't give up. I saw the way you stood up to him. He was three times your size. You have no excuse to stop fighting now. Don't give up." She was waiting for him to continue but soft snores reached her ears. From there she pulled him into bed and covered him a best she could before retreating to her own room. Before she closed his door she gave him her promise.