"Lydia!" Daryl shouted.

Connie could see the panic in his face, before she turned around to the carriage, where a walker was approaching Lydia. The horses were scared and almost overturned the carriage, Cyndie was having a hard time to get control of them. Dog was barking at the walker and bit him when he got too close to Lydia.
Connie, Daryl and Rachel ran back as fast as they could. Connie was so worried and her heart was beating so fast, she thought it could break her chest any moment. She couldn't take any more losses, not Lydia, not now!
When they finally got to the carriage, Lydia had already killed the walker with her knife. Cyndie was still busy with the horses which seemed to be calmer now. Daryl went quickly to the walker and checked if he wore a mask or had a knife. But it was only a normal walker, an old man, whose face was partly ripped off. Daryl turned to Lydia then.

"You alright?" He asked her and she nodded. Connie was so relieved that Lydia was okay, she almost started to cry.

"Okay, let's move on," Daryl said.

Before they got into the carriage again, Connie saw that Daryl was looking at her. Then he quickly approached her, took her hand and squeezed it, before he went to the front of the carriage. Connie was happy about the touch, even if it was a brief one.

They continued their way and encountered little groups of walkers now and then. Connie's heart was always beating fast, when they had to fight them. But none of them was a Whisperer. It seemed the Whisperers really didn't leave their own territory. And even though Connie knew that they probably have left the Whisperer's territory far behind, she still felt uneasy. They had a long way to go and it was already getting dark.

They got to a river and decided to spend the night there. The horses needed rest and it was too dangerous to travel, when they could barely see something.
So they arranged a cozy sleeping place in the carriage, using some blankets.

"We take watch first."

Connie was happy when she read those words on Daryl's lips. The whole day trough she longed for a little moment with him, a moment when she could be close to him and maybe kiss him again.

He gave her a brief smile and she knew he was thinking the same. While the others went to sleep, Daryl and Connie sat down on a fallen tree, not far away from the carriage. Dog was resting next to their feet, ready to warn them, if there was some danger.
Night fell and it got colder. Connie shivered slightly. Everything seemed to be calm and the moon shone brightly, its light reflected by the water of the river.

When Connie looked at Daryl, she noticed that he was starring at her with a longing expression in his eyes. She felt the same longing inside her. Their faces approached each other slowly and then their lips melted in a tender kiss. Connie felt butterflies in her stomach and a light dizziness in her head.

When they moved apart they were both smiling.

"I've missed that," Daryl told her with an amorous look in his eyes. She made a sign which meant:

"Me too."

Daryl seemed to understand it.

"You too, right?" He asked her and she nodded. Then she shivered again and Daryl noticed that.

"You cold?" He asked and she nodded again. After hesitating for a short moment he said:

"Come here."

Then he put his arms around her, pulling her closer. She enjoyed being close to him and to feel his warm embrace around her.
She watched the moon for a while breathing in the fresh air of the night. Of course it was dangerous to be out here again, but she enjoyed the nature and the woods. And as long as everything was calm and peaceful and Daryl was close to her, she felt alright. She looked at him, admiring the curves of his face and the blue color of his eyes. He seemed to think about something. Then he looked back at her.

"Can you teach me more signs?" He asked and Connie was glad he wanted to learn some more. She took her notepad out and taught him a couple of signs. He didn't ask her for special words, so she was teaching him some positive words that came to her mind like "love", "friends", "family", "good", "we", "understand".
He was repeating them all, trying to memorize them.

Then he suddenly asked her the sign for "danger" and that made her frown. She instantly thought of the moment when she saw Lydia being almost attacked by a walker and she could see Kelly's grave before her inner eye. There was a heaviness in her heart when she taught Daryl the sign.

He noticed the expression in her face and told her:

"Just in case."

She tried to smile, but it didn't come out right.

"Let's hope we won't need that anytime soon," Daryl added then, closely studying her face.

She couldn't help but think about the danger they were in and that she just couldn't lose him or Lydia or anyone else.

"How do you say 'I'm happy'?'" Daryl asked her then and she knew he was trying to distract her from her thoughts. She showed him the sign, but even though she could see he was trying hard to memorize it, he didn't repeat it this time like he did with the other signs.

"And what's the sign for... girlfriend?" He asked then avoiding her eyes when she looked at him in curiosity. She showed him the sign too.

He was thinking for a moment and then he made the "I'm happy" sign. And after that he pointed at her, then at himself and made the sign for girlfriend, followed by a questioning look on his face.

Connie understood what he was asking and the smile on her face was real this time.

"Are you?" He asked her when she didn't answer him directly. She kissed him and then she nodded. Connie could feel butterflies in her stomach again. They were like two High-school students, who were falling in love for the first time in their lives and still Connie felt that what she had with Daryl was more serious and real than some other relationships she once had in her life.

"You will like it in Oceanside" Daryl told her.

What not to like about being at the beach and being there with you, she wrote and he even laughed briefly when he read it.

"The water's probably too cold to swim, though."

Plenty of other things we can do there. She wrote and gave him another defiant look.

It was dark and she couldn't see the color of his face but she knew he was blushing. She loved how she could make him blush so easily. He was strong and brave, a real fighter, but with her, he often had this shy look on his face, especially when they were talking about intimate topics. And she thought seeing this soft side of him was the sweetest thing in the world.

She saw how he briefly looked at the carriage where Cyndie, Rachel and Lydia were sleeping and then he looked back at her. Connie thought she knew what he was thinking. She was thinking the same. She wanted to be close to him too, real close, like they were in the bathroom, but she also knew, they had to wait until they arrived in Oceanside and hopefully they could have a private moment there.

The hours passed and they were just sitting there, holding and warming each other and starring into the blackness of the woods. Connie was happy to be close to Daryl. He was able to make her feel good, only by holding her in his arms.