What's up guys? This is a fun chapter with lots of Daryl interaction. I'm honestly really happy with how this turned out, so hopefully you guys do too!

Anyway, on with the show!

Chapter 5: Honesty Hour

KATIE!

I shot straight up in bed, gasping for breath. I reached a hand up to wipe the sweat off my forehead. Looking at the clock next to my bed, I groaned at the time. 2 AM. Great, just great. My breathing slowly returning to normal, I rubbed my eyes, praying that I would be able to fall back asleep, but knowing it was pointless. I was never able to fall back asleep after nightmares. Especially my reoccurring one.

The nightmare was always the same. It was always about Katie. It started off pleasant, but always ended with me letting her down. Again. And I was forced to relive those final moments, which always brought me abruptly out of sleep with tears in my eyes.

Groaning again, I decided to get up instead of just laying in my bed until dawn. I slowly left the comfortable mattress and padded downstairs. Looking out the front windows, I noticed it was a full moon and decided that a walk would be nice. Grabbing some shoes and a knife (because a girl can never be too careful), I exited my house and started ambling down the block, no real destination in mind.

After a few minutes, I arrived at a small gazebo near the pond in the middle of town. Making my way across the grass, I stepped onto the wooden platform and across it to a large wooden swing that overlooked the pond. Sitting down, I took in the peaceful view in front of me. Figuring I was safe enough here, I shut my eyes and leaned my head back, slowly rocking back and forth.

Suddenly, my eyes shot open and I was on high alert. I swear…I just heard something behind me. Listening closer, I waited. Sure enough, I heard the noise again, but closer. Shooting out of the swing, I whirled around and grabbed my knife in one smooth movement. When I got all the way around, I aimed it at the dark figure I saw near the edge of the gazebo. It took my brain a second to catch up, but when I did a blush shot across my face. Not only was my "attacker" NOT a walker, but it was actually Daryl. And I was pointing my knife right at him.

It had been a few days since our interaction in the garage, and I had only seen Daryl in passing. While we hadn't been able to have a conversation, I always made sure to smile or offer a small wave if I saw him. I was pleased to get a small head nod in return each time. Our new friendship, if you could even call it that yet, was tentative to say the least, but it was something. However, I was still surprised to see him in the middle of the night, and I could only stare in shock.

Suddenly, Daryl's voice interrupted my thoughts. "You gonna put the knife down anytime soon?" Realizing belatedly that I was still aiming at him, I quickly put my knife away and straightened up. "Oh god, sorry Daryl. I just heard something behind me and reacted. You can't sneak up on a girl like that," I said as I placed a hand over my heart, telling it to slow down. A gruff "sorry" reached my ears before there was an awkward pause and we both looked at each other and then to our feet. THIS IS SO AWKWARD. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SPEAK LIZ! SAY ANTHING!

Realizing I had no idea why Daryl was out here at this time, I glanced up with a questioning look. "What are you doing out here," I asked as I turned slowly and went back to the swing, turning halfway around once I was seated so I could still see Daryl. He followed my movements with his eyes before I saw him glance back down at his feet. He cleared his throat a bit before speaking quietly. "Just got off watch. I was headed back to my place when I saw you over here…came over to see what you were doing." As he spoke, he slowly approached the swing and took a seat cautiously on the other side of the bench. I made a small noise of understanding as my response and turned my gaze back to the pond. After we both sat there a minute in slightly less awkward silence, I was surprised to hear him speak again. "…why exactly are you out here?"

I sighed. Glancing at him, I simply said "Nightmares," with a sheepish shrug of my shoulders. "Mmm," was all I got in response before we lapsed into silence again. I noticed him out of the corner of my eye start reaching into his pockets and pull out a cigarette and lighter. After lighting it, he took a couple puffs and after exhaling, I heard him say "You wanna talk about 'em?"

Whipping my head in his direction, I felt my eyebrows go nearly into my hairline. This man never ceases to surprise me. We made eye contact and I simply looked at him for a second before sighing and looking down at my hands. "I don't wanna bother you…its not exactly the most pleasant tale," I said before I looked back up at him. His response to that was to simply lean back in the swing and get more comfortable, before he made a carry on motion with his hand and said "I asked, didn't I?"

Well…he asked…and it might help me to actually talk about this… With that, I shifted so I was facing him on the swing and pulled my legs up onto the bench. With a deep breath, I dove into the story.

"I won't give you too much backstory, but I was alone pretty much since the beginning of this mess. Had to kill my parents." At that I had to stop and swallow back some of my emotions before continuing. "…I've made my peace with that because they were gone long before I saw them, but still…that messes you up a bit. After them, the only people I ever interacted with tried to rob me or worse…so I stuck to myself. Until I met a girl…Katie." Speaking her name out loud for the first time in a long time felt odd. I cleared my throat before barreling on. "I was on a supply run when I heard something in one of the stores. I snuck in to see what it was and saw a girl. Couldn't have been more than 15. Skinny, dirty, didn't look like she'd been doing very well. And she seemed to be alone. By this point I was starving for human interaction and I figured I could do a lot more harm than her, so I made myself known." I let out a short chuckle at the memory. "She about shit herself when I said popped out and spoke for the first time. Jumped a foot off the floor at least." I glanced up to see a half smile cross Daryl's face before I sobered back up and went on with the story.

"Anyway, we both must have been pretty desperate for other people because I ended up inviting her to join me. And she accepted after realizing I was also alone. We rode double back my cabin on Sandy and there we stayed for about 6 months. It was…good. She was my best friend, but I also felt, I don't know, responsible for her since she was so much younger. Like a little sister, I guess." Realizing I was close to the end, I felt my throat start to constrict with emotion, and my voice was shaky as I started again.

"…We went on a run into town. Just a normal supply run. We did everything safely. Scoped the area first, weren't drawing attention to ourselves… Everything was going according to plan." I swallowed thickly. "The herd came out of nowhere…I guess they smelled us or something, but they got us cornered." At this point, my eyes were blurry with tears. "We tried to fight our way through them, back to back, just like we'd practiced…but there were just too many…they separated us an-and she tripped and went down…" I gasped in a breath as the tears started rolling down my cheeks. "After she went down…the herd fell on her and I managed to get clear by jumping on a dumpster then onto a roof….I-I-I tried to turn around and shoot her, because the one thing we had PROMISED each other, over and OVER, was that we wouldn't let each other turn….b-but the herd was too thick and she was already gone…I couldn't help her…I didn't do the one thing I promised her I would do."

Realizing I was rambling, I took a deep breath, tears still running. "…Anyway, that's what I see. In my nightmares, I mean. Those final moments. Her as a walker. Her coming back to ask me why I didn't save her…." I trailed off. Embarrassed, I began to rub the tears off my face and tried to pull myself together, avoiding eye contact with Daryl. God Liz, way to make yourself look weak. Pull your shit together.

Suddenly I saw something enter my vision where I was staring down at my lap. Daryl's hand slowly came over to rest on my knee. Taking a breath, I looked up to see him already looking at me. "Wasn't your fault…you did everything you could…she wouldn't have wanted you to die trying to save her." Patting my knee slightly, he took his hand back and returned it to his lap.

Taking another deep breath, I managed to get out a very quiet "Thank you, Daryl" before we lapsed into silence again, only interrupted by my sniffles. After I'd stopped crying together, I was about the thank Daryl again when he started speaking.

"Had to kill my brother…" I looked up at him, eyes wide. He sat up and put his elbows on his knees, staring at the ground between his feet as he continued. "He was older but seemed like I was always the one taking care of him…He had turned before I could get to him…he was an asshole, Merle, but he was still my brother. And he didn't deserve to turn." At this point, he turned and looked at me. "So, I get it. Not the same situation, but still…I get it." He looked back down at the ground and was silent.

Now I didn't pretend like I knew Daryl well. Honestly, I barely knew the guy. But I could tell from our few interactions that he was a private man. So, the fact that he shared anything with me made me feel a large rush of affection for him. Wanting to comfort him like he had me, I slowly reached out a hand and placed it on his forearm. He tensed at first and looked down at my hand, which almost made me snatch my hand away, but then he took a breath and relaxed. I gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "I guess we've all had to lose people at this point, but it's never easy. I'm sorry Daryl." I let go of his arm, not wanting to push my limits. He glanced down at my hand as I took it away, then back at the pond. I followed suit and we both lost ourselves to our thoughts.

I realized that I felt better. Yea, sure, it was embarrassing crying in front of Daryl and yea, it was a little awkward, but I must have really needed to let this out. Was I still sad? Yes, but I felt 10lbs lighter, and for the first time, I felt like it could get better with time. Turning to Daryl, I broke the silence. "I know I've already said this but thank you again Daryl. You're the first person I've actually talked to about Katie…and I think I really needed it." I chuckled a little and continued. "Basically, thanks for coming to talk to me even after I almost stabbed you."

Daryl huffed out a small laugh and then reached a hand up to swipe across his face. "Wanna know something?" as he turned and met my eyes. I sat up a little straighter, tilting my head a bit curiously before nodding. He leaned a little closer, then said "I actually thought you were asleep and was actually coming over here to chew you out and tell you to get your dumb ass inside."

I felt my jaw drop open a little bit. Daryl maintained his serious expression for a few seconds before I saw some amusement cross his face and I realized he was messing with me. "YOU JERK!' I said with a laugh as I reached over and shoved his shoulder. He actually full blown smiled at that and laughed a little and I felt my breath catch a little bit.

OH MY GOD…who knew Daryl would have the most adorable smile? WHY DOES HE NOT SMILE ALL THE TIME?

As we both stopped laughing, a yawn managed to sneak out and I quickly covered my mouth. Daryl noticed the action and stood up. "I'll walk you back." Fighting the blush that statement made appear, I cracked out "so chivalrous" as I stood. Daryl snorted. "Don't get too excited, your house is on the way to mine."

I fake winced as I covered my heart. "You wound me! Why must you be so cruel?" Daryl just rolled his eyes and started walking, leaving me to catch up. We walked in comfortable silence until we got back to the house. As we reached my driveway I turned to tell him thanks for walking me, but suddenly got nervous. I reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear and cautiously looked up to meet Daryl's eyes. He also seemed vaguely uncomfortable and looked at past me at the house before looking back at me "Told you, it was on the way." I nodded, unable to speak. We looked at each other for what felt like forever, but in reality was probably like 1 second before he gently reached out and shoved my shoulder gently towards the house. "Go on" I smiled and rolled my eyes at his gruffness. "Night Daryl" I said as I turned. "Night Liz". I glanced over my shoulder once to see him watching me before he turned and headed down the street.

As I went inside and shut the door, I had to lean against the inside of it for a minute. I felt a slight fluttering in my stomach and couldn't stop smiling. Suddenly, I stood up straight in panic,

Cant stop smiling? Check. Butterflies in my stomach. Double check. Attracted to Daryl physically? I thought of his smile a few minutes before and almost swooned all over again. Check, check, and check.

Fuck.

I have a crush on Daryl.

And…cut! How'd you guys like it?

As always, read and review! Your feedback is always greatly appreciated!