Chapter 22

It took hours for Daryl to be able to fall asleep. The steady throb from the bullet wound matched the beating of his heart. He knew he should have taken a pain pill before going to bed, but in his haste he had forgotten until it was too late. There were also the antibiotics that Doc Carson had wanted him to take that he need too, but he didn't know where Emma had put them.

Daryl looked over at her and could see that she was still sleeping deeply as she had been completely exhausted. There was no way in hell he was going to wake her up, so instead he continued lay there in pain pressed up against Emma. He didn't know which was worse the throbbing pain in his shoulder or the never-ending hard on he had from his dick pressing up against her.

As Daryl laid there unable to sleep, his mind was busy processing everything he had gone through. It had been a crazy few days and that he wasn't dead was a sheer miracle. The only good thing to have come out of the horrible experience with Negan was finding Emma. The hardest was losing Abraham, especially in such a brutal unnecessary way. He and Rick and grossly underestimated the Saviors and Abraham had paid the price. It was unfair and wrong, so wrong. It had been his idea to start with, so therefore the majority of the blame fell on him. He would have to find a way to avenge Abraham, he had no choice. It was a code he lived by. He also had to take care of Dwight. He had fucked with him not once, but twice including being the asshole that shot him. At some point Dwight would die, Daryl knew there wasn't any other solution. Dwight killed Denise and tried to kill him twice, there was no question whatsoever that Dwight needed to die.

He looked down at the sleeping beauty beside him. She still pretty much looked the same from when first met her. Emma was definitely thinner that she had been and she had never been overweight at all, simply curvy in all the right places. Now she was definitely skinner, but for most them food was a luxury and something they couldn't take for granted anymore. Being hungry was an everyday thing. However, there was something going on with her that he simply couldn't figure out. He had no idea why she wanted to go slow with him. She seemed genuinely happy to be back with him and she had just told him that she loved him, but why wouldn't she let them have sex? What was this going slow shit? He didn't understand it at all, but he would never force himself on her. As much as it would kill him not to touch her and even if it meant dozens of cold showers or taking care of it himself…he would do it. He just wished he understood why.

Sex had never been a problem for them, in fact it was something they had been completely at ease about. Once they got over those first-time-learning-about-each-other nerves, their sex life was incredible. Daryl had never experienced anything like it or her. No one had ever made him feel the way that she did and Emma was the only woman he had ever wanted to make sure she was taken care of. He never cared about that with any of the other women he had been with as most were just convenient lays. That he got off was all cared about, until Emma.

It wasn't just him instigating the sex back then either, Emma was a hot little sex kitten herself. Daryl smiled to himself as he remember the countless times he had been watching TV and she was off doing something else, and then without a word she would drop in front of him, undo his pants and take his dick in her mouth. Within seconds she's have him rock hard and would proceed to give him a mind blowing blow job. Then she would just go back to whatever she had been doing without saying a word.

He'd be left sitting on the sofa the TV still on, his limp dick hanging out and wonder how he got so lucky. This was of course the wrong time to be thinking about this. Emma's curvy backside was still pressed up against his hard shaft with only the thin fabric of his boxers and her panties separating them. He would give anything to simply spread her legs apart and thrust into her right then, but that was off the table…at least for now.

Daryl knew he should have fallen asleep hours ago, he was tired and his body did need to heal, but between the throbbing in his shoulder and thinking about sex, his mind just would not shut off. For a guy that hadn't gotten laid in years and with the woman that made him hotter than hell in his arms it made it very hard for him to think about anything else. His shoulder finally started to settle down and so did he. Minutes went by slowly and he let his mind finally relax. Then before he knew it he was drifting off to sleep.


It was just after sunrise when Daryl woke up. His shoulder was no longer throbbing instead it hurt like hell. He knew he was going to have to finally do something about it, but first he had to extricate himself from Emma. Normally, it wouldn't be a hard thing to do if he could use his right arm, but he couldn't. It took a lot of gritting his teeth and cursing under his breath before he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He stayed there for a while, his eyes closed and hands clenched as he dealt with the pain. Once it calmed down a little bit, he opened his eyes to search the room for the pills. "Where the hell did she put them?" he thought.

His sharp eyes found the bottles on top of the dresser, Daryl stood up slowly making sure he wasn't light headed. A wave of dizziness flowed through him, but it quickly went away. He waited until he was sure he was steady on his feet. Then he walked over to the dresser feeling a lot older than his forty-one years. Hell, he felt more like eighty-one, but that would never get admitted to anyone, especially Emma.

Daryl opened the bottles and shook out two pain pills and then two antibiotics in his hand. He swallowed them all without water. He made sure he took the pain bill bottle with him back to bed and put it on the night stand for easy access. He wasn't going through this bullshit again.

He then sat back down on the bed and considered his options. As much as he wanted to feel Emma against him again, he just couldn't lie that way again, at least not right now. Instead he chose to lay down on his back so his injured shoulder was supported by the mattress. That made an instant difference. The wound was still throbbing, but it was no longer the sharp pain he had before.

Daryl glanced over at Emma and noticed she still hadn't moved a muscle was sleeping soundly. He closed his eyes waiting for the pills to kick in to hopefully get rid of the pain for the first time all night. He had no idea what they were, as the bottle wasn't labeled, but it didn't take long for them to start to work. The strong throb changed to a dull ache that finally lessened to almost nothing. Only then was he able to fall back asleep.

A couple hours later, his deep sound sleep was unexpectedly interrupted by a sharp stabbing pain that started at his shoulder and literally flowed through out his whole body. He tried to sit up, but couldn't. Emma's head was lying on his injured shoulder and the pressure of it was killing him. How had she done that? When he went to sleep after taking the pills, she was on the other side of the bed. Suddenly she shifted in her sleep and the pain became unbearable.

"Em…Emma...god girl get off my shoulder!" he groaned trying to push her off him.

"What?" she asked sleepily.

"Off. My. Shoulder," he begged his teeth clenched together.

"Oh God! I'm sorry," she told him quickly raising her head off. "Are you okay?" Emma sat up next to him not sure what to do.

"In a minute." Daryl lay with his eyes tightly shut as the sharp pain slowly started to lessen. "Can you get me a pain pill or ten?" he asked. "They are on the nightstand next to the bed. He didn't dare move.

Emma gently crawled out the bottom of the bed and even though Daryl was in severe pain he still enjoyed seeing her panty clad butt sliding off the bed. Hell, he was a horny guy after all.

Soon she was handing him a pill with a glass of water and Daryl downed it instantly. He laid his head back down on the pillow and waited. Emma stayed sitting on the edge of the bed watching him. After a few minutes, Daryl inched his way over so Emma could slide back into bed on his good side.

"Come here," he said waving her over to him with his fingers.

Emma was hesitant. "I don't want to hurt you again."

"This side is okay," Daryl told her.

Emma paused in her uncertainty. She didn't want to cause him anymore pain. She felt horrible for doing that to him.

"Em, it's okay. This side is fine."

She gently scooted over to him lying next to him on his left side. "Closer," he whispered.

Emma cuddled up next to him with her head lying gently on his good shoulder. This time it brought him pleasure instead of pain.

"I'm sorry Daryl. I didn't mean to lie on your arm that way. I guess I did it in my sleep. Our old sleeping habit just kicked in."

"Was just an accident Em, but how did you end up on that side of the bed? When I went to sleep around dawn, you were where you are now."

Emma explained that she had woken up around seven and needed the bathroom, so she got out of bed, but when she got back, Daryl had shifted over and the only place for her was on his bad side. "I'm sorry," she told him again with tears in her eyes.

"Stop. It was an accident," he told her again. Daryl wrapped his good arm around her and they lay awake for a while until he started to feel the pill kick in. He kissed her hair and silently thanked god for sending her to him again. He was so lucky, but that made him feel guilty. He hated that Abraham was dead, but he also realized that if he had volunteered, he never would have this time with Emma again.

It was like she knew he was thinking about her, because Emma removed her head from his shoulder and looked at him with those incredible green eyes of hers. He lifted his head to bring his lips to hers. He could only that for a brief kiss, before he had to drop his head back onto the pillow. It just pulled on his shoulder too much.

Emma shifted so she could look at him better and closer. Her need to taste him grew stronger and stronger until she positioned herself so she could easily lower her lips to his. Kissing she could do. Kissing her Daryl was safe and familiar and hot.

He had told her of his limited sexual experiences one night early on in their relationship as they lay intertwined together after a bout of heart stopping sex. He was embarrassed by it, but Emma had a hard time believing him. Everything he did from kissing her lips to kissing her much, much lower was like he was made for her. He apologized for being clumsy, when he was anything but.

Over the year they had been together, they learned each other's bodies and what they liked. They experimented with positions that left them both wanting to do it again or laughing because it just didn't work.

Emma opened her lips to Daryl and he immediately responded by pushing his tongue into her mouth to taste her better. Their mouths were frantic for each other in seconds. Being apart all these years did nothing to diminish their desire for each other. Emma broke the kiss on his lips first, but continued to rain sensual kisses all over his face, neck and shoulders.

Daryl felt a trail of electricity follow Emma's lips all as they traveled all over him. God, how he had missed this… and her. He didn't dare move, so he left himself at her mercy and he was loving every single second of it. His shoulder wasn't the only thing that was aching now.

The t-shirt she wore had ridden up to her waist so Daryl slid his left hand up under it and touched the warm soft skin on her back. He thought he felt her tense for a second, but since she didn't stop kissing him, he quickly dismissed it. His rough hands traveled leisurely up her bare back trying to touch as much of her as possible. Slowly he moved his hand so he was caressing her hip, then her side deliberately moving up towards her breast.

Cautiously he let his fingers brush across the rounded curve of her luscious breast. Daryl felt his desire for her flow from his fingers down into his semi-hard dick, which quickly turned as stiff as a rod, but unfortunately so did Emma. She stopped kissing him and didn't move a muscle.

Emma knew that she needed to tell Daryl what had happened to her, but she was so afraid to. She was damaged goods and she didn't think she could bear him pushing her away because of it. How could he want her again after what those men did to her? For several days she was nothing but a source of sexual entertainment for four disgusting men. She couldn't count the amount of times they violated her. It had felt endless.

The memory flash of that horrid time made Daryl's hand on her breast feel all wrong and all she wanted to do was run. Even though his hands on her body had brought her countless hours of pleasure in the past, she just couldn't do it now.

It took every ounce of all of the willpower she had to stay next to him. Emma moved her arm so it blocked his access to her breast. Daryl felt the immediate change in her and splayed his hand across her back instead. Why didn't she want him to touch her?

Emma forced a smile on her face and prayed he didn't feel the fear that flowed through her entire body. Her heart felt like it was going to pop out of her chest as it was beating so fast. She needed to stop what she started before a panic attack set in. This was all her fault.

"Good morning," she said to Daryl dropping a hesitant kiss on his lips. Kissing she could easily handle, it was anything else that through her into a panic.

Daryl wasn't fooled for one second. "Mornin'" he replied his face stone cold serious. "What was that?"

"What was what?" she asked knowing full well what he was talking about. She should have known better than to try to get anything by him.

"You shut me down."

Shit, she had really hoped he hadn't noticed, but knew that was about impossible. He knew her too well. "You said that you would go slow." Emma got up from the bed trying not to show how nervous she was. That was a losing cause.

Daryl watched her pace the room. There was going slow and there was going backwards, this was clearly going so far back he could barely remember. He felt like he was in high school trying to get to second base with a girl. He couldn't even touch her tits? What the fuck was up? This was not the Emma he knew. Yeah sure it had been a few years, but what had changed?

"Em, there's slow and there's nuthin'. I won't push you, but what the hell is going on?" he begged her to tell him.

Emma wanted to confess what had happened to her. She tried to find the right words, but they wouldn't form in her head. How did she tell him that she had been literally fucked over and over again for days by filthy repulsive men? She was positive he would turn away from her in disgust. That was something she just couldn't handle right now.

"Nothing is wrong. I just need a little time to adjust to this life again with you. Please just a little patient with me," she asked him. She prayed he would buy her weak explanation.

Daryl looked at her until she met his intense gaze. "You sure that's all it is, that you want time to adjust or is it me? Do you not want me to touch you anymore? I sure as fuck don't understand what's going on. We were always perfect together." He reached out and grabbed her hand. "Em, I'm still me…older, shaggier and uglier, but I'm still me."

Emma could tell that she was hurting him and that was the last thing she wanted to do. "I know Daryl and you are the only guy I will ever love, I really do, but just give me a little bit of time. That's all, please?" She moved next to the bed and leaned down with a kiss.

The smile she had flashed him, did not quite reach her eyes he noticed. Emma joined him sitting on the bed. "Yeah, you're older and definitely a lot more shaggier," she told him as she ran her fingers through his long hair. He had always kept his hair quite short back when they were living together. "But uglier, no way. You're still the same hot guy that moved in next to me. Hell, I was so afraid yesterday that I would find out that you were already involved with someone. I never understood why the women were never lined up at your door."

Daryl blushed at her words about him. He never grasped why she was ever with him. Emma was drop dead gorgeous with a body that wouldn't quit and why she wanted to be with him, he had no idea. He never considered himself good looking at all, not in the least. He just always felt extremely lucky that she could love a guy like him.

Daryl knew he was going to give into her request to keep going slow, he would do anything for her. "I don't understand, I really don't, but you know that I'll do anything that you need and if that means starting over real slow, then that's what we'll do. It'll mean taking a lot of cold showers until you're ready, but that's what I'll do. Em, you know that you're the hottest woman I have ever seen and I get hard just lookin' at ya, so don't blame me for wanting to get my hands on you again. Just can't help it."

Emma shied away from his smile. She had basically said the same thing to him, but his words both touched her and embarrassed her. Sure she always had guys trying to hit on her, but she figured it was because she was cursed with large breasts. Daryl had always treated her like a person, not a walking advertisement for a breast reduction. He made her feel special and she always appreciated that. She still wanted to be with him and have him touch her like he used to, she just had to convince her head that it was okay. This was such a huge conflict for her as her body still easily responded to him, but then the memories would kick in and she couldn't move past them.

She was happy that she had no problem kissing him, that was easy for her to do and it was safe. It was just when it went to the next level that she couldn't handle it yet. Emma knew that she just had to keep reminding herself that this was Daryl, the man that loved her and who never ever hurt her no matter what. He was nothing like the monsters that violated her so brutally.

"I promise it won't be long," she told him with more conviction than she felt. "How about getting something to eat?" she suggested changing the subject. "Do you feel up to going downstairs?"

"Yep. The shoulder still hurts, but I'm not weak like I was. Let's go."