A/N: Sooooo … here it is …the final chapter! I had so much fun writing this one & you guys all rock for giving me such great reviews. I'd love to continue the saga, but I have a few others that I'm working on, namely a Boondock Saints fic that I hope to get back to! ENJOY!

**Oh yeah … this one goes out to all the LADIES (you know who you are #TentPartyBitches!)

I held my breath and closed my eyes as Daryl turned the key. With a loud growl, the old pickup fired right up. HALLELUJAH! I let my face fall into my hands and welcomed the feeling of relief as it swarmed my entire body. I heard the door creak open and looked up to see Daryl slide out of the cab. He walked around the front and lifted up the hood. I honestly had no idea what he was doing, but the sound of that engine purring made me the happiest camper this side of the Mississippi.

After a few moments, Daryl closed the hood and climbed back in the cab.

"Looks like there's still some oil in there … and we got about a half a tank 'o gas."

"Is that gonna be enough to get us back to the quarry?" frankly, I didn't care … as long as we got away from that damn cabin.

"Should be; check in the glove box ta see if there's a map"

I opened it up and papers flew all over the place. "Jesus Christ … clean much?" I muttered to myself, as I shuffled through various receipts and registration slips. "Nope … no map"

I looked around the cab and opened my door, stepped out of the truck, and reached behind my seat.

"Sadie, what tha hell ya doin'?"

"Just gimme a minute … there might be … one … stuffed back … HERE!"

AH, success! I pulled out an old map of Atlanta and chucked it at Daryl. Climbing back into the seat, I noticed

Daryl just starring at me.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that" I asked him.

His eyes locked with mine and I could feel his attitude softening … just a little.

"Well … it's just …" he seemed highly uncomfortable, "look, I ain't real good at this … but … thanks"

Am I dreaming? Is Daryl Dixon thanking ME for something?

"Thanks for what?" I knew what he meant, but I REALLY wanted to hear it from him … I'm so evil.

He let out a long sigh. "Ya know … fer gittin me outta … that crazy bitch's cabin. I guess if it weren't fer you, me and Merle prolly be dead"

I retorted, "Or … tied up naked in the shed … waiting to flood the world with mini-Dixons"

Daryl paused a minute, cracked a small grin, and looked down at the floorboard.

When he looked up again, we both murmured "scary thought" at the same time. Whoa … weird.

He turned to face the front again, and said "Hang on …"

He plunked her down in reverse, turned to look out the cab window, and hammered down on the gas. We got within about a hundred feet of the fence-line, when he stopped the truck and put it in park, letting the engine run. By now, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, making it a little easier to see. I spotted Pam running over to us, obviously worried about something.

She stopped for a minute to catch her breath, "You guys gotta hurry … Beth's starting to come around and I don't know what she'll do if she finds me helpin' you out!"

Daryl and I shared an "Oh Fuck" look and quickly ran to the tents. Daryl grabbed Merle and slung Merle's arm over his shoulders and wrapped his arm around Merle's waist, dragging him to the truck. I copied him, and did the same with Kayla. She started to open her eyes and mumbled something about putting her down, but I kept silent … the less she knew right now, the better. I managed to get her to the truck, where Daryl had already half-heartedly thrown Merle in the back, resting his head on Glenn's backpack. Daryl helped me lift up Kayla and we laid her down next to Merle. She probably wouldn't be happy to know she was snuggling up to the groom, but we didn't have time to worry about that.

"Sadie! I'm gonna git Glenn, you tear down the tents and throw 'em in the back. Pam, you can help me out 'n tell me how we git outta here!" Daryl commanded. He certainly was a take-charge kind of guy, when he needed to be.

Daryl threw Glenn over his shoulder while Pam walked beside him, explaining which way to go. I thought for a minute that I heard a soft whistle, but assumed Glenn must have been talking in his sleep. That made me smile. I did the best I could tearing down the tents and rushed over to the truck, handing them to Daryl who swiftly folded them up and tucked them under the sleeping beauties.

I turned to give Pam a hug, as tears trickled down her face. I didn't know what to say. Was it my place to invite her back to the camp? I wasn't sure how Rick and the others would feel about it.

Fuck it … I didn't care. "Pam, come with us!" I begged.

She just shook her head and backed up. "You guys go ahead ... I'll be all right here" she sniffled.

"What? Are you sure?" I asked, looking confused.

"Yeah … you guys go on! Get outta here!"

"Sadie … let's go!" demanded Daryl.

I slowly climbed into the truck. I shut the door, and rolled down my window, sticking my head out and turning towards Pam. "If you need to leave … for any reason … come find us at the quarry. You know where it's at. Thank you for everything!" I exclaimed as Daryl took off like a bat out of hell.

I felt my eyes well up as a single warm tear fell down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away hoping Daryl didn't notice.

Trying to focus on something positive, I asked, "So, how long of a drive we got?"

Daryl kept one hand on the wheel, while looking at the map which lay between us on the seat. "Looks like a few hours. We gotta take the long way around ta git back on the main roads"

I nodded quietly and sank into the seat. I leaned my head to the side and felt the warm breeze on my skin. It felt wonderful. For some reason, my mind began a playback of the past few days. So much had happened … it was almost like a bad dream. But then again, so was the hell we were living in. I started to chew on my thumbnail when Daryl threw a sweatshirt at me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Git some sleep … ya look like shit"

I rolled my eyes, and wadded up the sweatshirt between my head and the door frame. I closed my eyes, and felt the stress of the past 24 hours being whisked away with the warm summer air. Eventually, I drifted off into a deep sleep.

I felt the cool grass between my toes and under my legs. The sun was beaming its heat onto my bare stomach as his hand slowly caressed my ankle and moved upward toward my thigh. I rolled over to look into his eyes, my hands wandering over the muscles of his bare chest. He reached up to brush a few stray hairs away from my face and tuck them behind my ear. My skin was on fire from the warmth of his touch, and I felt a hitch in my breathing as he leaned in to kiss me. My hands moved to his back, making long, slow scratches along his rib cage. He grabbed my hair and tugged, ever-so-gently, forcing me to lean my head back and making my heart skip a beat at the same time. His tongue traced a small circle at the nape of my neck, while his fingers glided down the center of my chest to my stomach. The heat from his palm made me quiver with anticipation. I ran my fingers through his messy hair and he brought his lips to mine, but didn't touch them. For a moment we simply breathed in unison, feeling the air moving back and forth between our hungry mouths. His hand had made its way down to the waistband of my shorts and he unbuttoned them in one swift maneuver, sliding his hand underneath the fabric. A quiet moan escaped my lips and he crashed his mouth into mine, sending my head into a tailspin. He rolled over on top of me and began to follow the same path with his lips that his fingers had made earlier. Down … down … until he reached my navel, pausing for a slight moment while he looked up at me. I unconsciously clenched my fist, pulling his hair while he made his way further down.

"Please," I begged him "I need you … now"

He just stopped and crawled back up the length of my body, using his lips to guide his way. He kissed my chin and all along my jaw line until he found my ear. He let out a few intense breaths, the moist air giving me goose bumps. Once again my hands clenched at his back and arms, feeling the muscles flex and relax over and over.

He whispered. "Tell me you want me, Sadie"

I couldn't even speak; my voice trembled with delight.

"Daryl …"

"Sadie … Sadie, wake up. We're almost there"

"Huh?" I squinted my eyes open and peeled myself off the sweatshirt that was now damp with sweat.

"I said … we're almost to tha quarry. Git up!"

I sat motionless, starring at the road in front of us. The sun was now well over the horizon and we were rambling along in the pickup truck, on the road that overlooked the quarry. In the distance I could see the outlines of Dale's RV.

I turned around to peer into the back, and saw Kayla, Glenn, and Merle still dead to the world. I let out a sigh as I suddenly remembered what I was dreaming about. Son of a …

I was too scared to even look at Daryl and I couldn't wait to get out of that damn truck. We pulled up to the 'campsight' where everyone was already up. They all stopped what they were doing to see who the hell was in the truck. Realizing it was us, Rick came over, "You guys all right? Where the hell did you find this thing?"

As I climbed out of the truck, I figured I would have to be the one to explain everything. But Daryl beat me to it.

"Don't ask …We had one helluva night" he said to Rick, and the crowd that was now gathering around us. Daryl continued to unpack the gear from the back, without looking anyone in the eye.

"Well, what the hell does that mean? Did you guys find any food?" the asshat spoke up.

"Shane … look, it's a really long story, ok? I'll fill you all in later, but right now we all just need some sleep. Can you just leave us alone for a while?" I begged. He must have seen the utter exhaustion in my eyes, because he didn't say another word.

"Well, is anyone hurt?" questioned Andrea.

"No" I said, "We're all fine … we just need some rest. Can you help me set up our tent and get Kayla down?"

"Sure thing" she whispered and proceeded to do just that.

Daryl and Rick managed to get Merle and Glenn out, while Dale helped Andrea and I set up the tents.

When everyone was settled in, I sat down outside my tent and took off my shoes and socks. Then I noticed that Daryl was still shirtless. I wonder what ever happened to his shirt? Daryl came over and put his hand out, signaling for me to take it "C'mon"

"What? Where are you going?"

No answer. His hand was still out, waiting for me to grab ob, so I rolled my eyes and reluctantly got up. I followed him down to the quarry, "Daryl … what the hell are we doing? I'm fuckin' exhausted man, I just want some more sleep" I whined.

Without a word he picked me up with one hand under my arm and the other under my knees, like a little kid. Oh dear god … what the fuck is going through that damn head of his?

He took a few steps, grinned, and hurled me into the water, clothes and all.

I choked on the water that filled my mouth, and I came up pissed off as all hell.

"What the fuck Daryl?" I screamed at him. He just laughed.

" … figured you needed to cool off. I know I do" and he jumped in after me.

He stayed under the water for a minute, then popped up next to me, shaking his hair out and sending water everywhere.

I started to relax when I realized that the water did feel great. With all the excitement and being cooped up in that cabin, I hadn't thought about the fact that I hadn't had a bath in two days … and honestly, I probably smelled something fierce. We swam around until we were good and cooled off. We got out and silently made our way back up to the campsite. I grabbed a towel to dry my face and hair a little, feeling quite a bit better. I sat down outside the tent, where I could hear Kayla mumbling something about the urge to vomit. Eeek … maybe I shouldn't sleep next to her after all.

Daryl was sitting outside his tent, where Merle was snoring contently. Shit … he was gonna be mad as fuck when he woke up! Especially if he notices the "tattoo" on his ass that says "Charlotte was here".

I looked over at Daryl, "Hey Daryl … thanks. I do feel a lot better" I tried to give him a smile.

He just nodded and continued unpacking.

"Oh yeah … hey Sadie?"

"Yeah?"

" … uh, has anyone ever told ya … that ya talk in yer sleep?"

My jaw dropped, and my face turned six shades of red.

Daryl just snickered and got into his tent.

Fucking. Asshole.

~~~~~~ THE END ~~~~~~~