Thanks to everyone that has reviewed the last chapter! Here is the next one for you and I'm already half way through writing chapter twenty one, so enjoy this and keep those reviews coming.

P.S.

I'm still heartbroken over Dale's death *sniffs*

Chapter Twenty

The grass blew gently against itself in the evening wind as Lila stared out into the darkness. All was peaceful until the guttural scream echoed from the fields in front of her.

Immediately fear ripped through her chest, knowing that Dale had walked into those same fields just moments ago, she leapt back from the porch and slammed open the door to the house.

"Bring the guns!" She screamed before jogging as fast as she could to the fields, the pain of her injuries couldn't stop her as she pushed herself to move faster. The sound of the screaming hit her deep in her chest as she began to panic, what was she supposed to do? With no weapon and injuries stopping her from being able to fight? She clamoured over the fence, falling down into the grass before pulling herself back to her feet.

"Dale!" Lila called, trying to place where the screams were coming from. She aimed north west and ran as fast as she could. She seen the walker before she seen anything else and froze, beneath the walker lay Dale and for a split second she couldn't move. But something stirred inside her, the words he had uttered to her just seconds ago. She looked around, searching for anything to hit the walker with, but there was nothing. In that moment she had one option, she had no time to think about it. She jumped on top of the walker, her arms holding tightly around its neck as she did her best to wrestle it from Dale. It flailed against her, slamming decaying limbs into her sides as it tried to find something to bite.

"Daryl!" Lila screamed, tears in her eyes as she tried to fight the walker. A gunshot echoed around her before the walker went still. She pushed it off of her and crawled towards Dale, whose eyes were fluttering in confusion.

"I'm here, it's okay, you're going to be just fine," She smiled, tears cascading down her cheeks as she tried to stop the bleeding at the Dale's stomach.

"What the hell happened?" Rick asked as he collapsed beside Lila.

"Nothing, it's not important," Lila hissed towards Rick as she turned her attention back to Dale, who was still glancing around in terror.

"You're okay, don't worry," Lila tried to reassure Dale, even though she knew in the pit of her stomach that this was it.

"Remember the things," Dale spluttered, his hand tightening around Lila's, "Remember, you…" He tried to continue but he gasped.

"Oh god," Andrea cried in the background. I heard the click of a gun behind me and turned to find Rick pointing it directly at Dale.

"You can't just kill him like some animal," Lila cursed.

"There ain't nothin' can be done now, LB," Daryl whispered, his hand briefly touching her shoulder. Lila turned back to Dale, whose hand had gone cold.

"I can't…" Lila began. She watched as Daryl took the gun from Rick's trembling hand, he knelt down beside Dale.

"Sorry brother."

The air in Lila's lungs abandoned her, she coughed out a whimper as she looked at Dale's lifeless body in front of her. He had been a friend to her, perhaps one of the nicest people she'd met even before the walkers. Lila got shakily to her feet, her hands and arms covered with Dale's blood. She turned and began walking away from Dale's body and the group, back towards the farmhouse.

The farm was silent; with no sign of any conflict having ever happened. The others slowly began to return, Andrea wept, her heart hurting just as much as Lila's was. Lila didn't look up again, she laid her face against her forearms as she cried, finding that once she'd started she couldn't stop.

"LB," A voice sounded from in front of her and she glanced up to find Daryl kneeling down in front of her so that he could meet her eyes.

"Come on, gotta get you washed up." As Lila took note of what he had said, she looked at herself, her arms and hands stained with blood and her clothes not fairing much better. She nodded solemnly, allowing Daryl to follow her into the house and up the stairs. He ran the bath and began to remove Lila's dirtied clothing, as she stood in her underwear he ran a thumb over the bruises and scars across her sides and stomach.

"We seem to end up here a lot," Daryl said as he switched off the tap.

"At least one of us ain't dead yet," He stated and before Lila could stop herself, she threw her palm against his cheekbone. Daryl flinched away and for a few moments afterwards he stared down at the ground. When he finally met Lila's blood shot eyes his expression was softened, only slightly.

"Do it again," Daryl stated "Go on. Hit me again." Lila stared at him, her brow furrowed as she fought back the urge to cry.

"If it makes you feel better, hit me. Take it out on me, go on!" Daryl raised his voice, turning away from Lila he ran a hand over his face, leaning against the bathroom counter. The pair stayed quiet, both too afraid to be the first to speak.

"It shouldn't be like this," Lila whimpered, crossing her bloodied arms over her stomach.

"No shit, LB," Daryl turned and shouted at her, causing her to flinch back.

"I shouldn't have to kill a friend, you shouldn't be vyin' after my attention like some love sick puppy, the dead shouldn't be comin' back to life but all this shit is damn well happenin'!" He yelled, his face so close to Lila's their noses were almost touching.

They stayed there for a few minutes, staring directly at each other, the skin of their noses embraced in a forbidden Eskimo kiss. Before Lila grazed her lips across Daryl's, so gently he almost hadn't felt it.

Slowly Daryl found his own lips searching for hers, their tongues intertwined, her hands wrapped around his neck as he gripped at her bare hips. Slowly they sank lower, until Lila found her back coming into contact with the shock of cool tile, a surprise to her sore and damaged torso. His hands were calloused and rough as he removed her bra, tossing it aside as his mouth patterned the supple skin. Lila couldn't help but allow a small, quiet moan to escape from her lips as she grappled with Daryl's shirt. She threw it from his shoulders as she found herself more and more desperate to feel every inch of him against her. It was feverish and desperate but something inside of her called out to him, this needed to happen, she needed it to happen. He pulled back for a second, his brow heavy with tension as he examined her expression, his eyes filled with sadness and confusion. All Lila had to do was nod and he moved his hand lower, tugging her underwear from her before he undid his own jeans. Lila braced herself, her hand gripping at the muscle of Daryl's arms. He didn't remove his eyes from hers as he pushed deep inside her.

Lila exhaled, holding onto him as he moved above her, she fought back the groans battling in her throat as she kept her arms locked around him, her nails digging into his flesh. It wasn't a perfect scenario, it wasn't even close but when the world was this frightening, what was truly perfect? Any doubt she may have had, any of the tears she may have shed, disappeared. It was just her and Daryl, and as his lips devoured hers once more, she struggled to remember the last time she felt so entirely whole.

THAT SHIT JUST HAPPENED! Ahem, soooorry, please review, I've got some things coming up in the next few chapters that could be veeeery interesting!