"It's been two weeks since she's been there. How long we waitin?" Daryl asked, walking over toward Rick.
"We're supposed to make contact with her in one week. She's supposed to leave a message for us." Rick stated, glad to see that Daryl was up and moving about.
Daryl leaned against the fence, folding his arms across his chest, and staring down at his boots.
"Katelyn's worried sick about her." Daryl stated quietly, not wanting anyone to hear.
Rick nodded, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at the ground.
"We all are." He said.
"Do we have a plan ta get 'er out once this is done?" Daryl asked pointedly.
"Hadn't thought a that yet." Rick answered honestly.
Daryl chewed on the skin around his thumbnail, a habit he had never gotten rid of since childhood. He couldn't see any way out of this except a violent one and that didn't bode well for Carol.
"I gotta tell you something." Daryl turned to look at Rick.
"What?" Rick asked.
" That day outside of Woodbury, when I told you I'd meet you in the woods…" Daryl began, "I stayed behind because they were puttin' a woman on a bonfire to burn 'er. Once they started the fire, she was screamin' so I shot 'er. Killed 'er."
Rick wasn't surprised. Daryl had always been the one willing to make the hard decisions. He had shot Dale in an act of mercy that no one else had been courageous enough to do.
Rick looked Daryl in the eye and saw guilty there.
"You did the right thing." Rick said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"The woman, was the one that helped Katelyn escape…" Daryl kept going, "This isn't about me, it's about what they're gonna do to Carol if they find out."
Rick didn't say anything.
"Shit! That son of a bitch terrorized his own daughter. Can you imagine what he's gonna do to Carol?" Daryl spat, furious that the man still breathed.
"Yeah." Rick nodded, understanding what Daryl was getting at.
"Michonne and I've been talkin'." Daryl said, looking to see if Rick understood that they were going to have to make a plan to get her out…and soon.
"All right." Rick said, turning to face Daryl, "I'm listenin'"
"We think we can slip in and kill him." Daryl said softly, watching Katelyn walking across the outer yard.
Rick sighed.
"We need some intel from Carol first though." Daryl stated.
"You wanna try getting' a message to her?" Rick asked, understanding where his train of thought was going.
"Yeah." Daryl said.
"All right." Rick answered. At this point, anything was better than nothing.
#################################################################################
"Tell me about this friend of yours." Phillip said as he lay stroking Andrea's side.
"What? You mean Carol?" Andrea asked, stretching her back as she gazed up at him.
Phillip nodded.
Andrea shrugged nonchalantly.
"She's…well…she's quiet…sweet. Kind of shy. Why? You planning on playing matchmaker?" Andrea laughed at the thought.
Phillip lifted Andrea's arm and ran his lips lightly along the length, giving her goosebumps.
"Just curious." He said softly.
"I'm actually surprised she survived on her own. She's about as harmless as a churchmouse." Andrea chuckled, "But I'm glad to have a friend here."
Phillip nodded, his gaze already far away as he thought about their new addition to Woodbury.
He had a hard time believing it was a coincidence. Andrea had been in the same herd invasion at the farm and had come through here a month or so ago. She and Michonne had been living for months before that. If she was so weak and harmless, how had she survived this long on her own?
"Where do you think she's been?" Phillip asked, coming back from his thoughts.
Andrea raised her eyebrows, "I dunno. Want me to ask her?"
Phillip smiled down at Andrea.
"You read my mind." He said, before leaning down to kiss her.
#############################################################################
"You can't go back there!" Katelyn yelled, terrified of the thought.
"I can't just leave her in there, Kate." Daryl knew she was going to flip.
Daryl reached out his arms to take her shoulders and pulled her into him. He wrapped his arms around her as she shook her head, refusing to let him do this.
"Then I'm going too." Katelyn said softly.
Daryl jerked away, holding her at arm's length, instantly furious.
"Hell no!" He shouted, just the thought of that made his stomach turn.
"I'm not letting you go alone!" She shouted back.
"I'm going with Michonne!" He told her.
Katelyn shook her head furiously.
Daryl sighed looking at the terror in her eyes and took a deep breath. Pulling her into his chest again, he leaned his cheek on the top of her head.
"You're gonna kill him, aren't you?" Katelyn asked, still stiff in his arms.
Daryl's eyes closed with regret. He knew, just like Merle, that no matter how much she hated The Governor, he was still her father, and she would mourn the man he used to be.
"Yeah." He answered softly, leaning his forehead against hers.
Her eyes closed and tears escaped from under her lashes.
He was afraid that she would hate him.
She was afraid he wouldn't come back.
Katelyn leaned into his chest, wrapping her arms fully around him and let the tears fall.
Daryl's heart jumped in his chest. He had expected her to reject him but instead, she clung to him.
"You don't hate me?" He asked quietly.
Katelyn pulled her head away from his chest to look up at him.
"I could never hate you." She whispered, the tears making her eyes luminescent.
He put his hand up to the back of her head and pulled it toward him again as he squeezed her tightly.
"Stay with me tonight?" He said softly.
Katelyn's breath caught in her throat.
She didn't know if she was ready.
Fears started to rise in her head as she replayed those words, over and over. Daryl felt her start trembling and sighed. He knew he shouldn't have said it, but he couldn't help himself. He loved her and if this was the last time he was going to see her, he wanted to be with her.
Looking down into her eyes, he could see her struggling with her fear.
"I love you." He told her tenderly "I would never hurt you."
Katelyn's eyelashes fluttered as she glanced downward, too ashamed to look him in the eye.
Reaching up, he lifted her chin until he could see her gaze again.
"I know you're afraid." He said, "I promise, we can stop anytime you want."
Her breathing came in short pants and her heart was racing so fast she felt like it would jump out of her chest. Before Gerold, she had never…been with anyone. Her first experience with this had been that filthy, disgusting animal, and now she had nothing to compare it to, leaving her doubly afraid.
He could see her mind working, and wondered what she was thinking.
"Tell me." He whispered, urging her to share her thoughts with him.
Glancing shyly at him, she took a deep breath and tried to speak, but nothing came out.
"Come here." He said, taking her hand and guiding her over to sit on the bed.
She balked, her eyes getting wide as they approached.
"I just want to talk." He said, slightly exasperated at this point.
She felt stupid. She knew that she was being irrational but she couldn't help it.
"Hey." He said gently, "It's me. What's going on in that head of yours?"
She looked at him and sighed.
"Before…" she left the rest hanging, but Daryl knew what she meant, "I'd never…I've never…"
Daryl understood immediately, and felt like the biggest asshole on the planet.
"Shit." He swore under his breath, letting out a pent up breath.
"You'd never been with anyone." He finished for her, frantically trying to reign in his passion.
She felt even more ridiculous now.
"I'm just…nervous." She said quietly, peeking at him from under her lashes.
"Yeah, well, you and me both." He muttered, shaking his head in self-amusement. Not only was he trying to seduce someone who had been traumatized, but now he found out that she was a virgin to boot.
Falling back on the bed, Daryl stared up at the ceiling. Taking a few more deep breaths to calm himself, he was surprised when she laid down next to him.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, her words heavy with shame.
Daryl sat up to look down at her.
"You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. I'm the dipshit here." He told her fervently.
She shook her head.
"I love you. I want to…be with you…I just…I'm just scared." She said quietly.
He looked down at her and his face softened. He brushed the hair back from her brow and smiled.
"Me too." He admitted.
She reached her hand up to his neck, pausing for a moment to look into his eyes, and smiled reassuringly, before pulling him down to meet her kiss.
"I love you." She whispered as she reached over to turn out the lamp.