A/N: And here we are, the biggest changes to the updated chapters will be made here and the final results for the pairing poll that had been posted long ago. I know a few of you will be disappointed, but trust me, this story will more than be worth it in the long run.

Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead.

Chapter 7: The Choices We Make

The rain had finally stopped, the storm passing a little while ago leaving the night-time air a bit heavy and cold. The group of nine made their way through the woods, along the wet dirt path back toward the motor inn.

All of the horrors and disgust that they had bore witness to at the St. Johns farm still very fresh on their thoughts as they put as much distance between themselves and that place as possible.

Kenny was still holding his side, the bullet from Andy St. John's gun having just grazed him. The fisherman had been lucky, but seeing his wife and son walking along side him proved that he was far more than just lucky. His eyes looked ahead at the one leading them back.

Jason walked with long, meaningful strides. Little Clementine at his side, her tiny hand grasping on to his as they walked through the woods.

The others were watching as well. Katjaa, Mark, Carley, Ben, even Lilly all had their eyes on the fighter. His actions, quick thinking and instincts had saved them from a horrible fate. And even though they lost Larry, they were all happy that he had been the one to pull them all through it.

Carley moved up to stand on his other side, "Hey, Jason. I'd say I'm sorry for leaving the motel unattended, but-"

"It's okay Carls." he said flashing her a smile. "If you and Ben hadn't shown up when you did, things could have been a lot worse...nice shot by the way. Blowing a man's ear off isn't an easy one to make."

The reporter smiled back before remembering what he had told them about what was happening on the farm. "Were they really killing people?...For food?" she asked fearing the answer.

He nodded grimly, gently gripping Clementine's hand when she shivered. "Yeah...they were."

"Urgh! That's sick. God. Just..." she looked down at the little girl before dropping her voice to a whisper. "Clementine...does she know?"

"She's not stupid, Carley." Jason said back in the same way. "And after everything she saw when it all came out...I wish she hadn't, but it was out of our control."

Carley reached into her back pocket and produced a digital camera. The same camera that he had found at the camp he and Dan had snuck into before all the chaos. "Katjaa managed to grab this while she was in the house. She said it was with your stuff." she explained.

"Yeah, found it when I was looking for the people that shot and Mark and me. Batteries are dead, but there might be something on it that could be useful." he replied, taking it from her and slipping it into his own pocket. Looking back at the rest of the group, he saw a few people were lagging and decided that they needed a break. "Let's stop for right now, catch our breath and we can keep going afterward."

Everyone spread out, Lilly and Mark who both had rifles they managed to pilfer from the farm stood guard while the others relaxed. Katjaa had Kenny sit down on a rock as she examined his wound.

"How are you feeling?" asked the woman concerned.

"I'll be fine." he groaned. "I'm just...not as young as I used to be."

"You can still kick a lot of ass, grandpa." they looked up and saw Jason approaching them. Having left Clementine with Carley so that he could check on everyone else. "You guys alright? Things got pretty bad back there."

"We're all fine now, thanks to you." Kenny said grinning before turning to his family. "Hon, can you and Duck give me a second? I want to take to Jason for a bit."

Katjaa nodded, turning to the younger man and wrapping him in a tight embrace. "Thank you." she whispered, leaning back to give him a smile before taking her son and going around to look after the others.

The fisherman was silent for a few moments before looking at his friend. "There's gonna be fallout after this."

"I know." Jason said nodding. "No one's going to be the same after what happened." he looked toward Lilly who still seemed very much out of it. "It's not just the farm either, eventually those bandits will notice those freaks are gone and go looking for new targets...and we're the only ones around at the moment."

Kenny nodded, "We need a plan, and a damn good one. That RV back at the inn is just about ready. I say we finish fixing it and get the hell out of here."

"Agreed. Just need those last two parts and a few extra supplies." the fighter looked around them. "We gotta start moving again, can't stay out here for too long, we're too exposed." He looked over and saw Clementine approaching them. Kenny took that moment to head over toward his family as the guardian and charge spoke.

"Hay Clem, everything okay?" he asked the girl as she fiddled with the hem of her dress. The long sleeves of the shirt she wore under it still covered in dirt from their time on the farm.

"Jason...are those bad people dead?" she asked rather bluntly.

Jason sighed, "We didn't kill them, they could have escaped when the walkers started storming the place...but there's no way of knowing for sure, sweetheart. But I have a feeling they won't be in any shape to come after us ever again."

"That's good..." she shuffled a bit. "You were scary back there. When you were fighting Andy."

The fighter knelt down to her level. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I was angry, and scared. They were planning on killing us and had no remorse for it, and I don't want to think about the number of others they had hurt. I just didn't want anything to happen to anyone else."

His charge reached out and held his face with one of her hands. "It's okay. You were just trying to protect us. I'm just glad that you didn't kill him, you're not a murderer like they were."

Jason smiled when they all heard Duck speak up. "Hey dad, what's that noise?"

They all strained to hear, the sounds of animals and insects in the woods dominating the air. But through it they could make out a low 'ding-like' noise that kept repeating. "Sounds like a car..." said Kenny.

"Oh, god...not more strangers." said Ben not looking forward to encountering more people out here.

Jason moved up, Kenny on his right as they crept along the bushes on the side of the path. Coming up to a turn off that led into a small clearing where a station wagon was parked. The lights inside and out were all on and the passenger door was wide open allowing the odd noise to drift out into the night.

Holding his hand up toward the others keeping them back, the fighter called out to the car. "Hello?" his voice loud and clear as they waited for the occupants to answer. When nothing came he turned to the group, "I'm gonna move up, Mark, Lilly, cover me with the rifles. Anything moves, warn me."

"I'm coming too." said Kenny but winced and held his side.

"That's the answer for that." Jason said seriously. "Your injured, hang back here, I won't be long." he turned back toward the car and started moving in closer. The noise from the open door steadily getting louder as he strained to hear anything else.

He made it to the vehicle with no trouble, peering inside he found the seats empty. Checking the dashboard, he found the gas-gauge on E. "No one here and the tank is empty. Car must be a derelict." he thought removing the keys and making the noise stop.

"Oh shit..." looking up, the fighter saw Kenny at the back of the wagon looking into the tailgate. "Guys you gotta see this." he said motioning for everyone to join him.

Coming around to the back, Jason couldn't keep the smirk from his face. Contained in the abandoned car were boxes upon boxes of supplies. Food, water, medical, one open suitcase revealed boxes of bullets and there was a Beretta and a revolver among them. "Looks like our luck is changing." he commented.

"This food could save us." said Katjaa with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Not ALL of us." Lilly muttered darkly. Everyone sent her a sympathetic look.

Ben walked around the car before speaking his mind, "Look, we don't know if these people are dead. We can't just take their stuff."

"If they come back, then we're just monsters who came out of the woods and ruined their lives." added Lilly.

"What about those bandits?" offered Mark. "It could be theirs. And even if it isn't whose to say they won't come around and take everything themselves? We're in pretty desperate need right now."

"This stuff isn't ours." Everyone looked at Clementine who spoke her thoughts.

"Dad...who's car is this?" asked Duck looking up at his father.

Kenny shook his head, "Don't worry about that son, it's ours now."

"It's abandoned, Duckie. Don't worry." added Katjaa.

"But what if it's not?" asked Clementine, "What if it's not abandoned? What if it IS someone's?"

Kenny sent a look Jason's way, everyone else seemed to do the same leaving him the swing vote over what they should do. The fighter looked at all the supplies, things that they needed to keep surviving. It was a hard call. All the evidence points to the fact that the car COULD BE abandoned.

There wasn't hardly anything left for them back at the motor inn, they wouldn't all last a week. If they didn't take this they'd be in trouble. But if they did, and the people who actually owned it came back...they'd be the ones in trouble.

After several minutes of weighing the pros and cons of what could come of this, he made his choice. "God...I hope you can forgive me for this." He turned to his charge. "Clem...we need to take this stuff."

"But it's not ours, why do we need to take it?" asked his charge a little upset at the decision.

"Because we need it, I'm not saying that it's right, but when it comes down to it it's for the sake of survival." Jason knelt down and gently held her shoulders, "I know you're upset, baby-girl. But if we don't take it, then someone else will. Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do because its important." he explained.

Clementine looked to the ground, nodding slowly as he stood back up and unlocked the hatch with the keys he pulled from the ignition. Kenny helped him take out the boxes and pass them out to others to be carried back to the motor in until everyone put Duck and Clementine had a box.

When the compartment was empty, Jason looked down and managed to find a small, red Brooklyn hoodie that looked like it would fit his charge. "Here Clem, it's going to get colder out here." he said handing it to her.

She shook her head, "But, it's not mine."

"I know, but think of it as you're holding on to it until we find the real owner. Okay?" he said in return. The girl accepted it hesitantly as he closed the hatch, tossing the keys into the passenger seat with a solumn expression before joining the others. A bit of guilt eating at his stomach, but given their situation they didn't have many options open to them.

"Hey," Carley spoke up as she pulled something from one of the boxes they had. "I found these batteries when we were going through the supplies. I think they might work in that little camcorder that you found." she took out a few more and handed them out to Clementine, "Here, you can have some too...for you're walkie-talkie."

"Sure you can handle these? You're not known to be very savvy with batteries." The fighter said smirking as he took the batteries, pulling out the small device at the same time as he put them into place.

The reporter shook her head with her cheeks warming while she remembered the incident with the radio months prior, "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope." he replied simply as he got the batteries in place and switched the camcorder on. A video started playing immediately and he felt his heart still in his chest. "...what the fuck?" Carley looked over his shoulder and gasped.

X

The outside of the motor inn could be seen clearly through a bunch of trees, the group milling about and going about their business. Completely unaware that they were being observed from afar.

Jason and Kenny could be seen pushing a car down the road in front of the inn, Mark and Larry moving a couch out from one of the rooms while Carley stood on look out.

The image suddenly changed to the inside of a tent, the camera falling to the ground as a woman was screaming. "JAKE, BART, LINDA and ALL YA'LL FUCKIN' SICKOS FROM THE SAVE-LOTS! THEY CALL YA'LL BANDITS! BUT YOU'RE FUCKING RAPIST MONSTE-"

Things shifted back to the motor inn...on the day that the group met the St. Johns brothers. The camera zoomed in on Clementine as a woman began speaking. "Oh darlin', baby. Look at you. Look. At. You. Oh, you need a mama, sweetheart. We won't let them bandits get you, will we darlin'?"

Jason walked around the front of the RV while he was passing out food when his charge got up to greet him. "How's everything going Clem?" he asked smiling.

"Okay." she replied.

"Where's you're hat? You never leave the room without it." said her guardian ruffling her hair.

She shrugged, "I don't know. Can you help me find it?"

Jason nodded, "Sure thing, sweetheart. When did you lose it?"

"I had it a couple of days ago."

The rest of the conversation was cut off, the camera spun around revealing Jolene's haggard face. " Ya'll thinkin' you're safe, sittin' there actin' like things are the way they used to be. The dead don't kill their own. It's the living you gotta be afraid of...the people I used to call friends...the people who took..." she winced.

"Don't worry, little girl. Bandits got their eye on that dairy. As long as they keep getting food from them, you'll be safe. I promise." The footage cut out and the screen went black.

X

Lowering the camera, Jason tossed it on to his bed. He'd watched it three times since they had gotten back to the motor inn. Trying to find some sort of clue or reason behind why Jolene had been targeting them like that.

The woman had obviously been disturbed, something those bandits had done to her having messed her up so bad that she was acting the way she did. But her message in the recording was painstakingly clear, one that he should have known since the beginning of this little odyssey of his.

"Fight the Dead...Fear the living." He sighed, running a hand down his face and rubbing his eyes. Glancing over at Clementine's bed, he found the girl asleep. She'd been out the moment her head hit the pillow, her new hoodie fitting well over her small frame and keeping her warm as she curled underneath the blankets.

Her face was twisted into a grimace, soft whimpers coming from her closed lips as she seemed to be facing a nightmare. The fighter rose from his bed, moving over to hers and sitting down next to her. Taking her hat from her head and setting it on the bedpost closest to them before running his hand gently over her hair.

"It's okay, Sweetheart." he said as she started to calm down. "Nothing's going to hurt you as long as I'm here."

Clementine shifted a little closer to him in her sleep, whole body seeming to relax by his presence. "...daddy..." she said lowly making Jason's movements pause. The one word striking something deep within him that left him stunned.

Another sigh left his lips, patting her head a few more times before standing again. Grabbing his denim 'walker-armor' jacket and pulling it on before stepping out on to the balcony outside their room to get some fresh air.

It was still dark out, the sun would start peeking over the trees very soon, casting a warm autumn glow over the place that they had called home.

They'd taken all the supplies they had found on the way back and stored them in the spare room down in the lower part of the motel between Mark's and Lilly's rooms. It was an impressive collection, and they'd all be alright for a long while with what there was.

Though there was still mixed feelings about it amongst the group. Kenny, Katjaa, Carley and Mark all agreed that taking the stuff was for the best. But Ben and Lilly were still highly against it. Jason knew that no matter which way he went on the issue someone would be pissed about it, and it wasn't an easy choice to make.

But in the end, he'd chosen to do what was best for his group. And he'd bare the sins on his soul for what he had decided. Clementine hadn't been too thrilled about it either, hadn't really spoken to him since they got back. He hoped that she'd forgive him someday and understand why he had chosen to take the supplies.

Yawning, he leaned against the railing and looked off into the distance at the stars as the clouds finished clearing overhead. The fighter hadn't slept all night, his body ached a bit from the confrontations he had been in at the farm. "Gotta get back to training, been too lax with that lately." he thought, rolling his shoulders to releave some of the tension in them. His gaze drifted down to the parking lot below, his eyes widening when he saw Kenny, Mark, Carley, Katjaa and Lilly all sitting in the various chairs they had set out in a circle around a small fire.

"Guess I'm not the only one not able to sleep." he said to himself before heading down to the parking lot. The closer he got, the clearer the conversation they were having became.

"It's the right choice Lilly." Kenny growled at the woman across from him.

"I don't care what YOU think is the right choice." Lilly hissed back. "You can't just up and change everything just because things seem at their worst."

"It's not just his decision." Carley spoke up. "We ALL have come to this decision, you just refuse to accept it."

Lilly stood up and stormed off toward her room, "You're all making a mistake in doing this." she said over her shoulder at them. Jason watched her go with a raised eyebrow before approaching the circle and making himself known.

"Jason? You're still up?" asked Katjaa as he sat down in Lilly's empty seat.

"Can't be up if I never went down." he replied leaning back and staring into the fire. "I miss anything important?"

There was silence for a few brief moments before Mark spoke. "We were all talking about something pretty important." the fighter looked his way, wondering what had been on their minds. "After what happened...back at the farm, we thought that there should be some changes."

Kenny nodded, "And the first thing that we needed to do was find someone who would put the needs of this group ahead of everything else. Someone who would make the right decisions and face the hard choices that none of us have ever been able to make."

All eyes went on Jason and he knew right then and there what they were referring to. "Are you telling me that you all..." he trailed off as the group nodded.

"We had a vote." said Carley, "And we agreed that you should be the leader of this group."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the fighter muttered a couple of curses under his breath. "Why?" he asked looking back up at them. "Why me? What makes you believe that I would be any better at looking after things than Kenny or Lilly?"

"Your quick thinking has gotten us out of more trouble than we can possibly recall." said Katjaa. "If it wasn't for you, none of us would have escaped the dairy."

"And you've proven time and time again that you know what you're doing." added Mark. "Whether it's dealing with the walkers, or handling stuff here with the group. Everyone always feel safer when you're the one watching out for us. Christ, I would have DIED back when the bandits attacked if you hadn't come up with that plan so fast."

"And you're instincts were right on the money with what was happening back there." said Kenny. "Not to mention you saved Duck and Kat...AGAIN, because you put their lives ahead of your own. I can't tell you how much that means to us."

Jason bit his lip, mulling over their words as he tried to find something to say about it all. Carley reached out and held his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "Jase, I know that this is a lot to take in. We're not telling you to just jump right into it, take some time to think. But this group...we need someone that we KNOW will do what's right. And thus far, you've never led us wrong."

He sighed, "That's not what has me so undecided." looking to each of them, he explained. "I have my hands full making sure that Clementine is okay. Taking care of eight other people on top of that?" he shook his head. "Up till this point I believed that I had some kind of lucky streak that got me this far, I can't help but think that at some point my luck will run out."

"I'm not perfect, guys. Do you realize that? If I start leading this group, I'm going to be making decisions that will affect us all. Some of them you won't like, and some of them you may question whether or not you made the right choice. Can you honestly tell me that you're that willing to put your lives into the hands of someone like me?"

It was the ultimate question that summed everything up. Jason knew that his knowledge could help them with anything that they needed. He was good at what he was able to do, the past three months proving that he could do whatever it took to survive this infested hell of a world as well as keep his young charge safe.

But to be the LEADER of their little band of survivors? That was something else entirely.

It wouldn't just be Clementine he would be responsible for. All the people at the motor inn would look to him when things got bad, that kind of pressure was something he wasn't familiar with and it made him a bit hesitant that they were all willing to hand over that kind or responsibility that easily.

However...he'd never backed down from a challenge before in his life. And if they really wanted him to lead things, he'd just have to take it one step at a time. But he needed to be sure that this was what they really wanted.

So he waited as the others thought long and hard on his words. Carefully going over what they knew before coming to their answer.

"Yes." said Kenny sending a look of conviction his way.

"I can too." added Katjaa.

"Same here." said Mark.

"Me as well." finished Carley with a nod and a smile.

The fisherman sat up straighter as he looked at his friend, "And it's not just luck that got you this far, friend. For someone as young as you to be able to pull off half the shit you've done, plus taking good care of that little girl, there's gotta be something special about you that got you here."

The fighter looked around the circle before going back to the fire. "I'm gonna need some time to think on this. Give me until the sun starts to set later today, and I'll let you all know." he got acknowledgements all around as they all settled in and started talking about what their next step should be now that they had supplies.

Mark was still pretty dead-set on staying now that they had supplies. But Kenny, Katjaa and Carley had all agreed that the place was still pretty exposed and they needed to move on sooner or later. There was no telling if there were more people like the St. Johns or the bandits still roaming around Macon.

Jason half-listened to the conversation as he continued to think about the choice of whether or not to be head of the group. It was an important job and he couldn't make take this lightly. If anything happened to anyone it was on him and no one else. If they ran out of food again, water, medical supplies, or anything else it'd be his job to try and find out how they could get more.

Hours had slipped by, the sky started to get a little lighter with the coming morning. By that point everyone had decided to turn in and see if they could get at least a little more sleep before they had to be up and start another day.

Kenny patted Jason on the shoulder as he and Kat went to the room they shared with Duck. Mark doing the same before disappearing into his room while the fighter began trudging his way up the stairs to his own. Stumbling a bit because of fatigue finally settling in.

A pair of smaller arms slipped around his waist and helped support him. Looking to his right, he found Carley helping him the rest of the way up. "Don't worry yourself too much on what COULD go wrong." she said, almost as though she were reading his thoughts. "You won't be alone in this. And we'll all help you as much as you've helped us."

She looked up at him, "And I'll help you too, if you ever need it." Jason felt his heart stutter as they paused next to her door, his fatigue forgotten as he found himself staring into her eyes again.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, "I just need to be sure that I'm the one for the job. Can't afford to make too many mistakes with what's going on around us." he admitted as they stood facing each other.

Carley smiled, "The fact that you're taking all this into serious consideration proves that you're more than perfect for it. We just need to stick together, and in the end, we'll be alright. No matter how big or small our group gets."

Jason smiled back at her, "Thanks, Carls. It's good to know you guys understand."

She took a step forward and placed her hand on his chest. "You're a good man, Jason. Ever since we met you've always had this way of turning a bad situation around. Even when the odds were stacked against you, you pulled out all the stops for the sake of everyone. And it shows with how you're taking care of Clementine, most people would have just left her alone, but you took in a little girl you didn't know and risk your life for her every day. It definitely takes someone special to take on that kind of responsibility."

The fighter was a little stunned by her words, so much so that he didn't notice that they were now standing closer together to the point of nearly touching. Carley having to look up at him a bit given that he had several inches on her.

"Don't sell yourself short, Carls." he replied after a few moments. "You got good qualities too."

"Oh really?" asked the reporter crossing her arms over her chest. "Do tell."

Jason could see the playfulness in her eyes and smirked, "Well, for starters you're a hell of a shot. You're resourceful, courageous, and think quick on your feet. You speak your mind, and your good with kids with how you handle Clem and Duck."

Each word had Carley blushing a bit more. Even though the fighter's eyes were playful like hers had been, his tone was honest. Jason hadn't been the only one feeling an attraction whenever they were together. She'd been hurt when Doug had been killed, but overtime she realized that she didn't care about him as deeply as she had said she had.

Granted, she did care for the man. He saved her life and had gotten her to safety when there was no one else. Doug had been a good man, and he would always have a special place in her soul for everything he'd done for her.

But then there was Jason. He'd saved her life too, and proven time and time again that he was an honest, caring man. Even when the world had become the way it was, with the dead rising and feeding on the living, he never lost his strength of will. And over time, that way about him had become infectious to the rest of them.

The blush filling her face grew a shade darker as she looked over his features. She always found him attractive, one of the times she was alone with Katjaa the older woman had said that he must have been a ladies man back home with his looks and profession. And Carley couldn't help but agree, which caused her heart to stutter a little.

Even though he was younger than her by a couple of years, she couldn't help but feel affection toward him. After all of their time together since they first met, the reporter found that he was everything she could want in a man. Even before the world fell apart, it had been a while since she had been with someone, which was one of the reasons why she hadn't made a move to tell him how she felt.

Her breath came out deep and slowly, but it hitched when Jason reached up and stroked the side of her face. Bringing her back to the present and reminding her that they were having a conversation.

He sent her another smile that warmed her heart, his hand cupping her cheek when he spoke. "And on top of all that, you're beautiful to boot."

Carley closed her eyes feeling the contact on her skin, a cool breeze flowing through the air as they stood in silence. "Jason..." she whispered opening her eyes a bit and looking up at him again. As if something were compelling her, she leaned up and pressed her lips softly to his.

Momentarily stunned from the action, the fighter closed his eyes and kissed her back. His heart beating hard against his ribcage while his hands reached up and rested on her hips just beneath her purple vest.

The reporter raised her arms and laid them on his shoulders, hands holding the back of his head as they moved their lips together. The feel of Jason's tongue gently running along her teeth asking for entrance made her purr in the back of her throat as she allowed him into her mouth.

Deepening the kiss, Jason pressed Carley against the door to her room. Sandwiching her body between his and the wood surface behind her and causing the older woman to moan from the contact.

Leaving her mouth, the fighter began trailing kisses and light nips down the side of her neck causing her breath to come out in pants. Her body starting to heat up from the attention as she gripped the hair on the back of his head. "J-Jason..." she gasped when he bit down on a very sensitive spot on her throat.

"Do you want to stop?" he asked against her skin. Carley shook her head no, reaching one of her hands back and fumbling with the knob for her door until she got it open. They stumbled through the entrance, kicking the door closed behind them before continuing where they left off.

X Lemon Warning! X

Jason's jacket slipped from his shoulders and landed on the floor, the woman he was still kissing pulling on his t-shirt and making them separate so she could pull it over his head. Attacking each others lips again, the fighter quickly pulled the zipper down on her vest and the white hoodie she wore underneath it before letting them both slip down her arms leaving her in jeans and a white tank top.

Carley moved back and fell on to her bed, smiling up at him as she kicked her shoes and socks off while he did the same. She crossed her arms and grabbed the hem of her tank top, pulling it over her head and throwing it aside revealing her toned stomach and C-cup breasts within a black bra.

Pausing to admire the beauty sprawled out before him, the fighter crawled over her form and nestled between her legs as he looked into her eyes again. "So, I take it you feel the same?" he asked smiling.

The reporter smiled back, "What was your first clue?" she asked back running her hands up and down his bare chest. She paused after a few seconds, "You don't...care about the fact that I'm-" she was cut off when he kissed her.

"I don't." he said answering her unasked question. "Besides, I kinda have a thing for older women." Carley moaned when she felt his hand trail up her side and began fondling her right breast. Another soon following when she moved her hips and felt his hardened length rubbing against her jean covered core.

Her hands trailed down and began working on undoing his pants. Jason sat up and got out of his jeans and boxers while Carley took off her bra, her tan-colored breasts bouncing slightly as she began to shimmy out of her own pants and taking her black panties down with them leaving her completely bare.

Taking time to admire her form, Jason ran his hands up her legs, feeling the smooth, warm skin and making her shutter as he reached her hips. Going up her sides and over be breasts before going over her shoulders and down her arms. Memorizing every part of her body as he began trailing kisses up from her belly.

Carley closed her eyes and sighed in bliss feeling his ministrations. Her heart pounding loudly as she felt his lips reach her chest, stopping a moment before her eyes snapped open and she moaned loudly when he began flicking his tongue over her dark-colored nipples.

The sensitive skin pebbled beneath his attention, Jason captured the nub in his teeth and bit very gently causing the woman to thrust her chest out and moan even louder. His other hand coming up and rolling the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger while squeezing the globe of flesh occasionally.

His other hand trailed down between their bodies, sliding past the small patch of hair just above her center before sliding his fingers along her already soaked slit. Her body jerked when he came in contact with her core, her hips thrusting upward to gain more friction as she began panting.

"Oh god...oh god..." Carley's arms wrapped around his shoulders, nails raking up his back. When she felt him start to run his fingers over the bundle of nerves above her opening she saw white spots and had to bite her lip to avoid screaming. "J-Jason! S-Stop teasing me!" she pleaded.

"What do you want?" he asked coyly as he switched to her other breast. His fingers still working over her pussy before he eased one of his digits into her warmth.

The woman arched her back, a sharp gasp pulling from her as she felt him gently thrusting his finger in and out of her. Reaching a shaking hand downward, she grasped his member and began stroking it. "Y...You...Inside me. Please...I want you."

Jason looked up and her and saw her pleading gaze, several emotions reflecting in those brown eyes making him pause everything he was doing.

Crawling up, he held her face in one hand and kissed her deeply. "Is it what you want? No regrets?" he asked wanting to be sure.

Carley nodded, looking to the side and blushing. "I...wanted this for a while. But there just didn't seem to be the right time to bring it up. And...I wasn't sure if..."

"If I felt the same way?" he asked getting a hesitant nod. "Carley." he turned her head to look at him, "You're a good friend, an amazing woman, and I'm glad to know you as well as I do." The fighter gave her a quick kiss, "And I do feel the same. I have for a while now, but I guess that I had the same fears you did. And with everything going on..."

They laid in silence, staring at one another afraid of breaking this tender moment. "In a world like this, we can't take anything for granted. Any moment could be our last, and I think we should enjoy ever moment we have." Jason said as he laced his fingers with hers. "And I wouldn't mind spending a good number of them with you."

Carley smiled and felt tears prickle her eyes. Hugging the fighter close while wrapping her legs around his hips, bringing his cock to her entrance. She moved her lips to his ear and whispered, "Then lets enjoy this moment to the fullest."

Jason smiled as he slowly slid past her lower lips. Clenching the bed sheets in his hands as he was met with tight, wet warmth around him.

Wincing, the reporter relaxed as best she could. It definitely had been a while for her. She'd been so focused on her career before all of this that she never found a stable relationship. Just the occasional fling every once in a while but nothing more.

When he was fully sheathed into her, Jason leaned back and saw her face. "You okay?" he asked concerned.

"Y-Yeah, it's just...been a while. Give me a second." she said as she moved her hips from side to side to get comfortable. A gasp escaping her when she caused him to go a little deeper. "Damn you're big." she whimpered in pleasure as she got used to the feeling.

Seconds passed before Carley gave the okay, the fighter pulled back until he was almost out before easing back inside. Clenching his teeth as her inner muscles squeezed each time he moved. Setting a calm, steady rhythm, picking up the pace gradually over time as her hips raised up to meet his thrusts.

The woman tightened her legs around Jason's waist, head leaning back and gasping as she felt him sliding against parts inside of her that she forgot that she had. The feeling of his lips and teeth back on her neck had her breath coming out in pants as the pleasure increased and her body heated up.

"More..." she moaned as he began moving faster, pushing as deeply as he could as the bed began creaking softly. Sweat gathering on their bodies as they lost themselves in the haze of lust.

Jason leaned away from Carley's neck, briefly noticing the dark marks he'd left behind that would fade by the next day as he supported himself on his arms. The reporter looked back at him with half-lidded eyes, chest heaving and sweat glistening on her tan skin. Keeping his pace strong as he continued to thrust into her body.

They kissed, tongues clashing and movements becoming more erratic as they reached their peaks. Carley's hips jerked and her muscles clenched as she clung on to the fighter with everything she had, "F-Fuck! Jason I'm cumming!"

"M-Me too!" he groaned back as he felt her wet walls clench him like a vice. Slamming his lips back over hers, he swallowed her screams when she came. Her juices flooding out over him as he thrusted a few more times before erupting inside her.

Carley's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she shuttered as the feeling of his warmth filling her sent her into another orgasm.

X Lemon End X

Seconds ticked by as Jason gently laid himself over her body, resting his forehead against hers as they caught their breath and eased their heart rates. Opening their eyes, they stared at one another before smiling. "Well...that was a thing." he said causing her to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah it was." the reporter said back running a hand through her sweat-soaked hair. She gasped when she felt him pull out of her, laying on his side next to her as they faced each other. "So, you have a thing for older women huh?" she asked cheekily.

Jason grinned back, "Well, only one in particular." he said back giving her a brief kiss. "We should get some sleep, got another long day ahead of us." Carley nodded as she curled up against him, head on his chest under his chin as he pulled the blankets up over them so the cool air didn't get to them.

He felt her yawn before she began speaking, "Jason...about us..." she whispered.

The fighter kissed her on the head, "We'll talk about it more in the morning. But I will tell you now that I do want this, Carls. Life's too short these days to not make moments like these."

Carley nodded, smiling softly as she cuddled against his skin, his arms wrapped around her protectively as she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Looking down at the woman he was holding, Jason gave her another kiss before looking up toward the ceiling. He still had a big decision to make, and it wasn't going to be an easy one. But he knew that he had the support of his friends, Clementine, and Carley. And it was all proving to make things much easier for him.

He couldn't help but wonder what his little charge would think of the new relationship he had with the reporter. Though with how well they got along, he had a feeling she would be more than happy. "Guess I'll worry about all this tomorrow." he thought yawning as he closed his eyes allowing sleep to take him.

A/N: And we're back up to full. And yes, Carley did end up winning the pairing poll, but trust me, it'll all work out. Mostly because Maggie and Glenn look good together and I didn't want to damage the pairings already in place for the series.

Besides, Carley's pretty hot in her own way and adds well to the story greatly. I'll have the next installment ready soon. So be patient guys.