Chapter 45 – Lauren

I had a quick dinner and chatted with the girls awhile after my fiasco in Radway. It was getting late and I was ready to crash. I thanked Carol for the meal and when I got up, I caught Daryl's eye. We said goodnight to everyone and headed upstairs. Once we got inside our bedroom, I just melted into his arms. I was exhausted, but I still needed him. We must have stayed that way for a minute or two. I could feel the beating of his heart through his shirt. I needed that comfort that I had always found in his embrace.

"I almost lost you tonight," Daryl said softly. He tightened his hold on me, it was like he wanted to make sure I was still there.

"But you didn't. We've all been in close scrapes before…this one was just a bit…closer than usual," I whispered back.

"I don't doubt your ability, but we can't know what could happen. Don't take those chances again…please." He wouldn't look at me, but just kept holding onto me.

Daryl never said 'please'. I wasn't sure he even knew the word, but for him to say it now, I knew how upset he was. "I won't take any unnecessary chances again and I will follow the rules we set up. Every day we go out is a chance…but I'll be more careful. I promise."

I finally lifted my head from his shoulder and looked up into his eyes. Daryl was never one to show much emotion, but tonight was different. He relaxed with my promise. I saw a softness that I had never seen before, a peacefulness about him that had never existed prior to now. The urge to kiss him overwhelmed me, so I lifted my lips to his, first gently then I responded to the hunger I felt coming from him.

My hands slipped his leather vest off his body and it dropped to the floor, then I unbuttoned his shirt and it followed making a soft thud. He pushed me back towards the bed and only when I felt it hit me behind my legs did we separate. He pulled my shirt up over my head tossing it aside and my bra soon joined it on the floor.

Daryl kissed me again with an urgency that I could feel all the way to my toes. I was losing myself in his kiss, as I knew I would…as I always did. No other man had ever made me feel this way. I wanted him more than I ever thought was possible to want anyone.

We fumbled with our pants finally kicking them off in our haste. I lay down on the bed and Daryl quickly climbed up and lay down next to me. He pressed his lips to mine tenderly sat first, then I deepened the kiss and he eagerly joined me. I could not get enough of his hands. Each caress sent sparks throughout my body and the room was filled with soft moans and passionate kisses. I could feel Daryl's hard erection pressing against me. His lips traveled all over my bare flesh, as my fingers intertwined in his hair. The temperature in the room rose dramatically.

I took the initiative and turned my body to face his. I hooked my leg around him, so that when I turned onto my back, I pulled Daryl on top of me. I was desperate for him. I raised my knees allowing him access to my wet sensitive sex. Daryl smiled at me and my aggressiveness, and with one swift movement of his hips and he was inside me. I cried out in ecstasy, while Daryl groaned deeply. Together our joined bodies moved faster and faster until neither of us could take it anymore. First mine and then Daryl's body began to tremble as the waves of our climaxes took us over the edge. The boundaries of control were completely lost as we both fell into the abyss that only true love could bring.

We laid together for a while our bodies stuck together with the sweat our loving making had brought. Daryl finally slide off of me and together we brought the bed covers over us. There was a slight chill in the night air. I lay in the crook of his arm, until he turned on his side to face me. His rough fingers rested on my cheek. "I love you," he said simply and quietly. "I never knew what love was… until you."

My eyes filled with tears, those damn silly stupid happy tears that only came out when I was overwhelmed with joy. "I love you too. I've waited a long time to hear those words from you and it was all worth it. Every time you growled at me or didn't talk to me or treated me like a kid sister was worth it, because I know now you loved me then…you just didn't know it."

"You're right," he said wiping away my tears with his hand. "I was scared of what you made me feel, so I did what I always did… I fought back. I don't want to fight anymore."

"You don't have to Daryl. I'm here… I'm yours and I'm not going anywhere." I hoped he believed in me…in us. He hadn't had an easy life before the turn coming from a loveless abusive family. He was a better man now, than before. He had become his own man, not a shadow of his crazy brother. Daryl had found the family and the trust he had never had before and he had finally found love…with me.

His face suddenly became serious, a look I knew all too well. He intertwined his fingers on his right hand with mine. I was getting nervous until the corner of his mouth lifted into a small smile. "Marry me." He spoke the two words every woman in love waited to hear.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" I told him raining kissing all over his handsome face. He did believe.

Marriage is a vow from the heart and soul of two people pledging themselves to each other. The legal aspect of it no longer existed. Like Maggie and Glenn, we decided to pledge ourselves and our love to each other forever. Daryl and I talked about how we wanted to do this. I knew he wasn't one for a big ceremony and to be expressing his feelings in front of everyone, so I came up with an idea that he liked.

It's been a week since he's asked me to marry him and today's the big day. Our friends are very happy for us and are respecting our wishes for an unusual ceremony that fits into this unusual world we now live in.

I'm wearing a dress I had found in my old closet and Daryl is dressed as Daryl in his leather vest with the wings, button down shirt and dark pants. All I asked for from him was for whatever he wore to be clean. That would have been normal for anyone else but Daryl. The day is cool, but still comfortable as we walk hand and hand down to the end of the dock…just me and him. Our friends eagerly watch from the front porch of the main cabin.

I can feel his palm sweating as we reach the end of the dock that overlooks the lake. We're both nervous, but I've never wanted anything more than to be his wife. We turn towards each other and I give his hand a squeeze. "Daryl Dixon, I never thought I would end up here with you. This is a dream come true for me. I've told you before that even back when you were being a jack ass, I still would get butterflies when I saw you or you looked at me. I still get them now," I told him. "You've changed and I've changed…and that's what makes you and me work. There is absolutely no one else in this world that I would rather have for my husband but you. You are my life and my heart and I am completely in love with you." After a moment's hesitation I said looking into his beautiful blue eyes, "I pledge my forever love to you."

I am doing my best not to cry, but it's hard. I see a tear in the corner of Daryl's eye and it takes every ounce of willpower I have not to break down into happy tears. He wipes the lone tear away and now it's his turn.

"Words don't come easy for me, so I'm trying my best so say it right," he started. I gave his hand a squeeze of encouragement and I got a smile from him in return. "I was broken before I met you. I didn't have a normal family growing up and all I knew was anger and pain. When I hooked up with the group and Rick everything started to change. I found people who relied on me and trusted me and I could trust them back. You were one of those people. No matter what I did, you were always nice to me and I finally realized what true friends and family are all about. You healed me Lauren, your kindness and love put all my broken pieces back together and I am a new man because of it. You showed me how to love and that I could be loved…that I deserved it." Daryl took a deep breath. "I pledge my forever love to you."

I couldn't hold back the tears any longer as they streamed down my face. His words blew me away. I never knew he had that in him. He takes my left hand and places a gold band on it. I was shocked. We hadn't talked about rings. "Where did you get this?" I asked in surprise.

He smiled back at me. "I saw it a few weeks ago, and took it hoping someday we'd be doing this."

I threw my arms around his neck. "I love it," I told him, and I love you."

"I love you too Lauren…now and forever." Our lips touched sealing our union. I was his wife and I was the happiest I could ever be. I was no longer Lauren Delany, but Lauren Dixon. It was a name I was proud to bear.

A loud round of applause and whistles came from the front porch and we both turned to see our friends celebrating our commitment. Hand in hand we walked down the dock towards the house and our family, ready to begin our new life together. The world turning upside down, where the dead still walked the earth, was the best thing that had ever happened to me. Go figure.

The End.