Friday Afternoon

"If Daryl is avoiding me because of the other day," Lou chuckled, "well, let's just say I didn't think you two spent your evenings playing draughts."

"Draughts would have been a safer option," Kate mumbled as sat against one of the crates that had arrived in the morning.

"I'm just saying, I was young once… I understand..."

"He's not avoiding you. He's avoiding me." She'd tried to talk to him Wednesday morning but he had told her, "I can't be 'round ya right now." And that was it.

"Oh?" Lou's bushy white eyebrows furrowed as he passed her some packing material so she could finish stuffing the last crate of the day.

"I can't give him what he wants so he doesn't want me anymore," she said flatly. She'd refused to admit she was in love with him so she really didn't have a leg to stand on. What she wanted was for them to forget what he had said and go back to before, when the game wasn't up and they were just together existing in the moment with no thought of tomorrow or the next day or forever.

"We have dinner with Mr Blake tonight, do you still want to go?"

No, "yes," Kate pulled off her gloves and looked around the exhibition hall that was now closed to the public and filled with a jumbled pile of boxes, paperwork and empty display cases. Her time in America was almost over and she felt miserable.

/

Daryl hadn't gone home to Jim and Charlene's after leaving Kate's on Tuesday night. The last thing he needed was for the redhead to be right about himself and Kate. Just like she had predicted they weren't talking in time for the wedding. Instead he had gone home to the Horvath's farm, which was where he was going to now that work was done for the day.

Kate's final day.

He sat in his truck, hands gripped to the steering wheel as he watched Kate ushering Lou into the copper orange BMW Z6 that the rental company had brought in exchange for her broken down Mustang. The sight of her filled him with pain enough that he could barely breathe, he had no idea what to do.

After telling her he loved her there had been no way he could have spent another night with her if she wasn't feeling anything but her orgasms. He might have been a man and a certain part of his body might have betrayed him when he saw her this morning in her pretty little dress but he wasn't an animal, he wanted more than fucking when it came to Kate. They couldn't go back, they couldn't go forward, all he could do was let her go and he felt ill.

He waited until Kate's car was long gone before he started his engine. He groaned and punched the wheel, he felt so fucking frustrated with how everything had turned out. He was so powerless. It was all over with now, he would never see her again and he'd just have to find a way to live with that.

"Back again?" Irma smiled as he let himself into the kitchen.

"I was hopin' that I could stay, if that's okay…"

"You know it is Daryl, this place will be yours next week, makes sense that you wanna get started on things," she let out a wistful sigh. "How's Kate? Has she gone home now?"

Daryl's stomach clenched as his mind conjured up the image of her packing away the exhibition hall. No matter how much he'd tried to avoid the monitors, he was a glutton for punishment and the sight of her was so easy on the eyes. "Sunday."

"You know what's better than falling in love with someone?" Irma said.

Daryl just stared at her, did she know? Maybe everyone knew. Of course everyone knew, if Daryl knew then it had to be obvious to the whole world that he was madly in love with Kate.

"Marrying them, having children together, it's my biggest regret… well I guess I can't regret something I couldn't control. You can control it, you can bring life to this farm and I don't just mean planting crops."

Daryl sank his elbows into the table and covered his face with his hands. Jesus, his throat felt dry, Irma made it all sound so easy. "I asked Kate to stay. Hell, I even asked her to marry me. She said no."

"Oh Daryl," Irma rubbed his shoulder, "what you gonna do about it?"

"Nothin'. I don't know what the hell would I'd with 'er even if she did stay. I know fu- nothin' 'bout being with a woman longterm."

"You'd figure it out."

"I'd mess up everything eventually. I've seen photos of my Mama when she was young, before she married Will Dixon." She'd been beautiful, strong, head high, back straight, she'd looked like she could take on the world but somehow his Daddy had managed to crush all of her strength until she was nothing but a withered mess who couldn't get through the morning without a drink and half a packet of cigarettes.

"I didn't know your mama but I know you Daryl and you're not your father. You think Kate would have given you her time if you was. Every single time you brought her here I saw her looking at you like you put the stars in the sky."

"Maybe she did but there just ain't enough goddamn time in the world to make that woman see sense," he stood up and gave Irma a kiss on the cheek, "I'm gonna go see the horses."

Daryl wished he could conjure up some hate for Kate but he loved her too damn much that even when she was breaking his heart he could do nothing but let her do it and take it like a gentleman. She was killing him so goddamn gently, she wasn't even being particularly unreasonable which was probably the worst part of it all. He was asking her to leave her life for him and it all seemed so easy in his head but when she had asked if he would leave his life for her, he'd finally got it, at least in part. If he couldn't walk away from his life and she couldn't walk away from hers it left them with nothing, there was no half way.

He groaned, kicking a rock across the dirt track, maybe it was unreasonable but why couldn't she just be his? She could visit her friends or they could visit here but he couldn't move this farm.

/

Kate pulled up outside the restaurant Mr Blake had chosen for the farewell dinner he had arranged. He'd invited the other curators who worked at the museum as well as some of the patrons that she had met at the Museum party. Truthfully she had no interest in having dinner with any other them, she'd barely said more than a few words to most of them. All she could think about was Daryl and how it was him who she should have been spending her precious last days with.

"I can't come in with you," Kate said to Lou who was sitting in her passenger seat.

"Alright lass," he gave her knee a squeeze, a sparkle of understanding in his eye. "Good luck."

She let out a nervous laugh and waited for him to amble out of the car before she zoomed away.

It wasn't easy finding her way to Jim and Charlene's house. In fact she'd had to ask directions at Lynette's which had been rather embarrassing since she was dressed in a little fuchsia cocktail dress and a pair of killer heels therefore looking completely out of place, overdressed and ridiculous.

As she pulled up outside the house she spotted the familiar yellow door from when Daryl had brought her so long ago. What she didn't spot was his blue truck, which left a sinking feeling in her stomach. But she was here and she was determined to find him so she had to at least try the door.

Kate knocked and could hear the sound of male laughter on the other side followed by the thud of footsteps.

Jason answered, giving her a wide grin and a wolf whistle as he cast one slow look down her dress and legs, "Daryl is a very lucky boy, yes siree. But what can I do ya for ma'am?"

"Is he here?" Kate said, prayed.

"Who is it?" a voice called from further in the house.

"It's Katy," Jason let the door fall open and gestured her inside where she found a group of men including Jim and Bobby all sitting around a poker table that had been set up awkwardly in the middle of the lounge. "She's lookin' for Daryl."

Kate tucked her hair behind her ear and shifted from foot to foot as nobody said anything in favour of giving her appreciative glances like she was a piece of meat and they were a pack of dogs. She felt her cheeks flush, "is he here?"

Jim cleared his throat, "I thought he was with you hun…"

"So this is Katy? We've been hearing an awful lot about you, I'm Danny, this is Rooster." Danny had dirty blonde hair that was shoulder length and blonde whiskers not long enough to be a beard yet not short enough to be stubble scattered across his face. Rooster had light brown hair despite what she assumed was his nickname. He was clean shaven and reminded her of Matthew McConaughey.

"You're the talk of the town girl," Jason teased.

"Ain't no surprise when you're running around dressed up like Christmas come early," Rooster winked.

Kate's cheeks must have been as red and glowing as a Christmas decoration, then she noticed the pile of empty beer bottles and realised that they were probably all pissed. "So nobody's seen him?"

"I reckon he might be over at the Horvath's, saw him there yesterday sweetheart," Rooster said.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for interrupting your evening," then she realised tomorrow was the wedding, "good luck for tomorrow Jim."

"Thanks, and it ain't no interruption hun, you're welcome here anytime," Jim said.

Jason followed Kate outside where he gave another wolf whistle to her car followed by a "hot damn… look at those lines…"

"Which way is it to the Horvaths?"

Jason's brow knit together under his hat, "why ya having to run around in all this," he pointed to her dress, "looking for Daryl?"

"Because I want to give him a proper goodbye," she opened her car door.

Jason held her arm, "maybe ya don't wanna say goodbye. Hello's are much sweeter."

"The Horvath's?"

He sighed and gave her directions before he helped her into her car, "you gonna be at the wedding to tomorrow?" her asked through her rolled down window.

"I don't know but if I don't see you again, it was nice meeting you."

With Jason's directions she found the farmhouse easily. It looked so pretty against the still blue Georgia sky. It also looked so lonely, aside from the house and the outbuildings there was nothing but fields turning into trees for as far as the eye could see. She wondered what Daryl was going to do with it all.

"Well aren't you a doll?" Irma declared as she all but ran down the porch, "I told you I heard a car," she shouted back to Dale who joined her outside.

"Good evening Mrs Horvath," she was immediately wrapped into a sweet lemony hug.

"Now isn't this just fine?" Irma brushed a strand of Kate's hair off her face. "Daryl's seein' to the horses, I swear that man spends more time down in the stables than he does in the house. But I think the right kind of distracting could change his mind on that," Irma chuckled and took a step away before nodding her head towards the horses "you go find him honey."

As she walked over the terrain that seemed impossibly difficult in five inch heels she felt a big knot begin to tighten in her stomach. She wasn't exactly sure why she was here trying to find Daryl, just that she had to see him.

She peaked her head around the stable door to see him polishing a saddle. His shirt sleeve was rolled up and every flex of his arm rippled across his muscle sending a wave of desire all the way through her body until she could barely say the word 'hello'. But she didn't have to speak, he spotted her. Their eyes locked for a heartstopping moment before he threw the rag he'd been polishing with down to the floor and looked away.

/

For a split second Daryl thought he must have been hallucinating to see Kate standing in the door of the stables. Her hair was flowing in perfect waves, her lean legs looked long and silky smooth in her crazy high heels and that dress… That fuscia dress was the perfect colour against her Georgia tan and glossy brown hair. Why'd she have to be so fucking beautiful? He was instantly hard and kicking himself for it.

"What ya doin' 'ere?" he grunted, trying to sound as irritated as he rightly felt.

"You didn't say goodbye to me."

"One goodbye was enough," he picked up the saddle and hung it up with the rest of the tack.

Kate stepped into the stables, "where are the horses?"

"Outside," he walked right past her, trying not to get a lungful of her perfume before changing his mind and breathing her in deeply. The smell made his heart beat quicker, his stomach fill with warmth and his erection wasn't going anywhere. Stupid traitorous body, it didn't care about anything but being inside of her. He dug into his jeans for his pack of smokes before lighting one and taking a seat on the fence as they silently stared across the pasture until tension began to mount so thick it might have smothered him.

"Maybe I should go," she turned on her heel to head back towards the farmhouse.

Fucking hell. "Wait, I don't goddamn want ya to go."

Kate turned back, her big brown eyes looking right at him like he put the stars in the sky.

Fucking hell.

"Wait 'ere." he left her standing by the stables while he grabbed a saddle and headed to Ace's paddock. The horse came over almost immediately. Daryl had noticed that the angry ass stallion had started being better behaved over the past few days since he'd been staying here and exercising him properly.

When Ace was ready he mounted him and trotted over to find Miss Uppity exactly where he had left her.

"There's only one horse," she pointed out so deftly.

"I know. Even rednecks can count to two," he reached down and wrapped his hands around her waist, "put ya foot in the stirrup an' lets have ya."

She did as she was told and he picked her up to sit in front of him, her body pressed right against his. If she felt what was pressing against his zipper she didn't mention it, and neither did he. He took hold of the reigns with one hand and with the other he held against her stomach so she didn't slip away from being flush with him.

He directed Ace on a gentle trot across the land, pointing out everything to Kate, all the fields that were his and all the places he had played as a child. They rode for miles over meadows, fields then into the thick of forest along a trail that was non existent to the eye but one that Daryl had hunted along many times and brought Ace along once or twice.

When they came to a clearing that had a stream running through it, incidentally the same stream that ran along the heart tree, he stopped. He picked Kate off his lap and dropped her to the floor before he jumped down and tied the horse to a nearby tree.

It occurred to him that now they were in the middle of nowhere, a city girl like Miss Uppity couldn't run away. It also occurred to him that he didn't have a single thing left to lose. He'd already said goodbye to some dignity the other night and as of 5pm today he was never working with her again. He might never see her again after tonight.

Kate was standing at a complete juxtaposition with the scenery; her shoes sinking into the ground, her fuchsia dress lighting her up like a jewel amongst the forest green. His heart clenched, his breath all but leaving him at just the sight of her. He walked over to her, picked her hand up and kissed the back of it before pulling her into his arms. She gave herself to his lips, a hot little groan panting from her mouth as he kissed from her lips to her neck then down along her shoulder.

Her hand slipped along his crotch, rubbing him over his jeans before her fingers began to work his belt. It felt so damn good but he wanted more than just to have sex with her. He grabbed her hand and stopped her progress with a pained sigh.

"I've lived long enough to know what I want when I see it," he whispered down her ear before kissing the lobe and looking at her big brown eyes. "I love ya an' I want ya to tell me how ya feel 'bout me."

"Daryl," she sighed, placing her hands on his chest and sliding them up to his shoulders, "can't we just enjoy tonight?"

Spoken like a goddamn man. Jesus Christ she was worse than Merle. "No. I ain't lettin' ya in my pants until ya tell me the truth." After speaking to Irma he was sure Kate had feelings for him, she just had to admit it. Hell, he needed her to admit it, he wanted to hear the words enunciated from her crisp, clear, sexy accent.

Kate pulled herself from his arms, "I think we should just head back."

"Go right ahead…" Kate's pastime was running and his was hunting, one of them was going to win out.

She looked through the mess of trees but didn't move, "you're not going to take me back?"

"Help ya run away from me? Why would I do that?"

Kate huffed, "you can't just hold me to ransom here."

"I ain't holdin' ya to nothin'. Ya wanna go back? I ain't stoppin' ya sweetheart but I ain't helpin' ya until you say what I think ya wanna say."

"You're forcing my hand."

"Maybe ya need a little forcin'. Hell, I was gonna let ya walk away for good but you came to me." He moved closer to her, his hand running along the curve of her hips. "Ya came to my farm in this tiny little dress an' ya expect me to pretend I don't want ya… ain't happenin' darlin'."

"Has it even entered your pig head that I don't love you and I'm trying to spare your feelings?"

Sometimes she infuriated him. "Then why ya come 'ere tonight? Hmm?" Daryl asked and Kate didn't say anything. "Has it ever entered yer pig head that I could make ya happy in and out of bed. Ya could be happy if ya stayed 'ere with me."

"You have to be at the wedding tomorrow. We can't stay out here forever Daryl Dixon!" Her face was flushed in annoyance and it was very possible that he was even more turned on by her than before. She was sexy when she was mad and he knew a way to make her even angrier. He tried to keep his face straight as he bent over and started to gather firewood, throwing it all together in a pile.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Well, we have all night sweetheart, might as well get comfortable. Though I don't know how comfortable yer gonna be in that little dress..." he bit his cheek to hold in his grin before thinking fuck it and letting the smile spread across his face.

"I could never love someone who held me hostage in the middle of the forest."

"Well ya don't love me so it don't matter none does it?" he said with an edge to his voice. He thought she would have backed down and said it already, why he thought Miss Uppity would ever back down he wasn't sure.

Kate folded her arms across her chest and he thought steam might actually start shooting out of her head hot enough to set the whole forest on fire.

Fucking hell. Maybe he should have just fucked her like she wanted? It might have put her in a more pliable mood.

She began to stomp past Ace and head off the way they had come from, down a little slope, her shoes digging into the mud as she almost toppled over. He shook his head and followed her stubborn ass. "What ya doin'?"

"What does it look like?" she spat.

"Looks like ya gonna break ya damn neck."

Kate turned to him and she looked like she was going to shout but instead she screamed, an incredibly high pitched and girlish scream as she ran towards him. For a split second he thought it was some kind of battle cry and she was going to smack him in the head. Instead she jumped straight into his arms like a terrified cat.

"What the hell?" he wrapped his arms around her and breathed in the smell of her hair, "I thought ya were comin' to kill me woman."

"It was a snake," she panted as she hopped from foot to foot while frantically looking around the ground.

Daryl burst out laughing. Jesus, she was so goddamn ridiculously adorable, he could never get enough of her. "You've probably scared off every living thing for miles with all that racket yer makin'."

She straightened up, smoothing down her hair and the front of her dress before pointing a finger in his face like she was the queen, "I hate you so much right now Mr Dixon."

"Dont hate me," he wrapped her in his arms. He needed to bring this back from where it was, "ya ever build a campfire?"

"I'm not spending the night out here," she snapped.

He grunted, "I know, I ain't really gonna make ya sleep out 'ere. But let's have a little fun before we go back." She softened the tiniest bit and he decided to roll with it, taking her hand and leading her back to the clearing. "Never did get to take ya campin'," he said as he unbuttoned his shirt and lay it on a log for her to sit on.

Kate didn't say anything.

He gathered the sticks into a nice little teepee then found some dry leaves for kindling before he lit it all with his zippo. "Shame we don't have any marshmallows."

Kate didn't say anything and he felt terrible, he wanted more and now he didn't have anything. He knelt down in front of her. "Is this really it? Ya ain't gonna talk to me now?"

/

Kate wasn't planning on giving Daryl the silent treatment but she didn't know what else to do. He was relentless and if he kept going he would have her admitting her feelings which she didn't want to do. She really was trying to spare his feelings, she thought it would be easier this way. If he knew she loved him then it would only make it more difficult.

But he was right, why had she come if not to tell him those three little words? Maybe she had come because it sounded so nice when he was saying those three words to her. She liked the sound of them rolling from his husky, raspy voice and she liked the way it made her heart skip and the butterflies dance.

He lit a cigarette and leaned on a tree opposite to where she was sitting. "I'll have this an' then I'll take ya back," he said miserably and she felt a stab in her chest.

When he finished his cigarette he helped her onto Ace but instead of climbing on behind her he grabbed the reins and began to walk the horse along.

It felt so lonely up on the saddle without Daryl's body pressed against hers and despite the fact that he'd just annoyed the hell out of her she'd been looking forward to the ride back. "Why aren't you getting on?"

"Didn't think you'd want me to."

She swallowed the stubborn part of her that wanted to say nothing and forced herself to admit, "I do want you to."

"It's alright," he looked at her briefly before patting Ace's neck, "it ain't too far to walk."

Maybe she wasn't saving his feelings. Maybe she was just hurting him more. Maybe part of her did want him to know the truth, "Daryl," she felt her chest getting tight, "I..."

He stopped and turned to look at her, "what?"

"I need to get down."

He held out his hands and picked her off the horse with ease, her body fluttered at his every touch.

"Ya need to take a leak? Don't go too far… don't want ya gettin' lost."

She looked over his shoulder to the trees, "I don't need… to take a leak."

"I wanted to tell you that I think… you're a really big, dumb, idiot. You gave the game up, we weren't supposed to talk about feelings. I thought we both knew that this was all temporary and you've made it impossible."

"Gee… thanks."

"Well…" she swallowed hard, "I love you… there you have it. I'm in love with you." Kate's chest felt even tighter at her admission, putting it out there was terrifying even if she knew he loved her back. Maybe it wasn't Daryl's feelings that she was trying to save.

/

Daryl savoured the words. He'd never been in love and he'd never been loved by a woman before. "That weren't so bad was it?" he grinned, "now kiss me," he buried one hand in her hair and the other held her waist as he kissed her, teeth clashing, tongues dancing eagerly. His body was impatient to show her just how much he loved her but he couldn't do it on this trail.

He took his fill of her lips before picking her back into Ace's saddle and jumping on after her. He kicked the horse's sides and galloped the rest of the way home.

When Ace was securely in a paddock, he pulled Kate into the barn and kissed her even more deeply than before. "I love ya," he whispered between kisses as he moved her backwards until she was half lay against the stacks of hay that were filling the floor. "Say it," he groaned as his hands swept up her thighs to find her lacy panties and slip under the elastic until his fingers were wet.

"I love you," she panted as his finger entered her, teasing her inside and out. He needed more, he wanted to taste her. He dropped to his knees, pulled her panties down as he went then spread her thighs and kissed between her legs, sucking and licking all her wetness until she began to buckle.

"Oh god," Kate gasped and his tongue moved faster, his finger dipped inside her again as he tipped her right into heaven.

Daryl stood up to catch her as she melted with the aftershocks then he guided her to where she could lay more comfortably before he pulled off her flimsy little dress and her sexy lacy bra. He threw her clothes away before standing and getting a good look at her laying with her high heels on, her hair tumbling over her shoulders and mountains of hay everywhere else. She looked like one of the pin up calendars he sometimes saw in garages he'd worked in or from his own bedroom as a teenager. He felt even harder, she was all his.

Daryl pulled off his clothes and climbed on top of her, the head of his erection brushing along her thigh as his mouth wrapped around her hard nipple, sucking each one while his hands ran over her body. Then he had a realisation, fuck, "I don't have a condom."

Kate sat up on her elbows, her eyes dark and lustfilled, "I'm... on the pill."

Oh god, he felt like he was going to lose himself all over her leg at the mere thought of being inside her without anything but his own skin. "I'm clean," with a brother like Merle, Daryl knew how to look after his own health. "But I'll understand if ya don't wanna…"

"I trust you, I want you," she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, tasting herself on his tongue as she urged him onto his back. She straddled him kissing along his chest until she was between his thighs, one hand wrapped around the base of his penis, pumping along it and the other cupping his balls, gently squeezing at just the right pressure that had his hands fisting into the hay.

The only thing that made this better was that she loved him and then the only thing that made it even sweeter was that they were on Dixon land. He was going to make love to her on his land just like Dixon men had been doing with their women for over a century. It was a weird feeling but it felt right.

Her tongue licked lazily along his length, a sultry smile on her lips before she wrapped her mouth around his end. His breath hitched, shuddering slowly out as she took him in deep, sucking slowly along, her eyes locking with his. He thrust his hips gently, barely able to contain his eager body that wanted more, more, more. It was feeling so good, he could feel his release coiling uncontrollably and gently tugged her hair to stop her. He didn't want to finish like this, not tonight.

"I wanna make love to ya," he rasped. As much as he wanted Kate to climb on top and ride him, this was different, this was sex without a condom and he wanted to take her. He wanted to be in control of how good it was going to feel to bury himself all the way inside her soft walls.

He threw her down and kissed her lips, hovering the tip right against where he wanted nothing more than to sink in deep. "Ya sure?" he checked. He could still stop, it would be hard but he could do it.

"Yes," Kate's hips thrust up to help the angle as he pushed inside. Fucking hell, he almost came apart. Being inside her felt better than he imagined. He thrust long and slow, pulling almost all the way out before sinking into her again.

"I love ya," he groaned into her neck but Kate was lost to anything but what he was doing to her with his body.

"More," she panted, "faster," he did what she said, pumping her hard and fast until she came apart, her nails digging into his shoulders. Hearing her climax shoved him over the edge as everything he had spilled inside her until he was empty and his orgasm had ripped him apart.

He floated on a million great feelings, nestling his head in her soft breasts. Her loving him was one great feeling. Another great feeling was having his cum all inside her right now, like she was really his, all filled up with him. Even if the thought did make him feel like a big caveman, he liked it. He leaned up on his elbow to look at her, all flushed and ruffled, she looked so beautiful. He pulled some hay from her hair and kissed her. Now he had to think of what his next move was going to be. If she loved him then there was no way he could let her leave. But first he wondered if he could get all the hay out of Kate's hair before they headed to the farmhouse and Irma saw it.