A/N- Sorry for the wait between chapters. I had terrible writers block then I started binge watching stuff on Netflix. But I'm determined to finish part one then I might take a little break from writing for a while. Anyone that writes on here will understand how time consuming it can be and I feel so bad when I don't update!
Daryl clutched tight to his passport and his ticket as he headed towards the gate. He couldn't believe he was going to be spending the next nine hours soaring through the sky instead of safely on the ground. His stomach had been churning in anticipation ever since Jason had booked the tickets and the sickly feeling was only worse now. He popped the valium that Jim pilfered from his mother and hoped the effects would start before he lost all self control.
Jesus, the idea of flying had been almost enough on its own to stop him from booking these tickets when he should have done. Luckily for Daryl the Valium worked its magic and he managed to spend most of the flight squished between two complete strangers and fast asleep.
When he finally got past the sullen woman who gave him hell at immigration control he could finally enjoy the feeling of the ground firmly under his boots. He'd only packed hand luggage so he quickly made his way outside to breath in a lungful of crisp English air. Instead of finding refreshment and relief suddenly the real panic set in. Apparently his fear of flying was just a distraction from the nerves he had at seeing Kate again. Plus it was absolutely fucking freezing.
Daryl pulled his leather jacket around himself and shuddered. He didn't think it would be hot but there was actual ice on the ground and when he exhaled the stream of air puffed from his lips like dragon's breath.
Brrr.
He stood rooted to the icy spot as his stomach churned with nerves and self doubt. He couldn't escape the heart racing feeling that he was too late and he'd already fucked everything up by taking so long.
Daryl began to wonder if this whole plan was a stupid idea. Turning up without even calling. What if she didn't want to see him? What if she didn't love him anymore? Seven months was a very long time. Why had he left it so long?
For months he'd been putting off doing what he needed to do. But it was all excuses. He hadn't had money to spend on the tickets. He hadn't had time when he was working a full time job at the museum and pretty much a full time job at the farm. More than anything he knew if he went to see her and she said 'no' then it would really be over. The finality of that scared the shit out of him.
He spent the day wandering around Manchester while he worked up the courage to catch the bus over to Kate's house. It was so weird being in a place with so many people yet not once hearing the the familiar twang of a single southern accent. It made him homesick and it hadn't even been 24 hours. He hadn't even gone for fish and chips like Jason had insisted he should, he'd ended up in McDonalds ordering a Big Mac to make himself feel more at ease.
Monday morning had quickly rolled into afternoon and as it turned into evening he could no longer reason with himself that she would be at work. It was time to do what he had come to do, no matter how nervous he was. Or in other words how much he was fucking shitting himself.
He sat at the top of the double decker bus that the lady in the little information office had told him to catch and he watched the world roll by. Houses, schools, shops, road signs, roads, it was all so different. Seeing the narrow roads and roundabouts that the bus careened through made him glad he hadn't rented a car. Driving on the wrong side of the road would have probably been the least of his worries.
It was almost seven and darkness had long since set in. The streetlights were all lit and the moon was full and yellow in the sky. The layer of snow that had fallen earlier in the day had been trampled into slush, then refrozen into a bumpy ice rink that made walking almost impossible. Daryl found he liked concentrating on every slippery footstep, it helped distract him from the fact that he was only minutes away from Kate's house. Then the snow started to fall once more. The soft powder added a layer of grip to the ice and topped up the dusting of snow that was set on every fence post, rooftop and cars that hadn't been moved in several days. It was pretty, even if the cold was making the tops of his ears and the tip of his nose burn.
The street where Kate lived was a long line of three story red brick terrace houses. Most of the small gardens out front had been turned into driveways but despite that the pavement was still crammed with the types of cars that told him this was a nice place to live.
He read the numbers on the doors all the way until he found number 35. His stomach churned into knots. There was light shining through the bay window and through the slatted white blinds he saw her. Kate was right there. Her hair was tumbling in unruly waves around her shoulders and he could just make out the smile on her face as she stared at the stack of paper in her hands. She looked off to the side and threw the paper down before disappearing from view.
His heart was in his throat, his whole body was racing. She was home and he was going to really see her, not a sneak peak but eye to eye, so close that he could reach out and touch her.
He ducked under the porch light that hung from a chain in the brick entryway that housed her front door and enough space for a person to stand while they found their keys. He dithered, taking in every inch of the stained glass panels that gave a multicolored glimpse of her hallway.
Fucking hell, his hand rose and fell as he tried to muster up some courage to knock. His eyes fell to the old cast iron boot scraper embedded in the stone step and the long black umbrella resting in the corner. He could leave and she would never know he had stood here or he could knock and potentially open up a huge can of worms. Before he could talk himself out of it his hand wrapped around the door knocker that was held in the brass lions head. He knocked with three loud clangs.
His whole body was tingling with a strange mix of anticipation and dread as the sounds of footfalls clambering behind the door grew louder before it swung open letting out a blast of hot air and the smell of wood burning on a fire.
Daryl's eyes met with steel grey instead of the soft brown ones he'd been hoping for. Fuck. Bax stood with his grey shirt buttoned down and a glass of wine in one hand. He looked at ease, at home in Kate's life.
"It's not the Chinese," Bax looked him up and down with a disapproving frown. "Its an American."
"It's a what?" the sound of Kate's voice dragged him from the shock of seeing Dr Asshole Templeton standing in her doorway. He looked past the other man to see her hands clutched to a pile of plates as she walked along the black and white tiled floor of her hallway.
When she saw him her mouth fell open, her big brown eyes grew wide and the plates slipped from her grasp. Even the smashing of the plates on the tiles didn't disturb the hypnotic stare she had trained on him. She looked even more beautiful in the flesh than he remembered. The plum sweater she wore was tucked into a little black skater skirt and her legs were wrapped in black tights finished off with chunky black ankle boots.
"The Jag is in its usual spot. I promise I'm not breaking any parking violations," Bax goaded him, referencing their first encounter back in Atlanta, but Daryl didn't have the wits to say a single word. It was over. He'd waited too long and now he'd been replaced. His heart managed to find another place to break and the pain was instantaneous. He could barely breath, it was a mistake to come here. He had to get away.
/
Holy fucking shit. Surprise seemed a mild word to describe how Kate felt.
Bax slammed the door shut and turned to face Kate, his eyes soft with worry. "You okay chum?"
"Not really." She couldn't decided what was keeping her standing dumbfounded. The shock at seeing Daryl or the disappointment at watching him walking away without saying a single word.
"Whats going on?" Lauren poked her head out of the living room door, her gaze landing on the pile of the broken plates before it flicked to Kate.
She didn't have time to explain things, she stepped over the plates and was about to brush past Bax when he held her arm. "You're going to chase him?"
"I don't really have much choice."
"He just walked away from you Chum and he never called you back when he had the opportunity."
She'd confessed all to Bax many months ago over a bottle of wine when he had come over to her new house one night with every intention of seducing her. Bax was the kind of man that had every intention of seducing everyone and herself and Lauren were the only women on the History faculty that could stand the heartbreaking playboy.
Bax's words stung the old wound that still hadn't healed. Daryl had never returned any of the voicemails or texts that had left her feeling completely stupid but he was here and she at least needed to see why. She had enough regrets when it came to that man she didn't want to add one more.
Bax didn't stop her walking out of the house but the vague look of pity on his face made her stomach tighten with doubt.
She stepped outside,hovering on the doorstep as her gaze followed Daryl's tracks in the snow only to see him stomping back towards her house with a determined look on his face.
She wrapped her arms around herself, bracing for the confrontation she could feel itching on the end of her tongue and crackling through the night sky. She walked down the short path that led to the pavement and waited for him.
Daryl didn't slow his pace as he threw his backpack to the ground, clamped his hands about her arms and pulled her lips to meet his. The familiar smell enveloped sandalwood, leather, smoke, home. She sagged weakly against him, letting his tongue in to brush against hers taking her breath away. She was lost, the warmth of Daryl was curling heat from her stomach along every limb and suddenly she remembered waiting for the call that never came and the heat turned to frost as she pushed him away.
"You don't get to kiss me like that," she pointed her finger in his face, trying to ignore the part of her the wanted to surrender without a single word.
"If Bax wants ya, he's gonna have to goddamn fight for it."
"Don't be such a bloody neanderthal. This has nothing to do with Bax and everything to do with you, Daryl Dixon. You had your chance to return my messages and you didn't. Yes, I walked away and it was a shitty thing to do but at least I tried to make it right."
/
"Ya called me?" he would have bet a million bucks that Kate's stubborn ass wouldn't call him once she'd made her mind up about leaving. God, he was a fucking idiot. He wanted to smack himself in the head he was so fucking stupid, seven fucking months.
She had her arms about her chest and that wild fighting look on her face but beyond the fight he could see the hurt. "What did ya say?"
"I said I made a mistake," her eyes went soft for a moment before she glared, "but maybe I didn't!"
"Ya did make a goddamn mistake, runnin' away like ya did. I've never been so damn upset in my entire life," he held her shoulders, running his hands along the tops of her arms. "I fucked up. I broke my damn phone when ya told me not to contact me again. I was so mad at ya for leavin' an' mad that I couldn't chase after ya like I wanted to."
Kate ran her hands through her hair and shifted from foot to foot, "why did you come here tonight?"
"I think ya know." His eyes flicked to the window of Kate's house where Bax was peering through the blind rather than coming outside and facing him like a man. One part of his brain knew he had no right to be mad about Kate being with Bax. Even if it had only been a couple of meaningless kisses, he'd kissed Cassie. But the other part of his brain was crazy with jealousy and didn't care how unreasonable that was. "Are ya really with that asshole? I mean Jesus Christ, I could snap him like a damn twig."
"No, he's a colleague," Kate snapped, pulling out of his arms, "even if I was with him it would be none of your business. What makes you think you can just walk into my life throwing accusations around?"
"Because you're mine, Kate, ever since I first laid my eyes on ya."
She bit her lip, holding her words like she always did. He was having to fight for her alright, except he wasn't having to fight Bax, Bax would have probably been easier. Even if she was standing hard and unyielding she was still trembling as the night air bit through her thin sweater. He shrugged off his leather jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders before tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, letting his thumb caress the line of her jaw. It was like heaven to be this close to her again, breathing in her perfume and touching her soft skin.
"I fucked up. I should have chased after ya sooner. I tried to get over ya but I can't. I never will. You're the one for me. God, I never knew how lonely I could be, how empty, it was never like that before." Cassie had helped replace the Irma shaped hole in his life but she couldn't ever replace the cavern that Kate had blasted open before running away and leaving him hollowed out and empty. "Say somethin', yer killin' me 'ere."
Her eyes fell to the backpack he had thrown down in the snow. "It's getting late. Where were you planning on spending the night?"
Daryl swallowed hard, biting back the frustrated grunt as his gaze flicked towards her house then back to the questioning look that she had etched all over her face.
"That's a little presumptive don't you think?"
"I guess."
Kate wrapped the jacket around herself, her nose pressed into the collar for the briefest of moments before she turned on her heel and silently led the way back to her house. He hesitated on the path before she looked over her shoulder and told him, "you better come in then."