A/N My deepest apologies for the wait. The first part of this chapter is a flashback, to give you some background on Daryl and Michonne's friendship and how he came to care for her like he does now. It's a mix between season 4 and 5.

Flashback

Daryl went outside to smoke a cigarette. Once he took another puff Michonne suddenly came across his mind. For some time after she arrived at the prison she went out on supply runs often, helped out around the garden, or did what was necessary to keep the gate up around the prison. Then Rick started spending more time with her all of the sudden. Since then Daryl noticed her priorities were starting to shift. Everything she did Rick always involved himself.

Supply runs and whatever free time they had not involving upkeep for the prison were the times Daryl and Michonne spent time building their friendship, before Rick came into the picture, which frustrated him. Whenever he asked her to go out on a run with him she would always say she's busy with other tasks, he knew she was just gonna spend her time having sex with Rick. The way he would touch her gave Daryl a sign he was just after something else, not love. He gave her the benefit of the doubt that she would find her way back but was losing hope as the days went by.

Earlier in the day Daryl gathered up a few group members to go search an abandoned supermarket for supplies. When the time came to leave he noticed Michonne wasn't here, considering she said she would go and he told her what time to be here.

"Anyone seen Michonne?"

"I saw her earlier, going down to the boiler room. Rick was with her" Tyreese answered. A frustrated Daryl went downstairs to go look for her. Coming across a closed door he heard noises coming from behind it.

He knocked on the door "Michonne, come on we have leave"

"Ahh, I'm getting closer" He heard pounding noises and her intense moaning.

He knocked again with more aggression "Michonne!"

"I'll...be out in a minute" Rick was pissed he couldn't get Michonne or himself off in time. When she came out of the boiler room Daryl saw her drenched in sweat and out of breath. She avoided eye contact with him. Rick put his pants on and came out too.

"Don't keep her out too long" Rick said. Daryl glared at him, completely disgusted.

Daryl went out to the car and checked the oil. A couple minutes later Michonne approached him, not knowing what to say. He looked up at her for a quick sec then focused back on the engine.

"We're about a quarter low" He said.

"Is it still in tower three?"

"Yeah"

"I'll go get one" She walked away

"Hey, I'm glad your coming" She turned around, giving him a little smile.

"Where else would I be?" He wiped his hands off.

"...The boiler room" Her smile went cold, feeling offended.

"What are you trying to say" He wanted to say that Rick and hers relationship isn't real but didn't want to spoil the chance of her finally coming along on a run. They caught eyes for a brief minute then he closed the hood. She leaned against the window.

"He doesn't run my life you know"

"I know" He walked away. There was a lot of things he wanted to say to her but now wasn't the right time. She couldn't figure out why he acted so distant, but knew her actions had something to do with it.

The group members scavenged through the supermarket, looking for anything edible or useful. After carefully searching for half an hour Daryl went to check on the others. Coming across the fourth isle he seen Michonne hunched over the cart with her head down.

"Hey" He lightly tapped her on the shoulder "Did you find anything?"

"Yeah" He looked through her cart and saw a variety of canned food and water bottles. He spotted the box of lube and condoms but didn't want to argue over it. For the rest of the time they were at the market it seemed like Daryl and Michonne were connecting with each other like they use too.

Later that night Daryl lied in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He tried to block out the noises coming from the other cell but Michonne's moans were ringing through his ears; a mix between pain and pleasure. After an hour the noises stopped. He went to the kitchen and saw Michonne leaned against the wall, sweating and breathing hard; this wasn't the first time he saw her like that.

"Take this" He handed her his red cloth and a bottle of water. He sat next to her, preparing to take a risk of letting her know what was on his mind.

"You must like feeling like this" He said. She leaned her head back.

"Feeling like what?"

"Used up" She turned her head in his direction.

"If your gonna take shots at me just leave" She wiped her face off more.

"Relax I'm just trying to talk to you, since this is the only time I see you anymore"

She signed "Just because I spend time with Rick doesn't mean your any less important to me" He didn't want to sound harsh but he had to say what was on his mind.

"Three days ago, I asked you to help me seal off one part of the tombs. You said Rick needed you to fend some walkers off the fences. When I went outside I saw both of you in the suv. Guess sex with Rick means more to you than our friendship" Things got quiet between them. She didn't want to admit he was right about certain things. Both Rick and Daryl were important to her. Still, she didn't understand why he cared so much about what she did. Then the thought hit her.

"Do you have feelings for me?" She asked. Before he could answer the train of blood running down her leg stopped him.

"Come on, you need to wash off"

"I'm fine" He reached his hand out which she surprisingly took. He walked with her to the shower.

"I'll wait out here" He said. She nodded. As she washed herself off he kept thinking about what was happening to him. He never cared this much about a woman, let alone tell someone how he feels on a personal level. If his brother were still alive seeing him like this he would call him a suck up, but Daryl didn't care what anyone else thought. After drying off she met up with him at the entrance. They couldn't stop looking at each other.

"Can we hang out tomorrow?" He asked. She smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah" She gave him a kiss on the cheek

"You're still my best friend" She said in his ear. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling his facial hair brush against her neck. He slowly hugged her back, gently rubbing her back. He wasn't use to showing affection, but his chest felt warm. He didn't want to let go of her. When she heard Rick call her name she let go of him and went back to his cell. He rolled his eyes and sat outside to enjoy the night air.

XXX

Father Gabriel and Michonne were sitting on the stairs outside the church talking when she heard rustling coming from the woods. As she approached the noise closer it was dark and she couldn't see anything which makes her heart beat faster. Gripping on her sword tighter, ready to attack Daryl emerges from the trees. She signs in relief and gave him a little smile, which quickly fades.

"You alright?" Daryl asked. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"I thought you died" She walked closer to him, still in disbelief. They both wrapped their arms around each other. For him this was too close of a call so he wanted to take this chance to let her know how he felt. He lifted her chin up and planted a kiss on her lips, slowly pulling back. Her heart beats suddenly became deeper, like a chest being unlocked. She slowly inch her lips closer to his but pulled back, her heart said yes but her mind said no. When their lips touched again she quickly backed away from him, feeling her heart race with sweat dripping down her forehead. She was committed to Rick, but couldn't deny that something was there between them.

"Michonne, come here" She heard Rick's voice in the distance and shook her head no to Daryl, quickly walking back to the church. Rick noticed something was up with her.

"What's wrong, you feel hot" Rick touched her face.

"I'm fine, I just wanna lay down"

Daryl approached the church and saw Michonne hugging Rick against the wall.

"I love you" Rick said, kissing her on the side of the neck. Both Daryl and Michonne locked eyes with each other.

"I love you too" She kissed Rick on the cheek, moving to his lips. Daryl walked away feeling alone. At this moment, She knows he has feelings for her; the cards were in her hands now.

XXX

Present Day

Michonne and Daryl were sitting outside on the porch swing, to enjoy their time before work. Things between the two of them have been a little distant because of the incident that happened yesterday. After thinking about the things that were said Michonne realized she was wrong.

"I'm sorry for yesterday" She relaxed her head on his shoulder.

"I don't want you to feel like you have use your body to make me happy. A relationship doesn't always revolve around sex. I want us to connect mentally too" He put his arm around her.

"I think we should hold off on the sex for a while, until I know you're ready" She looked up at him. This is a drastic change. She's use to having sex around the clock, and for them to suddenly stop. She wasn't sure how this would affect her but was willing to give it a try for their relationship.

"Alright I'll try"

"Thank you" He kissed her on the forehead. She planted a kiss on his lips, not pulling back. Once they became more passionate he noticed she pulled back and let go of his hand.

"What's wrong?" He rolled his eyes when he saw Rick coming up the porch.

"You stood me up yesterday, where were you?" Rick asked. Daryl grew frustrated at her for shutting down again.

"Can we do this later"

"No, me and you are gonna talk now" When he grabbed her hand she stood up and forcefully pulled back.

"Don't put your hands on me again" She said. When Rick moved in closer to her Daryl broke the space between them.

"Leave" Rick turned his attention to Daryl.

"This is between me and her" Daryl stepped closer to Rick. Things between the three of them got quiet.

"Daryl" Someone called. He looked past Rick and saw Aaron standing there.

"We have to leave early, Deanna's orders" Daryl looked at Michonne and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her on the lips.

"I'll be home later tonight" That's all he said before leaving with Aaron.

Rick and Michonne took a walk through the woods to find a secluded place. Seeing an abandoned car she sat on the front hood, crossing her arms. They were staring at each other, staying silent until someone talked first.

"I've heard your dating someone" Rick said.

"Where'd you hear that from?"

"Don't worry about it. Who is it? It better not be Daryl, cause me and you both know that's not what you want"

"Well i am dating Daryl" Rick walked closer to her.

"So you quit your job without telling me and now i find out your dating Daryl" She pushed him away.

"I don't have to tell you anything. My business isn't yours anymore. You wanted Jessie now you got her, so go and be with your girl"

"I am with my girl, she's right infront of me"

"Shut up Rick you're full of it"

"Oh I'm full of it. I'm not the one settling for less" She cocked her eyebrow.

"Daryl's a better man for me and you know it"

"Truth is you don't know what you want. Me and you have chemistry together, Daryl can't take that from us"

She signed "Doesn't matter anymore"

"He can barley satisfy you let alone feed you. You can eat rats all you want, don't come to me begging for food"

"I don't need you for anything, I can take care of myself"

"You need me just as much I need you. I've always taken care of you, your still alive because of me" She turned her head to him, completely pissed.

"You can't be serious. The only you've done was use me to your advantage, and that was when I first arrived at the prison. You were ready to send me out on my ass after I helped you save Maggie and Glenn, but I know now why you've kept me around this long. What about when I twisted my foot were you there in my cell trying to take care of me? No, Beth was. You didn't even bother to come check up on me. The whole time I've been around I always been the one taking care of you whether it was sex, your kids, going out on supply runs, and supporting you, physically and emotionally. Even when we had no food I always gave up what we had just so you and your kids could eat. I practically went hungry for you, only to get nothing in return but a fuck and a pat on the shoulder" She paused "You never done anything for me, only for yourself"

"So that's it huh...you're giving up on our family, giving up everything we have together"

"No, I'm giving up on you. I exerted all my energy into you. I'm done" They glared at each other. She wanted to walk away but couldn't, he needed to hear something else that bothered her.

"I realized something, the way you lured me into your bed i did the same to Daryl, and that's not me. I lost myself for a while, until he brought me back. Daryl's the one I want to love, we tried but you chose the other woman instead of me. What you don't know is Daryl took care of me emotionally whenever you weren't around" Rick signed, he had enough of listening to her. Anger took over.

"You think people care about you but they fear you. In the end I was the only friend you had. I wanted you to be apart of my alliance with Carol, but I know now you'll just bring us down. When Alexandria falls you'll go down with them. You chose this. I'm not your friend, your partner, or your lover. You're nothing but a slut to me. Don't expect me to come save you anymore, cause you're not worth it anymore" He walked away.

Michonne felt the wind being knocked out of her chest. They were just words but his still cut deep. She had to come to the realization that there friendship was over. On the walk back to Alexandria Michonne eyes kept watering, she just wanted Daryl to wrap his arms around her to take away the hurt. Carl saw Michonne and tried to talk to her.

"Hey Michonne are you..." When she walked past him he could see the tears rolling down her cheeks. He knew his dad said something to her again. If she's hurting he was too. She sat in the back of the van, putting her head against the door.

"What's wrong?" Glenn asked. She shook her head and more tears starting falling down her face.

"Need a drink?" Abraham said, taking a sip of whiskey. When she grabbed the bottle Glenn shook his head no, to remind her not to go back down that road.

"Maybe you should stay here" Maggie said.

"No I'm going, let's get out of here..." She finally broke down. Maggie wrapped her arms around Michonne. Glenn's heart sank to his stomach, seeing her this upset. Glenn and Maggie looked at each other, not knowing what else they could do.

XXX

Rick put Judith to sleep when heard a knock on the door. Looking through the hole he seen Jessie, who had a black eye and a few bundled up papers in her hand; they were the drawings of Alexandria's walls. They went to the bedroom where he put an ice pack over her eye.

"What happened?" He fixed the cover on the bed.

"Pete hit me when I asked him for a divorce"

Rick stood there and looked at her. He didn't expect things to go this far or for her to catch feelings so quickly. This wasn't apart of the plan. He had the maps already but couldn't understand why he still cares for this woman. He has more feelings for Michonne then Jessie. She walked up to him.

"I appreciate you more than I do my own husband. I'm hoping he'll finalize the divorce soon, because" She paused.

"Because what?" He asked.

"I wanna be with you" She looked up at him then put her head down. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I won't let him hurt you again, I promise" They embraced each other and shared a kiss.

Daryl wasn't home yet so Michonne took a shower and went to bed. A few hours later the bedroom door creaked open.

"Michonne, are you awake?" She didn't respond. The man tip toed over to her bed and carefully unbuttoned her shirt halfway. He lightly squeezed her breast while gently pinching her hard nub with his teeth. Michonne immediately jolted up after feeling a sharp tugging pain. She saw her a few of her buttons undone and her nub sticking out. Looking around there was no one in the room, the door was closed and the windows were shut.

"Daryl" She called out, but with no answer. She for up and grabbed her sword off the wall, quickly pulling it out of the scabbard. Walking down the hallway she looked around for any signs of a burglary, but came up with nothing. When she heard the front door open she hid behind the wall. Jumping from behind and holding her sword taunts she was relieved to see Daryl.

"Woah, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothin, just forgot you worked late"

"Come on, let's go to bed" He gave her a kiss to calm her down and went upstairs. She took one last look around the downstairs area for any signs. She decided to keep the experience to herself, thinking she was just delusional from lack of sleep