DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of The Walking Dead. This is for entertainment purposes only.

A/N: I've decided to stick the long note at the end of this chapter to explain some things. Stuff and thangs. Yeah…

Out of Time.

Skyler stood staring at the door, contemplating her next move. Of course she wanted to see Daryl but there was a nagging part of her that screamed she would regret it either way. She didn't want to see him like this but this was the last time she would see him alive.

Before she knew it her feet were shuffling toward the door and her hand was reaching for the door knob. She took a deep breath once her hand rested on the cold metal. Leah had joined her side in no time, a look of determination etched on her face, her eyes red from crying. Skyler wished that Leah didn't have to go through this because she had been through enough as it was.

And things were only going to be worse once they entered that room.

Skyler opened the door and allowed Leah to enter first. She stepped in and shut the door behind her as she bit her lip and tried not to cry. She wanted to stay strong for Leah but she also wanted to stay strong for Daryl. In some silly way, she knew he was probably worried about them and Skyler wanted him to know—to see that things would eventually be okay. It would be a long time though.

Daryl was now sitting on the floor with his back propped up against the bed looking over in their direction. It was like he had just returned from Woodbury all over again. Only this time things were so much different.

"Hey," Skyler forced a shaky smile. She noticed Leah stopped just inside the room like she was afraid to approach him. She knew that wasn't the case—Leah was just afraid of losing him.

Skyler led the way over towards Daryl and sat beside him while Leah took his other side, immediately wrapping her arms around him. There were so many things she wanted to say to Daryl that her mind was flooded, unable to pull one thought free from another. She wanted to thank him for everything first off. She wanted to thank him for coming into her sister's life and changing her for the better, for providing Leah with a father figure. But she didn't want to bring any of that up because 1) she wasn't sure she could even say it without sobbing inconsolably and 2) she didn't want to upset Daryl or Leah any further than what they already were.

Since Skyler had sat down beside Daryl, she had resituated herself to sit facing him. She had decided to stay quiet for the time being, knowing that Daryl probably had a good idea of why she was and that it was nothing against him. Daryl was starting to fade in and out the longer they sat there. The fever on top of his injuries was starting to take a toll on him. Skyler lightly grabbed his face and leaned forward, kissing him on the lips. When she leaned back she noticed he had his eyes opened once again and was staring back at her.

"I love you—both of us love you," Skyler bit her lip as she locked eyes with him.

"You have shitty taste in men…" Daryl smirked.

Skyler choked out a laugh and wiped at her eyes. Daryl would try to make this easier by cracking jokes but it didn't erase the fact that this was the last time they would see each other.

Leah moved closer to him and hugged him again, only this time crying into the side of his neck. Skyler could tell that she was hugging him pretty hard, Daryl grimacing in pain for just a brief moment before he hugged her back.

"You know what?" Daryl began, making Leah back up a bit to look at him. He placed his hand on the side of her face and wiped away a tear with his thumb. "You're beautiful. Just like your momma." He moved his hand to the back of her neck and kissed her on her forehead. His words only made Leah cry that much more though, Skyler fighting back tears of her own.

"Don't die—please don't die," Leah cried. "You can't—please…"

Daryl didn't say anything in return as he tried to look away. Skyler could see tears in his eyes which in turn made her cry.

Skyler wiped her face before she leaned in toward Daryl again, this time kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you," she finally found her voice before she made herself get back on her feet. She didn't want to leave and she knew Leah didn't either. They had no choice. Even though Skyler knew nothing about walker bites and what really happened during that whole process, she could tell Daryl was in pain—physically and emotionally. She could tell that he was trying to hide it but there was only so much he could do. He was already looking a bit pale.

Leah quickly kissed Daryl on the lips before hugging him again, crying all the while. "I love you," she whispered into his neck.

"I love you too," Daryl whispered back.

Leah leaned back on her knees and bit her lip before she climbed back onto her feet. She made to turn and leave with Skyler at that moment, having said all that she could. But she stopped when Daryl called out to her.

"Leah," Daryl got back on his feet and forced a smile. He shrugged his vest off before walking over towards the two of them. He threw the vest over her shoulders as she slid her arms into the arm holes. He took a step back and smiled, "Looks good on ya."

Leah hugged Daryl one last time before she eventually left the room with Skyler. And once they stepped outside, everyone was staring at them—Merle included. It didn't help seeing that Merle was holding a pistol before he tucked it into his waistband and locked eyes with Skyler again. Only this time Skyler was the one providing him with the tiniest of nods as she watched Merle walk back into the room.

Daryl was actually pretty shocked how fast the virus seemed to be spreading and taking a toll on him. His entire body ached down to the bone. The more time passed, the more pain he felt. His chest felt tight but he wasn't sure if that was from his emotions trying to get the best of him or solely the virus itself. Either way, it was making it harder for him to breathe.

So this was what Jim felt back at the quarry. They had tried to get him to the CDC in hope for a cure but ended up leaving him to die beside a tree. It didn't seem right. And Elena… She had been bit because of his own careless mistake of leaving her by herself. Just those couple minutes and everything had gone to shit. He only hoped she didn't feel any pain other than the physical bite since Merle had told him that he did what he had to do.

Daryl pinched the bridge of his nose as he drug his feet back to where he was sitting on the floor and sat back down. He rested the back of his head on the edge of the bed and sighed. He didn't want to drag this out. He was bit and he was going to die, that was final. He said his good-byes to those who mattered most—something he really didn't even want to do in the first place. He didn't know what to say and he sure as hell had no clue what to do. But he knew they needed it. He had no idea things would take a turn this fast though.

The sound of the door opening and closing once again had Daryl sitting back up straight, cringing at just that slight movement. He had to blink a few times before Merle came into focus. Even though they hadn't discussed it, Daryl had a pretty good idea of why Merle came back into the room.

"I can do it. Then you don't hafta…" Daryl muttered.

Merle stooped down in front of him then, staring him back in the eyes. He let the silence stretch out for a minute before sighing and dropping his gaze, "You know I love ya, right?"

Daryl stared back at him through half closed eyes and gave him a weak nod. Of course they had been through so much shit when they were younger, the constant battles and arguments, their old man, the drugs. But Daryl still knew that deep down Merle really did truly care. They were alike in so many ways when he thought about it. Daryl practically whispered in return, closing his eyes, "Yeah, I know."

"That—that's why I'm doing this. 'Cause you shouldn't have to nor should anyone else. 'Cause you're my brother and I love you."

Daryl reopened his eyes for a brief moment, looking Merle in the face one last time. He could tell that Merle was about to cry and dammit if that didn't hurt just as much as seeing Leah and Skyler—if not more. Daryl quickly rubbed at his eyes the best he could, refusing to let any tears fall. "…You too."

Merle pulled the gun from his waistband and set it on the floor next to him, both of their eyes set on the metal contraption. Daryl could tell that Merle didn't want to go through with this. But he also knew that Merle would want to be the one to do it—not Rick, nobody else. It had to be Merle because he wouldn't even allow Daryl to do it himself.

Merle looked back to Daryl, tears still threatening to flow over. He didn't even bother to try and wipe them away. Merle promised he would protect Leah and Skyler. That was Daryl's concern—and really, it was his only concern. He knew Merle would keep his word. And with that knowledge, Daryl stared down at the gun then back to him before slowly nodding and closing his eyes. Daryl could hear Merle cock the pistol and before he knew it, he could feel the presence of the gun lingering by the side of his head.

"Merle told us that… Dixons aren't made for saying good-byes. Told us that we should just let the three of you go on," Rick briefly explained to Skyler. "We would have said our… good-byes to him but we also wanted to respect any… last wishes as well."

Skyler nodded to let Rick know that she understood even though his words pained her. All the talk about 'good-byes' and 'last wishes'…

The rest of the group was still there, standing around close by, heads bowed down and quiet. From the moment Skyler and Leah set foot outside, Carl had wrapped Leah up into a hug and that was where she stayed. Rick and Lori came to Skyler's aid but Skyler was still keeping herself together. She was stuck somewhere between knowing everything that was happening was real, all of it feeling real, yet at the same time… it didn't.

"If we would have kept a closer eye on him—if I would have kept a closer eye on him—" Rick began, running a hand through his unkempt hair.

Skyler shook her head. Rick couldn't blame himself and that was the last thing she wanted was for him to start feeling guilty. They were all guilty—especially Skyler. She should have known better. She should have put her foot down and fought Daryl to make him stay in that room in the first place before Woodbury decided to attack again. Sure she could have laid some harsh words on him, maybe even physically pushed him back, but that pain would never have amounted to what everyone was going through now.

Just as Skyler was about to say something in response to Rick, she was cut short by the sound of a gunshot. She froze in that moment, her brain failing to register what exactly that meant, trying to think of anything else but that.

But she started to cry again. Only this time she didn't hold back. If it wasn't for Rick and Lori suddenly grabbing her by the arms and keeping her on her feet, she would have collapsed to the cold hard ground beneath her. She barely registered Lori pulling her into a tight hug as they cried together.

Leah hugged Carl as tight as she possibly could, his shirt now stained with her tears that kept streaming down her face and some of Daryl's blood that had been transferred from his vest—the vest that was now hers. There wasn't one person who had a dry face after that gunshot rang out.

Skyler just vaguely noticed Merle exiting from the room now as he shut the door behind him. Even from this distance she could see that his eyes were bloodshot from crying. He did it—Merle had shot Daryl. It was as if nothing else in the world was there in that moment; just a group of people grieving over the loss of someone dear to them—a brother, a father, a friend. Daryl was gone, just like that.

Skyler let go of Lori and backed up a bit, getting her footing. She stared at Merle before she began to walk over to him, catching his eye. And he was staring back at her now just before she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, not letting go. She half buried her face into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her in return. They may not have known one another but that didn't matter. He was technically family and Skyler knew that no matter how tough a Dixon could be, he needed that reassurance. Because good-byes were never easy.

A/N: Firstly, I do want to explain that I am very well aware that it may not be believable that Daryl got bit simply because he was "too weak". I never clarified but it could be possible that he was bit when he was in Woodbury, therefore he wouldn't have been able to avoid it having been trapped in that room. The other possibility was that he could have been bit while trying to fight off the walker bomb. Either way, whichever one you wish to go with could technically be plausible. Daryl is not an invincible character and I do agree that he should go out with a bang. But I had it planned this way all along and this was the only way I saw suitable for an ending to this story.

That being said, the title is "Adieu". By my understanding, it is French for "good-bye" and perhaps a more permanent meaning of the word. Not "I'll see you later" but good-bye. I wanted to end this story the same way I started it. Elena and Daryl both die due to a walker bite and they were both bit on their shoulder. Interpret that how you will.

Now that I feel like this note is becoming a short story in itself… I just wanted to say thank you for all of you who took the time to follow and read every chapter, especially those of you who reviewed along the way. I appreciate the favorites just as much. I appreciate all of it and you guys are the best. This turned out to be longer than I really ever expected it to be (100,000+ words coming from me?—Holy shit.) and to be honest, I'm not that overly thrilled with how it turned out overall. Some parts feel rushed to me while other parts could have used some speeding up, etc. Then I always feel like I'm forgetting something. But I guess I'm just a nitpicky person.

I guess you could say I kind of left this a little open ended. I didn't resolve the conflict with Woodbury. It's kind of up to your imagination to fill in the rest. Whatever happens past the events in this story, Woodbury is the one who ends up in shambles. Nobody else is dying from Rick's group. (I suck at endings.) I guess I could make a sequel, though I have no idea where I would really go with it. I'm going to miss my OCs.

I apologize for the long note and again, thank you so much!

xoxo