This chapter is microscopic and I'm sorry for that. I hope you like it anyway! Thanks a ton for giving this little story a shot. Now I have a ridiculously long one shot that I wrote for a sick Shelly and then it's back to working on multi chapter stories to post. I'll be around though, lurking somewhere. lol. Have a good weekend!

Chapter Four

For the first time in longer than he could remember Daryl was slow to wake up. The room was dark but only because the windows were covered with heavy drapes. Shadows dominated but he could make out the outline of a slender shoulder. Carol had rolled over sometime in the night and her ass was pressed firmly against his groin. Memories from the night before came flooding back, causing his pulse to quicken.

He grudgingly moved away from her slightly, reaching for the bottle of water that he'd left on the floor next to the mattress. He had drained half of it, not realizing that he was parched until he had taken his first drink. He felt her shift and then his eyes slid down, meeting hers in the gloom. She blinked owlishly and then, as he waited with bated breath, she grinned. He capped the bottle and offered it to her without a word. He would be a liar if he tried to say that he wasn't relieved. He wasn't sure what the hell she would think once she woke up and realized that she was naked in bed with him after spending a good portion of the night going at it like a couple of oversexed teenagers.

She sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest with one hand and then drained the bottle. "Morning," she said brightly.

His eyebrows raised at that. He glanced at the windows and the sun that was glaring beyond the drapes, leaking into the room through the small tears in the material. "I think its closer to afternoon," he said and was surprised at the rough quality of his voice. He cleared his throat.

She followed his gaze and then shrugged lightly before dropping back down onto her back. "When do we leave?" She asked, her voice still sounding bright.

He followed suit, letting his back hit the mattress hard. If she wasn't going to freak out about what happened then he sure as hell wasn't. "Few days. We can take the road back and we'll likely find a car. Took us days to get here but it'll only take an hour or so to get back. Now that I know where the hell we are anyway."

"So we get to stay here for days?" She asked, turning her head so she was looking at him.

He nodded, folding his arms behind his head. "Yep. Few days of not wakin' up and runnin' sounds damn nice."

"What if one of them have found something? What if they think it would be better than this place?" She asked.

He looked at her then and saw the frown on her face. Shaking his head he shrugged lightly. "Then they can have whatever they found but I'm comin' back here. There's no way they could have found somethin' as secure as this place. I ain't givin' it up. This goddamn house is mine. They can take the big ugly building."

"Well, I wouldn't have a choice but to come back with you. It wouldn't be right to leave you alone out here," she said, her voice filled with mock torture.

He grinned, surprised that this felt so damn easy and he found himself not really caring much what the others planned on doing. If they found something else that they would rather try out then he'd wish them luck but the thought of none of them coming out here didn't bother him in the least. He didn't need them. The only one that he needed was her and this realization didn't cause a panic like he expected it to. It was simply a fact and he was okay with it. "Would be a damn shame."

"You'd be so bored. You'd probably lose your mind without my company."

He hummed his agreement and closed his eyes, reveling in the fact that he had the option to close his eyes at all. For so long the small luxury had been denied to all of them. Even when they slept, it was usually with one eye open. Too risky to let your guard down.

He felt her shift and cracked an eye open. She was reaching for her shirt, groping in the shadows, but he wasn't about to let that happen. He raised up, catching her around the waist and hauling her back down. She rolled over to face him, her eyes still bright even though they were narrowed on him. Before she could say a word his mouth was on hers and he was hauling her up until she was straddling his hips.

She pulled back slightly, meeting his eyes. The smile on her face softened and their eyes stayed locked like that for a few long moments, both conveying a thousand messages without opening their mouths.

He nodded slightly. "Yeah, me too," he whispered, his pulse thundering.

She bit her lip and for a few seconds looked as though she might cry but he wrapped an arm around her and rolled, pinning her beneath him. She pulled his face down and then she locked her arms around his neck.

This was one of the greatest things about being here with her. About her in general. Neither one of them had to open their mouths to convey their feelings. He didn't have to scream to the world that he loved her. It was enough that she knew and it was enough that he knew the same thing. It's what made them... them.

The kiss slipped from sweet to frantic quickly and he felt her smile against his lips, like she knew what he was thinking. Hell, she probably did.