Author's Note:

Lots of crossover related updates today! If you don't read PWF, I ask you from the bottom of my heart to give it a chance. Merle starts to grow on you after a while, I promise. Thank you, as always, for all the love. You guys are truly awesome.

-Nikki

Charlie

"You awake, girl?" I heard Daryl's low drawl in my ear.

I groaned curling up onto my side. I could feel the heat of his body against me and moved closer. "No." I mumbled, my eyes still shut."

He let out a low chuckle and I felt him sit up before his weight lifted off the bed completely. A shiver rippled over me, suddenly realizing how cold I was without Daryl right next to me and no blanket. "Almost forgot I told Glenn I'd take over watch later." He said.

I forced my eyes open, catching a glimpse of his bare chest before he was pulling his shirt back on and buttoning it into place. "Do you have to?" I asked sleepily, shutting my eyes again. Daryl tossed something onto the bed next to me and opened my eyes to see my shirt lying by my head. I narrowed my eyes at him and he gave me a smirk in response.

"Trust me, I want nothin' more than to lay around naked in bed with ya' all night, but Glenn will be pissed as hell if I don't show up to relieve 'em." His smirk grew as I sat up, his eyes lingering on me long enough to make me turn red.

I started to pull my clothes on, letting out a sigh. Daryl was leaning his shoulder up against the door, watching me. I perked an eyebrow at him as I stood up, shimmying back into my jeans. "Don't you know it's rude to stare?" I asked playfully.

His smirk grew and he was suddenly crossing the room, wrapping his arms around my waist. Before I could say another word, he had his lips pressed against mine. I sighed against his mouth as I leaned into him, breathing in his familiar musky scent. I felt his fingers sliding underneath the waistband of my jeans and forced myself to pull away. "You know, it's not really fair of you to ask me to put my clothes on and then go and kiss me like that." I said, giving him a small smile.

He smoothed back the hair and pressed his lips against my forehead before taking a step away, towards the door. "If ya' didn't take such a long time to put your clothes on, maybe I wouldn't be so tempted." He shot back.

I rolled my eyes as I pulled my boots on and combed my hair into a ponytail. I walked past him on my way out the door, stopping to brush my lips against his once more before we were heading back down the dimly lit corridor and back to the cellblock. It was quiet as we stopped at the metal steps that led down the first floor and to the main door.

I turned to look at Daryl, chewing my lower lip. "You sure you can't come back to bed with me?" I asked, giving him a coy smile as I stood on my tip toes to press my lips to the scruff of his chin.

I heard him let out a sigh as I pulled away. "Now who's the damn tease?" He murmured, and I could see his blue eyes glinting with amusement even in the darkness of the cellblock. I laughed, my arms locking around his waist as his fingers twisted around my ponytail. "Go on and get some more rest. I'll see ya' at breakfast."

I put on a mock look of disappointment for him before he was heading down the steps and through the lower corridor. I waited until his footsteps faded away before moving back into my own cell. I sank down on the bed, toeing out of my boots and trying not to think about how weird it was to finally be back in my own bed after the past couple of hours I had. It was bizarre, though, how everything looked exactly how I left. To anyone else, it looked like I'd never even left at all.

I laid down on the bed and pulled the covers over me. I realized how exhausted I still was when my head hit the pillow. I closed my eyes, letting myself think about how much better this would be if Daryl was next to me. I was out before I had even finished the thought.

I woke up early the next morning. I could tell by the shadows that filled the room that the sun hadn't fully risen. I sat up, though, my fingers gently probing the bruises on my face. I winced a little at the soreness, knowing it would be a few days before it healed completely. I suddenly thought about Gabe in the room next to mine, thinking about how weird it must have been for him to sleep here when he was so used to the life he had made for himself back at Woodbury. I forced myself out of my warm bed, changing into clean clothes and running my fingers through my hair before heading out into the hall.

I leaned inside the cell next door to see Gabe still huddled underneath a blanket, fast asleep. I stepped inside, sinking down on the bed next to his feet. He stirred beneath the blanket before lifting his head and squinting his eyes at me.

"Jesus, Charlie. Do you have to sit there like a creep?" He muttered.

I lifted my feet onto the bed, scooting back against the wall. "Chill out, I just got here."

"Still creepy." Gabe said, burying his face into the pillow.

"Sleep okay?" I ask him.

"For sleeping in a jail cell, yeah." He answered after a second. He finally sat up, stretching his arms over his head.

I frowned as I looked at him, taking in his dirty t-shirt. "I'll talk to Carol about getting you some new clothes. Or at least washing the ones you have."

"What are you trying to say?" He asked with both his eyebrows raised.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing. You don't smell if that's what you're asking. Yet." I gave him a grin as he rolled his eyes.

He swung his feet over the side of the bed, stifling a yawn. "Is there food here? I'm starving."

I scoffed at him. "Of course we have food. We live in a prison. Come on." I stood to my feet as Gabe pulled on his shoes. He tried unsuccessfully to flatten his dark hair with both his hands before giving up and following me down the stairs towards the common room.

We pushed open the door and stepped inside, looking around the room. It seemed everyone else was mostly awake, eating breakfast or talking together in small groups of two or three. Even Merle was there, sitting at a table with Hershel, Beth, and Carol while Harlow held baby Judith in her arms.

I heard Glenn suddenly calling my name over the loud chatter and looked across the room to see him seated with Maggie and Daryl. I tugged on Gabe's shirt sleeves, pulling him across the room with me. As we sat down, Daryl pushed two bowls of what looked like soggy oatmeal towards us. "Thought you'd both be hungry."

I smiled my thanks at him as Gabe didn't say a word, but began shoveling the food into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in year. I shook my head, but a small smile was on my lips as I turned to face the others. "So, what's going on?" I asked curiously. There had to be something happening. This felt more like a meeting than casual breakfast conversation.

Maggie and Glenn exchanged a look before he looked back at me. "Rick's gone again."

My face fell and I dropped my spoon back into the bowl. "What? But he was fine yesterday! He helped save our lives yesterday!" I exclaimed. The soreness of my jaw and the black and blue bruises around Glenn's eye was proof of that.

"That was yesterday. This is today." Daryl said quietly from next to me.

I sighed, shaking my head. "We really can't afford another crazy Rick episode right now. Not with the Governor out there still."

"We know." Maggie answered, sounding almost sad. I knew she was thinking something similar to what I was…that Rick had spent so much time being a strong, capable leader that it was strange to see him so broken down.

"Daryl and I were thinking that maybe it's time for Rick to step down as leader. Just for a little while. Until he gets his head back." Glenn added. He was looking at me carefully, looking for any signs of objection.

I glanced between him and Daryl. "I'm not gonna argue." I said quickly. "We need people who are in their right state of mind right now. All of our lives depend on that." I stole a quick look at my little brother who had finally finished his oatmeal and was pushing the bowl away. I took a small bite of mine, suddenly not feeling very hungry, though.

"I told ya' she wasn't gonna fight it." Daryl grumbled.

"Still wanted to ask, though." Glenn said to him.

Daryl looked back at me. "We're gonna try and get this place as ready as we can for an attack. See if we can't find any more weapons or supplies. Glenn and Maggie are gonna go out for a run. We were thinkin' you could walk the fence, see if there are any weak spots."

I straightened up in my chair. "I can go out on a run. If Glenn can go out, then I can too."

Daryl sighed, shaking his head. "Don't, Charlie. I ain't lettin' ya' go back out there. Not now."

"Why?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"'Cause." He said sharply. "I need ya' here. We gotta get this place ready. We all know he's comin', sooner or later. So go out and walk the fence. Take someone with ya, though. Harlow, maybe."

I glared at him a little, but he didn't waver. I finally let out a sigh of defeat, my shoulders sagging. "Fine. But when the time comes to fight, I'm gonna be out there. Not stuck in here. Okay?" I asked him quietly.

Daryl looked like he wanted to argue, his mouth set into a hard line before he suddenly seemed to think better and his face softened. "Fine. But for today, just do what I tell ya'. Please."

I nodded, although we both knew I wasn't happy. "Okay. What about Gabe, though?"

My brother looked up at us at the sound of his name.

"I'm gonna need his help with the front gate. Walkers are gettin' in too close, pressin' up against the fence. We gotta find a way to reinforce 'em." He said, nodding at Gabe.

"Just be careful." I sighed. I didn't like the idea of either of them getting too close to the walkers, but also knew it was no use trying to talk either of them out of it. They were both stubborn. Instead, I stood from my place at the table and headed across the room towards Harlow. She looked up at me as I got closer and gave me a small smile.

"And tell Merle I'll need him too!" Daryl called after me.

I gave him a wave over my shoulder to let him know I heard before slowing to a stop in front of the small table they were all sharing. I placed my hands on my hips, smiling a little at the way Merle was eyeing Harlow and the baby wearily. "One Merle is more than enough." I said, my smile turning into a full on grin as I caught the tail end of the conversation. I turned back to Harlow. "Any chance you're up for a walk? Daryl doesn't think I'm capable of doing anything besides checking the fences right now and I apparently can't even do that alone." I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes. I knew for a fact the only reason Daryl had me doing something even Carl could do alone was because he was worried.

Harlow's smile grew a little. "I don't mind. It'll be nice to get outside for a while actually."

Beth hopped from her side of the table and rushed to the other side to take Judith out of her hands. I watched as Beth took the bottle and smiled down at the tiny baby in her arms. "Daryl wants your help with something." I said, looking back at Merle. I'd almost forgotten the other Dixon had just seconds ago asked for his help. I wasn't surprised when all Merle did in response was grunt a little. How very Dixon of him.

"Dixons have such a way with words, don't you agree?" I suddenly asked Harlow, not being able to help myself.

She let out a laugh. "Ain't that the truth." I heard her say from behind me as we headed outside.

It was still early in the morning, but it was already hot. I blinked in the sudden brightness before using my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. "This shouldn't take too long. I think Daryl just feels better having me do what he considers the least dangerous job possible right now. Because he knows I sure as hell am not sitting inside all day." I said, shaking my head. Somewhere, deep inside me, I felt all warm and fuzzy about Daryl wanting to protect me and feeling worried about me. At the same time, though, I hated being babied. I just wanted to do my best to forget about what happened and move on as best I could.

Harlow shrugged her shoulders, following me as I headed down to the perimeter fence. "I don't mind. I'm just happy to get outside for a while."

I gave her a small smile. "Yeah, the prison definitely takes some getting used to." It took me weeks before I felt normal about sleeping in a jail cell. It was a bed after all, and it had four walls and a roof. That was pretty damn good considering the places I'd slept in the past.

"I'm just happy to be out of Woodbury." She commented. An involuntary shudder suddenly rippled across my body even though I fought hard against it. I didn't want to spend any more time thinking about being tied to that chair. The bruises on my face were enough of a reminder. Harlow seemed to catch this and was quickly apologizing. "Oh god. I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. I didn't mean to bring that up." She was saying quietly.

I shook my head, waving off her words with my hand. "No, don't. It's okay." I said, taking a breath. "I'm back now and everything is fine. I never would have found Gabe otherwise. And Daryl never would have found Merle. Everything happens for a reason, right?" I finished lamely, a small grin pulling my lips. That was the way I would have to think about what happened to Glenn and I. When it all came down to it, I had my brother back and that was something to be extremely thankful for.

Harlow nodded quietly next to me as we continued our walk around the fence. Out here, away from the gates, there were hardly any walkers. A few staggered around stupidly, and when they got too close, once of us would put our knives through its head and watch it fall to the ground. From what I could see, though, the perimeter fence was fine. No holes, no tears, and it sure as hell was still standing. I took that as a good sign. Even if it wasn't a cement wall, it was still an obstacle. One that the Governor would have to find a way around which would bide us a little more time if and when the time came. And I think we all knew it would eventually.

'Hey, Charlie. Can I ask you something?" Harlow broke the comfortable silence that had settled between us, looking at me curiously.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Sure, what's up?"

"What the hell was Merle like when he was younger? I mean, was he anything like the way he is now? I just can't imagine a younger Merle for some reason." She said, grinning a little.

I threw back my head, letting out a laugh loud enough to draw the attention of a walker at the edge of the forest. I waited for it go get closer, jabbing my knife into its forehead, before turning back to Harlow. "Yeah, I guess if you didn't actually know him back then it would be hard to picture him younger. He seems like too much of a man to have ever been a kid."

"Exactly!" Harlow exclaimed, looking relieved that I understood what she meant.

"Well, here's the thing. Merle is almost fifteen years older than me so when I actually met him he wasn't a kid anymore. He was at least in his late twenties." I explained, thinking back to a time when Daryl and I had both been young, running around in the backyard and digging up worms to fish with. "I remember thinking he was really big and scary at first." I said, kicking at a rock in my path. Harlow laughed quietly. "But after a while, I realized he was just sort of obnoxious and loud. And a drunk. When I got older, we got on a lot better. I guess, in a weird way, he was like a dysfunctional big brother. His friends would always hit on me, but he never did. At least not in a serious way." I finished.

"Sounds about like what I would expect." She said, smiling widely. "Sort of like he is now, but more drunk."

"He's not so rough and tough now, though. I mean he is…but I think you make him calmer. Or something. He just seems more balanced with you around." I added thoughtfully, thinking of Merle sitting at the table with Hershel and Beth and of the Merle that tried to rescue me from the basement in Woodbury. "I've never seen him like that with anyone. He's always been an intense person, doesn't do anything half-assed. Including pissing people off. I guess it makes sense that the same would go for him loving someone.

Harlow's cheeks turned pink, but they were back to their normal color before I could really be sure. "Maybe. All I know is that I never, ever expected any of this. I mean when I really met him, after he was awake and functioning after the rooftop incident, I hated him. I mean, I really hated him." She was saying, shaking her head. "I didn't think that would change. Especially not in such a drastic measure." She added with a grin.

I laughed. "It's the Dixon charm. You don't know it exists until it's too late." I joked. "It took me more than ten years to realize I was in love with Daryl. Then, when I did, it was just sort of like the feeling had always been there…it just took me a long time to notice it."

"The important thing is that you noticed it. Some people go through life completely oblivious to the way they feel and then it's too late to do a damn thing." She said with a frown.

"True." I nodded. I still wished I hadn't been so quick to turn away from Daryl. That I had thought about him every single day, but hadn't done a damn thing to fix it until I thought I would lose him for good. Harlow was right, though. I had him now and I'd rather have that than nothing at all.

The conversation died down after that, both of us content to continue on in silence, scouting the fence for any weaknesses. When we finally made it back to the front gate, I guessed we had been outside for over an hour. The sun was beating down and making my skin sticky with sweat. I could feel my shirt clinging to my back like glue.

"It gets pretty damn hot down here." Harlow said, squinting up at the cloudless blue sky.

"It can get pretty unbearable. I dream about air conditioning and pools regularly." I grinned at her. "You not from down south?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm from Rhode Island. I moved down here to go to college and ended up falling in love with it."

"I've never been that far north. Haven't had much of a chance to leave the state at all actually." I admitted. My family had never really had much money for big vacations. We did camping trips and day trips and there had been one trip to Disney World when I was ten. Other than that, though, my feet had been rooted in Georgia for years.

Harlow had suddenly slowed to a stop, staring out past the fence.

"What?" I asked hurriedly. I could hear the slight edge of panic in my voice, imagining the Governor and his men crouching in the trees.

She motioned me closer to the fence with a wave of her hand and I stepped up next to her, peering out past the chain link fence. "Isn't that Rick?" She asked quietly.

I felt my stomach clench as I finally saw the familiar dark haired figure, standing near the edge of the woods alone. What made it ten times worse was that he looked like he was in deep conversation with someone who wasn't there. "Ever since Lori died, he hasn't been right." I murmured quietly.

"Was that his wife?" Harlow asked.

I nodded, wondering how it was so easy for him to make the switch between the level headed leader he was yesterday and the man I was seeing right now, so lost and confused. I cleared my throat. "Rick!" I called loudly. Most of the walkers were lingering closer to the gates now, where the others were clearing them out. I called his name one more time and he finally looked up at me. I held his gaze for a long moment, his expression stony. He didn't say a word, instead disappearing further into the trees.

"What the hell." I heard Harlow say.

I shook my head. "I hope he knows what he's doing out there because I sure as hell don't. Come on."

We headed up the small incline towards the front gates. The walkers had been coming closer and closer to the fences, pressing up against them until the fence was almost sagging underneath the weight. We had to send someone out almost every morning to get rid of them. I saw Daryl, Merle, and Gabe working side by side. It was still weird, seeing them all together like that. Especially with Gabe all grown up. He never had a chance to meet Merle when we were younger. I kept him away from the older Dixon, for good reason.

Daryl stepped back from the fence and spotted us heading his way. He said something to Gabe over his shoulder before jogging in our direction. "How's it lookin'?" He asked when he got closer, slowing to a stop.

"Seemed fine from what we could see. No holes or weak spots. It should be okay for a while, as long as nothing else happens." I said. "How's the gate situation?"

He shook his head. "More and more of those damn things keep comin' outta nowhere. No idea how they're findin' their way here."

A loud, frantic yell suddenly pierced through the air, sending chills up my spine. I whirled around to look back at the prison and saw Carl waving his arms in the air, but I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying. I just knew it didn't sound good. Daryl and I exchanged worried looked before we were all sprinting up the gravel driveway back to the cellblock. I looked once over my shoulder to see Gabe and Merle trailing after us, Harlow slowing down to wait for them.

"Someone broke into the prison!" I finally was close enough to hear what Carl was yelling. "They found a way in!"

"How many?" I asked in between breaths as I finally slowed to a stop.

"I don't know! Just two, I think! Glenn has them locked in the common area!" Carl said, sounding almost excited about it. I remembered what had happened the last time we found strangers in the prison, though. I remembered the sound of the alarm, the walkers, and Lori suddenly going into labor.

"Come on, let's get inside." I said quietly to him, watching as Daryl pulled open the door and disappeared into the cellblock.

"What's going on?" I heard Gabe's voice behind me.

"Somebody else got into the prison." I said. "That's all I know."

"Where's my dad?" Carl suddenly asked.

I met Harlow's gaze over his head, chewing my lower lip before looking back down at the boy. "He's still busy out at the fences. He'll be back in soon." I lied, trying to sound as normal as possible. Carl wasn't stupid, though. I think he knew, like everyone else, that there was something wrong going on with his dad.

He quieted down, though, as I pressed my hand to his shoulders and ushered him inside with the others. The first thing I saw once we were inside the doors, were the two strangers sitting at a table in the middle of the room. Glenn had a gun in his hands, although it was pointed at the ground. They were both dark skinned. One was a big, burly man with a beanie on his head and the other was a pretty younger woman with curly hair and hard expression on her face.

"Listen, we don't want no trouble. We were just trying to get away from the biters, saw a hole in the wall and came inside. Then your boy found us wanderin' around the halls." The man was saying, nodding towards Carl who had wedged his way in between me and Daryl. "It looks like you got a good set up here. Please, let us stay. We'd be more than happy to pitch in, do whatever it take for you to trust us."

"Don't make us go back out there." The woman added quietly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Glenn sighed, lowering his weapon a little more. "What're your names?"

"I'm Tyreese. This is my sister, Sasha." The man answered.

"We'd have to run it by the leader of our group. I can't say anything for sure until then." Glenn said uncertainly.

"That's fine, we'll wait. You can leave us locked up in here if you want. If it makes you feel better." Tyreese said quickly. I could tell by looking at him that he was tired of running. That all he wanted was a safe place for him and his sister. I felt a twinge of sympathy. I understood what that felt like all too well.

"We don't really know when he'll be back." Maggie said, stepping forward next to Glenn. She found my eyes from across the room and I shook my head. The last I had seen, Rick had been disappearing into the woods. Who the hell knew what he was doing out there and how long it would take.

"I'm right here." Rick's familiar southern drawl suddenly came from behind me. I jumped, turning around to see him standing in the shadows by the door. I didn't know how none of us had even heard him come inside. The expression on his face scared me a little, though. I'd never seen him look that way. Not even when Lori died. He made his way further into the room and no one moved or said a word.

Not until Tyreese had stepped forward and held out both his palms in a gesture of peace. "You must be the one in charge. My sister and I, we're lookin' for a place to stay."

"Well find another place. We all already got enough mouths to feed as it is." Rick snapped.

Tyreese's eyebrows shot up, clearly not expecting that sort of harsh response. "Rick…" I said quietly, taking a tentative step towards him. I knew he wasn't in his right mind. That this wasn't the Rick we all knew and respected. I felt Daryl's hand on my arm, though, holding me back. When I looked over my shoulder, he shook his head and I knew better than to argue. I could read his face easily. He was thinking that Rick was dangerous right now.

"We're no strangers to hard work. We can go out and get our own food. We can help keep this place safe, whether it's from walkers or another group." Tyreese tried again. "Anything to contribute."

Rick looked down at the ground, shaking his head. "No." The one word left his lips so quietly, I almost missed it.

"Please." Sasha pleaded, stepping up next to her brother. "It's just us now."

"No." Rick said again, running a hand through his hair agitatedly.

"Let's talk about this, Rick." Hershel said quietly, his voice calm.

"No, no talkin'. We've been through this before. We can't take any more people." Rick interrupted him. "We just got three new ones."

"We took in Charlie, remember? Look how much good she's done the group, Rick. She's proved that there are still good people out there." Carol insisted. I felt my cheeks flush at the sound of my name and averted my eyes to the floor.

"That's different." Rick said bluntly. "I can't be responsible for any more people."

"You turn us out, and you are responsible." Tyreese said.

Hershel gently pulled Rick over to the side, his voice low as he spoke. Too low to make out anything he was saying. I put my arm around Carl's shoulder and led him to the other side of the room, where Maggie and Glenn were standing with the rest of the group. Harlow, Merle, Gabe and Daryl followed after us. My heart was beating hard in my chest, the tension in the room make me feel almost dizzy. I felt helpless as I stood on the sidelines. We needed good people, now more than ever.

I turned back to Rick and Hershel. Rick was suddenly letting out a breath, his hand on Hershel's shoulder. I felt almost relieved, thinking it was over. That Hershel had talked sense into him. Until I watched Rick's eyes look somewhere over the older man's shoulder, staring down something on the catwalk. I followed his gaze, but there was nothing there. I remembered suddenly finding him in the tombs, hearing voices that weren't there over a disconnected telephone. My stomach dropped. He was seeing Lori.

"Get out." Rick's voice came out like a ragged whisper at first, then he was screaming. "I said get out! Ya' don't belong here!"

I felt Carl trembling next to me and wrapped both my arms around his shoulders, pulling him back against me.

Maggie took a step forward. "Rick, it's okay. Just calm down." Her voice shook.

"Get out!" He yelled again. "What are you doing here?" He suddenly took out his gun and was waving it around.

T-Dog grabbed Maggie's arm and was tugging her back, out of Rick's path. We all scrambled out of the way, my back hitting the cement wall behind me as Daryl stepped in front of me.

"Okay, okay!" I heard Tyreese's voice saying loudly. "Ain't nobody need to get shot. We're goin'. We're leavin'."

Rick was pacing the room, the gun still in his hand. I couldn't understand what he was saying, the words coming out all jumbled together. I watched as Glenn stepped around him and hurried Tyreese and Sasha out the door and away from Rick. The second they were gone and the door slammed shut behind them, Rick dropped the gun. He was panting heavily and every pair of eyes in the room were staring at him. He kept his eyes on the ground as he suddenly turned and left the cellblock, heading deeper into the tombs again.

"Looks like Officer Friendly's on some kinda bender." I heard Merle mutter from somewhere behind me.

"Just shut up, Merle." Daryl said through gritted teeth.

The tension in the room slowly started to absolve as we all tried to deal with Rick's meltdown. I realized Carl was still clinging to me. Despite how old he tried to act, I knew deep down he was still a kid. One who needed his father badly.

"What do we do now?" Beth's quiet voice broke through the silence. She had Judith clutched tightly in her arms.

"I think it's time to realize that Rick's out of commission as far as leadership goes." Glenn said. "I think we have to just let him ride this out on his own. We have other things to worry about if we're going to keep this place safe. Tomorrow, we start making a plan. With or without Rick."

Daryl was nodding in agreement with him quietly. It felt like things were slowly falling apart. Rick's leadership had always felt like something solid we could rely on. With that gone, I wasn't sure what our places were. I could feel in my gut that the Governor was coming. I just hoped we would somehow be ready.

"I think I need to go lay down for a minute." I muttered quietly, not really talking to anyone in particular. I turned on my heel and left the common area, moving quietly through the cell corridor and up the metal steps until I reached my own cell. I had just sunk down onto the bed when I heard a second set of footsteps. I knew before I even looked up that it was Daryl.

"Rick's a grown ass man. Don't worry about him." He said gruffly, leaning against the door.

I sighed, running both hands through my hair before letting them fall into my lap. "It's not so much him anymore that I'm worried about. It's everybody else." I said quietly. "This is the worst possible time for Rick to lose his shit." We were all depending on him, looking to him for what to do next. Now we lost that and all I could feel was that without Rick, and with the Governor out there biding his time, all our lives were suddenly in danger.

Daryl was suddenly crouching on the floor in front of me. He took both of my hands in one of his, his other hand resting on my thigh. "You're talkin' crazy, girl." He said, shaking his head. "Everybody else is gonna be just fine. Even with Rick off his rocker, we got Glenn, T-Dog. And me. We ain't gonna let nothin' bad happen."

"I worry about you, too." I muttered as he looked up at me from the floor.

A smirk stretched one corner of his mouth. "I'm a Dixon, remember? Ain't nothin' gonna bring me down. Not while I got you to look out for."

I smiled in spite of myself. "That's pretty much a full time job." I joked, squeezing his hand.

"Ya' definitely don't make it easy." He shot back, his smirk growing. He bent his head, brushing his lips over my hand. "That all?"

I felt myself start to frown again. "Those people, Daryl…we shouldn't have let them go back out there." I admitted, thinking about Tyreese and his sister, the terrified look on her face.

Daryl's expression grew hard as he shook his head. "Don't worry 'bout them, Charlie. They've made it this far on their own, they can keep doin' it. How long were you out there by yourself before we found ya', huh?" He asked.

"A while." I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. Too long.

"Exactly. Ain't no need for ya' to be doin' so much damn worryin'. Alright, girl?" I felt his hands on my thighs then, pulling me towards him. I watched his blue eyes sweep my face before he reached out and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. "Hurt much?" He asked and I knew he meant the bruises that still covered parts of my face like a purple shadow.

I shook my head. "No, not much. Doesn't look very pretty though." I said with a small, sarcastic smile.

"You're gorgeous no matter what." Daryl answered, not missing a beat. I felt my cheeks heat up as he leaned forward. His lips touched mine softly, his hand burying itself in the back of my hair. He used his other hand to push my knees apart before moving in between my legs and closing the space between us completely.

I sighed against his mouth, my fingers curling around his biceps before sliding over his shoulders. I wondered for a second if kissing Daryl would ever get old, if I would ever stop feeling breathless and lightheaded, if I would ever stop feeling the urge to press myself to him as close as possibly knowing it would never be enough. I knew without really having to think about it, though, that there was no possible way I could ever get tired of this feeling.

His calloused fingertips felt rough against my skin as he pushed his hands up the back of my shirt and I groaned against his mouth before forcing myself to pull away. "Not now. Or I won't be able to stop myself from having my way with you." I grinned at him as he reluctantly pulled back. I'd almost forgotten how worried I'd been not even ten minutes ago. It was too easy for him to do that.

He suddenly stood up, pulling me to my feet with him. His pressed his lips against mine, his arms snaking around my waist. "Later, you're all mine." He murmured against my mouth when he finally pulled away. He was wearing that devious smirk that always made me want to fall to pieces.

"Later." I agreed.

His blue eyes suddenly grew serious, though, as he looked down at me. Daryl had always been a good head taller than me and I remember hating it when I was a kid. Now, though, I liked that he had to bend his head to kiss me, that I could I wrap my arms around him and lay my head against his chest while we were still standing. "I love you, baby girl." He said, so quietly I almost missed it.

A smile played across my lips. "I love you too, Daryl Dixon."