There is a lemon in this chapter. Its slightly more raunchy than the first one but no where near raunchy as they're gonna get - just warnin' ya. This story is all about progression, as you'll no doubt see throughout the chapters and that encompasses everything from Daryl and Ethan's relationship to Daryl and Tessa's relationship and love scenes.

- Nagiana


Favorite Line(s):

"Well, it was tha wrong damn call then!" He roared back before pinning Rick with a deadly stare. "I swear to God if ma girl or ma kid gets bitten -!"


Tessa awoke that next morning to Daryl already getting dressed but quite clearly on edge. Still rather groggy and fuzzy-headed herself, she sat up and ran her fingers through her tangled hair as she tried to wake up as fast as she could. The voices of the others were coming over to them louder than they ever had before, and her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What's going on?" She finally asked him, and Daryl shrugged as he peeked out of the semi-open tent flap.

"Don' know, but it's gotta be important 'cause it's workin' some people up," He glanced at her. "We should get to tha others as fast as we can – see what's goin' on before we miss too much." Tessa nodded in agreement, immediately coming to her senses when she realized that was her cue to get dressed. She nodded to her clothes lying on the ground at the foot of the mattress as she slung aside the sheet.

"Hand me my clothes, will you?" She asked him, her voice quiet, and Daryl nodded as he bent down and threw them to her before taking a seat on the air mattress and pulling on his boots. He glanced at her as she pulled on the panties he had discarded from her body so carelessly the previous night (with lace trimming, as always, he found himself thinking nostalgically) and then her matching black bra and tank top. She glanced at him and it was then, as she was flipping her long sheet of blue black hair out of her shirt collar, that he heaved a sigh.

"Prolly gonna regret askin' this, but I mineaswell: what tha Hell was with last night?"

"What do you mean by that?" She replied as her eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, and he laughed a little as he started lacing his boots up.

"I mean, did ya expect somethin' to come of last night, or was it jus' 'bout tha sex when ya propositioned me?" Tessa grinned and laughed.

"What, I can't just have sex with you? I can't be an adult and know what I want?" Daryl shrugged.

"I suppose ya could, but it jus' . . ." He sighed and pinned her with a stare that she couldn't rightly decipher as he temporarily stopped in the lacing up of his boots. She hated those stares – she really did. They reminded her so much of Merle because they were almost always cold and hard . . . she always found herself fidgeting uncomfortably, even if they weren't always necessarily aimed at her. "Tha way ya were talkin' last night – tha way ya went 'bout suggestin' it . . ." He shook his head. "I can' believe tha' was just ya wantin' to get laid! It doesn' fit ya, Tess!"

"Oh, so I couldn't have changed in thirteen years, is that what your insinuating?" She asked a little snidely as she got to her feet then, pulling on her jeans as she did so. Daryl rolled his eyes as his followed her.

"I didn' mean for it to sound like tha', Tess -!"

"Oh really . . .? Well tell me, Daryl, what were you trying to mean for it to sound like?" She interrupted him, and Daryl pursed his lips as he got to his feet as well.

"I wasn' gonna bring this up unless ya did, but quite obviously, it's gonna need to be brought up anyway. Does this . . . little one-night stand of ours, have anythin' to do with Shane pullin' a move on ya yesterday mornin'?" Tessa glared at him for a moment before swallowing heavily. Her gaze was expressionless but the hard swallow told him all he needed to know.

"Daryl, that's -!"

"Tessa, listen!" He stepped closer to her then, his voice lowering substantially. His beautiful blue eyes were wide and earnest. "He's a jackass – everyone knows it, so if ya ever need -!"

Tessa interrupted him with a laugh. "What are you trying to say, Daryl? If I ever need anyone to protect me, then I should come to you?" She asked before she gave a scoff and a shake of her head. "I'm thirty-five, Daryl – I'm pretty sure I can protect myself!" His teeth gritted in slight anger.

"And what if ya can', Tessa?" He asked as he stepped closer to her still. "What if he goes batshit fuckin' crazy and starts somethin' with ya? What if ya guys are alone somewhere andya find yaself defenseless?" He asked before shook his head. "I wouldn' be able to forgive myself if somethin' happened to ya, Tess – to ya or tha kid!" His eyes then became pleading for a moment. "Please, let me at least watch ya back!"

"And how do you propose you go about doing that?" She asked him as one of her eyebrows rose in half-amusement, half genuine curiosity. He gave a weak shrug.

"Move ya and tha kid's stuff in here, with me. Ya'll free up tha Winnebago and ya'll feel like ya out of everybody's hair while sendin' tha message to everyone else tha' ya ma girl – includin' Shane! We don' even have to share a bed – ya can share one with tha kid if ya want! A relationship can be optional – tha sex, can be optional!" He then licked his lips out of nervousness. "Jus' . . . let me protect ya, Tess!" Tessa swallowed heavily as she held his gaze, unflinchingly. She saw the uneasiness in his gaze, as well as him silently pleading with her to agree with him, and finally she pursed her lips.

"And what if, down the line, I do want that relationship with you? What if I do end up wanting that bed with you and that intimacy with you – the intimacy that we had last night? What do I do then? Am I shit out of luck because the offer won't stand anymore?" Daryl let out a scoff of amusement then.

"Do ya want tha' relationship with me again?" He asked her with genuine curiosity in his voice that time, and Tessa bit down on her bottom lip and shrugged in what she hoped was nonchalance.

"I don't know . . . maybe . . .?" Daryl grinned and laughed then.

"Okay Tess, I'll tell ya what - since ya seem like ya jus' can' make up ya mind quite yet. Ya come to me when ya finally decide what ya want, understand? I'm not exactly goin' anywhere!"


The heated discussion was about where to go next – what to do next. Rick suggested they try to make it to the CDC in Atlanta in order to try and find a cure for Jim, who was bitten and dying in the back of the Winnebago. Shane was advocating for Fort Benning a hundred miles in the opposite direction, claiming there would be safety there with the military. The discussion was getting so heated, in fact, that no one but Ethan noticed it when Daryl and Tessa walked up together.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Andrea glanced at Tessa as she moved to stand beside her, Daryl hanging on the fringes of the group a couple of feet away like he always did. The blonde woman sighed and rolled her eyes. "Rick and Shane are busy dick measuring again as usual and as you can clearly see!" She told her, her voice tinged with irritation, and Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What are they dick measuring about?" Andrea shrugged.

"They are in debate on where to go from here. Rick's advocating the CDC in Atlanta and Shane says Fort Benning," She gazed at Tessa in slight confusion for a moment then before smiling slyly. "Did you just get here? I don't remember seeing you here when Rick and Shane first called for us." Tessa glanced at her as she buried her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. She nodded, swallowing hard as she did so.

"Yeah, I, uh . . . I slept in late by accident . . ." She told her and Andrea nodded slowly, although her eyes flickered to Daryl standing not that far away. Standing by Dale, his arms crossed in front of his chest, she could see the glances he kept sneaking Tessa out of the corner of his eye – the way his gaze lingered a little bit longer on her hindquarters than anywhere else. She leaned in towards Tessa then, a grin spreading across her face.

"Did you sleep with Daryl last night?" She asked her in a hushed voice, and Tessa immediately jumped at her words, a motion that made Andrea have to force back a loud, barking laugh at her reaction.

"W-What would make you say that?" She asked, her eyes growing wide with shock, and Andrea chuckled.

"Oh please honey – the man keeps sneaking glances at your ass every five seconds!" She told her before shrugging. "They're not exactly puppy love looks, but nonetheless, their looks!" Tessa grinned as her fingers flew to the necklace hanging around her throat – the one thing Daryl didn't even try to take off her the previous night along with the rest of her clothes. She gave a shrug.

"So what if I did?" She asked, and Andrea couldn't help but grin and laugh a little.

"Well . . . Daryl wouldn't exactly be my first choice, let me tell ya, but Hell, more power to you, honey! We all deserve a little respite from this Hell. I should know more than anyone, shouldn't I?" She spoke, her voice turning bitter when she remembered her sister, and Tessa nodded in agreement as they phased back into the debate currently raging while they stood there and talked about Tessa's most recent and rather rare acquirement of a sex life.

"What if the CDC is still up and running?" Rick asked. "What if they have a cure? It's a government structure that they would protect at all times, right? They'd be shelter, provisions -!"

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I get it, because I do too, okay? Hell, we all do!" Shane interrupted him, his voice diplomatic. "And if they exist, then they're gonna be at the army base at Fort Benning."

"That's one hundred miles in the opposite direction." Lori brought up and Shane nodded.

"It's away from the hot zone, though. But if that place is still operational, it'll be heavily armed and we'd be safe there."

"What if isn't away from the hot zone, though? The military were on the front lines of this thing! They got overrun and their asses handed to them – we've all seen it! The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance!" Rick rebutted and it was then that Shane let out a sigh of irritation and turned to Tessa.

"Tessa, you're one of the only people left here who has a child to look after as well as yourself," He began and Tessa's eyebrows rose in amusement as she recoiled slightly, her arms moving to cross in front of her chest.

"Yeah, so what if I do? What about it?" She asked, and Shane let out another sigh of irritation as he gave a roll of his eyes, as if he couldn't believe there were this many ignorant people in the group.

"Would you rather us go to safety, than follow some pipe dream about the CDC?" He asked, and Tessa let out a laugh, her eyes connecting with her son's standing beside Glenn and Carol.

"Apologies, Shane, but speaking my son is already doing for this camp what men three times his age do, then I don't think I should be speaking for the both of us," She smiled a tight, almost sarcastic smile. "That wouldn't exactly be fair towards Ethan, now would it?"

Shane let out a scoff of disbelief. "Well, no offense to you and your own, but what exactly is he doing here that's benefitting us? He's gone hunting one time - that's not exactly something that's happening all the damn time!"

Tessa adopted a look of disgust on her face as Rick stepped forward slightly. "Shane, lay off; this isn't the time -!"

Shane ignored him and simply ended up shrugging him off as Tessa retaliated. "Do you not remember that we got here only a day or two ago? Excuse me for thinking logically when you apparently cannot, but there are not many things that he can claim to have under his belt in only two days!"

"Except four squirrels and a rabbit," Daryl interjected quietly as he absentmindedly chewed on the corner of his thumbnail, and Shane's eyes immediately jerked onto him. Daryl gave a shrug. "The kid bagged them himself. I got absolutely nothin' yesterday afternoon. I had . . . too much on ma mind to be of any use . . ." His eyes darted to Tessa and she smiled a small smile, one that Shane immediately noticed.

"Oh wow – that's it? Not a lot let me tell ya!"

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Listen, jackass - for jus' a day in tha woods, tha's not tha' bad of a catch! Granted, tha kid ain' me but he's ma kid and he's like me! Tha kid's got talent, so give him time and it'll be like ya'll have a second me walkin' around!" Shane let out a bark of a laugh.

"Great – that's exactly what we need!"

"Now what tha fuck is tha' supposed to mean, shitbag?" Daryl snapped, his eyes darkening with the infamous Dixon rage as he took a threatening step towards him. Shane flexed, ready for Daryl to slam into him, but people quickly interjected between them before something could happen. Rick had ahold of Shane and T-Dog stepped in front of Daryl as Tessa moved over to him as well, her hand moving to his shoulder.

"Daryl, it's nothing – let it go!" She urged him quickly, and Daryl glanced at her and held her gaze for a moment before reluctantly acquiescing. Shane's eyes darkened at the sight as everyone hesitantly stepped away from the confrontation.

"Yeah . . . yeah, go ahead and listen to your girl!"

"Fucker, I won' hesitate to drop kick ya ass!" Daryl snapped at him through gritted teeth as his eyes stormed over again. People stepped back towards them again but paused when Tessa quickly moved to stand in front of Daryl, where her hands flattened out over his chest. She was used to it. Many a time, she was the only thing that kept Daryl from smashing open Merle's skull on the floor or on the edge of a table and vice versa. She knew how to handle him. You shut up and stayed out of the way until you absolutely needed to step in.

"Guys, guys – calm the fuck down, would ya?" Rick shouted over their yells and reluctantly, everyone quieted down. Ethan's slightly apprehensive gaze settled onto Daryl with his mother standing so protectively in front of him across the way and silently, Daryl nodded to him to come over to them. Ethan nodded and quickly obliged, where he made his way over to stand beside his father and mother. "You're discussing something that does not need to be discussed at this time!" Rick told them, his eyes settling onto Shane's with an alarming finality. "What we do need to discuss, however, is what the Hell to do from here! Once we figure that out and once we get there and stabilize ourselves – then we can revisit the topic if everyone feels like we should!"

"I think we need to follow your gut, Rick." Lori spoke up then, her voice coming out small but firm, and Shane and Rick turned a surprised gaze onto her. Lori held Rick's gaze unflinchingly and slowly but steadily, everyone started agreeing – including Shane. Slowly but steadily, Tessa starting taking steps away from Daryl until she was completely sure that he had calmed down enough to where he wouldn't be lunging at Shane out of anger anytime soon. Rick turned his eyes onto Tessa, Ethan and the still steaming Daryl.

"What do you think, Tessa?" He asked, his voice quiet and respectful, and Tessa's lips pursed in slight irritation.

"We need to stick together – that's what I think." She told him, and Ethan nodded in agreement, as well as Rick. He turned a fierce gaze onto Shane, who returned the stare with an equalness that only hinted at the slight resentment that simmered underneath the surface of his skin.

"Seem like the decision is made," Rick told him. "The CDC it is then." He turned to address the others. "Get things ready to pack – we'll move out when everyone is ready but don't dawdle; I don't want to linger in case another herd comes along."

Everyone nodded and moved away then, preparing things in order to make them easier to pack up so that they could get rid of such a cursed place faster, however, Tessa lingered around Daryl. Her gaze slid mistrustfully over to Shane. "I think I want that relationship now." She told him, her voice quiet as her hand hovered over his forearm. Daryl nodded as he too pinned a mistrustful gaze onto Shane. He took her into his arms, his arms sliding around her tightly – more to show off Shane than for their own benefit.

"I'd question ya intelligence if ya didn' after tha' fiasco, babydoll!"


They had to leave Jim behind.

He had been bitten and after telling Rick that he couldn't go on anymore and to please leave him behind, that was what they did.

Tessa never really knew Jim – she met him only once for a brief time, but that was about it. She could see in the tearful eyes of Jacqui and some of the others, however, that he had been an endeared member of the group. She could see the tenseness of Daryl's frame when Rick and Shane carefully set him against the tree and everyone moved to say their goodbyes – as the crowd steadily trickled away, which eventually left only the three of them standing there. Tessa didn't know what to do and neither did Ethan . . . she merely smiled in what she hoped was a comforting smile and Daryl only nodded towards him before quietly ushering them away towards the truck. Before that, Morales and his family left as well - choosing to go to Birmingham to their people. Tessa didn't really know them either but she knew they were good people and hoped for the best for them.

And now, here they were, at the huge, art deco styled CDC, one man short.

"Aw, Jesus . . .!"

Ethan and Tessa immediately moved to cover their mouth and noses at the smell that hovered around the CDC with every dead body – civilian and military alike – that surrounded the governmental building. Everyone else did too except for the ones who were carrying more than one thing – men like Rick and Shane and Daryl.

They reached the entrance as fast as they could, stepping over bodies and cringing as they moved through the thick black swarms of blowflies that hovered around them. Great steel shutters covered the doors and as they came to a stop, Rick and Shane immediately moved over to the shutters. Tessa and Ethan immediately made their way to Daryl and stopped beside him.

". . . If it's abandoned, then why are all the shutters down?" Rick spoke in reply to something that Shane had said and it was then that they heard someone yell:

"Walker!"

Daryl was the first to react while the others started to panic. A bolt from his crossbow found itself lodged in the walker's head as he whirled around to angrily face Rick.

"Ya led us to a fuckin' graveyard!" Daryl roared as Tessa wrapped a protective embrace around their son. He glanced back to see if anymore walkers were approaching and instead, his eyes fell onto Tessa and Ethan and his eyes connected with hers. As soon as he saw the fear echoing in her eyes – an emotion Ethan shared - rage bubbled up in his stomach and he found himself turning back to Rick as Dale shot him a wide-eyed look.

"He made a call!" He reminded him, and Daryl's teeth gritted in the same anger that rose up inside him.

"Well, it was tha wrong damn call then!" He roared back before pinning Rick with a deadly stare. "I swear to God tha' if ma girl or ma kid gets bitten -!"

"Rick, we have got to go!" Shane told him, interrupting Daryl mid-sentence and Daryl quickly moved over to Tessa and Ethan. "The doors ain't gonna open!"

"Daryl . . .?"

"It'll be fine, Tess – we'll be fine!" He assured her quickly as he wrapped an arm around them both, craning his head over them in order to see if anymore walkers were arriving. They were . . . steadily and in force now.

Rick was roaring at the camera above one of the shutters that had supposedly 'moved'. He was roaring that whoever was in there was killing them – that they were about to die if he or she did not let them in and fast. It wasn't long before Shane had his arms wrapped around Rick's flailing body and begin to slowly drag him – literally, kicking and screaming – backwards towards the vehicles. Ethan felt himself close his eyes tight as he wrapped his arms around his mother's waist and followed blindly as Daryl led them backwards as well.

And then, as if the gates to Heaven themselves were opening, the steel shutters rose up with great metallic sounds and they skidded to a stop and turned around in wonder.

Rick was right . . . someone had been watching them.