Oh my God, I LOVED all the reviews I got - they were amazing! Especially you, jouetdedestin - your review made me laugh for a good five minutes. They were all muchly needed and I loved and cherished all of them! So in return, I wrote out a pretty decent chapter for you guys that I think you'll like. Its a lot calmer than the last few I wrote and focuses on a potential romance I'm thinking about working around in the next upcoming chapters, so please, read and review telling me what you guys think. Reader feedback is very important to me because it tells me in what direction I need to take the story next and especially with this they would be very appreciated.

And by the way, for those of you that see it coming, oh yeah, its coming ;)

- Nagiana


Favorite Line(s):

"I'm gonna be bored outta ma mind without ya here, but yeah; I guess I'll be good. I'll just . . ." He looked around and gave a sigh of slight disappointment and irritation as he reached down and picked up a lone crossbow bolt. "Lay here and poke holes into shit with ma arrow . . ."

"You know, honey, you guys should probably learn that you might need to keep quiet every now and then. . ."

Tessa couldn't help allow a furious blush to bloom across her cheeks as Lori moved to join her. She was walking towards the camp from the house in order to get the tent she shared with Daryl ready for when they were going to transfer him over, and Lori couldn't help but grin as Tessa glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eyes. "Were we really . . .?"

"Oh yeah and pretty energetically too from what we heard! But don't worry, you guys decided to get into it when a majority of the people were done and gone, so don't be too embarrassed." Lori spoke with a grin and a laugh and Tessa grinned as well as she averted her eyes down to the ground underneath their feet. She gave a half-hearted little shrug.

"We didn't think that we were being that loud . . .!" She spoke and Lori laughed again.

"I can guarantee you that Daryl knew but didn't say anything just out of shits and giggles! He seems like the type that could get into the whole . . . almost-getting-caught kinda thing -"

"Hey, what's up with Glenn and Maggie?"

Lori's eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion when Tessa interrupted her, and turned her eyes onto Glenn standing not that far away from them. They watched as Maggie walked up to him with a basket of what looked like fruit and jerky in her hands. Soon, they were getting into a heated debate and Lori heaved a sigh. "Beats me - lover's quarrel?" She shook her head though, and quickly moved her gaze down onto the ground. "We've all be stressed, though . . ." She mumbled and Tessa nodded in agreement.

"Are they, though?" She couldn't help but ask and Lori shrugged.

"Most likely they are. They've been taking a good amount of trips into town lately and they were gone pretty quickly last night after dinner . . . I wouldn't be surprised." Tessa shook her head in good-natured bemusement as they ducked into her tent. Lori watched as Tessa threw dirty clothes into the nearby clothes basket, clean clothes next to their bags and began straightening the sheets on the mattress. It wasn't too messy but it definitely needed straightening up. Daryl's crossbow remained propped up by the entrance and Tessa found herself shocked that Daryl hadn't been asking about it since he arrived back yesterday evening which resulted in Glenn handing it to Ethan in a manner that resembled someone handing a Priest a holy artifact they considered way too holy for they themselves to even think of holding. He was practically never seen without it and just the realization that he had never once asked about it, made her realize just how much pain and exhaustion he had been in.

"I bet Ethan's don't look any better. He's never been able to keep his room clean," She muttered a little in irritation before glancing up at Lori, her irritation gone in favor of curiosity. "Do you blame them, though? I mean, any day, at any time, any one of us could die – including those that we could never think would, like Shane or Rick or . . ." She paused and swallowed heavily. "Or Daryl . . ." She shrugged then as she stood up and tossed their pillows onto the newly made up surface. She was still very angry at Andrea for jumping the gun like that and assuming he was a walker, and even herself for not pushing him to take Ethan with them yesterday. "I mean, Hell - once you think about it, it makes sense for them to be attracted to each other. I mean, they're the same age -"

"Ethan isn't any older to be of any type of competition to him . . ." Lori interrupted her with a grin and Tessa grinned as well and shot her a look.

"Damn, your right! I've been wondering lately why Maggie went for Glenn instead of Ethan and it just now occurred to me that was the reason why!" She shook her head and let out a laugh as she rubbed her face with her. "I'm such a horrible mother! I keep forgetting he's thirteen!" She admitted quietly before she glanced out the tent. He was hanging around Dale and T-Dog, helping to lower the overhang on the Winnebago. "He's so different from Carl, Lori – Hell, he's not even built like a thirteen-year-old! I don't know if it's because Daryl's been taking him out with him whenever he hunts or looks for Sophia and he's been maturing because of that, or how I and Sam raised him, but he does act more like Glenn's age! Granted, that's probably why they're such good friends opposed to him and Carl," She nodded in agreement. "But you're right . . . if Ethan was any older, then he probably would have given Glenn a run for his money! He's always been like Daryl in the fact he's always been partial to brunettes and Maggie's certainly a very pretty young lady -!"

"I don't know about that, sweetie. I've seen him talking with Beth a lot lately," She spoke with a grin and a shake of her head and Tessa turned a surprised look on her best friend as they left the tent then. They heard the screen door of the house bang open and shut and turned their eyes upwards. Daryl and Rick were making their slow descent to the camp by then, Hershel observing them all the while, telling them to go slower and easier when they needed. Daryl was doing much better from the previous day but Tessa could tell by the tensing of his jaw that he was still in a lot of pain.

"You mean Beth as in Beth Greene?" Tessa asked her, her eyebrows rising in curiosity and Lori laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I know! It's kinda . . . kinda sweet actually and not that far-fetched if you think about it." Lori shot her a look then, a look that Tessa immediately returned.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up. She's dating Jimmy, remember?" Lori nodded.

"I know and I realize that, but if you actually watched them interact for a moment, you'd see that their relationship is not exactly as solid as the Greene family would like to depict! And besides, her and Ethan are only four years apart in age and he's gonna grow up to be a good-lookin' boy, Tess – a very good-lookin' boy! Not-to-mention Daryl is his father, so he's gonna be reinforced with amazing hunting and fighting skills – as well as well as the ability to track," She shook her head. "Age can be set aside when good looks and survivalist skills are taken into account – at least in this day and age, anyway. Primal thought processes come back into account, I suppose . . ." Tessa nodded in agreement then, deciding to give the matter some more thought as Daryl and the others finally reached them.

"How's he doing?" She couldn't help but ask and Daryl shot her a slightly irritated look, one that she couldn't help but grin at. Her grin only made the look of irritation deepen slightly.

"I feel like horseshit! How do ya think I'm doin', Tess?" He snapped and Tessa laughed as she gestured to the tent.

"Inside on the mattress, Rick, I guess." Rick nodded as they ducked inside, Hershel moving to join her and Lori.

"Don't pay him any mind - he's doing much better since yesterday. His stitches are still clean and his body seems to be healing nicely. He's still in a good amount of pain but he's a fast healer, so I suspect he'll be on his feet by morning." Tessa nodded, her face growing expressionless.

"He had an, uh . . . rough childhood, if you get my meaning. He and his brother had to become fast healers in order to survive." Hershel nodded, pinning her with a stare that she immediately blushed under and Lori to grin.

"I would also postpone any further sexual activities until those stitches come out. If they come open, it could be a very bad thing, you understand, Mrs. Dixon?" Tessa grinned and laughed as she shook her head.

"It's Tessa, Hershel – Tessa Nightrun. I'm not a Dixon – not yet, anyway. We're, uh, we're not actually married," She nodded to Ethan still standing by T-Dog and Dale and who was now taking a peach from the basket Glenn was taking around to everyone. "But Ethan is our son, though. He's a good kid – he can help out in any way you need him to." Hershel nodded as he glanced behind him at the youngest Dixon, his eyes scanning him for a moment.

"How old is he?"

"Thirteen." She answered with no hesitation and they saw Hershel recoil a little in shock. He nodded, though, nonetheless, as he turned back around to face her. Her body immediately tensed at the look in his eyes, to the point where Lori had to settle a calming hand on her back.

"I've seen him talking to Beth, although I've had no idea that he's just thirteen!" Tessa nodded.

"He's very mature for his age – always has been. He's best friends with Glenn and despite his anger issues, Daryl is his father, so he can more than take care of himself," She pinned him with a look in turn, a look that he slightly balked at seeing. "Like I said, though, Ethan is a very good kid and considering that he is our only one, it is understandable that I and Daryl are very protective of him. I'll talk to him about Beth, Hershel, you have my word, but also taking into consideration his father's anger, I suggest that if there is any problem with my son that arises, you take it up with me. Is there going to be a problem with my son, Mr. Greene?" She asked with a raised brow, and Hershel gazed at her for a moment before allowing a small smile of respect to appear on his face. He shook his head then.

"No, no I don't think so, Tessa. Thank you, though, for giving this matter the brevity it deserves," He nodded. "And yes, I think I will bring any problems with your son that arises, to you, although, I doubt there will be any. Ethan does seem like a very mature young man – with a very good head on his shoulders," He moved to go but paused for a moment. Rick had exited the tent around that time too and paused when he saw Tessa and Hershel in conversation. Lori shot him a reassuring smile and he nodded and relaxed before moving to the Cherokee, where Shane was already lingering.

"You must understand though, that Beth is my daughter -!"

"And Ethan is my son!" She interrupted him before a soft look appeared in her eyes. "I know very well what having a child in this day and age encompasses, Hershel. I understand completely your protectiveness of her," She paused for a moment. "I'll talk to Ethan." Hershel nodded and thanked her one last time, giving Lori a nod of his head as well before he turned and walked off. Lori let out a low whistle as she turned to face her friend.

"Damn, that could have gone bad fast!" She remarked and Tessa shook her head.

"I'll talk to Daryl and see what he thinks, although I doubt it's gonna be anything adversely different from my views. I'll have to have a conversation with Ethan, although I doubt his conversations with Beth were anything but friendly. Despite what Hershel thinks, you can raise a son to think with something other than his hormonal cock!" She spoke in irritation and Lori let out a bark of a laugh as Tessa moved past her to duck inside the tent. Daryl glanced up at her from his spot on his side of their bed when she entered and nodded to the spot she had been standing seconds earlier.

"What was tha' 'bout?"

Tessa sighed and shook her head as she sat at the end of their bed. "Ethan's been talking with Beth -" She began and Daryl's eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion.

"Ya mean Beth as in Beth Greene?" He asked, interrupting her, and she nodded, a grin coming on her face at him saying the exact same words that she had.

"I doubt it's anything other than him just being friendly. It might also be him harboring a small crush on her, but you know Hershel! Every male under the age of twenty-three is gonna be looking at his daughters with sex on the brain and every male under the age of twenty-three needs to be pushed away with a battering ram!" Daryl laughed.

"He's too old-fashioned," He muttered, a note of slight disdain in his voice. "I guarantee ya tha' if we had other single men in our camp, tha' they'd be lookin' at her too, regardless of age," He shook his head. "Better not stir up shit with ma boy, though . . . we'd have words . . ."

"I told him I'd talk to him and even if I didn't tell him that, I'd still talk to him. Ethan needs to know that Beth is somewhat off-limits, even if it is as something as harmless as a crush -!"

Daryl's scoffing in amusement interrupted her. "What are ya talkin' 'bout, a crush being harmless? There ain' no such damn thing and ya know it!" He turned a grin onto her. "Tha last time I cared to remember back to our younger days, which – granted – are not that much - what we had were crushes on each other. Look where they went!" He nodded in the general direction of Ethan. "And look what spawned from 'em!" Tessa grinned and laughed as she nodded.

"I know, I know, Daryl, and something tells me that we won't hear the last of Hershel sprouting off shit about Ethan and Beth, which is why I told him to bring any problems he had with him to me and not you -"

"Smart thinkin' Tess, 'cause I'd give him more than a piece of ma mind -!"

"But nonetheless, it wouldn't hurt to have a talk with him, ya know . . . to set boundaries. You should too. What I say to him could go in one ear and out the next - you, however . . ." She shook her head. "He looks up to you, Daryl – he respects and admires you! He might listen to you more than he would me." She continued and a grin appeared on her face as she leaned back and pecked him on the cheek. "You gonna be alright here without me?" He nodded.

"I'm gonna be bored outta ma mind without ya here, but yeah; I guess I'll be good. I'll just . . ." He looked around and gave a sigh of slight disappointment and irritation as he reached down and picked up a lone crossbow bolt. "Lay here and poke holes into shit with ma arrow . . ." Tessa laughed and rolled her eyes as she moved to place another kiss on his cheek. He expertly moved his head at the last minute, though, so that her kiss would meet his lips and she sat there and kissed him for a moment before a soft coughing interrupted them. Tessa pulled herself away from him and turned around at the waist, only to find Andrea hanging sheepishly around the entrance. Tessa tensed and the blonde-haired woman immediately threw up her hands in surrender. Daryl chuckled and placed a calming hand on her lower back.

"I know, I know, you probably don't want to see me!" She spoke with a wry laugh and Tessa nodded.

"What could possibly have given you that idea?" She snapped back, her eyes darkening with anger slightly, and Daryl chuckled again as he gestured her inside.

"Tess, calm down – I'm alive ain' I?" He asked her, his voice light and teasing and she pursed her lips and nodded as Andrea moved further inside, a relieved look appearing in her eyes as she handed one of Dale's books to him.

"It's not that great, but . . ." She trailed off with a shrug as he took it and flipped through it. The Case of the Missing Man . . . Daryl thought there was some hidden irony there but was in too much pain and exhaustion to think any further about what it was. Tessa couldn't help but let out a little laugh at the title too, however, and he shrugged.

"What, no pictures?"

Andrea sighed and shook her head. "I'm so sorry – to the both of you! I feel like shit -!"

"Yeah, ya and me both, Blondie!" He interrupted her as he shifted slightly so that he could move his pillow further upwards in order to make himself more comfortable.

"I don't expect either one of you to forgive me anytime soon," She continued on, meeting both their eyes with her pleading ones. "But if there's anything I can do -!"

"Ya were trying to protect tha group . . ." Daryl interrupted her, his voice coming out soft and gentle and Tessa had to fight to stop the shiver of wanton desire that raced up her spine at his words. She loved that voice – absolutely fucking loved it - she always had! Daryl grinned, letting her that he did indeed notice, but continued on nonetheless as if nothing had happened. "Yeah, we're good; don' worry 'bout it," He glanced at Tessa, however, a look of amusement appearing in his eyes. "However, jus' 'cause we're good, doesn' exactly mean ya good with Tess!" Andrea nodded, as did Tessa. She jumped, however, when she felt Daryl's fingers skating lightly up her back underneath her shirt as Andrea shot him a thankful look and got to her feet, where she moved towards the entrance to the tent. "But, hey!" He called her back and she turned around. His expression had entered a dangerous territory and a shiver of slight apprehension raced up her spine. "Ya shoot me again and ya best pray I'm dead. Though, tha' might not exactly be what ya want . . . Tess can be a regular Michael Meyers with a knife!" He shrugged. "Consider it in her genes . . ."

Tessa grinned as Andrea moved away then and she turned her eyes onto Daryl, who had regained a look of amusement and slight suggestiveness in his eyes again. "Ya sure ya gonna be fine without me?" He asked, and she rolled her eyes and nodded as she leaned down and kissed him for a moment. When they broke apart, it was rather reluctantly and she got to her feet with an exasperated sigh.

"I guess I gotta go talk to Ethan now," She turned to him. "Wish me luck?" He shrugged.

"Good luck, I guess, tho' I'm not exactly sure why ya doin' this to begin with. Our son ain' stupid, Tess – he knows how to handle himself." He told her and she nodded.

"I know, just . . ." She heaved a sigh. "Let's just say it's to give me some peace of mind, okay?" He nodded as she left then. She felt Andrea's eyes lingering on her and she shot her a look as she made her way to Ethan. T-Dog was gone, although Dale was still there and she gave Dale a soft look as she joined them.

"How's Daryl?" He asked and she nodded.

"He's doing well, thanks for asking. Still in pain and still healing, but he should be up and about by tomorrow," She gave Ethan a searching look then. "Can I talk to you?" A look of surprise entered his eyes then but he nodded nonetheless.

"Sure momma - what about?" He asked and she gestured for him to follow her. He did and when they were a safe distance away, she turned around to face him.

"Be careful around Beth," She spoke with a bluntness that immediately made him recoil and a look of confusion to enter his eyes then.

"W-what are you -?" Tessa nodded as she interrupted him.

"You heard me, Ethan Dixon! Be careful around her, okay? Hershel isn't too happy you've been talking to her – especially now that he knows you're just thirteen, and I want to make sure that you know enough to not do anything stupid!" He let out a laugh then as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Mom, we're just friends! All our conversations have been just friendly, I swear!" He replied and she nodded.

"I know that, you know that – everybody knows that. Everybody but Hershel," She smiled a small smile then. "Do you like her?" A slight blush bloomed across his face then as he looked away.

"Well . . . maybe, I just . . . she looked like she needed a friend and I . . . I don't . . ." He heaved an irritated sigh then that was the spitting likeness of Daryl as he pinned her with an equal stare. "Mom, do we need to have this conversation – at all?" Tessa grinned and laughed as she pulled him into a hug.

"That's fine; you don't need to say anything more. I have asked Daryl to talk to you too, though, so be aware that you'll probably get something from him too the next time you guys are out somewhere," She gave him a playful wink then as they broke apart. "You two can talk awkwardly of this together!" Ethan rolled his eyes then and let out another exasperated, 'Mom!' but grinned nonetheless as he turned around to move back towards Dale, Tessa lovingly brushing her hand along his shoulder as he did so. She watched him go for a moment before being approached by Glenn holding the basket of peaches. She smiled kindly at him as he approached and his apprehensive, slightly fearful expression calmed somewhat. "Glenn, honey, is there anything wrong?" She asked him with a concerned furrowing of her brow as she picked two peaches out from the basket, one for her and one for Daryl. He shook his head and a stricken look appeared in his eyes then as he fervently shook his head.

"N-No – nothing's wrong! What would make you think that anything's the matter?" He asked, his voice coming out high-pitched and fearful and she opened her mouth to say anything, however, he bit his lip and scurried off to the next person before she could say anything. Eyebrows still furrowed in confusion, she spun around on her heels and moved towards her and Daryl's tent. Carol was cooking breakfast at that moment, though, and must have been cooking bacon or sausage, for the smell of the roasting meat immediately made Tessa's stomach roil uncomfortably. She immediately felt bile rise up in her throat as she spun around again and opted to go the long away around to get to their tent.

She'd do anything to keep herself from vomiting.