Heterochromia Iridum

It's feels like it's been so long! Christmas snuck up on me and I spent a lot of time with family and to myself; writing was put on the back burner. I honestly haven't felt the itch to write this story in a bit, so hopefully this chapter changes things. I definitely do intend to finish this. It wouldn't feel right to start posting another story and completely forget about Katty. So, don't worry!

Going over my chapter notes and stats, it's shocking how far this has come. Over 160,000 words, 50,000 views, 400 follows and 300 reviews.

So thank you to Sarah, NikChic, Guest, Charlie2193, Lilmonkey1507, JenTen, Biasoul, Guest, Shortyred, Jasamfromthestart, melissawtf, lalilou10, Suzzie, LoveFiction2016, lalilou10, Kaiya's Watergarden, lalilou10, lalilou10, Bactrian Camel, GawkyTC, Jean, Nirvana14, Junior, lalilou10, jeanf, chubot,lizselwyn, lilhobbit, lilhobbit, Memerememe, Ravenclaw Slytherin, and Janettey for reviewing since last chapter! Thanks to you new people who are just starting reading and following.

I've also posted the first chapter of Storm Warning, please go check it out. It's my new Negan/OC story.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters associated with the franchise. I own the plot to this story and any original characters you may see, like Katty or Calum.

Warning: Recreational drug use in this chapter. Feel free to skip.

Chapter 24: Predator

Maggie leaned back from her hunched position over the list of supplies they were hoping to find on the run. It mainly consisted of columns and bullet points, each depicting under which conditions they'd be able to grow which plant under. They required a variety of products that Alexandria surprisingly, wasn't equipped for. Different variations of trellises for different crops, but then it ranged down to where they were hoping to find simple things like hoes and wheelbarrows. The list was lengthy, but Alexandria was hoping to become as self-sustaining as possible – it was unlikely that they'd be able to secure all the items within the single trip, but it was worth a shot.

"Hey, Mags?" Katty popped her gum – a commodity which was hard to come by but she had managed to grab a few packs during the Walmart catastrophe.

Something was bothering her.

"What?" the female managed to yawn out while she stretched in her chair. They had been sitting there for a few hours now.

Katty eyed Maggie warily, wondering if pregnant women should remain stagnant for that long. What was it, were they were supposed to move, or not move? Katty couldn't remember.

"You think women can get blue balls?" Katty asked monotonously, popping her gum once again. She was done staring over maps and lists and spreadsheets and plans.

Maggie opened her mouth to reply, and then promptly shut it once more. Katty watched her lazily, rocking slightly back and forth on two legs of her chair. Maggie seemed to chew the inside of her cheeks for a moment, biting back a smile before retorting a clipped, "What?"

"Ya know, like blue clit or something? Blue ovaries? Whatever the equivalent is."

"I know that was your attempt at explainin' yourself but you're goin' to have to give me more than that," Maggie wasn't even trying to hide her amused expression anymore, and Katty flicked the eraser on the desk at her friend haphazardly.

Katty groaned and then rocked her chair forwards so the front two legs clacked to the ground noisily, before resting her chin in her palm. "Daryl won't come near me since the pregnancy test thing."

That something that was bothering her was Daryl.

Maggie snorted, "Can you blame him?"

"Yes – no – well, at least give me something!"

She hadn't told Maggie the extent of their 'fight', merely that he had found out. Katty had to explain why she had to tell Daryl that the test was Maggie's, after all. Maggie brushed it off, not concerned that Daryl would tell anyone.

The cackle that she got in return made Katty scowl and regret bringing it up to Maggie. "You're pregnant, shouldn't you be like a cat in heat or something?" she pointed out crudely.

"Yeah, but I don't have to work for it like you do," Maggie pointed out, "If I roll over in bed, Glenn's already halfway there."

"Ugh, sick," she pulled a face. "Even more sick that I'm actually jealous of you."

"Daryl's shy, you know that," Maggie explained patiently, "I'm sure his balls are just as blue as yours –" Katty chose to ignore the fact that Maggie outright stated that she had testicles, " – Make a move and he'll probably go along with it."

Katty blew a bubble with her gum while she listened. "Tried that," and she had. Katty would leave out the part where she explained to Maggie that it had been in her awkward, half-assed manner, but she still technically had tried. It had been, what – three, four, days since she had taken the pregnancy test, and it had all gone back to normal between her and Daryl.

Too normal.

Normal as in what it was like between them before they shagged on the bonnet on the car.

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. She had managed to get a few kisses out of him, and Katty understood the limit on PDA with Daryl, so they had all been when they were entirely alone, but the chasteness of the kisses annoyed her slightly. She didn't really like getting snogged as if she were his Nan, and whenever Katty attempted to draw him in more – whether it be her hands securing themselves at his neck or drifting other places – Daryl would end it politely and move away.

Katty wasn't anxious enough to believe it was Daryl trying to communicate that he wasn't interested anymore. She wasn't a stranger to boners, and if the strain in the front of his pants said anything, Katty was under the impression that it decoded to mean that he was still interested.

"Shit, like I know, Katty!" Maggie laughed. Katty could vaguely hear footsteps upstairs in the background, walking around the ground level of the house. They were currently in Deanna's study, finalizing the lists. "Maybe you aren't trying hard enough. Grab the proverbial bull by the horns." Maggie accompanied her metaphor by placing either index finger on the side of her temples, pretending to be a bull.

Katty groaned again, choosing to ignore the footsteps that were getting louder. Whoever was walking around upstairs sure had a heavy fucking step. She rocked backwards on her chair again, resting both feet on the desk in front of her while Katty balanced herself on two legs. She scowled at the ceiling.

"It just feels like I get wet at the drop of a fuckin' hat, and he suddenly has the virtuous nature of Mother Theresa."

Maggie was chortling to herself in the corner at her exuberant confession, and Katty slid her irritated gaze from the drywall to the brunette. Quirking a brow, Katty wondered what was so funny.

"Dixon's as much a nun as I am a fairy godmother."

The deep and masculine voice that sounded from behind Katty in the stairwell startled her, and her feet instinctually kicked from the deck, attempting to right herself. Her stomach leapt and then dropped as her centre of gravity changed and Katty fell ass over tits backwards towards the ground.

CRASH.

A crescendo of laughter was the first sound that greeted her when the world stopped spinning. Kicking her legs over her head so that she'd roll out of the chair that miraculously didn't break, Abraham was the first thing that she saw.

Jesus Christ, no.

Katty could feel her face burning.

"For a big fucker, you sure are quiet," she snapped, grabbing his hand when the redhead offered it to her. He pulled her up easily, still chuckling.

"Guess you were too preoccupied," Glenn chimed from behind Abraham, already standing beside his wife. Katty was secretly jealous; it was like there was a magnetic pull between the two, and they were never far from each other.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Katty tried and failed to calm the blood rushing to her face up to her ears. "Maggie was just telling me how quick you are, Glenn."

"I was not!" Maggie's immediate protests sounded over Abraham's proceeding laughter and Glenn's now pink tinged face.

"What do you two brutes want, then?" Katty dusted herself off as she tried to pick off the ground her chair as well as her dignity. "Can't you see we're working?"

Abraham and Glenn both rolled their eyes. "Looks like you've gotten a lot done," Glenn cheeked.

"Your boy's back," Abraham rumbled at her. Katty's ears perked at that.

"Calum?"

Abraham nodded. "Got in a few hours ago, and we've almost finished packing the vehicles to leave if you wanna get your skinny ass up there. Your weapons are already loaded in the van."

Katty frowned. "Calum wants to leave again already?" The man had already been gone a day and night, apparently returning this morning. She didn't approve of the lack of recuperation time.

"Didn't return with much, sounded like it was pretty uneventful so he's pretty eager to leave again," Abraham concluded with a noncommittal shrug.

Katty still didn't like the sound of that, and immediately got up to start collecting the maps and lists that were on the desk behind her. Calum was often too eager to volunteer for jobs, anything to keep himself preoccupied, and she didn't always trust his judgement on whether he was too worn down or not to accept it.

It was true, they had been waiting for Calum and Heath to return before they would leave together to go supply hunting. Initially, it was supposed to be a small group. Calum, Katty and Rosita had been the original three, being that they all worked well together and understood what the objective was. The run for agricultural supplies had been planned for a while now, but as it went on, the closer it came to the date, it got pushed back. More people became involved, and there were more meetings held about it. Without her.

It didn't bother her entirely that Rick spoke to his group about it without her; Maggie was there, after all, she knew about as much as Katty did. It would just be repeated information, so there was no real need for her to be there.

But she still had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was missing something.

Katty bid Maggie a short goodbye, accompanied with a hug. The woman didn't deserve it with how much she laughed at Katty today, but she did anyways, before Katty and Abraham ventured up the stairs and out the door. Glenn lingered back to say goodbye to his wife in privacy.

"You're coming too, Abe?" Katty glanced over at her companion as they walked towards the front gate.

From beside her, he nodded. "Wouldn't wanna miss any of the action," the Sergeant paused before sending her a grin from behind his mustache. "Or lack of action from you and Dixon."

"Shut it," she hissed as they drew nearer to the vehicles at the front. The last thing she needed was Daryl hearing that. She'd be celibate for life.

Katty didn't voice her opinion, but upon seeing the collection of people milling about in front of the vehicles, it made her wary.

Herself, Abraham, Glenn, Calum, Daryl, Rick, Rosita, and Michonne.

Katty narrowed her eyes. She knew it would be bigger than the original trio that were supposed to have gone, but this was a bit excessive. All of them were proficient fighters, all strong and competent and Katty thought that surely they had better things to do than go on the supply run. Granted, there wasn't really a designated supply run team anymore, considering that Noah and Aiden had died. But, to take a large number of the people who were capable enough to defend Alexandria, the run had to be worth something.

Something was wrong, she knew it. It didn't make sense why so many people were going on the supply run for some goddamn seeds.

Katty didn't say anything, aware that there were more residents lingering about as they prepared to leave, and assumed that she would either end up causing a scene, paranoia, or being dismissed. She'd have to try to find the answer at a more opportune moment.

Tact was not exactly her strong suit, however.

Abraham elbowed Katty roughly when Daryl appeared from behind one of the large, industrial looking vans. Katty grunted and then turned to frown at Abraham.

"What?" she snapped, already expecting the worst.

He pretended to look around before clapping his hands around his head. "Katty," he whispered urgently and loudly, attracting the attention of a few people who glanced over, curious.

"It appears I've dropped my hat. Would you know where to find it? I wouldn't want it gettin' wet."

Katty felt heat creep up her neck for the second time that day, and scowled at Abraham, grinding her teeth. "I wouldn't, but if I do, I'll make sure to shove it up your arse so you won't lose it again," she ground out thickly.

"What's this about being wet?"

Abraham and Calum were going to be the death of her, she was sure of it.

"Drop it, Calum," Katty turned her stern look to the pretty-boy behind her, flashing his typical, bright white smile at her.

She quickly took a moment to look over Calum contemplatively. Abraham was right, he didn't appear any worse for wear. Still had that stupid grin on his face. His dark hair was perfectly coiffed, and Calum seemed well rested, along with freshly showered.

"Did you even go out yesterday?" Katty asked dubiously. The man rolled out of bed looking better than she would if she tried, it was infuriating.

"Sure did," Calum popped, encircling Katty's shoulders with a lean arm as he walked with Katty in between Abraham and himself. "And I may have found something that you will be mighty interested in."

She bit back a smile, slightly nervous for whatever Calum found while he was out that made that glint in his eye appear. She was about to ask what it was, before they stopped walking in front of Rick.

"Katty," Rick called, amusement ringing in her two-syllable name. "You're riding with me, Calum, Daryl and Michonne." He then turned to speak to Carl, who was standing off to the side holding Judith.

Calum's arm was still slung around her shoulder when she looked up at Rick, in time to see Daryl getting seated into the last bench of the van.

Calum didn't seem to miss her pointed look at Daryl, and tossed a grin her way. "I'm napping so you get to sit in back," he quickly instructed before shoving past her to beat Katty into the vehicle.

Katty rolled her eyes, biding her time by securing her machete more securely to her hip before Michonne yelled at her from the passenger seat to get in.

"Hey," she murmured to Daryl as she clamored into the back, taking a seat that she hoped wasn't too close or too far from the man to be perceived as weird. Katty suddenly felt nervous around Daryl, though she knew she shouldn't be.

Daryl was spread out comfortably over what would decidedly be 'his half' of the cushioned bench in the back. He grunted in response, barely looking up at her from the knife in his hands, picking dirt out from under his nails.

Charming.

They started driving, and Katty was momentarily distracted from admiring Daryl by the grumbling up front.

"No," groaned Michonne. "Anything else. Please."

Rick was rustling with a CD case in his hands while he sat in the driver's seat. He let out an embarrassed laugh, though ignored Michonne's complaint and slot the CD in the player anyways.

"It's good," he protested, "Better than that D-12 one that Carl has on repeat," he rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the woman beside him.

Buddy Holly's Greatest Hits album started playing, and Rick immediately started snapping along enthusiastically to Oh Boy!

Daryl let out a groan from beside her and his head fell back to the headrest behind him. Katty snorted. Rick's obviously was respected greatly for his taste in music. She heard Calum laugh lightly from his place in front of them before he rolled over to face the back of the seat.

"Oh, Rick," Katty remembered suddenly. "Did you want the map?" she reached for the folded up paper beside her.

He waved over his shoulder at her dismissively. "We're fine for now," he explained. "We left late today and wont be getting' to any of those buildings 'til tomorrow. Just goin' to drive for a few hours and meet to camp for the night."

Katty's eyebrows raised. "Why didn't we just wait 'til tomorrow early morning to leave then?" It didn't make much sense to her why they had left early afternoon just to waste a day driving and setting up camp.

Rick glanced at Katty through the rear-view mirror. "Wanted to get a move on," was the simple retort, his tone not leaving much room for discussion.

Katty shrugged, unconcerned for the moment. She would prod more later, when they stopped.

The conversation took on a lighter tone after that, with Michonne lightly teasing Rick every so often about his singing or his off-beat snapping. Katty smiled at the genial banter; she figured there was something hidden between them, even if they didn't realize it yet. Calum snored lightly from his prone position in front of them. Daryl still sat beside her, spread out, his arms stretched around the back of the headrests.

At one point, Rick had to drive around and in the grass to avoid a snare of cars on the highway. The jostling and somewhat sharp turn slid Katty down the bench and into Daryl's side, who stiffened somewhat at her sudden presence beside him.

Katty squeaked and squirmed, trying to move away from the redneck while she muttered an apology under her breath. She didn't particularly want to draw attention to them and make Daryl uncomfortable.

As she tried to move away and back into her respected seat, Daryl's arm from around the back of the seat curled and gripped her shoulder, effectively halting her motion. Katty froze, she was halfway off of Daryl and halfway leaning under his shoulder and on his chest. Katty's gaze immediately fixed itself on Rick and Michonne in the front seats. Both were preoccupied with the tangle of metal on the highway, muttering directions to the other car over the Walkie Talkie they had to communicate.

"Relax." Daryl's voice was like sandpaper on gravel and the light, murmured command sent a shock straight down to her core.

Katty felt herself making a decision and leaning back in towards Daryl. She felt starved for physical contact, even though it had really only been just over a week. Katty blamed Daryl for that. She had gone almost the entirety of the apocalypse without intimacy on this level, and now that she suddenly had a taste of it, she was addicted.

Katty relaxed into his side, Daryl's fingers lightly rubbing her left shoulder, distracting her from any fear of being caught by Rick or Michonne, or worse; Calum. Calum was asleep, after all. This wouldn't hurt, would it?

His scent, entirely masculine and entirely Daryl invaded her senses the longer she lounged against him, clouding not only her mind, but her judgement.

Fuck it.

Katty rolled slightly to her right, craning her head around and angling toward Daryl. Her lips captured his, Katty being only momentarily surprised that he had allowed her to kiss him in the back of the van. The surprise was fleeting, before she said 'fuck it' once more, twisting more in her seat to press herself against him more.

Her right hand anchored herself with Daryl's thigh as she moved against him. Katty could feel Daryl starting to pull away from her, when the van ran over what she assumed was the bodies of a few Walkers by the amount that the vehicle jolted.

The jolting bounced Katty slightly and she fully turned and steadied herself with her other hand on Daryl's opposite thigh in order to stop herself from falling over for the second time that day. Daryl's mouth opened momentarily from the sudden surprise and Katty took the opportunity to angle her mouth better and slide her tongue into his mouth to play with his. Daryl's tongue and teeth clashed with hers as the van bumped around again, in a way that was demanding and needy and made her pussy throb with just as much need.

Her hands squeezed his thighs as she let out a small whimper at the contact. Her left hand brushed against the noticeable bulge in his pants and Daryl, as if just remembering where they were, practically ripped himself away from Katty. Just as the van steadied itself again and they started driving smoothly, Daryl maneuvered Katty back into a proper seated position. She was still nestled under his arm, but it felt miles away compared to where she wanted to be.

Rick didn't bother looking back at them, his eyes focussed on the road, scanning for any more delays, "That seems to be the last of the traffic snarl," he commented to them offhandedly, the Walkie Talkie in his right hand.

Katty was barely listening to Rick, her thoughts focussed on the man beside her. She wanted to groan out loud at the loss of contact. And, also at her sexual frustration. One fucking kiss and she was a goddamn puddle. Her breathing was somewhat laboured, and Katty ventured a look over at Daryl. He wouldn't look at her, but Katty was close enough she could see the dilated pupils, the irregular, rushed rise and fall of his chest as he tried to steady his breathing.

Maggie's words of encouragement rang through her hand briefly.

"Grab the proverbial bull by the horns."

Katty was sure that Maggie didn't mean it how Katty had chosen to interpret it as, but what Maggie didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Turning her head so that she could watch his expression out of the corner of her eye, Katty placed her hand on Daryl's knee. He didn't flinch at the contact, so Katty continued. Running her hand a bit lower down his leg, Katty altered the pressure between a light touch to practically massaging his leg.

From her position, she saw Daryl turn to look at Katty questioningly, and she could feel him running his own gaze over her features. Fuck, how she wanted to look at him. Katty figured that Daryl would soon get fed up and bat her hand away, so she moved quicker, running her open palm down his thigh lightly, before retreating once more. Katty repeated this motion a couple more times before she quickly turned her face towards him to watch his features as she roughly cupped his cock through his jeans.

Seeing Daryl's eyes cloud over, hazy with lust, and how his mouth slightly parted so he could exhale a shaky, ragged breath, Katty was sure she could later get off from that picture alone, burnt into her retinas.

She was able to stroke him a few times before Daryl decided that was as far as she was going to get, and snatched her wrist from his crotch. Fixing her with a stern look, Katty couldn't help but let her tongue trail along her lips at how blown out and lust filled Daryl's pupils were.

His eyes slid down to her mouth before they quickly bounced back up to her eyes. "Git over there," he ordered, shoving a pillow at her and sliding Katty away from him, along the seat. She couldn't help but let out a laugh at the man's attempt at putting some distance between them. All so that she wouldn't make him cum his pants in the back of a van with three other people in it.

"Everything alright back there?" Michonne asked warily, turning around and arching an eyebrow at the pair.

Katty snorted, her spirits suddenly lifted from the previous contact with Daryl. "Yes, mum."

She turned to watch, amused, as Daryl grabbed another pillow from below them on the floor and placed it in his lap.

"She's tired," he grouched, "Kat's goin' ta sleep."

Michonne quirked her other brow at Daryl before she turned her attention back to Katty. "There's probably enough room for you to lay down back there Katty. You should try to sleep; we'll be taking watch shifts tonight."

Katty wasn't tired, and wasn't completely done messing with Daryl yet. Katty kicked off her Timberland boots and placed them under the bench and out of the way. Sliding down the seat so that she was mostly laying down supine, just propped up by her folded pillow, she turned her focus back to Daryl.

He was looking everywhere but her, but shot her an annoyed look when her feet perched themselves on his lap. Katty smiled brightly back at him, and Daryl responded by flicking the underside of her big toe.

She waited a few moments for Daryl to look away, before she moved her foot and carefully pressed it on Daryl's still hard dick.

The violent jump that Daryl answered with made Katty bite her knuckles to keep from laughing. Daryl practically growled before he shoved her feet off and away from him, now instead using his pillow as a barricade from her.

Katty shook with silent laughter.

It was going to be a long ride.

She actually did get to sleep sometime after that, which Katty was sure Daryl was thankful for. She must have slept for a few hours, drifting in and out of consciousness when the members of her van would either talk to each other or the other vehicle on the Walkie Talkie. It wasn't a deep sleep, but it was enough to help make up for the hours that she still lost during the nighttime.

Katty still had nightmares.

Still dreamt of footsteps, restraints and that room. Still dreamt of the melancholy faces of dead friends. Still dreamt of horrors that didn't include the dead walking around.

It was less all-encompassing than it had been when Calum had woken her up that night, but they still remained. She figured that most people nowadays had night terrors, and Katty was not an exception to the rule. Calum had stopped shaking her awake at night, but Katty was too scared to ask if it was because her cries had settled or if he had just given up.

From her position on the seat, curled into herself and in a ball, Katty was prodded awake by an index finger in her rib cage. Jerking out of sleep, Katty scrambled to sit up.

"We're here," Daryl informed her, sending her a look that Katty thought was fighting between irritated and amused. He moved past her and hopped out of the van, presumably to start help set up the camp.

Katty yawned, stretching her arms above her head briefly before looking over the seat in front of her. Calum was up already, she presumed, considering his absence.

Getting out of the van herself, Katty looked around. They had pulled into a large clearing off the road they had traversed down. It was slightly elevated from the surrounding terrain and had a perimeter of treeline past the tall grasses. She figured they'd at least be able to see any Walkers that appeared.

Katty paused, her previous thought echoing through her mind once more. When had she started calling them Walkers? She rolled her eyes to herself. Rick's group was rubbing off on her.

She was absolute trash at setting up tents, so Katty was thankful for the fact that Calum was a military brat and used to the task. Within the collection of their group of survivors, Katty spotted Calum in the distance, finishing up by laying a small tarp under where the front door was.

She picked a spot on her chin as she glanced around at the group. Other than Rosita and Abraham, Calum and herself were the only ones sharing tents. Everyone else had their own. Her gaze landed on Daryl, who was also finishing the last set of poles on his dark green tent. Would he want her to come by, when everyone was asleep?

Katty cocked her head. They had never actually slept beside one another, so Daryl might think it was odd. This wasn't a ploy to try to get in his pants, Katty just wanted to legitimately sleep beside him. But after what she did to him in the van, she doubted Daryl was too keen on her presence.

She grabbed the bin of small lanterns from the back of the van and started handing them out to the various tents. Most of the supplies would be kept in the back of the vehicles, in case something happened and they had to leave quickly.

"Katty, was that you we could hear snoring over the radio?" Abraham called loudly to her a few tents over. Rosita poked her head out of the front of it, sending Katty a grin before she came over to grab a lantern.

"That would be Calum," Katty replied indignantly. "He sounds like a bloody lawn mower."

"Oh, Katty," the gardening machine himself called her in a singsong voice, drawing out her name obnoxiously long. "Come here, dearest." He quirked a finger at her.

Katty couldn't help but notice Daryl frowning at the pair of them as she made her way over to Calum.

"I have a birthday present for you," Calum declared, and it made Katty nervous. He was practically vibrating with excitement, and she glanced over her shoulder at the various people milling about the makeshift camping grounds.

"Bit late, Cal, don't you think?" she teased, knocking her shoulder into his as she grabbed her bag of clothes and miscellaneous from the back of the van and chucking the bag in Calum's tent. He had been nice enough to set up her cot for her on the right side of the tent. Her bag bounced lamely off the cot and landed on the floor. Katty didn't care enough to fix it.

Calum ignored her statement and pulled her back out of the tent. "You have to figure out what it is." Katty wasn't sure she liked the Cheshire grin on his face. Her stomach twisted nervously, and she walked back to the vehicles to look them over once more. Most of the rest would remain in the cars.

She chewed her lip briefly and looked over at his bright eyes. He looked too excited for Katty not to play along. "You have to give me a hint, then."

Calum squinted at her briefly, pretending to think it over. "Do you remember when we first met," he started, "and I asked you what you thought would make the apocalypse bearable?"

Katty frowned, trying to remember him asking her that. She vaguely remembered the conversation; it had been a few years ago but it rang a bell. Travelling together, mostly just the two of them, they had asked each other a lot of questions, told a lot of stories.

When they first met, after she had calmed down and Calum had explained the research at the CDC, it had become clear that the bite hadn't affected her and was healing. Katty could recall that, at the time, Calum had asked her seriously what she felt they needed most.

She knew she had responded sarcastically. What the hell had she said? Calum looked at her expectantly, arching a brow.

"So, KitKat," Calum drawled at her while they raided through a collection of cars on the side of the road. "What do we do now?"

"Hmm?" Katty looked up from the suitcase she was bent over.

"We have to have a plan," Calum continued, leaning against the side of the beat up sedan as he watched her. "What d'ya think we need to get through this?"

She glanced at the unstaring, rotting faces of the two undead that they had disposed of in the car. Moments ago, they had been snapping and snarling. What did she think they needed?

Katty rolled her eyes. They needed –

Katty's jaw dropped, and she whipped around to stare at Calum.

"No fucking way," she said incredulously.

He let out a whoop of laughter that reminded her of Merle, attracting the attention of everyone else around them.

"What's goin' on over there?" Glenn called, interested, as he and Abraham dragged chairs around where their fire would be when they cooked dinner later on that evening. Michonne and Rosita were already sat in two of the foldout, fabric chairs, chatting amiably. Rick and Daryl were off, combing through the tall grass for Walkers.

"Nothin', nosey," Katty chided, trying not to let a laugh bubble up. Fuck, it had been so long.

Katty grabbed Calum's hand and started leading him away, before Glenn or anyone else got too curious and headed their way. They passed Rick and Daryl as they headed towards the woods, and Katty greeted them with a short wave as they weaved through the tall grass.

"Where are you two headed?" Rick asked from a few meters away, Daryl near by, watching them warily.

Katty hesitated, unsure what to say.

"Gonna search through the woods a bit, be back in a shake," Calum supplied easily. Katty shrugged. Technically it wasn't a lie. They could check out the perimeter while they were at it.

Rick nodded in response, accepting the answer. Katty tried to send what she hoped was a comforting smile Daryl's way, but he merely panned his gaze up and down her figure slowly before turning away and continuing through the grass.

They did look through the woods some before stopping a good distance away from the group, they weren't completely irresponsible. Just slightly. Katty felt a bit guilty, and wondered what they'd say if they knew what Calum had in his pocket.

Glancing around, Calum pulled out a small baggie. Katty snorted at the appearance of an old grinder and a simple, black glass pipe and lighter in the Ziplock bag.

"What d'ya think we need to get through this?"

"I think everyone needs to chill the fuck out and smoke a joint."

"Where the hell'd you get that?" she asked as Calum opened the grinder and quickly began to pack the bowl halfway.

"When Heath and me were out yesterday. In an old house and found it in some dude's underwear drawer," Calum grinned at her.

"Underwear marijuana," Katty rolled her eyes.

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers," Calum chided her as he turned the lighter to light the bowl. He started to walk, passing the pipe to Katty after he had taken a hit. "We should keep walking. We have a job to do, after all," he said with a wink.

She followed beside him, inhaling and then blowing the smoke out slowly. "I didn't smoke that often before," Katty commented, passing it back to Calum once more. "But I really needed this," she laughed.

She knew they were being irresponsible and somewhat negligent, and quickly put the pipe away after they passed it between them a couple more times. She didn't want to be ripped out of her mind and then have to protect Calum from Walkers. Part of her was worried that the smell would attract Walkers, but her more relaxed portion of her brain could only picture super zen, chilled out dead people if they were able to get a contact high.

Katty laughed, "Maybe if Walkers smoked they'd be nicer."

"Wouldn't it make them hungrier?" Calum commented conversationally.

She cocked her head at him, contemplating the question as they walked the rest of the way around the perimeter and were now doubling back. "You think they'd get the munchies for human flesh?"

"What else would they want?"

"I prefer Doritos."

Calum let out an undignified snort and reached to tuck the rolled up baggie into Katty's back pocket. "You should change your clothes," he sniffed her. "You stink."

Katty batted at him playfully, but quickly ducked into the tent and changed out of her pants for some jean shorts.

"Katty," Rick called from outside her tent. "Daryl's goin' out huntin', why don't you go with him?" Katty's pleasantly buzzed brain thought that that sounded like a wonderful idea, and failed to hear the teasing tone in Rick's voice. Katty tucked the Ziplock baggie into a pocket of her bag before standing up.

"Sure, captain," she droned as she climbed out of the tent and zipped up the door. Rick shot her an arched brow look before turning and seating himself beside Michonne and Rosita.

Katty could see Daryl making his way towards the forest edge, crossbow slung over his shoulder, and she hurried to catch up to him.

He glanced over his shoulder at her approaching form, and slowed his pace so that she fell in step with him. Nodding at her in greeting, Katty let a lazy smile grace her features.

"Long time no see," she purred at him. Pot always made her feel cuddly and horny before the apocalypse, and apparently, the undead walking around didn't do much to alter that.

Daryl sent her a strange look over his shoulder and didn't say anything, which Katty expected.

When Daryl was in hunting mode, it was all he could focus on. She assumed that watching him hunt today would be no different; she'd be left to her thoughts. It would probably take everything in her to walk as quiet as she normally did and not go stomping through the forest and piss Daryl off, so silence was probably for the best.

She focussed on admiring him as he moved tactically through the woods, trying to follow practically in his footsteps in order to be as quiet as possible.

It helped that from this perspective, she could watch his ass as well. Katty trailed her eyes along his form, pouting slightly when she noticed his arms were covered up for once. Oh well. The man was still distracting, that was for sure.

Daryl would hold his finger up to her sometimes, glancing back to Katty briefly to stop her from moving. Katty barely noticed how long they had been out there until she realized that Daryl had an assortment of squirrel and rabbit hooked over his shoulder like a belt. She decided to ignore the dead things Daryl was using as an accessory, combing her eyes over him once again.

"Would ya knock it off, Kat," Daryl snapped at her, making Katty jump. Not as stealthy as she had originally thought, Daryl's cheeks were tinged with color as he looked over at her.

"What?" she asked dumbly, her mind trailing over the now all too familiar throb between her legs. It seemed to appear whenever Daryl was around, for whatever reason.

Snort.

"Lookin' at me like that," Daryl sounded embarrassed, but Katty couldn't figure out why. Looking at him like what? She was just appreciating his lean form and muscles and the way he walked and how his ass looked in those pants –

"Yer doin' it again," he shuffled uncomfortably in front of her and Katty jumped again, pulled from her thoughts.

She shrugged. "It's not my fault," Katty raised her arms in mock defense. It wasn't her fault that he made her pussy so wet and needy all the time.

Daryl froze, his eyebrows shooting up and his mouth slightly parted in shock. Katty blinked. What was the issue?

Her fuzzy brain caught up to her, and Katty realized that she may have said that last bit out loud.

Oh shit.

Before she could think of a viable response, a joke, an awkward distraction, Daryl was stalking towards her. It was completely unlike how he normally walked in the woods, hunting, but it was one in the same. He was a predator, making his presence known as such. Daryl's footsteps were suddenly heavy and demanding, much like the intense look that he was currently giving her as he advanced towards Katty.

Katty's brain finally pieced together that she was the prey in this situation, just as Daryl reached her and walked her backwards until she was pressed against the rough surface of a tree. Her heart hammered in her chest as he loomed over her, his normally blue eyes shrouded by dilated pupils.

Her throat was dry, and Katty clumsily gulped between ragged breaths that pressed her chest firmly to Daryl's.

He craned his neck down towards her, and Katty gasped when Daryl's teeth nipped at her ear before pressing himself against her and growling into her ear,

"Tell me again how wet I make that liddol pussy."

Oh shit.

A/N: Ain't gonna lie, it's been a while and I just really wanted to write something fun that would get me back into the swing of writing. I diverted a bit, because we were supposed to get into some stuff that's less fun, but I swear that we'll return to the main plot soon. I'd like to keep a good mix of themes going on here.

Awkward, bumbling Katty is my favourite to write, so she made a few appearances this chapter, I hope you don't mind!

Next chapter picks up right where this one leaves off. I'm bouncing around a bit in my personal life right now, so I might not be able to get the next one out for another week or two, but it definitely wont be another month's wait. Thanks for being patient with me, dears!

And I've posted the first chapter of Storm Warning, my Negan/OC story, so be sure to check it out and let me know what you think so farrrrr. Make sure to follow that one as well.

Thanks!

-Submechanophobia

Next Time: She was going to be picking shards of tree out of her arse for a week.