"Do you think this whole thing could be a joke?" she picked at the dirt from underneath her pinky sometimes glancing up at the sky or around in careless fright.

His body slumped in a shrug. "I dunno did Rick shoot that little girl as a joke."

She sighed. "Maybe it started off as a joke then it went bad. There has to be an explanation on why this all happened and why it happened now."

"Ain't there something like this in the Bible?" he did not wait for a response. "Something like God picks who survives."

Rose laughed. "Perhaps that is true I wouldn't know, never studied the Bible." She rolled over onto her stomach resting her chin on his chest.

"I thought you'd be super religious since you're such a prune," Daryl's fingers were sliding down the length of her arm slowly tip-toeing their way across the small of her back exposed from her shirt coming slightly up. Her soft skin felt so smooth against the pad of his finger tips. His hands were moving farther up her back curling around the dip in her side.

"I'm not a prune." Rose shook her head fighting off the smile reaching back and pulling his hand off her. "I just have morals and safety precautions and tents are very thin." She placed his hand across her cheek closing her eyes.

"Who cares." He began to get up to kiss her but she pushed him down.

"Just hold on a minute. Listen." She spoke softly. "It's so quiet." She hummed happily. "No walkers. Just the wind, and the grass, and the birds."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Okay nature freak we should go back."

"Can we just stay here forever? In this moment? No danger. Just us livin' off the land happily without a second thought. Fall asleep to the sound of the crickets and owls. No death. Just us. Living." Her frown was etched with a gleam of happiness as if she was happy that everything was bad. She flickered her eyes open and sat up propped on her knees.

"You're crazy," he smirked pushing himself off the ground sliding his hand across the back of her neck and pulling her face to his kissing her softly on the lips. He put more pressure on her mouth causing her falter backwards slightly jerking her arms out to grab onto his biceps for support. His tongue sneaked its way into her mouth playfully taking jabs at hers. They were oblivious.

"Daryl! Daryl!" Someone was calling and the kiss ended. Both red in the face, stood up and grabbed their things without a share of words. They were both pissed at interruption.

"Stay away from him Rose. For my sake." He told me quietly as my lower back pressed itself against the counter.

I tipped the glass back letting the water flow down my throat keeping my eyes on him. "I promise." I told him back.

Daryl frowned. "I'm serious. I can see the playfulness in your eyes, this isn't a laughing matter. He's dangerous, his group is dangerous; the things they could do to you…" he trailed off shaking his head. "I don't even want to think about it. Just please for the sake of my sanity stay the hell away from him, don't even think about him."

"Okay," I nodded turning around placing the empty glass in the sink then turned back to him. I grabbed his hand turning it over trailing my fingers over the bloody knuckles. "Was it necessary?" I asked him my eyes flickering from his hand to his face.

"We needed information." He replied recoiling his hand from mine.

I frowned up at him. "How are you any different from him then?" I walked away and out of the house. I found myself wondering down the dirt road path my feet carrying to where I had seen Andrea sitting on a barrel outside the boy's 'prison.'

Andrea eyed me as I walked closer to her. "What are you doing down here? Go back to the farmhouse. You shouldn't be down here."

"Says who?" I crossed my arms stepping in front of her.

"Daryl," her eyes looked beyond me as if checking if Daryl could see where I was

"Just please can I speak with him for a minute. Just walk away. If Daryl finds out you won't get blamed just say you had to use the bathroom or something." I pleaded with her sticking my hands in the back of my jeans. Andrea shook her head then stalked off. I fidgeted with the bucket outside the barn filling it with water before slipping inside. "Here," I said sliding the bucket towards the boy who scrambled to dunk his head in it.

"Thank you miss, thank you." He said between gasps water dripping from his hair and onto his clothes.

"It's the humane thing to do." I responded watching him from my knees. "Let me clean you up." I told him pulling out a rag from my back pocket and crawling towards him placing myself between his legs. I dipped the rag in the water bucket and pressed it too his face clearing away some of the dried blood.

He eyed me. "Why are you being so nice to me? Haven't you heard I'm dangerous?"

I smiled. "I'm not one to judge people based on unreliable facts."

"Is Daryl you're boyfriend?" he asked me his eyes concentrated on my.

I leaned back dipping the rag back in the water and ringing it out. "Don't drink from that again." I swiped it under his chin.

"Is he?" the boy asked again.

"I suppose." I shrugged. "He looks out for me, just a little too much though. I know I'm a little weaker than everyone else but I don't need a hawk on my shoulder all the time." I sighed pressing the towel to his eyebrows scrapping at a scab. "I love him or at least I think I do. I'm scared to tell him. I'm scared he'll leave or push me away or something. He used to have weird mood swings. He used to be very closed off and rude and just a cold person. He was scared to open up and that made him confused at what was happening, but he's warmed up."

"He tortured me." The boy quivered

I leaned back looking at his now cleaned face which was slightly bruising and swollen. "I know and I'm sorry. They shouldn't be calling you dangerous than coming in here and beating your face in. Can't practice what they preach."

"They're going to kill me aren't they," he asked leaning more towards me.

I frowned, "They-they haven't particularly decided on what they want to do with you."

Suddenly his face was buried in my chest his tears quickly moistening my clavicle. "Please miss; please tell them I'm not bad! Don't let them kill me please. You know I aint bad you said it yourself. I've done nothing wrong here. Please tell them I'm a good person a good, innocent person doesn't deserve to be executed."

His words hit me as he sobbed. I wrapped my arms around him folding his quivering body into mine. "Don't worry I'll talk to them. I'll make sure they at least hear you out and know you're innocent. I won't let them execute you." I whispered softly to him stroking the bad of his head while rubbing circles around his back how a mother might comfort her child. "It's going to be okay." I placed my head on his closing my eyes and smiling trying to ignore his hysterical crying and violet trembling underneath me.

"Thank you," was all he said between shallow breaths.

"My older brother Keegan used to do this to me when I cried. Tuck me away in his strong arms soothe me until all the tears had dried out. Tell me to stop being such a sissy." I choked on laughter me now being the one to cry. "He used to say 'Rose now you listen to me, you will come across so many boys in your life and they'll all break your heart every one of them except me. I'll never break your heart because you're my sister and I love you.' Well he broke my heart when he died; left me alone with no one to hold me when I cried." I sighed my breath shaking. "He always knew I was weak from the start."

"You ain't weak Rose," he told me. "You're brave enough to come in here and talk to me even after all you've heard."

"Like I said, I'm not one to judge." I pulled away from him grabbing him by the shoulders smiling.

Suddenly the barn door shook open. I shrieked scrambling backwards tripping over Randal's leg making me crash to the wooden floor bringing the boy with me. I felt the breath leave my chest as Randal fell atop me, he tried to move off but it was too late. Daryl had charged in taking a fist full of Randal's shirt, pulling him up into the air, and throwing him against the barn wall. Daryl kept coming kicking Randal hard in the ribs blood pooling from his previously cleaned mouth until Daryl pushed him up and pressed a knife to his neck. "Give me a reason," he said through gritted teeth, "Give me one god damn reason!"

I scrambled to my feet pulling at Daryl's shoulder. "I know what it looks like but I tripped and he fell when you came in. I got scared and fell."

Daryl dug his knife a little deeper into Randal's neck who squirmed with fright. "He was trying to rape you Rose, don't you see like the rest of his group does."

"No I wasn't! I swear! I would never do that!" Randal exclaimed.

"Why the hell were you even in here!" he snapped eyes on me.

I opened my mouth then closed it trying to find the words. "I came to hear him out. To clean him up. To undo the damage you, and Shane, and Rick did."

"I didn't do any damage! I was protecting my own! I was protecting you!" He spat.

Randal squirmed underneath the knife. "She don't need no protecting."

"Who gave you the right to tell me what she needs!" Blood trickled off the knife onto the floor. "I told you to stay away from him! Why can't you listen to me Rose? Why do you always have to get yourself into bad situations? Are you trying to get yourself hurt? Are you trying to hurt me?"

"Hurt you?" my voice caught in my throat.

Daryl looked down at the ground before stepping away from Randal who crumbled to the floor clinging to his neck as he coughed. "If something every happened to you, if he or one of his group members got a hold of you, if you died…I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing I could have done something more to make sure you were okay."

I took a step forward, "Dar-"

"When you walked off and I saw Andrea not on post and then I saw Shane I knew you went down here because I knew you'd want to talk to him. I knew you wanted to see what I had done to him. He's manipulative and I thought he might tell you something or make you do something. I had to make sure you were okay." He told me quietly. "I always need you to be okay." I took a step towards him but he just took one back. "I hate what you're doing to me Rose. I hate that you make me so worried about you. I hate that I care about you. I hate that I have to protect you. I hate that I love you."

I gasped at his confession, he seemed to be shocked by his own words also because as soon as they left his mouth he had fled the barn. "Daryl!" I called out running after him but he was gone.

Rose is finally growing some balls ya?

Tell what you guys think

xoxo-Kate