AN: Looks like I lied again! lets just say if I disappear for a while, its because I'm spending time with hubby. This chapter is mainly focused on bringing our protagonists back 'on track'.

Song: Emily Kinney 'Doctor'

Yeah, there's another Emily Kinney butchery in here. I guess that's my Normily ship coming through again. It'll be the last one… unless she writes a perfect song for whatever happens between now and the end.

The Walking Deth - Part III

An Unexpected Journey - Chapter IX

Making it Better

Daryl was sleeping soundly with his head tucked under my chin, and his damaged shoulder resting under my breast. His even breaths blew hot against my skin and the steady, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest was almost enough to lull me back to sleep.

I dragged my fingers tentatively over his head, drawing white lines on his scalp as they parted through his hair.

This was the way we had slept the last three nights, with me humming a tune to him to help him drift off, and massaging my fingers through his hair.

The first night I had been pinned under him for nearly twelve hours, before I was able to tug myself from under his weight. He had slept through that whole day, and I had returned to my spot that night, lifting his head to my shoulder and resuming the humming to give him the deep sleep he needed.

It had been a relief when he finally woke yesterday, but the dark circles under his eyes told me he still needed rest, so we had spent the last night in the same embrace and with me humming the new tune I had developed, inspired by recent events.

When I tried to wriggle from under his weight this time, he startled awake, snapped his head up and darted his eyes over the room.

"Somethin' up." His voice was heavy with sleep, but also tense with anxiety.

I chuckled at him lightly, and stroked my hand along the back of his neck.

"Nothin's up. It's just time to get outta bed."

He groaned and stretched, arching his back and pushing his arm up to the sky.

"I better take that dog out huntin', 'fore he goes crazy as a lady in a trailer full of cats." He chuckled at his own remark. "Or a dog for that matter."

"Uh-uh. You aren't goin' nowhere mister."

"Like hell I ain't. I'm getting' mighty tired of chicken and spam."

"I'll go huntin'. Catch you some rabbit, or squirrel, maybe even a nice fat buck."

"Nah Greene, you don' think I'm gonna sit 'round 'ere while you're out there do ya?"

"You'll be fine here. Marie had to keep an eye on you while you were out the other day and I taught her all the basics if somethin' were to happen to you."

"I'm not worried 'bout bein' alone. I'm worried about you bein' alone. Shit, what if you run into a group of crazies like I did the other day? If you came back at all it would be with more than a bump on the head."

He carefully prodded at the puckered skin on his temple, still held together by two small stitches.

"I won't be alone, I'll take Mix. And I won't go far. I'll stay in the woods around the school. I'll be close enough that you can hear my call if anythin' happens."

Daryl screwed his face up and gave his head a firm shake.

"That's a fucked up idea, Greene. I don't like it one bit."

"Don't get all chauvinistic now. You leave me alone all the time in this school… I can hunt, you taught me well, and I want us to share the load 'round here…Let me pull my weight."

"You do pull your weight. Takin care o' all the ankle biters."

I glared at him, showing my annoyance at these hunter gatherer roles that we had come to accept as the norm. Daryl met my glare with a glare of his own, but it quickly softened when my brows creased in seriousness.

"Alright Greene." He squinted at me in a display of false annoyance. "How come you can just look at me and get your own way?"

I tossed my head about innocently. " Maybe 'cause you love me."

"That I do." His eyes stayed focused on mine for a moment, while the smile passed over his lips. Then his brow bunched together in the middle. "I would feel much better about it all if you took Awse."

I nodded my head in agreement. The kid had earned Daryl's respect, and that was all I needed to know to give him mine.

"That would be a really good idea." I pulled my arm out from under his side and made a move to roll to my front.

"And Greene." Daryl called, making me turn back to face him. "What the hell am I gonna do with a school full o' kids on my own?"

…

I kept my word to Daryl about not going far out. From our position up the hill, we could still make out Daryl and the kids sitting in the cafeteria courtyard.

When I had left Daryl and the kids, he had been teaching them how to remove the safety from the various types of weapons he had found, and drilling them on what to do in an emergency. It wasn't my idea of a rest of recovery, but the mere fact Daryl Dixon had given up a hunt so he could teach the children anything at all, had my stomach doing flip flops with pride.

Austin walked ahead of me, following Mix who had his nose pressed into the dirt. I held the crossbow cocked and aimed ready to fire at whatever Mix drove out.

Mix found a burrow, and stuck his snout down it, and a few moments later a grey rabbit darted out in front of us.

I pulled the trigger and the arrow went flying into the rabbit's skull.

I smiled to myself in triumph, relived that I could still hit a moving target.

Austin marched over to the bundle of fur excitedly and picked the rabbit up by its hind legs, dangling its arrow skewered head about.

"That was a real good shot, Miss Beth." He grinned back at me.

"You wanna try shootin' the next one?"

"Naw, I dunno. It's kinda hard to use…and heavy." He said pointing at the bow.

"It takes some getting' used to. Come over here and give it another try."

Austin paced back towards me and we swapped bow for rabbit, and I tugged the arrow from the rabbit's skull and looped the length of rope from my shoulder, around the rabbit's neck.

Austin dropped the bow down and braced his foot in the stirrup and began tugging at the string. He grunted and huffed and puffed and his face turned bright red. It only moved a few inches before he gave up, but I was still impressed.

I held out my hand for it and he passed it back, with a pout on his lips.

I put my foot to the stirrup and strained back on the string until it clicked into place.

"I dunno how you do that." His eyes squinted like he was figuring out a math problem.

"I had Daryl lessen the draw weight some time ago, but it's still not easy. It hurts my hands every time." I showed him the fresh welts appearing on my hands and fingers from where the string had grazed my skin. "And it takes a lot longer to load than a gun."

"Why do you use it then?"

I handed the bow back to Austin, and he looked over it like it was an exotic zoo animal.

"It's quiet, and you can re-use the arrows. And 'cause Daryl gave it to me. It's like a little piece of him, and that makes it real special."

Austin's eyes left the bow and turned back to me

"You two love each other don't you?"

"Sure do."

"I should tell you what happened that day…when Daryl hurt his head."

I was about to hand Austin the arrow from the rabbit so I could show him how to load it, but my train of thought fell quickly from hunting to what had happened to Daryl that I didn't already know about.

"Yes. Tell me."

Austin looked down to the crossbow resting on his joggers.

"He had his pants down…I think they mighta…raped him."

My heart suddenly turned into ice; heavy, still, and rigid. I swallowed in an effort to shift the awful feeling, but the ice only dropped downwards, causing my belly to squirm and clench. I knew what it felt like to have that done to you, to have all power taken away from you, to be made to feel like you were nothing. No wonder he had said it made him want to die.

I hoped maybe Austin had it wrong, maybe he didn't know what he was talking about. How could such a horrible word come out of a twelve year old boy's mouth? Before it wouldn't be right for someone so young to know such a word, but things weren't like before.

I managed to pull myself out of my state of shock enough to focus on Austin's pouting face and ask him; "You know what rape is?"

"Yeah…when we first got to the centre, things were bad, until the army people started comin' 'round more... Some people did that to other people… It's when you have sex with someone and they don't want to do it."

I dropped a knee before him, and placed the crossbow he was holding into the dirt. My arms were shaking so bad I had to grip on to Austin's arms to still them. I looked up in to Austin's eyes, partially covered by his long, dark locks.

"It's more than that."

Austin's eye creased like he didn't understand what I was telling him.

"You shouldn't even know about these things…but this world isn't sunshine and rainbows. There are no rules or laws to protect us no more; we can only protect each other. I think you should know what it's all about."

Austin nodded his head and waited for me to proceed.

"It's about power and control, and about weakness and strength. Those that are weak take control of those who are strong to make themselves feel powerful…"

"But if they're weak, how can they get more power than you?"

"It's about strength in here." I said, placing a finger on his breast bone. "They don't have any of it, and they don't want you to have it either."

Austin nodded like he understood what I was saying, and then his eyes dropped back to his shoes, and he began scrapping them through the dirt, slowly, from side to side.

"I tried to protect him." He muttered to the ground. "I had to kill someone…His blood was warm." He held his hands up in front of his face and flexed them open and shut, as if the blood were still sticking to his hands.

I took his hands in mine to still them and gave them a squeeze.

"I'm sorry you had to do that…But you might have to do it again someday…'cause that's what we do to keep the people we care about safe."

Austin looked back to my eyes and nodded.

"I wasn't s'posed to tell you, Daryl didn't want me to."

"You did the right thing by tellin' me. I need to know when big things like that happen, so I can help Daryl handle it."

Now I just had to figure out how I was going to approach the rough and hardened redneck about it.

…

Austin had been keen to skin and clean the three rabbits we had caught, so I left him in the courtyard with his knife and a bucket, to do the dirty work. I went wandering through the school, looking for Daryl and the other kids, while trying to think of how or if I was going to bring up what Austin had told me.

The sound of giggles echoing off the walls drew me towards the art room.

I had expected him to be teaching them about how to hold a blade, or pull a grenade pin, or build a fire. Not art.

I had wanted himl to take the kids into the art room ever since he had done that angel wing painting on the gym doors. He had refused, saying he had no patience, but he must have run out of ways to keep the kids entertained during the day. The idea of Daryl teaching anything but survival made me grin from ear to ear.

The door to the room was wide open and I edged my way towards it and leant in on the frame, curious about the state I would find them all in. The kids were completely covered in paint, and were rubbing their hands all over pieces of paper on the art benches, while giggling and chatting to each other. Daryl was sitting in the front row, slightly hunched over as if he were holding on to something. I crept closer silently, not wanting to reveal myself, and felt a whole body flutter when I took in his appearance.

He had paint covering his hands and forearms, and a few war-paint like smudges over his cheek. Winnie was perched on his knee, covered in paint, with her tiny legs dangling by the side of his. She was smearing her hands over the paper in front of her, and Daryl was looking down on her with the most astonishingly beautiful, tranquil look on his face. It reminded me of the times he would nurse Judy. I was amazed at how a man, who was so rough, could look so natural with a child in his arms.

"You put a bit of dark under 'ere and it makes the eyes come out at ya." Daryl said to Winnie as he guided her thumb over the paper on the desk. It was a myriad of colours painted with smudges, swirls, splashes and spots. Somehow the composition of random pattern and colour made a completely recognisable image.

"Is that Merle?" I murmured, as I stepped in closer.

Daryl jumped a little at the sound of my voice, and stiffened when his eyes fell on me, as if he didn't want me to see this softer side of him. But I had seen it, and I liked it very much.

He cleared his throat and then turned back to the image. "Nah." He grunted.

Daryl paused with his hands on the work for a moment and then turned it a little towards me.

"It's my dad."

"I did some too." Winnie told me excitedly.

"So I see." I pulled the painting a little closer to look it over, and then turned back to Daryl, and then to Winnie's bright eyes, circled with flecks of paint.

"Why don't you go wash up?" I told her. "Get everyone else to go too."

Winnie slipped herself off Daryl's lap, and walked to the other kids demanding that they follow her to the bathroom. They bickered among themselves for a few moments, arguing that she couldn't tell them what to do, but I gave them a stern look, and they all filed out of the room obediently.

I turned back to Daryl when we were finally alone.

"Why was she helpin' you paint…him?"

Daryl gave his shoulders a shrug.

"An innocent set of hands. Thought she might help keep 'im from lookin' like a monster."

"…But he was a monster."

He shook his head.

"Nah, he was just a sick asshole. A sick asshole with an even sicker asshole for a dad."

"Why did you even paint him?" I asked as I pulled up a stool to sit by him. Daryl leaned back on his stool, and began rubbing his fingers through the hair on his chin, spreading paint around as he went.

"You 'member the night we…" He looked to the ceiling and chuckled lightly. "The night you wanted Cheetos?"

"Yeah."

"You were gonna paint 'em 'cause you forgot what they looked like."

"Did you forget what he looked like?"

Daryl looked back to the painting and began rubbing his fingers over the edges.

"No, I remember. Just he's not here no more. Somethin' like them Cheetos we never had."

He smirked and I forced a smile back at him.

"He's gone. He died out in the ass end of nowhere. He was never buried, we never had no funeral…but I wanna burn him. If you want somethin' to stay gone you gotta burn it, right?"

…

We waited until the children were all in bed to burn the painting of his dad. We took it out to the courtyard near where I scrubbed the clothes in the metal wash basket, and Daryl set light to a corner of the page while he held it at arm's length.

The flames licked along the edges, and crept along the face of the page, surging when they reached the paint. When the flames started edging towards his hands, Daryl tossed it into the wash basket and we both watched while his father's face turned black and folded in on itself and then crumbled away into ash.

After Daryl had tossed the ashes into the air, We did the perimeter check together, with our hands interlocked together. I could feel a relaxed air about Daryl. He seemed to carry himself taller, breath a little deeper, and his smile seemed to reach his eyes a little easier.

He seemed so at peace I almost didn't want to bring up what Austin had told me, but I was worried it would be another thing he would try to bury, and it would come back to hurt him later.

We continued pacing around listening to the sounds of the night, while I contemplated what I was going to say, and Daryl checked if there were any weaknesses in the fence. There never were. I couldn't imagine the fence failing us like it did at the prison, not unless someone was to drive a truck through it at high speed. This place really was the best place we had ever found to live; it felt almost criminal to leave it.

"This fence is real secure." I told Daryl, while he was kicking his boot into one of the iron tubes.

"It is." He replied without looking at me.

"And this place is so quiet."

Daryl was still for a moment, taking in the noise of the night. Frogs, cicadas…but no walker growls.

"Yeah." His eyes finally rested on mine.

"It seems such a pity to leave it."

Daryl let out a long sigh, puffing a cloud of mist in to the cool night air.

"I know. But it don't have to be forever."

I dropped my eyes and Daryl gave my hand a re-assuring squeeze. "We can come back with the others. It's just too much for this two man ─plus toddlers─ army."

He put his finger to my chin and lifted my face so our eyes could meet.

"The more people we take in the stronger we are, and all that shit."

We both chuckled remembering it as something the termites had said.

"We gonna start eatin' people now?" I teased.

"Nah. But you know what I mean."

I did know what he meant. We had done fine so far here at the school, but there was always that chance something could go wrong. Just like when those men attacked Daryl. We couldn't take the risk of being alone if people like that, or like the governor ever came to the school.

I squeezed his hand, and then tugged him along so we could complete our checks and get upstairs where it was warmer.

Once upstairs and in the warmth of the office, Daryl slipped out of his vest and shirt and dropped them on to the floor, he toed out of his boots and then made his way over to the window. He slipped a finger between the blind and peered out into the moonlit darkness.

"What're you lookin' for?" I asked him while I finished undressing, myself.

"Just checkin'. Always felt wrong not havin' no-one on watch."

"Mix has done a pretty good job so far. We've never had any trouble but a handful of walkers."

Daryl let out a sigh as his shoulders rose in tension.

"You and I both know there's worse out there than walkers, and bricks, mortar and iron ain't gonna hold 'em back."

Much worse. Like the people he had most recently encountered. Resolved there was no better time than now, I pulled my sleeping sweater over my head and made my way over to him by the window.

The lamp light shone over his broad shoulders and the muscles on his back, highlighting the pattern of scars that stretched over his skin, and it momentarily distracted me, like a light beam glimmering on a surface might a kitten.

I pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder, and let my lips linger against his skin as I trailed my fingers carefully over the ridges on his back. He stilled under my touch, but he didn't tense as he so often had in the past. I had known about the scars for a long time, and I had known who put them there. But it tugged on my heart just a little harder, to know that he had suffered so long in silence. He had developed such a tough outer shell in an effort to deal with all the pain on his own. He had been alone for so long.

"Austin told me what happened…in the garage…with those men." I murmured into his shoulder.

Daryl turned to me, with a face free from expression.

I put my palms to his cheeks and held his face still, knowing he would more than likely pull away when he realised how much I knew.

"You don't need to say anythin' 'cause I already know how you're feelin'… But if you do wanna talk, I'll listen. If you wanna cry…" I nodded towards my shoulder. "There's a spot here with your name on it. And if you want me to hold you, I won't let you go 'til…"

"Beth." Daryl interrupted me with a surprising softness in his voice. He flashed me an unexpected smile, and dropped warm hands on to my shoulders. "Nothin' happened."

"Nothin'?"

"No. They fucked with my head. But I weren't gonna let 'em fuck with anythin' else…not without puttin' up a decent fight. Never coulda looked at myself again I don't think… I ain't strong like you."

I hadn't even realised how tight I had been holding my body, until I breathed an involuntary sigh of relief. It was silly of me to think anyone could do that to Daryl Dixon. Then the tensions suddenly crept through me again as a realisation dawned on me. It was what I had said to Austin about the weak taking power from others

"Is that why you did it to me? Or mighta done it to me? Were you tryin' to take some of my strength?"

"No!" He declared passionately, while giving my shoulders a firm squeeze. "I was just feelin' real shitty, and I thought bein' with you would make me feel better…but it didn't."

He wasn't the only one in this relationship to think that sex alone could cure what ails you.

"It was silly for me to think that dressin' up and doin' all that stuff with you would make you feel any better."

A playful grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"That sure didn't make me feel any worse." He said with a quirk of his brow.

"But the smacking did. That was really stupid."

"Yeah, don't think I'll ever be a fan of S and M." A teasing smile appeared and then left almost instantly as he dropped his eyes from mine. "I know I hurt you too…in the bathroom."

"It's okay. It didn't hurt too much."

He looked back to my face and all humour was gone from his expression.

"It shouldna hurt at all."

He began to run his hands carefully over my shoulders, barely brushing his skin against mine.

"I never wanna hurt you again."

He dipped his head and replaced the gentle touching on my shoulder with a kiss.

"I'm never gonna fuck you again neither."

"What?" I cried, as I stepped away from him feeling a little stunned.

He smirked at me and then pulled me in against his chest and began running his hands up and down my back.

"From now on, I don't fuck. I make love."

I chuckled softly with relief, and began stroking my hands over his bare back using the same motion and pressure as he was using on me.

"Do you think you know how to now?"

I only caught a glimpse of his smile before he moved his lips back to my shoulder, and began trailing light wet kisses to my neck, and upwards. His lips stopped on my ear.

"We can find out." I shuddered as his hot breath caressed the sensitive spot behind my ear, and I closed my eyes and found myself involuntarily arching my neck to allow him better access.

I heard his breath catch and opened my eyes to see he was staring at my throat. I knew there were still purple marks left behind from when he had pressed his thumbs into me.

"Don't worry about it." I urged him on. "Just keep bein' real gentle like you were."

He hesitated for just a moment before brushing his lips over the column of my throat and continuing to run wet kisses over my neck. His hands moved from my back downwards until they reached my thighs, and then he slipped them under my sweater, and began kneading his fingers into the bare skin of my backside, and then to the curve in my back.

I clutched on to the firm muscles of his shoulders feeling the chill of cold air touch my skin as he lifted my sweater.

I helped him tug it over my head, and drop it to the floor.

I stood before him topless as he ran the back of his fingers over my bare shoulders and arms, down to my wrists, then across my belly and up to my breasts. I shuddered as the tingling sensation his touch left behind, turned my skin to gooseflesh, and my bare nipples drew tight into little stones.

I was hyper aware of his shadowed eyes scanning over my body and taking in every inch of uncovered skin. His eyes halted when they met my gaze and he drew in a raspy and ragged breath.

"I love you, Beth." The words rolled of his tongue and loomed in the air, heavy with intent. I couldn't even smile; I was so overcome with emotion.

His warm and strong hands found a place on my waist, and he guided me towards him so that my aroused nipples dug into the heated flesh of his chest. His lips found mine and his kiss was tentatively careful and lustily forceful all at once.

A soft groan escaped my mouth as I reciprocated, tangling my lips and tongue with his, and tangling my finger into his short locks, so I could pull his mouth against mine.

His lips slipped downward and brushed over my chin as his hands caught me under the backside. With a gentle force, he lifted me upwards so my thighs clung to his hips, and I could feel him growing hard under his jeans and pressing into my sodden underpants.

He slid me upwards, and I gripped on to him tightly, wrapping my legs around his back, and my arms over his broad shoulders, while I pressing my face into his neck. I felt his body swagger and sway, and I turned away from the overwhelming heat and scent of his skin to see we were retreating from the window side and moving towards our bed.

His knee lifted below me and pressed against the place of growing heat between my legs, before he tilted me back and lowered me carefully on to the cool leather of the sofa.

I arched my back and sighed at the sudden chill, and he chuckled lightly at my reaction. He straddled over me and shifted me along the sofa, using one strong arm, until my body was fully supported by the seat of the sofa.

His lips found mine again, but I barely had a chance to flick my tongue against his before he had moved and began trailing wet kisses from my chin, to throat, to collar, to chest, to naval and lower.

His fingers pulled at the band of my underpants and I lifted my hips, allowing him to slip them off and he dropped them to the floor.

His eyes turned up to mine as his head dropped between my legs and I felt the gentle warm push of his tongue against my sweet spot. I groaned, clenched my eyes closed, arched my back and dropped my knees to the side inviting him to continue. His heat left me and was replaced by the cool chill of air as I felt him shifting around against my bare legs.

I opened my eyes to find he was now standing off the sofa and tugging his jeans down. He ducked down for a few moments and I could hear fabric shifting and plastic crinkling and then he re-emerged with a small square package between his teeth.

He tore it open, slipped out the rubber disk, and rolled it down over his engorged shaft. He crawled back over me and lowered himself down so the full length of his body was pressed against mine, and his shaft was pressed between my legs.

He put his forehead to mine, and brushed a finger over my chin.

"This is how I woulda liked our first time to be… if I knew how to do it then." His breath was hot against my lips, and I tilted my chin upwards just a little so our lips could touch.

My hands moved to his back, and I felt the muscles contort as he lifted his hips guiding his end to my opening.

We both groaned as he slid his way through me ─slowly─ allowing my body to adjust to his girth. My fingers found their way in to the ridges on his back and it took all my focus to be as gentle with my touches as he was being with his.

I closed my eyes and let my mind dwell on the multitude of sensations my body was experiencing all at once. His hot breath and soft groans that puffed against my neck. The heat and pressure from his calloused fingers that pressed into my back. The way the muscles of his lower back bulged and flattened under my hands as his hips bucked between my thighs. And the ceaseless pattern of infusion and withdrawal as he built up something hot and tight and fierce within me.

When my peak had been reached I tossed my head back, squealed into the air, and dug into his back, forgetting all about being gentle. I rode the wave of ecstasy as he continued to delve into me, extending the throbbing sensation with every thrust.

"I love you." He muttered again in a voice that was grainy and strained.

"I love you too." I half cried and half moaned, as I wrapped my legs around his waist, and writhed my body against his.

The slow and deliberate onslaught on my body continued on as wave after wave of orgasm clouded my mind, and loosened my body until I was a pile of quivering, witless Jell-O.

He let out his usual groan that told me he had come undone, and filled me with the final thrusts that were rougher than they had been before, as he tugged down firmly on my shoulders.

We lay in a bundle of twisted, sweaty, trembling limbs. Our chests moved in unison as our breaths grew longer and shallower, until there was so little movement between us, you couldn't tell where he ended and I began.

He was so still I thought he might have fallen asleep, until he lifted his head and took my lips in his.

"How'd I do?" He murmured as he pressed his forehead to mine.

"Perfect."

He chuckled and then kissed me again.

"Did it make you feel better that time?" I asked.

"Uh-huh. It was the lovin' not the sex."

"I think I've got somethin' else to make you feel better."

"There ain't nothin' that could make me feel better than I do right now, Greene."

I squirmed around underneath him until he got the hint, and rolled off. Then I rolled to my front and climbed my way off the sofa and to the guitar I always kept close at hand.

"Another song?" Daryl kept his eyes down and on task as he tugged away the condom full of white liquid, tied it up and tossed it to the ground in a carefree manner.

"You sick of my singing yet?"

"No. Never."

I perched in my usual spot on the arm of the sofa and put the body of the guitar to my lap. Daryl crawled forward on his front, wrapped an arm around my hips and put head on the sofa arm beside me, watching me with a restful smile on his lips.

Oh I wish I was a doctor who could heal your broken heart
Analyse each bruise and hear your story from the start
And stitch up every tiny tear
With a ribbon and a bow

Prescribe you some new medicine
That makes you feel less alone

No I am not a doctor
Just an ordinary girl
But I know the way your chest aches
The way your head swirls

when abandoned beat and broken down
By the one who knew you best
I was sleeping when I cut my veins

If I only knew my life was blessed

No I am not a doctor
But I've got some extra time
I've got some drugs
I keep in stock called Mary and moonshine

We both know that you're not gonna sleep tonight

I am not a doctor
But maybe you could let me try
So I put my hand against your head
I recommend that you stay in bed

Your temperature is getting pretty high
Well I'll help you get undressed

and mess around tonight

"Beth." His tone had an authoritative finality to it that threw me a little of guard.

"Yeah?" I muttered, wondering if I had said something wrong in my lyrics.

"Why do all your songs gotta be so sexy?"

I chuckled, relieved that it was the sexiness that had caught his attention. I gave my shoulders a gentle shrug in reply.

"Heck." He grabbed the guitar by the neck and placed it on the ground. "Looks like I ain't gonna be sleepin' tonight."

AN: RE the 'I miss my brother' comment from last chapter. He didn't only miss Rick as a friend and family member, but as a leader. Daryl already expressed he didn't want to lead (remember lord of the flies remark), plus he was shaken up by his run in and felt like he needed back-up. I made the mistake of just assuming you all knew what I meant. I will go back and edit that part to make it more explicit. I also dropped a few more hints in this chapter, and will continue to build on it. I'm not so great on the introspect stuff, so maybe that's why it was missed before.

Thanks for the feedback everyone :)

The chapters are going to get shorter from here on in, as I'm pretty anxious to get them to 'where they belong'...

I'm also slowly working on another Bethyl piece. I'm going to try out the whole fluffy, slow burn, teen rated thing. Keep an eye out for it.