Author's note: I am so sorry about the wait, but with finals, my mom's surgery and my new obsession with Ironman-I've been rather busy. Plus in all honesty I am starting to struggle writing this story, especially now that Mara kissed both Rick and Daryl. So unfortunately if things don't work out with the next few chapters, I might just slap an ending onto this story. But we'll see. If anyone has any ideas feel free to PM, I love talking to people anyway-especially writers lol
Question one: Mara's vision, ya or nay?
Question two: Mara's fight with Rick, ya or nay?
Question three: Overall chapter, ya or nay?
Question four: Rick's not too OC is he? And how is the new tension between them?
Question five: Any idea suggestions that might help for future chapters? Cause I really need them.
Special thanks to Eminemchick19, without you-this chapter probably would never seen the light of day. LOL. BTW everyone should look her up, she has some incredible fics. :)
~Cassandra
Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead. Though I'd be willing to pay for it-as long as the bank takes monopoly money…
A moan escaped Mara's lips as she laid her head on the table. Her head ached something mighty fine thanks to another upcoming vision. However she didn't dare hint at it. Instead Mara simply lied and said it was an normal hangover. One that included a lot "blank spots" in her memory. Though it was of course another lie, Mara had no problem with it. After all it wasn't the first time she lied to save face. Besides this time it wasn't just her face being saved-but Rick's and Daryl's. Rick obviously was pissed drunk, having both kissed Mara and claimed to desperately want her. The man was married after all.
Daryl on the other hand was a different story. The whole extremely drunk theory didn't seem to apply to the amazingly boisterous Daryl this morning. Then again compared to everyone else, Daryl seemed the most immune to alcohol. A fact her brother would go nuts over. Either way despite Mara's claims of not remembering ninety percent of the night, things were still awkward between the two them. "Morning." Rick greeted walking in.
Mara felt her cheeks heat up at the sight of the officer. Quickly she covered her face with her arms, blocking both Rick's view of her and hers of him. But even buried in her arms didn't stop the feeling of Rick's eyes her. She could only hope that Rick wasn't angry at her for what happened last night. "What's wrong with her?" she heard Rick ask, his voice strained.
"She has a hangover." Carl answered, "Do you have a hang over? Mom said you would."
"Mom is right." Rick said.
Lori smiled. "Mom has that annoying habit."
Rick smiled at her before glancing over to the still buried Mara. Memory of last night's kisses still fresh in his mind. Even six hours later Rick could feel the warmth softness of Mara's lips against his. And no matter how many times he brushed his teeth or kissed Lori, he still tasted the overwhelming fiery taste of vodka mixed with oranges and mint. It was an invigorating taste as well as an addicting one, Rick realized as he continued to stare at the girl. Never before had he lost control like that-not even in the years married to Lori. He sighed running a hand through his hair. What the hell was he going to do? Last night was a mistake for so many reasons.
"Eggs !" T-Dog called, "Powdered. But I do them good."
Two loud groans were heard from Mara and Glenn, causing everyone to laugh. T-Dog leaned over Glenn's shoulder pouring eggs onto his plate. "I bet you can't even tell. Protein helps with the hangover." T-Dog assured, he smiled at Mara. "Probably better than any super alcohol soaker your brother can make."
She groaned as another sharp pain hit her skull. "Don't tell me I told you about those?"
"Sure did." T-Dog grinned. "Guess we gotcha' more drunk than we thought if you can't remember even that-you and Glenn."
Rick gave her one last look before lifting up a bottle of aspirin Lori handed him. "Where did all this come from?"
"Jenner." Lori answered.
"Could you help me please?" Rick asked, his brain still slow from last night.
"He thought we could use it…at least some of us." Lori explained popping it open to hand him a few pills before passing it across to Mara, who gratefully took it. The young girl wasted no time in popping two aspirins in her mouth. An action that caused Lori to smile slightly. Mara probably didn't even remember the whole Shane fiasco last night. A good thing for all of them.
"Don't ever ever ever let me drink again." Glenn moaned.
"You?" Mara muttered. "I can barely remember last night and what I can remember is ninety percent fiction. Unless sometime last night Norman Reedus and Andrew Lincoln showed up and decided to make out with me."
"Who?" Andrea asked.
"Actors. Boondock Saints? And uh-uh what else has Andrew Lincoln starred in, besides this show?" Mara muttered to herself. She had Norman Reedus down tight seeing how Boondock Saints just so happened to be Zane's favorite movie. Figures right? Sometimes Mara swore Zane had more than a man crush on Daryl. Other than that though, Mara honestly did not know much about the actors' works outside of this show.
"Never heard of it or them." Andrea replied.
"Figures, I guess."Mara sighed, prodding the eggs on her plate with a fork. It only made sense after all, what world ever had doppelgangers in it? Hell she could only imagine what would happen if Daryl met Norman Reedus or Murphy from Boondock Saints. Surely only chaos would ensue.
From behind her, Daryl eyed her suspiciously. She was lying. It wasn't that hard for him to tell. The damn girl practically reeked of embarrassment and regret. All probably because of those stupid ass kisses he gave her last night. He scowled at the memory those fearful brown eyes of hers staring at him. Looking at him as if he were about to rape her, before running off with her tail between her legs . The thought of kissing him probably disgusted her. After all it wouldn't be the first time a woman found Daryl to be revolting .
"What the hell happened to you?" T-Dog asked Shane drawing Daryl's attention. "Your neck?"
The large burly officer sat down next to Mara, who stiffened slightly at his presence. An action that caught Daryl's eye. However it was the only thing that did. Barely hiding behind the collar of Shane's shirt was a bright red circle. One that Daryl knew for a fact…could only be caused by strangulation. "I never seen you do that before." Rick mentioned.
"Me neither." Shane said glancing towards Lori, "Not like me at all."
The woman glanced at him sacredly before looking down. Mara felt her heart ache for Lori. It was obvious the woman was rightfully petrified of Shane. And the fact that Mara claimed not to remember last night's events, mostly likely didn't help soothe that fear. Not when Mara losing her memory meant forgetting about the threat she made to Shane. Silently Mara made a note to let Shane know just how serious her threat was.
"Morning." Jenner greeted walking in.
"Hey Doc." Shane greeted a little too friendly for Mara's liking.
Dale glanced over, placing his fork down. A small frown apparent on his face. "Doctor I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-"
"But you're going to do it anyway." Jenner replied with a slight smile.
"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea responded.
Mara frowned scooping up more eggs into her mouth. "I did."
If Mara thought breakfast was awkward, she was wrong. Standing in the big room waiting for Doctor Jenner to explain everything was awkward. Not only did she have a feeling her science incompatible brain would not understand a word Jenner said, but for the first time ever Mara felt alone. The two people who she normally stood next, where the two people she was avoiding the most. All thanks to those stupid ass drunken kisses. Then to top it all off, Mara's post-vision symptoms were only getting worse. Luckily though, despite all the awkwardness and pain..no one seemed to notice. "Play back of TS-19." Jenner ordered Vi.
Vi repeated the order before the screen in front of them lit up. Jenner turned to them, a serious expression on his face. "A few people ever got to see this." He announced. "Very few."
"Is that a brain?" Carl asked looking at the screen.
Jenner gave him a light smile. "An extraordinary one….not that it matter much in the end."
Mara froze hearing the doctor's words. Her mind raced back to last night's dinner with the look on the doctor's face as he explained to them what happened. It had been a look of sheer hopelessness and pain An expression similar to the one of her father's after her mother death. Meaning that whoever this TS-19 was, Jenner not only knew them, but cared about them as well. She continued to watch the screen. Her heart rate increasing at the sight of what Jenner claimed to be the essence of human life.
"We are all infected." Jenner said suddenly.
"What? What did you just say?" Mara asked her head snapping towards him.
Everyone stared at her as if more surprised by Mara's outburst than what Jenner had said. Jenner looked at quizzically for a second. "I said they determine everything a person says, does or think from the moment of birth-to the moment of death." Jenner repeated.
Mara opened her mouth only to feel the familiar touch of Rick's hand on her shoulder. He stared down at her with a warm worried look she had not been suspecting. She closed her mouth looking down almost ashamed of her outburst. But Mara swore Jenner said something different-something about everyone being infected. "Death? Is that what this is? A vigil?" Rick questioned.
"Yes." Jenner replied, his voice sounding far away. "Or rather the playback of the vigil."
Andrea moved forward. Her eyes glossing over with pain. Despite her callous attitude since Amy's death, everyone could tell that she was still suffering. "This person died? Who?" She asked.
"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected… and volunteered for us to record the process." Jenner answered gloomy. Mara frowned taking in his tone. There was no doubt about it now. Whoever TS-19 was, Jenner not only knew them-he was close to them. Her frowned deepened at the thought. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to watch someone you cared for go through all that pain. To them agonizingly have their humanity ebbed away into nothingness. Andrea had to watch it already. "Vi scanned forward to first event."
"Scanning forward to first event." Vi repeated as the screen lit up once again. This time the whole cerebral cortex of the brain was an ugly dark color. Mara felt her heart freeze at the sight of it. She could only what the dark spots were. From behind, she could feel Rick stepped closer to her. His body blocking hers from everyone else's. It was almost as if he was trying to shield her from the horrors they were seeing. Vaguely Mara wondered if Rick remembered last night. However she shook that thought out her head. Now wasn't the time to be worrying about high school shit.
"What is that?" Glenn asked stunned.
Jenner turned towards them pointing at the screen. "It invades the brain like meningitis ….the adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shut down, then the major organs…."
He went silent as all the lights in the brain suddenly went off. Mara felt the urge to vomit as she realized what happened. The person had died. That was what someone's brain looked like when they died-what it would look like when Mara died. Overwhelmed Mara took a step back accidentally bumping into Rick. His hand instantly grabbed her arm in a gentle reassuring gesture. She looked up at him catching his far away blue eyes. For a moment Mara couldn't help but think of how natural this all felt. Her thoughts were cut short though by Jenner finally speaking. "Then death. Everything you were or will ever be….gone."
Mara bit her lip hard. Somewhere behind her, Mara could hear Sophia ask something pertaining Jim. However the only it was muffled out along with everyone else's voices. All Mara could comprehend right then was the seemingly decreasing rate of her heartbeat and haunting words of her father's favorite poem. The one poem he ever read to her…T.S Elliot's The Hollow Men. "This is the way the world ends….not with a bang, but a whimper."Mara recited softly to herself.
Rick glanced down at the young woman leaning against him. Originally he was swore to keep a distance from her. Lori was his wife not Mara. And after last night's events it only made sense to steer away from Mara. Even if she was nothing more than a good friend of his. However that was all easier said than done. For whatever reason there was, Mara had a habit of getting the protective side out of Rick. Whenever she was around all Rick wanted to do was protect her-whether it be from dangers of the outside world-or from Mara's own personal demons such as right now. It was a fact that was strangely unavoidable.
"Scan to the second event." Jenner said suddenly. Vi repeated the order, before doing as told. "The resurrection times vary widely. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hour, one minute…seven seconds."
Jenner's words caused a chill to go down Mara's spine. Eight hours was the longest anyone could fight the virus? It was a bone chilling thought, but not as bad as what Mara saw next. A red spark forming in the core of TS-19's brain. She leaned forward her eyes widening as the spark grew, emitting smaller but quicker spark of red through the patient's brain. Mara stared at it, her body suddenly feeling very heavy. For the first time ever she was at a lack of words. Luckily she wasn't the only. Everyone else seemed as shell shocked as she was. Finally Lori spoke up asking the one question on everyone's minds. "It's restarts the brain?!"
"No, just the brain stem." Jenner corrected, "Basically, it gets them up and moving."
"But they're not alive?" Rick interjected, moving away from Mara.
Jenner turned to him, palm outward. "You tell me."
Rick shook his head. "It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark."
"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part-that doesn't come back. The YOU part. Just a shell. Driven by mindless instinct." Jenner muttered. Suddenly a discolored vortex like shape spiraled into the TS-19's brain, instantly stopping all their-its movement. It took Mara a minute to realized what happened. Doctor Jenner had shot his patient.
"God." Carol gasped, "What was that?"
"He shot his patient in the head." Andrea said hopelessly. Emotion filled her face as she cocked her head slightly towards Jenner. "Didn't you?"
Jenner turned away his face stoic. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it. Not that Mara could blame him. Who would want to talk about the death of a loved one? Especially when their life technically ended by your hand. Mara felt herself shiver at the thought. If the time came would she be able to kill someone she cared about? Sure Mara was lucky enough to never have to worry about killing one of her siblings like Andrea did. But what if something happened to Rick or Daryl? It was no secret to Mara that she cared about them. She shook her head ignoring the building dizziness in it. Back in basic Mara had decided that she would kill any enemy that tried to harm her comrades. And that was in a world where zombies were a joke. So a decision to annihilate a threat…even if that threat once was someone-had to be the same.
"You have no idea what it is do you?" Andrea accused.
Jenner looked down for a second. "It could be microbial , viral, parasitic, fungal-"
"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui questioned.
He glanced over to her before nodding. "There is that."
"Somebody must know something." Andrea insisted moving towards Jenner. "Somebody. Somewhere."
"There are others out there, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked, her voice cracking.
Once again Jenner faced away from them. The hollow feeling in Mara's stomach began to grow. If this was some sort of fucked up dream she was having, Mara certainly would like to wake up now. After all who would want to live in a world such as this-where there was little to no hope. "There may be." Jenner half-heartedly lied, "People like me."
"But you don't know?" Rick pressed. "How can you not know?"
"Everything went down. Communications, directives-all of it. I have been in the dark for almost a month." Jenner explained.
"So, it's not just here. There's nothing left? Anywhere?" Andrea more so stated than asked. "That's what you're really saying, right?"
It went quiet as Jenner glanced reluctantly towards Rick, before staring downwards at the ground. A silently understanding passed through the room. Jacqui whispered a soft 'Jesus,' while Daryl mentioned something about getting shit-faced drunk. Mara opened her mouth wanting to give everyone some sort of reassurance, but once again could not find her words. Which was rather unusual for her. She was always optimistic and strong around others-even if it wasn't how she truly felt deep down. It just was the way Mara was. Her brothers dubbed it her motherly side-but in truth it was just one way she cope when things took a wrong turn for her.
However for whatever reason, her normally 'motherly' coping mechanism wasn't working today. Instead she felt her breathes become labored, her sight begin to narrow, her legs start to shake, and her body go into what Mara thought was a full fledge anxiety attack. Her knees gave way. Luckily though Andrea was near enough to catch her, before Mara slammed into the ground. She opened her mouth to thank the woman when a familiar pain shot through her. An anguished cry escaped her as pain continued to rip through her. Slowly her vision began to blur into a well-known blackness. "Mara?" Rick's voice breathed. "Are you okay? What's going on? Is it another vision?"
She was about to speak when her sight cleared. Mara blinked finding herself standing in the middle of big room as the others ran past her. From above she heard Vi state something about decontamination and a countdown. Slowly she scanned around the madness to see Andrea slumped down next one of desks. Besides her, Dale sat tired and frustrated. Not too far from them sat Jacqui who stared at someone. Mara followed her line of sight only to catch Jenner leaning down to whisper something in Rick's ear. "We are all infected." Jenner declared.
Rick pulled back , his face pale with an indescribable look. Jenner stared at him with a knowing look, before gradually turning towards Mara. His latched onto hers. Then painstakingly Jenner's lips moved as if to warn her about something. "What? I can't hear you?!" Mara cried desperately, trying to move from her frozen spot.
"I said…YOU ARE JUST AS INFECTED AS THE REST OF US!" Jenner said, before he and everyone else was consumed by flames. A scream rip through Mara's throat as the explosion burst through her. Suddenly a sharp stinging sensation buzzed through her left cheek, stopping the searing pain of the flames. Her vision began to cloud again, but this time not for long. When it cleared Mara found herself back in the big room, with everyone surrounding her. No panic. No count down. No flames. At least not for now.
"Mara?" Rick asked, his hand reaching out to cradle her chin. "You alright?"
Mara swallowed hard , but nodded. "My cheek stings, but I can honestly say that's the least of my worries right now."
"Daryl slapped you." Andrea mentioned causing everyone to look at him.
"She wasn't snapping out of it. What did ya want me to do? Let 'er keep screaming like that?" Daryl grunted, causing Mara to realize that he no longer separated from the group. He was right besides her-like Rick was. Crouched down inspecting every aspect of her as if he expected to find some deformity or what not.
"No." Mara shook her head. "I'm glad you slapped me, Daryl-thank you, truly. If I wasn't so shell shock, I'd kiss you."
"What did you see?" Lori questioned gaining a disapproving look from Shane. It was obvious the man was still on the 'visions are bullshit' board. Actually Mara was pretty sure the majority of the group were on that board. Hell, she was even iffy about where Daryl stood with her visions.
"I-I don't know." Mara croaked. She couldn't think how to explain what she just gone through. It was like some sort of really twisted joke. One Mara wasn't quite sure, she wanted to share. "There was so much going on-I can't exactly make everything out. There was an explosion-fire-a countdown-panic, it was like a really bad action movie."
"Or a psychotic break down." Shane muttered, causing her head to snap towards him.
Luckily for Sir Asshole, Rick decided to step in before Mara did. Though his warning really just consisted of Shane's names in a deeper tone. Mere child rearing compared to what Shane really deserved. "Come on Rick, you can't really say you believe this whole vision shit? She has freaking seizures for Pete's sakes. The woman is mentally ill that's it." Shane accused, he turned towards Jenner. "Back me up on this Doc. There's no such thing as seeing the future."
Jenner stared at her speechless. His eyes not moving for second. She was right. He knew she was right. Which meant he knew the place was going to explode! "The chance of someone being clairvoyant is fallible. "
Mara rolled her eyes, pulling away from Andrea's grip to stand up. "So is the dead coming back to life." Mara snarked. "Look all I know for sure is that we have to leave this place and now."
It went silent suddenly. Mara glanced around searching everyone's faces, only to find that each person she glanced to would immediately look down. She felt a lump form in her throat as even Daryl and Rick avoided her gaze. Despite what Shane and everyone else believed, she wasn't crazy-let alone stupid. Just because no one was saying it right outward, didn't mean Mara was oblivious to what they were telling her silently. They didn't believe her. Or at least none of them wanted to believe her. They all preferred to live in their fantasy world where nothing could go wrong. "Rick?" Mara said, trying hard not to croak.
Rick shifted awkwardly. As much as he hated to, leaving the CDC was one decision Rick couldn't side with Mara on. Perhaps if it were just him-and not him and his family, Rick wouldn't hesitate to believe Mara. But as a father and a husband, he couldn't just decide things on some whim. Especially not when the person who had the same whim attacked him, because they believed he was her bastard father. "There's always something more to your visions, Mar. They're never a simple one way road. There's always something you don't see going on in them. I say we wait and see-"
"And see what?" Mara snapped. "If I'm actually crazy or not? I thought we were passed this stage, Rick. I thought you trusted me-"
"I do, Mar-"
"No you don't. None of you do. Not after all the times I was right-not after all the fucking times I saved your asses cause of my so-called psychotic visions." Mara shook her head. " You know what, screw you all. Do whatever the hell you want, but I'm leaving. I refuse to end up being a toasted marshmallow, cause I want to be oblivious."
With that said Mara left the room, ignoring the eyes trailing after her and the sound of Rick calling her name. It was a mistake for her to ever think she would fit in. This wasn't her world after all. She didn't belong here like everyone else did. Maybe…maybe this was life's way of telling her, it was time to search for a way home. After all she spent her whole time following Rick and the others around hoping this was some fucked up dream . Not once did Mara actually consider the idea that she might actually somehow transferred to another world.
"Well, I think you have your answer." Mara murmured to herself. She made her way to a room at the end of the living quarters. Inside it were an array of military items-including M-16s and MREs. Jenner had shown it to her last night after Mara pestered him about getting her own M-16. The doctor insured her, that weapons were no longer needed-but Mara was adamant about getting her hands on one. So after a series of compromises it was decided. Mara would take an M-16 only when it was absolutely necessary…a.k.a if they ever went outside again. A deal that made Mara laugh now. He knew they would never be going back outside again.
Grabbing one of the large black military duffle bags, Mara began to pack it with everything she could. The bag could hold no more than fifty pounds. But that was alright. Between the fifty pounds in the duffle bag and the other fifty in her ruck, Mara would have a hard enough time moving around as it was. Her hands glided over the cool black metal of her newly acquired beauty. "You and I are going to have a lot of 'fun' together." Mara muttered to it. "Now all you need is a name…"
She bit her lip trying to find the perfect name. According to one of her Drill Sergeants back in basic naming your weapon was important, because when you were out in battle…your weapon was the only thing saving your ass. It was your temporary spouse as he put it, and you needed to respect it. Shaking her head, Mara slung the gun around her back. She'd worry about the name later. "Mara! Mara, where are you?!" she heard Rick call suddenly.
His voice sounded slightly panicked, but Mara had a feeling it wasn't because of her threat to leave. She ignored him, placing another M-16 in the bag. There were plenty to go around, but no point in taking more than two. "Mara." Rick's voice said from behind.
"What do you want, Rick?" Mara muttered not bothering to look at him.
"Your vision-"
"It was right?" Mara stated more than asked. She stood up swinging the large duffle bag over her shoulders.
Rick moved towards the woman, trying to find the right words to say. Only a few seconds ago Mara warned everyone-only to be snubbed by everyone, including him. The one man who should know better by now. And he had no excuse. He like everyone else wanted to believe they were finally safe. Of course life was near that easy and not long after Mara left, Dale noticed the clock counting down. "Thought so." Mara said, when Rick wouldn't answer. "I warned you, but I guess I can't really blame you, guys for not believing. After all what person in their right mind would believe a crazy tart like me."
He winced at her tone. It wasn't as if this was the first time he heard angry, but it was the first time her anger was ever directed at him. She spun around, her dark brown eyes locking with his. "If you have nothing else to say, then I'm going to be on my way. I'd like to make it out of the city before night falls." Mara grumbled.
"It's not safe to go anywhere alone." Rick said finally finding his words.
"Compared to staying here with the illusion that I'm with people who have my back? Thanks, but I think I'd rather take my chances with the walkers."
"You are with people who have your back-"
"Oh really, then where was everyone a few seconds ago when Shane and Jenner called me crazy?" Mara felt herself begin to become hysterical, but she ignored it. She was so angry-so hurt right now that for once morality didn't matter to her. For once Mara was going to be selfish and do what she wanted. And if yelling at Rick was what she felt like doing then by god, she was going to scream. "You think I enjoy having visions, Rick? You think I enjoy being the freak of the group? Well, newflash! I don't. Hell, I don't enjoy any of this fucking nightmare, but for whatever fucking reason coma or dream I am here. In world that doesn't exist. So yeah, call me crazy. But remember this, it was me who covered your ass since the day you woke up in the hospital. And not once did I complain or asking anything from you or the others-and the one time, I do everyone looks away. So give me one good reason as to why, I should stay?"
"Because I need. Along with everyone else. And because you're not selfish-even if you deserve to be." Rick stated truthfully.
Mara shook her head, tears rolling down her cheek. "I hate you, you know that?" she said with a small smile
Rick grinned. " I can't say I blame ya."
"I'm still pissed at you."
"I know."
Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Your reviews keep me going. Thanks to DixonVixon, Latona2, Arugula Pacioli, Jiwa, Somuchcrazierthanu, ScornedxRose, guest, guest 22 and….
Rebel 29: Don't worry if I continue this fic, loser of Mara will be with my wonderfully OC character, who as I said it before will most likely be Asian in honor of my bff.
Lotusxdoll: Seriously update soon please, you so totally left me hanging with your last chapter it's unfair. And trust I am so glad that Daryl has yet to wanna make country babies with Mara. Cause in all honesty, I don't think Mara is one to have sex after just meeting a guy-I mean she is a virgin. Plus I'm pretty sure both Daryl and Mara are equally confused about their feelings for each other.
Infiniteandmortal: Mara gladly accepts the title of Queen of the apocalypse and if I choose to continue this fic. I having a feeling a few more of your theories will come true. ;)
Hell's-funny home: First off love the name, secondly I'll be the first one to agree that Rick kissing Mara felt kind of unnatural and in all honesty I think that's what messed me up. However I wanted to keep my word as a writer to my readers so I kept it. Right now I'm just trying to form some more tension here.
Padme400: LOL, I like that Daryl kissed her to shut Mara up too. It actually was the only reason I could think of for Daryl kissing Mara so early in the series.
Eminemchick19: What can I say to you? You help me out with every chapter and my crazy psychotic issues of clichés, overdramatics, mary-sue and etc that don't exist. On top of being an excellent writer for the majority of my favorite stories. So thank you is obviously not enough.