"Well?" Hershel spoke up again when Bay had stayed quiet.

"What do you want me to say?" Bay was lost on where to start.

"I have a theory, but I would like you to tell me why that man, that currently occupies your room, is wearing your name on his chest."

Bay's head snapped up at that, her eyes wide as saucers. "He still has that tattoo?" she couldn't have been more surprised.

"I take it you do know him."

"Daryl is my ex-boyfriend... from Dalton." Bay officially let the cat out of the bag.

"Why didn't you tell us that when he arrived here?"

"Because I didn't want you to know. I was... I am confused. It's all such a mess in my head. I thought he would just quietly go away again. Had the insane hope that he wouldn't recognize me... I hoped I wouldn't have to tell you guys the whole story. I hoped that I wouldn't still care."

"He is the young man who ultimately made you end up with us?"

"He is." Bay confirmed Hershel's assumption. He turned around again and sat down at his desk and started fumbling with a pen.

"I reckon I should thank him for that." he thought out loud, having Bay laugh quietly.

"Believe it or not, I was thinking the same thing. And it angered me even more."

"There's a reason for everything..." Hershel murmured, making Bay shake her head.

"Don't even go there Hershel. Don't get me wrong, I love my life here with you all, but losing what I lost... losing him especially... I don't understand why I had to go through it. He was my life."

"You loved him?"

"You have no idea. It was more than just love. We shared everything. We had the best thing ever. It was friendship and love combined and it was so strong... Right up until the day he left. You know, I always heard girls say, how they were never really sure that their boyfriends loved them? With Daryl, I knew. I knew he loved me. He let me feel it every single moment we were together, even when we were arguing or he was overbearing. It was his way of expressing his feelings. I knew, I never doubted it. Which is why I still can't believe that it happened, that he left me, I mean. Now that he's here, it seems even more surreal. The weird thing is that it doesn't even feel like we've been apart for so long. Half of me feels like nothing happened, while the other part of me wants to slap him and yell at him and hurt him like he hurt me." Bay explained with tears in her eyes.

"He broke your heart. I know that you haven't forgotten about that in the time you've been with us. It was written all over your face every time we tried talking to you about it... How are you feeling? Now that he's here?"

"It's weird. Confusing. I'm part happy and part angry." she repeated herself.

"That's a battle that's going on in your head, Bayanne. I meant your heart. What does it look like in there? Most importantly, can you live with him being here for a little longer? I assume you got in a fight this morning? If you want me to ask him to leave..."

"I don't want you to do that. Honestly, I don't know how I feel. Like I said, it's weird seeing him. Physically he's not the guy I've been with, obviously, but the attraction is still there. And it's still strong... just as strong as it's ever been and I hate it and love it at the same time. I didn't want him here at first, but after seeing him face to face and talking to him... I hope he stays, Hershel. I still like having him around, as stupid as that probably is of me."

"It's not stupid, Bay. You still love that man." Hershel's words hit a sore spot and her tears finally spilled over.

"How is that not utterly stupid, after him leaving me? For his moron of a brother?" Bay cried quietly.

"Tell me what happened. All you ever said was that he left you out of the blue. I am getting the feeling that there is more to this and I would like for you to tell me. Please?"

"It's a long story."

"The way I see it, we have a while since the women from the highway group are taking over dinner duty tonight." Hershel smiled gently. Bay nodded and took a deep breath.

"I've known Daryl forever. Since school. He was two grades ahead of me. We used to run into each other occasionally. After school he was a regular at Willie's store, where I worked. One night, there were two guys, they came on to me. They were disgusting. Daryl caught the end of it. He later told me that he had a bad feeling and he guessed that it subconsciously made him stick around the area. After I locked up, those guys were waiting for me a little ways down the street. They attacked me. They sliced my clothes open, that's how I got the scar..." she explained and her hand immediately went to that scar between her breasts, feeling it for a second, before she started fumbling with her necklace. "They were about to rape me, I screamed, Daryl heard and he came running up and beat the hell out of those guys. That's how it all started. He stuck around at night, in front of my apartment, without me knowing. He stayed out in the cold in his truck to make sure I was alright. One night I finally noticed and I brought him up to my apartment..." Bay told their story from the very beginning. She told Hershel how Daryl had been taking care of her from day 1. How he had helped her when she had hurt her back, how he'd provided her with good food, how he had gradually moved in and they had struck up a deep friendship while their feelings got stronger with every day, until they finally kissed for the first time. She told him about Merle, and about how Merle always predicted they wouldn't last. She told Hershel absolutely everything, right up until their last day together, how everything had been fine until she had come back home after the doctor's appointment. And then she told him about the explanation Daryl had given her just this morning.

Hershel took a moment of silence to let everything sink in, while Bay tried to dry her tears. "Did he now about your money before he saved you?"

"No. Nobody knew. I didn't tell him for some time."

"Which means he fell in love with you without knowing about your money? Do you really believe that he took it?" Hershel questioned her.

"No." Bay replied with a deep sigh. "I think he is telling the truth when he says that it was Merle, but... maybe Daryl knew that Merle was going to do it?"

"Now, I can't claim to know about the inner workings of Daryl, but I don't believe he knew about it. From what you told me and from what I saw, I think he simply made a very wrong decision born from the urge to protect you. His brother helped him make that wrong decision. He convinced him to make it."

"I begged him time and time again not to listen to his brother. He promised, but then he did it anyway and left me alone."

"You're bitter about that, and that is very understandable, Bay. Some things we aren't able to forget or work through, but know this. I've been a young man once. I've known a lot of young men, and I can tell you that permanently putting your girlfriends name on your chest is a very strong commitment. I loved both my wives very much, Bay, but I'm not sure that I would ever have done something like that. It makes me believe that the young man's feelings for you were very real, very genuine and very strong. If it had all been an act, why go to the trouble? Why not get a ring and ask you to marry him, be engaged, leading you to believe he was for real before taking your money? No, he had your name forever imprinted into his skin. And why keep it for all these years if you didn't mean everything to him? By taking your money he would have had the means to have it removed." Bay didn't say anything, she just stared at the floor, letting his words register, so Hershel continued. "And he came back for you, Bay. You just weren't there anymore. And with his friends telling him you died, what was he supposed to do? I'm guessing the police in Dalton never cleared that one up. You didn't have any next of kin left, nobody to notify that you hadn't died."

"I don't know what to do." Bay murmured.

"You need to make a decision. Don't get me wrong, I am not choosing sides here, I am merely offering an opinion from a neutral perspective. From what you tell me it is obvious to me that Daryl truly loved you. He was scared and his brother added to that and used it to his advantage. The decision Daryl made, however wrong it might have been, I believe that he made it with your best interests at heart. People make mistakes. Bad mistakes. Nobody is exempt from that. Not you, not me, not Daryl. That he came back shows that he had realized that he'd been wrong to leave and that he was ready to face the consequences of the bad decision he had made. And in a way, he has faced them. A decade living with his brother thinking that you had died. That sounds like a punishment."

"Yeah? Then why did I get punished, too? I lived a decade without him, too."

"Yes you did. But it also gave you a home you never had, and a family you never had, while Daryl only ever had his brother, who seems to be a master at manipulating him. Yes, you could fault Daryl for that, you could be mad at him for not being stronger, but what good would it do? We live on borrowed time. These days even more than ever before. Time is too short to hold grudges for too long. You two were given the chance of talking this out, to get it out of the way. To get rid of all the pain and hurt I'm sure both of you have been carrying around inside of you all these years. The Lord has given you a gift, Bay, and it's not nice to reject a gift." Hershel gave her a little wink, making her shake her head with a laugh.

"Why do I feel like you are on Daryl's side?"

"I'm not. I am really not picking sides, just offering my opinion. I have no reason to be on his side, I don't know the man. Make a decision Bay. Forgive him or don't forgive him. I think I've given you enough food for thought now, the rest is up to you. Or the two of you."

"Okay. Thank you, Hershel. I'll think about it." Bay got up from her chair and leaned over the desk to kiss Hershel's cheek. "Thanks. I appreciate having your insight on this."

"You're welcome dear." Hershel smiled and briefly squeezed her hand that was resting on his desk while she had leaned over. "One last thing. Rick saw that tattoo as well. He used to be a sheriff, he figured it out in a heartbeat. There will be talk. You might want to inform your sisters about your past with Daryl, before they hear half-truths from that group." Hershel advised her before she was able to leave.

"Yeah, good idea. They already know that something is up. This family is too perceptive if you ask me." Bay mock-lamented.

"We just care about you, and we know you. We notice when something isn't right. That's all."

"Right." Bay nodded before she left the office. She went up to her room and listened outside the door, but because Rick and Shane were still in there, she went back downstairs, where the woman were busy in the kitchen.

"Maggie? Beth? Can we talk for a moment?" she asked the two girls.

Maggie looked at Lori, both of them were cleaning carrots, silently asking if Lori would be okay finishing the task on her own. "Go, we have it handled. It was supposed to be for you anyway." Lori smiled and shooed her out of the kitchen.

"This is great, I've wanted to talk to you, too." Maggie whispered when she, Beth and Bay went back up the stairs into Beth's room. "I had sex with Glenn." Maggie said as soon as the door was closed behind them.

"WHAT?" Bay and Beth asked in unison.

"Wait, what?" Bay shook her head in confusion. "You had sex with Glenn? When in the world did that happen?"

"Earlier, at the pharmacy." Maggie grinned.

"Well,... that's just not safe." Bay deadpanned and dropped down on Beth's bed. Then she looked up at Maggie suspiciously. "Were you safe? Were there condoms in that pharmacy?"

"Yes Mom." Maggie rolled her eyes.

"Do you like him?" Beth asked curiously, having Maggie shrug in reply.

"I don't dislike him. He's cute. He's not bad to be around. He's a little awkward maybe..."

"But the awkward ones are often the sweetest." Beth giggled, and Bay silently agreed with a little nod.

"I know. We'll see what'll come of it. I have to say it would be nice if they stayed around." Maggie said as she leaned back against the door more comfortably. "What did you want to talk about, Bay?"

"Ummm... There's something you should know. Daryl and I... we knew each other before all this." Bay admitted to the girls that had become like sisters to her over the years. In a way, it felt good to come clean and tell them about him.

"I knew it. I knew there was something going on. You two were acting strangely around each other." Maggie grinned.

"How do you know each other?" Beth asked.

"He used to be my boyfriend, before I had the accident."

"Daryl used to be your boyfriend? Okay, I didn't expect that. I thought it might have been his brother. The one with the pills..." Maggie said, making Bay scoff and shudder.

"God no. No, it was Daryl."

"He's the one who left?" Beth wanted to know more.

"Exactly. The one why I left town, had the accident and ended up here. I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away. It was just a very surreal situation to have him here. It still is, and very confusing. I thought I could hate him and be fine with ignoring him until he leaves, but I can't. And since it looks like it might be a bit until they leave, we might as well sort things out. Your father knows and Rick knows, too, they found out, because Daryl has a tattoo of my name, and before you heard about it from anyone else, I wanted to tell you about it first." Bay hoped that she wouldn't have to repeat the whole story to the girls again, but of course they wanted all the details, so for the second time that night, she told the story of how Daryl and her had fallen in love up to how it had ended. Sometime during telling the girls, Bay started to feel better. It felt almost therapeutic to open up to her family and to let it all out. She actually had to laugh when the girls were downright swooning at hearing about Daryl having Bay's name tattooed right above his heart.

"Are you gonna get back together? It's so romantic in a way." Beth was all wide-eyed and eager. This was better than any book she had ever read, because this was actually real and happening in her own house.

"Woah, slow your horses, Miss Greene." Bay was startled by the outright question.

"It's a valid question. He's here now, you still love him and if he still loves you, it would be a possibility. Even if the group moves on. He could stay." Maggie explained and Bay quickly shook her head.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She got up and wrung her hands nervously. This was something she wasn't ready to talk about yet. There were other things to be sorted out first. "Anyway, I just wanted you guys to hear it from me."

"Thanks. What are you going to do now?" Maggie was curious what next steps Bay would be taking.

"I don't know. I guess I'm gonna go see him once Rick and Shane are out of the room. Talk to him, see how it goes and go from there."

"Good plan. I hope it goes well." Beth smiled encouragingly and put her rubbed her hand up Bay's arm comfortingly.

"Thanks. I'll see you at dinner." The three women smiled at each other and Maggie moved away from the door so Bay would be able to leave. She closed the door behind her and went to the end of the hall, back to her own room, which used to be the second guest room a long time ago. She listened for a moment and when she didn't hear any voices coming from inside, she slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

Daryl was sleeping and Bay noticed right away how much he looked like he had back then, when his features were relaxed. He seemed so guarded this time around. Sure, he'd always been kind of guarded, but it looked to Bay, like he had stepped it up a notch. She quietly stepped closer to the bed and took a moment to just look at him and take him in. She slowly reached out and let her knuckles slide against his cheek before she gently removed a speck of dirt from his skin with a swipe of her thumb. Even though he looked different, it felt so very familiar, and Bay once again teared up when feelings of tenderness and love rolled through her. They were all right, she did love him. She had never stopped, no matter how hard she had tried at times. She let her fingers linger on his skin for a moment longer, before she brushed the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. Her fingers were dirty now, which made her realize how dirty he was. She quietly left the room again, only to return a couple of minutes later with a big bowl of soapy, warm water, as well as several clean washcloths and towels stacked underneath her arm. He needed to get clean, and she was pretty sure that, even if they weren't on the best of terms he would still be more okay if she did it, than any of the other people around.

She put the bowl on the empty nightstand to his left and put the washcloths and towels next to him on the bed. She carefully tugged the blanket down to his waist, knowing that he was topless, but still unprepared for it. Her breath hitched when she saw the tattoo. It really was still there. She had been tempted to doubt Hershel's words, but here it was, proof that she had at one point meant something to him. She almost had to giggle when she let her eyes roam the rest of his torso. This was truly no longer the Daryl she had known. This was a real, grown man, and he was freaking magnificent, she had to admit. She shook herself out of it quickly and sat down at the edge of the bed, carefully placing a towel under his arm, before she dipped a washcloth into the water and gently started wiping the dirt and grime off his skin. It didn't take long for Daryl to stir, and when she had reached his hand, she heard his raspy and confused voice. "Bay...? Whatchu doin'?"

"I've never let you get in my bed dirty from work before, so why would I start now?" she replied calmly as she looked up at his frowning face.

"Your bed?" he needed a moment to connect the dots, but he soon realized where exactly they had put him. "This your room?"

"That's right."

"Bet ya hate that they put me here." he looked at her carefully while she slowly cleaned his fingers.

"I told them to put you in here."

"Really?" he was more than a little surprised. And curious. "Why?"

"Because I wanted you to be comfortable." she shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal, but to Daryl her reply meant a lot.

"There ain't nails in the mattress, right?" he tried to make light of the situation a little. He didn't know how to act. She was being sweet and nice to him after being stand-offish in the morning. She had his hand in her lap and was giving him a sponge bath, it was a good sign, but he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"Stop." she admonished him quietly. "I'm not a monster either."

"I know." he nodded slightly, wincing a little when it made his head pound a bit more again. He watched her as she let the washcloth glide up his arm, over his shoulder and down to his chest, wiping the dirt off of the tattoo.

"You kept it."

"Course I did." he said without hesitation. "Wasn't gonna live completely without ya."

"But you made me live completely without you." she stated with a sad, wavering voice. She hated it, but a fresh batch of tears stung her eyes.

"I know. There ain't enough words in the world to tell ya how sorry I am, Bay. Regretted it every day. Paid for it every day. I thought I was doing the best thing for you. I was a mess. I wasn't thinking clearly for weeks, but once I got out of that, I came back for you. Was too late, though. I wanted to take you with us, but Merle... he just kept talking and talking, kept slammin' me against the truck, sayin' we had to go... I should'a ignored him, should'a come to you instead. We could have figured it out together."

"Yeah... especially since there was no danger. We would have realized that as soon as we would have found out that my money was missing."

"You believe me? That I didn't take it?"

"Yes. I believe you. It was Merle, doing what he does best, putting himself first." Daryl felt a heavy weight being lifted from his shoulders, when she told him that she believed him. That she had thought that it had been him to take her future away from her had really hurt.

They fell silent for a moment and Bay wrung out the washcloth and kept cleaning him. Daryl reveled in every little touch he was getting from her. Warmth he hadn't felt in ages slowly crept back into his body. She probably didn't feel the same way, but having her wash him like this felt very intimate to him. Almost exactly like it had felt when they had taken baths together. Tucked away in their bathtub with the door closed and the room dimly lit with candlelight, hiding from the rest of the world inside their little bubble. This was very similar. They were alone in her room, he was in her bed and only a small lamp had been turned on. The little touches and the swipes of the warm washcloth on his skin felt almost healing. They were healing the gaping holes in his soul and his heart, which had been caused by losing and missing her. She was really really here, and she was slowly putting him back together, very probably without even meaning to do it. She'd always had that effect on him. It was comforting to know that a lot of things seemingly hadn't changed.

"What happened to you?" he asked after a little eternity of silence. "Why did they tell me you died?"

"Because it might have looked like I did. After a couple of weeks of you leaving, I wasn't able to stand staying there anymore. Too many painful memories. My parents, my grandma, then you... I needed to get out of there. I walked. Yeah, too cheap to pay for a bus ticket." Bay laughed about herself, making Daryl scoff out a small laugh, too. "I got to Murray Bridge..." she stopped again before she said too much, and took a moment to think of how to proceed. "It was dark... I had an accident. I got hit by a car. The driver didn't see me, not really his fault... I don't remember much about it. Pretty much nobody had cell phones back then, as you know and there were no pay phones close by, so the driver put me in the back seat and took me to the hospital. Not in Dalton obviously, since he was also on his way out of town... he said he had been passing through,... anyway, he took me to the hospital in Calhoun. I was in a coma for about two weeks. I had no ID on me, so nobody knew who I was. I didn't have my bag-"

"Pat said that police found your bag on the bridge. Guess they fucking assumed ya jumped." Daryl said with distaste in his voice. Talk about shoddy police work there.

"Yeah, looks like. I guess nobody thought of notifying our friends that I wasn't dead." Bay shrugged. "At the hospital, there was this woman. A volunteer. She brought flowers to patients with no family. She read to coma patients, things like that. It was Hershel's wife Annette. After I woke up, we talked a lot. We became friends. I told her a lot about my life in Dalton and about how I had no one left there. She soon started bringing her daughters every other day. I didn't know that it was kind of a test. She wanted to know if we got along. After a couple of weeks, Hershel came with her. We all talked a lot and really got to know each other while I had to stay there. When it was time for me to be discharged, they offered me to come live with them until I was back on my own two feet. They became family quickly. Hershel took me under his wing, trained me... well, and the rest is history."

"Thought ya were afraid of doctors? Now ya became one yourself?" he smirked and teased her a little.

"You know how it is... If you're afraid to fly, become a pilot... afraid of medical professionals? Become one yourself." she laughed quietly. "But it's not really like that. I'm not a doctor or anything. I just assist and do minor stuff." Bay explained and gently dried off his now clean torso. Well, as clean as a wet washcloth would get him. A real bath or shower would be more effective and get the rest of the dirt off of him. She removed the towels and tossed the dirty washcloth in the water bowl, before pulled the blanket back up so he wouldn't get cold. "There you go. You should still take a shower when you feel up to it. Maybe tomorrow."

"How badly were ya injured?" he figured it hadn't been pretty if she had been in a coma for two weeks.

"Some broken bones. Hit my head pretty hard, had some brain swelling. It's all good now, though."

"Good." he nodded and started chewing his lip when a bit of an awkward silence descended upon them. "What now?" he finally asked. He still didn't know where they stood and if this whole thing with her wanting him in her room and washing him meant, that she had forgiven him.

"I don't know, Daryl. You guys are gonna leave again..."

"Ya still happy about that?"

"No." she replied truthfully. It made Daryl's heart soar and he fought a smile. He wanted to ask her outright if she would be able to forgive him for leaving, he wanted to ask if he had another shot with her, but he didn't possess the courage to ask those questions. Mostly because he knew he wouldn't be able to handle a negative response. Not today when he'd been through hell and back. "Well, I should get this back to the bathroom." she stood up and picked up the water bowl.

"Gonna be back?" he asked with a hint of hopefulness in his voice and his expression.

"Later... maybe." By now she was sure she wouldn't be able to stay away. She wanted to make sure that he was gonna be okay with his concussion, and wake him up a couple of times throughout the night.

She left the room and took the bowl back to the bathroom and cleaned it out. "Bay, dinner's ready!" she heard Beth call out for her.

"I'll be down in a minute." she replied and finished up. When she left the bathroom she noticed that the door to her room was still open. Thought I had closed it, she thought with a frown and went back over there to close it. When she reached the open doorway she saw Carol leaning over Daryl and kissing his forehead. She froze and stared wide eyed as her fists clenched involuntary. She didn't like that view one bit. Carol straightened and noticed Bay standing in the doorway.

"Oh hey. Dinner's ready." she told Bay, as Daryl also looked over at his ex-lover.

"I heard." Bay replied coldly before she looked at Daryl. "Any idea what happened to my horse?"

"That was yours?" Daryl had to try hard not to smirk, because he knew the expression on Bay's face. It was jealousy. "Dunno. Prolly left the country by now." he replied nonchalantly with a shrug, infuriating Bay even more.

"Awesome." she grumbled and slammed the door behind her so hard, that the picture frames in the room banged against the walls. Carol jumped in shock, but Daryl had a little smile on his face. Bay was jealous.

Yeah... awesome, he thought with a little smile.

Carol had left him alone soon after Bay had left. Daryl had sat up to eat, and when he'd finished, he carefully put the tray on the nightstand. Now he had the opportunity to take in the room some more. He should have known that it was Bay's. It practically screamed her name. It was warm and cozy, just like their apartment had been. The décor was mostly black, white and dark teal, with lots of pillows, candles, pictures and little trinkets. She loved those colors and she loved her candles and pillows. It was comforting to be in her space, even more comforting to know that she willingly let him in there. His shifted his gaze to the side, her nightstand drawer beckoning him to open it. He strained his ears for any sound coming from the hall, before he slowly opened the drawer. He was disappointed when he didn't spy anything interesting. He thought maybe she would have a toy in there he would be able to tease her about some day in the future if they'd be able to patch things up. But there was only hand lotion, a book, chapstick, chocolate and a mp3-player and a cell phone. Probably no longer working. He closed the drawer and scooted back down in order to lay down. He rolled onto his good side and snuggled his face into the pillow. He couldn't believe he was in her bed again. Funny how fate worked, he thought with a little smile, before he inhaled, smelling what she smelled when she laid down at night. He closed his eyes and let his mind fill with memories of how they had shared their previous bed and the fun times they'd had in it.

He dozed off for a while, waking up again when Bay entered the room and went to her closet wordlessly. Daryl blinked his eyes open lazily and watched her. When she turned back around he spoke up. "Think ya can help me with washing ma hair tomorrow?"

"Better ask your girlfriend. Don't wanna overstep any more boundaries."

"Stop. Ain't like that."

"Sure looked like it."

"She was just thankin' me. Cause I keep looking for her kid."

"Shane and Andrea check the highway every day. I don't see her kissing them." Bay said a little saucily.

"Why ya mad at me? I ain't kissed her."

"I'm not mad."

"If ya say so..."

"How's the head?" Bay changed the topic, already cursing herself for getting emotional over that stupid little kiss. Daryl wasn't hers anymore. She had no right to get jealous.

"Killing me." he mumbled as he burrowed his head deeper into the pillow again. Bay immediately calmed back down. She really couldn't stand to know he was hurting.

"We're going to turn off the lights in a minute. I'll just have to change. Did you take your pain killers?"

"Yeah. You're gonna stay the night?"

"Mhm." she nodded. "I'm gonna stay in the armchair. I'm gonna wake you up a little every couple of hours, because of the concussion." She took a couple of steps closer and put her and across his eyes. "Close 'em. I'm gonna change and then I'll kill the lights." She felt his lashes flutter against her palm as he did as he was told, then she walked around the bed, so he had his back to her, before she took off her boots, black tank top and jeans, and changed into black and white plaid pajama pants and a white loose t-shirt. She grabbed a spare blanket from the closet and then turned off the light before she curled up in her armchair in the dark.

She didn't have an alarm, but she didn't need one. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. She had some things to think about and a decision to make. Although it felt like it had already been made.

"Bay?" she suddenly heard his deep voice call out softly.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you if ya let me. I promise. Can we start bein' friends again?"

She stayed quiet for a moment, pondering his words. When she gave her answer, she was able to practically feel him smiling. "I can't promise anything, Daryl. But we can try."

"That's all I'm asking." he said with a sleepy, but happy voice.

Daryl fell asleep pretty soon after that. Bay shook him awake a little in what felt like regular intervals. When he woke up the next morning he felt sore as fuck, but he also felt a bit better than the day before. He heard noises next to him, before he opened his eyes. He remembered that Bay had stayed with him and it had him smiling first thing in the morning.

"Hey..." he greeted her.

"Good morning, young man." The farmer's voice startled him and Daryl's eyes quickly snapped open.

"Mornin'..." he said, eying the other man warily.

"I relieved Bay of watch duty an hour ago. She's catching up on some sleep now." Hershel explained, knowing that Daryl had expected to wake up to Bay's presence. That had been the plan, but Hershel had wanted to have a word with Daryl, before the man would be able to flee the house. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." Daryl nodded and slowly sat up.

"Good. Breakfast won't be ready for another half hour. I think it would be a good opportunity for us to talk for a little bit."

Shit! Daryl was so not in the mood for that. He never had to deal with any talks from Daddy, and he thought it was already too late for that shit. Bay and him had already dated, there was no need to question him about his intentions, but unfortunately for him, that was exactly what Hershel had in mind. "So,... Daryl... I understand you and Bayanne have some history."

"Yes, Sir."

"Do you also have a history of yelling at her, like you did yesterday morning?" Hershel put on his stern face.

"No, Sir." Daryl shook his head, before he elaborated. "Wasn't yellin' at her... Just realized something about my brother."

"Merle..." Hershel nodded.

"She tell you 'bout him?"

"She told me everything, Daryl. All about you, all about your brother, all about what happened. You know, Bay is my daughter now. I love her like she is my own. I think you can relate to that feeling. Of course your love was of the romantic sort, while mine is the paternal kind, but you get where I am coming from."

"Ain't gon' hurt her again, if that's what you're worried about."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about. I keep wondering... what's the plan now, Daryl?"

"We wanna try being friends again." Daryl had never felt this intimidated by somebody. He was crazy nervous in that moment. What if the farmer didn't approve of him? That would sure throw a wrench in things.

"Just friends?" Hershel questioned, trying to keep a straight face. He was literally able to see Daryl squirm and he enjoyed it very much. Daryl just shrugged in response as he looked down at his lap like the blanket that was covering him was the most interesting thing he'd seen in years. "You are hoping for more... You want to go back to what you had, don't you Daryl?"

Daryl was chewing his bottom lip raw as he cast a quick sideway glance at Hershel. Of course it was what he wanted, but he had a hard time expressing that to a complete stranger. He'd never been good with this kind of stuff. He'd been able to be open with Bay, sometimes Pat, but other than that? No, he liked not talking about these things. "She's my girl." He mumbled rather awkwardly, and this time Hershel wasn't able to keep himself from chuckling a little.

"Not right now, she isn't, Daryl. How is this supposed to work anyway? You can't give her hope and then leave again."

"She could come with me this time."

"Bayanne isn't going anywhere, Daryl." Hershel said completely serious. "This is her home now. She is safe here." The old man took a deep breath and leaned back in the armchair. "Look Daryl, I understand what it means to be in love with somebody. I can tell that those feelings still exist on both sides, but it doesn't mean that Bay will be able to let herself get into another relationship with you. I know that you probably don't ever want to let her go again, even if she only wants to be friends with you. You have to think about what's more important to you. The group and traveling to Fort Benning... or Bayanne. I want her to be happy. If being with you will make her happy, then so be it, but it won't be out there. She will stay here on this farm, and if you don't want to stay, too, when the time comes, then you shouldn't try to get back together with her. Both of you would only end up hurt and heartbroken again. Think about that Daryl."

"Don't need to think 'bout it." Daryl mumbled around still chewing on his lip. "Imma put her first this time."

"Good. Now let's take a look at those wounds." Hershel got up from the armchair and Daryl released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Thank God. Hope that damn interrogation's over forever. This ain't fun. The things I do for ya, baby girl. Daryl was about to remove the sheets from his bare torso, when he suddenly remembered what Hershel had said. "Did ya say she still loves me, too?"

"I don't know... Did I?" Hershel smirked.

Fuck. Now I ain't sure if he really did... Daryl thought as his ever-present scowl slipped back onto his face.

Thank you for reading!

I feel like I should say, that they are going to interact with other characters in the very near future, lol. It's not JUST about them, but right now they have a lot to figure out between themselves.

So, how awesome was the premiere? I have no words. It was fantastic. Daryl's development is the best piece of storytelling on television, if you ask me.

Thank you very, very much for all the love, support and reviews. I hope I sent everybody a PM to thank you for the kind words.

Thanks also to all my lovely guest reviewers, who I can't reply to in person. I appreciate the time you take to leave me your feedback. It's fun to see how people react to this. Thank you so very very much.

Surgery tomorrow morning. Wish us luck.