Chapter 27

While Glenn and Bay were at the pharmacy, Maggie and Daryl had already been trekking through the woods for a while. Maggie watched the silent hunter for a while, studying him and tried to imagine what kind of couple Bay and Daryl must have been. Daryl had been impressed that the Greene girl had kept quiet for a very long time, and he immediately wished she would go back to it, when she finally did open her mouth.

"You know that you're gonna be in a world of hurt if you screw over Bay, right?"

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" Daryl rasped unimpressed. He had expected something like this, but that didn't mean that he liked it.

"Just wanna make sure that you know what you are dealing with if you decide to go ahead and leave her again. My dad, Beth and I, we will follow you and you'll wish that you had never shown up at our farm. Bay's my sister, I want her to finally be truly happy."

"You forget who you're talking to. I know that she ain't your sister."

"She is." Maggie stated forcefully.

"Alright." Daryl sighed. He really wasn't in the mood for this. He had no plans of screwing Bay over, and he was smart enough to know, that there would be consequences if he did. "And what you mean by finally truly happy? Thought she was happy living with you guys."

"She was. But something was always missing. Everybody was able to tell. She was never able to let go of what happened to her in Dalton. She never told us what happened with you, but we knew that it kept causing her heartache all these years." Maggie explained, unknowingly making Daryl feel like shit. Bay had apparently felt just as miserable as he had all these years, and he was to blame for all of it. He had no idea how she was able to look past that and be with him again. "I'm pretty sure what's been missing, was you, Daryl. She might be a little torn about it, but she's happy you're here. Now you better go ahead and make her happy, or else..." Maggie threatened, only half joking.

"Or y'all hunt me down and beat my ass into the ground, got it." Daryl nodded, sounding bored. Maggie just shook her head with a laugh, feeling a little bit silly about giving Daryl the 'don't hurt her or else'-talk, but she wanted to make it clear that she had her family's back, and Bay was part of that family. She got that Daryl wasn't impressed. She was sure he had expected this to happen, and it might have been cliché of her, but it's what family did. She looked up at him again, when she heard him clear his throat uncomfortably. "She... um... she ever been with anyone since she's been with y'all? A guy, I mean?"

"You should ask her about that. Not my place to tell." Maggie replied, making Daryl's heart sink. To him that meant that Bay probably had other boyfriends. It was stupid and hypocritical of him to be disappointed about that, because he'd been with a couple of women. No relationship or nothing, just fucking. He was able to go quite a while without needing sexual release, but every once in a while his hand just wouldn't do and he needed a quick fuck. Bay's gonna be so fucking disappointed when she finds out. Fuck. The thought of telling her made him cringe, but if she would ever ask, he wouldn't lie about it. "Did you really think you were protecting her when you left?" Maggie's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Yeah. I thought I was doing the right thing. Went back for her when I was finally able to pull my head outta my own ass. Was just too late."

"Must have been awful... to think she died."

"Made me wanna die myself." Daryl mumbled. He still heard Pat's voice in his head, telling him that Bay was gone. "Was drunk for months. Wasn't able to stand reality." he said, surprising Maggie and himself with his honesty. "Enough with the chattin' now. Got a little girl to find." Daryl said a little more gruff again, when he'd caught Maggie's surprised gaze. It wasn't like him to open up to strangers, and he didn't like people looking at him like Maggie just had. He was done with that for now. "Come on."

They fell silent again and kept walking. After about another hour Maggie told him that they were getting close to the houses, the woods were already getting less thick and less trees gave way to more grass. "What's that?" Maggie frowned and pointed towards a tree in the distance. They both squinted and slowly walked closer, and Daryl's eyes widened again, when he realized what it was.

"That's Sophia's doll." Daryl lowered his crossbow and strode towards the tree. When he reached it, he went up on his toes and grabbed the doll that was stuck on a branch. "Looks like she climbed up the tree. Smart girl. Best way for her to hide out here." He pushed the doll between his pants and his belt and looked around. "SOPHIA!" he shouted out into the woods, straining his ears for a reply, but none came.

"Maybe Bay was right? Maybe she did go for the houses?" Maggie suggested.

"Yeah. Possible. Only one way to find out."

"We can't check them all out today. We have to check back in with the group soon." Maggie reminded him. The walk had taken longer than anticipated, much to Daryl's chagrin.

"I know. Better hurry then." he said and strode off north towards the houses.

They didn't have any luck, but Daryl would return to the houses the next day and check out some more. And he decided that he would go alone. Maggie was just slowing him down and he would get more done by himself. He hated to admit it, but their time was running out and every minute counted. So no matter what Bay had to say about it, he would go out alone the next day.

When Maggie and him broke through the treeline and walked towards the house, they spotted the activity by the barn right away. Glenn, T-Dog and Andrea were dragging corpses towards the truck. Maggie's eyes almost popped out of her head and she swallowed hard. "What in the world... ?"

"Looks like yer Daddy didn't need talking to." Daryl said with his trademark squint firmly in place.

"Glenn!" Maggie picked up the pace and called out to the man she was quickly starting having feelings for. He came walking towards her with raised hands.

"Maggie... Shit, Maggie." Glenn didn't know how to explain this.

"What happened?" she demanded to know.

"Shane went kinda crazy and he opened the barn and took things upon himself. I wasn't here. Bay and I just came back when they shot the last ones. Maggie... your Dad is missing." Glenn winced when Maggie turned shocked eyes towards him.

"WHAT?"

"He was in shock, he told us to leave him alone and when Bay went to check on him earlier, he was gone. Rick and Shane are looking for him. Bay suggested his old watering hole in town."

"I'm going after them." Maggie said, but Glenn grabbed her arms.

"Don't. They got it."

"You really think he wants to see Rick and Shane right now?" Maggie shouted at him.

"I don't know, Maggie. I guess not, he didn't even want to talk to Bay, because she wanted the barn walkers put down, so maybe you're not the person he wants to see right now either, and I think Bay needs you here. Beth isn't doing so good." Glenn had barely finished when Maggie ran off towards the house. Daryl and Glenn watched her for a moment, before the hunter's eyes focused on Glenn.

"Everything go alright with the pharmacy run?"

"Eeerm... yeaaah..." Glenn replied nervously and he took off his hat and scratched his head, wishing to be anywhere but here right now, when Daryl's eyes narrowed.

"What?" he asked as he took another step towards Glen.

"Bay kind of had a close call... walker came out of nowhere at the pharmacy and grabbed her." Glenn watched Daryl's expression turn murderous and he quickly held up his hands. "She's fine. Little shaken, but I got to her in time."

"The hell you mean you got to her in time? You left her alone?" Daryl shouted furiously at the younger man.

"I was in there with her, she just went in the back to get something and I was at the counter... "

"You don't fucking take your eyes off of her! Why the fuck you go with her if ya don't watch out for her?"

Andrea jogged up to the pair when she saw Daryl bumping his chest into Glenn's while he shouted at the poor guy. "Daryl! Calm down, she is fine. It's not anyone's fault. You know that. Come on, we need help."

"Nah, gotta find Carol. Found the girl's doll. Getting close." Daryl grumbled while he still shot hard glares in Glenn's direction.

"That's great." Andrea smiled genuinely. "Go tell her. We got this for now. Come on Glenn. We need to get this done."

Bay had told Maggie everything that had happened, after the younger woman had stormed into Beth's room. Beth had calmed down a little, but she was still crying. The three of them sat on the bed hugging and talking, the older women trying to console Beth as best as they could. Even though Beth was slightly traumatized by the whole event, she voiced that she wanted the group to stay. She had noticed how her father had been struggling to keep up with his work over the past few weeks, and she thought that the help and protection the experienced group provided might come in handy. Bay and Maggie agreed and they talked about how they would try to convince Hershel that it would be best if they all lived here together and tried to stay alive and make the best of it as a big group and family. Bay soon left Beth's room and left Beth in Maggie's capable hands, in order to return to her own room and get a moment to process everything by herself. But when she got there, Daryl was already waiting for her, sitting on her bed, and she couldn't have been happier.

"The hell, girl? Are ya al-" he didn't get to finish. Bay flung herself into his arms, knocking him back on the bed with her on top of him, and hid her face in the crook of his neck.

"Shut up. Just for a moment, please." her felt her shaking and heard her voice breaking, so he shut up immediately and slowly wrapped his arms around her to hold her close. Bay moaned quietly against his neck when he squeezed her tight and let her feel his strength. Despite the situation he smirked slightly when he heard the little sound coming from her. She nuzzled his neck for a moment, before she looked up at him with glassy eyes. "Any luck on your trip?"

"Found her doll. Carol's over the moon. I'll find her. I'm going back out tomorrow, check the houses. You were right." he told her, making her grin a little.

"Told you." she pressed a kiss against his jawline. Daryl's hand slid up into her hair, cupping the back of her head and she knew what he was about to do. She couldn't get distracted, not before Hershel wasn't back safe and sound, and she knew once they started kissing, they wouldn't stop anytime soon. So she slowly pulled out of his grasp, but gave him an apologetic smile. "Not now. I need to know that Hershel is alright."

Daryl nodded and sat up with her, finally sliding his hands over her arms and checking for marks. "What about you? You alright? No scratches?"

"I'm fine. Just a little shocked. It came out of nowhere. It didn't make any sound until it grabbed me. Thank God for Glenn. He was amazing."

"Pfff right. Shouldn't have let you out of his sight in the first place." Daryl scoffed angrily, making Bay frown at him.

"You didn't give him a hard time, did you?"

"He deserved it."

"No, he didn't, Daryl. He saved my life."

"Wouldn't have needed saving if he would have paid attention."

"Stop. Seriously Daryl! It wasn't his fault. Geez, no wonder those people are scared of you."

"Told you, you'd hate what I've become."

"Just stop. Please? I told you that I could never hate you. Glenn doesn't deserve your anger. If anything, he deserves a thank you. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be sitting on your lap right now." Bay looked at him imploringly until he nodded slightly. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his cheek. "Be good. We're all in this together now."

"Fine." he sighed and hugged her closer again.

"Can you stay with me tonight? In here? I don't think I can sleep if they don't find him before dark."

"Sure." he nodded, his voice finally gentler again.

"Thank you. I need to go and give Lori her things from the pharmacy. After that I'll start dinner. Everybody still needs to eat."

"'Kay. I'll see if they still need help out there." Daryl said and steadied her while she climbed off his lap and the bed.

"Okay. See you later."

"Later." Daryl pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it, before he left the room. Bay went to her backpack and got out the morning after pills for Lori. She put them in an extra bag and went down to the guest room.

"Hey Lori." Bay smiled when she poked her head into the guest room. "Hi kiddo." she greeted Carl as well, before she focused on Lori again. "Do you have a minute?"

"Yes." Lori followed Bay out of the room, immediately starting to apologizing for what the group had done with the barn and the walkers. "I'm so sorry, I know you wanted to talk to Hershel first. I don't know what's wrong with Shane, he's usually not like this..."

"Stop. It's okay. We'll figure all that out later. I,... um... have the pills you wanted." Bay said and watched Lori's eyes widen.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"No, don't. He had no idea what he was looking for, Lori. I took the paper from him before he had a chance to stop me. Guess you better take these quickly, so they do their job and keep other stuff from happening." Bay tried to make light of the situation, but she got a weird feeling, when Lori started crying. "Lori? What's wrong?"

Lori grabbed Bay's arm and pulled her into the bathroom, locking the door behind them. "I'm pregnant. The other stuff already happened."

"Are you sure? Did you take a test?" Bay looked at her with wide eyes.

"I had Glenn bring me one on the last trip."

"But then why did you want the Plan B's... Oh..." Bay suddenly realized what exactly Lori wanted to do with the pills. "You want to try to force a miscarriage."

"I can't have this baby, Bay. Not like this. Not in this world. What if Hershel sends us away? It's a death sentence for sure. For the baby and for me. I can't do this. Please don't judge." Tears started to stream down Lori's face as she kept her voice low and tried to keep herself from sobbing.

"Does Rick know?"

"No. I don't want him to know. I'll just make this go away... Please Bay, you can't tell anyone."

"You should tell Rick, Lori. You can work this out."

"No. I really can't Bay. I don't want this. I'm not happy about it, I know it sounds horrible, but you don't understand." Lori slid down the wall and sat on the floor, hugging herself and rocking back and forth slightly.

Bay sat down on the floor opposite of Lori. She took a deep breath and smiled bravely. "Did Rick tell you how Daryl and I 'split up'?" Bay asked, and when Lori nodded she continued. "The day Daryl left... I had a doctor's appointment. Daryl and I had been a bit negligent with our protection. I ended up taking these myself a couple of times." Bay laughed and waved the bag around. "I wanted to get birth control pills. But it was too late for that. The standard urine sample said I was pregnant already. It was very early, so the doctor wasn't able to see anything on the ultrasound yet. He took my blood, set me up for another appointment three weeks later and sent me home. I was completely shocked. Totally overwhelmed. I wanted nothing more than to talk to Daryl. Have him reassure me, that whatever happened, that he was with me and we would figure it out together. I couldn't wait to see him and hear him tell me that everything would be alright..." Bay's eyes started to water and her voice started breaking when the memories of that day hit her. "And then I come home to this mess... The mess, I now know Merle left behind, but back then, I thought it was Daryl. All his things were gone. He was gone. Just gone... I was all alone. I had been alone before, but that was the only time in my life, I truly, truly felt alone and lonely. Losing him was so much worse than losing all of my family altogether. I wasn't able to function. I didn't eat, barely drank anything, I just laid in bed and cried. Lost both of my jobs,... I went from having the perfect relationship with the perfect man, working to achieve my dreams and actually having fun doing it, to having nothing, in the blink of an eye. No relationship, no money, no jobs, no future, but, as it turned out a couple of weeks later, his baby inside of me." Both women were crying full-on by now and Bay kept wiping away tear after tear as they spilled out of her eyes during telling her story. "Daryl leaving, and thinking that he had played me all along... it left me in so much emotional pain... I didn't know how to go on. Especially not in Dalton where everything reminded me of him. So I left. When I got to that bridge, the one everybody assumed I had jumped off of... It started out of nowhere. I had such painful cramps,... I had never experienced anything like it. I knew immediately what was happening. I was losing the baby. And even though the pain was crippling, I was relieved, Lori. I was freaking happy about it. I knew it was for the best. I had no means to take care of this baby. No help, no money, and at that point, no motivation... nothing. I needed to leave my old life behind, leave Daryl behind, and in a way, I felt like the baby knew that... and it decided to stay behind, too." Bay let out a sob and took a moment to gather her bearings and to wipe more tears from her face. "It was what caused the accident. I was doubled over in pain, stumbling about... blood dripping out of my pant leg... The driver that hit me really wasn't to blame. Anyway, I knew it was for the best. I had nothing to offer that baby. I'm okay with it, I made my peace with it, but over the years I kept thinking back. The older I got, the more I thought back about what could have been. I tried to imagine what it would have been like, to have a family with Daryl if he would have stayed. I imagined how I would have made it work as a single mom... and in those moments, I found myself missing that baby, Lori. Even though I never met it. And those days sucked." Bay sniffed and grabbed some toilet paper for the both of them to blow their noses. "I'm not judging, Lori. I'm really not. I get it. But you need to think long and hard about what you want and what you can live with. Now and in the future. And you need to talk to Rick. He can help you. You can work it out together. That's what I kept thinking the whole time. 'If only Daryl would have been there...'. He wasn't, but Rick is. Don't shut him out."

"Daryl doesn't know, does he?"

"No. But I will tell him. He deserves to know, even if it's too late to do anything. I promise that I won't tell anyone, it's your own decision, but please just think about what I said."

"I will." Lori nodded and got to her knees. She pulled Bay to her knees as well and hugged the younger women. "I'm so sorry, honey. For what you went through."

"Don't be. It's been a long time. I'm fine now. And you'll be fine, too. It's gonna be alright." The two women hugged a moment longer before they separated and shared a little laugh while they tried to clean up their tear-stained faces.

"Do you think you will get Hershel to let us stay?"

"We'll talk to him. Have faith, Lori. I know it's hard when everything keeps happening at once, but try. He's not heartless, not at all. He just didn't understand,... about the walkers. He will eventually." Bay squeezed Lori's arm and handed her the bag with the pills, trusting the woman to make the right decision for herself.

She was emotionally drained when she finally arrived in the kitchen and started dinner. She was ready for this day to be over, but she knew it would be a while until that happened. It wouldn't be over until Hershel was back home, and it wouldn't be over until she had talked to Daryl. Today was a good a day as any. It already sucked, so why not make it a really sucky day and get it over with? When dinner was about to be done she invited everyone inside to gather around the table. The mood was somber and quiet, but everybody appreciated the warm meal and sitting down at a real table again. They all stopped eating simultaneously when they heard a car pull up outside. Maggie and Beth were outside faster than anyone could blink, while everybody else followed in a hurried walk. Bay breathed deeply in relief when she saw the whole Greene family hugging it out on the steps of the porch. Shane and Rick had found Hershel and had brought him back home. When his daughters released him Hershel looked up at Bay and opened his arms for her. She hugged him hard while he quietly apologized.

"Where were you?" Bay asked even though she was able to smell the alcohol on him.

"We looked in the bar you told us about." Shane told her from behind Hershel. "He had been there alright. Took a couple'a bottles and hit the cemetery."

"Cemetery?"

"I needed to talk to my first wife. I needed to apologize for how I've been treating Maggie since all this happened. I'm sorry for giving you girls a scare, Bay. And I'm sorry for the things I said to you, too You weren't disrespecting Annette. I was. I just tried to help. I really thought we would be able to fix things."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here this morning. I'm sorry it happened this way." She had wanted the barn taken care of, but in a far more civilized manner than what Shane had done.

"Me, too. But there's no use in crying over milk that's already spilled. I see the error of my ways now. 'Love one another'. That's what Annette used to say. It's how she got through dealing with all the hate Maggie had felt towards her after I had married her. Love one another. I think it's even more important these days." Hershel explained and looked over to Rick who had his own family in his arms. The two men shared a nod and Rick spoke up.

"Everybody, get your things inside. Hershel has graciously offered that we can all stay inside the house. Grab what you need, we will take the camp down in the morning."

"It will be a tight fit, but we can make it work for now. In the next week we can try to transform the attic into a nice sleeping space." Hershel said and the girls smiled at him proudly.

"Let's get you inside, Daddy. You have to eat something." Maggie gave him a kiss on the cheek and ushered him inside. The others slowly followed and as Bay went past him, Rick and her shared a look and a nod, and he squeezed her shoulder for a moment. Things would hopefully work out from here on out. They'd all had enough drama to last them a lifetime, but Bay knew for her and Daryl, more drama was yet to come.

"Get your things and put them in my room. Okay?" Bay told him after the group had dispersed after dinner.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Second chance, remember? About time we get on that. But umm... there's something we have to talk about once you're back inside."

"Like what?" he looked at her questioningly.

"Just get your things." She smiled gently and leaned up to kiss his cheek before she went ahead to her room.

Once there she moved some things around and made some space in her closet for him. When he got back with his belongings, she helped him get settled in, which didn't take long at all. He didn't have very much left. Only some clothes and his crossbow and bolts and a small stash of chocolate and snacks.

"So? What's there to talk about?" he asked as soon as they had closed the closet door. Bay rubbed her hands over her face and took a deep breath.

"I didn't tell you the whole story."

"About what?" he asked with a confused expression on his face.

"About my accident."

"Yeah, figured it was way worse than ya said."

"That's not it. I didn't give you the exact cause of the accident."

Daryl stilled and looked at her angrily as his temper flared up. He assumed that she was about to tell him that she had tried to jump off that bridge after all. "Okay, let's hear it." he made a quick come hither motion with his index and middle finger as he stared at her almost challengingly.

"You wanted to know what the doctor had said, right? About that appointment I had the day you left?"

"Yeah. What about it?" he snarled at her, not really getting why she brought that up now. What would that have to do with the damn accident?

"Well, the doctor said that I was pregnant." she told him and saw him freeze as his eyes widened.

"What?" It was a whisper.

"I was pregnant, Daryl. The day you left, I found out that I was carrying your baby."

Daryl was speechless. More than that, he was shell-shocked, probably more than he'd been when he'd first realized that she was alive a couple of days ago. "You were...? But we... "

"...Used condoms religiously after our last faux-pas? Yeah, guess one of those things sprung a damn leak. Ironic, isn't it?" she laughed with a shake of her head.

"Ain't funny." he breathed, still in shock.

"You're right, it isn't. It was even less funny back then. When I came home from that damn appointment and found you gone."

Daryl's mind was racing. So many questions, but one was glaringly obvious and on the forefront. He swallowed hard. "Bay... Where's our baby?" he swallowed once more as tears stung his eyes. "You get rid of it?" he asked, his voice laced with sadness and accusations alike.

"When you left it destroyed me, Daryl. I didn't do anything but cry. Lay in our bed and cry. I didn't go to work anymore, lost both jobs. I didn't cook anymore and started wasting away. I didn't care about anything but getting out of that godforsaken town. I had a miscarriage. Right on Murray Bridge. I lost our baby, Daryl... The pain was too much,... the baby didn't survive it." Bay explained calmly and watched Daryl starting to pace like a trapped animal with his fists clenched by his sides. "Merle didn't just take you away from me, Daryl. He didn't just take my money and my future away... His actions ultimately took that baby away, too. He took both of our lives, Daryl. Or the lives of all three of us. Yours, mine, the baby's... I mean, looking back now... it's okay... it was better like th-"

"No!" Daryl suddenly interrupted her forcefully. "Don't you dare say it was better like that, don't you fucking dare say it, Bay!" Tears started to roll down his face as he kept pacing back and forth helplessly, wanting to kill someone, wanting to trash something, but not being able to let out his aggressions. He threaded his fingers of both hands through his hair and pulled hard. "Why didn't I say no? Why didn't I say fucking no? We lost everything because of him. We lost eleven years. We lost a whole life, we lost a kid just because I was too much of a fucking coward to tell him no!" He kicked her bed, making her jump, before he turned to face her and look at her. He was crying and his eyes were full of despair. "Our baby, Bay. I made you lose our baby. We could have had it all. We would have made it work. I would have taken care of the both of you. We could have moved to a better town. We talked about Chattanooga once... maybe Ellijay... somewhere nice... We would have made it work. It's what we always used to do." Daryl cried.

"I know." Bay said, and her telling him that she knew it would have been alright, made him cry even harder. He dropped to his knees in front of Bay, hugging her waist and crying into her belly. The flood gates opened and he was finally able to let all of it out. He cried for all that they had lost, finally mourning properly for the first time since it had all happened. Bay let him cry and gently played with his hair while his tears soaked her top.

"I ruined everything. I let him ruin everything." Daryl sobbed miserably. "How can ya even stand to fucking look at me?"

"I had years to deal with it. I'm okay about the baby. It really was better this way Daryl. Together we could have made it work, but I wasn't able to do it alone. Merle left me with nothing. It was better, Daryl, believe me. Things would have been different with you there, but with the situation I was in,... There was just no way to make it work."

"There's always a way." Daryl sniffed stubbornly.

"That time there wasn't. It happened. There was nothing anybody could have done. It just happened, Daryl. I just thought you should know. You should know the full extent of the damage your brother caused."

"Wasn't just him. It was me, too."

"It was." Bay agreed brutally honest. "But ultimately, he was the one who put everything in motion, because he's never been able to get his act together. The two of us paid the price."

"I dunno how you can stand to be around me after all that." he said again as he knelt on the floor and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hands.

"You fucked up, Daryl. It hurt, and it still does, but talking to you and my family made me realize that you did what you did, because you thought it would protect me. The rest was just unfortunate. You had no way of knowing I was pregnant. If you had, I know that you would have stayed, no matter what Merle would have said. You wouldn't have left me alone. I wouldn't have been alone if I had stayed in Dalton after you left, but then again I had no way of knowing that you would come back... We have a chance of making things right now. I mean, what were the odds of us ever seeing each other again? Especially with this outbreak happening? The good Lord obviously has some kind of plan for us... we never lost our feelings for each other... right?" Bay looked at him questioningly and when he nodded she smiled slightly. "I guess He wants us to try again. And I want to try again, too. We were good together, we just let other people get in the way. This time we have to be stronger than we were back then."

"We will be." he promised fiercely.

"I hope so." she smiled and tugged on his arms to get him up from the floor. When they sat on her bed together, she gently wiped at his wet cheeks with her thumbs. "Are you okay?"

"Gotta be." he laughed sarcastically.

"It's okay if you're not. It's a lot to take in. It wasn't just me who lost a lot. It was you, too. I just never saw it that way before."

Daryl nodded and dropped on his back. Bay followed and snuggled herself into his uninjured side, still a bit tentatively.

"How far along were you? When it happened?" Daryl stared at the ceiling, his mind was in the past, seeing her with a big round belly, lounging on the sofa-bed in their old apartment.

"Just about two months. It was just a little dark spot on a screen. Barely visible."

"It was our kid, Bay. Barely visible or not." Daryl's heart was hurting. They could have had a family by now. A real, honest to God family. "Do you know if it was a boy or girl?"

"No. It was way too early for that. And honestly, back then I didn't even care."

"Would be ten years old now. Like Sophia and Carl. Maybe he or she would have gone to school with one of 'em..."

"Daryl, stop. Wondering about all those things don't get you anywhere. It just makes you hurt and feel bad. We can't change what happened." Bay told him and gently rubbed his shirt-covered chest with her warm hand.

"Imma find that little girl. Ain't losin' another one." he vowed after a moment of silence.

"Taking Maggie with you again?"

"No, I'm better on my own. I know where the houses are now. Don't need her to slow me down again."

"Rick doesn't want anyone going out alone anymore. And I have to agree." Bay was still rattled from the first time they brought an unconscious Daryl into the house.

"Don't care. I'm faster by myself and I need ta be fast. We're losing too much damn time." Daryl's tone of voice left no room for discussion, and Bay acquiesced.

"Just be careful. How are your wounds doing anyway?" She pulled away from him and sat up. "Show me." she said, but she didn't wait for him to unbutton his shirt. She carefully straddled one of his thighs and opened the buttons herself. Daryl bit his lip while he watched her, and he reflexively sucked in his stomach, when her fingers glided over his skin along the waistband of his pants and up to the exit wound of the bolt. "Looks good." she murmured before her eyes swept over the newly revealed skin. When they had been in the shower together, she hadn't paid too much attention to how his front looked,.. well, apart from his swollen length. She smirked and gently tickled his belly a little. "Still like your beer, huh?" She teased him good-naturedly and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fat and you're still fucking pretty. Got it." he grumbled with narrowed eyes. "But ya still got these!" he reached up and grabbed her love handles that had never gone away, no matter how much she had worked out or starved herself. Those things stayed firmly put.

"Yeah, but now we match." she giggled and grabbed his new set of love handles, making him wince, when her touching them tugged on his sutures.

"Oww... shit. Watch it, girl." he complained gruffly, but he gently removed her hands from his sides and linked them with his.

"I'm sorry." she was still giggling, giving the impression that she wasn't really all that sorry.

"Ya never used to laugh at my pain before." he complained again and let himself be pulled into a sitting position by Bay tugging on their linked hands.

"Aww... Did I hurt your feelings?" she had to laugh at his grumpy expression. He looked like a pouting little boy and it was adorable. She nuzzled his nose and kissed the tip of it softly. "You look good, Daryl. Really, really good. I was just teasing you."

"Yeah right." he scoffed, but this time the corners of his mouth were turned up in a tiny smile, showing her that he wasn't really offended. The smile didn't reach his eyes, however.

"I'm serious. Not that it's important to me, but you do look wonderful. Even all dirty and exhausted." She smoothed his growing bangs away from his forehead and looked at him for a moment. "Weird day, huh? A lot happened... a lot to take in."

"Yeah. Some heavy shit you just told me." he took his hands off her waist and rubbed them over his face. "Can't stop thinking about it. Why was that the cause of the accident? I don't get it."

"I was in a lot of pain. I lost my momentum, kept stumbling around in the dark, I guess. That's why the guy hit me with his car."

"How bad was it really? And don't bullshit me." he said as he looked at the scar on her arm pointedly.

"It wasn't pretty. Like I said, brain swelling, coma, broken bones... I was messed up for a while. Took a couple of months and good care from Annette and Hershel to have me back on my feet. Lots of physical therapy, too. Don't look at me like that Daryl." she was practically able to see that he started blaming himself for it again. "It wasn't your fault. And it's in the past now. Let's try to leave it behind us now. We have enough to worry about in the present."

"Pfff, tell me about it." he smiled a little, making her smile widen in return. "Good thing the farmer came around, though."

"It is. He doesn't want Shane too close to him, but at least he finally realized what's really happening and he's dealing with it. Progress."

"Yeah, I guess." Daryl mumbled around biting on his lip. Bay noticed that he had been doing that more frequently these days, than he had back in the day. The restlessness inside of him must have increased over the years.

Bay yawned and decided that it was finally time to call it a night. "Well, you know the deal. You wanna sleep in this bed, you better go clean up first." she told Daryl, and laughed when he groaned.

"I'm fucking tired, Bay."

"Better hurry up then."

"Gonna help me again?"

"Nope. I'm gonna change and slip into bed and wait for you. Just go wash up real quick. You can shower tomorrow when you get back." Bay yawned a second time and climbed off the bed.

"Fine." Daryl sighed and got up himself and went to the bathroom to freshen up a bit. When he came back the only light in the room came from a candle on her nightstand. One of those cemetery candles you didn't have to watch too much while they burned down. A bit morbid maybe, but these days you made do with what you were able to get. Daryl had a weird sense of deja-vu when he spotted her laying in bed with a smile, waiting for him to join her. Just like back then. It finally made a full smile appear on his tired face. He took off his clothes, except for his black boxer briefs, and went over to the bed. She lifted the covers for him, and he saw that she was just wearing a tank top and panties. Just like back then, too. It was weird in a way, to be in this situation with her again, just many years later. So much had changed, but then again nothing really had. There was still some hesitancy between them. Some awkwardness they had also shared when they had done this for the very first time. This would be their second first time. Even though it might have sounded silly, they really were Bay and Daryl 2.0,... new and (maybe) improved versions that had to figure out how to get back into the swing of things.

"Hey..." she whispered with a smile. She was just as nervous as he was. This was really happening. It wasn't a dream.

"Hey." he rasped quietly as he laid down on his side, facing her and keeping pressure off the entry wound on his back.

"Mmmmm..." she moaned appreciatively when she smelled toothpaste and soap on him. "You smell good."

He gave a little grunt in reply, not knowing what to respond. You smell good, too. Nah, sounds fucking stupid. Goosebumps broke out on his skin when he felt her fingertips trail over his chest again. This time around she seemed to be quite fascinated by the tattoo. She was tracing her name with her fingers once again. He was slightly embarrassed when his nipples tightened almost painfully from just that little touch, poking into the heel of her hand every other moment when she moved her hand lower. Like that wasn't torture enough, she leaned in a moment later and let him feel her lips on his skin. Daryl watched her kiss his chest in the dim, flickering glow of the candlelight. Her lips were burning him, marking him and re-claiming him as her own, as they traveled along the lines of her name. He enjoyed her ministrations for a moment, but he wasn't able to wait much longer. She was stoking a fire inside of him and it was about to erupt into big, bright flames. He wanted her lips on his when that happened. He slid his hand up her arm and to the back of her neck, exerting gentle pressure, making her look up at him. "C'mere..." his deep voice sent shivers down her spine. She obeyed immediately and lifted her head up towards his. They had waited long enough.

There was nothing awkward or tentative about their first kiss after eleven years of being apart. Their mouths pressed together in several hard and long, open-mouthed kisses, full of need and longing. Daryl grabbed her leg by the back of her knee and hooked it over his hip before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against his body. Bay moaned at all the new sensations. The kisses were familiar, but yet so very different. His facial hair scratched her pleasantly while they kissed and she felt much smaller than she ever had when they had been together, because his frame was larger, bulkier and stronger. Her palms no longer rubbed over smooth skin, but over coarse chest hair and well-toned pecs. The differences excited her greatly and she couldn't wait to explore all of him anew. She giggled when he bit down on her bottom lip and tugged with a low growl; she had always loved that. The giggle quickly turned into a gasp, when finally, his tongue slipped into her mouth and gently prodded hers. Bay and Daryl both moaned when their tongues started swirling and massaging, the kiss growing more ardent and passionate as they both pressed against each other like they were trying to melt together and share one body. His hands slid underneath the cotton fabric of her white tank top, his fingertips digging into her flesh possessively and his blunt nails raking down her back, having moan and her arch into him even more.

"Never leavin' ya 'gain. Ya hear?" Daryl panted when they came up for air a long, long while later. "Gon' have to kill me if ya want rid of me."

"Sounds good to me." Bay grinned before she slanted her lips over his again and made him moan by curling her tongue around his and in turn, making his toes curl.

They made out like they were teenagers again, and that's all they did that night. Just kissing and reconnecting, getting used to being in each others personal space again. It had been one hell of a long day for both of them and they still had a lot to process. They fell asleep tightly hugging each other about an hour later, and Daryl was up again at first light, getting ready to check the houses for Sophia.

"Bay... I'm going out." he crouched down next to the bed and whispered to her when he was fully dressed.

"Alright. Please be careful." she murmured still half-asleep with closed eyes.

"Always am." he smiled and kissed her forehead before he tugged the covers up to her shoulders, so she wouldn't get cold.

Bay was in the best mood she had ever been in while living on the farm. After waking up and still smelling Daryl on her pillow, she went downstairs with a smile and wanted to fix breakfast. But Lori and Carol were already taking care of it and greeted her with a smile.

"Good morning, Bay. Sleep well?" Carol asked with a little smile. She was in better spirits after Daryl had found Sophia's doll the previous day.

"I slept very well. Thank you." Bay smiled and couldn't help what she said next. "Daryl is simply the best and most comfortable pillow out there. Always has been." she needed to make sure Carol knew who Daryl belonged to. Carol gave her a genuine smile, not showing a hint of jealousy or awkwardness, and it made Bay feel like an ass.

"It's great that you two found each other again." Carol smiled. "It might be just what Daryl needs. He's very closed off. I don't think he thinks of himself as a good person. I guess you can help with that."

"Yeah, I can." Bay smiled tightly. Carol was a nice person and Bay really liked her, but she was not yet comfortable with Carol caring about Daryl, even though Daryl deserved having a ton of people care about him, and not just her. It was something she would have to get used to. Until then she would try to swallow down her jealousy. Daryl was the one who put the most effort into finding Sophia. Bay was sure it was what had Carol being affectionate towards him and fond of him. He is using him a bit as an emotional crutch, which Bay did understand, but she hoped it wouldn't go further than that in the future. "How did you guys sleep?" Bay asked the women.

"Great." Lori smiled. "I slept better knowing that everyone was safe and not out there."

"I can imagine. You need help with anything?"

"No, you just go ahead and sit down Bay. You, Maggie, Beth and Hershel, you work hard enough. Let us take care of breakfast for you. Sit with your family and have a coffee. We're just about done." Carol gentle ushered her towards the dining area.

"Alright. Thanks. I could get used to that." Bay laughed and went over to the dining table, where Andrea was sitting with her family. Dale was outside doing a round around the farm to check for walkers and would join them later. Rick and Shane were out looking for Sophia, just like Daryl was.

They all greeted each other and Bay plopped down on a chair next to Andrea. "Hey Andrea. You look good today." Bay smiled before she realized what she had said. "I mean, not that you didn't look good before... I just meant..."

"That I'm finally clean?" The other woman laughed. "I finally got to take a shower this morning. I had forgotten how good it felt to be completely clean and not a sweaty mess first thing in the morning."

"I can't even imagine what that's like. Judging from how filthy Daryl was, you guys must have had a rough time out there." Bay said while she filled her mug with coffee and milk.

"Oh, you can't compare us to Daryl. He's always the dirtiest. I don't know how he does it. He must be rolling on the ground in the mud or something." Andrea explained while she sipped her hot coffee.

"Really? Funny... he used to love his baths." Bay smiled while she remembered how much they both had always enjoyed them. "Maybe because he can't have them now he's just saying 'Screw it, I'm never getting clean again.' My father used to be like that. For his haircuts, he went to this guy called Al all his life. Really, the guy gave him his first haircut ever when he was still a baby, and my Dad kept going to him for like 40 years until Al died. From that moment on he never went to get his hair cut again. He wouldn't let anyone but Al touch his hair, so he let it grow. Looked like a damn hippie." Bay laughed at the memory of how her father had refused to go get his hair cut by somebody else. Her mother and grandmother had practically begged him on their knees. It was a funny memory from a time when things had still been good.

"Oh my God, really? What is it with men and change?" Andrea laughed. "They truly are still little boys, even when they are old. All of them. Who used to give Daryl his haircuts? That person is probably gone too by now. Might have another hippie on your hands, Bay."

"I would love that." Bay grinned. "He had kinda long hair when we met."

"What? Seriously?" Andrea had a hard time imagining Daryl with long hair, but then again, she had a hard time imagining a younger and sweeter version of the mono-syllabic hunter as well.

"Yes. And really really blond. Don't know why it's darker now, I don't think he ever dyed it. It would be awesome if he would let it grow out. I loved his longer hair. I miss it."

"Do you have a picture?" Beth piped up. Everyone else had listened to the conversation and she was curious what Daryl had looked like back then.

"Unfortunately no. I had a couple back then, but I'm afraid that whoever has my bag also has the pictures."

"Too bad." Andrea smiled. "That's something I really would have liked to see. I think everybody is a little curious about him. He seems like such an enigma. I was surprised about how nice he was when we were out in the woods. Even smiled a little."

"I keep hearing that." Bay laughed. "That he's closed off and mean, but that's really not who I used to know. I think it will take some time, but eventually you guys will meet the Daryl I used to be with. Everything that happened with me and Merle... it just did a number on him, but the old Daryl is still in there. You just wait."

"With you around, I'm sure it will happen." Andrea winked.

"I sure hope so." Bay said before Lori and Carol finally brought in the food and the group started to eat.

After lunch Bay helped Hershel and Rick, who had returned right before lunch from his search with Shane, clean the attic a little while the others took down the tents outside.

"Someone's happy today." Rick commented on Bay's good mood with a smile.

"I think this is the happiest I've ever seen you, Bayanne." Hershel sent a little smile her way. "The young man is lifting your spirits, I see."

"You and Daryl work things out?" Rick asked after sharing a knowing look with the vet.

"I think we are getting there." Bay replied with a happy sigh. "I told him everything." she told Hershel, making him look at her in surprise.

"Really? Everything? That's good. Honesty is always good. How is he dealing with it?"

"He was sad, but I think he will use his trip out to the houses today to deal with it. It's how it works for him. Being outside and getting a clear head always helps him."

Rick stopped sweeping and looked at Bay and Hershel with interest. "Now, why do I get the feeling that you didn't tell me everything when you told me your story, Bay?"

"Because I didn't." she laughed. "Gotta save some talking points for later." she winked at him and nudged his elbow as she carried a box past him and out of the attic.

Rick shook his head with a laugh before he looked at Hershel. "I might have only known her for a week, but it's good to see her so happy. She seems like someone who deserves it. Hope she will infect Daryl with that. I think he could use some of that, too."

"She's been through a lot in her young life. I usually do not enjoy seeing my girls with male suitors, but Bay is different. Whether she wants to admit it or not, but she's pined for that boy for a decade. Never looked at another man all the time she's been here. It's good that he's back and that they are working on getting their relationship back. I could get used to see her smile more often."

"Yeah." Rick nodded thoughtfully. "Who knows, maybe from now on we will all have more things to smile about again."

"We shall hope so." Hershel agreed and followed Bay out of the attic with another box.

Rick took a moment to look around. Hope. He finally had some of that again. This farm and the people here truly were a blessing. Now that Hershel was on their side and was letting them stay, they could work on making this place even safer. They could help the Greenes with their work load and they could go on organized runs to stock up on supplies before stores in the area got picked over by other survivors... if there were any. Rick had high hopes for this place. He hoped that it would now become a true home for him, Lori, Carl and their extended, dysfunctional little family, but he knew that only time would tell.

Thank you for reading!

I think some of you got some answers you've been waiting for. Bay's confession probably wasn't much of a surprise to a lot of you, right? Did I break your hearts? If so, I'm very sorry.

Thank you so so much for all your wonderful reviews. Once again I am ashamed because I didn't get to reply. It's been hell around my house because my son now refuses to take naps. So 12.5 hour days with a toddler and no break = no fun and lots of exhaustion. Unfortunately it also means no writing time for me. Gotta squeeze it in whenever I can from now on. Chapter 28 is already in the works and I hope to have it out by the weekend. Thank you again, for all your kind words and support. Please don't ever stop, even if I'm horrible about replying lately. Keeping this short again, because I'm about to hit the sack at 7pm, like a damn grandma. Grrrr. Lots of love to you guys, I love and appreciate you all very, very, very much!