Chapter 31

Glenn had a dilemma on his hands. He had to let Rick know what he had seen, but if Rick would confront Shane, then Shane would immediately know, that it had been Glenn who had tattled. But won't he expect me to tell Rick anyway? Oh God, what if he decides to take me out, because I saw him aim his rifle at Rick and he knows that I will tell? Glenn felt extremely tempted to go inside and end his watch early, because it felt like being out there alone with Shane in the dark wasn't the best idea. He couldn't do that, though. He didn't want to alarm the whole group to what might be going on, even thought it might not be the worst idea. It would made everybody keep an eye on Shane. Glenn really didn't know what to do. For the remainder of his shift he stayed close to the house after checking behind the stables. It made him feel safer, and this time he didn't mean safer from the walkers, but from one of their own. By the time they got relieved by T-Dog and Dale, Glenn had decided to talk to Maggie about what he had seen first, then he would discuss the next step with her. Going right to Rick didn't seem right to him. He didn't think he should rile up Shane even more, but instead, give him a false sense of security. Shane would sure watch him from now on and avoiding Rick for the night might give Glenn himself some safety from the volatile deputy.

"Boop!" Bay pushed her index finger against Daryl's nose, making a silly noise while doing it, before she erupted into giggles at the look he was giving her.

"The hell?" he looked at her like she had lost her mind. "You're fucking drunk."

"I'm not." Bay wiped tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. She really was tipsy, because they'd had wine to go with dinner and she had had a whiskey with Maggie and the men, shortly before they had gone upstairs. "I'm tipsy, not drunk. Can't hold my liquor anymore."

"Obviously." Daryl grumbled. "Ya ain't 3... You're 30. Act like it."

"Hey... why so serious? You're so serious all the time now." she stopped laughing and looked at him with a mix of concern and sadness. She missed the goofy boy he'd sometimes been when they'd had their "5 minutes of crazy" as they had called it.

"Ain't nothin' left to laugh about."

"That's not true." Bay smiled and gently rubbed her thumb along his jawline. "I'm still here and I am still clumsy as hell. Tons of mishaps to laugh about. I gave myself a huge bruise on the forehead while mopping the floors."

"Ain't funny." Daryl said without emotion. "You getting hurt ain't never been funny to me."

"It was just a bruise."

"Ya gotta be careful. You ain't been out there... You gotta watch your step and your back all the time. Can't be clumsy out there, girl."

"Good thing we are here now." she smiled, hoping it would be infectious, but unfortunately it seemed to have lost some of its power where Daryl was concerned.

"Yeah." Daryl mumbled absently. He wasn't able to put his finger on it, but his spidey sense was tingling. Something was coming.

"Okaaaay, Mr. Moody. You won't let me cheer you up, but maybe you'll let my try to distract you for half an hour?" Suddenly she had his undivided attention, which made her grin proudly. Mission accomplished.

"Like what?" he asked with interest.

"Take your clothes off and I'll show you." she giggled and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Yeah?" the corners of his mouth started to tug up. "You're serious?"

"Very much. Come on, help me." she smiled and knelt up before grabbing his hands and helping him to sit up in bed. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and kissed and nibbled on his neck while her hands slid down his arms to rid him of the raggedy, old garment.

"You too." he said under his breath as his eyes rolled back in his head for a second. She had found the sweet spot on his neck and was making him hard by lavishing attention on it with her lips and her tongue.

"Take your pants off. Take everything off." she commanded him while she tore away from his neck long enough to pull her top over her head. They quickly rid themselves of their clothes, and once they laid in a heap on the wooden floor next to the bed, Bay propped up her pillows against the headboard and laid down comfortably with her head and torso nicely elevated. Daryl was confused for a moment, but when she crooked her index finger in a come hither motion, he grinned, because he realized what she was doing. She hates getting a crick in her neck, too. They had both enjoyed giving oral more with the receiving partner on top of them. He knew she was about to put her mouth on him and the thought made his dick jump happily. Bay noticed and giggled equally happy while she put her hands on Daryl's hips and guided him to straddle her slim form, and scoot up to her neck/shoulder area, putting his gloriously beautiful cock right in her face. Daryl gripped the headboard with both hands for support, looking down and watching her lift his cock up further with her right hand while she leaned her head to the side and pulled him closer, slowly letting her tongue lick his tight balls with relish. "Mmmmmm..." she moaned appreciatively, making Daryl grip the headboard that much harder when ripples of lust made him shudder.

Bay took her time and laved his balls thoroughly, sucking each one into her mouth and letting them slowly slip out while she kept sucking, until they plopped free with a wet popping sound. While she did that, she let her fingernails gently scrape up and down his lower abdomen and the top of his thighs, raising goosebumps on his skin, and making him squirm and shudder more and more. Low groans rumbled inside his chest and throat while he enjoyed what she was doing. He tried not to pump his hips, but he couldn't help press his balls harder against her mouth, wanting her to suck on them again. It was the best torture ever. She gave him what she wanted and sucked one back into her mouth and tickling it with little flicks of her tongue. She loved doing this for him. She loved when he took charge was "the boss" in bed, but every once in a while it was nice to have him squirming and be putty in her hands and have him silently beg for things. She only stopped when she felt a drop of wetness hit her cheek, right by the corner of her mouth. Mildly confused she released him from her mouth and looked at his dick, and immediately found the source. He was practically dripping pre-cum, his cock was partly wet with it. Bay followed the trail, one of the drops had taken down his shaft, with her tongue. She didn't mind its bitter taste. She never had. She welcomed it and appreciated it for what it was; a sign that she was able to give him pleasure.

Just when the tip of her tongue reached the little spot on the underside of his head, which he loved getting licked, she finally brought her hands into play. She let one hand cup his sack, gently rolling and massaging his balls, while she wrapped the other one around the bottom portion of his shaft, stroking up and down and massaging his length as well. She gave his hot spot gentle flicks with her tongue while her hands worked him, and when she looked up at him she had to fight a grin when she saw him biting his bottom lip in an attempt not to groan out loud. He failed miserably when Bay opened her mouth and let him slip inside. She licked circles all around his tip before she finally really wrapped her lips around the upper part of his big cock, and gave him a first suck.

"Oh ffffffuck, baby girl!" he bucked his hips, making himself slip further into her mouth. She let him, still having enough control not to have him make her gag, because she had her hand wrapped around him, preventing him from slipping in too far. She started bobbing her head in time with the motion of her hand, setting a nice and steady rhythm, only breaking it to gently suckle just on his tip every now and them, making him shiver and moan, and driving him insane with the need to finally cum. He was rock hard and felt wonderful in her hands and mouth. The suppressed groans and his harsh and heavy breathing were making her wet, making her wish that she had three hands, so she would be able to touch herself while she got him off. She was surprised how long he lasted. Definitely longer than he'd had when he'd been younger. She had never felt her jaw starting to ache while she had done this, but she didn't care about that at all. It was kind of exciting and only meant prolonged fun for the both of them. When she noticed Daryl's breathing starting to get more shallow she picked up some speed and changed her suction, giving him short, but hard sucks, kind of like little pulses. She did that faster and faster, and the faster she did it, the more he panted and moaned.

"Cumming! Fuck... gonna cum hard, baby girl."he bit out between gritted teeth, and he had barely finished his sentence, when she felt his dick contract and the first spurt of hot, viscous fluid hit her tongue. Daryl bit his own tongue while he grunted loudly and breathed harshly through his nose as his orgasm tore through him with great force. He hadn't cum this hard in ages and it was just what he had needed. When he came down from his high he felt exquisitely drained and relaxed. He gently grabbed Bay's chin in his hand and slowly pulled his softening length out of her mouth, when it became too sensitive. He tilted her face up as he looked down at her admiring her big, shiny eyes and that serene smile she was wearing, while a bit of cum had dribbled out of the corner of her mouth and was sliding down towards her chin. He gently wiped it away with his thumb before he scooted down her body a little and leaned down to softly kiss her lips. I love you, he thought, but didn't dare say it yet. It felt too soon.

"Feel better?" she smiled against his lips while they nuzzled their noses against each other.

"You really gotta ask?" he laughed quietly, and laid down on his side next to her. He stroked his hand over her breast, squeezing lightly, before he slid it down her body. "Want me to return the favor?" he murmured into her ear, but Bay put her hand on top of his and stopped him.

"No, I'm good. Your orgasm made me sleepy." she smiled. Her loins were pulsing with need, but just a little. She would appreciate an orgasm, but she felt like she would fall asleep before he would get her there. The alcohol was taking a toll on her. "Rain check?"

"Sure." he nodded and kissed her cheek, slinging his arm around her midriff now. Bay closed her eyes and held on to his forearm with her hands. Her head rolled to the side and she was asleep in what seemed like seconds. Daryl smiled and softly kissed her shoulder while he watched her for a moment. He still couldn't believe his luck. He was half afraid that his sense of doom meant that he was just dreaming and was about to wake up, but deep down he knew that wasn't it. He sighed deeply when the anxiousness crept back inside his body this soon after his release. He had hoped he would be able to fall asleep without it. This was why he wasn't able to laugh with her too much, because he just knew something was going to happen and he was scared that she would be taken from him again. Nah... that ain't gonna happen. It can't. Gotta do everything I can to keep her with me. Whatever it takes, he vowed to himself before he drifted off into sleep himself for a couple of hours before he would have to take watch.

"You look different." the 10 year-old boy looked at Daryl with a frown.

"Daddy got old." Bay stated and then burst out laughing when Daryl's expression started to match his son's.

"Ain't old. Ain't creaking yet."

"Maybe not, but for somebody his age we're old." Bay smiled and affectionately ruffled the young boy's sandy blond hair. Daryl looked different, because Bay now knew what he actually looked like these days. Before she had always dreamed about the only version of Daryl she had known.

"Yeah... guess you're right about that." Daryl popped a grape into his mouth and leaned back on his hands.

"Daddy? Can I go hunting with you and Uncle Jess this weekend?"

"I ain't the one ya need to ask, boy. I'd take ya with..." Daryl shrugged and smirked at Bay. "It's your momma who needs some more convincing."

"Mummy pleeeeeaaaasseeeee!" the little boy immediately started begging. His wide blue eyes, which matched his father's perfectly, were looking at her pleadingly. "I wanna help shoot a deer. Please. I'll take out the trash for a week. I'll do the dishes, too."

"Nice try, baby. We have a dishwasher." Bay scoffed out an amused laugh. He was so much like his father, it was downright ridiculous.

"I'll load and unload that for a week. I'll clean my room. Pleaaaase!"

"I don't know..." Bay was hesitant to let him go out. He was her baby and she was scared of losing him. Yeah, maybe a little too much, but she couldn't help it.

"Come on, sweetheart. He's good with his bow. We could use his help." Daryl winked at his son with a smile, and the son turned his hopeful eyes back on her. Ugh, she had never been able to tell those eyes no.

"Okay, fine." she finally agreed and went half-deaf at their son's joyful cheering.

"Thank you. Daddy and I will bring you back the biiiiggest deer ever. I promise." The boy smiled and hugged his mother. Bay wrapped her arms around him and hugged him to her as hard as she could and held on for as long as she could while tears stung her eyes. She knew that their time was almost up.

"Anything for you, baby. I love you." she murmured into his soft hair.

The clock on her nightstand started ringing and Bay woke with a start. Tears had leaked out of the corners of her eyes and she wiped them away after she had sat up. "Gonna be one of those days, huh?" she said it to herself while she looked around and let herself wake up a little more before she got out of bed. She wasn't surprised about the dream. She had almost expected it what with Lori's baby news becoming a hot topic and the talk with Daryl about their own. She already knew she would spend most of the day being sad and melancholic and thinking about that dream. She would once again miss what she had lost. She couldn't let Daryl notice. He was already upset over the whole thing. Not that she blamed him. He had just found out and she knew it would take a while for that pain to take the backseat. Still, even though she knew that, she was impatiently waiting for it to happen for him, because she couldn't spend too much more time talking about this again and again, because if she did, then this dream stuff would happen more often again. She was in no way willing or able to experience it more often than it was already happening naturally. She would just have to force a smile on her face and not let anyone see that she was in a shitty mood.

Her thoughts drifted to Daryl. Being with him was different than she had expected, because he was so different now. She was still struggling a bit to adjust, because she expected him to react to things the way, he would have reacted eleven years ago, and then she was surprised when he reacted differently. He was still able to read her like an open book, but she had trouble reading him these days. It would take some getting used to that he was a bit rougher around the edges now, and that he had lost a bit of that beautiful laugh and smile of his. Before, usually when shit had hit the fan, they had been able to work through it together and had succeeded in trying to see the humorous side of things, but Daryl wasn't that guy anymore. He wasn't used to working through things with anyone anymore. She'd had her family, but he'd had no one. Only Merle and he sure wasn't much help. He just has to get used to being a part of a team again. Bay was sure that eventually they would be able to work out all the little kinks that were presenting themselves this time around. It would just take some time.

Bay finally decided that it was time to get up, so she pushed the covers off of her naked body and knelt up, lifting her arms up over her head and stretching out her limbs with a hearty yawn, when suddenly the door opened. "Jesus Christ!" she scrambled to cover herself back up, until she realized that it was just Daryl who had finished his watch. He quickly closed the door behind him and slowly let his gaze travel down her nude body. He definitely could get used to coming inside to that. "Hey... good morning." she greeted him with a little smile.

"Mornin'." he rasped while he shrugged off his crossbow and put it up against the wall. Good morning indeed. He went over to the bed, not bothering to take off his jean jacket with his leather vest on top, and not bothering to take his boots off either. He knelt on the bed right in front of her and put his cool hands on the warm skin of her naked back. Bay squealed a little and arched her back reflexively, trying to get away from the coldness permeating her skin, but it only made her front press up against his slightly warmer, clothed, torso. Daryl smirked and lowered his head until his lips met hers. He nipped at her bottom lip, making her open her mouth for him, giving his tongue free access. While his hands slid down to her ass, squeezing the soft, yet firm globes in his hand and making her scoot closer to him, her tongue met his halfway and they softly licked at each other a couple of times, before he deepened the kiss and let his tongue glide alongside hers into her hot mouth. Bay clutched at his lapels with both fists, making them press together even more. She moved against him, letting her hardening nipples rub against the smooth leather of his vest. She felt herself getting wet quickly. There was something incredibly erotic about him being fully dressed, smelling like the crisp, cool morning air, while she was completely naked, the warmth of their bed still clinging to her skin. "In a hurry?" he asked, and let his hands glide over her hips and up over her sides until he cupped both of her fantastic tits in his hands and squeezed them possessively.

"Mmmm... kinda... yeah." she gasped and pushed herself further into his hands.

"Alright... " he gave a curt nod, then he pinched and rolled both her nipples between his thumb and forefinger until he had her mewling and gyrating her hips, trying to push herself against his crotch. His hands left her breasts then. He slung one arm around her shoulders, holding her tightly to him while the other hand traveled down between her legs. He groaned unconsciously when he found her wet already, and since they were in a hurry, he didn't waste any time and let his middle and his ring finger slide into her tight, wet passage. He grinned when her breath hitched audibly and he watched her expression closely when he pressed the heel of his hand against her clit, letting her get some friction while she kept moving her hips. "Good?"

"Mhmmm." Bay moaned with closed eyes and licked her lips while she focused on grinding herself against his hand just right. Daryl started moving his fingers, but he didn't move them in and out of her. Instead, he curved them up against her front wall and stroked his fingertips back and forth, searching for that slightly rougher spot that would hopefully make things go from 'good' to 'better' for her. "Oh God!" Bay inhaled sharply when Daryl found what he'd been looking for. He pressed his fingertips against her g-spot firmly. practically hooking his fingers up against it, and started a quick and hard, jerky up and down movement with his hand. He was bumping his fingers against her g-spot rhythmically and at the same time he was effectively rubbing his palm against her pussy and her clit. Bay yelped and tightened her grip on his vest, pulling on it hard while he fingered her so damn good. "Oh God... oh God... oh God... ohgodohgodohgod..." she was mewling and moaning and gasping and all at once. He had never done that to her before and she had never felt anything quite like it. It was almost too intense to bear, but at the same time she craved more and more of it. It felt like she would come any second, but then again, it felt like she wouldn't be able to cum like this at all, like this sweet torture would just go on and on and on forever. It was indescribable.

"Better?" he asked, slightly out of breath from moving his hand at that fast rhythm, but otherwise he seemed completely calm and unaffected, and it really turned her on even more.

"Yes... yes... oh shit... Daryl... please."

"Be a good girl, Bay." he tightened his grip on her shoulders, pressing her against him hard, and looking directly into her eyes, which were staring at him with a desperate expression. "Be a good girl and cum for me."

"I don't know if I can." she forced out between pants.

"You can, and you will." he coolly stated. It made her shiver. She had a hard time understanding why his seemingly detached demeanor turned her on so damn much, but then again, she had a hard time remembering her own name in that moment. "Don't fight it. Just let it happen. Come on, baby girl. you want someone to walk in and see us? Want them to see ya getting fingered? Bet your pal Rick would just looove to see that." He didn't even know why he brought up Rick while they were doing this, but the jealousy and anger that crept into his veins made his movements get even harder and rougher and Bay's eyes briefly rolled back into her head at the intense pleasure he was giving her. The picture he had painted flashed through her mind, and even though she wasn't attracted to Rick, imagining him walking in and watching her with that piercing stare of his made her lose it. Daryl felt it, and he felt the tiniest bit betrayed by it, but he stuffed that feeling down and focused on making her come apart.

"Oh God... yes,... ohDarylohmigoshfuckfuckfuckoooohhhhh FUCK!" her body tensed, her hips started to jerk of their own volition, and Daryl felt her bear down, trying to push his fingers out of her. His dick started throbbing painfully when he realized that he'd done it right and that he would get what he wanted.

"That's a good girl... cummin' all over my hand..." his expression remained blank, but inwardly he was grinning proudly, when he felt her squirt a little over his hand. "Such a good girl..." he murmured when he slowed down his movements considerably and just gently pumped his fingers in and out of her for a moment.

"Fuck." Bay was still breathing harshly and now slumped against him bonelessly, only his body keeping her upright. "God... fuck..."

Daryl finally let a grin appear on his lips at her repeated cussing. He loved when he got her to do that. He pulled his fingers out of her and wiped them on his pants, then he grabbed her chin and tilted her face up, placing a big kiss on her lips. "Now you can go."

"Yeah... right..." Bay panted. "As soon as my legs start working again. Good Lord. Where in the world did you pick up that little trick?"

Daryl blushed and lowered his head, peeking up at her as he squirmed uncomfortably. Bay's stomach clenched and she felt like she wanted to throw up and then kill every woman on the planet who had come close to him, but she wasn't surprised. She hoped her disappointment wasn't showing, because she knew that it was unreasonable to feel that way anyway. "Look..." she took a deep breath to calm herself before she continued. "I know that it's different for men... I was pretty sure that you hadn't been celibate all this time. I'm gonna be honest, I am not about to jump up and down with joy, but I get it, alright? No need to look so guilty. It's fine."

"Never meant nothing. Was never more than once. Never really knew their names or kept in touch with 'em. This one girl... she showed me... wanted to get off before I fucked-" he stopped when Bay held up her hand with a pained look on her face.

"I don't need to hear the details."

"Right. Sorry." he cursed his insensitivity. He just wanted to assure her that it had never been anything meaningful. "I didn't even try to get 'em off... Jus' needed to get it over with. Never meant shit, I promise. Was never another Bay for me neither..." he mumbled, referring to what she had told him, about how there never would have been another Daryl for her.

"How many?" she was just a glutton for punishment that day. She didn't really want to know, but yet the morbid curiosity inside of her made her ask.

"Just three or four."

"Really?" she was surprised. She had expected the number to be higher. "In eleven years? Only three or four?"

"Yeah. Don't believe me?"

" I do... just surprised."

"Yeah... like I'm the guy who goes around, fucking every skirt that crosses my path, or what?" Daryl was slightly offended at her surprise.

"That's not what I meant. I know you are not that guy. Let's not fight." She kissed him hard and finally climbed off her bed and put on her robe. "You gonna sleep some more?"

"No. Gonna help out outside today. Repair the fence." Daryl replied and sat down at the edge of the bed while she pulled some clean clothes out of her closet.

"Okay. I'll go take a shower. See you at breakfast." She smiled and gave him one more big kiss before she disappeared into the bathroom.

It was a weird feeling to see Rick less than an hour after she had cum epically with the help of the thought of him watching her get fingered by Daryl. When he looked up and smiled at her, Bay blushed a dark crimson, which of course didn't go unnoticed by the man of the law. She averted her gaze and scratched her forehead (her nervous habit) while she approached him. "Um... hi." she said after clearing her throat.

Rick studied her with narrowed eyes, finding her reaction interesting and wondering why she was acting like that. Their last interaction had been sharing some laughs over whiskey with the others, so he wasn't sure what was causing the blushing now. "Hey." he greeted her back. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. I've been thinking and I wanted to run something by you."

"I'm all ears."

"With Lori pregnant, we need to prepare for all kinds of scenarios. And not even just for her pregnancy, but in general. We need all kinds of medical supplies. Accidents can happen every day, small ones and big ones. Right now we are not really equipped for that, but we need to be. Instruments, machines, bandages, medication,... we need it all."

"You're right. Sounds plausible. What did you have in mind?"

"The hospital in Calhoun, maybe also the medical supply shop in town..."

"The supply shop sounds good, but I don't know about the hospital, Bay. Might be a lot of walkers there."

"I know, but the shop is not carrying everything we would need. Not even close. We need to get into that hospital. And maybe try some doctor's offices, too. Get as much as we can. Maybe with the hospital we can start with one wing, one hallway and work our way through. We only need to get into the supply rooms anyway. Maybe we can block the doors to the patient rooms and won't have to clear out too many walkers." Bay explained and watched Rick pinch the bridge of his nose as he let the plan run through his mind.

"It's risky, Bay. Maybe too risky."

"Yeah, but it might be worth it."

"I'll think about it, okay? Give me a couple of hours."

"No problem. I'll be outside." Bay smiled a little and turned to leave.

"Hey." Rick's voice stopped her and she turned back around. "Anything else?"

"No. Why?"

Rick shrugged with a little smile of his own. "Just a feeling. I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks." she blushed slightly again and quickly left for the orchard to harvest some fruit, leaving the sheriff to wonder what was going on with her.

A couple of hours passed and Bay was already in the kitchen canning some of the fruit for winter, when Maggie came in. She stood close to Bay and whispered in her ear. "We have a problem. A big one."

"What is it?" Bay frowned with concern.

"Glenn had watch with Shane last night. When Glenn walked around the house he saw Shane standing in front of the kitchen window, watching you and Rick. He said Shane had his rifle aimed at Rick and he was dangerously close to pulling the trigger." Maggie recounted what Glenn had told her shortly after he had come inside after his watch had ended.

"What?" Bay was shocked and her mind started racing. "Is he sure that's what he saw. It was dark..."

"He's sure. He said Shane's been acting kind of sketchy ever since Rick came back from the dead. Something is going on there. And with the way Shane's been acting around here... I think Rick's in danger. I feel like we all are, as long as Shane is around."

"Has he told Rick?"

"No. It can't be him talking to Rick, because Shane noticed Glenn. He acted like nothing happened, but you can be sure that he's watching Glenn now." Maggie didn't scare easily, but Shane definitely had her scared. The man had been way too unhinged for her to take this lightly.

"Can you find out when Shane will have watch tonight? As soon as he's out there, we can go to Rick. Glenn should be the one to tell him what he saw. Once Shane is outside we go upstairs, he can't look in up there."

"Alright. Good plan. Don't tell anyone, okay?" Maggie pleaded with her. She was scared that Shane would catch wind of it and do something to Glenn. She was seriously developing feelings for the young Korean and she didn't want anything to happen to him.

"Don't worry. My lips are sealed."

"Thanks. Just watch your back when he's around. I don't trust him." Maggie hugged Bay and left the kitchen, trying to find out who was on watch and when.

Bay's mind continued to race. She had a pretty good explanation why Shane would want Rick out of the way; Shane was convinced that the baby was his and wanted Rick gone so he could play Daddy. Bay just knew that Shane had something to do with Otis' death, so what would stop him from doing the same to Rick? She shuddered when she realized that the farm had suddenly become a lot less safe.

Rick took the news in stride. Bay guessed that maybe he had expected something like that to happen. After all, he knew Shane better than anybody.

"Whaddaya wanna do?" Daryl asked when Rick stayed mum. Bay had asked Glenn to include Daryl, because she didn't feel right keeping this from him and shutting him out.

"Same as before. Keep an eye on him. Watch my back..." Rick told him.

"You know he killed Otis, right?" Daryl said, making Bay's head snap up sharply.

"I know." Rick nodded.

"What?" Maggie shot up straight.

"Hold up... you know?" Bay asked in surprise, the same time Maggie spoke up.

"The whole story had holes in it... and he shows up with a dead man's gun? Don't take no genius to figure that one out." Daryl scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, tucking his hands underneath his armpits.

"He killed Otis?" Maggie was near tears. "He needs to go. He's dangerous."

"We can't just send him away." Rick said and rubbed his hand over his mouth. "We just need to watch him."

"Alright." Daryl nodded. He trusted Rick enough to follow his lead.

"It's not alright." Maggie stated forcefully. "I don't feel safe with him here."

"He doesn't have any beef with you." Rick told her. "He wants me to go, but nobody else. You have nothing to be scared of. I'll figure something out. Until then, we watch him."

"And you better stay away from the windows." Bay scoffed. "And you probably shouldn't be alone at all. Especially not outside."

"Might not be a bad idea." Rick agreed with a sarcastic laugh. "We'll figure it out. Until then, we keep this between us. Agreed?"

"Fine." Maggie growled and stomped out of the room. Glenn nodded and followed her. Leaving Rick with Daryl and Bay.

"I thought about the hospital thing." Rick addressed Bay. "I wanna go check it out. Just from the outside. See how it looks."

"What hospital thing?" Daryl looked back and forth between them with a puzzled expression.

"We need medical equipment. People get hurt and we don't have the right tools. We need things for Lori, too. Only place to get it is at the hospital." Bay quickly explained.

"Bay suggested that we try to clear out wing after wing. Maybe find a way to block the doors to the patient rooms so we won't have to take out too many walkers. I wanna go and see how it's looking walker-wise." Rick added.

"Hospital might be completely overrun." Daryl stated.

"I know." Rick nodded. "But like she said, we have to get some things and we might need to take our chances."

"I also suggested Doctor's offices. Maybe try to get portable ultrasound machines and stuff like that. The more we can get the better. We have enough space for it." Bay added.

"Ain't the only thing we need to stock up on. Winter's coming and all of our pants are about to drop to our ankles with every other step." Daryl mentioned. "We should make a couple of runs. Hit some clothes stores. Get warmer clothing and bedding. New boots maybe, dunno. In case winter hits hard it won't hurt to stock up on everything. Like Bay said, we got space. I say we should check all the stores in the area in the next couple of weeks."

"We'll talk about it with everybody tomorrow. We'll make lists with sizes and with what's needed. Then we'll check out the stores and organize the runs. Good idea. We gotta be prepared." Rick said and started walking towards the door.

"We will be." Daryl said.

Rick looked at him and nodded. "Day after tomorrow, I'll take Shane and check out the hospital."

"Whoa, what?" Bay thought she might have heard him wrong. "You wanna take Shane? Didn't we just agree that you shouldn't be alone with him?"

"I can handle him." Rick stated. "I need to talk to him and I need to do it away from here. It's the best opportunity."

"You're crazy." Bay scoffed and looked at Daryl, urging him with her eyes to say something, but the hunter remained quiet.

"It's gonna be fine." Rick opened the door and looked back at the couple for a moment. "You two have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow." he said before he left the room.

"Whew... never a dull moment, huh?" Bay shook her head with a humorless laugh when they were alone.

"Don't look like it." Daryl said while he finally took off his vest and jacket. Bay thought it was a good idea to get ready for bed, and sat down on her desk chair and took off her boots. They quietly undressed and got into bed and snuggled under the covers.

"Weird day." Bay mumbled after they had cuddled in silence for a couple of minutes.

"Yeah." Daryl grunted quietly.

"Are we good?" Bay asked. She wasn't entirely sure about it. It was just a feeling she had.

"Depends." Daryl shrugged slightly. "You gonna tell me what's on your mind? Something is bothering you. Saw it on your face every time you thought nobody was lookin'. I know when that smile ain't real, remember? Saw it when ya were with the horses out in the field. Ya looked sad... This about this morning? 'bout me and the women?"

"No. I was serious about that, it's okay. You thought I was dead. Even if I wouldn't have been, I was no longer in the picture... You did nothing wrong." she told him once more and kissed him lovingly on the lips to reassure him. Daryl chased her lips when she pulled away, taking one more kiss from her before he kept asking.

"So what is it?"

"It's just one of those days... Lori and Rick having a baby now and you and me talking about losing ours... It made me dream about our kid again. I have these dreams every once in a while. About us being a family and doing things together. I expected it to happen, but expecting it didn't keep me from being a bit sad. That's what it was." she explained and traced the lines of the tattoo on his chest with her fingertips.

"What were we doing? In your dream?"

"We were having a picnic outside. Our son wanted to go hunting with you and begged me to say yes. In those dreams, I am always so damn afraid of losing our kid again... So I guess I said no before... This time I said yes, and he was so happy. And you were happy..." she tried to keep her voice as steady as possible, but it wasn't easy. Being with him and actually telling him about that dream now, made her emotional.

"Son?" Daryl smiled slightly.

"This time it was, yeah." Bay nodded. "It keeps changing. Sometimes it's a girl. In pink pj's with white rabbits on it, clutching her teddy bear to her chest while she clings to you, refusing to go to bed, because she wants to hear the story of how Mummy and Daddy met one more time... because Daddy is a hero in that story... he saved Mummy over and over again..."

Daryl swallowed hard as his heart started breaking and hurting again. He didn't know how Bay survived dreaming about the life they never had. Just listening to her tell him about it made it hard to breathe. Maybe she was right and they really shouldn't live in the past. It wasn't healthy, he thought and tried to stuff down his feelings again. He just had to shut it down. Stuff it in a box, lock it and hide the key very well. Maybe eventually he would be able to forget about that ache in his chest. "We should sleep." he said with a hoarse voice and reached over to the nightstand to turn off the lamp.

"Yeah. We should." Bay turned and pressed herself against him more and gently started kissing his chest affectionately, before she pressed her cheek against the tattoo right over his heart, letting his steady heartbeat soothe her and slowly lull her to sleep. "I'm so happy you're here with me, Daryl." she whispered sleepily.

Daryl didn't say anything, but he put his hand in her hair and softly scratched her scalp, making her purr a little before her breathing evened out. "Love ya, sweetheart." he murmured when she had drifted off to sleep, then he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, too. But sleep didn't come for a while, because the images of the dreams she had described kept trying to push back to the surface. That's when he wished he could get shit-faced drunk again. He knew that fighting this would be a bitch.

Thank you for reading!

I got asked one question a lot, which is: Does Rick have a thing for Bay?

Hmmm, does Rick have a little thing for Bay? I guess you'll have to wait and see;-) No seriously though. I think he has grown fond of her. She helped save his son and she is caring and nurturing towards his people. But I do think that there will be a special connection there between Bay and Rick in the future. BAY WILL ALWAYS BE LOYAL TO DARYL! PROMISE! But maybe, one day in the future, Rick will find himself attracted to her. Wouldn't that make for interesting situations? We'll see;-) Right now it's just building a friendship and a deep bond.

Hello and welcome to the new readers, thank you for joining us.

Thank you for all the lovely reviews. I love hearing what you guys think. It always puts a smile on my face and makes me literally giggle with glee when you pick up on things I think nobody even pays attention to. I love it. Thank you so much.

Dear Snowbird: Thank you so much for your continued support. I hope your car issues are out of the way now, and that you are doing well. I love your feedback. Sexy strut indeed. I love watching the part of "Still" when he walks down the road ahead of Beth. Gah, he is sex on legs. And yes, it is safe to say that Bay is starting to prepare for all kinds of scenarios. She knows what it's like to loose a kid and now she wants to help Lori to not have to go through it:) I hope you have a great week. Much love to you.