Bay was pacing in the commons. "They should have been back by now." she said under her breath while her gaze flicked up to the windows, looking the red and orange tinged skies as the sun started to set. "Five minutes, then we go after them."
"We don't know where they might be, Bayanne." Hershel tried to calm her down. "You said it yourself, it's a labyrinth. You weren't with them, you don't know which of the arrows they sprayed on the walls are fresh and which ones are the older ones."
"I know you're right, Hershel, I know that, but we can't just sit here and wait. And for how long? Until morning? 6 more hours after that? 8? 12? How long until we do something?"
"I know you're right, too, Bayanne, but let's give them a little longer. Daryl and Rick are good. They are cautious and they know what they are doing. They will be back."
"What if they got trapped?" Bay kept arguing.
"Then they might be safe in there until the walkers wander off. I know you worry about Daryl, but we have to stay calm and keep a clear head. We give them more time." Hershel stated with finality. "Now, sit down and eat. It's no use to make everyone more worried than they already are."
Bay was tempted to yank the keys off of Glenn's belt and go after the men, but in the end she knew that Hershel had a point. She sat down at a table next to Carol and Sophia and used her spoon to push her baked beans around in her bowl. Her stomach was closed up tight. She wouldn't be able to eat before Daryl wasn't back alive and well.
Sophia slowly reached out and carefully touched her fingertips to Bay's brunette locks. "Your hair is so long now. I wish I had your hair."
Bay smiled gently at the young girl. "I know how you feel. When I was younger, I always wished I had completely straight hair. I used to look at my girlfriend Jessa and she had that perfectly long, straight, red hair. It was like a beautiful, glossy, red waterfall. I was so jealous of that. Or Erin with her pretty blonde hair. They looked so perfect and I was in the middle with my boring, messy 'can't-decide-if-it's-curly-or-straight'-hair."
"I like your hair." Sophia said, before she started grinning. "And Daryl likes your hair, too, because he fell in love with you and not the others."
Bay laughed a little at that. "That might be right, yeah."
"Can I braid it? Please?" Sophia's wide eyes eagerly stared up at her with a hopeful and pleading expression in them.
"Sure you can. Want to get a brush first?"
"Yes. And a rubber band." Sophia quickly ran towards the cell she shared with her mother.
"Thank you." Carol smiled at Bay. "She loves doing hair. Always has, but she didn't get the opportunity very often, what with mine being too short to do anything with it."
Bay was about to reply when she suddenly realized something. They've known each other for probably six or seven months now and Carol's hair was pretty much the same length as the day the group had arrived on the farm. She frowned and looked at Carol's hair. "It didn't grow..."
"No, only to a certain length. I saw someone about that years ago. They said that it has something to do with everyone having different hair growth cycles. My cycle's pretty short, which makes them fall out quicker and never grow beyond a certain length. That's why. I accepted it years ago. It is what it is."
"It suits you, though. I can't even imagine you with long hair." Bay smiled as she tried to picture Carol with long, luscious locks. In her head, that picture looked ridiculous. Carol was pretty just the way she was. Sophia came back and made Bay straddle the bench, with her back facing the young girl. She carefully brushed through the tangles and knots, during which Bay tried not to wince too often, so Sophia wouldn't feel bad for hurting her. Once she got to braiding, Bay felt herself relaxing. Having her hair played with always had that effect on her. She closed her eyes and focused on that, letting herself be lulled into a sleepy state, because Sophia took her sweet time in order to make sure the braid would turn out perfect.
"HERSHEEEL!"
The second Sophia had finished securing the braid with a rubber band, male shouts echoed through the walls of the prison, making everyone shoot up straight.
Please not Daryl, please not Daryl, please not Daryl..., Bay chanted inside her head while she took off in the direction the shouts were coming from. To their slight confusion, they didn't come from the entrance to the tombs, but from the hall that led to cell block D. Glenn had Rick's set of keys and quickly unlocked the door, in case the group of men was being chased by walkers and needed to get to safety as quickly as possible. All of them held their breaths, as the men stumbled into sight. All of them dirty and bloody, while Rick and Patrick were dragging along an even bloodier figure between them.
"Daryl..." Bay gasped as terror flooded her system, but it was quickly replaced by relief, when Daryl came into view, bringing up the rear.
"It's Nick." Pat's voice was strained as they fought to keep their injured man upright.
"Put him in this cell right here." Hershel commanded. "What happened?"
"Walker crashed into him, he fell from the landing, bashed his head open while we cleaned out the other cellblock." Rick replied with a grunt on their way over to the cell.
Daryl closed and locked the door, a surprised "uuffff" escaping him, when he turned around and Bay rushed him and hugged the hell out of him. "I'm alright, baby girl. Ain't got a scratch on me. Promise."
"What took you guys so long?"
"Bayanne, I need you." Hershel called out for her before Daryl had the chance to answer. Bay quickly kissed her boyfriend, then she followed the trail of Nick's blood and entered the cell to help Hershel. "Give us some room." he kicked everybody else out, because they needed the space to work. Nick was still bleeding profusely from his large head wound. The concrete floor, which had broken his fall, had been unforgiving.
"Weak pulse." Bay muttered while she quickly unbuttoned Nick's shirt, in order to check for more injuries. "Oh shit. That can't be good... Hershel?"
Nick's torso was bruised and his belly distended. Hershel quickly prodded the area with his finger. A moment later he straightened with a grim expression on his face. "He's bleeding out internally. Maybe he ruptured his spleen in the fall, maybe something else."
"Okay, what do we do? We gotta be quick, I can barely hear his heartbeat." Bay urged her mentor.
"There's nothing we can do. We don't have the tools for exploratory surgery. We don't have enough medication..."
"We can get more. We can go out tomorrow and get more. We can get all kinds of machines and stuff. We have breathing tubes and all those things."
"We don't have power, the machines would be useless. It's not enough, Bay, and it would be too late. We are not prepared for this. He might have injured his spine as well, judging by the way his legs were dragging along the floor."
"He's unconscious, Hershel, of course they dragged along the floor." Bay's tone was urgent and desperate. She couldn't believe Hershel was just standing there. "Hershel! Come on."
"There's nothing we can do, Bay. This isn't the farm. We don't have generators and lights or a respirator. The way his skull is cracked open, he might have brain damage, too." Hershel started raising his voice at her. "You think I want to let him die? Do you think that's who I am? You want me to cut him open and remove his spleen? If that's what's gotten hurt in there."
"Why not? It might give him a fighting chance!"
"For how long? Without a spleen his body is unable to fight off any bacteria. He might have to take antibiotics every day for the rest of his life."
"So? We get more! We raid every gynecologist in a hundred mile radius. Just fucking do something, Hershel!" Bay yelled at him as tears started to pool in her eyes. The more time they spent shouting, the more of Nick's chances of surviving this, they were wasting.
Outside the cell Lori was imploring Rick with her wide brown eyes and an urgent whisper. "Do something. You make the decisions. We can't just stand by and let him die."
Rick took a step back and put his hands on his hips while he took a moment to think.
"Pat." Erin looked at her man with pleading eyes. "It's Nick. He's one of us. We have to help him."
Pat nodded and walked towards the cell. "Do something. We'll get more meds. We'll get what you need."
Hershel sighed. "It will be too late."
"We have to try." Pat countered.
"No." Rick had come to a decision.
"What do you mean no?" Pat whirled around and looked at Rick with an incredulous expression, just like the rest of the group, except for Merle and Daryl.
"We can't waste the little resources we have on a dying man." Rick stated calmly.
"That ain't your decision to make. You ain't no God." Pat advanced on the former sheriff.
"Neither are you. And it is my decision to make." Rick stood his ground, not intimidated at all when Pat started to invade his personal space.
"Oh yeah? Ya wanna play that game right now? You ain't the boss of me, man. I didn't put you in charge. That's my man in there, known him half my life and we are gonna do everything to save him."
"You heard what Hershel said. He's bleeding out. He might have a lot of other shit going on. We ain't got the means to care for him if that happens."
"If that happens. We don't know that it would. He's one of us. We save him. I don't care if I have to go through you for him to live." Pat snarled as he and Rick stared each other down, icy blue gaze to icy blue gaze.
"Be reasonable." Rick told him. "The math is simple."
"The math? The fucking math?! Can you even hear yourself right now?" Pat started shouting in agitation, while Rick looked almost amused and still as cool as a cucumber.
"I can hear myself just fine. In know what I'm doing. You gotta keep a clear he-"
"HEY!" Bay suddenly yelled loudly, making even the Dixons jump. She tossed the stethoscope on the unoccupied bed and walked out of the cell. "You can stop arguing. He's gone. Good job everyone." Without another word she walked up the stairs to the cell she shared with Daryl, who quickly followed her, as an eerie silence descended upon the cell block. Lori stared at Rick like he was a stranger, before she retreated to her own cell, a little dazed by what had just happened.
Hershel grabbed a clean sheet and covered Nick's body, before he left the cell as well with his head hung low as the ugly truth sank in.
The prison had claimed its first victim. And it surely wouldn't be the last.
She wasn't even able to cry. Disbelief filled every fiber of her being. "We could have at least tried. Is this how life is going to be from now on? Are our lives no longer worth fighting for, if it means wasting some resources?"
"He died pretty quick, Bay. Looks like Rick had a point." Daryl replied quietly, while he sat next to her on the floor at the back of their cell.
"Really? So, if I fall down the stairs tomorrow and break my leg, you're okay with having Rick shoot me in the head, like an injured horse? Putting me out of my misery?"
"That ain't the same, Bay."
"Isn't it?"
"What if he would've turned into a damn vegetable. Ain't no way to protect him. You don't want no kid, but ya would want to change his diaper for the rest of his life?"
Bay's mouth fell open as she stared at him with big eyes. "There's so many things wrong with what you just said, Daryl. I can't believe you would say something like that at all."
"Don't know what to say anymore, Bay. Look how fast he was gone... Hershel and Rick were right. There was no way to save him. Gotta be rational about it or shit like that. They were right, you and Pat were wrong this time."
"This is not about us being wrong, Daryl."
"Yeah, I know. It happened. It's done now."
"Yes. It is."
"You ain't mad at me, are ya?"
"For having your own opinion? No. For that thing you said about me not wanting a kid, but wanting to change Nick's diapers? Yes."
"Didn't mean it like that."
"You never say things you don't mean. So... what made you say it? Jealousy? Because maybe you think I might still have a crush on Nick? Or resentment? Because I lost our baby and thought it was for the best?"
"We ain't never talked about it. Not really. Ain't never had the chance to deal with it." Daryl rasped slowly.
"It's been six months since you found out, Daryl."
"Never had no time to think my own damn thoughts during those six months. You just keep sayin' it was for the best. Can't believe that. That ain't you. Bein' quiet about it, that ain't you neither. You talk about things. You let it out, but you ain't doin' it here, not with me, when maybe ya should."
"Since when do you want to talk about things?"
"Don't wanna,... maybe I just need you to talk. Maybe I just need to listen to ya telling the truth." he shrugged and sent her a careful sideway glance.
"The truth?" Bay narrowed her eyes at him.
"Yeah. It wasn't for the better. I don't believe you're thinking that. You're lyin' to yourself and to me. Don't like it. I know you, remember? You need to let it out. Truth will set ya free... Didn't they teach you that shit in Sunday school?"
Bay huffed quietly and shook her head while she felt her eyes starting to water. Daryl was managing to push all her buttons today. "You want the truth?"
"Yeah, I want the truth."
"Fine. I lost our baby, Daryl." An upset Bay cried. "Because I wasn't strong enough to keep going after you left, we never met it. We never got the chance to hold it in our arms. See it grow up. Because of me. All I had to do was be strong, pick myself back up, take care of myself and our child for three months until you came back to your senses. But I didn't. I was weak and selfish, and because of that we'll always look at Carl and Sophia and ask ourselves why our child isn't here and playing with them. Well, actually, I know why. Because of me letting myself go. It wasn't your fault or even Merle's. It was all me. There you have it. There's your truth. Now you tell me, how in the world is saying that out loud helping us in any way?" Bay was sobbing by now as that one carefully constructed wall inside of her came tumbling down and she was filled with guilt and regret.
Daryl used his strength to maneuver his crying girlfriend into his lap. When she was in his arms, he kissed her forehead and gently nuzzled her hair at the top of her head. "It helps just fine."
"You think I didn't want your baby? I wanted it... but I didn't know it until those horrible cramps started. I knew what was happening immediately and I cried, not just because of the pain, but because in that instant, I wanted nothing more than for that baby to survive, to keep growing inside of me. In that instant I regretted not taking care of it. I regretted losing the last piece of you I had left. Over time, I dealt with it. I was okay. I kept telling myself that it was for the better. Especially when the dead started walking... Then you showed up on the farm and everything came rushing back. But still, I kept telling myself that it was for the better. And then you found Sophia, and you carried her back all the way, even though you were still injured... Ever since then, I look at her and Carl, and I miss not having our child. You would have protected it with your life. We would have been okay. We would have been a family. We would have been a really good family... But it didn't happen, because I was too careless. Too self-absorbed in my pain to take care of our baby. You would have protected our child at all costs. I didn't. And living with that guilt is killing me, Daryl. So I dealt with it in my own way."
"You didn't deal with it, Bay. You only lied to yourself."
"I know. But it was okay. It was enough to be able to keep on living, no matter how wrong it might have been. The fact is, Daryl, I killed our child and I have to live with it, because I can't bring myself to end my own life. So I did what I had to in order to be able to move on. I lied to myself. Convinced myself that I never could have raised it on my own anyway." Bay's sobs had started to ebb off, but the tears were still flowing and her whole body was shaking like a leaf. "Now you know. I hope you feel better, because I don't."
"You will." Daryl murmured into her hair, while he tried to give her comfort. He gently rubbed her arm, her back and her thigh, trying to soothe her shaking body. He did feel better. All this time Bay had given him the impression that she had been downright happy about losing their baby. It had made him feel rejected, in a way. She had given him the feeling that he wasn't entitled to be sad about that loss. It had also troubled him how calm and casual she had been about the whole thing. Now, his heart was hurting, because Bay was hurting and blaming herself, but at the same time, he really felt better. Like a weight, that had rested heavy on his heart, had been lifted. These past months, ever since they had reunited, Daryl had felt like he and Bay hadn't been able to fully re-establish the connection they had shared all those years ago. Back then, she had always been brave with him, had always opened up and told him everything. At the farm and on the run, Daryl had felt that she had kept some part locked down and that she had shut him out in some ways. Now he felt like he had successfully busted through that last barrier of hers. She had finally opened up all the way. Granted, what he had found on the other side of the wall was heartbreaking, but like she had said, now he knew. Now they could work towards putting each other back together and heal together.
"It ain't on you, baby girl." Daryl tilted her head up and looked her directly in the eyes.
"It's not on you or Merle."
"It's on all three of us and it ain't on any one of us... ya know?" Daryl, as usual, had trouble expressing the things he was thinking. "All three of us fucked up. We all made mistakes... We all did things that led to all of this. Neither one of us killed our baby, Bay. It happened. It fucking sucks, but it just happened. It was... shit... what the fuck do you call that? A series of... what?"
"A series of unfortunate events?" Bay completed the sentence for him.
"Yeah, that's right. That's what it was. I ain't blamin' you. Never, ya hear? So there ain't no need for you to blame yourself. You didn't kill our baby."
"When I woke up in the hospital and started to remember... I prayed for death." Bay told him, her voice rid of any emotion. Her statement made his stomach drop to the ground.
"Stop."
"It's true. I felt like I had nothing left. I never told you, but they almost had to amputate my leg. Kept getting infected."
Daryl's eyes widened and he felt like he had to throw up. "Jesus fuck, Bay..."
"Those were the lowest days of my life, Daryl. I had lost my chance to go to college, I had lost my jobs, I had lost you and our baby, and I was in danger of losing my leg, too, and with it, the possibility of making good money and earn it all back quickly. Yeah, at that point, I just wanted to die. But I wasn't able to do it myself. Too much of a good little Catholic. Too much of a coward, too. I prayed for the infection to spread and just kill me. That's the woman you love, Daryl. I'm not strong. I'm not as good as I would like to be. I'm a disappointment to everyone I know. I let all of you down. And now Nick died, because I wasn't able to do something about it. Not even able to convince someone to do something... The way I treated you the past couple of weeks. You deserve someone better."
"That's bullshit." Daryl scoffed and wrapped his arms around her even tighter. He sheltered her curled up form in his strong embrace while they fell silent and got lost in their own thoughts.
Eventually, Daryl lifted her off his lap and set her on the floor. "Come on."
Bay frowned up at him, while he got up from the ground and grabbed the camping lantern. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see. Come on." he held his hand out for her, which she took, and helped her up from the ground. He slung their blanket and his poncho over his shoulder, and dragged her down the stairs. "We're in D. Don't follow us." he told Rick in passing. The leader nodded, knowing he could trust Daryl to look after himself and Bay. But he also knew that cell block D was secure now, and that the twosome shouldn't run into any trouble over there.
"Take it all off." Daryl told her in his quiet, raspy voice as he tugged on her top. They had reached their destination and he had locked the door behind them with his set of keys.
"Do they work?" Bay asked with wide eyes, as she took in the shower stalls in the low glow of the lantern.
"Yeah, but there's cold water only."
"Better than nothing."
"Take it off." Daryl repeated, while he unfastened his belt.
They took off their clothes, then, Daryl guided Bay to one of the showers. By now both of them had learned to bite back their yelps when cold water hit them, and they got used to its temperature fairly quick. Daryl grasped Bay's upper arm and slowly turned her around, so that her back was facing him. He pushed the long, thick braid over her left shoulder before he gently and slowly ran a soft sponge from the back of her neck, down along her right shoulder and all the way down her arm to her wrist; washing away the traces a day full of digging in the dirt had left. His lips followed the path the sponge had taken, unhurriedly pressing soft kisses against the back and the side of her neck, and against the wet skin of her shoulder, before he repeated the whole process on the left side, and not just there. He traced the sponge and his lips along her spine, tenderly kissing all along the middle line of her back.
He got on his knees behind her and kept washing her almost reverently. His eyes took in every detail of her naked body as he worshiped it by lavishing tender attention on it. Bay was brought to tears by it. Memories of them being in their old bathroom, spending hour after hour hidden away in her bathtub, surrounded by candles, flooded her. The light of the small lantern looked like candle light. It was as romantic as it got in this kind of world. In this moment she felt, like she had felt back then. Comforted, sheltered and loved. Daryl hadn't said much at all after she had told him all the things she had kept bottled up inside of her for so long, but now he was showing her, that he still loved her, despite all her mistakes and shortcomings. It was like a band-aid for her soul.
When he reached her feet, he made her turn around to face him. Carefully, he placed his hand slightly over the heel of her left foot and applied pressure, silently telling her to balance herself on her other leg. When she was steady, he lifted her foot to rest on his thigh, then he slowly dragged the wet sponge down her thigh, over her knees and down her shin. He leaned forward slightly and kissed her knee while he guided the sponge over the soft skin of her delicate foot. When he had cleaned both her legs, he dropped the sponge and cupped the velvety flesh of her butt in his big hands. He pulled her closer, and when she was close enough, he trailed the tip of his nose through her pubic hair, starting at the top of her slit and moving up to her mound. He kissed the spot just above her patch of curls, and rested his mouth there as he slung his arms around her hips, preventing her from stepping back.
"Marry me?" he all but whispered against her skin, but still loud enough for her to hear over the sound of the shower.
Bay gasped as her jaw dropped in shock. "You wanna... You want to marry me?"
Daryl tilted his head up, pressing his chin into her abdomen, and nodded lightly. "Yeah. Always wanted to. Never stopped wanting to. Yer old man can do that, right?"
"But... what I told you..."
"Don't change the fact that I wanna be with ya forever, Bay. Your mine. Always will be. Now's as good a time as any to make it official, dontcha think?" he murmured calmly, like he was talking about the weather. "Might be the best time. None of us know how much longer we all got. So... you wanna? Ain't got no rings, but we can get 'em one of the next times we go out."
"I don't care about rings, Daryl. I only want you. So yes, I wanna." she was finally smiling again and Daryl finally got up from the ground. Before she knew what hit her, he was crushing her to his chest and kissing her long and hard. Soon he felt Bay's tongue tracing his bottom lip, making him shiver. He parted his lips and let his tongue meet hers. They flicked at each other sensually a couple of times, before he chased her tongue and dipped his into the sweet, hot cavern of her mouth. Bay let her hands roam, starting by digging her fingers into his shoulder blades, before she dragged her nails lightly down his back. Daryl growled into her mouth and grabbed her ass, making her rub up against his hardening cock. "Let's get outta here." he said under his breath when he pulled away from her.
Bay was confused and incredulous at the same time. "What? Now?"
"Trust me." he gave her that cute little grin, which sadly had become so rare these days. "C'mon."
He wrapped his poncho around her and took her to the cells. "Ain't an office, but there ain't walkers or people, so I reckon it's gonna do for tonight." he told her as he locked himself in with her, in one of the cells. He kissed her while he removed the poncho from her body. Even though no one else was around, he still felt better hanging the thing over the bars.
"I thought you said you wouldn't sleep in a cage." Bay said as she watched him cover the door with the poncho.
"Ain't never said nothin' 'bout sleepin'." he smirked, before he wrapped her back up in his arms and kissed her hotly. His hands trailed up her sides, sliding to the front just when his thumb had brushed the sides of her breasts. He cupped them, covered them with his big hands, massaging and squeezing until her nipples pebbled and poked his palm. He nipped and mouthed along her jaw, flicking his tongue against her earlobe, letting her feel his hot breath against it. "Fucking love your sweet tits, baby girl." he rasped into her ear, making his girl tremble and moan when he paired the statement with a nice, rough squeeze. He gently scraped his teeth against the sensitive spot just behind her ear, then he licked a long line down her neck and down the middle of her chest, until his mouth met her cross necklace. He flicked his eyes up to look into hers while he kissed it, then he moved to the right and teased the hard, rosy peak of her breast with the very tip of his tongue, grinning when her breath hitched in her throat, while her fingers threaded through his hair.
"Daryl..." she breathed his name as his tongue kept stoking the fire inside of her higher and higher. "Ooh!" Bay moaned out loud when Daryl suddenly engulfed half her breast in his hot mouth and sucked long and hard. The sensation shot straight to her center, making it swell and moisten as she grew more and more aroused by his ministrations. Daryl broke eye contact, letting his fall shut as he hummed with contentment around her breast. It turned into a groan when Bay's hands found his swollen cock. She made an appreciative sound in the back of her throat when she felt him harden and expand further in her grasp. Suddenly, her mouth watered at the thought of taking him into her mouth and tasting him. Even though it had only been a couple of days since she had last done that, it was still too long in her book. "Daryl," she tried to get his attention, "Daryl, I want this in my mouth." she said while she gave his dick a squeeze. "I want to taste you."
Daryl groaned and sunk his teeth into the supple flesh of her breast in response. Her words were enough to bring him to his knees again. He had wanted to focus on her, but he simply couldn't pass up the chance to feel her sexy mouth on him. When he had released her breast from his mouth, Daryl let Bay push him to sit on the edge of the bunk bed. She grabbed the blanket they had brought and put it on the floor, before she gently pushed his knees further apart and knelt between his legs. Daryl inhaled sharply when she traced her tongue up the inside of his right thigh. Her hands stroked over his belly, and caressed his chest and shoulders, while she lightly bit and sucked on his thigh, making her lover jump and shiver. Daryl released a little helpless moan when Bay's tongue found a new destination and she ran it up and down along the seam at the middle of his scrotum.
"Suck 'em, baby girl." he grunted before he bit his lip in anticipation. Bay obediently opened her mouth and sucked one of his testicles into it, suckling softly and gently massaging it with her tongue. "Nnnghh fuck!" Daryl's head fell back when a wave of pleasurable heat rolled through his groin and spread out in all directions. His dick jumped, tapping against his belly, the precum that had gathered at the little slit leaving a glistening, wet spot behind. Daryl let his head fall forward again. He opened his eyes and swiped at the wet spot with his thumb. When Bay let him plop out of her mouth, he brought his thumb down to her lips, pushing it past them and pressing it down against her tongue, giving her a little taste.
"Mmmm." Bay hummed after she had sucked his juices off of his thumb. She grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled his hand away from her face, then, while looking up at him, she leaned in and rubbed the tip of her nose along the underside of his thick shaft, from the base all the way up to the wide tip. Daryl shuddered and his breathing became more labored by the second while he watched her. She was so sexy, she would never know just how much. But that was part of her appeal. She was sweet and humble, never aware of how beautiful and alluring she was. She had lost some of her innocence along the way, but when it was just the two of them, like they were right now, he still saw the old Bay shining through, and it killed him in the best way. Daryl chuckled a little when he saw her smile up at him as she parted her lips and let her tongue flick the underside of his tip repeatedly.
Little minx, Daryl thought. She knew exactly what she was doing. She knew that that little move drove him insane. He grabbed the edge of the bunk until his knuckles turned white, while she forced a loud groan from him with that thing her tongue was doing. "Oh... sshhhhiiit..." he groaned when she tilted her head to the side and closed her lips over his frenulum, giving that hot spot of his a little suck while she drew tiny circles on it with her tongue. She grinned again when she had him shaking, then she moved her tongue up further, to collect her "reward". She lapped at the clear, bitter fluid that had gathered at his tip, then she finally let him slip into her mouth. "Mmmm, yeah..." Daryl breathed, followed by another groan when she started working him with her mouth. She bobbed her head up and down, hollowing out her cheeks and giving him nice suction, every time she moved back up. She took as much of him in as possible, while her hand took care of the rest, working the part from base to middle, using the same rhythm as she was using with her mouth. Her free hand slipped between his legs and fondled his balls, rolling and massaging them in her palm. "Baby girl... fuck yeah... just like that. Don't stop, girl." Daryl groaned and put one hand on the back of her head, not pushing her down, just reflexively making sure she wouldn't stop and leave him hanging.
Bay had no intention of leaving him hanging. She was eager to give him pleasure and make him cum in her mouth. She couldn't get enough of him. If her jaw wouldn't start aching like a bitch, she would be doing this all day long. She genuinely enjoyed doing this for him. She had never understood why a lot of girls from their old circle of friends didn't like giving blow jobs. Making Daryl come apart and lose control in that way, was the hottest thing ever to her.
When his breathing turned harsher, and when his moans grew more frequent and more high-pitched, she sped it up and sucked him harder, knowing exactly what he needed in this moment. "Bay... fuck, now, Bay, now! Aaaah fuuuck mmmmmmm..." His fingers dug into her scalp just when she felt his dick spasm as his warm, viscous essence filled her mouth. She swallowed as quickly as possible, but a little bit still got away from her and spilled out of the corner of her mouth, while she kept sucking him softly throughout his aftershocks. She only stopped when gentle hands cradled her jaw and slowly pulled her up. Daryl was still panting, but they shared a smile while his thumb wiped away the evidence of his pleasure, that had gotten away from her. He slid down from the bunk, landing on his knees in front of her, and kissed her, not bothered by his own taste on her tongue. "Fucking love ya, Bay. Now be a good girl for me and support yourself on that bunk, and spread your legs for me." he moved around and behind her. He put a hand on the middle of her back and applied pressure, making her lean forward. Bay rested her forearms on the bunk bed, then she widened the stance of her knees, making her back arch as her ass was pushed up into the air invitingly.
Daryl licked his lips and put his hands on her, squeezing the firm globes, pushing them together, then pulling them apart, spreading her fully to his view. When he saw her puckered hole, he was suddenly hit with a big rush of arousal, because the image of pushing a finger inside flashed up inside his head. They had never played around in that area before, had never talked about it, either... They had never gotten to that point... Taking my good girl's ass... Goddamn... He had just cum, but imagining his sweet, little, catholic girlfriend letting him take her that way made his dick twitch and harden again.
He was curious, and before he knew what he was doing, he leaned down and gave her a long lick, right across the tight, little opening. "Daryl!" Bay yelped as she reflexively moved her pelvis forward, away from his probing tongue. She was blushing furiously as her conflicting emotions scrambled her thoughts.
"What?" Daryl asked before he licked up her spine. He pressed himself against her back, putting his mouth right next to her ear as one of his hands grasped her left breast, while the other one slipped between her legs, rubbing her wet and swollen nub with two fingers. "Didn't like that?"
"I... I... yes... no... I mean... oh God, baby..." she didn't know what to think, and him rubbing her clit like that, was definitely not helping her in getting her thoughts in order.
Daryl smirked. He knew Bay, and he knew she would have told him very, very clearly if she wouldn't have liked it. She was adorably red in the face, telling him she was very embarrassed, and why would she be embarrassed about not liking it? "Ya liked it, baby girl... didn't you?"
"You can't... ooohhh right there... yes!"
"I can't do what, sweetheart?"
"You can't lick me there..." she breathed with closed eyes. What his fingers were doing felt so damn good, she knew she wouldn't need much longer to cum as well.
"Why not?" he smirked, getting a kick out of her embarrassment.
"It's... People don't... I... I don't know... God, Daryl..."
"Maybe 'cause good girls aren't s'pposed to like having their asses played with?"
"Yeah..."
"But we both know that you ain't always good, right Bay?" he grinned and let his voice drop even lower, knowing what kind of effect it had on her. "...and I really, really wanna play with it, sweet girl." Daryl kept rubbing circles all around her clit, but he removed his other hand from her breast and took hold of his turgid length. While he talked to her, he rubbed the tip along her slit. Bay moaned and pushed back against him, making him slide his dick inside of her. He didn't move, he just kept himself imbedded inside of her, giving her the added pleasure of being filled while he rubbed her to orgasm. "I wanna lick it some more... wanna know how wet it's gon' make you. You can be such a dirty girl for me, I bet it would make ya drip, sweetheart. Mmmm, fuck... I bet I'd make ya gush by puttin' my finger in there, huh? Ever thought about that, Bay? Hm? Ever thought about me pushing my cock into that forbidden little place?"
Bay came. And she came hard, judging by how strongly her muscles were contracting around his dick. He wasn't sure if he had ever felt it being this intense. She was quiet and held her breath while her pussy clenched hard, but as soon as Daryl started thrusting, she released little shouts and groans while she braced herself and pushed back against him. Daryl yanked her up and kissed her sloppily, groaning out his pleasure against her lips. It felt so good and so intense, different than before. The fact registered in the back of his mind, but he was too far gone to realize why it felt better. And so was Bay. They lost themselves in the moment and the sensations as he fucked them both to a second orgasm.
"Fuck, Daryl... Love you so much." Bay muttered under her breath, after they had collapsed on the blanket-covered ground together.
Daryl grinned sleepily. Cursing Bay meant sexually extremely satisfied Bay. Mission accomplished. "Love ya, too, sweetheart." he forced out, before he dozed off for a little post-coital nap.
Outside of cell block D, Rick walked up to Merle, who had followed Bay and Daryl, against Daryl's wishes. Not to listen to them have sex or something like that, just to guard the entrance and make sure neither dead nor living would get inside. He was his brother's keeper after all. Better late than never. When Rick was close enough, he held out one of Merle's shirts. It got cold at night and Merle was still in his dirty, old wife-beater. Merle took it, nodding ever so slightly as a sign of gratitude.
"Good job today." Rick praised him, to which Merle shrugged.
"Ya sure 'bout that? Lost a good man..."
"It was his own fault. He wasn't careful enough. He was stupid. I told him to kick the door shut and take the walkers out through the bars. He didn't listen. That's what got him killed. Wasn't us."
"Maybe ya should tell Miss Bayanne that... Take the edge off her wrath." Merle chuckled.
"Wouldn't make a difference to her." Rick sighed. "Let her blame me. She'll come back around. Always does. She has her convictions, I have mine. Sometimes we don't agree, but we get over it eventually." Rick looked at Merle with a knowing expression. "Will be same between you and her... eventually."
"Hm.. maybe... 'cause the church way is tellin' her to, but I doubt I'll ever get real forgiveness. Don't deserve it neither, I reckon."
"You ever feel sorry for what you did? I mean back then? When it was just you and Daryl, after you left Dalton?"
Merle nodded slowly. "When he told me she offed herself. I knew that happened 'cause of me. Never wanted that to happen. She's strong. A fighter. Feisty and sweet... Ya know, back then? I kept thinking, too bad that she ain't older... I would'a tapped that... My baby brother did well... I like her, I do, but... had them damn Mexicans on my ass. Needed to save my own ass and Daryl's. I knew she would be able to come back from losin' the money. Knew she would find someone better than Daryl. Maybe some fancy dick with money, who would help her out with getting the cash back... Somethin' like that. Thought the two of 'em was some kind of puppy love shit... didn't think it went that deep, that him leavin' made her wanna kill herself... Guess in the end it didn't, but back then? Yeah, felt sorry for a while. Never said nothin' though. Ain't my thing."
"You just told me, why can't you tell her or the both of them?"
Merle shrugged. "Dunno. Half the time I don't know why I do the things I do. Guess I'm a damn mystery to myself."
Rick let out a small laugh. "Guess so." he mumbled before he turned around and walked back to cell block C, while Merle got comfortable and kept watch.
Thank you for reading!
Thoughts? Were you surprised by Daryl's proposal? And Bay's "confession" that she still blames herself for killing their child? Do you think her finally getting it out of her system will change how she thinks about Merle, and (more importantly) her relationship with Daryl? Tell me what you think. I love hearing your take on it.
Some of you are probably asking themselves, why the hell I even brought Nick into the story, just to kill him off without us ever getting to know him. I actually had plans for Nick, but then Daryl and Bay got out of hand and started writing themselves again, so my plans didn't pan out and poor Nick ended up on the chopping block. Maybe the smut softened the blow? lol.
Special thank you to the awesome reviewers:
DarylDixon'sLover
ElsaEditorial
wabi-sabi1090
krissyg49
ArcheryLefty
redangel2463
Confinedloner