NOW …. Two days after arriving at the Kingdom

Virginia was quickly becoming brutally cold. It was weather Katie wasn't accustomed to anymore. Alpha had them migrate with the seasons and her body had gotten used to the southern winters. That particular evening seemed colder than normal and the sun was just setting over the horizon as she and Daryl walked side by side back to their room after completing a watch shift.

After listening to his conversation with Carol and Ezekial, Katie had been watching for any hint that Daryl might just be on babysitting duty. She had yet to find one. And that suited her just fine.

Daryl had never been good at keeping his eyes off Katie and it turned out the struggle was still real. Try as he might he couldn't keep his damn eyes off her. During the entire watch shift he had caught her trying to hide her shivering.

"Ya need warmer clothes." He pointed out as they crossed the courtyard.

"No shit." She blew into her hands trying to warm them.

He snorted. "Gonna turn into a damn popsicle." He stopped to rummage around under his poncho and threw something towards her. "Here."

She scrambled to catch whatever was flying towards her, but it fell in a heap at her feet.

"Nice catch."

Katie rolled her eyes and reached down for the gray lump. The fabric unfolded in her hands revealing a warm hat.

He gestured to her head, motioning for her to put it on. "You can borrow it. Something to keep that cute little noggin warm."

Katie pulled the soft knit hat over her hair and grinned widely at him. "Oh my god. Are you flirting with me?"

The tips of Daryl's ears turned pink. "Stop."

"Never," Katie declared. "I'll never stop teasing you."

Daryl grumbled as they approached their building, "Forget it. I ain't never gonna do anything nice for ya again."

She gave him a wide smile and said in a singsong voice, "You think I'm cute."

"Gawd. You're such a pain in the ass." He opened the door to their room and gestured for her to go in first. She walked in and threw herself onto the bed with a sigh.

"We need whiskey." Daryl said, his voice low and gruff, as he closed the door behind him.

"I wish." Katie sighed while closing her eyes.

"Whiskey will warm ya up."

"What's in your bottle over there?" She gestured to his canteen that he had just placed on the small table in their room.

"Water."

"Damn. If only." She pursed her lips in thought. "It's been….. years since I've had booze."

Daryl nodded and perched on the bed beside her. "I know where to find some."

Katie's eyes flew open and eyebrows shot up. "Shut up."

Daryl chuckled. "Ain't lying."

"Is it here? In the Kingdom?"

He nodded. "I've got a little stash."

"I should have known. Dixon's always have a stash."

Daryl scrubbed at his chin. "Nah. Been awhile for me too."

"Should we…." She trailed off, wondering if he would be willing to have a drink with her. Just like old times.

"What?"

"You know." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Have some?"

"Hell yes." His eyes moved across her face. Was she imagining it or did they settle on her lips? "Tonight?"

With a smile, she pushed up on one elbow. "Are you asking me on a date?"

He guffawed and gave her a light hearted shove back down to the mattress, but didn't answer the question. "You always make things weird."

She half heartedly shoved him back, but it was no match for his hard body and he didn't move an inch. God, things felt so right and easy between them. "I don't know if I can hold my liquor anymore."

"You never could." He reached his arms over head, stretching until he felt little pops along his spine.

"That's true." Katie nodded in agreement and then laughed out loud. "Oh my God. Do you remember that one time when I made margaritas for Cinco De Mayo?"

Daryl paused in thought and groaned as the memory returned. "Nothing but tequila in those things."

"I was trying to impress you."

"By sleeping next to the toilet all night and crying that you were dying?" He teased.

She laughed at the memory. "I thought I might swear off drinking for good after that."

"But ya went right back to it the next night."

"Hair of the dog." She gave a nonchalant shrug.

They shared a smile and Daryl shook his head. "Lightweight."

"So, what's next for you today?" Katie changed the subject, knowing that he was always off to one thing or the next and never able to sit still.

"Do you think…" he scratched the back of his head and peered at her through downturned lashes. "You could do something about this?"

"A haircut?" She grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

He rolled his eyes.

Katie popped off the bed and grabbed the lone chair in the room, moving it to an empty area where she would have space to work. Daryl shed his poncho, throwing it across the bed before sitting.

Standing behind him, she fingered the tips of his hair. "I like it, ya know?"

"Yeah. You said."

"It suits you." She ran her hands through the long locks. The way she scratched his scalp made him want to moan. "Just a trim?"

He grunted in agreement.

She plucked at his black button down shirt. "You should take this off. It's gonna get all hairy."

He froze at the suggestion. "Ain't taking it off."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself. It's not like I don't already know what's under there."

He couldn't help the warmth that spread across his face. "Trying to get me naked?"

She shrugged. "I guess I haven't changed much, huh?"

Daryl didn't know if he was embarrassed or turned on. Or both. "Just get ta cutting."

"Aye. Aye. Captain."

Using her brush, Katie gently tugged at the knots in his hair to release them. Her focus caused her to work quietly, and Daryl could hear the light breaths coming from her. She abandoned the brush and used her fingers, running them through his strands gently. It felt intimate and sensual. Daryl tried not to moan out loud when she scratched his scalp.

Picking up the scissors, she made her first cut in the back. As she trimmed and evened, she could feel Daryl relaxing into her touch. His trust in her brought a warmth to her stomach.

"Hey- what's the deal with the giant tiger statue?" Katie asked as she made a snip.

"Ezekiel used to have a fucking tiger."

She paused her cutting for a beat. "Stop."

"Nah. I'm serious."

She resumed cutting, her fingers grazing his neck and causing a jolt of electricity to shoot through Daryl. "A tiger? Living here?"

Daryl's eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment, "Yeah. Ezekial used to be a zookeeper or some shit."

"Did you ever meet this tiger?"

"Yeah. She was pretty damn cool."

"Not as cool as Dog."

Daryl smiled. "Naw. Definitely not as cool as Dog."

Katie palmed his head and tilted it forward. "Speaking of Dog… who's watching him at Hilltop?"

"Connie." Not knowing what had been ahead of him and Kaite, he had asked Connie to watch Dog until he was able to get back to Hilltop. Connie had been more than happy to take care of him. "He likes her. More than he likes me probably."

"Don't blame him. She's sweet. She was so nice to me while I was at Hilltop." Coming around the front, she gently brushed away the locks that had fallen into his face. Her fingertips grazed his skin and he looked up at her, locking eyes.

"I like being able to see your face." She whispered. Her thumb touched the scar below his eye, and then slowly traveled down his cheek, running along the hair on his chin. "The gray looks good."

He huffed and flexed his big hands open and closed. Like he wanted to touch her but was holding back. "Getting old."

She gave him a soft smile and finger combed his hair again before trimming it just a touch shorter than the hair in the back. With her breasts at his eye level, she leaned in closer to even up his sides. She heard his breath hitch. When she looked at his face his pupils were dilated and lips partly open. The look on his face made her stomach clench and nipples pebble. Dear God. Biting her bottom lip, Katie moved quickly round to check the back of his head for any missed spots.

She set the scissors down and faced him. Tilting her head to the side, she examined her work. "I think you're all set."

Daryl began to stand, but she quickly caught his shoulders and pushed him back down. "Wait. You're covered in hair."

She moved behind him and gently brushed away the tiny slivers of hair that had landed along his shoulders and back. Again, Daryl held back a moan at her touch.

"Fire!" A man yelled, jolting the both of them from their peaceful moment.

Katie jumped to the window peering out as a group ran by. Another group followed close behind, carrying buckets and racing towards the rain barrels in the garden. Her eyes spotted smoke slowly starting to rise out of one of the buildings in the distance. "Oh my god."

Daryl was already up and out the door. "Let's go!" He called.

She followed, running twice as fast as him trying to keep up.

The members of the Kingdom quickly gathered into a formation and started a bucket brigade from the rain barrels to the fire. Daryl pointed to them and yelled at her. "Jump in there!"

"Where are you going?" She yelled back as she jumped into the line.

"Gonna see if anyone is still inside!"

"Be careful." She yelled to his back. But, he was already off like a shot and heading straight into danger.

Bucket after bucket made its way down the line endlessly. Katie wasn't sure how long she was there, but her muscles were beginning to burn from the weight of the water filled buckets. Up ahead of her, she could see the smoke was still billowing. She dug in and continued to work in tandem with those beside her.

Amidst the commotion, Katie saw a small figure darting through the smoke and towards the burning building. She squinted to get a better look.

"Did you see that?" She yelled to the person beside her.

"See what?!"

She pointed towards a corner next to the burning building. "Over there."

Her neighbor shook his head. "Didn't see anything."

"I'm gonna go check it out."

The man beside her gave a thumbs up and closed the gap in the line. Pulling her shirt over her mouth and nose she ran in the direction she had spotted movement. The smoke was thick and she squinted to see through it. Whatever she had seen was running directly towards the fire. She was praying like hell it wasn't a kid.

It was hot this close to the burning building. Katie could feel the heat through her layers and straight to her skin. "Hey!" She yelled. "Is someone over here?"

Above her she heard cracking as the fire tore through the roof. A piece of burning debris fell beside her and she yelped, jumping back as it landed at her feet.

"Hello?" She called into the smoke.

A faint noise answered back and she froze, listening closely. There it was again, a soft bleat. She crouched low to see below the smoke and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that one of the small baby goats had gotten itself trapped in a corner.

"Hang on little guy." His cries got louder as she jogged towards him. Without a fight, he let Katie scoop him up. She wrapped him up in her shirt, coughing as her mouth was exposed to the smoke.

The smoke was getting too thick, with watering eyes Katie fought to find her way back out of the tight corner between buildings. Above her was a loud crack and she screamed as a large piece of burning wood fell from the sky barely missing her.

Fuck, she was trapped. Frantically, she looked around for an alternate escape. Why was the smoke so thick here? Coughing as smoke filled her lungs, she dropped low and blindly moved forward.

Another loud crack and she braced herself, praying that whatever was falling this time wouldn't land on her. As the debris fell she felt a strong hand grab her arm and pull her away from the burning building. "What the hell are you doing?"

Daryl. Thank you, Jesus.

She clung to the small goat and let him lead them out to safety.

Finally, away from the thick smoke Katie sputtered as Daryl's hands cupped her face, checking her over.

"I'm okay." She gasped out. "I'm okay."

Satisfied that she wasn't in anymore danger, Daryl pulled her close and his forehead leaned against hers. Their breath mingled as they both took big gulps of fresh air. Then like a gift from Heaven, the skies opened up and a soft, steady stream of freezing rain began to fall from the sky.

Katie reluctantly pulled away from Daryl and looked up to the sky, letting the hard droplets hit her face. In her arms, the little goat bleated.

"All this for a goat." Daryl wanted to be angry, he probably sounded angry, but he was honestly just relieved.

"I didn't know. I just saw something run into the smoke. I thought it might be a child."

With a shake of his head, Daryl wound his arm around Katie's wet shoulders and tried to shield her from getting more wet. Together they walked the goat back to the animal pens and secured him in.

The perfectly timed rain helped put the fire out. Once the chaos had died down, Katie was exhausted, freezing and dirty. She rubbed her burning eyes with her palms and sighed. "I'm gonna head to the room. Grab a shower."

Daryl nodded and then jerked his head towards a crowd that was still gathered. He wanted to join her, but felt obligated to other tasks before he could relax. "I'm gonna check in with Carol. See ya in a bit."

She gave him a tired smile. "Bring the whiskey."