Lay With Me

I was too afraid to leave Daryl's bedside, terrified that if I went anywhere, he'd stop breathing again. Hershel had reassured me that the antibiotics were in his system now, fighting off the illness, but I still didn't dare to let myself hope that it was over.

It wasn't until the following afternoon that I finally had to admit to myself I couldn't hold my bladder any longer. I ran all the way to the bathroom, relieving myself at the speed of light and rushing straight back to him.

I'd been back in my chair beside the cot for only a few moments, holding Daryl's hand in mine, when he eventually started to rouse.

My heart leapt.

"Daryl." I whispered, stroking his cheek as he squinted around the room.

His eyes met mine, no longer eerily vacant. He was back.

"What happened?" he croaked out, his voice strained.

"We nearly lost you." I told him, planting a kiss to his forehead.

"I don't remember anythin'."

"You passed out after you left me outside, and they must have carried you in here. You were sort of conscious when I got back, but not really. You aspirated last night. You were nearly gone."

"M'sorry."

"Don't be sorry." I reassured him, blinking back the tears welling in my eyes. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"The others?" he asked, always thinking about everybody else.

"Dr. S didn't make it, and neither did some of the other newcomers, I'm not sure who. I just saw Hershel wheeling them out. Let's just focus on you being okay."

"Ya shouldn't be in here."

"There was no way I wasn't coming in."

"You could get sick."

"I don't care." I told him defiantly. Merle was here, too. Rick and Hershel couldn't keep us out. It was a good job. Merle had to hold you down."

I grimaced a little as the memory of hitting Rick in the face came back to me. I needed to apologise to him.

Daryl tried to sit but struggled to lift himself. It was strange seeing him so weak; he was the strongest person I knew. I propped his pillow higher and helped him inch up.

"Do you think you could eat something?" I asked, passing him a bottle of water to ease his hoarse throat.

"Nah."

Hershel entered, ready to replace Daryl's drip with a fresh round of antibiotics.

"You're awake." He beamed as he saw Daryl sitting up, alert. "You gave us quite a fright. It's a blessing Athena and your brother got back when they did."

Daryl nodded at Hershel gratefully, knowing that the old man must have saved his life.

~

It was a couple of days before Hershel allowed Daryl to leave the office block. He was still recovering, but his symptoms had pretty much cleared. He knew he couldn't keep the claustrophobic redneck in there any longer and gave up, insisting instead that he must rest in the perch.

I think Hershel had also been glad to end Merle's presence in the offices. Now Daryl was okay, he'd gone back to being, well, Merle... winding everybody up with his loud, obnoxious comments.

He couldn't fool me, though. I knew he was there because he didn't want to leave Daryl either.

"Cried like a bitch." He told Daryl, exposing me for my meltdown at the veterinary hospital, when he came back and found his brother awake. "Thought I was gonna have to knock her out again before she attracted every walker in Georgia."

Thanks Merle.

Glenn had been released too, and Sasha was almost well enough to be granted her own exit. The virus had taken nineteen of our people in total, a huge loss that hadn't even been caused by the wider infection surrounding us. It had been an unsettling turn of events for the whole prison.

I walked back slowly with Daryl to the perch as darkness fell outside. He was trying to hide it, but I could tell how weak he still felt. When we arrived at our room, I demanded he lie down and rest.

"Gotta check the fences." He protested.

"No."

"Ath..."

"Daryl, you have to rest. Hershel said." I told him, as I manually forced him down onto the mattress, his weakened state making it easier. "You'll be no good to anyone if you don't let your body heal."

He sighed, pulling the blanket over himself in defeat.

"Lay with me?" he just about whispered.

I didn't hesitate, crawling under the blanket and wrapping myself around him. He found my lips instantly, kissing me softly and dipping his tongue into my mouth.

"You really are feeling better." I giggled, returning his effort, reaching up and resting my fingers in his hair while our mouths got reacquainted with each other.

We laid there for hours, kissing, holding each other, relishing in the fact that he hadn't been taken from me. Daryl had to keep pausing from our smooches to get his breath, his lungs not quite back to full capacity, but it was a magical few hours.

"I fell apart." I admitted to him once we were nearing sleep. "On the run."

Merle had told him about my meltdown, so there was no point in not acknowledging it. Besides, it had been playing on my mind.

"Don't matter." He reassured me, tracing shapes in my hair with his fingers.

"It does. I was useless." I sighed.

"Don't sweat it."

"But you're not hearing me. I bombed. I completely lost my shit. If Merle hadn't been there, we wouldn't have found the stuff, we wouldn't have got back to you in time..."

"Ath." Daryl interrupted, "Ya were scared. Even you can lose it when yur under pressure, it don't make ya any less badass."

"I feel like I let you down."

"Ain't true. I'd have lost my shit as well."

"No, you wouldn't." I laughed, "You're always Mr. Focused."

"I mighta. If I thought I was gonna lose ya."

"Yeah?" I asked, reaching over and stroking his cheek with my thumb.

"Yeah." He confessed, wrapping his arms around me and repositioning me so he held me tightly from behind, ready for sleep. "I wouldn't wanna be without ya."

~

I could only convince Daryl to rest for that one night. By the next morning, he was out in the yard checking the fences. I worried that he was pushing himself too soon, but I knew I couldn't stop him.

If he was well enough to be out here, did that mean he was well enough now for us to have a rerun of our naked cabin fun?

"Ya seen Carol?" he asked as I joined him by the fence, handing him a granola bar.

"Eat." I instructed. "She's out on a run with Rick. They've been gone a while. They left just after I got back.

"They meant to be gone this long?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure where they were heading."

A walker snarled, lunging at the fence. Daryl stuck his knife through its eye, shoving the granola bar into his mouth with the other hand simultaneously.

Nothing could put this man off his food.

The afternoon was as quiet as it got around here. Everyone had jobs to be doing, but they weren't rushed. People chatted amongst themselves as they worked.

I noticed Lizzie, staring absent-mindedly out into the distance, walkers gathering quickly at the fence where she stood. The poor girl's father had died from the virus just before Merle and I returned, leaving her and Mika orphaned. Carol had agreed to take care of them, but she wasn't back yet, and although I didn't really do kids, I felt compelled to check up on her.

"They don't scare you?" I asked, noticing how unfazed she seemed at the snarling mob forming before her.

"They're just different." She replied, not looking away from the cluster of biting bastards.

"Well, yeah. They're dead."

"No, they're not."

"What?"

"They're not dead. Not really. They talk to me."

I scrunched my face in confusion before realising that the crowd pushing against the fence was getting a little too big for my liking.

"Get back. We need to sort this lot out before they push the fence down."

"Don't hurt them." She pleaded but followed my instruction, walking toward them cellblock while stuffing something in her pocket.

"They doin' it again?" Daryl mused as he joined me at the fence, the pair of us skewering walkers through the holes in the chain-link. "It's not normal."

"It's not." I agreed, searching the ground for more dead rats, finding just one. "Someone's still feeding them. I think it could be Lizzie, y'know."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She just said some weird stuff."

"I'll get Carol to talk to her when she's back."

"Good idea." I told him once we'd taken down the walker meet-up that had threatened our defences. "I've got to head up for watch. I'll see you later."

"You will." He told me, squeezing my hand.

~

I watched from the roof as the sky started to darken, keeping an eye on yet another area of the fence that was attracting more walkers than usual. It wasn't at risk of falling yet, but if many more joined, they would need dispersing.

An approaching vehicle caught my eye. Rick and Carol were finally back. I knew they'd be thrilled to find Daryl well enough to be out of the offices. I wondered if Carol had known how sick he was; they were close, so I found it odd that she'd agree to go on a run with Rick when he was in such a poor state.

After Bob had let them through the gate, I watched as the car door opened. Rick looked more stressed than usual, so I assumed there'd been trouble. I waited for Carol to emerge, but she never did. Rick then started to walk away from the vehicle alone.

Where was she?

I watched as Daryl approached Rick, the cop putting his hand on Daryl's shoulder as they spoke.

Had something happened to Carol?

I abandoned my post. I needed to find out what had happened. If Carol was dead, I needed to be there for Daryl. He'd be devastated.

I watched Daryl's body language as I walked quickly from the building toward him and Rick. I could tell the situation was tense, Daryl's shoulders were stiff, his face scowling.

"That's her, but that ain't her." I heard him telling Rick.

"Where's Carol?" I couldn't help but blurt out as soon as I reached them.

"She's okay." Rick offered, not meeting my eyes and negating to add any further detail on her whereabouts.

I looked to Daryl for more information, but he didn't speak. He looked upset.

I didn't have time to ask more - In my distraction, I'd lost track of the walkers gathering at the fence, and there were too many for it now to support their weight. The metal crashed to the ground with an echoing clang. The decaying bodies pouring through the breach like a tidal wave of death.

I pulled my knife from my belt as they began swarming the yard, moaning and snarling as they staggered toward us.

"Shit." Daryl's voice cut through the noise. Within seconds, he was firing his crossbow with quick, practised movements, his sharp blue eyes flicking up to mine. "Stay close."

I fell into step beside him, seeing Michonne, Bob and Tyreese racing toward the fight now, too.

Rick's revolver cracked in rapid succession. "Keep 'em away from the cell block! We lose that, we lose everything!"

If Rick wasn't hesitating to use his gun, neither was I. I pulled out my trusty Glock and began firing. There were too many of them now to prioritize keeping the noise down.

The walkers kept coming. A grotesque wall of snapping jaws and clawing hands, the sound of our battle drawing in more and more.

Michonne moved like a shadow, her katana slicing through rotted flesh with brutal precision. Bob was by the gate, firing his rifle in short, controlled bursts, his face tight with focus. Tyreese wielded a hammer alongside his pistol, bringing it down with sickening crunches as he tore through the swarm.

Daryl was moving, crossbow raised, a bolt sinking into the skull of a walker just feet from Rick. "We're gettin' overrun!" he barked.

I didn't have time to think. A walker lunged at me, its gaping mouth inches from my throat. I twisted, driving my knife up into the soft spot beneath its chin. Blood and blackened gore spilled down my arm as I shoved the body aside, barely dodging the next one.

A bolt zipped past me. The walker fell, a fresh hole in its skull. I turned in time to see Daryl lowering his crossbow, eyes scanning me for injuries.

"You good?" he asked, breathless.

"Yup." I shot back, kicking another walker off balance before jamming my blade through its eye socket.

There were too many of them. No matter how many we took down, more pushed through the breach.

"Fall back!" Rick yelled. "Inside, now!"

"No!" I called back. "We can't."

Daryl grabbed my wrist, yanking me toward the door. Tyreese and Michonne held the line as Bob and Rick shoved the heavy metal doors open.

We rushed inside, slamming the doors shut just as the wave of walkers reached us. Their bodies hit the metal with sickening thuds, their moans filling the air like a nightmare that wouldn't end.

Breathless, I turned to Daryl. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his fingers still wrapped around my wrist. He didn't let go. I worried the exertion on his weakened lungs would be too much, but he stayed standing.

"We need a plan!" Michonne directed at Rick, as Maggie and Carl ran toward us, bewildered by our frantic entrance.

My chest heaved as I leaned against the cold cinderblock wall, fingers clenched tight around my Glock. Outside, the dead howled and scraped against the doors, their hungry moans reverberating through the prison like a twisted battle cry.

Daryl stood a few feet away now, pacing like a caged animal, his crossbow clutched in his hands. His face was damp with sweat, dirt streaked across his cheek. I could see it in his eyes - the same fear that burned in all of us. We could lose the prison.

Rick wiped blood from his face, his jaw set tight. "We can't stay locked in here. If they push through those doors, we'll be trapped like rats."

Michonne sheathed her katana with a sharp click. "We get everyone who can fight. Take them down as a pack."

Tyreese, still catching his breath, ran a hand over his head. "There's too many of 'em."

Rick exhaled sharply, looking toward the heavy doors as they rattled under the weight of the dead pressing against them. Then he turned back to us. "We go fast. We go hard. Take out as many as we can, get to the breach, and block it before more get in. Carl, get everyone who can fight ready."

It wasn't a plan. Not really. But it was all we had.

Loud bangs echoed through the cellblock as walkers outside still slammed hard against the door, their decayed fingers clawing at the metal. We waited for reinforcements to join us with their weapons.

When we were ready to move out, Daryl stepped up beside me, his voice low. "Stay near me."

I met his eyes and nodded. "You too."

Rick counted down.

Three.Two.One.

The doors burst open, and we barrelled through them as a unit, shooting and stabbing anything in our way.

A walker was on Carl, but Daryl was ready. A bolt slammed through its skull as I wrenched my knife from its sheath and drove it into the forehead of another that staggered too close.

We were a combined whirlwind of movement - knives, fists, guns - taking down anything that got too close.

Michonne's katana flashed as she cut a swath through the horde, her face a mask of calm determination. Tyreese swung his hammer like a battering ram, skulls cracking under his brutal strikes in between shooting rounds.

Rick and Merle fired shot after shot, dropping walkers before they could reach us, but every one that fell seemed to be replaced by three more.

We fought our way through the yard, stepping over bodies, shoving past grasping hands.

I heard Bob's voice, raw with panic.

"Behind you, Maggie!"

I turned just as a walker lunged, arms outstretched, teeth snapping inches from her throat.

A gunshot rang out, and the walker dropped, a hole in its head. Glenn stood behind it, gun still raised, his face dark with fury.

I was out of ammo, I only had my knife, now. I drove it into the head of an approaching foe.

Athena, watch that on-" Daryl started.

Before he could finish, a walker tackled him to the ground.

"Daryl!" I surged forward, ripping my knife free from the corpse at my feet and plunging it into the skull of the walker pinning him down. Blood and black ichor splattered across Daryl's vest as he shoved the body off.

"You okay?" I panted, offering him my hand.

He took it, his grip strong and warm as I pulled him to his feet. "Yeah." But I could tell he was struggling to catch his breath. He should still be resting, not fighting for his life, again.

Rick's voice cut through the chaos. "Almost there! Keep pushing!"

We kept moving, slashing, shooting, until finally - the breach was before us. Merle and Daryl heaved the fence upright, many of us moving to repair it while Maggie and Michonne took care of the strays still within the compound.

After what felt like one of our toughest attacks yet, we were safe.

We worked together to drag the bodies into a pile for burning. Afterwards, I headed straight for the shower block, desperate to rid my skin of its gory new layer.

When I made it to the perch, cleaner and smelling better, I found Daryl leaning against the wall, deep in thought.

"Hey." I greeted him, knowing that whatever was going through his head involved Carol's absence. I hadn't had a chance to ask about her again with everything turning to chaos.

"What happened?" I asked, not needing to clarify what I was referring to.

"She's gone." He revealed plainly.

"Where? Why?"

"It was her. She killed Karen and David."

"No... what?"

"Yeah." Daryl shrugged. "Rick didn't think she was safe around the kids. So she's gone."

I saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes. I reached out and took his hand. I knew how tight he and Carol were. This was hitting him hard.

"I'm sorry." I offered.

He looked up and into my eyes. I could see the emotion bubbling beneath his. "She just left."

I felt his frustration, his belief that he hadn't even been worth saying goodbye to.

"It won't have been like that." I reassured him. "She wouldn't have left without saying goodbye, not if she'd had a choice."

Daryl clearly didn't walk to talk about it anymore. He pulled me tight hug, gripping onto me as if he feared I was going to leave him too.

I wasn't, and I was going to show him.

"Come on." I instructed, clutching his hand and pulling him after me.

"Where?" he asked, but I didn't answer.

I lugged him after me, away from the perch, and the few people still camped outside of it, away from the cellblock, away from everyone.

He looked perplexed but didn't bother asking what had gotten into me. He knew I wasn't going to tell him.

I dragged him until we reached a small room that only I had discovered so far. It was hidden by debris that had amassed during the fall, so nobody had bothered inspecting it, but there was a small amount of space that allowed the door to open enough that we could shimmy inside.

I flicked on a small lamp, revealing a cluster of scattered, leather chairs. The wall on one side of the room was adorned with large mirrors.

"Uh, this looks like a barber shop..." Daryl uttered, baffled.

"It is." I told him, most prisons have one. "Keeps the inmates neat and also provides jobs for them. I found it a few days ago."

"Ya wanna cut ma hair?" he asked, slightly offended.

I laughed out loud.

Daryl's hair was longer now, tendrils covering his neck. It was often dishevelled and dirty, but I loved it. It framed his face perfectly, as well as fit his personality better; Daryl was wild, untameable and unkempt - it was fitting that his hair now reflected that.

"No, silly." I continued chuckling. "I love your hair longer. That's not why I brought you here."

"Then why?" he asked suspiciously, a smirk appearing as he realised my intention.

"Total privacy." I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my lips to his, kissing him deeply. He responded instantly, his mouth moving against mine hungrily as our tongues danced together.

His hands were everywhere, cupping my ass and squeezing my hips, as mine found their way into his hair. I pushed myself further into him, feeling his massive erection pressing against me through his jeans. I whimpered at the sensation.

He began nipping at my neck, and my whole body tingled with desire. His tongue against the sensitive skin made my knees feel weak. I pulled at his shirt, and he whipped it off, the low light stopping him from second-guessing revealing his scars.

He lifted my shirt, and I shrugged it over my head. I hadn't put a bra back on after my shower, and he bit his lip as my exposed breasts met his eyes. A moan escaped me as he moved his mouth across them, his tongue gently lapping at my nipples.

How did I feel like I could orgasm just from that?

I grasped at his belt, unlatching it as he continued at my chest. I reached into his pants and cupped his swollen manhood through the fabric of his boxers, causing his breathing to hitch.

He abandoned my chest and met my eyes, his usually bright blues dark with desire. He pulled at my pants, peeling them off me until I stood in front of him in just my black thong.

His eyes traced every curve of my body as I wrestled his pants down, taking his boxers with them. He kicked them off and slipped my underwear off seconds later, his hand reaching down and grazing the most sensitive part of me as he pulled me back in to kiss him.

I needed him. Now.

I pushed him gently backwards until he sat in one of the leather chairs, his eyes wide as he smiled knowingly. I reached back down to his pants in the hope that the remaining condoms were still in his pocket. They were.

"You should be resting." I breathed as I ripped open the packet and unrolled it onto him. His breath halted at my touch, and he grabbed the sides of my thighs as if to steady himself.

He opened his mouth to speak, but I pushed my mouth back against his as I climbed onto his lap. I pulled back and didn't let my eyes leave his as I lifted my hips and lowered myself onto him, taking him inside of me.

"Fuck, Ath." He ground out through gritted teeth, as I gave myself a second to adjust to his size.

He pulled my mouth down to his, and I began gently rocking my hips around him. He kissed me slowly, but hard, hungry, like every moment he hadn't had his lips on mine had been torture.

The sensation of him hard inside of me made my heart pound. I pushed myself down as far as I could. I wanted to feel every inch of him.

Our breathing grew heavy as I ground against him, quiet moans of pleasure escaping my lips. He braced his hands against my thighs, fingers digging into my skin possessively, and I loved it.

A familiar feeling pooled in my stomach, and I reached down myself, the need for release becoming too much to bear. His eyes followed my hand, and his chest rumbled as he watched my fingers move. His brought a hand close to the area but hesitated, pulling it back. I grabbed it and directed it back toward me, wordlessly telling him that he could touch me.

For someone inexperienced, he knew exactly how to stimulate me. My wetness covered his fingers as he rubbed gentle circles, while I continued riding him sensually.

I had to press my hand to my mouth to stifle my screams as my orgasm rolled in, the pleasure feeling more intense than ever. I whimpered his name over and over, as the euphoria took control of my body.

When I came back down to Earth, I grasped his hands and brought them back around my waist, resting my own hands on his shoulders. I increased my pace slightly, every moment feeling intensified by the remnants of the orgasm that was still ebbing away.

Daryl leaned his head back, his neck curving over the back of the chair. "Ath..." He breathed slowly through his teeth as he found his own release, his body juddering in satisfaction until my pace slowed to a stop.

He rested his head in my chest, and I coiled my arms around him as we both sat, panting, trying to recover from the passionate experience we'd just shared.

Eventually, he reached up to my face, brushing a stray piece of hair away and letting his hand linger, his thumb caressing my cheek.

"You know I do." He whispered shyly but kept his eyes locked on mine. "Don't ya?"

"Mmm?" I asked.

I knew, but I wanted to hear more.

"I can't get the words out, but... I do."

"I know." I told him with a smile, leaning in to kiss him.

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