I sat on the bed with my legs crossed, my notebook sitting in my lap. A pen rested in my hand while I drew squiggles and curvy lines carefully on the paper to pass the time. I heard the door shut but I didn't bother to look up from my art to see who it was. They stopped in front of the cell, straight ahead of me.

"Hey," they said, something hanging from their hand. I sighed, looking up at them. Carl awkwardly shifted back and forth, obviously nervous. His nose seemed swollen, complete with a huge bruise. My eyes flickered down to his hand. He held a wilted daisy. I stared at it in confusion. He saw my reaction and began to talk. "This is for you." Carl held it out towards me, moving a little closer. I looked at him suspiciously. I leaned forward and took the drooping flower out of his possession. I twisted it around in my fingers.

"Thanks," I muttered. Carl looked at me like he was waiting for me to say something, but I ignored him and went back to writing. He shook his head in frustration. I watched him leave out of the corner of my eye. Once the door closed behind him, I angrily snapped the flower in half and threw it to the floor. I returned to drawing, my then relaxed lines turning into angry jagged points. Merle leaned against the bars of the cell. He opened his mouth to talk but I slammed the notebook down on the bed and stood up. "Just leave me alone! I don't wanna hear what you have to say," I grumbled. "I'm gonna find Carol. I wanna talk to her."

"Good luck with that," he retorted just as I was about to leave the cell. I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly turned around to face him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I scrunched my brow in confusion.

"She's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone? Where is she? Is she just out on a run," I asked him. He crossed his arms over his chest, sighing. Brief silence followed. "Merle," I lowered my voice. "Where is she?"

"She was sent away," he revealed. The annoyed look on my face melted away into sadness. "She took two of the sick, killed 'em; they had it first. She didn't want it spreadin', but if you look around ya see it didn't work." I glanced over everyone. They were sprawled out on their beds continuing to hack away, one person even vomiting on the floor. The atmosphere was wretched, awful.

"But she tried," I suggested. I could see where Carol was coming from. I could understand her thought process. "She was trying to help." He rolled his eyes at me. "When I get outta here, I'm gonna find her."

"You do that, Rick won't be too happy."

"Rick isn't too happy with me already," I fired back. "I'm gonna bring her back whether he likes it or not. She doesn't deserve to not be with us."

△

Night had already fallen, everyone well asleep when the door suddenly creaked open. I jumped at its sudden noise. Daryl stepped in, sauntering over to me.

"What're you doing," I questioned him, hiding the excitement coursing through my veins at his presence.

"Takin' you outta here," he whispered, sticking his hand out to me. "I know you hate it in here." I let out a laugh. I slipped my hand into his. Daryl lovingly ran his thumb over the top of my hand before pulling me up to my feet. He turned around, leading me out the door and back to where I truly belonged. We ducked into a random empty cell. Daryl grabbed the door, pulling it halfway closed.

"What's going on," I smiled, sitting down on the bed. Daryl shrugged as he sat down on the ground with his back up against the wall.

"Dunno," he chewed on his thumb nail. "Just wanted to see you without the dirty glass in front of me," he admitted. My heart fluttered. The moonlight radiated through the prison windows, falling on Daryl and giving him a glowing outline. It was silent as we stared at each other, nervous what to say next.

"I—I'm sorry," I confessed. "I was a kind of a bitch back early on. I was super defensive. I haven't been anywhere else except there; that was all I knew. I-I didn't really know what to expect here. I haven't been around outsiders."

"Don't have to apologize," he muttered. "I get it."

"I, um," I paused, thinking about what I should say next. "I've been— it's... my dad. I worry about him all the time, that he's spying on us." Daryl watched me intently as I talked. "He's already made it known that he wants me dead and I'm scared; I'm so fucking scared. I'm terrified." My voice trailed off to a whisper, slightly wavering. My hands shook as I reached down to my pant leg, hoisting it up. I exposed the large scar that stretched across my leg, given to me by my father. "This is from when I was little. He's been giving me scars for years and you can see by my face he still does it now." Daryl stayed quiet, his eyes sad. A few tears shocked my eyes. I let out a shaky sigh, wiping at them. I yanked down my pant leg. "God, I shouldn't have shown you. I-I don't even know why I did. I'm sorry," I apologized.

"Mine did too," Daryl suddenly admitted, chewing on his bottom lip. I halted, gazing up at him.

"Really," I wondered sadly. Daryl hesitated before nodding again. "Where? I—if you don't mind me asking..." He stared at me blankly, his whole body relaxed. Daryl rose to his feet. He wrapped his fingers around the hem of his shirt, pulling it up over his head. My face became hot, my heart skipping a beat. Daryl stood in front of me bare chested. He slowly turned around, revealing his scars to me: scattered all over his back, raised and purple. My breath hitched in my throat. I could feel tears begin to sting my eyes again. I stood up from the bed, walking over to him. He moved his head to peek back at me. I lifted my hand up, placing my cold fingertips onto his warm skin. Daryl flinched, causing me to pull away. My eyes met with his. The smallest pond sat at the bottom of his eyes. I gently touched him again, lightly running my fingers across his back to let him know I wasn't gonna hurt him. I never would.

A tear trickled down my cheek. My hand traveled up to his shoulder. Daryl turned around to face me. Our eyes connected, holding the gaze. My touch lingered on his skin, my fingertips traveling down to rest on his stomach. We were so close, the heat of both of our bodies radiating off each other. My eyes fluttered closed as I tilted my head upwards a little to the right. Daryl leaned down, connecting with me as our lips touched. I could feel my body melting under the contact, meshing into his. His hand moved to rest on the small of my back. He turned me around, pressing my back up against the wall. His hand that was on the wall above my head held him up. Bending at the knee slightly, he kissed me from a better angle. I could feel him deepen it, my hands coming up to meet the sides of his face.

Daryl shifted, his lips latching onto my neck. My chest heaved up and down quickly, my heart racing faster with every second that passed. He nipped at my skin lightly. I let out a shaky surprised gasp, a sly smile following. I've been longing for this kind of interaction with him, yearning in the very bottom of my soul. I let my fingers tangle in his hair while his tongue ran across my skin. A soft sigh escaped my lips. Daryl nipped my neck again, this time a little harder. My shaky hands traveled down to my jeans. My fingertips fumbled with the button as I tried to undo it. Daryl's free hand met mine, brushing his fingers over my skin. His finger hooked onto my waistband. I unfastened the button from the loop, shimmying my pants down my thighs. He pulled away from me, pulling them down the rest of the way.

My body trembled from nerves, anticipation. I've never engaged in something like this. Daryl planted kisses up my thighs, dropping to his knees. I felt like my body was on fire, every inch of my skin hot. He gazed up at me, his fingers latched around my underwear. I nodded, granting him permission to do what he wanted to do to me; I wanted him to touch me, be close to me. I have for a while. He slowly dragged the fabric down my legs to my ankles. I shivered at his touch. His fingertips gripped my thighs, pushing them apart. They moved to the back of my legs, impatiently tugging me towards him. I gasped as I stumbled forward. Daryl placed his head in-between my legs, the warmth of his face pressing against my thighs; the scruff on his face scratched my skin. He ran his tongue over me and a chill skyrocketed up my body.

"Holy shit," I quietly sighed at the sensation. I closed my eyes, throwing my head back and relaxing as Daryl continued to swirl his tongue around, stopping once in a while to use his hands. I writhed above him, ragged breaths escaping my mouth. He stared up at me, watching me as I melted underneath his touch. He traced different patterns onto my skin with his tongue. I pushed my hips forward to feel more of him, moaning loudly. My hand flew to my mouth to shut myself up, realizing other people could probably hear me with the wicked echo in this place. Daryl brought his hand up again, his finger gliding inside of me. I let out a squeak and bit my finger to keep myself quiet. He slid it back, forward. Sweat began to bead on my hairline while I moaned into my hand again.

I could feel my legs start to shake as Daryl went faster. My mind was swimming. Tears welled up in my eyes; I was experiencing pleasure I've never felt before, all of my senses seeming to go into overdrive. I cried out into my hand once again. I could tell Daryl loved hearing me by the way he continued to respond to it. I squeezed my eyes shut, a tear wetting my cheek. I clawed at Daryl's hair as my muscles clenched together. Everything began to release a few moments after, me almost falling on top of him as I shook. My hand fell from my mouth. I let my heavy breaths ring out through the cellblock as I tried to catch it. Daryl distanced himself from me, gliding my underwear back up my legs and over my hips. He rose to his feet and leaned in, kissing me while he ran his fingernails down my back. I wrapped my arms around his neck. Daryl lifted me up and carried me over to the bed, sitting down with me in his lap. I pulled away, running my fingers through his hair. I bit my lip, smiling. He smirked at me, his hands slowly trailing down my arms. I let out a laugh before going back to him, kissing him with a fire.