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The Walking Dead ( Private between myself and Traveler)

She nodded, "I can't say I've ever heard of that town, but that's not saying much, this was my first trip to the east coast and I was only here two days before this all happened." She said, Then Kat shook her head, "Nah, I grew up in Montana." She let the drawl show through a little more, which it typically did when she was drinking, tired, angry or had just woken up. "Bounced around a lot, was a foster kid." She explained.

Then Kat chuckled, "Nah, He won't get upset." She said with a smile, "Ami, Jaz," She murmured just reassuring the dog again that Daryl was a friend, the dog's amber eyes watched the man and his tail thumped quietly. By nature the shepherd was very social and loved people. But just like with the human survivors of the world, he had learned the world wasn't as friendly as it once was. Kat murmured a thanks when Daryl refilled her glass. She took a long drink before setting it on the bedside table. She figured she'd be falling asleep soon enough and didn't want it to spill.

Shifting she stretched out on her side of the bed, lying on her back, testing, seeing what was comfortable. With the binding, her ribs didn't hurt too much, with the buzz the alcohol had given her. So she was able to lay mostly comfortable while on her back.
 
He slid carefully up on the bed next to her, thinking of all the women he had laid next to since this shit storm erupted. He turned to look at Kat as she talked to her dog, and he thought that a dog was a sensible kind of creature to hang out with. He had one, once... almost. But it turned out to be a bunch of walkers at the door and he and Beth had nearly died.

Daryl took a drink and set the empty glass on the table. He stretched his arms out, not bothering to remove his boots because all too often they were roused from a deep sleep and had to fight. Maybe, one day soon, he'd feel safe enough to take them off at night again. But not today. Not now.

"How's those ribs feeling?" He put one arm under his head so that he could look at her. "You gonna be able to sleep?" He reached over and picked up his glass, but it was empty when he brought it to his lips. Damn. "I figure if you drink enough of this you'll sleep through the pain." He set it back on his table and sighed, ready to sleep and hopefully to not dream. He closed his eyes and laid there next to her, watching the light in the room dim as the sun set outside. He wondered how the rest of his group was, what Rick was doing and what Carol was doing, but then he figured that they were adults. They could take care of themselves.
 
Kat nodded, "They aren't hurting as much. I think I'll sleep fairly comfortably. The alcohol is already numbing the pain some." She says with a smile as she carefully stretches and gets comfortable. She could already feel herself starting to drift off, her Montana drawl was getting heavier now when she spoke, a sure sign that she was tired and her body was giving him. "Mm, I am glad I'm not sleeping in that damn tub again tonight." She mused, chuckling slightly. After a moment she rolled onto her side, facing Daryl as she closed her eyes, starting to fall asleep.

She slept fairly comfortable for a number of hours, until about four am. The dreams had started up, like they had for the last three or four nights. She was back to that abandoned building, with those men. Only this time, Jasper wasn't there to save her. In her dreams she kicked and screamed, trying to fight them off. Meanwhile her sleeping body kicked and struggled, though her screams came out as mutters. Her body twisted, her legs thrashing, kicking at both of her sleeping companions. The dog woke with a whine, looking around to see what was causing her such distress.
 
He smiled at her drawl. She as downright cute when she was silly, and it made him feel better about himself that she would trust him after such a short amount of time together. He studied her face once she turned towards him, looking at the way the sunlight's soft fading glow traced over her features. Daryl shifted slightly, aware of the stiffening in his pants and not quite comfortable getting aroused right next to her. He turned his face away and tried to sleep, and soon it came.

When her thrashing woke him up he immediately reached for a weapon, but then he saw that she was having a nightmare. The sky was still dark and he had no idea of what time it was, but he could see that she was in distress from the soft glow coming from a nightlight in the bathroom. He propped himself on an elbow and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her to rouse her from her sleep. "Kat. Kat! Wake up, it's only a dream!" He was leaning closer to her, their bodies almost touching. Her murmurings were not clear words but he knew instinctively that she was fighting off people, not walkers in her dream.
 
She felt the shaking and struggled more, until she began to wake. Her hand balled into a fist and she started to swing as her eyes opened. She checked her punch just moments before it would've connected with Daryl. Jerking back, breathing heavily, she sat up. "God. I'm sorry," She muttered her voice rough. Hurriedly she lifted a hand to wipe away the tears that to her embarrassment had fallen in her sleep. "Sorry," she mutters again, "Didn't mean to wake you." She spoke quietly, reaching a hand out to calm the dog who was now pacing the floor. "Settle." She murmured, before turning to eye Daryl again.

"Still dealing with the mental effects of the mens' attack on me the other day." She said, feeling she owed him an explanation after waking him up in the middle of the night, thrashing and kicking.
 
Daryl relaxed slightly once he knew that Kat wasn't going to hit him. He'd been hit much too much by women as a kid; most notably his mother, and though it had been many years, the instinct to duck was still strong. "Don't be sorry," he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth as he slowly backed away. "We're all screwed up; it comes with being a survivor."

He frowned slightly and looked back at her as if uncertain what he should do. "I'm just glad you didn't deck me." He rubbed his chin and gave her a sheepish grin. "Looked like it would'a been a whopper!"

Slowly he settled back on his back, looking up at the ceiling. He pressed his lips together and thought of all the people he knew who had suffered from the things they had experienced. He sighed. "The people I traveled with, there is this one woman who had a daughter. Her name was Sophie, and her daddy was a son of a bitch. He beat the mom, he beat his daughter... probably did worse. I don't know. But after he died, his little girl still had nightmares. Her mom used to hold her at night, to help her keep the bad dreams away." He turned his head to look at Kat.

She was a tough girl; a cop, for God's sake... but she seemed as vulnerable at that moment as Sophia did. Hell, inside they were all just scared little kids, weren't they?

"If you need me to hold you so you can sleep I'm okay with that." He watched her carefully in case she decided to punch him after all. "I won't even tell any of your cop friends if we run into them."
 
She chuckles, "Sadly, you wouldn't be the first who's tried to wake me, and got a punch for their efforts." She mused, wiping at her cheeks again to make sure she'd gotten all the tears. She listened quietly to the story Daryl told her, finding it sad, but then smiling softly at his offer. Well, isn't he just sweet? she thought quietly to herself. At first she was going to decline, after all they were still mostly strangers. But the more she thought about it, she realized that it was likely the only way she'd sleep again, otherwise she'd get up, pace around the house, play with the dog and not sleep again until the next night, where it'd likely happen all over again.

So instead she hesitantly looked at Daryl, smiled faintly and nodded. "Ah.....sure," She finally said, but then didn't know exactly what to do, She shifted carefully until she was lying back down again, stretching delicately because ofher ribs, then getting comfortable again.
 
Daryl could tell she was a little embarrassed, but he thought 'What the fuck for? It's not like anyone who matters is gonna judge her', but then he knew that he was still hung up on stupid shit that shouldn't matter anymore, like losing his brother's motorcycle. He supposed that they were all broken in some way or another.

She tried to get comfortable and then she seemed to lay back the way she had before. That girl didn't know anything about being held. Carol had shown him what it was like to have a woman care about you - she had been the protective, nurturing mother to Sophia who demonstrated what a mother was supposed to be like. She wouldn't hold a cigarette to his arm to hurt him. No... Carol didn't hurt people. She killed people who needed killing, but...

Daryl gave a little 'huh' at Kat's decision to lay on her back, and instead of inviting her to lay her head on his chest he reached out with the hand next to hers and held her hand. "I don't bite," he promised, "and I'm not going to jump your bones if you accidentally put an arm around me." He gave Jasper a look as the dog settled into a comfortable spot. "If I try I know your dog's gonna make me a eunuch right quick, so trust me when I say it'ain't gonna happen."
 
She looked over at him, chuckling softly. "I'm not afraid of you," She says softly, confidently, "I guess I'm just not use to being held. It's been a long time since anyone's held me." She murmured. Though she hesitantly scooted closer until she was pressed closer to Daryl, curling into his side. " 'Sides, that's not where he'd bite," She grins a bit teasingly. She settled in, finding it rather comfortable to be basically snuggling with Daryl, even if he was a nearly complete stranger. She kept her next thoughts to herself but silently she figured she wouldn't mind if Daryl jumped her. But she figured that was a thought best kept to herself to avoid things getting awkward.

"I thought I was content on my own. But I'm glad you came in this house today," she murmured to Daryl, just resting her head on his chest as she let her breathing slow and her body relaxing, settling against him.
 
He let her snuggled, then put an arm around her and pulled her closer. "I'm glad I came into the house too," he answered as they began to drift off. "You're warmer than Anthony anyway."

Daryl chuckled softly to himself as he relaxed and fell asleep. He'd never actually slept with a woman in his arms before, but it felt unusually 'right'. He was acutely aware of her broken ribs as they laid there, and for the first time in too many nights, he slept quietly and without moving harshly in his sleep.

He dreamed that he was home again. He'd been on his own for nearly two weeks, living off the land and doing the best he could as a kid, when he finally found his way home. In real life he had come home to his dad only to realize that his old man didn't even notice him gone, but in his dream he had come home and his dad had been turned to a walker. Young Daryl was terrified; he didn't know what had happened or how to deal with his not-dead-but-very-dead father, but his brother Meryl wasn't much help either. His brother stood on the other side of the window, smoking a cigarette and holding up the stump of his hand. Daryl knew that he would have been giving him the finger if he still had any fingers left on that hand, and as their dad grabbed young Daryl the horrified boy saw his big brother laughing silently on the other side of the cracked glass.

His eyes opened and he saw that he was in the room, holding the same position as when he fell asleep, but his body ached with tension and his heart was still pounding in the shadow of the terror he had felt. This fucking nightmare needed to end; there was no such thing as 'normal' anymore.
 
Katherine remained asleep the rest of the night, having no more nightmares. Her body remained curled against Daryl's all night, actually seeming to wrap around more. Her head was on his shoulder and her arm wrapped around his middle, pressing her body close to his. Though she didn't seem like it during the day, Kat was very much a snuggler at night, unless she was exhausted then her little body could manage to take up a great deal of the bed, no matter how big the bed was.

Kat finally began to wake a little after dawn. She stretched and winced, feeling the throbbing from her ribs. The brunette froze, hearing a consistent thumping under her head. Then she remembered curling up with Daryl in the dark last night. Tilting her head she looked up at him as she slowly sat up, wincing again. It was nice to finally be able to sleep without having nightmares. And she'd admit, having the consistent contact all night, a reminder that she wasn't alone, well, it was very, very nice.
 
It was interesting to see her waking up. She moved cautiously, like a cat hearing the skittering of a mouse. Then she tilted her face up and looked at him and for a moment he wondered what was going through that head of hers. Was she hoping that he was her late husband? Or was there something else in that quick glance she gave him; something more private?

She sat up almost gingerly and he felt like someone might after drinking too much and waking up with a stranger in their bed, only this time he was the stranger who had looked better to her when she had her beer goggles on. He slipped out of the bed, not bothering to embarrass her with words, and peeked out the window. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon and the neighborhood looked just as quiet as it had when he wandered into it yesterday. The skeleton of unfinished houses framed against the sunrise looked creepy. The hands that built the frames would never return to complete the homes. They were destined to be forever paused in the middle of their development.

"I'm gonna check downstairs." His voice was gravelly and low. Daryl put on his vest, then picked up his crossbow and slung the strap over his left shoulder. "Give you some time to yourself." He glanced over at the dog. "Want me to let him out?"
 
She smiled as she watched him sit up and get out of bed. "Okay," She murmured when he said he was going downstairs, "Ah, thanks, for last night. It's been a long time since I slept next to someone and I forgot how much I enjoyed it." Katherine smiled again, carefully getting out of bed, obviously a little stiff and sore. She paused at his question, seeming to hesitate. "Yeah sure." Showing just how much she'd gone to trust Daryl in the last twenty four hours. "Jazz, go on. Go with Daryl," she pointed at the man, if a dog could give a what the hell? look, it would be the look on Jasper's face. But nevertheless, the dog stood up, stretched and obediently moved over to Daryl, tail swinging.

Kat moved into the bathroom to use the restroom and brush her hair and teeth. Once that was done she carefully lifted her shirt to check the bindings on her ribs. They'd held through the night but would have to be redone in the morning. But that was okay, Kat wanted a few hours without it. So she delicately began removing the binding, thinking about how it felt waking up beside Daryl. Yes for a brief moment she thought he was Hunter. But once she'd remembered and realized who it was, it certainly was not disappointment she felt. No, instead it was a gentle burst of something else entirely, something she hadn't felt in a long, long time.

With the wrapping off, she folded it up, carrying it with her as she headed out of the bedroom and down stairs.
 
He looked at the dog and smirked at it's expression. If dogs could grin, that was probably the closest thing that Daryl had ever seen to a grin. He went downstairs with Jazz and checked the doors and windows before chancing a trip to the back yard with the dog. While Jasper did his thing, Daryl peeked over the fences and did a little bit of recon to make sure that things were as quiet as they seemed. So far it was, which bothered him, though he wasn't certain why that would be.

When the dog was done they both went inside and he locked the door behind them. He heard Kat coming down the stairs, and the dog did too for it happily loped towards his mistress.

Daryl noted the bindings in her hands as she descended. "Those came off quick," he remarked. He eyed her as she moved, trying to still the slight welling of attraction and companionship that he was feeling towards her. Whenever he cared about someone they died. First Sophia, then Beth. Carole only escaped because she was a total bad ass in her own right, but Kat? She seemed pretty hard core but he didn't really know her, did she? What if she died too?

His eyes narrowed as he considered that possibility. No... he didn't want her to die. He'd better not get too close to her and tempt fate.

"You hungry?"
 
Kat leaned down to pet Jasper as he loped to her. She looked up at Daryl. "No, I took them off to check the bruising and I wanted some time without the wrapping." She said, setting the fabric on the counter. She grabbed a cup to scoop food into the dog dish for Jasper as she nodded, "Yeah I am," She said as she cued the dog to eat before focusing on Daryl again. "Want me to make something?" She offers, She stretched carefully, the pain was less than yesterday but still definitely there.

She certainly didn't mind making something to eat. Though she wasn't the greatest cook, she would certainly give it her best shot. Katherine grabbed a clean cup and went to the sink, getting a glass of water, enjoying the ability to do that. She drank half the glass as she opened the cupboards, examining what they had as far as canned and boxed foods.
 
"Are you asking me if I want you to cook?" Daryl smiled at her, a crooked, naughty kind of thing that was almost a grin. "Hell yes. Sure beats grilled possum and canned beans." He watched her getting a glass of water from the sink, and it made him think of all the times he had nearly died from desire for a clean drink. Water was a rare thing; clean water even rarer.

"We're not going to be able to stay here forever," he noted. "I should put together some supplies for the day when we have to bolt. The damn walkers don't usually give you much notice when the shit hits the fan."

As she was rummaging through the cupboards he saw a box of Kraft Mac 'n Cheese over her shoulder and inhaled excitedly. "Make that," he said, reaching over her and plucking it from the shelf. "Hell... I haven't had this stuff since I was a kid." He shook the box and held it near his ear. "Do you know how to make this?" His brown eyes were wide and for a moment almost child-like, but then the moment was gone and the ragged, survivalist returned. He was standing so close to her, nearly chest to chest. There was something about being near her that felt... good. He liked being with her. She was someone who made him feel like things could get better.
 
Kat grins and nods, yeah any food in this house would beat whatever they'd have found on the road. It would be nice cooking in a kitchen again. Then nodded "Yeah, that would be good," The dead never gave much warning and she didn't want to have to run without at least some supplies. Silently she wondered how they'd become a unit. Suddenly it was a 'we'. Not that Kat minded at all, she was happy to not be alone anymore. There was just something about being with another human being. Hearing his excited voice she tilted her head to look at him as he reached up past her to grab a box of mac and cheese.

Grinning she nodded, "Yes, I know how to make that," She nodded, more than happy to make that, she enjoyed seeing the light and excitement in his eyes. She gently took the box from him, looking up and meeting his gaze with her pale grey eyes. "It'll be like fifteen minutes," She murmured, standing there, nearly chest to chest for another moment before she reluctantly stepped away from grab a small pot and fill it with water. setting it on the stove to boil she hunted through the fridge, obviously they didn't have milk to mix with the cheese powder, so she'd have to find something else to mix it with.
 
He could almost taste her lips... then she stepped away and he realized that he had leaned in towards her like some kind of fool kid. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, turning away from her as she moved to the stove. "Alright, I can do a lot in fifteen minutes." He glanced down at the dog to see if it had noticed his 'almost kiss' before they both avoided that near-miss. The dog seemed to be too highfalutin' to have noticed anything so base.

Daryl had his gear and pack that could use a refresh of the water. Memories of the hot, dry trek through middle Georgia haunted him. He would have nearly killed to have had something to drink. That was when he got separated from the others, actually - searching for water along the canals.

Once he had finished refilling water and had found another canteen to fill up as well, before staging the water bottles near their escape route, he wandered back to the kitchen.

"All this urban shit is kinda driving me crazy," he confessed to Kat. "Next thing I know you're going to be baking chocolate chip cookies and talking about the damn PTA." He licked his bottom lip and then rummaged through a cupboard for the alcohol stash he'd found there the previous night. There it was, red wine. He pulled out the bottle and lifted it up to show the girl. "Want some?"
 
Kat made the mac and cheese as she wondered about the moment when her and Daryl had been nearly chest to chest and she'd noticed him starting to lean in. Was he going to kiss her? She wondered and then that made her wonder what she would've done. Kat would admit, she probably wouldn't have stopped him, in fact she wondered if maybe a part of her wanted him to. Shaking her head slightly she finished the mac and cheese, dumping half into one bowl and half into another. Chuckling at Daryl's words, "No worries there, I actually set my kitchen on fire last time I tried to make cookies. Decided it was for the best if I don't do that again," She grins, then nods, "Sure," a small glass of wine would be good. "Mac and cheese is ready." She said, setting his bowl and fork on the counter before she digs into hers.

"God that's good." She murmurs after the first bite. It'd been years since the last time she'd had this and she'd admit she'd missed it. "This was a really good idea," She grins over at Daryl as she walked over to sit down at the table to take some of the pressure off her ribcage.
 
He grinned at her confession about setting her kitchen on fire. He'd never had home made cookies, actually, and so finding out that she wasn't really a domestic goddess made him feel less insecure about himself. He examined the wine bottle and found that it was a twist off kind, which was fucking fantastic because he wasn't quite sure how to get a fancy cork out of the bottle. The kind of booze he drank never had corks in them.

Daryl poured two coffee cups full of wine, all the way to the brim, and set them at the table. Then he set the half-full bottle on the table too. He sat down and leaned forward, scooping the pasta onto a fork and shoving it into his mouth. "Mm-hmm," he agreed, concentrating on the food. It was warm, it was salty and sweet, and it reminded him of the rare times he had something out of a box to eat. Comfort food; something he associated with a six month span of time when he was seven and stayed at a foster home, before his mom came and got him out of there. She died not too long after, but it was a small time in his life when he actually started to feel 'normal'.

Maybe this was the new normal.

He took a long drink of the wine and finally slowed down on the food once he had eaten about half his bowl. "It's good." He glanced up at her. She must have still been hurting bad, though he figured she was trying not to seem like it. "When we get done here I'll wrap you back up," he promised. "Then I'll finish getting everything ready for when we have to leave."

He didn't want to leave, and yet he did. He missed the open air and the ability to move. He felt like a sitting duck here, but the clean water and the safe walls felt good to him too. Daryl could lie to himself and say that he was only going to stay here until Kat was strong enough to travel again, but he knew that he was just making excuses. He liked being around her.
 
Kat nods, "Okay, thanks," Though she liked being without the wrapping, she knew it was necessary. She tilted her head, "Do you think we need to leave?" She asks curiously, wanting his opinion on how safe the house was. She'd like to stay another few days at least, but not if it might not be safe, and she would admit she wanted to stay with Daryl, but didn't know if he would continue to want her company or not. Finish her mac and cheese she headed to the sink to put the dishes in there before continuing to drink her wine. She returned to sit at the table, as Daryl finished his meal. Jasper came over, lying down at her feet, his side pressed against her cafe. Absently she leaned down to pet the dog.

Admittedly part of why she didn't want to leave was because she was concerned the men to attacked her were still in the area and still looking for her. She'd known they were pissed and she'd had to hide several times when she'd first escaped. She'd heard them searching for her, heard their plans for her after they killed Jasper. She didn't know how determined they were, if they were still searching for her, or if they'd given up and moved on yet.
 
"I think that people who stay in one place wind up dead." Daryl took a deep drink of the wine and winced, as if the mild alcohol was somewhat inadequate. "But that doesn't mean we have to leave right away. We should just be ready." He looked across the room at her, knowing that she had to have seen her fair share of shit to have survived this long.

"Not everyone out there is a bad person." He wiped the back of one hand across his mouth and slid the bowl away from himself. "But that don't mean you gotta just let them hurt you either. I know some people, good people, and if we see them again you'll like them." He drank down the last of his wine and reached for the bottle to refill their glasses. "You'll see - they're like a goddamn family out there."

In truth they had been more than a family to him. His own kin weren't much use to him before the shit hit the fan. They were even less use to him afterwards. Rick and his crew, though, had done more to restore Daryl's sense of hope than anyone had in his entire life.

"There's strength in numbers if they're the right people." He eyed his new companion, aware of the large dog sighing at her feet. "If you want to come with me I'd like to have you. If you want to go your own way I won't stop you neither."
 
When he said that not everyone was bad, she just nodded, "No, not everyone. The good ones are just hard to find." She mused softly as she finished her food. She smiled, she was sure that she would indeed like Daryl's group, if she ever got the chance to meet them. Once they'd both finished she carefully stood up to take the dishes to the sink.

Kat couldn't help but look back at him when he said she was welcome to join him. "I don't want to be alone anymore." She said softly. "It's just....not a good option anymore." Especially given what had happened to her, she didn't want that to ever happen again, and in order for that to happen she needed to be with a good group. "Thanks," She said, before returning to sitting across from him, a hand rubbing at her torso absently, to ease the dull ache.

"I'm glad you walked into this house," She spoke softly and she was relieved she'd had the guts to leave her hideout in the bathroom. And now it seemed she had a new companion to travel with, and maybe a new group, if they ran into Daryl's group again.
 
Daryl laughed. "I'm glad you didn't shoot my ass when I knocked on that door." He noticed her rubbing on her torso and he leaned forward. "Better let me wrap that for you. It's tight, but Maggie says that binding ribs helps them heal." He raised an eyebrow. "She's the closest thing to a doctor we got. Her dad was a vet. A, ah... horse doctor."

He stood up and offered her a hand. "Come on, tough nut. Let me wrap you up."

Images of him wrapping up her naked body, stretching her across the bed so that he could crawl up her lovely body and taste her skin as he moved across her stomach to her breasts, came unbidden to his mind. It had been a long time since he had been with a woman. They were alone, except for the dog, and she seemed to like him...

He shoved the thought down. It wasn't the time to think about such things. She was beat up and weak; if he took advantage of that and Carol or Glen found out they'd give him a tongue lashing that wouldn't heal quick at all. No... he had to be good and think further than seven inches ahead.
 
Kat smiles and nods, "Alright," She takes his hand to help her stand up, then pulls her shirt up so expose her torso. She stood still, simply watching him with her pale eyes. Kat would admit silently to herself that she was liking Daryl a whole lot more than just a friend, but she didn't plan on acting on it, not knowing how he might be feeling towards her and she was so bad at judging people's reactions and feelings.

She kept her emotions to herself, but she certainly would have a positive reaction if he made any move towards her. She wouldn't be reminded of being attacked, Daryl was so much different than any of those men, she trusted him, despite not having known him very long, he had that air about him that made her want to trust him.
 
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