This took me forever to write. Not because I didn't know what to write, I just wrote a lot!! Hope you guys enjoy it!! xxx

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The drive to the CDC was silent. No one talked over the walkie talkies and Daryl and I were silent. I sighed and let my hand move through the wind. I looked over at Daryl who was biting on his thumb nail out of habit. I grabbed a cigarette out of the pack that was lying between us.

I took a long drag then offered it to Daryl, who gratefully took it. I decided to grab another figuring he wouldn't give it back. I heard a loud screech and suddenly we were stopping. I looked over at Daryl and cocked an eyebrow. He just shrugged and got out of his truck.

He quickly grabbed his crossbow and I trailed behind him quietly. We walked up to the RV where Dale and Glenn were standing in front of the RV where a bunch of smoke was coming out. Everyone was coughing and fanning smoke away from their faces.

"Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asked while placing his hands on his hips. Dale shook his head. "That's all it is. It's more duct tape than hose," Dale said. I stepped up to the RV and everyone looked at me quizzically. I grabbed a rag and held out my hand for the flat head screwdriver.

"It looks like there's something up ahead, a gas station if we're lucky. I'll go check it out," I turned around to see Shane looking through a pair of binoculars down the road. "I'll back you up," T-Dog said. The men started off. "Hey," I said stopping them. They turned around and looked at me.

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" I asked them while wiping the sweat from my brow. Both looked at each other a hint of confusion in their eyes then looked back at me. "That's what I thought," I said. I turned back around to the RV and flicked open my pocket knife getting a smirk from Daryl. I rolled my eyes and cut off a piece of the hose.

I turned around and handed it Shane. "It has to look like this. If you find a roll of duct tape them it can be a little bigger," I said. Shane nodded. "Grab any supplies we can use!" Rick called after them. I handed the rag back to Dale and made my way over to Daryl's truck.

I rummaged through the back until I found a bottle of water and I gulped it greedily. I felt a hand on mine and looked over to see Daryl. He took the bottle from my hands and took a drink. "Where'd you learn that from?" Daryl asked me. I chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

"You," I said. Daryl cocked an eyebrow and had an amused look on his face. "I watched you work on this hunk of junk so many times I guess I just picked up on a few things," I said while patting the his truck. Daryl scowled. "Hey! Don't talk about her like that!" Daryl said while placing a hand on the truck softly.

"Dixon, really? It's a truck!" Daryl rolled his eyes at me and chuckled. "We've been through a lot together! Ya know this!" I felt my cheeks go hot as I thought about things that had happened in the back of the truck. Daryl must have caught on cause he smirked at me.

~~

We were now in a room in the CDC submitting to blood tests per Jenner's request. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and leaned my head against the wall I was sitting against. I hated needles and I hated the sight of blood. Daryl looked down at me. "Ya okay?" he asked. I shook my head and put on a weak smile. "Just peachy," I mumbled.

Daryl rolled his eyes at me. "I know ya hate needles 'nd blood, Em," I sighed and nodded. He knew me too well. I was actually surprised at how much he had remembered about me. "You're next," I opened my eyes and looked to see Jenner pointing at me.

I sighed and stood up walking over to him. I sat down in the seat heavily and offered my arm reluctantly. I was looking right at my arm. I had no clue what was drawing me to watch, but I knew if I did I would easily pass out. "Wait," I heard that southern drawl.

Suddenly Daryl was by side and he was taking my hand in his. I knew everyone was looking at us. "Just look at me," he said while rubbing his thumb against the back of my hand. I smiled and kept my green eyes trained on his light blue ones. "Done," I heard Jenner say.

I looked down at my arm which was now bandaged and then looked back up at Daryl. He smirked lightly and pulled me slowly out of my seat while taking my spot. I didn't even feel it. I watched Daryl closely and he didn't even flinch when Jenner stuck the needle in him.

I slowly made my way over where I was before and sat down. Daryl soon joined me and took my hand in his and them between our legs. We watched Andrea stand up and practically fall over but Jacqui grabbed her. "She hasn't eaten in days, none of us have," Jacqui said while leading Andrea over to a chair. Jenner smiled and gestured for us to follow him.

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We were all listening to Dale talk about how kids in Italy and France always drink wine with their meals. He was trying to pour some into Carl's glass but Lori stopped him. "Oh come on, what's it gonna hurt?" Rick asked while giving an amused look to Lori.

Lori removed her hand from Carl's cup and Dale gladly poured a little in and handed it to Carl. It was silent between all of us as we watched Carl take a slow cautious sip. "Ewwwwwwwwwww," Carl's face scrunched up as all of us roared with laughter.

"Better stick to the soda pop there, bud," Shane said with a chuckle. "Not you Glenn," Glenn who was looking at the bottle of alcohol in front of him now looked up at Daryl. "Huh?" he asked slowly. Daryl who had his own bottle of wine popped the cap of the bottle in front of Glenn and shoved it towards him.

"Keep drinking little man. I wanna see how red your face can get!" Daryl said while scrunching his face up to try and look Asian. Everyone was laughing and having a good time and the alcohol was definitely settling in all of us. We heard a clink of metal against glass and looked down at Rick.

"I don't think we have properly thanked our host yet," Rick said while standing up. He is more than just our host," T-Dog added while holding up his glass. Rick turned to Jenner. "Thank you," he said. There were a chorus of 'thank yous' and Daryl yelled out "Booyah!"

Everyone chuckled and agreed with a chorus of "Booyahs!" I was sitting on the outside of the group on a counter with my wine glass in my hand. I wasn't one for wine but it was alcohol and I hadn't had any for a while and it was definitely doing the trick.

Daryl walked over to me and stood beside me. He took a gulp of the wine straight out of the bottle and held it out to me with a cute drunken smile. I chuckled and grabbed the bottle from his hand and took a long drink. His eyes were wide by the time I handed it back to him.

"If you're all finished I will gladly show you where you're staying," Jenner said. We all followed Jenner down the hall. "This is the only part that still has electric. There are only five rooms with beds so you all will have to pair up. There's a rec room down the hall that I think you kids would enjoy, just don't plug in the video games. Same goes to you guys don't use anything that needs electricity and if you shower goes easy on the hot water."

Glenn turned around with his face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. "Hot water!" he said. T-Dog chuckled and smiled too. "That's what the man said." Everyone went off on their own, claiming rooms and heading to take showers. Thank God. We would all actually smell better.

"Wanna bunk with me?" I jumped and turned around to come face to face with Daryl who was leaning up against the wall. He seemed to be sobered up somewhat. "Do you always have to scare me?" I asked him. I noticed we were the only ones out in the hallway so I didn't have to be rude to him.

Daryl chuckled. "Sorry, now how about that room?" We walked down the hallway to the last room that was empty. Thankfully it was further away from the rest of the group so it gave us a little bit of privacy. Daryl opened the door and I quickly took note of there being one bed and a couch. Great.

I noticed the conjoining bathroom and smiled. I dropped my bag and dug out somewhat clean clothes. "Where are you going?" I heard Daryl ask as I made my way into the bathroom. "Shower!" I called back. I heard Daryl making his way towards the bathroom and he popped his head through the door.

"Can I join you? We can go easy on the hot water," Daryl said while smirking at the use of Jenner's word. I stripped my shirt off and threw it towards the door. He quickly pulled his head out and I took my opportunity to shut and lock the door. "Hey!" I heard Daryl yell as I started the water.

The shower, I don't even know how to describe it. If there was a heaven this would definitely be it. There were all kinds of good stuff in the shower. Soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, fresh razors, there was even new toothbrushes and toothpaste.

I took my time enjoying the clean smell fill the bathroom. I watched as the dirt, grime, and some blood made its way down the drain. I relaxed a little and just let the water hit my back. There was a bang on the door, moment ruined. "Woman, ya ain't the only one who needs a shower around here!" I heard Daryl shout from the other side of the door. I chuckled. "Is that what the smell is?" I retorted back. I heard another bang on the door and decided to get out before I made him even more mad.

I quickly got dressed and grabbed a toothbrush and toothpaste. I started brushing my teeth as I opened the door. Daryl was standing in front of the door his fist raised in midair. To a newcomer you'd think he was going to hit me but I knew he was about to knock again before I opened the door.

I continued brushing my teeth while I looked up at him with an amused look. Daryl scowled at me playfully before grabbing the toothbrush from my mouth, sticking it in his own and walking into the bathroom. "That ruins the purpose of brushing your teeth!" I yelled at him as the door shut in my face. I heard him chuckle. "Tough shit!" he yelled back.

I sighed and flopped back on the bed. I actually forget what the bed felt like as I felt my muscles sink into the mattress and relax. There was a knock on the door and I groaned. Couldn't I get some peace around here? I stomped over to the door and flung it open with a scowl on my face.

I felt bad once I noticed it was Carol and my face softened. "What's up?" I asked her. She held up a stack of clothes. "These were left in the car from where we did laundry. I figured you guys would like them after a shower," I took them from her gratefully and went to shut the door when she placed a hand on it to stop me.

"Emery, if you're not comfortable with staying with Daryl you can always stay with Sophia and me," she said softly. I shook my head. "It's okay Carol I think I can handle him. Thank you though," I said. She smiled and walked off down the hall. I made my way over to the bathroom and flung the door open. Hey, if the man could disturb my shower then I could disturb his.

"Em?" I heard him question. "Yeah, it's me. Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt but Carol brought us some clothes so I figured you wanted them," I said. I placed the clothes on the counter next to the sink. I sighed and leaned beside them. I watched Daryl's hand clear away some of the fog from the glass door and look over at me.

"What's wrong?" he asked a little worried. I shook my head. "Nothing, just thinking at how amazing this place is and how lucky we are," I said. Daryl leaned back to continue his shower. I figured he wasn't going to speak so I went to leave. "We are pretty lucky, aren't we?" he rhetorically asked. His voice stopped me and I turned around to see him looking out the little window he made.

I shook my head and leaned against the counter again. "Do you think we're safe here?" I asked. It was quiet between us for a second. "For now," he finally answered. He stopped his shower and opened the door. I quickly walked out the door giving him privacy to get dressed.

I heard roars of laughter coming from down the hall. "What's going on?" I heard Daryl drawl behind me. I turned around and shrugged. He looked a lot better. All the dirt and grime was off of him. His hair was still wet sticking to the side of his face. I walked over to him and slowly reached out to him. He wrapped his arms around me.

I took a deep breath in and he smelled amazing. It seems though that he was doing the same to me. I pulled back and Daryl looked down at me, his blue eyes soft. "Let's go see what they're doing," he said while pulling my out the door. When we reached the rec room he let my hand drop as we walked in.

"What is going on in here?" I asked. Everyone turned to look at Daryl and I. Glenn stood up a little tipsy. I caught his arm before he had time to fall to the ground I chuckled. I steered Glenn back to where he was seated before and forced him to sit. "We're playing never have I ever," T-Dog said while handing Daryl and I each a glass of some sort of alcohol.

I sniffed it and took a cautious sip. Daryl and I leaned against the counter behind one of the couches. It was Daryl, me, Lori, Glenn, T-Dog, Carol, and Andrea. "Okay Lori it's your turn," Glenn said. Lori thought for a second before speaking. "Okay, never have I ever skipped a day of school," everyone chuckled and drank while Lori had a shocked face.

Now it was Carol's turn. "Never have I ever cheated on a test," she said quietly. We all drank to that too. "Never have I ever been married," T-Dog said. Lori and Carol groaned at the cheap shot causing all of us to laugh. Now it was my turn. "Hmm, never have I ever been out of the state of Georgia," I said. Everyone groaned at my cheap shot and drank except for Daryl.

Now it was his turn. This should be good. "Never have I ever been to college," he said gruffly. I rolled my eyes and drank along with Andrea, Lori and Carol. I looked over at Glenn who was eyeing Daryl and I. He was off his rocker drunk. "You guys are boring! These suck!" he said. T-Dog looked over at him. "Well, it's your turn so you better come up with something good since you're complaining." Glenn smirked a little and eyed Daryl and I again. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Never have I ever....slept with someone in this room," he said and I could hear the slight evil tone in his voice.

A chorus of  "ohhhhhs" came out of everyone and they all turned to us. I was really uncomfortable now with everyone look at us. I looked up at Daryl who was now glaring at the Korean. He looked like he could pounce at any second. Glenn just raised his glass with a playful smirk.

Daryl looked down at me, glass still in his hand. I thought he was going to slam it down and storm out of the room but he smirked and clinked his glass with mine and we both tossed the rest of the alcohol down our throats. Everyone started "ohhhh-ing" again and they got louder as Daryl and I just smirked at each other.

"I knew it!" I heard Glenn shout. We turned around to see everyone looking at us with shocked and amused looks on their faces. "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!" Glenn started chanting. I knew he sobered up quickly and now he was just being evil. Everyone looked like they wanted to join in.

I went to glare at Glenn but my face was grabbed by Daryl and my lips were brought roughly to his. The anger was now gone as I felt his lips against mine, but before I could get too comfortable with it he pulled back and stalked out of the room. I touched my lips lightly and looked over at the group. They all had apologetic looks except for Glenn who was smirking.

"Excuse me," I said while quickly walking out of the room. I didn't know if I should go back to our room. I figured Daryl would be pissed and probably throwing shit all over the place. I passed Rick in the hall, who was struggling to stay on his own two feet.

"Have you seen my wife?" he asked drunkenly. I pointed down the hall towards the rec room and he continued to stumble that way. I was now only one door away from our room and I slowed my pace, second guessing myself. I sighed and smacked myself lightly in the head. If anybody could deal with him it would be me.

I slowly entered our room and closed the door behind me and locked it. I didn't want anybody coming in at this point. Daryl was sitting on the bed with his back to me. I walked over to him and slowly sat beside him. "Ya okay?" I asked quietly. He grunted and took a swig of the Southern Comfort in his hand. Where the hell did he get that from?

I grabbed it from him and took a long gulp before placing it back in his eager hands. "Chinaman better sleep with one eye open. He has a death wish now," I sighed and ran a hand through my hair and looked over at him. "Never have I ever?" he questioned slowly.

I took the bottle from his hands and chugged some of it giving myself time to think. I felt it run through my body all the way to my toes as I felt my body become warm. I handed the bottle back to him. I turned around to make sure the door was definitely locked.

I looked back over at Daryl who had a confused look on his face. "Never have I ever........wanted to sleep with someone in this room," I looked up at Daryl who held my gaze for a little bit. He quickly chugged the rest of the bottle before throwing it across the room and crashing his lips to mine.

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