After talking to Carl, I made my way down the winding streets of the town to where my father awaited me. I knew exactly where he'd be too. I don't even know how I knew...maybe we were more alike than I thought. My feet thudded loudly on the ground as I shoved my hands into my pockets absentmindedly. Suddenly, a hand grabbed onto my arm and I nearly let out a shriek as I was spun around. My chocolate-brown orbs met icy-blue ones and I breathed out a sigh of relief before tugging my arm away instinctively.

"Rick, has no one ever told you not to sneak up on someone like that? It's creepy," I admonished him playfully, a smile tugging at my lips.

He grinned sheepishly, shrugging.

"Sorry 'bout that, Angel. I just wanted to talk..." he said, uncharacteristically nervous.

My eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. What in the world could he possibly want to talk about?

"About your dad..." he started, trailing off.

My eyebrows arched briefly. Oh. That.

"I understand now why you didn't want to tell us your last name..." he pressed on, "But we would've understood... We would've been more-"

"-accepting of me?" I cut him off, my tongue flicking out over my dry cracked lips.

He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot and I just shrugged.

"It's fine, Rick. Really it is. I didn't expect special treatment for being Daryl's daughter... Besides, that was something we'd needed to discuss first...before everyone else knew,"

He nodded in understanding, glancing down at his feet. Small brown curls fell over his forehead and I resisted the urge to brush them away with my fingertips. His blue eyes met mine then and I bit my lip.

"He's waiting in the church for you," Rick said, tilting his head slightly to gesture toward the small white building with the cross.

I nodded in reply and began to turn away when his fingers wrapped around my wrist gently. My eyes connected to his once more and I felt breathless once I realized how close we were, his face only inches from mine.

"He's not mad at you, Angel... He just...doesn't know what to say," he confided and my eyes widened slightly at the omission.

Slowly, I shrugged, "That makes two of us..."

Rick's thumb caressed my wrist softly. My skin burned where he touched me and I frowned when he let go. With one last curt nod, he walked back down the street and sighing, I turned back to the church that stood before me. Knots of nerves formed in my stomach and briefly, I wondered if I'd be sick. It didn't matter though. I had to do this.

Stepping into the dimness of the church, I sucked in a breath. I could see his Angel wings from here. Treading softly down the aisle, I stopped when I reached his pew and cleared my throat. Deep blue eyes met mine and I shot him a small albeit wary smile.

"Hi, Daryl."