Equipoise - Chapter Eleven

Had she not realized she was not breathing, she might not have taken the breath in when Daryl sat up and stared at her. Her body felt too heavy, everything was too heavy, and the room was spinning in grays and dark shadows. She was vaguely aware of being dragged back into the underground compound through the hatch, her head lolling back to watch Daryl slip inside with a little help as well. After some time, she was sitting in a chair in the kitchen area, the same area that she had been in when he had shot her.

Miss Carter had her back to Nicole, and it didn't help that she was whispering, Nicole's ears felt like they were full of cotton anyway. She felt as though she were about to throw up and pass out all at the same time. All she could do was breathe in and let it out slow, her chest was aching as Miss Carter stepped away and Daryl approached Nicole. She looked up at him with tears already threatening her eyes as he lifted her into his arms and held her tightly.

"Just a scrape from the counter.... I ain't infected."

Her tears overflowed as though she had not heard him at first, but it sank in and her arms wrapped around him in return. She cried into his neck, and for the life of him he didn't know why.... but he started to cry as well. He pressed his face against her hair, bending slightly as he held her close.

"I told ya, dammit. I ain't leavin' you...."

"I know, I know.... but...."

"Woulda been my fault if somethin' woulda happened.... and nothin's gonna happen...." he sniffled, choked on his words and stopped talking.

It seemed a long while before either was willing to let go, and when she looked up at him, her eyes were still glistening. He did well to hide his, wincing and blinking until you couldn't really tell in the shadows of his face where he had been crying at all. She touched her fingertips to his face with a slight smile before they made their way to the living room to sit and breathe for a while. Everyone took turns in the showers and soon enough, everyone was settled down enough for bed.

Jeff stared at them from his corner of the room, before he decided to walk up the line of the bunks to their bed. He stood at the end of the bed with his eyes kind of downcast until Nicole finally looked up at him from a drawing she was doing while the paper was propped on her knees.

"Yeah....?" Daryl was the one to say something to him.

"I just.... wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did."

"Nawh, man, you were tryin' to do what was best. I get it."

Nicole glanced over at Daryl and back to Jeff, "next time, you had better be sure we're both out there and left to die."

Nicole was feeling a bit angry over the entire ordeal, as Jeff had all but sealed Daryl's fate, and had help not come, she would not have gotten the hatch open in time. It would have been Jeff's fault, and she would have blamed him for the rest of her life for Daryl's death had it come to that. She still felt as though she should be strangling with him, it was not in her to just forgive someone that had put someone else's life in jeopardy. Especially Daryl's. Not yet.

Daryl had his own pile of papers on a fold away table next to the bed that were held together by bread ties through holes punched in them with a knife. The papers ranged from actual notebook paper to the backs of cereal boxes to other thin things, whatever Nicole hadn't used to draw on and the others had left at the end of the day. He apparently had been going behind them and collecting them, writing on them.

"I got somethin' to show you...." he said, deciding to finally reveal what he had been hiding for a while now.

"Yeah....? I have something to show you, too...."

"You first."

"Are we having this argument again?"

"Wha-Oh! I forgot about the mall...." He laughed softly, still remembering what he had gotten her.

He had not lost his gift to her, but it was not quite time for it yet, either. He wanted to wait until it was perfect, when they were alone again. It was something to be remembered, not something to give her in passing around everyone else. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slow, trying to hide that he had more than just what he was about to give her.

"You just go first, Nicole."

"Oh, god, fine...." She sat up and leaned down to reach beneath their bed.

Pulling free a framed artwork, she presented it to him. It was a portrait of herself and Daryl, standing beneath an oak tree. It looked like it was summertime, she was wearing the light dress he had seen her in. The one she wore in the dream. He stood next to her, holding one of the ropes to the seat of the swing she was on, shirtless. They were a mirror image of his dream. He breathed out in a soft sigh that ended in a smile.

"Damn...."

"What? Is it.... not what you expected?"

"No, I didn't expect nothin' at all.... Let alone nothin' like this.... it's.... beautiful."

Nicole beamed at that, and when he took it from her hands, he found that the frame was various weights of cardboard. She had done everything from the drawing to the frame, and he breathed out, shaking his head.

"Ain't nobody ever given me nothin' like this before...."

"Well, I couldn't take a picture of us together.... I wanted to capture us in a nicer time. Maybe in the future."

"You sayin' you want me around in your future?" He gave her a sly grin.

"Stop putting words in my mouth...." She laughed softly, avoiding his question.

"I'll get ya to tell me one day."

"I doubt it.... what did you have to show me?"

Daryl presented her with his gift, a bit ashamed of how haphazard his handiwork seemed now compared to her precision, but he was no artist when it came to any kind of handcrafted stuff. She looked at it for a moment, before she opened what he had made as the cover. Inside, it started almost like a journal, and somewhat like a story.

He filled every page with his memories, from his childhood to now. Memories of her included, from the day they met. He also had little scraps of paper stuck inside it with various quotes on it.... things he remembered from various places and things he had forgotten until her. She had given him so much back that he had never known he was missing. She closed it and looked to him with an almost sad smile.

"Daryl, it's beautiful...."

"You ain't gonna read it now?"

"Why read it all at once? That ruins any good book...."

"It ain't really a book.... it ain't that good. Just stuff I thought you might like."

"Daryl.... I want to read everything you've written. I want to know every thought. I just don't want to know it all at once. That ruins the reason to read. I want to read it every night before I sleep, so I will dream of your beautiful thoughts."

"You talk about it like you know what's in there."

"I know you. I know it has to be beautiful if you've written it."

He snorted, wrinkling up his nose slightly and looking away from her. Inside, it made him feel like he was a thousand feet tall. Soon enough, both were settled in enough for sleep, and Daryl's eyes were drifting over her drawings, over her head. He always felt like she would catch him and think he was weird about it. This time, she did catch him.

"Want to know the story about that one?"

"What?" He felt his cheeks burning.

"The dancers.... do you want to know the story?"

"Uh...."

"I know you look at the drawings, Daryl.... that's the whole reason I put them up there...."

He eyed her, "you know I look at them?"

"Yeah.... every night," she laughed softly when he squinted at her.

"Alright, then, tell me."

"Their names.... we came to know them now as Night and Day.... The world used to be a dark place.... one ruled by mother Night.... with her twisted darkness and shadows. A cold, deep darkness.... One day, a beautiful, shining man came forward, kneeling at her throne. He absolutely glowed, his skin giving off small rays of light that warmed her cold, pale skin. In no time, it seemed, she fell in love with the man.

Love makes us able to be persuaded into a great many things.... and she allowed him to rule half of the days in the light. He breathed life into the world as she knew it, and made it beautiful again. They would meet for a few moments between the fall of night and the rising of the day and dance.... where the heavens meet the earth.... This was where they could be together. One night, when she was to meet him, she found him there....

He had another in his arms, a lesser star with a brighter glow than Night. One of her daughters, and he danced and danced with her in place of pale Night. Broken hearted, Night turned to the darkness she had known for so long that it stained her face and she became the moon. She separated herself from the world she ruled, only to watch it every nightfall. She never again met Day where the heavens met the earth, and never again did he see her.

He reached for her many times, and all she did in return was reflect his light. She had been so heartbroken that she allowed him his reign over the world. Until he grew bored with this world and the lesser star, he became the Sun. Yet both.... still have that beautiful memory.... of dancing where the heavens met the earth."

"Wow...." Daryl stared at her, anything his imagination had come up with was by far paled in comparison to hers.

Nicole smiled and looked away from him, opening his book from where it still lay on her lap. She took a breath and let it out slow before she started reading, softly. Daryl lay his head against her shoulder as she did so, reliving every word he had written.

"Lost for days and days.... no one was looking for me. Nobody came to find me. I don't know how many days I was out there, maybe a week or more.... but I made it. I just knew I had to. I had to make it back home. Though Merle was gone and nobody was missing me.... I knew I had to make it.... I made it. I made it home and I made a sandwich, and from then on I knew I never needed anyone. I didn't need anyone to survive, I could make my way out without anyone helping me."

"Until...." Daryl urged her on, turning the page.

"....until I got lost. I never get lost.... but I got lost, and wound up tracking something on a highway. The days had kind of melted together.... and I was getting careless and tired. I hadn't slept in at least two nights. I was scared of falling out of a tree and having a walker gnawing on my foot again. That's when she saved me." Nicole looked to him with a smile.

"....what? You did...." She closed the book and touched his cheek as he lifted off her shoulder.

"And I'm glad I did...." she whispered softly, before drawing him into a kiss.

Another three days passed without many events, before Nicole decided it was time to go. It was weighing too heavily on her that she had not pursued her parents in over a month. They could have been worried sick about her, and she was not even keeping track. She had put it off long enough, and her worries about everyone else were finally at rest when Miss Carter offered to teach the rest of them how to shoot. She had more guns, and she would take care of them. Nicole thanked her, and expressed her gratitude and love to her family before she turned to leave.

"You sure you're not going to stay?" Mackenzie said softly.

"Yeah, we're gonna miss you," Lee pouted.

"I'm sure. I can't, honey. I have to go find them.... and I'll miss you guys, too."

"I know, we're just going to worry about you."

"Nah, don't worry about me. I've got Daryl watching out for me," she winked at her, and Mackenzie and Lee giggled softly.

"Yeah, but I'll still be praying for you guys."

"Me too," Lee said softly.... sadly.

"Just take care of each other, alright? I expect to have some huge amazing dinner when we all get back together again. When all this junk is over and done with."

"I'd love that."

"Yeah, and we'll make it together," Lee smiled, eyes sparkling.

"Me, too. So stay safe until then, alright? If you guys happen to leave here or something, leave me a note behind. Let me know you're alright, okay? Keep a journal or something."

"You got it. We all love you."

"And I love you guys, too...."

Hugs were given and tearful goodbyes were spoken before Nicole and Daryl were let out of the hatch in the house again. Neither could bring themselves to look back, it made it that much harder to leave. Once outside the screen door, she could breathe again, and she did. Daryl nudged her with his arm, holding onto his Horton in the exact same way as she was. She was staring down at the Camaro waiting at her aunt's house. The forest was alive again with sounds of animals and birds.... which was a great sign in Nicole's opinion.

First and foremost, they had not forgotten the corpses they had dragged away from the compound, and these were burned unceremoniously. It was just another task in the way of what they had yet to do. The clearing they had chosen was further away than the one from her aunt's house had been, and they used various different branches to mask the scent. Nicole never could quite get used to the smell it made, covering her nose with her hand with an obvious look of disgust. When the flames died down, and dirt was thrown over it to suffocate the rest of the embers, they turned to move on.

The walk back to the car was almost as relaxed as they ever could be. Reaching the altered vehicle, nothing was out of place, no one had bothered it, and no one had taken the keys. Inside the vehicle, it cranked with no problem, rumbling in their chests as she pulled away from her aunt's home and headed in the direction marked on her father's map. Daryl said little to nothing as he sat on the passenger side. They had brought along the gifts they had made for one another. Hers was in the back behind her, and his atop it.


The climate was dropping significantly when they finally arrived in Tennessee, to a house that had been clearly marked on the map as where her father would stop next. Here, she would search around to find nothing except another map and another note. This would lead even further north, this time to Delaware.... and they did not have the daylight, nor the time, to make it that far before night fell. Camp would have to be set up in this home. It seemed already fortified, but left open for her to find.

Blankets were folded beneath the windows, ready to be used to block out the light from within and insulate the home. Boards were near all the doors and nails, as well as a hammer in the front and back. Sleeping bags were waiting, as well as an air mattress among other mattresses. Food was well stocked, though someone had eaten a few things here and again, there was still enough for the random passerby. Nicole heaved a sigh, wondering if she would ever catch up, or if she would be chasing to a literal dead end one day.

"Somethin' on your mind again," Daryl questioned, as though he already knew by the look in her eyes.

"Just wondering if I've waited too long.... if he gave up hope on me."

"Your dad? No damn way."

"You sound really sure of that...."

"Because I am. The way you talk about him, I know he ain't gonna just give up on you if you're runnin' a little late to the party. You don't strike me as the type who was always on time in the first place. He ain't gonna stop leavin' maps for you and hopin' he'll see ya again. Stop thinkin' that way."

"I just don't know if it's been too long...."

"Well, do you feel like it has? Do you feel like it's too late, and that they're gone?"

"No.... not at all."

"And how do you know that?"

"I just.... I feel it."

"Then it ain't too late. If you ain't feelin' like he gave up yet, then it ain't time for you to give up, either. It's time for you to keep goin' and stay alive, for them."

"I think you just want to meet my parents."

Daryl scoffed, half taken aback by the comment, and half surprised that he actually agreed. "Maybe I do, you got a problem?"

"No, no...."

Four perimeter checks and several compulsive checks of the windows and blankets and they were both satisfied enough that they were safe. A single battery-operated lantern would serve as their light in the home when they settled onto a pillow top mattress on the floor for the night. Several blankets made it comfortable, as the air conditioning and heat were non-existent here. The electrical lines had been knocked down by a car somewhere, or so Nicole assumed.

Daryl heaved a sigh, looking at the bare walls with a little pang in his chest. He suddenly missed the underground compound for no other reason than it gave him comfort to look at the drawings. She had taken them down before they left and put them all in the back of his handmade book, but it did not change that he had nothing to stare at to help him sleep. He looked over at her, propping his head up on arms folded behind his head.

"Tell me what you're thinkin'?"

She looked at him slightly surprised, "what I'm thinking?"

"You always got somethin' on your mind.... what are you thinkin' about right now?"

"Hoping my aunt and cousin aren't too terrified of guns to actually pick them up and learn...."

"Your cousin probably ain't gonna resort to violence for nothin'...."

"How'd you know?"

"My.... dream. She said so."

"Oh.... that one."

"Yeah," he sighed, "that one."

"I get the feeling that you didn't tell me everything about that one, and that there has been another or several more...."

"I can't hide a damn thing from you, I know that much.... but I don't wanna relive that shit no more. It didn't happen, and the other one probably ain't gonna happen, either."

"I'd still like to know."

"Nawh, I don't think so."

"Fine, I won't tell you anything else, either!"

He glared at her, scrunching up his nose on one side. "I know you ain't startin' that reverse bullshit on me."

"And if I am?"

Daryl crossed his arms tightly over his chest. She almost pissed him off at how easily she got to him sometimes, but it was a welcome challenge he never received from anyone else before. Hell, even in the group before, people avoided him like the plague. They just expected him to be someone they assumed he was, and it kept him isolated. He had liked that before, he had never wanted to interact with those people.... all he did was try to gain a little trust when it was necessary. Even then, they found a way around it to blame him for something else, or assume something else.

Ten minutes and he finally gave in, "fine. You wanna know what I left out...."

"Yes, I do."

Daryl finally relayed the entire nightmare to her, every last little detail.... how he had found her and how it had destroyed him to the point of where he was a broken man when he opened his eyes. When he had first held her before she woke, he just felt as though he owed her his life and many more things over.... and that he wanted to pay her back somehow. He went into how he felt like a failure, how he felt as though he was such a horrible person for having shot her. She interrupted him to tell him it had been an accident, that she was not angry about it, and he stopped her.

Accident or not, it was still his fault and it still pissed him off to no end that it had happened in the first place. Nicole finally gave up trying to argue him from his point, and simply listened. Daryl went on to explain his next dream, the second one he had in years.... about the summertime and how her drawing had reflected it perfectly. It was almost eerie, the resemblance, and how she had captured it. He then finished by explaining what had happened between them and what was said. By this point his cheeks and ears were burning and he could not even look at her.

"What were you going to tell me in the dream?"

Of course she would ask that first, why had he thought she would miss it? Why had he thought this was a good idea to avoid it?

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Daryl," she pleaded, in that voice he never could deny.

"I said I don't wanna talk about it, dammit."

"Daryl!" This time she drew out his name and leaned up toward him with a slight pout to her lips.

He glared at her, squinting his eyes like he was angry and leaning away from her slightly. His arms were tightly crossed over his chest, as though the tighter he squeezed himself, the more clarity it gave him. She just sat there and stared at him with those beautiful eyes, and he looked away.

"I said no!"

"But...." she said a little sadly, almost defeated.

He looked over to her, "do you really wanna know that damn bad?"

She tried to play it off where she did not perk up, "yeah...."

"Fine...."

She immediately got closer to him and leaned on his shoulder, and it made it that much harder for him to fight the lump in his throat. He stared at the ceiling until he was seeing spots, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Gah dammit...." he shifted and wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close almost roughly.

She ain't gotta know that I'm doin' it so I don't have to look her in the eyes.... All she's gotta think is that I'm holdin' her. That'll make it easier....

He was only half right, it brought her close to his racing heart that he was suddenly self-conscious about, and he grumbled softly. He then cleared his throat, at least three times over the course of five minutes before he could start. Nicole was patient, not pushing, she just waited on him to speak, wrapping an arm around his stomach. She secretly admired the muscles her fingertips slid over, but she would never admit to it.

"Okay, well.... what I was gonna tell you in the dream is that.... I think I'm...." he paused, to clear his throat again, "I think I'm in love with you."

The following silence after his confession made his heart drop into his stomach and his stomach drop to his feet. His feet twitched physically, as though it were literal, and he felt as though he could not breathe. Damn, what he wouldn't give to be invisible right now.... what he wouldn't give to have never mentioned there was more to the nightmare, that there was more to say in the dream....

Nicole shifted and moved away from his arm just to look at him with her eyes slightly wide. She was not ready to cry, she was just searching his own eyes with hers.... that is, when he could bring himself to meet her eyes. His blue hues were raw with emotion, something she had never seen in him quite as strongly before, and something she may never see again. She could tell he was shutting down all those mental doors, as though he had opened them and she had stepped on some kind of trap that put them right back into lockdown.

Her hand touched his cheek and he almost jumped at it, tilting his face toward her. He just watched her, not exactly sure of himself, he had no idea what happened next. He swallowed, sure that it was louder than it should have been in the deafening silence. It had never been quite that difficult to say what was on his mind to anyone before. Nicole just smiled to him in almost a sad way, one that he could not read in entirety, before she drew him into a kiss that left him stunned and slightly dizzy. She then lay her head against his shoulder.

"Tell me again...."

"Tell you what?"

"What you wanted to tell me in the dream."

"I love you," she giggled, and it made him turn red again. "It ain't funny."

"I never said it was...."

"Then why the fuck you laughin' at me?" He grumbled.

"Because.... I love you, too."

"You...." he was ready to argue.... but he stopped, completely stunned, "....what?"

She laughed softly, "I'm not saying it again!" She lifted to kiss him quickly, before she moved to sit propped up on her pillows once more.

He looked over at her with a look of complete loss written on his features. He might have even jaw-dropped for a long moment. She just smiled and started reading out of the book he had made, reading two pages before she closed it once again. He never stopped looking at her as though she were going to give him some kind of answer for a question he never asked. Eventually, she just turned down the lantern until it clicked off, and lay down. He was still propped up in the dark, staring at her from what had happened until it finally sank in.

When it finally did hit him, he slid down in the bed to lay next to her, wrapping his arms around her. This time, though he expected her to push him away like usual or not even react, she held his arm around her. He molded his body to hers and she gave a soft sigh of contentment. It made him smile, and he shifted to allow her room to turn over to face him. She then wrapped a leg around him and cuddled up to him, burying her face in his neck. He never felt so warm, and like he belonged next to someone in his entire life. He played with her hair until he felt her fall asleep, and he fell asleep soon afterward.


The night passed without events, other than the ones that set the tone for their relationship from that point forward. Daryl was the first to wake, for once, stretching and groaning lowly when his back popped. The moment his foot exited from beneath the blankets, he found it freezing and he curled right back up to Nicole.

"Damn."

She groaned, "what?"

"It's cold!"

She giggled, "what a baby."

"Well you get out from under this blanket and feel for your damn self," he grouched, pushing her until she flailed and fell off of the mattress.

Almost immediately, she was yanking up the blankets and crawling beneath them once again.

"Alr-r-right.... you're right.... it's cold...."

"You're damn right I'm right!"

She molded herself to him and he held her shaking body until she stopped and they finally warmed up again. It would be a good while before the sun warmed it enough for them to go anywhere anyway. Daryl took advantage of the situation and promptly fell asleep again, beginning to snore above Nicole's head. It made her smile, until the rhythmic breathing finally drew her back into slumber as well.


Awaking yet again, it was around noon, and Daryl did not stir until she lifted her head and stretched a bit. He wrapped himself tighter around her and grumbled something incoherent.

"What was that," she questioned, half expecting him not to answer.

His mouth hung open for a long moment before he responded, "I said don't you go nowhere. You're keepin' me warm," his words came out in a speedy, breathy way and she giggled.

"Who said I was going anywhere?"

A few moments of no response and he started snoring again, until Nicole lay a kiss against his neck that made his eyes pop open. She smiled at him and just turned over, putting her back to him as though she were completely innocent. He blinked a few times, squinting in the light that was coming in through the cracks in the blankets. The sun always had a damn way of creeping into a room, no matter how well you put up curtains or blankets over a window.

He leaned up on his arm and stared at the back of her head for a long moment, until he was convinced she wasn't sleeping. He then ran his fingertips along the back of her neck, eliciting a shudder and a soft noise from her.

"How's it feel when the shoe's on the other damn foot?"

"Feel's pretty good, actually," she shifted to look at him over her shoulder and giggle before she turned her back to him again.

Two seconds was all it took for Daryl to realize she was playing a game with him to see what he would do. Though he would usually get mad about being toyed with, she made him feel comfortable enough to play back, and he leaned down to kiss just beneath her ear. Her shoulder drew up as though it were some kind of defense against him and he laughed softly.

"Gotta problem?"

"Never said that," she relaxed and dropped her shoulder again.

He shifted, propped up on his arm and leaned down to kiss at her shoulder and the muscle between her neck and shoulder before he wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair and took in a deep breath. She always smelled like vanilla, coconut and some kind of spices.... always smelled like home to him. He breathed out slow and molded himself to her, leaning to kiss her neck again. This time, however, he opened his mouth just slightly and scraped his teeth against her skin. She jumped a bit, her back arching to press against his chest.

He wasn't sure whether to take that as permission or objection yet, so he kept on, laying his lips against her neck and kissing a line to her ear and back down to her collarbone. She gave him her answer when she turned on to her back and reached up to draw him into a kiss. This kiss, however, wound up a bit more heated than the kisses they had shared before. While Daryl was not pushing her, she was drawing him to her like her imagination had.

All but convinced that he would wake up from this dream anytime soon, Daryl let the kiss drown him. It made him lightheaded, made him forget to breathe when she kissed him, as though she was stealing his life. No, that ain't right.... It made it feel as though he were pouring his life into her. Every bit of who he was and all he ever planned to become was what he poured into her.... he wanted a future with her so bad that it drove him to be with her, despite her protests.

Despite her telling him several times not to get attached, his stubborn ass had followed her, kept up with her.... done his damndest to stay with her. He touched her cheek and she gave the softest of sighs into the kiss, leaning to his touch as his other hand moved up her body, accidentally bumping against the bottom of her shirt. She inhaled a sharp breath, as though ready for him to do something, and when he did not it nearly confused her.

She reached to his hand, not breaking her lips away from his, and slid it beneath her shirt. Half expecting him to go straight to groping her, Daryl did just the opposite. He lay his rough hand against her ribs, sliding fingertips along here and her back. So many times, he had dreamed about just seeing her back and her shoulders, that he had to feel if the dreams were true to form or if his imagination had been horribly wrong. He slipped away from the kiss to clear his throat slightly.

"Would you care if I....?"

He asked her permission with his blue hues, and she just looked at him and shook her head. He returned to kissing her, sliding both his hands beneath her shirt and along her ribs and back. It sent shockwaves through her.... no man had ever bothered with the rest of her. Just.... what mattered for their purposes. His hands were slow, and the calloused skin was polar opposite of the silken softness her skin was. He explored along her spine, skipping over her bra strap to feel along her shoulders and shoulder blades.

When he shifted and her arms raised, he removed her shirt slowly, laying it aside. The kiss was necessarily broken, but he looked at her now. His gaze stared deep into her earthy color eyes, his blue eyes wide open again. He shifted, trying to look down at her body to take it in. She immediately yanked the covers up to attempt to hide everything.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want you.... to see the scars...." She looked away from him, ashamed.

"What scars?"

"The ones I told you about."

"From the surgeries? On your belly? Or the one on your neck you try to hide with different t-shirts?"

She looked at him for a long moment and tilted her head away, she was the one shutting down now. Daryl felt it, and he took a deep breath.

"Nicole, scars don't make a person. They show what a person made it through. From what you told me, you done made it through a hell of a lot. You ain't gonna make me see you no different just because of some damn scars. Hell, I left a scar on you, too, but it ain't changed who you are."

"I'm disfigured.... the scars from before made me this way...."

"Nawh, you think that way because ain't nobody ever taken the time to prove to you that you're beautiful."

Before she could mouth off and argue down his point, Daryl had disappeared beneath the blanket. He lay his hands against her ribs, and traced the scar that began at her belly button with kisses. It ended just at her pants, and this was where his kisses stopped and trailed right back up. He even shifted to kiss the scar off to the right side of her stomach, tracing it with kisses as well. Nicole could have cried as she bit her lip, looking off to the side.

He lay his fingertips against the scar at her belly button as he reappeared from beneath the blankets. His hair was sticking up, but he looked at her with those brilliant eyes of his and just shook his head.

"Ain't nothin' wrong with you. You're perfect how you are. Your scars show you had some fights, and you won. I don't know who ever told you different, but they were wrong."

"Daryl...."

"No, ain't no arguin' your way out of this one. I love you, and you just gonna have to deal with it."

He shifted and pulled her close to him, against his strong chest and he closed his eyes. She had her scars, her imperfections.... but so did he. Plenty, in his opinion, and she didn't seem at all bothered to see him without his shirt. Why should he treat her any differently? She was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, in all ways he could count. All it took now was proving a point to her, that he wasn't at all interested in her being what she thought was beautiful.

Beauty was bullshit, in his opinion.... At least the kind women had in their heads. He did not try to push her any further, only held her close and let her cling to him. She had begun to cry, and all he could do was let her have her moment. He knew why.... those motherfuckers had hurt her before, and if he ever came across one of them, he'd hurt them back. How anyone could show so much kindness and then get screwed over was beyond him.