Connie had been planning this for a while now. It had just been hard to feel safe enough to take a break from the war with the Whisperers, but things finally seemed calm enough and lord knows she and Daryl needed a positive distraction. They had nearly kissed once before, but since the Whisperers had upped their attacks on the communities, Daryl took on more of a leadership role and they hadn't been able to really talk or see each other much since. They had written a couple letters that they sent with supply pick up and drop off groups, but Daryl had kind of just stopped writing. Connie knew that there were bigger things going on and tried not to take it personally, but it still made her question whatever was going on with them. Maybe he wasn't interested. Maybe he only saw them as just friends. Either way, she still wanted to go through with the plans that she had made for the two of them.

In the woods by the lake, Connie was setting up supplies and a fire when she suddenly felt that something was barreling towards her. She could feel the ground slightly shake and she had a great sixth sense about these things. She started to ready her knife, but stopped when she saw the large, furry creature was Dog. Dog was so happy to see Connie that he attacked her with kisses as she giggled and greeted him with a big hug and pets. Daryl followed behind with a slight smirk and nodded as he signed, "Hey."

Connie nodded back as she felt her cheeks warm and her heart slightly race. Daryl approached her and placed his hand lightly on Connie's shoulder.

"So, what do you have planned?" He asked.

She coyly smiled and raised her eyebrows as she grabbed his hand to lead him towards her surprise for them. He intertwined his fingers with hers and followed her anxiously. The sunlight seeped through branches of the leafy green trees as they moved through the clearing of the woods out towards the lake. Daryl couldn't help but admire her. The way that she moved with such grace and happiness. The way that the light hit the curls of her hair and the curves of her face when she smiled. He loved when she smiled. He loved being the one to make her smile.

When they got to the edge of the lake, there was a dock. It was a beautiful day and the image was like something out of a painting. The calmly flowing water catching the rays of the sunlight and the tall, green grass shifting in the slight breeze made for a serenity they hadn't felt in some time. The dock was in surprisingly good shape, considering that it probably hadn't been tended to for decades. Dog rushed past them and as they walked towards the end of the dock, Daryl could see a beat up, blue cooler and two sets of fishing gear.

"What's all this?" He signed.

"Remember the story you told me about your brother, Merle?" She started, "Well, I figured we could have our own fishing trip fun. And, of course, I couldn't forget…" She walked over to the cooler and pulled out two beer bottles, shimmying her shoulders and smiling big as she turned around to show Daryl. Daryl smiled and walked over to grab one. He observed it to look for a label. He hadn't seen any beers that were still good in years.

"Where did you get these," Daryl inquired as Connie read his lips. Daryl opened up beers as she signed back to him.

"Jerry has been working on a home brew business. There were…" Connie cringed, "many failed attempts. He finally got the recipe right, though, and said he was cool with me taking a few, since I helped him with supplies." She also didn't tell him that she had tasted a couple of test batches and boy were they bad. Jerry finally was able to make a good recipe. At least, she thought so. Daryl handed her back a beer and they cheered and took a swig. She hesitantly waited for a reaction. Would he hate it? He took a second to think about it, but the slight eyebrow raise and head nod seemed to be the seal of approval as he went in for another swig.

They sat at the edge of the dock, legs hanging over the side. Daryl started setting up the fishing rods with bait for them as Connie grabbed the food she packed for them that was also in the cooler. She had made potato salad and sandwiches. Dog was looking at her with his head cocked to the side, almost to say anything in there for me? Connie petted his head again and brought out a peanut butter sandwich she made just for him. He happily took half of it gently from her hand and laid down next to Daryl. She passed along the other half Dog's sandwich to Daryl and he gave Dog the rest of it. It made Daryl happy that she thought of Dog, too. Connie was always so thoughtful.

He handed her back a fishing rod and seamlessly cast the line into the water. Connie struggled to release her line and Daryl noticed. He tapped on her shoulder.

"Have you never fished before?" He asked with a smirk. She lightly shoved his shoulder and furled her brows as she smiled back.

"It's just old and stuck," she signed. Daryl moved the water bucket that was going to hold their fish and scooted closer to her to take a look. He was kind of happy there was something wrong so he could get closer. He put his hands over hers to inspect the fishing pole.

"I see the problem," he said and then he signed, "There's a knot." He untangled the knot and put his hand over hers, keeping it there a moment longer just to hold. She put her hand over his, as well, and patted it as a thank you. She then was able to cast her line.

Connie stuck the pole into a hole in the dock and took out her paper pad. Daryl waited patiently to see what she wrote. He almost preferred her to write her down what she wanted to say. Not because it was difficult for him to understand and communicate in sign language, but because it was something he liked to look back on. Especially when she would rip out a note and give it to him. He liked to keep them and secretly already had one or two in his pocket.

She handed him the note:

Let's make a bet: Whoever can catch the most fish in two hours wins. Loser has to do one thing the winner tells them to do. That's it. Winner gets the extra beer, too.

He smiled and held out his free hand, "Deal." They shook on it.

They sat there for the next two hour, enjoying each other's company, and catching a good amount of fish. Daryl had caught five, Connie had caught seven. It was starting to slow down a bit, so Connie put her fishing rod back into the hole of the deck and had leaned her head against Daryl's shoulder. She felt a sense of calm and peace that one doesn't feel very often anymore in this world. His heart started to race, so he set his fishing rod to the side as he hesitantly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in closer. She scooted her head up and nuzzled between his shoulder and head. He leaned his head against hers and took a calming deep breath. Connie took out her notepad and wrote two simple words: I win :)

He smiled and gently took the notepad and pen from her. She thought he was going to write in it, but he put it behind him and grabbed her with his other arm, pulling her in for a tight embrace. She then felt him lunge forward as he pulled them both into the water. Daryl emerged from beneath the water laughing, but when he looked around he couldn't find Connie. He became worried that maybe he hurt her when he pulled her in. Dog barked and jumped him, sensing Daryl's worry. He looked around frantically for a moment and went back under water. It was too murky to be able to see anything. When he popped back up, he felt himself being grabbed from behind. He grabbed the wrist that wrapped around his chest and looked down at it noticing the gold bracelet. It was Connie. She wrapped both her arms around him from behind and wrapped her legs around his waist. Dog swam up and licked his face.

Connie signed, "I got you!" as she smiled. He turned her around so they could speak.

Daryl signed back, "I was worried. I thought you were hurt or you couldn't swim."

"I was a college swimmer. Top of my team. Even got a scholarship for it," Connie giggled.

He splashed her and she splashed back. He grabbed her and threw her back in the water. She would climb on him and pull him under. Dog joined in and played, too. It was like they were kids again without a care in the world as they continued their epic water fight.

They made their way happily out of the water and grabbed their buckets of fish, fishing gear, and cooler of food and beers as they headed back to the fire. The fire was starting to die, but they were wet and cold, so Daryl tended to the fire. It was getting late, so they decided to stay the night. Luckily, Connie had brought some sleeping bags and set up as Daryl worked on the fire. It started to roar pretty quickly, which was good since Connie was now shivering. Daryl noticed and called her over to the fire. He took off his vest as did she and placed it near the fire. Daryl started gutting the fish and Connie went off and looked for big leaves to wrap and cook them in. Once they had the fish prepped and cooking, Connie grabbed the sleeping bags and opened them up to be blankets, handing one to Daryl as she cocooned herself in the other. The heat from the fire began to try the dampness on their clothes and skin. Being wrapped up in a sleeping back by the warmth of the fire reminded Connie of the feeling you had when you took a warm blanket out the dryer: utter comfort. Daryl had dug into the cooler which contained one more sandwich and a beer. He split the sandwich in half and handed one piece to Connie and the other piece to Dog. He waved the beer towards Connie.

Daryl signed, "You won." He cracked open the beer effortlessly and handed it over. She thanked him and took a swig before handing it back to him.

"I'd rather share," she smirked. He smirked back at her and took a swig as well.

Daryl tapped on Connie's shoulder to get her attention. It was difficult for him to sign with his hands being so cold and he knew she could read his lips really well at this point.

"Thank you for today," he took a moment to look directly into her eyes as he passed the beer back to her, "I really needed this and I haven't had a day like this in a long time. I actually don't think I've ever had a day this good before."

Connie put the beer down and placed her shivering hand on his. She looked into his eyes and he knew that she felt the same way he did about today. He could feel her trembling heavily. Her hands were colder than his. Daryl took her hands in his and brought them up to his lips. He breathed lightly on them to warm them up. He then rubbed her hands between his. He alternated doing this for a little bit and then pulled her closer. Her heart raced the entire time.

Connie signed, "Should we go to sleep? We'll need to get an early start in the morning to get you back to Alexandria." The thought of them separating again after such a wonderful day made her feel down.

"Good idea," Daryl nodded and they both laid down next to each other, huddled in their own sleeping bags, but facing each other. He wasn't ready for the day to end.

Daryl continued his thoughts about going back to Alexandria. "I was thinking I would go back to Hilltop with you. I could find some things I could do there for a bit before going back to Alexandria. Maybe grab some more of Jerry's beers."

Connie smiled and signed "I'd like that."

Connie scooted closer to Daryl and opened up her sleeping bag, "Share?" she signed, implying they share sleeping bags. Daryl was still cold and knew he wanted to be as close to her as he could, so he opened his sleeping bag, too, and they scooted together. He tucked his arm under her head and she wrapped her arm around his chest. It felt right and effortless. Connie enjoyed listening to his heartbeat as her arm rose and fell with his breathing. Daryl liked the feeling of Connie's curly hair against his cheek. They simply fell into place and fit together like that last piece of a puzzle.

Daryl wanted to kiss her. He knew that she knew how he felt, but he wasn't good with words. He wanted to show her. Before he could, Connie started moving her hands so she could sign.

"Winner of who caught the most fish got the last beer and also gets to choose one thing the loser has to do, right?" Connie inquired.

Daryl nodded his head.

"I dare you to tell me what you're thinking."

He took a moment to think before speaking. He couldn't quite find the words, so he decided to take action. He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. She moved her hands up from his chest, grazing his neck, which gave him goosebumps, and ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him back. He lightly put his hand on her waist and pulled her in closer to him. The cold had completely left their bodies and was replaced by the warmth of their kiss.

As he pulled away slightly to speak, while no more than inches apart, he said, "I'm not so good with words. Thought it was better if I showed you."

Connie bit her lip and kissed him once more. She signed, "I'm glad."

They both smiled and pulled each other in for a tight hold. Daryl never wanted to let go and neither did Connie. They slept through the night in each other's embrace. Even though their world was complicated and a war was waging, there was hope for a future and that is what would keep them going. It's what would help them keep fighting. As long as they had each other and their communities, they knew they could win and not just survive, but live a life together.