Chapter Thirteen: Georgia Rain

After about a week had passed since their excursion in the woods and the night in the storm cellar, Grace began to believe that she had been right about what she thought would happen next between herself and Daryl: absolutely nothing.

He had taken about a day or two to recover and then he was back to work: going out to hunt (this time, solo), harvesting wild game, tinkering with his motorcycle, keeping watch, and helping Rick and the other men do whatever needed to be done.

At dinner time, Daryl would always stand up while eating, aloof, from the table. It was nothing new but Grace couldn't help but wonder if it was because of her. She would glance up at him from time to time but he never seemed to look her way. One time they did make eye contact and the two of them both slightly jerked simultaneously, a move that undoubtedly went unnoticed by the others.

Grace had a hunch that the others were on to them.

One day when Grace helped Beth with the baby, Carl wandered by and watched the two girls give Judith a diaper change. When he looked at Grace, Carl curiously asked her how she got "those marks" on her neck. Confused, Grace found a mirror and there, where her neck met her collarbone, were little purple bruises: hickeys from when Daryl had kissed her neck. When Grace came back, Carl was gone, but she saw Beth and Maggie standing together in a corner. They were looking in her direction, snickering with each other and talking in hushed whispers.

While doing laundry with Carol, Grace chatted along idly with the older woman, but somehow Carol always led the conversation back to the day of the storm.

"It must have been rough being out there in a storm like that," Carol said.

"It was scary." Grace answered, folding a shirt. "But Daryl took good care of me - of us." Grace felt her cheeks flush at her gaffe.

Carol smiled. "I'm sure he did, my dear." She bent over to pick up another garment to wash. "I'm sure he did."

Out of her peripheral vision Grace could see Carol tossing curious, side-long glances at her as if she was trying to figure her out.

Then there were the times at dinner when Grace would catch Rick's stares, in which he would smile cordially at her and then look down at his plate, grinning wildly, shaking his head, and covering his mouth with his hand as if he was desperately trying to cover up laughter about something.

Grace wanted to see Daryl again, she was dying to talk to him, but there was either no privacy to do so or every time she found him alone, he would scurry off to go busy himself with anything but her.

It's like he has a built-in "Grace" monitor now. Grace thought one night, lying on her back in her bunk bed with her arms tucked behind her head.

I get within a five feet radius of him; the "alarm" goes off and he makes like a banana and splits!

Grace curled up in the fetal position then, bringing her knees up as close to her chest as she possibly could.

I never should have told him that I love him…I bet that's what scared him off…Did I just say that because I was so frightened that he was gonna die?

Grace shook her head at the thought.

No. Well, yes and no... I was scared for him…but I do love him…and I know I shouldn't expect him to say it back…I know we barely know each other...But I just want to hear from him that I mean something to him…I know he said he was sorry about the "itch" and "scratch" comment and I think he was being sincere…but I just want to hear it from him…I want him to tell me he loves me too….even if that is unrealistic.

The next day, Grace was on watch in the guard tower by herself. She enjoyed being up there, looking out across the field at the pine trees and she liked the view despite the sight a few walkers shuffling around out there. The sky was overcast, like it was the day she went hunting with Daryl, but the clouds were not ominous. Soon a light, cool rain began to fall and a soft thunder rolled. Grace was glad to see the rain again for its ability to give them a break from the heat.

"At ease, sold-jer ."

Even though the voice came from behind her, Grace knew that backwoods drawl from anywhere. A smile crept across her face as she turned around and saw Daryl standing there. He was dressed in his usual attire, winged vest and crossbow on his back . In his hands, oddly, was a honeysuckle vine with white blossoms dangling from his fingertips.

He grinned and did a mock salute. Grace tilted her head to one side, confused.

"Oh, ya know." Daryl explained. "Since ya carried me outta the line of fire the way ya did."

Grace thought for a moment and then smiled as she remembered and laughed at his joke. Somebody must have told Daryl about her fireman-carrying him to the gate.

"Yeah," Grace chuckled, shaking her head at herself. "I must have looked so ridiculous."

"It's awlright," Daryl replied, still smiling. "I can't thank ya enuff, ya know."

Grace shrugged casually. "Aw, well…I had to, you know? I couldn't just stand there and cry about it like I do everything else."

Daryl nodded. "You were strong, Grace. I told ya you could do it." He paused, glanced down at his feet and then back up at Grace.

"I'm proud of ya, girl." He told her. "Everybody's proud of ya. Don't know if anybody said that to ya or not but it's true. Hell, even Rick was blown away." Daryl nodded again, to confirm it was the truth.

All Grace could do was smile and shrug. She turned and rested her arms on the railing and looked out over the land.

"Yeah, I guess sometimes you got to be stronger than you ever thought you could be." She paused and looked over at him. "Somebody told me that once." She added, with a smile.

Daryl flashed another grin at her and Grace then realized how rare it was to see him smile like that. He should smile more often. She thought. Even though there's not a lot to smile about these days.

Grace turned around and leaned backwards on the railing of the guard tower. She watched Daryl who was fidgeting with the honeysuckle vine in his fingers.

"Daryl?" Grace asked.

He looked up. "Hmm?"

Grace shot a look down at the honeysuckle in his hands and then back up to him.

He looked down, saw the vine in his hands, and let out a nervous laugh.

"Oh, yeah, right." He stammered. He shifted anxiously from foot to foot. Grace couldn't help but notice how sheepish he was being all of the sudden and wondered what he was up to.

Daryl took a few steps forward and held out the vine. He apparently had made a necklace for her.

"This is for you," He said as he approached her and slipped the vine over her head and around her neck.

Grace reached up and touched one of the white blossoms on the vine and lifted it to her nose. She inhaled the sweet, delicate scent and it immediately made her remember home: riding around with Johnny in his truck with the windows down and smelling the honeysuckle that would cling along the fence post on the side of the road.

"I know it's not much," Daryl was saying to Grace. He ran a hand through his hair. "It's nuthin' special and…and I hope ya don't mind - I drank some dew outta some of them blooms - I gotta little thirsty on my way up here…that's why some of them are gone but yeah…I just wanted to give ya a little thank you present."

Grace smiled at him and without thinking reached up and touched her hand to one side of his face.

"Thanks, Daryl." Grace whispered. He took her hand in his and then noticed the makeshift cast Hershel had constructed for Grace's skinned finger. Daryl gently rubbed his thumb across her injured finger.

"Hershel said it would take awhile for the skin to grow back," Grace said as she looked down at her finger.

"But it's gonna be OK. I just have to make sure I keep it clean." Grace chuckled softly. "Guess I'm not going to be a crossbow hunter anytime soon, huh?"

Daryl looked up at Grace then but he still held her hand in his, his thumb still caressing her hurt finger.

"I can show ya sometime if ya want." He answered, and slowly grinned. "But next time - let's not go out in a twister, OK?"

Grace only laughed and turned back around and leaned on the railing. She had just begun to accept that while Daryl appreciated her help in getting him back to the prison and that he was truly sorry for the cruel things he had said to her; he still had no intentions of having a romantic relationship with her. She wasn't going to bring it up anymore and she wasn't going to make him talk about it no matter how much she wanted him to. She really expected him to leave at this point but he surprised her by walking over and leaning on the railing with her.

They quietly watched the rain fall and listened to the drops splatter on everything it came in contact with. Grace look out over the land; her hand on her neck playing gently with the honeysuckle necklace. Daryl rested his arms over the railing, his fingers clasped together, his head slightly bent.

"Gracie," Daryl spoke softly but did not raise his head. "Honey…I know I've been avoidin' ya lately and well…it's because -"

"It's OK, Daryl." Grace interjected still looking out over the land. "I understand…I'll learn to let it go. I'll do what you said - I'll forget all about it and won't say anything to anybody."

Daryl raised his head then, took his arms off the rail and stared at Grace eagerly. Grace saw the seriousness on his face; the sincerity in his blue eyes.

"No, Grace," He said as he came toward her and surprised her by carefully sliding his hands up her arms and bringing her in to an embrace. Grace felt her mouth open but no words came out.

"Lemme do the talkin'," Daryl said. "So…I've been thinkin'…I've been thinkin' a lot o'er the last couple of days…a lot more thinkin' than I normally do…but yeah, anyway…I, um…been thinkin' about the time we spent together…and how we got to know each other better…and um…god, I'm no good at this!"

Grace could only smile and stare at Daryl in awe as he struggled to find the words he was looking for.

He's gonna say it! Grace thought, excitedly, but she bit her lip and held her composure.

Daryl took a deep breath and began again:

"I've been thinkin' about how ya told me you love me and all…and it kind of freaked me out, to be truthful with ya…Nobody ever said that to me before and I've never said it to nobody neither…I've been thinkin' about how much of an idiot I was…it was stupid of me to kiss ya…it was stupid of me to…put my hands on ya like I did…I never meant to lead ya on, Gracie Lou. And I never meant to hurt ya either - with them words I said to ya…I guess it goes back to that the day in the storm…I was just tryin' to protect ya, ya know? I didn't wanna git yer hopes up and then have to crush ya like June bug hittin' a windshield."

Grace felt a wave of sadness come over her but she wasn't sure if she should cry or laugh at what he was saying. The good ole boy certainly had a way with words.

"I had also been thinkin' about…" Daryl continued on. "Been thinkin' about everything that's wrong wit this picture…you and me…I'm old enough to be yer daddy, truth to be told…And well, I guess age ain't nuthin but a number… but still the fact is - I'm old; you ain't…and that can complicate things, ya know? Been thinkin' about how everything is complicated these days and you and me both know the last thing we need is another headache…and there's what could happen to you or me…well, anybody, really, but…nuthin is guaranteed anymore, Grace. It's all jacked-up."

He stopped talking and raised his eyebrows as if to ask her if she understood him so far, especially that last part, and Grace nodded.

Grace could feel her heart sinking; she had thought he had come to tell her he loved her but it sounded like he was trying to tell her they were better off as companions. She lowered her head but he took her chin and raised her head back up to look at him.

"But then…" He sighed deeply. "But then I also got be thinkin' - ya know what? Fuck it. What's another jacked-up thing to this world, anyway?! Ain't nobody gonna give a damn and if they do - it's their problem; not ours."

Grace thought she didn't hear him correctly. Her mouth fell open again and her eyes widened. Is he saying what I think he's saying?! She thought.

Her mind was quickly put to rest when Daryl took Grace fully in his arms and held her tighter.

"I love ya too, Gracie Lou." Daryl whispered, as he stroked back her hair. He squeezed her tight as he leaned in and kissed her full on the mouth. Grace let her arms wrap around his neck like she had done that night in the storm cellar and pulled him closer to her.

As they kissed, Grace felt the honeysuckles being crushed by Daryl's body pressing up against hers. The combination of aromas: fresh, crisp rainfall and sweet, sweet honeysuckle hung in the air and lingered in Grace's mind. She knew she would never smell honeysuckle again without thinking of this moment or of Daryl.

Daryl then started to plant kisses on Grace's face and neck, rubbing his whiskers on her skin, making her giggle like she did in the cot that night.

"You make me feel like I'm sixteen all over again," He murmured against her ear.

"And you make me feel…" Grace trailed off, unsure of how to describe it. "You make me feel so many things…so many things I thought I'd never get the chance to feel."

He went back to kissing her on her mouth then.

When they broke the kiss, a few petals from the honeysuckles floated off the necklace, some landing on the floor of the tower, some blowing out into the open.

"Aw, hell…You ruined yer necklace," Daryl said, still holding Grace in his arms. "Took me a whole…five minutes to make that for ya." He grinned and Grace giggled at his teasing.

"Listen, uh, Grace," Daryl said. "I gotta tell ya: Rick knows about us. He came to my cell and we got to be talkin' and I needed somebody to talk to and he was there. I hope ya don't mind none; I'm sure he won't tell."

Grace scoffed. "Well, that explains why he keeps looking at me the way he does at dinner!" She laughed and said: "Nah, I trust Rick, too. He won't tell anybody."

He won't have to tell with the way the others are catching on… She thought, amused.

She reached up and gently ran her fingers through his hair all the while still keeping her eyes on his, not wanting to look away, never wanting to look away.

He took her hand in his, brought to his lips and kissed it. He continued to hold her hand as he spoke:

"Whenever ya wanna tell e'm…it'll be OK. I don't really care anymore and I don't think they's gonna care neither..well, maybe they might…hell, I don't know but I know I don't care -"

Grace put a finger on Daryl's lips to hush him. "Relax, Daryl. It's OK…we don't have to tell 'em anything right away… and they're smart folks…I'm sure they can figure it out for themselves."

She gave him a sly grin and added: "Let's let 'em guess for awhile, eh?"

Daryl smiled. "I can do that."

Grace leaned in and kissed him again. They stood there, lips locked and arms around each other, with the sound of gentle rain falling and the scent of honeysuckle lingering in the air.

They took it slow, not only when they released each other and climbed down out of the tower to walk back inside the prison, but with each other - one day at a time. They kept their budding romance quiet, as they agreed to, and let the others in the group gradually discover it on their own. It was accepted neither with celebration or condemnation but with an overall mutual understanding.

Sometimes Grace wanted speed things up with Daryl; she had a desire to finish what they had started in the storm cellar that night; a desire to have a passionate love affair like Glenn and Maggie but ultimately she was satisfied with the pace they were going. Grace told herself even though the world was what it was now: hurried, fickle, act-now-think-later; she was glad to have something that was steady, deliberate, one-step-at-a-time. Even though nothing was guaranteed anymore; anything and everything could change at a blink of an eye; at least his and hers love for one another would remain constant, unchanging - kind of like the Georgia rain.

The End.

First of all - OMG, I actually finished a story! Honestly, that never happens. :P

Lots and lots of thank yous and kisses to everybody that reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. Thanks for taking the time to read it and give feedback - it really means a lot to me.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. :)