7. Chapter 7 (1/1)

leah was pinning him down with her body while she held his arms down to his sides, smiling the sweetest smile. she was so close to his face that her hair tickled his skin and he could take in her scent. it hadn't changed at all."hi", she said."it's really you", daryl

eathed barely audible, drinking in her features, her skin, her moony gaze."yeah", she replied, pulling back to give him some space. when she slowly let go of his wrists he craved her touch instantly. "you were tossing and turning", she observed quietly, "sorry to squash you but it was all i could do to keep you from hurting yourself."daryl stared at her bleary-eyed, trying to asses leah's condition. all in all she seemed okay, hadn't even aged over the years. but she also looked weary and troubled and daryl had the feeling it was not only because of him lying in a hospital bed."you okay?", he rasped"i am now." she got up and went to check the dressing wrapped around his mid-section. the two of them absorbed each others presence in silence for a few minutes, until daryl spoke up again."where are we? what is this place?""it's a camp", she replied, "has been military before the apocalypse. this is an infirmary container, it's the closest you get to a hospital these days."with a grunt daryl rose up first onto his elbows, then worked himself into a sitting position. his face scrunched up when a wave of pain hit and reminded him why he was in here in the first place. leah made a move to push him back, but he shook his head."nah", he protested, "i'm good."this whole lying around stuff was bugging him. he needed to get on his feet, be ready, no matter how hard it was. he took a few deep

eaths until the room stopped spinning. "you've been ... here? all those years?"leah didn't answer right away. she held daryl's gaze for a long moment and nodded. he mirrored her nod in a gesture of confirmation, then lowered his eyes and picked at his thumbnail."i came back for you, you know?", he stated quietly."you did?", she asked in a whisper and again he shook his head yes."even left you a message."leah sank down onto the bed next to daryl's. "i never returned to the cabin.""i know." he looked up at her and tilted his head slightly. "couldn't have given me a sign that you're still alive?", he asked, the question holding a lot more hurt and disappointment than he had intended to show.her expression hardened and she stared at him. "you really think i left the cabin to annoy you?"he shrugged. "i don't. but it sure as hell feels like it."she let out a short humorless laugh. "may i remind you that you've been the one who left?", she asked, eyeing him with the ultimate you've-got-to-be-kidding-me-look'. "since that damn morning you walked away from me there hasn't been one single day i haven't thought of you, daryl." leah got up and started to pace. "i could ask you the same thing. why didn't you come looking for me? you've been searching for your dead

other for years out there, but couldn't have given a damn about searching for me?""who says i didn't?""because i know you would've found me.""because it worked so well with finding my

other."she was about to reply, but the words got stuck in her throat. her mouth shut with an audible click. daryl watched the tremble of her lower lip and felt instantly miserable. she had a point. he knew that."you were the one who left", she choked out, repeating her words from earlier, upset and confused."i know", daryl said softly, "and i'm sorry for that." he reached out to her. "c'mere."leah hesitated. she wiped her eyes angrily before she finally took his outstretched hand and let herself pull closer again until she sat down by his bedside."will you tell me what happened?", he asked, scooting over to make some room for her. he knew he had a way too strong hold of her fingers and under normal circumstances he probably would've crushed them to dust. but with his strength still cut back to somewhere between a baby and a toddler he knew there were no worries.as if she needed the closeness as much as he did, she lay down, careful not to jostle daryl's injury or the venous access, and pressed her back against him in a fetal position. he wrapped his arm around her, felt her trembling, and held her tight, burying his face into the incredibly long hair."they came at night, a few days after you left", leah began, "they were looking for shelter and found my cabin. four men, all armed. i was awake, i should've noticed them. dog did, but i had ... well ... i had many bad nights after you were gone. sat at the window, stared at matthews grave, holding his picture. from dusk until dawn. i didn't listen to dog's warnings. told him to shut up. i was angry at him for barking and going nuts. by the time i got out of my stupor it was too late. so those men came in, i gave them a hard time, but ... well. one against four."she stopped and sniffed. daryl felt the tension in her body subside, as if talking about it helped."i managed to send dog away. told him to run and hide and prayed he'd do what he was told. two of them followed him, i heard gun shots. i was so scared they'd killed him." she rolled her head towards daryl. "how did you ... ?""he seemed to have done exactly what he's been told to", he assured, "run and hide. when i came back to the cabin he came out of nowhere."the smile that formed on leah's face was short-lived."they blindfolded me and

ought me here. for the first weeks they put me into some kind of cell. tortured me. questioned me. i wanted to die. they said no one would come to save me because they've killed every living thing within a radius of 100 miles. i thought they got you, too, i thought you were dead."she started to cry. the sobs shook her whole body and daryl just held on tighter, rage and hatred blazing up inside of him."so when craig started to show interest in me, i stopped fighting. i knew nothing was left for me out there, so i played along. they let me out and i became the chief's woman." she gently turned around to face him. "i'm a prisoner here, daryl", she whispered, "i appear to be the first lady with all privileges, but i'm a damn prisoner. and every time i tried to flee, every time i fought back, i had to face consequences. awful ones. so one day, i just stopped."daryl closed his eyes. when he'd manage to get his hands on that asshole, he'd rip him apart."i'm sorry", he said and wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb. "i could've fought them off. i should have been there with you. i'm sorry i left. this is my fault.""none of this is your fault", leah shook her head vehemently, "even with you around ... they would've killed you, just like that, there's nothing you could've done."daryl wasn't convinced, but decided to let it go. what had happened couldn't be changed. but what was about to happen, lay in their hands."i'll get us out", he stated, "both of us."leah's eyes widened. "daryl. you can barely stand upright ...""i'll get better.""you haven't even seen the camp. it's a fortress. and craig ...""hey", daryl stopped her, cupping her face in his hand. "you remember what you asked me before i left? about choosing where i belong?"leah didn't answer and just blinked at him."with you", he answered for her, "i always belonged with you. it was my mistake to question this. i'll make this right, i'll get us outta here. promise."with that he leaned in and captured her mouth with his before she was able to reply. a timid kiss, a careful approach to find out about her feelings towards him after the long time they had been separated. however, his worries were without any reason. leah responded with similar caution, welcoming him, exploring something she had missed for the longest time."and this is the farthest i let this happen", a voice rang out from the entrance, interrupting their tentative get together. they both jerked apart, tearing their heads up."doctor's orders, you two." eva stood just inside the door and couldn't fully hide the smile on her face. "sorry to interrupt, but we don't need our patient to overexert himself here."leah let out a relieved laughter that felt like a soothing balm on daryl's troubled mind. she was right – he wasn't strong enough yet. but he would use the time he needed to heal to get ready. he would get them out, even if it was the last thing he would do.