Complicated ✔

Ch. 56 - Forgiven

KATHRYN'S POV

Not long after Daryl left me alone to my thoughts, a commotion could be heard down in the main part of the cell block as people began running out. Not hearing the sounds of gun fire, I made my way out onto the landing and then down the stairs when I heard people coming back into the cell block. "What's going on," I asked confused as I entered the commons area with Hershel, my hand on my side as I looked around to see a familiar face I hadn't seen since we lost the farm.

Andrea, she stood there hugging Carol as the rest of the group spread out around her. When she looked up, she spotted me and Hershel side by side staring at her. "Hershel," she said peering at the older man beside me, "my God, what happened. And to you Kathryn? You got shot again?" "Yeah," I said glaring at her, "by your boyfriend or one of his minions back where you've been staying." "I had no idea," she said looking around at the rest of the group, "I came as soon as I found out that you had been in Woodbury."

"That was weeks ago," Glenn said as he walked near me to stand by my side and placing himself between me and Daryl. I watched as she grimaced and looked around at the goup of people in the cell block that were around  back when we were on the farm. "Where's Shane," she asked looking around as I felt myself stiffen at the name. From the side of my vision, just past Glenn, I could see Daryl move himself closer to me. Even after everything that's happened to us the past 24 hours or so, he's still protective over me when it comes to what that man tried to do to me back on the farm. And that's why it's not hard for me to forgive and forget him leaving.

Taking my right hand and wrapping it around my stomach so that my hand itself rested on the new bullet wound, I looked over to where Daryl stood with his ever present crossbow resting on his shoulder. Seeming to have sensed me looking over in his direction, he turned his blue eyes to look at me. His stare to anyone else might've seemed cold, but even from where I stood at I could tell hidden deep in his eyes that he was hurting over the outcome for what'd happened between us after he left with his brother. Without saying a word to him, I smiled slightly at him and nodded.

He watched me a second before he turned back to face the events happening around us with Andrea's return. He didn't smile, didn't act like he knew why I was nodding to him, just turned back to the others. Letting out a quiet sigh, I turned back to face the group as well to see just what it was that Andrea had to say. I tuned back in to the conversation in time to hear them talking about this Governor again with Andrea. "He shot one of the inmates that had survived in here," Hershel said to her and immediately I remembered what Dad had said about Oscar being shot and killed when they were trying to get away.

"We liked him," Daryl said as I looked over to him to see him sit down on the edge of one of the tables in the room we were in, "he was one of us." "And then Kathryn got shot when he came knocking at our front door," Dad said as I watched him motion to where I stood. Andrea looked over to me and I felt another pair of eyes on me off to my side. Looking over, I noticed it was Daryl who was looking at me. Smiling weakly at him, I excuse myself from the others and make my way back to where the cells were, going straight to my cell up on the upper balcony.

DARYL'S POV

It wasn't long after Kat left before Rick ended the discussion we were having with Andrea. As everyone dispursed, I looked around for Kat. I guess she'd snuck past me after everyone started moving around again because I couldn't find her in the cell block. Confused, I decided to walk outside into the courtyard and have a look around. When I was getting ready to head back in after not seeing her walking around, I happened to look up and catch movement up in the same towere she'd entered when we first took this prison, and when she and I took another step in whatever kind of relationship it was that we had.

Placing my crossbow onto my shoulder, I entered into the tower and then began climbing my way up to the upper balcony. When my feet were on the floor to the upper part, I looked around before spotting the red head just outside the door and sitting on the floor to the ledge and staring out into the now infested field. Neither of us said a word as I took a seat beside her. It remained silent between us for a few more minutes before I finally looked over at her as she just continued to stare straight ahead.

"Ever since that night," she said finally, "when Shane attempted to rape me in the barn right after we found out about Sophia, you never said a word the day after. You just let me follow you around like a little lost puppy and I told you I felt like I was just a pain to you." "I quickly told you that you weren't," I said looking at her, "you've never been one. Even from day one when you threatened me when I attempted you beat your dad's ass." "You remember that," she asked, a smile gracing her face since she noticed my return. "Yeah," I said smiling back at her as she looked to me finally, "I do."

Her smile suddenly dropped though as she continued to stare at me, causing my own smile to fall as I wondered what was going through that head of hers. "I don't blame you for leaving Daryl," she said as she looked back out to the field again, "he was your brother. And family's important. I know that probably better than anyone else here. I'd do anything for Dad or Carl, or Judith now." "What are you getting at," I asked earning a shrug. "You came back," she said, "even if it was after I got shot and you broke that same promise again. But you came back all the same. I forgive you Daryl."

I watched her as she peered up at me, that same small smile on her face as her eyes told me that she really was telling the truth about forgiving me. Without hesitation, I placed my hand closest to her on the back of her neck and brought her lips to mine for a quick and rough kiss. I'm sure if Merle could see me now, and knew that I had waited for her forgiveness for leaving, I'm sure he'd call me whipped. Pushing that thought from my head, I pulled back from her and watched as she continued to smile back up at me. "Let's get you back inside before your dad thinks something happened while you're injured," I said as I stood up then helped her up and back down to the ground.