Suddenly...Gone

Chapter 21

It was after dinner and Emma was cleaning up in the kitchen that she thought about how much her life had changed so quickly. She went from not having anything at all and being alone, even with the Saviors she still felt alone, to finding the man she never thought she would ever see again and living in conditions she never thought possible. She was beyond happy.

As she put away the last plate, Michonne popped into the kitchen. "Do you think Daryl's up for a visit?" she asked?

"Definitely. He's getting stronger all the time. I suspect tomorrow morning his shoulder will still hurt, but he'll be up and around on his own," Emma told her.

"Good. I'll get Rick, and we'll come by the room, okay?"

"Yeah. I'll go make sure he's decent. He could use another distraction besides me," Emma said. "See ya in a bit." Emma went upstairs and was surprised to find Daryl sitting on the sofa dressed in pants and an open shirt. She had left him relaxing on the bed in his boxers.

"You made it on your own! How unsteady were you?" she asked sitting next to him. The last thing she needed was him to fall.

Daryl hated to be treated like a baby, and that's exactly what she was doing. "Em, I'm not a fuckin' kid...you need to stop babying me so much."

Emma realized that was exactly what she was doing, but she just wanted him safe. "You are right. I'm sorry, but I can't help worrying. Daryl, you were unconscious for a long time this morning, so I'm a little overprotective. Forgive me?" she asked him with a pretty little pout.

"Course," he told her dropping a light lingering kiss on her lips.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Emma said we could drop by," came a voice from the doorway. Rick and Michonne stood there grinning at them.

"Rick turned to Michonne, "I'd say he's definitely feeling better."

"A lot better," she laughed.

They made themselves comfortable on the floor, and the conversation flowed easily between the three old friends. Emma just sat back and listened. Daryl hadn't any friends back when they were together. He had always told her that Merle's behavior would eventually drive them away and since he was new to the area when he moved in, he hadn't had any time to make friends, except with her. Once they became a couple, he didn't need anyone else. This was interesting for Emma to see Daryl interact with Rick and Michonne. She could tell that they friendship was strong.

Rick caught Daryl up on what was going on in Alexandria. He also brought up what they needed to do before the Saviors came. "Tomorrow we need to strategize," Rick said. "Negan going to arrive at the gate soon and we're not giving him half of our stuff. We just need to for them to believe that it's half."

"We need to hide guns and ammo for sure," suggested Daryl. "And not where they are going to find it. Put them someplace they would never think to look. Maybe in walls or under floorboards or some shit like that."

"Good idea. I'll ask Abe..." Rick caught himself. It was automatic to think of Abraham for this. He was good with construction and in fact led the crews that did that type of work around the community. However, he was dead now. "Tobin, I'll ask Tobin what he thinks."

The air hung heavy with the loss of their friend. Abraham would be missed in so many ways. Michonne was the first to speak, breaking the silence. She turned to Emma who had been quiet during their exchange. "So Emma, how did you meet Daryl?"

Emma flashed a smile at Daryl. "We were neighbors at the trailer park where we lived. He and Merle moved in right next door to me, and a couple weeks later he was hanging his clothes in my closet. I never did get him to leave after that night he followed me home after work," she teased.