~Frankie's POV~

It was nice here. It was nice to feel safe and out of harm's way.

I knew that Clyde had meant to open the gates and almost kill all of us. I didn't know about Rebel's group, but my guess was that they were the reason Clyde had released the walkers into the neighborhood.

The neighborhood where we were safe. Where nothing could get us besides squirrels and bunnies. Clyde had ruined it and there was no way she did it for our own good.

It was her fault.

It was her fault I had felt scared. Her fault we were on the run. It was her fault that I had almost died. It was her fault that I had needles sticking out of my arms and I felt cold and dizzy all the time.

I had woken up when Clyde and the Governor had kissed and it was utterly disgusting seeing that side of her. I had seen her seductive ways, but each of those times it was out of protection for me, Peter or all of us.

"How are you feeling?" Clyde asked me.

"Fine, I'm kind of cold though." I whispered, not being able to do anything else.

Clyde pushed a small button on the side of the wall and moments later a small, plump woman came in from the door.

"Yes?" she asked rather harshly.

"He's cold," Clyde snapped.

The doctor gave her a curt nod and scurried out of the room. Her arms were crossed and her glasses were slipping down her nose constantly.

Clyde placed her hand on my arm and gave me a reassuring pat. She smiled at me and the doctor came back in a rush, carrying a small pile of blankets with her.

She handed them to Clyde and Clyde spread one across my legs and wrapped the other around my shoulders, skirting around the IV that was stuck in my arm, letting cold fluid flow through my veins.

It wasn't the reason I was cold though. Even if I felt safe here, something about this place made me feel empty and desolate inside. When I told Clyde I was cold, I meant I didn't want to stay here.

I wanted to find Rebel's group and stay with her. I had overheard that they were in a prison and a war was starting soon. Clyde wasn't protecting me anymore; she was just protecting herself.

Sure, in the beginning I had trusted her, but now, I wasn't so sure.

Rebel was always around when I was growing up. She and Yasmine were best friends and she didn't treat me like Clyde did; like a little brother.

Rebel didn't do that. She treated me like an actual being. She treated me like I was an independent being that could take care of himself. She didn't tell me what to do or tease me about my toys, she treated me like an equal.

Rebel treated me like I mattered.

"Clyde? Can you take this thing out of my arm? It hurts," I whined.

"Of course," Clyde smiled at me.

She tugged on the clear, plastic tube and it fell out of my arm instantly, leaving only a small hole in my skin and a small amount of blood.

The monitor behind me started beeping and the doctor rushed in, her eyes widening. When she saw me, alive and healthy, she slumped her shoulders and stalked out of the room.

"Would you mind hanging out with Peter for a little bit? I have some business to attend to." Clyde asked and explained.

I nodded and followed her out of the room, my hospital gown fluttering with the slightest of movements. I still had the thick, cotton blanket wrapped around my shoulders and I gripped it tightly, appreciating the safety that it held.

When we stepped out of the door, sunlight hit my face and showered over me, burning my eyes and making black spots dot my vision.

"You okay there, Frankie?" Clyde asked me, keeping a steady hand on my shoulder. I nodded and followed her down the street, keeping close to her.

The people of Woodbury surprised me. They looked normal and care-free, like they had nothing in the world to worry about.

It was like one of those cheesy sit-coms that came on late at night before the apocalypse hit. It almost made me sick how white their smiles were and how perfectly their clothes matched.

Peter was sitting on a wooden bench reading a book a few yards away and I walked slowly, making sure it didn't look like I was in a hurry to get to him.

He knew of my plan and he was in on it as well. Clyde had been treating him like a pet that she could push around and he was sick of it.

He also knew that Clyde was twisting his mind, making him believe things that weren't true. In secret, I had shared everything that happened between him and Rebel (that I knew of) and he had grown to love her even more.

It was no longer a sick, creepy kind of love. It was a protecting, brother-sister type love. He claimed no romantic feelings with her, all he wanted was her safety.

Peter looked up from his book and smiled, shoving a bookmark between the pages and then setting it beside him.

"I'll be back in an hour or two." Clyde said, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

As soon as she was out of sight, I scrubbed my hand up and down on my forehead furiously, trying to get her lady germs off of me.

Peter chuckled and ruffled my hair, making me shoot him a dirty look. He got up from the bench and started to lead me down the streets of Woodbury.

People looked at us funny and some kids were even brave enough to wave at us, but all I did was ignore them.

We were leaving anyways.

Peter grabbed my hand and lifted me on to his back. He jogged the remainging street and straight up to the gate. Armed guards turned towards us and one of them even raised their gun.

Peter held up his hands in mock surrender, "We're leaving,"

"Does your girl know about this?" The one with the gun asked.

"She doesn't. But, she isn't going to find out, either. My son and I will be on our way, please, open the gates." Peter informed him.

The beefiest one nodded and swung the wooden gates open. Gasps were heard on the streets and all the people behind us looked shocked that we were leaving Woodbury to travel on the road.

"Any idea where you're going?" The gun-man asked.

"Just on the road." Peter lied.

The man believed him and nodded his head, gesturing with his arm to leave. Peter tugged on my hand and I shuffled out behind him.

Right as they began to close, I saw her. Clyde was running down the street, trying to stop the gates, but we were already gone.

I heard her screaming for me and cursing Peter, but none of that changed the fact that I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to be with her.

Rogue walkers stumbled out of the trees and scattered towards us, but they were too slow, usually they had missing limps or their jaw was gone.

"It's a straight shot, buddy. We'll find them." Peter assured me as we walked through the forest.

All was quiet and only the occasional walker came at us. Peter would knife them or I would shoot them with the gunshot muffler.

Darkness was falling and if we didn't get to the prison soon, we would have almost no chance of surviving. Darkness brought uncertainty and it obscured our vision, giving the walkers a higher chance of taking one or both of us down.

I was beginning to worry that we would have to camp in the trees, or much worse, on the ground. It was dusk already and I could hear the faintest growls of the walkers.

"I see it." Peter whispered to me.

I perked up and followed his finger to where he was pointing through the trees. I didn't know how I didn't see it earlier, it was huge.

Chain link fences barred a straight path and cement block buildings were rising out with the occasional guard tower peaking out between them.

"Walkers," I muttered, pointing at the fence.

There were clumps of walkers every few hundred yards and if we could get a straight shot, we would be home free. There was a man, woman and child in the first row of fences. They were doing the job of a guard, taking out the sporadic walker.

"Come on!" Peter urged me, dragging me through the trees a bit farther.

We stood on the tree line together, waiting for them to notice us so we wouldn't draw attention. The man and child I didn't recognize, but the woman was all too familiar.

Rebel was leaning against the guard tower door and she was picking at her nails with the tip of an arrow, something she did even before the outbreak.

Peter's jaw was tense and his grip on the dagger was making his knuckles white. I didn't understand why he was so mad until I looked back at them.

The kid was gone and the man was kissing Rebel. It was short, but it was enough to piss him off greatly. He charged out of the trees and I was stumbling after him.

I could hear Rebel's gasps and the man's grunt from where I was taking out walker after walker. I heard the gate rolling open and I backed into it, stabbing or shooting any walker that got too close.

"Frankie?" Rebel asked me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I turned and looked up into her large, blue doe eyes. At that moment, all my barriers came down. Tears flowed freely and I started sobbing right in front of her.

I felt her arms wrap around me and I cried into her stomach since I wasn't tall enough to reach her shoulder. She was rubbing her hand up and down my back, cooing sweet nothings into my ear.

Running on gravel reached my ears and I peeked through the gap between Rebel's arms. The sheriff and the Korean man were running towards us and I whimpered and buried my face back into the cotton of Rebel's shirt.

"What's going on? Peter? What are you doing here? Is that Frankie? Where's Clyde?" he fired question after question towards us and I started to cry again at the malice in his voice.

"We left Clyde. They're at a town called Woodbury and the Governor is planning to attack you. We were wondering if you had room for at least Frankie." Peter answered all of his questions.

Rick nodded, "Of course. You are both welcome here."

Peter looked relieved and I felt Rebel pick me up. She started to carry me, but I didn't look up to see where we were going.

The sun disappeared and I felt cool air tingle my skin. I felt sleepy and my head was getting dizzy. I was beginning to feel like I did before Woodbury and I knew it wouldn't be long until I passed out again.

"Frankster, please stay awake. We don't have the medicine to treat you." Rebel chided me, shining a flashlight in my eyes.

I nodded my head and struggled to get out of Rebel's arms. If she was going to hold me I was going to fall asleep.

"Go with Hershel. He's going to help you." Rebel told me, pointing at the veterinarian from the farm.

I nodded my head again and followed Hershel through the cells and sat on the bottom bunk of a thin, hard bed with a scratchy cotton sheet over it.

"You do know Rebel loves him, right?" Hershel asked me, referring to the man with the crossbow. Daryl, I think his name was.

"Yeah, I don't understand why though. She has Saxon and Peter and then there's him." I muttered, letting him feed me a thick liquid.

"Love works in mysterious ways."

~Rebel's POV~ Flashback.

"Cus I love ye'."

I twisted in Daryl's arms and looked up at his face. He had a determined look in his eyes and the way he was looking at me was like I was the most important thing in the world.

"You what?" I asked, desblief coloring my voice in shades of confusion.

Daryl's hold on my dropped and he stood from the bed, leaving me alone in the cell. Emptiness filled me and I ran after him, not wanting to lose him again.

"Daryl! Wait!" I yelled, nearly tripping down the stairs of the cell block.

I put my hand on his shoulder, but he just shrugged it off and continued walking. We had attracted the attention of the group, but I hardly noticed them.

"Daryl!" I wasted no time, "I love you."

Daryl stopped walking and turned back towards me. He started to stalk towards me like a predator does its prey and he stopped right in front of me, cupping his hand on my face.

The kiss he gave me was almost too light. I hardly felt his touch and I pressed my face agaisnt his even more, wanting something deeper.

He grunted and pulled away, a light shade of pink covering his face. His arm had wrapped around my lower back and one of his hands was pressed firmly against the small of my back, sending sparks through my body.

Slowly, the group started to applaud. Blush covered my face and I looked down, twisting my combat boot ever so slightly.

Daryl gripped my chin and forced me to look up into his eyes. Millions of shades of blues swirled around in his eyes and I took the time to notice just how captivating his eyes really were.

"Get some!" Merle yelled, banging his metal wrist on the bars.

I blushed even deeper and pressed my face into the side of Daryl's neck, feeling the vibration of his throaty chuckle against my face.

I felt the pressure of his hands against the small of my back again and I molded my body to his even more than the position we were in before.

I heard people come up to us, congratulate me and then pat Daryl on the back and say a raunchy comment just loud enough for me to overhear even if I wasn't trying.

"Alrigh'. Thas enough." Daryl muttered, pushing back whoever came towards us next.

He placed one of his hands under my knees and I felt myself being lifted into the air. I felt Daryl chuckling again as I covered my head into dirty t-shirt.

I shivered as cool air set in, goosebumps raising on my arms and the uncovered parts of my legs. Wearing shorts and a tank top was never the brightest idea.

"Yer cold." Daryl pointed out as he settled me on the bed of his cell.

"I'm fine." I muttered, using the sheets to cover my legs a bit.

Daryl removed his angel-wing vest and wrapped it around my shoulders. Even if it didn't have sleeves, it made me feel warmer than it should have.

"Thanks," I smiled at him, and flopped against the single bed.

Daryl kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt, turning away and giving me a clear sight of his muscular, tattooed back.

I raked my eyes down the flesh. I frowned as I saw thin, pink scars scattered around his back. I climbed out of bed and ran my fingers down the raised parts of flesh. Daryl tensed and spun around, grabbing my wrists.

"Daryl," I whispered.

"Don't. Not now." Daryl muttered and loosened his grip on my wrists.

"When?" I asked him, keeping my voice low.

"Not now." he replied.

"Will you tell me sometime?" I asked him, looking up at him with wide doe eyes.

He nodded and laid me back down on the bed, pulling me into his arms. I rested my head on his chest and huddled close to him on the narrow single bed.

"I love you." I whispered, falling asleep to his muttered response of "I love ye' too."

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This chapter is dedicated to TheWalkingDeadGirl because she has an amazing story called Stuck With Him and you should totally check it out because it is so well written and it is absolutely perfect.

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