3rd person pov
Daryl almost couldn't believe it to be true. Bending down to her level, he placed his shaking hands under her chin and turned her head towards him. He was holding his breath as her head turned way too easily towards him. For a second he was scared she had died right there, but when she was fully turned towards him now, her eyes had to adjust to the light, but when she saw him she smiled. She didn't know if it was truly him or not, she actually thought she may be dead and if this is what heaven looked like she'd be fine with it. His heart started to pound as he looked at her pale skin, she had a cut on the side off her head, but he didn't see any scratches or bites. He mentally thanked T-Dog for that. She may not have been injured physically, but she was far from ok. She had to have been dehydrated, probably starving. When her head started to slump down and her eyes started to close, he quickly pushed her chin up gently to look at him. She opened her eyes slightly as he whispered,
"Don't you close them eyes girl."
It was hard, but she nodded. She was physically exhausted and they both knew that if she closed her eyes now she might not wake up. Daryl slung his crossbow behind him quickly and placed his arms under her legs and under her upper body picking her up. She was way too light, lighter than she normally is and this scared daryl worse than any situation life has thrown at him. Quickly he made his way back to the cell block with Mae in his arms. Once entering the cell block, he looked around desperately for any of the others. Curious to see no one. Looking down, he watched as Mae struggled to keep her eyes open. Her whole body was hurting, but she was fighting to keep daryl from worrying. It wasn't working though, daryl could tell she was struggling. He brought her to the closest cell which conveniently belonged to Hershel and lay her on the cot. She hissed as she maneuvered from his arms, but relaxed when she felt the soft cushion under her. Daryl looked down at her as she looked up at him with her bright green eyes. She was pale as a ghost, dirt and dried blood covered her, but those bright eyes never changed. She smiled lightly at him. Both were afraid they would never see the other again. She should've known that daryl wouldn't have let her go missing without looking for her. Daryl still felt like this was all a dream that she was here. She was alive. He placed a hand on her cheek and this sent electricity through her body. Almost forgetting the pain she was in. She brought her hand up and covered his as she smiled at him. This brought a smile to his face as he brought his lips to hers gently. Her lips were dry, but the spark that went through him didn't change. Once he pulled away, he quickly grabbed the water bottle that was on Hershel's table and handed it to her. It was almost like life was brought back to her as the cold liquid went down her throat. Daryl watched her as she pretty much drained the water bottle in seconds. Once she finished, she smiled and said,
"Thanks"
Her voice was a little scratchy, but her throat felt better than it had in days. Daryl nodded,
"I'll get ya some more."
She nodded as he left and was back in seconds with more water. She took the bottle from him gratefully as he looked around with the uneasy feeling of not knowing where the others were. Mae chuckled and daryl looked back at her confused.
"Go find them"
He looked at her uneasily causing her to chuckle,"I'll still be here when you get back"
This brought a small smile to his face as he nodded. He bent down and gave her a gentle kiss again before heading to find the others. He found it hard to breathe when he wasn't around her. He needed to find the others and get back to her and fast. Hearing voices coming from the cafeteria, he made his way in seeing the group surrounded by an unknown woman on the ground. No one really even noticed he was there.
"You wanna tell us your name?" Rick asked the stranger who said nothing.
Rick sighed and looked back to his group seeing the hopeless look in their eyes. Noticing daryl for the first time in the back, he got to his feet and looked down at the woman again,
"You wanna tell us your name?"
Daryl was growing increasingly more impatient every second,"Y'all come on in here."
"Everything all right?" Rick asked.
Daryl nodded,"You're gonna wanna see this."
Rick saw the seriousness In Daryl's eyes and looked around the group. Each of their eyes questioning him on what they should do.
"Go ahead. Carl, get the bag." Rick instructed his son before turning back to the woman,
"We'll keep this safe and sound. The doors are all locked. You'll be safe here. And we can treat that." He said gesturing to her wound.
"I didn't ask for your help." The woman spat.
" Doesn't matter. Can't let you leave." Rick said before following daryl.
Rick found himself very curious as to why daryl was so urgently storming ahead of him and why he need him at this very minute. There was a stranger among them and he felt threatened. Daryl led them into Hershel's cell and stopped outside the cell. Rick looked at daryl confused, but walked into the cell. His heart pounded when he saw someone sitting on the cot. It was too dark to see who though. As he walked in closer, Mae made her way I to the light causing Rick to pause. His heart pounded as he saw Mae make it to her feet. It was like he was starring at a ghost. He thought he lost both Lori and Mae, but now here she was. Mae struggled to her feet but once she made it Rick couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears fell for his eyes as he hugged her tightly,
"Oh, God. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God."
She had tears falling down her cheeks as well as she gripped tightly onto the man who was like a brother to her in so many ways. Rick pulled away feeling like he was dreaming, but ran a hand through her hair and brought his lips to her forehead. He couldn't believe she was real. Turning around, everyone's eyes widened when they saw Mae. Especially Georgie. She cried out loud and ran inside tackling Mae I to a huge embrace. Mae held the crying girl tightly as others made their way in to see her. Rick wiped his eyes before turning to daryl,
" How?"
"Solitary. Poor thing fought her way into a cell. Must have passed out. Dehydrated." Daryl said.
Beth made her way into the cell holding the newborn baby. Mae's eyes widened at the child and a huge smile spread across her face. She was so happy for Rick, but where was Lori? She looked over at Rick and ricks lips began to quiver again. Realization came over Mae and she gently maneuvered away from Georgie and brought Rick into a tight embrace as he cried into her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. Oh, God" she whispered.
A few hours passed since the emotional reunion. Everyone decided it would be best for her if she got some rest and that would give them some time to find out more about their guest. Hershel had made sure Mae was alright and other than dehydration, she should be fine. Mae moved back to her cell later that night. So many things were going through her mind. The torture of the past few days. The people they lost. T's death. That's all she could see was T's final moments. She found herself playing with her necklace as she fought back the tears. She would never hear his stupid jokes again, she would never see his bright smile in the morning anymore, and most importantly she would never see him again. He was gone and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty because of it.
"Hey"
She jumped when she saw daryl standing in the cell door way holding the baby. She quickly blinked back the tears and forced a smile on her face. He sat next her on the cot as she admired the child.
"You want to hold her?" He asked.
She nodded and took the small child in her arms. A new overwhelming feeling of protectiveness and warmth ran through her. A new hope brought to this hell. Daryl starred at the woman and the child. His heart pounding looking at them. This was something he would never want to forget. He loved this scene. He could only wonder if ever he would be looking at her holding his child.
"You're good with her" daryl said.
She chuckled,"I always loved kids"
He found himself growing nervous as he gulped. He bit his thumb nervously as he asked the next question,
"Did you ever want kids"
She smiled as the little girls small hand wrapped around her index finger,"yea...I just never thought I'd find someone that would want to have them with me.....or if I'd live to get to have one"
Daryl's stomach dropped and burned in anger just thinking about her dick of a father.
"Does she have a name?" She asked.
"Not yet...officially that is. I've been callin her little asskicker" he said.
She laughed,"you would....it does fit her though"
He nodded,"it does."
It was quiet for a moment and then Mae said,"I always thought that if I did have a kid...it would be a little boy"
This sparked Daryl's interest,"oh yea?"
She smiled,"yea...I pictured him looking just like his dad, have his hair, everything but his eyes would be bright green just like mine"
He watched as the baby started to fall asleep in her arms. His heart feeling like it was going to pop out of his chest.
"What would his name be?" He asked.
She looked up from the baby for the first times seeing the true interest in Daryl's eyes. She smiled,
"Logan"
He nodded,"I like it"
This brought a wide smile to her face and she felt herself blushing. At first she thought that ever having a child would be just a fantasy for her, but daryl was looking at her differently now. Could her and daryl ever have kids? Would he want to? Shaking the thoughts out of her head she noticed the baby was now asleep in her arms. Smiling over at daryl, he kissed her forehead gently savoring this moment.