AUTHORS NOTE: I am deeply excited to be back and to write again but understand the reluctunce of the community to trust me. More details can be found on my profile but I hope they can accept my deepest apologies and that I can turn my writing and reputation around but becoming productive.
Summary: When Rick and Daryl along with the group arrive at the Greene farm, they aren't expecting to bump into two familiar young who have pasts with them. Daryl and Bailey Greene find that their feelings have changed for each other but with Bailey carrying a painful secret, can Daryl mend her heart. Rick reunites with his old friend Anna who changes his and Carl's world for the better. Rick/OC, Daryl/OC, Beth/Merle. Co - Written With NadWri.
Starring Cast.
Daryl Dixon – Norman Reedus.
Bailey Greene – Anna Kendrick
Merle Dixon - Michael Rooker.
Beth Greene – Emily Kinney.
Rick Grimes – Andrew Lincoln.
Anna Johnson – Alona Tal
Carl Grimes – Chandler Riggs.
Judith Sophia Grimes – Mackenzie Fry.
Carol Peletier – Melissa McBride.
Sophia Peletier – Madison Lintz.
Andrea Harper – Laurie Holden.
Lori Grimes - Sarah Wayne Callies.
Carl Grimes – Chandler Riggs.
Judith Anne Grimes – Mackenzie Fry.
Shane Walsh – Jon Bernthal.
Phillip Blake – David Morrissey.
Dale Horvath - Jeffrey DeMunn
Michonne – Danai Gurira.
T- Dog – IronE Singleton
Hershel Greene - Scott Wilson.
Glenn Rhee - Steven Yeun.
Maggie Greene – Lauren Cohan.
Morgan Jones - Lennie James
Duane Jones - Adrian Kali Turner.
Somebody To Die For
Chapter 1
Bailey Isabelle Greene sat uneasily in the warm living room of her uncle's farmhouse. Despite her happiness that the girl Patricia had found behind the house was not bitten, and completely safe, she found herself worrying about the young boy who was bleeding out from a gunshot in one of their bedrooms as her best friend Anna tended to him along with her uncle Hershel.
To say that they were shocked to see Sheriff Rick Grimes carrying his unconscious son through their fields to their farmhouse would be an understatement. Learning that it had been Otis's fault was an even bigger shock.
"You know it wasn't Otis' fault, right?" Bailey asked as she went through to the kitchen and sat at the Greene dining table, along with her good friend Patricia. Otis and his wife, Patricia had moved in with them since the world had gone to shit. And boy had it gone to shit alright. Apparently now being dead wasn't permanent, you managed to come back to life, and walk around, pretty much like a zombie. Bailey knew all too well. It had happened to her family. At least their father was keeping them around, until they found a cure for whatever this was.
"I know," Patricia replied as she took a sip from her cup of coffee. "But Otis is feeling terrible about it. It doesn't help that that boy's mother is acting awful towards him for it. I think he felt like he had no choice but to go to that school and try and help find supplies."
"Yeah, well, the sooner Uncle Hershel can fix him up, the better," Bailey said as she looked out the window
"Let's hope that Shane man brings Otis home in one piece," Patricia smiled. "Maggie said that there were more in the group. She's invited them to come here while the boy is healing. She found them in the forest when she went to pick up his mother, said there were around five or six more of them. They were staying on the highway."
Bailey sighed tiredly. "More strangers. That's just what we need."
"She said that two of the men were called Daryl Dixon and another man was called Rick Grimes." Patricia said watching as Bailey froze.
"Daryl's alive?!" She asked shocked and hopeful, she had been best friends with Daryl since she had been fifteen years old and he had been sixteen years old. There was a two year age gap between them but they hadn't let it bother them.
"Oh my god." She said as they heard cars in the distance.
They both remained in the kitchen, while Beth played in the room next door, with the little girl they had found, Sophia. They knew how dangerous it was to be around strangers these days, especially now that no one could be trusted. They heard the gate outside the house closing, before the vehicles seemed to park up outside. All she could hear so far seemed to be one car. They waited inside, until Maggie came through, with two men trailing along behind her.
There was a small Asian guy, his cheeks red, seemingly already having taken a liking to Maggie. And along with them, there was a larger black guy, who was holding something over a wound on his arm. Bailey looked up at her cousin with an eyebrow raised. "Um… Maggs? Who are these people?"
"These are the people from Rick's group; this is T-Dog, Andrea, Dale and Carol Peletier." Maggie said as they heard a motorcycle pull up beside them.
"Bailey?" Daryl asked as he saw her in front of him.
"Hello, biker boy."
T-Dog looked at them confused. "You two know each other?" he asked, looking between them. It was unusual to find someone you had known now from before the world had gone to shit.
"We're best friends, we were childhood sweethearts." Daryl said as he got off the bike and looked at her for a minute as he met her beautiful cornflower blue eyes.
"Fuck it." He said pulling her in for a hug which she happily returned.
"Carol you're daughter's safe and well." She told the woman who looked close to tears.
"Excuse me?" Carol asked, as she looked at Bailey, not quite able to believe what she had just heard. They had spent the last couple of days looking for Sophia, and all hope was starting to fade for Carol. She had thought she would never see her little girl again. But she was alive and on this farm. She felt her legs shake slightly as she struggled to stay upright.
"Come on, I'll take you to her," Patricia said softly, as she wrapped and arm around the older woman and helped her inside, glad to know they had been able to make at least one person happy today.
Suddenly, another voice came from behind them that had all the newcomers turning around, with wide eyes. "Well, if it isn't the bunch o' assholes who left me on a damn rooftop," Merle Dixon bellowed from the doorway of the Greene Household. "We got a lotta catchin' up to do."
"Merle?" Daryl asked shocked as he looked at his older brother who was missing right hand but had a saw blade over it.
"Hello, baby brother." Merle said and walked over to Daryl so he could give him a brotherly hug as the others watched and Bailey spoke then.
"Which one of you assholes panicked and left him on the roof?" She asked, her blue eyes flashing with anger.
T-Dog sighed and hung his head in shame. He would honestly have freed Merle eventually if he hadn't lost the key. "I dropped the damn key down a drain," he said quietly. "We had to go. There were walkers swarming around us everywhere."
"So you didn't think to stay with him? To keep him company, I know he's a racist ex junkie but that's no excuse to leave him to rot on the roof." She said glaring at him.
"Damn, ya woman is scary Daryl." Merle said impressed.
"She ain't my woman, Merle," Daryl said quietly, feeling his cheeks turn slightly red, knowing that the group were watching him. He wasn't good with talking about this sort of thing in public. The last time he had spoken to Bailey, she had been dating some asshole named Dave. He was probably inside the house right now, knowing his luck. "We're just friends," he added, before looking at Merle. "Come on; let's go put our tent up."
"You can take the front garden," Maggie told them. She wasn't sure how her father would feel about all these new people around the house, but she couldn't imagine how hard it was for them all out on the road. "We'll go make you all something to eat. You look like you haven't had a proper meal in ages."
They all nodded in thanks and followed after Maggie when Bailey stopped Daryl.
"I'm glad you're alright." She said softly, her eyes meeting his.
"I'm glad ya alright too, is ya husband in the house?" He asked referring to Dave.
Bailey felt her body tense. "No, he left me before this all had happened." She said quietly.
Daryl looked at her carefully. "Ya wanna talk about it?" he asked quietly, as they both walked to the porch swing and sat down.
Bailey sighed. She didn't really want to talk about it, but Daryl was her best friend. If anyone could make her feel better it was him. "We uh... I got pregnant," she said quietly, her eyes dropping to the ground, as she fidgeted around. "Dave didn't want a baby, so he started to... push me around more," she admitted, ashamed. "I fell down the stairs when I was eight months pregnant, he shoved me. I lost the baby," she said, and Daryl gasped quietly. "After that, he ran away, scared I was going to call the police on him. I haven't seen him again since then."
"Fuck, Bailey why didn't ya call me and tell me what happened?" He asked upset for her and the pain she had suffered.
"I didn't want to worry you, besides its over." She said as they saw Shane pull up as he drove Otis's truck
Hershel rushed out of the house at the same time Bailey got up and hurried over to the truck. She'd seen Shane stepping out of the vehicle, and went into the backseat to pull out a bag, which Bailey guessed was the supplies that they needed for the little boy. She waited another moment, but no one else appeared. She walked up to Shane and narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Uh... where's Otis?"
Shane looked down at the ground and shook his head. "He... he didn't make it. We had a problem, and he sacrificed himself to save me, so I could bring the stuff back."
Hershel sighed, looking upset. "We tell Patricia nothing until after the operation is over," he said quietly, looking between the two of them. "I need her, I can't have her distracted, alright?" he asked, and they both nodded hesitantly.
Bailey watched her uncle hurry back inside as she headed back to where Daryl was and sat down beside him again.
"I tried to call ya." Daryl said looking at her quickly.
"I know you did, I tried to call you too but the power lines were cut off." She said resting her right palm against his stubbly cheek.
"I missed ya," he said as he pulled her against him and hugged her tightly. Bailey relaxed, breathing in his scent, his woodsy smell that she had missed so much, as his strong arms wrapped around her. "I looked for ya at yer house, but ya weren't there. Merle an' I thought maybe ya were in the city, so we tried going there, but ended up in a quarry after Atlanta was blown up."
Bailey shook her head. "No, I thought the best place to have gone was here, to Uncle Hershel's. It's pretty secluded here, hard for anyone to find, dead or alive, unless they know where it is."
"Yeah I've noticed." He said smiling down at her as they headed inside the house.
Anna was relived that Carl had pulled through the operation, he was going to have to rest for a few days but after that he would be alright.
She pulled her long, wavy blonde hair into a ponytail as she saw Rick come in, Lori was no where to be seen.
"Hey there, Sheriff," she smiled as he sat down on a chair opposite her, and held onto Carl's hand. She had known Rick for a long time now; they had been best friends back in High School in King's County. Along with Shane. Except things had gone a little wrong when Anna and Shane had started dating and he had cheated on her. She had barely spoken to him since then, and now that he was back at the farm, it was more than just a little awkward.
"Hey, Anna," Rick said softly, as he smiled at her. She could see how frail and tired he looked, they obviously hadn't been having an easy time. "I'm so glad he's going to be OK. Thank you, for helping to look after him."
"It's no problem, I'm glad I could help." She said as she checked Carl's vitals and his temperature, she was satisfied that he wasn't burning up.
"Where are your parents, your two brothers?" He asked watching her, she had gotten more beautiful and her long thick, blonde hair was in a ponytail.
Anna sighed sadly. "My mom and dad... they're walkers now," she said quietly. She knew Hershel wanted to keep it a secret where they were, so she didn't mention anything about the barn. She was still a little hopeful there could be a cure too, and as long as they weren't shot, maybe they could be brought back from this damn disease. "My brother Alistair is one of those things too, and I haven't seen Connor for a while. I'm guessing he's probably one too."
Rick gave her a sad smile. He knew what it was like to lose someone. "I'm sorry my parents were affected by the virus too."
She touched his hand gently, "I'm so sorry Rick." She said sadly.
"Well, well if it aint officer friendly?" An all too familiar voice called out.
"Merle?" Rick asked getting up and looking at the elder Dixon.
"In the flesh, so to speak." Merle growled.
"Merle... I thought you were dead," Rick said quietly as he looked at the older man. He looked a little rougher, but it looked like he had been taken care of. He couldn't help but stare at the blade that was on the end of his arm instead of where his right hand should have been. The hand that they had found when they went back to search for him, that Daryl had carried around for days.
"So did I," Merle spat, his eyes cold as he glared at Rick. "When ya lot left me up there on that rooftop," he said, as he held up his hand, the knife glinting in the dim light from the room. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"We went back for you, Merle," Rick said firmly, not wanting to start any trouble. He wasn't rested enough or focused enough to deal with it right now. "Daryl, Glenn, T-Dog and I, we all went back looking for you. But you were gone."
"Yeah I had to take a goddamn car from the car park." Merle snapped at him and Rick frowned at him.
"You didn't take the van?" He asked confused.
"What fucking van?" Merle snapped at him.
Rick remembered it clearly. They had taken a white van from their camp to rescue Merle with. And when they had come back from their search, it had been gone. Rick had assumed Merle had taken it and headed off somewhere. "We had a van with us, it was gone by the time we got back to it, and walkers don't drive, so we assumed it was you."
"Weren't fuckin' me," Merle mumbled. "Woulda made my life a hell of a lot easier, though."
"So who took the van?" Anna asked puzzled.
"Christ knows." Rick said wiping his face and Anna looked at him as Bailey came in with Daryl at her side.
"Rick my Uncle Hershel said ya'll can stay as long as you like but me and Anna are guessing you need some clothes." She said looking at Anna meaningfully.
Damn her best friend. Anna smiled lightly, "Follow me, Rick."
Rick nodded and followed Anna upstairs. They went into the room that had belonged to Shawn before he had died, and took out some of his clothes, laying them on the bed. "You can check out what fits you here," she said with a small smile. "I'm sure you two would have been around the same size. I don't know if you have a tent or what... but Lori and you can sleep in this room if you like. I have a room next door with Bailey if you need anything," she said quietly. "I'll leave you to shower and get changed."
"Thank you Anna, I'm glad you're alright." He said looking at her and she smiled at him softly as she stood in the doorway.
"I'm glad you're alright too, Rick." She said warmly and left him to get changed as he watched her go downstairs.
Bailey was waiting for her along with Daryl, "Anna this is Daryl, my best friend." She said smiling warmly.
Anna smiled at him, and extended her hand, which he shook hesitantly, He seemed a little rough, and a little scary, especially since Merle was his brother. She had been a little unsure of Merle when he first came here. But if Bailey trusted him, he couldn't have been all bad. "It's nice to meet you, Daryl," she said softly.
Daryl nodded. "Yeah. Same," he said quietly. Daryl wasn't the most social of people that was for sure.
"He's a bit shy but don't worry he's harmless so is Merle." Bailey said smiling up at Daryl who smiled back as the three of them headed downstairs when they saw Carol fling herself at them.
"Thank you so much."
Bailey smiled, a little uncomfortable, but hugged her back anyway. "You don't need to thank us," she told her, as Anna hugged Carol. The little girl had more or less stumbled across them, the least they could do was take her in. "We need to look out for each other, right?"
"That we do, c'mon let's go eat." Daryl said as they all headed outside with Bailey and Anna going to help Patricia, Maggie and Beth prepare dinner.
"I'm so sorry about Otis, Patricia." Bailey said sadly.
Patricia looked sad, but gave Bailey a weak smile anyway. "Thank you. At least he died doing something brave. I know my husband was a good man, and I'm very proud of him,"
Anna rubbed her back gently. "You should be," she said before looking at Maggie and Beth. "I hope you don't mind, I said Lori and Rick could have Shawn's room," she said quietly. "Carl will be moving in with them, so I thought the women... Andrea and Carol could have that room. Glenn and T-Dog could share with Jimmy. The rest of the guys can stay downstairs in the sitting room."
Maggie nodded. "That works, it is a little cold outside. Sophia can share with Andrea and her mother."
"Won't Glenn and you be sharing a bed?" Beth asked teasingly, causing Maggie to smack her with a cucumber. "What?! The boy is head over heels for you."
"He is Maggie, the guy hardly took his eyes off you." Bailey added smirking at her cousin as they cooked dinner.
"Did you tell Daryl about Dave?" Maggie asked her softly.
"I told him half of it; I didn't want to upset him." She said cutting some tomatoes.
Maggie sighed sadly as she looked at her. She knew Bailey was ashamed about her relationship with Dave; it had taken her months to get Bailey to talk to her. "He's not going to judge you, you know," she said softly, "You don't need to be embarrassed."
Bailey shook her head, wishing her cousin would drop it. "I know, Mags, I know. I just don't like talking about it, that's all."
The women let it drop as they continued to cook when they saw Sophia and Caro, come in looking happy but quiet.
"Thank you, for letting us stay." Carol told them touched by their kindness.
"It's no problem." Patricia told her as they set the table.
"Anna, sweetie, will you go call everyone in for dinner?" Patricia asked, as she got out some plates, hoping there was enough for everyone, and started to put the dinner onto them. She made sure to give the new people a little extra; they looked like they could use the food more. "Tell them to bring their belongings into the house too, since they're going to be staying in here."
Anna nodded and went outside to get everyone inside the house.
She told all of them to bring their things in and helped them bring in the guns and ammo as well, she saw Lori heading her way with a dark look on her face.
'Oh man, what the hell.' She thought alarmed.
"Are you sleeping with my husband?!"
"Excuse me?" Anna asked as she glared at the woman. "No, I'm not sleeping with your husband. Damn it, he only got here earlier today." What a cheek this woman had, she had been nowhere around the whole day, and she was accusing people of sleeping with her husband already. "We're friends, but I don't suppose you would know anything about friends, would you?"
"Hey!" Hershel warned, as he helped the men lay out sleeping bags in the sitting room. "None of that in this house, otherwise you'll all be out again. We have enough problems already, keep it peaceful."
"Sorry Hershel." She said feeling ashamed and he nodded at her as she went to go check on Carl, she opened the door to see he was up and playing cards with Sophia as Rick watched.
"Hey there little soldier." She said kindly.
"Hey Anna." He said smiling at her warmly, he looked strikingly like Rick.
"Do you guys want some dinner?" Anna asked with a small smile. "I can bring you some through."
"Yeah, that would be great, thanks," Rick said softly.
"You're welcome." She said warmly as she headed downstairs and got three plates for them and headed upstairs to give them the plates.
"Thank you, Anna." Carl said along with Sophia as they ate.
"Don't worry about it," she said softly, as she smiled at the kids. They were so well behaved and well mannered, she hated to give the credit to Lori, but they had been well raised. She headed back downstairs and sat with the others, who were eating in silence, as they tried to make their first dinner together a little less awkward.
Shane came down then wearing some old clothes that had belonged to Otis as he joined them at the table along with Lori.
"It's a lovely house you have." Carol said quietly.
Hershel gave her a small smile. "Thank you, it's been in my family for a number of years," he said softly, as he looked around the farm he had always lived in. "It's handy to keep the horses and the animals in," he added.
"That's true; the horses have a lot of grass to eat." Beth said smiling as they all continued to eat with Hershel asking to talk to Rick, Daryl and Merle after dinner was finished.
"Sure." Daryl said wondering what Hershel wanted to talk to about.
The women gathered up the dishes and headed through to the kitchen to wash them, as Rick, Daryl and Merle followed Hershel through to his study.
"What can we help you with, Mr Greene?" Rick asked.
"Call me Hershel please, I wanted to tell ya'll that I have rules in this house." Hershel said and looked at them all closely.
"I don't want you using guns on my property, we'll do it my way alright?" He asked them.
The three men exchanged looks with each other. Guns were kind of necessary to survive these day, especially if you managed to get yourself mixed up with a herd of walkers. "What about the walkers?" Rick asked quietly.
"We'll deal with them some other way, if I hear a gun being fired, you're all off my property, alright?" he asked firmly. "Another thing, no arguments or fighting. I know this might be the end of the world, but we need to get along with who is left. There's enough trouble without us turning against each other," he said, his eyes especially looking at Merle.
Merle nodded at him as he looked at Daryl and Rick next with softened eyes.
"You two know Anna and Bailey?" He asked calmly.
Rick nodded. "Yeah, I've known Anna since we went to High School together, back in King's County. Me her, and Shane used to be best friends, but she doesn't really get on well with Shane anymore," he said quietly, and noticed Hershel's questioning look. "Shane uh... he cheated on her."
Hershel nodded. "I see," he said, his face unapproving. "I'd rather there was none of that in my house either, I don't believe in sexual relationships before marriage."
"That's fine, we can do that." Rick said honestly and Hershel nodded as he looked at Daryl with some warmth.
"Been a long time since I've seen you, son."
Daryl chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess it is, Hershel," he said quietly, as he gave the older man a faint smile. "Must be a good five years or so."
"It's been that long, you know that Dave left Bailey don't you?" Hershel asked him quietly.
"Yeah Bailey told me." Daryl said remembering.
"She told me all about the baby and Dave leavin' her," Daryl said quietly, so only Hershel would hear. "What an ass."
Hershel nodded. He knew that wasn't the whole story, but it wasn't his story to tell either. "I think the last time I seen you was at the wedding," Hershel said, thinking back. "Can't believe she went through with it."
"Yeah well, he made her happy or so I thought." Daryl said thinking back to the wedding as memories resurfaced in his mind of that night.
Bailey stood and fiddled nervously with the bottom of her dress as she stood and looked in the mirror. She was going to get married, this was it. There was no turning back now. She chewed the bottom of her lip and sighed as she sat down when she heard a knock on the room door.
"Come in." She called out and saw that it was Daryl who had come in, he looked very handsome in his tux and she felt sorrow at the fact that she wasn't marrying him but Dave instead.
"Ya look beautiful." Daryl said looking at her in her white wedding dress
Bailey felt her cheeks turn red as she looked down at the floor. "Yeah, right," she said with a soft chuckle as he sat down beside her.
"Ya OK?" Daryl asked quietly. "Ya ready for yer big day?"
"As ready as I can be." She said giving him a soft smile.
He cupped her face gently in his hands, "I'll always be there for ya Bailey, always sweetheart." He said giving her a soft kiss on the cheek.
Bailey felt her eyes burn with pain as she met his eyes.
"I'll always be there for you too." She said giving him a teary smile.
"Ya got a good man to take care of ya now though," he said, referring to Dave. He had never been a fan of Dave, but he had pretended he liked him, for Bailey's sake. It broke his heart that she was marrying Dave and not him, but why should she? He had never even told her he liked her in that way.
Bailey had to stop herself laughing at that. Dave wasn't a good man, not always. Not like Daryl. She hugged him tightly and held onto him, before she heard another knock at her door, and her father popped his head around.
"You ready to go, Bailey?" he asked softly. "Everyone's waiting for you."
"I am daddy." She said softly and got up along with Daryl as they all headed downstairs where the others were.
It had hurt him knowing that Dave hadn't treated Bailey right; she was kind, gentle, sweet but with a backbone.
In a way, he was sort of glad she had gotten rid of him. Dave wasn't any good for her, she deserved much more than him, and he had known it from the start. Hershel sighed and stood up, as they all made their way out of the study. "I think we should all get some rest for the night," he said quietly. "We're going to have Otis' funeral in the morning," he said as he looked at Patricia sadly.
They all nodded and headed upstairs to their rooms when Bailey walked over to where Daryl was and stood next to him.
"Goodnight Daryl." She said kissing his cheek.
"Night, Bailey," he said softly, as he gave her a tight hug. She was just about to walk away before he spoke again. "Uh... I was thinking about going a hunt tomorrow after the funeral, ya wanna come with?"
"I'd love too, thank you." She said happily as her light brown hair fell around her face, she was smiling at him as she headed upstairs to bed.
"Ya got it bad for her, baby brother." Merle said as he and Rick came over.
Daryl sighed, as he sat down on one of the sofas in the sitting room. "Yeah, well, I fucked that up five years ago when I let someone else marry her," he said quietly.
Rick looked at him with shocked eyes. "Bailey's married?"
"She was, his name was Dave Carter and he lived in our old hometown, he left her two months before this happened after throwing her down the stairs when she was pregnant." He said sighing as he thought of the pain she had gone.
"That's gotta be rough." Rick said pained.
"Fuck," Merle said as he let out a low whistle. "Never liked that bastard anyway," he said, remembering how he and Dave had gotten into a few arguments in the bar. Merle hadn't attended the wedding, it wasn't his sort of thing, but he didn't know that had happened. "Poor Bailey."
Daryl nodded as he climbed into his sleeping bag. "Yeah, but she's tough. She ain't let it get her down."
"Did she lose the baby?" Shane asked, he had been listening in on the conversation and was surprised that Daryl was in love with Bailey Greene.
"Yeah, she was eight months along." Daryl said sighing.
"Damn," Shane mumbled. He may have been an ass at times, but he didn't wish that on anyone. "Must have been hard on her."
"Yeah but she's tough." Daryl said softly.
"So is Anna lives here too?" Shane asked Rick quietly.
Rick glared at him for a moment. "Yeah, she does. But I don't think she wants to talk to you," he said quietly. "After what happened. Hershel doesn't want any trouble, so please try not to get us kicked out of here, alright?"
"I didn't mean to hurt her." Shane said quietly as they all went to sleep.
The next morning, everyone was gathered around outside at the grave they had made for Otis. They didn't have a body to bury, his body had probably been torn to shreds by now anyway, but Hershel and Patricia had insisted that they have a funeral for him. Hershel had read some bible passages, and Beth had sung, while they listened to Shane telling the story of how Otis had died. Something seemed a little off, but no one bothered to question it.
Soon the funeral had finished with everyone saying their condolences to Patricia; Bailey knew the feeling of loss all too well. Her stillborn daughter's face haunting her at every moment, she had loved her baby but fate had other plans it seemed.
She touched the grave gently before getting up and heading up to her room quickly, she got her broadsword, bowie knife and her gun that her father had given her.
She pulled on a pair of leather trousers and her jacket, before putting the knife into it's holder, and taking the gun and the sword downstairs, to where Daryl was making arrows for his crossbow.
"You ready to go?" she asked with a small smile.
"I sure as hell am." He said putting them in his quiver and they headed into the woods to do a bit of hunting together.
They found deer tracks and followed them as Daryl would occasionally look at her quickly as they hunted the deer.
"How are ya?" He asked softly.
Bailey gave him a small smile. "I'm OK, you know? About as OK as the end of the world can get. It's sad about Otis, I've know him since I was a kid," she said sadly. "What about you? How are you?"
"I'm alright, just glad that we found each other." He said giving her a soft smile when they heard moaning nearby.
"What was that?" She asked wearily.
"I don't know, you think it was a walker?" Daryl asked as he pulled out his crossbow, and they made their way to take cover behind a tree. "Stay behind me, Bailey," he instructed her.
She nodded and they looked out from behind the tree, grimacing in disgust when they seen what was making the noise. Lori was on the forest floor with Shane on top of her, and it didn't take long for either Daryl or Bailey to work out what they were doing.
"Oh my god, she's fucking married to his best friend for Christ sake." She hissed as they moved away from the scene.
"Been going since the quarry and after Rick came back." Daryl said disgusted as he saw a deer and fired at it as they both dragged it back to the camp.
"Should we tell Rick?" She asked him worried.
Daryl shook his head. "Nah ain't our place to get involved," he said quietly, as they walked past an old abandoned house. "If anyone tells him it should be one of them, I don't wanna get involved," he added. "What's in that house?"
Bailey shrugged, still disturbed from what they had seen. "I uh... I don't know. It's Patricia and Otis's old house, I doubt there's much inside."
Daryl dropped his end of the deer when something outside of the house caught his eye, and he began walking over. "Is that a Cherokee Rose bush I see?" he asked, and Bailey frowned in confusion.
"What's a Cherokee Rose?" She asked confused as she watched Daryl pick a flower and look at her intently.
"I'll tell ya the story."
Bailey nodded. "I never thought I'd see the day you started picking flowers," she said with humour in her voice.
Daryl chuckled quietly "Story is that when American soldiers were movin' Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grievin' and cryin' so much 'cause they were losin' their lil ones along the way from exposure an' disease an' starvation. A lot of 'em just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give 'em strength an' hope. The next day this rose started to grow where the mothers' tears fell," he said softly, before picking one up and placing it into her hair.
"That's lovely." She said softly touching the rose gently as they carried the deer back to the farm.
They stopped outside and laid the deer down where Daryl was going to prepare it for dinner. Bailey looked over and saw Rick looking out the window of his bedroom and sighed quietly, feeling her heart ache for him, at what his wife was doing out there in the woods.
She shook her head and helped Daryl with the deer. "So what happened to that girl you was dating?" she asked with a smirk. "Emily, wasn't it?"
"We broke up, she didn't want a fucked up guy around with her parents." He said as they cut the deer and put some spices on it.
"I'm sorry." She said softly.
"Don't be, she was a bitch." He said giving her a soft smile.
Bailey rubbed his hand gently, as they took the deer inside and gave it to Carol to put in the oven, before they went back into the sitting room and sat down on a sofa.
"Hey, Anna, how are you?" she asked her friend.
"I'm alright thanks for asking, how are you two?" She asked seeing their angry faces.
"Lori's cheating on Rick with Shane." Bailey blurted out.
"What?!" Anna asked shocked. She stared at them with wide eyes as Bailey covered her mouth with her hand. "What are you talking about?"
Bailey buried her head into her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I couldn't keep it quiet. Please don't tell Rick."
"Oh my god, Shane and Lori are having an affair?" She asked horrified.
"Yes, we saw them in the woods having sex." Bailey said feeling bad for Rick.
"Does Carl know?" Anna asked calmly.
Daryl shook his head. "No, I don' think so," he said quietly as he rubbed his eyes. "It's been goin' on since back at the quarry, I caught them out in the woods one time when I was out huntin'."
"That's disgusting," Anna said, disturbed by the thought.
"What do we tell Rick? He and Carl are going to be devastated." Bailey asked as the others came in aside from Rick and Carl.
"What's wrong?" Dale asked kindly.
"Olive Olyl is still fucking Shane behind Rick's back." Daryl said angry.
Dale shook his head and sat down. "Maybe we should just let him work it out for himself. I know it's not going to be nice when he finds out, but you heard Hershel. He doesn't want conflict, or affairs for that matter."
"Clearly Shane didn't change much," Anna muttered disgustedly.
"What are ya lot gossiping about?" Merle asked as he came in and sat down calmly.
"Olive Olyl and Robo Cop are fuckin." Daryl said dryly.
Merle whistled low, "Damn." He said stunned.
"I'm guessin' Officer Friendly doesn't know then?" Merle asked as he looked at them all. "Either that or Shane would have had his ass kicked by now."
Daryl shook his head. "No, he don't."
"Better move away when he does, it aint gonna be pretty." Merle said dryly as they all had some coffee.
Lori came in then looking flustered, "Sorry I'm late." She said apologetically.