Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters are not mine.
I'm dedicating this story to Kaye (A.K.A. SOA Loving Mom) because she convinced me to write it myself. I swear she is like the Head Cheerleader of the Caryl section of the TWD Fandom.
Halfway across the field, toward the section of woods he was going to check; Daryl had a thought. He ran back the way he'd come double timing it to the porch where everyone was taking cover from the heat.
"Has anyone actually been back to the highway since we got here?" Daryl looked around at the guilty looks on everyone's faces and snorted in disbelief. Although with this group, he realized, he shouldn't be surprised. "You people amaze me. How did y'all make it this far?" Daryl turned not waiting for a reply. "I'm taking the bike. I'll be back before sundown. Hopefully Sophia's got more sense than God gave the lot of ya; and stayed put if she made it back there."
The trip to the highway seemed to take forever, and no time at all. Daryl slowed and stopped the motorcycle several yards before the car where they'd left the food and bottled drinks. He didn't want to alert any walkers that might be close to the vehicle. Daryl was both elated and fearful when he noted that the box was no longer on the hood in front of the message. When he was able to look in the windshield some of the fear drained out of him. The front passenger seat was reclined as far back as it could go and Daryl could see a blond head and the shoulders of a blue shirt. On the drivers seat was the box of food. Daryl made note of the fact that too much of the food was gone. Someone needed to teach the girl how to ration. She'd have been out of food in a day, and that box should have lasted a tiny scrap like her a week and a half. Now he had to figure out how to alert the child to his presence without giving her a heart attack. Daryl realized there was nothing for it. No matter what he did he was going to scare her. He moved to the driver's side and knocked three times sharply and deliberately. No response. Was the girl dead? No, she couldn't be. He'd come this far; he'd found her. She had to be alive. The back window was open just far enough to let air in, but not fingers. Smart girl. Daryl knocked again, this time in the 'Shave and a haircut' rhythm. Definitely not something a Walker would know to do. And he said her name into the cracked window. That got her attention. She looked scared for a moment, like she didn't know where she was. But as soon as she turned her head and saw him, Daryl thought her face brightened a little. He watched her knock the remaining food into the foot well of the drivers side and shift into the seat.
"Mr. Daryl, hi! Is my mom with you? Is everyone ok?" She asked once she got the window rolled down.
"Everyone's fine. Your mom's with 'em all at a farm just up the road a ways. I brought my bike 'cause it goes faster than a car. You coming; or were you gonna stay here and take your chances?" Daryl asked already moving back to the bike. Before he'd even made it three feet he heard the door creak open and slam closed. He waited to feel the bike shift under her weight and was surprised when it didn't. He glanced over his shoulder at her and saw how unsure she looked. Kid had probably never been on a motorcycle. "Ya ever ridden a horse before?" He asked and grunted when she nodded. "Good it's a lot like that. You see those pegs sticking out the sides kinda low down?" Again he waited for her to look and nod, "they're like the stirrups you put your feet on those grab a hold of my sides and move when I move. We'll be back to your mom in no time." Daryl held the bike steady while the girl got on and when he felt her grab his shirt he started the bike and took off.
Daryl knew they had to have heard the bike coming up the driveway so he wasn't surprised to see everyone, even the Greene's clamoring off the porch when they pulled up. He held the bike steady again as she hopped off and ran to her mother. He then put the kickstand down and climbed off at a more sedate pace. He could see from the looks in their eyes that most of the people surrounding him wanted to touch him in one form or another, probably hugs, and he didn't want any part of that. So he pushed his way through the group and called over his shoulder, "I'm going hunting. Be back later." Making sure his crossbow and quiver were still slung over his back.
The hunt didn't take as long as Daryl would have liked. He managed to find a boar that must have gotten away from a neighboring farm early on, it was practically feral. Coming back into view of the farm Daryl felt a sense of pride in himself. He'd done everything he set out to that day. Brought a lost, little girl back to her mother and provided food for them – the group – all of them. As he made his way out of the woods he caught site of movement out of the corner of his eye. He was about to drop the boar and raise his weapon when he realized it was Carol and Sophia with Rick hovering near but not too close. The wind shifted and Daryl picked up what Carol was telling the little girl. She was explaining how some plants and flowers near by could be used in place of common pharmaceuticals; which would start to become scarce as time went on. Rick glanced up and saw Daryl closing in on the women's position so he signaled his intent to leave. Daryl gave a nod and made his way close to Carol.
"Pick plenty of the sage and rosemary. They'll go good with the boar I just got." Daryl pointed it out when Carol looked questioningly at him. Her face lit, shining with approval when she saw the size of the kill Daryl had. Daryl felt something flip warmly in his stomach at the look. Carol was proud. It was a good day. As they walked back to the farmhouse Daryl couldn't help but ask "how'd you know about all the uses for those plants you saw?" He knew some, from reading up on Native American culture, but had been unaware of most.
"We Sommers women don't reveal our secrets." Carol responded with a wink to Sophia, and a wide grin to Daryl. When they got back to the house there was a flurry of activity.
"What's going on?" Daryl asked Rick, who was taking his family's tent down.
"Hershel invited us to stay in the house. I get the feeling there's something going on here that we're not seeing. I think we need to keep as close an eye on these people as they've been keeping on us." Rick finished nodding out to the yard where the woman – Patricia - was moving quickly from the chicken coop to a dilapidated, small barn. Daryl nodded his understanding and went to fill Carol and Sophia in on what was going on.
They'd had several good weeks, gotten too comfortable as far as Daryl was concerned; Fall was starting to set in. The shit hit the fan in the worst possible way, and life got crazy. Carl and Sophia had been playing, unsupervised – which Daryl was going to have words with Carol about – when they'd heard Walker-like sounds from that old barn. Carl had gone right to Shane who proceeded to freak the hell out, and insist that either the captive Walkers be put down, or He and Lori were leaving. It was decided, after much discussion, that the barn full of Walkers would be dealt with as quickly and humanely as possible. It was also decided at that time, that Shane and Lori would be leaving the group. Carl opted to stay, giving Sophia a long, significant look that Daryl and Carol both noticed. Two nights after the couple left a herd, the size of which none of them had seen, descended on the farm. This motley, new family was now on the move.
At first they didn't go far. Just to a small, white, clapboard house a couple miles away from the Greene farm. But they knew they wouldn't be able to stay there long. The town they'd been scavenging from was starting to run low on supplies. They made their way back to the highway, where Daryl found a pickup truck that he could store the bike in the bed of; so that Sophia could ride with them. Instead of being separated, which Daryl could tell made Carol nervous.
The group was on the road for the better part of two days before they found what they would later agree was the one thing that saved them that first Winter. Carol spotted it as they came upon what would turn out to be the biggest traffic jam they'd ever come across. "Daryl." She said, quietly in deference to the sleeping child between them, "Up ahead off the side of the highway, there's, I think, a Wal-Mart truck. Oh Daryl, we have to at least attempt to check it out. Please?" Daryl nodded his agreement and signaled to the rest of the caravan his desire to stop. The women stayed with the vehicles while the men secured a wide swath around the broken down semi. The lock was still intact on the doors, and the driver was nowhere in sight. Both things they would count as 'wins'. Once they broke into the back they called the women over to help them sort and organize. The trailer was almost full to the brim with a little bit of everything; except food. Beth, Maggie, and Sophia were a little stunned at the idea of 'going shopping' in this new, post-apocalyptic, environment. As a group they decided to spend the night camped on the far side of the trailer, out of sight of the highway.
Spirits were high the next day, after they'd gone though the trailer and taken as much as they could stuff into every nook and cranny of every vehicle. They had gotten everything they were taking packed away by dinnertime and were getting ready to call it a night when Daryl had a thought. "Did anyone go through the cab? I doubt there'll be much of anything in there, but the driver might have had a more detailed map. I'll check it out." Daryl said leaning into Carol for a brief moment before standing to move to the front of the truck. Daryl found the more detailed map and brought it over to the group and the fire so that everyone could look over it. Rick looked up at Daryl, just as he was getting ready to catch the other mans attention. They'd seen it at the same time. A prison. A possibly safe, definitely defensible location. According to their best estimates, if they didn't run into too many more traffic snarls they could be there in a couple days time. Things were looking up.