Fighting Through
Edited October 3rd 2012
Rating: T
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Summary: Daryl is looking for Sophia with Andrea when they run across a woman named 'Grendel's Mom' who can be of help to the group, and be a bit more than Daryl bargained for.
Author's Note:I don't own Walking Dead. I should probably have mentioned that before... Eh. Enjoy.
Chapter Two: A Slight Return to Normal
Daryl was walking slowly behind the two women, looking over each and every bit of the landscape. It was as if the town hadn't been touched by this nightmare. He looked at each bit, taking it all in, he could get use to it. Working five to nine, coming home to his family and going hunting walkers with his hound dog on the weekends. It sounded like a life that he wanted to live.
"Here we are." Grendel's Mom said quietly, there was a hovering cloud of worry over the three as they stood before a wooden door with a slightly faded red cross expertly painted on. "Be mindful, the girl's a lil' shake'n up, but she's goin' to make a good recovery." she opened up the door and walked in, the two walked in behind her, looking all over to try and spot Sophia somewhere, Grendel pushed past them and pranced around the make-shift hospital.
It was dimly lit, but it seemed to still be bright thanks to the light floral walls and homely furniture décor placed all around the 'hospital', the lamp light was perfect for any means other than critical medical procedures.
"This way." she said, waving them to the right of the room. "Here." there was a screen hiding who was behind it on the bed, privacy reasons Daryl assumed. He could tell Andrea was holding her breath, as was he. They peeked over the screen, seeing blond hair bobbed short like Sophia's, she looked like Sophia, but it was not. He let out a long, depressed sigh. "I take that she is not her?" Grendel's Mom said, giving a pitiful gaze to the two. Daryl shook his head, Andrea didn't bother to do anything, she just turned and walked out of the 'hospital'. "I am sorry, hun." she huffed a little, pulling a stray hair out of the small, orphaned girls face and tucked it behind her ear.
"Her family'll find her. Just like all of us with Sophia, this girl will find her family." Daryl put a comforting hand on Mom's shoulder, not sure what to do to help her any.
"Yeah. I know. It's just difficult knowin' I'm takin' care of her till she has to go on home. I've grown attached, ya' see. Got my brother's girl at home." she gave a gruff laugh and stood up.
Daryl had his eyes on Mom and she'd been staring right back at him with her eye, he gave her a half crooked smile mixed with an apologetic look.
"Sorry." Daryl nodded a little to her, but didn't move otherwise. He just wanted to keep watching the girl, hoping she'd turn into Sophia.
"It's al'ight. I suggest you and your wife stay here toni-" Daryl busted out laughing, wife? Wife? "Sorry, did I miss something?" Grendel's Mom had her head tilted, Grendel laid out on the hardwood just behind them had shot his head up at Daryl's sudden burst of laughter.
"You missed a whole lot, miss. Andrea and I... we don't get along to well." he whispered, "Much less be married. Hell, I'd rather have not even gone on this search for Sophia with the woman." he was still chuckling by what Mom had said.
"Oops. I just assumed, sorry there. That's quite embarrassin'." she giggled lightly, her eyes lit up when she laughed, it must have been awhile since she'd been done that.
"No problem." Daryl noted, nodding to her and giving her a wide smile.
"Well, you and Andrea should stay the night tonight. It's getting rather late and I'd not like have'n anyone's death on my hands 'cause I kicked them from the refuge." she slapped her thigh once lightly and Grendel popped up, trotting toward his mama's side and standing faithfully beside her. He rolled his head on her thigh a few times, demanding attention that she quickly rewarded him with before leading him out.
"What do you mean I can't leave?" they heard Andrea scream, a small child arguing with her about 'policy' and 'lockdown time'. Grendel's Mom ran to the two, stepping between them, obviously more afraid for the life of Andrea than the childs.
"What is the problem 'ere, kids?" Mom asked, looking between the two.
"Tell this bitch, here that we have rules here, we're not damned savages and the rules are clear; 8:30 is lockdown until 6am!" the kid shouted, Andrea glaring down the small girl.
"What the fuck is this place suppose to be? A jail?" Andrea growled, Mom turned sharply to her and began to glare the blond down.
"We have the policy 'ere to protect these people. They come here for safety. It's not an 'oh, darn, look that tha' time, it's dark and I need to wander around and get eaten by a walker' town. Dixie and I have already talked, you two are stayin' here tonight. You can leave at 6am on the button. Until then, the gate is locked. That's final. I'm not letting you go out there just to get ambushed or somethin' by them dead out there or worse, ya' hear? Now you, Jillian, go back to your post." Daryl raised a brow at Grendel's Mom as she told Andrea how they worked, even if she opposed the rules.
"This is bullshit!" Andrea called loudly as Jillian stomped off, displeased with going back to her post, but also victoriously for she'd won the argument. Jillian gave a snarl at Andrea and began to climb up a ladder engraved into the gate wall, Daryl then noticed that Jillian wasn't a child at all. She was just a 'little-person'. He stayed quiet, women were mad again and he didn't want his face blown off.
"No, your attitude is bullshit, and if you don't can it, I'll can you, hunny." Mom growled to Andrea who shut up instantly as Grendel began to growl at her. He figured Andrea didn't want to test her immortality against the hound and his master.
"What about our group, huh?" Andrea asked, "What if they think something happened to us?" Mom gave her an annoyed sigh and looked at Daryl for some help at taming his wild team mate.
"We've got walkies, I've got mine with me. They may be too far out, but we can try. Tell'em were at a refuge for the night so we don't become walker snacks." Daryl said, seeming to calm Andrea a small bit, she just glared at them all.
"That is a wonderful idea." Mom gave him a joyous smile, Grendel now calmed as well and nuzzling up against Mom.
"Rick, 'ey, Rick. It's Daryl and Andrea. If you can hear this, Andrea and I are safe. We ran into a refuge camp, thought Sophia might be here, turned out she's not but it's late now. Don't want anyone else goin' missin' so we're stickin' here tonight." Daryl commed out and looked at them both, not sure if anyone had heard them, but he left the full message anyway. He'd keep trying for the rest the night if there was any static that signaled they were in range. Damned not knowing how far the reach was for the walkies.
"If you want, you can give the walkie to Bob, he'll radio to them all night until there is an answer, try and strengthen the signal until he can reach them?" Mom suggest, Daryl nodded and handed her the walkie and she changed the channel instantly to another. "'Ey, Bobbie, got a walkie from our guests, get on down here and get it so you can radio in to their friends that they're safe. Al'ight?" she commed out and instantly got a 'Comin' down' as a reply.
"Well, were are we going to sleep for the night?" Andrea asked, noticing that despite all the houses, people were settled in tents. "We don't have any gear. Why doesn't everyone stay in the houses?" she asked, raising a brow.
"The houses just look nice. Most of them are shit on the inside. We don't have the man power or the resources to fix 'em up on the inside. Pa and I just painted the outsides, made 'em look nice. Only the good conditioned ones have people in 'em or are in use." she spat, "Bob and I have been slowly working on them all, eventually they'll all be livable. But, they're all barred from the inside if they're not in use. Don't want people gettin' in and gettin' hurt in there. Bob's the only one other than Jillian who can get in and open 'em." she tagged the last sentence in, knowing Andrea would probably interrogate her about that too had she not put that in. A short, gruff looking man hobbled up, he was using a crutch to walk forward.
"Where's this walkie?" he grouched, holding out one of his tiny hands, Mom handing him the walkie with the right signal now on it. "Ah, a piece of shit. I'll get 'em, maybe China too if I really feel like it." Bob laughed, he was also a 'little-person', "Oh, and sweet cheeks, you be rude to my lil' girl again and I'll rip your heart out." he pointed at her, using the walkie-talkie antenna as an extension of his hand.
"Oh, Bob, be kind. She just didn't know." Mom kissed Bob on the top of his head and thanked him for coming down all the way from the tree to pick up the walkie.
"Tell 'em that Daryl and Andrea are safe. Ask for Rick, Shane, or Dale. Don't mention anything about Sophia, just in case Carol's around." Daryl said, giving thanks to Bob and Andrea remaining far away from them, distant and giving the stink eye to anyone near them.
"Okay, kids. Ya'll be good. See ya' in the daybreak, Mom, Daryl, Andrea." he waved himself off and limped away from the small group, struggling up the ladder Jillian had gone up earlier and then into the trees, hidden from their sights.
"Can he really strengthen the signal?" Andrea asked, still not 'kind', but kind enough to not get any displeasing glares from Grendel's Mom.
"He has worked intelligence gatherin' for most his life, he did that kind of thing in his sleep. If you need a signal, he'll get you one." Mom smiled, "Now, follow me, you two can bunk at my place tonight." she nudged at Grendel and he barked happily, sprinting toward a house farther off into the distance. Daryl began to follow the dog, "Follow me." she laughed, "Grendel and Lilith had pups recently. Lilith keeps them away from the humans expect Bob and I mostly. He stays with her most the time when he's not out huntin' with me." she said, leading them in a similar, but different direction.
It was a small house, only one story compared to many of the two and three story buildings that surrounded the tiny one. It had a white picket fence with small shrubs and some flowers lining the pathway to the door. It was surreal to see something quite like this in the nightmare they lived in. Daryl half figured he was just dreaming at the moment, had been all along. No woman is this badass with a great set of breasts to go with it. He had to be.
"Home Sweet Home?" Andrea huffed, looking at the small little metal sign that was staked into the ground by the tulips.
"Is now." she smiled, "It suits my tastes better." she unlocked and opened the door.
"Make yourselves at home!" she said with a winning smile, her arm outstretched to welcome them in.
Andrea and Grendel's Mom had directed themselves to the kitchen and Daryl positioned himself comfortably on a loveseat that was placed next to the fireplace, the furnishings suggested a French 1960's décor. It was all perfectly placed, each piece had been placed just where it needed to be to contrast each and every other piece in the room, though each piece showed some kind of wear. He didn't care much about how things looked anymore, but he had to confess that it looked nice. Daryl feel calm and much warmer, the fireplace wasn't burning but it made him feel welcomed. The longer he'd spent there, the more he was liking it.
"Comfy?" Grendel's Mom laughed as she walked in from the kitchen, he zoned back to reality and noticed he had his muddy boots kicked up on her foot rest. Daryl tossed himself from the chair and the foot rest and apologized silently, she laughed harder. "Just take off your boots, Dixie." she waved her hand as if nothing had happened and walked off toward the dining area once again. "Hungry?" she asked and he just had to ponder it for a moment to realise he very much was.
"I could go for something." he poked at the words like a child poked at their vegetables during dinner.
"Wat'cha wantin', Dixie?" she asked, he stalked slowly toward the kitchen, peeking in lightly. The kitchen was a woman's domain, a man was risking his life each time he entered.
"Um, squirrel?" he asked as if it was perfectly normal.
"Sorry, fresh out." she gave him a small laugh before opening up her fridge. It was like a store in a box only free. It was beautiful – all the food. He spotted bits of roast.
"Can I have – that?" he pointed lightly at the roast pieces laying on the shelve in the fridge, he seemed like a skittish child that was scared to be told 'no'. She grabbed it instantly, the look on her face asked 'this?' he nodded in reply. "Yeah."
"I asked what you wanted, if you want roast, you're welcome to it." she handed him the bag of fresh sealed roast and walked toward the cabinets, "Plate?" he nodded.
"I'll take anything." Andrea groaned from behind them, slamming her head into her hands that were placed neatly on the counter top.
"Sorry, but I don't offer 'anything', my pa' always sent me away with no supper if I pulled that 'anything' gag on him." Grendel's Mom explained, and Daryl could tell that Andrea had rolled her eyes by the way she huffed inside her arms.
"I'll take something with protein then."
"Fish?"
Andrea shot her head up and looked at Grendel's Mom for a moment, "You have that?" she asked dumbfounded.
"Yeah, we fish now and then. Took me awhile to trust the fish, or any food for that matter." she'd pulled out four plates and laid them all out, putting fish on a skillet, spaghetti in a pot and the roast in the oven.
"My cousin likes spaghetti on Monday." she said, noticing Daryl's face. "Darcy!" she called, there were loud thuds and thumping of feet on the hardwood somewhere in the house.
"Yes, ma'ma?" a quiet voice called, Daryl turned to see a small little girl with long raven black hair, her eyes and complexion told him instantly that she was of Asian decent. She was wearing Hello Kitty pajamas and had her hair pulled in a side pony tail.
"What have I told you about that? I'm your cousin. Not your mother, sweetie." she sighed, Daryl could feel the hurt in her tone, the child was so very small, too small to truly understand life and death yet.
"When will I meet my mother then?" Darcy asked, Grendel's Mom walked to the small child and knelt down to her, giving the child a hug.
"Eventually." she muttered, barely audible to the human ears. Mom released Darcy and continued cooking the food, Daryl listened to the food cooking with a girl on his face. It'd been awhile since he felt this good. "Darcy, I need you to clean up for supper, ok?" she said, leaning behind herself and catching glimpse of Darcy as the girl ran off to the bathroom somewhere in the home.
"What happened to her ma'ma?" Daryl asked, not realising it just might be inappropriate to ask.
"My uncle lived in the city with auntie and Darcy. The dead got to the cities faster than flies to a horses' ass. What happened is very... uncertain. All we know is auntie give Darcy time to run, but Darcy is just a kid. She got scared and fell, hit her head good. She doesn't remember a thing. The past... it's almost best to forget." a sink turned on in the home's bathroom. "It's not fair to her, but, it almost feels like the best thing for her is to not even remember what the world had been like before all of this. I just can't do that to her though. She deserves to remember her mother and father." Mom gave a long sigh and stretched out. "Roast." she said, pulling it out of the oven and forking it onto his plate, "Any condiments?" she asked, Daryl almost thinking she said something else and about choked on his roast.
"Oh, um, no. Thanks, no. Wait- mustard?" he asked, it was a long shot, but he had to ask.
"Sure thing." Mom pulled out a bottle and placed it before him, he'd always had strange eating habits. Honestly, who ate roast with mustard? "Fish needs a minute more." she commented as Darcy walked back in, her hair still pulled in a side ponytail, but it was now on the other side. She was in a new long sleeve shirt, but her pants were the same Hello Kitty pj's she had on before.
"Darcy, change the pants." Darcy looked down, making an 'O' with her mouth and ran off to her room.
"That's so embarrassing!" she screamed, though Daryl didn't understand why. "Better?" she singed as she marched in, her smile going ear to ear as she flashed her knee-length shorts with little panda bears on them.
"Better." Grendel's Mom nodded and sat out the fish and noodles. "Thank you all for joining, pray if you wish." Grendel's Mom was very flat, she had symbols that represented the Catholic faith spread throughout what little of the home Daryl had seen, but she'd made it quite obvious that religion wasn't her strong point or something she liked to talk about.
"Thank you!" Darcy shouted, digging into her vegetables and spaghetti that she'd mixed together on her plate.
"You're quite welcome, hun." Grendel's Mom said with a wide smile, something in Daryl told him that this little girl sitting beside him was the only reason she kept going.
Dinner went well for everyone, even Andrea. Andrea had taken the spare bed in the guest room, Daryl opted for the loveseat he'd been in earlier, even though Mom wasn't happy to have her guest sleeping on a chair when she had an open bed. Took him awhile, but he convinced her he didn't sleep much anyway.
She'd given him some clothes to wear so he wouldn't track mud anywhere or stain her loveseat, he was able to go to sleep feeling a bit cleaner. As he stretched out on the loveseat and pulled the large blanket over himself he noticed going to sleep wouldn't be trouble tonight and it wasn't.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Please review or, you know, do what you like! Teehee. Anywho, have a great day!
