Rick got back just after noon. As he let himself into the house he could hear quiet voices from the kitchen. He peeked round the corner and found Daryl and Carol sitting at the table drinking coffee. Daryl looked much more relaxed than when Rick had left that morning.
"Hey, man, how was the meeting with the boss lady? Look," Daryl indicated a casserole dish next to the stove, "Carol's made us lunch."
"Actually, Sasha made it. We weren't sure what your cooking arrangements would be over here, and we couldn't let you starve." She leaned her forearms onto the table. "Rick, Daryl said you'd been to see Deanna? What's she like? And what did they want?"
Rick sat down and poured himself some coffee, added creamer and stirred thoughtfully. "They want me to be their constable."
Carol nodded. "I thought they might ask you that. What did you tell them?" Rick looked at the table in front of him. "That I'd think about it. At the moment they have a kind of neighborhood watch, but they are all volunteers."
He glanced at Daryl who was turning his coffee mug in his hands, not looking at him. "They've offered to show me around this afternoon. I'm to go with one of the teams patrolling the streets. I've said I'd be there."
Carol reached across the table and placed a hand on Rick's. "I think they'd be lucky to have you as constable. But Rick, only agree if you really want to do it. It's very early days for us, and we've been through a lot. I am sure they'd understand if you needed some downtime first."
Rick smiled at her. "That's what Deanna said. 'No pressure'. She seems all right, really. They want to meet us all. There'll be a BBQ tomorrow night, and we'll be the guests of honor. Deanna said she'll want to talk to everyone soon, get to know us."
Carol pushed her chair back. "That sounds great, it really does. I must be getting back, I said I'd be home for lunch. Our house still needs a little work to make it comfortable for the four of us. Rick, do you want us to look after Judith for the afternoon? Carl could come too. He'd actually be a great help for moving the furniture around. If you and Daryl don't mind, of course."
"Why would I mind?" Daryl got up, again not looking at Carol or Rick. "I'll get Lil Asskicker ready. She's with Carl." He quickly walked away and bounded up the stairs.
Carol looked at Rick. "So he's staying here, then? I am glad. I was worried yesterday, he was back in his shell the way we haven't seen him in years."
So he wasn't the only one who was watching Daryl closely. Rick looked thoughtfully towards the stairs up which Daryl had just disappeared. "I don't know, Carol. He seems a little lost. He drank a whole bottle of whiskey last night. I never thought he was much of a drinker…"
"Why don't you take him out to that neighborhood watch meeting later? Maybe he'd fit in with them. Anyway," she stood up. "You'll have some time to talk, since I am taking that cutie pie here away with me now!"
Carol stood up and walked over to where Daryl had just come down with Judith and took the little girl from him. "Later, Lil Asskicker," Daryl said fondly to the baby and stroked her blond head gently. Then he turned around and handed the bag with the baby things to Carl who had just appeared.
Rick came over too and put a hand on Carl's shoulder. "You ok to go over to Carol's for the afternoon?" Carl grinned. "Course I am, I've got these for Michonne." He held up some chocolate bars. Rick tousled his son's hair. Maybe he could be a kid again for a while, here. "Good. We'll stick close for now, but once we've all settled I'm sure you'll make new friends."
"It's fine, dad, really. I like spending time with Michonne and Carol. And with Judith." Rick felt a fatherly pride at the fond look Carl gave his baby sister.
Carol started walking towards the door. "Right, better be off, Carl. Rick, why don't you pick them up after you're done with those neighborhood watch people?"
Rick walked over to the door and opened it. "I'll do that. Have fun!" He watched Carol and Carl walk out the door and down the steps. "Bye, dad," Carl called over his shoulder.
Rick closed the door and turned around. "Thanks again for looking after them," he said to Daryl. "No problems, I take it?"
"No probs, man. They're good kids. Hey, I dumped my stuff in that second bedroom. Are you real sure you want me here?" Rick walked toward the kitchen and clapped Daryl on the shoulder in passing.
"I said I did, didn't I? Come on, lunchtime. Looks like it's just us two."
Daryl followed Rick into the kitchen. "Just, you know, tell me if you change your mind. 's no bother, crashin' somewhere else."
Rick looked back at him. "Drop it, man. This is a new start for all of us, but the kids need continuity, too. We all need to find our place here."
Daryl scoffed. "Don' know if I'm made for this kinda life. And after the prison, all them strangers we let in, and then…" Rick thought he knew exactly how Daryl almost completed that sentence. And then we let them all die. Rick turned round and faced Daryl, looking him directly in the eyes. "This will be different. It just has to be, we'll make it happen."
Daryl met Rick's eyes only for a second, then dropped his gaze and shrugged. Rick sighed inwardly. He knew some of what Daryl was feeling, but he was frustrated with himself that he couldn't make him understand that he wouldn't drop him, just because their lives were going to be different from now on. He tried a different tack.
"Listen, why don't you come with me this afternoon? I am sure that neighborhood watch could use some sup…"
"I ain't no cop!" Daryl suddenly looked angry, then, looking at Rick and realizing who he was talking to, he looked ashamed.
"I know that," Rick retorted. He retraced his step until he was close to Daryl and tried to put his right hand on the man's shoulder again, to calm him down, but Daryl flinched away. "I just thought they could do with some help, is all."
Daryl backed away. "Look, man, no need to find me a home, and a job and all that shit. I can look after myself."
"I know you can," Rick was starting to get cross now, and it was probably evident in his voice. Daryl turned away and snatched up his jacket that was lying on the sofa.
"I'll see you later," he grunted, and before Rick could try and hold him back he had walked out of the house.
Daryl hadn't come back by the time Rick was supposed to meet the neighborhood watch. Rick had eaten alone, making a mental note to praise Sasha for her cooking as soon as possible. When he couldn't wait any longer without risking being extremely late for his meeting Rick reluctantly left the house. He didn't lock the door. There was a spare set of keys but it was sitting on the dresser. Daryl had obviously not thought of taking them. Or maybe, Rick mused sadly, he didn't think he had a right to them.
Rick was to meet the neighborhood watch on the green in front of the building that served as town hall. It had used to be a school and it served as the council's headquarters, storage and distribution centre for all goods, police station (such as it was) and currently also as hospital.
"We might be a bit cramped soon," Deanna had told Rick when they had met. "It's quite convenient, though. The one thing we haven't managed to fix yet are the phone lines, so being under one roof saves the administration staff a lot of legwork."
There were about a dozen men and women waiting for Rick. Lance, the man nominally in charge, greeted Rick warmly and introduced him to the others. Rick remembered that Lance had told him he used to be a security guard. The man was about sixty, and Rick had had a feeling that he was relieved at the thought of handing over responsibility to somebody else.
"We usually split into three groups," he now told Rick, "and walk the entire zone between us. We do this twice a day, varying the times and routes. We check out the perimeter en route, too. 'Course, it's the security forces who're in charge up there, but they have to have their eyes peeled 24/7, so we like to give them a hand.
"Other than that it's pretty straightforward. We check in on people, especially if we know they are likely to need a hand now an' then. Elderly folk, mums with babies, so on."
"Do you get a lot of actual crime?"
Lance shrugged. "The odd drunk and disorderly. Arguments about property. Sometimes a kid goes missing, but so far we've always found them real quick. Usually teens wanting some alone time." He placed a hand on the weapon in a holster by his side. "This is still mostly for the biters. We've had a few incidents, folks died and came back unexpectedly. Right, shall we get going?"
Rick nodded. "Tell me where you want me."
They split and set off in three different directions. Rick stayed with Lance, another man and two women. He thought he remembered the three being called Scott, Teresa and Ruth.
While they walked Lance filled Rick in about the history of the safe zone, and explained details about its day to day running. He pointed out the features of the walls and fences and told Rick about the inhabitants they encountered. Everyone seemed to know Lance, and he greeted them all by name. They chatted with a number of residents and knocked on a few doors, checking on the vulnerable people Lance had mentioned.
They were approaching the front gate when they could hear raised voices. As they got closer they could see that a small crowd had gathered. Lance made his way right to the front of the crowd, and Rick followed. Lance turned to him and pointed. "Isn't he one of your group?"
Right in front of the gates stood Daryl, and he was clearly having a heated argument with one of the security guards manning the gate. As Rick and Lance approached Daryl suddenly lunged at the guard, who stood his ground and pushed Daryl back. Rick could see the guard was clearly trying not to aggravate Daryl further, but he wasn't giving way to whatever it was Daryl wanted.
"'ll go out whenever the fuck I like. Now, ge' out m'way." Rick quickly strode over to Daryl, positioning himself in his line of vision and shielding the guard from Daryl who looked ready to throw punches next.
Rick looked directly at Daryl. "What's going on, man?" He kept his voice low, trying to block out the people around them. Daryl paced to and fro a couple of steps several times, looking for all the world like a caged animal. He didn't meet Rick's eye.
"These fuckers won't let me out. Thought I'd check out the game, get the lay of the land, y'know." He suddenly advanced on the guard again. "Nobody tells me when I come and go, y'hear me!" he yelled. Rick threw out an arm to hold Daryl back, but turned half round to the guard. "Why can't he go out?" he asked.
"Nobody leaves the safe zone on their own, and without permission. These are the rules. I am sorry, but we have to enforce some rules. Otherwise this settlement couldn't function."
Rick nodded his understanding and turned back to Daryl. He tried to catch the other man's eyes again, but failed. "Daryl," he kept his voice very low, to calm Daryl down and to let him know that he was on his side and that this was a conversation just between them. Rick thought he could smell alcohol on Daryl again. "We've just gotten here, we need to take it easy. There'll be some things here we might not like, but we'll need to be patient. We'll discuss these rules with their council, see if we can negotiate. For now, please, let's just keep our cool."
He had put a hand on Daryl's shoulder while he had been talking, but Daryl now yanked away from Rick. "Don't tell me wha't'do," he spat. "Jus' go back to yer playin' cops." And with that, Daryl turned on his heel and stalked off, pushing his way through the swelling crowd of onlookers.
Rick went to fetch Judith and Carl after he finished his round with the watch. He had not yet definitely agreed to their request of becoming their constable, but he was pretty certain he wanted to. These were good people, and he had seen that with his experience on the force he could do his bit to make this settlement more secure.
When Rick got home with the children Daryl wasn't there. Rick had half hoped that he wouldn't be, so that he wouldn't have to make a scene in front of the kids, and felt immediately guilty. Rick was sure his friend needed help, but he wasn't sure what he could do for him. Lance had asked him back at the fence whether Rick wanted to go after Daryl, but Rick had said no. That had also made him feel slightly guilty, but he'd been properly exasperated with the other man and wasn't sure it wouldn't come to blows if he confronted Daryl in that state.
Rick had fed Judith, then fixed dinner for Carl and himself. Carl had asked where Daryl was, and Rick had made excuses. That annoyed him again. He hated lying to Carl, and maybe Daryl wasn't a good influence if this was what he would be like.
At that though Rick was properly disgusted with himself. He hadn't offered Daryl a place to stay just for the convenience of free childcare. Or had he? No, Rick decided. In the world Before his kids would have been his first priority, to be shielded from all evil. In this new world his group truly was his family, and he had responsibility for them all. As they had for him and his kids.
Carl went to his room after dinner. Rick left him to it. He was sure there were many things Carl wanted to catch up on now that he had a proper door to close behind himself again. Rick sat on the sofa with a beer for as long as he could keep his eyes open. When Daryl hadn't reappeared by midnight Rick went to bed.
He was woken a few hours later by heavy footsteps on the stairs. It took all of Rick's self-control not to sprint into the corridor with his weapon drawn. Instead, he got up quietly and opened the bedroom door a crack. He was just in time to see the bathroom door down the hall close.
Rick waited a few more minutes, then he could hear a toilet flush, and the shower stuttering to life. Rick closed his bedroom door. Daryl had come home after all, and Rick didn't mind to admit to himself that he felt hugely relieved.
