Chapter 4

I woke up to the sound of walkers growling at the door. I didn't open my eyes, trying to get as much peace as I could get before having to get up. This may be one of the last times in a long while that I can fall asleep feeling somewhat save. I turn over to get out of the bed admitting defeat when I am stopped by a arm keeping me in place. I look down and see Daryl's arm slung around me not budging the slightest, I look over at him and if I didn't know any better he looked as if he was trying to act asleep. I laugh at his attempt, but decided to take it as a challenge. I moved closer to him laying back down now and put my face right up to his. I could feel his breath on my and our noise where almost touching. I was just looking at his eyes back and forth waiting for one of them to open to scare the crap out of him. Just when the thought of him maybe really being asleep pasted my mind he grabbed both sides of my face with his hands turn me so I was caught under him, he had caught me so off guard I just covered my face with my hands not knowing what to do.

"Gotcha." He said with his morning groggy voice that could make my heart melt. Wait. Did I just think that? No, I am not developing those kind of feelings for him, am I? I uncovered my face putting my hands on his chest pushing him off me.

"Damn you Daryl! You scared me half to death! Its not funny!" I said trying my hardest to get out of his grip, but it was useless and only ended with me tired and now even tighter in his grip then before.

"Well if it counts for anything, I thought it was hilarious." He said dipping his head down so that I had no choose but to look right into his eyes. This was so out of characters for him, most mornings he only answers with one words or a nod of the the head, and when I woke up he was gone most of the time. It always did have me wonder how we ended up in the morning which I got my answer today.

"No, it counts for nothing. And come on we need to get an early start. Get as much light as we can." I said as he finally rolled off me. Right after I said that the mood in the whole house shifted, what was once happy and cheery was now the cold hard truth. We had lost our safe place and today was the day that we went back in to the world we were able to escape from for so long. I never enjoyed killing a walker, I still felt like they had a little of their old self with them and a little part of me felt like a killer. But Daryl had always reminded me how it was for my protection and it was either that life or mine. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, looking down in front of him silent. I thought maybe I should say something but there was nothing to say, nothing could help. I got out of the bed and went over to the cloths we had, I knew I need to wear something that was easy to move around in but it would fit well even if I started to get big and we weren't able to find more cloths. I went with jeans that fit but not to tight, and a normal t-shirt with a hoodie to go over, it was still warm out so I just wrapped it around my waist knowing I was going to want it later as it got colder into the night. I turned to see what Daryl was doing but he was already gone. I finished taking everything I wanted in a backpack we had found and went out to the living room, Daryl was totally gone, and he didn't even say where he was going? Were we really going back to this silent communication? I don't think I could deal with this now I needed him completely here. He wasn't going to push me out now that we were back in dangers arms, I looked around thinking what was best to take. The bag was big but I didn't want to fill it up to much and drag me down knowing anything could happen out there. I for sure packed the pregnancy book along with a notepad and pencil I had remade my little chart on the notepad not wanting to lose track of how far along I was. I went to the kitchen getting out all the bottles we had and went out to the back door checking for any danger and quickly slipping out to the pump we had found three weeks back that was still in working. I filled the bottles and looked at the sky, it was a nice day a a little on the hot side but what can you ask from Georgia? I went back inside to see Daryl running out of the bedroom looking frantic.

"Where in the hell did you go!" He yelled walking up to me.

"Keep you voice down, and I just went out back to fill the bottles. You know for water to survive?" I said waving the bottles in his face.

"Well you shouldn't have gone out there alone, you should have waited for me to get back. I could I done it."

"Why would you have done it? I have been filling these up by my self sense we first found it. Calm down nothing bad happened."

"But something could of. And from now on you aren't allowed to go off on your own."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Did you just tell me I wasn't allowed to do something? Im sorry I didn't know you were making my decisions for me father" I said with sarcasm in my voice. He gave me a stern looking telling me that wasn't funny. I knew that was going to far. "Anyway you have no room to talk! You just left not letting me know where you went. What was that about?"

"I went out to scope out the woods to see what the walker count looked like. And this is no where near on the same page, I am perfectly fine out there on my own, you didn't even have a weapon."

"A weapon? I was 20 feet from the house! Plus I checked it out before going there was nothing. Lets just drop it this is not getting the morning off to the best start. What was it like out there?" I said changing the subject because I had no way of winning this.

"It wasn't to bad we are going to opposite of the walkers ways but more east so we aren't running in to every one that is trying to come here." I nodded thinking that sounded like a good plan, I wasn't liking the role he was taking here and frankly it was getting me mad thinking he could boss me around that this. "Oh and I also came across some grapes and other berries that I got, im going to go cut them up and add it to the apples we found last week." He said walking into the kitchen, I finished packing everything we needed and put my knife holder bad on my pants, I put the knife in and sighed in defeat. I hadn't had to have this on me in so long, it was a nice feeling knowing I was safe enough with out it 24/7. Daryl came back and handed me a bowl completely filled to the top with so many different fruits, some I hadn't seen in forever. The biggest smile grew on my face because fruit was my favorite thing in the world and knowing that it was one that that hadn't been taken away from me made me so happy. I looked over to him to say thanks when I noticed he didn't have a bowl.

"Where is yours?" I asked looking to see if he had left it in the kitchen.

"I got them for you, i'll just get a squirrel later." He said acting like it was no big deal.

"Nooo you are not going all morning without food. That's not happening you are our main protection remember?" I said shoving the bowl his way trying to get him to take some.

"Im fine really, you need it more." He said turn away. I started to eat and it took me off guard at first, I had forgotten how some of these had tasted. It was like I was trying it for the first time again. I finished it faster then I probably should have but I didn't care at this point. I went back to the kitchen and put the bowl on the counter looking at Daryl.

"So we ready to go?" I asked, he looked at me with worried eyes but quickly masked it.

"Yeah." He grumbled. I grabbed the back pack swinging it on and followed Daryl out the back door. I pulled my knife out staying close to him with his crows bow ready. There was only a few here and there to the way of the woods and once we had got to the woods it was so quite. We walked in silence for a while being on our game, ready for anything that may come at us, but after a while it became clear that there wasn't much action in this neck of the woods. It became more relaxed but we were still ready if a walked came at us. After what seemed like a life time it looked like the sun was a little over half way up in the sky.

"My guess its probably 1 or 2. We should stop to find some food." Daryl agreed and had me set up a small camp and he said he was going to go out and so what he could find. I said I would go along but he said he does better alone and to scream is anything happened. He seemed hesitant to leave my side, but I knew he wasn't going to go far. I started a small fire with what I could find and sat back to relax when I heard the sound of sticks braking. I hopped up knife out and ready for it. I turned in a circle trying to figure out where the sound had come from, I heard it again turning to my right ready to attack, a little girl came shuffling around the tree, it almost knocked the wind out of me. Who was this girl? Why was she all alone in the wood long enough to get bit? She came closer and closers, I knew what I needed to do but I couldn't make myself do it, seeing her in the state she was in broke my heart. I just kept walking back farther and farther putting off killing her, hoping maybe she would just change back to normal so I didn't have to do it. I backed in to a tree and I knew what I had to do.

"Im so sorry this happened to you." I whispered as I plunged the knife in her head as the tears fall from my face. She fell to the ground, I had to pull myself together before I attracted more by the sounds I was making. I wiped the tears and sat down by the girl turning her over. I brushed the hair out of her face looking at her sweet face. She was so innocent, tainted by this world. Her parents couldn't help her, no one could. I got up quickly before I lost it again this only scared me that I wasn't going to a good enough mom, what if this is how my child is ended. Oh god no I couldn't even think of that I quickly stumbled back the way to the camp running into a person. I screamed pulling getting my knife ready when a hand cover my face to muffle the sound. This only scared me more until I realized it was Daryl. He has hurt in his eyes.

"Oh my god! I thought you were a walker, I just umm. Im sorry I should have been more alert. Im sorry its just there was this girl and she.." I trying choking out between sobs I was trying to control. He pulled me in and I relaxed knowing he probably saw what had just happened.

"Its ok, im here now. Im not going anywhere." He said softly.

"I know." I said with a smile looking up at him. We just stood there looking at each other, it was so peaceful it took as the fear away from the world around me. "Thank you." I said running my hand down his cheek. He only nodded his head.

We had kept moving from there after eating, walking until it started to show signs of the dark taking over.

"Daryl, what are we doing?" I asked, he looked at me confused. "What are we doing about tonight? I dont know about you but I don't feel comfortable sleeping out in the open just waiting for a walker to come and bit me."

"Yeah I know I am thinking." He finally said. "We probably aren't going to have any luck finding a good shelter so just for tonight we can sleep out here, i'll keep watch and you sleep." I looked at him wide eyed.

"Your kidding right?" I asked

"Of course not, what made you think I am kidding?" He answered back.

"Ok well its clear that you are not good at making plans or thinking ahead, look I know you are trying to be strong for the both of us but who are you trying to fool thinking you can go all day with out barley eating anything to going all night to not sleeping then up and ready for tomorrow. No that not happening and you know it." I said as he turned to look at.

"Well we don't really have much a choose as of right now unless you want to just keep on walking until we stumble apron a wonderful little land where everything is perfect and we can life there forever? Come on Beth be realistic. You need to sleep."

"Be realistic? Are you kidding Daryl! Open your eyes! Your not going all night without sleep that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. End of discussion." I said.

"Fine end of discussion, end of fucking discussion then what is the plan? What are we going to do?" He asked yelling.

"Stop getting so mad at me! You know im right and you are just trying to do the right thing here to protect me but im not going to let you get yourself killed over me. If anything were to come after you tomorrow you would be in no condition to safe anyone." I said telling the truth, it hit him but he didn't react. He didn't know what to do. None of us did. My mind raced I was trying to think of anything that that would help, I looked left and right, up in the trees. The trees were not the right trees for climbing and there was no way that we were going to be able to sleep up there. We were stuck. Looking off to the right something caught my eye, it was a road.

"Come on." I said to Daryl, he didn't look so sure but he followed. As I slowly approached the end of the tree line it was a small high way with a build up of cars all abandoned. I saw a walker in the distant and we need to act fast so we didn't caught its attention. I looked up and down the cars looking for one that seemed safe. I didn't like the idea at all of sleeping in one knowing that we could easier wake up with a heard around us wait to eat us for there breakfast. Just then I saw a semis.

"That's perfect! Come on!" I said running toward it. Daryl had our backs watching for anything that may come at us. I came up to it and opened the back door the camper that was right behind the drivers area. I had always wanted to be in one of these and I guess today was the day I would get that. I got in looking around to see no one, there was a tiny toilet sink and then a bed a little bigger then a twin. Daryl quickly got in and shut the door.

"Its perfect, high off the ground and no windows. Plus it seems like sound doesn't travel out of it well." I said smiling. He just looked at me knowing that my idea had beaten his. "Come on lets just go to bed" I said taking off my bag and knife. As I was taking off my boots Daryl looked at my strange but then started to take his weapons off and shoes as well. I searched the small cabinet and found two blankets. I layed them down flattening them out on the bed, turning around smiling at my work I looked at Daryl. He looked tired a beat. I felt bad, he had given so much to keep me safe putting me first had taken such a toll on him and I knew there was nothing I could do to get him to ease up on it. I got in the bag pulling out the water bottle handing it to him, he finally took it and I looked around to see if any food was left. Just when I thought this place was cleaned out I came across that last draw opening it and seeing a can of pork and beans. I took it over to Daryl handing to him.

"I don't care what you say or how much you whine but you are eating all of this and then you are going to sleep, no keeping watch. I am fine, I am perfectly safe and protected because of you. Remember that, its because of you. Both me and the baby couldn't be happier or in better hands." I said smiling, he finally nodded his head and a small smile grew on his. I got on my toes and lightly touch my lips to his, I only stayed there for a second and he didn't pulled back. I finally pulled back. "Thank you." I whispered then turning around and crawling in the bed wrapping the blanket around me, I thought I maybe heard he laugh but I wasn't sure falling asleep so fast.

A/N Thank you sooooooooooooo much for all the positive feed back! I love it soooo much! Reviews make my heart happy :) Anyway I am really sorry for any mistakes in this, just finished it at 2 AM and really wanted to get it out to you! Like always any suggestions I would love to hear them! Last thing thank you for so much feed back on the baby names I got some really good ones!

Much Love - izy