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By the time they reached the old farmhouse they had found earlier in the day, it was almost full dark. Jillian had wrapped his side up and had to help him walk at first. After a few yards, Daryl decided he could walk by himself. Once inside the farm house, Daryl got to work building them a fire from the spare wood piled up in the kitchen. There was a fire place in the middle of the big room. It separated the kitchen and dining room. Jillian went up the stairs to check to the clothes they had seen there earlier.
" Daryl," Jillian called out as she walked down the steps. He looked behind him through the kitchen. She was holding some clothes in her hands. " the guy that lived it must have been your twin cuz look what I found!" She said with excitement. He stood up as she came into the kitchen. She was holding a wife beater, sleeveless shirt and a pair of jeans. " I think these will fit you." She said as she looked up at him. " We can get your jeans off and dry them. You don't want to get sick by wearing wet clothes." She said. When he didn't move she blushed, making him smile. " Oh yeah, I guess I should step out." She said. Jillian couldn't get out the kitchen fast enough.
Jillian leaned against the wall outside the kitchen and listened as he moved around. He groaned a few times and she knew he had to be taking his pants off. She slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor. She looked out the back door and across the yard. She shouldn't be doing this, she shouldn't be thinking about Daryl getting naked behind her when her little sister was missing. Sophia pulled Jillian's thoughts back to were they should be.
She stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing them at her ankles. Sophia had to be so scared. She wondered if her sister was warm. Was she hungry? Had she been bit? What was she going to tell their mom if she had been bitten? Jillian sighed without realizing it. She leaned her head back against the wall. If she had been bit, Jillian would make sure she was the one to kill her.
" You hungry?" Daryl's voice made her jump. She looked up at him. She had completely forgotten he had been there. She sighed and stood up. " Found some canned fruit and anchovies." She made a face that made him smile.
" I will share the fruit with you but I don't want the anchovies." She said as she walked around him into the kitchen.
" Can heat them up for you if you want." Daryl said as he followed her.
" No, thanks." Jillian said.
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They were sitting by the fire, their backs against the wall with the food between them. He had let Jillian have the canned peaches because she didn't want the tiny fish. He could eat just about anything so it didn't bother him. He had shook one in her face, making her gag and him laugh. He picked one up and dropped it on her hand, making her jump.
" Daryl! Fucking stop it!" She yelled as she hit him in arm. He laughed and put it in his mouth. She watched as he sucked it into his mouth like it was a noodle. She made another face. " That is so nasty!" He laughed and looked away from her.
" You ain't tried it. How do you know it's nasty?" He asked. He held another one up to her but she pushed his hand away.
" Stop it." She said.
" You try one and I will leave you alone about it." He said. " Besides, you burned me today, least you can do is try one for me."
" I was trying to save you." She protested as she looked at him. He shrugged.
" I'm tryin to save you from starvation." Daryl said. Jillian's shoulders dropped and she sighed.
" Alright, just one though." She said quickly. Daryl grinned and picked a fish up. She grimaced. " I don't want to touch it!" She said as she pulled away.
" How the hell you gonna eat it then?" He asked.
" Just put it in my mouth." She said. He raised his eyebrow at her but she shook her head and rolled her eyes. " Just do it." She snapped. He brought the fish to her mouth and watched her. She shook her head.
" Open your mouth." He said. She made a whine sound but did as he ordered. She closed her eyes as he put it in her mouth. She shook her head, making him laugh again. " Close your mouth and eat it." She shook her head again. " Jillian, close your mouth and eat it!" Her eyes snapped opened but she closed her mouth. She took his hand and brought it back to her mouth. She pushed the fish on with her tongue. He stared at her in disbelief. " Did you just spit that out into my hand?"
" It's so nasty! I just can't do it!" She said. He shook his head and popped it into his mouth. She shuddered, making him chuckle.
" At least you gave it a shot." He said.
" You just put that in your mouth after it was in mine. Just like that. How do you know I don't have anything you can catch?" She asked. He paused in his chewing, still staring down at her.
" Do you?" He asked. She laughed and looked away.
" No. I haven't had a herpes outbreak in two weeks." She said. When he didn't make a sound, she burst into a loud laughter and bumped his shoulder with hers. " I'm just kidding! I don't have herpes!" She explained as she looked at him. He smiled as he swallowed the fish down.
" You always like to fuck around?" He asked. She was still smiling as she looked away.
" I guess so. Just takes the edge off of what's going on, you know?" She asked. He nodded and looked away. " So I want to thank you for what you have been doing. I don't think you get thanked enough for everything and I'm sorry for that. We won't have made it if you didn't hunt for us like you do." Daryl shrugged as he played with a string on his pants.
" Ain't nothin." He said softly.
" Yeah, yeah it is. You don't even like us but you alway make sure we have shit to eat and now you're looking for my sister. And I know about that flower you brought my mom and the story you told her. I don't think you know how much that comforted her." Jillian said as she looked at him.
" I like ya'all. It ain't that I hated ya'all. Just had shit to deal with, you know? Besides, when we went lookin for Merle, you came with me." He said as he looked down at her. " Didn't even ask you too but you did it. Have to pay you back." He said. She smiled and looked away. She took a chance and laid her head down on his shoulder.
" And the flower you gave my mom? Just paying me back?" She asked. He shrugged as he looked away. He never had a girl rest on him like that. Yeah, he had bar whores hang on him but this was completely innocent. He felt like she was using him for comfort and it felt nice to him.
" Nah, just thought she needed somthin." He said softly. Jillian closed her eyes and sighed. Daryl stared into the light the fire was throwing. " We gonna find that little girl. She's gonna be fine." He said after a while. Jillian opened her eyes and swallowed.
" Thank you, Daryl." She whispered, her voice tight with emotion.
" She's lucky. She got people lookin for her. You and I both know what it's like to be lost and know no one care." He said.
" I just keep thinking about how scared she must be." Jillian said. They fell into silence again for a while before Daryl spoke.
" You should go and sleep in one of the beds upstairs. Got the doors locked up here so if a walker gets in, we'll know it."
" Where are you going to sleep?" Jillian asked as she took her head off him. They looked at each other then. Daryl shrugged. " Will you stay with me?" Once again he couldn't tell if she was blushing or not but her face was flushed again. " It's just, we all have been sleeping together, all around each other, I'm kind of nervous about sleeping alone." She said. When he didn't answer her, she looked away than pushed herself to stand. " Alright, well, yell or something if anything shows up."
" Just hold on. I'm comin." Daryl said as he stood up.
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They were laying side by side in one of the beds in the upstairs of the old house. It was dark and warm. She had opened the two windows in the bedroom and a nice breeze was coming in. He was laying on his back with his hands under his head while she was laying on her side with her eyes open. Night time was when it was hardest for her to know her sister was out in the woods.
" Can I ask you something?" She asked.
" Um?" He asked. Jillian sighed and turned around, making him glance at her.
" Do you really think we are going to find her?" Daryl looked back at the ceiling. He didn't speak for a few minutes before he sighed.
" I don't know but we ain't givin up." He said.