The farm was hard to miss, and Parker leaned forward in the passenger seat of the RV to get a closer look as Dale followed Andrea driving in the deep green Toyota; something Shane had picked up days ago before the highway. She stared at it, taking in the vast green and orange fields, huge barn and the white and olive mansion that loomed in front of them. It was two stories high with balconies on either side of the house - a good place for look outs if they needed them - and a long porch that ran around the entire house. She sat back in her seat, looking over at Dale. He seemed just as stunned, but chose not to say anything. It was all too good to be true. The place was completely untouched, secluded from the rest of the world. On the drive up there she had noticed a sign further down the dirt track that led to a nearby town, and she made a mental note to tell Glenn when they had a moment alone, knowing supplies would be useful to collect now that they were all back together and with another group.
"You think he's okay?" Parker asked quietly as Dale pulled the RV to a stop at the end of the drive. Ahead of them, Andrea parked the Toyota and Daryl's motorcycle screeched to a halt. He seemed to stare at the house with just as much confusion as the rest of them. "Carl, I mean. Do you think he made it?"
"I certainly hope so." Dale said. "So far, we've all seemed to get past whatever's been thrown at us."
"Yeah." Parker said. "We have." She exited the RV a few moments later, Carol not too far behind her; she had driven behind them in a light blue truck they had found on the highway, giving the group another vehicle to use if need be. She was clutching a shawl around her shoulders and shivering, even though the heat was beating down on them all. Daryl and Andrea came back empty handed that night, and she had retreated to her bunk after helping Dale keep watch. Carol had cried all night; it was obvious by her red rimmed eyes and quivering bottom lip.
The moment they all stepped out, a horde of people all swarmed out of the house. Rick and Lori were ahead of the rest, standing next to an elderly man and two young women. Parker recognised the taller of the two as the woman who took Lori in the woods whilst the other was much younger and shorter, skinnier too, with pale blonde hair and even paler skin. They looked vaguely similar, and she assumed they were related. Parker noticed her brother's baseball cap sticking out from behind Rick and she walked over, pulling him into a hug. He sighed into her hair.
"Is he okay?" She whispered and Glenn nodded.
"Yeah, he's gonna be fine." He pulled away and smiled at her, and Parker couldn't help but let out a small laugh in relief.
"Thank god." She breathed. Dale stepped forward and turned to Rick.
"How is he?" He asked, referring to Carl. Parker stepped back so she was no longer in front of Glenn, and turned to Carl's parents, both of them looking at least a little well rested compared to when she last saw them.
"He'll pull through." Lori said with a smile. "Thanks to Herschel, and his people." Lori looked over at the elderly man, and Parker instantly felt the urge to thank him, but Rick spoke up.
"And Shane." He said, his voice slightly hoarse. Parker shuddered. He must have been crying and yelling the moment Carl got shot, any parent would have been. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Parker turned to look at Shane and nearly gasped at the sight of him. He was wearing denim overalls that were way too oversized, and his hair was no longer thick, brown and curly. It was now buzzed down to his scalp, allowing a small scar on the right side of his head to be put on full display. When had that happened? After a pause, Dale hugged Rick, thankful that his friend's son was alive. Carol did the same to Lori, talking to her in a hushed tone with a look of relief on her face. At least she could be happy for a little while, Parker thought.
"We were so worried." Carol said as Lori let her go.
"How did it happen?" Parker asked Rick, and he turned to her with a small shrug.
"Hunting accident." He drawled. "That's all it was, just a...stupid accident." She frowned.
"Who shot him?" Hershel and his people looked away sadly and Parker felt Glenn tense beside her.
"Our man, Otis." Hershel spoke up for the first time. His voice was low and soft and Parker couldn't help but feel comforted by it. Everyone was so brash and gruff these days, it was nice to hear a friendly, welcoming voice. "He helped retrieve supplies for the surgery. But he didn't make it."
"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said anything." Parker looked away, but Hershel shook his head.
"It's only fair of you to ask. You weren't here, you didn't know." She nodded, grateful for his kind tone, and watched him walk to the front of the group. "We're having a service for him." Herschel announced. "I know not all of you met him, or even knew him, but we would appreciate you coming to pay your respects. He was one of us. A decent human being. He deserves a burial surrounded by loved ones." Rick nodded and as if on cue, the rest of his group did too. Glenn led his sister over to a cluster of trees near the barn where a large pile of stones had been placed. Otis's grave. She reached out for Glenn's hand and he took it instantly, giving her a comforting squeeze. Hershel and his people gathered on the left side of the grave whilst Rick and his group gathered on the right. Daryl stood closest to the grave, not that he looked too pleased about it. He looked even more ticked off once Parker stood at his side, and she saw him physically flinch and shuffle away. She refused to say anything about it now, it wasn't the time to ask if she had done anything to piss Daryl off, again.
Parker watched as Beth, Hershel's youngest daughter, stepped forward and placed a rock on top of the pile, taking a moment to stare at it before walking back to Maggie, Hershel's eldest; whom Glenn still referred to as 'Zorro on a horse'. Parker held her brother's hand and watched sadly as Hershel stepped forward holding a bible. It was moments like these where she tried her hardest to believe in something, even if she was 100% atheist at this point in her life. She wondered what it was like to believe in something greater, a power that's supposed to protect and comfort you in times of crisis. But so far, no one had come to their rescue.
"Blessed be God." Hershel said to the group, who all had their heads down in respect. "Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Praise be to Him, for the gift of our brother; Otis." Jimmy, Beth's boyfriend, stepped forward, dropping his farmer's hat and placing a stone on the pile. "For his span of years, for his abundance of character. Otis. Who gave his life to save a child's. Now, more than ever, our most precious asset." Parker let out a sigh, thinking about Sophia and Carl, whilst Daryl looked over at her, but she didn't look back.
She was staring at the grave, not wanting to believe that they were really having a funeral. She knew deep down that she may have to attend a lot of these now, too many perhaps. The thought of that made her stomach churn and she looked at her feet. Glenn stepped closer to her and kept her hand tightly in his own. He was the best at comforting her, no one else knew her like he did. And no one ever would.
"We thank you God," Hershel continued, "for the peace he endures in your embrace. He died, as he lived. In Grace." He gently shut the bible and took a step back, before looking over at Rick's group. "Shane?" Parker looked up to see Shane stare at Hershel with what looked like a scared expression. Glenn had told her on the walk up that Shane saw it all go down. He saw Otis get cut off and taken out by the walkers, and he's been quiet about it ever since. "Will you speak for Otis?" Hershel asked. Shane swallowed and his eyes darted around the group frantically. He looked trapped, almost claustrophobic, and Parker wasn't sure if he was about to pass out or storm off.
"M'not good at it." He said, his voice low and gravely. He looked down at his shaking hands.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled.
"You were the last one with him." Patricia, Otis's wife, now widow, spoke up. She was crying and staring at Shane in pure desperation. She needed closure, it was obvious to everybody. "You shared his final moments. Please! I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." Parker noticed Shane shift on his feet, not being able to meet anyone's eyes. Eventually, he found enough courage to speak.
"We were about done." He said, remembering that night. How dark it was, how many walkers surrounded them. The fear he felt. Not only for his life, but for Carl's. He had to get back to him. "Almost outta ammo, we were down to pistols by then." Everyone was silent, either watching Shane, or staring at the grass underneath their feet. No one dared to speak. "I was limpin'." Shane explained, and Parker glanced at his feet to see a small bandage wrapped around his upper right ankle. He never stood on it for too long as he spoke. "It was bad. Ankle all swollen up." He paused, and Parker let her eyes flicker to him. His face was riddled with sadness, guilt. He had seen an innocent man die that night, and he couldn't save him. No wonder he was still shaken up. "We gotta save the boy." He said suddenly, and Lori looked up in shock. Her eyes welled with tears and she gripped her husband's hand, a similar reaction on his face. "See that's what he said. He gave me his backpack he shoved me ahead. Run, he said. He said I'll...I'll take the rear, I'll cover you. And then when I looked back…"
Shane faltered, and everyone around him felt the weight of his words on their shoulders. He then slowly limped over to the grave. "If not for Otis." He said, his voice louder and much clearer than before. There was a hint of something in his tone that made Parker shiver. She didn't know what it was, but there was something weird about Shane, something different. He hobbled to the wheel barrow Beth had brought out that had been filled with stones minutes ago. Now, only a few remained, and Shane took one of the smaller ones in his trembling hands. "I would have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl, too. It was Otis." He was back to sounding sad now, and he placed the rock onto the pile, patting it gently with his hand. He then turned to face the others one more time. "He saved us both. If any death had meaning, it was his."
Patricia, who was silently crying, nodded at him in thanks. After a few silent moments, Hershel gently led her, his daughters and Jimmy away and back to the house. Rick and Lori, followed by Carol, Andrea and Shane, went after them. Glenn let out a long sigh and pulled on his sister's arm, motioning for her to follow him, but she shook her head. Parker smiled at him.
"I'll be there in a minute." She said softly and Glenn nodded, giving her some space. Dale walked past her and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly before walking up to the farm house with Glenn, who turned to look over his shoulder at his sister. She didn't know Otis, never even knew he existed until today, but he knew she would feel guilty over his death. If it hadn't of been for their group coming into the woods, searching day and night for Sophia, maybe Otis wouldn't have gotten killed out there. Shane wouldn't have had to of seen it either, nor hurt himself in the process. Physically and mentally.
"You okay?" Parker's head whipped round, her hair flying across her face, and she stared at Daryl. She had forgotten he was there, standing right next to her. She swallowed and nodded.
"Yeah just, sad is all." Daryl squinted his eyes at her, his face crinkling in confusion.
"Why?"
"People are just going to die now." She said quietly, wrapping her arms around her body as if to steady herself. "That's what this world is now, right? Just, death."
"Thought you was goin' on about a safe place." Daryl said, moving from his spot and standing closer to her. "S'what you said yesterday. You already given up on that?"
"No." Parker's voice was firm. "I haven't given up. I know there's a place we can stay it's just...I don't want anyone here to die. Ever. From a bite or from something else. I hate death." She spat. Daryl hesitated, but then moved to stand in front of her, blocking her view of Otis's grave. She frowned up at him.
"Death happens. It happened before, it'll happen now. Can't escape it, you just have to know how to deal with it." He said gently and the two stared at each other for a while, neither feeling the urge to look away, before Daryl hung his head and walked off to the others. Parker breathed in the warm, morning air and wiped at her eyes, not wanting the tears that were threatening to fall run down her cheeks. He was right. She pulled herself together and stepped towards the grave, placing a tiny stone, almost a pebble, onto the very top of the grave. She smiled down at the rock pile.
"Thank you for saving Carl. And Shane. You're a good man." She whispered, then pulled her hand away and headed up to the cluster of cars up at the house. Rick and Hershel were talking to each other, the others milled around setting up their tents and chairs, laying out any supplies they still had on them. Patricia and Beth were nowhere to be seen, and Parker assumed they had gone inside. Shane, Daryl and Andrea were all leaning on the Cherokee, and Hershel and Rick eventually walked over to them. Parker hurried over to them and stood beside Andrea, just as Maggie showed up, a large map rolled up in her hands..
"How long's this girl been lost?" Hershel asked, and Parker realised Rick must have told him about Sophia at some point, maybe before the others showed up.
"This'll be day three." Rick said and Maggie placed the map on the hood of the car, rolling it out so everyone could see. It was a map of the area and Parker hadn't realised how large Hershel's land really was. It spread out for miles, acres and acres of fields with rivers and ponds and forests surrounding it. She saw the highway run across the map the had roads and junctions leading off in all directions. She wished Glenn could teach her how to read maps better, wanting to know how to get from point A to point B if she ever needed too. But for now, she relied on the others for navigation. She'd get the hang of it soon enough.
"County survey map." Maggie explained, wiping her hand across the paper so the wrinkles unfolded. "Shows terrain and elevations."
"This is perfect." Rick said with a positive nod. "We can finally get this thing organised. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."
"Not you," Hershel said with a shake of his head, "not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking fives minutes in this heat before passin' out." Parker stared at Rick in shock. How much blood had Carl lost? Hershel then looked at the four on the hood opposite him. "And your ankle." He directed at Shane, who had quickly thrown on a new set of clothes the second he got his car back. He wore a fitted, navy button down and a matching hat with POLICE printed in white across the front. His baggy overalls had been replaced with tighter, more durable combat trousers. "Push it now, you'll be laid up for a month. No good to anybody." Both men looked defeated at Hershel's words, and Parker felt bad for them. They desperately wanted that girl back here with them, with her mother. They were cops, it had been their job once upon a time. It was in their blood to protect people.
"Guess it's just me." Daryl huffed and reached over to point at a long stretch of water in the middle of the wooded area on the map. "Imma head back to the creek, work my way from there."
"I can still be useful." Shane spoke up. "Drive up the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back there."
"Alright." Rick agreed. "Tomorrow then. We'll start doin' this right." He said, and Hershel nodded.
"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives." Shane pointed out. "We need the gun trainin' we've been promised." Andrea and Parker both looked at Rick, both agreeing with Shane's statement. It was stupid to have people out there looking without knowing how to protect themselves, let alone someone else who might be hurt or trapped. Hershel, however, looked sceptical.
"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property." He said firmly. Rick looked at him with a frown. "We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp."
"With all due respect, we get a crowd of those things wanderin' in here-" Shane tried to say but Rick stepped in.
"We're guests here." He said. "This is your property, and we will respect that." Rick looked at his best friend and Parker held her breath. He then laid his gun onto the hood of the car gently, retracting his hand and leaving it there. Shane didn't look happy, but he shrugged his shoulders and did the same.
Eventually, once the small group had settled on having Dale first on watch with a rifle, much to Hershel's initial hesitation, everyone else planned to stay in camp to help set up and get things settled for the night. The next day would be when the first real search party would head out. That included Rick, Shane, T-Dog, Andrea, Daryl and Parker. At first, Glenn had refused to let his sister go out there, pleading with her to stay and go on runs with him instead so he could keep an eye on her. But Andrea had stepped in before the twins were at each other's throats, telling Glenn that if Parker wanted to help, then she could.
"Sophia liked her," Andrea said, "Parker would be a friendly face for her when we find her. Besides, we'll take good care of her." Glenn was still looking uncomfortable.
"I don't know-"
"Glenn, come on." Parker said, taking his arm. "I'm not going to do anything stupid or get lost. I'll stick right by Andrea, I promise."
"Actually, she's with me." T-Dog appeared from behind them all, his arm now bandaged and clean. He looked a lot better than the last time Parker had seen him and she felt relieved. "Someone needs to look after my sorry ass, and I'd rather it not be the pissed off white dude with the crossbow." Glenn snorted.
"So you're gonna leave that pissed off white dude with my sister? Thanks man." T-Dog raised his arms in apology but Parker smacked Glenn's shoulder.
"Daryl wouldn't hurt me, you're being stupid."
"I'm being careful!" He protested, rubbing his aching shoulder. He almost forgot how hard his sister could hit sometimes. But Glenn saw the defiant look in her eyes. She wanted to go, she had to. She wanted to make sure Carol could finally sleep at night without crying, that Carl would have someone to play with at camp, that a little girl wouldn't be lost in the woods forever. He sighed and rolled his eyes before tilting his head towards Daryl. "You don't wander off from him, alright? Stay where he can see you."
"I will. Anyways, if I did wander off he can just track me down. He's good at that, remember?"
"Make anymore jokes and I'll make Dale your new babysitter." Glenn threatened, and Parker smiled. "But that's tomorrow. Tonight, you stay here, in camp. You understand?"
"Yes sir." Parker saluted him with a roll of her eyes, making Andrea and T-Dog chuckle. Glenn shook his head but walked over to where Maggie was stood waiting for him on the other side of the camp. Rick had told her to go to Glenn if she wanted to go the village down the road, naming him the expert in scavenging for supplies. Glenn seemed nervous at the thought of being alone with Maggie, and Parker smirked as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and cautiously looked the farmer's daughter up and down. Stupid boy already had a crush.
She watched them walk to the stables and then turned to see Andrea and T-Dog go to the rest of the group to help set up their belongings. Parker and Glenn were having their tents side by side, and their things were already safely packed inside. Her knife was still at her hip but she had shrugged off her oversized shirt, giving it to Carol who seemed to already be busying herself with doing people's laundry. A distraction, Parker sadly realised. She was left in her navy vest top and jeans, and it felt good to feel the sun on her arms and shoulders for once.
She looked over at the farm house, seeing Rick sat by himself on the porch steps, and she made her way over to him. They didn't talk all that much, but since he saved her brother's life, she had tried to make an effort to see how he was now and then. Plus, he seemed to be their leader now, so he had her full respect.
"You feeling alright?" Parker asked and Rick looked up at her. "You gave him a lot of blood, you're not feeling light headed?" Rick shrugged, turning his Sheriff's hat over in his hands.
"Not often, but sometimes." He admitted. Parker folded her arms over her chest and sat down beside him. Neither spoke for a few seconds, but then Rick looked at his feet. "I thought I was goin' to lose him." His voice was faint, but Parker heard him nonetheless. She looked at him carefully, studying the lines on his face that suggested his age but also showed the stress he had gone through. Waking up from a coma to this? Parker wouldn't have been able to survive the way he had. He had more fire than any of their group put together.
"But you didn't." She said. Rick glanced at her. "When I heard Glenn was taken by those guys back in Atlanta I...I thought I'd never see him again." She bit her lip and tucked her hair behind her ear. "That scared the shit out of me. He's my family, all I have left. Losing him...I wouldn't have been able to go on." Rick slowly nodded his head, understanding what she meant. "But I didn't lose him. He came back to me, against all odds. And so did Carl." Parker smiled at him and sat up straight. "You did good, Rick. With Glenn and with Carl. You saved them both."
"Shane saved Carl." Risk's voice sounded bitter, but he seemed to regret it instantly.
"You both did. You're his father, Rick. Carl isn't going to forget that." Parker said. Rick smiled for a brief second in thanks, and flipped his hat over in his hands again. There was a scuffle of dirt across from them and they both glanced up to see Daryl wander out from behind some trees. Parker noticed him zip his trousers up and she glanced at the side of the house before her eyes travelled back to him. She scoffed; what a nice way to show his thanks for the Greene's giving them a place to stay.
"Daryl!" Rick called out, getting the rednecks attention. He hiked his crossbow onto his shoulder and stared at the two of them, his eyes focusing on how close they were to one another on the porch. Daryl sniffed and pressed his thin lips together. Rick stood up, Parker following suit, and took a few steps towards him. "You okay on your own?"
"I'm better on my own." Daryl replied, turning and beginning to walk away. "I'll be back by dark." Parker jogged to Rick's side, her hand pushing her flyaway hair from her eyes. They both watched Daryl walk further and further away, and they both tried to follow him.
"Hey!" Parker called out and Daryl stopped mid step, his shoulders hunching forward before relaxing. He didn't want to show either of them that he was uncomfortable around her right now. He hadn't spoken to her properly, bar Otis's funeral, since his dream. It still made his head spin and his stomach twist and being around her just brought flashes of her in that dress and straddling his lap and it was too much. He didn't want that, he hated it in fact. And having her follow him around like a lost puppy just made it all the more worse. "Just wait up a sec." Parker breathed out and Daryl turned to face them properly.
"We got a base." Rick said. "We can get this search properly organised now."
"You gotta point? Or we just chattin'?" Daryl asked rudely, walking forward with a glare.
"His point," Parker said, "is that you don't need to go out there. Not on your own at least. You can rest, eat. Whatever you want. It's not on your shoulders." She said, her hands now on her hips. Daryl barely glanced at her, not wanting to give her the satisfaction that he was listening to her. Because he wasn't.
"She's right." Rick said. "You're off the hook. You don't owe us anythin'." Daryl looked between the two of them before turning his back on them without a second thought.
"My other plans fell through." He spat and stalked off to the woods, gripping his crossbow a little too tight. Parker let out a sigh, but then turned at the sound of the farm house door squeaking open. Hershel stepped out, a map in hand, and spotted the two standing at his porch. Parker nodded at him.
"You should go." She said to Rick. "Looks like he wants you for something." Rick paused but nodded, popping his hat back onto his head, and walked over to their new host. Parker then turned and made her way back to her tent. She hurried inside, moving the flap over so no one could see what she was doing, before pulling another oversized shirt she had found on the highway, a black and red one this time, out of the stolen suitcase and shrugged it on. She then grabbed a small backpack from the corner and grabbed a flashlight, in case it got dark, some water and a couple of protein bars. Just to be safe.
Parker then quietly stepped out of the tent, whipping her head from left to right and scanning the campsite. No one seemed to be around, thankfully. Parker zipped up her tent and made her way towards the woods, following the dirt trail that Daryl had walked down that led past the wire fence that surrounded the farm and out into the open space. She heard commotion coming from far in the distance and she noticed a group gathered around a well, probably checking the water supply. Nowadays, you couldn't be too careful when it came to clean water. If a walker managed to get in and contaminate it, that would be it.
She was just about to hop over the fence when she heard someone cough. Her head snapped to her right where she saw Carol standing with a bucket full of wet laundry. Parker gulped, seeing Carol stare at the guilty look on her face.
"Thought Glenn said no leaving the camp today?" She asked.
"You heard that?" Parker groaned, stepping down from the fence and glaring back at the camp, mentally torturing her brother with her mind for being so protective.
"Pretty sure everybody heard it." Carol said. "He's really careful with you, isn't he."
Parker shrugged. "I guess. He thinks I don't know what I'm doing. That I'll get myself hurt."
"You probably will." Parker frowned as Carol smiled at her. "But then again, anyone here could. Shane did. Glenn has every right to be worried about you. You're his sister. If he found out you were sneaking off he'd panic. And sneaking off with Daryl? He'd go insane."
"It isn't like that." Parker stared at the ground, feeling as if she was being scolded by a teacher. Carol didn't say anything, just looked at her. She then hiked the bucket up onto her hip and stepped forward, getting close to Parker's ear.
"But I didn't see you. So everything I just said doesn't matter." She left Parker standing there, stunned, and walked off to camp with a big smile on her face. Parker stared after her, wondering how this woman had gone from grieving mother to helping her escape Glenn's watchful eye in a matter of hours. But she didn't want to waste the chance, so she hopped over the fence not a moment later and hurried off after Daryl.
***
The house was in the middle of a clearing about an hour from the creek, and it loomed over him, shading him from the sun as he stepped towards it, crossbow raised. This was the first sign of humanity Daryl had seen in the woods bar the church and the farm, and even though it looked wrecked and abandoned, he stilled hoped Sophia had been there. He trudged forward but slowed his pace and lightened his steps as he got to the porch, not wanting to alert anyone, or anything, that might be inside. He then pushed the front door with his shoulder, raising the crossbow to his eye and scanning the front hallway. There were stairs directly in front of him, a living room to his left and a kitchen to his right. Further down the hall sat a dining room and a downstairs bathroom.
Daryl tip toed through the kitchen, carefully opening cupboards and trying to find anything he might be able to bring back with him, only finding two cans of beans on the way. He headed into the living room next, taking in the sight of dusty furniture and overturned chairs, pictures barely hanging onto the walls above him. The chandelier was grey with dust and rot and he stepped over sprawled out papers that were littered across the floor. Whoever had stayed here before had left in a hurry, and that made his skin crawl. He stayed alert and checked the dining room and bathroom, once again finding nothing. Eventually, he made his way upstairs and rounded the first corner on his left, only for his nose to catch something strong not too far away.
Daryl frowned, gripping the crossbow, and stepped forward into a room to see a trash can just next to the door. He spotted the source of the strong smell and realised it was a half opened sardine can, with nothing but the liquid left inside. He brought it close to his face and sniffed, wincing at the strong odor, but realised it was recently opened. Someone had been here, or was still here. Daryl put the can back into the trash can and looked up to see a small cupboard door partially opened. He moved forward silently, like a cat trying to catch a clueless bird his brother used to say, not moving his eyes from the door. Daryl reached his hand out and after a pause he yanked the door wide open and lunged forward with his crossbow.
Nothing.
But then he saw the small pile of blankets and pillows, cans of food littering the floor, and Daryl realised someone had used the tiny cupboard as a place to sleep. He felt a sense of hope fill his chest. Only a kid could stay in here comfortably. Then his heart stopped as a creak sounded from behind him and he span around on his toes, hoisting his crossbow to his eyes and firing without hesitation, instinct taking over. He opened his eyes wider at the sight of someone crouching on the floor, shielding their face, and he dropped his weapon with a hard glare.
"The hell are you doin' here?" He spat aggressively, staring down at a shaking Parker Rhee who only narrowly missed having an arrow in her eye. Parker stared at him, moving her hands away from her head, and straightening herself up. She turned her head to look at the arrow that was now lodged in the hallway wall, just beneath a clock that had stopped working long ago, and then looked back at Daryl. "I almost shot you!" He hollered, not caring that he was making a racket. If anyone had been in the house with him they would have come out by now.
"You didn't think to see what it was first?" She bit back, her heart continuing to beat at an alarming rate. Her life had practically flashed before her eyes the second Daryl pulled the trigger and it was a mystery how she had ducked so quickly. She had seen that crossbow kill countless rabbits and squirrels in seconds; that could have been her if she was one second too late.
"Thought you was a walker." He growled, pushing past her and moving back out to the hallway to retrieve the arrow, yanking it from the rotting wood with a grunt. "The hell were you thinkin'? What if I killed you, huh?" Parker faltered and shifted her gaze. Daryl nodded in disgust. "This is why I don't want you around. You're puttin' yourself and me in danger."
"I'm putting you in danger?" Parker practically gaped at him. "What the hell does that mean?"
"Glenn and Rick would have my head if you got hurt. Don't you get it?" He barked, storming downstairs. Parker hurried after him, gripping the banister and trying to match his pace. Daryl kicked the back door of the house open that led from the kitchen to the open clearing outside and raised his head, searching the area with his eyes. "SOPHIA!" He yelled, making Parker jumped as she stood on the back steps.
"Daryl-" Parker tried to say but he spun back around to face her.
"The hell were you doin' out here anyways? You followin' me or somethin'?"
"Yes!" Parker yelled, her patience wearing thin now. "I followed you, okay? I followed you because I didn't want you out here on your own when you could have someone covering your back!"
"Cover my back?" Daryl snorted in amusement and shook his head at her. "You're delusional, girl." He growled. "You ain't even shot a gun before!"
"I have a knife." Parker argued, but knew how pathetic that sounded. A knife wasn't much anymore. Daryl just scoffed, loudly.
"Oh yeah, that makes me feel real protected, right there. Just go home, I don't need no help." He said. "Don't need no city girl followin' me round."
"The hell is your problem with me?!" Parker shouted, moving away from the porch and getting in Daryl's face. He stumbled ever so slightly, not expecting Parker tiny body to intimidate him, but for some reason her angry expression and clenched fists, along with her tense shoulders and firm stare, made him still his movements. "You've been avoiding me since the highway, what have I done? Huh? All I want is to help, not just you, but everyone else at camp! I hate sitting around and doing nothing when I know I can try and help find this girl! I know I'm inexperienced, that I don't know how to use a gun, or fire an arrow, or even read a goddamn map! But I have guts and that means something!" She was seething and Daryl could almost imagine steam coming from her ears. "I'm not useless! I know we're going to find her, and that's why I followed you. Because I know you can find her!"
"Just go back, Parker." Daryl said with a shake of his head, his voice gruff and tired. He just wanted to be left alone, why did no one understand that? "Go back and bother somebody else. Trust me, you ain't good at much else." Parker's jaw dropped open a fraction and Daryl raised an eyebrow at her. He had won this time.
Humiliation rushed through her and she felt her face flush red. Daryl threw his crossbow over his shoulder and stomped away from her and back into the woods, just wanting to find the girl in peace, and left her in silence. Parker wiped at her wet eyes, hating that fact his words got to her like that, and stood up straight.
"If you think being cruel is going to put me off, then do your goddamn worst!" She yelled and Daryl faltered. "I'm not giving up because some redneck thinks he's better than me. What, because you're used to it out here? You know how to handle yourself? Well guess what, that doesn't mean shit if you can't even handle talking to another human being for more than 5 seconds without shutting down or walking off because you're afraid!" Daryl spun around, his eyes practically burning a hole in her head. But she stood her ground, even when he started stomping towards her.
"I ain't afraid of nothin'!" Daryl growled, getting closer to her than either of them expected. Parker flared her nostrils in rage and tilted her chin up.
"Don't lie to me, Daryl." Parker said with a shake of her head and a sigh. "It's written all over your face whenever I talk to you. Whenever Rick or Dale or Glenn try to talk to you. But you know what? If you don't want my help, if you don't want anyone's help, then I'll stop. I'll leave you alone. You win." Parker shrugged and Daryl blinked at her. But then his aggressive demeanour clawed its way to the surface and he sniffed, glaring down at her.
"I don't want your help." He retreated slowly, wishing he could just find something to shoot, when Parker's voice called for him again.
"Are you sure you wanna go, Daryl"? He stopped mid step and his heart kicked into overdrive. His stomach twisted, remembering the exact same words she had spoken to him in that dream. Hands on his chest, bright, devilish smile on her lips, thighs either side of his hips. He turned to look at her in confusion, trying to hide the look of fear on his face. Parker wasn't looking at him anymore, however, but at something else further away from them. Christ, he actually imagined her saying that to him. He really was starting to lose it. He followed her gaze and realised she was staring at a small cluster of flowers near the bushes just opposite the house. He frowned.
"What?" He asked, walking over to her. "S'just a buncha flowers."
"You're one with nature, right?" She asked sarcastically, raising her fingers to make air quotes. He bit his lip, resisting the urge to throw back a smart ass comment, and shrugged in response. "You know what those are?" He turned and studied the flower, seeing the white petals and tiny yellow dots inside of it. The flower was raised above the grass and bending towards them, almost begging to be picked and taken away.
"Cherokee Rose." He said quietly. He remembered hearing the story from his brother when he was first taken out hunting in the woods. He knew what they represented, and the meaning they held within their petals. And he sighed. "What about it?"
"I'm taking it back with us." Parker said. Daryl watched her walk over to the flower and gently pick it from the ground. He scoffed.
"That ain't gon' do nothin'." He said bitterly and Parker stood up, shaking the hair from her face.
"You can stop being negative right now." She said firmly, placing the flower behind her ear and walking towards the woods. "I won't hesitate to kick your ass if you say anything like that again." Daryl grimaced.
"It's just a flower."
"It represents something, Daryl." Parker said over her shoulder. "Besides, it's better than coming home completely empty handed." Daryl watched her leave, hopping over a few fallen branches and try to navigate her way back to camp. Badly. He sighed and secured his crossbow on his back before taking off after her. He didn't want to be around her, but at least if he got her back to camp safe, Glenn wouldn't want his head on a spike.
Thankfully, Glenn wasn't back at camp by the time they arrived. He was still on a supply run with Maggie, and Parker tried not to feel anxious for him, as it had been about three hours now. The walk through the woods took longer than she expected when she first headed out, but with Daryl telling her where to go, or at least he grunted at her when she seemed to go the wrong way, they arrived just as the others were cooking up some dinner. She ignored the strange looks from Lori and Dale, as they weren't used to seeing Daryl and Parker spending time together. Especially in the woods, alone.
Parker didn't care whether Daryl was following her as she made her way into the RV, noticing the bag of laundry propped up outside of it. She stepped in, and smiled as she saw how clean it was. It hadn't been this clean...ever. Cups were stacked neatly next to each other whilst the plates were piled high in size order, the cutlery all folded away inside a drawer and out of sight. The bed was made and the sofa in the back had its small, pull out table set up in front of it, where Carol was sat stitching up a shirt.
She looked up at the sound of the RV floor creaking and gave a small smile to Parker. She was back to being sad again. "I cleaned up." She explained, noticing Parker's eyes wandering around the pristine RV. "I wanted it to be nice for her."
"For a second I thought I was in the wrong place." Parker joked and Carol smiled and a breath of air escaped her nose; the closest thing to laughter since Sophia went missing.
"You didn't find anything?" She asked eventually.
"I'm sorry. We'll all try again tomorrow, with more people and with more time to search." Parker promised and Carol nodded, letting her head drop so she could focus on her stitching. Parker hesitated, but then took a small cup from the kitchen area, filled it with water, and plucked the white rose from her hair, gently placing it in the cup and setting it down on the table in front of carol. The older woman frowned and looked up at her.
"A flower?" She asked curiously. Parker smiled, then sat down on the bed opposite her, propping her arms up on the table to lean forward.
"My mom was a gardener before all of this." She said. "Glenn and I used to watch her plant seeds for hours every day when we were kids, listening to her name each one and tell us what the flower would eventually look like and how tall it would grow. She didn't make any money from it, she just did it because she liked it, and I admired her for that." Carol blinked at her, and Parker carried on. "We'd ask her to tell us the meaning of our favourite flowers sometimes. We didn't know much about them, just thought that they looked pretty. Then one day, I saw this one. It was in our neighbours garden, all on its own. I thought it was beyond beautiful, but I always thought it looked lonely. Growing there all by itself with hundreds of other plants around it."
"It is very beautiful." Carol whispered.
"It's a Cherokee Rose." Parker said, stroking one of the flower's petal with her finger. "Mom told us that when American soldiers were moving the Indians off their land, the Cherokee mothers were always grieving and crying, because they kept losing the little ones along the way. Disease, exposure, starvation. It broke them. The trail of tears, they called it." Parker blinked and retracted her hand from the flower, folding her arms together and licking her lips. "They cried so much, that one day the elders said a prayer and asked for a sign to lift the mother's spirits. Keep them strong." Parker and Carol made eye contact and neither looked away as she spoke. "Give them hope. And then the next day, this rose, started growing right where the mother's tears fell." Parker reached out and took one of Carol's hands in hers, her heart aching as she felt them tremble. "I believe, that my mother told me this story so I could tell you, today. To give you strength, and hope. Because...I know we're gonna find her, Carol." She watched her wipe stray tears falling on her cheeks and Parker smiled at her. "This rose bloomed for Sophia. For you."
"Thank you." Carol whispered, her voice shaking and quiet, but her face told Parker that she felt better. Grateful. They sat in silence for a few moments, both staring at the flower, and praying that Parker's words were really true.
"She's gonna really like it in here." They both looked up to see Daryl standing in the small walkway of the RV, leaning against the counter. He was fiddling with his shirt awkwardly, and Parker could tell by the way his eyes were focused on her that he had taken in every word she said. And maybe, just maybe, he believed her too. And she smiled at him.