Daryl didn't want to admit it, but he was more than a little nervous about trying to talk his brother out of leaving, especially if his brother were to discover that his change in heart was because of a woman. Merle would give him hell for that.
He had promised himself that he would talk to Merle the next morning and he wouldn't pussyfoot around it or put it off for later. Or at least he hoped he wouldn't.
Daryl was surprised when his brother had shaken him awake, "'ey Darlina, I'm goin' wit Chinaman and some others to tha city." He earned a confused look from his brother who was still trying to process the information in his sleepy state, "Don't trust none of them bastards ta get me my prescriptions."
Daryl frowned, knowing what his brother meant by prescriptions, "Whatever." He grumbled, trying to get comfortable again against the tree stump he'd fallen asleep on, "Don't get yerself killed."
Merle gave a raspy laugh and slapped his brother's bare shoulder, "Ain't a chance in hell, baby brother."
Daryl rolled his eyes before closing them, listening to his brother walk away and he realized he wouldn't have a chance to talk to him about staying until he got back from Atlanta.
"Shit." He muttered.
"Be careful, alright?" Harley told Glenn, "And don't forget to look for some clothes for me." She added.
Glenn rolled his eyes, "Women... they'll never change. Even as the world is ending you're still worried about clothes."
Harley smacked his arm, "I only have two changes of clothes, it's gettin' irritatin' havin' to wash my clothes every day so I don't wear the same clothes two days in a row."
"Right, right." Glenn said, rubbing his arm, "I'll see you when we get back." He told her.
Harley watched him walk away all the while ignoring the horrible feeling that was enveloping her entire being.
She hoped it was nothing.
"You're leaving too?" Harley asked Daryl as she approached his and Merle's campsite, seeing the older man preparing his crossbow and a small pack for himself.
"Runnin' outta meat here. Gotta replenish the supply." He told her, "Ya wanna come with me?"
Harley thought about it for a second before shaking her head, "I don't think I should be leavin' camp considerin' most of our manpower just headed off to the city."
Daryl gave a grunt in response, trying not to let the slightly disappointed feeling consume him, "Prob'ly for the best, then."
"When ya gonna be back?" She asked, changing the topic of conversation.
Daryl swung his crossbow over his back, "Early tomorrow mornin', maybe earlier depending if I get anythin' good or not."
Harley nodded, "Good luck, then. Be careful, yeah?"
Daryl looked at her and gave a slight nod of his head, but he didn't make any motion to leave which left both him and Harley standing in front of each other with their eyes locked. After a long, drawn out pause, he opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but thought better of it and snapped his mouth shut.
Abruptly, a sheepish smile broke out on Harley's face, "Well, then, you prob'ly wanna get goin', huh? Don't die or anythin'!" With that, she shuffled away from the awkward situation they had set up for themselves, trying to control the erratic beating of her heart.
Daryl frowned as he stared after her.
"That girl..." He muttered.
It was well past noon judging by the position of the Sun in the sky and there was still no sign of the Atlanta group, which had the rest of the camp worried as it shouldn't have taken them more than three or four hours to get into the city, gather whatever supplies they needed, and then leave as quickly as possible.
Harley stood in front of the RV, keeping an eye on the road leading up to the camp as Dale was a bit preoccupied with the garbled transmission coming across the radio which sounded like T-Dog, who had gone with the group, saying something about the group being trapped. Dale tried to get in contact with them again, but the radio just went to static, sending panic throughout the camp.
"We do not go after them." Shane said, his decision final and absolute, "We do not risk the rest of the group."
Harley pursed her lips as she listened to Shane, his Alpha wolf personality was beginning to get on her last nerve. This kind of decision shouldn't be left up to just one person, it should've been voted on.
"We'll just have to wait." Lori decided with a solemn look as she went back to folding clothes, probably something to keep herself busy and her mind away from those trapped in the city.
Harley simply shook her head, leaning against the front of the RV, her vision not leaving the winding road ahead. Her face was set in a passive expression, but her mind was reeling with worry for those stuck in the city.
That place was a death trap and it was a mistake to send such a big group in all at once. The worst thing was everyone back at camp had no idea what was going on. They had no way of helping the group.
"What the hell did you guys get yourselves into?" Harley questioned out loud.
The wild scream of a car alarm sent the camp into a flurry of panic and possibly hope. Coming up the winding road was a red sports car, the alarm going crazy, echoing throughout the area.
Anna was at Harley's side in an instant, "Who is it?!"
The little girl had abandoned her school lessons a few hours ago when the group still hadn't come back and spent most of that time up on top of the RV with Dale, keeping watch with him.
Harley gave a shrug, her heart hoping that it was someone from the group, but she kept Anna close irregardless, "I dunno, but they're gonna lure Walkers here at this rate with all that noise."
When the car came to a halt at the entrance to the camp, it was Glenn who stepped out of the car and it was Glenn who was suddenly barraged with questions from Amy, Shane, and Dale all at once. The car alarm, however, prevented anyone from receiving a clear answer.
"Turn the damn alarm off!" Someone shouted amidst the chaos.
With Jim's help, the alarm was turned off within minutes and Glenn was finally able to answer questions as a van pulled up, everyone unloading from it.
Amy was at Andrea's side as soon as she stepped out of the van and Morales was attacked by his two children with hugs and a kiss from his wife. Glenn finally spared a glance to Harley who gave him a smile, showing how relieved she was that he had come back relatively unscathed.
"How'd y'all get outta there, anyway?" Shane asked.
"New guy..." Morales answered and then called for someone who was still in the van.
There was silence amongst the survivors as the man staggered out, everyone's eyes glued to him as they took in his appearance. He was a tall man with short brown hair and tired blue eyes which scanned the group.
In a turn of events, the first person to react was Carl, who launched himself at the man, "Dad!" He screamed, the tears already forming in his eyes as the man stared in disbelief at the boy and then at Lori who was standing there with an equal look of disbelief in her eyes before she too went running towards him.
"Dad?" Glenn whispered from beside Harley.
Harley gave a shrug, "Things just got... interesting."
She watched as the reunited family embraced before she felt herself become uncomfortable from watching such an intimate moment that should've been only meant for the three of them. Her eyes shifted to Shane, his mouth was forming into a tight smile while his eyes betrayed him. It looked as though his entire world had just shattered right in front of him and in that moment, Harley felt sorry for him.
Lori and Carl had been his family. He had protected and cared for them as though they were his own and just like that, they were no longer his and they were back in the place of their rightful owner.
It must've destroyed him.
It had taken Harley a long time, longer than she'd like to admit, to notice that there was a person missing in their happy group. Merle Dixon was no where to be seen and it wasn't until she had spoken up that anyone even bothered to explain what had happened.
"Where's Merle?"
The only thought running through Harley's mind throughout the night was how pissed Daryl was going to be when he comes back and learns his brother was handcuffed to a roof and left for dead.
T-Dog had assured everyone that Merle was still alive, that there was no way any of the Walkers had managed to get through the doorway, but Harley was absolutely positive that Daryl was going to flip a shit regardless of that information.
"Who's gonna tell him?" Someone asked.
"I will." T-Dog said, "I'm the one that dropped the key."
Harley snorted, "No offense T-Dog, but I don't think this kinda news would be best coming from you."
"I was the one that handcuffed him, so I'll tell him." The newly introduced Rick Grimes said.
"Hell, I think Harley should. Ain't no way Daryl is gonna suckerpunch her when he finds out the news." Morales piped up.
"It don't matter who tells him, he's gonna be pissed either way." Harley told them, "I suggest ya have a few people around when ya tell him or else he'll probably beat the shit outta you." She told Rick who didn't take her comment as an insult but as a serious warning.
Hey guys! As always, sorry for the delay! I actually start school tomorrow and instead of sleeping I had a sudden burst of inspiration and managed to finish this chapter tonight.
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and added this story to their story alerts! You guys are seriously too awesome and just lovely and amazing so thank you!
Gonna take the chance to reply to some of your reviews from the last chapter!
lilhanna: I'm so glad you like this version better! I definitely do too :) And as for your request, well... stay tuned for the next few chapters!
VampWolf92: Thank you! Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
livelovemusic96: Me too! :D Thank you for reviewing!
Leyshla Gisel: Daryl is always cute ;)
bookelf: Thank you! I'm glad you found this story too! I know Daryl seems passive so far, but my reasoning for that is because we don't see Daryl's character development until after Merle is gone. Daryl has, for most of life I suspect, been abused and treated like dirt by those around him, including his brother. (At least, he has in my story) It's in my experience, that those who are abused or have been abused often retract from everyone and are rather reserved, especially around those who have taken part in the abuse. So, with Merle being subtracted from the equation, we will start to see Daryl begin to come out of his shell :)
