Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing related to The Walking Dead. No copyright intended here.
Warning: This is rated M for language, gore, and suggestive themes.
Note: Jenna has a bit of a Napoleon Complex. It's a short person thing.
And now...it's time for Daryl to find out what happened to Merle. Duck and cover, folks.
"And though she be but little, she is fierce."
William Shakespeare
Family Matters
Jenna, having cleaned away any remaining blood from her lip, was glad that she wasn't attracting much attention from the others anymore. Most of them had heard by now what had happened down at the quarry, and all of them looked at her in question and concern when she passed, which was grating. Thankfully, Shane had assured most of them that she was just fine before he'd gone back down to the quarry for a water run. Now she made her way across the damp ground—it had been quite the thunderstorm last night—to where Glenn was watching Dale, Jim, and Gabe pick apart the Challenger for fuel and spare parts. He looked thoroughly displeased by the whole situation, and his face was so glum that Jenna felt a bit sorry for him.
"Look at em," he said to Jenna as she came to stand at his left, jutting his chin in the direction of the Dodge. "Vultures," he muttered as Rick, who had changed from his sheriff's uniform into old jeans and a plain white t-shirt, came to stand at his other side. "Yeah, go on, strip it clean," he griped to them.
Jenna smirked a bit. "Just a car. Generator takes precedent, anyway."
He looked far from mollified. "Yeah…thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more days…"
"Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday," said Rick, clapping him on the back before leaving to go and talk to his wife, who was hanging clothes on the line.
The sound of tires rolling over dirt and gravel announced Shane's arrival, and she and Glenn stepped back a bit to be out of the way of his fast-approaching Jeep Wrangler. It skidded to a halt near the other cars, and Shane cut the ignition.
"Water's here, y'all," he announced, getting out of the vehicle. "Jus' a reminder—boil before use."
As Jenna and Glenn moved forward with the others to grab a jug of water for their own respective units, she noticed Rick discreetly waving Shane over to him. Lori looked highly displeased about something, and Jenna wondered if it had anything to do with Merle. Leaving him behind in Atlanta, and knowing he was still alive and cuffed to a roof couldn't have been sitting much easier on his mind than it was on hers.
She'd just brought the fuel container-turned-water jug to the tent she shared with Thao and Dusty when a loud, shrill scream ripped through the area, startling everyone. Her eyes darted over to the Morales' tent, where Miranda had closed quick ranks around her children, Thao amongst them. Safe.
With that, she sprinted in the direction of the scream after the others who'd already headed that way.
"Mom!" Carl's voice cried from the trees a moment later.
"Carl?" Lori called frantically as she and Rick ran.
They continued to run, Jenna catching up to them steadily as they tramped through the trees, her eyes scanning everywhere.
"Mommy!" Sophia cried fearfully somewhere ahead of them.
And then she saw Jacki running out of the trees, clutching the hands of both children as she sprinted forward, half dragging them along with her. She collided with Lori and Carol, and their children leapt into their arms in the next moment.
Knowing only one thing could've scared those kids—and Jacki—that badly, Jenna ran by them after the men, who had each grabbed their own blunt or sharp instrument. Shane was the only one armed with a firearm, his trusty Mossberg raised safely upward while he ran with the others, taking the lead. He was fast.
They didn't run far from where Jacki had appeared with the kids before they came upon the source of distress. A walker was hunched over the carcass of a doe, tearing into its neck hungrily.
Shane scanned the area to be sure there were no others around, while the rest of them glared down at the walker in disgust. Jenna hung back, seeing that there were seven of them and only one walker. This was really a one-person job, but the way the men were glaring at the thing while they circled it, told her that it was going to be stretched out amongst them anyway.
The walker turned and rose to its feet, having noticed their arrival, and snarled grotesquely. Just as it began to reach in Gabe's direction, Rick swung the metal rod he held at the thing's head. Not a moment later, Shane brought the stalk of his Mossberg down on the back of its neck with just as much force, and the other four—Glenn, Dale, Jim, and Gabe—joined in.
They certainly weren't being quick about it. Rather, they were taking their time beating the thing to death—blowing off some steam, obviously. Someone winced behind Jenna, and she turned her head slightly to see that Andrea and Amy had approached, watching in disgusted horror as the walker collapsed, but continued to snarl. Beyond the sisters, Lori and Carol were approaching slowly with Jacki, Carl and Sophia in tow. Jenna hung back, and let them blow off steam. Whatever it took to clear their heads, she figured.
Finally, Dale brought things to an end with a strong downward chop of his axe, sending the severed head rolling across the dirt at their feet. All of them stepped back in an instant, disgusted as much as fearful.
"That's the first one we've had up here," panted Dale eventually, gesturing to the fallen walker. "They never come this far up the mountain," he said to Shane, who shook his head in agreement while he too stared down at the walker in disbelief.
"Well, they're runnin outta food in the city, that's what," said Jim.
A rustling in the bushes behind them made them all spin around, and Jenna found herself getting pushed back by Rick. Pain flared in her stomach and ribs, and she narrowed her eyes at him slightly, not appreciating the rough, unexpected handling. Then she reminded herself he really meant to harm—he was just trying to protect her, and he didn't know about her run-in with Ed earlier, having been asleep until recently.
Shane took the lead again, raising his shotgun and stepping closer to the trees, all of them waiting anxiously for what would come out of those bushes.
Daryl stepped into view, crossbow in hand, and stopped suddenly at the sight of six men with weapons standing in hostile anticipation before him. Shane lowered his gun, cursing under his breath as he stepped back, and the rest of them relaxed, also lowering their weapons.
"Son of a bitch," griped Daryl as he walked upon the scene, spotting the two dead bodies on the ground at their feet. "That's my deer!" He came to a stop between the bodies, looking down at them in anger. "Look at it, all gnawed on by this filthy—disease bearin—motherless—poxy bastard!" he cursed, accentuating each adjective with a kick to the walker's ribs.
"Calm down, son," said Dale—rather unwisely, in Jenna's opinion, "that's not helpin."
Daryl rounded on Dale, and strode forward threateningly. Jenna sidestepped automatically so that she was directly in front of the old man.
"What d'you know 'bout it, old man?" Daryl demanded, hotheaded as ever, and stopped his advance when Jenna was standing between the two of them. Just to be on the safe side, Shane stepped forward between them, pushing Daryl back slightly with the stalk of his Mossberg. "Why don't you take that stupid hat an' go back to 'On Golden Pond?'"
Daryl took another look at Jenna and furrowed his brows. "The hell happened to you?" he asked, taking note of her busted lip, apparently.
"Ed," she said with a shrug. "Let's not make a thing out of it."
Shane rolled his eyes, giving her a long look, and Rick was looking at her more closely now.
"Asshole," muttered Daryl, making Jenna smirk slightly. With that, he turned around and approached the deer carcass again, and Jenna moved to the side, deeming it safe to leave Dale without her as a blockade.
"Been trackin this deer for miles," muttered Daryl, yanking the three arrows from its body. "Was gonna bring it back to camp—cook us up some venison. What d'you think?" he asked, looking up at Shane. "Think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?"
"Your funeral, man," muttered Jenna. She was not about to ingest one ounce of that tainted animal, and neither was Thao.
Shane shook his head, looking down at the deer in mild disgust, Mossberg held over his shoulders with his arms resting over the ends lazily. "Man, I would not risk that," he concurred.
Daryl sighed. "That's a damn shame," he said. "Well, got us some squirrel," he said then, indicating the string of squirrels he'd slung over his left shoulder. "'Bout a dozen or so. They'll have to do."
With that, he started making his way back up to camp, and the rest of them hesitated, knowing what would have to come next. None of them were eager to let Daryl know about Merle's situation, however, and they followed after him reluctantly. They stepped back into the campsite, were the others had mostly gathered around inquiringly. Thao ran over to Jenna's side as soon as he spotted her, and she ruffled his hair, smiling down at him to let him know everything was okay.
"Merle," Daryl called as he approached the camp's center.
Jenna's heart sank as she led Thao over to the side where Dusty stood with Jacki. This was going to kill the younger Dixon brother, she was afraid. Infuriate him, no doubt, make him blind with rage...but more than that, it would kill him.
"Merle—get your ugly ass out here!" Daryl called again. "Got us some squirrel!"
"Daryl?" said Shane calmly, stowing his Mossberg into his Jeep as he approached a little ways behind. "Slow up a bit, I need to talk to you."
Daryl paused then, looking around, and then fixing his gaze to Shane in puzzlement as the other man approached him, running a hand through his hair.
"'Bout what?" Daryl asked.
"'Bout Merle," Shane answered. "There was a, uh…there was a problem in Atlanta…"
Daryl stared at Shane for a moment, and then looked around at all the others who had gathered in the area. He noticed the obvious absence of his brother, of course, and turned his gaze back to Shane, a look of determined resignation upon his face.
"He dead?" he asked, his voice somewhat quieter than usual.
Shane hesitated. "Not sure," he said regretfully.
Daryl scowled. "He either is or he ain't," he said sharply.
"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," said Rick, who seemed to have had enough of stretching this conversation out for the sake of delicacy, and approached the two of them.
"Who're you?" Daryl asked angrily.
"Rick Grimes," replied Rick in a calm tone.
"Rick Grimes," Daryl repeated scathingly, taking a step toward Rick. "Got somethin you wanna tell me?" he demanded.
"Your brother was a danger to us all," replied Rick succinctly, not sugarcoating anything. "So I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."
Daryl looked around at the ground, nodding, though not in understanding, Jenna knew. "Hold on," he said after a moment. "Lemmie process this." He looked back at Rick, fury building up in his gaze. "You're sayin you handcuffed my brother to a roof—and you just left him there?" he yelled angrily.
Rick gave a single nod. "Yeah."
There was murder in Daryl's eyes now, and Jenna hoped for Rick's sake that he was prepared for a fight. Daryl tossed the string of squirrels at him—a distraction technique—and before he could lunge at Rick while he ducked, Shane rushed forward, blindsiding him when he knocked him off course with his shoulder, throwing Daryl onto the ground.
"Hey!" said T-Dog anxiously, dropping the firewood he'd approached the scene with and rushing forward.
Daryl pulled the Bowie knife from its sheath and sprung back to his feet, going after Rick again.
"Watch the knife!" Shane warned his partner.
Daryl swung the knife out at Rick, who leaned back to avoid the blade, and then grabbed his right wrist, twisting it behind his back at the same time that Shane lunged forward and grabbed his left arm and slipped his own arm around Daryl's neck from behind. With the knife removed and the chokehold in place, Daryl was then easy to subdue, and Rick stepped back while Shane brought him to the ground on his knees.
"You best let me go!" Daryl growled, struggling violently.
"Naw, I think it's better if I don't," said Shane more calmly, his chokehold secure.
"Chokehold's illegal!" Daryl griped angrily, still struggling.
"Yeah, you can file a complaint," Shane replied. Daryl thrashed his shoulders, still trying to break free of the bind. "C'mon, man, we can keep this up all day," Shane told him.
When he stopped struggling, Rick moved forward and knelt down to be at eye-level with Daryl. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic," he said with composure. "You think we can manage that?" Daryl didn't respond. "You think we can manage that?" Rick asked again.
Daryl still didn't respond, but just breathed heavily in exertion and frustration. Shane nodded at Rick, and they both stepped back to give Daryl some room after Shane released him from the chokehold.
"What I did was not on a whim," Rick explained to Daryl intently. "Your brother does not work and play well with others."
"It's not Rick's fault," said T-Dog, gaining everyone's attention then. "I had the key…I dropped it."
"You couldn't pick it up?" asked Daryl scathingly.
"I dropped it down a drain," T-Dog explained.
Daryl spat out a breath of disgust and pushed himself up off the ground. "If that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't," he said to T-Dog contemptuously.
In response to Daryl's circling stride, which brought him slowly rounding upon T-Dog, Shane moved forward to stand at T-Dog's side, just in case Daryl was inclined to attack again. At Jenna's side, Thao shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously, and she stroked his hair soothingly.
"Well, maybe this will," said T-Dog to Daryl, "I chained the door closed so the walkers couldn't get at him. With a padlock."
"That's gotta count for somethin," said Rick.
Daryl just glared at the three of them, fury and accusation all over his face, and then hung his head, looking to be close to sobbing. Jenna's heart ached for him. Merle was an asshole to everyone, his brother included, but he was still Daryl's brother, and that meant a lot to Daryl. He was family. The last bit of family Daryl had left. No matter what kind of man Merle was to the rest of them, at the end of the day he was Daryl's family.
"The hell with all y'all!" he yelled bitterly. "Jus' tell me where he is, so I can go get 'im."
"He'll show you," said Lori from where she stood under the awning of the RV, looking not at Daryl, but at Rick. "Isn't that right?"
Rick nodded after a long moment, and then returned his gaze to Daryl. "I'm goin back."
Lori just turned away from her husband and stepped into the RV to join her son, unable to face Rick any longer. Daryl stalked off in fury, heading toward his tent. Shane and Rick looked at each other, and judging by the look on Shane's face, he was not at all pleased with Rick's decision. Jenna could understand why; he'd just made it out of the city and found his family under impossible circumstances, only to get up and head back into the city the very next day.
Rick walked off in the direction of the Grimes' tent, presumably to get ready, and Jenna ruffled Thao's hair, and gestured for him to stay with Dusty and Jacki for a moment. She made her way to Daryl's tent on the fringes of camp, and approached him cautiously while he organized his supplies for the trip.
"Sorry," she said, coming to a stop a short distance away from him, "about your brother."
He didn't look up. "Sorry 'bout Ed."
She shrugged. "That wasn't your fault."
"Naw, it wasn't, an' Merle wasn't your fault," he pointed out. "Still apologizin for nothin."
She smirked slightly while he wasn't looking. Even upset, Daryl was still Daryl, and that was reassuring in some odd way. "Look, I know you'd rather do this on your own, but to be perfectly honest, that's fucking stupid," she said, getting to the point. "And I know that if it was my brother out there, I'd want all the help I could get. So if it's cool with you, I'd like to go with you—be your backup."
He finally looked up at her, studying her with his customary scowl. "Think you're up to it?" he asked, obvious doubt in his voice.
She shrugged. "I've gotten through more cities than I even wanna remember," she said truthfully. "I know how to handle myself out there, same way you know how to handle yourself out in these woods."
He seemed to consider that for a moment. "Why you?" he questioned. "What'd Merle ever do but give you shit?"
She let out a breath of wry laughter. "Merle may be obnoxious, he may be…hell, he may be a lotta things," she admitted, "but he's not all bad. Fuckers like Ed Peletier, I wouldn't waste my time on. That asshole is no good to anyone. Merle's different. I wouldn't say he's a good guy, but he's not exactly a bad guy, either. And I don't think he deserves to stay stranded up on that rooftop."
Daryl stared back at her for a long moment, deliberating, and then nodded eventually. "Don't slow me down—ain't about to carry you outta danger."
If not for the circumstances, she would've been a little amused. Instead, she nodded just back, glad that was settled, and made her way to Dusty's tent. She gathered up her Beretta and the extra magazine in her bag, stowing it away in her pocket and tucking the gun back into her belt.
"Hey, sweetheart," she said as she approached Thao where he stood under the awning with Dusty and Jacki. She knelt down to be at his level, ensuring that he would listen attentively. "I'm gonna go out with Daryl and Rick today, alright? There's something we need to do."
"Okay," he said, though looking far from pleased. "You'll come back soon?"
"As soon as I can," she assured him. "I don't know how long we'll be gone, but we will come back, I promise you that. Do you believe me?"
He nodded, decisive. "Yeah."
She smiled slightly. "That's my boy. I promise I'll be back." He nodded again, and wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug. She held him tightly, kissing his hair, and then released him. "Why don't you go and play with Luis?" she suggested, nodding to the left where the other children were sitting in the dirt, playing with sidewalk chalk under Miranda's watchful gaze.
He nodded, and she patted his back, sending him on his way. Miranda ruffled his hair and handed him a piece of chalk before he settled down next to his new buddy.
"Jen, you sure 'bout this?" Dusty asked as she straightened up.
She nodded. "I know cities," she assured her the girl, thrown a bit by the level of genuine concern she saw in her face. "To be honest, I'm not sure how well Rick does. And I already promised Daryl. No way I'm backing outta that."
Jacki gave Jenna a tight squeeze. "You be careful out there, honey," she said. "We'll look after the little man," she added, tilting her head in Thao's direction.
She smiled a little. "Thank you," she said sincerely before turning back around as Shane and Rick walked up to the area, arguing. Rick had changed back into his uniform.
"Well, look, I—I don't, okay Rick?" said Shane. "So could you just—could ya throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douchebag like Merle Dixon?"
"Hey," said Daryl warningly, wiping down his Horton. "Choose your words more carefully."
"Oh, no, I did," said Shane, looking straight at Daryl. "Douchebag's what I meant. Merle Dixon," he muttered scathingly, looking back at Rick. "Guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dyin of thirst."
Jenna didn't think that was entirely accurate, but she could see how one would draw the conclusion Shane had. Merle hadn't had to even entertain the thought of bringing her back a car. He could've just taken the smoke and been on his merry way. But he had considered it, at least.
"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me," said Rick. "I can't let a man die of thirst, me. Thirst an' exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap, that's no way for anythin to die, let alone a human-being."
"So you and Daryl…that's your big plan?" said Lori critically from where she sat around the fire pit beside her son.
Rick contemplated, looking around, and then leveled his gaze at Glenn expectantly, who stood behind him near his dismembered Challenger.
Glenn sighed heavily. "Ah, come on…"
"You know the way," Rick reasoned. "You been there before, in an' out, no problem—you said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask, I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along, I know she would too," he added, gesturing to his wife—who looked far from convinced.
"That's just great," said Shane. "Now you're gonna risk three men, huh?"
"Four," said Jenna, causing everyone to turn their gaze to her in shock. The only ones not surprised were Dusty, Jacki, and Daryl.
Shane sighed, hanging his head slightly, but chose not to comment, for which Jenna was grateful. She didn't need him getting all chivalrous on her now. Rick, however, wasn't shy about voicing his disagreement.
"No, I think it's best if you sat this one out," he told her lightly.
She raised a brow. Who'd elected him leader of this task? "I wasn't aware that it was up to you," she said flatly. "It's Daryl's brother who was left behind, and he's fine with it."
Rick raised a hand at her gently. "Listen, I understand that you'd like to help," he began in a reasoning tone, "but I'd rather you stayed behind. No offense, but I don't need one more person to cover while we're in there."
"No offense, officer," she said, more of a bite to her tone now, "but you just woke up to the state of the world not that long ago. I've lived through it longer than you have, and most of that time was outside of this group, on my own. How many cities have you gotten through alone? I made my way here from Seattle with no help from anyone. So with all due respect, I'll be the one covering you."
Rick kept his gaze leveled at her for a long, tense moment, neither of them backing down. He looked over at Shane for assistance, but Shane merely put his hands up briefly, shrugging, making it clear to his partner that she didn't answer to him, either.
"To be honest, I'd feel better if she came along," said Glenn after a pause, no shame in his admission, which had Jenna's lips curling up at the corners just a bit.
"I'm comin too," said T-Dog, gaining everyone's attention.
Daryl huffed, adding arrows to his Horton. "My day jus' gets better an' better, don't it?" he muttered.
"You see anybody else here steppin up?" T-Dog shot back. "Save your brother's cracker ass?"
"Why you?" Daryl asked, repeating the same question he'd shot at Jenna before.
"You wouldn't even begin to understand," said T-Dog. "You don't speak my language."
"That's five," noted Dale after a moment.
Shane shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "It's not just five," he argued, glaring at Rick. "You're puttin every single one of us at risk, just know that, Rick. Man, c'mon, you saw that walker—it was here, it was in camp. They're movin outta the cities, if they come back, we need every able body we got an' we need 'em here—we need 'em to protect camp."
"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns," said Rick after a moment.
That certainly drew everyone's attention.
"Right, the guns…" said Glenn, apparently recalling a forgotten detail.
"Wait, what guns?" Shane asked, puzzled, like the rest of them.
"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, and over a dozen handguns," Rick replied. "I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. Dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed, it's just sittin there on the street, waitin to be picked up."
"Ammo?" Shane asked, beginning to waver.
"Seven hundred rounds, assorted," said Rick, and Jenna raised her brows, impressed. She'd never been able to salvage that much from any of the ammunition stores she'd found.
"You went through hell to find us," said Lori, retracting the focus from the prize and back to the matter at hand, looking at her husband imploringly. "You just got here, and—and you're gonna turn around and leave?"
"Dad, I don't want you to go," said Carl sincerely.
Rick sighed, and gave his wife a long look, urging her to back him up—which wasn't going to happen, judging by the look in her face.
"To hell with the guns," she said. "Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in." She got to her feet and Rick approached her calmly, while she was rapidly becoming anything but. "Tell me," she demanded. "Make me understand."
"I owe a debt to a man I met, and his little boy," Rick explained evenly. "Lori," he said, stopping her before she could protest. "If they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta—they'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn em."
Lori seemed to be struggling to rein in her temper. "What's stopping you?" she asked eventually.
"Walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped," said Rick. "He's got the other one, our plan was to connect when they got closer."
"Our walkies?" Shane asked from where he sat against the front bumper of his Jeep.
"Yeah," said Rick.
"So use the CB, what's wrong with that?" Andrea inquired.
"CB's fine," said Shane, shaking his head. "It's the walkies that suck—they're crap. Date back to the seventies, don't match any other bandwidth, not even the scanners in our cars."
Rick looked back at Lori. "I need that bag," he told her gently.
Lori just looked away, recognizing defeat, and sat back down beside her son. Rick knelt down to be at level with Carl, who'd been gazing up at him all the while. He gazed at his son, silently asking for his understanding.
"Okay?" Rick asked him quietly.
After a moment, Carl nodded. "Okay."
Rick ruffled his hair, and stood up to go and make preparations for the trip.
It wasn't long before they had the Ferenc truck backed up next to Shane's Jeep, the back opened up for them to hop in when they had their things organized and ready to go. Jenna stood beside Thao under the awning, watching him and Luis work together to draw what looked like a rocket, though they called it a spaceship.
The horn on the truck blasted, and Jenna looked up to see Daryl standing in the hatch impatiently.
"C'mon, let's go!" he griped.
Jenna patted Thao's shoulder, getting his attention. "It's time for me to head out, buddy," she told him, and he nodded glumly. "I'll be back, though, I promise."
"I know," he said with a sigh.
She gave him a rueful smile. "You be good for Jacki and Dusty, alright?"
"I will," he assured her.
She ruffled his hair and kissed his head. "That's my boy." He grinned slightly and she ruffled his hair again before heading off in the direction of the truck. When she approached, Rick and Shane were standing at the end of the hatch.
"I hate that you're doin this, man," Shane told him honestly. "I think it's foolish an' reckless, but if you're goin, you're goin armed."
"Not sure I'd wanna fire a round in the city, not after what happened last time," Rick admitted.
Smart man, thought Jenna wryly as she neared the truck, checking the rounds in her Beretta, checking the chamber, and then turning the safety on before stowing it back into her belt for backup. With that, her leather jacket, and her machete secured to her right side, she was good to go.
"That's up to you," said Shane, pulling his hands out of the police bag. He held what looked like a few bullets in his hands. "Five men, five rounds," he said quietly. "What're the odds, huh?"
Jenna smirked. "Four men, one liability. Isn't that right, Rick?" she quipped as she passed them, giving Rick a wink in response to his scowl.
She kept walking until she reached the passenger seat of the car, where Glenn was sitting, waiting to leave. "You good to go, man?" she inquired. "Enough rounds on you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, pretty good."
"Hey, Shortround," said Daryl from the hatch, and Jenna would've smirked under different circumstances. "Get back here with me an' Dog—lady ain't ridin in the hatch."
There seemed to be no room for argument, and no one willing to tell the man otherwise anyway. She clapped Glenn on the shoulder reassuringly before he reluctantly climbed into the hatch. She would have rather ridden in the back with Daryl and T-Dog—it would've given Daryl one less person to scowl at, and she wouldn't have had to ride shotgun with Rick—but Daryl was in no mood to be debated with. She hopped up into the seat and closed the door before situating her machete in a more comfortable position.
"T-Dog, how're you on rounds?" she asked. "Enough on you?"
"Yeah, I'm good," he replied from his spot.
Rick climbed into the driver's seat, glancing at Jenna once before looking back down, loading the five rounds from Shane into his Colt Python. It was going to be a long ride into the city, Jenna knew. Recalling something, she unzipped the pocket of her jacket and dug out the few rounds she'd kept there for a damn month. She'd actually forgotten about them after picking them up from the floor of a gas station back in Nevada, having no immediate use for them.
She held them out to Rick, wordless. He looked up at her inquiringly, and she wanted to roll her eyes.
"Your gun only holds six rounds," she explained, "it should at least be fully loaded when you need to fire it."
He nodded after a moment, accepting the bullets from her and loading it into the cylinder before snapping it into place. "I should thank you," he said as he stowed away his revolver.
She just leaned back into her seat as he started up the truck. "Don't bother."
He sighed slightly. "Listen, if I offended you in some way, it wasn't my intention," he said after a moment. "But I'd like for us to get along, at least while we're down in the city. It'd make things a whole lot easier if we could work together."
Jenna gave him a long look. "I'm small and female," she said, "not helpless and stupid. Don't talk down to me, and we'll get along just fine."
He let out a breath of wry laughter, nodding as he looked back at the road. "Duly noted."
Like I said, give Jenna a little time to warm up to Rick. They'll come to an understanding eventually.
On another note, sorry for such a long chapter, but there was a lot to fit in.
Up next, the quintet ventures into the city.
