Chapter 8
A week after arriving, Daryl, Glenn and Maggie were joined by Carl and Judith as well as Morgan and Carol. Abraham had returned to Alexandria to help in fortifying the city along with Rick and Michonne. Sasha and Rosita had elected to stay at the first camp they'd been taken to in order to catch up on the information Leanora's group had regarding locations of safe areas and groups that were being watched due to similarities to Negan's group. Eugene had joined Carol and Morgan in transferring to the shelter Daryl and Maggie and Glenn were staying. Although he'd admitted to lying about his knowledge regarding the outbreak, he did actually have a grasp on some of the particulars that Leanora's group were interested in exploring.
It took Daryl two weeks before he felt able to move about on his own for more than a few steps –the blood loss and beating had left him weaker than he'd ever remembered feeling. Although he was no longer staying in the main infirmary, he was still in the medical area of the prepper's hideout. Glen and Maggie had been moved into a room of their own in the main living area-more like a suite with a bed screened off from a sitting area. Everyone ate in the general mess area-a large open kitchen and dining area where the majority of the inhabitants of the shelter gathered for meals and exchanged information they'd received from other outposts. Today was the first day Daryl had felt up to making the short walk to the dining area and attempting to eat a meal with someone other than himself.
As he neared the dining area, he leaned against the wall to take a brief pause. He shook his head in disgust with himself. Merle would laugh himself sick if he could see the shape he was in. It had never taken him this long to spring back from a beating –he was disappointed in himself. He'd thought he was tougher than this. He sighed and moved to step away from the wall and continue into the dining area. As he straightened his shoulders, he felt a light touch on his arm and jerked involuntarily in surprise.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he heard a soft voice exclaim. He relaxed a bit when he realized it was Leanora speaking to him.
"S'alright," Daryl mumbled, "always been jumpy." He cleared his suddenly parched throat and mentally kicked himself for letting himself be found leaning against a wall like some pussy.
"No, it's my fault for sneaking up on you like that," Leanora demurred. She looked at him as if there was something more she wanted to say then blushed and looked down at her feet.
"Um, just goin' ta try and eat some lunch now," Daryl mumbled again, his face and neck growing hot with nervousness.
Leanora glanced up at his face and smiled happily. "I'm so glad you feel up to it. I'm sure you're getting stir crazy in your room. I talked to one of the nurses and they're going to start you on some physical therapy for your shoulder-just a little bit of stretching movement to keep the muscles from stiffening up too much. That'll get you out and about a little more."
Daryl nodded thankfully at this news. "Yeah, never have been one ta sit around for days like I been doin'," he rasped out, his throat growing dryer by the minute.
"Well, hey is it alright if I walk with you to the dining hall? I have to talk to one of my guys about something," she asked.
Daryl nodded, not trusting his throat to not to choke up completely from being parched. They continued on their way a short distance and into the dining hall. Daryl was relieved to see Carol and Carl sitting with Judith at a table. Leanora walked with him over to the table, said hello to the others and headed off to another table to speak with a man sitting there.
Carol smiled openly at Daryl. "Well, I wondered when you'd be prowling around the halls. I'm surprised they were able to keep you still this long," she teased, all too aware of how close their group had come to losing both Daryl and Maggie. Carl laughed and fed Judith a French fry.
Daryl huffed and sat down slowly and carefully. "Guess I'm gettin' old. Never had no trouble bouncing back from anything before," he grumbled.
Carol shook her head at him teasingly. "We're all getting old I believe. Thankfully we're in a place now that seems to be safe and we can all hopefully get some relief from all the stress we've been under. That constant stress has made me feel some mornings like I'm a hundred years old," she said softly.
Daryl nodded in agreement. "What do they got here ta eat? Food any good?" he asked Carl. Carl laughed and nodded happily.
"Yeah, they've got food just like we all had before the walkers started. Whoever stocked this place knew what they were doing," he replied as he fed Judith another French fry.
Daryl smirked at the thought of what he'd been eating before the shit hit the fan. It sure hadn't been what Carl and the rest of them had been eating. It had pretty much been what they'd all been eating since they met each other-venison, squirrel, rabbit, possum-pretty much any animal he had been lucky enough to come across out in the woods. Fish he and Merle had caught if it had been a lucky day fishing. Once in a great while if he had money from working an actual job-usually as a mechanic for cash while Merle was serving time in a local jail-he'd splurge and get a pizza or burgers or fried chicken from some fast food place. The only thing that had changed for him once the walkers showed up was that he now had to worry about somebody dead trying to eat him.
He sighed and shook off the unhappy memories and looked toward the kitchen area. "Do I go up and ask 'em for something?" he asked Carol.
As he asked, Leanora walked up to their table with a plate of food in her hands. "I hope you don't mind, but I ordered you something to help build you back up. Steak, potatoes, green beans. Is that okay? The nurses said you'll need to build up your iron again even after the transfusion." She set the plate down and Carol eyed both Leanora and Daryl curiously. She watched Daryl duck his head down and flush pink, but there was also a very small smile playing on his lips. If someone didn't know Daryl, they would have missed that tiny upturn of his mouth, but Carol had watched and learned Daryl Dixon's mannerisms and expressions for a few years now, and the look on his face told her he had a crush on this woman. And from the look on Leanora's face, the feeling was mutual.
Carol sat back in her chair a bit and sighed softly. She had long had a crush on Daryl herself, but had realized after they had met up again after the prison fell that whatever slim chance she might have imagined she had was gone forever. The time Daryl had spent with Beth alone in those months after the prison fell had changed him, and she was smart enough to know her chance was gone. She had never asked him what had happened between he and Beth-but in the brief few days she had been at Grady with Beth she had seen a change in the young woman too. The way Beth had spoken Daryl's name, the way her face softened and her eyes widened when she spoke of their time together let Carol know Beth and Daryl had felt strongly about each other. She had seen how devastated he had been when Beth had been killed-more so than he would have been if Beth had died back at the farm or at the prison. No, whatever had happened in the time Beth and Daryl had spent alone together had marked them both.
Carol had grown worried over Daryl's unrelenting guilt over Beth's death, and his increasing recklessness while outside the walls. She was afraid he had a death wish, and had spent many a sleepless night thinking of how she could help him through this dark phase. Lord knew he had been a constant presence in the aftermath of both Ed and Sophia's deaths, unfailingly gentle and kindhearted with her. He deserved the same now that he was in his own rough patch.
As Carol watched Leanora and Daryl mumble to each other, each blushing and flustered, she felt her anxiety for her friend lessen just a little. Maybe Leanora would be the answer to her prayers that her friend would find a reason to go on, and although Carol would always regret she herself couldn't be the answer she could love her friend enough to be happy for him in finding another woman to love and find the will to live for.
