Okay this is the first chapter leading into the second season! If you haven't seen the deleted scene for 2x1 then I suggest looking it up because it was awesome and should have been in the show. I also want to thank everyone for the reviews and follows I have been getting they make my day!
"I've been thinking." Shane said as he glanced over to Stefani in the passenger seat. "What if we headed out on our own?"
"You want to leave?" She said, finally looking over at him and moving her hair out of her face. "What about Rick, Lori, and Carl? They're like our family. I don't know how I'd feel about that."
"It's just a thought. Can't hurt to have some options."
"I guess not." She ran her hands through her hair again as they sped down the highway. Her eyes focused in on the truck in front of them.
"You don't have to come with me. I'd understand if you'd rather stay."
"And why would I stay without you?" She rolled her eyes at the thought.
"Maybe you found something more important, someone." He made a point to motion in front of them.
"There's nothing more important than family. Mom, taught me that." She said, reaching up for her necklace.
"You know I always thought you'd be married by now, settled down with a bunch of kids. Stef, you were the one that was always looking forward to making a family of your own."
"Do you really expect me to in a world like this? It's not safe for anyone. More attachments are just going to hurt."
"Yeah, maybe you're right."
The rest of the ride was silent as the caravan moved closer to Atlanta. The closer the city got, the more nervous Stefani became. She hated the fact that she expected the truck in front of them to pull off and head away from them. A part of her wanted to believe what she'd said to Shane, but the more she thought about it, the more she knew that it was too late for her. Daryl got under her skin, and she hated him for that.
As if knowing she was thinking about him, Daryl began honking his horn. He turned and started yelling back at Shane. Leaning over the side of the car, Shane saw what was in front of them. More guns were laid out in the road, probably dropped from one of the many cars they were passing. He turned and gave her a look, slowing his speed down.
"What the hell are you gonna do?" She asked, taking the wheel he was offering. "Shane, don't do this."
He slowed the car down enough for him to jump out and make a run for the guns. Stefani pulled the parking brake, stopping the vehicle with a jolt. She slid over to the driver's side, waiting for him to come back to the car and meet back up with the group. On intuition, she glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a dozen or so walkers quickly heading in their direction.
"Shane, watch out." Stefani yelled, she reached over and grabbed her gun ready to shoot any that got too close. "Come on, just forget them. Shane, please."
She needed to start the car before the walkers got close enough to reach her. Slowly catching up to the rest of the group, Stefanie tried to keep an eye on Shane. The RV, slowed down allowing the other vehicles to pass it. She saw the door open up and it was only then that she relaxed as Shane jumped in. It didn't take long before Rick was leading the pack again. She wasn't sure where they were going, but now she was alone. There was a time when she used to love taking long drives out of the city, she pulled her hair to one side and continued to follow behind everyone. If was the first time she had time to just let everything that happened over the last week go.
Finally they all pulled off the road, heading towards what looked like abandoned buildings. Stefani jumped out and ran over to Shane, punching his arm as hard as she could.
"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done. For guns, are you kidding me."
"Stef, keep your voice down." Rick said, moving passed the siblings.
"You could've died." She whispered to him.
"We needed the extra weapons. Don't worry about me." He said pulling her into his side and following after Rick.
"Where are we?"
"Those guys that took Glenn hostage, this is where they were hold up." Daryl said as he passed her. Stefani's steps almost faltered as they locked eyes.
"We parted on good enough terms, they should help us out for a few days." Rick said as they caught up.
"All those guns we gave them, they'll probably throw us a party. Good call, for once." Daryl said as he walked ahead of the group.
Shane kept Stefani close as they moved through the buildings. He helped her through one of the open holes in the walls in order to get into a courtyard. As they turned the corner, there were dozens of walkers busy finished what looked to be fresh kills. Stefani reached into the waistband of her jeans and pulled her pistol out. She stayed close to Shane as they all waited for Rick's orders. This close to the city, if they unloaded their weapons it would surely draw attention to themselves.
"To hell with the noise," Rick said before taking the first shot.
The rest of the group followed, only Lori and Carol standing off to the side with the children. With all the weapons they used, it didn't take long to finish off the walkers in the courtyard. Clearing out the rest of the building wasn't all that difficult either. At least for tonight they'd have a safe place to stay.
Standing in the middle of the auditorium, Stefani couldn't help but notice the bodies around them. The place looked destroyed, but also picked clean. If they were as well stocked as Glenn had told them in camp, it wasn't all that surprising if people came through and took what they needed. It worried her that even though these people had more than twice the man power that they did, they were still overrun.
"Upstairs if our best bet. We've cleared a few rooms and can barricade those if we have to. We'll be alright." Rick announced to the group.
"Do you mean it this time, or are you lying to us like all the times before?" Carol asked as she held her daughter to her tightly.
Stefani wanted to stay out of the argument, catching Rick's eyes as Lori stood up for him. It was strange times like these that she wished they could just have a few minutes to themselves. She missed talking to him. Before it had been lunches a few times a week or maybe a phone call or two. Those were the things that she had to get over when she found out he didn't make it out of the hospital. He was still her friend, and she wanted that normalcy in her life. She sent him a week smile as she heard Glenn speak up.
"What the hell happened?"
"What do you think? They got overrun." Andrea said, but it was Daryl's scoff that pulled everyone's attention. "Something to say?"
"Yeah, how about observant?"
"Big word coming from a guy like you. Three whole syllables."
"Walkers didn't do this. They didn't show up until all this went down. Somebody attacked this place, killed all these people and took whatever they wanted. They're all shot in the head execution style. Y'all worried about walkers, I'd be much more worried about the people that came and did all this. Get a dictionary, look it up. Observant." With that, Daryl walked out leaving the rest to think about what he'd just said.
"I don't know about this." Stefani said to Shane, gripping his arm. "He's right, walkers we're ready for, but if another group rolls through here what are we going to do?"
"We're fine. Just try to relax for the night. Tomorrow we're back on the road."
"And then what? We can't just keep moving. We don't have the fuel or the supplies."
"Just let me and Rick handle this." He reassured her, placing his hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
"Shane you know I trust both of you with my life…"
"But what? You think we didn't notice?" He asked pulling her off to the side and further away from the group.
"Did you? Can you honestly tell me that you saw what Daryl was talking about but chose to ignore it? I saw the look on Rick's face, he didn't notice. We've been so focused on the dead that we don't even think about the other survivors."
"If you think your boyfriend's going to take better care of you then fine, go follow him."
"Shane, that's not what I meant and you know it. All of you just right him off as if he's not good for nothing. He's kept up fed for weeks and as terrifying as his temper can be, he's not that bad to have around. I'm just saying it might not be such a bad idea to include him a little more than you have."
"This doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you two…"
"No, besides it's not like that anymore. I've already got enough people to worry about, adding more will just run me into the ground."
After a meager dinner of beans and a few stale chips, Stefani tried to sleep, but there was no way that was going to happen in the crowded room. She caught a glimpse of Andrea sitting across the room, looking just as pissed off as she had hours before. It probably wouldn't have been so hard to sleep if not for the smell and the occasional sob coming from one of the children. She glanced down at Shane beside her. Even when they were kids he could always sleep anywhere, Stefani was always the opposite. Glancing around the room she saw the children curled around their mothers. She was almost jealous that they had that sense of security.
"I've got watch." Shane said as she sat up. "Try to sleep." He ran a hand through her hair before getting up.
When he walked through the door, Stefani tried to get comfortable. She laid down on her side and caught a glimpse of Daryl's back. It was an urge she'd had many nights before but she knew that she couldn't act on it. Again as if he knew she was watching him, Daryl turned over and caught her stare. There was something in his clear blue eyes that drew her to him. As quickly as he turned to her, he turned away.
This time it was her turn to get up. As quietly as she could, Stefani moved through the maze of bodies. Kneeling down, she turned to her side and laid on top of his back. She ran a hand down his arm and she leaned closer to his ear.
"I think if you really want to go find Merle, now would be your chance. It might be better for us to get some distance." She said, dropping her forehead to his shoulder.
"You think that's going to happen with you on top of me?"
"You're like a drug. I can't kick the habit as quickly as I would like."
"We're really stopping this? Don't I get a say in the matter?"
"Not anymore. I'm used to being used for sex and I was doing the same to you. Sex isn't supposed to be complicated, but along the way ours did."
Daryl turned his head, nudging her to look at him. Her eyes were brimming with tears when she finally reached his gaze. She wasn't sure what to do, so she just waited enjoying the feel of his body against hers for a short while.
"We've got more in common than you think." He said intertwining their fingers with the hand she had against his arm.
Stefani's breathing fell into rhythm with his, rising and falling with the movement of his chest. It was slowing lulling her into sleep, that and the subtle rubbing of his thumb against the back of her hand. Again her forehead fell against the back of his neck, it was always strange how much she loved the woodsy smell that seemed to radiate off of him. A little piece of her hated that he felt more like home than Shane did in the last few weeks.
Daryl knew that he had to be up for watch soon, but he wanted to make this last as long as he could. There were too many things that needed to be discussed between them, and with their history talking wasn't their strong suit. As much as he wanted it to just be sex, he knew that he had deeper feelings for her. He wasn't used to having a woman he cared about, and it was even rarer for one to be interested in him. It was stupid of him to think that Stefani would see him as anything other than a fuck buddy.
Carefully he rolled over and let her slip onto the floor. He moved his bag so that her head hit that instead of the tiles. He ran his fingers through her curls, pulling them away from her face before he placed a kiss against the side of her head.
"Daryl," Shane said as he reentered the room. He tried not to put any harshness behind his tone. "Come on man, it's your turn on watch."
Daryl got to his feet, walking around Shane to head for the door. He didn't realize that Shane followed until he reached to close the door. The two stood in the hallway for a moment, Shane carefully watching him.
"I said I was going to be nice to you, but I just want to make sure we're clear on one thing. Stefani's my baby sister and I'd die for her. She doesn't need anyone else looking out for her, Rick and I've got that covered. It might be best if you stepped back. Take it as a fling and leave her alone."
"Think I'm gonna hurt her?" Daryl scoffed as he took a step closer to Shane.
"Haven't you already?" The guilt that flashed across Daryl's eyes didn't go unnoticed and Shane shook his head slightly with a satisfied smirk. "You're not the type of guy she belongs with. Better you come to terms with that now."
Shane turned and reentered the room. Daryl stood and watched as he moved to Stefani. She woke up slowly, moving closer to her brother's coaxing words. Shane wrapped and arm around her back as she curled into his side. Daryl moved to the stairs and sat heavily. He wanted to bash the asshole's face in for thinking that he could take care of Stefani better than Daryl could, but he knew it would only cause more problems.
He knew what Shane said was probably right, Stefani's type was more of the all American guy. It was obvious from her brief relationship with Rick. But that didn't stop Daryl from thinking that he was different when he was with her. She was making him a better man, one that he liked being more than the way he was when Merle was around.
Stefani laughed as she ran down the path to the lake. She could hear Daryl gaining on her, but she refused to turn around to see how much distance she'd had on him. It wasn't until she jumped up on one of the boulders did she feel semi-safe from his wrath. The crossbow she had in her hand was held over her head as she tried to balance herself on the narrow flat part of the rock
"Get the hell down." He said as he came to a stop a few feet away from her. "I mean it Walsh, this ain't no game."
"Actually it is. You must have had such a sad childhood." She laughed. "Come one, Dixon. Admit you're having fun."
"Chasing you around the woods wasn't on my list of fun activities today." He sighed watching her balance carefully on the rock. "Why don't you come down and we can go hunting like we planned?"
"Nope, this is more fun."
"Get the hell down, or I'm coming up to get you." He warned and the smile the broke across her face was all the answer he needed.
He jumped up onto the rock and reached out for her to catch his balance. Stefani yelped as she felt her foot start to slip. She fell into the water with a splash, Daryl waited a minute before moving closer to the water to make sure she came up for air. It didn't take long before she was breaking through the cool liquid, shaking her hair out of her face. The scowl on her face only lasted a few seconds before she was laughing again.
"Where's my crossbow?" He asked as he reached out for her hand.
"Don't know, you might need to look for it." She took his hand and pulled with all her weight to drag him into the water.
He came up for air, purposely splashing her in the face as he looked around for his bow. On the group near the rocks, he saw his precious weapon. She must have lost her grip on it before she fell in. The laughter coming from her only fueled his anger and he turned again to splash her. It didn't take long before they were both fighting in the water with smiles across their faces.
"Daryl, you can go. I've got last watch." Rick said from behind him. He stood up and moved back towards the room. A part of him wished he could go back to her and have her in his arms through the last few hours of sleep before they had to move on, but he knew Shane would definitely have a problem with that. It was probably for the best that he started getting used to not having her around as soon as possible.