Here is the sequel you all have been eager to read! This is probably one of my favorite chapters yet. I had a great time writing it and it flowed out pretty well, which made my job that much easier! So ye be! Enjoy and comment and let me know what you think! I've got some nice ideas up my sleeve for the next few chapters, so be on the look out for them!

Necessary Knowledge to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter Nine: Don't Screw With a Woman in Love

It was stop and go, stop and go for a majority of the sixty feet that made up the steep slope in the Georgian wilderness. But mostly, it was just stop. No go.

"We have to keep climbing," Marlie urged. Her breath came in shallow loads and the strain of scaling the cliff had her head pulsing. Blood kept dripping into her left eye, a steady trail of it leading out from the inch-long laceration on her forehead. Even wiping away the crimson was an effort.

Daryl wasn't having any fun, either. His side stung and every microscopic movement sent lightning bolts of pain up his body. There was bump forming above his brow where he'd struck the slick rocks during his second involuntary trip down. And now he was wet and muddy, making his life even more fantastic, sarcastically speaking.

"Hey," Marlie said softly, holding onto a patch of grass with white-knuckled hands.

When Daryl had his footing, he looked up at her, sweat pouring down his face and back.

"We're almost there." She smiled.

There was a comforting tone in her every word that strengthened Daryl. Marlie was right; there was only another ten feet to go. It was probably going to be the longest ten feet in his entire life, but ten feet was better than thirty, better than sixty. "And lets hope nothin's waitin' for us at the top."

Marlie frowned.

Noticing the look he was suddenly being given, Daryl corrected himself. "But there probably won't be."

"There you go. That's…that's what I wanna hear."

Daryl nodded and the two pressed onward. But he was struggling. There were two feet of sheer vertical, almost impassible slope. He frowned deeply at it.

"You can do," the young woman pressed, having already figured out a way around it. "Just push your foot against that tree and reach up for this one. I'll help you." She extended her hand down to him and clung tightly to another skinny little tree that was growing right out of the slope.

Sighing tiredly, Daryl hesitantly obeyed, bracing his weight against one tree and reaching up to Marlie's hand. He held onto it like his life depended on it, but was otherwise stuck. "What now?"

"Uh…" Honestly, she hadn't thought that far ahead. "Okay, um, can you reach those vines to your left?"

Daryl eyed them and shook his head.

"Shit," she rasped. "Alright, let me think. Don't let go of my hand, though, okay?"

He nodded and sighed, relieved to get a moment to catch his breath. A deep frown etched itself across his face when he heard his brother's voice.

"What's the matter, Little Darlina?" Merle asked with a smirk, crouched down at the peek of the hill. "That all ya got in ya?"

"I liked it better when you was missin'," Daryl replied before he could stop himself.

Marlie blinked. "Excuse me?"

He shook his head at her. "No no no, I'm sorry. Not you. I wasn't talkin' to you. Sorry."

"Then who were you talking to?" she asked, brows furrowed.

"Uh, no one."

Merle scoffed. "Is that all I am to you, Brother? No one?"

"Shut up!" Daryl snapped, closing his eyes tightly against the sound of his brother's voice. He could feel Marlie's eyes on his, but what could he possibly say to her without sounding crazy?

But she already had a good idea of what was going on. "Is it Merle?"

The hunter looked up at her, surprised.

"You were talking to him before, when you had fallen down the second time."

He turned away. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"Nothin'. Just…lets get over this damn hill before the sun sets."

Marlie pressed her lips together and nodded slowly, ignoring Daryl's snippy response. Hey, if he didn't want to talk to her about his hallucinations, then she wasn't going to force the subject on him.

Feeling stupid for having talked to himself, Daryl mentally kicked his own balls. Goddamn Merle, always fucking with him. He shook his head in an attempt to clear if and searched for a way beyond the steepest part of the slope. Sure, Marlie had tackled it easily, but her side wasn't bleeding and hurting like the Dickens, either.

"Aw, don't be like that. I'm only lookin' out for ya."

Daryl growled at the sound of Merle's voice again. "Since when?" he mumbled quietly, hardly caring now that Marlie could hear him. Maybe she was too busy looking for a way out to notice. "You were never there, you ain't here now. Some things never change."

She was concerned, most definitely. People didn't talk to illusions unless something was wrong. The bump on his head was probably the cause. Marlie just prayed that he'd make a healthy recovery. Daryl was strong, she knew, but he was only human. And humans could hurt themselves just as anything else in the world could.

"Well, I tell you what," Merle continued, standing up and straightening his posture, "I'm as real as your Chupacabra." His tone was filled with mockery.

Daryl wrinkled his nose. "I know what I saw!"

"And what did you see?" Marlie wanted to say back, but she knew it wouldn't do her any good. Daryl was deep in conversation with his brother who wasn't there and trying to talk the hunter out of his hallucination would be pointless and a waste of time. So instead, she pointed to little tree to Daryl's left, motioning for him to try and grab it.

With a grunt, he pressed off the piece of foliage he was standing on grabbed at the tree. Finally, he was going somewhere.

Merle folded his arms. "I bet those shrooms you ate had nothin' to do with your 'sighting'." He snorted.

"Shut the hell up!"

"Or what?" Merle taunted. "You gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me?"

Marlie smiled at the hunter's progress. He still held onto her hand for support, but he was really moving up. With what little strength she had left in her, Marlie pulled hard on his arm and furthered his progress when he found a foothold at the top of the vertical drop.

"Well come on and do it then, if ya think you're man enough," Merle demanded with a bone-shuddering snicker. "Kick off them damn high heels and climb before the bitch beats ya to the top."

Daryl shook his head again, restraining himself from saying something that might frighten Marlie further. He could only imagine what she thought of him then, talking to his imaginary brother, no matter how real his visions seemed. "Don't," was all he responded with.

"Still talking to Merle?" Marlie finally asked in a calm tone, as to not embarrass him. "Might be doing you so some good, actually. We're almost there." She smiled when Daryl met her eyes, conveying a sense of positivity from a nonjudgmental standpoint. Hell, it was only a matter of time before she, too, started seeing things…if she wasn't already.

Merle shook his head at his younger brother. "See, I just don't think you're gonna make it to the top."

In an effort to prove Merle wrong, Daryl pushed himself to his limits and beyond. So much so, that Marlie was suddenly feeling outdone.

"Jesus, slow down," she urged, refusing to relinquish her grip on him.

"Come on now, come on. Grab your pal Rick's hand," Merle jeered one last time.

Daryl winced in pain as he swung his free hand up and over the slope. He touched the flat ground with a sigh and hoisted himself safely onto the grass, taking care to not let go of Marlie who was now in need of assistance. But with his relief came a small ounce of strength enough to help Marlie up.

She crawled up beside him and grunted. With hesitance, Marlie looked down at the ravine where she and Daryl had been stranded in a short time ago. But she was careful not to lean onto the edge of cliff, in fear of repeating her last mistake. Sighing heavily, she looked over at Daryl who was panting sorely beside her. A light giggle escaped her lips then and the young woman pecked the man on the cheek.

He blinked at her. "What was that for?"

"Not dying." Marlie stood up and helped Daryl to his feet, scanning the area for any signs of their horses. "Looks like we're walking."

"You think I'm crazy, don't ya?"

Marlie shook her head, already knowing what he was talking about. "You hit your head pretty hard, Daryl. It was a little weird, to be honest, but it's not my place to say that you're crazy."

"Then whose place is it?"

"Why does it matter? We're out of that little hellhole. We kicked ass along the way and we'll have the scars to prove it."

Daryl smirked. "I think they'll prove just how clumsy we are."

"More like how clumsy I am and how wimpy our horses are."

"Hershel's gonna be pissed," he mused.

Marlie nodded in agreement, cringing at the thought of the old man grounding them or something. "Now can we go? The sun's going down." She pulled Daryl's arm around her shoulder for support and took the first step towards the farm. It would be a while before they made it back, especially now that they had no horses to carry them onward, but as long as no walkers got in their way, the trip would be relatively flat and easy.

And it was! Although Daryl had to stop several times to rest against a sugar maple and catch his breath. His wound had stopped bleeding, but the pain was stronger than ever. The sooner he could get off his feet, the better.

"Almost there," Marlie chirped with evident joyfulness. She could see the clearing up ahead that marked the outer boundaries to the ranch. "Just a few more yards." Something skittered down her tank top then, causing her stop in her tracks and detach from Daryl.

He glanced back. "Everything okay?" he asked, breathy, limping back a few steps towards the farm.

Marlie reached into her shirt where it felt like something had fallen and retrieved the front part of one silver earring. Her dirt-covered hand immediately went up to her ear to find that there was, in fact, an empty lobe hole. And there was no backing to be found. "Goddamn it," she cursed. Those were her mother's earrings, after all. "I lost the back of my earring."

Daryl just frowned at her. There was nothing he could do about a missing earring, even if it was Marlie's mom's. Maybe someone at the camp had a piece she could use to secure it back in its place, but other than that, he didn't know. And frankly, an earring was the least of his concern. Getting Marlie's head looked at was priority. "Hey," he called over to her, nodding towards the farm. "Lets have Hershel take a look at that cut of yours."

She blushed slightly at the fact that Daryl was putting her little bumped forehead before his own injuries. It flattered her, even though Daryl required more medical attention than she did. "Don't you think you should clean your face off before you go out in public? With that limp and the blood, you might be mistaken for a walker."

He snorted and turned away from her, heading out into the clearing.

"Seriously," she said, half-joking. She gave herself a pat down where she stood in hopes of finding the backing to one of the last possessions she had of her mother.

Daryl glanced back. "You comin'?"

She sighed. "Hang on!" Her volume went up now that the hunter was wandering farther away. "You should wait!"

"Nah," he said under his breath, "I'll be fine." But he really did wish that she'd hurry up. He wasn't going to just leave her there; someone from the camp would probably see him and know that they were back. Dale would spot him from the top of the RV, Daryl thought. The old man would see Daryl's condition and get help. But he certainly wasn't leaving Marlie behind. Just getting a few paces ahead to signal for help.

"Hey, wait!" Marlie stopped wondering about the location of the earring piece; it was long gone done the ravine, probably. She hurried forward to catch up with Daryl. "I'm serious. The squirrel juice just isn't working for you." When Daryl didn't respond, she glanced up and saw Rick, Shane, Glenn, and T-Dog closing in on the hunter's position, their weapons raised against him.

Damn the hunter for not listening to her about cleaning himself off! "No!" Marlie cried, rushing out from behind the tree line, arms raised. "Don't shoot!"

Glenn cringed. "Is that Daryl?"

"Of course it's Daryl!" Marlie replied unhappily. "Who the hell else would it be?"

"It's 'bout time you pointed that thing at my head. You gonna pull the trigger or what?" His attitude was not pleasant.

Marlie growled, shoving her earring into her jeans pocket. "Daryl, stop. Rick," she added, looking over at the deputy with raise brows, "Do you mind?"

The officer slowly lowered his firearm and the little walker-killing party sighed collectively.

Daryl snorted and glanced back at Marlie, who was completely not amused.

"Not fucking funny, Daryl. They could have—"

The unmistakable sound of a fired rifle split the air.

Daryl's head snapped to the side and he fell backwards, landing hard on the soft grass of the field.

"NO!" Marlie screamed, ignoring the surge of pain that intensified her migraine. "DARLY!" She was on the ground beside him in an instant. There were tears already streaming hastily down both cheeks as she reached out to touch the fallen man's face.

He cringed when she inspected the fresh slice along the left side of his head.

"Jesus, Daryl," she whispered, sniffling over him.

Rick's eyes went wide as he hurried over to Daryl. "NO!" he cried out behind him, towards the camp and towards the sound of the rifle. "NO!" He, along with Shane, scooped him off the ground, his arms draped around their shoulders.

"I was kidding," Daryl huffed, flinching at the sudden pain on his head before falling limp in the officers' grips.

Marlie was breathing hard beside Rick. "Daryl!"

"Calm down, Marlie. He's just unconscious."

Calm down? she wondered. How the fuck did anybody expect her to calm down? Somebody had just shot Daryl! It wasn't that Marlie was mad at Rick; he was only trying to settle her down because she needed to, badly. But she wasn't in the mood to be patronized for freaking out. She had a right to be upset. Still, she had to keep a level head. Blacking out from rage wasn't going to do anybody any good.

The little rag doll behind Daryl grabbed her focus then and she scooped it up.

T-Dog noticed her and said with wide eyes, "Isn't that Sophia's?" It caught everybody's attention.

Marlie nodded.

Up ahead, Andrea and Dale swiftly approached, the former nearly in tears as she said, "Oh my god, oh my god, is he dead?"

"Unconscious," Rick assured. "You just grazed him."

Suddenly, fear for Daryl's safety iced over and became cold, deadly anger. Marlie's blue eyes met Andreas.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" the blonde exclaimed apologetically, keeping pace with the group as it hurried to get Daryl into Hershel's medical care.

Marlie knew it was Andrea's fault. Her expression, franticness, horrified frown all proved it. But she restrained herself…for the time being.

"Uh, look at him, guys," Glenn said in a disgusted tone. "He's wearing ears! What the hell happened?"

The question was directed at Marlie, to which she replied by yanking the hideous necklace free and cramming it grossly into her back pocket. She'd need a new pair of pants afterwards because there was no way in hell she was putting them back on after walker ears had been in them.

Rick shook his head. "Lets keep that to ourselves."

The group made it to Hershel a minute later.

He wasn't at all happy about the situation. Nobody was, but he was particularly furious. Two of his horses had been "borrowed" without permission, now they were running around somewhere in the woods, and Daryl had just been shot even after Hershel had explained his thoughts on firearms on his ranch. That wouldn't keep him from treating his patients, however.

TWDTWDTWD

"We found it in the creek bed here," Daryl said to Rick, indicating a specific point on the map rolled out before him on one of Hershel's guest beds.

Marlie kneeled beside it, nodding, all the while watching Hershel as he finished bandaging up the hunter. She had overseen his entire care for the past two hours—wound cleaning, stitching, bandaging—never leaving his side even when Hershel instructed her to. "I want to be here when he wakes up," she kept saying, and she had been. Her head was taken care of last, under her own wishes. Marlie required four very painful sutures that were now covered with a gauze pad taped across her head, but it was nothing compared to the six stitches in Daryl's side, as well as in his forehead.

As for the ear necklace, Marlie had happily surrendered it to Rick. Sadly, she probably wasn't going to get a new pair of pants like she had hoped. Wal-Mart had gone out of business when the world had ended.

"She must have dropped it while crossing," Marlie said quietly, relief having calmed her senses for the time being.

Rick nodded and glanced over his shoulder at Shane. "Cuts the grid almost in half."

"You're welcome," Daryl scoffed, momentarily watching Hershel tape gauze to his side. He was glad that the pain had subsided tremendously. His brother's painkillers fended off most of the discomfort and he was glad to have been asleep when most of the disinfecting had occurred. Too bad he woke up just as the stitches were being done. Now that had hurt. But having Marlie close by made it easier to tolerate.

The young woman saw Hershel walk away from Daryl then to rinse out a red-tinted white rag into a small basin. "How's he looking?" she asked, still kneeled beside the bed.

Hershel shook his head, an emotionless expression plastered on his face, as always. "I have no idea. Didn't think I'd be going through antibiotics so quickly." He turned around and with a quiet unhappiness settled into the heart of his voice, the old man asked, "Any idea what happened to my horses?"

Snorting, Daryl asked, "You mean the two that almost killed us? If they're smart, they left the country."

Marlie sank onto her haunches and smirked just out of sight of Hershel, who surely wouldn't have appreciated her support of Daryl's sense of humor.

Completely ignoring them both, Hershel informed, "One of them's called Nelly, as in Nervous Nelly. I could have told you that she'd throw you if either of you'd bothered to ask."

Averting her gaze from the older man, Marlie gulped, suddenly feeling very much like a child getting reprimanded. Still, it was better than a spanking.

"The other one's Abacus. Did she throw you off, too?" he asked, staring at Marlie.

She could feel his eyes on her and she reluctantly looked up and nodded, abashed.

Hershel shook his head and dried his hands on a clean towel. He glanced at Rick. "It's a wonder how you all have made it this far."

An audible sigh escaped Marlie's lips when everyone else left the room. "I thought he was gonna give us the paddle or something," she whispered quietly, just in case Hershel was right outside the door.

Daryl snorted. "The old fool wouldn't dare."

Marlie watched him for several moments, still seated on the ground. Seeing him awake and alert and alive made her realize just how in love she was with this man. After coming so close to losing him on several occasions, it was a wonder why Marlie hadn't already confessed herself to him. Honestly, though, she had a feeling that he already knew. A blind man could have seen it.

The rest of the group had probably figured it out, too. It would have been impossible not to know. After all, Marlie was rarely seen without the hunter now.

"What are ya lookin' at?" Daryl finally asked quietly, his head resting in his palm.

Marlie sniffed. "I told you you should of wiped that blood off." She could only hold a serious face for so long before a smile etched itself across her mouth and into her eyes.

He sighed. "Sorry, Mom," he said sarcastically, beginning to smile as well.

"Well, at least you learned your lesson."

"Which one? The one about askin' before you steal a horse? Or the one about not rollin' down a slope? Oh, oh! Or maybe the one about not getting' an arrow stuck through your side?"

Marlie stroked her chin in mock thoughtfulness. "Hm, the one about getting shot. But how about all of them!" She giggled and Daryl joined him, both glad for the happy little reprieve in which they both found themselves.

A stomach growl shut them both up.

"Don't look at me," Marlie said, smiling. "That was all you."

Daryl glanced down at his shirtless stomach. It rumbled for a second time.

"I'll go get you some dinner," laughed the young woman, standing up and walking towards the door.

"Hey," Daryl said, stopping her in her tracks. "Thanks…for today. For lookin' for Sophia, for killin' those walkers, and…just…for everything."

Marlie quickly noted the hesitation and awkwardness surrounding Daryl at that moment. He obvious didn't thank people very often, so the fact that he was acknowledging her like that gave her a warm feeling inside. She bent over him and kissed his cheek gently. "You're welcome."

"Watch the stitches," he said with a smile as Marlie disappeared into the hallway in search of food.

She found it in the dining room, where everybody was gathering around two tables filled with lovely glass dishes and edible creations. Her stomach growled at the sight.

"How's Daryl?" Lori asked, seeing the younger woman approach.

"He's fine." Her eyes locked onto Andrea's and she gave her a murderous stare until the blonde broke away shyly. You better back off, bitch, Marlie mused angrily. Then she turned to Hershel, who was already getting situated in his chair. "Hershel?" she asked quietly, clearing her throat. She still felt bad about the horses. "Is it alright if I bring some food to him and eat in his room instead?"

The older man thought for a moment before sighing and giving a slight nod. "Make sure he eats enough."

Marlie understood and gathered up two plates and two glasses of water and made her way back into the guest room. She frowned when Daryl didn't acknowledge her arrival; he had fallen unconscious again. "Hey," she snapped at him, putting his plate on the bed beside him, while she placed her own food and the two waters on the side table. She reached out and nudged his shoulder gently. Marlie wasn't too concerned because Daryl really did need his rest. Him passing out wasn't entirely unexpected. But the man needed to eat if he expected to get better.

Poking him again, Marlie sat on the wooden chair beside the bed and ordered, "Wake up, or I'll talk about the deer."

The man groaned. "Not the deer."

Marlie snorted. "Then wake up."

"I am! I'm talkin', ain't I?"

"Alright, well, it's time to eat." She wasn't giving him a choice in the matter. Assertively, Marlie pushed the plate towards his prone form. "The gals made potatoes and veggies. I never thought I'd see another potato in my life." She smiled and began digging into her meal.

Daryl was quick to follow and in under a few minutes, the pair had eaten every piece of food on their plates. "Got any water?" he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

She nodded and handed him his glass, while she chugged her own. "My god, you inhaled your dinner!"

"Can't say you're any better."

Marlie glanced down at her spotless plate. It looked as though she'd licked the damn thing clean, but she couldn't recall doing such a thing. Although, the meal had been practically intoxicating, so maybe she had licked it clean. She just couldn't remember. "Hm," Marlie said, a smirk on her face. "It would appear that we were both starved after a fruitful expedition through the forest."

Daryl eyed her for a second before bursting into laughter. Thank goodness the door was close, or else the others in the house would have had their meals disrupted.

The young woman wasn't entirely sure why he was laughing so much all of a sudden. Had she said something funny, or was he just happy to safe and sound and out of the woods? Whatever the reason, Marlie laughed with him for many moments before the giggling finally tapered off. She sighed and smiled widely at Daryl.

"I haven't laughed so hard in a long time."

Marlie nodded. "Me neither. It was nice." She took Daryl's dishes and put them aside before crawling into the bed with him, tucking her shoeless feet beneath the cottony comforter and nestling close to Daryl's pillow.

Feeling her warmth so close to him, the hunter realized how much he missed it. Granted, she'd slept beside him in the RV the night before, but that seemed so long ago. So much had happened since then. He could have lost her back in the forest. Could have lost her so many times, but he hadn't. She was still there, cozy in the bed next to him. With delicate fingers, Daryl brushed several brown curls off of Marlie's cheek. He kissed her forehead gently and let her nuzzle beneath his chin.

"I never actually thought I'd get attached to another person again," Marlie admitted in a whisper, closing her eyes with sleepiness and minding the stitches in her head.

Daryl breathed deeply, matching his heartbeat to the woman against him. "What happened?"

"I met you."

He smiled and closed his eyes, inhaling her scent and praying that she never had to leave.

Carol crept in a short time later, but turned to leave at the sight of Marlie snuggled up close to Daryl. But when the hunter made eye contact with her in the dimly lit room, she paused. "She asleep?" the older woman asked quietly.

Daryl looked down at Marlie and watched her chest rise and fall slowly, peacefully. "Yeah," he rasped. He would be, too, as soon as Carol left. He didn't necessarily mind her being there, but it was late and he was tired.

"You need to know somethin'," she said, lingering by the door. "You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did in his whole life."

Turning back to Marlie and repositioning himself gently beside her, Daryl responded, "I didn't do anythin' Rick or Shane wouldn't have done."

"I know," Carol said matter-of-factly. "You're every bit as good as them. Every bit." She flicked the light switch beside the door and left, leaving Marlie to sleep and Daryl to replay Carol's words in his head.

He hadn't noticed it before, but Marlie was changing him. Slowly, but surely, he was gaining positivity, happiness, and even love from the woman sleeping beside him. Daryl was morphing into someone he had always wanted to be, but couldn't become in fear of changing how people looked at him. Daryl liked the tough guy, lone wolf persona, but he was beginning to prefer his selflessness and protective streak.

Kindly, he placed a heartfelt kiss onto Marlie's crown and nestled down onto the shared pillow to fall asleep. It may not have been the night that he had originally planned on, but it would do just fine.

Finally, three chapters later and "Chupacabra" is finished! Onto work on the next chapters! :)