(Thanks for the reviews and for reading. I'm sure where I want the story to end up, I just haven't exactly mapped out how to get there. I have some future chapters planned out in my head, but I need some more before I get there. So this may seem like it's going a little slow for a minute, but I promise that I do have a purpose for that.)
Daryl thought it was just going to be him, Shane, Rick and Carl headed out to the shooting range today. Glenn and Maggie ended up stopping by and Lori invited Maggie to a girl's day with her, Carol Andrea and Sophia. So the guys invited Glenn along shooting. Somehow Sophia ended up begging to go to the shooting range with the guys.
"Can, I come too! Please?" She looked to Daryl, her eyes silently pleading for him to agree.
"Ain't you supposed to be going with your mom and them to get your nails done and stuff?" Daryl asked the young girl who hadn't taken her eyes off him since asking.
"That's where they're going, but I wanna know how to shoot a gun too! Carl's going." She pointed out.
Daryl looked at Rick. He didn't know what to say. She wasn't his daughter and it wasn't his call whether or not she was allowed to handle firearms. Besides, he assumed that her mom wanted to spend some time with her doing something special today.
Rick looked back at Daryl and shrugged. It wasn't his call either.
Carol, Lori, Andrea and Maggie entered the room.
"There you are Sophia. Are you ready to go?" Carol asked her daughter
"I don't wanna go. I wanna go with Rick, Shane, Glenn, Carl and Mr. Dixon."
"They're going to shoot guns, you don't really wanna do that, do you?" Lori questioned her.
"I do," she said, nodding her head resolutely.
Carol looked at Daryl and then to Rick. "If she wants to go and you don't mind, I'm fine with it."
"Yes!" Carl and Sophia shouted in unison.
"You sure about that?" Lori asked her friend
"I'm sure. She's with Daryl and Rick. I know she's in good hands. Besides, Shane is a certified trainer. I think it would be good for her to learn how to handle a gun the proper way."
"Guess it's settled then. You're coming with us kid," Daryl said as he ruffed up her hair.
()()()
Shane, Rick, Carl, Sophia, and Glenn rode together in Shane's SUV down to the shooting range. Daryl followed behind them on his bike. Once they arrived at the shooting range Shane had automatically started talking smack about being the best shot there. He was making bets with Rick on which of them could hit the most targets.
"So, Daryl?" Shane asked. "Are you any good with guns?"
"I know a little," Daryl muttered quietly.
"Give it your best shot, then," Shane said as he handed Daryl the gun.
"You first, sunshine," Daryl remarked.
"Same time, then?" Shane proposed.
"Alright," Daryl nodded.
The two walked up and began firing at the targets as the others, including Carl and Sophia, stood back and watched.
"Wow!" Carl exclaimed once they were done firing. "You're a better shot than Shane."
Daryl had hit the target in every spot Shane had, and possibly even come a little closer to one of the dots.
"Nice job," Rick said. "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"
"Been shooting since I was younger than Carl. Taught myself, really. My brother taught me how to fire and all. Just learned to hit stuff by shooting at it." Daryl shrugged a shoulder. "Had to eat."
"You're a damn good shot," Shane admitted as he shook his head.
()()()
Meanwhile; Carol, Lori, Andrea and Maggie were at the mall. They ended up at the salon getting their nails and eyebrows done.
"I can't believe that Sophia wanted to go shoot guns rather than come with us," Lori pouted. "She usually loves getting her nails done."
"I don't know," Andrea commented. "I've always liked guns. I probably would have done the same thing. Hell, if I didn't need to get away from Shane, I probably would have went with them too." She joked.
The girls all laughed.
"I've always kind of like shooting too," Maggie agreed. "I just didn't know it was Sophia's thing."
"I don't think that was necessarily it." Carol mused.
"What is it then? Oh, do you think she is starting to like Carl?" Maggie smirked.
"Don't even!" Lori warned. "They are only 12. My baby boy is too young for a girlfriend. Plus, they are as close as brother and sister."
"Keep telling yourself that," Andrea snorted.
"I don't think its Carl either. Although, I don't doubt we're in for trouble when they're a bit older," Carol added.
"Then, what?" Andrea asked curiously.
"She's gotten pretty attached to Daryl. She always wants him to come to her soccer games. She asks every night if he is coming to eat with us. She even asked me to get her a dirt bike for her birthday because she likes his motorcycle so much."
"So, she has a crush on Daryl?" Maggie seemed perplexed.
"She's 12, Maggie. He's 35. No I don't think she has crush on Daryl," Carol chuckled.
"I wouldn't blame her if she did." Andrea grinned mischievously.
"Andrea!" Lori barked as she playfully tapped her friends shoulder.
"What? He's hot. He has that ruggedly handsome thing going on. And that voice.."
"What about Shane?" Maggie reminded her.
"Hey, I'm just admiring him. I wouldn't go after it. He's clearly been marked anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lori asked.
"I'm not the one who he has dinner with all the time, or the one whose daughter's soccer games he goes to, or the one who he helps shop for houses with." Andrea stated bluntly.
Carol blushed and immediately flicked her eyes away from the others and to the floor. "It's not like that," she said. "We're just friends."
"Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart," Andrea replied.
"I'm serious. He doesn't see me like that, I'm older than him for goodness sakes!"
"Only by four years." Maggie pointed out.
"Really...it's just not like that. I mean, he's gorgeous and I would totally…"
"Carol!" Lori chided.
"What? I'm just saying...It's not like it's actually gonna happen."
"We still don't know him that well. Just keep that in mind. That's all I'm saying. You've got to keep your guard up for you and Sophia."
"Yes, mother." Carol replied rolling her eyes at Lori.
"Anyway," Maggie said, changing the subject. "How did it go when you looked at the house today?"
"It went great," she beamed. Daryl said I should get it. He thinks it's worth it. I put in an offer and I should know in a few days."
()()()
Back at the shooting range the adults were finally letting the kids have a turn with the guns. Rick had shown Carl the proper way to stand and hold a gun and Daryl had done the same for Sophia. They let Shane take over the instruction part of things, since he was used to doing it. They stood and watched Carl and Sophia fire off a few rounds before Daryl stepped away to get a cigarette.
"Haven't I told you those things are bad for ya?" Rick teased as he walked over to his friend.
"Something's gonna kill me one day, might as well be something I like," Daryl joked back.
"How'd things go with the house today?" Rick asked as he looked over his shoulder to make sure that Carl and Sophia were out of ear shot. They were. Shane was talking to them and giving them more gun safety tips at the moment.
"Went good," Daryl said as he took a long drag. "I told her she should get it. She made an offer. She's supposed to hear something back in a few days or so."
"That's good. I'm happy for her. I know it'll be good for her to be out on her own. I just worry about her Ya know? I've been able to keep my eye on them the last seven months. I know Ed wouldn't come near my house looking for them. I just don't want him to start trouble once she's out on her own."
Daryl threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. His tone was gravely as he looked to Rick and spoke ominously. "If he knows what's good for him, he won't."
()()()
Rick insisted on stopping and grabbing several pizzas and sodas on the way home. He wanted everyone to stay for dinner. When they got back to the house the girls were already there waiting on them
"Did you have fun?" Carol asked Sophia as she walked in the door.
"Yeah, it was really cool. Oh, and Daryl can shoot better than Shane!"
Everyone but Shane laughed. "Hey, we hit the same amount. Okay!" He said defensively.
They were all sitting around in the living room and had just finished their pizza. Rick stood up and asked Lori to come stand next to him. He glanced around to all his friends and bit back the smile threatening to line his lips. "Since we're all together," Rick began, "we have an announcement that we wanna make." He put his arms around Lori and both of them were smiling ear to ear now.
"We're having another baby." Lori squealed in delight.
"I'm gonna be a big brother?" Carl asked, his eyes and voice equally full of excitement.
"Yeah, you are!" His parents replied.
His blue eyes sparkled. "That's so cool. Big brother Carl. It has a ring to it. Don't ya think?"
Rick and Lori nodded their heads at their son and smiled.
Everyone offered their congratulations. Andrea and Maggie couldn't believe that Lori hadn't told them earlier. No one would have guessed that Rick and Lori were having another baby. After all, they tried for years before she got pregnant with Carl. It had been a difficult pregnancy and he had been born via C-section. They always said that it made them not want to try again.
It turns out that this pregnancy had been a surprise. In fact, she was actually three months along now and they had just found out when she had routine check-up with her gynecologist. They were surprised, but excited. They felt like it was meant to be.
Everyone stayed a while longer and congratulated the happy family. It was getting late and Daryl wanted to go visit his brother at the jail in the morning, so he decided to head out. Carol walked with him outside.
"How'd things go at the shooting range? Sophia wasn't any trouble was she?"
"Nah," He said. "She listened real good. Hit a few targets. I think with more practice she could be a pretty good shot."
"She adores you. You know that, right?"
Daryl arched a brow and couldn't hide the surprise in his voice. "What?"
"She likes being around you. Looks up to you. I'm thankful for that."
"Don't know why. I ain't nothing to look up to," he said in a low voice.
"You are. You just don't know it," she stated matter of factly.
He bit his lower lip and looked down, feeling overwhelemed by her high and Sophia's high opinion of him.
"Just remember, I liked you first, Pookie," she teased him to try and lighten the mood. She knew it worked when his eyes flitted back up to hers and he gave her a shy grin.
"Stop," he muttered as he playfully nudged her shoulder with his.