A/N: Hey, hey! Look at that! It only took me about a month to get another chapter written. Woot! I don't know why, but the plot bunnies have bred like bunnies and I keep getting ideas upon ideas for this fict.
I'm sure you'd rather read the story than my babble, so go on. Enjoy!
"...Fork was in the road took the psychopath..."
Instantly awake from her light slumber, Jada sat straight up, hands immediately wrapping around the handle of her SIG, ready to fire if necessary. She surveyed the area, looking for the threat. Not seeing anything, she grunted as she stood up on the roof of the Volvo to look for the people in the group. She saw that everyone was either looking off into the trees on the right of the highway or at each other.
Taking a step towards the front of the SUV, Jada's leg buckled underneath her, making her wince and suppress a groan as she fell to her left knee on the roof.
Goddamn! She thought, glancing at her right knee, near the wound. I need to find a way to get look at that fucker. Pursing her lips together, Jada slowly stood from her kneeling and crouched position, subtly glancing around to make sure no one saw her failure to walk.
Standing upright, she slid down the windshield onto the hood of the SUV, then jumped off (jarring her wound even more) and balled her hand into a fist as the pain hit. When the pain receded, Jada walked towards the RV, where most of the group was gathered, to find out what was going on. She tucked her SIG back into her pants.
"They should be back soon." She heard Andrea say to Lori as Jada approached the group. She sat on the back bumper of a station wagon and listened.
"Why just one shot, though?" Lori asked to no one in particular as she turned her head towards the tree line.
"Maybe they took down a walker." Carol suggested.
"No. Rick wouldn't risk a bullet for one walker." Lori replied in a clear 'don't be stupid' tone of voice.
"Let's give 'em some time. If they're not back in a few hours, maybe Daryl and Jada can go find them." Dale said, trying to keep everyone (especially Lori) calm.
Jada raised an eyebrow as she looked up at Dale. She didn't know anything about what was going on...only heard a gunshot and that apparently Rick was out there. She then wondered where the resident redneck was, since he wasn't in the circle of gathered people. Straining her neck and looking around the area, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye, on top of the RV. Looking up, she locked eyes with the hunter momentarily before his shifted up and over to the trees, seeming embarrassed. With an inward grin, Jada lowered her gaze to the people around her again.
Deciding to clear the tension and anxiety, Jada stood up. "Anyone want something to eat?" She offered, walking towards the RV. She received a few mumbles of 'sure' and general agreement.
Stepping up into the mobile home, Jada saw T-Dog slumped over the table. He looked semi-conscious. Frowning, she approached him.
"Hey, T. Feelin' any better?" She asked with a wince. Dipshit. Of course he's not feelin' better. She scolded herself.
All that came out of T-Dog was a mumbled reply that Jada couldn't decipher. She gave him a weak smile and patted him lightly on the shoulder before turning towards the RV's kitchenette.
Searching through the creaky cabinets, looking for something edible, Jada came across a large container of oatmeal...the same one she used for breakfast the day before.
Better than nothin'. She thought with a sigh as she stood upright and gathered cooking utensils.
After cooking up the oatmeal on the tiny stove in the RV, Jada spooned a small amount into a bowl and slid it in front of T-Dog.
"Eat up, pal. Need to keep what little strength you have up." She said, handing him a spoon.
With a reluctant nod, he took the spoon and slowly fed himself. Satisfied, Jada loaded up a few more bowls, then carried them two at a time out to the group. After shoveling a bowlful into her mouth, Jada filled the last bowl and took it outside. Slinking to the back of the RV, she one-handedly climbed up the ladder to the top; her arms protested the whole way, still recovering from the day before.
Once on top of the mobile home, Jada took a moment to breathe out a sigh of relief at the fact that she made it without falling. She then looked towards the front of the vehicle to see Daryl sitting on a crate and looking at her warily. Steeling herself, she approached him.
"Hungry?" She held out the bowl of oatmeal, producing a spoon from her cargo pocket.
Daryl looked from her to the bowl and back again before reaching a hand out to take the oatmeal from her with a nod of thanks. Jada dipped the spoon in before he pulled his hand away.
Not wanting to be awkward, but not ready to leave the hunter's presence, she turned to look out into the trees, placing her hands on her hips. She scanned the tree line a few times before turning 180 degrees and looking out at the scattered cars, looking for one that would suit her needs so she could leave this group.
But do I want to leave the group? She thought, frowning, and folding her arms under her breasts. Not like I have anywhere else to go.
Rick had pretty much demanded that she stay, that she was welcome, and her skills as a chef and military personnel were needed and that Carl seemed to like her. She kinda liked the kid as well, so the feeling was mutual. The same went for Sophia. T-Dog had certainly taken a liking to her, joking around with her in the RV and around the campfire. Dale, Carol, Glenn and Lori were friendly with her; they didn't suspect her of ulterior motives, anyway, like Shane and Andrea.
And then there was Daryl Dixon.
Of course she liked the guy...anti-social, redneck that he was. For some reason, his awkward and standoffish attitude drew her in. He wasn't like the other men in the group or any man she had previously know. And, what could she say? She liked watching his ass as he walked away...like any female would to a man she found attractive.
Sighing, Jada decided to stay indefinitely. She stared out at the cars, at least trying to find one that would get her out of the RV. Give herself more room and not make her so claustrophobic.
"How's yer leg?"
It hurts like a bitch, fuck you very much. She mentally grumbled with an eye roll.
"Hey!"
Wait…that wasn't mental…
Jada turned her head to focus on Daryl still sitting on the crate, looking at her.
Fuuuuuck!
"Sorry." She paused, lowering her head and her gaze. "What'd ya say?"
Daryl glared up at her before setting the now empty bowl on the roof of the RV. "Ah said, how's yer leg?" He seemed annoyed that he had to repeat himself.
"Oh, uh, it's...fine." She mumbled in reply.
"That's bullshit if ah eva heard it." He said, making Jada snap her head up and over to him. "Ya almost fell off the top-ah tha' car. And yer limpin'."
Shit! Cock! Piss! Balls!
"You're too observant for your own damn good, ya know that?" She asked with a huff. She sat down on the roof next to the hunter, her legs crossing underneath her. She folded her hands in her lap, looking down at them. "It hurts." She eventually answered softly. "I need ta get a look at it, but there's not enough privacy to do it." She gripped her hands tighter together. "It can wait. Runnin' through the woods yesterday exasperated it, that's all." She lied.
She didn't have to look up to know that Daryl was watching her closely. They were then silent for many long moments.
"Why don't you head on down. I'll take watch for a while." Jada suggested, looking up at the man next to her.
Daryl worked his jaw for a minute before giving in with a nod. He stood and slung his crossbow over his shoulder. Reaching down, he picked up his empty bowl, then gave Jada a look she would have needed The Daryl Dixon Handbook for, and walked towards the back of the RV to climb down the ladder.
Jada watched him until he was out of sight. She then shifted up onto her knees with a grunt and shimmied over to the crate the hunter was sitting on. Releasing a breathy sigh, she stretched her legs out in front of her and took a quick survey around her mentally counting people, then returning her search for a set of wheels.
About an hour passed before Jada felt her legs starting to cramp up. Standing, she carefully shook out her legs to return feeling to them. She walked to the back of the mobile home slowly, looking around and stretching. Off to the far side of the highway, in the direction they came from (about halfway between the RV and the overturned semi), Jada caught a glimpse of a pickup truck that was about as close to her ideal transportation as she could get. Heart thumping with excitement, she wanted to climb down and run over to it. But she realized that would have to wait until someone came to relieve her of watch duty. With a sigh, she turned back towards the front of the RV and walked.
More or less a half hour had passed, where Jada stood at the front of the RV and watched Dale and Glenn work under the hood, before she saw Lori. The anxious wife and mother was walking towards the back of the RV. Jada kept her eyes on the back ladder and watched as Lori popped up.
"Hey." Lori greeted. "Seen anything?" She asked, stepping up onto the top and walking towards the Staff Sergeant.
"Besides you guys millin' around? Nah." Jada replied, crossing her arms and turning to continue to watch Dale and Glenn. Lori stepped up next to her and also watched. "When did they leave this mornin'?" Jada asked after several minutes.
"Little after daybreak...when you were still curled up in yer sleeping bag on the roof-ah that car."
From the tone of her voice, Jada could tell Lori was teasing her. She chanced a glance at the other woman out of the corner of her eye. Lori's head was turned towards her and a small smile was across her lips. Jada flushed with a tiny smile of her own and looked down at her feet.
"I like sleeping out under the stars." She defended herself quietly.
"Fine by me." Lori held her hands up in front of her still smiling, but her smile quickly fell. "I'm startin' ta get worried."
"Starting?" Jada scoffed. "Hell, I'm surprised ya didn't run out there when we heard the shot."
"I'm the wife of a cop. Rick taught me better 'an that." Lori replied, turning to fully face the woman.
Jada turned her head to glance at Lori, then nodded once. "Good point."
"It's just been an awfully long time." Lori muttered more to herself than Jada. She then took a seat on the crate and stared out into the trees.
Jada growled internally. How dare she sit on Jada and Daryl's crate? Then she got a hold on reality and mentally slapped herself across the face. The crate was communal; anyone could use it however they wanted. Scrubbing her hands over her face with a low grumble, Jada shoved her hands into her pockets as she stared out into the distance.
Another chunk of time slid by before Jada remembered the truck. She turned and was about to ask Lori if she would keep look out, when Jada caught movement coming up the highway. Stepping towards the back of the RV and picking up a pair of binoculars sitting next to Lori and the crate along the way, Jada watched the movement closely. It definitely wasn't a walker; it was too big and moving too fast.
"What is it?" Lori asked nervously from behind Jada as she raised the binoculars to her eyes.
Jada focused on the movement and saw a young woman riding a horse, quickly, in their direction.
"Company." Jada replied, lowering the binoculars slightly to look over the top before bringing them back up to her eyes.
"Dale. Glenn. Something's coming!" Lori yelled down to the two people closest to the mobile home.
Jada heard them quickly drop what they were doing and gather weapons. They congregated at the back of the RV.
"Whaddaya see?" Dale called up to Jada.
She lowered the binoculars again to glance down at Dale. "A chick on a horse. And they're comin' up fast."
"A threat?"
Jada looked down to see that Daryl had joined the line of defense. She looked back thorough the binoculars.
"Don't look like it." She replied after a second. "She's got a baseball bat, but it's tucked in the saddle. Looks worried, though."
The men held their weapons at the ready, anyway. Jada crouched down and slid the binoculars towards the crate, then reached behind her to rest her hand on her SIG, ready to draw if necessary. They all waited for the horseback riding chick to come to them. When the girl came close to the group, she looked at all of them before speaking up.
"Lori? Lori Grimes?" She asked frantically, looking up to the RV roof where Lori and Jada were; they were the only two women visible to the girl.
"Who the hell're you?" Daryl spoke up for the group.
"Lori, there's been a accident. Carl's been shot. He's alive, but ya need ta come now." The girl continued, ignoring the hunter. "Rick sent me."
Jada rose an eyebrow and swung her head to Lori when the other woman let out a gasp; The look on her face was one of terrified disbelief. Lori practically ran to the ladder and climbed down. She then ran over to the horse and grabbed the girl's hand. The girl lifted her up onto the back of the horse.
"Ya can't go with this chick! We don't even know if she's tellin' the truth." Daryl yelled at Lori.
He went ignored.
"Turn back down the highway to Fairburn Road. Two miles down is our farm. The mailbox says 'Greene'. That's where they'll be." The girl said, then turned the horse and bolted back the way she came.
Jada watched Daryl click his tongue then shoo away the girl with a wave of his arm (even though she was already leaving), then he stalked off back up the highway in a tiff.
"Come on, Glenn. Let's get this patched up and we'll follow." Dale said with a sigh, patting the younger man on the shoulder as he turned back to the front.
Jada stood up straight and watched as Lori and the girl rode out of sight. She put her hands on her hips. If Carl's been shot, that'd mean someone there has medical knowledge. She pondered. They probably have a suture kit. And bandages. T-Dog can get taken care of. I can get cleaned up. Coming up with an idea, Jada abandoned watch duty and climbed down the ladder. She walked (with a slight limp) towards the front of the RV. She passed T-Dog, who was sitting on the steps with a blanket over his shoulders. He looked terrible. At the front of the mobile home, she watched Glenn and Dale for a moment, her arms crossed. She then cleared her throat. Both men looked up at her.
"How long before we can get movin'?" She asked.
"We still have to attach the hose yet." Glenn replied.
"Okay, well. I have an idea, then." She looked at the ground near her feet.
"What's that?" Dale asked, wiping his hands on a rag as he stepped closer to Jada.
She took a deep breath. "T-Dog is clearly not doing well. If Carl's been shot and being taken care of, they'd have to have some medical training, right?" She looked at the older man, wondering if he understood where she was going with the question. She watched as dawning slowly appeared on Dale's face.
"They could get him patched up." He said.
Jada nodded. "He clearly can't drive on his own, though. Someone has to take him there."
By now the others had gathered around to listen in on the conversation.
"Who?" Andrea scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You?"
"I didn't say me. I said someone." Jada glared daggers at the other woman. "If you want to take him, fine. He should get there a-sap, though."
"Alright, alright." Dale said, holding his hands out to placate the two women. He then turned his upper body to look at Glenn. "Glenn, why don't you go on ahead with T-Dog. Take Carol's Cherokee."
"But...what about the RV?" Glenn asked, wiping his hands on his own rag.
"I can do it. Shouldn't take too long." He smirked at the younger man. "I've been doin' this a lot longer than you have, son."
With a nod, Glenn passed off his rag to Dale, then walked around to the side of the RV, where T-Dog was sitting at the door. He helped the bigger man to his feet and they walked slowly towards the beat up station wagon. Carol handed over the keys as they shuffled by. Once they were settled in the vehicle, Glenn started it and carefully, slowly, turned the car back down the highway. Everyone watched until they were clear of the pile-up, then went back to doing whatever they were before.
With a small sigh of relief, knowing that at least T-Dog would get his injuries taken care of, Jada started to head down the road, finally getting a chance to take a look at that truck. As she rounded the back of the RV, Daryl stepped out from the other side, startling her.
"Jesus, Daryl." She grumbled as she continued walking...limping.
"Why didn'tchya go with 'em?" He asked, falling into step next to her.
"I didn't wanna start a war with miss high-and-mighty back there." She replied, looking straight ahead.
Though, she would make a nice punching bag...
She heard Daryl scoff lightly. "Yer hurt."
"Yeah, so's T-Dog. And he's worse off than I am." She replied, frowning. "I can live for another few hours." She felt the need to change the subject, since she didn't like having her misjudgment brought up. "Ya know how to hotwire a car?" She asked.
"Thought ya weren't leavin'." He countered.
"I'm not." She quickly defended with a sigh. "But I need to get outta the RV. Bit cramped. And I really don't want to be around Andrea for the foreseeable future."
She glanced sideways to see the hunter nod, and they continued on in silence, Jada leading the way to the truck.
When they reached the front of the truck—a silver Dodge Ram pickup—Jada paused to take a really long, good look at it; it was in good shape and definitely one of the newer vehicles on this stretch of road. She looked to both sides of the truck and saw no damage. Only a descent layer of dirt and grime covered it, but that didn't bother the woman. She walked around to the tailgate (fully aware of Daryl standing off to the side with this arms crossed over his chest, watching her) and lifted the latch. The gate fell down without so much as a squeak. Jada grinned, then visually sifted through what laid in the bed. She saw duffle bags and a few boxes, but nothing that out-right said 'hey, I'm useful', so she placed her hands on the gate and hopped up, swinging her legs up as she did. Standing up in the bed of the truck, she stepped to the nearest bag and carefully opened it. It held clothes and nothing else, so she zipped it back up and tossed it over the side.
"What're ya doin'?" Daryl asked as she moved on to the next bag.
"I ain't carryin' around other people's useless stuff." She replied, opening and sorting through another bag of clothes. "I'll look for anything we need, then dump it." She looked over at the hunter. "Wanna help?"
"Nah." He replied, shifting his weight to one foot.
Jada rolled her eyes. "Typical." She mumbled, grabbing another bag.
After going through four other duffle bags of only clothes (Who the fuck needs this much clothing? She questioned mentally), she finally got to the boxes, which were tucked up near the cab of the truck. Lifting the lid—and hoping to all get-up that it wasn't more clothing—Jada released a sharp, stunned gasp.
"What?" Daryl asked, shifting to grab his crossbow.
Jada reached into the box and picked up an item, holding it up for Daryl to see. "Canned corn." She said, tossing him the can, then checking the rest of the labels. "Canned yams, canned green beans, canned carrots, canned tomatoes...this box is full-ah canned veggies." She said, then speedily moved to the next box. Throwing off the lid, her eyes widened. "Canned tuna, canned chicken, so many kinds of soups." She looked up at Daryl, flabbergasted. "We can eat like kings!" She half joked and shuffled over to the last box, lifted the lid. "Gatorade, bottles of water, bottles of juice. Goddamn, these people were prepared."
Jada replaced the lids on the boxes and secured them. Walking to the tailgate, she jumped down, landing most of her weight onto her left leg; she still managed to jar her right, though, and grimaced. She hobbled to the driver's side (feeling Daryl's eyes on her the whole time) and peeked in the window, making sure no one was still inhabiting the cab. Not seeing anyone, she opened the door cautiously. Immediately, she looked to the floor to make doubly sure nothing was lurking. Satisfied, Jada hopped up into the cab and started to search for keys…which were still in the ignition. Grinning, she looked back through the open door to Daryl.
"Might not need ya to hotwire." She said, reaching for the key.
"Don't be so cocky." He warned.
Still grinning, Jada turned her attention back to the key, watching it as she turned and mumbling "come on, come on" as she did. The truck sputtered before stalling. Not one to give up so easily, Jada turned the key all the way back before attempting again. She heard it groan and stutter again before revving itself up.
"HA! HA!" She whooped, then looked out at Daryl. "Listen to that baby purr!" She smiled wide and laughed again as she leaned forward to kiss the steering wheel.
Daryl stared at her for a moment before walking towards the truck and putting the can he was still holding back in a box. While he did that, Jada rolled down the window and closed the door. She glanced at the fuel gauge to see it had about half a tank of gas, then put the truck into reverse.
"I'm gonna back it up." She explained, leaning out of the window slightly. "Guide me?"
My god. If that didn't sound sexual... She thought, feeling herself blush marginally.
Daryl stepped back from the truck and nodded once. He watched the tail end as Jada backed the vehicle up, through the other cars, to where the traffic jam began. It only took them a few minutes (Daryl only giving out the occasional correction) before Jada freed the pickup. She backed up far enough to maneuver the truck into the path the RV took and shifted into drive. Slowly, she pulled up next to Daryl.
"Ya want a ride back?" She asked, bobbing her head towards the bed.
Without answering, Daryl sauntered to the back of the truck, lowered the tailgate, and hopped up. Jada watched him through the rearview mirror and once the tailgate was back up and Daryl had taken a seat near the boxes, she started to drive back to the RV and the group.
When Jada had pulled the truck up next to the RV, she put it in park then cut the engine as Daryl jumped down from the back. She took the keys out of the ignition and shoved them into her pocket, then got out of the cab.
Dale leaned out from the front of the RV. "Nice wheels." He commented.
"Thanks." Jada replied, then reached into the bed of the truck. "It was full-ah canned food and some drinks, too." She tossed a can of tomatoes to Dale, who caught it clumsily.
"You're kidding." Dale stated, flummoxed, glancing down at the can in his hand, briefly, before looking back up to Jada.
She shook her head. "Three boxes full." She elaborated with a grin.
"This mean you're leaving us now?" Carol asked softly from next to Dale.
"Nah." Her grin was softer. "I'll stick around for a little longer."
While Jada was focused on the adults, a small blur came rushing at her, crashing into her side. With an "oof," Jada looked down to see Sophia with her arms wrapped tightly around Jada's waist.
"Good. I don't want ya to leave, JJ." The girl said.
Surprised, Jada looked up at Sophia's mother, who was looking at her daughter with a soft, loving smile.
"That settles it then." Dale said quietly with a smirk as he handed the can over to Carol and went back to fixing the RV.
Jada glanced back down at the girl around her waist. She patted her shoulder awkwardly—her attack hug threw off the normally put together Staff Sergeant. "Alright, kid. Why don't ya go on back to your momma." She suggested faintly.
Sophia leaned back to look up at the woman, then (after seeing Jada's small smile) the girl released her and walked back to her mother.
Carol tossed the can of tomatoes back to Jada, who caught it one handedly. "Keep that food safe." She said, then directed Sophia to get into the RV.
"Yes, ma'am." Jada replied.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jada saw Daryl slink through the surrounding cars and head to his motorcycle. Jada kept her eye on him as she walked up and leaned on the mobile home next to the hood where Dale was working. She asked Dale how much longer it was going to take until he had the hose attached. As he answered, Jada watched Daryl kick up the kick stand on the bike and walk it down the road to sit next to her newly-acquired truck. Dale's winded response ended with "so, maybe another half hour?" and Jada returned her attention to him and nodded.
"While I'm doing this, maybe you three can move some of those cars outta the way so I can turn this thing around." He then proposed, looking over Jada's shoulder.
Jada had failed to notice that both Daryl and Andrea had been standing nearby while Dale ranted. Nodding again, Jada turned to help clear the road with the other two.
Within a half an hour, Jada, Daryl, and Andrea had a good circle cleared for the RV to maneuver in and Dale had the hose reattached to the mobile home. Andrea had found an almost mint green Hyundai Tucson that she was able to start and decided that she needed a car, too. Jada had rolled her eyes, then walked to her truck (pulling her keys out at the same time) as Dale said they were ready to go.
After revving the engines on all of the cars—and one motorcycle—they all got to facing the correct direction and started towards the Greene's farm; Daryl led the way with the RV behind him, then Andrea, and Jada brought up the rear.
They were able to find Fairburn Road easily enough. Two miles down the road, just like the chick on horseback said, was a big, gray mailbox with 'GREENE' written on the sides in black paint. The convoy turned and followed the long dirt road down to the large white farmhouse.
A/N: Does anyone else feel really good after posting a chapter? Like a sense of accomplishment? Or am I just weird?
Oh, so I read somewhere that the writers of the show wanted to kill off Carol when they got to the prison, but Melissa McBride pretty much begged to stay, so they killed off T-Dog instead. I didn't have a problem with Carol (other than the fact she hit on Daryl like there was no tomorrow), but now, I really don't like her. T-Dog's gonna stick around in this fict; I liked him too much.
But anyway, quick question: do you as a reader prefer to read longer chapters or shorter ones? Because I was actually going to incorporate their arrival at the Greene's in this chapter, but thought it was getting too long (it was about 8 pages in Word). I'm just curious, really.
Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted, and favored!