Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri
Warning: Major Lori bashing.
Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.
Home Of The Brave
Chapter 11
They heard thunder in the distance, and the children cowered into their parents, before it started to rain down on them. "Fucking great, looks like a storm is on the way too," Merle said with a sigh, as they all went to their vehicles to sleep for the night, with Carl going to stay with Rowan.
Rowan hugged Carl tightly as they went into the car and pulled a blanket over him as she tried to keep him warm.
"Are you mad at my dad?" He asked quietly.
"No Carl, I'm not. I understand why your dad didn't tell anyone." She assured him as they heard it rain outside.
Carl nodded and smiled sadly at her as they saw the lighting flash in the sky and he curled into her. "I wish you were my mom instead," he said honestly, and Rowan felt her heart ache a little.
She leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I might not be your mother, but I'll take care of you."
"Thank you," Carl said smiling as he drifted off to sleep, holding her hand tightly,
"Your welcome Carl, I won't let anyone hurt you." She said firmly and stroked his hair gently as she kept watch over him.
There was a very sick feeling in her stomach that she knew the reason for being sick in the mornings but she couldn't bring herself to face it.
Not after Rose.
The night had been awful; no one had gotten much sleep in their cars, cold, and with the noise of the storm outside. It was still raining when they woke up in the morning and dared to get out of the cars. Carol made some watery oatmeal for them all, which Rowan refused, as they all gathered up and sat down on the wet road, trying to plan out where to go.
"Rick, I don't mean to put any more pressure on you, really I don't," Carol said quietly, wary of his outburst the previous night. "But we can't stay here. It's cold, we only have cold, dirty water, we hardly have any food left, or pet food, and we're not doing so hot with ammo either."
Rick let out a tired sigh. "I know. I'm thinking."
"How about we look for a house to stay in, we can get fuel from the cars on the highway?" Daryl suggested to him as Eve sat beside him.
"I guess so," he said as they all went to pack up their cars and move on when Carol seen Rowan being sick in the bushes again. She walked over to her and hovered in the background, not wanting to startle her.
"Are you alright, sweetie?" Carol asked. "You were sick yesterday too."
"I think it's a bug I've caught, nothing to worry about." Rowan assured her and Carol nodded as they all got into the cars and Eve thought of Andrea.
"Where's Andrea?" She asked Daryl as they put his bike in the boot of the truck.
"She got left behind after she saved Lori." He said and she sighed sadly as they got into the truck with Hershel getting into the Cherokee with Lori, Beth, Merle, Sophia, Midnight and Carol.
"Rowan's been sick a lot." She said worried.
"Cause she's pregnant."
"What?" she asked, as she looked back the truck where Rowan was. "How do you know that?"
"Just know the signs, when my mama was pregnant with my little sister, she had bad mornin' sickness." He said quietly.
"Shit...Travis?" she wondered as she looked at Rowan, how the hell would they deal with two babies?
Daryl shook his head. "Nah... Rick... saw her come out of the tent the other morning."
Rowan bit her lip as they drove down the highway and found an old army base near a forest around it; the only problem was that it didn't have a fence and that there were about five walkers stumbling around.
"What do you think?" Rick asked Daryl as they surveyed the base.
Daryl shrugged. "I guess it'll do," he said as he took out everyone's bags. "Most of the rooms are underground, so it should be secure enough," he pointed out.
Rick nodded. "Alright guys, we'll be staying here for a bit," he said as they all headed inside, taking out any walkers that were in the building before it was clear.
They all picked a room with Rowan going into the one she had picked and started to unpack her things when she saw Eve and Carol came in.
"We need to talk, Rowan." Eve said softly but firmly.
"About what?" Rowan asked wearily as she tried to push out that sick feeling out of her stomach as she looked at Eve.
"About that baby that you're carrying," Carol said as she sat down on the bed with her. "We know, sweetheart. I'm a mother; I know exactly what that is. Have you told Travis yet?"
"It's not Travis'," she said quietly. "It's... it's Rick's."
"Oh Christ, does Rick know?" Eve asked as Beth came in and sat down next to them as they were unaware of Glenn and Maggie overhearing them.
"No he doesn't and I'd like to keep it that way, thank you." She said sighing heavily as she ran a hand through her tangled red curls.
"He needs to know."
Rowan shook her head. "No, he doesn't. Another baby is the last thing this group needs, and the last thing that Rick needs. Don't worry, I won't be around much longer, so you won't have a problem," she told them before pushing past them all and leaving to take a breath of fresh air outside. "God, why was I so stupid?" she asked, sighing heavily as she buried her face into her hands. She had to get out of here and make this right.
She headed inside and started to pack her bags, she didn't touch any of the supplies and looked at the photo she had of Rose before shoving it into her bag.
She continued to pack quickly as she heard everyone getting ready for bed and felt tears slide down her eyes as she grabbed a note pad before Maggie came in with Glenn.
"Are you stupid or something?" The young Greene woman asked.
"Excuse me?" Rowan asked as she looked at the woman who had been nice to her when she had visited the farm.
"A baby? Do you realize how much trouble that is going to cause? Couldn't you have used protection or something? That's stupid and irresponsible," Maggie snapped at her.
"Not that its any of your business, I was drunk and didn't know what happened until it was too late but don't worry, I won't be your problem like Lori is." Rowan said calmly.
"Lori belongs with Rick, you're just a distraction." Maggie snapped back at her and she felt tears in her eyes as she watched them go and quickly wrote a note for each of them.
Dear Rick
By the time you are reading this, I will be gone but don't worry, I'll be alright and its better this way, I don't want to split your family or the group up and by doing this it will be alright.
I owe you a thank you, you tried to save my little girl and please don't blame yourself for what happened. Please don't lose who you are because of Shane, look after Carl, he loves you and he is an amazing boy, tell him how sorry I am for leaving and to be a brave a boy.
Rowan.
She had tears sliding down her face as she finished it and went outside where she saw Daryl and Eve looking at her.
"Where are ya goin?" Daryl asked his and Eve's best friend.
"Nowhere, just going for a walk," Rowan said as she walked around the outside of the base, before she seen them both go inside. "Thank god," she muttered as she took out her car keys and headed over to her vehicle, putting the bags into the back, before she got in and drove off into the night.
Rick woke the next morning and stretched, before heading through to the room they were going to use as a kitchen. He seen a note addressed to him and frowned before he picked it up and read it,
Dear Rick
By the time you are reading this, I will be gone but don't worry, I'll be alright and its better this way, I don't want to split your family or the group up and by doing this it will be alright.
I owe you a thank you, you tried to save my little girl and please don't blame yourself for what happened. Please don't lose who you are because of Shane, look after Carl, he loves you and he is an amazing boy, tell him how sorry I am for leaving and to be a brave a boy.
Rowan
Rick read the note over and over again, his heart pounding in his chest as he came to terms with the fact that Rowan had left.
"Daryl, Eve!"
Everyone came out of their rooms as they looked at Rick. "Has anyone seen Rowan?" he asked desperately, hoping it was a joke as he held up the letter.
Carol shook her head. "No, why? What's wrong?"
"She's gone," Rick said as a sob escaped his lips and he slumped down against the wall. "She left this, and she's gone..."
"Good riddance to bad rubbish." Lori snapped and they all looked at her in shock when Daryl and Eve hurried into the kitchen.
"We saw her last night; she said she was going for a walk." Eve said as she read the note and felt her heart sink as tears came into her eyes.
"Why should we care?" Maggie asked flatly.
"She was our friend!" Beth snapped at her, as she glared at her sister. "She was a good woman."
"Stupid enough to have a baby," Maggie sniped.
"What did you say?" Rick asked Maggie quickly.
"I said she was stupid enough to have your baby." She said annoyed and Lori saw red.
"YOU CHEATED ON ME WITH THAT RED HAIRED BACKWOOD CUNT?!" Lori screamed.
"WELL IT'S NOT LIKE THE FUCKING BABY YOU'RE CARRYING RIGHT NOW IS MINE, IS IT?" Rick yelled back as he shoved Lori away from him, and Hershel rushed to intervene.
"Easy," he said to Rick, as he tried to calm him off.
"I didn't even know," Rick said upset as he buried his face into his hands. "Why wouldn't she tell me?!"
"She was worried about being a burden to the group and that she didn't want to cause problems with you, Carl and Lori." Eve said as Daryl held her tightly.
"What difference does it make, we can't go look for her." Glenn pointed out as everyone glared at him, Lori and Maggie with angry faces.
"How far along is she?" Rick asked Eve, Daryl, Beth and Carol
Beth shook her head. "We don't know, she wouldn't talk to us about it. She just wanted out of here," she said sadly, as Merle gave her a small smile.
Rick nodded thinking back to the first time they had slept together and sighed heavily. He hadn't known her for long, and they had both been pretty fucked up, but he had fallen for her. Hard.
"I'm so sorry Rick." Eve said quietly and Daryl nodded as they all separated and went their separate ways.
"Andrea's got the bag of guns." Merle said sighing.
"So what do we have left then?" Carol asked as she looked for something to make for dinner.
"Not much," Merle said truthfully. "Enough to last us a couple of weeks or so."
"We'll need to go on a supply run before it gets too cold outside." Daryl said quietly and everyone nodded in agreement.
Carol, Eve and Beth started to cook dinner which consisted of spam and rice.
"Not much but it will have to do." She said softly.
"This is fine Aunt Carol." Eve assured her and they finished cooking dinner as they served it on plates and shared the plates around.
"I was thinking we should learn hand to hand combat, it saves ammo." Rick said and they all nodded in agreement.
"Like in the army?" Beth asked curiously.
"Yeah like in the army, we'll start tomorrow and those of you, who don't know how to use a gun, will learn." He said firmly and they all nodded.
"No offence Rick, but I think most of us know our way around a gun now," T-Dog pointed out as they continued to eat their food. "But I guess it wouldn't hurt."
Carol nodded. "Would be good for the children."
"We could all learn how to use silent weapons." Daryl added and they all nodded at that as they all saw Hershel look at Maggie.
"What's happened to you, Rowan was your friend?"
"Yeah, well, things change," Maggie said flatly as she cleared the table. "Besides, she was the one stupid enough to get pregnant, was her own fault."
"Lori is pregnant too," Hershel reminded her.
"Lori cheated on Rick and we have no right to judge Rowan, she was my best friend Maggie and she's left with hardly any water, fuel or supplies. Dale was right, this group is broken." Eve said as she hurried out of the room and Daryl followed after her.
"Why Daryl? Why did she leave, we would have helped her." She said as she sat down on a bench and looked upset.
"I dunno," Daryl shrugged as he lit up a cigarette and sat down. "She probably didn't want to cause any more trouble than what we already got. Poor Rick."
"He loved her and she loved him, now she's out there alone with a baby on the way." She said sighing as she looked at Daryl.
"I'm scared Daryl, I don't know what to do."
"Ain't nothin' to be scared about," he said as he looked around the base. "Got the group an' we got shelter for now."
"Rowan doesn't," she pointed out.
"Rowan's a tough woman," he assured her. "She'll find somewhere, she'll be alright."
Eve nodded and leaned against him as he held her tightly and kissed her lovingly before they went to take watch from Carol and Beth.
"I hope Rowan's alright." Carol said worriedly.
"She'll be alright, she's tough." Eve assured her.
Carol nodded. "Yeah, but you have no idea what it's like to give birth. It's not easy in a hospital room full of doctors, so I can't imagine what it's going to be like for her alone on the road."
Beth sighed. "I hope they're both alright, I can't believe Maggie did that."
"She's changed; I don't know what's happened to her." Eve said upset as they all kept watch over their group and saw Lori and Rick arguing.
"Is it ok if we stay up here?" Carl asked quietly.
"Of course it is." Carol said warmly, Carl and Sophia sat down quietly.
"Is everything alright?" Beth asked the two of them, they looked tired and upset.
"Yeah, just dad and Lori are arguing again," Carl said with a shrug as if it's a normal thing. "It'll pass in a couple of hours."
"I miss Rowan." He said sighing, "We would have taken care of her and the baby." He added and they all smiled sadly at that.
"I think she didn't want to be a burden." Eve said sadly.
"But Rowan helped out, she was strong and funny and kind, and she would have worked," Carl protested. "Lori is the only burden, she just sits on her ass and eats and gets fat," he said annoyed.
"We know but that ain't how Glenn and Maggie see it." Daryl said sadly and they all sighed as they thought of Rowan and hoped she was alright.
Rowan had been on the road for three hours when she saw the gas sign come up and swore loudly before pulling up and getting out of the car.
She looked around for other cars that she might have been able to take gas from, but there was nothing. She sighed as she went into the back of the car and picked up her rucksack, before starting to walk down the roads.
She thought of Rick, Carl, Daryl, Eve, Carol, Hershel, Merle and Beth as she walked down the road and found a house that was thankfully empty and still had some water and fuel tanks.
She took out the two walkers easily and moved her stuff in.
She dumped her stuff down in the sitting room and pulled out a couple of blankets, before finding pictures of Rose, and one of Rick and Carl from back at the quarry. She sighed sadly as she rubbed her stomach. "Just you and me now kiddo."
She smiled sadly as she heard it rain outside and curled into herself under the blankets as she heard it rain and decided to take a shower.
She went upstairs and turned the shower on as she took off her dirty clothes and got under the hot water as he red curls got damp and started to wash her hair.
She thought of her older brother then, Johnny.
She hadn't seen him since this all started, he had moved around states with his work a lot. Briefly, she wondered where he was, and thought maybe she should try going and looking for him.
She could plot out on a map all the places he could be, and try them out. He was the only family she had left.
She sighed heavily as she got out of the shower and dried herself with a towel before getting dressed and pulled on some clean clothes.
"Please keep this baby safe." She whispered.
No one answered.
She missed having the company, but she would be fine on her own. She took a deep breath as she tried to get warm again under the blankets.
Daryl and Eve sat in their bed that night holding each other tightly, it was cold and there was a chill in the base as everyone tried to keep warm.
"Ya alright?" He asked her softly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said as they heard the rain, and the thunder in the distance. "God, I hope she's found somewhere."
"She will, don't worry." He assured her and she nodded sadly as she curled into him and they heard Lori crying for Shane in the next room.
"God, doesn't she ever shut up?" She asked annoyed as Midnight snuggled into his owners.
"Apparently not," he mumbled as they both fell asleep.
Carl went into the kitchen where he found his dad sitting alone at the kitchen table, staring off into the distance. "Thinking about Rowan?" he asked softly.
"Yeah, I hope she's alright." Rick said sadly as he looked at the rain that was pouring down and they heard thunder in the distance.
"Are we having a hurricane?" Carl asked worriedly.
"I don't know son," Rick said tiredly. "We'll see what the weather is like in the morning, if it's still as bad, we might need to board up the doors and windows," he said as he chewed on his lip. "We're underground right now, so we should be OK," he said, as they both got up and headed to bed.
The next morning Eve woke up and got off the bed so she could help Carol cook breakfast when she saw a herd of walkers swarming along the fence and half of the fence was gone.
"Oh shit." She said trying not to panic as she went to wake the others; Glenn and Maggie were supposed to be on watch.
"DARYL!"
Everyone came running out of their rooms when they heard the noise, and she explained the situation to Rick.
"Goddamn idiots are probably too busy fuckin' to be keepin' watch," Merle growled as they started to pack up all their stuff.
"We get into the cars and we get the hell out of here," Rick told them as he packed his and Carl's bags.
Everyone nodded and quickly packed their things with Eve and Daryl packing their stuff into the truck as Beth and Merle along with Hershel, Carol and Sophia drove it and they got on the bike as they saw Beth get Midnight into the truck when they saw Glenn and Maggie hurry over and get into the truck and they all drove off as they saw the walkers break down the fence.
"Now where do we go?" She asked tiredly.
Daryl sighed as he followed behind Rick in the front of their vehicle line. "Ain't got a clue, I'm sure we'll find somewhere though," he said as everyone kept an eye out for any buildings they could stay in.
Hershel looked at Glenn and Maggie and shook his head in disappointment. "And what were you two doing that stopped you from noticing the herd?"
Maggie went bright red and Glenn looked humiliated as they all tried to find a place to stay when they decided to stay in a couple of cabins nearby.
They drove after Rick as they saw Rowan's black Mercedes in the middle of the road with the front door wide open and Rick felt his stomach drop.
"That's Rowan's car!" Eve cried.
Rick walked over and looked at the car. "There's no stuff inside, none of her bags or anything like that."
"Because there's no gas," Beth pointed out as she looked at the indicator. "She must have taken another car or gone on foot from here."
"You think she's still around here somewhere?" Rick asked hopeful. "Maybe we could find her..?"
"I'm not risking my life or Glenn's to find that whore." Maggie snapped and Glenn nodded in agreement as they all stared at them in shock.
"Rowan's a part of this group, Maggie and she's having a baby, it's not safe to be on her own like this." Hershel said firmly when they heard Daryl whistle.
"Found tracks!"
Rick ran over to where he was standing. "What are we waiting for then, let's follow them," he said without a second thought, as he started to follow Daryl through the woods, while the others waited on the highway.
Daryl and Rick followed the tracks until they stopped at a house and headed inside the house where they called out for Rowan.
"Ro?" Daryl called out for his best friend.
"Rowan?" Rick called out as he looked around and saw that the shower had been used recently and there was blood on the floor.
"Oh god," Rick said heartbroken, as he looked around the rest of the house, there was no one there, and no bags or supplies around. "She's been here, someone's been here. She's got to be around here somewhere... ROWAN! ROWAN!"
No one answered and Rick fell to his knees in despair as he sobbed heartbrokenly and Daryl felt his own eyes burn as he thought of his best friend who had been friends with him and Eve.
"I should have known she was worried about something." Rick said numbly.
Daryl sighed as he offered his hand to help him up. "Ain't nothin' we could have done when she didn't tell us," he said quietly. "Come on, yer son needs ya."
Rick sniffled and they walked back to the highway, where the others looked at them hopefully. "Nothing," Rick said shaking his head as he glared at Lori, Glenn and Maggie. "Let's keep moving," he said as he took Carl's hand and they headed back into their vehicles.
Daryl and Eve got on the bike and continued on driving as they reached a motel and parked in the car park as they all got out and headed inside.
"We'll stay here for a couple of days." Rick said firmly and they all nodded as they headed into their rooms and started to unpack.
"Are you alright?" Eve asked Daryl quietly.
Daryl nodded. "Yeah, just worried about Rowan. We found fresh blood in that house we went to look for her in. And I'm worried Rick isn't doing good."
"Shit." She said sighing as they sat down on the bed and looked up at Daryl.
"If Rick loses it, then this group is gonna be a lot worse off than it is now," Daryl added. "And that's the last thing that we need."
"Why did Maggie tell Rowan to leave, that isn't like her?" She said upset and Daryl pulled her into him as they saw Beth come in.
"There's hot water so if you wanna shower you can." She said softly.
They both nodded. "Thanks Beth," Eve said with a small smile as they finished unpacking and Eve went to help Carol with the dinner. "How's Uncle Hershel? After what Maggie did and all? It's not fair to him, he liked Rowan too."
"He's not doing very well, he's very upset with Maggie and so is Beth, Maggie says that she was doing the group a favour by getting rid of Rowan and said we couldn't cope with two babies." Carol said sadly and Eve sighed.
"What's happened to her? She was never like this before." She asked upset.
"I don't know, she's changed," Carol said quietly. "She was right in a way, we probably couldn't cope with two babies, but we would have tried," she added firmly. "We would have done everything to make sure they were both cared for and fed, and warm and had a home to grow up in. Poor Rowan's baby isn't going to have any of that now."
"She's out there alone and it isn't just walkers we have to be worried about now, its the living we have to afraid of and winter's coming, she's got no supplies and she's on her own and Travis is out there as well." Eve said upset as they saw a tired Hershel come in.
"How are you two?" He asked worried.
"We're fine," Carol said as she looked over at him, it was him she was worried about. "How are you?"
Hershel sighed tiredly as he sat down at the table. "I'm alright. I just don't know what has happened to Maggie. I wish things were easy again."
"We all do Uncle Hershel but we're all together and that's what matters." Eve said softly and Hershel smiled at them both as they finished setting up the table.
"Is this it?" Lori asked annoyed as she looked at the soup that Carol, Eve and Beth had made with their limited supplies.
"I think it tastes good." T-Dog said as he gave the women a warm smile.
"If you had wanted something else Lori, then you should have gone out on the runs and got it your damn self," Beth said coldly, as they all sat down to eat the soup, hoping for something that would warm them up.
"Well, I think it tastes good," Hershel complimented.
"Thank you, Uncle Hershel." Eve said as they saw Rick sit down with Carl at his side as they all ate in silence when Rick spoke, his voice leaving no room for argument.
"We'll start the hand to hand training in the morning." He said as he finished eating his soup and gave them a nod of thanks as he headed out when Lori spoke.
"Where are you going?"
"On watch, someone needs to make sure that we don't get distracted and overrun by walkers." He said looking at Glenn and Maggie.
"I'll say," Merle muttered as he looked at them both disgusted. "So busy fuckin' they almost got us killed," he said bitterly.
Glenn and Maggie went red and both looked down at their soup.
"Let's all get some rest, we've got a busy day tomorrow." Carol said and they all nodded as they headed off into their rooms.