Maddie tapped her little foot on the driveway and cleared her throat. Daryl jumped and looked around toward her. "Oh shit, Maddie. I didn't even think about the time. I'm sorry I forgot to come walk you home." He started biting his thumb without thinking about it. Maddie walked over and pulled his thumb away from his teeth and reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"I forgive you. I see Aaron has shown you his project. I had hoped he'd find someone who could help him with it. I'm glad he asked you-that's what happened right?" Daryl nodded sheepishly and pulled her closer and kissed her on the cheek.
"Yeah, guess I got lost looking at the parts and trying to figure out how to piece the thing back together." She laughed and brushed his hair out of his eyes. She was going to have to trim it just a bit, he had such beautiful eyes and his hair got in the way of her seeing them.
"Well, I'll forgive you if you promise me that once you get it together and running you'll give me a ride. Ya know, you never did give me a ride on that bike you and Merle had," and she frowned playfully at him.
"Hunh? You didn't never ask for any ride on that bike" he scoffed back at her at the same time pulling her hair slightly. "If ya had, I would definitely have given ya one." He kissed her back on the lips, lingering this time. She smelled of warm bread and cookies and her breath was sweet as if she'd been sampling her baking.
"I bet. But I'm asking now, so don't forget or pretend that I didn't ask. I'm holding you to it buster." She nipped his lip with her teeth.
He laughed and pulled back a bit. "Easy there now, girl. Didn't know you were a biter."
She winked at him and giggled. "hmmmm, well there's a lot about me that you don't know buster. I'm just full of surprises" she whispered throatily against his mouth and then kissed him again, this time slipping her tongue into his mouth and then pulling back suddenly, teasing him. He gazed at her, his eyes narrowing slightly and his tongue licking his suddenly parched lips. He could feel himself harden rapidly in his jeans and shifted somewhat in embarrassment. He didn't want anyone to see him walking around with a hard on. She pulled away and slowly looked him up and down, and he could see her nipples had hardened against the thin fabric of the tshirt. Thank God she had worn a bra, otherwise he would've ripped her shirt right off her here in the garage and buried his face in her neck and chest. At that thought he shifted uncomfortably yet again as his cock hardened even more. As he looked at her, she batted her eyes at him and put a hand on her cheek in mock dismay. "oh my," she murmured throatily, "looks like we need to go right home and take care of something before dinner." He felt his throat go dry at that and couldn't do more than nod his head. He felt weak in the knees and wondered idly if he could make it back to the house and down the stairs to the basement without tripping or stumbling.
Maddie pushed him out onto the driveway, turned and closed the garage door and looked over at him. "Race ya," she yelled and took off across the lawn toward the house. Daryl growled and started off after her, making sure not to trip himself and fall on someone's lawn.
She made it to the house ahead of him and raced inside and through the living room and kitchen and down the stairs. Rick and Michonne were with Carl and Judith in the living area, and gazed in bewilderment after her. They turned as Daryl came pounding up the porch steps and skidded to a stop in the foyer. Embarrassment washed over his face as they looked at him questioningly.
"Um," he mumbled, "um, she forgot something," and he walked quickly into the kitchen and then they heard his steps pounding down the stairs.
Carl looked at Rick and Michonne. "Should we go check on them?"
Michonne looked at Rick and they both started snickering. "Um, no son. I think they're just fine," Rick could hardly talk he was trying not to laugh out loud.
"But she came running in like that and he was running after her," Carl insisted.
Michonne shook her head at Carl. "Yes, but I think they were playing around."
Carl frowned. "Playing around? Daryl?"
Rick nodded and finally just laughed out loud, more in relief than anything. Michonne wiped a tear from her cheek, she hadn't laughed like this in a long time. She too felt a wave of relief wash over her.
"Carl, I think we're going to see Daryl doing a lot of unusual things from here on out," she explained, "I think he really likes Maddie and that he's happy. And I hope he can hold onto that." She smiled at Carl and he nodded.
"Yeah, I get it. Like if I found some guys my age and could finally talk and hang out with someone my age." He nodded again. Michonne patted his shoulder and smiled wider.
"I think you're right Carl. He has someone to hang out with and talk to and that's always a good thing." Rick looked sideways at her, thinking. Michonne needed someone to hang out with and talk to as well. He had thought maybe she and Sasha could be friends, but he feared Sasha was lost to anyone at this point. The strain of losing both Bob and Tyreese, especially the way it had happened, was evidently too much for her. He hoped he was wrong, but he didn't think so. He decided to keep a close eye on her to prevent any more tragedy from diminishing the size of their group.
Chapter 13
Downstairs Daryl looked quickly around the pool room and not seeing Maddie he ran over to the bedroom. There she lay on the bed, completely naked, curled up on her side. Daryl slammed the bedroom door shut and kicked his boots off. He groaned in frustration as he tried to unzip his jeans and shuck them off quickly. He hesitated and then pulled his shirt off too. He had to trust her, and be honest with her and that meant showing her everything, no matter how shameful or humiliating. She licked her lips and winked at him. He slid in beside her and pulled her close to him.
"c'mere you little tease," he growled against her throat. She sighed and stretched her full length against him and stretched her arms above her head.
"I'm all yours baby. Use me and abuse me," she murmured. He leaned over her and quickly grabbed her wrists in both his hands, holding her still. With his knee he pushed her legs open and then reaching down with one hand he positioned himself and plunged himself into her. Maddie arched up against him and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Oh God," she breathed. They started to move together and he ran his free hand over her breasts as he kissed her neck. "oh," she gasped, trying to pull her wrists from his hand.
"No, no," he murmured against her skin. His tongue flicked at her nipple. They were both as hard as stones and every time he kissed or sucked or licked her breasts she moaned louder. She struggled briefly to pull her hands away again and he tightened his grip. He plunged into her as deeply as he could and she gave a little gasp. "Does that feel good? Tell me, I need you to tell me so I can make you come," he whispered against her neck. She rolled her head from side to side, her eyes squeezed shut and bit her lip. "C'mon, Maddie, tell me. What do you want me to do for you?" he pulled himself almost out of her and then plunged back into her. He felt her insides contract and she tightened her legs around him. He caressed her cheek with his free hand. "C'mon baby," he whispered, "Tell me. Tell me," before he could finish she gave a short cry and he let go of her wrists and grabbed both her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. He tried to slow down but her bucking hips wouldn't let him and in a minute he had followed her in coming. He felt as if he'd poured a gallon of cum into her and again felt lightheaded. He clutched her to him and fell over on his back pulling her to his side. He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her. "Jesus," he breathed.
"No, just Maddie," she whispered and laughed softly. He snorted. He looked at her quietly.
"Um, I don't want to sound stupid, but do you always…..i mean…..um…do you.." he broke off in embarrassment. She raised herself up on one elbow and looked at him questioningly. Then she smiled.
"I have always enjoyed sex," she whispered, " but I have never in my life felt the way I do with you with anyone else." She smiled. He frowned and put his hand on her cheek.
"Not even….," he started.
She shook her head. "No, not even with Marshall. Our sex life was fantastic, Marshall was a great lover-but with you…" she paused in thought and he watched her in fascination. "Daryl, with you it's like you know what I want before I do. Where you touch me, how you touch me. It's almost like you can read my mind." He nodded.
"Maybe it's not your mind I'm reading but your body," he murmured. At her look he continued, "That's part of being a good hunter. Watching and learning what your prey is doing and how they behave. That's what makes a good tracker too-watching and then anticipating where an animal is going to turn or rest." He looked back up at her and smiled.
"So, I'm your prey now? You've caught me?" she teased. He laughed a small rueful laugh.
"Girl, I think we're both caught. And I'm in no hurry to escape." She laughed and kissed him on his cheek.
"I know just what you mean," she whispered. She lay her head down on his chest and in a short while he heard her breathing slide into the sound of sleeping. He held her and ran his hand up and down her arm across his chest. No, he was definitely not in any hurry to escape. He sighed contentedly and soon he was asleep as well.
Chapter 14
Daryl and Maddie started at the sound of knocking on the bedroom door. Daryl rubbed his hand over his face and cleared his throat.
"What?" he called.
"Hey, it's Rick. I wondered if I could talk to you a minute. Sorry for bothering you."
Daryl looked over at Maddie, who had sat up clutching the sheet to her chest. She nodded at him.
"Yeah, sure. Hang on just a minute," he called out.
"Not a problem," Rick answered. "I'll be out on the porch waiting."
Daryl and Maddie looked at each other. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he told her, swinging his legs out of the bed and bending down to retrieve his jeans. He knew in the dim light of the room Maddie wouldn't be able to see the scars on his back clearly-even so he turned quickly so his back was away from her and quickly pulled on a shirt.
"No, I'll go with you. We need to at least talk to Rick about the stuff I told you earlier." Maddie hopped out of the bed and retrieved her scattered clothes and yanked them on before Daryl could utter a protest.
"Aight," he murmured. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the door and across the room to the stairs up to the kitchen. He stopped briefly and kissed her forehead, then turned and ran up the stairs ahead of her.
Rick was sitting in a chair on the porch by himself. As they passed the living room they saw most of their group sitting in their talking heatedly about something.
Daryl and Maddie leaned against the porch railing facing Rick. Daryl crossed his arms over his chest and jerked his chin at Rick. "Well?" he mumbled.
Rick nodded at both of them. "Well, Deanna came over here a little bit ago and invited us all to a little welcoming thing at her house tomorrow night."
Daryl groaned. "Christ," he mumbled.
"Yeah," Rick nodded, "she kinda in a nice way insisted we all show up so we can meet everybody else."
Daryl sighed. "And if I don't go?"
Maddie patted his arm and nodded at Rick. "We're going."
Daryl looked down at her sharply. "Ya know I don't do that kinda shit."
Rick watched Maddie and Daryl closely, keeping his mouth shut. He may have been the defacto leader of their group, but he had a feeling that his opinions were going to be overridden on some subjects by this young girl. It impressed him-she must have been very important to Daryl for her to have this much influence over him in such a short amount of time. And if that were true, then Rick knew she would be an asset to their group. He had learned to trust Daryl's instincts about people.
"Yes, I know you don't do that shit Daryl. But we need to blend in and not draw attention to ourselves."
Daryl snorted. "Well you forgot about that yesterday when you told those girls off" he laughed.
Maddie turned red and rolled her eyes. "Yes, okay, you're right. Now hush." She play slapped his arm.
"Hey, what are you talking about-having to blend in?" Rick asked, instantly alert.
Daryl looked at Rick, a serious look on his face. "We need to talk to you. Privately."
Maddie nodded. "And not anywhere near the house either," she added.
Rick frowned. "Why?"
Maddie looked at Daryl and he nodded. "Come for a walk with us over there to the park for a minute," she answered.
Rick hesitated a minute, then nodded in agreement. He stood up and followed them down the stairs and across the street toward a little green space that looked like a vacant lot that had been kept cleared up.
Rick nodded again to Daryl and Maddie. After looking at Daryl again, Maddie proceeded to repeat what she had told Daryl earlier.
Chapter 15
That evening Rick took both Carol and Michonne over to the park and relayed the information Maddie had told him. Daryl had grudgingly agreed to sit in the living room with Maddie and play cards with some of the others as a distraction so Rick could fill Carol and Michonne in. He didn't really mind playing cards with the others, but he felt awkward even more so than usual now that they had seen him holding hands and all that crap with Maddie. So he snapped and snarled and mumbled as he had always done, not knowing he wasn't fooling anyone. They politely pretended to believe his act though, and occasionally winked conspiratorially at Maddie when they caught her eye. She winked back and kept quiet when he was gruff with her. She couldn't bear the thought of hurting his pride, and since everyone here realized what was going on she found his snapping at her didn't upset her.
After about an hour, Rick and Carol and Michonne came back in and Rick nodded at Daryl and Maddie. They played the last round out and then stood up and stretched, yawning.
"Gosh Daryl, you seem to be awfully tired the last day or two," Glen smirked. He had been teased mercilessly by Daryl when he and Maggie had first started up and he intended on paying Daryl back a least a little for that.
Daryl's face turned red and seeing he was about to snap at Glen for real, Maddie placed a hand on his arm placatingly and turning to Glen stuck her tongue out and winked. Glen laughed and refrained from saying anything further. Daryl grunted and turned and headed toward the basement stairs. Maddie waved at all of them and hurried after him. Rick was waiting for them downstairs with a pad and pen. He had written on the paper that Carol and Michonne agreed they should all stay alert to everything around them and to definitely start stockpiling an emergency stash of weapons outside just in case. Daryl and Maddie read it and nodded in agreement. Rick then wrote that the welcome party would start at 6 pm tomorrow evening and he hoped they wouldn't change their mind about attending. Daryl snorted and rubbed his hands over his face in irritation. Maddie nodded to Rick that they would indeed attend and then took the paper and tore it into small pieced and motioned that they would burn it in the bedroom. Rick nodded and headed back up the stairs.
Daryl sighed and headed to the bedroom, followed by Maddie. He closed and locked the door behind them. "Jesus," he sighed in exasperation. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Maddie close to him and kissed her forehead.
"Don't worry," Maddie murmured as she kissed him softly on the lips. "You have me with you now. You don't have to do everything alone anymore." He sighed again and kissed her more deeply. He quickly pulled her up onto the bed beside him and laid her back against the pillows. He rolled over to his side and propping his head on his elbow he reached out with his other hand and traced her cheek with a finger.
"I wish we could just stay in here and never go out again," he whispered.
Maddie pulled him down onto his back and moved closer to him so she could lay her head on his shoulder.
"I know you do. I do too. But I think this is how it's going to be the rest of our lives. We'll never be able to completely relax and feel safe."
Daryl nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know. I'm just fucking tired of all of it. Seems like my entire life has been one thing or another. I just want….I don't know…"
Maddie pulled his hand into his and squeezed it. "I know," she agreed. "Hopefully sometime soon we can relax a bit more than we can now." She pulled him to her and kissed him softly but deeply. She felt his body respond as he rolled back over on his side and ran his hand through her curls. She pulled her shirt up and he helped her remove it. She sighed. They each seemed to understand that this was the calm before yet another storm, and so they took advantage of the moment to reassure themselves that they were truly together at last.
Chapter 16
Daryl stood under the stream of hot water in the shower. He still couldn't believe their good luck in finding a place with hot water, and plenty of it. As he let the water run over him, he thought about he and Maddie's talk with Rick yesterday. Thankfully Rick had taken them seriously, and it seemed Michonne and Carol did too. That was a start. He wasn't sure if Maggie and Glen would be so quick to join in their plan. Maggie seemed like she really liked it here, and Glen usually gave in to her despite any misgivings he may have had. He was concerned about Sasha-she had been through a lot and didn't seem to be handling it very well. Not that he had any room to talk-if Maddie hadn't shown up he was sure he would've ended up alone back on the outside. He sighed. As for Abraham and Rosita and Tara and Eugene-well, they had been helpful when push came to shove, but he still deeply resented Eugene for lying to all of them. He didn't trust him, never would again. If he was left behind when the group set out again over the wall, he would really be relieved. One less thing to worry about.
He started as the shower door opened and Maddie stepped in. He quickly turned his back to the wall and faced her.
"Didn't mean to startle you. I thought I made enough noise before I stepped in so you wouldn't be surprised," she said as she stepped closer to him to get under the stream of water.
Daryl shook his head. "Guess I was preoccupied. Thinking about," and here he paused. He mimed writing on a piece of paper and whispered "Rick".
Maddie nodded in understanding. "Turn around and I'll wash your back for ya," she said, grabbing the bar of soap and a washcloth she had left in there.
Daryl shook his head. "Naw, ya don't have ta do that. I was just about to get out." He inched toward the door.
Maddie put her hand on his arm. "Daryl. It's alright. I know. I've seen your back. It's me. You don't have to worry about me judging you."
His lips tightened into a thin line and she could see he was tensing up, embarrassed and ashamed. She leaned fully into his chest and put her hands on his cheeks, making him look her directly in the face.
"I love you. That's in the past. Everyone has scars and wounds from their past. Just some folks have the scars where anyone can see them. " He nodded tensely. "At this point we've all been through hell of one kind or another and so we all have some kind of scars from loss and pain. Those scars are no different except they were put there by someone who was supposed to love and protect you. And that is nothing for you to feel shame for-you should be proud that you survived that and are a better person than the one who did that to you. Those scars don't mark you as a victim, they mark you as a survivor." She kissed him gently on the cheek. "I won't push you to do anything you aren't comfortable with. I just want you to know that what is on your back doesn't change how I feel about you or who I think you are."
Daryl absorbed her words silently. He nodded and turned slowly so that his back was to her. Maddie slowly began to lather up his back and rub the washcloth across it. Daryl stretched his arms to brace himself against the wall and leaned his head on his arm. As Maddie rubbed the washcloth across his back she softly kissed each scar and murmured little soothing phrases like you would to a child who had been scared or hurt. After a few of these kisses, Daryl realized the water from the shower was mixing with tears that were silently rolling down his cheeks. He bent his head and sobbed silently, his chest so tight it hurt to breathe. Maddie continued to rub his back, kissing and murmuring until she saw his shoulders relax and heard his breathing become more even.
"I think you're all clean buster. And the water is starting to get cool. We best get outta here and dry off. Don't want to be caught running out all the hot water –they might throw me back out as a bad influence on you and general hot water hog." She turned to step out and Daryl caught her by the wrist and pulled her to him. Turning off the water he stood there and held her to him tightly.
"Thank you," he whispered hoarsely. He kissed the top of her head and sighed.
"No thanks needed. I'm only telling you the truth. And you know I only ever speak the truth."
Daryl snorted and yanked gently on her hair. "I don't know if I'd go that far, but I'll let that go for now." He laughed softly. "Are you gonna dry me off too?" He smirked as he stepped out of the shower.
Maddie stuck her tongue out at him and shook her head. "No sir, you've been pampered enough today. I can't have you getting too spoiled too soon."
Daryl flicked his towel at her hip and she hopped out of the way and squealed. "Hmmmm. Spoiled hunh? I think you're slipping girl. Washing my back isn't my idea of being pampered." He smiled at her and she stuck her tongue out at him, wrapping her towel around her. "Careful there, girlie. Stick that out again and I'll find a use for it." He turned pink in surprise at himself for having said that. Since when in the hell did he flirt with any woman?
Maddie laughed and stuck her tongue out at him again teasingly. "I'd like to see you try," she whispered with a throaty laugh.
Before Daryl could make any reply, they heard a knock at the bedroom door. Daryl groaned in frustration and snapped, "What? What is it?" Maddie leaned against his chest and clapped her hand over her mouth, laughing loudly.
"It's Carol. We made breakfast and some of us are going to go look for some clothes to wear tonight. We thought Maddie might want to come with us."
Daryl rubbed his face with his hand and groaned again. Were they ever going to be left alone in peace?
"Hey, Carol, that sounds great," Maddie called out. "Give me just a minute and I'll be up in the kitchen."
"Okay. No rush," Carol called back through the door. Daryl let out another sigh.
"Oh now, don't be fussy," Maddie trilled at him sweetly. "You'll have plenty of time later tonight to show me how to use my tongue." And before he could stop her she ran into the bedroom and started pulling on her clothes. Daryl just stood in the bathroom, his towel wrapped around his waist, shaking his head in bemusement at her. As he watched, she blew him a kiss and headed out the bedroom door towards the stairs. That girl was definitely going to keep him on his toes, he thought ruefully. He stretched lazily and started into the bedroom to get dressed and head upstairs. He was sure he could find something to do to pass the time before he went to that damn party.
Chapter 17
Maddie, Carol, Maggie, Tara, Rosita and Michonne walked toward the main business street of the town, where Maddie's bakery was located. They hadn't been able to persuade Sasha to join them, and Michonne and Carol had exchanged worried glances over that. They would definitely have to keep an eye on her.
They chatted excitedly about the novelty of getting some decent clothes to wear finally and doing something that resembled their normal lives before like going shopping and then to a party later this evening. Maddie fit in seamlessly with their group-she and Maggie seemed to especially hit it off as they were close in age. It helped that Maddie was not much older than Beth had been and Maggie missed Beth terribly. She quickly adopted an older sister attitude with Maddie, and Maddie was glad for the sisterly attention. Daryl had filled her in a bit about the members of his group and the various losses they had each suffered. Maddie regarded Carol as a motherly type-she had seen how Carol had made sure to make her feel at home and she noticed Carol seemed especially gentle in her dealings with Daryl. She felt a little guilty, as she sensed maybe Carol had perhaps had more feelings for Daryl as a more than sisterly or motherly relationship, but she didn't feel Daryl had in any way led Carol on. And she didn't feel guilty enough to stand aside and let the two work things out. She had never been the retiring type, she sure wasn't going to start now. She wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of her and Daryl being together.
They had a choice of three shops to explore and they all stuck together as they entered the first one. Maddie explained to them quickly where the clothes had come from and what type of selections they would find in each shop. She watched Michonne and Tara and Rosita as they surveyed the racks with looks of bemusement. Most of the clothes were the type Maddie's friends and their moms had worn back at home-sweater sets, pastels, dress slacks, flats. She was surprised they hadn't had pearl sets to accessorize with. Carol and Maggie immediately started oohing and ahhing over their finds.
"C'mon girls," Maddie said to the other three, "I think I know a place where you might find something more fitting to your personalities." They turned and followed her out the door and down to the last shop on the left. "These are more the type of clothes I'd wear," she explained, "after I saw the stuff they were handing out for everyone to wear I informed them some folks didn't want to live in Stepford." Michonne snorted and Rosita and Tara smiled.
"So where did these clothes come from?" Tara asked.
"I don't know, I just told Aaron and Eric that on their scavenging runs if they ran across any places that sold regular everyday clothes like jeans and tshirts and that kind of stuff to grab it and bring it back."
Michonne and the other two girls nodded and murmured in agreement. They followed Maddie into the store and laughed in relief. There were shelves of jeans, camo pants, cargo pants, some jean skirts and then tshirts as well as shirts that were slightly dressier but could have easily been out barhopping or to the park. The women wandered around the aisles quickly picking out a few outfits each. Maddie showed them an area stocked with boots, tennis shoes, flip flops and sandals as well as a couple of pairs of nicer women's boots.
While they were looking, Carol and Maggie wandered in, each carrying a couple of bags with them. They wrinkled their noses slightly at the jeans and tshirts.
"I am so tired of looking grubby," Maggie said to Maddie. "I mean, I grew up on a farm and I'm used to wearing jeans and tshirts but after two years of that it's nice to think I can sometimes put a dress on or at least something a little nicer than old jeans." Carol nodded in agreement.
Maddie shrugged and smiled. "I know what you mean. Seems the very things that annoyed me before are the things I miss now." Maggie and Carol nodded. Michonne, Tara and Rosita came up to them with their bags and they all headed back out the door.
"Have y'all had a real tour of the town yet?' Maddie asked them.
"No," they each murmured.
"Well let's walk around a little and I'll show you where everything is," Maddie replied and they followed her back up the street.
Chapter 18
Later that afternoon, Maddie spread some clothes out on the bed that she had gotten for Daryl while she was out. Just another couple of pairs of jeans and some plain but well made pull over shirts-nothing that he would feel uncomfortable in. She had also found him a pair of work boots she thought might fit him as she had noticed his were pretty worn out. She had also found herself a small sleevless black sheath dress and some black pumps to go with it. After showing her ass the other day when she'd moved out she felt an urge to show those snotty girls just how well she could clean up.
Daryl walked in and looked at the clothes on the bed. "Guess y'alls shoppin' trip went well, hunh?"
Maddie turned and held the dress up against her. "And it didn't cost you a penny, bud," she teased.
Daryl laughed and then whistled. "Damn girl, that's what you're wearing? If you put that on we may not make it to the party." He gazed at her, his eyes smoldering.
Maddie blushed and laughed back at him. "Oh no you don't. You're not getting out of this. But I promise you we won't stay long." She waved the dress at him and flung it on the bed. She picked up a blue shirt and raised her eyebrow questioningly. "Is this okay? I thought you might want something a bit dressier than a t-shirt but still something you can wear everyday too." He crossed the room to her and held the shirt up. He liked it, but even though it was nothing fancy it was still much nicer than what he was used to wearing.
"Mmmm," he grunted. "S'okay I guess." Maddie knew that was all he was going to say on the subject. He was not the type of guy interested in clothes except as a necessity when going out in public. And honestly although she'd never seen him in anything other than grubby old thermals, flannels and tshirts and worn jeans she had just accepted that wardrobe as something like his second skin. He was most comfortable in plain clothes that didn't draw attention to himself. Marshall had pretty much been the same way and she had grown used to it and actually appreciated their lack of pretension and lack of need to peacock around like the boys she'd grown up with had often done. It meant a freedom for her from maintaining a tan, wearing shoes that pinched her feet, dresses or outfits she couldn't move comfortably in and always being anxious if her hair and makeup looked right. She couldn't remember the last time she'd worn lipstick or perfume-obviously not in the last year or so, but even before then when she'd moved in with Marshall she had quickly stopped all of that primping and obsessing over her appearance. It felt like she'd finally taken off an ill fitting mask and was able to breathe and finally behave naturally.
They dressed quietly, each preoccupied with their thoughts about the coming evening. Daryl was anxious and tense-he didn't like going around people he didn't know and resented having to do so now. The only parties he'd ever been to had been beer and drug infused get togethers at one of his brother Merle's friends'-if that's what you could call them- shitty apartments or houses. It was usually hours of watching everyone get trashed and eventually start fighting over some imagined insult or some argument erupting between two guys over some girl that neither would've looked twice at sober or straight. He didn't want to embarrass Maddie or himself by doing something awkward or stupid. He knew he was not drinking any alcohol, no sense in tempting fate.
Maddie worried about Daryl. She knew he was nervous but also knew he would just have to grit his teeth and get through it. It was important that they all looked like they were fitting in and finding their place amongst the others living in the town. If not for that, she would never have insisted on Daryl attending.
They finished dressing and looked each other over. "I look alright," Daryl mumbled uncertainly.
"Definitely. You look very handsome," Maddie replied. He looked askance at that and shook his head.
"Whatever," he answered her. He grabbed her hand and started toward the door to go up the stairs. Maddie stopped and tilted her head at him.
"Well, aren't you going to tell me whether or not I look okay?" she teased. Daryl pointed a finger at her and smirked.
"No, cuz you know damn good and well that you are the most beautiful woman in this place. We'll probly have to leave early so I don't punch some asshole for staring at you," he answered. Maddie laughed and followed him out the door and up the stairs.
They met up with everyone else in the group in the foyer and living room. Rick nodded and looked around at everyone. They had convinced Sasha to at least go for a short while, and Eugene had been ready to go before anyone else. He was determined to ingratiate himself with the rest of the town in order to find a way to undo the damage somehow that he had brought on Rick and the others.
"Everyone ready," Rick asked. The others nodded and murmured their agreement. Rick took Judith from Carol and they filed out the front door and headed down the street toward Deanna's house. As they passed Aaron's house, Daryl noticed he was sitting on his porch watching them go by.
"Hey," he whispered to Maddie, "why ain't he going?" He envied Aaron for not having to go through this crap.
"Because he's using Eric as an excuse. He said Eric's having a lot of problems getting around and he wanted to stay home and take care of him." Daryl snorted and Maddie squeezed his hand. "Eric can take care of himself, Aaron and he don't enjoy these things and they usually find some excuse to get out of going. Of course they have to put in an appearance once in a while but by and large they keep to themselves," she continued.
"Lucky guys," Daryl mumbled. He waved over at Aaron and kept walking with Maddie, as close to dragging his feet as he dared to with Maddie looking at him sharply.
As the group entered Deanna's spacious house-"Looks like she took the best place for herself," Daryl murmured to Maddie-they all spread out and wandered the rooms in surprise at the opulence there. Most of them had never had the means to afford anything close to this obviously expensive furnishings before the virus and none of them had definitely experienced anything like it in the time since. They all wondered how it was that this place, this town, had managed to escape all the worst that had happened on the outside and continue unchanged all this time since.
Deanna approached Rick and Carl and introduced Rick to her husband. As they began to talk, Maddie and Daryl moved around the large living room aimlessly looking for a corner they could take up and watch everyone from. Daryl may have caved in to attending this shindig but he was damned if he was going to walk around with a drink in his hand and make small talk with these assholes. He could feel himself bristling up at the thought of what these folks had compared to what he and his group had been through. It angered him that they seemed to take all this for granted and he was reminded again of how he's felt growing up.
Maddie squeezed his hand. "We won't stay long Daryl. Just long enough to make an appearance and then we can go back home. Maybe play some pool or something?" He glanced down at her and nodded silently. They watched Carol make her way around to some woman that looked to be around her age and saw her start making small talk and laughing. Daryl shook his head in wonder.
"What the hell?" he whispered.
"What?" Maddie whispered back.
"I ain't never seen her act like this. It's like she's one of them, wearing some stupid matching sweater shit and talking about some club or something." He shook his head in disgust.
Maddie watched Carol silently and then pulled Daryl down so she could whisper in his ear.
"She's smart. She's making them think she's as silly as they are." She tilted her head toward Carol and Daryl narrowed his eyes and watched her again.
"Hmmmm," he mumbled, "you may be right. She is a pretty smart woman. I'll be damned. It's like she's some sort of undercover spy or something." He nodded in approval and squeezed Maddie's hand.
They scanned the room for the others of their group. Glen was following Maggie around by the hand while she made little exclamations over knick knacks and lamps and pillows and all that girly shit. Daryl almost felt bad for Glen for having to put up with that. But not so bad he didn't start thinking of a way to tease Glen about it later.
Michonne wandered over to stand by them. She stared quietly back at the people in the room, lost in thought. She really wanted to believe that this was a safe place, that they could at last finally settle here and start rebuilding their lives again. But as she watched the townspeople carefully, she felt doubt creep in and start to grow. They really were soft, had no real idea of what had happened outside the wall. And that made her feel certain that this would eventually lead to carelessness about the wall and who they admitted. She caught Rick's eye as he turned from Deanna and her husband and nodded slightly. He nodded back and his gaze roamed over Michonne, Daryl and Maddie standing there together. He headed to the next room-a large dining area with food set out buffet style on the expansive table. There was a sideboard with a variety of alcohol and wine along with glasses set out. He saw Abraham pouring himself a liberal amount of whiskey-some brand that had been very expensive before the virus- and start sipping it. He frowned a little, he didn't want anyone getting drunk and belligerent here. He didn't want anyone drawing attention to them-they had to blend in and lull these people into believing they were all happy to be here and setting about to fitting in.
Rick approached Abraham and raised his eyebrow at him. "Take it easy," he murmured to Abraham.
"Hey," Abraham blustered back, "we're not out on the road anymore. You ain't the leader. We're all free to do as we please now. And I intend on drinking as much of this fine whiskey as I want tonight." He tipped his glass in a toast to Rick and downed the liquid in the glass.
Daryl snorted in disgust and shook his head as he watched from his corner. "That fuckin asshole. We shoulda never let him and that liar Eugene join up with us. They've just fucked shit up over and over," he growled. Maddie put her hand on his arm and felt the tension in him. She looked over at Michonne questioningly.
Michonne nodded reluctantly. "Yeah," she whispered, "I kinda agree with Daryl. Abraham is abrasive and always trying to challenge Rick. And Eugene, well…," she trailed off.
Maddie frowned. "What? What did Eugene do?" she asked.
Daryl growled again, a little louder but still quiet enough no one else in the room heard him.
Michonne cleared her throat. "Well, he told us that he was some kind of scientist and he needed to get to DC in order to save the world. He'd convinced Abraham and Rosita of this before they ever met us."
Maddie nodded encouragingly for Michonne to continue. "Turns out he lied. He wasn't a scientist, didn't know anyone in DC and had basically used Abraham and then us."
Here Daryl interrupted, seething. "Yeah, the asshole lied about everything. He's the reason we changed our route. He's the reason Abraham and Rick kept bumping heads. Hell he and I almost got into it a couple of times." He shook his head in disgust. "He can't defend himself, he's no help in guarding the places we've stayed. It's like having another baby along with Judith-and hell before long she'll be able to take care of herself better than he can." His face had gone red with suppressed rage and he yanked his hand from Maddie and stalked off toward the front door. Maddie turned to Michonne, who looked just as angry as Daryl had.
"Is all that true," Maddie asked her. Michonne nodded and sighed. "That's awful," Maddie whispered. Michonne nodded in agreement.
"Maybe let him cool off some out there on the porch and then go back home. When he gets like this there's no telling who he'll tell off," Michonne suggested. Maddie nodded and headed over to the door to peer out on the porch at Daryl. He stood with his back to her, standing against the rail biting his thumb savagely. She turned around and sat on a little chair just inside the doorway and sighed. No wonder he was so upset. Everyone had risked their lives to help someone who had shamelessly lied to all of them. She definitely didn't want him coming with them when they left. He would just cause tension and stress when they could least afford any distractions.
Michonne walked over toward Rick and Abraham and placed a hand on Rick's shoulder. He turned toward her and raised an eyebrow. She looked over at Abraham and gave a slight shake of her head. He understood. She was telling him that she did not trust Abraham nor did she want him included in their plans to leave. He was relieved. He didn't want to include Abraham either. He was tired of the man constantly challenging him and had no use for Eugene either. He felt no qualms about leaving either of the two men out of their plans.
Chapter 19
Daryl sighed. He shouldn't have let himself get that angry. Maddie had said they were supposed to fit in, and he had shown his ass and stomped off like some dumb ass redneck. He hoped she wasn't too aggravated with him. He turned around to go back in and saw Maddie in the doorway holding a can of soda.
"Here babe," and she handed him the soda.
"Do you wanna go back in?" he asked her. Maddie looked at him and saw a contrite look on his face and her heart turned over. She smiled softly at him.
"No, I'm glad to get out of there. Let's take a walk around some, I'll show you some more of the town."
Daryl nodded in relief and they headed down the steps to the street. "Have you seen the garden and the farm?" she asked as they clasped hands.
"What?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Yeah, this place is supposed to be self-sustaining so they made sure to include a decent sized garden area and a barn and pens for some milk cows and chickens and pigs." He raised his eyebrow at her. "They have a set up kind of like they used to have on the Amish farms-you know, smokehouse, a place to butcher the hogs and the cows, a place to can vegetables and all that stuff. Of course they never planned on having to do it on a really large scale, it was just a basic set up to see how it went. Luckily when the shit hit the fan they'd stored a lot of dried goods and canned stuff so they had food to get them through until they could harvest some crops and learn all about butchering and curing."
Daryl whistled. "How do you know all this stuff?" he asked her.
"Well, remember Marshall used to read all about that doomsday prepper stuff. He thought most of those folks were lunatics, but he said it was always best to be prepared just in case. Not go crazy about it, mind you, not to get as obsessed as some of those folks on the shows were. But he was always reading about communities they were setting up like this to experiment with wind and solar and water energy. When we decided to leave up North he remembered reading about this place and decided we should try to come here and see how it worked out."
Daryl nodded thoughtfully. "Pretty good thinking." Maddie nodded and broke into a trot as they neared what he could see was an area with a barn in it. He heard the moo of a cow. He had never thought he'd hear that sound ever again. It seemed like on the outside all the animals had died of starvation or been eaten by the walkers or folks lucky enough to stumble onto them. The last farm animals he'd seen were back at the Greene farm. He bit his lip, thinking about Herschel and Beth.
Looking up, he saw a large dark horse leaning it's head over the pen and nickering softly at Maddie. She stroked his nose and kissed him, murmuring softly to him.
"Friend of yours?" he whispered to her, careful not to get too close and startle the horse.
Maddie continued to stroke and pat the horse's neck and face. "Oh yes," she murmured. "Blackie and I became fast friends a couple months back. Aaron found him outside wandering around, nearly skin and bones. It's a wonder the walkers didn't get him and eat him. Aaron said it took him a few weeks to get his trust so he could throw a lead over him and bring him back." Daryl nodded and approached cautiously, holding his hands out carefully so the horse could get his scent. "Aaron and Eric and I have made sure he got fattened back up and that he's healthy. We know we can't ever take him outside the wall-we're afraid he'd get pulled out from whoever was riding him if they got caught in a mob. So he gets to live a life of leisure in here. There's some apple trees further back and Blackie gets to snack on those sometimes as a treat." The horse nickered softly and pushed his nose at Daryl, urging him to pet him. Daryl laid his hand carefully on the horse's neck and stroked him.
"Well, ain't you something there?" he murmured. "Spoiled rotten I bet." He smiled down at Maddie who was still absorbed in petting the horse and had her face pressed against the horse's neck.
"I'll bring you an apple tomorrow," she murmured into the horse's neck. His ears pricked back and forth and he snorted and stomped his front hoof.
"Looks like you better keep your promise or this boy will be mad at you," Daryl teased her. The horse seemed to nod his head at this and then snorted again and pulled away to trot off and flick his tail and stretch his neck. Daryl pulled Maddie to lean against his chest. "Man, this place is just full of surprises."
Maddie nodded. "I wish I could just relax and believe that this is safe and just stay here and be happy."
Daryl grunted. "Yeah, I can see that. It would be easy to lower your guard and just go with all this."
They headed back toward their home in companionable silence.
Chapter 20
When they got back to the house, they saw Rick and Carl sitting on the sofa, lightly dozing. Carol was rocking Judith in a rocker by the front window. Michonne was standing by the fireplace.
Daryl raised his eyebrow at her. "Where's the rest of them?" he asked.
Michonne rolled her eyes. "Abraham got drunk and started arguing with Rick, so Rosita brought him back to the house next door to try and get him to go to sleep." Daryl shook his head and made a grimace of disgust. "Noah and Tara said they were tired and went to their rooms over there in that house. Eugene is over there too, I don't know what he's doing but at least he didn't make any trouble at the party." Daryl nodded his head. "Glen and Maggie are still at the party."
"Where did you two sneak off to?" Carol whispered.
Daryl and Maddie motioned Michonne to come over to where Carol sat. "Maddie took me to an area where they've got crops planted and pigs and chickens and cows for milk and beef," Daryl informed them. Michonne nodded and Carol made a face of surprise. "Yeah, they've pretty much thought of everything," Daryl continued. They all stood there a few minutes, Carol and Michonne absorbing this information. Rick and Carl stirred on the couch and Rick yawned.
"Hey you two are back," he said.
Daryl nodded. "Yeah, I was just telling these two that Maddie showed me where they've got crops and farm animals and all that."
Rick nodded. "Yeah, Deanna and her husband were talking about that tonight. They realize if they admit too many more folks in here they'll have to do something about expanding the crop area and add more animals. There's no one here that ever lived on a farm or was a vet so they can start breeding some of the animals or something. I told them Maggie had grown up on a farm, but she probably isn't as knowledgeable about all that for what they need."
Carol nodded. "I have to say, for planning on this place being self-sustaining they forgot some pretty important stuff."
Daryl jerked his chin at her. "Like what?" he asked.
"Well," Carol continued, "lack of doctors, no real medical facility, no real handymen-carpenters, plumbers, electricians."
Daryl shook his head. "Typical," he mumbled.
Rick looked at Daryl, thinking. "That could be to our advantage."
Daryl looked back at him. "How's that?"
"Well," said Rick, "we can offer to repair the walls and other stuff and that will give us unlimited access and opportunity to explore inside and outside."
Carol, Michonne, and Daryl all looked at each other and nodded slowly. Daryl looked over at Maddie and saw she was nodding too.
"Maddie, I want to thank you," Rick said, putting a hand on Maddie's shoulder. "If you hadn't called this to our attention, we'd have been lulled into a false sense of security. Thankfully you're here and now we know how to proceed." He squeezed Maddie's arm and turned to Carl who was still dozing on the couch. He turned back and took the now sleeping Judith from Carol and stepped over to Carl. He gently shook Carl's shoulder. "C'mon son, let's turn in for the night now," he whispered. Carl stirred sleepily and Rick pulled him up from the couch and they staggered off toward the master bedroom on the ground floor they were all sharing.
Carol and Michonne looked at each other. "I think you and I need to figure out a few things," Carol said softly to Michonne. Michonne nodded back. Maddie cleared her throat and placed her finger on her lips, reminding them to be quiet and careful what they discussed inside the house. They both nodded and Carol picked up a pad and pen and they headed over to the couch to sit together and start on some plans.
Daryl put his arm around Maddie and squeezed her shoulder. "You tired," he whispered.
She nodded and leaned against him. "C'mon then, let's go to bed." He murmured and pulled her with him toward the stairs.
They pulled off their clothes silently and he lifted her up into the bed and then slid in next to her. They both sighed and he pulled the sheet up over them both and turning to his side he pulled her over to him, her back against his chest. He folded his arms around her and kissed her hair. Maddie nestled closer to him and sighed. Within a few minutes she was breathing deeply, sound asleep. Daryl stared into the dark, his brain starting the process of planning how and when they were going to leave this place. He was sure that it would be by fall at the very latest. He decided that he would start going out regularly and each time expand his perimeter so he could see how the wall could be fortified or if it would even be worth the effort. He fell asleep still thinking of strategies, and dreamt all night of monsters chasing him and Maddie across an ever increasingly hostile landscape.
Chapter 21
Jump forward to the end of September. Four months have passed. Rick, Carol, Michonne, Maddie and Daryl have proceeded with their plans to stockpile a secret stash of weapons outside the wall. Daryl has completed putting together the first bike and is close to completing the work on a second that he and Aaron had found while out on runs. He has also made sure to explore an ever widening perimeter in search of any other groups that might pose a threat to them. Although Rick didn't want Carl involved in any of this, he had to admit Carl was no longer a boy after all that he'd been through and had been able to hold his own much better than some adults would have. Carl had used his budding friendship with a young girl named April to explore the entire community and to find escape routes in the weaker parts of the wall that would be faster and easier than climbing over the wall. They all kept a close watch on these areas, aware that if they could get out somebody else could get in.
To keep a watch on these areas, Rick had finally persuaded Deanna to institute twenty-four hour surveillance on the wall and to set up guns in the watchtowers and have somebody man them. He and Daryl had had to give shooting lessons to most of the men and women that lived here. Even after all that had happened, many of them had yet to have held any kind of gun or shoot a gun even in target practice. They held drills a few times a week and although at first Deanna had emphasized these were mandatory until Rick felt everyone had the basics down pat, it was only a few weeks before the number of folks at the target practices had sharply dropped to just a few teenagers and men in their thirties. The older men seemed to not be interested in any type of activity that would imply they weren't all safe and had nothing to worry about.
Rick and Michonne had taken up sheriff duties and took turns patrolling the streets and quelling any minor disturbances such as they were. Daryl had told them it was like living with a flock of stupid sheep-these people didn't seem to even want to think for themselves and blindly obeyed whatever Deanna or her husband proclaimed.
They had kept their plans a secret from Abraham, Noah, Rosita, Tara and Eugene. They were on the fence about saying anything to either Glen or Maggie. Maggie had thrown herself into the daily running of the town and seemed to have totally bought into the illusion of safety it offered. Glen had privately expressed some doubts, but seemed to be completely under Maggie's thumb and they realized he would not say or do anything to distress or upset her. They were resigned to the idea that when push came to shove, Glen and Maggie may well have to be left behind in order to keep themselves safe.
Rick had become friendly with a young wife and mother of two boys. She had gotten in the habit of bringing the boys over to visit with Carl, or to cut Rick's hair or just hang out with Maggie or Maddie. Maddie liked her but was unsure if she wanted Jocelyn included in their plans. Jocelyn was married to a man who had in their previous life been a lawyer. The man was abrupt, rude and abrasive. Maddie was secretly sure that he was verbally if not physically abusive to Jocelyn. Jocelyn had never intimated as such to Maddie but just the way the couple acted around each other made her wonder. One day Carol had whispered her thoughts to Maddie, and they were unhappily surprised they were in agreement regarding that situation. They could also see that there was a spark between Rick and Jocelyn, and feared that sooner or later there would be some kind of blow up between Rick and Jocelyn's husband, Donald.
Chapter 22
Daryl and Aaron stumbled upon a camp of rough men an hour or so from the town one day while out. They set up a schedule to silently survey the group and came to discover the men seem to be a ragtag collection of rough, brutish men. They could also see women and men that looked like they were being held against their will-they watched as these men and women were beaten, and used as if they were the spoils of war. The savage men also often fought amongst themselves violently and seemed to have no real leader-at least not that Aaron and Daryl could discern. They keep watch for a couple of weeks and realize that the group is planning an attack on another town another hour away to the west of them. After discussion with Rick and looking up old reports in Deanna's office they discover there were originally four of these self-sustaining towns constructed. Two had not been complete when the virus hit-they were located further south of Alexandria. Only Alexandria and a town called Leesburg seemed to have been completed.
Rick and Michonne began surveying the camp of rough men with Daryl and Aaron and inventorying any weapons or vehicles they could see. Carol has been doing her part by stealthily removing weapons from the armory and passing them to Carl and April who then take them to the shack to stockpile and hide.
They've had a few close calls, but by and large their plan has gone smoothly for the most part. They've decided to make their exit in the first weeks of October. They finally found two old range rovers that they've hidden by the hut. They also have managed to scavenge up a decent supply of gas that can at least get them a few hours away from here. They've poured over maps endlessly, trying to decide where they should go. One day Maddie had written excitedly on a piece of paper "Boulder" and showed it to Daryl and Rick. They had just shrugged. Maddie scribbled furiously again and showed them the paper. She had written that Marshall had read in the event of an apocalypse the best place to go would be any place that was sparsely populated. That would include the majority of the western states-Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. And she remembered that in an old book she had read about the end of the world the good group had gone to Boulder-it was up in the mountains and easily defendable. For that matter, any of those old deserted mining towns up in the Rockies would serve their purpose.
Rick and Daryl mapped out a possible route. They estimated it would take them a minimum of five to six days to get there, and that was if they could find enough gas so they could travel in vehicles and find a route without a lot of obstacles. They agreed they didn't have to go all the way to Boulder if they ran into difficulties and acknowledged that most of those states would probably be mostly deserted at this point. Everyone agreed that the important thing was to leave this place without losing any of their core group before anyone attacked them. The information the group had from surveying the rough group of men made them anxious to get away from this place.
Chapter 23
One night in early October, Daryl motioned Rick and Michonne to follow him across to the park. He had left Maddie asleep in their room. She had been tired all day and said she just wanted to lie down for a little bit. He had frowned at that, but admitted she had been pushing herself very hard the last few months along with all the rest of them to get ready to leave.
"Rick, I think we need to make our move the next couple of nights," Daryl started. Rick and Michonne nodded.
"What's happened?" Rick asked.
"Well, it looks like they're planning another raiding party and I don't want to take any chances of them coming here," Daryl answered.
"Do we have enough supplies?" Rick questioned. Michonne nodded.
"Yes, Carol has been a busy little bee," Michonne answered. "I went out with her a week or so again and she has a very sizeable stash out there." Rick and Daryl nodded.
"Okay," Rick answered. "Then we need to decide who is going with us and who is getting left behind. We need to all be in agreement with this, we can't have any second guessing." He continued.
Daryl nodded. "I think we've all agreed that we can't bring Noah, Rosita or Abraham. And definitely not Eugene." Michonne and Rick nodded in agreement. Sasha had disappeared not long after the party they had attended that first week. No one knew where she had gone or what had happened to her. She had just been there one day and gone the next.
Michonne said quietly, "What about Maggie and Glen?"
Daryl bit his lip in thought. "What about we tell Glen what's going on without any details? Like don't give him an actual date or the location of our stuff. Just tell him we're thinking of leaving and see if he and Maggie want to come with us." He looked at Rick questioningly.
"Yeah, that'll work," Rick answered. "I'll try to catch him tomorrow and tell him it'll be soon and he needs to decide quickly. And not to tell Maggie until we actually leave."
Daryl and Michonne nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, because as happy as she is here I doubt she'd leave here quietly," Daryl murmured.
"Okay, then. It's what, Monday?" Rick asked. Daryl shrugged and Michonne shook her head and shrugged. "Well, I think it is Monday," Rick continued. "Let's plan on leaving day after tomorrow. Close to midnight, so everyone in town here is sound asleep." Daryl and Michonne nodded in agreement.
"I'll fill Carol in tomorrow," Michonne murmured. She looked speculatively at Rick. "What about Jocelyn and her two boys?" she asked Rick. He turned red and wouldn't look at her. "Hey Rick, we don't care that you been sneaking around with her-she's a nice woman and her husband is an asshole. But fooling around is one thing, asking her to join us is another. Do you trust her?" she continued. Daryl felt his mouth hanging open like an idiot. He had never even noticed what was going on between Rick and Jocelyn. Of course, he hadn't been studying them like some high school girl snooping around trying to bust other kids. He wondered that Maddie hadn't said anything to him. Girls noticed shit like that. He looked at Rick, who was struggling not to look embarrassed as hell at being caught out like this.
"Well," Rick started, "that's the problem. You're right, it's one thing to be sneaking around like this but quite another to ask her to leave her husband and what she thinks of as a safe place to run off with a man she barely knows and go outside the wall where anything bad can and does happen. She's got two young boys to worry about." He sighed. "I would like to think if I asked her, she would come along with us. I'll have to think about it." Michonne nodded. They split up and headed back to the house.
