AN- So, this one is mostly filler. We've got to get set up at the school so bear with me. As always, thanks for reading!
When the guys returned to the school, everyone piled outside and helped carry in their belongings from the farm. Daryl, Conner, and T-Dog left in the Armada as soon as it was unloaded to see about getting some diesel for the generator. They all agreed that it would be nice to have lights before it got dark. Carol, Beth, Amy, and Hershel consented to staying with the kids and Rick and Patricia while everyone else had piled up into the pickup trucks to look for some furniture. Andrea was behind Merle on the motorcycle and enjoying the hell out of herself. She had never been one of those women who had gotten into the motorcycle lifestyle before and now that she was on one with her arms wrapped tight around Merle's muscled body, she couldn't remember why she had been so against it.
Merle laughed at her behind him. She had been terrified at first, but the longer they had ridden she had slowly gotten more brave, sticking her face into the wind for a few seconds at a time. He loved the feel of her tight little body pressed into him, her arms wrapped tight around his chest. He couldn't believe that someone like Andrea would allow him to even touch her, let alone love him the way she did. He couldn't wait to get her alone in a bed and touch her at his leisure. It seemed like every time they had any time to themselves, it had to be rushed because something was going on or he had to take a watch. He slowed the bike as they rolled into the small town and looked at the deserted storefronts searching for a furniture store. Andrea pointed at one and he nodded. He held up a hand to stop everyone else and drove to the end of the block and down the alley behind the stores. He stopped the bike behind the store and was glad to see that it was deserted. No walkers in sight.
"Are we getting everyone else?" Andrea asked, sorry that the ride was over.
"Not yet." Merle put the kickstand down and climbed off. He pulled a small crowbar from where he had lashed it into a saddlebag and walked to the back door. He banged on the window and waited, his eyes taking in how beautiful Andrea looked sitting on his bike.
"What?" She asked, frowning slightly at his intense stare.
"Nothin'." He peered back inside the store and rolled his eyes when he saw two walkers stumbling his way. "We got two inside. Stay back, ya hear?"
'Yeah, yeah." She couldn't wait to get her weapons training done so she could start killing things too. She watched with worried eyes as Merle used the crowbar and popped the doors open. He held it in his hands like a knife and when the first walker bumped the door and staggered into the sunlight, Merle put the crowbar right through its head. He yanked it out with sickening slurp and then did the same to the other one. Andrea couldn't take her eyes off him as he killed them. Watching the muscles flex in his arms was making her uncomfortably wet.
"C'mon." He kicked the bodies out of the way and took her hand as they slowly walked into the store. Andrea's eyes were darting back and forth as they wound their way to the front. Merle unlatched the doors and everyone else piled into the dark store.
"How we doing this?" Maggie asked, her eyes already looking around for the beds.
"The necessities first. Beds and mattresses. We need to get nine beds and I'm thinking two sets of bunk beds for the kids." Andrea spoke up. They all agreed and took turns keeping watch and loading things into the two pickups they had brought. After they had run out of room, Glenn and Murphy jacked two big box trucks that were behind the store and they began filling them up with whatever they could grab. Dressers, chairs, even a couple couches. Glenn even managed to acquire a flat screen TV and put it in the truck despite everyone else laughing at him.
"The generator's are gonna be working. We can find a DVD player and some movies and keep those kids occupied." He shrugged and went back into the store. It took them several hours but eventually they had the trucks as loaded as they could be. Aerin and Maggie were pressed into driving the pickups while Murphy and Glenn took the box trucks. Merle led the way back to the school with Andrea behind him on the bike. It had been a successful trip and Merle couldn't be happier about the king sized poster bed that he had snagged for himself and Andrea. They got back and were surprised to see two semi trucks behind the school.
"I thought you were gonna get just the one." Merle said as he ambled over to T-Dog.
"Turns out Daryl knows how to drive one too, so we figured we'd just take them both." T-Dog said. "Daryl and Conner are in there now trying to figure out the generator."
"I'll go help them. We've got a ton of furniture to be hauled in." Merle said, clapping T-Dog on the back.
"On it, brother." T nodded and went over to everyone else. They all worked hard to get everything carried in before they lost the light. Carol, Beth, and Amy had cooked dinner for everyone and with the kids' help had put pretty much everything they had brought from the farm away. So they loaded the cafeteria up again with the furniture and then collapsed around it with bowls of soup and plates of green beans and pears. Beth had made sweet tea and they all drank it up, not caring that it was warm and not as sweet as most of them liked it. Merle and Conner got the generator going and they all cheered when lights flickered on throughout the school. They turned off the lights in the parts of the building they weren't using and got busy putting beds together. Daryl finished up putting Beth's bed together in the room she was sharing with Hershel and stopped in the doorway of Carol's room.
"Hey." He said quietly, watching as she bustled around putting sheets on the pillow top mattress she had claimed.
"Hey, yourself." She stopped and looked at him. He was leaning against the jam, one boot clad foot over the other, chewing on his thumb. His eyes were hooded and Carol had no idea what he was thinking about. "You coming inside?"
"I dunno." He shrugged.
"I put your stuff in here with mine." She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him. "But there's plenty of rooms if you don't want to share."
"You want me in here?" He asked, frowning.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" She stood up and slowly crossed the room to him. Stopping in front of him, she caught his gaze. His blue eyes were stormy and she could tell he was confused.
"I ain't never shared a room with a woman before." He shifted his weight on his feet and nudged his crossbow back up on his shoulder.
"Well, there's a first time for everything." She slowly reached out and put her hand on his chest. "Sophia's with the other kids next door so it's just us if you want to stay with me."
"I reckon I could." He slowly nodded, his finger reaching up to trace her jaw. "If you want me too."
"I do." She nodded and pulled on his vest to get him into the room. "I picked out a dresser and the two bottom drawers are yours. I unpacked for you, I hope you don't mind."
"No." Daryl stood nervously and finally set his bow down just inside the door. This was the first time he had ever come close to living with a woman and it was making him extremely nervous. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He was grateful when Carol came over and put her arms around him. He put his around her and leaned his chin on the top of her head.
"I think we can be happy here." She said, her hands rubbing up and down his back. He nodded against her head, agreeing with her but not really knowing what to say. "Do you have watch tonight?"
"Yeah. Later, with Glenn." He nodded.
"Well, let's get some sleep then." She moved away and went to one side of the bed. Daryl watched her and guessed the other side was supposed to be his. He saw that she had put a table there and on it she had placed his sunglasses for when he rode the motorcycle and some stray bullets and screws that must have been rolling around in his bags. He toed his boots off and wearily sat on the edge of the bed. Carol watched him and knew this was all new to him so she wasn't gonna do anything to embarrass him or scare him away. She had already changed into pajama pants and a tank top so she slid into bed and waited while Daryl shrugged out of his clothes. He shut the light off and the bed moved as he settled into it.
"Goodnight, Daryl." She said softly. He reached out abruptly and hauled her close to him, her back pressed against his chest. He nuzzled against her head and she felt his lips against her hair.
"Goodnight, Carol." He murmured. She had a smile on her face as she fell asleep quickly, secure in the knowledge that they were safe and happy for once.
***TWD***BDS***
The next few weeks settled into a smooth sort of rhythm that everyone was thankful for. Every day various people went out on runs and brought back a growing stockpile of supplies. Glenn and Maggie had looted a pawn shop and brought back a truckload of tools, guns, movies, and one DVD player. Ever since, they had religiously had movie nights every evening in the room that they had designated as the lounge. The girls had arranged several couches and chairs in there surrounding the huge TV that Glenn had picked up. Everyone was thrilled when Merle and Daryl had fixed the water so they now had it readily available in the bathrooms and the locker rooms off of the gym. The day they could take a hot shower they were all almost giddy.
The guys had brought back a washer and dryer and the girls were ecstatic that they could do laundry the easy way. Everyone took a turn switching the laundry around as it seemed there was always a never ending supply. Hershel had set up one of the rooms as the infirmary and spent a lot of time there, reading psychology books. Rick and Patricia were still not right, but they were getting better with time. Rick acknowledged people around him, but didn't really say much. Patricia spent most of her time in a rocking chair that Hershel had put in front of the windows in her room. She had stopped saying Lori's dead every few minutes and everyone was thankful for that.
Hershel was at a loss as to what to do for her and had finally decided that he needed psych meds so he had made a list and Merle and Daryl had taken one of the box trucks from the furniture store and gone a few towns over to a hospital that they had been scouting. They hadn't really gotten to spend a whole lot of time alone since the shit had hit the fan and both appreciated getting away from the school for a bit. The safety of the fences was nice, but it was confining for the two of them.
"So, what you got going on with Carol?" Merle asked from the drivers seat. He was sucking on a stale cigarette with his elbow out the window. "I ain't never known you to go all googly eyed over some chick."
"I dunno, Merle." Daryl avoided looking at his brother, his eyes on the fields they were passing.
"C'mon, Darylina. You can talk to your ole brother Merle. I can give you some tips if you don't know what to do with her." Merle teased. He took his hand off the steering wheel to nudge at his brother.
"I got it figured out, Merle." Daryl mumbled.
"Yeah, maybe you do if the smiles on that little lady's face in the mornin's are any indication. Ya are a Dixon, after all." Merle took one last drag of his cigarette and tossed it out the window.
"Can we not start this shit?" Daryl sighed, fidgeting with the crossbow across his lap.
"What ya mean?" Merle asked, furrowing his eyebrows at his brothers tone.
"All this Dixon shit. Who even gives a fuck what our last name is anymore?" Daryl rolled his eyes. "Everybody who ever even knew us is probably dead now."
"You might be right, Darylina." Merle nodded.
"Stop fuckin' calling me that." Daryl turned his head and glared at his brother. "You know I fuckin' hate it."
"Fine, fine. What's got your panties all up in a bunch today?"
"Nothing." Daryl mumbled. Merle glanced at his brother and saw the pensive look on his face. He knew when Daryl had something on his mind and he figured maybe it was best to give him a rest for a bit. He didn't need Daryl punching him in the face while he was driving.
"I'm gonna get Andrea a ring." Merle said after a long time of silence. Daryl whipped his head to look at his brother so fast that Merle wondered if he had whiplash.
"What the fuck for?" Daryl asked. "Ain't like there's no point of marriage anymore. And you ain't exactly the marryin' type, Merle."
"Maybe I am now." Merle shrugged. "Andrea ain't the kind of girl that you just shack up with."
"Then what the hell you doing with her?" Daryl looked back out the window. "You ain't ever spent more than a few hours with any other woman before."
"You ain't been thinking about marrying Carol?" Merle asked. "You seem awfully fond of her little girl."
"There ain't no point of marriage, Merle. Ain't like we gonna go up to the courthouse and find us a judge to get us hitched." Daryl rolled his head back against the seat. This whole conversation was making him uncomfortable.
"Would you if you could, though?" Merle pushed it.
"I dunno." Daryl shrugged, chewing at his thumbnail. "Might if she'd have me."
"I think she'd have you." Merle rolled his eyes. "That little lady can't keep her eyes off your pretty face." Daryl grunted and kept looking out the window. He wasn't sure how he felt about Carol. He knew that he liked crawling into bed with her every night and the nights when they had sex, he thoroughly enjoyed it. But he had never had a relationship before, or even been friendly with a woman so he had nothing to base his feelings off of.
"How long until we get to this hospital, anyway?" Daryl finally said.
"Not too far, I don't guess." Merle looked down at the map and figured they were pretty close. "Hershel said there's an Academy down the street. You want to check it out after the hospital?"
"Yeah." Daryl nodded. "I could use some more bolts."
"Figured you could." Merle nodded. A few minutes later, they were driving through the town and when he spotted a jewelry store he pulled over.
"Are ya fuckin' serious?" Daryl asked when he saw where they were. "Dead people are walking around eating people and you want to get a diamond ring?"
"Yep." Merle stuck a gun into the back of his pants and climbed out of the truck. He got a crowbar from under the seat and made short work of jimmying the door. Daryl followed his brother into the store. He raised his bow and put a bolt through the brain of a walker behind the counter. Merle stabbed the crowbar through another one and he wandered around, looking for rings. Daryl stood on watch, chewing on his nail.
"Ya might want to hurry this shit up." Daryl called back to him.
"There's some nice rings back here, Darylina. You ought to come and pick one out for your little lady." Merle said.
"I'm good." Daryl rolled his eyes. Merle stood there for what seemed like forever trying to pick a ring. Finally, he mumbled to himself and went behind the counter and looked around for the boxes and bags. He put all the rings in boxes and tossed a bunch of other shit in bags and passed Daryl on his way back to the truck.
"Let's go." He smacked Daryl.
"Are you fuckin' serious?" Daryl asked. "Where the hell do you think Andrea's going that she's gonna need a god damned diamond tiara?"
"Shut your fuckin' mouth. Maybe and T and Glenn might want a fuckin' ring." Merle got into the drivers seat and stowed the bags between he and Daryl on the seat.
"You're such a fuckin' pussy." Daryl chuckled and looked back out the window.
"Fuck you, Darylina. I ain't the one who knows what a damn tiara is." Merle growled and drove the rest of the way to the hospital.
***TWD***BDS***
Aerin poked her head into the lounge and smiled when she saw all four of the kids watching TV with Beth. She hitched up the basket of laundry and continued on down to her bedroom. She dumped it onto the king sized sleigh bed that she shared with her boys and began folding identical jeans and black t-shirts. Her boys didn't vary much with their wardrobe choices and pretty much always wore the same thing. And she didn't mind. They both looked amazing in black, but she honestly thought they'd look amazing in anything.
Aerin missed her house in suburbia but she really couldn't complain about the life they had made for themselves here in the school. There was a lot of work to be done, but everyone pulled their own weight. She had three of the most amazing friends she could ever dream of and Emmi and Elli brightened her life in ways she'd never thought possible. She and Conn and Murph had agreed years ago that they wouldn't have children. Their lifestyle just wasn't conducive to raising a child. Aerin had been the biggest proponent of this decision. She didn't want to bring a child into a world of uncertainties. But having Emmi and Elli and watching Conner and Murphy with them really made her happy.
She put the clothes into the dresser and adjusted one of the pictures that she had finally unpacked from the Armada. She had filled a suitcase up with just pictures when she had packed that first day at her house and now she loved looking at the memories of their former life.
"You busy?" Andrea asked from the doorway.
"No." Aerin turned to smile at her friend. "What's up?"
"Nothin'. Just bored." Andrea stepped into the room and plopped down on the bed. Aerin smiled and realized that Andrea wanted to gossip so she laid down beside her, hugging Conner's pillow.
"You worried about Merle?" Aerin asked.
"Not really." She shrugged. "He can handle himself."
"That's true." Aerin nodded, smiling. "Nothin' can kill a Dixon but a Dixon."
"Yeah, yeah." Andrea rolled her eyes. "How many times have I heard that?"
"Too many to count." Aerin laughed. "I hear the same thing from Conn and Murph. The Macmanus brothers are too tough to kill."
"Aerin! Andrea!" Maggie's voice was bellowing down the hall. "There's someone at the gates!"
"Who is it?" Aerin asked, getting out of bed. She and Andrea slipped shoes and hoodies on and joined Maggie in the hallway.
"It's a stranger. Daddy and Glenn said to get you two." Maggie led the way outside. Aerin and Andrea followed, almost running to keep up with Maggie. Hershel and Glenn were standing at the gate, their guns pointed at a black woman on the other side. She had long dreadlocks and a sword strapped to her back.
"What's going on out here?" Andrea asked, her eyes taking in the woman. She noticed that her left leg was stained with blood and she seemed to be favoring that leg.
"She just walked up to the gates." Glenn said.
"What's your name?" Aerin asked, pushing Glenn and Hershel's guns down.
"Michonne." She said, her head still bent to the ground.
"Are you alone?" Andrea asked.
"Don't see anyone else around." She said, obviously gritting her teeth. "Do you have a doctor? I'm kind of bleeding to death here."
"Sort of." Hershel smiled. "You're welcome to come in and I'll see what I can do to help you, but you're going to have to surrender your weapons to us."
"Yeah, ok." Michonne ground out. She was feeling lightheaded and swaying on her feet. At Aerin's nod, Glenn unlocked the gates and Maggie and Andrea helped Michonne inside. Aerin took the sword, two knives and a gun that Michonne had and laid them aside as the woman was helped to the infirmary. Hershel had hurried there ahead of them and was getting things ready.
"Help her onto that cot." He motioned to one of the cots that had been in the nurses room. "Maggie, you best go back and keep watch with Glenn. Can you two get Carol for me?"
"Ok." Aerin nodded and she and Andrea hurried to the cafeteria. Carol was taking inventory in the stockroom, a clipboard and pencil in her hands.
"Hey, girls. What was all that commotion out there?" Carol looked up from counting cans of tomato sauce and smiled at her friends.
"Hershel has a patient so you're gonna get to put all the stuff you've been learning to use." Aerin said as she took the clipboard from Carol's hand.
"Who is it? It's not Daryl, right?" She put her hand to her heart.
"No. She showed up at the gates with a gunshot wound on her leg." Andrea explained.
"Her name's Michonne." Aerin added. "Go help Hershel. Me and Andrea will try to muddle through this without you."
"Just leave it." Carol called as she hurried out the door. Aerin and Andrea looked at each other and Aerin tossed the clipboard down.
"She said leave it." Aerin laughed and pulled herself up on the counter. "Where do you think that woman came from?"
"I don't know. She must be tough to have survived out there on her own." Andrea leaned on the metal island. "She's like some kind of ninja or something with that sword."
"Yeah, that's pretty bad ass. I need one of those. Conner and Murphy would never fuck with me again." Aerin laughed.
"You could cut their dicks off with one slash." Andrea laughed and made a slashing motion with her hands. "Where'd they go, anyway?"
"On a run to that food distribution center that they've been talking about. T-Dog and Amy went with them." Aerin explained.
"I hope they bring back some more variety." Andrea wrinkled her nose. "What do you suppose we should throw together for dinner tonight?"
"Well, I was thinking rib eye steaks on the grill with baked potatoes and maybe a fresh salad with ranch dressing. And we'll top it all off with some Merlot." Aerin pretended to swoon.
"Not fair." Andrea frowned. "I could so eat a baked potato right now. Loaded with bacon, sour cream, cheese, and tons and tons of butter."
"Bacon..." Aerin drew out the word and licked her lips. "I could just eat the bacon."
"Ooh, that does sound good." Andrea nodded. "We need to find some pigs. Start another farm here."
"Aren't the chickens enough?" Aerin rolled her eyes. She hated the damn things that Hershel had brought back a few weeks ago. The guys had spent several days building a coop for the clucking feather bags and Aerin hated having anything to do with them.
"You sure like their eggs, though." Andrea pointed out.
"That's true." Aerin shrugged. "I wish one of the cows would have made it. Milk would have been nice."
"A damn Publix would be great right about now." Andrea slid off the counter. "Or a McDonald's. Oh, those fries sound so good."
"Yeah." Aerin rubbed her belly. "And a Big Mac."
"We've gotta stop this shit." Andrea shook her head. "It's like torture. This sucks."
"You're right." Aerin groaned and went into the storeroom. "So, I guess we're looking at cans for dinner?"
"Yep." Andrea trudged after her friend so she could help make the big decision between chicken noodle soup or beef stew.