Curative

By Kaimaler

Alright, we're gettin' to some progression WD story-wise. But I figured, if y'all came to hear the WD story and nothing else, then you would've just gone and watched the damn show.

So I'm trying to make it more interesting in mixing up Laura in all this. Anyways, BACK TO THE STORY. :D

NormanReedusBitch:

I do not mind and already have one of your stories on my watch list! :D
I'm glad you think so highly of my story, I really think it's mediocre, but oh well, what'cha gonna' do? xD
Enjoy this latest chapter.
Not a lot goes on in it, but we start seeing how the group reacts to Laura's walkerness a little bit more. Just a little, we'll ease into the real issues later on. :O

Lorem Tenebrae:

Yeah, it's a bit unfortunate, but it just makes Daryl's character all the more lovable. xD
However, I will be including a lot more of the romancin' later on, just little things here or there with Laura and Daryl.
In the next few chapters though, we'll be seeing more and more of how the group is dealing with having a walker with them... Which will be interesting. :3

The group woke up rather early and waited until there was enough light before they started moving.

In the morning Daryl had gotten up and finished making the sign for Sophia, it was on the windshield of a car and there were supplies, food, water, and things to keep warm with piled on the hood.

Laura just kept an eye out, since her talk with Andrea, she felt just a little bit closer to the group, more of an emotional investment in them. She couldn't help but fear the day they faced the full force of the walkers though. They hadn't experienced a real horde, not just a docile herd, but an angry horde.

She didn't want them to find out, she wanted them to be lucky and never cross paths with a horde.

Laura climbed off the top of the RV, they were planning on moving soon and she didn't want to get caught on top of the moving RV. When her feet hit the ground, she began running into people.

Andrea, Daryl, and Dale were all attempting a final scavenge of the cars around them, just trying to pick out whatever they could in the last few minutes.

Smirking, Laura went over to the bike and sat on the back seat, she didn't want to ride with anyone but Daryl if she could help it. If he didn't want her to ride with him, she'd leave him alone, but she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to ride with Daryl or on the bike.

She really loved riding on the bike. It was invigorating, the open ride.

When Daryl came back and saw her sitting on the bike, he grinned. She was giddy since their moment in the woods, she didn't want to dote on him, act like she couldn't live without being around him, but she did want to spend time around him while he did whatever it is he does all the time. Hunting, searching, scavenging, she didn't care, she just liked him being near.

When the others got in the RV, she knew it was time to go and readied herself for the ride. Daryl got on in front of her, starting up the bike it roared as it came to life. Laura held onto Daryl as they pulled out of the car graveyard.

The RV had enough room to turn around, but Daryl had parked and waited for it to catch up to them.

After a few minutes of watching the road yacht turn around on the highway, they were finally moving. She kept an eye out for the road the woman on horseback mentioned, it was Fairburn. Couldn't have been too far away, the woman was on a horse and it wasn't too long after the gunshot they heard that she had arrived.

Soon enough, they found the street and lead the RV down it. Two miles, that's what she said. Mailbox with Greene on it. Laura kept an eye out and after a little while of riding, Daryl had slowed down and began to check mailboxes too.

When they saw the Greene mailbox, Laura was thrilled at the prospect of reuniting with the others. She wanted to offer her support to Rick and Lori, with Carl being shot they were probably suffering a great deal.

Of course, so was Carol, but Laura wasn't sure what the woman thought about her walker past and wasn't about to make the woman more uncomfortable then she already was in case she didn't approve of her.

They pulled up to a gate and Laura got off the bike, unlocked the gate and swung it open. The bike drove in and the RV close behind. Laura closed and locked the gate again, making sure it was secure. Daryl had stopped the bike in front of the RV and she ran up, hopped back on, and they were on their way down the dirt path to what they all hoped was where their group was at.

Laura could see the farmhouse now, it was a classic styled country home straight out of a southern magazine. She smiled, she loved the open fields and she could see the stable at her distance.

Daryl parked his bike in front of the house, the RV and SUV right behind them. The dismounted the bike and everyone began piling out of the farmhouse. Laura was so relived to see them. There were other people she didn't recognize and, while Dale approached Rick, she pulled her jacket back on and yanked her hood up as fast as she could.

There was still another question on her mind, Carl had been shot and he wasn't in sight.

"How is he?" The question on everyone's mind.

"He'll pull through." Laura's eyes rolled shut, she was happy to hear Carl was alright. That he would make it. "Thanks to Hershel and his people." Lori was looking to the older man, one of the strangers. "And Shane. We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Rick brought up and Laura looked around for a moment before her eyes caught sight of the man.

To put it lightly, he looked terrible. He was in clothing three times his size, a shaved head, and was looking extremely distressed. Laura was concerned, he may have wanted her dead, he may still want her dead, but she cared about the group and the group meant Shane too.

Dale didn't comment any further, just stepped forward and gave Rick a hug, Carol went up to Lori and hugged her also. "Thank God, we were so worried." Laura wouldn't have blamed the woman had she just ignored the news about Carl with her own daughter out there missing. She had a right to be worried sick about Sophia.

And still she managed to put on a strong face for Lori and help support the woman.

"How'd it happen?" Rick sighed, "A hunting accident. That's all, just a... stupid accident."

Before Laura knew it, she was listening to Rick explain the event. How he, Shane, and Carl were in the woods and there was a buck. Carl went up to the buck to get a closer look and it stayed still. Perfectly still, like it was waiting for him.

Then there was a gunshot, the buck fell, and so did Carl.

The man who shot the buck was out hunting and the bullet passed straight through the buck and hit Carl on the other side. The man's name was Otis and he brought Rick, Carl, and Shane back to the Greene farm where Hershel had tended to the bullet wound.

In an emergency, Otis and Shane went out to get medical supplies from the town school. Unfortunately, it was overrun and Otis didn't make it back. He died to save the life of the little boy he'd shot on accident.

They were actually just about to have his funeral, his wife, Patricia was one of the women who Laura noted was crying.

Laura felt she was punched in the gut. She was happy Carl was going to live, but Sophia was still missing and Hershel lost one of his people. Things looked a little grim, if not for Carl's recovery.

They all left to a place under some nearby trees on the property. They didn't have Otis' body to bury and instead began piling rocks to make a grave site.

Laura helped, just the little bit that she could until the rocks were all stacked neatly to commemorate Otis, who sacrificed himself to save Carl. She didn't know the man, but decided that she liked him. He died to right a wrong, one that was a complete accident, but he still died for it. He clearly wasn't an everyday person. Dying to save someone he didn't know.

The young Greene girl placed the last rock and rejoined her family.

Everyone stood around the rocks, Laura was next to Glenn and Daryl while she listened to Hershel read from the Bible. She never read anything from the Bible and wasn't religious herself, but paid respects to their belief and to Otis.

"Blessed be God, father of our lord, Jesus Christ." The Greene boy came up and placed another rock on the grave. "Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis. For his span of years. For his abundance of character. Otis, who gave his life to save a child's; now more then ever our most precious asset. We thank you God for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived. In grace."

Laura sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, she felt particularly cold here. "Shane. Will you speak for Otis?" Hershel requested, "I'm not good at it. I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him, you shared his final moments." Patricia was crying, but was strong enough to ask about Otis' death. "Please. I need to know his death had meaning."

She looked at Shane, he was struggling. She figured that if she watched someone's final moments she would to, but then again, Shane was acting strangely. "We were about done. Almost outta' ammo, we were down to pistols by then. I was limpin' bad. Ankle all swollen up." Shane paused, taking a deep shaky breath. "We gotta' save the boy. See that's what he said. He gave me his backpack, he shoved me ahead. Run he said, I'll take the rear, I'll cover you. An' when I looked back..."

Shane stepped up, taking a rock from the wheelbarrow. "If not for Otis I woulda' never made it out alive. That goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both..." He put the rock on the pile. "If any death ever had meaning, it was his."

After the funeral, everyone had a job to do. Apparently, Hershel had a map of the surrounding area. Rick, Shane, Andrea, and Daryl were all going to take a look at the map and plan out a better way to search for Sophia.

Laura wasn't the best idea to going it alone, she couldn't navigate to save her life. She'd just get lost. She'd wait until they were done planning to ask if she could go with someone, help them. More eyes to look and all that.

However, once they were done, Rick walked away with Hershel, Shane was definitely not going to be the one she asked, and Andrea was stalking off pissed about one thing or another.

She grinned, Daryl was the last one there, taking a last look at the map and he was alone, as per usual. However, Laura felt like she'd smother him if every time he went out she asked to go with him. Instead, if he wanted her to come with, he would say something, otherwise, this time at least, she wouldn't interfere.

Right as Laura went to find something else to do, she froze. Daryl out there alone, in the woods, with no one to watch his back. Walkers could be out there, a herd could come by. Something could happen. He could find something.

Laura groaned, annoyed. He'd survived this long just fine, he used to go on hunts alone all the time. That first night she was in camp with the group, he was out for nearly two whole days before coming back. He was hunting a deer.

That got eaten by a walker. She huffed, angry at herself for worrying so much. He can take care of himself. He's a grown damn man who is fully capable of taking care of himself.

Laura watched him leaning over the map, planning his search. Then why am I losing my head over this?

"Got somethin' you want or are you just starin' again?" She winced, she was staring this entire time and wanted to smack herself for it. She'd scare him off if she was honest about worrying over him so much. They only just started out, going off the deep end because he's doing the exact same thing he was doing before she came along would be a rather unnerving thing to mention.

Instead, she smiled like nothing was wrong. "Can't help myself. You're like a magnet to my eyes." He smirked, glancing up from the map. "Oh yeah? Well, you're not half bad either."

She laughed at that. "Aw, thanks. That's so kind."

"You got a real reason, 'cause I know that look on your face." He didn't look up this time. "What look?"

He stood straight, his eyes meeting hers. "That look. Ya' got somethin' on your mind. Say it, ain't gonna' be here all day. Gotta' get out there an' look."

Laura rolled her eyes, of course he could read her like an open book. Andrea told her just last night that she was a bad liar. "I was hopin' to go out there an' help today. Searchin' for Sophia, lend my hand. Looks like all the others ain't goin' though."

"There a problem that you ain't comin' with me?" He looked normal, to everyone else, but Laura could tell he was thinking about something that bothered him again. "Not a problem with you, just didn't want to become an overbearin' gal an' start followin' you around everywhere. Gettin' in the way an' start annoyin' you."

"Girl, you don't annoy me. If you got in my way, I'd move you." Daryl was done with the map and came up to Laura. "'Sides, someone's gotta' keep an eye on you. Might wander off, get lost again."

"That was an accident." Laura glared playfully, "Yeah well, ya still got lost an' not even that far from the group. Need to work on your trackin' skills."

She nodded, "There's somethin' we can agree on. Trackin', huntin', and navigatin' my way through the woods. All useful knowledge to have, all of which I have none of."

"Work on that while we're out." Daryl pointed out to the trees, "Headin' out that way, be ready in a few minutes. Got somethin' needs takin' care of first. Meet ya' at the house."

Laura gave an affirming smile and walked to the RV. Her bags were inside and so were the weapons they had used when searching for Sophia the other day. She found the weapons easily, they were all laid out on the table inside the RV.

She found a hatchet, she liked them more then the other awkwardly shaped blades and the machete wasn't there. She put the handle through her belt, the head of the hatchet held it up and in place safely.

Shifting through her bag she grabs a bottle of water and drank down half of it. She hadn't eaten in a few days now, she needed to remedy that if she was ever to look healthy again.

Running her hands down her face, she stepped into the bathroom, the small mirror was enough for her to inspect herself.

Her face and body was beginning to regain weight, but she was still unnaturally thin. The way Laura saw it, if she could see her ribs, then she was unhealthy. She needed more weight to look normal.

Turning on the water, she wiped down her face, all the grime and dirt washed off easily. She didn't like how dry it felt. It was mostly mud from when she had fallen into the creek when chasing after Sophia.

She ran a brush through her hair, pulling out knots, leaves, rocks, and small clumps of dirt. Laura decided she missed the CDC showers.

Laura left the RV with the hatchet at her hip and pulled up her hood again. She didn't know the Greene family and wasn't about to risk getting killed after she finally found a group that actually accepted her, more or less.

She jogged to the farmhouse where Daryl was standing in front of waiting for her. Had I taken that long? He nodded to her when she neared. "Ready?" He looked over her, he saw the hatchet. "Yeah, I'm good."

They went in the direction Daryl pointed in earlier, he wasn't too concerned about walkers as he was walking through the woods rather relaxed. Laura enjoyed seeing him not on edge for once.

Both of them kept an eye out around them, watching for Sophia mainly, but walkers were a side concern of Laura's. She would watch for Sophia, of course, but she was mostly worried about the walkers.

And Daryl being edible to them. She bit her lip, she hated thinking of him like this, like he couldn't take care of himself, but it was part of the reasons he liked him so much. He can take care of himself expertly well. He chose to stay with the group, to help them when they asked for it. He even fed them, hunted for them, protected them.

Laura didn't so much care when he was with the group, but out here, with walkers? Suddenly life became a little harder.

He noticed her too, even though he hadn't said anything. That look she gave him wasn't just staring, it was her watching over him. Laura knew he understood that she didn't have to even think about walkers when she was out, they had no desire to eat one of their own.

He did though, he had to constantly think about them, watch for them, fight them. It was survival and Laura hated that he had to survive like this. If it weren't for the others, Laura would consider his life animalistic.

However, what Andrea said last night stuck with Laura.

If Daryl was bitten and he faced turning, would Laura try to revive him like she had been? Would she put that on him? It wasn't the greatest life, it wasn't normal and it hurt, but Laura wasn't sure if she could bring herself putting him in that kind of a situation.

Laura looked at Daryl, imagining what he'd look like if he got bitten and was revived like her. It was unnatural, she didn't much care for her appearance but was wary around other people because of it. Understandably too.

He caught her eyes and held her gaze until she looked away. Damn his eyes. When he wanted to, he could unnerve her just by looking at her.

"You're still starin'. We ain't startin' a lesson yet girl, relax." He chastised, but she could hear his smirk. It was smug, almost all knowing. She couldn't say what she was thinking, it was such a strange thing to think about.

"Well, when are we startin'. I'm gettin' restless." She gave him a big smile right back, casually joking off her previous thoughts. She didn't want to think on them anymore, she was here with him now, if a walker happened by then they could deal with it. Laura could deal with it.

He wouldn't get bit, not when she was around.

"It ain't now, gotta' look for that little girl." He answered, Laura just nodded, "But that ain't what you're starin' for. You're a bad liar."

Laura scoffed, "An' what makes you think I'm lyin'?"

"You joke around when you got somethin' on your mind." Dammit. It was her diversion tactic, but it was obviously just making things worse. "Sometimes you bite your lip, other times you start frownin' real hard. Those just mean you're thinkin' about somethin' that's botherin' you, but it's the jokin' that tells me that you're lyin'."

Laura was frowning, she was doing it right now. She shook her head, "Gotta' stop readin' me so well. Else I'll never get away with nothin'."

"Ain't nothin' you need to hide from me, you got somethin' buggin' you, just say it." He wasn't even looking at her still, he was focused on the path ahead of them. Laura was unsure, she didn't want to be the girl who unloads years of baggage first thing. She told him about her parents, but those were mostly old wounds. She dealt with them a long time ago, but these things were new. Walkers, being bit, turning, hunting, the group, everything was so alien to her.

"I was..." Laura looked down and fiddled with the zipper of her jacket. "I just got to worryin'. 'Bout you bein' out here, alone, when there could be walkers. An' I know it's stupid to worry 'cause you are more then capable of takin' care of yourself, but... I dunno'. I'm just not used to carin' about somebody especially in a world where other people want to eat you. I mean, that just ain't right. So I worry."

"You worry 'bout me?"

It was a simple question, but it made Laura stammer. "W-well, kinda'. The walkers... you... Things happen y'know. You can't account for everythin'. I care, I really do, and don't want to have to find out you got bit or eaten." When Laura looked up, there was a grin on Daryl's face. It had been plastered there the whole time. "What?"

He glanced to her, "Ain't nothin', darlin'." He was actually reeling from her telling him she cared. It was the first time anyone ever said that to him, that they cared about his safety. That wasn't Merle at least and even then.

There was Laura, a girl he just met a few days ago and had shared a few intimate moments with caring about him. He liked the thought, he was enthralled by it. He kept hearing her say it in his head, she cared.

"Ain't nothin' my ass. Whatever, but that wasn't the only thing I was thinkin' about. If you're up to listenin' a little longer." He looked at her straight, giving her his answer.

"I was worryin' about you gettin' bit so much that I started to think... if you got bit... if I can actually help people after they turn... Would I revive you?" Laura hated the question, it sounded like she wanted him to get bitten.

"What do ya' mean would you? I ain't plannin' on gettin' bit or dyin' anytime soon, but if there was a way to survive bein' bit, that I would." Daryl shrugged, "Just ain't ready to roll over yet."

"I mean, think about it, I wouldn't be revivin' you to what you are now, you'd be like me." Laura pulled down her hood, she forgot she was wearing it again around the Greene family. "Would you really want to come back as a walker? You'll remember it all, everythin', that doesn't go away. I just wondered. Would you prefer to be undead or if you were bit and goin' to die, would you rather just pass instead of facin' everyday as part of the undead?"

Daryl was about to answer, but they broke the treeline to see an old farmhouse with a faded red roof. He pulled his crossbow into his hands and waved her along.

It was mostly just overgrown grass between them and the farmhouse and a few tall bushes. As they neared the house, Laura put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. He looked to her hand, then to her.

"Let me go first, check the first floor for walkers." She stepped ahead of him, he was hesitant, but knew that if there were any walkers the only person they'd be biting was him. He nodded and followed her to the doors.

Laura swung them open and looked around. The hallway was clear, the stairs empty. She dodged into a room off to the left, it was almost completely bare. Whoever lived here before had went ahead and cleared out the house until there was just about nothing left.

So far neither of the rooms she checked had any surprises. Old walls, old furniture, and old fixtures. No walkers whatsoever.

She came back down the hallway to see Daryl entering a room off to the opposite side she checked. His crossbow aimed firmly ahead of him as he stalked the room. Laura just went in without a care, no walkers so far on the entire first floor.

Daryl had gone over to the trash can and picked something up, smelling it before pouring out the liquid into the trash. He brought his crossbow back up when he saw a door ahead of him. Laura stepped in front of it, halting him. She pulled it open and it was just a pantry with a few canned goods still inside.

He had noticed something she hadn't though, he pointed it out. It was a small pallet made out of worn blankets and pillows. It was just barely big enough for someone Sophia's size.

Laura smiled, that was real progression. They must've been on the right trail. The pallet on the floor looked newer then the rest of the house, it wasn't dusty and covered in dirt, it had been used recently. At least, within the last day or so.

Daryl left the floor after it was cleared, he went out the back door. "Sophia!" Laura turned and headed out of the building too, watching Daryl call for Sophia as he checked around the farmhouse.

He went around one corner of the house, calling for Sophia. He turned around and was going to the other side when he paused for a moment. He was looking at something but Laura didn't know what. He approached whatever it was he was looking at and Laura was close behind him.

Kneeling in front of a flower, Daryl picked one of the fully bloomed flowers and stood back up.

He didn't say a word the whole way back and Laura wasn't going to make him, he looked in deep thought, with that flower in his hand. He could read her well, but Daryl wasn't very good at hiding his own thoughts when they were so heavy that they distracted him so much so that he wasn't even paying attention to the path.

They made it back to the farmhouse fine, but he walked right up to the RV with the flower in hand. "Just gimme' a minute." He said before entering the RV.

Laura wasn't going to dote, he wanted some room and she was more then happy to give it. So she took a deep breath and went back to the farmhouse, making sure to pull her hood up before running into any of the Greene's.

She planned on making herself useful around the farm in anyway she could. Later on, she'd pitch her tent. For now, she found herself crossing paths with Glenn and one of the the Greene daughters on horseback. Glenn grinning like a monkey.

Laura shook her head and found everyone had set up their tents and all distracted elsewhere.

She bit her lip again, hating that Daryl was right, she did it whenever she was thinking hard about something. Right now, she was thinking about Sophia, the Greene family, and how the group was holding up.

Laura hadn't spoken to most of them since she told them about herself. She was hoping that was because she was busy with other things and they were too, rather then avoiding her.

Then, when she saw Lori exiting the farmhouse, Laura was about to head over to see if there was anything she could do. Lori looked up, saw Laura, and froze in place. Laura slowed down to a stop. Lori was alarmed, worried, about Laura approaching her.

Laura took the hint and backed away.

She saw Shane then, who was sending her a very stern look that just told Laura she shouldn't head in that general direction. Ever. So she turned around again and there was T-Dog.

She grinned, she liked T-Dog and he didn't seem so apprehensive about her when she told them. Neither had Glenn.

When she started walking to him, it was a whole different story. He did the same thing Lori did and froze up when he noticed her coming his way. He was about to drink some bottled water too, but stopped midway when his eyes caught her. He had pulled her away from Shane... but that was before she explained she was a walker at one point and still was to a certain extent.

Laura sighed and tried to look around, but there was the Greene family who Laura didn't feel particularly comfortable with just yet and everyone else wasn't exactly showing her hospitality.

Shane and Andrea were at a table, Andrea being one of the three people she could talk to. Rick was inside with Carl and Laura didn't want a repeat of what happened after leaving the CDC that day, so she stayed away.

Daryl was off being Daryl somewhere and she didn't think it a good idea to just hound him because he was one of the few that tolerated her.

She was being shunned by the group now. She accepted it, nothing new and something she could handle. When they were available, she'd talk to Andrea, Rick, or Daryl, whomever she could to find out if she could be useful to them.

Useful as in working around the farm and actually producing something of value rather then just walking into rooms with walkers and telling them what was where.

They had no use for her now though, nobody was keen on having her around on account of her walker state.

"They are separating you, pushing you away so they can kill you later." Laura turned and left the camp quickly, the Voice was back again and it wasn't angry, but it was actually having a bad effect on her. "Get them alone, just one of them, all it takes is a little nibble and you'll feel all better."

Laura shook her head quickly, trying to knock the thoughts out of her head.

When she heard nothing, no suggestions of cannibalism again, Laura slumped down at the base of a tree and just watched life go by. Enjoying how the humans went back and forth.

Andrea was wrong, at least partially, she wasn't one of them, she wasn't really human. More like a walker imitating human life.

She brushed her fingers along the hatchet at her hip, sitting and watching them all rush to and fro, they shunned her away and she ran away. Hiding under the shadow of a very large and very old tree.

There she would sit for hours until night came and everyone started packing it in and going to bed.