Well my wonderful readers and reviewers, we are back again! I just started my new school a couple days ago, loving it already, and it still leaves me time to write which I'm infinitely glad about. I'll just say up front this chapter is somewhat fluffy, a reprieve from some of the zombie gore we are so accustomed to in this show, but I promise it'll be back before you know it ;) Enjoy!
ry123red: Another great chapter! I love how Fox almost kicked Shane's ass. lol. At the part where it said, "and now her stiletto was pressed against his throat." for a split second I was like, what? she's wearing high heels? haha. Anyways, I'm glad Fox would never ask Daryl to choose between her and the group. I think it's just more proof that she really cares about him. And at the very end, where Fox almost started writing a song about Daryl was so great. I'm actually really starting to like her character more as she begins to soften a little, without losing her wild, untamed streak of course. Can't wait for the next chapter!
I'm so glad Fox is growing on you. I wrote her to be bristly and hard to like at first but as she spends more time with Daryl and the group as a whole she's starting to change. But there where always be a hard edge to her, a bite that she just can't let go of because its just who she is. And yes, a peak into Fox's mind would reveal a world seen through the eyes of a lyricist, a trait I share in common with her.
hayleyjune13: Lmao, I say hot damn all the time watching the show,lol! But oh my gosh, why haven't you killed Shane yet?! :p
Lol, I haven't killed Shane yet because he has a purpose he must fulfill. As do all the characters in this story. I recently changed up the list of people I have on the chopping block, and when they die, but of course I can't give that away, that would spoil all the fun XD
Emberka-2012: I like that Fox does not want Daryl chose between her and the group.
Well actually, there is a part of her that does want Daryl to choose between her and the group, however, she cares about him enough to not be that selfish. After the experience of her acting on her selfish impulse with Glenn, and narrowly avoiding that potential disaster, she doesn't want to risk it. Plus, she doesn't want to face the possible rejection if Daryl would choose the group over her. But deep down there is a true altruism at work, she does want what's best for Daryl and she believes it to be staying with the group.
FanFicGirl10: Love that Fox went all badass on Shane, you show him girl :) I like that Fox has Daryl to relly on no matter what ;) Great chapter, Update Soon!
Lol, I couldn't resist adding that in. Shane likes to pick fights with people, well he found one in her alright. And yes, Fox is continuing to rely on Daryl more and more although she doesn't realize it consciously yet.
NEVSTER: Yet another excellent chapter. My only criticism is that you mentioned T-Dog at the parking lot section when he'd been engulfed by that crowd of Walkers at the plantation. HE CAME BACK TO LIFE. REAL life, NOT Walker life, haha xD I DID say in my chapter 17 review that I wanted people to hate Fox, including Daryl, after those events. However, you've flipped my mind round as you do so very often (how naughty!). I really want to see some friendship form between Maggie and Fox, it would be nice to see her not restrict herself to Daryl at times. There seemed to be a connection between them in the RV when Fox looked into her eyes. It makes me believe that one or two friendships are beginning to branch off of this root. I love the hate between Fox and Shane. I hated Shane myself when he was alive in the TV series - let the Walkers have him! It would be awesome to see a big event involving Shane occur, perhaps with the SUV convoy he discovered. When he's in danger (hopefully resulting in death because I'm evil and I DO NOT LIKE HIM). Or he could disappear and nobody would know... I'll hide the evidence myself! Finally, it's a great idea to go up North, a decision that I don't think is mentioned in the TV series. I love how you make it different to the comics and series, only adding in a few key pieces of information - any resemblance is purely coincidental. I've not yet found another Fic to read while I'm eagerly anticipating the next chapter of yours that is as good as yours. I've become so attached to the characters, especially Fox, that it feels weird to go onto a different OC including Fic. We can see your writing journey go along with the group's journey - there are improvements every time. You should be proud, very proud. Do excuse my awfully long review, and one last question. How did the herd find the plantation? Did Shane lead them there on purpose? Because it seemed like he tried to lure them there when the rest of the group were vulnerable and he could make a quick getaway. Hmm...
Lol, editing fail! I thought I had caught all of those little errors but no one is infallible. And I'm glad I was able to change your mind about Fox, to me that really helps me believe my writing skills are sharp and effective at what I want to convey and have my audience feel, so thank you for telling me that! And that was a wonderful suggestion you made about having Fox hopefully make friends with other people in the camp besides Daryl. That thought really hadn't actually occurred to me and I assumed it would happen naturally over time, but then I realized Fox is perfectly comfortable with just one person, and she would have to force herself to try and be friends with someone else, which she actually needs to do, so if something should ever go wrong with her and Daryl's relationship, she has more roots to help anchor her to the group because with her, there is always that fear that she is an outsider and will be kicked out. As far as Shane's potential demise…am I the only one who feels slightly bad for the guy? I could understand why, he was rather evil in the show (I hated how he threatened Dale and went behind Rick's back when it came to Lori and Carl) but I can kind of see where he is coming from, at least in some things. I'm so glad I can keep you wanting more, it means a lot to me as a writer to think that my readers are eagerly anticipating my next posting. You shower me with such wonderful reviews, I feel so jealous, and just a little bad for all the other writers out there who don't get such amazing messages in their inboxes every few days, so please, feel free to write as much as you want! I love long reviews! As far as the herd finding the plantation, Shane didn't lead them there, at least not on purpose. They were attracted to the multiple fires from the SUV convoy group, but by the time they arrived Shane and the group had gone their separate ways, but they saw Shane heading back, and Shane saw them and ran for it to hopefully get to the plantation in time to warn the others. Shane, for all of his flaws, wouldn't put Lori or Carl in danger if he could help it.
Emerald Gaze: well if rick isn't gonna call the dog to heel i guess fox'll have to teach that dog a new trick i liked that you mentioned that daryl slept with the knife still in his hand... though he hasn't been using it very much. i suppose he uses it more in hunting. i also liked that the kids voted and were counted i hope to see more of them 'pulling their weight' so to say. also andrea being brought back from his suicide contemplation by maggie losing her sister and staying strong. now there is someone that knows knows exactly what she's going through and they're still managing to stay strong so she really doesn't have much of an excuse now. i have to say i've never really liked andrea and that applies here as well, really it's either her or lori, but mostly her, that just inspires hate from people. with winter coming daryl and fox will have the perfect excuse to be all cuddled up later, need for warmth and all !
And Fox is more than willing to teach that bad dog a new thing or two. I could definitely see Daryl sleeping with his knife in his hand. Its a fast, convenient weapon. I was very surprised that he continued to use the crossbow in the series because while it is quieter than a gun, it takes a long time to re-load and the bolts for it are hard to come by. But nonetheless he continues to use it effectively, so I keep it in the story. And as far as Andrea is concerned, I continue to toggle between disliking her and liking her. I like the fact that she is willing to fight for what she wants and that she doesn't want to be a victim, but how she continues to go about is not such a good thing. And yes, cold weather has a wonderful way of bringing people together ;)
X23 Maximoff: Oooooooh my lanta. Love. Love everything that's happened since I last had a chance to review. The characterization. The mix up between Shane and the other group. The overrunning by the herd. Fox. Daryl. Feels. I wish I could write you the million word review that you deserve, but I'm too overwhelmed by everything I just read to accurately describe how much I enjoy this story. Please update soon! -XM
Awwww, I'm glad to see you back again anyhow! Feel free to write me as much as you want if and when you find your words, meanwhile I will continue to look forward to your reviews as always, and I hope I can continue to keep you drawn in =)
"Hey, time to get up."
Fox's husky voice was soft and blurry in his ear as Daryl's eyes slowly worked their way open. Instinctively his fingers tightened on his knife to make sure it was still there but when his eyes adjusted and he saw Fox crouched down next to him he eased his grip and began to pry himself off the floor.
"Did you sleep at all?" he asked rubbing crust out of his eyes wishing like hell for some coffee or a cold shower.
"Just until Shane came back from watch. I'm ok though, I'm used to running on only a couple hours."
"The trade off go ok?" he asked her as he wormed his way out from his sleeping bag and began to roll it up.
She nodded. "Yeah, it was fine. Shane and I had a little chat." She twirled her dagger between her fingers and he noted the way the blade and her eyes had the same cool glint to them. His gaze darkened and so did hers, but that glint was still there and he knew it was more than what she said.
"Do I want to know?" he asked as he began to roll his sleeping bag up, his wrists and spine cracking a little as he stretched and flexed the stiffened joints.
She shrugged. "It was a lot less than he deserved. Don't worry. I'm fine. I can handle myself with him. I know better now."
He resisted the urge to argue with her. She was fine. If she wasn't…if something had happened, he would have woken up. He took a deep breath in and nodded and she gave him a thin smile, folding up the blankets she had used last night and following him outside to the RV where they stashed them in one of the cupboards, stuffing and pushing to get it all to fit. When they came back to the house Fox unrolled the map and sat down on the floor again to study it one last time, but she also rummaged in her bag for a comb and began to work through the tangles in the strands.
"Will your hair turn pink eventually?" he asked as he watched her work, her eyes continually focused on the map.
She sighed slightly. "Sooner than later. Look at this." She said, lifting up the ends by her chest and examining them, which were indeed almost a magenta pink color. There was only a small vestige of red left on the top of her head, broken up by dark brown roots. "Disgraceful." She lightly teased herself, but he could see the way her eyes crinkled slightly at the edges.
"Why's it so important to you?" It wasn't accusatory, he really was just curious. It was just hair after all, it wasn't like it made that much of a difference.
She shrugged her shoulders again. "I guess it shouldn't be, considering the world as we knew it no longer exists. But when it was around…the way I looked helped me feel stronger. Tougher. If I could look like a bad-ass rock star, it made it easier for me to act like one when the time came." She ran the comb through the strands again, looking back down at the map. "I got out of some sticky situations just bluffing."
She set the comb aside and pulled her hair around front and began to fashion it in a braid, the shorter layers unable to reach into the main mass, still framing her face. When finished she pulled a hair band out from her bag and tied it tightly.
"I was never so good at bluffing." He admitted quietly. "I'd rather just make that son of a bitch sorry he tried to mess with me."
Her lips twitched into a thin smirk. "Yeah, I can see that." She said. She let her fingertips trace a small scar on his arm and his skin tingled pleasantly at the contact. "But when you got your little sister huddled at your legs and your mom's drunk off her ass and you really just need to get home, you'd rather not try and scrap, you know what I mean?"
He nodded. He wondered if Merle had ever felt like that sometimes- trying to be responsible for both their father and his little brother. He wondered too if maybe that was part of what had driven Merle to smoke mind altering chemicals like a chimney and take off with sluts for days at a time.
They heard movement upstairs and also coming from the back end of the hall and Fox arched one eyebrow at him. "Couldn't have hoped for much more." She said before rolling up the map. He knew what she meant. She'd been hoping for more time alone. In an uncharacteristic movement he let his shoulder gently lean against hers.
"Sooner we get going the better." He told her. She nodded and tried to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear but it was still too short. She let it fall like a halo over her forehead and eyes and was reminded of how long his own hair was starting to get. Before too much longer he'd need to at least get it trimmed, if only to keep it out of his eyes. He had no idea how Fox could deal with her bangs constantly half in and half out of her vision.
Just then the back bedroom doors creaked open and Maggie and Glenn appeared. The next to appear were Carol and Sophia, one by one everyone slowly emerged rubbing sleep out of their eyes, stretching sore muscles and pushing less than clean hair out of their faces as they waited for Rick to see whether he would allow for breakfast.
"I know we're all hungry." He started, his voice raspy from probably having just woken up. His eyes swept over the group's disappointed faces but he held firm anyway. Daryl's stomach growled but he didn't try to argue with the man. What food they had needed to be conserved as much as possible. They had no idea what they might find in the days to come.
"But we're back on strict rations. As we travel we'll scavenge along the way, but we have to be careful with the supplies we have. Winter will be here before we know it. So for now we have to just muscle through."
"I still think this whole thing is a mistake." Shane said, leaning up against one of the walls, his pistol visibly tucked into the front of his pants. Fox pointedly didn't look at him and unsheathed one of her little knives, spinning it in her fingers. Daryl kept his gaze focused on both Rick and Shane, watching and gaging both men's reactions.
Rick for his part seemed calm but there was an unyielding grate of authority when he answered. "The group voted, majority wins Shane. The sooner we get underway the sooner we get to our final destination. Fox, did you memorize the route we're taking towards Camden?" He turned towards the redhead who looked up from her knife.
"Yeah. Along with two alternates in case something is impassible or dangerous. The back road we're on will be longer, but it's the safest bet we've got. We want the fuel to last, so nobody drive cruise control and hover at between fifty-five and sixty mph. That will get the most mileage out of all the vehicles, even the RV."
"Where'd you learn this stuff?" Lori asked as she swept tired fingers through her tangled hair.
"I grew up on the road. One learns these things when your income consists of change pulled from mall fountains and you have to travel on the cheap." Fox responded. There was no trace of sharpness in her tone but Lori's eyes were still surprised. Fox just grinned and while Daryl recognized it as a self-satisfied smirk, he could tell Lori was unsettled.
They all finished packing up in a hurry and Daryl kicked his bike to life, appreciating the warmth of the motor and the growl of the engine as the machine hummed underneath him. The cool misty morning air helped to make him feel more awake and when Fox swung up behind him he was grateful for her presence.
She navigated them the whole day, crossing state lines into South Carolina (which just by looking at the country side you'd never be able to tell the difference between the two states) and continuing up north, occasionally veering off their lonely back road in order to clear a tangle of abandoned cars. Walkers growled and snarled and moved their undead bodies for the first time in maybe weeks as the convoy blew past, leaving them in the dusty heat of the highway before continuing on northwards until Fox finally signaled for them to stop in a small parking lot next to an electric transformer surrounded by a cluster of trees. Up ahead was finally an end in sight to the endless rows of pine trees and scattered street signs. It was the convergence of a highway and the interstate, along with where they were going to scrounge for gasoline and food if possible.
"Its right up the road, half a mile at most." Fox said when they gathered around the hood of one of the trucks. She had the map laid out again, pointing to the small dot on the map that indicated their stop. "I can't tell from this the layout, but knowing the south, there will be a string of buildings and one major parking lot. The onramp to the interstate is towards the west, east will be our highway that will continue to swing north. I've been in Camden before, there are old plantation houses that might be abandoned, but honestly, this area is probably crawling with Walkers. I think we'd be better off refueling and just driving through the night."
"We gotta sleep sometime." Shane muttered. He'd been doing most of the driving throughout the day and even though Fox bristled inwardly at his words, she had to agree with his statement. The only thing keeping her awake right now was the perpetual wind from the speed of the bike.
"I think she's right." Carol said, wrapping her arms around herself, rubbing her palms against her bare arms. Sophia stuck close to her mother, and to Carl. Lori was within arm's reach of her son while Rick stood opposite them, staring down at the map carefully.
"Is there any place safe we might be able to sleep in this area? Within say an hour of driving distance?" It was Glenn now and if anybody really looked haggard besides Rick, it was him. Daryl could understand, he was a like a rabbit on speed thanks to his nervous energy.
Fox ran a tired hand through her hair. "There's no telling what might be on our road. Again knowing the South there's probably homes along this path but how far apart they might be or the number of Walkers that might be in the area, there's just no way to know. I can stay awake as long as the rest of you so don't worry about that. If we keep going on the road we've been on, it will take us up through North Carolina into the mountains. I guarantee you it will be more isolated there, safer for us to stop. It's like the quarry outside Atlanta. Safe, but we can't stay there permanently."
"Alright, that's where we make for. We stay on our current road and drive until we find somewhere suitable for us. At our current pace we should reach Appalachia by tomorrow evening. No one drives alone to make sure that whoever is driving doesn't fall asleep. Honk your horn once if you need to change drivers. For now we go get gas if there is any and supplies from the rest stop up ahead."
They all saddled up again but Daryl watched with curiosity when Andrea didn't get back into the RV with Dale, instead climbing into the Jeep with Shane. She pacified the old man with a few terse words which left him all but shaking his head at her. He went back into the RV with Carol and Sophia and Daryl made for his bike.
"I wondered how long it would take." Fox mused as she climbed back onto the motorcycle.
"They're just sharing a car." Daryl muttered.
"Bet you five bucks within a week and a half they'll be fucking each other's brains out in said car."
Daryl looked over his shoulder and smirked at her. "Two cups worth of the hidden stash of coffee you got in your bag and you got a bet."
She looked at him pretending to be offended, as if he had been going through her bag. In truth he hadn't gone through her things, on their last pit stop he'd seen her take a pinch of the powder out of its plastic bag and tuck it between her cheek and gum and chewed it like tobacco to extract some of the caffeine without water. He had shared his bike, and his bed, for almost the past month; she could give him some coffee in return.
"You're on."
The next entire week of travel went relatively smooth, only one or two close calls with Walkers as they darted from place to place to catch a few hours of sleep or to scarf something out of a can before hitting the road again. The air was starting to get colder the further North they moved and now that they were towards the northern portion of Virginia, Rick had decided it was time they find cold weather supplies. They'd stolen another map on their last stop, Fox still doing the vast majority of their navigating. Daryl worried about her a little, going on so little sleep, pulling on her hair to help keep her awake or biting at her lips, flexing her fingers restlessly. But she would just fix him with an amused stare and shrug off his concern.
"Right there!" Rick hissed as they huddled behind their vehicles outside of a strip mall, the only place in this small town they were likely to find the cold weather supplies. They were on a larger than average supply run and so they'd risked bringing their vehicles all the way into the parking lot itself. Lori, Carl, Sophia, Carol, and Dale were either in the RV or on its roof keeping watch, covering the others as they slowly began to creep around the vehicles towards the building.
A small horde of Walkers were milling in the parking lot, stumbling and staggering, old crusted blood smearing their faces, tattered clothes barely hanging on as grey skin peeled back and stretched in completely wrong ways as their jaws gnashed lazily.
"Kill them. Then we go inside. Fan out, if you run into trouble, don't be afraid to use your gun. But as soon as you do, run for the vehicles." Rick ordered. They all gave the man a sharp nod before gliding to their feet and heading for the mob.
Daryl stuck close to Fox as he took his buck knife and put it to good use, cracking skulls and stabbing it through the bone. They'd learned by now that the older a Walker was, the easier it was to kill. Without a regular supply of calcium their bones went soft and so stabbing through the skull wasn't as hard as it would have been on someone who was alive. If the body was relatively fresh, under the jaw or in the ear was the easiest point of entry. Fox usually just made short work of the bodies and whacked their heads clean off, ruthlessly efficient with her kukri knives. But she still used her little ones to throw as she demonstrated in this particular moment, slinging one with deadly accuracy and taking out a Walker that had just been about to sneak up on Andrea. The red-head jogged forward to retrieve her knife while Andrea pressed forward and the rest of the group took out the remaining Walkers in the parking lot. No more seemed drawn by the relatively quiet sound of the wholesale slaughter
They fanned out and took different stores of the strip mall, Fox, Daryl, and Andrea heading into a general store to gather any food or bottled water that was available.
"I'll check the stock room in the back and see what they have." Fox said before taking off that way while Daryl and Andrea scoured the front room for anything of use. They were picking through the isles when Daryl noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There were bottles and boxes of hair dye on the shelves, almost entirely untouched from the rest of the store which had already been somewhat picked over, likely by any survivors trying to flee town. He glanced around to make sure Fox was still in the back before he started rifling through them, seeing if there were any shades close to what she had when they first met.
"Looking for something specific?"
Daryl whipped around at the sound of Andrea's soft voice. He tried to get a response past his throat before she snickered with soft laughter but he was too late. He was about to tell her to shut the hell up when she deftly picked up a bottle of hair dye at the very bottom of the shelf, almost identical to the color Fox used to have.
"Never thought I'd see Daryl Dixon getting presents for someone else. Need wrapping paper and a bow too?" she teased lightly.
"Oh shut up Blondie, your roots are showing." He growled, taking the bottle from her and grabbing the last one just in case before stuffing it into the bottom of his bag. Andrea sighed but with quiet laughter as she tucked a few blonde strands behind her ear.
"It's sweet of you." She told him more seriously now. "Never thought I'd say that about you either."
"Yeah well, don't let on. I want it to be a surprise." He admitted grudgingly as they moved to other parts of the store.
She stared at him momentarily with surprise plastered to her face as the meaning of what he said sunk in. "I thought you were talking about the group as a whole. You really do care about her, don't you?"
He stopped and stared at her. "What clued you in Blondie?" he asked, as cynically and sarcastically as he could. Maybe he was being a little bit more open with his emotions but that didn't mean he was entirely comfortable with the whole group seeing. Not that it was going to stop him though.
"You don't even notice the rest of the group staring, just as long as she's happy. Just like the night at the plantation, after the herd. You held her hand in front of everybody, just to make her smile." Her blue eyes softened and she really smiled for the first time in so long Daryl had almost forgotten what it looked like on her face.
"It's good." She reiterated. "For you, for her, and for the rest of us." She went to go down another isle as Daryl started loading up on the canned goods. Daryl watched her step away out of sight and he had to wonder who else was thinking that him and Fox were something else except friends. It didn't really matter though, did it? The group either thought they were already sleeping together, or were headed down that road. At night at whatever shelter they could find Fox always stayed close to him and Daryl had started taking her shift during watch so she could sleep. It was almost ridiculous how sentimental…how soft…he was getting when it came to her. The hair dye in his bag was just more evidence to that claim.
Fuck it, Daryl. Who's around to call you a pussy? Ain't nothing you can do about it till they say it to your face, and even Shane's not that stupid.
Just then Fox came from around the back and he could see her bag was weighed down heavily. Her green eyes lit up as soon as she saw Daryl and she came over to him and showed him her loot.
"Medicine!" she said happily. "It's all over the counter but it's better than what we've found so far. Got some bandages and some canned food too. They even had rice, Glenn will be pleased." She said as she shouldered her bag again. "You guys find anything?"
"Yeah, more food, a few bottles of water." Andrea piped up. "More fishing twine, good thing too, we were getting low." She said with a fast glance at Daryl. "I'm gonna go put this in the RV and then go help the others." And with that she darted out the door. Fox quirked an eyebrow at Daryl who just shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't going to try and explain Andrea's sudden absence.
Fox double checked over the store to see if they had anything else worth taking and inevitably found the isle with the hair dye. She immediately began to paw through the boxes in an almost hungry fashion, searching for her shade. Daryl's eyes darted to the bottom shelf where hers had been and was thankful that he'd taken the last two bottles, leaving none there.
"Damn it. Why is blood red so hard to find?" she growled as she put a bottle of pink back with a snort of contempt.
Daryl shrugged. "Maybe cause the rest of the world don't want their skull to look like it's bleeding all the time." He baited
She rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove. "Screw you preacher's-pride-and-joy." She teased. She'd started calling him that every time he made a crack about her hair or her piercings. At first he hadn't realized she wasn't serious but now it was almost always the start of a playful wrestling match between the two. He wanted to spare a few minutes and wrangle her into submission until she huffed laughter and begged for mercy but out of the corner of his eye he could see Walkers drifting into the parking lot and he knew now wasn't the time.
They hurried back to the RV and put their loot inside and then went to assist Rick and Shane carrying out heavy duty tents, sleeping bags, and thermal blankets from a sporting good store.
"Guys, we better hurry!" Glenn all but whined as the Walkers started getting dangerously close.
"Fox, would you handle that?" Rick asked as he and Shane held one of the tents while Daryl ripped their thinner summer ones free of the back of the RV and tossed them into the parking lot to make room.
"I'm on it." The woman affirmed. She unsheathed her kukri knives and jogged towards the incoming mob. They began to spit and hiss and stretch their rotting arms out towards her and she employed the same strategy she'd been perfecting on the road. She would get close enough to one to lure it free of the group, skip backwards, slice it's head free, and then dart to the side to cull yet another member loose, going around and around in a circle until they were all dead or it was time to go. In this instance she just kept going until they were all dead.
"Rick, we need to move it!" Dale called from the roof of the RV, peering through his binoculars.
"What do you see?" the sheriff panted as he and Shane stuffed in the tents while Glenn passed some of the jackets, pairs of pants and other more winter appropriate clothes to Lori and Carol who found places for them to fit or took them to other cars.
"A herd, heading straight for us." The old man answered as he let the binoculars fall to his chest.
"Everybody head north, if you run low on gasoline we'll tap the drum. Let's go!" Rick barked as the herd in the distance became visible, about half a block away from their parking lot.
Daryl and Fox jogged towards the bike after stashing their bags in one of the other cars. He kicked the engine to life and threaded his way around the bodies to the head of the convoy, weaving between staggering Walkers on the street before gunning the engine and peeling back onto the highway.
Three days later they had made camp at a bed and breakfast designed for hikers exploring the upper reaches of Appalachia. It even had a generator and with a little bit of help from Dale's handy tool kit he'd been able to get it running. They'd cleared out the Walkers and everyone was reveling in the hot water even if their stomachs were growling because Rick still had them on strict rations. They intended to stay here for a few days to allow Daryl the chance to hunt and hopefully at least bring back some squirrels since all they'd been eating for protein the last week and a half was a salty cud of beef jerky and cold beans out of their can. He and Fox were in the room they were sharing when he heard Carol outside his door.
"Shower's free if you want it." She called before padding back down the hall and downstairs where the rest of the group was lounging.
"Me first, and I don't care if it strips every last drop of red dye out of my hair, I'm washing with hot water." Fox said, all but leaping off the bed and heading for the door.
"Hey, wait a second." Daryl called before she could leave. She turned and gave him a questioning look but reacted instantly when he tossed her one of the bottles of red dye he'd taken from the store in Virginia. She caught it easily and started to say something but the words died in her throat as she slowly recognized what was in her hand.
"Where…how did you get this?" she whispered staring up at him with a mixture of confusion and amazement.
He found himself smiling as he halfway met her eyes before shrugging his shoulders. "Virginia." He answered quietly.
Her brow furrowed for a moment before she looked back up at him. She set the bottle down on the dresser right by the door and approached him from where he was unrolling some of his clothes from the satchel and pulled his hands away from what he was doing. She looked up at him and he swore her eyes were misty.
"Thank you." She murmured. "You didn't have to do this."
He shrugged his shoulders, almost uncomfortable at the gratitude. "It was right there." He answered, trying to step out of the beacon of limelight she was trying to shine down on him.
"That's what I mean." She said, wiping away a single solitary tear. "You didn't have to do this. You didn't have to make it a surprise for me. You didn't have to make it mean something more than what it is. It's so simple, almost stupid. But it means something to me and knew that. Not very many people in my life have done something like this for me."
He dared to thread his fingers into her messy hair and palm her cheek with his other hand. He wanted to say something, something that would make sense and would feel right but there were just no words. So he tried something different for once. He leaned down and kissed her gently, not realizing how badly he had missed her touch until the moment he felt his lips on hers. Inside his mind he heard humming guitar strings, husky chuffs of laughter, and saw eyes of emerald green staring up at him. Pale skin and scarlet hair, smooth muscle and lithe bones. He smelled a tinge of smoke and wind, grass and moonflower blossoms. She was everything he had never even known he'd wanted until it fell from the sky and into his hands. And for once, for once in his damn life, thoughts about his father and his brother didn't ruin the moment. They would come to haunt him later but for now, while he kissed her and held her face gently in his hands, they were gone, and they couldn't take this away from him. Her lips were soft and just a little chapped, and for the first time she yielded to him, letting him explore her mouth at his leisure. She tasted like the sunbaked highways and dusty wind, the amber heat of a setting Southern sun in late summer. He could have stayed there his whole life with her, and if a Walker or a stray bullet got him, he wouldn't have regretted anything. Never in his life had he felt so lucky and so…happy. This wasn't like the alcohol haze of dizzy giddiness back at the first night on the plantation. This was something so much deeper he thought it might drag him under and never let him go, and he wouldn't have fought it even if he could have. He didn't want to anymore.
When he finally let her go so he could take down a much needed breath of air she didn't pull away far, just to let her forehead rest against his. "How do you keep doing this to me?" she whispered softly, not quite looking up at him.
"You ain't ever met a man like me before." His voice was rough but that was just who he was. He'd never have a silver tongue or a voice to make butter melt but it was perfect to her.
"Ain't that the truth." She breathed before gently slipping out of his grip. "I'm gonna go enjoy my present." A flash of a grin crossed her face and for some reason another flush of almost shy heat crept up the back of his neck. She grabbed the bottle off the dresser and all but skipped into the bathroom. As he watched her go he thought again about what Andrea had said to him at the store.
"You don't even notice the rest of the group staring, just as long as she's happy."
Well it seemed to be working out for him, not noticing if anybody else was staring, so why bother starting now?
After about thirty minutes Fox returned, her hair tied up in a messy knot at the back of her head and contained in a hair net she must have found in the bathroom. "Now to let it sit for as long as humanly possible and then to rinse. It won't cover my roots but everything else will be red again." She smiled at him once more and he followed her downstairs where the other group members were talking quietly, eating their meager rations. Fox had their new map in her hands and she pointedly unrolled it on the table that most of the group was gathered around.
"Your hair is red." Carl commented as he watched her toss some coasters on the corners of the map to keep it held down.
"Why yes it is." Fox said with a quick glance at Daryl. "We found some dye in Virginia when we were at that strip mall. I was just waiting for a chance to use it." She left it ambiguous as to who had gotten it but Daryl saw Andrea's blue eyes glint subtly, the corner of her lips twitching up, but she kept silent and he was silently thankful.
"How long before we reach the Catskills?" Rick asked as he surveyed the map with Fox.
"At the rate we've been going, we should be there within the week. Then we just have to find a valley that's suitable for our needs. The roads are going to start getting rough so we won't be able to travel as fast with the RV, but other than that we should be fine. There's plenty of fresh water and game to hunt all around this area. As long as we stick to the mountains there shouldn't be any Walkers, not this far away from the cities. Getting the RV to any valley we find will be a challenge, but we'll have time to work it out." She sounded happier than she had been in since staying on the plantation and Daryl was glad for it. By now the confused voice that rose up when he empathized with someone else had become barely a whisper. Merle wouldn't have agreed but he accepted it, at least to himself.
"There's always towns at the base of the mountain though. The people there are all Walkers by now, they could come up the hill, just like they did with the quarry in Atlanta." Shane muttered, rubbing the back of his head. Lori glanced at him with worried eyes and Daryl watched as Carol let her knee brush against Sophia's.
"Once we get settled in, we could make runs into the town and clear it out, block by block, just like they do in hostile towns behind enemy lines in the military." Rick answered. "We have the bullets and the knives to handle it, as long as we're careful. Once we learn the area and we're accustomed to the terrain with the vehicles, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to clear any surrounding areas. Especially if we intend to stay there permanently."
Fox rolled up the map and Rick leaned back onto the sofa where he had Lori under his arm. By now they could see the slight beginnings of a baby bump on her belly. Rick kissed her hair softly while she leaned into his chest. Shane looked on with a longing, almost sad light in his eye and for a split second Fox almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Eventually the group broke up, each gravitating to either their own room after Rick assigned shifts for watch. Dale first, then himself. Daryl and Fox disappeared upstairs to the room they had claimed but not before Fox darted outside and retrieved the guitar that she had kept stashed in the RV under the bed. There had been any time for her to play it since they'd left the plantation and he knew she'd been itching for a chance. He kicked off his boots and stretched out on the bed, one knee raised while he alternated between watching her and the ceiling, mentally tracing lazy patterns in the spackle while she began to play a soft tune. She played for hours, soft and slow until at last he was lulled to the first contented sleep he'd had in weeks. He was woken only when she came back to bed, her hair freshly washed smelling like cherries and the cheap shampoo they'd scavenged along the way.
"What are you doing?" he asked lazily as she wormed her way under the covers, getting very close to him.
"It's cold." She spoke as though this fact was achingly obvious. "And you're warm." Softer now as she buried herself in his chest, uncaring at the startled mumble he gave. This was by far as close as she'd ever been to him when they lay in bed, all but lying on top of him. Before he would have tried to push her away, or just gone and bunked on the floor or the couch, but now…now he didn't mind it so much. He liked it even. He dared to run his fingers through her hair, coaxing her to sleep for once rather than the other way around.
When he woke it was because she was stirring against his chest. Some how they'd ended up even closer in the night, one of her legs tangled in-between his thighs, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and chest, her face buried in the hollow where his neck met his shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and when they met at first the emerald green was the only thing his brain registered. The light in the room was a washed out haze of blue and grey and he knew had he not had her next to him it would have been a little bit cold but as it was he was warm and content.
"Am I dreaming?" she asked him, her eyes fighting to stay open.
He ran his fingers through her hair. "Define dreaming." He rasped.
"A fresh cup of coffee from my stash?"
He smirked as she wriggled away from him and set her feet on the floor to pad to her bag to retrieve the precious grounds. "Definitely dreaming." He said. He watched the way her hair tumbled around her shoulders and face as she dug through her back, the strands back to a bright, burning red, even in the foggy hazy of the oncoming grey sunrise.
Definitely dreaming…