It was definitely an uncomfortable experience when Daryl and Lilly went out in the living room. Much of the group was there, their eyes bulging as they saw the couple leave the bedroom together. Lori had to take a moment to gawk, hand on her swollen stomach, mouth hanging open. T-Dog smirked quietly. Beth leaned over and whispered something in Maggie's ear that made her giggle while Glenn waggled his eyebrows at Lilly.
Lilly ducked her head, her face heating up as if lava was running through her blood. Daryl nudged her shoulder gently, though for all his talk about it not being anyone's business, he felt a little bit shy too.
"How are you feeling, Daryl?" Hershel asked casually, though the entire group waited for an answer as if there was some scandalous subtext to come.
"Fine," Daryl shrugged, feeling his own face heat up. This was suffocating, the group's eyes on him and Lilly like wolves hungry for gossip. "Where's Rick?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. Lilly stood next to him with her arms crossed self-consciously, desperate for an excuse to escape the questioning stares.
"He's outside with Carl," Carol answered immediately. She felt bad for the pair. It was obvious the scrutiny was killing them. Her eyes locked with Daryl's and she tilted her head in the direction of the front door meaningfully, trying to give him and Lilly an out.
Daryl thankfully cleared his throat and made for the door. Lilly moved to follow, allowing her hair to make a curtain over her red face as she went.
"Ah - shouldn't you both eat first?" T-Dog called out with a little smirk.
"Nah, gotta talk to Rick about… security…" Daryl mumbled, his hand already on the doorknob.
"Well Lilly needs something in that tiny stomach of hers," T-Dog pressed before they could get out. Both came to an abrupt halt.
"I'm not really hungry," Lilly shook her head with a fake smile.
"Haven't seen either of you in a while. We need to catch up," T-Dog told them. From the mischievous glint in his eye, it was clear he wasn't going to drop it.
Before Lilly could open her mouth to come up with another excuse, Daryl cut her off. "You don't need to talk to Rick, Lil, I've got it taken care of."
Lilly blinked and slowly looked up at the hunter. "Uh - well, actually -"
"Really, you need to eat," Daryl insisted. He managed to seem so nonchalant about the whole thing, and yet Lilly could see the twinkle of amusement in his eyes and the twitch of his mouth.
Lilly schooled her features, but gave Daryl a secret glare that screamed 'You're dead to me.'
"Oatmeal's getting cold, Lil," T-Dog beckoned happily.
"You heard the man," Daryl smirked. Before Lilly could do anything to defend herself, he leaned forward and pecked a quick kiss on her forehead before disappearing out the door. Lilly was left standing there, stuck in a room of stares begging for explanation. She couldn't believe it. Daryl had managed to worm his way out of the situation altogether and leave Lilly to face the consequences.
Smug little redneck, she glowered to herself. Then she plastered a careless expression on her face and went to join the group for breakfast.
…..
Daryl felt a little bad for abandoning Lilly to brave the mob of questions on her own, but he knew she could handle it. He, on the other hand, was much too closed off a person to even think about dealing with people who had nothing to do with anything that had happened last night. It was mind boggling that someone would have so much interest in the whole matter, acting like it was some form of entertainment.
With a scoff, Daryl trudged into the snow and glanced around. It was with a start that he realized there were no longer snowflakes getting pelted through the air. All was still. The blizzard had ended. How had he not noticed sooner?
Lilly. She was far too distracting for her own good. With a small shake of his head, Daryl forced himself to focus on the task at hand. He spotted Rick and Carl easily nearby. Both were knelt on the ground, examining something intently.
Rick was the first to hear Daryl's footsteps crunching the snow. He looked up, a smile stretching onto his face when he saw the hunter. "Glad to see you up and about." He'd been a little worried the day before, when Lilly had stormed out of the room and Daryl had been a raging, frostbit mess.
"Watcha lookin' at?" Daryl asked as he came closer, tilting his head at the ground where Carl was still crouched over.
"Found some deer tracks," Rick explained, returning to his son's side. "We were trying to decide if it'd be worth going after."
Daryl crouched over the track with expert eyes. Carl backed away to give him some space, watching with admiration. After a moment, Daryl straightened up and bit at the corner of his thumb. "Hard to tell. Could be an hour away, could be four. When did the blizzard end?"
"A little after midnight," Rick answered, his shoulders dropping. "Probably best not to risk it. We've stayed here long enough."
"What's the supplies like?" Daryl asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Better than nothin'," Rick sighed, tucking his hands in his jacket pockets. "We found some extra clothes and blankets around here, a first aid kit, some canned stew and a huge box of oatmeal. It's tight, but hopefully it'll hold us up 'till we find more."
"So what's the plan?"
"We stick to the road and keep moving," Rick answered. He met Daryl's eyes with a helpless expression, shrugging a little as if to ask, what else can we do?
Daryl supposed it was the best option, though he was concerned about one thing. "What about Cain and his men? They could be followin' us."
"That's why we keep moving," Rick nodded sullenly. "Hopefully they won't catch up. This blizzard's got to have thrown them off our scent. Though I've been meaning to ask you…" Rick hesitated, glancing at Carl. The boy was kicking absently at the snow, not paying much attention to them. "Carl, why don't you head inside?"
Carl took the hint immediately and left, leaving Daryl and Rick alone outside. Rick put his hands on his hips. "What happened back there, at Blackforest?" he asked quietly. "How'd you get away?"
"Lilly showed up, nearly got herself killed," Daryl answered, brushing over just exactly what would have happened to Lilly if they hadn't escaped. "Tried to offer herself up in exchange for them letting me go," he scoffed. "We're both lucky I've got good aim."
"You kill any of 'em?" Rick asked hopefully.
"I know I killed three of them," Daryl responded, remembering the two men who'd tried to shoot him outside, and Cain's look of shock as he'd stuck a bullet in his brain. "Their leader's dead. Think I injured a few others, not sure how many were left."
Rick's face lit up at the news. "You killed Cain?"
"Shot him while everyone was distracted with…" Lilly. Daryl wished he could take that image out of his head and burn it. All those men, pinning Lilly down on the floor, crawling on top of her while she screamed in protest… Just thinking about it made his lungs constrict painfully.
Rick could see it in Daryl's eyes, the way the man fidgeted with his hands, suddenly very antsy. "What happened, Daryl?"
Daryl chewed at the inside of his cheek. It was one thing to argue with Lilly about the whole thing - that was a fight they'd never resolve. But Rick had played a part in it too, Daryl realized. It was uncomfortable, he didn't want to blame the ex-cop, but he needed to say a few things. "You shouldn't've let her come back for me," Daryl confided gruffly.
Rick's gaze fell to his feet in shame. "I tried, Daryl, I did, but she wouldn't have it any other way. There wasn't time to stop her, I had to protect the group -"
"You should've dragged her by her hair out of there," Daryl cut him off. "Knocked her out 'n stuck her over your shoulder, threatened her, whatever it took to get her away from that cabin."
"There was nothin' I could do, Daryl," Rick tried to explain. "Just like there was nothin' I could do to stop you from staying behind in the first place."
"That was different," Daryl started. "If I hadn't stayed to buy you some time, they could've caught you all."
"I know but…" Rick let out a breath. "It didn't sit right with me. Still doesn't."
"We did what we had to, Rick."
"Doesn't mean I don't feel sick about the whole thing." Rick scratched the back of his neck. "I can't apologize for letting Lilly go back for you. If she hadn't, you wouldn't be here right now. And the group needs you. Nobody felt safe with you gone, nobody else knows how to hunt, and we all missed you. It was like losin' the farm all over again."
Daryl listened without expression, gnawing at his lower lip. He understood what Rick was saying, though it was strange to hear how the group had taken his absence. He didn't think much about whether the group valued him or not, even though Lilly was always saying how important he was to them.
"You didn't answer my question," Rick prodded gently. When Daryl looked up at him with questioningly, Rick tilted his head. "Somethin' else happened back there. You keep avoiding it."
Daryl wasn't sure what to say. That night they'd escaped Blackforest Retreat had been silently bothering him for days, and for once it was something he couldn't talk to Lilly about. She was scared enough of Cain's men as it was. Perhaps it would help tell Rick. "There's somethin' wrong with those men," Daryl said lowly. "They're after Lilly. Not just the group. They want Lilly."
"What do you mean?" Rick frowned.
"Apparently she took off one of the guy's fingers the first time we met them and he's had it out for her ever since. Then there's these other guys that joined the group - they're the ones who killed her family. They weren't happy to see that she was still breathin'."
"So, what, some of Cain's men are out for revenge on her alone?" Rick narrowed his eyes.
"You weren't there, Rick" Daryl shook his head as he tried to explain. "You didn't see the way these men were lookin' at her. It was more than just wantin' to kill her. They want to do all sorts of things to that girl, and not just for the fun of it. They're obsessed. They've got some sick fascination with hurting Lilly that makes my skin crawl."
Even thinking about it was making his hands clench into tight fists. He'd never voiced this out loud, not wanting to scare Lilly. But it felt right letting Rick know exactly what was motivating Cain's men to come after them.
"You really care about her," Rick observed quietly. Daryl huffed, annoyed with the comment. Of course he did, why was everyone making such a big deal of it? With a nod of perfect understanding, Rick clapped Daryl on the back. "Lilly's safe with us. As long as we keep moving, we have nothing to worry about."
Daryl nodded back appreciatively, feeling a lot better now that someone else was aware of his concerns. He was glad that he wouldn't be the only one keeping an eye on Lilly if something happened.
"Speaking of which," Rick sighed, "now that we're all awake, I think it's time to pack up and get outta here."
…
"So… you and Daryl, huh?"
Lilly was practically hiding behind the paper cup of oatmeal she'd been given. She was huddled close to the fire, though her furious blush was doing enough to keep her warm as it was. She could feel everyone's curious gazes trying to burn her alive.
"We didn't - um," Lilly cleared her throat awkwardly. "If you're thinking that we - it was just - we're just -"
"Leave the poor girl alone already," Carol came to the rescue, sitting at Lilly's side with her own cup of oatmeal. Lilly let out a breath of relief, before Carol playfully nudged her side with a smile. "I think it's sweet."
"I totally saw it coming," Glenn piped up. Maggie smacked him on the shoulder, though she was grinning too.
The front door opened and Lilly looked up at it hopefully, praying it was Daryl coming to help her out of the uncomfortable situation. To her dismay, it was Carl, who sat down next to Beth listened to the conversation curiously.
"Let's not assume anything just yet," Maggie said with a straight face, though it was plain to see she was amused. "We just saw him kiss her on the forehead - "
"And leave the bedroom with her," T-Dog cut her off smugly. Lilly groaned and put her face in her hands. They were never going to let it go, she realized with despair.
"Wait - did they finally make out?" Carl spoke up innocently. The entire room bust up in laughter. Not even Hershel could contain his chuckling. Lilly wasn't even hiding the fact she was embarrassed anymore, refusing come out of hiding behind her hands.
As the laughter started to subside, T-Dog leaned over and poked Lilly's arm. "Well, go on, Lil, answer the boy."
Everyone waited with bated breath as Lilly slowly emerged from her hands. Her face was redder than a tomato. She knew that nobody was going to let it go quietly until she gave them what they wanted. Might as well get it all over with. "Yes."
Everyone erupted into another round of laughter, T-Dog pumping his fist and cheering and Carl shouting "I knew it!".
"But that was all!" Lilly tried to add, hoping to retain at least some of her dignity. It was lost in the belly-aching laughter, however. The group hadn't laughed this much or even smiled in a while. It was a much needed relief from all the seriousness. Looking around, the sight of everyone happy made Lilly smile too - even if their amusement was at her expense.
Just as Lilly had hoped, the conversation finally dissolved into other matters and the initial awkwardness melted away. The group joked around with one another, trying to hold on to this piece of normalcy as long as they could. It wasn't until Rick and Daryl both came inside that they were reminded of where they were.
"Storm's ended, it's time to get moving," Rick announced. The mood changed instantly, a somber look clouding everyone's faces as they finished off breakfast. Lilly's shoulders slouched a little as she she looked around at the group. It wasn't fair that they were stuck in this situation. A sense of anxiety hung over their heads as they all wondered where they'd sleep next, where they'd find more food, how they were going to keep surviving with so little. Lilly suddenly wished they could go back to teasing her, already missing the carefree laughter that had warmed the room.
Daryl was looking at her from the other side of the room and their eyes met. Lilly gave him a soft, wistful smile that he returned. The exchange was enough to keep her from getting too down.
There wasn't much preparation to be made - all they had was two ratty duffle bags full blankets and the little amount of food they'd found. In less than ten minutes, everyone was bundled up as much as they could be and ready to go. Those without jackets had a blanket wrapped around their shoulders. At least they all had shoes.
As they were heading out, Lilly found herself next to Lori, who was gritting her teeth. "How are you feeling?"
Lori looked over at Lilly with a little surprise, but her eyes softened. "Nervous," she admitted quietly.
Compassion for the woman bubbled up in Lilly's insides and she found herself putting a hand on Lori's shoulder. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"
"Thank you." Lori smiled, placing her hand on Lilly's for a moment. "It's good to have you back."
Lilly smiled back and followed Lori out the door. Rick walked at the front of the group, Daryl automatically thinking in terms of security and taking up the rear. With a bit of sadness, the group turned their backs on the ranger's station.
They followed a side road up to the main one, beginning the long trek to a place that was yet to be decided. With the blizzard finally over, the sun shone down brightly, its light bouncing off the snow and causing everyone to squint a little. The air was chilly, though nothing near as bad as the cold Daryl and Lilly had nearly died from. It didn't do much more then turn the tips of people's noses red and make their breath visible. Overall, it was a crisp day and it would be bearable to walk in.
It didn't take long for Maggie to sidle up to Lilly. "So I heard Cain's dead. That true?"
"Yeah," Lilly told her friend. "Daryl shot him."
"How'd you two get away?" Maggie asked. She looked over at Lilly with a mixture of caution and curiosity.
Lilly felt weird talking about it, but she decided there wasn't a reason not to. So with a small breath, Lilly told Maggie everything. She explained how her family had been killed, how those same murderers had joined Cain. She told her about the bald man with the dragon tattoos all over his head and how he was mad that she'd cut his fingers off. Then she told Maggie about how she'd offered herself up in exchange for Daryl's life, not realizing that they would take him outside and shoot him anyway. Maggie listened to all of this wordlessly, holding back any reactions. It was a little harder to talk when Lilly explained what the men were planning on doing to her, so she kept it brief and plowed on through, quickly getting to the part where Daryl came in in a whirl of bullets. She finished the tale with her and Daryl fleeing the cabin and escaping into the snowy woods.
"And you'd been tracking us since then?" Maggie raised her eyebrows.
"Until the blizzard started," Lilly affirmed. "Then we were just trying to find the road."
"Well I'm glad you're both with us," Maggie told her warmly. She let out a long sigh, her eyes falling to the snow at her feet. "We all were worried sick about you. Didn't think there was any way you'd come out alive. Glenn and I couldn't sleep - not just 'cause we were cold - thinking about what might have happened to you. What you sacrificed for Daryl…" she trailed off and glanced over at Lilly with a smirk. "I'm glad he's got someone like you around."
Eventually, Maggie caught up to Glenn to walk with him. Lilly smiled at the pair walking in front of her. It was unfortunate that they all had to make a trek through the winter weather, living on the hope that they'd find something to keep them going, but at least they were all together.
Lilly hung back a little to walk at Daryl's side. He looked over at her curiously, but she merely shrugged and remained silent. It just felt better to be close to him. Daryl nudged her side companionably, blue eyes somewhat lighter with her near. The fact that they could both be content with nothing more than each other's presence was significant to him. There was no pressure to talk or be doing something. Having each other was enough.
When the sun was directly above their heads, Rick pulled the group to a stop and gave them a moment to rest. Everyone agreed that they felt good enough to go a little longer without food. Saving the little that they had was important seeing as they didn't know where or when they'd get more. A few people sat down in the snow to catch their breath, others glancing around the area for any animal tracks to potentially hunt.
Lilly leaned against a tree next to the road, picking at the bandages that covered her hands. Thanks to Hershel draining the blisters, the frostbit skin hurt a lot less.
Daryl came to stop in front of her, glancing around the area cautiously. Now that he felt the safety of an entire group on his shoulders once again, he was a little tense.
"The tree's aren't going to bite back," Lilly joked wryly.
"But the walkers might," Daryl responded, completely unaffected by the jab.
Lilly reached out and wrapped one of his hands in hers. "What's wrong?"
Daryl looked down at her big green eyes, blinking up at him innocently. What was wrong was that they were out in the open, on a road, with a group of rapists possibly searching for them and looking to hurt one of the most important people in his life. But Daryl wasn't going to say any of that to Lilly. She depended on him for security and he didn't want to make her any more worried than she already was. "Nothin's wrong."
His eyes fell to Lilly's pleasantly rosy lips and he leaned forward to kiss her.
"Ah -" Lilly ducked out of the way. When Daryl frowned and opened his mouth to ask what the problem was, Lilly cut him off with a glare. "You left me to deal with the teasing this morning. They were merciless, Daryl."
The hunter rolled his eyes. "What'd they say?"
"A lot of 'finally''s," Lilly answered with a small laugh. "I think Carl was particularly excited."
"Good for Carl," Daryl grumbled. "Can I kiss you now?"
Lilly grinned and rose up on her tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on his lips. She knew Daryl well enough to realize that he was going to be shy about these things, so the fact that he was flat out asking to kiss her in public wasn't something she was going to turn down.
The happy moment was shattered by a sound that made everyone glance up dread.
It was a soft rumbling, barely enough to raise any attention at all, but no less threatening. The low sound echoed eerily around them, hovering on the gentle wind like the devil himself was slithering towards his prey. There was only one thing it could be, but nobody wanted to believe it.
T-Dog abruptly stood up, Beth and Carl following suit. Lori looked over at Rick with wide eyes, hands over her stomach protectively. Rick's entire being tensed up as he froze on the spot, double checking to see if he was actually hearing it correctly.
"Car engine," he muttered under his breath with apprehension. Time stood still, everyone looking to Rick as they realized what it could mean. That car engine could be anything.
In the blink of an eye, Rick shouted and time started up again. "Everyone get off the road!"