Ch. 26

"You knew about this and you didn't tell me?"

Eve sighed and closed her eyes. Rick was glaring at her from across the living room, his hands were balled into fists and his mouth was set. She opened her eyes and glanced at Manuella who was sitting on a wooden kitchen chair, her over large stomach making it uncomfortable to stand. Manuella bit her cheek. They were expecting this.

"We were waiting until Carl woke up," Eve turned back to Rick and said pleadingly, trying to remind him that his son was alive and well, having woken up two days ago. He was sore, but fully functioning. There was no need to be that upset about this,

Rick shook his head and glared again. "You let one of them stay here, alive, after all that happened? After all they did?" His voice was rising. Eve understood his anger, she really did. But she had to keep him calm so he didn't make any rash decisions. That's why she and Manuella had decided to talk to him in private, before approaching the rest of the group. They needed to be sure he was behind them on the decision to let Robin stay.

That was certainly easier said than done.

"We don't know where he came from, what he's capable of-" Rick was still ranting, "You let him in here, with my children, with your children?" He turned his attention back on Manuella who had just propped her swollen feet up on an ottoman. She seemed completely unfazed by his outburst.

"What was I supposed to do?" she said wearily. "Execute him in the street? He's her husband, for Christ sakes."

"You should have told me!"

"Oh, so you could kill him instead?" she shot back.

Rick opened his mouth but Manuella talked over him.

"You had just killed Pete, shot him right in the head. Then your son got shot in the face. Forgive me for not trusting your judgment at the time. I did what I thought was best. The point is, I am telling you now. I thought you could help me decide what to do with him. But remember, this isn't your decision. These are my girls. This is our community just as much as it is yours and everyone has a right to say what's what."

Rick pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Just meet him first," Eve said. "He's actually not a bad guy. He just did what he had to do to survive."

"Killing innocent people?"
Eve opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say to that. She'd been grappling with that too. Despite all that he said, Robin had still been part of a gang of people who ran around killing people for no apparent reason.

Rick was already shaking his head. "I just don't see how we could ever trust him to just be walking around. He could run off at any minute, bring back his old group and start killing people again."

"Then what do we do?" Manuella asked sardonically. "Kill him? What about Jenny? What about the baby?"

Rick groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "That's how this works. You kill people, you die. Period."

Eve saw Manuella's gaze darken into something almost frightening. "That line is blurry and you know it."

"There's just no way he can stay," Rick said. "No way. That's my decision. It's final."

Manuella lurched out of her chair, much quicker than Eve would have thought possible given her condition. "That is not your decision to make!"

Eve stepped between the two leaders. "Just stop," she said, her palms up. "Let's think about this."

"There's nothing to think about," Rick said stubbornly.

Eve shot him a glare.

He met her eyes and sigh. "I get it," he said, his voice more restrained. "He's Jenny's husband, but we don't know him. We can't trust him."

"You didn't know me either," Eve said to Rick. "But you trusted me. You can trust me now. Just meet him. Just. Meet. Him," she repeated. She met Rick's eyes and saw the consternation there. She knew he was replaying every betrayal he'd ever felt, every threat against him and his family. She hoped he was also remembering that the last time he defied her judgment they ended up in Terminus.

Finally, after a long moment, Rick nodded. "I'll meet him."

...

Eve stepped outside and rubbed her aching neck. The last few hours were tense as Rick met and grilled Robin. Morgan had stepped in and talked to Rick but Eve didn't think any of it did any good. She knew Rick, and he wouldn't be okay with the situation for a long time. But for now he was reserved not to kill Robin, which was good enough for now.

He was still inside, talking to Jenny and Manuella, trying to figure out what to do in the meantime. Sensing things were under control for the time being, Eve took the opportunity for some fresh air. Night had fallen and the air was cool. She sat on the porch steps of the mother's house and rested her head on her knees. It had been a long day.

"They still in there?"

Eve looked up and saw that Daryl had appeared in front of her. She nodded glumly.

"It would probably move things along if you just talked to him," she said. "He listens to you."

Daryl shook his head. "Nah, I told you before. I'm not getting involved. This is your mess," he said nodding in the direction of the mother's house.

Eve bit her cheek in annoyance. She'd told Daryl about the Robin situation the night before in an effort to get his support and hopefully convince him to talk to Rick, but he'd refused.

"So what's the verdict?" he asked her, plopping down on the steps.

"Still up to discussion. So far Rick's agreed not to kill him, so there's that."

Daryl grunted. "This is Randall all over again."

"Who?"

He shook his head. "No one."

"All I know is that if Rick tries anything, those mothers in there are prepared for war. Manuella is not gonna let anyone near that guy, not while Jenny still wants him. And there's no way she'd let her and the baby leave with him." She sighed and stretched her neck.

Daryl beckoned her to him and began rubbing her shoulders.

She groaned as his knuckles kneaded her stiff muscles. After a discreet glance around, she leaned back and kissed him.

It had been a week since the run to the warehouse, a week since Daryl had silently, and without explanation, ceased his strong avoidance of her. A week since he started coming to her room every night. Despite his acceptance of this new relationship with Eve, he still wasn't exactly forthcoming. He was always sure to come to her only after Sasha had left for her shift, and went back to his own room well before she returned. While he no longer avoided her, and actively sought her out throughout the day, he was careful never to touch her when anyone else was around. Eve was fine with the secrecy. There were so many other things to worry about lately that their relationship shouldn't be the topic of conversation anyway.

But, no one was around right now…

She craned her neck as he deepened the kiss, his rough fingers lightly brushing her neck, supporting her head as he tilted it up to meet his. Eve closed her eyes and savored the delightful way he his warm tongue moved with hers, his breath somehow musky and sweet at the same time. He smelled like smoke and outside air with just a tinge of sweat—

A soft gasp brought Eve out of her reverie and she felt Daryl jerk away from her. Her head snapped toward the sound and Eve froze as she saw Beth standing in the doorway, a look of shock on her face. Eve opened and closed her mouth, nervously glancing from Daryl and then back to Beth. Slowly Beth's mouth turned from a perfect O into a crazy cat-like grin.

"Don't," Daryl pleaded.

"Daryl Dixon..." she said, her eyes moving back and forth between him and Eve. She let out a silly little giggle.

"Don't," he said again.

"You two are so busted," Beth said between laughs.

Eve looked at Daryl, he looked back at her, then back to Beth and groaned. Sensing he was about to throw Beth over his shoulder and toss her to the walkers, Eve stood up.

"Well," she said awkwardly. "I'm just gonna...go..." she gestured vaguely with her thumb. She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving a disgruntled Daryl to deal with the giggling teenager.

…

"Hey Eve!"

Eve cringed when she heard her name being called by that familiar sweet little voice. Turning around she faced the blond haired girl. She had managed to avoid Beth all morning, but somehow the girl had managed to track her down by the construction crew. Since the infirmary was relatively quiet now that Carl had woken up and was recovering, Eve was helping out with the expansion. It had been decided to take advantage of the fact that they had to rebuild anyway, to expanded the walls in an effort to make Deanna's plans a reality. They were going to include a few more buildings and some land for crops and livestock. That meant a lot of work though. Today she was working along side Tyrese and Tobin as they took orders from a young guy named Noah. Apparently he was some kind of apprentice of Reg's, back before he died. Noah had taken over the architecture plans as the walls were repaired and Eve was more than happy to help. She had thought no one would think to look for her there.

She was wrong.

"Hi Beth," Eve said, averting her eyes. After being caught yesterday with Daryl, she wasn't sure how she felt. She just knew she didn't want to be the topic of gossip within the community. Especially as she and Daryl hadn't yet defined their relationship.

"I just wanted to let you know that I talked to Daryl yesterday, and I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone about the two of you."

Eve looked up. Beth's blue eyes were wide and honest, her smile sympathetic. Eve sighed in relief. "I mean, it's not like, a secret or anything," Eve said. "But you know Daryl..."

"He's a pretty private person," Beth finished for her.

"Yeah." Eve smiled.

"I'm just glad he's happy for once," Beth said, her smile fading. "He's been through a lot. We all have."

Eve bit her lip.

"After the prison...after daddy..." Beth's voice broke and Eve shifted uncomfortably as she remembered Beth and Maggie had lost their father earlier this year. From what she gathered, it was a horrific death. "Well, Daryl could have left me behind a thousand times," she went on. "But he didn't. He saved me. Not only that, he taught me to save myself. I owe him everything." She hugged herself and looked away.

"He hasn't had the easiest life, you know?" she looked off into the distance, seeing some memory Eve was lost to. "I don't know any details or anything, but his dad used to beat him up real bad, and Merle was a bastard if I've ever known one. He's spent his whole life being told he's worthless. I think he deserves a little happiness, you know?" She turned back to Eve, and the threat wasn't lost on her. This was the big brother speech; the 'if you do anything to hurt him, I will come after you,' speech. Coming from little Beth was both amusing and terrifying.

Eve met Beth's eyes and nodded.

"Anyway," Beth continued. "The point is, I'm not gonna go telling people about you two. That's not my place. If you want to make it known, that's up to you."

"Thanks," Eve said.

As Beth was walking away, Eve looked up at the sky. Clouds were rolling in and thunder rumbled in the distance. She thought about her life, the things she'd lost and the things that had hurt her. Life was never easy, especially now. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Daryl loping along the street a good distance away. He was wiping his hand on a rag and talking to Michonne. She watched him disappear behind a building, out of her view. Her stomach churned at the thought of him being hurt. Somehow his initial distance from her was beginning to make some sense.

…

Eve lay in the dark, listening to the storm outside. Daryl was asleep beside her, his soft breath barely audible from the light shushing of the rain.

She watched his eyelids flutter as some unknown dream played in his mind. He shifted in his sleep, rolling from his back to his stomach, an arm reaching out instinctively, feeling for Eve. She curled into him and he soon stilled as sleep took him again. Light flashed in her window followed by the slow rumble of faraway thunder.

Reaching out she softly touched his bare back. She'd noticed the scars before, of course, but had never given them much thought. They all had scars these days. Hell, she had a scar on her side that was still raw and angry looking. She smiled thinking back to how Daryl had actually been the one to stitch her up after Marv shot her with that shot gun.

But now she examined the scars that lined his back. They were different than the one on his shoulder, the one from when he was stabbed when they were attacked on the road. No, these scars were old. She traced them lightly with her finger, before pressing a kiss to his temple and laying her cheek next to his. As impossible as it might be, she vowed she would protect him at all costs. Something told her that he had made the same promise about her about a week ago.