*Hi readers, welcome to 2014! As soon as we get past 'Beside the Dying Fire' it's gonna be AU right through winter. Enjoy and remember I looove hearing from you.
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Elliot's van left a wake behind it. One that stayed long after the green Econoline had disappeared from sight. A silence and a fear. The dwindling numbers, and the loss of Elliot's presence, scared people. He was young, hot headed, crass, but most of all he was someone you couldn't help but feel safe with. His sheer size, speed and lethality created an imaginary field of security around you if you stood near him. Without him, everyone suddenly felt very exposed.
The mothers, Maggie, Beth and the kids all subconsciously huddled together by the station wagon, talking quietly and waiting for the next move. T-Dog and Glenn watchful nearby for any signs of movement along the highway before and behind them.
Rose still seated in the Hyundai, straining to hear what the other part of the group were discussing, particularly because she believed it was about her.
Rick, Hershel and Daryl were talking off to the side, the other side of a car in front of the Hyundai. The occasional glance would fleetingly look over a shoulder and catch Rose's eye, shortening her fuse and tightening her stomach each time.
Daryl had returned a few minutes after Elliot had left. No explanation for his behaviour. Not that you could expect one from Daryl. He had walked past Rose, quickly looking to check she was still there, and gone to join Rick and Hershel in discussion. He had returned with something black bundled up under his arm, a bag or something, which he kept referring to in conversation.
Rose put her hand to her knee, her eyes still on the men, weighing up whether or not she should get out of the car and go find out what the hell they were talking about, and whether or not she should be involved.
Hershel nodded solemnly, and said something final, before turning and walking away from the conversation. Rose didn't need to hear to know what was said next, she recognised Rick's facial expression. 'Are you sure?' he asked Daryl.
Daryl looked at Rose from the other side of the car and muttered something to Rick with a smirk. Rose kept Daryl's eye, making sure not to lose his attention. He nodded to Rick, who spun around to look at Rose as well, confirming they were talking about her. Biting at the inside of her lips to stop herself from shouting at them, Rose watched as Rick and Daryl shared some dry joke and broke off from their private chat.
Rick walked away to join the others and get people organised to leave. Daryl squinted at Rose and finally decided to let her in on the discussion. He walked over to the Hyundai, shoulders back, eyes on Rose.
"What the hell was that about?" She hissed angrily as soon as Daryl was within ear shot.
"What, you don't like us talkin' about ya?" Daryl smirked as he put his black bundle on the car roof and leaned on the door frame, hovering over Rose.
Rose only replied with an angry scowl that pulled her mouth into a small pout.
"We were talking about movin'." Daryl answered. "Ain't everybody gonna fit in those two cars."
It hadn't occurred to Rose. Without the Econoline, they were short one seat.
"So you comin' with me again or what?" Daryl dropped the black bundle in her lap and stood back from the door to watch Rose's reaction.
She opened up the leather jacket Daryl had found and looked it over. It was probably a size too big for her, but would fit well enough. Only the faint odour clinging to the porous material confirmed to Rose where Daryl had found it.
Rose looked at him with a small wince, trying to push the image out of her head of Daryl peeling the leather off of a sun-dried dead body.
"What did Hershel say?" She asked, mixed feelings about it all.
"He's gonna strap your knee up 'fore we move." Daryl looked over to the larger group, watching Hershel find an elasticised bandage in the first aid supplies. "Gonna ask about the jacket?" He asked looking at Rose again with a hint of amusement.
"I think I'd rather not know." She looked at the leather in her lap and sighed at the fact that she was already getting use to the smell. "I remember a time when you didn't want me on the back of your bike." Rose recalled when they had left the CDC. She had approached Daryl, about to ask if she could ride with him and he had ridden off, shaking his head before she could even ask.
"It's either you or T." Daryl squinted at Rose with a small grimace.
Rose snorted quietly, amused at the image in her head of T-Dog clinging on to Daryl on the back of the Triumph. A small smile slid to the corner of Daryl's mouth before he straightened up. Hershel and Maggie walking over to the Hyundai.
Passing Daryl, Hershel looked into the passenger side door and caught Rose's eye. "Is this what you want?" He asked quietly in his concerned, fatherly voice as he crouched down.
"Yeah." Rose consented, sparing a quick glimpse at Daryl. "Strap me up."
Maggie moved in between her dad and the door to help Rose turn around in the seat. Hershel wrapped her knee securely and gave it a small flex to see if it would sit comfortably. Daryl stood nearby watching.
"It's good." Rose nodded.
Maggie helped Rose out of the car. Keeping her weight on her left leg she stood up and moved slowly to the back of the Hyundai. Maggie grabbed the leather jacket and held it open with a small sour look on her face.
"It's not that bad, Maggie." Rose smirked, zipping up the front and checking the length of the sleaves. It fit her quite well, a little loose around the torso but she wasn't going to complain. It was heavier than she had anticipated, but that wouldn't matter when she was sitting again. At least she wouldn't freeze this time.
"Gonna see if we're ready to go." Daryl said with an unreadable expression as he walked over to the station wagon.
It was only a few minutes later they were on the road. Glenn, Patricia and the Greenes were in the Hyundai. Carol, Sophia, T-Dog and the Grimes were squeezed into the station wagon.
Maggie had helped Rose climb on the back of Daryl's bike before joining her family.
Daryl waited until Rose got settled comfortably. She pulled her dirty blonde hair back in a small knot at the top of her neck and zipped the leather up to the neck to keep out the wind. Rose's hands settled on Daryl's waist and her body pressed softly into his back. At least I'll be able to tell if she falls off, he told himself, trying to keep his thoughts focused. Her feet on the pegs, Daryl started the bike and reached up to the ape-hangers. With a nod to Rick, Daryl walked the bike forward and took the lead, Rose gripping just a little tighter.
…...
Stay off the main roads. The bigger the roads, the more walkers.
It had been hours. Driving further south on the back roads. The sun had dropped below the tree line and the air was getting cold. The wind was biting at Rose's fingertips, thought she was feeling comfortable on the bike. Hours of ass-numbing riding gave her plenty of time to get use to being a good pillion. Rose brought her hands between her and Daryl, defending them from the cold with the warmth between their bodies.
Daryl looked over his shoulder, seeing only a few stray blonde strands blowing around out the corner of his eye. He glanced down to where he could see her strapped knee pressed against his thigh.
A car horn sounded behind them. Daryl slowed down, pulling the bike over to the side of the road. Rose's hands again gripping to the sides of his vest as she shifted back on the seat a little to give him some space to move. He kicked the motorbike out of gear and slowed to a stop in the middle of nowhere.
Rick was first out of the cars, walking quickly up the front of the line to scope out where they were.
"You out?" Daryl asked, Rose jumping slightly at the sound of his voice. He looked back at her, having felt her jolt against his back.
"Runnin' on fumes." Rick answered, shaking his head.
Maggie, Glenn and others quickly joined them.
"We can't stay here." The young brunette pointed out.
"We can't all fit in one car." Glenn answered.
Daryl pushed down the bike stand, he kept the motorcycle balanced while Rose stood up. She put her hands to his shoulders and carefully manoeuvred herself off the bike, keeping her weight on her left leg. Daryl followed her off the bike and moved her to the guard rail on the side of the road.
Rick kept his calm. "We'll just have to make a run for gas in the morning."
"Spend the night here?" Carol asked, scared as she walked up and stood beside Rose and Daryl.
"I'm freezing." Carl moaned to his mother, as he and others left the cars to join the group.
"We'll build a fire." Lori answered, pulling him in tighter to her side with a pointed look at Rick.
"Look for some firewood." Daryl spoke up, prying the crossbow off the mount on the front of the bike. "Everybody stay close. Only got so many arrows. How you doin' on ammo?" He asked Rick, jutting his chin at Rick's python.
"Not enough." Rick answered, watching Rose flex her knee as she rest against the rail.
Everyone was scared. Maggie was the first to speak up. "Well we can't just sit here with our asses hanging out."
"Watch your mouth." Hershel reprimanded his eldest daughter as he held onto his youngest. "Everybody, stop panicking and listen to Rick."
"Alright," Rick spoke to calm everybody. "we set up a perimeter. In the morning we'll find some gas, some supplies. We'll keep pushing on."
Maggie moved closer to Glenn, sharing a concerned look. "Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas." She suggested awkwardly.
"No, we stay together." Rick shot her down, glancing at the faces of the group all looking to him for answers. "God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car." He finished forcefully.
"Rick, we're stranded now." Glenn said shaking his head regretfully.
"I know it looks bad." Rick sighed, dropping his voice to a calmer note. "We've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure, I really wa…."
Rose suddenly felt heavy and tired. Rick's voice seemed to fade into white noise, as the world around her became foggy and a rushing wave of nausea made her feel light and faint. It must have showed on her face, Carol stepped a little closer to Rose, ready to catch her if she went down but still listening to Rick talk about finding somewhere safe.
That was all that mattered to Carol, finding somewhere safe for Sophia. She just wasn't sure if Rick was the man who would find that place.
"We'll make camp tonight, over there." Rick moved away, pointing at a stone structure beside a dam. The remnants of an old house or mill. "Get back on the road at the break of day.
"Does that sound right to you?" Carol asked Daryl, catching him off guard.
Daryl looked between Carol and Rose, wondering what in the hell it mattered what he thought. Rick said camp, we camp.
"What if there are walkers?" Beth asked aloud, her voice shaky. "Or a group like Randall's?"
Carol felt Rose's hand weakly wrap around her arm, grasping onto the soft wool of her knit cardigan. Turning, Carol watched as Rose swayed a little on the spot and put a hand under her arm to support her.
"We can't stay out here like this." Carol protested. "We're vulnerable." She glanced back at Sophia in the car with her plaster cast, Rose breathing heavily beside her.
Daryl moved in to Rose's other side, watching concerned as Rose turned a shade of green.
"You alright?" He grunted quietly when she seemed to have regained some control.
"Just dizzy." Rose mumbled, bending forward slightly and breathing deeply.
"Sit down." Daryl suggested, as she stood back up again slowly.
"If I go down, I won't get back up again." Rose said quietly as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and the sweat off her forehead.
"What happened to Shane?" T-Dog stepped forward to Rick, snapping Rose and Daryl's attention back to the conversation. "I noticed you ain't said anything about that all yet."
Rose leant against the rail watching Rick. T-Dog asked the question they had all been thinking.
Rick looked ill, like he wasn't going to answer.
"We're all infected." He finally said, his hand moving to his mouth after he said the words as if he too was about to throw up.
"What?!" Daryl asked incredulously.
"At the CDC, Jenner told me." Rick continued. He dropped his hands to his hips and stood, looking through his eyelashes, confessing to them all. "Whatever it is, we all carry it."
"And you never said anything?" Carol accused.
"Would it have made a difference?" Rick asked defensively.
Glenn stepped forward, unable to process what he was hearing. "You knew this whole time?"
"How could I have known for sure?" Rick shook his head at Glenn. "You saw how crazy that man…"
"That is not your call." Glenn shot back. "When I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told for the good of everyone." Hershel and Maggie tensed up at Glenn's words but each looked at Rick for his defence of his actions.
"Well I thought it best if people didn't know." Rick hissed angrily and quietly.
"Is that what happened to Dale?" Rose asked. Her weak voice buckled Rick, making him turn away, unable to look at her or anyone.
He walked away from the group without answering.
Pushing Carl to Beth's side, Lori followed after Rick.
The husband and wife were talking out of earshot. Everyone trying to look away to afford what little privacy they could.
Hershel walked over to Rose and gave her a bottle of water. She struggled to open the bottle, as Hershel pressed his hand to her forehead. Daryl took the bottle and unscrewed the cap for her, handing it back and waiting for the doctors prognosis. She took a swig of water and pushed Hershel's hand away. "I'm fine." Rose said gruffly. "I was just dizzy is all."
"We should get you off your feet." Hershel answered back, looking over her shoulder to the stone shelter Rick had pointed out, stirring Daryl into action.
"Don't even think about it." Rose said to Daryl before he could even consider throwing her over his shoulder again.
"Stubborn woman." Daryl scoffed. He looked up to see the others and their confused waiting. "All a yall. Let's move it." Daryl said with a wave of a finger in the air.
"We'll get some firewood." Glenn said disheartened. He took Maggie's hand and they slowly moved over to the tree line.
"Stay close." Daryl instructed, lifting Rose's arm so he could help her walk to the structure.
T-Dog moved Beth and Carl forward. Carol got Sophia out of the car and collected up a few blankets from the back of the station wagon.
Rose looked over to Rick. Lori's sudden movement, shoving Rick away from herself, catching her eye.
Daryl let out a quiet breath. Rose guessing he saw the husband and wife fight too.
"I guess that's about Shane." Rose said quietly, so only Daryl could hear.
Daryl grunted his agreement and continued moving Rose slowly inside the walls.
