Sorry it took me longer to update. I'm not sure when I'll get a chance again to update with the next chapter because my week is going to be another busy week and my birthday is tomorrow. So I guess this is my present to you all!
Galwidanatitud: More cute moments to come!
Katarzyna88gb: Well then here's chapter 28 for you! I'm glad you're really enjoying the story, hearing that keeps me motivated to keep updating because I know there are people out there just waiting to read the next part. I'm glad you also like the way I've written Daryl in this story. I'm trying to keep him true to his character, but he warms up a bit more in the later seasons of the show. So I'm kind of toying with the idea of someone possibly bringing that out of him sooner and in a little different way. I'm glad he still seems like a realistic Daryl though :)
Shoving a strand of hair that had gotten loose from my ponytail behind my ear, I took a few steps back from the tent I had just pitched and eyed my handiwork. It had taken me a little longer than I had anticipated, but I eventually managed to figure out where all of the posts went without the help of any instructions. I wiped a hand over my forehead to clear away some of the sweat that had accumulated there from my hard work. It had been cool this morning when I'd started, but now that the sun was entirely risen, the temperature had easily increased.
I grabbed my two bags and stepped inside my tent. I began to unpack the blanket I'd taken from my room and spread it open on the floor of the tent. My eyes scanned to the second blanket which I had yet to give to Daryl. I chewed my lip nervously before telling myself I'd just drop it off with him later. This morning, when I'd been talking to a not-so-thrilled Sarah about my decision to join the group outside, I'd overheard Daryl telling Hershel just how much he couldn't stand being cooped up inside the house. Reluctantly Hershel had given him the okay to sleep in his own tent, but he wasn't allowed to leave it. I was surprised that he'd listened to the older man so far.
The sound of a throat clearing behind me caused me to jump. I turned around to see Rick poking his head inside my tent, his eyes scanning around curiously before they stopped on me. I tried hard to forget about the other night, when I'd stumbled on Lori outside with a pregnancy test. I was pretty sure Rick still didn't know she was pregnant.
"Why'd you decide to move out here? You know it's getting colder out here at night?" Rick asked me curiously.
I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly, not really sure how to explain myself. "Just been having a hard time sleeping inside. I feel less trapped outside." I paused a moment and decided I could be entirely honest with Rick before adding on, "And I feel more comfortable with you all. Since I actually know you all as well as you know me, as opposed to everyone in there knowing more about myself than I do."
Rick nodded his head in understanding. "How'd Hershel feel about your moving out here?"
I shrugged. "I haven't really spoken with my uncle much. I don't really feel like I know him. Or that we even have the same viewpoints."
"I know what you mean," Rick said.
"But I'm sure that's not why you came here, is it?" I asked him.
He shook his head. "No, actually. Shane and I were going to take a few people out to the edge of Hershel's property and teach some gun training. Hershel approved of this, of course. And of Patricia and your cousin Beth coming along to learn. Figured you could use the opportunity too." His head gestured towards the duffle bag by my feet before he sent me a knowing look. "I know you still have that gun. You should probably learn how to use it if you're going to be secretly holding on to it."
A slow, sheepish grin spread across my lips. "I uh…forgot I still had it?"
Rick rolled his eyes, but he sent me a smile. "Just tell the others I gave it to you for practice if anyone asks. We're heading out in a couple minutes so just meet us by the campfire."
"Not bad," Rick praised me as I hit the beer bottle lined up on the fence ten feet away.
"I missed it the first three times," I said feeling a little frustrated with myself.
"You're getting the hang of it though," Rick assured me as his eyes landed on Carl, who was being given instruction by Shane just a few feet away, before they returned to me. "You at least know the basics, like turning the safety on and off, and how to reload the clip. And you figured out how to fix the gun when it jammed on your own. Your aim isn't bad; with practice you'll be a good shot. You just need to be more comfortable with the weapon. You second guess yourself, hesitate."
"I'm still not completely comfortable with using a gun," I admitted.
"I hit it!" Beth's excited voice called out.
I sent Beth a thumb's up, which caused her smile to widen before she turned back to the fence lined with bottles and took aim again.
"You just need to view the gun like it's an extension of your hand," Rick continued on as he pulled his own gun from his side and released the safety. He lifted it up and fired a bullet. A bottle shattered before he holstered his weapon. "Just point your hand where you want the bullet to go, and fire. Don't overthink it. Don't hesitate. A walker won't stay still and wait for you to shoot it, you just have to trust yourself."
Rick patted my shoulder before he carried on over to Andrea, who had a smirk on her face as she was talking to Shane. I saw him raise the binoculars to his face to look at something before they slowly fell from his face. He shot Andrea a look of surprise before exchanging a gun with her.
Of course she has good aim, I thought to myself, feeling a little bitter. How else would she have managed to shoot Daryl?
Feeling irritated, I lifted the gun in my hands up, took aim, and fired. The green wine bottle burst into pieces. I aimed at the red bottle that had been beside it, steadying myself. I pulled the trigger again. The satisfying sound of another bottle shattering met my ears and I felt myself grinning.
"See?" Rick called out to me from beside his son. "You have great aim when you don't overthink it!"
Practice had continued on for a little while longer until we had almost ran out of bottles to shoot at. Rick had decided to call it a day, but Shane had insisted on taking Andrea out further to work on her shooting a bit more since she seemed to have the hang of it better than the rest of us.
The walk back to the farm wasn't that long. I kept quiet and clung to the back of the group in hopes to sneak off with my gun quietly and not be noticed. I felt safer being able to hang onto it.
Sneaking off turned out to be easier than I'd thought it would—Beth and Patricia were deep in conversation, Carol and T-Dog seemed to be discussing shooting techniques, and Rick was entertaining an excited Carl, who'd been so happy to finally be taught to use a gun.
I shoved my gun into the waistband of my jeans and pulled my shirt over it. There was a little bulk that made it obvious something was there, so I didn't waste any time running off towards my tent, trying to look as inconspicuous as I could. The moment I was in my tent, I zipped it up and pulled the gun out, double checking that the safety was on before stowing it back into my duffle bag underneath a few clean shirts. I paused a moment, waiting to see if anyone had noticed, before letting out a sigh of relief in the silence of my tent. I grabbed a bottle of water from my opened backpack, which was thankfully beginning to lose the stench of dead squirrel now, and took a few long gulps.
"Isabell?"
My brows furrowed in confusion at the hesitant voice outside my tent. I resealed the bottle of water and unzipped the tent door, peeking my head outside. Glenn was standing there, an uncomfortable expression on his face.
"Wasn't sure if this was your tent," he told me. "Thought you were sleeping in the house with Hershel's family."
I shook my head silently, not really interested in having this conversation a third time today. "What'd you need?"
"Well…it's actually something that Lori needs. She said you already knew about her…condition so it wouldn't be a problem taking you with me. For backup. And a little help with finding these," Glenn told me as he handed me a sheet of paper.
I took the paper from him and saw the name of a medication listed on it. I frowned. She wanted morning after pills. But these weren't exactly meant to work as an abortion pill would, which would only prove riskier for the baby's health if they didn't succeed in terminating her pregnancy.
"I'm guessing Rick still doesn't know?"
Glenn swallowed hard as he shook his head.
My frown deepened. "I really wish she would tell him. This doesn't feel right," I muttered to myself. To Glenn I said, "I'll go with you and help you pick up these, but I'll be grabbing some pre-natal vitamins if we find any. She should at least have both choices to think over."
"I'll see if we can borrow some horses to take into town. They'd be quieter than a car. Just get a pack together and make sure you've got your knife, just in case," Glenn told me before wandering off towards the farmhouse.
I gathered my hunting knife and attached it to my belt before throwing the strap of my backpack onto my shoulder. I waited for Glenn on the porch steps for a few minutes, my eyes just staring at the tree line.
"Ready to go?"
My eyes shot up to see Maggie and Glenn holding onto the reins of three horses.
"She wanted to come with," Glenn told me when he saw the confused look on my face.
I had a feeling Maggie didn't know what this run was for, or she wouldn't have wanted to come with. She seemed aggravated though, her jaw kept clenching and unclenching and she remained silent. I didn't understand her interest to accompany us if she was pissed at Glenn, but I figured I didn't want to get involved and instead climbed onto the back of one of the horses.
I followed behind both Maggie and Glenn as they led us downtown to the pharmacy. The entire ride I had been silent and trying to listen in on their heated conversation. By the time we had reached the pharmacy, all I could understand was that Hershel was pissed at Maggie for Glenn knowing something that he shouldn't. Which had me concerned. What secret could Hershel be keeping?
The three of us dismounted the horses and silently made our way into the pharmacy. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a bell on the door jingled.
"So what is it that you came here to get?" Maggie asked as she eyed the ransacked store.
"I can't say," Glenn told her.
Maggie spun on her heel looking irritated. "So one of them asks you to keep your mouth shut and make a run for them, and you just jump up and do it?"
"Maggie," I said, my voice a warning.
She shot me a glare. "Same goes for you too, I see."
Tired, Glenn handed Maggie the sheet of paper that Lori had written on. Maggie snatched it from him and read it over. She looked angry now as she glanced up at Glenn and then myself. "You've got to be kidding me."
Glenn shot me a dejected look as she stormed over to the pharmacy section. I let out a sigh and made my way to the vitamin section, scanning for the pre-natal vitamins. I spotted a few bottles and tossed them into my backpack. I glanced up to see Glenn picking up the few random items that had been on Lori's list in hopes to avoid suspicion as to what she really wanted Glenn to make a run for.
My eyes scanned the picked over shelves as I continued down the aisle, looking for anything else that might be useful. I was eyeing a bottle of multivitamins when I heard Maggie screaming from across the store. I dropped the bottle and was racing towards her, Glenn just inches ahead of me.
"Maggie!" he shouted in fear.
Behind the pharmacy counter, a walker had latched onto Maggie from behind the pharmaceutical shelves. It was snarling at her the more she screamed. Glenn snatched a shelf from one of the fixtures causing all of the items to clatter noisily onto the floor before he jumped onto the pharmacy counter. He swung the shelf at the walker's neck, causing its head to almost fly off. Blood splattered the front of both Maggie and Glenn's shirts before the walker dropped to the floor. Immediately Maggie was clutching herself tightly to Glenn's chest, sobbing into his bloodied shirt. I watched as Glenn wrapped his arms around her.
"It didn't bite you, did it?" Glenn was asking her frantically.
She was shaking her head into his chest and I saw him visibly relax.
A sudden snarling behind us caused my eyes to widen when they met Glenn's. Maggie turned over her shoulder and let out a scream.
"Izzy!"
I spun on my heel to see the walker had gotten to its feet despite its head hanging on by a thin piece of muscle and skin. My stomach turned at the sight and I felt ill, but it was coming right at us and I didn't have a chance to get sick. Instead, I pulled the knife from my side and lunged forward, stabbing the blade into the walker's skull and hitting it in the brain. The knife slipped out of its head as the walker fell to the floor. This time it didn't get back up.
I stood there panting and trying to catch my breath from the rush of adrenaline as Maggie continued sobbing into Glenn's shoulder.
"We should head back," Glenn finally said when Maggie had calmed down. "We shouldn't stay here longer than we need to."
Maggie nodded silently and the three of us made our way out of the store and back to the horses. I was surprised that they hadn't moved from their place and gotten spooked with all of Maggie's screams.
Once we had made it back to the farm, Maggie grabbed Glenn's bag full of the items on Lori's list and stormed off in her direction. Glenn, noticing her anger, rushed after her.
"This isn't going to be good," I mumbled to myself as I followed after the pair.
Maggie was yelling by the moment I caught up to her.
"We got your special delivery right here," Maggie spat, her voice loud as she began throwing items out of the backpack furiously at Lori's feet. "Next time you want something, get it your damned self. We're not your errand boys."
Maggie spun on her heel and stalked off as Lori tried to call out after her. Glenn shot Lori an apologetic look before he raced after the angry young woman.
Lori's eyes fell on me and I stood there uncomfortably, chewing my lip.
"Sorry about that," I said quietly. "She's just upset about what happened out there. And what we were out getting."
"Were you attacked?" Lori asked, her voice full of concern.
I nodded. "There was a close call with a walker in the pharmacy. It almost got Maggie."
"I'm so sorry," Lori said. "I thought it was safe in the town. I never would have asked any of you to go if it wasn't. I shouldn't have asked you to get these things."
I shook my head. "It's alright. But I grabbed you something that wasn't on your list."
I reached into my backpack and pulled out the two bottles of pre-natal vitamins. She took them from me hesitantly.
"It's your choice what you do," I told her softly. "But I think you should consider both choices. Really consider them. And I still think Rick deserves to be a part of your decision. He should know what's going on, Lori."
I turned and made my way back to my tent, crawling in and taking a moment to down the contents of a half empty water bottle before sprawling out on the blanket I had spread out this morning. I laid down, my eyes closed, and tried to catch my breath. I had left the flap of my tent open, allowing for a bit of air to enter in. Once I'd had a bit of relief from the heat, I sat up and readjusted my hair in the ponytail before my eyes focused on the blanket in the corner of my tent.
I grabbed the blanket and made my way back out of my tent, my eyes darting across our campsite towards the one lone tent just outside of the group of tents. Before I could talk myself out of it, I followed my feet one step after another until I found myself standing outside of Daryl's tent.
I took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply, trying to forget about the awkward encounter we had had last night.
"Daryl?" my voice called out hesitantly.
A grunt came from within the tent in response. Figuring since he didn't shout for me to go away, it was safe for me to make my way inside.
Daryl set the book he had been reading down on his stomach before eyeing me curiously.
"What're you reading?" I asked him, trying to see the title of the book.
He held it up silently so I could read the title.
"Andrea dropped it off this morning," Daryl told me.
I nodded in response, standing there awkwardly as I watched him lying on his back, his sleeveless shirt only partially buttoned at the bottom. I noticed he wasn't rushing to cover up his bare chest like he had done in Hershel's room last night. I tried to tell myself it was probably just because of the heat and I immediately turned my attention to the wound on his head.
"Your bandage is gone," I noticed, now being able to see the gash across his right temple where the bullet from Andrea's gun had grazed him.
"Stopped bleeding so Hershel said I didn't need to waste anymore bandages on it," Daryl explained simply.
I nodded in response before gesturing to his side. "How's your other injury?"
Daryl glanced down to his waist where the arrow had pierced him in his side. He frowned at it before looking back up at me. "Hurts, but it feels better today." He gestured towards the blanket that was neatly folded up in my arms. "What's that for?"
I glanced down at the dark grey blanket, suddenly feeling stupid about having gone through all of the trouble to bring just him a blanket back. I tried to fight the blush rising to my cheeks.
"I found some blankets yesterday when I was at my house. I know it's been getting colder out here at night. I figured you could use it," I told him before hesitantly setting it down beside his pack and his crossbow.
Daryl sat upright now, his back leaning against the pillow Hershel must have given him. He was eyeing me curiously now.
"Why?" he asked me, his eyes squinting at me as he waited for my response.
I was taken aback by his sudden question. "Wh-what do you mean?" I asked him nervously, my voice stuttering a bit.
"I mean why're you bein' so nice to me?" His usually gravelly voice was soft, inquisitive.
I stood there with my mouth open and closing for a moment, unsure of what to say. Daryl raised a brow at me, apparently not about to drop the topic.
"You've been nice to me," I finally blurted out.
"Everyone here's been nice to you," Daryl pointed out.
"I feel more comfortable around you than the others," I admitted quietly. My attention immediately turned to my hands.
Silence fell between the two of us for a few moments.
"I know what you mean," Daryl's gruff voice finally said.
My eyes darted up to meet his. He was eyeing me again like he had last night. I felt my heart rate increase and my palms sweat. The sudden urge to be closer to him was rising in me.
A movement outside the tent caught both of our attention, breaking whatever moment we were about to have. I spotted Lori running at a sprint away from the farmhouse. She looked to be in a panic.
"The hell?" Daryl asked confused as his eyes followed the woman.
My thoughts turned to those morning after pills and I was on my feet and running out of Daryl's tent right after her.
Lori ran all the way to the fence line at the edge of Hershel's property, and she only stopped when she was outside of the gate. I reached her just in time to see her forcing two fingers down her throat before she was immediately throwing up.
It was a few moments before she calmed down and took a seat in the grass, putting some distance between herself and the vomit. I sat down beside her silently.
"I don't know what to do," Lori said quietly.
We hadn't been sitting in silence for very long before Rick's booming voice was calling out his wife's name. My head whipped around in the direction he'd called from to see him running towards us. We were on our feet in no time. When Lori saw the morning after pill package in her husband's hand, she lost it and began crying.
"I should leave you two alone…" I muttered and took a few steps away.
Rick stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
"How long have you known?"
I hesitated a moment before reluctantly admitting I'd known for a few days.
"And you didn't think I deserved to know?" he yelled at me.
"Rick," Lori's voice cut in. "I asked her not to. She's been telling me to tell you this whole time."
"Who else knew?" Rick asked her incredulously. "Glenn must, since he's been doing runs for you."
Feeling uncomfortable, I quietly sauntered off, trying to give the pair some space to have what should be a private conversation I wanted no part of.
I made my way back towards the camp really wishing things would calm down around here for just one day.
"Hey!"
I stopped and turned to see Daryl's face peering out at me from his tent's screened window.
"What was that all about?" he asked me.
I glanced back to see Rick and Lori off in the distance still. If Rick knew now then it wouldn't really hurt to tell Daryl. I made my way back into his tent and sat down, watching as Daryl readjusted himself against the pillow propped up against his back. His book from Andrea lay forgotten by his side.
"Lori's pregnant," I told Daryl.
His eyes widened for a moment before his face went back to its previous inquisitive expression.
"That run Glenn, Maggie, and I went on today was to get her some morning after pills."
"She was tryin' to kill her baby?" Daryl asked in shock.
I eyed him for a moment, surprised by how upset he seemed about that. I nodded my head in answer.
"She threw up the pills though. Rick apparently found the packages so now he knows she's pregnant."
"She's pregnant and she didn't even tell her husband?" he asked in disbelief.
"Rick's pretty angry," I admitted.
Daryl frowned, his eyes trailing off to Rick and Lori's silhouettes in the distance. He made a sound between a grunt and a snort at their figures before turning his attention back to me.
"You ran outta here before I could say thanks," he said suddenly. "For the blanket."
I smiled at Daryl. "You're welcome."
His eyes landed on my stomach for awhile, which made me shift uncomfortably.
"There's blood on your shirt," he pointed out. His face was suddenly full of concern. "What happened?"
"We ran into a walker at the pharmacy," I told Daryl. "No one was hurt though."
"Wish my day'd been more eventful," Daryl muttered. "Can't even leave this damned tent."
"What if you just stepped outside it for a bit? Get a change of scenery for a few minutes?"
A slow smile spread across Daryl's face. "Guess I could do that."
Daryl leaned forward, trying to steady himself on his hands as he tried to stand up. His face twisted in pain as he did so and I was at his side, throwing his arm around my shoulders. I helped him outside of his tent, my side pressed up against his we took a few steps outside. He continued to lean against me for a minute as he stretched out his legs, careful not to undo his stitches in his side.
My eyes were staring at the sky as he continued to stretch out his muscles. The sun was setting and the sky was glowing with orange light. I hadn't enjoyed a sunset once in the last couple of weeks and now I was trying to take it all in.
"Haven't seen a sunset in awhile," Daryl suddenly said, voicing my thoughts.
I nodded mutely beside him. I felt his body shift against mine and I helped him into a sitting position on the grass. I made myself comfortable beside him, feeling a bit of a chill as a breeze blew past us. I shivered against Daryl's side and he noticed, glancing down at me.
"How're you cold?" he asked me in disbelief. "It's just starting to cool off finally. Been so damn hot all day."
I shot him a playful glare. "I'm not a human furnace like you are."
Daryl let out a snort of amusement and slung his arm over my shoulder, pulling me up against his side. I blushed when I realized we were basically cuddled up together watching the sunset.
We sat in silence for the few minutes it took for the sun to set. When the golden rays were almost gone and the sky was nearly black, Daryl broke the silence.
"What're you thinkin' about?"
"I was thinking about how crazy it is that there's still beauty in the world," I told him. "How can there be? At a time like this, where people are burying their loved ones? Or worse—being eaten alive by them? And yet…the sun can still set the sky on fire like that." I shook my head. "How can something so beautiful exist in such a horrible place?"
I turned my attention to Daryl, looking up at him from my place at his side. He was staring down at me with that expression on his face again, but he looked deep in thought at the same time. Almost contemplative.
"What?" I asked him.
He shook his head before turning his attention back to where the sun had just been moments before. "I've wondered that myself."
I raised a brow at him questioningly but Carol's voice in the distance caused us both to jump and break apart.
"Sounds like the dinner bell," Daryl joked. "We should probably go join the others."
"Yeah," I agreed, feeling disappointed that this moment between us had been interrupted. I felt like these little moments with Daryl lately were an escape from reality. If I was being honest, I never wanted them to end.
