A/N: Oh my goodness! I am so super sorry everyone! I have been so busy lately that I have had almost zero time to write/edit. I swear that I've thought about you all everyday and worked my hardest to get this chapter up for you, so thank all of you for your continued support and patience. This chapter is just a filler/awww moments to tide you over until I can start on my next main plot point. Unfortunately, with school being so hectic, I'm not sure how frequently I'll be updating over the next few weeks. But at the bare minimum I swear on my life at least one update a week unless a major catastrophe! Anyway, I'm through babbling now :) Please read and review and enjoy!
Apparently, Beth had decided to try and kill herself in the wake of the barn incident. That's what all the yelling was about when I walked inside. Maggie was arguing with her sister, loudly, and Andrea and Lori were arguing in the kitchen.
"So go in there and tell that little girl everything will be okay. She'll get a husband, a son, a baby…boyfriend. She just has to look on the bright side," Andrea's voice rang out and I heard Lori's jaw hit the floor. No one (except me, and I had always been a lost cause) spoke to her like that. Andrea walked out of the kitchen and past me, giving me a smile, which I returned. I was really starting to like that girl.
"Adeline? Is that you?" Lori called and I sighed before walking into the kitchen.
"Yeah," I said and leaned against the doorframe.
"Will you please take these clothes and hang them out to dry?" She asked, gesturing to a basket of laundry sitting on the counter. I fixed her with a look and she sighed. "I need to keep an eye on Beth plus cook supper, please. Could you pitch in just this once and do something useful?" She asked and a small fire sparked within me.
"Shut up Lori. 'Pitching in' isn't sitting around playing house all day. It's out there scouting and protecting the camp, not making sure the pillows are all fluffed before we go to bed. Get a clue. The world has ended and you can't just sit around on your ass all day doing nothing," I snapped before turning and walking out of the kitchen.
I had suddenly lost my appetite and decided to go find Daryl in the woods. I treaded carefully and kept a sharp eye. I found him in some dense brush, crouching.
"Walk any louder and you'll scare the entire woods away," he whispered and I stopped.
"Wow, you have good ears," I said and crouched next to him.
"No, you walk loud enough to wake the dead. No pun intended," he said with a smirk. "Now hush up before you scare off the squirrels." I did as I was told and remained silent, watching him scan the area for prey. When he finally saw a squirrel scampering up the tree, he lifted his crossbow and fired a bolt. It went still immediately and he got up.
"That should be enough for today. I got three more in my bag," he said and patted the bag around his shoulder for emphasis.
"Good, because this is not how I like to spend my time," I joked and he smiled.
"Girl can kill walkers without blinking, but kill a squirrel in front of her and she gets all squeamish," he retorted and I fixed him with a playful scowl.
"Walkers are not cute and fluffy," I countered which only made him laugh.
"Yeah, and you can't eat 'em either."
"Fine. Whatever. I don't have to like it," I said.
"What are you doing out here anyways? Thought you were eating," he said and I frowned at the memory of Lori.
"Queen Bee was on her soap box so I didn't want to be around," I told him with a shrug.
"Sounds about right," he said and spit on the ground before shoving the squirrel in his bag. "Wanna help me skin them?" He asked and I crinkled my nose slightly.
"Seriously?" I asked and he rolled his eyes.
"Come on princess, there a'int nothing to it," he said and started walking back towards the farm. I followed behind him and we made it back in no time. He kept going up to his new residence on the other side of the hill and I went with him. When we got there, he sat on the old stove and pulled out his knife.
"Come on, sit down," he said, gesturing to the seat next to him. I sat easily and he handed me another knife, not quite as sharp but still deadly. "Now watch," he instructed and started demonstrating how to properly skin a squirrel.
"Oh, that's disgusting!" I squealed and he smirked in devilish delight.
"Fine princess, I'll do it later," he said and put it away. I breathed a sigh of relief and handed him his knife back. "So, what's Queen Lori bitching about now?" He asked, a smooth change of topic.
"No idea really. Something's going on with Beth and she and Andrea got into it so who knows," I shrugged.
"Same old same old huh?" He asked and I nodded.
"But let's not get into all that. I've had enough of her drama for a lifetime," I said with a humorless laugh. "Hey, want to go for a swim? It's actually warm today and that pond looks heavenly," I said and stood up.
"Sure," he said and stood too. I started walking towards the pond when I was suddenly lifted off of my feet.
I squealed as he started running with me thrown over his shoulder. When we reached the edge of the pond he jumped and we both went flying through the air and crashed into the water. He let go of me when we went into the water so I swam easily to the surface. I shook my hair and water splayed everywhere. Daryl surfaced a second later and was grinning from ear to ear, laughing evilly.
"So, is the water as 'heavenly' as you thought?" He asked and I scowled at him playfully.
I splashed him quickly and he got a dangerous glint in his eye.
"Oh, you should not have done that," he said and quickly ducked under the water. I looked for him but the murky water made it difficult to see. Suddenly, I was being lifted out of the water. Daryl was standing with me on his shoulders. I screeched and laughed.
"Apologize!" He called.
"Never!" I yelled back with a laugh. He reached up and grabbed my arms, and started to fall backwards. I yelled as we went flying into the water. When we resurfaced, he let me down.
I started floating on my back easily, swimming across the pond. I stood up and saw Daryl floating as well. I smirked and quietly waded over to him. I jumped up and landed on top of him, sending him under and springing up, but not before he grabbed my arms and yanked me down with him.
"Nice try," he said when he was back on his feet.
We continued in this way for a long time. Playing, splashing, and talking. I loved seeing him like this, carefree and open. Finally, when the temperature started dropping, I pulled myself out of the water and onto a rock nearby. I started wringing out my hair that had come undone by this point. He followed me out of the water and sat beside me, dripping with water like me.
"Patricia is never going to let us in the house like this," I said, gesturing to our soaked and muddy clothes.
"We'll dry quickly, sun's still out," he said, looking up at the sky. I pulled my hair back messily and wrung out my t-shirt too. I stood up and he did too.
"We better get back. If Shane gets back and I'm not there, he'll freak out," I said, trying to gage how long we had been out here. Daryl nodded and started leading the way back to the farm. We walked back over to his new residence and sat in the sun to dry.
By this point, my shorts were mostly dry but my shirt was soaked.
"Here," Daryl said and held out one of his button-up shirts from his bag.
"You sure? Keep this up and I'll have more of your clothes than you do," I laughed but took it anyway because a chill had started creeping up my spine.
"It's okay, they look better on you," he said and I smiled at him. I got up and went behind the tree line. I pulled the wet shirt over my head and tossed it to the ground before sliding on the way too big shirt and buttoning it up. It hung loosely around my frame, giving no flattery but covering everything well enough. The sleeves hung down on my small arms so I rolled them up a few times and used a hair band to tie the shirt up and make it fit a little better. Once I was satisfied I picked up my shirt and walked back over to Daryl.
"Yeah, it definitely looks much better on you," he said and I blushed a little. I flopped back down beside him and pulled off my boots to let them dry as well.
I heard the roar of an engine and looked out towards the road and saw a car rolling up into the drive.
"They're back," I said with a smile and started running down the hill. A look over my shoulder showed Daryl following, though much more slowly. I reached the car as soon as it parked and Rick climbed out of the driver's seat. He looked ragged and had cuts on his face. Shane got out next and I saw blood on him as well. My heart sank as I looked between them. Then, I noticed Randall sitting in the back seat.
"Wait, what is he doing back here?" I asked, very confused by the situation.
"Long story Ads, tell you later," Rick murmured and I wrinkled my nose at the old nickname. "Take him to the barn," that was directed at Daryl who had joined us now. He nodded once and yanked open the car door, pulled him out, and started dragging him towards the barn.
"Addie, you okay?" Shane asked, looking worn and walking around to stand in front of me. "What are you wearing?" He asked, seeing my new attire.
"I'm fine, what about you? What happened out there?" I asked, avoiding the second question.
"Nothing important. Rick just chickened out, of course," he rolled his eyes and leaned against the car. I looked up to where Rick was walking back up to the house and Lori was waiting on him. I bit my tongue to stop from commenting, deciding to stay neutral in this argument.
"That cut looks bad, let's go clean it up," I said and tugged on his arm but he wouldn't budge.
"I'm fine. Just leave me alone," he said and pulled his arm back, shocking me.
"What is it?" I asked him, a little hurt by his outburst.
"I said nothing," he snapped and marched off towards his tent. I watched him duck inside and then turned around. Daryl was walking back towards me, Randall locked inside the barn.
"Hey!" He called and held out something as he approached. As he got closer, I realized it was my shirt. I must have dropped it when I ran to the car.
"Thanks," I said with a half-hearted smile and took it from him. I wrapped my arms around my chest, a physical manifestation of my nervousness and hurt.
"What's wrong?" He asked with a furrowed brow.
"Nothing," I said, trying to put on a convincing smile but I could tell by the look on his face that I wasn't fooling him. "Shane's in a mood again," I said dismissively.
"Did he hurt you?" Daryl asked, a flash of anger in his eyes.
"No!" I said quickly. "No he didn't hurt me. He wouldn't," I near, whispered the last part, wondering what was going on with him. He nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder gently.
"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be okay," I could tell he was a little uncomfortable with the emotional topic and smiled at him for trying to help.
"Yeah, I'm sure," I said and looked up at him. His eyes were blazing and I found myself falling into his gaze, mesmerized by the beautiful blue. Suddenly, we were gravitating towards each other without realizing it and my heart was speeding up with each second.
"Rick!" Someone yelled and we jumped apart. I heard Daryl groan and couldn't help but smile a little at his frustration. I saw Rick walking down the steps of the porch and Lori following right behind him. I shook my head at them before turning back to Daryl. Again, I was left not knowing what to say. Luckily, I didn't have to stand awkwardly for long.
"Daryl," Rick said, approaching us quickly. "I need you to get some information out of Randall. We need to see if he and his group are a threat. Do whatever you have to, just get answers. Wait 'til morning, then do what's necessary," Rick spoke quickly and passionately.
"What?" I asked, some of my anger coming back. "Why Daryl? You want answers get them yourself, don't have someone else do your dirty work for you," I snapped, coming between him and Daryl. I saw a flash of weariness in his eyes as he dropped his gaze to me.
"He's the best one for the job. Randall will be more afraid of him than anyone else," he said, holding up his hands defensively.
"I'll do it," Daryl said and I looked at him sharply. "I'll take care of it," that was directed at me. He was telling me he was okay with it. I dropped it then and Rick looked thankful and walked back over to a waiting Lori.
"You don't have to you know," I said quietly, not meeting his eyes.
"No big deal," he said with a shrug. The electricity from out encounter was still humming in the air and I wasn't ready to leave its warmth just yet. "One day, there won't be any interruptions," he whispered in my ear and walked off.
