And here it is! The long awaited update! You are going to like this chapter, I just know it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Enjoy!
Daryl couldn't believe it, he had let himself get comfortable, to relax and he got himself bit for it and it was one agonizing lesson. Bree slowed the truck down.
"Shit, Daryl! We have to do something about it. Where were you bit?" She reached over towards him and he waved her away.
"Jus' go, darlin'. Git further from this blasted city an' then we are gunna deal with it." He felt his pulse beat in his right shoulder where the walker had managed to sink his teeth into him. The bastard had come from behind and Daryl did the first thing he could and punched the walker in its rotting face. There wasn't any time to really realize what had happened as he had his mind on getting his prison buddy into the back of the truck and getting out of the compound.
"Are you sure?" Her voice sounded concerned and Daryl just nodded, gritting his teeth against the agonizing feeling of the bite pulsing on his shoulder. He felt her drive faster and he hoped the guy in the back was alright, the road wasn't exactly the smoothest in the world. He coughed and Bree gave him a glance sharp with worry.
"I'm fine, darlin', jus' git us sumwhere safe." He closed his eyes and breathed, not wanting to focus on the pain directly. It took another half an hour before Daryl was willing to let Bree stop, by then he was feeling a bit warm. It was a treed in area and Daryl winced as the truck came to a full stop and Bree put it into park. The right side of his shirt was soaked with blood and it was soaking into the seat as well.
"I need a knife, Daryl. Do you have one?" She had crawled across the seat towards him and he gave a painful nod before tapping his front pocket. Her fingers dug it out and Daryl watched as she straddled his lap and flicked open the sharp pocket knife. She grabbed the blade and he wanted to stop her as she jerked the knife from her closed fist. He could see blood dripping from her fist and he tilted his head to the left.
"My shoulder." The words were gritted out and he closed his eyes as Bree pressed her freshly cut hand to the wound. She applied a tear inducing pressure to the wound and Daryl wanted to push her away for that alone. "Jesus, darlin', take it easy." Sweat dotted his brow and she muttered a few choice words under her breath as he felt her touch his forehead.
"You are burning up. Let's hope this works. We are going to build a campfire and I have no clue where our packs are." Her voice trailed off and Daryl touched her face with his left hand. She looked at him with a worried expression and it felt nice having someone worry about him.
"In the back of the truck, darlin', I really hate thinkin' of everythin'." He winced openly as she removed her grip on his shoulder and pushed the door open. She was back within a few seconds, digging through her pack. She pulled out the medical supplies he had stolen from the police station and climbed into the truck. She straddled his lap once again and opened a packet of large gauze squares. She wiped her bleeding hand on her pants with a wince and Daryl watched in utter fascination as she squeezed it into a tight fist, bleeding onto the white fabric.
"Don't look at me like that. I have to make sure the proteins and cells are transferred." She pressed it to his shoulder and Daryl winced as she pushed down hard. He could hear her rummaging through the pack with her free hand and then he could hear the sound of medical tape being pulled from the roll. The pressure from her hand increased as she started pulling the gauze tight over his bite wound. It took her only a few seconds to tape it before her hands were on his face pulling forwards a bit. He frowned at her, he could feel her blood warm blood seeping out onto his skin from her cut hand and he was kind of wary of what she was doing.
"What the he-" Bree kissed him, her tongue slid along his unexpectedly and Daryl sat in shock, temporarily forgetting the issue at hand as she pulled back. "What the hell, darlin'?"
"Oral culture transfer. Making double sure you aren't going to turn into a mindless beast on me." She pushed the door open and she slipped into the dark. Daryl felt his face flare red. He hadn't thought in a million years that Bree would do that. It made sense but he didn't think she would actually consider doing that. She was back and she startled him slightly, his fever was getting worse and he was feeling woozy. "You need to get your pal out of the back of the truck and to the fire. After that you are going to sit beside the fire under your blanket. This fever is going to be a doozy." She reached up and Daryl took her helping hands without a word. Bree backed off and Daryl walked along the side of the truck and used his left arm to lower the tailgate.
"You okay in there? She didn't kill ya with her drivin', did she?" He watched as the prisoner sat up. Touching his hand to the makeshift cast Daryl had put on it with the mattress batting, some old wooden police tape slats, and duct tape.
"She's an alright driver. I'm alright and my leg no longer hurts thanks to you. Where are we?" The man slid towards the tailgate and Daryl shrugged, feeling the bite mark pulse with his heart beat but the pressure on it helped with some of the pain. He helped the man stand on the ground before letting him wrap his arm around his neck and walking him towards the small fire Bree had built. "You are running a bit warm there, friend. You okay?" Daryl just nodded as he helped the wild haired man sit down by the fire before taking a spot on the opposite side, his head feeling incredibly light. He leaned on his good arm, unsure if he could sit up straight without the world tilting. Bree threw another bunch of sticks on the fire before quietly coming over. She pulled the blankets from the pack and placed one on him. Daryl didn't want the fabric on his skin but he wrapped it around himself anyway and laid his head on the pack Bree shoved at him with her foot.
"Here." It was Bree and Daryl cracked his eyes open to see her passing her blanket over to the stranger. Daryl shook his head slightly and closed his eyes. He jumped slightly when Bree sat down beside him. She just shook her head and he rubbed at his sweaty forehead and he prayed to the god he no longer believed in that he would wake up to see her face and not see her as some food. Her cool hand ran over his forehead and Daryl felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, the dizziness dragging him downwards into a never ending spiral of darkness.
Daryl woke up to the sun high in the over cast sky. A small warm body was curled up next to him and he sat up, wincing at the pulling of the bite wound on his shoulder. Obviously her blood and oral cultural transfers worked and he was still very much human. He reached over and shook her shoulder. She sat up instantly and looked at him with wide eyes before visibly relaxing. It looked like they had been sharing a blanket during the night. She did give hers to the other guy. Daryl glanced over the cold fire pit to where the man was lying with his back turned to them.
"I don't think I would have had it in me to put a stick into your skull." Her words were oddly quiet and Daryl looked at her as she rubbed her forehead. Her braid was a complete mess and his eyebrow rose slightly.
"That's the sweetes' thing ya have ever said t' me, darlin'." He smirked at her as she punched his arm lightly. She stood up completely and Daryl rubbed at his eyes, they felt almost dried out and he was incredibly thirsty.
"I have to get more sticks to restart the fire." Bree hurried away and Daryl stood up, shaking out the blanket before shoving it back into the pack. He needed to find a place where he could get a drink. It almost looked like Bree had brought them to a campsite as several log building shells stood in a relatively clear area. Daryl headed towards the largest building, hoping that there was running water. He found the rusty valve and turned it. Brown water sputtered out of it and he let it run, waiting for it to turn clean. A plastic bucket was put under the spout and Daryl looked over at Bree who looked up at him with tired eyes. In fact she just looked exhausted.
"You ain't lookin' so hot, darlin'." He watched her carefully and she shrugged before picking up the half full bucket and throwing the dirty water away from their feet. She placed the bucket back in the same spot and Daryl waited for her reply.
"I had a long night." She rubbed at her neck and kept her eyes on the running water. Daryl didn't let his gaze wander and she looked at him suddenly. "You scared the shit out of me. You stopped breathing. You stopped breathing and I thought I was going to have to kill you. I didn't want to have to do that. Not to you." Her eyes were the perfect mixture of green and brown and Daryl was taken aback at her rather emotional response to his almost demise.
"I take it I started breathin' again." He inhaled to make the point and she nodded slowly. Daryl shook his head slightly. He could understand. "No need t' worry, darlin'." He pushed the bucket over with his foot and liked the sight of the now clear water running onto the ground.
"Yes there was, Daryl, because you are all I have left right now." Her words were almost fiery and Daryl stopped in picking up the bucket. "I don't have Merle, I don't have my mother, I don't have the fucking walls to keep me safe. All I have left in this world in this pathetic little moment is you and I nearly lost you too." The words were damn near heart wrenching and Daryl stood up straight, forgetting about the bucket. He grabbed Bree by her shoulders.
"Ya didn't. I am here, right now. Don't think about such things." He watched as she shook her head. He felt a strange tightening in his chest and he saw her in a completely new light.
"But I could have. I could have." Her eyes looked at him with such worry that Daryl realized what it was that was so different. She had let him in, she had let him into that shell that even Merle couldn't break. The little woman cared about him. Daryl grasped her chin and kissed her. He wasn't sure why he did but the moment felt right, like the universe had aligned to show him what was going on right in front of him. He dropped one hand to her waist and pulled her closer. Her hands clutched at his blood stained shirt and he shifted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss.
Bree was meant to be a Dixon and now Daryl knew how that was supposed to come about and it wasn't Merle's brotherly affection. He pulled away and Bree's eyes shot open and she stared at him in utter confusion.
"What was that?" Her voice sounded breathy and a bit wobbly and Daryl smirked. There was a reason he hated the thought of anything happening to her and that was because he had grown fond of her, cared for her. It was as big of a surprise to him as it was to her. Not love, he wasn't even sure he was capable but caring, he knew he could care.
"Oral culture transfer, just makin' double sure." He drawled the words and her eyes narrowed. "That an' makin' yah stop goin' all depressed on me. A dream can't do that t' yah, darlin'. I'm still alive." She stopped at that and Daryl watched as she seemed to ponder that before looking at him. She seemed to take him all in, as if committing him to memory.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." He gestured at himself and she shook her head.
"I'm just thinking. How long will that guy be with us? Because as long as he is in camp, I can't sleep under your blanket anymore." She looked at him and Daryl immediately got her meaning, his face tinged a bit pink but he smirked.
"As long as ya are willin' t' brin' 'im." Daryl turned to look at the now muddy ground. He gave a little curse before picking up the bucket and filling it with water. Bree reached over and shut off the tap. "Ya ain't shy about this. That's strange." He didn't really understand it but she seemed like the type of person who should be shy about anything sexual.
"I'm twenty eight years old. I think I have deserved the right to be open about my sexuality. For godssake the world has all but ended. I think I should be allowed to break a few cultural stereotypes. Besides I did the shy, virginal thing. It sucked. I hated it." She looked up at him and Daryl had to admit she had a point. "If I want sex, I am going to go out and say it." His face went a faint shade of pink and he had to smirk widely at the interesting creature he had just seemingly discovered.
"That's my girl." He let himself smile at her and she took the bucket from him with a small smile of her own dancing on the edges of her oh so soft lips.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Their first kiss! The oral culture transfer the night before doesn't really count but yay!
