29

Much to the group's relief, Daryl and Aibileen had found a place to stay for the night. It wasn't a big house, and there were some walkers that the duo had taken down before returning to their friends. There was a very narrow pathway they would have to walk through, but the cars and Daryl's motorcycle would be able to go so far before it'd be impossible for them to drive any further.

And that was what happened.

When they reached the small home Aibileen and Daryl found, carefully watching their step and keeping a close lookout, they made it to the house without running into any walkers. It really did seem that the cold weather was doing something to the walkers—the colder the weather became, the less walkers they ran into.

It was both a blessing and unsettling to the group.

Once they reached the home, the sun had completely gone down, even with the thick, grey clouds covering the sky. The air had gotten colder and bitter.

"There's a master bedroom on the furthest side of the home," Aibileen told Rick. "There's one other guest room and a bathroom. It ain't much, but it was the best Daryl and I could find."

Rick shook his head. "It's fine," he said. "Thank you."

Aibileen gave a lazy shrug before walking off to where the rest of the group was. They were putting their few belongings around the small living room, trying to figure out their sleeping arrangements. There was a bit of a lighter feeling amongst the group—there was an actual place for them to sleep, it wasn't perfect, but it'd have to do for the time being.

Aibileen took a moment to sit next to Lori, who had carefully placed herself on a cushioned chair.

"Ya doin' OK?" Aibileen asked softly.

Lori looked at the other woman with a small, tired smile.

"I've been better," she answered solemnly. "Still feeling sick every now and again."

Aibileen nodded. "This house has a pretty good master bedroom ya can share with Rick," Aibileen said. "The bed looks pretty comfortable, could be nice."

"Thank you." Lori placed her hands, unconsciously or not, on her swelling stomach. There was an almost distant look in the pregnant woman's eyes. "I don't think Rick would want to share a bed with me," she said softly.

Aibileen felt a flutter of discomfort in her stomach.

"Rick's your husband..." she said, trying to find the words to say.

"He's been distant since he found out about Shane and I." Lori looked away. "I don't even know if this baby is his. I think that's really getting him upset."

"He'll come around," Aibileen said after a moment's silence.

"Even Carl's been acting differently," Lori said softly. "He's bitter, he ignores me. Nothing I say seems to make any difference. I only hope this baby can mend my relationship with Carl. Rick, too."

Aibileen looked down for a moment, unsure on what to say.

"Well, uhm, maybe this baby will be just what Rick and Carl needs," Aibileen said, trying to sound reassuring. "Though, I wouldn't say havin' a baby in world like this is good."

Lori nodded. She brushed some hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ears.

"I understand that," she murmured. "And I've gotten the impression from the others that being pregnant with walkers all over the place wasn't a good decision to make."

"There're things we just can't control," Aibileen said. "Gettin' sick, gettin' pregnant—that's outta our power now."

"I really wish it wasn't."

"Me, too."


Daryl had spent a good amount of time outside, inspecting the area, making sure no walkers or dangerous living people came stumbling by. Though the hunter wasn't too sure, it had to be well past midnight. He was tired, and since Aibileen wasn't out with him—for one, he wouldn't allow it; he'd noticed how exhausted Aibileen looked—there was a quiet that just hung in the nighttime air.

The usual buzz of the nighttime bugs and animals had all but silenced.

Hearing the front door open, Daryl saw Rick walk up beside him, looking at the scenery.

"Why don't you go inside?" Rick turned and looked at the hunter. "You need the rest. You look exhausted."

Daryl glanced at Rick for a moment, his crossbow on one hand as he thought over what Rick had said. Daryl was tired.

Most of the time he actually went to sleep was because Aibileen told him to. If it hadn't been for her, he'd rarely get any sleep at all. But Daryl could only assume the reason Rick was the one telling him to sleep was because Aibileen was asleep.

With a single nod, Daryl went back into the house, Rick taking over the watch for the time being. When Daryl stepped foot in the house, he saw the sleeping forms of the others, and saw Aibileen's form curled up on the ground, furthest away from the others. Something stirred in Daryl's chest as he saw her—she looked younger—almost younger. Aibileen didn't look as tense when she slept. She almost looked like she was twenty-four.

After the group had settled in for the night, Daryl and Aibileen didn't spend much time together after that. Aibileen was helping Carol with the cooking, helping Lori when she needed it, keeping an eye on Carl and Lori while Rick went to go check the perimeter, keep watch with T-Dog, Glenn, and Maggie—it seemed like Aibileen was doing more work than the hunter was.

He gave a silent sigh, shaking his head.

Since Aibileen joined Rick's group, it seemed like she was trying her hardest to prove her worth. It was like she didn't know that the group already accepted her long before she joined. And no matter how many times someone told her how useful Aibileen is, it was like it went straight over the woman's head.

'I don't want them to think I'm worthless. I like it, bein' here with y'all. This is the first time I've felt safe in a long time.'

Daryl had seen the uncertainty in Aibileen's brown eyes when she had said that. The hunter knew that Aibileen had her insecurities, but the one he seemed to frequently notice with Aibileen was her fear of the others thinking she couldn't do anything.

Sitting himself beside the sleeping woman, Daryl placed his crossbow down beside him. Hearing Aibileen mumbling in her sleep, out of the corner of his eye, Daryl saw Aibileen turn onto her back, one of her arms placed behind her head like a pillow.

After what felt like an eternity, Daryl heard Aibileen whimpering. Looking down, he saw the woman's face scrunched up in what looked like pain. Whenever Aibileen had one of her night terrors, he always tried to comfort her or wake her up. She always seemed a little disorientated when she was awoken from it. On one occasion, she thought she was still dreaming and pulled her knife out, swinging it wildly through the air. When Daryl snapped her out of it, she was teary-eyed and breathing shakily, apologizing for her erratic actions.

Daryl had to wonder what would happen if he woke her from her night terrors. If every one would be like the knife incident, he would have to figure out another solution. Hearing her whimper again, her body shifting uncomfortably on the ground, Daryl tried to figure out something that would calm her down without waking her up or the others.


Aibileen saw the blood gushing from the wound on Jamie's leg. He was hysterical. Kevin, Jackie's youngest son, had been the one who pulled Jamie away from his mother; all of them were in hysterics, trying to get away from their mother while trying to protect themselves and stop the bleeding on Jamie's leg.

Aibileen snatched some of the medicine and supplies Caleb had gathered and took her son from her younger cousins. They all scurried as far as they could get from Jackie.

Jamie cried against Aibileen's side as she held him, his tears wetting her shirt. The two of them sat down, Aibileen looking at Jamie's leg uncertainly. She had no medical training. There had been a good chunk ripped out of her son's leg, and blood was dripping all over the floor and puddled around where he had been attacked. Not only that, blood was smeared all over Jackie's face.

Running her hand through Jamie's hair in an attempt to comfort him, Aibileen had her son placed on her lap, keeping a close eye on the bitten leg.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry," was repeated over and over again by Aibileen, said softly to her son.

"It hurts!" Jamie cried, wrapping his arms around her neck, crying into her shoulder.

Looking at the bitten leg, the veins around the leg looked a little discolored, blood puddled around them. Jamie's blood stained Aibileen's clothes, the stench of the blood hung in the air—coppery and heavy.

"Baby, I'm so sorry," Aibileen said, kissing the top of her son's head.

Tears formed in Aibileen's eyes. She didn't know what to do. Jamie's cries mixed together with the cries of Caleb's sons; the snarls of Jackie mixed in there too, and it was hard to concentrate.

Jackie had been bit by one of those things, and she became one of them.

Jamie had been bit by Jackie, who was infected with something neither of them understood.

It was only a matter of time before...

A sob ripped its way through Aibileen. She held her son closer to her.

~The Walking Dead~

Aibileen felt herself suddenly wake up, breathing heavily. Her heart was pounding painfully against her chest, the beginning stages of a headache in the back of her skull. Taking a deep breath, Aibileen was about to get up when she realized something was weighing her down. She felt something draped over her waist, something pressed against her back. Turning her head carefully, Aibileen's eyes widened when she saw Daryl laying behind her.

If her heart was pounding before with the nightmare, it sure was pounding at the sight of the hunter sleeping behind her.

Swallowing thickly, Aibileen tried to get herself out of Daryl's grasp without waking him, but she didn't know how light of a sleeper he was.

His eyes shot open and he momentarily tightened his grip around her waist. Once Daryl realized the position he was in, he shot up, red in the face.

The two of them looked at each other, Aibileen's back pressed up against the wall behind her, Daryl had scurried a little bit away from her. Brushing some of her hair out of her eyes, Aibileen adjusted the clip in her hair and took a deep breath.

Quickly standing up, Aibileen rubbed her hands over her face before glancing down at the hunter, still in momentary shock.

The two of them, once Daryl was on his feet, went in the direction of where the others were, not saying a single word. Instead, they settled for helping the others with moving their few personal belongings and the essentials that were gathered, a sort of awkwardness settling between them from how they'd found themselves.


Author's Note:

Just leave a friendly review, telling me what you think. If there's anything you guys would like to see in any upcoming chapters, just let me know and I will gladly add it in.

I don't own the 'Walking Dead', sadly. I only own Aibileen, any fillers I put in, and any other characters I add to the story.

Thank you.

Susan Strong