I just want to thank those of you who are faving and following this story. I'm so sorry the updates take so long. But I am greatful that you have not given up on me.
That night Ell laid awake next to Rick as he slept soundly. His hair was longer and seemed to have more curls than she remembered. She tried to remember how this went. Sleeping next to him at night. Those first few nights after Tinley was born this was the only thing she could think about. Laying next to him in bed again and nothing about it seemed right.
She laid there and no matter how she tried she couldn't help but think about Daryl. How close the two of them had become during their time alone. The bond that required now words. A debt she felt she owed to him that she would never be able to repay.
Ell finally gave up and moved out of the bed slowly. Taking her time she made her way down the stairs and out to the front porch. It was no surprise to her to find Daryl already there. She sat next to him on the steps and peered out across the street. Everything was quiet. There were no walkers creeping around, no twigs snapping in the distance alerting them to the sound of someone approaching. There was nothing to be watchful for. "Couldn't sleep?" Daryl asked without looking at her.
"It's to quiet here." She glanced over her shoulder at the house. "Does this seem right to you?" she knew he had to feel the same way she did.
"Nah," his answer was short and sweet. "Nothing stays like this, not in this world. It's only a matter of time." The two of them sat there in the silence as the night ended and daylight made an appearance.
That morning Ell tried to go about her normal routine in this new place. She watched as Rick interacted with Tinley. Carl joined them and it all just seemed to crowed. She did her best to appear happy. She was trying to be. But it was just to much to fast and it was easy to see Tinley felt the same way. When she began to cry Ell was quick to take her and head for the front porch.
Outside with just her and her baby Ell was able to get her quieted down fairly quickly. It wasn't long before Rick came to find them. He sat in the swing with them and just swung for a moment. There was so much to ask but he didn't want to overwhelm her. "Diana wants to see you." He started slow.
Ell just nodded. He'd explained who she was and why she wanted to see her. It all seemed odd but she didn't want to make any waves. "Daryl's over there now, maybe we can go after lunch." Rick suggested. Again she just answered with a nod. "Has she started talking yet?" He asked reaching out for his daughters hand.
"Just a few words." Ell couldn't look at him. Tinley had started talked just a few weeks earlier. The usual first words, mommy and daddy. But she was calling Daryl daddy. Things were tense enough, she didn't want to add fuel to the fire. Rick couldn't wait to hear her talk. He may have missed her first words but he would be there for everything else, he was ecstatic.
The first few days were like walking on egg shells. No one was really sure of what to say, or how to act. But somehow they seemed to find their groove. For a few days things seemed like everything was going to be fine. Daryl began working with a few other men. Teaching them to hunt. Ell stayed home with Tinley. She wasn't ready to leave her with anyone other than Daryl. And it was there at the place she was beginning to call home that the drama came to find her.
Sitting on the steps of the front porch one morning Ell watched over Tinley as she crawled around on a blanket. When she saw a blonde woman walking toward the two of them she stood. She still didn't trust anyone new. Walking to the steps at the end of the walk she met the woman at the curb. There was no need for her to come any closer to her child. "I'm Jessy," she reached her hand out. Ell just looked at her. "Rick asked me to stop by, see if you needed anything."
"Were doing fine on our own." She looked her over before turning on her heels and picking up her child. Not looking back once she took her baby inside.
Rick returned home that afternoon after talking with Jessy. He found it hard to believe that Ell would act the way she described. After their almost fling maybe she was jealous that Ell was back. He found Ell inside with Daryl, both watching over Tinley as she played on the ground. "Hey," he stood next to her in the kitchen. "I just ran into Jessy, she said you were rude to her." He knew there had to be a mistake.
"I don't need you sending people to check on me and Tinley throughout the day." Ell was annoyed that he would even bring it up. She'd put that woman in her place, that should have been the end of it.
"She was doing me a favor." Rick was a little taken back by the sudden change of attitude.
"If I need help, I know who to ask." She started to walk past him but he took her by the arm preventing her from leaving.
"Are you mad at me." Rick's tone changed as his head tilted to the side. There was no reason for her to have this kind of an attitude. Not over something this small, and not with him.
Daryl knew things were about to get heated. He also knew this was something they needed to work out between the two of them. Making a hasty retreat he snatched up Tinley and walked out the front door. What ever the two of them needed to say was about to be said and she didn't need to see it.
"What kind of friend is this Jessy?" Ell figured she would cut the shit and get to the heart of the matter.
"Are you asking if I slept with her?" He huffed and walked to the other side of the kitchen island.
"I've seen the way she looks at me every time we pass her on the street." She waved her hand in the air.
"Did you sleep with Daryl?" Rick yelled at her. The second the words slipped off his lips he regretted them. But he was thinking them, why else would he have said them.
"NO! We were a little busy trying to keep Tinley alive. Are you serious?" She was pissed now. How could he think anything like that?
"Is that why you can't sleep in the same bed as me?" He waited for her to respond, but the look on her face was all the answer he needed. "Yeah, you didn't think I knew that you wait for me to fall asleep before you sneak down here to him."
"I'm done with this argument." Ell turned on her heels walked away.
Rick was pissed. Their reunion hadn't gone like he'd hoped but this was the last thing he expected. Watching her walk out the door and slam it behind her he wondered how things went from asking Jessy to look in on her to him accusing Ell of sleeping with Daryl. Walking to the couch in the living room he flopped down wondering what he would have to do to make things right. How could he get them back to where they were? Could they go back?
Ell walked down the street looking for Daryl. He'd taken Tinley with him when he left. She was glad that Tinley wasn't there to hear them fighting. Her and Daryl had never yelled at each other. Why couldn't things with Rick just be easy like they were with Daryl? Walking down the street people walked past her smiling. She did her best to force a smile and a nod, but it was all just a little to fake. She hated this place. No matter how safe it appeared, she hated it.
Arriving at Aaron's she found Daryl holding Tinley. Stepping in the garage she nodded when Aaron spoke and waited for him to excuse himself for some reason. He knew she wanted him to leave, and he wasn't the type to create drama. Finally alone again with Daryl she waited for him to say something, anything that might be useful. He never had to much to say, but some how always found the right thing to say at just the right time.
This time he wasn't sure what to say. He knew he was closer to her than almost anyone else he'd ever been close to in his life. And he loved the little girl he was holding more than he'd ever loved anything else. But he knew what ever it was between her and Rick they needed to figure it out without anyone else getting involved. Stay together, breakup for good, what ever the end, they had to be the ones to make that decision.
She was annoyed when he didn't speak. And that just added to the reasons she hated this place so much. He could see it on her face and wanted to offer what he could. "It will get better." He stepped closer to her. Shaking her head and fighting back tears she wrapped her arms around him and her daughter and just held on.
Rick walked down the road trying to find Ell. If they were going to figure this out they needed to stay in the same room long enough to do so. It had always been her way to walk away when she got angry. But that wasn't going to cut it this time. When he reached Aaron's house he stopped in the middle of the street. Watching her hug Daryl as he held Tinley almost made his knees buckle. Maybe it was too late? Maybe she couldn't love him anymore because she loved Daryl no matter how much she may not want to admit it.