"Okay, I got another one." Alice braced herself, so far Daryl had been taking full advantage of the game she had suggested they play instead of having sex. He hadn't been impressed when she turned him down but she was determined to make sure he followed the doctor's orders and got his rest. She would more than make it up to him when he was all better again.
"Okay, shoot."
"Tell me about tha' first group ya was with when this all started." Her eyes flickered towards the window where the sunlight was pouring in. The brightness was cheerful as were the noises coming from outside. The people of Woodbury were chatting in the street, talking about the weather, their families and their crops as though there was nothing wrong in the world anymore. Weeks ago Alice wouldn't have believed that she would still be in bed at noon listening to a town so full of life. A lot had changed for them recently but Daryl had no idea how much she had changed along with the world before she had even met him. A huge part of her didn't want him to know, if she was ashamed of the things she had done then what on earth would he think?
"C'mon!" he laughed, nudging her playfully with his elbow.
Dismissing her negative thoughts she began to speak. "Well...you're gonna hate me for saying this but with the first group...we...well, had a lot of fun." Daryl couldn't have looked more confused if he'd tried. Her eyes looked away from his nervously and spotted the bottle of water on the bedside table. She passed it to him, it had been a while since he'd had a drink and he wouldn't be able to say anything if he was drinking either.
"It was early days. Pretty much everyone just packed up and left. We didn't think about what was happening around us, what people were going through, me and my friends would just get drunk and take anything we wanted! Even the walkers didn't bother us. We believed that the world had owed us something for so long and I'd already lost both the people that mattered most to me so for a long time I didn't care what happened to me or other people. It was kind of our rule not to help other people but that changed for me when Mike started to let people into our group. He didn't step up as a leader and the newcomers suffered for it. I started doing things for them. I barricaded the shop we were staying in so they'd feel safer. I went on runs for more food and medicine. It felt really good to help them."
"So what made you leave?"
"I knew that the group wouldn't make it, I tried to get some of them to come with me but Mike and his friends had guns, they felt safe there. He asked me to stay and I probably would have if he hadn't spent the entire day drinking vodka and shooting walkers from the top of the roof for fun with his friends."
"So you already knew him?" This time his empty bottle landed perfectly in the bin when he threw it, Alice smiled. He'd taken a couple more pills just as the sun had come up and since then his temperature had been normal- he was definitely on the mend!
"He was in care too, that's where I knew him from." She replied, looking guilty. At the mention of another man's name Daryl's carefree expression disappeared as he attempted to hold in some very unpleasant words. Even if it was long before they had met the idea of Alice with another man didn't feel right at all. Sensing his discomfort Alice rolled on top of him and nibbled on his bottom lip until he was pulling her into a kiss. It hit Daryl everytime, it was unbelievable how she could kiss him in such a way that he knew that he was her everything. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, inciting a cock hardening moan he hadn't expected. His hand shot between their bodies to release himself from the confines of his underwear but Alice beat him to it, her warm hand curled around his member and slowly moved up and down his admirable length. It was then that someone started to knock on the door, they both knew exactly who it was without even looking. Alice quickly pulled on her trousers and fastened her bra before letting Merle in.
"So what's wrong with him then?" Merle asked, nodding to the closed bedroom door. Alice grabbed a glass and poured him some whiskey before he even asked. At some point she'd moved past simply tolerating the man, in fact she quite enjoyed his company.
"He's run down, Merle. He needs to rest." she warned, hearing the sarcasm in his voice.
"Rest, huh?" Merle looked her up and down suspiciously and smirked at the messy head of her she was wearing.
"Hey." Daryl greeted his brother appearing in the room. He slumped on the sofa and rubbed his eyes. Even after spending half of the day in bed he still felt tired. He looked at Alice, feeling again completely grateful for her, she was always looking out for him. She didn't notice his eager eyes on her, she was busy in the kitchen taking stock of how much food and water they had left. After restacking the jars and cans in a tidy tower she moved across the room to brush her hair in front of the mirror that was on the wall by the front door. Her hair was pouring down her back all the way down to her hips in a beautiful waterfall of golden blonde. It took her awhile to brush out the tangles but Daryl enjoyed watching her, doing something that was so ordinary made him almost enjoy being in their new home. After living in Woodbury for a few weeks Daryl was starting to understand why the other residents loved their town so much, it was as close to 'normal' as they were ever likely to get.
"How ya feelin', little brother?" Merle joined his brother on the sofa.
"Better. Thanks. Did ya come here jus' ta check on me?" Daryl replied, wondering why Alice had disappeared into the bedroom.
"No. Wanted to ask ya both somethin' too." The main reason he had come over was to check on Daryl and he was really relieved to see him looking okay, not that he would tell him that. Alice came back in, taking the glass Merle was holding out for her into the kitchen. She and Daryl exchanged concerned looks.
"Go on." Alice said softly.
"The Governor wants us to go on a run, a long one. With winter comin' he wants to be ready." The town usually sustained itself fairly well with the crops they grew and the few animals they had but they needed that bit extra to get through the colder months. Whenever supplies ran low other survivors were usually the target so Daryl and Alice were both rightly reluctant to agree to tag along.
"A run where, Merle? We ain't goin' after other groups." Daryl said.
"I know you ain't. We've been picking everything clean within twenty miles so we're gonna head out maybe thirty or forty miles an' see what we can find."
"You sure you got enough gas for that?" Alice asked.
"Plenty. We don't use the cars much."
"Daryl?" Alice looked to her favourite guy in the world, whatever he decided was what they would do.
A/N What do you think Daryl will decide?
