They arrived at Sears first because they had been in search of a new gas generator and some supplies to store up for winter; more people on the farm meant that what Herschel had on hand for his family was not going to last. They had brought two trucks this time and they meant to fill both of them up with supplies and tools they would need in the coming months.
There was no choice but to venture out further and further from the small towns around the Greene farm. Everywhere else had been picked clean long ago. The root cellar Herschel kept filled with canned goods was getting used twice as much now, even though everyone was only eating twice a day, except the kids who got three meals a day.
Herschel's old generator was on its last legs, there were certain things that a generator afforded them and no one wanted to rough it if they didn't have to. Winter loomed over them like a dark cloud, this was the first of many trips they would need to take before they had enough. If they had a generator and with the three fireplaces in the house, they would be warm come winter.
Soon they would need baby things, like a crib, diapers, formula, the list was long, almost never ending. They were making lists week by week of what they needed to get and when they needed to get it. There was room made for books too on the list, anything to keep the teenagers occupied and not sneaking around being shady.
The last thing they needed was a repeat of Halloween, if Maggie hadn't stopped the three girls they would have gotten themselves into some trouble for sure.
There was a plan on how this was going to go down, Lucy also wanted more medical things to keep in their arsenal. There was no production of anything and soon there would be nothing left. There was a CVS on the other side of the strip mall they were at and the plan was to be gone an hour or so and then meet up.
It was the hope that they'd be done and back from this errand quickly, but the parking lot was swarmed with the animated dead. It took a good hour just to make their way through, they had no choice, the next mall was an enclosed one, and they weren't trying to end up like Dawn of The Dead and get trapped there.
All of them had people to get back to, so no chances were being taken and everything was planned down to the minute. Next time Lucy suggested hitting up a doctor's office, Lori would have the baby before they knew it and they had to be was just so much to do and so little time it seemed. The five of them gathered around the cars to finalize their plan, while keeping track of what was lurking around.
Lucy was not trying to get her hair grabbed by one of them again, that was a lesson she wouldn't forget. Now she wore it up on top of her head in a bun and was considering cutting it. Daryl liked the way her hair looked up and was distracted once again, being near her was akin to torture sometimes.
They were friends again though and he was grateful that they had worked that out. It had been worse when they were apart and not talking. He never wanted to go through that again. The end of the world had taught Daryl that he needed people, even if he didn't want to.
"Ok so we'll meet up in two hours at the most," Merle instructed as they stood there in the parking lot after clearing it of the dead, "Lucy keep him out of trouble." He winked at her.
/
Daryl and Lucy took off in one direction and Merle Andrea and Rick went the other way with plans to meet back up in two hours. The trio were going to Sears to look for the generator and Lucy wanted to look for more antibiotics and medicine so they headed to a pharmacy.
"I want to get cough meds and tami flu, cold and flu season is coming and we don't have a hospital to rely on, one bad flu could wipe us all out." Lucy pulled a list out of her back pocket. She had been making lists of what they needed for weeks.
"Ok Nurse Ratched," Daryl teased.
"Laugh all you want, someone has to think of this shit." She countered, "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."
"I know, it's just fun to bust your balls cause you get all riled up," He opened the door, making sure to tap on it to find out if there was anything lurking in the dark store.
"Jerk," She laughed.
"You love it…" He answered.
The store was dark, with just the afternoon sun for light through the windows, and he didn't like walking into places he couldn't clearly see. Daryl was hyper aware of his surroundings at all times now since he and Lucy had met with that guy on the road to the CDC.
No one was going to put them in that situation ever again.
They could hear something growling in the darkness as they entered the store and Daryl insisted on going first. There was one lone walker in the store that they could see. He shot it swiftly in the head but there was still growling coming from the back of the store, once they got there they'd take care of that, first things first.
/
Lucy grabbed a basket and headed back to the pharmacy area in the store. As she went by the pharmacist, who was stuck on a rack of sunglasses she casually knifed it in the head and continued to the back where the medications she wanted were stored.
Daryl watched as she picked up bottles, read them and then either put them in her basket or back on the shelf. She was smart as fuck and he stood there for a second just watching her. He had made a huge mistake and she had forgiven him, it wasn't the same between them though.
They were getting there slowly and he was content with that. This was so new to him, he had never spent so much time with one woman before, he had never wanted to. He had never spent so much time looking at a woman before, he had every curve of her face memorized, the slope of her neck and the way her hair hung down in tendrils around it made his heart thump right out of his chest.
"What are you looking at?" Lucy asked without turning to face him.
"You…" He answered simply and he saw her grin even though she wouldnt look at him, "Just admiring the view…"
"Get to work Dixon…" She laughed.
"Like your hair that way…" He muttered and went about finding the things on his list.
He hoped eventually she would trust him again, and he would make sure that if she did, he'd never let her down again. She had trusted him with everything and he had pushed her away cruelly, he didn't blame her one bit for being cautious. Little by little they were working their way back to each other though.
But that was a worry for another day. He combed the isles looking for anything that he could think of to bring back and stash for the winter. The store had been picked over pretty well, but there were still things on the shelves.
Daryl's back was turned from the door and he didn't see the car pull in right in front of the door. Lucy happened to glance over to him and it was a good thing she did. She saw what was happening outside and it wasn't good.
"Oh shit Daryl," Lucy called and pointed to the four men getting out of the car, one of them was a familiar face too. The men were dicking around and lit up cigarettes like they had all the time in the world and Daryl practically flew to the back of the store where she was.
"Get down," He dove over the counter and grabbed her by the waist to get them down and out of the way. They hit the floor hard and he was on top of her, "You ok?" He whispered and Lucy nodded as he rolled off of her and pulled her backwards.
Daryl skittered across the floor with her in his arms to look for another door just as the bell over the door rang and the men entered. This was not going to happen again, no fucking way.
"That was fucking Ed Peltier with those guys!" He hissed in her ear.
"Shit," Lucy whispered back, "Talk about dumb luck."
Daryl pulled her closer and behind him up against the far wall, there was no door out. Just a door to the mall, and it was on the other side of the counter. They were stuck, and he wasn't chancing a damn thing this time.
He could easily pick off one guy with the crossbow but then the other guys would have warning and could either shoot at them or go after Lucy and he wasn't having that. Ed was holding a grudge for sure and he had never liked Lucy because she was "mouthy" he once said.
Funny how that was what Daryl loved most about her.
The men were loud and obnoxious, and really didn't seem to be there with any purpose except to get condoms. They made lewd comments and each time they spoke Daryl tightened his grip on Lucy. They were not good people, Ed had found his tribe.
Lucy could see the sweat beading on the back of Daryl's neck and he backed them up more so that they were out of sight. He kept her safe behind him the whole time holding his breath, almost afraid to breathe.
It seemed like the men had been in the store for hours eating food and leaving half of it to rot, knocking over shelves and pocketing all the condoms in the store.
"What a bunch of creeps," Lucy whispered and Daryl put his hand over her mouth.
"Be still," He breathed into her ear.
Daryl just prayed they got what they wanted and got the hell out of there. If the men wanted drugs they would be found and then he would fight to the death to defend her, but until then, they waited.
****Nothings gonna hurt you baby, as long as you're with me you'll be just fine****