So this chapter is a littler filler between leaving the quarry and reaching the C.D.C. and gives me the chance to introduce another character of mine.

And I wanted to thank you for the continuous feedback I've been getting. Especially on the last chapter because I really wasn't sure if what I had in mind would play out right.

A sudden loud noise jostled me awake and I felt the RV come to a slow halt. I let out a groan and pulled myself to my feet in the tight space of the toilet. A short look into the mirror confirmed that I should throw some water in my face before getting out. At least I had calmed down after falling asleep on the floor.
I slowly opened the door and peeked outside, seeing only Jacqui and Jim in the back, both sleeping, so I exited the vehicle. We were in the middle of some road, steam coming from the front of the RV while those who decided to come with us had gathered around.
"What happened?" I asked while walking closer.
"Thank God! I thought you would never come out of there…" Carol pulled me into a tight hug before anyone else had the chance to say something. I hesitantly put my arms around her and met several pairs of eyes, which I didn't dare to stare into for long. Especially one set of blue and one set of brown eyes, both men a threat to me, both in their own ways.
"I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from the cube van." Dale emerged from the engine compartment and wiped his hands on a dirty rag. So the hose ripping had been the loud noise.
"Do you feel better?" Carol finally let go of me and I nodded with a fake smile at her.
"Yeah. Must have been something I ate." She nodded and turned back around to listen to what the plan was now. Shane stated that he could make a gas station not far from where our convoy stopped and that there might be something to help us out. At the same time Jacqui came out of the RV and informed us that Jim's condition was getting real bad.
"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back," Shane bellowed while Rick made his way over to the RV's door and T-Dog was quick to volunteer to tag along.
"Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back." With that he made for his Jeep when Rick nodded. Still he made a stop next to me and leaned down so only I would be able to hear him.
"And you keep your feet still and your mouth shut, princess. You know, accidents happen so fast…" I looked up at him and felt my heart skip a beat at his words.
"You just watch your own back, deputy." I wouldn't let him hold control over my emotions and like hell would I bow down to him. He let out an amused snort and followed T-Dog. With a small sigh I let my right hand fall back next to my thigh since I had involuntarily reached for my Glock when the ex-cop had approached me again. I looked away from his retreating form when a shadow fell on me.
"You want me to go in there with you?"
Rick shook his head. "I think this might be the last conversation he is having. I'll let you know if he needs something. Why don't you take a short walk, catch some air? You look really pale." I slowly nodded as he entered the RV. I didn't feel the need to be around people right now, and maybe Rick was right, a short walk should help to set my mind back into place. I strolled off into the direction we must have come from, seeing some abandoned cars on the roadside which nobody seemed to have cared to check out. Getting closer I pulled out one of my knives and decided to go for the red Subaru at the far end of the small group of cars first. With a little effort I cracked open the trunk after checking the inside of the car for walkers. I jumped back a little when a hand emerged from the car and tried to grab me with a snarl. Embedding my knife in its skull, I quickly ended the walker trapped inside and pulled it out. Fully opening the trunk I was greeted by nothing but a bloodstained blanket and a half empty pack of cigarettes. Disappointed, I let my shoulders fall.

Slow footsteps had me whirling around with my knife ready to strike when I realized my back was left unguarded and expected a walker to be creeping up behind me.
"Jesus, get that outta my face." I blinked at Daryl who seemed just as surprised as me. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Rick an' the dead guy?" He lifted his crossbow up on his shoulder and watched me carefully.
"I needed space. And nobody else seemed interested in these cars. Was worth a shot." I shrugged my shoulders and leaned against the car with my arms crossed over my chest.
"Find anything?" Instead of answering I threw the pack of cigarettes his way. He caught it mid-air and peeked inside.
"Not bad," he mumbled and put them in his leather vest. I shrugged since I didn't care much for the cigarettes and wasn't in the mood to talk to him. Not that I would know what to say to him anyways. I was surprised he even talked to me after what I threw in his face earlier that day. I walked past him to check out the other cars which seemed to have already been searched some time ago. Deciding there was nothing left here, I started to walk back. Even if it hadn't been long, the short walk had helped a little to calm my nerves and bury those unwanted memories back deep inside.. At least for now. Tonight might turn out to be not so great, though…
I was only a few feet away from the convoy when I heard Shane's Jeep return from the gas station and slowed down a little, which gave Daryl time to catch up and walk by without another word.
"Found something that might help," I heard Shane's voice and he handed something to Dale, who nodded and turned back to the RV.
"A little help here. And I need our doctor." T-Dog was still half inside the Jeep and tried to get something out that was hidden by the door. Glenn jogged over to help and I froze where I was standing when they pulled a man from the Jeep's backseat.
"It can't be…" I whispered and rushed over to them. Without paying attention to anyone else, I threw myself at the new arrival and wrapped my arms tight around his neck. He was thrown off balance by the impact and T-Dog was quick to catch us both with a grunt. I pulled back a few inches and took in the man's appearance.
"You look like shit," I stated with an almost cracking voice.
"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" I let out a loud laugh and hugged him tight again.
"I can't believe you are alive, you asshole," I whispered in his ear and kissed his cheek.
"You know each other?"
I smiled at Glenn. "A little. He is my brother." Everyone around us stared between the two of us, which I could understand completely. Since we were so different, people often didn't believe we were siblings.
"What happened with your leg?" I only now realized that he was leaning on his right leg and there was blood on the left one.
"Found him inside the gas station. He was trapped under a cooler." I nodded and pointed towards the RV.
"Get him inside, will you? I'll be there in a minute." I pecked Adam's cheek once more before T-Dog and Glenn helped him into the RV. I slowly walked over to Rick, wanting to know how Jim was doing.

"We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that." I was taken aback by Shane's sudden outburst of humanity.
"What are you talking about? Who do you want to leave behind?" All heads turned my way, apparently they hadn't noticed me approaching.
"Stay out of this, princess." I glared back at Shane. There he was. That's more like him.
"No, she should know. Jim wants us to leave him here. He is in pain and the RV moving isn't helping with that. I don't know Rachel… He wants us to just leave him to die." Rick had one hand on his hip and the other kneaded his neck uncomfortably. I let out a heavy sigh.
"It's not your call, either one of you," Lori chimed in, and I agreed with her.
"She is right. It's his decision how he wants to go out. And if he can't take the movement and the pain anymore, then let him at least go in peace and on his own terms." Rick let out another heavy sigh, and I knew how he felt. It was like pulling the trigger yourself but it was Jim's life. If he wanted to be left behind, we should respect that. Rick nodded at Shane and they walked towards the RV to carry Jim outside. When they passed by me, they stopped for a second at the dying man's signal. He motioned for me to come closer and I carefully took his hand.
"Thank you for trying." I squeezed his hand in return, not able to form words with my throat feeling tight. My eyes followed them when they carried him away and I soon turned away and entered the RV.

T-Dog and Glenn had sat my brother down on the bench at the small table opposite the entrance. Adam pushed himself up into standing and held his arms open for me. Much more carefully than before, I slid my arms around him and leaned against his chest. Seconds later I realized I was sobbing and my tears had stained his shirt.
"I thought I'd never see you again, you idiot," I sobbed.
"Me neither…" His voice cracked while he rested his head on top of mine.
"Mom and Dad… Did they… Are they…" I couldn't bring myself to end the question, too afraid of the answer.
"I don't know. They never made it to Savannah, and I couldn't reach them by phone. I had no idea where they sent you and if you were still alive and kicking… I thought I was the only one left." Adam's arms tightened around me and I let out a heavy sigh.
"I am glad at least you made it." I looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. Returning it, he gently cupped my cheek and laid his head against mine.
"We might not always have seen eye to eye but I missed you every day you weren't around, and when I thought you were dead…" Adam replied with a low, trembling voice.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt anythin'." I turned my head to see Daryl standing in the door, looking awkwardly to the side and biting the inside of his cheek again.
"You didn't. What's up?" The hunter looked back up at me, something in his eyes I couldn't quite say what it was.
"Dale's got the hose fixed an' Rick wants ta leave. Wanted me ta make sure ya two were good ta go. Give ya the heads up yer buddy can stay in the RV." I noticed how his accent was stronger again, so clearly he was upset about something. "An' I still got yer bow if ya want it back…" With that he just left.
"Is he always like that?" Adam asked and I looked back at my brother.
"Still haven't figured him out completely. But I think he is a good guy, most of the time at least. I'm gonna patch you up in a minute, just need to get my stuff back before we leave." I helped my brother sit back down before I went back outside and over to Daryl's car with his brother's motorcycle back in the truck bed.

Daryl had been ready to put an arrow through that asshole's head the minute he knocked Rachel over. He didn't really recall why he had decided to follow her into the woods when he saw her leave early in the morning. He knew she could take care of herself, still he had been a little worried when he saw Shane had started following her. With the way the former cop had been eying her since she first talked back at him, the hunter wasn't sure what his intentions were, and he'd be damned if he left her out there alone with him. He owed her that much for going back for his brother.
For a short moment he had lost track of Rachel, but when he'd caught up again, Shane had just knocked her down. Shane had positioned himself on top of her, and had pressed a knife to her throat. She had fought back at first, which left Daryl surprised and shocked when she suddenly went still. That was when he stepped in, telling Shane to get off her. He had only gotten a short glimpse of her face afterwards since she refused to look at him directly, but what he saw there wasn't the woman she had been these past days. When she just took off, he grabbed her abandoned bow and went after her only for her to lash out at him.
"Go to hell, asshole!" And she just stormed off, almost knocking Glenn on his ass since the Korean wasn't fast enough to get out of her way.
"Yeah, whatever!" Daryl had yelled after her but with no effect.
Going back to his tent he was aware that everyone was still staring at him, but they all quickly looked away when he glared at them. Everyone still asleep must have been woken by them screaming at each other. He didn't know why she had been so pissed at him. He didn't do anything but get that punk off her and that's what it got him. With an angry growl, he kicked his water bucket against the nearest tree and cursed himself for trying to help.
After strapping Merle's bike into the bed of the pickup truck and getting his stuff loaded into the cab, he sat behind the wheel and waited for the others to finally be ready for takeoff. Since Rachel didn't come out of the RV again, and he didn't plan on going over to her, he just put her bow in the truck bed with his brother's bike. Somehow he was still wondering what Shane had in mind back there, whether he wanted to slit her throat and leave her to bleed out or do something worse to her just for payback.

Finally on the road, they hadn't made it far until the next problem occurred - a ripped hose in the RV. Annoyed, Daryl got out of his truck and watched Shane and T-Dog leave for some gas station a little further up ahead of the road. Rick disappeared inside the RV to talk to Jim and Rachel took off on her own again. With an annoyed sigh the hunter registered that the new widow, Carol, was making her way over to him. "What ya want?"
She flinched and hugged herself. "Could you watch out for Rachel? I don't know where she is off to, but I am worried about her after she closed herself into that toilet for hours. I…"
"Why would I care? Ain't her babysitter," he interrupted the woman and effectively shut her up. She looked at him with big doe eyes.
"Please. If something happens to her…" Carol continued despite his statement.
"Jeez woman! I'm goin'... Just get outta my hair a'ready!" Daryl grabbed his crossbow and followed Rachel down the road they had been on for the past few hours. He found her scavenging through a small group of abandoned cars, and almost got stabbed when she suddenly turned around, expecting him to be a walker. When he asked what she found, she just tossed half a pack of cigarettes at him and made her way back towards the others after the rest of the cars checked out to be useless.
They joined up with the others just seconds before Shane and T-Dog. To his and everyone's surprise, they pulled another person from the Jeep. The guy looked pretty beat up, with his left leg clearly injured. Next thing he knew, Rachel suddenly threw herself at the stranger, apparently knowing him. Daryl didn't know why it bothered him so much that she was so happy to see this guy with his stupid model face and dark hair in a ponytail. He scoffed and went back to his car to check if the bike was still strapped in tight before Rick approached him.
"Daryl!" He turned to see Rick a few feet away and beckoned him over.
"Could you check on Rachel, tell her we're leaving? Just make sure she got that new guy patched up." Letting out an annoyed growl the hunter shook his head.
"The hell y'all think I am? Some errand boy? What's with ya today that everyone wants somethin' from me?!" He was getting pissed about everyone wanting something today and him only getting kicked in the ass for it.
"I need to take care of Jim. Just this once, I'm gonna make sure no one bothers you again." Throwing his hands in the air Daryl turned around and made for the RV. Yeah, be a good little dog, Daryllina!
"Shut up!" he grumbled at his brother's voice in his head, knowing Merle would tear him a new one for doing Rick's business.

Opening the RV's door, he felt like someone punched him in the balls. Rachel was standing close to that new guy, her face in his hands and almost close enough to kiss.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt anythin'," he mumbled and was ready to bolt when Rachel turned to him, asking what he wanted. He gave her the heads up just like Rick wanted and on a whim told her that he still had her bow before leaving the awkward scene.
Trudging back to his car the hunter kicked off stones, his mood going south once more today. Told ya that would happen. Did ya really think she'd look at ya twice with a pretty boy like that around? He hated his brother's voice being so loud in his head today. He didn't know what he was thinking. Certainly nothing like that. He didn't even really know her, and apart from that, he knew that even if he liked her, she was too good for him in every sense.
"Daryl, wait!" Damn that voice, too… He turned around to see Rachel was jogging after him.
"What?" he asked, a little harsher than he meant to.
"You said you still have my bow." He nodded and motioned for her to follow him. Reaching inside the truck bed he retrieved it to hand it back to the woman next to him.
"Already patched your boyfriend up?" He bit his tongue as the question slipped past his lips. Rachel gave him a confused look, the gears in her head obviously turning.
"Don't know about any boyfriend, but no, I haven't patched my brother up yet. I figured he would survive a few more minutes." Daryl bit the inside of his cheek and made to say something when a loud noise caught them off guard.
"Let's roll!" Shane bellowed and had everyone get back into their vehicles again. Before he had set one foot inside his, the hunter felt warm fingers on his arm.
"Hey… I meant to thank you for this morning. And I wanted to apologize for lashing out at you." He looked at Rachel and nodded. With a soft smile she took her hand away and turned to leave before stopping again.
"I know I am in no position to ask this of you but I'd appreciate it if nobody knew what Shane did. I… Just please don't tell anybody." Her request stirred something inside his guts, a feeling that this was about more than just the fact that the cop had intimidated her.
"If that's what ya want," he replied and watched her walk away.