Disclaimer- I do not own The Walking Dead.
It's me, again. I hope you enjoy and if you do maybe you could drop a review. Completely up to you.
A little heads up for the crude remarks in this chapter between my favourite brother and sister duo.
Danny's POV
Merle lets out a short but extremely loud laugh.
"Ya gonna shoot me"?
Apparently I'm quick on the draw but not so quick at lowering it again. Daryl raises his eyebrow at me causing me to instantly lower it down. "Sorry". I give him a sheepish grin and then I just jump at him, narrowly missing being hit by his crossbow as I throw my arms around his neck.
"Are you okay?" He whispers into my hair, but I just nod into his neck.
Finally I unwind my arms and allow my feet to touch the ground again. "Are you okay? Are Sophia and Carol okay? Where are they?"
He rest his hand against my neck and rubs his thumb gently against my jaw. "They're fine we set up 'bout two miles that way". He gestures towards the area we saw him emerge from.
"We should have bet on it". Merle mumbles to me, yeah yeah. Of course he was right.
"Shut up". I throw back at him.
"If you two are ready we should start headin' back". Daryl swings his crossbow onto his back.
"Walking?". Merle questions and complains with just one word.
Daryl raises one eyebrow, "It's quicker across the fields".
"Um, he's just upset because this has all been too much exercise for him. He biked yesterday and he did not enjoy it". Merle shoves his forearm into my back, knocking me forward a couple of steps.
"Hey shit head, shut up! I'm gonna go grab our stuff". Merle then hurries back to the garage to grab our stuff so we can go.
He reappears a few seconds later with our pre packed bags hooked onto his arm. "I have a question for ya? How is it ya saw him and didn't recognise him from his clothes?"
I roll my eyes and behind me I hear Daryl groan deep in his throat. I barely saw the lower half of one leg and the tiniest bit of his back. It wasn't even enough to tell if it was a Walker or not, how was I supposed to know it was Daryl.
"You're his brother, you've been with him the longest. Why didn't you recognise his shoes, huh?"
"You're the one fuckin' him, ain't it somethin' ya should notice". Merle smirks at me.
"I don't spend the whole time staring at his feet, geez Merle". The heat in my cheeks certainly warms me up slightly.
Daryl's hand grips onto the back of my neck, and with some slight pressure he forces me to turn around. "I ain't listenin' to this". He then encourages me to start walking with a little push. "You two are fuckin' ridiculous." I just grin to myself.
As we walk through the maze of semi's and out into the field Daryl emerged from he lets go of his grip which allows me to take my bag off of Merle.
"What! No thanks for carryin'..."
"One of ya is stayin' behind", Daryl interrupts Merle mid smart arse comment. "We ain't got room for the both of ya".
"Well, I'm his brother. Sorry squirt, it was nice while it lasted".
I turn around but Daryl keeps me moving, he grabs a hold of my arm to stop me falling over on the uneven grass. "As you so crudely stated, I'm sleeping with him. Isn't hard to guess which one ain't needed dear brother". I point at Merle over Daryl's shoulder but he just narrows his eyes at me.
Daryl roles his neck and sighs. "And ya both questioned why I was fed up of ya spendin' time with each other. Ya turnin' into each other". I think he's feeling a mixture of humour and annoyance. Probably just wants to get back and our messing around isn't helping.
I face forwards and mumble a quick sorry.
"Are you okay?" Daryl leans in close to me, close enough that his breath makes my hair tickle my cheek.
"I'm good, now that we found you. Why?" Do I not seem okay.
"Ya limpin' more".
I make a noise somewhere between a scoff and a chuckle. "That exercise I talked about Merle havin' to endure, well I had to go through it to." I glance up at Daryl to see him scowling. "Don't worry it doesn't hurt anymore than usual. I just need a little rest". After another quick glance at him, I sigh and offer him a smile. I bump my shoulder into his arm, "I promise. I'm fine".
A painstaking two miles later and I know I'm limping more than I was when we started, but Daryl doesn't comment on it this time. Probably because we can see the truck just up ahead and it means I can rest, we can all rest.
"Danny!" Sophia comes flying around from behind the truck, her arms pumping fast as she races towards me. I brace for impact knowing full well it's going to hurt but is also so very much wanted.
I close my eyes as she slams in to me, turns out she's either way stronger than I remember her being or I'm weaker because she knocks be back and together we go tumbling to the floor. The main thing I'm thankful for was I was holding my bat otherwise that would have hurt like crazy. There is a little groan as I land on my gun but that I can deal with.
She somehow managed to keep a tight grip on me, she lays on my front and lifts her head up to look at me. She's wearing the biggest grin. "I knew you were safe." She hugs me tighter.
"There was never any doubt". Carol appears above us. "Sophia darling, get off her".
Sophia scoots back and instead kneels beside me, allowing me to sit up.
"No, I knew you'd be safe. I knew you'd bring Merle back. It's what you to do. You save people".
Okay, I don't think that's something I can live up to but instead of disagreeing with her I just offer her my own smile. "I'm so glad you're okay".
"Of course I'm okay, Daryl protected us".
I lean in closer, basically whispering in her ear. "See, I told you he liked you". Her already blushed from the cold cheeks get darker in colour. Carols hands on her shoulders force Sophia to stand and allows me to get off this damp ground. Daryl's strong grip on mine is what actually helps me to my feet. Honestly, if it wasn't so wet down there I think I could have happily stayed there, had myself a power nap.
When I'm steady on my feet Carol surprises me with a hug of her own. "I'm so glad you're safe".
"Me to, I was worried".
She holds me at arms length. "I'm so sorry we left you. We didn't know how to get to you. I feel awful".
I pull her in for another hug. "Don't. You did the right thing". I let out a sort of chuckle as I step back. "Although I'm kind of thinking we need contingencies in place for each place we go to. 'Cause you can't tell me we didn't find each other with anything other than serious luck".
"We won't need plans, we ain't separatin' like that no more." Daryl seems very adamant about that.
"Sure but you can't be certain that something won't happen by accident which ends up getting us separated." Daryl opens his mouth in what I assume is to argue with my point. "It happened on the highway". That makes him think.
He lets out a deep hmmm and runs a hand through his hair. He slowly turns his head in all directions, checking off in the distance, before setting his eyes back on me. "We can do that. We get some maps and at every stop we make a plan, just in case". I think he really hates the idea of admitting that something could go wrong to the extent we all get separated again.
Merle claps his hands together, obnoxiously loud. "Right, now can we get somethin' to eat. I'm famished". Carol eagerly agrees and pulls Sophia with her as they make their way back to the truck, Daryl follows after with me in tow.
Merle's arm lands heavily on my shoulder. "Now we're back together I expect ya to eat tonight. Don't think I didn't notice ya not eat ya food last night". Even though he keeps his voice low enough for my ears only I can't help but look at Daryl's back, hoping he didn't hear that.
My words get lodged in my throat and all I manage is a nod. He seems satisfied with that and jogs to catch up with Carol. As he runs past Daryl, Daryl looks back at me and does something that makes my heart clench. He holds his hand out behind him so I can hold it.
The music plays softly into my ears as I lay in the back seat of the truck with my earbuds in. I was supposed to be sleeping but it didn't come so I thought maybe I'd drift off with the comfort of music, that didn't work either.
I open my eyes to a feeling, I tilt my head back slightly to see Daryl stood by the open window. It's cold but I needed the breeze. When he notices my eyes are open he leans his arms on the frame so I pull out my earbuds.
"Ya really should try an' actually sleep". He looks beside him for a second. "Merle told me ya didn't get any last night."
I swallow a little heavily. "I was worried".
He sighs and reaches a hand in to push some hair off my forehead, "I know, he said that to".
I force an eyeroll. "Does he not know the meaning of secrets?" What we talked about yesterday was supposed to be between just me and him.
Daryl rubs his hand down his mouth and chin, "I'm sure there are things he knows 'bout you that he ain't tellin' me, same with you.".
I sit up and scoot over to the window. "I'm not keeping secrets from you. They were just concerns in the moment. Things we don't need to worry about now we're back together". I place a hand on his folded arms. "Plus you haven't told me how you were feeling when we were all separated. Its the same thing. How much sleep did you get?" He grunts something unintelligible and then leans in and kisses me. I revel in the touch but I still can't help the snicker that comes out of me. When he pulls away I squeeze his arm. "See".
"Please, get some sleep".
"Only if you join me". It's still light outside, I'm guessing early afternoon. "They can cope without either one of us for a couple of hours. You need sleep just as much as me I guarantee it".
He sighs, "Fine". He pulls open the door as I scoot back to allow him room. It takes us a little shuffling around but we finally get ourselves comfy. He rests a pillow against the door so he can lean against it, one foot is resting on the floor and the other is straight out in front of him. I lay between his legs with my back against his chest, his chin resting on the top of my head and I already feel like I'm drifting off.
Don't hate me, I know this is short but I really wanted to get this chapter out and I didn't want to add anything else to it. I like it how it is.