A/N- Chapter 9, can you believe it? Honestly I have shocked myself. As I wrote the last chapter I got three more Alerts, so thank you guys so much. I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this story as much as I am enjoying writing it. Thanks to those who just added me to their Favorites, Alerts and gave Reviews! Shall we my loves?
I groan and roll over onto my back, I open my eyes to see I was in my own tent. I had slept most of yesterday in Daryl's tent, got up and patrolled with Abby for a few hours. I rub my eyes and look over to see Abby must have been up already. I get up slowly and grab my duffle back. I change into a pair worn and torn jeans, a pink tank top, that hugged my curves and slide my feet into my boots. I tied my waist length hair back into a ponytail and grabbed my holster. I check over my guns, as usual, make sure they are locked and loaded. I yawn a bit and step out of the tent. I see everyone gather around a small fire that Carol is making eggs over. I smile and walk over to join everyone.
"Mornin'" I say.
"Morning." Almost everyone says in unison.
I sit down on an old tree stump as Carol hands me a make shift plate full of eggs.
"Thanks." I say.
"No problem." Carol says with a smile.
I silently eat my eggs as I watch the group. Glenn was sitting attempting to play guitar, Lori was telling Carl to pay attention to his math book, T-Dogg must still be sleeping due to the pain medication, Andrea is sitting talking to Carol and Abby. Shane and Rick are over by a tree discussing something and Daryl is sitting cleaning his arrows. These people were becoming my family, Andrea and Abby were like my sisters, Carol and Lori were the mother hens, Glenn was like the little dorky brother. T-Dogg the big brother of us all, Rick, Daryl and Shane were the alpha dogs, the ones who protected the rest of us. I smile as Daryl looks over at me, I couldn't help it. I get up and walk over towards him, sitting down on the ground with my plate on my lap.
"Hey." I say.
"Hey yourself." he says with a smirk.
"I was thinking, I want to go out with you to look for Sophia. Four eyes are better than two ya know?" I smile.
"Don' see that bein' a problem. If ya think you can keep up O'Connor." He says smugly.
"Don't make me beat your ass Dixon, just cause you're cute don't mean I won't hurt you. I just won't aim for the face." I shoot back.
"Yer crazy woman." He says shaking his head.
I offer him the rest of my eggs, after a moment he accepts. I look around once more and scratch my head. I felt better this morning, I didn't feel like my shoulders were going to break from the weight that had been put on them. Rick slowly makes his way over towards us, which causes me to stand up and dust myself off.
"Gettin' an early start on the search for Sophia is a good idea. I think with enough people we can get a lot of ground covered." He says.
"I agree, I just told Daryl I was gonna come out and help. We have to find her, this world is scary enough for the adults, I can only imagine what she's going through." I say softly.
"Thanks Murphy, I do appreciate the help you and Abby have given us. I hope I can return the favor." He says.
"You already have Rick, ten times over." I say.
Rick smiles and nods, he tells me we're meeting in ten and pats me on the shoulder. Rick is a good man, I trust in his leadership. I watch him walk over and talk to Abby, I see her nod as she heads over towards us. She only had one of her eagles and it was tucked in her waist band. She smiles at Daryl before looking at me.
"I told Rick I wanted to help, but he told me I needed to let my ankle heal a bit, so Imma stay behind. Be careful out there, don't make me have to come get you." She jokes.
"I will, I promise." I say.
"Watch out for her Daryl." She says.
"I will." He says.
I shake my head and laugh as I watch Daryl get up. I see Rick and Shane motion towards Daryl and I to meet them over by one of the trucks in Herschel's yard.
"How long has this girl been lost?" Herschel asked.
"This will be day three." Rick says.
As we walk I see Maggie walking from the house with a map, we were going to need all the help we could get. We all gather around the hood of the truck as Maggie spreads the map out, holding it down with rocks.
"County survey map, shows terrain and elevations." Maggie says
"This is perfect, we can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams." Rick says.
Herschel warns Rick about his blood sugar, he also tells Shane he needs to stay put, they would be of no use to us today. I look over the map, trying to formulate some sort of plan for myself as well. I was determined to find Sophia.
"Guess it's just me and Murph. We'll head back to the creek, work our way from there." Daryl said.
"I can still be useful. Drive up the interstate, see if Sophia wondered back." Shane said.
Rick agrees, says he will get on it tomorrow. I pat him on the back and nod towards Shane. This was going to be a long day, the heat was already beating down on us and we weren't even out in the sun yet, but I was ready, Sophia was worth all this. Shane tells Rick we need more than knives, we need the gun train he has been promising. Herschel interjects and says he would rather us not carry guns. I admit, I looked at him like he was a moron, was he that naive? Did he not know the danger we were all in every moment of the day? I sigh and Rick says we will respect Herschel's land. I didn't know about handing over my eagles, but I finally submit when Shane hands me a machete. I mumble "thanks" as I sit my eagles down on the hood of the truck.
He brings up what we have all be thinking, what if we find Sophia and she's bit? I admit, I have asked myself that question a dozen times. We all knew what had to be done, but did we have it in us to put a bullet in her head? Or a machete blade? The thought made me sick, I admit it. I knew I would have a problem with it, that's why I pushed those thoughts from my head. I had to keep telling myself we were going to find her alive, we had no choice. I look at Shane and Rick then at Daryl. He nods at me, he knew what I was thinking. We talked about it yesterday, he was adamant about finding Sophia, so I had to trust him. We spread out, Daryl and I get ready to leave. I gather up a few water bottles, strap an extra hunting knife to my waist and head towards where Daryl was waiting. He looks me over and smirks, I roll my eyes and laugh.
"Shut it, Dixon. If I get lost in the woods I wanna be prepared. Besides keep it up and I won't share my water." I say.
"I wasn't sayin' nothin'." He says with a smirk.
I shake my head as we start to head out. Though we are stopped as we see Rick approaching us.
"Daryl, Murphy? You guys ok on your own?" He asks.
"We're better on our own. Don't worry we'll be back b'fore dark" Daryl says, slightly annoyed.
He continues to walk, but I stay where I was. I'll have to make note of why he seems so hostile towards Rick. I mean he is hostile towards everyone, but Rick, it's like that hostility is magnified.
"Hey." Rick calls out stopping Daryl. "We got a base. We can get this search properly organized now." He says.
"You got a point, or are we just chattin'?" Daryl asks while walking towards Rick.
"My point, it let's you of the hook. You don't owe us anything." Rick says softly.
"My other plans fell through." Daryl says walking away.
I look towards Rick and then hurry to catch up to Daryl. Yeah, I was definitely gonna have to find the time to ask him what was up with him and Rick. Daryl and I head into the woods, keeping sharp eyes and ears. We have a few minutes of silence, this time though, it was Daryl who broke the silence.
"Feelin' better than yesterday?" He asked.
"Uh, yeah actually. I um...I didn't mean to get all girly on ya." I say.
"Did ya see me complain'?" He asked.
"No, but still. I don't know, I guess I have just let things build up inside me and I finally let go." I say as we walk.
"I swear, I'm the only one who's fuckin' Zen, around here." He says with a cocky smirk.
"So are we gonna talk about yesterday? Or does that get swept under the rung with the CDC thing?" I ask.
"Depends, you wanna talk bout it?" He asked.
"Kinda, I mean it wasn't a spur of the moment thing. I wanted to kiss you." I say shyly as Daryl stops walking. "I actually kinda liked it, maybe a little bit." I say, blushing a bit.
"That right? Well, I may have kinda liked it a lil bit, too." He says staring at me.
I shake my head as we walk, neither of us said much for a bit. I call out to Sophia, holding on to some shred of hope that she hears me. Of course I get no answer, but nothing wrong with hoping right? I shake my head as we keep on.
"So um, yeah..." I laugh a bit.
"Don' tell me you are speechless? Murphy NOT having SOMETHING to say?" He jokes.
"Shut up Dixon! I just...ugh I feel like I'm in school and I'm trying to tell the boy I like that I like him." I say blushing. It's hot so my cheeks were red from the sun, which made me feel better because Daryl couldn't see me blushing.
"That right? Well when you get tired of lookin' for that boy, ya got a man right here." He says with his smug grin.
"I'm going to shoot you, just wait." I say as we walk.
"Oh kinky...Daddy likes." He laughs.
I shake my head, the laughter stops though as we approach a farm house. Daryl and I both look at each other, we were thinking the same thing, Sophia could be in there. We crouch down and ease towards the house, not only could Sophia be in there, but there could be a number of things in there. Daryl readies his crossbow and I get ready to be able to swing my machete if need be. Daryl motions for me to stay behind him, I nod and follow him in. Who knows how long this place had been abandoned, from the looks of it, it was right before the outbreak. I wondered for a moment what kind of people lived here, where they infected? Did they get out alive? I know I'm nosey, but curiosity can be a good thing.
The floor boards creak under our feet, the house is old and every gust of wind makes it creak, but looked lived in, like maybe someone had been fixing it up. We went down the hall, peeking into each room as we went. Chairs turned over, curtains ripped from the windows. I whisper Daryl's name and then point towards the staircase. He nods and we part ways, I slowly walk up the steps, back to the wall so I could keep eyes on what was around me. I pass down a long hall and check out the bedroom. It was just like it was downstairs, beds turned over, blankets and pillows tossed around. I ease the door at the end of the hall open and call out for Sophia, no answer. I walk the floor once more, looking for any clues before I back back down the hallway and slowly walk down the stairs.
"God, give us a sign." I ask softly.
When I reach the bottom of the steps I look around and get ready to call out to Daryl, but him calling Sophia cuts me off. I walk out to the back of the house just in time to see him inspecting a patch of white flowers growing up in the middle of the yard. Slowly I walk towards him, wondering why he seems to be so interested in that flower.
"Flowers?" I whisper.
"Cherokee Roses." He answers.
"Their pretty, but it's odd for them to be growing out in the middle of nowhere." I say.
"There's a story to em. See when the American soldiers were moving the Indians off their land, on the tail of tears. The Cherokee mothers were losing their children to starvation, disease and some were just disappearin'. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother's spirits, to give them strength. The next day a rose began to grow where each of the mother's tears fell. The rose is white for their tears; the gold center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem for the seven Cherokee clans." He explains.
I smile, I admit, it shocked me. Daryl was much smarter than people gave him credit for.
"Wow, I think God just gave us our sign, not to give up hope." I say softly.
Daryl nods and I watch as he picks up an old bottle and gently picks one of the roses. He places it, with care, in the bottle before looking towards me as he slings his crossbow over his shoulder. I nod back towards the trail and we were back on our way. We continue to search, looking in ever pile of brush, behind ever tree and bush. I gently scratch my head as I broke our silence.
"So I got a man, huh?" I ask.
"If ya want one, I don't see me sharing my bed with no one else." He says as he looks around.
"Is that the Daryl Dixon way of askin' a girl out?" I inquire.
"Well ya either wanna be with me, or ya don'. Simple as that." He says.
"I think yesterday was a big clue as to what I want. You make me feel whole Daryl, like I actually matter." I say softly.
"That, or you just like goin' round kissing random guys." He laughs.
"Oh my God, shut up Dixon." I laugh.
"Jus' sayin', yer my sexy crazy biker bitch." He smirks.
"Why do I like you again?" I ask.
"Cause, I'm a sexy bad ass mother fucker. Who apparently has ya comin' back for more. Ya can't seem to keep yer hands offa me." He says with a cocky grin.
I just laugh and roll my eyes. He was kind of right, I did like being close to him and having his arms around me. They gave me peace, hope and in a way Daryl chased the bad feelings away. We continued on for a while, joking a bit and me telling Daryl to shut up a few more times. We joke and smirk, share stories and keep trudging on in our search for Sophia. I few hours had passed because the air was getting cooler, which meant night fall was coming soon.
"Think we should start back?" I ask.
"'Fraid of the dark?" Daryl teased.
"No, I got a squirrel eatin', hot tempered redneck to protect me. What do you got?" I ask.
"A crazy bitch that could scare the devil himself." He smirks.
We both laugh and begin to make our way back towards the farm. I grab one of my bottles and take a long drink before tossing it to Daryl.
"So wanna know a secret?" I say.
"Sure, not like there is anyone around for me to run off and tell." He says taking a drink.
"I know I seemed pissed that day after the night at the CDC, but honestly...I didn't regret it. It was the first time I really had peace since this whole fuckin' thing started." I say.
"I wasn' findin' myself regrettin' it, till well yeah, the fight in the truck. But even then it was only outta anger." He says.
"You're not so bad Dixon." I say.
"Yeah, you ain't too bad yourself." He says.
"Thanks. While we are talking about ourselves, can I ask you a question?" I say.
"Shoot." Daryl says.
"What's with the hostility towards Rick?" I ask softly.
"Sum bitch handcuffed my brother to a roof and left him there." Daryl says.
"Ouch, I'm sorry." I say.
"Don' be. Merle got out, stole a van. Merle's the toughest sum bitch I know." Daryl says.
"Well if you think he is still out there, then I'm sure he is. We'll find him." I say with a nod.
"Look at you, miss hopeful." Daryl says with a bit of a laugh.
"I'm trying to be zen, like you." I shoot back.
Daryl shakes his head and then just looks at me. I didn't know Merle Dixon, but I wonder what he was like. I heard his name mentioned, but never really made the connection with him and Daryl as no one ever said his last name. Though I find myself being curious and decide to dig a little deeper into the life of Daryl Dixon.
"Who's older? You or Merle?" I ask.
"Merle." He answers as he walks.
"What's it like having a brother? I was an only child, minus "foster" siblings." I say.
"Didn' know my mom, dad was off on benders most of the time, Merle did stints in juvie. He helped raise me when he wasn' in juvie. I got lost for nine days once. Spent my time eatin' berries and wiping my ass with poison oak." He says.
"That's horrible." I said.
"By some standards, made it home though. Went in and made me a sandwich." He says.
I laugh a bit which makes Daryl look at me. I try and stop, but only laugh harder. We stop walking and I can tell Daryl was a bit annoyed at me. I finally compose myself enough to look him in the eye.
"Sorry, it's just I can imagine lil Daryl stomping into the house, itchy ass, covered in dirt and making a sandwich prolly bigger than he was." I say.
"Glad I could amuse ya." He says.
"Ok, wanna know something embarrassing about me?" I ask.
"Would make things even." He says as we begin to walk.
"Ok, so when I was ten I got this bright idea, I was going to go and live with the fraggles in a cave. I packed a bag and ran away, well it was the middle of summer and there was a man made rock cave by the creek about five miles from my house. So I tired to live in this cave for like three days, hid from people looking for me. On the third day they found me, I had poison ivy, bug bites and so many ticks in my hair my foster mom had to cut off most of my hair. The ointment they gave my scalp a blue tent, so at school they called me Murphy Smurfy." I say.
Daryl laughed, I knew he was going to, hell I laughed as well. I shake my head as we approach the farm. Daryl heads for the RV and I head over to Abby, who was gathering up dirty clothes for laundry day tomorrow. I hand over my machete to Shane who was passing, thaking him for letting me use it. He nods and then winks at Abby. Oh, I was going to tease her something fierce now.
"Ok, spill. What's with you and Shane. He just gave you a sexy lil wink." I tease and begin to help gather laundry.
"Nothing Murph, we just kind of had a talk..." Abby giggled.
"Oh my God." I whispered. "You slept with Shane." I laugh.
Abby punches me in the arm and I shake my head, not like I could say anything, I slept with Daryl after knowing him for like five minutes. I shake my head and pick up a laundry basket. I giggle, I couldn't help it. I smile and hold the basket out to Andrea who tosses her clothes in. As I go gather clothes, Abby grabs extra baskets to sort in. Lori offers to help, but I tell her it was ok she can go inside with Rick and Carl. She smiles and thanks me before heading in. Abby comes towards the picnic table, I raise my brow, make sure no one is listening then look at her.
"You know I want details, right?" I say.
"It was, interesting." She says blushing.
"Oooh?" I tease.
"It sorta just happened. I went to check on him, I caught him as he was getting in the shower. I know what you mean about Daryl comforting you, I got that feeling with Shane, even though I was the one suppose to be comforting him." She says shyly.
"So, are you guys um? Together?" I ask.
"Honestly, I don't know. Maybe? A little?" She says.
"It'll work out, you never know. I didn't expect everything with Daryl, to be honest." I say tossing a few of Carl's clothes in the basket with Rick and Lori's.
"True, which speaking of... Did you find anything out about Sophia?" She asked.
"He said he found an open can of sardines and evidence someone had been sleeping in the pantry. Said it had to be someone really small." I say.
"Maybe it was Sophia, she's a smart little girl." She says.
"I'm hoping, we need this one little shred of hope. Ya know?" I say.
"Agreed." Abby says. "I'm gonna go sit these baskets by the trees, why don't you go get lover boys clothes." She teases and grabs a basket.
I laugh and tell her to shut up as I walk towards Daryl's tent, small basket on my hip. I call out, he says come in. I step into the tent and smirk as I see Daryl taking off his shirt and boots.
"I came to get your laundry." I say.
"Oh, um thanks." He says and begins to help me gather up laundry. "You know, you don' gotta." He says.
"I don't mind, it's the least I could do." I smile.
"I appreciate it, I know some of my things don' smell like flowers." He jokes.
"It's ok, apparently I have a thing for dirty rednecks." I laugh as I toss his clothes into my basket.
"Well then, it's my lucky day.' Daryl smirks.
I smile at Daryl, actually lean over and kiss his cheek. He looks at me and I stick my tongue out at him. I guess he was feeling playful cause he grabbed me, making my drop my basket of clothes, and kissed me. On instinct I wrap my arms around him. It was a bit rough, but I sure as hell didn't mind. I reach up and run my hand through his hair before the kiss breaks. I look at him and he smirks a bit.
"What?" He says laughing.
"Nothin'...I um. Damn it Dixon." I laugh. "I'm gonna um, go take your laundry to the pile..." I say licking my lips.
"Thanks again." He says turning around.
I stand a bit flustered, I know he was smirking that cocky smirk of his. Finally I compose myself, pick up my basket and exit the tent. I knew he was still smirking, cocky bastard. I shake my head and laugh as I head towards Abby and Andrea. I finally admit that I have fallen hard for Daryl Dixon.
A/N-So far so good? Next chapter, we are going to put that M rating to good use so buckle up. ;)