Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.
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~210 ~ 3871
After having her small scene with Lori about Carl, Isabell went back to the tent to finally get Daryl some food. She entered the quiet tent, finally glad to have some sort of sanctuary. "Sorry I took a bit. There's a fuckton of shit goin' on this mornin'."
"Sounds fun." Daryl mumbled.
"Believe me, it's not." Isabell said, tossing the peach towards Daryl. "I know they're not yer favorite."
Daryl caught the peach and looked it over. "It's somethin'." He admitted, taking a bite.
"That's what I said." Isabell agreed, taking the spot on the floor next to the cot. She sat quietly, eating the small breakfast and thinking of all she learned that morning.
"Izzy!" A small voice called from outside the tent, breaking the silence. There was a pounding of footsteps growing louder and Carl appeared at the tent opening. "Are you coming?" Carl asked, excitement dripping with his words.
"Yeah. Just one sec, bud." Isabell nodded, smiling at him.
"Okay." Carl said, turning away from the tent.
"Tell Jimmy I'm gettin' the bed of that truck!" She called as the boy ran towards the others.
"Got it!" He shouted over his shoulder, rushing off.
Daryl looked to Isabell. "I see he's your best friend."
"I stuck up for him." Isabell explained, taking the last bite of her peach, holding the pit in her hand. "Lori got all mad about some gun thing. Carl just wants to learn how to shoot and I helped him speak up for himself."
"You shouldn't be gettin' into their family shit." Daryl warned.
"Maybe not." Isabell shrugged, holding out her hand for Daryl's peach pit. "But he's not much of a kid anymore. He has ideas, and he deserves to be listened to."
Daryl handed over the scrap from his fruit. "As long as there's a reason for it."
"Just like with Harley." Isabell clarified. She stood from her spot on the ground and looked down at Daryl. "Alright, I'll be back later. I might go out and check the traps after."
Daryl shook his head. "Nah, just wait until I'm good to be out, too."
"Who knows how long that will be?" Isabell shook him off, throwing what was left of the peaches out of their tent.
"Doc says five days bed rest. I'm on day four."
"Which means they haven't been checked in four days. You're the only one who checks the traps, D. I'll do it this one time." Isabell said, searching through Daryl's bag for her gun and some ammo. "They're just on the tree edge. I'll be fine."
"No." Daryl snapped in a hard voice.
Isabell's head jerked up at Daryl's sudden forcefulness.
"Ya ain't goin' alone."
Isabell studied Daryl's face for a moment, a little upset that he had his outburst. She nodded anyway. "Okay." Isabell said quietly. "I'll have Shane and Andrea check them on their way back in from a search." She checked the safety on her gun and put it in the waistband of her jeans, leaving the tent without another word.
Isabell hurried so that she could catch up with the Greene's truck before it left for the clearing they'd be using. She jumped into the bed of the truck and sat herself down, arms leaning against the sides. Isabell took a deep breath, enjoying the free air on her ride up to the section of land the men had set up for target practice.
Rick and Shane set up a few last minute targets along an old fence.
Shane approached Isabell, gesturing his head towards her. "Let me see whatcha got before I let you teach someone."
Isabell rolled her eyes, but decided to go along with whatever he wanted. She quickly loaded her gun and turned the safety off. Isabell held up the weapon and quickly shot down three tin cans from the fence in front of her.
Rick looked to Shane with an impressed look plastered on his face.
Shane wasn't happy that Isabell was able to show him up, but he sighed anyway. "You can help Beth."
Isabell smirked at Shane. She turned, looking to Beth with a smile. "Trust me, Beth. You've got the best teacher here."
! #$# !
The group arrived back to the farm without Andrea and Shane. The two of them were taking a trip out to the housing development that Jimmy told them about to check for Sophia.
Isabell jumped out of the bed of the truck before it managed to come to a complete stop. She slowly walked over to her and Daryl's shared tent, cautious about entering it. Isabell took a deep breath and entered silently. She flopped herself down onto her cot on the opposite side of the tent. Isabell laid down on it, with a hand behind her head. She sighed. "Carl did good today."
"Yeah?" Daryl mumbled.
"Yeah, I think Lori's warmed up to the idea of him carryin' a gun."
"Good."
Isabell stayed quiet for a moment, wishing she would get more than one word responses from Daryl. "Carol and Beth were good, too. Even Patricia." Isabell laughed. "Jimmy tried to do that gangster shit." She smiled, recalling a memory from before the breakout. "You remember when we were at Merle's friend's house and that dickhole was treatin' Merle with his gun tilted to the side. He was tryin' to be a badass and failin' somethin' awful."
"Yeah, I 'member."
Isabell's eyes stayed to the ceiling of the tent. "I'm sorry." She said suddenly, not being able to hold it in anymore. "I don't really get why I should be sorry, but you think I should be, so…."
"You can't end up like me." Daryl said quietly.
"What?"
"If you go out alone, you could wind up with a bolt in yer side."
"I could." Isabell said with a slow tone. "But there's two things wrong with that. I don't use a crossbow, and I ain't nearly as reckless as you." Isabell smirked and looked towards him. "I'm smart when I do things."
"I was smart."
"Maybe."
Daryl shook his head. "I found my way back, didn't I?"
"Yeah, grouch as ever. What an improvement." Isabell said sarcastically.
Daryl scoffed at her comment.
Isabell bit her lip. "Sorry."
"Mhm."
Isabell waited another moment, before continuing. She turned her attention back to the ceiling of the tent. "It's curious. I ain't seen you like that since Merle was around." Isabell waited, wondering what Daryl had to say about it. When he didn't, she went on. "I know you're still messed up about how we lost him, but — "
"I saw him." Daryl said, interrupting Isabell. "I ain't sure if it was 'cause o' the heat or all in my head or what."
"You saw who?"
"Merle."
Isabell sighed. "He's gone." She insisted. "You know that, right?"
"Yeah. 'At's why I'm not sure what happened." Daryl took in a large breath. "Merle, he kept tellin' me that it wasn't worth it to come back. I'd be better on my own. That I am better on my own." He shook his head in the pillow. "There was a lot of fightin' him on it, and I almost didn't come back. But I told ya I would."
Isabell bit her lip. She silently pondered on the fact that Daryl might not have come back to the farm willingly. He may have purposefully stayed away. "I'm glad you came back."
"Good."
"We good?" Isabell asked.
"Yeah." Daryl mumbled.
Isabell smiled and pushed herself off of her cot. She joined Daryl on his bed and curled into his right side. Isabell let out a sigh when she felt Daryl's lip against her forehead.
"I love ya." he said.
"Me too."
! #$# !
Daryl and Isabell hadn't realized they had fallen asleep. It was afternoon time, and they were awoken by the sound of a metal gate slamming shut.
Isabell groaned and stretched out her arm, slowly coming out of the sleeping state she'd been in. She sat up quickly at the sound of Maggie's voice.
"Hey!" Maggie shouted. "We got your stuff!" Her voice got louder with every word as she got closer to camp.
"Maggie, hang on. Please." Glenn was following behind her, begging her to stop.
Isabell watched the scene, looking out the see-through mesh window.
"Wha's that?" Daryl asked groggily, watching Isabell's face curiously for her reaction.
"Maggie and Glenn are back from their run." Isabell stated. "Maggie's upset, runnin' towards Lori."
"Why?" Maggie screamed, asking Glenn. "Nothin' to hide. We got your special delivery right here." There was a thump like things were falling to the ground. "Got your lotion. Got your conditioner. Your soap opera digest."
"Maggie!" Lori gasped, wishing that the younger woman would talk quieter.
"Next time you want somethin', get it your damn self! We're not your errand boys." Maggie stressed.
Isabell continued to watch as Lori took a step towards Maggie to calm her down.
Maggie leaned down and picked something up from the dirt. She threw the object at Lori. "And here's your abortion pills."
"Abortion pills?" Daryl asked, trying to sit up in his spot.
Isabell sighed, stopping him from sitting up. "Don't get up. Yer wounds nearly healed."
"Why're they gettin' abortion pills?"
"Sorta out now, innit?" She asked, staring out the window.
"What is?"
Isabell groaned quietly and locked eyes with Daryl. "Glenn told me this mornin' that she's pregnant."
"Lori?" Daryl asked, earning a nod from Isabell. Daryl scoffed at her response. "Shane's gonna have some explainin' to do." He fluffed up his pillow behind him.
"You think it's Shane's?" Isabell questioned, pushing her brows together. She helped Daryl with his pillows so that he would strain himself.
"Wouldn't doubt it. Them two were like bunnies back at the quarry."
Isabell laughed to herself. "Yeah, you told me that."
"Well, at least she'll get rid of it."
"Yeah." Isabell said sadly. The baby talk was giving her more and more memories of her own baby.
"Look, Izzy, I know whatcha thinkin'. But you gotta think about it, really." Daryl stressed. "How far do you think we'll get with a fuckin' baby screamin' it's head off every five minutes."
"If it's anything like Harley was, there wouldn't be a problem."
"Iz, c'mon. The baby's a shit thing to have." Daryl argued with Isabell about it.
Isabell glanced away from Daryl, "No, I know." She agreed. "It's just sad. Thinkin' about it all, and considerin' — "
"I know." Daryl said quickly to stop her. "You don't have ta remind me. 'Cause I'm thinkin' about the same things as you."
"It just wasn't right." Isabell said, unsure if she was talking to Daryl or herself, convincing one or the other. "Timing is everythin'."
! #$# !
The next morning, Isabell woke up late to an empty tent and the smell of food wafting through the tent. She groaned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Isabell stretched her arms over her head and rolled herself off of the cot, collecting her boots and putting them on. She left the tent and moved another fold up chair next to Daryl.
Most of the group were sitting in a circle around the fire as it cooked the food.
Daryl passed his plate of food onto Isabell's lap.
Isabell shook her head. "I'm not hungry."
"Yes, ya are." Daryl insisted. He moved closer to whisper to Isabell. "I heard yer stomach growlin' all night." Daryl pushed the plate to her again. "I had my share already."
Isabell smiled at him, thankful for his insistence. She took the plate from Daryl, taking a bite. Isabell's eyes grazed the group and noticed that everyone was strangely quiet. She sighed.
Glenn got up from his seat and moved so that he was in everyone's sight in the center. He looked nervous as he stood, wringing his hands. "Um, guys…." Glenn said, gaining everyone's attention.
Daryl slouched in his seat. He reached his hand over and took a pinch of eggs from the plate he handed Isabell.
Isabell playfully stabbed Daryl's hand with her fork.
Glenn cleared his throat. "So…." He paused. "The barn is full of walkers."
Isabell swallowed the bite that she had in her mouth slowly. She kept her gaze on the plate she held. Little warning that you were gonna spill the beans woulda been nice. She thought.
"The hell you just say?" Daryl said after a moment.
"Daryl." Isabell warned.
"Where?" Rick demanded.
Glenn hesitated, tying his fingers in a knot.
"Glenn, which barn?" the sheriff asked again.
Glenn looked behind him at the barn, not being able to give Rick a verbal answer.
Rick pushed himself out of his chair quickly. He led the others over towards the barn Glenn had gestured to.
Shane angrily peeked in through the big crack in between the doors. His fears were confirmed as he glanced inside. Shane turned away angrily, standing next to Rick. "You can't tell me you're alright with this." He glowered at his friend.
"No, I'm not." Rick stressed, making it clear that he wasn't. "But we're guests here. This isn't our land."
"This is our lives, man!"
"Lower your voice." Glenn hissed.
"We can't just sweep this under the rug." Andrea said.
"It's ain't right." Shane complained to Rick like it was his doing. "Not remotely. Okay, we've either got to go in there; we've got to make things right. Or we've just got to go."
"Where are we supposed to go?" Isabell asked. "We haven't thought about the next step for weeks."
"We've been talking about Fort Benning for a long time."
"We can't go." Rick stressed.
"Why, right?" Shane questioned. "Why?"
Carol's lip trembled and she shook. "Because my daughter is still out there."
Shane covered his mouth and laughed quietly. He was having a hard time grasping that everyone still had hope for the child. "Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility."
"There is no other possibility, Shane?" Isabell told him. "Sophia is alive, and we'll find her. We're not leavin' her behind."
"I'm close to findin' this girl." Daryl supported Isabell's statement. "I just found her damn doll a few days ago."
"You found her doll, Daryl." Shane clarified. "That's why you did. You found a damn doll."
Daryl took a couple of steps towards Shane, getting in his face. "Man, you don't know what the hell you're talking about." He threatened.
Isabell and Rick worked themselves, so they stood in between Daryl and Shane, trying to stop a physical fight from breaking out between the two.
"I'm just saying what needs to be said, here!" Shane defended himself.
Isabell pushed Daryl, not being able to move him with the hard stance that he held. "Daryl, let it go. You know, better than me, we ain't leavin'."
Shane continued to argue his case. "Now, you get a good lead, it's the first forty-eight hours."
"Shane, stop!" Rick shouted.
"Let me tell you somethin' else, man." Shane said. "If she was alive out there, and she saw you comin' all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction."
Isabell took a deep, angry breath, feeling the anger build up insider her. "I have had enough of you runnin' yer damn mouth." She said, before quickly turning herself towards Shane. Isabell made a fist and her knuckles met his face hard.
Shane recovered from the blow quickly. He pushed Isabell backwards, making her fall onto the ground.
Daryl became angry at Shane's contact with Isabell and charged to punch the other man himself.
Carol rushed to Isabell's side to help her up out of the dirt.
The sheriff quickly rushed forward, forcing Shane and Daryl apart, not letting them attack each other. "Back off." Rick shouted at Shane.
Isabell put a hand around Daryl's arm to stop him and hold him back.
Lori did the same to Shane.
Shane wasn't happy about Lori's actions and told her to stop trying to hold him back.
"Just let me talk to Hershel." Rick insisted, directing his statement not just to Shane, but to the entire group around him. "Let me figure it out."
"What are you gonna figure out?!" Shane asked.
"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk to Hershel into it. This is his land."
Dale took a step forward. "Hershel sees those things in there as people." He stated. "Sick people. His wife and his — his stepson are in there."
Rick looked to Daryl with a confused, furrowed brow. "You knew?"
Dale nodded. "Yesterday I talked to Hershel about it."
"And you waited the night?" Shane asked, stepping towards Dale.
"I thought we could survive one more night. We did. I was waiting until this morning to say something to you all, but Glenn wanted to be the one."
Shane shook his head and looked over at his friend. "The man is crazy, Rick. Whether Hershel thinks those things are alive or not."
Isabell looked to the doors as all the noise from the arguing started to attract the walkers inside. They started to push against the doors, wanting to get out. The blonde let her breath go, telling herself that the monsters were stuck in the barn.
Daryl looked to Isabell, recognizing her paranoia. "Come to think," He said quietly, "You didn't seem so surprised about the walkers, neither."
Isabell shrugged. "'Cause I knew. I talked Glenn into telling me the other day."
Daryl furrowed his brow and wiped his forehead of the sweat that dripped down his face. "Ya didn't tell me?"
"I knew you would do something about it. I didn't think we could afford something like that right now."
"You don't know that."
"I do." Isabell stressed. "'Cause I know you and how you react to things." She smiled a little, shaking her head and trying to liven up the moment. "We'd lasted this long. Another couple days for Glenn to admit up to it wouldn't have caused us any harm."
Daryl scoffed and stalked off towards the horse's stables.
Isabell sighed, watching him leave. She turned back towards the fight between Rick and Shane that was starting to disperse. The blonde pushed her hair out of her face, not sure what she should do.
Carol noticed her struggle and approached Isabell, watching Daryl leave her. "Is everything okay?" She asked softly.
"No, but it's just Daryl bein' Daryl. Nothin' I can't deal with." Isabell looked to Carol. "At least, it'll wait until after he cools down."
"He's stressed." Carol assumed. "With the walkers and Sophia missing…."
"I know." Isabell stopped her. "But, right now, he won't even listen to me. I know he's tryin' hard to find her. And I know he's tryin' to look after me, and even you. But he's not okay." Isabell admitted. "It's like after we lost Harley."
Carol shrugged. "Maybe I can talk to him."
Isabell laughed once and rolled her eyes. "You can try."
The older woman showed Isabell a small smile and headed towards the stables after Daryl.
"Good luck!" Isabell called to her.
! #$# !
Nine Years Earlier….
"Harley!" Isabell called to her child, trying to get her attention. "Baby Girl, look at Mama." Isabell smiled, holding a camera up to her face to take a picture of Harley. She laughed at the small girl.
Harley sat in a high chair with a giant chocolate cupcake sitting in front of her. She smiled and laughed loudly at her mother.
"Happy birthday, Harley." Isabell cooed with a smile.
Daryl was standing next to the high chair, pushing the cupcake towards his daughter. "Go on, then. Dig in, baby girl."
Isabell snapped another picture quickly getting a good one of Daryl smiling down at Harley.
"Will you cool it with the photos?" Daryl complained, waving his hand at Isabell to stop her.
Isabell shook her head. "C'mon, D. Ya know, someday when she's not this small anymore, yer gonna wish I took more."
"Yea, but I don' need ta be in 'em."
"Sure you do." Isabell insisted, studying her daughter. She smirked. "If anythin', I need ya in 'em. I never wanna forget yer face when you see yer daughter do this."
Daryl furrowed his brow, looking to Isabell. "Do what?"
Isabell flicked her head towards Harley, motioning to Daryl to look at her.
Daryl turned his head, looking back to Harley.
Just as Daryl turned, Harley slammed her tiny hand down into the middle of her cupcake, splattering much of the dessert all over her.
"Aw, Harls!" Daryl grumbled, looking down at his shirt. He wiped off a bit of the cake that landed on it's hem. "Yer supposed ta eat it, not play with it."
"She's a baby." Isabell reminded him, laughing. "And it's her birthday. Let her make the mess. It's like a rite of passage or somethin'."
"Will y'all keep it down!?" A male voice called from the hallway. "Jesus Christ."
Isabell groaned. She looked up from her daughter and saw Merle come around the corner. "Shut up, Merle." Isabell begged, earning a scoff from the older Dixon brother. "Don't you wanna wish yer niece a happy birthday?"
Harley continued to play with the cupcake in front of her, licking some icing off of her tiny fingers. She stayed focused on it, ignoring the surrounding adults.
"It's 'er birthday?" Merle asked, quickly looking to his brother. "Wha's all this for then? Wha's the big deal?"
"Whatchu mean?" Daryl asked, stuffing one hand in his pants pocket.
"You know we never celebrated shit like this."
"Not in front of Harley, Merle." Isabell chastised sharply.
"What?" Merle scoffed. "She don't know what I'm sayin'."
Daryl shook her head. "Just don't curse with my kid around."
Merle scoffed again, heading towards the front door. He grabbed the handle and twisted it, opening the door. "Look. It's just a kid. It's just a birthday. Ain't no goddamn big deal." Merle gave a pointed look before leaving and slamming the door behind him.
Harley jumped and stopped playing with the food.
Isabell sighed. "Those are the kinda family memories we don't need to remember." She snapped, setting the camera down. She walked towards Harley and picked her up from the chair. "C'mon, baby. Let's go get a bath."
"Izzy?" Daryl called, being ignored as Isabell made her way to their bathroom. "Iz, you know there's nothin' I can do about 'im. He's my brother."
"I know." Isabell responded, entering the small washroom. "I just wish he'd control himself. Harley's gettin' impressionable."
"Mama!" Harley squealed, pointing towards the tub, recognizing it. "Bath!"
Isabell smiled and grabbed her daughter's hand. She nodded to the young girl and sat on the toilet, reaching to turn the water on.
"He just don't get it." Daryl pressed. "He knows we had it bad, but he don't wanna admit it coulda been better."
Isabell sighed, holding Harley in her lap, kissing the top of her head.
"But Harley isn't gonna have it like us. I'll talk to 'im." Daryl relented.
The blonde hugged her child tightly, nodding with her cheek against Harley's lightly haired head. "You'd better."