The air was thick and hot with Georgia's summertime heat. Kayla awoke in the morning with a sheet of sweat already coating her skin and her clothes clinging to her skin. As she sat up, she rubbed her face that was wet with sweat. "God I miss air conditioning." she muttered to herself as she looked to her left where Jonathan was still out like a light. Looking to the right, she wasn't surprised when she found her husband gone. Closing her eyes, she let out a frustrated breath. The group got out of Atlanta as fast as they could and once the city was behind them, they set out for Virginia. Noah mentioned that his old neighborhood in Richmond had walls, lookouts, and so on. With no other alternatives, the group decided to take one the five hundred thirty mile haul and hope for the best. By the time they got past the Georgia border and into South Carolina, five days had gone by since Grady Memorial. And in those five days things had been tense in the group. Not many words were exchanged as if it was out of respect for the passing of Beth, but no one was affected more than Daryl and Maggie.
Maggie was just sad. She lost her father and sister all within such a short period of time of one another. That, and she was told her sister was alive and then ended up burying her all in the same day. It broke Kayla's heart to see Maggie so distraught. Glenn was amazing, always being her shoulder to cry on and comforting her in the time of need. Kayla desperately hoped Maggie would be able to move on from the grief that she now carried over to loss of her remaining blood family. It could be too much-just like how it was for Rick after Lori died- but he came back. So would Maggie. She had to.
Daryl was different than how Maggie was handling the loss and Kayla knew why. When Daryl was sad or hurt, he didn't allow himself to feel it. He didn't let himself grieve. He just shut down and waited for the pain to subside. This was something Kayla noticed after they got the prison up and running and people didn't make it back from runs. Whenever it happened, Daryl felt responsible even if there was nothing he could have done about it. The times that happened, he'd come back and go off somewhere by himself before rejoining his wife and family in the cell block. Kayla would comfort him to the best of her abilities, but knew he required some space. But this time around, with Beth, he was even worse. He had barely put together more than a few sentences since Atlanta, even with Kayla. He didn't sleep, found any excuse to go off by himself, and was distant more than ever. Kayla knew Daryl lost a friend and maybe even more than that. Beth always had faith and hope, and after Kayla and Daryl got separated after the prison she didn't have to be told her husband lost all of his. She knew Beth got him through the guilt he felt for not trying harder to look for the Governor that led to the death of Hershel, the fall of the prison, the separation from the others, and the possibility of never seeing his wife again. Beth was his shining beacon of hope that got him through it all. And losing that…Kayla couldn't imagine.
Knowing her husband was most likely out hunting or gathering or something else, Kayla decided to tend to the sounds of a baby waking up hungry. The group managed to find one floor ranch house to hold up in for the night and lucky for them, there was a crib in the office. Rick and Carl were asleep on the floor by Judith's crib and Kayla made her way over to the baby as quietly as possible to keep from waking them, grabbing the diaper bag and slinging it over her shoulder before going to the crib.
"Good morning." Kayla whispered to the baby girl as she lifted her out of crib and cradled her in her arms. "Are you hungry?"
Carrying the young toddler to the kitchen, Kayla was cautious with her steps to not wake anyone. The last thing she wanted to do was wake anyone - everyone was in desperate need of the extra shut eye. She set Judith in the high chair at the counter and pulled out one of the last jars of baby food from her diaper bag.
"Puréed bananas." Kayla read as she opened the jar. "Sounds tasty."
As she fed Judith, Kayla realized how she began to resemble Lori with her small nose and lips. Kayla smiled at the features until her eyes landed on Judith's. Lori possessed a pair of brown eyes that appeared hazel like in the sun's rays. But as the morning ray's hit the Judith's eyes, the dark pool of brown remained in the child's irises. The same way Shane's eyes looked in the light.
"You're up." a voice sounded, breaking Kayla from her thoughts.
Glenn.
Turning, Kayla watched as Glenn came through the kitchen door. His hair was messy from a night of rest and he had his flannel sloppily buttoned with the bottom tucked into the front of his jeans. She gave him a smile. "Morning." she greeted as she fed Judith another spoonful of banana. "Anyone else up?"
"No, other than Daryl who I assume isn't here at the moment." Glenn replied as he sat on the opposite side of the counter as Kayla.
Kayla just shook her head.
"Have you talked to him at all?" Glenn pressed.
"I tried at first, but you know him. Right now he just needs space and we have to let him have it."
A silence fell until Kayla finished feeding Judith. "We should probably go on a run before we hit the road again." she told Glenn. "We're low on too many things, especially with the amount of people we have now."
"Think you could take the lead on this one?" Glenn asked. "I don't wanna leave Maggie right now."
"No problem."
Glenn gave her a smile before returning to the living room at the sound of others awakening. Kayla lifted Judith from her seat and carried her back to the officer where Rick had just woken up. "She was hungry." she told him. Rick took his daughter from Kayla's arms with a look of appreciation.
"Thanks for doing that."
"Don't mention it. Before we go today I thought I'd take a few others and search a few other houses. We're getting too low on supplies."
Rick readjusted his hold on Judith. "Sure Daryl would be alright with that?"
Kayla let out a breath. "I can't just sit and wait for him to come back down to Earth, I need to do my part. Besides, he's my husband not my parent, he can't tell me what I can and can't do."
"Alright then." Rick replied after rolling the idea around in his head. "Who were you thinking of taking?"
OOOOO
Off in the woods Daryl sat at the base of a tree, one his last cigarettes between his fingers debating whether or not to smoke it. He wanted to, but he didn't know if and when he'd find another pack. Plus he knew how much Kayla hated his smoking, not that he had been thinking about it lately. Smoking calmed him down and helped him clear his head which is what he's needed recently. However, he didn't have a lot of smokes left and tucked the pack back into his pocket before scratching at the poison ivy he had on his leg.
Looking ahead, he took in all the greens of the trees and plants that bloomed so vibrantly in the heat of the summer. The sun came through the spaces between the leaves and ray of light beamed all over the place-against the grass, the bark…it was all so beautiful. The sky was clear with not a single cloud in sight and the sounds of singing birds and hissing insects filled the air. All these things caused Daryl to remember that day with Beth at that cabin in the woods.
"Everyone we know is dead!" Daryl shouted, frustration and anger taking over his body.
"You don't know that!" Beth yelled back, not willing to accept that all the others were gone forever.
"Might as well because you ain't ever gonna see them again!"
After Beth heard that, she believed it for a second. The possibility that she never saw any of her family again was probable and it caused tears threaten to fall. She didn't respond as the truth hit her like a huge truck, but Daryl went on.
"Rick! … You ain't ever gonna see Maggie again!"
"Daryl!" Beth said, grabbing his arm and trying to get him to calm down.
"No!" he snapped as he turned his back to her. "The Governor rolled right up to our gates. Maybe if I wouldn't have stopped looking…maybe because I gave up that's on me!"
Beth tried to turn him to face her as she heard his voice breaking and sensed his own tears building up, but he pulled away from her again.
"…your dad…maybe I could have done something…"
After her failed attempts to have him look at her, Beth just wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him from behind as his tears fell down his cheeks.
"My wife is...she's…" he began to say while clutching the ring that hung from his neck, but the tears wouldn't let him finish the sentence, causing Beth to hold on tighter. Ever since they left the prison, he hasn't even mentioned her.
Daryl pulled away from the memory and stood up, figuring he should be getting back to the group figuring people would be getting up and preparing to hit the road. As he trudged through the leaves and dirt, the melodic tune of a single chirping bird filled the air and seemed to follow him back to the house.
OOOOO
"Scrounge up whatever food you can." Kayla told Abraham, Tara, and Tyreese as they stood in the front of a small department store that was only a twenty minute drive from the house they were holed up in. They'd already cleared the store and Kayla was giving them the items they should pick up. "Water, too. Tara you come with me to the pharmacy. While we're there we can pick up baby food and other small child necessities. Everyone ready?"
"Let's do it." Abraham said as he rest his shotgun on his shoulder and turned to enter the store.
"Oh brother." Kayla muttered to herself as she walked into the store with Tara.
The women headed over to the pharmacy section which was pretty stripped of items, but some remained. With her backpack in hand, Kayla pulled things off the shelf and if it was something useful she tossed it in her bag. "Keep a sharp eye for antibiotics." Kayla reminded Tara as the other woman walked down the aisle opposite of her.
"Got it. Do you need any condoms?"
Kayla laughed. "Focus on necessities here, Tara."
"Look I think Judith is adorable, but I'd rather not have another baby around. Especially on the road."
"Just find some antibiotics."
Fortunately Kayla managed to find two bottles of hydrogen peroxide, some bandages, calamine lotion, half a box of Benadryl, and a few bottles of multivitamins. Tara found plenty of baby food and more diapers that both women knew Rick would be ecstatic for. Tyreese and Abraham came over with a case of water bottles and a bag of canned foods with a few granola bars and soup cans thrown in.
"Enough food to last us a week if we ration it right." Tyreese commented. "We'll have to hit another place up for some water in a couple of days or so. They are completely out."
"There are some trucks out back I saw coming in." Abraham pointed out. "Could check them for some cases of good ol' dihydrogen monoxide."
Everyone looked at Abraham with furrowed eyebrows "Two hydrogens, one oxygen? H-two-O? Didn't you take chemistry?" the former soldier questioned.
"Yes but a long time ago and use water in place of the chemical formula." Kayla responded, causing Tara to laugh. "I think you've been around Eugene a tad too long, but you have a point. Those trucks could have something. Tara, Tyreese, take this stuff to the car and get ready to head back. Abraham and I will check out the trucks and see what we can find."
Abraham and Kayla walked around to the back of the department store where two large trucks were parked as if they were getting ready to be unloaded by department store workers. Kayla watched as Abraham broke the lock keeping the truck door down and pulled it open, only to discover an empty truck.
"O for one. Let's see if there's anything in the other." Kayla said.
"Yes ma'am."
Abraham repeated the action to the second truck only to find that one empty two. "Damn. Was really hoping to find some more water." Kayla said as she put her hands on her hips. "Looks like-"
Kayla never finished her sentence as the sounds of gunshots began going off. Kayla and Abraham immediately took off in a sprint for the front of the building where Tyreese and Tara were, drawing their guns as they moved. They rounded the corner to find their two group members being closed in on by a large crowd of walkers. There had to be at least twenty.
"Oh shit!" Kayla cursed as she raised her gun and fired off a few rounds at the walkers closest to Tara and Tyreese. Once there was enough space between the dead and the two group members, Kayla and Abraham holstered their guns and went in hand to hand to conserve the bullets. She drove her knife in the back of the walkers' skulls, pulling it out before the body could drop.
"Where the hell did they come from?" Kayla yelled to Tyreese and Tara as she helped took down another walker.
"I don't know! They came out of nowhere!" Tara called to Kayla as she shot down a walker.
Kayla jammed her knife into another walker, only this time her blade wouldn't budge when she went to pull it out. The body fell and her knife went with it, leaving her with just her gun that she didn't want to use unless it was absolutely necessary. The bullets were getting less and less plentiful.
A walker approached her and Kayla kicked it in the chest on the ground before bringing her boot down on its head. Blood and brains splattered on the asphalt and Kayla quickly looked up to see another two approaching. She pulled out her gun and grabbed ahold of the front end, sing the handle to smack the first walker across the head. It stumbled forward and landed with a thud, giving Kayla the opportunity to bring the gun's handle down on the back of its skull a few times as the other one got closer. She kicked it in its knee as hard as she could, causing it to fall over. She smashed her foot on its head with as much force as she could. Looking up, she saw Abraham take out the last walker allowing Kayla to breathe a little. The bottom of her pants were drenched in blood and her shirt was splattered with black gunk causing her to scrunch up her nose in disgust. Once they got to where they were going, she planned to find a few new shirts as soon as possible.
OOOOO
"And you let her go!" Daryl yelled at Rick. He'd just gotten back to the house to discover his wife missing and Rick telling him she went on a run with some of the others. "I wouldn't have let her gone if she wasn't capable." Rick replied to Daryl. "They're probably already on their way back now so I need you to calm down."
They were out on the porch while the others packed their things to head out. "That is my wife!" Daryl growled at Rick. "And you just let her go out wandering into unfamiliar territory!"
"It's not like she's unarmed and alone. She has a pistol and is with three of the others and the store wasn't that far. We needed supplies and she stepped up."
Daryl opened his mouth to respond when the sound of a car pulling up caused both he and Rick to turn their heads. As the car drove up Daryl could make out Kayla in the passenger seat. Once the car was parked by the other ones in the driveway, Daryl walked over despite Rick telling him to calm down.
Kayla got out of the car and didn't even have the chance to open the back door before Daryl's voice sounded.
"What the hell were you thinking?" he snapped at her, making her turn around to see her husband red in the face.
"Excuse me?" she replied.
"I come back and you took it upon yourself to go on a run without telling me?"
"I am not doing this right now."
Kayla went to walk away, but Daryl grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside.
"Daryl let go of me." Kayla snapped pulling her arm from him before turning to face him. "You have a lot of nerve, you know that?"
"Me?" Daryl snapped as anger clouded his brain.
"Yes you. I go on a run for an hour and a half tops with three other people to get supplies we needed if we want to make it to Virginia and you run off every chance you get by yourself without so much as a "see you later". So don't you stand there and get angry at me, Daryl." Kayla shouted.
Stepping back, Daryl gave a Kayla a sharp look. He knew she was right, but he felt justified in his actions. "We ain't talkin' about me."
"Yes we are. Look I understand you're hurting, Daryl." Kayla said a bit more softly, but still with an edge to her tone. "Beth died and I know that hurt you and that you're grieving in your own way. Sometimes I wish you'd just cry or yell or something opposed to running off. I wish you'd let me just comfort you and I have been so lenient since Atlanta because I know what you need is space. But you cannot tell me what I can and cannot do you aren't my parent."
"I'm your husband." Daryl returned sharply.
"Then start acting like one."
A heavy silence filled the air between the couple before Kayla scoffed. "Give me my husband back." she said.
"I am right here, Kayla."
"No you aren't Daryl! We don't talk like this, we don't yell each other like this, and we don't fight…not like this. You are not yourself and I get why…but for the love of God, Daryl…this is the longest conversation we've had in almost a week and we are screaming at each other. Talk to me again when you're you."
Daryl watched Kayla turn and head back to the house where Jonathan greeted her with a huge hug. Kayla picked him up and Daryl watched as she said something to him and the young boy replied with something, making Kayla smile and laugh. She kissed his cheek and carried him inside, leaving Daryl alone outside.
