A/N: Hi there!
Let me start by apologizing for outright abandoning the story. I'm not even going to attempt to come up with an excuse. I'll just say that I know how frustrating it can be to follow a fic which suddenly stops, so I really do apologize.
I also have to apologize for this chapter. I've lost count of how many times I've written and rewritten it, but it just never seems right. I had to give up at some point, though, but I hope you enjoy it, nonetheless.
Daryl yanked open the door to the back seat, all but threw Michonne inside, and jumped in after her, leaving Rick to join Carol up front as she slammed her foot on the gas. She swerved the Jeep this way and the other, trying to avoid the walkers, but there were so many it was a losing battle – they were just hoping they'd make it out before the car reached its encumbering-body-parts capacity. It was touch and go there for a while but, as Carol came out of a sharp left, they crossed unimpeded gates and allowed themselves a sigh of relief.
As soon as they were no longer hanging onto the car for dear life, Daryl's hands sought Michonne. Sure, he'd already seen her, talked to her, and even kissed her, but his brain wasn't satisfied yet – it wanted all five of his senses to continually confirm her well-being. So, he pulled her close to take in her scent before boldly, but briefly, bringing their lips together. She was taken aback but wasn't complaining.
While this was happening, Carol was giving Rick the wonderful news that Judith was alive and waiting for him with Carl. They were so focused on the conversation they didn't notice the exchange happening in the rear seat. But a few things had already started to come together in the back of Rick's mind, which probably explained his general feeling of unease. At that point, though, both his conscious and subconscious trains of thought were interrupted by Carol bringing the car to a screeching halt.
Maggie, Sasha, Glenn, Bob, and Tara had been trying to follow Carol's instructions for the better part of an hour. Shocking as it may seem, though, being locked in a hot tin for however many days with little food and water wasn't doing much for their reasoning skills, or for their general sense of direction. The walkers gravitating towards the war-worthy sounds of Terminus weren't exactly helping either. Another twenty minutes passed, which included a couple of near misses with the undead, and they saw a road.
"Carol mentioned a road, didn't she?" Maggie asked.
"Yeah," Bob responded. "She said we'd be pretty close after we crossed it."
"Let's hope this is it, then," Maggie stated.
"Were we to keep going north?" Sasha this time.
"Yeah," was Bob's answer.
They carefully approached the edge of the woods, making sure to stay hidden from anyone coming down the road. After a few minutes watching for possible vehicles, Glenn motioned for everyone to follow him, but, just as they started to move, the sound of a motor was heard, causing them all to duck for cover again.
One or two minutes went by and "wait, isn't that…" Glenn started as a car sped by.
"It's Rick!" came Maggie's interruption as she ran onto the pavement, wildly waving her arms.
Everyone joined in, pursuing the Jeep as fast as their weakened condition would allow. A couple of screams escaped the group before they had time to think better of it, so Glenn had to abandon his efforts to deal with three walkers. As he perforated the final skull, he heard the vehicle coming to a sudden stop and being driven in reverse.
"What are you doing here? Everyone okay?" Rick asked when both groups met.
"Trying to follow Carol's directions," Maggie answered. "And yeah, we're okay."
"Get in!" Carol said as Daryl opened the door and pulled Michonne onto his lap. Sasha, Bob, and Tara took the makeshift seat all the way in the back, leaving the two empty spots next to Daryl/Michonne for Maggie and Glenn.
They drove for a short ten minutes until a rickety shack came into view.
Tyreese and Carl dumped Martin's body and the walkers out back. They returned to find Beth sitting by the cooler, wherein she'd settled Judith back. Carl dampened a rag he found in Michonne's bag and started to wipe the blood off Beth. She didn't object, but didn't help either, so he finished his task, and everyone waited quietly.
After what must surely have been days, but were in fact just a few hours, they heard a car approaching. Ty silently instructed the teenager to draw his gun and wait by the girls' side as he peered out of the window, readying his own weapon. As soon as he recognized Carol at the wheel, however, he let out a sigh of relief and exclaimed, "they're back!"
Carl picked up his sister and extended a hand to Beth, who, to his surprise, accepted it, letting herself be guided outside.
As soon as the vehicle stopped, people started jumping out of every door. Rick was first to appear, covering the distance to his children in record speed. Carl transferred Judith to his father's arms but didn't let go of Beth's hands to join them until Maggie had her in a tight embrace.
Maggie had been so sure her whole family was gone that it took hugging Beth for her to really believe her sister was alive. The feeling she got when she closed her arms around Beth was one of pure joy and relief, rendering her unable to contain her tears. She was so ecstatic it took her a few moments to realize her sister wasn't returning her affection. Beth was, in fact, doing nothing at all.
"Beth, are you alright?" Maggie asked. Not getting a response, she pulled back and looked straight into her younger sister's eyes. "Beth, what's wrong?" Again, no answer, just a blank stare. By now Maggie had gone from ecstatic to anxious and was fast approaching frantic. "Beth, please tell me what's wrong!" she pleaded.
Beth had a vague idea of someone holding her. This didn't seem important until she heard a voice she recognized – Maggie's. These were her sister's arms around her. It was her sister calling her name, telling her how happy she was to find her alive.
But was Beth alive? Did the mere act of breathing count as being alive? Did she even want to be alive? To think? To feel?
As she looked about, she registered Maggie's concerned face; Glenn waiting to hug her next; Sasha holding Tyreese as if he might disappear, with Bob by their side; Rick and Carl showering Judith with attention; Daryl standing next to Michonne, with Carol close by. Suddenly, she felt like a dense fog was being lifted from around her, like she was returning from some faraway place. And she decided she did want to be alive. And she broke down, crying.
"Oh, honey," Maggie said as she tried to keep Beth from collapsing. Once they made it safely to the ground, Maggie gently rocked her sobbing sister, trying to reassure her, "it's okay, Beth… it's okay… we're together now, we'll be okay."
"We're gonna need water. There should be a creek nearby, I'll be back in a bit," Daryl said to Michonne before he turned on his heels, grabbed his crossbow and backpack, and disappeared into the woods, not leaving her enough time to respond.
She furrowed her brow, wondering what could have happened. After about five minutes of worrying she decided it wasn't a good idea for any of them to venture out alone, so she let Carol know what she was doing and went after him.
After following what little she could make out of Daryl's track, she found a small creek. Choosing left, she walked along its margin until she found him sitting on the ground next to his gear, his back against a fallen tree trunk and a pensive look on his face. She settled beside him and asked, "Everything okay?"
"Yeah…" Daryl said, absently.
Michonne could tell it was an automatic response but decided to wait rather than question him further. She leaned against his side, settled her head on his shoulder, and looped her arm under his so they could join hands, which prompted him to turn his palm up and interlace their fingers.
He chewed the side of his free thumb for a little while before he heaved a sigh and, looking at the ground, said, "I was in some shitty situations in my life, real difficult ones… and not just now, with the walkers; before too." He looked at her for a quick moment before returning his gaze to the floor and continuing, "back there, today… it was the first time I was sure I was gonna die… and all I could think about was how I was never gonna see you again."
Michonne tightened her hold on his hand, finding it difficult to breath for a moment. Before she could say anything, he went on, "breakin' out of that hellhole seemed like a damn miracle. When I finally jumped over the fence, I was happier than I've ever been before, I couldn't wait to get back here… to you." He stopped for a couple of seconds, during which she could feel his muscles tense up. "And then Carol said you was back there, alone. It was like a sick joke: first I was dyin', then I was gonna get back to you, and two second later you was the one dyin'. I felt like… I dunno, like I was fallin'; my head was spinnin'."
Michonne waited to make sure he was done before saying, "I'm sorry you went through all that, I can only imagine what it must have felt like. But I couldn't just sit around after I heard you'd been caught, I had to go get you out."
"I know; we don't leave anyone behind. This ain't about tellin' you off for what you did," he responded before he bit his thumb a couple more times. Ït's just that… well… that cabin, it was only two nights ago…"
"And you feel it's too much, too soon," Michonne half said, half asked.
"I dunno… I never had nothin' like this before… I ain't sure how it's supposed to go," he responded. "You don't think it is?" He asked, looking… hopeful? Or was it just Michonne hoping he looked hopeful?
She took a moment to think before proceeding, "it is, and it isn't." She then turned completely, so she could sit facing him, and waited for Daryl to follow suit. "Yeah, it's only been two days. But we've been growing close for a lot longer; at least that's how I feel when I look back." He nodded in agreement, seemingly unaware of his body's spontaneous response to Michonne's words. "And even if that wasn't the case, it's really nobody's business but our own, especially now. Like I said, so long as everyone involved is happy, there's no set way for these things to go."
Michonne paused to consider whether she should say the next part. Deciding for it, she carried on, "the 'too soon' part doesn't worry me in the least. The 'too much', on the other hand…" she trailed off as Daryl regarded her with an apprehensive expression. "The more intense the feeling, the more pain will come if something happens – and something always does."
Seeing Michonne close her eyes and breathe deeply, Daryl placed his hand on the side of her face and lightly brushed his thumb over her cheek.
"It's ok," she responded as she leaned into his touch. After a few seconds she sat up straight and continued, "when I saw them dragging your unconscious body across that yard… it was all I could do not to break down on the spot, and that scared the hell out of me. There's a voice in my head, right now, telling me to run as fast as I can, to not take the risk. But I've listened to it before, and I didn't like where it led me." She looked intently into his eyes, hoping to convey understanding and support, and continued, "it's okay if it's too much for you. Just let me know if you need time to sort things out, if you need to put some distance between us. It's not what I want, but we'll figure out a way."
Daryl went quiet, as though pondering their conversation, so Michonne figured she should leave him to his thoughts. When she stood, however, he did the same, placing his hand on her forearm and applying the slightest bit of pressure to communicate his request for her to stay. "You sure you don't wanna run?" Daryl asked.
"I am," she answered.
"I don't wanna run either."
"Good," she responded, delight and relief coming through in her voice, before pulling him to her for a rapidly deepening kiss.
As with most of their previous outdoors attempts at canoodling, though, they were halted by the sounds of possible danger – ruffling leaves, this time. In next to no time Michonne had her katana in hand and Daryl was holding his knife sideways as they stood with their backs to each other, ready to handle any threats. When none came, they relaxed a bit and set about filling the four canteens in Daryl's bag.
"How did you know there would be a creek here?" Michonne enquired.
"Bushes and trees. Some of 'em are right for finding water close by," he responded.
Michonne gave a little laugh and shook her head.
"What?" Daryl asked.
"How can you not see all you have to offer?"
His face turned pink as he mumbled, "ain't nothing, anyone knows this."
"No, they don't. I certainly didn't," she responded. "And this is only one small example."
Pink became red as they finished their task and Michonne gave Daryl a quick kiss before they headed for the little cabin.
Loosing Sophia had easily been the most painful and terrifying experience of Carol's life – to this day she didn't know how she'd survived it. Truth be told, she hadn't really survived. Not all of her, at any rate.
Daryl's support had been a large part of what had helped her carry on; it still did. She'd been utterly surprised at first, as she'd thought him just another misogynistic bigot, like his brother had been back then. But it had soon become evident she couldn't have been more wrong. He was a caring person and, once integrated to the group, fiercely protective.
She had felt a special bond between them since the search for Sophia. His tireless efforts, confidence in their success, and comforting words all told her he'd gone through hardships of his own. With time, she'd felt their connection deepen as an unspoken understanding of each other's pain took shape. She had attempted to take things further when they'd first arrived at the prison, but he hadn't been ready at the time. It hadn't mattered, though, as she knew it wasn't a question of "if", but rather of "when".
With everything that had happened to them over the past week, however, it didn't make sense to keep wasting any more time. She looked around and, seeing everyone's attention still focused on reuniting with their loved ones, decided to go looking for him. The middle of the woods wasn't the safest surroundings for what might be a long conversation, and she might have to ask Michonne to excuse them, but she couldn't postpone it any longer, even if she hadn't exactly figured out what she was going to say.
She didn't have to walk long to start hearing the faint sound of moving water. Another few yards, and she froze. Her brain was surely malfunctioning. It had to be. At least, that's the only way she could make sense of what she was looking at: Daryl… kissing someone else… passionately! And Michonne, no less, with whom he had nothing in common. What in the hell was going on?
As Carol felt the ground disappear from beneath her, she faltered, grabbing a nearby tree for support. She somewhat sobered up at the sound of weapons being drawn and was able to make her way back to the others.
"How much more sunlight do you figure we have?" Michonne asked Daryl as they approached the shack.
"An hour, tops," he answered. "I think we're gonna have to sleep here. Stickin' around ain't the best of ideas, but I don't see no other way."
"We do have the two cars," Michonne noted.
"Yeah… but even so, an hour might not be enough time to find a place and clear it. We might end up sleepin' out in the open if we leave."
"I suppose you're right," she said with a resigned sigh. "I just wanted to put some distance between us and that place."
"I know, me too," Daryl responded. "We'll start real early tomorrow."
"Do you still like the idea of going to the coast?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think it's great. We could look for an island, like you said," Daryl answered.
"We should talk to the others," Michonne offered as they got to the cars.
"Yeah," he agreed. "Let's go pass the water around and you can tell 'em."
A/N: Let me know what you think, comments always make my day! Seriously :)
