The Wolf You Feed
Chapter 16
Daryl could feel his anger and aggravation starting to take over. He was trying his best to stay calm, but she was making the face at him. Rowan's slim arms were crossed under her breasts and her eyebrows were pressed together making a little crinkle of skin between them. The corners of her mouth were downturned. It was the face that drove her father crazy when she made it at him. Rowan's father didn't yell at her often. But when he did it was always in Sioux. Daryl couldn't understand what the man was saying but he was pretty sure it broke down to get that stubborn ass look off your face right fucking now. It was the same look she gave Daryl when he tried to talk her into carrying a gun when she took the dogs out.
Daryl didn't often have the urge to scream at his wife. On the contrary, he normally found her to be a calming influence. But at this moment, he wanted to yell and swear at her more than he ever wanted to cuss anyone out in his entire life.
"I'm not leaving," Rowan told him again. As if the first three times she said it had not been enough.
"We are going home to get some help," Daryl told her, struggling to keep his voice from rising. And once we get home, your fucking ass is staying there. He would come back with Rick and some of the others and take care of business. Teach these bitches they had messed with the wrong people.
"What if Lauren has her baby before we get back?," Rowan said. Maybe it was because she was pregnant herself. Or maybe she would have felt the same way no matter what. But she couldn't bear the thought of someone hurting that girl's baby. Ripping it from her arms and taking it away. It made her sick to think about it.
Enid felt Carl squeeze her hand. They were standing by the horses. Morgan the chicken dog had run over to cower behind them. It seemed he liked watching Rowan and Daryl fight about as much as she and Carl did. Enid had to admit, seeing them argue was rather unsettling. Like watching her parents fight about how to fix the car right before they got torn to shreds by walkers.
"If we ride all night, we could make it to Alexandria by morning to bring back help," Enid said, finally unable to keep quiet any longer.
"You can't make it there that fast,"Daryl told her.
"We can if we take the highway," Carl added. He shuffled his feet while he stared down at them. He didn't mean to side with the girls over Daryl, the words just came falling out. Their plan was not the best, but it wasn't the worst one he had ever heard either. He and Enid were going to ride back for help while Rowan and Daryl stayed here and stalled for time. Like Daryl, Carl would rather they all left together, but Carl knew he and Enid could make it back in a quarter of the time if they each had a horse to ride that wasn't loaded down with supplies.
"The highway?," Daryl asked. There was a reason why they had not taken the highway on the way here. The highway was dangerous. There was no cover. Marauders and all sorts of other unsavory people liked to hang out near the highway and highjack anyone that came along. Aaron warned them to avoid it before they left. That's why they had taken the long way through the woods and on backroads to get here in the first place.
"No one will see us in the dark," Enid added. They were wasting time arguing.
Now everyone was staring at Daryl. Waiting to see what he was going to say. He chewed the skin on his thumb as he glanced around, giving each one of them their own dirty look, his blue eyes narrow and icy. This included Tank, who was sitting next to Rowan, growling quietly at Daryl anytime the man dared to raise his voice at the woman. His main concern was for Rowan's safety. But the truth was he didn't feel great about taking off and leaving those people at Amanda's mercy either.
Rowan saw the change in Daryl before he even knew he had made up his mind. The little orange lightning streaks around his head that replaced the angry looking red ones. She closed the short distance between them and threw her arms around his neck. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close as he lowered his face into her hair. Once he loosened his grip, he turned to Carl and Enid.
"If you're going, you better get yer asses movin'," he told them, "and don't stop for nothin'." Carl nodded his head, looking serious. Enid smiled. She swung her lightly packed bag onto her back and slung her rifle over her shoulder, then she swung herself up onto Molly's back. She figured she and Carl better leave now before Daryl changed his mind. Rowan drifted over and reached up to clasp Enid's hand.
"Take care of Molly for me, okay?," she told the girl. The momentary hard squeeze she gave Enid's hand said so much more. Be careful. Get home safe. Don't let anything happen to Carl. I love you like the sister I never had. Enid didn't trust herself to respond without getting emotional, so she just gave the woman a nod.
"Ready?," Carl asked her.
"Ready." Enid turned Molly in the direction of the highway and kicked her heels in. Morgan ran after his friends for a few yards. Until he realized Rowan was still back at the campsite. He stopped, unsure of which direction he wanted to go. The big white dog sat back and let out a sad howl. Then he turned around and headed back to camp.
"They know where our camp is," Daryl said as he started pulling the tent up, "we should move in case they decide to try anything." Rowan nodded. She didn't want to be caught off guard either. First Rowan kicked some dirt on the fire and then she put away the few things she had unpacked.
Instead of moving further away from the people they were hiding from, they moved closer. Daryl figured it would be an easy way to throw off anyone that was looking for them. He and Rowan moved down the hill and away from the creek that ran through this part of the woods. Getting water would be a further walk, but they would be harder for those women to find.
Daryl shoved the last tent stake into the ground and stood up. Suddenly, Rowan was in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight around his waist. She had been running on adrenaline and fear for the entire last week. And the gravity of what had happened and how close she had come to losing Daryl had hit her all at once while she was watching him set up the tent.
"I love you," she told him. Her voice was shaky. Daryl hugged her back, smiling a little before he could help himself. He saw it in her eyes and felt it in the way she touched him, but Rowan didn't often say the actual words. Not I love you anyway. She usually had some more creative way of telling him her feelings. Like with a little poem or a story. He was never sure if she made that stuff up on the spot or if they were things she had read and memorized.
"Techi-hita," he told her. Daryl wasn't sure if he was saying it exactly right, but he had heard the words spoken enough times to make a good attempt. Nokake was always saying it to her baby. Rowan and her father would say it to each other. And the man would say it to his wife and she would say it back. It made Daryl happy to know his baby was going to grow up in the kind of home where people said they loved each other. Even if it was in another language.
Rowan hugged him tighter and started tilting her head back to kiss him. Even if he hadn't said it exactly right, he knew he had gotten his point across. He could tell she liked it from the soft dreamy look on her face.
"Ah!," Rowan said, making a funny little squeak noise. Daryl was immediately concerned. She sounded like she was hurt.
"Sorry, I just felt something weird," she said. She pushed her shirt up and shoved her pants down a little, lying the flat of her palm on the hard lump between her hips. "It felt like little bubbles," she said. Daryl put his hand over hers.
"Do you think the baby's okay?," he asked. He had not forgotten Lori's pregnancy. And what she said when she was afraid because the baby wasn't moving. If the baby died inside her, would it kill her from the inside out? That led Daryl to wondering if his baby would be immune to the virus, like Rowan's father. He had been bit twice. Rowan had never been bit, so it wasn't even certain if she was immune or not. Eugene and Denise had taken blood samples from Rowan and all the wolves, but they had not been able to find any answers with the limited medical research supplies they had. They thought a blood transfusion from an immune person might save someone if they were bit. But it wasn't really a theory anyone was eager to test out.
"I think the baby's fine," she said, "maybe I'm just hungry." Really she was thinking that maybe she just had gas. Another lovely and not so romantic side affect of being pregnant. She liked her big breasts better than her sensitive stomach. That was for sure.
"Sit down," Daryl told her, leading her over to what looked like a softer patch of grass where she could lean against her backpack. "I'll make you something." Rowan felt fine, but she let him lead her over and sit her down anyway. When he stood back up she reached a hand up his pantleg, rubbing her fingers over the hard muscle of his calf.
"Maybe you should go hunting...," she suggested. Rowan had a funny look on her face, like she was thinking something that wasn't nice. A sly little smile. Which was unusual for her. She only looked like that when she was thinking about playing a trick on someone. The someone was usually Spencer. The two of them had become involved in some sort ongoing prank war ever since the day they had thrown the pickles at each other. Daryl did his best to stay the hell out of that mess.
"Huntin'?," he asked. They had plenty of food for the two of them.
"Well it would be rude to show up to the party empty handed," she said, the grin on her face getting a little wider.
