Waking up in Daryl's arms made the rest of the shitstorm of our day almost worth it. Almost because that was the day we all nearly REALLY died. We should have LISTENED to Dr. Jenner when he said the doors wouldn't reopen. We should have listened to the tiny little voice in all our heads screaming that this was too easy, too safe, too good to be true. We didn't, which is how we all nearly blew the hell up.
Thank God Dad had that fucking granade. Thank God that Daryl can scare damn near anyone into opening most things up. And thank God that I wasn't as stupid as Jacqui and Andrea. I think Dale's made a horrible mistake saving Andrea. She wanted to die? Then let her. I don't care what he sees in her. I see a problem that's going to bite us all in the ass sooner or later.
After Dr. Jenner did a little audio visual of the virus that creates walkers, he basically tossed out the fact that the entire building was set to self destruct. The asshole did warn us not to come in, but still, my baby brother and Sofia shouldn't have to deal with that kind of fucking fear. Wasn't the fear of dying by a walker bad enough? Now they wouldn't trust anyone. Asshole. Luckily we made it. With one that didn't want to live, and a shit ton of us that did.
Daryl decided to ditch the truck, so it was the choice between curling my body tight against his on the bike, or the RV with whiny Andrea and Shane. Difficult choices. Riding away from the wreckage of the CDC, I clutched at Daryl's hard abdomen and felt him twitch under my touch. "Does this bother you?" I asked in loud enough for him to hear me. My fingers tightened against him and I felt him inhale deeply. "Should I stop?"
"Only if you don't want me to wreck us." He laughed back at me. "Feels amazin', Jess, but dying before we get to experience the entire thing might suck."
I grinned into the wings on his vest. "I love you, Daryl Dixon." I shouted, not caring if anyone heard, because we survived and had another day together.
"I love ya, too, baby girl." He said back, weaving through the roads as we headed for whatever we'd come to next.
HOURS LATER~ CAR CLOGGED FREEWAY
What we came to next was a clogged highway with too many cars and not enough space for the RV to find a path. Daryl and I scouted ahead, must to my dad's worry, but finding that we could move further was at least worth it.
We came back to relay the information and the decision was made to raid the cars for supplies before moving them out of the way. Of course a horde of the creepy crawlies found us. Carl, being sensible for his age, stayed put under the car Lori hid him under. Sofia, didn't. Well, shit.
T-Dog had a horrible cut. Daryl was pissed off at the entire situation, and now Dad had run off to find Sofia. Daryl looked at me and I rushed to his side. "Should I go after them?" He whispered when I got close.
I shook my head. "No, Dad will come ask if he can't find her." I was sure of it. He'd been right behind her, so he should have found her and be out in minutes. The time ticked by and I was growing worried. I was about to tell Daryl that we should go in, when Dad came out-alone.
"Daryl?" He asked, and Daryl walked to him. I followed. "No, honey, not you." I started to protest, but Daryl agreed. Well what the hell? "I need Daryl to track her. You need to stay here and keep everyone calm." What about Shane, I thought.
"OK, Dad." I looked at Daryl and wanted so badly to grab him and kiss him. And make him promise to stay safe and keep my dad safe. Instead I touched his hand. He nodded at me. "Stay safe." It was a blanket statement, for the two of them. And then they disappeared back into the forest.
Carol was understandably upset, and Lori and Shane were tiptoeing around one another. I worked to keep everyone calm, and keep an eye on Carl. He was adamant that he should have a weapon, and I agreed with him. Just not on the type of weapon he wanted. He wasn't ready for a gun, I told him, not yet. Why not find something stabby? And he nearly got eaten to find one. Then Lori and Shane argued about whether he could keep one or not. For fuck's sake.
A full night and no Sofia. Dad and Daryl returned, Daryl checking on Carol in the RV and trying to maintain some kind of certainty in the uncertainty. I'd found a spacious minivan and when I tucked the seats down, I had a pretty decent bed. I grabbed my sleeping bag from the Jeep Dad was driving and made a nice little bed. I figured Daryl would keep his distance, since Dad and Lori were sleeping nearby, but he surprised me, tapping on the window as I was looking at the stars through the open sunroof. I smiled and opened the hatchback.
"Thought I'd join ya for a bit." He whispered, crawling inside and over top of me. "Feels like forever since I've kissed ya." His lips met mine and I sighed in agreement.
Soon the van was steamed up, even with the opening in the roof. I was clutching at his back, his mouth hungry against mine. God in heaven, if I died like that, I would have died happy. He pulled back, too soon for my liking, and smiled down at me. Even sweaty and dirty from the road and the swamp, he was the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen.
"Ya don't honestly think our first go is gonna be in a minivan, do ya?" He chuckled and rolled off of me to lay beside me. He pulled me against him, so he could hold me again. "Nah, girl, our first time's gotta be memorable."
I giggled. "Pretty sure every time will be memorable with you, Daryl." My head was in the crook of his arm and I felt his lips on my forehead. "What do you have planned for our first time?" I asked, wanting a better version of a bedtime story.
He sighed and shifted so we were face to face. "Our first time should be under the stars." He whispered, brushing my errant hair away from my face. "Cause they're the only thing that can compare to how beautiful you are to me." I smiled, who knew he had a poet's heart? "So, somewhere with soft grass, even with this damn sleepin' bag I want ya to have some cushion under ya. A cool breeze, because you're skin and mine, together, feels like fire." I nodded, swallowing at the picture he was painting for me. "And I want to see all of ya. Every tiny bit, and I want ya to see me. We'll need a full moon for that." I was drifting off as he continued. "We're gonna need a long night, cause I don't wanna have to stop for the sunrise."
I woke up alone and groaned. I hated this nonsense. I heard the others talking outside, so I refolded my bag and tossed it back inside the Jeep. Stretching I felt his eyes on me. I looked up and sure enough, he was standing with Dad, but watching me like he would prey. I smiled and walked over to join them.
Dad kissed my temple almost absently, but included me in the planning. Everyone was searching today. Grid search, I asked, and he confirmed. OK, I thought, we'd all participated in one of those back home. Even Carl had, because Dad was absolutely certain every hand on deck meant every hand on deck. Once everyone had a part, me with Daryl thank God, we started off. T-Dog and Dale were staying back, to work on the RV and to keep an eye on things. Andrea, gun toting idiot, was giving Dale sass for saving her, sass for refusing her gun rights, and sass for everything that her life didn't offer. I rolled my eyes.
Shane, Dad, and Carl were together and I was worried. That wasn't a good idea. Not even close. When we heard the pealing of the bells, everyone's hope grew. It wasn't what we'd hoped for, the church held nothing but dead inside and an electronic timed bell outside. After we killed the dead and Daryl checked things out, Carol took a moment to get right with God, I thought about how my life could have been if the world hadn't turned to shit.
Would I have met Daryl? Would our paths have ever crossed? I would have been attracted to him, of that I was certain. Every girl has a type, right? Well, he was definitely mine. I hadn't dated much, remember I had to fight for summer camp, but when I had, there was a certain roughness to the guys I preferred. Men who weren't afraid to get their hands dirty. Men who could hold their own anywhere, but also had a softer side. Sure, I was usually one of the few who could see that side, but knowing it was there was enough. So, Daryl would have been my type no matter what, but would we have met? I glanced up at Jesus on the cross and felt the most peace I'd felt for months. And that was my answer. Yes. We would have.
I met everyone outside as we waited for Carol. Shane, my dad, and Carl were going further on, but the rest of us were heading back to the vehicles and preparing for what comes next. Daryl and I rolled our eyes at Andrea's bitchiness toward Lori having a gun when she didn't, and I nearly high-fived my stepmom when she offered it to her and told everyone off for being irritable with Dad. I agreed with her, and dared Andrea to come at me.
"If you'd stop being so pissed about being alive," I glared at the blonde, "you'd realize that you can totally die out here, all alone, and I'd happily leave your ass laying." I offered, raising my bow as I felt Daryl's hand on my arm.
She glared back at me and stomped off back in the direction we'd started from. Bitch. Lori looked at me like I was a stranger, but you know what? I didn't care. We had enough trouble without a bitch with a deathwish. Daryl and I kept the group moving and he tried to keep me calm. I was tired of it. Her attitude with Dale, her irritation with the rest of us. And why? Because she was useless in this world? Well, fuck you and toughen up. I kept going, eyes alert even if I was angry. I felt Lori come up beside me, but before she could say a word we heard the gunshot. Fear clutched my heart, a chill ran up my spin and I prayed that I wouldn't lose one of my family members.
We waited a beat, before Daryl had us crossing a meadow, then a woman appeared on a horse with a baseball bat screaming Lori and my names. We looked up at her as Daryl held her in his sights on the crossbow. She was making little sense, but we heard Dad's name and Carl's then Lori climbed on the horse and I ran beside it. I glanced back at Daryl and I knew he understood. My family needed me. God, please don't take them.
