Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Chapter 54

Author's Note: RIP Bob. I'm ticked for not having episode 3 season 5 and have to wait til Sunday to DVR it. GRR. Alright, I guess I'll have to write more. Any complaints? No? Alright, didn't think so! Almost 200 reviews, SWOON. Yeah Summer is traumatized with the Walker in the Box. Sorry Summer but…it was funny!

So, my Christmas Tree is up and I've had this idea for a while. They just need to relax and be a 'family' and forget they are running for there lives. Hence the reason the hunting lodge was mentioned. I'm taking liberty they find good things once in a bit. This may be two or three chapters then a Merle centric chapter! Hang with me they'll get to the prison soon (Well…not soon soon but soon enough). OH before I forget….wasn't the point to get far away from Atlanta? They seem to have been real close!

Actress change for Summer Dixon. Sierra McCormick is all smiles in her pictures and would not survive fighting walkers! Summer is now being played by Ellen Marlow

Jewel pulled a blanket around her as the waited for the advance team to come back. "Summer's driving didn't scare you to bad?" she asked Mariah as she went to the car she was sitting in with Mitch rubbing his hair subconsciously as he was asleep. "He's a sweetie huh?"

Mariah gave a small smile. "Yeah, he is," she said as she looked down at him. "Summer did pretty good. God, can't believe she'll be 16 in a couple days.'

"You can't believe it? I'm hopin' this works out, I'd like her to be normal teen for a few days," Jewel said as she leaned on the door. "If it does look good, I'll come to your room and we can talk…"

Mariah laughed as she glanced out the window and looked at Rick. "Yeah if this works out, I think that man is going to tie you to a bed and have his way with you all night."

Jewel laughed. "Noticed the looks huh?"

"Both of you got some serious eye sex going on. I also noticed how disgusted Lori is every time he touches you or you kiss him. How did they ever get married?" Mariah asked as she rubbed Mitch's hair.

"High school sweethearts…." Jewel said simply. "What else you noticed?"

"That Carol eyes Daryl like a hawk, he's not interested. That she's going to get that little girl killed and someone else if she doesn't start letting her learn things," Mariah answered. "Glenn and Maggie are a couple, Herschel likes him. Also notice you didn't seem to mind when Rick let Summer go scout things out."

Jewel smiled. "We all have to do things that we need to do to survive. Summer's always been smart and able to track and clear. She's a Dixon. I trust Maggie and Glenn, she's went out a couple times with them. Plus Daryl's with her," she told her friend as she squeezed her hand. "Rick and I, we were the ones that killed Tony and Dave, in the bar."

"You did the right thing…" Mariah said.

T turned from his spot on a fence. "Glenn and Maggie are opening' the main gate, motionin' for us to come in."

"I've got this car," Jewel told Rick as she got in.

"Let's go!" Rick told the group as they got into the cars. He gave Jewel a nod as he got into the car.

"Yeah, I think I'm bunkin' with this big guy here tonight," Mariah teased.

The Lodge:

Rick got out of the car. "What did you guys find?" he asked Maggie and Glenn.

"Where's Summer and Daryl?" Jewel asked as she got out of her car.

"Huntin'," Glenn said with a grin. "Looks like they had just made a few food deliveries before the crap hit the fan. Full kitchen stocked."

"Walkers?" Lori asked as she got out of the car with Carol, Sophia and Carl.

"We went room by room, that's what took us so long. We found three people out in back that had opted out, and two dead walkers' up in an office," Maggie said as they walked in to the lobby.

"Wow…" Carl said as he looked around.

Jewel grinned as she walked into the kitchen and tried the sink. "Running water! Underground wells."

"Like at the farm!" Beth said. "Gas stoves, and a BBQ pit…."

"We haven't found the generators for the electricity and the water heater," Maggie said.

"On it," T said.

"I'll go with you," Herschel told him.

"Can I go to mom? Please?" Carl asked.

Lori looked at Rick. "I don't see why not," she said.

"We could make a whole meal, just like a real holiday…." Carol said as she looked through the kitchen. "Hopefully they will bring some meat."

"Maybe we could decorate? Make some homemade ornaments?" Mariah suggested.

Jewel grinned as the lights came on. "T came through again."

"Do you think we could have a fire in the rooms? May be nice?" Carol asked.

Rick smiled. "First things first, we need to put up defenses, snow looks like it's gonna come in today. May last a day, may last a week. We need to put up some kind of alarm system."

"Like empty cans? Pots and pans?" Mariah asked.

"That way we don't have to be outside in this weather," Rick said.

"Dad we got like four weeks worth of gas!" Carl said as he came in with T and Herschel.

"Suggest we save about two weeks worth for the cars," Hershel said.

"Hopefully we'll be safe for two weeks here," Beth said hopefully.

"We need to get to the strip mall before that storm comes," Maggie said.

"Any volunteers for a shoppin' trip?" Jewel asked as she raised her hand.

Maggie, Mariah, Beth, and Sophia raised there hands. Summer came in with a turkey, with Daryl carrying another one. "What's everyone volunteering for?" Summer asked.

"Shopping!" Beth said.

"Count me in!" Summer exclaimed.

"Is that turkey? Real…turkey?" Carl asked.

"I hunted, I don't clean," Summer said as she handed it to Daryl.

Jewel laughed. "Don't look at me, Daryl, I'm goin' shopping!"

Mariah laughed. "I'll stay and help clean. I would slow you guys down."

"You know how to skin a turkey?" Carol asked Mariah.

"No, but I've been camping with these guys before. Daryl made me skin a rabbit. I can learn," Mariah said.

Jewel and Summer laughed. "Only reason you skinned that rabbit was because you didn't want Peter to think you were a scared," Summer reminded her.

"Bet you'd take that rabbit now, huh?" Jewel teased her friend.

Rick looked at Jewel. "There's no way I'm not takin' the rest of you am I?"

"Nope," Jewel told him as she kissed him.

"Sophia, stay here with me, we'll make cookies," Carol told her.

"Can I help you clean the turkeys?" Mitch asked.

"'Course," Daryl said.

"Glenn you want to come along so I'm not with all the girls?" Rick asked.

"I'm in," Glenn answered.

"I'll take care of the cans," Herschel assured him.

"I'll set it up," T told him.

"I'll find the booze," Daryl said as he put the turkey's outside.

"Of course, you'd be heading for that," Jewel said as she laughed.

"By the time you guys get back, we should have hot water," T said.

"God….why does that sound like heaven…." Jewel said.

"Mar, Lori, Carol, Hershel get rooms for everyone, should be near each other. Maggie and Glenn are sharing, Summer and Beth, Lori and Carl, Sophia and Carol, Hershel can have a room to his self, Daryl and T, Mar you mind bunking with Mitch?" Rick asked.

"Planned on it," Mar answered.

Daryl glanced over at Mar then at Jewel. "T can have his own room. Mar's still recoverin'. I'll sleep on the couch, if that's OK Mar?"

"Yeah, no problem," Mar answered.

"Jewel and me together," Rick said.

"So seven rooms?" Hershel asked.

Rick nodded. "Meet at the cars in five minutes, get some bags."

"Everyone make a list and we'll look for things," Glenn said.

Mar got up slowly from the couch. Jewel turned and looked at her. "You alright?"

"Yea still tender. If you could and it's not all run over with Walkers' may be nice to get the kids some stuff for Christmas morning'," Mariah told her.

"I think we already had that idea," Maggie said with a grin.

"I'm finding a razor," Jewel said as she glanced over at Rick.

Maggie laughed. "I'm gonna tell daddy Glenn and I want a room away from him, guess you want one away from Daryl."

"And Lori," Jewel told her.

Mariah laughed. "Don't care where I am, as long as there's a bed and hot water. God…hot water."

"You can thank me and Daryl later for recommending we try this place," Jewel said with a grin.

"MOM! I swear we're gonna leave without you and Maggie!" Summer called.

"If there's a bookstore 'round there, just leave her for a few hours, she'll be happy," Daryl said with a grin.

"After we make sure it's not filled with walkers'," Jewel said as she walked out to the car. "You look relaxed," she said as she kissed him.

Rick grinned. "Feeling good that this is a good place to relax for a week or two."

"Before we go back to surviving?" Beth asked.

"We'll find a permanent place, make it a home," Rick assured the teen. "Right now though, this is letting us let off steam, regroup a bit. Just be normal."

"Keep part of our humanity, what makes us human," Glenn said.

Jewel grinned. "Let's be alert, clear it out, then we'll break down the lists. And, Summer if there is a book section, you need to stay out of it. You do have a birthday the day after Christmas, we'd like to be able to get you something. So Beth, she stays out of the book section."

"Got it," Beth said with a grin.

Mariah's POV:

Mariah stood on the porch of the lodge looking out, taking a breath of fresh air.

"Shouldn't be out here alone," Daryl said as he came out.

Mariah jumped. "I swear you Dixon's need a bell," she said. "Needed a breather."

"Getting colder," Daryl said as he looked at her. "You doin' OK?"

"Healing," she answered as she turned to look out at the scenery.

"Physically, but what about the other stuff?" Daryl asked as he came closer.

"Dealing with it," Mariah answered. "It's easier cause I found some old familiar faces," she responded. "At the clinic, before you all found me. I was going to take myself out. I couldn't even hold the gun long enough to do it. I heard you guys coming in, didn't know who it was, but I held up the gun, hoping whoever it was would shoot me."

"You weren't done fightin'," Daryl told her. "When Rick saw the one bullet in the gun, he figured you were close to optin' out."

"I was done fighting, someone else had other plans," Mariah said with a small laugh.

"You thinking' about Peter?" Daryl asked.

"A minute of every day doesn't go by that I don't think about him. When I saw Mitch…well maybe that's why you all came when you did. Besides that I don't know how much good I'm going to be for the group."

Daryl laughed. "You're kiddin' right? You've done more injured then some of these useless bitches have done in the six months I've known them. You just helped me skin two turkeys," he told her.

Mariah laughed. "Oh you better not let Jewel or Summer hear you calling women names, or they'd both go off on you."

"They aren't around are they?" Daryl asked. "Snow's gonna come soon."

Mariah shook her head. "One thing I'll never get over is how you people from Georgia react to a little bit of snow fall. Boston, now that's what I call snow," she said as she looked at him. "So you ever tell Jewel?"

Daryl looked at her. "Tell her that I kissed her best friend on New Years Eve when we were both drunk? I still have my balls attached don't I?"

Mariah laughed. "We were both drunk. You just stopped it before it went any further. And you never tried it again."

"You wanted me to try it again?" Daryl asked as he looked at her.

"Well you never tried again, so we don't know do we?" Mariah asked as the door to the lodge open. "Carol…"

"We were just startin' to make cookies, Mitch wanted me to see if you wanted to help," Carol told her as she looked at the two of them.

"Yeah, I'll be right in," Mariah answered as Carol went back inside.

"Gonna walk the perimeter, wait for them to get back," Daryl said as he went off the porch.

Mariah nodded as she went back inside and took a breath. "Smells good in here!" she told the group.