Thanks again for helping me out, guys, and just being there for me when I was really down in the dumps about being plagerized. Once again, a MAJOR thank you to RebelWhoIsInFactNotARebel for informing me about this! If anyone finds a plagerized version if my story, I'd be eternally grateful if you'd shoot me a pm with the link so I can take action against the 'author' and ask them to take it down.
Britney, I'm glad you enjoy my writing style! I'm glad to have you as a reader- you guys are like family to me.
After hearing my story had been plagerized, I couldn't sleep, and the only thing I could think of to do was stay up until midnight and write. Which is why this chapter is here. While I've changed the plotline a little for Jamie, it's basically the same. And for those of you who were speculating about Infected in your reviews, you were right to be curious whether I'd go the Infected plot route. *hint hint*
Wow, this was a long author note. Let's get to the good stuff! The CREAM OF THE OREO, shall we say? Please read and review- hugs! :)
The next night Carl made faces at her by the fire. She smiled and tried not to laugh, since everytime she did Daryl glared at her, and Rick narrowed his eyes at carl. Still, as soon as they'd look away, Carl would go ahead and stick his tongue out of the corner of his mouth like roadkiss and widen his eyes, and she'd have to laugh. And Daryl would glare. Rick's eyes would narrow. And it'd start all over again.
She hadn't spoken to Carl since yesterday night, when they'd been caught kissing. Daryl had kept her close by him all day. Even now, he watched her, rolling something around in his palms...
What she didn't know was that Daryl had been keeping her close for one reason- to protect her. He'd lost too much in his life already, and there was no say he'd let her do something stupid and get hurt, whether it was physical or mental injuries. And what she didn't know was that it wasn't some smooth stone he was rolling around in his large palms. It was a piece of flattened lead- a bullet.
The bullet they'd dug out of Jamie days ago.
He had it as reassurance, something to remind him that if Jamie hadn't succumbed to a bullet, she'd be alright in this world, fighting the dead. The only thing she had to fear was the living. The rapists, phsycos, murderers, out there. And maybe Carl. But if she could hold her own against the dead, he'd do everything he could to protect her from the living. Even if it meant having her hate him by keeping her from Carl.
He was her father, afterall. He knew best. He'd kept her alive this long, hadn't he?
Which was why when she burst out giggling at Carl for the fourth time, He glared at her harder, He'd given her four chances to stop. Four chances to quit STARING AT GRIMES. But she hadn't obeyed, so he'd out his foot down.
"Get up to the guard tower." he grunted, staring at the fire.
"What?" Jamie asked, surprised. He was even more didturbed by the fact that she and Carl had been in their own little world- if they were in the woods getting lost in eachother's eyes like that, with walkers...
"You heard me. Now get." Daryl said firmly.
Jamie rolled her eyes but stood, her chestnut hair reflecting the furelight for a moment, She grinned at Carl. "G'night, Grimes."
Carl blushed. This was the first time they'd expressed feelings in public. "I... yeah, Goodnight, Jamie." he gave her a wane smile and she turned, heading towards the guard tower before disappearing into the darkness.
Rick stared at his son long and hard. The boy was smiling, looking genuinely happy- it'd been a long time since he'd seen that face, but there was no way he approved his son being in a relationship with Jamie. The girl had already lost so much, he'd seen her at her worst, sobbing her eyes out in her sleep, screaming for her dead sister... And he didn't want to see her hurt anymore.
He scrutinized his son long and hard before he spoke, voice only slightly louder than the crackle of the fire. "You'd better get on up to the cell." was all her said.
Carl sighed. "When are you gonna get that I'm not some little kid anymore?" he asked, before turning, not waiting for an answer, and letting the night swallow him up, too.
There was silence, then, as everyone pretended to be focusing on the flames or their food- really, they were watching Rick and Daryl. The teenage drama was comforting, like soap operas and daytime television before the outbreak...
Carol took a seat next to Daryl on his log, syrifoam bowl of baked beans in her hands. "I, for one, think it's sweet." she said, looking over at Daryl. "Young lovr. There's hardly enoug love to go around in the workd these days- jt's nice to see people still know how."
Daryl grunted, purposely avoiding her eyes.
"The last thing we need is a teenage pregnancy right now..." he was thinking of Lori. What if he'd said no that night, thought like a rational adult and kept his pants on? Then maybe...
Daryl's head snapped up, and he stared across the fire at Rick, eyes hard. His rough voice interrpted his thoughts. "You callin' Jamie a slut?"
"No." Rick said calmly.
"You implying Carl wants to..." Daryl trailed off, suddenly, paling at the prospect of Carl wanting to... interract...with his baby girl.
"No. I'm just saying teenagers like to... expiriment... and I don't want to see either of them get hurt. But especially Jamie," Rick said calmly, remembering Lori. With a girl as small as Jamie, she'd no doubt have to have a c-section if she WERE to get pregnant, and it just might end in disaster...
"I'll keep a tight lead on my girl- you watch your boy." Daryl said calmly. "But if he hurts her..."
"Trust me. If he hurts her, he'll get twice as much as whatever you were planning on giving him." Rick said calmly, and Daryl nodded solemnly, glad they were on the same page.
Beth rolled her eyes. "Why can't you just let them be together?"
Rick looked like the idea was foreign to him, as did Daryl, and Beth sighed. "I mean- they're dating, so what? Let them- they're happy together."
"Beth." Hershel said quickly, giving his daughter an imploring look. It wasn't their affair to meddle in.
"I think she's right." Maggie said from where she'd been holding hands with Glenn. "There isn't much happiness left in the world- we should be glad they can still love."
"What?" Glenn asked, looking at her, shocked. "Jamie is a little girl. She isn't ready for that yet..." in truth, he thought of Jamie like a little sister, and there was no WAY he thiught she was ready for that.
"She's old enough to date." Maggie said firmly. "I mean, let's face it- our life spans aren't that long anymore. She may have to start dating young."
Glenn looked at Maggie, shocked, but she shrugged. "It's true, Glenn."
"This isn't open for discussion." Rick said firmly. "We'll handle it- we know what we're doing."
Carl stopped by Patrick's cell, thihts swirling around in his head. He'd found Carol teaching the kids how ti use knives today, he'd have to keep that from his Dad. He'd tell Jamie- later, when they got the chance to talk. She could keep a secret. She'd always been there for him.
And the only thing he could think of doing was visiting Patrick- his friend had felt sick earlier, and he stepped into his friend's cell, hoping he was awake. Then maybe he could talk to him.
Still, Patrick was asleep. Carl sighedm turning and leaving, before heading up to his own cell, making sure Judith had a clean diaper and was alright before deciding to move her car seat up to the top bunk, figuring she'd like the view when she woke up. She always did giggle when he held her high above his head, so she was looking down at him. Little did he know, that move would probably save her life.
Daryl and Jamie were up with the sun as usual. Jamie wasn't really angry with her father- just a bit disappointed. She'd been hoping he'd relent a little, but so far, he hadn't.
Carol had started cooking oatmeal, and she smiled at the two. "Hope you're hungry." she said, dishing up two syrofoam bowls of oatmeal for them.
Carl was talking to Rick, and Glenn and Maggie were on watch. It was always the most peaceful in the morning, before al, the others were up, when it was just some f the original group. There was no need to hide anything from anyone, to pretend to be normal around one another- they'd been together for so long, they'd grown used to it.
Jamie looked out at the grey light of dawn, smiling, as she sat down next to Carol. It was true she still woke up screaming for Lily some nights, in a cold sweat, with Daryl holding her down, but there were no walkers eithin the fences. Maybe they'd finally found someplace safe...
"Help!" the peace was shattered then, as Lizzy and Mika raced out of the cell block pale and screaming.
"Walkers!" Mika yelled, looking terrified. The spoon Carol was using to stir the oatmeal fell to the ground eith a clatter. Daryl was instantly on hsi feet, running for his crossbow, Rick was racing towards the cellblock, gun ready, and Carol had her knife out and was running towards it again.
Michonne had been heading on a supply run, but she was suddenly pinned down at the gate by walkers. Carl was racing to help her, along with Maggie.
She had to choose who she was going to help. She sprinted for her bow, struggling to think, not sure who to choose. Her father or her boyfriend?
She saw Maggie kill one walker, saw the terrified look on Mika's face, and made her decision, sprinting into the cell block. So much for being safe.
It was pandemonium inside. People were panicing, they'd never faced walkers like this before, and there was running and screaming as walkers staggered around. Jamie let an arrow loose at a walker that'd stumbled too close to Carol, and it fell. carol gave her a grateful look before continuing to usher Lizzy and Mika's father into a cell and try and help him,mgirls trailing behind.
And then she was lost in the sounds of hell again.
Jamie pulled back and shot one off the top of the catwalk, it fell heavily and didn't move.
She felt something like an icy hand grip her stomach when she realized she'd known that walker- he'd been a man named Joe.
Still, she worked her way through the chaos, struggling to hear the familiar hiss of Daryl's crossbow through the moans and screams and sobs.
She caught a glimse of leather as she shoved survivors towards the exit. She had to find Daryl ... a walker stumbled too close, she flipped out her switchblade, discarding the bow althogether, and stabbed. That'd been a girl named Leslie- she was nothing, now, though, dead at her feet. Somehow, she'd turned...
"Jamie!" Daryl yelled her name and she was freed from her stupor, whirling to bury her blade in the head of another walker.
Her father was up on the catwalk, fighting beside Rick, and she raced for the stairs, stepping iver both the dead and the living to get there.
Soon she was beside them- they were facing 3 walkers coming at them, between them in the cells. And just then, Judith started to wail.
Rick's eyes widened. "Judy!"
Daryl turned to Jamie, eyes wide. He could see the three walkers, but he lifted his bow to shoot one through the head. He, too, was clearly afraid, but Rick's screaming would draw even more walkers, he couldn't leave the man. "Find her, Jamie."
She was running, then, jumping over the freshly killed walker and ignoring the other two- normally, she'd have stabbed at least one, but she was busy right now.
They both turned to stumble after her, but another bolt and one of Rick's bullets solved that problem, before trying to race after her. But there were screams of the oiving from down below, and no matter how much they wanted to find Judy, they needed to try and save as many as they could...
She raced into Rick's cell, the one he and Carl and Judy lived in, to find a walker making sickening noises as it reached fruitlessly towards the top bunk, towards Judy, who was in her carseat, a few inches out of reach, wailing.
She had a pistol in her waistband and she drew it, taking careful aim before firing.
The walker fell, the shot echoed, and she scrambled up onto the bunk, unstrapping Judith from her car seat and hefting the baby into her one arm and her pistol in the other, before heading back out of the cell.
Judy was heavier than she'd been earlier, Jamie realized, slightly surorised. She had to be around fifteen pounds or so by now. She was still wailing, and Rick and Daryl raced over to her, anxious.
"Is she okay?" Rick asked.
"Yeah- she's fine." Jamie said, panting slightly. The adrenalin was starting to wear off. There wasn't any obvious moaning, there was, instead, eerie silence...
"Get Judith out of here." Rick said decidedly, loking around. Who knew how many walkers were still lurking in the shadows?
Jamie nodded, swallowing. God, it'd been awhile since she'd had such a knock-down drag out with walkers. She looked up at Daryl nervously. She knew he'd never leave until he knew the area was secure- he was too loyal to Rick to do that.
"Be careful, alright?" she said quietly. Daryl could see the fear in her eyes, and all tensions that had been between them disappeared.
"I'll be fine, Jamie. Whatever happens- stay outside. Take care of Carol. I'll be out soon."
She nodded, starting down the stairs, sligtly shaky. She kept her gun up as she picked her way through the bodies, finding her bow where she'd ditched it, spattered with blood.
Judith had stopped crying and buried her head in Jamie's shoulder- it was like she could feel the tension in the air. Jamie slid the gun into her back pocket, stooping and picking up her bow with one hand, holding Judith in the other. She knew Daryl and Rick were covering her, but still, the silence was so damn UNNERVING...
Finally, though, she stumbed out into the sunlight, slamming the door behind her. Her heart was still pounding, it'd been so long since she'd been in a bad situation like that, not since she'd been shot two weeks ago.
She had to keep it together, though. She looked up to see the woodburians staring at her, shocked. Fear written on their faces. And she was covered in waker blood, it was smeared on her face, crusted in her hair, on her clothes, spattered on her hands, her bow- she'd even gotten some on Judith.
Judy peered out from on her shoulder, hand in her mouth.
Carol held a terrified looking Mika against her, arm around the girl, and Lizzy stared at the her, expression unreadable.
But she could see it on everyone else's faces- the outright horror- everyone but Carol stared at her like she was an outcast, and she knew why. They were wondering about the blood- wondering it was the blood of the living or the dead. They wondered what'd happened in there. She couldn't recount it, couldn't bare to, so she just stared at the concrete, at the bloody footprints her boots had left.
They'd been so sheltered. All of them but Carol, they'd all lived in the village, they'd never known what it was like to be raised on the road, and they stared at her not like she was a human, but like she was some creature, now.
And she realized with a crushing certainty she'd never be one of them.
Infection has begun! Please review! :)