Nicole woke up with a bad feeling about today. She felt like so much shit was about to happen all at once. Nicole's eyes peered down to her sleeping daughter. She instantly noticed the butterfly rash that crossed over her little face.
With a sigh, she wiggled out and crossed over. Nicole began digging through her backpack, trying to find her little girl's medicine. When she found it, she immediately opened it. She sighed when she found that there were only two left. "Chey, sweetie," Nicole cooed, "wake up."
Cheyanne groaned and sat up. Her little hands went up to her face and gently touched it. "Aw, crap," she muttered.
Nicole opened up her hand showing her daughter the two little pills of Prednisone. Cheyanne took the little orange pills and popped them into her mouth. Nicole handed her a bottle of water. The little girl chugged down the pills. "I want you to take it easy today. I don't care if you play with Carl and the others, but I am going to check on you. Frequently."
Cheyanne nodded before standing up. Nicole followed in suit and the two exited the tent. Nicole saw the concerned looks on peoples faces as they saw that god awful rash. Cheyanne cowered into her mother's side, ashamed of what was spread across her face.
The pair passed Carol, who was ironing some clothes. "Morning," she said softly.
"Good morning, Mrs. Carol," Cheyanne spoke up, giving the woman a gentle smile. Carol was taken aback but never said anything.
"How're you doing, sweetie?" Carol asked as she returned to ironing.
"I'm okay." Cheyanne smiled, before spotting Carl. "Mama, can I go play?"
Nicole nodded, and Cheyanne dashed toward her friend. "Thank you," Nicole said as she gazed back up to the older woman.
"What for?" Carol questioned.
"For not looking at her like she has a virus." Nicole offered a kind smile. "It means a lot."
"Not her fault," Carol muttered out. "I just hope she gets to feeling better."
"Thank you." Nicole looked behind Carol to see her deadbeat husband making his way over. "Ed's coming." Carol tensed ever so slightly. "If you need anything, Carol, anything, you holler and I'll come running."
Carol nodded and mouthed a thank you. Nicole turned around and began walking to Glenn, who was pouting over his car. "Aw, damnit," Nicole complained. "Y'all couldn't have waited 'til I took it for a spin?"
"I know. I thought I'd get to drive it a few more days," Glenn sighed out. "Hey, is Chey okay?" He remembered seeing the rash on her face as she ran by.
"She has an autoimmune disease called Lupus," Nicole sighed, "for her, it comes in waves. She won't get it for months and then it will come back." She ran her hand through her hair. "And I'm out of her medicine. So that's fantastic."
"Do you need some help getting some?" Glenn inquired. His face was full of concern for the little girl.
"I'm gonna go on the next Atlanta run and look for some. You could help me then." Nicole gazed up to the taller boy. He nodded and agreed. Nicole embraced him in a hug, and then made her way over to her best friend.
"'Morning sleepyhead," Lori said as she began hanging up some clothes. "D'you sleep well?"
"As well as I could've." Nicole bent down and grabbed a shirt to hang.
"I saw that Chey's condition flared up again." Lori glanced up to her friend. Lori knew about Cheyanne's issue. Shortly after Nicole and Cheyanne moved next door to them, she saw it. Lori saw how bad it could get first hand.
"Yeah. It did," Nicole sighed as she hanged a shirt. "She's out of medicine too."
Lori's eyes widened and she was about to say something. She paused when she saw her husband walking over. Nicole smiled at the two as they greeted each other. Rick and Lori started to have a huddled conversation. Nicole didn't try to eavesdrop. She didn't want to. After all, that's happened to them, they deserved that.
Nicole heard the whirr of Shane's Jeep as he came back from getting water at the Quarry. "Water is here Y'all. Just a reminder to boil before use."
Nicole hung one last article of clothing and made her way over to the Jeep. As soon as she picked up a jug children's screams erupted from the forest.
"Mom!"
"Mommy!"
"Mama!"
Without a second of hesitation, Nicole dropped the jug and took off toward the screams. She pulled out her switchblade as she weaved through the trees. Nicole called out Cheyanne's name. Nicole spotted the children and instantly embraced her daughter.
"What happened?" Nicole started checking for any bites or scratches.
"Monster," Chey whimpered, pointing to where the men all ran to.
Nicole scooped her daughter up in her arms and began carrying her back to camp. She could hear the men start hitting the walker. Nicole didn't want her daughter seeing that.
Cheyanne and Nicole sat at the step of the RV. Nicole was still checking for any noticeable signs. "How you feelin', Chey?"
"My knees hurt," she complained.
"That 'cause you've been running around all day." Nicole ruffled her little girl's hair.
Nicole spotted Daryl entering the camp. She stood up, giving him a smile. He didn't return it, but he gave her a slight nod. "Merle!"
"Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up." Daryl called out for his brother. He placed his crossbow down and began making his way closer to the RV.
"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you," Shane called out as he put his shotgun into his Jeep.
Daryl paused and turned around. His eyes glanced to Nicole, who help Cheyanne at her legs. He noticed the rash across that little girl's face. Daryl instantly wondered what was wrong with her. He pushed his thoughts aside and turned to face the man. "About what?"
Shane walked up to Daryl, "About Merle. There was--" Shane paused, turning around to face the redneck, "There was a problem in Atlanta."
Daryl tensed. Nicole noticed how his fingers clenched around his rope of squirrel; she noticed the fire that was growing in his eyes. Daryl glanced over to Nicole and then to Rick. "He dead?"
Shane uttered out, "We're not sure."
That ticked Daryl off. His sweaty face turned redded as he spat out, "He either is or he ain't!"
Rick decided to step forwards, "No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it."
Daryl scoffed. He didn't know this man. This man was a complete stranger. "Who are you?" Daryl's knuckles clenched tighter around the rope in his hand.
"Rick Grimes,"
"Rick Grimes, you got something you wanna tell me?" Daryl spat out. He was getting angrier by the second.
Rick sighed, taking a half step forward. "Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."
Daryl turned away from Rick. He wiped away the sweat and the forming tears from his eyes. Daryl had a ridiculous love for his brother, even if he was an ass most of the time. Daryl had just gotten him back and he was losing him. Again.
"Hold on." Daryl looked up to Nicole. She had these pleading eyes -- begging him to not do something stupid. "Lemme process this."
Daryl turned back to Rick, "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!" Daryl yelled out. His neck veins began popping out and his face got impossibly redder.
Rick confirmed Daryl's statement. Daryl's demeanor flooded with anger as he threw the rope of squirrels at Rick. Shane tackled Daryl, knocking him on his ass. Pissed, Daryl unsheathed his knife. "Daryl, don't!" Nicole yelled.
In a fit of rage, he ignored her and began swinging at the two men. Within seconds, Rick disarmed him and Shane put him in a chokehold. "You best let me go!" Daryl yelled.
"Nah, I think it's better if I don't," Shane said as they lowered closer to the ground.
"Chokehold's illegal," Daryl grunted out while gripping Shane's arm.
"C'mon man, we could keep this up all day." Shane tightened his hold.
"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we could manage that?" Rick asked him. He doubted the man would listen to reason, but he had to at least try to be civil.
Shane let go of Daryl, tossing him to the ground. Daryl tried to regain his breath as Rick leaned down to his level. "What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others."
T-Dog's voice interrupted, "It's not Rick's fault. I had the key." Nicole wanted to facepalm but she resisted the urge. "I dropped it."
"You couldn't pick it up?"
"I dropped it down a drain."
Daryl scoffed before looking down at the ground. His hand gripping the dirt below him in frustration. Nikki wanted to try to comfort him. Daryl stood up and threw down the fist of dirt he had. "If that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."
"Well, maybe this will," T-Dog said, "Look, I chained the door to the roof -- so the geeks couldn't get at him -- with a padlock."
Rick stepped forward, "It's gotta count for something."
Daryl pushed back tears, "Hell with all of Y'all! Just tell me where he is. So's I can go get 'em."
Lori spoke up, "He'll show you. Isn't that right?"
"I'm going back," Rick stated, placing his hand on his hip. Lori rolled her eyes and turned to go into the RV. Nicole wondered what she was thinking. Obviously, Rick was gonna go back, especially after she mentioned it. Daryl stormed over to his crossbow, grabbing it, before striding to his tent.
"Chey, go play inside." Nicole ushered her child into the RV before chasing after Daryl. When she got to his tent, she could hear the sobs inside. "Daryl?"
Daryl sniffed, wiping away his tears. "What you want, woman?"
Nicole entered his tent and spotted him sitting on his sleeping bag with his knees to his chest. "I wanted to come to check on you."
"I'm fine, girl," he scoffed, "you ain't gotta worry about me."
Nicole bent down to his eye level. "Daryl," she whispered, "just shut up." The two say in silence for a moment. Neither moved. Nicole leaned forward and embraced the man in a gentle hug. Daryl didn't return it. "We'll get 'im back, okay? I promise."
Nicole retreated from the hug and exited the tent. She poked her head into the RV, checking on Cheyanne. The little girl sat there drawing while Carl and Sophia played cards.
Seeing that she was okay, Nicole made her way to her tent. Glenn's sleeping bag was curled into itself and his stuff was piled on top of it. Nicole chuckled before bending down to grab her backpack and her beloved baseball bat. She also grabbed her gun, tucking it into the back of her jeans.
She exited the tent as she flung her bag across her back. Nicole began walking back toward the camp. Daryl was exiting his tent and the Eliza and Louis had moved outside of the RV. Chey and Carl moved near the firepit beside Lori. Nicole walked over to her little girl, "How're you doing, love?"
Chey uttered out, "I'm okay, mama." Nicole examined the rash on her face. "I don't hurt as bad anymore."
Nicole nodded gently, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. Nicole heard Shane raise his voice and she turned to it. "I don't okay, Rick? So could you just --" He started charging after Rick. "Could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?"
"Hey, choose your words more carefully," Daryl's raspy voice told Shane.
"No, I did. Douche bag is what I meant." Shane shifted on his feet. "Merle Dixon -- the guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."
"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst -- me. Thirst and exposure," Rick defended himself. "We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."
Daryl gazed up to the two before meeting Nicole's eyes. He saw her bat in hand. He knew what she was planning on doing. Daryl wasn't going to have her risk her life for his brother.
"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Lori questioned.
"And me," Nicole spoke up.
"Oh, hell no. I ain't having you out there," Daryl spat out. "I'm not covering your ass."
Nicole scoffed, "Dixon, have you forgotten how much I've covered yours?" Daryl rolled his eyes and returned to cleaning his arrows.
Rick turned to Glenn, who was behind him. Glenn sighed. Rick began talking, "You know the way. You've been there before--" Glenn took off his hat, questioning his choices now. "in and out, no problem. You said so yourself."
Glenn raked his hands through his hair and put on his hat again. "It's not fair of me to ask -- I know that -- but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know they," he gestured to both Lori and Nicole, "would too."
Shane placed his hands on his hips, "That's just great. Now you're gonna risk four men, huh?"
"Five," T-Dog spoke up.
Daryl huffed, shaking his head. "My day just gets better and better, don't it?"
"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?" T retaliated.
"Why you?" Daryl grunted out.
"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language."
Nicole shook her bat, lifting it up to her shoulder. "That's five," Dale spoke up.
"It's not just five. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that Rick," Shane started to argue, "Come on, you saw that walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp."
"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns," Rick stated.
Realization spread across Glenn's face. "Right, the guns."
"What guns?"
Rick listed off the guns, "I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street waiting to be picked up."
"Ammo?"
"700 rounds, assorted," Rick stated.
"You went through hell to find us. You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?" Lori tried to convince her husband.
"Dad, I don't want you to go," Carl said.
"I don't want you going either, Mama." Cheyanne's plea followed Carl's.
Rick turned to his wife, giving her a frustrated look. "To hell with the guns. Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth your lives, even with guns thrown it."
"Lori, wouldn't you want us to come to get you if it were you on that rooftop?" Nicole inquired. Her best friend looked at her, almost appalled by what she was saying.
"I wouldn't want y'all risking your lives to save mine."
Rick began walking over to his wife. He began telling her about the man and his son who saved his life. How they were going to follow him to Atlanta and walk into the trap he did. He had to warn them and the only way he could was with a walkie-talkie that was in the bag that laid in the Atlanta streets.
"Is it our walkies?" Shane asked.
"Yeah."
"So use the CB, what's wrong with that?" Andrea questioned.
"The CB is fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap -- date back to the '70s, don't match any other bandwidth -- not even the scanners in our cars," Shane explained.
Reluctantly, everyone agreed on allowing this rescue mission. Chey came over to her mother. "Why do you have to go?"
Nicole bent down to her eye level. She noticed the wetness before her right eye and reached up to wipe it away. "I need to get some stuff."
Cheyanne nodded. "I want you to stay near Lori, Shane or Dale, no matter what. Okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," Cheyanne said as she looked down to he shoes.
"I love you, you know that right?" Nikki asked her daughter.
"I love you, too, Mama. You're gonna come back right?"
"Always. I promise." Nicole held out her pinky finger. Chey looked at it, before hooking her's around it. "Promise."
The blaring of the cube van's horn startled the two. Nicole sighed, before kissing her daughter's forehead and pulling her into a hug. Nicole pulled away and began walking toward the van.
When Nicole reached the edge of the van, Daryl offered her a hand inside. Nicole took it and entered the back of the vehicle. T climbed in, and Shane made sure to give Rick some ammo for his Python.
Rick came around and jumped into the passenger side. Daryl shut the back and sat back down beside Nicole. Glenn revved the van and began to pull out of the off-road.
They sat in silence until Nicole spoke up, "Hey, Rick." Nicole scooted up so that she could see in between the two seats.
"Yeah, what is it, Nikki?" he asked, looking back to his younger friend.
"While we are in the city, can we look for a pharmacy?" Nicole asked.
Rick sighed, "Chey's thing acting up again?"
Nicole nodded, raking her hair from her face. "After we get Merle and those guns, we will get her some medicine. Sound good?"
She uttered a thank you to him and sat back down next the Daryl. The wheels began trekking over something bumpy; Nicole assumed that they were getting close.
"He'd better be okay. It's my only word on the matter," Daryl threatened.
"I told you. The geeks can't get at him. The only thing that is gonna get through that door is us," T tried to reassure the man. Daryl wiped his red handkerchief across his lips as sweat dripped down.
Glenn pressed on the breaks and shifted the gears into park. He turned back toward the trio, "We walk from here."
Daryl jumped up and slid open the door, jumping out. T-Dog and Nicole followed right behind. The five of them began jogging down some train tracks, toward the building were Merle hopefully was.
They all jogged in silence until they reached Glenn's clipped fence. Everyone slid through and jumped over the guard rail. "Merle first or guns?" Rick asked.
"Merle! We ain't even having this conversation," Daryl argued.
"We are," Nicole hissed out the man. He sent her a glare but reverted it to the policeman.
Glenn climbed over the rail and the five began walking, "You know the geography. It's your call," Rick stated.
"Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first," Glenn confirmed as they started jogging again.
There were a few walkers that Nicole and Daryl took care of since they had the quietest weapons. They got into the store. Nicole could smell the dead in this place. Rick confirmed her suspicions when he halted the group and pointed to one.
Daryl swished around Rick and made his way over to the woman. Nicole sighed. With a few twists of fate, that could have been her. "Damn, you are one ugly skank," Daryl spat, before unleashing a bolt into the walker's head.
He grabbed his bolt and pulled it out of the woman's head. The group started to run up the stairs to the padlocked door. T cut the door, and Daryl ran in calling his brother's name. Nicole followed in suit, but when she stepped down one step, she saw Daryl frozen.
She saw Merle's hand laying on the ground -- pale and covered in blood. Daryl paced back and forth as his only words were, "No!"
What's up everyone! It's ya girl. I hope y'all had a fantastic 4th of July. If you didn't celebrate, regardless, I hope you had a fantastic day! I love you all, my beautiful babies :)) have a great rest of your day/night. Remember be respectful and stay safe. You all matter and someone loves you. Even if you don't think so, I do. Anyway, love y'all. I shall see you in a few days! Peaceeeeee
-erin