Thanks everyone for the reviews, favorites and follows! I really appreciate it and love to hear feedback so please don't holdback and please leave a review! Leann's middle name is revealed in this chapter! It's after a country singer ;) If I'm allowed to say so myself, I'm really impressed with this chapter :) I think it's my favorite so far! :D What do y'all think?
"What do ya think Jax did while he was missin'?" I asked my brother while laying on the floor next to Jax.
"Probably lookin' fer us." Daryl said with raised eyebrows.
I giggled. "Yeah, yer probably right." I hugged Jax tightly. "I'm just glad someone else didn't find 'im. He's mine."
"He's too loyal fer that." Daryl fed him a chip. "Ain't ya, boy?"
"I love ya, Jaxy." I kissed his head. "I couldn't take it if somethin' happened to ya."
I heard Daryl sigh. "Yeah. All right. Quit babyin' him. Yer gonna turn my dog into a pansy."
"He's ma dog!" I sat up quickly.
"Nope, 'e's mine. Ain't that right?" He petted him.
I glared at my brother. Just then an idea popped into my head. "Okay. We'll see who he likes better." I stood up. "Let's go on opposite ends of the house and see who he comes to." I smirked.
"All right." Daryl jumped up. We each spread apart, Daryl was in the kitchen doorway and I was over by the fireplace.
"All right. Ready?" I asked. We both started to call Jax. "Come'er, boy! Come on, Jaxy! Come to me! Come on! Here, boy!" Jax stood there staring at both of us not knowing what to do. We continued to call him. He looked back and forth from us then whimpered. "It's like we're a divorced couple with our kid." I said making my brother laugh. "Come on, Jaxy. Come to Le." Jax made his final decision and ran to me. "Yes!" I yelled. "Ha! See, he's MY dog!"
Daryl laughed. "You bad dog! I ain't feedin' ya my chips no more!"
"Aw, it's okay, Jaxy." I rubbed him. "I'll feed ya anythang ya want."
"Go ahead." My brother said. "Spoil 'im so he don't wanna do his job no more."
"Oh, Daryl." I waved him off.
"Don't 'oh, Daryl' me. Now get yer little ass up and come eat somethin'."
I got up and made my way to the kitchen. Daryl playfully swatted me when I walked passed him. I opened a can of ravioli, there was mold inside. "Ew, Daryl. It's done gone bad."
"What?" My brother said. I showed him the moldy can, he grimaced. "Yeah, let's go hunt."
"It's close." Daryl said referring to the walker we heard snarling in the distance.
"Shouldn't we wait fer it?"
"Nah, he'll come by soon enough. Here." He handed me his crossbow. "Redeem yerself from last time."
"That weren't my fault."
"Don't care. Just do it."
I readjusted the crossbow and aimed at the squirrel. I didn't really want to, but we needed food. I shot the squirrel, it went through its back and was pinned to the tree. I frowned a little. "Good job, kid." My brother patted my back then went to get the squirrel. I smiled.
Suddenly, the walker finally emerged. "I got it." I said. Pulling out my knife, I walked over to it but saw one of Daryl's bolts go through its head. "What the hell?" I spun around. "I said I got it."
"I know but ya didn't have to."
I huffed. "You didn't think I could do it."
"That's not it." Daryl said. "I just figured I'd take care of it fer ya is all." Jax barked but we ignored him.
"But ya didn't have to." I crossed my arms. "Next time, let me handle it myself." Jax barked again.
Daryl narrowed his eyes at me. "Ungrateful little brat." Jax continued barking.
"Jax!" I yelled and turned my attention to my dog. I gasped. "Oh shit!" There were several walkers making their way to us. Daryl and I shared a look.
"Time to go." My brother said and grabbed my arm. "Let's go, Jax!" We ran quickly.
"Daryl, wait." I stopped him at some point. "We cain't lead 'em back to the house."
My brother looked at me biting his lip. "Kill as many as ya can." He turned quickly and shot one with his crossbow. I shot two of them then stabbed one. I saw Jax jump on one. "Jax, no!" I yelled and stabbed another.
"There's too many, we gotta go!" Daryl said. Suddenly, we heard a whimper. One of the walkers bit Jax!
"Jax, no!" I was about to run to him but Daryl stopped me, he bent down on one knee and wrapped his arm around my waist.
"We cain't just leave 'im!"
"It's too late." Daryl said and held me there. I couldn't do anything but stand there and watch my dog get eaten. "Jax." I cried, I couldn't stop the tears.
"We gotta go." My brother said. "I'm sorry, Sissy. We gotta go." He practically dragged me away. We ran all the way out of the woods and back to the house.
Daryl sat next to me on the couch and rubbed my back as I lay there sobbing into the pillow. I have been crying all day, I watched it get dark. "Come on, Sissy. It's okay, we'll find ya a new dog."
"I don't want another dog." I cried. "I want my Jaxy! He weren't just any dog…he was the best."
"I know, I know." My brother said softly then sighed. I felt him get up and then walk away. "Come in here, Le." I slowly got up and wiped my tears with my arm then went into the kitchen where Daryl was. "Here." He sat a plate of squirrel meat in front of me. I just sat there and stared at it sadly. "Come on, Le. Ya gotta eat."
"I cain't." I said weakly.
"Try. Even if it's just a little."
I hesitated then picked up a small piece and chewed it very slowly. I ate another piece, but when I tried to eat a third I couldn't. I suddenly got an image of the walkers ripping apart my dog. It was my fault, he was trying to help me. Plus what's more, I'm the one that stopped us to kill the walkers. Jax death is on me. I swallowed hard and pushed my plate away then got up and went back to my original position on the couch. I sobbed some more.
"Le, come'er." My brother called me. "Come'er." I walked over to him in the chair and into his open arms. He just held me tightly rubbing my back and let me cry into his chest. Eventually, I fell asleep on him.
The next day when I got up, Daryl wasn't there. I looked around the house for him but couldn't find him. "Daryl?" I checked the bathroom for him, but he wasn't in there either. And he says he doesn't leave without telling me… I looked at my reflection in the mirror, my eyes were all red and puffy from crying all night. I sighed.
I decided to go outside for some fresh air. It's not going to cure my heartache, but…whatever. I walked around the backyard making sure not to go too far knowing that Daryl will tan my hide if he comes back and I'm not there. But he can do whatever he wants and whenever. I sighed rubbing a leaf on a bush, it felt nice and smooth. Suddenly, I looked down and saw a dead raccoon under one of the bushes. I frowned. I never liked seeing dead animals. I guess it's okay when you hunt because you're using them for food, but I always hated seeing dead animals, like roadkill. Just then, I heard a noise and spun around. I gasped and jumped back. There was another raccoon. My brothers taught me that if a nocturnal animal is out during the day, it's probably sick. So, I grabbed my gun and aimed at it waiting for it to attack, it never did, though. It was just a baby. Suddenly, a sad thought crossed my mind…that dead raccoon must be its mother. I frowned at him then began walking back to the house, however, something stopped me. I'm like that raccoon. My mom died, too. I was lucky enough to have Daryl to take care of me. That raccoon has no one. I turned back around and stared at the poor thing. All of a sudden, I got an idea and smiled. "Hey, there, little guy." I said putting away my gun. "Ya wanna come home with me?" I petted him and he surprisingly let me pick him up.
I sat on the couch holding my new pet. I smiled while bottle feeding him. One of the rooms in this house was a nursery so there was some baby supplies in there. "You're so cute, little guy." I kissed him. "Hmm…you should have a name. What should I call you?" I thought for a minute. "How 'bout…Gus? Ya look like a Gus to me." I smiled. "Huh? Ya like that?" He made a noise and I became excited. "So, ya do like it?" I took his bottle away. "I thank that's enough fer now, Gus Gus. Let's put ya down fer a nap." I carried him into the nursery and laid him in the crib. "This is yer room now." I kissed him. "Get some sleep now. Yer just a baby after all." I smiled down at him then sat in a chair watching him.
A little after that, I heard a whistle and knew my brother was back. I went over to the front door and returned his call then opened the door for him. "Hey, baby." He said walking into the house. "Everythang okay?"
"Uh huh." I smiled. I was excited to tell him about Gus.
"Sorry, I didn't tell ya before I left. I didn't wanna wake ya." He sat his crossbow down. "Good news is, I got us a deer."
"Great." I said.
He gave me a strange look. "Ya sure yer okay?"
"I'm more than okay, Daryl, I'm great." I grinned form ear to ear.
My brother chuckled. "What you got to be so happy about?"
"I got a new pet!"
"You did?" Daryl gave me a small smile.
"Yeah! I'll go get 'im!" I ran to the nursery and picked up Gus bringing him back into the other room. Daryl had his back to me when I walked in, he was taking his jacket off. "Look, Daryl!"
He turned and looked at me then down at Gus. His eyes went wide. "Leann Rimes Dixon! You put that thang down this instant!"
My smile faded and I became confused. "But why?"
"Cuz it could be sick!"
"He ain't sick, he's fine."
"He's a wild animal is what he is!"
"He's my new pet." I stated and petted him.
"Like hell it is! You take that thang back outside right now!"
I frowned. "But Daryl…he's just a baby. And the mother's dead, he'll die out there by himself." I gave him a sad look.
His demeanor softened a little. "How do ya know the mother's dead?"
"I saw her under a bush. That's where I found this little guy." I tickled under his chin. "I named him Gus." I smiled.
Daryl sighed. "I'm sorry, Le, but ya cain't keep 'im."
"Why?" I looked at him wide eyed.
"Cuz he may be a baby now, but he's still a wild animal. He could snap at any moment."
I looked down at Gus. "You wouldn't do that, huh, Gus Gus?"
"Le, I'm tryin' to keep my patience here. He cain't stay." My brother gave me a stern look.
I looked at him sadly then at Gus then back to my brother. "Well…cain't he just stay the night. I'll take 'im back first thang in the mornin'."
"No, Leann. Yer just gonna make it harder on yerself cuz yer gonna get attached to 'im."
"Please, Daryl. Please. I promise I'll take 'im back first thang." I gave him my sad face.
My brother stood there scowling at me for a while. "Fine!" He finally yelled. "I hope he bites ya! Then, ya won't want 'im no more."
I watched him walk away then smiled at Gus. "Ya hear that, Gus! Daryl says ya can stay the night!" I said excitedly. Daryl shook his head.
"Beg fer the treat, Gus. Come on beg." I said. I made the gesture a few times, eventually he caught on and did it. I gasped excitedly. "Look, Daryl! I taught Gus a trick!" I showed him. He didn't look impressed. "Ain't that cool? He's so smart!"
"Yeah, he's smart." Daryl said while chewing. "That's why he don't belong in the house, he belongs out there. And don't get attached. I mean it, Leann. He's goin' back tomorra."
"I know." I put my head down. "But maybe you'll change yer mind before then." I smiled.
"Don't count on it." He glared at me. "In fact, you ain't gotta do nothin'. He'll be gone when ya wake up in the mornin'."
I shook my head. "You don't have to do that, I can—
"No, I do. I'm gonna take 'im. That way I know ya cain't go lookin' fer 'im."
I frowned and put my head down. "I guess I should say goodbye before I go to sleep then." I carried Gus into his room and put him in the crib.
"Ya know he ain't a real baby, right?" Daryl said. I didn't even know he followed me.
"Yeah." I nodded. "Bye, Gus." I hugged him. "I'll miss ya." I gave him a kiss then sat on the floor next to his crib.
I sat by the fireplace the next day waiting for Daryl to come back. He took Gus this morning just like he said. I was so sad. Just then, I looked up when I heard the door open. "He's gone."
"You didn't kill 'im, did ya?"
"No." My brother gave me disappointed look. "The thought did cross my mind, though."
I turned away from him and stared sadly at the fire. Daryl came over to me and put his hand on my head. "I'm sorry, Sissy. I know ya just wanted a new pet to replace Jax, but—
"No other pet could ever replace Jax." I cut him off.
He cleared his throat. "But…ya cain't have a raccoon as a pet." He finished the sentence that I cut off.
"You seemed okay when I first told ya I got a new pet."
"Yeah, but I thought you meant ya found a lizard or a mouse. Hell, even a caterpillar. But I ain't never thought you'd have a raccoon."
"He was a good boy." I said sadly. "And super smart."
"Yeah, well, he's gone now, and yer just gonna have to forget about 'im." He paused. "And don't ever do that again or I'll make sure ya never sit again." He sat down behind me and gave me a quick hug then kissed the top of my head. "I am sorry, though."
I nodded.
Later that day, Daryl and I went out looking for supplies. We didn't have much luck. It was pretty much a wasted trip, plus, we had to travel quite a distance before we found another house or store.
We were almost back at the house now. At least we had a pretty good dinner last night with the small deer Daryl got.
"I figure we'll stay one more night then move on." My brother said. "Sound good?"
"Yeah, sure." I nodded. "Hopefully, we find some more water soon."
"Yeah, maybe we'll get lucky and it'll rain or somethin'." My brother looked up at the sky. We arrived back at the house. "We don't want a storm, though." He opened the door. "That'll just slow us…down." I stepped inside and saw what he was looking at. The house was a mess, there was stuff everywhere including the little bit of food we had left. Suddenly, we heard a noise then saw a can roll across the kitchen floor. "Go back outside." Daryl whispered to me.
"No." I mouthed shaking my head. I wasn't just going to leave him in there. He walked over slowly with his crossbow up, I followed close behind with my gun. Daryl rounded the corner quickly pointing his crossbow, then looked down. His shoulders seemed to slump and he put his bow down. "It's fer you." He glared at me. I gave him a confused look then walked over. Gus was in there! I gasped.
"Gus!" I got down and petted him. "You came back!" I excitedly looked at my brother. "Told ya he was smart!" Daryl just stood there with his infamous scowl on his face. I picked up Gus and sat down on the couch with him. "Yer such a good boy." I rubbed him.
"Good boy my ass!" Daryl snapped. "He ruined the house and ate the little food we had!"
I stared at my brother. "Yeah, but…he came back." I smiled sweetly.
I saw Daryl watching me with Gus, he had that annoyed look on his face. "Ya really like that damn thang, don't ya?"
"I do." I hugged him. "He's my baby." I giggled.
Daryl was quiet for a minute. "Hmm…all right. Ya can keep 'im."
I looked at him wide eyed. "Really? Ya mean it?"
"Yeah, but he stays out in the shed in a cage. Not in the house, got it?"
"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" I got up and gave my brother a big hug.
"All right." He patted my head. "Let's go put that thang—Gus," he corrected himself, "in the shed."
"Okay." I smiled.
"There." Daryl said locking the cage. "That should do it. He won't eat no more of our food now."
"I hope he'll be all right out here."
"He'll be fine." My brother reassured me. "Now, you get yer little rear inside and clean up that mess."
I huffed. "Why do I have to clean it up? Gus is the one that did it."
"Well, Gus is yer pet, so gets to cleanin'."
"Fine." I crossed my arms and walked away. Daryl smirked and swatted me as I walked by.
After I finished cleaning the mess Gus made, I scraped up a little food that Gus didn't finish and took it out to him. "Here, Gus Gus." I unlocked his cage and reached for him but he hissed at me and then bit me. "Ah!" I yelled and quickly pulled my hand away. Gus made his escape and ran out the door. "Gus, wait!" I ran after him but he was too fast. I watched him run off into the woods. I felt bad, but I had bigger problems on my hands right now. Literally. I looked down at my hand where Gus bit me. "Ow."
I slowly opened the door and went inside. "Daryl?"
"What?" He was sitting at the table looking at a map.
"Gus is gone." I stated. He finally looked up at me. "I opened his cage to feed him and he took off. I guess he was mad we put 'im in nere cuz he bit me."
"What? He bit ya?" My brother immediately made his way over to me. "Where? Lemme see." I held out my hand, he examined it. "Shit." He had a look of concern on his face. "What's it feel like?"
"Well, it hurts."
"Does it feel like it's tinglin'?"
I shook my head. "Why? Do ya think I could have the rabies?"
He sighed. "Come on." He rushed me into the bathroom and cleaned the bite for me then wrapped it. "If you feel that thang tinglin' or burnin', ya let me know, ya hear?"
I nodded.
Suddenly, he threw his hands up. "Damn it! I knew it was a bad idea!"
I put my head down. This is my fault again.
Later that day, Daryl and I were sitting on the couch. I leaned on him and he pushed my hair back. I was worried about the bite, I knew my brother could tell but he couldn't offer me much comfort because he was worried, too.
"Le, I want ya to know I was just jokin' when I said I hope he bites ya."
I snorted. "Yeah, I know."
Suddenly, we heard a noise outside and jumped up. My brother looked out the window. "I don't see nothin'." He grabbed his crossbow then glanced at me. "Stay 'ere." I watched him go, he headed towards the shed. I swallowed hard. He better be okay.
My brother came back moments later. I was worried because I heard quite the commotion out there. He had a very strange look on his face, it was like a mixture of sadness, concern and…fear. He just slowly closed the door and came inside.
"What is it?" I finally asked. He hesitated, he opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. "Daryl, what is it? Just tell me!"
He sighed then finally spoke. "…Gus…he came back…I killed 'im. I had to. He was…sick."
My eyes widened and I looked down at the floor. So many thoughts went through my head. What if I'm… I sat down on the couch before I fell. Daryl sat next to me. "But…if he had the rabies then that means…I could have the rabies." I looked at my brother, eyes still wide. Daryl didn't say anything just rubbed my leg. "We—we gotta go find medicine. I—I could be sick."
"Le…"
"Daryl, if I's got the rabies then I need medicine fer it!"
My brother sighed. "Le…I need ya to listen to me now…listen to me…" I gave him my full attention. "I don't want ya to get scared, okay? But ya need to know…there is no cure, baby." My eyes couldn't have gotten any wider. I started breathing very heavily. "Le, Leann. I need ya to calm down, that ain't gonna help any."
"But I'm gonna die. I could have the rabies." I said each word in-between breaths.
"Just don't think about it. Ya might be fine!"
"Yeah, and I might not be." I started crying.
My brother's expression softened. "Don't cry. Please, don't cry." He held me tightly and gently rocked me.
"I'm not okay…" I whispered.
Daryl stayed with me through the night. I sat in his lap by the fire, he had his arms wrapped around me. Neither of us said anything. I was terrified. Completely terrified. I could seriously die. And all we could do now is wait. Wait to see if I was sick. Wait to see…if I would live…or die…
We heard another noise outside. I looked up at Daryl. He gritted his teeth and gently lifted me off him. "Stay 'ere."
"No, Daryl! Please don't go!"
"Shh." He soothed me. "It's gonna be fine." He grabbed his crossbow and headed out the door just like last time. I impatiently waited for his return. Just then, I had a scary thought; what if the rabies started to set in while Daryl was gone and I died alone. I swallowed hard and realized how dry my throat was. I gasped. My brother said thirst is a symptom. I grabbed a bottle of water and drank it down. My face felt hot. "Stop it!" I told myself. "Yer just scarin' yerself." I paused and wondered briefly if talking to yourself was also a symptom.
Suddenly, the door flew open and startled me. Daryl ran inside. "Le! Oh, Le!" He grabbed me and lifted me. I was scared, by the way he acting but the thing is, he didn't look worried at all, he looked…relieved? "It wasn't Gus!" He yelled. "The raccoon I killed wasn't Gus! He's still alive!"
"But how could ya know?"
"That was him out there in the shed just now. He begged me fer a treat just like ya taught 'im! That's how I know!" I gave my brother an incredulous look. "Don't ya get it, baby? That means yer okay! Yer okay!" His words finally sunk in and I hugged him tightly around the neck.
We finally let go of each other and he set me on my feet. I smiled up at him through my tears. "I'm okay? Really? I don't have the rabies?"
"Ya don't have the rabies." Daryl stated. I didn't know what else to do besides laugh. My brother laughed along with me. "No more raccoons fer you, little lady." Daryl said to me. We stood there laughing in the middle of the night like two crazy people. We didn't care how we looked, though. In fact, we couldn't be happier.
I totally ripped this whole storyline off an episode of Little House on the prairie! XD Hope ya liked it, though! :D
R.I.P Jax :(