Chapter 23: You Should'a Crowned Her

Blurb: I just want to put a reminder out there for everyone: I love slow romance fictions. Which means I'm going to try really hard to make this story and the progression of Daryl/Ellen's relationship to blossom slowly. It will be more worth it the more you wait, ya know? It just means more with time. And that's what I'm aiming for. Sorry if that discourages some of you. But if you stick with it, it's totally worth it. ~ This chapter is titled after the song Goddess- by Banks~

Begin:

Daryl distanced himself from Ellen, as she ordered. But he continued to watch her carefully from afar. It was easy to do so, seeing as the group was usually together. Other times he would go out hunting or on runs and leave Ellen with the group. He never asked her to go with him on these runs. He chose to draw the line… even if it was difficult. He was concerned for her. Despite being grateful that she was still alive, he could tell she was changing. Fighting her way off the farm alone had hardened her. And Daryl could see the effects in her demeanor easily.

Ellen did her best to keep busy with small things, like meal preparations and keeping watch. When she had down time, Ellen would try to go out on runs with Maggie and Glenn. She felt like she could still trust them, and they would often go on runs anyway. It was an easy fit for them.

But there was one run in particular that really rocked Ellen. Rick had instructed Glenn, Maggie, and Ellen to go out scavenging for food in the neighborhood. They'd been slowly raiding the supplies house by house. On this particular run, they had all gone into the house to clear it- as usual. Ellen was the first to go up the stairs. She kept her knife gripped in her hand, arms up and ready to defend herself. Ascending the stairs slowly, the wooden panels creaked audibly with each step. Ellen decided the best way to determine if there were walkers hiding in the upper part of the house was to call them to her. So she stomped her boot into the wooden floor twice- STOMP, STOMP.

Nothing came.

So, Ellen proceeded further into the house with caution. Turning the corner to search the nearest room, she unlatched the door softly and swung the door open noiselessly. Peering in, and seeing nothing, Ellen determined this room was most likely safe. But then she heard a guttural crow to her left.

Spinning around wildly, Ellen saw a small female walker less than two feet from her. Ellen nearly screamed. It had been a long time since a walker had been this close to her.

The walker advanced, propelling its hands at her arms. The walker tried to pin Ellen against the wall, pushing her back against it. The walker's mouth grew close to Ellen's face, and she could smell its rotting flesh in the air between them. Twisting her hips to the side, Ellen was able to push the walker a few feet away from her with a thrust of her hips. The walker lost its balance and tumbled to the floor, hitting its head against the banister of the staircase.

Seeing this as her only opportunity, Ellen brought her knife down on the walker's head. The walker made a low growl before the life left her.

Feeling the heat of anger overwhelming her, Ellen let her knife drop the floor. It clattered on the wood as it fell. Ellen grabbed at the now lifeless walker, taking its head in her hands. She lifted it up once, then down, up and down again and again. Bashing the walker's head into the banister, Ellen could feel the oozing cerebral fluid and blood stream out of the walker's now-cracked skull.

Heaving in heavy breaths of air, Ellen took a few shaky steps back from the walker. Her hands were visibly trembling. Her breath was coming in short gasps and she felt that she was getting no air. Ellen then realized she was having a panic attack. It was strange. She felt the sensation of flight overwhelm her, despite the fact that the current danger was no longer a threat to her. It was all in her head.

Lacking the oxygen she needed to call out to Maggie and Glenn, Ellen banged her fist against the wall a few times. Each bang was more urgent than the next. Maggie heard her from downstairs. "Ellen? What's goin' on? You alright up there?"

Ellen couldn't reply, so she banged her fist against the wall a few more times. Sensing something was wrong, Maggie started up the steps. As she got closer, Maggie could hear Ellen's wheezing as she struggled for air. "Oh my god. You're having a panic attack?"

Ellen could only nod. Her face was growing red from lack of oxygen.

Maggie jumped into action, sweeping past Ellen to check out the room she had previously cleared. Maggie grabbed a paper bag from a shelf in the bedroom. Hurrying back to Ellen's side, Maggie opened the paper bag. Ellen grabbed at it desperately. She put the bag to her face and pushed air in, then out, over and over again. Each breath grew less painful and she began to calm down.

Maggie asked, "You nauseous?"

Ellen shook her head and let out a shaky reply, "I'm fine."

"I'm gonna clear the rest of the house. You stay here." Maggie put Ellen's knife back in Ellen's hand.

Ellen waited, propped against the wall. She'd had enough for one day.

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Upon returning to the rest of the group, Ellen appeared disheveled and distracted. She didn't look anyone in the eyes or greet anyone when she entered the house.

They'd cleared this house just two days ago, just as they had been doing for the past week. Rick insisted that they keep moving. They didn't stay in one place for long, and they would likely leave this current location soon.

Daryl seemed to notice Ellen's strange behavior. She had immediately retreated to her sleeping bag away from the others, and turned over on her side to block everyone out. It was strange for her, despite the fact that they'd left the farm nearly a week ago.

Daryl approached Glenn, determined to ask him what had happened to make Ellen act so distant. "What's up with Ellen? Somethin' happen?"

Glenn looked discouraged, "Maggie found her on the second floor of the house we were raiding. She'd just killed a walker and… it looked pretty messed up. I think she went a little ape-shit on it…. And she had a panic attack…"

Daryl's expression became more concerned, "She beat a walker for no god damn reason?"

Glenn nodded slightly, "That's what we think happened."

Daryl glanced at Ellen, who was unaware of their attentions. Daryl asked Glenn, "What do we do?"

Glenn shrugged, "Take it to Rick, I guess. She might need more time before her next run."

Daryl agreed, "I'll let him know."

Rick was leaning over a map of the area, which they had found in the previous house they had raided before. "Hey, Rick. I need ta ask ya somethin'."

"Sure, Daryl. What is it?"

Daryl dropped his voice a bit, "It's about Ellen."

Curious now, Rick turned to face Daryl, "Is she ok?"

"There was an… incident. She beat a walker… had a panic attack… She's holed up in the corner by herself right now. I don't think it's safe to send her out there right now."

Rick let the discouragement display plainly on his face, "She's been a little messed up since the farm, hasn't she?"

Daryl could only nod solemnly.

"Alright… we'll keep her close for a while. But it can't be forever. She needs to get over this. She won't make it if we shelter her."

Daryl breached the subject, "And Lori?"

Rick understood immediately, "We need Ellen for the baby. I know that. We can't risk her or Hershel. But this… thing she's going through right now… she has to get past it. And she can't do that holed up in here with us."

Daryl agreed, "She'll get past it."

"I'll let her go when she's ready."

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The next day, Ellen woke up to the sound of men hollering outside. She sat straight up in her sleeping bag, glancing around quickly. Most of the group was still asleep.

Crawling out of her sleeping bag, Ellen pushed herself up to her feet. Still not wearing shoes, she padded her bare feet across the living room floor until she could hear the men more clearly. She soon recognized the voices and felt suddenly calmer about the situation. But still, the voices were harsh.

Daryl was scoffing back at the others with him, "I ain't goin' NOWHERE with this ASSHOLE!"

"Hey, man I didn't have a choice. You gotta know that." T-dog answered less urgently.

"You had PLENTY a' choice! And ya CHOSE ta LEAVE 'er!"

"Daryl, calm down." Rick tried to correct the situation.

"This dipshit is in the business o' LEAVIN' PEOPLE. He'd probably leave me out there on my ass if he had the option!" Daryl was adamant.

"I said I was sorry, bro. Ain't nothin' I can do about it now." T-dog replied.

"Yer apologizing to the wrong DAMN PERSON, man! You left HER. It ain't me you gotta talk to. She's been torn apart since the farm! And that's on YOU!"

Rick tried to separate the two men, not allowing Daryl to get near T-dog in his rage. "Hey, now. We can figure something else out. You don't have to go out on a run together. That would… probably not be the best idea. I see that now."

Daryl yelled back in T-dog's direction again, "Go on a run with this guy, my ASS. He ain't no TEAM PLAYER."

Rick held a hand out towards T-dog carefully, "You better head back into the house… I can't use you right now."

T-dog nodded submissively. But he tried once more, "I'm real sorry, bro."

"Get outta my face! Dumbass coward!" Daryl spat back.

Rick turned to T-dog urgently, "Go! Just go."

T-dog obeyed, heading back up the porch steps toward the front door. Thankfully, when he entered the house, he didn't notice Ellen near the window. She'd heard almost the entire conversation… and it was about her.

Rick was trying to calm Daryl down now. "Hey, he's gone. You gotta let this go. It ain't helpin' the group at all, and you know it."

"It ain't right, man." Daryl stated in defeat.

Rick nodded in acknowledgement, "I know. But Ellen's strong. You and I both know that. If she can make it off the farm on her own, she can build back up. She can take care of herself. And we'll help her to see that again."

Daryl huffed out a few angry puffs of air, pacing back and forth in the dirt.

Rick continued, "Now, I'm not gonna force you to go on a run with T-dog. That would just end in one o' you getting killed. I'll go on the run with you instead."

Daryl looked confused, "Don't you gotta hold down the fort here?"

Rick shook his head, "They'll be fine here without me for a few hours. And we need to branch further out. All the nearby houses have been raided for supplies already. We need more."

"You still think that's wise?" Daryl asked.

Ellen didn't hear Rick reply because she was already heading for the porch. Flinging the front door open, Ellen stomped her way out onto the porch steps. The two men looked dumbfounded when they caught site of her. But they were silent. It was almost a guilty silence, because they had just been caught discussing her.

Ellen didn't miss a beat, "I'll go on the run."

Rick almost chuckled, "It's fine, Ellen. We can take care of it."

"No. This is my issue. I'll do it. You can't stop me from going."

Rick turned to Daryl, looking for some reason to refuse Ellen's demands. Daryl seemed to consider it, and he turned to Rick, "I'd rather her go back out with me than with Glenn and Maggie."

Rick saw the concern in Daryl's eyes, "You think you can watch her?"

Daryl shrugged, "It ain't babysittin'."

Rick looked Ellen over, observing her bare feet on the wooden porch for the first time, "No it is not."

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Ellen and Daryl were off within the next half hour. As they walked away from the group's base, Daryl started to explain the situation to Ellen, "Rick wants us to get more supplies… pay attention to where we are. He wants a report about which way looks clearer from walkers. We'll keep moving the group in whatever direction is best. Ain't got a particular location in mind now."

Ellen didn't speak, she just nodded to indicate that she understood.

Daryl was content with Ellen's lack of speech. At least she was responding. He was glad to have her out with him again. He felt comfortable with her there. Keeping her under his tutelage had always been the idea. But in some ways, Daryl thought maybe Ellen had surpassed him. She'd fought her way off the farm single handedly. Daryl wasn't sure he would have survived that, no matter how proficient he was with a crossbow.

But Daryl could see that Ellen was still struggling to regain her footing in this new world. She'd been smacked in the face with reality that night on the farm. And now she was figuring out who she would become in the madness of the world.

Daryl led Ellen through the abandoned neighborhoods. They weaved through small packs of walkers, and Daryl took out most all of them himself. Ellen was hesitant to help Daryl when the walkers approached. But he soon became overwhelmed with the numbers around them, and Ellen was forced to spring into action. She let her body drive her forward, not listening to the alarming thoughts in her head warning her to back off. She went after the walkers like they were her prey, brutally driving them back with ferocious movements.

Ellen had clearly never been trained to fight the walkers. But she met them head on, choosing to let her instincts do the work for her.

Daryl could see that Ellen's courage had significantly improved since the first time he had taken her out into the woods, searching for Sophia. Back then, Ellen had been hesitant. She'd even tackled a walker to the ground and put herself in danger. But now she considered each attack carefully, and each move was strategic. She was learning quickly.

As soon as the next pack had been put down, Daryl turned to Ellen. "You alright?"

Ellen was breathing heavily, "Fine."

Daryl nodded, glad she wasn't having a panic attack out here in the open. Perhaps she was processing her struggles more easily now.

The pair moved forward until Daryl picked a house to the right side of the neighborhood. They were about two miles away from Rick and the rest of the group now.

Daryl approached the house cautiously. Opening the door slowly, he motioned for Ellen to enter first. Ellen was surprised he was giving her such responsibility, but she accepted it immediately. Entering the house, there was no movement in the front room. Ellen gripped her gun in her right hand and her knife in the left.

Ellen turned the corner, walking through the living room carefully. She searched behind all the furniture and behind the next door. There were not walkers here. She could hear Daryl in the other room, the creaking of the floorboards a tell tale sign of his location. Ellen moved to the bathroom, brushing the shower curtain away. This room was also empty.

Daryl called from across the house, "It's clear. You see anythin'?"

"No, it's clear. There's no upper story to search."

"Come 'ere. We can search for food in the kitchen area."

Ellen moved to the kitchen where Daryl was already scavenging the cabinets. Ellen proceeded toward the pantry, looking for anything that might be worth carrying back.

Their work was interrupted by the harsh noise of a man outside, "Eh, man. These walkers look fresh. Someone out here?"

"Dunno. Guess we can check the houses. Hey, Tiny. You go back around that 'a way a bit. We'll head around this side."

Daryl shot an urgent look at Ellen, who was overcome by fear. Who were these men? What were they doing out here?

"Get up! We gotta get outta here." Daryl dragged Ellen to her feet roughly.

Daryl made for the back door, which lead to the yard. But the yard was relatively open, and there were no fences to hide their presence. Bursting through the door with Ellen in tow, Daryl rushed down the steps. But Ellen pulled him back suddenly, urging him to stop, "Daryl!"

Daryl stopped in his tracks. They were staring into the face of a complete stranger. He was large man, about six and a half feet in height with a heavy build. The man seemed surprised to see them at first. But then he raised his weapon. Ellen responded quickly, raising her gun towards the stranger as well. The man chuckled when he saw Ellen had raised her gun. "You really gonna shoot me there girl?"

Ellen fired a shot at the man's feet. It hit the ground near him- a little too close for comfort. The man yelped in surprise, but he wasn't injured.

"Is that you, Tiny? What did you find?" The other two men were soon approaching. When they caught sight of Daryl and Ellen, the men raised their guns as well. "Alright, now you put down your weapon. Nobody has to get hurt here."

Ellen looked to Daryl, and he grunted in submission. Ellen lowered her weapon but she didn't let it fall. The men were not satisfied. "You both drop your weapons in the grass at your feet. We won't ask twice."

The man near the leader snickered when Ellen and Daryl were forced to give up their weapons. It was like he knew what was coming next… like they had done this before. Daryl seemed to sense this from the stranger's actions. He tried to maneuver his body in front of Ellen, so he was blocking her from view. Daryl asked them, "Whatchyou want from us?"

The small toad-like man near the leader hissed, "That girl is a good start."

Ellen's skin began to crawl. These men would hurt her if they got the opportunity. They would likely humiliate her… rape her… kill her… Ellen wasn't sure. But she didn't want to find out.

"Hush, Reyes. You let me do the talkin'." The leader tried to maintain control. He sent a nod in the large man's direction, "Tiny, you lead these kind folks back inside the house. They must have cleared it, judging from the walkers in the street."

The large man, Tiny, started to lumber towards Daryl and Ellen. Daryl put a protective arm up so he was thoroughly between Ellen and these men. He began backing up towards the porch steps, urging Ellen to do the same. He wanted to make sure they left as much room between them and these men as possible.

Ellen felt the wood of the porch step against her ankles before she realized they were close to the house. She had no choice but to go up the steps backwards, keeping her gaze on the men before her. Daryl followed after her, his stance defensive and alert.

When Ellen reached the back door, she pushed it open and entered the house. They were in a bad position, weaponless and isolated. Daryl grunted a quick word to her, "Door."

Ellen understood immediately. They would have a better chance of escaping if she got as close as possible to the front door. So, she led the strange caravan of men toward the front of the house. They stopped in the dining area.

"You stop here, now." The leader may have been wise to their plan. "You, girl. Take a seat."

The man gestured towards one of the dining room table chairs. Ellen eyed the chair warily, unsure how to proceed. The man smiled quickly, but then he smashed his hand down on the surface of the dining room table, BAM!

"I don't have the patience for this, girl! You SIT DOWN." He seethed at her.

Ellen pulled the chair back and sat down, obeying him. But her gaze remained obstinate.

Daryl remained standing near where Ellen was seated. The leader pointed at Daryl with one long finger, "You, go stand in the corner there. Take a few steps back."

Daryl glared at the man, but obeyed slowly. He was trying to give himself time to figure out a way out of this situation. Feeling the wall on his back, Daryl stopped. He observed the room quickly. It was light with the sun, which was streaming in through the long windows. It was a beautiful room. But the lowlifes that now threatened them were tarnishing it.

"You girl, put your hands flat on the table where we can see them." The man then indicated towards Daryl, "You put your hands up. We don't want any funny business going on here."

Ellen and Daryl did as they were told, each placing their hands in the designated positions. They were about five feet from one another, with Ellen near the head of the dining room table and Daryl near the end.

The leader motioned toward the small toad-like man, "Reyes, you can have her now."

The man smirked wildly and rubbed his hands together, approaching Ellen with a crazed look on his face. Daryl protested, "Hey, you stay the HELL AWAY FROM HER!"

The leader looked surprised to hear Daryl's threatening words, "What's it to you, archer?" The leader had picked up Daryl's crossbow, along with their other weapons, which had been left in the grass outside.

Daryl didn't have an answer. And Ellen eyed the small man with wild and determined eyes. She wouldn't let this man touch her.

The leader seemed curious about Daryl's intentions, "We have you at gunpoint, and your going to continue defending this girl? If you can get out alive, why do you care? Is she 'yer ol' lady'?" The man chuckled harshly, seeming to think the idea of Daryl and Ellen being romantically involved ridiculous.

Daryl remained silent, not sure how to answer this lunatic. He was just glad for the delay. The longer these men kept talking, the more likely they would make it out of this.

The leader turned his attentions toward Ellen, "What about you, girl? You with this man here? Do you love him?" The man's tone was mocking and Ellen was seething in silent rage.

"You got somethin' to say to him before we get down to business? Cause we'll wait. It's nice to see a good old-fashioned loving couple up in this mess of a world. It'll be like… watching one of those romantic comedies. Only… this isn't all that funny now, is it?" The man began howling with laughter.

The toad man, Reyes, came close to Ellen then. He put his face up near Ellen's, and she leaned away from him quickly, "Well? You got something to say?"

Ellen spat in his face, "Ain't your business what I have to say."

The man squealed with glee, "Ohh, I like this one. She has fire in her spirit!"

The leader smiled devilishly down at Ellen, "She'll be harder to break, that's for sure."

The toad man brought his face down to Ellen's neck. He whispered in her ear, "Don't move your hands, now. Or we'll shoot you dead. You don't want that, do you?"

Ellen could feel the heat from the man's breath rake over her skin. He was… smelling her. "Oh, she even smells good!"

Ellen sat perfectly still. She was repulsed by the man beside her and terrified of what they might do to her. But she refused to endanger Daryl further.

"Get yer PAWS AWAY FROM HER!" Daryl barked at the toad. Reyes jerked back suddenly, afraid Daryl would launch himself at the small man.

Tiny lifted his gun towards Daryl again, cocking it so the bullet was ready to fire. Daryl didn't miss this, and he stared the man down with cold eyes. Then, something clicked in Daryl's mind. He realized then… a group near the farm…could it possibly be? Daryl didn't want to take the chance. So he brought it up without coercion, "You fella's lose a teenage boy about two weeks ago? A boy named Randall?"

The men seemed to perk up at the name, "What do you know about Randall?"

Daryl had their attention now, "Ya'll left him fer dead. He would have died. But we patched him up… brought him back safe."

"You gotta camp?" Tiny asked.

Daryl's voice was stern, "No. Not anymore."

The leader seemed intrigued by what Daryl had to say, "And Randall? Where is he now?"

"Dead," Ellen stated bluntly.

The men didn't even bat an eyelash. Of course, they had left Randall to die before. They weren't losing anything more than what they had expected to lose.

The leader smiled then, "Well, you two seem to know a bit more about us than we expected."

"That's right," Daryl's voice was laced with a veiled threat.

The leader nodded his head slowly, considering the situation, "Well, I guess we'll just have to kill you."

Daryl watched as the leader aimed his pistol at Ellen's head. But Daryl used this opportunity to burst into action, grabbing at the wooden dining room chair in front of him. He hurled the chair out the window to his right, causing shards of glass to sprinkle down to the floor. The noise of shattering glass surprised the men, and they looked flustered. Daryl dropped to the floor then and yelled for Ellen to do the same, "DOWN!"

Slipping off the edge of the chair, Ellen's body met the wooden floor. Daryl pushed the dining room table upwards with the force of his body. It soon served as a shield to defend them from this group of three men.

The men were cussing and yelling at one another in a panic, "WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED? GET THEM!"

Daryl pushed the table forward, knocking the men down as the table made impact with their legs. All three men were on their backs now, struggling to right themselves and aim their weapons. Ellen forced herself to grab at one of the large shards of glass from the window. It cut into her hand slightly, but she held it gingerly.

Daryl was wrestling with the large man, Tiny, on the floor near the front door of the house. Ellen focused on the toad, who was closest to her now. She took the shard of glass in her hand and jabbed it towards the toad. He didn't even see it coming. The man's throat was soon gushing blood and he clutched at it as he fell to floor limply.

The leader of the group watched as Ellen killed Reyes. He reached for his gun, which was on the floorboards near him. As the man turned for his gun, Ellen leapt forward and drove the shard of glass into his chest. It pierced his heart immediately, and the man yelled out in pain. His eyes met Ellen's merciless ones. They were filled with fear. Ellen drove the glass shard in further, urging him further towards death. The man's vision began to blur and he could no longer see Ellen as clearly. He uttered one soft word before fading into black, "No."

Daryl was still wrestling on the ground with Tiny. Each man had delivered a few powerful blows in the time it took Ellen to kill the other two men.

Ellen caught a glimpse of one of Daryl's arrows near the leader, who had just stolen the crossbow. Grabbing the arrow quickly, Ellen moved toward Daryl and the large man. She called out to Daryl, "Move it!"

Hearing Ellen instruct him, Daryl pushed himself out of the way. Tiny was now exposed and Ellen propelled herself toward him with the arrow in hand. The man was surprisingly fast for his size. He grabbed at Ellen and tried to knock the arrow out of her hand. While the man was preoccupied with Ellen, Daryl grabbed one of the other dining room chairs and brought it towards the man. "ELLEN!"

Ellen looked up, still trying to push the arrow towards the man's head. She backed off suddenly, scrambling away from the man on the floor. As soon as Ellen was clear of the man, Daryl brought the chair down on Tiny's head. He was dead as soon as the wood made impact with his skull.

Daryl was heaving in ragged and quick breaths. He peered over at Ellen, who was staring down at Tiny's body on the floor near her. Daryl shifted his weight, and walked closer to her. He offered her his hand.

Ellen looked at his hand for a second, taking a minute to realize he meant to help her up. She made to take his hand, but realized her hands were bloodied with cuts from the glass. She pulled her hand back.

Realizing Ellen was injured, Daryl wrapped his hand around her wrist so he could drag her off the floor without infecting her wounds. "Lets get our weapons and get outta here."

Ellen nodded but her voice was soft, "Ok."

Daryl looked back at her suddenly, aware of her distraught state, "You did what you had to do, Ellen. These men would have killed us. You survived."

Ellen met Daryl's eyes for the first time in a long time. "Thank you…"

Daryl motioned for her to come and get her weapons from the floor. He bent down and grabbed their pistols, as well as the weapons the men had on them before. Slinging his beloved crossbow over his shoulder, he addressed Ellen, "Lets go."