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CHAPTER NINETEEN
Eva groggily wakes up, she did not have a good night's sleep. She gets up and changes Warren's diaper and makes him a bottle before handing him to Charlie before taking Hayden and the girls out to the woods to go to the bathroom.
After washing their hands at the well she helps Carol and T-dog with starting a fire, so they can get breakfast started. When the food is done, she helps passing out everyone a plate before taking her own. She eats quietly just listening to the conversation from the others.
When she sees Charlie climbing up the RV, to help with watch, she places her plate in the tub with the other dirty dishes before quickly climbing up to the top. She sits down next to his chair, before looking out to the fields.
"I already talked with the girls and I know Rick talked with you but I want to know what you think about us staying." Eva says as she watches the cows milling around the field.
"I thought about it all night, more people mean more problems... but you and I can't keep the kids safe by ourselves, you ran yourself ragged and that was with... Jenna's and Abigail's help." He says choking up on their names and Eva closes her eyes forcing the tears away.
"I think we should stay, but the moment we think something is wrong or not right, we'll pack up and go alright." He says and Eva looks up at him before nodding, she quickly stands and climbs down from the RV, walking back to the camp and she then starts helping Carol with the cleaning the dishes.
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Rick and few of the others walk with him when they hear a weird sound coming from behind the bus. He has his hand on his gun and he quickly walks around the front of the bus and sees Eva standing there with her arms crossed watching Kailee, Mel and Hayden shooting paintball guns towards the targets that are hanging on the bus.
"What are you doing?" He asks relaxing when he sees no threat. Eva tells the kids to take a break and count their misses before looking over at him and the others.
"Shooting practice." She said like it was supposed to be obvious. "But they're not shooting real guns." Carl speaks out looking confused.
"You still have to aim and pull the trigger. Plus it hardly makes noise and we don't waste bullets on misses." She says before taking a gun from Mel and she shoots the pinball gun, hitting the middle of the head on the drawn out body.
"Mind if a few more join in?" Rick asks her thinking that it is a really smart idea. She nods and helps Carl get situated before telling him for every hit he misses he owes her a push up and a sit up, she then does the same with Carol and Sophia.
She walks away before coming back with one more paintball gun and hands it to Lori. They then each take turns shooting at their targets, Maggie even going to get Patricia and Jimmy, so they can practice.
Eva stands with Rick and Daryl, rocking Warren on her hip while they watch them practice. She looks away and over the top of Warren's head to see Shane glaring from his place behind a tree.
She doesn't like the look in his eyes as his glares at Rick then smile and laughs when Lori does. She looks away not wanting to be caught, she looks up to Daryl who is looking over at Shane as well, he looks down at her before shaking his head and looking back to the others practice.
She pulls Warren closer as she plays with Hayden's hair, she will have to keep an eye on Shane, she is not taking a chance for everything to go further downhill, not again.
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After practice and everyone is doing their sit-ups and push-ups except for Carl who Eva finds out is recovering from being shot, she tells him she'll put it on his tab.
After putting away the guns and the poster targets she grabs a blanket and Kailee helps her spread it out under a shade tree. She sets down Warren and has Hayden sit down before going and grabbing Hayden's bag from the tent.
She sits down by the boys and pulls out a coloring book and a packet of crayons and hands them over to Hayden before picking up Warren and sitting him up on her crossed legs, leaning him against her chest.
Kailee and Mel come over each holding their own books and they lay down on the blanket relaxing under the shade tree. Eva grabs out a children's book and opens it up before Warren.
She then starts reading to him, while pointing out all the colors and the animals, laughing when he smacks his hands against the book while babbling away in his baby talk.
It is nice sitting outside for once, Eva never wanted any of them outside for too long, so it is a nice change. She gently lays Warren down after he falls to sleep and she lays on her stomach beside Hayden, watching him color away.
She smiles when she sees his tongue popping out as he concentrates on his art work. She looks away and looks around the camp with her head resting on her folded arms.
It is nice and peaceful, watching everyone mill around the camp, with hardly any worries. She closes her eyes and hides her face under her arms, hating that she feels anger towards them for being so worry free.
These people helped her save her kids, took them in when they didn't have too, is helping them through their tough time and she feels... angry.
She yells at herself in her head before slow falling to sleep, her body just giving up. The past few days, she maybe only got a few hours of sleep each day, she really needs it.
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Daryl looks over sees the new additions sitting and laying down on a blanket, relaxing and reading and coloring. He can't help but smile when he sees the baby hitting his hands happily against the book in Eva's hands.
He stands up and walks over to Rick, telling him his going out to hunt for a while, see if he can find anything. Rick tells him not to stay out for too long and he nods before going to his tent and he grabs his crossbow and a few extra arrows. He looks over at Eva and the kids one more time before turning and walking away.
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Eva wakes a few hours later, lying by herself on the blanket and she sits up feeling stiff from lying on the ground for so long. While she stretches her sore muscles she looks around the camp and she relaxes when she sees all the kids and Charlie.
She then sees Daryl gutting some squirrels on a plastic fold out table and she sees that he has several to go, so she walks over and stands before him. "Do you need any help?" She asks and he looks up before biting his bottom lip and he nods before motioning to the chair across from him.
She takes out her knife before sitting down, adjusting the machete and gun before grabbing a squirrel and dragging it towards her. It doesn't take them long to gut and clean the six squirrels and two rabbits.
She leaves her knife on the table while she takes the bowl of meat over to Carol and she helps get them started on cooking. When she gets back to the table she finds her knife and the table clean and she looks up to seeing Daryl walking off to the woods, so he can get rid of the leftovers.
She sheaths her knife before going back to the fire so she can help with the stew Carol is making. After washing her hands she chops up the potatoes and carrots that Maggie gave them earlier. They talk about several things but mostly they talk about the kids, just passing the time as they prep dinner.
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After a nice filling dinner Rick watches as Eva carries a very sleepy Hayden over to her tent. He stands up and walks over to their tent, he needs to see where she stands with staying.
When she comes out of the tent moments later she stares up at him before turning and zipping the boys and girls in. "I was wondering if you had thought about what I said." He asks her slowly not wanting to somehow make her angry.
"I have talked it through with Charlie and the girls and we have decided to stay. As long as it is ok with you and Hershel." She says and he feels relief hearing her words, not only is it better to have some more help around the camp, but he feels they owe Eva and them for taking in and protecting Sophia.
"Hershel and I talked it over and it is fine with both of us." He said not to sure what else to say and she nods before walking to the RV to relieve Andrea of watch duty.
He walks to his tent and each step he feels weight lifting off of his shoulders, with her agreeing to stay it makes him happy and relieved knowing that it is less blood on his hands by getting them to stay.
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Early the next morning while sitting around eating breakfast Eva over hears Daryl telling Rick he is going hunting. She quickly finishes her food before quickly catching up to Daryl.
"Hey I was wondering if I can go hunting with you, I want to help out more." She asks him and he was going to say no but he changed his mind after seeing the look on her face.
"Sure just hurry up, I ain't going to wait long." He says and she gives him a smile before running back to the camp. She tells her group and Rick about leaving before grabbing her bow and quivers and her to go bag.
She straps the other quiver over her machete on her left thigh as she walks over to where Daryl is standing. "Shall we." She says and he nods before walking towards the woods, Eva following close behind.
They are out there for almost two hours, only finding a few squirrels. When they get to a small creek they both spot some deer tracks leading further down the creek.
She smiles over at Daryl and they both take off after the deer, wanting to get it before some dead freak does. They don't have to walk for long, for the deer is right up ahead grazing.
She notches an arrow and she looks over at Daryl and he gives a small nod and they both let their arrows fly, hitting their target. But neither are kill shots so the deer starts to run but Eva already has another arrow flying and they watch the deer fall to the ground.
Eva quickly takes out her knife and runs over to the deer and she quickly kills it, she has always hated seeing an animal in pain, but she will feed the group for a few meals.
She quietly thanks the deer for giving its life before yanking out her arrows and Daryl's. She hands him his arrow before getting up and looking around trying to find a nice strong log.
When she fines one she drags it over to Daryl and the deer before grabbing rope from her bag. They quickly tie the deer's legs to the log, and when they are done they pick the log up and place it on their shoulders and head back to camp.
"There is a lot of meet on her, she will feed everyone, even Hershel's people. I was thinking that we should start taking some of each of the game and turn it to jerky, for winter." Eva says trying not to grunt as they walk back to camp, the deer weighs a lot so they need to take several breaks to gives their shoulders some rest.
"Yeah good idea, I keep seeing less and less game every time I'm out hunting." Daryl says before turning them in a different direction. "Well yeah, walkers are eating them too, poor things can't even sleep without walkers pouncing on em, since walkers don't sleep them can hunt night and day." Eva says grinding her teeth when the log digs into her shoulder a bit more.
"True, true. The farm is up ahead, just a few more feet." He says and Eva sighs, her shoulders are killing her, but it is worth it. They take the deer by an old broken down chimney that is further out in the fields from camp, and they hang the deer up on a nearby tree.
She quickly runs back to camp and tells everyone about the deer while she drops off her bow and quivers and bag. After saying hi to the kids she grabs two empty tub containers and she runs over to the well and cleans them out before running back to Daryl and the deer.
She places one of the tub containers under the deer, so it can catch its blood and useless organs, it will be easier to get rid of that way. She then helps him as he guts the deer, she places the meat into the other container making sure the lid is closed, so no bugs get in it.
When all the meat is in the container he helps her carry it back to the house and into the kitchen so Eva can get it refrigerated and the rest made into jerky.
After he drops the container off in the kitchen he quickly goes back to bury the rest of the deer and the tub, so it won't attract walkers. Maggie and Patricia help her get the meat into the fridge and help get the marinade ready for the jerky.
While they do this she finds out about how Beth is having a hard time and that Patricia recently lost her husband Otis. She tells them both sorry for their losses in which they say the same for her own. After getting the meat in the fridge to marinate and everything cleaned up, Eva leaves to go and check on her kids.
After a small lunch Rick tells them that they will be taking Randall out soon. So Eva walks on the bus and grabs an empty bag and packs up some food and some med supplies before walking over to Rick who is watching Shane storm off somewhere.
"It's enough food and water to last a few day if he rations it well." She said handing the bag over to him and he takes it. "Thank you, I also want to thank you for bringing in that deer with Daryl, its much appreciated." He says as he throws the bag into the back seat of the car.
"We are a part of the group now, we need to help out whichever way we can. Oh! Here Mel would like it back but it's so he can't hear what you guys are saying." She said pulling out Mel's pink IPod shuffle and headphones and handing it over to him.
He nods his head again before patting her shoulder. "I'll make sure to bring it back and thank you again." He said before making his way to the shed where Shane is waiting so they can take Randall away.
Soon Rick and Shane leave and everyone gets started on their choirs. Eva sits down at the bench and gets Carl and Sophia started on some of her lesson plans, with the approval of Lori and Carol.
She watches as Kailee and Mel play with the boys, before seeing Maggie and Glenn going for a walk. She turns back and helps Carl when he has some difficulty tying one of the knots she is teaching them.
Her head snaps up when she hears Lori yelling for Andrea while she is running over to them. "Andrea, have you seen Maggie or Hershel?" Lori asks Andrea who is on watch on the RV.
"I haven't seen Hershel, but Maggie and Glenn walked by maybe twenty minutes ago." Andrea tells her and Lori nods her head. "Can you find her for me I have to get back to the house?" Lori said before taking off back to the house and Eva gets up and tells the kids to keep working on their knots.
"I'll go get her, you stay on watch." Eva says up to Andrea and she tells Eva ok and points to where she saw Maggie last. Eva takes off running not liking how scared Lori seemed and she assumes that something is wrong with Beth, knowing the girl just came out of a catatonic coma only a few days ago.
After finding Maggie and Glenn, they run back to the house and while they run to the house Eva goes to the camp. She tells the kids that they are done for now, they will pick up again tomorrow before handing them a deck of cards to play with.
"Andrea, come down and take a break, you been up there for a few hours, go get something to eat, I'll take over." She says before climbing up the steps and Andrea shoulders relax before handing over the rifle.
"Thanks that sounds great." Andrea said before giving her a smile before climbing down and going to the house. Eva sits down on the fold up chair and lays the rifle down beside her one the roof. She constantly glances over to the camp making sure all the kids are where she left them.
She smiles to herself when she sees Carl and Sophia laughing over the card game they are playing. Not before long Andrea comes back from the house and she sits down by the fire and Eva finds it weird that she keeps looking back to the house, her leg bouncing like she is waiting for something.
Not long after Glenn comes walking over to the camp and he whispers something to Andrea, Carol, and Charlie and Andrea gets up and runs off to the house. Glenn then climbs up and stands in front of her.
"Umm Beth tried killin... cutting herself. Charlie said you guys have some medical supplies and I was..." Glenn said but Eva stands up and cuts him off. "It's ok I'll grab a bag and take it to the house, can you go on watch while I'm gone." She says and he nods his head before quickly sitting down on the chair.
She can see that it is hitting him a bit hard, so she quickly climbs down off of the RV and over to where Charlie is going through the bus. She grabs the bag from his hands and she takes off running towards the house, hopefully it's not too deep of a cut.
She passes by Andrea before running up the steps and she opens the door and sees Lori standing there in the living room. "Uh I have some med stuff, where they are?" She asks and Lori points over to the room down the hall.
She can hear crying as she gets closer to the room and she sees Maggie covering her mouth as Hershel hunches over Beth's wrist. Eva lightly knocks on the open door, not wanting to intrude but she knows they might need some supplies.
Maggie looks over at her and she steps in the room and hands the bag over to Patricia. "There's stuff for stitches and some antibiotics." Eva whispers and Maggie quickly says thank you before help Patricia go through the bag and they start handing stuff over to Hershel.
Eva quickly backs out of the room not wanting to hear the girls sobbing anymore, memories of when she held a gun to her head flash before her eyes and makes her feel sick to her stomach.
Eva quickly leaves the house and walks back to the camp. When she sees Sophia playing tag with Carl and Hayden, she almost starts to cry. If she would have pulled that trigger, Hayden and Warren would have died in that car and Sophia would have been killed out in those woods.
She swallows a whimper when Hayden runs over to her yelling Mama, she picks him up and buries her head into his shoulder as she continues to walk back to the others.
She puts a smile on her face as she starts to play tag with the kids, while she is playing with them she pushes those memories and what if's and she pushes them down, buries them deep and locks them away.
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The sun is starting to set when Rick and Shane finally come driving up the road. Daryl shakes his head when he sees how beat up they look and he gets angry when Rick drags Randall out from the back and drags him back into the shed.
He bites his thumb nail while Rick tells them all that Randall knows Maggie and this farm. He shakes his head, it's like one thing after another it seems.
Rick asks him, Eva, T-dog, Glenn and Dale to take turns guarding the shed and they all agree and Dale goes to start on his watch. Eva will take the next and him after and T, Rick and Glenn taking night shifts, he will relieve Glenn around three in the morning taking his second shift.
Daryl watches from his seat as Eva takes care of the boys getting them ready for bed. He quickly looks away realizing that he is staring at her once again, he has been doing that a lot lately.
He looks up from his arrows and watches her walk over to the shed, relieving Dale. He gulps and looks back down and starts sharping his arrows again when he realize he is watching her ass as she walks away.
He starts to angrily sharpen his arrows, while trying to calm down his breathing and his pulse. After three hours and after pretty much everyone has gone to bed, Daryl gets up off of his chair and he picks up his crossbow and his arrows before walking over to the shed. He walks over to the faint glow of Eva's lantern.
She stands up straight with her hand on her gun but relaxes when she sees that it is him. "Hey, he fell asleep a little while ago, you missed all the fun of hearing him whine for hours." She says sarcastically and he can't help but chuckle.
"Damn and I was looking forward to that." He says and she scoffs before rolling her eyes. "So I'll relieve you at six tomorrow. Uh the bag has some food and water for when you are hungry, save some for Rick, T-dog and Glenn ok." She says giving him a smile and he nods back and she pats his shoulder as she walks away back to camp.
He lets out the breath he seemed to be holding when she touched his shoulder. He shakes his head, why would a woman like her ever want with a man like him.