Chapter 4

Frustrated Plans

...

There was no way in hell he was waiting for Barbara, Daryl thought as he woke up earlier with the intention to leave without her. After a weird dream he had no intention to revisit, he realized the situation may be innocent but people wouldn't look it at that way. He alone in the woods with that girl? Hell, even she had assumed he would try and take advantage, that's why she had carried the gun. True, Barbara had said she trusted him now, but he was sure as hell Hershel wouldn't if Barbara told him she wanted to go to the woods alone with him so she could learn how to use a crossbow and look for Sophia. Hell, he could already picture the man with a rifle chasing him away. Hershel may have not been Barbara's father, but she was a child, a teenager. And Daryl didn't want to be the cause of Hershel throwing them away. No, thanks. He would stay away from Barbara like the plague.

Rick gathered Shane, Daryl, Andrea and T-Dog to organize the search parties for Sophia. He had extended the map on the cap of the truck when Blake and Brett approached them.

"We wanna help," Blake told Rick with his hands on his pockets. "We know the area pretty well."

"Hershel's okay with that?" Rick asked him and the guys nodded.

"Yeah, he said we should ask you," Brett replied.

Rick nodded.

"Alright then. Thanks."

Barbara didn't wake up until noon and when she realized, she was pissed. Not only because it was too late to sneak out to the woods, but because Daryl had been right. She couldn't even wake up on time. She stood up and groaned. Her legs, back, and shoulders were killing her. Despite that, she wanted to go out and keep learning. She wondered if by any chance Daryl had delayed his searching but she doubted it and she didn't know where direction he had gone anyway.

She went down the stairs feeling all stiff and she bumped into her sister.

"Well, good morning, sleepy head," the blonde told her sister with a smile.

"Hi," Barbie replied, walking ahead of her, lightly limping.

"What's wrong with you?" Isabelle asked frowning worried. Barbie turned to look at her and made a face.

"I'm hurting all over. I feel so beat up," she said rubbing the sore muscles in her legs.

Barbie saw Isabelle's worry turning into anger.

"Did he do...?"

"No, and stop it. He's nothing like that."

Elle raised up her eyebrows.

"You have spent only one day with him."

"Still I know now for sure he's a good guy. I even trust him."

Elle squinted and looked at her as if Barbie was turning green.

"What?" She asked annoyed.

"You don't like him, do you?"

Barbie opened her eyes surprised and she blushed lightly.

"What? No!"

Elle gave her a look and Barbie glared at her sister.

"Don't look at me like that. No. He's just a nice guy who doesn't show it. That's all."

Elle nodded but didn't look that much convince.

"Well, fine. They left already you know."

"I figure."

"And they took Brett and Blake with them."

Barbie sighed.

"Really?"

"Yep. So if you're going to sneak with him again..."

"I'm not sneaking with anybody."

The blonde shrugged.

"I just think you should know."

Barbie nodded and smiled at her.

"Thank you."

"Sure."

...

Barbara didn't sneak out though. She couldn't. She had breakfast and when she had tried to go and get her crossbow, Patricia asked her to help wash some clothes and she couldn't say no. So she spent the afternoon washing and hanging clothes to dry. Then Lori and Carol came by the house an offered to make dinner. Patricia and Isabelle helped them, as Maggie set the table and Barbie snuck out to the porch, where she got comfortable in the swing and started reading... until a shot rang across the farm.

Barbie stood up, the book falling with a thump, and ran to the RV from where the sound of the shot had come from. Her heart was beating so hard it felt like it could pop at any second. Brett was out there, and Blake and...

She reached the RV where Dale and Andrea were. Andrea was on top of it and had a riffle. So she was the one who had shot. But what? Who? The girl didn't ask. She just ran towards the group of men gathered ahead, praying it wasn't serious. That it hadn't been her brother. She reached them then and there was Glenn, T-Dog, Rick and Shane leaning over Daryl.

Her heart dropped to her knees when she saw the blood.

"What happened?" Her voice a little bit higher.

"He was shot in the head," Rick told her and she examined him quickly, her hands shaken but it was just a flesh wound. It had just grazed his head.

"It's just superficial. Let's get him in the house," she told them and they all started to walk back to the house.

Andrea and Dale joined them running.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Is he dead?" Andrea asked sobbing.

"It just grazed his head. He's unconscious," Barbie told her, her voice sounding too far. She could hear her heart beatings ringing in her head as she watched Daryl being dragged to the house.

"But look at him!" Glenn said panicking. "What the hell happened? He's wearing ears!"

The girl then noticed in fact Daryl was wearing a 'necklace' made of walkers' ears. What the hell?

Rick looked up and saw Hershel looking at them, not too pleased. Then he ripped the ears off Daryl's neck and shoved them in his shirt.

"Let's keep that to ourselves."

"Guys," T-Dog called and they all turned, stopping. He was holding a dirty rag doll. "Isn't this Sophia's?"

...

Daryl hadn't only been shot in the head but he had also stabbed himself with one of his arrows and was dehydrated.

They had to carry him to the only bedroom left on the first floor and laid him over a towel on the bed. As Rick and Shane backed off. Barbie started undoing his shirt and noticed he had ripped it and tied tightly against his wound to stop the blood somehow. She opened the shirt and leaned over, examining the wound. He would need stitches, but it had only pierced muscle. She slid her fingers quickly and gently, checking for other injuries and she discovered multiple bruises but nothing that wouldn't heal. What had happened to him?

Just then Hershel walked in and looked at her with a strange look. She straightened up.

"He has another wound. It's deep but it didn't hit anything important and there's no internal bleeding. It would need stitches though. And the head it's just a graze but..."

"Thank you, Barbie. Why don't you wait outside?" Hershel asked her as he examined Daryl and Patricia came in with his tools. The girl stood there, confused for a minute.

"What?"

"Yes, I got this. Wait outside, please." This time he didn't ask her, he just dismissed her. She didn't understand why since she always helped him and he never had stopped her, but encouraged her. She looked over at Daryl as Hershel finished removing his shirt and left the room. Still, she caught a glimpse at his back when they rolled him on his side. There was glaring scars across it. She paused outside it just overwhelmed by all that had happened. Daryl shot, Hershel dismissing her and Daryl's scars. They look old and she knew they weren't recent. They couldn't be. He had been probably abused as a child or teen or something. And then she got it. Why that attitude of 'go and eff yourself'.

But then the worry about Daryl passed and she had to stop thinking about him as a defenseless kid because it sickened her. The girl instead thought about Hershel and his attitude. What was all about? After he had given Barbara her place before, during and after Carl's surgery. He had given her credit and now she just threw her out as some kid? He wasn't even her father! She didn't know why, maybe it was just the emotions combined, but she felt so damned angry at Hershel.

Barbara saw Daryl once he was awake as Hershel parched his head. She had brought him some water but couldn't say anything because Rick and Shane were there, and Hershel was bandaging his head. She did noticed, thought, the way Daryl pulled up the covers, turning as much as he could, almost lying flat on the bed so she wouldn't see his back.

The girl handled him the glass and he took with his free hand.

"Thank you," he said taking the water and she nodded, smiling softly. She looked up and saw Hershel looking at her. Barbie straightened up, glaring at him and left the room quickly.

Daryl saw her tight jaw and angry face directed at Hershel but he said nothing. It was none of his business. He was just worried about her seeing his back. When he was woken up he was already shirtless and Hershel had been stitching him up. He didn't saw Barbara in the room but she may have been before. He wanted to ask Hershel but couldn't. He would then ask why he cared that she had seen them.

To say that dinner was awkward was an understatement. It seemed like everybody was mad with everybody.

On the dining table were Hershel, Patricia, Brett, Rick, and everybody else except for Barbara, Maggie, Blake, Glenn and Isabelle. They had been delegated to the kids table, apparently. They all ate in uncomfortable silence .

Blake was mad at Barbie, or so she thought. And exchanging glances with Elle confirmed that her sister also thought that too, but she wasn't sure why and right now she didn't care much. She was mad at Hershel.

Suddenly Glenn turned around and addressed the other table.

"Does anybody know how to play guitar?" He asked trying to break the horrible awkward silence with a tentative smile. "Cause Dale has one on the RV."

Nobody answered right away, but then Patricia said sadly, looking down:

"Otis did."

Hershel nodded, looking at her sympathetically, placing a hand on hers briefly.

"Yes, and he was very good at it," he agreed.

Glenn smile faded and he turned around uncomfortable. The awkward silence continued. Barbie found oddly funny the guy's expression. She smiled lightly and then forced her to stop before someone would see it. But Blake did and he didn't like it.

Barbara got an idea of how to talk with Daryl and planned on taking him dinner. She wanted to explain and make sure he knew she did want to learn and take whatever he could teach her seriously. And after hearing how he had been thrown out of a horse, rolled down a hill and been stabbed by an arrow and still managed to find the doll, kill some walkers and return to the farm only to be shot and walked out of all alive, she was sure she had found the perfect teacher. She could learn from Daryl how to survive and protect her family.

When they all finished eating she went to serve Daryl some food but Carol had already a tray ready and went to his room. The girl sighed, thinking maybe she just should give up for today and try to find him tomorrow. He couldn't move that much anyway.

Barbara went to her room after dinner to brush her teeth. When she exited the bathroom, she saw the candy bar packet peeking from the nightstand drawer and she smiled. She had an idea.

Someone knocked on his door and when Daryl lifted his head, he saw Barbara coming in, and closing the door behind her.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?" He snapped a little, turning to look at her, his hands gripping quickly the covers and pulling them up as much as he could. She remembered his scars and understood that he didn't want her to see them, so she looked away and went to the other side of the bed so she would face his front and not his back. She sat on the chair next to the bed and smiled at him softly.

"How are you feeling?"

He shrugged.

"Been better."

"Sure. You scared me a bit there for a moment."

He raised his eyebrows lightly.

"Good thing Andrea's aim is not very good," Barbie quipped and he smirked lightly.

"Yeah. I'm glad too."

"I heard you stole Nelly."

He heard the amusement in her voice.

"Yeah. That horse almost kills me so stop smiling," he huffed but he didn't mean it and kept smirking. The girl just chuckled. "You shoulda told me, warn me or something."

"You should've told me you were planning to steal a horse."

He grunted but smiled at his own shamelessness.

"You never came."

"You missed me?" Barbie teased her and he glared at her.

"You're too annoying to be missed."

She raised an eyebrow to him and smiled.

"To be honest I overslept a bit. I was a little beaten up," she admitted.

"Shoulda known," he smirked lightly.

"And I tried to sneak out but my brother was out there and Patricia wouldn't leave me alone so..."

"Hum."

So that was why, Daryl thought. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but he had been a little upset when she hadn't showed up. He almost expected her to try and sneak upon him like the day before but she didn't. Knowing she hadn't be able to, somehow made him feel better.

"But I do want to learn. I really do."

Daryl looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You're going to do what I tell you?"

"If it's reasonable."

Daryl smiled amused.

"You're not going to be a good student, are you?"

"Maybe, maybe not," the girl smirked at him.

Daryl scratched his stubble.

"That's why you were angry with Hershel? Because you couldn't sneak out?" He asked her and Barbie's smile faded. The girl frowned upset.

"No. I'm mad at him because he threw me out when they bring you here after you were shot."

That took Daryl by surprise but he didn't let him show it. She couldn't care that much for him already, could she?

"Didn't realize me being shot bring you so much joy," Daryl replied making a gesture and the girl smirked, shaking her head.

"I wanted to help, you silly. I could have fixed your head while he stitched you up but he just dismissed me as some child."

He was about to say she was a child but he was hurt and couldn't defend himself if she got pissed. So he tried to change the topic a little.

"Were you a voluntary in a hospital or something before?"

Barbie raised an eyebrow. She looked a bit offended too.

"I was a med student when everything happened. I was just two years away from my residency."

Daryl raised his eyebrows surprised.

"I thought you were like sixteen or something."

Barbie twisted her mouth annoyed.

"Yeah, I looked like a child but I'm twenty two."

Daryl huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, you're so much older."

"Shut up."

Daryl hated himself for it but he felt so relieved knowing she was an adult. A very young adult but nevertheless...

"Here," Barbara surprised him by pulling out a Milky Way bar and handling it to him.

"What's this?" He asked confused.

"This is the best candy bar ever."

He gave her a look.

"I meant what for?"

"It's the payment for the classes," the girl said matter-of-factly.

"I haven't taught you anything yet," he replied shrugging.

"No, but you will."

"So that's the only thing I get?"

"Hey, they're pretty rare with the apocalypse going on, you know. So think about it as a Cuban cigar," Barbie responded lifting her chin and he smiled.

"Thanks, though I would prefer the cigar."

"Well you shouldn't. Smoking it's bad."

"Spare me the talk," he kept smirking but she noticed the drowsiness in his eyes. She should leave and let him rest.

She stood up and he frowned.

"I should let you sleep. You look terrible," she scrunch up her nose but smiled.

"Thanks."

She chuckled and made her way to the door.

"Tomorrow, before noon" he told before she left and she turned to him confused.

"What?"

"I'm gonna train you tomorrow before noon. If you still want to."

"I do but you can't walk."

"Hell I can."

Barbara gave him a look.

"Daryl, you were shot and stabbed... and thrown off a horse. You could pop open your stitches. You can just walk around."

"I'm not. You're also bringing a chair for me to sit and relax. And you can check that I'm not hurting myself, can't you Doc?"

She squinted at him.

"Of course."

"So it's settled. Tomorrow before noon. Don't over sleep."

She shook her head but smiled.

"Good night, Daryl."

"Night," he mumbled, turning around. He heard the door opening and then closing. He then looked up to where she had been before turning again and watched the chocolate bar in his hand. He let it on the night stand, thinking about Barbara. She just kept surprising him. But he liked her determination. She wasn't asking him to protect her. She wanted to do it herself. She didn't want to depend on others or just in the abilities she already had. And Daryl liked and respected that. A lot.