I don't own anything to do with Rick or any character from the Walking Dead. I own the OC characters, Ruby and Paul, however, and I adore them.
Summary: Shane's been killed by Rick and the group doesn't trust him anymore. So what does Rick do? Snap. He finds a girl in the woods and takes out his aggression.
Yes, I know if you've read my other stuff you know that I was a Shane girl, but Rick is awesome, too. So I decided to play with him a little. Rate and comment if you like! Thanks, and please, no flames. They are... unhelpful.
+++It's really flowing right now, guys, but note that the chapters are a little shorter and fast moving. The continued reviews are the reason there have been so many updates in so few days- you guys are so inspirational you have no idea. Keep them coming and the updates will keep flowing
Ruby wasn't surprised to see Rick up and on watch when she woke, but she was surprised to see how calm he looked. Sitting at the entrance to the cave, looking out over the lake as the bright sun lit up the day, she laid there on her pallet between where his had been and Paul's, watching him. Finally, she pushed the blanket off and got up quietly, making sure not to wake the others.
He looked up when she got to him, and gave her a small smile as she sat down.
"Did you get any sleep?" She whispered and he gave a tiny nod.
"Enough. I wanted to watch the sun come up."
"You should have woken me. I would have kept you company." She tilted her face up at the sun, letting it warm her.
He watched her closely, his expression unreadable. "So, what do you think about this place?"
She thought about it, tucking her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. "I have to say, I never imagined I'd sleep in a cave. Or feel like it was as safe as it was." She looked over at him and stuck an appreciative lip out. "It wasn't half bad."
He grinned and looked back out over the water, nodding a little to himself. Ruby could see he wasn't ready to be fully back to normal, he was still much quieter than usual and that was saying a lot. A chatterbox he was not. They sat there together in silence until the others began to stir behind them, waking for the day.
Daryl took the girls above and to a private place to use the bathroom, and he and Carol chatted to each other on the way back, quietly. Ruby loved to see them interact, Carol's searching gazes and both of their secret, shy smiles. When they rounded the bend and got back to the lake, she was shocked to see Carl and Rick waist deep in the lake, Paul keeping watch from the shore.
"Look at that." She mused, walking up beside her friend, and he chuckled.
"Kid didn't want to go in, Rick got him to."
"Very nice." Ruby murmured, and felt Daryl come up on her other side. He gave her a sideways grin and nodded out at the water.
"Told ya."
"You love saying that, don't you?" She raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged.
"Nah. Just that it's usually true." He said dryly and she laughed softly as he walked away to help Carol with something.
"Let's get in, too, Ruby." Beth took Daryl's place beside them and stuck her little hands on her hips.
"What the hell." Ruby shrugged, turning to follow the girl back to the cave. "You do realize it's going to be four degrees in there, right?"
"Don't seem to bother Rick and Carl." Beth grinned and they dug through their bags on the floor. They didn't have much, it was true, but there were certain things one had to have in this world and a swimsuit was one of those things. Being in water and needing to stay ready to escape at any moment dictated that. With towels held up for privacy in the small space they changed and Ruby noticed for the first time just how much weight she seemed to have lost in the last few weeks. Her deep purple two piece was getting big and she knotted the sides tighter to keep it up, emerging back into the sunlight with Beth and Maggie.
The girls dove into the water despite the cold, but Ruby paused at the shoreline and gave one last look around the small camp before following them. It was a rare moment of peace, the kind that can only come after a extremely traumatic event. The kind that, in the old world, got buried under stupid troubles like bills and drama and life, but that seemed even more poignant now. Ruby tossed their towels on the ground, gave Paul a bright smile, and waded in to join her friends.
The sun warmed the ground quickly. Beth pulled a tee shirt over her suit and sat back on a towel when Paul joined her. She grinned up at him brightly and he sat down next to her to chat. They hadn't had time like this in what seemed like forever, and he was clearly taking advantage of it. Eventually Maggie and Ruby emerged from the water and joined them, and soon everyone else had taken places close by to soak up a little sun. It was such a hidden spot they felt comfortable enough to let Rick and Daryl keep watch for them, but Daryl finally made his way around the water's edge and came to stand near Ruby's towel.
"Whatcha doin'?" She looked up, holding up a hand to shield her eyes.
"Not sunbathin, that's for sure." He drawled and she chuckled.
"Then you're missing out. I'm sure somebody has a spare pair of trunks around here for you." She grinned and he shook his head.
"You ain't never gonna see that, girl." He looked over the water and shouldered his crossbow. "I'm gonna hunt for a while. See what we can get together for dinner."
She looked around at the group, talking quietly, then over at Rick. He was apart from them all, sitting on the hill slightly above them, staring out over the water and fields beyond. When he had finished playing with Carl it was almost like he'd used himself up. Not angry, not sad, just... tired. Looking at him, she was suddenly overwhelmed by anxiety. She needed to get out of here. She grabbed her shorts and pulled her shirt on quickly, her sidearm secure in her hand, she took off after Daryl.
"What you think you're doin?" He asked when she caught up to him and fell into step behind.
"Coming with you."
He threw a look back at her. "Don't scare off the game."
She knew he wasn't serious, so she raised an eyebrow at him but followed quietly. The gun wasn't going to be used for more than walkers, that was common sense, but she kept her finger on the trigger nonetheless. They marched across the field past the cars above and into the woods, the sounds of birds and wind through the trees so loud around them.
They didn't find more than squirrels for a long while, and after some time the motion of Daryl pinging off an arrow, retrieving the carcass and restringing lulled Ruby into a kind of zen like state. Time to think about Rick and the circumstances she was finding herself in now, and she was unable to stop it. He was broken, mentally at least, for a while and she wondered how much help she was going to be able to help him at all. Lori had, God- she still was- a huge part of his life. The mother of his child both born and unborn, the symbol of what he was fighting for out here. He loved her. The thought, as selfish as it was burned in her stomach. He would always love Lori, always keep a part of him from her. Hell, now it seemed like all of him was kept from her. The brief talk gathering water the night before had done little to really secure her mind or heart. It just wasn't enough. She had to admit it to herself, she loved him, and she needed to feel him in her arms again. Against her every wish, she let out a frustrated breath much louder than she intended.
Damn. Daryl heard that. "Problem?" He asked, and she looked at his back in front of her.
Biting her lip almost to bleeding, she steadied her voice as much as she could. "Nope."
She was, by no means, an oversharer, but he seemed a little surprised to hear her clipped answer. He walked in silence for a moment, but then it was her turn to be surprised when he spoke again. "Carol tell you how her husband died?"
She almost froze, he caught her so offguard. "No. She's never talked about it."
"Not surprised. Ed was a bastard, and that's somethin' comin from me. I've known my share, probably considered one by most people."
She frowned. "I don't think so."
"He beat on her, you know. Busted her face bad right before he died, night Rick went back into Atlanta to find my brother. Shane got to him first, woulda put him in the hospital if there were still hospitals around. So he went into a tent to mope hisself better, and walkers got in camp, caught people unawares. You know how it goes."
"Yeah."
"Ed got chewed up pretty good, wasn't much left when the smoke cleared."
Where was he going with this? She furrowed her brow and focused on his words and her feet moving under her. "Ok..."
He stopped so suddenly she ran right into him, and he turned and put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. She looked up at him, confused, and he gave her the most patient look he probably had ever given anyone. "Before we buried the ones that died, we really put 'em down, you know? She wouldn't let me do Ed. Did it herself, and... there wasn't anything left to bury, you get me?"
Her eyes widened. "Carol? ….She did that?"
"She worked it out." He said flatly. "Got out what she needed to, and even after, it took her a long time to come around. Years of that... it does something to a person. Losing Sophia on top of it... I didn't think she'd be ok but she is. Hell, she's better than before."
Ruby understood then what he was saying to her. Rick might not be an abused wife, but the marital troubles had worn on him long before this, long before Lori got with his best friend and his world went to shit. Before his wife was carrying a baby that might not be his and hateful feelings toward him. He was just as broken as Carol had been when she'd "put Ed down", and if someone as gentle as her could get through it a strong guy like Rick would too.
She smiled at him, small but understanding, and he nodded to her before turning and continuing on his way. This world was enough to bring out the worst in people, but the best too.
"Daryl?" She said quietly as she followed him.
"Hm?" He responded, and she was going to ask him how he'd helped Carol get through it, but she realized she didn't have the guts. Even after that, all he'd said, he wasn't going to share that.
"Nevermind." She said and he accepted it without question. She smiled a little to herself just as the peace of the moment was shattered in a barrage of teeth and rotting flesh.
Rick had sat on that hill for hours, staring out at nothing, thinking about everything, but when the first gunshots sounded in the distance it sent him flying to his feet and down to the mouth of the cave.
Paul was already heading past him up the hill, and Rick grabbed his arm. "Hey! We stay here, keep the other safe. If they come closer we'll check it out."
Paul looked at him like he was crazy. "What? Hell no, not with both of them out there."
"Both? Who's out there?" Rick was confused. He looked over at the group that had gathered behind Paul, and met his son's worried eyes for a moment.
"Songbird's out there with Daryl. You didn't see?" Paul pushed past him again and Rick felt his stomach drop out of his body. Oh god.
He pointed to Glenn and Maggie. "Stay here, inside. Somebody else comes through you shoot." He didn't wait for their nod before he was behind Paul running toward the continuing sounds of gunfire in the distance.
"Which way did they go?" He yelled as they ran.
"I saw them go through the trees up here." Paul answered, and Rick could head the fear in his voice. They broke through the treeline and began crashing through the underbrush toward the shots ahead. Problem was, it echoed through the trees and made pinpointing it difficult. They worked their way to the right, then to the left when it didn't seem like it was right, and finally ended up in a clearing deep in the trees. A walker was stumbling through the other side, apparently also on its way toward the noise, and Paul dropped it quickly.
"How do we know it's them?" He looked back at Rick hopelessly. This was going to take forever. "What if it's another group and they're hiding, or we passed them already?"
"Not taking that chance, are you?" Rick spun around, listening to the echoes of gunshots fading. "What the hell is she doing out here?" Rick was angry, but he knew it was only at himself for not even noticing she'd left.
"Just find her." Paul was just as mad and bit the words off at Rick before realizing the gunshots had stopped. It terrified him, and he took off again in the direction of where he thought they had been last. Rick had no choice but to follow- they had to stay together if they had any chance of getting Ruby out of this alive. Daryl could take care of himself, Rick knew, and he could take care of Ruby too but that wasn't an option right now. If he lost her too...
Daryl pushed Ruby out of the way when two walkers came at her at once, and she fell to the ground. Grabbing her wrist, he yanked her up and they went flying through the trees and away from the emerging group of walking corpses. They hadn't even noticed the first one till it was on top of them, he'd been talking and then there they were. A small group at first, but Ruby fired the first time and several more appeared moments later. Soon, he was nearly back to back with her as they fired at the circle growing around them.
"Go!" He shouted and she scrambled after him, looking back at the walkers following them as quickly as their rotting legs could carry them. Unfortunately, that was a little too quickly in some of their cases for her comfort. A hard yank on her arm whipped her around two more emerging bodies from the front and she knew why he was doing this. They were almost out of ammo, and hadn't expected this.
"That way!" She spotted a large dip past the trees to the left and he headed that way with her in tow, and when they reached the crest and looked down they saw a small but rushing river of water below.
"Can you swim?" He asked loudly over the sound of water below, and pegged off another walker behind her with an arrow.
"Yeah." She was breathless, looking down. It was deep enough to handle the twenty foot drop down they would have to make. Okay, it looked deep enough, but what did she know? Looking back, she saw they were quickly being surrounded again and she met Daryl's eyes for a moment. He tightened his grip on her hand and they jumped.
Hitting the water, they were instantly separated, and Ruby was blinded. Fighting her way to where she thought the surface was, the water proved far more rapidly moving than she had anticipated, and when she broke through and gasped for air her lungs were near to exploding. She was a very good swimmer, always had been, and soon, she had enough control to be able to look around for Daryl. He had to be close, he had to be, please God let him be... Her mind whizzed when she didn't see him, and she looked back frantically, seeing a form in the water rushing toward her. She put an arm out to grab it, but as it neared she realized it wasn't the hunter at all, but one of the walkers who had followed them blindly over the cliff. She stifled a cry, but the thing didn't have the control she did in the water and could only be swept past her as she grabbed a low hanging tree that was close above her head.
"Daryl!" She screamed, searching the water for him, and suddenly his dark demin vest appeared just to her left. The air left her body when she saw he wasn't moving, and she went into a kind of terrified autopilot as she reached out and clutched it in her fingers. His face came above the water as she pulled him up and toward her, but his eyes were closed, a decent sized gash above his right eye. Using her arm to hold him close, she worked her way along the branch above toward the shoreline, and luckily the water there didn't seem to be moving as quickly or she wouldn't have had the strength. Just as her feet reached the gritty riverbed below something hit them in the front and she almost screamed when Daryl's arm shot out and grabbed it. His other hand tightened around her arm and he moved forward, helping them to crawl from the water to the wet, sandy shoreline. As they emerged, she saw what had hit them in the water still clutched in his hand, and she almost laughed. His crossbow.
Falling onto the blessedly free ground, they laid there gasping for air. "My god." It was all Ruby could come up with.
He sat up, looked around them to be sure they hadn't been followed. Reaching up, his fingers brushed the now freely bleeding gash on his head and winced. "You ok?" He asked after a moment, looking down at her as she caught her breath and tried to keep her heart from jumping from her chest.
"Not... the one... bleeding." She sat up slowly.
"It's nothin'." He said, checking his crossbow for damage. "If I'd a lost this, then I'd be pissed."
"I lost my gun." She realized, looking around the ground like it might have magically found its way to the shore with her. It had not. She let out a frustrated breath, but looked back at him and saw the blood pooling in his neckline. Pulling the soaked shirt she wore over her suit off, she balled it up and pressed it to his forehead. He hissed, but shot her a look that said thanks.
"Didn't have but a round or two left anyway." He said, and she noticed him giving her a funny look.
"What?" She asked.
"How the hell did a little thing like you drag my ass outta that water?"
She almost laughed, but she was still too scared to pull it off. "Adrenaline." She answered, sighing with relief.
"Come on, let's get back up there." He groaned and stood up, and she put a hand on his back to steady him. He had to be dizzy, he'd been hit pretty hard. "I'm good."
"How are we going to find our way back?" She asked, looking around the unfamiliar forest. God knows how far they'd come.
"Follow this and it'll take us right back." He gestured ahead, indicating the river. "But we should stay in the trees, go back in a little."
"We're unarmed." She protested. His arrows, the few ones he had left anyway, were long lost in the water.
"Exactly." He said dryly. "I know Rick, and he heard those shots. I bet we walk this way, we run right into him."
She frowned. She trusted Daryl, and she sure as hell trusted Rick, but with how off he'd been she wouldn't be shocked if he'd missed them completely. Not arguing with Daryl, injured or not, was primary however, and they made their way back up the bank and the hill to the trees above.
"Hey Rub?" Hey said and she blinked. He called her Rub? When did Daryl use nicknames?
"Yeah?"
"Anytime you want to get... "adrenaline". You just go ahead." He said and she let out a short, clipped chuckle. He put the arm holding the crossbow around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly.
"We make it back in one piece first, huh?" She said and he grinned at her. What a day.
Rick slumped against a tree trunk and fought back tears. They'd found where Daryl and Ruby had been attacked, the bodies of the fallen walkers lay strewn about with bullets and arrows protruding from them. With the confirmation that indeed, it had been them and not some mystery group, both he and Paul's hearts had fallen. The forest now lay deserted and quiet, everything still. If there were any remaining walkers, they had followed the two of them, but there was no trace to tell Rick where they had gone.
"We're backtracking." Paul announced and Rick looked up at him, hopelessness clouding his eyes. His own weakness had failed him again, and now Ruby was gone.
"What?"
"Come on." Paul was more angry and set on his course now, and he grabbed Rick's elbow and led him back the way they had come. "Daryl would have circled back toward the lake, they gotta be out of ammo now. He'd go back to where there is some."
It seemed to make sense, and Rick picked up his heavy feet to follow him. Glancing over at Paul, he saw the big man's face set and stony. He looked deadly, focused, and he understood. Ruby meant too much to him to let something happen to her, and Rick wondered if he felt the same guilt now wracking his own body. Keeping their ears and eyes open, they carefully and quietly made their way back the way they had come and looking for any sign of where Daryl and Ruby had possibly been.
"Wait." Daryl whispered and Ruby froze. Ahead, through the trees, they could see a couple moving shapes.
"Is it them?" She asked and he shushed her, peering ahead intently. It was a little too far, but the sound of a low moan permeated the distance and she pressed her lips together tensely. They hadn't seen a walker since coming out of the water, and she'd prayed that would hold until they could either find Rick or get back to camp.
The walkers drifted closer, and Daryl could see they were being drawn to them. It must be the blood, he realized, and pulled Ruby's shirt from his head. It was very nearly soaked through but the cut itself had all but stopped bleeding. Quickly, he handed his crossbow to Ruby and tied the shirt around a narrow tree trunk before taking her elbow and pushing her away from the direction the walkers were coming. A few steps forward and they heard the sound of a gunshot from relatively close by.
"That's him, I'd bet anything." Daryl whispered as they made their way in an arch around to where the gunshot had come from.
"There's more this way. Hear them?" Paul asked as they broke through a particularly clumped nest of trees and toward the sounds of the dead ahead. Normally the inclination to walk toward something like this would be unheard of, but if they were following Daryl and Ruby then that's where they would find them. They just had to stay hidden in the meantime.
"What the hell is that?" Rick almost gasped when they saw three walkers grouped around a tree to the very right. They were pulling and grasping, pushing each other to get to whatever was on the tree. Come up quietly behind them, Paul and Rick grasped knives in their hands, and when they were close enough, they plunged them into the backs of the skulls of the walkers, killing them easily enough. They had been too distracted to notice they were being approached.
"Oh my god." Paul breathed when he saw the shirt hanging on the tree by threads. Pulling it free he held it up, recognizing it immediately. It was the one Ruby had been wearing earlier.
"No, she must have put it there." Rick shook his head, but his voice betrayed the sick feeling he had. The shirt was soaked in blood, the possibility of someone as small as her and bleeding that much, yet being fine was very small. "She must have. She had to."
"Stop. She's here somewhere." Paul ended his babbling quickly and headed off to the right, the shirt still clutched in his hand. The sun was low in the sky and shadows had started falling over the trees. If they didn't find her and Daryl before sunset, the possibility of not finding them at all was huge. And he couldn't lose her again. From the looks of it, Rick would completely lose it. The man's eyes were terrified and he was paler than usual, his jaw set like stone and lips tense and pressed back tightly. "We'll find her."
Daryl sat back against a tree trunk, fighting the dizziness that threatened to consume him. Ruby sat between his feet in front of him, his knife in her hand tightly as she watched for Rick to find them. They'd stopped walking not long after leaving the shirt to distract the walkers, and she was silently praying. Please let Daryl be fine, for Rick to find them. The hunter could easily lead them out of the forest, but with no ammo and his head swimming things were markedly more difficult.
She frowned and looked back at him. His head was leaning back against the tree, eyes closed and chest rising and falling steadily.
"Daryl. Don't fall asleep." She said softly. She knew what would happen to a person who had a serious head trauma and fell asleep- they might not wake up.
"Not leaving you, girl. Just resting. Be back up in a minute." He said quietly, patiently. He must be damaged, she thought. This situation most assuredly didn't warrant such calm.
"You better be telling me the truth. I'll kick your ass." She said and one of his eyes opened and considered her for a moment. She raised her eyebrows and he chuckled. Rolling forward, he got to his knees and she wrapped an arm around his waist to help. He leaned on her and she stumbled a little under his weight.
"Too heavy for ya?" He joked and she grinned. It faded, however, when the low growl of a walker came from much too close for comfort. She let Daryl go and stepped forward in front of him protectively. The thing came through the trees and she raised her knife, but it froze and jerked suddenly and she flinched. It fell to its knees, then to the ground, and she saw Rick standing behind it staring at her in surprise and relief.
"What the hell took you so long?" Daryl croaked behind her, and Rick darted forward and lifted Ruby in a hug so tight it cut off her oxygen supply. Oh thank god...