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It was about nine in the morning, the sun shone through the dirty windows, the dust particles dancing in the sleepy air as the survivors in the prison slowly woke up, ready to brace the day that was to come. Rose was in her bunk, still sleeping soundly as Daryl snuck in, smiling as he saw Jamie shuffling around the room, in search of what must have been her boots.
"You go down and get some breakfast from Lori," Daryl said, glancing around before spotting her little boot in the corner of the room, "Let me wake your momma up." Daryl said as he snatched the boot up and handed it to her, ruffling the little girl's hair as she giggled, making kissy faces before running out of the cell.
Daryl set his crossbow down on the table in the cell, and made his way over to Rose, who was sound asleep. Rose was a beautiful woman; there was no doubt to that with her curvy figure, soft curls, and full lips… But Daryl's favorite thing about Rose was how she slept, with her mouth agape, and eyelashes touching her cheeks, soft snores falling from her lips as she clutched her pillow to her chest, her legs curled up into her stomach. He carefully sits down beside her, being sure not to wake her while slowly puling her sheet off of her, biting back a laugh when he saw that she was wearing one of Rick's over-sized police shirts, that she had most likely stole, and pajama bottoms with cats all over them.
"Rosie," Daryl whispered her name, his hand going to her ankle, feeling her tense up a bit at his touch, "It's time to wake up." He said now, moving his hand up her calf, noticing her roll her bottom lip into her mouth, trying to hide her smile. "I know you're awake." He said, moving a bit closer to her as his hand made its way up her thigh, and to her hip where he pulled her bottoms down just a bit, revealing that Japanese looking tattoo on her hip he had discovered a few nights prior.
"Mmm, no I'm not." Rose hummed out, her eyes still closed, and Daryl rolled his eyes, smiling a bit as he leaned over, pressing his lips to her cheek.
"Are you not?" He played along, moving so he was over top of her, hearing her giggle a bit before pulling her pillow over her head to hide herself, "Guess since you're asleep you won't feel this." He teased, his hand sliding up her shirt, feeling her twist a bit underneath him when his fingertips brushed against the side of her breast. "Or this." He leaned down, pressing his lips to her collarbone, biting down gently, hearing a muffled moan from underneath the pillow. "What was that?" He asked, his hand moving back down her torso, tracing the line above her waistband, smirking when she squirmed underneath him. "Rosie, come on." He leaned down, pressing his lips to her shoulder as he slid his hand into her pants, hearing her gasp when she felt his fingers touch her over her underwear, and before he knew it she had grabbed his face and forced her lips on his.
"Wake me up like this every morning," She moaned in between kisses, one of her hands tugging on his hair while the other slid down to his hand, stopping him from pulling it from in between her legs.
"Everyone's awake," He muttered, feeling himself getting harder when she whimpered against his lips, "They'll hear you." He rasped out, sucking at her bottom lip before laying her back on the bed, his lips going to her neck, biting and sucking at the little spots that made her moan.
"I'll be quiet," Rose rasped out, her hips moving up, trying to get closer to Daryl's hand, "I promise." She was begging him, and Rose knew that would get to him, she could feel that it was getting to him against her thigh.
"You're never quiet," Daryl smirked against her skin, popping a few of the buttons on her shirt open, moving his lips down her sternum, his free hand going to her thigh, pulling it over his hip so he could press himself against her, and she moaned out, "See."
"Fuck, please Dixon." She practically growled, pulling his head back by his hair, making him wince a bit as she looked at him, "Just a quick one, I'll bit my tongue, or you, whichever you prefer." She kinked an eyebrow at him, and Daryl laughed before crashing his lips to hers.
Just as Rose was getting what she wanted someone cleared their throat, causing Daryl to let out a low growl, pulling away from Rose who pouted, muttering curse words under her breath as they both looked to the doorway, to see a smirking Ryder.
"Oh for Christ sakes, I can't take this." Rose snapped as she threw herself out of the bed, adjusting the shirt she wore and threw down her pajama bottoms in between her curses, in search of her jeans. Daryl noticed Ryder tilt his head to the side when she bent over, obviously checking her ass out, and he cleared his throat sending the pretty boy a look before the man smirked
"Rose, you share this room with our daughter," Ryder started, pushing himself off the cell door as he smiled at her while she pulled a pair of jeans on, "Try not to whore it up." Daryl had to hold onto the edge of the bed to keep him from jumping up and beating the shit out of the pretty boy, but Rose just laughed shaking her head as she tucked the oversized police shirt into her pants, before turning to look at him. "Oh, and Dixon, she really loves it rough, can't even tell you how many times she forced me to bend her over a table." With that Daryl was up, and Rose had to quickly step in the way of the men as Ryder laughed loudly holding his hands up while Daryl spat out angry curses.
"You better watch your damn mouth!" Daryl spat out, and Ryder chuckled shaking his head, watching as Rose placed a hand on Daryl's chest, trying to calm him down.
"Hey man, I'm just helping a brother out, I mean I did have her first after all, I know all the tricks." He smirked, glancing back at the Sherriff who had come to inspect the ruckus they had caused.
"Everything okay up here?" Rick asked, and Rose nodded quickly, pushing Ryder back so she could get out of the room, making her way over to Rick who was inspecting her shirt that had his name written in it, "That's mine."
"Yes it is. I'm borrowing it." She said with a bored voice and Rick just smiled some, "Come on Dixon." Rose snapped, irritated with Ryder, and Daryl glared at the man before shoving past him, adjusting himself in his pants when no one was looking and followed Rose down the stairs.
Rose knew this was going to happen, she knew that Ryder was going to try and butt into her relationship with Daryl, and now on top of being incredibly horny, she was pissed.
"Mommy," Rose heard Jamie's voice and she glanced towards the Grimes' cell, smiling when she spotted Jamie sitting on the floor beside Carl and Johanna, "Ms. Carol and Mrs. Lori said breakfast should be done soon, but look what Jo-Jo gave me!"
Rose made her way over to Jamie, inspecting the object in her hands before her eyes widened, "Is that a chocolate bar?" Rose looked over at Johanna who laughed, "You have chocolate bars?" She looked at her surprise, and hope in her voice, and when Johanna pulled a milk chocolate and almond Hersey bar from her bag, Rose practically melted.
"I have never been so turned on in my life," Rose said as she gingerly took the chocolate bar handed to her afraid it would turn to dust in her hands.
"Well I'm glad I'm the one to help turn you on," She laughed, and Rose smiled at her before unwrapping the chocolate.
"I've died and gone to heaven, god, this has made my morning, thank you Johanna, I love you, I could seriously kiss you right now."
"I am okay with this, in fact," Rose jumped a bit at the sound of Logan's voice and she turned to see the young man moving to lean against the wall, trying to get comfortable, "Start, now."
"Ew, you want my mommy to kiss your girlfriend?" Jamie made a face shaking her head as the adults laughed.
"What about Rose making out with another woman?" Daryl had snuck up just in time, and Rose smirked glancing over at him, "Is that chocolate?" Daryl asked, and Rose grinned nodding quickly.
"Johanna is the best thing to happen to this group since the time you fell in the river," Rose said quickly, "No not the time you almost died, the second time, where I pushed you." She explained herself quickly, and took a bite out of her chocolate, smiling innocently as Daryl glared.
"What's going on over here?" Rick's voice rang into the group, and Jamie stood up quickly, smiling up at the sheriff.
"Well, Joey gave my mommy chocolate which turned my mommy on and then Mr. Logan said he wanted my mommy to kiss Joey, and then Mr. Daryl came over, and momma made fun of him for falling into the river, but not the time he died, the time she pushed him in." Jamie's mouth never ceased, and when she finally finished she let out a breath, everyone staring down at the little girl, "Wait, what's it mean to be turned on?" With that laughs filled the room, and everyone tried to leave to avoid the awkward question, Rose stuffing her mouth with chocolate.
"You take this one babe," Rose said her mouth full of chocolate, her cheeks puffed out, reminding Daryl of a chipmunk.'
"You're so attractive," He joked and Rose gives him a toothless smile.
"I'm aware," She said, bumping him with her hip playfully, the mood ruined when Ryder came over, Jamie grinning when she saw him.
"Daddy," Daryl frowned a bit, he had to get used to that, "Did you sleep okay? Are Oscar and Axel nice?"
Rose turned her head, glancing back at Ryder who smiled down at Jamie, taking her hand in his, "Yeah, sort of." He started before walking away, leaving Daryl and Rose alone.
"You going to share that cho-"
"Fuck no," Rose said quickly as she walked away, and Daryl watch as she made her way over to Lori, and flopped down beside her, glancing back at Daryl as he stared at her, smiling when she winked over at him.
Daryl made his way over to Rick well the women finished preparing the food, "I'm thinking it's about time for another supply run." Daryl said as he leaned against the wall by Rick, the sheriff nodding in agreement, "Can take Rosie with me, she's in need of some exercise for that ankle of hers, maybe Glenn."
"Yeah, that sounds good; I'm thinking you should take Ryder instead." Rick said now, turning to Daryl when he shook his head, "Gives you the chance to 'rough' him up a bit, and he's been locked up in this prison, he needs some training, might as well be done by you and Rosie." Rick shrugged and Daryl sighs before nodding.
"Yeah, yeah." He grumbled, the sheriff patting him on the back before the two headed over to the tables where the food was being passed around, Daryl taking his spot beside Rose just as Ryder moved to take the spot, the two men having a bit of a macho staring contest before Rose pulled Daryl down to the seat.
"Fucking men."
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Everyone had moved outside now, the girls other than Rose sat at the picnic benches, sorting clothes, dirty from clean, so they could go down to the creek to wash them while Jamie followed her dad around who was busy moving dead walkers still, his punishment for antagonizing Daryl and Rose.
"So what was mommy like?" Jamie asked as she skipped behind him, making a face as she examined the walker he dragged across the field, "Was she nice? Did she curse a lot like she does now? Why'd you and mommy love each other?" The questions never ended with her, and though it was adorable it was driving Ryder a bit mad at the same time.
Ryder threw the walker in the pile with the rest, wiping the sweat from the back of his neck as he glanced down at Jamie through squinted eyes, "You're momma was a fire cracker," Ryder answers smiling a bit, "She did curse a lot, but I think that's just because of her southern… no bullshit up brining, you've meet your grandparents I'm sure." He said and Jamie nods quickly.
"Nana Julie said that I was a blonde haired green eyed demon once," Jamie said making a face, "Then she said I was going to grow up and conquer the world." Ryder laughs when she mispronounces the word, saying it more like 'khanquer'.
"It's conquer doll baby, and yeah, that sounds like Miss. Julie." Ryder tilted his head towards the watch tower, and the little bit of shade it produced as he pulled his shirt over his head, and used it to wipe the sweat from his face. "So, did you're momma get you into St. Margret's?" Ryder asked as he sat down on the ground, Jamie sitting across from him Indian style as she nods, picking at the grass.
"Yeah she did, I didn't like it sometimes though, I got in trouble a lot, and the boys picked on me." Jamie pouted, and Ryder nods.
"It's those damn nuns, you know your Granddaddy, Mr. J, he went there and caused a bit of trouble so the nuns always went after the Waters, they were mean to your momma too." Ryder says, remembering all the times the nuns would punish Rose, all the times he'd have to sneak her out of detention.
"Did you go to school with her?"
Ryder shakes his head, "I went to a public school just outside the city," Ryder smiles a little, "My daddy had a uh, knack for getting into trouble, so a private school for religious Nazis wasn't really in my play book."
"Then how did you and momma meet?" Jamie was so curious, Rose never spoke out Ryder, and when Jamie would ask her mother would always tell her he was a bad man, but her daddy didn't seem bad.
"Her and I had mutual friends," He said, though it was true it was also a PG version of it, "We hit off real well, but we… we just were on different roads."
"Cause you did Meth right?" Jamie said sadly, and Ryder made a face, not knowing that Rose had revealed those sorts of things to her.
"Did Rose say that, cause she wasn't no angel either." Ryder said bitterly, leaning his head back against the stone wall, noticing Jamie look a bit confused.
"Momma did meth too?" Ryder shook his head quickly, looking back over at Jamie.
"Nah, you're momma never touched that stuff, but she was what you'd call a uh, partier."
"Like Paris Hilton?"
"How in the hell do you know who Paris Hilton is?" Ryder laughs shaking his head, and Jamie smiles.
"Momma had a lot of magazines, and there was this TV show about her and her friend, it was really funny." Jamie giggles, remember all the times she snuck out of her room late at night to watch the show when she was little, she never understood it, still didn't.
"You're seven," Ryder said, shaking his head slowly as he smiled over at Jamie, "You're so grown up." He said sadly, reaching over to brush some of her curls from her face, "Sorry I wasn't there baby."
Jamie nods, giving him a small smile before looking back down at the ground, pulling at the grass again. She was about to ask him why he didn't love her enough to stay when she heard Mr. Daryl's voice, "Pretty boy, Rick's forcing Rose and I to take you on a milk run."
Ryder stood up, and Daryl noticed the tattoo on his chest, that looked exactly like the one on Rose's hip, "Ah yeah, Rosie and I got matching tats when we found out this one was on the way." Ryder said, his hand going to Jamie's hair, smiling down at her, "It's Japanese, Kanji, it means 'Forever'." The way Ryder said it bothered Daryl, and he narrowed his eyes.
"Forever huh?" He laughed a bit shaking his head as he glanced back over at Rose who waited by her silver Tahoe, "Seems like you've got a misunderstanding on the definition of forever, pretty boy." Daryl said then turned to walk away, Jamie frowning as she watched him go angrily.
"I think Mr. Daryl hates you," Jamie muttered, looking up at Ryder as he nodded, slipping his shirt back over his head.
"Do you blame him? I'm here to steal his woman." He muttered, before walking away, Jamie standing there for a minute, taking in what he said before running after him.
"Look for guns, ammo," Rick said turning to face Rose who pushed herself up from the ground where she had been sitting, waiting for Daryl to come back with Ryder, "The town is just a few miles north, Glenn's marked it on the map, there's a pharmacy, so there might be medicine, canned food maybe."
Rose nods, "Firearms, food and medicine, got it sheriff." Rose gives him a reassuring smile, glancing towards the left right when she heard Daryl's footsteps, Ryder and Jamie close behind.
"If Ryder causes in trouble you tell me when you're back," Rick says putting a hand on Rose's arms, making her turn back to him, smiling a bit.
"I will Rick," Rose gives him a quick nod, then turns when Daryl is at her side, the look on his face one she knew well.
"What he say to set you off?" Rose asks, leaning against her truck as he shrugs, glancing down at her pelvis, where the top of the tattoo showed right above where waist line of her shorts and top met.
"Don't matter; he's just trying to start shit." Daryl says, glancing over at Ryder as he stopped beside him, Jamie running over to her mother to hug her goodbye.
"Please don't kill daddy while you're out there," Jamie whispered into her mother's ear, and Rose couldn't help but to laugh as she pulled back, smiling as Jamie gave her a serious look, "I know he's annoying, but I want to keep him."
"Like a dog," Rose says, Jamie sending her a look making her smile again before pressing her lips to her forehead.
"Alright, Ryder, you're in the back, don't touch anything, don't steal anything, and don't breathe on anything." Rose said quickly as she headed to the passenger side of the truck, tossing Daryl the keys while Ryder rolled his eyes, and accepted the small pistol and ammunition Rick gave him.
"Giving me a bitch gun," He muttered, glancing up at Rick who only nods.
"I don't trust you yet Ryder, prove yourself and maybe you'll get a better choice next time." Rick said with a shrug making Ryder roll his eyes childishly before heading over to the car, giving Jamie a wink before climbing in.
The car ride was going to be one for the history books, a spit fire country girl next to her crossbow wielding boyfriend and her ex junkie baby daddy in the back seat, who would set off who first was what Rose was worried about. Because she knew she'd probably have a hard time holding her tongue if Ryder tried to make small talk and if Ryder said something uncalled for Daryl would probably let go of the wheel and shoot him. But it was a ride they had to take, and maybe it would just teach Ryder he can't be the same person anymore, he can't be that sarcastic prick who made joke, he had to man up, grow up, for once in his life.
"Anything on the radio?" Rose sighs shaking her head at Ryder's question as she leaned against the window, staring at the trees as they flew past them.
"Hasn't been a single broadcast in months," Rose glances at Ryder in the rearview mirror, seeing him nod slowly, "Everyone's to busy surviving and dying."
"But not you," Ryder says, earning a curious look from both passengers in the front, "Your daddy taught you to well to get snuffed out by some reanimated corpses huh?"
"Let's not bring up the dead," Rose muttered, making Daryl look over at her, she never talked much about her parents, but the way she said it made it seem like she lost him when this started, and not naturally.
"Rosie… I'm sor-"
"Save it Ryder, we're almost to town and I'm done listening to you talk." Rose rasped out, resting against her hand as she looked back out the window, feeling Ryder's eyes burning in the back of her head while Daryl reached over and squeezed her knee tenderly.
"We're gonna need you to be quick on your feet Marks," Daryl said now, changing the subject, "There's only three of us so splitting up isn't an option."
Ryder nods, shifting in his seat when the truck pulled to a stop, "Anything particular you want me to look out for?"
"Daryl and I will focus on fire arms, and you can look out for some pharmaceuticals, any type of medicine, you should be good at hunting that down." Rose taunted as she climbed out of the car, making Ryder roll his eyes before he did the same and examined the small gun he'd been given, while Rose pulled out a rifle for her seat, slinging it over her shoulder then a machete.
"Now this is just embarrassing," Ryder grumbled as he loaded up his gun, Rose smirking over at him as she twirled the machete in her hand, glancing up at Daryl when he called her name.
"You're ankle gonna be alright?" Rose nods glancing down at her ankle, moving it to the side as she sighed.
"Should be, let's just not be jumping from any high places yeah?" Rose laughed, and Daryl smiled at her before loading up his crossbow.
"What's wrong with your ankle?" Ryder asks curiously, moving to walk beside Rose as they headed into the town.
Rose glanced over at him, biting her bottom lip as she shrugs, looking back ahead of her, "Broke it few months back."
Daryl shushes her, earning a small glare from Rose and a full on death stare from Ryder before Daryl turned into a gun shop. Rose stood by the door, gesturing for Ryder to follow after Daryl while she stood watch, the rifle placed in her hands and pointed out onto the street. Ryder headed through the door where Daryl had slipped in at, his eyes widening a bit as he saw the message written on the wall 'Only way out', he walked towards it, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he ran his fingers over what he thought was paint.
"Written in blood," Daryl said, Ryder turning back to look at him, seeing the man shoving some guns into his duffle, "Rose thinks it was the owner of the place, found three walkers in here." He said setting the duffle on the counter, "Suspect the man killed his wife and kid, wrote the message in their blood, than offed himself." He said looking around for any stray bullets he could had missed.
Ryder nods slowly, looking back at the message, "How come you didn't do it?" He asked heading over to Daryl who scoffed.
"That's the easy way out," He said shaking his head, "I had people I had to protect, people to live for."
"Rose and Jamie?"
Daryl shakes his head, "Not at first." He admits, looking over at Ryder, "I had my brother, lost him, then I found them, hiding out in the woods." He says glancing over at Rose who was leaning against the door way leading out, "Jamie was all skin and bones, Rose was able to keep them fed, but not enough to keep them alive… if I hadn't found them they'd be dead."
The thought of Rose being one of those things, Jamie being one of those things, it scared Ryder, he hadn't been there for them, and he wasn't truly a part of their family, but he couldn't bear the thought of them being gone. "Thank you."
Daryl raised one of his eyebrows, looking back at Ryder, "You are a sorry piece of shit you know?" Daryl said now with a hushed voice, glancing back at Rose who had taken a step outside, "Doing that to those girls." He said, trying to hold back his anger, "You're going to break her heart again."
"Look, Rose and I,"
"Not Rosie, Daryl said shaking his head as he collected the duffle, moving so he was face to face with Ryder, "Jamie… you're playing with fire, and you're going to hurt her, or get her killed… and if you do anything, and I mean anything to put her, or anyone in that prison in danger?" Daryl got a bit closer, his entire body stiff, "I will kill you." Ryder stood his ground, not breaking Daryl's stare until Rose called to the both of them, hearing her boots against the wood floor.
"You two, get out here, now." Rose said quickly, not bothering to commit on the testosterone levels in the room. Daryl followed after Rose quickly, Ryder close behind as the three peered out the door way, spotting a pack of walkers heading in their direction just pass the truck.
"Shit," Daryl muttered moving away from the door way, pulling Rose with him.
"How are we going to get to the truck?" Ryder asked, glancing out the door as the walkers got closer. Rose bit her lip looking around, before going to the front door and shut it, pulling the table closest over and pushed it against the door, Ryder actually helping out while Daryl ran to the back to check the alley.
Rose remained quiet, hearing the moans of the walkers coming from outside of the door, avoiding the windows, making Ryder avoid the widows with a pull of his sleeve shaking her head when he looked at her.
"Be quiet, avoid the windows." She whispered and Ryder nods, the two turning when Daryl walked back into the room.
"The alley's clear, but the entrance is blocked," He explained looking over at Rose when she let out a sigh, "We can climb the fence." He stated, his eyes moving to Rose's ankle, "It's our only chance."
Rose nods, "Let's do it, one of us can sneak around and grab the truck." She says following after Daryl, the three quietly making their way through the gun shop. Rose held her machete steadily at her side, her breathing a bit rapid as she stayed close to Daryl. She placed a hand on his back as he peered out the door leading into the alley, feeling him tense up a bit.
"There are a few stragglers, only four or five I think." He whispers glancing over to the gate, "We gotta be quick, no fuck ups." He says and reaches back to grab Rose's hand.
Ryder takes in a breath as he hesitates in the door way, watching as Daryl and Rose ran to the gate, before turning back to look at him, "Come on!" Daryl whispered angrily.
"Don't be a pussy!" Rose taunted, and Ryder sighed shaking his head before running over to them, glancing behind as the herd seemed to grow larger in the streets, the few stragglers in the alley growing a bit more as he saw what they were feasting on.
"Is that a dog?" Ryder whispered looking over at Rose as she nods.
"Bastards eat anything with a pulse."
"Ain't a time for chit chat guys," Daryl said, "Ryder you go first, I'll toss you the bags and the keys." Daryl explains quickly, "The truck should be clear, you run, if anything gets in your way take them out with this." Daryl pulled the machete from Rose's hand, and holds it up for him to see.
"That's mine!" Rose grumbles before turning to look at Ryder, "You leave us Ryder, I swear to God if you try to leave us I will find you, and kill you."
Ryder nods quickly, then grabs a hold of the fence and hauls himself over. Daryl tosses the bag of ammunition over, then hands Ryder the keys and machete.
"Alright Rosie," Daryl says as Ryder takes off turning to Rose as she lets out the breath she had been holding it, shaking her arms out a bit, trying to get her mind off the fact there was at least ten walkers behind them who had yet to notice them, but if they did, they'd be dead. "You gotta climb quick, try not to land on your bad ankle." Daryl said, his hand going to Rose's back as she gripped onto the fence.
Rose slipped the toes of her shoes into the holes of the fence, wincing a bit as she felt the pressure of her weight on her bad ankle when she moved it into the next hole, Daryl's hand giving her support as she tried to haul herself over. Just as Rose was straddling the top of the fence, the sounds of gun shots filled the air, and the walkers all raised their heads, looking right at him with dead eyes.
"Fucking Ryder," Daryl growled out, letting go of Rose's leg and went to climbing the fence when the walkers started to get up. "Rosie, jump, jump now." Daryl said quickly as he reached the top. Rose nods and sucks in a breath of air before jumping down, and landed on her bad ankle. She heard the snap, her eyes widened, and then she felt it. Daryl watched in horror as Rose fell to the ground, screaming out in pain and he jumped over landing beside her his crossbow in hand.
"God damn it," He grumbled, pulling Rose away from the gate just in time for walkers to press themselves to it.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Rose groaned out, gripping onto Daryl's hand, letting him pull her up, crying out when she tried to put some weight on her foot, "Please tell me the bone's not sticking out." She whimpered and Daryl looked down at her ankle shaking his head.
"No, no it's not, no blood no foul."
"THERE IS PLENTY OF FUCKING FOUL." Rose screamed, seeing the truck in the distance, Ryder leaning out of it, waving his hands around, trying to get them to move faster. Daryl couldn't believe this was happening, Ryder was back, the milk run had gone sour, and now Rose was hurt with a heard of walkers only a few meters behind them.
"Every god damn fucking time," Rose shot a glare at Daryl when he yelled at her, trying to keep her from putting any weight on her ankle.
"Well fucking excuse me Mr. Dixon for being such a fucking hassle." Rose tried to pull away from Daryl, but he pulled her right back to his side roughly, which would have turned her on if she wasn't in so much pain.
"Stop cursing, you're a mother." Daryl snapped as they reached the car, Ryder running over to open the back seat for them.
'What the hell happened?" Ryder got no answer as he helped Daryl get Rose in before Rose went off on Daryl, clutching the front of his shirt and pulled him into the car, Ryder watching it through the window.
"I have just broken my fucking ankle for the fiftieth fucking time, and if I want to fucking curse I'm going to fucking curse now shut the fuck up if you ever want me to sleep with you fucking asshole." Rose's belted out, her voice echoing all throughout the ghost town, and Ryder looked around seeing them getting closer.
"We don't have enough time for this guys!" Ryder yelled, pulling Daryl away from Rose, who just glared at.
"You certainly showed the diversity of the word," Daryl murmured to himself as he looked down at him and wiped away the few tears that had escaped eyes, "Just sit tight, and try not to break yourself anymore."
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The group panicking at the sight of Rose in Daryl's arms was something he had expected, and hearing Lori mutter 'again?' to her husband just made him laugh while Ryder tried to explain to the others what had happened while handing over the duffle of supplies they were able to round up.
"What's happened?" Logan stood up from the cot in the cell Rick had just moved them in going right to Daryl's side as he set Rose down in the bed.
"She fucked her ankle up a few months back, and she's got a knack for making it worse, jumped a fence and twisted it." Daryl explained, running his fingers through his hair as Rose sat up on her elbows.
"There's swelling, might be another fracture." She explained to Logan as he nods, moving to examine her ankle. He touched the tender spot and looked up when Rose gasped, before he looked over his shoulder at Johanna who had gotten up from the bed as Daryl put Rose down and stood behind Logan. The couple locked eyes for a minute before she nodded once and dragged a bag from beneath the cot. Daryl's eyes focused on the bag until Johanna pulled out what seemed to be a first aid kit. He lifted his brows, surprised as she opened it.
"How did you get all of this?" Rose mused loudly as she stared down at the kit that was stocked with gauze, betadine, saline, sanitizers, and even a suture kit. Logan looked up and shrugged once, "I took them from the hospital I was doing my internship at." He explained once. "We refilled it whenever we ran into a pharmacy." Johanna finished as she handed out the gauze to Logan.
Rose winced as Logan firmly held her ankle close and wrapped the gauze around it, sighing once, "I wish we had an ultrasound or something." He muttered, "So just…keep it there, okay?" Logan frowned a little as he looked up at Rose. "Stop moving, for god's sake." He shook his head at her and glanced up at Daryl who patted his shoulder. Johanna closed the kit and put it back into the bag.
Rose let out a small whimper as she sat up, Daryl moving to her side and stroked her hair pressing his lips to hers while Jamie stuck in and climbed into his lap, demanding to know what happened. Ryder stood at the entrance of the cell, watching as Rose explained to their daughter what happened, how Ryder had gone to get the truck, and Jamie sent a grin his way.
"So daddy risked his life to help?" Jamie asked looking back at Rose as she caught Ryder looking at her.
"Yeah, yeah he did." She said quietly, looking back at Jamie now as she smiled.
"Johanna," Everyone looked at Beth when she spoke up, "You said you wanted to help, how about you come and help me with dinner?" Beth asked a soft smile on her face. Johanna's face lit up and she nodded quickly, pecking Logan's lips as she ran out to follow Beth. Logan sighed a little and leaned back against the wall, pursing his lips as he watched after the direction where Johanna had gone. Rose and Daryl noted his expression and remained silent as well. They knew the look they'd seen in his eyes. The same look Hershel had in his eyes whenever he saw Maggie and Beth smile. The same one Rose had whenever Jamie smiled, the one that Daryl had too whenever Rose smiled. It was one of sadness. Because who knew how long that happiness may last.
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Soon, everyone was gathering around in circle in the main hall. Well, everyone except the convicts who had been brought some food to their cell block due to the kindness of Beth and Hershel. Ryder had a place at the fire tonight, he had earned it, and no one seemed to one to argue with Jamie over it. Beth, Johanna, Lori, and Maggie had taken it upon themselves to make the food look pretty. Rice and vegetables – even grilled meat was what they had, but at the moment it seemed more like a thanksgiving dinner.
"This tastes really good." Logan muttered out loud, "It's been so long since I tasted food that didn't have sugar in it." He mused aloud.
"Don't talk with food in your mouth, Logan." Jamie giggled and Logan rolled his eyes. Johanna smiled at Jamie and then looked down to scoop some rice into her mouth.
"So how come all the food you had was candy?" Maggie asked and lifted a brow.
Logan shrugged once, "Sugar kept us awake. It gave us energy to run and not stop. That's what we needed. We couldn't exactly get coffee so we replaced it with sugar." Logan explained once and Rick tilted his head at the concept, nodding slowly in slight approval before he drank some water.
"So all you ate was that sweet shit?" Daryl inquired, amused.
"Yeah." Johanna laughed a little at Daryl's expression, "You have no idea how many days can a bar of chocolate keep you awake. Now, that is. And eventually, you'll get strung out and never need sleep." She muttered.
The whole group stared at the couple who were huddled to each other's sides. It was somehow a miracle to most of them how these two even managed to stay alive this far along since the outbreak. But the more those two explained how they did it; it seemed to make more sense. Rick couldn't help but ask, "How did you two make it this far?"
Logan looked up, as if hesitant to answer the question, "Well, I noticed it first. I mean myself and a group of friends at the hospital." He explained. "We had a head start. We all went home, got our families and friends and met at one point, and we ran for it. They said we should head to Atlanta, and that was ninety miles away so we did."
"It was safe for…a few days. But this one person was sick and they died...and that's when we discovered it's actually a disease. Like everyone is infected." Johanna explained with a frown. "Two members of our group died, so it left nine of us. We took all the weapons we could possibly get and tried to get out of the city as fast as possible."
"That's when actual living people started killing each other." Logan started and frowned as he looked down. Rick and Daryl exchanged the same looks. It was a disappointment too, to them, when the living had started killing their own. "We just…stayed on the run for a very, very long time. We never settled."
"We shouldn't have settled." Johanna added as she looked down, frowning. "We found this high point, like…it was secluded. It was safe. We planned on staying there for only the night and moving the next day. But day after day, we stayed and we stayed – until it turned into a whole month. Then two. It was safe. It was almost normal again. It was like summer camp forever. No one wanted to move again. The mothers wanted to stay, the children were tired." Johanna sighed and looked down.
"There were children?" Rose's eyes widen as she searched their faces – because those children weren't here now. Everyone else seemed to be quiet, even the ones behind the bars.
Before Logan could answer, Johanna started, "My sister. She was five. And then there was Freedom. He was born on camp. He was only a few weeks old." She whispered and took a deep breath, "My sister and I were collecting herbs near the fence. You see, my mother was an apothecary. She was all about that kind of stuff – what plants you could eat, what you couldn't. And she passed that on to Lizzie and me." Johanna smiled a little.
"Then, out of nowhere, this walker grabs her. I managed to take it out, but soon there were more. They were…everywhere. They came from everywhere." Johanna whispered, "My sister and I ran back to camp, but Lizzie fell – and I tried to go back…" Johanna explained, "I did."
Much to everyone's surprise, Jamie got up and snuggled up to Johanna's side. Johanna's looked down at the little girl and smiled, "I'm sure she's in heaven now." Jamie said with a smile and Johanna laughed a little before she nodded, "Yeah. I hope so too."
Logan looked down at the girl, and then looked up at Rose – smiled at her a little. "We got over run in a matter of minutes, only Johanna and I managed to get out of there." Logan sighed and shook his head, "We went opposite from the direction that the herd came from, found this old farm and a burned barn. We gathered all the food and medicine we could get from there and ran for it. There was a lot of medical stuff." Logan said, "It turned to our luck a little, hunting for supplies was easier. And we just kept going from there." Logan stopped talking when he noticed the grim expressions on their faces, "What?"
"We stayed at that farm, before it got overrun." Hershel muttered, "It was my farm."
Logan and Johanna exchanged wide eyed looks and Rose frowned. "Huh." Was all that Johanna could say before she looked down and shook her head a little, "What a small world." She chuckled a little.
"So..." Logan started again, "We stayed on the run ever since. We filled out the kit, stocked it up all the time. We always had the candy with us. We had knives, a couple of guns, a couple of tools. We carried what we could carry and just went in the opposite direction. We never slept; one of us was always awake. Then we found you guys." Logan said and nodded once, "It's great…to be part of a group again."
Everyone fell silent for a minute before Johanna started, "Logan once went to um…take a crap, mind you." Johanna looked down at Jamie and the girl laughed a little. "Anyways, I heard this walker creeping up on him – and just when I was about to take it out, I saw it sniff and turn back." Johanna laughed once and grinned as she looked up at Logan, who rolled his eyes. Everyone else erupted into laughter.
"Say Logan, turns out you're that useful." Daryl grinned at him and Rose slapped his arm. The laughter faded as they enjoyed their food, as the light outside was fading too – marking the end to another miraculous day.