Take Your Freedom

There had once been a large, hundreds of years old tree where Daryl had chosen to set up their own little camp, now fallen on its side with roots torn from the ground and creating a borrow. Jamie sat on the enormous trunk, still hard from years of living, and twisted a stick in her hands as she looked up to where the run was beginning to rise. The clouds that dusted the sky were a soft orange colour as the sun peaked over the horizon, hidden from her eyes by acres upon acres of trees. She smiled none the less, pulling Daryl's shirt more tightly around her when the morning chill nipped at her skin.

"We really need to get ya some clothes," Daryl said loudly, drawing Jamie's eyes down to where he was standing on the ground in front of her, wearing nothing but his cargo pants and boots. She smiled in greeting, snuggling into his shirt and causing him to snort in amusement. "Thief."

"You're right, I'm guilty," she declared. Sliding herself off the tree, she was relieved that it was smooth because the bark had been stripped off and her legs weren't cut up. Putting her wrists together, she held them out to Daryl and hung her head in mock shame. Daryl's large hands engulfed the joints before he tugged, pulling her up against his bare chest. His lips met hers briefly before he wrapped his arms around her, slipping under the shirt so that his morning chilled skin brushed against her own and caused her body to erupt with bumps and her bones to shiver.

"I'ma have to find a punishment for you, Angel," he drawled into her ear, the husk of his voice making her tremble. She smiled, though, and wrapped her arms around him in turn, separating her wrists from where they had been against his chest and hooked her fingers into the back of his cargo's belt loops.

"Please, I beg you, have mercy," she whispered against his lips, getting a deep laugh as her answer. His eyes caught hers before she had a chance to say anything more, his arms around her pulling her closer. Her lips lifted into a smile against the kiss, her own fingers caressing his skin, touching scars, tattoos and callouses. She gasped in surprise when his hands lifted the shirt from her body, breaking their contact and pushing her arms back behind her, locking them in the sleeves of his shirt and leaving her bound.

"You know I ain't one for mercy," Daryl growled against her throat, tugging on her arms to prove a point. Jamie was very relieved in that moment that they could not be seen, even with binoculars, from the camp because of the large, fallen tree. Wearing nothing but her bra, she glared half-heartedly at him as she tried to wriggle her arms free, getting a smirk from the man at her attempts.

"Dude, not cool," she lied

Daryl stared at her in challenge for a moment before his hands released the shirt, still leaving it twisted up around her wrists, and knelt before her and had her thrown over his shoulder before she could manage a squeak of surprise. He was pleased with the perfect view he got of the backs of her strong thighs, his arm draped over them to stop her from tumbling over his shoulder, and couldn't stop from staring as he carried her back toward their 'camp'.

"Ass," she finally declared as she gave up and leaned her elbow against his back, her chin in her palm with her arms still tangled messily in the shirt.

"An' a very nice one," Daryl agreed smartly, reaching up to smack the upturned rear that was on display on his shoulder, getting a small shriek from her in reply as she commenced with beating on his back, only getting a laugh for her efforts. She was soon deposited back onto the bed she had snuck away from a short while before, laughing despite herself as her golden blonde hair fell into her eyes and blocked her sight like a curtain. Tossing his shirt aside, she used her freed hands to clear her vision, smiling up at Daryl as he kneeled over her.

"I bet if you had your way I'd never get new pants," she mocked, a sneer as her answer, before Daryl dove down and caught her lips, silencing anything further that she might have said. A smile stayed firm on Jamie's lips as she returned the gesture, caressing Daryl's lips with her own. They were beginning to chap and Jamie knew that winter was going to be horrendous. "Daryl," she complained half-heartedly. "I need pants."

"I disagree."

"Daryl!"

The taller of the two laughed as he nipped her neck sharply, drawing a gasp from Jamie as she tried to twist her way out from under the male. They had things to do and it would be a hell of a lot easier to finish them if they actually left the tent. However, at the same time she really didn't want to do anything but lay with Daryl and sleep away the day pretending that everything was alright.

"Daryl," she whispered slyly, her fingers beginning to dance along the bared skin of his sides, making him tremble against her body and his lips to still on her neck. "Wouldn't you like to get away from everyone for the day? Just take the bike out to the highway and ride?" she suggested in a slightly deeper voice, her fingers sliding down to trace the V of his hips as she rolled hers up against his thigh, feeling the twitch of his muscles from her touch.

"Clever bitch," he snapped, his voice husky and his breath hot against the cooled skin of her throat.

"Sly bastard," she countered, rolling her hips again. Daryl retaliated quickly, grasping her arms and pulling her up in a fluid movement, drawing a gasp of surprise from her lips when she suddenly found herself straddling his lap, looking in his darkened blue eyes. He sneered at her in victory as his hands slid down her back exaggeratedly slowly, drawing tremors and shivers from the woman above him, until he reached her ass and pulled her harshly forward and forcing her hips against his. They both groaned, never once breaking eye contact, as they both began to breathe more heavily.

"Now, 'bout that ride…"

Jamie was struggling to pull her blonde hair back into a pony-tail when she stepped into camp that morning, greeting the others with a muffled hello as she held her hair tie between her teeth. Daryl was already preparing his bike for their trip off the farm, leaving it to Jamie to tell the others of their departure.

"Need a hand with that, hun?" Carol asked when she saw that Jamie was struggling to hold her mass of golden hair in one hand and tie it with the other. Jamie paused a moment before releasing her hair, allowing the long, heavy locks to fall back down onto her neck, before she held the tie out to Carol with a faint pout on her lips.

"Thanks," she said softly, offering the older woman a smile as Carol stepped behind her and gathered all of the silky strands up into her hands. Jamie was slightly embarrassed at the condition of her hair most of the time because of the lack of showers they had. Having one the day before allowed her hair a clean, soft feel—the cooler weather was also a bonus because of less sweat soaking into the strands and making her hair seem far greasier than it was.

Carol used both hands to collect the mass amount of curls up, pulling it high to the same level on Jamie's skull that it usually was, and began raking her fingers through it to make sure that the hair was all flat on her skull before pulling the tie off of her wrist. Jamie stood still as Carol was tugging gently on her hair, just as a mother would, and found herself remembering when she was a child. She had always sat at the kitchen table in the morning, munching on her cereal, as her own mom pulled her hair back into braids, pony-tails, pig-tails, or was simply brushing it out.

"I remember when I was your age," she used to say to her, "My mother would sit me down, too, and brush my hair through before I went to school."

Jamie caught Lori's eye as she was hanging a couple of wet shirts, a glare in her hazel eyes that had Lori ducking her head behind one of Glenn's t-shirts and acting as though she hadn't seen her. Sighing softly, she could feel as Carol finished tying off her hair and pulled on the strands to make sure that it was tight.

"All done," she said after a moment, her voice wistful. Jamie smiled over her shoulder, getting one in return even as the pain of remembering her daughter clouded Carol's eyes. "Where are you going out today?"

"Daryl and I are heading up to the highway to try and find some clothes and other things. I'm going to be walking around here naked at the rate my clothes are disappearing," Jamie teased as she began to walk over to the others, Carol following behind. "I just wanted to come let everyone know while Daryl gets the bike set up. Is there anything we'll be missing around here?"

"No, just some preparations for the colder weather. The guys are taking turns watching Randal," Carol explaining, looking over to where Rick was approaching from the house while Glenn was walking inside, taking his place as watchdog over the injured teenager. Hershel had forbidden for any of the women to go near Randal's room, especially alone. He wasn't taking any chances with his daughters in the same house.

"I still have mixed feelings about that kid," Jamie admitted as she stopped walking and looking toward the house with a mixture of pity and worry in her hazel eyes. "He's still so young and yet he's being treated like a felon. I know that he's got to be considered a threat after what happened in town, but still," she mumbled, trailing off and letting the sentence hang between them.

"His group tried to kill you," Carol said softly, placing a hand on Jamie's arm as though the touch would make her remember and side with Carol's belief.

"Believe me, I remember. But still, why should one be punished for the decisions of others? I'm not saying I'm gunna be showing him pity, the kid's an ass—pardon my language—but I don't think we should judge too quickly or too harshly."

The sound of Daryl's bike drew the women's attention over to where he was pulling it up along the path that led to the long driveway of the Greene farm. He was looking over to Jamie as he sat on the bike, waiting. She waved to him in acknowledgement before turning to where Carol still stood, her own eyes directed to the waiting male. When she felt Jamie staring at her, she finally looked away and offered a faint smile.

"He'll come around," Jamie assured quietly, leaning slightly toward to keep the words between them. "Could you let the others know where we're headin'? I don't want to keep him waiting."

"Yes, go on," she assured, waving the blonde off. Jamie nodded her head in thanks and smiled brilliantly before she moved away from where she had been standing. She passed Rick on the way, patting him on the back as she said her good mornings, before continuing a steady jog over to Daryl. No one saw that narrowing of Lori's eyes when she saw the other woman clap her husband on the back as she tossed a friendly 'morning' over her shoulder. She watched the blonde with venom in her gaze as Jamie swung her leg over the bike behind Daryl, wrapping him in her arms as they jolted forward and started down the drive.

"Where are they going?" T-Dog asked first, everyone that remained in the camp pausing to watch the two depart. "Ain't Daryl far enough away from us without leaving the farm?"

"They're going to get some clothes and supplies from the highway," Carol explained, moving up to join the group. "Jamie's running out of clothes and with the cold weather she'll need more than just those shorts."

"So they just decided to leave?" Lori asked, her voice showing the irritation that was well hidden on her face.

"It's not like there's a lot going on around here," Rick answered back. "Aside from watching Randal and helping with chores, there's not a whole lot we need their help with. Besides, I think that Jamie's just looking for a way to give Daryl some space, he's going through a lot right now." Carol nodded in agreement as she accepted the basket of clothes that Rick handed to her, still to be washed. "They've done their share of near-death experiences for the group; I'd say they could use a day to themselves."

"This place could use a little less tension," Andrea threw in from where she was clearing up their breakfast supplies, her gun slung over her shoulder already. "Daryl's been a tight as a coiled spring; let him snap on walker and not us."

"What about Jamie?" T-Dog asked, "what if he snaps on her?"

"Are you kidding?" Andrea asked disbelievingly. "Have you seen the way that man looks at her? It's like he's a puppy desperate to make his master happy, there's not a chance in hell he'd go off on her. I'm sure they'll find a very different form of stress relief than fighting," she finished, getting a chuckle from T-Dog when she compared the badass hick to an obedient puppy.

"You mean sex?"

All eyes turned down to where Carl was standing, looking as though there was nothing amiss with what he had said. Andre cringed as she looked over to where Lori looked appalled and Rick was trying to smother a grin of amusement that he knew would upset his wife. He had already had 'the talk' with Carl and there wasn't much that the boy missed, so he wasn't surprised that Andrea's words hadn't gone over his head as it would most kids.

"Carl!" Lori scolded.

"Oops," the blonde to blame simply said before departing to deposit the dirty dishes.

Jamie wasn't used to the chill of riding on Daryl's motorcycle in the cooler weather without her leather jacket, which had been lost along the way to finding her fiancé—she wasn't complaining, though, it had stopped her from getting bitten. She held herself close to him, stealing his warmth, and hoped that she was able to find some fall clothes as well. Pants were simple to find, especially jeans, but she wasn't sure about people packing up jackets when it was so hot out in the beginning of the outbreak.

Eyes closed, Jamie let the wind rush by as she remembered the feeling of Carol's fingers sifting through her hair, so much like her mother. Her hands fisted in Daryl's shirt at the thought and she pressed her cheek against the leather of his vest, feeling the material that made up the wings tickle her chin. She missed her mother, she missed her father, she would even go so far as to say that she missed sitting behind a design desk for hours on end.

She missed her old life.

However, she knew that all of those things were gone and there was no way for her to get them back. Having Daryl with her made everything easier, even if it was in a selfish way; her happiness was something that she couldn't share with the others. If she could pass on her joy to everyone else she would have done it a long time ago, but there was no way of taking her love for Daryl and using it to bring a light back into the lives of her new friends.

Only opening her eyes when she felt the bike beginning to slow, Jamie as surprised at the sight of cars slowing rolling passed her vision. They were already on the highway.

Lifting her head form Daryl's back, she looked up over his shoulder and caught sight of several familiar vehicles, as well as all that they had left for Sophia had there been the chance of her being alive and returning to where they had been forced to stop. Her heart lurched in her chest and she could feel the tension in Daryl's body, the muscles bunching up beneath her hands like taut wire.

Now that they had slowed in order to manoeuvre around the abandoned cars and trucks, Jamie could lift her hand and run it gently through Daryl's darkening hair. It was soft against her skin and she couldn't stop herself from smiling at the feel of it. Daryl soon came to a complete stop and turned off the bike, leaving them in swallowing silence. Jamie wanted to remain holding onto him, but at the same time her legs were beginning to cramp and she couldn't stop the need to stand. Unwinding herself from around him, she winced as her bunched muscles were forced to stretch out and jolts were sent up her legs from heel to hip.

"Damn, I forgot how sore my ass got from sittin' on that thing," she grumbled out as she reached back to rub her sore rear, getting a chuckle from Daryl as he remained sitting, marvelling silently at the sight. She glared mockingly at him over her shoulder before taking a couple of steps and looking around carefully. With her knife back at her hip, she felt slightly more reassured, but her gun was still back at camp. Daryl's crossbow lingered, slung over her shoulder, as she waited for him to dismount.

"Not a bad view from here," he drawled out as he pulled himself off the motorcycle. Slipping up behind her, he let his fingers slide along the exposed skin from her tank top as he pulled the crossbow free, feeling her skin prickle with bumps because of his touch.

"Ass," she mumbled again, refusing to look at him.

"An' a very nice one," he growled into her ear for the second time that day, punctuating his words with a sharp pinch to the flesh of her ass before turning sharply and moving over to where the supplies were left behind for Sophia. Whatever was still edible could be taken back now that they knew she wouldn't need them, as heartbreaking as it was. Jamie snapped a glare in his direction, but his back was already turned.

Resting her hand on the hilt of her knife, she began weaving her way through cars in search of the van that she had hidden in when the walkers had first moseyed on through. It wasn't as hard to find as she had thought it would be, and she was glad she had remembered to shut it after going through everything, keeping what was inside as fresh as an abandoned van could.

"I always wanna see you!" Daryl warned when she lifted the back hatch, blocking his view from where he was lingering by the car that had the message to Sophia painted on the front windshield.

"You make protectiveness sound perverted," she called back, hearing his scoff and imagining his face easily. Smiling in amusement, she began picking through the mess of clothes that she had left behind the last time. There were several pairs of jeans she had thrown aside before that she didn't bother going near, but was able to locate a couple more that seemed to have the same size as the ones that Lori and Maggie had to cut off of her. Sadly, they couldn't have been salvaged. Instead, they were burned.

Sifting through the different shirts that she was able to find, she was relieved to find that there were actually a couple of longer sleeved shirts, but still no jacket. Quickly going through the duffle bag that had originally been holding all of the clothes, she then began putting everything she could bring back inside of the black bag, keeping the toiletries and other things inside for future use.

The scrape of gravel along the road began her caused a knee-jerk reaction of her hand snapping down to her knife hilt as she looked sharply over her shoulder. Daryl didn't seem bothered by her reaction, if anything there was relief in his blue eyes. She could protect herself and he was glad that he didn't have to worry after her all the time if she wasn't in his sights.

He didn't say a word as he stepped up to her and curled an arm around her waist, drawing her up against his warm body and pressing a kiss against her forehead. Her stomach tightened and her heart sped up as Jamie wrapped her arms around his torso in return, leaning into Daryl for his warmth and comfort. It must have been hard for him to come back to where Sophia had first run off and Jamie almost felt bad that she had been the one to bring him down there, but she also knew that he was coping.

"Let's just stay out here for the day," Jamie whispered against the leather of Daryl's vest, feeling much too lazy to do anything else. Her hands slid down to slide her fingers into the back pockets of his cargo pants, one of them already occupied with a red bandana that he always carried around with him.

"I couldn't agree more, Angel."

Longer chapter, as promised! Have you guys seen the trailer for season three? If not, find it! You're using the internet to read this, you can use youtube! It's awesome! Totally worth the wait! Gah, now I can't wait for the show to begin! I also promise that I'll be updating a lot more, because I've got all my plans worked out and things will be flowing smoothly once more.

Chapter 36 – Ode to Summer

The ride back was chilly but enjoyable, Daryl's familiar woodsy smell all that she could breathe as they glided along the asphalt. Closing her eyes, she let herself bask in his presence as the slowly dying trees passed them by. Things were changing again, and it wasn't yet a point in time that she could be sure whether they were or were not for the better. Freeing one of her hands, Jamie held it out alongside the bike and relished in the feeling of the wind rushing through her fingers, trying to push her hand and arm back at the force of the air.

She could barely see Daryl turn his head to see where her arm and gone, catching sight of her hand reaching out, and soon returned his attention to the road, driving slightly more slowly after a moment. Jamie smiled when she realized he was doing it because he didn't want to risk her falling off with the lesser grip she had on him.

"I swear to fuck if you fall off-" Daryl called over the roar of the engine, drawing a laugh from Jamie as she wrapped her arm back around his waist and leaned heavily against him, trying to roll her shoulders to relieve some of the pressure on them. Daryl sped up against after he was sure she wasn't going to fall backward, returning his full attention to the road and concentrating on getting them back to the farm before it got any later.