Stormy Paradise

Disoriented, Jamie groaned softly as she tried to get her brain caught up to her waking body. There was an ache in her back from lying down on something hard and her head was slowly beginning to pound with a fierce ache that she knew was only going to get worse. Opening her eyes, confusion cluttered her brain when she saw that she was in the forest and nighttime hung in the sky above her. She was lying on her back on the leaves of the forest floor near a grouping of trees. It was absolutely freezing, with a gentle breeze only making it worse.

What had woken her?

Lifting her head, she looked down toward her feet. Her head swam for a moment from the movement before everything focused once more, the darkness obscuring her view. She was still able to see, however, that there was a walker gnawing on her boot covered ankle. Letting loose a scream before she could stop herself, Jamie kicked upward with her other foot and dislodged the walker from her person before he could move up and actually bite skin.

The walker rolled to the side harshly, rasping and growling. Trying to pull herself up while keeping her eyes trained on the walker, Jamie realized very quickly that her wrists were tied together and she wasn't able to move much. Rolling herself onto her knees, she moved toward where a rope was wrapped around the tree before tying her wrists. The walker groaned hungrily behind her and Jamie quickly looked over her shoulder before kicking out with her good leg and slamming her heel into the walker's nose.

"Daryl!" she screamed, pulling at the thick, itching rope that bound her hands. Reaching down to her side was easy, but her knife was missing from the hilt and she didn't have any other weapons on her person. As the walker charged for another attack, Jamie rolled onto her back to prepare for a second kick into its face before a gunshot cracked through the air and the walker dropped to the side, blood spraying out the side of its head where the bullet ripped free from the soft bone.

Gasping in shock and shaking in fear, Jamie allowed herself to fall back against the tree that she was bound to and looked over to where the gunshot must have come from.

"Jamie?"

"Rick!" Jamie called, tugging at the ropes as she strained to see around the cluster of trees to where his voice was coming from through the dark. Moments later, the beam of a flashlight moved along the ground a couple of feet away, coming around the trees. The light hit her eyes and blinded her for a moment before it was lowered and Rick was there, wrapping her in a hug. He smelled of wood, sweat and something burnt, like he had been standing before a campfire and the wind had directed the smoke right at him.

"We were so worried," Rick gasped into her shoulder before he pulled back and shined the light on her face once more, this time directed at her forehead where the pulsing headache had begun when she woke up.

"What happened? Where's Daryl? Why am I in the woods?" she asked dazedly, closing her eyes against the burning of the flashlight against her eyes.

"Rick?" Daryl's voice roared, rushing through the trees at breakneck speed with Glenn stumbling his way behind.

"We're over here!" Rick called, his hands holding Jamie's face steady as he checked her pupils for any sign that she had a concussion. Sadly, it looked like she more than likely had a mild one from the crack to the head that she had surely suffered. Daryl appeared less than a second later, dropping down beside them and taking's Jamie's face gently in his hands as Rick stepped away.

"You alright babe?"

"I don't know, what happened?"

~Six Hours Prior~

Everyone was crowded together in the living room of the Greene family home, only missing Andrea, Daryl and Jamie. The rest of the group sat in silence as they waited for the three remaining members so that they could make the final decision on what happened with the two men locked away in the shed. Dale looked over everyone present, trying to gauge what they might say. It was impossible to tell, however, from the blank stares and emotionless faces that everyone was wearing.

The entire room jumped when Andrea bolted in from the side door, panting and out of breath. Her eyes were wide and her skin seemed to have lost any colour. Immediately they entire room was on edge, nerves on edge

"They're gone!" she gasped out, leaning on the hold she kept on the door handle. "Shane and Randal are gone!"

"What?" T-Dog demanded before anyone else, rising to his feet. Before anyone else could react, Daryl threw himself into the room through the front door, looking pissed beyond belief with murder in his eyes.

"Jamie's gone," he declared, huffing like an enraged bull.

"Shane must have taken her," Glenn mumbled out, terrified as he looked between the huffing Daryl and a dark and glaring Rick. No one had seen Jamie for a while, not since she and Daryl had gone back up to where their own camp was located. Jamie said that she needed to sleep for a while after Hershel had given her a mild painkiller for her knee, which had been throbbing slightly after walking around that morning.

"Where was she last?" Rick asked Daryl as he pushed away from the wall he had been leaning against, pulling his gun out and checking to make sure that it was loaded with new rounds.

"She was sleeping in the tent. I went to get more wood to make arrows and when I came back the tent was open and she wasn't inside," Daryl explained as he watched Rick with a close eye. "Jamie wouldn't just wander away like that; she was out like a fuckin' rock anyway. No way she'd get up and walk away in the five minutes I was out of the campsite."

"If Shane's been out for a while, he could have been waiting for you to leave before going in for Jamie," Glenn said, looking over to Daryl. The words only seemed to upset him more and he had a look similar to the one Rick had seen when they broke into the bathroom and found Shane locked in with a petrified Jamie. He wanted to tear Shane apart.

"That's a big risk for one person," T-Dog said quietly from his place on the other side of the room.

Rick glanced up at Daryl, seeing that the cords of his neck were taut and his muscles seemed to bulge through the sleeves of his shirt, one of the few that he owned. "Jamie's the one that revealed him," Rick began, "to him, everything's her fault." A pregnant silence hung in the air, thick enough to choke. Lori felt as though the air itself was being sucked from the room, leaving her in a fit of gasps as she placed a hand over her mouth. Inadvertently, this all came back to her.

"Even with drugs in her system, Shane wouldn't be able to take on Jamie very easily," Rick began, turning to Daryl in pure concentration.

"Fuck no," Daryl agreed, pride in his tone. "Bastard would have had to knock her out somehow. I was only about ten to twenty yards away and didn't hear a thing. If she could have screamed, she would."

"So he's carrying dead weight," Glenn said with a start, looking hopeful. The choice of his words, however, made Daryl and Rick both tense back up and look toward him slowly. Glenn flinched and quickly corrected himself, "Sorry, wrong thing to say. But if she's unconscious, he'll have to carry her. He's slowed down."

"Let's stop wasting time," Andrea interrupted before they could continue. "The longer we stay here, the further away they get. Where do you think Shane would try to go? And dragging Randal and Jamie along with him? Where does he get any kind of benefit?"

"Randal's group," Lori gasped out, looking up at the rest of them with large brown eyes. Doe eyes. "If he brought Randal along, he might have Randal take him and Jamie back to where his group is-"

"Fuck!" Daryl roared as he threw his fist into the frame of the door, tearing open the scabs from the beating that he had given to Randal and Shane early that morning. Lori and Andrea jumped as the door wood cracked up the center with the force of his punch. It would have hurt like a bitch, but he didn't feel it at the time. There was too much rage and adrenaline in his blood. All he could see was red, and it wasn't the blood that now stained the white painted frame.

Rick lurched forward and caught Daryl's shirt in his hands, forcing him to a harsh stop. It reminded Glenn and T-Dog of their time in the department store while looking for Merle, the younger Dixon having to be ordered rather harshly by Rick to stay quiet. "You have to calm down," he snapped out. "We need to keep calm to find her, understand?"

Daryl looked ready to lash out at him, his teeth gritted and his hands curled into fists. But he forced his body to relax before everyone's eyes and he nodded his head silently. His jaw was still set and he didn't unclench his fists. Rick nodded in acknowledgement and released Daryl's worn shirt. Without another word, both men marched out the door, the wood slamming against the wall behind them.

Jamie was the only person that could rile Daryl up into such a violent rage; not even Merle's disappearance could anger him to such an extent. Aside from Jamie, Rick was the only person that could calm Daryl down to a more sociable level.

"Glenn, you come with Daryl and I," Rick was ordering. "T-Dog and Andrea, you cover North to East, we've got South to West." Everyone began a buzz of movement, rushing away from their seats so as to begin preparing to leave. "Glenn, go and get my cuffs from the shed." Tossing the keys to the younger man, Rick and Daryl headed to the RV to get more ammo before they left.

"I want her back before dark," Daryl growled as he slipped a handgun into the back of his belt.

Rick caught Daryl arm when he moved to leave the RV, cutting him off before he could take more than a step toward the door. "We'll get her back, Daryl." Blue met blue as Daryl looked into the older man's eyes, seeing the honesty and determination in them. It reminded him of Jamie, and her determination to survive. Reaching around, Daryl gripped Rick's hand that remained on his own arm, keeping his eyes locked with the other man's.

"I need to know that if you have to, you can kill him," Daryl questioned softly, his voice calm but his eyes deadly.

Rick's adams-apple bobbed as he swallowed, before nodding his head. "I won't hesitate."

They both stepped out of the RV and headed for the South end of the property, Glenn already moving from the direction of the house to cut them off. Rick's cuffs, still covered in blood, were in his hands. Andrea and T-Dog, equipped with their guns, were heading off toward the North end of the farm. The remainder of the group stood on the porch, watching, with dampened, worried looks in their eyes. It wasn't only the fact that Jamie was missing, but there was also the fact that Shane and Randal were sure to either die, or get away. And with the risk of them leading Randal's group back to the farm, no one wanted to think of the fact that they would have to leave.

Jamie sat still as Daryl cut her wrists free, the ruined rope falling to a useless heap on the ground. Rick had gone back to checking out her forehead, making sure that there wasn't anything else wrong. Jamie was already getting tired off the two fussing males, but held still so that they would get through with the worrying and leave her alone. The relief of Rick saving her life and Daryl just being there was enough for her, so she would endure.

"Are you bit anywhere?" Rick asked seriously a moment later, the question that needed to be asked but no one ever wanting to be the one doing the asking.

"Nothing else hurts, so I don't think so," she answered. "I woke up to the walker gnawing on my ankle, but it didn't get above the boot so I'm good there."

"What happened to you? Do you remember?" Daryl asked softly, soothing her hair with one hand. She wondered briefly what she must have looked like. Getting kidnapped, dragged all over the woods, tied to a tree and left on the dirty, leaf covered ground.

"I remember waking up in the tent and wondering why it was so quiet. I can usually hear you moving around outside of it when you're not in the tent. I got up to go and look for you—then nothing. I guess Shane decided to use my head for baseball practice," she grumbled, wincing when Rick pulled some hair away from the wound. The strands had gotten stuck in the dried blood and tugging them away had also pulled at the wound.

"You've been out the whole time?" Glenn asked, concerned. That would have had to have been one hard knock to the head if she had been out for so long.

"You've got a concussion, but I don't see anything else wrong. We'll have Hershel patch you up when we get back." Patting her on the back, they shared a brief, tired smile before Daryl was carefully helping her to her feet. Leaning heavily against him, she tried to remain still as the sky and ground seemed determined to switch places. Daryl's arm was immediately wrapped around her waist, keeping her still. She teetered dangerously, to the point that Rick reached out and placed a gentle but steadying hand on her shoulder.

"I think you should carry her," he directed to Daryl, even though his concerned eyes remained on Jamie. With the light of the flashlight, he was able to see that her face was dangerously pale and she was trembling. Daryl could feel her body shaking against his and nodded in agreement. Jamie made a faint grunting noise as Daryl swept her into his arms, making sure that the movement was slow so as not to make her sick from the motions.

"Andrea and T-Dog are probably already on their way back," Glenn said quickly, moving to pick up Daryl's crossbow, since the older man clearly had no way of carrying the weapon properly. Rushing after them, Glenn barely made two feet before something caught his eye.

"Uh, guys? You might want to see this!"

Halting their stride, Rick and Daryl turned together to see that Glenn was looking down at the walker that Rick had shot. Moving over to stand over the fallen dead both had to blink and look again at the sight of a very pale, dead Randal.

"It looks like his neck was broken," Glenn said , using the toe of his boot to nudge the dead man's head to the side, the bone prodding against the skin of his neck and causing the Asian to flinch back. Rick was looking over the rest of him with his flashlight, though, and couldn't see any bites. "Could he have really died and turned so quickly after being bitten? That would be really fast; only a couple of hours, twelve at the most."

"I don't think he was bitten," Rick mumbled, suddenly looking paler. "Come on, we should get back to the house before anyone starts to worry. Jamie needs to get her head fixed up."

"Is that a crack at my sanity?" Jamie mumbled into Daryl's shoulder, getting a chuckle from Daryl. He shook her suddenly, startling her and causing her to clutch to his shirt at the thought that he might be about to drop her. "What? What was that?" she asked drowsily, blinking owlishly up at her fiancé.

"Don't sleep," he answered, adjusting his hold on her again. "Keep talking as we walk; if you fall asleep with a concussion you might not wake up."

"Daryl's right," Rick said, getting a sour look from Jamie.

Jamie grunted unhappily, but she knew that they were right and so she quieted her complaints. "Fine. So did you end up making any decisions before you found out we were gone?" Jamie asked softly, keeping her voice low in a forest that could hold a walker anywhere. This was what she hated about nighttime; you could be snuck up on at any time and wouldn't know it until it was too late. The night out while hunting had been pure torture and excruciatingly tense.

"No, we were waiting for everyone to show up before we started discussing. That, of course, didn't happen." Glenn was the first to answer, having been in the room at the time. Jamie blinked slowly, looking over Daryl's shoulder to the darkness that they were leaving behind. Her head pulsed painfully, helping somewhat to keep her awake.

"Guess there's no point now," she mumbled, turning her eyes upward instead so that she was looking up at the sky. It was darkened with clouds, but there was an odd area where they were thin enough that moonlight lit up the thin, misty appearance of them. As black as night, she thought, understanding the phrase now.

Rick spoke up, breaking the silence by saying, "There's a new debate now. Shane's a danger to everyone and even if we leave, the Greene's are in danger."

"And can Glenn leave Maggie?" Jamie asked tiredly, glancing to the dark haired man in question. Glenn opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say. Jamie smiled endearingly at his sudden shyness, leaning her head against Daryl's shoulder once more. She shook her slightly and she made a soft noise of complaint, but made sure that she kept her eyes open so as not to be tempted by the darkness of unconsciousness.

"We'll worry about things come morning," Rick said in reassurance to Glenn, allowing the man a reprieve from choking on his words desperately. Jamie, though only half aware of what was going on around her, smirked faintly at his bashfulness. It reminded her of Daryl when they were dating that first year, trying to be a 'normal' couple. He was unsure of everything that he was doing; even when she kissed him he seemed to shy away in unease of what was happening.

"We'll have to set up watch for the night," Glenn spoke, finally, with a crack in his voice.

So now it was Shane that would keep them awake at night; not a walker, or a rival group. A man that had once been trusted by the group, save a few, was the one they needed to be guarded from. He was a disease killing them from the inside out; not only by attacking them, but turning them against one another because of loyalties.

Soon, Jamie was curled up on one end of the couch in Hershel's living room, wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of what smelled like herbal tea; something that would help her to relax, apparently. Hershel sat before her with a small light that was meant to replace a doctor's penlight, the tiny beam shining directly into her eyes and making her flinch at the stabbing pain that rocketed through her head. Daryl stood behind her like a guard dog, his arms crossed and his face grimly serious.

"It's definitely a concussion, but it's only a mild one," Hershel finally stated after quickly flicking the light across both of her eyes in quick succession. "You'll have to stay up for the night, but it's best to just stay calm and relax as best you can."

"I'll stay up with her," Daryl assured, getting a nod from the elderly man in acceptance. "Any rules I need to worry 'bout?"

"I would recommend just talking; reminisce in memories, tell stories of things that have happened. Just keep her mind occupied and let her rest, but don't let her fall asleep."

Jamie lifted a hand to touch the bandage that had been applied over the gash left behind by whatever it was that Shane had cracked her in the head with. "Times like this, I wish that I actually did like coffee." Her pout caused Andrea, who had been leaning against the wall opposite to where she was sitting, to laugh airily and make Jamie smile again.

Daryl stepped forward and gently soothed a hand against the half of her head that was throbbing more than the other, smoothing down her hair and leaning forward to press a kiss against her hair. She closed her eyes in repose, just as she always had when he did the gesture, but had to force her eyes back open when her body seemed to take it as a sign to sleep and she became almost overpoweringly tired.

I really did not mean for this chapter to take so long, I had been hoping to get a lot more out before the continuation of the season, but I've had more on my plate than I had been planning and it affected all of my stories updates. The goals that I had set for myself have been blown to pieces, and I hate that. But, I will do my best to get what I can out to all of you!

Chapter 42 – All is Fair in Love and War

Letting out a long exhale, Jamie deflated in her seat until her forehead was resting on the table. With how tired she as, she probably could have very easily fallen asleep right where she sat. The seat that Lori had been in was pulled out again, however, and Jamie rolled her forehead along the table just enough to stare out the corner of her eye and see who had taken her place. Rick was perched on the edge of the chair, almost cautiously.

"It's alright, you don't have to try and delay World War III. We were having a civil conversation and have begun to work things you. However, I have put the discussion on pause until a time that I'm not about to fall asleep sitting up." Rick placed a hand on her back soothingly, much as Jamie had only done moments before with Lori.

"Thank you for being so patient with everything, Jamie," he whispered gratefully. Jamie smiled, knowing that he could see from the angle she had her head placed, before patting him weakly on the knee. "Don't go falling asleep now, or staying up all night will have been pointless."

Childishly, Jamie turned her head and stuck her tongue out at him. He just laughed, however, before giving her a light pat on the back and leaving the table. Jamie blearily thought about how Lori's manners were much better; she had pushed the chair back into place but Rick had left in hazardously pushed out and in the way of people passing by.