Chapter 14: Strangers
Daryl woke up hearing sounds coming from downstairs. He remembered that he and Ryder had found an old Victorian style house. Their group had decided to bunk at the house for a few days trying to regain their energy.
He heard people downstairs making noise but he was surprised because usually, he was up before most people. He must have been even more exhausted then it seemed if he overslept. The hunter closed his eyes. He didn't want to move from where he was. He was warm and comfortable laying on the bed. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this comfortable. Sure, he had the beds that were in the prison but he didn't completely fit on those beds. He was too broad to be fully comfortable unlike he was right now.
Daryl had laid there a minute or two longer when he heard someone call his name. His eyes shot open looking around the room. That was when he looked down next to him and remembered that he had shared a bed with Ryder last night. He looked down and noticed that Ryder was laying against him. Her cheek was laying against his chest and her hand had come up laying on his side.
Instead of moving he decided to lay there and watch her. This was the first time that he had seen her face without any tension. She was completely relaxed laying with him. He hadn't ever really been the cuddling type but he didn't mind having Ryder laying against him like she was.
While he was watching her, she called for him in her sleep again. She sounded more distressed then she did before. He wanted to know what she was dreaming about. The only time she talked about dreams was when she was talking about the nightmares that she always had. He was thankful that he didn't have to worry about nightmares coming to haunt him. He already had enough to worry about with how the world was now.
Daryl felt her hand grab a fistful of his shirt. Ever so softly he heard her say "stop" and "don't." The hunter furrowed his brows curious what she was dreaming about now. Her facial features were becoming more distressed the longer that she didn't wake up. He heard her whimper "please." She sounded so broken. Her voice cracked and she sounded like she was pleading with someone. He adjusted his position as gently as he could without waking her up. When he adjusted he noticed that a tear had run down her cheek.
All he could do was watch her. He didn't know if he should wake her up or not. He didn't want to startle her awake and freak out like she was known to do. After a couple more seconds, of hearing her whimpering he decided to try to wake her up. Before he could respond she yelled "stop" successfully waking herself up. Ryder shot up in bed looking around frantically.
When the shock wore off Daryl was sitting up making sure she could see him. "Ryder. You're okay."
Ryder looked around breathing heavy. She had her nightmare again. She looked over and saw that Daryl was looking at her concerned. She just took a deep breath and rubbed her face with her hand. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." She rubbed her face and she noticed that there was a dry tear mark on her cheek. She wiped her face making sure that he didn't see it.
The blonde scooted over to the edge of the bed and pulled her boots on. Daryl just watched her back while he was trying to figure out what to say to her. "Y…you alright?"
Ryder just waved her hand over her shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. No problem." She didn't want to tell him that he had started invading her dreams. She didn't want to re-live watching him die by execution. He no longer told her it was her fault in her dreams but she still had to watch him die. She couldn't tell him. He would think she was crazy. She couldn't ruin whatever they had or were working on. She stood up and went to leave the room.
"Ryder," Daryl called standing up from the bed. She stopped turning around. He watched her. Her face showed that there wasn't anything wrong. She was a professional at schooling her features trying to show that nothing was wrong. He watched her eyes and they told him everything that he needed to know. He could see that she was frightened. He didn't know why she was frightened or what about but he could tell that she was scared of something. He wanted to ask her but he assumed he would have to wait and find a time like he had last night. He had to catch her off guard when she was more of a human instead of being a soldier. It was the only time he would be able to get an honest answer out of her other than having her saying she was fine when obviously she wasn't. "Nothin'. I'll just see ya downstairs."
She nodded her head in confirmation and turned leaving the room. She was happy that he didn't push the matter but she had a feeling that Daryl knew that something was wrong. He knew how to read people and whether she liked it or not he knew how to read her.
Her heavy boots pounded their way down the wooden stairs alerting everyone that she was awake. Everyone stopped what they were doing, looking at her. She squinted her eyes, confused. "What?" No one said anything and instead went back to doing whatever they were doing before she showed up. She walked up to the bulk of the people. She could see that Sasha and Maggie weren't part of the group meeting. "How much food do we have left?"
Tara, who hadn't really talked to her much stood up addressing her. She wasn't sure but the other woman seemed skittish around the older blonde. Ryder didn't think anything of it. "We have enough to get us through today and tomorrow but that's it."
Ryder looked over her shoulder when she heard Daryl step down from the stairs. Everyone shifted their gaze from her to him. "Alright. We will go hunting to see if we can get any animals." Ryder grabbed the strap of her crossbow and left the main entrance walking out onto the deck. She looked over noticing Rick sitting in a rocking chair that was left by the previous owners. He had Judith in his arms rocking her back and forth. "Daryl and I are going to go hunting to see if we can get some more food. I don't want to run out and have people start starving again."
Rick just nodded his head agreeing with the plan. "Just don't wander too far."
"We'll be fine. No need to be a mother goose." Ryder stepped down onto the ground and turned to her right walking into the woods. The hunter followed after her. She turned watching him. "You don't have to follow me. We will find animals better if we split up."
Daryl watched her turn and continue on. He wanted to stay with her in case something happened but he knew that he didn't have to. He couldn't come up with an excuse to travel with her. She had a good point. They would cover more ground if they didn't move together. He sighed and turned the opposite way that Ryder had disappeared to.
Ryder had been walking around for an hour or two. She had three squirrels hanging from the line that she had on her combat pants. She decided to call it a day. Hopefully, she and Daryl had gotten enough animals for their group to live a couple more days.
The blonde stopped and looked around. It was about three in the afternoon. She smiled to herself looking around. She hadn't had a problem with walkers hanging around. She was able to hunt peacefully. She missed the peace. That's one of the main things that she missed about the old world. Being able to go outside in the woods and not have to constantly be on alert just in case you came across a walker. She closed her eyes taking a deep breath. She couldn't stop herself. The woods always smelled so good compared to anything else. Being out among the trees was probably her favorite place.
She opened her eyes and continued walking toward the house. She wasn't making any noise. Her time as a Ranger made her silent. They had to be silent because if they weren't they would alert the enemy that people were there. Most of the missions they completed they needed to be in and out completely silent.
She saw the house through the trees but then she noticed that someone was crouched by a bush with some type of small satellite. She scowled kneeling down watching him. He hadn't noticed that she was behind him since she was silent. She wrapped her crossbow around her shoulder and pulled her machete from her holder on her thigh. Slowly she crept her way behind the stranger. Before they could react to someone behind them it was already too late.
Ryder put the sharp edge of the machete up to the mystery guests throat. She whispered in his ear. "Shut up. Don't talk. Don't yell. Don't try to run. If you follow what I say then I won't slit your throat and turn you into walker food. Understand?"
The stranger cautiously brought his hands into the air nodding slowly making sure that the blade at his throat didn't accidentally cut him.
"Good. Stand." Ryder stood with him keeping her blade tight against his throat. "Move." She pushed him towards the house. She stayed behind him but she also looked around behind her and to the sides seeing if she could see anyone else if he had a group. With an eagle eye, she watched the edge of the forest but she didn't see anyone watching them.
Rick was still sitting on the deck rocking in the chair. Judith liked the movement so he would do it for her as much as she wanted. She was sitting on his lap and he was talking to her making her laugh. Daryl had come back about 10 minutes ago but Ryder still hadn't shown her face. By chance, Rick glanced up from Judith and noticed that Ryder was walking someone to the house with her machete pushed against his throat. The stranger kept his hands in the air showing that he didn't have any weapons. Well, none that they could see anyway.
Rick shot up from his seat. "Daryl! Carl!"
Both the hunter and the boy came running over to where they had heard Rick call from. Daryl was the first to show up. "What's wrong?" Before Rick could say anything, he noticed what Rick had noticed. "Shit."
Carl came to the door. "Who's that?"
"Don't know." Rick handed Judith to Carl. Make sure that everyone is out of sight. The three of us are going to talk to him."
Carl wanted to protest but Rick had looked at him with an expression telling him that it wasn't up for discussion. The young boy took his younger sister and disappeared into the house.
Around that time Ryder pushed her hostage onto the deck. She wasn't messing around with a stranger who had them under surveillance. In her Sergeant's voice, she commanded Rick and Daryl. She looked at Rick. "Chair. Kitchen. Make sure everyone stays out." She looked over at Daryl. "Rope or something we can tie him up with." The man in front of her tried saying something but Ryder tightened the machete on his throat. "I said shut up or I drop you right here." She felt him swallow and he didn't try again.
Ryder, Daryl, and Rick stood at the edge of the kitchen. The stranger was sitting in a chair bound. He had a blindfold over his eyes. All his equipment and everything was laid out on the table next to them.
"Where did you find him?" Rick spoke up. He was unnerved that someone was surveilling them.
Ryder watched the other man not looking at her friends standing next to her. "I was coming back from hunting and I noticed him crouched in a bush with the satellite pointed toward the house."
Daryl was looking at the different equipment that he was carrying. "He have any friends?"
The blonde just shook her head. "No, he was alone from what I could tell. That doesn't mean he doesn't have someone waiting somewhere else." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I doubt he would be out here alone."
Rick walked over and took the blindfold off the man. He just looked around at the three people standing in front of him. His eyes landed on Ryder. She squinted over at him. "Talk."
"Well, my name's Aaron. I just want to make it known that I'm a friend." He looked between the three of them.
Daryl walked over from the table. "A friend who spies on people?"
"It's an unfortunate coincidence that Ryder found me when I was listening to you guys."
The blonde tightened her grip on her arms. She didn't like this. Her brain was telling her to end this guy and pack up their group. They needed to find another house or something to move to and make sure his group wasn't going to attack them.
"I came to speak to you, Rick." He looked over at the bearded man.
Rick watched the other man. "What?"
"I… I have a community. I want you to come and talk to my leader. I'm supposed to try to convince you all to join with us." Aaron adjusted in his seat trying to get comfortable. He looked around to all of them but he noticed that no one was going to say anything. "Daryl, if you look in my pack then in the front pocket there's an envelope." Daryl watched the stranger. He looked over at Rick. He just nodded to the hunter towards the pack. He walked over and searched finding a yellow envelope like he said. Rick took it and grabbed what looked like pictures.
Ryder walked over looking at the pictures over Rick's shoulder. Daryl moved over and did the same thing. "I have to apologize for the picture quality. We just found an old pictu…"
Before he could finish Ryder looked over at him. "Shut up." Immediately he stopped talking. He just watched them. He seemed to be doing everything they asked of him. He didn't want to piss them off. He knew what he was doing was dangerous. Not many people walked up to a random group and started talking to them about a community.
Rick flipped through the pictures. "The first one was taken on the outside of our community. Each panel on the wall is 15-feet-high and 12-feet-wide. I wanted to show your group that you guys will be safe in our community." Aaron kept talking trying to sell the groups leader on the community. "The thing that is as important as the walls and safety are the people that make up our community."
Aaron kept talking but Ryder looked up from the pictures ignoring what he was talking about. She didn't believe anything that he was saying. Her blood was boiling thinking that he actually thought that he could pull one over on their group. She scowled watching him talk and talk about his non-existent community. Before she knew it, she walked over and wound up decking the intruder in the cheek. He was instantly knocked out.
Ryder turned walking past the two men staring at her. She balled up her fist trying to get it to stop hurting. The metal in her hand always made it uncomfortable to punch things but it sure did pack a punch when she needed it to. She shook out her hand walking onto the deck slamming the door behind her. She was pissed off and she couldn't control herself right now. She hated it when people lied and tried to con their way to get what they wanted.
Ryder grabbed her bow that was leaning on the edge of the house. She left the porch walking off into the woods again. She needed to go for a walk to cool off but she also wanted to see if there was anyone else with him. She didn't believe for a second that he was alone. He had one measly gun and nothing else to protect himself.
The blonde walked over to where she had found him sneaking around. She wasn't a tracker like Daryl, but she could guess what direction he had come from and try looking around from there. She walked further into the woods looking around at the ground.
She had been wandering around for about 45 minutes but she didn't find anything. She had taken down a few walkers that had been shambling around. She didn't see anything from someone else that could have been hiding out like Aaron had. She had finally cooled off to the point that she thought she could go back to the house without beating someone into the ground. Ryder made her way back to the house. Nothing looked different from how she left it. They hadn't been attacked since she had left.
She opened the door and made her way back into the kitchen. Aaron was up and conscious. Apparently, he had been talking to Rick and Daryl along with the rest of the group while she was out.
Aaron caught sight of the blonde who had knocked him out. "That's a hell of a right cross, Ryder."
The blonde didn't say anything. She started to walk up to him again but Rick and Daryl both pushed her back away from him. It seemed like they didn't want her to kill him. Ryder turned and walked back out onto the deck. "What's the plan? Hold him until his group comes for him? Take him into the woods and execute him? Take his stuff and make him leave then we can find another house to hold up in?" Ryder finally noticed something when she had entered the house. "Where's Glen, Abraham, Maggie, Rosita, and Michonne?"
Rick and Daryl looked at each other then back at her. She crossed her arms over her chest. Rick stepped forward half a step. "He said there's one other person waiting for him. The flare gun was to signal him." Rick watched Ryder's face. She was losing her temper again but didn't say anything. "He said there's enough room for all of us. He would drive us to the community so we would believe him."
"Are you fucking serious, Rick?" Ryder stepped forward but Rick didn't back down from her. "You seriously think that he would want us to join his community? You're seriously going to entertain this idea?"
Rick watched her peeved that she didn't seem like she trusted his judgment. "I didn't say that I trusted him. Michonne and everyone went to go see if he was telling the truth. If he is telling the truth about his friend then that's a start."
Ryder turned pacing back and forth on the deck. "He doesn't just have one person! He will have enough to take out a group if he needs to. Michonne and everyone aren't coming back! We are down five people now. They are going to come and wipe us out!" The blonde was vibrating with anger.
Rick just turned and made his way into the house. "We can handle it."
Daryl stayed out on the deck with the blonde. He didn't want her disappearing on them for another hour like she had done before.
She looked over at the hunter. "Can you fucking believe this! I can't believe Rick is entertaining his idea!" She hadn't stopped pacing yet.
Daryl watched her. "Ya don't think Rick gave him the third degree?" The blonde stopped pacing at his words. "Rick don't trust him about as much as you. Other people wanted to see if he was lyin' or not."
Ryder watched Daryl. She trusted him and he believed him when he said that about Rick. She rubbed her hand over her face. She was an idiot for not trusting him. She knew that Rick wouldn't unnecessarily put their group in danger. "Sorry."
"'S not me you have to apologize to." Daryl crossed his arms. "Find anythin'?"
For a minute she was confused because she didn't know what he was talking about. Then she remembered that she had disappeared on them. "No. I just found a couple walkers roaming around. I couldn't find anything that gave away if there were more people."
Ryder walked past Daryl but he caught her wrist before she could leave. "You okay?"
She turned looking at him over her shoulder. "I'm fine. Like always." She gently pulled her wrist from his hand walking into the house.
Daryl squinted at her retreating back. "Always fine my ass." He walked into the house following her.
The blonde walked up to the group as they parted letting her into the kitchen. In her Sergeant's voice, she commanded everyone to leave. "I want to talk to him."
Rick watched Ryder. He wanted to make sure that she wouldn't mangle the new guy. He assessed that she wasn't going to lose her shit again. He told everyone to cover the outside perimeter just in case. "I'll be on the deck if you need me, Ryder."
The Ranger grabbed a chair placing it in front of Aaron sitting in it backward. She leaned on the back not answering their leader. She heard the door close as she watched the other man. He looked scared of her but he also wanted to be brave and keep face. She had to hand it to him he was good at trying.
"Are you planning on ambushing us here or when we get to the community?"
Aaron looked over at the blonde. He could see that she was completely serious with him. He sighed dropping his head. "I don't want to hurt your group."
"So, it's as simple as finding us, bringing us back and having to be recruited for your group?"
"Yes. It's that simple." Aaron looked up meeting her eyes. "I already told the other guys but you guys are survivors. You guys stayed together and didn't turn on each other even though you were starving. Survivors that ignored a pack of roamers on your tail."
Ryder squinted her eyes watching the stranger. "You don't know anything about us."
"I do know that you guys live by rules with each other. You all have a mutual respect for everyone. I know that you specifically live by a creed." Aaron flinched but tried to hide it when Ryder shot up from her chair.
"That was not for you to hear!" The blonde leaned down in his face.
Aaron didn't back away from her even though everything in his body was telling him to. "I'm sorry about that. I needed to know how your group was and sometimes I heard things that weren't meant for me to hear." He watched as Ryder backed up from him. She didn't take her eyes off him. He watched her walk around him. She seemed like a shark waiting for something to happen so she could end him. "You aren't going to trust me, are you?"
"What reason do I have to trust you? I catch you spying on us. You tell us there's this community that is so safe and you want us to join but we have to do your stupid audition first."
The other man just kept watching her. "Yes, it's unfortunate that you caught me like you did. I was planning on coming over to your group today. I didn't know you were in the woods. Your friend Daryl had just gotten back. I didn't follow him because he seemed like he needed some privacy."
Ryder stopped walking around. "What do you mean?"
Aaron shrugged his shoulders hesitantly. He didn't know if he should tell her. "It just seemed like there was something wrong with him. When he came back he was fine."
Ryder scowled. She turned and left the house not saying anything to the stranger. Out on the porch, Rick was sitting with Judith in his lap eating applesauce. The blonde just rolled her eyes at their leader. "Where did Daryl go?"
Rick looked up from feeding Judith. Without saying anything he nodded down onto the ground. Ryder could see the hunter emerging from the woods.
"Thanks." She skipped the last step of the stairs and half jogged over to him.
Daryl was going to move spots because he wasn't seeing anything in the current position that he had chosen. He looked up to the house and that's when he saw a wave a blonde hair coming at him. She was practically jogging over to him. He looked at her confused. He didn't think he had done anything to her so he didn't know why she was acting the way she was.
Ryder grabbed Daryl's bicep and pulled him into the woods so that no one could see them talking or hear them. Once they were a good distance out she turned and looked at the hunter. She crossed her arms waiting for him to respond.
The hunter stood in front of her awkwardly. He didn't know why she had drug him out in the middle of the woods away from everyone. He watched her but she didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say either.
Finally, Ryder sighed. "What's up with you?"
"Don't know what your talkin' 'bout." Daryl calmly grabbed his strap of his crossbow. He was being completely honest with her. He didn't know what she was talking about.
"Our new stranger in there said that you looked upset when you left to go hunting today. When you came back you looked better."
Daryl instantly tensed up. He had completely forgotten that Aaron had been watching them.
Ryder squinted at the other man. His instant tension didn't go unnoticed by the Ranger. "What?"
"It was nothin'."
"Daryl, you don't need to l…" Ryder stopped talking. She had remembered that Sasha and Maggie had left earlier that morning too. Maggie had come back but Sasha was a little later with her arrival back to the house. "I get it."
The hunter watched the woman standing in front of him. He didn't understand what she got. He hadn't said anything to her. There wasn't anything for her to understand. While he was watching her, something washed over her face. He could see the realization in her eyes and something else that he wasn't used to seeing because it was new for him. He thought it was a hint of jealousy but he couldn't tell.
"Sorry I bothered you." The blonde walked past Daryl who was still standing stunned as to what was going on. Ryder walked out of the woods walking up to the house. She couldn't help but feel a small tinge of jealousy. It wasn't like she had a thing for Daryl. She could still feel a small amount of those residual feelings from her dream forever ago. She had just been ignoring them as much as she could.
Instead of walking over to Aaron she went upstairs and sat on the balcony where she had kept watch with Daryl last night. She could see a lot and this would help to make sure they didn't get ambushed.
Ryder sat on the railing leaning her back against the house. She didn't blame Daryl. Everyone needed someone, even when the world was like it was now. Sasha was beautiful and she was strong. She had been losing a lot of people close to her so she would naturally seek out someone else to help her with the burden of losing so many people. Daryl was strong and believe it or not he was sensitive. She had hoped that her feelings that were stuck in her heart weren't one-sided. Especially, after the kiss, they shared in the woods.
The blonde squinted squashing her hope. She had her friends. She didn't need to have a romantic relationship. She had said it when she first joined their group. Feelings got people killed. If she could then she would just turn her emotions off right now. The only problem would be she would need to keep them off forever or a huge rush of what she should have been feeling would knock her out for a day. She hated dealing with the rush of emotions after she turned her emotions back on. She always expected them but they were also so strong.
She sighed watching the woods. She had never been good at relationships. Before she joined the army, she had problems dealing with her empathy issue. Her mom was experimenting with her and different shrink techniques to help her. Her father was just a hardass that told her to man up. He would tell her that if she didn't make herself strong and unfeeling then the world would chew her up and spit her out.
After high school, she had decided to go into the army trying to follow in her father's footsteps. Of course, during that time she was busy with trying to become the only woman to join the Ranger division so she didn't even think about relationships. Then, when she finally was able to make it into the Rangers they had made her into a machine. After that, no guy wanted to be with someone who was stronger than them. They didn't want to be with someone who needed to leave at a moment's notice. They didn't want someone with all the baggage that she carried around.
So, she didn't blame Daryl for deciding to be with Sasha. It hurt but she would get over it. She had other things to worry about instead of her feelings. The blonde closed her eyes and leaned her head against the house. After a few moments, she heard the door to the balcony open and close.
She opened her eyes and she met steel blue. Ryder made sure to school her features so he didn't think anything was wrong. She didn't want to be the one to mess things up between the two adults. "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to get in the way."
Daryl still had no idea what she was talking about. He had a pretty good idea that she thought something but it was wrong. He just didn't know what she was thinking. He didn't want to leave it like that between them just in case something did happen. "Ryder. I've still got no idea what you're talkin' 'bout."
She smiled at him. She needed to show him that she supported his decision. "You and Sasha. Good for you." Ryder turned back at the forest watching the tree line.
The hunter just looked at her like she had a second head. "What the hell you talkin' 'bout woman?"
She turned back around. "Aaron had said that you looked upset when we left to go hunting but when you came back you seemed better. I remembered that Maggie and Sasha were out in the woods but Maggie had come back. Sasha was still out in the woods. I get it. Good for you."
Daryl just watched the blonde. She thought that Sasha and him were an… item? Why the hell did she think that? Sure, she had just explained her reasoning and it was good reasoning if she didn't know him at all. She did know him though. Sasha was beautiful but she wasn't as strong as another woman he knew. She wasn't Ryder.
His brain stopped working when something finally dawned on him. Did he love Ryder? The tough blonde that had wormed her way into their group even if she herself didn't want to? The Ranger who was overly empathetic but had trained herself to be a better person and machine for her men and her group? The woman sitting in front of him who would sacrifice herself for everyone and anyone in their group because she would rather die than let someone from their group be lost? He could feel his heart beating quicker just looking at the woman sitting in front of him. She had stopped watching him during his realization. "You don't know what you're talkin' 'bout."
The blonde turned looking back at the hunter, but he startled her when he was closer than before. "What?" She looked up at him since she was still sitting on the railing.
"We ain't together. It's not like you think." Daryl finally realized that he needed the blonde in his life. She had somehow become everything to him and she had no idea. "I was feelin' that way 'cause I was dealin' with Beth's death. You told me to feel it so I did."
Ryder looked at him confused. "Where was Sasha then?"
Daryl just shrugged his shoulders. Right now, he didn't give a shit where anyone was. "You thought I was with Sasha?" The blonde kept watching him not saying anything. She didn't know what to say. She was watching him and he was intense right now. He was way more intense then she had ever seen him. "Why?"
"She's pretty. She's strong and independent. She's killer with any weapon." She looked up at him but he hadn't wavered.
"There's a couple women that fit the description in the group."
Ryder swallowed thickly. She tried to scooch her butt farther back on the ledge. She wasn't scared of the hunter standing in front of her but she didn't know what he was doing. "Daryl, what's going on?"
"You weren't wrong. Someone has caught my attention."
Ryder felt a tinge of jealousy in her heart again, but she stopped it immediately. "Who?" She choked out.
"Strong. Outspoken. Stubborn." Daryl watched her eyes. He needed to see her true reaction. She was too good at hiding her feelings behind her mask. When he had told her, he had his eyes on someone he didn't miss the jealousy that flared that she instantaneously shut down. He inwardly smirked to himself. He knew that she had felt something for him. That would be why she had been acting weird with him. It wasn't enough for other people to notice but it was enough for him to notice. "Difficult. Beautiful. She can sometimes be a hard ass."
Ryder watched Daryl as he was describing someone. He sounded like he was describing Michonne or even Rosita. She would say Rosita but she was with Abraham. She didn't think that he would go for someone who was already taken. "Don't worry. I won't tell Michonne. You're sec…"
Before she could continue what, she was saying Daryl leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss. She was stunned and dazed. She didn't expect him to catch her off guard like that. She felt his calloused hand come up to her neck and cheek. His thumb was moving slowly along her cheek.
Daryl couldn't stand it anymore. She wasn't getting what he was saying. She didn't believe that someone could like her beyond being a friend or an ally. He could have continued explaining but he was tired of using words. He smiled into the kiss when he felt her respond after her shock wore off.
They parted from each other but Daryl didn't drop his hand from her cheek. Ryder didn't know what to say. She was beyond confused. She didn't understand how Daryl could like anything about her. Sure, they made good friends. They understood each other but he knew things about her life that no one knew anymore. He still expressed that he liked her. She noticed that Daryl was about ready to say something but they heard cars pulling up to the house. Ryder turned around and Daryl looked passed her.
Ryder could see Michonne, Maggie, Glen, Abraham, and Rosita stepping out of the cars with a few armloads of food. "Looks like he was telling the truth."
I know I always ask but how did you guys like it? Finally, something positive is happening between Ryder and Daryl. The end of the story kind of got away from me but I don't mind how it happened. I'm sorry if Daryl seems out of character. Ryder seems to have had an effect on him.