Author's Note: Thank you for the reads/reviews and the tumblr'ing. Tumblr is becoming an addiction. Find me under SepticLovebite.
TWDTWDTWD
Daryl woke up when the sun streamed through the window, blinding him. It felt odd, to wake up in the middle of the day, although he figured it wasn't even lunch time, he never slept for too long. He heard Carol's gentle breathing beside him and he realised where he was. She had the blankets tangled up around her waist, the over sized shirt she wore had ridden up, exposing her stomach a little and he winced to see the purple marks peppering her skin. She still clutched his hand, even in her sleep, resting both their arms over her hips.
He watched her a few minutes but he could hear voices through out the house and he didn't want to have the conversation Rick would want to have in front of her. She had seen and heard enough. He gently pulled his hand free, drawing the blankets up a little higher around her, she didn't stir as he pulled on his boots and heading for the stairs, leaving the bedroom door ajar.
He could hear low voices in the back of the house but he opened every door he came across, trying to familiarise himself with the place quickly. He always was one of the first in an empty building and it was unnerving to not be able to find his way out without even thinking about it. The sitting room was large and airy, blankets were bunched up on the sofa, suggesting two people had spent the night there. There was a dining room, that was empty of people, although some of their supplies were stacked on the table. A study, again empty. He reached the kitchen, where Rick, Glenn and Carl were at the table, open tins in front of them.
"Hey." Glenn greeted, with a nod of his head.
"What time is it?" He asked, pulling out a chair and slumping in it.
"Little after noon." Rick answered, plucking a slice of peach from his tin. "How is she this morning?"
"Still asleep. Nothin' broken, but I figure it's gonna hurt like a bitch today. Skin's black already."
Glenn winced into his tin of sweetcorn, choking a little. "That sucks. I'll see if I can get further in to that town down the road, get some medical supplies. Muscle stuff? We could do with a scout around anyway, see how long we can stay here." He looked at Rick for confirmation and the sheriff nodded. "I'll get Maggie to come with." He shovelled the last of his sweetcorn into his mouth before leaving to get his girlfriend. Daryl nodded his thanks as the younger man passed by.
"You want to stay here?" He asked.
"Just until Carol is feeling up to it. A week or so, more if we have to. Is it just a few cuts and bruises? I mean to say...Beth still isn't making a lot of sense, did he put his hands on her...in other ways?" Rick spared his son a glance, but the boy was clearly too young to understand the meaning behind his words as he continued to eat his food.
Daryl shook his head. He wasn't a 100% sure, but she didn't say anything to him. One of her breasts was scratched, marks that looked like a handprint on the skin, but her legs were untouched, jeans were intact. It didn't make the situation any better though. He sat up to look out the kitchen window, survey the land around them. There was some forestry, what looked liked a river just over the fence. He wondered if he could get some hunting in before dark.
"How didja shake your lot off?" He asked.
"There were two cars on us. Managed to run one off the road long enough to get away. There were four men in each. Maggie got a lucky shot and took the front tyre of the other one out from her sun roof. They crashed the car, we just fired at them before they could get back on the road and got the hell out of there. Just luck, I guess." Rick explained, pushing a bottle of water towards Daryl. He took a breath, twisting his fork in his hand. "I'm sorry that you had to do that to Merle."
Daryl shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn't sorry for leaving Merle behind. He wished he'd aimed his bullet to his head. Because even though Merle would've killed him, leaving him as Walker food was worse than killing him. Maybe someone would find him. One of the others from cars that chased Rick and the others. Maybe he'd save himself. He did get out of Atlanta after cutting off his own hand, after all. He hoped that Merle never found them if he was alive.
"It had to be done." He answered finally. "He woulda thrown the women to the wolves. He said as much, more'n once. He went t'pull his gun on me. I'd do it again." He turned away, ending the conversation. "But, we need to push on as soon as we can. If there's more of 'em an' they come lookin'...they'll be no more opportunities to join, for any of us."
Rick nodded. "We'll let Glenn make this run into the town up the road. We could do with more food, ammo too, if we can get it. Medical supplies. Some stronger medication for Carol if we can get it."
"I'll go out huntin'. Get what I can."
"You should stay. For Carol." Rick finished his can, pushing it aside.
Daryl shook his head. "She needs proper food. She's...she's so thin, she looks like she's gonna snap."
"Who's gonna snap?" Lori appeared from behind the door, empty plate in hand.
Daryl stood up from the table, ready to leave. It was one thing to talk to Rick about such matters, but not Lori Grimes. He always tried to keep conversations with her brief.
"Carol. Make sure she eats properly while I'm out." He mumbled at her, brushing past her to go upstairs. Glenn passed him on the way up, Maggie in tow and he gave them a nod as they bounded down the steps.
"Glenn, there's a spare handgun in the truck. Might need cleanin' though." He told the boy, it was an afterthought. Glenn nodded. The gun was tipped in blood, Andrew's blood and he would be glad for someone else to deal with it.
TWDTWDTWD
When Carol woke, it was with a start. It was a nightmare, but she couldn't recall what happened. But with the jolt of alertness, came the pain. There was no pain like what she felt over her stomach. A deep, throbbing ache that made her feel sick. And she was thirsty. Her mouth felt as dry as the desert. She licked her parched lips and winced at the size of her bottom lip. The cut spread out past her lipline but she was relieved to see no blood came away when she pressed her fingers to her lips.
It seemed to take an age to shimmy herself across the bed to the edge and upon spotting Daryl's coat thrown onto a chair in the corner, she remembered the previous night's events. He had washed the blood from her. Changed her clothes. She had kissed him. He had kissed her back. But he wasn't here now.
Before she could linger on that thought, she felt another twinge in her stomach and she stood up to inspect the damage in the mirror mounted to the wardrobe. She looked a fright. Dark circles under her eyes, a fat lip and a deep purple handprint across her throat were the first thing she saw and she unbuttoned her shirt to see the damage on her middle. Her stomach was almost entirely a purple-yellow hue, deeper in places where blood vessels had burst. One of her breasts had his handprint and she wondered if she'd even be able to get her bra on again that day.
She looked repulsive. Even worse than she looked after Ed had taken his fury out on her. She hadn't cried at all the day before, but now in the aftermath, she wanted to break down and sob. She began buttoning up the shirt again when the door creaked open, Daryl standing in the threshold.
"You ok?" He asked, fiddling with a bottle of water. She looked at him with watery eyes and bit back the cry that wanted to break free, nodding her response. "You wanna go downstairs?"
She nodded again, searching the room for her jeans and she spotted them next to his jacket, marked with blood. The tears welled up again. He brushed past her, touching her shoulder lightly and reaching for a pair that sat on the edge of the bed. She remembered then. Lori had brought them. She made to take them from him but he pulled them away.
"Let me do it." He murmured to her. She sat herself gingerly on the edge of the bed and he lifted her legs one at a time to pull through the jeans, offering his hand to pull her up. He was nose to nose with her now, watching her intently as she took the waistband from him to button and pull up the fly. They were far too big, she would need to hold onto them as she walked.
"Clothes'll be dry in a bit." He put a hand to her cheek, brushing the tear that escaped from her, before it could roll down her face. She nodded again, because it seemed that's all she could do. Words did not want to leave her lips. He brushed his mouth against her cheek, she could feel his beard scratching her gently and he pressed a chaste kiss to her skin, lingering for just a second. "'S gonna be okay. I promise."
Carol grasped at his fingers on her face, squeezing them tight. "I know." She whispered.
"I have to hunt." He pulled away from her reluctantly to put his jacket on. "I won't be long." He returned to her, gesturing for her to put her arms round his neck, for him to lift her up.
As he gently deposited her on the sitting room couch, he brushed her cheek once more, just as Carl came tumbling into the room, dragging Beth by the hand, clutching a pack of cards. "Hey Carol, Beth doesn't know how to play rummy, we totally have to show her." He didn't seem at all perturbed by her swollen face, plunking himself down on the floor beside her feet, pulling Beth down with him. The girl didn't say anything, just shrugging when Carol greeted her.
Daryl just nodded his goodbye and she waited until she heard the front door slam before she turned her attention back onto Beth and Carl.
TWDTWDTWD
Glenn and Maggie reappeared first, all smiles and laughs. It seemed their trip was a success and they entered the house laden with bags, a hodge podge of food, medicine and even a couple of boxes of bullets. Glenn presented her with a small plastic bag as if it were a bouquet of flowers. It contained cocodemol, salve for her cuts and several packs that instantly heated up that she would savour for bed time.
She truly perked up however, when Daryl returned, just before dusk and she heard Lori chuckle with joy, so she knew his trip out had been fairly successful. He didn't come in immediately, she assumed he was cleaning their dinner, seeing as it was usually him or her that did it.
When he opened the door to living room, the smell of cooking meat filled the air, making her mouth water. She was finally alone, someone had been with her every minute of the whole afternoon and it had worn her out. Carol suspected she would be in bed as soon as she ate, even though it hadn't been long since she woke up.
He sat beside her silently until Lori came in bearing plates of meat and pasta, handing her an overloaded plate. She tried to protest but Lori shushed her with a wave of her hand before darting out the door. Daryl seemed to watch her with every bite she took but it wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be to eat. Still, she couldn't finish it all, despite his disapproving look.
Others started trickling in after dinner and she found herself slumping against Daryl's shoulder, drifting in and out of sleep. She thought it had been only a minute or two but after the third or fourth time of coming too, she was in total darkness, lying flat on her back. She could hear Daryl breathing steadily next to her, pressed right up against her side, his ankle hooked over hers and he clutched her hand to his chest.
It felt that at that minute, everything would be okay.