VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! :) I hope every one is having a wonderful holiday season, God is great! Thank you all so much to all the ahhh-mazing reviews and new followers, welcome, welcome(:
***Warning, this chapter will most likely be a little shorter than the others, but I plan to make it BIG! & it's back to Rose's POV, enjoy ladies and gents!***
-He saved you, you're even now.. He said so himself. My mind went on relentlessly as we drove through the still pouring rain, not even registering the conversation Glenn and Maggie are consumed in.
I can still feel his body against mine, his breath caressing my ear, and the residual chills to begin run ramped through my body again. Ugh! That's enough! I physically shake my head, attempting to shake the ridiculous thoughts right off my mind. I focus on anything but thinking, tuning into to Maggie explaining to Glenn how to tell what the complicated names on the bottles worked for. I know nothing of the matter, but it's interesting enough to keep my mind quiet for the short ride we have left.
"Home, sweet home!" Glenn shouts from the back sweet, giving us a big grin in the rear view mirror.
I, myself, have personally never been more happy to see the old white house, adorned with navy blue shutters and big oak door. The slatted porch rails becoming a strong hold for the ivy that has veined its way almost to the hand holds. I breathe a deep sigh of relief, and smile,
"Good job y'all, thank you so much." I say, giving them both a hug, "We'll put everything on the table and sort through it later." I add, dismissing myself to retrieve my pack and bow that is still in the back of the Jeep. As turn the corner of the vehicle, I'm sort of shocked when I see Daryl standing there. The big crossbow slung across his back, hands in his pockets, and looking down at the ground like it was truly fascinating, until he noticed my presence.
I say nothing to him, just open the door and begin picking up my things, "Uhh Rose.." Daryl begins, an unusual uncertainty laced all throughout his very southern accent, "I want to talk with ya.. if you got time."
I stop moving, but keep my eyes locked on my bow, "Yeah," I say slowly, "of course, what's up?" I add, trying to keep my voice steady as look up at him with a casual expression.
His hand goes to the back of his neck, nervously massaging it for a moment before dropping back to his side, "Not here." He finally answers, completely throwing me off.
"Well where then?" I ask, this time with a bit of attitude.
He just looks down at me with those deep blue eyes that seem endless, "Barn," he says. I give him a skeptical look until he finally adds, "just trust me, it's important."
Without another word from me, he turns away and stalks off toward the house. Lord, grant me some patience, because if I ask for strength, I might actually do some damage. I pray silently, looking up into the milky sky as I finish grabbing my pack and make my way to the house.
"Carl!" I call out, pulling off my boots. I see him round the corner, a smile coming to his and my face both. I ruffle his hair, getting a playful punch to the arm, "Check this out." I say, unzipping my book bag, revealing all the baby stuff I had managed to fit in all the compartments.
His eyes grow wide as he sees the formula and medicine, "Rose, this is great!" He says, hugging me quickly before dragging me into the living room. Once there, I see Carol holding little Judith as she was snuggles into her arms. "Carol, look at all the supplies Rose found for her, she'll be ready to go for months." Carl says, showing the small woman the full pack as he sits next to her. Carol's gray-blue eyes meet mine and she gives a sincere smile, nodding in approval; which, for whatever reason, makes my heart ache the tiniest bit. I simply give her a smile back, and turn toward the direction of the kitchen, going anywhere to get away from the feeling.
I find myself strangely alone in the dimly lit kitchen. I take a pear out of the ceramic bowl atop the island in the middle of the floor, biting into its juicy flesh as I lean against the sturdy counter top. I stand there for what seems a long time, just eating and thinking about the barn, the talk, Daryl when I hear footsteps approaching. My head turns in the direction of the noise, and my eyes meet Rick's.
"Looks good." He says, observing the ripe, half-eaten pear in my hand.
I nod, pointing toward the bowl, "Help yourself." I reply.
He picks one up, biting into it and almost seems taken aback from it, I give him a curious look, kind of cocking my head to the side until he finally swallows and speaks, "It's been a very long time since I had fresh fruit." He says, looking at the pear as if it were made of gold. I give a small snicker, my mouth still full of my last bite. I clear my throat, looking at him with amusement,
"Well we have a few different fruit bearin' trees in the orchard," I say, pausing for a second before listing what we have to choose from when the seasons call for it. "But, I have plenty dried fruit saved up, it's in the pantry. Help yourself to whatever you'd like, you should know that by now." I finish, placing a hand on his arm without noticing. I pull it away a little to quickly, and immediately feel stupid for doing so. He doesn't seem to have noticed as he turn toward the pantry,
"Uhh Rick, thank you. For.. today," I say, hardly managing to put a cohesive sentence together in my jumbled mind, "I would have never been able to do it alone." I say, choosing to stop while I was ahead.
Rick turns his gorgeous eyes back to me, finding mine with intensity, "We owe you a debt we'll probably never be able to pay fully, and how much you care about us, about Carl and Judith, I could never do or say enough to show my appreciation." He says, both hands gently positioned on my arms. A tear rolls down my cheek and before I can stop myself, I throw my arms around him. Surprised for a moment, his arms down enclose around me too, holding me tight. We stand like that for only a second before I pull away, wiping the dampness from my face and giving a quick apology before I walk out of the back door, rain pelting down on me.
I walk to the barn, arms wrapped around myself, contemplating what had just happen. You looked weak, looked like just some whiny girl in front of him. I scold myself, my anger and frustration growing with every step.
By the time I reach the bar, I drenched. I'm leaving drips of water as I make my up to the loft, a draft sending chills racing up my spine. I stop at the landing, finding what I'm looking for laying on his cot, listening to the rain until he hears me step closer.
"Little old to be playin' in the rain, dontcha think?" He Daryl says sarcastically.
"Ha, you're a comedian." I spit back at him, "What's so important?" I ask, giving him an icy glare.
He stands, pulling the blanket up with him and holds it out to me, "Here, ain't no sense in gettin' sick. You ain't no good to anyone laid up." He says, pushing the blanket at me. I take it, still glaring, and pull it around my shoulders as I sit down on the hard planks of the floor.
I look up to him still standing, "Well?" I ask expectantly.
"Well," He begins, grunting as he sits down a little ways across from me, "Thank you. Really. I don't want you to thank we're usin' you, or I take what you're doin' for us for granted, cause I ain't." He says, getting amusement I'm sure from the look on my face,
-No matter how many times he says it, I don't think I can react any differently than having a minor heart attack.
"I remember what you said, about bein' a little grateful for what you're givin' us, and I am. Rose.. I am happy you let us in. You... you saved us." He finishes, looking away from me and down to the floor, amusement no longer playing in his eyes.
I scoot forward a little, closing the space between us like I had done so many times, but this time it's intentional. I have no idea what to say, what to do, but I have to do something besides sitting there looking like a damn fool. "Daryl.. I.." Nothing. That's exactly what my brain is giving me.
-Ohh now you decide to shut up? I think, inwardly cursing my mute thoughts.
"Thank you.. for telling me." I say as I put my palm up to my face, completely lost, how he always manages to do this to me I'll never, ever understand. "and you're welcome. You're all welcome."
He finally looks back to me, an understanding expression on his. "How'd you learn to shoot?" He asks, to my relief, changing the subject.
I fiddle around with the old blanket, not looking at him, "My grandfather. He taught me to shoot, hunt, and a little bit a tracking." I say, "and.. how to make a few different types of snares." I add, grimacing from the memory of the wire embedded in Daryl's ankle.
Pain also flashes through his face, no doubt as he can still feel the injury. "Impressive. Didn't take ya for the outdoorsy type of girl." He says, looking at me.
I scoff, giving him a laugh, "Looks can be deceiving."
He nods, a tiny smile coming to his lips, vanishing just as quickly as it appeared. This happens many times more as we sit in the loft for what seems like hours, and I relish every little smile I can get. We talk about nothing and anything else that comes to mind, both us trying to keep other thoughts at bay and while nothing physically intimate happens, I feel closer to Daryl than I had even when I could feel his heartbeat as he held my body against his in that little store. I feel my heart leap with every short bout of eye contact or seeing how passionate he is when he talks about hunting and tracking or even when he's telling me about his older brother.
-You are digging your hole as deep as you can, aren't you? My little rational voice asks with frustration. I mean, why don't you just go ahead and hop in, do us both a favor.
I shut out the voice, for the first time, completely caught up in our moment.
Oooohh, I don't even know where this is going yet, but did Rose FINALLY get an actually moment with Daryl Dixon? Lucky girl, hahahah;) Leave lots of reviews, tell me what YOU think!