A/N: Don't own (although I'd love to have my very own Norman Reedus :D) don't sue!

Lyrics are from 'Rain' by Patty Griffin

Rain

Hiatus Drabble 6

It's hard to listen to a hard, hard heart
Beatin' close to mine
Poundin' up against the stone and steel
Walls that I won't climb
Sometimes a hurt is so deep, deep, deep
You think that you're gonna drown
Sometimes all I can do is weep, weep, weep
With all this rain fallin' down
Strange, how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I'm holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
It's hard to know when to give up the fight
Some things you want will just never be right
It's never rained like it has tonight before
Now, I don't wanna beg you, baby
For something maybe you could never give
I'm not lookin' for the rest of your life
I just want another chance to live
Strange, how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I'm holdin' on underneath this shroud
Rain

"What is that?"

Daryl's step faltered at Shane's belligerent voice. He hurried back into the makeshift camp. Shane was glaring at Glenn and Cassidy. Cassidy glared right back. She really had no problem with Shane, but she was fully aware that he was having some sort of mini-breakdown at the moment. Daryl's bright gaze swept the scene for the source of contention between them. They finally settled on what was dangling from a nearby tree. A swing. They'd built a swing. Well technically it was a fallen branch that was surprisingly wide, tied to a tall branch with rope. He bit his lip to keep from laughing at the thunderous look on Shane's face.

"What does it look like, Deputy?" Cassidy tossed at him coolly, running her little hands over the rope. "It's not doing anyone any harm, what's the problem?"

Shane looked black with anger for a moment and then his face broke into a reluctant grin and he stomped off irritably. Daryl watched them as Glenn and T-Dog checked the knots in the ropes, securing them. She said something to T-Dog and he put his hands on her waist. Daryl took an involuntary step forwards. They turned to look at him, surprised by the sudden movement. Glenn took a rapid step back from Cassidy. She rolled her eyes and tapped T-Dog's arm, indicating for him to continue. T-Dog shot Daryl a slightly nervous look and then obeyed, lifting Cassidy up and onto the swing. He held onto her for a moment as she balanced, testing the swing could hold her weight. He stepped back experimentally, leaving his hands slightly outstretched in case he needed to snatch her out of the air if the swing broke.

"See." She crowed triumphantly, leaning up onto her tiptoes and gripping the ropes on either side for leverage. "Told you it would hold."

She fixed her gaze on Glenn who was cringing away from Daryl as if he expected him to suddenly go for his throat.

"Glenn! Come here."

He jumped and stared at her, looking quite petrified. She held out one hand to him and he stared at it in confusion.

"I told you it would hold, I bet it can hold two of us."

"What about T-Dog?" Glenn stammered.

"He's too broad we wouldn't both fit on." She frowned at him. "Something wrong with being on here with me?"

He shot a terrified look at Daryl who was standing quite expressionlessly, watching the scene before him with his arms folded across his chest. Admittedly, he wasn't thrilled with the idea but he could hardly protest without sounding ridiculous. He wasn't even sure if they knew that he and Cassidy were… whatever they were. Glenn looked scared of Daryl if he did grab onto Cassidy and scared of Cassidy if he didn't. In the end he shuffled forwards, looking as if he was on his way to be executed. T-Dog helped him scramble up onto the swing until he was standing opposite her, their feet interlocking on the wood.

"Swing." She ordered.

He bent his knees and pushed against the wood. The branch groaned but held steady as she imitated his movements. Before long the swing was moving steadily through the air. Cassidy and Glenn bent their knees further, sending the swing wider and wider. Glenn's cap flew off and Cassidy laughed, her hair bannering out behind her then whipping over her face as Glenn pushed the swing towards her. Her laughter blew over Daryl as he watched. She looked younger than usual as she laughed, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks pink from exertion.

Their laughter summoned the others and Carl watched wide-eyed as they swung even higher, the branch creaking in protest. Eventually T-Dog grabbed the swing and helped them to slow down. Glenn stumbled off it on wobbly legs, his equilibrium off-kilter. Maggie was leaning against the RV trying her hardest not to grin at the sight of him.

"I feel queasy." He moaned as Dale helped him settle down in a chair.

"Come on, kid." Cassidy said to Carl, still perched on the swing with her loose hair snaking wildly over her shoulders.

He started forwards immediately but Lori grabbed his shoulder. She was frowning, as usual. Cassidy had dropped into a sitting position on the swing, unlacing her boots.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Lori said.

Cassidy finished with her shoes and gave the brunette a long level look. It was no secret that there was no love lost between Cassidy and Lori, but they tried never to argue in front of Carl. In fact they generally stayed away from each other as much as possible.

"It's perfectly safe." Cassidy said stiffly. "T-Dog will catch him if the swing starts to give."

Lori looked far from convinced but Shane returned with Rick who was beaming at the swing as though it was the answer to all of his problems. Clearly the childish contraption had cheered him to no end. Lori turned immediately to him for support but he only frowned at her. They argued in an undertone for a moment and then Rick nodded at Carl who clambered onto the swing with T-Dog's help.

Daryl stood slightly apart from them. He had no interest in Rick and Lori arguing again, he was disturbed by how his gaze was drawn straight to Cassidy. She looked young and pretty and fresh. The paint on her bare toes was flashing in the sun, her long legs in her shorts had bronzed to a smooth caramel and every time she bent and pushed against the swing her brown arms flexed. He suddenly felt very old and very weary.

The excitement of the swing had died down and everyone had gone back to their own occupations. Cassidy and Carl were still by the swing, going through some French sayings that Daryl couldn't understand. Carl was swinging lightly on the swing, his brow wrinkled as he concentrated and Cassidy was perched on the branch above him. Daryl had seated himself outside his tent, checking over his weapons and keeping a watchful eye on the distracting redhead. He knew that she was perfectly capable of handling herself should anything happen but he couldn't quite bring himself to leave her to it.

Lochie sauntered over to him idly, throwing herself down into the grass besides him. She looked young again, hardly more than a teenager. Knee-length denim cut-offs, a rolled up black t-shirt with Slayer emblazoned across it in jagged white lettering and a pair of old high-tops. Her hair was wild. She was unusually quiet. Daryl did not involve himself with the emotional well-being of any of his fellow survivors, but despite himself he sort of liked the spunky little brat. He eyed her warily. She was gazing miserably into the woods. At the spot where Rick and Shane had vanished a few moments ago.

"Let it go, girly." He said gruffly, startling her into peering up at him in surprise. "That's a mess you don't wanna get yaself into."

She glared at him mutinously. He glared back.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She snapped stiffly.

"What is it about that fucking Sheriff?" Daryl muttered, scratching his arm absently.

Carl let out a peel of laughter and his eyes flicked automatically to the two figures in the distance. Carl was convulsed with giggles and the low hum of Cassidy's distant voice was amused.

"Everyone likes a hero." Lochie said quietly. She sighed. "Crushes. I hate crushes. They get you all worked up over nothing." She said gloomily. "He thinks I'm just a kid, treats me like I'm a burden he has to protect."

Daryl snorted with laughter.

"Rick treats every one of ya'll like that." He pointed out.

"US all." Lochie corrected sweetly. "You're one of his little ducklings too, sweetcheeks."

Daryl looked thoroughly affronted and Lochie bit back a grin. She drew her knees up to her chest and tucked her arms around them.

"Daryl?"

He grunted to indicate he was listening, squinting hard at a map of the areas left to search.

"Does this place…" Lochie faltered, casting a look over her shoulder at the house in the distance. "Does it give you the creeps?"

Daryl's sharp blue eyes flickered over the edge of the map and scanned over the young girl. Her hair had fallen over her forehead, her thin shoulders were drawn close to her knees and her vivid eyes were searching the fields surrounding them.

"Something's not right here." She continued quietly, her arms tightening around her knees.

"What's with the frown?"

Lochie jumped when Cassidy and Carl appeared besides them, casting a shadow across her.

"Talking about you always takes the fun out of life." Lochie snapped, sticking her tongue out at Cassidy when she flicked her the bird.

"Hey, guys." Rick ran a hand through his wet curls as he stalked out of the trees to join them.

Daryl handed him the map in his hand.

"You look like hell, Sheriff." Cassidy said idly.

She'd moved to stand besides Daryl, so close he could feel the heat from her bare skin seeping into his shoulder.

"You should take a break."

"You think we should stop looking?" Rick asked, with that long intense blue-eyed stare that could never be anything but sincere.

Cassidy opened her mouth to say something but Lochie jammed her elbow behind her into her shin and she bit her lip irritably.

"I think you need to rest. It's a hundred degrees out here."

As if to prove her point a bead of sweat trickled from Rick's hairline, trailing down his forehead and catching in his stubble. He sighed, rubbing his hands over his tired face. He glanced over his shoulder at the camp, clearly looking for Lori. She wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Pull up a patch of grass." Lochie offered, patting the ground besides her.

Rick looked pained for a moment, his eyes straying back to the tree-line guiltily. He finally sank down onto the grass, stretching out in the sun.

"Come on, kid. I'll show you some of those self-defence moves."

Cassidy squeezed Daryl's arm briefly as she led Carl away towards the area she mainly used for sparring with Lochie. Daryl watched them go.

"How does a pretty young girl end up all the way out here?" Rick was asking Lochie.

"I travel a lot." She said evasively, sitting cross-legged besides him so her shadow shaded his face. "We were in Dallas when everything kicked off. We headed for Atlanta hoping to catch a plane out of here. We were going to highjack one if necessary."

Rick peered at her but from her grin it was impossible to tell if she was serious or not.

"Do you and Cassidy… live together?"

Lochie shrugged.

"Not really. Like I said we both travel all over the world for work. If we're in the same country at the same time we rent a place together depending on how long we're likely to be staying. Some jobs take longer than others."

Rick was looking at her expectantly but she didn't elaborate, or mention anything to do with what their work entailed.

"So you worked together?"

She flicked her hair off her sweating forehead with two fingers, eyeing Rick's stubbled jawline and the sharp planes of his face. She could feel her cheeks turning pink and it had nothing to do with the heat.

"Sometimes."

As she leaned over to brush away a beetle crawling up Rick's shin, he squinted and winced at the sudden harsh sunlight.

"You ok?"

He shrugged.

"Headache."

Lochie touched his shoulder, his muscles were bunched tightly, rock hard with stress.

"You need to relax." She remonstrated. "Turn around."

He looked at her in surprise but obediently turned slightly. Lochie positioned herself behind him, digging her fingers into the tense muscles at his neck. She kneaded and rubbed and wiggled her deft fingertips until she felt him relax, the knots unwinding. Lochie's heart was hammering, her fingers were thrumming with electricity. She half expected Lori to come marching over with her claws out. Of course it was perfectly innocent. She wasn't even touching his bare skin, not really, just a little bit at his neck. Still her nerves were jumping all over the place and she couldn't quite seem to even out her breathing.

"You're very good at that."

His voice breaking the tense silence made her jump and her fingers dug into his shoulders automatically. He patted her hand reassuringly.

"Oh you know, I'm one of those girls who knows a little about a lot of things."

"You're one of those girls who manages never to reveal anything about herself." He retorted smartly.

She grinned, working the kinks out of his neck and trying not to notice the sparks every time her fingers touched his bare skin. She'd never seen Rick like this before, he was relaxed and a little bit teasing. Pins and needles were shooting through her legs and she stretched them out on either side of him. It took her a moment to realise that his shoulders had tensed again. Now she wasn't particularly sharp when it came to body language like Cassidy was, but she was pretty sure it was the sight of her bare legs around him that had brought on the sudden tension.

Lochie hesitated. She wasn't usually the kind of girl who tried to poach a married man from his wife. Of course things were different now, and Lori treated him so terribly, and she had been screwing around behind his back. She decided to test the waters by running her little hands down his back, trailing her nails along the sweat-stiffened material of his shirt. The muscles in his back contracted and she felt her pulse start to gallop. Rick was loyal to a fault, ruled by his sense of morality and decency and Lochie knew that he would never betray Lori if he could help it. But she also knew that he was attracted to her. Unlike Cassidy, who would have no qualms about making her move on a married man if it was what she wanted, Lochie's conscience pricked at her.

She glanced over her shoulder but Daryl was gone, vanished silently without a word. They both jumped guiltily when they heard Lori calling for Rick from the camp. Lochie scrambled to her feet so quickly she nearly tripped over. Rick caught her elbow and steadied her as he got up.

"Thanks." He said gruffly.

His hand was still on her elbow. Lori called again.

"You should go." Lochie suggested in a none-too-steady voice.

Rick nodded but he didn't let go of her arm, he seemed to have forgotten that he had hold of her. Something was surging between them and Lochie wasn't sure she could have broken away from him if she tried. The grass whistled slightly as Lori's boots crushed it down as she approached. Lochie slipped out of Rick's grasp and bolted.

Watching Cassidy work out, showing Carl basic stretches and holds, had worked Daryl up to such a pitch that he could hardly wait for the kid to hit the bricks. Cassidy had merely smiled in smug amusement when he'd pounced on her. Afterwards he'd lain back in the grass, exhausted and satisfied, and she'd settled on her front propping her arms on his stomach, lacing long strands of grass together.

"We should have a dog around here." She said suddenly, snatching up another handful of grass and braiding it into the tail she'd already made.

"A dog?" He repeated lazily, watching the sweat on her bare back trail down her spine.

"A dog." She echoed. "I had two dogs you know, English Mastiffs. They were huge. Bela and Boris." Her voice had taken on that strange flowing quality as if she were telling a story rather than mentioning her past.

He chuckled and she dug an elbow into his navel.

"Boris and Bela?" He snorted in his defence, fending off another blow of her elbow with one hand.

"Yes." She said stubbornly. "Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, of course."

She eyed him, assessing whether he knew who she was talking about. Evidently he did because he didn't scoff again so she ceased her harsh elbow jabs. His hand had tangled in her hair, winding the thick rope around his fist and then releasing it. She finished with her braid of grass and set about brushing it over his naked thighs, trailing it over his hips and the sensitive skin of his stomach until he squirmed.

"Horror movies, huh."

She cast him a long considering look.

"Naturally. Especially Hammer horror." She replied coolly. "I had ninety percent of them on DVD, even the rare ones that I had to steal or blackmail someone for." She sighed wistfully, peering across him as if she could see something pleasant in the distance. "Don't suppose it makes much difference now though. Probably been looted." She stiffened angrily as if she could see her beloved apartment being ransacked right before her eyes. "Scum with absolutely no concept of culture."

"Take it easy there, Red." Daryl laughed when her teasing with the braid of grass became almost a lashing, not a particularly unpleasant one, mind.

"Do you think there're still Drive Ins out there somewhere?" She asked thoughtfully. "I always wanted to go to a Drive In."

"Drive Ins were built for one thing." He muttered.

"Philistine." She grumbled.

He opened his mouth to retort but it died in his throat when he felt her lips against the soft trail of downy hair descending from his belly button.

"I want to open my own Drive In one day." She breathed again his warm skin.

"Whatever you want, Red." He murmured haltingly. "Whatever you want."

VileMalapert – thanks I hope you enjoy this one too

SaraLostInes – apologies, although in my defence it was 3am when I was writing it lol. That's pretty much how I'd imagine Daryl reacting to the idea. Thanks, I think Carl is awesome he deserves lots more airtime

LadyLecter47 – I have to wait an extra week for the second half because I'm in England. Grrrr. I can't last!

AudioRKO – all in due time, all in due time. I'm glad you like it, I love Lochie she's highly influenced by Kenzie from Lost Girl but not nearly as cool unfortunately lol