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
Chapter Thirty One
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
"I feel fabulous." Lochie groaned, throwing herself down into the grass and stretching out. "No, really. A month at a spa couldn't make me feel any better right now."
Cassidy rolled her eyes, busy cleaning the guts off her knives. It had been a rough day, but it was worth it to be able to relax just a fraction for the first time in months. She glanced across the fire, keeping Daryl in the corner of her eye. She could see him talking to Carol and she frowned, ignoring the look Lochie sent her from the depths of the grass besides her. Carol had gotten distinctly clingy lately and Cassidy, whilst not a jealous person by nature, was finding it increasingly difficult to not throttle her every time she cornered him.
"You okay?" Lochie mumbled, trying not to stare at Daryl rubbing Carol's shoulder.
Cassidy shrugged, firmly turning her back on them and sucking back some water, wishing it was alcohol. When Beth started singing, Cassidy politely retreated away from the fire to circle the perimeter. She had learnt to accept the solidarity of the group but singing weird country songs over an open fire was a step too far. She checked over the fence, stepping around dead walkers and debris. The prison loomed behind her, dark and creepy. She clambered up onto the roof of an abandoned laundry truck that must have been overrun at some point. She could see the whole yard from up here, the low murmur of voices by the fire and the faint grumble of walkers in the distance. It was almost peaceful.
She could also hear Carol giggling. She sat down cross-legged on the roof of the van, blocking out the exterior noise and focusing on the danger still staggering around outside the fences. It didn't make her feel any better but it didn't make her feel any worse either.
"Nice place. No really, I like it."
Lochie rolled her eyes, glaring at Cassidy as she chucked a pillow at her. Cassidy nimbly dodged it and grinned as Lochie crawled onto the lower bunk. Lochie winced, trying to arrange herself more comfortably. They'd healed up over the months trekking around but her wrist was still sore at times and Cassidy's ribs were tender with too much movement. Lochie rolled onto her side and peered at Cassidy. The redhead was across the small cell, retying her hair using a chipped oblong mirror still screwed into the wall. She cocked her head, flicking her nail against the reflective surface.
"Guess we got the pretty boy's cell."
Cassidy shot her a look, watching her leaving dirty footprints in a lob-sided pattern on the wall besides the bunk. Lochie was trying her hardest but the closer it got to Lori's due date, the more morose she got. Especially with how things stood between Rick and Lori right now. It was all the very definition of shades of grey. Cassidy had no idea what was actually going on between Lochie and Rick, and she had no intentions of asking. Ever. Something had happened over the past few months since the farm, their wise leader had hardened and become a little harsher with every mile they'd covered, every abandoned house they'd raided, every sign that the world was gone. Cassidy's admiration and respect only grew with every week Rick doggedly kept them alive, kept their hopes burning. She had thought only people like her would survive this; dark people who never really fit into the old world, who only glossed across the surface. Every day Rick and Lochie and Daryl and Carl managed to get up and put one foot in front of the other and hope that eventually it would all work out, that every new morning, even in this hell, was something to be thankful for. She found that she'd never respected anyone more than these people. And she cared. As resistant as she'd been, she cared.
"What?" Cassidy blinked back to the present to find Lochie staring at her in upside bemusement, her head hanging over the side of the bunk.
"What?" Cassidy echoed, feeling her cheeks flush in an unaccustomed blush.
"You've got that thinking line again. Right here." Lochie jabbed a finger between her eyebrows. "Well, line, wrinkle. Whatever you want to call it."
"Bite me." Cassidy snapped, feeling nettled and out of sorts at being caught off guard.
Lochie laughed. She lifted her sound wrist and prodded the underside of the mattress above her.
"I'm guessing you're not going to be up there tonight." She wrinkled her nose, her grey eyes bright against the bronzed dirty skin of cheeks that used to be delicately pale. "Or if you are, I am definitely not staying here. Heard enough of your sex noises to last me a freaking lifetime."
"Well of course I'd love to have sex on the landing of a prison in front of everyone, that's always been a fantasy of mine."
Glenn coughed from the doorway, Maggie standing beside him looked beyond amused and Lochie broke out into giggles. Cassidy shrugged, unconcerned. If people didn't know she was sleeping with Daryl by now, she'd be seriously worried about their level of intelligence.
"Where is His Royal Grumpiness?" She sighed, rubbing her sore tired neck muscles with both hands.
"Pacing. Scowling. The usual." Lochie guessed with a snort, burying her face in her pillow. "Whatever."
"We're clearing out the rest of the block tomorrow." Glenn informed Cassidy as she left the cell, squeezing past Maggie. "Hand to hand."
Cassidy nodded grimly, touching her still delicate ribs without realising it. Chucking bodies around all day had aggravated it.
"Are you going to be alright?" Glenn asked, biting his lip when Cassidy glared and Maggie elbowed him in the ribs.
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I can handle myself."
Cassidy circled around them and stalked away across the landing. Truth be told, there hadn't been much time for sparring or training whilst they'd spent months trekking all over the woods and back. She'd kept in shape once her ribs had healed, as best you could when you were eating from day to day anyway. She was pretty sure she still had the edge, but that was a long way from marching off into walker-infested darkness.
Daryl found her on an isolated landing, running through basic stretches and kick-boxing exercises. He watched for a while, hidden by the shadows as he perched on the railing. He could see the difference as he watched her fluid movements. Before she had been confident and almost a little cocky when she trained, now she was being careful. He could practically see her thinking through her moves before she made them.
"Stop thinkin' so damn hard."
She didn't jump so he knew her senses were still sharp. She finished the exercise before she turned to him, her chest rising and falling rapidly from the workout, sweat sheening her body. She pushed her sweating hair off her forehead. He jumped down from the railing, propping his crossbow against the mesh railing and stripping off his leather vest. He indicated for her to come at him and she smiled grimly, her eyebrows almost disappearing into her hair.
"I've seen you fight and honey, there's no rhyme or reason to it." She cocked her head. "As effective as it is."
The muscles in his cheek flickered and for a second she almost thought he was going to roll his eyes. He clucked his tongue against his cheek and signalled again for her to come at him. In all the many months they'd been on the road together, they had never sparred or trained together. Mainly because Daryl didn't do any of that. So Cassidy gave a little half-hearted jab in his direction. Daryl latched onto her wrist, wrenched it back and twisted her around. He yanked her against him, his chin brushing her shoulder and his breath warm on her ear.
"Thinkin." He let her go and she spun away from him looking furious. "Let go."
She came at him again, stronger this time, driven by hurt pride and anger. She got closer but he still managed to catch her and send her sprawling against the railing with a clang. She huffed, glaring at the ground below them for a long moment. She caught her breath, ignoring the pain flaring in her ribs. Seriously? She was going to get her ass handed to her by a goddamn redneck? Hell no. She'd never hear the end of it. He was smirking at her, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. When she looked past the smug smirk, she realised that his squinting eyes were worried about her. Her ego flared and she took a deep breath. She drew herself up, searching for that spot in her head she had always been able to retreat to. Daryl was right; she'd been inside her head too much. Fighting was as natural as breathing to her, she might not be in the best shape of her life but her body knew what to do.
Daryl seemed to sense her slipping back into survival mode and his smirk vanished. He jerked his head in a brief satisfied nod. She widened her stance, tipping her head back and smiling dangerously at him. Daryl moved away, shrugging back into his vest and grabbing up his crossbow.
"What's the matter, redneck?" She put her hands on her hips challengingly. "Chickening out?"
He narrowed his eyes and she grinned, rolling her hip to one side. His gaze flickered irresistibly downwards, just as she'd known it would. She strolled across the landing, her bare feet soundless on the metal floor, and tucked her hands underneath his vest. He glowered at her. She smiled right back, her lips curling into a grin. He could feel his body tensing, as attuned to hers as always. She was giving off body heat and pheromones, her distinctive scent curling around his nostrils. She pressed her body against him, the hint of sweat from her work out making him unmercifully aroused. She was biting his ear, something she knew made his knees go weak, and he could smell her hair slipping out of its messy plait. His right hand was gripping his crossbow in a death grip, his other he slipped around her waist. It was impossible to draw her any closer, he sincerely doubted whether you could fit so much as a piece of paper between them right now, but he needed to touch her.
His hand burrowed under her wifebeater, technically his wifebeater, and caressed the smooth skin of her lower back. Her lips were whispering along his stubbly jawline, her cheek scratching against his whiskers. He pushed her lower body against his, growling as she murmured naughty things into his ear.
"Good lord!" Hershel lifted his busy white eyebrows at them, pursed his lips and turned back the way he came.
Cassidy giggled, pulling away enough to meet his eye. Daryl studied her. She was still stunning; the beating she'd taken with Lochie hadn't left any scars but after her experience in the bunker and the beating in the woods, she seemed different. He flicked a lock of damp hair off her forehead and she smiled. There was something a little softer about her. Everyone else had become harder, stronger and tougher around the edges but Cassidy, she'd retained her strength and resilience but she'd opened herself up too. She still kept her distance from all of them, but over the months she'd accepted that they were a part of a group and he was no longer afraid he'd wake up one morning to find her gone.
"Lochie!"
Cassidy snatched Lochie out of the way just as a particularly wily walker lunged forwards, nearly taking a chunk out of her arm. She squeaked in surprise as Cassidy smashed the walker's head into the wall with bone-crushing force. Lochie flashed her a bright grateful smile as they took the brief respite in the now walker-free hallway. Cassidy swiped her damp forearm across her face, blood and sweat mingling with the dirt. This place was just too big it would take days to completely secure the whole thing. For now Rick was willing to just secure a small area for them to use. Cassidy glanced over her shoulder. The gloomy eerie corridor was empty since they'd lost the others and littered with the bodies of walkers but she couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching them.
"Can we find the others now?" Lochie asked, creeping closer to Cassidy. "I've spent most of my life avoiding places like this." She pointed out as they backtracked towards their new living quarters. "And I'm a little freaked out."
They froze as a blood-curdling shriek darted down the corridors and buffeted their ears. Lochie trembled, her grip tightening on the shovel she'd been using as a weapon. Even in the dim light of the hallway Cassidy could see her face was as white as a sheet. She had gotten stronger and better able to defend herself over the months but it had taken a great deal for her to come out into these dark infested hallways.
"Who was that?"
Cassidy fluttered her hand, indicating for quiet. Lochie clamped her mouth shut, her fingers tightening on the wooden handle so much Cassidy could hear her skin grating against the grain. Once she had a sense of where the screams had come from, Cassidy led the way with Lochie at her heels. A walker surprised her and she hurriedly despatched it with her knife, muffled grunts and anxious voices murmuring calling her onwards into a less dilapidated corridor. A set of double doors flew open and they jumped back, weapons at the ready. Cassidy could not have been more amazed when they staggered out bearing Hershel's weight, blood everywhere. Daryl glanced at her, his face twisted into a scowl. Rick looked thoroughly shaken and he stared at Lochie almost hungrily.
"What happened?" Lochie gasped in horror, falling into step with Rick.
Rick didn't reply, it was fairly obvious what had happened. Cassidy felt the skin crawling on the back of her neck and she turned. Daryl was behind them, his feet planted firmly apart and his entire body rigid with hostility. She came to an abrupt halt. Rick glanced back to see what the hold up was, his face darkening as he took in the situation. He side-stepped Maggie and Glenn, touching Cassidy's shoulder lightly. He'd learnt not to sneak up on her the hard way, after she'd almost dislocated his shoulder one morning. She flicked him a glance over her shoulder, her lips pursed into a contemplative frown as she studied the inmates attempting to stare down Daryl's crossbow.
"Will you take them back to the bunks?"
Cassidy didn't indicate that she'd heard him by so much as the flicker of an eyelash. Her focus was entirely on Daryl and the situation at hand. Rick licked his lips. He knew that if those prisoners moved a millimetre towards Daryl, Cassidy wouldn't hesitate to leap into the fray. She was a part of their group now; she had fought with them and saved their lives more than once, risking hers in the process, but it was still always Daryl. Her shoulders were set and ready, her feet slightly apart as she levered onto the balls of her feet.
"Cassidy." She cocked her head slightly towards him. "I need you to make sure they get back."
It was the closest thing to an order Rick had ever given her and he saw the muscles in her back tightening angrily.
"Please." He amended hastily.
"Please." Lochie echoed, her voice thick with supressed emotion as her eyes darted from Hershel to Rick to Cassidy and back again.
The inmates were gawping at the women as if they'd never seen one before and Cassidy shifted slightly. The thought of someone more brazen than these guys getting their hands on Lochie made her feel nauseous. She stared at Daryl's profile. He was unwavering, his narrowed eyes fixed fully on the threat. Cassidy stepped back, returning to Hershel's side. Cassidy's heart was a block of ice in her chest as she put her back to Daryl. Rick shivered, hoping he could talk this situation down because he did not relish the idea of explaining to Cassidy that he'd gotten Daryl killed.