This chapter bored me. I don't know why really, but it did. But it's one that has to be so I hope you folks don't fall asleep reading it ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing and being so so cool!
Chapter Twenty Four
Rick's eyes met Daryl's and he nodded. "So, we head away from the city. There's cars on the highway so we'll be able to siphon some gas. Maybe go through some of the vehicles and get our hands on more food and supplies."
"Sounds good to me." Daryl rolled his shoulders and looked up in time to see Milton and Jenner enter the room. "Well, I'll be damned." He said as he gestured towards the two men.
Jenner still looked the same. Maybe a little more sad than he had yesterday. Milton on the other hand was dressed in regular clothes. Jeans and a button down plaid shirt that Daryl would have actually liked if maybe the man would just rip the sleeves off. Milton took an unsteady breath and walked towards the men. He was carrying a few bags with him and a suit case.
He didn't reach the men before he was stopped by Carol and Andrea. Carol, being Carol, hugged the poor guy and Daryl almost laughed when Milton's wide eyes went straight to him. Good, at least the man knew not to try to mess with her. Even if she was obviously happy to see him all packed and ready to go. He looked away from Daryl, smiling a little and patted Carol's back awkwardly but as soon as Carol pulled away Andrea did the same and he repeated his awkward back patting. Man, this was going to be fun to watch. The guy was in worse shape than Daryl had been in.
Everyone moved towards Jenner and Milton. Carol went straight to Daryl's side and took his hand. She was grinning from ear to ear and he couldn't help but grin back. She was happy so he was happy. Now if only they could get Shane to take Milton's place.
"Milton has decided to go with you, as long as the offer still stands." Jenner said loud enough for everyone to hear.
Rick nodded. "Of course it still stands. But what about you?"
Jenner just gave him a small sad smile. "There isn't anything out there for me. I'm going to go ahead... with our original plan."
"There isn't anything we can say to change your mind?" Dale asked from the back of the group.
Jenner shook his head. "I just wanted to thank you all. You made my last night a really interesting one. I wish you all the best."
Everyone looked around when the lights dimmed a little. Jenner just gave them that haunted smile. "You may want to head out now. These doors wont open again once those generators run dry."
Carol let go of Daryl's hand and walked up to Jenner and hugged him just like she did Milton but with less enthusiasm. But Jenner hugged her back tightly. She pulled away and said a few words and he smiled at her, shaking his head. She walked away, grabbing Sophia by the hand and stood next to the door.
Daryl took her lead and stepped up to the man and offered him his hand. Jenner shook it and then nodded. He walked up to Carol. She was wiping away tears from her face and he instantly grabbed the back of her head and pulled her face to his chest so she would have somewhere to cry. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kept her head there, sniffling. He felt a small hand slide into his and he looked down at Sophia. He gave her hand a squeeze and smiled a little.
Everyone else did as him and Carol had done. Milton lingered, speaking to him briefly before grabbing his things and coming to stand with the rest of them. They all had more to carry since they were loaded down with supplies now, thanks to Jenner, but there was enough people that it would only take one trip to get it all to the vehicles.
Daryl happened to look up just as Lori was pulling away from Jenner but he stopped her, leaned down and whispered something in her ear. She tensed and then asked him something which his response was a grim nod. She covered her mouth with her hand stepped away from him. Her eyes shot towards Shane and Rick who stood off to the side talking to one another. Daryl frowned and couldn't help but wonder what that was all about. No one else seemed to notice the exchange.
Well, one other person seemed to be just as observant as him. Sophia shot him a questioning look but he just shrugged.
They all gathered up everything and waited while Jenner pushed in a code in a keypad by the door. It opened slowly. There were only a few Walkers meandering around all the rotted corpses that littered the ground. Milton looked like he was ready to bolt back inside but Andrea and Amy were there, taking his arm and moving him forwards. He hadn't been outside since the whole thing started. He had never even saw a Walker up close and personal and the man was obviously terrified.
Daryl kept Sophia and Carol close. When they finally made it to their vehicles they used Daryl and T-dogs trucks to store everything. T-dog had more room because of Merle's bike.
"Can I ride in the R.V.?" Sophia asked.
Carol looked at Daryl and raised an eyebrow. He didn't know why she always turned to him. He wished she hadn't now because he really didn't want the girl out of his sights. He wanted to keep them both close. He didn't know why. There was just something that wasn't sitting right with him today for some reason.
"What the hell's wrong with my truck?" He asked.
She shrugged. "You guys kept me awake most of the night with all your whispering. I figured I could catch up on some sleep while we drive."
Daryl couldn't really argue. Much. "You're the one that stole the damn couch from me. You coulda slept just fine in the bed with your momma but you had to be a brat and not listen to anything I said."
Sophia frowned. "Is that a no?"
Daryl blew out a frustrated breath. "I ain't your boss. It ain't like you ever do what I say anyways." He looked at Carol and she was watching them with a grin. He hoped that she told her no but it really didn't make much sense too.
"Let me go ask Dale and then I guess, if you didn't sleep much, you can ride with them."
Daryl watched them walk away, feeling like he should stop them. He should just tell Sophia no. It seemed like he had at least a little authority over the kid. Carol seemed to look to him any time she asked anything. She trusted his judgment but then again he didn't want Sophia to think that he was trying to jump into the daddy role and boss her around.
And there Dale was, nodding and smiling like an idiot. He groaned as he watched Sophia, and then Carl, climb into the camper. Carol turned towards him and shrugged. He just nodded. She stopped to talk to Andrea for a few more moments and then finally they were in the truck. He didn't want to be near this place when it lit up. He did feel bad about Jenner but he didn't feel as bad as Carol did. To him it was just Jenner copping out and that was his choice. But Carol felt things more deeply than he did. It was one of the things he loved about her.
He waited for Rick to go around him before he pulled out and as soon as he put his foot on the gas she scooted over until there was no space at all between them. And that was fine by him.
"You really didn't want to let her ride with Dale, did you?" She asked after he pulled out behind Rick.
He just shrugged. "It ain't my call what the kid does."
"You didn't answer the question." She said quietly.
"I don't know. I guess I like to have you both close. Just in case. She was too damn far away that last night at camp." he glanced up in the mirror and saw the R.V. "I don't want something like that happening again."
They were quiet for a while and then they hit the highway and headed west. There were quite a few cars scattered around but Rick kept going. Daryl glanced down nervously at his gas hand. He was damn near out of gas and he knew the others had to be too.
"What the hell is Rick doin'?"
She glanced up. "What's wrong?"
"The dumb ass ain't stoppin' at these cars and we're bout out of gas." He grumbled.
"Maybe Lori and him are distracted." She said and he could hear the bitter edge to her voice.
He glanced over at her and put a hand on her thigh. "What's that all about?" He asked.
"She just gets to me sometimes. The way she looks down on everyone and we all know what she was doing while Rick was gone."
Daryl shrugged. "I don't much like her but she did think he was dead."
"Daryl, that's crap. She thought he was dead for what? A few days before it became obvious she was sleeping with Shane. And Shane was suppose to be his best friend? And I don't think they've stopped either. It doesn't seem like it anyway."
"Well, I guess it is bad. But that's their problem. Don't be getting us into it. They'll sort that shit out on their own."
She fumed. "It just isn't right. Rick's a good man. Someone lucky enough to find a good man their first go round should appreciate them more. If something ever happened to you there's no way I would run off with another man in a week. I wouldn't be able to be with another man ever. She's just..."
"A whore?" He volunteered with a smirk. He found her hand on the seat and twined his fingers through hers. "And we ain't even been together yet." He laughed.
She laughed with him. "Shut up. You know what I mean. Besides, we've had a lot of practice."
"Have we?" He cocked an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Through our clothes." She laughed again.
He just shook his head. "Yeah. That shit is getting real old too."
They continued on for a while in silence while Daryl ran his thumb absently across Carol's wrist.
"What the fuck?" Daryl mumbled as he squinted through the windshield.
"What?" Carol sat up straighter and peered out. "Oh no."
There were cars blocking the road. The whole side of the road was blocked by the abandoned vehicles. Daryl looked up in the mirror and saw Dale right on his ass. He hit the breaks as soon as he saw Rick's break lights and he angrily shoved the truck into park. He scowled through the windshield.
"Mother fuck." He growled.
He felt her hand on the side of his face. He turned his angry eyes on her and then instantly felt some of that anger drain away. "We'll get past it. We just have to get out and find a way around. Besides, there's a lot of cars and we can fill up."
He nodded and let go of her hand. "I don't like bein' out in the open like this."
"Me neither. Can you imagine poor Milton's panic right now?"
He felt the corner of his mouth turn up in a half smile. "Tryin' to keep me from freakin' out?" He asked.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Yep."
He caught her face between his hands and kissed her gently. "Will you stay in the truck?" he asked hopefully.
She kissed him and then pulled back. "Not a chance."
He rolled his eyes. "You two never listen to me."
They got out of the truck and walked towards Rick who was standing there with his hands on his hips looking at the mess in front of them.
"The fuck we suppose to do now?" Daryl asked as he stood next to him.
He had glanced in the window on his way by and saw Lori sitting in the passenger seat looking on like she was in a daze. Carol headed back towards the R.V. To check on the kids. Everyone else was coming their way.
"Looks like you made another good call Rick." Shane called as he approached them. It was obvious that their friendship was growing more and more tense by the day.
"Well, I didn't see you makin' any calls at all." Rick snapped.
"Maybe we shoulda had Dixon call some shots. Maybe the big hero coulda avoided all this mess." Shane smirked.
Daryl glared at him. "Nah, not me, Shane. Seems to me you're the one wantin' to take Ricks spot. You can have it." He flashed a smile as Shane's smirk turned into a scowl.
"Now ain't the time. We gotta figure somethin' out." Rick said as he kept his eyes on the area around them.
"Might as well get some gas cans and siphon some gas while we're figurin' somethin' out." Daryl said as he tore his angry gaze away from Shane. "Maybe have the women start going through some of these cars. Can't have enough supplies anymore."
Rick nodded. "That's a good idea." He shot Shane a hard look and turned around to go to his own vehicle to get some cans, Daryl did the same. He made it a point to walk right by Shane on his way to his truck.
"You think your funny?" Shane asked as Daryl walked by.
"Fuckin' hilarious, dipshit." Daryl grumbled without turning around.