Ugh, I had replies to all your lovely reviews...but in my half asleep state didn't save this...dammit...all my editing...ah, I'm going to bed. Enjoy the un-edited, unreplied chapter for now.
Loves...and whatever...sleepy time.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Aimer
**Daryl**
It was after the sun was at its highest point in the sky when they got back to the convent, exhausted from the silent, tense road trip and ready to get the back gate hole repaired before dark.
The walkers they had put down at the lumberyard weren't many, but the fact that some were still lingering in nearby towns after the herd moved through didn't settle well with him.
Maybe he was just being over cautious, but he didn't want to leave the convent for too long without having it completely secured again.
Pulling in through the front gate, he pulled the truck to a stop in front of the church where the rest were gathering.
They'd drop off the other goodies they scored at the lumberyard before he backed the truck with the cinderblocks up to the open gate to save them wear and tear on their backs hefting the blocks that far.
The others started helping to unload the makeshift weapons and the likes first, grabbing what they could, while Daryl took a quick tour around the convent grounds just to check on the place.
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They worked for the rest of the day getting the back gate closed up securely, the cinder block wasn't pretty against the limestone of the convent's original wall, but it was better than a weak point in the structure.
Placing the last block in place, Daryl stepped back to admire his handiwork with Father O'Rourke and Sister Mary Agnes who had been helping him. The others eager to get the garden replanted, to get the windows boarded up and repaired to the best of their abilities.
"It'll be dry enough in the morning, we'll just have to keep a closer eye on it for tonight," he said.
They had double blocked it in order to strengthen the new patch, but the cement wouldn't be one hundred percent until it dried come morning.
He just hoped they didn't get a herd moving through.
"We'll just double the watch here tonight," the priest said, dusting his hands off on his black pants. "Should be okay if we're vigilant enough," he added.
"I'd like to hit that lumberyard again at some point," Daryl stated. "They had a lot of good stuff for defending the place, but we didn't have the room."
"If they have those pre-fab garden shed kits, we might be able to make a few more buildings for people to get some privacy," Sister Mary Agnes pointed out. "Good Lord knows we could use some."
Daryl nodded.
"I'd imagine some of us more than others," the priest added with a small, cat-like grin.
"Don't you have a wall to be on?" Daryl growled.
The priest chuckled and walked off, heading for the nearest part of the old wall to climb onto.
Sister Mary Agnes avoided his gaze, ducking her head and hurrying towards the dorms, taking with her some of the tools they used to clean at the water pump.
Pushing the wheel barrel in the direction of the storage shed, he met up with Merle and the Cajun who were heading his way.
"Where the hell did you two get off to?" He demanded.
"We were doing stuff," the Lieutenant said quickly.
"Patrolling the wall," Merle said at the same time.
There was a quick exchange of glances, before the Cajun reiterated Merle's statement. "We were patrolling the wall."
Scowling at the men, Daryl kept pushing the wheel barrel in the direction of the sheds.
"I'll get that," the Lieutenant swooped in, taking the wheel barrel by force, pushing Daryl out of the way.
Before Daryl could wrap his head around what the hell the two were up to, the Lieutenant shuffled off with the wheel barrel and Merle spotted something behind Daryl which had him wandering off in the opposite direction with a muttered, "I'm going to find me a skirt to chase."
Glancing behind him to see the threat that had Merle evacuating the area, he found Carol approaching, Judith in her arms, Annie and the dog at her heel.
She smiled widely at him.
"I feel like I'm being avoided," she teased, eyeing Merle's retreating back.
"I don't know what the hell is up with them." He admitted, holding out his arms for the Lil' Asskicker.
Handing her over, Carol held a hand to shield her eyes, gazing in the direction of the patched back gate.
"Hi, Mr. Daryl!" Annie chirped softly.
He nodded at her. "You been helping out today?" He asked.
She beamed. "I was in charge of sorting the seeds."
"That sounds useful," he lied.
She giggled.
"Everything go okay at the lumberyard today?" Carol asked, idly stroking Annie's hair, holding the girl against her warmly.
"Yeah, it went smoothly. I'm thinking of hitting it up again, they were pretty well stocked." In his arms Judith mewled and struck out with a gobby little hand, gripping at the top button of his shirt. He caught her little hand with his and wiggled it playfully. "She's going to be knocking boys on their asses soon," he mused with a small grin.
Carol laughed. "I'm sure the boys who come around will have to run the gauntlet of you, Rick and Carl first."
He smiled down at Judith as the little baby smacked her lips, blinking big baby blue eyes up at him. It soothed his heart to think that maybe he would mean that much to the little girl when she got older, that maybe he could protect her from not just the walkers, but possible suitors.
He just had to make sure they lived long enough to see her grow up.
Glancing up he found Carol looking at him in that way she had that made him feel almost worthy of something. He shifted uncomfortably.
Why the hell the woman thought so highly of him was still completely beyond his comprehension, but he wasn't going to deny he didn't enjoy it. It made him feel like he could do anything, because she believed he could.
He really wanted to kiss her then. Show her how much he appreciated those funny looks she gave him, but he didn't think she'd want him doing that in front of Annie. He still wasn't clear on the rules on displays of affection in front of children.
The sound of a truck's engine approaching up the worn cattle trail of a road to the convent had him jerking his head in the direction of the front gate.
It seemed Rick's supply run was coming home.
He moved across the lawns, Carol and her entourage at his heels, to greet the returning group.
As their tall leader emerged from the truck, Daryl nodded a greeting to him.
Rick looked better than he had, there was colour back in his face and the Mother Superior had made him shave and clean up some, but the man still looked tired.
He took Judith as Daryl moved to stand beside him, offering his baby girl a gentle smile.
"How'd it go?" Carol asked.
"We found some good stuff, but not much ammo but enough to defend ourselves right now coupled with the stuff we already have. Seems all the common ammo was picked over at the gun shop we came across." Rick replied.
Giving Rick a supportive hug, Carol smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're all back safely."
She turned cautious eyes on Daryl that flickered across his features almost nervously, before settling on Rick again.
For a moment he was confused about her worry. Before the thought came to him that she was probably expecting jealously for touching Rick, but Daryl didn't care. He knew Carol showed physical affection to people who needed it most. He wasn't anything like Ed. He wasn't going to fly off the handle over something as innocent as a hug.
Of course he couldn't honestly say he'd be too pleased if Carol and Rick decided to swap spit in front of him, but he'd imagine that was normal for any man who had a tentative relationship with a woman.
Besides, Rick needed all the support he could get and Daryl wasn't the hugging type.
"We found some seeds," Daryl said, "some things that we can make weapons out of. Hell we already fixed the wall."
Rick nodded. "Okay. Have you had a chance to speak with the Mother Superior to call a meeting?"
Daryl shook his head. "Figured you'd want to bring up the subject with her yourself."
With blue eyes darting about their surroundings, Rick shook his head once. "No, I think you can handle that. I'm going to spend some much needed time with my baby girl."
Carol beamed, reaching out to touch a gentle hand to his arm. "I'll head inside and see what I can find to eat for you boys. You all must be hungry."
Both men nodded their thanks to the woman and watched as she moved off for the dorms, her shadows falling in line behind her.
Holding his baby girl against his chest, Rick moved in close to Daryl, leaning down conspiratorially. "Don't ever let that woman go."
Daryl eyed the man who had at one time been the jackass who handcuffed his brother to a roof, who had at one time been just some man who wanted to lead them to safety at the CDC, who had become a leader and suddenly a brother, and shook his head. He had no intentions of ever letting go and he couldn't understand why Rick would even think he would. Daryl knew a good thing when he saw one and Carol was perhaps the best thing that could have ever come into his life.
Giving Daryl a dry grin, Rick nodded and moved off, cooing to his baby girl.
The man was on the mend and it made Daryl breathe a lot easier.
Putting his head down, he shifted his crossbow on his shoulder and moved in the direction of the garden where he knew the Mother Superior was working diligently on recovering her seed potatoes, the only things they couldn't find at the home improvement centre.
Moving up to stand at the edge of the garden, he smirked a little at the woman who was kneeling among her rows of delicately planted veggies, bemoaning her potatoes and digging through the dirt for the root vegetables to replant them back where they were supposed to be.
"Uh, excuse me?" He greeted.
She looked up, running a muddy wrist over her brow, pushing her bangs off her forehead. "Yes, sweetie?"
"Can I have a word with you?" He asked almost shyly.
Dusting the rich topsoil off her hands, she got to her feet and carefully picked her way across the garden plot, heading for him. "Of course. What can I do for you?"
"We need to have a meeting, everyone. I was hoping you and yours could be there too."
"Who'll man the gate?"
"I think we'll be fine if we hold it on the front lawns, we just need everybody present. Carl'll man the wall while we meet, Beth can handle the gate for the time being."
The woman eyed him with worried eyes the colour of Bermuda ocean waters. "Is everything okay?"
"We just need to talk, is all, plan things as a group."
"I'll get everyone gathered."
"Thank you."
Leaving the woman to her garden, he headed across the lawns for the infirmary.
Poking his head in he found Andrea and Michonne chatting idly, Michonne keeping her eyes on the world outside the window.
"Group meeting in ten," he announced.
Michonne eyed him stoically. "I'm not a part of your group," she replied.
"Group meeting," he insisted, leaving the building before she could argue.
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Moving to take a place beside Rick, Daryl eyed everyone gathered.
Michonne had managed to get Andrea into an old wheelchair from the infirmary enough to get her outside into the sunshine.
Twenty of them gathered on the soft lawns, Carl, Beth and Annie keeping watch for them made their population twenty-three, an even twenty-four if Daryl counted that damned dog that nearly got them killed in the church they had set fire to.
Twenty of them waited for Rick to start.
Rick nodded to Merle and began. "Merle came up with a way of taking out the threat of Woodbury without exterminating all of them."
Of course Glenn took issue with this.
"Can we trust him?" The Korean-American man asked.
"Glenn, I know he's the reason we're in this mess. If he didn't take you and Maggie, we would still be in the prison in blissful happiness. But his plan is a good one and if Daryl trusts him then I trust him too." Rick said. "It's better than the alternative of killing innocents."
Daryl eyed Glenn. The thing was the young man was smart, he may be pissed at Merle, but he also knew to take things easy. To keep a cool head when it came to the bigger picture.
"What's the plan?" Glenn asked.
"Merle?" Rick gave the oldest Dixon the floor.
As Merle explained the plan, Daryl kept his eyes on the Cajun. His grey eyes were narrowed, his mind was working.
"What you're asking is for someone the Governor hasn't met yet to offer their life for your group?" Tyreese's man demanded.
"We won't let someone just go in to die," Rick argued. "We're going to take every precaution to get that man out before they can suffer any unjust damage."
"How?" Michonne broke in. "If you send someone in to get your man back, there's a risk of Woodbury finding out about the rescue and the war will go on."
"Well, get the man out." Rick insisted. "We're not sending anyone to their death."
"I'll do it." The Lieutenant offered.
"There's no way on God's green earth that's happening," the Mother Superior stated firmly.
Quirking a brow so quickly that Daryl almost missed it, the Cajun turned curious eyes on the woman.
"Honey, I have been far too lenient with your need to help people, but I'm drawing a line at losing you." She said.
"I'll be fine. If Rick says he'll get me out, he'll get me out. I trust him to keep his word."
Rick nodded. "Thank you."
"No." The woman insisted.
"I'll be fine. I was trained to withstand enemy torture, I'm probably the best choice out of everyone here." The Lieutenant stated. "I can get in and I'll get out."
Touching a hand to her collar, the nun shook her head. "No. Absolutely not."
Shifting on his feet, Daryl wished that someone else would volunteer. It was cruel to wish it, but he wasn't completely confident in Rick's plan to get their 'straggler' out. He felt even worse when the nun's strong, confident features broke and little, as she glanced around the group for someone to protest with her. Someone to back her up.
Her eyes became glassy when she realized she was on her own and a hopeless look came to her.
Daryl winced and glanced sideways at Rick.
"You can't ask him to do this, Rick." Carol's soft voice broke in. "I wouldn't want you to ask this of anyone in our group, we can't ask the sisters to lose the one man who stands between them and death at their gate."
Eyeing the woman who held Judith in her arms, Daryl was never more proud of her then the moment she stepped up to back a woman who was fighting a losing battle.
He still knew it wouldn't make a difference though. The Lieutenant willingly offered his services and everyone knew it was for the greater good.
Daryl looked at Rick at his side.
The man's flesh tone didn't look too healthy again, but his face was set in steel, his eyes hard.
Deep down he knew Rick was taking it just as hard as he was.
The Lieutenant cleared his throat and offered them a crooked grin. "So, when do you need me?"
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Storming into the garden shed later that night after his shift at the gate, Daryl was expecting to find the dumb assed Cajun or his brother.
He wasn't prepared to find Carol curled up in his nest, sleeping peacefully like a cat.
Kneeling he watched her sleep for a moment, awed by how beautiful she was.
She wasn't a stunning beauty like Andrea, or exotic and mysterious like Michonne, she had none of the sultry looks of the Mother Superior or the cute country bumpkin looks of Maggie, but she was beautiful nonetheless.
Carol was beautiful in the way a woman who radiated it from her very soul was beautiful, she was the prettiest thing he ever saw and she was his.
This thought alone made him smile a little. He never had a woman who was completely his before.
Inhaling deeply, she opened her eyes a crack and smiled.
Nope, he decided, she didn't belong to him, she wasn't his at all. He belonged to her. And he was completely okay with that.
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked a little gruffly.
With a small grin, she nuzzled deeper into the blankets and rags he had been using as bedding. "Well, I figured if I'm yours, then I sleep where my man sleeps."
He looked around, amused by her words. "Yeah, well, no woman of mine is going to sleep on the ground if I can help it."
She laughed softly. "I'm not delicate. Now get into bed, I've been waiting for hours."
"Yes, ma'am." He replied, slipping into the nest beside her, putting his body between hers and the door. If something ever came in, it would have to tear him to shreds before he let it get at her.
The Cajun Dialect
Aimer – To like, to love.