AN: Very short time jump…this chapter and the next one are just some character development…not a lot of excitement.
I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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The plan was to be gone as little time as possible…but the longer they drove, the more it looked like they were at least going to be looking for a place to pass the night.
Daryl, Glenn, Tyreese, and Calista had set out together on this little adventure looking to go for supplies. They'd walked into the town nearest their community, which by this point had been ransacked and very nearly burned to the ground even, by passing groups that followed the waterway. They'd stolen a vehicle to head to a different town…the one where Michonne had once lived…and when they'd gotten there, they'd found that pickings were just as slim.
So they'd upgraded to a delivery van that they found there with almost a full tank, and now they were town hopping, while Glenn wrote directions on a legal pad in the back so they could find their way back and Calista napped against the side of the vehicle nearest where she sat.
And Daryl was feeling a little antsy about the fact that they would be probably have to find a place to pass the night, and he was sure Glenn and Calista were feeling the same, but it was Tyreese who was wearing his annoyance on his sleeve.
Daryl had almost forgotten that Tyreese even had the potential to lose his cool, but he was remembering it as they got in the van, leaving yet another small town in the vicinity that had nothing much to offer them but scraps and an excess of Walkers in the way of what they were looking for…supplies for their wagons.
"The whole damn area's picked clean," Tyreese muttered as he started up the van that Glenn had gassed up with what he could get out of nearby vehicles with Calista keeping watch out for Walkers while Daryl and Tyreese had checked things out.
"We knew that already," Daryl said. "Hell…that's why we gettin' shit together to move on. Ain't nothin' else here."
He had been putting off suggesting that they think about passing the night somewhere. He was going to save it for the next stop…one he hoped would have what they needed…but he figured now was as good a time as any.
"Next town we stop at," Daryl said. "If they got what we want, we better start looking for a shelter for the night. Don't wanna end up with our asses out in the open all night."
"We could sleep in the van," Glenn offered from where he sat and Daryl looked back at him, having forgotten that he wasn't stealing sleep between stops like the woman was.
When they'd been looking for a fourth, someone to serve as backup, Michonne had wanted to jump all over it, but Daryl had made her promise to stay in the community. If they ended up, and it looked like they would, getting stuck out all night, he didn't think it was very fair to leave Carol completely alone and trying to juggle all three children all night.
And Calista had volunteered, seeming anxious to go even, and Daryl thought she might want a chance to show herself…prove that she could do more than the work that the community had to offer.
So far, she was good with Walkers, and thankfully they'd had no reason to find out how she faired against people. She was quiet when she needed to be and she was focused instead of flighty…all things that they liked to see if they were dragging someone new along to serve as backup. She didn't have the same strength as some of the people…and he didn't know how much stamina she had…but she made it up in enthusiasm.
"Man we should have known we were gonna get stuck out here," Tyreese declared. "We don't even know where the hell we are…"
Daryl chuckled.
"That ain't nothin' new," Daryl said. "But Glenn's been writin' that shit down…and we haven't exactly made any fancy turns…we'll find our way back."
Tyreese nodded, but didn't say anything else, and Daryl didn't push him. If he was feeling frustrated and annoyed at the situation, Daryl would rather him save that up and take it out on some Walkers instead of taking it out on him in the van because he was the closest person.
When they reached the next town, one that luckily boasted a pretty decent sized hardware store, Daryl got out of the van muttering to himself and whatever deities might be listening that he hoped this was the one…and that they'd remember it. Runs like this wouldn't take half the time if they knew where the hell they'd already been and they didn't have to pass back through there, clearing them out again just to find out they'd come up dry.
The place wasn't exactly teeming with Walkers, but they did spend at least a good half an hour…burning down the time until nightfall, taking down the ones that came to play. Then, Daryl and Tyreese stepped inside, leaving Glenn to refill the van as best he could with Calista keeping guard to make sure that when they got to leave, they didn't have to worry about ending up walking anywhere.
Once they saw that the place had more than what they needed, Daryl and Tyreese found a warehouse quality rolling cart and went to work loading the thing down in silence.
"Are you that damn mad we gotta spend the night out or you thinking that Carol's gonna kick your ass?" Daryl teased, finally trying to loosen Tyreese up.
Tyreese growled somewhat and continued unloading things. Daryl figured he'd hit the nail on the head.
And really, he knew that they wouldn't be mad. It was a chance that they already understood when they were leaving. Things were getting picked over and they were picked over bad. That was one of the reasons that they were moving on, after all.
Michonne would probably be a little bugged by it, but she'd get over it as soon as they came back, hopefully carrying everything they needed to avoid another run like this…and Daryl didn't figure Carol would be any different. Just like Maggie and Lisette who would be waiting on Glenn and Calista…they'd be just fine once everyone showed back up.
"Ty…I ain't never seen Carol really pissed at your ass," Daryl said. "She ain't gonna be pissed this time neither. And this damn way we gonna have everything we need and we ain't makin' no more trips out here."
Tyreese didn't stop loading cans onto the flat.
"I don't think she's going to be pissed," Tyreese responded. "I don't think she'll be pissed at all…I think she's going to be worried. And being worried isn't good for her and it isn't good for the baby…I would have thought you'd understand that."
Daryl stopped a moment, and then he went back to loading things too.
He thought it through and then he chuckled a little.
"Yeah…OK…sorry," Daryl ceded. "I guess…I can see ya point. I didn't like leavin' 'Chonne none neither…and if Carol's really pregnant…"
Tyreese cut him off, though, slamming down one of the cans he was holding hard enough that Daryl backed up a step, not sure if he should maybe point out that could bust something.
"It's that right there!" Tyreese declared. "That right there…she is pregnant…this is not a joke and it's real for us…just as real as Zeb and Hope were for you. But almost everyone…in the community treats it like it's some kind of joke and hardly ever even mentions it without snickering like it's the punch line."
Daryl stopped for a moment.
Over the time that he'd known Tyreese, he'd come to think of the man as pretty much the best friend he had. He trusted Tyreese far more than he trusted Rick when it came to making decisions. He considered him to be level headed, at least ninety nine percent of the time, and he knew that the man made good decisions…and he made good decisions for all of them, instead of seeming to have some sort of agenda like Rick had been known to have from time to time.
And now that he could tell that Tyreese was angry…or maybe even hurt was the better word for it…he realized how sorry he was if he had been a part of that at all.
Apparently, though, this trip had been the straw that broke the camel's back for him, and Daryl wanted to clear the air and put this behind them if he could. This wasn't the kind of world where any man was rich enough to throw away a friend, especially not a friend that he'd come to regard as far closer to him than any of the family he'd had before this shit had started.
"Sorry man…" Daryl offered.
Tyreese sighed and shook his head, seeming to dismiss the conversation for a moment. He put another can on the flat and then stopped, scratching at his face where he hadn't shaved and it was bothering him.
"I lost my wife before all this happened…" Tyreese offered. "And I lost my daughter…I lost Sasha…everyone, Daryl. And now I've got a family again…but it's a different world for us with Jude. And I love that little girl like she was my own, and so does Carol, but she's not ours…and she'll never really be ours."
Daryl added a few more items to the flat.
"She's as much yours as she can be, she don't know no different, not yet…an' Rick said he ain't gonna try to change the way she thinks," Daryl offered.
Tyreese grunted.
"No, he isn't…or he says he isn't…but everyone's watching us all the time," Tyreese said. "And it's different for everyone else. When Maggie and Glenn tell that little girl about where they got her…they can say we don't know your parents, but we're your parents now. When Sadie tells Paul? She gets to tell him about how she thinks he's her brother's kid…about how she saved him and she kept him…and nobody gives a damn because we didn't know her brother either and we don't even care if it's all some kind of lie. But Jude? Everyone wants to know how we're going to handle it when we get to say that's your dad right there…maybe…and that's your brother…or at least your half-brother."
Daryl stopped working for the moment, letting Tyreese work through all of this. He could tell now that this was shit he'd been carrying around for a good while…and Daryl knew what it felt like to have that kind of stuff bottled up inside of you. He remembered still the day that he'd busted Rick in the face because he was tired of carrying around his frustration about whatever the hell it was that Rick had decided, in his fog of temporary insanity, to carry around against Michonne. You could swallow shit down all you wanted, but eventually it had to go somewhere.
"So…I can love Jude like she's mine…we both can, but we'll never be her parents. Everyone's always going to be judging both of us…deciding how they would have done it differently," Tyreese continued. "But this kid? Isaac…or whatever…even if it's not the kid that Muh predicted, even if that's the joke of the whole thing…this kid is mine. This kid is ours. And it's just as damn important to me as your kids are to you, and Carol…and her feelings…are just as important to me as Michonne is to you."
After Tyreese finished his speech, his brows furrowed deeply, he stood there staring at Daryl like he wasn't even sure, once all the words were out, why he'd even said them. His expression faded from anger to the confusion that one feels when they let something get out that they never really intended to spit out.
It had just gotten away from him…but Daryl understood that too.
Daryl didn't know, exactly, what to say to make Tyreese feel better…or really if there was anything to say. He suspected, maybe, this was more about getting it out than expecting any kind of solution to any of his problems…and Daryl would probably be the most likely soul for him to want to get it out to…especially since Tyreese probably wouldn't want to unload this on Carol, though Daryl suspected she already knew how he felt.
Daryl just nodded his head at Tyreese and then reached out, clapping him on the shoulder and offering a squeeze, hoping that he understood everything that he wanted to communicate with it.
And then after a moment he went back to loading down the flat.
"We'll load this shit up," Daryl said. "Probably got enough here to do everything we need…but if we don't, next run won't take up no time…no need to pass back by all them places we come through. Tomorrow mornin'…we'll be back home 'fore breakfast is done."
Tyreese continued loading, quiet now and looking almost remorseful for everything he'd said, so Daryl guarded silence the rest of the time until they had the heavy rolling cart so loaded that it wouldn't be able to hold anything more and it would most assuredly take both of them to move it.
"I'm sorry…for losing it on you," Tyreese offered.
Daryl chuckled lightly to himself. He sucked his teeth and shook his head.
"Reckon it's me that's sorry…shoulda asked ya before how you was doing with everything…" Daryl offered.
He stood there, before leaning down to pick up the handle to the rolling cart. He wasn't good at expressing these things sometimes…from time to time the whole emotional and sentimental thing, it was hard for him to get a grasp on…and he certainly wasn't used to doing it with anyone besides Michonne.
"We good?" Daryl asked after a moment, hoping Tyreese might figure out that he meant a lot of things…he just wasn't going to be able to say too much else.
Tyreese chuckled, nodded his head, and then leaned down to catch hold of the heavy iron handle.
"Yeah…we're good," he said.