Chapter 6
The sound of a phone ringing woke Anna out of her slumber early one morning. She rubs her eyes as the phone continues to ring, loud and clear through the room. She was surprised the three year old girl in the room didn't wake up from the sound. Glaring at the small device, she sighs, picking it up, knowing exactly who it was calling, at least at this hour.
"Daryl, it's the first day of break and you call me at nine am in the morning?" she whines into the phone, but also staying quiet enough for the girl to stay asleep. She hears him snicker.
"It's not that bad. Not like its six am in the morning." She scoffs, shaking her head.
"It's still early on a day we have off, especially when said morning is that girl's birthday." Yet again, another snicker, making her roll her eyes.
"That's why I was callin'. Wanted to ask what ya were doing today." She shrugs, glancing over at the sleeping girl, breathing slowly, in and out.
"I dunno. When I was younger, I always pictured myself having a huge party, lots of gifts, and lots of friends, but everything's changed. I have a kid now to take care of, who's now three, Jesus,' she chuckles, smiling a bit.
"How is she?" he asks. "That cold gone yet?"
"Thank God it is!" Anna sighs. "She's better. Tired, but better. Thanks to that medicine you gave her. Boy did that do the trick."
"Knocked the cold right outta her, right?" She grins.
"Out of the park." She sighs again. "I feel like I never get her out, you know? Whether it was school or work, I've never brought her to a park or anything. Thank God I finally have some time off. I mean, it's senior year now, but I seriously need to take more time off. I feel so bad that my momma has to take care of her when I'm at practice."
"Speaking of yer ma, what did your parents have to do that made them leave ya home alone with Ari?" She smiles as he uses the girl's nickname Anna uses.
"Some conference in Orlando, so they're far away from me. Maybe they'll call later. So I guess it's just me and Ari today, which isn't bad."
"And that's where you're wrong." Her brow furrows.
"What do you mean?" He chuckles again.
"Window," he says. She places the telephone down and looks out the giant piece of glass peering out into the front of her house, a smile spreading on her face. And it spread even more. There was Daryl, leaning against his truck, the cell phone she had gotten him a few weeks ago in his hand.
She smiles and runs down the stairs to the door. Practically pulling it open, she runs outside and right into him, her arms going around his body. He returns the gesture, placing his arms around her waist, chuckling at her reaction.
When she pulls back, her grin is still in place. "I thought you seas you were going hunting with Merle today!" she says, laughing. He snorts.
"And leave ya alone with just Aria for company? What kind of friend would I be? The girl is cute, but not for a while day." She laughs.
"Then happy birthday to me, I guess," she chuckles. About to say something else, she starts but is interrupted by a small voice coming from the porch.
"Mama?" Anna spins around and see's her three year old rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, her brown hair hanging loosely by her sides and in front of her face, pointing in all different directions. She sees the man next to her mama and a cheeky smile develops on her face. "Daryl?"
"Hey, kid," he says. She runs towards him and he takes her up in his arms, making her laugh.
"Mama getting old today," she says, bopping Anna on the nose, making her mother laugh.
"I know. Sooner or later she's gonna start gettin' wrinkles under her eyes," he taunts. She raises an eyebrow, a sly smile crossing her face.
"I hope not," she chuckles. "I'd rather stay young, thank you. I'm only turning 18."
"Yeah, you're an adult now, which means you're getting older," he taunts again. "The white hair will start coming in soon enough, Ari. Ya just wait," he says, whispering the last part to the small girl, making the child laugh.
"Mama getting white hair!" she laughs. Anna glares playfully at Daryl.
"You're turning my child against me!" she chuckles, shaking her head.
"No I'm not, I'm just telling her how yer-"
"Daryl!" she yells, laughing, which causes him to snicker as well. "You're making it worse, dang it!"
"Oh, at least ya watch the language around the kid, huh?" She rolls her eyes as he puts Aria back down on the ground, who stood in between them.
"Be quiet," she says. He smirks, nodding, but both knew it wasn't over.
"But, I did come over for a reason other than to visit ya." He reaches into his pockets and fingers around for something, while Anna and Ari look at it, wondering what it was. After a moment, he pulls out three pieces of paper, and Aria automatically knows what it is.
"Six Fwags!" she yells grabbing one of the tickets. Anna raises and eyebrow and takes one of the pieces of paper, examining it. Sure enough, it was a ticket to get into the Six Flags in Atlanta. She smiles at him for a moment.
"What's this?" she chuckles. He shrugs his shoulder.
"Ya always said how ya wanted to go there. Thought it'd be nice to bring ya and your daughter to." Aria jumps up and down.
"Thwank you!" she yells, hugging his legs because she was so small. He chuckles and leans down, throwing an arm around her, returning the gesture, making Anna smile even more.
"Welcome," he replies, but then pushes her forward to the house. "Now go get changed." She nods and runs off into the house. Anna pulls him back up, and his stupid grin is on his face. "What?" he chuckles. She waves the ticket in his face.
"Really? These must have cost a fortune, Daryl! You didn't have to do that for me and especially not for Aria!" she chuckles. He waves his hand.
"It's nothing, Anna." She scoffs.
"Daryl-"
"Anna, I'm always the one helping ya with Ari. I care about ya and I care about that little girl just as much as ya do. And I remember she said ya wanted to go there but didn't have the time. I made the amount I needed and got the tickets. I wanted to give ya a little break from life and have some fun. So just shut up, and go get changed," he finishes, chuckling slightly at the end. She smiles, staring at the tickets for a second.
"Why are you so good to me?" she asks sincerely, looking up. Amusement comes across his face.
"You're my girl," he replies, placing an arm around her shoulder, and then rustling her hair slightly. She chuckles."Not to mention you've stuck with me since elementary school." She smiles at him again.
"I'll always be your girl, no matter what. But seriously? Next time you need save the money for something. Don't spend it on me," she laughs. He rolls his eyes.
"Just go get change, woman," he says, pushing her near the door like he did to Ari. She laughs and goes into the house, smiling on the way up the stairs. Aria is at the top, trying to tie her shoe.
"Let me do it sweetie," she says, tying the lace in a pretty bow.
"Daryl's taking us, mama!" she says. Anna smiles at her.
"I know sweetie. Now…what to do with your hair?"
"Heard ya came in contact with Jack the other day," Daryl grumbles to Anna as their watching Aria ride one of the kiddie coasters. A disgusted look comes across her face and she snorts, shaking her face.
"Yeah, after three and a half years. I was with Aria too! Oh, I wish you were there! It would have been amazing if you saw what happened!" He raises an eyebrow, moving closer. She chuckles. "Want to hear?"
"Hell yeah," he says back. She laughs, settling down on the fence they were leaning against.
"Ok, so me and Aria were heading to the Macy's in the mall and we were looking for new clothes when I see Jack there looking at one of those horribly, overpriced, boxers or briefs things, and I laugh silently. At first, I was the one who stayed silent, but then he came over to me."
"He came over to ya?" he asks confused. She laughs, nodding her head.
"Exactly! That's what I was thinking! He didn't know who I was because I look so different from freshman year. So he walks up and is like 'I hope you know CPR, because you just took my breath away!'" Both burst out laughing, Anna leaning further against the fence.
"That is the worst pickup line I have ever heard!" he chuckles, straightening himself out. She nods, agreeing. It really was.
"I actually just raised my eyebrow and shook my head at him! That's when I said, 'Summer before freshman year, back of the barn.' And everything came back to him. Including me almost killing him. And when I said that, he said 'Freshie?' And I was like, 'Yeah, bitch.'
"Then he saw Aria, who was clinging onto her legs like a tiger ready to pounce. His eyes widen even more and said 'Is that my kid?' and I said. 'Bio? Yeah. In life? Get the hell out of here and drop down a hole into dog shit.' And I walked away afterwards, Aria right behind me. We went to JC PENNY that day instead." He snickers slightly.
"Ya said that in front of your daughter?" he asks. Her cheeks redden and she smiles sheeplishly.
"Memories caught up," she mumbles. "And I just had to, you know? I couldn't just let him leave! I hate that guy. I mean, I have a daughter because of him, who I love very much, but I just wish I didn't conceive her so early and in such a painful way. I wanted to marry someone I love and have their children, not that sick fuck."
"I agree with that." They're both silent for a minute, enjoying the screams of the people on the rides, silently watching Aria. Anna speaks up.
"You know, you're old enough now. 23. You're allowed to find someone." He's silent for a second before shaking his head.
"I'm not really the marriage type. Plus, no girl seems to really like me like that," he chuckles, rubbing the back of his head. Anna scoffs, shaking her head at him.
"Are you kidding me? Girls are always knocking! I have girls come up to me and ask if I'm with you because we're together so often. Your should give them a chance or at least explore a little…with protection," she added quickly. He chuckles quietly.
"With protection?" he mocks. She smacks his arm.
"Shut up. Plus, you're AMAZING with kids. I don't know why you hide that so much! It's such an attractive quality that-"
"Oh, so ya think I'm attractive, huh?" he chuckles. Her face reddens ever more. She shakes her head, starting to ramble.
"I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that a lot of girls find it good looking and you should show it more often and-"
"I get it, Anna," he snickers. She grins, looking down. "Just teasing ya." She's silent for a second before speaking, looking back up shyly.
"You are good-looking, you know that, right?" she says, her face beet red. He looks down, smiling small. No one had told him that. Really, ever.
"Mama! That was gweat!" Aria says, running over. Anna smiles and takes her daughters hand.
"I'm happy," she laughs. She looks back to Daryl. "Let's get some lunch, k?" He nods and they head off to the pavilion, while Aria tripped every once and a while to see the giant rollercoaster's that she was too short to go on.
Present
Carl Grimes was attending to the garden they had started at the prison when Aria noticed he was struggling with something. Making sure not to step on any of the plants, she walks over to him and taps his shoulder. He looks up and squints through the sunlight bearing down on them.
" You need help, or something?" she asks. He doesn't say anything but nods, nodding over to the plant besides him, who had freshly grown tomatoes.
"Just pick those off the stem and place them in the basket." She nods and walks over to the vine, grabbing one of the tomatoes gently and places it in the basket, making sure not to dent them. The silence was killing her, so she started up a conversation.
"When did you find the prison?" she asks, placing another tomato in the basket. "It's a great place to stay." He shrugs.
"About two months ago. Been here since. Had a lot of trouble though with the Governor and all that." Aria nods, understanding.
"My mother told me about it last night." His eyes question hers. "Daryl told her." He nods.
"Daryl seems to be a big part of your family's life. Is he, like, the father of Scarlett or something?" Aria burst out laughing, shaking her head.
"No! No! He's just been with my mom through a lot and was around all the time when I was younger. I never had a dad, so he being in my life gave me a fatherly figure to look up too. I loved my mom, but when she wasn't around, he was awesome to be with. He was also a big part of Scarlett. The last time I had seen him before all this was when he had to leave NYC to come back down here, and that was when I was 12." He nods.
"NYC?" he asks. She nods.
"When my mom had to go there for college, he had a place up there so he could visit her and I. Mostly her though," she chuckles. "He cared about me, but he wanted to see her. When she moved up here, I could tell he was sad about it. They had been friends since 4th grade, so they were really close."
"And they're still not together?" he chuckles. She sighs.
"No," she laughs. "But my God did I want them to be. I still do. And it's so freaking obvious that they like each other except to EACH OTHER! It drives me crazy! Are they that oblivious?!" she yells, laughing to herself. Carl chuckles.
"Well, there's another woman here who likes Daryl," he says. Aria's brow furrows.
"Who?" she chuckles.
"Carol." She snorts.
"Bullshit. She doesn't stand a chance against my mom." She finishes placing the tomatoes in the basket. "No a chance. Even if they aren't together, mom get's pretty territorial. And I can tell from a mile away that Daryl is hers, even if she refuses to act on it." He chuckles, standing up and taking his basket up in his arms.
"You gonna do something about it?" She thinks for a second.
"Maybe, but I think I'll let what happens, happen. I push people, but when it comes to love, that's not in my department. I love 'em both, but not in my department." He nods back towards the prison, adjusting the basket.
"Let's head back, I'm sure they're waiting." They start to walk back when Aria speaks up.
"Carl?"
"Yeah?" he groans out, adjusting the basket again.
"Your little sister is adorable, by the way. Judith? I love that name. I had a friend named Judith, but people call her Judy." The boy looks down and smiles sadly.
"Judy?" She nods.
"Yeah. Does anyone call her that?" He looks back up, that same sad smile on his face.
"Nah," he says. She's silent for a second before turning back to him.
"You should call her Judy. It could be your special nickname for her." She walks forward to the kitchen while Carl smiles slightly at her. 'Judy…' he thought. He shrugs. 'Maybe…she's pretty cool…for a girl.' He shakes his head and follows her into the kitchen.
Anna was with Scarlett later that day, helping her improve her shoe lacing skills. She still had trouble like with her shoes, just like her sister had when she was her age. "Mama, sneakers are annoying," she whines. Anna chuckles.
"I did too, sweetie, but trust me. They'll be your best friend in this world, ok?" she says, tying up one into a bow. The girl nods, but sighs.
"I still don't like them," she mumbles, and Anna snickers quietly. From below, she hears voices talking, two being Daryl and Rick. She listens closely.
"We're running low on supplies and we need to head out sooner or later. The food in the garden won't last us forever," Rick said.
"The last store we went to didn't have anything edible," Anna heard this new voice. It was Carol. "I think we should just hold off until we find another place-"
"Mama, too tight!" Scarlett whines. Anna looks down and notices she's clutching the laces. She smiles sheepishly and looses the laces.
"Sorry sweetie," she chuckles. The girl gets up and runs to go meet with the other kids while Anna listen to down below.
"Carol- what about when it gets cold? We need to find a place now," Daryl says.
"I think-"
"I know a place," Anna says, speaking up from above. All three people look up, and a range of expressions crosses their faces. Carol's glare was of course sent her way, Daryl had a smile on his face on seeing her, and Rick was confused.
"You do?" Rick says. Anna nods, coming down the stairs. She smiles at Daryl and takes the map from his hands, laying it out on a table. She points her finger at the prison and another finger on an area around five miles away.
"From here, it's about a fifteen minute drive. It's a huge mall that still has electricity. Food, clothes, water…all kinds of things. Even toys for the kids. That's where I went to find stuff when I was alone with Aria and Scarlett. It's LOADED. Great place to go to. Especially for supplies."
"How come I've been over every inch of this land yet ya find this?" Daryl asks. Anna rolls her eyes, smirking.
"Because I'm more observant then you and probably always will be," she says, taking the map back. He raises an eyebrow at her.
"Oh really?" She scoffs.
"More positive than anything in my life," she teases. She turns to Rick. "I can head out and get what we need. I'm sure I could handle it-"
"There is no way in hell that ya are going alone," Daryl interrupts. Anna starts to says something but Rick starts up.
"Daryl's right. We need a lot of stuff, so that means lots of looking. You're gonna need backup and Daryl's the perfect guy for it. Plus, even if we did let you go, he would probably chase after you anyway," Rick taunts. Daryl glares at him.
"Don't start with me, Grimes," he growls. Rick chuckles while Anna smiles, but Carol was still glaring at the girl.
"Why not let her go alone? If she's been out with just her two kids for the past years, she seems fully capable of going there by herself-"
"Because she's not alone anymore and needs help," Daryl says firmly. "And I know she'll somehow screw it up. Might as well be there to pick up the pieces." Anna smacks his shoulder, causing him to chuckle.
"We'll head out in a minute," she says, a playful glare sent at Daryl, and then turning back to Rick. "Give me a moment to get my stuff. You have a list?" she asks. Rick nods. "Good. Come to my cell when you're ready Daryl." He nods, but she could tell he was trying to hide a smile.
She climbs up the stairs and back to her cell when she hears Carol call out to her. "What Carol?" she asks exasperated. She's about to say something when Anna interrupts her. "You know what? I don't want to know. Just go and do your high school pity party somewhere else." She walks into her cell, smiling to herself. She loved torturing her.
She grabs her knives and sticks them in her belt, then placed on her boots, sighing as she came up. Maybe she should back off the woman…
She snorts. Nah.
"Ya ready, princess?" she hears from the doorway. She snickers.
"Ready when you are, cowboy," she says back, staring to walk out of the cell, but he grabs her hand and pulls her back in. "What?" she laughs.
"Are ya sure ya want to go and get the supplies? I can easily go by myself," he says lowly, his eyes making contact with hers. She smiles.
"I know you're concerned, but trust me, I'll be ok, definitely if you're there. I always have been in the past, right?" she chuckles. He's silent for a minute before nodding.
"Then let's go," he sighs. She snickers.
"Now there's my brave cowboy," she says softly, ruffling his head like he used to do to her. He rolls his eyes. "Let's get some food. I'm starving."
Another chapter done! I decided to include some of Aria in this chapter a little more, because she hasn't been in it as much, so I decided she's going to have a growing friendship with Carl, so this is the beginning of that. I swear, from the end of season 2 to the end of season 3, I wanted to slap that kid so badly, but now I have a new found respect for him. XD Review! Hope you Enjoyed!