Chapter 5
-Just don't murder me in my sleep-
Archer went back with Michonne and Rick to the rest of the group. She stood with Svetlana and Guy out of ear-shot while they discussed their options. In the end, they agreed to stay.
The parade square was a flurry of activity when Rick's people walked in. The Fort's residents came out to see the newcomers. Some gawked from afar while others came forward with smiles and welcoming arms. A short, heavy set black woman named Sheila was one of the latter.
"Oh my! There's so many of you!" She walked around the group of newcomers, greeting them individually. Archer chuckled at the look of Daryl's face when Sheila gave him a bear hug.
Daryl shot back a dirty look.
Sheila pulled away from Daryl "Where are we going to put you all?"
"The guest room is a bit small." Cap explained to Rick.
"They can have the barracks next to the kitchen." Archer offered, stifling a yawn. "It's warm which will be good for the little one. It's just me in there now anyway."
Sheila frowned slightly "Honey, you like the heat but I'm not so sure anyone else will."
"They're from the south, they're probably used to it Sheila. It will be more like home for them." Archer thought longingly of her bed. "Besides, there are enough bunks in there for them already. It'll be less work. I can just move into to the cook's room."
Cap's mouth formed a tight line. "Maybe you should move in with Michael for a little while."
Daryl smirked at her at the mention of Michael's name. Archer ignored him. "I don't want to haul my stuff all the way up there. The cook's room will be warmer and it's just the right size for one bunk."
Sheila and Cap exchanged a look. Cap spoke quietly "Well, it would be a good idea for her to be nearby in case they need anything. She's spent the most time with them."
Sheila's voice was low. "There's almost always someone in the kitchen anyway."
"It's decided then." Cap announced. "Archer you move your kit. I'll help get you folks settled, Sheila you'd best get started on dinner."
"What was that 'bout?" Daryl came up behind Archer as the group walked off with Cap.
"Sorry?"
"Is Cap yer pa or somethin'? Got rules 'bout where people sleep?"
"Oh." Archer shook her head. "That. They're just concerned that my room is too close to where you're going to be bunked. They don't want you to murder me in my sleep."
"Emma!" A familiar voice called. Daryl and Archer turned around to see a broad shouldered man wobbling up to them on crutches.
Archer broke into a smile. "Michael!" She walked over and gave the dark haired man a hug.
"Oh Em," There was relief in Michael's grey eyes. "I was worried." His looked her over from head to toe. "Damn, you look like shit. When did you eat last? Have you been sleeping?"
"I'm fine Michael. It's just been a long couple of days." She pushed a stray hair out of her face.
Daryl coughed.
"Michael, I'd like you to meet Daryl."
Michael nodded but didn't extend a hand. "Are you the one that did that to her wrist?"
Daryl scowled. "Let me guess, you're the boyfriend."
Archer frowned "What are you talking about?"
Michael grabbed the hand she'd used to brush the hair off her face and pulled the sleeve of her coat down to reveal her blistered wrists. He must have seen it when she brushed the hair away.
"Oh." Archer had forgotten about the injuries. "Michael, stop being an ass. It was a misunderstanding."
"Some misunderstanding." Michael frowned. "You should show Joel, he might have something that can help it heal faster."
"I am going to bed. I'll see Joel at dinner."
"Em." He said warningly.
She pulled herself away from her friend. "No, I am so tired I can't see straight. God help me, I'm going to kill anyone who gets between me and my bed."
Michael nodded and Archer headed towards the barracks. "Come on Daryl, we've got to catch up to everyone else."
A small smile played at the corner of Daryl's lip as he turned to follow her. He could feel Michael's eyes burning into his back as they walked away.
}.{
Emma rubbed her bleary eyes, the unfamiliar room was disorienting. The light through her bedroom window indicated that the sun was setting. She vaguely remembered Sheila's boys helping her move her things. She must've just collapsed onto her bed, she hadn't even bothered to remove her coat or boots.
She could hear familiar sounds coming from the kitchen. Must be dinner time. Emma thought about staying in bed, but her stomach had other plans. She kicked off her boots and switched to a pair of sneakers before opening her bedroom door, which swung out onto the kitchen.
"Well hello there Pillow-face." Joel, the fortress doctor waved her over to a seat next to him. "I was just about to wake you up."
Sheila put a plate of roast vegetables and grilled fish in front of her. "Eat." She commanded before moving off to sit next to her sons.
"Do I look that bad?" She asked Joel. She looked around the room and noticed some missing faces. "Where's Michael?"
"Well, I thought it best if he ate upstairs with the kids." His eyes flicked towards the new people and back to her. "He was in a bit of a mood."
"I'm sure."
"Let me see your wrists." Joel pulled her sleeve back and turned her hand over in his. "It looks worse than it is. It won't scar. If it's bothering you I can give you a salve for it."
"I'm okay. I hardly feel it."
Joel nodded. "Sleeping in the cook's room I see?"
"It's warm. Plus there's the short commute to breakfast."
He smiled, finishing up his plate. "Well I'd best go rescue the kids from loverboy. Michael's been a pest with you gone."
"Sorry about that."
"Not your fault." He grabbed his plate and headed off, stopping briefly to speak with Rick and Cap before leaving.
"Another boyfriend of yours?" Daryl took the seat vacated by Joel and hunched over his plate.
"Joel? He was checking up on me. He's our doctor."
"Seemed awfully friendly for a doc."
"We go back a ways. Joel, Michael and I arrived at the fort together."
"That part o' the long story?"
"So what do you think of Charlie so far?" She changed the subject.
"S'okay." He took a bite of fish from his plate. "Nice 'ta eat somethin' other 'n squirrel."
"Keep complimenting Sheila's cooking and she'll always make sure to give you the biggest portion."
"Good t' know."
As she finished off her plate, Emma looked at Daryl. He'd had a shower, his hair was still a bit damp. He had different clothes on. The leather coat had been replaced by a dark grey waffle-knit shirt that was a bit tight across the chest and arms, revealing the contours of muscle underneath. It looked like something from their stores.
He caught her staring. "What?"
She blushed. "Nothing."
"Didn't look like nothin'"
She finished eating while studiously ignoring the little smirk on Daryl's face.
}.{
"This seat taken?" Emma Archer plunked her basket of leather-work down on the floor next to her as she sat on one of the rocking chairs flanking the Barracks door. Daryl sat in the other with his ever-present crossbow.
The room Rick's group was staying in opened directly onto the parade square. There was an overhang from the rooms above which provided some shelter from the elements. Rick's group had been invited to post a watch on the outside of their door. One member of the fort would also be there, presumably to keep watch over the new people. It was also helpful in case they needed anything.
Archer had been given first watch.
When Daryl didn't answer she turned her attention to the leather she had been assigned to clean. It was one of her favourite tasks. She enjoyed the smell of the soap and oil, it reminded her of summers spent as stable hand.
With a discerning eye she inspected her own riding boots. There was a spot on the heel that a walker had tried to bite through years ago, she polished it to diminish the mark. Looking up she saw Daryl watching her. "I overheard Sheila talking about how much you lot ate at dinner. I think she's made fattening you all up her personal mission." He wasn't talking. "There's nothing that makes Sheila happier than to feed people."
"Grub's good."
"How's the barracks? Did everyone get settled ok?"
He nodded. "Good to have walls again."
"You spent much time inside since things fell apart?"
"Not much. Had a place once 'fore it got took."
"What was it like?"
"Prison."
"That depressing?"
"Naw, it was a prison. Fences, cells 'n the like."
"A Prison? Weren't there a lot of walkers inside? How did you get in?
"We cleared it bit by bit. Backside was bombed er somethin'. Lived in a few cell blocks."
"Funny isn't it? I spent my life thinking prison was a place to be avoided. " She put down the boots and picked up a leather vest, laying it across her lap. "Now, well… it actually sounds like a pretty good place to be."
"How'd they clear this place?"
"I wasn't here the spring that it all went down, but I have heard the story from those that were." She told him how the museum director, Mr Murphy and his summer staff were preparing for tourist season when they got reports that the 'rioting' had reached the town nearby. Mr. Murphy ordered everyone to stay inside shut the gates. "He said 'Fort Charles' walls have never been breached, that's not going to change now.'"
She explained that the fort had been staffed primarily with University students who were bunking on the premises. The fort's kitchens were stocked and they had plenty of fresh water from the well. So they posted a watch and waited.
It wasn't until the rioters made it to the gates that they realized something more sinister was going on. A military force came by and stayed for a little while why they tried to isolate the town. They filled Murphy and his people in on the situation. They eventually moved on after advising the civilians to stay behind Charles's walls and wait for help.
"No help ever came." She finished. "Survivors straggled in, seeking refuge and bringing new skills with them. Murphy knew how Charlie was meant to operate and how it could be defended. So that's what they did."
"So where is he? Murphy?"
"The second winter I was here six men came to our gates. They were in desperate shape. We took them in, and things were okay at first." She fiddled with the stitching on the vest as she tried to find the right words. "They had other ideas about how things should run." She held up the vest in front of her, admiring her cleaning job. "We lost a lot of good people then. Including Mr. Murphy."
"That's mine."
"Sorry?"
"The vest."
"Oh." She handed it over to him. "Whoever took your laundry must've put it in the leather pile for cleaning."
"Didn't need it."
"Hell yes it did. It left my sponge black."
Daryl scowled. "It smells funny."
"No, it smells CLEAN. I oiled it too."
"Like it the way it was." Daryl muttered, he knew he was being bitchy. It did feel softer in his hands.
"Headed to disintegration?"
Daryl grunted.
"Well, you're welcome."
They sat in silence for a stretch while she cleaned more boots and some leather bridles. When she finished she leaned back in her rocker and blew out the lamplight she had been working by.
Daryl broke the silence first. "You said you worked here."
"Yeah. When I was in University."
"You worked for Murphy then?"
"Yes." She thought about the older gentlemen. "He was a nice boss. I came back every summer after I graduated to visit. He let me in for free."
The door to the barracks opened and Rick came out. "Catch some rest Daryl. I've got second watch."
Daryl nodded and disappeared inside as Rick took up position by the door. He didn't sit down, instead he walked out into the square to look up at the moonlit sky. "Full moon tonight."
"It's the hunter's moon." Archer started to pile the items she had cleaned neatly into the bag. "It's the last full moon of the fall. If you go up onto the walls you can see forever."
"I'll bet."
The sound of a door opening and closing across the parade square drew their attention. Cap could be seen clearly in the moonlight as he walked over to them.
"That'll be my queue to leave." Archer advised, picking up her things.
"Good night Ms Archer."
She paused, looking back over her shoulder at Rick. "Mind if I ask, before this went down. Were you a cop?"
She saw him smile in the moonlight. "Sherriff"
"Thought so."
Cap arrived then and shoo'd her off. "Get to bed. You need the sleep."
"Right after I drop this off at the laundry pick-up." She hauled her work back to their laundry facility where the owners of the gear would fetch their things in the morning.
As she ducked into her room, she could hear Cap and Rick talking in low voices. She cracked her window open a bit so that she could listen to the low murmur of their conversation as she fell asleep under her heavy blankets.