I want to thank everyone for being super patient with me. It's been a rough few months, seems death has been running rampant in my family since Christmas and that, combined with both my husband and I being sick and starting a new job has left little time to write. I am trying to get back into it, but please be patient with me for a little longer x Enjoy chapter 5!

After a rather filling breakfast of rabbit, Ruby went and searched out Rick. She found him with Shane and Jimmy, talking about a housing development.
"'Scuse me, Rick?" she asked, interrupting.
He turned to her and nodded, acknowledging her presence, before continuing his conversation with the others. She could feel Shane's eyes lingering on her and she tried to ignore the crawling feeling she got from it until Rick finished his conversation and Shane took his eyes away form her. Rick promised she would be safe and she had to learn to trust someone, right?
"What can I do for ya, Ruby?" he asked her kindly.
"I—I wondered if I could just speak to you for a moment? Alone?" she asked, a hint of nervousness causing a slight stutter in her speech.
Her eyes flickered over the two men with Rick and he understood. He nodded and turned back to Shane and Jimmy.
"I'll be back in just a minute," he told them before walking over to her.

She gestured for him to follow and they stepped further away, out of earshot of the two others.
Ruby ducked her head slightly, chewing on her lip in awkwardness. She jammed her hands as deep as she could in her pant pockets and took a deep breath. Rick waited patiently by her side and she felt grateful that he wasn't pushing her.
"Rick… would you… I mean, you already offered, but—"
She couldn't remember a time when she had felt so nervous and stumbled over her words in this way. Luckily for her, Rick seemed to know what she wanted to ask and gave her a warm smile.
"You're already becoming part of the group. We'd welcome having you permanently," he told her kindly.
She smiled and gave a long exhale.
"Thanks, Rick. Is there anything I can do to help out?" she asked.
"We're going to the gun range to practice and teach some of the others, would you like to join?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded.
"Sure. Do you want me to bring my bow?" she asked.
Rick gave a slightly awkward laugh and shook his head.
"I was hoping you'd learn to use a gun actually," he said.
She couldn't help the laugh that burst from her chest. The notion that she didn't know how to handle a gun was comical.

Back at the farm, before the apocalypse, her father insisted she knew how to handle a gun. ''Avin' a snatch ain't gonna give ya a free pass. Ya gotta learn just like yuur brotha' her father had said in his deep southern accent. She had been six years old and it was the first time her father had ever voluntarily offered to do anything with her. Her young brain had thought that if she could do well with guns, her father would want her more. As a result, she had spent hours practising with the small handgun her father had given her and ended up a better marksman than her brother.

"Rick, I grew up on a farm, I know how to handle a gun," she informed him.
He evaluated her, his eyes flickering over her form, pausing pensively on her face. Unlike with Shane, she didn't get that same crawly feeling. Rick seemed more like he was measuring her up, to see whether he could trust her or not. Ruby stood up straighter and let her left eyebrow raise slightly. Rick gave a small chuckle and shook his head.
"Alright, but I'd still like to see a test on your accuracy, if ya don't mind," he said.
She nodded, she understood where he was coming from. It was always handy knowing who was competent and who wasn't.
"No problem, Sheriff."

"Hey, Daryl!"
He turned around in his seat to look at her and she jogged over to him. He was relaxing under the trees reading a book, looking more peaceful than she'd ever seen him while awake. The peacefulness in his face retreated and suspicion emerged as she approached. His blue eyes met her green ones when she reached him.
"Can you do me a favour?" she asked him.
His brows furrowed slightly and he gestured to his side like she was an idiot.
"You won't have to get up or anything. I'm going with the others to the gun range and I know Loki will hate it. Plus, I'm a little worried that someone might accidentally shoot him. So… I was hoping you'd look after him while I'm gone," she rambled slightly.
Daryl's eyes fell to the loyal animal beside her and after a moment he nodded.
"I'll take care'a him. He'll be safe with me," he promised her.
Ruby smiled in relief and ruffled Loki's head.
"Thank you. Now he'll probably whine a bit when I go, but he should settle soon after. If you're just firm with him, he'll listen. But don't be cruel or he'll turn on ya. And don't be weak, the wolf in him doesn't respond to that," she explained hurriedly.
She felt like she was dropping off a child to day care or something for the first time.
"I know how to take care of a dog, Ruby," Daryl grumbled.
"Yes, a dog. Loki is much more than that. He has very instinctual reactions and thoughts because he's wolf. He responds more like a wolf than a dog and it's a mistake a lot of people make—"
"Ruby," Daryl growled in annoyance.
She glared at him for cutting her off but realised she was being a bit overprotective. She took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly before kneeling down to take Loki's face in her hands. She looked into his green eyes and massaged behind his ear. Loki's eyes stared unwavering from hers as his ears pricked forwards.
"You stay with Daryl, and you protect him. Okay?" she ordered.
Loki whined slightly, flicking his ears down; he had never liked the 'stay' command.
"Nuh uh, uh-uh, uh. I don't wanna hear it. Stay," Ruby said with a slight growl.
Loki huffed and looked up at Daryl whom was watching the pair with barely disguised interest. Ruby knew he would obey and she ruffled the fur behind his ears.
"Please. He means more to me than you know, protect him," Ruby murmured to Daryl.
Daryl's eyes narrowed slightly, flickering between her and Loki. He nodded once and turned back to his book. Ruby bit her lip and turned away walking a few steps before whirling around with a playful glare.
"And don't even think about shooting him again!"
Daryl gave her a smirk and waved her off.

Out at the range, Ruby found herself standing next to a little boy wearing a cowboy hat that she hadn't met yet.
"Hi, I'm Ruby," she introduced.
"I'm Carl," he said quietly.

So, this was the little boy Shane had told her about. Rick's boy that had been shot by Otis. She noted the handgun in his hands and raised an eyebrow. The Sheriff had a son, and he was only just now was learning to use a gun? Hell, she'd been shooting since she was six.
"Ever shot before?" she asked him.
He looked up at her and she saw that he had shocking blue eyes that peeked out brightly from under a messy mop of dark brown hair.
"No. Have you?" he asked.
She gave him a bright smile and nodded.
"Yep, plenty of times," she answered.
He frowned at her and looked down at his feet.
"Here ya go, you can have your gun back now," Rick said from beside her.
He handed her gun back over to her and she gripped it comfortably. It had been awhile since she'd used her gun, she usually preferred the silence of her arrows, but it felt as comfortable as it ever had. It would be good for her to practise, she mused to herself. Rick and Shane went over some basic gun safety and shooting tips before they allowed them to start shooting.

Ruby took a deep breath and held her gun comfortably. Her feet stood shoulder width apart and she looked down the barrel and lined up her shot. She blocked out the sounds of the guns firing beside her and started shooting. Every bottle she aimed at she hit and she couldn't help the smirk as Shane whistled lowly to her.
"Damn, girl. You can shoot," he commented.
"That's what happens when you grow up on a farm, Shane. You protect your own," Ruby said with a hint of pride and her deep Southern accent coming through.
Shane nodded, his dark eyes appraising her appreciatively before he walked off to help someone else in the group.

Ruby looked to Carl next to her to see he was frowning. She looked at the bottles set up as targets and realised he hadn't hit any of his.
"Show me how you shoot, lil' Deputy," she said, crouching next to Carl.
He looked at her and then back at the target and shot his gun. The shot went high and wide and Carl scowled. Ruby smiled though, she knew what he was doing wrong.
"Can I give you a few pointers?" she asked him.
He looked at her and then nodded sullenly. Ruby gave him and encouraging smile and shoved her gun in the back of her pants. She stepped behind Carl and gently tapped the inside of one of his feet with one of her feet, making his feet shuffle a bit.
"Ya gotta stand with your feet shoulder width apart, that provides you with more balance."
She straightened up his shoulders so his whole body faced his target.
"Hold your gun," she told him.
Carl gripped onto his gun tightly, both hands over the grip, and his elbows locked in at his sides.
"For shooting, you need to stretch your arms right out, it helps with the kick the gun has."
Carl slowly stretched his arms out in front of him and Ruby smiled in encouragement.
"Now, I have to ask, is it comfortable to hold the gun like that?" she asked.
Carl frowned and looked at the gun.
"Not really?" he asked, obviously feeling insecure.
"So... why ya holding it like that?" she asked him kindly.
"How else do you hold it?" he asked her.
Ruby smiled and pulled out her gun, stretching it out before her. She had her thumb on the hammer, index finger on the trigger guard, three fingers below, supporting the gun. Carl slowly followed her, rearranging his hand to grip the gun better.
"Next, place the butt of the gun in your other hand, like this," she instructed.
She put the butt of the gun firmly in the centre of her palm and wrapped her hand around the bottom, overlapping with her other hand. It looked like she was cupping the gun. Carl followed her instructions and Ruby smiled.
"Then when you're aiming, line up both your sights with the target and hey presto!" she said happily.
Carl nodded and closed one eye to line up the sights. To which Ruby corrected him.
"I wanna show you something," she told him.
He looked at her in confusion as she held a finger up in front of his face.
"You can see my finger, right?" she asked him.
He nodded slowly.
"Close your left eye, then point where my finger is," she told him.
He did so and then pointed, slightly left of where her finger was.
"And now close your right eye, and do the same."
He did so and pointed slightly right of where her finger was.
"You see? You close one eye and it messes with your perception. You need to line up with both your eyes," she told him.
Carl nodded thoughtfully and took aim.
"And when you're ready just gently squeeze the trigger. You don't need to pull hard like a toy gun, just gentle," she said quietly. "It helps to take deep breaths in and deep breaths out, shooting on your exhale."

Carl didn't give any indication he had heard but then he shot, and a green bottle shattered in front of them.
"I did it!" he exclaimed in shock.
Ruby beamed and held her hand out for a fist bump.
"Knew you could, lil' Deputy!"
He grinned at her and threw his fist into hers before throwing his arms around her waist.
"Thank you, Ruby!" he yelled excitedly into her stomach.
She chuckled and patted his back lightly.
"You're most welcome, maybe you'll end up out shooting me," she said with a wink down at him.
She looked up and saw Lori giving her an awkward and hesitant smile. Ruby realised that Lori may have felt a bit uncomfortable with her son hugging her and carefully stepped out of his reach.
"Reckon you can do it again?" she asked him.
He grinned at her and lined up another shot.

After two hours passed they all looked a little burnt and were starting to tire, so Rick and Shane called it quits. Carl and Andrea had managed to pick it up rather quickly and the rest of their students were starting to pick it up as well. Ruby had managed to prove herself to both Rick and Shane and both men were pleased to have her with them. Ruby climbed back into the car with Carol and before long they were back at camp. Ruby practically leapt out of the car, heading straight to where she could see Loki sitting with Daryl. She could hear him whining and barking at her, which caught Daryl's attention. He turned to see her and she nodded to him. She saw him look down at Loki and give him an idle scratch behind the ears, which made Loki glance up at him before back at her. She heard Daryl mumble something to Loki and he started to wiggle on the spot, but he wouldn't move until she said so.

"Loki," she sang softly.
He practically launched from his spot and bounded over to her. She loved how excited he got over her return and laughed as he threw his front paws over her shoulders and started licking her face. The extra weight strained her ankle but the relief and joy at seeing Loki, unharmed, was enough to put the pain out to the back of her mind.
"Hey, buddy, were you a good boy? Were you good for me? Were you good for Daryl?" she cooed at him as she ruffled his fur.
Loki whined and yipped at her before jumping back down and racing in circles around her. Loki had wolfish tendencies about 95% of the time, but he was always a happy puppy when greeting her.
"He wasn't too much trouble?" she called to Daryl as she got closer.
He shook his head.
"Stayed in the one spot, watching after you," he replied.
She smiled and patted Loki fondly.
"You're a good boy," she reiterated to him and he practically quivered in joy.
"He's a damn good dog," Daryl muttered.

Ruby's smile grew and she scratched Loki behind the ears. She looked over at Daryl to see he was still reading the same book.
"Good book?" she asked.
"No pictures, shitty book," Daryl grunted back.
She smirked at him.
"Well, maybe I'll come back from a run with some pictures of some bunnies," she teased.
He looked at her with confusion.
"The hell'd I wanna book with rabbit pictures for?"
"You might like these ones... some nice, tanned bunnies with amazing legs, showing off their beautiful fluffy tails," she said, winking at him.
She saw the connections add up in his mind and saw his ears turn red. He grumbled something under his breath and turned back to his book with a scowl. She felt a laugh rumble up through her and she couldn't fight the shit eating grin that overtook her face.

Ruby saw Hershel walking out with some tools, into the paddocks, and thought she would help him out with fixing the fences. She thought it might be a nice thank you gesture. She whistled for Loki and together they joined the older man at the fence.
"Would you like a hand?" she asked kindly.
He spared a glance up at her, squinting slightly, and then shook his head.
"I'm quite alright working on my own," he declined her offer.
"Please, let me help as a thank you. Thank you for letting me, letting us stay here and use your resources. Please. I grew up on a farm, I'm used to the work," she insisted.
It didn't sit right with her letting the 60-70 year old man do the hard work while she lounged around. She had been raised better than that. Hershel looked back up at her and then nodded, handing her a set of pliers.
"We need to tighten these wires, think you can handle that?" he asked.
She smiled, nodding, and started tensioning the fence wires like her father had taught her when she was a child. As they worked Hershel and Ruby chatted idly, nothing of importance, just idle comments on farm work mostly. Ruby found that she was becoming comfortable in the man's presence. He had a calm and dignified aura laced with kindness. He reminded her of her grandfather, one of the few people that had actually treated her with kindness.

"Afternoon."
Ruby's head snapped up as she heard Lori's voice. Ruby and Hershel were running an extra strand of barbed wire at the bottom. She was straining the wire as Hershel hammered a clip into a timber post. She didn't even hear Lori approach over the sound of the hammering and she didn't like that.
"I take it your boy did well," Hershel said to Lori, looking up at her.
Ruby's eyes flickered between the two people. Lori looked younger than her years as the smile grew across her face.
"Not bad, actually," Lori admitted.
Ruby smiled too, she should be proud of Carl. It was hard to get as good as he did so quickly.
"Be grateful you don't have a daughter," Hershel commented with a hint of exasperation in his voice. "If only things were as simple as wanting to shoot."
Ruby snorted in agreement. She gave her parents hell growing up; now that she was older she did not envy her parents having to deal with her teenage self.
"Carl's getting that chance, thanks to you," Lori said quietly, and Ruby could hear the depth of gratitude in her voice. "And I'm eternally grateful for what you did and your hospitality. We'll earn our keep."
Ruby nodded in silent agreement. For her there was no other way of doing it.
"I appreciate that, but with Carl getting better, I imagine you'll be moving on soon—Fort Benning, I hear," Hershel said to her.
Both Lori and Ruby looked at him in surprise. Leave the farm? Ruby looked up at Lori to see what she knew of this but she could see by the stricken and shocked look Lori had, that she hadn't a clue of these plans. Ruby looked back at the fence, suddenly feeling a sense of panic settle in her stomach. She almost thought she would be sick and she had to sit down.
"Ruby? Are you alright?" Hershel asked, concern in his voice.
Ruby looked up at him and nodded wordlessly, even though she knew it was a lie. She had already grown attached to this small farm, with its beautiful fields and idyllic farmhouse. It was a place of serenity, peace and safety that she hadn't felt in a long time.
"I—I had no idea," she said softly to Hershel.
Her green eyes met his steely, but kind blue eyes. Hershel looked at her steadily, his gaze unwavering.
"We have limited resources. The group has already gone through nearly half my reserves as it is," Hershel told her.
She couldn't decide whether he was annoyed or not; he didn't seem to have any outwardly signs, but she thought she had heard an edge in his voice.
"I understand. I just… It's been a long time since I've felt safe like this. And I wish Rick had mentioned we were going to have to move," she trailed off.
She now had some serious decisions to make. She had wanted to stay mostly for Athena and Loki's sake—using the safety of the farm, but if they had to move… would she actually be safer with the group? Would they be safer? Being with a group meant more eyes but it also meant more of a target and she was quicker on her own. She could duck in and out of the woods into towns and houses with barely a trace left behind within fifteen minutes. It was how she had survived thus far. With more people on the move they could only go as fast as the slowest person, and needed a lot more supplies. How many raids would they have to do a day just to keep them going? Ruby could feel a lump rising in her throat as her chest began to constrict painfully. She took a deep calming breath and focused back on the fence. Hershel hadn't said anything in response to her and she wouldn't think on it any more until she spoke with Rick.

She worked until her arms ached and her shoulders were an angry red. She groaned as she knew her sunburn was going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow. She sighed and shook her head as she gave the tools back to Hershel and walked back into camp.
"Ooh, that looks sore," Carol commented to her.
She looked up into the kind woman's eyes and shrugged.
"My own mistake. I shoulda known better," she grumbled.
Carol bit her lip and turned away.
"Next time they go on a run I'll ask them for some sunscreen for you," she said to her.
Ruby wondered if they'd even be on the farm at that point. Or if they'd be halfway to Fort Benning by then. Nevertheless, it was a kind sentiment from the woman that she should recognise.
"Thank you, Carol," Ruby murmured. "Have you seen Rick?"
Carol looked at her in momentary confusion before telling her that she hadn't seen him all afternoon. Ruby grumbled under her breath and shook her head. Figures that now of all times he was unavailable.

Ruby fixed a plate of dinner for herself and sat down next to Dale. He said nothing as she sat by him and she was grateful. She just wanted to sit and brood for a bit. As it was, it seemed like most of the camp was doing the same. Daryl was sitting further away than he had before while Dale was being much quieter and keeping more to himself than usual. T-Dog was doing much the same while Shane was staring moodily into the fire, ignoring Andrea who kept shooting glances at him. Glenn looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here and Carol was eating peacefully. There was no sign of Rick or Lori and all up it ended up being a rather sombre dinner.
"Ruby?"
Her head snapped up, out of her reverie as T-Dog called to her. They had nearly all finished dinner and were just sitting around the fire.
"Hmm?" she responded.
"I wondered if you could play again tonight?" he asked her.
Ruby blushed as a few others voiced their agreements.
"I think we could do with the cheering up," Dale said in agreement next to her.
Ruby was surprised and somewhat overwhelmed. No one had ever told her they wanted to hear her play again. She smiled and quickly walked into Dale's RV to pull out the guitar. They had decided it would be much safer in his RV than in the stable, plus a lot easier to transport. Ruby quickly sat down at the fire and contemplated what she should play. She looked out at the faces and saw most were sombre and she thought something uplifting and possibly funny would be worth playing. She started playing a laid back country tune and she dimly heard Daryl snort from over the other side of the fire. She grinned at him as she began to sing.

"I wasn't born for diggin' deep holes,
I'm not made for pavin' long roads.
I ain't cut out to climb high line poles,
But I'm pretty good at drinkin' beer."

Ruby could hear a few chuckles from around the fire and she smiled as she heard them. Her plan was working.

"I'm not the type to work in a bank,
I'm no good at slappin' on paint.
Don't have a knack for makin' motors crank, no.
But I'm pretty good at drinkin' beer."

T-Dog, Glenn and Shane had begun to stamp their feet to the beat, clapping in time. Carol had extended her hand to Andrea and they were now dancing together, and Carl had begun to awkwardly bob his head. Even Daryl had a laid back smirk on his face.

"So hand me one more,
That's what I'm here for.
I'm built for having a ball.
I love the night life,
I love my Bud Light,
I like 'em cold and tall."

Ruby grinned up at Dale as he began to sing along with her on the chorus. She saw Rick and Lori walking up, confusion in their eyes. As the strains of the song caught their attention and the laughter of everyone caught up with them they both held matching smiles. Rick took Lori's hand in his and pulled her close as they began to dance as well. Glenn ended up standing up and asking Carol for a dance. At which point, T-Dog had said it would only be polite to offer Andrea a dance, which she accepted. They all twirled and spun and kicked out their feet like a badly choreographed group of line dancers. By the end of the song nearly everyone was up and dancing around the fire. Ruby smiled knowing that everyone was happy and that she had contributed to that. Not wanting to lose the good mood, Ruby immediately jumped into an acoustic rendition of Hillbilly Bone. She let her voice drawl out and at the right time allowed the rest of the group to sing out, "Yee-haw!". She laughed with everyone else and nodded along happily with the others to the beat. All this playing was doing wonders for her singing voice as she could already tell her voice was better than it was last night. She strummed along and quickly melded it into the next song she wanted to play. She loved this song, it was upbeat and she felt empowered every time she played it. It made her feel like she could take on the world and no one could stand in her way.
"Hell yeah!" Andrea cried out as she recognised the song.
Ruby grinned widely at the blonde woman as she began to sing along with her.

"'Cause I'm a redneck woman,
I ain't no high class broad!
I'm just a product of my raisin',
And I say "Hey y'all" and "Yee-haw"!
And I keep my Christmas lights on my front porch all year long,
And I know all the words to every Charlie Daniels song,
So here's to all my sisters out there keeping it country.
Let me get a big "Hell yeah!" from the redneck girls like me!
Hell yeah!
Hell yeah!"

Andrea grabbed Lori and Carol and the ladies started whooping and hollering as they danced together. Ruby grinned broadly as the men cheered them on. Ruby found their excitement and energy infecting her and she stood up from her seat to join the ladies as well. She kept playing and singing as she started dancing, unable to stop herself. Their voices melded together and carried a bit louder than they meant but they were just having too much fun to rein it in. Ruby looked around the fire and most of the men were smiling and laughing, talking to each other or encouraging the women. Except Daryl's piercing blue eyes were staring at her, following her every movement. She smirked slightly and while she was all caught up in the moment, she blew him a kiss and winked at him. He rolled his eyes in response and quickly looked away from her, making her giggle slightly. The good music and happy mood was infecting her to the point where she wanted to just sing, play and dance her night away.

She played on for another few songs but as the night darkened, and her muscles began to ache, she finally finished with Coward of the County. Once she finished she stretched her arms out and winced as her fingers protested. They'd been cramped over the neck of the guitar for so long it hurt to stretch them out. The tips of her fingers were creased where she'd been pressing against the strings and were a bruised red colour.
"Thank you for that, I think we needed that," Dale sighed happily as he leaned back in his camper chair.
Ruby just made a noise of dismissal as Carol and Andrea joined in with praises.
"I think we should officially employ you as our entertainer," Rick told her with a smile, his arm around Lori's waist.
Ruby didn't know what to do with all the praise being sung at her and just shook her head.
"It was honestly my pleasure. I had a lot of fun," she replied, trying to disguise just how pleased she was.
She grabbed the guitar up and returned it back to its resting place in Dale's RV. Ruby fought back a sudden yawn that was trying to make its way through her body. After wishing everyone a good night she made her way over to the stables. Even though she was now technically 'part of the group' she still felt safer in the stall with Loki and Athena. Ruby clambered back into her swag and she was out before her head hit the ground.

Song credit:
Pretty Good At Drinking Beer by Billy Currington.
Hillbilly Bone by Blake Shelton.
Redneck Woman by Gretchen Wilson.
Coward of the County by Kenny Rogers.