Author's note: I am so sorry about this. I know I promised for Mara to get kissed this chapter but this is nearly ten thousand words in itself. So I decided to split the chapter up. In all honesty I never thought it would be this long. Anyway the full kissing part should be up either tonight or tomorrow-no later. However I do have to say that I can't make any promises on that. Writing this chapter was a task in itself. Like always I was struggling not to make Mara Mary-sue, so you'll have to forgive on how late it is. But as I said and will say one last time I am sorry for having to split the chapter up and next chapter should be up soon.
Question 1: The usual…is Mara Mary-sue at all in this? Cause I am worried that she is crossing the line here.
Question 2: Rick moments-I know there's a lot of them, but ya or nay?
Question 3: The rare Daryl moments that I really need to add in more ya or nay?
Last Question: Who kissed Mara?
~Cassandra
His lips meshed together with hers. Mara froze at the sheer desperation of them-the neediness, but more overly the raw passion and desire of the kiss. She pushed back gazing into his shocked yet lusty blues eyes. Two kisses in one night. And only yesterday, she had never been kissed. So how the hell did this happen?
Hours before then :
"You sure about this Mar, there's plenty of room in the station wagon." Rick offered.
Mara shook her head a small smile graced her lips. She knew Rick didn't feel comfortable with her riding with anyone else. Except Shane of course and the day that happened Mara would sure to be a walker. Besides, riding with Daryl wouldn't be that bad…she hoped. "I'm fine, Rick. Honestly I am. And while I know that Carol and Sophia are riding with you guys, I still can't help but feel like I'm intruding on your family time together." Mara explained.
"That's rather thoughtful of you, Mar. But you aren't-plus you're already like family to us." Rick insisted.
A strange lump of disappoint formed in her stomach. Mara pushed it down. Lately she had been feeling stranger and stranger around Rick and his family. For example, when Mara heard Rick tell Lori, he loved her the other day, Mara couldn't help but feel envious. Which was ridiculous seeing how she had nothing to be envious about. "Thank you, Rick. That means a lot to me. But like I said before, I'll be fine." Mara half-lied, "Besides knowing how conversational Daryl is, I'll probably just ending reading one of the books I happen to have. Probably Tess of the D'Urbervilles as depressing as it is."
Rick shifted awkwardly trying to come up with another excuse for Mara not to ride with Daryl. He desperately wished he could just outright tell her no. But Mara wasn't the type of girl to take orders from a man. Just look at her resistance against Shane. "Be careful Mar, I know you trust this guy-but I don't." Rick said honestly.
"Rick, you wouldn't trust me to be safe with my own brothers if they were here." Mara pointed.
"You're brothers didn't take a pickaxe to someone's head or try to stab at me with a knife." Rick countered.
"I'll be fine, Rick. I promise." Mara said just in time with Daryl honking the horn.
Rick gritted his teeth half tempted to pull Mara into the station wagon. In all honesty he didn't' know what irked him so much about Mara being with Daryl. Despite what he said about Daryl's violent tendency, Rick highly doubt Daryl would hurt Mara. For whatever reason, Mara seemed to be the only person Daryl actually liked. Hence him allowing Mara to convince him into letting her ride along. Still the idea of Mara anywhere near Daryl bothered Rick. "How did you convince him to take you anyway?" Rick asked.
"I bribed him with Bryon's pack of cigarettes. Not like I was going to use them anyway." She replied, before punching his shoulder affectionately, "Don't worry Officer Friendly, your beer is still safe."
He gave her a half smile, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. "Thank God, you had me worried."
Mara laughed. Her eyes shifted to behind him where Lori stood by the car. The woman's brown eyes met hers in a mixture of distrust and relief. A strange combination, but one Mara could truthfully understand. From what little Mara knew, the Grimes' marriage it wasn't that great even before the apocalypse. Seeing Mara hang around her husband all the time probably only caused Lori to worry more about her marriage. Especially since Lori hadn't exactly been so truthful in her vows either. But in her defense, the woman did think Rick was dead. Plus the idea of Mara getting with Rick made her laugh. The man was head over heels for his wife. Something Mara admittedly was envious. Cause in spite of her pride in being self-sufficient, even Mara longed for someone to be there for her like Rick was for Lori. Which was exactly why she decided it best to let the Grimes family have some alone time. After all it was ridiculous for her to spend so much time around Rick.
"I swear to God, lil'bit if ya ain't in the truck in five minutes I'm leavin' yer ass! Cigarettes or not." Daryl called.
She rolled her eyes. Giving Rick one last smile, she headed back to where Daryl was. "Jesus Darry. What are you trying to do? Call every walker in Georgia over?" Mara teased getting in the passenger's side.
Daryl froze mouth open as he tried to find a retort to say. But all he could do was let his cheeks heat up as everyone's eyes were suddenly on him. The men of the group gave him an arrogant smirk. While the women smiled as if he and Mara were some cute little couple. He frowned wanting nothing more than pick a fight right then. It wasn't the allegation of drawing walkers to camp that caused all this commotion, but Mara's stupid nickname for him. Darry…what the fuck was that about? "Are you going to get in the truck, Darry? Or ya just going to stand there with your jaw hanging loose?" Shane teased from his jeep.
"Shut the hell up, asshole!" Daryl muttered, getting in the car. He looked at Mara who was 'innocently' reading. "And you-don't ya ever call me that god damn name again."
"What Darry? I think it's a cute nickname personally. It's after Darry from The Outsiders, you know? Though no offense Patrick Swayze is away hotter than you." Mara mentioned not looking up from her book.
"I don't care who the hell it's after, don't do it."
"Okay, Dare-bear."
"I swear to God woman, I'll throw ya out of this truck."
"Whatever you say Dairy Queen."
They had been driving for thirty minutes when the RV broke down. Daryl glanced at Mara who was contently curled up asleep in the seat. The book she was reading flopped onto her lap. She looked strangely peaceful just sleeping there. Her red lips parted to take deep breaths. It was a strange contrast to her normal energetic yapping self. He stared at her for a few seconds debating whether or not to wake her. At last he decided it best to wake her. Lord knows what walker chose to make its way over to the truck while Mara slept. "Hey lil'bit, wake up. The RV broke down again." Daryl said shaking her shoulder.
A groan escaped Mara as her dark brown eyes fluttered open. "Are we there?"
"No. RV broke down." Daryl repeated.
"Oh." Mara yawned stretching, "Well, let's go see what the trouble is huh?"
Daryl nodded, watching her hop out of the car. She caught his gaze and gave him a small smile before heading off probably to find Officer Friendly. He stood there for a second collecting his thoughts. As much as Daryl wished, he didn't hate Lil'bit. Not one surprising bit. Yeah, she got on his nerves quite often, but it wasn't like how everyone else did. Her teasing although annoying, never had any belittling undertones to it. Unlike most did when involving him. In fact if there was anyone Mara ever belittled it was Shane. And Daryl couldn't say it wasn't deserved . The man despite being a cop and ex-leader of the group was a prick. Watching Mara take him down a few pegs was something Daryl thoroughly enjoyed seeing. "Ya coming Daryl?" Mara asked.
He blinked snapping out of his thoughts. His eyes narrowed as the image of Mara waiting only a few steps ahead of him processed in his mind. She had waited for him; instead of going off to find Officer Friendly like she normally did….It was surprising to say the least. No one ever waited for him. Not even Merle. "Yeah I'm coming. Hold your horses Lil'bit." He muttered.
"Whatever slow poke." Mara rolled her eyes, heading towards Rick who stood beside his car frustrated.
Her presence was instantly noticed by the man as he semi-agitated behavior calmed. Instinctively his body shifted to make room for her. A smile spread across his face as he locked eyes with Mara. "Hey, how was the ride?" Rick asked.
"Pleasant. As I predicted talking to Daryl is like talking to any man." Mara replied smiling.
"And how is that?" Rick questioned cocking an eyebrow.
Mara rolled her eyes. "Oh like you don't . That whole-uh huh, yeah, mmhmm, I guess, I don't know-shit you men do instead of actually listening."
Rick chuckled, but made no argument as they made their way over to Dale. A low whistle escaped Mara as she caught sight of the steam rising from the RV's radiator. In all honesty Mara knew shit about cars-which was funny seeing how her brother Bryon was a car fanatic. The guy could take an old scrap car and rebuild it into a completely new running one. A skill they probably could use right then. " I told you, we'd never get far on that hose." Dale pointed out, "I said we needed the one from the cube van."
"Well unfortunately for us, some asshole stole it." Mara reminded.
Rick glanced from her to Dale, before putting on his sheriff's hat. "Can you jury-rig it?"
"That's all it's been so far. More duct tape than hose-and I'm out of duct tape."
"I see something up ahead." Shane interrupted, " A gas station if we're lucky."
Mara looked at him briefly. Although she hated Shane, a gas station would be useful to them. For all they knew, there could be food, water and gas still there. She glanced over to Rick, trying to read what he was thinking. The whole no more ' vision ' thing was actually rather hard to get used to. Normally Mara would know exactly what the man was thinking-no second thoughts, guesses, or anything. Now though, she truly had to try and interrupt his facial expressions. "Y'all Jim-" Jacqui cried rushing out of the RV, "It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore."
It went silent as everyone tried to come to terms with Jacqui's words. Jim not making it to the CDC was in no way an impossibility. However it still was a possibility everyone hoped would not come to pass. The dark skinned woman glanced at them disheartened before walking back into the RV. Without a second thought, Mara followed the woman into the RV. Her hands tightening on the straps of her ruck the whole way. It wasn't too long ago that she gave Jim some of the aspirin from her first aid kit. The dosage hadn't been a lot, being only three hundred milligrams. But Jim insisted on taking the bare minimum. Since according to him, there was no use in wasting good stuff on him.
"Hey Jim." Mara smiled softly as she made her way over to him.
"Mara, how are you? Was riding with Daryl alright?" Jim groaned.
Her smile widened slightly, but her heart continued to sink further. "Alright. The man isn't much of a talker ."
Jim gave a small chuckle. "Never thought he was. The man has kept to his brother and himself ever since I've known him. You're the first person I have ever seen him talk to. "
"Yeah well, I'm not someone to be ignored." Mara mentioned, "Just ask Rick-ignoring me probably only makes it worse."
"Those are your words, Mar. Not mine." Rick's voice came from behind. Mara turned to see Rick staring at them with a sad smile on his face. He nodded towards her, slowly taking his hat off as if out of respect for someone. "We'll be back on the road soon."
"Oh no, Christ." Jim gasped, looking away from them, "My bones-my bones are like glass. Every little bump-God, this ride is killing me…..leave me here."
Rick shifted awkwardly unsure what to say. It was funny how one request could send his mind reeling nowadays. After all only a month or two ago, the request would've been answered with a quick 'no'. Leaving a man to die alone was out of the question as long as he still was an officer of the law. Moreover, the mere idea went against everything Rick stood for as a cop and a man. But that was then and this was now. The world wasn't the same place it used to be. "We could up your aspirin dosage. Maybe even see if some of the cold medicine I have will help you?" Mara suggested, "I know it's nothing real powerful, but who knows. It could help-"
"No!" Jim wheezed, "Thank you…but I don't need it-you do…. I'm done. ….Please just leave me, I want to be with my family."
Mara opened her mouth to protest when a warm hand gripped her shoulder. She looked up to see Rick peering down at her with heavy eyes. Slowly he crouched down next her, leaning forward to be near Jim. His hand slid into hers, squeezing it comfortingly. Mara felt her heart jump at his touch. A sudden burst of strange emotions flooded within her. It took all her power to reel them back in. Now wasn't the time to be having new and confusing emotions. Especially ones that borderline infatuation. "They're all dead." Rick said softly, "I don't think you know what you are asking. The fever…you've been more delirious than not."
"I know…don't you think I know?" Jim murmured. He pushed himself up trying to straighten himself so he could eye Rick better. A sharp cry of pain escaped him as he slid back down to his original spot. Mara gave Rick's hand a quick squeeze at the sound. She may have not known Jim long, but she desperately wanted to help him. Just as bad as Rick did. Jim sighed looking at them. "I'm clear now. In five minutes I may not be. Rick, I know what I'm asking…I want this. Leave me here-now that's one me. Okay? My decision. Not your failure."
Rick eyed the sick man for a few seconds longer, before making his way out of the RV. Mara frowned watching him leave. There was too much being placed upon Rick's shoulders for his own good. Already he was starting to bend at the pressure of his new found responsibilities and the sacrifices to all his morals. None which was good for any man-even a strong one like Rick. "I'll be right back, Jim. I need to go do something real quick." Mara announced, standing up.
Jim grabbed her wrist, his hand shaking. "Talk to him, please, Mara. Convince him to let me go. If there's anyone that man will listen to it's you."
Mara nodded, not knowing what to say. Painstakingly she made her way out of the RV to where Rick stood contemplating to himself. A lump formed in her throat as she made her way over. She honestly had no idea what to say. Her opinion on what Rick should do was definitely not one Rick would like. But then again she couldn't always agree with her best friend."You going to tell the others?" Mara asked gently.
"Honestly Mar, I don't know. I don't know what I should do." Rick admitted, "Jim's sick. And even though he says he's clear-we don't know that for sure."
Mara bit her bottom lip. Her brain worked to think of something-anything that could help her friend out. "It's a hard decision, Rick. But I hate to say it….Jim's right. It's his choice, not yours, Shane's, Lori's or mine- it is his choice. And he wants to….he wants to stay here and be at rest with himself."
"I can't just accept that so easily, Mara-the idea of letting a man die out here alone. I know everyone is used to it. Used to people just dying left and right nowadays, but I'm not. I have to believe there's a way-a cure-something to help him-"
"Even if there is such a thing Rick…Jim doesn't want it." Mara affirmed staring him in the eyes, "That's his choice. And like he said his choice is not your failure, Rick. Deaths like these are never anyone's fault, trust me-I know."
It went silent for a second as Rick stared at her with a lost expression. She gazed back at him equally as conflicted as him. She opened her mouth, pausing for a second to take a deep breath. "My mother died when I was five." Mara started, "We were driving home from my girl scout meeting when a drunk driver crashed into us. Somehow I came out with barely a scratch on me-but my mom…both of her lungs were destroyed in that crash. Luckily she got to the hospital in time for the doctors to put in an artificial lung to help her live. Thanks to the lung she could have continued living another thirty or forty years with us…but when she woke up, she ordered for the lung to be taken out. Seems my grandmother had one herself and had died from complications. So my mother didn't want to end up like her."
A quivering breath escaped Mara as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her mom was a subject, Mara preferred to remain unspoken of. Not even with her brothers did she speak about her mother. No matter how much they urged her to open up about it. "We begged the doctors to ignore her request. To keep her lung inside her and let us take her home, but they couldn't. It was against policy since my mom was conscious ." Mara felt her voice shaking at her next words, "For years I hated doctors-blamed them for what happened to my mother. But as I grew up, I realized there was nothing they could do. It was my mother's choice to make, not theirs-and that's what Jim is doing…making his choice. To just ignore it would be wrong of us. No matter how against it we are."
"Mar-" Rick murmured soothingly stepping towards her.
Mara stepped away opening her eyes. A calm coldness gleamed in them shocking Rick to the core. "Don't. Please don't Rick. I didn't tell you about my mother so you could comfort me. I told you, so you would understand that this isn't your fault. That even before this world went to hell choices and ethics like this happened all the time. So think about it, will you? " Mara turned away, trying to will the emotion off her face, "Now if you don't mind I promised Jim, I'd be back to keep him company."
Then without another word Mara left, unknowingly leaving Rick with a bigger dilemma than he had before. Her eyes watered slightly as she headed back into the RV. There was a reason she never spoke of her mom and it wasn't just because of her awful death. When her mother died, Mara hadn't been the only one to unrightfully blame someone else. Her father was just as quick to place his hatred on someone as she was. Only his choice wasn't the doctors. It was her.
"Your mother would never have died if it weren't for you and that fucking girl scouts meeting. I told her-I told her, to let you be. That you didn't need to be spoiled so much, but she didn't listen. And now looks what happened. She's dead, when really it should be you in that grave right now."
It wasn't long until the group made a decision. Rick and Shane came into the RV to help escort Jim to a nearby tree. Mara followed them to say her good bye to Jim like everyone else would be doing. The whole process in reality took less time than Mara thought it would. Perhaps it was sadly because everyone knew it best to move along as soon as possible. No matter how much no one wanted too. But the sad fact was that night would be here soon. And Lord only knew what would happen if they didn't make it to the CDC before then.
So once again, Mara found herself sitting in the passenger's side of Daryl's truck; nose buried in book. While besides her, Daryl drove in silence. His blue eyes glancing at her every so often as if to make sure Mara was still there. It was strangely comforting to her for some reason. They rode the rest of the way in that strange yet comforting silence. Every once in a while glancing at one another as if trying to decipher each other. Only to every so often have their eyes accidentally meet causing them to quickly look away. As funny as Mara found the whole charade to be, she had to admit her heart would speed up at those accidental meetings. Just like it did when Rick took her hand in his.
The memory cause Mara to blush slightly. Her brown eyes unconsciously moved towards the hand, Rick's had been in. Weirdly Mara could still feel the rough smoothness of it wrapped around her little hand. She sighed closing her eyes. When Mara was little she had one of two crushes on boys on base, but they never lasted long. Mainly because her dumb overprotective brothers always ruined it for her. It didn't matter to them if the poor boy was five or sixteen, no man was good enough for her. Ironic seeing how her brothers were notorious womanizers. Still none of her crushes were ever like this. None of them ever left her wanting to desperately to be next to a man. Or…men, Mara thought looking over towards Daryl.
Another sigh escaped her as she turned to look out the window. If only her mother decided to live…if only Mara hadn't gone to girl scouts that night…maybe then she would have someone to help her figure out what she was feeling. And perhaps then Mara would know which to choose. Heart or mind? A battle she didn't quite know how to handle. Maybe she should have read that book Twilight instead of burning it upon reading its review of Wikipedia.
"We're here." Daryl grunted as he parked behind Shane.
She nodded, cautiously getting out of the car. Vaguely Mara wondered what is was with people's insistent need to park neatly despite the world being over. Subconsciously Mara shifted her ruck trying to get a better weight balance on her shoulder. As much as she loved the thing, carrying it all the time did get tiring to her sometimes. "You ready?" she asked as Daryl came up besides her.
He shot her a 'what do you think' look. She gave him a sheepish smile as she reached for the rifle tucked safely on top of her ruck. It would do her no good to have it up there at a moment like this. Carefully she placed the budstock of the rifle in the pocket of her shoulder. Her confidence in shooting gotten much better thanks to the attack on the camp the other night. She still wasn't a hundred percent free of her father's echoing voice of her being a failure. But Mara was no longer fearful of letting everyone else down with that failure. After all a qualification test was different from killing walkers only inches away from her.
Eyeing her surroundings, Mara walked along side Daryl ready to shoot. It took every ounce of discipline in her not to gag or cough at the smell of death surrounding them. If the unabashed sight of bodies rotting out in the open orchestrated with the sound of buzzing flies wasn't bad enough, the smell surely did the trick. Never had Mara smelled such a scent let alone seen such a sight as this. Not the bodies piled up on top of each back at the hospital in King County was as bad this. At least those bodies were covered respectfully with the sheets of hospital.
"All right everyone, let's keep moving." Shane ordered taking the lead, "Stay quiet, let's go."
Unfortunately his order was only short lived as people started to chatter more and more the further they walked into the war zone. Mara gritted her teeth, forcing herself to keep her nerves underwrap. These people were normally civilians with no taste of military training at all. And while Mara learned in basic how that being quiet was obviously the smart thing to do when walking into enemy territory. She shouldn't expect them too. Especially not the women. Seeing how every one of them except Andrea, were all on the Suzy homemaker side as Bryon would put it. Carefully she stepped around the bodies-more so out of respect than disgust. Soon she found herself walking right besides Rick and Shane instead of Daryl. Mara blinked slightly confused and a little peeved. Did she really just become situationally unaware just to be walking next to Rick? She shook her head. There was definitely something wrong with her.
Within seconds they made it to the front of the CDC. Shane and Rick lurched forward trying to lift up the metal doors of it to no avail. Behind her, Mara could feel the worry start to rise in the others. Night was falling and fast-they needed to get in or find shelter somewhere safe for now. "There's nobody here." T-Dog stated.
Rick stared at the metal doors. His eyes searching for a weak spot-an opening-anything that could mean hope. "Then why are the shutters down?" He asked turned towards everyone.
Mara opened her mouth to say something only to be cut off with Daryl's loud warning of 'Walkers!' Her blood froze as her eyes made contact with those of the glossy undead. She lurched forward raising the rifle taking aim besides Daryl. There many of them-more than what were at the attack last night. Even with all the new ammo and weapons they obtained, there would be no way they could fight their way out this. Daryl let off an arrow, before turning angrily towards Rick. "You led us into a graveyard!" he roared.
She chased after him cutting him off a few inches away from Rick. Next to her stood Shane ready to kick Daryl's ass. "He made a call!" Shane defended.
"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl shouted.
"Just shut up! You hear me? Shut up! Shut up!" Shane ordered, before turning towards his friend, "Rick, this is a dead end. Do you hear me?"
In the background Mara heard Carol cry out about having nowhere to go. She stepped forward grabbing Rick by the shoulder. His eyes met hers and for the first time Mara could see fear and disbelief in them. It was a sight she never seen. "Rick, I know you hoped we'd find sanctuary here. But there's nothing." Mara pleaded, "If there was the damn bastards would have opened the door by now."
"She's right." Lori cried, "We can't be this close to the city after dark."
However Rick ignored them turning back to face the doors. Mara reached out to grab him only for a wave of pain to wash over her. She froze as a weird familiar pounding formed in her head. Her vision started to blur and she could barely make out Shane's suggestion of Fort Benning. All she could hear was the pounding in her head. "Why isn't the damn bastard opening the door?" Zane's voice came, "Can't see they're out there? What type of doctor leaves people to die like that?"
"Relax Zane, you know they're going to get in. It's a TV show after all." Easton's voice snorted."The only question is when."
"The camera-it moved!" Rick called suddenly. Everyone paused momentarily, their eyes on Rick as if he had gone crazy.
"You imagined it." Dale insisted.
"It moved." Rick repeated moving towards it.
"Rick, it is dead, man." Shane whispered following him, "It's an automatic device. It's gears, okay?"
"No." Mara said, eyeing the device, "He's right. Someone's in there. I heard it-the whispers told me."
Shane shot her a look, but she ignored it. She didn't care if Shane believed her, what mattered was if Rick believed her. Rick took one look at her before slamming his palm into the door. Shane moved to stop him only to have Mara collide into him. There was no way she was going to let Shane mess this up for them. "I know you're in there. I know you can hear me." Rick cried, "Please we're desperate. Please help us, we have woman and children, no food-hardly any gas left-"
"There's nobody here." Lori cried rushing in front of her husband.
"We have nowhere else to go!" Rick continued, "If you don't let us in-you're killing us!"
Finally Mara could take it no more. She pushed herself in front of the camera. "You're a doctor for Pete's sakes! It's your job to help people. Not to let them die like this-it's not right! It's not what-"
Daryl grabbed her, dragging her away in time with Shane grabbing Rick. Mara fought against him clawing and crying alongside Rick. Her head started to ache once again and suddenly she lost control of her own voice. "It's not what your wife would want!"
Mara had no idea where those words came from, but she thanked God they escaped her lips. Cause the unthinkable happened…the doors opened in truly Hollywood fashion. A bright light symbolizing heaven glowed as the metal contraptions lifted. It was mesmerizing-at least to everyone other than Mara it was. "What the hell are you just standing around for?" Mara cried, "Get inside!"
Her cries seemed to snap everyone out their daze as they quickly rushed inside. It wasn't until the last person was inside did Shane and her go in. There they kept their guard up as they search for the man who let them in. "Hello?!" Rick called, his eyes searching.
The sound of someone cocking a gun was heard. Instantly Mara turned towards the sound rifle raised. Her eyes widened though as she spot a man wearing a white lab coat. Someone was there, her vision was real. "Anyone infected?" he asked.
"One of our group was." Rick answered, "He didn't make it."
The man remained hardened. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
"A chance." Rick breathed.
"That's asking an awful a lot these days." The doctor replied.
Rick cocked his head slightly. "I know."
It went silent for a few second as the man's eyes wandered around the room, stopping here and there to inspect them. Mara returned his gaze, refusing to look desperate. He stared at her from a second longer, his eyes narrowing as if trying to analyze her. "You all submit to a blood test, that the price of admission." He demanded.
"We can do that." Rick agreed.
"Hell, I'll give you a pint of my blood if that the entrance fee." Mara offered.
The doctor smiled slightly. "I don't think that would be necessary."
"Good." Mara said lowering her rifle, "Cause as willing as I would be to do it, I can't say I wouldn't cry. I have a terrible fear of needles."
"You won't feel a thing in the blood test, I promise." The doctor said, then looked at Rick, "If you have to bring, bring it in now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."
Rick nodded, glancing at the men to help grab their things. Naturally Mara went out to help. The whole stay behind and do nothing while the men do it, wasn't her thing. Anything they could do, she could do. The superior gender thing was bullshit. Within minutes they took everything out of the cars and were ready to go. Upon shutting the doors, the doctor-whose name was Jenner escorted them to a nearby elevator, which they all packed into. Mara found herself squished between Andrea and Sophia. Her ruck shoved right into poor Glenn's face. It reminded her slightly of her days in basic when everyone loaded onto the cattle truck for transportation. Only there was a lot less room then.
"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked.
"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough." Dr. Jenner replied, glancing around at them. His eyes stopped on Carl. He gave him a small smile. "Except you, I'll have to keep my eye on you."
Mara smiled slightly, patting Carl on the shoulder. The kid was a good boy. It would be a lie to say she didn't have a soft spot for him. "You said there were more?" Mara asked, "Is there any possibility I could get my hands on one of those beauties? I mean the rifle is great and all, but I really am more familiar with a M-16 or a M-4."
Her words caused a small smile to form on Rick's lips. Jenner raised an eyebrow curiously at her. "I take it you were in the army at one point."
"Something like that." Mara shrugged as the doors opened.
Jenner gave her a small smile. "We'll see. First we have to make sure, none of you are dangerous."
"That won't be hard." Mara retorted. She followed the doctor down the white hallway. In all honesty Mara was probably more comfortable than should be. But she couldn't help it. For whatever reason hearing her brothers voices moment ago brought upon a strange safeness to her. As if they were right besides her that very moment. It…it felt rather nice. Unfortunately not everyone felt the same weird protection Mara did.
"Are we underground?" Carol asked, her face a little pale.
"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner questioned.
She gave him an embarrassed smile. "A little."
"Try not to think about it." Jenner prescribed, continuing his way through the halls, "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room."
The lights flickered on revealing a large metal computer looking room. It reminded Mara of something she'd seen in one of Zane's comic books as a kid. What her brother wouldn't do to see a place like this in real life…he'd go berserk. "Welcome to Zone 5." Jenner introduced.
Rick glanced worriedly at Mara. She nodded reading his mind. There was no one here. Not a good sign. "Where is everybody?" Rick asked, "The other doctors, the staff?"
"I'm it." Jenner replied, "It's just me here."
"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" Lori prodded.
Jenner looked up at the ceiling. "Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them welcome."
"Hello guests." A computer voice boomed, "Welcome."
"I'm all that's left." Jenner repeated.
Mara looked up at the ceiling. A computer butler…"I'm sorry, but that is so fricken' cool."
"What are you? Five?" Shane asked annoyed.
Mara brushed the insult off. "According to my brothers I am."
Having her blood taken wasn't the worse thing to happen to Mara. After all needles were only her fifth fear-yeah she had a lot of them. However that didn't stop her from mumbling her favorite song when scared The Bitch Came Back. Luckily Rick and Glenn were the only ones who knew what she was mumbling, and they were enjoying her discomfort immensely. She glared at them, brushing off Rick's comforting hand when she sat down. Mara couldn't wait for the day it was them scared rather than her. Though their fears were probably nowhere near as absurd as hers was. Nonetheless, the blood test went quickly after hers and within twenty minutes they were down to the last person…Andrea. "What's the point? If we were infected, we'd all have fevers." Andrea pointed out.
Jenner gave her a tired look. "I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just be thorough. All done."
Andrea stood up only to teeter a little. Jacqui rushed to her side to the poor woman stand. It had been days since anyone ate. And that more so out sheer forgetfulness and busyness than from lack of food. Sure they were considerably low on food, but Mara had enough in her pack to last the group at least three days. Rick knew it. Lori knew it. Hell even Shane knew it. They were just so busy trying to get to safety, no one stopped to say 'hey let's eat.'
"You okay?" Jenner asked concerned.
"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have." Jacqui replied for Andrea.
Jenner eyed them for a second, before smiling slightly. "Well, we'll just have to get you fed, won't we?"
Dinner was prepared in flash. The moment food came into view, the women sprung into action getting their hands on whatever they could to cook. Even Mara joined in preparing the great feast. Cooking was one of the few feminine things Mara didn't mind in doing-mainly because she didn't really see cooking as such a woman's only job. After her mother died, it was up to fifteen year old Bryon to feed the household. And while fast food and hamburger helper worked for a short period, Bryon soon switched to more fresh recipes. Her brother began watching the Food network and reading any cookbook he could find. He even managed to teach Easton and her out to cook. Something Mara thought she was quite good at if anyone asked her.
Soon everyone was laughing and smiling over the delicious meal. Dale passed around a fine wine, which Mara passed up, choosing to have a beer instead. She was never much of a drinker. Not after seeing what alcohol did to her father. But when she did drink, it absolutely had to be either beer or a hard liquor. It was just the Grayson way. Daryl sat behind Mara giving her an impressed look when she asked for a sip of his southern comfort. He handed her the bottle not thinking Mara would one to take a direct swig from the bottle. His eyes widened as she placed the bottle down with a frown. "Vodka is definitely stronger."
Daryl cocked an eyebrow, "Ya drink the hard stuff, lil'bit?"
"I'm a Grayson. It's a must." Mara explained, "Can't go to any family function without being able to at least down two shots of whiskey, Vodka, Gin, Tequila-oh and you need to still be standing when you're done."
"Man, I would love to see your twenty-first." T-Dog said.
"Wasn't nothing special." Mara muttered ruefully, "My brothers ordered the most expensive hard liquor in the bar and I….while I got voted the designated driver ."
The table roared in laughter, but not as hard as when Carl tried his first sip of wine. Thankfully the boy wouldn't be interested in drinking for a long while. Everything seemed to be going well for the group. Everyone was well fed and happy. Nothing could ruin the situation-or at least Mara thought so…until a vague familiar pounding started up again in her head. She groaned trying to will it away. Nothing ever good came happened when she felt it. "It seems to me, that we haven't thanked our host properly." Rick announced standing up.
"He is more than just our host." T-Dog agreed raising his glass.
Mara followed suit, but she couldn't form the cheerful cries like the others did. Not with the pounding in her head-not with the fear that this whole sanctuary could possible kill someone. "So when are you going to tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane interrupted. "All the-other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"
"Shane, we're celebrating." Rick chastised. "Don't need to do this now."
"No." Mara said, surprising Rick, "As much as I hate to say it, Shane's right. Look I am extremely grateful for you taking us in Doctor Jenner. But we need to know what happened."
"It's why we're here isn't." Shane pressed, "This was your move- supposed to find all the answers. Instead we-we found him. Found one man, why?"
"Well ,when things got bad, a lot of people just left went off to be with their families. And when things got worse-when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted." Jenner explained.
A cocky expression swept over Shane's face as he leaned back into his chair. "Every last one?"
"No. Many couldn't face walking out the door. " Jenner replied, "They…opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."
"You didn't leave." Andrea mentioned. "Why?"
Jenner looked down with an inexplicable look. It was look Mara knew far too well for her own liking. The look someone only wore when they've lost a person dear to them. A strange raw look of defeat and hopelessness, her father wore it for the first couple of months after her mother's death, before becoming the spiteful man, Mara knew . "I just continued working. Hoping to do some good." Jenner answered.
It went silent for a second. Everyone sat there thinking other what Jenner said. The whole conversation really put a damper of things for the night."Dudes, you are such buzzkills." Glenn said looking towards Mara and Shane.
Mara simply rolled her eyes. The pounding in her head hadn't stopped. Instead it worsen-but Mara couldn't say she was surprised there. From her last two experiences, Mara concluded that her visions liked to be a pain. Deciding to gradually go up the pain scale until kicking it into full throttle seconds before the actually vision came about. She frowned chewing thoughtfully on her mystery meat. Ever since that awakening in the hospital, everything had gone topsy-turvy for her. But then again what could Mara expect? She woke up inside some TV show. What was even remotely normal about that?
After dinner, Jenner kindly led them into a narrow white hallway filled with rooms. Despite the forewarning pain in her head, Mara couldn't help but feel excited as Jenner explained everything. Couches. Cots. Rec room. Showers. Hot water. Electricity. Her enthusiasm was going off the hook. Luckily though, she wasn't the only one. "Hot water?" Glenn grinned.
"That's what the man said." T-Dog smiled.
Grins appeared on everyone's faces at the prospect. They glanced at each other one last time before dispersing into their own little rooms. This may not be heaven, but it was probably the closest they'd ever get to the real thing.
Normally this is where I would thank all my reviewers, but like I said this chapter is already tremendously long so the plan is to respond in the next one. However I would like to thank you all for reviewing and voting last chapter and hope to both hear from you and see you again for both chapters.