Chapter Four

Rick's POV

The following day...

"What the hell...is wrong with me..." I thought hollowly to myself, snorting a humorless laugh as my mind continued, "...actually, the list is too long; I wouldn't even know where to begin."

We were leaving for the CDC today on my call and I would be lying if said I was not nervous.

Who knew if I was making the right choice?

Who was to say if I was leading everyone straight to their deaths or our greatest chance for survival...?

The outcome could honestly be either one.

We only had so much food and fuel for the trip out to this place, so by the time we got there, we would need a miracle.

I sighed pensively and scrubbed a hand across my face.

Something else was not sitting right with me either...something different with...winter-blue eyes, features carved out of stone, and a boiling hot temper.

Daryl Dixon.

I left my fingers to rest over my eyes, shielding the sun and providing some soothing darkness to fall over my senses for a moment while my mind continued to ponder the most enigmatic element I'd come across since waking up in that hospital.

That man breathed fire and I could not help but be drawn to the flames, finding his personality refreshing to be around as well as wholly captivating.

It did not make sense, and, for the most part, I did not know how to feel about my thinking of him this way.

I couldn't help it.

I knew very little of this man's past, possibly right along with everyone else at this camp, and I could not shove down the pressing need to know more.

I wanted to know what made him tick.

I dropped my hand away from my face and stood up, giving my neck a stretch and releasing the tension that was there.

I turned on the heel of my boot and walked back towards the main area of the camp where I could already hear people moving about, gathering gear and supplies and packing them away for our long haul.

Everyone seemed to be doing something.

I caught sight of Lori and Carl as they helped Carol and Sophia load their things into our vehicle, Carl taking care to make Sophia laugh when he could.

I breathed a smile as well at the heartwarming image.

A few cars lengths behind ours was a blue pickup truck with a person standing in the bed, securing a black motorcycle down with nylon cords and S-shaped hooks.

I swallowed hard, immediately recognizing Daryl's messy brown hair and squared shoulders, and my feet seemed to automatically move me towards him before I could think twice.

I could feel my mouth go dry and tiny twists start to form in the pit of my stomach the closer I got, able to hear the straining sounds of the ropes being pulled tighter down around the machine to the truck bed, eliciting a small grunt from the bowman while he worked.

"Hey Daryl. Could I have a word...?" I announced my presence with what I hoped would be seen as a friendly greeting.

The hunter turned towards me, having to look down from his position in the truck bed and I could not help the side-grin that curved my lips at the sight that met my eyes.

Pale lips were parted and steely blue eyes looked surprised to see me standing there, as he retrieved a simple red rag from his back pocket to wipe his fingers.

"Yeah...? What do ya want?" Daryl spoke in his clipped twang that I had actually come to enjoy listening to when I could, his eyes quickly looking towards anyone else who might be in earshot before landing on me once again.

He always seemed to have his guard up, never really trusting any situation to be what it seemed.

"I um..." I brought a nervous hand to rub a thumb across my damp brow, having to duck my eyes for a second, "...wanted to check to see if you have enough food and things for the trip. You're the only one of us that is traveling alone, so I wanted to make sure you're going to be alright."

The last part had just flown from my mouth, carrying more than one meaning...and I was pretty sure that Daryl had caught onto that by the strange way he looked at me.

Suddenly displaying very obvious signs of uneasiness by what I had said regarding my concern for him, Daryl shifted his weight in the truck bed, as if wanting to put a little more distance between us, looking everywhere but me for a moment.

His eyes narrowed but not out of aggression, as if he was trying to see through me, until he finally fixed me with a sort of angled look and replied in a softer tone, "...yeah...yeah I'm fine. I'll be alright. I can keep up with the rest of ya."

I smirked at that, nodding in agreement as I spared a moment to look towards the rest of the cars and people walking around them with items filling their hands.

"Yeah, I know you can..." I said quietly before turning my gaze totally back towards the hunter, noticing the way his eyes seemed to ask me the questions that his mouth never would, "...it's just that...you're part of this group, Daryl, and I take care of my own...that includes you."

Daryl honestly looked like he wanted to be anywhere but standing there in that truck bed with me talking to him, but I continued, unable to help it at this point as I finally felt some of this strange weight lift free from my chest.

"You need anything, anything at all...or if something happens...you let me know. Got it?" I said finally, my light-blue gaze unwavering as I stared at his diamond-cut features and lovely eyes that had long since found a place on the ground to look at instead of me.

When it happened, it happened fast...too quickly for me to really drink it in.

But I had seen it.

For just a fraction of a moment, Daryl lifted his gaze so that he looked right into my eyes, his hands stilling with the red rag caught between them, and his lips curved into a gorgeous grin.

He was saying thank you without actually speaking the words and I could feel my breath catch in my chest at the unexpected sight.

But as soon as I had seen it, it was gone, as the hunter sniffed in some air and turned his head to look towards the others, just as I had done.

"...need to tell them towards the back to hurry it up...we ain't got all day," Daryl changed the subject, signaling the end of this particular conversation and thus, restoring my ability to breathe normally again.

I nodded with his astute observation, taking a deep but silent breath and peering down the same direction he was.

"I'm going to call a meeting with everyone in about an hour and then we'll be heading out, I reckon," I stated, noticing the way Daryl crouched down low next to the motorcycle, hooking a final cord around it and making sure there was no give in any of the lines, "...see you there."

I did not expect Daryl to answer, having already turned his attention back to his bike, so I smoothly turned around and began making my way back towards the others to offer more help where I could.

"You got it, boss," Daryl's smokey voice reached me, thoroughly stunning me as I whirled around in my place to seek him out once more, his simple phrase having demanded that much from me.

I blinked stupidly as Daryl nodded his head at me, acknowledging me yet again in the warmest way he could, I imagined, and I knew that he and I had just earned an understanding with one another.

Our entire exchange had been relatively simple conversation, but it was something that I was quickly realizing meant a lot to me.

I let him get back to his task with his motorcycle, choosing not to reply any more at the moment, as I righted my steps and continued on the path towards the rest of the caravan.

"...'you got it, boss'...heh," my mind replayed his last words for me, lighthearted in a sense as Daryl had purposefully chosen such a cheeky response to say back to me, and I caught myself smiling broadly as a result.

That small, shy smile of his was branded in the forefront of my brain more so than anything else, however, the impact of which making my steps seem almost weightless, like I could walk forever.

I chuckled again, as I faced forward, feeling satisfied, feeling accomplished, feeling as if I had made some kind of positive impression on the roguish man every else at this camp seemed to hold at arms' length.

Not me.

Now more so than ever, as if that faint smile of his had acted as some kind of catalyst to my goals, I felt like I wanted to grow closer to the hunter.

I had long since accepted that I wanted to try to be his friend and earn his respect, having seen first hand his value as a skilled hunter and bowman that would ultimately benefit this group.

And if time would let me, if he would let me, I wanted to be able to know everything about him.

Everything.