Curative

By Kaimaler

We have a little bit of theromance portion of the story on a move, felt it was time too after about ten chapters of hinting. But we'll see how that goes. ;3

Moving on with Season 2 episode 1, we'll be done with it shortly and be seeing the Greene farm soon. :I

Review Replies:

Lorem Tenebrae:

That's what I'm trying to go for, a character with more of a plot then just a romance. Laura has her own story that actually has meaning with the group, it effects them and will do so more later on. However, she also has a little thing going on with Daryl, but we'll see how that goes. :D
And yeah, I realize that. But I also realize that with the writers and Norman talking about Daryl's character, that any kind of romance is OOC for him. So I have to work with what I'm given.
I thought that, if Daryl was going to have a romance with anyone then he'd have to have some kind of liking towards that person from early on. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would romance someone over time. I almost see him stalking up to Laura and just saying "I like ya', so let's try this." but also be nervous about it.
Daryl, again, doesn't seem like the kind of person who has ever had a lot of girlfriends. Like is Season 3 when he's talking to Carl about his mother, he states that he was out playing with the neighbors' kids because: "I could do that when Merle was gone." And that statement broke my heart, it became apparent that Daryl didn't have a lot of confidence with Merle around, his parents were shit and his brother, while he took care of Daryl, wasn't exactly a loving brother.
Hard to believe right? xD
Anyways, that's part of my reasoning behind Daryl's behavior. It's a more straightforward approach, but one I'm having more fun with. And Laura isn't much different then Daryl, she's been through some shit and I realize that her confession to him in the last chapter made it look like she was complaining about her father, but she really wasn't. She was confiding in him and Daryl can see that she was trusting him with something sensitive to her and replied in the way he knew best.

Animelover1993:

Yeah, I was hoping to see more reviews when I got Laura to meet up with the Atlanta group. :3
HA! My portrayals are close? REALLY? I'm actually happy to hear that, I was worried that I went overboard here or there. Like with Rick and Laura that day in the tent when she told him. I wondered if I should've made him react worse, but to me, Rick wasn't that kinda' person.
And yeah! I mean, come on. Glenn's awesome and all, but if you were part of the Atlanta Group and you had a member of the group who could literally walk with walkers and not get hurt wouldn't you use that ability to your advantage? You'd want to protect the member of the group still, like Rick did, but he still accepted her help because it meant Glenn wouldn't have to risk his life out on a street infested with walkers.
It would be moronic to send him out there when someone like Laura was around.
I felt the rape case needed to be there to force her to change from the normal woman she was, being that she owned an apartment and lived a relatively normal life, but after being bitten and turned, being cured (if you can call it that) the rape case was there to force the cruelty of this new apocalyptic world on her. She wouldn't have learned really any other way. It hurt and I'm so abusive to my characters, but it was a necessary evil. :D
I heeded your suggestion and included two new chapters that replaced chapter six and seven, it features Laura having a run in with another group of survivors in Atlanta.
It's not much, I realize, but I don't think there really needed to be much there to get the point across that Laura is actually safer with the undead hordes then she was with other living humans.
I'm glad you still like Laura though! I want to do my best with her, this is my first WD fanfic after all. :O

Lilbookworm1984 (or Guest):

I wanted to go for a new character, someone not really done before. Laura was the result. She's seen a lot of hardships in her life but she's not letting them drag her down and she's in the process of actually turning her misfortunes around and using them to strengthen her resolve. To make her a stronger character, it'll take a little while because all those events, her father and the lab, the men who raped her, and the group she actually liked trying to kill her...
Her father and the lab happened a good number of weeks ago, the men who raped her only a few weeks ago, and the group who tried to kill her not long ago at all.
So everything is still so fresh to her, the trauma is still very much there, but she's going through it in silence while, even modern society will tell you this, it's harder to overcome such pain alone and it takes a while. So Laura's dealing with it and it's not a big help that she doesn't heal well.
On top of trying to overcome the trauma mentally, she still has clear signs of her abuse all over her. So the events that lead her to the Atlanta group is still very much there and she can feel it everyday.
That cannot be easy. x.x
Thanks for your review! I appreciate all comments made about my stories! :D

LittleMeep (in reply to all your new reviews):

I'm glad you liked the inserts, I felt they needed to be done. But the idea came from another reader who I paid respects to in the chapter. :3
I wanted to make a little connection between Micheal and Laura, make something come up there to make the knife hurt all the more. So when Red and Braddock tried to kill her and she managed to escape, she learned that people can be cold to their own. However, Laura realizes they only did it because they thought she would hurt them. So she doesn't blame them, she still cares about them.

And Daryl didn't know about her. How could he? He suspected something was up and tried to get her to tell him back in the woods when they went hunting, but he didn't actually know anything. If he thought she was a walker then, he probably would've just shot her and been done with it. He just figured something was wrong and assumed she had something wrong with her. He didn't know what.
So at the CDC, her eyes were reflecting light, kinda' like cat eyes when you shine a light at them in the dark. When he saw this, of course he was curious, or at least, even more suspicious. Walker eyes did that, but she wasn't trying to eat them. What I didn't explain being that this isn't a POV changing story, is that Daryl thought she might have been bitten, but he'd already developed some underlying likeness towards her and was caught between saying something to the group and thinking they may kill her or watch her die from the bite, or staying quiet and waiting to see what happened.

Yeah, poor Sophia. :'(
BUT, we'll see what happens there. ;3
Also, yay! Daryl and Laura made the first move, now there's not much about them in this chapter, just a few things here or there, but later on, there will definitely be more about them. :O

They got up early as they could. Daryl gotten up first and Laura was still awake. She wished she could close her eyes and sleep again, she figured it would probably feel better then laying up all night.

Then again, she was with Daryl all night and felt more comfortable then she had in a long while. Laura was never one to act like she didn't like him just to make things easier or to see if what she was experiencing wasn't just infatuation. She jumped head first and found herself liking it so far, she guessed that it wouldn't be too long before she would have to really see how she felt about him.

For the moment, they had more important things to do.

Laura was sitting on the edge of the truck when people began waking up. When it was bright enough, they began planning out their search party.

Rick came out with some kind of roll that Laura didn't know what it was or where it came from. Jumping off the truck, she joined the group preparing for the search for Sophia.

The plastic roll Rick had was now opened on the hood of a car, it carried all sorts of blades and tools, all effective for cutting down walkers. "Everybody takes a weapon." There were plenty to go around too.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea remarked, she wanted a gun. Didn't she have a gun? Laura hadn't checked on the group lately, to see how they were doing. Maybe Andrea lost hers...?

"We've been over that. Daryl, Rick, and I are carryin'." Shane answered from the side of the RV. "Can't have people poppin' off rounds every time a tree rustles."

Andrea huffed, "It's not the trees I'm worried about."

"Say somebody fires at the moment, say a herd happens to be passin' by; see that is game over for all of us." Shane seemed a little annoyed at Andrea. "So you need to get over it."

"The idea is to take the creek up 'bout five miles, turn around and come back down the other side." Daryl pointed off in the direction of the creek, "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."

"Stay quiet, stay sharp. Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other." Rick instructed and Laura turned around to follow Daryl, everyone seemed okay with her walker history, but she wasn't about to leave one of the two people who were actually accepting of her.

He stopped a few feet from the group and checked his gear, arrows, the gun he had on him, ammo, all the while Laura was becoming more and more aware of a little event nearby.

Everybody heard it, Andrea wanted her gun back but Dale refused.

Since Andrea's choice back at the CDC, Laura wasn't sure what to think of the woman who always seemed so strong to her. Andrea had chosen to die and Laura didn't know why she had left the CDC to live until she heard her speaking to Dale.

From what she could make out, Dale had stayed to convince her to leave with them, to survive. He did so by staying with her until the clock ran out, but Andrea didn't want Dale to die because he didn't actually want to die.

So she left the CDC with Dale and survived, but she didn't want to be there. She wanted to die peacefully not, as she put it, being torn apart by drooling freaks. Laura could understand that, but she didn't understand the world as a horrific nightmare. She just couldn't relate and felt guilty being the only one who wasn't living in constant fear of being eaten alive.

Andrea stormed away from Dale who was speechless by the end of her chastising him.

They all left afterwards, Daryl lead, Rick behind him, and Laura right behind Rick. They walked in a line, everyone kept an eye out to the trees for Sophia, trying to see something, anything that might suggest the girl was around.

Following the creek was easy, the woods weren't too hard to see through, but after a few minutes of walking, the line began to slow down.

Laura saw Daryl get down, immediately she thought there was a walker. Rick turned around and gestured for everyone to stay back. Shane came up behind them and looked down the trees.

It was a tent with a small camp site around it, but there weren't any signs of movement. "She could be in there." Shane suggested.

"Could be a whole buncha' things in there." Daryl approached cautiously, ready for walkers. Rick and Shane followed him, Laura stayed behind to try and calm people, make sure none of them went after the three men.

Laura was concerned Carol would just go after them, thinking her daughter was inside that tent, but she kept herself back, just watching closely as Daryl walked to the tent with his knife in hand.

At first, they could barely see what was going on, the trees blocked their view of Daryl and the tent.

Then Rick turned around to see them, "Carol." He waved her over and she rushed to meet him. "Call out softly. If she's in there, yours in the first voice she should hear." Yeah, she'd probably run from any other voices. Laura thought, the group came forward a little to see what was happening.

"Sophia, sweetie, are you in there?" She called out quietly, "Sophia it's mommy. Sophia, we're all here baby. It's mommy." Her voice was cracking, without any reply from the tent, they all assumed the little girl wasn't in there, but there was a little hope.

Rick and Shane approached now, guns at the ready as Daryl slowly unzipped the tent. Laura bit her lip, if there was a walker in there, close quarters like that was more likely to get someone killed then out in the open. She should be the one investigating, but he was already going in by the time she thought about offering her services again.

Rick neared the tent flap and opened it, trying to look in only to recoil. He and Shane were both coughing, there must be something rancid in there for them to both choke on air like that.

The two men coughing like that worried the others, Lori took Carol by the shoulders and held close.

"Daryl?" Carol called out, they couldn't hear anything from inside and were all a little worried. "Daryl?" Carol tried again, stepping forward this time. Laura knew that if there was a walker, they'd hear it and Daryl wouldn't die so easily.

The tent flap pulled open and Daryl stepped out. "Ain't her."

"What's in there?" Andrea spoke up, Daryl grabbed his crossbow from the ground. "Some guy, did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?"

They were all disappointed Sophia wasn't there, but were ready to head back to the creek and continue on. They still had a few miles to go before turning back to the highway anyways.

Then bells. Laura's eyes went wide, there were actual bells ringing. Everyone was hearing it, it wasn't her imagination playing tricks.

Rick pointed in a direction and they all followed, running behind Rick through the woods. "What direction?" Shane stood on top of a fallen tree. They slowed down to try and listen for the bells. "I think that direction. I'm pretty sure."

"Dang, it's hard to tell." He jumped down from the tree. "If we hear them then maybe Sophia does too."

"Someone's ringing those bells, could be signaling others." Glenn shrugged his backpack on better, Andrea came walking by. "Signaling that they found her."

"She could be ringin' them herself. Come on." Rick chose another direction and started running down a slant, everyone close behind.

They ran for a little while, all of them spending themselves to follow the sound of the bells, hoping that Sophia wouldn't be too far from them either. Eventually, they broke the treeline and they could all see a white church with a graveyard.

It was a rather simple looking church, but there wasn't a walker in sight.

"That can't be it. Ain't got no steeple, no bells." Shane observed. He was right about the steeple, but Laura couldn't see many churches being in the area and, even if this wasn't the right church, Sophia could still be there. Rick didn't care if it was the wrong church, he broke into a run again. "Rick-!" Shane chased after him, the group on their heels.

Rick went around to the front of the church, still not a walker in sight. He jumped up the concrete stairs to the red double doors.

He pulled out his gun, him and Daryl stood at either side of the doors as Rick made a shush gesture and they both opened the doors.

Laura was at the foot of the stairs, she couldn't see what was happening once they entered the church.

Three people entered, Rick, Shane and Daryl. By the time Laura got to the top of the stairs with the others, she saw Glenn holding the crossbow and the three men inside wielding blades of some form.

Rick cut into a walker on the far left side, Shane went straight down the center aisle and stuck his blade into a walker's skull, while Daryl went around the right side and sliced open the head of the last walker.

When all was quiet, Rick cried out "Sophia!" before opening a door that lead to the outside. He peered out but didn't see anything.

Daryl had gone up to the alter, looking over it for a moment. "Yo, JC, you takin' requests?"

No one knew what to say, they all thought there was a chance for Sophia to be here, or somewhere nearby. When they saw nothing, it was as painful not knowing.

"I'm telling you it's the wrong church, it's got no steeple, Rick." Shane again, trying to convince Rick. "There's no steeple."

He said this right before the bells started up again, louder as they were much closer to the source of the sound. They couldn't be at the wrong church, the bells were so loud and clear here.

Daryl sprinted out the doors, Rick and Shane not far behind. When they got outside, they followed the sound and Laura picked up that it distinctly sounded hollow, not like large metal bells at all.

Around the side of the building, they all saw a loudspeaker blaring out.

Glenn ran up to it, popped open a small metal box at the end of the loudspeaker cord, and yanked something out, which stopped the sound.

"Timer," Daryl pointed out, "It's on a timer."

"I'm gonna' go back in for a bit." Carol left the group and went to reenter the church, saddened by not finding Sophia there. They all joined her in the church again, Laura was hesitant, she'd never been in a church and felt like she was offending peoples belief by just standing in it.

Brilliant, add religious offence to the list of offenses I've made. Laura figured she was technically a point of religious discussion. She was part of the dead, she had died, but she was alive again and surviving in a group with other people who needed all they could get.

Laura theorized that, had she ever become religious, she may see this as a sign from God. She frowned, Probably something about chances, good will, and all that. She didn't know, she never knew much when it came to worshiping something.

That's why, standing in this church, watching Carol on her knees praying to her God, made Laura feel suddenly very awkward. Was she supposed to do something? She looked around, the others were standing in the back and she was sitting on the edge of the back pew. Was she not supposed to sit down? Lori was in the front sitting down.

While Carol prayed, Laura admitted to herself about praying silently with her. Nothing about this Ed character Carol kept mentioning, but about Sophia. Safety, security, and a future for all of them. She was nervous about it, didn't know how to do it, but when Carol got up and sat with Lori, she felt stranger about it all.

A few minutes inside after that and they all started to leave the church.

Laura had forgotten how hot it was outside while they were inside the church, inside was nice, cool, but outside was welting heat. Made her shake her head and continue on, she felt like she was being cooked.

They all found a large tree in the graveyard and sat down, Lori and Glenn were passing out water. When Lori came to Laura, who was standing a few feet away, the woman paused when she looked at her face. Laura nodded and lowered her head, Lori was concerned about her, being a walker. She could see it plain as day.

Cautiously, like Laura was a wounded animal, Lori stepped closer to her and handed her a water bottle. Laura was thankful and wanted to comment on the woman's bravery of approaching her like that, but Lori was already passing out water to the others again.

Understandable. Just be happy they aren't trying to kill you. Laura kept away from the group, she wanted to always stay near Rick or Daryl, they accepted her quickly, but the others... She wasn't so sure about. Shane wanted her dead, that much was certain, but the way Lori looked at her, like she was waiting for Laura to lunge at her, that made her acutely aware that she was still with humans.

Rick and Shane were off talking, Laura wasn't going to listen in. Their business was their business. Instead, she made sure she could see Daryl at all times, just in case someone else in the group was thinking less then kind thoughts about her and her walker past.

When Shane walked up, she half expected him to knock her on the head again. She stepped back quickly, making sure there was enough space between them, just in the off chance he did decide to do something.

"Y'all gonna' follow the creek bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick are just gonna' hang back, search this area another hour or so." Everyone started standing up and getting their packs on their backs and shoulders again.

"Splittin' us up?" Daryl was a little confused, the lesser the number, the more dangerous it was for people. "Ya sure?"

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you." Shane didn't seem on the same page with this plan, Laura could see that much.

"I want to stay to." It was Carl, standing in front of the group. "I'm her friend." Laura smiled at him, he was a good friend.

Shane and Rick looked at each other, neither one of them making any kind of motion to answer. Shane looked away and shook his head, he was worried about bringing Carl along.

When neither spoke against it, Lori came up to Carl. "Just be careful, okay?" Carl grinned, "I will."

"Oh, when did you start growin' up?" She hugged him, a mother's worry. Rick came up and reassured her, giving her a hug too.

"Here, take this." He held out his gun to her, but she shook her head. "I'm not takin' your gun and leavin' you unarmed." Smart... Laura thought, Rick and Shane would need all they could get. Just the two of them and Carl? It was risky.

Daryl pulled out a gun from his belt, "Here, I got a spare. Take it." Lori accepted it, putting it in her back pocket.

Laura came up beside Rick, "Should I go with you, on account of... y'know?" She gestured to herself. Rick appeared contemplative for a moment, trying to see how they could use her while looking around the church and woods.

"I think it's best if you go back to the highway with them." He answered, there wasn't much she could do out here that they couldn't do. Walk around and look. "We won't be too long."

She nodded and followed the rest of the group, leaving Shane, Rick and Carl at the church.

Making their way back wasn't too hard, just a long walk. Daryl knew the direction better then anyone and was leading them through the woods safely. No walkers yet. Laura didn't expect to see many out in the woods anyways.

After a good while of walking, she stepped over an old fallen tree. "So this is it? This is the whole plan?" Carol asked, sitting down on the same tree Laura stepped over.

"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups."

Laura didn't like the sound of that, the less numbers there were, the higher chance there was of something bad happening. "Carrying knifes and pointy sticks." Andrea remarked, she'd seen the gun Daryl gave Lori. "I see you have a gun."

"Why, you want it?" Lori was annoyed, Laura stepped back a little bit. She pulled out the gun and held it for Andrea. "Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're givin' me." Laura hadn't seen Andrea eyeing Lori, but she saw the look on the blonde woman's face now and all Laura wanted to do was smack it off of her.

When Andrea took it, Lori sat on the tree. "All you." She sighed, looking at Carol. "Honey, I can't imagine what you're goin' through and I would do anything to stop it, but you have got to stop blamin' Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him. Once Sophia ran he didn't hesitate, not for a second. I don't know any of us would've gone after her like he did, or made the hard decisions he had to make, or that anybody could have done it any differently." Lori glanced around the group, all of them silenced. "Anybody?"

No one answered, just watched her. Even if someone had a better answer, if there was one, no one would say anything. Lori was distressed and so was Carol, speaking up would only make things worse.

Laura hadn't a way to answer though, no one would've hesitated going after Sophia though, they all were trying now.

"Y'all look to him and then you blame him when he's not perfect. You think you can do this without him then go right ahead, nobody is stoppin' you." Lori drank down some of her water, putting the bottle back in her bag.

Andrea held the gun back out to Lori, who took it.

"We should keep moving." Laura smiled, the woman wasn't that bad, she just wanted her protection back.

They kept moving, following Daryl closely. No one wanted to get lost in the woods. Laura didn't mind it so much, the worst that would happen to her is that she would lose the group, but the others... walkers were a constant threat. She wondered what it must be like to fear them.

She remembered vaguely the feeling when she was bit, but no one knew what a walker was then, she was being chased through a house and she was bitten, jumping out of the window she broke her leg. When she escaped her father and ran into that herd in the alley, she thought she was going to be eaten then too.

Nothing happened, they just left her alone and now she couldn't imagine having thousands of walkers hunting her at every turn. They knew the feeling, it's what made them survivors.

She sighed, rolling her shoulders until they popped loudly. She made a face, the pop didn't feel good, but she felt a little looser now.

BANG. They all jumped, it was a distant shot, but it was still gunfire. There was no more after the first one, they were all quiet and paid close attention, but Laura couldn't hear any more shots.

"What was that?" Carol asked.

"A gunshot." Laura stepped forward, beside the woman.

"Ain't no use worryin' 'bout it now, can't tell where it came from." Daryl came back to the group, he was always ahead of them about five to six feet. "Come on, let's keep lookin'."

It was only a few minutes later when Lori stopped again. Laura realized that Carl had gone with Shane and Rick, she was probably worrying over him leaving with them. Only natural, so Laura smiled and let her worry.

"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asked as everyone turned around to see Lori facing away from them, listening.

Lori was dismissive, "It was a gunshot."

"We all heard it." Daryl commented, which made Lori spin around to face him. "Why one? Why just one gunshot?"

"Maybe they took down a walker." He answered, only to get a scoff from Lori. "Please don't patronize me, you know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker. Or Shane. They'd do it quietly." Lori went back to looking out through the woods, as if her answer was going to come bounding out at any second.

"Shouldn't they have caught up to us by now?" Carol agreed with Lori, one gunshot was strange.

"There's nothin' we can do about it anyways. Runnin' around these woods chasin' echoes." He searched the trees, but there wasn't a single thing within sight.

"So what do we do?" Lori finally came back to the group. "Same as we been. Beat the bush for Sophia an' work our way back to the highway."

Andrea picked up on Lori's motherly concern, "I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV."

As Lori reluctantly started following the group again, Andrea decided that she wanted to speak with the mother of Sophia, Carol. "I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel."

Carol offered a small smile, "I s'ppose you do. Thank you." Carol glanced out into the woods, the sounds of birds and crickets masked the sounds of walkers. "The thought of her out here, by herself. It's the not knowin' that's killing me. I just keep hopin' and prayin' that she doesn't wind up like Amy."

Ouch. Laura winced, Andrea was a little shocked to hear such straightforwardness about Amy's death. Carol's eyes went wide and she stepped closer to Andrea. "Oh God, that's the worst thing I've ever said."

Andrea shook her head slightly, "We're all hoping and praying with you. For what it's worth." She understood that no one wanted to die, especially not like Jim or Amy.

Daryl came stomping up to the two, "I tell ya' what it's worth. Not a damn thing. It's a waste of time all this hopin' and prayin'." Laura blinked back her own shock, was he really snapping at the mother who has lost her child? "We're gonna' locate that little girl an' she's gonna' be just fine. Am I the only one zen around here?" He stalked off, "Good lord."

The started moving again, Laura could see the smiles on Lori, Andrea, and Carol's faces. Daryl was being nice again, this time to other people. Laura smiled at the other women, she was sure that, with someone like Daryl searching, they'd find her. Rick and Shane too, they were still out there looking. Laura was thrilled to be with people so caring.

As they made their way around the creek, the grass started to get thicker and taller, the woods got a little denser too. Laura stuck close to the others, she was following Andrea's footsteps as she was the closest one to her and Daryl needed his space to work, she wasn't going to cling to him every second of the day just because they had a moment.

Laura rather liked Andrea, despite all the little things the blonde woman did that made Laura want to smack her. She was still a good woman who had wanted to die peacefully, Laura could easily relate to that. When she felt herself dying, it was a relief, all pain washed away, no sickness or suffering. It felt good.

Andrea had wanted that, it was clear to see why someone would in the first place. Laura loved it when it happened, Andrea would probably have too.

She wished she could share something like that with her, to tell her that death that came softly was nice, not cruel and harsh like the world around them. Laura didn't know how to even approach the topic, it wasn't something people in the group wanted to say.

Even before the world went to hell, people treated the subject of death like taboo. Laura never understood why, death happened to every living thing, plants, animals, and humans. Eventually, the human that acted like talking about death would actually kill someone would die.

She didn't see how mentioning it, discussing it, or even a passing phrase about death could be seen as a wrongdoing of some level.

"How much farther?" Laura was dragged out of her thoughts, the others were getting tired, at least, the women and Glenn were, Daryl looked like he didn't care at all. "Not much. Maybe a hundred yards. As the crow flies."

"To bad we're not crows." Andrea moaned, her comment making Laura smile.

They began traversing rather uneven ground, trees had been falling here for a long while and piles of wood littered the area, making it a little hard to walk around without tripping over themselves.

Andrea ran straight into a very large spider web and was offended by its very existence, Laura laughed and she got a dirty look from Andrea.

Laura took a few steps after Andrea cleaned off the spider web and she tripped flat on her face, this time, Andrea laughed at her. Laura sighed as Andrea continued on.

"As the crow flies my ass."

Laura chuckled, pushing herself up just in time to see a walker approaching Andrea, who screamed as loud as she could once she saw it. "Andrea!" Laura got herself up and ran to the woman.

She was pushing against the walker who had her by the shoulders, almost within biting distance. Andrea stabbed the walker in the chest, but that never did anything to deter a walker.

By the time Laura caught up to them, Andrea tripped and was on the ground trying to kick the walker off.

Laura ran up and grabbed the walker by its tattered clothing and pulled him off of her, she kept dragging the walker back until she heard loud and heavy stomping. A baseball bat connected with the walker's head and sent it toppling to the ground on top of Laura who was beyond stunned at this time.

"Lori, Lori Grimes?" There was a woman on horseback and Laura was suddenly all too happy to hide under the walker now.

The group came up on Laura's right, all of them were answering Andrea's cries. "I'm Lori." The woman turned to face the group now, "Rick sent me, you gotta' come now." What the hell? Laura got worried, the only reason Rick would send some stranger in his place to get his own wife is if he was incapable of doing it himself.

"What?" Lori was equally confused, "There's been an accident. Carl's been shot." Laura's blood ran cold, Oh God no. Both children in the camp compromised, Sophia missing and Carl shot. "He's still alive, but you gotta' come now. Rick needs you, just come!" The woman urged and Lori replied.

Throwing off her backpack, Lori was more then ready to find out what was wrong. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! We don't know this girl!" Daryl objected, "You can't get on that horse!"

"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl." Glenn was staring at the woman, "Backtrack to Fairburn Road, two miles down is our farm, you'll see the mailbox, name's Greene." The woman, with Lori on the horse behind her, kicked her horse into a full gallop and left the group there wondering exactly what had just happened.

The walker Laura was using as a makeshift dead shield was actually still moving and decided it was time to sit up and start making noise.

"Shut up." Daryl shot an arrow which pierced it's skull and put it permanently down.

Laura shoved it off of her and Glenn was actually the one to help her up. "You okay?" She nodded, "Yeah, thanks."

Daryl helped Andrea up, the woman was terrified. She almost met her end, but definitely not the one she would've wanted. "Bites?" He started to look her over, trying to find anything, but she shook her head. "No."

"We need to regroup, come on." Daryl lead the way, they were heading straight to the highway now.

Laura looked down at herself, she wasn't too bad off. New clothes needed, she already looked like a walker, she didn't want to smell like one too.

This time, Laura stayed closer to Daryl and the entire group moved faster after Lori rode away with the stranger on horseback. Laura was suspicious, but then again, she was always suspicious of people. Even in this group, no one had touched her since they learned about her, no one talked to her except Daryl and Rick.

Glenn didn't seem to have a problem with her, at least, not a big enough one to stop him from helping her up earlier. He still seemed a little on edge around her, but nothing that caused him to shun her completely.

Daryl spared glances at her every now and then while on their way back to the highway, she wasn't sure what for, but he was doing it. It was protective and she decided she liked that. Someone wanted to protect her, she grinned, it was a comforting and new feeling.

They could just barely make out the highway in the distance, the trees started thinning out and Glenn rushed ahead of them, running to tell Dale and T-Dog the news.

"Hey! We got a problem!" She heard Glenn up ahead getting the attention of Dale, "Carl's been shot!"

"Shot?" The older man approached them, "What do you mean shot?"

"I don't know Dale, I wasn't there. All I know is this chick rode outta' no where like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." Glenn answered as fast as he could, climbing over the railing.

"You let her?" Daryl got over the rail, "Climb down outta' my ass, ol' man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's."

"And I heard screams, was that you?" Dale was concerned, but after Andrea and his fight earlier that morning, Laura wasn't sure if Andrea would ever speak to Dale again. "She got attacked by a walker, it was a close call."

"Andrea, are you alright?" Laura sighed, Dale was trying, but Andrea wasn't ready to talk to him again.

She turned around, pissed off and scared. Andrea just about faced the exact thing she told Dale she didn't want to die from. Andrea opened the RV door and slammed it behind her.

"The girl on horseback," Laura started as it seemed everyone was still reeling from the experience. "She said to turn back to Fairburn road, go down two miles to a mailbox that should say Greene on it. That's where they are."

Dale nodded, "Are we going then?"

"Don't have much of a choice," Daryl stepped in, "Go find out what happened to 'em. Got enough gas to reach this farm of theirs. Can't sit around here doin' nothin', gotta' meet up. Ain't safe bein' out here like this."

"I won't do it. We can't just leave." Carol argued.

"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak." Dale was trying to convince her, but this was Carol's daughter they were talking about.

"What if she comes back and we're not here? It could happen." Andrea grimaced, "If Sophia found her way back and we were gone, that would be awful." Laura didn't think the little girl would make her way back judging that she would probably have dug herself deeper into the woods and farther from them.

"Okay, we got a plan for this. I say tomorrow mornin' is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to... rig a big sign." He was looking around for a place to do it, "Leave some supplies. I'll do it tonight, stay with the RV."

"If the RV's staying, then I am too." Carol smiled warmly at him and Daryl, "Thank you. Thank you both."

Andrea raised her hand, "I'm in."

"Well, if you're all staying, then I'm-" Dale put his hand up, "Not you Glenn, you're going. Take Carol's Cherokee."

He huffed, "Me? Why is it always me?"

"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on, but most importantly you have to get T-Dog there. This is not an option." Everyone looked around to find T-Dog sitting on the bumper of the RV with a blanket around him. "That cut has gone from bad to worse, he has a very serious blood infection. Get him to that farm, see if they have any antibiotics, because if not... T-Dog will die. No joke."

Laura diverted attention from T-Dog to see Daryl walking off to his bike. He shifted around in the pack for a second before coming back and throwing a rag at Dale. "Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle."

He set down a baggy on one of the cars, it was stuffed with medicine bottles. "Why'd you wait 'til now to say anything?" He dug around in the bag, "Got my brother's stash. Crystal, X, don't need that. Got some kickass pain killers." Daryl tossed the bottle to Glenn, "Oxycycline, not the generic stuff neither. That's first class." He closed up the bag and headed to put it back in the bikes' pack. "Merle got the clap on occasion."

Laura stared at the bag, Where the hell did he get all that stuff? It was a decent sized bag and all it had in it was medicine bottles. She shook her head, she didn't care where it all came from, only that they could use it to help T-Dog.

Glenn and T-Dog got in the Cherokee and took off, careful of the derelict cars and trash on the road before finally leaving sight.

No one did much around, Laura, Daryl and Andrea went and checked the treeline every now and then, Dale stayed on watch on top of the RV, and Carol stayed inside the RV.

Laura wouldn't say anything, but she kept sights on Daryl at all times. Neither Andrea or Dale had shown hostility towards her, but watching him, at times, wasn't just for safety purposes.

She liked to watch him, she was sure he knew when she stared at him and it only made her stare longer, just to see if he'd look up. He never did of course, so she'd go back to scanning the treeline, but she found it amusing, something to keep her occupied.

All she had to do now was help them find Sophia, find out what happened to Carl, regroup with the others, and she was thinking about boys.

She groaned at herself, Laura felt like she was focusing on everything but the important things. She was hoping Carl would be alright. He was so young and getting shot out here, in this kind of a world? Would he be safe? Was the wound clean and properly tended to? Would he live?
Sitting on the rail and looking out through the trees, she could wonder the same about Sophia. Would she live?

This group was suffering, she could see that much, but at this point she couldn't help them. She was here to do things that required cutting through large numbers of undead, or helping them clear out places to be safe, to take shelter in, or to scavenge without risk. They left Atlanta and her usefulness was beginning to plummet.

The moment that thought popped into her head, she grew uneasy. If she was no longer useful, would they kick her from the group? Would they do something like that?

Would she have to be alone again?

With a heavy sigh, she checked the perimeter, every now and then she would weave in and out of the trees, keeping an eye open for Sophia. She momentarily cursed herself, she couldn't see much aside from grass, bark, and dead leaves.

There was a single walker in the trees, but it was passing them by without a second thought. So she ignored it too.

She couldn't wait to regroup with the others. Never thought she'd say it, but she missed them all, including Shane. He was a good man, just because he didn't accept her didn't mean he was a bad person. He was protecting the group, she could admire that, but at the moment, walking through the trees and rubbing the spot where he hit her, she felt a little bad for telling them at all.

"Hey," She spun around, it was Daryl behind the rail on the hill, she was down below at the trees. "Come on." She obliged and climbed up the small hill and stepped over the rail.

"What's wrong?" She asked, following Daryl closer to the RV. She'd gotten a little ways from the group.

"Ain't nothin' wrong, 'cept you wanderin' off." He stopped a little ways from the group. "Went lookin' for you, no body had seen you around. Figured you'd be outta' sight somewhere anyways."

She grinned, "Well, you're right. Prefer to keep out of everyone's way. Considerin'."

He bit his thumb, "Ya' ain't got a problem with these people, they ain't gonna' do nothin'." He huffed, "Excludin' that cop, Shane."

"Yeah, he didn't seem so keen on me bein' around." She rubbed the spot again, it was right above her black eye. "I'm just out here wonderin' what everybody's thinkin'. With Sophia out there, Carl bein' shot, and the group in half, not to mention they're walkin' with a walker. Sometimes I feel like I should be watchin' my own back a little closer."

"Nah, they won't hurt you." He looked at Dale, "Most of 'em don't think you are a walker."

"Really?" She was a little hopeful, she wasn't quite sure why though, she was a walker. Thinking that she wasn't wouldn't change that. "They haven't said much, but chinaman doesn't care much, Dale figures that so long as you got a workin' brain that you're fine. Don't know what the rest think yet."

"Thanks Daryl." Laura leaned on the car behind them. "When Shane suggested that I... Well, about Sophia. I dunno', I just got a little worried what would happen if he ran around tellin' people that I did somethin' like that." She snapped her eyes to Daryl, "But I wouldn't. I would never! I mean, I did stuff a normal walker did before, or tried to, eat people an' all that, but I ain't like that now. I'm almost human again."

"Don't need to tell me, girl." He smirked, "If I thought you'd do somethin' like that, I'd have shot you."

She rolled her eyes, "Well that makes me feel tons better."

Laura glanced around quickly, making sure no one was around. "So... about last night...?"

Daryl was paying attention to her again with that kind of level of focus that almost made her think she was prey. "What about it?" He looked almost, if she dare say, worried.

"I dunno', just askin'." She was grinning and fiddling with her jacket zipper. Her hood was never up anymore, she didn't care, but she still wore the jacket and began wondering why she wore it.

He looked uncomfortable, he was shifting on his feet a lot. "Regrettin' it?" He was biting his thumb murderously now.

She shook her head, "No, nothin' like that. I liked it, 'course I did." She took a deep breath, "Just thinkin' about it today, last guy I kissed tried to kill me. You can imagine that makin' me a little on edge 'bout it."

"Tried to kill you?" Daryl's brow furrowed.

Smiling, she pushed herself off the car. "Some things had happened to me before I met this group y'know. I guess, if we're going to start flirtin' that I'll tell you, but I don't want to ruin the mood right now."

He looked a little distressed, "You're playin' with me, girl."

"I ain't doin' nothing." She defended herself, she was playing with him a little bit. A little teasing never hurt. She was thrilled that he cared enough to ask about it. "I'm just sayin' stuff. Stuff you may or may not find out, dependin' on where we go with this."

He stepped out of her way, "Ain't thinkin' that far ahead."

"Neither am I, so we'll have to find out. If, that is, you're willin'." She offered, it was a relationship she was asking about. If he wanted to be with her, to give her a shot.

Daryl just turned and stalked off back to the group, not aggressively, but he was thinking about the question. She knew Daryl well enough to know that, when faced with an emotionally compromising event that he'll either clam up or spout curses. That's what he did when Merle was left behind, swore at the entire camp.

However, this was a new side of him she could get used to. The clamming up side. He wasn't going to say anything until he was sure or confident enough about it. So she'd give him his space, let him think over it while they survived in the hellish world around them.

She only hoped he'd make up his mind quickly, no human in this world had much time. Which is why she was so willing in the first place, she knew there wasn't much time and wanted to make herself known.

Laura swore she wouldn't be victimized again and she'd do everything in her power to make sure she didn't. However, this was a whole new thing and she wasn't about to let it go because she was worried he might do something.

Might being the key word here. Could he? Of course, he was a strong man, he could overpower her, but he didn't strike her as the kind for that. He was tough love and she really enjoyed that.

They'd do more about it later.

Laura, on the other hand caught up to him before he arrived back with the group, grabbed his arm and leaned up to peck his cheek, he tensed up noticeably. Which sent him reeling for a few seconds, he just stared at her. "What did you do that for?" He didn't relax, only watched her like a hawk.

She shrugged, "Just thought you'd like to know where I stood in all this." She walked with him back to the group who didn't seem too interested in their arrival.

Laura left his side and climbed onto the RV, joining Dale up top to watch over the group and the highway, checking for another herd.

She would spare looks at Daryl, but she did the same with the rest of the group. Carol was inside the RV, she could hear the pained woman and it made her feel bad for being so happy.

Bringing her down off her high, Laura turned back into work mode, she focused all her attention on looking out for the little girl.

She had to find this child, it would mean so much to the group if Sophia was found. She didn't care who found Sophia, only that she was back, with her mother, and safe.