Curative

By Kaimaler

Moving on, nothing too drastic to say about this chapter. I'm just writing for fun here. Be careful though, this is mostly Rick/Laura friendship so it's a lot of nothing but them talking. Hanging out pretty much. xD

Like always though. :3

Review Replies:

Loren Tenebrae:

Eh, it's understandable. The episodes surrounding Chupacabra had more drama in it then actual zombie survival. Which is what I'm trying to do with Laura, creating her own part in the group by making her more real. She has problem too, y'know? :D
Yeah, that just seems like something he'd do to me. Old fashioned in a new way, if that makes sense. :3

Laura spent hours with the crossbow, just trying to teach herself how to use it and she definitely showed a knack for it. She was capable of hitting a moving target, she missed plenty of times, most of the time actually, but she slowly began to progress in her understanding of how to use a crossbow.

While Daryl was laid up and the group mostly stuck to camp, Laura made her own work. They all seemed to have a lot of private work going on too, a few of them looked especially distressed and Laura was not up for drama. She had too much of her own to work on and she was sure some of them wouldn't take too kindly to a walker asking them about their troubles like some kind of twisted Doctor Phil special.

She rolled her shoulders, unused to the weight of the crossbow. Carrying and holding it up was easy at first, but over time she felt the stress it caused on her already very sore and hurting muscles.

Ignoring the protests of her aching joints, Laura continued on with her training. She had gotten the hang of using the crossbow, but every time she would miss, Laura got a little more agitated with it. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, like she'd just walk out here, fire off a few bolts, and suddenly know everything about the crossbow, but even with that knowledge she still hated taking it slow.

By the time she felt she had enough training for the day, she threw the crossbow over her shoulder and headed back into camp. There was no doubt going to be search groups out again today and Laura wanted in.

She looked down to her leg, the brace was working fine again, she could walk with a limp that wasn't really noticeable and she didn't feel anything but a dull throb every now and then.

Once she got back into camp, she tried to seek out Rick or Glenn, see who was heading out today and if they needed help or backup.

She saw Carol, Dale, Lori, and Glenn at the campsite. She didn't want to go near Lori, it was clear Laura's presence had a tendency to unnerve the woman and Laura understood that, so she kept her distance.

The smell of cooking meat surrounded Laura and she smiled, she could go for some good meat.

Carol was dishing out a plate for herself and Laura went up to her. She couldn't look Carol in the face. "Is there plenty to go around?" Laura was hungry and was hoping there was enough for others. Carol smiled at her, "Of course, here," Carol went over to the pan where the meat was cooking with an empty plate. "Oh, you don't have to. I was just askin'." Laura fidgeted with her hands.

She served up two pieces of chicken and handed the plate to Laura. "It's the least I can do." Carol had such a sad smile on her face, one that broke Laura's heart. She just nodded, "Thank you Carol."

Why can't I look at her? Laura winced at her own actions, she knew why, she just didn't want to admit it.

The woman took up her own plate and went to sit and eat. Laura took a chair near where the fire was the night before. She hadn't had chicken in a long time and it tasted fantastic.

The flavor was very strong to her, she could taste everything. It was bright, a little dry, and there was a definite slight burn on one side. Laura quirked a brow, that was the answer to Dale's question. She'd never noticed so many flavors before, but it was obvious that her taste had heightened as well as her eyesight. It was very sharp, she could taste everything about the chicken, which was weird to her.

Done with her plate, she crumpled up the used paper plate and tossed it in a plastic bag which served as a trash bin.

"Hey Glenn." Laura stayed a few feet away, he was chopping wood and it wasn't a good idea to get too close to a man swinging an ax. "You know where Rick is?"

Glenn took a quick look around, "Uh, I think he was with the others talking about heading out to look for Sophia... He's probably still by the cars." He pointed over to the parked cars.

"Thanks Glenn." She waved to him and left for the cars. She was going to go out today, yesterday was a disaster and it wasn't going to hold her down. Nothing was stopping her from moving around and her injuries were minimal.

Right when Laura rounded the SUV, she saw Rick at the hood of the Cherokee again, looking over the map. There was no one else near him and for a moment Laura thought he wasn't going out to look.

"Rick?" Laura put a hand on the Cherokee's hood, he looked pretty focused on the map. "Laura, hey. How're you feeling?" Whatever was on his mind didn't distract him enough to stop him from giving her a big grin.

"Fine, doin' just fine..." She glanced down to the map and back to Rick, "Actually, I came lookin' for you to see about doing another search for Sophia."

He leaned on the hood of the car. "Are you sure about that? Hershel said you could walk, but do you feel up to it?"

So considerate. Laura smiled, "I'm fine Rick, my leg was bad before yesterday an' I was still up an' about. Only difference now is that I'm a little sore, but it ain't so bad to keep me off my feet."

With a curt nod, he pointed to a spot on the map. "I was heading out this way today, but I wasn't going to go alone. Shane is busy coaching Andrea, Daryl can't go, T-Dog's still hurt, and everyone else is busy. If you could back me up, that'd be a big help."

"You got it, just point me in the right direction." She grinned, flashing her teeth.

He took his pistol up from the hood of the car and stuck it back in its holster. "We should get going, we won't be out for very long though." She shrugged, "Any time spent lookin' is worth it."

Rick lead her into the woods after crossing one of the fields. It wasn't a long walk and it was spent in silence for the time being. Laura admired the fields and enjoyed just going out searching, she wanted to find Sophia so badly, even more so when Carol visited her last night.

Laura wanted to kick her own ass for thinking like that. She was determined to see that little girl safe and sound, but it wasn't until Laura spoke to Carol when she brought her dinner up that made Laura really focus on it. There was something about that woman Laura couldn't stand facing without returning Sophia to her.

She felt like she couldn't look at her straight anymore, Laura hadn't a problem with Carol in the past, even during the time Sophia was missing. Then Carol spoke to her, told her that she appreciated everything they'd done for her and Sophia. Since then, she couldn't look her in the eyes, she spoke to her again just a little while ago, but it was brief and Laura hadn't looked at her.

She couldn't bring herself to do it while Sophia was still out there somewhere. Until Laura had that little girl back with her mother, she couldn't face Carol.

It wasn't guilt or sympathy, but it was longing. Laura wanted a mother like Carol, it was all she had thought about during her childhood. A good mother who would steal her away from her father. She wanted to be in Sophia's shoes, as strange as that sounded.

Laura heaved a deep sigh and looked at Rick, they were in the woods deep enough where she couldn't see the farmhouse anymore. Rick looked like he was thinking about something in as much detail as she was, only he appeared to be having some issues with whatever it was he was thinking about. "Rick, you alright?"

He turned to her partially, he looked so distant to her. "I'm fine." It was a short answer and said in such a way that Laura thoroughly doubted he was fine.

"Y'know, I've had a few people tell me that they can just look at my face sometimes an' tell when I'm lyin'." She started, remembering when she'd been told that she was a terrible liar. And she was terrible at lying, it wasn't her strong suit in the slightest. "Can even hear it in my voice, or just how I say things. I kid around a lot when I'm troubled by somethin'. You tend to get this serious look on your face an' answer in short sentences."

He nodded and turned away from her, looking out through the woods and approached a tree, nailing a piece of cloth onto the tree. "I've got some things on my mind, that's all."

"Yeah, I can tell." She watched him close, over the last few days he only seemed to look worse and worse. "Rick, come on, you're my friend an' I want to know what's wrong? Y'know I don't have a big mouth, I won't tell no one."

Rick faced her now, staring her down. They had stopped while he did this, he wasn't glaring daggers at her, he was just leering at her while various emotions etched across his face. He sighed and ran his hand over his face, "Alright. You win." She stepped forward, trying to at least seem like she wanted to help, because she really did, but her help was usually ended up being misconstrued. "Hershel wants us to leave the farm."

Laura stared right back at him, "But... y'all are safe here. There's food, protection, security, water... If the group leaves..."

"I know, don't you think I know that?" He turned around, a hand on his hip and the other ran through his hair. There was a stressful sigh before he came back to Laura. "I'm trying to work it out with Hershel, trying to talk to him about this."

"I don't know much about Hershel, but he seemed like the understandin' sort." She shook her head in thought, "But I've been wrong 'bout people before. So, don't take my word on it."

"I think you're a fine judge of character," He offered a very trying smile, but it was lost. "I'm trying to talk to him, I just... If we have to leave, I don't know what'll happen. Fort Benning... How can we be sure it's any better then the CDC? Or Atlanta? What if it's just as bad? Where would we go then? We can't just keep moving around, we have to stop somewhere. Otherwise... I just can't be certain."

Laura glanced around them for a moment, she volunteered to be a listening ear and she wasn't going to let him down. He was her friend and a good man, she hated seeing him in such a tight spot with everyone depending on him. "Rick, I can't tell you what the right choice is. I wish I could, but I can't. I'm not gonna' pretend like we're all fine an' everythin' will work out 'cause no one can promise that."

She came forward and put her hand on his arm, "If we're forced off the farm... then that's that. We'll make our own way. I know it's hard, trust me, I know. But you can't stop tryin' to make it right. No matter what. Don't matter what anyone else says, screw 'em, they chose to look up to you an' it ain't you who should be livin' up to their expectations. We're survivors now, the lives we had before all this, good or bad, are gone an' for all we know it ain't comin' back. So everyone needs to get up an' do their part, live up to the groups'expectations, 'cause this ain't a one way street. Everyone needs to put up a fight an' work together, otherwise, it won't matter what you do, or what they do, not even if all your choices are perfect. I know they give all they got in their own way, but we need to pull together better then this. If we do... we all have a chance at survivin'."

Rick actually smiled at her, it was an exasperated one, but it was genuine. "That was quite a speech."

She chuckled, "It was, was't it?" They both took a breath, sparing each other a moments rest. "I meant every word of it though. People need to hold together to make this work."

"You're right, but they do look to me for answers... I can't give them what they want. I wish I had all the answers, I really did." Rick huffed, looking in the direction of the farmhouse. "I'm going to do everything I can to give them what they need though. They need someone to look up to and they chose me, I don't know why, but they did. I'm not going to let them down."

"I never thought you'd do anythin' different." She patted his shoulder, "Now come on, we got a little girl to find."

They walked side by side, every now and then Rick would nail a piece of cloth to a tree and they would move on. It wasn't long before Rick wanted to break the silence and Laura was fine with talking to him, Rick wasn't like Shane or Lori, he didn't hate what she was and Laura was more then happy to show her appreciation for that fact any way she could.

"I've talked to a few people around camp about this, about searching for Sophia." Rick started, "Shane thinks she's... And even if she isn't that we shouldn't be out searching for her, risking our lives. Daryl and you, yesterday, could've died looking for her. I just want to know what you think about this, looking for her, if she's out here, or do you think we should move on too?"

Laura spared him a questioning look. "This is same Shane who accused me of trying to eat Daryl?"

He huffed out his laughter, "One and the same."

"Rick, if I didn't think there wasn't a chance that Sophia was still out here somewhere, I wouldn't be lookin'." Laura answered, she did feel Sophia could be out here somewhere. With the old farmhouse with the cubbard to the doll Daryl found yesterday, there was always that chance. "Hell, even if she is... gone, I still wanna' look. I ain't stoppin' just 'cause it's been a few days since she went missin'. Daryl told me one time when we were out lookin' for her, that when he was even younger then Sophia that he'd gotten lost in the woods once. He spent nine days alone in the woods with no one lookin' for him, but he made his own way back. Way I see it, he didn't have a lotta' chance comin' back, yet he did. Sophia got the same odds as he did."

"Except Daryl didn't have to worry about the dead trying to eat him." Rick commented thoughtfully. It was true, Daryl hadn't had to worry about the undead back then.

"Maybe so, but there ain't many out here." She shrugged, "Kids ain't dumb, Rick. They're smarter then you think, 'specially at that age. Twelve is young, but that doesn't mean she can't make it out here."

"True, I've seen worse situations where a kid was lost or taken and they came back." He shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Then again, no dead to think about in those days... I don't really know how to add the dangers of being out here alone and then the dangers of walkers. It's not something I even want to think about."

"Neither do I." Laura couldn't get the idea out of her head though, Sophia being caught by a walker. It wasn't a pleasant thought and not one she wanted to dwell on. "So let's just try to find her before that happens, yeah?"

He grinned, "Yeah." With a new lightness to his step, Rick and Laura moved through the woods a little faster with much more determination then before. Laura figured Rick just needed someone on his side to give him a boost.

They spent the next few hours in the woods, nailing cloth to trees, searching through nooks and nearby creeks. Nothing offering any sign that Sophia had been nearby.

When Laura saw Rick looking for tracks, she decided to try her luck.

"I gotta' ask, an' this is purely selfish I know." Laura watched him scanning the ground, glancing up at her for a second before returning to his search. "I can't track to save my life, but you seem to know what you're doin'. Mind showin' me a thing or two? A little bit of trainin'?"

Rick smiled at her, "Sure. The people who know how to survive in the woods, the better. Come here." He waved her to him and she obliged, stepping next to him as he pointed and circled out an area on the ground. "What do you see?"

Laura frowned in focus, she saw leaves, grass, dead grass, roots, but nothing of any real merit. "Nothin'."

"Look closer." He went to kneel at the small area he pointed out. "Right here." He gestured to a very small patch of grass and dirt. Laura leaned over it and scrutinized it for anything.

She saw something then, it was a small imprint in the loose dirt. "An animal track?"

He nodded, "Exactly, what can you tell me about it?"

Laura crouched down on her haunches and took a closer look. She didn't notice anything about it other then it was made up of five small fingers with claws on the end and that the print itself was very small. "I don't know...?" She winced at herself, but Rick just smiled.

"That's alright. Look here," He pointed to the print. "Judging by its size, how many fingers there are, and the distance between that print and the next... I'd guess this is a raccoon track. If you look close enough you can see that the dirt around it has dried out and started to cover up the tracks again. That suggests this track is old, the raccoon that made them is long gone."

Laura's eyes were wide and she was at full attention. "Jeez, you can tell all that just by looking at it?"

"It's not a lot, but if you're out hunting or searching, it can come in handy." He stood up and she followed, still eyeing the track. "When it comes to larger tracks, like human tracks or deer tracks, you can see other things. Broken twigs, snapped low hanging branches, grass stuck in the prints. A raccoon isn't big enough to leave those kind of markers though."

"That's really cool Rick, thanks for that." She smiled widely. Rick reached out and patted her back, but had hesitated a moment before doing so. He made a face at her, one she couldn't read. "What?"

"You didn't flinch." He stated, his hand still on her upper back. She glanced to his arm and back to him. "Yeah, guess I didn't."

"You talked to someone, didn't you?" Rick was happy about it, he wanted her to get it out in the open.

Laura just bit her lip with a grin, "Kinda'. I told Andrea and she was real good 'bout it... Then, earlier, Daryl asked an' I told him too. I tell ya, if we ever run into those guys, I feel for them. I really do. Daryl looked 'bout ready to jump up an' find them himself."

Rick chuckled, "You and him have gotten close, if that crossbow is any sign of that."

She held the crossbow in her hands. "Yeah, we really have." There was a moment where her mind wandered off away from the woods and Rick, but she quickly came back.

"I'm happy for you, I really am. Daryl seems like a good man, I haven't spoken to him much I admit." Laura just hitched the crossbow back over her shoulder. "Ain't much to tell 'bout him. He's usually quiet, doesn't like to be touched real often, but he ain't against it. We've had our moments, but nothin' over the top."

"Well, that's good. Wouldn't want you jumping into something too fast." He observed, "So, you any good with that thing?"

She took hold of the crossbow's belt, "I'm decent, I mean, I can hit a target just fine, but I got a long way to go before I'm on Daryl's level with it. I can hunt though, not too great at it, but I can do it."

"Maybe while he's down you can take care of some of the hunting. I don't want to keep using up Hershel's food, it's impolite if we have another food source." Laura laughed, "No promises! But I can't skin and gut, don't know how to do that."

"We'll work on it." Rick looked skyward and paused. "We should head back, we've been out here for quite a while."

Laura smirked and jabbed him with her hand, "Why? Worried I'll eat you, Rick?" She was playing around and Rick picked up on that, laughing at her. "Maybe I should be, you looked like you haven't eaten in days."

"Mmm, how about just a bite? I'm sure no one will notice if I walk into camp snacking on your arm." She snapped her teeth at him, giggling. "Probably not, but I think I might miss my arm just a little bit. I could be talked into donating my left arm, I need my right to shoot with."

"Negotiations are afoot then. We shall discuss this over dinner, hmm?" He chuckled and put an arm across her shoulders. "Would that dinner happen to be my left arm? Because I don't want to let go of it until I'm good and ready."

"No promises."

Laura felt accomplished, she'd gotten Rick to joke and laugh with her, something she thought would be very difficult for the man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He seemed better now though, more relaxed.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Rick clearing his throat to get her attention. "Laura, you do know that I don't think you would do that, right? What Shane said last night... He brought it up after Daryl talked about a walker trying to bite him. I wasn't party to whatever was going on in his head, I told him what I thought about you, that I trust you. The idea of it never even crossed my mind, then when Shane said it, I really put a lot of thought behind it, figuring out where I stood in all this and I realized I don't and never have worried about you trying to eat someone, ever. I just want you to know that."

Laura put her arm around his back and jostled him. "It's alright Rick, even if you had thought that about me, I'd understand. I mean, if Jenner is right, I can do some good. Help people. Bring people back from being a walker... I want that chance to help, to be a part of a group like this one. That's all I've ever wanted."

Rick removed his arm from around her and put his hand on her shoulder, holding it firmly. "I think I can do that."

When they got back to camp, Laura hadn't noticed anything strange going on at camp. Everyone seemed to be minding their own. Laura scoffed, watching their own backs.

Rick had left her in camp and went to his tent. Laura left it alone, they had gone searching and talked about a lot of things she was sure Rick didn't want the group to know about. Especially about Hershel wanting them off the farm, he wanted to talk to Hershel about it before alarming the group with the news. She could understand that, it was cautionary.

Laura stayed around the camp for a little while, she figured she'd go and stop in with Daryl again before it got too dark. So long as he was still awake anyways.

Then Rick came storming out of his tent with an expression that Laura never saw before. It was almost desperation. "Rick-?" He put his hand up and shook his head, "Not now."

He walked off, intent on something, but Laura didn't know what and wasn't about to pry. They had a good time today, she wasn't about to ruin that by pestering him.

Instead, she turned around and left the camp, her destination was Daryl's tent. She had gotten a lot done, trained herself in better use of the crossbow and went out searching with Rick, even though they didn't find anything of any use whatsoever, they still tried. Not to mention she provided some level of support for the group leader and that was invaluable.

When she got to the tent she could see Daryl, eyes closed, still laid down in the same position as he was when she left him, except now he had a blanket over him. Laura looked out of the tent, it was starting to get cold.

She let him rest and went back to camp, she figured she was about ready to start her night watch. No sleep needed, it was better she took the entire night shift.

Wasn't like she had anything better to do.

When she was passing through came, she caught sight of a very bright looking Andrea. Laura grinned, Why the hell not? She walked up to the blonde woman sitting on a chair in the camp.

"Long time no see." Laura walked up and Andrea turned her head to see her approach. "Hello stranger."

Laura kneeled next to Andrea, who had this smile stuck on her face so wide it looked like it hurt. "Damn, what have you been takin'? 'Cause I want some. You look so happy when I looked at you I almost forgot about the dead tryin' to eat y'all." Andrea had this guilty smirk now, one that told Laura she'd just done something she felt was a good thing. A very good thing.

"Can you keep a secret?" Andrea asked, leaning over the arm of the chair. Laura leaned to her too and nodded, "Well, I went out with Shane today... He and I... kind of hooked up."

Laura nearly laughed at the idea of Andrea and Shane together, figuring Andrea was messing with her. Then she looked at Andrea's face, it was shameless and glowing. "Oh God, Andrea. Are you serious?"

Andrea bit her lip, "Yup." She giggled quietly.

"Fuck Andrea..." Laura put her hand over her face, "Why? I mean, come on, Shane? Really?"

"What's wrong with Shane?" She looked offended and Laura didn't mean to judge her taste in men, but she knew Andrea could do better then Shane. "You mean what's wrong with the asshole who wants to kill me? Who tried to kill me? Who makes my very existence in this camp just that much harder?"

She scoffed, "You were a walker, Laura."

Laura gripped the belt of the crossbow tightly. "Emphasis on were there Andrea. Shane would rather me be dead in a ditch then actually puttin' what I got to good use. I do my share around here like everyone else."

"Your share? You mean shuffling behind Daryl?" Andrea retorted, "You follow him around like a kicked puppy and yeah, I know you like him, but is he any better then Shane? What gives you the right to tell me who is and isn't right for me?"

"I'm not tellin' you anythin', I'm answerin' your question. Shane is... there's something wrong with him lately." Laura insisted, she liked Andrea but the woman was starting to bite at her now. "I think you could do a lot better then him. I think you deserve more."

Andrea stood up quickly, facing Laura who rose to her feet after Andrea. "For the record, I don't see anything wrong with Shane. He's been right this entire time and maybe he was a little tough on you, but that doesn't make him wrong. He wants to protect this group and he can do it too. He thought you were a threat and acted, but I don't see him out here putting a gun to your head anymore."

"Because the others won't let him, Rick won't let him. If Shane could've he would've pulled that trigger before and now? I'm positive he'd do it all over again, only the next time, I don't know if Rick an' them can stop him." Laura shook her head, disappointed that Andrea couldn't see Shane as he was.

"You know what Laura, I see him having a problem with you because you were a walker and yeah, I know you were, but that doesn't mean you can't be again." Laura glared, "Face it, no one here knows if you can turn again. You said it yourself, you don't know what'll happen if you die. Will you turn? You don't know, you can't know. So no, I don't see a problem with Shane, I see him protecting us."

With that, Andrea stalked off and Laura was left alone with her thoughts.

Laura was angry and felt a little betrayed. The woman she put her trust in was choosing Shane, the one who wanted her dead, over her. She was fuming over it and left the camp, dodging back into the woods.

She needed to think, blow off steam, and ponder what Andrea said.

Rick said he never thought she'd actually eat them consciously, but what if Andrea was right? Was she a ticking time bomb?

Laura put a hand over her heart and focused on the rare beat pumping blood through her body so slowly and infrequently that anyone would pronounce her dead. She frowned and snarled at the idea, what would happen if her heart just suddenly stopped one day?

Would she turn? Would she hurt them?

How could she be sure she wouldn't?

Laura sighed, leaned against a tree and slid down until she was sitting on its roots. I can't be sure. Laura put her head in her hands, she couldn't reassure herself or the others that one day if her heart finally stopped that she wouldn't just get up as a walker and hurt them.

Am I dangerous? Laura couldn't bring herself to go back to camp, she had to think about this, she had to focus on it for now. She'd go back to camp when she felt ready.

In the meantime, she had a lot to think about.