Newly Revised
"Damn, how hard did that bastard hit you?" Daryl asked when they got back to his tent, having talked to Patricia to let the farmers know what happened to Shane.
Tea looked down at the bruise forming on her stomach as she unbuttoned Daryl's shirt and shrugged, "Been hit harda than that 'fore. Ain' nothin', really. I'm sorry for slicin' ya up," she told him, gingerly running a finger along the cut she'd put there.
"Barely a scratch," he pushed it off. "Why didn't you come find me after?"
"Dude, ya found me maybe ten minutes afta gettin' sick. Might a been twenny minutes 'tween me stabbin' 'imand ya findin' me. I was tryin' ta find ya but I can admit I was in a daze. I was tryin' ta come ta ya ta apologize ta begin with," Tea admitted. "Jus' got me head on wrong. Couldn' stop thinkin'...stop thinkin' 'bout what would a happened. I couldn'...If he'd a been any smarta or stronga."
"Hey, stop thinkin' about it," Daryl told her, bringing her into his arms. "He couldn't do shit to you if he tried and you know it. Ain't no way."
"He almost did. He almost...Make me forget," Tea whispered, pulling away to look into his eyes. "Even if it's jus' for a little bit, make me forget."
Daryl gently brought her closer, lifting her up from under her butt, forcing her to wrap her legs around him, "You sure?"
Tea couldn't help but smirk at his question, the same one he'd asked the first time, before simply leaning in and kissing him, gently pulling back again, "Told ya, I'm ya's."
Upon hearing her words, he took one hand from her ass to tangle it into her hair and kiss her roughly. She responded in kind, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, both hands clutched in his short hair as he moved backwards and all but fell onto the cot they shared. Neither bothered to break the kiss, if anything they held each other closer as need and desire coursed through their veins. Their hands clawed at each other, Daryl all but pawing her chest gentler than Shane had as her hands found purchase under his shirt, her nails raking down his back even as their bodies began to move in sync. Tea moaned even as Daryl roughly ripped the shirt he had lent her open and moved from her lips to her jaw. He stopped his movements as he pulled back, gently running the back of his fingers on the bruise that was already forming there.
"Don' think 'bout it. I'm ya's, Daryl. Only eva goin' ta be ya's," she told him, bringing his eyes to her by placing her palm on his cheek. "He didn' get nothin' from me. No one else eva will," she told him, leaning up to kiss him passionately, Daryl's hand tangling into her hair once again.
They were both filled with a different kind of need than ever before. Daryl held her tightly as his desire to take her grew, to make her know that she belonged to him in a way no one else would. Tea clutched him back as, her breath taken away as the image of Shane above her shattered, replaced with Daryl as he pulled back and took his muscle shirt off. Daryl's hand found purchase in her hair once again as he crashed his lips back to hers afterwards, making Tea moan into the kiss. The taste of Daryl's tongue and the feel of him above her had her bucking up into him even as he pressed his full weight down on her. Daryl responded in kind, both of their arms wrapped around the other until the breath in their lungs gave out. She kissed along his jaw as his hand found purchase under her breast, his thumb brushing against her nipple as he kissed the bruise forming on her jaw. Tea hissed as she pulled her head back, pleasure momentarily mixing with pain neither of them acknowledged, giving Daryl a chance to lower his head and take her breast into his mouth.
"Fuck, Daryl," she moaned out, both her hands gripping his head as he moved to the other stiffening peak.
Daryl rolled the nipple between his teeth while pinching the other, his other hand still behind her back pinning her to him. He couldn't get enough of feeling her, knowing what Shane had done, what he'd tried and wanted to do. Practically growling in anger at the thought of it, he grabbed her hair and pulled, forcing her lips roughly to his once again. She moaned into his mouth while bucking her hips up into his, wrapping a leg around his and pulling him closer even as her fingers raked down his back, leaving a trail of red lines all the way to where his pants hung low on his hips. He grunted and pulled her hair again, forcing her head back and moving to her breasts again. Since she couldn't reach lower anymore, she brought one hand up to his head and one to grasp his shoulder as she arched up into his mouth. Daryl lowered his head even further, tracing his way down her muscular stomach, kissing each and every bruise and dipping his tongue into her naval.
Tea couldn't help the breathy giggle that escaped her at the feeling of it that quickly turned into a moan as he all but ripped her pants open his tongue dipped further down. Her hands found purchase in his hair as he pulled the apparel lower and he moved to bite the inside of her thigh. Daryl kissed all the way down her leg to her ankle as he removed her pants, kissing his way back up the other. She couldn't help bucking into his mouth when his lips found purchase around her clit, the flat of his tongue pressing against the sensitive nub and causing her to curse. Curling her fingers into his hair and pulling it, she pressed his face as far as she could into her, her breathing getting heavier as he hooked one leg over his shoulder and moved his mouth down to her opening. Tea cursed again as she instinctively squeezed her thighs together, Daryl moaning at the taste of her even after all this time. His grip on her hips tightened as she squeezed his face, the sound of her pleasure filling the air and making him uncomfortably hard in his pants.
"Fuck girl," he said as he crawled back up her body, wiping his chin while her hands found the button of his pants. "You gonna be the death of me."
"Not if ya kill me first," she quipped back, one hand bringing him back to her lips while the other dipped into his pants to grab his length, stroking it as he hissed above her.
They both moaned as she pushed his pants far enough down to release him, bucking into each other while they went to war with each other's mouths in a clash of teeth and tongue. Tea's nails raked down the back of his arms, Daryl sharply inhaling at the feeling as he wrapped her hair around his hand and pulled back. She moaned again as he took her nipple into his mouth again, the hand in her hair remaining even as he held her chest captive by his mouth and his other hand lowered. He wasted no time in plunging two fingers deep into her opening while using his thumb to work her sensitive nub. As her breathing got heavier and she stuttered out curses and moans, he switched breasts with his mouth while hooking her leg in the crook of his elbow. He smirked down at her as she turned away embarrassed before lining himself up as he pulled her hair again, forcing her head back as he roughly kissed her again, plunging into her with one thrust and swallowing her cries.
Daryl set a relentless pace, pinning one leg with her knee pressed against her shoulder and her other leg wrapped around his hip. One of his hands was still wrapped around her shoulders, holding her as tightly to him as he could, while the other had a bruising grip on her hip. Her hands were on his shoulders, her begging cries music to his ears as he thrust inside her as deeply as he could. Bringing her lips back to his, they fought for dominance until their breath was gone. Daryl couldn't help the grunts that came from him as she kissed down his jaw and found purchase on his neck below his jaw. His hips began thrusting wildly as she attacked the sensitive area, sucking and nipping at it before licking and kissing the spot tenderly.
"Dammit, keep doin' that, I ain't gonna last much longer," he warned her, taking the chance to pull her hair again, forcing her to release the flesh.
"Cum with me, then," she said breathlessly, kissing his lips again and moving her hips in tandem with his as best she could with how he was pinning her.
"Fuck," he said, releasing her leg and pulling out of her, much to her dismay.
Daryl grabbed her by the hips and flipped her over, pinning her again with a hand around her neck and his chest pressed against her back even as he forced her to angle her hips up more so he had easier access. He bit into her shoulder as she screamed his name, pounding into her as he felt himself growing closer and closer. She began to twitch around him as he pressed against her windpipe, quieting her screams just enough to be the only one who heard them as she grew tighter and wetter at the feeling of both his length and the pressure from his hand. As the feeling built for both of them, he let go of her, grabbing her hips and setting a ruthless pace that had her begging for release all over again. Daryl slapped her ass hard enough to leave a hand print several times, before once again bending over her, crossing one arm across her chest to grab her shoulder and hold her there. His guttural cry was only complimented by her own, the muscles inside her twitching around his member so hard his release was pulled from him.
He collapsed on top of her, both of them panting as the euphoric waves washed over them, the need to know who they each belonged to fully satiated for the time being. He grunted as she moaned when he slowly pulled out of her, Tea feeling both of their juices running down her thigh as he did. With a content smile, she couldn't help but turn in his arms and press a gentle kiss to his lips, both of them looking at each other lazily as he moved the hair from her face. Daryl couldn't help but stare in wonder at the woman laying in his arms and the look of utter adoration on her face in times like this. It wasn't until after his eyes traveled to the bruise that had formed on her jaw, the lip that had been split open and was bleeding slightly from how rough he'd been, that the illusion was broken and the anger he'd felt crept back in.
Tea must have seen it on his face and she grabbed his hand and brought the palm to her lips, "Don' think 'bout it. I'm 'ere, with ya, where I belong."
"He ever comes back, I'm gonna kill him," he promised while turning on his back, earning a soft smile.
"I know, and I'll be right behind ya watchin' ya do it," she told him. "I guess I didn' do good 'nough a job."
"What're you talking about?" he asked, looking over at her only as she smiled mischievously and moved to straddle him, her breasts hanging down in his face, tempting him to reach out and take one between his teeth even as he reached out to caress a nipple, his other arm folded behind his head.
"Guess I need ta be more a a distraction," she told him, bending down and capturing his lips again.
A little while later, she opened her eyes to find him watching her after he'd thoroughly worn her out. He was lightly rubbing the marks on her hip while staring up at the tent. Tea couldn't help but snuggle closer to him, laying a kiss upon his chest and diverting his eyes to her. She could tell he was still angry, even though her back hurt from how contorted he'd made her lay both times. She couldn't complain, though, when she felt her neck flushing from the hunger that still lay in his eyes. And as he had taken to doing any time he caught her blushing, that smirk of his made her hide her face in his chest while he chuckled at her.
"Everythin' you say and do durin', and you still blush after," he commented, making her press her face further into his chest as her body moved flush against him.
"Ain' my fault ya lookin' at me like ya want ta gobble me up all ova again," she mumbled before nestling her face in the crook of his neck and kissing the dark mark there.
"Ain't my fault you taste so damn good," he quipped back, feeling her smile into his neck even as the blush moved along her shoulders.
"Should get up and get somethin' ta eat," she said, suddenly sitting up and looking for something to cover herself up with, Daryl laughing at her antics.
"Yeah, sure. Here," he told her, tossing one of his muscle shirts over at her, watching as she quickly put it on and then popped up to put her pants on. "You'd think you'd stop bein' shy after all this time."
Tea got really silent as Daryl got up and began getting dressed himself. She wasn't sure how she could tell him that she still hated the look of her body and all the scars on it. When they were in the thick of it, it didn't matter so much to her that her body was mangled. But when they were done, when he looked at her like that, it was everything she could do not to burst into tears and ask him why he even bothered with her. He made her feel so self-conscious when he gave her that stupid smirk, not knowing that she had her own stupid smile that she gave him that caused his own feelings to compound exponentially. Daryl couldn't help but smirk when she woke up and looked up at him like everything in the world was right all because he was there with her. The sense of pride that welled up within him at having someone like her in his arms every night, especially when they had the chance to be alone, was just too great to contain. Even now, sitting outside by the fire and looking up at her in one of his shirts, he couldn't help but smirk, it growing wider as she turned away from him blushing. Her blush fell from her face as she looked up and saw Carol coming towards them with a concerned look on her face before seeing her, the look turning to a scowl before she fully got to them.
"We can't find Lori," she told Daryl, doing her best to act like Tea wasn't even sitting next to him.
"What about it?" Tea asked her, the tone in her voice clearly meant to get others to go away.
"The others aren't back yet either," the woman continued, ignoring Tea, who was adamantly reminding herself that the woman was Sophia's biological mother.
"Yeah, that dumb bitch must've gone off lookin' for 'em," Daryl said, once again playing with the fire, much to Tea's amusement.
"What?" Carol asked quietly, seeing the mark on his neck as he moved and grimacing.
"Yeah, she asked me to go," Daryl said. "Told her I was done being an errand boy."
"Good on ya. About time ya stopped doin' everythin' they tell ya ta," Tea said as Carol scowled at her and turned to Daryl like she was disappointed in him.
"And you didn't say anything?"
"Got busy with somethin' else," he said as he damn near threw the stick in his hand in the flames and stood up.
He was still pissed at what Shane had done even after everything he had done with Tea to try to get it all out. It didn't matter that he'd taken her twice and that she was bruised on her hips and breasts from him than Shane now. It didn't matter that he'd thoroughly warn her out to the point that she passed out after the second time. Every time he looked at her face and saw that bruise on her jaw, he was reminded that Shane had tried to go after her, that he had tried to take something that wasn't his, that he hadn't been there to protect her. Tea was his woman, she'd only ever been his, and he planned on keeping it that way and protect her as much as possible. No matter how many times he held her right now, it wasn't going to be enough to take the anger and guilt away about what had been done to her. Carol coming up and making accusations, acting like they owed the group something, only served to make his anger grow all over again.
Carol rolled her eyes and started walking away until she noticed the tent that was behind the brick wall they were currently sitting at. "Don't do this," she begged the man when she turned around, not even bothering to look at Tea who was watching her every move. "Please. I've already started losing my girl to her," she told him, Tea going stiff where she was seated at the words. "I don't want to lose you, too."
"That ain't my problem. Your girl ain't my problem, neither," Daryl said as he got up and pulled Ania with him past the woman.
"Ya know, it ain' my fault ya didn' look for 'er. My fault for gettin' 'er hopes up that ya were, but not for ya not lookin'," Tea told the woman, fed up with how she was acting. "Ya pissed at me, fine, but quit takin' it out on 'er! She ain' done a damn thing wrong but come back ta ya stronga than eva! She did damn good in those woods and made me fuckin' proud ta have 'er as my wingman out there! Get off ya fuckin' high horse and start actin' like 'er motha again, else ya really will lose 'er."
Carol walked away and left them to themselves shortly after that, although not without looking back and forth between Tea and Daryl in disbelief. Tea could see it in her eyes how Carol resented her for both changing her daughter and seemingly making Daryl move away from camp. She'd been in the farmhouse when he'd moved and, like he said, it was a pretty good thing that they'd moved out here with their activities considering kids really didn't need to hear it. Of course, it didn't matter to Carol that she had been with Maggie and Patricia or that Daryl had told her he wanted her to have time away from the group since they'd been more judgmental towards her since she'd gotten back. They were both happy that they were out here with how bruised her face was since they wouldn't have to explain it to people if they weren't in camp long enough to be asked. So far it had worked and the only people who had seen her face had been Maggie, Patricia, Daryl and now Carol and she hadn't said a damn word about it or pay any attention to Tea to begin with other than to chastise her.
"Ya know, I think I might have some competition," Tea said warily, watching the woman go back to camp.
"What?"
"Yeah, she cringed when she saw the hickie, acts like I'm not in the room but sings ya praises for lookin' for Sophia," she told him. "Don' like how I marked ya up but don' say shite 'bout my face bein' all bruised up. Don' like how Phia's actin' nah more and blames me for it, which I'm fine with takin' the blame for that one," she chuckled.
"I knew you'd be with her. Wasn't just searchin' for the girl. I was lookin' for you, too," he told her.
"I know. We both wanted someone lookin' for us and afta us. Neitha a us could a left it alone 'til we found 'er."
"Maybe," he said before turning towards her. "Listen, I ain't gonna be lookin' at no other woman. I already got you. I don't need anyone else."
She crashed into his chest and kissed him then, hard and full of need. How could she convey the emotions she was feeling when she wasn't sure what it was herself? Pride? Love? Being cherished or cherishing? All she knew was that her heart felt like it was going to explode and that she never wanted to let this man go. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she was just another person. She wasn't a freak. She wasn't a genius. She was just her. Titania Marie Parker, being held by the man she loved more than life itself. The man who seemed to love her just as much. As soon as they managed to stumble back into the tent, she quickly turned to zip it up, standing only to be immediately encased by Daryl's arms from behind.
Releasing her with one arm, he moved her hair from one side of her neck, attacking it with his lips as his hands roughly kneaded the swell of her breasts from beneath the shirt she was wearing. One of Tea's hands moved to his hair the other gripped his wrist, a breathless moan leaving her mouth. They moved together naturally as one of his hands made their way lower, fiercely attacking her core and making her cry out. The way he rolled her clit between his thumb and forefinger kept her bucking back against him while he felt himself growing harder again. Tea tore away from him and turned quickly in his arms and throw herself at him and wrapping herself around him while attacking his lips. Together, they stumbled back to where the cot was, Daryl falling on it backwards as Tea looked at him with fire in her eyes. Taking his shirt off as she lowered to her knees, Tea kept her eyes locked on Daryl as he watched her crawl between his knees while he took his own shirt off and propped himself up on his elbows.. She tucked her hair behind her ears and coyly smiled up at him, spreading her fingers out against his inner thighs and making her intent clear.
"Get at it, then, girl," he said gruffly, one hand moving to hold her hair back.
Her eyes sparkled as her hands slowly moved up until she had hold of the button of his pants. Expertly undoing it, she watched as his eyes grew hungry all over again and his grip on her hair tightened. She pushed up on her knees and moved his shirt up his chest before kissing along his Apollo's belt as she began to slowly inch his pants down. Tea placed gentle kisses all the way down until she was met with the curls of his pubic hair and moved to kiss the tip of his head. Keeping her hands on his pants until they were below his knees, she laid more kisses to his shaft, down to his balls, sucking one in and looking up at him from around his shaft before moving one hand to the tip and rubbing the head with her thumb. Moving to the other testicle, she sucked it in and licked around the base of it, earning a curse from Daryl's lips. She smirked up at him herself, loving the clouded look in his eyes as she moved to suck on the tip, flicking her tongue against the slit.
Daryl bucked up into her mouth as she slid down his shaft until she could feel the tip at the back of her throat, halting for a moment to flick her tongue out against the bottom of it before making her way back to the tip. Circling his head with her tongue, she flicked the slit with her tongue again before hollowing out her cheeks as she sucked hard. Daryl grunted and bucked into her mouth again, weaving his fingers deeper into her hair and gripping the back of her head as she began bobbing in a rhythm, taking more and more of his shaft into her mouth with each thrust. He cussed when she turned her emerald orbs up to him and swallowed around his head with her nose buried in his pubes. She left one hand clutching his inner thigh, her nails leaving crescent shapes in his muscle while she used her other hand to cup his ball sack. Bobbing up and down, she continued going from twirling her tongue around his tip and slit and hollowing out her cheeks until Daryl couldn't handle it any more.
"Dammit, get up here," he told her, pulling her roughly by the hair while sitting up and meeting her once she was kneeling in a fevered kiss.
Smacking her ass hard enough to make her yelp, Daryl took the opportunity to force his tongue into her mouth. Tea couldn't help but moan at the taste of him all over again, melting into his chest and thinking he was going to lean back only to be thrown to the side. For a moment, she was confused, only for Daryl to yank her pants down past her hips, halfway down her thighs, and slam into her as she was leaned over the cot. Using his chest to press her as far into the cot as he could, he wrapped one arm around her to press his fingers to her clit as he wrapped the other between her breasts and his hand around her throat. The anger that had welled earlier reappeared in an instant, though turning into a lust that burned so thoroughly through him he began thrusting inside her in earnest.
Tea would have been screaming if it weren't for the pressure Daryl was putting on her throat. He was being so rough with her that she had to brace her hands against the frame of the cot to stop him from crushing her hips against it every time. Instead, she was hitting her own knuckles even while his fingers kept up their rough treatment of her clit. When he finally released her throat, she gasped for breath before cursing in protest as he released her sensitive nub, instead rearing up on his knees and gripping her hips. Her arms gave out, forcing her to move her hands away from the frame and instead up onto the blankets they had on the cot. Keeping one hand on her hips, he moved the other to her hair, wrapping it around his palm before pressing it in the center of her shoulder blades. He pressed her hard into the mattress, moving one foot to press against the floor while keeping his knee on his other side. Feeling her back walls and getting the right angle to slam into the opening to her womb while her walls clench against him, Daryl pressed into her even farther. Tea felt something pop only for Daryl to start grunting and the sensation of pleasure to grow exponentially.
"Fu-fuck, Daryl!" she cried out, gripping the blankets on the cot even as he pounded her harder from behind, causing her to cry out without control of her voice.
Daryl couldn't even reply as he felt her legs start to shake, her insides twitching and clamping around his shaft, feeling her cervix give way for his tip with every thrust. All he could do was grunt and groan as he moved, both of their voices raising as he continued his onslaught. Tea couldn't even think as she felt the sensation of him entering a place he wasn't meant to go, the feel of him pushing straight through to her womb both painful and pleasurable to the point that she had no control over anything, not the loudness of her voice or the way her hands moved to cling to his wrists as he held onto her hips. Time almost seemed to stand still as he pummeled her, the sensations too much for Tea while Daryl's thrusts became wild and relentless. If they hadn't have been so far from the house, everyone would have been able to hear them as they each came hard, Ani screaming Daryl's name while Daryl cursed loudly. Even though he wanted to collapse on top of her, he knew he couldn't with where they were right now.
"Uh-nnh, fuck!" she cried as he slid out of her, her ass meeting her heels as his seed dripped down her thighs. "Gods, where the hell'd that come from?" she asked, forcing herself to move up onto her back on the cot.
"Don't want you to forget who you belong to," Daryl admitted, leaning against the cot next to her legs, smacking her thigh in the process.
Tea couldn't help but start laughing, though it quickly turned into a moan as she felt even more juices flowing down her leg, "Like I could when I smell like ya and keep wearin' ya shirt. Gods, I need ta clean up."
"Why? So you don't smell like me anymore?"
"Nah, so I don' smell in general anymore. I can' go 'round Phia smellin' like sex, Daryl!" she chuckled, leaning up and gently taking his chin in her hand and pulling his head back to plant a kiss on his lips. "'Sides, ya can always keep makin' me smell like ya," she suggested seductively, Daryl tangling his hand in her hair as he reciprocated the quick kiss.
"Come on," he told her, smacking her thigh as he stood up and grabbed his pants, putting them on and grabbing a small pack, filling it with clean clothes. "Know a place we can get you clean."
"Oh yeah?" she asked, smiling as he tossed her the same shirt he had before. "And where's that at?"
"Waterfall not too far from here."
"The place ya fell from the horse and put an arrow through ya own side?!" she laughed, watching as the back of his neck flushed from embarrassment.
"Shut up," he told her, tossing her pants in her face as she kept laughing. "And no, but it follows the same stream."
"Oh? So did ya find it before or afta ya fell down a cliff?"
"You wanna go or not?"
Tea sobered up and quickly put her pants on, forgoing her machete in exchange for just taking her Darts and Bucky. Daryl scoffed at her when she called them by the names she'd given them when asking him to hand them to her, but rather than do that, he simply pulled the case for her throwing knives onto her thigh and buckled her hunting knife to her hip. Tea couldn't help but look at him in adoration as he handed her her shoes before sitting on the cot next to her to put on his own. After she bent over to put her boots on, she leaned into Daryl to kiss him gently on the cheek, making him pause and look over at her.
"What was that for?" he asked her.
"I love ya. And I'm sorry for earlia. I didn' mean ta make ya move all the way out 'ere," she told him.
"Just thought you might like bein' alone," he told her while opening the tent. "People already look at you like you don't belong. Don't need 'em judgin' you for shit."
"Daryl Dixon, are ya worried 'bout little ol' me?" she quipped, grabbing his arm and moving in front of him to stop him from walking away, smiling up at him in a way that made him scoff and shake his head.
"Come on," he said with a chuckle, pulling her under his arm and walking with his hand over her shoulder.
Tea couldn't help the smile she kept on her face the entire time, nor the fact that she leaned into him while wrapping one arm around his waist and bringing the other up to entwine their fingers. He had his hand on his bow's strap and they both remained aware of their surroundings, but the farm had been relatively safe so far. Daryl blamed Ania and Sophia for taking care of the better part of the walkers that had been found in the woods only for the woman to try to explain herself as if she was guilty for it. He couldn't get her to stop talking about until he pinned her against a tree and kissed her roughly, looking her in the eye when he pulled away, seeing the way her eyes were dazed as she returned his gaze.
"You protected the camp. Ain't got nothin' to be sorry for," he told her. "Now shut up and let's get where we're goin'. Gonna be dark soon, and I didn't bring a light."
"Don' need one, jus' make sure ya stompin' hard 'nough ta make a path and I can get us back," she told him as he pulled her back under his arm and continued on their way.
"Really? Is that how you found us in the woods?" he quipped, smirking at her as she looked down, an obvious blush clear on her ears as they walked past a patch of sunshine.
"I was with a scared little girl and there were walkas that obscured the path! That was differen'! I didn' have ya ta give me a direction if I got mixed up. And don' tell me ya can' recognize 'nough a ya surroundin's in the dark if someone's helpin' lead ya. I've watched ya huntin'."
"Fair enough," he told her. "Come on, ain't much further. Only reason it took so long gettin' back is 'cause you were hurtin'. I wasn't doin' much better."
"How did ya get thrown by a horse?"
"Told you, damn thing saw a snake and threw me. Found this place shortly before that, headin' up to the ridge. Took a horse to the top and climbed back up it thinkin' it might've still been there. Damn thing ran off. Found Phia and you, though. Ain't too far from here. Don't wanna push that ankle."
"Shite, me ankle. Patricia wrapped it and I ain' really felt it hurtin' since," Tea admitted, looking down and rolling it. "If ya so worried, ya can always carry me."
"You wish," Daryl told her, though he did go to bend over and grab her under the knees, only for her to twist away while laughing.
"Mr. Dixon! Ya still got stitches in ya side and I already let ya do extraneous activities taday. I ain' 'bout ta let ya do any more!"
"Think you can stop me?"
"Dunno, do I want ta stop ya?" she asked, coming back into his arms and flashing a flirtatious smile before it disappeared and she hugged him. "I really am sorry I jus' walked off like that. Ya didn' deserve ta be yelled at for tryin' ta protect me."
"You gonna keep apologizin' or you gonna let us get somewhere we can wash up, huh?" Daryl asked, getting irritated at her apologizing so much and pulling her along.
She was quiet for a few moments before she began speaking again, "I was jus' shocked by the shove and my mind jus' went ta a dark place I couldn' fully come out a 'til I had somethin' else ta focus on. Then afta dealin' with Beth and them, Shane..."
"Don't need to explain. I get it. Already figured it was that."
"But I treated ya like shite and in earshot a everyone and now ya moved all the way-"
"Hey, now," he told her, pulling to a stop and making her look at him, much like she'd done to him before. "You didn't make me do shit. Moved out there 'cause I wanted to. 'Sides, didn't hurt none bein' away from camp with you screamin' like that."
Tea couldn't help the blush that crept up her neck and face as Daryl led her further into the woods. It didn't take them that much longer to come to a dip in the landscape before it began its upwards climb. The view was amazing, the pool at the bottom of the rocky enclave deeper with a few rocks around it and a clear view of the night's sky. There was a sandy spot on the far side with a steep bank that only climbed higher while the small waterfall kept the water turning. Tea's first thought was that if she and Sophia had come across this place instead of where Phia had dropped her doll further upstream, they might have made it out of the woods a lot quicker and at the very least had cleaner water to drink. Daryl stepped down the steep embankment and offered his hand to her, which she took and carefully stepped down, even though she had wanted to jump. She kept forgetting that her ankle was even injured now that the pain was gone, but the look on Daryl's face was all but warning her not to dare.
Even so, she smiled gently as he kept a hold of her hand and pulled her forward. Setting the back he'd grabbed down on a dry patch of sand away from the water, he turned around to look at Ania. The light from the setting sun was barely able to reach them there and what little light that filtered through the trees and made her seem all the more beautiful to him. He pulled her to him and circled his arms around her, taking her face in one hand and gently kissing her that she returned before fixing him with a questioning gaze. Rather than answering her, he simply started to undress her, starting with her knives before untying her shoes. She started giggling when he tickled her taking them off before he stood up. Daryl stopped her when she went to take her shirt off, pulling her hands away and above her head before slowly raising the shirt, his thumb tracing the outside of the darkening bruise on her stomach. Pulling it all the way off, he turned her around and moved her hair off her shoulders, checking her back for any injury there.
"What are ya doin'?" she asked, trying to turn back around but being held in place by his hands on her shoulders.
"Just let me," he told her, gently taking one arm and running it down her spine. "What else he do?"
"Nothin' more'n I told ya," Tea promised breathily, the gentleness of Daryl's hands making her skin tingle.
"Why didn't you scream? Would've heard you."
Tea got silent then before her shoulders slumped in defeat, Daryl wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest, her hands coming up to grab his arms, "Neva had someone ta protect me 'fore. Always had ta do it myself. Protect myself. I didn' think ta scream or yell and when I did try to yell in anga he fuckin' kissed me. I...I didn' think I'd eva have ta deal with that again. My daddy always gave up the chase soon as I'd run and even then it wasn' the same. Wasn'...wasn' like that. It was jus' ta humiliate me or take me ta the basement."
"Fuck, that why you got so many-?" he asked, his fingers gently splaying out to the scars on her back and up to her shoulder blade, Tea leaning back against him at his unfinished question.
"Yeah," she sighed. "They didn' like me much. Now, we gonna get in the wata? Or we gonna talk 'bout me scars?"
"Let's get you cleaned up, huh?" he said, kissing her shoulder before she turned around and helped him out of his own shirt.
"Ya know I'm sorry 'bout everythin', right?"
"Just shut up and get in."
They took off their own pants, Daryl getting into the water first to make sure there was nothing bothersome in it. Tea laughed at his caution before wading out into the shallow water to join him. It only came up to Daryl's hips and Tea's waist, but the small waterfall worked well enough to act as a shower. Daryl stood facing her beneath the cascade, Tea's eyes closed and her hands resting on his wrists as he as massaged her scalp with his fingertips. Her hands moved from his wrists to his hips as she pulled him closer, reaching up on her tiptoes in order to kiss him passionately on the lips. He returned the kiss, pushing her back until she hit the rocks on the other side of the falls. Holding her there, he raised her up to wrap her legs around his hips and moved her wet hair away from her face. Her hands were on his face, gripping his hair behind his ears as she moved her hips against his. The gentleness of his grip on her and the way he kept her pressed against the rocks without letting her get hurt made her sigh a moan as he pulled away.
"Didn't mean to piss you off," he told her, running one hand down her side to hold her under her ass.
"I know, and I'm sorry for how I reacted. I jus'-"
"How many times you gonna say sorry?"
"Sorry, I jus'-"
"Stop."
"Sorry. I'm jus'-"
Whatever she was getting ready to say got cut off by Daryl's lips roughly pressed against her for a moment of intensity before he looked at her square in the eye, "Stop apologizin' so much. Ain't done nothin' wrong. Both made some bad calls. It ain't just on you. Got nothin' to apologize for."
"How'd I get lucky 'nough ta get ya?" she asked, looking at him as if the stars were shining right in front of her.
"Could ask you the same thing," he quipped before lowering his head and kissing her again.
They stood there devouring each other until Tea began to shiver from the cold of the water. Daryl picked her up and took her to the shore, intending to help her get dressed, but Tea had different plans. Even though he was carrying her, he had her front pressed against his and her legs around his waist; it wasn't that hard for her to lower one leg to the crook of his knee to trip him up. She laughed as he fell backwards, catching herself on her feet and making sure he wasn't going to hit anything harder than the sand. Daryl stared up at her in bewilderment before scoffing and laughing himself while she lowered herself to her knees and straddled him, smile still on her face.
"What'd you do that for?" he asked, trying to sound offended but failing with the smile his face contained.
"So I could do this," she said coyly, leaning down to press her chest against his while capturing his lips.
Daryl was confused but excited at the same time. Aside from the time in the tent after he'd gotten her back, she really hadn't initiated anything before. It was still new to him, but as she deepened the kiss, he couldn't stop his hands from moving. One moved up to tangle into her hair and move it off her face while the other gripped her hip. Tea's hands were on either side of him, one on his face and one in the mud beside them. He followed her when she sat back, pressing her core against his growing erection. Tea simply smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck as his wound around her back with one hand still tangled in her hair. She moaned as she began pressing into him harder, rubbing along his shaft with her clit and making him slick with her juices. Daryl's breath came out hard and short as he began panting when Tea moved to his neck and kissed her mark there. He began thrusting against her, their lips connecting once again.
Tea couldn't take the stimulation to her clit any more and raised herself up enough to align him with her opening before slowly sinking down and impaling herself on his shaft. They both groaned at the feeling, being super sensitive from the first few rounds. Daryl could only grab her hips and help her rock herself as their lips stayed locked together. The growl that escaped his throat as he grabbed her neck and flipped them over made her clench around him. Seeing her on the ground with her hair spread around her and the dirt on her bare skin, Daryl leaned down and kissed her passionately, taking one hand in his and raising it above her head. Unlike the last three times, he set a slow pace, enjoying the feel of her and the sound of their bodies moving together while the water lapped at their feet. She gripped his hand as he moved, her other hand moving to his hip as she moved her body along with his.
They stayed connected both in lips and body for a long time, moving slowly as the pressure built inside them until Tea flipped them back over. Placing her knees to the sides of Daryl, she started moving faster, running a hand through her hair to push it all back off her face and front. Daryl's hand were on her hips, but as her chest was revealed through her hair, he moved to hold her breasts in both of his hands. She moaned and brought her hands to cover his, his forefingers and thumb rolling one nipple as he kneaded her other breast. Moving to a stronger beat, she pushed them both towards their release as her head fell back and the sky listened to her cry for him. Daryl watched her move on top of him, her walls twitching and clenching around him as she neared her release. He wasn't too far away either, removing his hands from her chest to help her work her hips before rearing up and capturing her lips all over again. They devoured each other's cries of release before holding each other close, breathing heavily as Tea rested her head on his shoulder and he put his forehead against hers.
"We got ta get this dirt off now," Tea laughed as she sat away from him, his cock still twitching inside her.
"Ain't my fault you wanted another round. How many times you goin' for today?"
"As many times as ya'll let me."
Daryl couldn't help but laugh as he laid back in the dirt and smacked Tea's hip, "Yeah, well, too many more times today and I'm gonna be rubbed raw."
"Guess we'll have ta take it easy for a few days and let ya heal," she told him, carefully standing up and moving off of him, moaning as his limp dick fell from her. "Don' want ya havin' problems gettin' it up, now do we?"
"I ain't never had a problem with that. Ain't about to, neither. You keep that talk to yourself," he chastised. "Let's rinse off and get back to camp. Gettin' late."
Tea knew Daryl wasn't much of a hand holder, so when he grabbed her hand once they were dressed a smile broke out on her face. He just rolled his eyes and pulled her along until they got out of the woods a few yards away from their camp. Daryl didn't waste any time as soon as they were out to pull her under his arm, her own going around his waist as she sighed, finally feeling safe and like herself again. They walked like that not even saying a word to each other but both feeling content and like they were going to be okay. Whatever fight they'd had between them, whatever Shane had done, it didn't matter anymore. Even though it had been a rather anticlimactic end to the day after everything, they were both more than content enough to make up for any ill feelings they'd had earlier. Tea had a smile on her face the entire time that even had a small smile on Daryl's face until they got closer to their camp and found Carol snooping around. He let go of Tea and stormed back, purposely stepping on a branch right behind her to draw her attention and made her jump.
"What are you doin'?" he asked her angrily as Tea walked up behind him.
"Keeping an eye on you," she answered, glaring at the younger girl who walked past her before looking back to Daryl.
"Ain't you a peach?" Daryl replied.
"I'm not gonna let you pull away," Carol insisted. "You've earned your place. You don't need to be on the outskirts just because Tea can't keep her head straight."
"The fuck did ya jus' say?" Tea spat, turning around and giving Carol her own glare and walking back to Daryl in case she tried doing something she regretted if the woman pushed her any further.
"If you spent half your time mindin' your daughter's business instead of stickin' your nose in everybody else's, she wouldn't have gotten lost in the woods in the first place," Daryl told the woman in anger at what she said while Tea beside him as she watched the woman act as if she wasn't even there.
"Go ahead," Carol told Daryl, willing to put up with whatever he had to say just to try to get him to realize that Tea was no good for him.
He'd started becoming part of the group only to pull away as soon as the woman came back and now he had put himself in danger for her. Being so far away from camp was a bad idea that could land the hunter into a world of trouble before they could get to him to help. Daryl was a good man, too good to be saddled with the burden Tea that had always been to the camp. The girl had been a whiplash all day and yet here it was at night and Daryl had a hickey on his neck and marks down his arms. How could a man like him, let alone anyone, keep up with what a woman like that would do? Who in general could deal with someone who could blow up at the drop of a dime one minute and take advantage of people the next? If Carol could convince Daryl to leave Tea to herself and come back to camp, it would be for the better for him in the long run. Tea might be able to hunt and forage, might know some basic herbal medicine, but she had no control and her mind would be her downfall as well as Daryl's if he kept sticking around her.
She knew she should be grateful to Tea for bringing her daughter back, but she really hadn't brought her daughter back to camp. She brought back a version of Sophia that Carol didn't recognize and while she did love Sophia, she disliked she had become in just a few days with Tea. Gone was the girl who would cling to her mother when voices were raised or smile making daisy chains and clutched a doll for comfort. The Sophia in the group now had numerous times over the last couple of days stood up for the huntress when anyone made an ill comment about her, even after today. She had packed her doll away and instead carried a huge buck knife Tea had given her on her waist, one hand on the hilt at all times when she was standing. Carol had taken the smaller knife away from her the same day she got back only for Tea to turn around and give her the larger one the day she'd gotten back to camp and Sophia had visited her in her tent. Tea actually had the gall to tell Carol that if she tried to take it again, she'd make Carol go on the run with her to find the replacement. Sophia walked like she owned the place, much like Tea did, and had even been proudly telling Carl about her time in the woods and just how many walkers she'd killed. Carol knew that it was for the better for her daughter, but she was having trouble accepting who her daughter had become and how independent she was. The most troubling thing to her was how much Sophia looked up to Tea when Tea was crazy enough to fight with their leaders and make her daughter fight walkers when she was just a child.
"Go ahead and what? I mean, just go! We don't want you here!" Daryl spat in her face and walked off a few steps with Tea in tow before turning back to her. "You're a real piece of work, lady."
"Ain' fit ta be a damn motha, eitha," Tea spat finally, anger taking over her mouth as her mind was tattered with the many scenarios that could have and had happened to Sophia thanks to Carol. "Couldn' even look for ya little girl and now lookin' at 'er like she's some stranga ya neva met! She grew a backbone and became a fighta, Carol! She didn' fuckin' die!"
"What do you know about being a mother?" Carol asked the woman venomously.
"More than ya'd think! I've always wanted ta be a motha and I've always known how I wanted ta raise my kids! They'd neva be weak like ya kept Phia! They'd neva be used or abused! I swore ta myself I'd make 'em strong enough ta protect 'emselves! They'd neva fuckin' be treated like I was! They'd neva fuckin' be weak or unable ta fight back! I'd neva let my kids get treated like ya did 'er! I treated Sophia jus' like I would my own! I taught 'er jus' like I would my own! Praised 'er and cut 'er down when I needed ta like I would my own! Been doin' it since the quarry when I started teachin' 'er the knives jus' so she had a way ta defend 'erself from that asshole ya married! So I look at that little girl as if she was mine! I did right by that little girl jus' so ya could turn around and blame me for 'er growin' inta her britches! For teachin' 'er ta be a warrior and not a pushova like ya were with Ed! How many fuckin' times did he hit that liddle girl while ya jus' cried in the fuckin' corna, huh?! She told me all 'bout it when we were in those damn woods!" Tea yelled at her, her brogue out in full and making her sound even angrier.
Her heart clenching remembering those particular conversations with the girl in the woods. Her father had thrown her mother down the stairs, hit them both, thrown things at both of them, sometimes hitting them with something made of glass and breaking it. Her mother had contemplated taking Sophia out of the public school system after the CPS had been called and showed up at their house unannounced after the girl's teacher found a big bruise on her arm. The only time she had run from her father had been the night Sophia had woken up because Ed had gone into her room and had been 'doing something' while staring at her. Tea knew well enough from how Ed had been in camp that the man had most likely been touching himself while watching his daughter sleep and yet they had only been away from the house for two days. Carol had taken Sophia right back into that household even though she knew what was waiting for the little girl. Yes, leaving an abusive relationship is difficult, but Tea just could not fathom what kind of mother would take their child back to a predator. Things had gotten much better after the world turned for the worst and they had gotten to the quarry. While he still grabbed her and tended to be a little rough, and still scared the little girl a lot, too many people in the camp were watching what Ed was doing and would stand up for the child if he were to try to do something to her.
"What did you just say to me?" Carol asked unable to believe her ears.
"Ya heard me!"
"Can you believe her?"
"She ain't wrong," was all Daryl said on the matter.
"You can't seriously agree with what she said!" the woman cried, watching as the younger hunter stepped up towards her.
"Ya don' know what the fuck ta do with yaself now that Ed's dead! All ya want ta be is the same scared liddle bitch that didn' even botha lookin' for 'er kid or even protect 'er! And now she's back, ya still ain' botherin' with it!" Tea all but roared as she stepped up into the woman's face.
Considering her height, Carol was a few inches taller than Tea, but that didn't stop the older woman from flinching back as if she expected her to hit her. Even though she knew that her anger was reaching its boiling point and she had lost control of her voice, Tea hadn't even thought to lay her hands on the woman. She was trying to open Carol's eyes that the woman was constantly doing things that would make her daughter hate her if she kept it up. She was trying to convey how much she had found out about their lifestyle back home and how much she'd learned about both Sophia and Carol. The biggest difference between the two was literally just that Sophia wanted to learn how to protect herself and take care of herself and had since the quarry when Tea first offered to teach her while Carol wanted nothing more than to stay the same. It was that conflict of interests that caused a rift to form between the mother and daughter and it had never been more clear to Tea than right now how willing she was to step in and raise the girl herself.
"You really think she'd hit you?" Daryl asked snidely, knowing very well that Tea hadn't reached that point yet.
"That's how she is with Shane!"
"He fuckin' puts 'is hands on me, bitch, always fuckin' 'as. Jus' fuckin' go! Get ya fuckin' head on straight and treat ya kid right, or I'll gladly take ova as 'er momma for ya," Tea responded quietly as she turned her back on Carol and towards Daryl.
Daryl brought his arm up over her shoulders and held her close to his side while planting a kiss in her hair, turning away from Carol in the process. Silent tears streamed down Tea's face as she leaned into him, the act of affection from Daryl comforting her even though Carol scowled, scoffed, and turned her own back on them. Carol's behavior towards her daughter was reminding Tea of her own mother's harsh treatment towards her all because she was different than her mother expected. She'd told him earlier when he'd asked if she was actually jealous of Carol, only to find out that she felt sorry for Sophia because they were basically the same now. If Tea wasn't being beat for doing anything contrary to what her mother wanted, she was being criticized or straight up ignored. While Carol wasn't beating Sophia, she hadn't stopped criticizing the girl for the changes she'd gone through or adamantly ignoring her with a scowl when she was with Tea. That combined with the lack of effort to find Sophia was putting stress on the little woman under his arm during a time she really didn't need any more stress on her mind. She needed a damn break from everything after what Shane had done and didn't need Carol coming over to add more to her plate. He took her back over to the fire and sat down with her leaning back against his chest, the two of them watching as Carol walked away.
~x~
Tea walked back up to the house in the morning after kissing Daryl goodbye because he wanted to go hunting. She didn't mind at all since it was what he'd gotten used to doing daily and he had offered to take her only to be shot down. She wanted to check on Beth and see if the girl had gotten out of her state yet and see if there was anything that could be done to help her. Patricia came in and smiled at her as she made a few assessments about the girl, suggesting the woman start an IV for the Beth. Any longer and they were risking the girl becoming dehydrated and malnourished which could lead to even greater risks including her going into a true coma. As it was, if Patricia didn't get some rest herself, she was going to collapse and told the woman as such. She hadn't been getting a good night's sleep since her husband had died saving Carl's life with Shane. The problem Tea had with the thought of the man dying while Shane came back alive was that Tea knew Shane well enough to know he had left the man behind in one way, shape, or form. There was no way a man who had been dealing with walkers since the shift would be unable to get out of a walker infested place like the high school. It just didn't make any sense whatsoever unless Shane had done something to make sure he got out alive. Tea wasn't about to tell Patricia that, though, as the women of the farm fretted over the youngest.
"How is she?" Andrea asked from the doorway as Tea finished her own assessment.
"I don' think she's goin' ta come out a it 'til Hershel gets back, ta be honest," she told her. "Do ya know how ta run an IV?" she asked Patricia. "It'll be easia ta keep 'er hydrated and the salt will give 'er the electralytes she need. Add a bit a suga ta it, too. It'll help 'er ta absorb the wata betta, jus' only use a liddle bit, like a couple teaspoons max."
"I can run an IV, keep her from getting too dehydrated. I'll add the sugar like you suggested," Patricia added.
"Thank you for everything," Maggie told her. "I don't know how I'd be able to handle it if I didn't know what was going on."
"Ain' nothin'. Ya family's helpin' my people out. This is the least I can do for ya. Aside from makin' tea," she said, the offer to two of them insinuated. "The two a ya don' want ta get too stressed or ya won' be much help ta Beth 'til ya daddy gets back."
"Thank you," Maggie told her, Tea nodding at her before leaving the room.
She went down to the kitchen and pulled the herbs and flowers out of the fridge that she had asked Patricia to store there, putting the kettle on the stove. While the water boiled, she went out onto the porch to check on her herbs that were hanging from the porch. Tea had asked the older woman if she could pick some more of the herbs to dry them out for when they went back on the road and had been given permission to pick as much as she wanted so long as she left them enough for the farm. She'd gladly gotten to work when she'd been at the house yesterday to calm down, asking Patricia if she had any string or twine she could use to hang them. They were all wilted now, which was to be expected, and from the feel of them, it wouldn't take too long for them to dry out. Going back into the house, she put the proper mix of flowers and leaves into each cup, adding a little sugar to Maggie's and honey to Patricia's to make them just how the other ladies liked it. She handed the older woman hers before heading back upstairs to Beth's room, hearing Maggie telling Andrea a funny story about her sister and stepbrother in a shaky voice.
"Rick and Glenn will get your dad back," Andrea offered the scared woman.
Maggie nodded as Tea brought the tea in and set it beside her, "Glenn's a good guy."
"Yeah. He is," Andrea told her.
"One a the best," Tea agreed, adding on with a wink and a smile, "Jus' not my type."
She could see Daryl coming back through the window and excused herself to head outside. Rick and Hershel hadn't come back yet and she, Daryl, T-Dog, and Andrea were planning on heading to town to try and find them. While originally neither of them were worried about the missing members of their group, after they heard that Lori had gone to get them only to get in an accident had them both feeling guilty. When they learned that she was pregnant on top of all that, they felt obligated to go and get Rick to make up for their decision last night. He had a few squirrels and a raccoon in his hand as he came back to the camp and handed them off to Glenn before heading straight for her and made sure she was alright. The smile she gave him had him giving her a small one back until she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek again. He just shook his head at that and told her to get her ass ready so they could head out. It didn't take long to go and get the rest of her knives on and her emergency bag and get back to the car they were using to get to town, ironically Shane's.
Daryl was taking a drink of water when he noticed Tea's ears prick up; her sensitive hearing and smell could sometimes be a godsend. He paused in his motions and listened himself and sure enough, the sound of an engine was getting closer until everyone could hear it and stopped in their tracks. Hershel's red truck came into view, flying like a bat out of hell, tearing up the driveway. Tea drew a breath of relief as she began chasing after the truck to make sure everyone was okay, noticing the blood on Hershel's shirt and looking at all three of them critically. The blood was fresh but there were no injuries on any of them which made her start looking towards the truck. Carl and Lori ran up to Rick and clung to him thankful that he had come back alive after being gone all night. Maggie ran past Hershel to hug Glenn now that he was back, but the man basically ignored her and walked away, leaving Tea to wonder what could have happened to make Glenn be so cold before getting closer to the truck.
"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery," Hershel told the . "Tea, I'm gonna need you to make that poultice of yours. And prepare lots of it."
"Are you hurt?" she heard Lori ask Rick and Rick's reply of wondering what happened to Lori.
"I was in a car accident," she admitted.
"Accident? How?"
"I went looking for you," she said sheepishly.
"Snuck out on her own," T-Dog said. "Me and Andrea convinced her to come back."
"Are you crazy?" he asked her
"The fuck is that?!" Tea exclaimed while pointing at the truck.
"That's Randall," Glenn answered, referring to the young man sitting in the back seat with a blindfold over his eyes.
Tea and Daryl simultaneously moved to get a better look, noticing the bandaged leg that showed signs of still bleeding and that the man was passed out. They shared a look before Daryl nodded his head towards the farmhouse so she could get to work, going straight to the kitchen where most of the herbs were kept. All of her medicines had been brought into the farmhouse for easier access when they needed it as well as the recipes she had written down, including the tea she had made earlier for Maggie and Patricia. She had written in parts rather than measurements since what mattered was the balance of herbs more than the amount. No matter how much one needed to make of something, as long as the parts were kept to, it would have the same effect. It didn't take her long to prepare the first round of poultice and put it in a bowl, getting ready to make another round while also pulling the dried clay she had out to start hydrating it to the right consistency. She was happy she had found a nice patch of dry red clay in the fields; it would be the perfect addition to the poultice for a wound like this. It also had astringent properties that would promote healing, hopefully allowing them to be graced by the unwelcome guest for less time. Daryl left her to work and headed to the dining room after giving her a kiss on the temple to which she softly smiled back.
Tea was able to finish doing everything she needed to relatively quickly enough to where when Patricia came in saying they were ready for it she was able to hand it over. Washing her hands, she looked out the window and thought about what Daryl had said. There had been two sets of tracks where she and Shane had had their fight. She knew for a fact that there had been too much blood flowing from the wound for the man to have lived through it. It wasn't that she didn't trust Daryl's words, but she needed to see for herself whether or not the man had indeed walked away. She walked over to the shed, seeing the blood where Shane had been and following the trail it left into the woods. Tea didn't dare go any further as a sense of dread washed over her. There were only two possible explanations for the trail of blood and the fact that the man was no where to be seen; either she didn't injure him as bad as she thought or he walked away. The implication of that was absolutely terrifying and had her running as fast as she could back to the house and drawing some attention to herself as she stopped in the dining room suddenly, doubling over with her hands on her knees and tried to steady her shaky breathing.
"We couldn't just leave him behind," Rick told the group, bringing the attention back to him. "He would've bled out, if he lived that long."
"It's gotten bad in town," Glenn quietly said.
"What do we do with him?" Andrea asked.
"I repaired his calf muscle as best I can, but he'll probably have nerve damage," Hershel said as he walked in wiping his hands . "He won't be on his feet for at least a week."
"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way," Rick stated as Daryl walked in and leaned on the wall by the door, both him and Tea noticing her small smile towards him, rolling her eyes as Daryl scowled.
"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea asked.
"He'll have a fighting chance," Rick argued.
"Jus' gonna let 'im go?" Tea asked. "He could know the area or recognize someone."
"He was blindfolded the whole way here," was her counter. "He's not a threat."
"Neva said 'e was," she gave the man. "Jus' sayin' that ya killed some a their men, far as they know ya could a taken Randall hostage. Far as we know they could still be waitin' for 'im close by or 'e knows how ta get back ta 'em. How do we know nah one went back for 'im?"
"They left him for dead," Rick intensely stated. "No one is looking."
"We should still post a guard," T-Dog said.
"He's out cold right now, will be for hours," Hershel guaranteed. "I put the poultice on and the clay over top, no bandages until the clay dries out a bit like you said. Was the clay really necessary?" he asked Tea.
"Well, nah, but it has the potential ta help heal the wound fasta and definitely will help with the swellin' and risk a infection," she told the man with a respectful tone. "The soona he heals, the soona we get rid a him."
Tea asked Hershel if he minded if she stayed and check in on Beth while everyone else began leaving or going to other parts of the house. Daryl had begun to move towards her only for Carol to step in way with a soft smile, making her redneck scoff and roll his eyes. He gave Tea a look over the woman's shoulder, silently telling her he'd be at the tent with a nod of his head. She in turn nodded back towards the house, letting him know she was going to check on Beth now that Hershel was back and then she'd be back to him with another nod. Carol must have had that same smile on her face based on how Daryl stormed out of the house and all but slammed the door in her face. She looked back at Tea with a scowl and called for Sophia, who stopped to give Tea a hug before following after her mother. With a smile on her face, Tea stood up and walked with Hershel towards Beth's room. The farmer began asking her about how she learned to make medicine like she did, leading to a conversation about her papa. He'd been an actual apothecary having learned traditional Eastern medicine by his own grandmother, who'd been taught by her uncle's Chinese wife after they gave up on having a child of their own. He'd had a holistic healing clinic that allowed him to treat a lot of patients for anything that didn't require surgery or treatments for cancer; he would help treat the side effects and with pain management, but some illnesses were too complicated. It had been a great career until his wife had died and he'd hit the bottle hard until she'd started coming around and given him someone to pass the knowledge onto. She'd done her best to learn as much as she could after he passed to keep his memory and his lessons alive.
"I don' blame 'im, though. I turned ta drink too when I was younga. I jus' had someone lookin' out for me that helped me change. Always thought it was an Irish thing," she quipped, making Hershel smile.
"I was wondering with how you talk and the accent you sometimes have," Hershel admitted.
"Yeah, half. My name's actually Titania, afta the queen a the Fae."
"You should call yourself that more often. It's a very pretty name," he said, watching the woman bristle as they stepped into Beth's room.
"Pretty names can hide ugly scars," she said quietly. "I told Patricia that a sedative might help, but neitha a us knew what kind. I made 'er some tea and she was spoon fed it by Maggie, but it ain' nah sedative."
"I thank you for looking after her."
"Don' thank me yet. Maggie's gonna be hella pissed at ya. She was scared shiteless, more so afta I told 'er what happened with Shane."
"What happened with him?" Hershel asked, watching as she paled just from the question.
"Let's jus' say he prolly won' be much a a problem anymore. He ain' in camp, and I don' think 'e's comin' back."
"What happened?"
"He, uh, he attacked me. Ya had ta see the blood out by the shed. I know I did when I checked ta see if 'e was there," she explained, not wanting to say the words out loud anymore. "I thought I'd killed 'im, but it looks like 'e walked away."
"You did what you had to do. You stayed safe. That's all that matters," he said seriously. "You kept this farm safe given how that man was acting."
"I'm glad ya see it that way. Not too many in camp would."
Maggie walked into the doorway then, looking at her dad expectantly. She was angry at her dad, and understandably so. On top of that, after finding out what had happened between Shane and Tea, she had been nervous without Glenn and her father home. Tea couldn't blame her for being nervous considering she was still scared herself after what had happened and had only managed to be without Daryl if she was in the farmhouse where there were other people, and even then, she would constantly be looking for him. Maggie felt better with Glenn and Hershel home much like she did with Daryl and that had compounded her anger towards the man. He had left without saying a word when Maggie needed him the most and Tea knew that that was what she was more angry about than anything else.
"Has she eaten?" he asked her, not getting a reply as the woman stared at her sister. "I'll give her a sedative. Stop her body from working too hard. Again, thank you, Tea, for keepin' an eye on her."
"Ya did for me first night I was 'ere, least I could do."
"You were drinking," Maggie accused him, breaking her silence finally.
"That was the least of my worries," Hershel told her.
"You left and I didn't know what to do!" she yelled at him.
When he didn't say anything, she left the room. Tea followed after only a minute, catching up to the other young woman easily. It wasn't like any of their family had been expecting what had happened at the barn to happen and it had taken its toll on all of them in its own way. The difference was that Maggie had already seen what the dead could do while no one on the farm had. Beth had gone into shock because her mother and brother had both been in that barn and her mother had tried to kill her as a walker. Hershel had returned to the days where he could forget about anything and everything until Rick had gone and gotten him and made him see reason. Patricia and Jimmy hadn't had anyone in the barn and therefore hadn't been as affected as the others, although Jimmy hadn't been seen since the burial and helped with the walkers. She could understand Maggie's anger at her father, but it was anger brought on by grief and shock more than actual feelings of aggression.
"Maggie," Tea said, making the woman look at her with pain in her eyes. "Hershel was going through shock, too. Everyone grieves differently. Ya told me ya had a close call with a walka at the pharmacy with Glenn, right? Ya already knew, even if ya didn' realize it then, that ya momma and brotha were dead. Ya knew, where as these two didn'. Be angry all ya want, but ya gotta know, he wasn' thinkin' straight at all when 'e left. He wasn' tryin' ta hurt ya, even though 'e did."
"I get it, I do," she said through her tears, "but he left us here by ourselves when we needed him. How was I know what I was supposed to do?!"
"I know. I know. And ya did everythin' ya could, but ya got ta know y'all have ta grieve in ya own way. Is there anythin' I can do for ya in the mean time?"
"No, thank you," Maggie said, giving the woman a hug that had her completely stiffen, but she raised one arm and patted Maggie's back; apparently she was going to have to get used to this eventually.
Tea went outside after that, walking over to the shed when Andrea walked up, asking if she could help with watch. "Why ya askin' me that? Shouldn' ya ask Rick?"
"Rick's talking to Lori and then going to look for Shane, said to ask you if anything popped up."
"Did he now? Huh, I'll be damned. Yeah, relieve T-Dog in a few hours. I'll switch off graveyard shift with Glenn," Tea told her.
"And then what? We just send him on his merry way?" the woman said a little defiantly.
"If that's what the group wants," Tea said seriously.
"If he finds his people and leads them here, we'll have a war on our hands."
"I know, but ya think the othas are gonna listen ta that right now? And 'sides that, I don' agree with takin' a life unless ya absolutely have ta. The risks have ta far outweigh the gains ta give me reason ta take a life. Right now, I don' know the risks, so I don' want ta jump ta killin' someone."
"Tea?" She turned around and saw Rick coming towards her from the tents. "Hold up a minute, I need to talk to you about something."
Andrea nodded at her before walking towards the shed where Randall was being kept, pulling out her gun and double checking it was loaded and the safety was on. Tea could tell by the look on his face that the man was going to ask about his best friend. She couldn't run from telling him the truth, though, especially since the man's disappearance would be felt by the entire group. Lori had already been asking if people had seen Shane since this morning and now that Rick was back he was on the lookout for the man as well. Tea braced herself by taking a deep breath before walking the last five steps towards the man. There was nothing she could do but be honest with the man as much as possible.
"What's up?" she asked, her nerves showing in her accent and the fact that her hands were shaking at her side.
"What happened to you? Was it Shane?"
She froze and could feel herself turning pale as the dread she'd felt earlier came rushing back to the forefront of her mind, "Why ask that specifically?"
"Lori, she thinks he's dangerous. Says Dale said he killed Otis," he said with his head down, sounding defeated.
"Did she tell ya anythin' else?"
"No, why?"
"I think 'e tried ta rape 'er at the CDC," Tea admitted. "The scratches on 'is neck, the way 'e stared at 'er while she refused ta look at 'im, how 'e acted towards me. It jus' all adds up ta me."
"You...you really think..." Rick started asking in shock. "Is that what happened?"
"He had a psychotic break, Rick. He lost 'is mind and jus'...he jus'...and I...I," she said quietly trying to fight the tears forming from falling. "I got lucky. I barely managed ta get 'im off me 'fore anythin' more'n a beat down could happen. But the thing is, I stabbed 'im in the neck, Rick. And 'e walked away. He walked away."
"Do you think he's out there somewhere?" Rick asked.
"If 'e is, 'e should be dead by now. There's no way 'e could a savived that. None."
"Are you alright?"
"Ain' nothin' I ain' had ta deal with before. Jus'...jus' the first one that got that close since I was twelve," she admitted.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Are ya alright knowin' the baby ain' yas?"
Rick went silent, taking a deep breath in while nodding his head, "Why don't you just take it easy for the day. I'll take the watch."
She watched him walk away with his head still down before Tea ran all the way out to the wall Daryl had moved their tent to. He was standing in front of the line he kept the skins from his kills at to dry when she reached it, all but throwing herself into his back and holding him around the middle. Daryl managed to make her move long enough to turn around and ask her what was wrong as he wrapped his arms around her. She simply shook her head and held onto him tighter until he forced them to move, letting her stay under his arm until they got over to the fire he had going, sitting her down with her side into his chest, her head listening to his heartbeat. Tea ended up falling asleep for a little while on his lap until he went to move and startled her awake, taking her into the tent to get some more rest. When she woke up, she found Sophia outside showing Daryl how she had learned to throw the knife and the man giving her a few pointers himself. She just leaned against the wall watching them with a small smile on her face until Sophia noticed she was up and came over to give her a hug. The three of them sat down and shared a meal of squirrel and some greens from the woods; Tea had even added the strawberries Daryl had found her to it. Sophia stayed at their camp until Carol came calling for her to return to camp just before the sun set. She and Daryl just sat outside looking at the stars until it got too cold and they retired for the night themselves.
