Nothin' or Somethin'

Chapter 13-Getting Closer Part 2

A thick fog had settled around us as we rode quickly through the night making it hard to impossible make out anything. Thus, I had to keep my tight hold on Daryl as we went as every once and a while, he'd have to swerve sharply to avoid a deadhead that'd wandered into the road. Those and well dead deadheads or dead…well…bodies that had had their brains destroyed before they turned that were scattered on the roads. How he managed to do so while keeping his speed and not topple us over I had no idea. Though I guess it wasn't just Merle who rode motorcycles before the end of the world, which would make sense. Especially with the leather angel wing vest Daryl was always in, if he wasn't using it for a terrible pillow that is.

At least the group would drag the bodies to the sides when we had to take singles down when we were stopped. And either Rick, Daryl, or I would loot them if possible. And the group avoided the deadheads on the road as we were moving. So, I guess that was another thing that Rick did that I approved of. Though I couldn't help but think that maybe it'd been Merle going through here, road killing deadheads pissed off that he was separated again. Now that I think about it, it was probably the blonde bitch's fault that he got separated. She went to help Carol too and probably fucked up. I think I'll kill her if I see her again before Merle. She fucked with my family twice and I'm not gonna let that shit slide.

Day Four

Soon after the light from the sun was coming from above us, we got close to our destination. As such Daryl slows down a little, so we don't miss it in the fog and allowing me to finally loosen my hold on him. I immediately get annoyed with myself that I missed the heat that came from him when the air is finally allowed to get between our bodies. I was also annoyed that I had had the split-second thought that I missed the faint thumping of his heart that had broken through the rumble of the bike while we were that close.

Thus, as soon as he pulled into our destination and came to a stop, I immediately fully separated myself from him before getting off and scanning in the fog for signs of the others while holding his bolt out to him. "Can't see shit." I hiss quietly as my free hand settles on the handle of my knife as I stare out into the fog in the direction of the front of the store. Silently praying that the others had made it here. But there was also the possibility that they weren't alone here too. And or that there were deadheads gathered around here now too. Either way whoever and or whatever would have heard us approaching. Maybe we should've stopped further away…

I get just a grunt in response then as Daryl gets off his bike himself, in front of me, while taking the bolt from me and readying his crossbow to be ready to raise and shoot it if needed. Man was I really annoyed with this situation. We ended up having that major argument in a situation that endangered the others. That's not counting that it wasn't even really finished. I mean the original start of that conversation wasn't finished and it led to an even bigger one that wasn't finished. Fuck me; we had to finish it sooner rather than later before it leads to an even bigger one. Possibly one that ends with our death at the rate we've been going. And as if on cue Daryl suddenly mutters then, "About yesterday…" trailing off at the end.

"Huh." I breathe out before muttering "Don't worry about it right now." causing the man to look back at me, a look of uncertainty on his face, but of course before he could say anything I spot two adult sized bodies approaching us. "Dixon." I hiss while motioning toward them and tensing up in anticipation causing him to snap his head in their direction while doing the same.

Though we instantly relaxed when who emerged from the fog wasn't hostiles but Rick and T-Dog, who also instantly did the same when they realized it was just us. Rick and Daryl share a handshake, like they did when they'd reunited before, followed by Daryl and T-Dog giving each other a greeting nod. This is followed by Rick stepping past Daryl and placing a hand on my shoulder, the same look on his face he'd given Daryl. I smack it off with a simple nod followed by a questioning look of 'my family?'.

"Everyone's fine and they're waiting inside." Rick answers, stepping back so he was looking at both of us, before saying "T-Dog go back and let the others know it's them while I talk to them.", his 'leader' voice active the whole time. T-Dog nods in my direction and with a voiced "Alright." in response before turning and disappearing back into the fog, the way they came. Rick immediately gets to business and questions "What happened out there?" "Found two of the car owners turned, downed them, took their shit, then found a horde." I respond simply, while motioning to the shoulder that had the extra bag before at Daryl who releases a grunt in confirmation, while motioning toward the bag he had.

This causes Rick to have a twitch of annoyance before 'leader' voicing "We heard what sounded like yelling for a while before the shots. Was there trouble with them?" "No." I state while narrowing my eyes at him, challenging him to challenge me, I didn't want to have any part of the conversation with Daryl with him present. Unfortunately for me he just does the same thing while 'leader' voicing "So it was at each other." Before he orders "Tell me. Now." Why the hell did he have to get smart right now?

Unfortunately for Rick I stay silent not backing down or giving in but who speaks is Daryl with an "It ain't important, Rick. We found what we were lookin' for and got out. No harm done." "Alright, fine." Rick responds in a half sigh before questioning "How's your ammo now?" "That's actually a little better than before." I respond relaxing as I retrieve the extra clip from my pocket before handing it to him adding "Don't know if any's in the gun I found or even if it's still okay though." Rick nods again before voicing "Let's go inside to look at what you found." He then turns and gestures for us to follow him as he walks back into the fog.

Before I follow, I slide my attention to Daryl, finding him looking back at me with a somewhat relieved look on his face. When my mismatched eyes meet his blue, he immediately turns away while motioning for me to go ahead of him to follow Rick. I feel a smirk grace my face as I do so. Maybe, just maybe, he was right and we just worked out like Merle and I did. But we did have to finish the conversation before I fully accept anything. Though even if we did could Daryl and I really be exactly like Merle and I? Something in the back of my mind told me it wouldn't.

"Nai! Dad said you'd come but we were so worried!" the two voices of Beth and Carl cry out happily as soon as the door shut behind us, bringing me out of those thoughts, followed by the two practically shoving Rick to the side to all but throw themselves on me. The force of both of them causes me to stumble back and unfortunately into Daryl, who releases a grunt like he'd done before but this time quickly steadies me with his hands on my hips. I quickly step out of his touch while glancing back at him, feeling heat start creeping on my face at the warmth they left behind. He avoids my gaze and mutters a "Just watch it." In a somewhat annoyed tone. "Like I did it on purpose." I grumble back under my breath, feeling my face cool down, before turning my attention back to the kids, who were still clinging to me as if their lives depended on it. What was I going to do with them? I knew it was partly my fault that Carl'd claimed me as his family. Damn it. Guess you won Rick.

Releasing a sigh I place a hand on each of their heads before telling them "I'm fine. I always make it back don't I?" while looking past them to see the others gathered around the store. Maggie and Glenn smiling, Hershel with a relieved fatherly look, Carol with a relieved motherly look, and Lori with a half-smile half-jealous look. I nod at them in greeting before doing a quick scan of the store.

It was significantly different than the state we left it in originally. All the shelves were pushed to the sides with some pushed to be a type of barricade against the glass front, the table from the back room was moved into here and was placed against the wall near the door to the backroom, and all the trash and garbage and or unsafe food had been cleaned up from the floor and probably moved outside.

"So, what's the plan now?" I question then turning my attention to Rick while gently pushing the kids away. "Let's talk about it as we check out what you guys brought back." Rick answers motioning back toward the table. We start to follow him back while Carl exclaims "I knew it! Told you so Beth!" while looking at her with a giant grin. She sighs out a "Yeah, yeah." As she rolls her eyes but has a grin on her face too before Lori says, "Come on Carl." in a clear 'I'm your mother' tone when we stop at the table causing the boy to give me, not his father, the best 'puppy' look I've seen in a while.

I give him a small smile but motion towards her without a word causing the boy to pout but still turn and trudge the few steps over to her. She puts a hand on his shoulder and leads him into the back room. Though not without sending me a warning look. Oh, are you upset that your kid likes me? Worried he'll pick up bad habits? Too bad for you. The only thing he'll pick up is survival. And well…maybe my way of speaking…and acting…

"Who pissed in her corn flakes?" Beth mutters in a quiet annoyed tone then eliciting a laugh to escape from me and even a short laugh from Daryl before he caught himself. Instantly Beth grins at us, a proud look on her face, and Hershel scolds a "Beth." Unfortunately for him she just gives him her best innocent look causing him to release a tired sigh while giving me a look that said 'That's why.'

I give him a 'Hey you're the one that picked me up' look before sliding the extra bag off my shoulder and plopping it on the table while Daryl removes the bag he had and doing the same. I unzip my bag before dumping it muttering "Let's see what we got." While Daryl copies my actions albeit silently.

Clothes, a couple cans of food and water bottles, a lighter, a box of cigarettes, a flashlight, some amber medicine bottles, a book, a roll of duct tape, and even another bullet clip and a box of bullets for the pistol tumble out of mine while the similar come out of his: Clothes, a couple cans of food and water bottles, a box of matches, a flashlight, a mystery wooden box engraved with flowers, a pot and pan, a rolled blanket, and a handful of utensils: spoons, forks, and knifes.

"It was a good idea to grab 'em huh." I state then as I shift my bag off one shoulder, un-zip the pocket, grab the bloody gun, hand it over to Rick, zip the pocket back up, and shift my bag back on my shoulder. Rick nods with a "Not a bad outcome all thing considered." Before examining the gun carefully and then saying "Looks like it's actually still in good condition. Mind if I keep it?" "Nope, ain't like I need it. I just need some of the bullets." I respond motioning to them on the table earning a "That's fine." From him as he nods and pockets the gun.

I grab the box from the table then before Rick informs us "We're going to stay here till the fog lets up. We only got here because we knew it was here and were looking for it so it's a good enough spot. Almost ran into walkers a few times on the way here after it hit last night. And we only knew someone was coming from the sound and didn't know it was you two till we were practically on top of you."

"Same here." Daryl grumbles then causing me to add a complaining "Was a pain in the ass. Had to hold on ta his sorry ass for dear life." "Yeah, well, I wasn't happy 'bout it neither." Daryl growls turning to look at me causing me to say, "Yer the one that told me to." "Yeah, well, it ain't the end of the world." Daryl growls back causing a smirk to grace my face as I respond, "It is the end of the world." "I ain't got nothin' to do with it." Daryl snaps back so I respond with a repeated "Yer the one that told me to." "Ain't what I meant!" Daryl shouts back stepping closer earning a shouted "What'd ya mean then?!" from me as the smirk falls from my face. Screw it! Fucking prove it! Prove what you said about us. Right here. Right now.

Daryl clenches his jaw then as he glares at me, his eyes full of anger, causing the smirk to come back on my face as I say "See." And open my mouth to continue but Daryl cuts me off with a growled "See what?" "That that shit ya spewed was shit." I tell him causing him to step even closer, now only a step between us, growling "How was it shit? Enlighten me." "How was it shit?" I scoff, the smirk falling from my face, before telling him "I'm just yer obligation to yer brother Daryl."

"Ya don't know shit, Nai." He growls low from the back of his throat, that fury coming back on his face as he takes that last step forward so we were almost touching; only a breath between us. An involuntary laugh escapes my throat as I look up to look him in the eyes before I tell him "Oh, but I do Daryl." Then yelling "Ya told me remember?! Merle asked ya to look out for me! So, yer just pretending to care until we find him or he finds us!" "Pretending?! I already fuckin' told ya I wasn't fuckin' pretending!" He rages but I only argue "The moment Merle's back-!" "Nothing will change!" He snaps cutting me off before starting "I-!" only to shut his mouth before he said more.

Everything was silent then. The only sound was that of the both of us breathing heavy from yelling at the other again as any anger melts from our faces while our eyes search the others face for a few moments. When the anger had left his face what remained was something akin to surprise for a split second before it was gone and replaced with resolve. "Finish what ya were sayin'." I order him, through gritted teeth while narrowing my eyes at him as I could feel myself starting to believe him.

"If yer right, if ya were just an obligation to me, if we'd just go back to what it was before when Merle's back, why the fuck would I say that we might just work out like that too?" He tells me then, his tone and face turning serious. I open my mouth to respond but shut it when nothing comes before looking away from him. Unable to keep looking at him with that feeling of believing him crashing into me.

"Told ya." He suddenly says then, slight amusement lacing his words, causing me to release a huffed "Just shut up." He just releases an amused sound so I quickly look back up at him and challenge, going back to the original question, "Ya still didn't say what ya meant." The smirk that was playing on his face goes full blown teasing as he leans in, even closer, before saying right in my ear "What I meant was it's not the end of the world for us to be this close."

I feel my heart skip a beat and heat to start creeping on my face as his warm breath touches my skin before I snap out of it and step back, away from him, with an exclaimed "Fuckin' hell Daryl!" But the only response I get is him laughing at me and a muffled laugh from some of the others, that had been silent this whole time. I instantly send a glare in their direction. Glenn quickly bites back the laugh and scurried off after Maggie and Beth who took off the second I looked over at them, albeit still quietly laughing. Both Hershel and Carol were giving clearly patently looks like that of a parent watching their child make a friend. While Rick had a small smile on his face accompanied by a look that clearly said 'So that's what it was'.

I release an annoyed huff as my face burned in embarrassment while turning back to the table of loot and turning my attention to the box of bullets still in my hand. I'm just gonna crawl in a hole and die again. That's when Daryl's laughing dies to chuckling as he turns back to the table of loot as well. I slide my attention to back to him a moment, earning a simple motion towards the box with a look that clearly said 'you going to share?' while his chuckling died down too.

"After I get what I need." I huff out looking back at the box earning a muttered "Yeah, yeah." From him. I guess we did just work out…Daryl and I. But…it wouldn't be exactly like Merle and I. Merle's teasing like that didn't elicit that type of reaction from me. But it would never be anything more.

Day Five

"Fog's clearing up now." Rick tells me when I stop next to him, where he was on watch in the front of the store, and look out glass front myself in the morning after the beeping of my watch woke me. "I can see that." I sigh out, shifting on my feet. Even if I did feel a little more comfortable within the group to actually get some sleep, the station was fine when it was covered in fog but there were too many vulnerabilities of it for long term. And long term was what we need to think about, winter was just around the corner.

"So, you're staying?" He asks slowly causing me to roll my eyes and sigh before telling him a simple "Might as well." This earns a small laugh before he questions "What are you thinking?" "We need to try and find a safer place for long term. Winter's right around the corner." I tell him crossing my arms over my chest earning a sighed "I agree." Before, in his 'leader' voice, he continues "This place was fine hidden by the fog but without it, it's a beacon for other survivors." "Other survivors who might not be friendly to a group like ours." I add then, earning an "Exactly." Before he sighs again and then says "I'm glad you're staying, Nai."

"Don't push it." I huff out only for him to say "All I'm saying is that I hope in time we won't be using each other but instead working as a team." "Look Rick…" I sigh out then trailing off a moment before shifting on my feet again and continuing "I'm not saying I won't ever leave or that I trust you…Just that I'll give this a chance."

****Time Skip****

"Hey, Nai, could I talk to you for a moment?" Carol questions coming over to me where I was as we were getting ready to leave. I hum, pause, and give her a questioning look, so she gives me a smile and says "I wanted to ask you a favor." I hum again signaling for her to continue so her face changes to a gentle smile as she says "I was wondering if you would ride with Daryl for a while, instead of me." "Huh?" I question confused if I heard her right. "It's just that I could use a break from riding on the back of that bike. Its makes everything sore and that wind just seems to cut through to my bones." She tells me with a tired tone and almost shivering when she was telling me about it causing me to sigh out an "Alright."

"Thank you, Nai." She says, her face changing to grateful with a hit of something I couldn't identify, so I just wave her off with a sigh. She just gives me a nod and heads off to the cars so I just release another sigh and head over to Daryl, who was knelt down by his bike, that was a distance away from the cars, checking it. When I get close, he looks up and raises a questioning eyebrow noticing it was me before questioning "What's up?"

"Carol asked me to ride with you for a while, instead of her. Said she needed a break from the bike." I tell him, coming to a stop a few steps away, while sliding my attention over to her and the others just as they're already climbing into their respective cars; Carol taking my spot with Glenn, Maggie, Beth, and Carl. He releases a short chuckled "Yeah, I bet she does." Before asking a slightly teasing toned "But will you be alright? You'll have to be close to me again."

"Oh, shut up." I scoff rolling my eyes and looking back at him, noticing that he was now standing and quickly taking a big step forward, so there was only a step between us, adding "Ya said yerself that it's just fine for us to be like this." As I have to look up at him now. I could have sworn there was a flash of something I couldn't identify in his eyes a moment but it was gone the next as he says a simple "I did." With a smirk on his face so I must have imagined it.

"God damn Dixons." I mutter looking away from him, slightly annoyed that I didn't receive a reaction from him like he probably would have from me. He hums then, signaling that he heard me, causing me to snap at him "Shut up. Let's go." "Yeah, yeah." He chuckles, clearly amused now, as he simply turns, gets on his bike, and starts it. With a twitch of annoyance, I get on behind him but instead of grabbing hold of the sides I wrap my arms around his waist lightly, my last-ditch effort to get some sense of that reaction from him.

As soon as I did, he seemed to tense for a second before relaxing and we start moving. I instantly smirk in satisfaction before leaning in, pressing myself into his back, and tightening my hold as I tease, right in his ear, "Something wrong, Daryl?" "No." He snaps as he tenses again, his heartbeat seeming to quicken, and I could see his grip on the handlebars tighten slightly, so I chuckle "Sure seems like it." "There's not. It just surprised me." He grumbles as he slowly relaxes again causing me to relax my hold a little and straighten as I chuckle a satisfied "Alright."