Fear the Dead, Fight the Living
The next day we headed to the farmhouse that the others were at, I was driving Shane's car following Daryl and Dale was in the RV behind me. As we pulled up to the house and I saw Glenn and Shane standing there with 3 people I didn't recognize, I got out and looked over at Shane, "What's up farmer Shane?" I asked with a smile and he gave a small smile and looked down as Rick, Lori, T-Dog and 2 more people walked out of the house.
"How is he?" Dale asked them
"He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people." Lori answered
"And Shane. We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Rick added and Dale moved over and hugged him as me and my mom went and hugged Lori
"Thank God. We were so worried." My mom says
"How'd it happen?" I asked
"Hunting accident. That's all... Just a stupid accident." Rick replied
We all stand by the grave for a man named Otis, the guy who accidentally shot Carl and went with Shane to get the stuff they needed to save Carl, I was standing next to Daryl who held my hand.
"Blessed be God, father of our lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in Grace." Hershel finished and looked at Shane "Shane, will you speak for Otis?" He asked him
"I'm not good at it. I'm sorry."
"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." Patricia tells him
"Okay. We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. "We've got to save the boy." See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. "Run," he said. He said, "I'll take the rear. I'll cover you." And when I looked back... If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his." Shane says and I look at him, seeing him shift and avoid eye contact, he was hiding something.
"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked Rick as we gathered around the hood of my mom's jeep and Hershel's daughter Maggie walked over with a map
"This'll be day three."
"County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations." She tells us placing it on the hood
"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams." Rick tells us
"Not you. Not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." He tells Rick then looked at Shane, "And your ankle... Push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody."
"Guess it's just me. I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." Daryl says
"I'll join you" I tell him and he looked at me but then nodded putting his hand on my back
"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane mentioned
"All right, tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right."
"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Shane says
"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." Hershel tells him
"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here..."
"Look, we're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick said cutting Shane off and he put his gun on the car, Shane sighed and put his on there as well, I went to grab mine but Rick stopped me, "You hold on to yours for now because you're going out there," I nodded at him, "First things first: Set camp, find Sophia."
"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to and I'm sorry Phoebe. What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that." He brought up and I closed my eyes, I didn't want to think about that, Daryl rubbed my back and I looked at Shane
"You do what has to be done." Rick says and looked at me
"And my mom? What do you tell her?" I asked him
"The truth."
"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site" Shane tells us, "I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience." Shane says to Hershel
"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick agreed and Hershel hesitated then nodded, "Thank you." Rick says then me, Shane and Daryl walked away
"Are you sure you wanna go?" Daryl asked me and I looked at him
"I'm sure, I promised my mom I wouldn't stop looking and I wont. She's my baby sister Daryl, I have to find her."
"Alright, just don't want to see you in danger or get hurt." He says and I kissed him on the cheek
"Don't worry, I got a strong man looking out for me." I said with a smirk
"Who's that?"
"Well Shane of course, who do you think I would be talking about?" I said then suddenly he pulled me to him
"You think you're funny, you're my girl, no one elses" He tells me and I smile at him
"As long as you want me."
"I always want you, always have." He says and kissed me
"Right back at ya" I said and kissed him again before walking over to my mom, "I'm gonna go with Daryl mom, to continue looking." I tell her and she looked at me then him
"Be safe?" She asked and I hugged her
"I always am" I say and walked away with Daryl
"Daryl, Phoebe." Rick called to us and he walked over, "You two okay on your own?" He asked
"We got it, two people are better then one. I'll be back before dark." Daryl says to him
"Hey. We got a base. We can get this search properly organized now."
"You got a point or are we just chatting?" Daryl asked him and I lightly smacked his arm
"My point is it lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anything."
"My other plans fell through." Daryl tells him and walked away, I gave Rick a small smile and ran to catch up
"Are you ever gonna forgive him?" I asked him
"Don't know." He grumbled and we headed to the woods
After what felt like an hour walking we emerged from some trees and saw a farmhouse, "What do you think?" I asked him
"Might be worth a look." He says taking his crossbow off his shoulder and loaded it as I grabbed my knife, I couldn't help but get distracted though when I saw him holding his crossbow because lifting it showed his arm muscles, I shook my head though and focused as we headed to the house. Daryl raised his crossbow up and kicked the door open, we slowly walked in, he checked one room and I checked another then moved forward, he checked another room and I looked into the kitchen
"Psst" I whispered to him and he moved over looking up the stairs then followed me into the kitchen, he checked the room off from the kitchen and I saw something in the trash, "Hey" I tell him and held up the open can of sardines, he smelled it then moved his eyes past me and nodded his head in the direction he was looking. I turned and saw a cabinet, I walked over and stood at the door, he nodded his head and I opened it, we saw blankets and a pillow tucked in the corner like someone was sleeping in there, I looked at him and he put his hand on my shoulder.
We made our way out the back door and I looked around, "Sophia!" I yelled as Daryl walked over to a bush with some flowers on it, he cut two by the stem and handed one to me, I smiled at him and we started to make our way back.
When we got back Dale told us my mom was in the RV so we walked in and I noticed it looked nicer then it was, "I cleaned up, wanted it to look nice for her she says and I walked over to her and sat down next to her.
"For a second I thought I was in the wrong place." He says to her and I gave a small chuckle then he put the other flower he picked on the counter in a bottle he found
"A flower?" my mom asked and looked at the same one I was holding
"It's a Cherokee rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the trail of tears the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell. I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers blooming for my brother. But I believe this one bloomed for your little girl." He tells her and she gave a sad laugh wiping a tear away as I rubbed her back, "She's gonna really like it in here." He tells her and nodded at me then left.
"Nothing?" My mom asked
"We got a clue but we'll have to follow it tomorrow."
My mom sighed and went back to sewing, "I see he's making you happy" She told me and I looked at her confused
"How did you.."
"A mother always knows," She says and I smiled, "Plus I saw you two before you left after you all talked."
"Oh" I said and she looked at me
"He's a good guy, even if he doesn't show it to anyone but you."
"He really is" I agreed and stood up walking out of the RV
That night after everyone had gone to bed except Dale I walked over to my tent which I had moved just far enough away from the others, I unzipped the flap and walked in then closed it, I sighed and started to undress, as I was just about to put my shirt on there was a knock in the tent flap, I pulled my shirt over my head and opened it seeing Daryl, "Hey" I said and moved aside as he walked in.
"You okay?"
"Why do you always ask me that?" I asked and he walked over
"Because I know how hard this is for you, I care about you."
I put my hand on his face and smiled, "Thank you, I'm doing ok, or well trying to be."
he put his hands on my hips and I wrapped my arms around his neck, "I'm always here, don't forget that"
"I won't and I love you for that I just..." I stopped after I realized what I said, "Sorry"
"Don't be, I love ya too" He says and my heart skipped
"Really? Because I feel like it's to early for us to say that and we just..." I got cut off when he crashed his lips onto mine and I started to kiss him back, "Is that your only way of stopping my rambling?" I asked him and he smirked
"I can think of another way," He says and kissed me again but this time he ran his hands up my side going under my shirt, I moaned into his mouth and he pulled me closer to him and moved his tongue into my mouth, I moaned again and he moved us backwards to my sleeping bag laying us down with him above me, he pulled away and looked at me, "We don't have to if you don't want to." He tells me and I kissed him
"Who says I don't want to"
He smirked and kissed me again and it grew more passionate as he positioned himself between my legs. I felt his hand slowly trace up and down my inner thigh, as he moved his mouth from mine down to my neck and he sucked at it but not hard enough to leave a mark, I let out a soft moan and he gripped my thigh.
He brought his arm up and held himself up above me. He looked deep into my eyes, ready to stop if there was any hint of hesitation but I kissed him and pulled away biting his lower lip and he growled the kissed me fiercely moving his hand up my shirt again and pulled it over my head throwing it to the side and I reached my hands up unbuttoning his throwing it as well, his hand lightly squeezed my breast and I moaned feeling the bulge in his pants push against my center. I moved my nails lightly down his chest and went to the waist line of his pants undoing the buckle the the button and zipper pushing them down with his underwear. He followed my lead and pulled my pj pants and underwear off too then looked at me trailing his eyes over my body, I felt exposed, not just because I was now naked but I was naked in front of him, we were seeing each other like this for the first time and my heart was beating so hard I thought it was gonna bust out of my chest.
His fingers found my moist center breaking me out of my thoughts and he softly pressed down onto my clit. I gasped and kissed him furiously. He circled it and noticed that I was growing wetter, "You ready?" He asked me, searching my eyes still for uncertainty. I nodded my head and kissed him again. Our tongues melded together passionately. I wasn't going to turn back now. The heat between them was like an untamed fire. I shot my head back head as I felt him push slowly into me. I released a small yelp as he entered, not realizing how big he was. He quickly pulled out "Did I hurt you?" He asked
"No it's okay. Don't stop." I reassured him. He moved back in between my legs and entered me again, cautiously and even slower than before. I winced slightly as he pushed inside me and I allowed my muscles to relax.
Daryl looked into my eyes as he slowly began moving himself in and out. I had never experienced sex that felt this way, wanted and loved. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist as our bodies rocked together. I moved my hips to match his pace, my moans grew louder as he repeatedly hit my g spot with each thrust so I bit my lip trying to be quiet. I was growing wetter with each push, my hands wrapped around his waist as I pushed him deeper inside me. I grabbed his hair and pulled his head close to my lips, "Faster…Harder…" I managed to whisper, the pleasure I was feeling made it difficult to form a sentence.
He pumped into me harder and rapidly, He bit his lip hard enough to bring blood to keep himself from finishing, his one hand gripped my thigh and the other was tangled in my hair, "Oh..Daryl..." I moaned quietly and he looked at me then moved his mouth to my ear
"Say that again," He growled in my ear then lightly bit it sending shocks throughout my body and I got even more turned on
"Daryl...OH!" I moaned as he pushed into me even faster and I gripped his back, I felt him tense but I knew about his scars, he told me about what his father used to do and I think that's what made us start to get close because we both had horrible fathers. I couldn't hold back anymore and my back arched as my orgasm sent waves through my body and my moans turned to silent screams of pleasure. After a few more pushes and grunts I felt him twitch inside me as his body bucked as he came. He grunted loudly as I felt his body convulse. He collapsed on top of me and he looked at me moving some hair out of my face then kissed me.
He rolled off of me and we both tried to catch our breath, I turned over to look at him and he looked at me. He put his hand on my face before kissing me on my lips, I put my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me after pulling the blanket over us.
"I think you are just to good for me Mr. Dixon" I tell him and he scoffed
"Nah, you're the one that's to good for me."
"How so?" I asked propping up on my elbow looking at him.
"Beautiful, smart, tough, amazing. Guy like me would never have stood a chance with you before the world ended up like it did. You're to wonderful for a lowlife like me."
"Hey, you are not a lowlife, you are an amazing man who has a good heart but is afraid to show it to anyone but me, I love you Daryl Dixon and have since day one. You don't need to prove yourself to me and you sure as hell aren't anything less then a kind hearted man who cares about people." I tell him and he pulled me to him kissing me again and I put my fingers in his hair, "Better stop doing that, we don't have enough strength to go another round."
"Sorry, you're just so amazing." He says and kissed me again then I laid back down in his arms and we fell asleep
The next morning I woke up feeling Daryl run his hand lightly up and down my back then he stopped, "What's that from?" He asked me and I moved my hand to his feeling the old scar I had
I turned to face him and he put his hand on my hip, "A week after me, Shane and Rick graduated from the academy I was with my partner when we got a call about a robbery, we get there and the guy ran but I followed him into an alley behind the store, we got into a struggle and he knocked my gun away, I went to reach for it but he stabbed me in that spot and ran. I was in surgery for about 2 hours, my mom, Sophia and my dad were in the waiting room with my partner. The doctor said I was lucky because a couple more inches to the left and I would have been dead." I tell him as he was tracing circles on my hip
"I'm sorry that happened"
"Eh it's ok, they caught the guy and he went to jail so it's all good." I point out and he gave a small smile and kissed me then rolled us so he was on top, "Are you trying to seduce me Mr. Dixon?"
"Maybe." He says and kissed my neck pushing into me and we had sex again but this time a little more quiet because I knew everyone would be waking up.
After we were done I stood in my tent putting new clothes on as he put his outfit from last night on, after I got my socks on I looked at his as he pulled on his boots and I smiled at him, he looked at me and grabbed my hand pulling me down so I was straddling his lap.
"Um excuse me sir it's time for us to start the day." I tell him and he chuckled then kissed my collar bone
"I love you"
I smiled and kissed him, "I love you too, now quit distracting me or I'll have to punish you."
He pulled me against him gripping my butt, "What kind of punishment?"
I smirked and reached my hands down and unbuttoned a couple from the top of my shirt, kissed him passionately then got up and walked to the flap, "Give you something you can look at but can't touch." I said with a seductive grin as I walked out and heard him cuss under his breath then followed me out shortly after.
Flashback...
I stood at the back of my mom's Cherokee while Sophia and a boy named Carl were playing checkers, we hear helicopters in the distance, "Are we gonna go soon?" My sister asked
"I don't know, baby. I sure hope so." My mom answered and I put my hand on her shoulder
"I'm hungry." Carl says to his mom
"I know, Carl. We all are." his mom Lori told him
"Why don't I get him something to eat? Ed's into all this survival stuff. We've got enough MREs to feed a small army." My mom says and I watch her walk past me over to the side of the car my dad was at
"I'd sure appreciate it." Lori tells her
"No trouble." My mom replied opening the door but my dad shut it
"What in the hell did you tell her that for? We don't even know these damn people."
"That boy is hungry. We can spare one box." My mom said to him
"It's called operational security. How long do you think this stuff is gonna last if you keep running your damn mouth off to everybody we meet?" He asked her
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." She says and walked away as I glared at my dad, "Ed must have forgot to pack those MREs. I found these in my purse." My mom told Lori holding up a granola bar that she gave to Carl.
"It's all right. Listen, do you mind keeping an eye on Carl for a minute?" Lori asked her
"No."
"Shane and I are gonna go scout up ahead a little bit and see if we can find someone that knows what's going on." Lori tells Carl
"I want to come with you." He said to her
"Huh-uh. Huh-uh."
"Hey, we'll be back before you know it. Okay, little man, huh?" Shane asked him and I gave him a smile and they walked away
"Your dad's nice." Sophia says to Carl
"Shane's not my dad. My dad's dead." He told her and I sighed, Shane told them and me that as we met up after getting our stuff together. Just then we hear and explosion in the distance and my mom pulled Sophia and Carl to her and I went over to Shane's vehicle and climbed up onto the roof seeing helicopters go by and saw the explosions off in the distance
"Oh my god" I said in a whisper, I knew what they were doing
"Phoebe? What is it?" My mom asked and I climbed down off the roof
"Their dropping napalm" I told her then put my hand over my mouth and walked away facing the woods, I wiped the tears away and I feel someone looking at me. I turned my head and saw a guy with short brown hair leaning against a truck look at me then another guy walk over to him telling him something and I walked back to my mom and sister and my mom pulled me into a hug.
Now...
"Alright everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl and Phoebe found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far." Rick tells us as we gather around the hood of my mom's car
"I'd like to help. I know the area pretty well and stuff." Jimmy told him
"Hershel's okay with this?"
"Yeah yeah. He said I should ask you." He replied, liar
"All right then. Thanks."
"Nothing about what Daryl and Phoebe found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."
"Anybody includes her, right?" I asked him
"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high." Daryl pointed out
"It's a good lead." I add
"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." Rick mentioned
"No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here, take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her."
"I'll head to the highway and see if she went there at all then double back to the woods and look around." I told Rick and Daryl looked at me
"By yourself?" Rick asked me
"I'll take T-Dog."
"Good idea." He says and I looked at Daryl who nodded
"Daryl maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there too." T-Dog told Daryl
"Chupacabra?" Rick asked and I chuckled
"You never heard this? Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra." Dale tells him and Jimmy laughed
"What are you braying at, jackass?" Daryl asked him
"You believe in a blood-sucking dog?"
"Do you believe dead people walking around?" Daryl asks and I lightly smack his arm
I see Jimmy reach for a gun and Rick quickly pulled it away, "Hey hey. Ever fire one before?"
"Well, if I'm going out, I want one." Jimmy says
"Yeah, and people in hell want slurpees." Daryl tells him putting his crossbow over his shoulder and I shook my head putting my gun in it's holster and followed him
"Don't be rude" I said to him as we walked to the stables
"You sure about going to the highway?" He asked me and I nodded
"I'll be fine, I'll have T-Dog."
"Better button those so he doesn't look" He told me indicating to my shirt
"If I do that how else am I going to torture you?" I asked him and he put his crossbow down grabbed my hips and spung me around so my back was pressed against the wall of the stable and he pushed against me
"I don't need anyone looking at my girl but me." He said in a gruff voice and I ground my hips into him and he groaned
"Don't worry, you're the only one who gets to do anything me.
"Anything?" He asked and I nodded biting my lip, he brought his mouth to my neck lightly breathing on it then pulled away, "Payback" He whispered in my ear and walked away to the saddles
"Oh I'm so getting you back for that Mr. Dixon." I said and he smirked, "But hey, be careful." I tell him putting my hand on his shoulder, he grabbed it kissing my palm
"I will be, I got a girl to come back to."
"Well I hope she's worth it." I said and he finished saddling up the horse and kissed me
"She is" He says and climbed on then took off.
Daryl POV...
I was riding through the woods on one of Hershel's horses, I didn't even ask if I could use one, I just saddled it up and took off. After I shot a squirrel and pulled it off the tree my mind went to Phoebe, I was still amazed that I finally had her, she was the most beautiful woman I laid my eyes on, like that night I saw her on the highway when this all began. I don't why I am able to open up to her, but the first day we talked I felt like I could, she opened up something in me and I will do what I can to show her I love her and try to protect her. I was taken out of my thoughts when I looked down the ridge and saw a doll down by the water, I hopped off the horse then took my crossbow off and made my way down over to it and picked it up, "Sophia!" I called but got nothing so I made my way back up and got on the horse. Some birds flew up from the ground and the horse started to spook, "Whoa. Easy easy." I tell it and ushered it to move again but suddenly and snake popped up from the ground scaring the horse and it started bucking, "Whoa whoa whoa." I said but next thing I knew I got flung off rolling down the ridge and sliding down the little water fall. I laid there trying not to move as one of my handmade bolts was stuck in my side, "Son of a bitch."
I managed to get up and made my way over to the sand taking out my knife and cutting the sleeves of my shirt off tying them together then tying it around my waist and around the arrow, fuck it hurt like hell. I looked up the ridge, I had a hell of a climb to go, I held my side and stood up grabbing a stick to support myself but then I hear a rustling sound from next to me in the woods, I reached behind me for my crossbow but realized it wasn't there so I made my way back over to the water using the stick to look for it. I finally found it and lifted it out of the water, I made my way out of the water again and stood at the base of the ridge then started climbing.
I looked down at one point seeing how high up I was then looked up, "Oh, come on. You've done half. Stop being such a pussy. Come on." I told myself then I pushed myself to grab hold of another tree but my foot slid a little on the dirt, I tried again but lost my footing and started to roll down the hill landing back at the bottom of the ridge knocking myself out.
"Why don't you pull that arrow out, dummy? You could bind your wound better." I hear my brother's voice tell me as I came to
"Merle."
"What's going on here? You taking a siesta or something?" He asked
"A shitty day, bro."
"Like me to get your pillow? Maybe rub your feet?" He asks
"Screw you."
"Huh-uh. You're the one screwed from the looks of it. All them years I spent trying to make a man of you, this is what I get? Look at you. Lying in the dirt like a used rubber. You're gonna die out here, brother. And for what?" He asked me
"A girl. They lost a little girl." I tell him
"So you got a thing for little girls now? Or are you doing this because you're banging her sister?"
"Shut up." I said
"'Cause I noticed you ain't out looking for old Merle no more."
"Tried like hell to find you, bro." I pointed out
"Like hell you did. You split, man. Lit out first chance you got."
"You lit out. All you had to do was wait. We went back for you. Rick and I, we did right by you." I argued
"This the same Rick that cuffed me to the rooftop in the first place? Forced me to cut off my own hand? This him we're talking about here? You his bitch now?" He asked me
"I ain't nobody's bitch."
"You're Phoebe's bitch, she has got you wrapped around her finger. You're a joke is what you are, playing errand boy to a bunch of pansy-asses, niggers and democrats. You're nothing but a freak to them. Redneck trash. That's all you are. They're laughing at you behind your back. You know that, don't you? I got a little news for you, son. One day they gonna scrape you off their heels like you was dog shit." He says and I start to drift off again but he smacked my chest, "Hey. They ain't your kin, your blood. Hell, you had any damn nuts in that sack of yours, you'd got back there and shoot your pal Rick in the face for me. Now you listen to me. Ain't nobody ever gonna care about you except me, little brother. Come on, get up on your feet before I have to kick your teeth in." He stands up and kicked my foot then grabbed it, "Let's go."
He continued pulling on my foot but when I came to I see a walker trying to bite at my foot through my boot, I scrambled and kicked it in the head, as I reached for my crossbow it landed on me and I hit it in the side a few times then the face and rolled both of us over, it grabbed at my head rolling us back and I kicked it off then stood up seeing another one coming, I hit the one in front on me with a long stick knocking it back then I tackled it to the ground and smashed his head with the stick. As the other one gets closer I grab the arrow in my side pulling it out the front trying to ignore the pain, grabbed my crossbow, knocked the arrow and shot it in the head.
I sat at the bottom of the ridge taking my top shirt off, folded it and pressed it to the wound then tied it , "Son of a bitch was right." I said and moved to a log sitting down then cutting the squirrel open and started to eat the raw meat. I grabbed the doll, took the strings out of my boots, then cut the ears off the walkers putting them on the string then around my neck looking up at the ridge and started to climb again.
I hear some birds squawk and I look up, "Please, don't feed the birds." I hear Merle's voice again and I see him at the top, "What's the matter, Darylina? That all you got in you? Throw away that purse and climb."
"I liked it better when you was missing."
"Come on, don't be like that. I'm on your side." He tells me as I grab a tree and brace myself to push up
"Yeah? Since when?"
"Hell, since the day you were born, baby brother. Somebody had to look after your worthless ass." He says and I scoffed
"You never took care of me. You talk a big game but you was never there. Hell, you ain't here now. Guess some things never change."
"I'll tell you what- I'm as real as your chupacabra." He mentioned
"I know what I saw."
"And I'm sure them shrooms you ate had nothing to do with it, right?" He asked me
"You'd best shut the hell up." I warned him
"Or what? You're gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me?" He asked and I continued to climb, "Well, come on and do it then, if you think you're man enough. Hey, kick off them damn high heels and climb, son." He says and laughed, "You know what? If I were you I'd take a pause for the cause, brother. 'Cause I just don't think you're gonna make it to the top." He tells me and I swung myself around a small tree, "Come on. Come on, little brother. Grab your friend Rick's hand."
I put my hand on the top of the ridge and pulled myself up, "Yeah, you'd better run."
Phoebe POV...
"Walker. Walker!" I hear Andrea yell from the top of the RV and we all grab our weapons
"Just the one?" Rick asked her
"I bet I can nail it from here."
"No no, Andrea. Put the gun down." He tells her
"You'd best let us handle this." Shane says walking over
"Shane, hold up. Hershel wants to deal with walkers." Rick tells him
"What for, man? We got it covered."
We make our way into the field with Rick following us shortly after
"Is that Daryl?" Glenn asked and I feel my heart stop as he looked at us stopping while Rick pointed his gun at him
"That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head. You gonna pull the trigger or what?" Daryl asked and I sighed in relief but just then there's a gun shot and he falls to the ground
"No" I whispered moving down next to him
"No! No! No!" Rick yelled at Andrea
"Daryl? Daryl?" I asked holding his head and he moved
"I'm okay" He says and I sighed, "I was kidding" He said to Rick and both him and Shane helped him to walk as Andrea and Dale ran over
"Oh my God. Oh my God, is he dead?"
"Unconscious. You just grazed him." Rick told her
"But look at him. What the hell happened? He's wearing ears." Glenn pointed out and Rick took them off and put them in his pocket
"Let's keep that to ourselves."
"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" T-Dog asked and I turned to see him holding Sophia's doll, I moved over to him and he handed it to me, the guys bring him into the house and I looked at Andrea
"Are you insane or just plain stupid?!" I yelled walking up to her, "When Rick tells you not to shoot you don't fucking shoot! You could have killed Daryl or missed and got one of us. Stupid bitch" I tell her and shoved past her heading into the house
"I found it washed up on the creek bed right there. She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere." Daryl informed us as Hershel stitched up his arrow wound and they looked at the map
"Cuts the grid almost in half." Rick mentioned looking at Shane
"Yeah, you're welcome."
"How's he looking?" I asked Hershel
"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly. Any idea what happened to my horse?" Hershel asked him moving to a wash bucket to clean his hands
"Yeah, the one who almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country."
"We call that one Nelly, as in nervous Nelly. I could have told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask. It's a wonder you people have survived this long." Hershel tells Rick, him and Shane walked out of the room and I looked at Daryl
"I'll be right back" I tell him and he nodded then I walked out as well
"I hate to say it, but I'm with Hershel on this one. Can't keep going out there, not after this." Shane brought up and I looked at him
"You'd quit now? Daryl just risked his life to bring back the first hard evidence we've had." I told him
"That is one way to look at it. The way I see it, Daryl almost died today for a doll."
"Yeah, I know how you see it." Rick tells him and walked away
"I'm not out to be a hard case. Just being realistic." Shane adds
"That's my little sister Shane, I'm not stopping until we find her so get that through your damn head." I told him and walked outside heading to Daryl's tent to get him some clothes.
I went back in after getting Daryl some clothes and he was still laying in the bed, "Brought you something to change into." I told him putting the clothes on the chair
"Hey, come here" He says and I walked over sitting down next to him, "I'm sorry"
"For what?" I asked him
"I keep coming up with empty clues on finding her, feel like I'm disappointing you"
"Hey," I grabbed his hand, "You are not disappointing me, you're working harder then anyone else including me on finding her and I love you for that."
"I didn't mean to scare you"
I chuckled, "You're alive, that's all that matters." I tell him and stand up but he still held my hand.
"Where you goin'?"
"Getting a wet rag to clean you up" I tell him
"Don't have to do that"
"Can you get and do it without hurting yourself?" I asked and he sighed, "Thought so" I said and grabbed the rag wetting it down then moved over to the bed and started wiping the dirt and blood off him being careful not to hurt him. When I was done I told him I was gonna go have some dinner but I'd be back
We all sat around the dining room table eating the food Lori and my mom made in silence, "Does anyone know how to play guitar?" Glenn asked breaking the silence, "Dale found a cool one. Somebody's got to know how to play."
"Otis did." Patricia answered with sadness
"Yes, and he was very good too." Hershel tells her and the room fell silent again, I see my mom stand up holding a tray and she walked in the direction of the room Daryl was in.
Daryl POV...
I laid in the bed sore as hell lost in thought when the door opened, I saw Carol walk in and I pulled the sheet up covering my body, "How are you feeling?" She asked me
"As good as I look."
"I brought you some dinner. You must be starving." She tells me setting the tray down and I looked at it then felt her lean down and kissed my head
"Watch out, I got stitches." I tell her, Phoebe told me I wasn't disappointing her, but I was letting Carol down
"You need to know something. You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did in his whole life."
"I didn't do anything Rick or Shane wouldn't have done." I point out
"I know. You're every bit as good as them. Every bit. You're good for Phoebe too, I see how happy your making her and she deserves that." She says and left the room
Later that night there was a knock on the door and Phoebe walked in, "Doing ok?" She asked me
"I am now" I tell her and she nodded her head, "Come here" I said and she walked around the bed and crawled under the blanket being careful and we looked at each other. I loved the way she looked at me, have since day one, I still can't believe that in a world gone to shit I found her, someone to love and protect, someone I would die for.
"Get some rest" She tells me and I kissed her, I loved kissing her.
"I love you"
"I love you too" She says and put her head down kissing my chest then we laid there until I heard her breathing slow down and she fell asleep with me following after.