I'm not sure how everyone feels about being told "sorry" for long delay. If it does matter, my apologies are genuine, but if there's not a real care, then...On with the show!


Day 8

3rd PPOV

Another day, and it begins unlike any other. Neither Merle or Chester had yet to cause concern. However the Dixon's, minutes after waking, came to blows. It was brutal. The older brother has yet to forgive Daryl for leaving nor the group whom abandoned him. On principle Merle wanted to be just as angry, just as righteously furious, with both Lauren and D. But the brunette was loyal to her sister and he always knew wherever the kids went, so would the red head.

He's still alive, thanks to a man known as 'The Governor' leader of the town Woodbury. They staved off starvation, rehydrated him and with the resources of the town gave him the means to create a metal cover for his stump of a hand. In his arsenal are a hook, a knife, a bayonet and a spade.

Unfortunately the 'perfect' town crumbled when The Governor's mental state came into question. The man was never stable, but for the most part he hid it well. It was meetings with a small group of survivors that showed who the real man was. Merle and his 'friend' slipped out well before the power hungry psychotic could called on him in repayment for saving his life.

Of course 'friend' is a loose term. Merle wasn't going to decline the help of someone who could potentially be a distraction for the walkers.

No one was happy to have Chester around, and most would've preferred Merle to stay gone. This played on D's mind, filling her with guilt. She didn't want to sound like the others, even in her own mind. But the anxiety that his presence brought was too great to ignore. If Merle was the same as always problems would occur.

Shane's new personality would see to it.

D thought of hiding out in Lauren's room, knew that the red head would protect her, but thought better of it. She's not a coward, and most of the time it's not too hard to avoid the major dramas. After storing her belongings back in her tent, she catches sight of the shadow inside Daryl's tent moving. She cautiously steps up to the closed entrance and clears her throat.

"Daryl?"

"Yah?"

"I, uh…"

"Ya gonna help me with the bandages or what?"

A smile spreads across her face and she slips into the tent. A soft gasp escapes; Daryl's beaten and bruised. His eye is black, and bottom lip is cut and swollen. She can imagine the damage on his already injured torso.

"What happened?"

"Merle."

Her nostrils flare, eyes tighten at the corners and with a huff she turns ready to give the dirty old bully a piece of her mind. "That…"

Daryl firmly grabs her arm. "Lea."

There's a frown, but a nod and a breathy "Fine".

She goes about cleaning him up. A gentle touch is applied when washing his face, dabbing at his lip, and then soft massaging of the anti-inflammatory cream in to his bruises. Being extra careful of his wound.

It's quiet. Her hands shake, eyes glued to where her task is. Though she can feel his eyes on her. Daryl, for his part, focuses on her face. Memorising this moment, the feelings of care and affection that she causes, and they way the shadows play across her face. Never having felt this way about anyone, it's in this instant he knows that he won't allow anything to harm her. Not walkers, not the living and definitely not him.

"So, you're brother's back." D states unnecessarily.

"Yah."

"Glad he's back?"

He grunts again, nodding ever so slightly. "Just stay away from Chester."

The corner of her mouth lifts slightly. "Way a head of you Dixon."

"And make sure Red don't get it in her head to provoke him."

She frowns, insulted on her friend's behalf. "Loz won't going go near him." Thoughts of Carl and Sophia becoming involved race around her head. "Though she isn't going to let it slide if he bothers the kids."

"Like I said, make sure she don't provoke him."

"I'll let her know to stress to them to avoid him, though I'm sure she's already thought this."

She slips out of the tent once done playing nurse, and looks around the campsite. Carol and Lori are on breakfast; with Andrea and Dale at look out. D's certain that one's keeping an eye out for walkers and the other for the people. Shane's sitting next to T-Dog, and the two are blatantly staring at Merle and Chester, the latter staring around the camp with a certain look in his eyes.

Carl and Sophia are in the RV to keep them out of danger, much to their annoyance. Glenn's helping Maggie with her chores while Beth, Amy and Jimmy are hanging around the back of the farm.

But Rick's nowhere in sight

Just before afternoon hits Rick comes out of the house supporting Lauren. D watches as she artfully dodges his hand, sitting herself down on her chair, in a way that wouldn't immediately be noticed. If he was any other man. He pauses; eyebrows drawn together and a frown marring his features, but then his shoulders droop and he stares rather distantly at her. He shakes his head and walks off.

Lori pats Carol's shoulder muttering an "I'll be right back" and goes after Rick. Shane's eyes following her with unconcealed animosity. D sighs and heads over to the red head.

1st PPOV

Slowly waking, the nightmare fading to the corners of my mind. I sit up against the headboard, reveling in the peace and quiet. The dreams are manageable, no longer do I startle awake or feel a scream threatening to explode. What I concentrate on is the scene with Rick from last night.

It was nice.

What he needed.

But it hasn't changed the 'no us'. It's annoying how I make this decision to pull back, but then ignore it. Granted something seems to happen that causes it. It's got to stop though. It won't be just me that it affects, Rick will be impacted too. He'll feel guilt about leading me on, or something. He's like that.

"Morning."

Think of him and he will appear.

The smile that appears can't be helped when I catch sight of him. He's in his uniform; the outer shirt is open and his lithe form is leaning against the doorframe. "Morning Rick."

"How're you feeling?"

I sigh and shrug. "Fine, definitely getting sick of doing nothing."

Who ever thought I'd say that?

He pushes off the frame and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. "You foot's still healing, it's going to be like that for awhile. I've talked with Hershel, he thinks you should be fine to walk on it. Just to get your muscles used to it again."

"So from here to the porch? Like I've been doing?"

He smiles, and although there's still bags under his eyes they've lessened, and he looks less tired. "Yeah."

Sighing heavily and slumping, I pout "Fantastic."

"Thanks for last night." His hand slides over mine.

My eyes are glued to his hand and an urge so strong, that it nearly overwhelms me, to turn mine and clutch his takes hold. But Lori's expecting and she's after Rick.

"So, I hear Lori's pregnant."

He stiffens but doesn't remove his hand. "So she's told me."

I lick my lips, uncomfortable despite the fact I brought it up. "It's going to be hard to have one in this world."

"We know."

I cringe at the 'we', "Right, so…"

The discussion is uncomfortable, but I did promise myself that I'd always be there for him. If this is what he needs, someone to help him make decisions that will affect the whole group, then so be it. He tries to steer the conversation towards Lori, about his part in the pregnancy, but I'm only one person and I have limits. This isn't something I want to hear. Granted it would be better to get it over with, let him tell me that he's going to take on fatherhood again.

Not that he ever lost it. I'm pretty sure that once you have a child you're a parent for life, no matter how old the kid is.

I digress.

The point is I don't want to hear it.

Though it's not fair to leave him in limbo. He's our leader; we lean on him for everything, and look to him to make the right choices, even if he is but a single man. So it's me who will have to bite the bullet. To let him go, not that I really had him to begin with.

I don't look at him once while I do it.

He sits there, taking in what I've said, which gives me time for my shower. To get away. It'll only break my heart to see him smile in appreciation, to thank me as he goes to her, plus it's easier to cry with water rushing into my face. I can pretend that I'm not.

When I'm finished and dressed, I take stock of my appearance. I'm still not tanned, though not as pale as in the past. My freckles don't seem as pronounced like they were back in my younger years, not that I'm old now. My face is red at the moment, but that's just due to the heat of the shower, which has dulled the redness of my eyes. They're a little puffy, but my confidence for avoiding eye contact is high. If he's there.

Which he is. Standing instead of sitting.

"Lauren."

Oh, god. I don't want to hear him thank me,

His tone is off. He doesn't sound happy, but maybe he's still letting it sink in that he's going to get his wife back. His family. I know Carl's feeling neglected by Lori, so hopefully this helps bring them all together. Carl needs his family.

Dumping my things on the bed, with a smile so fake a blind man could call it. "I'm heading out. It's about time I left the room today."

Out of the corner of my eye his hand reaches for me. I dodge. Unfortunately that leads me to stumbling into the doorframe, but he's there holding onto my elbow without saying a word leading me down the stairs. It's still silent as we head outside, over to what I've dubbed as my chair. Rocking slightly, I alleviate my foot and promptly ignore the Sheriff. I hear him sigh and but am well aware when he walks off. Before he's hit the first tent Lori's there steering him away.

This is it.

"Loz?"

I look up to D and smile wobbly at her, the tears are back.

The rest of the day flies by while avoiding Rick like the plague. Which steered me to hang out with Merle, despite Chester's presence. That man is rude, crude and ten times worse than Dixon ever was. His staring is only one thing that prickles at my skin. He leers at the females like he's a rabid dog. I half expect him to be frothing at the mouth.

I was never scared when it came to Merle. A little wary, but my theory on him wasn't far off.

Chester on the other hand, I wouldn't stand a chance against him. Especially with my crippled foot.

Plus, Merle's changed. He's still got a mouth on him, and his sense of humour is the same but he's obviously, at least to me, grown. Matured. Sort of. He keeps Chester in line. Every time the man gets a little too…obscene, obnoxious, then Merle comes in and diverts his attention. It's amazing to see.

What's even better is how much Carol's changed.

She's not the same woman Ed controlled. It was easy to see even before the CDC. But now when she would have backed away, dropped her head and retreated, she holds herself high and doesn't back down. I think the man's impressed.

But here I sit, with the Hunter and Merle, D in between me and her man as they gut squirrels. There's no way in hell I'm joining in.

"Killed any more, Red?" Merle asks, smirking my way, like he's read my mind.

"I've really not had much time." I shrug, "You know between what we consider 'the massacre', hightailing it away a mad man trying to kill us and getting lost in the woods with a broken ankle. Yeah there hasn't been much time to do things."

"Why'd you go get lost?" Chester snorts as he eyes me, not in a good way.

"Oh you know, thought it was a brilliant idea being female and all."

"Dumb bitch." He sneers.

"Wow, sarcasm goes right over your head doesn't it?"

Chester turns my way and glares. "Watchya mouth, or I'll put it to good use."

My pulse speeds up with a mix of anger and fear, causing me to tense and my heart to race. "Aren't you a charmer, bet you were beating back all the woman…well beating them at least."

Chester begins to stand, but Merle's laughter interrupts us. He doesn't say anything, but pounds the man on the shoulder. D grips my arm, obviously not happy, she had earlier begged me to let things go. But how can I? I'm not that kind of person. I suppose I can be, but that jackass can't get away with talking like that. I refuse to let him, that of course might be my downfall but screw him.