Chapter Sixteen

"I think the universe is on my side

Heaven and earth have finally aligned

Days are good and that's the way it should be

You sprinkle stardust on my pillow case

It's like a moonbeam brushed across my face

Nights are good and that's the way it should be."

Bright by Echosmith

It felt like the will to carry on with our trip had completely evaporated after Eugene admitted to lying about a cure. Which I couldn't say I was terribly torn up about. There were multiple reasons as to why I was just fine taking our time getting to Virginia, the biggest one being the fact that by dinner, Gabriel still hadn't shown up. Neither had Abraham, for that matter. I was sure that he was skulking around somewhere in the rain, trying to figure out what his newest purpose was, but I wasn't terribly inclined to go find him in the middle of a storm.

I was beyond worried about Gabriel. I knew from the show that he hadn't left the church much and he for sure didn't know shit about defending himself, which had me concerned that something had happened to him. That thought alone was enough to twist my insides every time it popped into my head.

Throughout the day, Merle kept catching my eyes and mouthing, 'Not yer job'. Which just had me laughing every time he did it, because even when he wasn't actually speaking, I could hear his accent.

I tried to focus my energy on attempting to throw together a semi-decent dinner for the group, which ended up being spam fried rice. I was actually real proud of myself for that one. Carol had set up some of the kerosene powered burners we'd brought with us from the prison and I'd dug through our haul from the Dollar General to come up with an idea. It seemed to be a hit, thankfully, because we had enough of the ingredients to make it a few more times.

We all sat around the church, eating, talking, and laughing. It was peaceful. I'd had Daryl and Merle on either side of me with Jax sitting between my legs, leaning back against my chest. Despite my deep seated worry for the priest, it was definitely one of my favorite nights I'd had with the group and I was thoroughly enjoying every second of it.

Which, of course, should have been my first sign that things were about to take a turn. Because things always took a turn when it felt like there was some small semblance of normalcy in the world.

I'd just flicked a pea at Daryl, who had impressively caught it in his mouth with a wide grin, when the church doors had burst open with terrifying speed, slamming into the walls on either side of them. My first thought, before I had completely processed the scene in front of me, was that fucking Clay had come back for some kind of revenge and I was immediately ready to put a bullet in his other ass cheek.

That was not, in any way, the case. Abraham, who was drenched from head to toe, was supporting an equally waterlogged figure. I took in the black suit, the bald head, the white collar, and the deep skin tone. I actually had the audacity to be excited for a second. That quickly disappeared when the important details started to permeate the happy bubble around my brain.

"He's fucking bit!" Abraham barked as he drug Gabriel beside him down the center aisle, "I think! I don't know, but he's bleeding and was yelling like a damn banshee out there. He won't talk, just keeps groaning."

The whole group started to hop up, Jax quickly getting out of my way before I even said anything.

"Put him down on the floor," I called to Abraham, "Merle, get the medical supplies."

An icy cold washed through me as I jogged down the aisle towards the priest, tuning out the sounds of the people behind me. I wasn't sure how, but if this man died, it was absolutely going to be my fault. I dropped to my knees beside him, trying to determine where the wound was. His eyes were closed and he was letting out prolonged whines, but I didn't see any obvious marks on him right away. It took me a few more seconds before my eyes locked on a spot on the floor, where a few drops of blood had fallen from his wrist.

Okay, this is fine. It could be worse. If it's just his wrist, it's a simple amputation. Tourniquet, saw, preserve tissue, minimize bleeding, prevent infection. I can do this.

I heard Hershel's voice and the sound of his crutches hitting the wood floor behind me. "What can I do to help, doc?"

"Blood is coming from the wrist. Might need you to set up a tourniquet if we have to amputate," I said absentmindedly, causing Gabriel to let out a groan, "Merle, hand me the scissors. I need to get this jacket off so I can see what we're working with."

"I'll do it! I want to help!" Beth called.

I didn't respond. I didn't care who handed me shit, as long as I got what I asked for.

"Father, hey, focus on me," I said, gently slapping the man's face, "I need you to tell me what happened. Were you bitten on your wrist? Are there any other wounds I need to be aware of?"

Nothing but another dramatic sound and what I could have sworn was a sob that turned into a hiccup.

"Scissors," Beth said, handing them to me from where she had taken up residence on my right.

The voices were picking up around me and it was giving me a headache. I grabbed the scissors from Beth and started crudely cutting up the man's suit jacket, careful not to touch the wound or snag any skin. It was more work than it should have been, to cut through the fabric. Go him for buying good quality clothing, I guess.

"Listen to me. I'm cutting off your jacket. I need to see what we're working with, okay? I need you to tell me if you've been bitten anywhere else, Father," I commanded, my voice as steady as I could make it.

His head shook from side to side, but his eyes stayed tightly shut as I peeled back the layers of newly chopped material. I tried my hardest to focus and assess the wound I was seeing on his arm, but again, the loud talking around me picked up.

"Hey, friends!" I yelled, my head snapping back to look at the group who was all standing close by, watching like they were about to witness primetime viewing, "If you all could just be quiet, that would be fabulous. I cannot focus when everyone's mouths are running ninety to nothing, okay?" Heads nodded and the room finally fell silent. "And can someone please shut that damn door?"

Jax took off across the room and my eyes settled on Beth.

"I need gauze, water, and gloves. Do not open the gauze, in case there's any bacteria on your hands. Just bring me the packets." She nodded her head frantically and turned to start going through one of the boxes of medical supplies. "Abraham, how long ago was he bit?"

"I got to him not even five minutes ago. Heard him yelling maybe two minutes before that."

"So we're thinking possibly within the last seven minutes?" I clarified.

"Ten minutes at the most."

Beth stepped up to my side, handing me the items I'd asked for. I quickly slid the latex gloves on, thankful we'd been able to so thoroughly raid the vet college and bring everything with us after the prison.

"Hey, are you allergic to latex?" I asked and was awarded with yet another moan and a small shake of his head, "This isn't going to feel good, but I need to clean this, alright? I need to see it, but I'm going to need you to stay still for me."

I unwrapped a bit of gauze and splashed some water on it before pouring some where the blood seemed to be pooling the most. As I wiped away at the area, Gabriel let out a mangled cry and attempted to pull his arm back, his eyes finally popping open as he looked at me.

"I told you not to move. I know you're scared and I know this is a lot, but I promise, I can help you if you let me, okay?"

Fresh tears welled up on his lash line, but he gave me one curt nod before squeezing his eyes shut again and starting to pray.

I continued to clean the area, frantically looking for teeth marks so I knew where to cut. The only thing I found, as I cleared the blood away, was a thin slice on the side of his wrist that was responsible for the majority of the blood, and other small scrapes that didn't look like they had been caused by a walker. I pulled back, dumbfounded for a second. Was I missing something? I picked his hand up, looking at every available inch of skin on his arm.

"Father, where were you bit? I'm not seeing any teeth marks here."

Gabriel's eyes popped open. "What do you mean? On my wrist! One of the dead grabbed at me and it bit me, but then I got my arm wedged between two of the rocks I was on."

"Did you feel it bite you? Unless it's on your other wrist, I'm not seeing a bite mark over here. Or even what looks like a scratch mark from fingernails," I said slowly, some of the panic starting to subside as I placed his hand back on the ground.

"Well, yes! Of course I did!"

I noticed the doubt in his face at that moment.

"Ya've gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me," I heard Merle murmur somewhere from behind.

"I'm going to need you to point out exactly where you were bit," I said softly.

He set up, almost bumping his head against mine. All of a sudden, the groaning, half dead man had disappeared. He started turning his wrist around, his eyes roaming the area just as mine had done. When he didn't see a mangled wrist, as I suspected that he was assuming he would see, his eyes bounced up to mine and the tension that had set his shoulders in hard lines disappeared. His face turned sheepish almost instantly.

"Oh, I guess I was just panicked," he let out a long breath followed by an embarrassed chuckle, "I must have just assumed when the rock cut into me that they had bit me."

Loud, obnoxious laughter filled the small church. I didn't have to turn around to know that sound had come from Abraham. Merle joined in half a second later, followed by soft snickers from the rest of the group. Even the corner of Gabriel's mouth had started to quirk up a bit.

"The cut on your wrist doesn't look deep enough to warrant stitches, but I can bandage it up for you. Might be a good idea so we can keep the infection risk to a minimum. That sound okay?" I asked him, tilting my head down at his wrist.

A kind smile that reached his eyes took over his face. "I would really appreciate that, thank you."

Beth handed me a large bandage and some antibiotic ointment as I talked to Gabriel.

"I'm Father Gabriel," the man said, wincing as I spread some of the ointment on the cut, "Can I ask who you all are?"

"Of course. I'm Scarlett," I smiled up at him, "And the large group of heathens you see behind me are my friends. You can get their names later. We found this place earlier when the storm kicked up. Is this your church?

Gabriel nodded his head and told me all about how he'd been at the church since the start. He said he'd gotten lucky due to the canned food drive and had been living off of it, but he'd recently run out of food and had gone out to find some before the storm started. The rain had been so bad that he hadn't been able to find his way back and then he'd gotten surrounded by some walkers, which apparently Abraham had taken out.

Surprising absolutely no one, Rick stepped forward. His blue eyes were narrowed on Gabriel, who was looking up at him with a cautious kindness that made me want to stand up for the man.

"How many walkers have you killed?" Rick asked, his voice hard.

Gabriel looked at me wide eyed, before turning back to Rick. "None."

Rick pressed on. "How many people have you killed?"

Gabriel's face turned flabbergasted almost immediately. "Wha- None!"

"Why?"

"Because the Lord abhors violence," Gabriel answered, still visibly shaken by Rick's line of questioning.

I jumped in then. I knew it wasn't fair to be annoyed with Rick. He didn't know what I knew about the man in front of us.

"We ask those questions to everyone. They asked me when I first met them, too. We just want to keep our people safe, you know? You can't be too cautious anymore. The living are worse than the dead."

Gabriel's eyes had fixed back on me as I had spoken and his face relaxed. "You're right. I can't imagine what it's like out there right now. The small amount I've seen has been enough to make me realize how lucky I've been this whole time."

I nodded my head. "It's been rough. Do you mind if we stay here with you tonight? I made dinner and we're more than willing to share with you."

"Really?" His eyes lit up, "Yes, absolutely."

"Do you want to get changed? I'll fix you up a bowl," I offered.

"I do. That would be great, thank you."

He rose from the floor and started walking through the group, who's laughter had died out. Rick watched him as he stepped close to me.

"You trust him?" He asked under his breath.

"I do, as much as I can having just met him," I said with a nod of my head, "I'd like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character and I didn't see any red flags from that interaction, besides the fact that he's obviously a giant weenie."

"I like him," Hershel said from where he'd sat on one of the pews.

Just then, Gabriel opened the door to his office and I realized a second too late that I'd forgotten to tell him about Eugene and Rosita. The man let out a yelp and jumped back, clutching imaginary pearls around his neck.

"Sorry, sorry," he called, shaking his head and making his way into the room cautiously.

Like that was the only character sponsorship Rick needed, he nodded his head and made his way towards where he had previously been sitting next to Carl.

The rest of the night went well, all things considered. Gabriel ate and struck up a conversation with Hershel. The sight of them talking between themselves and laughing sent a warmth through my chest. I had always thought that if Hershel had made it long enough in the show to meet Gabriel, they would've gotten along like two peas in a pod. I was glad to say that I had been right.

Rick continued to side eye the newcomer, but overall kept his distance. Abraham had stayed inside, saddling up next to Tara for the remainder of the evening and eating the bowl of food I had set aside for him. I settled myself back into my spot with my three favorite people to enjoy the quiet time I had with them. I knew, deep down, I should savor this moment while I could.

Long after the moon was high in the sky and the only thing that could be heard within the walls of the church was the quiet snores of those around me, I had laid awake on the nicest piece of floor I could find, staring up at the ceiling. I had become entirely too acquainted with the ceiling of every building we'd stayed in over the last few nights. Despite the decent day we'd had, my anxiety at the sun going down was a living, breathing beast inside my head.

Jax had fallen asleep with his head on Merle's leg an hour or so ago, while the man had told him a story from one of the books he'd read at Woodbury. Merle, who had scoffed like the thought of the boy being comfortable enough with him to sleep on him was ridiculous, had fallen asleep only moments later with his back propped against the wall. It was honestly really cute.

Daryl wasn't on watch, but he was restless. He'd gone outside to smoke thirty minutes ago and still hadn't returned. I didn't follow him this time, because I figured he could use the alone time. Unfortunately for me, that also meant I was required to have some alone time, too, and I wasn't the biggest fan of that, especially at this time of night.

I, again, fought an internal battle. I had to pack this shit away. I couldn't keep doing this to myself. What happened to me was so long ago that it shouldn't even be a thought at this point. That's what I kept telling myself, at least. Not that it ever helped, because I was still a panic ridden mess when the darkness settled in around me.

The quiet click of a door closing, followed by the soft thud of boots hitting the old wooden floor, drew my attention to the present. My eyes, which had long ago adjusted to the night, followed Daryl as he made his way towards me. He propped his crossbow up against a bench close to us and slowly dropped to the floor next to me, lying on his back, without a word. I turned my eyes back towards the ceiling as the smell of rain and cigarettes and Daryl enveloped me.

"Whatcha lookin' at up there that's so interestin'?" he whispered.

"I just got a thing for ceilings, I guess."

A snort sounded. "Ya alright?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

We were quiet for a beat, which I, not for the first time, found myself thinking was one of my favorite things about Daryl. He didn't ever feel the need to fill a lapse in conversation with words just for the sake of talking. There was a reason for everything that came out of his mouth, even if it was a task to discover just what that was sometimes.

He shifted slightly beside me and then I felt his fingers weave through mine. A bolt of lightning shot up my arm at the contact and I couldn't stop the shiver that rolled through me. The thought that this life was absolutely wild slammed into me. I wondered, if we had met outside of the zombie apocalypse, if this connection between us would still exist.

"What's always keepin' ya up at night, Broadway?"

I swallowed and let my head fall to the side, surprised to see that his gaze was already fixed on me. The small amount of moonlight that was shining through the window near us illuminated the plains of his face and made the blue in his eyes somehow look brighter.

My first instinct was to give him the standard variation of the answer that I gave anyone when they asked questions that would run too deep. The same answer that I had given Maggie and Beth at first. But I didn't, because maybe, just maybe, actually telling someone what had happened to me for the first time ever would not cause the world to burn down. Maybe it would start to ease some of the fear that had been eating at me.

So, I told him. I told Daryl Dixon about what had been done to me on the nights my parents had been too drunk to realize their friend was in their child's bedroom. I told him about how hearing what the Claimers planned to do when I'd been locked in that dark room alone, had brought back my fear of the dark with a vengeance. His hand stayed locked around mine and the understanding that reflected back at me in his eyes was the calm to the storm of emotions that had raged inside me.

He didn't say anything afterwards, but pulled me towards him until my head was resting on his chest and his arm held me to him. And that was the most perfect response I could have asked for.

The following morning, shortly after we all had woken up, Rick had called a whole "team meeting". I was feeling light as a feather as I walked out of the bathroom to find everyone seated at the pews like they were attending a Sunday service. Even Eugene had found his way out of Gabriel's office.

Merle and Daryl were standing at the front, talking with Rick and Michonne quietly, so I started to make my way to sit near Jax when a low whistle sounded. My eyes shifted, immediately locking on Abraham's. He gestured towards the seat next to him and held out a can of opened mandarin oranges. Altering my course, I plopped down in the front pew next to him, snatching the oranges before looking up at him.

"What's up, Sarge?"

"I just wanted to apologize for being a giant jackass to you yesterday," he said sincerely, his hard eyes never leaving mine.

I speared one of the small pieces of fruit on my fork. "You're fine. Shit happens. I'm sure that was a hard moment for you."

"I shouldn't have said what I said. Sometimes my mouth gets to moving before my brain can fully catch up to it."

"You apologize to Daryl, too?"

"I did. Just a few minutes ago."

I chewed slowly before looking over at him, choosing my words carefully and meaning them with my whole chest. "You really don't have to apologize to me. We're cool, I promise. But listen, if you ever call Daryl some bullshit name like that again, I need you to understand that I will absolutely end you, and I won't lose a wink of sleep over it. We on the same page?"

His eyes widened before he barked out a laugh. "You know, I actually do believe you'd hold up on that. So yeah, we're on the same page, Goldilocks."

I bumped his shoulder with mine, causing him to grin down at me. "Glad to hear it."

Rick cleared his throat loudly, commanding the attention of the room. When I looked up to where he stood, I noticed he was watching Abraham and I with a raised brow. Merle was standing next to him with pursed lips, looking like he was trying to hold in a laugh, and Daryl... Daryl was staring at me with an expression that fell somewhere between shocked and an emotion that was slightly more untamed.

A heat crawled up my neck and into my cheeks. I wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment that they had definitely heard my loud mouth or I was just flustered from that look on Daryl's face.

"Alright, now that we're all accounted for, we need to talk about a plan," Rick said loudly, addressing the rest of the group.

"Wouldn't the plan just be to continue to Virginia? See if we can find the community Scarlett told us about?" Tyreese asked.

"Yeah, I think that's probably our best bet at this point. This trip has been trash, but we still have a destination in mind," Glenn offered, nodding his head.

"Everyone still up for it?" Rick asked.

Murmurs of agreement swept through the group. I couldn't help but grin as I pulled my legs up and folded them underneath me.

"Great. I say we stay here another night and head out in the morning," Rick said, nodding his head like he'd already decided our course of action and was just informing us as a courtesy. "I think we could all use another day of rest."

I wasn't mad at that plan at all. I could use the time to try to convince Gabriel to come with us.

Abraham suddenly stood up beside me, looking at Rick with intense eyes. "Given the whole load of shit that my people have dropped on you all, I just want to make sure that we're still able to tag along."

I scoffed, not letting Rick answer. "Of course you are, you goof. We're not voting you four off the island. We're going together. It'd be stupid to split up. We're stronger as a larger group."

Rick, with his permanently raised eyebrow, nodded his head. "Right. No ones asking you all to leave."

Abraham nodded his head and sat back down, looking over at me. "Goof? Really?"

"I thought it sounded nicer than calling you a 'whole ass idiot', so you're welcome," I whispered, making the man laugh again.

"I also wanted to ask if I could join you all. I know that I don't have a lot in the way of skills to offer, but I can learn. I don't want to stay here alone anymore," Gabriel asked, looking at me from where he sat next to Hershel on the opposite pew, before his gaze settled on Rick.

Oh. Guess I won't have to do too much convincing after all.

"Ya can bring yer Holier Than Thou ass with us,"Merle said, from where he was leaning against the wall.

"So long as you're not a problem," Rick deadpanned, before his face relaxed again, "Anyone else? Comments, questions, concerns?"

When silence met my ears, I opened my mouth. "I know we kind of said before that we would do some supply runs on the way to Virginia, but I think during this trip, since we're no longer on a time crunch, we really need to focus on gathering as many supplies as we possibly can. Literally anything that we can get our hands on. We need to be thinking long term from here out. I know that we're all just trying to live through the night most of the time, but we can use this trip to our advantage. At some point, things are going to be so cleared out that we won't be able to find shit. And we're covering such a large range while we head to Virginia that it would be stupid not to get everything we can, while we can. I'm not just talking about food. I'm talking about hitting every pharmacy, apothecary, armory, and store that could have things that will provide for us; home improvement, farm and home supply, baby, hunting, all of it. We could get enough to set us up for life by the time we land somewhere permanent. We don't have to rush to get there."

Rick had kept his attention solely on me as I spoke and I could see the wheels turning in his head.

"We do that, we could get enough to set up wherever we end up better than we did the prison," Michonne said quietly.

"Could be dangerous, though," Beth pitched in.

Merle cleared his throat before settling his eyes on me. "Bein' out here is dangerous on its own, so if we already are, might as well gather what we can to set us up long term."

God, I loved that man.

"Auto parts stores might not be a bad idea, either," Abraham said, "Once we get closer to a larger city, we could get ourselves a couple of those real big U-Haul's and just tow our cars behind, so we have space to take what we need."

"Or a semi truck. You and I can drive one," Rosita nodded towards Abraham from her spot next to Eugene, "It might not be ideal if we get stuck in a spot that requires us to turn around or might be tight fit, but it wouldn't be a bad idea."

Carol piped up then. "There has to be stores tailored to hikers, campers, or hunters out here. Can you imagine the stuff we could find there?"

"I also think that if we get a truck big enough to keep them, we should drive by farms to check for any animals that may still be alive. Can you imagine if we could find a couple of cows? Or some chickens? I'd sell all of you for a burger right now. Fuck, maybe even just an egg," I sighed as I placed another orange in my mouth.

A chorus of laughter floated through the air.

"I think we should do this," Glenn said, nodding his head at the murmurs of agreement that sounded, "We really could be set up for good."

Rick had been quiet during the back and forth, but I knew he was going to agree that this was for the best. His face was so expressive that at the mention of stopping at a baby or farm and home supply store, his eyes had lit up. He turned his attention to Daryl.

"What do you think about this? Slowing down to raid everything we can?" Rick asked him.

Daryl's eyes landed on Rick before they turned to me. "I think it's worth it."

I grinned at him, suddenly overcome with the urge to kiss him on his forehead for agreeing with me.

Rick's head bobbed up and down. "Alright, then. I think we need to come up with a plan for what cities we think will be the most beneficial to stop in."

"I'll get the map from the truck," Abraham said as he stood.

"I know some of the surrounding towns well. I might be able to provide some insight into what stores they have," Gabriel offered, jumping up from his seat with a renewed look of purpose.

I stayed on the bench, continuing to eat my oranges happily as the church came alive with the sounds of excited conversation. The content feeling that had settled deep in my soul told me that whatever this path was that we had just decided on, was the correct one.

Daryl POV

Watching her pop those little orange slices into her mouth with a grin on her face, like she'd just accomplished something real important, might have been the highlight of day. It probably would've been, if I hadn't heard what she'd said to that red headed fucker that was always smiling at her too much fifteen minutes before. Because that moment alone might be the highlight of my life. Hearing her threaten to rock his shit if he ever called me a stupid hillbilly fuck again was enough to make me feel ten foot tall and bulletproof.

My whole life, I'd never had anyone outside of Merle stand up for me to anyone and that only happened when he was around. I knew I had Rick, Carol, and the others now, who had saved my ass as many times as I had saved theirs, but I still knew the way they saw me. It was hard to miss, the way they almost dumbed down how they talked to me or how they looked at me like I was feral sometimes.

She ain't ever looked at me like that. Maybe she should, but she didn't. I didn't want her to. It felt good, having someone around that thought I was actually worth a shit.

Her icy blue eyes bounced up to meet mine, like she'd felt me staring at her. A smile formed on my lips, which had almost been a foreign feeling until she'd showed up. She returned it, her straight white teeth and blonde hair gleaming in the morning light that was shining through the windows.

Looking at her like that had me hoping again that she never figured out that she was far too fucking good for me.