A Painful Place (Walking Dead Fanfiction)

Chapter 11: The Bright Spots

After a quick breakfast of jerky and water, the group resumed their journey toward the farm.
The caravan moved slowly, and Bob was careful to avoid any potholes, but each bump sent another wave of pain through Tilly’s head. Lana sat in the back of the van with her, and Daryl rode in the passenger seat next to Bob. The four of them drove in silence, until mid-day when Daryl’s voice broke through the quiet.
“Here we are,” he announced when the familiar ‘Green’ mailbox came into view. A minute later, Tilly felt the van come to a stop and her heart soared at the idea of finally being rid of that awful van.
Bob hopped out of the vehicle and came around to open the door as Lana helped Tilly sit up. When the doors swung open, the girls were momentarily blinded by the sunlight that spilled in on them.
“It’s like busting out of that train car all over again,” Tilly joked.
“Just try not to fall this time.” She looked up to see Daryl had joined Bob at the door, his and both of the girls’ bags thrown over his shoulder.
Bob offered his hand to Tilly, and she took it as she scooted toward the bumper. He bent so she could get her arm around his neck, and she leaned on him as she stood.
“Oh, my god.” Once her eyes adjusted she was dumbfounded by what she saw around her. Sure, there were bodies of walkers strewn about, as well as the charred remnants of a barn, but the scenery was breathtaking. She turned her head slowly from side to side, admiring the soft, green grass and open fields. A statuesque white farm house stood in front of them, the front porch begging to be sat on with a glass of sweet tea and a good book.
“This is incredible,” Lana marveled, just as enamored as Tilly.
“It really is somethin’, right?” She turned as she heard Maggie’s voice. The brunette stood beside them, staring at the home, a look of familiarity and sadness in her eyes. “I miss this place more than I could ever tell you. Ain’t the same without Daddy around, though.”
“Yeah,” Daryl put a hand on Maggie’s shoulder and smiled at the thought of the old man, “but he’d be glad we made it back here.”
Maggie nodded and gave Daryl a small smile before turning to Bob. “Come on, Rick and Glenn are doing a quick sweep of the place, then we’ll get you into a bed so you can get some real rest. Maybe even a shower.”
Both of the girls’ eyes lit up at that. Taking baths in cold creeks had gotten old long ago, and Tilly longed for a warm shower and the chance to treat her tangled hair to a proper scrubbing.
“Oh man, I think I just fell in love with you, Maggie,” Tilly smiled.
“Get in line.” Glenn walked up beside his wife and kissed her cheek. They had finished their sweep of the house. “All clear,” he said. “We can set Tilly up in the first guest room.”
Maggie grabbed Tilly’s other arm to help lead her toward the house. “You’ll love it in there after being stuck in that van,” she explained. “There’s big windows, lots of light.”
After moving Tilly’s bag into her new room, Lana retrieved some fresh clothes for her and she and Maggie helped hold her steady as she took a hot shower.
“Ooooh, my God,” Tilly moaned as she stepped under the running water, “this is better than sex.”
“Better than sex with Daryl Dixon?” Lana teased, she and Maggie erupting with laughter.
Tilly cupped her hands to catch some water and flung it at the giggling women. They both shrieked, and soon they were all nearly falling over with laughter. Even though she was the butt of their joke, Tilly was glad to have a minute to goof off with some girlfriends, just like old times.
A knock on the door interrupted them. “Everything alright in there?” Rick called, a hint of a smile in his voice.
“I’m just in here being bullied, bossman, it’s all good,” Tilly answered.
Rick chuckled, “Take it easy on her, ladies. Tilly, when you get out of there try and get some rest. I’ll have Carol bring you lunch.”
“Will do.”
“And don’t use all the hot water!” he lightheartedly ordered.
“No promises!” Tilly yelled, and the girls resumed their laughing.

After drying off and putting on the clean jeans and long-sleeved shirt Lana had given her, Tilly was finally able to take advantage of the nice, warm bed she had been dreaming of for months. She rested her aching head on the soft pillows and quickly drifted off.
She spent the next 24 hours wavering in and out of sleep, only waking to eat or briefly visit with whoever came to check on her. The rest did her a world of good, and by the next afternoon Bob had cleared her to get out of bed as long as she promised to take it easy. That wasn’t a hard deal for her to make. The pain in her head had dulled and she was anxious to soak up whatever amount of time she had in that beautiful place.
When Bob finished removing her bandage, Maggie entered the room carrying another set of clothes and a hairbrush.
“Here,” Maggie said, handing her the brush, “go get cleaned up and you can head on outside.”
Tilly was grateful to do some damage control on her mop of hair. Lying in bed hadn’t done it any favors. She went to the bathroom, and studied her face in the mirror as she brushed her hair and pulled it into a pony tail. The bruise on her head was beginning to lighten and turn yellow, and the gash seemed to be healing well enough. The stitches were a little unsightly, she thought, but Bob had informed her they only needed to stay in a few more days. All-in-all, she thought she looked pretty decent.
“How’s it goin’?” Lana asked, stepping into the bathroom.
“Good as I could hope,” Tilly answered. “Is it superficial to say I miss my eyeliner, though?”
Lana laughed, “Yeah, but it doesn’t surprise me to hear you say that.”
From a young age, Tilly had always been the girlier of the two friends. Lana preferred comfort and Tilly was willing to sacrifice it for style. She thought back on how Lana used to roll her eyes at her each morning as she sat in front of the mirror, meticulously applying her “face.”
Tilly remained in front of the mirror a minute longer, smoothing the strands of hair that escaped her hairtie.
“You look fine,” Lana sighed, grabbing her arm and leading her toward the door. “Now get your ass outside and get some air. It’ll do ya good.”
A few minutes later, Tilly found herself sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch, quietly admiring the view.
“I’ve really missed this place,” Glenn said, walking out of the house and taking a seat next to her.
“Tell me about it,” Tilly said gently. “Tell me about what happened when you were here before.”
Glenn took a deep breath, “We came here because Carl was accidentally shot by a man named Otis, who worked on the farm. We set up a base here while he healed so we could look for Carol’s daughter Sophia. She went missing after a herd of walkers came through while we were on the highway.”
He told her about the barn, and how Hershel kept walkers in there because he believed they were sick.
“Rick’s best friend Shane was with us back then. He was kind of a loose cannon, and he butted heads with Rick a lot. When he found out about the barn, he went nuts. He handed out all of our guns, then went and opened the barn. When we thought we had killed them all,” Glenn paused, wringing his hands as he recalled the story, “Sophia walked out. She was one of them, in there the whole time.”
Tilly gasped, unable to hide her shock at the revelation. Tears burned her eyes as her heart broke for Carol.
Glenn continued their story, telling her about how they found Randall after Hershel took off to the bar in town and they were attacked. He told her about his friend Dale, and how he was gutted in the field by a walker.
“Then Shane,” he looked down at his shoes, “he just went crazy. He took Randall out into the woods, snapped his neck, so he could lure Rick out there. Lori was pregnant, Shane thought it was his, and he needed Rick out of the way. He tried to kill him, but Rick won. He killed him, and Carl put him down when he turned. After that, the herd came through and we were driven out. Two of us were killed, Patricia and Jimmy, and Andrea got left behind. That’s a long story for another time.”
Tilly’s mouth hung open at everything he had just told her. She wasn’t sure exactly how to respond, and looking around at the beautiful scenery it was hard to imagine it had seen so much loss.
“So much happened here,” Tilly said, looking Glenn in the eye. “I don’t understand why you all missed it so much. I would think this would be a painful place for ya’ll.”
“The whole world is a painful place, Tilly,” he responded. “You have to look for bright spots. As many terrible things that happened here, there were some great ones, too. This is where I fell in love with Maggie,” he smiled. “It’s where I met Hershel.”
Glenn pulled an old gold watch from his pocket. “We were standing in the dining room when he gave me this, when he told me that he trusted me to be with his daughter.” A tear ran down his cheek as he stared down at the timepiece in his palm.
Tilly stood and stepped in from of Glenn, pulling him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her back. “Thank you for sharing that with me, Glenn,” she said as she pulled away. “I’m glad I was able to visit this place with you all. It’s been so long since we’ve known any bit of peace. I feel like I can relax and catch my breath here.”
Glenn nodded, “It’s the perfect place for that. We’re going to have Hershel’s memorial in the morning, then we’ll be back on the road, so enjoy it while you can.” He squeezed her shoulder and he got up and walked back into the house.
She spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around and chatting with everyone she could. She wanted to take advantage of this break to get to know the rest of the group. When the sun began to set, she joined Carol in preparing dinner for everyone. They gathered what vegetables had somehow survived being untended since they left, and along with a couple of rabbits Daryl killed they were able to make a nice stew. Tilly was grateful for the Green’s plentiful spice rack, and her mouth watered at the idea of a properly seasoned meal.
When the stew was done, the whole group gathered around the large dining room table. Everyone seemed more relaxed in this atmosphere. Even though they all knew deep down that no place was truly safe anymore, it seemed they had all let their guard down a bit and allowed themselves to enjoy the moment.
When they had all received their food, Rick stood and clinked his fork to his glass. “I’d like to propose a toast,” he said formally. “To those who never made it off the farm. To Otis, Patricia, Jimmy, Dale-“ he paused, “and to Shane. May they be in a better place.”
The group raised their glasses, and Rick returned to his seat. Tilly could see the pain in his eyes as he spoke of Shane. She had a feeling that despite what happened between them, Rick still missed his best friend and what their friendship once was.
The group ate in silence for a minute before Lana spoke up. “Hey, whose guitar is that?” she asked, pointing to the instrument standing in the corner of the room.
“Mine,” Glenn replied. “Well, sorta. Dale found it on the highway and gave it to me. I don’t play, though.”
“She does,” Tilly smiled, pointing a thumb toward Lana. “We used to go to open mic nights all the time in college. She’s really good.”
A smile crossed Sasha’s face. “Well, quit teasing us and show us what you got!”
Tyreese nudged his sister’s arm. “Let the girl finish her supper first,” he chided.
“Don’t worry,” Lana laughed, “I’ve never turned down an invitation to play. After supper we’ll give ya a show, huh Tills?”
“You play, too?” Glenn asked Tilly.
She shook her head. “Nah, I tried but I was never any good. I sang with her sometimes.”
“We do a killer Judds cover,” Lana bragged.
“Oh!” Maggie perked up. “Do you know ‘Grandpa?’ That used to be mine and my sister’s favorite.”
Lana nodded, “That’s always been our favorite, too.”
It was agreed that after they were done with their meal the girls would play the song for the group.
When the last of them had finished, they gathered in the living room, Daryl staying behind for a moment to help Carol move the dishes into the sink. Though they would be leaving soon, and probably would never return, it didn’t seem right to not clean the place up before they went.
When they had all settled in, Tilly and Lana took their place on the piano bench at the end of the room, the guitar across the brunette’s knee.
She began to strum the first chords of the song, and then Tilly began to sing. “Grandpa, tell me ‘bout the good ole days. Sometimes it feels like this world’s gone crazy.”
It was a fitting song, considering the state of the world they lived in, she thought. She finished the verse before Lana joined in to harmonize the chorus.
“Do lovers really fall in love to stay? Stand beside each other come what may? Is a promise really somethin’ people kept, not just somethin’ they would say?...”
Tilly looked around the room as she sang, and locked eyes with Daryl. For once, he looked relaxed, a small smile on his lips as he listened to them. Tilly returned his smile and winked at him before looking at the others.
Sasha and Bob were snuggled on a couch, Glenn sat on the floor in front of Maggie, his arm draped over her knee, and Carl hugged Judith in his lap, his father’s arm over his shoulder. If she didn’t know better, she would think everything was right with the world. She remembered Glenn’s words from earlier. The world is a painful place. You have to find the bright spots. This was definitely a much needed bright spot.
As Lana played the last chord, the others applauded.
“Beautiful, ladies,” Tyreese offered. “I hadn’t realized how badly I missed just listening to music.”
Carol walked up and put her arm around Lana’s shoulder. “That was wonderful. You guys really are talented.”
“Think I could take the guitar when we go?” Lana asked Rick hopefully. “Take this show on the road?”
He smiled at her. “Yeah, I think that’d be nice, as long as we have room for it. Won’t really be able to play when we’re camping out in the open, but it might be nice to have some entertainment every once in a while.”
“Can you guys play another?” Carl asked, his eyes bright.
“That’s enough for right now, son,” Rick answered. “Tilly needs to get some rest. Maybe they can play something at Hershel’s memorial tomorrow.”
“I’d like that,” Tilly said. “You all speak so highly of him, I’d be honored to do it.”
Tilly started to get up and make her way to the bedroom and in a second Daryl was beside her, grabbing her arm. She felt pretty good and didn’t really need his support, but she was glad he was helping her. She hoped to finally have a moment alone with him. She hadn’t been able to talk to him much since they’d been at the farm.
She said her goodnights to everyone else and he led her back to her bed.
“Sit,” she said as she laid back on the bed, patting the space beside her. He shut the door and sat down next to her. “You glad to be back here?” she asked.
“I guess,” he said, chewing on his lip. “Brings back a lot of stuff about Sophia, but it’s nice to be somewhere familiar. That doesn’t happen much anymore.”
“Is Sophia the reason you and Carol are close?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I think I was the only one who hadn’t given up on finding her, except maybe Carl. At least we know what happened to her, even if it wasn’t how we’d hoped.”
“Yeah,” Tilly agreed softly, not really knowing what else to say. “Hey, would you, uh, want to stay here with me tonight?”
Daryl hesitated for a moment, considering how it might look to the others if he slept there.
“Please?” Tilly asked again, batting her eyelashes at him.
“Think you’re going to charm me into getting your way?” he teased, taking off his boots.
“Yes,” she smiled. “Is it working?”
“Nope,” he said, climbing under the covers next to her. “Not even a little.”
He gently laid his arm across her and she rolled on her side to face him.
“Thanks,” she said softly.
He nodded, and leaned in to kiss her forehead, careful to avoid her injuries.
“Goodnight, Matilda.”
“Night, Daryl.”