His Wings (D.D. fanfiction)

Chapter 12

A day had passed, and Daryl had managed to avoid me since our strange encounter. The whole situation kept me up at night, tossing and turning. He had never hugged me before, so why did he? And why did he pull away with so much disgust?

I was outside laying on the grass and basking in the sunlight with Glenn, contemplating Daryl's behaviour, when Rick called me over to the pig pen. I slowly got up from the ground and casually approached him, my hands tucked firmly into my jeans back pockets.

"Hey," I greeted him with a smile as he tossed scraps of food to the pigs. He turned toward me, tossing the bucket on the ground. His curly brown hair was drenched with sweat, scattered with hints of grey.

"Hey, feeling better?"

"Good as new," I replied, offering a thumbs-up, to which Rick nodded in response.

"Good, got a job for you." He sighed and closed the gate to the pigs, dusting off his hands.

"What do you need?" I gestured with my hands.

"We need medicine." He said bluntly. I took a step back, caught off guard by his statement. My nerves spiked up when I realised he might know about me being a doctor, why else would he ask?

"What kind?" I cleared my throat and tried to act calm, he quickly eyed me up and down, clearly seeing through my facade. 

"Antibiotics, antihistamines, anything." He picked up the bucket and swaggered his way back to the prison. I quickened my pace and walked with Rick steadily.

"And why are you asking me?" I swallowed nervously.

"Daryl told me you know your stuff, don't know what that means but I won't pry, everyone has a past." Rick said, holding up his hands in a surrendering motion.

That was very unlike Daryl, keeping my secret. Glenn was right; he was different. 

"Okay, when?" I hesitated. The idea of going on a run was nerve racking, I hadn't done that since Atlanta city and that didn't end well.

"When Daryl gets back." Rick sighed. 

"Where did he go he just came back?" I stopped in my tracks and gave a panicked look at the man.

"He's been on the hunt for Merle for a week, so he leaves all the time."  Rick shook his head. My eyebrows shot up with surprise, Merle deciding to join the group was the last thing I thought would happen.

"Merle, wait, was he with you guys?" I asked and he nodded his head.

"Yes but he disappeared, Daryl is worried about his safety but he let us know over walkies that he was heading back, so I need you to go with him."

No one needed to be worried about Merle, he was tough as nails.

"You want me to go with Daryl...are you sure that's a good idea?" I swallowed at the thought, and Rick suddenly changed his tone. He took a step forward, giving me an intimidating glare to which I immediately cowered. He picked up a brown empty rucksack beside him and shoved it at me.

"Don't question my authority, now go find Daryl. Be back by tomorrow." He commanded and tapped my shoulder, then brushed past me and headed toward the prison. It seemed that everyone had changed.

I waited at the imposing gate for Daryl, feeling a sense of dread. I saw a polished motorbike resting along the fence, most likely his. A part of me knew that Daryl hated me more than ever, feeling abandoned by me yet again. My thought was confirmed when Daryl trudged up to the gate and gave me a disgusted look. I shifted my gaze away from him as he approached his bike and started to fiddle with it. I sat on a rock, waiting for him to finish or even start talking to me. We sat in silence for a few minutes before he finally acknowledged me. He looked me up and down and sneered.