southern charm |d. dixon|

1.6

Birdy rolled her eyes and slid off the counter before grabbing a potato and helping Carol peel and chop them.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see a potato." Carol smiled gently over at the blonde,

Birdy was happy to see a lightened look on the mother's face. Ever since she arrived at the farm, she had been crying or just seemed lost. Birdy just hopes they find the girl soon.

"I'm just glad we're not roasting squirrels over a fire in the woods." Lori joked, "Thank you, Patricia, so much for letting us into your house."

"What's this?" The women all looked over to see Hershel standing in the doorway,

"Lori and Carol are cooking dinner for us all tonight." Maggie explained,

"That's the first I've heard of it." 

The eldest Greene daughter led her father out of the kitchen to speak to him, "Everything okay?" Lori asked, watching the two,

"It's just..." Birdy sighed, "We've had guests here before, and it didn't turn out well. He's just wary of strangers, especially ones we let into the house."

"We don't want to cause any issues."

"It's fine, really. No harm in dinner." Birdy gave the women comforting smiles.

At the very start, the first few days, two families camped out at the Greene farm. Just to rest for a few days before heading back out.

But during those two days, disaster struck. Birdy's cousin, Shawn, was pinned down by the tractor and bitten by two rotters in the neck.

Hershel didn't even let them say goodbye.

Ever since, Hershel didn't like strangers. He avoided them.

The only reason why he's letting Rick's group stay was because of Carl and Sophia. But once Carl was healed and Sophia was found, he'd kick them out, no doubt about it.

The sound of a gunshot outside cause Birdy to jump, then wince in pain as the knife sliced across the palm of her hand,

"What was that?" Beth asked, moving to look out the window.

Patricia grabbed a rag to cover Birdy's wound while the others ran out the door. The older woman sat Birdy down and began to clean the blood, "I don't think it needs stitches."

"What do you think happened?" Birdy questioned and before Patricia could answer, the door opened.

Rick and Shane walked in, dragging Daryl between them. He was covered in dirt and blood, with a giant red stain on his side. Birdy went to stand, but Patricia kept a firm grip on her hand to keep her from going far, "What happened?"

"An accident, that's all." Rick answered before they brought the redneck upstairs with Hershel following behind.

Dinner was awkward that night. No one spoke, only the sound of cutlery clanging against porcelain filled the dining room.

Birdy sat at the 'children's' table that included Beth, Jimmy, Glenn, and Maggie.

"Does anybody know how to play guitar?" Glenn spoke up, looking around the room, "Dale found a cool one." Everybody stayed silent, "Somebody's got to know how to play."

"Otis did." Patricia answered, adding more tension to the room,

"Yes, and he was very good too." Hershel commented,

"Birdy knows." Beth responded and everyone looked over to the blonde,

"Haven't played in years." Birdy mumbled before taking a bite of her potatoes, "Don' 'member any songs."

"Don't speak with your mouth full, Alberta." Hershel scolded her,

Birdy kept her mouth closed as she stared down at her plate. She then noticed some exchanged looks between Maggie and Glenn, and felt their hands brushing against Birdy's leg briefly. She rolled her eyes before standing.

The chair legs scratching against the floor got everyone's attention, "'M gonna get Daryl some food."

Without waiting for a response, Birdy headed to the kitchen, and grabbed a tray. She began to fill a plate with a little bit of everything before walking past the dining room and towards the stairs.

She knocked gently on the door of the room he was placed in, which happened to be the bedroom that Hershel let her have after moving her in, and waited for the grunt on the other side.

Birdy opened the door slightly, ignoring the shocked expression on Daryl's face when he saw it was her, "Couldn' let ya starve." She muttered, setting the tray down on the nightstand, 

"What happened to yer hand?" Daryl asked, noticing the bandage wrapped around her palm,

"'S nothin'." Birdy answered, moving further into the room to shut the curtains to keep the sun from waking him in the morning, "Cut my hand earlier when makin' dinner."

"You always that clumsy?" He continued to question as he watched her,

"I was a little distracted by gunshots goin' on outside." Birdy responded, then moving over to grab her pyjamas from the closet and an extra set of clothes for the next day, "Bathroom's across the hall if ya need it. I can come get your plate in the mornin'." 

Daryl stayed silent as she went to the door, making sure his back was covered. When he noticed the clothes, he began to feel a little bad about putting her out of a place to sleep.

Birdy changed in the bathroom before making her way to Maggie's room. Her cousin wasn't there, but Birdy just assumed she was with Glenn. 

She set up her own little bed next to Maggie's on the floor and laid her head down on the thin pillow, staring up at the plain white ceiling.

But she knew sleep wouldn't come quickly.