Author's Note:
I don't think it's possible for me to contain my excitement right now...YOU GUYS, IT'S HAPPENING! A new chapter! Ah! The crossover between LILB and PWF has begun. I've written it in a way where you should be able to read just one if you'd rather not read them both. I highly recommend, though, that you read both stories because you'll be getting more out of it. Anyways, here it is. Ah! I'm pumped. Updates should be a lot more regular than they were before. So that's it from. Thank you again for the monumental amount of love this story has gotten. It makes me so incredibly happy. Thank you, seriously, from the bottom of my heart. Read on, biscuits.
-Nikki
Charlie
I dug my hands into ground, dirt slipping in between my fingers as I tried like hell to hold myself together. I jumped as another loud crack of gunfire came from the other side of the wall and all I could think about was Daryl and the fact that I should have been over there with him because god, if anything happened to him I didn't think I'd live through it. I tried to stagger to my feet, but suddenly realized I couldn't move. Gabe had both his arms around me and was holding me close to his chest. There was more gunfire, louder and closer.
"I need to go after him! Gabe, let me go!" I shouted through gritted teeth, trying desperately to shrug off my brother's iron like grip. He held on tighter.
"Stop, Charlie! I'm not letting you go out there and get yourself killed! Daryl can take care of himself out there!" He argued. He spun me around to face him, gripping both my shoulders tightly in his hands. His eyes were wide as he looked at me, dark brown like mine and I felt my heart clutch in my chest when I remembered thinking that I'd never get to my little brother again. "Listen, it's a god damn miracle we found each other. We're the only family either of us has left now. I'm not letting you follow him. Daryl asked me to keep you safe." He said slowly.
I suddenly stopped struggling, breathing heavily. I felt tears stinging behind my eyes and couldn't tell if I wanted to cry out of frustration, or fear, or relief at seeing Gabe…I felt like I was being torn into a million different, tiny pieces and wondered how much longer I'd be able to hold it together.
"Charlie?" I heard the familiar gruff voice saying my name and looked over my shoulder to see Rick hurrying towards us, T-Dog at his heels.
I let out an unexpected cry of happiness as I untangled myself from Gabe just in time for Rick to grab me in a bone crushing hug. I winced, a hiss of pain escaping my lips. For a minute, I had forgotten the bruised, sad shape I was in.
Rick let go quickly and held me at arm's length, his dark eyes roaming my face and his forehead crinkled with worry. His mouth set into a grim line as he took in my bloodied lip and the dark bruises around my eye. "You alright?" He asked quietly. I nodded, swallowing hard. I didn't trust myself to speak, the dam behind my eyes threatening to break loose at any second. I watched as the older man's eyes drifted towards Glenn, who I knew was somewhere behind me with Maggie. His gaze grew even stormier before he moved past me and I turned, watching as he set a gentle hand on Glenn's shoulder. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you two alive."
"I'm glad to see you too, Rick." I said quietly. I suddenly felt T-Dog's arms around me, holding me like I was a fragile doll and might break at any second. I forced a smile at him when he finally pulled away. I watched as his eyes came to rest on Gabe, suddenly looking uneasy about his unfamiliar presence.
I reached behind me to grab Gabe's arm and pulled him closer to me. "This is my brother, T-Dog. He's been here this whole time. This is Gabe." My own voice still sounded full of disbelief, mirroring exactly what I saw in T-Dog's eyes as he looked from me to Gabe.
"We wouldn't have been able to find Charlie and Glenn without his help." I heard Maggie's quiet voice and she gave me a small smile when I looked at her in surprise. I turned my eyes back to Gabe. "You helped them find me?"
He nodded. "I didn't know who they were, but then Daryl saw me and recognized me right away…I had no idea you were here, Charlie. I didn't know they did this kind of shit." Gabe was looking at me earnestly and I saw the guilt behind his eyes. It killed me to think he thought that all this was his fault somehow.
I took a deep breath and tried to stand up a little straighter. "You didn't know, Gabe, okay? Let's just worry about getting Daryl and getting the hell out of here." I whirled around to look at Rick. "Daryl went back out there, Rick. His brother is in there somewhere, too and if I know Daryl, I know he won't stop at anything until he finds him. We have to go after him." I was practically pleading with him. "He's alone and god knows what they'll do to him if he gets caught." The cold fear I'd been fighting back was suddenly gripping me again, making my stomach churn and my heart pound.
"Wait…did you say Daryl's brother?" Rick suddenly questioned, his brow furrowing together. "Merle Dixon is here?"
I opened my mouth to explain, but caught sight of someone moving in behind Rick. I raised my gun, pointing it towards the dark skinned woman that had appeared behind his shoulder. She froze, tilting her head as she looked at me with calm, cool eyes.
"Where in the hell did you disappear off to, huh?" Rick suddenly hissed at her. He motioned to me to put the gun down, shaking his head. "If you did anything to put us in danger, I swear to god-"
The woman interrupted him. "I had something I needed to take care of. It had nothing to do with you." Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
"I'm sorry, who the hell is this?" I was suddenly blurting out.
"Michonne. Long story." T-Dog grunted from next to me.
I kept my eyes on her wearily as I slowly lowered the gun. "Seems like we all have a lot to talk about…" I said quietly, looking back at Rick. He was still eyeing Michonne dangerously, like he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to trust her.
"If we're going to leave we should do it now." Michonne said suddenly, her voice quiet but intense.
I shook my head. "No, I'm not leaving here without Daryl."
Rick nodded. "We can't leave him behind." He agreed. "Maggie and Michonne, you should take Glenn and Charlie to the car."
"What? Hell no! I'm not waiting at the car!" I hissed. "I'm going with you to get Daryl and there's nothing you can say to stop me."
"Charlie, Daryl asked me to keep you safe." Gabe reminded me, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.
I brushed him off. "I know, Gabe, but you don't get it. I can't just sit around while he's out there." I gestured towards the wall. "I'm coming."
Gabe's mouth was set into a stern grimace before he finally let out a breath of air and exchanged a look with Rick. "Fine." He said in defeat.
"Good." I nodded.
T-Dog gave Rick a nod before slinging Glenn's other arm over his shoulder. "Maggie and I will take Glenn to the car."
"Michonne, you go with them." Rick ordered, his voice was the calm, authoritative tone I was used to hearing before he had lost Lori.
Michonne opened her mouth to argue, but seemed to think better of it as Rick gave her a stern, unwavering glare. Her jaw set, she nodded firmly before moving towards the others and brushing past them.
"Be careful." Maggie said, giving us all a worried look before hurrying off with the three others into the dark.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Gabe asked in a low voice.
Rick held up a smoke grenade in his hand and gave us a grim smile. "We use this and hope like hell we find Daryl before the smoke clears."
I nodded. "It's as good a plan as any." As long as we found Daryl, I didn't care how we did it.
"I'll go first." Gabe offered. He took a deep breath and disappeared back through the gap in the fence and I followed, Rick close behind. When I emerged on the other side, I was surprised by how empty the streets were. There wasn't a single soul in sight, living or dead.
"Where is everyone?" I asked quietly. For some reason, the sudden absence of gun shots and people set me on edge. Suddenly, though, the silence was interrupted by loud cheers coming from somewhere in the distance.
Gabe froze. "The arena."
Rick and I both turned to look at him in confusion. "What?" I hissed.
My brother shook his head. "I think I know where Daryl is, and it's not good. You'll see." Before I could ask any more questions, he took off at a jog. I quickly fell into pace next to him, my stomach clenching nervously. Whatever the arena was for, Gabe made it clear it wasn't a place Daryl wanted to be in.
As we rounded the next corner, towards the very outskirts of town, we slowed down. Gabe crouched low and peered around the corner of a giant warehouse. He motioned with his head for us to take a look. I swallowed hard and crept up next to him to get a better view. My heart sank in my chest. A small circle of an area, surrounded by bright lights and small bleachers which were packed with people yelling. In the very center was Daryl and Merle. It was like some sort of psychotic gladiator ring, only worse…in the circle with the two men I had grown up with were hungry, snarling walkers. I felt physically sick and wanted to scream. This was entertainment for these sick people. They were cheering and rooting, waiting for someone to be murdered right before their eyes.
"We need to do something fast." I whispered, my voice shaking and my eyes never leaving Daryl's form.
I felt Rick's presence behind me as he moved closer. I glanced behind me to see the smoke grenade in his hand and a set look of determination on his features. My mind quickly leapt back to the last time I had seen Rick, wandering around the fields looking so lost and weak. Now, he reminded me of the leader I had grown to admire and respect.
"On three…I throw this and we go in." He said. "This is the last one, so we better make it count." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gabe's fingers close around the gun in his hand, ready to shoot. I tightened my own sweaty grip on the pistol I had found as Rick counted down.
It only took seconds for chaos to erupt all over again. We ran blindly towards the arena. A shadowy figure lunged at me and I fired off a round, trying not to think about what my target was and instead focusing on finding Daryl and getting him out alive. People were screaming and there were bodies pushing and shoving all around me. I turned my aim towards the bright, blinding lights that were suspended around the small arena and pulled the trigger, watching each bulb burst into a showering array of sparks before growing dark.
"Daryl!" I shouted, not caring who heard me over the panic. "Daryl!"
"Charlie?" I heard the familiar, southern drawl coming from somewhere behind me and pivoted around, running into his chest. Relief flooded through me as I barreled into him and flung my arms around his neck. "Thank god!" I breathed into his shoulder.
"Charlie? God damn it, did I not tell ya' to stay put?" Were the first words out of his mouth, though the angry tone was contradicted by the feeling of his arms encircling my waist.
"Later. We need to get out of here now!" I said breathlessly, sparing at glance at his brother who looked just as anxious to leave as I felt.
"Let's go, Charlie!" I heard Rick shout as he ran past us, Gabe trailing after him. Daryl gave me a small shove to get my feet moving and seconds later the five of us were sprinting full force towards the makeshift fence guarding the perimeter of the town. I readied myself to climb over, but Merle got there first and viciously began kicking at the dented metal with the heel of his boot until there was a space just big enough for a body to fit through. We ducked through, one by one, until we were all safely on the other side and took off into the dark forest.
I shifted my eyes between Gabe's back and the forests floor, trying to keep up without falling flat on my face. I could hear Daryl and Merle close behind me, though the gunshots and shouting that echoed inside the walled town slowly began to fade. When it was finally quiet, we slowed to a walk. My heart was hammering in my chest and beads of sweat dripped down my face. I suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over me and I stumbled. Daryl caught me by the waist and I looked up to see him eyeing me worriedly.
"You okay?" He asked quietly.
I gave him a weak smile. "You're alive. I'm more than okay." I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze before looking further over my shoulder to see Merle. I thought he would look relieved, or even thrilled to be out that place. Instead, though, his jaw was set and a look that resembled intense worry filled his eyes. It wasn't a look I was used to seeing on him and wondered what it meant.
We kept hiking for another good half hour before finally reaching a break in the trees, a winding road on the other side. Parked on the grass was a familiar SUV. Michonne, Maggie, and T-Dog stood next to it anxiously. The car door was thrown wide open and I could see Glenn lying down on one of the seats.
"Thank god!" I heard Maggie exclaim. "We were starting to get worried!"
"We're all fine. How's Glenn doin'?" Rick asked, striding over towards the car.
"I'm fine." I heard Glenn say as he struggled to sit up. He looked awful, his face almost unrecognizable. I still hadn't see what I looked like, although I had a feeling Glenn had gotten it worse than I did. He leaned against the seat, but suddenly froze. "What the hell is he doing here?"
I felt confused for a second, wondering who the hell he was talking about. I followed his gaze over my shoulder and suddenly realized…he meant Merle. Of course. I had almost forgotten that they had all known each other before, been members of the same group. It was strange how these pieces of my past kept falling together.
"Don't get all bent outta shape, Korea. I ain't stayin'." Merle piped up in his raspy voice.
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. I was willing to bet that he'd do or say anything to be able to go with Daryl. This was not what I expected at all from him. I glanced up at Daryl to see him also eyeing his older brother with a confused expression.
"What the hell does that mean? Course you're comin' with us. You're my brother." He said. I looked down at his hands and saw how tightly he was gripping his crossbow.
"No offense, baby brother, but I can tell when I ain't wanted. I can't stick around, I gotta go do somethin'. Got someone waitin' on me." Merle said, taking a step back towards the woods. "Why don't ya' come with me? Leave these folks behind, huh?"
I felt my heart drop and I looked up at Daryl. "I won't leave Charlie." He said in a low voice. I felt almost ashamed by the amount of relief I felt, but it quickly vanished when he went on. "I ain't gonna let your ass go stompin' around in the woods alone, though. I'll go with you to get whatever you're lookin' for and then I'm gone."
"Wait, excuse me? No, you can't just keep leaving me behind like this!" The words left my mouth in a rush. "I've spent the past two days thinking I was gonna die and I'd never see you again. You're insane if you think I'm gonna let you hike off with Merle for a few days! No offense." I added looking over at Merle.
"None taken, sugar." He grunted.
Daryl looked down at me, his expression unreadable. "Gimme one minute, Merle." He suddenly had me by the hand and was dragging me over to the other side of the car, out of view from everyone else. The minute we were gone, everyone else erupted into quiet bickering.
I leaned back against the car, looking up at him expectantly. I took in the scruff that covered his chin, the hard set of his jaw, and the fierce blue color of his eyes. God, it almost hurt to look at him, because now I couldn't stop myself from thinking if it'd be the last time I would. "You can't go with him, Daryl. Please." I hated how much my voice was shaking.
Daryl sighed, looking down at me. "I don't want to. Damn it, Charlie, you have to know how much I don't wanna let you outta my sight ever again. But this is my brother. All this time, I was wonderin' around tryin' not to let myself think he was dead. Like you were doin' with Gabe." He said quietly, shaking his head. "Would you let Gabe just go off on his own now, right when you finally found him?"
I averted my eyes to the paved road. I couldn't lie. I couldn't look at him and say that I didn't understand what he was feeling. "No, I couldn't." I finally breathed. I suddenly felt Daryl's calloused fingertips underneath my chin as he forced my head up so he could look me in the eyes.
"I just need to make sure he's alright. I'll get 'em to wherever he's tryin' to get to and then I'm comin' right back to you." His voice was quiet as he looked at me intensely, the way he had the first time he'd kissed me and it made my heart pound in my chest and my breathing uneven. "I spent the last day outta my damn mind, thinkin' about how I'd go crazy if I lost you. If you think I'm gonna go let that happen again…you're crazy, girl." He said gruffly, his hand pressed against the side of my cheek and I felt the roughness of his thumb as it trailed down my face.
I felt breathless as I looked up at him, my eyes roaming his face and wondering how I had gone so many years completely oblivious to the fact that I was in love with Daryl Dixon. I took a deep breath. "Daryl, I love-"
"Don't." He said quickly, cutting me off. I felt my eyes widen and I was even more surprised when a rare smile tugged one corner of his mouth. "I've been waitin' years to hear that, but I'll be damned if I hear you say it 'cause you're worried you ain't gonna see me again. Tell me later."
I nodded slowly, not trusting myself to speak but realized I didn't have to when Daryl's lips were suddenly pressed hard against my own. I felt about a thousand sparks shoot through me as he pushed himself up against me and my back hit the side of the SUV. His hands gripped my hips, his tongue sliding into my mouth. I crushed myself against him and wound my arms around his neck. My fingers tangled themselves in his sandy hair and I gasped against his mouth when I felt one of his hands sliding over my stomach. I was suddenly wishing we were alone, wanting nothing more than to lose myself in him forever. I remembered the others were waiting on us though, and I slowly pulled myself away from him. He was still leaned up against me, his fingers trailing teasingly up and down my side.
"God damn it, Charlie...you drive me fuckin' crazy. You know that?" He said huskily, sending shivers racing across every inch of my skin.
"You better not keep me waiting, Dixon." I whispered, tugging on his belt loops.
Daryl smirked, but before he could say anything else, I heard Merle calling him and sounding impatient as hell. He sighed, finally pushing himself away from me. "I'll be back soon." He promised.
"I'll hold you to it."
His eyes held mine for a long moment before he abruptly turned away and headed back around to the other side of the car. I pulled myself together before following after him. I felt every pair of eyes on me and my skin flushed red. Daryl and I had been more than just a little careful to hide what was happening between us before all of this. I knew now, though, that it was blatantly obvious. Gabe was staring at me, but I avoided his eyes for now. There'd be plenty of time for talking later, when we finally made it back to the prison.
"You sure you wanna do this, Daryl?" Glenn was suddenly asking.
Daryl nodded. "I'll be back by tomorrow."
"Glad you got your lil' goodbye in and all, but we need to get goin. Now." Merle said sharply. "Come on." He didn't say another word, just turned his back and headed off into the woods.
I felt my heart drop as Daryl left me for the second time that night. He followed after his brother, slowing only once to look back at us. "Look after your sister for me." He grunted, his eyes on Gabe. My brother nodded and Daryl met my eyes for a brief second before he was turned back around. Then, he disappeared from view.
Rick squeezed my shoulders as he walked around me towards the driver's side. "Let's go home." He said quietly.
I nodded, feeling numb. Gabe gently pushed me towards the car where I climbed up into the backseat, squeezing myself next to T-Dog. I scooted closer to Gabe and let my head drop onto his shoulder as I breathed in his familiar scent. I suddenly felt exhausted, my eyes and limbs heavy. I tried not to think about Daryl, knowing I still had plenty to be grateful for. I was still alive, and more than that, I had my brother back. I couldn't stop my eyes drifting out the window towards the forest, though, as Rick started the car and we pulled off the side of the road.
I kept my eyes shut for most of the drive, but I couldn't fall asleep even though my body was almost screaming from exhaustion. Every time we went over a bump or the car jostled around a sharp turn, Glenn would let out a hiss of pain from the seat in front of me. Even in the dark, I could see Maggie hunched over him and no doubt feeling extremely helpless that there was nothing she could do to even remotely ease his hurt. She must have been out of her mind with worry. They all must have been, I realized. I spent a lot of time tied to that chair trying to imagine what Daryl was doing. I kept myself sane thinking that he would do anything to make sure I was safe. The amount of relief I had felt, though, when he had shot that walker down and scooped me up into his arms, was any like anything I'd felt before. Except for maybe when Daryl had pulled open that door and I saw Gabe waiting for me. I felt his warmth next to me, reminding me that he was real and it hadn't all just been a dream. I shifted in my seat, pulling myself up into a sitting position.
"You awake?" He suddenly asked quietly.
I nodded. "Yeah. Too worried about Daryl." I murmured. I craned my neck to look at my brother, realizing we hadn't really had much of a chance to talk yet and there was so much I wanted to ask him. "How are you?"
He surprised me by letting out a snort of laughter.
"What?" I whispered, feeling defensive.
"Nothing." He assured me quickly. "All things considered, I'm good. It's just…I haven't seen you in months, but every time I pictured seeing you again, the first thing you always asked me was how I was. Like you'd always been there and no time had passed at all." His voice drifted off and I grabbed his hand, for just a minute seeing the little eight year old boy he used to be instead of the man he was now.
"Everything is gonna be okay now, Gabe. I promise." I said, glancing towards Rick. "These are good people."
"I thought I was with good people. This whole time…How could I have been so stupid?" He asked in a bitter voice, shaking his head.
I felt myself grow cold, thinking back to the gray, concrete room I had been prisoner in just hours before. "Stop it, you can't blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done."
"I know that, it's just-" His voice started to rise and I saw Maggie glance at us over the seat.
I gripped his hand in both of mine. "Stop. We're not talking about it anymore. We're together now and that's all that really matters, right?" I asked, looking at him sternly. I watched as he nodded and gave me a weak smile. The road outside abruptly turned to gravel, the stones crunching loudly underneath the wheels of the car. "We're here." I said in a hushed tone. Gabe peered out the window and I heard him inhale sharply as the looming prison came into view.