My Damaged Protector

Chapter Thirty-Seven ~ Crossed

When the sun finally came back up, Michonne and I were relieved from watch and I went in to try and get some sleep. I was awakened a few hours later, loud pounding echoing through the whole building. Daryl and Ty were at the altar, ripping pipes from the organ and taking them out the main door.

Daryl and I hadn't said much to each other last night. He was concerned with what he found while I was mad that he took off in the middle of the night without telling anyone. I walked over to Merle who was digging holes out front by the stairs. "What's going on?"

"Good morning to you too." He joked, smiling up at me. "We're fortifying the church." Daryl came out, shoving the pipe into one of the holes his brother had dug. I sighed and headed over towards the side of the church, my fingers trailing gently over the back of Daryl's vest as I passed.

Noah was at one of the windows, hammering a few wood pieces over the glass. He was a sweet kid, crazy tall but a little shy with all the new people around him. Daryl had brought him back after loosing Carol in Atlanta. "Noah, can I talk to you for a minute?" I called, softly asking him to take a break.

"Sure." He sat the hammer down and limped his way over, an injury he got while running from whoever took Carol.

My fingers twisted together as I prepared myself for his answers. "Ok, so Daryl and I really haven't talked since you got back last night. He did say you knew Beth, talked about her a little bit on the way back here." He nodded along with my rambling. "Is there a little boy? Probably 10 years old by now, curly blonde hair and brown eyes?"

He nodded slowly, as if he was thinking. "Yeah, little guy name's Jasper," he snapped his fingers like he was trying to remember something, "Uh...Jasper...Jasper Cooper?"

I gasped and my eyes watered. "He's there?"

"Mm-hm. You know him?"

"He's my baby brother." I jumped forward and hugged him tightly. "Is he ok?"

"Yeah, Dawn's taken a liking to him, let's him play with some stuff she's got in storage." I sighed happily and thanked him before walking off to Daryl.

My anger at Daryl for leaving was gone now, instead I was slightly thankful that he left, because if he hadn't, we wouldn't have known Jasper was in Atlanta. "Daryl!" I half ran into his arms, holding tightly to him while a few happy tears fell.

"Skye? What's wrong?" He pulled back, grabbing my face to look at my eyes. "You hurt?"

"No." I shook my head. "Noah knows Jasper." The words were barely a whisper but the way he froze up told me that he heard me. "Said he's ok." I was instantly held tighter, Daryl's head falling to my shoulder. "We gotta go get him."

"We will." He promised, looking down at me again. "We jus' gotta make this place safe for Carl and Ass-Kicker."

We finished making the church as safe as we could before we headed out. Rick waved to his children as he walked out of the church, Daryl's arm tight around my shoulders as we followed him out. I had begged Merle to stay back and watch over the kids, even bribing him with the idea of hunting as long as he could see the church from where he was. He agreed without much of a fight, only telling Daryl and I to bring Jasper back quickly.

The rest of us piled up into the truck Daryl and Noah used to get out of Atlanta with. I was pulled up into the back, sitting down at Daryl's side as Ty pulled the door shut. Daryl held an arm up, allowing me to curl into his side, head on his shoulder, for the ride out.

"Noah, thank you." I looked over to the kid.

He shrugged. "Anything for him. He's super cool and he's got a big heart."