Survival in Numbers (Daryl Dixon/The Walking Dead)

Chapter Twenty Seven - The Sleepless Nights

Emma was on the back of the motorbike the next morning, as Daryl led the group to their old gun training area.

The housing estate was half built, but there were a couple of 'finished' houses (no kitchen appliances or light fixtures had been fitted out yet, not that they would have worked anyway), but there was a roof and four walls, which was all they needed.

The group settled down in the large - what would have been - lounge and dining room. No one wanted to be separated, and this room was the only one in the house that would fit all thirteen of them.

Daryl went out as soon as they had arrived to hunt some food for the group, as Maggie and Glenn took up a perimeter check with T-Dog, and Emma and Rick scoped out the house.

They took down, and removed, two walkers from the downstairs and another one from the upstairs - before they signalled for the rest of the group that it was safe to enter.

They discussed a rota on who would take watch (Herschel and Dale would take the first half of the night before being taken over from by Glenn and Maggie). Emma had offered to take watch, but she had had yet another sleepless night and Rick had told her that she needed rest.

The red head had been particularly quiet since the group had left the farm. She hadn't spoken much to anyone, only really helping out the children when they got a cut or a scrape from where they had fallen over.

Rick finally let her take watch, when they had moved on from the housing estate and found a small cul-de-sack about fifty-odd miles south.

"Here." He handed her a pack of tablets, "I found them in the bathroom cabinet.

"Sleeping tablets won't help me." She replied, "But thank you."

"You don't know that until you try them." Rick countered, keeping his eyes on the dark and quiet road in front of them. "Lori keeps asking me what happened to you. I haven't said anything."

Emma shrugged, "As long as she doesn't try and mother me again, Rick. You can tell her if it makes things easier for you." She looked up at him then, "I don't want to sound rude, but I don't want her to try and talk to me about it. The difference between the two of us, is that I wasn't in a relationship with him."

Rick looked away, "I know." He sighed, "Thanks for reminding me about that."

She shook her head, cursing herself for being so awful, "I'm sorry." She said, "I shouldn't treat you as if you don't have your own problems. And I'm sorry I've been biting everyone's heads off too."

"I understand." He said, "You've just got to tell them when you're ready. As for Lori...I'll tell her it's not my business to gossip. She'll back off, if I say that you're not ready to talk about it."

"Thanks Rick." She said, "And I'm sorry for bringing up..." The affair. "You know."

"I'll be pissed at you some other time." He said, a teasing smile on his face. "Look, if you want to give those tablets a try, I did ask Daryl to be your backup for watch tonight."

She blushed at the mention of the hunters name. She hadn't spoken to him since she had kissed him (other than the usual 'Do you mind if I ride with you?' as Glenn abandoned her outside of the truck, with the excuse that he's leaving her there to work on her thing).

"What?" Rick asked.

"Nothing."

"Have you got a problem with Daryl?"

Her blush only reddened, "No." He nudged her with his elbow, "I'd talk to Glenn about it, but...he's been a little busy getting his leg over."

Rick chuckled.