Fight, Love, Live.

XXXII

When I finally found her, she was sitting on the floor of the R.V. surrounded by piles of stuff that everyone must have collected while we were gone, and she looked incredibly focused while counting everything and writing it down. It was adorable. 

"Hey." I whispered out, trying not to disturb Carol, Lori, and Carl who were sleeping at the table behind her. When she looked up at me, she sucked me into her eyes and I didn't want to ever look away. 

"Hey, what's up?" She whispered back.

"You ready for bed? I got us set up in the truck..." I trailed off, suddenly realizing I hadn't even asked her if she wanted to sleep with me, just assumed since we had been forced to sleep together in the truck every other night since we left the C.D.C. But she didn't seem to realize, just put the pad of paper down and started getting to her feet. 

"Yeah, let's go. Got everything pretty much squared away anyhow." She whispered with a grin as she stepped over the pile of clothes separating us, and I grabbed her arm so she wouldn't fall. She just rolled her eyes though, and moved so her hand intertwined with mine, and let me lead her from the R.V. 

"So are we in the cabin? Or the bed?" She asked curiously as we walked over to the truck in the dark, I was looking around, making sure no walkers had snuck up on us, but Dale was up on the roof, and I knew I had to trust that he was watching, but it was difficult to put my life, and Riley's life in someone else's hands. 

"Oh, uh the bed. I found a mattress in one of the semi's. Threw it in the back for us, plus got a couple of blankets and some travel pillows from a different car." When I glanced at her, she was already looking at me, and I couldn't quite tell what she was thinking, but the look in her eyes made my blood rush to two different places. My face, and somewhere else that I was hoping was less obvious.

We got to the truck pretty quickly, and I popped the lid open, and lifted her up before she could even try and get up herself. It was pretty high off the ground, the truck wasn't lifted or anything, but it was still closer to her chest level since she was so short. I hopped up after her, and watched as she flopped onto the bed. 

When she was settled, I pulled my boots off and laid them down near the lid, and finally pulled it closed, just in case, and moved to take off Riley's shoes, since she seemed to be struggling. 

"You need some help?" I whispered out, chuckling a little, and when she nodded I kneeled next to her feet and pulled her shoes off. Her feet were still swollen from all the extra fluids her body was making, and I couldn't help but be a little worried. 

"How you feelin'?" I mumbled as I moved up to lay next to her. She rolled onto her left side so she was facing me, and I let my arms wrap around her when she moved in so we were pressed against each other. 

"Tired, and a little hot. It was super hot today. But I'm okay. How are you? You seemed kind of upset when you got back..." She trailed off as she stroked her fingers across my cheek, and I couldn't help but let my body relax into her, even though I normally hated talking about stuff like this, with her it felt natural. 

"I'm pissed we didn't find her. I feel like we shoulda. She shouldn't have been able to get far." I grumbled out, leaning into the hand that was now running through my hair. 

"You'll find her. I know you will. You could find anyone and anything you put your mind to." I let the smile slip onto my face, and closed my eyes, just enjoying being with her. I have never had something like this, never had someone who supported me, listened to me, and never had someone who was willing to stand up to me when I was acting like a dick, but she did all of it. 

"I need you to stay here with Merle tomorrow Ri." I mumbled out, dreading the conversation that was about to happen. I knew she wouldn't want to, she would want to look for that girl, it's just in her nature. But I needed her to be safe, and going out into the woods wouldn't be good for her.

Her hand froze in my hair, and I could feel her tense up. 

"What the hell are you talking about Daryl?" She growled out, and my eyes snapped open to meet hers, that were less than maybe three inches from my face. 

"I need you to stay here. I can't be worrying about you and looking for the girl. It won't help her if my attention is divided and you know I'll be focused more on making sure you're okay. I need you to be okay. I can't lose you." I whispered, not wanting anyone to hear my weakness. Weaknesses were exploited, and I didn't want someone to exploit her. 

I watched as her eyes softened, but I knew I hadn't won yet. 

"I need to help look for her Daryl. She's just a little girl." 

"Yeah. And what about your little girl? Or little boy? You gonna put some other kid before your own? You need to be healthy to keep that baby healthy. And walking around, in the heat, in the middle of the summer, with no breaks, and possibly having to run, or having to fight off walkers? That's not going to be good for you. You could get hurt, or get heat stroke, something could go wrong. And there aren't any doctors for me to take you to if something happens. Please sweetheart. Stay here." She broke, I could see it in her eyes, and every time I mentioned the baby her gaze went straight down to her stomach that I could feel pressed tightly against mine. 

"Fine. But Daryl... come back to me. I can't lose you either." I smiled, leaned in, and pressed my lips against her. Fuck I've been waiting hours to do that. She was just... so refreshing, like cold water after working out in the sun all day. 

"You won't. I'll come back. I'll always come back."