Lottie

Speech Around The Fire

When the car came to a stop, Lottie bolted out of the door towards the tent, leaving her bag behind. Everyone watched in a stunned silence.

"What happened?" Lori asked Rick, panicked.

"Later, just help me with this." Rick said passing Lori Lottie's bag.

Lottie stormed into the tent, pulled her bed back to the edge away from Daryl's and lay on her side looking through the mesh window. Thinking about how she may have messed up her chance to earn her keep in the group. Furious at herself.

Maybe an hour had passed when Daryl slowly entered the tent too, sitting down on his bed.

"Rick wants you to come sit by the fire with us" He said quietly.

"Why?" She replied.

"I don't know, just come on out when you're ready." Daryl said leaving the tent.

It was now pitch black outside, Lottie hadn't really been paying much attention to the sky. She pulled herself together and made her way out of the tent, under the few trees and towards the fire and circle of people.

As Lottie approached, Rick stood. Everyone looked at her smiling, and Lottie who had grown angry at herself felt purely confused.

"Come sit here," Rick said pointing at an empty chair in between him and Carl. "I want to say something."

Lottie walked around the circle and sat quietly in the chair, Carl beaming up at her.

"I know you think you messed up today, I can tell" Rick began, Lottie just looked into the fire, Daryl on the other side of it.

"We haven't told everybody everything yet." Maggie said, smiling from the left of the fire.

"I did mess up, why would you guys want someone like me going on runs with you." Lottie said, infuriated at herself.

"Someone who sacrifices themselves to save the group?" Rick said smiling, Lottie just looked back at the fire.

"Lottie made sure everyone was on the roof before she tried to get to safety herself. Even forcing Daryl to go up before her." Maggie said loudly.

Daryl and Lottie looked away from the fire. Carl hugged Lottie from the side, she returned it with an arm around his shoulders.

T-dog sat up straight. "Almost bitten twice. Literally wrestled one walker, Daryl saved her life there. Thought rationally, stayed calm, took out a walker while dangling from a ladder. You risked death, to save us." T-Dog declared to the group, they were all impressed.

"What we're trying to say Lottie is, thank you." Glenn said smiling from next to Maggie.

"It all sounds great when you say it like that but, I didn't do it for thank yous or a speech around the fire, I just wanted to protect you all." Lottie said, glimpsing at Daryl for a moment.

"And that right there is why I want you by our sides on runs." Rick said proudly.

"Wait, do you mean..?" Lottie said a little dazed.

"Yep, we all talked, we want you on every run." Rick smiled.

Lottie finally found her own smile. "Thank you." She said.

"You've sacrificed yourself for us twice now." Rick said. Shane tutted and Daryl gave him a death-stare. "You belong here, with us, for as long as you want."

"Forever?" Lottie asked quietly.

"Forever it is!" Dale shouted.

The group cheered, except Daryl and Shane.

Dale and Carol served up some food in metal bowls and handed it around to everyone.

When everyone was seated, eating and chatting Rick leant to the side slightly to whisper to Lottie.

"Daryl feels guilty." He said quietly.

"What? Why?" Lottie said completely shocked.

"He said to me, that if you had gone up the ladder before him then you wouldn't have been attacked. I tried to tell him you'd have probably jumped down anyway, to get to him if he'd been attacked." Rick said still whispering.

"I lived, he saved me without him I'd be dead." Lottie mumbled back.

"I think, if you had died, he would have blamed only himself."

"I don't want that, I don't want him to ever think that." Lottie said her eyes tearing up slightly.

"He's very protective over you, he asked me specifically to put you in our run group. I think maybe, he feels like he failed in protecting you today." Rick admitted.

"He did the exact opposite. I'll talk to him later, in the tent, right now he looks like he wants to be alone." Lottie said, Rick nodded in agreement.

"He tried to get to you, you know. Tried to jump down." Rick sighed.

"I did notice you and Glenn holding onto him."

"He hates us for that right now, he's just in shock a little bit." Rick said finally eating his soup.

Lottie started to eat too.

"Oh, one last question," He whispered even more quietly "That chocolate bar in your bag, was that for Carl?"

Lottie nodded.

"I thought so," He whispered again "Here, give it to him." Rick handed Lottie the bar of chocolate that was a bit broken and crumpled after she'd fallen onto her bag.

Lottie's smile returned even wider than before, she turned to Carl who had a mouthful of soup.

"I picked this up for you today," She said smiling.

"Thank you!" Carl shouted almost knocking his bowl off of his lap when he reached for a huge hug. "It's my favourite too, milk chocolate!"

"You told me that remember, when you first came to talk to me when I was poorly." Lottie smiled back at him as he continued to eat his soup a lot faster than before. Lori laughing as he spilled half of it down his front.

The night eventually grew chilly and quiet while the stars twinkled above them, Lottie could see them through the leaves in the trees above her head. She turned to Daryl across from her, she could see his face more clearly now that the fire had died down a little. He stared back. No expression on either of their faces.

Daryl finished his soup, handed his bowl to Carol and silently disappeared into the night and into the tent.

Lottie sighed nervously, she too stood and handed her bowl to Carol who gave a her a sympathetic smile and a gentle touch on the shoulder. Lottie said goodnight to everyone and then she made her way through the darkness towards the tent as well.