CHAPTER EIGHT

Andie's sitting on a table in the courtyard when she hears footsteps behind her. She doesn't look back, knowing it's one of two people. Either way, she's gonna get an earful.

"You been AWOL since we came out here with the prisoners." His voice is low, almost like he's afraid he'll spook her if he speaks any louder.

"That's not entirely true."

"No. I guess not." He looks out at the darkness surrounding them. "Rick's not happy with you."

"Because I disobeyed orders?" She asks. "Didn't stay put, let the men do all the heavy lifting?"

"We had Maggie." He says, and she scoffs. "He's mad that you took Carl into the prison without more backup. You should've asked Glenn to go with you when you guys went looking for the infirmary."

"Glenn had to stay with the others in case Hershel died — he had to be there to put him down if he came back as a walker." She reminds him. "While the rest of you were laying out a welcome mat for dangerous criminals on our back doorstep, Carl and I went and got the supplies that could save Hershel's life... It's amazing what I can accomplish when I break free of the leash."

"You think Rick put you on a leash?"

"I think you used Rick as a leash to chain me to the cell block." She turns her head, but doesn't look at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees his head drop. "I'm a lot of things, Daryl, stupid isn't one of them. You start expressing concern over how I do things and suddenly I'm on the outs with the group jobs. It doesn't take much to put those pieces together."

"Doesn't seem like you worry about your own well being enough. Someone has to." He reasons, and she shakes her head.

"I may not have become a part of this group in the best of ways, but I can take care of myself. I do a pretty good job too." Andie says. "I've been looking out for myself for about as long as it took me to learn to walk... You don't know the first thing about me."

"You don't let anyone know you."

"Because when I c—" She groans as she drops her head into her hands.

Daryl hesitates for a moment before walking over to sit next to her on the table. "I know that you never really had much of a sweet tooth, but when you had candy, it had to be chocolate. You've never had a pet, don't believe in astrology. You'll talk about anything...but anything that matters. The rest of the group — we know a little too much about each other."

"You don't talk much either." She says as she curls her fingers under her chin and rests her head on her hands. Her elbows are on her knees, and she's staring straight ahead.

"Ain't much to know." He shrugs, and she scoffs.

"Hypocrite."

"There ain't. Mom died when I was a kid, Dad kicked it a while later. It was always me and my brother... Now he's gone, and I got this group."

"The people that I let myself care about...have a tendency to die on me." Andie reluctantly admits, and he looks at the side of her face. "The girl I told you about before — she's not the only friend I've buried. I've lost more people than I care to count... And you were wrong before."

"About what?"

"I'm not reckless because she risked everything to save me. I take calculated risks because I know my capabilities." She tells him, turning her gaze to him. "I volunteered to make the run through the field yesterday because I'm fast and I know I'm good with a gun. And if I made the run, then Glenn didn't have to put himself in harm's way. Maybe I went a little overboard with the stunt at the gate, but I also know my limits."

"I'm sorry I asked Rick to ground you today." He says, and she chuckles as she looks away from him. "It won't happen again."

She shrugs. "It's kinda nice to know someone cares that much... Of course, if you ever do it again, I will kick your ass." She tells him, and he smirks.

"Why'd you vanish from the cell block all day?" Daryl asks, and she takes a deep breath.

"I told you, I've buried too many friends. Family." She shakes her head. "I couldn't just sit there and do nothing, waiting."

"He woke up." He tells her, and she looks back at him. "Hershel's gonna be alright."

It's like a weight is lifted from her chest and suddenly she can breathe again. She shuts her eyes as she sinks down, leaning into him as she rests her forehead against his bare shoulder.

"You smell like a corpse." Daryl says, and she starts laughing.

"Luckily, I found the showers on my rampage through the prison." She lifts her head and looks up at him. "Not sure if there's hot water, but there's running water."

"We have food, running water, and Hershel's alive — I think today turned out alright." He says, and a small smile tugs at her lips. "Now go take a shower."

—

Andie and Daryl are in the silver car, on their way into town to try and scavenge up some supplies for the group. It's not uncommon for them to go alone, though they usually have a third member with them. But with Lori so close to due and Hershel still bedridden, the others are staying behind at the prison in case they're needed there.

The teenager happens to like when it's just two of them. He's usually not much of a talker, and she likes the quiet. It's a comfortable silence, and neither ever feels like they need to fill it with pointless conversation or small-talk. They're content with each other's presence alone.

She points in the direction she thinks she remembers there being a market she wanted to check out before. They don't have anything particular in mind for this trip, the group just needs more supplies in general.

Daryl stops the car outside of a mini-mart, and Andie hops out of the car. She has her knife in one hand as she makes her way to the door, then she grabs a small basket inside. He goes to look through the coolers for any drinks while the teenager goes for snacks.

The older of the two walks over and sets the water bottles and few sports drinks that he found inside her basket, then he takes it from her hand. Before she can protest, he disappears around the corner. When he finds her again, he offers her an empty basket and she drops the snacks inside before taking it from him, then he takes his own findings out to the car.

She's got corn-nuts, chips, and very little candy in the basket as she wanders the store. A soft whistle catches her attention and she turns with a couple packs of those little donuts.

"Do we trust stuff like this?" She asks, and Daryl glances at what's in her hand. "Or do you think it's gone bad?"

"Dunno." He shrugs, and she drops them with the rest of her stuff anyway. "We got company coming, and this place isn't worth stickin' around."

"Roger that."

The pair make their way outside, and Daryl stands by the back as she dumps items in her basket over the other one before tossing it back toward the mini-mart. He shuts the hatch after she walks away, both of them being mindful of the walkers coming down the street. Daryl waits for the younger girl to climb into the passenger seat before he enters the car as well, then they leave for a new destination.

"Pasta jackpot!" The brunette rushes over to Daryl in the rundown supermarket, her cart containing quite a few packs of thin, straight noodles. "Help me find tomato sauce. I wanna make spaghetti for dinner."

"Won't be as good without any meat in it."

"Let me have my excitement."

"I'm just statin' a fact." He starts to turn away from her, but she grabs his vest, causing him to look down at her again.

"I will fight you, Dixon. Don't underestimate me." She tells him, and he smirks as he looks down at her.

"You wanna look for your tomato sauce or not?" He asks, and she smiles up at him. "Come on."

They don't spend too much longer in the store before heading back out, wanting to be back at the prison before dark. Daryl's the first one to exit the store, and then he tells her that it's clear. The teenager stands on the metal part on the bottom of the cart and lets it roll out the door on its own. He bites back a smile as he watches her ride the shopping cart to the trunk of the car.

"We should take bags from inside next time." She says as she starts pulling items from the cart to toss into the trunk.

"Takes longer."

"And we can't spare thirty seconds?" She quirks an eyebrow as she glances at him; his back's to her as he keeps watch.

"Every second counts out here." He tells her, and she sighs.

"I miss having downtime, not watching over your shoulder every second of every day."

"What'd you do in your downtime?" Daryl turns when he hears the trunk shut, then she shoves the cart back toward the shop. It rams the side of the building and rolls back a few inches.

"Depended on the day, my mood, if anyone was around." She shrugs, and they both climb into the car. "Sometimes I'd hang out with friends, go out somewhere. Or my mom and I would make popcorn and watch movies all day, stay in our pajamas. I'd call my dad if he wasn't busy. Hell, sometimes I just slept all day... Didn't get days like that very often."

"Call your dad?"

"Yeah, uh... He wasn't around much." Andie shakes her head. "He tried to be, but work kept him busy. As time went on, it seemed like he had less and less time for us. Visits got fewer and farther between, phone calls got shorter. I was mad at him when this all started, hadn't spoken to him in months. I stopped answering his calls, decided if he cared enough, he'd come home... Now I'd give anything to hear his voice just more time, talk for five minutes... Even if all we did was argue, at least then I'd know that he's still..." She takes a deep breath, staring straight ahead.

"Anyone who raised you must be one tough sumbitch." He says, and she turns her head to look at him. "He's out there somewhere. He's still kicking."

A sad smile crosses the brunette's lips. "You know, that's not hard to believe. I just doubt that I'll ever see him again." She admits. "What about you? What did you do in your downtime?"

"Spent it with Merle." He tells her as they drive through the front gate at the prison; Carl shuts it behind them as they continue farther up toward the courtyard. "Hey, uh... You want help making the spaghetti?" He asks, and she smiles as she looks over at him.

"You wanna help?"

He shrugs. "What else I got to do?"

"Alright. Come on." Andie reaches over and squeezes his arm before hopping out of the car.

As true as it may be that Daryl doesn't have much else to do in the prison, that's not why he volunteered to help her. In all honesty, he likes being around the brunette, especially now that she's opened up more. So he wants to spend time around her while he has the chance.