❛ Words like violence, break the silence. Come crashing into my little world. Painful to me, pierce right through me. Can't you understand? ❜

SEASON 2, EPISODE 4
cherokee rose

━━━━━━ day 68.

THE SUN ROSE the following day, and, as Daryl said, they left a sign for Sophia and left for the farm. Dale drove his RV, Daryl his motorcycle, and Bianca drove the Grimes' Tucson. They drove right up to the house, everyone waiting for them. Their people and the Greene family. It felt tense between strangers. For them, they were all still wary of others because of the CDC, and for the Greenes, they still hadn't met many since the beginning of the outbreak.

⠀⠀⠀Rick and Lori walked out of the house, and everyone greeted them. Once they were finished, Rick explained to them that Carl was doing fine and had woken up not long before he walked out. Then, he explained to the new arrivals that Otis had shot Carl, one of the farmers, who had been hunting. It had been an honest mistake, and they had atoned for it. However, in trying to save Carl, Otis died getting supplies with Shane on a run.

⠀⠀⠀Everything seemed okay until Bianca found herself under a tree, attending a funeral for a man she didn't know. She tried to slip away and hide during the procession, but Rick asked her to stay. The Greenes had done a lot for them, and her staying would mean something to them.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca relented, but kept her thoughts on the matter unhidden as she stood toward the back to keep her distance.

⠀⠀⠀An older man with white hair and a fallen face, Hershel Greene, began the funeral with a prayer to the lord. One Bianca had long since stopped praying to.

⠀⠀⠀Religion and how others took part was none of Bianca's business, but being asked to participate was another thing. Thankfully, they didn't seem to look for her or the others to lead or recite the prayer. Instead, they prayed for themselves and their family. Bianca bowed her head in respect and listened.

⠀⠀⠀They asked Shane if he would speak, having been the last to know him. Shane witnessed Otis' death, now he stood in his clothes in front of his grave.

⠀⠀⠀Shane looked itchy, like Hershel asking him to say a few words got under his skin. At first, he denied the request, but Otis' wife pleaded with him, making the case harder to say no to.

⠀⠀⠀"We were about done, almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limpin'. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up," Shane re-told, staring down at the ground as he spoke. He paused a moment to gather his words, then continued, "'We've got to save the boy.' See, that's what he said," Shane told them, words like finite and his breath hitched, face turning blotchy as he re-lived the moments. "He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. 'Run,' he said. He said, 'I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.' And when I looked back..."

⠀⠀⠀The emotion left Shane's face; the tears gone, leaving him tan and clear again. He looked to Otis' wife, who begged for the story, crying now. Then he limped to the grave, beginning again.

⠀⠀⠀"If not for Otis," Shane said, picking up a rock from the wheelbarrow. "I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl, too. It was Otis. He saved us both."

⠀⠀⠀Shane turned back to them.

⠀⠀⠀"If any death ever had meaning, it was his."

⠀⠀⠀Shane set the rock on the stack made to remember Otis, leaving the funeral in a morbid silence as he limped away.

BIANCA STOOD BESIDE Daryl around the hood of a car, along with Rick, Shane, Andrea, and Hershel. They explained to Hershel everything that had happened since they came to the highway other than Carl's injury.

⠀⠀⠀"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked when they finished.

⠀⠀⠀"This'll be day three," Rick explained.

⠀⠀⠀Hershel's daughter, the one with the baseball bat and the horse named Maggie, walked to the space between Andrea and Rick, unfurling the map between them.

⠀⠀⠀"County survey map," Maggie stated, placing rocks down to keep the map from closing. "Shows terrain and elevations."

⠀⠀⠀"This is perfect," Rick said, looking over the map with fresh eyes. "We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."

⠀⠀⠀"Not you, not today," Hershel interrupted him. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out."

⠀⠀⠀Rick looked like he wanted to argue, but stopped himself. Hershel then turned to Shane, cutting them even thinner.

⠀⠀⠀"And your ankle. Push it now. You'll be laid up a month. No good to anybody."

⠀⠀⠀"Guess it's just me and the kid again," Daryl sighed, clapping his hand on Bianca's shoulder. He looked down at the map, trailing his finger over the routes while Bianca thinned her lips to keep herself from blurting out her ear was still dead. She wasn't planning on telling them. What was the point if she got sidelined? But she did have a tendency to say things without thinking. "We'll head to the creek, work our way back from there."

⠀⠀⠀Rick nodded, glancing between the two of them.

⠀⠀⠀"I can still be useful," Shane said, surprisingly not arguing with Hershel. However, he also didn't believe in Sophia being found, so Bianca shouldn't find it that surprising. "I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back."

⠀⠀⠀"Alright, tomorrow, then," Rick agreed, despite looking frustrated by their inability to move forward. "We'll start doin' this right."

⠀⠀⠀"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives," Shane told Rick. "They need the gun trainin' we've been promisin' them."

⠀⠀⠀There was a moment of silence. Maggie turned to her father with a worried brow.

⠀⠀⠀"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property," Hershel requested. "We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp."

⠀⠀⠀"All due respect," Shane said. "You get a crowd of those things wanderin' in here..." he faded, letting out a knowing chuckle.

⠀⠀⠀"Look, we're guests here," Rick told them, obviously directed for Shane, an icy stare held onto his friend, telling him to stand down. "This is your property, and we will respect that."

⠀⠀⠀Rick did as he said, removing his gun from his holster and laying it on the hood of the car. Shane turned away, annoyed, but removed his weapon as well.

⠀⠀⠀"First things first, set camp, find Sophia," Rick instructed them.

⠀⠀⠀"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to," Shane said, but he never seemed too concerned about bringing anything up. "What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

⠀⠀⠀"You do what has to be done," Rick stated, bowing his head.

⠀⠀⠀It was a hard pill to swallow, but they all knew it had to be done. If not for the safety of their camp, then to allow Sophia the rest she well-deserved.

⠀⠀⠀"And her mother?" Maggie asked, distraught by Rick's answer. "What do you tell her?"

⠀⠀⠀"The truth," Andrea answered.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll gather and secure all the weapons," Shane stated.

⠀⠀⠀"All the weapons?" Bianca interrupted him. "I thought we just said guns."

⠀⠀⠀Hershel turned to her, raising a brow.

⠀⠀⠀"Does my sledgehammer count?" she asked Hershel as he kept her gaze without responding. "Or even just a tire iron. Can I keep my tire iron?"

⠀⠀⠀"Bianca, we're safe here," Rick told her, aggravation lacing into his tone by the reluctance his people seemed to have for following Hershel's house rules. "We don't need weapons."

⠀⠀⠀"Well, we're not safe, and we always need weapons. I hate to say it, but like what Shane said," Bianca retorted with a frown, tossing her thumb toward Shane. "I'm fine with no guns because you can easily shoot someone or even knives, but blunt objects are different... right?"

⠀⠀⠀Hershel continued to stare with a disappointed stare. However, Bianca had never been one to back down without a solid, reasonable answer.

⠀⠀⠀"All I'm saying is—"

⠀⠀⠀"Bianca, please," Rick scolded her, and she shut her mouth. "It'll be alright."

⠀⠀⠀"Fine," she muttered, crossing her arms. "I can take it out in the woods with me, right?" she pestered.

⠀⠀⠀Rick sighed, nodding.

"DARYL!" RICK CALLED just as he and Bianca were about to head out. Rick was sitting on the steps of the house, then walked a safe distance from the pair. "Y'all alright on your own?"

⠀⠀⠀"I'm better on my own. Kid's smart, though, won't slow me down," Daryl told him dismissively, turning to keep moving. "We'll be back before dark."

⠀⠀⠀"Hey!" Rick called again. Daryl turned, and Bianca waited. "We got a base. We can get this search properly organized now."

⠀⠀⠀"You got a point, or are we just chattin'?" Daryl spat, anger spiked.

⠀⠀⠀"My point is, it lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anything," Rick explained, shrugging then letting his arms fall to his sides.

⠀⠀⠀"My other plans fell through," Daryl called back, nodding his head toward Bianca, and the two headed off.

━━━━━━ september 2008.

TWO IN THE morning, and Cal had snuck into Bianca's dorm house, knocking before the RA spotted him. He was lucky Bianca had been working on a project through the night and heard him. With furrowed brows, she stood, pushing back the magnifying glasses to the top of her head.

⠀⠀⠀Cal and Bianca had been hanging out on the front lawn for a few weeks, so when she found him standing at her door, it was a pleasant surprise. He had a mischievous little grin on his lips and a picnic basket in hand.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, you look cute," Cal greeted when she only stared at him.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca rose a brow, looking down at her clothes. An oversized Iron Man shirt and black sweats.

⠀⠀⠀"Thanks," she replied hesitantly, narrowing her eyes at him. "What are you doing here at... two in the morning?"

⠀⠀⠀"Well, I was in my dorm, over-thinking my whole life as one does," Cal explained, and Bianca nodded in understanding. "And then I started thinking about you, and like... you are one of the best people I've ever met, and I wanted to ask you out on a date, and then I couldn't get it out of my head. So, I kind of made this picnic, and if you were awake, I was gonna take it as a sign and see if you wanted to go..."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca watched as Cal turned a bright shade of red, getting flustered as he looked down at the basket, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

⠀⠀⠀"I now realize I sound like a crazy person," he muttered.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca smiled, resting her hand on his arm, catching his attention.

⠀⠀⠀"No, you sound exactly like my kind of person," Bianca assured him, and he brightened considerably. "I'd love to go with some guy I just met in the middle of the night in his car to some park where murderers live."

⠀⠀⠀Cal's expression flattened, and he frowned at the sarcasm.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, you didn't have to be rude about it," Cal sighed, backing up, but Bianca kept her hand tight on him.

⠀⠀⠀"No, I was just joking," Bianca laughed. "Please, it was just funny. I'd love to go with you."

⠀⠀⠀"Alright," Cal chuckled, shaking his head.

⠀⠀⠀"Let me get my shoes," Bianca stated, running back into her room and shoving on a pair of boots. Then, she wrote a note in case Elena woke up and stuck it on her forehead.

⠀⠀⠀They walked outside to the parking garage where Cal's car was, and he showed the way. Bianca couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as she saw the car when they approached. It was a dark green and gray, and the back a little crunched.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Cal asked, turning to her.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, God," Bianca said, laughing behind her hand. "I think this is the ugliest car I've ever seen."

⠀⠀⠀Cal looked at his car, frowning, then turned to Bianca. He replaced his previous expression with a pout. Puppy dog eyes turned toward her.

⠀⠀⠀"You don't like my car?" he asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, babe," Bianca sighed, patting Cal's cheek. "No. It's so ugly."

⠀⠀⠀"Thanks," Cal laughed.

⠀⠀⠀They walked to the sides of the car, sitting inside, and Cal handed her the picnic basket before turning his car on. Metallica's Justice For All album began playing, and Bianca smiled.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, at least you have good taste in music," Bianca mused, turning to him.

⠀⠀⠀"You like Metallica?" Cal asked with a smile, happy with that.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, I enjoy their music. I don't listen to them all the time, though," Bianca explained with a shrug.

⠀⠀⠀The car left the parking garage, and they were out on the main road, heading for wherever Cal had picked.

⠀⠀⠀"What's your go-to genre?" Cal asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Alternative rock or indie," Bianca said. "Paramore, Arctic Monkeys, the Neighbourhood. That kind of thing."

⠀⠀⠀"That's pretty cool," Cal nodded, pulling into a parking lot. "I like Paramore, especially Misery Business."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca smiled while Cal parked the car at the entrance of a park close to the school. He nearly opened the car door, but Bianca stopped him.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, this is sweet and all, but I wasn't kidding about murderers in the park. We should just eat in here with the doors locked."

⠀⠀⠀Cal laughed, re-locking the doors, and nodded. Bianca unbuckled herself, then opened the lid, finding sandwiches, apples, cokes, and cookies for their late-night meal. Bianca distributed the items, and the couple talked from music to majors to stupid things they did in high school.

⠀⠀⠀When they finished, it was nearing five in the morning, and they both had classes in the morning. Bianca put the basket in the backseat, and Cal headed back to the school. 

⠀⠀⠀The sun was rising, pink hues filtering through the car, and Bianca realized she had never felt like this with anyone. She had a few boyfriends when she was younger, but none that lasted, and not one she ever felt even an inkling of love toward.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca could see herself falling in love with Cal.

⠀⠀⠀Cal parked, and they sat for a moment together. Bianca turned to him, and when Cal turned to her, she leaned in and pecked at his lips. When she pulled away, Cal was staring at her in a daze, a dopey smile coming up to his face.

⠀⠀⠀"Thank you. No one has done something like this for me before," Bianca whispered.

⠀⠀⠀"They should have," Cal told her. "You deserve this and more."

━━━━━━ day 68.

DARYL AND BIANCA walked toward the creek until they stumbled upon a house. It was a two-story house painted white but darkened by dirt and rainwater and a dark red roof. Daryl removed his crossbow, and Bianca positioned her sledgehammer over her shoulder, ready to swing.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl entered first, kicking the door open, and turned to his left, checking the room, then the one to his right. When they were clear, he glanced at Bianca and nodded her inside.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl kept quiet, pointing at himself, then through the room on his right. Then he pointed at Bianca and up the stairs. Bianca nodded and followed his direction.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca walked slowly, stepping on her toes as she went. The stairs creaked under her weight. She made it to the top, pausing. She took in a deep breath, then continued forward. Nothing unusual upstairs, just beds and furniture.

⠀⠀⠀When Bianca opened the bathroom, her dad's cologne invaded her senses. Some kind of musky pine. Then, a brush of chilly wind hit her neck, goosebumps standing on end. She whipped around so suddenly her head grew funny, and her stomach felt nauseous. Her hands turned clammy, and her breathing grew rapidly as she looked around, waiting to see her family behind her.

⠀⠀⠀But Bianca knew she was in the abandoned house looking for Sophia. The sun was up; she reminded herself. When they died, it was night. It felt like her house, though; the anxiety argued. The smell was there, their ghosts...

⠀⠀⠀"Bianca!"

⠀⠀⠀She turned, nearly tripping over her feet, and found Daryl in front of her. He had his usual frown on his face but rose an unamused brow at her. Bianca raised her hand to her chest from the shock, panting, then smiled awkwardly at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey," she answered casually.

⠀⠀⠀"Did you hear me?" Daryl asked flatly.

⠀⠀⠀"Um, no," she replied.

⠀⠀⠀"You alright? You don't look so good," he worried, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead. Bianca stared back at him like he had two heads. Then, finally, he pulled his hand away and eyed her. "No fever."

⠀⠀⠀"No, I'm fine, I just..." Bianca said, trailing off as she tried to explain without sounding crazy. Then, she relented by dodging that fact and used her other issue in place. "My ear. I haven't been able to hear since the CDC."

⠀⠀⠀"Seriously?!" Daryl exclaimed. Bianca nodded, and he snapped his fingers beside her left ear. "Well, shit, kid. Why didn't you say anything? You gotta talk to the doc back at the farm."

⠀⠀⠀"What's he gonna do?" Bianca protested. "Get me a hearing aid?"

⠀⠀⠀"You never know," Daryl shrugged, walking down the stairs. "Come here. I think I might have found somethin'."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca followed behind, nerves still rattling around in her mind as she skirted her eyes across the room. She was sure Eugene would pop out from behind a corner, or she'd find her mom lying with her organs on display, blood pooling around her.

⠀⠀⠀"Here," Daryl called, and she followed him into the kitchen. Daryl opened the pantry and showed a small alcove in the bottom where a blanket and pillow were stuffed inside. "I'm thinkin' she must've come here and found herself a good little hidin' spot."

⠀⠀⠀"How far off was this place?" Bianca asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Not too much," Daryl mused. "She could've made it here in a day or so. She might've heard us comin' and ran. C'mon."

⠀⠀⠀Daryl walked out of the back door, calling Sophia's name. Bianca felt better leaving. The anxiety coiled in her chest released.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca followed Daryl out into the garden, where he noticed a shrub with white flowers sitting pretty. Daryl squatted, looking at the plant with squinted eyes before deciding on something and standing. Plucking two flowers, he held onto one, then held the other out to Bianca.

⠀⠀⠀"What is this?" Bianca asked, skeptical of Daryl's attitude the whole trip.

⠀⠀⠀"A Cherokee rose," Daryl said with a smile. "Story goes that when American soldiers were moving Natives off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grievin' and cryin' so much cause they lost their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared."

⠀⠀⠀"Like Sophia."

⠀⠀⠀Daryl nodded.

⠀⠀⠀"So, the elders, they said a prayer, asked for a sign to uplift the mother's spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day, this rose grew right where the mother's tears fell. This plant, it bloomed for Sophia, but I also think it's sayin' that your boyfriend will find his way back to you."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca frowned, looking down at the flower as fresh tears came to her eyes. She gripped it, worried if she loosened her grip, it might fly away. A watery smile came to her lips, and she looked up at Daryl, knowing this much emotion was probably too much for him already.

⠀⠀⠀"Thank you," she said.

⠀⠀⠀"Don't thank me yet," Daryl muttered, waving his hand at her. "He's still gotta find his way back."

⠀⠀⠀Daryl seemed so sure of his words. She could understand why he might for Sophia. She was known to be lost in these woods, but Cal... all they had was his car that had been abandoned weeks ago and no clue where he'd gone.

⠀⠀⠀"Who are you, and what did you do with Daryl?" Bianca asked, holding a finger gun out at him.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl rolled his eyes, chuckling, "Someone's gotta keep the spirits up," he said, then nodded his head. "C'mon, we should keep movin'."

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

This chapter is a little shorter but I really like it because Daryl...

I'm excited for the next chapter! Carl and Bianca get a little bonding time which I love. They are so cute, and I'm very excited for their relationship. 

SONG: Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you'd like. However, this is an all kind of reader safe space. So even if you ghost read or comment every chapter, I hope you know it means the world to me that you've come into this fic ♡ I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until the next one.