Theme Song: "Listen to the Rain" - Evanescence

I momentraily felt blinded by pain as it flashed through my arm and down to my fingertips. I looked up shakily to see concerned eyes staring at me.

Daryl furrowed his brow and was immediately on alert, "Wha's wrong?"

I looked at my upper left arm and noticed part of my shirt was ripped away as if something had torn it. I couldn't get a good look at what was in between the fabric. I bit my lower lip as I started to roll my shirt all the way up my arm.

When I had to shove it up past the wound I made a small noise of discomfort, but continued.

I bit the inside of her cheek as a gaping wound was now staring up at me. It looked as if I had snagged something with my arm. I instantly remembered being pulled away from the gunfire by Calvin and feeling a stinging sensation as my arm had collided with the old shelf.

Could it have been an old screw? A nail? Or the corner of the wood, maybe? I hadn't a clue what had snagged my arm so deeply and tore my shirt, but whatever it was had got my ass good.

Daryl nodded towards the wound, "Lemme see." I quickly shoved the bag to Calvin with my boot, "Eat something, okay? And get some rest. We can take watch for a bit."

Calvin nodded, but looked wearily at my arm before returning his attention to the food. He was a growing boy, he needed to eat. Daryl inspected my wound before reaching in his own bag and grabbing a few things.

We didn't have much. Hell, we didn't even have a real safety kit or anything. We would have to make do with what we had.

I grinned at him, "Doctor Dixon." He rolled his eyes and tried his best to patch me up. He cleaned it as best he could and that was really all anyone could do in our situation, but the notion was appreciated.

And each time his fingertips touched my bare skin, a fire ignited and spread like wildfire along my nerve endings.

He swallowed thickly, as if sensing the building tension between our closeness and backed away against the wall when he was done.

"Need to watch it for a bit." Daryl grumbled. I nodded back and looked down at it. It was cleaner, but it still hurt pretty good. I figured my skin must be really tender there.

Calvin had already gotten into a comfortable position and closed his eyes. I could hear his light snores from where I sat and it made me smile nostalgically. Henry would snore sometimes when they were kids.

Upon closer inspection of Calvin as he slept, I saw a mop of dirty blonde hair and an innocent face. However, he had the chiseled jawline of a kid that had grown up quick. He wasn't much older than Carl, but he certainly wasn't younger.

I looked to Daryl, "Merle is fine."

Daryl raised one of his legs up and drew it close to his chest. The other leg was stretched out lazily. "Ain't what I'm thinkin' 'bout." I rolled my eyes this time, "Liar."

He looked at me with that calculating stare before muttering, "He's baggage. We ain't got 'nough food for us all."

I looked perplexed at Daryl for changing the subject from Merle to Calvin and then shook my head with a fierce whisper.

"Stop being like that. We haven't had enough food since day one. Yet, here we are. What's the real problem?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes at me challengingly, but kept quiet. I scoffed lightly and shook my head, watching as Calvin stirred silently in his sleep.

The poor kid looked exhausted and I resisted the urge to go over and push locks of hair out of the way of his face in a motherly way.

"He saved my life back there; pulling me out of the way of gunfire in the knick of time like he did." I stated simply, now looking back over to Daryl and resting my chin on her knees.

"Feel like ya' owe him now? Is that it?" Daryl grumbled with his gravelly voice. "No, I just know a good human being when I see one." I countered haughtily. I could have sworn he huffed at my comment. Daryl was still agitated. Well, that made two of them.

"He's yer' responsibility." Daryl muttered and I simply looked away from him. His mood swings really sent me for a loop sometimes, but I pushed my agitation aside and ignored his comment.

"I know you're upset about Merle not being with Calvin."

Daryl fell deadly silent, his demeanor shifting from angry to a resigned and uncomfortable truth.

"And if your hair gets any longer I'm never going to know if you're looking at me or not." My voice held a small chuckle and this time Daryl's face brightened ever so slightly.

He looked up at me, his hair falling into his eyes, but he made no movement to push it away. Daryl responded reluctantly, "Ain't upset. Jus' would 'of been nice to see him is all."

His words were so low I almost didn't catch them, but I was glad she did.

"Thought ya' liked the long hair anyways." He added and I couldn't resist the smile that was forming on my face. "I do, but I also like seeing your eyes." Daryl breathed out a breathy chuckle to himself.

I added earnestly, "I'm serious. Your eyes are so blue. They are a breath of fresh air in an ugly world." He looked up at me shyly and this time I got a glimpse of those blue eyes.

A few beats of silence lingered as Calvin continued to sleep, "They are all out there. I know it."

My words held a truth and I felt this truth to my core. All their friends were out there. That was a sure thing. And I would hold onto that hope for as long as I possibly could.

It was just a matter if we were going to see anyone ever again was the kicker. "So are the bad ones." Daryl responded, smashing my little hopeful victory party. I froze, feeling that pull at my belly from remembering those men.

"You think they're gonna' find us here?" Daryl shrugged at my question, unable to lie to me. I swallowed a thick lump in my throat at the thought of those vile men and what others might have gone through with them.

"He's lucky we were there." Daryl murmured as we both watched Calvin sleep once more. I could agree to that. There was no telling what they would have done to him. The thought made me want to retch, so I pushed that aside

"We're kinda like sitting ducks here." I ventured, but Daryl just stared at me with a tired expression. He very well knew what I said was true, but there was nothing any of us could do.

---

All of us needed a moment to rest and relax, especially after running for what felt like an eternity. It was probably the later afternoon by now.

A familiar sound started to make small clink noises against the roof of the shack. They started slow at first. One here and one there, until eventually the noises started to build in strength and slap against the roof.

My eyes lit up as Calvin woke up, rubbing his eyes, "What's that noise?"

I felt an elation of joy I hadn't felt in a long time. It was rain. "That's the sound of mother nature doing us a favor." I grabbed whatever empty bottles we had collected in our bag overtime and rushed out with Daryl hot on my heels.

The rain hit our skin and I breathed in that rain smell. It NEVER rained. Ever. After being in an eternal oven for so long this all seemed too good to be true. But, here they were...out in the rain and it was actually real.

This wasn't a dream.

I laughed as I set the bottles down on the ground and allowed them to fill up with the natural rain water. The feeling of the cold drops against my warm skin didn't deter me in the least from this natural event.

Calvin came out after us and unzipped his jacket and tossed it to the side, letting the rain soak through his polyester navy blue shirt.

Daryl stood silently, letting the rain beat off his skin and I watched as the muscles in his arms seemed to ripple against those beads of water.

I quickly looked away just as he looked over at me. I snuck a glance back over at Daryl, watching for a moment as the rain cleaned the grime off of his skin. He looked away and back out to the woods beyond.

I felt my cheeks burn red because before he had looked away I saw the way he was looking at me.

It was the peculiar way he looked at me as if he realized he had something very special before his eyes, like he was seeing me through a new clean lense.

Maybe it was the way the rain matted my locks or the way my lashes flickered about while the drops hit them. I really didn't know, but the look we had shared sent tendrils of flames through my body.

We stood there silently, taking in the rare moment before our eyes. None of us took this unnatural weather event for granted. It rained for quite some time and it rained pretty hard.

My eyes cast up at the sun that never left the sky while it rained down on us. The moment of basking in a cool wet moment was gone. I was still riding off of my high and I collected the bottles with Daryl before walking back inside with Calvin on our heels.

I was soaking wet from my damp hair to my boots, but paid no mind to it. Neither did the guys. We were all were refreshed and it showed in everyone's demeanor.

"If they were trackin us, ain't got nuttin' to track now. That was the right amount of rain to clear our steps." Daryl offered and Calvin breathed out a breath of relief.

"We still need to keep moving though." I countered and Daryl nodded in agreement. "Stay here the day and then head out tomorrow morning?" I asked as Daryl shuffled on the floor and started to look through our stash of stuff.

His locks were wet, droplets falling to the floor before him, but he paid no mind to it. I, however, watched as if all the past sins were washed from his skin. A fresh start. A clean start. For the both of them.

I swallowed as I started to think of Hershel and how he would have had something wise or grandiose to say about the rain. How it meant something, maybe. A sign.

I looked over as Calvin stared at the wall across from him. He was silent, but his eyes held a thousand emotions. The boy was young, but he had seen so much it made him appear older.

Calvin felt me looking at him and I asked curiously, "Hey kid, what was life like before this?" He looked at me and shook his head, "Not now. Tomorrow."

He was cryptic at times, but I nodded and realized despite his earlier nap, he was still exhausted. They all were. "I have a feeling those marksmen skills you got will be an interesting story." Calvin gave her a small smile and confirmed this, "Something like that, but not as interesting as you think."

I didn't need to sleep just yet so I nodded towards my bag and offered it to him, "You can use this as a pillow." He nodded and got up to grab it before shoving it under his head and drifting off to sleep again.

After a bit I looked to Daryl, "Poor kid. Probably need to let him sleep through the night." Daryl didn't say anything, but he eyeballed the boy and nodded.

I didn't know how much time had passed, but all at once it was the evening and I was looking around abruptly, all wild eyed and waking on the floor.

"Did I fall asleep?" I whispered hoarsely to Daryl, rubbing my eyes and watching as Calvin still slept peacefully.

Daryl smirked, "Yeah, had to lean ya' over and on the floor. Ya' fell asleep against tha' wall." I smiled, "My neck would not have been happy about that later. Thanks."

I lightly stretched my arms, but winced as soon as the pain from my wound hit me. "Feelin' alright?" Daryl asked hesitantly as he looked from the front window over to my arm.

"Yeah, it's fine." I lied coolly before getting up and creeping over towards the window with Daryl. Calvin only stirred a moment and then continued to sleep.

"Can't just abandon him." I muttered after a few beats of silence as Daryl peered out the window. His rifle was in his hands, his fingers loosely on the gun, but his muscles rigid with tension.

"I know that." He admitted reluctantly with that rugged voice. He stared out the window for any sign of trespassers or trouble.

I felt relief as Daryl finally admitted that Calvin was with us now for good. He wasn't going anywhere and we certainly weren't going to just abandon him.

I looked at Calvin before looking back at Daryl as the bright moon shone through the window, "Unless..you're upset because you wanted me all to yourself." I quipped with a small snicker.

Daryl scoffed, but he also didn't confirm that it wasn't true. I gave him a coy smile before playing with the hem of my button down.

"Back there, at tha' store.." Daryl started suddenly and I snapped to attention at his words. "Ya' took a risk just standing up with tha' kid." I could hear his tone and it wasn't like he didn't approve my actions, hell he told me he trusted me, but I could get a sense that he worried.

"They could have shot me, I get that. I just-sometimes I act without thinking everything through. It's just..the hero in me." I said the last part with a smile, but Daryl didn't smile back.

I frowned slightly as Daryl's rough voice broke through, "Can't always go playin' hero cuz you'll get yerself' killed." He didn't have an edge to his voice, but he did sound slightly annoyed.

In that moment I wanted to say so much to Daryl, but I chose to keep it locked and buried inside. So, I just shrugged glumly, "We're all gonna' die one day, Daryl."

Daryl froze and this time his hands gripped the gun a bit tighter than he had been.

We were silent for a brief moment and I leaned my head against the wall, taking a deep breath and praying their conversation didn't go south.

"Jus' don't want nuttin' to happen to ya', is all." His voice was low and this time he didn't make eye contact with me. He continued to look out the window and I felt my heart skip a beat at his words.

When he did finally look at me they were silent, but a small appreciative smile crept on my face. He cared so much about me and vice versa. I would never take these little moments for granted because I never really knew how long all of this would last.

A few more moments passed and I noticed the way his skin glistened from the previous rain and how it had washed away a lot of dirt and grime off his hands and arms.

"Anyone ever tell you that you clean up nicely?" I asked quietly, my eyes drifting back up to rest on his face. He rolled his blue eyes, but shook his head, "Hell nah."

I hummed quietly to herself in response, "Maybe I need to pray to the rain God's more often." This made him snort and I chuckled quietly.

"Rain was on my bucket list." He looked at me briefly and raised a brow, "Still keepin that thing, huh?"

I smiled brightly and nodded, "Of course! We haven't even gotten to the weird stuff yet." I wiggled my brows at him playfully. He blushed and let out a low chuckle.

It was nice in those moments to still be able to get a low laugh or a smile out of him. We still held that connection, regardless of what happened.

"Get some more sleep, Red. We'll head out at dawn." Daryl murmured and motioned for me to go back to where sI had been sleeping before.

I nodded, knowing full well I needed a few more hours of sleep, but so did Daryl.

However, that was a conversation for the morning and if I was lucky to catch him in a good mood I might be able to talk him into sleeping for an hour or so before we actually headed out.

I looked over to Calvin and then back at Daryl with an excited and hopeful gleam in my eye, "And then there were three."

Daryl looked at Calvin and then back at the window, but she saw his smile.

I already made my way back across the floor to my spot. I allowed myself to drift off for a bit into dreamland.

This time I dreamed of rain, lakes of sparkling water and a really big white house by those lakes of sparkling water. The best part was that the whole group was together again.

Daryl's arm was wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me close as we walked towards the lake where a brand new motorcycle sat gleaming in the sunlight.

I knew it was just a dream, but those dreams were the only thing that kept the nightmares and visions of death from my mind.

So, I clung to those cheesy moments in her dreams because they pushed the darkness away. I didn't know what kind of person I would become if I let that darkness seep into my soul and I prayed the day would never come that I would find out.
 

Author's Note: I imagine since this is now set closer around to Season 4(ish) Carl is about 13/14 ..so that would make Calvin about 15/17ish. Which would explain why he is an Eagle Scout and why Vicki mentions he is young, but looks more mature for his age as far as his hardened features. Also, yes, it did rain. I know it might not seem realistic weather-wise, but this is my fanfic and I wanted that moment for all of them. And who doesn't like the idea of Daryl dripping wet from a nice rain shower? :p Can't wait to continue this story later this weekend!