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A woman's worth.	By : SpikesSlayer08 Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 4517 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The walking dead or its characters. This is not for profit only fun.

Chapter List
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Big thank you to everyone who has been reading this, I love your support and reviews, it feeds my muse. Also bug thanks to Jaded79 for beta-ing this chapter for me. Enjoy and let me know if you liked it or not
Chapter 3
Return to me.
Daryl headed out into the woods determined not to fail her, he moved through the area they had mapped out until it came to a clearing that an old white house sat on. He moved slowly and carefully, walking inside the house; it was all quiet but he made sure to check upstairs and down to be sure there were no nasty surprises around.
He moved through what looked like the kitchen seeing open food cans, he moved sniffing them and realising they were fresh; someone had been there and recently. Moving, he opened a small closet, seeing blankets on the bottom, it was clear someone had been sleeping there. Leaning down he felt the blankets, they were warm.
Shutting the door, he moved outside looking around but the first thing he noticed was a white flower. He recognised it, picked one and placed it in his pocket before standing looking around again. Someone had been sleeping in that cupboard, someone small and he just knew it was her, he felt it.
“SOPHIA!” he yelled loudly hoping she was nearby and would hear him. The next thing he heard was the sweetest sound he had ever heard.
“Mr Daryl,” she spoke showing herself, coming around from the side of the house, he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, he had done it, he had found her. She started moving towards him when he saw a walker stumble out behind her, fear gripped him and he saw it get closer to her.
“Sophia run!” he yelled running for her. She looked back to see the walker just inches from her, gasping she ran as fast as she could towards Daryl. He pushed her to the side, grabbing the walker under the chin and thrusting the knife up and into its lower jaw, forcing it all the way up till the blade pierced its brain. He dropped the corpse to the ground wiping the blood from his hands and turned to face her.
“Are you alright? You bit or scratched?” he asked kneeling in front of her, looking her over.
“No, I’m alright,” she puffed, her heart going a mile a minute at her close call with the walker. “My mum, is she okay?”
“She’s fine, worried about you,” he told her noting she didn’t mention her dad but deciding to ignore it. “Why didn’t you head back to the highway like Rick told you too?”
“I did but there was a walker blocking my way so I ran and hide, I thought maybe it would move away but it saw me and I just ran, I found a church but there were walkers inside, they didn’t see me so I ran back into the woods.” He nodded understanding.
“Well you’re alright now so let’s get you back home,” he sighed standing, but her little hand grasped his arm stopping him.
“My doll,” he turned looking at her confused.
“What? Is it inside?” he asked pointing at the house.
“No, after the church I found a stream but a walker came out of the woods. I ran but I dropped my dolly, I lost the walker and hid here, I was going to go back today and look for it, can we please get it? It’s not far from here.” Her little voice begged him, big blue eyes looking up at him. He sighed, caving.
“Fine but we need to make it fast,” he huffed keeping her close as they headed back into the woods together.
Ten minutes later they had found the stream and sure enough there laid her doll and stumbling through the woods nearby was the walker who had chased her. Daryl had taken great pleasure killing it before they headed back to the farm.
Carol had been sitting at the camp’s edge washing everyone’s clothes in a large barrel. Lori was still at poor Carl’s bedside as was Rick, and Andrea was over at the RV with Dale and Glenn out of sight. Carol hadn’t even see him come up behind her, grasping her by the back of the neck and she went to scream but his hand clamped over her mouth silencing her.
“Scream and this is going to be a lot worse for you,” she heard Ed hiss in her ear. She had been waiting for this since that day on the highway; she just hoped he didn’t beat her too badly this time. “You going to stay quiet?” She nodded tears slipping from her eyes, looking around frantically, hoping, praying anyone could see her but no one could.
He turned her to face him moving his hand from her mouth grasping her neck, making her gag and choke but all he did was smile in satisfaction, before punching her in the stomach hard. She fell to her knees sobbing as he started to kick her.
“It’s time you remembered your place,” he spat. She heard him taking off his belt but couldn’t bring herself to look up as she braced herself for what was to come. “You fucking scream out and I’ll flog you twice as fucking hard,” he warned her bring the thick belt down across her back. All she wanted to do was wail out but she fought to keep quiet.
“What did you think was going to happen, Carol? What? That the fucking redneck could save you? Be some knight in shining armour?” he laughed out loud as he brought the belt down again and again. “Our daughter is dead and it’s all your fault, you’re a terrible mother and a shit wife and a man like Daryl wouldn’t want something as used up and ugly as you,” he hissed moving his hits lower, whipping her legs now.
She sobbed trying the curl up and protect herself from the assault, she didn’t know what hurt more his hits or his words… she had been foolish and he was right, Sophia was gone and it was her fault and this was her life, her punishment for not watching her closer and for having thoughts about Daryl.
She was being punished.
They had moved quickly but Daryl had decided as they headed back that he should hunt but he was sure to keep an extra close eye on her and while he wasn’t used to the contact he hadn’t stopped her when she had grasped the loop on his jeans. She was clearly scared and he couldn’t blame her, she had been chased by so many walkers in the past couple of days, alone in the woods. She was running out of close calls but he promised himself she wouldn’t have any more, no, he would be keeping an extra close eye on her and her mother from here on out.
Once they reached the clearing in the woods near the farm, he attached his kills to his jeans, and swooping down he picked her up into his arms and moved across the open field. He was shocked to see no one on watch assuming they were in the middle of a changeover. He moved near the RV and saw Andrea and Dale gasp seeing little Sophia in his arms, but he quickly shhhed them, putting her down.
“How about we surprise your mum,” Daryl suggested. Sophia nodded smiling as the group moved to hug her. Daryl moved inside the RV to see Carol in the back sitting on the RV bed mending a pair of pants. She looked up at him and it was clear she had been crying but he wasn’t surprised. She had been doing that a lot since they lost Sophia. Putting the flower on the stand, she looked at him surprised.
“A flower?” she whispered.
“It's a Cherokee Rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow where the mothers' tears fell. I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers blooming for my brother. But I believe this one bloomed for your little girl.” Carol cried softly, nodded at his sweet words as they swelled in her heart. “And I think you have lots of reason to have hope…. Sophia?,” he called out. Carol looked up stunned to see Daryl move out of the way to reveal Sophia.
“Mummy!” the little girl cried.
“Sophia,” she whispered dropping to her knees and scooping up her daughter. They sat there for the longest time holding each other and crying on the floor before she stood hugging Daryl. “You brought her home safely, you have no idea what that means to me,” she said stepping back and picking up her daughter. Daryl just nodded before leaving them alone to their reunion.
That night they had all decided to celebrate, Sophia being found alive and well had filled them all with hope. They sat around the small fire laughing and relaxing for the first time in a long time. Hershel and his girls had even come out to join them offering them a few bottles of wine to celebrate even though he wasn’t a drinker, at least not anymore.
Ed had barely said two words since he found out Sophia had been found alive. It was almost like he was annoyed the girl was safe and Carol knew why, because he wanted to use her possible death as leverage over Carol. She swore to herself that would never happen again, she was a good mother; he was the one who was no good and she was thankful that he had refused to join the group and opted to stay in his tent.
After the attack, she had gone back to the RV in agony but luckily no one had noticed her hobble, washing her wounds and welts, she had covered herself in baggy clothes. But the evening was turning out quiet warm so she had changed into a looser shirt thinking it would be enough to cover her marks but when she bent over to pick up the bottle of wine to refill everyone’s glass, she realised her mistake hearing Lori’s gasp.
“Oh my god Carol, what happened to you?” Lori asked in horror, when she saw the other woman’s top ride up revealing the thick torn welts.
“Nothing, I just fell I’m fine really,” she smiled standing straight hoping they would just leave it but Daryl, Rick and Hershel were up and on her in seconds. Lifting the back of her shirt, Rick stepped back in horror.
“Carol I’ve been a cop a long time, that’s not from any fall,” Rick spoke, Shane moving to stand beside him.
“Nope I’ve seen marks like that before, someone hit you with a belt,” Shane noted.
“We need to get this cleaned properly, my dear, you could get an infection and some of these need stitching too,” Hershel said taking a close look.
Daryl was fuming, rage boiled inside him, lifting her top more he noted the welts covered her back and Hershel was right some would need stitches. Daryl turned her to face him but she couldn’t bring herself to look into his eyes. Moving down, he lifted the bottom of her pants seeing more welts littered her legs; then standing, he moved to lift the front of her shirt.
“Daryl, don’t,” her voice begged but he lifted it seeing an ugly black and purple bruise covering her stomach.
“Mum,” Sophia gasped as Carl held her. Carol looked up into Daryl’s eyes seeing rage, anger, hate but not for her, he looked over at the tent where he knew Ed was inside.
“Don’t,” she spoke but there was no stopping him; his face twisted in disgust and rage.
“I’ll fucking kill him!” he spat grabbing his bow and heading for Ed’s tent with only one thing on his mind, ending him once and for all.
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A woman's worth.