Forever Rising Phoenix | By : ImagineLayla131 Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 7147 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH THE WALKING DEAD FRANCHISE. ALL PROPERTIES OWNED BY FRANK DARABONT, AMC, ROBERT KIRKMAN AND TONY MOORE. NO MONEY/PROFIT IS BEING MADE OFF OF THIS FANFICTION! |
Hello world and my wonderful readers!. Sorry if this chapter is long, I had a lot to cover!
THE TRIO IS FINALLY HERE! I am very excited and have been anticipating their arrival, I've had this planned for a while. I don't really know them too well, I had to do a lot of research in addition to getting into their heads the best that I could, so go easy on me! Regardless, I had a lot of fun writing them, especially with all the nicknames! Haha! Some of the lines are directly from the show or comic, like what Abe says about Washington.
Again, I don't think I made Delilah's accomplishments too grandiose, because like Billy says, there are lots of opportunities that come out of these pageants. The Jones Soda bottles are pretty cool, I aspire to be on one! I'm warning everybody now that this is Delilah like you haven't seen her before, but she's not crazy!
I have posted a compiled picture of all my original characters on Instagram, along with Delilah and Billy's rings, the former of which I designed, so now you can perfectly envision them! The links are on my profile. Let me know what you think in the reviews and follow me on Instagram! =)
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH THE WALKING DEAD FRANCHISE, YOU OUGHTA KNOW, OBJECTION (TANGO), SPICE UP YOUR LIFE, JET AIRLINER, OR JONES SODA. ALL PROPERTIES OWNED BY FRANK DARABONT AND AMC (TELEVISION SERIES), ROBERT KIRKMAN AND TONY MOORE (COMIC BOOK SERIES), ALANIS MORISSETTE, SHAKIRA, THE SPICE GIRLS, THE STEVE MILLER BAND, AND JONES SODA COMPANY, RESPECTIVELY. I ONLY OWN MY OWN ORIGINAL IDEAS AND CHARACTERS.
WARNING! STRONG LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL REFERENCES
Chapter Forty Six: Behind The Smile
"Regardless, you seem like you're a good guy and I can tell Delilah is in love with you."
"How can you tell?" Rick appreciated the words, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Billy wasn't entirely over her.
Unbeknownst to his confirmation, Billy wasn't over Delilah. While he thought Rick was a good man and was glad that they had actually talked and had gotten to know each other a little bit, Billy was still going to try everything he possibly could to get Delilah back. Jennifer was right, God had made their paths cross, and hopefully, they would be together again. Delilah was Billy's one true love, and who wouldn't want to be with their true love again? Although, if it didn't work, he would have to respect her decision in order to at least remain a part in her life.
May the best man win, Rick Grimes.
"She looks at you the same way she used to look at me."
ONE WEEK LATER, OCTOBER 23rd, 3:00 PM
One week. One hectic yet very numbing week since life as Rick, Delilah, and the others knew it had changed for the time being, for it was exactly one week that Billy, Christine, Santino, Serena, and their group had been staying with all of them at Jellbany.
Having Christine locked up didn't go as planned. Madison and Tyresse actually had to throw her in an ice cold shower because she wouldn't stop screaming and trying to break free. Dr. Scott had given her a tranquilizer, which ultimately did the trick. The following day, Billy and Delilah sat down with Mac and Scott, the former having previous experience with these kind of predicaments. When they had unlocked Christine from the closet, she looked almost lifeless. Her skin was pale, her eyes were red and puffy, her hair and clothing were disheveled. They thought she was catatonic, but when she saw Delilah, she growled and lunged at her, acting like a feral animal. Mac and Scott were able to grab her just in time, but Delilah had screamed and flew into Billy's arms, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his chest. He was in shock that she was hugging him and rubbed her shoulder to calm her down, which was when she realized what she had done and immediately backed off. Luckily, it had only been the five of them and Delilah had refrained from telling Rick, she didn't want to upset him over something so minor, she didn't even know why she had done it in the first place.
After much deliberation, it was ultimately decided that Christine fit the criteria of Narcissistic Personality Disorder to a T, from entitlement to taking advantage of people to having unrealistic ideals and being completely delusional at times. Since there wasn't medication to treat it specifically, Dr. Scott insisted they go through with the planned therapy while Delilah and Billy suggested Christine be placed on SSRI psychotropic drugs, combining Prozac and Abilify, which were more commonly used to treat mood disorders. Dr. Scott and Mac were able to find the medicines and more when they took a trip to the Ridgeview Institute in Smyrna, which was only thirty minutes away from the factory.
The medication worked almost immediately on Christine, which was odd considering that it usually takes 4-6 weeks for psychotropics to kick in, maybe because it was her first experience. She had been combative and hostile in the beginning, but she ultimately came around, cooperating in the therapy sessions and even journaling. Except that did not sway Billy and he stood by his decision of relinquishing her from the twins, even making sure she was as far away from them as possible. Christine was still conceited, but she had become useful more or less by throwing herself into the assigned menial chores.
Billy, on the other hand, was becoming something of a nuisance, even though he didn't mean to be. Unless it was regarding Christine or the twins, Delilah refused to speak to him, saying she needed time and definitely wanted to avoid any discussions of that brief hug. She wouldn't even call him by his name, only referring to him as "Bill". Alas, the distance resulted in Billy constantly following her around Jellbany, trying to help her with whatever she was doing, and talking to Rick whenever he could. He was acting like some stupid lovesick puppy, he was so desperate to get in her good graces that he even returned the keys to her BMW x5, but she still wouldn't budge. If it wasn't one thing, it was another, and Delilah needed an outlet. She had become so fed up that she dragged Rick out for a ride in the x5 that turned out to be an hour of Delilah blasting breakup songs.
"An older version of me
Is she perverted like me
Would she go down on you in a theatre
Does she speak eloquently
And would she have your baby
I'm sure she'd make a really excellent mother
'cause the love that you gave that we made wasn't able
To make it enough for you to be open wide, no
And every time you speak her name
Does she know how you told me you'd hold me
Until you died, till you died
But you're still alive
And I'm here to remind you
Of the mess you left when you went away
It's not fair to deny me
Of the cross I bear that you gave to me
You, you, you oughta know!"
Delilah was singing along to "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette, rocking out and angrily flipping her hair, just like in that movie Holy Smoke!, and Rick didn't know whether to laugh or be freaked out. In the three months he had been at Jellbany and they had been together, he had never once seen her act like this. The past week hadn't been very easy.
Since that first night, Delilah had become kind of distant from everybody and very moody. It was as if she was on auto pilot, not really interacting with anybody. She would spend three to five hours each night dancing in the factory and would sleep into the late afternoon. Rick had tried to talk to her, but she would brush it off and change the subject. It also seemed like she started dressing more provocatively, the necklines in her tops plunged deeper, the length of her skirts was shorter, her pants were tighter. Her eye makeup seemed more intense as her liner went darker and her lashes went higher. Today, she was wearing a black bustier that zipped up in the front and had black straps connecting from the back to make it look like cutouts and a small hood that connected to the halter, skin tight black leather low rider pants, and black and leopard print platform shoes that just made her reach Rick's height. While it was all a sexy sight to see, Rick wondered if she had snapped. In addition to the aforementioned, Delilah hadn't been eating regularly, and it had him worried that her bulimia tendencies might resurface. There had to have been something on her mind that she was holding back on, it was like she was off in her own little world, and he had to get it out of her.
"It was a slap in the face how quickly I was replaced
And are you thinking of ME when YOU FUCK HER?"
"Delilah? Delilah!" Rick tapped her arm, finally making her look over. She lowered the volume on the stereo.
"What's up?"
"Are you ok? Is there something you want to talk about?"
Delilah shrugged. "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh, so you look like The Queen of the Headbangers Ball all the time?" He smirked, but not even that got to her. Now he understood how Lori felt when she wanted more out of him in heavy discussion, so it was as good of a time as any to start now. "Come on, babe. I can tell when something's on your mind, so let it out."
"It's nothing, just how things can change in a week. I thought my life was as close to perfect as it could get in the world we live in now, only to be sucker punched by the arrival of Romeo and Maleficent." Delilah really didn't want to discuss any of this, because she was worried that she would explode from holding it all in for the past week due to the stress and torment eating away at her psyche. Thanks to Billy and Christine's arrival, Delilah never did get to ask Rick about moving into her room, and he hadn't even slept there for the past five nights. They were drifting apart because she was unintentionally pushing him away.
"They've both been acting pretty low-key."
Delilah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it's like they're blending in so well. I can't believe Brandi and Caitlin are warming up to that tramp, those two faced bitches! Brandi actually had the nerve to say Christine is gorgeous. No, she's not! I am! I was the fucking beauty queen!" She heavily exhaled. "I'm sorry, that was pretty harsh and mean spirited on my end, except I worked really hard to look this beautiful from when I was chubby and picked my skin, and maintain it. They don't call it a job for nothing. Do you think Miranda Kerr and Charlize Theron wake up that gorgeous? We all have to work at it."
"I know you did. Delilah, honey, don't listen to them. They're just trying to get under your skin."
"Why should I? They're vapid bitches. No wonder they get along so well with Christine, birds of a feather flock together. If that weren't enough, it doesn't help that Kaki and Savannah and practically all the girls are drooling over Bill, even Mika gets all red in the face and giggly when he's around. I'll let that slide, since they're younger."
Delilah almost wanted to smirk. Whenever she and Billy would go out, they'd always get lots of stares and whispers from passerbys because they were such a good looking couple, but that increased whenever the newest season of Gossip Girl started up again. Billy's undeniable resemblance to Chace Crawford caused quite a stir, and from September to June, it seemed like wherever they went the chicks would gather and beg him for an autograph or picture. He and Delilah kept saying how it wasn't him and showed Billy's tattoos, but they wrote it off as either being fake in real life or being covered up on the show. She remembered one time the two of them went shopping with Jennifer and a quartet of misfit Catholic school girls followed him into the dressing room at Bloomingdales to get a picture, unbeknownst to them that Billy was in his Captain America boxers sliding on some True Religions. Delilah and Jennifer had been too late to warn him in time, arriving just as the girls barged in and watching Billy fall flat on his ass from being tangled in the jeans, they were laughing so hard they fell into each other crying. Even after his music career took off and especially back in Texas where he was known as "political royalty" thanks to Papie and Vance, whether they were at one of Sadie Bella and Anna's beauty pageants or at Westheimer and Dunlavy, the hippest shopping district in Houston, people still thought he was Chace Crawford, who ironically also hailed from Texas. Those were the good old days, before it all went to shit...
"Well, if it's anything, I think Mika is afraid of Christine."
Delilah pushed the past out of her mind to concentrate on what Rick was saying. "You might be onto something. Every time she walks in the room, Mika hides behind me. Lizzie, on the other hand, has practically become Christine's Mini Me. I told you there was something wrong with that kid. Maybe it's helping Christine since the twins were relinquished, somebody finally looking up to her. It's almost as if she doesn't care, she's so selfish! How I saw her with them ripped my heart out, I would never do that, EVER, to my child, or even a child that wasn't my own. You can tell how damaged those children are. Santino is adorable, he's an absolute doll, but that Serena is probably one of the most unfriendly babies I've ever met in my entire life, just like her mother. The kid has a damn sourpuss on her face every time I see her. I'm an idiot, why didn't you interject when I said they could stay? We're a couple, you're supposed to stop me from doing stupid shit!"
Rick huffed, exasperated. "I did, Delilah. In fact, I wasn't the only one, there were four of us that said something. At the end of the day, with the exception of your sister, you did the right and selfless thing, giving those children a second chance in a more stable environment. If anything happened to Billy and they were left with Christine, they'd be doomed. It's not really fair of you to say that, she's an innocent baby and your family. Please, just calm down and watch the road."
"Calm down?! Don't tell me to calm down, I'm living under the same roof with my worst nightmare! The medication may be working now, but there is no "magic pill", I'm living proof of that. She's Hannibal fucking Lecter, Rick! Waiting to kill and wear my skin as a coat, then she'll finally be me!"
"I'm on your side, no questions asked."
"Then why do you talk to Bill so much?" Before he could answer, Delilah looked over and raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, I saw you two watching me in the factory last week, that's what started it all. What did he say about me, Rick? That I was the best thing that ever happened to him, that he loves me, that his life is shit since Christine took over? It's his own damn fault, and here's how I feel about it."
Delilah cranked up the volume as a polka esque rock melody played. The song was "Objection" by Shakira.
"It's not her fault that she's so irresistible
But all the damage she's caused isn't fixable
Every twenty seconds you repeat her name
But when it comes to me you don't care
If I'm alive or dead, so."
She sang along, tapping her hands on the steering wheel in beat with the music.
"Objection
I don't want to be the exception
To get a bit of your attention
I love you for free,
And I'm not your mother
But you don't even bother
Objection
I'm tired of this triangle
Got dizzy dancing tango
I'm falling apart in your hands again
No way
I've got to get away."
Delilah turned the volume down and looked over at Rick, who didn't even know what to think anymore. "The only differences are is that Christine isn't irresistible and I did get away. So what did you guys discuss?"
He shrugged. "What do you think we talked about? We talked about you and your rising career and life before the apocalypse. He told me how he had jealousy issues over Angelo touching you inappropriately during your routines."
Delilah rolled her eyes. "Of course he would take it out of context. To this day, I'm convinced his brothers swayed him into thinking that. Angelo was 100% Italian and they're naturally more affectionate and grabby, I get what that's like, I'm Sicilian on my mom's side. I took care of it when it got to be too much, though. Did he say anything else?"
Rick couldn't tell her about how Billy confessed that Christine was actually the one who gave out the false business cards and that he had gone looking for Delilah since abandoning her. He knew that if she found any of that out, she would start to second-guess everything and he might lose her. The paranoia of that happening had crept up on him, and it was the last thing he wanted, so Rick figured it would be best to withhold that imperative information, even though it killed him to lie. "No, nothing that you already hadn't told me. I'm not the only one that talks to him." Rick had seen pretty much every guy at Jellbany talk to Billy, and Billy also tried to talk to Glenn, but wasn't he as receptive. When he was doing the night guard shift a couple days ago, he had seen Billy and Tara talking. Rick didn't know if Delilah knew about any of this, and he hoped she wouldn't be mad at Tara. It was in her nature to be caring, and she told Glenn that she felt like she could relate to Billy, but she made it clear where her loyalty lied. "I think he really wants to make amends, Delilah. He seems pretty broken up and I'm just being polite. Deep down, I can tell he's a good kid."
There was a brief silence in the car before she fully snapped.
"Oh, my god!" Delilah's eyes widened and her mouth flew open as she kept glancing at Rick. "Are you two like totally gay for each other? Do I have a Brokeback Mountain situation on my hands?!"
Now it was Rick's turn to be appalled, he couldn't believe what she had just said. "Delilah, what the hell are you talking about?" He tried to stop her, but she was now on a tangent.
"I mean, yeah I know he's totally gorgeous with a super hot body. He's also charming and funny and suave and intelligent, I was with the man for five years, but he's trouble. You're smart enough to know that, the other girls just chose not to."
"You sound insane." He wasn't even going to get into what she said about Billy.
"Wouldn't that just be the damn cherry on my sundae? First, my fiancé leaves me for my sister who tricked him all along, then he starts bumping uglies with my current boyfriend! Tell me, Rick, would you be the top or the bottom? Let me put it in baseball terms: Are you the catcher or receiver? Tough call, since I know from personal experience that you're both dominant in the sheets."
"That's enough, I don't want to hear another word of this anymore. The conversation is over."
She completely looked over at him with her seductive cat eyes, changing her demeanor. "Rick, sugar, if you wanted to backdoor me, all you had to do was ask. I might consider it." Delilah ran her hand up and down his knee, her tone was sultry. He couldn't help but reflect back on the Multiple Personality Disorder diagnosis. Lately, she had been "Dark Delilah", and right now, it was probably her femme fatale alter ego. He honestly didn't know how much more could take, but he wouldn't give up. Her hand was now rubbing his crotch in slow circles. "I know there's things that I want to try sexually as well. I think we should role play. You be the prison warden, and I'll be the naughty prisoner. I want you to tie my wrists to the bed, blindfold me, and fuck me raw, but before that I want you to shove your cock down my throat and spank me with a cat of nine tails until-"
"Delilah, LOOK OUT!"
Delilah looked out at the road and gasped as she regained full control of the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes, just barely avoiding a collision with an army truck as the car jerked back. Rick looked over at Delilah, they were both freaked out. "Oh, my God! Are you ok?"
Once her breathing had resumed a normal level, the anger came in. "That motherfucker came out of goddamn nowhere! Seriously, there's no cars around, where did he come from?" They watched three people get out of the truck, two men and one woman.
The first man was a burly but muscular redhead that looked to be at least 6"5. He had a Fu-Manchu and dressed in a grubby ribbed tank top, camo cargo pants, a black belt around his waist and a brown belt crisscrossed over that that was attached to his gun holster, and large black combat boots. Judging by his outfit, he must have been in the army at some point.
The second man was fuller in size with a greasy outdated brown mullet that made him look like a love child of Billy Ray Cyrus. He had on a black nylon vest over an off white button up shirt that looked almost grey, blackish grey cargo pants, and black boots. He didn't look as intimidating as Big Red and was holding some type of electronic device.
The last person, which was the girl, looked like she just stepped out of Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty. She was Hispanic with tan skin and shoulder length brown hair worn in low pigtails, the girl was wearing a tan colored cap on her head, a midriff baring dark grey tank top underneath a light khaki colored sleeveless Daisy Duke tie-up shirt with dark khaki colored short shorts, a brown leather belt crisscrossed with two gun holsters, brown leather fingerless biker gloves, and black Doc Martens with gray socks.
"I don't know, but they don't look happy." They watched the redhead, presumably the leader, hold up a black assault rifle.
"Holy shit! He's got an HK51 and a Desert Eagle Magnum pistol, I think he means business, and business is what I'll give him." Delilah flung off her seat belt and bent over into the backseat, unintentionally providing the three newcomers with a view of her light blue laced white thong that was adorned with Rubber Duckies and bubbles.
"Delilah, don't. You wait here, I'll talk to them." He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, his heartbeat accelerated at the thought of what could transpire due to Delilah's current disposition.
She pulled out her Mandala baton and situated herself. "No, Rick, it's fine. I'm a big girl, I can take care myself, and right now, I'm gonna give this guy a piece of my mind." Delilah hopped out of the car and marched over to the trio before Rick could get another word in edgewise.
"Ahh, shit. This is not good at all. I've got to stop this." He couldn't just sit back idly and watch this go on, so he got out of the car and followed her as she approached the group, seeing the leader already infuriated to the max.
"What the fuck?! You almost crashed into my truck! Don't you know this is an military vehicle?!" The redhead barked at Delilah, but not even the tone of his voice scared her enough to back down, and she decided to go toe to toe with his ass.
"Me?! YOU were the one that almost crashed into my car, you came out of nowhere! Don't you know it's a BMW?!" Delilah watched as Billy Ray Jr. seemed stand offish and the girl kind of just stood there pouting with one hand on her hip and the other one holding an HK51 by her thigh, obviously the beauty of the group.
"I was the one going the right way, you were the one speeding and in between lanes!"
"In between lanes?! Look around you, Mack! It's one road, there are no lanes!"
Rick stepped up, trying to intervene and be the peace maker. "Sir, let me explain-"
Delilah turned to him. "It's ok, I've got this." Except Rick kept talking, and she was slightly annoyed because she felt like she was not only losing control, but losing Rick's faith in her.
"I think we all just need to calm down and-" He was once again cut off, but this time by Red Baron.
"Sir, this is already a dangerous world that we live in now, and I don't think this one should be behind the wheel. You should let Daddy do all the driving, sweetheart. Sit back and paint your nails, don't inhale the fumes, though."
Rick gave him a puzzled look. Daddy?! Was their age difference that obvious? Before he could further question it, the leader redirected his words to Delilah.
"What business do you have, blasting your girl power rock and showing off your panties, strutting up here like a damn Dallas Cowboy cheerleader? You're crazy, girl!"
"Hey, I don't think that's really called for-"
"Whoa, I'm crazy? I've got enough crazy to go around the world, try me!" She spun her finger around in the air as she spoke before throwing her fist clenched hand down at her side. "Hope you enjoyed the show, asshole!"
Sergeant Asshole smirked and cackled. "You got a damn mouth on you, you know that? What else you got?" He looked her up and down. She was a sassy one, but damn fine.
Joe Dirt's twin brother stepped forward, trying to ease the situation. "Guys, guys-"
"WHAT?!" Delilah and Big Red simultaneously turned their heads and shouted, which made him shy away, showing that he was probably more timid than his seemingly intimidating group mates.
"Guys, calm down! It's a beautiful day out, the sun is shining, we're still alive. You're a very pretty young lady, miss. Why don't you smile?" Mullet Boy squeaked and tried to smile at her.
Delilah looked at the guy like he was crazy before laughing manically. "Smile? You want me to smile? My whole life, that's all I've heard! "Don't lose your smile when you're on the ice!" "Keep your smile on when you dance!" "Smile big on stage!" "Bright eyes and pretty smile when that skinny blonde bitch beats you to go to the Olympics and when another dumb bitch beats you at Miss Teen USA!" I'm sick of smiling! My fiancé, who was my first love, knocked up my sister, who is the biggest whore known to man kind, while he was self medicated on anti depressants. That jealous Chuckie Doll bitch could never stand me and convinced him to kill a deer and place it in front of his house so it would attract walkers and they could ditch me, and a year and a half later, our paths finally cross. Not only do I find out that they have children together, but that they stole the baby names, the ones that we picked out for our children, names that I had saved for years, and gave to their twins! It's a stab in the heart to see the bitch that ruined my life steal my dream and share it with who was supposed to be my husband, and he can't even stand her, either! So, excuse me if I'm not wanting to smile right now! !" She watched them all look at her like she deranged. Unfortunately, it had been a look that she was used to from all the public outbursts she had thrown as a child. Delilah realized that she was totally bent and taking it out on others. Her snarl disappeared into a sad face and she turned around, looking at Rick, who could sense what she was feeling. What she didn't know was that he was unquestionably pondering if she really did still have feelings for Billy. "How bad was it?"
Before he could answer, that disgusting gurgling sound rang through the air. They all turned around to see a swarm of walkers headed their way from the field off the road.
"Save the Dr. Phil moment for later, we gotta take these pissants down!" Archie Andrews on steroids and the girl moved past them, positioning their assault rifles and firing off while Mullet Boy scrambled to the truck.
"It's a great day to die!" The leader shouted, laughing and smiling gleefully as he shot the walkers. It was interesting how people reacted differently to killing walkers, some were terrified while others practically made it into a sport.
Rick whipped out his Colt Python as Delilah pulled out her boomerang blade. She stepped forward and flung it outwards, watching as it did it's decapitating magic of almost ten walkers before flying back in the reverse direction into the holster.
The second guy trotted over with an M4A1 assault riffle. "I've got it, I've-whoa!" He slipped on the grovel, falling on his knees, which accidentally made the rifle go off in the opposite direction. The four of them turned around and their mouths flew open as he fumbled to stop the spray of bullets that hit the truck.
There were still more walkers coming and they had to be stopped. Delilah looked over at the gun toting duo and started pointing. "You two, get the ones heading south to that tree, we'll cover the rest!"
"Right!" The girl nodded and moved south with the redhead. Delilah ran towards the walkers, shoving her Mandala baton forward into the open mouth of the first walker before repeating the action in reverse with the back end of the baton to the walker behind her as if it were a crowbar. Rick aimed and shot three more, seeing the duo taking down the south bound walkers while the third member carefully inspected the truck.
There were five walkers coming towards Delilah, but she just charged at them, doing front and back kicks to get them on the ground before stomping on their faces with her ridiculous shoes, and it appeared she was saying something as she fought.
"Hi ci ja hold tight! JA! JA! JA!" Delilah kicked the last two walkers and impaled them with both ends of the baton. The land was quiet again and she smiled at the mess in front of her. "Yeah! Spice up your life, motherfuckers!" Delilah let out a chuckle, her outfit made her look like the sixth Spice Girl, so it seemed more than appropriate. She turned around and sauntered over towards Rick. Blood was splattered on her torso, breasts, neck, and arms, and she knew there was explaining to do. When she stepped up from the field, Delilah threw the baton on the ground and wrapped her arms around Rick in a hug, resting her head in the crook of his neck. He hesitated at first, but soon found his arms wrapping around her, knowing that her mood had shifted and that she was ready to talk. "How crazy did I sound?" She mumbled.
"Pretty bad. Do you remember anything you said?" He once again was filled with worry that Delilah's problems were deeper than she let on and wondered how much longer his patience could be tested, but he was surprised when she stepped back and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, I do. When I'm worked up and start ranting and raving, I don't have a filter. Pretty much everything in my head comes out of my mouth. I'm sorry if I insulted you." Delilah turned over to the trio, who had been watching the scene, and made her way over to them. "I owe you three an apology as well. It was my fault, I should have been more focused on driving instead of lashing out. With that, I'm also very sorry." She hoped they would accept her apology, but she didn't expect it due to how nasty she had been.
They looked at her, no longer with intimidating stares, but what appeared to be compassion. The gingy broke the silence first. "It's fine, just gotta control yourself is all. I think anyone that goes through that kind of soap opera would go a little off the deep end also."
She nodded. "Yeah, but you know you gotta go through hell before you get to heaven, right? It's what we're all doing now."
He chuckled. "Damn right. Sassy and you know "Jet Airliner". After seeing you take down those skin munchers, I'd say you're a force to be reckoned with. I'm Sergent Abraham Ford, but I go by Abe when I'm in a good mood." Abraham pointed to his comrades. "This is Rosita Espinosa and Dr. Eugene Porter." He extended his hand forward and had the slightest hint of a smirk on his face, to which Delilah shook, her smile slowly returning.
"Delilah Daltrey, no relation to Roger."
"For sure." Abraham then shook hands with Rick. "You've got yourself a real spitfire for a daughter, sir."
Rick heavily sighed as their hands released. "Rick Grimes, and she's not my daughter. She's my girlfriend."
Abraham and Eugene both raised an eyebrow, surprised, while Rosita checked Rick out. Abraham laughed. "Hot damn! You've got yourself a sexy ass little cupcake here, brother! You lucky manther you!" He chuckled and playfully punched Rick on the arm, who looked confused.
"Manther?"
Delilah stifled a laugh. "It stands for male panther, it's the guy's equivalent to being referred to as a cougar."
"Oh, thanks." He felt even more embarrassed than before, he didn't want outside people thinking she was just a hook up.
Eugene stepped forward and shook their hands. "Nice to meet you both. Abraham, I think you need to check this out." They could all sense the jumpiness in his voice and see it in his walk as Abraham followed Eugene to the truck. Rosita shook their hands next.
"Good work back there."
"Thanks. You too, girl." Delilah smiled. Rosita looked at her closely for a moment, then went wide eyed.
"Hey, you-Holy shit! I know who you are!"
Delilah looked puzzled. "You do? How?"
"Hold on, I'll show you." She dashed towards the car as Rick and Delilah watched the two guys bent down examining the military vehicle.
"Son of a dick!" Abe spat out, clearly annoyed as he studied the bottom of the truck.
Delilah swallowed a moronic laugh again and acted concerned. "What's up?"
"Well, thanks to Slip n' Slide over here, the damn fuel tank is ruptured open and leaking." He kicked the tire in frustration while Eugene looked down.
"Sorry." He spoke just above a whisper.
"You should be, now we'll have to walk the rest of the way."
"Where are you guys from?" Rick asked, to which Abraham looked over, hands on his hips.
"We were part of a much larger group in Houston, but it was overrun by walkers. What about you two?"
"King County here in Georgia."
"Originally Simi Valley, California, then Houston when I was with my sister and ex, now we're all up at the Jelly Belly factory in Atlanta with our group. Where are you headed?" Delilah asked. "Maybe we can give you a ride." She glanced at Rick, who nodded, saying that they seemed ok.
"Factory, huh? Smart choice. Now, we're just trying to get Eugene over to Washington, D.C."
"What's in Washington?" Rick looked over at Delilah, both of them quite curious.
Eugene spoke up. "It's a mission, I'm actually a scientist. I've come to the methodical conclusion of what caused the outbreak and how to possibly reverse it. The convoy we were with in Houston was set to take us there, but then we got separated. I was able to get into contact with my remaining colleagues that work in the U.S. Government, they've been expecting us for sometime, but my satellite phone stopped working, it's now defunct pretty much." He held up the phone and rattled it.
"Can I see it?"
"Yeah, sure." He walked over and handed Delilah the phone, watching her inspect it.
"This is a first edition Globalstar Ericsson R290. You're lucky you got through at all, you need at least a Globalstar 1700 or an Iridium phone. So what caused the outbreak?" Delilah handed the phone back to Eugene, who shook his head.
"Sorry, I can't tell you. That's classified government information. Homeland Security would throw a fit through the roof if anything was leaked. I've said too much already."
"He won't even tell me and Rosita. We want to find out just as badly as everybody else, and the two of us have made it our mission to escort him safely there, but all I can say is this: When we get to Washington, we will make the dead die... and the living will have this world again."
Delilah smiled at him. "I like the way you think, Abe." It was refreshing to meet somebody that was so determined to get the world back in their hands and out of the control of this virus.
"You two should come with us."
Before they had a chance to reply, Rosita walked back up with a bottle in her hands. "This is you, right?" She handed the bottle to Delilah, who looked down and couldn't help but smile.
It was a bottle of Jones Soda in Berry Lemonade, the electric blue color shining brightly in the sun, and the front label was a black and white picture of Delilah sitting in a sideways position on a wooden dock above a lake, barefoot with a pair of ripped denim shorts and a tank top underneath a long sleeved plaid patterned shirt tied underneath her breasts. One leg was crossed over the other as she rested back on her palm and smiled as she held up a Jones Soda bottle. "Yes, this is me. This was not too long before Miss Teen California, actually. Where did you get this?"
"That's pretty cool, we have a whole bunch from Houston in the truck."
"What's all this about?" Abraham stepped forward, gazing down at the bottle before looking up at Delilah. "Holy shit, that's you! Wow, we've got ourselves a little cover girl over here."
She smiled. "Ha, I wish, but thank you." Even now she still blushed over the sporadic recognition, not noticing how Rick beamed proudly at her.
Eugene looked her up and down. "Come to think of it, I recognize you now, also. You were in Playboy Magazine."
Just like that, Rick's smile disappeared. "You were?" He stared at Delilah, whose face was really red now.
"Yeah, for the Midsummer's party. There was a picture of her with Hugh Hefner and The Girls Next Door. It was in the section right before the nudes." Eugene seemed harmless, but he also seemed a little oblivious.
"Oh." Rick felt like he could breathe again. The thought of Delilah doing something like Playboy made him uneasy, even though it obviously wasn't possible, since there no longer was a Playboy Magazine.
"You two should definitely come to Washington with us."
The smiles faded and the poker faces came up at the seriousness of the invitation. "Us in Washington? I don't know-"
"Don't you want to find out what caused all this and be there as it's solved?"
Of course she did, but whose to say they weren't lying? "Absolutely, I do, except for Rick and I have obligations. It's not only us at the factory, his children are there also, along with almost forty other people and I'm in charge. We can't just abandon them to go to Washington."
Abraham shrugged. "So? That's cool, bring 'em with you. Every extra body is needed, young and willing. You two would work out especially well, you're smart, tough, and think quickly on your feet. That was some pretty good team work when we all took down those freaks, why not keep it going?"
He definitely had a point, but Delilah felt like something was missing.
"Speaking of which, have any of you ever killed anybody living and if so, why?" Rick asked.
"Only in the army before the world turned and some mercy killings back in Houston." Abraham admitted while Eugene and Rosita silently shook their heads.
Delilah was glad Rick had asked and it was out of the way, it eased up whatever apprehensions they had about the trio being murderous. "We couldn't bring everybody, there's lots of small children, including my niece and nephew. I'd have to find out more information and take it up with my council. In the mean time, why don't you come back with us?"
Abraham shrugged. "I don't know, we wouldn't want to burden and we are pretty dead set on getting to D.C."
Eugene shook his head. "No, I think we should go."
Delilah nodded. "Yeah, you should. You've proven yourselves to be strong and competent, and besides, you don't have a car. We can find you one, and you guys have been so dedicated with your trip, why not take a couple days off the road to regroup and figure out your next move? There's food and showers, too. My brother Glenn can fix your satcom, he's pretty good with tools, and we have satellites phones, so you can call your contacts in D.C. and let them know you're still alive." She could tell the trio wanted to smile, but they kept their poker faces on.
Eugene looked over at Abraham. "She's right, let's go. It can be considered a home base until we leave for Washington again, and we can't get there without a car. Trust me, I'm smarter than you." He gave him an assertive look, which shut Abraham up, making it very clear to all of them who wore the pants, and turned back to Delilah. "Alright, we'll come with you."
She smiled. "Great. I'll pop the trunk and you can start putting your stuff in. I'm sure there's enough room."
Eugene and Rosita headed immediately to the truck and started unloading while Abe stood behind. "Why us?"
Delilah walked back from opening the trunk and shrugged. "Well, living humans are a dying breed. We've gotta stick together if we want to tough it out and get things back to normal. You look like good people to have around, especially you, Sargent Big Red."
"You don't look like your average beauty queen, little lady."
She flashed a cock smirk and flipped her hair as she put her hands on her hips. "Nothing I do is average, Abraham. Also, if you try anything, there's more of us at Jellbany than there are of you."
He threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. "Damn, you've sure got spunk, kid. You're stubborn, but you've got spunk and spirit."
"I try. You also remind me of someone. My best friend, Jennifer. She was a real hard ass that didn't put up with anybody's shit."
"Sounds like some lady. Is she with you at Home Base?"
Delilah shook her head, sadly. "No, she was attacked by walkers and my sister Christine shot her in the head."
Abe's smile disappeared. "I'm sorry. I've lost people, too."
"I think you would have gotten along, I can see you two knocking back some beers."
He snorted. "I did party pretty hard back in the army. Your sister sounds like a real piece of work."
She smirked. "Ha. She is. So is my ex-fiancé, but don't worry. He's a pretty boy who doesn't have the mouth on him like my sister does." They exchanged a smile before he went over to help Eugene and Rosita. Delilah turned back to Rick. "How are you feeling about all this?"
"I think you're right, they have proven themselves, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about Washington. I hope it actually comes to fruition." If there was a way to cure this, they would make the sacrifices necessary to secure their future.
"Same here. So, are you mad at me?" She looked down and started kicking her foot out, just like she did after returning from the prison, as if she were in trouble.
Rick heavily sighed. "No, I'm not mad, I'm just concerned. I've never seen you act like this before, and it makes me think back on your diagnosis papers. I think getting some of the rage out did you some good, though."
Delilah felt horrible that he thought that about her, but she kind of brought it on herself. "I understand. When you act crazy, it leads people to believe that you really are. I never wanted you to see that side of me."
"You're not crazy, Delilah, you're just overwhelmed. Even though a lot of people wouldn't see it like this, what you did for the twins was noble, it's Christine that's the problem. I'm just hoping that things will settle themselves. It's a day by day thing."
She nodded. "Yeah, you're right." Delilah put her hand on his face and smiled lovingly at him. "You're so good to me, Rick. I appreciate your honesty. I don't know what I would do without you, Street Fighting Man."
Hearing Delilah say something so sweet left Rick's stomach in knots over what he was hiding about Billy, but could he risk telling her? "It's no problem, Tiny Dancer. I'm here for you."
She leaned in to kiss him, but he turned his head and she ended up kissing his cheek before he walked off to help the trio. Delilah watched him and felt saddened, he had never avoided a kiss from her before. She couldn't help but feel like there was something he was holding back on, and she had to find out what it was.
AWW! POOR DELILAH! WILL SHE EVER FIND OUT RICK'S SECRET? HOW WILL THE TRIO FIT INTO JELLBANY AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH WASHINGTON?I HAVE BIG THINGS PLANNED FOR THE TRIO, SO BE PREPARED! I LIKE DELILAH AND ABRAHAM'S BLOSSOMING FRIENDSHIP, IT'S SARCASTIC BUT THEY GET EACH OTHER. CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN WILL BE COMING SOON! PLEASE VOTE IN THE NEW POLL ON MY PROFILE ABOUT WHO IS BEST SUITED FOR DELILAH! CHECK OUT THE PICTURES ON INSTAGRAM!
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW AND SPREAD THE WORD! NO FLAMES!
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