Here it is, chapter 5! Read and review, tell me what you think! Oh, and warning, some adult language (sexually suggestive beside the normal curse words that are part of the walking dead canon world). I'm not sure if I should change the rating or not. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 5

The Sun Also Rises

"Morgan, I don't know if you're out there. I don't know if you can hear me. Maybe you're listening right now. I hope so. We found others, Charlie and I… my family, if you can believe it. My wife and son, they're alive. I wanted you to know that.

"There's something else you need to know. Atlanta isn't what we thought. It's not what they promised. The city is… Do not enter the city. It belongs to the dead now. We're camped a few miles northwest, up by a big abandoned rock quarry. You can see it on a map. I hope you come find us. But be careful. Last night walkers came out of the woods. We lost people. Watch yourself, Morgan. Take care of your boy. I'll try you again tomorrow at dawn."

Charlie stared at Andrea, still keeping vigil over the body of her sister Amy. She hadn't moved for hours, waiting patiently for Amy to wake up.

Charlie's gaze became unfocused, thinking about the last time she had seen the corpse of someone she knew.

It had been four years ago, more or less. She had returned home – her uncle's house – late at night, after a date, and had noticed the light in Amanda's room was still on. They were neighbors and they could basically see through each other's windows. She had therefore decided to go to her and tell her all about it, knowing her parents weren't at home as it was often the case.

When she went inside – Amanda's family kept the house key under a front porch flower pot – and called to her though, she received no answer. She had gone up the stairs but Amanda's room was empty. Charlie had then noticed the en-suite bathroom door was open and there was water all over the floor. She had entered the bathroom and that's when she saw Amanda. The tub was overfull and the still open faucet had created a big puddle all over the floor. And Amanda was there, immersed in red water, with her wrists cut open and bleeding profusely. She had looked so pale and she was so cold to the touch…

Charlie had called an ambulance but it had been too late. Amanda had been dead for hours.

Charlie returned to the present and decided that she couldn't stay there anymore, surrounded by so many bodies, still wearing the top Amy had lent her just yesterday morning. She looked at it and grimaced in disgust at the splatters of blood and walkers' guts that marred her front. She needed to get it clean.

She walked with purpose towards the quarry and immediately knelt on the sandy ground before taking off her shirt. She soaked the shirt in water and started to rub if furiously, trying to get the stains out.

Nothing else mattered in that moment but getting the stains out.

Lori approached Andrea, trying to get her to move away from her sister's body. "Andrea. I'm so sorry. She's gone. You got to let us take her. We all cared about her and I promise we'll be as gentle as we can."

Andrea didn't answer, she didn't even turn around. Lori sighed and walked away.

The other survivors had, in the meantime, started to clean up, burning the walker bodies and burying the dead from their group.

Daryl swung at dead walkers' heads with a pickaxe before T-Dog and Glenn threw the bodies into the fire.

"She still won't move?" Rick asked Lori, having just now returned from trying to contact Morgan on the walkie-talkie.

Lori shook her head. "She won't even talk to us. She's been there all night. What do we do?"

"Can't just leave Amy like that. We need to deal with it same as the others." Shane added his own to the conversation.

Rick took a deep breath and said, his tone decisive, "I'll tell her how it is." Rick tried to approach Andrea but the woman turned slightly towards him and pointed her gun at him. This time the safety was off.

"Andrea." Rick tried to placate her.

Andrea glared at him. "I know how the safety works."

Rick raised his hands in the air. "All right. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Rick backed off.

Daryl walked to the trio, having seen the entire scene. "Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb."

Rick turned to him. "What do you suggest?"

"Take the shot." Daryl answered like it was obvious. "Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."

"No." Lori immediately said. "For God's sakes, let her be."

Daryl shook his head and snorted in derision but didn't try to argue further. Instead, he looked around for a different blonde head. "Hey, where's goldilocks?"

"Who?" Rick asked him.

"Y'know. Charlie."

Rick searched with his eyes as well without seeing her. "The last time I saw her was about an hour ago."

Daryl frowned. "And nobody's seen her after?"

Glenn came closer to them and said, "I saw her going towards the quarry. She looked…upset."

Rick and Daryl exchanged a look and decided, without speaking, to see what was going on with her.

Charlie kept rubbing, ignoring the pain in her hands, now red, and itchy, and irritated. Tears fell down her cheeks, slowly and silently but she ignored those too.

She felt numb and achy at the same time. It was like a dull trop in her heart and an emptiness in her stomach that threatened to devour her whole. And she was scared, so scared. She wasn't supposed to be there, why was she there?

She kept rubbing, her manicured, painted nails getting the brunt of it. They were broken in places, the varnish chipped in others.

She didn't know for how long she stayed there, kneeling on the pebbled sand. Her hair was up in a chignon and therefore, beside the line of fabric that covered her midback, her shoulders and back were left exposed to the fresh morning air. She shivered, maybe for the cold, maybe for the shock, she didn't know.

Suddenly a hand on her shoulder startled her. She got up in a quick move and turned around, her knees bent, left hand now holding a knife, crouching like a predator ready to attack.

Daryl raised his hands in front of him, in the common 'I come in peace' gesture. "Whoa, girl! It's us! Calm down!" Next to Daryl stood Rick, looking at her with concern.

Charlie breathed deeply in and out a few times and finally felt her heart slowing down in her chest. She relaxed her stance – knife once again put away in the steampunk belt – and asked, "What is it?"

"We called your name three times." Rick said.

Both he and Daryl were studying her, noticing her red-rimmed eyes and the tears drying on her cheeks, obvious sign that she had cried. That, in addition to the fact that they had found her scrubbing at a shirt with her bare hands, completely oblivious to the world around her and at a moment such as this, made them realize that something was wrong with her.

Daryl had also noticed the scars on her back. To everyone else the red and black phoenix tattoo that covered all her left side from shoulder blade to hip would have served to hide them but he had keen eyes when it came to scars, especially scars deliberately made by someone else like hers were. They were precise lines, all with the same width, varying only in length. Some were straight, others were curved, twisting like spirals. They were probably ten years old and possibly made with a knife or some other kind of blade.

His own scars – the ones on his back his dear daddy had made with his belt – prickled in sympathy.

Both men – both for their own state of mind and because it felt in bad taste with her so upset – tried to ignore the fact that the only thing covering her chest was a sports bra that somehow enhanced instead of lessening her generous curves. The fact that she was also wearing a pair of high wasted jeans that emphasized her tiny waist and long legs didn't help matters. She really was too beautiful for comfort.

Charlie shook her head. "Sorry. Guess I was distracted."

Daryl raised an eyebrow and snorted. Charlie glared at him, defensive. "You got something to say?"

"We can see that you're upset, Charlie." Rick intervened to keep the peace. "And it's perfectly normal after what happened."

"I'm not upset. I was just…" Charlie shrugged. "Amy gave me this shirt, okay?" She showed them the white top still in her right hand. Unfortunately, the stains were still there and still very visible. "And I wanted to clean it and give it back to Andrea, I guess. I don't know…I just…it felt wrong, okay? To keep wearing it after…after what happened. And it was just so dirty…you know? I just wanted it to be clean." Charlie knew that she wasn't making any sense and the worried look in Rick's face and the pitying (Was it pity? Reading Daryl's emotions on his face wasn't easy) look in Daryl's weren't helping.

"Stop looking at me like that! Like I'm going to break! I'm fine, okay? I'm fine!"

"All right!" Rick said. "I'm just saying that it's okay if you're not."

"I said I'm fine." Charlie repeated for the third time and Rick decided to let the matter drop.

Daryl kept looking at her with his intense blue eyes, studying her, and Charlie wondered what he was seeing when looking at her. Was he thinking how weak she was to burst out crying like that, just because someone she had barely met was now dead? At that thought Charlie widened her shoulders and stood erect, her eyes now dry and cold. She was done crying. She wasn't weak, not anymore.

"You came here for something right? What is it? Do you need help with the bodies?"

Rick looked uncomfortable while Daryl avoided her eyes.

Charlie clenched her fists at her side and said, "I'll help." Then, in a more hesitant tone, she asked, "How many? How many died?"

"Be better to tell ya how many survived." Daryl replied bluntly.

"The group we met in Atlanta, they're all fine." Rick elaborated. "Shane and my family as well. Dale. Jim. Morales' family. Sophia, though she lost both her parents. And us. The rest…" He shook his head in sorrow.

Charlie passed a hand through her hair and cursed. "So many."

"Come on goldilocks." Daryl said, feeling uncomfortable at seeing her so miserable and feeling even more uncomfortable because he cared at all. "We've got work to do. If you wanna help, now's the time."

Charlie nodded and looked at the t-shirt still in her hand.

"It's a lost battle. Leave it." Rick said. "I'll bring you another shirt from your bag, yeah?"

Only in that moment Charlie realized she was basically half-naked in front of the two men and blushed in embarrassment. She crossed her arms in front of her chest in a move that she hoped appeared casual but that probably wasn't and lowered her head, avoiding their gaze.

Not that it looked like they were particularly interested beside the instinctive look they both threw at her chest when they first realized she was wearing only a bra. Sure, Rick she could understand. He was married, after all and he didn't really look like the type to pay attention to other women. But Daryl? She would have thought he would have been a little more interested. Not to sound conceited but she knew what she looked like and that most men weren't shy at all in showing their appreciation for her curves. It was just her luck that when she found someone she may be interested in, someone who was actually available, that that someone wasn't interested in her. God only knew she had stared at his broad shoulders and muscled arms more than once since she met him (and with a sleeveless t-shirt like the one he wore, who could blame her?).

Rick left to bring her a shirt, leaving her alone with Daryl. Neither of them looked at the other and an awkward silence descended around them.

After long minutes that, for Charlie, felt more like hours, she asked, "So...hum…did Andrea let you take Amy's body?"

Daryl turned to look at her, making sure his eyes wouldn't stray beyond her chin. "Nah. The bitch's still there, waving that gun around to everyone that come close."

Charlie frowned. "You shouldn't call her that."

Daryl snorted. "Whatev'r."

Charlie rolled her eyes and ignored his appalling manners. "I think she's waiting for Amy to turn, so she can do it herself…you know…kill her."

"Howd'ya know?"

Charlie shrugged. "'Cause that's what I'd do."

Daryl huffed in derision and avoided her eyes. "Yeah, but she ain't you."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning that she prob'bly don't even know how to use that gun. She plays at bein' all tough an' shit but she's just a rich lawyer with a chip on her shoulder."

"Maybe she is." Charlie conceded, "but she's also someone who just lost her sister and wants to say goodbye on her own terms."

Daryl's blue eyes looked deeply into hers, once again studying her in a way that made her feel both uncomfortable and thrilled. It was like he could look right into her soul, as cliché as it sounded.

Daryl looked at her and reflected on the fact that when he had first seen her – all wavy blonde hair like those in the commercials, straight, shining white teeth and sparkling green eyes, not to mention that body of hers – he had thought she was just another rich, spoiled bitch, someone who was afraid of getting her manicured hands dirty, too afraid of breaking a nail to be of any use. Just another mouth to feed, another person to protect.

Instead, she had proved to him how wrong his first impression had been. She was strong and brave and capable, someone who obviously knew what she was doing. It was true that Daryl hadn't yet seen her use that bow of hers but he had seen her shoot at the walkers when they had returned to camp and she was good, very good. Someone who had obviously been taught from a young age on how to use a gun. Therefore, Daryl had no reason not to believe she was just as good with a bow. He was still skeptical about how someone as slim as her could have taken down someone like his brother but he was starting to realize that she wasn't someone to underestimate. And Daryl respected her for that.

Sure, he had been more than a little pissed when he had found out Merle had been left behind and Charlie had been one of those responsible for it but she had apologized to him, something none of the others had actually done, and she had come with them to bring Merle back, something that made him respect her even more.

And now, finding out that maybe she had had a reason for wanting to learn how to defend herself, that someone had obviously hurt her in the past, it made her look at her in a completely new light and made him want to unravel the mystery she was wrapped in.

If only she wasn't so fucking beautiful…

It was a damn shame, that's what it was. If he had tried to imagine what his ideal type would be like, he wouldn't have been able to come close to the reality that was Charlie. She was so beyond anything he could ever have imagined for himself. And he couldn't have her. Of course, he couldn't. A girl like that didn't dirty herself with someone like him, not even after the world ended.

Men like Shane Walsh were probably more her type. And seeing how Shane had being eyeing her, he would be more than happy to use her as a distraction now that Lori was back with her husband.

Daryl grimaced at the idea but shook his head, figuring it was none of his business anyway.

At least it didn't look like Charlie was disgusted by him or wary, like most people were, so that was something. Most people found his personality abrasive at best and rude at worst but it didn't look like Charlie was particularly put out by it. Sure, she glared at him when he doubted her capabilities – and damn, if it wasn't hot, how fierce she was – but other than that, she seemed perfectly fine with interacting with him just like she did with Rick.

Like summoned from his thoughts Rick returned, bringing Charlie a red, sleeveless top. "I hope this one's okay." He said awkwardly.

Rick had closed his eyes and put his hand inside Charlie's bag, ignoring the feeling of lace he had sometimes encountered in his quest to find a clean top for Charlie to wear. He tried not to think about the fact that he now knew what kind of lingerie Charlie wore – lace thongs and push-up bras – or how she might look like wearing them.

"Yes, thank you." Charlie answered before quickly put it on.

Finally, the three of them joined the others and Daryl immediately went towards Morales to help him with the bodies still on the ground.

On his way he passed by Jim, who was standing on his own, like he was in some kind of trance, looking in front of him with unfocused eyes.

"Wake up, Jimbo. We've got some work to do." Daryl said with his usual brusque way. Charlie almost smiled, getting used to his manners rather quickly and finding she was liking it more and more, though not exactly sure why. Maybe because she knew that Daryl was more bark than bite.

Morales and Daryl dragged the body of a dead camper toward the fire but before they could throw it in, Glenn stopped them.

"What are you guys doing? This is for geeks. Our people go over there." He pointed towards the bodies amassed on the other side, ready to be buried.

"What's the difference? They're all infected." Daryl asked with indifference.

Glenn looked ready to cry. "Our people go in that row over there. We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand? Our people go in that row over there."

Daryl and Morales exchanged a look before doing as Glenn wanted, figuring there was no point in arguing.

Together they dragged the body toward the pile of those they were going to bury.

"You reap what you sow." Daryl said to Morales and everyone else in the near vicinity, still angry about what happened to his brother.

"You know what? Shut up, man." Morales said back.

Daryl ignored him. "Y'all left my brother for dead. You had this coming."

"We're sorry for what happened to him." Charlie said. "But now is not the time to cast blame around. You've said it yourself, we've got work to do."

Daryl looked at her for a long moment before slowly nodding his head. Without saying another word, the four of them started to take care of the bodies still around.

Shane joined Rick's side and noticed his friend was busy looking in a particular direction. He looked…pensive…and worried.

Shane's head turned in the direction Rick was looking and saw the blonde chick his friend had returned with – Charlie, was it? – bending down to stab a walker in the head with her trusted knife, her shapely ass in full display inside those tight jeans. Shane whistled and winked at his friend. "Damn! What a sight, hum? Not that the front ain't nice as well. You saw what a great pair of tits she has? It's rare for someone as lean as her to have tits that big. And you can tell they're real 'cause of how much they bounce when she walks. How old is she again?"

Rick shook his head and laughed, happy to know some things never change. Shane's perchance towards chasing beautiful women hadn't stopped because of the apocalypse. "Too young for you, old man." Rick teased him. Too young for both of us. A voice whispered in his head but he ignored it.

"Oh, come on, man! It's the end of the fucking world! As long as she's over eighteen…"

"She's twenty, almost twenty-one. Not even legal age for drinking yet."

Shane shrugged. "Still legal. Anyway, those rules don't count anymore, do they?" When Rick didn't answer, Shane probed him further. "Come on, don't tell me you haven't thought about it. All those hours with just the two of you during the journey from King's County to here…Tell me it don't make you hard, the idea of slippin' in that tight, hot pussy while she's bent down just like that and fucking her to the ground? Or gripping her firm ass while she rides your cock?"

Rick felt uncomfortable at Shane's words and tried to ignore the tightening in his groin at the visual his friend's words had inspired. It didn't mean anything anyway. Charlie was a beautiful girl and it was normal for him to be physically attracted to her. Every straight man in his right mind would be attracted to her. "Don't talk about her like that. And anyway, I'm a married man and I love Lori. I would never do anything to hurt her."

Shane smirked. "Well, I'm not. Better get lucky while we still can, right? I mean, we could die at any moment nowadays. Better enjoy the time we have left." Then he tilted his head in fake concern. "Unless you mind?"

Rick ignored the pit of discomfort in his stomach and said, "You should be asking what she thinks. How do you know you have any chance with her at all?"

Shane shrugged. "I don't. But I'm still gonna try."

Jacqui and Jim were piling up bodies, ready to bury them, when Jacqui noticed blood on Jim's shirt.

"Are you bleeding?" She asked with both concern and suspicion.

Jim waved it off. "I just got some on me from the bodies."

Jacqui squinted her eyes, not believing him. "That blood is fresh. Were you bit?"

"No. I got scratched during the attack."

Jacqui gasped. "You got bit."

"I'm fine." Jim said, his tone a little desperate.

Jacqui came closer to him. "Then show me."

"Don't tell, please."

Jacqui ignored his pleading and shouted to get the others' attention. "A walker got him. A walker bit Jim."

All the others immediately came around him, worried and scared.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim kept repeating.

Daryl came closer to him threateningly. "Show it to us. Show it to us."

When Shane came closer as well, Jim retreated.

"Easy, Jim." Shane tried to calm him down but Daryl was more aggressive. "Grab him," he ordered.

Jim, feeling spooked, took a shovel from the ground in a vain attempt to fend them off.

Shane raised his arms in an attempt to seem less threatening. "Jim, put it down. Put it down."

T-Dog came from behind Jim back and forced him to throw away the shovel before holding his hands behind his back.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim kept repeating, over and over again.

Daryl lifted Jim's shirt, revealing a deep wound.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim still kept chanting like some kind of mantra.

A little while later, after Rick had helped Jim sat down in the chair usually occupied by Dale, the other survivors were discussing Jim's case and what to do with him. Charlie kept mostly silent, not wanting to point out the fact that there was only one way this would end. Jim had been bit, soon the fever would kick in and he would turn. All they could do was wait.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl proposed, both practical and brutal. Charlie winced, not agreeing with his assessment. She knew where he was coming from but Jim was still alive and relatively lucid at the moment, they couldn't just kill him, not unless it was the one who'd ask them to.

Shane glared at him. "Is that what you'd want if it were you?"

"Yeah," Daryl answered, "and I'd thank you while you did it."

"I hate to say it… I never thought I would… but maybe Daryl's right." Dale intervened.

Rick turned towards him, appalled at his words. "Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog."

Dale widened his eyes, his words misunderstood. "I'm not suggesting…"

"He's sick." Rick continued, not letting Dale explain himself. "A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"I don't think that's what Dale meant…" Charlie tried but her words went unheard.

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be." Daryl said, his position clear.

"What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure." Rick proposed but Shane shook his head, skeptical.

"I heard that too." He said. "Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell."

"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?" Rick asked, hopeful.

"Man, that is a stretch right there."

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection…"

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay?" Shane said to his friend. "Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning."

"That's 100 miles in the opposite direction." Lori said with a frown marring her forehead. She didn't look enthusiastic at Shane's idea.

"That is right." Shane said, ignoring Lori's tone. "But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there."

Rick shook his head. "The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance."

Daryl, fed up with their conversation, shook his head and marched towards Jim, pickaxe in hand. "You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" And with that he was about to bash Jim's head in when Shane and Rick stopped him.

"Hey hey hey!" Shane said. Rick pointed his gun at Daryl's head, stalling his arm.

"We don't kill the living." Rick said, with that threatening voice that Charlie found so sexy.

Daryl snorted. "That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on." Shane said and Daryl huffed before complying. He walked away, his temper still running high.

Rick turned towards Jim. "Come with me."

Jim raised on his feet with hesitation. "Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere safe." And with that, Rick led Jim towards the RV.

They were still taking care of the walkers' body when they heard it: Amy's breathing. But it wasn't a normal breathing. It was that particular wheezing sound that all the walkers made.

Everything seemed to stop as all the survivors watched as one as Amy began to stir. She opened glassy, bloodshot eyes and tried immediately to attack Andrea who was holding her in her arms. Andrea kept her away from her skin but still held her close enough to pet her hair and talked to her. "Amy. Amy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not ever being there. I always thought there'd be more time. I'm here now, Amy. I'm here. I love you." And with those last words of goodbye Andrea shot Amy straight in the head.

Charlie felt her eyes filling with tears once again and looked away. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. It wasn't her right to cry anyway. It was Andrea's.

A little while later Charlie reached the place where Shane and Rick had dug the graves to bury the people of their camp. Daryl arrived with the truck filled with bodies and jumped out of it.

"I still think it's a mistake not burning these bodies. It's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all, wasn't that the idea?" Daryl said to Rick and Shane. Charlie knew he was just being rational and practical but, in this case, she wished Daryl would just let it go. Those people – those dead people – weren't coming back as walkers anyway, they had made sure of that, so burning them instead of burying them wouldn't make much of a difference at the end of the day.

"At first." Shane answered.

"The Chinaman gets all emotional, says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along? These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are." Daryl kept protesting but Rick shook his head at him.

"There are no rules." Rick merely said.

"Well, that's a problem." Lori intervened. "We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do."

"Lori's right." Charlie said. "And anyway, what difference does it make? They're dead, they're not going to turn. Burning them instead of burying them ain't going to make them deader than they already are, so we might as well bury them and give them the respect they deserve."

Daryl grunted but stopped complaining after that.

Charlie ignored Shane's wink of approval in her direction and instead looked at Rick. Rick, like she was expecting, was smiling at her and she smiled back. The exchange didn't go unnoticed by Lori because she frowned at the two of them.

Charlie almost rolled her eyes at Lori's reaction. What right did she have to be bothered by a simple exchange of smiles when she was fucking Shane until…what…two days ago?

Still, Charlie turned away from him, to avoid more drama, something they definitely didn't need right now.

Soon, all survivors were gathered around the freshly made graves. Charlie looked at Andrea dragging Amy's body wrapped in a sheet inside one of the graves, Dale following her and obviously wanting to help her carry it but Andrea wanted to do it alone.

"I can do it. I can do it. I can do it! I can do it." She said through sobs and tears.

There was no service, no actual words exchanged. They simply put the other bodies inside the graves, covered them in dirt and that was it.

They all walked away after that and Charlie decided to check on Jim. She had some paracetamol in her bag that could give him some relief for the fever that had certainly settled in by now.

"Whatcha doin' goldilocks?" Daryl immediately asked her as soon as he noticed her about to go inside the RV.

"I'm going to check on Jim. See if I can do something to help him" Charlie replied, her tone clearly saying that she wasn't about to let anyone stop her.

Daryl didn't get it or, more probably, he decided to ignore it because he said, "no, you ain't."

Charlie put her hands on her hips, irritated. "Excuse me? You don't tell me what to do. And it's not like I risk being infected or something. He's still alive as far as I know."

"Yeah, but for how long?"

"Doesn't matter right now. Right now, he's a man who's suffering and I can do something to help him. I've got some medicine that I can give him."

"You shouldn't waste supplies on someone that'll be dead soon."

"They're my supplies so let me worry about them, huh?" Charlie said and with that she turned around and went inside the RV.

Jim was in bad shape, his skin looked sweaty and his eyes had a glassy sheen to it that meant he was feverish.

"Hey, Jim! I'm Charlie! Remember me?" Charlie tried, getting closer to him.

Jim focused his eyes on her and Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. He was lucid for now.

"Yeah. I remember."

"So, I brought you some paracetamol. You know, for the fever? It'll help you feel better."

Jim shook his head. "You shouldn't waste supplies on me."

Charlie shrugged. "One won't hurt." Jim didn't protest further so Charlie gave him the paracetamol tablet and then one of the water bottles she had filled yesterday, the water coming from the quarry. Jim swallowed it without too much trouble and drank a few sips of water before he closed his eyes, looking in pain and exhausted.

Rick entered in that moment and looked surprised at finding her there.

"Hey." She said to him in a whisper, pointing at Jim who had just fallen asleep.

Rick nodded and Charlie stood up before joining him a few meters away from Jim so they could talk without waking him.

"How is he?"

Charlie shrugged. "Feverish. He's getting worse by the minute. I gave him some paracetamol but I don't know what good is gonna do."

Rick nodded and turned to look at Jim once again. Then, hesitantly, he asked her, "What do you think about my idea to go to the C.D.C? Do you think it's a pipe-dream like all the others?"

Charlie sighed and said sincerely, "I don't know, Rick. I wish I could tell you that you're right, that we're going to find some kind of cure or something there but, the truth is, we don't even know if there are still people there at all. What if it got overrun like the rest of the city? What if we go there and we found nothing at all?"

Rick sighed as well, looking defeated. "So, you think it's a bad idea, going there."

"I didn't say that." At that Rick raised his eyes from the ground and looked at her, surprised. "I think that we should, at least, try. I mean, yeah, maybe we won't find anything but maybe…maybe there's something and, if we don't try, we won't know. I mean, we gotta hold on to some hope, right? Otherwise, what's the point?"

Rick smiled at her, looking both relieved and thankful that someone was trusting his judgment. Charlie smiled back at him and then bit her lower lip, a bit coyly, a bit shyly. It was an unplanned gesture, she wasn't trying to being flirty, not at all, but it turned out that way anyway and Rick seemed to perceive it because his eyes immediately changed, his pupils dilating. He lowered his gaze to her lips for a moment before looking back into her eyes.

He took a couple of steps towards her until they were a breath's away from each other and then brought his hand to caress her left cheek.

Charlie held her breath, afraid to somehow interrupt the moment. It didn't look like Rick was completely aware of what he was doing and Charlie – though she knew it was wrong – didn't want to stop him.

However, before either of them could do more than stare into each other's eyes, a cough brought them back to reality. Rick lowered his hand from her face like he had been burnt and stepped away from her.

Charlie avoided his gaze, feeling embarrassed and completely stupid. Instead, she looked at Jim who had awoken once again. It didn't look like Jim had seen anything about what had almost happen (would something have actually happened?) so Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. Rick walked towards Jim, avoiding her gaze as well.

Instead he sat close to Jim and asked him, "How are you feeling?"

Charlie stayed where Rick had left her, watching the two of them but without talking herself.

Jim laughed a breathy laugh. "Like I already have one foot in the grave. Did you save a grave for me?"

Rick shook his head. "Nobody wants that."

"It's not about what you want. That, uh… that sound you hear, that's God laughing while you make plans."

Rick sighed, looking sad and tired. "What I want, Jim, if… if God allows, is to get you some help." Jim groaned and Rick immediately handed him the basin near the bed. Jim spit into it, a mixture of blood and saliva, before starting rumbling. "Watch the mangroves. Their roots will gouge the whole boat. You know that, right?" He was obviously delirious because of the fever. He really was getting worse. "Amy is there swimming. You'll watch the boat, right? You said you would."

Rick looked at him with sorrow plain in his eyes. "I'll watch the boat. Don't worry."

Jim nodded, appearing placated. "Okay." He said in a low voice before becoming silent once again. He was asleep a few minutes later.

Charlie sighed and looked at Rick. Rick kept avoiding her gaze so Charlie rolled her eyes and left the RV, letting him stew in his own guilt or whatever it was he was feeling. She hoped he would return to normal soon because she couldn't stand this uneasy atmosphere between them. It wasn't like something had actually happen so what did he have to feel guilty about anyway?

Charlie returned to camp and that's when she noticed Sophia, sitting alone and playing absently with her doll. Her eyes were red and puffy but she had stopped crying. Still, she looked miserable and Charlie remembered that the little girl had lost both her parents that day. Ed was an abusive asshole so it wasn't a great loss that, but Carol…poor Carol.

Charlie decided to join her but first she needed to retrieve something from her bag. When she returned, she knelt in front of her chair and said, "Hey. Sophia, right?" She smiled at her.

Sophia looked at her with wary eyes and didn't smile back. Charlie ignored the child's diffidence and continued, "I'm Charlie."

Sophia nodded but didn't say anything in reply.

"So, I have something for you. Well, two somethings really, but you have to promise me to keep it a secret, okay? The other kids could get jealous, otherwise."

At the mention of secrets and gifts, Sophia's eyes regained a little light. "What are they?" She asked, curiosity plain in her voice.

Charlie grinned at her and asked her, "Do you like chocolate?"

Sophia squealed. "You have chocolate?"

"Hum, hum. Would you like some?"

Sophia bit her lip and then nodded shily. Charlie grinned at her and gave Sophia the chocolate bar she had retrieved from her bag.

Sophia grabbed it with quick hands and immediately unwrap it before biting a big chunk off. She hummed in delight and savored it, a smile on her lips.

Charlie smiled at seeing Sophia smile. She waited patiently for the child to finish the chocolate bar – it didn't take long at all – and then Sophia looked at her, an expectant look on her face. "What's the other thing?"

Charlie showed her the mp3 player. " Do you like music?"

Sophia nodded again and Charlie showed her how to use it. "With this you can listen to music without making noise. Remember, noise attracts those dead monsters so you always have to be as silent as possible."

Sophia nodded again and took the mp3 player from her hand. "Remember, listen to this only if there are other people around who can keep guard, never when you're alone. You always have to be aware of your surroundings. Do you understand?"

Sophia listened to her in fascination and nodded again. She was just about to put the earphones on when Rick returned with Shane and Dale in tow.

"Maybe you should listen to this." Charlie suggested. Sophia looked disappointed but agreed.

Charlie went to sit next to her and soon everyone in camp was once again sitting around the campfire like the first night Charlie had arrived here – except for the fact that it was still day, that the fire was extinct and that there were a lot less people than there were before.

Shane walked to the centre of the campfire and said, "I've been, uh… I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no… There are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning."

Everyone was looking at each other, some doubtful, other fearful, other more optimistic. Rick smiled at Lori and then turned his gaze towards the others. "Okay?"

The survivor group nodded, some more convinced than others. It looked like they were going to the C.D.C. after all.

"We're moving out, leaving the quarry. If you heard me yesterday, you may be coming here. If you are, we'll be gone by the time you arrive. I'm leaving a note and map behind for you taped to a red car so you can follow our trail. We're heading to the C.D.C. If there's anything left, it's got to be there, don't you think? Morgan… I hope you were right about that place. I need you to be."

So, until this moment every chapter encompassed the events of one single episode from start to finish. This time the chapter ended before they actually leave the camp to head towards the C.D.C. I decided to stop there first, because it was getting too long and second, because it felt like a good place to end it, with the chapter both starting and finishing with Rick trying to reach Morgan on the walkie. Hope you liked this chapter anyway and that you're still following this story. If you're new, hope you liked this chapter and my story in general and that you'll keep following it.