Ever Done It In A Hayloft?

Stiles still was in the wood he wanted to fine the girl everyone been looking for..... he stop at the house Daryl found the other day and he laid low waiting...

...

Most of the Packs were awake and circling the truck with the map before the sun reached over the farm house. Rick was splitting the map into color coordinated grids for the Packs to divide and conquer. Jimmy came over as they start discussing where they were going to search, offering his services. The group slips, and Rick follows Shane to the section they were going to be tagging with red cloth. The Alphas stay quiet, not speaking for a while. Rick broke the silence with a minute melancholy smile.

"You remember the name of that waitress at the Dairy Queen when we were in high school?" When the other Alpha stays quiet Rick snorts, "I know you, Shane, well enough to know that there is only one sure-fire way of engaging you in a conversation, and that is to start asking you about girls you did in high school. I don't want to, but I'll willing to do it if that's what it takes."

"What are we doing? You got everybody at your disposal out scourging these woods for a little girl we both know is likely dead." Shane growls, not biting into Rick's attempt for conversation.

"You think we should abandon the search?" Rick asks quietly.

"It's not my call, is it?"

"I'm asking, Shane." Rick stares at the other Alpha, "No reason for that."

"Survival, Rick. It means making hard decisions. I'm trying to save lives here and you're out saving cats from trees."

"Is that what you think Sophia is, a cat in a tree?" Rick cuts Shane off and growls until the other Alpha looks at him in the eye. Eye contact between two Alphas was usually seen as a threat or challenge for dominance. Rick had always been one to encourage it, so people would be equals instead.

"Don't do that, man. Don't twist my words." Shane scowls, never needing encouragement to meet his Prime's gaze. "How many times we get called up to look for a missing child, man? You got 72 hours, then you're looking for a body. And that was Before. I mean you honestly think we're just gonna find Sophia alive?"

"Are you that sure we won't?"

"We're being completely honest?"

"Oh, I'm counting on you to be." Rick growls.

"It's math, man. Love or not, Sophia... she only matters to the degree in which she don't drag the rest of us down." Rick clinches his jaw, so he doesn't bare his teeth and turns away from Shane, eyes going black at Shane's attitude towards a pup.

"I thought you wanted honest." Shane turns around and hit the closest tree with his gun, "If we'd just moved on, man, we'd be halfway to Fort Benning right now and Carl wouldn't've gotten shot. You said so yourself. But we're out here, we're risking lives. Your own son almost died. Otis, he paid that bill. What the hell are we still doing this for?"

"I had her in my hand, Shane." Rick whines, "She looked in my eyes and trusted me. I failed her. If I hadn't, she wouldn't be out here. She's a pup and I... I think she's still alive and I'm not- I'm not gonna write her off. What if it had been my pup, what if it was Carl?"

"Carl's not a 12-year-old Omega."

"His second-gender has nothing to do with it; he hasn't presented yet. And he was 11 when this started, he'll be 12 soon. What then?"

Shane looks away from his Prime and taps a tree with cloth tied around the small trunk. "It's blue. It's Andrea and T-Dog. Looks like we wandered into their grid. Come on, let's head back."

.....

Daryl had borrowed one of the Greene's horses and was hunting while looking for the lost pup. The forest was quiet except for the sound of the horse's hooves on leaves and the twang of the bow as he shot at squirrels. Daryl made his way to the farm house he found Sophia's Nest in, planning to start his search for her there. He ties the horse to one of the porch beams and makes his way in, checking all the rooms again but not finding anyone. Going into the kitchen he checks the trash can first, finding a jar of peanut butter sitting on top. That was new. The Nest looked the same too, but the smell was stronger. Omegan, and one that would be entering Heat soon.

The older Alpha kneels next to door and starts pulling out flash lights and batteries along with food and water bottles he had stocked up on. Placing them on top on his winged jacket, along with a bottle of Suppressants, Daryl pulls out the shirts he had borrowed from Carol and rolls them round the supplies like a mini Nest. Pulling out a dry erase board he writes a simple note for the pup and leaves it on top of the pile.

'Sophia,

Stay here, we're looking for you. You're going into Heat and will need this stuff. Take one pill a day if you can keep track of them. Ration the supplies. Will comes back every other day to see if you're here. STAY PUT HERE. Lock the closet as tight as you can and stay quiet. The scent of your mom and us will help. We are looking for you.

Daryl Dixon'

Hoping the pup would find the stuff and stay in the farm house, the Alpha heads back out and grabs the horse to continue the search he knew stiles was watching him. Daryl urges the horse to a halt as he passes a steep decline into the riverbank below, a flash of pink under a log makes him pause. A sniff of the area tells him only what he can see; water, dirt, rotting wood, and small rodents that lived nearby. Masking those scents was the dead, and under it was a faint hint of honey and what smelled of puppy breath. Sophia. Moving to a lower part of the small cliff, and jumping off the animal, Daryl holds his crossbow tight as he descends. Placing his feet carefully so he doesn't slip, the Alpha walks through the shallow part of the pond and picks up the pink item.

Daryl whines in his throat as he holds Sophia's doll, the one she had gotten from Martinez's pup. Looking around the Alphas calls out to the pup, not caring how loud he was being, just hoping his voice carries so the pup could hear him. Once he was up the slope with the doll in hand, Daryl turns the horse around, determined to get back to the farm house and Sophia's Nest, to wait for her to return. Daryl heard the hiss and braced himself as the horse startled. Thrown from its back and down the cliff, Daryl lands in the pool of water with an arrow through his side. The hunter wipes the blood from his eye with shallow gasps, the head wound must have been where he hit his head on some rocks.

He crawls to the dryer banks on the other side of the cove and cuts off the sleeves of his shirt, tying them together and binding the arrow to his side. Looking up he could tell that the horse was long gone and Daryl was below the highest point on the cliff. He looks around for a smaller hill to climb up, but they were all surrounded by water. Daryl didn't feel like swimming and climbing. He grabs a stick half his size to help him walk and beats it on the ground a few times to test its strength. A bush rustles to his left along with the sound of shuffling feet. Daryl reaches for his crossbow but finds it missing. He makes his way towards the spot he fell in the water and uses the stick to dig the bow out of the muck, ignoring the pain as much as he can.

Keeping his injury in mind, he uses the stick and his bow to drag him up the hill, grabbing the thin trees as he goes. He gets half-way up, having grabbed another stick to feel out solid parts of the ground to use to pull himself up through the loose dirt when things go wrong. The stick breaks and he tosses it away, holding on to the tree to balance himself. "Come on, you've done half, stop being such a pussy."

Lunging for a higher tree causes the dirt to shift from under him and he starts sliding back with a surprised whine. Tumbling down the cliff again, he hits another rock as he rolls and blacks out. He comes to slowly, his body twitching and gently rocking like someone was trying to shake him awake. The scent of milk and puppy was stronger than before, the hint of Heat was heavy in the air. Sophia, she was here. Loud whining was turning into deep growling as Daryl pushes himself into consciousness. A Walker was biting at his boots but looks up and hisses as the Alpha starts to move.

Daryl yelps a high-pitched noise and kicks the Walker away, whining and whimpering as it follows him. He reaches for his bow that's not quite in reach, then stabs and punches the Walker, rolling it under him. The Walker grabs at the hunter's hair and Daryl rolls away as a second Walker comes out of the woods, drawn by the sounds of the fight. The Alpha knock the Walker onto its back and grabs the broken stick from where it had fallen before, and uses it to bash the Walker's head in. Falling onto his side, the Alpha pulls the arrow out of his side and loads it into the bow, landing on his back just as the Walker gets over him and aims for the head as best he can while in pain. The body falls down beside him and Daryl lays there, panting. He drops the bow and when he comes to again, everything is the same.

Pulling off the button up shirt he was wearing, leaving him in his white beater, Daryl folds the shirt and uses it to put pressure on his wounds. He takes one of the squirrels he shot earlier that had stayed on during the fall, and cuts it open, eating it raw. He tucks Sophia's doll into his belt and starts the climb again. He hears a muffled scream and looks up towards the top of the cliff a few feet away. Sophia. The alpha in him pushes its way to the surface and takes over with his adrenaline, pushing him past his pain and he climbs a little faster. Digging his fingers into the top-soil at the top of the cliff, Daryl drags himself up, searching the trees for movement. Seeing neither Walkers or Sophia, the older Alpha swallows and does something he never thought he would ever do; he chuffs and thrills for a pup.

His instincts and memories of his own mother help him to make the sounds to call to the missing pup. His mother used to stand at the edge of the woods and thrill for him and Merle until they would respond. He would hold Daryl when he was really young and chuff at each chirp that Daryl made to calm him when their father would beat Merle. Getting no answer, Daryl makes his way back to Sophia's Nest and past that, the Greene farm, softly calling to Sophia as a mother would call to their cub.

....

The old Alpha stands in the doorway of the dining room, looking into the kitchen as the Beta and Omega from Shane's Pack help Patricia and Beth prepare food. Maggie passes her father as she sets up a spare table, drawing the Alpha's attention.

"What's this?" He points, upset, towards the group of women.

"Lori and Carol are cooking dinner for us tonight."

"Well that's the first I've heard of it."

"They want to thank us for helping them, I didn't think it was that big of a deal." Maggie stands up, a silent challenge for her father to question her decision. The older Alpha had started her training to take over the Pack before the outbreak, and in a few days she was to take over as Prime. With the new Packs on the farm though, it wouldn't surprise her if he held off until they left.

"We need to be setting clear boundaries with these people. They're getting a little too comfortable on our land, with our people."

"It's just dinner, daddy."

"What's going on with you and the Asian boy?" Herschel rumbles.

"Glenn." Maggie rumbles back, "He's just a friend."

"Friends don't come back smelling like each other like you did after going into town. It's bad enough that I have to chase Beth and Jimmy around. I would rather you didn't get off with one of theirs. They're not staying, and I don't want you to get attached to one of them, especially another Alpha."

"Why? It's not like we're going to Mate dad. And if I'm going to be the Prime before next week, I'm going to let them stay." Maggie raise her hand, cutting off whatever her dad was going to say, "Daryl is bringing us food and furs, which we need now that Otis is gone. The others are helping with chores and they have Omega's and pups, something I think would be good for Beth."

"They're not going to be around forever, so don't get to close. When your Prime I hope you'll take how I feel into consideration." Maggie leaves to go get more supplies.

.....

Dale finds Andrea standing on top of the RV with the rifle pointed at the woods. "What's with the Annie Oakley routine? Hershel doesn't want the guns to be visible from the house."

"I don't want to wash clothes anymore Dale, I want to help get the Packs safe. Is that alright with you?" Andrea snaps at the Elder with a small growl.

Dale flinches a little, hurt, but walks off. Andrea rolls her eyes and huffs, bring the rifle to eye level to look out the scope at the woods. Dale goes into the RV and after ten minutes Glenn comes out, the Alpha's head low as if he had been scolded. The Beta on the RV watches the Asian Alpha walk into the camp and make himself busy with a misplaced sense of justice. At least she wasn't the only one getting Dale's shit. Looking back out to the woods, she sees a figure stumble out of the trees.

"Walker. Walker!" The others gather around and look where Andrea's pointing. Glenn stays behind Rick as the Alpha and Shane grab blunt weapons.

"Just the one?" Rick asks.

"I bet I can nail it from here." She grabs the rifle and sets it up, looking down the scope. The light glare made it impossible to see a face, but it didn't matter.

"No. No, Andrea put the gun down." T-Dog comes up with a baseball bat and a crowbar and hands the bat to Glenn with a soft purr. The shaky Alpha's last encounter with the Walker in the well had pushed Glenn back a bit in his recovery.

"You'd best let us handle this."

"Shane hold up. Hershel wants to deal with Walkers."

"What for man, we got this covered." The Alpha takes off for the Walker and Rick curses, waving his Packmates on as he grabs his gun from the RV, running to get ahead of the others to keep them from doing anything stupid. Andrea scoffs and lays down on the roof, setting the rifle to get a good shot from behind the group.

"Andrea don't."

"Back off Dale."

Rick get a few feet away and points the gun at the Walker's; Daryl's head. The group holds their breath and Glenn whimpers, "Is that Daryl?"

"That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head Alpha." Rick laughs, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. "You gonna pull the trigger or what?"

Rick lowers his gun and clicks the safety on, putting it back into its holster. The tension drains from Daryl's body and he grins. A sound like thunder and the Alpha was on the ground, head bleeding again.

"NO! NO!" Rick screams. T-Dog and Glenn scream too and rush to their Packmate's side. Shane looks back to the RV where Andrea was preening with pride at taking out the Walker.... Until they heard Rick and the others scream, wiping the smug look off the Beta's face.

Hershel and the others come rushing out of the house, Lori screaming for Rick.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON OUT HERE?!"

Rick kneels next to Daryl's head, praying Andrea had missed. The Alpha in him ignored Rick's warnings of Daryl's personal space and brushes the Alpha's hair back, seeing where the bullet had grazed the side of his head. Daryl reaches up and touches it with a wince but lets the Alphas drag him to his feet. "I was kidding."

The Alpha lets his head fall to Rick's shoulder, scenting his Alpha silently. Rick heaves him higher so he could scent him as well, smelling a wound under all the dirt and blood. He could also smell the scent of honey and puppy breath; the smell of a presenting Omega in heat. The puppy smell and the fact that there weren't any pheromones meant the smell wasn't coming from Daryl. The older Omega wasn't the one in heat. Rick breathes a sigh of relief at that, but growls when Shane goes to help lift him. Glenn comes over and slings an arm over his shoulders. Andrea and Dale were sprinting down to the tree line while the group makes their way back to the farm house.

"OH MY GOD!" Andrea sobs, "Oh my god is he dead?!"

"You just grazed him." Shane pushes her back when the two Alphas holding their Packmate flash black eyes to her, Daryl leaning heavier on his Alpha. T-Dog follows at a slower pace. Shane grabs the Beta by her neck and starts to drag her along, ignoring Dale. "What the hell were you thinking?! I fucking told you to let us handle it and you fucking ignored me and now Daryl's out with a gunshot."

"He was injured before, while he was out there. That's why he was limping, and now you've put another hole in him." Glenn flashes his teeth at Andrea when she tries to get a closer look at the injury. Shane pushes her back and puts himself between the two of them.

"Guys!" T-Dog huffs behind them. The group turns and looks at the doll he holds up; the red yarn hair, the tattered dress and yellow leggings, the button eyes. "Isn't this Sophia's?"

"Its hers." Daryl groans, "Found it, found her. She's.... She's.... Heat.... maybe..." Daryl goes limp, his body shutting down to heal, now that he was with his Pack.

Rick looks to Shane, the discussion about dropping the search running through both of their minds. Rick and Glenn continue to carry the unconscious man to Hershel to be patched up. They get him inside and, in a room, not to far from Carl, the pup still asleep. The older Alpha cleans the bullet wound and wraps up his head while the Alpha was still out. Rick sat at the man's bedside, holding the doll and looking at it and then at Daryl, like he couldn't believe it was in his hand. Shane stays by the door, refusing to come into the room while Rick was still on edge. Hershel had just started to stitch up the arrow wound when Daryl came to again.

"...Gon' on?" Daryl blinks.

"What?"

"What's going on?" Rick rest a hand on Daryl's shoulder, making sure the hunter could see it the whole time.

"You said you found Sophia; you had her doll?" Rick shows Daryl the doll that he had been holding and nods at Shane to go grab the map. When the Alpha leaves, Rick asks Daryl if he was alright with Shane coming in to talk about the plans.

"He says nothin' bout them." The hunter points at his scars, "He don't stare either."

"I'll tell him." Rick meets Shane at the door and give him Daryl's warning. The two Alphas come in and get an idea of where down the creek the doll was found, cutting the search area in half. Once Hershel leaves with a snide remark about his horse and the medicine they were going through, Shane turns to Daryl, watching as he pulls the covers up to his shoulder.

"You said you found her, but you didn't bring her back. Why; she bit?"

"Don't know."

"You don't know." Shane laughs, ignoring Rick's rumbles, "You seen her but don't know she's bit?"

"Ain't seen her." Daryl flashes his teeth at the Alpha, "Said I found her. Seen where she's hiding, her Nest." He turns his attention on Rick, not paying Shane any mind, which raises the Alpha's neck hairs. No Beta had a right to treat him like that. If Rick hadn't claimed the Beta hunter for his Pack, Shane would have shown the little bitch exactly what happens when you cross an Alpha.

"She's hiding in this old farmhouse, one of the neighbors most likely. I left her some Suppressants cause she's in Heat; maybe started it yesterday. Carol gave me one of her shirts to give her and some food. Left a note saying we'd come by every day. The smell was stronger today than it was yesterday, so she came back even after I entered her Nest, which is a good sign. I'm going back out there tomorrow, and ya ain't coming with." Daryl cuts Rick and Shane off when they try to protest, "Your both Alphas, with overpowering scents. If she's there and smells you, she'll bolt. Even if she recognized your scents, with her Heat and the fact that she's terrified, she'll leave. Then we lose any trace we might have of finding her."

"You won't be able to move much with your injuries," Daryl snarls and Rick back tracks, knowing where the Alpha would take it, "I'm not saying you're not going, you are."

"Rick, man, he's..."

"The only one you know where the house is." Rick cuts the other Alpha off with a look, "And the one that Sophia has been smelling in her Nest. But I think it would be a good idea to take someone with you. T-Dog would be the best choice. He's quiet in the woods, he knows to give you space and he doesn't talk much, plus he's a Beta. He won't scare her off; the two of them hung out on the road and at the CDC, his scent might help. Take him with you?"

"I can do that." Daryl watches his Alpha, "He's still hurt though. I'll take Glenn if he's not up to it."

"Glenn's an Alpha, or does your Beta nose not tell you shit?" Shane growls pissed that Daryl would allow the wanna-be Alpha to join him but not Shane.

"Glenn's so subservient he smells like a Beta half the time. Plus, Sophia trust him more than me, if I can't get her out, he can." Daryl growls back. Rick lays his hand on Daryl's arm and gently pushes him down to rest. The two Alpha's leave, Daryl listens to them growl at one another in the hall with Lori trying to play sides again. Rick leaves to check on his son and Lori and Shane whisper a little longer before Shane storms off to punish Andrea, his Mate following on quiet steps.

It was hours before anyone came up to the room and Daryl spent the time sleeping and looking at the doll. When the door opens Daryl pulls the sheets up to cover his scars, looking over his shoulder to see Carol with food and water.

"How are you feeling?" She asks. Daryl could hear the quiver in her voice. She could probably smell Sophia on him.

"About as good as I look."

"I brought you dinner." Carol places the tray on the bedside table, "You must be starving."

"Thanks." Daryl looks at the food in hunger but doesn't move to grab it. Carol smiles at the younger Alpha and places a kiss on the bandage near the bullet graze. Daryl just blinks at the woman and croons; trying to comfort her. Realizing what he had done, Daryl turns over after clearing his throat with a huff, "Watch out, I got stitches."

Turning to leave Carol opens the door and looks back at the hunter, "You need to know something. You did more for my pup today than her daddy ever did in his life."

"She's Pack." Daryl grumbles with a low croon, purposely comforting this time, "Didn't do nothin' the others would have."

"Rick and his maybe; Hershel's too if she was one of theirs. But Shane's tried to call off the search multiple times now. He's even stopped looking for her with the others. You're better than Shane; and you're just as good, if not better, than 'bout everyone else out there. Cause you're trying to not just find her but taking care of me and the others on top of it. They might not say it, but I will; thank you." With a final kiss and low croon, Carol was gone, leaving Daryl to stare at the little doll in his hands.

.....