Scraping By, Chapter 3: Fireside Chat
Title: Scraping By
Fandom: The Walking Dead
Rating: M
Disclaimer: All rights for The Walking Dead go to Robert Kirkman and AMC. This story takes place strictly in the TV show 'verse.
Chapter 3: Fireside Chat
Whitney dove underwater and scrubbed her hands across her cheeks to at least loosen the dirt there. Her hair wasn't any better, but without any shampoo on hand she decided to braid it when she surfaced again. It took her a lot longer than she remembered, but that was probably because she hadn't gotten a haircut since long before the outbreak. She was lucky that the braid ended up being so long considering she didn't have an elastic to tie it off with.
Even though her stomach was growling and her hands wouldn't stop shaking, Whitney felt more human than she had in quite a while.
She didn't stay in the water long. She was far too hungry to hang around like she normally would have. Standing in the grass, Whitney swiped the towel over her body twice and pulled on the borrowed clothing Andrea brought her. The jeans hung low on her hips and the tank top was big enough that she felt a little awkward with the gap that revealed quite a lot of skin from her armpits to her ribs. She tucked the towel around her neck to cover it up as much as possible and wrung out her hair on her way back to Andrea.
"All that lake needs is some soap and shampoo and I'll feel a hundred times better," Whitney told her.
"I think Shane might have found some at the Walgreens today. Come on. Someone's cooking dinner."
Carl and Sophia were the first to run up to Whitney with Zeke between them. He looked as overjoyed as a dog could when he saw her again.
"Thanks for letting us play with him," Sophia said.
Whitney smiled and ran her hand along Zeke's sleek back. "Y'all can play with him any time your moms say it's okay, alright?"
Carl smiled again. "Cool!"
With that, the children ran off to tell their mothers.
"Glad I could make someone happy," Whitney said under her breath. Andrea heard her but chose not to comment. She, too, was a little breathless at the sight of both kids being kids for once.
She found herself easily wrapping an arm around the skinny dark blonde woman and leading her toward the fire pit they'd dug out in the center of camp. Andrea had thought that Dale was the one cooking for the night, but Daryl was the one busy over the cast iron pans he managed to balance over the fire.
He had potatoes cooking in the last of the olive oil with some of Dale's leftover rosemary and it looked like he found an onion among the growing produce they'd found in town.
Andrea had no idea that Daryl could cook anything beyond the meat he came back with after hunts.
Whitney sat on the ground next to Daryl and checked a second cast iron pan with some simmering meat.
"Did all that talk 'bout cookin' give ya ideas, Daryl?"
He scoffed softly, nodded, and continued to dice the onion on the makeshift worktable (an upside-down cooler). "It did. Caught a couple rabbits in some snares I set up last night."
"This wouldn't happen to be that cousin's recipe, would it?"
"Naw, it's mine."
The group had no idea what to make of this. Daryl worked quickly and dropped the diced onion in with the potatoes that were getting a bit crispy around the edges. He kept at it until they were the perfect shade of golden brown and eased the pan off the fire and onto a flat rock. The rabbit was nearly done.
Glenn was already getting plates out for everyone, and Daryl loaded up one with a decent portion of potatoes and rabbit meat. He called for Dale to come down from the roof of the camper and handed him the plate. Returning to his watch, the older man looked a little perplexed over the presentation of the meal.
The others were loading up their plates when they heard Dale groan around his fork.
Whitney laughed. She seemed a little shocked that she did it and laughed again. Daryl just shook his head and readied the remains of the food for the dog.
By now, everyone was stuffing their faces and briefly looking at Daryl in a newer light. Whitney was too busy moaning and swearing to make her own observations and Daryl was too occupied staring at her as she made some truly sexual sounds while she ate. He actually laughed when he heard her mutter the phrase "fuck me sideways."
After three days of cold ravioli and kidney beans, the simple meal of fried potatoes and rabbit was like a feast.
"This is fantastic," Lori said. "Daryl, I had no idea you could cook."
He shrugged and kept on eating.
"To be fair, we didn't ask," Carol said. A silence fell over the group that only Carl had the courage to break.
"What did you do before the geeks?" he asked. "You never said."
Daryl looked up at the boy and glanced around the fire. All eyes were on him (with the single exception of Whitney, who was still stuffing her face). He cleared his throat and took a drink of water before he answered.
"I worked in the Dublin Country Club."
"Doing what?" Rick asked.
Daryl balanced his near-empty plate on one knee and ran his hand over the back of his neck. "Staff chef. I was, uh, in charge 'a butcherin' the meat. My cousin was the saucier."
The others stared at him like he thought they would. As though they couldn't picture him anywhere fancy.
"Did you have a uniform?" Sophia asked.
Daryl finally smiled a little and scraped the last few bits of potato onto Whitney's plate. "Yeah, I did. Didn't haveta wear that goofy hat, though."
A few of the adults laughed. Daryl grabbed a several bottles of beer from the cooler he was sitting on and popped the caps off. He handed them out to those who nodded to his silent question of "who wants one?" As he gave the last to Whitney, Daryl turned the attention on her and asked a question he already knew the answer to. If it would get the attention away from him, he was willing to bring it up. "What did you do 'fore all this shit started?"
Finished with dinner and feeling better than she had in months, Whitney smiled. "ER nurse. It was hell on my knee, but I didn't care so much when I loved what I was doin'."
Shane looked impressed. "So that's how you knew what antibiotics to look for in the pharmacy."
She nodded. "Handy skill to have during an apocalypse," she said and took a long drink from her beer bottle.
They went around the fire listing off their former jobs and what they did as hobbies before the world started to go crazy. As the sun started to set, the conversation shifted to sleeping arrangements and tasks for the next day. Andrea volunteered her tent for Whitney to stay in and pulled her towards it when she yawned wide enough to make her jaw crack. Zeke mirrored her but stayed in his slumped position against Daryl's thigh.
When the others had all gone to their respective tents and T-Dog was set up for first watch, Daryl doused the fire and crawled into his tent. Zeke followed him and plopped down with his snout crammed under the curve in Daryl's neck.
"Crazy mutt…"
Zeke snuffled and groaned as if he was irritated by the talking.
Chapter 2: Legroom | Chapter 4: Past Is Prologue
Fandom: The Walking Dead
Rating: M
Disclaimer: All rights for The Walking Dead go to Robert Kirkman and AMC. This story takes place strictly in the TV show 'verse.
Chapter 3: Fireside Chat
Whitney dove underwater and scrubbed her hands across her cheeks to at least loosen the dirt there. Her hair wasn't any better, but without any shampoo on hand she decided to braid it when she surfaced again. It took her a lot longer than she remembered, but that was probably because she hadn't gotten a haircut since long before the outbreak. She was lucky that the braid ended up being so long considering she didn't have an elastic to tie it off with.
Even though her stomach was growling and her hands wouldn't stop shaking, Whitney felt more human than she had in quite a while.
She didn't stay in the water long. She was far too hungry to hang around like she normally would have. Standing in the grass, Whitney swiped the towel over her body twice and pulled on the borrowed clothing Andrea brought her. The jeans hung low on her hips and the tank top was big enough that she felt a little awkward with the gap that revealed quite a lot of skin from her armpits to her ribs. She tucked the towel around her neck to cover it up as much as possible and wrung out her hair on her way back to Andrea.
"All that lake needs is some soap and shampoo and I'll feel a hundred times better," Whitney told her.
"I think Shane might have found some at the Walgreens today. Come on. Someone's cooking dinner."
Carl and Sophia were the first to run up to Whitney with Zeke between them. He looked as overjoyed as a dog could when he saw her again.
"Thanks for letting us play with him," Sophia said.
Whitney smiled and ran her hand along Zeke's sleek back. "Y'all can play with him any time your moms say it's okay, alright?"
Carl smiled again. "Cool!"
With that, the children ran off to tell their mothers.
"Glad I could make someone happy," Whitney said under her breath. Andrea heard her but chose not to comment. She, too, was a little breathless at the sight of both kids being kids for once.
She found herself easily wrapping an arm around the skinny dark blonde woman and leading her toward the fire pit they'd dug out in the center of camp. Andrea had thought that Dale was the one cooking for the night, but Daryl was the one busy over the cast iron pans he managed to balance over the fire.
He had potatoes cooking in the last of the olive oil with some of Dale's leftover rosemary and it looked like he found an onion among the growing produce they'd found in town.
Andrea had no idea that Daryl could cook anything beyond the meat he came back with after hunts.
Whitney sat on the ground next to Daryl and checked a second cast iron pan with some simmering meat.
"Did all that talk 'bout cookin' give ya ideas, Daryl?"
He scoffed softly, nodded, and continued to dice the onion on the makeshift worktable (an upside-down cooler). "It did. Caught a couple rabbits in some snares I set up last night."
"This wouldn't happen to be that cousin's recipe, would it?"
"Naw, it's mine."
The group had no idea what to make of this. Daryl worked quickly and dropped the diced onion in with the potatoes that were getting a bit crispy around the edges. He kept at it until they were the perfect shade of golden brown and eased the pan off the fire and onto a flat rock. The rabbit was nearly done.
Glenn was already getting plates out for everyone, and Daryl loaded up one with a decent portion of potatoes and rabbit meat. He called for Dale to come down from the roof of the camper and handed him the plate. Returning to his watch, the older man looked a little perplexed over the presentation of the meal.
The others were loading up their plates when they heard Dale groan around his fork.
Whitney laughed. She seemed a little shocked that she did it and laughed again. Daryl just shook his head and readied the remains of the food for the dog.
By now, everyone was stuffing their faces and briefly looking at Daryl in a newer light. Whitney was too busy moaning and swearing to make her own observations and Daryl was too occupied staring at her as she made some truly sexual sounds while she ate. He actually laughed when he heard her mutter the phrase "fuck me sideways."
After three days of cold ravioli and kidney beans, the simple meal of fried potatoes and rabbit was like a feast.
"This is fantastic," Lori said. "Daryl, I had no idea you could cook."
He shrugged and kept on eating.
"To be fair, we didn't ask," Carol said. A silence fell over the group that only Carl had the courage to break.
"What did you do before the geeks?" he asked. "You never said."
Daryl looked up at the boy and glanced around the fire. All eyes were on him (with the single exception of Whitney, who was still stuffing her face). He cleared his throat and took a drink of water before he answered.
"I worked in the Dublin Country Club."
"Doing what?" Rick asked.
Daryl balanced his near-empty plate on one knee and ran his hand over the back of his neck. "Staff chef. I was, uh, in charge 'a butcherin' the meat. My cousin was the saucier."
The others stared at him like he thought they would. As though they couldn't picture him anywhere fancy.
"Did you have a uniform?" Sophia asked.
Daryl finally smiled a little and scraped the last few bits of potato onto Whitney's plate. "Yeah, I did. Didn't haveta wear that goofy hat, though."
A few of the adults laughed. Daryl grabbed a several bottles of beer from the cooler he was sitting on and popped the caps off. He handed them out to those who nodded to his silent question of "who wants one?" As he gave the last to Whitney, Daryl turned the attention on her and asked a question he already knew the answer to. If it would get the attention away from him, he was willing to bring it up. "What did you do 'fore all this shit started?"
Finished with dinner and feeling better than she had in months, Whitney smiled. "ER nurse. It was hell on my knee, but I didn't care so much when I loved what I was doin'."
Shane looked impressed. "So that's how you knew what antibiotics to look for in the pharmacy."
She nodded. "Handy skill to have during an apocalypse," she said and took a long drink from her beer bottle.
They went around the fire listing off their former jobs and what they did as hobbies before the world started to go crazy. As the sun started to set, the conversation shifted to sleeping arrangements and tasks for the next day. Andrea volunteered her tent for Whitney to stay in and pulled her towards it when she yawned wide enough to make her jaw crack. Zeke mirrored her but stayed in his slumped position against Daryl's thigh.
When the others had all gone to their respective tents and T-Dog was set up for first watch, Daryl doused the fire and crawled into his tent. Zeke followed him and plopped down with his snout crammed under the curve in Daryl's neck.
"Crazy mutt…"
Zeke snuffled and groaned as if he was irritated by the talking.
Chapter 2: Legroom | Chapter 4: Past Is Prologue