A New Day in the Sanctuary

Gaining Trust

Daryl POV:

I left my room so Hazel could get some rest before she found where she belonged within the Sanctuary. I found myself in much better spirits about being here since we found Hazel in that cell. It made me feel like I was needed here. Who knows what else I could find here?

I walked out of the hall leading to my room, and out in the main area of the factory. I quickly scanned the large, dimly lit area to find Rosita and Eugene. I waved my hand to them as I approached. "What's goin' on? Anythin' new?" I asked them both.

"This place is going to take an astronomical amount of manpower to get it into working order but I am confident that we indeed possess the resources to make it happen, cap'n," Eugene finished with a nod in my direction. 

I stared at him for just a moment and nodded slowly at him. I turned to look over at Rosita.

Rosita smiled and looked at the ground to hide her laughter at Eugene's latest nickname for me since Rick named me the new leader of the Sanctuary. She looked back up, regaining her previous composure. "We were just taking inventory of all of the food. There's enough to get us through the next month with the numbers we're at now," she said. "Eugene and I were going to see if we could find a spot outside to try and grow some crops in the next week or so." 

I nodded at her. "Good work. Can y'all keep an eye on things goin' on 'round here for maybe the next couple of days? I'll be here, I just wanted to keep my focus on somethin' else..." I started without knowing how to finish my statement. Rosita's mouth curled into a knowing smile almost immediately, but Eugene was the first to speak, as always.

"That is an affirmative, cap'n we will do our best to keep this place running in tip top shape, don't you give it a moment's worry," he said quickly. He called me "cap'n" again.

"Eugene," I said abruptly. I couldn't take it anymore. "Stop calling me 'cap'n'." I said flatly.

Eugene nodded. "I can do that, too." That was easier than I thought it would be.

"What are you going to be focusing on, Daryl?" Rosita asked knowingly.

I looked at her for a moment before I answered. "I think I need to stick with Hazel for a little while. She was down in that cell for three months, I was there myself for a little while; it isn't easy to come back from," I said, my last sentence barely above a whisper.

Rosita looked at me intently, then nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Daryl, I didn't think about that. I was just giving you shit." She said, frowning and tilting her head at me.

I waved my hand at her. "Didn't bother me none," I said quietly.

With that, the three of us parted ways. I headed to where the people of the Sanctuary were doing trade to see if there was anything I could get to make Hazel more comfortable.

I found a woven basket like kids would get on Easter before the fall. It was plain but about 6 inches deep so I could fit some supplies in there for her. As I walked around, people were trying to greet me, shake my hand. I didn't like the attention. They were treating me like I was Rick. 

I played nice, smiled and nodded, but I was uncomfortable the entire time. I worked my way through all of the tables the best I could. Since I was the new leader, everyone insisted I could take what I needed without trading. I tried to trade something fairly at every table but was rejected repeatedly, eventually, I gave up trying, only taking the bare minimum.

Most of the people running the tables were older women, all of them asked me if I was gathering things for my wife or girlfriend. After the first couple I had just let their imaginations run wild with them. I think it was something that brought warmth to their hearts, so I just started smiling back at them instead of answering.