When Angels Fall: D.D

3

A huff emitted from Riley, briefly closing her eyes, relief filling her, opening her eyes and looking at him, watching as he began to walk in her direction. Riley did the same, removing the duffle bag and backpack from her shoulders, walking toward him, his pace quickening to a light run. Dropping her bow, Riley threw her arms around his shoulders, his arms wrapping around her in return, her eyes closing as she buried her face in his neck. She was happy to know that he was alive, and Daryl felt the same, thinking he may never see his best friend again. A small wince emitted from Riley, feeling her legs literally give out from underneath her, causing her to instinctively tighten her arms around Daryl's shoulders, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

With his arms around her, Daryl nearly dragged her to the railing, sitting her down as gently as he could and kneeling in front of her, her breathing slightly heavy,

"What happened?" Daryl asked, looking her over

"Just . . ." Riley trailed off "I just woke up" shrugging slightly "today. This morning, actually"

Riley saw movement out of the corner of her eye, causing her to look up, seeing the four men standing there, one of them having a bewildered look on his face, which caused her to assume that Daryl's temper wasn't in check. She looked back at Daryl, who looked back at the other men, rolling his eyes slightly before looking back at Riley, letting out a small sigh through his nose, moving to her side and looping one of his arms under the crook of her knees, curling his other arm around her back, ignoring the quiver of arrows. Daryl lifted her up from the railing, causing her arms to instantly wrap around his neck, turning around and beginning to make his way to the truck, only to be stopped by the man with the shotgun,

"What are you doing?" He snapped lowly

"What's it look like?" Daryl countered "puttin' 'er in my damn truck, I ain't leavin' 'er"

"We don't even know this chick" he said

"I know 'er well enough" Daryl replied "she won't hurt no one" 

"What's your name?" The man in the cowboy hat asked, looking at the woman in Daryl's arms

". . Riley" she replied

"I'm Rick" he said, giving her a small nod "can I ask what happened?"

". . Coma" she answered simply

Daryl brushed past them, one of the other men moving out of the way, letting him walk over to the truck. He opened the door, gently sitting her in the passenger seat, a small sigh emitting from her nose, finally feeling her body relax, not realizing how tired she had been since she woke up.

"Don' even know how yer ass is walkin'" he muttered

"Neither do I" she replied, leaning her head back against the headrest

He looked at her for a moment, her eyes were slightly heavy, as if she was fighting her sleep,

"Yer sugar's low" he muttered "you eat anything?"

"Wasn't hungry" she shrugged slightly

He let out a small sigh through his nose, shaking his head slightly, one of the other men, who was Korean, walking over to them with the duffle bag, backpack and bow, Daryl practically snatching them from his hands. He put the duffle bag on the floor of the truck, reaching over her and putting the backpack in the middle seat, leaning the bow next to it, unzipping the duffle bag and digging through it. Riley knew Daryl was going to be like this, protective and concerned with her well being, he had always been that way since they were kids. Daryl found what he was looking for, which was one of the granola bars, ripping it open with his teeth and putting it in her hand, allowing her to bring it up to her mouth and taking a bite. He grabbed one of the thermoses, knowing it was full because of the weight, unscrewing the cap and handing it to her, which allowed her to wash down the granola.