AN: This is an AU that takes place in the begging of S3 for the most part. Containing a Daryl/OC romance. It also disregards the prison and the governor though Lori still died during childbirth, T-Dog in an attack and Andrea is gone but Rick's group still met Michonne along the way.

I hope you give this a chance and please Review!

Unbeta'd all mistakes are mine.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead, only Sadie.

Sadie-Elizabeth Bergner cursed and threw her iPhone at her dashboard, giving a satisfied groan when it shattered. It'd been days since she had had any service and was able to reach her parents in Atlanta; the emergency broadcast was no longer on the radio, all she heard was static. She was scared, frustrated and tired; she's been stuck on the I-95 for hours trying to make it to the refugee center she was supposed to meet her parents at. Sadie gave a frustrated groan and clenched her eyes shut and shook her head in an effort to ward off tears. She's tired of crying, she's been crying for days. She cried when her Dad called to tell her that Nan and Papa succumbed to the new virus, she cried when she found the half eaten body of her best friend Jess on the steps of their shared house, she cried when she entered her house and threw all her belongings in two duffel bags, she had never been more thankful for her Dad being Army and the yearly camping trips the family went on than in that moment when she was able to compartmentalize and pack quickly and think of what was necessary for her to take: clothing, food, medical supplies, her father's hunting knife and a photo album, though she knew her father would be shaking his head at her at that addition.

Sadie refocused on the traffic in front of her and let out a whoop when the cars began to edge forward a few feet only to curse when her car began sputtering, she ignored the angry yells and honks as she pulled off to the side of the road, glancing uneasily at the woods just a few feet away. She was lucky that she hadn't encountered any of the infected people up close; her Dad's words rang in her ears "they're not people Sadie-Elizabeth, don't play hero, don't stop for them, don't hesitate. Kill them, it's the brain Sade, you have to destroy the brain." They're not people; she had to keep reminding herself of that. She was a nursing student, just a few weeks shy of her graduation; she dedicated her life to helping people, not killing them. Sadie shook herself from those thoughts, they'll not help her now, she grabbed the flashlight from her glove compartment and opened the door of her 2000 Honda Accord, and it seemed like a good idea at the time, buying a car in cash, not questioning what condition it was in. However, now she's hating herself for allowing her pride to get in her way and not accepting her fathers' help when she was car shopping. She was so focused on being independent that her innocence and naivety was used against her. She was ripped off.

Her hiking boots crunched under the gravel as she walked to the hood of her car, she refused to admit, even to herself that she had no idea what she was looking for. She was lost in thought when she heard a voice call out, making her jump.

" 'M sorry, sweetheart ah didn' mean ta scare ya, I's jus thought ya migh' need sum help dere" the voice came from a man in his late thirties, a beer belly barley concealed by a flannel, his appearance screamed backwoods hick. He was accompanied by two others who looked just as redneck as he. She was immediately relieved though, "yes, please, I'm not sure what happened one minute it was fine, then the next it was just not" Sadie moved aside to let the man get a closer look.

"I'm" She started to introduce herself when she noticed the other two men rooting through her car.

"Hey! What the heck do you think you're doing? Get out of there" Sadie advanced on the other men, but was stopped by the first.

"Now where ya think ya goin lil lady? You owe us a big than' ya for stoppin to help a damsel in distress." Sadie couldn't believe this, no one else was paying attention to them. Every last person on the highway was ignorant that all of her possessions for survival that were being stolen, and worse, they'd hurt her as soon as they finished.

"Hey, y'all bes' stop and leave, while ya got the chance" Sadie turned to see a rugged man coming from the woods, crossbow in hand. He was covered in blood and dirt with dead squirrels hanging from his belt, he should've scared Sadie, but she was too thankful to fear the one person who bothered to help her.

Daryl couldn't believe his eyes as he came from the woods. He had gotten tired of idling in his truck waiting for traffic to move so he figured he'd get a hunt in, he had managed to get a good half dozen squirrels that he had planned on skinning and roasting quick by his truck before heading to Atlanta to find his good for nothing brother. What he didn't plan on was finding a young woman getting mugged by three redneck thugs. Daryl knew the type of men they were, scoundrels that preyed on vulnerable women; they did it before the dead began to rise.

"What I jus' say? Get the hell outta here, I ain't gonna ask again 'fore I start lettin arrows loose on ya asses" The three men looked at him, the girl, the car, then at each other before walking away.

"she ain't worth it anyway, she as green as dey com'" the leader of the group spat before going the others."

Sadie was relieved, again. "Thank you so much, I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't have come out of the woods when you did" She got a good look at the man as he came closer to her and the car. He was good looking, very good looking she noticed, not in the general since but he had a sharp, natural sexiness to him that Sadie found incredibly attractive. He just glared at her though as he walked to the car's popped hood.

"what were you thinkin' travlin lone anyway? You got sum kind'o death wish or something?" He didn't wait for her to respond before continuing. "You're carburetor is dead, ya ain't gonna get any further with this piece a junk"

Sadie wanted to cry, the man was right she had no idea what she was doing alone. "I'm just trying to find my parents. I'm supposed to meet them in Atlanta."

Daryl studied the girl in front of him, she was young, at least a decade younger than him and she was pretty, very pretty. She had long brown hair she had braided down her back, she had curves he wanted to run his hands over, and big blue eyes that were looking to him for help which made him uneasy. People didn't depend on Daryl.

Daryl continued to look under the hood of the girl's car, trying to see if there was any way he could rig her car to work. He was checking the carburetor again when he heard helicopters flying in the direction of Atlanta, he looked up just in time to see bombs dropped on the city, he heard the girl gasp. He turned to her, she was staring wide eyed at the bombs.

"What're they doing?"

"What do ya think they doin? They bombed the city, guess they wanna make sure none of the zombies make it out of the city."

Daryl knew his face betrayed what he thought of her.

"I'm not stupid, I just…what about the living people. My parents are in Atlanta." Sadie was bordering hysterical, she was supposed to meet her parents, but now. No! She refused to even entertain the thought that they're dead.

"They ain't no living anymore, least not for long. If I were you I'd get far away from Atlanta" The man said over his shoulder as he walked up the road towards a beat up F-150.

"Hey! You can't just leave me here!" Sadie yelled at him, he was her only hope now that her car was gone and Atlanta too.

Daryl cursed and kicked a rock, as much as he wanted to, he knew that he couldn't just leave her alone.

Pussy Merle's voice sounded in his head, but for once, he ignored it.

"Well come on now, I ain't got all day, and ma name's Daryl, Daryl Dixon."