Story Info

Title: What Doesn't Kill You

Fandom: The Walking Dead

Rating: M

Pairing: Daryl/OC

Summary: [Prequel to The Past Ain't Always Dead] Amaleen Blake just ended her undergraduate work at Georgia State University and decides to look around Georgia for a job while she goes to graduate school. Only her plans change when she lands in a small town outside of Atlanta, home to Daryl and Merle Dixon. The older man is hard and stubborn, short-tempered and angry, but for some reason she can't seem to stay away from him no matter how many times he wants her to leave. But with his father and older brother working hard to keep them apart, will they be able to make it, or will their happiness be shattered?

Spoilers: None

.x.x.x.x.

Chapter Info

Title: The Start of Something New

Number: 1/?

Warnings: Language, angst

Author's Note: Hello, everyone, here's the prequel I promised! If you haven't read The Past Ain't Always Dead, that's completely fine. This is the prequel so there wouldn't be a need to read the other story. There wouldn't be any spoilers for it either because it takes place twelve years before the other one does. That means there wouldn't be any of the Atlanta/Farm group in here like there is in the other one, but you will see Daryl and Merle of course. Also this one might be updated slower/less frequently than the other one, and also might not be as long as the plans I have for that one. Anyway, thanks for reading and comments are love! [Note: the story info is only on this chapter, but every chapter will have the chapter info.]

-Ten Years Ago-

Daryl Dixon woke up as he always did: cursing the sunlight pouring through the window and trying to hide himself from the offensive rays in the back of his girl's neck. He really hated mornings, hated the happy chirping of the birds right outside the window, and hated how all of a sudden there was just a bright ass light shining onto his face. He tried multiple times to put up a blanket to darken the room, but it either fell or Amaleen moved it because she hated that it was so dark. Call him pussy whipped, but he would rather his girl be happy so he gave up trying to put up the blanket and dealt with the early fucking mornings.

Usually he could slip back into sleep for a few minutes as he laid there with Amaleen, but he soon realized that what he was hugging was in fact her pillow and not the woman herself. It still smelled like her, but it was cooling down from disuse. The hell? he wondered, yawning and stretching lazily, eyes blinking open. Amaleen wasn't in bed and as he put his hand there, he realized that it had probably been awhile since she had laid there. Had he actually slept longer than he thought? Was she up and out doing something already? It was a Saturday, she couldn't be at work as there was no school on Saturdays. A glance at the clock told him it was almost nine AM so she couldn't have been up for long without him.

"Amaleen!" he called, his voice hoarse from sleep and he tried to clear it away, but it didn't work. When he heard his silent trailer giving no clues to the whereabouts of his girlfriend, he quirked an eyebrow and decided to drag his lazy ass out of bed. Maybe she's in the garden, he thought, rolling his eyes with a small smirk. Amaleen had just moved in a month ago and despite the fact he told her countless times he "don't need no damn roses growin' in my yard," she wouldn't take no for an answer. She had spent hours on the computer and at the library searching for the right kind of roses and what time of the year they should be blooming. It was just hitting the end of spring so she had said she had to get moving as planting was best in spring so they could bloom in summer.

Grumbling to himself, he stood and stumbled his way from the room in only his boxers. It had taken a long time for him to be comfortable enough with himself and with their relationship to walk around the house without a shirt on. The scars on his back were a glaring reminder of his weakness, a time in his life when he let somebody over power him. True he had been a kid and that person was his father, but the shame was there. The first time she saw them, they were at her place and he ran, ignoring her for a week until she showed up on his door step, soaked to the bone and shivering from the rain and demanding him stop being a fucking idiot and let her in, and then just kissed him before he could even say anything. It was that day he realized just how hard he fell for her, the desperation he felt that night still sung in his veins to that day even though it was almost two years later.

Rubbing his eyes, he went out in the quiet kitchen and saw a pot of coffee already made, and not that sick mud shit that usually happened when he made it. No, it was the good shit that Amaleen made and it tasted amazing. He poured himself a cup of the black coffee, nothing in it of course, and poked his head out the front door. The roses were all planted, but her car was gone. We got food, he thought, frowning as he wondered where she could've gone. He went back in to call her phone when he noticed a note on the table. Rolling his eyes at his lack of notice, he put the mug down to go pick up the note. But once he did, he had to read it a couple times to figure out if he understood it correctly.

I couldn't take them anymore, I'm sorry. I love you. -Amaleen

Blinking quickly, his body started to tremble and his fists slowly bunched at his sides. Running into their room, he yanked the closet open and saw that it was down to being only a quarter full again, the rest taken up by just hangers, like it had been before she moved in. All her stuff in the bathroom was gone, her computer, her phone, her shoes, everything including her. Rage and grief stormed over his body and he didn't know what to do other than smash shit. With a rage filled scream his TV was first, toppling over and smashing to the ground with a spark. Next the dishes, all the food in the cupboards and fridge, pictures on the wall, the deer head over the couch...it was all in tatters and he still wasn't fucking done, because his heart was a lot worse than whatever he just did to the trailer. He was panting, breathing like a raging bull with tears pouring down his face.

She fucking left him and didn't even say goodbye. Merle was fuckin' right.

.x.x.x.x.

-Two Years Previously-

As much as her parents tried to talk her out of it, Amaleen refused to move up to New York with her family. Amaleen May Blake was born and raised right there in Georgia and that's where she decided she would always live. She went to school there and would find work there, and live out the rest of her life in the best state in the USA. Sometimes it was lonely, sure, but she had her car phone and once she found a place to live, she had her computer that she could hook up to keep in contact via email. But that was just the thing, she didn't have a place until she found somewhere to work.

Her Georgia State University graduation happened just the week before. Her mother, sick as she was, managed to fly down to visit with her only daughter, while her father kept his stubborn ass up in the north east. She didn't ask and her mom didn't tell and that was fine with her. Most of the time nowadays, as he had been the whole time as she grew up, he was drunk and she didn't want to deal with that at her graduation. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion and he screwed up one to many of those for her to even miss him.

Now that her undergraduate work was done, a bachelor's of arts in English with a minor in folklore sat proudly in the seat next to her as she drove through the Georgia countryside. Graduate school was next for her masters in English to be a professor at GSU, but she could take that online if needed. Try as she might, there was no place she could get into near Atlanta to work while she did school, and her parents decided they wouldn't pay for any more schooling. Well, she knew her father decided that anyway, and though her mother was a lovely woman, what her father said usually went no matter what it was. That's why they were in New York instead of Georgia where Amaleen's entire family was, and where it would be better for her mother's condition. That's what made Amaleen the angriest, but her mother begged her not to say a word, so she reluctantly didn't.

As she drove, she realized she didn't know where she was going, but that didn't matter to her. She liked the sense of not knowing, the sense of adventure she never quite had before. She supposed New York could bring that to her, but she was a Georgia girl and always would be. Once she got tired for the night, she decided to stop in the next small town. Welcome to Round Rock, Georgia Population 503 Established 1874 the sign said as she pulled into the town zone. This is an everybody knows your business type of place, she thought, knowing that in towns that small, it was sort of a given. She would likely be spotted as she knew that strangers probably were something sort of rare, if the state of the motel was anything to say.

Round Rock Motel was easy to find on the main road, but it was severely run down. There was nobody in the parking lot except for one car which she assumed was the desk clerk. Part of her almost didn't stop, but if she didn't, she would've just fallen asleep on the road. She wondered if this would just turn into a horror movie, stranger in a small town being savaged by the motel employee, but she pushed those thoughts away.

The clerk was a little old lady named Mrs. Clark who owned the place. She and her late husband built it in the 1950s and they lived in a house out back. She also owns the bar across the street, Nick's Tavern, Nick being her late husband. "What in the world are you doin' in town, darlin'?" the woman wondered with a bright smile as she showed Amaleen where her room would be. She seemed harmless enough so Amaleen told her the story. "My word, what a thing to have your momma and daddy so far away at this age! But your so responsible and so brave for bein' so young and doin' it all on your own." She clicked her tongue and opened the door to 103. "Here you are! Best room in the place." She chuckled. "You say your lookin' for work?"

Amaleen nodded. "Anywhere I can get it," she said with a chuckle.

"Well I have a niece who works over at the local elementary as the principal. Now they don't have any spots for teachers, but there's a teacher's aide needed. Degree, but no teaching certificate required. If you're interested, I could pass along your information. If you wanna stay in a town like Round Rock, that is."

Amaleen's mouth opened in shock. "A-are you serious? Mrs. Clark, that would be amazin'! I would love to stay here!" Quickly she reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a paper that had her resume, college course listing, and contact information on it. "I would definitely owe ya somethin' big time if ya could do that."

"It's no trouble, dear! She comes buy for tea with me in the mornings, I could give it to her then and you two could talk."

"That sounds brilliant, thank you!" Amaleen was thrilled and so glad she stopped. If this worked out, she would be set up in no time, able to get an apartment or a small house to live in and stop living out of her car. She couldn't believe it happened so quickly and didn't want to get her hopes up, but Mrs. Clark seemed to like her and hoped it would work out with her niece the next day.

.x.x.x.x.

Mrs. Clark's niece was Heather Ramsay and like she said, she was the principal at Round Rock Elementary School. Amaleen dressed in her most professional clothes that she had with her, ironically the clothes she wore to graduation. She straightened her shoulder-length hair and curled it just slightly and put on the barest amount of makeup. Amaleen never wore heels, she would break her neck, so she just slipped into her regular black flats. It took her ages to pick out the right jewelry, but soon she was walking with her purse thrown over her shoulder towards Mrs. Clark's house just behind the motel. It was nerve wracking and she was sure this wasn't a formal interview, but she believed in always being prepared especially with a potential employer.

Rapping on the door, she waited with her eyes to her feet for someone to answer it. When it swung open, Mrs. Clark was standing there with a large smile on her face. "Why you look lovely, dear!" she exclaimed. "Come in, come in, my niece just got here as well. Tea is always out on the veranda, it's such a beautiful view out there."

Mrs. Clark was right it was beautiful. Amaleen hadn't been able to see it in the dark, but Round Rock was right on the edge of a large river with a mountain towering out in the distance. She understood, too, why it was called Round Rock as there was a boulder the size of a small house sitting on this side of the river, probably having been there long before the town was even founded, and completely round. Amaleen followed behind the woman to the veranda where there was another woman sitting. She looked to be about thirty with soft blonde hair and a genuine smile. Her and Mrs. Clark's clothes were far more casual than Amaleen's, but she didn't care, she still wanted to look her best. Heather's eyes lit up and she got up to come speak to Amaleen.

The tea went great, and by the end of it, they were laughing together like old friends. "Aunt Judy here really does know how to recommend good employees," Heather said with a grin sent to her aunt. "Half of my staff were people hand picked by her. Most of them were just people who needed a new start like you and Aunt Judy saw they were good people, and had me hire them." She paused and took a sip of tea before saying, "Just like I'm doing with you right now."

Amaleen's eyes went wide. "You're hirin' me already? Really?" She didn't want to question her too much, but that was amazing. She figured she would have to talk to a board or something beforehand, but Heather just smiled.

"Of course! You're clearly qualified, and this job is entry level without a teaching certificate needed. You won't be able to teach the kids, but this is just an aide to kind of help keep things in line. You could certainly learn to make lesson plans and all of that, which should help with your master's if you want to be a college professor."

Amaleen was grinning ear to ear and she nodded quickly. She almost felt like crying tears of joy, but held that in as the breakfast broke up and she headed back to her room. She had to meet with Heather to fill out some forms the following morning, but that would be nothing. Just before they all parted ways, Heather called for her to come back. "Why don't you and I celebrate tonight over at Uncle Nick's Tavern? We can talk a little more and get to know each other, plus if you're here without family, it sounds like you could use a friend."

"That sounds wonderful!" Amaleen said. They parted ways with an agreement to meet up that night at seven PM at Nick's and then the next day at nine AM to do the paperwork. Amaleen was over the moon and called her mother first thing when she got back. Her mother was so excited and even the less than thrilled grunt from her father when she told him wouldn't spoil her mood. "And we're going out tonight to a bar across the street called Nick's Tavern," she said as she used some makeup wipes to get everything off her face. "I don't know, Mom, I just feel like tonight will be the day my life changes."