Damaged People

Here's my first attempt at a Walking Dead story. I know there are already a million and four Daryl OC stories out there and just as many with Shane's sister, but I wanted to do this. Hopefully this is at least a little different and can keep everyone interested. I know that Daryl's character may come off as a little occ but honestly i think that before everything went down with Merle he was slowly started to get used to the group at the camp. I also feel that for the purpose of the story, he would feel as though he had a small place among the group. This is going to follow season 1 pretty closely, but I'll try to avoid a lot of rehashing of the script. Let me know what you think and I'll update on the regular.

Summary: In the events of season 1, Stefani Walsh is there to add more disfunction to the group. First there's the love/hate relationship between her and her older brother Shane, and then the casual fling she begins with a certain redneck, not to mention the interactions with the other camp strangers that enter her life. Here's the story of how one woman's life can change in a matter of moments. Daryl/OC

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize, no matter how much I wish I did. Stefani and everything in her complicated life came from me!

"Damaged people tend to gravitate towards damaged people." -Norman Reedus

Carl sat on the hood of his mother's car. Stefani leaned on the bumper beside him, chewing on her finger nails. It was a nervous habit, his mother told him once. If there was ever a time for her to destroy her nails, it would be now. Scooting a little on the hood, he was able to place his arm around her shoulders. The action earned him a loving squeeze and smile from the woman.

She wanted to be strong for the little boy. As strange as it sounded, she felt like she had more in common with the boy than most of the adults in her life. Looking over at him, she saw his father staring back at her. Stefani's heart broke knowing that she was never going to see Rick Grimes again. Carl was all she had left of her closest friend, and constant reminder of the life she'd never have. Glancing over to her left she saw Lori standing with another woman and her daughter, Shane by her side. Stefani hated the thoughts that ran through her head when left with only Carl. All of them seemed to center around the ghost of a man she once knew.

"Why don't you go play with the girl over there? Your mom and hers have been talking for a while." Stefani noticed as he glanced over to where Lori was standing with a woman and her daughter by the back of a station wagon.

"I'm okay here." He said, keeping his hold on her.

"You worried about me, kid?" Stefani asked as she leaned against him. She knew it was a trait that he had picked up from Shane and his father. The two men had been worrying about her since she was Carl's age. "I'm okay, I think I'm going to take a walk and see if anyone knows what's going on."

"I'll come with you." Carl jumped off the car.

"No, really stay with your mom. I'll be fine."

Stefani weaved through the maze of cars looking for anyone that seemed to know what had caused the hold up into the city. She pulled her hair out of the messy bun she had sitting on top of her head and shook out her curly locks. The weather was beginning to cool off as the sun set. She found that there were very few people who seemed to know any more than they did, but it just felt good to be moving. Glancing around, she saw families and loved ones huddled together bracing themselves for the impending apocalypse. A part of her wished she hadn't left hers behind.

Reaching up to touch the charm necklace her mother had given her years ago, panic set in as she felt only skin. The gold chain had slipped from around her neck at some point. She began to slowly trace her steps, keeping her eyes locked on the dark, dirty ground. A heavy weight sat on her chest at the thought of not finding the piece of jewelry and all the memories that were attacted to it.

"Hot damn, will you get a look at that fine ass?" A man's voice washed over her, and she tried her hardest to ignore it and continue on with her task. "You lost, darling?"

"Leave her the fuck alone, Merle."

Stefani turned around to see two men standing next to a beat up blue truck. One leered at her openly, while the other focused more on the cigarette in his hand. She watched them closely, before taking a cautious step forward.

"You two know why the traffic stopped?" She said, placing her hands in her back pockets.

"Don't know a thing, sugar tits." The older one said, his eyes lingering on her chest.

"Well, it was worth a try. Can I bum one of those?" She asked, nodding to the quieter one taking the last drag of his cigarette.

Instead of handing her one, he placed two in his mouth to light. Once he took that initial inhale, he passed one off to her. Stefani nodded her thanks as she breathed in a heavy helping of smoke. It had been years since she had felt that sweet burn of nicotine. It seemed to be an appropriate time to pick the habit back up. Glancing down at the asphalt again, she looked up to find that the man in front of her didn't take his light blue eyes off of her. The older one obviously took the hint as he left mumbling something about taking a leak.

"He you're brother?" She asked placing the cigarette between her lips.

"Yeah, don't do well around people."

"He seems awfully friendly to me." She smiled, blowing out smoke.

There was only silence after that. They stood with each other, smoking until there was nothing left but a filter. Stefani found the silence to be peaceful. It was strange to feel so relaxed and content with a complete stranger. Taking the last drag of her cigarette she let it fall to the ground and stomp it out with the toe of her boot. She knew any moment Shane would come barreling through searching for her.

"I should head back, my brother's probably wondering where I am."

He nodded, watching her walk away from him. There was something about him that made Stefani want to stay, but she knew that the moment his brother came back the illusion would be shattered. Men like him were something that she hoped she would never have to deal with again. Her days of bartending were passed and now it was all about survival. She would never have to put up with the leering and groping ever again.

Again she found herself walking passed people and their loved ones, couples holding each other tight. Times like these made her wish she had a good guy in her life. More to the point, she wished she hadn't pushed the only good guy out of her life all those years ago. Her fingers ran nervously through her hair as she made her way back to Lori's car.

"Where'd you run off too?" Shane asked as she came back into view of the car.

She noticed Carl was on the tailgate of the station wagon while Lori and the other mother continued to talk. Stefani walked up to Shane, slipping an arm around his waist. When all else failed, it was at least nice to know that she could always come running back into her brother's protective arms.

"I needed to stretch my legs and talk to some people, try to see if they knew what was going on." Her hand reached up to her neck again. "I lost mom's necklace."

Shane leaned over and kissed the top of her head. The siblings walked back over to the car where he slipped into the driver's seat and turned the radio on. Stefani sat silently next to him, running her fingers over her naked neck. It felt as though everything this ugly new world had to offer came into view the second that necklace slipped off her neck. Nothing was going to be the same again. She would never see her mother or father again, nor her friends. Things were going to be drastically different.

"Do you think they're okay?" She asked her brother, hoping he knew who she was talking about.

"You want me to lie?"

"Sure," she said turning away from him in order to hide her tears.

"They'll be fine. I'm sure they already made it to Atlanta, probably waiting for us at the refugee center. You know Dad, always ready for anything."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Stefani slipped back out of the car, moving to lean against the hood again. Her eyes scanned the area, almost as if she were searching for someone. She wished she'd gone to find her friends, ever her parents, hell she wished Rick was there with them most of all. As her eyes continued to blindly search the sea of cars, they briefly landed on a pair of icy blue ones. A small smile passed over her lips before she looked away. She realized then that it was his eyes that were drawing her in, they reminded her of the love she used to have for someone completely opposite of the redneck.

Daryl fiddled with the chain in his hand. He knew it probably belonged to her, but for some reason he felt like that was the closest he was ever going to get to her. There was a locket with a black and white photo of a married couple along with two kids, a small ring with a barely visible diamond, and lastly a pendent of a saint he didn't know. She was the kind of girl that he knew would never be into a dirty country boy like him. He slipped the necklace into his pocket before sliding back into the driver's seat. There was a high possibility he would never see her again anyway.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Once everyone was settled in camp, Stefani decided that it was her mission to get the younger Dixon brother to notice her. Sure she'd caught him looking her way on occasion, but she was dying for something more. It slowly turned into a dance, one that she was going to get him to join in on one way or another.

"What are you doing out here?" Stefani asked as she sat next to Daryl by the lake.

"What the hell's it look like?"

"Like you hate everyone and wanted to get away." He glanced over at her to see the smile on her lips. "I can help you clean the rest of those knives if you want."

He passed a few her way and waited until she began cleaning them before returning to the bolts in his hand. It had only been two days since the group of strangers set up camp and in those forty-eight hours, he had spent too many of them trying to avoid the beautiful woman next to him. Stefani seemed to be adamant about getting to know him, but he knew the moment she did, she'd run the other direction.

"Thanks for bringing us those squirrels. It's nice to have fresh meat." Again he turned to see her smile. "You're the only one that's really looking out for everyone."

"Ain't true, those other guys are protecting everyone. I'm just doing what I always have." With that he snatched the knives out of her hands and stood to head back to his tent.

As Stefani watched him walk away she thought about all the men she'd had in her life over the years. She wasn't the shy girl or played hard to get, but never before had she had someone so openly reject her. Maybe he just wasn't into her and that was something she could live with, but it made her furious to think that he didn't even want to get to know her before sweeping her to the side.

Later that day, Stefani was able to sneak off and find a quiet place just outside of the camp to be alone. She balanced the weight of the small knives in her hand before throwing them ten feet into the truck of a tree. She just needed some time away from everyone else, time to be by herself and think about everything she missed. Sometimes it was overwhelming being surrounded by so many different strangers. There were plenty that she got along with, but that didn't mean that she needed everyone in her business all the damn time. It was bad enough having Shane and Lori on her case every five minutes.

The bottle of whiskey at her feet was a little over half gone, and she was dreading the day she would have to go through this new life sober. The latest fight with Shane was still fresh in her mind as she let the warm liquid burn on the way down her throat. All their lives he had been her best friend, protector, but now it felt as though he wanted to control her. Nothing she did was right anymore.

Putting all her weight into the next throw, she was satisfied when it stuck harshly into the bark. The crunch of leaves behind her pulled her attention away from the tree and back to her surroundings. They hadn't seen a walker around camp, thinking it was just far enough away from Atlanta that they wouldn't have to worry about one showing up this far up the mountain. She waited until she was sure that whatever was sneaking up on her was within reach before she turned around ready to strike.

"Damn it." Daryl said, pulling his hand up to block her. "Why're you out here alone?"

"Trying to get away from people. Isn't that why you go hunting?"

"Not the only reason." He sighed reaching out for her bottle. "You owe me for the cigarette."

"You don't like many people, do you?" She asked, watching him closely.

"Why's that matter?"

"It doesn't. Just trying to make friends." Taking another large helping of her whiskey, Daryl moved closer to her.

"You wanna be friends?" His voice was thick from the alcohol and something else, she thought as he took the final step and closed the distance between them. Stefani felt her heart rate pick up with excitement.

"Depends on what kind of friends you wanna be."

She had never been more thankful to taste the whiskey on his lips as he pulled her into his hard body. Stefani's eyes shut as she savored the feel of his hands on her back and is tongue against hers. It had been too long since she was with a man. Now more than ever, she wanted the mindlessness that came with a long-awaited release. She only hoped that he was needing it as much as she was.

"Just a fuck, don't expect some prince charming shit."

"Shut the hell up," Stefani said as she pulled his mouth back to hers.

She enjoyed the feel of his calloused hands against her flesh as he moved under her shirt. Stefani's legs gave out as she felt them fall to the grass. He pulled her onto his lap as his mouth moved over the skin on her neck. The feeling of her nails running over his scalp only made him want this more. A woman like her would have never given him a shot, let alone wanted him as much as Stefani seemed to before everything went to hell.