Dixie

Today was her fifteenth birthday. She had woken up to find a small present next to her bedside. It was a beautiful gold necklace that one of her fathers had given to her mother years ago. Dixie reached up to her throat to feel for it, making sure it was still there. The real party would come next month when they all celebrated together. People called them the Alexandria Seven or sometimes the New Start Babies. They had all been born within months of each other shortly after the final battle with the Wolves and each child had been named after a loved one that had passed away. The celebration of their births was really a celebration of hope and new beginnings for the whole community. When she was born her mother had given her a whopper mouthful of a name, Dolores Augustine after both of her grandparents. But for as long as she could remember everyone had just called her Dixie. There was a story her parents liked to tell her about how she got the nickname, and it was a favorite of everyone in the family.

As her mother explained it, her older brother MJ had always been a difficult child when he was young. He had not taken kindly to having to share his mother's time and affection with a younger sibling. MJ always smiled big during that part of the story, like he was proud of being a brat. And no matter how her mother tried to teach him to be nice, he set out on a mission to torture and destroy his sister as soon as she learned how to crawl. Dixie was too young to remember any of this. As long as she knew her older brother had been her friend and protector. But her mother told that didn't happen until she was about two years old and she had finally stood up to him. MJ had taken whatever toy she was playing with and given her a hard pinch on the arm. Her daddy Daryl told her that he had seen the determined look on her face, the same one her mother got when someone was about to get their ass handed to them. When RickyJo moved to correct the situation and scold her brother, Daryl held her back. Dixie had picked up a doll with a hard plastic head and walked over to where her brother was playing with his stolen prize, his back turned to her. She had knocked him to the ground with a forceful blow to the head, swinging the doll by the feet. Then she had taken her toy back and aimed carefully with her tiny foot in its pink leather shoe to give her brother a hard kick in the rump. Her mother had started laughing and both her fathers had been clapping. Daddy Merle had leaned over MJ and told him, "that's what happens when you mess with a lady Dixon." And thus her nickname was born.

Dixie looked around to make sure no one was watching her and then poked into the straw of the hen house with a long stick. Sometimes snakes liked to hide in there, to eat the eggs and even the chickens if they were big enough, and Dixie hated snakes more than any other creature on earth. But she knew if her cousin Jenny saw her poking around in there like a real scare baby, she would laugh at her. The two girls were actually second cousins, but they had grown up in the same house and their mothers had raised them up more like sisters, just like their Nana had done for them all those years ago. Jenny's birthday had been about two weeks ago. And the next one after hers was Hershel, the only boy out of the seven. His was not for about another two weeks though.

Just thinking about snakes made her skin crawl and she tried to take the memory of what happened the week before and push it down. She had to have imagined it anyway, there was no way it could have been real. Walkers just didn't do things like that.

A small group of people had gone outside the wall to do some foraging in the woods. Dixie had gotten a little further away from the group than she should have, but she had seen a big patch of dandelions and wanted to pick them. Her Daddy Merle made wine with them and if there was some left, her mom sometimes made jelly out of them too. She had been picking and picking, filling up her whole bucket with the small yellow flowers. Then she had seen the walker. They didn't come in big herds anymore like they used to when she was little, but seeing one wasn't exactly a novelty. The only thing unusual about its outward appearance was that it had a large smear of some kind of reddish orange powder across its forehead. It was what it did that scared her.

The thing came toward her, and unlike most, the way it was walking seemed more purposeful. She got her knife out, waiting for it to get close. But when it was a few feet away, it stopped and stood there staring at her. She could feel the hair on her arms stand up and the sweat was pouring down her back and into her pants, wetting the waistband. Then the thing leaned down and picked up a garter snake. Its arms moved with strange jerking motions, like a puppet on strings. It held the snake up, looking into its face, then it turned and hurled the snake at her. She had screamed like crazy and smacked the snake away, and then the walker was coming at her, its face twisted up into a terrible goulish grin. Her brother had heard her scream and come running, firing an arrow at the monster and dropping it instantly.

"You okay?," he asked her. She had thrown herself into his arms, her body shaking. When she looked, the snake was gone. Her brother held her at arms length. "You are really too old to be screaming like that over one freakin' biter Dixie," he told her, "next time just stab them in the head like I showed you." Dixie nodded. She did not say anything to him about what she had seen. If she had she was sure he would think she had gone totally fruity. She really didn't even want to admit to herself what she had seen, but she had been waking up in the night drenched in sweat from the nightmares.

She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts of the strange walker out of it and headed to the next hen house, using her stick again to check for snakes. Then it was off to collect the eggs from the ducks, geese and turkeys and make sure all the birds got fed. There was a new batch of baby ducklings, and she watched them spash around in the water she poured in the small tub for them. They were so cute, it was easy to watch them and put the thoughts of the strange walker out of her mind. She piled up some rocks and sticks at one end of the pool to make sure the ducklings would be able to climb out easily. Her smile faded when she noticed a suspicious pile of feathers outside the small house that served as the sleeping place for her ducks. Dixie walked around behind the small gated area and started swearing. Something had gotten another one of the ducks. The last time it had been a small pack of coyotes that had burrowed under the wall. But coyotes usually consumed the entire animal, and they usually heard them in the night. Whatever animal did this had only bitten off the head of the duck, and left the rest behind. And it had also been quiet. For now she would keep an eye out, but if it happened again, she would have to get her brother. Last time they sat up all night and then picked those asshole coyotes off one by one. A few got away but they had not been stupid enough to come back.

Dixie heard her brother's voice coming from the other side of the yard. He and her mother had gone out hunting early that morning, and it looked like they had been lucky. They walked in, a good sized deer swinging from a long pole they were supporting between them on their shoulders. Her brother was so tall now, bigger than both of her fathers. His red hair was cut short for the summer, but he had grown some of his facial hair into a small goatee. His arms were thick from work and his shoulders were broad. She knew plenty of the girls in town had crushes on him. But so far he had shown no preference for anyone in particular. He came towards her, his hand behind his back, hiding something. When he got close, he hugged his sister close and held out a flower he had found for her in the woods.

"Happy birthday," he told her, "Uncle Daryl told me it was a cherokee rose." The flower was white with a yellow center. Dixie held it to her nose, breathing in the sweet smell of it. Then she tucked it behind her ear. "I was going to save it and give it to Judith when she got back," her brother teased, "but since I know no other boy was going to give you flowers for your birthday, I figured I would take pity on you." Dixie laughed and smacked at him. They wrestled with each other a little until their mother yelled at them that they better quit before they scared the chickens. Dixie picked the flower up from where it fell and tucked it back behind her ear.

By the time she got there, people were already in the bar talking and laughing. The formal announcement was going to be at the birthday party, but Hershel had already told everyone the results of the very first public election the night before on the radio. Close friends and family were coming in for a celebration breakfast at her mother's bar. The bar was where almost everything in the town was celebrated. Her mother told her often that was why she had pushed so hard to get the place built and opened. Her mother had never formally taken a leadership position in the town, but her opinion always carried weight. And she said running the bar helped her keep her finger on the heartbeat of the town. She was always the first to know anything that was going on, and Dixie knew Deanna had considered her a close and trusted advisor. Since the place had first opened up all those years ago, it had been expanded several times and now also served as a hotel and boarding house for people visiting from other communities, people that had not found a permanent place to live yet, and the last few years it had been host to more and more men that had come to Alexandria looking for a wives.

Dixie had never been to any other towns except Hilltop, but she had heard that in most places, the men outnumbered the women sometimes even close to ten to one. Too many women had died during the first few years after the outbreak. When people came to Alexandria, they were always shocked to see how many women and young people there were. At last count, the girls actually outnumbered the boys here. And little by little, the word had gotten out and then the men had started showing up. Women here had to start wearing wedding rings again, something many of them had not done in all the time that they had been married. Most women had one, but Dixie's mother had two of them. Sometimes she wore one on each hand, and sometimes she kept them on a silver chain around her neck. One was a gold ring with a big flashy diamond and the other was a thin silver band that didn't look like much at first but when you looked closer, had a beautiful celtic design engraved on it. Sometimes she let Dixie try them on and look at them. Like her mother, she could never decided which one she liked best.

Since so many people in her community had lost parents, and many lived in multiple family homes, Dixie was quite old before she realized that having two fathers was rather unique. Lots of kids had a dead father and a new stepfather, but that was different. She had two fathers that were still alive and her mother shared a room with both of them. Dixie's mother told her that at the beginning it had been a bit of a scandal. When her mother said the word scandal, it was always with a wicked little grin. But like everything else, people had gotten used to it and her marriage had eventually ceased to be a novelty.

The smell in the kitchen made Dixie's mouth start watering before she even hit the door. Her Aunt Jessica and her mother had two huge cast iron skillets out on the stove and they were frying up corned venison hash with peppers and shallots from the garden. Once it was crispy and even a little brown around the edges, they portioned it out onto bug serving plates and used the skillets to fry up the eggs that Dixie had collected. They did the eggs overeasy, so when you cut in, the yolk soaked into the fried potatoes. This was Carl's favorite meal and since this was his celebration, the women had been sure to make it for him. Dixie grabbed the big colander from the sink that was full of freshly rinsed strawberries and started hulling them, tossing the tops into the bin that would be taken out to the compost later and putting the juicy red berries into a bowl. She tossed one into her mouth, trying not to let the juice on her fingers stain her lips. They were halfway through strawberry season and the rest of what they picked would probably be dried, frozen or made into jam or preserves and canned.

Jenny came into the kitchen, carrying a large bucket of milk, followed by one of the boarders that was staying at the bar. The people that stayed at the boarding house could trade in exchange for staying there, but most earned their keep by working in the gardens and helping to take care of the animals. The man was also carrying a large bucket of fresh milk, which he was looking like he might spill since he was so busy staring at Jenny's ample backside. When he saw Dixie, the man had a smile for her as well and she quickly ignored him and turned back to her berries. Her mother had warned her to stay away from those boarding house men. Not because they were bad men, but because she didn't want any of them convincing her daughter to go away and live with them in some other town. Most of them seemed too old for her anyway, not that they thought so. Jenny, on the other hand, was giggling away with the man. She was lucky her dad didn't see her. Uncle Morgan thought his daughter was far too young to date and if he ever found out even half of the things she had done, it was going to turn his hair even whiter than it already was.

RickyJo shooed the man out of the kitchen and into the main bar room, trying to hide a grin. Many men had been sucessful in getting between her neice's legs, but like Jessica before she had met Morgan, none of them had managed to make a lasting impression on her heart. And it sure wasn't from lack of trying. Jenny had received more jewelery, flowers, clothes and gifts than she could shake a stick at. One man had even given her a tiny white kitten than he had caught outside the walls. The way she went through those men was astonishing to RickyJo. What her neice needed was to find a man that would go through her, maybe even break her heart a little. Teach her that people's feelings were not to be so easily discarded.

MJ came into the kitchen. He was the only boy that didn't seem to feel like his manhood was being put into question just by stepping inside. He also still hugged and kissed his mother and didn't care who saw him. Dixie knew it was because if anyone wanted to talk any shit to him, he would find them later and pound them good.

"You want to get the iced tea out?," her mother asked her brother. He nodded. They brewed tea in big two or three gallon glass jars, so getting them out of the fridge and pouring them into more manageable sized pitchers for serving without dropping them or spilling the tea everywhere wasn't exactly a girly job. He had actually come in to see if his mother needed help with this specific task.

"You want me to take some cider out too?," he asked. There were so many apple trees in Alexandria, apple cider was a main staple in most people's diets. They drank it fresh, lightly fermented, hard and even sparkling. They also traded the apples with Hilltop, where there were peach, apricot and orange trees. Today the stuff in the fridge looked like the lightly alcoholic stuff, but MJ made sure to get himself a good swig to be sure. Quality Control. His father and his uncle Daryl brewed it, and sometimes he helped him. Helping meant sampling, and sampling was fun. They also made wine, moonshine and about a million different kinds of beer.

"And take your father that bottle of dark beer I put in the fridge for him," his mother told him. MJ smiled when he saw there were two bottles, which meant the other one was for him. Since it wasn't something most people enjoyed, they didn't brew dark stout often, but he just loved the bitter earthy taste of it. He knew his dad liked it too and usually referred to the lighter beers and cider as 'piss water'. MJ noticed that didn't keep the man from drinking the stuff, and sometimes too much of it. This was sometimes funny, and other times ended badly, with his mother and his Uncle Daryl fighting with his father.

Dixie finished with the berries and helped her brother to carry out the drinks. Along with the tea and cider, they also had plain water and even a few bottles of ginger beer, which was her favorite. As she set the pitcher of tea up on the bar top, she heard Hershel's voice coming in over the radio. This is Hershel Grimes, broadcasting to you from the top of the bell tower, playing your favorite old world music... Then some music started coming in over the radio. People in Alexandria loved the radio station. It was tradition for most people to turn on their radios when they were heading home from runs or trading missions. When they heard the music start coming in, they knew they were almost home.

Jenny came in with the strawberries, setting them on the top of the bar, and then RickyJo and Jessica came out with the big platters and set them down. Carl let go of his wife's waist and headed over behind the bar, giving each woman a warm hug and thanking them. He knew this meal had taken some preparation, especially the corned venison, which took a week just to brine.

"What were you going to do with all this if I didn't win?," he asked them playfully. RickyJo gave him a big grin.

"Feed it to Spencer instead," she told him. This made them all laugh and Carl swatted at the woman playfully. He still thought she was the most attractive woman in town, except for his wife of course. And the long streaks of white hair that had grown in around her face were actually very lovely and dramatic against her tan skin. He never questioned why Daryl and Merle liked her so much. To Carl the reasons were plain enough. He knew Deanna had thought of RickyJo as one of the people she trusted most, and he hoped she planned to stay on in that position and advise him. In fact, he had been thinking of setting up a more formal council, like the one Hershel had been the head of back at the prison all those years ago. He couldn't be everywhere at once and the town was only getting larger every year. But that could wait until after his party.

Dixie was helping her mother, trying to make sure everyone had a full glass so they could make a toast. She was surprised to see Spencer come in, but she offered him a drink. He accepted it gratefully and took a large gulp before crossing the room to where Carl was standing. Spencer's mother had been grooming him for years to take over for her and run the town after she passed away. He knew people wanted to have a vote, but he had thought it was just a formality. When he had lost by a landslide to Carl, who was much younger and less experienced than him, he had been shocked and upset.

"I just wanted to say congratulations," Spencer told the man, sticking his hand out. Carl took it and shook it with real feeling. He knew it had been hard for Spencer to come here.

"I want to set up a council to help me with the running of the town," Carl told him, "I was hoping you would be willing to be a part of it." The offer touched Spencer, and from his expression, Carl knew he had done the right thing. Like RickyJo, Spencer had been helping Deanna run the town for years, and when she had gotten sick there towards the end, he had pretty much been doing it for her. Carl wanted him as a partner, not an adversary. Dixie watched the two men. Spencer was married to one of her cousins, so he was family. She had been sad for him when he lost the election to Carl, even though she thought Carl would make the better leader.

Rick tapped his ring against his glass, getting everyone's attention. He had his arm around Beth, who was sipping a glass if iced tea. She would have rather had a real drink, but she was pregnant. Again. Dixie darted over to stand by her Daddy Merle, leaning close to he could wrap his arm around her shoulders. Merle was watching Rick, the long winded fucker had better make this one quick, because he was starving.

"I will make this quick," Rick said, and then laughed when he heard a few dramatic sighs of relief. "I just wanted to say congratulations to my son Carl, the new leader of Alexandria." People started cheering and clapping.

"As my first act as leader I say its time to eat!," Carl hollered out. This brought on some more clapping and laughter.

"See I knew I voted for him for a fucking reason," Merle told his daughter, making her smile. She was the spitting image of her mother when she had been that age, especially when she smiled. And like her mother, she seemed to take no notice at all on the effect she had on the men around her. Even now, Rick's kid that ran the radio station was hovering in the doorway, staring at her. And she didn't even blink in his direction. The day she was born, she had been so quiet, they thought something was wrong with her. But when Rosita had turned her over, she had been staring up at all of them with her big blue eyes like she wondered what they were all looking at. She had not said a word until she was two and a half and then one day she had just started talking to all of them in complete sentences. That was just her way. She could never be made to do something she wasn't ready to do. Daryl was fond of saying that she had her mother's backbone, and Merle had to agree. It was a nice way of saying they both had a stubborn streak a mile wide.

MJ came over with a plate that he had elbowed in and filled up with as much food as it would hold, then started shoveling it in like it was his last meal. Dixie laughed at him. If he made love the way he ate she felt sorry for any girlfriend he ever got. She was about to inform him of his bad manners when there was a loud crash by the door. Maggie had come in with her daughter and the girl had tripped over who knows what, likely her own feet, and fallen into a chair knocking it over.

"Glenna Rhee," Merle said, elbowing MJ in the ribs.

"The Rhee stands for Rhee-tard," MJ quipped. Dixie rolled her eyes while the two of them laughed like hyenas. She had heard them make that joke so many times, she still had no idea why it had been so funny in the first place. It wasn't Glenna's fault that she was clumsy and awkward. Dixie knew who the real retards were, and she was thinking about telling them off. She knew it would just make them think the joke was even funnier, so she walked away from her father and brother instead.

Dixie ducked through the crowd, heading over to make sure Glenna was okay. When she got there, she saw that Hershel was already checking on her. He looked at Dixie funny and then his face started getting all red like he was the one that fell into the chair instead of Glenna.

"Don't worry Glenna," Dixie said, "my dad and my brother are both getting drunk so I'm sure I will be way more embarrassed than you real soon." This made Glenna smile and Hershel walked with her over to get something to eat and say horray to his brother Carl. Dixie followed them, getting a plate of food for herself. Then she spotted her mother and Daddy Daryl sitting in a booth, eating together. They were sitting next to each other, so she took the other side. Her mother saw she had nothing to drink and handed her the rest of her ginger beer. Dixie did not hesitate to take it and sipped it slowly to savor the spicy taste. They grew ginger in the garden and one of her favorite thing in the world to smell was the fresh roots when they pulled them out of the dirt and peeled them.

Her Daddy Daryl had his hand on her mother's leg under the table. From the time she was little, Dixie loved watching the two of them together. Her Aunt Jess had told Dixie that Daryl was the first man her mother had ever slept with. She had asked her mother about it later, but had been unable to get much out of her. You don't want to hear about all that mess, honey. She didn't think her mother liked talking about her life in the old world. Maybe it dragged up too many painful memories for her. Or maybe she had thought Dixie was too young at the time to hear about it.

"You girls making cheese today?," Daryl asked them. RickyJo nodded. Once the party cleared out, she had some things she needed to get done. Bread needed to be baked and they also needed to start getting things ready for the party next month. Last year so many people came that they had to set up tents for them to sleep in. And this year they were expecting even more.

"Why, you want to help?," RickyJo teased him, taking a piece of her hair and tickling his face with it.

"Nah but I might keep you comp'ny while I do up the dandelion wine," he answered, swatting at her hair and tickling her ribs under the table. Then he pulled her close and kissed her neck. Dixie blinked and suddenly she was seeing them laying on the table dead. The bar was empty and the windows were full of the dark bodies of walkers, coming for her. She opened her eyes again and let go of the table. She had been gripping it so hard it left red marks on her hands.

"You alright honey?," her mother asked her. Dixie nodded and took another swig of the ginger beer to wash the taste of death out of her mouth. She was fine, just losing her damn mind is all. Nothing to be concerned about.

** If you watch Defiance, there was a little nod to that show that I hope you caught. And if you don't watch it, you should start because it is a freaking great show. As always read, enjoy and review. I own nothing from the Walking Dead, only my own original characters. **