AN: so this is a weird story. Don't want to give to much away. Few trigger warning here and just so you know, I only do happy endings. Not sure how long this will be.

I do not own or profit from The Walking Dead

Chapter 1

The view from the roof of gramps old house was not one that he'd enjoyed often. Hell it wasn't one that Daryl had ever enjoyed when he was alive. Sitting on the roof of the highest peaked roof, of a touret like structure that had stretched high up into the sky would have made him nauseated when he was alive.

The country roads stretched out as far as the eye could see, the old mansion was a throwback to another day. Tall and well built. Gramps had taken pride in that house, kept it in pristine condition. Hoping for the day, when Daryl's momma would leave his daddy. Take him and Merle and be safe.

His grandpa's house had been a refuge growing up. A place of solace. Daryl had always been happy when his mom would send him and Merle off to her parents house. Usually every time there was a break in school. Sometimes more often. Sometimes when things were so bad, he was scared he wouldn't have a momma to go home too.

Daryl never understood why she didn't just leave. He heard his gramps pleading with her to do just that one night when she'd dropped him and Merle off.

His gramps was considered by some to be rich. By his daddy's standard anyway. Daryl could see that now, his gramps would have protected them, would have helped them, but his momma had been scared. Terrified by the bullshit his daddy had put in her head. It had lead to her death. She'd taken her own life, not seeing any other way out.

His daddy had wanted to keep him and Merle when his momma died, cause with his momma gone they were the only way to keep milking money out of gramps. Daddy wasn't stupid by any means. He'd even went so far as to go to court when his gramps had tried to gain custody. Daddy could put on a show. Daryl knew where Merle got his bullshitting abilities from that was for sure. The court had sided with Daddy who had painted his gramps as a rich widower who was trying to stomp on his son in law. It was all bullshit.

Daryl had been eight and Merle had been sixteen. His daddy had overdosed when Daryl was thirteen. To say Daryl had been relieved to get away from his daddy had been an understatement. The scars on Daryl's back could testify as to why he had not shed a tear at his daddy's passing. But the reprieve had not lasted very long. He's gramps had passed away a few months later. Daryl had been living with his gramps in the mansion, his grandmother had passed years ago by that time.

Those months had been the best of his life. Merle had been off god know's where doing god knows what, but Daryl had tried not to worry about it to much. Daryl knew his gramps had hired a private investigator to find Merle.

Merle had shown up, a few days later after his gramps had passed. Strung out, and pissed off. Daryl had thought Merle would want to live in the beautiful old mansion with him. He should have known better. Merle would never be happy out in the country away from the city, and easy access to booze, drugs and women. He'd been pissed that gramps had put the money they would inherit into trust funds. Money they would only inherit when they were thirty five. The only exception was the mansion. That he had willed to Daryl, and Daryl only. A fact which had infuriated Merle.

Daryl had held onto the house with a deathly grip. Never despite Merle's manipulations ever getting loans against it, or selling it. It was his dream. To someday have a life in that house. A family, a wife, kids, a fucking dog. His secret pathetic dream, that he held onto, a dream that kept him going. When he was being lead around by Merle from one useless job to another. A lot of good fucking dreams would do him now.

He sat on the gabled tower, staring out at the mountains. The sun was getting ready to set. He could almost feel the wind, blowing over his face. Almost feel the cool breeze. Almost smell the scent of the earth and the trees, and the sweet smell of roses that dotted the yard. Almost smell the fresh scent of the river behind him, almost but not quite, story of his life right there.

None of that seemed possible anymore. There was no hope, now that he was gone. He was gone, he couldn't fucking believe it. One minute, some asshole had come barging into their trailer looking for Merle. Merle had run through the money that he had received from gramps for the year. Gramps had been smart, made Merle's money come in yearly stipends. Knowing Merle would run through the money if got it all at once. Daryl was thirty three and he was pretty sure Merle was waiting on Daryl's big pay out at thirty five so he could squander his money too.

But Daryl was smart. He was planning and dreaming on the day he turned thirty five. He was gonna say bye to Merle and head out to his house. Live alone and free for the first time in his life. He had to screw it all up by dying.

One minute he'd been staring down the barrel of a gun of some goon looking for money from Merle, the next he woke up in his house.

But the thing was he couldn't leave. He had no idea how he got there, but when he tried to walk away towards town he was thrown back to his house. Like something was tying him there. He thought maybe he was dreaming. Thought that the reason he could walk through walls and jump from the roof without getting hurt. He was dreaming he had to be.

But he didn't wake up. Day turned to night and night turned to day, and so on and so forth, and he didn't wake up.

Then the realtors started to show up. Bringing clients around to rent his house. This was his house! His dream. He could scream in their faces but they didn't hear him. One time he got so angry he's managed to knock a picture off the wall. The looks on the perspective renters faces had been one he'd never forgotten. He suddenly realized the truth. Son of a bitch, he was dead and that asshole Merle was trying to make money off his house. His dream was gone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You're a bitch, you know that right?"

Carol navigated her way, down the country road via the instructions given to her by the realtor trying to ignore the ever present pest in her back seat.

"DON'T IGNORE ME!"

She sighed simply rolling her eyes. She could not understand why he would not just go away, he seemed to take as much pleasure in tormenting her in death as he had when he was alive.

Her pest started screeching, a loud, unbearable noise that would wake the dead, she thought sarcastically, if only that wasn't possible. Pulling over to the side, she parked her truck and turned with a huff.

"ENOUGH ED!"she shouted as she turned around facing her ex husbands ghost. "Enough...I don't know why you are here, but your powerless, you got that. You're annoying, a bug I want to squash, I am not scared of you, I haven't been scared of you for a long time. You're pathetic!"

Ed's apparition stared at her, eyes blinking rapidly. She didn't often acknowledge him. He was in death, the asshole he'd been in life. She'd managed to escape his clutches only for him to die in a car accident the next day. A long forgotten life insurance policy had provided her with a new beginning. She had the money now to devote to her passion:writing. If only the pesky ghost of her ex husband would leave her alone. He'd been following her, around town, everywhere she went, he never seemed to leave her be, he never gave her a moments peace.

In desperation she'd consulted a medium, what harm could it do? She was already either psychic or going crazy, and she didn't feel crazy.

The woman, Michonne, had felt Ed's presence, right away when Carol had sat down. She had not needed, Carol to explain why she was there. She told Carol her abilities were only starting to develop, but Ed, Ed was limited to the rules of the afterlife. His spirit she said would be bound, bound to places and things, the familiar from when he was alive. The spirit she said was was part of your memory, you existed in a realm that was another form of consciousness. He could not go, where he had never been before, or where his memory would not let him.

Carol sold their house, as cheap as she could, and had scoured real estate listings for somewhere remote, somewhere she knew Ed had never been. The mansion listed for rent was perfect. A little pricey but well below what the rent should have been, she could afford the rent. And she knew for a fact Ed had never been there.

She could almost feel Ed's panic as she got closer and closer. His form was barely visible anymore, it would not be long, not long before he was gone. She could feel it.

"What do you want Ed?" She asked

His voice was hollow, echoing in the car like she was talking to him from a distance. "If you leave, I won't have a reason to stay, the light will take me."

"Well go Ed, go to the light!" She all but yelled.

"I'll...I'll go to hell."

She sighed, putting her forehead to the wheel, "Is that what this is about?...Ed, look, I honestly believe you were sick, you changed so much, it was like something grabbed ahold of you. You weren't the man I married. You were sick...if anyone knows that I think ..." she sighed and pointed to the sky, "I think whatever is up there will know that."

"Do you forgive me?"

She was silent for so long, staring out the window down the country road. Could she forgive him? Images of who he used to be flashed through her mind, the awful feeling of losing him to what was in his brain. The realization and shame that she didn't love him anymore, he'd killed that in her, or maybe it had never been there, she'd never felt a great passion for him. She taken the route that she thought was safe, to not be alone. Never searching for she was a 33 year old widow Could she forgive him? Yes she could, she wanted to move on, to breathe. She wanted a fresh start, to be free.

"Yes...I forgive you." And just like that he was gone.

She started her truck, wiped one tear and made her way down the road.

She met her realtor at the house, she was immediately struck by the breathtaking beauty of the house. She had already signed a lease based on pictures. The rent price was amazing and she only signed a six month lease. She did not want to let the house slip through her fingers.

The realtor seemed nervous, as he jingled the keys, when the door swung open she knew why. Sitting on the stairs staring at her with the most intense gaze she'd ever seen was the ghost of the most handsome man she'd ever seen. He had an old work shirt on, embroidered on the pocket was the name Daryl.