The land continued for miles, for beyond miles, every inch of it seemingly peaceful but they knew different, there was no such thing as peace... not anymore.
The world had turned on its end and all of the myths, the night time horror stories... they were all true, the apocalypse was always destined, and none knew it would happen so suddenly, none knew it would be like this.
Maggie crawled out the small opening, her limbs aching as she stood and stretched out the previous night of disturbed sleep, her neck cracked as she moved her head from side to side, holding her arms about her stomach she shivered against the cool morning wind that blasted around the meagre camp; she looked about for sign of further life but they weren't stupid, the others took hold of every moment of rest they could and dawn had only just approached.
"Couldn't sleep?" His voice halted Maggie, she squinted against the fast approaching sun, it promised to be another blazing hot day in Georgia; shielding her eyes with her hand she looked up towards the roof of the RV and focused on Daryl Dixon as he rose from his watch point.
He jumped down with the grace of a jungle cat, his bow clutched against his chest as He pushed the hair from his face.
Maggie smiled softly, her heart belonged to Glen, but there was something special that she saved only for him, only for Daryl.
"No, not really, Glen moves around a lot in the night and..." her voice faded, Daryl looked away as she said Glen's name, and it was always a conversation breaker for them.
"We're movin' on today, Rick has some big plan... you might wanna start wakin' the others" Maggie tilted her head and observed Daryl's state; no one looked healthy anymore, clothes were worn until hanging on by a thread, new outfits were a thing of the past and clean water was hard to come by but Daryl wore the look well.
"You look tired, Daryl... you get any sleep last night?" He smirked, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly "sleep's for the weak! Plus someone has to watch over you losers"
"Might as well be you, huh?" he nodded and looked over her shoulder "your boyfriends risen... better not get caught talkin' to the muscle"
That familiar sinking feeling found its way into the pit of her stomach once more; those moments with Daryl were rare, rarer then she liked and this one had been exceptionaly short.
Pushing her hair behind her ears she smiled and walked over to the tent she had just vacated "hey sleepy head, how you feeling today?" Glen returned her smile with a little more sincerity as he wound his arms around her waist, she couldn't help but flinch, it hadn't been enough for Glen to notice but she felt it all the same.
His reply muffled as he buried his face against her neck "Mmmm it was good when you were there, I hate it when you leave me like that... makes me worry!" she closed her eyes and regretted the doubtful feelings that seemed to swarm her whenever Glen expressed his love and care for her.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't wanna disturb you" she pulled away carefully and flashed a quick and convincing smile "Why don't you go get some breakfast, sweetheart? I'm gunna start calling on the others, apparently Rick has some kinda plan, and we should be ready"
Glen hadn't noticed her eagerness to escape his comfort, but then he never did "Where is Rick anyway? Don't tell me he's sleeping still?"
1.
Daryl's voice answered "Gone to get firewood, he wants everyone ready for a group meetin' when he gets back" Glen turned and rested his hand on Daryl's arm "hey man! You been up all night?"
Maggie felt the need to interrupt the moment of bonding, Glen had developed what could be called 'brotherly concern' for Daryl and it brought her nothing but discomfort, especially when compared with her own 'concern' for Daryl.
Glen busied himself gathering any firewood that remained untouched by the previous night's fire, Daryl took his position back on watch and Maggie called on the rest of the group.
The word group being used in the lightest of terms, there were only 8 of them now, which compared to their original number of 25 seemed small.
Carl was already up, turned out that he'd gone with his dad, since Laurie died Carl couldn't bear to leave Ricks side and Rick wouldn't let him out of his sight.
Maggie emptied the last of the beans into the pan, they'd heat them through as soon as Rick returned, and she already decided that Beth and Carl would have the lions share, they were the youngest members of the group and everyone had come to look upon them as the salvation of the world.
The water was cold and murky but she didn't care, Maggie needed to wash the past 3 days away, they had found the clearing just 24 hours ago and after 4 days on the road it easily compared to heaven.
She took care not to digest any water but rested her head back, her cropped hair dipped beneath its surface, her underwear hugging against her thinning body and she allowed a moment of relaxation to overcome her, the earlier breeze had been replaced by the suns warmth and if she imagined really hard she could almost pretend to be home, back on the farm and swimming in the clear water that ran through the woods.
"Rick's back" She snapped her head up and stood to face Daryl, he quickly looked away, averting his gaze to the ground instead; it only took a second to realise why, Maggie wrapped her arms around her chest, the white bra now wet and very much transparent to her plump breasts that rested beneath its material.
"Th... thanks, Daryl... Uh could you pass me that shirt?" he looked to his left and awkwardly picked up the black vest, holding it by its bottom corner as he threw it towards her, she reached out catching it before it was lost to the waters depths.
He waited, shifting on his feet as he fiddled with the string on his bow, reluctantly offering his hand as Maggie struggled from the water, any human contact set his nerves on fire and he usually avoided it at all costs, apart from where she was concerned; He didn't quite understand what made her so different, an exception to the rule... maybe it had been their first meeting, his rescue of Maggie, Beth and Hershel had bonded them in a way that the rest of the group couldn't touch.
Maggie ran her fingers through her damp hair and took pleasure in the sun beating down against her skin, she grimaced as Daryl took a step back, despite their bond he still couldn't manage to be too close.
2.
Her damp thighs clung to the material of her pants and He still hadn't looked up but neither had he left. "Everything ok, Daryl?" Maggie knew he'd not open up, not even close but she gave him the opportunity, she always gave him the opportunity.
He presumed it was safe and lifted his head, beads of sweat collected against his forehead, strands of hair resting against his face, soaking up the sweat.
"I'm not sure I should be the one answerin' that question, Maggie... yeah everythin's ok with me but how about you? How about you and Glen? Everythin' ok there?"
Maggie's defences immediately rose, even thought she knew he was right to pick up on the tension between them because it was so clearly there but she hated the fact that he had noticed it enough to speak of it, Daryl didn't speak unless absolutely necessary... which meant it was absolutely necessary to bring up Maggie's crumbling relationship with the one man she had once thought knew her better than anyone; the one man that had often saved her life without a care for his own.
Daryl kicked at the dust that settled on the ground beneath him, causing a cloud of it to rise around his legs, his bow slung over his shoulder, the muscles in his forearm twitching as He rubbed his hand over the scruff that grew steadily over his chin.
"Maybe it's not my place to say but... I dunno, things seem a little off with the two of you" the silence only confirmed his worries over mentioning the subject that had been playing on his mind for the past couple of weeks; "I shouldn't have said anythin' what do I know anyway? Hardly a pro on relationships am I?"
Maggie closed the gap between them, his body stiffened and the atmosphere surrounding him tensed.
"I don't know what's up with us, I just feel distant from him and... I'm creating that distance out of choice, ever since what happened last month, I... I just feel like everything's changed and I'm not sure there's a way back from that"
Daryl cast his mind back – it was supposed to be just a normal run, he usually went alone but Glen and Maggie insisted on coming along, Maggie needed to grab 'lady essentials' for the females of the group and Glen wouldn't let her do anything remotely dangerous without him, Daryl found it quite insulting, as if he wouldn't be capable of protecting her! As if he wouldn't put his life on the line for her!
The supermarket seemed clear, Daryl did his usual sweep of the perimeter and ushered them inside, Maggie separated from them almost immediately, and making straight for the sanitary products... it was no joke taking care of business whilst living through a zombie apocalypse.
Glen called out for her, the fact that he lost sight caused immense panic and all rules were immediately forgotten; Daryl clamped his hand over Glen's mouth but it was too late, the dormant figures had risen and were homing in on Maggie, trapping her with no sign of release.
It ended almost as quickly as it began, Glen proceeded to take out the walkers that tried desperately to get closer, their mouths salivating at the prospect of fresh, human flesh; Maggie had managed to wedge herself between the wall and a unit, her screams echoing around the vast space, he couldn't reach her though, there were just too many of them.
Panic surged through Daryl, a panic he had never had contact with before and that panic quickly turned into rage, a blind rage that consumed him.
3.
He ploughed through them, throwing them aside like rag dolls, his knife sinking into their skulls like butter, his goal, his only focus was her, it was Maggie and getting to her before one of them did.
Daryl saved Maggie that day, it had been the first time Glen couldn't and it had been the time where it mattered the most, He had caused it, He had put her in that danger and it didn't matter how often she told him not to feel guilty, it wasn't his fault... they both knew better, He knew better and Daryl hadn't hesitated to remind him of that... every day since.
The rest of the group had already gathered, each of them taking a place at the banked up fire, Maggie settled down next to Glen, She sensed his unease over the fact that she'd returned with Daryl in toe but despite the atmosphere she couldn't help but flick her eyes over at Daryl, she watched him slink past Rick and take place at his side; it was an unsigned rule that Daryl was Ricks second in command, his right hand man.
"Now you all might know that I've got something I wanted to talk to you about, it's just an idea right now and I'm open to discussion and it's not a rule, but... I've come across somewhere..." the hush started into a collection of voices, everyone turning to the person next to them, eyes wide and full of surprise, Rick held up his hands in an attempt to calm the fevered hum of noise "like I said, its nowhere special but it's a darn sight more then what we have right now"
Carol broke the silence "where is it? What is it?" Glen grasped Maggie's hand, his sudden contact causing her to jump, which in turn caused Daryl to flinch, he watched closely and saw everything where Maggie was concerned.
"Its not luxury but I think it could be just what we're lookin' for, I spotted it a couple of days ago and I wanted to check it out some more before sayin' anything... its...a prison..."
"Well count me out! No way! There is no way you're gettin' my hillbilly ass inside a prison! Nah uh!"
Maggie frowned and looked across at Daryl, her eyes pleading with him to calm down; he dragged his scowl away from Rick just long enough to register her gaze, his jaw clenched as he fixed his attention on her.
"You got any better ideas, Dixon?" it was Glens sudden outburst that shifted Maggie's attention, he'd always had a certain respect for Daryl, but his words carried aggression and impatience.
"As a matter of fact, yes! I do!" I suddenly found myself positioned between the two of them, my arm pressed against Daryl's chest as he poked his finger towards Glen "how's about you take your loud mouth, Korean ass and shout up about where we're plannin' on goin' your good at that, right, Glen?!"
Maggie squeezed in front of Glen, her chest pressed against Daryl's and her hands gripped against his shoulders; she felt his muscles twitch, his breath beating against her neck as she looked past him, her eyes pleading with Rick.
4.
He sighed and walked up behind Daryl, resting the palm of his hand against his back "Calm down, both of you! Now isn't the time to turn on each other!"
Daryl dragged his eyes away from me, his breathing a little less shallow, throwing his bow over his shoulder he sauntered off "hell do what ya want! It's not like you need my opinion anyhow! I'm just the muscle! If anyone needs a walker killin' I'll be out huntin'"
The group meeting split up not long after Daryl's stormy departure, but not before we took a vote on Ricks Prison idea, the majority were in favour and it was decided, at next dawn Rick and Glen would investigate further, preparation would begin ready for the big move.
Rick guided Glen away from the others, saying he wanted his opinion on something, as soon as he was happy they were out of earshot he made the real reason for their one to one known "what's going on with you and Daryl?" Glen clenched his jaw, looking past Rick and over at Maggie "its nothing to do with you, Rick!"
Glen made to walk away but Rick wasn't done, he didn't accept Glen's answer and he certainly wasn't stupid enough to believe it, he followed Glen's gaze and focused on Maggie "she's not interested in him, you know that right?" Glen snapped his head around and switched his attention to Rick "they're just... close because Daryl brought her and Beth into the group! He saved them, Glen! And Maggie... well she just wants to show her gratitude, that's why she supports him! She loves you, Glen! You must know that?"
But that was the problem, he didn't believe that, not anymore, not since the incident in the supermarket; Glen had seen a look, a longing look spread across Maggie's face as Daryl reached down and took her hand, he couldn't do anything but stand back and watch as she fell against Daryl's body, her fear diminished in an instant; Maggie had never held that look for Glen, no matter how many times he might have saved her life.
The breeze rustled the leaves softly, every breaking twig set Daryl on edge, he held the crossbow in front of his body, his arm rigid and steady, and his feet crossed over each other as he took each slow step with extreme caution.
Daryl had been hunting since he could walk, he hadn't had a father to teach him or a brother to guide him, his mom didn't bother with where her son was, all she cared about was that he didn't occupy her life for too long.
Instead of playing out with the other kids in the neighbourhood Daryl took himself and his catapult and skulked off into the woods, He started off small – rats and squirrel but over time his skills progressed and so did the size of his kills.
5.
The sudden breaking of a branch caught his attention, he spun quickly, holding his breath as he focused ahead of the crossbow, he hoped for something a little substantial, the group hadn't eaten a decent meal in days.
"Christ, Maggie! You don't just go sneakin' up on a guy with a crossbow!" she gave a half smile and watched as he lowered the bow, his body still tense, Daryl didn't relax, not ever.
He squinted and looked up at her, the sun peaked through the tree's, flicking over her body and highlighting her natural beauty, not that it needed highlighting, Maggie was beautiful even covered in dirt and wearing last month's clothes.
It embarrassed Daryl, the thoughts he had when he allowed himself to look at her, there had been a time when he looked upon Maggie like a younger sister but the feelings he had for her now were slightly different to then.
6.