Alright, guys, here goes, my first Walking Dead fanfiction! I hope everyone enjoys the first chapter. It's definitely a lot longer than I had originally intended it to be, but when I started writing, I couldn't stop myself!

Please leave a review when you're done reading. I love getting feedback, and it's good to know what I'm doing wrong so I can improve myself for the following chapters. Thanks a lot for clicking on the story, guys!

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

Daryl's mind was screaming obscenities as he watched the scene that was playing out before him. They were everywhere. Absolutely everywhere.

"What the hell do we do now?"

Daryl glanced over to the man kneeling beside him. He noticed the glint of anger that lurked in his brother's eyes, and knew without saying a world to Merle that they both felt the same way about the situation.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? Those bloody walkers are everywhere."

"Well, hell, Daryl, you might want o think a little bit faster. If we waste anymore time, she might-"

"Damnit, I know, Merle. Would you just shut up for a second?"

Merle grunted in response to his young brother's order. If her life weren't at stake right now, he would've slapped his brother upside the head for speaking to him like that.

But now was not the time for a brotherly squabble. They had to focus on a way to get inside the small pharmacy without attracting too much attention. Or worse, getting bit.

Finally, Daryl turned away from the scene beyond the shrub they had taken refuge behind. He turned to his brother and began to inform him of what he had come up with so far.

"You need to draw them away from the pharmacy to give me enough time to get in there, grab her, and get out."

"And just how the hell am I supposed to do that?" Merle sneered.

"How did I learn to hot wire a car?"

"Me."

"See that car over there? Yeah, go hot wire it, genius. Honk that horn like hell when you drive by them. Hell, even run a few of those bastards over if you get the chance. Give me five minutes. Five minutes, Merle, and then drive to the parking lot in the back and we'll meet you there."

Merle shot one last glance behind the bushes to get a quick visual before he put his brother's plan into action. He shot Daryl a quick nod before slipping his handgun into his holster.

Daryl watched his brother as he snuck his way towards the nearest car. They only had one shot. If they messed this up, she was a goner.

Damnit. Why did you let her go alone? You fucking idiot.What the hell were you thinking?

She's gone on a medicine run by herself before, and it had always gone smoothly. Well, about as smoothly as it could go with walkers crawling all over the streets. But this morning, Daryl had noticed an unusual increase in walkers. He mentioned it before she left, but she had shrugged it off and promised the brothers that it would be no big deal.

Trust me, guys; I'll be back before you know it.

It wasn't very long after she said that that they received a call from her over their walkie-talkies. The walkers had her surrounded, and she couldn't figure a way out of the pharmacy without running into a different horde.

So Merle and Daryl did the only thing they could think of. They packed up their most trusted weapons and went to get her out of the mess she had unintentionally gotten herself stuck in.

Merle's laughter over the roaring of a passing car brought Daryl back from his thoughts. Merle slammed a fist down on the car's horn and let it rip throughout the streets.

Daryl bit back a groan and could only hope and pray his plan wouldn't attract more walkers to the area. A shiver went down his spine at the thought of walkers crowding to the area, desperate for a meal. Maybe this wasn't the best plan.

He waited for the horde to chase after the car, their attention peeled on their first meal in Lord knows how long. Daryl waited a few more seconds before emerging from behind the shrub, keeping his crossbow close and loaded, just to be safe.

There were still a few walkers lurking about outside of the pharmacy. As Daryl passed by them, he effortlessly took aim with his near silent weapon and took them out without breaking a sweat.

He only had five minutes to get into that over sized pharmacy, find her, and get the hell out of there. He could only hope Merle would keep track of the time and meet him in the back before a horde of hungry walkers did.

Walking over to the three walkers he dropped, Daryl quickly retrieved his arrows, knowing he didn't have much more time to make it to the parking lot in the back of the strip mall.

He crossed the street in no time at all, thankfully. He shot one last glance back onto the streets, just to make sure none of those sneaky sons of bitches had followed him. He was the only one still standing in the streets. Just the way he liked it.

Pulling the heavy door open, it let out a loud creaking sound that almost made him cringe. He looked around quickly as he paused at the door, his dark eyes scanning for any movement. There was none. He couldn't even hear a sound.

On an average day, with the walkers roaming the city streets, Daryl would've considered that to be a good thing. Unfortunately, this was one of those few times he wanted to hear some kind of noise. A drop of something that could've been caused by her getting spooked by the sudden opening of the door, her light footsteps approaching him, even just her voice. Any sign that she was still alive.

He thought about calling out, but he bit back the urge at the possibility of it only bringing walkers towards him. So instead, he did the only thing he could think to do and quickly went isle by isle, looking for any sign of her.

God damnit, girl, where the hell are you?

He had gone halfway through the third isle when he heard something fall in the back of the store. He froze for only a second before he made his way towards the noise. He knew he was on the right track when he heard faint swearing follow the clutter of items that had dropped.

Daryl didn't waste any time. He had already wasted enough time searching through the pharmacy isles. He bolted to the back of the store and followed the sounds of shuffling and cursing.

Reaching the end of a hallway, Daryl threw open the only door there. A shrill scream greeted him as he burst through. There she was. Finally. But what the hell was she doing?

"Cass, what the hell are you doing? Did you get bit?" Daryl asked, stepping closer to her.

"What are you doing? Get out of here! Can't you see that I'm half naked, here?"

Oh, yes, Daryl Dixon could definitely see that she was half naked. It took every inch of whatever sanity he had left to ignore that nice little fact. If he didn't have a mere couple of minutes left to get the hell out of here, he could've stood to stare a little bit longer.

Cass fumbled with her shirt, sucking in air as she rubbed against the long cut on her torso. She swatted his hand away as he reached for it, trying to get a better look. She put the thin white shirt back on, ignoring the cold blood it had soaked up as it rubbed against her skin. She looked up at Daryl, relief in her eyes to know that he had finally made it to her. Maybe the walkers had dispersed outside.

"We have to get going, now."

"But I'm not done cleaning-"

"Cassidy, we do not have time for this. Merle's going to meet us out back. There's a shit load of walkers out there, and believe me when I say they're looking real damn hungry. We have to leave, now."

The moment Daryl said her full name; she knew this wasn't the time to be joking around to push his buttons. Since she had first met him a few weeks back, he had only called her Cassidy once, and that was when she almost got mauled to death by a walker.

She didn't waste time saying another word. Reaching towards the sink; she grabbed her black sweater and threw it over her shoulder. Slinging an arm of her backpack over her other shoulder, Cass followed Daryl out of the staff bathroom.

Her stomach hurt more than anything as they ran down the hall, but her heart hurt even more. She could hear the walkers pounding on the entrance to the pharmacy. It almost drowned out the pounding in her chest that made her want to fall over and give up right there.

"Come on. Move faster." Daryl urged, reaching back and grabbing a tight hold of Cass's wrist.

Cass had to practically sprint to keep up with Daryl's long legs and quick foot steps. But she didn't mind at this point. She especially didn't mind when she heard the glass of the front door shatter into a million pieces.

A small scream slipped through her drip lips, startled by the sudden burst of noise. She glanced over her shoulder quickly to see a horde of walkers making their way towards them.

"Oh my God. They're right behind us!"

"Keep moving!" Daryl called out. "Damnit, where the hell is the back door?"

Every door was locked, leaving them with nowhere to go, and walkers fast approaching. Cass glanced towards the other end of the hall and saw boxed stacked up against something. Her heart skipped a beat when she made out what it was conveniently hiding. A door! The only other door that could lead them to safety.

"Over there! Daryl, come on!" Cass pointed out, this time pulling Daryl along behind her.

He let go of her wrist and prepared his crossbow. They were getting closer, now. A lot closer than either survivor would've liked.

"Get the door, Cass." Daryl turned his back to the young girl and took aim at the nearest walker. Carefully making his way to the body once it dropped, Daryl plucked the arrow out of the walker's forehead.

Cass knocked over the boxes in her way. They crashed onto the floor, making even more noise as they gathered at Cass's feet. But at this point, she didn't care. Reaching for the doorknob, Cass pulled it with every ounce of strength she had left.

But it was locked. Of course it would be locked. She glanced back at Daryl and saw the endless walkers coming at him. They didn't have much time. She had to make a move, and make a move now. Otherwise, she and Daryl wouldn't live to see another day. And there was no way in hell that that was an option.

Turning back to the door, Cass closed her fist and took in a deep breath to steady herself. She was already in pain, what was a little additional pain to another region of her body?

She punched through the glass that sat beside the doorknob. It was only several inches wide, but Cass was still able to get her fist through without hitting metal. Thank God. She gritted her teeth as pain shot through her entire arm. She ignored the sharp glass that dug into her skin as she reached around to unlock the door.

When she finally unlocked it, she turned back to look at Daryl, who was forced to back up almost right against her. "Daryl, I got it open, let's go!" She said as she swung the door to freedom open.

Daryl grabbed his last arrow from the final walker he dropped and followed her outside. He heard Merle pull the car to a screeching stop as he and Cass made their way towards it.

"Get the hell in here! Those bastards just won't stop coming!" Merle hollered out the window as he unlocked the doors. Daryl jumped in the front seat and Cass wasted no time throwing herself into the back.

Cass bit back the pain of her bloodied and broken hand as they made their way into the small house she learned to call home over the past few weeks. It wasn't much, but it was a secluded house, and there were rarely any walkers in the area. So, for them, it was pretty damn close to perfect.

Merle plopped down onto the recliner in the living room and threw his feet up onto the coffee table. "God damn, that was one hell of a rush."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I'm sure you had a lot more fun driving around out there in your fancy new car, didn't you, you bastard?" Daryl grinned, playfully smacking his brother on the back of the head as he handed him a beer.

Daryl took a seat on the couch across from his brother and took a swig from his beer. It was some crappy, local beer that Lord knows he had never heard of. But hey, it was beer, and that was good enough for him.

Cass didn't say a word to either brother once they got into the car. She spent the entire ride home trying to calm her racing heart and block out that pain that now shot through her entire body. The minute they got home, Cass made her way to the bathroom to remove the remaining glass out of her hand. Plus, she still had that nasty cut on her stomach to take care of.

She locked the door behind her and took a deep breath, glancing into the mirror. Her tried reflection made her heart sink into her chest. She didn't always used to look this bad.

Her long dark hair used to be shiny and smooth. Now, all it was was a clump of grease and loose strands that she barely managed to tie up behind her. Dark circles had set up a permanent home under her light gray eyes. God, what she would do for some makeup right now. Go figure, she barely used the stuff when the world was normal. Now that the world has gone completely to hell, part of her kind of wished she had some. Then maybe she wouldn't look like such a God damn nightmare. Christ, how did the zombies not think she was one of them?

A knock on the door made her nearly jump out of her skin.

"Cass, are you alright in there?" It was Daryl on the other side.

She sighed as her head dropped. A glint from another stray shard of glass caught her eyes as she carefully dug it out. "I'm fine, Daryl. Just doing girly stuff in here. You know how it goes. Periods and stuff."

She heard him let out a low chuckle. "Ah, whatever. Cass, open the door, would you?"

Cass looked at the door and cocked an eyebrow as if he could see her reaction. "What? Didn't you hear what I just said? Periods and stuff."

"And is that "stuff" you cleaning out your busted up hand and that cut on your stomach?" Silence from the inside of the bathroom assured Daryl he was on the right track. "Let me in, Cass. Let me help you clean those bad boys out."

Defeated, Cass unlocked the door and let him in. "Yeah, yeah."

Daryl closed the door behind him and cocked his head towards the sink. Without saying a word, Cass hopped up onto the marble counter and watched Daryl through tired eyes.

Luckily, up until now, the adrenaline from the brush with death had kept her mind off the pain. But right now, it was burning through her with an excruciating pain she couldn't identify with.

Daryl went into Cass's bag and took out the supplies she managed to bring back from the pharmacy run. He opened up the alcohol bottle and set it down beside her, taking a hold of her bloodied hand.

"Jesus. You really did a number on yourself this time, didn't you?"

Cass shrugged, trying her best to hide the pain. "Yeah, well, it was either my hand or our lives. I figured I could spare my hand for a few days." She laughed under her breath. "I'm not going to lie, though. For a second I thought I wasn't going to be able to break the glass. They always make it seem so easy in the movies, but it's never like that in real life – ow! You son of a bitch!"

Daryl looked up at her from under his stray dark hairs and smirked. "You left some glass in your battle wounds, hero."

Cass sucked in a deep breath as Daryl removed the last few pieces she had overlooked. The bleeding, for the most part, had ceased. She had used her sweater to put pressure on the wound on the ride back.

Oh. My sweater. She thought solemnly. It was one of the few things she still had from her old life.

A painful stinging brought her back to her current situation as Daryl poured alcohol over her cuts. She shut her eyes and tried to block out the pain as he cleaned her wounds.

"It's alright. It'll be over soon. And then we'll get you a nice cold beer. I think you earned one today."

Cass opened her eyes and smiled. "Oh, thanks. I'm glad I sacrificed my hand for a beer."

Daryl just chuckled in response, shaking his head at her sarcasm. He kept his head low as he finished cleaning up her cuts, getting ready to bandage it.

Cass watched him carefully as he worked on her. Her smile began to fade as she studied every inch of his face. He was older than her, probably much older than either of them would care to admit. But what did that really matter anymore, anyway? His face was blackened from dirt and grime from fixing his motorcycle only a few hours before. His short, dark hair was disheveled from him constantly running his hand through it. But she didn't mind. In fact, she thought he looked better this way than when he was clean and proper. Not that she had ever really seen him when he was clean and proper…

"Alright, all done. Now, take that shirt off and let me take care of the other one." He said it so casually, as if it were nothing to ask her to strip for him. It caught Cass completely off guard.

"Wait, what? No, I can take care of that one by myself. Thanks for the offer, though." Cass fought against the blush that burned her cheeks as she pushed herself off the counter.

She stood with her back against the marble top, her hands resting at the edge of it as she found herself face to face with her savior. He was so close she could smell him.

"You don't know the first thing about cleaning a wound. Now, take your shirt off."

"I use alcohol to disinfect it and bandage it up after. How hard could that really be, Daryl?"

Daryl leaned back against the wall and cocked an eyebrow at her. "What? Are you shy all of a sudden, Cass? It's not like I've never seen a woman before, you know. I promise you, I've seen it all."

Cass pointed a finger at him. "Oh, don't you go bringing all your conquests into this, Daryl Dixon. You've seen enough of me for the day."

"Cass." Daryl said with a heavy sigh.

The truth was, Daryl was right, and she knew it. If she was left alone to disinfect the cut, she would stop the second it started to sting and just shrug it off as, "it'll disinfect on its own." She never did like cleaning out cuts. It always burned way too much.

"Fine." She went to pull her thin shirt over her head, but her bandaged hand made it trickier than she would've liked.

"Here, I'll get that for you." Daryl reached forward and took a hold of the bottom of her shirt.

Cass shut her eyes from utter embarrassment as Daryl carefully lifted her shirt over her head. He tossed it onto the toilet seat and studied the cut, trying carefully not to let his eyes travel just a few inches north.

"What the hell did you do?" Daryl asked, grabbing the alcohol bottle again.

She was so embarrassed she barely felt the stinging on her stomach as he worked on her. "I was running from walkers and took a dive into a building I passed by. I didn't realize the glass door had been broken until it cut me."

Cass tilted her head towards the ceiling as her unharmed hand gripped onto the edge of the counter. She knew she was blushing now, despite her best efforts, and she silently prayed that Daryl wouldn't glance up any time soon.

She shut her eyes, trying to ignore his warm, calloused hands running over her flat stomach. His fingers working gently on her skin as he tried not to hurt her. God, was she glad that they hadn't had much to eat since the world went to hell. Unintentionally, she had shed the last ten pounds she had been struggling with since high school. And apparently, just in time, too.

Could be worse. Could be a lotworse.

"Alright, all done. Just have to bandage it up. Turn around. I don't want to close the bandages over your cut."

Oh. There it goes getting even worse.

She turned her back to him and watched him work in the mirror. He reached around her, his chest grazing against her back, and her entire body tensed. Oh God, he was way too close right now.

Daryl smiled to himself when he felt her tense up. It had been way too long since he felt the smooth, soft skin of a woman against him. Yeah,and now is definitely not the time to start with that shit. He warned himself.

"Alright, all done here. See, it wasn't as bad as your thought, right?"

Cass kept her back towards Daryl and made eye contact with him through the mirror. "I'm. Mortified."

A grin spread across Daryl's face as he cocked an eyebrow at her. "You're welcome, Cass. I'm going to go see how your beer is doing. Hopefully Merle didn't drink the damn thing."

Cass watched Daryl leave the bathroom and let out a shaky sigh. After a few moments, she reached for her t-shirt and let out a frustrated groan with what she saw. A huge chuck of fabric was missing where she had gotten cut, and the shirt was soaked in her own blood. There was no way in hell that, after getting cleaned and bandaged up, she was going to get bloody all over again.

Seriously, could this day get any freaking worse?

Well, what was the first chapter. What do you guys think? Please review! Thanks for reading, everyone!