I know I've half written a lot of stories. Henry Sturgis, William James, Castiel, I'm not really good at keeping up with stuff I write and being able to continue it. Sometimes, inspiration will strike again, and I'll post a chapter or two. And I'm going to bet that's what is going to happen to Daryl. But it's okay. Cause I like writing. :)

So...this is a Daryl/OC fic. I've loved Daryl for a long long long long time, and I'm fairly surprised I haven't written one for him by now. Anyways, that's what this is going to be. A lot of Daryl fics, usually, when he is speaking have it "You gon' regret it, now, maybe later. I don unnerstan'

That's not how I'm gonna do it. Cause that drives me nuts when I'm reading and I'm a grammar Nazi, and yeah. It's just not how I'm gonna do it. I assume if you're reading this, then you like Daryl, you know how he talks and what his voice sounds like and you can kinda figure out how he'd say it, or how it'd sound in your head.

ANYWAYS...on to the usual stuff.

I DO NOT OWN THE WALKING DEAD, DARYL DIXON, MERLE DIXON, ANYONE OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHOW OR THE COMICS. THE ONLY THING I OWN IS THE ORIGINAL CHARACTER I CREATED TO BE IN THIS STORY.

Now that that's out of the way...I present...le story.


A usual warm spring evening in Atlanta. On the outskirts, but still sweltering in the Southern heat. Walker's Bar was open for business as usual, and Kasey was just halfway through his sixth beer. She never came with him when he came to the bar. Only waited at home for the drunken wrath of fists and cussing, leaving her bruised and aching. But tonight was different. She heard a crackle on the old tv, and looked up as a news reporter appeared on the screen.

"This just in, ladies and gentlemen. The deadly virus that had everyone confused is now spreading rampant through the, not only the United States, but world wide. The UK, France, India, Brazil, and China have all reported cases of the virus erupting catastrophically. The CDC in Atlanta Georgia is urging everyone to stay calm, remain in your homes and don't go out unless it's absolutely urgent, and if you have been bitten, you are to report to the hospital immediately."

Utter chaos and panic ruled the streets as they made their way home and gathered their things, before they hauled ass up the old dirt road and towards the cabin his parents had left him. They finally arrived and Kasey unloaded his cooler full of ice and beer, and his green captain's chair. As he unfolded it on the porch, he barked orders where everything went, watching as she lugged the packs, food, guns, and ammo into the small, cramped cabin. She began cooking dinner, corn, pot roast with potatoes and carrots, and cornbread. Just as she finished, she made a plate and brought it to her husband, still on the porch. "When do you think they'll get here?" He took a few bites, shoveling the food in, and washed it down. "No idea. But they'll get here soon, i suspect. They don't loligag around when the shit hits the fan." On that note, she headed back inside. After the small amount she ate was gone, her plate cleaned and drying in the rack, she heard a motorcycle roar and the crunching of gravel on the road.

Looking out the window, she saw Merle getting off his bike, and Daryl getting out of his blue pickup, motorcycle harnessed into the bed. As the three men hugged, she clicked on the radio, listening to the Atlanta broadcast coming in. The man's voice was urgent and panicked. "The streets of Atlanta are literally on fire. Napalm is being dropped by the Air Force, attempting to quarentine this plague. The streets are overrun with chaos and mass hysteria. People are literally running for their lives, trying to out run this fire, trying to escape with their lives. And I..Oh my Go-" The broadcast cut out into a single tone, constantly running. Nothing else came. She heard the thud of the boots walking in the house and she tensed up. It didn't take much to piss off her drunk husband, and as miserable as he was, he wanted to portray the perfect marriage. Complete with the little woman who had everything ready when the guests arrived.

She stood up and walked towards the stove, picking up a plate and putting a few scoopfulls of corn onto it. "Hey, fellas. Glad you guys made it." She felt his hand hit the plate and saw it smash on the floor, sending kernels scattering. She closed her eyes and prepared for more pain, but was spared. A single hand on the back of her neck and being pushed down, she heard him say. "Clean it up, idiot." She picked up the biggest chunk of the plate and carefully put the shards into it. But it was pointless as she felt his steel toe boot hit her in the side. A hard kick, sending the plate remainds clattering back onto the floor. As he marched to the radio and turned it off, she managed to sneak a peek at the brothers, looking at the scene unfolding before them. Merle wore a small smirk, his arms crossed across his chest, and looking at Kasey. Daryl was looking up the stairs and into space. The three walked outside and flipped the cooler open. After the plate and corn was swept up, and the area mopped clean, she walked onto the porch. The howling of the three ceased immediately and all eyes were on her. "I'm..it's getting late. I was going to go ahead and turn in." He waved her off, a clear signal he was done for the night. "Whatever. You get the couch." She walked inside and gathered an extra blanket and pillow and carried them back to the couch. She looked at the clock, 2:46 AM. Pretending to be asleep, Merle and Kasey marched past her, clonked up the stairs and a few minutes later were quiet. She crawled out of the blankets and quietly went outside. She got into their truck and opened the glove box, digging up the pack of cigarettes and lighter she stashed there. As hushed as she could, she closed the door and marched down the hill and to the small lake. She pulled a cigarette out of the pack and lit it up. Laying back on the warm grass in the humid night, she winced, forgetting she had been kicked.

"Why do you let him do that to you?" She whipped her head towards the direction the voice was coming from. Daryl emerged from the shadows and sat down beside her. She took a drag from her cigarette and shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like I have much choice. And if I didn't before, now that the world has gone to shit, where everyone's at odds...I sure as hell can't just leave him now." The crickets chirped quietly as she stubbed out the last of the cigarette into the grass. "My old man used to hit me around. Merle was old enough, he could leave whenever he wanted. Didn't have to put up with near half the shit I did. I kinda get where you're coming from." She sighed and stood up, heading back into the house, to sleep on the couch.

The next few days went about the same. Get up, cook breakfast, see the guys off to go hunting, clean whatever they brought back, cook it for lunch, have dinner ready as they rested and chugged on beer. She did know she was getting fed up with it, but wasn't sure how to handle it. Merle and Kasey had taken the bikes towards town to see if they could find more beer and some abandoned pharmacy to raid. The night before was a doozy. Rip roaring drunk, she had asked if she could go to the lake to swim, and it was on. He pushed her against the wall of the cabin, slapped her. "You want to go frolic with the damn fishes? When the dead are coming back and eating people?" He hit her. Clenched fist, knocking her down to the floorboards, and leaving a small bleeding cut. She should have known better than to ask. It had been just her and Daryl for most of the day, and he was nice enough to help her with the chore list Kasey had left. Laundry, clean the trucks, clean the cabin. She was finishing putting clean sheets on Kasey's bed when she found the gun bag stashed under the bed. She pulled it out and retrieved one of the pistols. It was loaded, that much was always a safe assumption with him. She sat down on the bed, holding the gun in her hands, thinking, wondering; was this her solution? "Ash.." She felt panic in her chest as she looked up, but felt slightly better when she saw it was only Daryl. "What are you doin?" She wiped the few tears from her eyes and stashed the gun back in the bag, sliding it all back under the bed. "Nothing." She stood up and turned around, bumping into him. "I'm sorry." He gently took her chin and lifted her head, looking closer at her eye. "I know that look. The look you were giving that gun. I've looked at a gun that way myself. But it's not the answer." She pushed him away. "Why not? An abusive drunk for a husband. Playing Cinderella while you three live in the lap of luxury. I cook for you, I clean for you, I do fucking everything. And on top of that, not only could he kill me at any moment, but now I have to worry about the walking dead people. I don't see any other fucking way out of it, Daryl. If I don't turn up one day, don't be surprised." She turned to walk away, but felt his hand grab her arm. As the fear grew inside her, she realized he wasn't hurting her. It had ended up being a hug. A clutching, squeezing hug. He let her go and stepped back. "Maybe all of that is true. Do what you fucking want." He turned and left Kasey's room, leaving her alone.

When the boys got back on the bikes, there was an RV following them. Kasey hopped off his and called all of them to a meeting. "These guys are the real deal. A cop, an RV, they said there's a rock quarry not too far from here. Huge fucking lake full of fish, not so close to the city as this damn place is. I'm voting yes. Merle voted yes. Ash? What do you think?" She felt like laughing in his face. Like she had any opinion or say in the matter. "Sounds good to me. Yeah." It was all hands on deck from that minute on. The two trucks were loaded with all the supplies from the cabin, and Ashley got stuck with Daryl in his pickup. She laid her head back and let her hands rest on either side of her as the warm breeze flowed through the cab. "Look, I'm sorry I got so pissed off. There just has to be a better way. As far as I'll go about feelings, I care. That's about as much as I'll ever give." She didn't move. Stayed completely still. A touch made her jump, but it was still there. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Daryl's hand right next to hers, two fingers gliding back and forth in small movements. Most girls would have been excited if a guy had shown this much attention to her. But all she could do was hope and pray he would stop. If Kasey saw any of it, she would be dead.


There's chapter one. God bless America it took forever, the first time I had it typed out and it disappeared...so I had to start over. Sheesh. Anyways, I know Daryl's kind of all over the place, and yeah. It's my story, so :-P

Read and reply if you liked. :)