Hello, this is AriesZombieReBornBalorPrincess here, welcoming you all to mine and Amber Skywalker Kenobi's newest fic. And it will be slightly AU as we follow along with the show changing this up as we go.

Disclaimer: We do not own anything related to the Walking Dead. We mean no disrespect. Cassidy and Jack are my creation. Amber and Erin belong to Amber, and they cannot be used without our consent.

Warning: Vulgar language is used throughout the chapter and will be used throughout the story.

Enjoy.

Cassidy's POV

Two things in my life changed my life forever. Being told I was adopted and when zombies became all too freaking real.

At 16-years-old I, Cassidy Fitz, sat upon the couch my world suddenly crumbling down around me. Everything I thought I knew, turned out to be nothing more than a lie. My parents weren't my birth parents, my brother not real either. For the last 16 years of my life, they took care of me. Gave me a place to call home, made sure I had everything I could ever want or need. Gave me tough love when it was needed. My brother stood up for me, even when I didn't need him to do so. He threatened my boyfriends, looked out for me when a guy grew interested in me that he knew was nothing more than a creep. He held me and fed me ice cream when I got my heart broken. He kept me safe when a storm hit knowing how scared the thunder made me. He is my best friend and a life without him as my brother wasn't acceptable.

They may not be my biological family, but nonetheless, they are my family; it took me very little time to understand that. They took me in when my supposedly real mother didn't want me. A tiny part of me wanted to find her and ask why. Why couldn't you have loved me? Why wasn't I good enough? Why? The more reasonable part of me didn't want to find her and what it would bring to me, because I am surrounded by my family. They took me in when they didn't have to. They love me unconditionally. My mother, my father, and my brother are the only family I need. They are my real family; I don't need to be related through blood to be their family.

"Cassidy, you will always be our daughter. Remember that, please." Those are 10 words that will haunt me for the rest of my life as they didn't make it when the Zombie apocalypse hit.

When I turned 23, I learned that I couldn't have kids. That fertility was the main reason on why I couldn't have kids as with an estimated 6.1 million women in the United states alone dealt with the same problem of infertility. Instead of it bring me and boyfriend closer at the time, it put a huge strain on us, as he wanted kids of his own. He had no problems with adopting, but he wanted to father a biological kid. In the end, we broke up as it was for the best.

When I turned 25, the best thing about my life happened, and he came in the form of a little boy named Jack. He became my world. Little Jack was the only person I needed in my life. Boyfriends didn't matter, not when I was already a mother. I didn't have time to date. Jack was and is my sole focus in life.

One morning we woke up to our neighbors being zombies, learning the only way to kill the undead was aiming for their head. From that day forward it was about survival and doing everything in my power to keep my son alive. For a few hours, it seemed like we were living in our favorite campy horror movie, all too soon that thought faded away when we had to fight the undead to survive.

For the first few months, we traveled with my brother, remembering better times, where zombies didn't exist. Where I lived in my family's house. When we were whole. Before my parents were ones that turned. My brother the one to stick a kitchen knife through their rotting flesh to end them once and for all.

"You promise not to leave me?" I asked, looking into the small fire we built, keeping an eye on my sleeping son, as we were listening for any zombies to walk through the woods in our direction.

"I'm not leaving you behind in this world, Cass. Someone needs to watch out for you, and Jack. And no one is better at that than I am. You may be nearing in on your 30s now, but I will always remain your brother. It'll always be us versus this messed up world," he promised, knowing how stupid it is to make a promise as such. But he needed his sister to know that he would be there for her. Even when he wasn't he would be there within her. "Why don't you rest and I'll keep first watch tonight," he told me.

"Okay," I nodded, moving to check on Jack, before slipping into the sleeping bag, we both used, taking turns sleeping and keeping watch. I didn't even bother with taking my shoes off, easier in case a horde of zombies' moves through.

The third hardest thing in my life, and the one I rank number one of the all-time worst things to happen to me is the morning, I had to jam a knife through my brother's head, when a zombie attacked him. Comforting my terrified kid afterwards, words can't describe the pain I felt for him. Without my brother, I was lost and feeling dead on the inside, fitting for the world I now lived in. I kept moving forward for my son; I wouldn't let him go out the way his uncle did.

When your attention was focused on staying alive and getting attacked by any herds of zombies, it became easy to forget what day or month it was. Days didn't matter any more. It was all about survival. Survival for my son, over my own survival.

"Ya shithead, get the hell up," Daryl grumbled quietly as not to wake up Jack, giving a not so gentle kick to my ribs.

"What the actually fuck, dickhead?" I seethed, holding back a yawn, rubbing the spot he kicked, looking to see if Jack woke up by the disturbance, which he didn't. Kid sleeps like the dead.

"My dumbass brother thinks I need to teach ya how to track since you're shit at it, and he refuses to do it," he quipped out. "I'm leaving in 5. I will leave your ass behind," he promised.

I rolled my eyes. When I stumbled upon the group, I was ecstatic to see Glenn. We grew up as neighbors, we played our fair share of video games into the early hours of the morning. Daryl and Merle were the brothers who often butted heads with each other were on the same page taking up a dislike for me, which I returned disliking them back.

I ended up with Merle, forced to be around him, helping on a few runs and hunting trips. I never volunteered to go with him, others of course, but not Merle. I would gladly go with anyone else. Even so, the more times I found being forced with Merle didn't seem so bad or forced as I grew to understand him more, and I slowly opened up to him, even though he never asked me to do so or listened to what I had to say. We weren't the best of friends or really even friends. But what we did while off, that was more for us to enjoy.

And Daryl fell into the category of surrogate big brother, all while he seemed to be a thorn stuck in my side, I couldn't pull out. That may be my fault, not wanting to get close to people. Too easy to lose them now. Easier to keep walls up and keep them at arm's length away.

"We can go now; ya grouch," I said, keeping the dislike I held for him out of my tone of voice. I didn't want to be stuck out there by myself again, and that meant I needed to try to get along with Daryl. I had no problems with the rest of them. Carol was a big help in keeping an eye on Jack for me when I went out to help.

"Just about left ya," he grunted out, walking away from me in long strides. I had to practically run to keep up with him. "Ya best be a good shot, I ain't got time to teach you to shoot," he threatened.

"Keep threatening a gal like that, and she may take it the wrong way," I quipped out. Camping and hunting trips were common in my house growing up. Through the years, I never got very good at tracking as my brother and my father were there to do it for me.

"That how you got to my brother? Promised him some pussy?" He snarled out.

"That came later and he promised me some dick first," I shrugged acting a bit smug. "I know how to shoot them; it's the tracking them down to shoot I have a problem with," I said rolling my eyes at him.

"It ain't hard so pay attention cause, I'm only saying it once," he nearly growled out, slowing his steps.

Spending my morning arguing with him over animal footprints, seemed to be the highlight of my day. I paid attention to what he said, because I wanted to learn. I loved learning, a nerd in that regard. The one thing I loved more than learning was teaching, that's why I became a teacher. Not that it has done much good for me now that walkers were taking over the world, I often taught Sophia and Jack when they were both free at the same time, keeping their minds sharp. At first, I found it weird they called zombies walkers but after a few weeks, I too started to call them walkers.

"That wasn't so bad," he commented, handing a knife over. "You get to do the honors," he smirked. We got a dozen squirrels; they were easy enough to find; we found a deer, nothing too big; it wasn't a little one either, but enough for a meal.

"Guts and shit don't scare me," I told him, taking the knife. "If they did, I wouldn't be screwing around with your brother," I retorted, hearing a soft chuckle from him, sinking the knife into the stomach of the deer and cutting up til I hit the ribs. While I got busy cleaning the deer out, Daryl worked beside me taking care of the squirrel.

"You ain't so bad," he shrugged, walking off to clean up.

I learned that may be the best compliment that I may ever get out of him, so I would take it as a win. Not that it would change anything between us. It would take more than one little compliment to get along with him.

"Ya didn't kill my brother, did ya?" Merle deeply chuckled, walking up behind me, feeling up my ass before giving it a hard smack.

"And have you feed me to the damn walkers? Yeah, no, he's still very much alive," I retorted. "Who is the fake hooker talking to your brother?" I asked, watching the black-haired chick with pink and blue highlights standing next to Daryl.

"Fuck if I know," he shrugged, leaning over me from behind. "I do know what you can do for me."

"Later," I brushed him off. "I have to give your brother back his knife before I stick it some place it doesn't belong," I smiled sweetly, running my hand over his thigh.

"We wouldn't want that," he chuckled. "Look you have another rugrat to teach," he nodded in the direction of the little girl, wrapped around the one talking with Daryl.

"She seems rather sweet," I said, walking towards the direction of Daryl and the newcomer. "Here's your knife," I said, holding said knife out to him. "I was thinking about another lesson tomorrow. I still have plenty to learn. What do you say?"

"I ain't waking ya. If you ain't up when I leave, I'll be leaving without you, we clear?" He grumbled out.

"Yep," I confirmed turning my attention to the strange woman. "Who are you?" I asked overly sweet.

"Cass, leave her be. She showed up with a few others. Behave yourself," Daryl warned.

"What kind of name is Cass?" The stranger questioned, a smirk on her face.

"Cassidy," I snapped out, looking down at the little girl. I crouched down to be at eye level with the little girl. "Hello sweetie, my name is Cassidy, but you can call me Cassie. What's your name?" I questioned, watching the little girl cower behind her mom's legs, her eyes directed towards the ground. "That's okay sweetie," I smiled. "That's a pretty necklace. Where did you get it from?" The little girl wrapped her little fingers around the pendent.

"Mom, mom," Jack called, sprinting up to me hugging me tight, like he was afraid he wouldn't see me again.

"Hey, bud. What's up?" I questioned, placing a kiss to his temple, breaking the hug to look at him.

"Laurie is gonna be at the ravine tomorrow, can I go with her?" He pleaded adding in a small, "please."

"Let me talk to Laurie about it and get back to you. Now go see if Glen or Dale can use your help," I told him, running my hand over his light-brown hair, that is growing out faster than I would like for it too. He nodded heading off in the opposite direction he came from. I turned to look back at my audience.

"Ya do know that he wants to go to the ravine to swim, right?" Daryl chuckled.

"He needs to get clean some way," I laughed, looking at the two strangers, I had yet to learn their names. "Who are you? And why are you here?" I ask tired of playing any games with them. I roll my eyes hearing the soft growl from Daryl.

"Sweetie, why don't you go see Carl." I looked at who I assumed was the mother before sharing a look with Daryl. "You can stay away from my daughter," she warned, once the little girl ran off.

"That will be kind of hard when I am the teacher around here, and I do like to keep the minds of the younger generation sharp. Even in this world a mind is a terrible thing to waste," I retorted, going to walk off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a date with someone's brother. Daryl make sure you save me a seat for dinner in a few hours," I winked, walking off, to check on Jack before I did anything else, making sure he is helping and not in the way.

"Like hell I will," I heard him call out with a grumble.

There was nothing more that I loved than a challenge and a good rivalry. I needed something to keep my mind occupied on something other than the undead. And kids were a huge weakness for me since I am not able to have them myself, I always wanted kids but swore off any serious relationship because of the fact I can't conceive a baby. I was happy with having Jack, but I always wanted a large family with kids running around driving you absolutely mad.