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Chapter 2

"It's gettin' late," Daryl commented eventually, noting how dark the forest had become. By his judgment they still had a while to walk and he was reluctant to travel through the darkness with Carl and a woman they didn't know. "We should post up for the night. I can cook us up some of this," he gestured to the string game hanging from his shoulder.

"I'll cook," Lyla offered, the first thing she'd said since they'd left her camp. Daryl and Carl looked at her in surprise. "It's the least I can do."

Carl and Lyla gathered kindling and Carl started a fire while Daryl stripped the rabbit of its fur and readied it for cooking. Lyla took the pieces of meat from him and skewered them onto a stick she'd cleaned before holding it over the small fire. Within minutes they were eating Carl's rabbit.

Daryl noticed Carl's gaze shifting between him and Lyla as he ate quietly. Lyla stared into the dancing flames, her food resting in her hands relatively untouched. She seemed lost in thought but Daryl couldn't figure out what she was so sad about. She'd just found out she was going to be taken to her nephew.

"When it happened," she spoke so softly that at first Daryl thought he'd imagined it. He didn't realize she was actually talking until Carl's head perked up as well. She looked across the fire at him with sad acceptance in her eyes. "My older brother—Ben's dad—called me. I was in a rural area but for some reason he couldn't get to Ben's school in time. I think…I think he and his wife were trapped in the house by walkers." Daryl could hear her voice tremble and figured her throat was tightening. Her head dropped to avoid looking at them. He cursed again in his mind. He didn't know how to deal with this.

"Are you from here?" Carl asked eventually, thankfully taking the weight of having to comfort the girl off of his own shoulders.

Lyla smiled at him, finally lifting the roasted meat to her mouth to take a bite. "I grew up around here. But I moved out to California a while ago. I was just back in Georgia for work."

They learned she was twenty-seven—Daryl scoffed at the idea of being seven years her senior—liked Georgia better than California, listened to folk and indie music, spoke three languages in addition to English, couldn't whistle, and loved to chew strawberry flavored gum.

"At least, before the outbreak happened," Lyla added between mouthfuls of rabbit. "It's not as easy to find gum anymore."

Carl nodded, "I miss candy."

Daryl looked at him. "That's what ya miss? Outta everythin' you could possibly miss?"

"Oh fine Mr. Survivor Expert, what do you miss then?" Lyla asked with a laugh, lifting her closed hand in front of her mouth as she spoke around her food. Daryl had never seen anyone with manners like that.

He poked a stick at the embers in the pit they sat around as he tried to think of the things he missed. He silenced the part of his mind that whispered "Merle", instead trying to focus on smaller things.

"Marlboro Red Eighty Three's," he said finally, causing Carl's face to scrunch up.

"Ew," he said with a laugh.

"Ew is right. If this outbreak did one good thing, at least it's kept kids from smoking," Lyla said with a wink to Carl. Her shoulders sagged a bit before she lifted her eyes to meet Daryl's. "Peter…my brother smoked Parliaments before he quit. He'd just gotten to one year being smoke-free before…"

Carl's light laughter stopped and he watched her. They were all quiet for a while before Lyla's shoulders began to quiver and she tried to muffle any sounds of her grief. Daryl swallowed, not sure of what to do, when Carl slowly moved to sit next to her on the soft ground.

"I'm sorry about your brother," he said quietly.

Lyla took a shaky breath from behind the curtain her long hair had formed around her face. She scrubbed at her face, combing a hand through her wavy locks. "I just…a part of me kept wondering after all this time. I couldn't get to Ben in time…I didn't even know if he was alive these past two years. Don't get me wrong, I'm so glad to know that little boy is alive and safe. But it's hard to know for sure certain that my brother is gone."

"I lost my mom a few weeks ago." She gasped and turned to Carl in shock. "She died giving birth to my sister."

"Carl…" Lyla whispered. Her large, wide eyes glimmered in the light of the flames. Daryl watched on quietly from across the fire. He hadn't seen Carl open up like this to anyone in months, even before what happened with Lori. He was stunned that this woman had managed to draw the boy in after just meeting him.

For a moment it looked like Carl's face was going to crumple into sobs, but he bit at his lip in defiance. Eventually, he lifted a tentative arm around Lyla's side and she allowed him to tuck his face into her neck while she pulled her arms around him as well. Daryl watched as she shushed the boy and rocked slightly, her fingers combing through his shaggy hair. For the first time in months, he felt a warmth spread through him that wasn't coming from the fire in front of him.


Daryl watched the dying embers in their fire pit from his place resting against a log he'd dragged closer. Carl lay off to the left, curled up with his Sherriff's hat still near and Lyla was sleeping just to the right of Daryl's log. She'd pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her long blonde locks and burrowed her face into the warmth of her chest.

He rubbed his fingers against his bottom lip as he looked at her, taking in her tight faded jeans and worn sneakers. Her face was clear of makeup and actually somewhat dirty from the events of the day, but he had to admit she was gorgeous. Her eyelashes were also a soft blonde without mascara to darken them, but even without he could tell how long they were as they fluttered across her glowing cheeks. He watched as her full pink lips parted slightly in her sleep.

"Well hot damn," a familiar voice grit out in his mind.

Daryl's lip twitched up and he ran his fingers through his long hair. "I was wonderin' if I'd be seein' you again."

He saw Merle perched next to him on the log, lighting up a cigarette before leaning forward to get a good look at the sleeping girl. A long stream of smoke blew from his nose. "Tell me yer gonna hit that, little brother."

Daryl frowned at the comment, even if it was a figment of his imagination, shaking his head heartily. "Ain't like that." A light breeze blew over their camp, rustling Lyla's golden hair so that the shorter layers around her face were moved away from her skin. It wasn't until then that Daryl noticed a single wet trail on one of her cheeks.

Lyla's closed eyes twitched slightly as she woke with a start. She sniffled a bit and reached to wipe her sleeve across her cheeks. Daryl pretended he didn't notice.

"How long was I out?" she asked bashfully, combing her fingers through her hair as she pulled her hood down around her shoulders. She scooted closer to the fire and put her hands out to grasp the last of the dying fire's warmth.

"Couple a hours," he replied, trying to keep his eyes on the fire pit.

Lyla nodded, rubbing her upper arms as she looked around at their surroundings. "I can take over watch now," she said, keeping her voice low so as not to wake Carl. "Let you get some rest."

Daryl shook his head. "I'm fine." Not that he didn't trust this girl, but he didn't like the thought of being asleep while she was left awake all alone. He could wait a few more hours until they got back to the prison. It wasn't the first all-nighter he'd pulled.

She didn't say anything else, continuing to look at the flames in front of her. They sat in silence for a while, which normally would have been Daryl's preference but he found that for some reason he felt extremely awkward. Like a different man would have been able to start a conversation with a girl like this—Rick…or Shane could have. Lyla pulled at a few blades of grass in front of her and braided them into a miniature bracelet. She flicked it into the orange embers at the pit of the fire.

"Carl's not yours, is he?" she said finally. Not really a question but an observation.

Daryl started. He'd never been mistaken for someone's father before. He stared at her features, so open with him as she waited for a reply. He began to shake his head but found himself opening his mouth to speak. "His dad…Rick, is back at the prison we're stayin' at."

Lyla licked her lower lip, considering this. "It's nice of you to take Carl out with you. He seems like he needed it after…what happened."

He scoffed. "Not a big deal," he muttered, looking down.

"Yes it is." He was surprised at the confidence in her voice. He glanced up to see her clear green eyes narrowed at him. "If you've ever lost anyone you know how hard it is to keep moving forward. Carl needs that."

They were quiet for a moment before Daryl, though he didn't know why, answered, "I know how hard it is."

"You lost someone?"

"You weren't the only one ta lose a big brother."

Lyla's eyes widened as her mouth dropped open slightly. Daryl could practically feel the waves of empathy rolling off of her. To his surprise, she moved closer to him until she was sitting beside him.

"I…I didn't—"

"I know," he cut her off.

"Did you see it happen?"

He couldn't figure out why he was telling her this stuff, he'd never mentioned it to anyone before. He'd told the group the basics of what happened with Merle, but he'd left a hell of a lot out, too. Not even Carol could get the details out of him. Yet for some reason, this girl—who normally would be intimidating by her natural good looks—caused him to speak. "Wasn't there when it happened, but I had to put him down as a walker."

He was waiting for it. Waiting for the apologies and the pity that he knew would be coming. He'd gotten it after his mama died and he'd gotten it from the group after he'd told them about the death of Merle.

Lyla's eyes, however, were not softened with pity but looked at him with a sad understanding. She set her hand gently on his knee and he couldn't help but look down at it. "Well, at least you're not left wondering. Not knowing is the worst."

After a moment Daryl smiled, actually relieved at her response. "Yeah. I reckon so."

"Thanks for bringing me to Ben," Lyla said. He welcomed the subject change.

"'Course. Family's gotta stick together."

She chewed on the side of her plump bottom lip for a moment, "Is he…I mean, how does he seem? I've been so worried about what a world like this would do to him. God, he was so young when it happened."

"The kid's fine," Daryl answered honestly. He stretched his shoulders and popped his neck before leaning in to poke at the last of the kindling that burned. "He mentioned you."

Lyla brightened up. "He remembers me? I was afraid he wouldn't know me when he saw me…"

He shook his head. "Knows yer name at least. Said his daddy told him you'd be comin' to find him." He kept his eyes forward so he didn't notice until he heard a wet breath beside him that he may have said something to upset her. He looked over at her in surprise to see her hands covering her face as her shoulders shook.

"He's been waiting for me to come get him…he's been waiting for two years?"

Daryl's eyes widened and he cursed himself for being so stupid. His hands hovered over her as he resisted the urge to back away from her. "I didn't mean it like that. I just…look, yer here for him now, aren't ya? Better late than never…or whatever."

She cleared her throat, scrubbing at her face with her large sweatshirt sleeves. "You're right. God, I'm sorry. This is really embarrassing," she let out a wet laugh.

He was so ready to stop talking about this. The conversation they'd had was already more than enough "emotional stuff" to last him a while. He gave a gruff cough and scuffed his boot in the dirt. "Sun's gonna be comin' up. We should wake Carl soon."


When the prison fence came into view, Daryl noticed Lyla's pace pick up a bit. She brushed her hair away from her face and took a deep breath. Carl smiled up at her and she grinned back nervously. "What if he doesn't recognize me?"

"He will," Carl said with an assertive nod. "He told us about you."

"That doesn't mean he'll remember what I looked like."

"I bet he will." Daryl arched an eyebrow at the boy's sudden excited confidence. He'd seen Carl the scared little boy and Carl the hardened child soldier, but this was his first time seeing Carl so self-assured.

They neared the gate and Daryl murmured for Lyla to keep her hands up. She protested at first but heeded nonetheless when she realized that to the look outs at the prison she was an unknown traveling with them and it was safest for her to come in this way.

Tyreese pulled the outer gate open, looking at the new girl with confusion. He knew better than to ask these two about her, though. They reached one of the entrances and were met by Rick, Hershel, and Glenn.

"We were beginning to wonder what happened to you two," Rick greeted them with a smile, patting Carl on the shoulder. "Who do we have here?"

"We couldn't find Ben's group," Carl began. "But we found something better."

"Lyla!" a small voice called out from behind them. Ben stood at the main door with Carol and Beth. Everyone watched the tears form in Lyla's eyes as her face lit up at the sight of her nephew and she called out to him. Ben skipped down the steps to race over to her as fast as his feet would carry him. She took the final steps around the men to get to the little boy and lifted him into her arms with a breathy laugh. Ben wrapped his arms and legs around her torso, clinging to her.

"Oh sweetheart," she murmured as she stroked his dark hair and rocked him. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get to you." Ben nuzzled his face into her neck and gripped at her long hair in his little fists.

Rick and Hershel grinned and laughed at the sight. Rick winked at his son who smiled proudly. "Well…welcome Lyla." She pulled her hair away from her face and nodded at the group's leader.

"Oh…my…god. Ohmygod." They all turned to see an awestruck Beth shifting down the steps with an open mouth. Maggie and Glenn, who'd heard all the racket, followed her down with similar but more restrained looks.

Beth stopped just inches away from Lyla, looking the older girl up and down with a look of pure joy. Daryl looked to see if the others were reacting, but so far only the sisters and Glenn seemed to know what was going on.

"You're…you're Abby Strong," Beth finally breathed.

Hershel gave his youngest a look, "Sweetie, her name is Lyla. Have you been feeling sick again?"

Beth shook her head violently, her hair flying around her face. "Daddy, she's Abby Strong! I mean…she's Lyla Mayer, but she plays Abby Strong!"

"Played," Lyla corrected sheepishly.

"Who the hell is Abby Strong?" Daryl asked, catching Carol's eye as she gave him a knowing smile.

Ben, finally releasing his grip on Lyla, pulled his face away from his aunt and grinned over at the hunter who'd saved him, "Lyla's a movie star!"

"You're a celebrity?" Rick asked incredulously.

Lyla laughed, "What, you thought we weren't affected by all this too?"

"You were in those vampire slayer movies, weren't you?" Glenn asked somewhat shyly. He flushed when Lyla made eye contact with him, causing Maggie to snort and elbow his side.

Lyla lowered Ben to the ground, keeping a hand on his shoulder. "I did other work before that, but yes those were my most recent and popular movies."

"Oh my god, Lyla Mayer!" Beth continued to gush, leaning towards her sister and grabbing her.

"Settle down now," Hershel insisted as he hobbled towards the door. "Let's get inside everyone."

Lyla hesitated, unsure if the invitation extended to her. "Thank you for taking care of him," she said to Rick. Daryl watched her round green eyes, the color of the trees on a warm summer day, as they looked up at the Sherriff.

"It was our pleasure, ma'am," he replied with a nod. "Come on inside now."

"I should really get Ben back to my group—" she started but Hershel turned around.

"There's no reason for that now," he called out. "You look exhausted. Get something to eat and some rest. Why don't you stay with us for the night and we'll help you find your group tomorrow." He noted the way Ben clutched at the woman's legs and smiled at the little boy. "The both of you."

Taking Ben's hand, she followed the group inside. Rick pointed out their living spaces and cafeteria, before beginning to lead her down another hall. "We've got a group of refugees from another abandoned camp staying in the next cell block. I'm sure we can find you a cell there—"

"They should stay with us," Daryl cut in, much to everyone's surprise. He scowled at the way Lyla looked at him. He licked his lower lip and shuffled a bit before hiking his crossbow higher on his shoulder. "Just figured…they should stay with familiar faces at least."

Beth grinned and took Lyla's pack for her, eagerly showing the woman she so obviously idolized the way to an empty cell in their block. Rick raised his eyebrows and gave Hershel an amused smile as they watched his daughter practically skip up the metal stairs, perkier than they'd seen her in weeks. Everyone's moods seemed to be picking up with these new arrivals in fact. He watched the group's notorious hunter as he appeared to be trying to seem busy unloading his weapons. Yet he couldn't hide how his curious blue eyes occasionally peeked up to the cell Beth had led the new girl to.


So yes, Merle will be making the occasional appearance in the story! I know he could be a total jackass at times, but I have to admit I did love him as a character. I think he and Daryl were very similar, Merle just happened to be the darker side that Daryl could have become. In the end, Merle proved that he was a good guy deep down. Plus he had some of the best lines.