Day 17

Daryl knew that they were gonna stare. Wasn't a surprise though, of course fine folks like them were gonna be castin' glances towards him and Merle. Not that it bothered him much; it just got on his nerves. Couldn't people mind their own damn business? He looked away from the people that were in the newly established camp and he looked down at the piece of wood he had been whittling. He didn't get far, however, when he was reminded how why he had his current knife.

Stupid girl had to run off on her own. What the hell was she thinking, acting as if she would be able to take care of herself while the whole world was ending around them?

Daryl grunted loudly in frustration, attracting the attention of some of the kids that sat nearby. He didn't pay them any mind though, not really. He could see from the corner of his eyes that the kids seemed to be frightened of him. It was probably good too, he figured. He wasn't a good guy, per se. Sure, he wanted to kill the damn Walkers, as they called them, and he wanted to stay alive. But he sure as hell wasn't going to take care of little kids or bend over backwards for someone who wasn't his kin.

"Still thinkin' 'bout sweetcheeks?" Daryl wasn't surprised to hear his brother's coarse voice all of a sudden, after all, who else would dare talk to someone like him? He looked up and gave Merle a sharp look, trying to warn his brother to stay away from the conversation and tell him that he was, in fact, wrong about him thinking about the girl. It was partially true anyways, he had just succeeded in directing his mind away from her moments before Merle came and ruined it all.

"I ain't never seen ya worked up over some broad, lil'brotha," Merle said, taking his place next to his brother. He received only an inaudible murmur from Daryl. It wasn't much use, trying to talk to him about something serious like women. Merle knew that it was his own fault; he was the one who had been cold and distant to Daryl and the one who taught his little brother that feelings were for pussies and that talking about things was a nancy-boy activity.

Despite that, he was still able to tell when his brother had something on his mind and when something was bothering him. He didn't care much for the girl himself. She had a mouth and an attitude; far too much hard work for Merle's taste. Yet it seemed that that was what Daryl was into, from the way he acted after she left. He was doing his best to conceal his concern and his thoughts towards for her, and his best was pathetic.

"A'ight, we don't gotta talk 'bout it now. Just know, ya don't gotta worry. Girl probably knew what she was doin when she left us, ya'know? She didn't look like the dumb type." With those words Merle left his brother's side, deciding that it was best to leave his younger brother to his own thoughts.

Daryl looked up and watched as Merle walked towards a couple of blondes that looked like they might be sisters. It wasn't often that Merle actually reached out to him in ways that weren't related to hunting or taking care of himself. Drugs, hunting and sex: those were the things that had always mattered to Merle, at least in Daryl's eyes. Now he was sitting in the middle of an apocalypse, in his early thirties, and his brother was trying to console him about a woman they had known for a total of four days?

A woman that Daryl was having trouble getting off of his mind despite his best efforts. She had the balls to tell his brother off and she was frank about the fact that she didn't consider him to be a hero of any sorts. Aideen Crawford was definitely not like any of the women he had encountered in his life before. Most Georgia women seemed to be meek and obedient, at least the Georgia women that he had been around. Maybe he had been looking in the wrong places for a female that suited to his taste (not that he had ever actively looked for one.)

He looked around, only to see a woman standing next to a man, looking positively afraid. He couldn't help but think about his father and all the nonsense that he had put him and Merle through when they were younger. Perhaps if he preoccupied his mind with other people's business, he would be able to keep his mind off of the fragile woman who was now beyond his grasp.

Day 23

God, it had been ages since she had been at nana's place. Aideen had been hoping that her nana would be alive but instead she was greeted with a biter infested town and an empty shell of what her nana had been. Putting down the one woman she looked up to was far harder than putting down her mother, who was a pathetic excuse for a woman. She had spent a good hour mourning the old woman before she decided that it wasn't a good idea to keep the body in the house.

After sucking the blood off of her fingers by accident nearly two weeks ago, Aideen had developed a rather sensitive sense of smell and a particular distaste for seeing biter bodies. She would almost immediately leave after she managed to can one, wanting to get away from the nasty smell as soon as possible. It didn't help that after she killed them, they somehow seemed more human to her. At least, her nana had.

She had been greeted with a snarling old woman, or what had once been a woman. Once she had neutralized the biter it had turned into a badly rotting corpse. There was no longer that eerie, empty look in her eyes nor was there that inhumane growling. Instead she saw an old woman who didn't deserve to become one of those things, someone who deserved to live to a very, very old age. Seventy was definitely not old enough for a woman of her caliber.

Aideen began to browse through her nana's personal items, picking out the things that actually meant something to her. Books that her nana spoke of but she never bothered to read, video tapes that were labeled silly, stupid things. Aideen's first birthday. Crawford-Hyde Wedding. July 4th- Dancing. It seemed that most of the tapes were something related to Aideen or her mother. Not that it was a huge surprise. They were all the old woman had for the longest of time.

A sudden bang brought her back into the moment and reminded her that she was not visiting her nana's place because she wanted to see the old woman or reminisce about times past. She had gone there in an attempt to save her nana from the nasty creatures that were taking the living's place. Aideen sighed, going into her grandmother's room, immediately reaching under the bed, where she knew for a fact her grandmother kept a shotgun.

She used to think her nana was just letting out the crazy southerner within her when she bought the gun for 'protection' but now she found herself thanking her nana for doing so. Aideen clumsily loaded the gun, having forgotten for the most part how her nana had shown her how to do it. But after a few minutes of trying to work it, she finally was able to do it, much to her joy.

It was time for Aideen to try and have a few peaceful weeks to herself in Senoia, without the dozens of biters trying to get to her every moment.

Day 64

Good food, alcohol. Hell, hot water.

The CDC had so much to offer that Daryl had never expect to experience again and he was supposed to be fucking happy about it. He wanted to be happy about the fact that they were living the life right now and whether or not it was temporary, that wasn't really supposed to matter. He was supposed to be thankful that in this god damn apocalypse he got something good out of it.

But the bottle of Southern Comfort had him a little off guard, had his mind wandering in places he had forbidden it from going to and it was threatening to kill him with guilt. He no longer had Merle hanging around him, that dumbass Rick leaving him up on a roof, so he had no one to reassure him that she knew what she was doing, that she was probably fine. Merle hadn't been particularly good at reassuring him, but he had tried.

Standing in the shower, allowing the hot water to envelope him and intensifying his drunken state, he allowed his heart to weigh heavily and his anger to seethe. He had known the woman for a total of four days and she was still on his mind, many, many days later. He still thought of her big gray eyes staring at him, telling him that he was no hero. Seeing right through him and compelling him to reveal something about himself that he didn't want to talk about.

She had just up and left them, like that. It certainly wasn't something that Daryl had been expecting. He had thought that he and Merle were going to have to take care of her, teach her how to hunt and eat some alternative food like squirrels. He wouldn't have admitted to anyone, not even Merle, but he had imagined that she would stay by their sides and that they would become a group. Much like the one he was in now (although he felt the one with Merle and Aideen would have been superior and far less irritating.)

Daryl turned off the shower and teetered out of it, awkwardly using whatever he could to keep his balance. He grabbed a towel he had taken out and wrapped it around himself before going into the room he had. His eyes darted towards the empty bottle of Southern Comfort and he found himself wishing that he more of it. The last thing that he wanted was to remember the black-haired woman in the morning and if he drank enough he could, maybe, induce a blackout of some sorts.

Resigned he threw himself down on the cot he had fetched for himself and closed his eyes, wanting to sleep rather than stay up and think about something that he had no power over.

If there was one thing that he hated, it was being powerless.

Day 39

The more time she had spent in her nana's house, the more she missed her old life. She even found herself missing her mother every once in a while, despite still feeling apathetic towards her mother's choice in life. So she had set out to try and find a new place to stay at, a new home. Staying in Senoia was only going to drive her to insanity, or worse, death. She had been walking for what felt like ages and her feet were getting tired.

Deciding that she deserved a break, she stopped and pulled out a can of green peas. She had tons of cans of food, beans, peaches, tomatoes, pineapple… You name it, she had it! She had been surprised to discover that the stores in Senoia hadn't been raided too badly and the empty houses usually contained some canned goods. Sadly, none of them had the Nutella that she constantly craved.

She awkwardly used the knife she had stolen from the Dixon brothers to attempt to open the can of peas. After a while of struggle the knife slipped, cutting her hand. She drew a sharp breath in pain, grabbing her hand immediately as she let go of the can.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

The amount of force she had been using in the attempt to open the can of beans had created a rather deep gash. She bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep the pain to herself but the sounds escape her lips and the tears were beginning to form and stream down her face.

She let go of the knife in her right hand and she used it to rummage through the bag she had with her. She could have sworn that she had packed bandages with her, but it was hard finding them amongst all the shit she had thought necessary to bring with her to survive. As soon as she began fully frustrated she began using her cut up hand to and she was cussing under her breath, so consumed with anger that she hadn't notice that someone was standing near her, watching as she rummaged through her bag.

"Hey! You okay?"

Aideen quickly pulled her hand out of the bag and grabbed the shotgun she had placed by her side in order to open the can. She flinched slightly as her wound touched the shotgun but she ignored the pain, obviously taken aback by the stranger.

"You just look like you could use some help."

"I'm fine," Aideen retorted, putting down the shotgun and deeming the man harmless. She began to look through her bag again, this time not crying in pain. She couldn't imagine allowing this man to see her cry, to make him think that she needed his help. She had spent two weeks on her own and she was doing just fine on her own. Finally she felt the bandages under her fingers and she pulled it up quickly, waving it so the man could see.

"I can take care of it, see?"

"You could get an infection, you need to clean it," the man said as he approached her.

"Well, I ain't got anything to clean it with, so I guess I'm out of luck," she muttered as she put her things back into the bag. She closed it stubbornly, ignoring the pain in her hand that was poorly wrapped in bandages. She picked up the knife and stood up, making sure that she didn't make eye contact with the man who was beginning to make her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Why don't you come back with me to the farm? The owner's… a doctor," the man said, obviously hesitant.

"A doctor? Why do you sound so unsure about it?"

"Well… He's a vet, but he can take care of that for you."

Aideen paused for a moment, wondering whether it would be worth it to go with this man to the farm. There was a possibility that it meant good food again, maybe they had some sort of power in their area. She wondered whether they were actually going to be safe there. She studied the man, trying to see any indications of what his condition was. He seemed to be in fairly good condition, aside from being heavyset. He didn't look like he was starving and he certainly didn't look like he had to fend off biters every day.

"Alright, I'll let him fix me up," she said, walking towards the man. Allowing herself to be taken care of wasn't that bad, but she told herself that was all she was going to do. Get fixed up and be on her way again. Taking care of herself.

Day 57

It was dark outside but it wasn't difficult to distinguish a dark haired woman sitting on the porch of a rather large house. Her feet were relaxed and she leaned back, supporting herself with her arms as she stared at the sky. She had told herself that she wasn't going to stay at the farm, but here she was, still hanging around the farm, growing to like that people that live there. She had been hesitant about staying at first, even if the young woman, Maggie, seemed to insist on it. The old man, Hershel, had given off the vibe that she wasn't welcome there but eventually he took a liking to her, when she started doing some work around the farm.

She yawned loudly before straightening herself out to rub her eyes. She was always tired but she didn't mind. Most days she would go to bed late and wake up early. Aideen considered herself lucky if she was able to get a few hours of sleep. The nightmares had begun at her nana's place and at first, they had been manageable. She could get back to sleep after waking up from one. Now they were so bad that she could hardly fall asleep in fear of seeing the faces.

It wasn't like she could talk to anyone about it either. They revolved around her former companion, Peter, mostly. She had seen the Dixon brothers take care of him, kill him for her and saving her life. Yet he still came in her nightmares, grabbing her and holding her town. The hairs on her neck stood up slightly, just at the thought of his touch again. She wanted to talk to someone, but then she'd have to tell them about what happened and she was more afraid of how they'd react than what keeping the secret to herself would do.

"Out late again, I see."

Aideen turned her head to see Maggie standing in the door. She shrugged, indicating that it didn't bother her. She watched as Maggie sauntered towards her before taking a place next to her. Maggie was her favorite of the Greene farm residents, by far. She had been the one who welcomed her as if she was one of them, stood up for her when Hershel insisted that she leave and she allowed her to follow her around while they worked on the farm.

"You don't seem to sleep much."

Aideen looked at the woman next to her and caught herself shrugging again. Deciding that she could confide in Maggie with at least some of the information, seeing that the woman was surprisingly understanding, she let out a exasperated sigh. She could already feel a sympathetic vibe coming from Maggie.

"I have nightmares, they didn't used to be so bad before but every night they get worse. Most of the times I don't even want to go to sleep."

"They about the biters?"

Aideen looked at the woman next to her, her eyes searching for some sort of hint that it was okay to admit that to some extent, her nightmares did revolve around the biters. She smiled slightly, realizing that she was being silly. If Maggie didn't like the truth, too bad for her. It didn't matter that much, Aideen had left the Dixon brothers, she might as well leave the Greene family if she had to.

"They're about an… old companion. Peter. He became one early on in the apocalypse. I keep dreaming of him, coming for me to kill me, make me one of them. It's stupid, because I saw Daryl put him down. But he just pops up and he's always so angry at me. It's… terrifying."

She was surprised to find an arm placed on her shoulders and Maggie pulling her closer, her thumb gently stroking her arm as if she were trying to console her. Aideen had left out an important detail and she had meant to tell it to Maggie but this show of sympathy, this feeling of friendship caused her to keep it to herself. She allowed her head to rest on Maggie's shoulder and something strange happened. She began to feel as if she were a little safer, as if her nightmares weren't going to be so bad tonight. At least not as bad as they had been the past few weeks.

"I hope you don't mind me askin'. Who's Daryl?"

Maggie felt the dark haired girl tense up at the mention of the man's name. She had expected her to be more sore about Peter since he was the one she was having nightmares about but judging by her reaction, mentioning Daryl didn't seem like a good idea either. She brushed it off; telling herself that there was no way to take it back now. If Aideen didn't want to answer, she wouldn't and if she did, Maggie would know a little more about this mysterious woman who had been living with them for the past weeks.

"When Peter turned I was in shock. I tried to fight him off but I wasn't having any luck. Daryl and his brother, Merle, they happened to be passing by and they saved my ass from dying that day," Aideen recounted, purposely not going into details into the events. "I traveled with them for a few days but they were heading for Atlanta and I wanted to go to Senoia."

"They didn't want to join you?"

Aideen chuckled sheepishly. "I didn't really ask them. They went hunting one day and I just left without saying anything. I couldn't really risk them trying to stop me or something. Not that I think they would have done it, but better safe than sorry, you know?"

"You must have been pretty dedicated to get to Senoia on your own. Don't think they would have been able to stop you, even if they wanted to."

"I'm not so sure. Things were beginning to get weird."

"Weird?"

"Well, don't ever tell him if you meet him," she tittered loudly at her own comment, knowing that it was impossible for Maggie to meet the man. "But I think I was beginning to like him. I felt happy to be around him." She chuckled once she saw Maggie giving her an are you serious expression. "I know it ain't a big deal to most people but I've never wanted that. I watched my mother depend on a man all her life, a man that was never at home and treated her like shit. I never wanted to become like her. I always thought that every woman who loved a man would become a blabbering idiot. Feeling something for someone like it, it scared me and I didn't want to risk wanting to depend on him."

"There ain't anything wrong with lovin' someone, Aideen. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be with them or wanting them to take care of you. Your mama might have been a fool, but that don't mean you have to be one too. You can love someone without being like your mother, you don't have to run away when you think you might love someone like that."

Aideen smiled at Maggie's words, happy to hear her friend say that. Over the weeks her views had begun to change. In her nana's house she had found countless pictures of a younger nana with her husband and she didn't see any unhappiness or a foolish woman in love. Living with the Greene's she had seen Patricia and Otis together and they showed no signs of dependency (at least not anything serious.) She saw the adorable aura that surrounded Jimmy and Beth.

"Guess it's a little late for that, ain't it?" she said quietly, smiling as she looked up at the Georgian sky to examine the stars.

Day 64

"Man, now that was a good meal!"

Everyone nodded in agreement to Aideen's comment. At the end of the table, Jimmy seemed to be dozing off which wasn't surprising. They had spent a big chunk of the day working on the farm after getting up early and now they had just finished a meal that could easily be classified as a feast. She smiled from ear to ear as she looked at the people who had welcomed her into their home.

The only thing that she would have liked to top it all off with a good beer or two, but she knew that it wouldn't be possible. Maggie had told her about Hershel's trouble with alcohol after she had, unfortunately, mentioned how good a drink would be.

"I'm thinking about heading into town soon. I don't think that any amount of scrubbing can get the stains out of these clothes," Aideen announced, motioning towards the bloodstained shirt that she had been wearing for a long, long time. She had been considering leaving the farm but she had realized that she was beginning to feel as if this place was her home, as if she belonged there with the people. She hoped that they were beginning to consider her to be one of theirs too.

"You're not leaving us!" She was surprised to see that the first person protesting wasn't Maggie, but in fact her little sister.

"No, no! I didn't mean that," Aideen said, laughing slightly. "I want to run out and get some clothes, maybe find some supplies if there is something you need. I just want to get out and stretch my legs a little, you know?"

Hershel nodded in agreement, looking fairly serious. "It would be nice if you could try and get some supplies for us. If you can do so, and promise to return, we can loan you a car." Aideen nodded. She had absolutely no plans on leaving the farm permanently. She smiled, liking the idea of borrowing their car.

"I might set out tomorrow or the day after, get to Senoia, get the supplies, maybe stay at my nana's house, look for more supplies in the morning if I have to." She wanted to retrieve the rest of the things at her grandma's place that she hadn't had room to bring with her earlier, sentimental things that she thought that she would be fine without. Yet knowing that she could go back made her want to retrieve all those useless items.

"Excuse me," she said, standing up and picking up her plate. She tried not to show it, but she was excited to get away from the farm for a little while. While it was a place she enjoyed staying it, a change of scenery was something she would appreciate. A little excitement from killing biters, instead of capturing them like the Greene family did, was something she could see herself enjoying.

A/N: So sorry about no updates. Busy with school and life in general. I'm looking forward to having more time in December, break from University and all! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this update, I personally enjoyed writing it! :)