A/N: Critism on how ridiculously long it takes me to update is welcome. But please reserve all sharp objects for next chapter.

Chapter 2

"Where the hell is she?" Daryl hissed. He frantically threw his arms down to the side, drips of fresh squirrel blood falling to the floor. He haphazardly wiped his hands on his already filthy pants, gazing at Merle in panic.

He had just returned from hunting not fifteen minutes ago to see a little girl in a ball on his couch, sound asleep, with no mother in sight. He had run down the hall to check in the bedroom, where Merle lay alone.

Merl sat up, emitting a huge yawn from his mouth, "The dame?"

Daryl's face turned scarlett, "Yes, Merle!" he began to pace back and forth along the side of the bed, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

"Said she needed the toilet," Merle yawned again, cracking his knuckles loudly.

Daryl groaned in exasperation, "She's gone Merle. She left her kid!" Daryl's breathing started to increase. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest like it was going to explode.

Merle tried to act calm, but Daryl could see the surprise flashing in his eyes, "Calm down, bro," Merle scoffed, "She's gotta be around here somewhere."

"I checked everywhere," Daryl exclaimed, and he had. In the yard and kitchen and the bathroom and the cellar and even under the couch in a desperate attempt to find her. "She left a baby here!"

\

His older brother snorted, "Ain't no baby, gotta be at least ten.". Daryl felt like he could scream. "Merle, we gotta find 'er..." he trailed off, feeling a deep, throbbing ache set into his temples.

"I'll tell you what yer gonna do," Merle said finally, slinging his feet over the side of the bed, "yer gonna take that brat down to the bus station." Dary raised his eyebrow quizically before it all started to make sense...

"If she wanted outta town," his big brother verbalized his thought for him, "that's the only way she left."

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Daryl stared straight ahead, straight out the windshield, trying to ignore the fact he had a small child riding shotgun, who kept glancing at him with big, green, scared doe eyes. Like he was some kind of monster.

Delilah picked at the ratty blanket draped over her lap, for some reason she had brought it with. It wasn't hers, but the faint warmth it provided was all she had now. Now, she didn't even have a mom.

Daryl tweaked the dial on the radio; he usually enjoyed the silence, but not ones like this. Not the uncomfortable ones. He wanted nothing more than to pull up to the bus stop and kick this girl out of his truck. Then he could drive home and he and Merle could go about their lives the way they needed to be gone about. The way it always had been.

"And here's another announcment from the Centers of Disease Control," the radio MC said. Daryl snorted and turned it off. Those announcements had been playing all week. A flesh eating disease or some shit, they'd say. To him, it just sounded like another scheme put on by the government to get people to buy into those expensive shots. And worst of all, some people were dumb enough to be fooled like that.

Meanwhile, Delilah started out the window at the bunches of budding dandelions, standing straight and proud with their bright yellow tops towards the Sun. They whipped past her in a beautifully bright blur.

"Aren't dandelions pretty?", Delilah said finally, hesistantly. She watched for the man's response from the corner of her eye.

The man shrugged, "'S just weeds."

Daryl Dixon pulled up to the bus stop and flung his truck door open, his feet touching the ground before he realized one crucial fact.

There was nobody there.

Behind him he hear a faint, high pitched gasp, but he couldn't turn around. All he could do was stare at the empty void where her mother was supposed to be standing. She was supposed to be there. Daryl's chest dropped into his stomach and his stomach did all but hit the pavement. He stood like that for awhile, frozen physically and mentally. Finally, a single thought crept into his mind.

What the fuck happens now?

A/N 2:

Thank you tons for the Favs and Follows: melniewn, Eponyme Anonyme, ErinGoesRawr, Idriss Pukka, and crystal2817

and thank you to Eponyme Anonyme for the constructive review.

My apologies if I missed anyone!