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He sighed and slung his bow over his shoulder, he continued walking, every step on full alert; Maggie followed close, she was in his world now, Daryl was a tracker and no one knew the great outdoors better than he did.
"About before, that stuff with you and Glen, what was that Daryl?" he shrugged and focused on the expanse of wilderness ahead "weren't nothin', just two red blooded men havin' a disagreement is all..." he hesitated suddenly and placed his left arm in front of her, trusting his instincts Maggie silenced and stopped.
Happy the noise he had heard wasn't immediate danger Daryl continued, shifting his crossbow further onto his shoulder "that's the problem with you women! Ya like to make somethin' outta nothin', damn feminine ways"
The cracking branch brought the crossbow from his shoulder, he poised it steadily in front of them, his left arm once again shooting out, forcing Maggie behind him; she felt infuriated, there was no place for sexism now, men and women had the same rights, they were capable of the same actions... this didn't however stop Daryl from thinking he could bust protective moves at every sign of danger.
Maggie had just prepared to voice her frustrations when the arrow shot out, penetrating the skull of the walker, Daryl turned to look at her and winked, his voice lowered "the fun keeps on comin' huh?"
Maggie rolled her eyes and pushed his arm away, storming ahead as she turned to face him just briefly "fun seems to surround you, Daryl, I guess you just..." her words cut short as he shouted her name, Maggie smelt the rotting flesh before she felt it, her body convulsing as the arms latched on to her shoulders, the sound of desperate hunger beating down against her neck; Daryl raced forwards, the crossbow thrown to the ground as he pulled his dagger from its holster on his hip, Maggie felt the body go limp behind her and she allowed herself to breathe once more, her chest rising and falling heavily; she could hear his voice, it echoed around her but she couldn't focus on one word, he bent down, his eyes level with hers "Maggie! Can ya hear me? Maggie? MAGGIE?" The world came back into view and she took comfort in the warmth of his hands as they held a tight grip against her forearms, strands of hair hung over his eyes but she still felt them searching her deeply and entirely "what the hell were ya thinkin'? ya don't turn your back, Maggie! Not for one second! Christ! You could of... I could of..."
She swallowed back the tears that threatened "you could of what?"
"Lost ya! I could'a lost ya, Maggie! That can't happen! I can't lose you!" her body still trembling at what was a very threatening situation but the closeness of Daryl sent a wave of calm over her and she realised something... he hadn't moved! He hadn't jumped back and put that distance between them again, in fact... his stare was so intense Maggie was the one feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Maggie was reminded of the first time she had laid eyes on Daryl Dixon; the situation hadn't been dissimilar to the one she had just found herself in.
Hershel packed his daughters up in the truck, they rushed to grab just a few things and Maggie had jumped in the seat next to her father and suddenly sprung back out again. "Maggie!? What are you doing? Where are you going? They're coming, Maggie!"
Her little sister Beth's voice drifted behind her and she sprinted back towards their home, their family home; the place both her and Beth had been born, and her father, and his father and his father's father; Hershel had once stated he would never leave this place, but now... here they were, fleeing without a seconds thought.
Her feet pounded up the stairs as she took them two at a time, her breath caught in her throat as she burst through the room she shared with Beth, she turned the dresser upside down, her hands scrambling over its surface, knocking over trinket pots as she went; she felt her heart skip a beat as the sound of the car horn exploded through the heavy silence, it was that moment that she felt it, her fingers came into contact with the silver chain and she drew it to her mouth, kissing it softly before shoving it into her jean pocket.
Maggie's mother had worn the necklace every day that she lived and Hershel had betroved it to his eldest daughter following her mother's death.
She gasped as she reached the top of the stairs, her exit was blocked, they piled through, every rotting corpse pushing into the one in front, their blood stained mouths parting with the desperation for fresh meat, human meat.
Maggie hadn't had close contact with the Walkers, the seclusion of the farm had allowed her family a certain peace but the herd had made its way towards them at sunrise.
The first of the walkers dropped suddenly, Maggie broke from her moment of shock, the voices screamed frantically, orders flying about and all she could do was watch; the first of the men swapped his crossbow for a knife, raising his arm he slid it into one, two, three skulls, each seeming easier to penetrate than the last; she noticed his steely gaze, the dirt that covered his face only clearing as sweat dripped over his forehead and onto his neck.
The second man appeared just as quickly, the first thing she noticed about him was the Sheriffs hat that donned his head, she probably should have thought it strange, but somehow nothing seemed strange anymore, not when the dead were rising and cannibalising the human race, spreading their disease like an epidemic.
He took her wrist, dragging her along with him, she couldn't work out how her legs were moving, how her body allowed her to continue forwards but this stranger wanted her to live, he wanted to lead her to some kind of safety, and that is just what he did; Daryl along with Rick saved their lives and took them in, accepted them as part of their group, made them part of their family.
And here he was again, wanting her to live, keeping her safe but the whole time all she could think of was the nagging doubt over her relationship with Glen.
Her hand found its way towards his cheek, her fingers tracing over the faint but very obvious scar that travelled down the left side of his jaw; He shrunk back into his shell, flinching at the feel of her slightly calloused fingers as they made contact with his jaw "whatt'a ya doin'? why'd you do that?" he shied away from her, his eyes knitted together and his shoulders squared in a defensive manor.
"What? What did I do wrong Daryl? I know you're not overly familiar with affection but, Jesus... what happened to you as a kid?"
He turned away from her, his body rigid, Daryl had always dreaded someone asking questions about his childhood, it was a disturbing and dark part of his past that he chose to keep locked away, buried deep inside his head; and the last thing he wanted was some female thinking she could poke around in there, get him to 'open up' and deal with his emotions! That bullshit was for pussies.
"Better get back to the others, I ain't in the mood for huntin' now!" she clung onto his arm, her breath caught in her throat as she called his name weakly "Daryl... wait!"
"What the hell you want from me, Maggie?" his face flushed with rage, he shook his hair from his eyes violently and stared good and hard at her, he approached her suddenly, the earlier distance once more forgotten "ya think I'm gunna spew all the shit that happened to me? ya think I wanna talk about how my daddy beat me and my whore of a momma chucked me out when she had a new scum bag to blow?"
Maggie swallowed slowly, despair building up inside her, an aching in her chest caused her to clutch against it.
He poked a finger against her shoulder "Aint gunna happen, Maggie! Now let it go!"
Glen rushed over to her, his arms surrounding her and once more she felt completely suffocated "Rick wants me to go with him, Maggs, we're gunna go check out this prison, y'know? The one he spoke about..."
She pulled back and searched his face, her recent brush with death and rare moment with Daryl had taken the wind out of her and she found herself struggling to concentrate on anything Glen said.
"Maggie? Did you hear me? Does that bother you? we'll be gone a day, maybe two... that alright?" it almost seemed like he wanted her to say no! He wanted her to beg him to stay, to stay within her sight, where she knew he was safe.
Maggie had kept Beth close the day Daryl and rick brought them back to the group, she didn't trust anyone, human or the walking dead! 'walkers' as they called them; she especially hadn't trusted Shane, something about the way he stared at Beth unnerved her.
"want me to show you round?" Glen had jumped into her vision, his gentle smile instantly setting her at ease, he was like a blanket of warmth in the cold, he felt safe; and not in the way that Daryl had, not a dangerous safe... just safe.
It hadn't taken long for Maggie to give Glen a part of her heart, he was easy to fall for, easy to love; it wasn't a challenge or hard work but that's what Maggie needed, she craved comfortable, easy love.
She smiled softly and cupped his jaw with her hand, Glen's skin differed to Daryl's "No, I don't mind... you've gotta do it! For the group"
Glen nodded and kissed her forehead briefly "We're leaving soon, I'll say goodbye before I go" She watched him walk away and her heart felt heavy; She worried that perhaps that easy comfort wasn't something she wanted now.