Author's note: Thank you everyone for the follows and the reviews :) I truly appreciate it. I will try my best to update this story frequently. I have a fair chunk of it written, and I'm not sure how long I want to take it to, so bear with me :) Lot's of love, xo


"Craft beer," Aaron said, with a forlorn look on his face. "And wings. Lots of sauce."

Ellie smiled, and nodded as she dug through her bag for her water bottle. She unscrewed the lid and took a long slow sip, savoring the crisp liquid as it traveled down her dry throat. She leaned against the thick tree trunk behind her, and sighed, as she shifted weight off her sore foot.

They had been trekking through the woods most of the day, through miles of forest, dense in places, the forest floor covered in leaves and branches and ferns. They had to pick their way through at times, slowly for Ellie's sake, taking each step carefully and measured. The men stopped regularly, though Ellie never once asked for a break, after her slow start to the morning. She had woken with raging nausea and a headache, fighting dizziness as she adjusted to being upright after her fall. She silently trudged along behind them, her pace slow and deliberate as she tried to put as little weight on her foot as possible. Aaron often dropped back and walked beside her, chatting with her about nothing in particular. Daryl walked ahead, alone, scouting out easier tracks, and backtracking to them to lead them through less dense areas.

She got the impression he was more comfortable in the lead. He naturally isolated himself; he was quiet where Aaron was not, but she did not once think he wasn't paying attention. She felt he was aware of everything being said, and everything not being said. She could feel his eyes on her, when he would circle back, assessing her. For what she wasn't entirely sure, but she could tell he was looking for cracks in her stamina. All that did was give her more drive to move; it was almost like a challenge she was meeting, to prove her worth.

"Pizza," Ellie contributed, smiling at the thought. "I can almost taste it."

The game had started simply. What do you miss the most? Aaron's attempt at getting her to open up, to learn more about her. There was no mention of family, or friends, pets, anything loved or cherished. Just life's simple pleasures. Daryl would shake his head from time to time, merely shrugging his shoulders when Aaron would prod him for a contribution. He didn't miss anything, he'd say, didn't matter anymore.

"Black and white movies." Aaron countered.

"Oh yes! Roman Holiday, Holiday Inn, The Wizard of Oz!" Ellie exclaimed, sighing as she leaned against the tree, closing her eyes. The sun was beginning to set, dim light hitting the forest floor, casting shadows and deepening colors. She gently rotated her sore ankle, trying to ease the ache in her calf muscle, when she felt someone grab her foot to hold it still. She gasped and looked down to see Daryl, kneeling in front of her, her foot in his hands along with two sticks and a couple of shoe laces.

"You've been limping bad for the last couple hours," he mumbled softly, as he created a makeshift splint for her ankle, carefully wrapping the laces around her ankle after placing the sticks on either side of her foot. She tried to keep her balance by leaning against the large tree trunk, wobbling slightly on her good leg.

"Th…thanks." She replied, caught off guard by the gesture. His touch was gentle as he manipulated her ankle. "I should have thought of that earlier."

"No problem," he shrugged off her gratitude like it were nothing, gently placing her foot on the ground. She hesitantly put weight on her foot, and nodded at him when it held her weight. She had subconsciously put her hand on his shoulder to steady herself, quickly drawing it away and apologizing awkwardly, a flush travelling up her cheeks.

"Here." Aaron said, breaking the awkward silence, handing her two Tylenol. He held his hand open to her until she took them, though she tried to refuse, he would not be swayed. "Should we make camp here?" he asked Daryl, turning to face him. Daryl drew his lip between his teeth and nodded as he moved away from Ellie.

"What was your favorite movie?" Aaron asked Ellie, as they swiftly set up camp, independently taking up jobs, working quietly in unison.

Ellie smiled to herself as she tried to remember. So many things from before had faded into nothingness, no longer relevant in any way. Parts of her, the things that made her who she was, gone. She was just another wandering, living being now. Not much different from the dead really, most of her personality stripped away from two years alone and isolated.

"White Christmas," she said, smiling softly, her gaze softening. "I used to watch it every year with my Gramps, it was his favorite Christmas movie. He always used to say Rosemary Clooney reminded him of my Gram."

"You guys were close?"

"He raised me," she replied, nodding her head, her voice going dry. "He used to take me fishing, camping, taught me so much. Taught me how to shoot a bow." She smiled as she reminisced about her Gramps, memories of him soothing like a warm bath.

"A good man," he said, observantly. "Took you in? What happened to your parents?"

Ellie cringed, and shook her head.

"Didn't want me."

"I'm sorry." He offered, as he handed her a can of soup off the fire. She sat back and accepted it, wrapping her hands in her jacket sleeves to keep from burning them.

"S'alright," she shrugged, taking a sip of the hot liquid. "My mom had some drug issues, basically chose coke over me, which is fine I guess. Wouldn't have been a good scene to grow up in. Don't know who my dad is. Doesn't matter really. My Gramps was there for me, made sure I had a good life. Can't complain, things could have been a lot worse." She said indifferently as she slowly sipped on the hot liquid.

Daryl sat quietly across the fire, his hooded gaze watching her as she talked, her demeanor detached. He noticed she curled into herself as she explained her story to Aaron, drawing her knees into her chest.

"Any siblings?" Aaron asked as he settled in near her.

Ellie shook her head, her gaze focused on the fire. "You?"

"No, I was an only child. I'm sure that's something my mom was extremely disappointed by. I was not the example of a child she had been hoping for. Definitely not stereo-typically straight enough for her liking." He said with a smirk. "I think everything about my personality scared her. She wanted a boy who would go play football and get bruised and dirty, and I just wasn't that kid. She tried very hard to make me manlier, not quite sure it had the results she was hoping for," he added, with a sharp laugh.

"I'm sorry," Ellie offered, looking at Aaron softly.

"S'alright," he said, mimicking her earlier comment. "She did her best, I suppose. And I'm alright now. I'm making it. Maybe she'd even be proud," he added, smirking at the thought.

"I bet she would."

"Your Gramps?"

"He'd like you. He believed in people too. Even believed in my mom, for a long time. Didn't want me going to foster care, in case she cleaned up and decided being a parent was a legit thing she could commit to. I told him all the time that was ridiculous, but that was his girl, she would get it together. I knew, I always knew. He would have been disappointed in me. I gave up, on people, a long time ago."

"I don't think you've given up entirely." Aaron noted, as he stoked the small fire. "You're here, aren't you?"

Ellie nodded, and contemplated his words. She brought her gaze up, and met Aaron's blue eyes, smiling softly. "Thank you." She whispered. Her gaze traveled to Daryl, who was watching the fire intently, eating in silence. His eyes flickered to her briefly and she smiled at him. "Thank you both."

Daryl sat quietly across from them, his eyes on the fire as he ate in silence, listening to their exchange. He could hear the struggle in Ellie's voice as she talked, sensing her hesitation about her choices. He wondered about the things she wasn't saying. Silence enveloped them all for a while as they let the quiet rustling of leaves and the crackle of the fire overtake their senses, settling in for night and getting comfy.

Ellie broke the silence a while later with a deep sigh, before resuming her list with Aaron.

"Google," she said, letting out a long, lamenting sigh.

"Shit that's a good one," he replied, laughing softly.