A/N: Sorry for having taken so long but college has been keeping me very busy and I had some trouble with this chapter. I knew exactly what I wanted to write, just didn't find the words (especially since I'm not a native English speaker) which explains why I'm not happy about this chapter.
Also, when I wrote in the first chapter that my OC had only moved to Florida two years ago, I meant two years before the outbreak not two years from where they are now.
I hope you enjoy this, and please review :)
"The fuck is this," Madeleine grumbled groggily as she woke up. It was still very early, no later than six o'clock. She was blinded by the sunlight the moment she opened her eyes and immediately hid her face beneath her forearm to stop the light. As she was drifting back to sleep, she heard once again the sound that had woken her up.
Snoring. Daryl was snoring. Loudly.
Uncovering her face, she let herself get accustomed to the light before turning around and smacking Daryl with the back of her hand.
He jerked up at once, looking startled like a deer caught in the headlights. This sight was enough to make Madeleine chuckle even though she was still pissed at having been woken up this early.
"The hell was that for," he groaned as rubbed his eyes.
Mady didn't answer right away, instead she propped her face on her elbow, stretching out her legs. She was eyeing him for a long time; noticing how peaceful and even innocent his face looked before being confronted with the shit going on around them, how tousled his hair was, how muscular his arms were…
"You were snoring," she replied, cutting her inappropriate thoughts short, "it woke me up."
"Ma nose's stuffed," he explained, his voice sounding tired, "only fell asleep an hour ago."
"Poor baby," Madeleine mocked him as she sat up, still in her sleeping bag. "Perhaps if you didn't cut the sleeves off your shirt, especially when taking watch, you wouldn't be in this predicament," she taunted. In his defense, he really did look rather ill, his eyes were red and the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than usually. He still looked hot, though.
"It ain't my damn fault, woman," he replied, defending himself. Daryl was freezing and burning at the same time, he couldn't remember the last time he had been sick. Probably before his mother let the house burn down.
Madeleine was rummaging through her suitcase and threw him a pack of tissues which he caught, thankful. She grabbed some clothes before standing up and making her way to the door.
"What are ya doing," Daryl asked, confused by her behavior. She was no longer wearing the pink pajamas, instead, she now sported some black satin pajamas. Even in the apocalypse, she managed to look like the damn First Lady…
"There's no way I'll get back to sleep now, so I might as well do something productive," she said as she opened the door and stepped out. "Try to get some rest, you look like shit," Madeleine whispered as she closed the door behind herself and missed Daryl's surprised look.
She got dressed in the bathroom and when she got back to the common room next to cell block C, Carol was already there.
"You're up early," the middle-aged woman stated as she looked through their stock of food before deciding what she would do for breakfast.
"Daryl's ill, woke me up," she yawned, quickly covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "What can I help you with?"
"Well," Carol started, surprised she was willing to help her, "it's still too early for breakfast so we can start with the laundry," she offered.
"Sounds great," Mady replied sarcastically and Carol repressed a grin.
They had heated some water and were now washing dirty clothes people had brought, in the two basins the group had found some weeks ago and soap bars they had brought back in one of their supply runs.
Carol saw how Madeleine struggled when wringing some garments and couldn't repress a chuckle, "You are not very good at this, are you?"
Mady snorted in amusement, "Nope. We had someone who would do this for us, besides we used washing machines," she explained, as she started rubbing some soap on a pair of very distressed looking jeans, immediately recognizing who they belonged to.
"He should get some new clothes," she scoffed and was surprised when a grin crept over her lips. I'm getting too damn soft, Madeleine thought as she shook her head, getting rid of her thoughts.
"I already told him," Carol smiled, "He's just so very picky when it comes to clothes," she explains and they both laugh. Who would have thought that Mister Survivor cared about clothes?!
They went on with their task, and once they were done, Madeleine hung the clothes on wires that were spread across the room and Carol started breakfast.
"Who were you before this happened," the short haired woman asked after a while.
"Does that even matter now," she replied, as she stood on the tip of toes in order to reach the wires.
"I think it does," Carol simply stated and Madeleine decided to reply. So much time had gone by, she was no longer sure she remembered who she even was.
"I was a college student," the light brown haired woman explained, "forensic science," she clarified.
"Sounds fun," Carol encouraged, thinking about her own daughter who could have grown to be someone like Madeleine if the world hadn't broken.
"Nah, it sounds boring," Mady joked, trying to lighten up the mood when she saw the sad look on Carol's face. "However," she smirked, lowering her voice, "I was rebellious, became a real party queen."
It worked, Carol brightened up, "Must have driven your mother crazy," she teased, a twinkle in her eyes.
"Not really, I started after she died," she answered and Carol gave her a comforting smile, "I did drive my granddad crazy and my father afterwards, too," she was telling the truth, but her voice seemed as if she was joking. That was typical of Madeleine, she didn't like to dwell on the bad things and always covered her sorrow with inappropriate humor.
Time went by quickly and people slowly started filling up in the common room, eating breakfast. Madeleine sat with Carol who told her about her violent husband and Sophia, and how she lost both of them. Mady was starting to like this woman, she might have looked like a common housewife but she certainly had grown a hell lot stronger after shit had hit the fan.
When they were done, Carol filled another plate with food and placed it on a tablet along with some water.
"What's that for," Madeleine asked as she watched Carol do it.
"It's for Daryl, he'll be hungry when he wakes up," she explained and Madeleine nodded. She's very thoughtful when it comes to Daryl, wonder why that is…
Carol then pushed the tablet towards her, and Mady gave her a confused look.
"You bring it up to him," she smiled, her eyes looking mischievous, like she knew something more than Madeleine did.
"No, way. No," Madeleine retorted, as she crossed her arms over her chest, looking like an unhappy child.
However, Carol narrowed her eyes, looking stern and even though she wouldn't willingly admit it, this woman really scared Madeleine.
"Fine," she exclaimed, standing up and grabbing the tablet, "But you owe me!"
When she reached the door that opened to the perch, she realized that she wouldn't be able to knock.
"Oh well," she sighed as she used the curve of her butt to turn the handle. As the door opened, she was met with an unexpected sight.
Daryl was standing up, his back turned towards her. It was muscular yet lean, some tattoo adorning the right side of his back. The rest of the skin, however, sported old looking scars who still looked scary even though they were healed. There was one particular scar on the left, however, that immediately caught her eye: it was smaller than the others and looked recent.
"Nice tats," Madeleine teased him, and he turned around at once, looking flustered and angry.
"Ya should 'ave knocked," he almost screamed at her as he quickly put on a clean shirt, covering himself up.
"My hands were full," Madeleine stated, her voice neutral and she placed the tablet on the mattress. "Carol made you some breakfast."
He didn't respond, in fact, he was still looking highly uncomfortable which was obvious by the rigid way he was standing, avoiding Madeleine's gaze.
She noticed this too and decided it was better to leave him alone, rather than to press the subject further.
"Carol told me she would talk to Rick so that you can be dispensed from your duties today," Mady informed him and Daryl merely grunted his reply.
As she was about to leave, she decided to add something. "Daryl," she called him and he actually turned to face her, his deep blue eyes taking Madeleine aback, "scars are beautiful too, it means you survived," Mady whispered but she was sure that he had heard her.
She then left, silently closing the door.
The rest of the day passed in a hurry considering that she was on fence duty again, with Michonne and Carol this time. The latter actually started gossiping about some people, including Tyreese who seemed to have a crush on some woman called Karen. It seemed so odd to gossip while simultaneously stabbing walkers but it was delightful and after a while, even Michonne joined in, joking about how she had found Glenn and Maggie in a rather compromising position a few days ago.
"So," Michonne drawled, "how is it to sleep next to Mr. Dixon," she teased Madeleine, whose face immediately turned red while her dagger still was inside the skull of a walker.
Carol choked on Michonne's words but couldn't help a side grin when she saw how embarrassed Mady looked.
"Well, he's always grumpy," she complained, pointedly avoiding Michonne's gaze. I didn't know his last name was Dixon, interesting information, Madeleine pondered.
"Well," the katana woman started in a teasing voice, Mady already afraid of what was to come, "perhaps if the both of you did something else than sleep, he'd be less grumpy," she taunted and Madeleine's cheeks felt so warm she thought they might be on fire.
Carol actually started laughing so hard that her knife fell from her grip.
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly thanks to their lively conversations and as dinner time was approaching and the crowd of walkers thinning, Carol decided it was enough for today.
"Wonder what I'll do for dinner," she said as they made their way back inside. The young woman thought that is was rather unfair that Carol was always in charge for the meals even though she seemed to enjoy and was helped by other people.
"I have an idea," Madeleine announced, "you go back inside, I'll be right back."
She opened the boot of her car and quickly found one of the bags she had been looking for. Madeleine didn't actually leave her home in a hurry. After shit had hit the fan, she barricaded herself inside her mansion for many weeks, only going out once to raid a gunsmith and an organic food store. She took everything that fit inside the car and being a single person, she still had a lot of food left.
As she was about to close the trunk, she noticed a familiar black sports bag. She almost went for it but stopped at the last second, the tip of her fingers almost touching the fabric. She bit her lips, thinking about what was inside and Madeleine now noticed how much she had actually missed it since arriving at the prison two days ago.
"I'll come back for you tonight, old friend," she promised, her voice barely a whisper as she shut down the boot.
Carol was thrilled when she saw the amount of food Madeleine had brought in and immediately decided to use the mushrooms. Rick and Hershel had started cultivating an orchard but it was not yet enough to feed their group without outside help.
Dinner passed quickly for Madeleine who sat between Michonne and Carol. The sword lady was going out again tomorrow, all on her own. Ever since the Governor had attacked the prison, she had started tracking him in an intense desire to avenge Andrea's death. Carol told her that Daryl would sometimes accompany Michonne in her hunt.
"I mean, I get why you want to hunt him down," Madeleine stated in between bites, "But why would Daryl want to do it as well?"
"Daryl's brother, Merle, died because of the Governor," Carol explained, a saddened look on her face.
Both Carol and Michonne went silent after that and Madeleine decided not to press the subject further. She guessed the Governor thing was a touchy subject for all of them.
After everyone was done eating, Mady stayed back and helped some people clean the dishes while the majority was already heading inside.
"You're not coming," Karen asked once they had finished their task.
"Nah," she replied, waving her hand dismissively, "I got things to do, stuff."
Maggie had told her that Rick used to talk like this, being all vague and Madeleine found it really funny, coming from someone like him.
When everyone had gone back inside, Madeleine walked towards her car, humming slightly.
She opened the boot, took the bag and retrieved a bottle of champagne. It wasn't cold enough, but it would have to do.
She popped the cork, making as little noise as possible and sat on the ground, leaning her back against one of the car's tires.
"This is for Elisabeth, Caroline, Michael, Gareth" she whispered, raising the bottle in front of her and watching it shine under the moon, "and all the other people whose names I can't remember anymore," she finished, her voice cracking under the emotion before taking a large sip.
Before the outbreak, Madeleine had never drunk alone. She had had her first alcoholic beverage at her sweet sixteen party with her mother's agreement and even encouragement. Anne-Marie was French and had wanted her daughter to grow as a Frenchwoman and that included having her first drink at sixteen as was usual in Europe.
After her mother's death, Madeleine and her friends started throwing parties with all sorts of alcohol. They couldn't really drink in bars and clubs considering that Mady had only turned 21 some weeks after the outbreak. Her grandpa wasn't aware of it and her friends' parents didn't care all that much either, most of them were more absent than present and they compensated this with expensive gifts.
Madeleine's mom hadn't been like that, in fact Mady now remembered, she used to ask her mom to get off her back and to-
"What are ya doing 'ere?" Someone asked, startling Madeleine who choked on her champagne and Daryl sat down next to her, hitting her back gently.
"I hate you," she coughed, her voice still raw from the choking incident. She rubbed her throat gently, warming it up to dissipate the feeling that is always left after choking on something.
He didn't acknowledge her reply, grabbing a cigarette instead and lighting it.
"Didn't take ya for a drinker," he admitted after a while.
"That's because I'm not," she defended herself, pointedly avoiding looking at him which was rather easy considering that he was sitting next to her and that the moonlight wasn't very bright that night.
"That's what they all say."
"Alright, listen up dude," Madeleine vociferated, turning towards and he did the same, probably to tell her to stop calling him that but she didn't give him the chance. "I know you came from a shitty place before shit hit the fan but that doesn't mean everybody is just as fucked up."
This shut him up, the cigarette balanced between his index and middle fingers, consummating itself slowly as he didn't bring it back to lips for a few minutes at least. He turned away from Madeleine but didn't move, staring absentmindedly into the night.
As Mady now reached the lower half of the bottle, guilt was starting to build up inside her. Granted he had pissed her off, but her reaction had been uncalled for.
"You should go back inside," she murmured, "or you'll be even more sick tomorrow."
"I'm fine," Daryl grunted, "and Carol doesn't let me smoke inside 'cause of them kids," he expanded.
"I'm sorry, for earlier," Madeleine apologized, leaning towards Daryl. The tip of his nose was red due to the cold he had caught, his hair was disheveled as always and-
"Oh my god," she yelled, getting up on her feet, "you are so damn stupid, you know that!"
Moments after Madeleine opened the car door, she threw a poncho at Daryl's face, catching him off guard. As he freed himself from the garment, he looked at her questioningly still wondering what that was all about.
"You're already sick, don't make it worse," she shrugged and sat back down next to him. He sighed but put on the poncho nonetheless, feeling ridiculous until he noticed that it smelled of her which made the piece of clothing infinitely more comfortable for him.
"See, you're all pretty now," Madeleine joked, poking him on the ribs and he had to fight really hard not to look amused. He wasn't used for people to take care of him, except for Carol, but then again she was the most caring person he knew.
"Why champagne," he asked her as he saw her empty the last remains of the bottle and lay in on the grass next to her.
"I was going to throw party at my place when shit hit the fan," she answered, sporting a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "The only thing that had already arrived when the outbreak started was the obnoxiously large number of boxes containing this wonderful elixir," she laughed silently and Daryl stared at her like she was the damn weirdest thing he had even seen in his entire life.
"Ya were a party girl," he stated rather than wondered as he noticed that there might more to her than catches the eye. He had already been surprised the previous night when she had told him that she used to be a stripper, something he would never have guessed about her.
"Damn yes, I was," she taunted, leaning towards him, "got into some serious shit, too." He looked as if he was truly enjoying their conversation and Madeleine decided to stretch her luck further, "Were you a troublemaker, too?"
Her question threw him off guard and he wasn't sure why he should even open up to her. She was a total stranger, he had met her in the woods barely a few days ago, for god's sake. "I won't tell if you don't," she whispered in his ear and Daryl thought that considering him what he knew about her, she probably wouldnt judge him.
She was looking all smug, sitting cross legged on the ground like a child who got to hear one more story before going to bed.
"I was with ma brotha once," Daryl started, licking his lips which did not go unnoticed by Madeleine, "he used to have a dealer, ya know. We were in a parkin' lot one night, they were doin' some stuff and I just stood with them, smokin', not really payin' attention, and then the cops just came-"
"Shit," she exclaimed excitedly, "what did you do?" She was biting her thumb nail, staring at him like she was actually captivated by what he was saying. No one's ever looked at me like this before, especially not someone like her, Daryl reflected and he couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious yet happy at the same time.
Her skin was extremely pale under the moonlight and a light breeze made her hair flutter around her face. It was chilly but she wasn't shivering even though she was wearing no jacket over her dress.
"I just ran away," Daryl deadpanned and Mady's disappointed face made him chuckle. "I just ran as long as I could, Merle right behind me."
"What a disappointing ending to your story," she teased him, sticking her tongue out, laughing at his reaction.
"Alrigh' smartass," he taunted back. As he spoke, he realized that he was not used to talking to someone like that. They were joking around but there seemed to be something more than just that, it was almost as if he wanted to impress her. "If ya got a better story, spit it out."
"Listen up badass," she mocks, not even slightly perturbed by his tone, "So, once I went out with my friends to a restaurant and we were all having fun until Caroline's boyfriend came in with some bitch that most definitely was not Caroline." Her tone was light and she was gesturing with her hands, making those funny faces and to Daryl, she just seemed so full of life in a place of death. "They were not alone, there were like six other people with them and there was just three of us. Caroline wanted to make a scene but I told her that we should eat first- Why are you laughing," she blurts out, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.
"'Cause yer priorities are damn weird," he laughed as he lighted another cigarette and she smiled at him before continuing her story.
"Food will always come first," she winked and he felt himself blushing, not sure what game Madeleine was playing. "So then, when we were done eating, the bitch and her female friends went outside to have a smoke and we just followed them. Then shit went crazy, everyone was hitting everyone and I had my high heels in my hands, about to hit the hell out of bitch number two who had just ripped out some of my hair when Caroline opened her coat and took out a knife. A fucking butter knife."
"Yer all crazy," he groaned, shaking his head in disbelief, genuinely amused.
Madeleine laughed, throwing her head back, "Wait till you find out just how crazy I am," she purred, getting all serious once again, looking straight into Daryl's deep blue eyes. "Anyway, someone called the cops. We all got arrested even though it was just a random fight and one butter knife."
Daryl's face cracked up and the mood was light yet teasing after the story. They just went on telling each other their crazy stories: how Daryl got lost in the woods for nine days, how she got suspended from high school a long time ago, how he and Merle got in a fight with a dealer and he ended up throwing up after being punched in the stomach…
The stories they shared made Daryl feel as if there was in common between them than he had previously thought. He always felt ashamed talking about his previous life to Carol or Rick because they had always been proper American citizens and he had just been the typical redneck. But hearing Madeleine's stories, who by the sound of it hadn't always abided by the law, made him feel closer to her than anyone else in his group.
"About earlier," she mentioned after a while, "I meant what I said about the scars, you are a survivor," she murmured.
"We all are," he gruffly replies, avowing her gaze. Being able to go on in this world made all of them survivors.
"Some have got more badass scars than others, though," she whispered, a contagious smile in her voice.
He looked back at her, his hair partially hiding his face and he really looked like a survivor at that moment, like someone who had not just lived but also survived and his scars were merely the proof of the that. There was a moment between the two of them, were they just eyed each other, Daryl looking shy, as his cheeks slightly reddened and Madeleine was just observing him before a smirk came up in her face.
They were sitting rather close to each other and Madeleine leaned towards him, knowing there was no way he would do the first move. When their faces were close, she noticed how his lips were slightly parted and she could literally hear his heart beating. Well, well, well, it is not just me, she contemplated as her smirk grew wider.
As she leaned even closer, she was sure that he could feel her breath against his skin but he didn't move away. Madeleine let her lips brush over the corner of his mouth and she could feel him tense but stay put and she decided to just go for it, turning her head lightly so that her lips were now against his.
She was afraid he wouldn't react or worse, that he would move back, but instead, the hand that had previously held his cigarette moved up and cupped the back of her head.
Reassured, Madeleine's fingers traced his jawline, marveling at its sharpness. Their kiss grew bolder and she nibbled on his lower lip, making him groan. She scooted even closer towards him, almost sitting on his lap as she moved her other hand to his neck and felt him shiver under her touch.
"You should go inside," she breathed against his ear as she slowly ended their kiss, her heart beating frantically.
"What?" Daryl wondered confused, his eyes still partially closed and his voice raspy.
Madeleine was amused by his reaction but still moved away from him, playfully tapping him on his upper thigh which made him draw a rushed breath. "You are sick and cold. You shouldn't be outside, it's chilly," she explained, licking his taste off her lips. It was a mixture of cigarettes and something Madeleine could only describe as raw nature.
He looked as if he was about to say something, but Madeleine narrowed her eyes at him the way Carol had done this morning and Daryl who had been moving closer, immediately stilled in his movements.
"You're not coming," he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper and Madeleine couldn't help but grin, feeling giddy that she wasn't the only who had enjoyed their make-out session.
"Nope," she replied, popping the 'p' and he gave her a disappointed look. "I still have things to do and besides, it's going to be all awkward between us now," she attempted at joking, sticking her tongue out as he got up.
He looked back at her like he wanted to say or do something but he didn't know what, so he just started moving back towards the prison when something slapped his butt and he heard someone giggle behind him.
"This makes date number two," she winked at him and he shook his head, praying that his hair would hide his blushing.
As he walked away, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about what had just happened and a smile crept over his face as he thought back about their kiss. Just hope I won't run into Rick or Michonne on my way back, they wouldn't ever let me forget it if they saw the state I'm in right now, he thought as he opened the door to cell block C.
When Daryl left her sight, she grabbed the second bottle of champagne she had hidden under the car and popped it open, quickly drowning it.
She grinned as thought back to what had happened moments ago. Well, he isn't so damn shy after all, she joked with herself. It was a habit she had grown into after having spent almost a year locked inside her house with champagne as her sole company.
She raised the bottle like she had done with the previous one and whispered, "to all those who aren't dead," before she tipped the bottle back towards her lips and drank it empty. One year ago she would have been tipsy after just one glass, nowadays, one bottle didn't even feel like anything…
Flashback
"So, what are you doing," Gareth asks, his voice all teasing through the phone.
"Trying to put all the champagne inside the fridges," she replies, balancing the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she tries to fit one more bottle inside the already full fridge.
"With or without clothes?"
"Gareth," she reprimands as the bottle falls from its precarious position and breaks in a million pieces on the floor, "I just broke a damn bottle because of you," she says, staring at the mess and wondering how she would clean it. Shouldn't have sent Ms Carrie home for the holidays after all, she reflects as she tries to remember where they even have their cleaning things.
She hears him laugh over the phone before he speaks again, "Don't forget to put one in your bedroom so that we can-"
"Gareth!"
"I know, I know, we're not a couple, you're not girlfriend material and we'll never be together," he repeats the words she has so often told the med student when her phone rings, signaling another call.
"I gotta hang up, my dad's calling," she explains quickly before clicking on the red icon on her screen and takes her father's call.
"Hey dad-", she chants in her sweetest voice.
"Whatever you do, do not leave the house!"