Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys keep me going!

Sorry for the late update. Life got crazy!

Atlanta

Once the cars were inside and the gates were closed, everyone exited and headed towards each other. Rick's group was weary; their hands no far from their weapons and their eyes searching the area as if there was hidden snipers on top of the buildings.

Well, there was, but that wasn't the point.

"C'mon," Jack waved them over as he headed towards the front building where two large glass doors stood. It was the front entrance, where they went to unpack their findings. A few of the helpers would put them away, give items to the people who needed them – or requested – and packed the food away in the pantry. They had a good little system going and everyone had a job to do, even the children.

Darcy walked ahead of them all, just wanting away from the group and most of all, the redneck who seemed to be watching everything with an expert gaze. It was like he was trying to see any secrets they had and it made her feel uncomfortable. It made her feel like he could uncover everything with just a single glance.

Not that they had anything to hide. They honestly were the good people. She just didn't like the idea that he could look at her like that and figure her out. It made her feel vulnerable.

She pushed open the doors when she reached them, one hand on each. When they opened to a certain point, they stiffened and stayed open so she didn't have to worry about holding them open for the people behind her.

She immediately began her usual route and walked over to the front desk where an old man nicknamed Jabby stood. The idea of a receptionist was a laughable one in this day and age but it was surprisingly a much needed role when you ran your own safe-zone.

People would often need someone to speak to – whether it was to ask for advice or to request an item on the next run, or even make a suggestion – which was why they placed Jabby there.

Jabby was a fifty-seven year old man with a wife and no kids, and he could also talk for hours on end if you let him. He was too old to be placed out on runs and he hadn't a clue when it came to cooking or gardening or cleaning. So the role suited him damn well.

"G-good to see you're back home and safe, Darcy," Jabby smiled at her warmly, his voice shaking slightly. "What h-have you got for us this time I wonder?"

She couldn't help but smile back at him as she removed her AK from her shoulder and placed it on the desk. Jabby took it, ready to be loaded in the armoury for later. Only the patrols and look-outs were allowed to carry guns – a lot less accidents that way. Untrained civilians weren't allowed any kind of weapon whereas people like Darcy – not quite military but not your average untrained civilian – was allowed to carry a knife. Mostly just in case there was an outbreak and they needed as many people as they could to help.

"Just crap this time, Jab," she told him, leaning her elbows on the desk. Behind her, Jack and Jacob entered, allowing Rick, Tyreese, Glenn and Daryl in behind them.

"Welcome to our home." She heard Jack tell them proudly.

"Dear, nothing you find is crap," Jabby chuckled, pulling out a sticky pad and noting down that the AK had a broken strap which would need to be repaired. He stuck it on the side of the gun. "Nowadays, everything is gold."

"Very deep." She nodded with an amused smile.

Jabby breathed out a chuckle. "I h-have my moments."

"Here ya go, Jabby." Jacob said before lifting the rucksack's onto the counter. He patted the top of them.

Jabby picked them up one-by-one before placing them onto the floor next to him. "I'll get the girls on it." He was referring to the girls who sorted out the stuff and put it in its right place. "Found more folks?" he guessed, flicking his head towards Rick's group.

"Uh," Jack chuckled, wiping the back of his hand along his forehead. He exchanged a look with Rick. "More like they found us." He corrected and the two men shared a smile.

Rick turned to Jabby and walked forward, offering his hand. "My name's Rick Grimes." They shook.

"You've got a s-strong handshake, Rick," Jabby told him with a nod. "I like that in a man."

Darcy used her hand to hide her smile. She could totally think of a gay joke to go with that but she didn't think Jabby would appreciate it so she kept it to herself. She couldn't help but peak at Jack though, to see if it might have occurred to him as well. When she found his own eyes twinkling with amusement, she knew that it had, and she covered her laugh with a cough.

"Thank you, sir." Rick replied respectfully. He let go of his hand and gestured behind him where his group stood. "This Glenn, Daryl and Tyreese."

"Nice to m-meet you." Jabby told them before eying Daryl's weapon. "That's a Stryker, right?"

Daryl looked taken back for a moment, as if he hadn't expected to be spoken to, but he soon recovered with a curt nod. "Yessir." He confirmed politely, the crossbow resting side-ways in his arms.

Jabby gave him an approving smile. "I enjoyed a good crossbow before…well, you know." He waved a hand around.

Daryl have him another curt nod and repeated, "Yessir." quietly.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence and Darcy chose that moment to make her exit. "See you later, Jabby." She said before pushing herself away from the counter.

"Bye, d-dear."

She managed to avoid Rick and his group for most of the day. She'd see them around but would purposely distract herself, making herself look busy so they didn't feel like approaching her.

She didn't like being rude – it wasn't how she was brought up – but she just wanted them gone already. Sure, they were good people and it would be a good idea to keep them as allies but she didn't want to have to be around that Daryl guy.

So she chatted to people she hadn't spoken to in a while, using the 'we need to catch up' excuse, and she even helped out with a few of the chores. Anything to keep her busy until they left.

But then dinner time came around and she realized that they were staying to eat, most likely for the rest of night.

And as she placed the food on her tray, she wished that she'd skipped the meal altogether when she heard Daniels call out her name.

Great, she mentally sighed, picking up her plate and turning around with a fake smile on her face. She saw that they were all sitting at one of the larger tables and Jack was waving over to her.

Damn you and your thoughtfulness, she grumbled to herself as she headed over to them. She had to dodge the busy table and chairs and she could barely hear herself among all the chatting around her.

Slipping between another pair of chairs, she finally reached the table and greeted them with a "Hey guys," – which she hoped sounded cheery – before taking the only seat which was left available.

And of course, that seat was the one between Daryl and Jack.

Gah.

Her luck sucked.

Placing her tray on the table, she mentally winced when her arm accidentally brushed against Daryl's and she glanced over at him, giving him an apologetic smile before quickly looking away once more. It felt awkward and she found herself desperate to say something, so she blurted out the first thing that came to her:

"How'd you like our home so far?" she hated the way her voice sounded. It reminded her of one of those over-the-top nice and chatty girls who could talk for America. And from the way Rick raised his eyebrows, he just have noticed too.

Double gah.

Stupid nerves making her say stupid things.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid-

Rick nodded as he chewed and swallowed his food. "It's…impressive." He answered approvingly. He scooped up another spoonful of beans and rice before questioning, "It might be stupid to ask but…how'd you guys come across this place?"

"We were based here." Jack answered for both him and Jacob. "Captain Mayweather runs this joint. Made it what it is."

Rick breathed out a laugh, looking rather sheepish. "This is a lot of names to remember." He said in a tone which suggested that he'd forgotten half of them already.

Jacob also laughed and reached over, patting Rick's back. "Don't worry, man. I barely know anyone's name here either. I just call the chicks 'honey' and the men 'dude'-"

Jack punched his shoulder with an amused face. "Shit, man, at least try and look professional." He told him jokingly. "You're gonna make us look bad." They shared a laugh.

"So, Darcy, what did you do before all this?" Glenn questioned, using his fork to gesturing around them.

She went to frown before realizing that Glenn hadn't been there when Rick had asked the very same question. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him the same damn lie which she gave everyone else when Jacob cut her off.

"She worked as a phone sex operator, huh, Darce?" Jacob told them with a shit eating grin.

For a moment her mouth went dry, her heart skipped a beat and she panicked. How the fuck did Jacob know? Had Jasmine told him? Was he freakin' psychic? But then he winked in her direction and a weird sensation ran through her when her heartbeat returned to normal.

Crisis averted. He was only teasing.

Thank fuck for that.

Next to her, Jack snorted in his seat. "Yeah, she spent her evenings talking to horny men. Made a pretty penny too." He said, going along with the joke.

Jacob overly nodded, pointing his fork in her direction. "It's why her and Jack are always at it. She's a kinky one. Y'all know what them slutty phone operators are like-"

Everyone took it as a joke, and Glenn's face was freakin' hilarious, Darcy had to admit, but there was one person on the table who didn't take the joke very lightly.

Daryl.

"Ain't a slut jus' 'cause they need to make a livin'," Daryl growled at him, his accent thicker. "Ain't different from any other job. Or maybe y'all too dumb to realize the difference?" he spat before he seemed to freeze, and it was like he suddenly realized what he'd just done because his express changed to something painful before he pushed himself away from the table and stood up, making a bee line for the exit.

Their table was surrounded with awkward silence and Darcy couldn't help but wonder what made Daryl angry like that. She doubted that it was because Jacob joked about her being a 'slut'; she doubted that he'd done it to defend her. Daryl had been there when Rick asked what Darcy did for a living and Darcy told them both that she worked at a call centre. So Daryl knew that Jacob had been joking.

Wait…or had Daryl stormed off before Rick had a chance to ask? Geez, this guy likes to make an exit. It was possible that he'd already left when Rick had asked before, which meant that maybe Daryl didn't know that Jacob was only fooling around.

So did that mean he did get angry and defended her? Or maybe he felt the need to defend someone else? Maybe his Mom had run a phone sex line? Or maybe a sister? Hell, maybe even a girlfriend.

She got lost in her thoughts as they all talked about why Daryl reacted the way he did, and Tyreese went after him before Jacob told Glenn that he was only joking. She just couldn't help but wonder if her Daryl would have reacted the same way. Would he have defended her like that?

Hell-to-the-yes he would have, she knew.

She felt the urge to go outside, where Daryl and Tyreese stood, and talk to Daryl about his past. Maybe ask him questions. She wanted to know why it had been such a sore subject for him.

But she decided to leave it, knowing that if he'd just done it because he was in a mood and wanted a reason to snap at someone – hey, male PMS existed, she knew – then she'd sound like a crazy person if she tried to make something out of nothing.

Still...his arms sure did look sexy as he walked away.

Oh yes sir-ry.

After they finished eating, Darcy headed back to her room. Jack had stopped her and whispered in her ear, asking her if she wanted to spend the night with him in a tone of voice which let her know that if she accepted, they wouldn't be doing any sleeping.

So much to his disappointment, she declined. She still felt guilty about thinking of another man while his fingers pleasured her – she couldn't trust that she'd end up doing the same while they had sex.

Slut. She told herself, knowing she deserved it. Her ex always had said that something was wrong with her. Looks like he'd been right all along.

She headed into her small sleeping quarters and closed the door behind her. It wasn't too bad; it was bigger than most of the rooms since it was for families who slept on-site with their loved one. She only had the room because she had a roommate. If it was just her, she'd have been stuck in a room that was hardly even considered a room – it was more like a cupboard.

"Hey, sweetie." Her roommate called out from her room, voice muffled slightly from the door which separated them.

"Hey, Mom." Darcy called backed. "I'll speak to you in the morning, yeah? I'm goin'a bed. Love you!" She called out quickly before her Mom could ramble on about how happy she was that she was safe.

She quickly slid into her room before removing her clothes – leaving her in her underwear – and climbing onto the bed. She didn't bother getting under the covers – just laid face down on top of them.

"When did everything get so damn complicated?" she huffed to herself, voice muffled as she thought about her situation with Daniels. He'd want answers, she knew, but she wasn't sure she was ready to give them yet.

'You see, Jack, that Daryl guy reminds me of this guy I kinda used to love. I never met him but we phone sexed. A lot. And yeah…I loved him but never told him and then the world ended before I got to meet him, and his name was Daryl so I'm kinda frustrated at the moment since Rick has a Daryl on his team and it keeps reminding me of my Daryl, you see? Oh, by the way, the other night when you were rubbing my clit and making me cum, I thought of the times me and Daryl would phone sex and he'd make me orgasm so hard I thought I was flying.'

She bit at her cheek. Somehow, she didn't think that would go down too well.

Releasing a low moaning into her pillow, she deflated into the bed and tried to push all thoughts from her mind. All she wanted right now was to sleep.

On their way out of town, they stopped at a gas station. It was a low-price one which was practically abandoned and no one really used it, much less knew it existed, which is why it was one of Jasmine's favourite places to go.

Darcy paced outside of the car, phone held up to her ear as she attempted to reach Daryl. Sadly, the call didn't connect and she sighed heavily, disappointment filling her heart once again.

And the suddenly, the phone rang in her hand.

Daryl.

Her heart jumped with joy and it barely had the chance to chime once more before she answered it.

"Ya didn't answer ya phone. Tried callin' ya a second ago." Was his greeting to her, sounding worried and out of breath.

She choked out a small laugh. He was okay! "Uh, yeah, probably cause I was trying to call you."

"Oh." That didn't seem to offer him much comfort. "Look, Darcy, ya need to get somewhere safe. The worlds gone fuckin' crazy."

The panic in his voice only made her panic worse. "I know," she told him, glancing around her to make sure nothing was sneaking up behind her. "I-I saw it." Her throat tightened.

"Shit, you're okay, ain'tcha? Didn't getcha self bit?" his voice was full of worry. "Tell me you're alright, Darce."

She nodded even though he couldn't see. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She reassured him. "W-what about you?"

"'M fine."

"Good." She breathed, glancing around and looking into the shop window where Jasmine stood, talking with the owner. Darcy rolled her eyes. "Now is not the time to be makin' conversation, Mom." She mumbled under her breath.

"Huh?" Daryl questioned, confused as fuck.

She mentally face-palmed. "My Mom's paying for gas. I'm waiting outside." She offered as a weak explanation, hoping that she didn't sound completely bonkers.

"Are ya fuckin' stupid? Standin' outside on ya own? Fuck, Darcy." His voice was angry now. "Ya try'na get yourself killed?"

She suddenly felt like a child being told off. "No, I was just waiting with Alec." She told him, turning around and looking into the back window of their car. Alec had been bitten while they were loading the car. The mark was on his hand but seemed to affect his whole body. Looking down at herself, she almost threw up at the blood which coated her shirt from the infected person they had to kill in order to get it to let go of Alec. "He's bit. I didn't want to stay in the car with him," most because he was honestly scaring her with his groans of pain – they reminded her too much of the infected people. "But I can't just leave him-"

"Fuck Alec," he spat. "If he's been bit, he's dead anyways." She opened her mouth to tell him that he was being harsh but he continued, cutting her off. "Look, ain't got a whole lotta time."

She frowned, wondering what he meant. "Is your battery running out?" she guessed.

He ignored her. "Jus' listen to me. I want'cha to come meet me." It sounded like he was running now.

Her eyes widened in shock. That was the last thing she expected to hear from him. "W-what?" she choked out.

"In Atlanta - there's an evac. Me n' Merle are goin'. Want'cha to meet us there, a'ight? I'ma keep you safe."

It occurred to her in that moment just how serious this outbreak was. Evac's? The abandoned houses that they'd passed? Abandoned streets? How the fuck had it gone from a few infected people to towns being raided and left behind within just a few hours?

"But ya gotta stay away from cities. Try'n take the back-roads." He was shouting now, sounding like he was in trouble. "Make sure ya take supplies, and Darce, ya gotta-" silence.

Confused and scared, she glanced down at her phone and saw the 'No signal' sign blinking at her. "What?" she whispered in confusion, glancing up at the lit-up signs which sat above the gas station. The electricity couldn't have gone down or the lights would have turned off…right?

Unless they had a generator, she supposed.

Gulping, she saw her Mom walking out of the shop and heading towards her.

"You alright, sweetie?" Jasmine questioned her worriedly.

Darcy nodded before snapping out of whatever fear-trance she was in. "Mom, I know where we've gotta go."

Jasmine looked hopeful and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Oh?"

"We've gotta get to Atlanta."

Thanks for reading! :)!