They're back! And I made up my mind on who Michelle gets with. Just don't expect me to tell you who :)

Oh and I didn't feel like killing anyone just yet. I liked the characters too much.

Don't worry, I'll kill people later. *devilish grin*

Anyway, Reviews are welcomed and appreciated as always :)

The truck came to a stop and Lainie and I jumped out enthusiastically. A man in a Sheriff's uniform approached with a confused look to our driver, Daryl.

"Daryl? Who's-"

"Hi, officer!" Lainie beamed and shook his hand. "My name's Alaina. That's my mom. Daryl saved our lives."

"Did he now?" Another man stepped forward next to the sheriff. Daryl rolled his eyes and walked past the pair and down towards a big group of tents.

"I'm Michelle," I shook the sheriff's hand and turned to the other man. He shook my hand but kept the confused look on his face.

"You're saying Daryl Dixon saved your lives?" He asked. I nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, he did."

"Look around you, Shane," The Sheriff said, "Stranger things have happened."

"I don't know Rick, Dixon being sociable has got to be high on the strange scale."

The Sheriff chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm Rick Grimes, this here's Shane Walsh. You're welcome to stay with us, if you'd like."

"We'd really appreciate it," I said, smiling, "We've been on our own until now."

"Just the two of you?" The other man, Shane, asked. I nodded,

"Just us."

"Well not anymore," Rick said with a smile, "Welcome to camp, ladies."

"Thank you!" Lainie squealed and gave Rick a hug before running off into the campsite. I just shook my head as I watched her. Rick went off somewhere else so I was left with Shane.

"So we're heading to Fort Benning, tomorrow morning. You're welcome to come with us. There's plenty of room in the RV."

"Fort Benning?" I asked. "The Army Base?"

"Yeah, you heard anything about it?"

"No, um, it's just sort of familiar, that's all."

'Sort of familiar' my ass, Michelle, you've been there a million times. He nodded and gestured over to the camp.

"Let's get y'all settled in."

A half hour later, Lainie and I had been introduced to the group and we were sharing a tent with Carol Peletier and her daughter, Sophia. Sophia seemed like a sweet kid and she was only a little bit younger then Lainie. And she wasn't the only kid at camp, either. There was Rick's son, Carl, who was Lainie's age. He seemed like a nice kid, too. I was just happy that Lainie was making friends so easily. If only it was that easy for me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a sociable person. Hell yeah. But Rick had told me that the group just went through a massacre a few nights ago, and they'd been attacked by a group of 'walkers' - as he called them. They hadn't lost anyone but the adults in the group were still on edge and kind of depressing to hang around since it had shaken them up a bit. A few of them had even left the group to travel somewhere else. Although I thought Glenn was pretty cool. And Amy was sweet. Andrea, Amy's older sister, and I, had clicked together instantly and so had me and Dale. Dale was a sweet old guy and he reminded me of my dad.

That night we had a campfire, and Carol and Lori, Rick's wife, served Lainie and I plates of cooked up squirrel. Lainie looked like she was going to hurl but I took a bite bravely and it wasn't too bad. It was real food, and not berries, so I was a happy camper. I was sitting with Andrea and Amy and Lainie had gone over with Sophia and Carl, her new buddies. As I watched I noticed movement behind them and instantly my eyes flicked towards the figure. But it was only that man, Daryl. I noticed he'd taken a plate of dinner and a bottle of beer and was heading back towards his tent. That made me feel bad. The guy just saved my life today and so far the group was treating him pretty badly.

I sighed and stood up.

"Michelle?" Amy asked. "Where're you going?"

I pointed casually, "Going to thank Daryl for saving me today."

"Good luck." Andrea snorted.

"What do you mean?"

"It's hard to get that man to speak, let alone say 'you're welcome'."

I laughed and shook my head, "I'll take my chances."

I ignored their comments as I walked away and headed towards Daryl's tent. I reached it and was kind of lost for what to do. Knock? On a tent…?

"Daryl?" I called out, "It's Michelle." I paused and then, "Listen I just wanted to come by and say thanks for-"

The door zipped open.

"Well, hey there, little lady."

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry." I babbled, "I'm looking for Daryl, I thought this was his tent. My bad."

The man chuckled and shook his head. "This is his tent. Sleeping beauty passed out a few minutes ago."

"Oh, right," I said, "Well when he wakes up, just tell him I came by?"

He nodded, "Sure thing, sweetheart. What's your name again?"

"Michelle. Michelle Connors."

He grinned, "Merle Dixon."

"You guys related?"

"Yep. Darlina's my baby brother."

I smiled, "Cool. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, hon'."

I smiled and headed back towards the campfire, ruffling Lainie's hair as I passed. She frowned and flattened it down before turning back to Carl and Sophia and their game of tic-tac-toe in the dirt.

I woke up the next morning in a bed. Yes, a bed. A motherfucking bed. Oh God I could have cried. I rolled over and stretched, yawning. I sat up and took in my surroundings. Light flooded through the synthetic walls of the tent and the air mattresses next to me were empty save for messes of blankets and pillows. So I slept in, again. Brilliant. I stood up and fumbled around for my bag, getting dressed in shorts and a tank top, then deciding to pull my 'Twilight' hoodie on over the top. Don't judge. It says 'Real Men Sparkle' on it and I thought it was funny as hell. I don't read Twilight. Blegh.

I pulled on a pair of flip flops and zipped open the tent.

A figure appeared in front of me and I cried out, tripping on my own feet and falling flat on my ass.

"Dude, what the fuck?" I groaned, standing up. Shane smirked and helped me to my feet.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

I brushed myself off a little bit, "It's cool. Just don't sneak up on me next time. I'll go ninja on your ass."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Listen, we're headin' out here in an hour. Rick just wanted me to let you know."

"Sweet. Let me just pack up my wardrobe of clothes and my refrigerator."

He shook his head, "Lainie's down by the quarry with the kids, Dale's got breakfast serving up at the RV if you're up for it."

I smiled, "Thanks, Shane."

"No problem."