Back with another update.

This chapter is dedicated, to KyraNoelle, once again! Thank you so much for your reviews, I really appreciate the time you take to comment on each chapter I post, lets me know that someone is liking what I'm posting. Gotta be honest with you, I also love that slowburn but at the same time, I'm an impatient person myself lol you are completely right though, Daryl is the King of slow burn, if any hahaha Hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

For those of you who continue to ask, we get to watch Daryl and Ana's relationship grow just a millimeter into the right direction in this chapter while I sit on the sideline and silently cheer Ana who has a carbon copy of my own personality lol yes, I took Ana's personality from my own, or as I've been told from friends who have begun to read my series. From what I've been told, it seems like I'm writing about myself as Ana, which at this point, ain't gonna deny. Though, I think it only goes as far as personality wise as I can't shoot a bow to save my fuckin life, though I've tried. I can't hunt or even eat anything freshly caught in the wild lol I'm a wimp when it comes to those sort of stuff though I do like to be outdoors, so I'll give you that one.

Anyways, not like anyone asked for my personal backstory here, back to the story!

Warning: I don't even know why I have to put a warning up anymore, it'll never change lol ANAS SAILOR MOUTH!

Disclaimer: I do not own AMC/The Walking Dead or it's characters/plotlines, only Ana and any tweaks I may do to the original plotline.

Ana's POV...

This walker didn't waste any time as I barely had time to let out a startled scream before I was being pinned to the forest floor with both arms pinned under the 200+ pound walker's jaw, attempting to keep it at bay and away from my jugular. I fought to get one of my legs up and between us, wanting to use the momentum to kick him off of me with enough time to grab at my machetes that were pinned to my side. But seeing as this guy had been pushing 250 in his hay day, I only succeeded in getting my boot to his knee where his legs were now squirming, trying to push himself closer to me.

My head whipped back and forth, looking for anything that I could quickly snatch up and use as a weapon before the boots of another walker came into view from the opposite side of the tree. Heart thumping loudly in a panic, I ripped one of my arms free of the walker on me to jab into the throat of the other one falling near my head.

Their hands clawed at my shirt, looking for any purchase at my skin as I groaned, the tinge of pain in my spine spiking as one of their arms clawed at the stitches in my side. I was unable to stop myself from screaming out in pain as a stitch was ripped free before a pained sob broke through my lips, aggravating me. At this rate, my side was never going to fully heal.

Knowing I had no time to spare, I did the first thing that came to mind, tightening my grasp around the newest walkers neck before using all the strength I could muster to thrash his head sideways into the tree I had been sitting against. His head slapped noisily against the bark of the tree sending me gagging as skin, guts and dark brain matter began to pour out of the hole now present on the side of his face before I gave a yell of frustration, shoving him one last time into the tree before he crumbled to the ground.

Turning my attention back to the walker over me, my eyes whipped around frantically for anything that could help me seeing as I knew I wasn't able to get my machetes free. I gasped in relief when my free hand came into contact with a large rock which I didn't hesitate to use to bash him in the head. Continuing to groan and moan, his hands grasping onto my flannel, I used the momentum of him falling over with the force behind the rock as I rolled with him, straddling him before I made a quick swipe at my machete, embedding him between the eyes with a huff.

He went limp beneath me as I panted out of breath, keeping my grasp on my machete handles before dropping my head between my arms in relief.

"Ana!"

"Ana! Where are you?!"

Panicked voices began to yell from somewhere behind me as I lifted my head, my tousled hair falling around me like a curtain before I was all but yanked off of the walker and pushed back against another tree. Not having the energy to fight against whoever decided to manhandle me, I dropped my arms loosely beside me before shutting my eyes, taking a moment to take a breather from that near heart attack.

"She's over here!" The voice in front of me yelled, shaking my shoulders as I slowly peeled my eyes open to see Glenn looking at me in a panic.

"Ana! Ana! Can you hear me?!" He yelled out worried, tapping my cheek to get my attention before he was pushed away, another face coming into view as he grabbed my cheeks, his hazels glancing up and down my form quickly.

"Ana, ya alright? Ya bit?" His gruff voice spat rapidly as his hands unconsciously began to pat me down before I shook my head.

"No, I'm fine. Fine." I muttered, pushing his hands away as I pressed my hands under me to help me sit up a bit straighter.

"She okay?" Another out of breath voice rasped out as the sound of footfall came from around the tree.

"She's fine, took these dumb fucks out by 'erself." Daryl defended as I glanced over to see Rick and T-Dog peering down at me in worry.

"Gahdamn shorty, tryin' to give me a heart attack or what?" T-Dog attempted to tease, which I silently thanked him for as I passed him a subtle smile.

"I'm fine, get your underwear out of a twist." I muttered back as T-Dog snorted with a shake of his head.

"Shorty's a bruiser." T-Dog added as he got a look at the two walkers I took down on my own.

"This one was easy, that heffer over there must have been pushin' 250 on a normal day. Fucker weighs a ton." I groaned as my side twinged just a bit.

"You okay?" Rick then asked in concern as I sighed and nodded, rubbing my side.

"Bastard might of tore a stitch or two but I ain't seein' any blood, which is a good fuckin' sign." I answered as Rick sighed, nodding in understanding.

"I think it's safe, from now on, stay in camp or at least with someone, safer that way." Rick commanded seriously as I gawked, turning to spat something back at him before I watched him turn, heading back towards camp quickly.

"What a fuckin' asshole." I grumbled under my breath as Glenn peeled himself from the ground, dusting his pants off.

"We all heard you scream, thought the worst when it took us a bit longer to find you." Glenn explained, defending Rick's words as I sighed, brushing him away with a nod.

T-Dog and Glenn had headed back to camp after Daryl softly grumbled about taking me back himself. I continued to sit against the tree Glenn had put me against, staring in a trance at the two dead walkers still laying out in front of me. I did not like this feeling. This uncomfortable feeling I had sitting alone with Daryl. The longer I sat here, the more uncomfortable I became though I didn't know why.

Of course you know why. You lied to the only bastard that can put up with your shit

And my conscience makes an appearance, yet again.

It had never once been like this with Daryl. Even being here for just a little under 3 days, I had originally felt like I could tell Daryl anything and the man wouldn't judge me on it or call me out on my shit.

Who are you kidding? He wouldn't hesitate to call you out on your shit. This is a Dixon we are talking about.

True.

But now I felt like I was walking on egg shells around the man.

Fuck.

"Ya gonna tell me who the fuck did that shit to yer arm or what?" Daryl's gruff voice startled me from my thoughts as my head snapped over with the force of cracking my neck, only to meet his hazels which bore into mine in frustration. Swallowing heavily, I turned my head away, wanting to just ignore the man's question before his rough hand grabbed my own, ripping it off my lap and into his field of vision where his eyes bore into my visible bruise.

"No fuckin' way the Asian had enough strength ta do this shit." Daryl scoffed, turning his glaring eyes back to me.

"Daryl, I'm fine..." I lied, trying to gently pry my arm out of his gasp as he let out a short dry laugh, practically tossing my arm back at me before he stood. Opening my mouth to stop the man, he brushed himself off before yanking his crossbow out of the brush and onto his back.

"Ya know, out of all the fuckers here, I thought...ya know what, fuck you." Daryl didn't even turn to meet my eyes as he side stepped the tree, making for the camp once more as I fought to stand.

"Daryl! Wait!" I had to stop him, something was telling me that I could not survive in this world without the man at least nearby. Maybe I could try to survive on my own, especially with what I knew, but you couldn't do it alone and I really didn't want to.

Surprisingly, he stopped though never turning to me as I stopped just a few feet behind him with my bruised arm to my chest.

Was I really going to tell him who did it?

I could deal with Shane by myself, couldn't I?

Who the fuck are you kidding? The man is 2 seconds away from murdering you in your sleep because you don't know when to fuckin shut up.

Fuck. She was right. I sighed, hanging my head as I stared at the large bruise on my right forearm.

"Shane."

Like a bullet suddenly went off, the forest around us grew eerily quiet as I waited tensely for Daryl to react to the name I had given him. Seconds ticked by as my palms began to sweat before he slowly turned his form, only offering me his side profile which I could easily pinpoint the anger rolling through him in waves.

"Shane?" He asked for clarification as I held my arm closer to my chest, passing him a short nod.

"He did that shit to ya arm?" Daryl's eyes slowly slipped across the forest before meeting my own.

"Yeah..." I whispered hesitantly, intently watching as his grip on his crossbow tightened briefly before he all but took off running towards camp.

I hadn't reacted in time before my mind seemed to reconnect with the rest of my body as I took off running, realizing that Daryl would be taking some shit back to camp and all for Shane.

Fucking hell.

He was going to kill him.

He knew, from the moment he had brought Ana into the camp, said deputy had his eyes on her. Whether it be good or bad, he didn't know but with the way he saw Ana tiptoeing around the deputy and now her admitting it was that fucking asshole that had hurt her, it was bad and he was going to shove his crossbow up the mans ass and watch amusingly as he choked on the damn thing.

"Daryl, you okay?" Daryl knew it was huffing and puffing by the time he cleared the forest and bursts into the camp like a raging animal.

"Where the fuck is that Sheriff deputy?" Daryl took a threatening step towards Glenn who stepped back nervously, his eyes snapping around.

"Uhh, last I saw, Rick sent him down to the quarry to fill the water jugs for the road..." Glenn began to explain, reading the rednecks body language before said man brushed past him quickly, running in the direction of said quarry.

Ana's POV...

I bursted through the treeline like a madwoman, my eyes snapping around as Carol and Lori glanced up from the fire they were busy making, their eyes looking at me in concern.

"Everything alright Ana?" Lori asked as my heart continued to thump loudly in my ears, my eyes snapping over to meet hers in a hurry.

"Have...have you guys seen Daryl anywhere?" I jogged over in a rush, Carol standing up with a look of concern directed at me.

"Are you alright, Ana?" Carol asked worried as I swallowed down my dry throat, my eyes glancing around horrified, looking for that redneck before seeing Glenn in the distance.

"Never mind." I spat out, not having the patience for their 21 questions as I ran over, tripping over my own feet as I cut off Glenn who flinched, startled by my sudden appearance.

"Oh Ana, what...are you okay?" He immediately asked, noticing the look on my face as I licked my chapped lips.

"Daryl, have you seen him?" I rasped out as Glenn stared down at me for a second, blinking a few times before nodding. He made to lift his hand, obviously about to point towards the quarry before shouting from that very same direction caught both our attentions.

"Fuck."

Author's POV...

Daryl wasted no time, as soon as he caught sight of the Deputy bent over near the shoreline, filling a jug, he made a mad dash towards said man, shoving him hard as the man let out a startled yell before falling to the gravel floor.

"What the fuck?!" Shane snapped as he clawed himself off the ground only to come face to face with Daryl who made a swipe for his knife.

"Since the fuckin' moment I brought 'er here, you've been climbin' up 'er ass. And the fuckin' second I turn around, ya put yer filthy hands on 'er!" Daryl hissed as Shane's look of confusion quickly melted into realization as Shane straightened his posture with a scoff.

"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and assume we're talking about that bitch, Ana." Shane taunted as Daryl's grasp on his knife tightened, his eyes growing harder.

"Don't ya fuckin' talk about 'er like that." Daryl warned, tossing his knife from one hand to the other as Shane crossed his arms over his chest, amused by the reaction he got from the redneck.

"Call um how I see them. She's been here for what, 3 days and already thinks she knows everything, that she runs this shit show so someone had to put her beautiful ass in line." It didn't take 2 seconds before Daryl tackled Shane to the ground, making to stab him only for the Deputy to slap said weapon out of his hand before they began to swing at each other.

Ana ran around the corner out of breath, hearing the scuffle with Glenn close on her tail as they both hightailed it towards the fight.

"Stop! Daryl! Stop!" She screamed, reaching down and attempting to pull Daryl off of Shane only to be elbowed in the face. She cried out in surprise and pain, falling to the ground as another pair of men came running past her and to the fight, pulling the men apart.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Daryl fought against T-Dog and Glenn as Rick helped a bloody Shane off the ground who quickly glanced at Ana who was being pulled off the ground by Carol, smirking at the woman who was now glaring hard at him.

"Calm the fuck down! What the hell is going on?!" Rick screeched as he stepped between Shane and Daryl who was still fighting to get free of those holding him.

"I don't know what the hell happened brother. I was filling the jugs and he decked me out of nowhere, like a crazed animal." Shane lied through his teeth, acting like an innocent nun as Daryl screeched out, kicking out at the man as Glenn and T-Dog fought to keep him back. Ana shook off Carol's arms, marching over and between Rick and Daryl before turning to the redneck who was fuming.

"Daryl, stop. I'm fine." She whispered, pressing her hands to his chest as his eyes snapped down to hers momentarily. His hazels met her own, noticing her now bloody lip, his fighting calmed down slowly before his eyes caught sight of the bruise on her arm sending him spiraling once more.

"That bastard deserves to be in fuckin' hell!" Daryl thrashed once more, almost sending her to the ground had Rick not caught her from behind.

"Shane, head back up to camp, get the cars loaded." Rick mentioned from over her shoulder as she yanked her form from his arms before spinning to see the smug look on Shane's face as he side-stepped a rage filled Daryl who screamed and cursed at the man, begging Glenn and T-Dog to let him go. Rick gently brushed Ana aside before sighing as he told Glenn, Carol and T-dog to leave as well. Realizing he didn't mention her name, she made to turn and walk away before Rick's voice stopped her.

"Ana, stay. I have a feeling this has something to do with you." Rick's words rubbed her the wrong way as she turned to glare at the man who was now staring at Daryl.

"What the hell is going on?" Rick calmly began as Daryl scoffed, brushing past Rick with a hard hit to his shoulder, grabbing his crossbow off the ground.

"Why don't ya go and ask that good for nothing bastard ya call a best fuckin' friend?" Daryl spat back as he dusted off his bow, glancing over at Ana to see her lightly patting her bloody lip with the edge of her sleeve. He huffed in agitation which didn't go unnoticed by Rick who glanced over at Ana who silently kept to herself.

"I am but I want your side of the story first." Rick added as he met Ana's surprised eyes as she blinked at him, not expecting him to want to hear their side of the story before Shane's.

"How 'bout this? You keep that piece of shit away from 'er. From day one, he's been climbin' up 'er ass 'bout everythin'." Daryl got in Rick's face, startling the Sheriff who took a step back before glancing over to see Ana now glancing away uncomfortable while favoring one hand. Slowly things began to add up.

"Ana, did Shane do something to you?" Rick hesitantly asked, stepping past Daryl worried for the woman who went to chew on her busted lip only to wince and hold a hand up to it, the sleeve of her flannel falling down, showcasing the large hand print shaped bruise causing his eyes to widen.

"Ana..." He gasped, making a reach out before Daryl slipped in front of him, cutting him off and effectively shoving his hand away from her.

"Yer friends a loose fuckin' wire. Either deal with his shit, or I will." Daryl glared hard at Rick before turning to Ana who stood silently hidden behind him.

"Let's go."

"Sit yer ass down." Daryl grumbled out once they got to their corner of camp, gesturing gruffly to the orange beach chair in front of their shared fire.

"I'm not a fuckin' dog." She grumbled but did as she was told, huffing out as she plopped down heavily into the seat.

"Here, put this on yer lip." Daryl surprised her by offering a wet rag which she blinked at, surprised by his sudden care as she slowly took it, holding it to her lip with a wince.

"Ana." A voice interrupted the two as Daryl was quickly on his feet, his hard eyes snapping over to the Asian who was startled by the man's stature.

"Hey pizza man." Ana lightly joked from behind the rag as Glenn glanced at Daryl unsure before side stepping the vibrating man to approach his friend.

"Came to check on you, plus Dale had this first aid ice pack in his RV. Might help with that, you know..." Glenn awkwardly gestured to her hidden bruise while holding the first aid ice pack out for her to take.

"I don't need it, honestly, I'll be fine without it." She didn't want to use what little resources the group had left, especially with the little showcase that was put on down in the quarry for the entire camp to see. Ana could only assume everyone was now thinking that she was a magnet for a trouble at this point. And to top it all off, she was sure she went through more pain meds then they had to give out.

"Take the damn ice pack." Daryl grumbled out as she turned to glare at the man that quickly slipped into his open tent.

"Dick." She muttered irritated, taking the offered pack before breaking the contents, immediately feeling a rush of a cold sensation fill the bag as she held it to the outside of her flannel against her forearm. Okay, well, it did feel better to have an ice pack on it.

"Tell Dale thanks and that I'll replenish his stash as soon as I can." Ana added with an embarrassed chuckle as she watched Glenn squat down beside her chair, glancing up at her silently before nodding.

"Dale actually sent me over to make sure you pack up everything you're going to take with you." Glenn added as Ana tilted her head like an innocent child, unsure what the hell he was going on about.

"What? Did no one tell you?" Glenn quickly noticed the way she was looking at him and mildly gawked up at her, watching as she slowly shook her head before hesitantly glancing around, only now noticing that those who were still alive were packing their tents and necessities.

"We're leaving?" She asked in realization as Glenn slowly nodded before a thud beside her, startled her from her conversation as Daryl tossed another bag out of his tent before finally appearing.

"Plan is ta head to that disease place, they fuckin' think that's gonna save that fucker." Daryl complained as he went above taking down his tent.

"Wait? Fucker?" She wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline still running through her from the argument that happened just a few moments ago or her lack of sleep, btu she was having trouble pinpointing where in the plotline this was.

"Yeah, Jim, he got bit 2 nights ago, isn't lookin' too good. Rick thinks the CDC might be able to help him." Glenn explained as it all clicked before her eyes shot over to where she knew Jim to now be harboring out in the back of Dale's RV.

"He's lasted 2 days on a bite?" She mumbled to herself in surprise, knowing that people sometimes turned very quickly, others took a few hours but she had never heard about it taking a few days.

"Ya takin' yer shit down or what?" Daryl interrupted the two yet again as she snapped her head in his direction, swallowing down the words she wanted to spew at the man, instead offering him just a nod.

"Yeah, I can do it." She pushed herself to stand with Glenn doing the same beside her before she marched past Daryl towards her tent.

"Need any help?" Glenn kindly asked once she had her tent unzipped.

"Asian, she ain't fuckin' helpless. She can handle takin' down a simple fuckin' tent." Daryl spat, sounding completely on edge with the fact that Glenn was practically glued to her side since she sat down.

Hearing the man's words, Ana scoffed, pushing herself to stand as she offered Daryl an unimpressed glare before turning to Glenn with a smile.

"Ignore him, but I got it Glenn. Thanks for the offer. I'll come find ya when I'm done here, kay?" She promised, patting him on the shoulder as he cleared his throat, side eyeing Daryl who was silently fuming before nodding.

"Yeah, alright. I'll see you in a few then."

Silently, she packed what little necessities she gathered into a duffel bag along with a backpack she was so fortunate to run across in the woods the day before, filled to the brim with random things like tampons, toothpaste, duct tape, matches and a few other things she was so pleased to have on hand. Tossing them out into the dirt in front of her tent, she turned to roll up her sleeping bag just as a pair of arms came into view, grabbing her bags.

"Hey." She softly called, crawling to the opening of her tent to tell off whoever the hell had snatched up her crap only to see it was Daryl.

"Loadin' our shit into the blue ford, hurry the hell up." Daryl gruffly cut her off, tossing her backpack onto his shoulder before hoisting her duffel bag off the dirt before turning and walking away, not allowing for any argument as she mutely watched him walk away.

"What in the actual fuck is this man's issue?" She whispered to herself, mentally getting whiplash from the man's constant mood swings as she turned back to rolling up her sleeping bag.

"Ana?" Another voice, one she knew she was familiar with yet just couldn't pinpoint it, called lowly from just outside her tent. Shuffling across the space of her tent before stepping out with her sleeping ball rolled at her side, she inwardly sighed at the sight of Andrea - of all people - standing just a few feet from her.

"Uh, yeah?" She asked unsure as she tossed her sleeping bag onto the beach chair she had been sitting in earlier before turning to take down her tent.

"Just figured I'd come and check in on you. I heard about what happened down in the quarry, with you, Shane and Daryl." Andrea explained, though Ana could easily narrow in on the forced sympathy the woman was offering as she slipping her tent poles free. She knew this woman didn't know shit about what happened down in the quarry, only what was said in the grapevine of women about an argument between her, Shane and Daryl, but Ana was positive the woman didn't know exactly what had happened and possibly had come over, seeking answers.

"I'm fine, everything's fine." Ana brushed off her faux concern, turning back to rolling up her tent poles into the fabric of her tent before shoving it into the small traveling bag.

"Word is, Shane and Daryl were fighting because of you, hope it wasn't something serious." Andrea continued as Ana scoffed a dry laugh, knowing her assumption to the woman fishing for answers to gossip about, to be right as she zipped her tent bag, her head slowly snapping up to the meet the blonde woman's eyes.

"Look, beforehand, I'm sorry you lost your sister the other night, I really am. She didn't deserve to go the way she went. And I know I just got here a few days ago and don't belong here or whatever other shit people are saying about me but I wasn't born yesterday. It's almost too easy to pick up on the fact that you are fishing for info that isn't any of your fuckin' business." Ana went on the defense as she hoisted her tent bag onto her shoulder, noticing Daryl in the background eyeing the two of them in suspicion as they stood off in a remote corner of the camp.

Upon hearing her words, Andrea gawked at her in annoyance, scoffing as she crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to look even a little put out by Ana's 'assumptions' about her.

"Fuck, well excuse me for wanting to come over and check in on the new girl. I didn't come here to 'fish' for info, I'm not a fucking gossiping woman like the rest of them." Andrea growled out in anger as Ana chuckled lightly, shaking her head as she bent over, grabbing her duffel bag before standing up once more to stare directly into Andrea's eyes without blinking.

"Like I said before, I wasn't fuckin' born yesterday." Ana flatly added, flashing her a forced smile before walking away towards the truck Daryl was currently leaning against.

"What the fuck was that about?" Daryl muttered when she was in hearing range causing her to roll her eyes in irritation as she tossed her tent bag and sleeping bag into the bed of the truck beside Merle's bike. Sputtering her lips as she yanked the ice pack out of the chest pocket of her flannel, she held it to her forearm once more as she leaned against the truck beside Daryl.

"It's like I'm dealing with fuckin' high schoolers or maybe all women like to fuckin' gossip. It's exhausting." Ana offered Daryl shortly as the man glanced at her briefly before turning to watch as the blonde woman she had been conversing with, marched across the camp with a huff.

"It's women, in general." Daryl lightly jabbed as she snorted, slowly turning to glare at the man.

"Fuck you, asshole."

"Everybody listen up! Those of you with C.B's, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now, you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?" Shane's voice carried over the group of survivors who had gathered while Daryl and Ana silently watched from the back, near the blue ford.

"Looks like Morales isn't going with." Ana commented dryly as Daryl snorted, spitting on the ground briefly.

"Good ridden. Less mouths ta feed." Daryl answered back uncaringly as they watched Rick and Shane hand off a gun and box of ammos to the small family.

"There he goes again, just handin' them out like fuckin' flyers." Daryl spat, annoyed with the scene as he turned back to the truck just as she did.

"Would you chill your fuckin' heels?" She whined in frustration as Daryl turned to spat something else at her as she put her hand up to stop him before pushing him aside as she reached into the passenger window, showing him her duffel bag that she unzipped enough to show the pair of pistols and 2 boxes of bullets she had snatched up from the Vatos when they weren't looking.

"Where ta fuck did ya get those?" Daryl breathed over her shoulder as she quickly zipped it up, tossing it onto the floor in front of the passenger seat.

"Saw my chance back with those Mexican bastards and snatched up a pair of pistols that Rick had given them. So technically, they have like, 3 guns at their disposal." She smirked at Daryl proudly, watching the way Daryl eyed her in shock before scoffing out a laugh as he shook his head, unable to deny the fact that he was impressed with the way the girl worked when she saw an opportunity.

"Don't get me wrong, I feel bad for the old farts there but the others can kiss my ass." She turned, resting her back against the door as she went back to watching Rick and Shane talk to Morales and his family, unknown to her as Daryl continued to stare over at her, no words in his vocabulary enough to explain what this woman did to him.

Bitch

I have a few ideas of where I want Ana to go in this story and how fast/slow I want her relationship with Daryl to grow. Hope ya'll are enjoying it so far and I appreciate those of you who actually take the time to leave me a review, I appreciate you handful!

Until the next time~