Please read- I would of published two today but received no reviews so I'm not sure whether you guys are like this but oh well, enjoy this next one. I loved writing it.

It took him thirty years just to find one girl

Oh if you could see me now...

The tinkering seemed endless as Amelia sat on the cold floor of the generator room. It must have been hours since she first started on the project. It all seemed tedious as she blew off cobwebs on a machine that looked like it had seen better days. As hard and frustrating as it got Amelia still pushed on, people depended on her and this would be the icing on the cake. Imagine hot water.

It would take a few more days to get it working. It needed cleaning and oiling which would mean another trip into walker territory and nobody wanted to be pushed back into that. Sighing and pushing herself away from the most irritating thing to her in the world she sat there and really took her surroundings in. Her life would have been different if the government wouldn't of intercepted her, she could have been in the building when the world went to shit. Probably would of died in there. Shaking her head she got up and dusted herself off. It was time to get some sun on her skin and some fresh air in her lungs.

By the time she had gotten out the prison the sun was just setting but just the feeling of freedom from her previous surroundings she felt better. Daryl, Rick, Tyreese and Glenn where all helping clear the traps and Beth, Hershel, Carl and Maggie all sat around exhausted as Carol preened her little garden. Amelia walked over to Carol and without asking began to lazily help her with her little patch of crops.

"Did you get it fixed?" Carol asked, brushing down her jeans.

Amelia groaned "No. It'll take me a few days and I need to get some oil. It's not broken which is good but it needs some maintenance"

Carol reached out a friendly hand and patted her arm "There is no need to get stressed. You're doing your best. It's all we ask for" and she grinned.

Amelia smiled back, not quite feeling up to it "Hows things with them?" she asked, looking in Daryl's direction.

Carol looked down at her little budding crops and back up, studying Amelia's expression for a minute "There wasn't many today. Daryl's been in an awful mood. He's taking on too much"

Amelia was intrigued at the fondness in her voice but decided to ignore it, for her head and hearts sake "He seemed okay this morning"

"He's abit like a woman. His mood swings are unpredictable" she sighed "He's still having a hard time after his brothers death"

"Ah I can only imagine. Were they close then?" she asked as she pulled out a little weed that was just ready to bloom.

Carol looked up at Daryl then, her eye's glistening under the suns beams "In a way yes. They had a very complex relationship. Merle cared for Daryl a little-"

"Merle?" she rushed, her heart tightening and her breathing whooshing out of her.

Carol's left eye twitched as she asked "Yes, Merle Dixon"

"Oh fuck" Amelia hissed, pushing up off her knees as her body began to shake.

"Amelia what is it?" Carol asked, trying to reach for her.

It was over. The dream, the time, the affection, the forgiveness, the trying. It was fucking over. Amelia pushed her back, sending her flying into the mud and she reached down for her knife.

"Amelia!" Maggie screamed, disgusted at her actions but Amelia was no longer Amelia. She had been replaced with a cunning, quick monster that sought vengeance. All her ties where quickly being severed as she made her way to the one man that could make her pain stop. As she rushed towards them, only seeing him in her tunnel vision images of her squad flashed in her minds. Their laughter, their struggle as death began to rip their souls, the blood and snarls as they tried to take her with them. Burying them, sobbing into their graves as she struggled to come to terms with being left on hell without them.

"Daaaaaaaaaaad!" Carl screamed behind her, as some sort of warning for his father to see what was coming.

Amelia was nearly before them, pushing her body to go harder and they turned to find her running at them, knife in hand. Rick held up his gun, sensing the change in her but not quite certain on whether pulling the trigger was right. Rick was trying to work out whether she had changed, Carl would never scream like that over his new friend.

Amelia pushed into them, her body connected with Ricks and he fell with a quick thud. Amelia kicked out at Tyreese and he fell on his side, winding himself on the weapon in his strap. Daryl was already backing up, uncertain as he pointed his bow at her. To him she looked crazed now, crazier than when he had seen her out in the woods. She was full of rage and it was all coming at him. He watched as she began to twist her knife in her wrist

"What're you doing?" he hissed as he watched Rick splutter up blood.

"I'm getting my revenge" she growled, titling her head, pushing on to get up close.

"What for?"

"Your brother is Merle Dixon. Merle Dixon was the man who killed my men" and Daryl's knees almost buckled from underneath him. It must have been some mistake, Merle wouldn't have done that. Not on his own. However it all made sense, when Amelia had told him about losing her friends and the mention of woodbury he knew something was off. He just didn't want to believe that Merle was taking things away from him, beyond the grave.

"No-no" he breathed, his eye's watering at the corners as he tried to reason with her.

"An eye for an eye" she growled and raised her hand. Amelia felt nothing for the man begging with her eyes to really see him and only him.

"I'm not Merle. You don't gotta' do this Amelia. I ain't like him"

"You're blood!" she hissed and began to swing out when a cold barrel touched the back of her neck, sending her to an abrupt standstill. It was Rick, she could tell by the amount of pressure he was placing on her neck. It didn't matter either way what was going to happen, even if he killed her it would make things better. The sounds behind her where blurring together, she could distinctly make out the cries of the people she had grown so close with in the past couple of weeks.

Daryl's eye's never left Amelia's but hers could not look at him, nor focus on him for all she knew he was there and that was enough. Amelia wouldn't let her heart connect with her brain now.

"I think you need to calm down now" Rick growled from behind her.

"Keep out of this. As soon as I kill him you can do what you want with me"

"I can't let that happen"

"That's unfortunate" and she pulled up her knife again and Daryl took a step closer to her, pleadingly trying to make her see it didn't have to end like this.

"Amelia don't do this" Came the little pleading voice behind her. Amelia could just make out his expression now but he would understand, she had to, for her family. "Daryl's family. It was his brother. His brother was a bad person"

"The apple never falls from the tree kid" she snapped back, calculating how easy it would be to take away Rick's weapon. Ways of killing Daryl where spinning around in her mind, she was trying to find the most satisfying but quick way.

"Listen to him Amelia. It wasn't Daryl that did that to your men it was Merle. Daryl chose us, not his brother. That shows enough about him" Rick led, clutching at straws. "Think about this. You can come back. You're apart of this group Amelia. Don't push us out now"

And Daryl took a step closer, trying to reach her eyes but her anger wouldn't slip and It wouldn't just shake off her back. It was real and it was burning.

"I trusted you" she hissed, her legs beginning to feel weak once the words came out.

"Amelia..." he breathed reaching for her hand but she pounced, pushing him down and forcefully pressing her knife to his neck. He tried desperately to fight her off but she was quicker "Stop" he wheezed, feeling a small cut begin to open.

"NO!" Rick boomed, firing his gun only for the bullet to whiz past her ear and plummet into the ground next to them. It was like the sound had awoken her from a terrible dream. As her eye's widened at the man below her and the people around her she felt herself get up, off him, dropping her knife at her side. As she turned, her brain working on a way to get out of the situation she saw all of their faces. Terror...clear as the sun had been. Everything was breaking in front and around her and she couldn't hold on in fear that she was fighting the wrong fight.

Carl's face was the one she was drawn too, it burned instantly into her memory. He had looked at her with terror, sadness and pity but most importantly with a love that was willing to forget and forgive, something she didn't deserve. Turning quickly she ran from the painful sight, not caring if Rick shot her in the back. Death would be easier than facing what she had. Death was welcome now.

–

He pushed up off his feet ignoring the blood that was dripping down his collar bones, ready to go after her when Rick stopped him.

"Leave her" he commanded, his eye's dark.

"No" and he tried to push back but Rick circled him and got into his face "You're the last person she needs right now Daryl. If you go out there you're signing your death warrant. I need you here. I'll go"

"This is my mess Rick. Let her kill me, hurt me, whatever! I gotta' tell her" he growled, his eye's turning light blue with young feeble desperation.

"I can't have that. I cant let your brother fuck more things up for you. Trust me. I'll sort this" and from the look in Rick's eyes Daryl knew he couldn't. The damage was already done. This is what happened whenever Daryl let him self open to car for someone. It was like fate liked to mess with him.

"Sorry Rick but I gotta" and he forced past him, throwing Carol a quick look before darting in the woods after her, leaving his bow behind. The last thing he would want is to go in on the defensive with a girl like her. Amelia could rip him to shreds with her fingers and he was hoping that wouldn't happen.

As his weak body from the emotional drainage he had suffered focused on tracking her foot prints his brain began to kick into action. He would make her see, he would have too, he couldn't let her go now. He had already lost so much. His fucked up brother wasn't taking this.

He stumbled upon her then, sat on her knees sobbing into her hands. Defenceless and weapon less and the most weak he had seen her since he met her. It was at that moment he wanted to grab her, bring her body into him but he knew he shouldn't. Daryl was aware they where surrounded by danger and both weaponless, he knew he had to be the one aware.

"Amelia..." he whispered, it caught in the wind and brushed past her hair. Her sobs stopped for a second until she quickly turned around and jumped to her feet, backing up. "Just wait a damn minute!"

"Fuck off Daryl. Don't make me do this" she screamed, throwing out her hands at him. "Just go back. I can't hold on much longer"

"You can. You gotta listen to me now. Listen!" he growled, pushing himself into her vicinity. Ignoring all the signs to stay away "It wasn't me. I would never have done that. I am not like him!" and he roughly grabbed at her arms, his finger prints laying into her pale skin. "I ain't like him!" he repeated, shaking her, trying to see some sense into her.

"It-it hurts so much" she stuttered, her legs buckling "It won't stop. I keep seeing them, hearing his voice. I'm losing it all, again. I'm losing" and she was gasping for air, silently begging for her mind to stop torturing her. His hands pulled her into him, taking her weight as she fell.

"No you can do this. I got you"

"You don't. It's all ruined. You're ruined" she whispered, falling into his chest, her tears touching the soft fabric of his worn shirt.

It stung him as he tried to hold her weight, trying not to slip on the damn grown beneath his feet. He suddenly didn't feel so strong is trying to make her understand. It hurt to know she was giving up on him. They fell then, onto the ground and he groaned as his back hit the tree next to them.

"I'm not-" he began.

"Kill me Daryl. Please. Just make it stop!" she hissed, bring his hands to her throat. Violent and slow. He tried to pull away, disgusted at the idea and worried that this strong person was begging for the easy way out.

"NO!" He yelled "No! Stop it" he spat, pulling his hands and trying to pull her into him but she refused, bashing his chest, pushing him away, scratching him for freedom.

"You owe me this" and she finally looked at him, her fighting coming to a stop. Her beautiful face dirty with tears "You either kill me or I'll push myself into a group of walkers. If you don't I could do something we all regret"

If he had the chance he would of vomited right there and then from the idea but he pushed it down. His mind was going frantic. Daryl had never understood the complexity of a woman's brain before but he knew right in front of him was suffering and he knew he had to do something drastic before it was too late.

As he looked into her eyes he knew already he had come to far, let himself care and if he was going to continue he would have to do it right. He lifted his hand to push her messy hair away and began to lean in, watch her reaction with an erratic heart beat in his chest. He could see her eye's dart from his to his mouth and knew she was catching on. He only hoped it could be enough. As he closed the gap, pushing his inexperienced mouth on hers he pushed in a little more. Refusing, not wanting her to go, to give up. He would fight for her, fight for her life even if she didn't want to because unlike Merle he had the chance.

Daryl felt her lips push back, her tears still wetting his face as they explored eachothers mouths. In her grief she was pulling herself onto him, needing forgiveness and a reason not to hurt him. Amelia didn't want to be alone.