Sorry for the long wait, I caved and started writing the sister fic. And it's SO GOOD! I'm in love! The sister has a name but I'm not going to reveal it here. It is a long name that is shortened like Charlie's like someone suggested. Loved that idea.

What doesn't have a name is the story itself. I haven't really thought about it to much. If you guys wanna throw out ideas, I'm all ears.

I want to wait to post after I've completed writing but idk. I don't know how long the story will be. I have ideas but no real plot so far.

Want a teaser? It'll be at the end of the chapter.

Thanks for reading!

Words: 2,416

Waking early the next morning, Charlie changes into some warm clothes and laces up her boots before quietly making her way outside. It's still dark out but the sun should start rising soon enough. The teenager looks around before making her way to the closest wall. From there, she walks around the entire community.

When she comes upon the gate, she sees Gabriel and Rosita switching places on watch. Charlie pays them no mind and continues forward on her mission to walk along the wall but a noise has her stopping.

She freezes and listens closely before spinning around and rushing towards the gate. She peaks through the tarp blocking a view and, for the first time in weeks, smiles a real smile.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Rosita calls to her in confusion but Charlie ignores her. She must not have heard what the teenager had. With a small grunt, Charlie unlocks the gate and pulls it open.

Standing on the other side is Buttons. He blows out a breath through his nose and paws at the ground. "No patients," Charlie whispers before slowly moving towards the horse. She lifts her hand out to him and when he steps forward, so does she. "You came back." Buttons snorts as if answering her and nudges her with his nose.

Chuckling, Charlie runs her hand up his head before down his neck. She then wraps her arms around him and takes a deep breath.

"Well I'll be damned," Charlie glances over her shoulder when she hears Rosita speak. The woman is still standing by the gate, her hand braced against it, the other on her hip.

"Come on, let's get you back inside," With a hand under his chin, Charlie leads Buttons back through the gate. "You've got a lot of apples waiting for you," She tells the animal as they continue towards his spot. "Lilly missed you a lot."

The sun rises quickly. Charlie sits on the wet grass and watches Buttons gaze. The stupid horse just goes back to normal like nothing happened. Charlie wishes she could be more like that.

Daryl finds her later. He sits beside her silently and holds out a granola bar that she takes after a moment. She sighs, her eyes still tracking buttons as he slowly moves towards the taller grass.

"Found him outside this morning. He came back," Charlie tells him and Daryl lets out a low hum. "You were right."

"Usually am,"

"Pft," Charlie snorts and bumps his shoulder with her own, gaze never straying from buttons.

"Hey," Daryl says after a silent moment, waiting until Charlie looks at him. "You good?"

Sighing, the teenager moves her stare from him and back in front of her. "I...don't know," She answers truthfully. She knows she's not okay. Far from it probably. But she's just starting to feel...neutral? Like nothing, almost. Is that okay? Or not? She doesn't know.

Daryl chews on his lips while thinking about her response but he eventually nods. He can't exactly expect her to just be fine, especially after all of that. "Thinking about going hunting later," He starts, watching Charlie nod from the corner of his eye. "You up for it?"

"Yeah," Charlie decides. It'll be nice to get out. See something that isn't behind these walls. She hasn't left since...it's been a while. Too long. "When's later?"

"After breakfast," Daryl's answered by him climbing to his feet. Charlie looks down at the granola bar in her hands and back up to him but he shakes his head, holding out a hand to her.

Huffing, Charlie grabs his hand, letting him pull her to her feet before they both start back towards the house. Charlie suddenly can't wait to get outside the walls.

"Hey," Daryl nods and slows to a stop beside Rick, Charlie doing the same behind him. The girl traces the new scar along her left palm while she waits. It's very noticeable, she wonders if it'll fade. She doubts the one on her side will. "Going out."

"Hunt?"

"Mm-hmm," Daryl nods and Spencer, who Charlie hadn't even noticed was standing next to their leader, speaks quietly to himself.

"Poor Bambi,"

"Hey, we don't kill Bambi, you jackass," She says when she hears, gaining his and everyone else's attention. Her tone comes out hard and offended, but then she smiles wickedly, her eyes widening. "We kill his mother."

Charlie thinks Spencer looks uncomfortable all of a sudden. She can't help but be a little amused by that. She knows she sees Rick shake his head, his lips twitching into a smile but she doesn't stick around long enough to see Daryl's and instead, walks away, leaving him to catch up.

Any trace of a smile is gone from her face now. The little amusement she had felt vanishes from her. At least she got those few moments, it's nice to know she can still feel that way. Even if it is fleeting.

The woods are quiet. Charlie grips her bow tightly in her hands, an arrow ready to be pulled back. She hadn't realized how much she missed the feel of the forest floor below her boots, a strong weapon in her hands. She had forgotten the feeling of hunting. She has yet to forget how it feels to be hunted. She'll take the former over the latter any time. It's nice to feel in control of something.

They don't find much for a while. Charlie doesn't feel surprised. Even though it's been weeks, the wildlife probably just hasn't moved back after the heard scared them all away.

When a rabbit scurries across their path, Daryl and Charlie shoot at the same time. The older hunter lifts the dead animal and pulls the arrow out before handing it back to her. "Might as well stop for lunch."

Charlie looks up to the sky at his words. She hadn't realized how many hours had passed. And though she's not really hungry, she doesn't argue. Even after barely finding the hint of anything, it goes unsaid between the two of them. Neither is ready to go back.

Another hour or two later, Daryl crouches down and gently pushes a few leaves out of the way. Charlie takes the chance to look all around them, watch for any threats. They haven't even seen a single walker either.

Charlie sniffs when she feels her nose starting to run. Though it hasn't done that all day, it is cold out. She sniffs once more but when that doesn't help, she lifts her sleeve to her face. Sanitary? No. But she didn't exactly bring tissues with her. Maybe she should've.

When Charlie lowers her arm back down, her eyebrows furrow when her sleeve looks much darker than it should. She quickly lifts her fingers and to her nose and swipes under it. She's more confused than surprised when they come back bloody.

When she feels more blood dripping from her nose, Charlie leans forward on instinct so it doesn't get on her even more. Not that it would matter. The sudden motion has Daryl turning to look at her, his own eyebrows furrowing.

He jumps to his feet when he sees what's happening and pulls a mostly clean cloth from his pocket. He brings it to her nose before letting her hold it. "What happened?"

"Don't know," Charlie shrugs, her voice coming out in that way it does when your nose is blocked. "Just started doing that."

"It's time to head back anyway," Daryl looks around them once before turning her back towards camp with a hand on her shoulder. He takes her bow from her hands and carries it along with his crossbow.

They went out far, had to. Even if they didn't find anything, both were determined to bring something back. Not even halfway there, Charlie stops and moves the cloth away from her nose. She takes a deep breath through her mouth before spitting the little blood that leaked in on the ground.

"Hey,"

"I'm good," Charlie says before Daryl can fuss. "Just-It's fine, think it stopped." But the universe just loves to prove her wrong, and it does just that when another drop of blood leaks from her nose. "Or not." She sighs and lifts the cloth back to her face. It's slow at least, it just won't let up.

"Don't tilt your head back, we'll be home soon," Daryl once again places a hand on her shoulder and guides her forward.

Charlie thinks she and Daryl have a very different definition of 'soon'. She doesn't mind the long walk back, probably would've just waited it out and kept hunting if it was an option. But when they're finally walking through the gates of Alexandria, it's safe to say her nose finally stopped bleeding. That doesn't stop Daryl from taking her to Denise.

"It was just a nosebleed," Charlie stresses while Denise frets. "Not a big deal."

"Have you ever had one before?" The doctor asks and Charlie shrugs.

"I think maybe when I was a kid. I'd forgotten about it. Hadn't thought it a big deal, no one else seemed to." That hadn't been a particularly good home so it's really not a surprise when she thinks back to it.

"Could be a side effect to the medication," Denise mumbles in thought.

"Yeah, I haven't taken that in weeks," Only after she says this Charlie thinks maybe she shouldn't have. It would've been easier to accept that as the reason and move on. "Look," She sighs. "There's nothing to do about it anyway. Nosebleeds aren't life-threatening and it's stopped. End of story. Why are you making a big deal out of it?"

"Your wound," Denise mumbles, and Charlie's eyebrows furrow.

"Come again?" Charlie questions. She sees Daryl standing taller on the other side of the room, no longer acting as if he wasn't listening.

"I had trouble getting it to stop bleeding the first time I stitched you up," Denise begins, the volume of her voice increasing. "Then you had to use that clotting agent to get it to stop the second time."

"I've always been a heavy bleeder," Charlie shrugs again in explanation.

"Exactly," Denise claps once then points to her and Charlie shakes her head with a heavy sigh.

"Denise,"

"I think you're a hemophiliac."

"No," Charlie denies immediately with a shake of her head.

"A what?" Daryl speaks up for the first time. He pushes off the wall he was leaning against and moves closer but doesn't uncross his arms.

"Hemophilia, it's a blood clotting disorder," Charlie explains. "Blood can't clot like it's supposed to." Then she turns back to Denise and says. "The nosebleed stopped on its own."

"You were applying pressure to your nose," Denise argues. "I was reading about it the other day. I remember because I actually thought of you while I was."

"Oh, thanks," Charlie mutters. "I'm flattered. Besides, I haven't had a nosebleed in years. And I went to many hospitals as a kid, I think at least one of them would've figured that out, no?"

"Not necessarily. It's a rare disease. They probably never thought to test you," It's Denise's turn to shrug. "Do you..." She pauses and purses her lips as if she's about to ask a sensitive question. "Do you...know anything about your biological parents?"

"No," Charlie says quicker than before and shakes her head. Yeah, sensitive question.

"You could've-you could've inherited it," Denise supplies helplessly.

"Well, how do you fix it?" Daryl speaks up for the first time, his voice rough.

"You can't," Denise shrugs again. "There's medication that can help, but...it's irreversible."

"Okay," Charlie jumps off the bed and backs away from them both. "You're acting like you just gave me a death sentence. You didn't, you don't know any of this for sure. You're basing it off a heavily bleeding stab wound and the first nosebleed I've had in years. It's weak, I'm tired. Goodbye." Spinning on her heels, Charlie marches outside and down the steps. She hears the door closing again behind her but doesn't stop.

"It's like you're running in place, little one," Charlie doesn't recognize her own voice when it comes out of her mouth. She recognizes the words, but not the quiet tone she whispers them in. It's like she doesn't recognize her own mind anymore.

Shaking her head, Charlie runs her hands down her face. She lied earlier, she's not tired. Not at all. She feels as if she could stay awake for days.

"Hey," Looking over her shoulder, Charlie sees Daryl leaning against her door frame.

"Hey," She repeats before turning back to her window.

"Wathca thinking about?" Looking back once more, Charlie raises an eyebrow as Daryl points to his own face. "You have a face." Charlie huffs a laugh but she doesn't feel it.

"The past," She answers honestly, gazing out the window once more.

"Why?"

"I guess Denise. Her question," Charlie shrugs. She sniffs once and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. "I mean, I thought about them a lot, before. Probably too much, but...I knew this...friend. He said something to me," Charlie pauses for a breath and clears her throat. "Made me...accept it, I guess. But I don't think I ever stopped wondering."

"Wondering what?" It's not until Daryl speaks again that Charlie notices he's entered the room and is now standing beside her.

"Why they didn't want me," She admits. "It's stupid, I know."

"No," Daryl shakes his head. "It's not." He grabs her shoulder her turns her to him before wrapping her in his arms. He doesn't know why he does it, it just felt the right thing to do. "It's not." And when she squeezes back just as tight, he knows it was.

Low key projecting right now. I really want a hug lol.

I don't know anything about hemophilia. Uhh, so pretend everything I said is correct. And remember, Charlie hasn't been officially diagnosed. Denise might've just read a little to much.

Buttons is back! I want to make him a bigger part of the story! I had an idea for a scene I'll probably put in the alternative scenes I do.

Charlie's feeling...she doesn't really know. I can relate. Maybe she's just starting to compartmentalize?

Thoughts?

Until next time, friends!

'-'

Teaser time! I'm only going to give a small one, save more for later updates here because I don't know when I'll start posting the other story. No, you guys don't get context lol. And I'm taking her name out on purpose cause I don't want you to know it just yet.

Here we go!

Though it causes him an unimaginable amount of pain, this is best. It's only a matter of time before the day comes that he can no longer protect her. It's best they leave, go as far as they can. Get away from this place. It's the most he could ever wish for her. That she escapes this hell. That she can grow up somewhere safe without fearing her own home.

Well! From that teeny, tiny bit, what do you think so far! What's going on? Ah, can't wait to hear back from you guys!