FanFicReader47: It was way too intense. I'm the kind of writer that tends to get lost in what I write and visualize it as I write, so I was in tears when I was originally writing and frantic when I changed yeah, their relationship is kind of intense, but at the same time, it's understandable. Where Glenn and Maggie come from good homes and therefore have a normal sense of attachment, Daryl and Ani come from broken, abusive backgrounds. It makes sense that they're gonna cling to each other like wet on water (Finally met Abraham today, yay s5!) when they're the first good thing each other's had.

KEZZ 1: Thank you again for the review! I hope you like this chapter as well.

So, I realized I was way off on my calculations for Judith, so, yeah, there's not going to be as many non-canon chapters as I originally anticipated...

They'd been gone two weeks. Neither of them talked much other than to make comment on the trail they were following, although it was more like they'd gone to the Woodbury massacre and tried to follow the Governor from there. They had no real heading, only a best guess scenario that they both agreed on. They'd also both agreed that the next, and every, time they came out, they'd be bringing Ania. Even though they got on fine, it took only one day for Michonne to know he needed the girl's presence to be at ease. Hell, without being told to by Michonne, he wouldn't even eat or sleep.

While Daryl had been able to concentrate for the most part, it was clear that he'd been distracted. Michonne had had to save his ass more than once, though he'd done the same for her in return. However, hers weren't due to distraction, but honest surprises, like when she'd been taking on two walkers and a third came out of a closet behind her in one of the homes they'd stayed in overnight. He'd picked up a few things along the way for Ania, too; a hawk feather, a new pair of cargo pants, a couple CDs of bands he remembered she liked. Michonne had found some comic books for the kids and they'd both grabbed as many supplies as they could while they were out.

Daryl called it when they'd been out for a week, having spent most of the time in the woods looking for a trail or something they could use to hunt the Governor down. They'd searched through two different towns, marking spots they could hit up for supplies on the map Ania had given them for just such purposes. On their way back, they'd gotten stuck for three days in a house as a horde passed by slowly. He'd been so pissed that he'd punched a hole in the wall and cussed out Michonne after taking a few draws off a bottle of bourbon they'd found in the house. She'd just sat there in silence taking it all in before taking the bottle from him and chucking it out the window. He wasn't the happiest man when he was drunk on his good days before; he certainly wasn't any better without Ania by his side now.

The entire time they made their way back to the prison, every time Daryl opened his mouth, though few and far between, he'd made mention about how he couldn't wait to get back to Ania. He'd found some leather straps in one house, clearly meant for making jewelry, and stuffed them into his pack for the girl. Talking about how she had been wanting to make everyone of the original group, along with Sasha, Tyreese, and Michonne, some kind of bracelet or trinket to remember them by, he didn't even notice how much the woman next to him was smiling as he looked at the rocks and straps in his hand. It got so bad that Michonne finally started teasing him the closer they got to the prison. She thought it was cute how the normally gruff and quiet man with the surly disposition could act like a lovesick puppy when it came to his girl.

They'd had no luck in finding the Governor, but they had been able to find a set of tire tracks in a field where there had obviously been a small camp, only two or three people as far as Daryl could tell. It was as good of a lead as any once they got Ania and resupplied. Pulling up to the prison, they could see movement in the field and were surprised to see some people running while others were in a little group that seemed to be practicing some of the self-defense tactics Ania had taught the survivors. Pulling in, it was Merle, Tim, and Glenn that were running and the warriors from Woodbury performing the tactics. Merle and Tim wore angry faces while Glenn just looked like he'd eaten something bad.

There were four people he didn't recognize at the prison, three adults and a teen named Patrick; five total had come in, but one had been sent on a run. The adults consisted of three strong fighters and an older woman, Patrick's grandmother and last living relative. The other three consisted of a pair of brothers and one of their wives. Ani and Rick had pulled them in the day they'd gone hunting having found them camping in the woods and they had been pretty decent company. The unmarried brother tried to hit on her only once before they'd gotten back to the prison, her just holding up her bejeweled hand and saying 'no thanks.' He'd gotten the hint pretty well and had been respectful since, basically just sticking to a sense of humor that she seemed to like, much to Merle's irritation. Of course, Daryl didn't know that, so when he saw the man walking next to Ania, who smirked at something he said, he saw red. Barely waiting for the truck to come to a full stop, he opened the door and climbed out, making a b-line straight towards her.

Ani had just gotten out of the commons and into the courtyard followed by Mark, hearing a truck had pulled in. She'd sent Maggie, Sasha, and Bill, Mark's brother, on a scouting mission to a strip mall in one and assumed they'd returned. Daryl was a week late getting back and aside from Mark's innuendos and morbid jokes, Ani was emotionless and cold. She'd taken charge of the camp in the first week, just helping set up the defenses and pulling away from everyone to an extent.

Rather than being her usual self and sticking around chatting when she checked in, she immediately moved on to the next task. She would respond to questions asked, but made no small talk anymore. Her checks on the kids became more instructions on what they were to do that day and when, as well as corrections in their stances and holds when working with weapons and on self defense. Merle had talked to Rick and Glenn and found out that she was behaving how she had over the winter and she was fine. He didn't like it, but he backed off after getting his black eye.

The second week, however, after the incident with the children, she'd become a drill sergeant, only speaking to bark out orders or talk business. All able bodied people were now forced to do physical fitness training as well as practice knife throwing and self-defense, with a promise of some of the MMA training she'd underwent after they got a routine set up for those more advanced. Laps around the field became mandatory for all the able bodied people too, even Carol and Beth, varying between one and five laps based on age. There were always a few people in the field now.

Thankfully, Merle and Mark both knew self-defense as well, Mark having been an instructor at a police academy in Tennessee before the world went to hell and Merle learning in the Army. It meant that she didn't have to completely over see the training by herself. She felt it was necessary to ensure that everyone be ready and prepared to fight if they had to, especially the children. So any kind of disruptive behavior became an excuse to send people running. It didn't help when people kept telling her Daryl would be fine; she only became angrier and colder. She knew he'd be fine and be back, but he'd promised her a week, and that had come and gone with no sign of him. Eventually, any time someone said something about Daryl, whether it be about him coming or not coming back, she'd made them run a lap around the field.

In fact, that was Tim's reason for being in the field; he'd made comment about how since Daryl wasn't back, if she needed a release he was close by. Merle had reacted accordingly and promptly gotten tossed on his back when he tried to move through her to take a swing at the man, which was what landed him jogging the square. When they'd balked at her demand for them to run ten laps of the yard, Glenn had made a joke about it not being so hard. She told him he could do it too if he thought it was a light punishment, and then made sure he did before going back into the prison to finish looking over Mark's noise-maker design.

"If anything, you're teaching them how to run away instead of being eaten," Mark said as they walked past the bleachers.

She smirked at the comment, thinking to herself that it was definitely a good way to make sure the fighters built stamina. Ani was looking out at the field when she felt strong arms wrap around her from the side. Not thinking, she grabbed one of the hands, brought it up and ducked under it, bringing it around the back of whoever it was that had tried to grab her in the same wrist hold she'd taught Glenn. Looking at the wings on the back of the vest while his familiar voice filled her ears, telling her to let go, she took a second to register who it was that she was holding. Dropping his wrist and spinning him around, Ani launched herself into him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry!" she cried as his arms came up around her middle. "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be, girl," Daryl told her as he held her close, faces buried in each other's necks as he held her off the ground. "Least I know you can defend yourself. Fuck that hurt."

She brought her hands to his face and crashed her lips to his, earning a hoot from Mark. Putting Ania down before he removed an arm, both of them flipped the man off, not bothering to stop their reunion. Ani could hear a few other people snicker around them and make smart ass comments about how maybe they wouldn't have a drill sergeant for a leader. They wish, she thought to herself as he deepened the kiss. When she pulled away, she watched as Merle, Glenn, and Tim walked up long before they had finished their ten rounds.

"I know damn well ya ain' done all ya rounds," she told them. "Ain' been 'nough time passed."

"Oh, come on now, girly, you ain't the only one wantin' to say high to the man, or do you plan on hoggin' 'im to yourself?" Merle asked, barely catching his breath.

"Ya go' least t'ree more rounds, Merle, t'en ya can say hi. Same goes for ya Glenn. Tim, why t'e fuck ya t'ink ya can stop?"

"What's goin' on?" Daryl asked.

"T'ey fucked up and now t'ey need ta ge' ta steppin'," she responded, pointing back to the field. The three of them started moving reluctantly, deciding it better not to press their luck, as she turned back to Daryl. "Ya a week late."

"Shit happens," he said as he brought his nose to her hair.

"Shite happens. Shite happens?!" she yelled at him while she pushed him away. "Shite happens me ass! Ya promised me a week, Daryl! Wha' t'e 'ell is t'is shite we talkin' happened, exactly?"

"We got stuck in a damn house while a herd passed. Large one, too. Couldn't move for three days," he admitted, putting his hand on her hip and pulling her back to him. "Wanted to kill 'em all to get back here. Not doin' that again. Not leavin' you here again."

He pulled her back in for a quick kiss before picking her up and carrying her over to the truck where Michonne was debriefing Rick and Hershel. She and Daryl showed the others on a map where they'd been and what they'd found, Ani not caring about when he squished her against the hood of the truck when he'd bend to point at the map. All she could think about was the fact that he was there, alive, and she wasn't planning on letting him leave the prison without her again. Relishing in the feel of him, she couldn't keep the smile off her face as Merle and Glenn walked up having finished their laps, an annoyed looking Tim slinking back into A block.

"How'd it go out there?" Merle asked as he slapped Daryl on the shoulder.

"About as good as it was going to go without Ani with us," Michonne said, having finally gotten out of her habit of calling her by her last name, mostly because there were three Dixons and they all answered when she said Dixon.

"Wha' ya mean by t'at?"

"He just wasn't as sharp as he could be. Wouldn't shut up about you, either," the woman replied. "It was cute at first, but became annoying after the second day."

"Really, missed me t'at much, ehy?"

"'Course," was his reply.

"Told ya she was a distraction," Merle said, shaking his head at the fact that they still hadn't let go of each other since she'd wrapped her arms around him.

"Shut up, Merle. Or do ya wanna take a few more laps in t'e field?"

"Fuck that," the man said. "Just stating the obvious."

"And Daryl ain' a distraction for ya? Don' tell me ya ain' been as ornry as eva wit'out 'im 'round," she shot back to him.

"I've still been talkin' to people and not actin' like a damn military commander!"

"T'at's wha' I gotta be! Ya see t'e damn scar on Phia? T'at's wha' happened by me wastin' time takin' watch and t'inkin' 'bout perimeta defenses! It ain' jus' t'e house t'at needs preppin'! It's t'e people t'at needs ta change! T'ey need ta toughen up! Learn ta take care a t'emselves no matta wha'! T'ose kids could a fought t'ere way ta t'e cells ratha t'an Phia bein' t'e one ta take t'e risk!" she rounded on him, partially breaking out of Daryl's hold, but him keeping an arm loosely around her front. "Ya really wan' ta go ova t'at again?! Ya t'e one t'at gave 'er blood! Cussin' at everyone 'cause she go' hurt! So don' ya try ta tell me shite 'bout how I'm runnin' t'ings 'ere no more! 'Sides, t'e council was t'e one who voted on it, ya included!"

"What happened here?" Michonne asked.

"The kids went down into the tombs playing hide and seek and Sophia got hurt. She didn't get bit, but she's gonna have a pretty gnarly scar on her shoulder," Glenn told her. "After that, Ani brought up the fact that everyone who could fight should be trained, including the kids. We voted on it and ever since she's been drill sergeant and instructor. Every day we've been getting trained in take downs and holds. My body's so stiff. God, I never knew those laps took so long. Been out here running for the last hour at least."

~x~

A couple hours later found Daryl and Ani sitting in the guard tower she'd had the brothers, Tyreese, and Rick fix up for an extra guard. It had a better view of the road and was closest to the gate and while it couldn't be just theirs, it was private at least. The last couple of hours they had gone about their own chores; getting things in from the truck and cataloging it for Ani and getting a debriefing on defense protocols for Daryl. Merle was actually quite surprised that, once the group had been told what happened on the road and then got to work, the two actually separated. He, along with everyone else, would have thought that they would have stayed together, but Ani had told Daryl to go with Merle while she did what she had to.

When they were done doing what they had to, Ani dragged Daryl to the guard tower to take watch. They sat with their feet dangling over the edge, looking out at the fence. They were discussing how they needed to build pits like what Merle told them about Woodbury, except Ani wanted to dig them around the perimeter of the prison. If they could dig them close enough to where they could set them on fire every so often, they'd be able to keep the gates clear of too many walkers. Doing that meant they'd be able to keep the integrity of the gates easier. It also had the added benefit of not allowing ordinary vehicles to drive anywhere but the main gates. Merle and those on the council that had been at the prison agreed to start digging a few pits, but no where near the endeavor she envisioned.

She'd managed to calm her nerves enough to steady her talking, tucking the brogue back into the crevices of her mind where it belonged. It was always the last sign to show up when her anxiety and fear became bad, and normally the last to go away when things got better. This time, however, it was the shakes that wracked her body that were taking their sweet time going away, leaving her in mild pain. He'd been rubbing circles on her back, trying to help her ease the shakes to no avail.

"We only really went twenty-five miles out like I promised you," Daryl told her after telling her about what he and Michonne found before handing her the things he'd gotten for her specifically. "Got you these."

"This a hawk featha?" she asked.

"Mmhmm, Cooper's hawk. Tail feather."

"How can ya tell?"

"The length and color," he told her, leaning back and watching her hair in the breeze, enjoying a few moments of silence just watching out over the woods.

"We could make this place permanent," she told him. "We could stay here and build a life. A real life."

"You call this a life?" Daryl asked. "Hell, only difference between now and then is I've got you and I didn't have to run for my life."

"This is a betta life than I lived 'fore," she answered honestly.

"How so?"

"Sure, food can be hard ta find and we have ta run for our lives sometimes, but I feel like I'm actually livin', ya know? Like, I ain' jus' goin' through the motions no more. Though, ta be honest, kinda went back ta jus' doin' what I gotta when ya were gone. Didn' like it one bit. Couldn' sleep, barely ate. Jus' worryin' and tryin' ta get me mind off a it when ya bein' gone was the only thing I could think 'bout. And then when I thought Phia had gotten bitten, gods, I mighta gotten a little hard on all a 'em."

"Mighta? Way Merle and Glenn tell it, the kids haven't been acting like kids since you got a hold of 'em."

"What do ya expect me ta do? Let 'em run 'round jackin' off and gettin' hurt again? Not like I'm gonna go this hard on 'em foreva, eitha. Jus' tryin' ta teach 'em a lesson on listenin'. Told the little bastards not ta play in the tombs. And look what happened 'cause they didn' listen! Worse, Carl and Phia got roped inta it, even though they know betta! Didn' think havin' so many kids would be a problem, but we got three orphans, four with single parents, a toddla and a baby, plus four young teens! That's why I put 'em all up in A block 'stead a ours. There's too much fuckin' noise with 'em all 'round, though Patrick's in C with us 'cause 'is grandma's sick. No one could control 'em eitha! Not the parents, not the eldas, not the council. Well, now they're unda control, ain' they?" she argued.

"I'm not sayin' you did the wrong thing, but maybe tone it down a bit," Daryl murmured into her hair before he kissed the top of her head. "Maybe stop the daily trainin' for everyone? I get the need to do it, but you only made us practice a couple times a week. Why you makin' everyone train daily here?"

"Got nothin' betta ta do," she offered with a shrug.

"You do now," he said, moving her face so he could kiss her.

"Ain't you done enough a that yet?" Merle said as he walked out of the tower and found them sitting there.

"Fuck you, Merle," Daryl told him, taking the man's hand as he stood up.

They both offered Ani a hand, hauling her to her feet when she took both. She laughed at that, "Damn, feels like I'm a little kid gettin' pulled up like that!"

"Hell, you are a little kid," Merle told her only for her to cuff him upside the ear.

"I wouldn' be fuckin' ya brotha if I was a little kid," she told him smartly before pulling Daryl into a kiss.

"Yeah, get back to your cell 'fore you start that shit. Cleared your schedules for the rest of the day today and tomorrow," Merle told them as they broke apart, Ani chuckling at Daryl's red ears.

Daryl grabbed Ania's hand and pulled her out of the guard tower, "You been eatin'?"

"Much as I could, like I said. Which, if I'm bein' honest, wasn' as much as ya'd like."

"When's the last time you slept?"

"Got a couple hours last night."

"How much you got since I left?" Ania didn't say anything, causing him to stop and make her look at him. "How much, Ania?"

"Not 'nough," she relented. "Too many nightmares, then what happened with Phia. I haven' been able ta sleep. Me mind won' shut up. And when it finally has ta, it wakes me back up with the nightmares."

"Let's get you to bed, then, huh?" Daryl said.

He didn't wait for arguments, opting instead to bend down and tell her to hop on. No wonder she's shakin' like a leaf, he thought to himself as he piggy-backed her up to the prison and into the cell block. Barely eating and sleeping for two weeks; it wasn't her mind causing her body's tremors but exhaustion and malnutrition. Putting her down on the bed, he left the room as she began untying her laces. There were things she would much rather do than sleep, but she knew Daryl would have none of that until she got some rest. He came back in a few minutes later with a couple bottles of water and a bag with food in it.

Daryl put the bag on the bed and looked at her, "Pick somethin'."

"I'm not hungry," she said, truly not feeling hungry.

"Ania, you need to eat. Ain't gonna stop shakin' if ya don't eat. Pick somethin', or I'm gonna pick it for you, and I happened to grab a jar of pickled pigs feet," he warned, smirking at the disgusted look on her face.

"Gods, how can ya eat those things! I really would starve ratha than eat 'em!" she exclaimed while picking through the bag.

She grabbed out a bag of sweet and spicy jerky, scrunching her nose in disgust at the jar of pigs feet in the bag, too. There were a couple other easy to eat items in the bag, too, but the jerky was her favorite and immediately had her mouth watering and stomach grumbling. He watched over his shoulder as she pulled the jerky out, smiling small to himself at the fact that he'd known she'd pick it. It was her favorite kind of jerky, and there were still five bags of it hidden in the truck. He'd given Michonne all the bags of M&Ms he'd found to save those six bags of jerky for Ania, the woman smiling happily when she took the deal.

"Knew you'd like that. Just hide it from Merle. He likes 'em too," Daryl told her.

"'E does? Maybe I should share it with 'im, then," she said thoughtfully, eyeing the bag she'd just opened.

"Don't even think about it," he chastised her, removing his jacket and vest. "Damn near got bit by a walker gettin' that jerky for you. Ya ain't sharin' it."

"Ya serious?" she asked him, her eyes going wide.

"Nah, just bein', what was it? Dramatic?" he told her as he laid back, resting his head on her stomach. "Damn, can fuckin' hear it rumblin'. When's the last time you ate?"

"Just now," she said after finishing a bite of the jerky.

"Ania," he warned.

"Night 'fore last," she sighed.

"Dammit, Ania!" he said sitting back up. "Didn't no one check in on you? Ya promised you'd take care of yourself. What the hell happened to that?"

"I did take care a meself. Maybe not the way ya wanted, but I did me best. And everyone tried checkin' in on me. They brought me food and told me ta rest. But I couldn' eat it half the time, so I jus' gave it ta the kids. And I'd be in 'ere restin', but couldn' fuckin' sleep. Don' blame them for me shortcomin's. I know I ain' done me best at keepin' on, but I kept me promise ta the best a me abilities. I'm sorry."

Daryl sighed angrily, knowing that she really didn't have a choice when it came to food. If she tried eating when she said she couldn't, she'd throw up. He'd learned that after the farm, before the winter and food got even more scarce. The first few weeks after the farm fell, she'd barely managed to take more than a couple bites every time they ate. When he'd finally forced her to eat more after they got a good haul at a convenience store, she'd promptly puked after the fifth extra bite. They'd all learned that day not to pester her about eating because she'd eat when she could and do everything she could to keep herself healthy in between. That's why he'd grabbed the jerky out of one of the bags he'd brought in and put it in the bag; if you could find something she wanted to eat, she'd become hungry enough to eat a good amount.

"Can't blame you for it, can't blame them. Don't mean I ain't angry."

"Ya have every right ta be, D. I'd be too, if the roles were reversed," she told him, closing the half eaten bag of jerky. "I hate bein' like this. Ain' fair ta ya."

"You're fine just the way you are. Don't need perfect, just need you," he told her, taking the bag from her and putting it on the chair next to their bed that acted as a nightstand. "Now come 'ere. Need to feel you."

Ani wasted no time in rolling over onto her side and scooching closer to Daryl. She laid her head on his bicep, tucked up under his chin, bringing one hand under her own chin while throwing the other over his side. She rested her cheek against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and sighing in content. He wrapped both arms around her, throwing his leg between hers and wrapping it around her. Holding her close, he kissed the top of her head and told her to get some sleep. He hadn't been getting the best sleep either on the road and now that he had her in his arms, all the fatigue he'd been feeling hit him like a ton of bricks. When Rick and Merle both went to check on them a while later, they found the pair squished right up against the wall, most of the bed completely unused, Daryl half laying on top of Ani on their stomachs, both dead to the world.

"How do you think she can sleep like that? Hell, can she even breath?" Rick asked the older redneck who'd become a valuable part of their group, even if he did threaten to kick ass left and right every five minutes.

"Hell if I know," Merle answered. "Never seen somethin' like that. He never was the kind to stick with a woman for the night. Kinda feel bad about this, though."

"Oh? About what?"

"I knew they were together at the quarry. Hell, only went to Atlanta for a chance to kill the bitch thinkin' it was for the best. When I got left on that roof, figured he'd be happier without me now that he had her. Turns out, they only got to be like this because I left. So scared of losin' the last bit of good they have they can't let it go at all. If I'd a just stayed on that roof, they wouldn't be so codependent. It's gonna get 'em killed."

"Or maybe give 'em a reason to live," Rick offered. "You've seen her without him. She's not the same. Michonne says he ain't either. Only reason you were here was for them, and you change without them around too. We all have people we would die without."

"I suppose. Still, she's outright told 'im she'd off 'erself if he ever kicked the bucket. I think she'd do it, too."

"Oh, she would," Rick said as he turned to leave. "She would."