{Anything wrote in italics is prior to the apocalypse.}

Then
The music flowed through his veins as he tapped his foot, involuntarily, to the bass line while he leaned against the grubby kitchen counter. No matter how hard he tried, Daryl couldn't find it within himself to move from the safety he had sought out almost as soon as he had entered the worn-out cabin.

It was by pure mistake that he was even inside the wooden structure. After a long day of seemingly doing nothing, Merle wanted to drive out to see a girl he was having a fling with. Not only had Daryl all but begged to be left at home, he really didn't want to play third wheel. However, his luck had always been pretty bad as Merle had spotted a party. Merle being Merle had forgotten about the girl in an instant and had demanded that the two of them check the party out instead.

"She's a pain in my ass anyway!" Merle had exclaimed, slamming the truck door behind him as he set off for the cabin in which the music was coming from. " Would I rather fuck aroun' with a girl who pisses me tha' fuck off, or get me some free booze an' some new class A pussy?"

"Don't know why yer' makin' me come inside with you." Daryl grumbled, ducking to miss the fist that Merle had sent his way. "Would prefer ta' stay in the truck."

"'Cause I need a wing man, Darlina! Does it look like I care wha' you'd prefer?" Merle growled, shaking his head as he jogged up the porch steps. "Hell, might even find a girl willing enough to let you take 'er to tha' bedroom."

Unsurprisingly, Daryl had found himself alone as soon as the two brothers had even entered the wooden door frame. Scoffing at the back of his Merle's head, who began to grin and greet the woman with barely little clothes on, Daryl had slithered his way through the many bodies, trying not to make contact with anyone as he made his way towards the kitchen; Which was where he found himself staying put.

If there was one thing Daryl was certain of, it was that he detested being around drunk people. Sure, he didn't mind getting drunk himself and forgetting about all the worries he had. However, he just couldn't deal with other drunk people. Their in-coordination had him growling under his breath every time one of them bumped into him. It was getting old and he sure as hell wasn't growing to like it anytime soon. If he had his way, Daryl wouldn't mind raising a fist. That'd show them not to bump into him ever aga- "Excuse me."

Daryl's dark thoughts had been wiped from his brain as he spun slightly, raising a brow at the woman who stood in front of him. If Merle paid this girl to come over here, he knew it was going to be bloody when the two got home. "Keep tha' money and pis-"

"Could you just move over a little?" She asked, raising a brow at him as she pointed over his shoulder towards the counter. "My friend needs a new cup..." Daryl squinted down at her, watching her face for a few moments before he shuffled to the left and looked over his shoulder to see that there was in fact a stack of cups behind him. "Thanks..." She muttered as she took one from the top. "Er, I'd stay off the drink if I were you. Going off about money and what not."

"Didn't mean... I jus' thought that..." Daryl trailed off, finding it difficult to put the simple reply into words. She stared up at him with a small smile, waiting patiently for his reply. Daryl felt his cheeks burning as he moved his eyes from her face as watched her fiddle with the plastic cup in her hand. "My brotha'… He has a habit of doing shit ta' piss me off."

"You're here with your brother?" She asked, turning to look around as she leaned against the counter beside him. Daryl shuffled away from her slightly as he watched her looked around the small cabin. "Younger or older?"

"Older..." Daryl mumbled, his brows knitting together as he watched the small smirk form on her face. "Tha' fuck ya' doin'?"

"It's a game of sorts I like to play." She told him, turning to face him slightly as she held her hand out. "Molly." Daryl merely stared at her hand, looking as though no one had ever offered their hand to him as a greeting.

"Daryl." He grumbled, surveying the room once more as Molly lowered her hand and shrugged.

"Does he have hair?" She asked, raising herself onto her tip-toes in order to get a better look. Daryl couldn't help but snort at the fact she had to do so in order to see over the mass amounts of heads. He knew for a fact Merle was probably boning some girl in a far-off room. However, he wasn't about to tell her that, this was the most fun he had all night. "Judging by the way you talk... I think I remember someone who sounded a lot like you and who looked slightly like you trying to chat up my friend... Considering she is no longer in the spot where I left her, I think the two of them may or may not be coming together as one instead of two, if you get my drift."

Daryl choked on his breath slightly as he stared down at Molly who grinned and laughed lightly at the reaction she had gotten. "Way ta' put it lightly." He muttered, rubbing his throat gently as Molly chuckled once more.

Now

"You hear what I jus' said, boy?" Merle shouted, slapping Daryl across the back of his head as he kneeled down beside him, grinning from ear to ear as he bounced on his feet. "Molly James is here in this ol' camp... Been here longer than us!"

Daryl shook his head, trying to shake the memory of the first time he had met the woman. If it wasn't for Merle, he had never met the woman in the first place. However, he couldn't deny that he had been curious and often wondered about her. "Tha' fuck you mean, she's here? You been takin' crystal again?"

"Ran out of tha' shit day before yesterday!" Merle stated, rubbing at his chin as he thought lovingly about his beloved crystal methamphetamine. "So, no. I ain't high or shit... I jus' seen her down where they're keeping tha' water. She walked off towards the quarry. Think the woman are washing clothes an' shit."

"You got a point with this or wha'?" Daryl asked, rummaging through his bag in order to look as though he really didn't care about what Merle was telling him. Technically it was half true. He wasn't bothered about the fact that a girl from his past was here because that's just what she was, from the past. However, no matter how hard he tried, Daryl was finding it difficult to stop his curiosity from over taking.

"C'mon, Darlina!" Merle exclaimed, shaking his head in slight disbelief. "You ain't fucked no bitches since her, don't even try to tell me otherwise because I ain't dumb! An' I know yer' all hooked on tha' bitch who up and left you!" Daryl shook his head, breathing deeply through his nose as he tried to contain the anger Merle had suddenly flanked within him.

"It's jus' tha'!" He told his older brother, shrugging for added affect. "She left. Tha's all." If only... He thought to himself, wondering why Merle was the one to see her first and not him. Sure, the two got on and more often than not, he had to bail both of them out of jail after some sort of illegal shit the two were up to, but it wasn't anything more than a friendship of sorts. "She lookin' any different?" He found himself muttering, regretting it almost as soon as the words had left his mouth.

"I knew it!" Merle exclaimed loudly, slapping a hand on his knee as he pushed himself up straight and released a loud laugh. "Older... Could tell it was 'er as soon as she looked up at me. Little rat is still short as fuck." Daryl found himself smiling softly at the nickname Merle had given her along with plenty of others. He had always wondered why he called her a rat instead of something else, however, whenever he had asked the two of them, it resulted in rounds of laughter. "Don't think she was to 'appy to see Ol' Merle."

"Wha' makes you think that?" Daryl mumbled, zipping his bag up as he pulled the picture the kid had drawn him out from under it and shoved it into a side pocket. "Thought you two got on."

"Times 'ave changed, boy!" Merle told him, shaking his head at Daryl's stupidity. "Bitch jus' walked off... She asked 'bout you though. Had a funny look on 'er face tha' I jus' can't place."

"Probably felt sick from seeing yer' ugly mug after all this time." Daryl muttered under his breath, wincing as he felt Merle's hand slap him once more. "Stop fuckin' hitting me!"

"Stop being a stupid fuckin' prick then!" Merle growled, his harshness coming back as he took a seat against the tent and crossed his legs in front of him. "Might go out on a run with the china-boy next time he goes out." Daryl looked up instantly, his brows narrowing as Merle shrugged slightly. "Wha'? I'm offering my assistance."

"Big word." Daryl said, shaking his head as he released a deep sigh. "Thinkin' of going a little further out... Try an' find a deer or somethin'. Not to sure when but if yer' goin' out... May as well go when you do."

Meanwhile, down at the quarry, Molly was scrubbing one of Jacob's t-shirts while absent-mindedly staring off into the lake. She was barely listening to the conversation that was swimming around the air, preferring to ponder on her thoughts rather than engage in the gossip the other woman loved to spread so much. However, before she could get too far into her past and remember the times she fought so hard to forget, she sighed deeply and tuned back into the conversation as she placed the shirt beside her and picked up a pair of her own trousers.

"How about you, Molly?" Amy's voice penetrated through her ears, causing her to look up and raise a brow. "Have any shows you miss watching?" Molly had to fake a cough in order to cover the snort that had left her mouth. She shook her head softly and smiled at the young girl.

"I don't really watch television." Molly told her, watching her eyes widen in disbelief slightly as Carol muttered something about not everyone watching T.V. "What with a three-year-old and two jobs, it was never a thing I could do. Not that I wanted to anyway." She added, rubbing the palm of her hand against a particular mark on her trousers as she soaked them in the water once more. "Jacob watched it sometimes but he preferred the outdoors and his toys over sitting still and watching television. He's always been like that."

"What about his dad?" Amy asked, receiving a nudge and a sharp head shake from Andrea. "What? I'm curious!" She hissed at Andrea, bringing her gaze back to Molly as she smiled softly once more, an apologetic smile taking over. "I didn't mean to pry..."

Molly shook her head, brushing a strand of hair from her face as she shrugged slightly. "He's... Well, he's not in our life." She looked around, noticing the look that Lori and Jacqui shared as she coughed and shook her head with a small, forced laugh. "He's not dead." The two-woman sighed deeply, sharing looks of humour as they to, shook their heads. "No, he's well... Very much alive. I just understood it wasn't going to work out and left. It was for the best."

"Did you tell him?" Carol asked, raising a soft brow as she smiled, showing Molly she was by no means judging. "About Jacob, did you ever tell him?"

Molly shook her head, rubbing a hand over her forehead as she placed her jeans with Jacob's shirt and noticed that she had cleaned everything she had brought down with her. "Trust me... If you would have known him back then... Well, it was better off for all three of us that I left. It wouldn't have been a good life style."

"So you were alone?" Andrea asked, shaking her head in slight disbelief. "You worked two jobs and cared for a baby... All alone?"

"It was my own choice." Molly said, shrugging as she began to twist all the clothes she had cleaned in order to get any access water out of them. "I could've gone back home to Virginia and stayed with my parents."

"Why didn't you?" Lori asked, raising a brow slightly as she too, began to ring her clothes out. "Surely some help would've been good for you... How old were you, twenty-something? I don't think I could've looked after Carl on my own at that age."

"I was twenty-two when I had him... Almost twenty-three." Molly corrected, shrugging once more as she thought about her parents. "I love my parent's, I do. I left for a reason and to go back would just be showing my dad how much I actually needed them. He's a great man, I just... He changed a lot when I was growing up. My mum tried not to let it show, but I could see it clear as day... They were having troubles and well, I couldn't stick around and watch him do that to her. I loved them both so much that it just hurt." Molly muttered towards the end, shaking her head as she smiled softly, folding her wet clothes into a pile. "If anything, I wish I was strong enough to just call them and ask for some help. However, at the time I thought it would've been an act of weakness."

"You know I can't imagine you pregnant." Andrea suddenly stated, laughing slightly in order to try and break the tension that had over taken to woman. "Sounds like you were ferocious."

Molly laughed loudly as she nodded, deciding not to lie and pretend she was anything but. "If you could only see my police record..." Molly muttered, loud enough for her to hear as she sent Lori an innocent look when she raised a brow, wondering why Andrea had suddenly started laughing.