Chapter 3 - Separation Anxiety

Jose and Ryder had been waiting for their mother to emerge from the cabin, but they had to flee when a group of the undead came around. Jose and Ryder had been on their own for a whole day now, their mother was no doubt looking for them without sleep. Jose tried to keep in one place, but it seemed she only brought her and Ryder farther down the mountain, being chased by the undead everywhere they went. Jose and Ryder kept walking through the woods, Jose knew she'd end up in Atlanta soon. She just hoped that her mother would find her, because she can't do this on her own. Not with Ryder.

"Just be quiet." Jose whispered to Ryder as he whimpered in her arms. They were forced to climb a tree and hide from the undead. Ryder continued to whimper as the monsters kept walking.

Jose chanced a look over her shoulder on the ground as leaves rustled. Two men popped out of the thick trees and killed the undead monsters with little to no effort.

"Yee-haw!" One of them, an older man with little hair called out.

"Shut yer damn mouth. Yer practically ringin' the dinner bell." The second one, a younger man around her mother's age with a crossbow snapped.

Ryder couldn't help but hiccup. He was crying and it just happened. He looked up at his sister as the men below them became silent.

"Come on down lil' kiddies!" The older man mused.

"Shh." Jose whispered to Ryder as tears sprung in her eyes.

"Merle." The younger one snapped in a warning tone. "Le's go!"

"Now, now. Hold on little brother. Their jus' kids." The older man, Merle, said. "Come on down now. Come on. Old Merle ain't gonna hurt ya."

"Jose." Ryder sobbed, adding an accent to his sisters name.

"It's okay. It'll all be okay." She shushed him again. "Let's go, let's go. Marica has you, come on.".

She climbed down the tree, catching Ryder as he jumped into her arms.

"Hey little girlie. Wha's yer name?" Merle asked in a quiet tone, bending down to meet Jose's eyes.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." She barked. Jose was like her mother in that way, she was smart, and she was a good actress. Plus the fact that she didn't give two shits about a thing unless she wanted to.

"Well, I'm Merle and this is Daryl." He said, motioning to the other brother. "See, now we're not strangers." Merles voice had become stern and Jose knew that she had to listen.

"Jose. I'm Jose this is Ryder." Her voice had come out shaky and she didn't like it. She didn't like looking like she was vulnerable. Because she damn well could take care of herself.

"Aw, I see we got ourselves a couple o' beaners." Jose's eyes widened at his comment.

"At least I'm not the crackhead of an asshole." Jose snapped.

"Dats a bad word." Ryder whispered in her ear.

Merle laughed. "I like this one." He joked, taking a step towards Jose and Ryder. "Y'all hungry?"

"Yes!" Ryder had exclaimed before Jose could deny anything. They hadn't eaten since they'd been separated from their mother - an entire day. Jose looked to her left to see the sun lowering beyond the horizon. It'd be dark soon.

"Well, it just so happens we have a cabin full of food, just up the mountain!" Merle exclaimed.

Jose had an aching feeling that they were talking about the cabin her mother had come across. "We're okay, thanks." Jose tightened her grip on Ryder's hand. "We'll just be going now."

"Alrighty then." Merle threw his hands in the air dramatically. "Looks like y'all would rather stay in the woods with them monsters then come to a safer place. With food, and water, and a roof over yer head." He glanced at the other brother - Daryl - who had remained silent throughout this whole thing.

"Please, Jose!" Ryder tugged on her hand.

Merle sniffed the air. "Woo-wee, smells like rain a lil' bit too."

Jose had to agree with that. She looked up at the sky, gray clouds moved fast upon it. It was going to rain. And Jose had no place to go. For all she knew, her mother could be dead.


Maria hadn't slept in a whole day, she was still looking for her children. She knew that she wouldn't be able to go much longer without sleep. Maria had cursed herself so many times. She was a terrible mother! Leaving her children alone where the undead could eat their faces! Maria was furious with herself.

Maria started to look upward, for a tree to crash in for the night. She looked up at the sky, there were clouds of gray everywhere. They seemed like they were circling her. Waiting to pluck her from the ground and bring her upstairs.

Her head snapped to her right as a faint growling sound entered her ears. She unsheathed her knife from her back pocket. Holding it at the ready. The monster came stumbling into the clearing.

Maria assessed the monster and felt tears spring into its eyes. It was wearing the same shoes as Jose. It was the same height too. Was this her daughter? No, it couldn't be. She had on a pink t-shirt, Jose wouldn't be caught dead in pink. Sorry, bad choice of words. But the shoes!

Before Maria could kill the monster, it had lunged for her, pushing her to the ground. The monster on top, Maria felt like a goner. But then she remembered her kids were out here. She couldn't let them find her dead, torn to pieces.

She grappled for her knife which she realized had fallen from her hand, more than a foot out of reach. She punched the undead monster in the face, it's bones mostly exposed, cutting up her knuckles.

She cried out in pain but shoved the monster off nonetheless. She tried to get her knife but soon found out it was too dark to see the knife or the monster. Shit, shit, shit!

Maria started to panic. It rose in her like the sun would on any other day. She heard the monster growl and she lunged for it. Damn she's good! She thought as she wrapped her legs around the monsters neck, bringing it to the ground.

She pushed herself up from the ground with her hands and probed the ground for her knife while the monster was down. But it wouldn't be down for long. She grabbed her knife and flung herself backward. The knife entered the monsters skull with a squelching sound.

Maria let a smile appear on her face, then let it fall as she felt the searing pain in her left hand. The one she'd punched the monster with. She needed to clean that out, before it got infected. She retrieved her knife and started cutting off some of her pant leg. Maria tied the fabric around her knuckles, wincing at the pressure. it instantly bled through the thin material but she tried to pretend not to notice.

Maria leaned back against a tree, more exhausted then ever.


"My mother's gonna be looking for us, so you know." Jose barked as the two brothers guided her and Ryder to their truck.

"Maybe she'll find y'all one day." Merle said.

"She will! She's a highly trained -" Jose stopped. Merle turned around, worried, as she didn't say anything else. She was frozen in her tracks. Jose felt something, something on her arm. She'd been wearing the same dark green camo t-shirt for the past few days. "Ahhh!" She screamed flinging her arm around, continuing to yell.

"What?! What is it?! Why ya screamin'?!" Merle ran around, widely chasing after her. Ryder and Daryl stood off to one side.

"Wha's wrong with 'er?" Daryl asked Ryder.

Ryder sighed dramatically. "It's probably a spider. Sissy doesn't like spiders."

"SPIDER!" Jose shrieked. Suddenly, Merle fell to the ground laughing. That's what this was about? "What's funny?!" She yelled, angry.

"S-s-spider?" Merle said through laughter, Ryder joined in, Daryl smirked slightly, but didn't laugh much. He didn't seem like the person to laugh. After Jose had calmed down from her near panic attack, she kicked Merle, hard, in the shin. He let out a painful cry. "The hell?!"

"Laughing at someone when they're scared is mean. It's bad."

To everyone's complete surprise, Merle says nothing, continuing on, Jose and Ryder following and Daryl bringing up the rear.

The ride back to the cabin was everything but eventful. Nothing happened, and little words were exchanged between any of the four. Jose carried the now sleeping Ryder into the cabin, laying him down on the couch. Daryl sat in a chair in the same condition as the couch and started cleaning the arrows to his crossbow.

Merle stood, leaning against the wall, about to light a cigarette. "Hey!" Jose barked in a whisper yell, as to not wake up Ryder. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Smoking a cigarette." He said simply, lighting it.

Jose ran over on surprisingly silent feet and ripped the cigarette from his mouth, threw it on the ground, put it out with her sneaker, and threw it out the open window. "You can't smoke with kids in the house!" She scolded.

"Why not?"

"Because, especially for younger kids like Ryder, the smoke is bad for his lungs, which aren't as strong as yours or mine." Jose explained. "Plus, you'll get cancer."

Merle scoffed, though her words effected him. "I'll smoke outside then."

Jose went over to where Daryl was watching the entire scene unfold. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"Down the hall. Firs' door on the right." Daryl explained.

Jose nodded and headed that way.

Maria heard her kids' voices. She knew she had, whether it was inside her head or in real life she had no idea. But it was comforting. Maria forced herself to climb the tree she'd been leaning against and almost as soon as she'd tied herself down, she fell asleep.

Jose stared at herself in the mirror. She looked terrible. Her hair was greasy, full of dandruff and one big rats nest. Her eyes were glassy and bloodshot from lack of sleep. Her breath stank and her mouth felt like a dumpster fire. Her clothes and shoes were tattered. She looked and felt like she'd been staying in the middle of the woods for almost a week. Which was true.

Jose heard Ryder let out a whimper and she ran down the hall, but stopped when she saw Daryl comforting her little brother. Daryl was rubbing the younger boys back and shushing him lightly. The younger Dixon saw Jose out of the corner of his eye and immediately went back to cleaning his arrows.

Jose left her spot from the shadows. "You're good with him."

"Ain't much trouble when he's sleepin'." Daryl mumbled.

"You got kids?" Jose asked.

"Hell no." He scoffs.

They're silent for a while, Jose watching Daryl as he worked. She let out a yawn.

"Ya can sleep in my room. Ryder, too."

"Really?" The thought of an actual bed seemed like heaven to Jose.

"Someone's gotta keep watch." Daryl spat.

Jose picked up Ryder and carried him into the room, she laid him down, taking off his shoes and socks, doing the same thing for herself. She laid down next to her brother who'd stayed asleep the entire time.

When Daryl finished cleaning his arrows, he went and got a bottle of bear from the fridge. Merle joined him inside a few minutes later.

"What are we gonna do?" Merle asks.

"'Bout what?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about the kiddies in your bed!" Merle shouts. "The girl made me smoke outside for gods sake."

"You're the dumbass that brought 'em home."

"That was before I knew she was a control freak."

"They're kids, man."

"Your point?" Merle was tired and his brother wasn't helping. He sighed. "Alright, so, let's just say, what if we keep the kids?" That means splitting food, takin' orders like 'smoke outside'. Prolly changin' our whole damn schedule. You'd prolly be sleepin' on the couch."

"Yeah, it'd be extra work." Daryl agrees.

"So you see my point on why we shouldn't keep them, yeah?"

"No."

Merle sighs dramatically. "Okay. Then what do you think we should do, wise ass?"

"I say we keep 'em for a while. I mean, there's gotta be other survivers. What if we just -" He shrugs " - give 'em away?"

"That - that could be a thing. That could work." Merles voice raises in excitement.

"Shut the hell up! You're gonna wake 'em up!" Daryl scolded.

Merle let out a laugh. "I'm goin' to bed baby brother. See ya in the morning."

Deep into the night, when Daryl started getting drowsy as he sharpened his knife, Ryder had a dream.

His mom was dead. His dad was dead. Jose was dead. And all he had left was a little piece of bread that he carried in his pocket. It was strange, for sure. And then he started coughing. And he just coughed and coughed and coughed. And then he fell to the ground, dead.

Ryder let out a little whimper as he sat up, but calmed down immediately realizing his sister was next to him. Then he had to pee. But there was no way he'd ever ask Jose to help him! She was a girl! That's just gross! But he couldn't go by himself, he didn't really know how to go by himself. And he wasn't about to wet the bed, nuh-uh.

So, Ryder stood and creeped out of the bedroom and down the hall. "Mister Daryl?" He whispered, Daryl looked up, slightly surprised to see the kid.

"Why ain't ya sleepin'?" He asked.

"I've gotta go potty."

Daryl hesitated. "Then go, bathrooms down the hall." He motioned with a knife.

"I can't go by myself, silly goose." Ryder giggled. "I needs help."

"Ask yer sister." Daryl spat.

"Dats icky!" Ryder exclaimed. "Sees a girl. See can't come wif me!"

Daryl thought for a minute. The kid wasn't gonna ask his sister for help, and he definitely didn't want piss everywhere. When he looked up, Ryder was shifting from foot to foot, his hands over his crotch. "Fine." He grumbled.

Ryder hurried down the hall, the pitter patter of little feet a new sound to Daryl. But he had to admit, he liked it. Daryl followed him into the bathroom. "Dats a big potty." Ryder says to Daryl.

"How do ya do this?" The older man questioned.

"You's silly." Ryder giggled. "First, you open da potty. Den, you help me sit on da seat." Ryder snickered as Daryl lifted him up sitting him on the toilet seat.

"Oh, shit!" Daryl moved lightning fast to catch Ryder before he fell into the bowl.

"Dats a bad word." Ryder and Daryl sat there for a while, Daryl holding Ryder over the seat.

"Why ain't ya pissin'?" Daryl asked after a minute.

"I can't do it while you lookin' at me." Ryder hissed, like this was supposed to be obvious to Daryl. "Close you's eyes."

Daryl sighed, annoyed but closed his eyes.

At least a minute passed. "Ya still ain't pissin'!" Daryl barked.

"I can't do it while you's touchin' me." Ryder growled back.

"If I don't hold ya up, you'll fall in the toilet!" Daryl spat back.

"I's got an idea." Ryder jumped off the toilet, bulling up his briefs and jeans. Daryl followed him out Ryder ran at the pace Daryl walked, so they got to the living room at the same time. "If we's take dis-" Ryder points to a chair. "I's can stand on it and pee like a big boy! An' den you won't wook at me or touch me." He explains.

Daryl sighed, but carried the chair over all the same.

After Ryder had finished his business, the boys went their separate ways. Ryder layed down beside Jose and stared up at the ceiling. He wasn't tired now. Ryder got from his bed and jogged out of the room once again.

Daryl looked up when he heard the pitter patter of little feet. He was slightly annoyed to see the child again.

"Why are ya still awake?" Daryl asked.

"I's not tired no more." He jumped on to the couch next to Daryl.

"What do ya wan' me to do about it? Get yer ass to bed boy." Daryl barks.

"When I's not sleepy, Mami tells me a story." Ryder explained.

Daryl was ready to kick the kid out right then and there, but he couldn't muster the courage to talk to a little kid like that. And the poor kid obviously missed his mom.

"Sit." Daryl commanded and Ryder jumped to sit on the couch next to him. They were less than three inches apart, but Ryder wasn't making a move to touch him. Daryl did nothing for a moment, thinking.

"Now's da part where you's tell da story." Ryder whispered, matter-of-factly.

"I can't think of nothin'." Daryl admitted.

"Tell me a funny story." Ryder giggled lightly.

Daryl sighed. "Uh, like a joke?"

Now it was Ryder's turn to sigh. "No, a story."

"Alright, alright." Daryl thought for another moment. And then he started telling the only story he knew. "So, uh, there's this little girl. Her name's goldilocks, ya know? And she gets lost in the woods. She finds a, uh, cabin. She goes inside, without knockin' or nothin', and goes to the kitchen. In the kitchen there's, um, three bowls of oatmeal. The first one she takes a bite of is too hot. And, uh, she says 'This oatmeal is too hot!'. So she goes to the next bowl and takes a bite. The second one is too cold. And she says 'This oatmeal is too cold!'. And she goes to the last bowl. It's not too hot, or too cold. She says 'Its just right!'."

Ryder yawns.

"And then after the kid eats all the oatmeal in the just right bowl she goes to the living room. There's three chairs. The first chair she sits in is too big. And, uh, she says 'Its too big!'. So she goes to sit in the second chair, and this one's too soft. 'Its too soft!'. But the last chair, a rocking chair, is just right. And the little girl rocks in the chair until she's swinging back and forth. And then the chair breaks."

Daryl swings his head around as the little kids head falls onto his bicep. He's about to push him away when he realizes the kids sleeping.

No way in hell he's gonna risk waking him up, so he lets the kid sleep on his shoulder through the night.


Maria felt terrible for thinking it, but she knew the only way she'd find her kids is if she took care of herself first.

So she headed back up to the cabin the next morning. When she got back, Maria felt something like hope and terror fill her body.

It's maybe ten in the morning when Maria arrives at the cabin, knowing it's location as a land mark. Maria sees a man sitting on the front porch, in her honest opinion looking like eye candy. Maria would have stared if her kids weren't still out there.

The man on the porch, had baby blue eyes, and pale brown hair that stuck up in random directions. He was wearing a blue flannel with the sleeves cut off, dirty jeans and large work boots. He sharpened arrows on the porch intently, with his feet on the banister.

Maria's feet shifted, and a twig snapped under her. The man on the porches baby blue eyes snapped in her direction. He had one of the arrows loaded onto a crossbow in half a second. "Who's there?" He snapped.

Maria sighed deeply, but stepped from the brush.

Daryl Dixon was never attracted to any thing ever. Unless you counted his bike, he was damn sure attracted to that beauty. The women that stepped from the trees looked ever so slightly familiar, but she was more mature and beautiful.

The women he stared at was caked in dirt and blood and grime, but she was human. Her thick dark hair going just below her shoulders, accompanied by dark painful eyes that locked on his own. Her skin (in the few places it wasn't caked in dirt) he could tell was a deep honey brown.

He suddenly remembered who she looked like. Jose.

"Don't shoot." Her voice was a commanding one, making him believe what he already thought was true. "I just need some help, okay?" When Daryl didn't respond, she continued. "Do you live here by yourself?"

It was Maria's best plan yet. She'd seen this exact man leaving this exact cabin a few days before with another man. If he said he did leave here alone, she'd know he was a liar and probably no good. If he said he didn't live here alone, he might be worth trusting.

But before he could answer, a little boy came bounding out of the house.

She would know him anywhere. "Ryder?" She questioned. Then the little boy came bounding towards her.

"Mami! Mami!" He cried out.

"Ryder, dios mio bebè, are you okay?!"

Daryl knew that this was the mother Jose and Ryder had spoken of before. He couldn't believe his eyes. Him and Merle would get these kids off their backs in no time!


A/N - Here is chapter 3!! I know y'all have been waitin' and watchin' for this, so here it is! Sorry I took so long. lol