A/N: I love you all who read and leave me love on my stories. It makes my day read reviews, especially this past week, which has been hard, and I keep all of them. You have no idea how happy they make me.

Chapter Text

The waitress took their order and brought them their drinks. Black coffee for Daryl and tea for Jamie. She seemed to know Daryl, said her name was Karen and asked about his brother. Jamie looked around; this was a small diner in a small town, maybe she could disappear here. She had to find a way to call Tara soon, though; she didn't have a cellphone.

She left everything she had in New York. Everything she had in the world was in her backpack now, just a few toiletries and a few changes of clothes.
Well, and the money, she still didn't believe she had the balls to take it.

"So, why were you hitching?" Daryl asked her taking a sip of his coffee.

He wanted to know what her deal was, a woman out hitching on the highway when it was almost dark. It was dangerous and stupid, Jamie looked smart if a person could look smart. There was something about her, she wasn't from Georgia, and she had a northern accent. He wanted to know her story. Why he was interested, he couldn't figure out. The only thing he could come up with was, he wanted to know how someone could be so careless to hitchhike.

"No car." She said matter of factly. She was not giving one bit more information, she did not know him. He was kind enough to give her a ride and now was feeding her. But that didn't mean she had to trust him. She didn't, not really. But she did get into his tow truck with him. Something must have told her he was safe.

Jamie didn't trust anyone but Tara. She couldn't.

"I got that, but why?" He said. "Why would a woman be hitchhiking out in the dark practically? Unless you're on the run. You kill someone?"

He said only half-serious, there was something about him that made her feel at ease, she was a good judge of character. Well, except that one time, when she said: "I do". But otherwise, she was superb at reading people. He looked a little rough around the edges, like a mechanic, which she knew by the tow truck he drove, and he looked kind.

She was just about to answer when Karen came back with their two cheeseburgers and some fries. They both had ordered their burgers rare and their fries well done. Karen put their food on the table and asked if they needed anything else. Daryl asked for more ketchup, and Karen reached for a bottle off the empty table beside them.

"Enjoy." She said giving them an award winning a smile and she was on her way to the next customers.

"Well?" Daryl questioned, pouring a ton of ketchup on his fries, just like she did. There were two kinds of people in the world, pourers, and dippers. They were both pourers, interesting, they both covered their fries in ketchup.

"Well, what?" She played innocent, and he noticed her eyes for the first time, blue like sapphires, so beautiful. Then he mentally told himself to get a grip and made a mental note never to say that in front of Merle. But it was true just the same; she had beautiful eyes, and maybe that's what made him pull over, to begin with.

"Look, I saw your bruises, you running from whoever did that to you?" He said taking a bite of his burger.

He didn't miss a thing did he; Jamie thought as she reached for a fry. She thought she had hidden that well, considering some of the bruises still hurt.

She looked at him, trying to decide what to say. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, "Look, I'm gonna give you some money and be on my way, Daryl." Jamie replied as she started to reach into her backpack. This was the best option for her; she didn't need to involve him in her problems. It was bad enough Tara was involved, and she didn't know this guy.

"No. I'm taking you to my friend Andrea's, she rents out rooms. You spend your money on that. She'll give you a good deal."

"I don't know."

But she did, if she could pay this woman in cash. There would be less of a paper trail. She needed to stop and regroup, catch her breath and lay her head down somewhere for more than a few hours. Today was June 13th; she had been on the run for four days.

"She's real people Andrea, she'll take cash, and I reckon that's how you want to pay. Right?" He said.

A warm bed in a small nowhere town sounded just like what she needed. It sounded better and better actually the more he talked about it.

"Do you know how I can get a cellphone?" She asked.

"Wait you been on the road with no cell phone?" He couldn't believe her; the woman had a death wish obviously.

Jamie shrugged, and Daryl was incredulous now. He took a bite of his burger to calm down. He chewed, and she took a bite of hers, much smaller than his. She wasn't really hungry anymore.

"You are trying to get killed aren't you?"

"Just didn't have time." She said giving him a slight smile.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow and take you, it's too late tonight, you need to call someone, your husband maybe?" He asked with a slight lift in his voice. "You can use my phone."

"I'm not married," Jamie answered and immediately regretted it. He knew she was lying; she had no idea how he knew, but he did.

He saw right through her, and she had lied. Daryl didn't feel the need to give her a hard time about it; He had suspected a husband was the one that hurt her. It usually was the husband, as he well knew. Maybe she had a good reason for lying.

Yeah, Dixon, like she killed him or something. His inner voice yelled through his head. Why else would she be all sketch ball out there hitching?

He didn't say anything to her, but she felt the need to explain now to this kind stranger who was helping her for no reason.

She had thought he was going to say he'd take her to his place and work out that kind of deal. But that wasn't what he did, this man was a gentleman. Jamie hadn't met one of them in a very long time. Still, she had to know how he knew.

"How did you know?"

"Your ring finger." He pointed a french fry at her and lifted his eyes to her. "It's a different color than the rest of your fingers; you can tell a ring was there, and not too long ago." He pointed to his temple with his forefinger. "Observant."

/

Andrea Harrison and her sister Amy ran a boarding house about two miles away from where Daryl and Merle lived. It was a big white country place with a wraparound porch and even a few swings and rocking chairs on it. They had been running it for two years since their parents died within months of each other. They had been working there all their lives, though, Daryl went to school with both of them.

When he pulled up, they were both waiting on the porch. He winced, and Jamie noticed but didn't say anything. Something was up here.

Amy flirted with him every time she saw him. He didn't know what else to do to let her know he wasn't interested. He never went for blondes and she was far too young for him, he wasn't that guy. Daryl liked girls with darker hair, or red, coincidently and closer to his age, coincidently again.

He had called Andrea and said he had a customer for her, so they waited for his arrival. He got out and helped Jamie out of the truck. He was a gentleman, how refreshing, Jamie thought to herself, when was the last time a man didn't manhandle her, she couldn't remember...

They walked towards the sisters and Amy was out of her chair and coming down the stairs as Andrea rolled her eyes for the millionth time. Even she knew it was never going to happen; Amy hadn't gotten the memo, though.

She came rushing towards them with a big smile on her face and her arms, open as if this time he was going to let her hug him.

He never let her get near him; he didn't like people touching him.

Daryl led Jamie up as Amy was saying. "Hiya Daryl, how's it going?"

Daryl blanched because Amy was making eyes at him again like she always did. A thought came to him, and he just went with it. It was crazy and way out of line, but he had no choice. Amy had him in her sights again; maybe this would make her back off.

She owed him one for lying.

"Fine Amy, Andrea, I hope you are both well. This is Jamie; my girlfriend."