Two chapters today because this week is going to be a mess for me lol. Love you all!

They arrived at the strip mall that had the cell phone store, and he parked the bike outside. Jamie got off and immediately started to talk to him, this time Daryl walked over to her with a purposeful stride and kissed her again. He just wanted her to shut up and not ask him any questions.

Kissing her always seemed to shut her up for at least a little while. He knew she didn't want to be there and just wanted to bolt, but something made him want her to stick around.

There was no one watching this time, but he still put everything he had into it, because why the hell not.

"Stop talking and let's get you a phone." He said. "I'm sure there's someone out there you want to call."

He led her by the hand into the store, but it occurred to Jamie, that she couldn't buy a phone. She couldn't use her name; then there would be a record of where she was. Jamie suddenly started to lose hope, and her shoulders sagged, how was she ever going to escape Greg.

Daryl noticed that because he was observant as he had told her previously, there was so much about her he was trying to figure out.

Greg was smart and had a long reach he would try and find out if she had a cellphone in her name. She was about to stop Daryl but he wasn't having it; he walked right up to the counter.

"Hey, Lori." He said to the dark haired woman behind the counter. From what Jamie could tell, Daryl knew her, and he actually knew her husband as well.

"Hey, Daryl." The woman said with a bright smile.

"Lori, this is Jamie, she needs a phone."

Jamie was about to say something to stop him, but then he added to the sentence.

"Add her to my plan."

It was like he knew she was on the run and couldn't use her name, there was no way she was that obvious, how did he know?

"Sure thing, Daryl." Lori smiled at him. "What kind of phone do you want?"

Jamie looked over at Daryl, she was at a loss for words still, blown away by his kindness to her, he didn't know her at all.

"Lor, can you just show her a few and she can pick?" He said.

Lori nodded and left them at the counter for a minute and Jamie turned to him. "What are you doing?"

"Look, you haven't met my brother yet." Her eyes grew wide at hearing him say yet, as if she was sticking around at all, "I know Lori because her husband has arrested Merle, that's my brother at least a couple dozen times. He's clean now but still; you are the sketchiest woman I have ever met, and I know sometimes people just need one good break to change their lives."

Jamie put her hands on her hips and gave him a look of pure indignation, and he just smiled and shook his head.

"You can deny it all you want; I know you're on the run, from what I don't know and I don't want to know particularly."

"Then why help me."

"Someone has to, and you're a great kisser." He added the last part almost as a whisper, but she heard it.

"Hmmmm." She answered and she was smiling as Lori came back with a few phones for her to look at.

"So Daryl, Rick just texted me, and I told him you were here with your girl here. He wants you two to come for dinner tonight." She said grinning. "Five okay?"

"Lori?" Daryl groaned, now getting a little embarrassed, but also realizing that coming in here with her of course would give people the wrong idea. Not that Andrea probably hadn't called Merle already to report what just happened at her house this morning, cause she for sure did.

"Well, you were kissing her right outside," Lori said. "And Rick…"

"We'd love to Lori, thank you," Jamie answered, then she picked up an older iPhone and handed it to Lori. "This one is fine."

/

They walked out the door, and Daryl turned to her as soon as they were out of Lori's view, he would have to be more careful or his business would be all over town by nightfall. He put his hands on her shoulders softly, and he felt her flinch. Fuck, he had forgotten, someone had beat the shit out of her, very recently too. He knew all too well what that was like and he could have kicked himself for scaring her.

Daryl understood her pain, and that was the reason he felt that Merle used back in the day.

If your parents didn't love you, well then you didn't have a whole hell of a lot going for you and he didn't blame Merle for using. He thought about it a time or two himself, but then the old fuck would have won. Daryl would never pick up drugs to forget; he didn't want to hear the old man laughing at him from hell, where he surely was right now.

"I'm sorry Jamie, I forgot."

"It's OK, I don't know how I know this but, I know you wouldn't hurt me, it's a habit, that's all." She said. "Someday, maybe I won't flinch when people touch me."

'It gets better." He nodded, surprised he let that little fact about his life to her. "I was just going to say that you have no idea what you just got yourself and me into."

"Well, Daryl if you can tell people I'm your girlfriend the least you could do is take me on a date?" She said with a merry laugh that made his heart skip in his chest.

"Rick and Lori are going to call my friends Glenn and Maggie, and this is going to turn into a clusterfuck, you wait."

"What's wrong with that?" She asked shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, you see it's a major event around here that I have a girlfriend, even a pretend one."

They made it back to the bike and stood together, and she decided just to ask him what she wanted to know.

"Why's that?" She asked, and he shrugged, she would let it go for now, but this conversation wasn't over. "OK, can we go somewhere so I can make a phone call."

He nodded and got on the bike, motioning for her to get behind him.

/

He brought her to the garage and let her into the office to make her call. Jamie called Tara using the code they had arranged when she left and threw out her other cell phone so Greg couldn't ping it to find her. She called, and it went to voicemail, then she pressed two buttons and hung up.

Tara would know to call her back in ten minutes. Now she would wait for Tara to call back.

She sat herself up on the desk and looked over at Daryl who was sitting on the couch that they kept in the office for customers. Abe and Merle would be coming in soon and would have plenty to say, but he didn't give a shit.

"So Daryl," Jamie said, and he looked up at her. "You never told me why you picked me up last night?"

"Can't I do something nice for a person without there being a reason?"

"Why would you?", She shook her head. "There aren't any nice people left in the world."

"That's why I did it." He said. "You looked like you didn't have a soul in the world. Out there on the highway, and I didn't want some nitwit picking you up and hurting you."

"I don't have anyone." She sighed as that reality hit her.

"What about the person you just called."

"I won't ever see her again." Jamie sighed. "And she was my best friend."

Then she realized what she just said, and he looked at her, maybe he did need to know what she was running from because apparently, she couldn't go back.

Then Daryl's eyes traveled down to the backpack she never let out of her sight, and he suddenly had a strange feeling it was stuffed with money.

"Who are you running from?" He said as he sat forward on the couch. "What have you done?"

Chapter Six

She told him, the whole story and in the middle of it Tara had called back, and Jamie talked to her freely now because Daryl knew what she had done now.

She was afraid he would judge her but he just sat there, unmoving with no judgement at all. What were the odds an abused woman who fought back and turned the tables on her abuser would get dumped in his lap?

Karma was going to play a good game with him; he just had a feeling about it. Still, he wasn't one to back away from someone who needed help, and she surely did.

His mother would say he was just picking up another stray. His mother would be right too. His mother was always right; she said one day he'd meet a woman that went right through him.

Someone he wouldn't be able to stay away from, no matter what happened.

"So, I'll get out of your hair now, just tell your friends we broke up." Jamie started to say.

He was out of his seat before she could hop down off the desk and in front of her. His eyes showed everything; he didn't want her to leave, and he knew everything. She was entirely overcome with the thought that he still wanted her to stay.

"You still need a friend and I…."

"Are you for real?" She murmured.

This time Jamie grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulled him close to her and kissed him first. It was the longest kiss between them by far, and he didn't stop this time, he grabbed her around the knees and pulled her towards him until she was right up against him.

That was much better, he couldn't get close enough to her and that was a new feeling to him. Daryl had never wanted to kiss anyone as much as he wanted to kiss her, he never wanted someone's body close to him the way he wanted this.

Jamie slid her legs around his waist, and he realized, she wasn't a fake girlfriend anymore.
Their lips slid against each other, and he pushed his tongue into her mouth like they had been doing it for years and she kissed him back with equal abandon. Soon they were going to be tearing each other's clothes off.

Her hands weaved under his jacket, and he groaned out loud at the feel of her fingers on his back, still not breaking the kiss until a whistle from the doorway broke the spell.

There stood his Uncle Abe and brother Merle. "Oh ho, get it, brother."

And that was it; an incredible moment, maybe the most incredible of his life, cockblocked by Merle.

Daryl's face turned crimson from his neck to his ears, and Merle just cackled. He set his forehead against Jamie's for a minute, took a deep breath and then turned to face them.

"Thought you were here early to get a jump on Christine, good to see you getting a jump on something else for a change," Merle said as he sauntered into the office. "And who might you be gorgeous?"

She was gorgeous too Merle observed, that wavy red hair was the kind a man would love to have his fingers in, and she had a hot body on her too. Merle was ten years older than Daryl, and this girl was around Daryl's age; Merle wished he had seen her first

"I'm Jamie." She said as Merle approached her and took her hand like the rascal he was while his eyes looked over at Daryl; then Merle took her hand to his lips and kissing it." Pleased to meet you."

"Pleasure is all mine darlin." Merle said as he watched his brother, who was watching him with malice in his eyes.

'Hmm,' Merle thought to himself. This was an unusual situation, his brother who was practically undatable in this town was in here macking on some woman he never saw before in his life. And that very same brother was now giving him the evil eye like Merle took his ice cream cone or something.

Fascinating indeed, Merle thought as he turned back to Daryl.

"So you going to work today Daryl or what?" Merle said turning to him.

"Glenn called," Abe said. "Maggie isn't too worried she's going to use the jeep for a while."

"I'll still try and find out what's up with the Jag," Daryl said. "Just to get it out of the bay."
Jamie hopped off the desk.

"You sure brother, I can see you have better things to do," Merle said.

"Promised Glenn." He didn't add that he would likely be seeing Glenn that night and didn't want to get any more nonsense then he already was getting tonight. For sure Lori had gotten on the phone with Maggie already and he was in for it later.

He hadn't dated in a good long time, all of his friends were either married or in relationships. He had not been kidding when he told Jamie it was the news of the century.

The problem was, he hadn't met anyone that turned him inside out, and now he had. It was just a small thing really that she tried to kill her mobster husband and stole half a million dollars from him.

No big deal.

"I need to go shopping anyway, I'll walk down to that group of stores we passed," Jamie said. "I need some things."

"Need a ride," Abe said, and she shook her head.

"I'll be back with lunch for you guys, what do you all want?" She asked, and Merle smiled, his brother had finally found a keeper.

/

Rick turned on the stereo to the alternative station they all used to listen to in high school and 'Glycerine' by Bush came on. He and Lori worked together in the kitchen getting things ready for the dinner party they were throwing together. They had been married for twelve years and were happy together the way high school sweet hearts were.

"Who do you think she is?" Lori asked, and Rick shrugged his shoulders.

"I just saw him on Wednesday, and he didn't say a thing about any girlfriend."

"Well I saw with my own eyes, he kissed her right in front of the store, and in all the time he dated, what was her name?" Lori asked handing him a bowl full of lettuce,"The waitress?"

"Lisa," Rick replied as he chopped the onions so Lori's eyes wouldn't tear up. He was the onion chopper, for as long as they had been married.

"Right, Lisa, he never kissed her in public, I don't even think he held her hand in front of us," Lori said as their two children Carl, and Judith ran into the room.

"Uncle Daryl just pulled up on the bike Mom, and he has a girl with him." Judith said breathlessly, she was seven going on thirty and right now and totally aware that they had never seen him with a girl before.

Carl made a face because at ten years old he didn't like girls, barely tolerated his sister, and was grossed out to see his uncle with a girl.

The doorbell rang, and Judith took off to answer the door so very curious about who this girl was. The music was playing, and Gavin Rossdale's voice echoed through the house.

Glycerine
I'm never alone
I'm alone all the time
Are you at one
Or do you lie
We live in a wheel
Where everyone steals
But when we rise it's like strawberry fields
If I treated you bad
You bruise my face
Couldn't love you more
You got a beautiful taste
Don't let the days go by
Glycerine

Judith swung the door open, and her eyes brightened to see Daryl standing there. She immediately launched herself into his arms and hugged him. Jamie let out a laugh and when he put Judith down she turned to Jamie. The little girl's light brown hair was in pigtails and ribbons, she was adorable, and when she moved her head, they bounced around her head.

She looked up at Jamie, with her little eyes so bright, "What's your name? My mommy says you're Uncle Daryl's new….."

"Judith." Lori's voice called out to her as Lori and Rick came walking out of the kitchen followed by Carl.

"Hi Jamie, it's nice to see you again, this is my husband, Rick."

Jamie reached out and shook Rick's hand. "I see you met Judith already." He said. "This is Carl."

Jamie nodded and smiled down at the little girl and boy in front of her. They were so cute, and both favored Lori in hair color and features, but both tall like their father, though.

"Come in, Glenn and Maggie are on their way." Lori said, and Daryl nudged Jamie as if to say 'Told ya, ' and she smiled at him.

/

Maggie and Glenn arrived with two bottles of wine, and they all promptly sat down out on the deck in their backyard. It was beautiful and quiet out there, and the kids were playing outside. Rick and Daryl stood at the grill talking as the women spoke to Jamie.

Glenn was leaning on the railing next to Daryl and Rick, and the music was playing from in the house just loud enough to make this a party.

"So, you Bobby Shatford now?" Rick asked. "Capt. I got a woman I can't stand to be two feet away from, that how it is? Cause I don't know about you."

Rick quoted the movie he and Daryl must have watched two hundred times together, "A Perfect Storm", which was their favorite. It didn't help that they both loved to fish in the lake a few miles down the road and quoted the movie all day long when they went.

"I know what you always meant now." He said looking over towards the girls who were sitting on the wicker furniture. "When you met Lori."

"Oh bullshit Daryl," Glenn said. "It's like she appeared out of thin air or something, I talked to you yesterday when you towed Christine. You did not mention any girlfriend."

"Met her yesterday."

Glenn rolled his eyes. "Oh, that explains everything."

"Yesterday?" Rick said.

Daryl nodded. "Last night actually."

"So you don't even know her?" Glenn said. "You wouldn't go out on a date with Maggie's friend from work, but you're dating a stranger?"

"Glenn," Daryl said taking a sip of his beer and tilting the bottle towards Jamie. "Look at her."

Rick started laughing silently with his shoulders hunching as he flipped the hamburgers, the guy had a point for sure. This was going to be such an interesting dinner.

Notes: A/N: The Perfect Storm is my husband's favorite movie. When we were dating (the second time), he said that line to me and I started to cry. It was the sweetest thing I ever heard. I put it in my stories a lot because it makes my heart skip every time I think about it. "Capt, I got a girl I can't stand to be more than five feet away from all the time."