Chapter 3

Lexi snuggled further into the warmth of the body beside her, the sun was just creeping through the gaps in the barn and it danced across her tired face drawing her from the deep sleep she'd needed so desperately. Peeking through her heavy lids Lexi quietly watched as Daryl softly snored, it was the first time she'd been this close to him and he really was quite good looking, in a rugged, redneck kind of way but the more she took in his tired, dirty face the more she felt the little butterflies in her stomach flutter. Lexi thanked god he was still alseep as her cheeks burned red at the thought, it was like being a teenager again crushing on an older boy. Moving slowly, she strained to see the time on the small watch that adorned her wrist. "Shit!" Swiftly sitting upright she nudged Daryl with some force. "Daryl it's past noon! We've wasted half a day sleeping!"

"We need to be quick if we wanna catch up on the ground we need 't cover." He replied quickly jumping to his feet and scooping their small amount of supplies into Lexi's canvas backpack. "Hurry." He called over his shoulder to Lexi who was lagging slightly behind him.

Once Lexi swung her leg over the back of the bike, Daryl kick started the engine and with a loud roar they were speeding down the empty road. With only three and a half days to go till the search for Alison was called off they were going as fast as they could, Lexi clung tightly to Daryl afraid of falling, especially at the speed they were currently travelling at. Again her cheeks blushed at being so close to Daryl, she didn't know why she was being such a school girl about it all, it was embarrassing but holding onto Daryl and having her body pressed into his, Lexi had similar feelings to when she first met Mickey all those years ago. Maybe it was taking hold of her own life, or perhaps she was just seeing clearly for the first time in awhile but being around a man like Daryl made all the horrid ways Negan had treated her become more and more unacceptable. When she had lived at Sanctuary Lexi had known that the way Negan treated her was wrong but she had been more than willing to put up with it and it hadn't detered the feelings she had for him but now it was different, now she realised how stupid she'd been putting up with it for so long. For the first time in years Lexi had come to the realisation that she deserved better, and even in the short space of time she had known Daryl Lexi knew he was a good man, a little rough around the edges but he was unquestionably a good man.

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Unlike a lot of her old friends Alison had never used her body or being female to get her way, so when morning came she wasn't sure how to feel about herself. It didn't make sense to beat herself up over it, she was doing it for Lexi's safety and in no way did she ever plan to or want to sleep with Negan but sat on one of the couches, wrapped in a cozy blanket Alison couldn't help but feel dirty for what she had done. What would Shane think of her if he was around? Alison shook the thought from her mind, if he was around she wouldn't have been in this situation and in fact she likely never would have met Negan or Lexi, her life could have been simple and happy.

"Why you out here?" Negan's deep voice asked from the bedroom doorway, his handsome features creased in confusion when Alison kept staring blankly out of the large window. "Ali, don't tell me you're fucking losing your mind or some shit?"

Now that she had taken the irreversable step with Negan, everytime he called her Ali she felt physical pain. Only Shane and Tori had called her that. "Please don't call me that." Finally turning to look at the man that only hours ago she had slept with, Alison's eyes landed on the broad expanse of his chest and then travelled up to his chiselled face. "You would have liked Shane."

On one of the occasions that Carl had been brought to Sanctuary Negan had spoke indepth about Rick's deceased best friend Shane and Negan was in no disillusion that Shane was exactly the kind of man that he looked for to help Sanctuary run smoothly. "I don't fucking doubt that sweetheart,"With a groan of effort, Negan sat beside Alison on the couch. "I heard he went a little fucking loco though, nearly killed Rick am I right?"

"He wouldn't have done it, that wasn't the type of man he was. Things...things just got a little confusing for a while and his temper got the better of him."

"Alison, you are the first fucking woman I have met who hasn't fucking bent down and bowed at my god damn feet. I can not figure out what it is that you fucking want. It sure as fuck isn't me," He laughed heartily to himself, no doubt had she been talented in bed but the over riding fact that she didn't actually want to be there dampened the entire experience for Negan. "I mean besides Rick's lifeless body rotting on the fucking ground, what is it you want?"

"Nothing." The one thing that Alison wanted more than anything in the world was impossible; no matter how much she willed it to happen she couldn't bring back her sister or Shane, they were gone and that was it and the simple fact was there was nothing in the world she wanted other than that. "You have to understand Negan I have nothing, that isn't me being a dramatic female. I have nothing. I was only visiting this stupid fucked up country and my sister is dead, Shane is dead and my whole life is back in Melbourne. All my friends, my shitty parents...I'll never know what happened and I'll likely never go home."

"Well darlin' you fight for me and do as your fucking told. No more battering my other wives. And Rick is yours, I'll save him for you to do as you wish."

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"FUCK!" Lexi screamed kicking some debris violently across the small road of the latest place she and Daryl had stopped; they had still found no sign of Alison, or anyone for that matter, coming or going from anywhere they stopped and Lexi was reaching the end of her tether. "She must have stopped at some point? If we haven't found her is she-" Lexi's voice faultered slightly. "Is she dead?" She didnt need Daryl to say a word, his face said it all. "But I got her out! I got her out from Negan and she was going to take me to Canada! She believed in me!" Lexi's erratic screams dissolved into loud, renching sobs. Her entire body collapsed from under her but Daryl's strong arms stopped her from hitting the hard ground. Alison had been the first person to believe that Lexi was more than just a drug addict who was good for sex when it was required, she was the one who had started the fire within Lexi that had made her question everything and ultimately free herself from Negan's grasps.

"C'mon." Daryl spoke softly, wiping her long brown hair back from her tear soaked face and cupping her soft cheeks in his rough hands. "She may not be dead, but she didn't get this far. No where near." He had realised a day and half into their travels that Alison had most likely not even made it to the point they were at, but he'd been wrong before and he'd promised Lexi to look for Alison but now there was no denying it, even someone with no tracking skills like Lexi had come to the realisation that they were fighting a losing battle. "We'll head back first thing, she might have gone back to Alexandria."

It was possible but Lexi couldnt see Alison ever going back to Rick, even if she was in a life or death situation, but she nodded her agreeance to Daryl's plan, it was pointless to keep searching for a ghost.

"I'ma set up camp for the night, don't go far, 'kay?"

"Sure." Earlier that day some snow had began to fall and a light dusting covered the roads and abandoned cars and buildings; Lexi had never been a fan of winter, she loved summer and everything that came with it, the warm breezes, the sticky heat that rendered you useless for most of the day, the light evenings, it was everything she lived for and the winter they were currently enduring seemed to be lasting longer than any other season she'd ever encountered. The gloomy, cold weather only made the horrible chasm within her feel a thousand times worse.

"Come have somethin' to eat Lexi." Daryl approuched where Lexi was stood lightly tracing patterns into the snow and directed her over to the camp he had made by a small cottage. The small fire crackled as it cooked the rabbit he had caught earlier in the day, nearby his bike was hidden by some dead greenery and inside the small cottage there was a perfectly good bed for them to sleep on. Really there couldn't have been a better put up camp.

"Do you think I'm stupid for wanting to find her?" Lexi askedas Daryl passed her a piece of the cooked meat. "I know Rick does, he thinks I'm an idiot because I haven't known her long."

"Nah, I don't think your stupid. I think you saw the Ali that Rick can't see, her and Lori didn't exactly get on and she took Shane's side over his." Poking the fire gave Daryl a moment to go quiet again. "Shane saw somethin' in her. Somethin' I didn't even see, what you see now is what he brought out of her. He made sure she was ready for anything. I think you see her the same sorta way he did. She's a damn force to be reconed with." Locking eyes with Lexi, Daryl continued but in a much gentler tone. "She saw somethin' in you too though, and I didn't fully see it either. She saw how strong you really are."

The heat radiating from the fire suddenly became stiffling as Lexi's cheeks burnt from embarrassment. Daryl's gaze made her shift uncomfortably on her knee's, she was desperate for a distraction, anything to make the moment less awkward for her. It had been so long since a male had given her a compliment that didn't involve her body and that sounded and felt so sincere that Lexi didn't know how to process it. Did she say thank you? Or was that arrogant? The longer she dwelled on how to answer the hotter her cheeks were becoming and the more aware of the silence she was becoming, frankly she wanted the ground to swallow her up. "You think?" Her eyes widened in disbelief at her own answer, god she was unbelievably stupid sometimes.

"I know, otherwise you wouldn't be here with me looking for her right now."

Lexi re-ran his words thorugh her head, checking for any sarcasm but it checked out and he was serious, he meant everything he was saying. He believed in her. He saw her as more than the junkie he had witnessed time and time again in Sanctuary and in a small way that meant more than Alison believing in her because he had seen her ugly side often and witnessed the lows she would drop to but even with all that he was still silently cheering her on from the sidelines. A quiet smile ghosted onto Lexi's plump lips, her large eyes focusing solely on the rabbit leg in her hand. She most definately had a crush on Daryl Dixon.