It's My Life

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Charlene.

Chapter 9: False Information


Charlene sat down beside Daryl. His light blue eyes shot a glance at her- a small scowl contorted his face. He scooted away from the warmth that radiated from her tiny frame. The fire flickered wildly as a gentle, night breeze picked up. Everyone sat around comfortably eating away at their dinners.

Shane's voice broke the silence. "So, uh, Char, you should tell us about your time abroad."

Daryl shot a glance at the woman's face. She snarled in annoyance. "How about you shut the fuck up." Her brother grinned when Lori made a sound of disapproval. "Come on, you've been all over the place- you've got a few interesting stories as I recall."

Charlene sighed vehemently. Her arms hung loosely off the top of her knees. The others muttered their own pleas. "If I tell y'all- y'all gotta keep that pity bullshit to yourselves. I don't wanna hear none of that 'I'm sorry' shit- what happened, happened and there ain't nothing I can or would do about it now. It's in the past."

Several straightened up and nodded their heads in agreement. The woman wiped a hand across her lip as she tried her best to figure where to start. "Let's see here. I was a firefighter first when I entered the service- that only lasted about three and half years before my contract came up- I switched to military police. I was placed in a platoon that was attached to a team of SEALs."

Her eyes glittered under the firelight. She continued her story, glancing up every now and then to the now rapt attention she had of the camp.


"Staff Sergeant Walsh!"

The dark haired woman turned and rested her M-16 against her shoulder lazily. "How can I help you, Lieutenant?" Her cerulean eyes glittered deviously. Jack Cooper flashed her a charming grin. He leaned in closer to the beautiful woman.

He really wasn't sure how she managed to smell so goddamn good out in the middle of fuckin' no where- but she did. It was absolutely intoxicating. Charlene Walsh had been deployed here only two months beforehand with a team of grunts. Jack was thankful to hell and back that she had been placed in charge. He could swear that sometimes her men seemed to be missing chunks of their brains. No competence what so ever.

If Charlene had been born a man- she would have made an excellent SEAL. Her tactical prowess and intellectual comprehension of every situation rivaled his own- and he was the team leader of the best that America had to offer. From Day 1 he had found that he was drawn to her natural charisma and leadership.

She seemed to read people's minds and know what they were thinking and feeling before they even knew that information. It made her absolutely invaluable in the battlefield and during interrogations. It only increased her worth at her lack of emotional attachment- she had no problem taking down hostiles or causing them a great deal of pain to get to their target.

Charlene Walsh knew how to get the job done clean and quickly.

Aside from her soldiering capabilities- Jack had found he had developing feelings for the woman. She got along easily with him and the other men- her joy was infectious. She raised the morale of everyone around her and kept them all on their toes. He would even venture to say that he loved her.

Charlene had saved his life more than once- they worked together like they shared the same mind. Off the battlefield, it was as if they had been made for each other. He had never experienced more happiness in his life than when he was with her. She had a spark to her- it was like a moth drawn to a bright light. He would die for her in an instant, but also be encouraged to live to see her another day.

Yeah, he had it real bad for Staff Sergeant Charlene Walsh.


They all stared at her in disbelief. Derek cuddled against her side for warmth- Charlene tentatively wrapped an arm around the child. Andrea spoke suddenly, "So when did you kill that asshole of a husband?"

Charlene smiled halfly, "Uhh- I guess it was in March. He got let out early due to good behavior."

Dale shook his head. "That wasn't too long before the outbreak- a couple weeks?"

They all nodded their heads in affirmation. The older blonde woman spoke again, "I'm guessing your case was thrown out?"

"Yeah- self defense."

"The tattoo…?" Glenn started slowly. Charlene smiled and nodded her head. "-was to cover the nasty scars. It didn't cover them all, but from a distance you can't tell. I looked like a hunk of shredded meat when the SEALs stormed that bunker."

"What happened to Jack?" Shane asked while staring into the fire. His eyes flicked up to meet hers. A pained expression crossed the woman's face. "We got separated in Waco- unbelievable amount of beasties. They were fuckin' everywhere."

Amy whirled to face her. "You and the SEAL guy from your story?" Her face was incredulous and caused Charlene to laugh. "Yeah, Jack was the driving force to get back out there and drag my ass off my deathbed. We both ended up discharged for medical reasons and we just tried eachother out."

"That sounds like a Nicholas Spark book." Amy said, her eyes widened in adoration. Charlene's brow furrowed, "Nicholas Spark's?"

"Romantic author." Andrea said between gritted teeth, shaking her head in dramatized disgust at her sister. Charlene's lip curled in distaste, "Uhhh, yeah- no. He was fun, but he was way too interested in children and making a goddamn housewife out of me."

Shane laughed jovially. "Wow- guy must've not really known you then. God, that's fantastic."

Charlene glared at her brother. Derek piped up, "What's wrong with kids?" The group stifled their chuckles at the kid's wide eyes. The woman shook her head to answer him before Merle leaned over from his chair. "She likes to eat them." Derek's face adopted a look of utter disbelief.

He stood up slowly to face the older man, "I think you're a liar, Mr. Merle."

The group chuckled at the child's defiance. Charlene spoke slowly, "Oh, I don't know about that Derek." His bright green eyes jumped to her as she grabbed him and pulled his tiny body into her lap. The woman buried her face into his neck as if to bite him and tickled his side's playfully- he squealed with laughter before struggling out of her arms.

Merle laughed boisterously and even Daryl held a hint of amusement at the out-of-breath child. Charlene pointed him towards the RV. "Get your butt to bed, I'm gonna show you how to throw knives tomorrow." The little boy bounded to the RV, she watched as the door latched shut before turning back around to the fire.

The women around the campfire beamed at her- Charlene shifted uncomfortably and growled in response. "How 'bout y'all keep your eyes to yourselves, huh?"

Jacqui snorted in amusement, "Like it or not, you're that boys momma now."

Charlene shrugged noncommittally. Lori rocked Carl in her lap. She bit her lip and her brow furrowed, "Is it really safe to be teaching Derek how to throw weapons? He's only seven years old- he's just a child."

Charlene's head snapped to hers. "Yeah exactly. He's a child and I want him to be as ready as I possibly can make him just in case he gets lost from me."

"Well, here's a hint. Don't let him out of your sight-"

Charlene gave a harsh, cruel laugh. "That's rich coming from you." Merle started laughing again as the camp stilled in discomfort. Lori huffed before pulling Carl to his feet. "Come on, honey. Time for bed."

Merle jumped to his feet, "Ah, and here I thought I was gonna witness me a little catfight."

"You're disgusting." Andrea muttered under her breath. The older man only winked at her before making his way for his tent. Everyone followed suit as Shane approached Charlene.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at her with a small grimace. His foot tapped hers, "You need to learn to play better with other's, Char."

Charlene stared at him in disbelief, "Are you fuckin' kidding me? She fuckin' started it with her stupid fuckin' lecture."

Shane sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "Char, just learn to deal better. I can't have you jumping on everyone for childish disagreements." The woman's eyes narrowed at her older brother, but she didn't say anything as he passed by her. Charlene grumbled to herself as she threw another log onto the dying fire.

Her eyes shot to Daryl sitting beside her. He stared into the fire ignoring her. "I'm gonna need some fuckin' calming medication before all this shit is over."

Daryl grunted as he stretched his legs and leaned on his elbows. "You're fuckin' crazy, ain't no medicine for that shit."

Charlene shot him a glare; "You've been a fuckface this entire day. What's your problem?"

"Nosy bitches are my problem." His eyes were narrowed at the fire. He didn't even give her a second's glance when she crossed her arms haughtily. "Well, that makes two of us."

"Unless your nosy bitch is also you, it doesn't make two of us. Stop fuckin' talking."

Charlene stared at him with the utmost annoyance. Daryl resisted the small smirk that threatened to creep onto his face. She was too easy to rile up. Daryl was mildly surprised when she quieted down- that or she was giving him the fuckin' silent treatment. Either way, he got his silence and he didn't give a fuck which way it went or how long it lasted.

Daryl was fully aware of the woman's capabilities. Hearing her story and all of the people she had killed only further cemented his comprehension. It was a little frightening to be honest that this tiny woman beside him was capable of such ferocity and ruthlessness.

He had seen what she had done to Ed and he was positive if Ed hadn't had a family, she would have killed him right then and there. Daryl wouldn't have blamed her either- Ed didn't provide for this camp one bit, he just lied around like a lazy shit when he wasn't beating on that baby of his and his wife.

Daryl's lip curled in a silent rage as he remembered what Ed had done to Charlene's back and throat. The damage he had been able to do to her only proved the woman's hidden vulnerability. She was a beast of the female sex, but it would only do her so much good until the dead closed in on her, or another man got a hold of her. She was not invincible and her near death incident on the high way today proved that.

What would those men had done to her if they had gotten her? His mind balked at those thoughts. Rape enraged him more than anything- to force something like that on anyone was disgusting. He spoke before he could control his thoughts, "I thought those towelheads raped women when they got a hold of em'?"

Charlene shrugged and gave a small chuckle as another memory flashed through her mind. "Nah. As soon as I had caught wind of a looming attack on the base I leaked falsified information that the US Government had developed technology to protect women in hostile territories from rape- shit like jaws in our snatch's that would clamp down. I guess it worked- they were too scared to pull that shit with me."

Daryl shot her a bewildered look. That fuckin' shit worked? He didn't know whether to laugh or be impressed. He looked back to the fire and nodded his head as he chewed the side of his thumb thoughtfully. "Clever girl."


Gosh guys, thanks for the feedback! It all really made me smile! So, I've got about a week left of freedom and I'm gonna try my hardest to finish up season 1 so that I can jump into season 2 in a couple months, that way y'all aren't completely left empty handed :)

As for the changes, I just meant I wanted to fatten the story up a bit and reinforce the plot and made add some different perspectives. It seems a bit one-sided and I wanna make it a well rounded story.

So what did y'all think of this chapter? I purposely skipped over Charlene's story in the middle east and I'm gonna release that to y'all real slowly. If y'all would like some concepts you can check my profile out, I have a link to a photobucket page that has pictures of my idea of Charlene and Jack Cooper as well as all her fun little weapons in the story :)

Thank y'all so much for reading! Please don't forget to review; I would love to hear any advice, suggestions, or things you'd like to see in future chapters! Thanks again!