My phone woke me up way to early.

"Fuck." I muttered and reached for my phone. Why hadn't I put it on vibrate?

"What do you want?" I mumbled after seeing who it was. I pulled the blankets over my head to shut out the light.

"Aww, is Normi grumpy this morning?" Andy laughed from the other end.

"Damn, right I am. You call and wake my ass up at," I glance at the clock, "shit, 8:30 when I didn't even leave the studio until 3."

"Sorry brother, but I need a favor." Andy said. Shit, there was never anything simple about Andy's favors. "What do you need?" I groaned.

"I have an early call or I would do it myself, but today is Nicotero's birthday and I need you to pick up this cake we had ordered." he said.

"Fuck, a cake man. Can't you just have that delivered?" I mumbled.

"Closed set, remember man."

"What time do I need to get it?" I asked.

"I told the lady it would be picked up around 11." he said quickly.

"Fine man. I'll get it. Where do I need to go?"

"Baker's Dozen. New place in Senoia near the diner. Thanks man, I gotta go."

"No problem. See you later." I set an alarm and drifted back off to sleep dreaming of cakes and flat tires.

The drive into town was a quiet one. Sometimes I run into a few fans who managed to find the road I live on. My fans are great; some are intense, but most are very kind and encouraging. I'm pretty lucky. I waved to some people who recognized me while driving through town. Baker's Dozen wasn't hard to find, but a parking spot was. Damn this place must me good, I thought. The place was packed. "This cake better be worth it." I said and walked inside.

It smelled like heaven. Ok maybe sugar and chocolate, but for me, that was close enough. There was art all over. Some of people baking, desserts, scenery and other things. The case held sweets galore; cookies, cupcakes, pies, breads. I took my place at the back of the line and commenced my favorite past time, people watching. I had my Ray Bans on and was pretending to look at my phone, so observing people was pretty easy. People probably didn't know I watched them as much as they watched me. Then I noticed the first table to recognize me; they were pointing, whispering and trying to snap some pictures.

I was almost to the front of the line when I heard a quiet, "Excuse me." come from behind me. I turned around to see a young girl with familiar eyes looking nervous. "Hi, Sweetheart. What's up?" I said giving her a smile. I was rewarded with a smile in return. Kid fans are my favorite.

"I was wondering if you'd sign my notebook," she asked holding out a doodled on book.

"Sure." I said taking the book from her. I flipped it open and saw there were drawings on almost every page. The were quite good. "Did you draw all these, Sweetie?" She nodded timidly. "These are great. You have quite the talent. Can I sign any of these pages?" She smiled and nodded. I chose a killer drawing of SpongeBob when she quietly said, "I drew a picture of Daryl."

"Really? Is it in here?" she nodded and reached for the book. She found the drawing and handed the book back to me. It was beautiful and sad. She had chosen to draw Daryl sitting on the porch when he was talking to Beth. He looked vulnerable and sad. She had managed to capture two of the qualities I tired to give Daryl. "This is beautiful," I said honestly. "I'll sign this for you, but do you think sometime I could get a copy of this?" she smiled. "I would really like to put it in my fan art book. With your parents permission of course," a hint of sadness crossed her face but soon disappeared.

"Really?" she asked and I nodded. "I'll ask my mom. I used to watch The Walking Dead with my dad every Sunday."

"That's cool. I watch it with my son too. What's your name, Honey?"

"Liza, with one z."

"Cool name." I said while writing her a little something and signing my name. "Is your mom here? I could talk to her if you'd like." She nodded and ran off just at I noticed I was next. "Hi, I'm here to pick up a cake under Andy." The woman behind the counter just stared for a moment and then came to.

"Right. Cake. Hey, Lisy! Will you bring up the Dead cake, please?" She shouted to the back. "It'll just be a minute. Would you like anything else?" I looked in the case at the cupcakes. One caught my eye and made me laugh.

"Wake the Dead?" I asked.

She laughed, "One of our most popular. Vanilla cake mixed with ground espresso beans and a chocolate butter cream with a raspberry swirl." She said while grabbing one out of the case. "On the house. For everything The Walking Dead has done for the town. Oh, here's your cake." A woman was carry a large box out of the kitchen.

"Shit, this cake is heavy. Phew" She said placing it on the counter.

"Slugger?"

"Oh, Norman," she said brushing hair from her surprised face. "I was expecting Mr. Lincoln."

"Yeah, he had an early shoot and asked me to swing by. Do you work here?" I asked. I loved a woman who could bake.

"Actually I own this. Baker's Dozen. Get it?" she smiled.

"Clever. I like it." I couldn't stop smiling at her.

"Lisy, you know Norman Reedus?" The woman at the counter said in shock.

Anna laughed. "Yeah, I threatened him with a tire iron," the blond woman looked horrified. "Rachel. Norman. Norman. Rachel. This is my best friend and partner in crime."

"Nice to meet you, Rachel," I said reaching out to shake her hand.

"Meet you to nice." she said turning red. "Shit. Nice to meet you. I knew I'd act like an idiot if I ever met someone from the show, Lisy. Excuse me, I'll just go over here." I laughed. I followed Anna when she motioned for me to come near the kitchen.

"The baking sheets make sense now," I said.

"What?" she looked confused. "Oh right, my car. No judgment, remember." She said pointing a finger out to touch my chest. "Wanna see the cake?"

"Yeah, definitely." I said while she walked over to the large box.

"Now Mr. Lincoln picked this out, so if it sucks we'll blame it on him. okay?" she said while taking the box apart.

"That's amazing!" I said in awe. It looked like a wedding cake but it was dark. There were walkers all over it. But when I looked closer I saw all the walkers where different Dead characters. There was Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie and me. There was also a terrified man at the top. It was Greg and the cake read, 'Happy Birthday. Kill us and it's your last.' "This cake is badass! He's going to love it. You're incredibly talented, Anna."

She blushed. "Thanks. I love doing it."

"Mom, do you have a minute now?" a girl said from the kitchen.

"Sure, Peanut. Come here. What's up?" Anna said. She was a mom. My heart sunk a little; the fact that she was taken becoming more cemented.

"Please don't call me Peanut." The familiar girl said walking up to Anna.

"Liza?" I said in surprise.

"Oh, um, Mr. Reedus. Well this makes it easier. Mom, Mr. Reedus was wanting to speak with you about one of my drawings. I saw him when he walked in and asked him to sign my sketchbook." she said looking down.

"Oh really? Liza, what have I told you about talking to people you don't know?" Anna said scolding her daughter.

"But Mom, I was surrounded by people, and how often do I get the chance to show the guy who plays Daryl my drawings!" she was quick to respond. I smiled a little watching Anna relax.

"Fine, but next time you want to talk to some random person, come find me first, eh?" she said nudging her daughter. "So I hear that you would like to speak with me."

"As a matter of fact yes. Liza was showing me her Daryl drawing. She's quiet talented, by the way, and after seeing that cake, I can say I'm not surprised. I'm putting together a fan art book."

"I know. I follow you on Twitter," she said blushing a little.

I laughed, " Okay then you know about it. I'd like to put Liza's drawing of Daryl in Volume 1." Liza was pulling on Anna's arm excitedly.

"Please, Momma." the girl asked.

"Momma? Pulling out the big guns huh? Sure, Peanut. That's awesome!" Anna said pulling Liza in for a side hug. "What do you need me to do, Norman?"

"I just need a copy of the drawing. Which I can make, or I can swing by and pick it up later. And I'll need you to fill out a few disclosures and permission papers. It'll be easiest to email those to you. My friend is keeping those all logged electronically. Do you have a phone handy; I can add my number so you can let me know if you have any questions." I didn't want to ask a married woman for her number.

She handed me her phone; I punched in my number and handed it back to her.

"I better go. I think everyone was going to meet at the studio around noon to give Greg the cake. I'm sure if your cupcakes taste as good as your cake looks you'll be seeing more of the cast. They have a crazy sweet tooth; crafty barely keeps up." I said holding up my cupcake container.

"Looks like this is goodbye then." she said jokingly.

"Liza, it was a pleasure to meet such an incredible little artist. Thank you for sharing your work with me." Anna smiled and Liza blushed. "And ,Slugger, it was great seeing you again. Just let me know when I can pick up the copy."

"I'll text you soon. Thanks Norman," Anna said placing a hand on my arm and giving me a knowing look.

I nodded and said, "Bye, Ladies. Bye, Rachel. Thanks for the cupcake." The blond blushed and waved bye.

I was almost to the door when I thought of something. "Hey, Anna," she turned around. "Do I follow you on Twitter?" She smiled and shock her head no. "Text me your handle." I said and then walked out the door.