Daryl shifted his weight from foot to foot, half hidden in the shadows below the trees. From the other side of the street he could hear music and muffled laughs from Deanna's welcoming party.

He had spent a lot of time during his life standing outside looking at people through windows.

As a kid it had been the basis of a game he'd invented. Sometimes while he was waiting for his dad to pass out he'd walk past the other houses in the neighborhood late at night and pretend that the people inside were his real family. Sometimes he'd stop next house and make up a complete backstory for his pretend family, spanning several years.

He would incorporate whatever he could see in his made up family history – a rusty bike in the backyard would become his five years birthday gift, a broken window would be the result of his dad teaching him baseball. Dirty sneakers outside would be from his friends who had come over to play video games.

Then, one day when he was standing outside his favorite house and playing his game the door had opened. A man had emerged, a half full bottle of whisky in his hand. He'd spotted Daryl sitting across his fence.

'What the hell are ya looking at kid?' He'd yelled. 'Get out of her ya little piece of shit.' The man started hurling rocks at him and Daryl ran. He stopped playing after that.

He shot the shadows behind the curtains a final look and turned to leave. Stupid. That was what he felt like as he heard the sounds from the party grow fainter behind him. Stupid for listening to Aaron's advice about letting people get to know him, and even more stupid for actually considering it.

He didn't need to make friends with these people. Doing that only meant that he would have more people to loose. This place was crazy. Filled with people trying to pretend everything was like it used to be. That nothing had changed. Playing dress up and hosting parties while the rest of the world had died outside their yard.

He thought of Beth, and how she would have loved this place. His stomach turned in that all familiar coil. He could almost hear her sweet voice, trying to convince him to come inside with her. Hell, he might've tried if she'd been there. But he'd failed her, and now she was gone too.

A light flickered on to his right and drew his attention. A second later Aaron stepped out on his porch.

'Daryl – Hey.'

'Thought ya were goin' to that party over there?' Daryl said and pointed back to the muffled voices.

'Oh, I was never going to go because of Eric's ankle, thank God.' Aaron smiled.

Daryl stared back at him, brows furrowing. 'Why the hell did ya tell me to go then?'

'I said try, you did. It's a thought that counts thing.'

Unsure of how to respond Daryl simply mumbled 'all right' and turned to leave.

'Hey – Come in, have some dinner.' Aaron stopped him. Seeing the hesitation in Daryl's eyes he continued.

'Come on man, it some pretty serious spaghetti' Aaron said before he walked back in, leaving the door open for him to follow.

Daryl remained, hands stiff at his sides. Warm light shone from the open door, beckoning him inside. A million thoughts ran through his head and they all culminated into one single question – why? A few more seconds dragged by before he made up is mind and headed inside.

He immediately regretted his decision when he saw the girl from the other day – Ava, standing behind the kitchen counter. Her shoulders tensed when she noticed him. Their eyes met and lingered, hers big and blank, his narrow and uncertain.

'Daryl – How nice of you to join us! Come sit, the pasta is almost ready.' Both of them jumped slightly as Eric spoke. Sitting with his back to the kitchen, his broken ankle stretched out in front of him, he failed to notice the discomfort exchanged between the two. Aaron, on the other hand, watched them with growing amusement.

'I believe you two have already met?' he said with a raised eyebrow.

Daryl winced internally. So she'd obviously told them about their encounter the other day. Ava raised her hand and spread her fingers in a small wave.

'Yeah, we met.' Daryl muttered before he walked over to the table.

Uncomfortable, he diverted his gaze and noticed all the license plates hanging on the walls. The walls were filled with them along with pictures and paintings. Daryl realized how long it'd been since he'd been inside someone's home, and not just a house. Probably not since the farm he thought, although the prison had felt like a home at one point.

A few minutes passed before Ava joined them with the food. The smell of warm, cooked pasta welled towards him, making his mouth water. He'd never been a picky eater, but he had to admit that the smell of a home cooked meal that wasn't canned was like heaven to him at this point. The smell made him realize how hungry he was, and he shuffled a large amount of spaghetti onto his plate and instantly pushed a large spoonful into his mouth. He almost groaned with satisfaction and gulped down the food in order to have another bite.

Across the table Ava cleared her throat. 'Wine Daryl?' She held up a bottle of red wine and motioned to his glass. He nodded hurriedly and watched as she poured. Her hand was slender and clean without a single bruise or cut. Looking down at his hands he noticed the dark lines beneath his nails and suddenly wished he'd washed them.

Thankful that no one tried to engage in some kind of conversation he continued to attack the plate in front of him. While ate he dared to catch a few glimpses of Ava out of the corner of his eyes. Her hair was dark, almost as dark as his. He had to admit she looked good, pretty in a way that made him assume she would've never spoken to him at all if they'd met before all this.

Feeling full and satisfied he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and uttered an appreciative 'thanks' to his hosts.

Eric shifted towards him and spoke 'Um. When you're out there, if you happen to be in a store or something, Mrs Neudermeyer is really looking for a pasta maker. And we're all really trying to get her to shut up about it. I mean we have crates of tried pasta in here, but she wants to make her own or something. I really just think she wants something to talk about. So, if you see one out on your travels, it would really go a long way to -' Eric stopped, noticing the series of pointed looks coming from Aaron.

Daryl took a huge gulp of wine, washing down the remnants of spaghetti and looked between the two, trying to figure out what was going on, but found no answers. His eyes sought Ava's and to his surprise he found them mirroring his own uncertainty.

'I thought it was done. You didn't ask him already?' Eric said, looking at Aaron.

'What is going on?' Ava asked. Her brows were furrowed, eyes fixed at Aaron as if she hoped to draw the answer out of him telepathically.

Aaron shook his head.

'Ask me what?' Daryl demanded.

Aaron rose and motioned for Daryl to mimic him.

'Ava, if you could excuse us for just a moment.' He said and turned to Ava who opened her mouth to protest. Eric put his hand on hers, silencing her and she slumped back in her seat in defeat.

'Daryl, there's something I'd like to show you' Aaron said as he walked over to a door motioning for Daryl to open it. Daryl walked over to join him and opened the door slowly, realizing that it led to the garage. He cast a glance behind him before walking inside.

Ava watched as the two men disappeared into the garage. As soon as the door closed she turned to Eric.

'Spill.'

'Aaron is going to ask Daryl to recruit with him. I thought he'd already asked him. I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but you were so angry yesterday and well, we haven't really seen you since.' Eric reached for her hand again but Ava quickly withdrew it.

'He's going to ask him to be the new recruiter?' Ava asked incredulous. 'And Deanna approved of this?'

'You don't think it's a good idea?'

'Well, I thought the point was for people to want to join the community' Ava snorted. Her fingers played along the rim of her wineglass, as she tried to deduce why this news were so upsetting to her. Eric chuckled.

'Sure, he's a little rough around the edges, but so was someone else I know. And as far as I remember she got the job.' Eric smiled.

Ava raised her brow and glared at him.

'I was never like that.' she said sourly which prompted Eric into a full-blown laugh.

'Oh honey, trying to get close to you was like trying to give a bath to a feral cat' he said, tears in his eyes.

Ava glowered at him and crossed her arms. 'At least I shower regularly.' She muttered beneath her breath.

As Daryl walked in to the garage he found it covered in different engine parts. To his right there was a tarp covering what looked to be the frame of a bike.

'When I got this place there was that frame, some parts and equipment. Whoever lived her must have built them.' Aaron said.

'It's a lot of parts for one bike.' Daryl said. He grabbed a headlight and gave it a once over before he put it down. A small chuckle escaped Aaron and he explained.

'Whenever I came across any parts out there I brought it back. I didn't know what I'd need and I always thought I would learn how to do it. Ava's actually been trying to read up on it, but I get the feeling you already know what to do with it. And the thing is you're gonna need a bike.'

Daryl walked along the workbench, feeling it with his hand. When Aaron finished he clenched his jaw and turned. 'Why?' he asked.

'I told Deanna not to give you a job because I think I already have on for you. I want you to be Alexandria's other recruiter. I don't want Eric out there risking his life anymore.'

Daryl nodded. 'You want me risking mine, right?' he said.

'Yeah, because you know what you are doing. You're good out there. But you don't belong out there. I know its difficult getting used to people getting used to you. And right now I get why you need to be out there sometime. So do I – ' Daryl walked over to the tarp and looked beneath it, inspecting the frame '–. But the main reason why I want you to recruit is that you do know the difference between a bad person and a good person.' Aaron continued.

Daryl inhaled sharply, his chest swelling. His eyes altered between Aaron and the bike unsure of how to respond to such a display of confidence in him.

'I've got nothing better to do.' He said and shrugged before looking at Aaron. 'Thanks' he added.

Aaron's lips twitched in to a small smile. 'We'll leave the garage open, so you can come by anytime to work on the bike.' He said. He turned to leave but noticed Daryl hesitate.

'I can help you if you want?' Aaron said, wondering what was bothering him.

'Nah, it's just that girl –' Daryl began.

'Ava?'

'-Yeah. She live here or something?' Daryl bit his thumb and looked to the door.

'No, she lives next door. We're just close, you know?' Aaron said. As if on cue they heard Ava's voice shouting through the door.

'NEXT WEEK? You're telling me he's planning another trip next week with a guy we've barely met? There are bad people out there Eric, I shouldn't have to tell you that! What if something goes wrong, what then huh?'

Aaron and Daryl looked at each other as they heard Eric's muted voice trying to calm her down. Sighing, Aaron walked over and opened the door.

'Ava –' he began as they stepped inside. Ava whirled around and threw her hands up when she saw them.

'Don't. I've heard enough already.' She said and stormed out, slamming the door so hard the walls shook.

The three men stood in silence for a few seconds. Daryl looked to Eric who shrugged his shoulders apologetically. It was Aaron that broke the silence.

'I'm sorry. It's really not about you.' he said to Daryl. When Daryl gave him a dubious glare he continued. 'Trust me, this has nothing to do with you or your encounter yesterday. Ava's just has a hard time trusting people she doesn't know. Surely you can understand that.' Aaron smiled that reassuring smile he had and Daryl believed him.

'She used to recruit with me herself, you know.' Aaron said after a while.

Daryl raised his brows, trying to picture her out there.

'Why she stop?' he asked.

'We met some bad people.' Aaron answered as his features hardened, his lip drawn to a thin line. Daryl didn't push any further and only bobbed his head in understanding.

He excused himself not long after. When he stepped out on the porch he noticed Ava sitting to his left, half hidden in the shadows. She didn't look at him. Instead she brought her arm up to her face, cigarette in hand. She seemed to be looking at something particular in the shadows on the other side of the road, her face deep in concentration.

Daryl took one step towards the stairs.

'Did you take it?' she said suddenly, gaze still fixed in front of her.

'Yeah.' He responded and walked down the stairs. Behind him he heard the scraping sound of a chair being pushed back.

'Daryl – wait.' she called. He wasn't sure why, but he complied and turned around. As she grew level with him she reached out her pack of cigarettes, shaking it slightly at him. He took one slowly and she brought her other hand up, lighting it for him.

He eyed her wearily as she put the pack away.

'I get it if you don't like me much. I probably wouldn't either if I were you. I'm not asking you to like me or to be my friend' She said. 'But I am going to ask you to be his.'

Her eyes found his, holding his gaze and her face grew stern.

'Listen, I've seen you with your group and you are more than just a group of people who survived together. You are a family. And I know that everybody has lost someone by now, yet you have to understand that those two people in there –' she turned and pointed back at the house. '– They are my family. They are all that I have left now. So if you do this I need you to think of Aaron as one of yours. I need you to promise me that you won't abandon him if things get hairy out there. That you'll look after him the way I know he will look after you.'

Daryl looked at her. Her stern façade had given way for an almost pleading stance by the end of her speech. He wondered what had happened to her out there to make her this scared and suddenly he felt a strange kind of kinship with her.

'Ya don't have ta worry. I'll look after him. I promise.' He said.

Her shoulders relaxed, as if a huge weight had been lifted of her, her smile shone white in the dimly lit street.

He turned and started to walk away, and was surprised when he heard her footsteps beside him. She didn't say anything else though, and they walked together in silence. The only noise to be heard were their alternating, nicotine filled, exhales.

When they neared the house his group shared he heard her stop behind him.

'I'm sorry' she said.

He turned, surprised. 'For what?' he said.

'For doubting you.' She simply retorted. She dropped her bud to the ground and stomped it. Looking back up at him she gave him a half smile before she turned and headed back.

Daryl watched her retreating figure, a warm feeling spreading in his chest for the second time that night.