Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead, just my original characters.
"I gotta admit, I like it here." Deena took a sip from her glass that was half filled with bourbon, Wild Turkey to be exact. A few shots of that used to have her ready to jump on a table and dance. It still kind of did actually.
Glenn sat beside her silently, but he was grinning. At what, Deena had no clue because he was looking into space. She could already tell he wasn't the type to hold his liquor well. He hadn't even had that much to drink and he was already pretty buzzed. Her small frame shook with light laughter as she reached over and took his glass, refilling it with wine. His face became gleeful as he excitedly took the glass and drank.
Dale eyed her glass, but was smiling at her affectionately. Deena was a hard ass, but he knew deep down she was a scared little girl and it was all a front. He knew he'd like Deena the moment she started to get into detail about why John Coltrane was simply the best jazz composer and saxophonist ever. What he found interesting about the young woman was that she always wore black. No matter how hot it was, she refused to wear a light color. She never explained why, nor did she bother to explain why she wore an engagement ring when asked about it.
He watched her refill her glass with more bourbon. She made a slight face as she let the sip she took slide down her throat, probably setting fire to her insides. He looked around the cafeteria table. Everyone was happy and carefree for the time being. No one knew what their next move would be, but now wasn't the time to think about that. It was time to celebrate finding a safe place in the CDC.
Rick stood up, holding his wine glass up and facing the good Dr. Edwin Jenner. He had been the only one at the CDC and let them stay. He shared his liquor and food with them and they were all too grateful.
"I want to thank Dr. Jenner." Rick spoke loudly, drawing all the attention on him. Everyone grew silent. "We haven't thanked you, but know that this means a lot to us."
"You saved our butts doc." Deena chimed, holding her glass up.
"He's more than just our host." T-dog added. He was a buff African American and he was bald. He looked fierce and at one point intimidated Deena until she got to know him. He was actually a real sweet heart. He was seated next to Jaqui. She was also African American, but a bit of a spitfire.
"Booya!" Daryl cheered, holding up his bottle of Southern Comfort. He was smiling and looked genuinely happy, not like his usual brooding self.
"Booya!" Everyone but Shane and the doctor repeated. Dr. Jenner half smiled, tilting his glass in their direction before taking a sip.
"Glad you all are so happy. No one's gonna ask why we came here and only found this guy?" Shane asked, his arms cross over his wide chest.
"Shane, come on brother, we're relaxing now."
"No, Rick. This was your move. We're here now and all we found was one doctor in this big building. Now why is that?"
Dr. Jenner looked down at his hands for a moment before looking straight at Shane. "When things got bad, some left to be with their family. When the military was over run, a lot of the other doctors bolted or opted out. I'm all that's left."
The air grew heavy and for a moment, no one knew what to say. Glenn stood up wobbly and frowned. "You're such a buzz kill dude." His words were slightly slurred.
"Way to go Shane, now I gotta drink even more to forget how depress I feel all of a sudden." Deena mumbled while filling her glass to the brim. She already know that she wouldn't even finish the glass before really feeling it.
Deena swayed and stumbled with every step she took. Her body felt light and her eyes drooping. She giggled randomly, remembering how Glenn had stood up to go to bed, but fell straight to the cafeteria floor and passed out. Oh, how she adored her Korean.
Now it was time for her to go to bed and sleep this off, but where was her room again? All the doors looked the same in the dim hallway. She dragged her feet to the end of it and pushed open a door. She had no idea if it was her room or not, but she needed to lay down. Closing the door gently behind her, she felt her legs give out beneath her, sending her crashing to the carpeted floor. She let out another giggle, running her fingers against the carpet.
The bathroom door opened, the light shining in her eyes. She groaned, shielding her face. She heard footsteps, but the stopped suddenly. There was a sigh. It sounded frustrated, or was it annoyed? Either way, whoever it was didn't seem to thrilled to find Deena on their floor, groaning.
"You gotta be shitten me." The deep voice spoke. "Of all the places you wanna pass out at, you just had to find me." She recognized that unmistakable southern drawl that made her skin crawl, but for some reason it didn't have its usual effect on her. "Get up." He ordered.
"I can't." she replied, her voice slurring.
"I go to take a fucking shower and come back to this." He kept grumbling to himself, but Deena didn't care about what he was saying. She felt two hands grab the inside of her elbows and hoisted her up. The sudden movement had caused the room to spin and Deena to lean her back against Daryl for support. She felt drops of water seep through the back of her tank top and on the top of her bare back. Daryl was shirtless and wet. He held her up, reluctantly letting her lean against him for support.
His body felt hard against her back. She giggled again, thinking that all the hunting he did paid off. She heard him grunt as he shoved her away from him.
"What's so damn funny?" he demanded. She flopped down on his bed lacking, feminine grace. In the glow of that bathroom light she could see his waist wrapped in a towel and for a moment she let her eyes wonder up his happy trail, to his tight abs, his strong chest and finally stopping at his face. Daryl didn't miss her checking him out and for a moment he felt a swell of manly pride knowing she liked what she saw. "What was funny?" he repeated.
"Nothing." She replied, leaning back on her elbows. Her eyes were glossed over and her pouty lips curved into a smile. Had it been any other woman on his bed like that he would have jumped her bones. But this wasn't a woman. This was Deena.
"Get out." Daryl walked over and grasped her thin arm. He was able to wrap his hand completely around it. He never noticed how skinny she really was.
"Why?" she whined.
He pulled her up with ease, almost wishing she'd insult him or act bitchy. He didn't like this Deena, not that he liked the normal Deena either. "You got a bed, go to it."
"I don't know where it is." She sounded like a child. He wanted to slap her for being so annoying and finding his room out of everyone's. Didn't she and that chino have something going on? Why wasn't she passed out in his room?
"Tell you what, I'll be nice enough to walk you out my door. After that, pick any other door you want and pass the fuck out there."
She smiled, pushing her body against his for a moment then pulling away. "I wanna dance." She started to hum and began to dance offbeat to her own tune.
Daryl let her go and rubbed his face roughly. All he wanted to do was sleep. It had been a while since he got a good shower and a bed to sleep in. Deena just couldn't let him be happy. Even when she wasn't trying, she still found a way to piss him off.
She suddenly stopped swaying her hips and humming. She looked down at her left hand and flopped onto the floor. She brought her knees to her chest and stared at her ring finger. The diamond glinted slightly in the bathroom light.
"Oh, what now." His patience was wearing thin and he was about to throw her out, lock the door, and go to sleep.
"I used to think all I was good at was being a drunk. Couldn't do nothing right it seemed." Daryl was about to tell her to shut up, but something stopped the words from passing his lips. He couldn't tell she had a drinking problem at any point. He hated to admit it, but he was curious. "I had to have been a disappointment cause my ma killed herself cause of me. Dad never admitted I was the reason, but he never really denied it either. I always wondered what I did wrong to make her wanna kill herself. What could a 13 year old do that was that bad huh?" Daryl had no answer, but he listen closely, strangely interested in her story. He knew the feeling of having a parent hate their child. He knew how it felt to be the child that wonder what they did so wrong to not be loved. "All I ever did was drink, write and work. Then I became a bounty hunter and I felt like my life did have a purpose. I loved what I did, you know? Taking down the bad guys with Chicago."
"Chicago?" Daryl repeated, surprised by how softly he was speaking to her. He wanted to sound rough and mean like he normally would have.
"Eric. We called him Chicago cause that's where he was from."
"Called? He dead now or something?" she nodded. "Walkers got him?"
"Nah, if he was alive when the outbreak happened, you better believe he'd still be alive. Kicking ass and taking names, that's what he'd always say. No walker got him, a bounty did." Her mouth kept going and she wanted to stop. The alcohol made it hard to control the words that were coming out. "He died long before this and I loved him. Deena James ain't never been easy to deal with." Daryl snorted with laughter, knowing how true that was. "But he dealt with me. He cared and loved me. You ever been in love Daryl?"
He looked at her with his blue eyes, silent. He wasn't sure how to answer her, he didn't even know why she was still in his room. Her brown eyes were wide and almost childlike. As much as he joked about her being a big ass kid, he never realized how spot on he had been. Deena wasn't as tough as she pretended to be. She was a kid who had been playing a grownup since she was a child.
As he pulled her off the floor, still silent, he couldn't help but understand how much a like they really were. They both let the past traumas of their lives turn them into tough people who really just wanted acceptance. He hated to admit he had anything in common with Deena or that he wanted people to like him.
Deena didn't fight him, instead she just let him lead her out and into another room across from his. Daryl gently pushed her into the bed and threw the blanket over her. She smiled at him. He started to feel uncomfortable. He wasn't use to her not yelling or glaring at him.
"You're a pain in my ass." He mumbled as he watched her eyelids drop and her breathing grow soft. She finally passed out. "Good riddance."