Chapter 2

Daryl looked at the woman in front of him; she was filthy, covered in dirt and walker guts. Her hair was long and hung limply down her back; it was so dirty he wasn't even sure what colour it was. She was tall, when he'd shaken her hand she had looked him straight in the eye and hadn't needed to look up. That put her the best part of six foot. From what he could see in the cut off denim shorts she was wearing most of that height came from extremely long legs. She was also clad in a tight fitting short sleeved tee shirt. A bright red flannel shirt was tied round her waist. Her outfit was completed by a pair of well-worn walking boots and thick woollen socks. She was slim, with an athletic build and her arms and legs looked well-toned.

He realised he must of been staring when he saw a small smirk play over her lips. Abruptly he turned away.

"Hope you find what you need. Don't think there's much left in this town though" He started to walk back the way he had come.

"Wait" She called, just a hint of desperation in her voice "Don't suppose you got any food you can spare, or even just some water?" As he turned to face her again she looked down "Please" she finished quietly.

With an impatient sigh he indicated that she follow him. Quickly Eleanor retrieved a small backpack and a rifle from the ground near the bodies before catching up with him as he strode off.

They walked in silence for about ten minutes, leaving the small town behind them. Eleanor took the chance to study the stranger she was trusting. He was tall and well built, with shaggy hair and she'd been very taken with his piercing blue eyes as they'd studied her earlier. He carried the crossbow with confidence and walked with a casual arrogance. He had a bit of an attitude but she decided that was fair enough. He wasn't seeing her at her best. He probably thought she was some helpless, dependant woman, that couldn't survive on her own. She was willing to let him think that for now if it got her some food.

Eventually they came to a motorbike and car parked on the side of the road. Daryl walked up to the bike and opened one of the saddlebags. He pulled out a bottle of water and threw it to her. Gratefully she pulled it open and drank half of it straight down. Never had warm water tasted so good. He then handed her a can of chicken stew. The can had a ring pull and she ripped it open, pulling chunks of chicken out with her fingers and stuffing them into her mouth.

She saw him watching, an amused expression on his face.

"Didn't your Mama teach you table manners?" he commented as she crammed the food in, finishing the can in a few minutes.

She wasn't embarrassed "I haven't eaten for four days, sorry if my manners offend you"

He opened his mouth to reply but was distracted when she started to lick the gravy off her fingers, determined to get every last bit of food. Quickly he turned away and pretended to busy himself with the bike. How could that look so hot he wondered, annoyed at himself.

"Sweet bike" He heard her comment, he turned back to see her looking at his bike, a big smile on her face.

"What's so funny?" he asked confused. She laughed out loud

"Seeing that bike bought back a few good memories." She explained "Had a boyfriend had one similar to that. Had some good times making out on it"

He glanced back at the bike, then at her again

"How the hell you make out on a damn bike?" He blurted out, without thinking

She smiled again; gazing at him with lowered eyes and took a few steps in his direction.

"It's real easy, you just have to get a bit inventive is all" Her voice low and husky she raised her eyes and looked straight into his "Show you if you want" she breathed.

He took a few steps back and stumbled into the bike, almost losing his footing. He didn't know what to say. It was almost a relief when she laughed and he realised she'd been teasing him. Looking over her shoulder Daryl was pleased to see Glenn and Maggie jogging towards them.

As they had headed back to the rendezvous point, clutching bags of supplies they had found, Glenn and Maggie where surprised to see Daryl talking to a tall woman then stumble backwards and almost fall.

"What's goin' on?" Maggie wondered as they approached. The woman didn't appear to be an obvious threat, there was no clear reason for Daryl to retreat from the stranger and they were both sure if he thought she was trouble he would just shoot her.

Eleanor turned as she heard people approaching, her hand automatically going for her knife.

"Friends of yours?" she queried

"Yeah, they're with me" He was relieved to see them; they would know the right way to deal with this woman.

As they approached Maggie stole a glance at Glenn. He was looking at the leggy stranger with a small smile on his face.

"Hey, put yer tongue away and stop drooling" she snapped at him

"I'm not drooling," Glenn started protesting before realising his wife was winding him up.

When they arrived back at the car Maggie went straight up to Eleanor.

"Hi" she said "I'm Maggie, this is my husband Glenn. Are you coming back with us?"

Eleanor was startled; it hadn't occurred to her that Daryl might be part of a group and that it would be possible to join them.

"I don't know" she replied honestly "I've been without a group for a few days now, I'd like to come back if it's possible"

"Everybody pulls their weight in our group" Daryl spoke up "What can you do? You run out of fuel, run out of ammo and hadn't eaten for days when I found you. Seem pretty useless to me."

"I'm a damn good shot; you've seen me use a knife. I'm pretty good at supply runs and I'm a hell of a cook. "She winked at Maggie and Glenn before continuing "and I've got a pretty fine ass, which you've checked out plenty, when you thought I weren't looking"

The younger couple grinned at each other and chuckled loudly, storing that information away in their arsenal of embarrassing stories to use against Daryl when the time was right. Daryl couldn't think how to deny it and was annoyed because it was true. He hadn't been able to resist a couple of glances. If she went around in those shorts what did she expect? He just turned away and repacked his saddlebags for the third time.

It was decided that Eleanor could come back to the prison with them, but it was up to Rick to decide if she could stay or not. Eleanor wanted to go on the bike but Daryl was against it. Maggie and Glenn thought it was a good idea and in the end he just gave up. They put her backpack and empty rifle in the car.

He climbed on and told her to get on behind him. She swung her long legs on with no problem.

"You better hold on" he snapped "I aint stopping if you fall off"

She shot Maggie and Glenn a look, with a small smile before leaning tight into his back and tucking her legs right up against his. As he went to kick start the bike she slid her hands around his waist and hooked her thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans.

"This tight enough?" she whispered into his ear

He was about to kick start the bike but when her hands slid around his waist his foot slipped and the bike stalled, jolting forward a few feet, making him put his foot to the ground quickly before it toppled over. Quickly he started the bike and roared off, hearing Maggie and Glenn laughing as they watched.

As they climbed into the car Glenn commented "I really hope Rick lets her stay, I think she'll liven the place up"

Maggie agreed "She'll certainly give Daryl trouble."