Disclaimer : Sadly I do not own anyone except my OC.

Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction. Sorry if it's a bit slow to start but I am trying to build up the relationships between the characters, there will be action and angst soon. Please review so I know how I'm doing. Thanks to the lovely people who are following this effort .

Chapter 6

The next morning she arrived at the cars bright and early. Daryl was already there, checking over the car they were going to use. Carol was there making sure they had food and water packed for the trip. She reminded Eleanor of her mother, fussing over her and her brother before they went off on a school trip. The thought made her smile sadly. She had no idea what had happened to her Brother or Mother, she could only hope they were still together, her brother could take care of them both, he was ex-army , a real tough son of a bitch.

"Well don't you clean up real pretty?" Carol greeted her with a kind smile. Daryl glanced up at the sound of Carol's voice and couldn't help staring at the woman in front of him. She was wearing slim fitting jeans that clung nicely in all the right places, and a black camisole top. She was wearing her red shirt over the top, tied at the waist and unbuttoned all the way down. Now her hair was free from dirt and walker blood he could see it was a honey blonde colour, with lighter sun-bleached highlights. As she walked towards them she was tying it back into a long braid.

"That was the best shower I've had in a long time" she smiled at them "Damn, it was the only shower I've had in a long time. It's good to feel clean again" she walked next to Daryl and peered at the engine, reaching in and adjusting one of the connectors.

"You know much about engines?" he asked

"Not a damn thing" she confessed "just thought it would look better if the writing on that thing was the other way up"

He looked at her for a second, before rolling his eyes and muttering "crazy woman" He stood up and slammed the hood of the car shut, stepping back. He nudged Eleanor's hip with his own

"You manage to get any sleep last night?" he asked with a small smile, which she returned .

"Yeah, by the time I finished my shower, I was so tired I fell into bed and crashed, got a good few hours. Hot breakfast today and now I'm ready to go"

Carol watched the exchange between them, pleased they seemed to be getting on. "I guess the coffee worked" she thought to herself.

The young boy in the sheriff's hat, Eleanor now knew to be Rick's son, Carl, ran past them.

"Michonne's back" he called excitedly.

"Michonne?" Eleanor asked Carol.

"She's a real badass with a big sword and a bigger attitude" Daryl joked "You two will either get on real well or kill each other"

Carol gave him a shove "Oh come on, she's not that bad." She turned to Eleanor "Come say hello"

The three of them walked to the gates and Carol helped Carl open them. A black woman with amazing dreadlocks and a big katana sword strapped to her back galloped through on a lovely chestnut horse. As she dismounted Carl and Rick hurried to meet her. Her stern face lit up in a beautiful smile when she saw Carl and she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a pile of comic books, handing them over to him. "Don't forget I get to read them when you're done" she reminded him. He thanked her and ran off, leading the horse to a makeshift stable and clutching the comics. She was in deep conversation with Rick when the others approached her.

"Welcome back Michonne" Carol greeted the younger woman, with a hug. Michonne and Daryl just exchanged nods and didn't speak. Rick introduced Eleanor and the two women sized each other up. They both seemed to reach the same unspoken conclusion. They would reserve judgement until they knew more about the other. Daryl leaned across and whispered to Rick "if they were men they'd be seeing who could piss the furthest now" which caused the sheriff to splutter with laughter. The women both turned to face them.

"You got something to say, Deputy Grimes?" Michonne asked menacingly.

"How 'bout you, Mr Dixon, any comments?" Eleanor leaned forward.

"Just sayin' we need to get movin'. Got a housing development to check out" Rick looked innocently at the women.

"Bout that" Daryl looked at the ground "Ellie's comin' too" he told Rick.

Rick looked surprised "You sure you're up to it? Only came in to us yesterday, sure you got your strength back?" He stared at Eleanor.

"I'm fine" she told him "Just needed something to eat and a night's sleep. Ready to go now"

He nodded "Okay then. What weapons you got?"

"Just these two knives and a machete. Got no ammo for my rifle and lost my handguns to the bastards that took me" She looked annoyed "Pissed about that, they were good guns"

Rick pulled a gun out of his waistband. "Take this for now, we'll get you fixed up when we get back." He passed the weapon over and was reassured to see the first thing she did was check it was loaded and make sure the safety was on, before tucking it into her belt.

As they headed back to the car Michonne decided she wanted to tag along as well. Rick drove, with Daryl in the passenger seat and the two woman in the back. Eleanor was aware of Michonne studying her as the car sped along the road.

"Seen enough yet?" she asked quietly

"Not sure" Michonne replied "let you know when I've seen what you can do."

"Don't you worry about me, I'm sure I can handle myself even without a pretty sword" Eleanor smiled sweetly, as an annoyed look crossed Michonne's face.

"Play nice, girls" Daryl turned in his seat, looking back at both of them with an amused smirk "might need both of you to look out for us men"

A/N Please let me know if you think I am managing to stay in character. Thank you.

Next chapter up soon.