Sorry to everyone that started reading this before. I had to take down a couple of chapters because I realized I hadn't put the first Daryl POV in. The main story is told by Stella in the first person, but I felt that it was important to see what Daryl was thinking here and there. His POV is always told in the third person though. Hope that doesn't bother too many people. But let me know what you think. I'd love some reviews, but be gentle. This is my first attempt to ever write anything. Thanks
Daryl's POV
Daryl looked after Stella as she headed inside. He wished she had stayed with him. Talking to her had been easy. Well, not at first, but once they got on the subject of music it was. Daryl had spent many nights by himself in his family's cabin, with nothing but the TV or the radio for company. TV didn't come in too good, and he didn't really like the shows on it anyway. The world they depicted was nothing like the world he knew. Radio was better. That he understood. Hank Williams, George Strait, they sang about stuff he knew, most of it anyway.
When she first came over and sat next to him, he had groaned inwardly. She made him feel so awkward. He knew she was a northerner, and she was obviously educated. He hadn't even finished high school. She tended to use words he never even heard before. Not all the time but occasionally. She didn't do it in a way that made him think that she was trying to impress people, it was just the way she talked. She even used the word 'whom'.
Over the last few days he had become tuned into her without even realizing it. He supposed at first it was because he felt somewhat responsible for her. He quickly came to respect and admire her though. Although she must have felt like hell the full first day here, she got out of bed at the same time as everyone else, and insisted that she be given tasks to do. Hershel tried to keep her in bed but she refused. They finally compromised on the fact that she wouldn't lift anything and would rest frequently. Even Rick, who had grumbled the first day about having another mouth to feed, quickly began to refer to her as a part of the group.
He found that he liked watching her as she moved around the camp. She had been leaving her hair down since she arrived and he frequently found himself staring at it. It hung almost to her waist in a cascade of unruly curls and was a light golden blonde. When the wind blew it lifted and swirled around her. He had never seen anything like it. A couple of times she had looked at him while he was watching her. He had looked away quickly but had felt the burn of embarrassment creep up his face and hoped she hadn't noticed.
Anytime she had talked to him in the last few days he had all but tripped over his own tongue saying something back. What came out was inevitably rude, even for his standards. It didn't help that her bruises were fading either. Hershel was wrong, she wasn't pretty. She was stunning. There was a picture Daryl remembered seeing of a beach in the Caribbean. Her eyes were the exact blue-green of the water. She had high cheekbones and an easy smile. She smiled a lot, at least at other people.
Tonight though she had smiled at him. When she did he felt this warm glow deep within his belly. He had never really felt anything like that before. Of course he didn't have much to compare it to. Nice girls didn't talk to or smile at the Dixons. The girls that did talk to him tended to be out for fun, not conversation. His longest and most serious relationship had been with a girl that he had tended to run into somewhat regularly at the local honky tonk. He didn't think that he spoken to her as much as he talked to Stella tonight.
When Maggie had said goodnight to them earlier, Daryl felt a stirring of joy at the thought of being alone with Stella. He thought maybe he'd even ask her to dance, something he'd never do in front of others. But she had looked around and seen that everyone else had gone in, and got up immediately to go. Of course she didn't want to be alone with him, she had just been being nice talking to him all night.