Chapter 8

"He threatened you?" Michonne said as they sat on her porch with a glass of wine, Charlotte shrugged as she took a long drag off her cigarette.

"Yeah, he thought he could bully me and scare me like he does that poor wife and kids of his, but I showed him with this." Charlotte said as she drew her desert eagle and held it up, its chrome muzzle gleaming in the light of the early spring moon.

Michonne laughed heartily as they toasted their glasses.

"Here's to teaching the assholes of the world that some bitches ain't to be messed with." She said, then, her expression turned serious.

"You gonna tell Rick? … Or more importantly, you gonna tell Daryl?" She asked.

"No, why? I handled it, there is nothing to tell. Plus Daryl would murder him, and Rick, I am afraid of what Rick would do, he's been so unstable lately." Charlotte mused as she swirled the wine around in her glass.

"If they find out second hand, it could be worse." Michonne replied.

Charlotte fell silent, she knew Michonne had a point, of either Daryl, or Rick found out about this some other way, it would be ten times as worse than if she just came out and told them right from the beginning, it was clear she had some thinking to do.

Charlotte was roused from her restless slumber by the click of the front door, she looked at the dark window outside and deduced that it was probably a few hours after midnight, give or take, judging from the position of the moon.

On the floor at the foot of her bed, she saw Gavin's imposing outline loom into view as he stood, the shadow of his long tail sweeping back and forth, she figured it was Daryl, she trusted that dog enough, he would let her know if it was an intruder. He defiantly made it easier living in this hellish world.

Sure enough, Daryl's lean, shaggy silhouette came into view, backlit by the light from the moon, thinking she was asleep, he crept to the shower, peeling off his clothes as he went. Charlotte smiled to herself as she heard the shower turn on and a new sense of peace enveloped her.

She used to hate admitting to herself that she depended emotionally on another human being, she had gotten so used to relying on herself, and herself alone that it was new and strange, and frightening to depend upon someone other than herself. She knew she could always count on herself, but something about Daryl had broken through the tough walls she had put up around her feelings, and her heart.

It was then she realized that she would have to tell him firsthand about the incident with Pete, because if she didn't, Daryl would likely see it as a breach of trust. She turned to face him as he slipped into bed.

"Aww shit, I didn't wake you, did I?" He said as he slid his arms around her.

"Yeah, but I am glad you did, because we need to talk." She replied, his expression became slightly panicked.

"T … talk?" He gulped.

"Not that talk, dumbass, something happened today to me and I wanted you to hear it first from me, and not from the grapevine." She said.

His expression hardened as the weariness from the week long hunting trip drifted away and he sat up in bed.

"What happened? Someone hurt you?" He said, his blue eyes blazing.

"Well … yes … and no …" she said, pausing before she told him the whole story about what had happened with Sam, and how Pete had threatened her.

Daryl jumped out of bed and grabbed a pair of jeans.

"I'm gonna kill the sumbitch! Or at least fuck him up, make him think twice before …" he trailed off, seething.

"Hey! Whoa! Did you miss the part where I said I handled it? I am not a damsel in destress, Daryl, in case you forgot, I've had my eye gouged out, I have been shot, beat up, hit by a car, you name it! I can handle this coward, I know how men like him operate. Deep down he is a wuss, he only picks on people weaker than him, and you and I both know that isn't me." She said, her aquamarine eye blazing as she looked him dead straight in the face.

Daryl shook his head and chuckled. "He picked the wrong girl to fuck with, that's for sure." He said with a proud grin.

"Fuckin' A, you got that right, and tomorrow I'm going to tell Rick, and then I am going to tell Deanna."

"Pete did what?" Rick said, leaning towards Charlotte as though he were making sure he had heard her right.

Charlotte merely stared him dead straight in the face, her expression was set in a scowl of seriousness.

"You should know by now that I don't spread bullshit, law man." She replied to him, her tone curt.

"Yeah but … Pete is Alexandria's doctor, I have no idea what Deanna's reaction will be!" Rick countered.

"Well, let's ask her." Charlotte said as she strode off toward the former councilwoman's house.

"Charlotte, now just wait a minute!" Rick said as he caught up to her and took her by the arm.

"Wait for what, Rick? Until he hurts Jessie, or the boys? Hurts someone else? Hurts me?" charlotte challenged him, silence settled between them until Charlotte spoke again.

"I told Daryl about it last night." She said.

"What?! Aw fuck, Charlotte, now we're going to have a whole new mess of problems!" He said as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Well what was I supposed to do, Rick, we are in what I would like to consider a committed relationship, I can't keep that from him. It would cause problems between us! Don't worry, I talked him down, though, I told him I handled it, that I don't think he will be bothering me anymore, but I also think I will be going to Maggie from now on for all my medical needs." Charlotte said, the ghost of a dry smile playing about her mouth, Rick smiled in spite of himself.

"Fair enough, and I suppose you are right, I guess it is the right thing to do to let Deanna know she has a wife beater in her town." He replied.

"After you." She said as she motioned toward her house.

"He did what?!" Deanna said as she sat her cup of tea down on the coffee table in front of her in shock.

Charlotte said nothing, she merely held the older woman's shocked gaze with her own set, serious expression.

Deanna looked to Rick, as though she didn't know whether or not to believe Charlotte's story.

"She's telling the truth, Deanna, trust me, out of everyone here, this little girl is probably the most honest person in this town." Rick said as he put a hand on Charlotte's shoulder.

"And what do you suggest I do about this?" Deanna asked.

"That's up to you, it's your town." Rick said with a shrug, he was going to put the ball in her court.

"Well, what do you think we should do?" Deanna replied shrewdly, as if sensing the move he was trying to make.

"I say you should call him in and have a talk with him, tell him that you know what is going on and that he threatened Charlotte, and if he does it again to her or anyone else, he's gone." Rick said, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes.

"Are you saying kick him out?" Deanna said with a raised eyebrow, clearly she wasn't happy with the aspect of losing her only doctor.

"I think it would be best, if he continues to hurt or threaten other people. I hate it, but there isn't much we can do now a days concerning him and his wife, before, I could take him in, she could press charges … but now …" Rick trailed off.

"I won't lie to you, ma'am, as a former cop, there is not much I hate more than a wife beater, but sadly in this day and age, there is not much we can do to him concerning his own family, unless Jessie takes a stand." He said as he pinned her with a hard gaze.

Deanna nodded. "Point taken, I will have a talk with him." She said as they all stood.

"Oh! I almost forgot, we are going to be having a town get together to officially welcome all of you to Alexandria."

"Oh, that's really not necessary …" Rick began but Deanna waved him off.

"It's customary when we get new members to have a town social, of sorts, it puts everyone at ease and allows everyone to get to know one another." Deanna said as she turned to Charlotte.

"I have heard from the grapevine that you are quite the guitar player."

Charlotte blushed. "Well, I play, but I don't think …"

"Great, what would you say to headlining the event?" Deanna said. Charlotte stole a murderous glance at Rick, who merely shrugged sheepishly.

Put on the spot, she had no choice but to concede. "I guess." She said as she blew out a breath.

"Uh … excuse me … Olivia?" Charlotte said as she knocked on the open door to the supply house.

"Charlotte! Yes! What can I do for you?"

"Well, Deanna wants me to headline the … I guess event would be the best way to describe it? But I need a guitar, I had one, but sadly, shit happened, and I lost it. Deanna told me you might have something I could use?" Charlotte explained awkwardly, she hated this shit.

"Oh, yes! I think I have something you might be interested in." Olivia said with a grin as she motioned for Charlotte to follow her.

"Fucking A man!" Charlotte breathed as she was met by row after row of electric guitars of all styles and types, hundreds of them, some hung from the wall, others were stacked on the floor against each other.

"We just … accumulated them over the years. In the beginning, before things got really bad, we snagged a bunch of them; the boys would bring back one or two every time they went on a run from wherever. Take your pick." Olivia explained as she moved back and motioned to the guitars.

Carefully, methodically, she sifted through the many guitars, there were many Stratocasters, Gibson SG's and many knockoffs of those, along with twenty or so hollow bodied electric guitars in every color combination one could think of. Charlotte was torn; so many great guitars, any of them would be a great choice, even the knockoffs, but since she didn't have to pay for it, she was going to choose the best of the best.

It was then she saw it, the corner of the fender peeking out from behind a row of Gibson imitations, she carefully sifted through them and gasped as she pulled out a stunning Stratocaster, it was the brightest shade of pink she had ever seen on a guitar, with a metallic finish, and silver accents.

"This one." She said as she slung it over her shoulder.

"So, she talked you into it, huh?" Daryl said as he came to join her on the porch with a beer, Charlotte had been sitting out there for the past hour, strumming away, brushing up her (albeit rusty) skills.

"Well … cornered would be a more accurate description." She replied with a laugh.

"But, if it puts us in their good graces, and puts these people at ease with us, than I suppose I can take one for the team." She added with a chuckle.

"Found anyone to back ya up, yet?" Daryl asked as he took a deep swig of his beer.

Charlotte smiled without meeting his intense blue eyed gaze as she strummed along absent mindedly.

"Oh, I have a few ideas."

Charlotte was waiting for Ron when he slipped through the entrance he thought was secret, leaning on the fence, her foot resting casually behind her. Ron, distracted by whatever teenage angst he was going through, walked right past her without even seeing her.

"Have fun?" She asked him, he let out a yelp, and spun around brandishing a knife.

"What the hell, lady?! I could have stabbed you!"

"Well, as you might have noticed, it wouldn't be the first time." She said as she pushed off the wall and walked slowly up to him.

W … what d'you want?" He asked, he tried not to show it, but he was intimidated by the little woman's rough appearance and confident demeanor.

"I hear you're a pretty good drummer, I hear you were in the band in school back before all this started. I also know that you have been sneaking out to be with that little girlfriend of yours for the back few weeks or so, and while I really don't give a shit, it is against the rules." Charlotte said as she came to stand in front of Ron with her arms crossed over her chest.

"So, you gonna rat me out or what?" Ron said, his mockingly haughty tone not reaching his panicked expression.

"That all depends, I have a proposition for you. Deanna wants me to headline this get together she is putting on for everyone, the problem is … I need a drummer." She said as she looked pointedly at him.

"And you want me to do it?" Ron replied with a snort.

"You do, and this, what I saw here? It never happened." Charlotte said as she gestured to the fence.

Ron milled it over in his head for a moment before thrusting out his hand.

"Deal." He said begrudgingly.

"You wanted to speak with me?"

"Ah, yes, please come in." Deanna said to Pete as she opened the door for him.

"Please sit." She said as she motioned to the couch in her living room.

"Would you like something to drink? Some tea perhaps."

"No, I would just like to know why I am here." Pete said tersely.

Deanna's face grew serious as she sat down across from him.

"Pete, it has been brought to my attention that you … threatened another member of our town the other day, and I called you here today to tell you that cannot continue to happen; I also know what happens in your household behind closed doors, I have known for a while now and while I don't condone it, your private family matters are yours alone. What I will not tolerate is the threatening of other members of this community, and I called you here to tell you if I hear of it happening again, there will be consequences … consequences that will not be pleasant. Do I make myself clear?"

Although he was seething inside, Pete managed to paste what he hoped would pass as a pleasant smile on his face.

"Understood, Deanna, I apologize for my behavior, I was having a bad day and … just took it out on the first person I came into contact with." He lied easily.

Deanna smiled at him.

"Fair enough, have a nice day. Pete."

As Pete exited the house, he caught sight of Charlotte walking down the street, talking animatedly with her boyfriend, the hunter, and the samurai lady, whose name escaped him at the moment.

As if she sensed his burning glare, she turned to look at him, but instead of averting her eyes, as he was used to people doing, she glared right back at him. Her hunter boyfriend seemed to sense her change in mood, for he followed her gaze and met his as well.

He could feel the hatred emanating from this man as he tightened his grip around Charlotte's shoulders, without breaking eye contact, he drew his hunting knife and pointed the tip right at him in a clear warning of what awaited him if he touched his woman again.

Charlotte gave him a knowing smirk before finally breaking contact as they passed Deanna's house, her man, the hunter however, continued to watch him until they had passed her house completely.

Revenge wasn't going to be as easy as he once thought, the little bitch was well protected, if he wanted to get to her, he would have to take care of her friends first.

Charlotte was roused by Daryl's rummaging around, a glance around the dark room told her there was still probably a few hours before dawn.

"Trying to sneak outta here without saying goodbye, huh?" She said sleepily as she sat up in bed.

The truth? He hated the phrase 'goodbye' like a cat hated the water; 'goodbye' meant you were never seeing the person again, or you weren't going to see them again for a long time.

He sat down next to her on the bed and drew her in close.

"How bout … I'll see ya when I get back?" he said as he rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"Sounds good to me, you be careful, now." She said as she pulled back to look into his brilliant blue eyes.

Daryl grinned at her. "Ain't I always?"

"It's not the walkers I'm worried about anymore, maybe I should come with you." She said as she got out of bed

"No." He said abtuptly

"But …"

"I said no! Don't you have that thing of yours to plan, anyway? And ain't you supposed to go on a supply run with Glenn and Spencer?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well … yeah … but your safety is more important to me than a fucking concert, Daryl, and Spencer and Glenn would be just fine without me." Charlotte said, her frustration with him rising.

Sensing an impending fight, Daryl enveloped her in an embrace.

"Look, we need meat, spring is almost here, and the big game is gonna be moving around more now. This town's almost out of stored provisions … and let's face it, Glenn and Spencer need you more than I do." He said with a chuckle.

Charlotte blew out a sigh against his shoulder, she knew that Daryl was as stubborn as she was, and there was no convincing him once he made up his mind about something.

"You just hurry back, okay?" She said as she cupped his face in her small, dainty hands.

Daryl responded by kissing her hard, his tongue boldly entering her mouth to entangle with her own.

"I … I thought you said you had to go?" She said in the pauses between his hungry kisses as he began to back her toward the bed.

"I woke up early." He growled against her mouth as she felt the edge of the bed bump the backs of her legs.

"Excellent!" She replied as she fell back against the bed, pulling him with her.

"There you are! Where the hell have you been?" Spencer said as Charlotte jogged up to them.

"I … overslept." She said, catching Glenn's eye, and they shared the amusement of the inside joke Spencer wasn't in on.

"Well, now that we are all here, let's get a move on." Spencer said as they piled into the car and were off.

"So, where we goin'?" Charlotte asked Spencer, who was driving.

"There is a small resort town about ten miles from here, but ... it was really overrun and we could never get close, we didn't have the … uh … expertise." He said, Charlotte's expression softened towards the young man, knowing that was a hard thing for him to admit.

"Hey, don't feel bad, dude, this ain't an easy world to get on in anymore." She said

"Gavin didn't want to come today?" Glenn asked, noticing the german shepherd's absence.

"Naw, he decided to accompany Daryl today, I think they both needed their woodsy time." Charlotte said with a laugh, Glenn chuckled in reply as he turned his attention back toward the road.

Daryl and Gavin made their way through the forest, it was quiet … too quiet, especially for early spring, there should be birds singing, and the sounds of various woodland animals going about their business, but there was neither … and that meant one of two things; that there were walkers in the area, or there was a large predator in the area. Personally, Daryl hoped for the latter.

Suddenly, Gavin stopped, his hackles went up and he pushed himself against Daryl as a means to protect him, Daryl supposed it was held over from his years of police training. He could feel the low rumbling growl reverberating through the dog's large body.

Daryl readied his rifle, as much as he loved his crossbow, he had no choice but to use a rifle for larger game like elk, and bear. Suddenly, a figure exploded out of the underbrush to his right, but Gavin was quicker and he was on him in a second, his teeth sinking into the man's arm.

Daryl drew his knife and rushed to help the dog, just then he was tackled from behind by a second assailant with such force that it sent them both crashing to the ground. Daryl's head hit the hard, rocky ground hard, knocking him semi-conscious. He struggled to shake the fog out of his head as he struggled with the small built man who had remarkable strength for his size.

Daryl heard Gavin yelp and adrenaline coursed through his veins, this piece of shit wasn't getting the better of him, that was for damn sure. He threw a punishing right hook that hammered the man right in the side of the head, knocking him out.

Whatever the first asshole had done to Gavin, seemed to enrage him, going against his police training, the huge dog launched himself at the man's throat, ripping it open from jugular to jugular, and almost decapitating him. The man fell to the forest floor, his dying breaths ending in gurgling spasms as he bled out.

"You messed with the wrong two sumbitches." Daryl said breathlessly as he put a bolt right between his attacker's eyes with his crossbow.

"Hey, buddy, ya ok?" He said, turning his attention to the dog, Gavin was bleeding from a knife wound to his shoulder, but it looked like he would live. As the adrenaline from the ordeal wore off, Daryl winced as he felt a sudden searing pain in his right side. He lifted up his shirt and cursed as he discovered he had been stabbed some time during the struggle, and by the looks of it, it was bad.

Gavin limped up to him, a concerned look on his face, could a dog even convey concern?

"Shit!" Daryl cursed through gritted teeth as the remainder of the adrenaline wore off and the full force of the pain hit him. He could feel the clammy wetness spreading, he looked down to see the dark stain of blood growing, he had to find something to stop the bleeding, and soon, or he would pass out from blood loss.

Despite being injured himself, Gavin pushed his head under Daryl's arm and leaned against him as he walked.

"Thanks, pal." Daryl said as he pulled off his sweatshirt and pressed it against his wound, he had to find something to treat it, and soon.

Then, it was as if whatever deity on high decided to take pity on him, and he stumbled onto the edge of a small valley filled with Yarrow. He harvested several plants, ground them into a poultice and packed his wound with the substance. After a minute or so of stinging like hell, his wound began to feel slightly better, he tied his sweatshirt around his middle and turned to Gavin.

"Your turn, boy, this is gonna hurt, but it'll make it feel better." He said as he packed the dog's stab wound with the thick substance. Just then, the dog's huge ears swiveled forward, Daryl soon heard it too, voices.

"… Son of a bitch! His throat's been ripped clean out!"

"Walkers?"

"No, looks like some kind of predator, maybe a dog!"

"Shit Mike's dead, too!"

"Spread out, they couldn't have gone far, not after losing that much blood."

Notes: Wow! Sorry for taking so long to update! I have been so busy with the holidays, and life, and all that, also, sorry I had to end it there, it was already way too long! I promise to update soon! Also thank you everyone for all the faves and follows, I can't tell you what they mean to me!