Newly Revised

Summer was in full bloom. They'd been at the quarry for roughly six weeks now and Tea was dying in the heat. She didn't feel comfortable wearing any of the shorts they had found scavenging; while they fit on all the other women to at least mid thigh, they barely even covered her ass. That was the curse of having a giant behind, wide hips, and a small waist. Skirts and dresses just weren't an option to wear over such short shorts, so she was stuck with the limited choices she had brought with her. She decided that she could just wear her high-rise capris and one of the numerous crop tops or bralettes she had stuffed in her bag that had helped her keep the heat off during previous summers. It was half the reason she'd grabbed them, the other half being the lack of necessity for a bra.

She pulled the black denim capris on and loved how they settled above her hip bones. Her toned abs were visible from the bottom of her ribs to the top of her belly button, only, helping her stay cool while keeping her covered. She took a minute to admire herself in the little compact mirror she had. She thought herself decent, as the pants stretched from mid calf to just above the belly button while the shirt ended at the bottom of her ribs. Her hair was in a high ponytail, leaving her shoulders bare aside from the thin straps of the baby blue top. It only showed the barest hint of cleavage, nothing more than some of the other shirts she'd worn around camp. Overall, she looked amazing and felt good about herself. She exited her tent in a pretty damn high spirits, a smile toying at her lips.

Daryl and Merle were by their tent and Tea gave them a small wave as she walked past. She and Daryl had spent a few hours at the log a couple more times over the last week or so. He had been very interested in learning about her 'condition,' as he called it, and she had been more than willing to answer his questions. He'd had a lot of them and the more he asked, the better Tea felt they understood one another. They went hunting a few times and had started being able to read each other across camp, as well. So when she saw the scowl on Daryl's face, her good mood deflated fast. She wondered what she had done to make him so angry as he stalked up to her and grabbed her forearm. He roughly dragged her back towards her tent before shoving her towards it which made her stumble for a second before catching herself.

"Can I help ya, Mr. Dixon?" she asked as she took in the look on his face, a smirk forming on her own before taking a small step closer to him. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but she wanted to see what had gotten him so riled up; a small part of Tea hoped it had to do with her considering he hadn't been scowling until he had seen her.

"The fuck you wearin'?" came her only reply.

"It's hot. Shorts ain' exactly my friend thanks ta my ass. Jus' tryin' ta stay cool," she responded with a shrug, hoping she sounded playful.

"Go put a fuckin' shirt on," Daryl growled, pointing towards her tent.

"Already got a shirt on. Don' like it?" she looked him straight in the eye as she took another step, almost pressing her chest against Daryl's, feeling bolder than ever by how good she felt at his anger actually being over her and not something else that had happened. "Stake a claim and show everyone I belong ta ya or shut the fuck up. Eitha way, ya goin' ta have ta get the fuck ova it. I don' like bein' hot, so this's what I'm goin' ta be wearin' as long as I need ta ta keep cool."

Even Merle was stunned by her words. Just over a month ago she had told Shane she would never let him stake a claim. She'd said she wasn't good enough for Daryl to him just a couple weeks ago. And now she was telling his brother to stake a claim straight to his face? Merle was pissed at her, but it only lasted until he caught the heartbroken face she held when Daryl all but shoved her away from him before he just scoffed and walked away without even looking back. The smile Merle burst into as he went after his baby brother and clapped him on the back could only be called award winning. Congratulating the man on finally telling the little bitch off, he turned back around to look at the woman, victory all over his face. He had only just registered her face contorted into an expression of hurt before she had turned on her heel and went into her tent, wiping the single tear she had allowed to escape off her cheek. She didn't change her clothes and instead chose to just walk out of camp that day. After grabbing a large duffle bag, her small backpack, and her crossbow without uttering a single word to anyone, she slipped away and carefully made her escape. No one even saw her leave or noticed she was gone until much later in the evening when dinner was served and no one knew where she was.

That had been nearly a week ago and Merle was about to rip his brother a new one. The longer Tea was away, the more irritable Daryl had gotten. He'd been snapping at anyone and everyone in the group who even looked at him wrong, even Merle himself. Hell, they'd even gotten into a fist fight of their own because of the little bitch. Merle had decked Daryl for acting like a lost little dog looking for his master while Daryl had fought back in kind for Merle saying it was better she was gone. They'd been at odds since then, and it was all due to that little fucking vixen. Merle swore if he ever saw her again, he was either going to kill her or make her life such hell that she wished she was dead.

Daryl had gone 'hunting' every day since the day she hadn't come back. Merle knew the boy was just looking for the bitch more than he was hunting, but couldn't do anything about it. It didn't matter much anyway when Merle himself couldn't find a single trail that would lead him to Tea out in those woods, and while Daryl was a damn good tracker, he'd learned it all from Merle. While her tracks in camp were heavy, as soon as she had walked into the woods, they were light and hard to follow. Merle only knew because he wanted to make sure the bitch stayed away from camp. Daryl was looking for her to bring her back. However, half the time he caught her tracks, there would only be a few steps before they disappeared again. The other half were older, leading to the log where they had smoked and she'd admitted so much about herself and where he'd begun to open up about himself, too. More than once he found his own feet taking him to that log where he silently pleaded for her to come back while staring out into space and thinking about every interaction he'd ever had with her.

~x~

Daryl left camp just as the sun had started to come over the horizon just to get away from everything. Going hunting was the only way he could get his mind off the little girl who had yet to return. How was he supposed to know she'd been serious? She'd never once made any show that she liked him or wanted anything more from him than she already got, and now she was just gone before he could even consider it. The thought that she might never return lay heavy on him the longer she stayed missing. He'd gotten used to her presence being constantly around and her absence was hitting him harder than he wanted to admit. Daryl was no pussy, and he knew it, but damn if he didn't feel like one chasing some tail all over the Georgian woods. He didn't even know where the hell she was and he was still looking for her like the dumbass he was. How the hell one woman could just walk away like that in this shit show of a world, he didn't know. What he did know was that if he found her, he was going to tear her a new one.

He had been in the woods for hours when he came across the fresh tracks of an indentation he had made himself extremely aware of. He had several squirrels to take back to camp, but now that he had a lead, he'd be damned if he was going back without her. Ten days. She'd been gone ten days and everyone in the camp thought she was dead. It had pissed him off to no end when Shane had explicitly said that she had wandered into the woods on her own, she could find her own way back. That had been the third day she'd been gone and Daryl had all but demanded they started searching the woods for her. It had taken Merle holding him back to not start wailing on the cop; he and Merle had gotten into a fight instead. It seemed like the cop was still pissed about her laying him out while his brother just didn't like the girl in general. Between her mind and how close the two of them had gotten, Daryl knew Merle would never accept her, let alone look for her.

The better part of the group had been treating her differently since she had explained what happened with Shane and and why, something she had anticipated. Only Dale, Jim, Glenn, Carl, and Sophia acted normally around her. Lori was not thrilled with the fact that Tea had still been teaching the kids about foraging, but it had been for the better of and backed by most of the group, including the kids in question. T-Dog and Jacqui were friendly enough, but kept their distance and watched her every time she was around them. The rest of the people in the group avoided her more than they did him and his brother. His brother had been even worse in his treatment of her, not wanting a 'psycho bitch' near him. If she hadn't have left camp, Daryl wasn't too sure what would have happened between the two of them after her bold words. He'd thought she had been joking, Merle's words combined with his own insecurities making him think it was impossible for her to be honestly offering herself to him. But now she was just gone, and the sensation that had started to burn in his chest when she didn't return that first evening had only gotten worse.

As he followed the trail leading deeper into the woods, he could barely make out the smell of a campfire. He picked up his pace, knowing he was getting closer. Breaking through the tree-line, he knew he'd find her, but was surprised by the sight that met him. A burnt out cabin was sat in a small clearing, clearly having been someone's old hunting lodge. There was no roof, one of the front corners was completely missing, and the better part of the walls were crumbling. It still offered some shelter from the elements but not enough to be habitable; maybe that was why the yellow tent was set up in the remaining corner that was standing of the cabin. And there she was, sitting alone and sharpening her knives in front of the tent. A small stone fire pit containing flames sat in just in front of her as she used it to cook what looked to be a squirrel. She had literally left the safety of the group and moved out into the woods all alone. She looked no worse for wear, as if she didn't have a care in the world that she was alone at the end of the fucking world, and was still wearing one of those far too revealing shirts. The burning sensation in his chest swelled and morphed into a raging anger as he stormed his way towards her as fast as he could without breaking out into a run.

"What the hell do you think you doin', little girl?"

It had been ten days since she had heard that voice and all it did now was cause her to seethe, "Was thinkin' I'm fuckin' betta off on my fuckin' own."

"Thought you were a smart bitch," Daryl growled out as he came to a stop right in front of her and grabbed her under the arms, hauling her to her feet.

He kept one hand firmly clasped against her bicep as he started dragging her away and back towards the group. He had only gotten two steps before she had dug her heels in and started struggling against his grip, ripping her arm out of his grasp. Daryl didn't pause to think as he grabbed her around the waist with the other arm and lifted her feet off the ground, dropping his bow behind him to get a better grip around her middle with both hands. He tried walking away again but she kept thrashing in his arms trying to trip him up. He only cleared half the field when she succeeded in damn near making him fall, forcing him to drop her to catch himself. She landed on her feet and turned around quicker than he anticipated, pushing him away and making him stumble backwards a few steps.

"Fuck ya, Daryl! Fuck ya even wanna find me for? Wha'? Come across me by random?" she spat at him, her voice containing a lilt he hadn't heard from her before.

He looked absolutely livid now as he stalked back up to her and yelled in her face, "No, fuck you, ya bitch! I been tryin' like hell to find you since you decided to be a little pussy and walk outta camp! You left me no damn trail to follow!"

"I didn' want ta be followed!" she screamed in his face, stepping so close that their chests were almost touching, just as livid as the redneck in front of her. "Don' ya fuckin' get it, Dixon?! I fuckin' left! Get the fuckin' hint! Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Ain't what you said 'fore you fuckin' left camp!" he roared back.

"Well I fuckin' take it back!"

"Hell you will!"

He didn't know what had come over him. He was pissed that she was trying to leave. Pissed she wanted to be on her own. Pissed she was fighting him. But when she said she was taking back her offer, taking back the desire to want to be his, his mind went completely blank. His hands moved on their own as he wrapped one arm around her waist and another up under her arm and against her spine, hand gripping her hair tightly at the base of the neck. He pulled her flush against him and off the ground as his lips crashed against hers. She responded in kind, one hand burying itself into his short hair while the other clutched his shirt between his shoulders. All Daryl could process was the feel of her against him. Teeth clashing, tongues tangling, hands grabbing at each other as if they were clinging to life itself. All the pent up anger and frustration he'd felt over the last week and a half he poured into that kiss, feeling all the need and want that came from her along with the anger. When they pulled away, they both were panting and held matching looks of desire painted across their faces. At least until hers contorted into fear and pain and she pushed him away again as hard and harshly as she could in the moment, though it was only enough to make them break contact.

"Ya kissed me," her voice sounding more broken than ever. "Ya stupid fuckin' hick, ya kissed me!"

Now he was confused as she stood with her hands combing through her hair, looking as if she was going to breakdown, asking her, "What the hell?"

"I'm a fuckin' basket case, Daryl!" she screeched as she paced in small circles, hands in her hair. "I'm a damn versie! Ya a fuckin' normie! Ya'll ge' sick a havin' ta deal wit' my bullshite! Hell, ya already had ta come and find me 'cause I couldn' deal! I ain' no fuckin' good for ya! Jus' accept that! Jus' fuckin' leave me be already! I ain' gonna be nothin' but dead weight ta ya so jus' fuckin' go back ta Merle and fuckin' leave me be!" Her voice had gotten louder as she talked, but all of a sudden she stopped pacing, her hands falling to her sides as she looked up at him completely lost. "Jus' let me go," she pleaded while her voice cracked.

He reached out pulled her back against him, hands holding her securely as he tried to understand why she was so upset when it was obvious what they both wanted, "Don't care about all that shit. Versie. Normie. Only matters in your head, girl. You told me to stake a claim, so that's what I'm doin'."

"Ya walked the fuck away when I said that! That was ova a week ago!" her voice was trembling as much as her body was now as the anger in it began to wane, the lilt in her speech stronger than ever. "Ya walked away."

"Didn't think you were serious. Thought it might've been...thought you were makin' some kind of joke," Daryl admitted softly, gently gripping running a hand down her bicep. "Didn't think you'd take off like you did."

"Just go," her voice was soft and weak this time as all the fight left her, eyes lowered.

"Come back," Daryl whispered, his own voice shaky and feeling all his anger morph into fear as he engulfed her in his arms entirely and leaned his forehead against hers.

Tea couldn't help her reaction. It was easier to run than to get hurt. The only reason she was even still in camp had been mostly for him. Between Shane and Lori always wanting to boss her around and the looks she got from everyone now, she had already been thinking about just walking away and saying to hell with it. That was the whole reason she'd packed the larger duffle bag. It contained roughly a week of supplies, and as long as she found a water source and could hunt, the only thing she'd need would be some extra clothing. She knew where to get all that stuff easily enough, so it wasn't like she had any reason to stay other than a strong attachment to Daryl she knew was one sided. When Daryl had just scoffed and shoved her away at her honest invitation, all the color had drained from her face and she could feel her body go cold. All she could hear in her ears were the words of all those she'd cared about before repeating all the hurtful things they'd said when her emotions eventually got the better of her. How they had always told her that she would never be good enough for anyone, she would always be the freak of nature no one wanted and everyone would shun. She had acted on auto-pilot and grabbed Jewel and the duffle bag. All she would need to do was find a new tent and sleeping bag and she'd be all set.

It would be better that way, she decided, as her mind shut down all conscious thought and her body moved on instinct alone. She hadn't even realized how carefully she was stepping until day had turned to night and was breaking again. It was the burnt out cabin that she had stumbled on that had brought her out of autopilot. That's when she realized she was completely alone for the first time since she was fourteen, didn't even know her way back and had finally broken down. She wasn't afraid to be on her own and she hadn't wanted to be followed, but the rejection of the camp to her being a versie followed by Daryl's rejection of her in general had her sobbing. Not for the first time since everything had started, she wished she would have answered Jesse's phone calls when the woman had tried to make things up rather than leaving things be. At least she would have one friend at the end of the world she could rely on.

She'd gone and gotten a sleeping bag and a small, compact tent later that day. After scouting the area, she realized she was only about five miles away from camp towards the city, a direction Daryl didn't normally take due to there being fewer game trails. She decided it was as good a place as any to stay. They wouldn't know how to find her anyway, what with Daryl being the only person who even knew how she behaved in the woods. And he, logically, wouldn't be looking in the opposite direction she'd headed into the woods in, let alone for her in general since he didn't care about her like she'd foolishly hoped. The quiet ambiance of the forest had greatly calmed her mind, though echoed words still rang clearly in her ears. It had been ten days total since she'd left, not that she was trying to keep track, and she was content, or she thought she was. That was until this redneck had stormed up.

Her anger had boiled when he grabbed her, but she was still as clear as day instead of watching a movie. The hold Daryl Dixon had on her was intense enough for her to not lose complete control, something that had never happened before and she had actively worked against ever having happen. What should have been all of her strength had gone into pushing him away and he had only stumbled a couple of steps. Such a push had knocked Shane and Merle both on their asses before and she knew it was because of how she felt for him. She wasn't sure why she had stepped up closer to the raging man in front of her when he had challenged her. If he took a swing, she was going down for the count and most likely would be dragged back to the group and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. She had made her bed, and she had to lay in it.

To say she was surprised when he crashed her to him was an understatement. The kiss was rough and hard. This wasn't a kiss that was being given to cherish her. This was the kiss of a desperate man unable to find words to convey what he felt, something she felt with the entirety of her being. Her body reacted on its own, grabbing at him and returning the kiss for all it was worth. She already knew that she was going to be fighting an uphill battle against the hunter as soon as she heard his voice. It wasn't often she felt strong emotions, let alone allowed herself to get carried away in them. She'd been very careful at the very least not to allow herself to feel them since her parents, so when she now that she was feeling them, it was hard to ignore. Telling her that it was all in her head that being a versie mattered had shattered her already cracking resolve. When the kiss was over and the look in his eyes softened to that of pleading, she lost her will to fight completely. The soft way he begged her while holding her so close made every echo in her head silent immediately, creating a deafening void in their wake. She didn't realize she was crying until his thumb brushed against her cheek wiping away an escaping tear. That's all it took for her body to be wracked with sobs as her arms circled around him and squeezing him as tightly to her as she could, her face buried in his neck.

Daryl buried his face in her hair while holding her just as tightly. He'd been scared that he was never going to see her again but her reaction to everything had him equally upset. It was one thing for him to run away rather than face what he was feeling, but how many times had she done this? He knew she'd been abused, but this was the first time he'd ever seen the consequences of it though. She always seemed so strong when she talked about it, like she had already dealt with everything she'd been through and then some. He'd never seen her cry about it and had certainly never thought it had affected her as badly as it had him. Seeing her breaking down now made him realize that he would do anything to keep her safe, even if that meant going against Merle. He never wanted to see her as broken as she was in his arms now. All he could do was hold her tightly while she got whatever she needed to out of her system.

After a while, he managed to choke out, "Fuck you cryin' for?"

"I don' know how ta do this," she admitted.

"Do what?"

"This!" she cried in exasperation, as if that one word explained everything.

"This as in us or this as in be accepted?" he asked, hitting the nail on the head.

"Both," she hung her head in shame. "Papa, he jus' kind a happened. And 'e neva botha'd ta address it. And then Jesse, closest thing I have ta kin, I thought she didn' care. Thought she thought I was a good person 'til I exploded on 'er boyfriend and sent 'im ta the hospital. Ya jus' lookin' afta me was a blessin'. I shouldn' a asked for more. I'm sorry," she cried as she tried to pull away from him again.

She just couldn't fathom how he could accept her and actually want her. It had felt like she was just a schoolgirl with a crush after he had walked away. Tea was completely confused by how he was acting now and she wanted nothing more than to run away. She wanted to hide. But she also wanted nothing more than to bury her face back into his neck and take in his earthy scent again. The feeling of being in his arms was the most reassurance she had been given since she'd let Jesse hug her. And it terrified her. The thought of being accepted was terrifying, because there was always the chance that he would leave her alone like all the others. And what if she ever lashed out at Daryl in anger like she had others? Tea would never be able to forgive herself. It felt like a knife was gutting her as she tried to leave the safety his embrace promised her, but she was too scared to deal with the confusion all this was bringing her.

"Hey now, stop it," he said as he held her back against his chest, trapping her arms with his and leaning down to speak in her ear. "I ain't exactly got much to go on here either. Just gotta take it one step at a time, right?"

"One step at a time?"

"That's what I said."

"One step at a time," she said to herself more than anything before nodding her head. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

"What d'ya say to stayin' out here one more night," Daryl suggested, clearing his throat as he watched her eyes begin to tear up again still holding her to him. "Just the two a us for the night. Let you calm down a bit. Maybe find somethin' to hunt to explain your delay gettin' back to camp. Somethin' bigger than a damn rabbit."

Even as the tears fell she shook her head in agreement, touched that he was thinking of an excuse for her, "There's a bear somewhere 'round 'ere. The tracks aren' far from 'ere. Was thinkin' a goin' for it and preservin' whateva I could. Shouldn' take too long ta track it now ya here, too."

"Seriously?" Daryl asked in surprise.

"Yeah, not sure what kind, but it'll feed the camp for a while."

"How the hell we gonna get a bear back to camp, girl?"

"Simple, kill it, gut it, skin it, cut the head off, and hog tie it ta a thick branch if it's small enough. If it's too big, process and de-bone it, rope the chunks tagetha on a branch, and heft it back ta camp that way. I've got enough rope and we ain' so far away from camp; only four or five miles. Only reason ya didn' find me soona is 'cause ya'd neva been this way before," she stated plainly, her nerves calming slightly, the lilt lessoning again.

He scoffed and shook his head. "Shoulda seen that one comin'," he mumbled. "Ya gonna quit cryin' any time soon?"

"I dunno. I don' even feel 'em right now. I'm jus' exhausted," she replied honestly.

He took her hand and led her back to the tent, sitting her down where she had originally been and removing the now burnt rodent from the fire. Thankfully, he had the ones he had originally gotten for the group to replace it. After processing them, Daryl decided to cook for the girl. Looking at her he could tell that she wasn't in the moment. She sat staring at the fire, but the look in her eye told him she wasn't actually seeing it. 'Shut down mode,' she'd called it during one of their talks. It was a way for her mind to take a break from the reality that it couldn't handle, her body acting purely on instinct when, and if, it needed to move. Although he wasn't happy that she was in it, he had learned enough from her to know that it was a necessary part of her coming to terms with what had just transpired. At least she trusted him enough to keep her safe while she processed everything. It wasn't until the food was ready that he managed to pull her back to reality and even then she remained quiet. Daryl didn't mind it as at least she looked at him properly. His mind wandered back to the first night in camp and remembered that she had never given her name.

"Hey," he said, bringing her emerald orbs to meet his blue ones. "You never did say what your name is."

She laughed at him, honestly amused that it was now that he was bringing it up. "Really, Daryl, now ya wanna know my damn name?" He just nodded with a little smile of his own when she just shook her head before telling him, "Titania Marie Parker."

"I like that," he said after saying it under his breath to just feel it on his tongue. "Why you call yourself Tea with a name like that?"

"Seriously?" she scoffed. "Daryl, it's got 'tit' in it. I was a genius, prepubescent girl in a school a hormonal teenagas. Why would I use me name?!"

"Could always call you Ania," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Ania? I kinda like that," she said. "But only if it's ya, and jus' 'tween us for now. Don' want othas judgin' ya for bein' with me."

"Let 'em. Not gonna stop me."

"Please, Daryl. Ya get enough shite. Ya don' need ta be judged for bein' with the camp's nutcase on top a it. And Merle fuckin' hates me. Ya know that. Jus' keep it 'tween us for now, while I process, please?"

He nodded, surprised that's what she was worried about being judged for how she was and how she acted 1and not the age gap like he was. They finished their meal in silence before deciding to call it a night. Daryl offered to stay outside the tent on watch, but Tea shook her head and invited him in. They both took off their boots after entering and securing the tent. Leaving them at the entrance, she moved towards the sleeping bag on the far side of the tent. Daryl moved towards the other side and laid down, trying to get comfortable. He had just gotten into a somewhat comfortable position when he heard her calling him across the small tent.

"Hey Daryl?" He answered with a nod she could only just make out before asking, "Would ya sleep next ta me tanight?"

He didn't have to be asked twice. As soon as the question was through her lips he was up and moving. He hesitated when got to her sleeping bag, not sure if she wanted him literally next to her or on top of the covers. Daryl got his answer when she opened the bag and made room for him. It was a larger sleeping bag than he was used to and he wondered about it for two seconds before he saw the zipper behind her. It dawned on Daryl that she had zipped two sleeping bags together to make a large one just like she had at camp. He remembered how she didn't like feeling confined, and she had confided to him that one sleeping bag was too small for her to feel comfortable. He laid down on his back, one arm behind his head while moving his other arm next to Tea with a bit of space between it and his side. As expected, she slowly slid between the two before laying her head on his chest, one arm curled up against his side under her chin while her other hand found it's way onto is shirt and held onto it. As his arm came up to hold her to him they both couldn't help but sigh in content. There were no kisses shared and yet the intimacy between them was exactly what they both needed just then, the security they felt with each other growing exponentially. Tonight it was just them being there for each other, and that was the only thing either could have wanted.