Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Twilight or the Walking Dead, those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and Robert Kirkman. I do own the original characters created for the storyline. Please support the official release.

Writer's Notes: Welcome to A Savior in Me! This story is a birthday request for my dear friend Des. Happy birthday love, hope you enjoy! I know I will. *winks*

[Atlanta, Georgia: Post Outbreak: Day 66]

No one saw it coming. The end of the world, except the doomsdayers. They predicted the end of the world a dozen times, but this was not on the doomsday bingo card. At first, it seemed like it could be contained. That was day one. By day three, the safe zones that were created, were overrun. By the thirtieth day, the electrical grid took a dive. Cellphones stopped working and any hope that humanity would be saved was gone. The dead rose mysteriously, or that is what the government said on the news before that too went down. Something created this, some virus spread without discrimination and now most of Earth's population was the walking dead. Humans were the minority in the world today.

Bella wiped the sweat from her brow. Her long dark hair was braided over her shoulder and her blue eyes dilated when she glanced up towards the cloudless sky. Georgia was hot and it was the middle of summer. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in a few days, but at least she was keeping hydrated. Being alone in this world wasn't any different from being alone growing up. She was bounced from foster home to foster home before she was settled in one house, but it wasn't the best environment for raising kids or teens for that matter. As soon as she was eighteen she aged out and had to live on her own. She experienced some of the lows, being homeless on the streets in Atlanta, but she managed to make it. She was twenty-six now and if it wasn't for the world taking a shit on itself, she would have been manager at the night club she worked at from the time she hit the street at eighteen.

Atlanta was swarming with biters and crawlers. Bella stayed to the outskirts of the city as she scouted, gathering supplies she could take back to her small cabin that she had in the woods in seclusion. She hefted her bag and she twirled the dagger in her hand, spinning it expertly, without cutting herself as she walked along the railroad tracks heading away from Atlanta. She found a crossbow on her journey and she was excited for that. She knew how to hunt because of the foster homes she was in. The Davidson's. The father was an avid hunter and brought all the kids on hunts with him, so she learned how to properly shoot a bow and she got rather good at it. Too bad Jeff Davidson was a child molester and she had to put up with that every other night. She was twelve. The reason she was even in the system was because her father died and her mother remarried a dirt bag that got handsy when he drank. She was seven then. The abuse didn't stop and her mother did nothing. It wasn't until a teacher noticed something off with Bella one day and asked Bella about it. Bella didn't know at that time that it wasn't normal. She was only a child. For four years she endured Phil Dwyer. But by some stroke of luck she was taken out of the home and she experienced a year of reprieve before being placed with the Davidson's. At least she learned a skill when she lived there. One that she was using now to survive in this dead world. After she blew the whistle on Jeff Davidson being a son of a bitch, she bounced from home to home until she landed with the Dixons. The abuse came a different way. She was used to pain and disappointment by this point. William Dixon was a drunk and he liked to hit and throw things at people. He had two sons, one her age, Daryl and an older boy that was nearly eighteen. Merle. Mary Dixon was the mother and she was sweet and kind and treated Bella nicely. She had always wanted a daughter and with Bella she had found one. That was the longest home she lived in. From age fourteen until she aged out at eighteen. It was nice to have a brother. Daryl was usually shy around people and didn't talk a lot. William would beat Daryl the worse. Bella got the belt from time to time, but she found out Daryl was taking the brunt of it so she wouldn't have to endure it. Before she aged out, Mary passed away, a sudden heart attack, so when she turned eighteen William kicked her out. If Mary had been alive, Bella knew that she would have had a home with her, but she went to the streets and she hadn't seen Daryl or Merle for that matter since then. That was eight years ago. Now that the world had gone to hell, she found herself thinking about Daryl and if he was surviving in this shithole.

[Day 72]

Bella stalked a deer quietly, waiting for the perfect opportunity to fire her crossbow. She tried to stay upwind so the deer wouldn't catch her scent and so she would have a better vantage point. When she lined up her shot she fired her crossbow and saw her arrow hit but the deer took off frantically, the shot seemingly not killing the deer on the first hit. "Shit." She cursed and she moved across the wild terrain in the direction the deer had ran off. She tracked the deer until she saw a man standing over the deer frowning. She narrowed her eyes, pulling her crossbow up and aiming it at him. The sun filtered through the trees enough to make it harder for her to see the man clearly.

"That's mine." Bella growled out. "My arrow." She barked.

The man looked up at Bella, his dark hair was dirty somewhat, longer brushing right under his ears. His stone eyes squinted as he looked her direction. His arms were bare, and he had a crossbow slung on his back and he was wearing dirty jeans and dark boots. He wasn't incredibly tall either, but he was taller than Bella. "Bella?" He spoke, his voice wasn't overly deep, a slight masculine rasp that was instantly familiar.

Bella blinked a couple times and moved closer, the light of the sun from the trees disappearing, and she could see him clearer. "Daryl…"She murmured, her bow lowering as she looked at her foster brother for the first time in eight years.

They stared at each other for a moment before Bella ran towards Daryl flinging her arms around him, her body pressing against his hard body, hugging him tight. Daryl's arms came around her automatically as he caught her in his arms. He inhaled her scent, and she smelled slightly of honeysuckles. He couldn't believe she was here and she was real. He had thought about her all the time after his dad kicked her out when she turned eighteen. He hadn't heard from her again and he thought that maybe she left Atlanta or maybe something else happened to her. He was glad she made it out. His dad was an asshole and she deserved so much more.

"You're alive." Bella breathed and then she took a step back to look at Daryl, her hand coming up to brush his hair out of his face. He had scruff, a goatee at his chin. Despite being older now, he still looked the same to her.

There was groaning and movement around them, so Bella spun her crossbow coming up and she sent her arrow sailing through the air into the skull of a walker while Daryl did the same. There were only five walkers trying to invade their space, but with the two of them, they managed to take care of them without any issue.

Bella went to the deer and pulled her arrow from the neck and wiped the blood on her jeans and looked around. "Let's get this deer cleaned and packed. I have a cabin not far off." She said and Daryl nodded and stooped down and helped her cut up the deer to pack so they could carry it easier.

Bella lit the lantern in the cabin when it started to get dark outside and Daryl lit the lantern in the kitchen area of the cabin. It wasn't great light, but it was enough so they could see their hands in front of their faces. "So, how have you been?" She said as she went to start the fire in the fireplace to start prepping the deer for a meal. The rest she would smoke, so it would last much longer.

Daryl shrugged as he prepped some deer steaks for dinner while she got the fire ready. "Nothing."

"Eight years Daryl. You had to be doing something in those years." Bella said, smiling as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"Dad died last year. Well. Merle shot him." Daryl said and sighed. "Merle ended up in the joint. Haven't talked to him since. He wasn't much better than the old man."

Bella frowned. "Merle used to try and protect you."

"Well, he started drinking like Will, so. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Daryl said and wiped his hands on his jeans. "Got anything to go with this?"

"Potatoes." Bella said, motioning towards the cabinet.

Daryl stooped and opened the cabinet and found the potatoes she had stored and then moved to the sink and out of an old habit turned the faucet on. When water came out, he was surprised. "You have running water?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah. Solar is enough to run the well pump and the water heater and the fridge. Didn't want to waste energy on lights." She explained.

Daryl nodded, impressed. He washed the potatoes under the water in silence.

Bella studied Daryl. He was always not that talkative growing up, but it felt somewhat worse now. "So, you've just been on your own since Merle shot Will and went to prison?"

"Yeah. Pretty much." Daryl said then pulled out his knife and started slicing the potatoes. "What about you. Eight years."

Bella nodded. "Well, I was homeless for a few months at the start. But I got a job at Voltaire's Club in Atlanta."

Daryl frowned and looked over at her. "Isn't that a strip club?"

"Topless. Not full nudity." Bella said and then looked back at the fire. "I was there for the last eight years."

It bothered Daryl that Bella had to resort to something like that to survive and he hated his dad even worse and was glad the bastard was dead. "I'm sorry."

Bella smiled a little and looked back at Daryl. "Why? I'm not. I was about to be the club's manager before the shit hit the fan. I made it a career. I was good at what I did Daryl. Sure I had to dance topless for a few years before I managed to get the bartending gig. I did that and learned the ins and outs of club life. Marcus thought I was a quick study. I started taking some classes on managing. I got my two year degree with Marcus's help and I was set to be the manager." She explained.

Daryl still hated she had to even dance topless like that for creepy men for a living. She was smarter and prettier than that, but he just stayed quiet.

Bella sighed and stood, walking over to him. "I'm not ashamed. So please don't be upset." She said gently and then she took the potatoes that he had cut up and tossed them into a pot and put it over the fire, before she grabbed the steaks and set them on the grate that she was using as a grille to cook food on. They were silent while the food cooked and it was awkward. Daryl was always awkward around people in the first place, but with her, he hadn't been. Bella reminded herself that eight years passed and he just found out that she danced topless for years after being kicked out of the house.

When the food was done, they ate that in silence and Bella savored it. It was the best meal she had had in a long time. She couldn't remember when the last time she ate good like this.

"Hey." Bella said, nodding to Daryl after they had finished eating and they were still sitting in the awkward silence. "I'm still Bella."

Daryl nodded. "I know." He said and stood, walking over and taking Bella's plate and took it to the sink and washed it along with his, in silence.

Bella sighed and got to her feet and walked over to him, stopping behind him. She had missed Daryl. Missed their adventures in the woods together. Hunting together. When she had nightmares, he was always there for her and would rock her to sleep. She brought her arms up, stepping towards him and hugged him from behind, her head resting on his back. "I'm glad I found you."

Daryl stopped washing the dishes as her body connected with his again. He closed his eyes, his heart skipping a beat in his chest. Growing up, he had a crush on her. She was the most beautiful creature in the world. She was smart, and brave and she wasn't afraid to be herself. She was a force of nature and he was mesmerized by her sometimes. When she left and never said a word he felt hurt, like his heart had broken. Her arms around him now, her body pressed into him from behind sent excitement through him briefly. "Me too." Was all he said, before opening his eyes and he resumed washing the dishes.