Chapter 2-The Dixons

"It's clear, Cat." Shane says coming back to the car after he and Glenn went into the pharmacy to clear it.

I nodded and got out of the car and followed him in.

It'd been a little more than a month now with no improvement to the situation as I already knew so I'd mentioned to Shane it may be time to loot some pharmacies for not only my meds but also antibiotics and medical supplies. He agreed with me but initially refused to let me go with him and Glenn, who'd already become a runner for food for the group a few weeks ago. So, I asked him to name some of the meds or antibiotics and when he couldn't he relented.

"It's locked tight Cat." Glenn tells me as soon as the door shuts behind us.

"Shit." I curse looking at the metal shutters and even a metal door closing off the actual pharmacy part of the store.

I knew this was a possibility, having had a part-time job as a pharmacy technician in my past life. I had hoped it'd be the case as it couldn't have been looted yet. But it's going to be a pain to get in, if Shane could get in by force. Glenn couldn't really help him with that aspect.

"Any idea?" Shane questions.

"I'd say try and force one open while I look for the main office for the store manager. There should be at least a key to the pharmacy there and possibly a binder with the safe code if the meds are in a safe." I tell them.

"How do you know that?" Glenn asks.

"She just does Glenn. Her brain doesn't work like ours. She's been in and out of enough pharmacies for nine years to pick up on these things." Shane tells him.

"So, she's a genius?" Glenn questions looking at me like I was some mystical creature instead of weird.

"Youngest ever graduate of King County High School. Graduated with me and our best friend Rick." Shane brags slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"That's amazing! It's like I'm looking at one of my sisters!" Glenn exclaimed, a giant grin on his face, as I smack Shane's arm off.

"Your sisters?" I couldn't help but question then.

After the Dixon's, Glenn was my next favorite character. His character was someone I'd hope to find if there'd ever been a zombie outbreak in my past world. He didn't let the apocalypse change him very much. He was kind and wasn't standoffish with me too. Even though I've tried hard to ignore him up till now.

"Um hum." Glenn confirms in a hum before adding "Unlike me they're super smart. Skipped grades like you and everything. They went to college near home with full rides while I came here."

"I see." I say looking away from him then.

Don't get close to him Cat. Don't make the same mistake. His death is brutal.

"Uh, did I say something wrong?" Glenn questions then, in a worried tone.

"No…Cat…uh, has trouble getting close to people." Shane tells him.

"Oh, so like a Cat." Glenn says then like Rick did the first time I had to interact with him.

"Exactly." Shane confirms causing me to huff in annoyance and stalk off to find the office I was looking for.

"Be careful!" Shane calls in an amused tone as Glenn laughs at me.

"Just do your job!" I call back.

I hear them both laugh at me then earning another huff of annoyance. Damnit. It was gonna be hard to keep Glenn out too wouldn't it.

****Time Skip****

After a minute of wondering the store, I find what I was looking for. Unfortunately, it was locked too. Causing me to release a heavy sigh before going to ask Shane to bust it open.

"Hey, I need your muscle." I say rounding the corner instantly getting a "Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's just my sister!" from Shane.

Snapping my head up from watching my feet I feel my eyes go wide in surprise seeing the two guys having a stand off with none other than the Dixon brothers. Glenn nervously holding his bat, Shane aiming his gun at Merle, Merle who had his gun pointed right at me now, and Daryl keeping his crossbow aimed at Shane. Was this the situation when they were supposed to meet and join the group? It was never said, just that they joined sometime after the formation of the camp.

"Sister of a cop huh?" Merle drawls looking me up and down before lowering his gun continuing "Yer a sight for sore eyes. What do you say you and I go bump some uglies?"

My reaction of my eyebrows shooting up in more surprise causes Merle to get a questioning look as he slightly tilts his head, it obviously confused him. I knew Merle was sexist and would probably make the offer, but I never thought he'd actually find me attractive. No one did…right?

"Cut the crap Merle. We're not here for that." Daryl says in an annoyed tone, not even bothering to look in my direction.

His gaze focused on Shane, and the gun he had pointed at Merle.

"What was that little bro? Ya got somethin' ya want to say to me?" Merle questions him turning his attention from me back to him.

"No." Daryl answers immediately causing Merle to bust out laughing.

"Stephanie come here." Shane orders then but I don't listen instead I pull my gun and point it at Merle with a "Let's make a deal."

"A deal? What ya talkin' 'bout Girly?" Merle chuckles, turning back to me but stiffens and loses the smirk noticing my gun pointed at him.

"I'm assuming you're here for what's inside there to, right?" I question motioning my head in the direction of the shutters.

"I ain't after yer antibiotics." Merle responds causing me to reflexively release a sigh of annoyance and a "I figured."

This causes Merle to get that confused look on his face again as Glenn breathes out "Is she serious?"

"Unfortunately, she is." Shane sighs out.

"I don't know. Really sounds like a trap to me now." Merle says then.

"No trap. Only a deal. Either help out and get some of what you came for or I end your storyline." I tell him, hopping I sounded convincing as I wouldn't really shoot him.

Merle looks at Daryl then, who I just now noticed was now looking my way. He's looking at me like he's trying to figure out who the hell I am.

"Ya know her?" Merle questions then breaking a good minute of silence.

"Nah, just seen her around." Daryl says causing me to lift a brow in question.

Seen me around? The hell?

"Then what ya lookin' at her like that for?" Merle presses, annoyed.

"Nothin', just shut up." Daryl snaps back, turning his attention back to Shane.

"Hey, hey, hey, let's all calm down. We don't want any trouble. We're just here to get some supplies and get out." Glenn tries then.

"Supplies? What kind of supplies?" Merle questioned looking at him.

"I don't know what exactly. Just medicine and medical supplies." Glenn answers causing me to sigh.

He was too good for his own good damnit.

"Medicine? What for? Ya sick or somethin'?" Merle probes.

"No, no, we're fine. We just need some for the group. We have a camp nearby." Glenn answers.

"Enough." Shane snaps then before continuing "Look, we don't have time for this. We need to get in there and get what we came for. And so do you."

"Yeah? And how do ya propose we do that?" Merle questions, turning his attention to Shane again.

"I know how these places operate. I know where they keep the keys and the codes. I can get us in there." I sigh out then feeling myself lose what little patience I had left with this situation.

"Yeah, right. And I used to be an astronaut." Merle snorts looking back at me.

"Ought to be more polite to a girl with a gun pointed at you." I snap causing Merle to shut his mouth.

"It's true. She's a genius, graduated high school when she was ten and everything." Shane says then giving me a warry look, he didn't know if I'd shoot just because I was getting pissed off.

Merle looks back at Daryl then who just nods so Merle looks back at me and raises his hands in surrender questioning "Alright, alright, let's say we believe ya. How do we know ya won't just take everything for yerselves and leave us with nothin'?"

"We won't. We're not like that. We have enough people in our camp to share with. You two can even join us if you want." Glenn offers then.

"Join ya? Ha! Ya think we want to join a bunch of sheep who follow a cop around? No thanks. We're better off on our own." Merle scoffs, lowering his hands and looking at Glenn and Shane again.

"Suit yourself. But we're not leaving without what we came for. So, either you help us, or you get out of the way." Shane tells them.

"Fine. But don't try anything funny or I'll blow yer brains out." Merle says, pointing his gun at Shane again.

"Deal." Shane says, nodding at me.

Releasing a sigh again I lower my gun and question "So which one of you are going to be my muscle?"

"Ya think I'm gonna exert myself to help ya with whatever ya have planned and leave my baby bro here alone with yer bro and Chinaman here? Ya must be outta yer mind, girly." Merle responds in a snort while looking at me with a smirk.

"Did I ask for you specifically? There're two other options other than your ass." I snap back with a glare causing him to lose the smirk and look away from me again.

"Don't mind him. I'll help ya. What ya need?" Daryl surprisingly says then, so I look at him, release a sigh, and say "Fine. Just follow me." While already turning to go back to the office.

"Stephanie." Shane says then so I stop and release an annoyed "Just stay there. It won't take long."

"Alright." Shane sighs so I motion for Daryl to follow me as I head back to the office.

Once there I tell Daryl "It's locked."

Daryl steps in front of me to examine the door before saying "Shouldn't be a problem." Before motioning for me to step back while voicing "Stand back."

I do so and he steps back and sends a strong kick to the door. Luckily it breaks open with that single kick but does release a loud bang. I wasted no time entering the office and looked around for the binder that was sure to hold the key and code.

"So, how do ya know so much about pharmacies?" Daryl questions entering the office with me.

"There it is." I say ignoring his question and attempting to reach one of the binders on the shelf that was labeled 'floater'.

"I got it." Daryl says then, right behind me, as his hand easily reaches past mine to grab it off the shelf.

I turn around and try to grab it from him, but he just holds it up and repeats his question "How do ya know so much about pharmacies?"

"I've been in them enough to pick it up." I responded, narrowing my eyes at him.

Uncomfortable at how close we were but I needed that binder.

"Why?" He asked simply staring down at me.

"Because I have a chronic condition that requires medication." I reluctantly answer before snaping "Now can you please give me the binder so we can get out of here?"

He looked at me a moment longer before lowing the binder and handing it to me with a "Fine. But you better not be lying to me or my brother."

"Why the hell would I lie? What do I have to gain from that?" I question opening the binder.

"I don't know. Maybe you're working for someone else. Maybe you're trying to sabotage our chances of survival. Maybe you're just crazy." He tells me all as I find the code and bag with the key I was looking for and tore them out.

"Yeah. That's why I'm here risking my life for some meds that I may not even need in a few months." I say rolling my eyes and pushing past him, heading back to were the others were waiting.

"What do you mean by that?" Daryl questions.

I just ignored his question again and went over to Shane and handed him the key bag with a "Here. The key."

Shane nods and tore it open to get the key before turning to Merle with a "All right, let's go."

Merle grumbles and walks to the metal door that led into the shuttered off area, followed by Shane and Glenn. But when I went to follow my arm was grabbed by Daryl.

"Hey. What'd ya mean by that? That ya may not need yer meds in a few months?" He questions.

"None of your business. Now let go of me." I respond glaring at him.

Daryl lets go but looks at me with a look between curiosity and concern as he opens his mouth to say "Look, I'm sorry if I offended ya or somethin'. But ya seem like ya know more than yer letting on. And I don't trust easily, especially not strangers."

I release a tired sigh and tell him "You don't trust me. I get it. Maybe you have good reasons not to. But trust me when I say this: I don't know more than anyone else here. I'm just trying to survive, like you. And I don't have much time left, so I'm not going to continue wasting it on pointless arguments or secrets."

"What do ya mean ya don't have much time left? Ya dyin' or somethin'?" He questions a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

"No, not dying. Not yet anyway. But my condition makes my life hell. And without my meds, it will only get worse. And in this world, I doubt I'll last long or even want to try when that time comes." I tell him shaking my head.

"I'm sorry to hear that. What is it if you don't mind me asking?" Daryl says then causing me to narrow my eyes at him.

What the hell was this interest in me? You know what, I should just tell him, so he'll leave me hell alone.

Releasing a sigh, I then tell him "It's called fibromyalgia. It's a chronic pain disorder that affects the muscles and nerves. It causes widespread pain, fatigue, insomnia, headaches, and other symptoms. There's no cure for it, only treatments to manage the pain and improve the quality of life. It doesn't even control it fully. There are flare ups. But without them, it's unbearable. You'd do anything to make it stop."

Daryl nods slowly as if he understood everything I said before that sympathy look is accompanied by something like respect as he says "Well, I hope you find what you need in there. And I hope you don't give up on living. You seem like a tough girl. You remind me of someone I used to know."

"Huh? Who?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"My mom. She never complained, never asked for anything. She just did what she had to do to survive. She was the strongest person I ever knew." He says, his voice softening.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry for your loss." I tell him, uncertainty, and awkwardness clear in my voice.

"Thanks. It was a long time ago. But I still miss her sometimes." He tells me, looking away.

We stood there in silence for a moment before we heard Shane's voice from inside the pharmacy.

"Hey! We're in! Come on!" Shane shouts.

We look at each other and nod, before heading inside to join them.

"Don't do that!" I hiss as soon as I spot Merle going to punch the keypad of the control safe as soon as I'm through the door.

"What? Ya think yer the boss of me now girly?" Merle sneers but does stop and look at me.

"No but if you break it, you'll set off the alarm." I tell him as I go over to him.

"Dinner bell." Merle grumbles then.

"Exactly." I say crouching in front of it.

I then look at the paper with the code before looking at the pad and punching in the numbers as he grumbles a "Smart ass bitch."

I release a snort of a laugh as the keypad releases a small beep and the safe clicks open.

"Shut up and get out of my way." Merle snaps pulling me behind him and opens the safe.

"Just leave some of the Norco, Hydrocodone-acetaminophen, Roxicodone, and or Oxycodone for me." I tell him as just starts grabbing bottles and stuffing them in his pockets.

"What do ya need 'em for, girly?" Merle questions stopping before looking at me with a smirk adding "Ya got a headache or something?"

"Just take what you want and leave some for me. Okay?" I tell him in a sigh before covering my mouth with a hand as I yawn.

Merle chuckles and shakes his head but says "Fine, fine. I'll leave ya some of the good stuff." Before continuing what he was doing but this time was pausing to look at them.

"Thank you." I tell him before turning and walking away from him to look at the shelves.

The pharmacy was still in working order with everything in its place. Guess they still hadn't opened when it hit here, or the pharmacist didn't show up. It would be easy to find what I was looking for though. My meds and antibiotics that might be useful for the camp. I would just grab them and could take an exact count later.

Finding my main maintenance med, both the brand Cymbalta and generic Duloxetine, I shift my book bag off my shoulder, unzip it, and start filling it with every bottle they had. I then start grabbing the mild muscle relaxer Cyclobenzaprine and some of the Ciprofloxacin, Doxycycline, and Cephalexin. I even found some Etodolac.

I move to the next section after collecting a few and pick up what little Nadolol and Lyrica they had before moving to the next. There I started collecting the Pregabalin and the Tramadol. Some of the Penicillin and even some of the Suboxone.

"I think we got enough medical supplies. How's it going here?" Shane questions as he and Glenn come from around the shelving.

"Good. Though if one of you could grab some of the amoxicillin and some of the Buprenorphine-Naloxone they have and the other help me go through the prescriptions ready for pick up that'd be great." I tell them zipping up my bag and shifting it back on my shoulder.

"I can get the two things you just named." Glenn says before giving a checky grin and adding "Sounds less complicated."

"That's fine. I can help her." Shane tells him with a small smile on his face too.

Glenn nod before disappearing back behind the shelves so Shane motions to the area where the prescriptions were waiting for pick up saying "Come on."

I follow him over and he questions "What am I looking for?" as soon as we're there.

"Anything with a red sticker on the cap, Cymbalta, Duloxetine, Cyclobenzaprine, and Tramadol. I think I have enough of the other antibiotics already especially in addition to whatever Glenn finds in the names of Amoxicillin." I tell him as I start to go through them.

"Okay." Shane says before starting to go through them as well.

"What about the powdered kind?!" Glenn calls then.

"Only a little! They only stay good for ten days once they're mixed! And the kids at camp are old enough that they don't really need them!" I call back shoving some of the correct meds in my satchel bag.

"Okay!" Glenn calls back.

"What about this Cat?" Shane asks, holding a bottle out for me.

"Huh?" I breathed out taking it from him to look at it.

It was some Etodolac causing me to look at him and say "Yeah, actually. How'd you know?"

"I remember you saying something about it before. That it always had to get ordered or something like that." Shane says with the beginning of a stupid grin on his face.

"Still a Man-Whore." I scoffed shoving it in my bag but still give him a small smile.

"You know you love me." Shane responded with a snorted laugh.

"I hate you." I mutter looking away from him as Glenn comes up to us.

I did love him as a bother. Him and Rick both. They've always been there for me. But Shane's been the only one to never pity me. Not once was there ever pity in his eyes for me. Only ever determination and anger with himself that he couldn't do more. I don't know what I'm going to do when he starts going insane.

"Aw I love you too." Shane says laughing and pulling me into a hug.

I shove him off with a "Get off me."

"She's really a cat huh." Glenn laughs then causing me to snap at him "Shut up."

They both laugh at me, but I ignore them and say "Come on, let's go. We have what we need." Already heading out the door.

They follow me still chuckling. As we walk out, I see that Merle and Daryl were waiting for us by the exit. When they left the pharmacy area I had no idea.

"Finally. What took ya so long?" Merle questions looking at us.

"We didn't just grab whatever." Shane scoffs at him.

"Hey! I got some of the shit Girly asked for." Merle sneers back before throwing the plastic bag he had been holding at Shane.

Shane catches it, opens it, and shows it to me with a questioning look. I nod before opening my satchel bag and grabbing a box of Suboxone and some doxycycline I found from the ready meds.

"Here." I say tossing them over to them.

Merle catches them and questions "What's this?"

"Suboxone is for withdrawals. Doxycycline is an antibiotic. Someone you sell to might need them." I tell him.

"What do ya think, little brother? Should we take these or not?" Merle asks handing them to him.

"Might as well. Never know when they might come in handy. Or when we might find someone who needs them." Daryl tells him, before giving him a nod.

Merle grins before looking back at Shane and saying "We were actually thinking about joining yer group. Ya know, safety in numbers and all that."

"Really? You want to join us? After all the shit you said?" Shane questions raising his eyebrows at him.

"Hey, we don't have to be friends or anything like that. But we're not so bad. We can be useful. We're good hunters. We can bring back some meat for your camp." Merle says keeping the grin on his face, like a salesman.

"I don't know." Shane says, looking doubtful.

"What about girly? She's yer sister, right? Does she have a say in this?" Merle questions then looking at me.

"You kept your word but it's not up to me. It's up to the leader of our group." I snap at him with a glare and motioning toward Shane.

Don't bring me into this you little shit. I'm not even supposed to be here when you two join the group.

Shane looks at me and Merle a few times before he sighs and says "Look, I don't like you. I don't trust you. But like she said you kept your word. So I'm willing to give you a chance. But you have to follow some rules."

"Rules? What kind of rules?" Merle asks, annoyed, and finally looking away from me with that amused look like he knew I was calling him a little shit in my head.

"Simple. No stealing and no fist fights. You have to contribute to the camp. Share what you catch and watch out for each other. And you have to respect my authority. My word is final." Shane says, laying down the law.

Merle snorts and says "Sounds like a dictatorship to me."

"It's a democracy. I listen to everyone's opinions and make the best decisions for the group." Shane says in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever ya say Officer Friendly. So what do ya say little brother? Should we join 'em?" Merle asks looking at Daryl.

Daryl sends a look my way before at Glenn then finally Shane. He then shrugs and says "Whatever."

"Alright then. It's settled. We'll join ya. But don't expect us to be friendly or anythin' like that. We're not here to make friends. We're here to survive." Merle says, the grin back on his face.

"Fine by me. As long as you don't cause any trouble, we'll get along just fine." Shane says in a half sigh not returning the grin.

"Got it." Merle says before asking "So where's this camp of yers?"

"It's not far from here. It's in a quarry by the highway. We have tents, cars, a fire pit, and a water source. It's not much, but it's home." Shane tells him.

"Great. We'll find our way there. Gotta get our shit after all. Come on bro. See ya soon Girly." Merle says before turning and walking out the door.

Daryl gives me a quick look before he follows him.

"What was that about?" Shane questions then in that worried brother tone.

I sigh out "How the hell should I know?"

"Okay. Just be careful around them Cat." Shane says, in the same tone.

"Yeah. Yeah." I sigh waving him off.

Shane releases a sigh before saying "Come on, let's go back to the camp. We have to tell the others about our new quests." And heading out the door himself.

"Right." Glenn says, nodding and following after him.

I release a sigh and follow after them.

Least we stayed on script and the Dixons joined the group. Though what the hell did they expect from me? I'll have to do my best to stay away from them. I couldn't let myself get close to them like I did with Rick and Shane. With Carl…and Glenn. Damnit.