Author's Note: This gif though. And the song below is the cutest. 😍

Theme Song: "Getaway Car" - Lea Michele

I looked up to Daryl and it was as if he knew so it made him look up at me too, "What would you have been doing if none of this had happened?"

He shrugged absentmindedly, the hair covering his eyes again. I felt a need to move it out of the way, but I refrained from doing so.

"Wanderin' with Merle, I guess. Doin' whatever it was he said we'd be doin'. Drinkin' a hell of a lot, probably. Ain't gonna' sugarcoat it."

He mumbled aloud as he looked down to his hands again. It was a nervous habit I noticed he had, among others.

"Didn't ask you to sugarcoat it." I responded a little defensively. He seemed to have taken notice of my tone and he softened ever so slightly.

"What about you?" He asked, looking at me with his blue eyes. There was curiosity laced in them as he stared at me, awaiting my answer.

"I'd still be at the circus.." I laughed lightly as I said it, realizing it was entirely true. I hadn't wanted to give that life up just yet, but it was snatched from me with the virus and the walkers.

I played with the elephant necklace around my neck and he watched me for a quiet moment.

"Ya liked tha' stuff?" It wasn't as if he didn't know, but maybe it just really sunk in how much that part of my life had made me happy.

Realistically, I could live without it, but it had taken a part of my soul and sometimes I didn't necessarily feel whole anymore. As if something was missing.

"Yeah, it was my world, ya' know? Something I was actually good at." I paused for a moment, looking up at Daryl and noticing the way he looked at me.

Something about the alcohol fueled some kind of stirring in my body I wasn't accustomed to and I had to look away from him just as the feeling started to consume me.

"Yer' good at this.." He offered, looking around as if talking about the world we were in now and I smiled lightly.

"Honestly, I'm pretty impressed with my skills." I flashed him a wicked grin and he groaned, rolling his eyes and shaking his head, "Don't get too cocky." I smirked in response.

"Ain't never seen anythin' like tha' circus.." He muttered after a beat and bit his thumbnail. I smiled widely now, relishing in my memories.

"Its pretty wild, Daryl. It's just..something else entirely. I can't explain it. Being up in the air, flying around...I had a sense of freedom I never had anywhere else."

My wistful nature made him smirk and I watched in surprise as Daryl shifted his posture across from me and said aloud, "Kinda like when I'd ride. Even if I was with Merle's annoyin' ass, I still felt..I guess free. Iunno'."

He didn't seem to want to explain himself further, but I understood his connection to riding his motorcycle and feeling free.

I swallowed thickly as I played with the hem of my shirt, the button down getting worn out and stained each passing day. "You or Merle ever have someone..or was it just the two of you?"

Daryl quirked a brow at my question, realizing what it was I was asking.

"Nah, jus' me and him. He'd find a whore sometimes when we was stopped for a bit." I hadn't heard him use such a word before and I involuntarily snickered.

He looked up innocently at me, "Wha?" I shrugged, unable to even explain why I thought that was funny.

"Ya' had too much to drink girl, that's what it is." The bottle was closer to him and he snatched it quickly and put it right next to him and away from me.

"I can hold my liquor, Daryl." I declared and smirked at him as he rolled his eyes, "Ain't lookin' like it."

I composed myself before giving him a sly smile, "I just never heard you use the word whore before." He smirked, but shrugged lightly, "Ain't no other way to describe 'em."

I hummed in response, looking down at my hands before looking back up at Daryl as a hue of red tinged my cheeks. I knew because I could feel the familiar heat.

"And me? How would you describe me?"

He stared at her for a moment, clearly taken back by my bold question. He looked away nervously and looked down before eating the last bite of his beans, "When yer' not bein' a pain in my ass?"

I scoffed as if his statement was rubbish, smirking all the while though. He looked up, watching me as I patiently waited for him to continue.

"Ya' ain't like them others, I'll tell ya' that." I furrowed my brow as my heart beat started to increase. "How so?" I pushed lightly.

He shrugged, but this time he stared at me in quiet contemplation before finally speaking.

"Yer' jus' different is all." He was now looking rather uncomfortable so I didn't press the subject any further than it had already gone.

Each of our hearts were laced with curiosity for one another, though I was more bold and brazen with I words. Daryl on the other hand held in most of the feelings he had for me.

We ate the rest of the canned food in silence and every now and again we would look up at each other. We decided to take shifts and for once I had talked him into sleeping first.

He got comfortable and I sat with his rifle in my arms now, still as a mouse and listening to the outside sounds for danger.

Before he fell asleep I looked to him and spoke softly, "Truth be told, the world going to shit hasn't been as bad as I thought."

I paused as he blinked, his eyes averting away from me at the sentimental notion, "How ya' figure tha'?" He asked grumpily as he got into what would be called a Daryl-like sleeping position.

It looked uncomfortable, but I didn't chastise him about it.

In earnest I responded, "I lost my family, but I gained another." He looked up at me now as I paused for good measure.

I knew he noticed that I talked about the group, our new family, in present tense. As if they were for sure all still alive. I had to believe they were.

"Met you.." I trailed off bravely with a smirk and when his eyes met mine again this time I felt a rush of that familiar pull at my gut.

He smirked back before adding, "Guess it ain't been all that bad." It was the last thing he said before turning around so that his back was facing me.

As he slept, I came to terms with the feeling of that pulling in my gut. That feeling of things fluttering around..like freaking butterflies, but with more intensity.

As Daryl slept, the weight of my feelings for him made me tremble with fear. The short kiss we shared all that time ago at the prison never really left my mind.

I wondered briefly if it had ever left his mind too.

By the next morning we had already switched and I was waking up since he had taken over watch. I yawned, rubbing my temple and chastising myself for drinking the night before.

Not like I had a hangover, but I felt like I was dragging ass.

Daryl handed me the last can of beans and I took it graciously. I groaned lightly as I dug in with my bare hands.

Utensils were a luxury we did not have. We had to be barbaric at times.

"Thought ya' can handle yer liquor?"

I glared at him and he smirked before plopping down next to me.

"Ya' never mention yer brother much.." he stated uncharacteristically interested all of a sudden.

I chewed carefully, considering my answer. It was true, I asked so much about Daryl and Merle, but I never really mentioned Henry.

"We were close. Inseperable until school whisked him away. It's just hard.." I paused and swallowed.

"Talking about him makes it all seem final..like he's dead and he's never coming back. I guess it just depends on my mood.." I offered a small smile before diving back into the beans.

Daryl was quiet before muttering softly, "Fair 'nough." I placed the can down once I was done and offered him a little more than what I had given him. It was only fair..he talked about Merle to me. I could return the favor.

"Henry was a healer..he wanted to help people. He was smarter than a whip when it came to medicine. And not just because he got his medical degree." I paused and Daryl listened silently.

I bit my lower lip and shrugged, "He was one of the good ones." My eyes brimmed, but I pushed the tears away before getting up suddenly.

"Alright, well, we should probably get movin'." Daryl looked at ne as if he knew I was changing the subject, but didn't call me out on it. Not today at least.

We walked back up the road the way we had come in. Upon reaching the store I tugged Daryl's vest, "Hold up. Brought this for him." I motioned towards the store and pulled out the picture from my pocket. He furrowed his brows as he digested my words.

We both walked back into the store cautiously and I slipped the photo of the man and his family in his pocket.

I didn't know why I felt the need to do what I did, but somehow I believed it might give his soul peace. Daryl looked at me as I stood up, the gesture not going unnoticed.

Before I could say anything to him footsteps pounded the concrete close by and our guns were drawn instantly.

Daryl tugged me towards a shelf to get behind, but the footsteps had drawn closer and the figure running at the store saw us both.

As the form came into view, my jaw dropped as Calvin, the boy that had been with Merle, ran into the store breathing heavily and wild eyed.

He looked relieved to see familiar faces. "What are-?" Calvin shook his head as I started to speak, hands on his knees catching his breath while his black backpack swung carelessly to his side.

"Bad people..coming..gotta get out.." Calvin spoke between deep breaths and I felt dread tug at my belly and my heart hit her stomach.

Daryl tensed visibly, his rifle hovering in the air. "How far away are-?" My next question was cut off by the holler of a unknown voice beyond the store.

"Too late. They're here.." Calvin moaned miserably before I looked at Daryl with determined eyes.

"Shoot to kill." I said through gritted teeth and Daryl nodded curtly. My heart pounded as the voices were upon them. It was too late to run now.

I cocked my handgun and dove for cover with Daryl and Calvin behind the shelves. "How many?" Daryl asked bluntly. Calvin held his hands up, "Three, but more are farther behind them."

I didn't know what scared me more. The bad people or the fact that Merle wasn't with Calvin.

I looked over at Daryl for a brief moment and we held each other's gaze. He clenched his jaw in anticipation and I murmured quietly, "We aren't going out like this."

Daryl silently nodded and just then the sound of crunching glass broke our conversation.

"Come on out boy!" A voice bellowed from the store front and I watched as Calvin cowered in fear.

What the hell had Calvin gotten himself into?

"Trust me?" I whispered to Daryl. He was silent, but nodded at me. Putting his trust into my plan and in me.

"Put your weapons up and I will come out with the boy." My voice had all the boots halt in their tracks and I smirked. Bad men that probably hadn't seen a woman in awhile were easy to fool.

"Alright, darlin'. Come on out." His low chuckle sounded anything but genuine. The moment I looked towards Daryl he was already heading down the opposite end of the aisle silently like a ninja.

"Just you?" The voice called out again, but more pressing this time. "It's just myself and the boy." I lied cooly, making my voice a bit more timid and meek sounding. I took Calvin's hand and ignored his protesting eyes.

The moment we stood up I was faced with three burly men, each carrying weapons at their sides.

The man in front smiled, his greying hair and belly showing his age. They all looked like aging hillbillies.

He continued to smile until he uttered a single word that made my stomach clench in disgust.

"Claimed."

Author's Note: I chose Josh Hutcherson as Calvin. Fits the part perfectly! ^^