Theme Song: "Roughneck" - Johnny Cash

I felt a light shake and opened my eyes slowly to see Daryl standing before me, shaking my shoulder. "C'mon, time to go. I'm leavin' in twenty." He sounded like he had an attitude, but I paid no mind to his sour note. He didn't want me coming, I knew that. However, I didn't say a word and rolled off the cot.

He walked out as I started to get ready for the morning hunt. Good thing was, I was not necessarily the biggest girly girl. I threw my hair up in a pony-tail and changed into some fresher clothes. I wore my dark blue jean shorts, a white racerback tank top and an olive colored quarter length jacket. As I pulled on my boots, I looked over to where the duffel lay on the floor.

When I had left Daniel's place I only had a brief moment to sneak through the house to freedom. I had seen all the boxes of protein bars in the dining area and jumped on the opportunity to snag a few boxes. Seeing as I was a person who was almost always hungry due to my high metabolism, well it kind of worked out perfectly.

Quickly as I could, I loaded the ammo into the Glock and grabbed my sickles and put them into place. I also grabbed a couple of protein bars on my way out. I made my way to the showers to throw some water on my face. I was usually a morning person, but lately I was sleeping harder than before. Not surprising since I had been sleeping on the cold hard ground for so damn long. I noticed someone had left me out a small plate of food and quickly ate it. As I made my way out of the cellblock I saw Carl sleeping soundly, but Rick and Judith were nowhere to be found.

Once outside, my green eyes adjusted to the darkness. The sun hadn't even come up yet and I frowned lightly. What I wouldn't give for some coffee right now. Or espresso. My stomach rumbled yet again. I was always freaking hungry. Rubbing my eyes, I made my way to the truck. Daryl was loading a backpack into the backseat and he placed his crossbow back there as well. He was in light tan jeans, typical dirty brown boots, a cut off shirt and his white winged vest. I rather liked that vest.

Rick was there as well, Judith in his arms, and he leaned against the truck lazily, still looking sleepy. I smiled, "You didn't have to see us out." He shrugged lightly, "I always do when one of us goes on a run. Plus, I gotta lock up behind ya'll anyhow."

Unexpectedly, he stretched an arm out and hugged me. In doing so he brought Judith in close to me. I smiled widely at Judith and lightly touched her cheeks. Rick added, "Be careful out there." I nodded my head and then climbed into the passenger side of the truck. Daryl was already in the truck and had started it up as Rick came around to him.

He leaned into the driver side window with Judith and looked to Daryl, "You goin' to the usual spot?" Daryl nodded, "Yeah, shouldn't take too long."Rick nodded to him while patting his hand on the truck and backing away. Daryl was silent as they drove off and she looked in the mirror as Rick locked up behind them.

Upon taking off and getting situated in the seat, I immediately saw the plain black baseball cap that lay on the dashboard. I picked it up, inspecting it. "Whose is this?" I side glanced Daryl who was quiet as always. He looked to me as he drove down the dirt road for a brief moment and shrugged, "I dunno. Came with the truck. Sometimes Rick wears it." I pursed my lips in thought and quietly put the ball cap on, fiddling with it in the mirror and then flipping the visor back up.

"Hm. Well, I think it looks better on me than it does Rick, huh?" I smirked at him and he looked over at me casually and huffed lightly, trying to hide his smirk, "Suppose so." The mood seemed a bit lighter and Daryl seemed to have lost most of his pissy attitude that he had given me last night after I had volunteered to go. They drove on for a bit until Daryl of all people broke the silence.

"You have kids 'fore this?" His words took me by surprise and I looked over at him, blinking a few times. "I-uh, no. No kids, why?" Daryl side glanced me again for a moment before continuing to look at the road.

"Jus' seen the way ya' look at Judith sometimes. I jus' thought..." His voice trailed off and he stopped talking, almost as if he were embarrassed he had asked me. He was embarking on different territory and I looked to him and swallowed thickly.

I was a little shocked at first that he had noticed something like that, but I remembered how quiet he always was. Observant. It was one of his specialties. I figured there was no point in lying as I hadn't lied to him yet.

"It's alright, I forgot you were observant." He looked to me with a hint of a smirk and I continued truthfully,  "I-I can't have kids." He furrowed his brows, and his smirk was now gone as he maneuvered out of the way of a few stray walkers. Once they were around them I looked to Daryl and added, "I found out years ago by accident at a random check-up."

He was silent and I saw him narrow his gaze like he always did when he was digesting something. He then looked away. "Sorry." His voice was rough and I shook my head, "It's alright. It is what it is. Hell, it definitely made for a very interesting dating life." He turned to me and I chuckled lightly, albeit a little bitterly and he arched a brow at my tone.

"Let's just say, more men than I thought actually want kids..and when you drop the little bomb shell you can't..well, it gets awkward. Needless to say I threw myself into the circus stuff and didn't look back. I learned to live with it."

Daryl was quiet, but he was speaking volumes with his eyes anytime he'd glance at me. He wasn't expecting this kind of confession from me, nor the kind of burden I carried with me at such an age. At first he looked like he wanted to say something, but he thought better of it. I didn't offer up anymore and he didn't ask.

We drove in silence the rest of the way until we came to a small opening in the road that had a rusted mailbox. I looked to him and back at the mailbox as he slowed down and turned into the gravel drive. It was a random narrowed road that cut off the main road and she realized someone had a house deep back in the woods.

"This it?" I asked, leaning into my elbows to push myself up and look at the woods that encompassed both sides of the truck. He nodded, "Yeah, found this awhile back on a run with your pizza boy."

I smirked and shook my head, "Judging by the looks of it, he's Maggie's pizza boy now." He grunted and offered the smallest of a half-smile while pulling the truck down the gravel road towards what appeared to be a cottage, but it was pretty damn spacious for a cottage. Run down, sure, but spacious. It was nice to know some kind of shelter like this was out here in case they needed it while hunting.

"Anyone still here or walkers?" I asked as he came to a stop and I started to get ready to hop out. "Nah, no one here. Stray walker or two, maybe. Northside of the property has a good squirrel population though. Let's get goin'."

Once I got out of the truck, I looked over to him across the hood and asked casually, "So, what about you? What did you do before this? You never mentioned it." Daryl was slinging his bow over his shoulder and he looked over at me as if I'd hit a sore spot.

I cringed lightly, but held his gaze as he shrugged, trying to play it off, "Ain't nothin' to tell. Didn't do anythin' before this. Jus'..drifted with my brother. When he was 'round at least."

I furrowed my brow as I realized he meant Merle. "You mean Merle." His attention snapped back to me at the mention of his brother's name. I saw the question forming on his tongue, but quickly brushed it off by saying to him, "Rick briefly mentioned him on a shift."

I looked away and made myself busy fixing my belt and making sure the sickles were sheathed correctly. Last thing I wanted to do was get Rick in trouble with Daryl for telling some of his business.

When I looked back up a moment later he was chewing on the inside of his cheek and he looked away from me. I didn't want to press on the subject and clearly, neither did he. He moved to the forest line back behind the cottage and I followed silently. He had already drawn his cross bow the moment they had passed the cottage and meandored down a path. I was quiet until the familiar groan of the undead came from my left.

It wasn't that close, but too close for comfort. Before Daryl had fully turned around I had already started towards the walker and threw my sickle. I nailed it into the walker's skull with a precision that sometimes still floored me. It fell down silently, face first, on the forest floor and Daryl hesitantly lowered his bow. I smirked lightly and walked over to retrieve and wipe down the sickle.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at me, "Show off." I courtesied playfully and he shook his head at me. I followed Daryl farther back into the forest and he seemed to know exactly where he was going. He was following a trail that was invisible to me, but clearly he knew it like the back of his hand.

"Where are all the squirrels?" My voice was a low whisper as I continued to look around the perimeter and into the trees. He looked back to me and then down at my boots and then back up at me in a slightly annoyed way, "If ya'd stop stompin' around then maybe they'd come out."

I closed my lips at that comment and made sure I kept a watch on how I treaded the ground and made as little noise as possible. However, I couldn't help, but stifle a laugh at his annoyed demeanor. We walked a ways more in a comfortable silence. That was the thing..sometimes we could be in each other's company, yet not say a word and it was never awkward. It was nice to have company like that.

We continued on before he came to a halt in front of me. The moment Daryl stopped short I wasn't anticipating it and I ran into him. He grunted lowly and and side glanced me as I stepped back quietly. Daryl nodded his head towards a tree that was close and there on the limb was a plump grey squirrel. My eyes widened and I fell still as a statue as Daryl took aim.

I watched Daryl's precision and the way he molded against his bow like it was meant for him. He released an arrow and punctured the squirrel. He looked to me triumphantly and snagged the squirrel after it hit the earth. I could tell he'd grown up a hunter and he was definitely by all means the definition of a backwoods man.

"And that there is how ya' squirrel hunt, Huckleberry Finn. Hope yer' payin' attention." I wrinkled my nose at him and responded hotly, "Yes, I am watching...squirrel boy." Daryl shot me a look and I smirked before following him farther into the forest.

"Watch it, girl. 'Fore I pop ya' with one of these." He looked to his bow and back up to me with a hardened gaze. I widened my eyes at him. "You wouldn't dare." He smirked at me and left the conversation open ended.

As the morning drove on we had wandered as far as the little drop off next to a creek that Daryl had mentioned and had scored an abundance of fat squirrels. Carol was going to be so excited when they returned. They were all hanging around his waist and he caught me staring.

"Would ya' like to hold them instead?" He unhooked a couple and threw them at me unannounced and I let out a small yelp of surprise and caught them in my hands. I glared up at him, despite being an outdoorsy girl, I didn't like dead carcasses thrown at me. I tossed them back at him and he actually chuckled. "I prefer deer hunting." I murmured and he looked at me curiously.

"Didn't peg ya' for a hunter." He muttered and I shrugged, "There are a lot of things you don't know about me." I said this cryptically in a joking kind of way. He stared stoically at me as he squinted against the morning sun. Almost as if he were considering the possibility that there was more to me than he originally thought.

I walked to the side of the drop off and saw the shallow creek below. Before I could say anything, I looked back and noticed Daryl had frozen in place and his cross bow was raised. Yet, there was nothing in front of us that I could tell. He motioned silently for me to fall into place behind him, so I did.

I flanked behind him and to the left and I had my hands ready on my sickles. The forest was silent of moans so I already knew whatever it was wasn't a walker. It was another animal or..a human. I breathed quickly and swallowed nervously. How could I be so stupid and not pay attention to our surroundings?

Needless to say, I was completely unprepared when two deranged looking men stepped out from behind a large oak to Daryl's right and attacked without warning.