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Chapter Text

You grew up in the small town of King County with your brother, Shane Walsh.

You and Shane were as close as siblings could get. You fought and argued like cats and dogs, but you were always there for each other and looked out for one another.

The Grimes family lived in the house across the road and after the first week of school, you, Shane and Rick became good friends and had been inseparable ever since.

After Rick and Shane graduated high school, they both got into the Police Academy. And a year later on the day you graduated high school, you handed in your application and a month later you were in the newest cadet course at the Police Academy.

You spent the first year on the job working alongside Rick and Shane at the King County Sheriffs Department before you got offered the opportunity to work undercover in some small redneck town down south. They needed a young woman who had never been there before and for whatever reason your boss chose you.

You worked undercover in that town for nearly two years, trying to bust the drug dealers in the area with the other officers. However, you found yourself getting too close to a pair of local brothers and more specifically the younger brother, Daryl Dixon.

You knew you were getting too attached to him, but by then it was too late. You had fallen for Daryl in everyway imaginable and he had fallen for you, but he had no idea who you actually were.

Although, it didn't matter in the end because your cover got blown when shit hit the fan and you were forced to leave town. You never saw Daryl again, which was probably for the best because Daryl probably hated you now that he knew you were an undercover Police Officer. 

So, you moved back to King County and worked alongside your brother and Rick.

"All available units, high speed pursuit in progress. Lincoln county units request local assistance. Highway 18 south. Proceed with extreme caution." The dispatcher suddenly called over the radio, snapping your attention away from the paperwork scattered over your desk as you turned the volume up on your radio, listening.

"Unit 3, we're en-route. Unit 1 is right behind us." Rick's voice responded over the radio.

You sighed, wishing you could be out there with them.

For the past month you and the boys had been on completely different shift schedules. You missed working alongside them.

"Walsh. Take the spare fleet, assist your brothers. You look like you could use the break from the paperwork." The Sheriffs voice suddenly called out.

You glanced over your shoulder to find him leaning in the doorway to his office looking at you with an amused grin causing you to chuckle.

You honestly forgot he was still at the station, he must have known you were itching to get out there or maybe he heard your dramatic sigh. You should be embarrassed, but that was the furthest thing from your mind after what he just said.

"Thank you, sir." You quickly responded, already locking your computer screen.

You shoved all the pieces of paper into the top draw of your desk before you grabbed the keys to the fleet from the back room and jogged out the station.

You didn't bother logging on with the tablet that was inside each fleet, the Sheriff knew where you were going, so if anyone was asking for you, he'd be able to tell them.

You did however, flick the lights and sirens on as you sped down the street in the direction of Highway 18.

"Suspects are two male Caucasians. Be advised, they have fired on Police Officers." The dispatcher informed.

You kept your radio turned up, listening to the dispatcher and other patrols giving updates on the stolen vehicle.

It sounded like they were chasing this car down every backroad in the area, but you knew they'd have to take Highway 18 sooner or later which meant Rick and Shane would be sitting there somewhere with the spikes out and ready.

After a few minutes you spotted two of the Police cars parked in the middle of the road and couldn't stop the grin appearing on your face.

You slammed on the breaks and pulled up between the two of them, blocking the road completely.

"Y/N? The hell are you doing here? Aren't you on night shift this week?" Shane's voice questioned the second you climbed out the car.

"Yep, stayed back late to try get ahead of my paperwork, then heard your stupid voice over comms and figured I'd give you a hand." You replied, motioning towards Rick.

Rick snorted, rolling his eyes as you glanced over at the other two officers by their fleet who both gave you a wave and you nodded back.

"North bound on Highway 18, heading in your directions Unit 1 and Unit 3." The dispatcher said over the radio.

With that, the three of you pulled out your guns, Shane with his usual shotgun and Rick with his Colt Python. You on the other hand had your Smith & Wesson handgun and flicked the safety off, knowing there was already a round in the chamber.

"Hey, maybe we'll get on one of those video shows, you know, like worlds craziest police chases, what do you think?" Leon asked, from the other side of the car causing you to roll your eyes.

"What I think, Leon, is that you need to stay focused. Make sure you got a round in the chamber and your safety is off." Rick responded.

You had to stop yourself from laughing when you heard the familiar click of a safety being flicked off before you focused on the road in front of you.

"Would be kind of cool to get on one of them shows." Shane commented a moment later.

Raising your eyebrows, you glanced over at your brother who just shrugged his shoulders.

"You agree with me and you know it." He added causing you to smile shaking your head.

Suddenly, the sound of police sirens filled the air before the silver Mustang sped down the highway followed by three other police cars.

The Mustang drove straight over the road spikes and began spinning out of control. The driver clearly tried to gain control, but it wasn't enough before the car flipped and tumbled into the field, landing on the roof.

"Holy shit." Shane muttered staring at the wrecked car.

It wasn't everyday you were involved in a highspeed chase, let alone one where the car hit the spikes and crashed.

"On me." You whispered, stepping away from the fleets.

Your gun was raised in the ready position as you slowly began walking towards the crashed car.

Rick and Shane were right by your side, Leon and the other officer somewhere behind you. You glanced over at the other three fleets that had been chasing the car to find all three officers standing by their vehicles with their guns out and ready.

You watched the upside down Mustang cautiously before the car door opened and your finger moved from the frame of the gun to the trigger.

"Gun, gun, gun." One of the officers across the road yelled.

A second later, one of the suspects popped his head up over the side of the car with a handgun, aiming at the other officers.

"Put it down! Put the gun down!" You and Rick started shouting as the man began shooting at the other officers, bullets hitting the doors of their fleets before you, Rick and Shane opened fire.

The man quickly ducked back behind his car, turning his attention towards the three of you before he popped back up and started firing in your direction.

You quickly moved your sights onto him, hovering the dots over his chest and squeezed the trigger just as you saw Rick go down out the corner of your eye.

"Cover us!" You yelled, holstering your gun despite the other suspect getting out the car and firing at you.

You dropped down beside Rick, putting yourself between him and the shooter as your hands instantly went to the bullet wound over his stomach.

To your relief the bullet hit his vest as he laid on the ground gasping for air. Thank God.

"Breath. Just breath. You're fine. Just take deep breaths." You shouted over the gunshots, grabbing his shoulder.

"Rick! Y/N!" Shane's voice yelled once the gunshots stopped.

Someone finally took out the last suspect.

"We're fine." You reassured, picking up Rick's pistol and handing to him as he began to reload it with shaky hands.

Fuck that was way to close, Rick nearly got shot. No, Rick did get shot. He was lucky he was wearing the vest or you were lucky it wasn't you because you hadn't put a vest on in your rush to get here.

Fuck, that was a close one.

"I saw you get tagged man, it scared the hell out of me." Shane said once he reached your aide.

You stood up, holding your free hand to Rick who took with a grateful nod as you helped him to his feet.

"Me too. Son of a bitch shot me. You guys believe that?" Rick questioned breathlessly still recovering from the wind getting knocked out of him and still freaking out about actually being shot.

You had been shot at before and you knew how terrifying it was, let alone actually getting tagged by a bullet.

"We'll get you a new vest." You responded, patting Rick on the shoulder because honestly you were still shock as well.

All your years in the force and this was hands down one of the scariest things you had been in, because for a split second, you thought Rick was gone.

"Y/N, you do not tell Lori that happened. Either of you. Ever." Rick instructed, his eyes flashing between the two of you.

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed in the background before pain exploded through your stomach.

Time suddenly moved in slow motion as you looked down at your stomach in confusion to find blood seeping through your uniform.

Frowning, you looked back up at Rick and Shane to find Rick falling to the ground in front of you.

It took way to long for your brain to acknowledge the fact that you had just been shot. The bullet had gone clean through you and hit Rick as you stared at the man you considered a brother now lying on the ground.

Suddenly, the world around you stared to spin, pain searing through your stomach as your legs started to buckle from underneath you.

Shane managed to grab you just before you could hit the dirt and he gently lowered you onto the ground.

His lips were moving as if he was trying to say something, but you couldn't hear him above the ringing in your ears.

You titled your head to the side, spotting Rick lying right beside you with Leon hovering over him, his hands pressed against the wound on his stomach. Shane grabbed your chin and moved your head back until you were looking at him.

"Don't look at him. Look at me. You're gonna be okay, you're both gonna be okay."

Tears started filling Shane's eyes as his hands pressed against your stomach, blood seeping through his fingers.

You opened your mouth about to say something, but you couldn't get any words out as you began to cough up blood. 

This was it.

This was the end, this was how your story ended.

"Shh, shhh, stay with me, you hear me? You stay with me." Shane ordered, his voice shaking as he stared down at you.

There was nothing you could do as your eyes started to close and your head tilted to the side.

The last thing you saw was Rick lying on the ground beside you before the darkness took over.

-

Silence.

That was the first thing your brain registered. Everything was quiet.

It was never quiet at your house, Shane was always playing his ridiculous music from the speakers or watching tv on full volume. Even if it was the middle of the night, you could hear him snoring upstairs, it was never quiet.

You tried to open your eyes, but your eyelids were so heavy you couldn't get yourself to open them. You knew something was wrong, but you just couldn't get yourself to open your eyes.

A few minutes later, or maybe it was a few hours later, you honestly had no idea, but you could hear footsteps somewhere near you and a hushed voice talking, but the words were all jumbled, you couldn't process what they were saying.

"Y-Y/N. Wake up. Wake up." A familiar voice shouted.

Your head was just so cloudy, you couldn't figure out who the voice belong to, but you could hear the panic behind their tone.

Suddenly, hands were on your shoulders and shaking your body, snapping you awake.

Your eyes flew open to find Rick hovering over you. What the fuck?

Blinking a few times, you took in Rick's pale and panicked expression, his jaw was lined with stubbled which was weird. For as long as you've known him, you had only ever seen him clean shaved. What was going on?

"Oh, thank God, thank God. We gotta get outta here." Rick quickly said, glancing over his shoulder towards the closed door causing you to frown because that was not your bedroom door.

You looked back at Rick, taking a proper look at him realising that he was wearing a hospital gown. The gown was open, exposing his stomach which had a thick white bandage wrapped around it.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

The idiots on the highway. The car crash. The gunshots. You and Rick got shot. Holy shit.

You sat up in sudden panic, quickly regretting it as pain soared through your stomach.

Wincing, you grabbed your stomach and looked down to find a matching white bandaged wrapped around it. You were wearing a bra and hospital shorts under your untied hospital gown, but your head was still trying to process what happened.

"We gotta go." Rick repeated.

He grabbed your shoulder gently to help you sit up as you pulled the needle from your arm and looked around the hospital room.

There was another bed beside yours that you assumed was Rick's, but what caught your attention was the dead flowers in a vase between your beds and the clock on the wall that was frozen.

Come to think of it, all the electronics in the room seemed to not be working, what was going on? Was the hospital in the middle of a power outage? No, they'd have backup generators that would switch on straight away, this made no sense.

"W-What's going on?" You asked, not expecting your voice to be so rough as you stared at Rick who looked as bad as you felt.

"The hospital is abandoned. I just went to find a nurse, but there's no one here." Rick explained, but there was something else he wasn't telling you, there was something behind his eyes that had you starting to worry.

There was more to the story and why was the hospital abandoned? It was a hospital with two police officers inside as patients, it didn't make any sense.

"What aren't you telling me?" You asked as you swung your legs over the side of the bed.

Rick held his hand out and you took it, hating how weak your body felt as you stood up, Rick's hand on your shoulder to steady you as you got your balance.

"There was a body in the hallway." He answered causing you to frown in confusion.

A body? Like a dead body just lying in the hallway?

Rick must have seen the confused look on your face because he sighed and explained further.

"It was a dead body, but... but it had been ripped apart, almost like something had eaten it."

Surely he was seeing things, right? How many painkillers did the nurse give him?

You didn't bother trying to argue with him as you began walking towards the door wanting to prove to him that nothing was wrong. This was a normal hospital and he must still be high on drugs, it was the only thing you could think of.

You limped towards the door, trying to ignore the aching coming from the bullet wound as Rick trailed behind you.

The hallways was a mess.

Wires were dangling from the ceiling, paper was scattered all over the floor, but what you were most focused on were the blood stains that painted the walls and the horrible stench that filled the air.

You glanced back over at Rick who was staring at you with a worried expression that matched your own before the two of you began wandering down the hallway.

Rick spotted a reception desk and quickly grabbed the telephone sitting on the front counter, but there was no power, the phone was dead.

He put the phone down and picked up a packet of matches before the two of you continued walking down the hallway.

What the hell happened here?

You walked passed the line of elevators and despite knowing there was no power, you still clicked the elevator buttons just to be sure, but nothing happened. The two of you walked further down the hallway towards the stairwell.

The second Rick opened the door into the stairwell you both immediately covered your noses. The rotten stench you could smell was a million times worse inside the stairwell causing you to nearly throw up as Rick lit one of the matches.

He glanced over his shoulder giving you a questioning look as if asking if it was a good idea to walk down the stairs and out the building. You just nodded because what else are you meant to do? The hospital was abandoned, the two of you couldn't stay there.

Slowly, Rick began to descend down the stairs and you followed closely behind. Eventually you reached the ground floor and stopped in front of the door that had the large 'EXIT' sign above it.

Rick pushed the door opened, but you both immediately closed your eyes at the sudden bright light.

You lifted your hand, blocking the sun from your eyes as you opened your eyes slightly, letting yourself adjust to the sunlight and that's when you saw it.

The bodies.

Hundreds and hundreds of bodies lying on the ground outside the hospital, some wrapped in white cloth covered in blood stains, others just lying on the ground not covered at all.

"R-Rick." You whispered in disbelief.

Slowly, you walked across the courtyard, staring down at the bodies around you, most of which were rotten and decaying causing you to gag.

"What happened?" He questioned out loud, but you had no idea.

How long had the two of you been asleep in that hospital? Why were the two of you left inside the hospital when it was abandoned? Nothing made sense. This had to be a dream.

"We- We have to go find Shane and Lori. They'd know what happened." You said, trying to keep your head straight, there was no point falling apart right now.

Rick just nodded, unable to get any words out as you continued walking.

You were so busy staring at all the bodies, you didn't even notice that Rick had picked up a bike from the side of the road before he called out your name and you turned around spotting him standing beside a two seater bike.

"We're two blocks from our road." Rick said.

You nodded, trusting him blindly before something started growling to your left and you both turned around and jumped back in shock.

There was a dead body cut in half lying on the grass, but it wasn't dead. It was very much alive and trying to crawl towards you.

It's rotten flesh scraping on the grass as it growled, snapping its jaw. You had watched zombie movies, you had seen World War Z and Zombie Land, you knew what zombies looked like, but what the actual fuck?

Zombies weren't real, this couldn't be real.

"Go, go, go." Rick quickly said and you didn't have to be told twice as you climbed onto the back seat of the bike, wincing at the aching from your stomach.

Rick must have heard because he glanced over his shoulder at you with a worried look before you just shook your head, trying to dismiss his worry because there were bigger things to worry about.

The two of you started to peddle as Rick steered the bike down the street in the direction of your homes.

You and Shane shared a house together, it was cheaper that way and neither of you cared. It was a two-story house, he had the entire top floor to himself and you had the entire bottom floor, but the two of you always ate and watched tv together when you were both home at the same time which was next to never with shift work.

Your house was on the far end of the Street while Rick and Lori lived further down the same street. It was quick and easy to visit each other and when you'd have some drinks at each other's house you could just walk home instead of worrying about drink driving.

While Rick steered the bike, you just focused on pedalling while your eyes scanned your surroundings taking in how abandon the streets look.

Something was seriously wrong. It was like everyone had just up and left in a matter of minutes.

It didn't take long before Rick slowed the bike down in front of your house as he stared at your front door that had been left open and you did not like the sign of that.

You climbed off the bike and looked back at Rick who glanced further down the street where you knew his house was only 300 metres down the road.

"Go find Lori and Carl, I'll meet you at your house with Shane." You quickly said and Rick nodded, but seemed hesitant to leave you there by yourself.

"I can take care of myself, go." You insisted.

Rick nodded again before he continued riding down the street and you turned your attention towards the front of your house.

You eyed the open front door cautiously, Shane was always good with closing doors and turning lights off before he left the house, so straight away you knew something wasn't right. But, since you woke up in the hospital you have had that feeling, so you honestly had no idea what to think.

Cautiously you walked up the cement path towards the front door, wishing you had more than a stupid hospital gown on you as you walked through the door to find the entire place trashed.

The bookshelf you had set up in the front hallway was lying on the floor, books and photo frames scattered all over the ground.

Carefully you stepped around the broken objects on the ground, being mindful not to step on any of the glass since you weren't wearing shoes.

"Shane?" You called out as you continued walking through the house.

Every draw and cupboard had been opened and turned upside down, almost as if someone had broken in and looted the place.

You rushed upstairs and made a beeline straight for your brothers bedroom, but like the rest of the house it was a mess and completely empty.

He was gone, how were you meant to find him?

You could feel tears starting to rise in your eyes as you scanned his room, noticing he had packed some of his clothes which meant he left, but where did he go?

"Shane, where are you?" You questioned out loud.

Panic began to set in as you glanced around his empty bedroom because you had no idea where else to look for your brother, if he wasn't here, where could he be?

"Ricks house. He'd be with Lori and Carl." You mumbled to yourself, wiping the tears from your eyes.

You rushed back down the stairs, but you stopped by the fallen bookshelf as you knelt down and picked up one of the photo frames.

You tapped the broken glass onto the floor before you pulled the small photo from the frame, staring at it through teary eyes.

It was a photo Rick had taken of you and Shane at your Police Academy Graduation. You were in your brand-new uniform with the fancy peak cap with Shane's arm wrapped around you. He was in his Deputy uniform too, with a large proud smile plastered on his face.

You smiled sadly before folding it in half and tucking it inside your bra because of course hospital gowns don't have pockets.

With that you walked back outside, your eyes scanning the street cautiously before you began walking back down the road in the direction of Ricks house.

It only took you a few minutes to walk there, you could usually run it in 30 seconds, but there was no way you'd be running with how weak you felt.

You spotted Rick sitting on the steps in front of his house with his head in his hands and your heart dropped. Lori and Carl weren't there, that meant your brother wasn't there. What the hell were you going to do now?

Rick looked up when he saw you coming and one look at his tear stained face was all it took before tears began to trickle down your cheeks and you sat down beside him in silence.

Neither of you even had a chance to say anything before something hard slammed into the back of your heads and the last thing you saw was the ground rushing towards you before everything faded to black.

Chapter Text

The man who had knocked you and Rick out was, Morgan. A father who took you back to his house with his young son.

At first, you weren't too sure about him. He literally knocked you and Rick out and basically kidnapped you. But, he provided you with fresh clothes which you gladly changed into, wanting to get out of the hospital gown as quickly as possible.

You swapped the hospital gown for a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, that were a surprisingly good fit before you found yourself seated at the table with Rick, Morgan and his son, bowls of some kind of stew in front of you.

A small part of you knew it was a bad idea to take food from strangers. But, you were way too hungry to give a shit as you dove into the food.

"Do you two even know what's going on?" The man questioned, breaking the silence.

He glanced between the two of you and you just shook your head because you had been confused since the hospital.

"We woke up today in the hospital. Came home, that's all we know." Rick answered while you continued eating.

"But you know about the dead people right?" 

"Saw a lot of that. Out by the hospital, on the loading dock in the courtyard." You explained, but the man just shook his head.

"No, not the one's they put down. The ones they didn't. The walkers. They'll rip you apart, try to eat you, take some flesh at least." The man began to explain as you and Rick shared a quick look before the man sighed. "Well, I guess if this is the first you're hearing it, I know how it must sound."

"They're out there now, in the street?" Rick asked in disbelief and the man nodded.

"Yeah. They're even more active after dark sometimes. Maybe it's the cool air or hell, maybe it's just me firing up that gun today. But, we'll be fine long as we stay quiet. Probably wander off by morning." The man added.

Neither of you said anything for a while as you tried to process what he had just told you. So you really were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, great.

"Well, listen. One thing I do know, don't get bit. We saw your bandages and that's what we were afraid of. Bites kill you. The fever burns you out. But then after a while, you come back." He explained, but this was just too much for you to handle.

You shook your head, standing up from the table and walked over to the couch that was across the room as you sat down trying to process everything.

Zombies were real.

The dead were walking around and your brother was probably dead. Lori and Carl were probably dead. Everyone you ever knew, the world you knew, it was gone, it was over.

You pulled out the photo of you and Shane from your pocket and stared down at it. You weren't sure how long you were sitting there before Rick joined you on the couch. He didn't say anything as he looked down at the photo and smiled sadly.

Morgan put his son in bed, tucking him in the sleeping bag that was on the floor before he handed the two of you a couple blankets before sitting down on top of the other sleeping bag beside his son.

"Carl... he your son?" The man questioned, snapping your attention away from the photo in your hands as you looked over at him. "You said his name today." The man added.

"He's a little younger than your boy." Rick answered and the man nodded.

"You his mother?" He asked looking over at you and you shook your head.

"More like Aunt. My brother is Rick's best friend." You answered, although you had no idea why you were explaining it to this stranger.

"Dad? Did you ask them?" The little boy asked from where he was lying inside his sleeping bag causing Morgan to chuckle.

"Your gunshots. We got a little bet going. My boy said you're bank robbers." The man informed causing you to actually laugh because that was the complete opposite, but was an interesting guess.

"Sheriff's Deputies." Rick answered.

Morgan actually looked shocked with that as he nodded taking in the information. You began to lay down on the couch, wincing slightly at the pain from the gunshot as Rick began to move over, giving you room.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, lifting your legs so they were laying across his lap like you've done a thousand times before when you, him and Shane drink too much and pass out on the couch together.

"Her wound was a lot more fresh than yours." The man explained across the room causing Rick to look over at him in confusion.

"We got shot at the same time... you must have had a more recent surgery." Rick responded and it sounded logical enough, the bullet hit you first, it would've slowed it down a lot before it hit him, guess it kind made sense, but fucking sucked.

"I'm fine, just tired." You answered, resting your head against the side of the couch as you closed your eyes.

-

The next morning, Morgan told you more about the walkers.

How they were completely dead and how to kill them if you got into a sticky situation, but the thought of killing one of them just didn't sit right with you. You knew they were dead, but it still didn't feel right.

Morgan then told you about some refugee centre that was set up in Atlanta with military protection and how the CDC was working on a cure for this virus. He didn't seem too keen about going to the city himself, but if Shane, Lori and Carl were still alive then that was a good place to start.

By sunrise the four of you were packed inside Rick's car and on your way to the King County Sheriffs Station. If you wanted to make it to Atlanta to find your family then you were going to need weapons.

It didn't take long before Rick parked around the back of the station and within minutes the group of you were walking through the back that lead into the staff room. Morgan had given Rick a baseball bat while you held a crowbar to use in case you came across any of the walkers.

Rick held a flashlight as you followed him through the familiar rooms, but you just couldn't get over how empty the station was. It was always so full, but now it was a ghost town.

You followed Rick in the direction of the locker rooms which just confused you because weren't you here for weapons? You didn't question Rick though as he walked through the locker rooms and went through he door to the shower cubicles causing you to grin. The showers.

"Gas lines have been down for maybe a month." Morgan began to say as Rick reached for the first tap and turned it and not a second later water began to fall from the shower head.

"Station has its own propane system. It's still on." Rick grinned as smiles began to spread across Morgan and his sons faces.

You ducked back out the shower block and into the lockers and grabbed a pile of towels, soap and shampoo before walking back in and throwing the three of them the items.

"Go nuts, boys." You called out before going back into the lockers and punching in the code to the padlock of your locker.

A moment later, Rick walked into the lockers with the same idea. He opened his locker and the two of you grabbed your spare set of uniforms before walking back into the shower block to find Morgan and his son already turning on two of the showers. 

Rick motioned towards the free shower block at the far end before he stepped into the shower block between yours and Morgan's. You gave Rick an appreciative nod, knowing he did that to give you some privacy from the man you had literally just met.

"Hot water!" Morgan's son shouted happily.

You to chuckled softly listening to the kids happy voice as you stripped off your clothes until you were just wearing your bra and undies.

You didn't care about Rick seeing you like this, he was like a brother to you, he had seen you like it before when you'd go to the beach or pool parties when you were kids or hell, between shifts when you'd get changed in the locker rooms at the station.

You washed your hair once Rick finished washing his as he passed you the bottle of shampoo before he began to shave the stubble from his jaw as you finished rinsing the shampoo from your hair.

Once you were done, you turned the shower off, finishing before any of the guys as you grabbed your towel and wrapped it around your body before you disappeared back into the locker room and went straight to the first aid kit.

The bandage on your stomach was now wet from the shower and you were curious to see what the wound looked like as you opened the first aid kit, making sure there were bandages inside before you peeled off the one your stomach.

You stared down at your stomach, taking in wound. It didn't have stitches, but you could easily see where the stiches had been. The wound was still bright red and definitely not healed properly yet, but it was starting to heal and you knew it was going to leave a large scar, but that was the furthest thing from your mind as you began to wrap a fresh bandage around the wound.

Once you finished with the first aid, you walked back into the shower block, laughing to yourself because the three of them were still under the hot water as you began to put your deputy uniform on.

It only took a few more minutes before the rest of them started to get changed too while you wandered back into the locker room and grabbed your spare pair of boots, slipping them on before grabbed your duty belt, containing your handcuffs, baton, OC spray, radio pouch, magazine pouch and gun holster.

It didn't take long before the others walked back into the locker room, all with fresh clothes and you smiled taking in Ricks uniform and clean-shaven face.

That was the Rick Grimes you knew.

"Let's head to the armoury and pray they haven't changed the code." You said and they all nodded in agreement before following you out the room and in the direction of the armoury.

You walked up the small panel on the door and keyed in the code, turning the handle as the door pushed open and you sighed with relief, glancing over your shoulder towards Rick who just grinned.

"A lot of it's gone missing." Rick commented as you pulled open the cupboard exposing the remaining guns that were handing along the wall.

He was right, a lot of it had gone missing. Guess the other officers had the same idea.

"I have missed you." You whispered to yourself, pulling a Smith and Wesson handgun from the bottom row.

You tilted it to the side to read the serial number to make sure it was your gun and you couldn't stop the grin on your face when you realised it was.

"That 003?" Rick questioned, raising his eyebrows at you in amusement, knowing the last few digits of your serial number off by heart because of the amount of times he had grabbed it for you when you were all kitting up before shift.

"The one and only." 

You grabbed a magazine from the top shelf as you loaded and actioned the handgun before flicking the safety on and holstering it.

"Take that one. Nothing fancy and the scopes accurate." Rick said, handing Morgan the .22 sniper rifle.

You added another magazine pouch to your belt and tucked two spare fully loaded magazines in them before you grabbed Rick's duffle bag and just started filling it full of various guns and boxes of ammunition.

You glanced over at Rick who was now running his fingers over each Colt Python on the rack. You knew he was looking for his usual one causing you to chuckle as Rick flipped you off without looking, knowing exactly what you were thinking before he pulled one from the shelf and began loading it full of bullets.

You walked over to the rack of radios and turned one on, smiling when it actually turned on before you flicked it off not wanting to waste the battery before tucking it into the pouch on your belt.

Once you finished clearing out the armoury, Rick grabbed his Deputy hat and the bag of guns while you grabbed the key to the Sheriffs car from the hook. You saw that fleet parked around the back when you came in and the Sheriff always kept his car full of fuel, it was your best bet.

"Are you sure you don't want to come to Atlanta with us?" You asked, looking over at Morgan as Rick began loading the car.

"A few more days. By then, Duane, will know how to shoot and I won't be so rusty." Morgan replied and you nodded in understanding before Rick handed him one of the radios.

"You've got one battery. I'll turn mine on a few minutes every day at dawn. You get up there, that's how you find us." Rick explained, handing one of the spare radios to Morgan who took it gratefully.

"Look, just one thing. They may not seem like much one at a time but in a group, all riled up and hungry... man, you watch your ass." 

"You too." Rick replied holding his hand out as Morgan shook it before your held your hand out too and shook his hand, but before you could say anything the sound of a walker growling filled the air.

You quickly turned around, your hand immediately reaching for your baton on the side of your belt, but the second you saw the walker in the distance you froze, your eyes widening as you took in the deputy uniform. No. No, no, no, please don't be Shane. Don't be Shane.

"Wait, Y/N." Rick quickly said as you jogged towards the walker that was stuck behind the wire fence by the side of the station.

Your heart was beating out of your chest as you reached the fence, staring at the walker, but as it got closer you quickly realised it wasn't Shane and you almost smiled in relief before you recognised who the walker actually was.

"Leon Basset?" Rick questioned, appearing beside you.

You stared at the man who had been your partner when you first graduated from the academy. Yeah, he was kind of an asshole sometimes, but he was a good man and he had a family, he had a baby girl.

"That's him." You replied, unable to take your eyes away from him as he reached the fence, his hands trying to reach you through the wire as Rick grabbed your shoulder and pulled you away.

"We can't leave him like this." You said, looking over at Rick.

"You know they'll hear the shot." Morgan responded, staring at the walker behind the fence.

"Let's not be here when they show up." Rick stated.

Morgan nodded in agreement before you said your goodbyes and watched as the father and son climbed into their car while Rick drew his pistol and squeezed the trigger.

You watched as the bullet pierced through the walkers forehead. Its body hit the ground before Rick turned and nodded towards the car and with that the two of you climbed into the Sheriffs fleet. 

Neither of you said anything as you drove while Rick pulled out a map of Atlanta and began figuring out the best route to take since Morgan warned you that a lot of the main roads would be blocked with broken down and abandon cars.

"I can't believe we've been in a coma for over a month and the whole world turned to shit." You suddenly said, breaking the silence as you shook your head in disbelief and turned onto Highway 85 that was a straight shot into the city.

"I can't believe we both got shot in the first place, there was only meant to be two suspects. Not three." Rick responded causing you to laugh.

"Seriously? Dead people are walking around and that's what you're thinking of?"

Rick to roll his eyes before he pulled his radio from his belt and turned it on.

"Broadcasting on emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond." He said into the radio, talking his finger off the button as he waited for a few seconds, but no one answered.

He continued repeating that sentence into the radio for a few minutes, but there was no point. Nobody was listening and you did not like the sign of that, Atlanta would be in range with your police radios and the military would have radios there, but no one was responding. It didn't make sense.

You drove for a couple hours while Rick tried the radio a few more times before eventually the car ran out of fuel.

You knew it would happen, but you just kinda hoped that if you ignored the little fuel light that it would just go away. But, of course, that didn't work.

Chapter Text

The Sheriff's car ran out of fuel so Rick grabbed the bag of guns from the back while you grabbed the fuel can and the two of you took off on foot in search of a gas station or any cars that you could siphon fuel out of.

You walked for what felt like forever before Rick suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and you nearly walked into the back of him. 

"There's a horse." Rick whispered.

You frowned, looking at Rick to find him staring at something in the distance.

You followed his line of sight, spotting a brown horse inside a small yard behind a house on the side of the road. 

Okay, so what? It was just a horse, why was he so intrigued with the.... suddenly it clicked. He wanted to ride the horse. Oh, hell no.

"I am not riding the horse."

Rick ignored you as he walked over to the small shed and grabbed what looked to be rope before he began walking towards the horse yard.

"We got no fuel. It's either this or walk to the city." Rick responded over his shoulder and you sighed.

There was no way you could walk that distance before dark. This was the only way and you both knew it, although Rick seemed to be enjoying this way to much as opened the gate and walked into the yard.

He handed you his Sheriffs hat causing you to scoff because like hell he'd be able to catch this horse. But, you didn't say anything, taking his hat as you leant against the fence and watched in amusement as Rick began walking towards the large animal, talking to it quietly.

To your shock, Rick actually got the horse and before you knew it he had it saddled up and was sitting on top as you stood beside him with the bag of guns thrown over your shoulder.

"Do you know what you're doing?" You asked hesitantly and Rick simply nodded, holding his hand out towards you and you sighed, taking his hand before climbing onto the back of the horse. "If I fall off I'm taking you with me." 

"Let's go easy, okay? I haven't done this for years." Rick said gently to the horse causing your jaw to drop.

Rick glanced over his shoulder towards you almost as if he knew what you were about to say as you shook your head at him causing him to chuckle before he focused back on what he was doing.

Despite being terrified of falling off, the ride went surprisingly quickly because before you knew it you were trotting down the Highway and into the city, taking in all the broken down vehicles on the other side of the road, all backed up for miles completely abandon. 

As you trekked through the city you spotted a few walkers stumbling down the side streets, but there was only a few of them, so you didn't worry about them as you continued riding through the city.

You spotted an army tank on the side of the road, a dead body lying on top that was being picked at by a couple of crows.

You looked away, your eyes scanning the area before suddenly Rick yanked the horses rains causing it to take off down the street. You quickly grabbed onto Rick almost falling off the back of the horse as Rick said something about seeing a helicopter, but before you had a chance to ask if you heard him correctly the horse turned the corner and you came face to face with a herd of walkers.

"Shit." You gasped as Rick turned the horse around, but it was too late, there was another herd before you, you were trapped.

You frantically looked around, trying to find a way out of it, but all you could see were the walkers surrounding you and before you knew it, the horse reared up and you and Rick hit the ground.

Sudden pain spiked through your gunshot causing you to groan as you grabbed the side of your stomach and frantically looked around to find Rick lying on the ground beside you in pure shock and panic as you glanced over at the horse that was now being eaten alive.

"Y/N!" Rick yelled.

You quickly looked back at him to find a walker about to reach you as you kicked it away before you scrambled onto your hands and knees and stared up at all the walkers that were closing in on the two of you.

"Rick." You called out in panic, not knowing what to do.

You stared at all the rotten hands that were now reaching for you before Rick suddenly grabbed your arm and began pulling you towards the broken down army tank that was behind you.

You both frantically crawled under the tank. The walkers already starting to crawl under the tank after you before your eyes landed on the small door under the tank.

"Up." You shouted, pushing open the door.

You and Rick quickly climbed up into the tank and you only just managed to shut it before the walkers could climb in while Rick closed the top hatch that you didn't even realise was open before you both collapsed against the walls inside the tank, trying to catch your breath.

"Oh, God." Rick muttered.

You quickly looked up to find him sitting opposite you with his back against the wall of the tank, but there was a dead soldier sitting beside him, and now that you knew it was there you could smell the rotten stench of the corpse.

You watched as Rick leant over and pulled the handgun that was strapped to the side of the soldiers belt out. He checked the magazine when suddenly the body beside him started to move.

Oh shit, it was a walker.

"Rick!" You shouted, your hand reaching for your holster before Rick quickly pulled out his Colt Python and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot echoed through the tank causing you to wince as you covered your ears at the ear piercing ringing.

It took a few minutes before the ringing began to die down as you glanced over at Rick to find him still covering his ears with his hands.

Great. Now you were trapped inside a tank surrounded by walkers. What the hell were you meant to do now?

"Hey, you guys." A voice suddenly called through a radio causing you to quickly sit up straighter as you looked over at Rick in confusion before you spotted the tanks radio on the wall beside you.

"Dumbasses. Hey, you two in the tank. Cozy in there?" The male voice questioned.

You just there with your jaw dropped, trying to figure out how and who this was before Rick snapped into action and scrambled over to the radio and quickly grabbed the hand piece.

"Hey, are you alive in there?" The voice questioned again.

"Hello? Hello?" Rick called through the radio.

"There you are. You had me wondering." 

"Where are you? Outside? Can you see us right now?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by walkers. That's the bad news." The stranger answered and suddenly you had a small serge of hope.

"There's good news?" Rick questioned almost as if he was reading your mind.

"No." The voice replied causing you to sigh as you grabbed the walkie from Ricks hand.

"Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you that we're a little concerned in here." You stated, glancing over at Rick as you spoke who nodded in agreement.

"Oh man. You should see it from over here. You'd be having a major freak-out." The voice said causing you to chuckle as you shook your head.

You were close to having a freak-out, hell, you have had many freak outs inside your head since you woke up in that hospital.

"Got any advice for us?" You asked, holding the radio to your mouth as you tried thinking of some way out of this mess.

"Yeah, I'd say make a run for it. Look, you've got eyes on the outside here. There's one geek still up on the tank but the others have climbed down and joined the feeding frenzy where the horse went down. With me so far?" 

"So far." You confirmed.

"Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. If you move now while they're distracted, you stand a chance. Jump off the right side of the tank, keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street, maybe 50 yards. Be there," The voice explained as Rick started climbing up to the top latch door.

"Whoever you are, thank you." You replied, dropping the hand piece of the radio just as Rick opened the top door to the tank.

You quickly rushed over to the small ladder, but before you began to climb you spotted a grenade sitting on the side shelf, without thinking twice you quickly put the grenade in your pocket before you followed Rick up the ladder.

"Y/N?" Rick called out as he fired a round off from his gun, taking out the walker that was on top of the tank.

"Right behind you. Go." You shouted.

You climbed the remaining steps and watched as Rick jumped off the tank and you quickly followed, taking in the amount of walkers that were in the area.

You landed on the ground beside Rick who was staring at the bag of guns that you had dropped with the horse, but you quickly shook your head. The guns were out of the question. You had to get the hell out of here.

To your relief, Rick must have came to the same conclusion because a moment later he grabbed your arm and began pulling you in the opposite direction.

There were walkers everywhere as the two of you sprinted down the road, but there were too many walkers you weren't going to make it.

You quickly pulled out your gun from its holster and began firing at the walkers that were blocking your path and Rick did the same as you ducked down the alley way and aimed your gun at the next walker, but quickly realised that it wasn't a walker.

"Whoa, not dead! Come on!" An Asian man shouted.

Hastily, you holstered your handgun and didn't ask any questions as you ran after the man. The herd of walkers right behind you before the man stopped in front of a large ladder that ran all the way up the side of a tall building.

You and Rick quickly climbed up the ladder behind the man before he stopped on a small fire escape platform as the three of you leant against the railings, looking down at the herd of walkers below you.

Holy shit. It worked. 

"Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood. You two the new Sheriff's come in to clean up the town?" The man asked breathlessly causing you to laugh softly as you shook your head, still trying to figure out how you managed to get out of that mess.

"Wasn't our intention." Rick answered between breaths.

"Yeah, whatever. Yeehaw. You're still a dumbass." The man responded.

"Rick. Thanks." Rick said, holding his hand out to the man who took it.

"Glenn. You're welcome." The man- Glenn- responded, shaking Rick's hand before he turned towards you.

"Y/N. Nice to meet you." You said, shaking the mans hand.

Glenn smiled at you before turning his attention back to the ladder as you looked up taking in just how high up the ladder ran.

Oh, great. That was too high, you weren't seriously going to climb that were you?

"Bright side; it'll be the fall that kills us. I'm a glass-half full kind of guy." Glenn said as he walked over to the ladder and grabbed onto the first railing.

You and Rick shared a quick look before following Glenn up the ladder. You forced yourself to just focus on the next step and not let yourself look down because climbing a ladder on the side of a 20 story building with no safety rails or anything, it was just plain stupid.

Once off the ladder, you followed Glenn across the roof before ducking down some kind of man hole that lead to a back alley.

Glenn pulled out a walkie talkie and began talking to someone on the other side while you ran down the stairs into the alleyway to find a couple walkers between you and the door Glenn wanted to get to.

Suddenly, the door opened as two men with baseball bats ran out and began beating the walkers to death before Glenn took off running, shouting at you and Rick to follow him.

You rushed into the room behind Rick and Glenn and barely had any time to gage your surroundings before a woman suddenly grabbed Rick and slammed him into the wall.

"You son of a bitch. We ought to kill you!" The woman yelled, pulling out a gun and aiming it at Rick's head.

"Drop it." You ordered, your inner police voice coming out as you drew your handgun and pressed it to the side of her head in a split second, but she didn't lower it as she stared at Rick.

"Andrea, just back off." An unfamiliar voice said from somewhere behind you, but you weren't about to turn around and see who else was in the room when this woman still had her gun aimed at Ricks face.

"You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of these stupid assholes." The woman, Andrea, yelled, anger and sadness thick in her voice.

You glanced over at Rick who had his back pressed up against the wall as his terrified eyes locked with yours before you turned your attention back to the chick with a gun.

You were not letting Rick get shot again.

"I said drop the fucking gun. I won't ask a third time." You warned pressing the barrel harder against her head.

She took a deep shaky breath before lowering the gun.

"We're dead. All of us because of you two." She said, shaking her head as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

Slowly, you lowered the gun, flicking the safety back on before holstering it. You had no clue what she was talking about or how you and Rick had apparently killed these people, but you figured you were about to find out.

"We came into the city to scavenge for supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving. You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets. Every geek for miles around heard the two of you popping off rounds." A man exclaimed before he began walking off further into the room as you glanced over at the others realising that there was five of them.

You followed the man further into the building before he stopped at the front section of the building and pointed towards the front doors and your eyes widened when you saw the large herd of walkers pressed up against the glass doors that lead into the building.

Shit, you and Rick trapped these people in this building without realising it.

You stared at the walkers through the glass, but before either of you had a chance to say anything gunshots began echoing from the roof above you.

What the fuck? Who was on the roof shooting stuff? Were they fucking crazy?

"Oh no. Was that Dixon?" Andrea questioned out loud although by the look on her groups face they all knew the answer to that question before they all took off running towards the stairs while you and Rick trailed behind to see who this Dixon person was.

"Hey, Dixon, are you crazy?" The Mexican man questioned as he reached the door to the roof while you and Rick struggled to keep up with them.

Your gunshot wounds still healing and your bodies were still trying to adjust after being in comas for over a month, but eventually you reached the door and walked out to find the group all staring at someone to the right.

"Hey, y'all ought to be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh?" A voice shouted with a very distinct southern accent that you could never forget.

You quickly turned in the direction of the voice and there standing on the side of the roof with a scoped rifle in his hands was Merle fucking Dixon.

Oh, shit. 

Chapter Text

You stood back watching as Merle jumped down from the edge of the roof as he pulled the bolt back on the rifle, releasing the empty shell casing that was inside.

"Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got! And you're bringing even more of them down on our ass!" T-Dog yelled, marching towards Merle and you knew straight away this was not going to end well.

"Hey, bad enough I've got this taco-bender on my ass all day, now I'm gonna take orders from you?" Merle questioned, shaking his head as he let out a chuckle. "I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day."

"That'll be the day? You got something you want to tell me?" T-Dog questioned, taking a step towards Merle.

You and Rick stood off to the side, leaving this group to handle their own people, but you weren't too sure they could handle Merle, not when he was like this. He was definitely high on something. He always was.

"Ya wanna know the day? I'll tell you the day, Mr 'Yo'. It's the day I take orders from a nigger."

That caused T-Dog to take a swing at Merle, but he easily dodged it and slammed the butt of his rifle into the side of T-Dog's face, sending him to the ground.

The Mexican man suddenly rushed forward, grabbing Merle's shoulder to try and pull him away, but Merle just punched him in the face, sending him to the ground as well and you knew you had to get involved before this went too far.

Rick reacted quicker than you though and you watched as Merle shoved him away, sending Rick tumbling over some metal pipe that ran across the roof before you quickly sprinted the remaining distance and grabbed his shoulder.

"Merle, stop." You instructed and Merles entire body froze, instantly recognising your voice as he glanced over his shoulder and stared at you in shock.

"Just relax." You said gently.

That was clearly the wrong thing to say because he shrugged your hand from his shoulder and began stalking towards T-Dog again, who was still lying on the ground.

"Hey!" You shouted, grabbing his shoulder again.

But, before you could say anything further Merle shoved you aside with enough force to send you to the ground. Your head slammed against the large pipe and instantly you could feel blood starting to fall down the side of your face as your vision blurred.

"Stop it! Dixon, get off him!" Andrea and the other woman screamed.

You blinked a few times, your vision beginning to clear, only to find Merle leaning over T-Dog and punching him.

Shit.

You managed to get yourself to your feet, your vision blurring again as the world around you started to spin causing you to stumble back a few steps, grabbing onto the large pipe to keep yourself up right. You lifted your hand, touching your forehead and winced at the pain before lowering your hand to find your fingertips traced with blood.

Great, that was going to leave a scar.

"No, no, no. Please. Please." Andrea's voice stuttered from across the roof.

Merle now had a gun out and was aiming it at T-Dog's head. 

You instantly reached for your gun, resting it over the holster, your body acting on instinct as you watched Merle stand up, his gun still aimed at T-Dog as he glanced around at the others.

"We're gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who's in charge. I vote me, anybody else? Democracy time, y'all. Show of hands. All in favour?" Merle questioned, waving his gun around as the he stared at the others who all reluctantly raised their hands.

"That's good. Now that means I'm the boss, right? Anybody else? Hmm? Anybody?" Merle asked, glancing around at the others before Rick snuck up behind him and punched him in the face.

The force of the hit sent Merle to the ground before Rick pulled out his handcuffs and cuffed him to the metal pipe a few metres away from you.

"Who the hell are you, man?" Merle questioned, still dazed by the punch from Rick as he grabbed Merle by the collar of his vest and leant forward into his face.

"Officer Friendly. Look here, Merle. Things are different now. There are no niggers anymore. No dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart." Rick explained, letting go of his collar as he picked up Merles handgun and unloaded it.

"Screw you, man." 

"I can see you make a habit of missing the point." Rick began to say before Merle cut him off.

"Yeah? Well, screw you twice." Merle responded and to your shock Rick pulled out his own handgun and pressed it to the side of Merle's head.

"Ought to be more polite to a man with a gun. Only common sense." Rick said, pulling the hammer back.

"Rick." You warned, looking at the two of them cautiously.

Rick glanced over at you before looking back at Merle and lowering the gun.

You watched as Rick patted him down for any other weapons and pulled out a small packet of white powder from Merle's vest and you shook your head. He really couldn't stay clean could he?

"What are ya gonna do? Arrest me?" Merle chuckled.

Rick didn't say anything in response as he stood up and walked towards the edge of the roof, throwing the packet off the side causing Merle to start yelling before you spoke up.

"You seriously back on that shit again? After what happened the last time I saw you?" You questioned, anger and disappointment evident in your town causing Merle to look over at you in disgust.

"Ya don't know shit 'bout me ya fucking pig. Ya weren't there, ya don't know nothing!" Merle shouted as he thrashed against he handcuffs trying to break free.

He has no idea what you did for him, what you risked, what you gave up to save his and Daryl's life all those years ago. He has no fucking idea, but you weren't about to tell him, hell, he probably wouldn't even believe you.

"You know this guy?" Rick questioned, walking over to your as he gently grabbed the side of your face gently, looking the cut on your forehead.

You could feel the blood running down the side of your face, but you've had worse. This was nothing. 

"Yeah, when I got transferred down south undercover, Merle was one of the locals." You answered, not going into any detail about how close you had gotten with his brother or why you left the town all those years ago. "I'm fine, it's just a scratch."

"It's not. It needs stitches." Rick responded, staring at the cut with a frown, but you just shook your head and stepped away.

"It's fine. We have more important stuff to worry about." You said, walking over to the edge of the roof, looking down at the herd of walkers covering the street below. "Now, does anyone have any ideas on how to get out of here?" 

-

Before-

You had been working undercover in this shitty town for nearly two years now and it was all leading up to this moment.

You had finally piled up enough intel to get the Plunders gang locked away for good and thanks to Merle's big mouth, you knew exactly where the group of them were going to be in one hour for a 'meeting'.

"You sure they'll all be there? We can't just bust through those doors if there's only a few of them inside. The rest of the gang will find out and disappear, then all our work will be for nothing." Jason said, glancing over at you from where you were standing in the armoury as you tucked your handgun in your gun holster on your hip.

Jason and Mike were the more experienced members in your unit and even after working with them for over two years, they still hated you. They didn't like the fact that the Sergeant favoured you over them and always complained about how a girl shouldn't be in this line of work.

There had been many occasions where you had nearly punched them over stupid shit they'd say, but you didn't because you knew that wouldn't end well.

"They'll be there. My source is reliable and he said that's where they're getting their hands on the new stuff that hasn't hit the streets yet. None of them will miss that opportunity." You responded, grabbing a spare magazine from the bench.

You tucked it into the magazine pouch on the other side of your belt before you threw your jacket over the top, covering your weapons completely.

"For your sake, I hope you're right." Mike stated from across the room where he was currently loading his handgun.

If you were wrong, that'll be the end of your undercover career. Hell, that'll probably be the end of your entire police career and you did not look forward in having to explain that story to your brother and Rick.

"Mike, you're driving. Let's go." The Sergeant ordered and you glanced over at the other officers in the room, all of which looked about as nervous as you before you made your way to the car.

It didn't take long before you reached the large abandon warehouse on the outskirts of town. The group of you had stashed the vehicle a mile back, not wanting to risk the chance of the Plunders seeing or hearing you coming. You and Jason took the back exit, while the Sergeant and Mike took the front.

You stood beside the back door, Jason with his hand on the door knob as you waited for the Sergeants order.

This was it.

Two years worth of work bought you to this moment that could either make or break your career. It was fair to say that you were nervous.

"On three." The Sergeants voice whispered through your earpiece. "One. Two. Three." 

On three, Jason swung the door open and you rushed inside, your gun up and ready as you swept the back room, Jason following right behind you.

"Back room is clear." You informed over comms, but not a second later gunfire and yelling erupted through the other side of the warehouse.

"Contact from the front! They're running. Back up, move in." Mike's voice shouted through comms and not a moment later, you and Jason were sprinting through the back office and into the main part of the warehouse.

You knew it would take the back up a few minutes to get here and by then some of the gang could get away, you couldn't let that happen.

"Police freeze!" Jason yelled.

You quickly spun around to find him with his gun drawn at two men across the room who both raised their hands with their backs to you, but you instantly recognised that black leather vest on the man to the left.

Why the hell was Merle here? This meeting was just meant to be the members of the gang, not the dipshits who occasionally sold their product.

Not a second later, the two of them took off running in opposite directions and you didn't hesitate before you started to sprint after Merle, shouting at Jason to get the other guy.

To your relief and shock, Jason listened and ran after the other man while Merle dashed through a door to the left and you knew that door lead to a hallway of nothing expect toilets.

Merle was trapped.

You could still hear gunfire erupting through the warehouse behind you and you just hoped like hell the others were okay before you kicked open the door to find Merle running towards one of the toilet doors.

"Merle, stop!" You ordered, your gun raised in his direction and to your shock Merle actually stopped.

Slowly, he turned around, his eyes widening in pure shock when he saw you standing there. 

"Ya gotta be shitting me. All this time, ya were a fucking cop?" Merle questioned in disbelief as he drew his own handgun and aimed it you.

"Yes. But, I can explain-" You began to say before he cut you off.

"Does Daryl know?" 

You shook your head causing him to chuckle almost hysterically before the sound of voices shouting started to get closer.

Shit, you were running out of time.

"Get in there and stay quiet if you want to live." You ordered, motioning towards the cleaners closet to his left with your gun.

Merle eyed you cautiously, clearly thinking it was a trap before realising that he didn't have any other choice as he ducked into the closet just as the door behind you opened.

"Walsh?" The Sergeant questioned and you turned around to face him.

"Hallway is clear, how many did we get?" You asked, walking over to him.

"All the Plunders, plus a couple dealers. We're just sweeping the last of the warehouse now, just in case." He answered and you nodded, relieved that this mission wasn't a total mess, except for the fact that you had Merle fucking Dixon hiding in a closet and there was no way you'd be able to keep this from Daryl.

He was going to be fucking pissed when he found out the truth about you... he hated the police as it was. You were so screwed. 

"That's good. I will just check the last of these doors and help you guys." You responded and the Sergeant nodded in agreement before he walked back out the door.

You waited there for a few seconds, making sure he was gone before you rushed back down the hallway and opened up the door to the closet and Merle stepped out, his gun now pressed to the side of your head.

"I ain't letting ya take me to jail." Merle stated as you slowly raised your hands to try and show that you weren't a threat to him.

"I'm trying to help you, you piece of shit. The only way you get out of this a free man is if you do as I say. Now get the gun out of my face." 

Merle just stared at you for a few seconds, unsure with what to do before he sighed, lowering the gun.

"Good, now follow me." You instruct, walking further down the hallway before ducking into the female toilets.

You went straight for the window above the sink as you slammed the butt of you gun against the glass, smashing it instantly.

"Climb through here, head south. The backup team are coming from the north and you probably only have a few minutes before they arrive. Run like hell, use those crops as cover. I will make sure nobody heads your way, but you need to stay under the radar until this all blows over." You explained, taking a step away from the window to give him some room.

"Why ya helping me?" Merle questioned, staring at the now broken window before looking back towards you.

"You're Daryl's brother. Now, go." You ordered and with that Merle climbed out the window and ran off without a further word, leaving you standing there with mixed feelings.

On one hand you were thrilled that this had actually worked and you got Plunders. But, Merle wasn't meant to be here and now Daryl was going to find out who you really where and you were almost certain that wouldn't end well.

-

Now-

It was a stupid idea, a reckless and stupid idea, but it was the only idea you had as you stood by the edge of the roof watching Rick and Glenn down below as they walked through the herd of walkers in jackets covered in walker blood and guts.

"They made it to the main street, it's working." Andrea said happily, handing the binoculars to Morales as they all sighed with relief.

"That asshole is out on the street with the handcuff keys?" Merle asked in disbelief, but before you could say anything T-Dog pulled the key from his pocket and dangled it in front of him causing Merle to go silent as he glared at the other man.

You watched Glenn and Rick amongst the herd before thunder began to rumble through the sky and not a moment later, you felt the first drop of water hit your face.

"Oh, that's not good." You muttered to yourself as you stared up at the sky, taking in the dark clouds as it started to spit with rain.

"It's just a cloudburst. We get them all the time. It'll pass real quick." Morales reassured. 

You weren't too convinced though as you grabbed the binoculars, noticing the guts over Glenn and Rick were starting to wash off. The walkers around them now starting to circle them curiously. 

"It might be too late by then." You said, handing him the binoculars causing him to gasp in shock and you quickly looked down at the road below you to find the two of them now running for their life followed by the herd.

You watched anxiously as they climbed over the fence to the construction site, Rick firing off a couple rounds of his pistol while Glenn started up one trucks and before you knew it they were both driving off in the opposite direction away from the herd.

"They're leaving us." Andrea said in disbelief as you all watched the truck disappear around the buildings.

No, Rick wouldn't just leave you, he'll be back.

"What? Where are they going?" Merle questioned from the ground.

You pushed yourself away from the side of the roof and began walking towards the door.

"They'll be back, I think I might know what they're planning. I'm going downstairs to get the door ready, stay here and keep an eye out for them." You instructed.

You didn't wait to hear any of their responses before you disappeared through the door and began walking down the stairs until you reached the ground floor. It took you a little while to find the back shutter doors where delivery trucks would drop off deliveries as you scanned the wall trying to figure out if it ran on electricity or not, but to your relief it wasn't electric as you spotted the pull cords to the side of the door.

You could hear the faint sound of car sirens in the distance and you figured that had something to do with the distraction.

It didn't take long before the others rushed down the stairs and into the room, shouting desperately at you to open the door as you quickly pulled the cord with the help of Andrea and Morales.

The second the rolled door opened you spotted a white van reversing back towards you and without wasting anytime Morales quickly opened the back door before you all piled in and not a moment later, the van took off as T-Dog frantically shut the door before the walkers could get in.

You sat down against the side wall of the van, wrapping your arm around your stomach where your gunshot wound was aching after all the running and moving you had done. You glanced towards the front of the van, spotting Rick in the drivers seat as Morales climbed into the passenger seat and you figured Glenn must be in the other car with all the sirens.

"Wait, where the hell is Merle?" You suddenly questioned, looking around in panic before you turned your attention to T-Dog.

"I dropped the key. I didn't have a choice, I had to leave him."

You froze, he left Merle up there handcuffed to the roof? He had to be joking, right?

"Nobody's gonna be sad that he didn't come back... except maybe his brother." Morales spoke up and your eyes widened.

Daryl was alive? Daryl was still alive and with this group? Holy shit.

"His brother?" Rick questioned, but before Morales could answer you spoke up.

"Daryl Dixon." You answered looking over at Rick through the revision mirror. 

Daryl was going to be so fucking pissed. 

Chapter Text

Eventually, Rick pulled the van up to their camp by the quarry.

You couldn't really see much from the back of the van, but you could see a few tents set up around the clearing in the woods along with a few vehicles parked around them.

The group all quickly climbed out and rushed into camp to greet their friends and family, leaving you and Rick sitting in the car trying to figure out what to do.

"What are you thinking?" Rick asked looking over his shoulder from the driver seat.

"We can't stay here, we have to find our family."

Rick nodded in agreement, seeming relieved that you had said that. You knew he wanted to find his wife and son more than anything and hanging around with this new group was not getting you closer to finding them.

"Hey, Deputies! Come say hello." Morales shouted from somewhere outside.

You looked over at Rick who began getting out the van and you followed his lead, but stopped to grab the last few bags of supplies that were in the back.

"Oh my god." You heard Rick gasp.

Frowning in confusion, you shut the back of the van and before you even had a chance to see why Rick gasped, a little boy began shouting and your jaw dropped.

No fucking way.

"Dad! Dad!" Carls voice yelled.

You honestly thought you were hearing things, until you saw Rick drop to his knee and scoop up his son in his arms.

Holy fucking shit.

Tears started rising in your eyes as you watched him pick Carl up before walking over to someone else and pulling them into a hug.

It took you longer than it should to realise that the other person was, Lori.

"Y/N?"

You froze where you stood, looking over in the direction of the voice. You couldn't stop the small gasp that left your lips when you spotted your brother standing off to the side.

He was staring at you like he was looking at a ghost as he bought his hand up to his mouth and shook his head in disbelief.

Tears started filling his eyes before you dropped the bags you were holding and sprinted over to him.

Shane quickly shortened the distance between the two of you, jogging the last few steps before you embraced each other in a tight hug.

"I thought I was never going to see you again." You mumbled, burying your head in the crook of his neck.

The tears in your eyes were now falling down your face as he wrapped one hand around your back, the other holding the back of you head as he hugged you tightly.

You had no idea how long the two of you stayed like that for, but his shoulder was now wet from your tears, but he didn't care, he was crying too.

"Y-you were dead... I was there, in the hospital. You were dead." Shane whispered in pure disbelief.

He pulled away slightly, his hands grabbing your shoulders as he held you in front of him. His teary eyes staring at you as if he was still trying to figure out whether you were real or not.

"I'm not dead, it's gonna take more than a bullet and a zombie apocalypse to kill me." You responded with a small chuckle.

Shane shook his head at you before he lifted his hand and cupped the side of your face, his fingers tracing around the cut on your forehead causing him to frown.

"I'm fine. Hey, look at me. I'm fine, it's okay." You quickly said, resting your hand over his that was still on your cheek. "Hey, look at me. I'm fine, it's okay."

Shane just shook his head, pulling you back into a hug and kissing the top of your head.

"Aunty Y/N!" Carl's voice suddenly shouted.

Shane let you go and you turned around just in time to find Carl running over to you. You dropped to a knee and pulled the little boy into a tight hug before Rick and Lori walked over.

"Hey, little man, you been looking after your mother?" You asked, pulling away.

He quickly nodded proudly causing you to smile before you stood up and pulled Lori into a hug as well.

"How are you guys alive?" Lori questioned, looking between you and Rick in utter shock.

You glanced around at the rest of the camp, realising that everyone else was standing around and watching your little family reunion, smiles and tears of happiness on everyone's faces.

"Long story." Rick simply answered and you nodded in agreement.

"Well, you two need to eat, so let's get set up for the night and you can explain everything over dinner." Shane suggested and everyone nodded.

Shane introduced you to the others around camp and set up an extra sleeping bag inside his tent for you to sleep.

It wouldn't be the first time the two of you had shared a tent, hell, you used to share a bunkbed until you were both teenagers.

Once you were introduced to everyone, Shane left you with Lori while he started getting the camp set up for the night while Lori and Carl showed the two of you around.

It was a decent size camp that apparently had rope around most the perimeter with tin cans dangling from them to alert the group of any walkers. Plus, with the watch post on top of Dale's Winnebago, it was actually a pretty good set up.

By the time it was dark the group of you were sitting around the small campfire in the middle of camp. Minus the Peletier family who were all sitting off to the side with their own campfire, but you weren't going to complain, you were not a fan of that Ed man.

You sat on the deckchair beside Shane as you stared at the flames of the fire while Glenn explained what happened back in Atlanta to the others. You were still in your Deputy uniform, not wanting to part ways with your weapons, but you had Shanes jacket draped over your shoulders.

You sorta zoned out while Glenn spoke, still unable to process that you had found your brother in all of this. The chances of that happening were so low, yet you found him, you found Shane and you found Ricks family. It was a miracle you neither of you thought would happen.

"Disoriented." Rick said, snapping you out of your thoughts as you bought your attention back to the group, realising that they were now asking Rick about what happened.

"I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion, all those things. But, disoriented comes closest."

You nodded in agreement, that was the only word you could think of to describe it.

"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from. But, then I saw Y/N lying in the bed next to me... I thought she was dead at first, managed to wake her up and we went to our homes..." Rick trailed off, shaking his head as you looked over at him from across the campfire.

"Mom said you two died." Carl spoke up from Ricks lap.

Lori opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but closed it again not sure what to say before you spoke up for the first time since you all sat down.

"She had every right to believe that. Hell, I thought I was dead that day on the highway, don't know how I'm here." You admitted, staring into the flames.

You couldn't wrap your head around it. A shot to the stomach from a shotgun at that distance, it should've killed you. But, you were still here, why?

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and Y/N with the other patients to Atlanta. And it never happened." Lori explained, looking over at you before looking back at Rick.

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell. From the looks of that hospital, it got overrun." Rick replied as Shane sat up a bit straighter in his chair.

"Yeah, looks don't deceive. I barely got them out." Shane said, nodding towards Lori and Carl as Rick smiled gratefully.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't begin to express it." Rick replied, but you didn't miss the awkward glance Lori gave Shane as your brother slouched down in his chair a little.

There was something going on there, but you were too tired to try and figure it out, and honestly you didn't really care. They were alive, that was all you cared about.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind." Dale spoke up after a few minutes of silence causing your head to quickly snap around towards the older man.

After finding out Shane was alive, you completely forgot that Daryl was part of this group.

How the hell were you meant to tell him that his brother was left behind in Atlanta?

There was no way that conversation was going to go well. Hell, you weren't even sure how he was going to react when he first sees you after how things ended between the two of you nearly five years ago.

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key, it's on me." T-Dog responded, but Rick shook his head.

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine."

"This isn't some competition. It doesn't matter who it comes from, he's going to be furious. If there's one thing I know about Daryl Dixon, it's that his brother means everything to him, even if his brother can be a total asshole." You said, causing Shane to look over at you in confusion.

"How the hell do you know Daryl?"

"I met him when I was put undercover. He was one of the locals. We crossed paths a few times" You answered, not going into any further detail.

It wasn't that you were lying, you had crossed paths with him a few times, more than a few times, but it was still the truth.

"Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed. Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merles." Andrea responded looking over at Lori and you had to disagree with that slightly.

Yes, Merle was off his face and out of control, but he wouldn't have gotten you killed, he wouldn't kill you.

"And that's what we tell Daryl? I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word of the wise, we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt." Dale stated and that you agreed with.

"Well, I stopped long enough to chain that door. Staircase is narrow. Maybe a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that. Not that chain. Not that padlock. My point, Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us." T-Dog declared and your eyes widened.

Merle was still alive?

You thought the walkers would've gotten him by now and there was nothing you could do, but Merle was barricaded on the roof, he was alive up there.

Holy shit.

Shane volunteered to take the first watch shift for the night when you finished dinner and everyone disappeared into their tents.

But, you climbed up the ladder at the back of the RV and sat down on the roof in front of him.

Your legs dangled off the side of the RV as you leant back against Shane's legs from where he was sitting on a foldout chair behind you.

Neither of you really said anything for a while as you stared up at the cloudless sky, taking in all the stars.

Shane had tried to get you to go to sleep, but the thought of not being beside your brother didn't sit right with you. You had just gotten him back and if you were being honest, you were scared that if you left his side then he'd disappear again and that was not a risk you were willing to take at the moment.

"I'm sorry." Shane suddenly said, his voice barely above a whisper, but you heard him.

"Sorry for what? We're just sitting here." You said in confusion, staring up at the stars as you spoke as you heard Shane sigh.

"Sorry for everything."

You could hear the guilt in his voice which just confused you even more because there was nothing he should be guilty for.

"You weren't even meant to be working that highspeed chase. You weren't meant to be out there, but you were because you knew Rick and I were out there. There wasn't meant to be a third suspect, dispatch only said two... But there was a third man, I should've seen him. I should've seen it coming, but the next thing I knew you were falling to the ground and bleeding out and I didn't know what to do."

"That wasn't your fault. None of us saw the third suspect, it's not on you." You replied, glancing over your shoulder towards him, his face lit up dimply from the full moon in the sky, but Shane just shook his head.

"Maybe, but leaving you in the hospital was." He answered.

You turned around getting ready to argue with him before Shane put his hand up, silencing you before you could even open your mouth.

"When it all started it was just... it was a couple weird stories on the news. You and Rick were in comas and those stories were the furthest thing from my mind. Then it was so quick. Everything... It just happened. Two weeks later, I'm in the hospital and there were soldiers shooting people in the halls. They were shooting people, not walkers. Then the power turned off... You were hooked up to all these machines, the both of you and I put my head to your chest and you weren't breathing, you were dead... I thought you were dead and I tried to get you out, but then the walkers came through and I..." Shane trailed off, his voice thick with emotion as he looked away from you and even in the dark you could see tears starting to rise in your eyes.

"It wasn't your fault. Hey, look at me, bro. It wasn't your fault. You had to get out of there, you had to get Lori and Carl to safety." You said, trying to reassure him, but he just shook his head looking back down at you.

"You're my baby sister, it's my job to take care of you-"

"Stop. I'm fine, I'm still breathing and we're together again. Nothing else matters, now shut up and enjoy this peaceful night, it's beautiful out here." You responded, leaning back against his legs are you stared up at the stars.

"Yeah, you're right." Shane replied, leaning back in his chair as he stared up at the stars.

-

The next morning you woke up to the sun shining against the walls of your tent.

You rolled over to find your brothers sleeping bag empty which was weird because you always woke up before him, but clearly you must have slept in.

Slowly you sat yourself up in your sleeping bag with a yawn before you pulled on your deputy pants and your black undershirt. But your uniform shirt was nowhere to be found. You could've sworn you put it on the ground with the rest of your clothes.

You clipped on your duty belt, double checking all your weapons were secured on it before you pulled on your boots and walked out the tent.

You were shocked to find that everyone was up and working around the camp.

You could see Dale and Jim stripping Glenn's new car for parts. A few of the women were hanging up clothes on a makeshift clothes line while the kids were all sitting around a small table and seemed to be drawing on scrap pieces of paper.

"Morning, Y/N." A few people called out.

You nodded, greeting them before you spotted Carol hanging up your deputy uniform on the clothes line while Jacqui hung up the other clothes.

"Oh, hey. Your shirt is still damp, but the sun will have it dry in no time." Carol explained as she put the last peg on the line and turned around towards you.

"Thank you, you didn't have to do that." You replied and Carol smiled sweetly.

You glanced around camp, spotting Rick and Lori standing in the distance and by the look of their posture it was clear they were having a heated conversation, so you made a mental note to give those two distance.

You did not feel like being a marriage counsellor right now or getting involved in whatever those two were arguing over now.

Suddenly, the sound of a car filled the air and you turned around spotting Shane's jeep driving into camp as he parked by the vehicles and shut the engine off.

"Water's here, y'all. Just remember to boil before use." He shouted, climbing out the car, spotting you across camp as he gave you a wave.

You waved back before sudden screams filled the air and you didn't hesitate, recognising Carl's scream in an instant as you took off running.

"Mom! Dad!" Carl screamed.

You sprinted into the woods, not waiting for the others to snap into action. You jumped over fallen logs and around bushes as Carl came running from behind a bunch of trees, tears in his eyes as you dropped to your knees and pulled him into a hug.

You could hear the growls of a walker in the distance, but you couldn't leave Carl while you checked it out.

"Are you okay?" You quickly questioned, pulling away and holding the boy in front of you.

He didn't seem to have any injuries, but was shaking uncontrollably in fear.

"Get him back to camp!" Shane suddenly shouted.

You glanced over your shoulder spotting, him, Rick, Dale, Morales and Jim all running towards the two of you and you nodded before pointing to where Carl came from.

You watched as they ran in that direction before standing up and picking Carl up and began walking back to camp.

"Carl, baby!" Lori shouted as you emerged from the woods, Carl still in your arms.

Gently, you put him down and the second he saw his mother he ran over to her from where she standing with the other woman, all of them with panicked expressions on their faces.

"He's fine. He saw a walker, the others are taking care of it." You reassured, watching Lori hug her son, relief event on her face as she held him tightly.

You glanced around the camp, making sure everything was fine before you made your way back to your tent.

The guys had the walker handled and you wanted to check on your gunshot wound that was now really starting to ache after sprinting and carrying Carl back to camp.

Once you were inside the tent, you lifted your shirt and looked down at your stomach as you pulled away the white bandage.

The wound was red and scarred, the skin hadn't healed yet, but it was defiantly a lot better now that Morgan had changed the bandage from the old one the nurses would've put on.

You pulled the bandage all the way off. Knowing there was no need for it anymore before a familiar southern drawl filled the air and you froze.

"Merle!" Daryl Dixon shouted from somewhere in camp. "Merle, get your ugly ass out here. I got us some squirrel. Let's stew 'em up!"

Shit.

You knew he'd get back from his hunt sooner or later, you just wished it would be later.

Chapter Text

You took a deep breath, trying to prepare yourself before walking out the tent.

Instantly, you spotted Daryl walking into camp from the woods with a rope of squirrels in his hands.

He hadn't changed in the slightest. Still wearing shirts with the sleeves cut off, same scruffy dirty blonde hair, even same crossbow slung over his shoulder.

You couldn't stop yourself from smiling as you watched him, well aware that you were staring, but you couldn't help it.

He was still the same Daryl you remembered.

As if sensing that someone was watching him, Daryl looked up. His piercing blue eyes locking with yours and he froze, dead in his tracks. 

You wanted to say something, anything, but you had no idea what to say. You didn't even know how much he knew or remembered from the last time you saw him and you had a feeling that you didn't want to find out.

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Your brothers voice called out.

Daryl stared at you for a few more seconds before he turned around in the direction of your brothers voice as Shane walked out the woods.

"About what?" Daryl questioned.

"About Merle. There was a problem in Atlanta."

You sighed, walking towards them until you were beside your brother, knowing that this was not going to end well. Daryl was going to be furious.

"He dead?" Daryl asked, staring at Shane as the rest of group all stood back and watched, not sure what to do.

"We're not sure." 

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl shouted, glaring at your brother.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick suddenly said.

"Who are you?" Daryl questioned, looking over at Rick as he joined you and Shane.

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes, ya got somethin' ya wanna tell me?" Daryl asked, anger lacing his voice, but you knew that anger was just an act.

He was worried about Merle, but very soon that anger was going to turn real when he finds out what happened.

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there." 

You watched as Daryl shook his head in disbelief as he began to pace forwards and back.

"Hold on. Let me process this. You're sayin' ya handcuffed my brother to a roof 'n ya left him there?!"

"Yeah." Rick answered truthfully.

Daryl took a step back and you knew exactly what was about to happen next as he threw the rope of squirrels towards Rick before he charged at him. Shane quickly pushed him out the way, sending Daryl to the ground and your eyes widened when Daryl pulled out a knife.

Well, shit, you didn't see that coming.

"Daryl!" You shouted as he stood up and took a swing at Rick.

He easily dodged the blade as you jumped in, grabbing Daryl's arm causing him to grunt. He tried to pull it free, but you had him in a straight arm lock, forcing him to drop the knife with a wince.

"Get the hell off me!" Daryl yelled, thrashing in your grip.

This was not the reunion you thought you'd get. Hell, you never thought you'd never see him again, but this was defiantly not how you thought it would go if you ever did.

Suddenly, Shane grabbed his other arm and before you even knew what was happening, Shane had Daryl in an chokehold.

Well, that escalated quickly.

"You'd best let me go!"

Shane dropped him to the ground still in the chokehold as you stood back and watched anxiously. You knew Daryl could get hot-headed sometimes, especially if it had to do with his brother, but you did not see this coming.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane replied and you just rolled your eyes because you knew your brother was enjoying this way too much.

"Chokeholds illegal." Daryl muttered.

"Yeah, you can file a complaint." Shane responded as Rick crouched down in front of them, looking at Daryl.

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" Rick questioned, but Daryl didn't say anything as Rick looked up at Shane and gave him a small nod and your brother let him go, pushing Daryl to the ground. 

"Look, what Rick did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others, we both know that." You said, speaking up for the first time. 

"It's not Rick or Y/N's fault. I had the key. I dropped it down a drain." T-Dog explained as Daryl dropped his head for a second before he stood himself up, throwing a handful of dirt at the ground in frustration.

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof. So the geeks couldn't get at him. With a padlock. It's gotta count for something." T-Dog added.

You looked back at Daryl, who shook his head and wiped the tears in his eyes before anyone could see them.

"Hell with all y'all!" He yelled angrily as he turned around and began walking off.

"Daryl, wait." You called out, jogging over to him and grabbing his shoulder.

That turned out to be a bad idea as Daryl spun around, hitting your hand off him and taking a step towards you. Your faces inches apart as he glared down at you and if looks could kill, you would be dead right now.

"Hey!" Shane's voice shouted angrily.

You quickly held your hand up in your brothers direction, silently telling him to stand down as you stood your ground and stared back at Daryl.

"You want to hit me? You want to yell at me? Then go ahead. Do it. Do it if it makes you feel better." You said, taking a step back as you held your arms out, giving him a free shot, but Daryl scoffed, shaking his head as he began walking away again.

"Wait, I'm going back. I'm going back to get your brother."

That caused Daryl to stop where he stood as he turned back around towards you with an unreadable expression.

"Whatever, don't mean I forgive ya though." He growled, staring at you for a few more seconds before he stormed off.

Daryl hated you. But, the problem was; you had no idea how much he knew about what happened that day or how much Merle had told him.

You wanted to ask, but there was no way you were bringing that topic up with him.

-

Before-

It's been six hours since you helped Merle escape the raid at the warehouse.

You had tried to call, Daryl, eight times now, but he wouldn't answer and you knew that only meant one thing. Merle had told him everything... he knew you were a cop.

It was close to 2am as you laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Daryl was out there somewhere probably hating you. Probably thinking that you were only with him to get information, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Suddenly, your phone started to ring and you had never moved so fast in your life as you jumped up from your bed and grabbed your phone from the bench. Relief washing over you when you saw Daryl's name on the screen.

"Daryl. I am so sorry, I promise I can explain-" 

"It's me. Merle. Look, I didn't know who else to call." Merle said, cutting you off, his voice on edge and almost sounding panicked which was not like Merle at all.

"What's going on?" 

"Just come to the trailer, quickly. Don't tell anyone." He instructed, not giving you a chance to respond before he hung up.

A million different scenarios ran through your head as you put your shoes on, rushing out the front door and climbing into your car. 

Usually, it would take a five minute drive to get to the trailer park, but you were pulling up in front of the Dixons trailer in less than two. Something was seriously wrong and you couldn't shrug of the bad feeling in your stomach.

You didn't bother knocking on their front door as you walked straight in, but stopped dead in the doorway when you saw all the blue pills scattered over the floor.

You had seen enough photos of the new drug that The Plunders gang was bringing onto the streets and this was a splitting image of it.

What the actual fuck? How did Merle get them here? You and the others stopped those drugs from getting to the streets so how did they end up in the Dixons living room?

"Merle?" You called out just as the bathroom door opened and the sound of running water filled the air.

You turned around spotting Merle by the door, his clothes drenched from water, but you weren't focused on that, you were focused on the panicked expression on his face.

Over the past two years, you had never seen that look on Merles face and you had never received a phone call from him at two in the morning either.

"It's Daryl."

That was all he needed to say before your brain clicked.

The pills all over the floor.

The shower running.

Daryl took the pills and overdosed.

Oh, God.

Rushing past, Merle, you stepped into the bathroom to find Daryl sitting up against the shower wall, but it was clear he was unconscious. His skin ghostly pale as he sat there, his clothes completely drenched.

"What the fuck happened?"

You pulled your phone out your pocket and threw it in the general direction of the bathroom skin, so it wouldn't get wet before you stepped into the shower and crouched down beside, Daryl.

"He wanted some painkillers for his knee, I told him I had some in the top shelf, but he took the new pills by accident. Yes, I stole them before you helped me escape. I thought I could make a few bucks from it. I didn't think this would happen." Merle explained from behind you somewhere as you pressed your trembling fingers to Daryl's neck.

His heartbeat was faint, but it was there.

"Call 911." You instructed, fighting the urge to walk over to the older Dixon and punch him in the face for not only taking the drugs with him, but for letting Daryl overdose by accident.

Daryl wasn't like Merle. He didn't do that shit, not after seeing how drugs impacted his old man and Merle. Daryl, always stuck to alcohol, he never touched drugs and now this fucking happens.

You grabbed Daryl's face, your hands cupping his cheeks as you tried to wake him up, but it was no use, he was out.

Carefully you moved his body slightly, so he wouldn't choke on his own throw up, before you glanced over your shoulder to find Merle still standing in the doorway with his phone in his hand, clearly unsure of what to do.

"I said call 911."

Merle glanced back out the bathroom in the direction of the main room, in conflict.

The drugs. The drugs were everywhere. If the ambulance came and saw all that, the cops would be here in a matter of minutes.

"I promised him that I was done with this, I lied and ya know better than anyone, I'll be put behind bars if the cops find this." Merle responded, his voice barely above a whisper, but you heard him.

You knew how much Daryl meant to him, if Daryl found out that Merle was still in the drug business, it would tear the two of them apart. You knew how much it meant to Daryl that Merle had left that part of his life behind, but that was all just a lie.

"Would rather go to jail or have your brother fucking die?" You shouted, anger rising in your voice.

You didn't get to hear Merle's response before Daryl's body began to shake in your arms causing you to look down at him and your eyes widened when you realised he was starting to foam from the mouth.

Shit, 

"911, now." You ordered, your inner police voice coming out, not leaving any room for questions or negotiation and a second later, you heard Merle talking into the phone.

Reaching up, you turned the shower off, the water wasn't doing anything to wake him up. You rolled Daryl onto his side just as he started to throw up and you made sure to keep his mouth open, so he didn't choke to death. 

"Is he gonna die?" Merle questioned his voice so pained and broken, you almost didn't believe it was him speaking.

"Not on my watch." You responded sternly, trying to keep your own voice strong and confident, despite freaking the fuck out on the inside.

You couldn't lose Daryl, not after everything. He had to be okay. He had to be.

"Come over here. Take my spot and keep his head like this to stop him from choking." You instructed and Merle did as he was told as he took over from your position. 

You stood up and stepped out the shower barely noticing how completely drenched your clothes were as you looked at the brothers.

"Where are ya going?" Merle asked, looking over his shoulder towards you with desperate eyes.

"Getting rid of the drugs. I am not letting you destroy Daryl's life by going to jail, he needs you. Keep him like that until the ambulance arrive. If they ask what he took, tell them the truth, if they ask anymore questions, play dumb. Say he was drugged, I don't know. I'll handle the pills." 

"Wait, ya could get fired if they find out ya did this." Merle quickly said and you simply nodded.

Yes, if you got caught then you could kiss your entire career goodbye. Hell, you'd probably be looking at jail time if you were being honest, but you couldn't let Daryl die and you couldn't let him lose the only family he had left, even if Merle was an asshole.

"Just don't tell the cops anything. I was never here and don't tell Daryl I was here either." You instructed, sparing one last glance at Daryl before you walked out the room.

You quickly began picking up the pills and shoving them inside a plastic bag before you got back in your car and sped off towards the woods.

You left your car parked in the carpark on the outskirts of the woods before you ran into the woods with the bag of pills in your pocket.

You ran through the woods for what felt like hours. But eventually, you reached the familiar creek that you and Daryl used to fish in and dumped the pills into the water, not knowing what else to do with them.

Once you were finished, you began to make your way back to your car and by the time you reached the carpark again, the sun was slowly rising along the horizon, indicating that it was at least six o'clock by now.

But, as you got closer to the carpark, you spotted another vehicle parked beside yours. Your heartbeat suddenly skyrocketing when you realised it was a Police car.

Why the hell was a police car here? Did they know everything? How did they find you?

"Morning, Jason, what can I do for you?" You asked, playing it cool as you walked towards him where he was standing between the two cars.

You knew why he was here, the cops had somehow figured it out. You were so screwed.

"I need you to come back to the station, I got a couple of questions for you." He responded, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sure, what's going? I don't start until seven, want me to swing by my house to grab me gear before-"

"That won't be necessary. Get in the car. Someone from the station will bring your car back." He instructed motioning towards the Police fleet parked beside yours.

You simply nodded, trying to play it cool as you opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat, mentally telling yourself that it was a good thing that he let you sit in the passenger seat and not forcing you into the back like a criminal.

Neither of you said anything on the way to the station and before you knew it, you were sitting in his office with a hot cup of coffee.

You had been expecting to be sitting in the interrogation room, but clearly they didn't have enough evidence for that, yet. Maybe.

"There was an incident last night involving the Dixon brothers. A few people have said that you're close to them, is that true?" Jason asked, flipping open his notebook and pulling out a pen.

"I wouldn't say we're close. I bump into them occasionally around town and in the bar. What's this all about?" You questioned, crossing your arms over your chest pretending to be confused causing the Sergeant to sigh.

"Daryl Dixon was bought to hospital early this morning after he overdosed on The Plunders new pill. Wanna tell me how he got hold of those drugs since we stopped the gang from getting them to the streets?" He questioned, leaning forward in his chair and you just frowned at him in confusion and he sighed. "His brother, Merle, was known for drug dealing and he was the one who called it in, but when the ambulance arrived, there was no sign of drugs in their trailer at all." 

"So, Daryl took the drugs somewhere and passed out in his trailer and his brother found him?" 

"Possibly. Or someone took the drugs and hid them. Now, it couldn't have been his brother, he was the one who called the ambulance and was literally holding his brother to stop him from choking on his vomit when they arrived. It had to be someone else." He explained and now your heartbeat was really starting to speed up.

"That's why you bought me here? You think I might know who the Dixons hang out with? I wish I could help you, but I don't know the brothers well enough." You responded, hoping like hell that that was the reason you were in but by the look on the Jason's face it was clear it wasn't it.

"No. I bought you in because I have reasonable grounds to suspect that it was you who hid the drugs."

Your jaw dropped as you stared at him in shock.

You knew this was coming, but you were still shocked he had figured it out. Hell, you had kept your relationship with Daryl hidden from the Police force for this long.

"Look, don't bother lying. We found your broken phone in their bathroom sink, I know it was you. Just tell me that the brothers threatened you and made you hide it and then you can just walk out of here. We've been trying to get Merle behind bars for months now, this could finally be it. And we could get both Dixon's at once." 

"I can't do that sir." You answered, leaning back in your chair.

"Why not?"

"Because I wasn't there. I didn't hide any drugs." You responded which just pissed your fellow Officer off even more.

"Then how'd your phone get there?" He questioned, his tone turning more frustrated as the seconds ticked by.

That bloody phone, how could you forget that you threw it in the sink? You put it there so it wouldn't get wet in the shower, but now it was going to cause a bit of an issue.

"I left my phone at the bar last night after we finished raiding that warehouse. I was going to swing by before work to pick it up. But, Merle must have grabbed it or something." You simply said, shrugging your shoulders.

"What were you doing at 2am this morning?" He suddenly questioned, changing the topic in a flash.

"Sleeping."

"Do you have an alibi?" 

"I live alone. How could I have one?" You questioned back, unable to control the frustration starting to rise in your voice.

"What were you doing in the woods at six in the morning?" He asked as you took a sip of your coffee to buy yourself a few extra seconds before answering.

You knew he was trying to bomb barge you with questions to try and get you to slip up, but you weren't that stupid.

"I was going for a run before work." You answered.

"Why are your clothes a little wet?"

"Because I got hot and decided to cool down in the creek before going back to my car. Is that a crime now?" You asked and he just shook his head. "Can I go now? We had a big day yesterday and I would like to get ahead of my paper while I can. If you have any more questions, I'll be happy to answer them."

Jason, didn't say anything in response to that. He just stared at you, and you stared right back at him before standing up and walking out the room. 

"I know you're behind this. I'm not going to stop until I can prove it and then, you can kiss your career goodbye, Deputy Walsh." Jason shouted, but you kept walking. 

Damnit, you were so screwed.

Chapter Text

"You're not seriously going back for him, right?" Shane suddenly questioned.

You turned around to find him and Rick walking towards you and you sighed.

You knew your brother wouldn't like this.

"I am. If Rick had left you up on that rooftop I would already be on my way there." 

"I'm going too. It's my fault in the first place and you're gonna need backup." Rick added, shocking you slightly, but you just nodded, knowing it would be better to have someone with you. Especially someone you could trust to have your back.

"So, that's it, huh? You two are just gonna walk off? Just to hell with everyone else?" Shane questioned in disbelief. "Why would you risk your lives for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?"

"Hey, choose your words more carefully." Daryl suddenly called out.

Glancing over your shoulder, you found him sitting on a wooden log, sharpening the broadheads on his crossbow bolts, staring at the three of you.

"No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant." Your brother said, looking at Daryl before he turned back to you and Rick. "Merle Dixon, the guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst." 

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being." Rick explained and you nodded in agreement.

"So, you two and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Shane questioned as you looked over at Glenn who was walking past, but immediately stopped and shook his head at you, knowing what you were about to ask.

"You know the way. You've been there before in out, no problem. You said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask, I know that, but we'd feel a lot better with you along. I know his wife would too." You said, nodding towards Lori who you knew was standing by the RV watching the group of you as you spoke.

"That's just great. Now you're gonna risk four men, huh?" Shane questioned and you rolled your eyes at his choice of words because it was actually three men and a woman, but now was not the time to correct him.

"Five." T-Dog spoke up, walking over to the group of you.

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?" Daryl muttered causing you to turn around.

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brothers ass? No, so shut up." You ordered, glaring at Daryl.

He just shook his head at you and looked down at the bolts in his hands before you turned back to your brother and Rick.

It took a while, but you and Rick somehow convinced Shane to let the group of you go. But even then, Shane didn't exactly agree to it, more like got sick of arguing and left the conversation, which you took as a yes.

You sat in silence in the back of the delivery truck while Rick drove and Glenn sat shotgun leaving you, Daryl and T-Dog to sit in the back awkwardly as you ignored each other until Rick finally bought the vehicle to a stop.

"We walk from here." Glenn declared.

Everyone climbed out the vehicle and you realised you were by the train tracks on the outskirts of the city.

"Merle first or guns?" Rick questioned as the five of you ducked through the hole in the fence and began walking into the city.

"Merle! We ain't even having this conversation." Daryl yelled, throwing his crossbow over his shoulders.

"We are. You know the geography. It's your call." Rick replied, turning his attention from Daryl to Glenn.

"Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first." 

With that, the five of you took off running into the city.

It didn't take long to reach the building through the backstreets Glenn took you down and before you knew it, the group of you were running up the stairs to the roof.

You forgot how much you hated those stairs as T-Dog used the bolt cutters to cut through the padlock, all of you breathing heavily as Daryl kicked the door open and ran out onto the roof.

"Merle! Merle!" Daryl yelled, running across the roof.

You quickly followed, not liking how quiet it was because Merle could never keep quiet for more than two minutes, and that's when you saw it.

The blood on the ground. The handcuff dangling from the pipe. The bloodied handsaw and the hand lying on the ground.

Oh, shit.

Merle fucking Dixon couldn't wait could he?

"No! No! No!" Daryl shouted, pacing forwards and back, emotion thick in his voice as you lowered your head.

How the hell were you meant to find Merle? It was a miracle you found your brother, how were you meant to find Daryl's?

You were quickly taken away from your thoughts when you heard Daryl yell and you watched as he swung around, raising his crossbow to T-Dog's head as Rick pulled out his pistol and pressed it to the side of Daryl's head.

Instantly, you drew your own handgun and held it in front of you, the barrel aiming at the ground, not wanting to aim it at either Rick or Daryl, but you knew better than to not have it out and ready.

"I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears it." Rick warns as you stood back, your grip tightening around your gun as you eyed the two men cautiously before Daryl lowered the crossbow and you let out a sigh of relief.

You watched as Daryl wrapped up his brothers hand in a rag and put inside Glenn's backpack. Looking back down at the blood on the ground, you realised that the trail lead to the other door on the opposite side of the roof. Merle must have went that way.

"Hey." You called out, following his bloodied trail, Daryl hot on your tail while the others followed.

You kept your handgun out as you kicked the door open and scanned the area, spotting more blood going down the stairs.

Daryl took the lead with his crossbow up and ready as you all slowly descended the stairs.

You followed Merles trail, realising that he had cauterised the wound before he broke a window and climbed out the building all together, leaving the group of you standing there not really knowing what to do next. There was no more blood trail to follow and Merle could be anywhere by now.

"What are his odds out there?" T-Dog questioned, shocked that Merle had broken out the building with only one hand.

"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks." Daryl responded, glancing around at the group of you before he turned towards Rick. "You couldn't kill him. I ain't worried about some dumb dead bastard."

"What about 1,000 dumb dead bastards? Different story?" Rick questioned, staring at Daryl.

"Why don't ya take a tally? Do what ya want. I'm gonna go get him." Daryl muttered, turning around before you quickly grabbed his shoulder.

"Daryl, wait." You said and you really should rethink grabbing his shoulder because it never ends well as Daryl spun around and shoved you back.

"Get your hands off me! Ya can't stop me."

"Look, I don't blame you. He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine." You explained causing Daryl to frown slightly. "Shane's my brother, so I know exactly how you feel. Now, your brother can't get far with that injury. We can help you check a few blocks around, but only if you keep a level head. Can you do that?"

Daryl stared at you for a few seconds before eventually nodding.

"Only if we get those guns first. I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?" T-Dog spoke up.

"We get the guns and then we look for Merle." Rick agreed and with that the group of you started planning on how to actually get the bag of guns that was in the middle of a walker infested street.

It didn't take long for Glenn to come up with a relatively good plan.

You and Glenn were going to make a run for the bag while Daryl kept hidden in an alleyway nearby, so you could run back to him straight after. While Rick and T-Dog were going to be two blocks away as backup in case the two of you got cut off and couldn't make it back to Daryl.

The plan definitely had its flaws, but you nobody else could think of anything better and before you knew it, you, Daryl and Glenn were walking down the alley towards the main road.

The three of you ducked down behind a dumber as you stared at the walkers stumbling past the alley on the main road.

This was such a terrible idea.

"Ya got some balls for a Chinaman." Daryl muttered, loading his crossbow causing you to roll your eyes.

"I'm Korean." Glenn corrected, glancing over at Daryl.

"Whatever." 

You and Glenn snuck towards the edge of the building, taking in all the walkers on the street.

Yep, this was a really bad idea.

"Hey, be careful." Daryl called out softly and you just shook your head, glancing back over at him.

"What do you care?" 

"I don't." He muttered and you just nodded, yep that's what you thought.

You glanced back at Glenn who looked about as worried as you, but gave a small nod before the two of you crept into the street.

You kept to the footpath, ducking behind the broken down cars as you snuck around the walkers. Your heart was beating faster than it had in a long time as you spotted the bag by the tank and pointed to it.

"Go." Glenn whispered as the two of you jumped over the sandbag barricades from the army as you ran to the bag, catching the attention of the walkers in area.

You picked up the bag while Glenn grabbed your brothers hat before someone started shouting from the alleyway and you froze.

That was no Daryl's voice.

Someone else was here.

"Shit." You muttered under your breath.

You spared a quick glance at Glenn before the two of you took off running back into the alleyway to find a teenager lying on the ground, but you were more focused on Daryl lying on the ground a few metres away as two men kicked him.

"Hey! Get the hell off him!" You shouted, catching the strangers attention.

They stopped kicking, Daryl, and turned towards you as you quickly threw the bag of guns over your shoulder, freeing your hand as you reached for your handgun, but you didn't get the chance to pull it out.

"That's it! That's the bag, Vato, take it!" One of the men shouted.

They knocked the gun out your hand and threw you into the brick wall, your head slamming against it, breaking open the cut on your forehead again as you felt blood starting to trickle down your face.

"Get off me!" Glenn's voice yelled, just as one of the men punched you in the stomach and that was all it took for your legs to buckle underneath you.

Pain flared through your gunshot wound and there was nothing you could do as a pair of hands wrapped around you and began dragging you away.

"Get off me! Daryl!" Glenn continued to shout, but you were too busy trying not to throw up from the hit to your stomach to do much.

You heard Daryl shout your name before you were thrown into the back of a car which sped off down the street.

It took you a few seconds to get your head to focus before you realised that you were sitting in the backseat between Glenn and one of the strangers who had the barrel of a gun pressed against your head. You glanced around the car and grinned realising that they didn't get the bag.

"Don't try anything, Deputy or I'll blow your brains out." The stranger beside you threatened.

You just nodded, knowing there was nothing you could do right now anyway.

You sighed, leaning your head back against the head rest of your seat as you glanced over at Glenn who was staring at you with wide panicked eyes before suddenly a bag was shoved over your head.

By the way Glenn yelped, a bag was put over his head too.

Great, now you had no idea where you were going. 

-

Before-

It had been nearly 24 hours since you walked out Jason's office and you hadn't heard anything further from him which was a good sign.

If Jason really did have more information and evidence about you getting rid of the drugs and hiding them, then you would have been bought back to the station and no doubt be held there and integrated properly.

But, you hadn't heard anything else since then and you were almost certain that you had covered your tracks well enough.

You hadn't been able to sleep though.

Not after nearly losing your job and especially not after what happened with Daryl. You didn't even know if he was okay or not, or alive. You had no way to contact Merle or the hospital because you knew your colleges were monitoring you like a hawk. They were just waiting for you to slip up, so they could bring the evidence to the Sergeant and get an investigation opened up. And if that happens, you were screwed.

They could go through your phone or go through your body camera footage from the raid the other night. If they did that, you were as good as fired. You couldn't let that happen. But, you needed to know if Daryl was okay.

It was a risk, you knew that. But, you couldn't just sit around worrying, you had to go see him.

So, without further thought, you grabbed a baseball cap and sunglasses before you walked out the house, putting them before you started the long walk to the hospital.

If you drove, they'd be able to pick up your number plate the second you drove past a camera, but walking, you could hide in plain sight.

It was over a 40 minute walk across town to the hospital, but you didn't care. You had to see him.

You kept your head down as you walked through the large glass doors at the front of the hospital and made a beeline to the reception desk.

"A man named Daryl Dixon was bought earlier. Is he still here?" You quickly questioned, startling the young receptionist.

She began to type the name into the system and you could feel your hands shaking, praying to anyone who was listening. that he was still here and alive.

You couldn't lose him. Not Daryl.

"Yes, he's still here." The young woman responded and you sighed with relief, feeling a sudden weight lift from your shoulders. He was still here, he was alive. That's all that matters. "Are you family? Only family can visit at the moment, doctors orders." She added and you froze.

"I'm his girlfriend." You answered, but the woman shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but only immediate family, I can visit." 

No, you had to see him. You had to talk to him and explain everything before he heard it from Merle.

You had to tell him that you were a cop, that you were undercover this whole time, because if he heard it from anyone else... it wasn't going to be good.

He'd think that you had been using him this entire, he would think that you didn't love him, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Officer Walsh, undercover. I need to speak with Daryl Dixon regarding a case." You suddenly stated, your cop voice taking over as you pulled out your Police ID from your pocket.

You held it up to the woman who's eyes widened in shock before she pointed towards the elevator to your left.

"He's on Level 3, room 32. Sorry Officer, I didn't know." The receptionist apologised.

You nodded your thanks before walking towards the elevator, keeping your back to the camera as much as possible before the doors opened and you walked in, selecting level 3.

It felt like forever before the doors finally opened again and you practically ran down the hallway until you spotted room 32, but froze when you reached for the door handle.

What if Merle had already told him everything? What if he knows everything and hates you?

Taking a deep breath, you forced yourself to open the door, but nothing could prepare you for seeing Daryl lying on that hospital bed, hooked up to all those machines.

He looked so vulnerable lying there, so helpless and weak. His skin still ghostly pale under the blankets.

You didn't even realise Merle was in the room, your attention purely focused on Daryl until the older brother stood up from the chair across the room causing you to jump in surprise as you looked over at him.

"Relax. Just me." Merle responded with a slight chuckled and you sighed, looking back at Daryl who was still fast asleep.

"Is he going to be okay?" You asked, your cop voice suddenly gone after seeing Daryl like this, your voice now soft and worried as you stared at him.

"Yeah. He's a Dixon. He's tough. Doc said he'll need to stay here for a few days while the drugs are still in his system, but he'll be okay." Merle answered and you nodded, not taking your eyes off Daryl. "What did ya do with the drugs?"

"The less you know the better. The other cops are on to me though, I can't stay here long." 

"I'll grab a coffee or something. Give ya some time alone." He responded, already walking out the room, leaving you alone with Daryl. 

You slowly walked over to his hospital bed, taking a seat on the chair, Merle, had been sitting in earlier.

You leant your elbows on the side of his bed and gently grabbed his hand with yours, lacing your fingers together, unable to stop the tears starting to rise in your eyes as you stared at his sleeping body.

He shouldn't be the one lying here. You should have known Merle would try take some of the drugs home. You should have known and stopped him, but you didn't. You didn't even think of it and now Daryl was paying the price.

"I'm sorry, Daryl. This is all my fault." You whispered, pressing your lips to the back of his hand as you stared at his pale face.

You could feel the tears in your eyes starting to fall down your cheeks, but you didn't bother to wipe them away. Nobody was here to see it.

"I should have told you who I was the day I met you. I shouldn't have kept that a secret... but, I did and you nearly died because of it. I'm so sorry, Daryl. I'm so sorry." You mumbled, lowering your head. 

You couldn't stay at the hospital for too long, if the other cops found out, you were screwed. But, you needed to explain everything to Daryl, he deserved to know the truth and it had to be you who told him. 

So, you sat there, trying to build up the courage to wake him. 

You were so caught up in your own thoughts, you didn't even hear the door open behind you until the person cleared their throat/

Glancing over your shoulder, you assumed it was Merle, but boy, were you wrong.

Mike and Jason were standing in the doorway in their uniform. But, Mike had his phone out recording you with a shit eating grin. 

In that exact moment, you knew you were screwed.

They had proof, that was all they needed to open up an investigation and then you were done for.

"Y/N Walsh, you're under arrest." Jason stated, crossing his arms over his chest as Mike stopped recording and put his phone away as they took a step into the room.

"That's bullshit. You can't arrest me, I didn't do any of that."

Letting go of Daryl's hand, you stood up and turned towards the two of them, resting your hands on your hips as you glared at them. Trying your best to sound strong and confident, but on the inside you were panicking.

"Oh, we have a lot of proof. Starting with your mobile phone and ending with your body camera footage from the other night. You're screwed, Walsh." Mike informed and there was no mistaking the delight in his tone.

They had been trying to get rid of you since the first day you showed up and now two years later, they finally did.

"You can't access my body camera footage without permission from the Sergeant. Until then, bye."

You spared one last look at Daryl before you started to walk past Mike and Jason to leave the room, but you didn't even get to the door before one of them grabbed your arm, twisting it into a shoulder lock before pinning you against the wall.

"Get the fuck off me." You shouted, thrashing in their grip, but all that did was make them twist your arm up higher behind your back until you were almost certain they were going to dislocate your shoulder.

"Y/N?" Daryl's groggy voice called out and your heart dropped.

This was not how he was meant to find out. This was not how this was meant to go down.

"Okay, okay. I will let you take me back to the station without resisting, but let me have two minutes with Daryl to explain everything, please." You pleaded, glancing over your shoulder to find Daryl slowly opening his eyes in confusion.

Daryl's eyes suddenly widened in shock when he saw you pinned up against the wall by two police officers.

"Get the hell off her." He muttered, still half out of it as he tried to sit himself up, but his body was too weak.

"You want to explain everything to him? I will do it for you. Daryl Dixon, your girlfriend is an undercover cop. She's been undercover since the day you met her, using you to try and get info on the gang, The Plunders." Jason explained.

"Wait, no. That's not the whole truth!" You shouted, trying to get out their grip, but it was no use. 

"Alright, we're done here. Let's go." Jason instructed as he pulled you away from the wall and started to usher you towards the door, but you shook your head.

"No, I have to talk to him." You resisted, finally yanking your arm out of Jason's grip.

But, you didn't even get a chance to go back to Daryl before Mike's fist suddenly collided with the side of your face, sending you to the ground.

The last thing you heard was Daryl shouting your name before everything faded into darkness. 

Chapter Text

It felt like forever before the car finally stopped and you were pulled out the vehicle.

You tried to memorise where you were walking, but all you were focused on was the pain coming from your forehead and ache from your gunshot wound.  

They lead you into a building and shoved you into a chair roughly as rope was wrapped around your wrists binding them together. 

"Hey, what the hell is going on here?" A new voice questioned as a door slammed open.

"They took our bag of guns, one of their men shot Felipe in the ass with an arrow!" A voice somewhere behind you responded. 

"Good. They will come here looking for their friends, we trade them for the bag of guns, now take the bags off their heads and take them to the rec-room." The same person instructed.

Not a second later, someone pulled you to your feet and began walking you somewhere else.

The sound of voices talking filled the air causing you to frown before the bag was taken off your head. 

You squinted at the sudden light as you glanced around the room and had to do a double take when you realised the room was just full of old people sitting around playing card games.

What the hell was this place?

"Don't try anything." The leaders voice said from behind you as you glanced over your shoulder at him. "We look after these people."

"Then why did you attack us and kidnap me and Glenn?"

Glenn stood beside you, terrified, but just as confused as you were.

"We need those guns to protect these people, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, when your people show up, we can figure out a solution. In the mean time sit, enjoy the food or a game of cards." The man explained before he walked out the room.

You and Glenn ended up sitting at one of the tables away from the other people in the room.

Although, that didn't last long because all the elderly wanted to talk to you. So you spent the next few hours listening to their life stories before one of them had an asthma attack.

Despite how bad it sounded you were glad for the distraction as they all turned their attention to the man. Glenn helping them while you sat there, holding your stomach. 

Your ribs were definitely bruised and your still healing gunshot wound fucking hurt.

You sat there watching the group huddle around the man, helping him with his puffer.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Rick, Daryl and T-Dog walk in followed by the leader and his men. 

"Rick?" You questioned, relief flooding your voice.

You quickly stood up with a wince as Rick rushed over to you and pulled you into a hug. 

"You okay?" He asked, pulling away and you nodded, but Rick noticed you wince as took a step back. "I'm good, really."

Rick stared at you for a few seconds before he nodded and turned his attention towards the others. 

"What the hell is this?" 

"Asthma attack." Glenn answered innocently.

"We thought you were being eaten by dogs, man." T-Dog responded and you glanced over at the two Chihuahuas across the room and chuckled softly.   

"You're the dumbest son of a bitch I ever met. We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you." Rick whispered to the leader of their group, but you didn't hear the rest of their conversation as Daryl walked over to you. 

"Ya good?" He asked, noticing the way you were holding your stomach.

You simply nodded, standing up straighter as you lowered your hand from your stomach as if trying to prove that you were fine.

"Good." He muttered, turning back to the others.

-

Rick ended up giving them a few guns to help protect the elderly before the five of you left.

It was going to start getting dark soon and you all knew being in the city after dark was practically suicide. 

"We did park the van here right?" You questioned, snapping the group away from their pointless conversation.

They all stopped talking and looked up at the train tracks where you had left the van, but it wasn't there. 

"We left it right here. Who would take it?" Glenn questioned. 

"Merle." You answered, looking over at Daryl as his eyes locked with yours for a moment. 

"He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp." Daryl muttered and you nodded in agreement.

This was not going to end well. 

-

Before-

When you started to wake up, you quickly realised you weren't in Daryl's hospital room anymore.

Slowly, you opened your eyes to find yourself sitting in the back of one of the police cruisers.

You could see Mike and Jason sitting in the front as you glanced out your side window and realised you were still in the hospital carpark.

Why hadn't they taken you to the station already? 

"Good, you're awake." Mike suddenly, looking at your through the revision mirror.

"Why aren't we on the way to the station. I thought you were arresting me." You muttered, glaring at the two of them.

You slowly sat yourself up properly in the seat, catching a glance of yourself in the revision mirror to find a nasty bruise already forming over your left eye. 

"We have enough evidence to not only end your career, but to put you behind bars. However, we're nice guys. So, we're gonna offer you a deal." Jason started to explain and you whatever this deal was, it wasn’t going to be good. "If you appoint Jason and myself as head of the undercover unit. We will destroy all the evidence, everything." 

"What's the catch?"

There had to be more to it than that, there always was.

"You apply for a transfer and leave. You don't tell anyone and you don't come back, I don't even want to hear your name again. That's the deal. Take it or leave it, either way, we'll become head of the unit. But, it's up to you if you want to lose your job and go jail." Mike answered and your jaw dropped.

Leave?

If you left then you'd never get to see Daryl again... 

"What about the Dixons? What's going to happen to them?" You asked cautiously.

They knew the truth about Merle and the drugs, they could easily put him away.

"If you leave and take the deal, nothing will happen. They can continue to live their shitty lives like usual."

There was only one thing you could do, it was to take the deal.

It would mean the end of your undercover career. A career that you had dreamt about ever since you were a little girl.

But, if it meant Daryl and Merle were safe and you weren’t in jail, what else could you do?

"Okay, we have a deal." You finally answered.

"Good, we will take you to the station, so you can speak with the Sergeant about leaving the unit. After that, you go home, pack your shit and never come back, are we clear?" Jason questioned. 

"Crystal." You muttered angrily, crossing your arms over your chest as you stared out the side window.

-

Present-

When you reached the camp, it was chaos. 

Walker were everywhere. Literally everywhere.

"Rick!" You shouted.

Rick didn’t hesitate as he pulled one of the shotguns from the back and threw it to you.

You caught the weapon with easy and ran into camp, the others right on your tail as you began to fire at the walkers. 

"Shane!" You yelled, trying to find your brother.

There were too many walkers though, you couldn't see him. So, you just focused on taking down the walkers.

Shot. After shot. After shot. Until suddenly the gun clicked indicating that there weren’t any bullets left.

Shit. 

Without hesitation, you dropped the shotgun and pulled out your police baton from your belt and flicked it out.

You slammed the steel rod into the side of closest walkers head before taking out the other walkers around you.

The baton actually did a good job at crashing their skulls, but now was not the time to think about it.

As quickly as it all started, the shooting ceased.

The last walker falling to the ground, dead.

You paced around the camp, scanning the area to make sure there weren’t any more walkers before you made your way to the RV where the others all were. 

Daryl who caught your eye, but neither of you said anything before you looked around at the others, taking note of many people were still alive.

Andrea was sitting on the ground beside her dead sister and your heart broke for her.

How could you let this happen? You left and the group got attacked. This was your fault. 

-

The next morning everyone was up bright and early, although you doubted anyone actually slept last night after what just happened.

You sure as hell didn't sleep, neither did Shane, the two of you just laid there, talking about pointless stuff to stop either of you from thinking about what happened.

It was something the two of you always used to do.

If something bad happened while one of you were on duty, the other would bring up old memories, to stop the other thinking about it. You had been doing it for years… guess somethings never changed.

You were busy helping the others load up the walkers corpses into the back of Daryl’s pickup truck.

The same truck that you had spent many drives and road trips in with him, way back in the day.

The others stabbed the walkers brains to make sure they were dead while the rest wrapped up the bodies of the camp mates that didn’t make it. Getting ready to bury them. 

"She still won’t  move?" You asked, walking over to Lori, Rick and Shane.

"She won't even talk to us." Lori answered.

You looked over at Andrea who was still sitting beside her sisters body. Amy would turn soon, you couldn't just leaver her. 

"Can't just leave Amy like that. We need to deal with it same as the others." Shane spoke up as if he was reading your mind.

"I'll go talk to her." You volunteered.

Before anyone else said anything, you walked over to the other woman and crouched down beside her. 

"Andrea-"

You barley got to say her name before she pulled a gun out and aimed it at your face and cocked the weapon. Catching everyone's attention at the sound of the gun clicking. 

Without thinking, you grabbed the gun.

Acting on instinct as you slammed your hand into her arm, causing her to drop the weapon as you quickly stood up, her gun now in your hands as you stared at her in wide eyes. 

"I'm going to let that slide.” You said, taking a deep breath. “I'm sorry about your sister, but you have to let us take her. I promise we will be gentle."

Andrea didn't respond as she looked back down at her sister and completely ignored you.

You to sighed, placing her gun on the ground beside her before walking back to the others.

"There's nothing we can do, she won't leave her sisters side. Just keep an eye on her, I don't know if Andrea will be able to do it when the time comes." You explained as Dale and Daryl walked over to the group of you. 

"Ya can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb." 

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked, looking over at Daryl.

"Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance." Daryl responded, throwing the pickaxe over his shoulder as he glanced over at Amy and Andrea. 

"No. For God's sake, let her be." Lori responded.

Daryl just shook his head and walked off as you glanced over at Rick and Shane who had no idea how to deal with this situation. 

"Not much we can do about her, but we can deal with the other bodies." You spoke up a few seconds later, picking up a shovel from the ground causing you to wince at the pain it caused your stomach. 

"Hey, I saw that. What's wrong? I thought you said the gunshot wound had healed." Shane quickly said.

You shook your head trying to dismiss his concern, but it didn't work as he grabbed your shoulder and turned you to face him.

“Are you hurt?" 

"I'm fine. Just got punched in the stomach and probably have a couple bruised ribs. The bullet wound is basically healed, But still hurts. I'm fine though." You answered and Shanes eyes widened as he stared at you.

You had filled him in last night on what went down in Atlanta, but you purposely left out that little detail knowing how protective your big brother could be. 

"You didn't think to tell me that?"

You rolled his eyes, but before either of you could say anything else, Jacqui's panicked voice shouted from across the camp.

"A walker got him. A walker bit Jim!"

You spared a quick glanced over at Rick and Shane before the three of you rushed over to him to find most of the others all gathering around in panic. 

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim mumbled.

He was shaking his head at himself, almost in denial as he glanced around at the group that was now circled around him. 

"Show it to us." Daryl called out causing Jim to pick up a shovel for defence. 

"Easy, Jim." Shane warned from beside you.

Jim looked over at him before T-Dog quickly grabbed Jim from behind, causing him to drop the shovel as Daryl rushed forward and pulled up the mans shirt exposing a very distinct bite mark. 

"Shit." You muttered under your breath.

-

After a few minutes, you managed to calm Jim down and got him to sit by the RV while the group of you discussed what to do. 

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl stated. 

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane questioned, looking over at Daryl. 

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."

Shaking your head, you looked over at Jim as you tried to figure out what to do.

There had to be something you could do, something you could do to help him... Wait. Morgan said the CDC was working on a cure, they could help him, right?

"What if we can get him help? We heard the CDC was working on a cure." You spoke up, looking over at Rick who's eyes widened clearly forgetting about that little detail.

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell." Your brother responded.

"What if the CDC is still up and running? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection-" Rick began to say before Shane cut him off. 

"Okay, Rick, Y/N, you want those things, I do too, okay? Now if they exist they're at the army base, Fort Benning." 

You stood there listening to Shane and Rick bickering for the next for few minutes, getting annoyed with the two of them and clearly Daryl was too as he cut them off. 

"You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" Daryl shouted, turning around and raising his pickaxe as he marched towards Jim. 

"Daryl, don't!" You shouted, quickly rushing in front of him.

You placed yourself between him and Jim, causing Daryl to freeze before Rick pulled his gun and aimed it at his head. 

"Hey, hey, hey. We don't kill the living." Rick stated, still holding his gun at Daryl. 

"That's funny, coming from a man who just put a gun to my head.”

He wasn't looking at Rick as he spoke. His eyes purely focused on you as you stood in front of him, not backing down despite the pickaxe still raised over his shoulder.

Daryl wouldn't kill you. It might have been years, but you knew Daryl. 

"You might hate me for what I did, but you won't hurt me.” You said calmly, your eyes never leaving his. “Now, put it down."

Daryl stared at you for a few seconds before he shook his head, dropping the pickaxe before storming off. 

"Seriously, what happened between you and Dixon back in the day?" Shane questioned in confusion.

You sighed, picking up the pickaxe from the ground.

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know.”

Chapter Text

Before-

You pulled up in front of the house that you and Shane shared. 

It's been a long time since you had been back home and you sighed with relief, spotting your brothers Jeep parked in the driveway.

You didn't bother grabbing your bags out the back, all you wanted to do was crash in bed and forget about everything that had happened in the past 48 hours.

You lost Daryl. You lost your dream career. You lost everything.

Taking the keys out the ignition, you climbed out the car and walked up the front door about to try unlock it with your old key before you realised the door wasn't even locked. Of course it wasn't. This was Shane you were talking about. You were shocked the door wasn't wide open.

"Bro, are you home?" You called out, walking through the front door.

You knew he would be shocked that you were home, it's been nearly eight months since you saw him during Christmas last year. You missed him, but you had no idea what you were going to say when he found out that you had transferred back to King County.

"Y/N? That you?" Shane's voice responded as you walked into the main room to find him walking out the kitchen with a glass of water in his hands. "What are you doing here? I thought you were coming home in a few months time for Ricks birthday?"

You just shrugged your shoulders before your brothers eyes widened as he took in the bruise on your left cheek.

"What happened?" 

You opened your mouth about to say some sarcastic comment about needing to make sure the house was still standing, but you couldn't get any words out as you stared at your big brother.

Everything that had happening in the past 48 hours, suddenly hitting you. All the stress and emotion that you had been ignoring and pushing away, finally bubbling to the surface.

"Hey, are you okay?" Shane asked, his voice turning from happy to worried in a split second.

He put the glass of water down on the bench beside him before he started to walk towards you. That was all it took before tears started to rise in your eyes and there was nothing you could do to stop them as they started to trickle down your cheeks.

In an instant, Shane pulled you into his chest, hugging you tightly as you cried.

He didn't ask any more questions as he held you, whispering soothing words until you finally managed to stop crying and he pulled away slightly, his hands still on your shoulders as he stared at you.

"What happened?" He asked, his fingers brushing over the bruise on your cheek.

"Bruise is from some drunk guy I was arresting." You lied and Shane nodded.

It wasn't uncommon to get a punch or two from someone resisting arrest, but Shane would know that wasn't the reason for your sudden breakdown.

"Okay, now what else happened?" He asked, his voice soft as he spoke and you sighed.

"I applied for a transfer to be a Deputy back at King County again." 

"What? Why? Being in the undercover unit was your dream job, you said you were loving it. Why'd you apply to leave?" He questioned in pure confusion.

"I did love it for a while, but I'm done. It's too much, I can't keep doing it. I can't live my life as a lie, I can't do the undercover shit anymore. I'm done. I just want to be home with you, with Rick, and just be a normal Deputy." You answered, rubbing your face with your hands as you took a deep breath.

"Where is all of this coming from? Hey, talk to me." 

"Nowhere, I'm just done." You sighed and you knew your brother didn't like that answer, but you didn't give him a chance to say anything else. "I'm going to bed. It was a long drive, I'm exhausted."

-

Now-

"Wait, Merle was the reason you applied for a transfer? What happened? And why would you take the blame for something that asshole did?" Shane asked in confusion, looking over at Rick who just shrugged his shoulders looking over at you curiously wanting to know more.

"It was for Daryl." You answered, as if that explained everything, but by the confused faces on the two men they clearly didn't understand.

"Why would you do something for Daryl?" Rick asked.

"Because I loved him." You answered, not waiting for either of them to reply before you walked off. 

You didn't know why you were even telling them this. You didn't tell them back in the day when they asked why you were transferred back home so early, so you had no idea why you were telling them now.

"Whoa, wait. You and Dixon were a thing? How? When? Why?" Shane quickly questioned, grabbing your shoulder causing you to turn around.

"None of your business, bro. And in case you haven't noticed, Daryl hates me, so it doesn't matter. It's in the past." You responded, feeling your cheeks starting to blush and suddenly wishing you had never said anything.

"Wait, you still love him, don't you?" Rick asked, his voice softening as he stared at you and you just nodded. You never stopped loving Daryl and seeing him now after all these years has only made you more certain. "Then why don't you tell him the truth about why you left? Tell him that you did it to cover for his brother."

"I can't do that. I don't want Daryl's last memory of his brother to be bad." You answered which just confused the two of them even more.

"What exactly did Merle do?" Shane asked, but you shook your head.

"It's in the past. It doesn't matter. We've both moved on, end of story. Now let's bury these bodies and burn the walkers." You said, turning around, not giving them a chance to say anything further before you got to work.

-

The following morning the group packed up and started the journey to the CDC.

The Morales family decided to go their separate ways to try find the rest of their family, so you gave them one of the guns from the bag and said good luck before you went your separate ways.

Jim's fever was getting worse and in the end, he made you leave him on the side of the road.

The bumps in the road were too harsh on his now fragile body and he wanted to be left behind. None of you liked the idea, but it was his idea and in the end it was his choice, so you left him under a tree and continued to head for the CDC.

You sat in the passenger seat of Shane's jeep, the wind blowing in your face as rested your head back on the headrest, staring off into the distance while Shane drove.

He still didn't like the idea of going to the CDC, but had long ago given up arguing, but he hadn't given up trying to ask you about more details about you and Daryl Dixon.

It was like the two of you were back in high school and you were trying to pry details about his latest girlfriend. But, now that you were on the receiving end of the questions, it was getting annoying.

"Seriously, what was so bad that Merle did, that you took the blame and had to move back home? Did he kill someone and you hid the body?" Shane questioned, glancing over at you causing you to groan because for a moment you thought he was done with these questions.

"It doesn't matter." You replied, not looking over at him as you stared at the road. 

"It does. You still love Daryl and he hates you for something you didn't do. Now spill." 

"He didn't know I was an uncover cop. His brother was mixed up with some bad people, the people that we were trying to take down. We found out this group were meeting up in some warehouse to hand out these new drugs to sell. We arrested 12 drug dealers, seized the whole supply of the new drug too. but, Merle was at the meeting... I may have let him slip out the back while the other officers were busy-"

"You really had it bad for Daryl, if you were willing to let his brother get away." Shane responded and you just sighed.

"That's not even the worst part." You responded, taking a deep breath before you continued.

"Later that night I got a call from Merle. He had apparently hidden drugs in his house afraid that we'd come knocking and find them. But, Daryl somehow got hold of it, not knowing what it was and overdosed. I tried helping him, but he needed the ambulance, except Merle knew if the ambulance came then the cops would too and they'd find the drugs-" 

"You hid the drugs?" Shane asked and you nodded.

"The other cops, the ones that I always said hated me. They were getting suspicious and had a bunch of evidence against me..." You trailed off, hating thinking back to that day.

"They wanted to take your place as head of the unit, didn't they? They made you leave and come back to King County, right?" Shane asked already figuring it as anger starting to rise in his voice and you nodded. "Son of a bitch, you should have told me. I would've-"

"Killed them? Yeah, that's the reason why I didn't tell you. Daryl doesn't know about any of it either. Long story short. Merle told him his drink was spiked and by the time he was released from hospital, I was gone and he found out I was an undercover cop. He thinks I just used him to get to the drug dealers and left once they were all arrested." You explained causing Shane to frown at you.

"Why don't you just tell him the truth?" 

"I can't tell him. Merle promised he had stopped with the drugs and he was the only family Daryl had left. I know much Daryl looks up to Merle, how much Merle getting out of the drug business meant to him. If Daryl ever found out about what happened... he'd hate his brother, I couldn't do that." 

"That's fair, but why didn't you ever tell me?" He asked gently, his voice slightly hurt as he glanced over at you before focusing back on the road as he drove.

"I abused my powers as a Police Officer. I let a drug dealer get away on purpose. I hid drugs and lied to my Sergeant about it... I-I couldn't tell you. I was scared that you would hate me. I was- I was scared I'd lose you too..." You trailed off hating that there was now tears in your eyes.

This was years ago. You had accepted it, but now talking about after all these years just bought back all those emotions.

"Hey, you're my baby sister, I could never hate you. I'm shocked, yes. But, you did it with good intention and look around, none of that really matters now." Your brother responded, looking over at you as you quickly wiped the tears from your eyes, not wanting him to see you like this. "Hey, look at me. It's okay, don't cry."

He reached out and grabbed your shoulder gently as you took a shaky deep breath.

"I don't cry. My eyes are just sweating, this Georgia heat is getting to me." You responded causing Shane to chuckle as you smiled softly.

"Like the time we were watching, Marley and Me, and your eyes just started to sweat?" 

"Yep, exactly like that." You responded as you both laughed before you fell into comfortable silence when an idea clicked in your head.

Your old Queen CD's that you kept in the glove box of his jeep.

Without saying anything, you quickly leant forward and opened the glove box, pushing aside the paper, pens, batteries and a half eaten protein bar, that you did not want to know how long had been in there for, before you found the CD case at the bottom and pulled it out.
 
"Oh, hell no." Shane suddenly stated shaking his head causing you to grin.

"Oh, hell yes." You responded as you opened the case and pulled out the first CD labelled 'Queen's Greatest Hits'.

Without a word you slid the CD into the CD player and immediately skipped forward three songs, knowing exactly what song number you wanted.

It took a few seconds for the song to start up as you turned the volume dial up and not a second later 'We Will Rock You' starts playing.

You began tapping your feet to the beat of the drums as Shane to groaned.

"C'mon, you love this. We used to jam out to these songs all the time when we were kids with Rick, driving to school." You responded, punching your brother in the arm playfully.

He shook his head with a laugh, but the moment the lyrics started, he couldn't help himself and the rest of the ride was just a mixture of singing and arguing over what song to play next.

-

You turned the volume down on the music as Shane bought the Jeep to a stop behind the other cars. Both of you staring at the CDC and all your hope for this place began to vanish as you took in what was left of an army blockade out the front.

There were sandbags stacked up around the area as makeshift barriers with the bodies of hundreds of soldiers just lying on the ground, broken down tanks and army trucks scattered the area indicating that the blockade had fallen.

If the soldiers had fallen then the chances of anyone inside the CDC still being alive, let alone up and running was next to zero, but you had just driven all this way, like hell you weren't going to try.

"Let's go see if anyone is home." You said, breaking the silence.

You looked over at Shane, who had a doubtful look on his face, but nodded as the two of you climbed out the jeep, the others all climbing out their vehicles too.

"Alright, everybody. Keep moving. Stay quiet." Shane whispered as the group of you began heading towards the building.

You stepped over and around the rotten bodies of fallen soldiers -that stunk worse than anything you had ever smelt- causing a few to cough and cover their mouths, but you kept pushing forward, right beside Rick and Shane as you made a beeline to the front of the building.

You quickly holstered your gun as you reached the shutter doors. You tried pulling them up, but the metal roller door wouldn't even budge as you cursed under your breath.

Rick and Shane quickly tried helping, but it was no use, the doors were locked shut.

"There's nobody here." T-Dog said from somewhere behind you as you kept trying to lift the doors, but it was no use.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick questioned.

"Walkers!" Daryl shouted which caught your attention as you turned around spotting a walker stumbling in your direction which he easily took care of with his crossbow before he turned back towards Rick. "You led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a call." You responded, backing Rick up as you glared at Daryl, but he just shook his head.

"It was the wrong damn call!" He shouted, marching towards Rick before Shane got in front of him

"Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up." Shane instructed, pushing Daryl back angrily before turning back to Rick.

You knew Shane was being harsher than he usually would after what you had told him, but that was the furthest thing from your mind right now.

"Rick, this is a dead end." Shane said, his tone now softer as he stared at his best friend.

"What are we going to go? Fort Benning is 100 miles in the opposite direction and we can't be this close to the city after dark." You spoke up, walking over to Rick and Shane as they both stared at you not knowing what to do.

"We'll think of something. Let's just go." Shane responded after a few seconds and you nodded in agreement.

You could at least get a few miles away form the city and sleep in the cars or something for the night and have time to come up with a plan. You couldn't stay out here and be exposed.

"You heard him, let's go." You said when nobody started moving as you began ushering everyone back towards the cars with Shane before Rick continued talking.

"The camera. It moved." 

You froze, slowly turning back towards him to find him staring up at the camera on the wall.

Impossible.

"You must have imaged it." You said gently, walking back to Rick as you grabbed his shoulder, but he shook his head.

"It moved. It moved."

You stared up at the small unmoving camera in disbelief. But, you trusted Rick with your life and you would always back him up on anything, but this was just crazy.

"Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay. They're just winding down. Now, come on." Shane explained, appearing beside you as you began tugging Ricks shoulder back to try and get him move, but he just shook his head.

"Rick, look at me. Shane's right. This place is dead. There's nobody here, c'mon." You said, grabbing his arm as you tried to pull him back, but he refused to move as Shane grabbed his other arm.

"You need to let it go, Rick. There's nobody here." Shane shouted, his tone getting desperate as the two of you began pulling him back.

"I know you're in there. I know you can here me." Rick yelled, thrashing out of yours and Shanes grip as he jogged back to the building.

"Rick!" You and Shane both shouted.

The sound of walkers growling filled the air and you glanced over your shoulder spotting more stumbling towards you.

Shit.

"Go." Shane instructed, nodding at the walkers. 

You quickly let go of Rick and pulled your handgun out your holster, walking to the back of the group as you raised your gun, getting ready to take the dead down while Rick continued shouting and banging against the shutter door behind you.

Before you even had a chance to pull the trigger, sudden bright light shone from behind you.

What the fuck?

Quickly, you turned around just as the shutter doors slowly started to open.

Holy shit. Rick, was right.

Chapter Text

Dr Edwin Jenner was the man running the CDC, he made you all submit to a blood test if you wanted to come in.

So, you all agreed and after Andrea nearly passed out after her blood test due to not eating anything, Dr Jenner took you all to the kitchen and you were now sitting around the large table, bowls and plates stacked with food and bottles of wine covering the table top as you ate and drank together.

You knew everyone had a little bit too much to drink by now, but you were not about to stop Dale from giving everyone another round as he made his way around the table with another bottle of wine, topping up everyone's glasses.

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France." Dale said, as he finished filling up your glass.

You looked over at Carl across the table who was sitting between his parents causing you to chuckle.

The day Lori lets Carl drink, would be the day pigs fly.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then." She responded and you just rolled your eyes.

She was always a sticker for the rules even as kids. She was a good mother, but you sometimes wished she let loose sometimes.

"What's it going to hurt? Come on." Rick responded, looking over at his wife.

"Alright." She finally said and your eyes widen in shock as you glanced over at you brother beside you who seemed to be as shocked as you were.

Dale grinned, pouring a little bit into Carls plastic cup as you watched the boy take a sip.

"Ew! That tastes nasty!" He exclaimed, pulling a disgusted face as he poked his tongue out causing everyone to laugh. 

"That's my boy." Lori responded grabbing his cup and pouring the wine into her glass.

"Better stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane said as Rick handed Carl a can of soda instead.

"Not you, Glenn. Keep drinking little man. I wanna see how red your face can get." Daryl said as he leant over the table and picked up one of the bottles of wine causing the others to all laugh as you stared at Daryl.

He had a golden Desert Eagle handgun tucked into he front of his pants where his shirt had ridded up a little, exposing some of his skin and you quickly looked away.

What the hell are you doing, Y/N?

Shaking your head at yourself you took a drink from your glass and leant back in chair. You've defiantly had more wine than you probably should, you didn't even like wine that much anyway, but it was there and hell, you wanted to get drunk.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly." Rick suddenly spoke up and you glanced over at Dr Jenner who was sitting at the other table silently.

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog added, standing up and holding his glass of wine to the sky. "Hear hear!" He shouted as the others all mimicked him, raising their glasses and you did the same.

"Booyah!" Daryl shouted, raising his bottle of wine, not even bothering to pour it into a glass as he took a drink.

Still the same old Dixon.

"So, when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc? All the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?' Shane suddenly questioned from beside you causing everyone to stop celebrating as they looked between Shane and the doctor as you elbowed your brother.

He couldn't have waited a couple hours before asking?

"We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now." Rick responded.

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move, supposed to find all the answers. Instead we found him. Found one man. Why?" 

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left. Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted... But, many couldn't face walking out the door. They opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time." Dr Jenner explained and for a moment nobody said anything as they stared at him in shock before you broke the silence.

"You didn't leave. Why?" You asked, a small part of you hoping that he was close to finding a cure for all of this, but deep down you knew that was impossible.

"I just kept working. Hoping to do some good." He answered with a shrug as the room fell into awkward silence as you all stared at the doctor, not really sure what to do or say next.

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man." Glenn muttered from across the table.

"Yes, he is. You get used to it, now I need a refill." You announced, trying to lighten the mood as you filled up your glass again before passing the bottle around the table for the others and a few minutes later, you were sitting back and chatting away again.

An hour later, the group of you were well and truly drunk.

A few more so than others as you walked down the hallway following Dr Jenner as he showed you all were you could sleep and were the showers were.

Showers, with hot water.

It was like you had died and gone to heaven. You had shelter, alcohol, beds and showers. What more could a girl want?

Everyone had somehow managed to pick their bedrooms and you made sure to pick the one furthest away from Shane because you knew when he was drunk, he snored like a freight train.

Their were only two showers in the large communal bathroom, so you had to wait a while before it was your turn, but you didn't mind.

You ended up back in the kitchen, sitting on one of the benches with a bottle of Jack Daniels that you recently discovered on one of the top shelves in the kitchen.

If you knew that was there the whole time, you wouldn't have been drinking that awful wine, but better late than never.

Glenn and Daryl were still in the kitchen with you, either waiting for a shower or just bored. You weren't sure which, but it didn't matter as you sat back and watched Glenn struggle to pour himself another glass of wine, spilling most of it on over the table causing you and Daryl to laugh as you watched him.

"A shower is free, y'all." Shane's voice shouted from down the hallway as Glenn quickly looked up, waiting to see who was going to go.

"Go for it, Glenn." You said, nodding towards the door.

"Thank you!" He shouted, although he did not need to shout since he was just across the room.

You just chuckled, watching him stagger out the door before you realised that you had just made a big mistake.

Now it was just you and Daryl alone in the room.

That was a bad idea.

Neither of you said anything for a few minutes as Daryl sat on one of the chairs with his legs resting up on the table, nursing his soon to be empty bottle of wine while you sat on the bench top fiddling with your now half empty bottle of jack.

"Are you just going to keep ignoring me?" You suddenly questioned, glancing over at Daryl who refused to look at you.

"Yep." He muttered, taking a swig from his bottle causing you to roll your eyes.

It had been over five years. Yes, he thought you betrayed and used him, but it was years ago and the world had literally died, couldn't you move on?

"What do you want me to say to you, Daryl? It's been over five years-"

"Ya used me! Ya lied to me 'n you're a fuckin' cop!" He snapped, slamming his bottle of wine down on the table with a thud as he stood up causing you to flinch at his unexpected outburst as you stared at him, not knowing what to say. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He muttered, staring at you for a few seconds before he began to walk off.

"Daryl, wait." You quickly said, just as he reached the door and stopped, but didn't look back at you. "I didn't want to hurt you, it wasn't my intention. Yes, I was an uncover cop, but I never used you. I loved you, Daryl."

"If ya loved me then why didn't ya tell me the truth?" He questioned, slowly turning around to face you.

"I couldn't, I was afraid that you'd react like this." You answered truthfully causing Daryl scoff, shaking his head before walking out the room.

You stood there in the middle of the kitchen for a few minutes, trying to figure out what the hell just happened before Carol appeared.

"Hey, one of the showers are free- what happened?" She asked, walking into the room as she took in the tears in your eyes.

"Nothing. I've just had way to much to drink. I'm gonna have a shower and go to bed."

You didn't give her a chance to respond before you walked past her, out the kitchen and made your way towards the showers.

You walked into the room, noticing someone was in the shower to the left as you walked into the cubical to the right that Carol had just came out of and didn't waste anytime as you stripped off your clothes.

You figured it was probably Glenn still in the other shower as you finished pulling your clothes off before you turned on the taps. Instant hot water began to flow causing you to sigh in relief as you got under the stream.

At least this time you weren't having a shower at the station with Rick, Morgan and his son literal a few metres away from you. This time you had privacy and you were the last one to have a shower which meant you could take as long as you wanted.

You weren't sure how long you spent under the water, but when you finally turned the tap off, you came to a quick realisation that you had forgotten to grab a towel before you walked in here.

Shit.

You stood there for a few seconds trying to figure out what to do as you stared at your deputy uniform on the ground before the shower beside you turned off and an idea clicked.

"Umm, Glenn. I forgot to grab a towel, can you throw it over for me?"

You stared up at the ceiling as you waited for him to respond, but he never said anything before a towel was thrown over the side of your cubical.

"Thanks." You responded as you began to dry yourself with the towel before you realised that you left your bag in your bedroom that contained all your clean clothes.

Drunk you was clearly very forgetful. Did you forget to anything else too?

You figured everyone would already be in bed and your bedroom was just two doors down the hall. 

So, you wrapped your towel around your body, securing it tightly before you grabbing your dirty clothes from the ground.

Once you had everything, you opened the door to your shower cubical only to come face to face with Daryl fucking Dixon as he stepped out the shower next to yours.

The two of you practically walked straight into each other causing you drop the bottle of Jack still in your hand as the glass smashed onto the ground, alcohol spilling everywhere and up onto your legs as glass scattering over the floor.

You didn't say anything to Daryl as you put your dirty clothes back down and crouched down as you began to pick up the glass pieces, not wanting Carl or Sophia to walk in here and get glass on their feet.

"Ya gonna cut yourself." Daryl muttered from somewhere in the room.

You ignored him, not even looking at him as you continued to pick up the pieces. But, of course, he was right because not a second later one of the pieces sliced your palm.

"Shit." You winced under your breath, blood trickling down your hand.

You continued picking up the pieces before Daryl suddenly crouched down beside you.

"I got it. Go back in the shower, wash the wound and the alcohol off your legs."

You lifted your head to look at him, but he wasn't looking at you as he began to take over from picking up the pieces.

Wait, was he actually being nice to you?

You stared at him for a moment before walking back into the shower, not bothering to close the door since you were just going to wash your hand and legs as you turned the water back on.

You lifted your legs under the water, trying not to get your towel wet as you swapped legs, getting the whiskey off your skin before you held your hand under the water and watched as the blood tripped from your palm.

It was only a small cut, didn't even need a Band-Aid, but like a paper cut, it stung like a bitch.

"M'sorry for what I said earlier." Daryl mumbled from somewhere behind you as you kept your hand under the water, your back facing him.

"Don't. You have every right to be angry, you have every right to hate me."

Suddenly, Daryl's hand was on your shoulder and you turned around, your eyes locking with his ocean blue ones.

"I don't hate ya."

It was only then did you realise just how close the two of you were. Your faces inches apart and before you even knew what was happening, his lips were pressed against yours.

He must have had a fair bit to drink because you were almost certain that if Daryl was sober, he wouldn't even be in the same room as you, let alone actually kissing you.

You began to kiss him back, getting lost in the moment before your drunk brain began to catch up with what was happening and you knew you should put a stop to this.

Daryl wouldn't want this.

He was drunk, you were slightly drunk.

He'd wake up and hate you even more if you let this happen.

"We can't do this." You whispered against his lips, pulling away slightly.

"Tell me to leave 'n I will." Daryl responded as he took a step to the side, so he wasn't blocking the door, but you didn't say anything as you stared at him.

You weren't sure who had made the first move, for all you know it could've been you who had leant forward, but you were kissing him again.

It must have been the alcohol in your system giving you confidence because the next thing you knew, you were fiddling for the buttons to his flannel and he wasn't even trying to stop you as his hands cupped the side of your face, kissing deeply.

You managed to undo the buttons of his flannel, exposing his toned stomach as you pulled the sleeveless shirt the rest of the way off his body.

Your hands instantly began trailing over the familiar scars across his chest as you kissed him while he began to undo his belt and before you knew what was happening, he had pulled the towel off you, exposing your naked body.

Daryl took a moment, taking in your frame before froze, his fingers tracing over the freshly scarred skin on your stomach from the bullet wound.

His expression turned into confusion as he stared at it, clearly realising that it never used to be there.

You didn't wait for him to ask, instead you grabbed his hand and pulled him backwards until you were both standing under the shower as the water poured down your bodies before his lips found yours and he kissed you again.

His hands traced over your bare back as he began to place a trail of kissed down your neck. 

Oh, you were so going to regret this in morning, but right now? You were going to have fun. 

Chapter Text

You woke up to empty bed and it took your brain longer than it should to figure out why an empty bed was a problem.

Then you remembered what happened last night.

Daryl.

You and Daryl... in the shower together... then in the bedroom together... Oh, God.

You sat up in bed in sudden shock, instantly regretting it as your head started to thump, causing you to groan as you dropped your head back down on the pillow.

Shit, you had hooked up with Daryl and he had already disappeared. It seemed like he had gotten out of bed a while ago because his side of the mattress was cold.

If he hated you before then he'd really hate you now.

"Breakfast is ready, Aunt Y/N!" Carl's voice shouted from the hallway as he knocked on the door to your room.

"Thanks, kiddo. I'll be there in a minute." You called back as you rubbed your face with your hands trying to wake yourself up.

The last thing you wanted was to sit and have breakfast with everyone. Daryl, would probably ignore you the entire time and act like nothing had happened.

You laid in bed for a few more minutes before you forced yourself to get up and changed back into your deputy uniform before you made your way down the hallway towards the kitchen.

You could hear soft chatter coming from the kitchen as you walked through the door. Most of the group all sitting around the table as T-Dog began serving up what looked to be eggs onto everyone's plate.

Daryl was again sitting on the bench with a plate of eggs while the others sat around the table eating. You glanced over at Daryl who looked up hearing someone walk in, but immediately looked back down at his plate when he realised it was you. 

"You look like shit." Shane muttered, already holding up a glass of orange juice towards you which you gladly took as you sat down on the chair beside him.

"Look better than him." You responded, pointing towards Glenn across the table who was holding his head in his hands and groaning causing you to grin.

Yep, his hangover was definitely the worst.

"Don't ever, ever, ever, let me drink again." Glenn mumbled, glancing over at you before dropping his head again.

The group of you to laugh as you drank your glass of orange juice and shook your head when T-Dog offered you some of the eggs. You were not hungry, not after the amount you had drank last night. You were shocked that you didn't look like Glenn right now.

"Morning." Dr Jenner's voice called.

The doctor walked into the room and the others all greeted him, but you were too dead to say anything as you leant back in your chair, ready to go back to bed again.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing, but we didn't come here for the eggs." Dale suddenly said and you mentally sighed.

Dale was right, you needed answered about this so called cure, that they were working on. But, right now all you wanted to do was watch the back of your eyelids.

"I think it's better if I show you." Jenner responded as he began to walk out the room and everyone else began to stand up and follow him causing you to groan as Shane grabbed your arm and pulled you up with a grin, clearly enjoying seeing you hungover.

You all followed Jenner into the main room where all the desks, computers and screens were. He bought up some kind of video of a human brain and explained what happened when someone got bit. If you were being honest you did not understand half the stuff her said. You were a cop not a scientist. But, you got the gist of it which was basically that Jenner had no idea what this disease was and that there was no cure.

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere. There are others, right? Other facilities?" Andrea suddenly questioned after Jenner turned off the large screen on the wall as you leant back against the desk behind you, trying to take in everything he had said.

There was no cure for this, this was the world now.

"There may be some people like me." Jenner answered, although he did not sound too confident about it.

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick asked. 

You glanced around the room, taking in how shocked and panicked everyone was. This was why you came here, you came here for answers, for a cure, but there was nothing here.

"Everything went down. Communications, directives all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month." 

"There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right? Jesus." Andrea responded, shaking her head in disbelief as you all stared at the doctor not knowing what to say before Daryl broke the silence.

"Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk, again." 

You looked over at him as he walked across the room and rested his elbows against one of desk, but your attention was quickly drawn away from your ex when you noticed a digital clock on the wall that was counting down.

What the hell was there to count down for?

"Hey, doc. That clock is counting down, what happens when it reaches zero? Fireworks?" You questioned, a hint of sarcasm in your tone, but your head was hurting too much for you to joke around as you looked over at the doctor who froze at your question.

"Umm the basement generators... they run out of fuel."

There was something off about his tone as he looked away from you, avoiding eye contact before he started to walk away.

"And then?" Rick questioned, seeming to pick up on the fact that something wasn't quite right, but Jenner didn't answer as he walked out the room, leaving the group of you standing there staring at the countdown on the wall in confusion.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" You quickly questioned, not taking your eyes off the clock, hoping that the AI would answer you.

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur." The computers voice answered.

Now you were even more confused, what the hell did that mean?

"Anyone know what the hell that means?" Your brother questioned, speaking up for the first time during all of this as he looked around at the group, but you just shrugged your shoulders.

Whatever it was, you had a bad feeling about it.

"We need to check out the basement generators, see what is going on." Rick announced and you nodded in agreement. "Shane, T-Dog, Glenn, let's go. The rest of you stay here."

"I'm coming with you-" You began to say before Shane cut you off.

"Nah, stay here with the others. If you find Jenner, drill him with questions to find out what the hell is going on, okay?" 

You sighed, but nodded in agreement. 

The group of them disappeared down the hallway in the direction of the staircase that lead down to the basement, leaving the rest of you in the main room as you glanced around at all the computers and desk, not sure what to do.

"Y/N, what's going to happen?" Lori suddenly asked.

You looked over at her, recognising the worry etched on her face and you knew she was scared, but trying not to show it in front of Carl.

"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out. Let's just go back to our rooms, wait for them to come back." You suggested and a few minutes later you disappeared out the room and into your own bedrooms.

You stood in the hallway, watching everyone go into their rooms, including Daryl who had been avoiding you since breakfast, but you were not in the mood to talk to him, nor do you really want to bring up what happened last night, so you were fine with him avoiding you.

A few minutes later, the lights above you flickered which wouldn't have really mattered, but a second later, the air conditioner cut off causing you to frown.

Yep, something was definitely going on.

"Anyone else's air stopped?" Carol's voice questioned as you looked down the hallway to find her walking out her bedroom with Sophia by her side as the others all began to walk out their rooms too asking about the air and lights before Jenner suddenly appeared out one of the doors.

"What the hell is happening, doc?" You questioned, your eyes trained on the doctor.

He just ignored you, walking down the hallway towards you as Daryl's bedroom door opened and he leant out into the hallway, glancing around at everyone.

"What's goin' on? Why is everythin' turned off?" He questioned as Jenner walked past him, snatching the bottle of whatever alcohol Daryl had managed to find, out the archers hand causing Daryl to frown as he quickly followed the doctor down the hallway.

"You going to answer me or what?" You questioned as Jenner walked straight past you, heading for the main room as the others all quickly followed.

"Energy use is being prioritized." He answered, not slowing down or turning to look at you as he continued walking down the hallway until you reached Zone 5 again just as the others all came running from the staircase and you knew whatever they found in the basement wasn't good.

"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick questioned, jogging towards the doctor.

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule." The doctor explained taking a sip from the bottle as he nodded towards the countdown on the wall.

"Put the damn drink down and start talking." You ordered, your inner cop voice coming out as crossed your arms over your chest and stared at him.

There was something he wasn't telling you and you had a very bad feeling about it.

"It was the French. They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were close to a solution." Jenner began to explain, handing the bottle back to Daryl as he looked around at the rest of you.

"What happened?" Jacqui asked.

"The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs of fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?"

"Let me tell you-" Shane began to growl, marching towards him before Rick quickly got in front of him.

"To hell with it, Shane. I don't even care. Lori, grab our things. Everybody get your stuff. We're getting out of here, now!" Rick shouted and nobody had to be told twice as everyone began to head back towards the hallway before alarm sirens began to ring and red lights began to flash from the roof.

Well, that's not good.

"What the hell is that?" Shane questioned.

"30 minutes to decontamination." The AI's suddenly announced.

You spared a glance towards Daryl who was already looking at you in slight panic. Yep, you were starting to panic too.

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go!" Your brother instructed and with that everyone began to rush towards the hallway door again as you glanced over at Jenner just as he reached one of the computers and you frowned, watching as he began to type something before all the doors suddenly came down, trapping you all inside the room.

"Did you just lock us in?" You questioned, anger rising in your voice as you watched the doctor sit down at the desk and lean back in his chair.

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl yelled as you glanced over your shoulder to find him running towards Jenner.

"Shane! Y/N!" Rick shouted.

You didn't even have to look at Rick to know what he was talking about as you and Shane quickly grabbed Daryl, stopping him from charging at the doctor as the archer thrashed in your grip.

"You let us out of here!" Daryl shouted, his fingers clenching around the bottle of alcohol he still had in his head as you and Shane managed to pull him away, before Daryl lashed out of your grip and spun around towards you.

"Don't fuckin' touch me." Daryl hissed.

You didn't loosen your grip on his arm and you glared back at him, trying to pretend that his words didn't hurt before he eventually stopped struggling, knowing it was pointless. You glanced over at Shane who was glaring at Daryl, before his eyes flashed over to you and you gave him a small nod before you both let go of the archer.

"Jenner, open that door, now. I won't ask again." You warned, turning your attention back to the doctor as you walked over to him.

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way."

"What is? What happens in 28 minutes? What happens in 28 minutes?!" Rick shouted.

It was strange seeing Rick lose his tempter, it was always you or Shane who'd lose your temper first, not Rick.

"Do you know what this place is?!" Jenner snapped and it seemed like everyone was losing their temper now as Jenner stood up from the chair, taking a step towards Rick.

Your hand instantly rested over your holster on your hip, not liking how close the unstable doctor was to Rick.

"We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!" He shouted, his eyes flashing over all of you as he took a deep breath and sat back down on his chair. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure, in a terrorist attack for example. H.I.T.'s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"Speak fucking English. What are H.I.T's?" You questioned trying to keep your anger under control, but Jenner was really starting to piss you off.

"VI, define." Jenner instructed.

"H.I.T.'s. High-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consists of a two-stage ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structure is desired."

This building was going to blow.

You glanced around at the others who had all clearly came to the same conclusion as Carol and Lori hugged their kids, the others all stood there shocked, tears threatening to spill from some of their eyes.

"No pain. An end to sorrow. Grief. Regret. Everything." Jenner said softly.

You could hear Carl crying into his mother in the background as you stared at the doctor in disbelief. He had trapped you inside a building that was counting down to explode. He trapped your friends and family inside a death trap. 

You were all screwed. 

Chapter Text

Before-

"Look here boys, we got a new chick in town!" A male voice called out the second you walked into the local bar.

You had only just gotten to town after the long drive from King County.

It was hard to leave your brother and Rick behind, but working in the undercover unit had been your ultimate dream and you couldn't pass up this opportunity, no matter how crappy this redneck town seemed.

You didn't have to start working until next week. But, you wanted to start to get to know the locals and try figure out who was associated with the Plungers gang. What better place to find gang members than the local bar?

Your eyes scanned the area taking in all the doors and exit points out of habit before you sat down at the far end of the bar with your back to the wall, watching everyone.

There was a group of teenagers playing darts at the far end of the bar who you didn't pay much attention to, they wouldn't be mixed up with the gang. You didn't really pay attention to the few people sitting at the various tables and booths, eating and talking.

However, what did catch your attention was the group of men all standing around, drinking and playing pool together.

You instantly recognised a few of their faces from the documents you had gotten from your new Sergeant. This group was definitely associated of Plunders gang, but you just had to figure out how close they were.

The bartender put down a glass of coke in front of you and you thanked her before she moved on, making more drinks for others. You sat at the bar for nearly 10 minutes, trying to ignore all the looks you were getting from the group by the pool table.

A small part of yourself was worried that they had somehow figured out that you were a cop, but realistically you knew that was impossible.

They were just staring at you because you were new and by the look of this shitty town, they didn't get many new visitors.

"Ya ain't from 'round here are ya?" A male voice suddenly questioned.

You looked to your left to find a man taking a seat beside you and you quickly realised he had come from the group by the pool table.

He didn't look like the rest though, he was younger the others and had short dirty blonde hair, but was wearing the same leather vest as the rest of them. But, you knew he had angle wings sewn onto the back of his from when you were watching them earlier while the others were just plain vests. Were the wings meant to mean something?

"That obvious?" You asked and the man just nodded, not bothering to respond with words causing you to chuckle as you took a sip of your drink.

The man didn't say anything after that as he ordered another bottle of beer and just sat there fiddling with his bottle.

You couldn't figure out why he had come and sat next to you, especially since he wasn't talking or trying to make a move on you. There were plenty of other seats along the bar that were free, why'd he pick the one right beside you?

You kept an eye on the mysterious man beside you out the corner of your eye as he sat there while you pulled out your phone and figured you should probably reply to your brothers text message that he had sent you over an hour ago.

Shane- 'u there yet? Rick wants to know if you've arrested any drug dealers?'

You- 'I doubt it was Rick who wants to know that and no I haven't. Technically I don't start work until next week.'

You put your phone down on the bar, taking another sip of your coke before your phone buzzed again.

Shane- 'That's boring.'

You 'Aren't u meant to be at work?'

Shane- 'Rick's been talking about his unborn baby for the last 5hrs! There's only so much I can handle hearing about baby expenses.'

You rolled your eyes at your phone before flicking over to Ricks number and sending him a quick text. You were so gonna get in the bad books with your brother, but it would be so worth it.

You to Rick- 'Shanes complaining about your baby talk.'

You sat there for a few minutes tapping your phone against your thigh just waiting for the response you'd get before your phone buzzed three times.

Shane- 'U seriously told Rick?!' 

Shane- 'I'm gonna kill u.'

Shane- 'Great, now he's complaining even more, thanks.'

You snorted reading his responses before tucking your phone away in your pocket leaving your brother to deal with Rick on his own. It had only been a week since Rick and Lori announced that they were going to have a baby and Rick had shut up about it since.

You were excited for them though, they'd make great parents. You just wished the timing was different. You had just landed your dream job in the undercover unit, but it meant moving away from home. Moving away from your brothers. It had always been the three of you growing up and even after saying goodbye to them this morning, you were already missing them.

You drank the last of your coke as you turned towards the mysterious man still sitting beside you, nursing his now empty bottle of beer in front of him.

"Why'd you sit next to me?"

There was no point bouncing around the topic because it had been nearly 10 minutes and he had barely said a word to you.

"Honestly? To get my brother off my ass." He muttered glancing over his shoulder towards the group by the pool table who were continuously glancing in your direction.

"He wanted you to sit next to me?" You asked curiously and the man shook his head.

"Wanted me to do more than sit next to ya, but figured by sitting here, it would get him to shut up for a bit."

You nodded, connecting the dots in your head, realising that his brother had probably wanted him to hook up with you for some unknown reason.

Why you?

It wasn't like you were the only woman in here, there were others and they were all definitely better looking than you. All of them in tight mini skirts while you were literally wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. Yep, real sexy.

"Can I get you two shots of whiskey?" You asked, looking over at the bartender. 

She nodded before grabbing the bottle and pouring out two glasses, placing them down in front of you. You gave her a smile before sliding one of the shots across the bar to the man beside you, catching him by surprise.

"Why?" He asked cautiously, eyeing the shot glass like it was going to explode.

"You want to get your brother off your back? Let's show him that we're having a great time together, that'll shut him up. Now drink." You declared, holding up your shot glass waiting for him to do the same as he stared at you like you were crazy.

"Why are ya helping me?" He asked and you just shrugged your shoulders.

Part of you was doing it because you needed a way into this group, to get on the inside and find out as much information as you could, but the other part... well, he was cute. He didn't seem like the rest of them and hell, this was the first time you've been to a bar without Rick or Shane hovering over you protectively and you wanted to have fun.

"Does it look like I have anything else to do?" You asked, raising your eyebrows at him, still holding your shot glass in the air. "So, what do you say?" 

"What the hell." He muttered to himself as he picked up his shot glass, tapping it against yours before you both drank them. "Can we get another round? Actually make it two." The man asked, looking over at the bartender who nodded before he turned his attention back towards you.

"What's your name?" You asked, just as the bartender put down another two shots in front of you.

"Daryl. You?" He asked as you both picked up another shot each and drank them.

"Y/N, nice to meet you." You replied, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand.

Neither of you said anything for a few seconds as you stared at the remaining two shot glasses in front of you before an idea suddenly hit you.

"Want to play a game?" You suddenly asked, catching Daryl's attention as he looked over at you curiously and shrugged his shoulders. "Truth or dare, but if you don't answer then you have to take a shot, sound good?"

"Alright. Truth or dare?" He asked, turning in his chair to face you properly.

"Truth." 

"What do ya do for a living?" He asked curiously, shocking you slightly that he was asking genuine questions to try and get to know you instead of the usual stupid sexual questions most people asked.

"I'm a photographer." You lied.

That was your allies, you were a photographer that worked for yourself. It wasn't a total lie though, you do enjoy photography, you had a pretty decent camera that Shane had bought you for your birthday a few years ago, so you were pretty confident you could pretend and pull it off.

"Truth or dare?" You asked, back.

"Truth."

"What's with the matching vests, you and your friends in a gang or something?" You asked and Daryl chuckled, shaking his head.

"Nah, ain't no gang 'n not really my friends. They're Merle's friends. My brother. He gave me this vest when I was a kid, only present I ever really got." 

You could tell that he was shocked with himself for telling you that and he quickly looked away from you, avoiding your eyes. The only present he ever really got? That made your heart break a little. Maybe he was from a poor family who couldn't afford gifts, this town seemed to have a lot of poor people.

The two of you continued to pick truth as you learnt a little things about each other. Like how he worked part time at the local mechanics garage or how he lived in the trailer park with his brother.

The more you got to know the man, the more you were starting to like him. He was honest, not afraid to say what he thought, but also seemed shy at the same time. He wasn't a huge talker, but as you drank more, he started to open up a little and within an hour, you had stopped playing the game and were now just sharing random stories to make the other laugh, like how he had gotten lost in the woods as a kid and wiped his ass with poison oak.

You had given up with the shots since neither of you had passed any of the questions and were now back to drinking beer, but you were really starting to feel the affects of the alcohol now and knew you should probably stop soon.

"Neither of us said dare." He commented randomly causing you to chuckle as you put your drink down.

"Okay, dare me to do something." You responded causing him to raise his eyebrows at you in surprise before he began to look around the bar.

"I dare ya to change the son on the jukebox to something they'll hate." He challenged, nodding towards his brother and his friends who were now sitting at the other end of the bar.

Oh, this was going to be good.

You didn't say anything in response as you pulled out a couple coins from your pocket and walked over to the jukebox.

You didn't know much about his brother or his friends, but they looked like they were the kind of people that were very homophobic and sexist... or you might be completely wrong and just stereotyping the group, but you had a good song in mind to test out your theory, so why not?

You scrolled through the albums before you came across 'I'm just a Girl' by No Doubt.

A grin spread across your face as you selected the son and turned to look at Daryl on the other side of the room. He had spun around on his chair and was now facing you watching you in amusement.

The second the song started, the group of men all groaned from seats causing you to laugh before the lyrics started and you turned the volume up and started singing the chorus out loud, dancing by yourself with a bottle of beer in your hands.

"Change the song." One of the men shouted, but just turned the volume up louder and you could see Daryl trying not to laugh from where he was sitting. "I said, change the fucking song!"

"There's no need to repeat yourself. I ignored you just fine the first time!" You shouted over the music.

The others in the group all laughed before you walked back over to Daryl, still dancing causing Daryl to chuckle.

"Good choice." He commented unable to hide the the enjoyment in his tone as you drank the last of your beer and placed the empty bottle on the bar.

"Truth or dare?" You asked above the loud music while you stood beside your bar stool as you stared at Daryl.

"Dare." 

"Kiss me." You challenged, shocking yourself that you had just said that because not once have you ever done something like this before.

You always stayed clear of men, relationships were too complicated, your brother was always in and out of relationships with random women, you didn't want that, you didn't have time for that, especially in your new job. But, right now as you stared into Daryl's ocean blue eyes, all you could think about was his lips on yours.

"What?" He questioned staring at you dumbly.

"You heard me." You answered in a confident tone which was definitely not you, but all this alcohol had clearly boosted your confidence because there was no way in hell you'd ever work up the courage to say that.

Daryl stared at you for a few seconds, clearly trying to figure out if you were being serious or not.

He seemed to realise that you were serious thought because he suddenly took a step towards you, his hand grabbing the back of your head before he pressed his lips to yours. It took your drunk brain a moment to realise that he was actually kissing you before you started to kiss him back. His free hand cupping the side of your face, kissing you deeply.

"Let's get outta here." Daryl whispered against your lips.

You didn't even say anything as you kissed him again before you both threw money on the bar for the drinks before he grabbed your hand. Ignoring the comments and whistles from Merle and his friends as you walked out the bar.

-

Now-

Between Shane and Daryl hitting the metal door with axes and you trying to pick the lock on another door to the left, you would've thought something would work.

But, you couldn't pick the lock and the guys weren't even making a dent to the door.

You were trapped.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner's voice suddenly called out and you spun around, ready to go off at him, but it seemed that Daryl had beaten you too it.

"Well, your head ain't!" He shouted, charging towards Jenner with his axe raised.

"Whoa! Daryl! Just back up! Back up!" Rick yelled as him, T-Dog and Dale pushed the archer back while you watched in amusement from where you were standing by the door.

"You do want this. Last night you said, you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead." Jenner responded, looking over at Rick causing you to frown.

Wait, what?

"You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane questioned, staring at Rick from as you walked over to the group.

"Well, Rick's not wrong. We're all going to die eventually right? Hell, how many times did the three of us nearly die on the job? But, the worlds changed and it won't be our career that will kills us, but we can just hope that it's not the walkers either." You said, glancing between Rick and Shane as your brother stared at you for a few seconds before he sighed, but nodded.

"There is no hope. There never was." Jenner argued.

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody, somewhere-" Rick began to say before Andrea cut him off.

"What part of 'everything is gone' do you not understand?" 

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event." The doctor explained, but you shook your head.

Like hell you were letting this take you down. You and Rick survived getting shot, you survived being in a coma when all of this started and you just found your family, you did not go through all of that, just for it to all end.

"Fuck this." You muttered, drawing your handgun.

You marched the remaining distance between you and Jenner, racking the slide and pressing the barrel of your gun to the side of his head. Not a second later, the sound of Shane's shotgun pumping filled the air and he appeared beside you, his gun aimed at the doctors head too.

"Shane! Y/N! No!" Rick shouted behind you somewhere, but neither of you listened to him.

"Open that door or we're gonna blow your head off! Do you hear me?" Shane shouted, pushing the barrel of his gun into the side of his head as you kept your gun pressed against the other side of his head, not wavering as you waited to see how this would play out.

"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this." Rick's voice said as he appeared between you and Shane, grabbing your brothers shoulder before he grabbed yours, but you kept your eyes focused on the doctor. "Y/N, please. Lower your guns or we will never get out of here.

"Shane, Y/N, you listen to him." Lori said from somewhere in the background.

"This is the only way." You responded sternly as you flicked the safety off your gun.

"He dies, we all die!" Rick shouted.

Shane growled as he moved the barrel away from the doctors face and began to fire rounds into the computers beside him, but you kept your gun to the doctors head as your brother let out his frustration.

"Shane! Shane!" Rick shouted and you glanced over your shoulder at them just as Rick managed to get the shotgun out your brothers hand and slammed the butt of the gun into Shanes stomach causing him to drop to the ground. "Are you done now? Are you done?"

"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane muttered, staring up at Rick from where he laid on the ground on his back before Rick handed the shotgun to T-Dog and turned back towards you.

"Y/N." Rick said gently, raising his hand towards you to try and get you to lower your gun, but there was no way you were going to do that.

This asshole had trapped you inside a death trap, but there had to be a way out, there had to be. 

Chapter Text

"I think you're lying." You suddenly said, looking back down at Jenner as he titled his head towards you in confusion. "You're lying about there being no hope. If that was true then you would've bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. Why?" 

"It doesn't matter." He answered, looking away from you.

"I swear to God, if you keep testing me like this you will end up with a bullet through your skull. Now answer the God damn question." You threatened, not in the mood for his shit anymore.

"I didn't stay because I wanted to. I made a promise to her. My wife." He answered, pointing towards one of the blank screens on the wall. 

"Test subject 19 was your wife?" Lori suddenly asked.

It took you a second to catch on before you realised what she was talking about.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me."

You weren't sure when you had lowered your gun or when Daryl had gone back to hitting the door with the axe, but your gun was now back in your holster as you stared at the doctor not expecting that backstory.

"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's all we want, a choice, a chance. Let us keep trying as long as we can." Rick said desperately.

"I told you topside is locked down. I can't open those." 

You watched as he scanned his ID card on some sort of devise and suddenly all the doors opened. 

Oh, thank God.

"Come on!" Daryl shouted from the now open door.

The others all began to shout and run towards the door with what bags they had with them.

"Everyone, let's go! We got four minutes left!" You yelled, watching as Jacqui let go of T-Dogs hand and began backing away from the door.

"No, no, I'm staying. I'm staying, sweetie." She explained and your eyes widened in shock.

"But, that's insane!" T-Dog responded.

"No, it's completely sane. For the first time in a long time. I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue and no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out."

Jacqui walked away as you stared at her in disbelief before Shane grabbed T-Dog and began to pull him away. But, as you were about to leave, you realised that Andrea hadn't moved from where she was sitting on the ground.

Oh, for fuck sake. She wasn't leaving either?

"Just go! Go!" Dale suddenly shouted, motioning for the rest of you to go.

You fought the urge to go over there and try talk them out of it. There was no time. You had to get your family to safety.

You all ran out the door and up the stairs to the ground floor, but like Jenner had said, everything topside was locked down.

Shane's shotgun and your handgun barely even scratched the glass when you took a few shots at it. Daryl's axe did absolutely nothing too before Carol pulled a grenade from her bag that she had taken from your uniform pants when she washed them back at the camp.

You had completely forgotten about the grenade that you took off the dead army man in the tank.

Wait, had Carol been carrying around a damn hand grenade this whole time?

You shook your head, now was not the time to ask.

Rick grabbed the grenade and the rest of you ducked out the way as he blew open the window. The glass shattered before the group of you climbed out, running towards the vehicles. 

"Y/N." Shane shouted, eyeing the walkers that were heading in your direction, drawn in from the grenade. 

"Got it."

You pulled your baton from the holster on your belt and flicked it out, extending the baton before slamming the metal end into the side of a walkers face before moving onto the next as you ran past them.

The sound of Ricks pistol and Shanes shotgun firing filled the air as they helped you take out the walkers while you all ran across the yard towards the vehicles. 

You glanced over at the others, making sure they were all getting inside their cars before your eyes locked with Daryl's.

Those crystal blue eyes were caught on your for a moment before he climbed into his truck and you jumped straight over the door to Shane's jeep, landing in the backseat as Shane did the same to the front and you both ducked.

"Stay down." Shane instructed.

Yep, you did not need to be told twice.

You covered your ears as the horn to the RV began to honk and you knew that was Rick warning everyone it was about to blow and not a second later the building exploded.

The shockwave from the explosion rocked the Jeep before sudden heat flew over you.

A few seconds later, it all stopped as you slowly lifted your head and your jaw dropped as you stared at the now pile of rubble that used to be the CDC. Smoke and fire was rising from the rubble. 

The CDC was nothing more than just a heap of debris. If you had just been a few minutes late... shit, that was close.

You glanced over at Shane, who was now sitting up in the front seat, staring at what was left of the CDC with the same expression before he pointed at something.

Following your brothers line of sight, you spotted Dale and Andrea standing up from behind a sandbag barrier, running towards the RV.

You sighed with relief before you climbed over the seats and sat down in the passenger seat.

"What now?" You asked, breaking the silence.

Shane glanced over at you and shrugged his shoulders before he started the Jeep and followed the others as you drove down the highway.

-

You drove for nearly an hour before everyone pulled up on the side of the road, by an old gas station.

You scavenged the building, but there was barely anything inside while Daryl and T-Dog siphoned gas out the abandon cars nearby, including the gas out of Shanes jeep, Daryl's truck and T-Dogs car.

Rick, Lori, Carl, Sophia and Carol crammed inside Carols car while the rest of you sat inside the RV, minus Daryl who was now riding on Merle's old motorcycle as you started the long journey to Fort Benning.

You only got a few hours in before Dale began to slow the RV down. The vehicle starting to make strange noises that clearly weren't normal before the vehicle came to a sudden stop all together.

"I said it. Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water." Dale muttered to himself as climbed out the RV and you followed.

"Problem, Dale?" Shane questioned, even though it was very obvious that there was a problem.

You had no idea what the problem was, other than it was coming from the bonnet where all the steam was coming from.

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of..." Dale began to explain before he trailed off and watched as Daryl began to go through the back of one of the broken down cars on the highway. "Okay, that was dumb." Dale corrected himself.

"If you cant find what you need amongst all these vehicles, then I don't know what to tell you." You responded looking over at the older man with a small grin and he nodded in agreement.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find. Siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." Daryl added. 

The group of you all split up, scavenging and finding anything useful. 

You ended up with Shane and Glenn, trying to help them find the right size radiator hose for Dale.

The three of you walked around the various cars before Glenn stopped at an old Ford pickup truck and popped the hood. You had no idea what a radiator hose even looked like, so you just handed him the screw driver and let him do whatever he needed to as you stood watch, making sure no walkers were stumbling out from the side of the woods.

"Sis. Were we short on water?" Shane suddenly questioned from somewhere behind you.

Frowning, you turned around to find him standing beside a delivery truck as he reached into the side of it and that's when you saw it. The jugs of water all stacked up inside.

Holy shit.

You watched as Shane popped the cap off one of the jugs, water pouring out as he lowered his head under it and opened his mouth.

"Save me some!" Glenn shouted unable to contain his excitement as he continued to unscrew the radiator hose while watching your brother basically drenching himself in water.

"It's like being baptized, guys." Shane chuckled and you rolled your eyes at him, but continued to laugh.

Suddenly, you caught movement out the corner of your eye.

Quickly, you turned around and your eyes widened when you spotted a large herd of walkers heading your way.

Shit.

Without saying anything you quickly grabbed Glenn's arm and began to pull him towards the truck where Shane was.

You grabbed your brothers arm and began to push them both under the truck, but before either of them could ask what was happening, they must have saw the herd as their eyes widened and they quickly crawled under the vehicle and you did the same.

"Shh." You hushed as you squished in beside Shane.

The three of you laid on your stomach under the truck as you quietly pulled your gun from your holster and held it in front of you, but you knew if you fired just one shot, it would be the end.

You watched as the walkers began to walk past.

Their feet staggering past you as you watched from the under the car, your free hand was holding your brothers who squeezed it tightly for comfort as you stared at all the legs. You were shocked the walkers couldn't hear your heart because it was beating out of your chest as you held you breath, scared that they'd somehow be able to hear it.

But, as quickly as it all started, the last walker staggered past.

For a moment, you thought it was all over, but then the sound of Sophia screaming filled the air and your stomach dropped.

Shane tried to pull you back, but you managed to let go of his hand as rolled out from under the truck and sprinted in the direction of her screams.

You just got there in time to see Rick vanish down into the woods as Lori grabbed Carol to stop her from running after them.

"There's two walkers after my baby." Carol cried. 

Oh, no. 

Chapter Text

When Rick came back, you, Shane, Daryl and Glenn joined him in searching for Sophia.

He showed you where he had left her and just like you thought he would, Daryl managed to pick up her trail as you all began to follow him as he tracked her footsteps.

It was almost like you were back in his small country town, trekking through the woods with him while he tracked a deer. All the times he had tried to teach you how to track, the times he had taught you how to shoot his crossbow, all the times the two of you ended up making out in the abandon cabin that the Dixons basically owned since nobody else used it.

"What is it?" You asked, looking at Daryl who had stopped walking.

He was staring down at the ground with a blank look on his face. But, you could read Daryl like a book, something wasn't right.

"She was doing just fine till right here. Was headin' back to the road, but veered off that way." Daryl answered, pointing off to the right causing you to frown.

Why would she change direction like that?

"Maybe she saw something that spooked her, made her run off." Shane suggested as he crouched down beside Daryl who was staring at the tracks on the forest floor.

"A walker?" Glenn asked, fear evident in his tone.

"I don't see any other footprints. Just hers." Daryl answered, which didn't really make you feel any better.

You had to find her, she was just a little girl.

"So what do we do? All of us press on?" Shane asked, looking over at Rick who shook his head.

"No, better if you and Glenn get back up to the highway. People are gonna start panicking. Let them know we're on her trail doing everything we can But, most of all, keep everybody calm." Rick instructed and Shane nodded in agreement, throwing his shotgun over his shoulder.

"I'll keep them busy scavenging cars. Think up a few other chores. I'll keep them occupied. Be safe." Your brother replied, glancing between you and Rick.

You nodded before him and Glenn began to make their way back to the highway. Daryl stood up and began to follow Sophia's tracks while you and Rick trailed behind quietly, not wanting to get in the way.

The three of you silently walked through the forest. Your footsteps were as light as a feather, but Rick was making a lot of noise while he walked and you were shocked Daryl hadn't said anything about it before the sound of leaves ruffling caught your attention. You all quickly dropped to a crouch, your hand hovering over your gun holster when you spotted a walker in the distance.

"It's a walker." You whispered and not a second alter Daryl put an arrow through it's skull and it dropped to the ground.

You rushed over to the walker and sighed with relief when you realised that it was the size of an adult and not a child.

It wasn't Sophia. She was still out here somewhere, unless this walker got to her first.

Without thinking twice, you knelt down beside the walker and grabbed it's rotten hand. You began to look under it's fingernails which was harder than you thought it would be with it's rotten flesh as you tried to find any pieces of skin under the nails, indicating that it struggled with someone.

"What are ya lookin' for?" Daryl asked from somewhere behind you.

"Skin under the fingernails." Rick answered before you opened the walkers mouth cautiously as Rick crouched down beside you staring as you stared at it's teeth. "It fed recently. There's flesh caught in it's teeth." 

"Yeah, what kind of flesh?" Daryl questioned and you just shrugged your shoulders. "Only one way to find out."

With that Rick began to pull out his knife before Daryl knelt down on the other side of the walkers body and pulled out his hunting knife.

"I'll do it. How many kills ya skin 'n gut in your life? Anyway, mine is sharper." Daryl muttered and not a moment later he plunged his knife into the walkers stomach.

You stood up and took a step back. The smell of walkers was disgusting, let alone actually cutting one open. That was something you did not want to see and you were more than happy to let the guys do it while you kept watched. 

"It had a big meal not long ago. I feel it in there." Daryl commented a few moments later.

You shook your head as your eyes scanned your surroundings, hoping to spot Sophia somewhere out there while you listened to Daryl cut open the walker behind you.

"This gross bastard had himself a woodchuck for lunch." You heard Daryl say as you turned back around to find the skull of a woodchuck stuck to the end of his knife.

"At least we know." Rick responded. 

Daryl nodded, flicking the skull off his knife before standing up as he looked around before he found Sophia's tracks and the three of you began to follow it again.

The sun was starting to set before Daryl came to an abrupt stop. You nearly walked straight into the back of him as he turned towards you and Rick and the second you saw the look on his face, you knew you were screwed.

"Her trail went cold." Daryl stated, shaking his head in frustration.

"It's getting dark, we can't be out here after dark, it's too dangerous. We should head back, regroup and come back out in the morning." Rick suggested and Daryl nodded in agreement, but you shook your head.

Like hell you were leaving a little girl out in the woods alone. Woods that were filled with things trying to kill her. No, you couldn't just stop looking.

"No. We can't just give up." You responded, staring at Rick like he had lost his mind.

"Ain't no point wanderin' around the woods in the dark." Daryl stated as your head snap around to him in disbelief.

Great, now he was siding with Rick too.

"She's just a kid!" You snapped, glaring at Daryl who just glared back at you.

"Y/N, you know we're right. We'd just end up getting lost too and then we're no good to Sophia." Rick tried to reason and you sighed, hating the fact that he was right.

You reluctantly followed the two of them back to the highway and Carol handled it about as well as you thought she would. But, there wasn't anything you could do about it other than promise to start searching at first light tomorrow.

-

The following morning, the group of you trekked through the woods. Rick and Daryl out the front, trying to find her tracks while you and Shane guarded the rear, making sure nobody got left behind.

The only thing you managed to find all day was a church since you could literally hear it's bells from a mile away. However. there was no sign of Sophia anywhere near the church, just a few walkers inside that you took care of easily.

When the sun started to get lower in the sky, you knew it was time to call it quits for another night, but none of you were ready to stop looking.

None of you liked the idea of Sophia being out there alone for another night, but you knew the risks of the group wandering through the woods in the dark, you'd lose more people and you couldn't risk that.

You glanced over at Rick and Shane who were standing by the door to the church talking quietly together, making a plan.

"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back, okay? My sister is in charge. Me and Rick, we're gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough." Shane announced causing you to frown.

You did not like the idea of splitting up with them. What if they came across a herd? What if something happened?

"You're splittin' us up? Ya sure?" Daryl questioned, beating you too it as you glanced over your shoulder towards him before turning back to your brother as Rick reached his side.

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you." Shane answered, but you still didn't like the idea.

"I want to stay too. I'm her friend." Carl spoke up from beside you.

You smiled softly at him before glancing over at Lori wondering if she would let him or not. He'd be safe with his dad and Shane watching his back.

"Just be careful, okay?" Lori responded as she pulled Carl into a hug.

He quickly nodded and hugged her before he walked over to you and wrapped his arms around your body.

"When did you start growing up, little man?" You asked, hugging him tightly causing Carl to chuckle before you glanced over at your brother as he walked over to you.

"Be safe, okay? I'm not losing you again. I can't lose you again." You stated as Shane pulled you into a tight hug and kissed the top of your head.

"Never going to happen. Be safe too, alright?"

You nodded as you pulled away from him to find Rick trying to hand Lori his Colt Python, but she refused.

"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed." She said shaking her head as he held it out towards her.

"I got her covered. Don't worry." You called out, your hand resting over your holster as Rick looked over at you with a grateful nod before he kissed Lori and walked over to you and pulling you into a quick hug. "I'll keep them safe, just look after my brother." You whispered and Rick nodded as he let you go.

"What else do you think I've been doing for the past 20 plus years?" He asked with a chuckle causing you to roll your eyes with a laugh before you turned around and began following the others back into the woods in the direction of the highway.

-

Before-

You woke up with a killer of a headache as you groaned sitting yourself up in bed. You looked to your left to check your alarm clock, but you frowned when it wasn't there.

Quickly, you looked around the room and noticed that you weren't in your bedroom and realised that you were literally naked under the blanket.

You pulled the sheets up, covering your body before the events from the last night came back to you.

The bar. Daryl. Truth or dare. The kiss. He took you back to his trailer. Holy shit, all of that actually happened.

You glanced around his room, taking in how neat it was.

There was a packet of cigarettes on his bedside table along with what looked to be a hunting knife lying beside it. For a moment, you started to get worried because what normal person had a hunting knife in their room? But, then you spotted a camo painted crossbow leaning against the wall beside the bed and it all started to make sense.

He was a hunter. 

"How ya feelin'?" Daryl's distinct southern voice questioned.

You looked to your left just as he walked into the room with a bottle of water and painkillers in his hand.

"Like I was hit by a truck." You muttered, taking the water and tablets from him in an instant and swallowed them.

"Mmm, know the feelin'." He replied, rubbing his face with his hands, clearly hungover too causing you to chuckle, but you instantly regretted it when it made your headache a thousand times worse.

"Any idea where my clothes went?" You asked sheepishly causing Daryl's cheeks to blush slightly before he pointed towards the ground beside the bed.

"I'll leave ya to get changed." 

He was out the bedroom before you could say anything. The door closed behind him before you climbed out the bed and began to change back into your clothes.

Once you were done you walked out his bedroom, spotting him leaning against the back of the couch in the main part of the trailer.

"Well shit baby brother, ya really did take the girl home. Guess I lost that bet." 

You turned around to find Merle Dixon walking out another bedroom, staring at you with a shit eating grin.

A bet? What the hell is he talking about?

"Ya put a fuckin' bet on me 'n Y/N?" Daryl questioned in disbelief. 

"Yeah, 'n I lost 20 bucks 'cause ya finally decided to be a man and get some pussy." Merle responded with a chuckle causing you to glare at his brother.

You were used to hearing stupid comments like that all the time. The amount of times you heard sexist comments during your shift on city patrols back in King County by drunk and even sober men was just to many to count.

"Whatever. C'mon Y/N." Daryl muttered, nodding towards the front door and you followed him out the door as he slammed it shut being you.

You looked around the area, taking in the sun starting to rise along the horizon. You were shocked that you were actually up this early since you were almost certain you didn't leave the bar until after two in the morning.

You spotted a ford pickup truck parked beside the trailer along with a Triumph motorcycle before you bought your attention back to Daryl who was looking at you guiltily.

"Sorry 'bout my brother-" 

"Don't worry about it. I should probably get going. I left my number in your room, do what you want with it." You said, catching him off guard slightly causing you to smile before you started to walk off.

"Wait, do ya want a lift home?" He asked, but you shook your head with a small smile.

"I like to walk. I will see you around, Daryl." You called out over your shoulder before you started to walk off in the direction you thought your house was.

You had barely been in town for a day and you were still hungover, so finding your house was probably going to be fun.

-

Present-

You trekked back through the woods for nearly an hour, Daryl leading the group back the same way you came while you stuck to the back of the group, making sure everyone kept up and also to be as far away from Daryl as possible.

"So this it? This the whole plan?" Carol suddenly questioned, breaking the silence.

She stopped walking and sat down on a fallen log causing everyone else to stop walking too as you looked over at her.

"I guess the plan is to whittle us down to smaller 'n smaller groups." Daryl muttered.

"Yeah, and carrying knives and pointy sticks. I see you have a gun. Why do you get to keep yours and I don't?" Andrea questioned, looking over at you as her eyes glanced down to your handgun in your holster causing you to roll your eyes.

"You ever had proper training? You ever even pulled the trigger on your gun? You ever killed somebody with it?" You snapped, glaring at her as you waited for her to respond, but she just lowered her head. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Have you ever killed someone with your gun?" Glenn suddenly questioned, speaking up for the first time.

He looked over at you with an uneasy expression, clearly aware of how bad that question was, but it was too late to take it back and you sighed.

"Once in the line of duty. It was either that or let Rick and Shane die." You answered, shrugging your shoulders as you thought back to that day.

You glanced over at Lori who gave you a sympathetic look, remembering that day and those days afterwards that followed, but you shook your head.

No, you didn't need to be reminded of those memories, you had bigger things to think about.

"Let's go, it'll be dark soon." You said a few seconds later, turning and walking off. 

You could feel Daryl watching you, but you didn't want to see the expression on his face as you walked past him and began leading the way back to camp.

You were barely walked for 10 minutes before Andrea suddenly screamed. You instantly drew your gun and spun around spotting a walker trying to grab her.

Without hesitation you quickly raised your gun, but before you even had a chance to squeeze the trigger, a woman a horse came out of nowhere and slammed a baseball bat into the walkers head, killing it instantly.

You lowered your gun, but kept it by your side as you eyed the stranger cautiously. 

"Lori? Lori Grimes?" The woman questioned.

How the hell did she know Lori's name?

"I'm Lori." Lori quickly responded.

She began to walk towards the stranger on the horse, but you quickly grabbed her arm with your free one, stopping her. She glanced over at you and you shook your head before looking back at the stranger.

"Who are you?" You questioned, your hand tightening around your gun.

The stranger glanced over at you, her eyes flashing over your deputy uniform before she focused back on Lori.

"There's no time. Rick sent me. Lori, you've got to come now. There's been an accident. Carl's been shot. He's alive, but you gotta come now. Rick needs you, just come." 

Your eyes widened as you tried to process what she had just said. Carl had been shot?

No, that wasn't possible, not Carl. How? When? By who? Were Rick and Shane okay? Where are they? You had so many questions, but you couldn't get yourself to speak as you stood there in pure shock.

Lori somehow processed everything quicker than you as she pulled her backpack off, dropping it to the ground and began to walk towards the stranger on the horse. You knew you should stop her. This woman was still a stranger, but you just couldn't get yourself to move.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We don't know this girl! Ya can't get on that horse." Daryl suddenly shouted as she climbed onto the back of the horse.

"You must be Y/N? The other mans sister? He said that you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?" The stranger questioned looking at you and you nodded ever so slightly.

"Backtrack to Fairburn Road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox. Name's Greene." The woman explained, pulling the reins on her horse.

You didn't get a chance to say anything before she took off through the woods with Lori sitting behind her.

"Carl was shot?" Carol questioned a few seconds later.

You just stared in the distance where they had disappeared and you just shook your head, holstering your gun as you rubbed your face with shaky hands.

"What do we do?" Andrea asked, her eyes flashing over everyone and you just shook your head.

This couldn't be happening. Not little Carl.

"Son of a bitch!" You shouted, turning away from the group as you slammed your fist into the nearest tree in frustration.

Your knuckles hit the bark of the trunk, pain exploding through your fist. You didn't really care as you lowered your hand, glancing at your now bloodied knuckles before you ran your shaky fingers through your hair, trying to calm yourself down, but it wasn't working.

"Y/N." Carol's voice called out, but you just shook your head, your back still facing the group.

You took a couple deep breaths and forced the tears threatening to spill from your eyes to go away. You were not breaking down in front of them, you were not breaking down in front of Daryl. Shane had left you in charge, that's what you needed to do.

"Let's go. Dale will be wondering where we are." You instructed, glancing over at the group, catching Daryl's eye.

He looked over at you and if you weren't mistaken he almost seemed concerned about you before he averted his eyes as the group of you continued walking back to the highway. 

Chapter Text

It was dark by the time you got back to the RV.

The others explained to Dale and T-Dog what happened while you went into the RV, grabbing the first aid kit and wrapped your bloodied knuckles with a bandage.

Once they were taken care of, you stood guard on top of the RV with Dale's scoped rifle in your hands, avoiding the group.

You did not feel like explaining what happened, you didn't even want to think about what happened. Hell, for all you knew Carl could be dead, Rick and Shane could be dead and there was nothing you could do about it.

"Well what are we waiting for? We got the address of this farm, let's go." Dale suddenly declared, catching your attention as you walked across the roof of the RV, looking down at the group talking below.

"I won't do it. We can't just leave." Carol argued looking back and forth between everyone. "What if she comes back and we're not here? It could happen."

"If Sophia found her way back and we were gone, that would be awful." Andrea replied and for once you actually agreed with her.

You couldn't leave Sophia out there alone, you had to keep looking. You could keep looking, you could try help her, but you couldn't help Carl. There was nothing you could do to fix a bullet wound, but you could look for Sophia, you could still be useful.

"You guys go to this farm, I'll stay here." You announced, causing the group to all turn around and look up at you from where you were standing on the roof of the RV.

"Ya ain't stayin' by yourself. I say tomorrow mornin' is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig up a big sign, leave her some supplies. We'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV." Daryl suggested, looking up at you with an unreadable expression and you nodded slightly, knowing there was no point in trying to argue.

"If the RV is staying, I am too." Dale responded.

"I'm in." Andrea spoke up as Glenn stepped forward.

"Well, if you're all staying then I'm-" He began to say before Dale cut him off.

"Not you, Glenn. You're going. Take Carol's Cherokee. You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on, but most important, you have to get T-Dog there. This is not an option, that cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection. Get him to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics." Dale began to explain pointing towards T-Dog.

The man was sitting inside one of the other cars on the highway with a blanket wrapped him, he didn't look too good.

But, your attention was quickly pulled away form T-Dog when you noticed Daryl walk away from the group as he knelt down beside Merle's old motorcycle and pulled something out the saddle bag.

"Keep your oily rags off my brothers motorcycle." Daryl muttered, throwing a rag to Dale as he began to walk over to the car T-Dog was in before he dropped a plastic bag on the hood of the car and that's when you realised what it was.

Drugs. Of course it was.

"Why'd you wait till now to say anything? Got my brother's stash. Crystal, X- Don't need that. Got some kick ass painkillers. Doxycycline. Not the generic stuff neither, it's first class. Merle got the clap on occasion." Daryl explained as he dug through the bag.

He tossed one of the orange bottles to Dale as he glanced up at you and you just shook your head in disbelief.

Merle was still doing shit with drugs, even after what happened all those years ago? You shouldn't be surprised, but still you thought he would've quit everything after what went down.

"Wow." You said, not meaning to actually say it out loud, but you couldn't help yourself.

"Ya gonna fuckin' arrest me for it?" Daryl snapped, glaring at you.

You just glared right back before turning and sitting on the foldout chair in the middle of the RV, resting the rifle over your lap. You were not in the mood to argue with Daryl, not after what you just found out about Carl and you knew you'd snap and say something you might regret if you spoke to him now.

Everyone eventually turned in for the night after Glenn and T-Dog drove to the farm, well everyone was asleep except for Carol, you could hear her quietly sobbing inside the RV, but there was nothing you could do to make things better for her.

Suddenly, the sound of someone climbing the ladder to the RV caught your attention and you glanced to the right just as Dale climbed up with a torch in his hand.

"You need sleep to. Go." He whispered, nodding over his shoulder towards the ladder.

But, you knew you wouldn't be able to sleep, so there was no point.

"Nah, I'm gonna head back out. Try search the area for Sophia again. Can I borrow your torch?" You asked quietly, not wanting to wake the others.

Dale nodded, although seemed a bit sceptical about you wandering alone out in the woods. But, didn't say anything as he handed you the torch and you gave him his rifle back before you made your way down the ladder.

You double checked that your handgun was in your holster along with your baton. The last thing you needed was to come across some walkers and not have anything to defend yourself with.

The others all had knives to kill the walkers, but your baton seemed to do the same job at smashing their heads and it was longer than a knife which meant you didn't have to get as close to the walkers which was good.

You turned the torch on and began to head towards the woods, your hand resting over your gun holster out of habit as you began to weave your way through the dense trees and forest floor. You had only been walking for a few minutes before you heard a twig snap from behind you.

Without hesitation, you spun around, drawing your handgun only to find Daryl walking towards you with his crossbow slung over his shoulder, but the second he saw your gun he froze and glared at you.

"Why are you following me?" You questioned in annoyed tone, holstering your gun as you continued walking.

"Ya ain't walkin' these woods alone."

Why the hell not? You used to be a cop, you used to walk the streets and search abandon buildings by yourself in the middle of the night, you could handle yourself just fine.

"Why do you care?" You asked, keeping your eyes to the front as you walked.

"I don't." Daryl muttered and you just shook your head.

The two of you continued to walk in dead silence as you lead the way, Daryl trailing a few steps behind.

You weren't entirely sure how much time had past as you walked in silence before Daryl started talking.

"Why didn't ya go to the farm where ya family is?"

"I can't do anything there. But, here... at least here I can look for Sophia. But, I can't do anything to help Carl, there is literally nothing I can and I-I need to do something even if it's looking for a little girl who's probably already gone." You answered truthfully.

You continued walking before you realised that you couldn't hear Daryl's footsteps anymore and glanced over your shoulder to find him no longer walking, just standing still and staring at you.

"Already gone? We just started looking for her." He said, staring at you with unreadable expression.

"After the first 24 hours of searching for a missing person, you're searching for their body, not them alive and breathing. That was before all of this, that was before the dead starting walking around. And Carl... there's no doctors anymore. When someone got shot they'd go to the hospital, there's no hospitals, there's no surgeons, there's nothing! What kind of chance does he have after being shot? What kind of chance does Sophia lost out here?"

"It ain't the mountains of Tibet. It's Georgia. She could be holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost and they survive. It happens all the time." Daryl said with a shrug.

"Not in my line of work. Plus, she's only like 12." You responded, looking away from Daryl.

"Hell, I was younger than her and I got lost. Nine days in the woods eating berries, wiping my ass with poison oak."

That caught your attention as you looked back over him. Surprised Daryl was talking about his past. Even when the two of you were together, he rarely spoke of his childhood. It was hard to get him to open up to you, so you were shocked that he was doing it now after everything that happened between the two of you.

"Who found you?" You asked curiously.

His father sure as hell wouldn't have went looking for him and if Daryl was younger than 12, then Merle was probably in his late teens and God knows what he was doing back in those years.

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doing another stint in juvie. Didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back thought. Went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear. Except my ass itched something awful."

You couldn't stop the small chuckle that escaped your lips at the last part as you looked over at Daryl. You could've sworn that the corners of his lips twitch up in a slight as he looked at you, but it was gone in seconds.

"God, I hated your dad." You responded, shaking your head as you thought back to the few times you had bumped into Will Dixon when you first moved to town.

-

Then-

It had been nearly two weeks since you had hooked up with Daryl and he still hadn't called you.

After the first week, you had given up hoping he would call and started to focus on your new job.

Your new Sergeant was really nice and had appointed you as the leader of this new unit, which was a shock since you had never done this undercover stuff before, but you were thrilled about it. However, two of the other cops weren't too happy about it. Mike and Jason. They had been working undercover for nearly a year now, but the Sergeant chose you over them which was both good and bad for you because now those two cops hated you, but you figured they would get over it eventually.

You were walking down the main street, past the various stores trying to learn where everything was in this town. But, as you crossed the road, you spotted the familiar angel wings of Daryl's vest in front of you as he held a six pack of beer in his hands.

"Hey stranger." You called out.

Daryl suddenly stopped, turning around in and his expression quickly turned to guilt when he saw you.

"I was gonna call ya, but..." Daryl trailed off unable to finish his sentence as he looked down at the ground and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"But what?"

"Wasn't sure if ya actually wanted to meet up again, figured ya were just being nice. Nobody wants to get involved with a Dixon." He mumbled, lifting his head slightly to look at you as you shook your head.

"I left you my number for a reason. You're different than most guys, I like that." You admitted as Daryl stared at you like you were speaking a foreign language. "Plus, you're sort of the only person in town that I know, kinda makes you my only friend."

Daryl chuckled shaking his head before he looked back over at you.

"That what we are? Friends?" He asked and you couldn't figure out what he meant by that as you shrugged your shoulders.

"We could be more than friends, but that's up for you to decide. I'll see you around, Dixon." You replied before you began to walk the other way.

"Wait. Why's it up to me to decide?"

You stopped and turned back towards him. "You're the one with my number. I don't have yours. Call me when you decide."

Daryl nodded before you turned around and began walking back to your house, but only managed to walk a few metres before your phone started to ring. Pulling it out your pocket, you looked down and frowned at the unrecognisable number.

"Hello, Y/N speaking." You answered, holding the phone to your ear.

"I've decided."

You couldn't stop the smile spreading across your lips, recognising that southern drawl anywhere. Slowly, you turned around to find Daryl standing where he had been moments earlier with his phone to his ear.

"What did you decide?" You asked through the phone, walking back towards him.

"Wanna come back to mine tonight? My brother's away for the next few days, so he won't be there to bother us either." He suggested causing the smile on your face to get even bigger, but just as you were about to respond Daryl's entire body suddenly tensed up as he stared at something behind you.

"'Bout time I ran into one of ya boys. Ya got my fuckin' money?" A male voice shouted from behind you.

You turned around to find an older man walking towards the two of you. His voice was slightly slurred and you had been around enough drunk people to know the signs and this was definitely one of them. But, you had never seen this old guy in your life, but he clearly knew Daryl.

"Don't owe ya any money. Let's go Y/N." Daryl responded, his voice stern.

You glanced back at him, but his attention was purely focused on the older man and you simply nodded.

Whatever was going on between them was absolutely none of your business and you were really starting to get bad vibes from this stranger.

"Bullshit. That motorcycle Merle stole when the two of ya moved out belonged to me. So, where the fuck is my money?"

Anger was rising in his voice as he took a step towards the two of you. Daryl instantly grabbed your arm, pulling you back behind him, away from the other man.

"Bike didn't even work 'til Merle 'n I fixed it. Ya want ya fuckin' money, get it from Merle." Daryl responded, his hand tightening around your arm slightly before he turned around, pulling you with him as you started to walk off.

"Don't forget what happened last time you 'n brother tried to screw me. I'll give ya more than just a beatin', son. Ya better give me that money or ya gonna regret it." The man threatened causing you to frown.

Son? Was this man Daryl's father?

"Ya ain't gonna do shit 'cause you're just a scared old man who's too afraid to go back to prison. Now, we're leaving." Daryl stated, glaring at his father.

You watched cautiously know that men like this were unpredictable, but to your relief his father just muttered something under his breath before he turned around and staggered off in the direction of the bar.

"Well, your dad seems lovely." You commented, breaking the silence once the older man disappeared behind a building as you turned towards Daryl realising his body was still tense as he stared at where his father last was. "Hey, you okay?"

You grabbed Daryl's shoulder to get his attention causing him to vividly flinch at your touch and you quickly let go.

"Sorry. Shit, sorry." He quickly apologised, shaking his head at himself as he turned to look at you for the first time and you frowned in confusion.

"There's nothing to apologise for and by the way, no offence, but your father is a piece of shit." You responded which got him to chuckle softly and you called that a win as you grabbed his hand and laced his fingers with yours. "How about we go back to your house and open up those beers?"

You nodded down at the six pack of beer still in Daryl's hand and he nodded. The tension easing from his shoulders as he squeezed your hand, giving you a small smile.

Chapter Text

The following morning, you all packed up and began making your way to the Greene farm.

You left a large sign for Sophia along with a bunch of supplies for her in case she managed to come back. Carol still didn't want to leave, but you promised her that you'd come back every day to check.

It was only a short drive before a large double story farmhouse appeared in the distance.

You took in all the wire fences surrounding the property and paddocks in the area and although it wouldn't be enough to hold back a large herd of walkers, it would definitely do the trick to keep out any walkers that happen to stumble this way.

You stood behind Dale as he pulled the RV up in front of the farm house and you couldn't stop the smile spreading across your face when you spotted Shane standing beside Glenn out the front of the house.

But, your smile instantly disappeared when you realised he was limping and you frowned taking in his shaved hair and the oversized denim overalls that he was wearing.

Never in your lift had you seen your brother wear something like that. What happened to his clothes and why was he limping? What happened?

Before Dale even parked the RV, you opened the side door and jumped out, ignoring him shouting at you to wait, but he was going slow and you landed on your feet, so it was fine.

The second your feet hit the ground, you looked up as Daryl climbed off the motorcycle before your eyes landed on your brother who was already staring at you and you didn't waste anytime as you ran over to him while he limped towards you and you wrapped him up into a tight hug.

"Is Carl okay? Why are you limping? Are you okay? Is Rick okay? What happened?" You frantically questioned. 

Shane wrapped his arms around your back and held you tightly, but he didn't answer straight away. He didn't really say anything as he hugged you and you could feel his body shaking slightly and you knew whatever had happened, it was bad.

"Hey." You said gently as you slowly pulled away, keeping your hands on his shoulders as you stared at your brother who just lowered his head.

"Carl is gonna be okay. Rick and Lori are inside with him, they're fine. I just rolled my ankle, it's nothing."

There was something off about his voice and the fact that he was avoiding eye contact was a big indicator that there was more to the story, but you knew your brother well enough to know not the push the topic. He would tell you when he was ready. He was okay, Carl and Rick were okay. That was the main thing.

"How is he?" Dale's voice suddenly questioned.

You looked away from your brother just as Rick and Lori walked down the steps to the front of the house, followed by an older man and three women. You instantly recognised the brunette as the stranger on the horse, but you didn't recognise the older woman or the young blonde girl.

"He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people. And Shane. We'd have lost Carl if not for him." Rick answered before his eyes landed on you and he rushed forward, pulling you into a hug.

"Thank God. How'd it happen?" You asked a few seconds later as you pulled away from him.

"Hunting accident. That's all, just a stupid accident."

Lori then began to introduce everyone to the Greene family while Rick explained what had happened, including how Shane and a man named Otis went to a school to retrieve lifesaving equipment for Carl, but Otis didn't make it out.

An hour later, the group of you were all gathered under a large tree, standing around Otis' grave while Hershel spoke.

You felt bad for the Greene family, they had helped Carl and then they lost one of their own. Although, if it wasn't for Otis then Carl wouldn't have needed their help in the first place, but you weren't about to go into that, the man was dead.

"Blessed be God, father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character. Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, out most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in grace." Hershel read from the bible he was holding as he stared at Otis' grave while you stood between Rick and Shane listening to the older man.

"Shane will you speak for Otis?" Hershel suddenly questioned a few moments later and you didn't miss the way your brothers body tensed from beside you as he shook his head.

"I'm not good at it. I'm sorry." .

"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." Patricia begged from beside Hershel as she stared at him through teary eyes.

"Okay." You brother sighed.

He took a deep breath and you glanced over at him noticing tears starting to rise in his eyes. You instantly reached for his hand, lacing your fingers with his and squeezing it gently for support as he glanced over at you and you gave him a small encouraging nod before he looked over at the Greene family.

"We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping, it was bad. Ankle all swollen up. 'We've got to save the boy.' See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack, he shoved me ahead. 'Run. I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.' He said and when I looked back... if not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive and that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his." Shane explained, his voice breaking a few times as he held your hand tightly and Patricia nodded through her tears, grateful that Shane had told her as the family began to place more stones over his grave.

Maggie and Beth shared a few stories about Otis from when they were little before your group wandered back to the house, wanting to give the Greene family some privacy and time alone.

Rick and the others began to set up camp amongst a clutter of trees out the front of the farmhouse where Hershel had apparently given them permission to stay while Carl was resting inside.

Dale parked the RV on the edge of the trees for a lookout point while the others all started to set up tents and make camp, but you noticed Shane had slipped away from the group without saying anything, everyone too busy setting up to notice, but you noticed.

You silently followed your brother, curious to see where he was going, but you found him sitting behind the farmhouse with his knees to his chest. Even from a distance you could see the way his shoulders were shaking and you knew your brother was crying. Shit.

You had only seen your brother cry a few times and it scared the shit out of you when you see him like this. He was always the strong one and seeing him breaking down broke your heart.

Without saying anything you began to walk over to him, purposely making your footsteps heavy so he would hear you.

He quickly lifted his head, already wiping his eyes getting ready to pretend that nothing was wrong. But, once he realised that it was you, he stopped and lowered his head back down, not even bothering to pretend and you weren't sure if you were relieved or not.

"Hey." You said gently as you sat down beside him and reached out resting your hand on his back as he kept his head on top of his knees. "Otis wasn't your fault. He made his choice. It's not on you."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Shane shook his head and quickly stood up taking a few steps away from you.

"It was my fault." Shane snapped, his voice rough as he stood with his back to you, his shaky hands running through his now short hair and you just sat there, not really knowing what to say as you stared at him.

"Shane-" You began to say as you stood up, but your brother cut you off.

"No." He yelled, turning around to face you as you took in his red rimmed eyes.

"Talk to me. What happened?" You asked, keeping your tone gentle, knowing how easy it was for Shane to snap and once he snapped then you knew there was no way you'd be able to get any information out of him until he calmed down.

Hell, you were exactly the same. Brother like sister.

"Otis... I killed him. I-I killed him." He stuttered, lifting his head to look at you before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"He didn't sacrifice himself, I sacrificed him. We both weren't going to make it. There were too many walkers, we couldn't make it... And if we didn't make it then Carl was going to die, so I... so I shot him. I shot him and left him there as walker bait. It worked. The walkers went to him and I got out and now Carl is going to be okay, but I killed him."

You stood there in shock as you tried to take in everything he had just said. Shane stared down at the ground, unable to look at you and now his behaviour earlier made sense.

You didn't say anything for a few seconds as you processed everything before you took a few steps towards him and grabbed his chin with your hand and lifted his head forcing him to look at you as his teary eyes locked with yours.

"You saved Carl's life. You did what you had to do." 

"I killed him. I killed an innocent man, Y/N. I'm a killer." He whispered, his voice trembling, but you shook your head.

"You are many things, bro. But, a killer is not one of them. You did what you had to do and Otis was the one who shot Carl in the first place, he wasn't all that innocent." You tried to reason, but Shane just lowered his head again and you sighed, lifting his chin, forcing him to look back at you.

"Carl is alive because of you. I would've done the same thing because it's all about survival now, it's not like how it was. The world is different, you made the right choice." You insisted.

"I can't get it out my head. I-I can't stop seeing it..." He trailed off as he ran a shaky hand over the back of his head, trying to force the tears in his eyes to go away, but it wasn't working.

You didn't say anything for a few seconds as you stared at your brother. You had never seen him like this and you knew there was nothing you could do make it better, he had killed someone, he was never going to just forget about it. You knew that better than anyone.

"Remember when you told me 'it's okay to fall apart a little'?" You asked and Shane stared at you for a few seconds in confusion before it suddenly clicked and he nodded and you smiled sadly at him.

"Listen to your own advice. It's okay to fall apart, bro. It's okay." You said gently and that was all it took before the tears in your brothers eyes began to spill and you pulled him into a tight hug as he cried into you.

-

Before-

"Y/N, go! Grimes go left. I'll cut him off!" Shane shouted as you watched the suspect run into the park across the road.

You didn't bother responded as you took off running after the man while Rick took off to the left and Shane ran around the park in hope to cut him off.

Rick and Shane were partnered up on patrols today, but when they heard that you were called to an armed robbery on the outskirts of town, the two of them made their way too. They knew you were a solo patrol this shift and also they were bored out of their mind during this nightshift, they wanted some action.

"Police! Stop!" You yelled as you sprinted through the park, thankful that the sun was just staring to rise, so you could actually see where you were running as you ducked and weaved through the trees.

You spotted the suspect duck behind the toilet block and you knew he was heading to the back gate, right where Shane was heading. Shit.

You rushed around the corner, getting ready to help your brother pin the suspect to the ground, but you came to a sudden halt when you saw Shane being held at gunpoint by the suspect.

Without hesitation you quickly drew your handgun, aiming at the suspect as he pulled Shane into his chest, using him as human shield while holding a pistol of his head.

"Drop the gun!" You shouted, aiming your sights at the man, but you didn't dare pull the trigger, not when your brother was in the line of fire.

The man didn't make nay move to lower the gun as Shane stared at you with panicked eyes. You could yourself starting to panic too, but now was not the time. You had to stay calm and get control of the situation.

"I said drop the gun and put your hands in the air!" You ordered sternly, but the man just shook his head as he took a step backwards, pulling your brother with him.

"Drop the gun!" Rick's voice suddenly shouted from behind you as the sound of his gun clicking filled the air. 

"You don't have to do this. Just let him go and we talk this through, nobody had to get hurt." You said calmly, trying a different tactic.

The suspect just shook his head and you could tell he was high on something which worried you even more because you could never predict what these kinds of people were going to do next.

Suddenly, the sound of police sirens filled the air, indicating that backup was finally on the way which caught the suspects attention as he looked over his shoulder in the direction of the noise.

Shane took the suspects distraction to his advantage as he slammed his elbow back into the man's rib cage, causing the suspect to let him go with a groan.

Rick quickly rushed forward, grabbing Shane by the arm and pulling him away. You watched in horror as the suspect recollected himself quickly and began to raise his gun towards Rick and Shane and without thinking you aimed your sights over the suspects chest and pulled the trigger before he could.

Everything happened in slow motion as you watched the man stumble backwards, dropping his gun before he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

You were frozen to the spot as you stared at the man you had just shot. You didn't even realise that you still had your gun raised until Shane carefully walked over to you and gently rested his hand over your arm, slowly lowering your gun, snapping you out your haze as you holstered it.

"Y/N? Hey, can you hear me?" Shane questioned as you glanced over at him with a small nod before looking back over at the man you had just shot to find Rick kneeling down beside him.

Blood was pooling onto the concrete floor around the mans body as Rick felt for a pulse, but shook his head and called it in over the radio.

You had killed him. You had killed a person. Holy shit.

"Hey, sis. Look at me. Eyes on me." Shane instructed, grabbing your chin and turning your head towards him.

"You nearly died... I nearly lost you and I-I killed him. He was going to shoot you and Rick, so I-I killed a living person-" 

"You did what you had to do. Come here." He replied, gently pulling you into a hug.

"What happened?" The Sheriff's voice questioned, towards the scene before he saw the body on the ground. "Oh."

"The man held Shane at gunpoint. He got free, but the man was going to shoot him, so Y/N shot him. I saw the whole thing, these cameras on the toilet blocks probably caught the whole thing too. She was justified to use her gun, the footage will prove it and Shane and I vouch for it too." Rick quickly explained, standing up and walking towards the boss.

"Okay, I'm glad none of you were injured. Quick thinking, Y/N. It sounds like you saved your brothers life." The Sheriff responded looking over at you as you tried your best to compose yourself as you nodded, not trusting your voice at the moment.

The Sheriff then walked over to the body and made made a few phone calls before he walked back to the three of you.

"Get back to the station, you three have been through and seen enough. I'll debrief you later and get your reports tomorrow." 

"Thank you, sir." Rick replied as Shane grabbed your shoulder and began walking you back to your fleet across the park.

"Grimes." The Sheriff suddenly called out.

Rick turned back towards the boss, but you and Shane didn't stop as you reached the car and Shane immediately took the drivers seat without question and you climbed into the passenger side.

"Keep an eye on her. Y/N's tough, but something like this affects even the best of us." The Sheriff explained and Rick nodded in understanding.

Hell, he wasn't even the one who puled the trigger, but he knew just witnessing this whole thing will give him nightmares.

"Of course, sir." Rick replied before he walked back to the car and climbed into the backseat.

"What did the boss want?" Shane asked as he put the car into drive and began heading back to the station.

"Nothing. Just said someone will take our fleet back to the station." Rick lied as he glanced over at you from where you were sitting silently in the passenger seat. "You okay, Y/N?"

"I'm fine." You answered, not looking back at Rick knowing he would've seen straight through your lie, but to your relief he didn't call you out on it.

The next few days went by in a blur.

You had typed up your police report about what happened which took longer than it should have, but you finally got it done. The Sheriff debriefed the three of you and said no further paperwork had to be filled out since the security camera had caught it all and proved that you were justified in using your firearm, which was a relief.

The boss had given the three of you the next few days off which you all gladly took and spent most the time at Ricks house, just sitting in the lounge room and watching movies, doing anything to stop yourselves from thinking about the incident.

Lori bought you food and washed your clothes without even asking and didn't ask questions about what happened and tried to give the three of you some space.

You knew Rick had probably told her some of it, which was why she never asked questions, but you were glad that she was there.

Little Carl was a good distraction though. He was only four, but seemed to sense that something wasn't quite right and always joined the three of you on the couch or made you play with toy dinosaurs with him.

"You sure you're ready to come back to work?" Shane asked as the two of you sat at the kitchen table of your house, earing breakfast.

Well, more like playing with your breakfast because you had hardly taken a bite of your toast.

"I told you, I'm fine." You replied, staring down at your plate.

You were fine. You had to be. You killed a man who was going to shoot your brother and Rick, you did what you had to do. End of story.

"You've been saying that for days and I know it's not true. Rick knows it too." You brother replied as he took a bite of his own toast, but you just shook your head, not meeting his eyes.

"Hey, I know you're just trying to be strong, but it's okay to fall apart a little, Y/N. You're human." 

You sighed, "I know."

Chapter Text

"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organised. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams." Rick explained, looking down at the map that was spread across the hood of the truck. 

"Not you. Not today." Hershel called out, walking towards the group of you. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out. And your ankle, push it now and you'll be laid up for a month, no good to anybody." 

"Guess it's just me. I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." Daryl spoke up as you looked over at him.

Just him? What were you? Nothing?

"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane added.

"I will search the woods nearby, see what I find. But, tomorrow. That's when we start doing this properly." You declared, looking between the group before glancing back down at the large map.

That was a lot of area to cover. Sophia could be anywhere... if she was even still alive. 

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Shane responded and you nodded in agreement.

Everyone needed to learn how to protect themselves. Hell, you wouldn't mind if Carl learnt how to use one when he was fit enough. He needed to protect himself too.

"I prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning his into an armed camp." Hershel said.

Like hell you were giving up your gun.

"All due respect, you get a herd of those things wandering in here-" Shane began to say before Rick cut him off.

"Look, we're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick stated, glancing over at you and Shane sternly as he pulled his Colt Python from his holster and placed it on top of the map.

Oh, he was not serious right now? We're really just giving up our guns?

You glanced over at Shane who bit his lip, stopping himself from saying something he'd most likely regret as he pulled his Glock from his belt and placed it on the map beside Ricks.

Rick turned towards you with a questioning look and sighed.

"Whatever, but I'm keeping everything else." You reasoned, gesturing towards you belt where your baton, OC spray and handcuffs were before you pulled your handgun from the holster.

Rick gave you a grateful nod. "First things first, finishing setting up camp and find Sophia." 

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that." Shane said and although it was a bad thing to say, it did need to be said because as much as you hated to admit it, it was possible.

"We do what has to be done." Rick answered seriously.

"What about her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie asked and you could tell she did not agree with Rick said.

"The truth." You simply answered looking over at the other woman as she glanced over at her father with uneasy expression.

"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site. I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience." Shane suggested, looking over at Hershel who defiantly did not like that idea.

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick said, backing him up.

Hershel thought about it for a moment and to your surprise, he nodded in agreement.

-

You spent the rest of the day searching the outskirts of the farm, hoping that Sophia may have found one of the paddock fences and followed it, but she hadn't.

By the time you got back to camp, you realised that a lot had happened without you.

Glenn had been lowered down into a water well to get a walker out, which apparently didn't go to plan and now that water well had been blocked off since it walker guts inside.

Glenn and Maggie had done a quick supply run into a nearby town. Maggie had nearly been bit and then Shane and Andrea had taken Carol back to the highway to see if Sophia found her way back, but she hadn't.

You were only gone for a few hours and all of that happened, which shocked you, but at least everyone was okay.

Later that afternoon everyone sat around the small campfire, eating dinner and slowly starting to get ready for bed while you wandered into the Greene house to go check on Carl, who had apparently woken up.

Quietly you walked into the room and you couldn't stop the small smile forming on your face when you spotted Carl sleep on the bed and Rick fast asleep on the chair beside his bed.

You were about to walk back out, not wanting to wake either of them up before Carls small voice broke the silence. 

"Hey, Aunt Y/N." He whispered with a big smile.

You grinned, quietly walking over to his bed and leaning over him, placing a gentle kiss to his forehead as you sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Hey, little man. How are you feeling?" You asked quietly, not wanting to wake Rick up.

"Good. It doesn't hurt." He answered, but you knew that was obviously a lie.

You had been shot before and it defiantly fucking hurts, even when you woke up from the coma nearly a month after, it was still sore. Although, Lori had given Carl some of the good painkillers so maybe that was it.

"You're tougher than me, kid." You chuckled as you rubbed your fingers over the bandage covering your knuckles.

It had stopped bleeding a long time ago, but you knew there'd be nasty bruises underneath the bandage and the last thing you wanted was for Shane or Rick to see and fuss about it.

"How'd you hurt yourself?" Carl asked curiously and you looked up to find him staring at your hand.

"I was stupid, that's how. Trees don't make good punching bags." You joked causing Carl to chuckle.

Rick began to stir from his chair and you glanced over at him as his eyes slowly blinked open.

"Hey, dad." Carl said, turning his head towards Rick which caused his face to break out in a smile as he stared down at his son, but a few moments later his smile disappeared causing you to frown as Rick cleared his throat.

"Carl, I told you something earlier today about Sophia-" Rick began to say and suddenly it clicked.

Rick did mention that he had lied to Carl when he asked if Sophia was okay and Rick had said yes.

Oh this was not going to be a good conversation.

"I know. Mom told me." Carl interrupted causing Rick to chuckle shaking his head.

"Here I was getting ready to confess. I didn't mean to lie. I just didn't want to worry you. It's a stupid excuse but it's all I got." 

"It's okay. Do you think we'll find her?" The little boy asked glancing between you and Rick and you nodded.

"Yes. I won't stop looking until we find her." You responded and that was the truth.

You might not believe she was alive. It had been three days, she's been out there alone for three days, you knew the chances of her being alive were slim, but you had to find her.

"Hey, I'm like you two now. We've all been shot." Carl suddenly announced. 

You couldn't help but laugh as you looked over at the boy who was grinning.

"I think your mother would rather hear we got the same eyes or something. So, lets keep that between us." Rick responded with a chuckle and you nodded in agreement.

"We'll all have matching scars. Join the club." You joked causing Carl to laugh as Rick looked over at you with look that you knew meant 'shut up' causing you to laugh even more before Rick shook his head.

"Well, since you're in the club now, you get to wear the hat." Rick said, picking up his Sheriffs hat from the ground and placing it on Carl's head causing the boy to smile even brighter.

"I can help you pad the rim tomorrow so it sits better. I used to do that with Shane's hat when I couldn't find mine." You explained causing Rick to chuckle as Carl nodded excitedly before he looked over at his father.

"Won't you miss it?"

Now it was you who was laughing because Rick and that damn hat were attached by the hip. There was not one work shift where you didn't see him wearing it.

"Maybe you'll let me borrow it from time to time. Get some sleep, you need to rest." Rick replied and Carl nodded.

"I love you dad. I love you Aunt Y/N." He said glancing over at you before he lowered the hat over his eyes and leant back down on the pillow.

"I love you, Carl." You both replied.

-

To your relief, Maggie had given the group a few extra tents and sleeping bags which meant you didn't have to share with your brother anymore. 

You loved Shane, but he was a very loud sleeper and it drove you crazy. But, of course whoever had set up all the tents had put yours right beside his and you could still hear his snores through the thin material of the tents.

Because of his snoring you were awake before anyone else and decided to go for a walk around the property to wake yourself up and stretch your legs.

You had walked around most the property, checked out their sheds and what equipment they had, but you had never been to the large barn further away from the house.

You walked across the field towards the barn, taking in the beautiful sunrise along the horizon, the sky painted different shades or pink and orange. But, you didn't get much time to appreciate the scenery because as soon as you reached the barn something was wrong.

The large double doors on the front of the barn were chained and padlocked shut, which wouldn't have been weird because farmers tended to keep their heavy machinery and expensive equipment locked up. But, what caught your attention was the soft groaning coming from inside.

Was there a walker trapped inside?

Curiously, you walked up to the front doors and pulled them towards you as far as the chain would allow before you pulled your torch from the holder on your belt and shone it through the tiny gap in the door. But, the second you lit up the inside the barn you immediately jumped backwards as you took in all the walkers that were inside.

"What the fuck?!" You exclaimed staring at the barn in shock.

Why would Hershel keep walkers locked up in his barn? These wooden walls won't hold them forever and if he added anymore inside then they sure as hell would bust out and your camp was literally 100 metres away. You were just bait waiting to be eaten.

You quickly did an external walk of the barn, making sure all the walls were intact and there was no sign of them trying to break out before you made your way to camp, trying to figure out how to tell the group.

What were you meant to say? 'Hey, guys, so the barn is full of walkers?' That was not going to end well.

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse." You heard Shane argue as you walked towards the group of them that were huddled around the map that was spread out over the bonnet of the truck.

"Anybody includes her, right?" Andrea responded, glancing over at Shane before he spotted you jogging towards them.

You knew he was going to say some smartass comment about you being late, but he must have realised something was wrong by the look on your face because he instantly stood up straighter and stared at you, catching Ricks attention who turned around to see what Shane was looking at.

"Good, you're here. We're just about to go over-" Rick began to say before you cut him off.

"Nope, we got something else we need to worry about. The whole group needs to hear this." You declared, walking away from them as you joined the others by the coals of the campfire eating breakfast.

"Y/N, what is it?" Rick asked, but you didn't miss the hint of worry in his tone.

"The barn is full of walkers."

You watched as everyone's eyes went wide and jaws dropped as they stared at you in disbelief.

"Come see for yourself." 

Without waiting for them to respond, you turned and started to walk back to the barn. Everyone hurriedly rushing after you. 

Stopping a few metres away from the chained doors, you motioned towards it as Shane and Rick marched over to the doors and looked through the small gap.

You watched as they stared at the walkers inside for a few seconds before one of the walkers banged against the door causing them both to flinch back. Shane shook his head and stormed back to the group.

"You cannot tell me you're alright with this." Shane growled, turning towards Rick and re-joined the rest of you a few metres away from the walker infested barn.

"No I'm not, but we're guests here. This isn't our land." Rick responded calmly, but you just shook your head.

This was Hershel's land, but this was crazy. Who keeps walkers locked up like this?

"Okay, we either got to go in there, we've got to make things right or we've just got to go. Now, we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time-" Shane began to reason before Rick cut him off.

"We can't go."

"Why, Rick? Why?"

It was clear your brother was getting very agitated, very quickly and you knew this conversation needed to calm down before someone snapped.

"Because my daughter is still out there." Carol spoke up for the first time, but you didn't look at her as you eyed your brother cautiously, watching as he just chuckled and shook his head.

"Okay. Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility-" Your brother began to say before Rick cut him off again.

"We're not leaving Sophia behind." 

Great, Rick was getting worked up too. That's just what you needed, the two of them all riled up and arguing.

"I'm close to finding this girl. I just found a farmhouse where she had been staying yesterday." Daryl's voice suddenly said and you sighed taking in the anger and frustration in his tone as well.

Great, now there's three of them. This was perfect.

"You found a house, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a house." Shane responded, glaring at Daryl from across the group as you quickly took a step towards them, not liking where this was going.

"Ya don't know what the hell you're talkin' about!" Daryl yelled, throwing his arm in the air in frustration as you and Rick quickly got between them.

"I'm just saying what needs to be said. You get a good lead, it's in the first 24 hours-" Shane started to shout while Rick tried to stop him.

"Shane. Shane. Stop." Rick shouted.

"Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming, all methed out with your buck knife and fucking crossbow. She would run in the other direction!" Your brother yelled and that was all it took before Daryl snapped as he charged towards Shane.

"You shut your mouth!" Daryl shouted.

You quickly stepped in front of him, your hands pushing on his chest as you fought to keep him at bay while Rick struggled with Shane behind you as you tried to stop the two of them from reaching each other.

"Hey. Hey. Hey." Rick yelled from behind you, but you didn't miss the breathlessness in his tone and you knew he was struggling to hold Shane back.

The two of them continued shouting at each other, but you were barely listening to what insults they could come up with as you focused on trying to keep Daryl away from your brother, not wanting either of them to get hurt.

"Shane, back off!" Rick shouted from behind.

"Enough! Calm down." You yelled, glaring at Daryl in front of you which seemed to snap him out of it.

He stopped trying to fight and looked down at you for a few seconds before he shook his head and shoved you away from him.

"Don't ya fuckin' touch me!" Daryl growled, glaring at you and you just rolled your eyes.

Well, at least he was back to being angry at you and not your brother.

"Hey! You don't push my baby sister!" Your brother snapped from somewhere behind you as you glanced over your shoulder to find Rick still with hand on Shane's chest, not trusting him by himself yet.

"Shane." You warned, as you stared at him, silently telling him to shut up, but he just shook his head.

"You shouldn't talk to my sister like that, man." Shane began to say and you frowned taking in your brothers now cool and calm tone compared his yelling match only moments earlier. "Hell, if it wasn't for her, you would've died and Merle would've went to prison five years ago. You should be fucking thanking her!"

You froze as he stared at your brother in disbelief before you turned back to Daryl to find him still standing in front of you, but seemed to be frozen to the spot as he stared at your brother, trying to process what he had just said.

"The hell is he talking 'bout?" Daryl questioned, turning his attention back to you, but you just shook your head.

"It doesn't matter, we have bigger problems to figure out. Now, what we going to do about this?" You asked, trying to bring the conversation back to the walkers as you turned back towards the rest of the group and Rick sighed.

"Just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out." Rick answered, which seemed to flip a switch in your brother who shook his head.

"What are you gonna figure out?" Shane snapped, glaring at Rick.

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land." Rick tried to explain, but by the look on your brothers face he did not like it.

"Hershel sees those things in there as people. Sick people. His wife, his stepson-" Dale began to say causing you to frown.

"Wait, you knew about this." You asked in shock.

"Last night. I talked to Hershel. I thought we could survive one more night. We did. I was going to tell you this morning, but she bet me too it." Dale answered pointing towards you.

"The man is crazy, Rick, if Hershel thinks those things are alive-"

She marched towards Rick, but you quickly got in front of him causing Shane to glared down at you, but you just stood up straighter and glared right back at him.

"Enough. All of you! Now, Rick will talk to Hershel. Until then, we have one person on guard duty by the barn to make sure they don't get out while the rest of us continue with our plan to search for Sophia. Any objections?" You questioned sternly, your eyes never leaving your brothers as he sighed and lowered his head. "Good. Glenn, you take first watch. The rest of us, back to the map so we can organise a proper search party." 

Chapter Text

A few hours later, the group of you had managed to stop fighting and figure out a proper plan to look for Sophia.

Andrea and T-Dog had paired up and searched the south side of the woods by the farm. You had managed to convince Rick and Shane to pair up and search the other side of the woods, the two of them needing to sort out their issues and the only way to get the two of them to properly talk to each was to force them to work together.

They had been arguing and at each others throat a lot lately. At first it was just because of all the stress from this new world and keeping the group safe, but you were starting to think there was something else that was getting between the two of them, but you had no idea what it was.

Daryl had taken a horse and gone up to a ridge to get a birds-eye view of the whole grid while you decided to go back to that farmhouse that Daryl had found yesterday and search the area around it.

To your relief, Daryl hadn't mentioned anything to do with what Shane had said. So, you were hoping that by the time you all made it back to the farm, he would've forgotten about it.

After a few hours, you had found the farmhouse and swept the entire building, but Sophia wasn't inside.

You sighed, holstering your handgun as you stared at the pillow and blanket stashed in the cupboard where Sophia had clearly been staying.

She was here.

She had been sleeping right here, you were so close, but she's not here anymore. She could be miles away by now.

"Damnit." You muttered to yourself as you looked around the kitchen, taking in all the canned food on the shelves and bottles of waters in the other cupboards.

Grabbing the nearest bag, you began to load it with the supplies, but made sure to leave some for Sophia in case she happened to come back.

You spent the rest of the day wandering through the woods, but there was no sign of Sophia anywhere. You didn't want to return without her, but the sun was beginning to set in the distance and you knew you had to get back soon before it turns dark.

"Sophia?!" You shouted, as you scanned your surroundings.

You were met with nothing, but silence when suddenly a twig snapped to your left.

Acting on pure instinct you quickly drew your gun and aimed in the direction of the noise, but you immediately froze when your eyes locked with Sophia's.

"Y-Y/N?" Sophia whispered staring at you with tear filled eyes.

Your jaw dropped as you quickly lowered your gun, stumbling to get it back in its holster as you rushed over to the little girl and immediately pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Oh my God, are you okay? I can't believe I found you." 

Slowly, you pulled away from the little girl, hating how skinny she looked.

She has been gone for four days.

Four whole days.

"I'm okay. Where's my mom?" She asked quietly as you quickly pulled the backpack from your shoulders and gave her one of the water bottles which she gladly took and began to drink half the bottle.

"Your mother is back on a farm with the rest of the group. Everyone is fine." You reassured, taking the half empty bottle away from her as you cracked open one of the cans of peaches which she began to eat quickly, clearly starving.

Once you made sure Sophia had drank and eaten, you began to lead the little girl back to the farm. By the time you reached the field in front of the house, the sun had disappeared over the horizon as the sky started to turn dark.

"C'mon, your mother is going to flip." You responded, squeezing Sophia's hand gently as you began to walk up towards the makeshift campsite in the front of the farmhouse.

To your shock nobody was at the camp, nobody was even on watch on the RV causing you to frown as you looked around the area. Sophia held your hand tightly almost as if she was afraid to let go.

The sound of hushed voices caught your attention and you turned around, spotting Rick and Shane standing on the porch of the farmhouse.

Then it clicked. Lori and Carol wanted to cook dinner for the Greene family tonight, everyone must be in the house.

"She should be back by now." You heard Shane say from where he was leaning on the railing of the porch.

Rick stood behind him and it took you a few seconds before you realised that they were talking about you.

Shit, they probably thought you were lost or hurt or something.

"I know." Rick sighed, rubbing his face with hands. "She's smarter than this. She wouldn't stay out there after dark, something must have happened."

Rick and SHane were too focused on their conversation, they didn't even see you until you reached the stairs and spoke up.

"Hey, idiot one and idiot two! I'm back and I bought a friend." 

Their heads instantly snapped around in your direction before their eyes landed on Sophia, who was still holding your hand. 

"Holy shit." Shane gasped as him and Rick froze where they were standing and you couldn't stop the grin forming on your face.

"Everyone's inside eating dinner, c'mon." Rick quickly said, rushing inside followed by you and Sophia as Shane trailed behind, still shocked that you had found the little girl.

"Is Y/N back yet?" You heard Glenn ask worriedly from the kitchen where Rick had walked in and a second later you walked through the door to find everyone sitting around the large kitchen table, with plates of food in front of them, but the second they saw and Sophia standing there they all dropped their forks insync.

"Sophia?" Carols called out, her voice barely above a whisper.

She shakily stood up from her chair and rushed around the table before dropping to the ground in front of her little girl as Sophia let go of your hand and jumped into her mothers arms crying happily.

"How did you find her?" Lori questioned from the table.

You looked up spotting Carl sitting next to her and you sighed with relief, realising that he must be getting better if he was allowed to start walking around.

"That farmhouse Daryl found. I searched the woods around it and somehow found her."

You looked back down at the mother and daughter who were hugging and crying on the ground in front of you before Shane's hand suddenly grabbed your shoulder and you turned around just as he pulled you into a hug.

"God, I thought something happened to you." He whispered as you hugged him back.

"Can't get rid of me that easily, bro." You replied with a chuckle as let you go and you glanced over at Rick who was already looking at you. "What?"

"Daryl." Rick answered, which wasn't really much of an answer.

"What about him?" You asked sceptically.

"He got thrown off his horse, speared by his own arrow and then accidently got shot, but the bullet only grazed the side of his head." Rick explained quietly, not wanting to disturb the mother-daughter reunion or the others that were watching happily.

You leave for half a day and Daryl nearly fucking dies?

"Where is he?" You asked and Rick nodded over his shoulder and began to walk down the hallway.

You quickly followed as Rick stopped in front of a bedroom door, pointing towards it. Nodding your thanks, Rick smiled before leaving you too it. You stood by the closed door for a few seconds before you opened the door.

The room was fairly dark, only lit up by the small lamp on the bedside table, but it was enough as you spotted Daryl lying on the bed in the middle of the room.

He was facing the other way and had a thick white bandage wrapped around his head along with another bandage wrapped around his stomach.

"Hey." You called out gently, announcing your presence causing Daryl to immediately pull up the his blanket trying to cover his body and you sighed, knowing he was trying to cover up the scars over his back. "It's just me." You added which seemed to make him stop as he let the blanket drop back down.

It wasn't the first time you had seen those scars. Hell, you had seen them that often you could probably draw them perfectly without looking.

Daryl didn't say anything, nor did he turn towards you as he remained lying with his back facing you and you sighed, taking a seat on the small chair in the corner of the room.

"How are you feeling?" You asked a few seconds later.

You pulled your knees to your chest and wrapped your arms around them as you stared at Daryl who still refused to look at you.

"As good as I look." He muttered and you sighed resting your chin on top of your knees.

"I found Sophia. She was in the woods near that farmhouse you found." 

That seemed to catch Daryl's attention as he lifted his head and looked over at you trying to figure out if you were lying or not.

"She perfectly fine and in the kitchen hugging her mother right now. If you didn't find that farmhouse, we would have never found her." You added and Daryl just nodded as he dropped his head back down on the pillow and looked away from you causing you to frown.

Was he trying to give you the silent treatment? Why? Because you stopped him from getting into a fist fight with your brother?

Neither of you said anything for a few minutes as you sat there and waited to see if he would start talking, but he never did and you sighed, standing yourself up as you began to walk towards the door.

"All things considered, I'm glad you didn't die." You said gently, glancing over at him before you turned around and began to walk out the room.

"Wait." He called out and you stopped just as you were about to close the door behind you. "What was ya brother talkin' about by the barn today?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." You answered, not daring to turn around and look at him.

"Bullshit. What was he talkin' 'bout?" He repeated and you sighed walking back into the room as you collapsed onto the chair in the corner of the room, Daryl eying you cautiously from where he was now half sitting half lying on the bed.

"Merle promised you that he'd stop dealing drugs, right?" You asked, catching Daryl off guard as he frowned at the question, but nodded. "Well, he lied. He never stopped."

"The hell ya talkin' 'bout?" 

"He never stopped. I know that because the night you got sent to hospital, I got intel of a massive drug trade happening on the outskirts of town with a new drug. I got a team together and we raided the place. Take a guess who was there when we broke in?" You explained, but Daryl just shook his head.

"You're lyin'. Merle, got outta the drug business. You're makin' shit up. You're a fuckin' cop, ya lied to me the entire time we were together!" Daryl growled, glaring at you from across the room.

"I risked my entire career for you and your brother! I got demoted and lost my dream job because of you!" You snapped, standing up from the chair as you began to pace the small room and you could feel Daryl's eyes on you the entire time.

"What?" He questioned in confusion.

"I helped Merle escape. I let him escape while the other cops were distracted and then I get a call from him at four in the fucking morning. He had stashed some of those new drugs in the trailer. He hid the small pills where he thought the cops wouldn't find them and you..." You trailed off, hating that you could feel tears rising in your eyes as you thought back to that night and how terrified you had been.

"The bottle of painkillers. Merle hid his drugs inside and I took them." Daryl finished for you and you simply nodded as he stared at you in shock.

"You overdosed without realising it and when I got to your trailer, you were lying on the floor... your skin was so pale and you started to seize and I... I didn't know what to do. Merle didn't call the ambulance because they would've called the cops and-"

"The cops would've found the drugs. So, he called you instead?" Daryl asked, trying to piece together what happened and you nodded.

"You were going to die... I got Merle to call the ambulance, then took all the drugs Merle had stashed around the house and I left. I buried the drugs in the middle of the woods, so nobody could find them. But, my colleges at the station got suspicious. They knew I was close to you, they had told me many times to stop seeing you and then they put two and two together... they had a lot of evidence against me. They made me leave, I didn't have a choice."

"Those cops that knocked ya out in the hospital.... that was real? Merle said I dreamt it... Ya did all that, for me? Ya risked all that for me? Why?" He questioned, unable to believe it after spending the past five years no doubt believing you had been using him the whole time and abandoned him once the job was done.

"Because I loved you, Dixon. Hell, I still love you, how could I not?" You asked, turning to face him, hating the tears that were threatening to spill from your eyes.

Daryl didn't say anything for a few seconds as he stared at you and you turned back around looking out the bedroom window.

"Why didn't ya tell me? You just disappeared without sayin' anything... why?" He asked and you hated the hurt in his tone as you took a deep breath and closed your eyes.

"I knew how much you looked up to, Merle. I knew how much him promising that he's out of the drug business meant to you. I didn't want to tell you that it was his fault you were in the hospital. I didn't want you to hate the only family member you had left. I couldn't do that to you." You answered truthfully, still looking out the window as you wiped your teary eyes.

"So, ya made me hate you instead?" 

You just nodded turning around to face him and to your shock, Daryl's eyes were laced with tears as he stared at you.

"I'd rather you hate me, than you hating your brother. Merle, meant the world to you, he's your big brother and when I saw you in the quarry... I was going to tell you the truth, but then the whole thing happened with Merle and I... I couldn't let it be the last memory you had of your brother, so I never said anything." You explained, shrugging your shoulders as a silent tear fell down your cheek. "I know you hate me, I deserve it. I lied to you about my career and I just left without saying anything, but my feelings for you were real, Daryl. I need you to know that." 

"I don't hate ya. Not anymore." He said and you froze where you stood as you looked over at him as he rubbed his eyes, but you saw the tears in them. "When ya left, I hated ya. I really hated ya, couldn't understand why Merle didn't either, makes sense now though... I can't believe ya let me hate ya this whole time."

"I cared about you, that's why. I still care about you." You admitted, lifting your head as you stared at Daryl for a moment before you started to make your way towards the door. "I'm glad you're okay. Get some rest."

Chapter Text

The next morning, Hershel told Daryl that he should be fine to get up and moving, but told him that he needed to rest which he did not like at all. 

Somehow, you managed to convince him to lay down in your tent and rest at least for the morning and to your shock he actually agreed.

You left Daryl in your tent while you went to find something for breakfast and found Glenn walking around camp with a basket full of fruit as he offered it around to everybody.

"Y/N, want some peaches?" He called out walking over to you and holding the basket out as you grabbed two peaches. "So, umm. Why is Daryl in your tent?" 

"Why did Maggie give you a basket of fruit?" You shot back with a grin causing Glenn's cheeks to blush. "Relax, I'm messing with you. But, she's a nice girl. You guys would be cute together." You added. 

Glenn rolled his eyes, ignoring your comment before you walked over to Rick and Shane who were sitting by the campfire, eating some peaches as well.

"So, you and Dixon kiss and make up?" Shane asked, raising his eyebrow at you. 

You just flipped him off with your free hand causing Rick to snort from beside him in amusement.

"Yep and looks like you two have kissed and made up as well." You responded, motioning between the two of them. 

They both rolled their eyes and you couldn't stop the smile forming on your face. You missed this. You missed the three of you making fun of each other like the old days.

"I still can't believe you found Sophia, after all this time..." Rick trailed off as he looked over to the small foldout table set up across camp where Carl and Sophia where currently sitting and drawing on scrap pieces of paper.

"If it wasn't for Daryl finding that farmhouse, I wouldn't have." You answered, staring at the two kids before you looked back at your brothers. "So, what's the plan for today? Have you spoken to Hershel about the barn yet?"

You didn't want to bring that topic up, not when Rick and Shane seemed to be on good terms for once, but it needed to be dealt with, you all knew that.

"I'm going to today while Shane takes a group out for proper gun training." Rick explained and you nodded, that was a good idea. 

Shane was one of the best instructors you knew and you also knew it was a good idea to not have him nearby while Rick and Hershel discussed the barn.

"You should come, you always did say that you were better shot than me." Shane teased causing you to chuckle.

"I am a better shot than you, but I should stay here. Make sure Daryl actually takes it easy and doesn't bust his stitches."

Shane just grinned at you, knowing full well why you wanted to stay back in camp by yourself with Daryl. You just flipped him off again before walking away, listening to Rick and Shane laugh as you walked back towards your tent.

"Really?" You asked, standing by the door to your tent as you watched Daryl poke holes through the fly mesh beside him with one of his crossbow bolts. "I don't own this tent, Dixon. It's Maggie's. Here."

You tossed him one of the peaches which he caught with one hand as he dropped the bolt and began to eat the fruit.

You spent the rest of the morning sitting in your tent with Daryl. You passed time reading some book that Andrea had given him, spent time talking about what happened in the five years that you didn't see each other.

By the time it was the afternoon, the group returned from gun training, but Rick had disappeared off with Hershel somewhere and everyone was starting to get anxious about the barn full of walkers.

T-Dog was on guard by the barn at the moment and you were going to relive him in a few hours. But, you kinda hoped it would be dealt with before then.

Daryl had given up resting in bed and was wandering around camp, but his wounds seemed to be healing, so that was good. 

You were currently sitting on the porch steps of the Greene house beside Glenn who was introducing you to Maggie properly since you hadn't really had much time to get to know the other woman. 

Carol and Lori were sitting on the small table on the porch with Carl and Sophia, trying to get them to do some homework. But, all you could hear were the two kids complaining about it the whole time and you knew not much work was getting done.

Daryl was leaning against the railing to the stairs beside you as he sharpened one of his knives. You knew he was bored and worried about the barn of walkers, but there wasn't much you could do about it until Rick finished talking to Hershel.

"Oh, here we go." Daryl muttered quietly as he kicked your knee gently, drawing your attention away from Glenn and Maggie. 

You looked up at Daryl who was standing beside you as he nodded towards something in the distance. Following his line of sight you spotted Shane walking towards the group of you with the bag of guns in his hands. 

Oh, that's not good. Why did he have all the guns?

"What's all this?" Daryl questioned, walking towards Shane as you quickly stood up, unsure of what was going on.

"You with me, man?" Shane asked, pulling a pump action shotgun from the bag and holding it towards Daryl who nodded, taking the gun.

"Time to grow up. You already got yours?" Shane asked, looking over at Andrea who nodded before he turned towards you and pulled out your handgun from the bag and handed it to you.

You stared at the gun for a few seconds and you knew whatever Shane had in mind was a bad idea, but you really wanted you gun back. 

So, you took the gun, checking to make sure the magazine was full before you tucked it into your holster on your belt.

"Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But, now we know it ain't. How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?" Shane asked, holding another one of the shotguns towards Glenn who reluctantly took the weapon before Shane turned to Maggie. "How about you? Can you shoot?"

"Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight." Maggie warned, glaring at your brother.

"We have to stay, Shane." Carl called out from the porch of the house as you glanced over your shoulder towards him to find, Lori, Carol, Sophia, Beth and Patricia all standing there and watching in confusion.

"We ain't going anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand." Shane responded as he walked over to Carl who had walked down the steps and joined the rest of you as Shane knelt down in front of him and pulled out a small pistol. "Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun."

"Rick said no guns." Lori shouted angrily as she got between Carl and Shane causing your brother to sigh. "This is not your call. This is not your decision to make." Lori hissed, glaring at Shane who just shook his head, standing back up as you walked over to your brother and grabbed his shoulder gently.

"Hey, I get what you're trying to do, okay? I get it and you have the right intentions, but you're just going about it the wrong way. This is not the way to handle this, you know that." You said, speaking up for the first time. 

Your brother turned around towards you and you could tell he was considering what you were saying and for a moment you thought you might have gotten through to him, but of course, something else happened.

"What the hell?" Glenn muttered from somewhere behind you. 

You and Shane both turned, wondering what Glenn was talking about and that's when you saw it; Rick and Hershel walking out the woods with two walkers attached to snare poles while Jimmy tried leading the walkers in front of them. 

Okay, what the actual fuck are they doing?

"What is that? What is that?" Shane questioned and not a second later he took off sprinting towards the barn. 

You quickly ran after him, but Shane was faster as you trailed behind him, but you could hear the others running somewhere behind you.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shane yelled once he reached them. 

A second later you reached them too as you stood back and watched as Shane began to pace around Rick and Hershel, his eyes glued to the walkers on snare poles.

"Shane, just back off." Rick started sternly.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel questioned, glancing past you. 

You looked over your shoulder spotting the others all standing back, not wanting to get too close but they had their guns in their hands. You didn't miss how Daryl had his shotgun trained on the walker Rick was holding before you turned your attention back to your brother.

"Are you kidding me? You see? You see what they're holding onto?" Shane questioned, as he circled around them. 

You stood between them and the barn, your hand resting over your gun holster, just waiting for one of the walkers to break free.

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk." Rick tried to reason, but your brother wasn't having any of it.

"What do you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead. Ain't gonna feel nothing for them because all they do, they kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us!" Shane yelled throwing his hands in the air in frustration.

"Shane, shut up!" Rick shouted. 

"Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?" Shane questioned, pulling out his handgun and firing two rounds into the walker Hershel was holding.

"Shane, stop!" You shouted, but your brother didn't even acknowledge what you said.

"That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that? Why is it still coming?" Shane questioned as he fired off a couple more bullets into the walker. "That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?"

"Shane, enough!" Rick yelled.

"Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough." 

Shane marched towards Hershel's walker and you knew what was going to do before he even did it as he aimed the gun and shot the walker in the face at point blank.

"Enough of living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough. Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now, if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now." Your brother continued to shout as he turned around and began jogging towards the barn. 

Oh shit.

"No. Shane, listen to me. Don't do this." You pleated, getting in front in front of him causing him to stop as he stared down at you.

"Y/N, get of my way." He muttered, but you just shook your head.

"I'm not letting you do this. We will deal with it, but not like this." 

He didn't listen and he stepped around you, but you quickly grabbed his shoulder and tried to pull him back, but he managed to shrug your grip as he ran towards the barn. 

"Shane!" You shouted, watching as he picked up a pickaxe from the ground and began slamming it into the chain and padlock on the door.

"Lori, Carol, keep the kids behind us!" You shouted, glancing over your shoulder at the group just as Shane managed to break the padlock.

You watched as Shane jogged back a few metres away from the barn until he was standing beside you and drew his handgun aiming towards the doors. You sighed, but drew yours too.

 Well, now you didn't have a choice. You had to take out the walkers.

It didn't take long before the first walker staggered out, which Shane took down with a clean headshot before the others all started to spill out the doors and you began to pull the trigger.

You didn't even notice when Daryl, Glenn, T-Dog and Andrea had joined in until the last walker dropped to the ground. You stared at all the bodies scattered on the ground and glanced over at Shane  beside you

Nobody said anything for a few seconds as you all stared at the walkers, before Beth suddenly ran past, screaming out to her mom. You watched in shock as she dropped down beside one of the walkers. 

Shit, that was her mother. The poor girl.

"Ma." Beth whimpered, rolling the walker off and your eyes widened when the walker suddenly grabbed her.

"Beth!" You shouted, rushing towards her. 

You grabbed the girl and quickly pulled her away while Shane and Rick grabbed the walkers arms, stopping it from grabbing Beth's clothes as you managed to get her free, as she clung to you and cried.

You held the girl tightly and watched as Andrea slammed the pickaxe through the walkers skull. Hershel and Maggie walked over to you as you passed Beth over to Hershel who hugged her before the Greene family all walked back towards their house, leaving the rest of you standing around the barn.

You all stood there in silence before Shane walked and Rick quickly followed. you sighed, glancing over at Daryl who just nodded before you jogged off after them.

"Shane!" You heard Rick shout as you ran around the barn just in time to find the two of them now standing face to face. 

You had seen the two of them fight a few times over the years. So you knew what was about to go down, but you weren't about to let it happen.

"He kept a barn full of walkers! He put us all in danger!' Shane shouted, taking a step towards Rick.

"So you just started an insurrection, hand out guns and massacre his family?" Rick questioned in disbelief.

"His family's dead, Rick."

"Well, he doesn't believe that. He thinks you just murdered them in cold blood." Rick hissed, glaring at him.

"No, man, I don't care what he thinks!" Shane shouted, as you reached their side pushed them both apart.

"Enough!: You snapped, looked at him. "I'm sick of you two fighting. It's done now, it's over. Now, lets go back over to the barn and bury the Greene's family members and burn the rest of them, sound good?" You questioned sternly, your eyes darting between the two of them. 

Rick sighed, glancing over at Shane who nodded. 

"Good. Let's go." 

That was all you said before you turned around and marched back to the barn.

Chapter Text

Within the span of a few hours, things went from down to worse. 

Beth had gone into some kind of state of shock and wouldn't respond to anyone and Hershel had disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Rick and Glenn had gone into town, thinking that Hershel had gone to the local bar in town after finding his flask in his bedroom, leaving the rest of you waiting anxiously around the farm. 

You spent most the day trying to help with Beth and by helping, it was mainly just sitting beside her.

There wasn't much you could do for the young girl, you had seen people in this kind of state of shock after major accidents. You knew there wasn't anything you could do for her except keep her comfortable and try get her to eat, but she wouldn't even respond to her sister, so you highly doubted she'd eat or drink.

"Hey, Y/N?" Lori's voice suddenly called out.

You looked away from Beth to find Lori standing in the doorway to Beth's bedroom.

"What's up?"

You and Lori had never really seen eye to eye, even when you were kids. Hell, you kinda hated her in high school, but then her and Rick had started dating and well, you had been putting up with her ever since for Ricks sake. She was a nice woman and good mother, but she got on your nerves sometimes.

"Rick and Glenn should be back by now. It's nearly dark-" She began to say before you cut her off.

"Rick knows what he's doing. Glenn too. They'll be back soon."

"Something might have went wrong, they wouldn't stay out there in the dark. We have to go find them. I already asked Daryl, but he said no. Can you come with me?" She asked, already pulling out a street map from her pocket and you sighed.

She had clearly thought this through and you knew if you said no then she would just go by herself and that was just a stupid idea.

"Okay, but lets go now before Shane gets back. My brother won't like this idea, hell, neither do I." You muttered, standing up, taking one last look at Beth before you followed Lori out the house to find that she had already got a car parked out the front of the house with the keys in the ignition.

Lori immediately handed you the map before she walked over to the drivers side. You didn't argue as you climbed into the passenger seat and unfolded map and began to figure out the best route to take into town to get this bar. 

You instructed Lori where to go, but other than saying the occasional 'take the next left' the two of you sat there in dead silence.

What were you meant to say? She was worrying about Rick and you were still trying to figure out how you were meant to explain this to Shane when you got back because he would not be happy that you just took off without saying a word to him about it.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Lori suddenly questioned, breaking the awkward silence as she glanced over at you causing you to frown.

Of course you were going the right way. You were the one with the map.

"Yeah, we're nearly there." You answered, hoping that would shut her up, but of course it didn't.

"I think we're going around in circles. Let me see the map."

You were about to say something about her not being able to read a damn map, but she pulled it out your hands before you could even open your mouth.

She laid the map out over the steering wheel as she tried to read it, but you knew she wouldn't even be able to figure out where the town was on the map, let alone where the two of you were right now.

"Trust me. Just focus on the road, I don't feel like dying today." You half joked, but Lori just shook her head as she continued staring at the map. "Hey, watch the road, you're driving." You instructed, your inner cop voice coming out.

You turned your attention back to the road just as a walker stumbled across the road in front of you.

"Lori!" You shouted, snatching the map away from her so she could see the road properly.

"Shit!" She screamed as she yanked the steering wheel down to her right to try to avoid the walker. 

She managed to avoid the walker, but lost control of the car when she over corrected herself. You frantically tried to reach for your seatbelt, but it was too late.

The car went off the road and slammed into the ditch before everything turned black.

-

All you could hear was a high-pitched ringing in your ears when you started to come to.

Everything was black, but your head was hurting something fierce and your left arm felt it was on fire, but you couldn't figure out why.

There was a faint growling in the background somewhere, but you couldn't work out what it was or where it was coming from. But, as the ringing in your ears started to fade there was more than just growling, someone was screaming.

It took your foggy brain longer than it should have to figure out who the voice belonged to, but it was Lori and then everything came flooding back.

The car crash.

Shit, you were in a car crash.

"Y/N!" Lori screamed, her voice suddenly a lot louder than it had been a few moments ago as you forced your eyes open.

For a moment, you thought you hadn't opened your eyes at all because everything was still dark, but you quickly realised that it was just night time.

Shit, you had been unconscious for a while if it was this dark outside already.

You looked around slowly, taking in the car before you realised that the car was lying on it's side and you were lying against the drivers side window on the ground. Your head was spinning as you tried to get yourself to sit up, but that was nothing compared to the sharp pain coming from your left arm..

"Y/N! Help!" She shouted and you frowned realising that she wasn't inside the car, her voice was coming from outside.

Looking out the cracked front windscreen you spotted a walker with it's head stuck through the broken glass with a screwdriver sticking out it's eye socket and you knew Lori must have killed it while you were unconscious, but by her panicked screams you knew there must be more walkers outside.

You managed to get yourself into a sitting position as you bit your lip to stop yourself from groaning. You weren't sure what was worse, the pain coming from your head or arm, but either way, it fucking hurt.

You glanced around the inside of the car, spotting the passengers side door open and you knew Lori must have climbed up and out that way, but there was no way you'd be able to climb up and out that door.

You turned your attention back to the front windscreen which was already cracked and shattered, and you knew that was your best bet.

Without any further thought, you slammed your boot against the windscreen a few times. To your relief, it eventually gave way and fell out, taking the dead walker with it.

You could hear Lori grunting and screaming in the background and you quickly crawled through the gap and somehow managed to get to your feet when you spotted her on the ground, trying to get away from a walker that was grabbing her foot.

"Lori!"

Her head snapped over to you, relief evident in her expression as you pulled your gun from your holster and shot the walker.

In all honestly, you had no idea how you managed to land a headshot on the walker with one bullet since everything around you was slightly blurry and spinning, but it worked.

With shaky hands you holstered your handgun and looked down at your left arm to try and figure out why it hurt so much and your eyes widened when you took in large piece of metal sticking out your shoulder and all the blood that had run down your arm.

Oh, shit.

"Oh my God." Lori cried, appearing beside you as she stared at your arm, taking in the chunk of metal and blood. "I am so sorry, this is all my fault." She whispered as tears began to rise in her eyes.

"It's fine. I'm fine." You tried to reassure, but Lori just shook her head.

Neither of you really had a chance to say anything further before a set of headlights appeared down the road. You quickly grabbed Lori with your good arm and pulled her back towards the car to hide from whoever it was coming down the road.

You both crouched down behind the car, waiting for the vehicle to drive off, but it never did. It parked in the middle of the road, right beside Lori's car.

Shit.

"Y/N? Lori?" A familiar voice shouted and you sighed with relief.

It was Shane.

Lori quickly rushed around the side of the car while you slowly stood up, trying not to pass out as black dots started to cloud your vision from the small movement, but you just blinked a few times and they disappeared.

"Are you alright?" You heard your brother ask.

"I'm fine." Lori quickly answered as you began to walk around the car towards them.

"What happened? Where's my sister?"

Lori didn't have to answer that because you walked around the corner and Shane quickly turned around, his eyes widening when he saw you.

"Holy shit." He gasped, rushing over to you.

"I'm fine-" You began to say, but Shane quickly cut you off.

"No, you're not. Shit, sis. Look at you, c'mon I gotta get you both back." 

You just nodded, because honestly you were about ready to pass out again and it would be better to do that on the farm than in the middle of the road and be walker bait.

"No, we gotta find, Rick." Lori argued and you mentally punched yourself for forgetting about Rick.

"He's back. They're all back. They're all safe and sound." He quickly answered, but you just frowned at him because you knew that tone in his voice.

He was lying.

Rick wasn't back yet, but you also knew if Lori knew the truth then she wouldn't go back to the farm, so you kept your mouth shut.

"Really?" Lori asked, a hint of hope in her tone as Shane nodded. "Oh, thank God."

You sat in the backseat of the car while Lori took the passenger as Shane turned the car around and began driving back to the farm. You leant your head back against the headrest and stared out the side window as you tried to keep yourself awake, but you were just so exhausted all you wanted to do was close your eyes.

"Hey, Y/N. Stay awake." Shane instructed, looking at you through the revision mirror. 

You nodded weakly and zoned out for the rest of the drive and before you knew it, you were back at the farm. 

Lori quickly climbed out the car while Shane stopped and helped you out the backseat, grabbing your good arm gently.

You could hear the others asking Lori what happened and if she was alright, but your mind couldn't really process anything other than the fact that you had a piece of metal sticking out your shoulder and that you had probably lost more blood than you probably should have.

"Holy shit, Y/N, you're shoulder!" Andrea suddenly said.

You glanced over in her direction to find her, Dale and Carl, all standing by Lori, but their eyes were now glued to your bloodied arm.

"Where's Rick?" Lori questioned, ignoring Andrea completely. 

"Look, I had to get you back here and I get to get my sister back here." Shane tried to explain while you leant his side because you were pretty sure you'd fall over if he wasn't supporting you.

"You asshole. He's my husband." She shouted, marching towards Shane.

Before you even realised what was happening, Lori shoved Shane in the chest causing him to stumble backwards and in return caused you to stumble backwards too.

Suddenly. a strong pair of hands grabbed your shoulders, stopping you from falling to the ground and you frowned because it wasn't Shane's hands. He was too busy being pushed by Lori.

You glanced over your shoulder in confusion and spotted Daryl standing behind you. But, that just made you even more confused because he literally just appeared out of nowhere. 

"Lori, I will go after him. I will find him. But, I had to get Y/N back! Look at her shoulder!" Shane shouted, standing his ground and pointing towards you. "First things first I gotta look after my sister and I gotta look after you. I gotta make sure the baby's alright, okay?" 

Whoa, what?

Her and Rick were having another baby? Why didn't Rick tell you? He obviously told Shane, why didn't Shane tell you about it?

"You're having a baby?" Carl's voice suddenly questioned. 

He stared at his mother with hopeful eyes and you couldn't stop the small smile forming on your lips. Carl always wanted a little brother or sister. Hell, he had even asked you for a little cousin once.

"This seriously important right now? Your sister has metal sticking out her fuckin' shoulder." Daryl called out, looking over at Shane who's expression immediately turned guilty as he rushed back over to you and without further word, the group of you made your towards the house.

"Maggie, where's the first aid kit?" Dale called out as you walked through the front door.

Daryl was hovering over your left side, being careful not to touch your injured arm while Shane was holding your right arm, helping you walk.

A few seconds later, Maggie walked out of Beth's bedroom about to ask what was going on, but the second she saw your shoulder, she froze.

"Oh my God. Come on, you can take my bedroom." Maggie said, snapping into action as she pointed towards the door to her right while she jogged off to go and get the first aid kit.

Shane walked you into the bedroom and helped you sit down while Daryl paced the room worriedly which surprised you slightly because you hadn't really spoken much since you told him the truth about the past and you were almost certain that he still hated you, but now you weren't so sure.

"I got bandages and tweezers-" Maggie began to say as she rushed into the bedroom before you cut her off.

"How's Beth?" 

"Still the same. Lori and Carl are with her at the moment. Now, I'm going to pull it out while I do that I need one of you to start padding it with bandages to stop the bleeding before I stitch the wound" Maggie instructed and Shane nodded, grabbing the bandages.

You were expecting Maggie to give you a count down before she tried to pull it out, but she didn't.

The ringing in your ears began to return as the pain skyrocketed through your arm and the last thing you heard was Shane and Daryl's voice calling your name before you passed out again. 

Chapter Text

You woke up the next day to find Rick and Shane sitting by your bed and it didn't take long before you found out that Hershel and Glenn were back as well, but they had bought back a guy called, Randall.                                                                                        

Rick gave you the run down of what happened in town.

Randal was with a group who had tried killing them, but got injured and left behind. And for whatever reason, Rick thought it was a good idea to bring back a guy who had tried to kill them. Hershel had stitched up the wound on the guys leg and he was currently tied up in the barn.

Hershel had also checked over your shoulder, but Shane and Maggie had done a good job and Hershel just changed the bandage over it to a fresh one. He had also helped Beth, set her up on an IV drip and now she was at least responding to people, but she still wasn't back to normal.

"So, that's the big plan? Drive him out 18 miles and leave him there? What if he finds his way back?" You asked, leaning against the tree as you glanced around at the others who were all sitting around the campfire eating breakfast.

"He won't. I'll blindfold him, lock him in the trunk. He won't know where he is, let alone where the farm is. We'll give him some supplies and leave him there." Rick explained.

Shane shook his head, but to your relief he didn't said anything although you knew he didn't like Rick's plan.

"You're givin' him supplies? What next, ya gonna give him a weapon too?" Daryl questioned from where he was sitting with a plate of eggs on his lap.

"For once, I agree with Dixon. Rick, this isn't a good plan." Shane spoke up, but before Rick had a chance to respond you did.

"Well, it's the only plan we got. I'll go get the car ready. Rick grab Randall." You instructed, but before you could even turn around, Shane grabbed your good arm.

"You're not going out there. You were just in a car crash and have stitches in your shoulder." 

"I'll be fine, because I will have you there to watch my back too." You answered and Shane just frowned.

"What? Why am I going?"

"Because you and Rick need to short your shit out and the only way to do that is to lock the two of you in a car together and go on a road trip." You responded, glancing over at Rick who sighed rubbing his face with his hands. "It worked back in the day and it will work now. Whatever is going on between the two of you, you're fixing it. Now, let's go."

10 minutes later, you were sitting in the backseat while Rick drove and Shane sat shotgun with Randall blindfolded and tied up in the trunk.

Nobody had said anything since you pulled out the Greene farm and you knew Rick and Shane were purposely not talking.

"This will only work if the two of you actually talk to each other. I don't know what's going on between you guys, but something clearly is and you have to fix it." You said, breaking the awkward silence.

Rick looked at you through the revision mirror before focusing back on the road, while Shane just continued to stare out the passenger window, ignoring you completely.

"What are you? Five years old? Carl is more mature than the two of you. Rick, stop the car."

Rick glared at you through the mirror and you just glared right back at him before he slammed on the brakes, stopping the car in the middle of the road.

Without saying anything, Rick climbed out the car, slamming the door behind him. You climbed out too, looking over at Shane with a questioning look and he sighed, but climbed out the car as well.

"Let's talk then." Rick said, turning around to look at Shane.

You sat down on the bonnet of the car and watched the two of them.

"We don't need to. I get it. He was passed out when y'all bought him back, doesn't know where the farm is." Shane said, shocking you slightly that he had just agreed to the whole Randall thing, but you didn't say anything wanting the two of them to talk.

"That isn't what we need to talk about. I heard about what really happened at the school. Was it to survive?"

What kind of question was that? Of course it was, Shane wouldn't just kill someone for no reason.

"One of us wasn't gonna make it out. It had to be him. One shot to the leg, Carl lives." Shane answered honestly.

"He made the right call, Rick. If it wasn't for him, your son would be dead. It was a tough call, but it had to be done." You called out from where you were still sitting.

You didn't mean to get involved, but you couldn't let Rick get angry at Shane for saving Carl's life.

"You don't think I would've done it?" Rick questioned a few seconds later, glancing between you and Shane and you just rolled your eyes.

That was not what you said.

"No, man. I know you wouldn't have." Shane quickly responded.

"You don't think I can keep Lori or Carl safe? Or my baby?" 

"I didn't say that." Shane answered, but Rick just shook his head. "Rick, you can't just be the good guy and expect to live. Okay? Not anymore." 

"I'm not the good guy anymore. To save Carls life, I would've done anything. Anything. Now, Lori says you're dangerous, but you're not gonna be dangerous. Not to us, not to me, not anymore." Rick stated, taking a few steps towards Shane causing you to frown.

Lori said that? Why the hell would Lori say that your brother was dangerous? He hadn't done anything, but protect her and Carl.

"You and Lori- I get what happened. When I figured it out -and I figured it out pretty quickly- I wanted to break your jaw, let you choke on your teeth. But, I didn't. That wasn't weakness. It took everything. That is my wife. That is my son. That is my unborn child. I will stay alive to keep them alive. You don't love her. You think you do, but you don't. Now, the only way you and me keep on is that you accept everything I just said right here, right now, and we move forward with that understanding."

If you were being honest, you didn't hear anything after the part about Shane and Lori. They were together? They hooked up? Why? How? When?

You had so many questions and now you were starting to understand why the two of them had been at each others throats since the CDC. 

Rick turned around and began walking back to the car, his eyes flashing over at you and he seemed to be surprised by the shocked look on your face and you realised that he thought you knew about all this already.

"When it all started it was just a couple weird stories on the news." Shane's voice suddenly called out causing Rick to stop and turn back towards him.

"Everything just happened so quick. Two weeks later, I'm in the hospital and there were soldiers shooting people in the halls. They were shooting people, man, not walkers. Then the walkers came through. You know, I tried to get you out, I tried to get both of you out, but we weren't gonna make it. Man, there was no way and I knew it.... I didn't keep Lori and Carl alive, man. They kept me alive. I want you to know that I didn't look at her before that. Brother, if I could take it all back, I would."

You were torn between wanting to slap Shane for hooking up with Lori and wanting to hug him for what he would've went through when the dead started to rise. It would have been terrifying and you were kinda glad you were in a coma when it began.

"I wanna check the ropes." Rick responded, barely acknowledging what Shane had said.

He walked around to the back of the car to check on Randall and you sighed looking over at Shane who just shook his head.

"Give him some time. He's your best friend, he will come around." You whispered as Shane walked past you, grabbing your good shoulder and squeezing it gently before the two of you climbed back into the car and continued driving.

To your surprise, Rick started up a conversation a few minutes later and began talking about plans for the winter at the farm, sparking a small amount of hope that maybe he was slowly starting to forgive Shane and that things would go back to normal.

However, not even 10 minutes later all that hope got thrown out the window when you arrived at a fenced off building and it all went to shit.

You weren't even sure what sparked the argument, but now you were currently standing between your brothers, trying to stop them from decking each other while keeping an eye on Randall, who was lying on the ground a few metres away, still tied by his ankles and wrists.

"You don't know shit anymore!" Rick shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

He glared past you at Shane while you stood between them with your hands on both their chests trying to keep them apart, ignoring the pain the movement caused your shoulder.

"Both of you, quit it!" You yelled, but you were better off talking to a brick wall.

"I don't think you can do it, Rick. I don't think you can keep them safe." Shane responded, his voice scary calm and that was all it took for Rick to snap as he pushed past you and slammed his fist into the side of Shane's head.

"For crying out loud." You muttered to yourself.

Shane headbutted Rick in response before Rick slammed him to a nearby car and they began to trade punches like they were teenagers.

"Stop it!" 

You grabbed Rick's arm, stopping him from slamming his fist into Shane, but your brother took that to his advantage and shoved Rick backwards, taking you with him as you both fell to the ground.

You landed on your bad arm and by the sudden pain and wetness you felt dripping down your arm, you knew the stitches had been busted in your shoulder. But, that was the least of your worries as you watched Rick jump to his feet and tackle Shane to the ground.

By the time you got to your feet, they had punched each other enough to leave blood and bruises on their faces. You knew there was nothing you could say that would make them stop. You had seen the two of them fight before, but you had never seen it this bad and it scared you.

Thinking on your feet, you drew your handgun and racked the slide, loading a bullet in the chamber before firing a shot into the window behind the two of them. 

The gun went off with a bang, echoing across the area as the glass shattered and your brothers instantly stopped in their tracks. 

Their wide panicked eyes snapped in your direction before Shane shoved Rick to the side and got to his feet, marching towards you. 

"Are you crazy?" Shane shouted, pointing towards your gun as you holstered it.

"Are you? You were going to kill each other!"

Shane scoffed as you looked over at Rick who was sitting on the ground and looking at the two of you with a pissed off expression, but your attention was quickly turned to the window when a walker fell out of it.

"Rick!" You shouted, but he was already to his feet and slammed his knife into the walkers head before more started to follow.

You instantly reached for your gun, but quickly realised that there were more walkers than bullets in your magazine.

Shit.

"Run." Shane shouted.

Rick pulled the dead walker over his body, using it to hide while the small herd falling out the window began rushing towards you and Shane as you took off running.

You weren't even sure how, but you and Shane ended up stuck inside a school bus while the walkers surrounded it. There was no way out and by the look on your brothers face, he had realised that too.

"Well shit." He sighed, dropping his head as he leant his back against the bus door while you both watched Rick run off through the gate with Randall.

Rick wouldn't leave the two of you. He might be pissed at Shane right now, but he wouldn't leave you both for dead.

A few minutes later the familiar green SUV came flying through the wire fence. It sped towards the bus with Rick hanging out the passenger side door and Randall driving as Rick fired shots at the walkers around the bus.

"Shane! Y/N! Back door!" Rick shouted.

Neither of you said anything as you sprinted down the aisle of the bus and kicked open the back door just as the car parked beside it. You quickly jumped into the car via the open window, Shane quickly following and half landing on you in the backseat. 

"Whooo! Hell yeah! Did you see that? Did you see what we did?" Randall shouted, glancing over at Rick in the passenger seat who raised his gun at him.

"Just keep driving." Rick instructed in a stern tone.

Randall nodded as you glanced down at your shoulder to find the white bandage now stained red with blood.

You looked over at Shane taking in the blood and bruises over his face before looking at Rick who had matching wounds and you sighed, leaning your head back against the head rest and closed your eyes.

How were you meant to get these two to make up? They always forgave each other after a fight, but even the usual road trip didn't work.

Once you were a safe enough distance from the walkers, Rick instructed Randall to the stop the car which he did without question with the Colt Python pointed at his face. Rick tied him back up and threw him in the trunk again while you tried to figure out what to do. 

Randall knew Maggie. You had completely forgotten about that part. You were too busy trying to make sure your brothers didn't murder each other to worry about what Randall had said earlier.

"If you want to kill me, you're gonna have to do better than that." Rick stated, breaking the silence as you glared at him, but he was purely focused on Shane who refused to look at him. "We're probably gonna have to kill that boy, but I'm gonna think about it a night. It can't be that easy, killing someone, killing anyone. You know that."

You agreed with Rick, Randall had to die. It was the only solution, so you nodded, but Shane didn't say anything as Rick let out a loud sigh.

"That is my wife. That is my son. That is my child. If you're gonna be with us, you gotta follow my lead, you gotta trust me. It's time for you to come back."

Ricks voice was now a lot calmer as he pulled out Shanes Glock from his belt which you didn't even realise he had before holding it out to him, grip first.

Shane stared at the gun for a few seconds before he took it, checking the chamber and tucking it into his belt. 

Rick's hand clasped Shanes shoulder, patting him before he glanced over at you with a small nod and with that, the three of you climbed into the car.

To your surprise, Shane took the passenger seat beside Rick instead of sitting in the back with you.

That was a small win.

Maybe things would start to get back to normal? You could only hope.

Chapter Text

Daryl interrogated Randall and what you thought you knew about his group was nothing. There were 30 of them with guns and they would apparently kill all the men in your group and the women... well you didn't even want to think about that.

Rick told everyone that the threat needed to be eliminated, or in other words, Randall had to die.

As far as you could tell most agreed with Rick, but Dale definitely didn't. The older man ended up storming off when Rick suggested it, leaving the rest of you standing around camp unsure of what to do.

"C'mon, you need to clean those knuckles, can't afford getting an infection in this world." You spoke up, breaking the silence as you looked over at Daryl, his knuckles bloodied as he held his crossbow over his shoulder and he just nodded before he silently followed you.

You walked over to one of the wells, making sure it wasn't the well that had the dead walker inside it. You grabbed the metal bucket beside it and turned it upside down before motioning for Daryl to sit.

"Rick 'n Shane put those bruises on each other?" Daryl asked, breaking the silence.

He sat down on the bucket while you turned the tap on and took Daryl's red rag that he kept in his back pocket and rinsed it in the water.

"Yeah, but I think they have finally sorted out their issues." You replied with a small shrug.

Kneeling down in front of him, you grabbed Daryl's hand and began to wipe the rag gently over his knuckles. Neither of you said anything after that as you cleaned his knuckles, but you could feel Daryl staring at you and you could tell he wanted to say something.

"What is it?" You asked, looking up at him.

"The other day, ya said ya still loved me... did ya mean that?"

"I do, but I know you don't feel the same way, which is fine because I hurt you. I tried doing what was best, but I hurt you and I know you can't forgive me for that and-"

Before you could finish what you were saying Daryl's lips were suddenly captured yours.

For a split second, you just sat there in shock before you melted into his kiss and started to kiss him back.

"I still love ya too." He whispered against your lips.

-

"So, how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn asked breaking the awkward silence as you all stood in the living room of the Greene house staring at each other.

You stood between Daryl and Rick, while your brother stood across the room beside Andrea, watching everyone.

"Let's see where everybody stands, then we can talk through the options." Rick explained, glancing around the group as Shane spoke up.

"Well, where I sit, there's only one way to move forward."

"Killing him, right? I mean, why even bother to take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing." Dale responded, glaring at your brother.

"Okay, then it's done. We'll kill him, end of discussion. Thank you Dale." You spoke up, causing Dale to glare at you instead, but Rick shook his head.

"If people believe we should spare him, I wanna know."

"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?" Maggie suggested.

"Just another mouth to feed." Daryl muttered from beside you.

"He could be an asset! Give him a chance to prove himself, we could put him to work." Dale said, but you shook your head.

"We're not letting him walk around." Rick quickly responded.

"Could put an escort on him." Maggie added.

"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Your brother questioned, glancing around at everyone.

"I will." Dale said and you just chuckled, shaking your head.

"That's not going to happen. We're not letting him walk around the farm unless he's tied up and we can't exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labour. There's only one way to handle this." You stated and nobody said anything for a few seconds before Patricia spoke up for the first time.

"If you go through with it, how would you do it? Would he suffer?" She asked, still seeming unsure about the whole thing.

"We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck?" Shane asked, glancing over at you and Rick and you just shrugged your shoulders.

That was one way to do, but shooting him would be quicker and take less effort too.

"I thought about that. Shooting may be more humane." Rick replied and he had a point. It would be a quicker death.

"And what about the body? Do we bury him?" T-Dog questioned which Dale did not like at all.

"Hold on, hold on! You're talking about this like it's already decided."

"You've been talkin' about it all day, goin' around in circles. Ya just wanna go around in circles again?" Daryl questioned, staring at Dale who shook his head.

"This is a young man's life, and it is worth more than a five-minute conversation! Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him and now look at us. He's been tortured. He's gonna be executed. How are we any better than those people that we're so afraid of?"

"It's the only option! If we let him go, he could bring his group back here and kill all of us! If we let him stay he could kill all of us! It's his life verses all our lives, take your pick!" You snapped, staring at Dale as Rick put his hand up towards you, silently telling you to back off, but before he could say anything Shane spoke up.

"My sister is right. We all know what has to be done."

"If we do this, the people that we were, the world that we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It's harsh. And that's a world I don't wanna live in and I don't believe that any of you do. Won't any of you stand with me?" Dale questioned in disbelief as he glanced around at everyone with desperate eyes, but nobody said anything as all looked away from him.

"Are y'all gonna watch, too? No, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. I won't be a party to it." The older man stated, shaking his head in utter disbelief before storming out the house.

"Well that went fantastic." You commented softly.

"Shane, Daryl, Y/N, let's go. Everyone else, stay here." Rick instructed and with that the four of you walked out the house, Rick quickly grabbing one of the lanterns from the campsite before you walked over to the shed where Randall was tied up.

"We should do it in the barn, it's further from the house." You suggested.

Shane and Daryl grabbed Randall, covering his eyes with a blind fold before leading him out the shed as the group of you made your way to the barn.

Randall kept mumbling at the two of them to let him go, begging them to not do whatever they were going to do, but Shane and Daryl just acted like they couldn't hear him as they continued to walk him towards the barn.

You took the lantern from Rick as he opened the large double doors before Shane and Daryl pushed Randall inside and got him on his knees in the middle of the large wooden barn.

You stood off to the side with the lantern not really sure what else to do as you watched the three men you loved the most in the world work together. You felt bad for liking this, they were about to kill someone, but the three of them were helping each other, working together and that was something you thought would only happen in your dreams.

"Do you have any final words?" Rick questioned, taking a few steps towards the kid who was still blindfolded as he sat on his knees sobbing.

"No, please. Please don't." Randall begged as Rick pulled out his Colt.

You were so focused on Rick, you didn't even notice that Carl had walked in.

"Do it, dad. Do it."

Oh, for fuck sake.

You quickly turned around to find the kid standing in the doorway behind you. Was Lori not capable of keeping an eye on her son?

"Carl, you, me, outside now." You instructed sternly, knowing that this would put Rick off the idea of killing Randall now that his son was encouraging him and that was the last thing you wanted.

Randall just had be dealt with and then it was over.

You rushed towards Carl, grabbing his shoulder and ushering him out the barn. You glanced over your shoulder towards Rick, Shane and Daryl before you closed the barn door behind you and began walking Carl back towards the house.

"Your father told you to stay inside, why did you sneak out?"

"I just wanted to help. I want to protect the group, like you and dad." Carl answered honestly as he stared up at you with bright eyes and you sighed.

You could never stay mad at him, not when he looked at you like that.

"I know. But, when your dad tells you to do something, you do it. Okay? Your dad knows what's best, always remember that." You instructed and Carl nodded.

Lori burst through the front door of the house just as you and Carl walked up the stairs. Her panicked expression turning guilty within seconds when she saw the two of you.

"I didn't even see him leave the house." Lori tried to cover up, but you never had the chance to say anything before the sound of pained screams filled the air and you quickly spun around.

The screams were coming from the field by the barn and your heart stopped.

Daryl. Shane. Rick.

Not a second later you were rushing down the steps to the house, not bothering to see if the others were following you as you sprinted towards the screams, hoping beyond anything that it wasn't your brothers or Daryl.

But, as you got closer you found them and to your relief the three of them were fine, but you quickly realised that they were all standing around a body on the ground.

Dale's body.

His entire stomach had been had been teared open by a walker as he laid on the ground, still alive.

"Oh my God." You gasped, covering your mouth with your hands.

The rest of the group caught up and Andrea instantly dropped down beside Dale, crying.

You weren't really listening to what Rick or Hershel were saying too busy stuck in your own head because this was your fault. Dale wouldn't have been out here in the middle of the night if you didn't push him to his breaking point, making him storm out the house earlier. If you had just tried to more civil about the whole situation maybe Dale wouldn't have stormed out and maybe he wouldn't have gotten attacked by this walker.

"He's suffering." Andrea sobbed as Dale laid there groaning and struggling to breath.

You tried to look away, but you couldn't get your eyes to move as you stared at the inside of his stomach before someone grabbed your shoulder and you glanced to your left to find Shane now standing beside you.

"Do something!' Andrea cried.

That somehow snapped you into action and you began to reach for your handgun, knowing it was the humane thing to do before Rick drew his pistol first and aimed it towards Dale with shaky hands.

You were about to tell Rick that you would do it instead, but you never got the chance because Daryl gently grabbed Rick's gun. Rick instantly let him take it as he took a step back while Daryl knelt down beside Dale, cocking the gun with a click.

"M'sorry brother." Daryl muttered before squeezing the trigger.

Even though you were expecting it, you couldn't stop yourself from flinching at the bang. You didn't even realise there were tears in your eyes before Shane pulled your body against his, turning you away from Dale as he hugged you tightly.

-

You, Shane and Daryl stayed out while everyone else disappeared back to camp and the three of you got to work on digging a grave for Dale.

Well, Daryl and Shane dug the hole, since they refused to let you do it with stitches still in your shoulder, so you opted to making a wooden cross out of sticks.

"So, what's the deal with you two? I saw you over by the well this morning, you back to dating my sister, Dixon?" Shane questioned, a hint of protectiveness in his tone.

Shane leant against his shovel looking over at Daryl who stopped shovelling dirt back into the grave to stare at Shane.

"Does it matter?" Daryl questioned, his eyes flashing over to you from where you were tying string around the cross to keep it in position.

"I guess not. But, let's get one thing straight. You so much as hurt my baby sister, I will break your neck, are we clear?"

"Shane!" You shouted, throwing a rock at him causing your brother to chuckle as he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's fine. I get it 'n I ain't gonna hurt her." Daryl replied and Shane nodded, seeming satisfied.

"I'm gonna head back to camp, check on Andrea." Shane said once the hole was dug, leaving you and Daryl standing by Dale's grave with nothing but the small lamp and the moon light providing you light.

"Think this will do?" You asked, holding up the wooden cross.

Daryl nodded before you stuck it into the dirt at the head of the grave, making sure it was straight before you stood up and took a few steps away to look at it properly.

Daryl walked over and stood beside you, staring at the grave in silence.

Dale didn't deserve this. Yes, he had really gotten on your nerve lately, but he was a good man. If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't have been out here and he'd still be breathing.

"It ain't ya fault." Daryl quietly muttered.

Even after all these years, Daryl could still read you like a book.

"It's my fault he stormed out the house and was out here in the first place." You simply answered, but Daryl shook his head.

"Nah, he walked out on his own, ya didn't make him."

Daryl took a step closer and slung his arm over your shoulders, pulling you into his side as you stared at the grave, resting your head on his shoulder.

Chapter Text

The next morning everyone was up before the sun and you suspected that was because nobody really slept much after what just happened.

Dale had died. He was attacked by a walker in the paddock right in front of the house, less than 200 metres from your actual camp. That did not make you feel comfortable at all.

You had a small funeral for Dale in the morning, the Greene family also joined to pay their respect. Once the funeral was over, you all began to talk about what to do to make sure something like that never happens again.

"It'll be tight 14 people in one house, but don't worry about that. We should've moved you in a while ago, it's not safe to sleep out here." Hershel said, looking around at the group of you as you all stood around camp with Hershel and Maggie.

"Thank you, we really appreciate it. But, how else are we going to improve our safety?" You asked, turning away from Hershel as you looked between Rick, Shane, Daryl, T-Dog and Glenn.

"We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines both sides of the property. T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going." Rick instructed and T-Dog nodded.

"What about standing guard in the meantime?" You asked.

"I need you and Daryl on double duty." Rick explained and you nodded, glancing over at Daryl who nodded too and began to walk off towards the RV to take watch.

"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be." Hershel informed.

That was a good idea. If it's a bad winter, you could be stuck inside for a few days if it snows as badly as it has in the past.

"After we get this area locked down, Shane will assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose." Rick explained and you sighed.

Shit, you had completely forgotten about Randall with everything that's been going on.

"We're back to that now?" Your brother questioned, disapproval evident in his tone..

"It was the right plan first time around. Poor execution." Rick answered and Shane just shook his head.

"That's a slight understatement." He muttered, looking away from Rick as you rubbed your face with your hands, not really in the mood to stop the two of them from fighting again.

"You don't agree, but this is what's happening. Swallow it. Move on." Rick instructed, taking a step towards Shane from where your brother was leaning against the side of the blue pickup truck.

"You know that Dale's death and the prisoner, that's two separate things, right?" Shane questioned, pushing himself away from the truck until he was face to face with Rick as they stared at each other. "You wanna take Daryl as your wingman, be my guest." Your brother muttered before he walked off, leaving you and Rick standing by the truck.

"Thank you." Rick called out, watching Shane leave before he turned back towards you and you just shook your head at him. "What?"

"Go easy on him. He knows he fucked up, but you've been best friends since you were in diapers. He's still your brother." You stated, crossing your arms over your chest and Rick sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he nodded before you walked off.

-

You spent the rest of the day swapping between guard duty on top of the RV and helping Shane with the lookout on the windmill.

Once, the new lookout was complete, Shane went to go relieve T-Dog from Randall watch duty while you relieved Daryl from guard duty on the RV so him and Rick could start organising how and where they were going to dump Randall offsite somewhere.

You were only on guard duty for an hour before you spotted T-Dog walking back to the shed to swap with Shane, but you frowned when T-Dog opened the door and quickly began sprinting back to the house.

"What's wrong?" You shouted, already climbing down the ladder of the RV, catching Rick and Daryl's attention from where they were sitting under the veranda of the house, discussing their plan.

"Randall is missing." He said breathlessly causing you to frown.

No, that wasn't possible. Shane was watching him, your brother wouldn't have let him out of his sight.

You glanced over your shoulder towards Rick and Daryl who were already shouting at the others and rushing towards the barn. You jogged with T-Dog back to the barn, but after a quick sweep of the barn it was clear the kid wasn't there.

"He must have slipped the cuffs, they're still secure." You stated, walking back out to find that the others had all gathered outside nervously. 

"Rick! Y/N!" Your brother's voice suddenly shouted from somewhere behind you causing you to frown because you did not like the tone of his voice.

You quickly turned around and spotted him staggering out the woods towards you.

"What happened?" Rick called out.

"He's armed! He's got my gun!" Shane shouted back.

He continued walking towards the rest of you and that was when you saw all the blood coming your brothers nose and mouth.

Oh my God.

"Are you okay?" You quickly questioned, rushing towards your brother.

You grabbed his shoulder and took in the fresh bruises and blood. How the hell did Randall do this to him? Randall was fucking tiny compared to Shane.

"I'm fine. Little bastard snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face." Your brother answered, shaking his head at himself.

"T-Dog, Glenn, get everybody back in the house. Daryl, Y/N, you come with us." Rick quickly instructed and everyone nodded in agreement, all rushing back towards the house while the four of you began to head towards the woods.

"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out. I'm not sure how long." Shane explained pointing through the woods as you pulled your handgun from the holster on your hip, not taking any chances.

"He couldn't have gotten far. He's hobbled, exhausted." Rick responded.

"And he's armed." You pointed out, racking the slide on your gun, loading a bullet in the chamber. 

"So are we." He answered before looking over at Daryl who was walking beside you. "Can you track him?"

"No, I don't see nothing."

Daryl was the best tracker you knew, if he couldn't track him then something wasn't right.

"Hey, look, there ain't no use in tracking him, okay? He went that way. We just need to pair up, spread out, we just chase him down, that's it." Shane responded as you all stopped and scanned your surroundings trying to find any sign of him.

"Kid weighs a buck-25 soaking wet. Ya tryin' to tell us he got the jump on ya?" Daryl questioned, glancing over at Shane who just shook his head,

"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, don't you?"

Great, now Shane and Daryl were starting to argue too. Couldn't they all just get along? You had much bigger things to deal with right now.

"Alright, knock it off. You and Y/N start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane will take the left. Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there. Watch each others back." Rick instructed.

"You too. Let's go." You said turning to Daryl who nodded before the two of you began to walk off towards the left, while Rick and Shane took the opposite direction.

You trailed behind Daryl, not wanting to get in the way while he tried to pick up Randall's tracks. He held the torch in one hand with his crossbow in the other as you trekked through the woods. It only took a few minutes before Daryl picked up Randall's tracks, but something must have been wrong because he soon stopped walking and just stared at the tracks.

"Got two sets of tracks here. Your brother must've followed him a lot longer than he said." Daryl observed, but you shook your head.

No, your brother wouldn't have lied about what happened, there had to be another explanation.

"Is that blood?" You asked, pointing towards the tree in front of you.

Daryl shone the light towards the trunk causing you to frown even more because that was definitely fresh blood. 

"There's more tracks. Looks like they're walking in tandem." Daryl commented as he started to walk off again and you quickly followed. "There was a little dust up right here."

"What do you mean?" You asked in confusion, staring at the ground, but for the life of you, you couldn't see the tracks Daryl was staring at.

"I mean somethin' went down."

You shook your head trying to figure out what the hell had happened out here before the sound of twigs snapping caught your attention.

In an instant, you and Daryl spun around in sync, raising your weapons in the direction of the noise. It was hard to see with the tree tops blocking out the moon light above you, but there was no mistaking the sound of a walker as it staggered out from behind a tree and a second later it fell to the ground with a crossbow bolt through it's forehead.

"Nice shot." You commented, walking over to the walker.

You pulled out the bolt and handed it back to Daryl before you looked at the walker properly and froze realising that it was Randall.

"Well, looks like he got into a losing battle with a walker. Problem solved." You stated, staring at what used to be Randall.

"I don't see any bites though." Daryl muttered, kneeling down beside the body and rolled it over, trying to find where Randall had got bitten, but with no luck. "He got his neck broke though, he died from this. Not a walker." 

"No, that doesn't make any sense. How'd he turn if he wasn't bit? And how'd he break his neck?" You asked and Daryl just shrugged his shoulders, but he had a worried look in his eyes that just made you nervous.

Something wasn't right.

"Let's get back to the house." Daryl responded and you nodded in agreement.

You had just reached the paddock in front of the house before a singular gunshot echoed through the still night air causing you to freeze. Rick and Shane wouldn't fire a gun, not in the woods and especially not in the middle of the night.

You glanced over at Daryl beside you who seemed to come to the same conclusion before the two of you took off jogging towards the farmhouse, praying that Rick and Shane were already back. Although, if they were already back then who the hell fired the gun?

Daryl bet you to the house as he rushed through the front door. You quickly followed, walking into he dining room where the others were all standing around nervously, but as your eyes scanned the room it was clear your brothers weren't back yet.

"Rick 'n Shane ain't back?" Daryl questioned, glancing around the room.

"No. We heard a shot. Maybe they found Randall?" Lori suggested, but you shook your head.

"No, we found him. He's a walker." You answered, shaking your head as you tried to figure out why they would fire one shot. If it was just one walker they would've stabbed it.

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked from across the room.

"No, weird thing is he wasn't bit. His neck was broke." Daryl explained causing the others to all stare at him in confusion before Lori spoke up.

"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" 

"Ya got it." Daryl answered. 

The two of you quickly walked back outside, but barely got a few feet out the door before Daryl suddenly grabbed your arm tightly, stopping you in your tracks. He wasn't looking at you, his eyes glued to something in the distance with a panicked expression.

"What's wrong-" You began to ask, following his line of sight, but stopped mid-sentence when you saw a large herd of walkers walking out the woods in the direction of the house.

"Holy shit." You gasped, taking in the vast number of walkers.

"Someone turn the lights off and grab the gun bag." You shouted in a whisper over your shoulder.

Patricia immediately killed the lights while Maggie grabbed the bag of guns off the couch. The herd was getting closer and closer to the barn and once they reached the barn it was only a matter of minutes before they knocked the fences and reached the house too.

"Maybe they're just passing, like the herd on the highway. Should we just go inside?" Glenn asked hopefully from behind you.

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about. Herd that size will rip the house down." Daryl answered as your eyes scanned the horizon trying to find any sign of Rick and Shane, but all you could see were walkers. God, you hoped they were okay.

"I can't find Carl. He's supposed to be upstairs, but he's not. I'm not leaving without my boy." Lori breathlessly said as she rushed back out onto the porch/

You turned around to her in disbelief. How did she keep losing Carl? She has one child, it shouldn't be that hard to keep an eye on him.

"We're not. I'm not going anywhere without my brother and Rick. Lori, Carol go back inside and find him." You stated, turning back towards the herd.

You pulled out one of the pump-action shotguns from the bag Maggie was holding before you grabbed a handful of shotgun shells and shoved them into your pockets.

"I got the number it's no use." Daryl responded, staring at you as you loaded five rounds into the weapon, but you never got the chance to respond before Hershel reached your side, taking the other shotgun.

"We have guns. We have cars. Kill as many as we can, and we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm." 

"You serious?" Daryl questioned staring at the older man in shock.

"This is my farm. I'll die here." Hershel responded, cocking his own shotgun.

"Alright, it's as good a night as any." Daryl responded, jumping over the railing of the porch and you quickly followed. "Get on the back of my bike, the others will take the cars." 

He mounted his Triumph, starting the engine and you quickly jumped onto the back.

"You drive, I shoot." You shouted above the roar of the engine.

Daryl just nodded, tapping the tap the bike into gear and taking off towards the fence that separated the front paddock to the farmhouse yard.

The second Daryl stopped the bike, you jumped off and began firing off rounds at the walkers while Daryl stood up on his bike and did the same with his handgun, but there was no point, there was too many of them and you both knew it.

"The barns on fire!" Daryl suddenly shouted.

Your head quickly snapped towards the barn and your eyes widened when you realised that the barn was in fact on fire and sudden relief hit you. That must have been Shane and Rick. They were trying to distract the herd.

You could hear Glenn and T-Dog driving the cars up and down the fence line while Maggie and Andrea shot out the passenger side windows. But, even with them shooting too there was no way you'd be able to kill the whole herd.

"Y/N!" Daryl shouted.

"Shit, I know." You muttered, struggling to grab more shotgun shells from your pocket as you reloaded the gun before climbing back onto the bike just as the herd busted through the fence. 

You rested the shotgun over your lap while you holding onto Daryl's shoulder with your free hand while he drove off in the opposite direction, the sound of walkers getting softer and softer in the distance.

Once you were a safe-ish distance from the herd, Daryl pulled the bike over on the dirt road and you both sat there in silence watching as the barn collapsed, the flames engulfing it as the walkers reached the farmhouse. You could see the tail lights of a car disappear in the distance, indicating that at least someone had gotten away before the walkers took over, but you had no idea who.

"Did you see Shane or Rick?" You asked, breaking the silence.

You glanced over at Daryl who shook his head, staring out at the farm in the distance and you sighed.

"Doesn't mean they didn't make it out though. Same as the others." Daryl tried to reassure and you hoped to God that he was right.

You couldn't lose your brother again. You couldn't lose him or Rick or Carl or, hell, even Lori. They were your family and you couldn't lose them, not again.

"Even if they made it out, how are we meant to find them?" You asked in defeat, flicking the safety switch on the shotgun and resting it over your shoulder as you stared out at the farm.

"The highway, where we left those supplies for Sophia. It's the only place everyone knows, probably the best place to start." 

He turned the key in the ignition, bringing the motorcycle to life and you wrapped your free arm around his stomach, resting the side of your face against his back before he began riding to the highway.

It didn't take long before Daryl tapped your hand on his stomach causing you to lift your head and look up, spotting a familiar green SUV driving down the road further in front of you.

It was the car Glenn and Maggie had taken.

Daryl quickly sped the bike up until you were side by side with the car. Maggie frantically wound down her window down, relief evident on both their faces and to your shock Carol and Sophia were sitting in the backseat too.

You and Daryl took the lead on his bike, Glenn following behind in the car and within 10 minutes you crossed paths with a familiar blue pickup truck to find Lori, Beth and T-Dog.

By the time you got back to the highway the sun had started to rise along the horizon and it didn't take long to find the traffic snarl. Daryl slowed the motorcycle down and weaved through all the broken down cars, Glenn and T-Dog following right behind in their vehicles.

You scanned the area trying to spot the car with the supplies on it before Daryl suddenly pointed to something and you looked to where he was pointing, but you couldn't see anything past the cars. He began to steer the bike in the direction and came to a stop beside a familiar red wagon and not a second later a figure rushed out from around the car.

You were climbing off the bike before Daryl even kicked the stand down and rushed to Rick, Carl and Hershel. 

"Oh, thank God." Rick sighed as you practically jumped into his arms, hugging him and he wrapped his arms around your back and held you tightly.

"Aunty Y/N!"

You didn't even have a chance to pull away from Rick before Carl's arms wrapped around your body, hugging you tightly causing you to chuckle as you hugged him back.

"Rick!" Lori's voice called out causing the father and son to pull away from you with wide eyes.

You watched the family reunite, a bright smile spreading across your face as you looked over at Hershel who was hugging his daughters in utter relief.

You glanced around the area, taking in which group members were here before you came to sudden realisation that your brother was no where to be seen. Him and Rick were together, he had to be here, right?

"Hey, is Shane on watch or something?" You called out, looking over at Rick.

Rick slowly turned away from Lori, but you didn't miss the way his body suddenly turned tense at your question or how Carl buried his face into Lori's stomach and started to sob.

"Rick, where's my brother?" You asked again, your voice deadly calm.

He had to be fine. Your brother had to be fine. After everything you had been through, Shane had to be fine.

"Y/N... I'm so sorry-" Rick began to say and you just shook your head, already knowing what he was going to say, but you refused to believe it.

"No. No, where is he? Rick, where is he?" You shouted, your voice starting to waver as you took a few steps backwards, tears filling your eyes.

"He's gone." Rick replied, his voice a mere whisper.

"No. No, no, no, no." You mumbled, shaking your head in disbelief as you took a few more steps backwards before Daryl suddenly grabbed you and pulled you into his chest and that was all it took before you broke down in his arms.

Chapter Text

You weren't sure how much time had passed since Rick broke the news to you. All you knew was that you and Daryl were now sitting on the bitumen road, your head buried in the crook of his neck as you sobbed.

You were somewhat aware of what the others were talking about, something about Patricia, Jimmy and Andrea not making it before they began to plan what to do next and where to go, but you were barely listening.

You didn't care.

You didn't even care when Rick told you that everyone was infected, who cares? Your brother was already dead. Your big brother was gone and you didn't even get to say goodbye.

After a while the group had apparently decided to head east away from the herd that went through the farm. You didn't argue, silently following Daryl back to his bike and climbing onto the back.

He kept sending you worried looked, but you ignored him and wrapped your arms around his stomach while he stared the bike. He tapped it into gear while resting your head against his back as silent tears trickled down your cheeks.

-

The group ended up making a small makeshift camp on the side of the road using the trees as cover. By nightfall you all sat around a small campfire in silence trying to stay warm.

You sat beside Daryl and Carl who was snuggled up beside his mother trying to stay warm while the others silently discussed leaving on their own and fending for themselves or something, but you were barely listening.

Suddenly the sound of leaves rustling and twigs snapping filled the air, frightening the whole group. They all quickly stood up, reaching for whatever weapons they had as they looked around the dark.

You don't even remember standing up with the group, but your survival instincts must have kicked in because your hand hovered over your holster, waiting for the threat.

"What was that?" Carol whispered, scanning the area.

"Could be anythin'. Could be a raccoon, could be a possum." Daryl responded, his crossbow in his hand as he stood beside you.

"Or a walker. It came from over there, where we came from." Glenn added pointing off to the left where the road was.

"We should leave." Someone else added.

"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot." Rick said, trying to ease everyone's nerves, but it clearly didn't work.

"Don't panic." Hershel said calmly, looking over at the others as Rick turned away and continued to keep watch.

"I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now." Maggie insisted causing Rick to shake his head.

"No one is going anywhere."

"Do something." Carol instructed looking over at Rick causing him to quickly turn back around towards the group.

"I am doing something!" He snapped, glaring at Carol before he looked back towards the rest of you and took a deep breath before he continued.

"I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this! I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!"

Your entire world suddenly came crashing down as you took in what Rick had just said.

"What?" You questioned, staring at Rick, hoping that you had just heard him wrong, but the second Rick's eyes locked with yours, you knew he was telling the truth.

Rick Grimes had killed your brother.

"Y/N, I can explain."

You shook your head and you stormed towards him, not giving him a chance to say anything else before punching him in the face. The force of the hit sending Rick stumbling backwards, but he managed to get his footing as he stood up straight and stared at you with sorry eyes.

You swung at him again and again, your fist colliding with jaw perfectly. Sad and angry tears filled your eyes as he spat blood onto the ground.

"Y/N, that's enough." Hershel called out from somewhere behind you.

"Hershel, stay out of it." Rick warned, his eyes never leaving yours.

He showed no sign of fighting back as you punched him again. You slammed your knee into his stomach before grabbing the collar of his shirt and throwing him to the ground.

Not a second later, you were leaning over him and punching him again before a pair of hands grabbed your shoulders and pulled you away as Rick staggered back to his feet.

"Daryl, Glenn, back off." Rick instructed, glancing over your shoulder at the two of them.

They reluctantly let you go before Rick took a step towards you, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. You stared at him through teary eyes before punching him again, knocking him to the ground.

You watched as he slowly got to his hands and knees, spitting more blood onto the ground before he glanced up at you from where you stood above him, silent tears falling down your cheeks.

"You're dead to me." You cried, hating how cracked and broken your voice was.

You stared at the man you thought was your brother before you turned around and walked off. Ignoring the others calling out to you as disappeared through the woods.

You didn't go far from the camp, just far enough so they couldn't hear you as you dropped to your knees and broke down crying. You tried to cover your mouth with your hands to muffle your sobs, but you couldn't stop the tears from pouring down your cheeks.

Daryl eventually came out to find you, but by then you had no more tears left to cry as you just sat there trying to process it all.

He took you back to camp, the others all fast asleep by the fire minus Rick, who was still standing guard. The second he saw you, he turned away, unable to look at you before you and Daryl sat down by the fire as you rested your back against a tree.

Daryl didn't say anything as you sat there in silence staring at the flames while the others all slept around you.

There was nothing he could say.

Rick had killed your brother. He had killed him, there was nothing he could ever say to make that okay.

Eventually, Daryl fell asleep beside you as you sat there just staring at Rick who had his back to the group, staring out to the woods, acting as if nothing had ever happened.

But, he killed Shane.

Rick Grimes.

The guy you and Shane had practically grown up with. The guy who had been a brother to both of you...

It was always the three of you against the world. No matter what, you always had each others back right from school, all the way into the police force. It was always the three of you, but Rick had killed Shane. He murdered your brother and now you couldn't even look at Rick without wanting to kill him too.

You couldn't stay here. You couldn't stay with this group, with Rick. You'd end up killing Rick if you stayed here and you couldn't do that.

Daryl sat beside you, his head resting back against the tree trunk behind him as he slept peacefully. The thought of leaving Daryl broke your heart, but if you stayed here you'd kill Rick.

Quietly you pulled out your police notebook from your pants pocket. You didn't know why you had kept it in your pocket this whole time, but now you were glad you did as you pulled the pen out too and began to write a small note before you ripped the page out and gently tucked it into the pocket of Daryl's vest.

You stared at Daryl for a few seconds before you glanced over at Carl who was fast asleep, cuddled up beside Lori. You smiled sadly at the boy you considered a nephew before you stood up.

Rick still had his back to the group and you spared one last glance down at Daryl before you silently walked off into the woods and didn't look back.

-

When Daryl woke up he knew something wasn't right.

For a moment, he couldn't figure out what it was before he realised that Y/N's body wasn't leaning against his.

He looked beside him, but she wasn't there and he quickly looked around the rest of camp, the others were all asleep around the coals of the campfire, the sun starting to rise along the horizon, but Y/N was nowhere to be seen.

"Everything okay?" Rick's voice called out softly.

Daryl looked over at the other man to find him standing where he had been hours earlier keeping watch, noticing the panic taking over him.

"She's gone." He whispered, sudden realisation hitting him like a freight train.

Y/N was gone.

She left in the middle of the night and didn't say anything.

He knew she was hurting and finding out Rick had killed her brother had just destroyed her more than he ever thought possible, but he didn't think she'd leave. Not without saying anything to him. Not like this.

"What?" Rick asked, rubbing his tired eyes with his hands, clearly trying to wake himself up before his body suddenly tensed and Daryl knew his brain had finally caught on.

Rick quickly dropped his hands as his eyes frantically scanned over the group lying on the ground, but like Daryl had done moments earlier, there was no sign of Y/N.

"Hey, T-Dog, wake up. I need you to take watch." Rick instructed, patting the other guys shoulder.

T-Dog stirred awake and nodded, too tired to ask questions before Rick turned his attention back to Daryl who was standing frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do. "C'mon, she couldn't have gotten far."

Without a further word, the two of them took off through the woods, trying to find any sign of Y/N or any sign of what direction she had gone in, but she was smart.

She had covered her tracks, she knew he would try and find her and deep down, Daryl knew there was no way they could possibly find her. If she didn't want to be found, she wasn't going to be and that scared the hell out of him.

They searched for hours and they both knew it was pointless, but neither of them wanted to say because saying it out loud meant it was real and Daryl refused to believe it.

He had just gotten her back. They had just started to get back onto good terms despite everything that had happened in their past. They were just starting to get back and now she was gone, just like before.

Neither of them had said anything the entire time other than the occasional 'walker' as they trekked through the woods, weaving between trees and over fallen logs, hoping that they would just find her sitting down somewhere, but she was nowhere to be seen.

It was only when the sun started to set that Daryl stopped walking, stopped looking for tracks and turned around, leaning against the nearest tree and dropped his head.

She was gone and he couldn't find her.

Tears starting to rise in his eyes, but he refused to let them spill. He shouldn't have fallen asleep, he should have stayed awake, he should have known she was going to do something like this.
 
"We still have daylight, we have to keep looking." Rick's voice suddenly called out.

Daryl just shook his head, staring down at the ground as he leant his forearms against the tree in front of him, unable to look at Rick.

"She's gone." Was all Daryl could say.

"No, we don't know-"

"She's gone, man!" Daryl snapped, lifting his head as he looked over at Rick through teary eyes, to find Rick staring right back at him with his own tear filled eyes. "She ain't comin' back, we both know it." He added, his voice hoarse as stared at Rick.

"No. No. No. No." Rick repeated, running his shaky hands through his hair.

He stared at Daryl desperately who just shook his head sadly, all the tears he had been trying to keep away now silently trickling down his cheeks.

"She can't be gone... Not, her. This is all my fault. T-This is my fault." Rick mumbled, dropping to his knees.

He covered his face with his hands, tears falling down his face. There was nothing Daryl would do as he dropped to the ground, his back resting against the tree behind him as him and Rick broke down in the middle of the woods.

Chapter Text

The next eight or so months was spent crashing from building to building, never staying in one spot for too long. 

You used to have an old ford pickup truck, until the engine died. After that you stuck to traveling on foot with nothing but your weapons and a duffle bag full of supplies to your name.

It was strange being on your own. It was quiet. It was lonely and it was scary at night while you slept and hoped nobody dead or alive killed you in your sleep.

You missed your brother, you missed Carl, you even missed Lori. But you missed Daryl most of all. You missed the shit out of him and you found yourself often dreaming of him. Dreaming of the life you could've had together in the old world.

It was just another day.

You were following some road you had been walking on for the past week, killing any walkers you came across and scavenging any buildings you happened to pass. You thought you had seen it all during those past eight months on the road by yourself, from herds of walkers to gangs of wanna be bikers, but you had never seen anything like this. A community.

There was a community. You never imagined something like that could exist in this world.How'd they even get those walls up before the walkers came through? How many people were inside? Were they good people? Did they have any weapons? You had so many questions, but you figured knocking on the front gate and asking was a good way to get killed.

Instead, you stuck to the woods and scoped the place out. They had guards on every side of the community, all of which were carrying what looked to be assault rifles and they did not look friendly. As much as it would be nice to be safe inside those walls, you were not going to risk your life for it. You didn't know those people and frankly you were better off alone.

You sat crouched down in the woods for a few more minutes as you stared at the community before you figured you should probably keep moving and find a camp before it got dark, but before you even had the chance to stand up something hard collided with the back of your head and everything turned black.

-

You woke up slowly. Your eyes fluttering open and it took your foggy brain a few moments before you realised that you were lying in an unknown room.

Quickly, you sat up in sudden panic, reaching for your handgun, but it wasn't there. Your entire duty belt was gone, all your weapons, gone.

You glanced around the room, frowning when you realised you were in some kind of medical room. Medical equipment and medicine stacked the cupboards along the wall, not to mention you were sitting on a old hospital gurney.

"Oh, good you're awake. How are you feeling?" An unfamiliar voice questioned causing you to quickly jump off the bed.

You grabbed a pair of scissors from the bench and held it up in front of you as you stared at the woman in the doorway who was wearing nurse scrubs causing you to frown.

"Whoa. It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." The nurse quickly said, raising her hands in surrender.

"Where the hell am i?" You questioned, your eyes never leaving the woman as you fingers tightened around the scissors. "Where are my weapons?"

"You're at Woodbury. You're safe, but we took your weapons. Couldn't have an armed stranger inside our community."

That community you were scouting out... you were inside it. Whoever hit you, must have taken you inside, but why?

Your left hand was cuffed to the side of the bed, so you couldn't really get far. They were definitely your own handcuffs and that annoyed you.

"Well shit, look who it is." A familiar voice called out.

Your head to snapped towards the door just as Merle fucking Dixon walked into the room and you froze.

He now had some kind of metal prosthetic on his left arm which had a knife strapped to the end and you had to give him credit for that. Of course, Merle Dixon would figure out how to make a weapon out of a cut off hand.

"Heard the news about some chick in a cop uniform showing up outta nowhere. Had to be sure ya were real."

He lent against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at you and you stared back, not really sure what to say. Hell, he probably hated you for leaving him for dead back in Atlanta and you weren't sure why he hadn't killed you already.

"Where the hell am I?" You questioned, getting straight to the point.

Although, you knew exactly where you were. You were inside the community you were scoping out. Someone must have saw you and took you inside, but why not just kill you?

"Woodbury. It's a community and you're lucky to be alive, usually they just kill strangers who are found sneaking around the place." Merle answered as he walked into the room and grabbed a chair from the wall before he placed it near your bed and sat down.

"You going to kill me?" You asked, glancing down at his metal hand causing Merle to chuckle as he shook his head.

"Ya know, when they found me, I was near bled out. Starving. Thinking to myself a bullet might make a good last meal. Take myself a nice long nap after and wait for Daryl on the other side." 

You just nodded because those exact thoughts had run through your mind too many times to count during the past few months. Just one shot and it would all be over and you could be with your brother again.

"Ya seen my brother?" Merle asked, snapping you out of your thoughts as you shook your head.

"Not for a few months. He went back for you in Atlanta. A group of us did, but you were already gone."

"That prick who cuffed me to the roof top. He was a friend of yours ain't he?" Merle asked and you just shook your head as you thought back to that day.

"Not anymore." You muttered, looking away from Merle as you looked around the room. "Look, Daryl wanted to keep looking for you in Atlanta, but shit went down. People died. A lot of our group died. Jim, Ed, Amy, Jacqui... Shane."

"Officer Walsh? That other pig? Wish I coulda seen that." Merle chuckled, but that was all it took before you snapped as you yanked on the handcuffs on your left hand and glared at Merle.

"Shut the fuck up." You warned, growling as you struggled with the cuffs, but there was no way you could get them off. "He was my brother, asshole."

Merle's expression quickly sobered up as he took in what you just said and he lowered his head.

"I didn't know that, I'm sorry." He apologised and to your surprise he sounded genuinely sorry. "Is my brother dead too?" 

"Dunno. Shit went down with a herd, we all barely made it out alive and I left the group. Haven't seen any of them for months."

Merle didn't say anything after that before he stood up and began to walk over you and unlocked the handcuffs causing you to frown.

"You're weapons are in that cupboard over there. There's drinking water from that tap. When you're finished come outside, the Governor wants to meet you." Merle explained before he walked out the room, closing the door behind him as you sat there rubbing your sore wrist.

Who the hell is the Governor?

To your surprise, Merle was right. All your weapons were in the cupboard and you clipped your belt back on over your pants and checked to make sure everything was there. Your gun, baton, torch, OC spray and now your handcuffs back in the pouch at the back of your belt.

Once all your weapons were secure, you walked over to the sink and turned on the tap as water started to flow from it and you couldn't stop the smile spreading across your face as you stuck your head under and began to drink the fresh rain water.

A few minutes later, you had made your way outside and walked out the door, but stopped and looked around the area, taking in just how big the community was.

Houses lined the street as people walked around the area, talking, playing, laughing, like the world hadn't died and that there weren't walkers wandering around outside the walls. There were kids running around and flowers and grass growing along the footpaths. It was like nothing had happened inside this community, like the world outside didn't exist.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

You turned around to find a man walking towards you with Merle beside him as he gestured towards the community around him.

"I'm guessing you're the Governor? You run this place?" You asked, looking over at the stranger who nodded. "How? How does something like this last? How'd you even get the walls up in time?" 

"A lot is possible when people work together. Once we got the walls up everything came together. We have food, shelter, supplies, weapons, we're a well sustained community." The Governor explained as you looked away from him and continued to glance around the community.

This was too good to be true. Something like this couldn't just exist, nothing this good ever lasted. There had to be a catch.

"My house is at the far end of the street, I share it with a few of my men and there's a spare room. You're welcome to stay there for as long as you like." The Governor offered a few moments later.

"I'm a stranger, why would you let me stay?"

You glanced over at Merle who had been way to quiet for the Merle Dixon you used to know, but he just shrugged his shoulders as he glanced around the community.

"You're a cop, could be useful having someone like you around." The Governor simply answered causing you to chuckle.

"I could have just stolen this uniform and gear." You responded causing Merle to snort as he glanced over at you.

"Ya could have, but ya have the word cop written all over ya. C'mon I'll show ya around the place." Merle said and the Governor nodded, saying something about seeing you later before Merle began to lead you down the street.

"Somethin' ya should know." Merle began to say as you reached the front gate and looked out through the gap between the two metal gates.

You could see a few walkers stumbling along the street outside, but they had no idea you were in there. None of the walkers did, this entire community was a safe zone.

"What is it?" You asked, glancing over your shoulder towards him just as you spotted a familiar face jogging down the street towards you and your jaw dropped when you realised who it was.

"Y/N?! Dixon, told me you were here, but I didn't believe it until now. How did you get here? Are the others here?" Andrea questioned breathlessly as she reached you, but before you had a chance to answer, she wrapped her arms around you, taking you by surprise not expecting the other woman to hug you.

"It's just me here, how'd you get here?" You asked once she pulled away from you.

"Phillip and Merle saved me. Saved us." Andrea answered, looking over her shoulder towards some other woman who was sitting on a bench on the footpath across the road.

You studied the woman for a moment, taking in her dark skin and long dreadlocks. You had definitely never seen her before, but clearly Andrea knew her.

"I'll leave you girls to catch up, Governor and I got stuff to do." Merle spoke up and you nodded, watching as he walked off before you looked back at Andrea.

"Who's Phillip?" You asked in confusion.

"The Governor." She answered and you couldn't stop the smile forming on your face. She was on first name basis with the Governor, they must be close. "I've only been here for a few days. It's good here. Michonne on the other hand doesn't think so."

"Why's that?" You asked, glancing back over at the Michonne woman. If someone else was getting bad vibes about this place, then maybe there was a reason for it.

"I don't know. She has trust issues, I've been with her all winter, she saved my life when the farm fell. How'd you get out anyway? Did you get separated from the group too?" 

"Something like that." You answered as your eyes scanned the area, trying to map out everything inside the community.

"Come on, I'll show you around." Andrea said and with that the two of you began to walk around the community. 

She showed you around the whole community, pointing out various buildings and people. She told you how they had armed guards on every wall, although you already knew that from when you were scouting the place earlier. She told you more about Michonne, how the two of them survived all winter together and how they ended up inside this community. 

Andrea seemed to really like this community, seemed to be really attached to this Governor, but there was still something about this place that didn't sit right with you. There was something about the Governor that didn't sit right with you.

"Hey, we've been looking for you. This is Y/N, the one I've been telling you about. Y/N, this is Michonne." Andrea introduced as you walked into some house to find the other woman sitting at the table in the middle of the room as she zipped up a duffle bag on the table.

Michonne just nodded at you and you nodded back before she turned her attention towards Andrea. "You ready to go?" She asked causing you to frown.

Go? Where are they going?

"I think we should stay for a few more days-" Andrea began to say before Michonne cut her off.

"We had a deal."

"I think we should stay here a bit longer get our strength up. The Governor is throwing a party tomorrow. We can always leave after it or the following day." Andrea quickly suggested, but that clearly didn't sit right with Michonne.

"The following day?" Michonne repeated, raising her eyebrows at Andrea.

"We don't want to walk into trouble that we can't get out of it. It's just for a day or two."

"I heard you the first time." She muttered before she walked out the room.

"Sorry. She's usually not like that. Umm, you can take the couch over there, there's blankets and pillows in the cupboard, make yourself comfortable. I'm gonna go talk to Michonne." Andrea said, following after the other woman, leaving you standing in the middle of the room wondering what to do.

Chapter Text

That night, you slept on the couch, Michonne on the other couch while Andrea slept on the bed. Nobody spoke all night and you could have sworn Michonne hated you, until she approached you during the party.

Everyone was gathered outside, enjoying the nice weather and drinking cold drinks that the Governor had put in the freezer for the special occasion. Although, you had no idea what the special occasion was, but the people seemed to be having a good time with barbeques cooking and soft music playing.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Michonne's voice suddenly asked.

You glanced over your shoulder to find her walking towards you, "of course, what's up?"

She nodded over shoulder indicating for you to follow her. The two of you walked down the street away from the mass gathering of people and once you were out of earshot Michonne stopped walking and turned towards you.

"You're a cop?" She asked, although it sounded more like a statement than a question. you just nodded, unsure of where this conversation was going to go. "Cops are smart. whats your gut telling you about this place?" 

"Honestly, my gut is telling me that it's too good to be true. There has to be a catch to all of this and that Governor guy... I don't know, there's just something off about him. You think that too, don't you?"

Michonne nodded before something caught her attention in the building behind you and you frowned when you realised it was the Governor walking past the window upstairs. It was hard to see through the curtains, but there was definitely someone with him inside, someone small. Who the hell was in there with him? Everyone else was at the party.

"You can see the kid in there too right?" You asked quietly as you stared at the two figures through the window.

"Yeah... do you think that he's..." Michonne trailed off, but you knew what she was trying to say.

That the Governor was keeping some kid locked up in his bedroom. You knew something was off about the guy, but you didn't think it would be something like this.

"Maybe. We wait for him to join the party, then we go up there and see what's going on." You suggested and Michonne immediately nodded in agreement. "Until then, blend in. Try and act happy like the others."

-

It took nearly an hour before the Governor was distracted with the party and began to make a speech at how far they had come and how grateful he was for the community. Which was when you and Michonne slipped away.

Silently the two of you snuck into the house and it didn't take long before you reached his bedroom as you pulled your handgun from your holster and walked inside. Your police training kicked in as you swept the room, doing a full internal patrol before you nodded to Michonne that the place was clear.

You holstered your gun and began to look around the room, trying to find any sign of a child being inside before something caught Michonne's attention. She walked over to some glass cabinet and pulled out a white katana. You watched as she instantly slung it over her shoulder like second nature and you knew that it was her weapon. It suited her.

"Hey." Michonne whispered, snapping your attention away from the katana on her back as she pointed towards a photo frame on the coffee table.

You walked over to her and glanced down at the photo and you sighed with relief. It was a family portrait of the Governor and his wife and daughter.

He had a daughter.

He wasn't some pedophile who kept kids locked up in his room, like many people you had arrested back in the day. He had his own daughter, that's who you and Michonne had seen earlier.

"Well, now I actually feel bad for assuming the worst. The dude has a kid. Shit, maybe this place isn't as bad as what we thought?" You asked out loud, but before Michonne had a chance to say anything the sound of something banging filled the air. "What the hell is that?" 

Your hand immediately reached for your gun as you looked in the direction it came from, spotting a wooden door which you assumed lead towards a bathroom, but now you weren't too sure.

You walked over to the door, pulling your gun back out and holding it by your side before you reached for the doorhandle, but it wouldn't budge. Who the hell locks their bathroom?

You were about to try kick the door open before you heard voices outside that were getting closer. Your head quickly snapped back towards Michonne who stared at you with wide eyes before nodding over her shoulder and the two of you ran into the kitchen.

She managed to get behind a wall to the left, but you couldn't reach it before the door to the room opened. You quickly dropped down behind the island bench in the kitchen as you sat there with you back to the bench and your hand gripping tightly around your gun.

"Trust me, I love a party. But, we are using a lot of resources. For instance the generators." A familiar voice stated and you were pretty sure the voice belonged to that Milton guy who you had seen around the place.

"I thought you love a party." The Governor responded as you closed your eyes hoping they wouldn't come into the kitchen.

"Come on, Milty. Lighten up, for Christ's sake. Let your hair down, man. Have some fun for once." Merle's voice spoke up and you silently cursed.

Of course, Merle was here. He always hung around the wrong crowds back in the day, seemed like the end of the world didn't change much.

"So, this Y/N chick. Can we trust her? I'm starting to trust Andrea, but not Michonne and I'm not sure about the cop chick." The Governor suddenly said catching your attention real quick.

"She was dating my brother back in the day, Y/N is cool. You won't have to worry 'bout her." Merle reassured before their footsteps started to get closer. "Milton, grab those beers from the fridge." 

Shit, he was coming into the kitchen.

"Psst." Michonne whispered.

You quickly looked over at her to find her poking her head around the corner as she held up her hand silently telling you not to move. She stared at the three men who were further in the room and not a second later she quickly waved you over to her and you blindly trusted her and crawled across the kitchen floor.

You only just met the other woman, but right now she was the only person you trusted inside this community. Andrea and Merle seemed to be attached to the Governor's hip, but Michonne could tell something was wrong.

"Back door." She whispered.

You nodded and followed her out some door before you ended up on a fire escape and climbed out.

You jumped the remaining couple of metres from the fire escape ladder and landed on the ground as you looked around the area and frowned. You had never seen this section of the community before. You glanced around taking in the abandon area. It was quiet out here, too quiet. Why wasn't anyone on this side of town?

"You ever been around here?" You asked quietly, holstering your gun.

Michonne shook her head as the two of you slowly walked around the area before you heard some walkers and found them locked inside a wire cage. They had walkers locked in a cage.

"Yep, that's totally normal." You muttered to yourself.

Michonne pulled out her katana and before you had a chance to process what she was doing, she broke the lock on the cage and opened the door.

You quickly pulled your baton from the side of your belt and flicked it out while backing away slowly beside Michonne. You held your baton up and she held her sword up as she glanced over at you with a questioning.

"You're crazy, but in a good way." 

You could have sworn you saw the woman smile before the two of you took out the walkers. Michonne with her sword slicing their heads while you smashed their brains in with your baton.

"You're not too bad yourself." Michonne responded, glancing over at you as the two of you stood amongst all the dead corpses on the ground. "I'm leaving. Andrea wants to stay, I can't make her leave. But, I'm leaving. You could come with me if you want?"

You thought about it for a while, but you couldn't just leave. There was something fishy going on her. Your inner cop was telling you to figure it out and you could never leave a case unsolved. Plus, if something really was up with this Governor guy, you couldn't just leave Merle and Andrea with him.

-

Michonne left a few hours before dark. Andrea wasn't happy about it and they had a full on yelling contest by the front gate before Michonne walked off and Merle closed the gate behind her. Andrea soon disappeared after that, no doubt with the Governor somewhere leaving you and Merle standing by the gate.

"How much do you know about this Governor, do you trust him?" You asked quietly, glancing around to make sure nobody else was nearby before you looked back to Merle who seemed shocked with the question.

"He saved my life. Yeah, I trust him. Why? You don't?"

"Something just doesn't feel right." You answered honestly causing Merle to chuckle.

"You're thinkin' too much into it. C'mon, the party is really about to start when the sun goes down. Got a whole fighting ring set up, you'll like it."

You just nodded, knowing there was no point trying to get Merle to see your point of view. The last thing you needed was him telling the Governor that you were suspicious of something.

You waited until nightfall, while everyone was setting up around the fighting ring, which wasn't really a fighting ring at all. It was a ring made up of walkers on chains and two fighting inside. It was ridiculous and they had music playing way to loudly. It was like they wanted the walkers outside to bust through the walls and get in the community.

You watched for a few minutes while Merle fought with another man inside the ring before you slipped away from the group and made your way back to the Governor's room. You and Michonne never ended up finding out what that banging noise was and you really wanted to know why the Governor would lock his bathroom.

He was hiding something, that was clear as day, but you just couldn't figure out what.

It didn't take long before you were back inside his room and as you suspected the bathroom was still locked. For a moment, you thought about trying to pick the lock, but that would just take too much time and you couldn't risk someone walking in on you.

Without further thought you kicked the door in, it took a few tries, but on the third the door swung open and you walked in, but immediately stopped.

It wasn't a bathroom. It was another room and there were fish tanks along the left wall with walker heads inside, the walkers still alive;

What the actual fuck?!

You knew this guy was strange, but this was just crazy. Who does that? Who keeps walkers heads in a locked room in your house?

Suddenly the banging started again. You quickly turned around and realised that it was coming from a small latched door on the other side of the room.

Great, more locked doors.

You walked across the room and knelt down beside the small door. Hesitantly, you turned the latch and opened it, but the second you realised what was inside your jaw dropped. There was a little kid, There was a little kid inside.

"Oh my God." You gasped as the kid started to walk towards you.

There was a bag over her head and her arms were tied behind her back. Who the fuck would do this to a child?

"It's okay. I'm a Police Officer, I'm here to help you."

The little girl walked out the small room as you knelt down in front of her and gently grabbed her shoulders.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." You reassured, gently reached for the bag over her head and pulled it off.

The second the bag was off, you jumped to your feet and took a few steps back because the kid was a fucking walkers.

The Governor had been keeping his walker daughter locked up in a small room beside another room that had walker heads in fish tanks. You had to get the hell out of this place.

"I'm sorry this happened to you." You whispered, pulling out your baton and slamming it into the side of the little girls head, killing the walker instantly.

"NO!" An all familiar voice shouted.

You quickly spun around to find the Governor standing in the door way with his gun aimed at you as he stared at his daughter on the ground.

Oh, shit.

Not a second later, the Governor charged at you. You quickly tried to pull out your gun, but you didn't get the chance before he grabbed you and pinned you up against the wall and slammed the butt of his gun against the side of your face. Then everything turned black. 

-

You awoke with a gasp, cold water splashing against your face causing your eyes to snap open to find the Governor standing in front of you with a steel bucket in his hands.

Your head hurt something awful and you could feel dry blood plastered to the side of your face from where he had hit you with gun, but other than that you were okay. For now.

You glanced around the room, quickly realising that you were tied up. Your hands were tied above your head to some metal pipe along the roof, your feet barely touching the ground.

The room you were in was only small, surrounded by tin walls and cement floor with a singular light bulb dangling from the middle of the room. There was nothing in the room that you could see other than the wooden table and chair in front of you.

"You killed my daughter."

"Your daughter was already dead, you sick fuck." You responded and as soon as the words left your mouth, you immediately regretted it. Not a second later, the Governor's fist collided with your face.

You didn't get a chance to recover before he punched you again, somehow hitting the same spot and you could instantly taste copper in your mouth. You spat the blood onto the ground by his feet, ignoring the sting coming from what you assumed was a now split lip.

"This is only the beginning, Deputy. You're about to learn about pain and I'm not going to stop until you're begging for me to kill you, and then I will keep going." The Governor threatened while he picked up an object from the table behind him and it only took you a few seconds before you realised what it was.

Knuckle dusters.

This was going to be fun.

"Just hurry up and get it over with." You responded, trying to make your voice sound as bored as possible.

It seemed to work because the next thing you knew the Governor slipped on the knuckle dusters and slammed it against the side of your face.

Sudden pain bursting from the point of contact before he punched you again, and again.

"Does Merle know about this?" You winced, lifting your head.

"No, I've sent him after Michonne. He's not here and he's not going to save you. Nobody is going to save you." He answered and your blood turned cold.

He sent Merle after Michonne? What was he going to do to her?

You didn't get much time to dwell over it before the punching started up again, this time to your rib cage. You couldn't stop yourself from screaming as he landed a solid punch to your ribs followed by a very distinct cracking sound, sharp pain soaring through your ribs.

You bit your lip, stopping yourself from screaming any further. That's what he wanted. He wanted to hear your screams, he wanted to see you suffering and you weren't going to give that to him. You weren't going to give him that satisfaction.

So, you closed your eyes and bit your lips until you drew blood and pictured your brother in your head. His annoying yet oddly calming voice telling you to not give, no matter what.

-

Before-

"I can't do it!" You shouted in frustration from where you had fallen onto the bitumen road for the hundredth time, your skateboard lying on the ground a few metres away as you brushed your hands over your scraped knees.

"Get up." Your big brother instructed, walking over to you.

He held his hand out, but you refused to take it.

You were done with this stupid skateboard. You weren't even sure why you had wanted to learn to ride to begin with. It was pointless and impossible. If you wanted to scrape your knees up, you'd stick racing Shane and Rick on your bicycle.

"I thought you wanted to learn how to ride a skateboard and falling is part of learning." Rick's voice called out.

You glanced over your shoulder to find him walking down the driveway of his house across the road, his own skateboard tucked under his arm and you rolled your eyes.

Great, now there were two stupid teenagers annoying you.

"Rick's right and the Y/N I know, she never gives up." Shane added, lowering his hand and walking over to your skateboard, picking it up and placing it on the ground beside you. "You just have to keep trying, you remember how many times Rick fell on his ass when he first started learning. Did he ever give up?"

"No." You muttered, staring at your pink camouflage painted skateboard beside you.

"That's because we don't give up. You never give up, especially since you wanted to be known as the first girl in third grade to ride a skateboard. Now, ready to give it another try?" Shane asked, holding his hand back out towards you and you nodded, taking his hand as he helped you to his feet.

"Shane, help her get her balance. Then all you have to do is copy me." Rick instructed, placing his own skateboard onto the ground beside you.

He stepped on top of it and you copied him, stepping onto yours while Shane held your shoulders, keeping you steady.

"Just do what Rick does." Shane said.

You nodded watching your brothers best friend as he lowered one of his feet to the ground and began to push off as he rode down the street slowly.

You watched Rick for a few seconds before you took a deep breath and copied his movements and before you even knew it, you were riding along side him while Shane cheered from the side of the road behind you.

"See what happens when you don't give up?" Rick asked, glancing over at you and you nodded, unable to stop the giant smile spreading across your face before glancing over your shoulder to find your brother jumping in joy behind you. 

Chapter Text

You weren't too sure when the Governor had traded the knuckle dusters for a knife, time started to blur together.

You were pretty sure you now had a concussion after so many hits to the head, but that was the furthest thing from your mind right now since there was now a knife sticking out your shoulder.

When did the knife even get there? 

"Scream for me." The Governor whispered, but you just kept your mouth pressed shut. "Fine, we will do this the hard way. But, one way or another I will get you to scream."

He yanked the knife out your shoulder and sliced the blade along the triceps of the same arm.

You squeezed your eyes shut in pain, but refused to scream. You were not going to give that satisfaction.

Blood slowly trickled from your arm and down the side of your body. Without even looking you knew the side of your uniform shirt was slowly turning red.

You kept your eyes closed while he did the same to your other arm before he started undoing the buttons to your Deputy shirt shirt causing your eyes to snap open to find him now standing with his back to you as he put the knife down on the table and picked up another object.

It was hard to see what knew weapon he had picked up, his body blocking your view. But, before he had a chance to turn around and no doubt use the weapon on you, there was a sudden knock on the door.

The Governor put down whatever he had just grabbed and walked over to the door. For a moment, you had a small ounce of hope that it was Merle and that he had come to help you, but as the Governor moved to the side you realised it wasn't him. It was one of his other men.

"Merle's back. He didn't find Michonne, but he's got a man and woman tied up." The new guy explained.

You sighed with relief hearing that Michonne was still safe, but who were these people Merle had grabbed?

"Thank you, Martinez. I want you to deal with Y/N while I got talk to Merle." The Governor replied and the man -Martinez- nodded, stepping to the side letting the Governor walk out before he shut the door behind his boss and turned around to face you.

The man didn't say anything as his eyes scanned your body, taking in all the cuts and bruises, but you didn't miss how his eyes hovered over your chest and stomach that were exposed through your now open shirt.

You watched Martinez cautiously as he slowly walked towards the table, his eyes looking away from you and scanning the wooden table that was just covered in objects you could barely see, which was probably a good thing.

He stopped in front of the table for a moment, clearly trying to figure out what to pick before he grabbed something to the left and your eyes widened taking in the black whip in his hands.

You've got to be fucking kidding.

"I don't want to do this. You're Merle's friend and he would kill me if he found out. But, the Governor will kill me if I don't this." 

A small part of you understood and felt bad for the guy as he walked around the table until he standing in front of you.

"Just get it over with." You muttered, lowering your head not wanting to see and anticipate the cuts the whip will cause and not a second later the whip cracked, slicing skin across your stomach.

-

You must have passed out because when you opened your eyes, the room was empty. No sign of the Governor or Martinez anywhere.

You glanced down at your stomach, taking in the bruises and bloodied cuts that were painted over your body before you forced yourself to look away. You turned your attention above you as you stared at the rope that tied your wrists above your head, but to your shock the knots had been loosened.

Martinez had loosened your restraints. 

Without hesitation, you quickly began to wriggle your wrists to try and loosen the rope further. It felt like hours before your hands slipped free from the rope and your body crumbled to the ground with nothing holding you up anymore.

You landed on your side with a gasp, pain flaring through your entire body. It was impossible to even pinpoint the worst of the pain as you staggered to your feet, using the table to keep you up right and your eyes widened spotting your belt lying on top. It still had all your weapons in their holsters, your gun, baton, OC spray, torch and handcuffs.

Looked like your luck was finally starting to turn around.

You quickly clipped the belt around your waist and grabbed one of the knives from the table too before you rushed towards the door and slowly opened it. You stuck your head out and glanced down the hallway making sure it was clear.

Without wasting any time, you closed the door to the room behind you and started to make your way down the hallway.

You had no idea where you were, but there were a few doors lining the tin wall to your left that you assumed led to similar rooms that you were being held in and you figured that's where the Governor had taken his new people, but that was not your problem.

You had to find Andrea and Merle and get the hell out of here while you still could.

However, you barely made it a few steps past the first door before the sound of someone screaming echoed down the hallway followed by a very familiar laugh and you froze.

That was Merle's laugh.

Why was Merle laughing when someone was screaming? You thought to yourself before sudden realisation hit you. Merle was hurting the other person. He was doing the Governor's dirty work, like Martinez did with you.

Shit.

You couldn't just leave. You had to stop Merle.

With a sigh, you grabbed the doorhandle and yanked it open. But, the second you saw who was screaming inside the room, your blood ran cold.

Glenn.

Your jaw dropped staring at the man you considered a friend. He was strapped to a chair in the middle of the room while Merle punched him.

Why was Merle hurting him? Actually that was a stupid question, Merle would still be pissed about the Atlanta thing and probably wanted to know where his brother was and by the looks of it, Glenn was refusing to give up that information which was a relief because you did not want to the Governor anywhere near Daryl or Carl or any of them. Even Rick.

"Mer-" You began to call out before a hand suddenly clasped your mouth and the next thing you knew you were being dragged back down the hallway.

It took your brain a moment to remember that you were holding a knife before you swung your arm back blindly hoping to stab whoever it was that was dragging you. But, you missed and you didn't get a second chance because the person yanked the knife from your hand and slammed into your thigh causing you to yelp in pain before they pulled it out and dropped it to the ground.

You had no idea who had grabbed you, but that didn't matter as you kicked and struggled against the persons tight grip, but it was no use as they dragged you back into that same room and threw you to the ground.

You tried to break your fall with your arms, but your right arm instantly gave way as pain spiked through your shoulder from the knife wound and you couldn't stop the groan that left your lips as your body crashed into the cement floor.

You could feel blood coming from the wound to your thigh, but you had bigger things to worry about right now.

"Now that was a mistake." The Governor's voice said, breaking the silence, but you weren't going down without a fight.

"No, it wasn't." You responded as you reached for your handgun, but you didn't even get to touch your holster before the Governor was on you.

His hands grabbed the back of your ripped shirt and pulled you to your feet before he slammed you into the wall to your left. He pinned your front up against the tin wall and held your hands behind your back before pulling out the handcuffs from your belt and cuffed your hands together.

"Get the fuck off me." You shouted.

The Governor didn't respond in words, instead he grabbed your hair and slammed your head into the wall.

The side of your forehead hit the tin wall causing black dots to cloud your vision, fresh blood trickling down your face again.

Well, now you definitely had a concussion. 

"Well, now you know about Glenn and Maggie. That wasn't meant to happen." The Governor said from behind you, his forearms pressed against your back to keep you pinned to the wall.

Maggie was here as well?

"You touch them and I swear to god I will kill you." You threatened, unable to hide the slight panic in your tone at the thought of Maggie and Glenn going through what the Governor had done to you.

Well, Merle seemed to be doing a number on Glenn, but you hoped Maggie was okay.

"Merle has Glenn handled, as you already know. But, Maggie... she is a pretty girl isn't she? I wouldn't mind getting my hands on-" 

"Don't you fucking touch her. Do whatever you want to me, but leave her out of it. I'm the one you want anyway, I killed your daughter." Your responded which seemed to catch the Governors attention.

He pushed you harder against the wall causing you to wince, but the Governor didn't say anything in response leaving you confused for a few seconds before the sound of a belt being undone filled the air and your heart stopped.

Every muscle in your body was telling you to run, to fight, to somehow get away from the man behind you, but you couldn't get yourself to move. Even if you could get your body to move, there was no way you'd be able to get out of the Governor's grip not with your injuries.

You were frozen to the spot and there was nothing you could do but take it as the Governor started to undo your belt before he pressed himself up against you and you closed your eyes waiting for it to be over.

-

"Y/N?"

"Y/N, can you hear me?"

"Hey, you need to wake up." A familiar voice shouted as gentle hands shook your shoulders snapping you awake.

You instantly sat up with a gasp and hurriedly scurried away from the person in front of you.

Everything came flooding back. Images of the Governor filled your mind and you could still feel his body up against you as you covered your face with shaky hands and tried to make yourself as small as possible.

"Easy. Easy, I'm not going to hurt you. It's me." The person said, but that wasn't the Governor's voice, it was Michonne's voice.

Slowly, you lowered your hands and looked up to find the other woman standing a few metres away, her eyes wide and staring at you in shock, but you could see the worry in her expression. You looked down at your body taking in all the dry and fresh blood, all the bruises and cuts, but what caught your attention was the fact that your jeans were undone, your belt no where to be seen.

"Can you walk?" Michonne asked, snapping you out your thoughts.

You looked back at the other woman to find her taking a step towards you, holding out your weapons belt that she had picked up off the ground and you nodded, not trusting your voice at the moment.

With shaky hands you zipped and buttoned up your jeans, hating how even that small movement caused your entire body to ache in pain before you slowly forced yourself to your feet, but if it wasn't for Michonne's quick reflexes you would have fallen back down again. She grabbed your shoulders, keeping you up right until you got your footing and took your belt from her before clipping it back on.

"C'mon, we need to get out of here." Michonne said and you nodded again, not saying anything as she grabbed your good arm and slung it over her shoulder. 

You weren't really paying attention to where Michonne was leading you as you just focused on placing one foot in front of the other.

Before you knew it, the two of you were walking through the woods, somehow getting out of Woodbury without being spotted.

Michonne hadn't tried to talk to you or ask what happened, you knew she could probably figure out what happened and who was responsible. You hadn't talked either, what was there to say? You just wanted to get as far away as possible from the Governor.

"Someone's coming." A voice whispered in the distance somewhere, causing you to frown because the two of you were literally in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night, who else would be out here?

"It's Michonne." Michonne called out. 

Her words didn't seem to calm the people as the sound of guns cocking filled the air before Rick, Maggie and Glenn walked out from the trees with their guns raised.

"Where the hell-" Rick began to shout, staring at Michonne before his eyes flashed down to you from where you were leaning against the other woman and Rick's voice instantly died in his throat as he stared at you like he was seeing a ghost.

His Colt Python slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground, but he didn't make any move to pick it up as his stared at you in pure shock.

"Y/N?" Maggie questioned in confusion.

She quickly lowered her gun and Glenn followed her lead as they both stared at you and all you could do was nod weakly.

"Holy shit, I thought I'd never see you again. What happened? Are you okay?" Rick asked once he snapped out of his initial shock as his eyes scanned your body taking in all the blood, cuts and bruises before he began to take a few steps towards you, but you quickly held you hand up, ignoring the flare of pain that spiked through the knife wound in your shoulder.

"Don't. Just don't." You said, your voice barely above a whisper, but he clearly heard it and immediately stopped where he was.

You hadn't forgotten what he did.

He killed your brother, he murdered him. 

"Y/N..." Rick started to say, but trailed off knowing there was nothing he could say to make up for what he did. 

Chapter Text

"We have to get her back to the prison." 

Someone said causing you to frown because why the hell would you need to go to a prison for? 

"They're camp is a prison, it's safe. Where are the rest of your people?" Michonne said, like she could read your mind. 

"Oscar's dead. Daryl is missing. Did you see him in there?" Rick questioned.

Wait, Daryl was here? He was still inside Woodbury?

"If anything happens to him-" Rick began to threaten, his eyes locked with Michonne's before she cut him off.

"I bought you here to save them and you'll need my help to get them back to the prison or to go back in there for Daryl. Either way, you need me."

You could sense that Rick and Michonne had some kind of trust issues with each other. She was probably just a stranger to them, but you trusted her.

"We have to get Glenn and Y/N back, they can barely walk." Maggie spoke up.

You quickly shook your head, but instantly regretted. The movement caused black dots to cloud your vision, but you managed to blink them away. Now was not the time to pass out.

"No, I'm not leaving if Daryl is still in there and he won't leave without Merle." You said, speaking up for the first time. 

"Rick and I will go back for Daryl. Michonne, you get Glenn and Y/N back to the car and wait for us." Maggie instructed, but you could tell Rick did not like that plan at all as his head snapped back towards Michonne with a stern expression.

"Rick, we'll be fine. Just get Daryl back." Glenn reassured and to your relief Rick reluctantly nodded before he glanced over at you, clearly wanting to say something, but he didn't.

It took over two hours of walking through the woods before you finally reached the car that was parked on the side of the road.

Glenn was beat up badly, but most his injuries were to his face from Merle, so he could walk alright, but you were a little more slower and walked with a limp while Michonne walked beside you, helping you occasionally.

The knife wound through your thigh and shoulder were still bleeding slowly, along with one of the gashes on your forehead when the Governor slammed your face into the wall before he... no, you were not going to think about that. It was over, it doesn't matter.

When you reached the car, Michonne opened the passenger side door and helped you sit down and leant the chair back a little bit for you as you curled up with your knees to your chest and laid there. Michonne stood beside your open door, leaning her back against the car while Glenn sat down on the road.

You could feel Glenn staring at you from where he was sitting, but you didn't say anything to him. You could see the questioning look on his face, clearly wanting to know what had happened to you, but to your relief, he didn't ask.

You must have fallen asleep because the next thing you knew your eyes snapped opened. Lingering nightmares of the Governor washing over you and you quickly realised that it was now daylight. How long were you asleep for?

Slowly you tried to move, but your entire body ached in protest causing you to wince before Daryl appeared beside you.

For a moment you thought you were still dreaming as you stared at the man you thought you'd never see again, his crystal blue eyes staring right back at you.

"Easy. S'okay, just take it easy." He soothed as he gently lifted his hand and cupped the side of your face, taking in all the blood and bruises that painted your body.

You glanced around the area realising you were still in the car. Further down the road, the others were all talking amongst themselves before you focused back on Daryl who was kneeling beside you.

His hair was a little longer and darker now, but he still spotted the same vest and signature crossbow over his shoulder.

"Who the hell did this to you?" Daryl asked, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You looked back towards him, hating his angry, yet worried expression. You had only seen that expression a few times before and you hated it. You didn't want him to be worried about you, you didn't want his sympathy and you sure as hell didn't want him to think you were weak or some kind of victim.

"Doesn't matter." You mumbled, but Daryl shook his head.

He lowered his hand from your cheek and began to inspect the rag that was tied around your thigh which you didn't even realise was there. Michonne must have tried to patch you up when you were unconscious.

"The hell it doesn't. This is a stab wound 'n I'm pretty sure the one on your shoulder matches it. Who did this?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Where's Merle?" You asked, trying to change the topic because you knew if you told him who was responsible, you were willing to bet he would march right back into Woodbury to try kill the Governor.

"Rick knocked him out, he's by a tree over there." He answered and you nodded, relieved that he was okay and away from the Governor, but you knew that wasn't going to sit right with Rick or Glenn. "They don't want him with us."

"Then go change their mind. I'll be fine." You replied, nodding towards the others.

Daryl stared at you for a few seconds, not wanting to leave your side before he nodded and walked over to them.

You tried not to listen to their conversation as you leant back in your chair, pulling your knees to your chest. You wrapped your arms around your legs, trying to think of anything but the Governor, but that was all you could think about.

"Daryl, you don't have to do this." Maggie's voice pleaded, bringing your attention away from your thoughts.

"No him, no me. It was always Merle 'n I before this." You heard Daryl say from where the group of them were standing.

They were discussing what to do with Merle. The others wouldn't want him around, but you knew Daryl wouldn't leave without his older brother. He would never leave without Merle.

"What are you gonna tell Y/N? She needs you, man." Glenn responded and you sighed closing your eyes.

You knew Daryl already had his mind made up and he was leaving with Merle, no if, buts or maybes about it. You didn't want him to leave, but you knew how much his big brother meant to him and you out of all people understood that. If it was Shane, you would do the same thing.

"She'll understand." Daryl muttered and he was right.

You did understand, but that didn't mean you wanted him to leave.

"Daryl, are you serious? Daryl?!" Glenn shouted as the sound of footsteps filled the air and opened your eyes again, realising that they must be walking back to the car.

"Hey, hey. There's gotta be another way." You heard Rick speak up for the first time.

"Don't ask me to leave him. I already did that once."

Daryl walked back towards the car, guilt evident in his features before he reached the car and knelt down beside the open passenger door.

He didn't say anything as he rested his hand on your knee gently and you placed your hand on top his and squeezed it gently. You knew what he was about to say and as much as you wanted him to stay, you couldn't ask that of him.

Merle was his brother. Even before all this, the two of them were inseparable, despite how much they argued. You couldn't ask Daryl to choose. Hell, you had left after the farm. You just walked off while everyone was sleeping, you couldn't ask Daryl to stay after you did that.

"Merle 'n I-" 

"I know. It's okay." You reassured and Daryl stared at you in surprise causing you to smile softly. "He's your brother. I already lost my big brother, you can't lose yours too. Go with him, but be safe, okay?"

Daryl nodded ever so slightly as leant forward and kissed to the top of your head before walking around to the back of the car, grabbing his backpack from the boot.

You could hear him and Rick talking from behind the car, but you couldn't figure out what they were saying. Daryl walked off into the woods towards Merle and a few seconds later the others all climbed into the car.

Nobody said anything as Rick sat in the drivers seat, Glenn, Maggie and Michonne taking the back before Rick turned on the car and took off down the road.

You could feel Rick glancing over at you every few minutes, but you just turned your head and stared out the side window, still hugging your knees to your chest while trying to ignore him.

You must have fallen asleep again because when you woke up, you were staring at a ceiling of a room and not the inside of a car.

For a split second, you panicked thinking that you were back with the Governor. But when you glanced around the room you spotted Carl sitting on a chair beside your bed with a comic book in his hands.

"C-Carl?" You asked, your voice rough as you spoke causing the kid to drop his comic book and look over at you with wide eyes.

"Aunty Y/N!" He shouted, jumping up off his seat.

He rushed over to you and hugged you tightly, causing you to wince at the pain it caused and he quickly pulled away.

"I'm sorry." 

"It's okay, kiddo. I'm fine." You reassured, glancing down realising that you were still in your bloodied Deputy shirt and jeans, but your injuries had been cleaned and bandaged.

"Y/N, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?" Hershel's voice suddenly questioned.

The older man was standing in what you assumed used to be a prison cell, but he had a crutch under his arm and you frowned taking in his cut off leg.

Shit, how the hell did he lose his leg?

"I've had worse. How long was I asleep?" 

Suddenly, Rick appeared behind the older man, his eyes locked with yours and you had no idea what to do.

"You were out for a few hours. Can I have a moment alone with her?" Rick asked and with that Hershel and Carl sent you a friendly smile before they walked out the cell.

Rick stepped inside, but stayed in the doorway. Neither of you said anything for a while as Rick stared at you before you turned your head and stared up at the ceiling.

"Hershel cleaned your wounds the best he could. Had to stitch up the one on your thigh, shoulder and the cuts along your inner arms. You definitely have a concussion and the gash on your forehead required stitches. He thinks you could possibly have a couple broken or cracked ribs too... Y/N who did this to you?" 

You didn't say anything in response and continued to stare at the ceiling.

You weren't even shocked with that news. Your head hurt something awful, hell, your entire body hurt. But what hurt the most was the thumping pain between your legs and the memories of what the Governor had done to cause that pain.

"Y/N, please talk to me." Rick said a few moments later.

You had nothing to say to him and you didn't trust yourself to speak at the moment.

"Please, Y/N. I thought you were dead." He begged, but you just rolled onto your side, wincing slightly as you faced your back towards him.

"Y/N is dead, she died when you killed Shane." You whispered.

Rick didn't say anything in response to that, but you heard him sigh before he silently walked out your cell.

You slept for a few more hours, waking up in a cold sweat. Memories of the Governor filled your memory and you didn't even realise you had been crying before you felt a tear fall down your cheek and you quickly wiped it away as you tried to calm your breathing.

The Governor wasn't here. He couldn't hurt you here. You were safe. You were safe now.

After a few minutes, you sat yourself up on the edge of the bed, swinging your legs off the side. You sat there for a few seconds before you stood up, your legs a little wobbly at first as you grabbed onto the wall beside you for support.

You looked down at your ripped and bloodied Deputy shirt and began to undo the buttons and took in the cuts and bruises covering your stomach from the whip.

Hershel had stitched the worst of them and you could very clearly see the deep black and blue bruise covering the left side of your rib cage. You winced touching it slightly before you buttoned your shirt back up and grabbed your weapons belt from the small bedside table and clipped it on.

The cellblock was empty, but you could hear voices coming from the room to the left, so you slowly began to limp that way. 

The room looked like was used for storage and eating if the shelves of food and tables set up around the area indicated anything.

Glenn and Carl were crouched down on the ground, drawing what looked to be a map of the prison on the floor while the others all stood around them watching and listening, but you noticed Rick wasn't here and there was a man sitting beside Carol who you didn't recognise either.

"The whole front of the prison is unsecure. If walkers just strolled in, then it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men." Glenn explained, pointing to a section of the chalk map .

"Why are we even so sure he's going to attack? Maybe you scared him off?" Beth suggested, but you knew for a fact that he'll attack.

If the Governor knew where this prison was then it was only a matter of time before he came here to try and wipe you all out. And you and Michonne were going to be his first targets.

"He had fish tanks full of heads. Walkers and humans. Trophies. He's coming." Michonne responded.

"She's right. The Governor will be coming." You spoke up causing everyone's heads to quickly turn in your direction.

Their eyes went wide in shock and you couldn't stop the small smile forming on your face. You had missed this group. You had missed them all.

"Y/N!" Maggie and Carol both shouted and not a second later the two of them were by your side as their eyes took in all your injuries. "Did the Governor do this to you?"

"It doesn't matter. Now, what's the plan?" You asked, trying to the change the topic.

"We should hit him now. He won't be expecting it. We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head. You know where his apartment is? You and I could end this tonight." Glenn suddenly said, standing up and walking towards Michonne who kept her expression neutral, but you knew she liked the plan.

"He didn't know you were coming last time and look what happened. You were almost killed. Daryl was captured and you and Maggie were almost executed and I'm still trying to figure out what happened to Y/N." Hershel spoke up and you glanced over at the older man.

"You can't stop me." Glenn responded.

You quickly turned your attention back to Glenn. He was angry. You had never seen Glenn like this before. What the hell actually happened with him and Maggie at Woodbury?

"Rick would never allow this." Hershel stated, but you just shook your head.

"Rick wasn't the one that was hung up and tortured. Rick wasn't the one that was r-" You quickly stopped yourself midsentence and looked away from the group.

You took a deep breath trying to calm yourself. You did not need them to know what the Governor had done to you, but you were going to kill that son of a bitch with or without their approval.

"Think this thought clearly, both of you. T-Dog lost his life here. Lori, too. The men that were here. It's not worth anymore killing." Hershel stated and you were about to open your mouth to retaliate before your brain actually processed what he just said and you froze.

Lori and T-Dog were dead?

"Wait, what?" You questioned, confusion and sadness evident in your tone as you stared at Hershel in shock.

"Let's go grab you a clean shirt and I will explain." Maggie suddenly said, grabbing your hand causing you to flinch away at the unexpected touch before letting her lead you back into the cell block.

She gave you a tank top and long sleeve flannel shirt to wear instead of your bloodied Deputy shirt which you took gladly while she explained everything that happened since you were away.

She told you about the winter, how they struggled and moved from place to place until they found the prison. She told you about the inmates that were already inside and how the Axel was the last one left, but was a good man. She told you what happened with the walkers and how T-Dog had died saving Carol and how Hershel had lost his leg and lastly she told you about Lori. How she died giving birth to a baby girl and how much it has impacted Rick who was apparently a bit of a loose cannon at the moment.

Although, you never really liked Lori that much, you were devastated to here about her death. You had known her since high school. She had been part of your life ever since the day Rick told you and Shane that he had asked Lori to prom and ever since then she was always around. She was Carls mother and Rick loved her. Although, she got on your nerves sometimes, she was basically your sister-in-law, she was family.

"Did the Governor do anything..." You trailed off unable to finish your sentence.

You didn't want to ask her that. It was a horrible question, but the Governor had threatened to hurt her in more ways than just physical and you needed to know if what you did had saved her from that pain. You needed to know that you didn't go through that for no reason, because if it meant Maggie was okay, then that was enough for you.

"Did he rape me?" She asked, looking over at you with a sad expression and you just nodded, lowering your head as you sat down on the edge of her bed and to your surprise Maggie sat down beside you. "No. He made me take my top off and bent me over a table, but for whatever reason, he didn't go any further." 

You couldn't help the shaky sigh of relief that left your lips hearing that.

"Wait, did the Governor rape you?"

Your entire body froze at her question and suddenly you couldn't find the words to speak. You wanted to say no and say that he only beat you, but you just couldn't get yourself to speak.

"Y/N?" Maggie asked again, but you just lowered your head, hating the fact that you could feel tears rising in your eyes.

You were stronger than this. You used to be a Police Officer. You dealt with rape cases all the time, you were stronger than this, damnit.

"Oh my God, come here." 

She wrapped her arm over your shoulder as she pulled you into her side and you didn't try and fight it as you rested your head on her shoulder and let the silent tears trickle down your face. Maggie didn't say anything for a while as she held you against her, her hand rubbing soothing circles over your back.

"Does my dad know? He's not a doctor, but he could help-" She began to say, but you quickly shook your head as you sat yourself up and rubbed your teary eyes.

"No, I don't want anyone to know. I'm fine." 

Maggie simply nodded, although it was clear that she wanted to push the topic, but thought better of it.

"have you spoken to Rick?" She asked instead and and you shook your head causing her to sigh. "You know, when we all woke up and discovered that you were gone, Rick lost it. I've never seen him like that before. Him and Daryl searched for you for days, they refused to stop. But, you were just gone."

"I had to. Rick... he killed my brother. I know Shane wasn't himself, he was a bit unhinge, but he wasn't too far gone. He was still a good man and I could have bought him back, but Rick just... Rick killed him and if I stayed then I would have killed Rick." You explained, hating how broken your voice sounded.

You were almost certain that Maggie would hate you for saying that. It was clear the whole group had gotten closer during the hard winter, but Maggie simply nodded in understanding.

"I get the pain that Rick has put you though, Y/N, and I am no way defending what he did, but he's still the guy that you grew up with and right now he could use his sister. Losing Lori... it's messed him up."

"Well, losing Shane messed me up and that's his fault so..." You trailed off shrugging your shoulders. 

Chapter Text

You slowly wandered around the prison, trying your best not to limp as you got to know the area. The cellblock, the kitchen area, the showers and the courtyard out the front.

Most of the group were outside, building up the place before the Governor attacked. Although you wanted to help, you knew it was better if you stayed out the way in your condition.

You ended up sitting at one of the picnic tables with Carl and Sophia. The kids told you everything that had happened while you were gone. Maggie had already told you most of it, but you enjoyed listening to them talk and it took your mind away from the Governor.

"Hey, Y/N. Have you seen Judith yet?" Beth's voice called out.

She was walking out the prison with a baby cradled in her arms and your jaw dropped. Maggie and Carl had told you about Judith, but you hadn't seen her yet.

"Aunty Y/N, meet your niece." Carl said excitedly as he rushed over to Beth who handed his baby sister to him before they both walked over to you and you couldn't stop the smile forming on your face as Carl sat down beside you, giving you a proper look at the little girl.

"She's so small." You whispered, staring at the little girl asleep in Carl's arms.

She was tiny, smaller than what Carl was when he was her age, but this little girl was probably half Shane, not half Rick, but you were not about to say that in front of Carl.

"Was I this small once?" Carl asked curiously, glancing up at you with big puppy dog eyes and you nodded.

"You sure were. It feels like yesterday when I first held you in that hospital room. You wouldn't stop crying either, you were very annoying, but luckily you were cute." 

The kids all laughed, but their laughter was instantly cut short when a gunshot cracked through the air. The next thing you heard was Carol scream and you looked up just in time to find Axel falling to the ground beside her with a bullet hole through his forehead.

For a moment, everyone was frozen in shock before your police instincts kicked into action.

There was a shooter out in the woods somewhere with a good enough scope on their gun to get a headshot.

"Carl, Sophia, Beth, get Judith inside now!" You instructed, jumping up from your seat, despite the pain it caused your healing body.

You pulled your handgun from your holster just as more gunshot filled the air. Bullets began to spray around the courtyard, hitting the ground and walls around you.

"Run!" You shouted, ushering the kids towards the door as you used your body to cover them from the rain of bullets.

Once the kids were through the door, you slammed it shut behind them and spun around, your eyes frantically scanning the area. There was a truck outside the prison, you couldn't quite see who or where the people where, but they were out there somewhere as bullets continued to rain down through the courtyard.

"Carol, use Axel's body as a shield!" You yelled, spotting Carol lying on the ground in pure panic beside Axels dead body.

Shit, she was lying out in the open, if she didn't listen to you she was dead.

"Carol!" You shouted again and to your relief she began to drag the body towards her before laying down behind it.

You quickly scanned the rest of the courtyard, trying to figure out where the rest of the group was before you spotted one of the Governors men in the watch tower. How the hell did he get up there without anyone seeing him?

Without hesitation, you sprinted across the courtyard as fast as you could despite your injuries before you dropped to your knees behind one of the picnic tables. You double checked the chamber of your handgun, relieved that you had left it loaded before leaning your forearms on the metal frame to steady your aim. You lined the man in the watch tower up with your sights and squeezed the trigger.

His body tumbled over the railings and fell to the ground with a splat before you looked back at Carol who was still lying behind Axel's body.

"Carol, run!" 

To your relief, she listened and ran back towards the prison, ducking down behind one of the walls. Trusting your instruction without hesitation.

Once you knew she was safe, you turned your attention towards the rest of the Governors men on the other side of the field and that's when you spotted Hershel in the field.

Holy shit, why the hell was he out there?

You could see Michonne by the turned over bus in the field as well, she was hiding behind it as bullets teared into the side of the bus, but at least she had a gun. Hershel on the other hand... you doubted he had one.

However, as quickly as it all started, the gunfire suddenly seized. 

You remained crouched behind the picnic bench, your hand tightening around your gun. You'd rather hear gunfire than silence. Silence meant they were up to something and you were almost certain that you won't like it whatever they were up to. 

"Y/N!" 

Maggie ran out the prison with two scoped rifles in her hands. Finally, now you might have a chance at actually shooting the people outside the prison.

"Throw it!" You yelled and without asking twice Maggie tossed one of the guns towards you, which you caught with ease, despite the spike of pain it sent through your left shoulder from the still healing knife wound.

"Get behind the fridge and filing cabinets. It'll be better cover than this picnic table." You instructed, your inner cop still working its magic.

Maggie sprinted to the cluster of filing cabinets and random fridge at the far end of the courtyard, ducking down behind them with her gun raised.

"Why aren't they shooting?" Maggie shouted, glancing over at you with panicked eyes and you shrugged your shoulders because you honestly had no idea. It didn't make any sense, they wouldn't just stop shooting for no reason. "Can you hear that?"

All you could hear was the eerie silence before the faint sound of a car engine filled the air.

As the seconds ticked by, the car engine got louder and louder and a few moments later a large van crashed through the front gates of the prison. It sped through the field before coming to an abrupt halt in the middle.

Suddenly, the back door to the van opened and walkers began to stagger out and not a second later the gunfire erupted again.

Shit.

Hershel was still hiding in the field. The Governors men might not be able to see him, but those walkers would be able to find him.

You quickly holstered your handgun and raised the scoped AR-15 and began to fire at the men now shooting at you from the truck. You wanted to take down the walkers in the field, but the walkers weren't the one shooting back, so they took priority.

A moment later, the familiar sound of Rick's signature Colt Python filled the air amongst the other gunfire. You'd never forget the sound of that pistol. All the times back in the gun range with him and Shane, Rick's Colt louder than yours and Shane's Glocks combined.

You quickly moved your sights to the right, trying to figure out where Rick was before you spotted him outside the prison fence firing at walkers.

Why the hell was he out there?

You didn't have time to worry about him right now. Hershel was in the field with walkers and the truck the men were in was now driving off.

"The walkers!" You yelled, rushing towards the gate between the courtyard and the field.

Maggie and Carol bet you to it and pulled it open before the three of you rushed into he field and began to kill the walkers.

Michonne was now running towards the walkers, slicing their heads off with her katana. One of your trucks sped through the now broken gate and you watched as Glenn jumped out and helped Hershel inside. 

He was safe. Hershel was safe.

You moved out the way of the gate as Glenn sped through and Maggie quickly closed it so none of the walkers could get into the courtyard. You raised your rifle through the holes in the fence, about to start shooting at the dead, but you quickly realised you'd run out of bullets before you'd make a dent.

If you didn't want to waste bullets, you'd have to stab them through the fence, but that was a problem for later. Right now, the walkers were contained in the field and couldn't get into the courtyard, so they could wait.

"Y/N... your shoulder is bleeding." Glenn said, after the group finished asking if him and Hershel were okay.

You frowned looking down at your left shoulder to find that it was in fact bleeding and you sighed.

Great, you busted the stitches.

"Typical." You muttered in response, before throwing the assault rifle over your good shoulders with the gun strap.

You glanced around at the others, making sure they were all okay before Carol said something about Rick and Daryl which caught your attention. You looked up to find the two of them, plus Merle and Michonne running through the field, Michonne and Merle taking down walkers with their blades.

"Is that Merle?" Glenn questioned, anger rising in his voice.

Carol opened the gate again. You and Maggie took down the walkers that were a little too close for comfort while the others ran into the courtyard and Carol quickly shut the gate behind them.

Where did Merle and Daryl come from anyway?

"Y/N." Daryl sighed breathlessly.

He rushed over to you, his eyes frantically scanning your body before they landed on your bloodied shoulder.

"Popped the stitches, I'm fine. Where the hell did you guys come from anyway and why the hell was Rick out there in the first place?" You questioned, motioning towards Rick who was already looking at you with worried eyes.

"Better question. What the hell is he doing here?" Glenn snapped, pointing at Merle who was standing off to the side.

"We have bigger problems. Let's just get inside, it's not safe out here." Rick muttered, clearly done with this shit and for the first time in a long time, you agreed with him.

Everyone made their way back into the prison. Rick immediately rushed to his kids who to your relief were inside a cellblock. Beth, Sophia and Carl armed with knives while baby Judith was asleep in her basket on the bed behind them.

Merle got locked in the room next to the cell block and to your shock, he didn't fight when Daryl and Rick locked him in there.

You sat on the stairs that lead to the higher level cells while Hershel sat beside you, stitching the knife wound on your shoulder again while the group went back and fourth on what to do about the Governor.

Some of them wanted to run, others wanted to stay and defend the prison and you agreed with the latter. This was the safest place you'd seen in the apocalypse and you were not about to run away. The Governor was going to die for what he did and you weren't going to stop until it happened.

"We're not leaving." Rick declared, walking out the cell with Judith in his arms.

"We can't stay here." Hershel spoke up from beside you as he finished the last of the stitches.

"What if there's another sniper? A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds." Maggie added.

You wanted to join the argument, but you were honestly too tired to even try argue.

"We can't even go outside, not in the daylight." Carol added from the other side of the room.

"Rick says we're not running, we're not running." Glenn stated, backing Rick up.

For a moment, you thought the arguing was over before Merle started talking from here he was currently standing on the other side of the barred door.

"No, better to live like rats." 

"You got a better idea?" Rick questioned, glaring at the eldest Dixon.

"Yeah, we should have slid out of here last night and lived to fight another day. But, we lost that window, didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of his place by now." 

"We ain't scared of that prick." Daryl muttered from where he was currently pacing back and forth on the platform of the upstairs cells, looking down at his brother by the door.

"Y'all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to." Merle explained and as bad as it sounded, he was right. 

"Let's put him in the other cellblock." Maggie responded, glaring at Merle.

You sighed, standing up once Hershel finished bandaging your shoulder to stop the stitches from getting infected.

"No. He's got a point-" You began to say before Maggie cut you off.

"This is all you. You started this!" She shouted, anger lacing her voice as she pointed towards Merle and you walked towards her.

"It's not Merle's fault." You said calmly, but Maggie shook her head.

"He did that to Glenn! And he let the Governor hurt you!" 

"I didn't know the Governor had her." Merle mumbled, his voice actually sounding guilty causing you to turn around and look over at the older Dixon who avoided your eyes.

Wow, Merle Dixon was actually feeling guilty about something, the world really has ended.

"Sure you didn't." Glenn responded.

"Merle, didn't know. And I'm fine, end of conversation." You declared, but apparently Maggie didn't think so.

"You're not fine, Y/N. Look at you. I can't even tell what colour your skin is under all the cuts and bruises and those injuries aren't even the worst of what the Governor did to you, Y/N, the Governor raped yo-" Maggie began to say before she suddenly stopped and covered her mouth with her hands, only just realising what she had said in front of the whole group. 

"W-what?" Rick and Daryl questioned. 

Shit. 

Chapter Text

Everyone was staring at you. Their wide, pity filled eyes glued to you and you hated it. 

You needed to get out. You needed to get away from everyone.

Without saying anything, you walked towards the door that lead to the room Merle was and opened it, ignoring Rick and Daryl calling out to you. You slammed the door shut behind you while avoiding Merle's eyes as he stared at you in utter shock before you walked out the prison into the courtyard.

You knew it wasn't entirely safe outside the prison walls. The Governor could have his men scouting the place with snipers, but right now you were willing to take the risk if it meant not being inside with the others after what Maggie had just blurted out.

You didn't want anyone to know... now they all knew. You didn't want their pity and you sure as hell didn't want Daryl to know.

Marching towards the fence that separated the courtyard and field, you pulled out your knife.

"Come and get me!" You shouted, trying to draw the walkers attention.

It worked, they all began to stumble towards you and before long you started stabbing them through the fence, taking them out one by one.

You were so focused on the walkers, you didn't hear the door to the prison open. Nor did you hear the voice calling out to you while you continued to stab your knife through the holes in the fence and yanking it back out the heads of the walkers. Walker blood and guts spraying your body every time you pulled your knife out, but you didn't care.

"Y/N?" 

You didn't hear the voice, still stabbing the walkers, ignoring the pain it was causing your fresh stitches before a hand grabbed your shoulder. You flinched, spinning around, knife raised about to stab whoever it was before you came face to face with Daryl.

He quickly took a step back, raising his hands and you dropped the knife, not trusting yourself in the slightest.

"Sorry." You whispered, but Daryl shook his head as he knelt down and picked up your knife and held it out to you, handle first and you sighed, taking the knife and tucking it through your belt.

"Nothin' to apologise for." He responded, his voice soft as he stared at you with sad eyes. "C'mon, come back inside. Ain't safe out here."

"I want to be alone for a while." You stated, trying your best to keep your voice strong, but you felt like you were on the verge of tears and if Daryl so much as asked if you're okay, that'll be the end and you knew you wouldn't be able to hold them back. "Please, I just wanna be alone."

"Nah, ain't leavin' ya. Not again." 

That was all it took before the tears you were trying so hard to keep at bay began to fall down your cheeks. You turned around, not wanting to cry in front of Daryl.

"Y/N, what Maggie said..." 

He didn't finish his sentence and shook your head, your back still facing him as you wiped the tears from your eyes.

"M'gonna kill him." Daryl muttered, his gentle voice turning cold and angry in a split second before you turned around and his expression instantly soften when he took in the tears in your eyes.

"C'mon, let's go inside 'n get that walker blood off ya." He said and you nodded, relieved for the change in topic.

Daryl held his hand out towards you and you hesitantly took it before he lead you back into the prison.

He walked you through the main room where Merle was no longer locked in, but you didn't have the energy to ask where his brother was as Daryl lead you down a hallway and into a room where the showers were. It was an open room, with shower blocks that didn't have doors, so there wasn't much privacy in here, but it wasn't like there were any other working showers in this new world.

"M'gonna get ya a towel 'n clean clothes. I'll be back."

You nodded, watching him walk off before you made your way to the nearest shower and turned it on. It took a few seconds for the hot water to kick in while you began to get undressed.

You dropped your weapons belt and clothes on the ground to your left as you looked down at your body for the first time since the Governor. You took in all the cuts across your stomach from the whip and the deep bruises covering the left side of rib cage. You winced slightly as you pulled the fresh bandage off your shoulder, exposing the new stitches Hershel had done before you glanced down at your right leg where matching stitches were.

You've had worse, you and Rick had both had worse. You've been shot and nearly died. This was just a few scrapes and bruises.

You were fine, you silently told yourself as you stepped under the shower, letting the water fall over your body as you welcomed the stinging coming from your cuts.

Closing your eyes, you tilted your head and began washing the walker grime out your hair. You tried not to think about the past events, but after everything that had happened this morning and seeing the Governor standing outside the prison... you just couldn't stop your mind from wondering back to that moment with the Governor.

You could feel his cold hands on your skin... his breath against your neck... the way he pinned you up against the wall.

You could still feel his body pressed up against yours as you squeezed your eyes shut, trying to forget about everything.

Now you were sitting down under the spray of the shower. Your knees to your chest and head you rested your head on top.

The amount of times you had sat down at the station with a woman, taking her statement after being sexually assaulted was too many to count. You had done it a thousand times, hell, whenever Rick or Shane had come across one of those cases, they'd call you and you'd be there to help support and comfort the woman.

You were good at that, you'd help them talk about it for their statements no matter how hard it was for them and more often than not you'd make them smile or laugh afterwards and give them something else to think about. But, why the hell couldn't you do that for yourself?

You should be able to handle this. You were still alive and you had Daryl back, you should be fine. So, why the hell were not okay?

"Y/N?" A voice called out, but you couldn't hear anything above your own thoughts as you sat there with your head on your knees.

"Hey, can ya hear me? Y/N?"

Suddenly, the shower stopped, snapping you out of your thoughts. You looked up to find Daryl turning the taps off before he took a few steps back, holding a towel and clothes in his other hand.

"Ya okay?" He asked, his eyes trying very hard to not look anywhere except your face and you nodded, rubbing your teary eyes causing Daryl to sigh. "Don't go all tough guy on me, I know ya ain't. 'N it's okay to not be okay."

He held the towel out towards you and you sighed, taking the towel as you stood up.

You could feel Daryl's eyes on you as you began to dry yourself. You should feel self-conscious, even when you and Daryl were together back in the day, you were self-conscious, but you honestly didn't have the energy and well, it wasn't like Daryl hadn't seen you naked before.

"Did he do all that to ya?" Daryl suddenly questioned.

You looked up to find him staring at all the cuts and bruises across your upper body and you nodded, grabbing the clothes from his hands and got dressed.

"He tied me up, beat me and stabbed me. Then got one of his men to whip me until I passed out. I tried to escape, but he found me and then he..." You trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud because if you said it out loud then you're acknowledging that it actually happened and that was not something you were ready for.

Daryl seemed to understand what you wanted to say though as you finished buttoning up your flannel shirt.

"M'gonna come closer to ya 'n put my hand on your shoulder, alright?" He asked and you nodded before he slowly walked over to you and grabbed your uninjured shoulder gently. "I never woulda left with Merle if I knew all this, m'sorry." He added. 

It might have been a while since you and Daryl were last together, but he still cared.

"Don't apologise. He's your brother."

Your eyes locked with his crystal blue ones and you smiled softly at him, but he shook his head.

"You should hate me though. I left ya when you were hurt and when I finally got ya back." He stated and he sounded so confused. "Why don't ya hate me right now?"

"Because I left you first after the farm, remember? I left because of my brother and you left because of your brother. Different circumstances, I know. But..." You trailed off, not really sure how to word what you wanted to say before Daryl finished your sentence.

"But, we're together now 'n neither of us are goin' anywhere, right?"

You couldn't stop the small smile forming on your lips as you nodded in agreement before you pulled Daryl into a hug, catching him by surprise for a moment, before he wrapped his arms around your body, being mindful of your injuries and hugged you back.

-

Eventually, the two of you made your way back to the main room. The others were all spread out around the room at various tables and chairs, eating what looked to be some kind of canned food.

Merle was off to the side, sitting on some stairs, but he had a small bowl of food so things couldn't be too bad between him and the others now.

You and Daryl sat down on the stairs with Merle and to your shock Merle actually held his bowl out towards you, but you shook your head. You couldn't eat his food. You knew he felt guilty about the Governor, but it wasn't his fault. You didn't blame him.

To your relief, neither him nor anyone bought up what Maggie had said earlier.

"Here." Rick's voice suddenly said.

You looked up to find him holding two fresh bowls in his hands. Daryl took one of the bowls with a nod and didn't waste anytime before eating the canned beans while you just stared at the bowl Rick was holding.

"Y/N, please. I know you hate me, but you need to eat." Rick begged.

You sighed, taking in his worried eyes before you took the bowl without saying anything causing Rick to smile slightly before he walked back to the table he was sitting at with Carl, Hershel and Beth.

"Why aren't you and Aunty Y/N talking anymore?" You heard Carl ask softly.

"We... it's complicated, son." Rick answered, glancing over his shoulder towards you and you looked away, staring down at the bowl in your lap.

"Is it because of Uncle Shane?" Carl questioned.

You forced yourself to remain calm as your grip tightened around the bowl before Daryl suddenly grabbed your arm, his touch instantly grounding you and you took a deep shaky breath.

"So, what's the plan? We just gonna sit around and hope the Governor won't come back, because I can tell ya now. He will." Merle suddenly spoke up.

He gave you a small nod before turning his attention back to the group and you silently thanked the man for changing the topic.

"We'll have one person on watch, switching out between the group for now. Tomorrow we'll work on a plan. It's already dark out, they're not stupid enough to attack at night, too dangerous out there, even for him." Rick explained and as much as you hated the man, you found yourself agreeing with him again.

-

That night you slept in one of the cells furthest away from the others. Carol had given you a bundle of blankets and even a pillow, which you were grateful for because you couldn't even remember the last time you slept with a pillow.

However, even with a pillow and enough blankets for more than one person, you still couldn't fall asleep.

With a sigh, you sat up, swinging your legs over the side of the bed and rubbed your eyes. You turned on the handheld lamp on your bedside table before grabbing your weapons belt and strapping it around your waist and pulling your boots on.

Quietly, you made your way out your cell, not wanting to wake the others since it was probably close to three in the morning. You walked past Daryl's cell, glancing inside, but he wasn't there and you knew he must be on watch.

You made you way to the watch point to find Daryl sitting on the ground, his back leaning against the wire mesh with his crossbow on the ground beside him and sniper rifle leaning on the wire behind him.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, glancing up at you.

You nodded as he picked up his crossbow and moved it to the side as he patted the ground beside him. You sat down and he wrapped his arm over your shoulders, pulling you into his side.

Neither of you said anything after that as you sat there together. It was a comfortable silence as you leant into Daryl's side, staring out at the stars in the sky.

You missed this. You had missed him, ever since you walked away all those years ago before the world died. You had missed him.

You weren't sure when, but you must have fallen asleep. Your head was now in Daryl's lap and the sun was up, but it wasn't just you and Daryl out here, you could hear someone else talking.

"She okay?" The other voice questioned.

It took your sleep clouded brain a few seconds before you realised the voice belonged to Merle.

"After ya new friend tortured her? No, she ain't." Daryl snapped and you closed your eyes again, planning on going back to sleep, but Merle continued to talk.

"I didn't know he was doin' that to her. I know how much ya care about her, man. Even when she left way back when 'n ya found out she was a cop, ya never stopped likin' her." 

Did Daryl really still care about you even after you left all those years ago? And since when did Merle talk about sentimental stuff like this?

"She's the reason ya didn't end up in prison 'n she's the reason I didn't die after takin' ya fucking drugs without knowin' it. She might have been an undercover cop, but she never turned on us. Even after all the illegal shit we did when she was around. Hell, she pitched in on some of it." Daryl responded causing Merle to chuckle softly.

"She's a tough one, ya know that. She'll be okay." Merle tried to reassure and Daryl just hummed in acknowledgement. "We're gonna kill that son of a bitch and I reckon she'll be the one to wanna do it-"

"Ain't lettin' her anywhere near that pick. But, we're gonna kill him. He doesn't get to live after what he did to her." Daryl stated, anger lacing his tone.

Merle didn't get a chance to say anything in response before the door to the prison slammed opened causing you to flinch as you sat up in panic, blinking at the sudden bright light to find Maggie standing in the doorway, relief washing over her when she saw you.

"Oh, thank God, you're out here. Rick was worried you ran off again." Maggie said breathlessly.

It was clear that she had ran all the way out here from her cell, if her bed hair and tired eyes were any indication.

"Must have fallen asleep, sorry." You apologised, glancing over at Daryl who you had been using as a human cushion, but he just shook his head.

"Ya needed the sleep, no need to apologise." Daryl responded, picking up the binoculars.

He did his usual scan of the area, but you knew something was wrong the second his body suddenly tensed up and you found yourself reaching for your handgun on your hip.

"What is it?" Merle questioned, sensing the sudden change in his brothers posture.

"Andrea." Daryl muttered in confusion causing you to frown because the last time you saw her, she was sitting pretty right beside the Governor.

Why would she come here?

"Stay here, take the sniper and keep watch." Daryl instructed and you nodded. 

Him, Merle and Maggie raced back into the prison before you stood up, grabbing the bolt action sniper from where it was leaning against the wire mesh. You raised the weapon, resting the barrel through one of the holes in the mesh while you watched Andrea through the scope.  

Chapter Text

The others grabbed Andrea from the front of the prison and bought her inside. You remained outside on watch for a few more minutes, making sure that Andrea wasn't followed before you made your way back inside the prison to see what the woman wanted.

"I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out?" Andrea questioned as you walked into the room, spotting the group all standing around her.

"He almost killed Michonne and he would have killed us." Glenn responded, but Andrea shook her head.

"With his finger on the trigger!" She shouted, pointing towards Merle. "Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?"

"Leave Merle out of it. The Governor is the bad guy here." You spoke up, leaning against the door as Andrea quickly spun around, her eyes widening in shock when she saw you. 

"You're here too? Philip said you left after Michonne." 

You chuckled shaking your head, not even caring how boarder line hysterical your laughter. Of course, the Governor would say that.

"I left? More like he tied me up and tortured me. See all this?" You said motioning towards your face, knowing it was still covered in slowly healing bruises. "This was all your boyfriends handy work."

Andrea didn't say anything for a moment as she stared at you, taking in what you just said before she shook her head and turned back to the others.

"Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done. But, I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out." 

"There's nothing to work out. We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will." Rick stated, his eyes flashing over to you and you gave him a small nod. The Governor was a dead man, that was the only thing the two of you agreed on.

"We can settle this. There is room at Woodbury for all of you."

"You know better than that." Merle chuckled, shaking his head at her. No way would the Governor let you all just stay at Woodbury, especially not you after you 'killed' his already dead daughter.

"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate? Did he say that?" Hershel asked and Andrea sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh, this just gets better and better." You mumbled to yourself as you crossed your arms over your chest. "Why'd you even come here?" 

"Because he's gearing up for war. The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack-" 

"I'll tell ya what. Next time ya see Philip, ya tell him m'gonna take his other eye." Daryl muttered and there mistaking the threatening tone in his voice. But, wait, take his other eye? What the hell happened to one of his eyes?

"We've taken too much shit for too long. He wants a war? He's got one." Glenn stated and you nodded in agreement.

"Rick." Andrea said, turning towards him desperately. "If you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town. Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore." She tried to say, but nobody was buying it.

"You want to make this right, get us inside Woodbury." You challenged, but Andrea shook her head.

"Then we got nothing to talk about." Rick stated before he walked off back into the cellblock, leaving the rest of you all standing around the main room in silence, staring at Andrea.

"Michonne, can I speak to you for a minute outside?" Andrea eventually asked.

You watched as the other woman nod before they walked outside and you sighed, walking over to the table Daryl was sitting on before you sat down on the chair and pulled out your handgun, getting ready to clean it.

"Gonna shoot her or something?" Merle questioned from the other side of the room.

You shook your head, as you pulled the magazine out and flicked down the sear deactivation lever inside the weapon allowing you to pull the slide off. You placed the frame of the gun on the table and glanced over at Merle. 

"Tempting." You responded as you began to take the barrel and spring out the slide before laying all the pieces on the table in front of you before Daryl handed you the red rag he always kept in his pocket. "Thanks." You said, taking the rag and scrubbing away at the different pieces.

You sat there cleaning your gun for the next five or so minutes before the others all began asking if you could clean their as well. Daryl ended up helping you and the two of you sat there, stripping and cleaning practically all the weapons in the prison while Rick and the others figured out what to do with Andrea.

In the end, Rick decided to give Andrea one of the cars for her return back to Woodbury. She promised she would set up a meeting at a certain spot in two days time, but you knew that was pointless even if the Governor did agree to it, but you kept your thoughts to yourself.

That night you slept in Daryl's cell and for the first time in a long time, you slept through the entire night and woke up with Daryl's arm wrapped around you, reminding you of all those times back in the day.

Rick, Michonne and Carl had left to go on a supply run for more weapons the following day, leaving the rest of you to stay back and defend the prison. There wasn't much to do around the prison, especially since you and Daryl had already cleaned all the guns and Merle had sharpened basically everyone's knifes minus Glenn and Maggie who refused to give him their knives.

You spent most the morning with Daryl, neither of you wanting to get out of bed until Judith started crying from the cell to your left. You got up, offering Beth a hand to help feed Judith while Daryl went to go swap with Merle on watch duty.

The rest of the day was spent trying not to murder Merle every time he opened his mouth. You forgot how much of a pain in the ass he could be even when he wasn't as high as a fucking kite. But, he was still Daryl's brother and it was better you having to deal with his stupid jokes instead of Glenn who actually might murder him after what he did.

By the Rick, Michonne and Carl came back it was already night time and to your surprise they had actually found a fair amount of weapons. Apparently they had tried to raid the Police Station, but it had already been hit, so they had to improvise.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Maggie asked while the group of you sat around the main room eating dinner after Rick and Carl explained how their day went. "Are you actually going to that meeting point? It could be a trap."

"I don't think we have any other option. We'll get their early, scope the place out before he shows up." Rick explained between mouth fulls of the rice Beth had cooked everyone.

"Who's going?" Carl asked curiously from where he was standing in the doorway with Judith in his arms.

"I was going to take Hershel and Daryl with me. The rest of you need to stay here, keep watch and be ready for anything." Rick instructed.

"I'm coming to." You stated, but Rick quickly shook his head.

"I am not letting you anywhere near him, not after what he did to you. You might hate me right now, but I don't hate you. You're my sister, I need you and you need me." Rick tried to say, but again you shook your head as you turned around to properly look at Rick who was sitting at the other table.

"'I need you?'" You asked a small chuckle escaping your lips. "For the first time in my entire life, that is not true. I don't need you, not anymore. But, I am going with you guys to that meeting."

"No, you're staying here. End of discussion!" Rick argued, his a little louder than he probably intended causing Judith to start crying in Carl's arms as he struggled to calm her down.

"I got her." You muttered, glaring at Rick before you stood up.

You walked over to Carl who gratefully handed his sister over to you and you cradled the little girls in your arms before walking off into the cellblock.

"It's okay, baby girl. Your daddy was yelling me, not at you. It's alright." You whispered rocking your niece in your arms as you walked into yours and Daryl's cell and sat down on the edge of the bed.

You cradled Judith to your chest with one arm while you lifted your bad one up and adjusted her little jumpsuit causing her to grab onto your thumb with her small soft hands and you couldn't stop the small smile spreading across your face as you stared down at her. Her big puppy dog eyes stared right back at you and for the first time, you actually took a proper look at the little girls eyes realising how dark brown they were, exactly like Shane's.

"Shane would have loved to meet you." You whispered, unable to stop the tears rising in your eyes as you stared down at the little girl while she cooed happily in your arm and you smiled, despite the silent tear falling down your cheek.

"Here, wanna feed her?" Daryl asked quietly.

You looked up to find him standing in the doorway of the cell with a bottle of formula in his hands. He smiled sadly at you, noticing the tears and you nodded as he walked in and sat down beside you.

"My hands are kinda full." You commented, looking back down at Judith who was still holding your thumb. 

Daryl moved closer and leant into you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders with one hand before he gently held the bottle out towards Judith who instantly began to drink, still holding onto your thumb while Daryl held the bottle for her.

"She's got ya brother's eyes, don't she?" Daryl asked quietly and you nodded. "I agree with Rick, I want ya to stay here tomorrow. I don't want you near the Governor, but also, if this place gets attacked when we're gone, they're gonna need ya here. Please."

You sighed, but didn't say anything for a while as you continued to stare at the little girl in your arms. You hated that Daryl was siding with Rick, but deep down you knew he was right. Plus, someone had to stay back and protect this little girl and you were not going to let anyone hurt her.

"I'll stay, but if there's another chance like this then I'm going and neither you or Rick can stop me, alright?" You responded and Daryl nodded as you rested your head on his shoulder, both of you looking down at Judith.

-

You stood by the gate to the prison watching Rick and Hershel drive off in the car, Daryl followed right behind them on his motorcycle. You had a bad feeling about this meeting, but there wasn't much you could do about it. Rick and Daryl could handle themselves and Hershel was smart, if something wasn't right, he'd be able to tell.

You stayed outside for the next hour or so, keep watching and trying to distract yourself before you figured you should probably go back inside and make sure Merle hadn't done anything stupid. But, the second you opened the door to the prison it was clear Merle already had.

The first thing you saw were Maggie and Beth standing at the far end of the room with panicked expression before you spotted Merle and Glenn on the ground fighting each other. Merle had Glenn pinned to the ground while Glenn had his hands wrapped around Merle's neck.

"Y/N." Michonne warned, her tone stern.

You looked up to find her staring at you before she nodded towards the two of them on the ground and you looked back down to find that Merle now had Glenn by the throat.

Bunch of fucking children.

"Enough!" You shouted, walking down the steps into the main room, but neither of them listened as they continued to struggle against each other and you shook your head in frustration before pulling out your handgun, aiming it towards the roof and squeezing the trigger.

The gunshot echoed through the room, causing the two of them to instantly freeze in the position they were on the ground. Their heads turned towards you and you raised your eyebrow at them while holstering the gun.

"Stop it!" You ordered.

"He was trying to leave! He would have put all of them at risk!" Glenn shouted and Merle just scoffed, shoving Glenn to the side before he stood up and took a few steps away from him.

"My brother is out there-" Merle began to say before you cut him off.

"Enough, both of you. Nobody is going anywhere, the group can handle themselves out there and they're relying on us to keep this place safe and we can't do that if we're trying to kill each other. Glenn, go take a walk. Merle, go into the cellblock, do something that's not near these guns." You instructed motioning towards the table that was covered in various guns and ammunition that Rick and Michonne found yesterday.

"Whatever, I've had enough." Glenn muttered, storming out the room while Merle walked off towards the cells and you sighed, rubbing your face with your hands.

"You definitely were a cop before all this." Michonne commented from the other side of the room as you looked up and Maggie nodded in agreement from beside her.

"I don't remember being cop was this difficult." You mumbled, shaking your head at yourself.

Chapter Text

A few hours later, the group returned and Rick ushered everyone into the cellblock so he could explain what happened.

"So, I met this Governor. Sat with him for quite a while. He wants the prison. He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury. We're going to war." Rick informed and well honestly, that was the best piece of news you had heard all day, but something wasn't quite right.

You could read Rick Grimes like a book. Ever since you were teenagers, you leant how to read his speech and body language. So, you could tell when he was lying or not telling you the entire truth.

"We're going to war? That's it?" Carol questioned.

Rick simply nodded before he walked off, leaving the group of you standing there with that information.

"Anythin' happen when we were gone?" Daryl asked, glancing down at you from where you were leaning against him.

You looked over at Merle across the room who was already looking at the two of you and you shook your head.

"No. But, Rick isn't telling us something. Do you know what is it?" You questioned, but Daryl shook his head and you sighed.

Great, Rick was keeping a secret from the whole group now, that was bound to be a problem.

"What makes ya think he ain't tellin' us something?" Daryl asked and you just shrugged your shoulders.

"I've known him all my life, I can tell when he's lying." You answered, glancing around at the others as they started to get ready for bed and you sighed. "C'mon, it doesn't matter. Let's just get some sleep."

-

You woke up the following morning to an empty bed causing you to frown because you knew it wasn't Daryl's turn on watch until later this afternoon. Why would he be up so early?

Slowly you climbed out bed, putting on your belt and boots before you walked out the cellblock wanting to get some fresh air, but the second you opened the door that lead to the courtyard, you heard Daryl's voice.

"What did ya want to tell me?" He asked, his voice coming from around the corner, but before you had a chance to announce your presence Rick's voice filled the air.

"It's about Y/N." He said, catching your attention real quick.

About you?

You frowned in confusion and quietly closed the door to the prison before silently walking beside the wall. You stuck your head around the corner to find Rick, Daryl and Hershel all standing by the gate and talking quietly.

"The Governor gave me another option, he said if we gave him Michonne and Y/N, then there won't be a war. They're all he wants. We give them up, nobody else will die." Rick explained.

You knew Rick wasn't telling the group the full story. Of course that was what the Governor wanted. He hated you and Michonne. He'd kill you both the second you stepped foot in that town.

"Ya ain't considering it though, right?" Daryl questioned defensively and Rick quickly shook his head.

"Of course not. Not Y/N, but Michonne... maybe if we give her up that'll be enough. We do that, no else dies. We have to do it today. It has to be quiet." Rick explained, shocking you that he was actually willing to give Michonne up like that, but at the same time, it was a smart move. One life verses the rest of the group, it was simple. But, you knew what the Governor would do to her and you couldn't let that happen.

"Ya got a plan?" Daryl asked, still seeming hesitant about it.

"We tell her we need to talk, away from the others-" Rick began to explain before Daryl cut him off.

"Just ain't us, man." 

"No. No, it isn't." Hershel agreed before he started to walk off and you quickly ducked back behind the wall so he wouldn't see you while continuing to listen to Rick and Daryl.

"We do this, we avoid a fight. No one else dies. But, don't tell Y/N, I know her, if she finds out the Governor wants her and Michonne... she'll want to go with Michonne and try kill that prick herself, we can't let her do that." Rick continued to say and well, that actually wasn't a bad idea.

If you and Michonne pretended to be bait, you could get close to kill him and end it once and for all.

"Can't just be us, we need help." Daryl replied.

"I'm going to talk to your brother, he's the only other person who'd be wiling to do this, the others wouldn't want to go through with it." Rick explained and with that the two of them began to make their way back towards the prison. Towards you. Shit.

You quickly ducked back inside and sat down at the nearest table just as the door opened. The two of them walked in and they froze for a split second when they saw you before they continued to walk and you rolled your eyes. Yep, they were about as subtle as each other.

As you suspected, Daryl didn't tell you anything Rick had just told him, he acted like he didn't know anything and you sure as hell weren't about to tell him that you knew about it, so, you just played along with it and spent most the morning setting up road spikes and barbed wire blockades around the field and out the front of the prison in case the Governor decided to attack.

You helped Glenn secure doors to the side of the prison. If you could block all entries into the prison then there was only one way the Governor could get through and that was the front.

"You guys seen Merle around?" Daryl's voice suddenly called out.

You glanced over your shoulder to find him walking towards the two of you and you shook your head as you struggled to hold up the metal frame while Glenn screwed in the bolts.

Daryl quickly jogged over to the two of you, placing his crossbow on a table before helping you hold it for Glenn. "He say he was sorry yet?" 

Glenn shook his head, but didn't say anything.

"'Cause he is. He's gonna make it right. M'gonna make him. There's gotta be way." Daryl insisted as Glenn finished the screw before he began to walk off, but stopped and turned back towards Daryl.

"He tied me to a chair, beat me and threw a walker in the room. Maybe I could call it even, but he... he took Maggie to a man who terrorized her, humiliated her. I care more about her than I care about me."

Glenn walked off and Daryl sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

You knew how much Merle meant to him and how much he wanted this whole thing to work with Merle living in the prison with everyone, but with Glenn still hating him, that was not going to happen any time soon.

"He'll come around eventually. Let's go find Merle, where did you last see him?" You asked, holding your hand out towards him as Daryl took your hand with his.

"He was in the cellblock. He ain't there no more though, he's probably looking for drugs." Daryl muttered in annoyance and you rolled your eyes.

Of course he would be, you should have thought that. This was a prison, inmates always had drugs hidden around the place and if anyone knew where to look for them, it was Merle.

"We can't let him find any drugs. You know what he's like when he's high." You responded and Daryl nodded in agreement. "Let's split up, the sooner we find him the better." 

The two of you went in opposite directions in order to find his dumbass brother before he did something he would regret.

You spent the next 20 minutes walking aimlessly around the prison in search of Merle. Eventually, you bumped into Daryl down one of the hallways who said that he found Merle in the boiler room, but that he was acting weird. He didn't really go into much detail about it, but you had a feeling you knew why Merle was acting weird. He was going to try and deliver Michonne to the Governor without the others.

Once Daryl walked off, you made your way straight to the boiler room, but the back door wide open.

Shit, you were too late.

"Merle?" You shouted, rushing out the door and squinting at the bright light, but he was nowhere to be seen.

You glanced back into the boiler room and mentally debated what to do before you shook your head. You couldn't let Merle just deliver her to the Governor. The Governor would probably want him dead as much as Michonne and you couldn't let Daryl lose his brother.

Without further thought, you ran out the door and through the hole in the fence before you disappeared into the woods. You knew the meeting spot Rick had planned with the Governor, the same one where they had their first meeting, so that was obviously where Merle was taking her.

"Merle!" You shouted, spotting two figures in the distance walking along the main road.

To your relief they both stopped and turned around towards you and you sighed with relief. It was them.

"The hell ya doing here?" Merle questioned once you finally caught up with them and you took mental note of the cords wrapped around Michonne's wrists and that Merle was carrying her sword.

"Stopping you from doing something stupid." You responded, but he just shook his head in disbelief. "Let Michonne go and take me instead. I killed the Governors daughter, he wants me more than her. So, take me. Use me as bait and we take him out." 

"Daryl and Rick don't know you're here, do they?" He asked in amusement.

"You seriously think they'd let me do this? Now, let Michonne go, you know my plan is good." You insisted and to your shock Merle actually nodded in agreement before cutting Michonne's restraints.

"Why don't you both just come back with me. There's gotta be a better plan." Michonne tried to say before Merle cut her off.

"I can't go back. Don't you understand that? I can't. Go back to the prison. Y/N and I got something we gotta do." Merle responded, glancing over at you and you nodded in agreement before he handed the katana back to her and with that, you and Merle began to walk off down the road.

"You got a plan or were you just going to stroll in there and hand Michonne over and hope he didn't kill you?" You asked a few minutes later, glancing over at the older Dixon who shrugged his shoulders. "You seriously didn't have a plan? Why even take Michonne in the first place?"

"Had to do something. If I take out the Governor then your group might actually take me back, I know how much that means to my brother. He likes them. Sometimes I think he likes them more than me."

"Yes, Daryl likes them. They have all been through a lot together, they're like family. But, you're his actual family. You're his blood, nothing could change that which is why I'm here to make sure you don't get yourself killed." You explained causing Merle to look at you in confusion. "I already lost my brother, I won't let Daryl lose his. Now, let's hotwire this car and go kill that son of a bitch."

"A cop telling me to hotwire a car... never thought I'd live to see the day." Merle commented causing you to roll your eyes.

You opened the door to one of the cars on the side of the road before stepping to the side and letting Merle do his thing.

It wasn't the first time you've caught him hotwiring a car, hell, you may have helped Daryl do it once before all of this too back when you were still undercover.

You didn't say anything as you watched Merle pull the wires out from under the steering wheel. It only took a few minutes before the car started up and you sighed with relief before walking over to the passenger side and climbing in.

"Since we discovered I don't have a plan, do you have one?" He questioned, looking over at you and you just shrugged your shoulders because, yes you did have a plan, but it was a really fucking stupid one.

"Use me as bait, give me to the Governor and shoot him from a distance, he wouldn't even see it coming." 

"Not happening. My brother would kill me himself if I got ya killed, ain't risking that." He responded and you rolled your eyes.

Now he wanted to be the sensible one? Typical.

"What's your great plan then? We only have one shot at this, if we screw up, it's war." You stated and Merle nodded, before he reached for CD player, turning it and a loud song started blasting through the speakers, but he didn't make any move to lower the volume. "Are you crazy? Turn it down."

"We need it. We get a herd of walkers together and we lead them to the meeting point. While they are all distracted taking down the walkers, we shoot them. Mission accomplished." 

To your shock that was actually a good idea. It was a stupid idea, but still a good idea and you didn't have any other ideas, so why not?

"Fuck it, let's do it. There's a town just up ahead, there's gotta be walkers there." You informed and with that Merle put the car into gear and followed the road towards the small town.

It didn't take long before you reached the town. Merle parked the car in the middle of the street with the windows down a fraction to let make the music louder and in a matter of minutes you had walkers surrounding the car from all angles.

You were so focused on the walkers and making sure that none of the windows were going to break, you didn't even realise Merle had pulled out a bottle of whiskey from God knows where and started to drink it.

"Seriously?" You questioned.

"You gonna arrest me for drink driving, Officer?"

He grinned and turned up the music louder causing you to roll your eyes before snatching the bottle and pointing towards the front of the car trying to tell him to start driving and he must have gotten the hint because a moment later the car was moving, ever so slowly while the walkers quickly followed.

It took nearly an hour to reach the meeting point with the how slow Merle had to drive to make sure the walkers kept up. The meeting point was just a small cluster of old farmers sheds and barns off the side of the road, so it was hard not to miss.

"You know the plan, right? We jump out the car, you go into the sheds to the left, I'll go into the sheds to the right and we shoot from a distance. We take them out without them even realising and then we go home."

"I know. You ready to jump?" He asked and you nodded, quickly checking that your gun was securely strapped in your holster before you glanced over at Merle who grabbed his assault rifle.

The two of you opened your car doors and jumped out. The car was barely moving at speed and you hit the grass and tumbled a few metres and although it wasn't a hard fall, your entire body ached in pain from the hit, your wounds still very fresh and still healing. But, a second later, you quickly got your feet, sparing a glance towards the car that was still rolling towards the main shed which you knew was where the Governor and his men were while the walkers trailed behind.

You barely got in the shed to your right before gunfire erupted. The Governor and his men had found the walkers.Time to end this.

You quickly closed the sliding door to the shed behind you before you rushed towards the back door and opened it slightly to find the Governors men firing at the walkers and you quickly pulled your own gun out and began to take down his men, one by one.

At first they didn't even realise that their own men were getting shot, they were too focused on the walkers. You could see some of the men that Merle was shooting, dropping like flies from his assault rifle before your attention was quickly drawn to the Governor who walked out the main shed and started firing at the walkers too.

He now had a white bandage wrapped around his face, covering his eye and if you had to guess, Michonne probably had something to do with it, which just made it even better.

"Hey, over there." You heard one of the men shout.

You quickly looked over at him, realising that he was pointing towards the shed that Merle was in. 

Shit.

No, they couldn't get to Merle. Daryl couldn't lose his brother too.

"Hey, Governor!" You yelled, stepping out your shed with your arms out to the side. 

All the men suddenly turned towards you, their guns instantly aimed in your direction. Merle was watching from the window of his shed and you hoped like hell that he would stay hidden.

"You wanted me, right? So, come and get me, motherfuckers." You shouted, quickly ducking back inside the shed just as bullets rained down on the tin walls and you grinned.

Well, that got their attention.

Chapter Text

You ran to the other side of the shed, ducking down behind some old tractor. You raised your gun and aimed towards the door and not a second later the door was kicked open and the Governors men rushed in as you pulled the trigger.

In a matter of seconds the men were dead, but you knew there was more of them. Why wouldn't they all come after you? The Governor wanted you dead, you had killed his daughter, he wouldn't give you the chance to get away, so why didn't he send all his men after you?

You were cut off from your thoughts when the front door to the shed slammed open and you mentally cursed yourself for not thinking that far ahead. They had went around the shed and used the other door to sneak up on you. Son of a bitch.

You quickly spun around raising your gun and took down two of the five men before the all too familiar click filled the air and you groaned in frustration. You didn't have enough time to change magazines, instead you holstered your gun and pulled out your pepper spray from the pouch on your belt.

Without hesitation you quickly stood up and sprayed the men running towards you and you watched in amusement as the three of them instantly dropped to the ground with pained screams.

Pepper spray stung like a bitch. You had to be sprayed with it when you were training at the academy so you knew what it would feel like if you accidently got sprayed in the field and that was not fun. 

You put your spray back in the pouch and began to reach for your gun to load in a new magazine into, but you didn't get a chance before someone suddenly tackled you from behind.

You hit the ground with a thud and you forced yourself not to scream when you landed on your stomach, your ribs exploding in pain. Whoever tackled you, you rolled your over onto your back and you came face to face with the Governor before he slammed his boot down against the side of your face.

For a moment, you thought you were going to pass out.

Black dots started to cloud your vision, but you forced them away and you stared up at the Governor who standing above you. What was left of his men were still rolling around on the ground a few metres away from the spray, leaving just you and him.

"Just get it over with." You spat, your eyes still trying to focus as you felt blood trickling down the side of your face, the boot reopening some of the stitches.

"Not yet." The Governor responded, grabbing the front of your shirt and pulling you to your feet before he pinned you against the wall and pulled out a knife, holding it against your throat. "Looks like your wounds are starting to heal, I think we'll change that." He added, lowering the knife from your throat before he dug the blade into your left shoulder, reopening the stab wound causing you to scream.

Merle was sneaking into the shed while the Governor was distracted. The eldest Dixon pulled out his silenced pistol, shooting the five guys on the ground silencing them in an instant, but suddenly the Governor froze in front of you and you realised that he noticed his men weren't crying anymore. Shit.

You watched as the Governor pulled out his own handgun and slowly turned around.

Acting quickly, you grabbed his arm and tried to get him to drop the gun, but he just elbowed you in the face, knocking you to floor before he turned around to find Merle standing above his now dead men.

"Merle!" You screamed, catching the older Dixons attention.

Merle quickly spun around, but it was too late. The Governor had pulled the trigger and all you could do was watch Merle staggered back, his hand going to his stomach as blood started to seep through the front of his shirt before he fell to the floor.

The Governor began to walk towards him, no doubt going to finish him off, but you couldn't let that happen. He was Daryl's brother, you couldn't let him die.

Without thinking, you hastily got to your feet, trying to ignore the fact that the room definitely should not be spinning right now. You pulled your knife out and slammed the blade into the side of the Governors neck before he had a chance to pull the trigger and finished Merle off.

The Governor cried out in pain as you yanked the knife back out, blood spraying out the wound and covering you before he dropped to the ground. You didn't waste anytime as you dropped down beside him and stabbed him through the chest.

-

You weren't really sure what happened after that, you must have spaced out because the next thing you knew, you were leaning over the Governor's dead body, his face now unrecognisable from the amount of times you had stabbed him.

You sat there breathing heavily before pulling your knife from his eye socket and pushed yourself off him as you landed on the ground breathlessly.

Wait, Merle!

Dropping the knife, you quickly crawled over to the older Dixon who was laying on the ground a few metres away with his hands pressed against his bloodied stomach. Shit, that wasn't good.

"Merle? Hey, can you hear me?" You questioned once you reached his side and you lifted his hands to take a look at the wound, but all you could see was blood.

"Ain't walkin' away from this." He groaned through gritted teeth.

"It's just a scratch, stop being such a pussy." You lied, ripping off your flannel shirt, leaving you in what used to be a white tank top, but was now covered in more blood than what you though possible, but for once barely any of it was your own.

"I'm getting you out of here." You insisted.

You tied your flannel around his stomach to try and slow the bleeding causing Merle to wince and he shook his head, but you didn't give him a chance to speak.

"Shut up, I didn't save your ass back in the day for you to just die like this." 

You finished tying the flannel before you grabbed his arm, slinging it over your shoulder and tried to get him to his feet, but you really underestimated your strength and Merle's weight. But,to your relief, Merle started to help you and he pushed himself to his feet, most of his weight leaning against your side, but at least he was on his feet.

"Ain't gonna work." He mumbled as you started to walk him towards him door.

You did not like how faint his voice was getting though. It was only a matter of time before he past out from blood loss and there was no way you'd be able to carry his full weight to one of the cars.

"Shut up, save your energy." You groaned, trying to ignore the pain flaring through your shoulder as you helped Merle.

You really should have used your other arm, but too late now to change arms.

For a moment, you thought it was going to work, but the second you opened the door to the shed and took a step outside, you quickly realised that Merle was right. It wasn't going to work. There were walkers everywhere, you couldn't get Merle to one of the cars and take on the walkers at once. Shit.

"Stay here, don't move." You instructed as you gently lowered Merle to the ground under the veranda of the shed.

You stared at him for a moment, hating how pale he looked before you turned around and took in all the walkers stumbling around the area. How the hell were you going to do this? There had to be at least 50 walkers here.

"Fuck it." You muttered to yourself, grabbing your baton from your belt and flicking it out before slamming the end of it into the first walker and moving onto the next.

Walker, after walker, after walker. You smashed their heads in with your baton. Walker blood and guts coated your already bloodied body as you glanced over your shoulder, making sure there weren't any walkers near Merle.

"10 down, only another 40 to go." You said to yourself, turning back towards the walkers.

You raised your baton about to take down the closest one before an arrow suddenly flew past your face and hit the walker through the eye.

Daryl ran towards you with his crossbow in his hands, slamming it into one of the walkers before you quickly pointed towards Merle. Daryl stopped in his tracks and turned to where you were pointing and you could pinpoint the exact moment he spotted his brother. His entire body froze for a split second before he took off sprinting towards him.

You quickly turned your attention back to the walkers and continued to take them out before you glanced back towards the brothers to now find Daryl lifting Merle up. His panicked blue eyes locked with yours from across the yard, looking at you in uncertainty. 

"Take the Governor's truck, get him out of here!" You shouted just as a walker grabbed your shoulder and you quickly jumped out the way, kicking the walker to the ground before slamming your boot against his head with a sickening crunch.

"I ain't leaving ya!" Daryl shouted back.

You shook your head before slamming the baton against another walker, but this time your baton got stuck and you were unable to pull it out. Shit.

"You don't have a choice. He's bleeding out, I got this!" You yelled back, drawing your handgun, hastily ejecting the empty magazine and loading in your spare.

You shot the walker about to reach you before looking back over at Daryl. He just stood there with his brother in his arms, clearly unsure with what to do.

"Daryl, go!" You ordered, your inner police voice coming out.

To your relief, Daryl nodded before he started making a beeline for the nearest Governor vehicle and you turned your attention back to the walkers and started to shoot them.

It didn't take long before you heard one of the trucks start up and a few seconds later you spotted the truck take off and you just hoped it wasn't too late. Daryl couldn't lose his brother, not after everything.

You continued shooting the walkers until you ran out of bullets and there was no more spare magazine to load. You glanced around the area taking in all the walkers that were still left and you knew there was no way you could take them all on, but that was okay. Daryl had gotten Merle out of here and now you could get the hell out of dodge too.

Without further thought, you holstered your handgun and took off running in the direction Daryl had came from earlier and to your relief you spotted his old Triumph parked on the side of the road.

Your entire body ached as you mounted the bike. All your old injuries from the first time you fought with the Governor still fresh and you could feel blood dripping down your shoulder from the stab wound, but there wasn't much you could do about it at the moment.

You turned the key in the ignition and to your relief the bike started up on the first try because you knew there was no way you'd be able to kickstart it, not in your condition right now anyway.

By the time you pulled up to the prison the sun was starting to set in the distance.

Carl opened the gate for you and you rode in, parking Daryl's bike in the courtyard. You turned the engine off, but didn't make any move to dismount the bike just yet. What if Merle was dead? What if you were too late? It was your plan to draw the walkers in and take out the Governor that way, it was your plan that might have killed Daryl's brother...

"Aunty Y/N!" Carl's voice shouted, snapping you out of your thoughts as you glanced over your shoulder to find him running towards you from the gate and you took a deep breath before you climbed off the bike. "Daryl said the Governor is dead, is that true?" He asked, once he reached your side, his eyes widening taking in all the blood covering your body and you nodded.

"Yeah, he's dead. Is Merle okay? Where are they?" You asked, looking down at your nephew before he pointed towards the prison.

"In the cellblock, he was bleeding a lot. I don't know, I haven't heard anything since."

You nodded before making your way towards the building, unable to stop the tears rising in your eyes. Merle was probably dead... Daryl would hate you again, it was all your fault. 

"Y/N? Thank God, what happened? Merle said you killed the Governor, but..." Rick's voice suddenly said the second you stepped inside the prison.

The man who used to be your brother rushed over to you, his eyes widening as he took in all the blood covering your face and shirt.

"It's not mine... not all of it." You corrected yourself, running shaky fingers through your hair as you looked over at Rick who took a step towards you about to hug you, but you quickly shook your head and took a step back. "Don't." You warned and he stopped in his tracks.

"Y/N, please-" He started to say, but you cut him off.

"Where's Daryl and Merle?" You asked, changing the topic.

Rick sighed, pointing towards the cellblock before you rushed into the cellblock. Maggie and Glenn were sitting on the steps and both pointed towards one of the cells when they saw you.

You simply nodded your thanks and you walked over to the cell they pointed to and stopped in the doorway when you saw Merle lying on the bed, a thick white bandage around his stomach. His skin was still ghostly pale, but you could see the rise and fall of his chest and you couldn't stop the small sigh of relief that left your lips. He was still alive.

Daryl was sitting on a chair beside the bed with his head in his hands. You cleared your throat causing Daryl's head to quickly look up and the second he realised it was you, he was on his feet and pulling you into his chest.

Neither of you said anything for a while as you hugged each other, but you could tell Daryl was crying. His body trembled against you and you hugged him tighter, despite the pain it caused your shoulder... you really should get checked by Hershel, but that could wait.

"I'm so sorry." You apologised once Daryl pulled away, his eyes red and puffy from crying and your heart broke. "Is he going to be okay?" 

"Hershel got the bullet out, doesn't know if it did any internal damage or not... we just have to wait 'n find out."

He stared at his brother before turning his attention back towards you and reached for your bloodied shoulder, but stopped himself, not wanting to hurt you.

"It's okay. The Governor got me good, but it's not bad." You tried to reassure, but Daryl just shook his head.

"It ain't okay. None of this is okay. Why'd ya go after Merle? Ya could've gotten yourself killed!" He snapped, before he turned away and started to pace the small cell anxiously. 

"I didn't want you to lose your brother too. I lost mine and it broke me... I couldn't let you go through the same thing." You admitted, watching as he stopped pacing and stared at the ground. "You can hate me for running off again, it seems to be a habit of mine. But, I couldn't let you lose your brother." 

"I ain't ever gonna hate ya." He said, taking a step towards you and cupping the side of your face before placing a gentle kiss to your lips. "Let's go find Hershel, ya need that shoulder looked at."

"It's okay, stay with your brother. He needs you more than I do, right now. I'll find Hershel." You responded and Daryl looked like he wanted to argue before he looked back over at his big brother lying on the bed and sighed, but nodded in agreement. 

Chapter Text

After a long shower and visiting Hershel to get restitched and bandaged, you made your way back into the main room, but most of the others had all gone to bed.

Everyone except for Rick Grimes.

Typical.

He was still sitting at of the tables with Judith fast asleep in his arms. It reminded you of all the times you had walked into his and Lori's house to find him sitting on his usual rocking chair with baby Carl in his arms. You missed those days.

Rick must have heard you walk in because a second later he looked up, spotting you standing in the doorway watching him. He gave you a small smile before looking back down at Judith.

"Merle woke up. Daryl's still with him." Rick informed, looking back over at you.

You sighed with relief. He was awake, he was alive. Daryl still had his big brother. That was all that mattered.

For a moment, you thought about going into the cellblock to see him, but figured you should probably give the brothers some time alone. You didn't want to disturb them, but at the same time you weren't tired yet and you sure as hell weren't going to stay here with Rick.

Without saying anything in response, you started to walk towards the door that lead outside before Rick spoke up.

"Where are you going?"

"Watch duty." You simply answered before the sound of the chair moving filled the air and you knew Rick had stood up.

"Hey, you don't have to do that. You're still hurt-" He tried to say before you cut him off.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Y/N, we need to talk about a lot of things. We need to talk about what the Governor did to you at Woodbury and we need to talk about what happened at the farm." Rick insisted and that was all it took for you to spin around, folding your arms across your chest.

"About what happened at the farm? I can tell you what happened. You killed my brother!" You snapped, glaring at him as he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I didn't have a choice-"

"You're fucking kidding me, right? Of course you had a choice!" You shouted, angry tears starting to rise in your eyes as you fought them back. Now was not the time to cry.

"He raised his gun on me first. That whole Randal thing? He set it all up. When we were all out looking for Randal that night, Shane was leading me further and further into the woods to take me out. Eventually, I knew what he was doing... but, I refused to believe it until he drew his gun on me." He explained and your jaw dropped as you stared at Rick who was still holding Judith in his arms.

"No, you're lying. Shane would never do that. He loved you like a brother! You've been best friends since before I was even born. He would never do that."

"I didn't want to believe it either. But, you saw the way he was getting. How erratic and unpredictable he became, he was a threat to all of us-"

"Stop! My brother may have lost his way a bit, but he could've come back and he sure as hell wouldn't try and kill you!" You shouted, it couldn't be true. Your brother would never do that.

"Y/N, look at me." He instructed, his voice soft, but you could hear the slight hitch in his voice and you knew Rick was fighting back tears himself and you sighed, taking a deep breath before meeting his eyes. "Shane lead me through the woods with the intention to kill me. He aimed his gun at me, fully loaded with a bullet in the chamber and finger on the trigger. He was going to kill me, I didn't have a choice."

Ricks voice broke as he spoke, a silent tear falling down his cheek and deep down you knew he was telling the truth. You knew Rick Grimes. And you knew when he was lying and that wasn't him lying. He was telling the truth. Shane had actually drew his gun on him... Your brother had tried to kill Rick.

"No. That's not possible. There has to be a reasonable explanation-" You started to ramble, but Rick shook his head.

"There's not. I tried to talk him out of it... but, Y/N, he gave me no choice."

That was all it took before the tears in your eyes started to fall. Ricks face instantly broke seeing you cry and more tears slipped from his eyes as he started to walk towards you. But, you quickly raised your hand, pointing at him to stay back.

"Don't." You warned, but your voice was barely above a whisper as you shook your head and Rick stopped where he was, staring at you through his own tears which just made you cry even more before you walked out the door.

"Y/N!" Rick shouted after you, but you ignored him.

You walked towards the watch tower and climbed up the stairs to take over from whoever was keeping watch. Needing to get away from Rick, needing to get away from everything for a while.

Michonne had been on watch and the second she saw the tears in your eyes she insisted that she could stay on watch duty and for you to rest, but you told her that you needed to be alone and wanted to do it. After some convincing Michonne had nodded, handing you the scoped rifle before heading back into the prison.

You leant the rifle down against the wall behind you and rested your forearms over the railing of the platform as you stared up at the stars in the sky.

You couldn't stop thinking about what Rick had just said. Your brother had tried to kill him... Shane had lied about Randal and was going to shoot Rick in the woods. It didn't make any sense. Your brother wouldn't do that. Him and Rick were best friends, they were brothers. Yes, they argued and fought with each other, but murdering each other? That wasn't possible. It couldn't be true. Your brother wouldn't do that.

But, as you stood there, staring up at the stars, you knew it was true. No matter how much you wanted to believe Rick was lying, you could read him like a book and knew he was telling the truth.

Rick was only trying to defend himself. Shane was the one that tried to kill him.

Maybe if you had been with them, you could've talked Shane out of It, you could have reasoned with him. Maybe he would still be alive if you had been there or if you had been a better sister. You knew that killing Otis had impacted him greatly. You knew he was getting unstable, you should have tried to help him more. You should have seen this coming and found a way to stop it. But, you didn't.

Shane had tried to kill Rick, so Rick killed him. It was self-defence and deep down you knew Rick was right, he didn't have a choice. But, Shane was your big brother and Rick murdered him, there was no way you could ever forgive and forget.

You hated Rick. You hated him, but at the same time you still loved him which just made you hate yourself even more.

You stood there, leaning against the railing for what felt like hours as you thought about everything. About Shane. About Merle nearly dying. About the Governor and everything he had done to you. You couldn't shut your brain off, no matter how much you tried.

You wished things were like they were before. You missed being a Deputy and working along your brothers. You missed the banter between them whenever you were lucky enough to be on the same shift or how the two of them would gang up against you and tease you.

You missed going around to Rick and Lori's house with Shane during your days off after a week of night shifts. You missed Friday night barbeques at Shanes house. You missed the late nights you spent under the veranda with just you and your brother as you talked about anything and everything. You missed hearing Shane laugh when him and Carl were playing around in the backyard. You even missed Lori's horrible cooking and how you'd end up ordering pizza 9 times out of 10 whenever she hosted a family dinner.

But, despite missing all of that, you weren't mad that the world had ended because if it didn't then you would have never seen Daryl again. You wouldn't have had a second chance with him and you couldn't imagine your life without Daryl Dixon. He was your first love and despite how rough things had ended between the two of you back in the day, you never stopped loving him and for whatever reason, Daryl still loved you as well.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs filled the air, snapping you out of your thoughts, but you figured it was probably Daryl.

You continued to stand there, your forearms leaning against the railing while staring out at the woods around the prison, the full moon lighting up the trees in the distance.

Without warning, a blanket was suddenly draped over your shoulders causing you to flinch in surprise as you glanced over your shoulder about to say 'thank you' to Daryl before your eyes landed on Rick.

You quickly turned away and continued to scan the horizon, not saying anything to him and Rick sighed.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but you're gonna have to find a way to live with me. Because I'm not going anywhere." Rick spoke up softly from behind you, his hand still on your shoulder as he squeezed it gently.

You could feel tears starting to rise in your eyes again. You wanted to forgive him, you wanted to have Rick back in your life again. He was like a brother to you and you loved him, you always would, but he still killed Shane.

Rick stood behind you for a few seconds, but you didn't say anything else. You kept looking out towards the woods, trying to ignore him before he lowered his hand and started to walk away.

"Rick." You suddenly called out, hating how weak your voice sounded.

You glanced over your shoulder in his direction just as he stopped walking and quickly turned towards you.

"Thanks. For the blanket." You said causing a small smile spread across Rick's face as he nodded and stared at you for a few seconds before he walked off.

You knew things weren't going to go back to normal overnight between you and Rick. Hell, they won't go back to normal at all, not without Shane, but you knew it would get better. Rick may have killed your brother, but you knew the story now and it didn't make up for the fact that your brother was gone, but Rick wasn't a bad man and he was still your brother too. 

"Did Rick just come up here?" Daryl's voice suddenly questioned, snapping you out of your thoughts as you turned around to find him walking towards you and you nodded. "What happened?" He asked, knowing that you and Rick had barely spoken a word to each other since the farm.

"He gave me a blanket." You answered causing Daryl to frown in confusion as he reached your side before you continued. "He killed Shane, but... Rick's like a brother to me as well. I won't ever forgive him for what he did, but he's still family and I still care about him, as crazy as that is."

"Nah, that ain't crazy." .

"Mmm. Speaking of brothers, how's yours going? Rick said he was awake." You said, changing the topic.

"He's awake. Won't stop bitching 'bout how he wanted to be the one to kill the Governor though. But, Hershel said he'll be fine, thanks to you." He explained and you shook your head, about to say that it wasn't because of you, but Daryl bet you too it. "If ya didn't cover us 'n make me take him back to the prison while you dealt with 'em walkers... Hershel said he wouldn't have made it."

"It's no big deal." You shrugged, looking back out along the horizon.

Daryl shook his head, leaning his forearms on the railing beside you, shoulders touching. You both stood there in comfortable silence and stared out at the stars shimmering in the sky above you.

"Back at the farm... you said ya still loved me. That still true?" Daryl suddenly asked a few minutes later.

"Of course." You answered, looking over at him, but he refused to look at you. "A lot has happened between us, I get it if you don't feel the same way-"

"No, I do. Even when I hated ya, I still loved ya. I just couldn't help it. I love you, Y/N." Daryl suddenly responded as he turned his head towards you and you stared at him in pure shock.

"You mean that?"

Daryl didn't respond with words, instead he lifted his hand and cupped the side of your face before he leant forward and placed a gentle kiss to your lips.

"That answer ya question?" He whispered and you smiled against his lips before kissing him again, your hands trailing over the familiar scars across his broad shoulders.

Daryl moved slightly, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you closer before accidentally bumping your bad shoulder causing you to wince and you tried to hide it, but Daryl noticed and immediately pulled away.

"It's fine." You quickly responded, but Daryl shook his head.

"Don't wanna hurt ya." He muttered, his hand still cupping the side of your face as his thumb brushed over one of the slowly healing bruises on your cheek.

"You could never hurt me." You whispered, resting your hand over his before you leant forward and placed a gentle kiss to his lips and he kissed you back.

A moment later, he pulled away slowly and wrapped his arm over your shoulders, pulling your body into his side as you rested your head on his chest. The two of you stood there staring up at the stars until the sun started to rise along the horizon, but neither of you wanted to move.

You finally had each other back again. The world might have ended for it to actually happened, but you wouldn't change it for anything. The Governor was dead. Merle was going to be okay. You and Rick still had issues, but the two of you would be able to move forward and you knew Shane was watching down on you with a proud smile. You were going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.