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Chapter Text

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"Everyone I know always ends up leaving me."

"Well 'm not gonna leave ya."

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Run. That was all Devon had known for the past handful of weeks. Since realising that her father had abandoned her, Devon had waited a few days for his return, but he never did. After gathering her belongings into her faded dark red backpack, Devon began her trek to wherever she might find supplies. Taking one last look at the rundown car she had been camping in for nearly a week, Devon then continued to walk forward with no intentions of looking back. 

After walking for hours without a break, Devon's short legs began to ache and her empty stomach continued to rumble. In the distance she could just barely see the outline of what looked like a gas station. Getting closer to the abandoned building, there were dead corpses lying around. Devon held her breath as she jogged passed them and towards the door of the gas station's convenience store. Quickly opening the door and entering the ransacked building, she let out the breath that she'd been holding in. 

Devon's eyes scanned the interior. Most of the shelves were empty or had random items haphazardly lying on them. Her worn out Converse scraped along the debris filled floor as she went to the food and drinks section. On a shelf that was near her eye level, Devon saw an eight-pack of chocolate pudding cups. She quickly ate two of the eight ounce cups, and put the remaining six in her backpack. After wiping her mouth with the hem of her tee shirt, she continued to look around the rest of the area. Devon grabbed a few bottles of water, a couple of packets of beef jerky, and a handful of granola bars. 

Taking a look out the window, Devon noticed that the sun was starting to set. She decided to stay the night in the convenience store because she knew the dangers of travelling in the dark. She settled herself behind the checkout counter, and used her backpack as a pillow. 

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When morning arrived, Devon gathered her belongings and made her way out of the convenience store. She knew that she couldn't say there because it was already very low with supplies. Not really having a sense of direction, Devon decided to just continue walking down the deserted road. The sun was beating down on her, but she was glad that she hadn't encountered any of the walking corpses. 

Further down the road, Devon saw a small pile of abandoned car. Since it was only three cars on the side of the road, she decided to check them out in hopes that she'll find something useful. The first car didn't really have anything useful so she moved onto the second car. In that car she found an old brown and tan flannel that looks to be about a men's large. Devon decided to put it on, but since the flannel was massive on her, she had to roll up the sleeves multiple times. Continuing her search in the second car, she found a worn out denim jacket that was also multiple sizes too big for her. That didn't bother Devon because she shoved the denim jacket into her backpack. The only other things in the car were a half empty pack of cigarettes, and some empty bottles of liquor. That just reminded Devon of her dad and their living room. She didn't want to think about him or their dingy little house, it just brought upsetting memories for her. 

Having enough of that, Devon went towards the third car still hoping to find something of practical use. Giving a good tug, eventually the front passenger door opened causing her to stumble back a couple of steps. Devon got into the car, sat in the passenger seat, and open the glove compartment. Within a few seconds she heard the low noise of deep growls. Quickly turning her head back, she saw two dead corpses getting up from the car's floor. Not having enough time to pull out her switchblade from her backpack's front pocket, Devon decided to run out of the car and into the woods.

The two dead corpses were bigger than Devon, but she was able to run just a bit quicker than them. Devon was running in all different directions throughout the woods in an attempt to get the two dead corpses off her trail. After running for who knows how long, she was starting to get winded. Eventually she realised that the only sound she could hear was her heavy breathing. Building up the courage, Devon peered around the tree she was leaning on, and was glad to see that the two dead corpses weren't there. 

Devon took her backpack off, grabbed one of the water bottles, and chugged about half of it. She then hastily ripped open one of the granola bars and scarfed it down. Once she caught her breath, she decided to continue her trek into the woods since the sun was starting set again. 

Devon didn't know where she was going to find shelter, but she knew she needed to find it fast. With all the running and walking she did today, her legs were starting to feel exhausted. Once she entered a clearing in the woods, a small smile broke out onto her face when she saw an abandoned house. Devon jogged up to the front door, and cautiously opened it. The house was completely silent, and that was good enough for her.  

Really feeling the effects of today's events, Devon dragged herself up the stairs and into the first bedroom she saw. It was small with a twin bed and undone covers. She placed her backpack on the dresser up against the wall, and climbed into the bed. Devon let out a large sigh before she drifted into a long need night of sleep. 

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Having a decent night of rest, Devon woke up, but continued to stay in bed. She looked around the bedroom, and noticed how small and bare it looked. It reminded her of her old bedroom back home, except this one was missing a small bookcase that she had in her room. Devon's stomach began to grumble, and she just realised that she barely ate these past few days, weeks actually. 

She threw the thick blankets off her and onto the floor as she sat up from the bed to stretch her arms. Letting out a silent yawn, Devon swung her legs off the bed and stood up. As she went to take a step forward, her foot slipped on the blanket which slid on the hardwood floor. She let out a small "humph" as her body made a loud thud onto the floor. Before she could even get up, the bedroom door had swung open. 

When Devon looked up at the doorway, her blue eyes met with another pair of blue eyes. She was too scared to move as she stared with wide eyes at this man who pointed a crossbow at her. Devon's eyes quickly glanced towards her backpack which housed her switchblade. This small action didn't go unnoticed by the man as he too glanced in the direction that she did. 

"Don' even think 'bout it." The archer told her with a gruff voice.

Devon just stared at him, she didn't even know what to do. 

"Ya seen a girl 'round here? Few years older than ya." He questioned as he stared down Devon. 

Although it was subtle, the man saw her shake her head "no". The archer let out a small huff as he lowered his crossbow. Taking a quick glance around the small room, he wondered if this girl lived here or was just spending the night. Having seen the downstairs earlier, he concluded that it was the latter since he found no evidence of anyone else being here. 

"Ya alone here?" He asked her just to confirm his theory. 

Devon just stared at him not really wanting to tell the truth, but he continued to stare back waiting for a response. She nodded "yes" as her eyes glanced downwards. The man sighed not sure of what to do. He didn't want the responsibility of looking after her, but he couldn't leave her behind by herself, she's just a little kid.

"Gotta farm, it's safe. People ta look after ya." The man told Devon as she looked back up at him. "Grab ya stuff, c'mon." He continued as Devon slowly got up from the floor. She grabbed her backpack, and followed the man out through the bedroom door. There wasn't anything useful in the bedroom or in the rest of the house worth taking. 

"Gotta name?" The gruff man questioned as he looked back at Devon. She just stared at him, eyes darting around him. "Wha'ever." He huffed out as they made their way out of the ageing house. He paused when he spotted a shrub of white flowers, Cherokee roses. 

"Hol' up." He told Devon as he went towards the roses. She was confused as to why this gruff and rough looking man had bothered to stop and pick up a flower, but she sure wasn't going to question him about it. 

"C'mon, keep up." Devon was told as the two trekked their way back to this farm that's supposed to be safe. She was trying the best she could, but she was so much shorter than he was. Devon was also weary of what she was getting herself into, but maybe just maybe she could trust this man.

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Eventually a large, white farmhouse was starting to become visible from their distance. Devon had never seen a house of such size as her eyes slightly widen at the view. As the two of them got closer to the house, Devon began to notice a few people lingering around. The anxiety was starting to increase within her, so she decided to hide behind the man.

The first person the duo approached was a man wearing a sherif hat, and matching shirt. Devon wasn't sure what to think about him, but he looked like a cowboy to her based on some of the books she had read. 

"Hey, Rick." The archer called out once they neared the cowboy, now known as Rick. 

"Daryl, did you find anything?" Rick had asked the archer as he walked over to him. This caused Devon to look up at him, not realising that would be the archer's name. She hadn't given it much of a thought. 

"Found a lead on Sophia. Also found something else." Daryl replied as he took a step to the left, revealing a wide eyed Devon who now felt exposed. 

Rick stared at the girl equally surprised as her, but quickly recovered. "Where'd you find her?" He questioned Daryl. 

"Found her alone in an old house out there."

"Do you know how long she's been alone for?"

"Nah, she didn't tell me anything?"

"Her name?"

"Wouldn't say."

Rick glanced at Devon who was a few feet away from them, busy digging the toe of her worn out canvas hi-tops into the dirt. "I'll talk to her, see if she answers." Rick told Daryl as he looked back to him. 

"Good luck with that. 'm goin' talk Carol, tell what I found." Daryl replied back as he began to make his way to the RV.

With now just Rick and Devon standing there, Rick took a few cautious steps towards the preoccupied girl. He crouched in front of her to be at her eye level, and gently said "Hi, I'm Rick."

Devon slowly lifted her gaze towards Rick, blue eyes locked on his blue ones. He had a calm, soft expression on his face that slightly eased Devon's anxiety by a small fraction. 

"Do you mind if we go over there to talk?" Rick asked her as he pointed towards a picnic table. 

Devon complied to Rick's request with a small nod as the two of them made their way to the picnic table. Devon sat on the bench seat with her back facing the table, Rick followed the action by sitting next to her. He observed Devon as she fiddled with her fingers in an anxious manner. Rick didn't want to make the already nervous girl scared so he tried to be gentle with her. 

"May I ask what your name is." Rick softly questioned the quiet girl. 

Devon remained quiet as she continued to fiddle with her fingers which rested on her lap. 

Rick sighed to himself as he observed her. A plan formed in his head as he decided his next approach to try to get the seemingly mute girl to open up to him. 

"I'm going to be right back, can you stay here please?" Rick pleaded with Devon who just nodded her head, not bothering to look at him as Rick got up from the bench seat. 

A few minutes later, Devon turned around when she hear the sound of a plate being placed onto the wooden picnic table. Rick sat down across from her noticing how she was eyeing the plate of food. 

"If I give you this," Rick began as his eyes pointed downwards to the plate, "will you answer my questions, please?"

Hesitating for a few seconds, Devon nodded her head as desperation and hunger won her over. With a small smile, Rick slid the plate that contained cut up apple slices and a few spoonfuls of peanut butter towards her. Wasting no time, Devon swiped an apple slice into the peanut butter and began to devour them. Rick suppressed a chuckle at her quick eating, but his face became somber realising that she probably hadn't eaten for a while. 

"Do you mind telling me your name?" Rick began his questioning. 

Devon paused her eating, remembering to comply with Rick's plead. After a beat of silence, her small voice said "Devon."

A light smile appeared on Rick's face. "That's a lovely name, Devon." He told her. 

Devon’s eyebrows lightly furrowed towards Rick’s compliment. He chose not to acknowledge it.  

Rick was glad that he was starting to get somewhere with her, albeit slowly. "Do you mind if I ask how old you are?" He followed up with another question. 

"Eight years old." Came Devon's small voice again as she took another bite out of her peanut butter slathered apple slice. 

Rick was taken aback by her response. If he was being honest, he thought that she was five years old maybe even six years old. She was so small for her age, in both height and weight. The malnutrition definitely didn't help her already underweight frame. This made Rick think about what her home life was like before the outbreak happened. 

"Daryl told me that he found you in a house out in the woods." Rick softly stated. Devon didn't respond or even look at him. "Are your parents anywhere nearby?" Rick cautiously queried. He noticed how her body tensed up at his question.

The softest "no" was uttered from Devon, who refused to look up at Rick. 

"Do you know where they might be?" Rick's soft voice followed up.

Devon shook her with an little "no." 

Rick wasn't sure how to proceed next, but continued with "Can you tell me what happened to them?"

Devon wished that Rick would just shut up, but he did just provide her with food. Not wanting to get into trouble, she eventually replied. "Ma left when I's real little, not supposed to ask. Dad just disappeared a few weeks ago." Devon mumbled quickly look up at Rick then back down.

Rick noticed how dejected Devon became as she revealed her parents' whereabouts or lack of them. He couldn't even begin to fathom the idea of how a parent could just abandon their own child, especially at a time like this. "You're welcomed to stay here with us. Hershel is the name of the man who owns this farm, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Rick told Devon in hopes that it'll make her feel less alone. 

"Okay." Was all Devon replied with, still feeling dejected by having to recount her parents' abandonment.  

Rick still wanting to bring up her mood spoke, "I have a son, his name's Carl." He saw Devon pick her head up with a slight interest, so he continued. "Carl's twelve. He had an accident, he's recovering now. Hershel fixed him up. You could talk to him when he's off bed rest." 

"Thank you, for the food too sir." Devon mumbled somewhat nervously. 

Rick gave her a smile. "You're welcome, and just call me Rick." 

"Thank you, Rick." Devon corrected herself. 

"Feel free to explore, just don't wander too far." Rick told her as he got up and grabbed the now empty plate. He needed to tell the others about how Daryl brought Devon to the farm. 

Devon watched Rick disappear into the large house. She didn't know what to do with herself so she continued to sit at the picnic table for a few more minutes contemplating.

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The sun was setting now as evening was turning to night. Devon had decided to sit on the porch swing that was several feet to the left of the house's front door. Her backpack laid next to her as she was nose deep into one of her graphic science fiction novels. Several people had noticed Devon, but most of them chose to ignore her as they were busy with other tasks. Unbeknownst to her, Daryl kept glancing over at her as the evening progressed. He noticed that the others paid her no mind, and for an unknown reason that bothered Daryl, but she wasn't his responsibility so why should he care? With that he called it a night, and retreated into his tent. 

Eventually Devon's eyes began to grow heavy, but she continued to push herself to keep reading. The story that her book contained was far more interesting than sleep, but the bleary eyed girl soon lost the battle against sleep. Late into the night with her book splayed on her lap, and her head lolled to side, Devon drifted into dreamland whilst still sitting on the porch swing. 

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Author’s Note: This chapter takes place during S2 Ep04 “Cherokee Rose”.

Chapter Text

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As morning arrived, Devon slowly started to stir awake. Her neck was a little stiff from her sleeping position, but she's had worse. She closed the open book that rested in her lap at the whole night, and shoved it into her backpack. Devon craned her head to take in her surroundings, and noticed that most of the camp was huddled by a car. She was curious as to what they were doing, but she didn’t quite want to be near so many strangers. Too bad her curiosity won her over. 

Devon walked as quietly as possible towards the group, wondering what they were doing. As soon as she reached the group, Rick noticed Devon in his peripheral view. 

“Hey, is everything alright?” Rick softly asked as he turned to give Devon his full attention. 

Devon who was caught off guard, just stood there wide-eyed as the others in the group took notice of her. Eventually she nodded her head as she started to fidget with her fingers. The others turned back to glance at the map before they started to disperse to begin their tasks. Daryl glanced at her, and noticed the slight dark circles under her eyes before heading off. Rick gathered the map back up and smiled towards Devon has he walked passed her. 

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Devon was bored out of her mind. She didn’t know anybody at this farm plus they were all busy anyway. She decided to wonder over towards the barn where the horses were at. Once there she noticed that one of the horses were missing, but she didn’t dwell on it. Devon continued to stare at the horse in front of her, but heard footsteps increasing towards her. 

“Hi, you’re Devon, right?” Questioned the voice behind her. 

Slightly startled, Devon quickly turned around and replied with a meek “Yes.” 

“I’m Maggie, nice to meet you.” Maggie continued with. 

Devon nodded and let out a little “mmhmm” as her eyes darted from Maggie to the floor and back.

“Do you like horses?” Maggie curiously inquired. 

“They’re nice. I like to draw them sometimes.”

“Well I’m sure there’s a sketchbook and some pencils back at the house that you can have.”

Devon’s eyes widened a fraction as she intriguingly replied with “Really?” 

“Of course.” Maggie responded with a light chuckle. “C’mon.”

Devon quickly followed Maggie out of the barn and towards the house. 

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After receiving a slightly worn sketchbook and a twenty-four pack of coloured pencils, Devon had situated herself on the porch. She spent the afternoon drawing the landscape that stretched from the house outwards. For Devon it was a peaceful afternoon, one that she hadn’t experienced in years. Sadly the peacefulness that surrounded her had to come to an end. 

When the commotion started to increase in volume, Devon looked up from her sketchbook. Andrea shouted that there was a walker. It took Devon a moment to realise what that meant since this was the first time that she heard the dead be referred as a “walker”. She never really had a name for them other than “the dead”. 

Devon watched as a few members of the group came around to address the situation, but since it was just the one walker, Devon zoned out the commotion and continued with her drawing. 

She did glance up to reference the landscape and seeing Rick, Glenn, Shane and T-Dog running in the distance made her think of maybe adding them into the drawing. Devon didn’t have time to think about that though as she was startled by the loud sound of the shotgun going off. 

Heart racing, Devon’s sketchbook fell off her lap as she jumped at that booming sound. With wide eyes, she followed the others who had just ran out of the house. Devon’s curiosity will always win her over. She horrifying watched as Rick and Shane dragged a near unconscious Daryl up to the house’s front steps. Devon’s mouth was agape as she took in Daryl’s form, he was filthy covered in dirt and blood. Her wide eyes turned into regretful eyes as she hadn’t had the chance to thank Daryl for bringing her to the farm when he could’ve left her to be on her own. 

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Having gathered her sketchbook and coloured pencils into her backpack, Devon was now sitting on an old wooden chair in the corner of the room where an injured Daryl was now resting. She wanted to be there when he woke up so she can thank him. She had finished her landscape drawing, and was now reading her graphic novel whilst tuning out the downstairs noise. Something she was used to doing. 

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Daryl had stirred awake a handful of minutes ago, but just continued to lay on his side. He quickly tugged the blanket higher up to cover his back when he heard the door opening. He turned his body to face the door as Carol walked in holding a tray with a dinner plate. 

“How are you feeling?” Carol asked as she placed the tray onto the bedside table. 

“As good as I look.” Daryl replied as he turned his back slightly away. 

“I brought you some dinner. You must be starving.” 

Daryl turned to look at the bedside table as he noticed the dinner plate before turning back to face the wall again. 

“Did Devon draw this for you?” Carol inquired when she noticed the child’s drawing on the bedside table.

“S’there when I woke up.” Daryl replied as his eyes drifted to Devon’s slouched form. 

“She’s quite skilled at drawing.”

“Mhm.”

“Should I wake her for dinner?”

“Nah, poor kid barely sleeps. Let her rest.”

After a few seconds, Carol leaned forward to place a kiss on Daryl’s bandaged forehead causing him to slightly flinch. 

“Watch out, I got stitches.” Daryl muttered.   

Carol hesitated before speaking up. 

“You need to know something. You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did in his whole life.”

“I didn’t do anything Rick or Shane wouldn’t have done.”

“I know. Your every bit as good as them. Every bit.” 

After that Carol quietly exited the room making sure the door closing wasn’t too loud. Daryl continued to stare at the wall with his back facing the wall. 

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Author’s Note: This chapter takes place during S2 Ep05, “Chupacabra”