⊹⊱♡⊰⊹

He was grateful that nobody pressured him. Which was surprising. All of the groups had come to an understanding that; that’s just how he is. They did not want him to be pretentious, they weren’t embarrassed of his ways. They just let him be. Let him have his own time to adjust. That is why he loved them so much, he would die for them. Of course he would never say it out loud but he does show it in the form of actions. Let it be big or small. They always showed they appreciated him. 

If someone had asked him; “Do you miss the life you had before?”, he would say no. He was happy with the people he was with, he wasn’t happy before.

When Aaron invited him to his home, that was the first time he felt moved. That was the first time he recognized Aaron was just simply a good guy. He did not have any agenda, any tricks up his sleeve–he was just kind. Kindness is a diamond nowadays. It is so hard to find. Maybe… Just maybe, all the other Alexandrians were like him as well. He sure started to notice that with Deanna but he was still wary of her.

“The main reason why I wanted to help me recruit… is because you do know the difference between a good person and a bad person” Hearing him say that, Daryl’s heart swells. However, he would never show it. Instead, he offered Aaron to catch rabbits for him. It amused him. He was the first person to see Daryl, truly sees him and even gave him a new ride in the process. Aaron was the first Alexandrian he trusted.

After the first few weeks he felt a little comfortable again, not fully–just enough to make him stay. Alexandria didn’t force him to stay inside, they would let him out whenever he wanted.

Today was one of the days where he would ask to be left alone as he went out on a hunt.

He moves carefully in the woods, his hearing was far more heightened than the average person. The amount of focus and patience he obtained was how he was able to become silent and deadly. Every noise that comes through the woods he would be able to recognize what it is and where it is from.

A scream was definitely not one of it.

He immediately rushed towards it, he was careful of his peripheral vision and not losing sight of his surroundings. The noise became louder and louder until he was close enough to see what it was but remain invisible. 

Observe, intervene if the situation calls for it.

He hid behind a tree as he watched from afar. His eyes adjusted to the distance. He saw two men, one was holding down a woman as she cried for her life and the other was rummaging through her belongings. They looked at her with eyes that could only count as pure evil. They weren’t planning to only steal from her–they were planning to take her away.

With careful movements, Daryl got close enough behind the two men. Without hesitation, he shot his crossbow right in one of the men’s chest as he fell down–limp, dead. The other was too shocked as he looked around trying to find the perpetrator. Daryl gave him no chance to even see the light of day before he stabbed him from behind. The man fell limp, just like his friend.

“I don’t take chances anymore”

Rick’s words echoed in his mind as he firmly believed in it. The woman gasped as she backed away to a tree, she didn’t say anything but she looked at him with fear.

“You’re safe, it’s okay” Daryl placed his knife away as well as his crossbow as he raised his hands up. The woman was still terrified as if Daryl was going to end her life next, “I’m not gonna hurt you, I’m just gonna help you take your things, alright?”

He moved closer just by a bit and before he could do anything else the woman took off in fear, leaving all her supplies behind.

“Shit” He cursed to himself as he watched her disappear into the woods. Daryl was too far out to be close to Alexandria and run for her and maybe take her back. If he did all that he would be out here late at night and it would be more dangerous. Daryl looked at her scattered supplies as he bent down to collect them. However, he did not have the attention to take it. Instead, he collected it and placed it on a tree branch–not too high that she couldn’t reach it. He took out his pen and paper as he wrote.

‘Look up’

There was a chance she might come back and see it but there was also a chance that she wasn’t coming back and someone else might have taken it. There was also a chance she might not make it through the night empty-handed. That thought dawned upon him but he couldn’t risk himself getting in trouble for his group.

He walked away, heading back to Alexandria as he glanced at the backpack one more time.

He hoped she survived.

.

The next day, Daryl went to the same spot to hunt. His intention was to bring food back but deep in his conscience he also hoped the girl would return again. He went back to the same tree, he saw that his note was still intact but the backpack was no longer there. He hoped she was the one who took it.

As he spent time in the woods he saw a baby deer, quietly eating leaves. He thought it was his opening. He carefully moved closer, his aim was set right on its heart as he moved slowly he suddenly tripped on a rock that he had not noticed and scared the deer away.

“Damnit” He cursed as he wiped off the sweat that was beading on his forehead, he groaned as he leaned on a tree, slowly sitting down as he thought that he might lose his touch. Or maybe there was just too much in his mind about the girl he encountered yesterday. Daryl didn’t want to give up so he looked around to see if he could spot any animals left in the woods. He was about to give up when suddenly he heard the cracking of twigs behind him. He turned in a swift motion, wielding his crossbow but then he froze in shock.

It was her. 

He immediately dropped his weapon. He raised his hands again, trying to show her that he wasn’t dangerous.

Daryl looked down as he noticed something. The same baby deer that he was hunting was now dead in her arms. She looked at him blankly as she walked closer towards him. Every move she made had Daryl looking closely.

She threw the dead deer in front of him, offering it to him. Daryl looked at the deer and looked back at her, she just hummed and gestured for him to take it. Then he realized it was her way of thanking him for saving her.

He took the deer from her hands slowly, afraid that sudden movements would scare her away. She was about to turn around and leave when he noticed that she managed to take her backpack with her.

“Hey, wait up” Daryl called out softly as she turned around, “Stay there, we can share it”

There it is again, the blank stare that he could not read. Daryl took out his knife as he was about to butcher the deer’s leg, she suddenly grew frantic as she ran towards him and bent down to his level.

Daryl looked at her as she pointed towards the deer and pointed back at him; “It’s for you”, as he understood. He shook his head as he continued to cut the leg off.

“We can share it, it’s okay” Daryl muttered softly, she didn’t do anything else–instead she just looked at him as if she was confused. “Here”, Daryl paid her no mind as he gave her the larger part, taking only the leg with him. She did not understand why he did that. 

She looked at the deer that Daryl gave her for a while, she held it tight in her hands. Something in her eyes told him that she felt thankful.

Then she left.

.

It had become a part of his routine. Ever since that day, he would come out to the same spot and he would bring her different things each day. She sat far away from him but he was okay with it, Daryl didn’t need to say anything to her nor did she have to say anything to him. Daryl did not look for her. Instead, he lets her come to him on her own terms.

After that encounter, Daryl had brought some canned foods he managed to snatch from Olivia–she never found out where the canned beans went. Daryl waited in the woods, sitting at the same tree as he sharpened and cleaned his arrows to pass time. He cleared the area from walkers so it was safe for him–for her. When Daryl noticed her peeking out behind the tree, he held out the canned beans for her to take.

She approached him slowly, carefully and when she got closed enough she pointed towards the ground. It always takes some time for it to register what she was gesturing but eventually he understood that she didn’t want to come in contact with him so he carefully threw the beans at her. She grabbed it quickly as she backed away, a distance she thought was safe for her.

“My name’s Daryl” He tried. As he patiently waited for her to reply but she never did, she always just stared back at him. “You wanna tell me your name?”

She stays silent again as Daryl decides not to push it any further. She opened the can eagerly, as she scoped the beans and ate it with her hands. Daryl takes the moment to observe her while she is distracted with eating.

Daryl noticed the countless amount of scars on her face, some were new and some were older. Definitely some from the encounter a few days before. She had a huge gash on her forehead that she had left untreated, Daryl made a mental note to bring her bandages and antiseptic from Alexandria next time. His eyes trailed down as he noticed her wrists. There was a deep scar surrounding it, like she had been restrained for a long time. Daryl took a moment to wonder what you have been through to make you end up this way. In some ways, he saw a bit of his own reflection in her.

Like routine, she finished the canned beans and looked at him one last time before she left.

.

“You’ve been going out a lot” Carol implored, “You good, pookie?”

Daryl grumbled, “Was out ‘huntin”

Carol hummed as she took a seat right next to Daryl.

“Well, I don’t see you coming back with anything,” Carol teased as he groaned, getting up from the porch, “Have you showered?”

He hummed before leaving her behind. Carol noticed how Daryl had been acting strange since they got to Alexandria. However, she just blamed it on the new environment.

Daryl went to the infirmary quietly, grabbing whatever was needed for her.

He went out at the same spot, at the same time each day. He was starting to wonder where she was sheltered. He didn't feel the need to question her.

She appeared again, just after a while he arrived. Daryl took out the bandages and medicine.

“You have a cut on your forehead, ‘ya need to treat it or else it would get infected” Daryl threw the items at her like a habit, but this time she just stared at it. “You can get sick if you don’t clean it”

She slowly took the bandage and she just fiddled it in her hands. It was as if she didn’t know what to do with it.

“Do you know how to treat it yourself?” Daryl questioned as she looked at him, confused. She shook her head as she threw it back at him, “Ya need it. Can I help?”

She stayed silent for a while. Daryl could see that she was deeply contemplating whether or not she should let him do it. Daryl let her take her time, not rushing her–if anything he had all the time in the world.

Hesitantly, she nodded.

“Kay, I’ll do it slowly. But if I do it slowly it is gonna hurt, is that okay?” She nodded once again. Suddenly she took out her knife, gripping it in her hands. Daryl immediately understood why. However, he was not scared. He wasn’t going to hurt her–not in a harmful way and he was sure she wasn’t going to hurt him. He nodded, acknowledging her actions as he gestured her to move closer and so she did–but carefully. Daryl let her get close enough to tend to her wounds. He cut a piece of clean bandaged as he poured a small amount of antiseptic on it.

“This is going to sting, alright?” She nodded again as she closed her eyes, preparing for the medicine to come in contact with her wounds. When Daryl softly patted the cut on her forehead, she winced softly and he immediately stopped, “Are you okay? Ya want me to continue?”

She nodded again.

Daryl managed to clean her cut, patching it up, “There, all good now”

She looked at Daryl for a while as she backed away, this time instead of a far distance–she stayed close.

“Thank you” She let out her first words. It was soft and raspy, she hasn’t spoken in a while. Daryl hides his shock as he nodded, holding out the bandage and medicine for her to take. This time, she took it right out of his hands.

Daryl went back to Alexandria, he was satisfied with the progress he made today.

.

Daryl didn’t show up the next day. However, she waited patiently for him to come. She waited longer than usual and it was about to be dark. A subconscious part of her had made it her routine as well. She grew disappointed and sad.

.

She peeked from behind a tree as she saw Daryl there, doing the same thing when he waited for her. Usually she would wait for a while and observe him from afar but today she ran towards him. Daryl seemed to notice the look of worry on her face.

“I’m sorry” He apologized, “I had to go out and look for food with my friend” 

She visibly flinched when he mentioned the existence of other people, she started to get scared.

“Don’t worry, they don’t know about you” Daryl reassured softly, “Listen, I’ve been meaning to ask ‘ya something”

She sat there patiently.

“I have a camp, we have good people there–ya don’t have to be alone anymore” Daryl finally mentioned Alexandria. He had assessed her enough to know that she was not a bad person, just lost and scared. The mention of a camp made her grow wary as she started to look around, afraid that there were others watching her. She whimpered as she cowered away. Daryl felt anxious as it was not the reaction he was expecting. He kept reassuring her the same thing again and again until she believed him and calmed down. Daryl understood that she doesn’t want to be taken in. He doesn’t push it.

Once she calmed down, she suddenly got up and Daryl prepared for her to leave again.

This time she doesn’t.

Instead, she motioned him to follow her and so he did. It was a 20 minute walk, further out away from Alexandria. Daryl was curious about where she was taking him. As they walked, Daryl noticed a cabin started to appear, surrounding it were makeshift barriers made from wood that were sharp and it caught the walkers to come near. She was good at surviving. This must be where she was staying.

“You ‘takin me here?” She nodded as she avoided the trapped walkers impaled on the sharp end. They were still alive. Surrounding the cabin was maybe a dozen or more dead ones, Daryl felt a sense of relief knowing that she is able to defend herself from them and she seems to be good at it.

“Keeps them out” She muttered softly gesturing to the dead walkers surrounding the cabin. She was smart to know that their scent wards them off. On the other hand, Daryl had to get used to her talking now but he was happy for it. 

When they were inside, she gestured to Daryl to sit on the chair as he did so as she scoured through her cabinet. She took out a piece of a half-eatened candy bar as she offered it to Daryl. He gave her a small smile as he took it from her, muttering a soft ‘thanks’.

She sat in front of him as she closely watched him eat the candy bar, Daryl didn’t know why but he found the situation slightly amusing. He tried to hide his smile but his eyes failed to do so.

“Can you tell me your name, now?” He tried, once again this time he was testing to see if she had become more open towards him. She stayed silent, Daryl had accepted she was still not ready.

“It’s YN” Daryl was wrong. Daryl nodded in acknowledgement as he wiped his sticky hands on his jeans, holding his hand out playfully. She looked down at it as if it was going to bite her, he motioned his hand out again as she hesitantly reached out to shake it. For a moment, Daryl might have noticed a smile carved on his face but he could be wrong. Maybe he was imagining things.

Daryl looked out of the window as he noticed the sun starting to set. 

“I should probably get back before it gets dark” Daryl stated as he saw her suddenly deflating. The look of disappointment on her face was small but still enough for him to notice.

She looked down for a while but then looked at him again. “Stay?”

For a moment, Daryl felt like he caved in. The way she softly asked him had made it hard to resist her. Without much convincing Daryl just nodded. Her eyes light up again but she looks away before Daryl could notice it.

She started to prepare a bedding for him on the floor, neatly folding a blanket for him. As the day went dark she suddenly laid on the floor.

“What? No, you stay on the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor” She shook her head vigorously, as she pointed on the bed, demanding him to sleep there, “Well if you don’t sleep on the bed, then I guess I just have to sleep right next to ya”

Her eyes widened as he could see her flush, Daryl was afraid he had tested the water too much and made her uncomfortable but instead she said nothing and proceeded to lay on the bed. He chuckled softly as he made himself comfortable.

“Goodnight, YN” Daryl muttered.

“Goodnight, Daryl”

That was the first time he had heard his name slip through her lips.

It sounded nice.

.

The rain began sometime after midnight. Not a drizzle but a downpour.

The kind that swallowed the forest whole.

Wind screamed through the pines, rattling the walls of the tiny cabin until every loose plank groaned in protest. Rain hammered the roof hard enough to drown out even the distant moans of walkers. 

Daryl stirred on the floor, one arm draped over his crossbow. He'd insisted on sleeping against the door. She'd argue silently by pointing at the empty spot on the bed, still wanting him to sleep on the bed and let her sleep on the floor. 

He'd simply shaken his head. "Nah."

That had been the end of it.

"Daryl..." She whispered softly, enough for it to be heard. He didn't wake. Another deafening crack echoed through the cabin as it trembled.

The tree was falling–straight toward the side where he slept. She crossed the room in three strides.

"Daryl!" Still nothing. She grabbed his jacket. Daryl opened his eyes just as she threw herself at him. They hit the floor together. The wall exploded. Wood burst inward. A massive pine trunk crashed through the cabin, obliterating the place where he'd been lying less than a second earlier. The impact threw splinters like knives. The roof sagged violently. One heavy beam came down with it. Daryl rolled instinctively. She wasn't fast enough. The beam clipped her shoulder and trapped her forearm beneath broken timber. She made no sound. Just a sharp intake of breath.

Daryl was already on his knees.

"Hey!" Daryl received no response from her. His heart beats loudly in his chest as fear is taken over him by the state of her. She was staring at her arm and blood seeped steadily through her sleeve.

A jagged splinter, longer than his hand, had punched clean through the flesh just below her elbow.

"Damn it." Daryl cursed as he looked at her with worry. He shoved the beam aside with both hands and it barely budged. He planted his boots as he grunted. The wood shifted enough for her to wrench herself free. 

She immediately reached for the splinter. His hand caught her wrist just in time. 

"Don't. You will bleed out" She froze. Their eyes met, his frightened one met hers. For a moment Daryl had thanked god that he had stayed and didn’t leave.

As he glanced at her, she looked less like the wary woman from the woods and more like a frightened animal caught in a trap.

He softened his voice. "Leave it. You’ll be okay"

Rain poured through the broken roof as cold water soaked them both.

"We gotta move." Daryl stated as he carried her out of the cabin. Daryl looked down and noticed how pale she was already. He got scared, terrified as he tried his best to keep the wound from bleeding out too much. He had to make a decision.

Before did that he did what he could to wrap her wounds just enough so she won’t bleed out as much. She screamed in pain as she cried, Daryl’s heart broke.

He knew. If he stays here, tries to tend to her wounds that he is very much not capable of–she will die.

He brings her back to Alexandria, she will live–but Daryl doesn't know how she will react. His best bet is that he will lose her trust, she will probably hate him.

However, the times he had spent together with her–he could not afford losing her.

He’d rather she lives and hates him forever than be gone from his life.

“Need ya to keep talking to me alright, my bike is not far from here–you’d have to stay awake okay?” Daryl only received a soft hum as she was floating in and out of consciousness. "...You shoved me, you would've been crushed."

He was met with silence. Finally, she answered in a voice rough from exhaustion.

"...So would've you." It was such an obvious statement that if she wasn’t dying right now he would’ve laughed. Instead, he looked at the ruined cabin in the distance. Then back at her.

"You could've got yourself killed." He stressed as he carefully ran out, trying to get to his bike as fast as he could. She merely hummed, too tired to respond.

"...Didn't think." She answered weakly after a while.

But Daryl knew she had. She'd thought exactly once.

Daryl's in danger.

And she'd moved without hesitation. It made his heart swell. It unsettled him more than the storm ever could. He wasn't used to anyone throwing themselves into harm's way for him—least of all someone who trusted almost no one. He didn't have words for what that realization did to him, all he knew was that she had to live.

She barely realized what was happening but Daryl had strapped her securely on his bike as he rode off to Alexandria. The blood dripped down the road as it mixed into the wet concrete.

Next thing he knows, she was fully unconscious.

.

When the gates opened, the Alexandrians took no time helping Daryl out. They saw the state of the girl and they looked at him with worry, Deanna was the first to ask him what happened.

“A tree fell on top of her cabin” He paused, his voice cracking at the end, “She was tryna’ save me” He admitted defeatedly as his group gathered around him to hear him out, Carol looked at him then back at the girl who was rushed to the infirmary. She put two and two together. However, Carol saw how disheveled he looked—how he was pacing around his face full of worry as he followed the others to the infirmary. She knew now’s not the best time to push it.

Daryl had stayed by her side the whole time Dr. Pete was performing the surgery on her. Deanna keeps mentioning how Pete is great and she will be okay—if she wasn’t he was going to bash the asshole’s face in. Knowing he was by now, Daryl only tolerated him so that he could save her.

“She’s gonna be out for maybe a few hours, maybe up to a day—it depends on her reaction towards the anesthesia. She should be fine to heal in a month or so. In the meantime, she can not do any physical activity since the branch had punctured straight through her arm. It will risk the stitches opening and she will bleed out again” Daryl nodded in understanding but the whole time he hadn’t looked at his face, his eyes were on her, “She has a lot of injury from the past, I’ve put some cream on to help with the scarring”

Pete left the room as he patted Daryl in the back. It doesn’t matter how long it took for her to wake up, he wasn’t planning on losing his sights on her.

A few hours had passed and there were no signs of her waking up. At this point, Daryl had found comfort in hearing her heart monitor beeping.

Suddenly his group had walked into the room, alongside Aaron.

“Ya’ll can’t be here when she wakes up, she’d get scared so ya’ll need to leave” Nobody said a thing before Rick suddenly came up to her bed, taking out his cuffs as he cuffed her left uninjured arm to the bed. Daryl lashed out on his action as he pushed Rick violently. “You get that shit off right now, she’s not dangerous!”

“It’s just a procedure, Daryl—we don’t know who she is,” Rick stated calmly. “You’ve never told us about her”

“I trust her goddamnit. Just take it off!” Daryl tried to reach for the keys on Rick’s waist and Rick pushed him off.

“You do. We don’t—we need to see how she is first and we can take it off” Aaron muttered as he looked at him with betrayal.

“I thought you trusted me? Your ass was the one who wanted me to be a recruiter. Well here’s what I’m doing, I’m damn ‘recruitin” Daryl shouted at Aaron as he held his hand up, gesturing to calm down.

“We have procedures Daryl, we can’t just simply bring someone in without getting to know them for weeks and weeks”

“To hell with ya procedures!—what? you’re saying I should leave her to die? When I met her, there were two men that were gonna do bad things to her, you’re sayin I should just let ‘em have her?” Daryl was growing more and more agitated, his voice getting louder with each word that came out of his mouth. “ S’that what you want?”

The group were on each other’s necks, the room was loud.

Loud enough that it managed to wake her up.

“D-Daryl?” She cried out as she looked around, she was so shocked her whole body froze as she went silent. Her eyes were wide as her fear consumed her. Too many people. Too many men. Everybody went silent as they looked at her. Her eyes turned glassy once she realized she was cuffed to the bed.

“Hey, you’re okay—“

“No… no, no, no, no!” She chanted repeatedly as she started sobbing violently, shaking her cuffed hands vigorously as she tried to free herself. She kept saying it over and over and her movements were frantic. She wailed out as the group stood there in silence, shocked at her state.

“YN, calm down—“ Daryl tried to approach her but she backed away, it was like the first day they met all over again. Daryl noticed the look in her eyes.

“I trusted you”

 Daryl felt his heart drop.

“Rick take it off, it’s freaking her out!” Daryl yelled at him and the result of that made her flinch and whimper as she cried, “Take the damn cuffs off!”

“I can’t—“

“Daryl?” Carol called out in shock as she pointed at her.

She was violently pulling at her hand to free it, Rick had made the cuff snug on her wrist and the impact had torn into her skin as blood dripped down. She screamed in pain but the only thing in her mind was that she had to run. Run far from here and never come back.

“YN, stop—Rick, take the damn cuffs off!” Rick just stood there freezing as he realized the shattering state of the girl but he still held it in his heart that he had to be safe.

He couldn’t take any chances.

Daryl tried to get her to stop moving but she somehow was stronger than him, she kept trying to pull her arm out. When she was halfway there, her thumb twisted violently as she screamed in pain, crying out trying to free herself. She sobbed and sobbed her wrist was scraped raw and her thumb had been broken.

Daryl had never felt so scared. He was so scared he started to cry. He started crying out begging her to stop. Begging Rick to uncuff her. Everybody just stood there, panicked in their hearts but they were so in shock they couldn’t move or say anything.

Carol took the initiative to snag the keys from Rick as she tossed it to Daryl. He desperately uncuffed her wrist as he held her arm carefully, looking at the state she was in. When Daryl looked up, she had passed out from all the shock and pain. Her face was pale, she was all sweaty. Daryl didn’t know why but he cried looking at her battered arm.

“Everybody out! Now!” His voice boomed through the room as everybody scurried off like chickens who lost their heads. Rick muttered a quiet apology but Daryl stayed silent. He just grabbed the bandages, cleaning her injury as he tried his best to help out with her thumb with what he knows. He looked down at her old scar around her wrist. 

Now he knows how she got it from.

.

After the whole ordeal, Daryl carried her unconscious body back to his house. He carefully placed the fragile girl on the bed as he cleaned off her sweat from her face. He cursed to himself as he felt pointless. He didn’t know what to do.

When she woke up again, she was scared but she looked around the room to see there was only Daryl there. Despite what happened, a little part of her still trusted Daryl.

Because Daryl had made her feel safe before. Daryl was safe.

However, she was slightly wary of him now, and betrayed.

“I had to bring you back” Daryl tried explaining, “If I don’t you were going to die”

She said nothing, she stayed silent with a blank look on her face. The face that Daryl had recognized from the start.

“I can’t have you dying, YN. You’ll be safe here. You’ll stay with me, just until you fully recover and then if you want to leave, you can leave” Daryl suddenly placed a key on the nightstand, “This is a key to the front door. If it makes you feel safer I will always leave it open, but if it doesn’t you can shut it and lock it. This is the only key, I don’t have another one”

She briefly glanced at the key then back at him.

“You need to stay, if you leave now—you’ll get hurt. If it happened again, I would do the same thing–wouldn’t have done it differently””

There was a moment of silence, the progress he made was all gone. She had decided not to speak to him again.

So instead she nodded.

Relief washed over him as he closed his eyes and gave her a small smile. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to get hurt”

She nodded again.

Daryl managed to fully absorb the situation. She had injured both of her arms, that meant he had to fully take care of her. He didn’t mind that, he was worried about what she would think.

When he stepped out to get some air, Carol was already standing there with a plate of food in her hands.

“Hey” He pulled her aside, just far enough so the woman inside his house wouldn’t hear Carol nearby.

“I brought her food, I was going to pass it to you” Carol stated meekly as Daryl took it off of her hands, “Listen, I saw the state that she was in–I understand, I recognized what it was”

“Yeah?” 

“Hers was a lot worse” Carol admitted with a frown on her face. “It was good that you brought her back. She needs to heal–and I don’t mean it physically”

Carol smiled at him for the last time as she patted his back and left. Daryl took the freshly made food to her as her eyes peered to see what it was. When Daryl showed her the plate, her mouth watered. It was eggs, with tomatoes and pieces of bread. She had thought these ingredients had gone extinct.

 “It's uh… powdered eggs. Carol made it for you, she’s a good cook” Her face was full of wonder and she eagerly looked at the plate Daryl set in front of her. “I can help you eat, but if you don’t want to you can do it however you want”

She shook her head pointing at the food and pointing at Daryl. He understood that she was comfortable letting him feed her.

And so he did. He scooped a little of everything as he held it in front of her mouth, she hesitantly took the food in.

When she did, her eyes widened in delight. Daryl chuckled softly to himself, “It’s good?”

She nodded eagerly as she pointed at the plate again, wanting more. Daryl’s heart felt full. She finished up the whole plate as she gulped down the tea that Daryl had made for her. She had thought those had gone extinct as well.

Daryl had spent the rest of the week taking care of her. She didn’t want to move from the bed for the first few days but after a while she slowly started to explore his house more. She had noticed how the house smelled exactly like him, the smell made her feel safe. She would find herself smelling his blanket when Daryl wasn’t looking because it gave her comfort. Whenever Daryl had to leave, she would grow wary. Daryl had to explain that he had to keep the group fed by hunting. She would offer to help but the arm where she broke her thumb took longer to heal. Soon she realized, no matter how many times Daryl left–he would always come back to her. That’s when she started to feel comfortable.

However, there was one day where Daryl had to leave for a few days. Longer than usual as he would usually leave and return at the end of the day. Daryl had reassured her it would not take long and she believed him.

When he left, she left his front door open so that she could see him coming in when he came back. She would sit there, patiently waiting. But then, she saw the woman Carol instead with a baby in her arms. Carol had usually passed the food to Daryl, she would make it so it was enough to feed her the whole day. But since Daryl was leaving for a while, he had asked her to place the food in front of the door and leave it there.

Carol was definitely not expecting to see her just sitting there on a chair looking out the door and it was a bit scary. It made her jump.

“Jesus, I didn’t expect to see you there–sorry” Carol apologized as she cradled the baby in her arms. She got curious so she stood up from the chair and walked slowly towards Carol. Carol could see that her attention was set on the baby. She stood a safe distance away from Carol. “I brought you your food, I’m gonna put it here”

Carol was about to leave when suddenly she spoke up.

“Stay?” That was the first word she muttered in weeks ever since she came to Alexandria. Carol stopped in her tracks as she turned around and smiled softly, nodding her head.

Carol didn’t move, instead she had let her move closer towards her. Her eyes never left the baby, and Carol immediately noticed her curiosity.

“This is baby Judith, you want to hold her?” She looked at Carol and she looked back at the baby, she shook her head.

“Don’t know how…” She whispered. A small frown carved on her lips.

“It’s okay, I’ll teach you. You just have your arm to support her from underneath and you can use your forearm to hold her close to you, you can hold her even when your hand is like that. Just need enough support so she doesn’t fall back.. You want to try it? She’s very friendly with everyone” Carol explained as she listened carefully, practicing the gesture as it made Carol smile. She held her arm out as Carol passed her the baby, she held her carefully in her arms. The baby started smiling at her and as if it was contagious, she had smiled as well, “See, Judith likes you”

She copied Carol’s cradling motion as her eyes never left the beautiful being that was in her arms. Carol looked at her, eyes full of sadness and understanding. After a short moment, she passed Judith back to Carol.

“You know you can always come to my house and play with her. I usually babysit her when Rick is gone,” She visibly flinched when Carol mentioned Rick’s name and Carol noticed it. “Not a big fan of men?”

She shook her head.

“Yeah, they can be assholes. But I promise you, the men here are nice. You are allowed to come out and explore, no one will bother you” Carol stated.

“Daryl?” You suddenly asked.

“Yes, you can go out with Daryl as well if it makes you more comfortable”

“Kay” Carol chuckled at the response, it was sometimes how Daryl would say it.

“You like Daryl?” Carol insinuated but she did not understand it, instead she just nodded her head eagerly, “Daryl is very nice, and very handsome don’t you think?”

“Don’t understand,” She responded.

“Daryl is nice to look at because he has a pretty face right?” Carol rephrased her sentence, a grin carving on her lips. 

She thought deeply for a while, “Pretty eyes”

Carol chuckled again as she hummed in response. Suddenly Judith started crying.

“I have to go, she needs to eat” She nodded, “Bye YN, enjoy your food”

Her heart twitched when she heard her name coming out of Carol’s mouth. She had never heard anyone in the world say it, other than Daryl.

“Bye Carol…”

.

The night had fallen as she still sat there on her chair waiting for Daryl’s arrival. She realized she was not good at sitting still. So she carefully walked towards the front door as she looked out. She took a deep breath as he contemplated whether or not she should go outside. She took the courage to take one step outside as her heart pounded in her chest.

She wanted to see what Alexandria looked like.

When she walked the streets, her face was full of wonder. The place was beautiful, the houses were beautiful and she didn’t understand why Daryl lived underneath the houses. She liked it either way because it smells like him. The place did not look like where she had stayed before, it looked safe.

“Hey” A voice called out, a voice of a man. She got scared as she tried to find where it was coming from. Then she saw him, he was standing in front of his house and he had his hand held up. “Hey, I’m Aaron–Daryl’s friend”

She was about to run back to Daryl’s before he called again.

“Wait, stay!” She didn’t know why she stopped in her tracks, she didn’t know why she listened to him. “Have you eaten?”

She hesitantly shook her head.

“I made spaghetti, it is really good–come and have dinner with us” He gestured her to come in but she just stood there, looking at him with fear on his face, “Okay, wait”

Aaron slowly pulled out his hunting knife as he tossed it on the grass in front of her. She looked at it confusingly.

“You can take that, so you can feel safe. If anything happens to you–you can use it” Aaron did it to gain her trust and he knew that securing her safety was one of them. She carefully walked up to the knife as she held it in her hands but not in a way to attack. Like Aaron mentioned, just to feel safe. “Have dinner with me and my partner, and then you can go home”

Home.

Daryl’s house was her home.

She finally caved in as she stepped inside. When she did, she got scared to see another man there smiling at her.

“It’s okay, it’s just Eric–he is my husband” Fear turned into confusion. Aaron laughed.

“I-in love?” She asked carefully.

“Yes, in love–we got married before all of this happened” Aaron wrapped his arms around Eric as he kissed his head. Just from that alone, her gaze softened. She took out the knife as she threw it on the floor. Pointing at it for Aaron to pick up, “Hey, no… You can keep it… It’s a gift”

“Gift?” Aaron nodded reassuringly as she picked it back up and placed it on her belt. That was the moment she realized the place wasn’t so bad. Maybe just maybe, not everyone was evil. Just because of this realisation doesn’t mean she will let her guard down, she will always think of the worst. 

Aaron had gestured for her to sit at the dining table as he served her a plate of spaghetti. She looked at it as if it was some alien food. She cautiously took a strand of the pasta and put it in her mouth. When she got a taste she gobbled the whole thing down as Eric and Aaron looked at her amusingly, “Good, right?”

She nodded as she finished the whole plate in seconds.

“It’s funny because when Daryl first came here he sat where you sat and ate it the same way as you. We’re glad you both find it delicious” Her eyes widened as she pointed at the spaghetti. Aaron understood that she wanted more, so he gestured for her to take as much as she liked.

She took another portion as she sets it aside, she pointed at the plate, “For Daryl”

Aaron and Eric’s hearts warmed at the realization. Eric told her to wait as he went into the kitchen to find a container. He put all the spaghetti inside and passed it to her.

“Thank you” She muttered softly. They nodded as the room went silent for a while.

“I was a politician before all this, wanted to make the world a better place–I guess that didn’t work out” Aaron joked, Eric immediately recognized what he was doing so he just sat back and not interrupted him, “What did you do before all of this? Where did you come from?”

“Cage…” She mumbled without a thought as she kept eating more spaghetti. Both of them looked confused.

“What do you mean?” Aaron’s voice trembled as he felt horrified.

“Dad put me in cage, I live there” She answered as if it was normal, “He turned into monster and I left cage” The room went silent. Aaron and Eric looked at each other as he took his husband’s hand. Both of their hearts were physically broken at what she just said. “Stayed there since little”

Before Aaron could ask her any more questions, a loud knock can be heard from the door. It startled her as she cowered away in the corner.

“Aaron it’s me, Daryl!–She’s missing, have you seen her?” Daryl shouted as he banged on the door desperately. When she heard his voice, she took the container as she ran towards the front door and opened it.

She did what she had never done before. 

She attacked Daryl with a tight hug.

“Missed you…” Daryl was surprised but he had also felt relief. Aaron and Eric came behind her afterwards as their gaze softened. She pulled away as she held out the container in front of him, “Aaron’s spaghetti” 

Daryl chuckled breathily as he took it from her hand, “Thank you” She hummed in response.

“Daryl, can you come in? I need to talk to you” Aaron had a serious look on his face as Daryl nodded, pointing at her to sit in the living room as Aaron brought him to the kitchen.

Aaron explained what she had told him and his heart dropped. 

They had assumed that she had been held captive her whole life by her father, which explains the way she acts and speaks. They had also theorized that he had severely abused her, which explains all the scars that she had. She had never come across society before. It dawned upon them that she had a terrible life before the outbreak.

“You can’t let her leave, she’s safe here–she can reconnect again” Aaron urged.

“S’not up to me, but I’ll try to convince her” Daryl grumbled, “Did she tell you where she stayed? Is the bastard still alive?”

“No… I think he turned, that’s why she managed to escape” Daryl felt anger and rage consumed him whole. If there was one thing he hated, it was abusive parents. He hates them with all his heart and if he was still alive, he would make him beg to end his life.

Aaron consulted Daryl on how to help her. It was best if he encouraged her to go out more and maybe even do a job to help her assimilate. 

Daryl looked at her as she stood patiently by the door, holding the container in her arm. He exhaled loudly as he walked towards her.

“C’mon, let’s go” He ushered her out.

“Home?”

Daryl looked at her for a moment as he fully took in how important she was in his life now. He gave her a small smile as he nodded, 

“Home” 

.

Daryl closed the door behind him as she ran towards the bed. He had been silent ever since Aaron had told him what happened to her. He contemplated heavily on what he was about to do next. She sat there on the bed, pointing at his spaghetti as he told her to wait.

“I want to show you something,” Daryl sighed as he took a deep breath.

He turned around and slowly unbuttoned his shirt as he let the shirt fall onto the floor. She was confused but when she noticed all the long scars on his back, she was shocked. They were splattered all across, long and deep.

“My dad used to do this to me” Daryl explained, “He was a bad man and I’m glad he is dead”

Something ticked inside her heart as she rushed behind him, she held out her finger as she slowly traced the deep scars on his skin. Daryl’s breath hitched as he closed his eyes.

“We have the same” She frowned, the sadness was evident in her voice. Suddenly, she hugged him again from behind, “I’m sorry”

“S’not your fault” He grumbled, “Some people are just not meant to be parents”

Daryl turned around, his heart was pounding in his chest as they stood close–his height towering over hers as his fingers found her chin, tilting her head to meet his eyes. 

“I will never…” He paused as his voice cracked, “...I will never let anyone hurt you, ever again”

At that moment, it was as if the time had stood still. She was there, looking deeply into his eyes–the eyes that she called pretty.

“I want you to stay with me, so I can protect you” Daryl muttered, caressing the scars on her cheeks. “This can be your home, our home”