Walking Dead 1. Chapter 1: Don't Want No Trouble

Daryl squinted at the set of deer tracks that lead him further away from the prison in the quickly fading light of the day. He'd been tracking this deer for several hours and he knew he was getting closer and wasn't about to let the opportunity go to waste because this was the first deer he'd caught sight of in weeks.

He continued to follow the fresh tracks for several more yards before a faint sound reached his ears. It was a soft, haunting sound and it didn't take him long to realize it was someone singing. He stopped and strained his hearing to make out the direction it was coming from. Once he locked onto the sound he realized it was coming from the direction the tracks were going and he kept low against the dense foliage as he stealthily approached the sound.

The closer he got the more chilled he became by the eerie voice of a woman singing. He couldn't see her as there was a drop off where a river had cut out the ground over time but he did notice that the fresh tracks he had been following lead over the side. His prey must have needed some water.

He got low on his stomach as he approached the edge of the drop off, listening to the woman's beautiful voice. He was suddenly reminded of a story he'd once heard about sirens and how they would sing out to men and draw them to their deaths in the water. He shook his head as he listened to the lyrics he could make out and realized she was singing about death and how it had come for her, asking him to spare her another year. Her voice combined with the lyrics were giving him goosebumps.

He also thought she was a stupid bitch. Was she trying to attract every walker within a five mile radius? When he peered over the edge of the dropoff she seemed to be doing just that.

A figure dressed in black and blue pulled back the string of an expensive recurve bow, notched with an arrow, and two horses, a saddled grey and white horse and a chestnut colored horse that was completely bare, standing rock steady behind her. She wore a blue and white plaid long sleeve shirt with a chocolate colored braid swaying down her back all way to her hips, faded, form fitting jeans, and brown cowboy boots with a machete strapped to her leg, and a quiver full of arrows at her back. She stood on the embankment across the river from him as Walkers stumbled down the drop off.

She had her back to him as she continued to repeat the song, pausing to hold her breath and release an arrow, and he watched in appreciation as she dispatch one walker after another as her two horses stood vigil. No matter how stupid she was being, she was certainly good with that bow. Once she ran out of arrows, she quit singing and dropped the bow, reaching for her machete and he cocked an eyebrow as she dispatched the last six zombies with a little more difficulty but with no wasted movements, almost like Michonne but with less finesse. This woman was dangerous.

As the last walker fell she quickly started pulling her arrows from the twice dead bodies, wiping them clean on the clothes of the dead. It took her several moments to collect them, Daryl noticed there had to be at least two dozen of them. It was then that he realized the enormity of what he just witnessed. This woman had just taken down a herd of walkers. He tried to count the dead bodies littering the embankment for an exact count but lost it after twenty six.

When she had collected the last of her arrows she turned, grabbing her bow as she passed it, and mounted the grey horse that had been following her with a graceful leap. She held her bow in her left hand, her right hand resting on her thigh, and with a nudge of her knee the horse started upstream and the brown one followed closely behind.

He laid still, trying to decide what to do, processing what he'd just seen. They could really use someone like her but there was no way that he could bring someone that dangerous back to camp out of the blue like that without consulting the others even if they were in discussions of starting to bring outsiders in.

His mind made up, he laid quietly and watched her ride away further upstream. He'd wait until she was out of sight before he continued on his trek for the deer. Or so he thought. He saw the horse stop suddenly as she pulled out an arrow out, notch, and loose it in one swift moment. It didn't take him long to realize she'd just killed the deer he'd been tracking all day. He growled as he pushed himself from the dirt and saw her dismount and walk over to the now dead deer. He'd be damned if he was going to let her take it from him after all that tracking.

He kept low and back in the cover of the trees as he ran silently through the brush to catch up to her. She was bending over the animal when he jumped down the short drop to the edge of the river, crossbow loaded and aimed steadily at her.

The second his feet hit the ground she spun up reaching for an arrow from her quiver and her horses whip their heads at him. Before she had a chance to pull the arrow free, he shouted a warning to her.

"If that arrow leaves that quiver you'll have one in yer eye faster than ya can say kill stealin' whore," he shouted, venom dripping in his Georgia redneck lilt. "That's mine," he added, turning his chin towards the deer on the ground as he crept towards her through the extremely shallow water.

He saw dark eyes narrow as she sneered at him.

"With my arrow through it's heart," she spat in a southern drawl as he saw her slowly start to reach around her back. He knew she was going for some hidden weapon back there and he started moving towards her, daring her to use it.

"Don't make me kill ya," he yelled as he closed the distance between them, walking through the water that didn't make it up to his calves. The river was quite low.

He hated that she didn't listen because he really didn't want to hurt her but she left him no choice when she suddenly dropped her bow and reached all the way behind her back. He dropped his crossbow on the ground mid sprint as he pulled out his knife, not aiming to kill her if he didn't have to, and tackled her into the soft dirt a few feet away from the water just as she pulled out a gun. The horses pranced angrily close to him as he fell on top of her, a hand around her wrist that had come around with a gun and the other holding the knife pressed to her throat and she froze at it's touch. He straddled her tense body as looked down into her wild amber eyes set in a pale face and features that put her in her early to mid thirties and her long black braid trapped between their bodies. Her chest rose and fell rapidly beneath him and once they were still he could feel her pulse in her wrist beating like a hummingbird's wings.

He sat above her breathing heavily, trying to figure out what to do next while keeping an ear out for the agitated horses close by. Her eyes never left his as she remained motionless and coiled like a snake to strike, waiting for him to make the next move. When she got tired of waiting, he saw her eyes go from wild to a sly squint and the corner of her mouth turn up into a knowing smirk though her body remained tense, belying the confidence she spoke with. It was like he was looking into the eyes of a fox he'd just chased into a corner.

"Kill stealin' whore," she taunted in a low, challenging voice that moved over Daryl like molasses.

Daryl had to carefully steel his emotions from his face. Damn if that wasn't sexy though, or this whole situation for that matter. He kept his screaming libido under control, it'd been a long time since he'd gotten laid, as he squeeze her wrist, forcing her to open her hand from around the gun. She reluctantly let go but she knew by then that he wouldn't kill her because if he was going to, he would have done it the moment she started reaching for her gun.

It's not like she was extremely desperate for the deer but she had been hoping she could take the hide for warmth and some of the meet for a meal the next few days. In all honesty, there was more deer than she could eat before it rotted and it would be a waste to leave it for the undead to feast on. If he hadn't been so abrasive, she wouldn't have minded sharing. She couldn't blame him though, she'd run into enough men and women in her journey to know people couldn't really be trusted anymore. Which is why he needed to get the hell off her before she lost control over her instincts, which were screaming at her to fight back. His touch was bringing back some repressed memories.

"Shut up," was all he said as he took the gun and tossed it away from her, releasing her wrist.

She thought about calling her horse to stomp his face in for a fraction of a second but the sharp edge of his knife bit into her neck and she changed her mind. She would just let him have the deer and leave.

"Look," she began as he reached to undo the buckle that held on her quiver, "if ya want the damn thang, just take it 'n' we'll be on our way," he let her stop his hand over her chest, her nails biting into his skin, where the buckle was for her quiver, "with my weapons."

He eyed her warily, letting her keep her quiver, as he jerked his hand away from hers and reached down beside her for the machete and slowly pulled it out of the sheath to tossed it away. He then ran his hand roughly down her curvy sides and the waistband of her pants to check for more guns. For someone who had been fending for herself, he could tell she still had most of her curves but she wasn't heavy by any means. She wasn't as skinny as some of the other women at the prison which meant she'd been able to fend well for herself and he could see most of her weight came from muscle.

He felt her shiver beneath him as his hand touched her skin and her eyes went wide and dark before returning to the angry squint. If he hadn't been looking he would have totally missed it and it puzzled him. Was that fear he saw in her eyes?

He grunted, satisfied she was disarmed enough to where she wouldn't hurt him, and pulled out his own revolver from his waistband with his free hand as he removed the knife from her neck. He stood from her slowly, keeping the revolver pointed at her steadily.

"Stand up," he ordered as he stood.

He waited as she sat up, still breathing heavily, and pushed herself to her feet and her arms held out in surrender.

"I really don't want no trouble here, Georgia Peach, but I won't leave here without my weapons," she stated as a fact deciding she was safe enough to get a little dig in on him by calling him a peach.

He narrowed his eyes at her. This woman had balls to make demands when she was disarmed and had a gun pointed at her, much less calling him a peach. He ain't no peach. However, he could tell she was being sincere because she had a couple of opportunities to lash out at him while he was disarming her that she didn't take.

"I cain't turn my back on ya," he concluded as he backed up for his crossbow. He couldn't leave the deer either but he chose to keep his desperate need for it to himself.

"Look, jus' lemme take my machete 'n' we'll walk away fer a bit. Ya can take the deer 'n' we'll come back fer my weapons after yer long gone. I seriously don't want trouble," she promised as she flung her long brown braid over her shoulder.

Daryl considered her proposal for a few moments, never taking his eyes or gun off of her before speaking.

"Ya pick up that knife and you start walkin'. I see you again, yer dead," he threatened, watching her closely.

She nodded and slowly went to her machete and put it back in it's sheath at her thigh. She really didn't want to tangle with this tough bastard and she hated to be separated from her bow for that long but she had a feeling that he wouldn't hesitate to kill her. She backed up to the grey horse and took the bitless reins to lead the two animals into the woods.

Daryl watched her until both woman and animal disappeared into the trees and watched the treeline for what seemed like several minutes, making sure she was really gone before turning back to the deer. He pulled the arrow angrily out of the deer carcass to inspect it closely. He gave an appreciative whistle at the quality: custom carbon fiber mechanical broadheads.

"This bitch don't fuck around," he whispered to himself as he tucked the arrow into the only empty spot on his case. He wasn't sure if it would shoot from his crossbow but he would keep it anyway. He didn't want to waste such a great arrow.

He idly wondered which store she must have looted for the arrows as he knelt down with his knife to relieve the fresh kill of it's organs.

It had been a few days since he'd seen the woman by the river and sometimes he caught his thoughts wandering back to her, his imagination running wild as to who she was and where she had come from. He also remembered the fire in her eyes when he'd taken her down and her muscled, yet soft curves beneath him and the way her pulse had raced under her skin. It'd been a long time since he'd last had a woman in his bed and this one had been his type visually and if her wild eyes had been any indication to her personality, his type all around.

Daryl chewed on his thumbnail, his eyes dutifully scanning the treeline in the dark as he stood for his watch on the tower. He didn't feel guilty about his physical feelings toward her but he felt a bit bad that he'd taken the deer meat from her. He wished he could have sent her with some.

He shook his head as his hand went back to his crossbow to continue his watch. He'd become soft ever since he'd lost Meryl the first time and joined this group for the long haul. Before things had gone to hell, he would be thinking about how to get into her pants instead of wanting to help her. Hell changes people and maybe it was changing him for the better.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the hatch to the top of the tower open behind him but he did let out a sigh. He wanted nothing more than to be alone at the moment.

"Hershel says we need more painkillers and antibiotics and we're running a little low on some foodstuffs," Rick informed from behind him.

Daryl tapped his finger on his weapon as he responded.

"I'll take a group out tomorrow," he stated simply. Ever since Rick had taken to farming, Daryl had taken up partial leadership within the group while they established how things were going to be run.

Rick stepped up beside him, also scanning the open space beyond the chain link fences. He leaned heavily on the metal railing as he nodded.

"Sounds good. I'll get the others to get a list together so you can get in and out quickly."

They shared a comfortable silence for several minutes before Rick spoke again, almost as if he'd been reading Daryl's mind.

"So this woman you ran into. You think she's a threat?" He asked a bit nervously. Even though the rest of the group had been talking about bringing in outsiders he was still nervous about the idea, especially since the Governor was still out there on the loose. That and he was starting to lose faith in people. However, since he'd stepped down, he didn't really have much of a say anymore.

Daryl had briefly mentioned running into a woman much like Michonne while out hunting but let her go. The hunter felt it wasn't necessary to kill her because he'd been far enough away from the prison and he had taken a very difficult and roundabout way back. His trail ended at a highway and there was no way that she would be able to follow him after walking down the concrete road for a mile before veering back off towards the prison.

The Dixon thought carefully before responding.

"She ain't no daisy, that's for sure, but I don't think she's gonna come kill us all," he paused as he shifted uncomfortably under Rick's stare, "I tell you man, I ain't never seen notin' like that. She was callin' 'em walkers to her to kill 'em." he explained with the image of her wild eyes vivid in his mind.

Rick looked away to scan the yard one more time.

"We'll let's just hope she moves on."


	2. Chapter 2: Bet The Farm

**Author's Note**: Hello! And welcome to my Walking Dead fic. As you have made it to this point to read this note it means you've read, and some of you favorited and followed, the first chapter and liked it enough to give the second one a read as well. For this, I thank you and I hope to see you again for the third chapter. Any further notes or updates about this fic can be found in my profile as I feel my AN's at the beginning of each chapter detract from the story. Further Disclaimers will be added to the end of the chapter as there will be some.

**Disclaimer:** As much as I would love to own a Daryl and the rest of The Walking Dead, I don't. AMC does though. The only thing I own in this fic is Jess, her horses, and the plotline. Also, Ain't No Grave belongs to Johnny Cash, I just referenced.

* * *

The next day Daryl was pulling through a quiet town in the truck about an hour south of the prison with Michonne riding in the passenger seat and Glenn in the back seat. The sky was dark and threatened to rain more than it already had earlier in the day as they scanned the storefronts for a pharmacy and grocery store so they could get their items and get back to the prison.

He didn't like being out in the open with just the three of them with the Governor still at large. As strong as the three in the truck were, the Governor was insane and unpredictable. He'd leave the hunting of that psycho to Michonne.

He was pulled from his thoughts as the sword wielding woman pointed at the last building on the right side of the street. It was a large grocery store that also had a pharmacy. Glenn sighed in relief as Daryl pulled the truck through the large parking lot. There were only a handful of walkers outside and they could only hope it was the same on the inside.

As soon as the truck came to a stop right outside the entrance, all three were hopping out of the car and quietly approaching the glass door that was busted out ages ago, each one of them with large empty army bags.

Daryl took the lead while Michonne and Glenn flanked him in a tight formation. They took their time checking each aisle for items and walkers, Glenn pulling whatever was left on the shelves that was on their list into Michonne and Daryl's bag as they kept their eyes and ears open, never straying more than a few feet from each other.

By the time they got through all the isles, their bags half full, and approached the pharmacy they all froze as Daryl held up his hand. He'd heard something coming from the storage area of the store, through a door marked "employees only". He motioned them to wait as he approached the door. As he got closer he noticed the fresh blood trail on the floor leading to the double doors. It wasn't a smear but boot prints from one foot until the door that had a smeared bloody hand print about shoulder high.

He approached and peered through the glass panels into the dark. He heard the moaning before he saw the dozen or so walkers that were climbing all over each other to get through the door to the office. He squinted as he could make out a sound over the gurgling moans of the walkers. He pushed the door open just enough to hear a familiar sound. Singing.

It was her. She was singing again, obviously barricaded in the office. His mouth drew into a thin line as he recognized her singing the lyrics to "Ain't No Grave" by Johnny Cash. That couldn't be a good sign.

He moved silently across the floor back to his two friends and motioned for them to follow him to get the rest of their supplies quickly as he mouthed "walkers". He needed a few moments to think about what he was going to do about her while both Michonne and Glenn picked their way through the pharmacy shelves for what they needed. Luckily, even though the store had already been looted, there were a few bottles of medication left that they needed.

Daryl's mind raced while he kept his eyes on the doors to the store area. He knew the lyrics to the song. She had obviously run from the walkers and hid in the office but why? He'd seen her take out over twenty walkers like it was nothing just a few days before, shouldn't this little dozen been within her capabilities? Was the blood hers? Should he risk their safety to find out if she was hurt?

There were more questions than there were answers and he didn't have enough time to think through them. Michonne and Glenn came up behind him and the woman put a hand on his shoulder indicating that they were ready to leave.

He was about to just leave when he caught sight of something he couldn't believe he had missed before. His eyes fell on an elegant recurve bow on the ground under the counter beneath the register. He felt his heart skip a beat or two. It was hers and there was blood on the grip.

Daryl bit back a growl as he turned back to Michonne and Glenn, motioning for them to come close so he could talk.

"There's a girl pinned in a room by about a dozen walkers back there," he whispered as he motioned to the double doors, his internal conflict showing clearly, "I don't wanna put you guys in more danger."

Glenn's eyebrows grew together in question.

"How do you know?" The Asian asked.

"That's her bow," he explained as he pointed to the conspicuous object under the counter, "ain't no walkers gonna try so hard to get in a room if somethin' ain't in it."

"She alone," Michonne asked and glanced over at the bow. Daryl shifted his feet as he replied, trying not to give away his impatience.

"She was when I ran inna her few days ago."

Michonne and Glenn shared a glance. Glenn knew Daryl well, for all his tough façade, it would tear him up if they left someone to die alone like this. Even so, Glenn had to ask the right questions.

"What if she's not alone? What if this is some sort of trap by the Governor?" Glenn asked nervously and looked around as if the insane man would pop up and attack them.

"Up to you," Daryl half shrugged as he looked between the other two members of the group. He was only doing what he thought was right.

Michonne shrugged and Daryl took that as a yes, then he looked to Glenn who seemed to think about it for a few seconds before he nodded.

"What's a few dozen walkers, right?" He said confidently. Once they cleared the path for this girl they could part ways, having done his duty to make the world a little less bleak for someone.

Daryl nodded his thanks to them both and he laid out his plan.

"Alright. We get these supplies to the truck first. After that you," he nodded at Glenn, "pull the truck 'round to tha back by the loadin' dock," he paused as he grabbed the bow from the shelf and put it through his arm, "if we ain't out in twenty you haul ass."

Glenn grimly nodded as they got back into formation. They exited the same way they had come in, quietly and in a sweeping formation and much more cautious than before. If there were a dozen walkers in the back there could be more.

Daryl heard the Asian let out a sigh of relief when they emerged from the building and there was still no sign of walkers outside. The three wasted no time in tossing their gear under the tarp in the bed of the truck, Daryl taking a bit more care with the bow than he needed to, and Glenn crawled into the driver's side and started up the engine.

Daryl and Michonne watched Glenn disappear beyond the side of the building before Michonne drew her sword and Daryl checked to make sure the arrow was still properly loaded into the crossbow.

Daryl glanced over at her to make sure she was ready and she motioned with her sword for him to lead the way again, just as the sky opened up and rain started to pelt down on them. They quickly made their way back inside and to the double doors that lead to the back. When they got to the doors, Daryl stopped and looked down at the bloody hand print on the door before he leaned into the swinging doors, the hinges not even making a sound as he stepped in, looking all around the room to make sure the only walkers were the only evil in the room.

He shared a glance with Michonne, who raised an eyebrow in surprise, as the woman's eerie voice reached their ears. She was singing that song he'd first her sing the other day and it gave him the chills again. Her voice was still haunting yet weaker than he remembered and it just confirmed his suspicion that she was injured.

He looked over at the open loading dock at the opposite end of the large room from the office just in time to see Glenn pull up to the edge so they could jump in and run if they needed to. Daryl took a couple more steps into the room and motioned for Michonne to wait until he picked a few off with his crossbow before they jumped in with their blades.

He carefully chose which ones he was going to kill first, hoping that the fact the walkers were practically stacked on top of each other would be good enough to kill two with one shot. He waited a few seconds to line up a double kill and fired, taking out two walkers at once. Luckily, the others hadn't noticed yet so he had enough time to reload pick off two more that looked fresh and fast before the rest of them started to notice the other warm bodies in the room. He quickly dispatched one more that had moved the fastest and swung the bow around behind him on his strap. Pulling his hunting knife from it's holster he looked over at Michonne and they started forward slowly as a unit.

Three more walkers pulled away from the group to come after the two of them and Michonne easily took out the two on the left with two solid swings of her sword while Daryl drove his knife through the other's eye socket.

The commotion had caused all but one of the remaining zombie's to turn and come after them. Daryl took the two on his right while Michonne took the two on his left. He kicked the closest one to him in the abdomen, effectively kicking it back into the wall of the office while he stabbed the other one up through its chin. He removed the knife and threw it expertly between the eyes of the walker he'd kicked just as Michonne finished off her last walker. That left the one.

Michonne took it upon herself to easily lop it's head off before it could even turn to around while Daryl pulled his knife from the head of his last kill. It was then that he realized that the singing had stopped and he quickly pulled the dead walkers out of the way to see if he could get the door open. He raised his eyebrow in surprise when he realized that the door was unlocked and opened toward him instead of swinging into the room. Good thing these walkers were dumb or she'd be dead.

He pulled an arrow from the closest walker and loaded into his crossbow before motioning to Michonne she was to open the door. She pressed her back against the wall next to the frame and waited for Daryl's signal to swing it open so he could sweep the room.

He nodded and the door swung open slowly so it didn't bang against the wall and he swept into the room scanning for any threats and found none. It took him a few seconds for him to see the top of her dark head on the other side of the desk in the room. As he rounded the desk he frowned at what he saw.

It was her and she looked like she'd been through hell and back. She sat rigid on the floor, her flannel shirt and jacket laying beside her leaving her in just a black tank top and her hair tie had fallen out, leaving her hair to hang around her in wet cords, clinging to her arms and bare shoulders and the floor. She had her gun pointed unsteadily at him with her left hand which was covered in blood, while her right hung limply beside her and he saw a darker spot on her tank top and jeans all the way down her right leg. She was deathly pale except for the pink tinge to her cheekbones, her skin shone with sweat, and her chest rising and falling unsteadily. He suddenly feared the worst for her but he held it from his expression expertly as their eyes met, noticing that they were dull and glazed, a far cry from the wild eyes he remembered from a few days ago.

"You bit?" He asked as he kept his crossbow pointed at her.

She shook her head as she dropped her gun arm as if it weighed a ton, obviously deciding he wasn't a threat. She shut her eyes and rested her head back against the wall. She was too exhausted to keep up her tough as nails façade anymore.

Daryl lowered his crossbow and slung it back behind him as he approached her. Michonne took that moment to enter the room with her sword still drawn, ready to defend Daryl if this woman lashed out.

Daryl's expression softened a bit as the woman looked up at him beneath her lashes. He knew that look. It was the same look Andrea had given him when they found her bitten in Woodbury: the look of someone who believed their time was up. He slowly and carefully knelt next to her and tried to get a better look at her wound and noticed her right shoulder was in an odd position, obviously dislocated. She looked away from him down to the gun and he tensed, thinking she might be about to use it. Her smirk took him aback.

"The last'n ain't fer ya, peach," she promised in a tired voice, her southern drawl much more pronounced in her weakened state. She certainly wasn't from around here with that accent, her long vowels and 'r's and dropped 'g's more pronounced than he'd ever heard, even in Georgia. More Backwoods Country than Southern Belle like most women around the area.

He just nodded as he realized what she meant. She had fully intended to do the same thing Andrea had done and end it herself. However, he still wanted to take a look at this wound. If there was something within his power to save her, he was going to do it. He didn't just take out a dozen walkers and put Michonne in danger for nothing.

"Can I see? Just wanna make sure you ain't lyin 'bout bein' bit," he reasoned as he waited for her consent.

She seemed to seriously consider it for a few moments before she nodded. She was too weak to care if someone touched her. It's not like she had long for this world anyway.

"Ya can bet tha farm on it. but go 'head," she added moving her hand away from her side out of his way, her eyes watching his every move. She knew that he wasn't going to hurt her but every instinct in her body screamed at her to get away from him but she was able to control it.

Daryl's face was stoic as lifted her blood soaked tank, feeling heat of her as his fingers brushed her skin. She shied away a bit at his touch, as if she was afraid of it before he saw a bullet hole right above her hipbone. He used a dry part of her tank to wipe away the blood to see her marred skin better and it caused her to shiver. His eyes darted to hers apologetically before making a closer inspection.

He'd had a wound very similar back on the farm and had survived it. This was a through and through bullet wound that had barely gotten her. He was no expert but he had a strong feeling that if they got the bleeding stopped and her fever down with some antibiotics she should be able to bounce back.

He looked up at Michonne with hope in his eyes and she just raised an eyebrow. He gently lowered the tank back over the wound and tried to talk some sense into her.

"Nut up, girl. It ain't nuthin' a little band-aid and whiskey can't fix," he claimed confidently.

The injured woman's lips turned up in a slight smirk at the thought of alcohol as she looked up and noticed Michonne. She looked between the two of them.

"Southern Comfort does sound purdy good right 'bout now," she confided with a wistful smile before looking back up at him. "Tha hell are ya, anyways," she asked.

"Someone who can help," Michonne answered above her flatly as she kept an eye out on the door.

She used her good arm to press her side to seek some form of relief from the pain and he saw her blink as if she were trying to clear her vision. She looked up into his steel-blue eyes and he saw a flicker of hope in hers. She'd been through the ringer but he had a gut feeling she was a fighter and wasn't ready to give up if she was given a chance.

Her eyebrows drew together as she pressed him again for information.

"What's yer name?"

Daryl hesitated before humoring her because it wasn't like she could hurt him with his name.

"Daryl," he answered.

"Jess," she affirmed with a hint of that fire he'd seen in her eyes the other day.

"So what's it gonna be, Jess?"

He waited what seemed like several minutes as she looked away and he watched her think, all kinds of emotions playing over her face and reflecting in her fever and pain glazed eyes. Finally her eyes found his again, her jaw set and her eyes hard.

"Don't thank I'm ready yet," she confided before she glared at him, "but that bullet's mine 'n' don't ya dare let me turn inna one of 'em cursed flesh eaters," she added nodding to the discarded gun. "If cain't do it, you have to."

Daryl nodded as he looked up at Michonne, almost as if he was asking for permission. She just shrugged. She wasn't afraid of the woman on the floor, she could hardly hold up her head.

So now it was time for the questions they had come up with recently to ask people to find out if they were safe enough to bring back to the prison. They were just starting to get on their feet there and had decided it was ok to bring in people but they had to have some way of telling if those they brought in were worthy.

"How many walkers ya killed?"

Jess tilted her head at the question, wondering why he was asking it but she answered anyway because she didn't really have any other options. Besides, she was just too tired to keep questioning him about his motives.

"More'n I can count. At least two hundred since Mississippi," she answered in a quiet voice.

The Dixon just stared at her blankly for a few moments in disbelief. This girl had come all the way from Mississippi and killed hundreds of walkers? The walkers he could begin to believe after what he saw her do the other day but to travel alone all the way from Mississippi was unheard of.

"How many people ya killed?"

The injured woman was on autopilot and answering in a flat voice as her eyes took on a far away look. She took several seconds before she answered, her eyes haunted and expression grim.

"Three."

Daryl cringed because he knew that helping her would depend on how she answered the next question.

"Why?"

She finally looked back at him, her eyes suddenly clear and her focus on him was a bit unnerving.

"Two men that ambushed me 'n' my sister in Mississippi that thought no law meant that they could get away with cuttin' up women while rapin' 'em," she answered emotionless as she looked down at her limp arm.

It took a few seconds for Daryl to follow her gaze and what he saw made his stomach turn. Starting at her wrists were several faded, thin lines of scars with a few wider and longer ones spaced between and he followed them until they disappeared beneath her tank top. It had obviously been a while since it happened because the thin ones were hard to see and the others could have been mistaken for just usual wear and tear in the new zombie ridden world. However, she'd only listed two of her three.

"The third?"

Jess looked back up at him with eyes that held an emotion he knew all too well. Hopelessness.

"My sister. She was bit."

He glanced up at Michonne who had wide eyes and when they met, they shared a knowing look before Michonne nodded. This woman had been through so much and to die this way after fighting so hard to stay alive would suck and their world sucked enough as it was. Besides, as dangerous as she seemed to be, she'd only killed in self-defense or for mercy.

Daryl turned his attention back to the tortured woman on the floor. They needed to get moving.

"Can you stand," he asked, knowing what the answer could be.

"I could try," she growled looking quite agitated with herself. Daryl knew how she felt because he couldn't stand to feel helpless.

"I got ya," Daryl grunted as he tucked her gun into his waistband. He noticed her bag and quiver still full of arrows in the corner and motioned for Michonne to grab them as he tossed her Jess' shirt.

He saw the look of terror cross her face before she quickly got it back under control. Now that he knew her story, he was a little worried about touching her and how she would react. He'd been lucky so far she hadn't reacted violently to him but he wasn't about to let her try to walk with her injuries and being so weak. She wouldn't make it two steps.

"You good," he asked quietly, indicating he wanted to make sure she wouldn't fight back if he picked her up.

Without looking at him, she just nodded, noticing that she'd put a carefully guarded expression on her face.

"This is gonna hurt like a bitch," he observed as he carefully picked up her arm attached to the dislocated shoulder and placed it across her body before sliding his arm beneath her legs and one around her waist, careful to avoid the wound.

She bit her lip and flinched at his touch and took a deep breath before she wrapped her good arm around his shoulders so it wouldn't get trapped between them and nodded at him that she was ready. He could tell she really didn't like that he was touching her.

As gently as he possible could he lifted her close to him and felt her tense with a sharp intake of breath but that was all. This girl was tougher than he'd imagined and it filled him with an odd sense of pride that he'd been the one to find her. She was also lighter than he was expecting for her five foot eight inch muscled toned frame. He could feel her muscles across her back and arms, built from all the times she'd drawn her bow, and the muscles in her thighs and calves from all the riding she'd done. Even though she was well toned, she still had the curves a real woman should have.

Daryl quickly and steadily left the office with Jess in his arms while Michonne picked up their stuff, slinging Jess' pack and quiver over her shoulder and pulling Daryl's arrows from the corpses. When they reached the edge of the dock she hopped down and threw their stuff in the back under the tarp as Daryl carefully set Jess back down so he could jump off the dock and open the door to the truck. He was angry to hear Glenn in the front seat.

"She's coming with us?" He questioned warily.

"We should just leave her ta die?" He hissed quietly at Glenn as he glanced back at the injured woman on the high dock who had awkwardly scooted herself into a sitting position to the edge to wait for his help.

Glenn looked steadily at Daryl.

"You ask her the questions?"

Fury flashed in Daryl's eyes as he tossed his crossbow across the back seat.

"O' course an' we ain't leavin' her," he retorted as he glared at Glenn, daring the Asian to question him again and was glad to see that Glenn backed down.

"Fine," he said as he turned back to wait for them to load up.

Daryl turned back to the dock to see Jess swaying dangerously while holding her dislocated shoulder to her. As he got closer to her she looked down at him with sad eyes.

"My bow-" she started to say before Daryl placed his hands at her sides right under her breasts, away from her wounds, to lift her.

"We got it," he cut her off while he carefully lifted her off the dock to set her on her feet.

He saw her bite her lip again and eyes close as she gripped his shoulder hard with her good had to help keep her grounded, swaying slightly. Just before her legs buckled beneath her Daryl quickly picked her back up bridal style, her body tense, and turned to the truck, feeling her death grip on his shoulder lessen the closer they got.

Michonne was already in the back seat and she slid over to help Daryl get their new charge situated. He lifted Jess into the truck and sat her as gently as possible down on the leather seats and waited for her to scoot farther into the truck. When she didn't move, he looked up at her and noticed her eyes were barely open, her fatigue and pain was starting to catch up to her.

He swore under his breath as Michonne pulled Jess into the cab to help keep her steady while he went to the bed of the pickup where they had tossed in their supplies and dug until he found a couple of towels. He moved back to the open door to see that Jess had become completely limp, both arms beside her on the seats and her head rolled over on Michonne's shoulder as if it was just too heavy to hold up any longer but her eyes were still partly open, watching him. He wasted no time and pulled up the blood soaked tank top just enough to see her wound, now noticing more scars, and pressed the towels to her entry and exit areas carefully try to stop the bleeding. He was a little worried that she didn't even react to his touch this time or the pressure and just kept staring at him. He didn't know how long it'd been since she'd been shot but with how weak and pale she was from blood loss and with the feverish feel to her skin possibly from infection it had to have been several hours. Which meant if they'd been any later in finding her she'd have probably already have put the bullet through her brain. The sooner they got her to Herschel and doctor S., the better he would feel about the situation.

Daryl motioned for Michonne to take over applying pressure to the wounds and once he was sure she had it he went to shut the door and he heard her speak weakly to Michonne.

"Have ta find 'em," She mumbled before her eyes finally closed and her stubbornness gave way to her worn body.

With one last shared glance with Michonne, who nodded indicating that she would take care of Jess, Daryl shut the back door and quickly hopped up into the passenger's seat. As Glenn pulled out of the parking lot he glanced back at the unconscious woman in the back seat, who was so pale it reminded him of when Herschel had lost so much blood after having his leg cut off. Daryl chewed on the corner of his thumb as he watched the scenery pass by his window.


	3. Chapter 3: Chewed Up 'N' Spit Out

It wasn't the moans of the dead that woke Jess, it was pure laughter. Her eyes fluttered open to see the bottom side of what looked to be a bunk bed and she tried to search through her hazy memories to figure out what had happened.

The last thing she clearly remembered was being shot and this was confirmed by the pain in her side. She closed her eyes again as she mentally pictured the location that she'd been shot in, racking her brain for any details but she hadn't seen her assailant. She scoffed as she opened her eyes again. Someone had probably shot her for her supplies and maybe even her horses. Or they could have just done it for fun. People sucked.

She had been shadowing the highway for about a day looking for any sign of her parents along the road when she felt the blinding pain then the sound of the gun followed by her falling from her horse oddly enough to dislocate her shoulder. She had forced herself to get back up to her feet on pure adrenaline and run for cover with her horses following closely. How long she had waited there behind a large tree after making the horses lie down to be less conspicuous in the driving rain, listening for any sign of who had decided that she was worth killing, she couldn't really remember. When the sky started to change colors she had decided that she couldn't wait there forever, she was bleeding profusely and she didn't want to give any satisfaction to whoever had shot her by dying there and leaving her gear for them to loot. So she had sucked it up and climbed painfully back on her horse and rode her way back through the forest to the town she'd passed half a mile back, hoping that whoever had shot her had gotten tired of waiting and moved on.

The last clear thing she remembered, as her adrenaline left her system and she'd lost a fair amount of blood, that she was lucky enough to find a grocery store with a pharmacy and hoping she could get something to stop the bleeding and maybe even some painkillers. However, she hadn't been thinking clearly enough as she'd dismounted and stumbled into the building full of walking dead. Everything after that was blurs and flashes. She remembered losing her bow while running from the freaks, finding the office, and then making the solid choice that she was ready to die and put a bullet through her brain, hoping that someone found her horses to take care of them. She'd even had the gun up to her temple ready to pull the trigger when the door had opened and there were blue eyes. His eyes.

Her reminiscence of him made her really take more time to check her surroundings. She looked around, trying to blink back the blurs at the edge of her vision, and quickly realized she was laying on the bottom bunk of what looked like a prison cell.

Great, out of one terrible situation and straight into another, she thought as she noticed the cell door was shut and more than likely locked. It was then she decided to see how bad her condition actually was as she tried to sit up. A sharp pain shot through her side as she tried to push herself into a sitting position, failing miserably to get up. Disappointed, she looked down to see that her blood stained tank top had been replaced by a flannel shirt that was a little big for her but was clean and her arm was in a sling to keep her from moving her shoulder that had been put back into place. She had also been stripped of her dirty jeans and dressed into a loose pair of shorts and she was barefoot.

She felt her cheeks flush and her stomach turned at the thought of him changing her clothes for her before shaking her head and lifting the shirt up to inspect her wound to find that it was neatly bandaged with a slight blood stain. She let out a disgruntled noise before dropping the shirt gingerly back into place. Her wound hurt like hell and she felt as weak as a baby and it was frustrating.

Since she couldn't get up she decided she would take inventory of her room. She strained her neck to look around the dull gray cell and noticed that her bag was on the floor in the corner along with her black Justin boots. She was a little disappointed to see that her weapons weren't with them but it was to be expected. She wouldn't trust her either after seeing what she was capable of.

Jess turned her attention back to the outside of her cell as she heard more laughter float up to her. People laughing during the apocalypse?

She wished she could get up and try to see where the laughter was coming from but there was no way she was moving for a while. However, she was able to see that she was locked in a cell on the second floor in what looked like a prison block and it was dark outside. She heard more voices but couldn't make out what they were saying and she saw light flickering along the walls between window panels that were covered in bars. Her stomach did a horrible flip-flop as the smell of food filled her nostrils. She couldn't remember the last time she ate.

She quickly changed her thought process as a wave of nausea hit her and focused her attention on trying to make out whatever she could from the voices filtering up to her. She couldn't tell exactly how many but knew there were several people down there visiting, joking, and eating dinner together. She caught herself straining to hear his voice.

"Daryl," she whispered as the memory returned to her. He had been the one to talk her out of putting the bullet in her head and she remembered placing the burden upon him if anything should happen to her.

His voice wasn't among the ones she could pick out through the chatter and she felt disappointed. Where was he? Had he left her with these people? Despite her obvious distrust of people, Daryl didn't seem like a bad person. He'd had two chances to kill her and had even saved her the second time.

It didn't take long for the voices to die out and she was left in complete silence for several minutes before she heard footsteps coming up metal stairs. The wounded woman tensed but didn't move as she waited for what happened next. She let out the breath she didn't realize she had held when she saw Daryl come to peer into her cell. She waited for his eyes to find hers and held his gaze.

He watched her for a few moments before he actually turned away to lean over the rail and let out a low, quiet whistle. There was a few moments before he nodded his head in her direction and he turned back to walk up to the door and inspect her.

"How ya feelin'?" He asked in a quiet voice.

"Like I done been chewed up 'n' spit out," she sassed.

The corner of his mouth twitched like he was about to smile before she heard more footsteps on the stairs and he walked away from her cell, disappearing from her line of vision. There was some whispering and keys clinking before he reappeared with said keys, followed by an older man with pure white hair and a fairly bushy beard that walked with a heavy limp.

Daryl watched her and she shifted a bit under his gaze. She made it a point not to move too much more because she didn't want either of the men to think that she was positioning herself to attack them, not like she could though since she could barely move. The hunter picked out the correct key on the ring and slide into the lock but he waited to turn it.

"Gonna play nice?" He asked.

Jess nodded and held up her hand in surrender and he took that as his sign to turn the key and pull open the door, the hinges creaking loudly. Daryl held the door open for the other man to enter the room and he chose to stay at the entrance, leaning his hip against the bars and folding his hands under his arms to watch her carefully. The other man pulled out the short stool underneath the metal table to sit and regard her with narrow green eyes as he spoke.

"Our doctor says you're going to make a full recovery," he stated in a gentle voice. He wasn't trying to be threatening at all but she could tell that he was trying to get a read on her.

"The moment I can stan' up without fallin' over I'll be on my way ta find my horses," she promised.

The woman knew that Daryl had taken a risk in bringing her back here to his people to save her considering their run in a few days ago. She refused to be anymore of a burden than she had already been.

The green-eyed man seemed a bit surprised at her statement however, indicated by his raised eyebrows.

"Alright then," he said not wanting to argue with her, "My name is Herschel and Daryl tells me your name is Jess."

She nodded cutting her eyes to Daryl who hadn't moved an inch since coming in.

"So, Jess, what happened out there?"

"Not rightly sure," she admitted in her long drawl with a shrug, "I 'member gettin' shot off my horse 'n' making a run fer it. I reckon whoever took tha shot was lookin' for fun or ta take my horses 'n' loot after I's dead. Cain't say it's the first time. Evrathin' after that is purdy hazy."

"You're alone?" Herschel asked in shock.

The injured woman answered the question nonchalantly.

"Yes sir," she answered respectfully. She could tell this man was a leader, if not the leader, in the group and had been sent to gather information on her. Besides, her momma always told her to respect her elders.

"How long you been out there by yourself?" He asked in with unconcealed concern.

"Lost track a time but it was somewhere in Mississippi when I had ta make a go o' it on my own," she answered carefully, dancing around the full story.

"You've been fighting walkers alone since then?"

Jess nodded. She got this question a lot from the nicer people she'd run into since she left home. It was hard for anyone to believe a woman could make it on her own in this mess.

"Yes sir. Started up close ta Austin 'n' been making my way ta Atlanta lookin' fer my family. They packed up 'n' headed this way on a road trip a couple a weeks afore thangs started getting bad."

"Texas?" He asked.

"The one 'n' only," she sang trying to make light of the situation. "Born 'n' bred," she added with a smile, purposefully thickening her accent.

Herschel looked back at Daryl to convey his surprise. This woman had traveled alone for thousands of miles through zombie infested America. They knew it was possible for a woman to make it on her own out there, Michonne was their proof, but that far? That was nothing short of a miracle.

Daryl just shrugged. He'd stumbled across a few other people on their own and brought them back to the prison over the past few weeks after Woodbury. Besides, if Michonne could do it, so could some other woman. He'd seen Jess' skills first hand but it didn't mean that traveling that far alone wasn't impressive though. Also, her accent made more sense now. It'd been much thicker than anyone he'd run into and he'd run into a lot of backwater rednecks in his time. Hell, he was one himself and he didn't even have an accent like that. Texan's seemed to have their own special drawl.

She cut back in before either of them could say anything.

"Look, ya'll seem like nice folks 'n' I'll forever be grateful a what ya'll done fer me," she began as she looked pointedly at Daryl before returning her attention back to the leader, "but I know I make ya'll nervous as a cat in a room full a rockin' chairs by bein' here 'n' I'd be much obliged if I could just have some time ta recover 'n' be back on my way 'n' outta your hair."

Herschel nodded.

"Okay," he agreed as he stood and pushed the stool back up under the metal desk. He wasn't about to argue with her. If she wanted to go back out there on her own, so be it. "Since you seem to be understanding of the situation I hope you will also understand that we have to keep you locked in here until we can trust you. So for now, get some rest and someone will be up to check on you and bring some food soon."

Jess nodded as Herschel smiled encouragingly down at her and walked out of sight. She heard him descending the stairs as Daryl stood from his perch against the metal door without a word to lock her in. She watched as he turned the lock into place with the keys and he glanced over at her one more time before also taking his leave.

She was left alone to her thoughts for a while before she heard more footsteps on the stairs and Daryl appeared again carrying a tray of food, the keys, and a water bottle. He juggled with unlocking the cell door as a woman with short greying hair carrying a bag and a battery operated lantern appeared next to him. When the woman noticed that Jess was watching her she smiled at the injured woman. Jess didn't know why but it made her relax a bit because there was something soft and reassuring the way this woman carried herself.

Daryl opened the door and entered first to set the water and tray on the small metal table on the wall before stepping back out to let the other woman come in. The two shared a look, Daryl looking at her sternly while Carol just glared back.

"Shoo. I have to change her bandage and you don't need to gawk at her," she ordered as she lightly pushed on his bicep.

Daryl regarded the woman for a few moments before giving in.

"I ain't no pervert," he grumbled before looking pointedly at Jess to make sure she understood, "I'll be right out here," he added before he took a few steps away, turned his back to them, and leaned against the top railing of the second floor. That's as far as he was going to go with Carol close to the unpredictable woman in the bed.

Carol let out an exasperated sigh as she turned to Jess with a smile.

"Always worrying over the silliest things," she sighed with a roll of her eyes.

Jess followed the woman with her eyes as she pulled out the stool and sat close to the bed and held out her left hand so Jess could shake it with her good one.

"Carol."

It didn't take long for Jess to give into Carol's kind nature.

"Jess," she obliged the woman as she took her cool hand in her own. There was something very motherly about how Carol carried herself and it was something Jess found herself drawn to.

"Nice to meet you, Jess, and sorry about all the precautions" she apologized after releasing her charges calloused, warm hand. Carol starting taking out medical tape and gauze from her bag along with some disinfectant as she continued, "why don't we get your bandages changed before you eat."

"I don't blame 'em." Jess admitted as Carol pulled down the blanket covering her lower half and pushed her shirt up just enough to expose her bullet wound. Jess shivered at the cold air on her warm skin as Carol moved the waistband of the shorts down a bit and this didn't go unnoticed.

"Sorry," the older woman winced as she began to pull the bandage slowly from the warm skin, "I'll try to be quick."

Jess let the woman work in silence as she settled farther back into the pillow beneath her head. Jess also didn't trust herself to hold a conversation as she felt the disinfectant touch her marred skin. It stung but the pain was manageable compared to what it had been before she'd passed out back at the grocery store.

Now that her bullet wound was being treated and she knew it wasn't going to kill her, she was more worried about her shoulder. Most of her self-defense came from her bow as she wasn't as skilled with her blades and dislocations could possibly end her use with a bow.

"Alright, one down, one to go. Think you can turn on your side so I can change out the back?"

Jess nodded and with a bit of Carol's help and some sharp pains in her side and shoulder later, she was on her left side staring at the wall. She heard Carol's intake of breath before she felt the woman's cool hand on her skin to work. Carol must have seen the true extent of her scars.

"Do you mind if I ask how?" The older woman asked as she worked quickly at replacing the gauze bandage.

Jess decided to answer Carol. It'd been a long time since she'd had a conversation with another woman and knew that keeping everything bottled up could drive anyone mad. Besides, It's not like they could use the information against her and she wasn't going to be there long enough for them to anyway.

"There are men, 'n' women, out there who haven't fared as well as ya'll. Men that, now that there ain't no rules or laws, feel as if they's free ta do whatever floats their boat. My sister 'n' I just happen ta run inta a pair a men who got their jollies from causin' pain ta women, mainly with razors, not too long after thangs really started goin' to hell 'n' we'd struck out on our own," she paused as she felt Carol finish and turned over to look her in the eyes, "We learned real quick that tha dead weren't tha biggest threat out there. Jus' had ta learn it tha hard way."

Carol shook her head as she replaced Jess' clothing and pulled the blanket back up to the sling.

"How did you make it through?" Carol asked with large, sad eyes.

"After a few days they got lazy, thinkin' tha' we were too outta it ta fight back 'n' didn' tie Erin up as tight after they got done with 'er. She got both a us loose 'n' we waited. Luckily only one a 'em came back fer a round with us alone 'n' we took 'em down together. I grabbed our stuff 'n' we tried ta run but tha second guy came back 'n' I put an arrow in his eye when he tried ta shoot her," she closed her eyes at the memories, the images stinging enough for her eyes to mist. She willed away the tears before she continued, "I was bleedin' everywhere 'n' she wuddn't as hurt as I was so she took care a me. I was sure I was gonna die 'n' she was gonna have ta put a bullet in my head. But we seemed to find the best bull 'n' we ended up ridin' up onna farmhouse with a sweet elderly couple tha' patched us up."

Carol regarded her for several seconds, her own eyes getting a bit misty and before she could open her mouth to ask, Jess answered for her. The injured woman felt some of the weight lift off her shoulders at being able to talk to someone and Carol was so easy to talk to. The words were just pouring out of her as she lay fixated on a spot on the bunk above her.

"The couple let us stay so we could get our strength up 'n' set back outta find our parents. We were there fer 'bout a week afore the place got overrun by a group. The couple sacrificed 'emselves to let Erin 'n' I get away but she got bit in tha escape," her eyes were starting to fill with tears as the memories of her sister flooded through her mind, "we'd made a promise tha' we wuddn't let each other turn inna one a those thangs 'n' ta continue tha search if one a us was bitten," she swallowed the lump in her throat before shrugging, "so I followed through," she looked at Carol with tortured eyes, "so here I am, two states later, with no answers but I'm not gonna to stop 'cause what else is 'ere?"

Carol was a little shocked at Jess' confession. From what little information Daryl had told her, she seemed like a woman hardened, like they all were, by the new world. However, she could tell that Jess had probably been alone so long she was close to her breaking point.

Carol smiled softly at the wounded woman on the bed as she took her uninjured hand in both of hers.

"You could find a place to call home and start building a new life," she paused as she ran her thumb comfortingly across the younger woman's knuckles, "we are quite safe here and we've started a little community. You'd fit in quite well with what Daryl has told me."

Jess looked at her like she'd just grown another head.

"Ya don' thank I'm too dangerous ta keep 'round?"

Carol's grin grew and her eyes literally twinkled.

"Oh I know you're dangerous," she purred with a pat on Jess' hand, "and I think the world could use more dangerous women like you," she added with a wink.

Jess was shocked to silence as Carol went on to talk about the medicine and how she needed to eat before she took it. Jess was too nauseated to really eat anything though and she said so.

"Well, you need something to eat. There's some mashed potatoes here, how about a few bites of them before you take these?" Carol urged as she pointed to the plate.

Jess reluctantly agreed and Carol stuffed extra pillows behind the prone woman's back to help her sit up and happily sat back down with the tray and water and placed the tray on Jess's lap and handed her the fork.

It was obvious at that point that Carol wouldn't leave until she saw Jess eat and take the pills so she obliged the stubborn woman by taking a few bites of the potatoes and choking down the four pills. Hopefully one of them was a painkiller.

"Good, now get some sleep and I'll come back in the morning with more food and pills. We'll also see about getting you cleaned up a bit if you're up for it," she smiled slyly, "we have showers."

Jess' eyes went wide in anticipation. She couldn't remember the last time she had a shower. It'd been baths in shallow rivers when she happened to find them for what seemed like years.

"I'll be there with bells on," she drawled with a smile that reached her eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow then. Sleep well, Jess."

"Thank ya fer everythin', Miss Carol."

The older woman smiled as she gathered everything she'd brought but the water, placing it on the floor by the bed so Jess could reach it if she needed it, and nodded as she left.

"You're welcome."

After she disappeared around the corner, Daryl turned around from his perch and startled Jess by closing the cell. He'd been so quiet she'd forgotten he was there and her cheeks flared crimson at the thought of him hearing her pour her soul out to Carol. She watched him carefully as he locked the door and glanced at her with a carefully guarded expression. She put her rough exterior back on, hoping her blush wasn't showing.

"G'night, peach," she sang in a light voice, hoping it was enough to cover her embarrassment.

He narrowed his eyes at her for a few moments before walking away.

"Shut up, kill stealer."

Jess smiled as she settled back into the pillows for sleep. Too bad she wasn't going to stay, she was beginning to like these people.


	4. Chapter 4: Lil' Red Heifer

**A/N: Thank you so much for the Subs, Favs, Views, and Reviews! Don't forget to check my profile for more info and update status.**

* * *

Jess let out a loud groan of bliss as the cold water from the shower pelted her face and ran down her body. She felt like she had died and already made it to heaven, even if the water was cold.

Carol and Daryl had come for her mid morning, waking her from nearly ten hours of sleep, to get her to eat and take more medicine. She'd been feeling better and was able to eat most of the food, venison and green beans, and swallow the pills with no problem. The second she had downed the pills she asked Carol about the shower and it had been a long journey for Jess. She was still weak and had to move a bit slow as not to aggravate her injuries but with Carol's help, and several glares at Daryl to make sure he didn't touch her, she made it and didn't even care that Carol stayed close. However, Daryl being within hearing distance, despite being behind curtains and a low wall, was a bit unnerving as Jess was still nervous around him. Just because he'd saved her didn't mean she trusted him yet, or any of them for that matter. She would stay on high alert with these people until she left.

She sighed as she cleaned herself as fast and best she could one-handed. Once she finished she stood for a few more seconds to let the suds wash off and the water cut off. She frowned up at the shower head as she ran her hand down her hair. She really wanted to wash her hair but it was nearly impossible. She bit her lip as she glanced over at Carol's turned back as she spoke quietly to Daryl on the other side of the wall. Dare she ask?

She steeled herself as she grabbed the towel Carol had left close and wrapped it around her before calling out to the woman behind her.

"Carol?" She asked in a quiet voice, interrupting her talk with Daryl.

"Something wrong, Jess?"

"Kinda," she hesitated for a second before jumping right in, "ya mind washin' my hair? I'd do it myself but I can' lift my arm past my shoulder."

"Of course, just a second," she said disappearing around the corner.

Daryl's scoff floated to her through the curtains and over the wall he stood behind and she couldn't help her flushed cheeks despite the cold biting her skin.

"Shut it, peach. Ya just jealous a my long flowin' locks 'cause they'd win ya the title at tha next competition," she said mockingly, referring to the Miss Georgia Peach competition.

"Whatever, kill stealer," he growled in a low voice. He was pretty grumpy that they stuck him on babysitting duty and Jess taking a shower just a few feet away from him didn't help. He couldn't stop thinking about how she'd felt beneath him the other day at the river and her sultry eyes when she'd teased him, despite the hint of fear he'd seen there as well. He was extremely attracted to her physically and her noises during her shower hadn't helped. He was thankful that Carol had decided to start talking to him to distract him from his roaming imagination as she reappeared with one of the stools from a cell.

"Sit here," she ordered lightly as she sat the stool close to the large can full of water that siphoned into the shower heads

Jess did as the woman asked and let out a contented hum and closed her eyes as she felt Carol's fingers working the suds into her scalp. The last time she had someone wash her hair for her felt like ages ago.

"You have such beautiful hair," Carol cooed above her as she worked her way down the extra long tresses.

"Thanks Miss Carol," Jess replied softly.

"How long has it taken for you to get it this long?"

"Several years. My sister 'n' I were lettin' it grow so we could donate it in honor of my grandmother. Just got dead ends cut off every few weeks," she opened her eyes to stare ahead, "after this started we thought 'bout cuttin' it off but Erin said somethin' 'bout sullyin' our grandmother's memory or somethin'. I thought it was stupid but I humored her," she shifted nervously on her stool before she continued, "Erin was strong-willed, kind, 'n' a bit of a bitch. Just like our mom 'n' Gram."

Carol lightened the mood by swatting Jess' uninjured shoulder.

"Don't say that about your mothers," she chided.

Daryl couldn't help his scoff from his perch on the other side of the wall. Trust Carol to step up for the moms. The hunter was a little confused, though. This was the second time Jess opened up willingly to Carol while he was close by. Had she forgotten or did she not care that he could hear?

Jess let out a pure laugh and it sounded foreign to her because it'd been so long since she'd had anything to laugh about. She looked over her shoulder to smile up at the woman who finished lathering her hair.

"Thank you," Jess whispered as she press a hand protectively over her side. It throbbed horribly after all her activities and the laugh hadn't helpped.

Carol must have seen her movement and dropped the end of Jess' hair and placed a hand softly on the injured woman's good shoulder with her trademark motherly smile.

"Of course. Now rinse out your hair so we can go outside for some fresh air and get your hair braided if you feel up for it. I make a mean french braid," she announced with a wink as she turned away to resume her visit with Daryl.

"Sounds good," Jess smiled as she pulled off her towel and turned the spray back on the shower.

Carol folded her arms and leaned against the end of the wall and glanced at Daryl who spoke.

"So why is she being so chatty?" He asked quietly, genuinely curious.

Carol moved a bit closer to him on the other side of the wall to speak softly so Jess wouldn't hear.

"We're probably the first halfway decent people she's run into since her sister died. She's been out there all alone for that whole time, for thousands of miles," she paused, "the poor girl has been through a lot and she just wants someone to talk to."

Daryl shrugged at Carol. He personally wouldn't be so talkative in her situation but after what she'd been through it'd probably do her some good to talk it out with someone.

"Yeah, and who better than you," Daryl replied with sincerity.

Carol just smiled up at him.

* * *

After Jess finished up her shower, Carol brought her some clothes and she noticed that they were her own and put them on gingerly and it took her a while. It was hard to maneuver with her injuries but she somehow managed to do it and met Daryl and Carol on the other side of the wall.

Glad that she was back in her own clothes, Jess made the taxing walk outside, glad that Carol was with her when she swayed a bit on the stairs leading down to what looked like the yard of the prison which looked more homely than any prison should. A grassy knoll had been turned into an area for a garden and there were several cars and a motorcycle parked off to the side far away. However, she was most impressed with the wood structure that seemed to be where they prepared and shared meals. Beyond that she could see a grass yard enclosed and protected by two layers of fences that had the beginnings of crops and what looked like a pin for pigs they were beginning to build.

The greatest surprise came from the sheer amount of people who wandered around doing chores and mundane things that Jess thought she would never see done again. A few people tended to some tomato plants on the grass hill, a few men over by the cars visiting, someone prepared lunch under the awning, and children sat at the tables playing board games.

Carol lead her towards the impressive awning and pulled a chair out into the sun, motioning for Jess to take a seat. The new women suddenly felt as if all eyes were on her, judging her. She straightened her back as best she could and confidently strode to Carol and sat rigid as she tossed her wet hair behind the chair, taking careful note of her surroundings, trying to show that she wasn't as injured as she really was. As kind of Daryl was to save her and as nice as Carol had been to her so far, she didn't want them to think she'd gotten too comfortable and let her guard down.

She was almost startled when Daryl appeared and plopped down in a chair at a table close to her with his crossbow. He was so quiet she had forgotten he'd been following and watching her this whole time. The only thing she could guess is that he was in charge of watching her to make sure she wasn't going to be hostile. She didn't blame him though, she wouldn't let him out of sight if it were the other way around.

Daryl quietly set to work oiling is crossbow, pretending to ignore everyone around him but she knew better. He was always alert and she could practically feel him tuned into her and he was feeding off her uneasiness around the strangers.

All that faded away though as soon as Carol started pulling her wet hair up in pieces for the french braid. Jess had always loved it when people did her hair for her because it was so relaxing. The injured woman let out a sigh as she settled down comfortably in the chair, soaking up the warm sun, and Carol smiled behind her as she worked in serene silence.

After a few moments, Jess was pulled from her relaxing revery by the increasing whispers of the children not far from her. Even though they were whispering loudly she only caught parts of what they were saying. She caught "new girl" and "scary" a few times and another woman's name that she didn't recognize along with Carol's. It didn't take long before one of the little girls, who looked like she was about seven or eight, slowly approached Jess and Carol.

"Miss Carol," the girl asked in a quiet, shy voice, careful to not get too close to Jess.

"Yes sweetie," she answered as she continued to braid Jess's hair. She'd just finished the braiding along her scalp and was down to the easy part of the braiding process.

"Can I help?" She asked even quieter than before as she played with the hem of her shirt nervously, glancing at Jess.

"Let's ask Miss Jess," she said pausing her braiding, "do you mind if we have a little help? I think it would be fun for them to learn."

The younger women didn't really like kids but seeing them so happy and normal now tugged a little at Jess's heart. Who was she to deny them anything that made them happy? Besides, she was enjoying the cool air and warm sun along with the gentle fingers running through her hair. This was the most relaxed she'd been in many years. She softened her expression and nodded at the little girl.

"I don' mind," she decided in a voice she hoped wasn't as rough as it sounded to her.

Suddenly it was like the floodgates opened and all the little girls rushed over to learn how to do a french braid. Jess's eyes opened to as big as saucers and sat up rigid in the chair again as the girls chattered around her. It didn't take long for her to catch Daryl looking over at her with narrow eyes. He was warning her to be nice and she returned his glare with one of her own, tuning out the chatter around her.

"Whatcha lookin' at, peach?"

She saw amusement cross his face before he turned his attention back to his crossbow but not before turning his chair more towards her. He still didn't fully trust her even though he'd been the one that decided to save her.

One of the girls interrupted Carol's instruction to ask Jess a question.

"Why do you call Mr. Dixon a peach, Miss Jess?" She asked innocently from behind her.

Jess narrowed her eyes at Daryl as she watched the hunter work, glad to know his last name. Calling him peach all the time was getting old and she didn't want to call him by his first name because it was just too personal.

"'Cause he's a fuzzy, soft Georgia Peach," she replied in a normal voice, trying hard not to sound edgy. Whenever she felt nervous she tried to play it off any way she could and since Daryl was close by, he would be her target. She wanted to see how far she could push his buttons and she smiled as she saw him pause in his work to pay more attention without looking in her direction.

"But aren't you a Georgia Peach too?" Another girl asked assuming a Georgia Peach was a common term to call people from Georgia.

"No m'am," she answered as lightly as she could, "I'm a tough Texan."

The braiding session was momentarily forgotten as a couple of the girls came around to talk to her.

"Wow! You're from Texas? Do you have a horse and big boots and big cowboy hat?"

She heard Carol laugh softly behind her as she continued to humor the girls, barely able to hide how tense the girls were making her by rambling.

"I do. His name is Argo 'n' he's a beautiful blue roan quarter horse with white spots 'n' a black mane and tail. He's tha best cuttin' horse in the county 'n' I can't wait ta go find him," she drawled. Her mind wandered back to parting with them at the grocery store. She couldn't wait to get out of here and go track them down and she knew they wouldn't go far from where she left them in the woods close to the pharmacy. Not that they couldn't fend for themselves but the saddle on Argo could cause him problems if she didn't go get him soon. She shook her head and returned to the conversation, "got tha boots but no cowboy hat."

"Why are you all the way here in Georgia, Miss Jess?"

Jess saw Daryl tense and practically felt Carol's grip tighten on her hair as she started over on braiding Jess's hair. It seemed they worried how she would answer this question.

"I'm lookin' fer my parents," she answered carefully, hoping they wouldn't continue the line of questioning.

It was then Carol decided that the girls didn't need to press Jess any further than they already had.

"Alright girls, stop bothering Miss Jess and let me show you how to braid."

Carol took her time in showing the girls how the french braid worked and letting them take turns at trying. Jess didn't mind, she had the perfect hair to demonstrate with and it calmed her despite the few times where one of the girls would pull a little too tight. She just enjoyed the sun and watched the comings and goings of the people. Most of them waved at Carol and Daryl and even a few came up to say a few words to the two adults watching over her. After a while, a few more people showed up and started preparing for lunch. It was the closest thing to normal she'd had in so long. So she enjoyed it while she could because she knew she wasn't going to stay that long.

She wasn't dumb, she knew that she was hurt badly and her recovery would take weeks. However, Jess was stubborn enough to try get out of there sooner because it was tearing her up not having her horses with her and not knowing how they were faring out there. It seemed like every time she'd find brief respite from the terrors of this new world someone would come and take it away.

Just as her side and shoulder started throbbing from the pain medication wearing off, the braiding lesson ended and it was time to start serving their lunch. The girls said goodbye to Jess and were the first ones in line for the wonderful smelling food. Carol gave Jess' shoulder a pat as she walked around in front of her to give the younger woman a smile.

"Thanks for letting them do that. It's rare that they get to do girly things these days."

"I don' mind, was quite nice," Jess assured with a tired voice. She was still weak from her wounds and it was beginning to show by how she'd slumped in the chair.

"You look like you've had enough. Let's get you back to bed," Carol advised as she held out her hand to Jess after a final pat of her shoulder. Jess took it and stood but declined Carol's help further because she couldn't show weakness in front of these people.

"Naw, ya done enough 'n' it's lunch time. Ya eat 'n' I can make it back to the cell on my own," she urged with a glance over at Daryl who was picking up his cleaning supplies and bow to make sure Jess got back to her cell.

"Alright, I'll bring up your medicine and food in a bit. If you need help, ask Daryl. He may look like a rough guy but he's actually a big softy," Carol taunted with a glare at the man she was referring to, daring him to prove her otherwise.

Daryl just shrugged in surrender as he rested his crossbow on his shoulder.

"Why do you think I call him a peach?" Jess teased with a wink at Carol who smiled at Daryl.

"I'm standin' right here," he growled in a voice that almost sounded like a pout. The older woman shared a look with Jess as she took her leave.

"Yeah, I can see why," Carol chuckled while giving the hunter's arm a pat as she passed to go help with lunch.

Daryl just glared at Jess as he motioned for her to take the lead. He was pretty sure she knew the way back to her cell.

Jess stood straight and walked confidently in front of the eyes she felt follow her all the way back into the prison which was thankfully empty as everyone was gathering for lunch. Once she was sure she was out of sight of everyone except Daryl, she started using the wall for support as she walked through the prison back to her cell. When she made it to the stairs she had to pause to frown at them. Her entire body felt like lead but she'd be damned if a set of stairs was going to stop her.

"I ain't got all day, kill stealer," Daryl sneered angrily. He had more important things to do besides babysit her.

"Don' get yer panties inna wad, peach," she mumbled through clenched teeth as she started up the stairs, practically pulling herself up them with her good arm on the rail. Her side was throbbing along with her shoulder as she forced her body up the stairs but she wasn't about to ask Daryl for help, her pride getting the best of her.

She didn't realize how weak and drained she actually was until she reached the top of the stairs and her knees gave out on her. She closed her eyes and waited to meet the floor but a sudden careful arm around her torso kept her from falling. She felt warm breath tickle her ear as Daryl's heavily muscled arm pulled her to his chest to keep her upright.

"Damn it woman. You coulda asked for help," he muttered quietly, "I don't bite."

Jess's back went rigid in a mixture of surprise and fear. She knew Daryl wouldn't hurt her and he was just the type of man she'd usually be attracted to but the images of the last time she was this close to a man flashed in her mind and she was suddenly scrambling to get away from him. She pushed his arm off of her as she stumbled to the railing to turn on him with those same wild eyes he'd seen from the river when he'd tackled her.

"Don' touch me," she practically hissed at him. She immediately regretted it as he quickly tried to hide the surprised, hurt look from her. She felt as if she'd just kicked a puppy.

He held up his hands in surrender.

"Sorry," he whispered angrily in his defense. He never meant to scare her and he hadn't thought about her history with men when he'd pulled her to him.

Jess took a deep, calming breath and shook her head, trying to bring back the rational Jess exterior.

"Naw, it's fine," she sighed as she leaned heavily against the railing, "sorry I snapped at ya. It's jus' a reaction I cain't control sometimes to someone touchin' me."

Daryl nodded his head in understanding while he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked, concerned that he might have grabbed her the wrong way on her wound.

"Nope. Thanks for not lettin' me fall on my face, Dixon," she stated with a forced smile. Her heart was still beating heavily and she was still a little shaky from the sudden rush of adrenaline.

"Yup," is all he said as Jess continued the last few feet to her cell, careful to keep his distance when following her this time.

The injured woman sat gingerly down on the bottom bunk but not before grabbing her bag that was in the corner and pulling out a thick book.

Daryl gave her a quizzical look as he shut and locked the cell door behind her and she got defensive.

"What?" She asked as she carefully got comfortable, wincing a bit at the strain.

"I just thought you was more cowgirl than reader," he admitted to her through the bars.

"Girl's gotta have 'er hobbies 'n' readin' is one of 'em," she countered as she laid carefully into her bed to rest and read, "now get. I cain't focus with yer ugly mug hangin' 'round."

"Thought I was a pretty Georgia Peach," he teased with a barely noticeable smile.

"Yer 'bout as purdy as a lil' red heifer," she retorted with a wink and what Daryl would call a shit eating grin.

"Damn Texans," Daryl mumbled as he left her to her reading.


	5. Chapter 5: Run The River With

After three days of mostly being in bed, Jess started to develope what she called cabin fever and she talked Carol into letting her do something to get out of her prison cell. The older woman let her help with the mundane chores like cooking and a bit of gardening since Jess only had one arm to work with and she was still sore. The cowgirl had never really been much for the womanly chores before but it was the only thing she could do with her arm still in a sling and she was happy to be out of the cell and doing something to get her mind of her horses.

Either Michonne, Daryl, or sometimes another woman who Jess had yet to actually talk to, stuck close to her. She couldn't find fault in their cautiousness and she actually enjoyed their company when she was out and about. It'd taken her a day to get Michonne to talk to her but the bits she did get out of the swordsman were informative and she reminded Jess so much of her sister who was a military woman. Jess had a feeling that after a while she could become friends with the dread locked warrior. Daryl, however, was in a totally different category. He never talked about himself but he would listen to her and they would tease each other relentlessly. The times they didn't talk were nice as well because Jess enjoyed the feeling of not being alone. If they had met before all this started she would definitely want to try and be more than just friends with him.

Back before the turn, she was drawn more to the cowboys physically; the rough, tough masculinity that they exuded and the hats and jeans were a huge turn on for her. However, the politeness of real cowboys was a turn off for Jess because she preferred a man who knew she could take care of herself. Daryl had everything but the hat going on for him as far as she was concerned, plus he was ripped and those baby blues killer. She didn't think there would ever be a point where she wouldn't feel a little unsettled when he looked her her with his harsh blue eyes. However, she knew better than to make any indication of her physical interest. She had not planned on staying long and she had a habit of letting her hormones cloud her judgement so she'd kept up a carefully constructed wall when dealing with him and treated him like she would an older brother. Teasing and aloof.

The most surprising thing wasn't that she found herself attracted to the redneck but that she could be physically attracted to anyone after what had happened to her and her sister in Mississippi. The mental abuse alone in those few days should have crippled her but Erin pushed her through the dark hours and given her life the purpose she needed to make it out of that hell. It didn't mean that she came out completely unscathed from the incident though. She still became instinctively tense when a man got too close to her which is probably why the hunter had kept his distance from after he'd saved her from the fall the first day she'd been able to move around.

On the fifth day, she woke to find her cell door unlocked and open. She'd carefully poked her head out thinking that Michonne was close by cleaning her sword or something but all she heard the normal daily routines going on outside. Afraid of causing trouble, she had stayed in her cell with the door open all morning until Carol and the young girls came looking for her to braid her hair again. It was then that Carol told her that they trusted her enough to move about as she pleased through the prison and Jess wanted to hug her neck.

Despite the freedom, Jess found that she missed having Michonne and Daryl's company. However, this gave her more time to get close to Carol whom she'd come to find out was like her own mother in many ways and it made her want to find her parents even more.

On the tenth day of Jess's stay, she'd been outside helping Carol serve lunch to the community when a group returned from a scouting run to find new places to get supplies. Jess smiled at Carol when someone had called out that the group was back and they both turned in time to see the truck pulling through the front gate they'd rebuilt. Carol turned her own smile back to Jess before they continued to serve lunch. Glenn, who seemed to go out on all the runs, hurried to the awning to get their lunch and Carol welcomed them home.

"Welcome home," she chirped with a big grin.

"Hey Carol," Glenn greeted as he took the bowl of food Jess offered him. He nodded at Jess for a greeting before hurrying off to find Maggie.

Jess's back was still to the truck and Michonne's voice startled her.

"Hi Carol," she nodded before addressing the other woman, "Jess, you got a minute?"

Jess glanced at Carol for permission to leave the older woman alone with serving lunch.

"You don't have to ask me," she chided.

Jess put down the bowl she'd been about to fill, readjusted her sling, and walked around the counter to go see what Michonne wanted and noticed that Daryl wasn't around and she knew that he'd gone on the run. Her surprise was obvious when she noticed the swords woman grinning at her while she waited for the injured woman and Jess gave her an odd look.

"Where's Daryl," she asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to hide her concern.

Michonne didn't answer her question and turned back to the entrance of the compound and waited. After about a whole minute, Jess shifted nervously and glanced between the entrance and the woman standing next to her.

"Michonne what's-"

"Listen," she interrupted, nodding at the gate.

Jess raised her eyebrows but did as the woman asked and waited. It didn't take long before she heard the sound that she'd been longing to hear for days. With wide eyes she turned to Michonne.

"Yer kiddin' me," she whispered.

Michonne just smiled as the sound got louder and Rick and Carl paused in building their new pen to open the gate again. Jess felt her heart soar when her two horses, came trotting through the gate, Daryl riding her sisters sorrel, and pulling her agitated gray behind him. She smiled as she started a brisk walk to meet them and realized that her horse wouldn't let Daryl ride him so he'd gone to find a saddle for her sisters so he could bring them here.

Daryl hopped off the horse as Rick walked over to hold her and Argo reared back in anger.

"Easy," Daryl growled as he held tight to the reigns.

About halfway down the gravel drive, Jess let out a low whistle and the big grey came down on all four legs, ears forward, and looked for where the sound came from. It only took a few seconds to see his owner and he started practically pulling Daryl toward her for a few seconds before she motioned for the man to let the horse go. He did so reluctantly and the horse trotted to her but he stopped a few feet away, his head low, and nickered as if he could talk to her.

"Hey there, handsome," she cooed as she rubbed the space between his eyes then stepped beside him wrap her good arm around the horses thick neck. The horse nickered at her again and turned his head to nibble her braid, "good ta see ya too, Argo," she whispered as she buried her face in his tangled mane.

She heard Rick and Daryl approach with the other horse and Jess reluctantly let Argo go to check on her. Argo held Jess's braid like it was a lead rope and followed her to the other horse and men, much calmer than when he'd walked in. Nahar accepted the people around her, more so than Argo, so she waited for Jess to come to her, nickering softly at her familiar friend.

"Hey girl," she chuckled as she scratched her soft nose, "thanks fer lettin' Dixon bring y'all here," she whispered but not quietly enough that Daryl and Rick couldn't hear it. The horse nudged Jess softly in response as Jess patted her neck and turned to the man who had brought them to her.

"Thank ya," she nodded as she stood between her horses.

Daryl nodded back at her as he pulled his crossbow farther up on his shoulder.

"Wudden't just me," he nodded towards the awning where everyone gathered to see what Daryl brought back.

"Why would ya do so much fer me?" She asked as her horse bumped into her with his neck over her shoulder.

"We need to talk about that later," Michonne revealed as she came around to stand beside Daryl.

Rick spoke up from behind Daryl.

"For now you can keep them on the fence row up by the guard tower until we can get a pen built for them," he offered and nodded to the area he talked about.

"A course," she agreed as she focused on the area, all thoughts of helping with breakfast gone. She had a lot of work to do with her horses: she needed to get the saddles off and get them brushed down and checked for injuries. Luckily, the saddlebag had stayed on Argo and they had everything she needed to take care of them.

Argo grabbed her hair again as she took Nahar's reins and she led them up the slight incline to the fence. She called out to Daryl behind her shoulder.

"I could use some help gettin' 'em cooled down 'n' these saddles off, peach," she ordered over her shoulder, her ranch manager mentality taking over. She'd rather have his help than Rick's or one of the other men she didn't know as well. She might be accepted by most of the community already but she didn't accept them and the other men still made her a bit nervous.

Rick gave Daryl an odd look as the hunter followed after her with a shrug. He didn't like being bossed around but Jess rarely ever asked for his help so when she did he knew she really needed it. Besides, he had missed just being around her because she was easy to get along with and rarely ever expected anything of him. He also loved to listen to her crazy Texas accent.

When Jess made it to the fence at the guard tower, she looped Nahar's reigns through a link and Argo dropped her hair to stand next to the other horse so she could tie him. Daryl approached slowly, giving her horse a wide berth because he knew it wasn't very happy with him. Jess smirked while she expertly uncinched the special saddle.

"Come 'ere 'n' let me introduce ya," she commanded before she walked around to the right side of her horse to pull the padded girth up so it wouldn't drag the ground. Once she finished, she moved to Argo's head and rubbed his jaw affectionately before backing up to the fence, "come up slow ta his shoulder 'n' put both hands on him."

Daryl gave her a look before doing as she said, slowly and easily he moved to the horse and put his hands on the muscular shoulder and Argo side-stepped. Jess clicked her tongue and the animal turned an ear towards her before turning his head just enough to see Daryl.

"Give 'em a lil' love and he'll slowly let ya inna his small world," she explained as Daryl patted the horses shoulder and neck. Argo looked at Jess and nickered and she laughed, "he said you'll do ta run the river with."

"Whatever, horse whisperer. Yer damn horse is crazy," he growled as Argo began to relax.

Jess stayed quiet for several moments, letting the two get used to each other before she took a few steps forward and took Argo by the head.

"First off, never slight tha horse. Second, ya know ya like 'im, peach," she chuckled before giving him another order. "Aight, he's comfortable 'nough 'round ya now. Go 'head 'n' pull his saddle but grab tha saddlebag first," she advised as she stayed at Argo's head.

Daryl did as she said and he silently untied and pulled the large saddlebag from behind the saddle then walked it over to the fence. Jess smiled at Daryl as he passed, rubbing Argo's muzzle the while he nibbled at her sling. The horse wanted love with both hands.

"Sorry kiddo, gotta lame arm fer while. Yur gonna have ta do with jus' one armed love," she chirped playfully as she watched Daryl go back to pull the saddle off and drop it next to the saddlebag. Jess didn't like that. "Hey peach, careful with tha saddle."

Daryl glared at her as he went back a third time to pull the blanket from the horse's back.

"Ya could be a little thankful for my help," he grumbled as he laid out the blanket to dry.

"I am. More 'en ya know," she admitted softly with a last little rub of Argo's muzzle. She cleared her throat and nodded to the other horse, carefully avoiding looking at Daryl, "if ya go ahead and get 'er saddle off I can do tha rest from 'ere. 'N' don' worry, she loves everyone."

Daryl wasn't dumb, he knew that she got choked up over her horse but he knew better than to tease her at that moment. He just did as she asked and walked around Argo to go take the saddle he'd found off Nahar. Jess went to her saddlebag and pulled out a big brush and began to rub down her horse, who seemed very happy for the attention as he whinnied loudly, drawing more attention from the lunch crowd.

Daryl decided to fill her in quickly on what all they'd brought back from their run besides the horses as he laid the second blanket out to dry. He heard the children chattering loudly and assumed they would be down to see the horses any minute.

"We brought back some hay and stuff for 'em that Herschel said you'd need. Gonna store it in this guard tower," he nodded towards the tower while he leaned up against the fence to watch her work.

"So you went out this mornin' jus' ta find 'em?" She asked before she came around the other side of Argo to continue brushing him.

"We'll tell you why later," he dodged her question when he saw Herschel, Beth, and several of the kids come walking around the corner. Beth carried two buckets of water while one of the older girls carried a bucket with a sponge.

Jess heard the chatter of the children getting closer and she paused her work just long enough to stare at Daryl with eyes that were threatening tears. She waited until he looked at her and with a soft smile she thanked him.

"Really, Daryl, thank ya. I owe ya," she quavered with a voice heavy with emotion.

He held her gaze for several moments before nodding. This was the first time she'd ever said his name and he wanted to kick himself for liking how it sounded in her drawl.

"Hershel's a vet. Let him look 'em over."

With that, he left her alone, and nodded at Herschel as he passed by the group headed to Jess.

"Hello," Herschel smiled as he and Beth approached with the older girl and set their buckets down. "We've got some water for your horses and something to rub them down with. I'd also like to take a look at both of them if you don't mind."

Jess stopped her brushing and walked around Nahar so she could speak with the group.

"And the kids want to help brush them down if it's ok," Beth spoke up from beside her father.

"I'd be much obliged if ya would. Ya can start with Argo since I'm almost done rubbin' 'im down" she offered as she picked up the bucket of water for Argo to speak to beth, "they can rub down Nahar, she's a gentle as a lamb, but Argo is purdy skittish 'round kids. They also need ta be walked fer a bit since I cain't turn 'em out so the kids can ride as you walk 'er."

After she had given the instructions she and Herschel set to work on Argo while Beth taught the kids how to brush Nahar. Jess smiled brightly as she worked with Herschel and Argo and the older man couldn't help but smile as well while he inspected Argo's hooves with Jess's help. Jess had moved her horse further down the fence away from the children so he didn't try and bite at them.

Jess took a moment to introduce herself even though Herschel had been the one to question her on her first night in the prison. She'd been a little out of it back then and wanted to make sure she let him know she respected him.

"We've howdied but we ain't shook yet," she drawled holding out her hand to the older man, "Jessica Davis," she introduced herself formally. If her parents taught her one thing it was respect for her elders and she had a feeling Herschel had earned it without question with how others treated him around the prison.

"Herschel Greene. It's nice to meet you," he responded kindly, taking her hand firmly in his for a shake. It'd been a long time since he heard those kinds of manners from anyone and it didn't surprise him because most Texan's he met during his many years were this polite.

"Same ta ya, Mr. Greene," she nodded before going back to work. There were several silent seconds before Herschel continued talking to her.

"You seem quite happy to have your horses back, Miss Davis," he observed, keeping his polite mannerisms, as he cleaned the rocks and dirt from a shoeless hind hoof while Jess held it up for him.

"Yessir. Nahar was my sisters horse 'n' wouldn't make it on 'er own out there 'n' Argo is tha horse I raised up from a colt. He's my best friend 'n' if he were a man he'd be hog tied 'n' branded," she explained as she set his hoof down.

Herschel smiled down at her.

"He's certainly a magnificent animal," he admired with a pat to the horse's flank, "and he check's out just fine other than the slight saddle sore from having the saddle cinched for so many days. We don't really have anything for it but just keep the spots clean and dry and he should heal up just fine."

"Thank ya, Mr. Greene. He okay fer a cool down," she asked as she walked to Argo's head to remove the harness.

"You're welcome, young lady. Just be careful of the sores," he warned with one last pat on Argo's neck. It took him a second to realize that she was about to ride with as injured as she was, "how're you going to ride him? Need a lift?" He asked.

Jess just smiled as she pulled a long rope tied in a loop from her saddlebag and put it over Argo's head to hang from his neck. The horse pranced happily as she started to walk away from him and he followed. She smiled after she stopped and ran her hands from the horses grey spotted neck down to his knee joints.

"Only death himself could keep me from ridin', Mr. Greene," she called out as the horse bowed it's head before going down on it's front knees then down into a sitting position.

Jess heard the kids chattering behind her about what she did as she slid her leg over Argo's back from his right, wincing a bit at the strain on her injured side, and settled on the horses back easily. She took hold of the guide loop with a handful of his mane and pulled and the horse surged to his feet while Jess sat steadily on top of him.

Argo whinnied loudly as she nudged him into a walk with her knees and she made a tip of her imaginary cowboy hat as she passed Herschel. She was aware of the spectators and if it were any other day, she'd be showing off but she resisted due to her injuries and Argo really needed to cool down. Once she was away from the others, she turned everything else out around her and listened to the rhythm of her horses gait as they walked the fence line of the prison yard.

This gave her some time to think. She wasn't stupid, she knew that there was a reason for them to risk a run to find her horses for her and she had a vague idea what it might be. But whatever their motives were, she was happy to have her horses back with her again. She'd spent many hours over the past few days worrying about them, especially Argo since she'd not been able to get the saddle off of him before she had to leave him. When Daryl had rode through those gates with her horses she had felt a weight lift off her heart.

She smiled as she passed close to the entry gate to the inner prison yard, Daryl stood there with several other people watching her while talking to Carol between bites. Jess loved that he could ride. It was just another one of those things that made him incredibly sexy to her. Her smile turned to a frown as her mind grazed the subject of being with him and she shook her head of those dangerous thoughts. All she had left since her sister died were her horses and finding her parents was top priority. She couldn't let her hormones or emotions get in the way of that. Besides, he, and this whole place, for that matter was just something else she could lose.

After her third lap around the yard, careful to avoid the gravel since she and Herschel had just cleaned his hooves, she decided Argo was not in danger of having his muscles tighten up so she nudged him towards the fence for some water. She quickly pushed thoughts of Daryl to the back of her mind

She tapped his front legs with both her boots he went down into a sitting position again so she could easily slide off. After that, she put his lead back on and tied him to the fence where the bucket of water was clipped to. He protested her leaving by grabbing her braid and pulling, almost making her fall back on her butt.

"Dern it, Argo, I know. I jus' gotta check Nahar," she laughed as she pulled her braid away from him. Argo finally let her go with a with a snort and started drinking from the bucket.

"So how's she lookin', Mr. Greene?" She asked Herschel who inspected Nahar's legs while Beth held them. The children had lost interest in the brushing and had gone back to eating lunch.

"She's got some cuts on her legs that are treatable but other than that she's also quite healthy," he surmised as Beth set the hoof back on the ground, "it must be hard to keep them looking this good during these times," he added.

"Well, I put 'em afore myself, always. 'Take care of yer horse 'n' he'll take care of ya' my Papaw used ta say," she quoted as she put hand on Nahar's neck to steady herself as a wave of dizziness came over her. It'd only been a little over a week and she was still very quick to get tired.

This didn't go unnoticed by Herschel and Beth. They saw how pale she'd become and were afraid that she may have over exerted herself.

"Why don't you go up and have some lunch, I can take care of her for you," Beth offered as she untied Nahar for a walk.

Normally Jess wouldn't let other people take care of her horses but she started to feel a bit weak in her knees and she was afraid she would pass out.

"I thank I might jus' do that," she accepted while she watched Beth walk off with Nahar.

"Your girl's in good hands," Herschel urged as they watched Beth walk with the gentle horse.

"Thank ya again, Mr. Greene," she smiled before turning to head back up to the prison.

"Yes m'am," he nodded while watching her leave.

It took Jess a little longer than she wanted and she was much more shaky by the time she'd returned to the awning which was void of all but Carol, Daryl, and Michonne. She was so unsteady that she had to stop and lean against one of the posts and close her eyes to keep her head from spinning. She startled as she felt Carol's arm underneath hers.

"You look exhausted. Come have a seat and I'll bring you something to eat," the older woman clucked as she helped Jess sit in the seat she'd just vacated at the table with Michonne and Daryl.

Michonne leaned back in her chair, her sword propped against her leg, as she regarded the woman who had just sat before her. Jess certainly looked a little worse for wear but she was also much more relaxed than before her horses showed up and the swords woman smiled, even as she rubbed her sore shoulder.

"You weren't lying about Argo. He's handsome" Michonne chuckled referring to a conversation they'd had a few days ago where Jess had told Michonne about her occupation before the turn. She'd told the story about her handsome Argo and how she'd raised him since the day he was born.

"Ain't he? If he were a man I'd be hitched ta 'im in a heartbeat," she smiled playfully, winking at the woman.

"That's stupid," Daryl grumbled from his seat as he licked the last of his lunch from his fingers.

"I think he's jealous," Michonne teased with a smile.

Jess's smile was so big, her teeth were showing and it reminded Daryl of a coyote showing it's teeth to its prey.

"I thank yer right, Michonne," she paused to lean forward in her chair to give Daryl a scrutinizing look, "you gettin' all worked up over a horse, Dixon?"

"You two be nice to pookie. He's quite fragile you know," Carol chided as she brought Jess a plate of food.

The man being teased stood abruptly and left but not before cursing Jess.

"See if I ever do anything nice for you again, bitch," he grumbled angrily as he slung his crossbow over his shoulder and stomped off.

The two woman with Jess tensed at Daryl's reaction until Jess started laughing so loud it turned heads. She enjoyed getting under his skin but she was glad she made him mad enough to leave and not answer her question. Especially since she started to have a bit of Cinderella complex when it came to Daryl.

Jess's smile went away as she focused on eating. She really needed to get out of the prison and back on track to find her parents before she became too attached to this place and its people.


	6. Chapter 6: Give It A Go

Later that day Jess was out by her horses at the fence, reading her book on a little pallet she'd made out of blankets and her saddle. She'd pulled her arm free of it's sling and was doing little exercises that the doctor had told her to try to help bring back her range of motion as she read when Herschel came looking for her.

He stopped by Nahar who had turned her head to him and patted the horse's neck.

"You look happy," he commented as he continued to show Nahar some affection.

"Yessir, as happy as a hog in mud," she joked as she shut her book.

The older man smiled down at her as Nahar went back to grazing. He was growing fond of what everyone was calling her 'Texisms'.

"I'm glad," he paused as he stepped around the sorrel to speak more directly to the woman on the ground, "I hate to ask you to move since you look so comfortable but we're about to have a meeting and we'd like for you to join us."

Jess raised her eyebrow at him as she shut her book and slipped her arm back into its sling.

"Is this one a yer council meetin's?" She asked as she put her book into her backpack.

Herschel offered his hand to help her up.

"We've got some stuff to talk to you about," he informed as she took it and he pulled her up easily.

She winced at having to move but was otherwise fine as she stood. She readjusted her sling on her shoulder as she spoke.

"Jus' don' ask me ta take tha ring ta Mordor," she jested as she followed him up the hill.

"What?" He asked as he glanced over at her. Jess just laughed.

"Sorry, Lord of the Ring's reference. On yer fourth read through ya find yerself slippin' it inna conversations," she explained as they approached the gate where Michonne was waiting to open it for them. She closed it behind Herschel and Jess and they all headed for the awning.

Jess's mood suddenly changed when she turned and saw the members of the council waiting for her under the awning. The air around them was serious and maybe a bit ominous but Jess couldn't put her finger on it. She approached the group as Carol gave her a reassuring smile and indicated that she should sit next to her. As Jess took her seat, she caught the disgruntled look on Daryl's face who was standing close behind Carol, leaning against a pillar. Whatever they were about to talk about didn't sit well with him for whatever reason.

Herschel called the meeting to order.

"Good morning, everyone. We called this meeting together for our newcomer, Miss Davis," he began while smiling at her, "just so we can get to know you better, do you mind telling us a little about yourself?"

Jess looked around the small group as she spoke confidently from her seat, not wanting to speak above them. Even though she kind of felt like she'd just been pulled into an AA meeting, what could it hurt?

"My name's Jessica Davis 'n' I was a rancher from tha Hill Country a Texas," she greeted as she acted like she was tipping her hat at them, "nice ta meet y'all."

She thought she could give them a little more about herself but the ones she cared to know about here already did.

"Same to you Miss Davis. Daryl and Carol plead your case and we have decided to welcome you officially to our little community. You're welcome to come and go as you please and are welcome to stay as long as you like."

Jess looked at Carol, who was beaming at her, and the cowgirl nodded her thanks to the woman. When she went to do the same with Daryl, she noticed he was looking anywhere but at her so she turned her attention back to Herschel.

"That being said, we have a request for you," he continued nervously before looking at Michonne. The swordswoman took the floor.

"You remember me telling you about the Governor?"

Jess nodded grimly. The story of how crazy the Governor was with what he'd done to them and how he'd killed Michonne's friend was a hard one to hear. She couldn't imagine going through all of what this group had over the past year.

"I want to start making longer trips out to search for him," Michonne continued, "and after talking with the rest of the council I've decided to take on your approach to traveling out alone by using a horse."

Jess instantly bristled. There was no way that they were going to take her horses from her.

"I appreciate ev'rathang y'all've done fer me but I cain't let y'all have my horses. I'd be dead without 'em," she interrupted, emotion thick in her voice. She'd just gotten them back.

"Easy, Jess. We know how much your horses mean to you," Carol said as she placed a comforting hand on the upset woman. "Just hear us out first."

Jess took a deep breath and nodded. She did tend to get a little overprotective when it came to her horses.

"Carol told us that you were a ranch manager back in Texas and could help us find our own," Herschel explained.

Jess looked between Michonne and Carol as she thought about the offer. Finding them a horse could be troublesome. She wasn't accustomed to how the horses had been trained in the area or where they might be able to find one. She'd have to be almost back to one hundred percent before she went out there to re-break a horse that abandoned for three years. All this meant she'd have to stay with them longer than she had intended. Then again, she did owe them her life and owe them for getting her horses back to her.

"I know a thang or two 'bout horses. Yer right 'bout going it alone with a horse. It's quiet, fast, 'n' a good horse'll alert you to danger you cain't see nor hear." She paused again, "but actually findin' a good'n is gonna be like tryin' ta bag flies. Ain't no tellin' how bad off a horse'll be with no tendin' ta since tha turn." It took her a few moments to actually give into what she knew would be the right thing to do. She really did owe these people and could get them a horse then be on her way in a few weeks. Finally, she smiled at Herschel, "but seein' as I owe y'all my life and you got a good vet here I reckon I'll give it a go once I can get back in tha saddle."

The old man smiled gently at the younger cowgirl.

"Thank you, Miss Davis," he nodded with a smile before he turned to the rest of the group. "Anybody have anything else to say or ask Jess while we have her here?"

After a few moments of silence, the older man ended the meeting.

"Well, unless anyone has anything else they need to bring up, that's all we needed to meet for."

With that, everyone went in their own directions except for Michonne who came over to talk to Jess about riding.

* * *

A week had passed since the meeting and Jess was finally free of the sling and already using her bow again. She'd had to dial back the tension so she could use it, which made the bow lose half of it's power, but it was still taught enough to kill a walker. She was glad to have it's weight back on her shoulder along with her quiver and she'd taken to walking around the prison with it slung across her body if there was any need for it. One of the other residents had challenged her to a contest but she had declined and told them she'd need another few days of recovery.

Every day that passed, Jess felt more and more that she may have found a place to belong in this crazy new world. Everyone here liked her and she fit right in. It was like working back on the ranch but without the responsibility of leadership. Even though she still needed to find her parents, she found out from Michonne who showed her on a map that she wasn't very far from the place her parents had last called her from three years ago.

Jess was sad that Erin hadn't made it to this point with her because she would have liked these people and the safety of the prison. They would have sat alone with the horses and Erin would have teased Jess about the little crush she had on Daryl. Jess was never very good at hiding things from her sister. Erin would also be able to tell that even though Jess had a crush on Daryl, she would see how terrified Jess would be if she were to act on those feelings. One main reason would be because of their run in with the cutting freaks back in Mississippi. Even though the experience had caused her trauma, the loss of her sister had overshadowed that tenfold. Her despair would have killed her if her sister hadn't given her a reason to go on and hope, no matter how false it was, that their parents may still be alive and that Jess had to find them. Now if she were to lose someone like Carol or Michonne or even Daryl she didn't know how she would be able to handle it. However much Jess wished she had left the prison the moment her horses returned and told herself that she wouldn't care, she couldn't help but be happy with these people and she would cling to these moments for as long as she was there.

It amazed Jess how fast these people had taken her in as one of their own and how she had accepted that. Two weeks ago she couldn't wait to get away from them and now she would be sad to leave them to finish the search for her parents. Maybe if she found them they could all return here to live out the rest of their lives. She knew how likely it was that she would actually find her parents alive but it's something she tried not to dwell on too much. She just wasn't ready to accept that she'd lost her whole family.

Jess sighed as she watched Michonne practice her horseback riding with Nahar around the empty field. She could feel a presence next to her and his quiet cough pulled her back from her thoughts and into reality.

"Afternoon, Dixon," she greeted, careful to keep her eyes forward.

Ever since the council meeting he'd avoided her as much as he could and she had done the same. Jess knew that getting close to Daryl was a very bad idea despite her huge, teenage crush on him. However juvenile her feelings were, she wasn't some hormone driven teenager, and she knew what getting into a relationship these days could mean and she felt she wasn't ready for it. Besides, since the avoidance was mutual, she just chalked it up to he felt the same way or just didn't like her.

Daryl didn't waste any time getting right down to his point.

"I'm goin' huntin' in the mornin'," he paused as he shifted, "you up for goin'? Got some ideas on where to find a horse."

Jess considered his offer carefully. She knew she should have kept her distance from Daryl but he did know the area better than she did and he could help her find a horse faster than she could on her own. She was also beginning to get antsy inside the fences of the prison and was ready for an excuse to get to ride again.

Jess cut her eyes over at the man and found he was staring at her, waiting for her answer. She shifted nervously under his gaze.

"Fine with me, jus' gotta clear it with the doc," she shrugged, trying to play off how nervous she was about going into the world again when she wasn't back to her full strength.

"We leave at dawn," he stated simply as he turned and walked away.

Jess scowled as she watched the Dixon walk confidently back up to the prison. Tomorrow would be a long day.

* * *

**A/N: Just a reminder to check my profile for updates and notes! Also, I am always thankful of Favs, Reviews, Follows, and views. It gives me the motivation and determination to work on this fic for you guys. 3**


	7. Chapter 7: Fall Off The Turnip Truck

In the early hours of the next morning Jess woke to feel of Argo's hot breath on her face. Around mid day the day before, Rick and a few other men finished building a stable area for her and the horse and since she missed sleeping around her horses, she decided to pack her stuff up and move out there for a few days. Rick saw her headed out there with her stuff the night before and had kindly brought her extra blankets for padding on the hard ground.

Jess and Rick had come to a silent understanding of each other. From what Carol had told her, he'd been through a lot and had recently backed down as the leader of the group because of his children. She realized that the poor man was just trying to hold himself and his family together, just like she wished she could have done with hers, and he'd taken it upon himself to help take care of her. She reciprocated his help by teaching Carl how to ride Nahar and helped Rick plant some of the crops.

The cowgirl stretched where she laid in the corner where she'd made a pallet of hay topped with the blankets Rick had given her and sat up as Argo immediately started nibbling her ear.

"I'm up, I'm up," she told her horse as she rubbed his jaw affectionately, "Guess my days a sleepin' 'til dawn er over. Dern Kookoo clock."

Back before the turn, Jess was always up hours before daylight to help clean the barn stalls and prep the horses for whatever work needed to be done that day. Even back then, she'd sleep out close to Argo often because she'd been building a bond with him and he would wake her up every morning she slept close to him. She smiled up at her best friend, knowing she was a lucky girl to have such a good horse.

She quickly got up and brushed through her hair that she'd let down the night before and set to braiding it back into a loose braid. Jess finished with the fishtail over her shoulder and quickly pulled her flannel shirt back over her tank top and buttoned the bottom three buttons when she heard someone approaching. Once she was satisfied her scars were covered, she fished her black leather riding chaps from her bag and stepped out into the cool morning air. She knew the day would warm up quick and she'd be out of the shirt by noon but she didn't want to be too exposed to the chill of the morning or her scars visible to everyone else at the prison.

Jess let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Daryl was her only early morning visitor.

"Brought breakfast," Daryl grumbled as he held out a plastic bag with beef jerky as the cowgirl smiled while she clipped the bitless reigns to each side of Argo's halter.

"Just like a trail ride. Beef jerky fer breakfast. All we're missin' is tha coffee," she sighed wistfully as she tossed the riding blanket on Argo's back. She saw Daryl hold up a thermos.

"Don't never say I didn't get ya nutin," he teased while he waved the coffee filled metal canister at her.

"I'm cookin' on tha front burner today! Yer my hero," she exclaimed as she came around Argo to take the food and coffee from him. He tried to hold his scowl.

"I ain't no hero, woman," he growled handing over the items.

Jess practically had to bite her tongue so she wouldn't say that he was everyone's hero. Underneath all that redneck bravado, he had a heart of gold and she knew he'd lay his life down for any one of those people in the prison. Jess poured herself a quick cup of coffee and took a piece of jerky to chew on as she watched Daryl stand there.

"Hhorse ain't gonna saddle itself, peach," she teased.

"Shut up, Tex," he grumbled as he pulled Nahar's riding blanket off the fence. Jess looked at him in surprise as he tossed the blanket and saddle on the chestnut horse expertly. A redneck that knew how to saddle and ride? Be still heart. He may not have the mannerisms of a cowboy and she was glad for it because she liked rough and a little aloof even if he was a little grumpy.

They worked in silence until their horses were ready to go and Jess disappeared back into the barn to gear up. She slid her gun into a holster on her belt next to her tactical knife, stuck her extra clips into her saddlebag and one in the pocket of her pullover, and slung her quiver across her body. She chose to leave the machete behind because it would just weigh her down more than she already was and her tactical knife would be enough anyway. She carried her bow back to Argo just as Rick appeared to let them through the gate and metal doors.

"You guys ready?" The farmer asked.

Jess checked her saddle cinch one last time before she easily pulled herself up and settled in with her bow in one hand and the reins in the other. She smiled at the feeling of home and Argo whinnied like was glad to have her on his back. Daryl looked over at the horse and rider and couldn't help the near smile. He hadn't seen anyone that happy in a long time.

"I'd be more worried 'bout Daryl if I's you," she joked with a wink.

Rick laughed at her as he let her go to open the gate.

"I heard that," the hunter grumbled from his mount, pulling his crossbow from his back to rest on his leg.

"Ya sure ya know how ta ride, peach? This ain't gon' be no trail ride," she taunted as she pulled up beside him to wait for the gate.

"Just try and keep up," he retorted as the gate opened and he kicked Nahar forward into a trot.

Jess grinned wildly at his challenge as she squeezed Argo with her heels and he shot off into a run. She heard the gates close behind her and she blew past Daryl and went several feet before shifting in the saddle and Argo cut hard left to turn around. Horse and rider trotted back to Daryl and Nahar to circle around them tauntingly.

"That's my line, Dixon," she grinned as she fell in beside him.

"I ain't never bringin' you coffee again," the man mumbled as he lead the way.

He knew she was excited to be back out of the prison gates and he didn't blame her. If she was anything like him, and he felt she was, being closed into one place for too long tended to drive him crazy. This was also her first real ride in over two weeks and he wondered if she'd ever been off a horse for that long before as he looked over at the expression of pure joy on her face. At least the new world didn't take that away from her like it'd done with everything else.

After about two hours of riding they came upon the river where Daryl and Jess had first met each other but much farther downstream. Daryl carefully guided Nahar down the drop off to walk to the edge of the water while Jess watched with amusement. The way he'd tensed in the saddle and how slow he guided Nahar to move had her wonder if he'd been thrown before. She'd seen it often enough, casual riders that became overly cautious doing anything but walking, trotting, or running a horse in a straight line after being thrown.

Jess just smiled as he turned in the saddle as horse and rider stood at the water's edge to giver her a "hurry up" look. She smirked mischievously at him as she nudged Argo and he did a running leap down the four-foot drop. Argo pranced happily towards Nahar to stand a few feet next to her without Jess's direction. When the rider looked up at Daryl she see his eyebrows drawn together in aggravation. Was he jealous?

He motioned for her to come closer so they could talk and Jess pressed her right heel into her horse's side and Argo sidestepped until Jess's leg brushed Daryl's. He spoke quietly to her as he kept his eyes on their surroundings.

"Some properties we can check on the other side," he nodded toward the direction he mentioned. "We can hunt then look for a horse after we get clear of the trees."

Jess just shrugged.

"This yer territory, lead on," she admitted while she pulled her shirt off to tie around her waist as the day became much hotter, uncaring if Daryl saw her scars again.

Daryl didn't say anything, he just kicked Nahar ahead and pulled his crossbow from around his shoulder to rest on his leg again, ready for hunting. Jess adjusted her grip on her bow and grabbed Argo's reigns as she gave him the command to follow.

Daryl carefully kept his eyes off of Jess as she pulled off her shirt because he would have let his eyes linger for longer than he should. Not in a bad way, but in a way that would have given away his carnal thoughts about her. Her scars didn't bother him, in fact, he thought they were a brand of how strong she was and how she'd lived through the worst of experiences.

Daryl pulled himself from his thoughts as they reached the other side and they needed to start the hunt which required concentration. Jessica pulled out an arrow and notched it as they started making their way through the silent woods. They walked the horses slow, side by side except to guide around trees so they could tap each other if they saw something. Hunting was much harder with the horses as they weren't quiet when they walked like humans but it's not like they could leave them. Besides, rabbit and squirrel hunting didn't require as much stealth as deer hunting.

They spent the next several hours hunting and checking barns and fields for any sign of horses. They were more lucky with the hunt as they both had a nice string of animals that hung from their pommel where as the horse hunt wasn't as lucky. They'd found a few dead horses and indications of recent activity but came up empty on the search.

When the sun started to move toward the horizon, they decided it was time to turn around and head back.

"We got enough, let's go," Daryl said quietly as he turned Nahar around and Jess followed suit.

After about thirty minutes of navigating back through the forest, Jess was a little tired of the silence.

"Squirrels'll make a nice stew," Jess offered as she followed his lead.

"Yup," he stated as they moved.

They let the horses navigate them through the trees and kept them pointing in the right direction and it didn't take long for them to see the river through the trees.

"So ya ever been thrown 'fore," Jess asked from atop Argo behind Daryl and Nahar.

"No," he growled as he stepped Argo down the embankment.

"We didn't just fall off'a turnip truck, peach. He can smell it 'n' I can tell by how ya ride," she teased with a wink.

"Damn horse," he grumbled over his shoulder at her.

He would never admit it out loud but he enjoyed her teasing because he knew it meant she at least liked him enough to do so. It was nice to have someone to banter with every once in a while, even though he was a man of few words.

"Don' listen ta 'im Argo. He's just jealous," she chuckled with a pat on Argo's neck and a smile in his direction as they started across the river side by side.

She knew that she got dangerously close to flirting but she didn't care. She hadn't had this much fun in a long time. There was good company and horseback riding which had been two of her favorite things before the turn and she hadn't had both since her sister died.

"Shu-"

His sentence cut off as the air echoed with a deafening sound of a high-powered rifle.


	8. Chapter 8: Blind Man Crossing The Street

Before either horses or riders could react, Nahar's leg went out from under Daryl and she started to fall. Daryl tried to pull his leg away as he fell but he wasn't fast enough and Nahar fell on her side in the ankle-deep water, Daryl's leg trapped beneath her.

"Daryl!" Jess yelled as she leapt off Argo, who was making a big fuss about the noise and other horse going down, and tried to keep the horse between the treeline and the two of them. She kept a watch on the trees over the horse, her eyes scanned for where the shot came from with an arrow already notched in the string ready to shoot.

Daryl waited in the cool water for Nahar to get back up and when the horse didn't move after a few seconds he started trying to push her off his leg. It was then Jess noticed, out of the corner of her eye, the horse wasn't getting up and couldn't help her near panic. Despite this, she had enough mind to keep an eye out for their attacker, praying that he wouldn't shoot at Argo as well.

"Where tha hell did that come from?" Daryl asked as he shifted and wiggled to try to get free.

"I dunno. Be still," she ordered quietly as she spared a glance down at the fallen horse who wasn't moving except to breath. It was then that she saw the blood swirl in the water from a bullet wound right below the horse's neck. She struggled to keep her emotions under control when she realized her sister's horse had been fatally wounded. She couldn't hide her anger however.

"Show yerself," Jess yelled over Argo at whoever shot at them, her voice laden with emotion.

Surprisingly, Jess saw movement in the trees but it wasn't where she thought the shot had come from. Her heart skipped a few beats as she saw walkers stumbling down the embankment on the side of the river they headed to which was the way back to the prison. Daryl struggled to get his leg free while walkers headed for them and there was a crazy fool who had a gun on them. How would they get out of this one?

"Just go," Daryl commanded angrily from the ground as he looked over at the dozen or so walkers headed towards them.

That was the moment Jess lost it and fell back to that wild nature that had become prevalent in her time alone after her sister died. She was losing one friend today, she wasn't about to lose her new friend as well.

"Like hellfire," she growled as she took her eyes of the treeline and moved to help Daryl, no longer caring that it exposed her. The second she was visible to their attacker, another shot rang out and Daryl froze as he watched Jess stumble awkwardly, dropping her bow in the process.

Jess growled as she went low to the water, scrambling around to push Daryl down behind her fallen horse.

"Jess?" Daryl asked looking up at her with concerned eyes, afraid he'd been shot.

"Just a graze," she whispered as she lay on top of him.

They waited several minutes, their breathing heavy and synced, waiting to hear another shot but none came. By this time, Jess was shaking from the rush of adrenaline mixed with her fear for her horses. Argo was prancing around wildly a few feet away attracting the walkers attention while Nahar slowly bled out into the water.

Jess's anxiety go the best of her at the thought of her horses dying and she tried to push away from Daryl to face their attacker. He fought to hold her still.

"Damn it woman, do you want to get shot again?" He hissed angrily holding her as best he could with one arm, his other attached to his crossbow.

"I don' care," she spat angrily as she struggled against him.

"I do," Daryl claimed.

Jess finally quit struggling as she looked down at him, her hair wet from falling into the stream with him, with loose strands stuck to her face, and her light brown eyes wide with a mixture of emotions as his breath brushed over her face. Damn him, Jess thought as she tried to get her emotions under control.

"I'm open ta suggestions," she sneered, reaching for her bow that she dropped a few feet from her. She couldn't get her fingers on it so Daryl let her go to reach and grab it for her. He pressed it into her hand as he leaned up with her on top of him to chanced a peak over Nahar's side at the forest where he'd assumed the shot had come from. He growled when he noticed that the sniping bastard was making his way down the embankment. He must have thought he'd taken both of them down and was coming out thinking it was safe.

Daryl pressed Jess closer to him and leaned up to whisper in her ear.

"He's comin'."

Jess nodded, reaching her arm over her shoulder to put a hand on an arrow. She couldn't see the man in her position but Daryl could and as soon as Daryl gave the word, she'd lean up so they could both take a shot. She felt him shift beneath her to get ready to sit up and aim at their attacker and she grabbed him before he sprung into action. She looked at him with those wild eyes he remembered from their first meeting.

"I'm killin' 'im," she ordered flatly. He could tell that she was thinking emotionally but he agreed with her nonetheless. Their attacker had no qualms with shooting at them and her horses and it was kill or be killed.

"What about you," the hunter asked with concern barely showing. He knew that she'd gone up against men before but this man had a long distance rifle and all she just had her pistol, knife, and bow.

"I can take care'a myself," she spat angrily. Daryl's eyes narrowed and she could see the wheels turning in his head, "Ya just get yerself free."

Without warning, Daryl sat up, pushing her off him in the process, aimed, and shot an arrow, not giving Jess a chance to back him up. Jess didn't get up fast enough to see but she heard the man cry out and the gun go off again. Just as she got to her knees, she saw the man go down in the water. Without any further communication, she left Daryl under the fallen horse to disarm the wounded man while nervously keeping her eyes on the growing amount of walkers.

Daryl pushed as hard as he could on Nahar and he felt his pinned leg shift and with one more push he was free. He looked up just in time to see a walker bearing down on him and he quickly dodged the falling walker and drive his knife into the back of its head.

The hunter grunted as he stood to take stock of his surroundings while reloading his bow. With all the commotion that Argo had made and the gunshots, there were now about three dozen ambling toward the living beings at the river.

After he'd taken down three more walkers that were getting too close to him for comfort he heard another shot, this time a pistol. He looked over at the fallen man to see the cowgirl as she pointed her gun at the ground and the shooter had a bullet through his head. Jess quickly put her gun away and started fighting her way through the walkers back to Daryl and Nahar.

Once she knew Daryl was on his feet and fighting and there was no more threat of being shot all Jess could think about was killing anything that got between her and Nahar. She fought wildly and it cost her. She was just a few feet away from Nahar when she felt something wrap around her left ankle. When she looked down she saw a rotting hand around it and a walkers teeth just a few feet away from her leg. She tried to jerk her leg away from the dead woman who was trying to take a bite out of her but the walker held firm and Jess's ankle twisted in an odd way and she felt her ankle stretch beyond its means. She let out an angry cry as she fell and the walker leaned up and sunk her teeth in Jess's leg.

Daryl looked over just in time to see the walker bite into Jess.

"Jess!" He yelled as he leapt over the fallen Nahar and took a shot at the dead woman. His bolt hit dead on and lodged in the walkers head just above its left eye. Daryl killed a few more walkers with his knife that were getting close before he kneeled down next to Jess to see where she was bitten.

"I'm fine, didn't get through tha chaps," she revealed and Daryl couldn't help his relief. He thought he would have to put a bullet in her brain here.

"Can ya stand," he asked while he inspected her to make sure she wasn't really bit.

Without answering, she awkwardly scrambled to her feet and began making her way over to the dying Nahar. The first time she tried to put weight on her twisted ankle it screamed at her so she had to resort to a limp the rest of the way to her sister's horse. Once she was there she knelt in front of Nahar and rubbed the horses muzzle. Jess finally let the tears fall because she realized she was about to lose the last living connection she had to Erin.

"I'm sorry, girl," Jess choked as she looked up to see two more walkers almost upon her. Before she could pull an arrow, Daryl was there to protect her.

"We gotta go," he growled while he pulled his knife from his latest kill.

Jess just nodded while she pulled her pistol from the holster at her back. With one last pat of the horses muzzle, Jess put the gun between Nahar's eyes and pulled the trigger. Argo, who was about fifty feet away, let out the horse equivalent to a scream and reared back. He knew what just happened and Nahar's death hurt him just as much as it did Jess.

Daryl heard the scene unfold as he took down the walkers around them and nearly jumped at the sound of the gun and Argo's outburst. He knew how hard this was for her because he knew what Nahar meant to her.

It took Jess a second to recover from what she'd just done before she stood up on her one good leg with a whistle to Argo. She holstered her gun again and pulled an arrow to take care of a another walker that was getting close. The look on her face was blank as she started to limp towards her horse.

The walkers were closing on them as Argo trotted up to her, his head hung low, and didn't stop. As he passed her, Jess switched her bow to her right hand and grabbed the pommel with her left and leapt into the saddle with ease, only using the leg that hadn't been injured as the other couldn't hold any of her weight. She immediately rode towards Daryl, shooting down the walkers that got in her way, using her knees pressed against her horse's side to stay steady.

"Dixon," she called out as she rode up to him and removed her foot from the stirrup so he could climb up behind her and shot a walker that was dangerously close in the process.

"Hang on," she cautioned as soon as she felt his arm come around her to grab the pommel. She kicked Argo into a full run down the river, letting Argo take over dodging the walkers in their way, while Daryl jostled behind her.

A few hundred yards down stream, Jess felt they were out of danger and slowed Argo to a walk. She could feel Daryl relax behind her and let go of the saddle to reload his bow awkwardly.

"Ya okay," she asked as she patted Argo's neck. She tried her best to block what she'd just don't to her sister's horse but her walls crumbled quickly. Daryl answered her question as he thought she spoke to him.

"Fine. You?" He rested his bow on his leg as he watched their surroundings, talking calmly as if they didn't just have a near death experience.

"All thang's considered, I'll survive," she replied honestly as she pulled her quiver from around her body and throw it over the pommel with the squirrels and rabbits to make it more comfortable for both the riders.

Daryl took a moment to check her for the wound from being shot by the bastard that'd killed Nahar. When he finally saw the blood, he was relieved to see that it had only been a graze like she'd said, an open wound about three inches long and less than an inch deep. It had already stopped bleeding and would be easily treatable.

It took about thirty minutes of silent riding before he practically felt the adrenaline leave her system and she slumped in the saddle, the severity of what she'd done caught up to her. She shivered and he heard her try to take deep breaths as she placed a notched arrow back in her quiver.

This didn't go unnoticed by Daryl and he'd seen this happen many times. She was in shock. Daryl slung his crossbow strap across his chest and spoke.

"Want help," he asked her permission quietly.

It took a few moments for Jess to realize what Daryl was asking and even when she did, she still hesitated. He knew she was in shock and he was offering to help her in some way. Because she was so conflicted emotionally and mentally, she accepted.

Jess nodded her head and now that he had her permission, he hesitantly wrapped one of his arms around her waist to help hold her up and offer some sort of comfort. He was never really very good at this type of thing but he was the only one around and if he didn't calm her down she'd probably end up on the ground.

Jess tensed and jerked like she was about to elbow him in the stomach but she was able to stop herself and, after a few minutes, relaxed a little. Even though she knew he would touch her, she'd still reacted as if she he would assault her. Her every instinct was to fight back at a man's touch, even when she knew it would come and the only reason she hadn't when Daryl carried her out of the store to save her was because she was too weak to react to him. Despite the initial need to fight back to his touch this time, she smiled when the feeling of safety washed over her in his embrace which was something she hadn't felt for a very long time. She knew it was dangerous because she this made her feel more attached to Daryl but she couldn't bring herself to push him away no matter how hard her head and instincts were screaming at her to do so.

They rode in silence for a long time while Daryl held her. After about thirty minutes, Jess stilled and her breathing finally went back to normal. The Dixon decided she'd calmed down and he began to move his arm from around her when he felt her hand press his arm back against her. She didn't want him to let go yet. He could feel something shift and he knew things between them had changed.

"Better?" He whispered in a gravely voice as he leaned forward over her shoulder to see her face, letting his other arm slip around her, causing them to be pressed even closer to each other.

Jess quickly turned away from him and took a deep, shuddering breath, and felt that things between the two of them had changed.

"A little," she whispered, making sure he couldn't see her face. She may be okay with his touch but she wasn't ready for him to see her mourn. That was just too intimate.

She was crying, he thought as he leaned his head back away from her to give her some space. He understood her need to grieve, even if it was over a horse. He knew Nahar had belonged her sister and even raised the horse specifically for her sister to ride. The loss of the sorrel mare must have devastated her, especially having to put Nahar down in the middle of walkers who would feast on her dead body. Despite her loss, he was glad it hadn't been Argo. He couldn't think about what she would have done in that situation had it been her own beloved horse to die.

However, the incident had risen his respect for Jess tenfold because despite the danger and emotional blow, she'd acted to save their lives. He knew from the moment he'd met her she was tough but today just proved to him how much.

"Thanks for not leavin' my ass," he whispered softly as they passed through the trees and Jess couldn't help the contented sigh at the feel of his voice rumbling against her back.

It took her several moments but she did answer him.

"I couldn't leave ya if I wanted ta," she responded without thinking. She quickly realized her mistake and hastily changed the subject, "now I only owe ya one."

He wanted to come back with a snarky comment but he just didn't have it in him so he let the opportunity fall into silence.

Jess's tears dried while she tried to not pick apart what she'd done to Nahar. She'd go mad if she tried to think of ways she could have saved her sister's horse. Thankfully, there sat a good distraction behind her with his arms around her. She tried to focus on his warmth and how comfortable she was this close to him because at the moment, it hurt less than when she thought about her recent loss. When he'd put his arm around her she'd been surprised but it hadn't taken long for her to realize he just wanted to help. She hadn't expected the Dixon to comfort her this way but she wasn't about to complain.

"I had to put down my brother, Merle," he confessed quietly which pulled Jess out of her thoughts in surprise.

Jess turned her head to see his face out of the corner of her eye. He had a distant look as he continued.

"Governor said if we gave up Michonne, he'd leave us alone. We were gonna do it then we didn't. Merle thought we should so he took her. 'Bout halfway there, he let her go. I went after him. By the time I got there, he was dead. The Governor had shot him in the heart so he'd turn."

She felt his arms tighten slightly around her as they came to the long gravel road that lead to the prison. He didn't have to finish his story, she knew what he had to do and how hard it was. She'd done the same thing with Erin. There were several moments of silence before she placed the reins on the saddle and laid her arm over his while she leaned further back into him.

It was the closest thing to a hug she could give him. Sometimes people just needed closeness of others for comfort and she could feel that's what Daryl tried to give her. She could tell that he tried to bond with her, just like she would have bonded with a horse, and her mind screamed at her to get away from him but her body gave into his request for comfort because she realized she needed it. Instead of a Texism, she was reminded of a line from The Lord of the Rings that she read through so many times.

"His grief he will not forget; but it will not darken his heart, it will teach him wisdom," she imparted the quote to him.

He didn't respond to her but he knew what she tried to do and despite how lame it was, he was glad she said it. He didn't feel too smart though.

It wasn't long before they approached the prison and Daryl reluctantly let her go to pull his crossbow from around him for if they needed to take care of walkers. Jess was a little sad at the loss of his warmth and she stiffened in the saddle as she shifted Argo into a trot.

"You take care of Argo, I'll talk to the others," Daryl ordered quietly before he let out a whistle to get the others to open the gate.

The walkers had all gone up to the fence where they cleaned the build up so Jess was able to trot Argo through the gates with ease. She didn't say anything as she gave Daryl the stirrup and he was able to dismount easily and grab the string of rodents from the pommel. Rick and Carl had opened the gate and Glenn had come out of the tower to greet them.

"Where's Nahar," Carl asked innocently as Jess rode off before she had to answer the question.

She heard Daryl start to explain what happened as she walked Argo into the pen that Carol ran to open for her. Jess slipped her foot back into the stirrup to dismount and she was reminded of her injured ankle. She hissed through her teeth and pulled her leg back out of the stirrup and slung her right leg awkwardly over Argo's neck and carefully slid off to land with her weight on her right foot.

Carol noticed how Jess dismounted and came around the outside of the pen after closing it to check on her.

"What's wrong, Jess?" She asked as she looked down at how the cowgirl was putting all of her weight on her right foot while she started uncinching the saddle to give her horse some relief.

"Thank I sprained my ankle," she explained through clinched teeth while she pulled the saddlebag off Argo's back and hobbled to the fence to throw it over. She finally set her bow down to lean against the fence and her quiver over a post above it and paused as she took some steadying breaths while she leaned heavily against Argo. It seemed like she hurt everywhere and all she wanted to do was curl up with Argo and ride out the pain of her ankle and her loss. Just as she was about to attempt to pull the saddle off Argo's back, Daryl reappeared with Carl and Rick. It was the farmer that stopped her.

"Jess, why don't you let Carl and I finish that. You need to have the doctor take a look at you," Rick urged quietly from beside Carol on the other side of the fence.

Daryl regarded her carefully as she rested her forehead against her horses sweaty shoulder. Argo turned and grabbed her braid between his teeth as if he was agreeing with Rick's offer.

"We'll be real careful," Carl reassured.

Jess limped a few steps towards Argo's head and rubbed between his eyes affectionately as she responded.

"I'm not leavin' 'im," she threatened in a low voice.

"They can handle it. You need to see the doc," Daryl coaxed from behind her impatiently while he buckled his crossbow across his chest to rest on his back. She would find an excuse to stay out with her horse if he didn't push her.

Jess watched him approach to her and practically fell into him as Argo nudged her with his large head towards the man. She reached out instinctively and grabbed Daryl's forearm to steady herself as she couldn't put weight on her foot without pain.

"Stinkin' crowbait," she curse as the horse let go of her braid to nicker at her.

Since she was already touching him, Daryl thought it would be safe to put her arm on his shoulder while he slipped his around her waist to help support her. Daryl relaxed in relief as Jess gave in.

"Ahight, just let Herschel take a look at 'im after yer done," Jess insisted to Rick as Daryl started to pull her towards the gate.

Daryl caught Carol's eye as she opened the gate and nodded his head towards the stable for her to get Jess's bag. The cowgirl was going to be stuck inside the prison again for the next couple of days at least with her bum ankle, bullet wound, and whatever damage she could have done to her healing injuries. The older woman nodded and made sure they were halfway up the hill before she went in for Jess's stuff.

The injured woman leaned heavily into Daryl as they finally made it back into cellblock C. When they reached the stairs up to the cell she'd made her own since her first day at the prison she looked up at the man next to her.

"De ja vu," she sighed in frustration, "I cain't catch a break, can I?"

"Seems so," he answered both the statement and question as he picked her up bridal style and started up the stairs.

She didn't protest this time though. In fact, she kept her arm around his shoulders and relaxed into him completely. If it hadn't been because she was injured, she would have loved how easily he held her now and how she had become accustomed enough to his touch not to react violently even though she would still flinch or tense. When they reached the top, he set her back down carefully on her good leg and they made the rest of the way back to her cell.

He helped her sit on her bed gingerly and knelt before her to inspect the boot on her injured foot. He gently pressed on the boot to see how swollen her ankle was.

"That's gonna hurt like a bitch," he concluded.

"Ya ain't kiddn'," she agreed as she rubbed her sore shoulder.

"Hurtin'," Daryl asked.

"Lil sore but not as bad as my side'r ankle," she answered honestly.

He reached around her back with one hand and started to massage her shoulder to help work out the tightness. This time at his unexpected touch, she barely tensed before she welcomed it. He couldn't do anything about her ankle or side but he could help ease the pain in her shoulder. Jess couldn't help the relieved sigh that escaped her at how easily he worked out the tense muscles and how great it felt. He stopped when heard footsteps on the stairs up to their level and she rolled her shoulder.

"Thanks," she whispered to him with a weak smile, rolling her shoulder easier than before.

"Want me to hang around?"

She shifted on the bed as she pressed her hand into her side. She was actually surprised at the offer and was unsure why he would make it other than to hear what the doctor had to say and make sure she really was ok.

Despite her warning bells going off in her head to tell him to go, she couldn't make herself do it.

"Ya mind?" She asked as she looked up at him with sad eyes.

Daryl chewed the inside of his lip a few times before he nodded. He hated to see that look in her eye and missed the mischievous, wild glint that was normally there. He stood and walked out of the cell to let the doctor and Carol come inside. Michonne appeared around the corner and stood next to Daryl as the doctor began asking Jess questions.

Carol took Jess's hand when it came time to take off the boot and the injured woman squeezed Carol's hand hard as the doctor pulled it off slowly. Once it was off, Jess let out a breath of relief as the doctor pulled her sock off gently and inspected her ankle but she kept a straight face as he prodded it and turned it slightly to feel for breaks. Jess relaxed a bit once he set it down.

"Well, it just looks like a sprain. I didn't feel anything out-of-place under that swelling. You'll just need to keep it elevated for a while to get the swelling to go down then we'll wrap it so you can get back on your feet," he informed before turning his attention to her other injuries, "how does your shoulder and abdomen feel?"

"Shoulder's a bit sore but my side's hurtin' purdy bad," she admitted as she put her hand back over it.

"I can give you some painkillers but what you need is rest. You probably strained and maybe even pulled the healing muscles in your side. I'd say you need to wait a week before you can go back to riding," he ordered as he looked in his bag of medicine.

"Well ain't I just as lucky as a blind man crossin' tha street," she grumbled sarcastically with a huff, causing Michonne and Carol to have to hide their smile at the phrase. They liked the Texan's colorful vocabulary and how she used it instead of curses.

"Are you allergic to anything?" The doctor asked as he handed her a pill.

She shook her head as she took the small white tablets.

"This is hydrocodone. It's the only painkiller I have left now and I can't give you more than one so you'll have to tough it out when it wears off," he said while he pulled out a bandage from his bag and gave it to Carol along with some gauze and supplies to clean the wound on her arm, "after the swelling goes down you can wrap it up. Call me if it doesn't."

"I'll take care of her, Dr. S," she promised softly as she patted Jess on the leg reassuringly.

After the doctor took his leave, Michonne and Daryl came into the room. Daryl stayed silent as he watched Carol quickly take care of the cut on Jess's arm, leaning against the frame of the door.

"Heard about Nahar," Michonne spoke with sad eyes. "Sorry," she added.

"Thanks, Chonne," she replied using her new nickname for the woman as she started to build herself a nest in the corner of the bed with pillows. She really wasn't ready to talk about Nahar yet but she wouldn't push Michonne away.

Michonne was silent after that, not knowing what to say. Carol came to her rescue and started helping the injured woman get comfortable with her motherly charms.

"Let's get you settled. You're going to have to keep off that ankle for at least a day," she warned as Jess shifted into her nest. Carol placed Jess's bag padded with a pillow underneath the injured ankle. After that, Carol handed her a refilled bottle of water and watched Jess swallow the pill the doctor gave her.

"I'll send someone with lunch then I'll come check on you before bedtime. You're ankle should be ready to wrap then," Carol concluded with another pat of the girls leg, "are you going to be alright, Jess?"

Jess scoffed as she leaned back and closed her eyes and willed the painkillers to take effect quickly.

"Depends on yer definition'a alright."

Carol frowned at her. She had heard from Rick of what happened and she worried for the mental state of her friend. Carol looked over at Daryl as if to silently tell him to watch over her friend since she couldn't stay.

"Get some rest," she urged with a comforting smile and a pat of Jess's arm before taking her leave.

Michonne also had to leave.

"I've got watch," she revealed as she waved at her friend, "I'll talk to you soon."

Jess waved back as she watched the dreadlocked lady leave knowing she'd be back to talk about what had happened later.

Daryl watched her expressions as she sat in thought for several quiet minutes. He wouldn't leave until she asked him to so he decided he would wait for her to acknowledge him again.

He didn't know what to think about how quickly things had happened to them during the day. He'd reacted on instinct earlier when he'd held her and since their ride back, he felt more protective of her than before, like something had happened between them on a level he couldn't understand. It went beyond physical attraction to something on an emotional level and at first it scared him but now he knew that whatever it was he would let it happen. Jess was a great woman and he wanted to see where things would lead.

"Sorry I put ya in danger 'cause'a Nahar," she stated, breaking him from his thoughts.

He remained against the door for a few seconds to try to read what was behind the statement before the hunter shook his head and he slowly left his spot to sit on the bed next to her again. He wasn't as surprised anymore at how easy it had become to be close to her.

"Ya couldn't leave her there ta die like that," he admitted as he leaned forward to rest his arms on his legs with his back to her and his head turned just enough to see her out of the corner of his eye.

"But still. Ya've done lot fer me 'n' I owe you so much. I shouldn' a put ya at risk like that," she countered while she looked away from him in shame.

"We're even since you didn't leave me."

Jess was suddenly reminded of what she'd said earlier and she couldn't hide her blush. Somehow, he knew exactly what the sentence had brought to her mind because it'd brought it to his as well.

"So did ya really mean what ya said before?" He wondered, genuinely curious, watching her from the corner of his eye. He really wanted to know why she couldn't leave him behind.

She looked down at her hands as she played with the buttons on her shirt and she could feel his eyes on her while he waited for her answer. He backed her into a corner and she had to decide if she was going to come out swinging or give into him. She bit her lip as she wished she could just pull the blanket over her head and he would go away. However, Jess wasn't one to back down that easily. Jess steeled her nerves because she wasn't some girl in middle school with a crush, she was a grown woman and she was going to act like it.

"Don' read inna it, Daryl," she snapped still looking down at her hands, afraid he'd be able to see right through her. Her fear of loss was too great to risk answering the question truthfully and opening the door between them.

"Ya scared of me?" He asked in a deep, quiet voice that startled her enough to make her look up at him.

Jess barely shook her head as she watched him lean closer to her with her wide brown eyes, frozen like a deer in headlights as he put his hand on the bed next to her hip to support his weight.

"No," she whispered, her heart pounding in her ears, "but I'm 'fraid a what could happen." She added honestly.

"And what could happen," he asked, so close she could feel the warmth radiating from his body.

"You could die," she stated frankly while she searched his dark blue eyes and expected him to understand. She'd lost so much already she didn't want to get involved and lose him too.

"So could you," he reasoned, "don't mean we should have nothin'."

She couldn't argue with him on that because she'd also had the same thoughts over the past two weeks as she struggled to accept her new friends. It was just hard for her to grasp the concept after being alone for so long. Her expression darkened as she admitted something she hadn't been able to say out loud before.

"I don't wanna die alone," she said while many emotions through her eyes and she reached up to grab a fistful of his vest to further accent her statement.

Jess wasn't an idiot, she knew that living in this new world was a gamble every day and at the end of each day she should be surprised to still be alive. With Erin, the days had been easier to handle because she wasn't alone; she had someone to share the pain with. After her sister died, life was just a burden she carried day-to-day and the search for her parents was the only reason she had to keep one foot in front of the other.

She was ready to end the burden of life when Daryl found her and brought her back to his friends, his family, and she realized how much she needed people in her life and how lucky she was to have been found. Carol showed no fear of Jess, had admitted that she'd been abused before as well, and taken the wounded woman under her wing. Michonne had quietly worked her way into Jess's life by sharing a bit of her own and saw that they were kindred spirits. Rick chose to accept her, though she suspected he questioned himself over that choice, and even helped her in his own little ways.

Then there was Daryl, the tough, ruggedly handsome redneck who had a heart bigger than the state of Texas though he tried to hide it. He'd kept his eye on her, quietly being there for her when she needed him, not letting her fall or fail in any way unless she asked him to. She had let him slowly into her world and she didn't even realize it. She finally began to feel relaxed around him and trusted him.

He watched the emotions play over her face for several moments, trying to peg each one, before he spoke.

"You won't," he whispered as he closed the last of the distance between them to press his lips roughly to hers. He expected her to hit him, push him away, tense up, anything but what she actually did.

It was like some floodgate had opened as Jess pulled him closer to her and returned the kiss wildly, exhilarated and terrified all at the same time and her built up emotions poured out. She should have reacted violently to his intrusion but instead she wanted this to happen, wanted to push her most recent experience with a man from her mind and Daryl made that easy to do. He ran his tongue along her lips, demanding entrance to explore and she let him but not without a fight. The way he kissed was new to her and she realized how much she liked his roughness and it drove her to fight him for dominance, pushing against his tongue with her own. However, Daryl won out in the end when he grabbed her braid and pulled her head away. They both breathed heavily as Daryl's eyes roamed over Jess's body possessively which caused her to shudder beneath him in anticipation.

He growled as he resumed their heated make out session and used his hold on her hair to explore her mouth more as she rested one hand on his hip and she let her fingers graze the exposed skin there and the other started to roam. He bit her lip when he felt her hand pulling at the hem of his shirt and he released her hair to put his hand over hers to stop her. As hard as it was for him to do, he had to stop them before things got out of hand. It was the middle of the day and there were too many people coming and going in cellblock C.

"Easy, Jess," he groaned as he pulled away from her.

Jess closed her eyes to calm herself, mad that she let herself go with him like that. Had he not stopped her, she would have taken him right then and there, people and children hearing be damned.

"Feel looser'n ashes in tha wind," she mumbled looking a little sheepish, "Sorry," she added with a crack in her voice from embarrassment.

"Don't be," he smirked as he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "I just want you all to myself."

Jess scoffed and looked at him as he leaned away with a smug expression.

"Fine with me, peach," she conceded before she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him back to her for a gentler kiss. Instead of the heated, rough passion he'd coaxed from her before, this one was slow and teasing. She gently ran her tongue over his lip and when he opened his mouth she retreated back into her own then she pushed him away.

"Damn woman," he cursed as he blinked down at her.

"Now get outta here afore I make ya naturally horizontal," she taunted. She really wanted him to stay but she was a bit too worked up now and she wouldn't be able to help herself if he didn't leave. She knew sex was a great stress relief and would help her keep her mind of things but she wanted to see if they could be more than just friends with benefits.

He reluctantly pulled away from her after placing a quick, gentle kiss on her forehead in a show of gentleness she didn't know he possessed, and stood to looked down at her. There was no doubt that Jess was his kind of woman: strong, yet kind in her own way, and a little wild.

"That's my line, Davis" he teased with a smirk.

Jess let out her rare, genuine laugh that danced over him and made him actually smile as she threw an extra pillow at him.

"Don' quote me ta me," she chided as she readjusted herself to a more comfortable position in the bed.

"Whatever," he stated as he turned to walk out of the cell, "I'll go check Argo for ya."

"Hey Daryl?" She asked, waiting for him to stop and look at her. When he did, she continued, "Thank you," she added sincerely.

He nodded, briefly before he pulled down the sheet she used for privacy over the door.

"I'll be back later," he promised.

Jess listened as he descended the stairs and was left alone to her thoughts and she practically felt the medicine hit her system. She smiled goofily at the top bunk as she replayed the intimate moment over in her head. She was startled at her own reaction to the kiss and how she hadn't been afraid of his roughness; at how she had responded in kind and didn't hesitate to take the moment farther than he wanted to go. He had been right, there were too many people around and she loved how he'd wanted her all to himself.

Now that she thought about it, she had moved a little fast with him and it'd probably scared him a bit and honestly it'd scared her too. However, she wasn't going to let it go. Daryl was right. Just because she was afraid of losing people didn't mean she had to go without relationships. As much as Erin's death hurt, Jess was glad that she'd had any time at all with her sister. Jess's life was better because Erin had been a part of it and even though she was still hurt, the memories of Erin would be with her the rest of her days.

Thoughts of her sister had allowed the door to open to the part of Jess that had shut out the events of the day and, despite the great moment that she and Daryl had just shared, her walls crumbled and she allowed herself to mourn in her own way with the help of the hydrocodone. Instead of thinking of the horse's death, she thought of all the good times she and her sister had riding together, just them and the horses through the hill country on a hot summer day, until she finally eased into a drug induced sleep.


	9. Chapter 9: Rode Hard

After a week of rest, Jess was out by the barn, shooting practice arrows into the hay bales to warm up her shoulder. The cowgirl had worked her strength back up and her injuries were well on the mend. Her ankle was still a little weak but it was well enough for her to start riding again, her shoulder was in the same shape but the pain was gone and she'd been working hard to get back to about eighty percent. Also, her side was still causing her pain on occasion but the doctor said since the nerves had been damaged there that she could have phantom pains the rest of her life. Jess was okay with that, she knew how to work through the pain and her threshold was quite high these days.

Over the course of the week Jess had been under house arrest and she'd had a lot of time to think and had come to the conclusion that this was her new home. Not just the prison, but these people had become her new family. Not that she'd forgotten her quest to find her parents, because it had been her sister's dying wish, but she knew she didn't want to be alone anymore. Jess felt as if a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders at her choice to stay and went to give Michonne the news. Jess told her new friend of her choice and that she wanted to go out with the swordswoman to help her with her search of the Governor while she continued the search for her parents, effectively killing two birds with one stone and they talked for hours about each other. Even though Michonne wasn't a replacement for Erin, the swordswoman and her sister were so much alike it made Jess feel as if her decision was right. Michonne even said that this is what her sister would have wanted.

When the doctor gave Jess the all clear to return to her normal activities, she'd found Michonne, who was visiting with Herschel then, to see her friend could give her some ideas on places to search. When she'd told them that she would go alone they'd both voiced their displeasure at the idea but Jess knew she had to do this alone. She actually would have preferred that someone go with her but there was only one horse left and riding tandem like she'd done with Daryl was only in dire circumstances because it put too much strain on Argo. She'd gone after loose horses all the time back in Texas and it shouldn't require too much effort on her part. After she assured them she would be fine, she pulled out a map and both Michonne and Herschel pointed out a few places they thought were likely spots to find a horse.

After talking with them, she decided to get some practice in with her bow and that's when Daryl sought her out.

After their passionate kiss a week ago, they hadn't really seen much of each other. Ever since Rick stepped down from decision-making for the group to focus more on his family this meant that Daryl had to take on Rick's share of the hard, physical work and he was always busy protecting the community so she understood why she hadn't seen him much. However, they still ran into each other on occasion and he'd acknowledged her but didn't hang around long enough to talk past a greeting. That was the part she didn't understand. After the hunting fiasco, she thought that they'd taken a step in a new direction and she'd been excited, yet nervous, and looked forward to spending more time with him. Yet his avoidance lead her to the conclusion that he'd changed his mind.

Jess's mind always made assumptions and jumped to conclusions that weren't always true and it could get her in trouble, and she knew that's what this could be. However, she was still new to the camp and hadn't known Daryl for long enough to be able to tell if he'd strung her along or not. She was still very raw from being alone that she didn't know what was normal for a relationship anymore. Even though it did occur to her that she could be overreacting, there was no way for her to tell anymore because after being alone for so long it was easier for her to be hurt over silly things like being avoided.

She drew her brows together in frustration as the object of her thoughts cleared his throat behind her for her attention. He'd stopped several feet away, able to tell she was mad by how the metal arrowheads had passed all the way through the bales to ping loudly against the metal side of the stable meaning she was using more force than necessary to kill the hay. He knew better than to startle her when she had that bow in her hands. She was still dangerous.

Jess pulled out another arrow from her quiver and notched it.

"Whatcha want, Dixon," she sneered angrily as she pulled the string back and loosed another arrow through the hay bales. She knew she was being a little melodramatic about the situation but she was frustrated, emotionally and physically. That and she hadn't been out in a while by herself and she was a little antsy.

Daryl chewed his lip as he took a few more steps toward her.

"Michonne said you're goin' out on your own today," he answered quietly as he watched her shoot her last arrow into a bale.

"Yeah, goin' outta find 'er a horse," she quipped while walking forward to pull the arrows easily out of the bales and shove them back into her quiver. He watched as she stepped over the gate into the pen with Argo to prepare for her ride.

Daryl followed her, knowing that she was just trying to end the conversation by walking away but he wasn't going to let her. Argo nickered at him mockingly from the corner of the pen as he stepped inside the gate and he glared at the horse as Jess walked into the stable. That horse couldn't be that smart.

"Doc say it was okay," he questioned as he stepped just inside the stable to lean his hip against one of the support posts.

Jess fiercely packed her saddlebag with the things she would need as she answered him. She really didn't want his worry after he'd practically ignored her for a week.

"Don' matter, I cain't just sit here 'n' soak up this safety anymore without really startin' ta pitch in," she ground out forcefully when she really meant she couldn't stand sitting around letting this Daryl wound fester any longer or she'd go mad because she thought that he might have just strung her along or never really cared in the first place. In her mind, he couldn't come out here now and start caring again suddenly and she just be fine with it. She'd been hurt too much in the past to just let it go.

He let out an almost defeated sigh. He knew she was so headstrong that she'd do whatever she wanted, him or the doctor be damned, and he knew better than to try to stop her. Besides, if her angry bow practice was any indication, she was almost back to one hundred percent.

"I know," he defended roughly, shocking the woman into freezing in the middle of putting an extra harness in her bag as she was expecting him to talk her out of leaving. She stayed that way as he continued to speak in what was almost a whisper, "you coming back?"

Jess knew he wasn't acting like an ignorant two-year old that didn't understand the risks of the outside world and how easily she could be killed out there, no matter how much her angry mind wanted her to think that. He was talking about her intentions, about whether she would go out for a horse and not just ride off and try the world again on her own. She didn't blame him. He knew her story and that she was focused on finding her parents and he maybe even thought that she didn't have a reason to stay anymore. Would he really think that after all they'd been through even if she was mad at him?

She shoved the harness into the saddlebag, threw it over her shoulder, and stood to walk out and started to saddle Argo, fully intending to ignore his question. However, she didn't make it past the entrance as Daryl suddenly filled up the doorway, blocking her from leaving.

"Damn it, Jess-" he began before he felt her fist collide with his gut and he doubled over with a string of curses as she stood over him.

"Ya don' get ta ask me questions or reason with me after pushin' me to care then just leave me to stew," she hissed at him.

"Jesus, woman. I wasn't tryin ta lead ya on or nutin," he sputtered as he stood back up to his full height, holding his stomach gingerly as he realised she was mad about his avoidance of her, "I just didn't want ya to think all I wanted was a good fuck," he paused as his eyes darkened and looked down at her, "I want all of ya but I wanna take my time," he looked away from her and shuffled his feet nervously, "everything else in this fucked up world is fast and harsh and I want ya to come back so we can take this slow."

Jess carefully kept her expression blank as she regarded him. Other than when he talked about his brother, this was the most she'd heard out of him. He also wasn't one to speak his mind in front of the others so she was blindsided by his confession and she didn't know how to react.

Daryl began to back away nervously after several seconds of silence, expecting her to continue to be angry, and intended to leave before she placed her hand over his on his abdomen in apology.

"I didn't figure ya fer a gentleman, you big galoot," she purred in her quiet Texas drawl as she looked up at him. "I just thought ya changed yer mind," she confessed.

"I ain't changing my mind even though I didn't figure ya fer a refined lady neither," he retorted as he slid his thumbs through the belt loop of her jeans at her hips and pulled her to him.

"Screw ya, peach," she grumbled as she let the saddlebag hit the floor and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck to rest her fingers in his dark locks.

He smirked seductively as he leaned down to her.

"Maybe later," he teased before he gently pressed his lips to hers.

He felt her smile into the kiss as she wrapped her other arm around him and pressed herself flush against him. He was careful not to move his hands so she didn't get any ideas about where this could head and just took his time lazily exploring her mouth as she clung to him. After a several seconds, Daryl broke the kiss and looked down and smiled smugly at her flushed cheeks and heavy breathing.

"Don't smile at me like that ya braggart," she murmured with a slight pull of his hair.

"Cain't help it," he rumbled in a deeper than normal voice that had Jess squirming against him.

"Well ya do make me feel like I done been rode hard 'n' put up wet 'n' we ain't even done nothin' yet," she purred in her own deep, seductive drawl.

"Think you can handle me, Davis?" He asked as he reluctantly released her to let her continue her routine so she could leave.

"I know I can, Dixon. I'm more worried 'bout you bein' able ta handle me," she taunted with a wink as she unwillingly let him go to pick up her saddlebag, still flushed from the kiss but glad that they were back to the usual teasing.

He let her think she won that one and watched her sling the bag over her shoulder again and walk around him to saddle Argo but not before giving her a slap on her ass as she walked by him. She just turned to look at him with a shocked expression before walking away from him to get ready to leave. She'd get him back for that soon.

He decided to hang around and watch her work and was impressed with the way she did so. She was efficient and quick with no wasted movements and wondered if she would handle him the same way and the thoughts had him shifting uncomfortably as he leaned against the stable wall.

When she was finished with Argo she walked past him to gather her weapons and switch the target arrows for her fancy broad tipped ones that had dwindled in numbers since their last ride. He continued to silently watch her as she geared up and went back to her horse, looking like some warrior goddess with her bow and long braid. She took the reins and Daryl went to open the gate for her and Argo. She waited for him to shut it behind her and the three of them walked to the front gate together.

"So you comin' back or not," Daryl asked watching her out of the corner of his eye even though he knew the answer.

"Come hell or high water, peach, I'll be back," she vowed as she returned the ass slap from earlier and vaulted up onto her horse before he could retaliate. He growled at her as Glenn came down from the watch tower to help open the gates.

"Damn Texan's," he growled as he walked to the ropes to open the metal gates.

Jess waited for Glenn to open the chain link gate to send Argo trotting through it as the metal gates open and yelled over her shoulder as they closed behind her. She had to have the last word, knowing it would piss him off.

"Least I ain't no redneck!"

"Bitch," he cursed as he watched horse and rider disappear down the gravel road. He then noticed Glenn giving him a strange look and the hunter glared at him.

"What?" He snapped defensively.

"You two seem to get along well," he observed trying to hide his teasing smirk.

"Shut up, Glenn," Daryl threatened as he stomped off back to the prison.

Now that she was gone, he could be angry that she left. He hated that she was out there, barely healed and alone even though he knew she could handle herself. She would resent him if he'd done what he wanted and told her she couldn't go anywhere alone anymore. He wouldn't let their relationship be like that; he wouldn't hover over her like a mother and tell her what she could and couldn't do. They each had their responsibilities and his was to the safety of everyone at the prison. As much as he hated it, he would have to put their well-being before hers and trust her to take care of herself now. Besides, he could just lock her in a cell if he thought she was being reckless. Just because he didn't want to be like a mother didn't mean he wouldn't act like her lover. He paused in his walk at the thought of her being his lover. They really weren't to that point yet but he knew they would be.

His anger died down after a few hours and, being unable to sit around worrying about Jess, he decided to make a trip out to the forest around the prison to set up traps for small game like rabbits and squirrels as a distraction. He'd found some extra barbed wire in the prison and tied it through the trees to keep the walkers from going after any animals that would get in the traps. After the fifth trap, the sky began to darken and it was time to head back to wait for Jess.

As soon as Maggie had opened the gates for him he'd gone straight to the barn to see if she had returned and he was greeted with an empty pen and stable. He cursed as he went to take the few squirrels he'd shot to be cleaned for dinner. A few of the Woodbury residents sat at one of the tables along with Beth and Carol and fawned over Judith when he tossed the squirrels on one of the other tables. The older woman, who held the bubbly baby, noticed his frustration and handed her bundle carefully over to Beth to go check on her friend.

Daryl was already turning to go take watch from Maggie when Carol caught up to walk with him.

"She'll be back," Carol assured softly from beside him, taking two to every one of his steps.

He gave her an odd look and wondered how she would know about the two of them but then realised she was an observant mother type. Instead of denial, he told her how he really felt.

"But she ain't yet," he snarled in a very quiet, angry voice.

"She sure got to you quick, didn't she?" Carol queried with a smile, still a little surprised at how fast the two had become close.

Daryl stopped a few feet from the guard tower in realization. He hadn't even known the Texan for a month and he already worried over her like those idiots in cheesy chick flicks or how Glenn fawned over Maggie. Carol picked up on his epiphany.

"She is certainly a special kind of woman," Carol lowered her voice and placed an innocent kiss on his cheek as if she gave her blessing, "just the kind of woman you need." Carol turned her back and headed back up to the awning with their friends but not before throwing back a confident smile, "she'll be back."

Daryl watched Carol walk away, glad that she had his back.

Maggie was a little surprised to see him and he'd been surprised to find that Glenn was there too and had made a pallet on the floor out of blankets, intending to spend the night out there with her. He actually felt a little perturbed that they were getting time together while he and Jess were separated but he carefully hid that behind a demand.

"You two lovebirds get out of here. I'm taking watch," he gruffed holding open the hatch door leading down the tower.

"You sure," Glenn asked from the comfort of his new bed.

"Yeah, now get," he grumbled motioning to the stairs with his bow.

"Thanks," Glenn said as he descended the ladder that had replaced the blown up stairs.

Maggie just smiled knowingly up at the hunter before she followed her lover out of the tower.

Daryl watched them walk together back up the hill before turning his eyes back out to the field just beyond the fences, setting his crossbow down against the partially blown out wall. He let his mind wander back to what Carol had said as he scanned the treeline and kept a close count of the walkers.

Being with a woman before now had always been so cut and dry and his relationships never lasted long because most women didn't hang around long enough to get to know him. They'd get a good lay out of him and find out he was broke and think a good lay was all he was good for. That and he never let any of them get to know him because he knew most of the ones he'd been with were shallow and wouldn't be worth more than a good romp.

But Jess was different. She was strong and smart and saw him more than just the muscle or hunter. She talked to him as if he was important and not some dumb redneck that couldn't understand anything. Most of their conversations were one-sided, which was fine by him as he wasn't much for conversation, and he loved to listen to her tell him about her experiences and stories. Because she was more than just some woman he wanted to bed, he would try to take things slow and easy even though the threat of death loomed over them every day. They may not have long together but he was going to make every minute of it count for something.

When the moon hit it's peak in the night sky, Daryl finally let his worry get the best of him and began to pace the tower like a caged tiger.

"Where the hell is she."

* * *

When dawn broke the next day, he'd already gone over all the horrible things that could have happened and cursed himself for not going with her. When he heard Rick rolling open the fence between the yard and prison he spared a glance over at the ex-cop before setting his eyes back on watch. They narrowed when he heard the hatch open behind him and Rick came to stand beside him.

"She back yet?" He asked carefully.

Daryl just shook his head as he rested his palms over the edge of the wall where the windows had been, eyes watching the walkers.

"She will be," the farmer said confidently.

Daryl finally lost it and turned bitter about the situation.

"Jesus Christ, the next person that says that to me I swear I'm gonna shoot 'em. She's just some damn woman we picked up on a run a few weeks ago. Not like I'm married to her or nothin'," he ranted, breathing heavily. His mind had fallen back on saying whatever it would take for it not to hurt so much if she didn't come back.

Rick had to hide a smile by turning away from the angry hunter.

"You're fussing just means you do care," he concluded while his eyes scanned the treeline before his expression turned serious. "If she's not back by noon we can send someone to look for her."

Daryl shook his head.

"Naw, ain't worth riskin' nobody. I'll-"

He was cut off by a high-pitched whistle followed by the sound of two sets of hooves on gravel in a slow trot. He was down the ladder and at the gate before she even broke the treeline and when she did he felt relief. She'd found another horse that looked eerily familiar to Nahar but was much thinner and had an odd gait and she had a guitar slung across her back. She looked like she'd been through the ringer: her braid was full of branches and leaves and there were thin scratches over her hands and face from riding through the trees and she was covered in dirt. Plus Argo and the new horse were sweaty like they'd been running for a long time.

Daryl pulled hard on the ropes just as she approached the metal doors and Rick rolled the inner fence open and the rider and two horses trotted right through. Jess smiled down at Daryl before she noticed the hard set of his jaw and had Argo walk straight to the pen for a rub down. She didn't have to guess to know what he was mad about.

As much as the hunter wanted to go after Jess, he was still on watch so he watched her until she disappeared behind the stable with the horses and ambled back up to the tower. She didn't look hurt and she had even smiled so he was able to resist leaving his post to check on her. Rick's voice gave him pause just inside the entrance.

"You not gonna go say hi?"

Daryl shrugged and disappeared into the building as Rick went to go talk to Jess and help her take care of the horses.

The Dixon kept one sharp ear towards the stable as he watched the fences while he waited for someone to come take over watch. He could hear Rick and Jess talk but he couldn't quite make out the words. After a few minutes, Herschel came ambling down the hill to take a look at their new addition. He relaxed when he heard her laugh and the horses make happy noises at being washed and cooled off. He was more than relieved to hear her voice and glad that she was well enough to laugh.

By the time Sasha had appeared to take over, Rick had gone about his farming with Carl, who had also stopped to say hi to Jess and see the new horse, Herschel had gone back up to the prison, and Jess was still out at the stable. The minute Sasha stepped through the hatch he was headed down without a word and it really offended the newer member of the group.

"Good morning to you too," she yelled after him.

As he approached the stable he heard the sound of a guitar being tuned and when he heard the first chord of a song he decided to wait outside and listen, not sure if he was surprised she knew how to play or not considering her background. The last time he'd heard her sing was when he'd found her on the floor at the grocery store with a bullet in her side. Her voice this time was less haunted and more country as the first line of the song talked about leaving tears on a Jukebox and he smiled. Definitely a country song. He listened to the lyrics carefully as she continued to sing about wanting to fall apart together with someone. After she finished the chorus for the second time, he decided to make his presence known and came around to the low gate to the stable, giving Argo a pat on the neck as he passed.

When he looked in he saw her eyes fall on him as she continued to sing the chorus from her hay bed on the ground.

He stepped into the barn and leaned against the wall to listen to her and saw the dark circles under her eyes in the dim light and how she slumped over the guitar. When the song was over, she slipped the strap over her head and leaned it up against the wall next to her and fell back into the blankets with a sigh.

He watched her stare up at the roof over her head for several minutes before she cut her eyes over at him.

"Ain't polite ta stare, peach," she observed wearily.

"Couldn't help it, that whiney song was annoying," he taunted from his spot a few feet away from her.

Jess sat up on her elbows and glared at him.

"Ya ain't sayin' that about tha King a Country," she threatened.

He shrugged at her without a word and his eyes roamed over her dirty state. Jess took notice and it surprised him because he didn't figure her for a self-conscious woman.

"I look that bad?" She asked picking up her braid to pull out twigs and leaves. She never really had been self-conscious but the way he looked at her made her very aware of her appearance.

"No," he answered seriously before his curiosity got the best of him, "what happened?"

Jess scoffed as she fell back into the blankets for a second time to glare at the ceiling.

"Horse stuff. Went through three horses 'fore I found one sound enough ta bring back. Even this'n gave me more fight than I's expectin' fer her age. She's gonna take a while ta break back in but she's tha most sound horse I found," she explained.

Daryl's expression hardened as he walked to stand over her because he knew she didn't tell the whole story. Unless that horse drug her through the trees and underbrush on her face, there was more to her current stated than she had yet to admit.

"Anything else?" He asked angrily.

She looked up at him wearily with a few blinks and he couldn't help but noticed how, for the first time, adorable she could be when she knew she was about to get scolded.

"On my way back yesterday I may or may not've run amiss a herd," she admitted as she rubbed her eyes on her tired, scratched face, "had ta lead 'em away," she finished with a yawn to try to play the cute card and felt like she was failing.

"Shit, Jessica," he cursed as he sat down on the ground beside her blanket in disbelief, "how'd you do that?"

As much as she loved the sound of her whole name coming from him for the first time, his distress made her feel terrible that she told him. She should have just kept her mouth shut and let him think what he wanted instead of having to see the current look on his face.

She sat up to start pulling off her riding chaps without much luck so she didn't have to look into his eyes as she answered. She was on the last of her energy and something as simple as pulling off pants had become difficult. If she didn't have safe place to return to she never would have made it out there another night with as hard as she pushed herself.

"Ain't no hill for a stepper on a horse, ya make a lot a noise, run-a-ways in tha direction away from 'ere, 'n' repeat that fer a few hours then ya jus' outrun 'em 'n' go 'round," she explained while she struggled with the leathers.

He finally got tired of her pathetic attempts to relieve herself of the protective gear and leaned over her to help and she watched him with an amused expression.

"I thought we were takin' things slow, Dixon," she chortled.

"Shut up," he barked as he unbuckled them and slid them down her legs, helping her lift her hips so he could pull them off of her. Just as he was about to toss them he noticed a new set of teeth marks indented into the leather and had to stop and just stare at it in disbelief. She'd been in a situation where she was almost bitten again and that scared him more than he cared to admit. The weary woman took notice.

"Those thangs have saved my life more times'n I care ta count," she confessed seriously, watching his reaction carefully.

He just shook his head and tossed them towards her bag in the corner. He wanted to yell at her but he knew it wouldn't do any good. All that mattered now was that she was here, completely drained and half asleep, but she was alive. The hunter went ahead and pulled her boots off while he was on a roll and tossed them with the chaps and sat back down.

"I dunno what ta thank a this new, nicer peach," she teased as she turned to lay on her side to look at him and rub absently at her hip over her scar. It was throbbing but she wasn't about to say so.

"Don't get used to it," he mumbled quietly as he slung his crossbow off his shoulder to lean it against the wall.

She closed her eyes, and just enjoyed the silence with him and he watched over her. It was a relief to be back here with him because she felt safe again and knew that he would look out for her. After several minutes Daryl thought she had finally drifted to sleep but her voice surprised him even though it was barely a whisper.

"Sorry I made ya worry, Daryl," she apologized, her accent stretching out her words. She really was tired and just wanted to catch some sleep but she also felt bad about he worried for her.

"I just gotta get used to it, is all," he admitted just as quiet, "I know you can take care of yourself."

She opened her eyes just enough to see him to ask her next question.

"Ya stayin'?"

"If you want," he shrugged as if it didn't matter to him either way even though he wanted nothing more than to stay with her.

Her only response was to make room for him on the blanket and he took that as an invitation. He crawled onto the blanket to lean over her. When she looked up at him, she saw all kinds of emotion burning through his eyes into hers. Without a word she reached her hand up behind his neck and pulled him to her so she could press their lips together. Once she'd started it, Daryl took over and made it everything he couldn't say to her: that he'd worried for her but was relieved she'd returned unharmed. When Jess's fingers gripped the hair at the nap of his neck, he broke away to look into her eyes a few moments to see if she'd understood what he'd shown to her. Her doe eyes watched him in acceptance and apology until he moved away from her to lay on his back next to her. Jess turned on her side and curled up, not quite touching him but close enough he could feel her body heat and closed her eyes.

The moment had been more than Jess expected but it didn't scare her, in fact, she reveled in it. She loved how even though Daryl was a man of few words, he was able to express how he felt through his actions. Jess knew Daryl was defined by how he handled himself around the others but it was the little moments with her that he truly showed himself and she smiled at the thought as she felt her exhaustion catching up with her.

When he heard her breathing even out, he allowed himself to watch her. After a few minutes, he saw her reach out and felt her fingertips brush his arm. In her sleep she looked for him to make sure he was still there and he heard her sigh when she felt him, her body relaxed completely. After a few more minutes he allowed himself to relax enough to finally drift off to her soft breathing beside him.


	10. Chapter 10: Slack In My Rope

"Hey, peach," Jess greeted quietly as she combed Argo's mane.

The sun was just beginning to show over the trees causing the summer day to start heating up, and Jess was about halfway through her morning routine with the horses. She would start with mucking out the fenced area, putting the waste into Rick's compost pile, then she'd make sure they had hay to eat, followed by a thorough brushing that Michonne usually joined her for. Regular maintenance on a horse was a great opportunity at bonding, and Flame, as Michonne had dubbed the new addition, was slowly healing and getting used to having people around that weren't trying to eat her. It would still be a week or more before Jess could begin the work to break Flame back into riding, but in the mean time they could work on their relationship. For Jess, it was relieving to get back into a routine again because such was the life of a cowgirl and she hadn't realized how much she missed it.

Daryl half waved as he sat down on a chair Jess had placed out in the stable just for him, and began working on his crossbow. It'd been a while since he had last done any maintenance on it, and he enjoyed being around Jess, even if they never said a word to each other. Just having her near him made him feel more relaxed than he'd been since long before the turn.

It'd been a few days since the first time they'd slept next to each other, and most of their waking moments since then had been spent together. There wasn't as much for them to do around the prison these days as the hard work of the inhabitants over the past few months had made it a safe, functioning place to call home. Everyone had their duties, Daryl's was mainly to go on runs, help with anything physical, and be on watch every fifth day; Jess's priority was the horses, whether it be training or care, and she would occasionally split watches with Daryl. The Dixon found himself with a lot of down time during the days he wasn't going on runs, so he would seek her out for company.

Before the turn, he would have been just fine on his own, or with Merle, and not care to really be around anyone. Their time at the farm followed by their trials getting into the prison had opened Daryl up to people more and more, though. He knew now that he wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for the people around him, and he also knew that he didn't want to be alone. Now that Merle was gone, these people were all he had left. They were his family now.

Then there was Jess. He'd spent many nights thinking of her, and how her presence in his life had changed him just as much as his time with the Atlanta group all the way through to finding the Prison. He'd been selfish and angry at everything when he was with Merle, and it had persisted some after they'd been separated. However, the others, especially Carol and Rick, had given his life a different meaning. They were always proving how important he was to the group, and that he was more than just a heavy hand to keep around for protection. In the short time he'd known Jess, she'd constantly shown him, and told him a few times too, that he was a good man, despite how Merle had said he wasn't. To her, he wasn't redneck trash, he was a man worthy of her affections. She believed in him and would have his back through thick and thin, no matter what. As much as he wondered if he'd be alive now if it weren't for these people, he wondered twice as much about how different he'd be now if Jess hadn't blown in on a whirlwind into his life.

He was pulled from his thoughts when she started singing a song about going to Texas when she died. He couldn't help the quiet scoff as he ran wax down the length of the string. You could take the girl out of Texas, but you couldn't take Texas out of the girl.

He paused to watch her work and sing, swaying slightly to the tune in her head as she worked the brush over her horse. In his mind, this moment was perfect. There was no danger, nothing trying to kill him or the others; just him sitting there watching an amazing woman do something as mundane as brush a horse as she sang, enjoying her chore.

Jess caught him looking at her with an expression she'd never seen on him before, and she tilted her head in question at him as she pulled the brush away from Argo.

"What?"

He shook his head, tearing his gaze away from her as he went back to work on his crossbow.

"Nothin'," he mumbled, trying to hide his expression.

Jess knew it was something, but she wasn't about to press him because he tended to clam up when he felt pressured into anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would, otherwise, she would just accept the fact that she would never know.

She finished brushing Argo and put away her tools before going into the stable to grab her bow. She came back out with it to stand next to him and checked the scuffed wood of the recurve for cracks before moving onto the bowstring. Jess cursed colorfully as she ran her fingers down the string.

"Well I gotta a big hole inna fence," she said as she felt the slight fraying. "String's on its last legs," she added as she took the tube he held up for her.

"Makin' a run today. Wanna come? May be able to find one," He offered as a solution, watching her gently rub down the string with his wax as to not cause more fraying. The experienced hunter could tell that she wouldn't get too many more pulls with it before it would more than likely snap.

Daryl would have offered to bring her one back, but he really just wanted her to go with him. He'd only seen her in action a couple of times, and he knew she could handle herself alone. She had done well with him at the time they lost Nahar, but he wanted to get more of a feel for how she could handle a following situation with a larger group of people.

"If ya got tha room. 'Sides, I could use a day out," she shrugged as she handed the tube back to him. She didn't want to waste that much of his wax since she'd hopefully be getting a new one in a few hours anyway. Even if she didn't, she could find the right materials easily enough to make a new one.

"I hear ya," he said as he stood, slinging the crossbow on his back and the tube of wax into his pocket. "You sure that thing's gonna hold up," he asked as he stepped towards her.

"Even if it don't, I can manage without it," she said as she put her hands on his hips after leaning her bow against the stable wall. Touching him when he came close to her had become easy, and, after their first kiss, he'd let her be the one to initiate the contact. He would just come close enough to her to let her know he was open to her touch, and she would always reach for him.

Daryl put his hands over hers as he leaned down to place a quick kiss on her lips before pulling her hands away.

"Can I trust ya to not to run off and do your own thing while we're out there," he asked, holding her hands in his.

She smiled knowing he was making sure she knew how to follow orders.

"I may'a been a maverick 'fore but I know when I ain't got slack in my rope," she answered truthfully as he let her go, and she picked her bow back up. She'd been used to running the show back in Texas then she was alone for so long after her sister's death, but that didn't mean she didn't know how to be a contributing member to a team.

Daryl grumbled something unintelligible as he turned away to return to the prison.

Jess chuckled as she went back into the stable to gear up. She pulled on a blue plaid flannel shirt over her dark blue tank top before pulling on her belt that had her machete holster attached to it. She slid her sheathed tactical knife in her boot followed by the gun at the back waistband of her jeans. When she got to her quiver, she recounted her arrows to make sure she had the count right before flinging it across her body. After that, she pulled two extra clips for her gun from her leather bag and stuck them in her back pocket.

Jess double checked her weapons to make sure they were secure and was ready to take her bow and leave before something in her bag caught her eye. She tilted her head in brief confusion as she pulled out the small black pouch before she remembered what was in it. Her eyes lit before the urge to kick herself took over because she couldn't believe she forgot she had it. The cowgirl smiled as she stuck the pouch-like wallet in her other back pocket and grabbed her bow to head up to the area where they kept the cars.

When she arrived, Jess saw that there were several people loading stuff into the SUV and truck while Daryl, Sasha, and Michonne were looking at a map of Georgia spread out on the hood of the SUV. Jess approached but hung back to listen as the three discussed where they would try their run at.

"We've hit all the gas stations on sixteen and eighty-five all the way to Woodbury," Daryl was explaining to the other two.

"How about we check out Griffin," Sasha asked, pointing at the city.

"Too big. High chance there's a herd or it's already been picked over," Michonne dismissed.

The three around the map on the SUV were startled when something black landed in the middle of the map. All of them looked up to see Jess standing behind them by a few feet, a hand on her hip and a knowing smirk on her face.

"Ya'll are barkin' up tha wrong tree," she informed before pointing at the black pouch. "Open it up."

They all gave her a quizzical look, but Michonne did as Jess asked and opened the pouch to find over half a dozen maps, each sealed in plastic bags to protect them from moisture. She spread them out on top of their current map and realized that they were all the states between Texas and Georgia plus a few maps of specific regions of states.

"Look at Georgia," she suggested as the three of them looked at the maps in question.

Daryl did what she asked as she came to stand beside him, and there was a collective sound of surprise when the hunter finally opened up the map on top of the other one. Her map was much more detailed than theirs, and she'd marked the route she'd taken through the state before she'd met them. However, they were more impressed by the notes and marks indicating the things she'd found along the map, each with their own symbol with notes about what was found and how many supplies were left at the location.

"Jess, this is amazing," Sasha admitted as she read over the map.

"You even marked places you ran into the living," Michonne said as she followed the route with her finger.

"Yes ma'am. Tha plan was ta return ta tha mountains in west Texas when we found out what happened ta our parents. So, I marked tha places that were safe 'n' tha ones that we needed ta avoid on tha way back," Jess explained.

Daryl turned to look at her with curious eyes, like he was trying to get a read on her but couldn't. Just when he thought he had this woman pegged, she turns around a surprises him with this. Not only was she strong and stubborn, she was smart too.

"So Jess, anywhere close to here you've been that might be a good spot for us to check out?" Sasha asked as she looked up at the cowgirl.

"Last town I hit 'fore Daryl picked me up was called Zebulon. Cute li'l town 'n' practically untouched. Seems like most of 'em hightailed it outta there to a safe zone before they started burnin' 'em. Few walkers 'n' didn't run into any living. That was a few months back, though, so someone else could'a hit it between now 'n' then. Worth a shot, though, 'cause if it's still intact, that pharmacy, hardware store, 'n' market could stock ya'll up 'til fall."

"Do you remember all the towns you stopped in?" He found it odd that she remembered so much about the town after all of her travels.

"Naw, just tha more recent ones. Jus' got good short term memory," she boasted as she leaned up against the SUV next to him. She gave him a sly smile as she rested the tip of her bow on the ground.

"I see the symbols for those three places here on the map, and Zebulon is only about twenty miles out," Michonne observed, "I say it's our best shot. If not, she's also marked gas stations along her route we can check out."

"Zebulon it is," Sasha pronounced as she started to fold the map back up.

"Let's do it," Daryl quipped as he pushed away from the car and turned towards his bike.

Once Sasha had the map folded, she started putting the maps back like she found them. She turned to hand them back to Jess, but the archer just held her hand up.

"Ya'll hang onto 'em fer now. I ain't goin' nowhere fer a few weeks 'n' ya'll can plan ahead with 'em," she offered as she picked her bow back up.

"Thanks," Sasha said as she tucked the pouch into one of the pockets of the riot vest she was wearing. "These will come in handy," she added as she turned to round up the rest of the people going on the run.

Jess noticed that Michonne waited for her to follow.

"I'm in the truck," Michonne pointed at the vehicle as she watched the thoughts cross Jess's face. Maybe she'd feel more comfortable with her around.

However, before Jess could answer, there was a soft whistle from the corner of the nook they kept the vehicles in. When she looked over, she saw Daryl leaning against the bike, waiting for the caravan to be ready to leave. He nodded his head, indicating that he wanted her to come over.

"Hoes before bros I guess," Michonne quoted with a hint of mischievousness in her voice.

Jess looked at her in surprise as this was the first time anyone had admitted to knowing what was going on between her and Daryl. Daryl was always one to disappear when he wasn't needed, no one ever questioned where he went, and everyone knew Jess was always out at the stable. The only ones that were out there on a regular basis were Rick, Carl, and Michonne.

"Don't worry," Michonne assured, "not everyone knows."

Jess sighed before she headed towards Daryl, worried what he would think about Michonne knowing about them. It's not like they were in a very serious relationship, yet, as Daryl wanted to take things slow, but she wasn't sure he wanted the others to know about it so soon in case it would put a strain on his relationship with any of them.

When she was close enough to him, he spoke to her nonchalantly as he watched her.

"Ya ridden a bike before?"

Relief showed on her face as she stopped a few feet away from him.

"Ya askin' me ta ride with ya, peach?" She questioned playfully, attempting to mask the evident relief on her expression.

Daryl shrugged as he stood to hook his weapon onto the front of his bike to keep from looking at her, and Jess thought that was cute.

"Whatever," he mumbled, brushing off her question.

"Beats ridin' in a full car a people I dunno," Jess conceded. In all honesty, Jess was ecstatic because riding with him was a way to be close to him around the others without too much speculation; that and it was really more her style to ride in the open than stuffed into a metal car.

"Alright guys," Sasha called out to all that had gathered. There were a total of six people that had either volunteered or been chosen to go on the trip: her, Daryl, Michonne, Sasha, Glenn, and a new kid named Zach. Jess hadn't been around him much. She knew Daryl had run into him on on one of his hunting trips, and he seemed like a nice kid. "We're headed to a little town called Zebulon about thirty miles from here. We're going to check out the market and pharmacy first. We'll see where we are after that," she looked at Daryl. "Lead the way."

The hunter turned to his bike with a nod as the briefing concluded, and everyone else headed to the two vehicles. As Jess approached, Daryl easily settled into his seat before looking up at her.

"Can I trust ya to play nice back there," he asked in a teasing voice with a serious expression.

"I promise ta behave, Dixon," she defended as she pulled her bow over her head and across her body.

He hid his smirk as he started the bike, and she climbed on behind him. When they began to move, Daryl felt her hands at his sides to hold on and after they were out of the prison and on the road, wrapped her arms around him completely. Daryl liked the feel of her around him, pressed close enough he could feel her warmth, even on the hot, humid summer day.

* * *

**A/N: I just want to take a moment and thank my new beta. She beta's all the things and is well on her way to shaping me into a better writer. You know who you are. THANK YOU! Don't forget to check my profile for updates!**


End file.
