Walking Dead 1. Chapter 1

The brunette sat in the back of the armored truck glaring at the two men sitting in front of her. She knew she had to get away from them somehow. They both smelled like they haven't taken a bath in years and were covered in at least two inches of grime. From what she saw earlier she knew for sure she did not want to go where their leader was taking them. Who did this man think he was anyways? He carried himself like he was the new ruler of this world. Obviously the people in his community didn't know he employed these henchmen. The survivors at his camp did not know who this man really was. After what she saw him do he was more of a monster then the actual biters. She knew she had to get away, just thinking about what he could do to her made her skin crawl.

The brunette looked down at her hands and saw the small ring on her wedding finger stand out against all the dirt and grime. She had survived this long and she sure as hell wasn't going to go down without a fight.

She knew what was coming as soon as she got to their base. She wasn't going to let that happen. She would die before she would let them lay a hand on her. All she could think about is how she got here and how her life turned out this way. The one thing that stood out in her mind is when she met him.

Sydney sat in her old beat silver Honda Accord. She just sat there and stared at the trailer in front of her. Her heart sped up as she thought about knocking on the door. She had no idea what she would find. The little trailer didn't look scary, but it was the person inside that was making her loose her nerves.

She still couldn't believe she was in Georgia. Sydney was born in Chicago and was put in the foster home as soon as she was born. She never met her real mother or father. She grew up in the system; she never stayed in one place for long. And as she got older it was harder to find a family to adopt her.

Orphanage is like a dog pound; they only want the puppies. She waited for so long to find a home that was forever, but it never came.

When she turned eighteen she was sent out into the world on her own. Sydney always loved to sing so she would get gigs at dive bars and waitressing in at a bar in Vegas.

That's where she met Cameron Richard Barnes. He was everything she had ever wanted in a boyfriend. He fell in love with her voice and they formed a band. They were on the verge of getting signed and touring Europe. Sid needed a passport and went to Chicago to get it. That's when she met the nurse that helped deliver her. She gave her a note from her mother. And that's how she ended up here. In that trailer was her mother, and she was scared shitless.

Finding the courage she needed she got out of her Accord and walked up the trailer's door. Straightening out her jean jacket she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Her heart sped up more as she heard the pounding of feet as they approached the door. A tall man wearing jeans and a red flannel ripped the door open. He was wearing a truckers had to hide his reseeding hairline. His eyes were cold as he looked down at her. "What do you want?" she could smell stale beer coming off of his breath as he grunted at her.

"I'm looking for Tina Morgan"

"You have the wrong fucking house, Morgan's are next door"

"Thank-" before she could finish the older man slammed the door closed in her face. Muttering about rude old bastards she walked to the home next door. She knocked on the door less nervous then before. That was soon replaced was so much nerves she wanted to vomit when she heard the feminine voice behind the door announcing their arrival. The door opened to reveal a slim woman with wavy strawberry blonde hair and dull blue eyes that were framed by freckles scattered all over her nose.

"Hi, I'm not interested in your product, I already know Jesus, I already have charities I donate too, and I'm very happy in my mom. Thanks for stopping by" She slammed the door on Sydney's face before she could even get a word in.

She knocks on the door again and waits, no one answers. "I'm looking for Christina Morgan." She yells through the door.

"I don't know a Christina Morgan. Now go away!"

Sydney kicked at the door after hearing the woman yell back. "Look lady! I drove all the way down her so I can talk to Christina Morgan. I'm on my last tank of gas, I'm hungry and my ass is numb from driving from Vegas!"

The door opened and the woman stuck her head out. "What do you want with Tina?"

"It's personal, and this is her last known address"

"What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't"

The woman opened the door wider and Sydney could see the woman a lot better. She was wearing a kimono over a nirvana shirt and a pair of black leggings. She appeared more skinner now that she saw her without the screen door hindering her view. Her eyes were warm and had a grandmotherly look to them. Like she was an old soul trapped in a young body. "What's your name?"

Sydney hated this question with every fiber of her being. "Sydney"

She just stared at Sydney with narrowed eyes. She didn't say anything for a minute. "Is that your real first name?"

This is the part that Sydney hates. "No, it's my middle name. My first is Tabitha"

"Come in" the woman opened the screen door and ushered inside. The home had a warm feel to it. It looked like every other home she has seen but she could see the personal touches here and there. "I'm Mimi, Tina's sister. So what do you want with her"

"I'm her daughter"

Mimi signed heavily and ran her hands through her thin hair. She looked at Sid and took a deep breath. "She always told me you would come looking for her"

"Where is she?"

Mimi took a deep breath and looked at her niece. She looked so much like her mother. "She died"

Sid swears she could hear her whole world crash around her as she heard that one word. _Dead. _Now she'll never get her answers, she'll never truly know where she comes from. "How did she die?"

"Car accident. Drunk Driver" she nodded her head and stayed quiet. Trying to process everything. She had envisioned this meeting so many times in her head since she was little, and now everything is just gone from just one word. _Dead_. "She was only 25 when it happened. She wasn't married or had any other kids. She made me promise to tell you everything if you ever showed up."

Sid looked up, everything she was saying sounded like she was underwater. "What do you mean?"

"Your mom never wanted to give you up. It was our mother that made her. After you were born your mom had the nurse keep up contact with where you were. She wanted to make sure she didn't miss a thing and never everything she could about you. She loved you very much and always wanted to make sure you were happy. The nurse that took you to the orphanage told your mother what your name was and were you went. Tina called the nurse every time she moved making sure she knew where she was if you ever came looking"

"What about my dad"

"Your mom never really told me anything about him. He doesn't even know you exist. Your mom knew what they had wasn't serious, and she didn't want to mess his life up. They were both only fifteen at the time. They were kids themselves at the time"

"They were fifteen?" Sid knew her mom was young, she just didn't know how young.

"Yeah. She never wanted to give you up. It killed her not to keep you. She wanted to get a degree, a house and a good life. She was going to find you and bring you with her here but she died before she could even get the chance." Mimi looked at Sid and could see the wheels in her head turning. "I know it's a lot to take in"

"A lot to take in? I think that's the understatement of the year" Sid ran her hands through her dark chocolate locks and stared down at the chamomile tea Mimi had given her. "You don't understand how long I have been waiting for this moment just to hear that everything I wanted answered I'll never know. Not like I can go up to my biological father and say like 'oh hey I know you don't know me but that girl Tina you were with had a baby twenty two years ago. That baby is me. Surprise?"

"I get this is hard for you. You mom really wanted to be here to tell you everything herself. She had just gotten the ticket to get you from Florida when she got into the accident. I have a box where she saved a bunch of stuff for you. Letters, pictures and other things" Sid looked up at Mimi, he aunt. "She loved you very much, sometimes things don't turn out the way we want them to"

Sid just nodded her head and continued to look down at her tea with a pinched face. "Look, I know you just met me but we're family. If you don't have anywhere to stay you can stay here. It's what Tina would have wanted. I don't want my ass haunted by my little sister. Just relax if you want we can talk some more. For now just rest"

"Are you sure, I could get a motel"

"No, like I said we're family. We take care of our own"

* * *

Sid sat outside on the side of the house smoking a cigarette. She was on her second one; this one was almost down to the filter. Just breathing in the nicotine felt so good. It was so hard to take everything in but she knew she would, it's just a lot of information. She knew when she came here it would be. She just ever thought it would be this much. So much for the heart-warming reunion with her birth mother she imagined.

"YOU THINK THIS IS AFUCKIN' DUMP OR SOME SHIT?!" Sid looked up at the house she had accidentally gone to at first. She could hear the old man yelling at someone. She hated to be that person, why would anyone put up with that. Probably was his wife, most likely smacked her around a lot. She never understood why a woman would stay with a man like that. Why would someone put themselves through that type of abuse? "TAKE THE DAMN TRASH OUT!" Sid looked up from her scuffed up converse when she heard the door slam. She looked up to see someone storming out of the house carrying two large trash bags with him.

The stranger was a man, he was slim but she could tell her was muscular due to how his arms bulged as her held up the trash bags. He wore a sleeveless shirt with worn out jeans and boots. He had dirt brown hair and his face had a moderate amount of facial hair. Sid only stood a few feet away from the trashcans. He must have smelled the cigarette smoke after he dumped the trash cause he looked up and stared at her with a bored look. She just stared into his cerulean blue eyes with her honey eyes mimicking his bored look. "YOU BETTER GET BACK BOY, THIS DEER AINT GOING TO SKIN ITSELF!"

He started to bite his thumbnail as he turned and headed toward his home. "I'm coming old man!" he shouted gruffly.

**A.N. **I've been working on this story for a longggggg time! I have a good chunk of chapters written for this story! I plan to update every Tuesday! Also I updated my SOA story!

**REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**

Because I have so much written if I get enough reviews I might change it to **twice a week**.!

**_AN 9/1_**

**I'm updating and rewriting the first few chapters! And a new chapter will be up very soon. This week! **

**I got a few follows and so grateful for that, which is why I'm updating! I need reviews thought! Tell me what you think! or what you think will happen!**


	2. Chapter 2

Sid sat on the couch she had been sleeping on for the past week. She was currently replying back to emails to all her friends. More importantly the ones from her band mates.

She had told Mimi she was on a break with her band and they were just waiting for her to get back to Vegas so they can start writing a new album. The truth was she had a falling out with the drummer who just so happened to be her boyfriend; well ex-boyfriend.

They had been dating for five years on and off. On their last tour he had went out with the band mates and rowdies seeing as how she was one of the only girls. He ended up cheating on her with a groupie. His excuse was that he just got too drunk and he thought the girl was her. She didn't buy that excuse one bit. For one thing the girl was a voluptuous blonde with blue eyes. He thought it was her? Right.

The rest of the band have been emailing, calling and texting her almost every day. Begging her to come back. Work it out with Greg. Through out her entire life she has learned a lot from relationships. If they are able to cheat once they most likely will cheat again. Especially since there was more temptation with them then there was for a normal relationship.

She was ready to settle in one place. She traveled all over the country and has been to basically all fifty states. She has always wanted to be a singer and still does. She's just being realistic with herself.

Mimi was her only family she had, that she knew about. The week she has been here she has fallen madly in love with her aunt. She was free spirit and did whatever she wanted. She never second guest herself. It was fascinating to just to see her aunt interact with people. Some of Mimi's clients had come buy for appointments.

Mimi was a misuse and sold nature remedies and medicines from her herb garden other natural foods she got at the local farmers market. Her clients would leave lighter and very satisfied. Surprisingly she didn't only get hippy type people, but she had also gotten very business type people. Very few would come to the house. Those types of clients she would go to them.

Sid was very hesitant to let Mimi give her a massage; after she was done she had regretted not asking her to do it sooner. She slept like a baby that day and couldn't remember the last time she had slept that good.

"Sydney" she looked up from her mac pro to see her aunt come from her back art room studio. She was wearing a Def Lepperd shirt and jean shorts that were splattered in various colored paint splatter. "Why did I get a call from a realtor asking about apartment building you would like to see?"

"Oh, um well I was going to let you know that I decided to stay. I was going to anyways depending on how my meeting with my mom went"

"I get that, what I want to know is why you are looking for apartments?" Her aunt narrowed her eyes at her and places her hands on her skinny hips.

"Well I mean, I over stayed my welcome here"

"Non-sense!" Mimi snapped cutting off Sid's nervous stuttering. "I have an extra room you can stay in"

"No Mimi! That's your art studio. I'm don't want to impose on you like that"

Mimi rolled her blue eyes and came over and sat next to her niece. "My sweet girl. You are my niece, I am not going to kick you out, and you are family. Family is very important to me, especially after loosing your mom. You are not getting rid of me that easily"

"But what about your studio?"

Mimi just scoffed and pushed herself off the couch with some difficulty. "I can just move all that stuff into my. I have the master bedroom after all. I have enough room!"

Sid got up and hugged her aunt tightly. Mimi felt like she would break of Sid hugged her any tighter. She knew something was up with her aunt but didn't mention anything. She knew she was anorexic or bulimic, but she knew her aunt was sick. She just wasn't sure with what. "You are the best!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now go get your shit from your car you've been leaving in your car. We'll start moving my shit out and yours in tomorrow morning. Besides I got you a job at Bull Dog Tavern, the owner is a long time client"

"How did you know I was looking for a job?"

"Baby, I know everything, plus I saw the apartment brochures when I was looking for some paper work on the coffee table" she winked at her as she headed back to her art studio. "You need to go see Monty at 9 tonight to fill out paperwork and get your uniform!"

Rolling her eyes she smiled as she got up from the couch and headed outside to get her things from her car. She had to just take a few trips to get everything. Due to never having an actual permanent home Sid never had much. She always kept all her positions to a minimum.

She was getting the last box when she heard the commotion coming to the trailer next door to her aunts. The older man was currently being carried out of a grayish blue pickup from what she has guessed was the man's son. The same man whom she had a staring contest with when she first came to see Mimi.

She could tell the older man was heavily drunk from the way he was having trouble walking. His son had to hold him up as the older man muttered obscenities. His son did not look to happy to be doing this, but at the same time looking like he has done this so many times before. "I don't know why you had to bring me home you dumb shit. I was having fun with that waitress. I'm sure that's something you wouldn't know about, seeing is how you're a faggot"

Sidney has heard his father yell and constantly put him down the week she has been here. She hardly hears a peep come out of the son's mouth. He just puts up with it. It is his father after all; she just didn't understand why he never talked back out move out. The son looked like he was in his late twenties many early thirties.

He had this rugged tough look to him; she could tell he was very quiet. He was the brooding type. Unfortunately for her, that was just her type. He would always look at her with such distain whenever they would lock eyes. She didn't know what his problem was.

"Get off me boy!" They older man stood up straighter and pushed his son off of him. He stormed toward the door and slammed it shut. She wanted to laugh at the way he looked as he walked quickly to get away from his son. He resembled a baby giraffe trying to walk for the first time. The son seeing her for the first time standing by her car narrowed his eyes at her and muttered under his breath as he followed his father inside. Rolling her eyes, as she locked her car walking back toward her aunts.

She grumbled a little having heard what he said as he walked away. _Noisy bitch. _Stupid redneck hick!

"I see you've witnessed a Dixon argument" Side looked up to see her aunt holding the door open for her.

"Dixon?"

"Yup. The older man is Will Dixon; he's one of the many town drunks. Mean ol' son of a bitch. His son Daryl lives with him."

Sid placed the last of her boxes on top of the small pile in the corner of the living room and turned to her aunt. "I accidentally went to their house before I went to yours. He knew my mom?"

"Will is hardly ever sober now. I heard his wife died in a house fire and ever since then all he does is drink. He's either drinking like a fish or hunting in the mountains. Your mom moved in with me on one of his sober days. The mailman would constantly get our mail mixed up and you mom would always go and exchange it. He would always yell at her and call her names. She just smiled and wished him a good day."

"What about his son Daryl?"

"Daryl Dixon is loyal to a fault. He's constantly looking for his father's approval. After his older brother left Daryl was left to take care of his father and has stayed with him knowing his father needed someone to babysit him. Even when their father would beat him till he was black and blue"

Sid just hummed indicating she understood. "Just stay away from Merle Dixon. He doesn't come around all the often because he's constantly in and out of jail. But he is seriously bad news."

"Sydney I need 5 shots of patron for table nine" Sid smiled at the blonde waitress Jolene. She has been living with her aunt for the past two months and been working at Bull Dog Tavern for a months now. She had gotten her bartending license when she was turned twenty-one so she could various jobs when she would tour with the band. Monty was impressed with her resume and all the bars she had worked at. He made her the head bar tender and a part time waitress when it was extremely busy and she had more help up at the bar with the other bar tenders that worked for Monty.

She had become very close friends with her co-worker Jolene Nickel. She was one of Monty's waitresses he had for the longest time; since he's opened the bar. Jolene was thirty but still acted like she was twenty-one.

She like Jolene, and was glad she was one of the first friends she had made. Jolene was a very beautiful woman. She had straight blonde hair, hypnotizing blue eyes and a very slim figure. Sid loved working because Monty would constantly have them work together knowing that they were an excellent team.

Today was a Friday night and it was one of their busiest nights. Sydney has spent majority of her time behind the bar completely orders in an impressive fast passed manner. She has grown to really love this job, she made sure to thank Mimi almost every night she came home. She was mainly grateful that the uniform wasn't as vulgar as other uniforms she has had in the past with other bars she had working for. Her uniform was a black tank top with a cartoon bulldog growling with a spiked color around the neck. Above the cartoon dog it said "Bulldog Tavern" In silver and gold block lettering. The bottoms were her chose on what to wear. Summer was fast approaching and it was constantly hot in the bar on bust days so today she decided to wear some cut of denim shorts.

Jolene sat in front of Sydney and drank a cold beer that was placed in front of her. Jolene would always hang out at the bar and have a drink when she was on her break. Jolene was a very sweet girl but Sydney knew she wasn't a saint. She had a reputation in the small town of Sedalia. Her makeup was heavy and her wardrobe left nothing to the imagination. On more then one occasion she had come into work with a scarf around her neck. She would later show Sid her collection of hickies and tell her how she got them. Today her makeup was emasculate, her hair was curled and her clothes were just a little more tighter and revealing then usual. "You look nice, what's the occasion?"

Jolene looked at her with an impish grin. "Oh, an old friend is coming in today. He's been gone fore a while and let's just say we're going to catch up on stuff" She winked her pretty blue eye at her friend. Sid just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Hey! I haven't had fun in a long time! And we always have the best of fun when he's around"

"You just went out with Frankie Boyd a couple of days ago"

"Yeah that was fun. But with this guy it's like Disneyland fun" Jolene giggled finishing off her beer seeing her break was coming to an end.

"Please don't ruin Disneyland for me"

"Sid!" Sid turned to see Monty come out of the kitchen wiping down a glass. "Sarah and Nicole are going on their break, can you manage their tables?"

"Sure thing boss!" Sydney walked out from behind the bar and walked toward the tables her coworkers were taking care of. She went up to a table where Johnny Miller was sitting at with a unknown friend she has never seen before. "Hey boys, my name is Sydney and I'll be taking care of you will Sarah is on her break"

"I know a few things you could take of for me sugar tits" his friends said in a flirtatious voice. The man was a lot older, most likely Monty's age. He was a medium build with no hair and blue eyes that just screamed trouble.

"Don't mind my friend Merle darlin" Johnny smiled apologetically before shooting Merle a pointed look. "We could use another round of beers"

"Coming up" she smiled tightly.

So that was Merle Dixon? He was exactly what everyone said he was. She had encountered people like him before; some were even worse then him. She knew his type; he was harmless. Maybe get a bit handsy but if you said no with a force they' back up. Now if he was on something then she wasn't too sure.

She knew the signs of an addict. She spent time was addicts her whole life being in the music business. And living in Las Vegas she was constantly exposed to all different kind of drugs. She could tell right away that Merle was high and drunk. She could hear it in his slow slurred speech.

For the rest of the night she played waitress and bar tender till Sarah and Nicole came back from lunch. Then she just manned the bar. When she was in the zone, time blew by fast. She saw a lot of regulars through out the night and some people who only came on weekends. Sometime in the night her neighbor Daryl came with his uncle Jessie and sat with Merle and Johnny.

Jessie was a regular and made it a habit of his to call her Aussie. Jessie was funny and sweet. He would try to bring Daryl with him any chance he got. Sydney could tell that Jessie tried to make up for his brother not showing Daryl any affection. They always hung out with coworkers or other people from the trailer park. Everyone was loud and rambunctious; except for Daryl. He would joke around with them and smile a bit but he mainly stayed quiet. Tonight was a little different. He was even quieter then he normally was, he looked like he didn't want to be there at all. They would make eye contact every now and then and like always he would glare at her.

The whole atmosphere in the bar that night was different. No doubt it was because of the presence of Merle Dixon. Sydney could tell majority of the people feared Merle and was nice to him for that reason. He kept getting free beers through out the whole night from his friends, hoping to get back in his good graces. She also noticed her friend Jolene sway her hips more then usual when she was around the older man. More then once she saw him slap a couple of waitresses on the ass. Sydney just rolled her eyes at the whole thing. She tried to stay away from Merle and tried to ignore his words when she had to interact with her.

The bar started closing up and Monty was kicking all the stranglers out of the bar as Sydney, Jolene and the left over waitresses wiped down the bar and tables. The only customers that were left was the Dixon group of course. She already knew that she wouldn't have to take Jolene home like she has for the past couple of days. Jolene was basically glued to Merle's hip when everyone was getting ready to go. They really weren't hiding what they had in plan for tonight. Merle's hand was in Jolene's shorts and would squeeze her ass every now and then. Again, Sydney would just roll her eyes.

Sydney went into the back to get her coat and bag when Monty announced he was locking up. She wasn't surprised to see Jolene drive off with Merle in his father's pickup truck. She could hear her giggles all the till the end of the block. What did surprise her was when Merle shouted, "Good luck finding a ride little brother!"

She looked to Daryl's slumped figure as he chewed on his thumbnail. A nervous habit she noticed he had. She wasn't that surprised that Merle picked pussy over his own brother. She felt bad that Daryl was handed the short end of the stick in the brother department. No wonder he had such a chip on his shoulder.

Sydney made up her mind when she got in her car. She pulled up next to Daryl's as he started walking home. "Get in". He just looked at her like she was crazy and narrowed his eyes at her. "Look, we're both headed in the exact same place" she sighed.

"I don't need your damn pity!"

Rolling her eyes she gripped her steering wheel from telling Daryl off, she was tired and wanted to just lay down. "Look, don't be pissed at me cause your brother left you here to get laid. Stop being stubborn and get in the damn care"

He just stomped to the passenger side and through himself in her car slamming the door shut. She drove them back to their homes in silence; even the radio wasn't playing to fill in the awkwardness. Daryl used this opportunity to study her profile. He took a real good look at her. He's seen her working at the bar and at home but he never got a really good look at her. She was really pretty, that he was able to tell right away. If he was honest with himself he would say she was one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen. He would never admit it though.

He knew her kind. Spoiled, privileged and didn't know what having a tough life meant. He didn't know what she was doing in Sedalia, let alone a trailer park home. He knew that his neighbor Mimi was family or something. That woman was just plain weird. She was some type of hippy. He tried to keep to himself and his own business. They didn't need to know what went on in his home and he didn't want to know went on in their home. He heard his uncle call her Aussie; she would smile at him and bring him a order of fries; on the house. Maybe she felt sorry for them and that's why she decided to live here, maybe she wanted to feel better about herself. Living with these poor folk, felt like she was better then us. He wondered where she got her car; it wasn't the type he thought she would drive. It was a beat up Honda that was in desperate need of a tune up. It smelled like her he thought moodily, smelled just like vanilla and strawberries.

He looked up at her when he noticed she asked him something. "What?" he snapped.

Rolling her eyes she sighed. "I said, do you know another way home? They have the streets I normally take blocked up. A main pipe burst."

"You don't know how to get home? Why don't you look at your GPS on your fancy phone"

"Because it died, can you just tell me anther route?"

Rolling his eyes he slumped more into his seat. "Take Hobble all the way to Ceader, should take us to Victory." The car grew silent again as Sydney drove.

It was taking longer then it should because Sydney had never taken this route before and was unsure if she was going in the right direction. Daryl started to grow agitated. "I should have just walked, would have been home already instead of being your good deed for the day"

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" she snapped. She seriously need sleep, she felt like she was going to slam his head into the dashboard repeatedly.

"It means I know your type. The hodey todey type who look down on people like me and make it their mission to act like we're some kind of charity case you need to take to feel better about yourselves."

"You have no idea what you are talking about"

"Sure I do. What I don't understand is what a privileged spoiled girl like you are slumming it here in Sedalia"

"You don't know a single thing about me! So don't assume anything about me!" she glared at him. How dare he judge her! He had it all wrong. Her privileged? Spoiled? That's a laugh!

"Whatever just let me out. I'll walk the rest of the way"

"We're here already!" she snapped. "You were too busy being a dick to notice"

He looked and saw she was parked in-between their houses. "Stupid bitch" he muttered storming out the car toward his home.

"Stupid hick!" she yelled back. She slammed her car door and stomped her way to her bedroom. Throwing herself on her bed she screamed into her pillow.

"Dammit!" cursed Sydney as she continued to hit her head over and over again on her steering wheel. She tried to start her car again; all she got was her engine trying to start but just ended up failing. She was on the freeway coming from Atlanta; she was getting something for her aunt for her birthday. She got her special type of oils they only sold at a specific store that was only located in Atlanta. She knew she should have gotten her car checked before she took such a long trip.

She was currently waiting for the tow-truck to come and get her. She thought maybe he car would start till then. No such luck.

She looked up rom her steering wheel when she heard the tow truck pull up to her. She got out of the car smiling, happy to see her rescuer. He smile disappeared as soon as she saw who her rescuer was. Daryl Dixon. You got to be kidding me, she thought as he walked toward her.

"Called for a tow?". She just nodded. "What's wrong with it?"

"It won't start"

He just nodded and opened her hood. "Try to start it" She quietly got in her car and did as he said. She didn't know why was being timid. She would normally be fiery and give him attitude from their last encounter. "Okay stop" She got out of the car when he shut her hood down and started on hooking her car up to the truck. "You need a new starter. Should be taken care of in two days." He handed her a ticket with all the information she needed. "Need a ride or do you have one?"

"Yeah I need a ride home" he just nodded and motioned toward the truck. This was the most talkative she has seen him. He wasn't being rude like she thought he would be due to their argument last Friday.

The car ride started much like the first one did; in silence. This time Sydney took the opportunity to get a real good look at Daryl. She had to admit he was very handsome; even with all the dirt and grime covering his face. She normally didn't like any type of facial hair, but on him it just added to his attraction. She noticed his hands were calloused and large. She always had a weak spot to strong hands. Just thinking about what it would feel like to have his hands on her made her shiver.

"You cold?" she looked at Daryl and met his blue eyes. She shook her head and looked ahead. What was wrong with her? Why was she being so shy? She's never like this. And what the hell was that about his hands?

Daryl couldn't get her home fast enough. Her sent was getting to him; vanilla and strawberries. The thing was he wanted to bath in her sent. After their fight he couldn't get her out of his mind. He was being a pussy and couldn't get over his stupid high school crush on him. Who was he kidding; she wouldn't have looked twice at him in high school. She most likely was one of the popular kids, with the football player boyfriend.

"I'm sorry"

"For what?" he quickly looked at her and turned his eyes back on the road.

"For calling you a stupid hick"

"Oh"

She just looked at him and wait. He didn't say anything. "What?" He asked noticing her stare.

"Now you're suppose to apologize for calling me a bitch"

"Why? I meant to call you a bitch" she just rolled her eyes and smiled looking out the window. He smiled too. He knew something changed between them. He wasn't sure or if it was a good thing. All he knew was that things weren't going to be the same.

Daryl dropped off Sydney feeling a little lighter and joy got off the tow truck with a smile on her face. Daryl Dixon being the cause of that smile, who would have knew.

Unbeknownst to them Merle sat on the porch of their father's home smiling to himself as he watched his baby brother and the new residents of the trailer park. He had to admit to himself that she was a really nice piece of ass. He saw the way his little bother looked at her the moment he walked into the bar. Hoping his brother would be a man and fuck her the night he left him stranded. But no, he pussied out. It looked like ol' Merle had to take matters into his own hands.

Sydney watched her friend Jolene making out with Merle against the tree. They were just a few minutes away from having sex in front of everyone. Sydney called her up that night and invited her to a party her neighbor was having. Jolene lived in the same residence as she and the Dixons. So she wasn't surprised to see Merle there. She sipped her drink and rolled her eyes as her friend displayed unnecessary amount of PDA.

She turned away from the scene and walked to get another drink. She was thinking about walking home. The party was boring and she didn't feel like spending her night getting a free show from Merle and Jolene. When she got to the table with the assorted liquor bottles she noticed a lone figure. It was none other then Daryl Dixon. She had been thinking about him all day, she hated to admit it to herself but she thought he was attractive. Her and her stupid inner teenager liking the brooding bad boy. "Having fun?"

Daryl looked up from his cup and saw Sydney standing right next to him. Why did she have to smell so good? "It's okay. Merle dragged me here saying I had to come." He shrugged taking a sip from his drink. "Don't know why he made me come. As soon as we got here he found Jolene and went to go screw around with her."

"Same" She just looked at him. God, she wanted him. What the hell was that?! Not too long ago he was a dick she would have been happy to never see again. She hasn't gotten laid in a while, that must be it. "Does your brother do that a lot? Ditch you to get laid?"

"To get laid, high, drunk" he shrugged. To him it was nothing new. Merle has ditched him his whole life.

"I think you should ditch this party. Not like he's going to notice" she nodded her head toward Merle who was dragging a giggling Jolene to his truck. She cringed at her friend's antics.

"Yeah, I'm over it" he threw his cup in the trash bin and looked at her.

"Me too, Think you should take me home" He wasn't sure if it was a question or statement. He just nodded and walked with her back to their home.

As they walked together their hands would brush against each other every now and then. This would cause him and take a step away from her trying to put some distance between them. He didn't know why he was even thinking about her, it wasn't like she liked him. He was just some stupid hick.

"Okay, see you later" he mumbled as they approached their houses. He turned to head inside when he felt her grab his wrist.

She let go when she felt him stiffen. He looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. She swallowed the lump in her throat and just said what she wanted to say. "I said you should take me home"

"I know. I took you home"

"No, I mean _you should take me home_" he was confused. He had no idea what she meant. He just looked at her like she was crazy. He brought her to her house. What the hell did she mean? "Is you dad home"

"No, he's on some hunting trip with Jessie and Buck"

She nodded her head and looked down at her shoes. Not knowing what to do Daryl just sighed and started to head home. "Wait" he turned to see Sydney walk up to him. "You are really a stupid hick" he was about to retart to her insult but before he could get the chance she threw her arms around his neck and attacked his lips with hers.

Taking a few steps back in shock she continued to kiss him. Daryl couldn't think, it felt like he just stopped breathing. He had no idea what the hell was going on! Pulling back she looked up at him with her hazel green eyes. "Take me home Daryl" Oh. That's what she meant. Daryl not one to look a gifted horse in the mouth nodded his head and attached his lips to hers in a heated kiss. He felt her shiver as he traced her figure with his hands. Was he dreaming or something?

He pulled away hearing some laughter coming someone most likely coming home from the party. Daryl grabbed Sydney's hand and led her toward his house.

This night changed everything for both Sydney and Daryl. The moment her back hit that mattress and they both tore off each other clothes. They both knew things were never going to be the same. Neither of them was sure if this was a good thing or not.

But currently in that moment all they could think about was how the other person was making them feel. Sydney couldn't remember the last time brought her so much pleasure. She arched her back and gripped Daryl's hair as he littered kisses all over her body. Daryl knew he would never forget the feeling he got when he was inside of or the noises she made when he hit that right spot. He picked up the speed when he felt her nails mark the skin on his back. He hoped he never woke up from this dream.

**AUTHORS NOTE:**** Pleaaaase comment and let me know what you think and if you like the story! I get so insired and looove all of your comments! **

**I have biiig things planned for this! **

**Also I plan to update my SOA story sometime this week so prepaire for that!**


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl opened his eyes at the smell of coffee. He yawned and sat up from his comfortable position in bed. He noticed that he was alone in bed and instantly knew where the smell was coming from. He looked around his room at all the clothes that were scattered everywhere. He smiled to himself remembering how his room came to be such a state.

Ever since him and Sydney slept together after the party they have been spending the night with each other basically every night. It was a little different from other times Daryl has done this. Usually he just fucked a girl and she would leave. With Sydney it was different. They would fuck but she would stay. They would talk, but not all the time. They just stayed in each other's presence. They didn't really need to talk to each other; they were just comfortable being around each other.

Sydney was the one who talked the most, Daryl didn't really mind. He liked the sound of voice. It's been a couple of months since the party and they kind of have gotten into a routine. She would spend the night when Will was either on one of his benders or a hunting trip. She would head to work with Jolene in her car and then Daryl would come and take her home.

Everyone saw and knew what was going on but they didn't say anything. Sydney didn't tell anyone what was going on. It really wasn't anyone's business, what went on between her and Daryl was between her and Daryl.

Mimi would hint about her relationship with Daryl but Sydney would just ignore her. Mimi not wanting to push her buttons just smiled to herself. She reminded her of her mother. When Katrina was seeing Sydney's father she was very secretive as well. Mimi found out everything though; she always found out.

Daryl grabbed his boxer and pants off of the floor and threw them on as he followed the scent into the kitchen. Will wasn't home and hasn't been for the past couple of days. He met some waitress in Macon and was with her doing god knows what.

When he entered the kitchen he felt his dick twitch. He would never grow tired of the sight of Sydney in his clothes. She was currently looking in the refrigerator. She had her hair pulled up in a messy bun and was wearing Daryl's flannel he wore last night. "Are you hungry?" Sydney turned and smiled at Daryl. She loved how he looked when he just got out of bed. His usual scowl had not made it to his face yet.

"Yeah, but we ain't got no food"

"Nonsense! I could make you an omelet"

Daryl tilted his head as Sydney bent a little to grab stuff out of the fridge. He smiled a little seeing she was wearing JUST his flannel. "We don't got shit to make a omelet with"

She turned and smirked at him. She knew he was checking her out. She always got a tingle that would run up her spine when he would look at her. "I have this talent of making anything out of nothing" she winked turn around and started to prepare the food.

The next day after the party Merle busted in his room and saw Sydney lying in his brother's bed. Daryl got all embarrassed and closed up like usual. Merle just smiled like the cat that ate the canary. All he did was slap Daryl on the pack on congratulated him. Since then Merle hasn't really made any vulgar statements to, he was still Merle but he just stopped trying to get in her pants.

Merle left for Barksdale a week after the party. He went to go be with his Motorcycle Gang _The Savage Sons. _Merle doesn't really know it but Daryl had borrowed his bike and took Sydney for a ride when Merle was fooling around with Jolene. Sydney has never ridden one and was scared shitless. She was so afraid she was going to fall off or crash she just held on to Daryl very tightly. She held on so tight he wasn't sure he could breath majority of the ride. He made his usual snide remark about her grip; she just rolled her eyes and loosened her grip.

"Here you go" Daryl looked at the plate in astonishment. It was a fucking omelet!

"How did you do this?" He started devouring the food like he hasn't eaten in weeks.

"You had a couple of eggs so obviously I used those, then I also used the left over burger from Carl's. I cut the onions and tomatoes and then scraped whatever cheese was left and tada omelet!"

"Where did you learn how to do this shit?" She was cleaning up her mess and grabbed his plate when he was finished and started cleaning the dishes. "A lot of foster homes have more then one foster child and I was always the oldest. There was never really anything to eat so I just became inventive and made dinners of whatever was left in the fridge" Daryl just nodded and grabbed a cold a beer and stood next to her as she finished up the dishes. "Not having a lot of money I learned to buy certain food that would last a long time and would be able to make different types of food. I had friends who would complain they didn't have any food in their fridge and it would piss me off because they had so much food. They were just so lazy to do anything about using the food they had"

"Guess that's a useful talent"

Rolling her eyes and curled her fingers around his belt loops and playfully tugged him close to her. "I bet I would survive a lot longer then you would in an Apocalypse"

Daryl narrowed his eyes and moved his hands to her bottom. "Oh yeah, hat happens when all the food runs out. You can't hunt" He grabbed her and tossed her on top of the counter.

"And you will get me that food. Oh Daryl my hero how will I ever survive without you and you amazing hunting skills" she started blinking her eyes and fanning herself. "I'm just a sweet southern belle who could only cook and clean"

"Shut up" he snapped narrowing his eyes at her. Daryl never gave her loving looks or anything; he always glared at her.

"Make me"

Daryl attacked her lips whiling dragging her more toward him. He invaded her mouth with his tongue when she gasped. She tightened her legs around his waist and brought him closer to her by wrapping her arms around his neck. He lifted up for both of them to get some air and started to trail kisses down her neck. When he started sucking on the one spot her found that made her go crazy she squeezed her legs tighter. Just as Daryl was starting to unbutton the flannel the phone started ringing. "Leave it" Sid moaned feeling Daryl hesitate his movements. Daryl tried to continue but the ringing was persistent and just continued to ring.

Sydney moaned in annoyance as Daryl moved away from her to answer the house phone. "Yeah" Daryl snapped into his phone as he watched Sydney walk into his room.

"_Hey little brother, hope I'm interrupting anything"_

Daryl gripped the phone harder as he heard Merle giggle like he knew exactly what he just interrupted. "What do you want"

"_Just letting you and the old man know I won't be around as much for a while. I got pinched. I'll be in county for a couple of months."_

"Alright I'll let the old man know" Hanging up he saw Sydney come out dressed with her bad. She was still wearing Daryl's shirt. "Merle's in prison for a bit"

"So what else is knew?" she sighed. "I better go, Mimi has some doctors appointment today and I should clean for her". He just nodded his head and looked down at his bare feet. This was always the awkward part of their relationship. Daryl never knew how to say bye to her. She wasn't his girlfriend so he didn't want to hug or kiss her goodbye. She was more then just a friend or acquaintance to shake her hand. So their good byes were a few seconds or awkward silence and mumbles or farewells.

Sydney sighed heavily as she walked through the door of the trailer. She really didn't mind the time she was spending with Daryl, the only problem was she liked him, and she knew he liked her. Daryl was just so closed up that she knew he would never admit how he felt or pursue anything with her but sex. She knew she was setting herself up to get hurt. At this moment she didn't really care.

"How's Daryl?"

She turned and looked at her aunt sitting on the couch reading Vogue. She didn't look up from the fashion pages; she just smiled. Sydney just rolled her eyes and sat next to her aunt. "We're just having fun. Having what happened with Greg I'm not looking for anything serious"

"That's just what your mom said"

"When is your appointment?"

Mimi smiled knowing she was trying to change the subject. Despite never meeting or raising her Sydney was just like her mother. "I'm going to be leaving in a few minutes"

"I can't believe you have another doctors appointment. It's just the flu and you don't even have it anymore"

Mimi looked at her niece and smiled softly at her niece. She knew she would have to tell her what was going on sooner or later. "Better safe then sorry. I better head out"

Sydney nodded her head and watched her aunt leave. She got off the couch and walked to the window to see her aunt drive off. She walked quickly to the kitchen and looking in the cabinets above the sink. She knew that's where her aunt left her many medicines the doctors have prescribed for her.

Isentress, Rescriptor, Epzicom, Prezista, Aptivus, and Complara. She had no idea what these medicines were for so she decided to go on her laptop and find out what they were. What she saw was not what they were used for. She thought maybe cancer but she never would have thought this.

She sat on the couch with her head in her hands and her leg bouncing nervously. She was waiting for her aunt to come home. She couldn't comprehend what she was feeling. Hurt, sadness and betrayed.

"Hey honey. I brought tacos!" Smiled Mimi as she saw her sitting on the couch. Just by looking at her she would have never guessed. The more she looked at her the more she could tell she was sick. As Mimi walked into the kitchen Sydney noticed her very thin figure more.

"Aids?" Mimi dropped the bag of tacos on the table and turned slowly toward her niece. Sid got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. She glared at her aunt's dumbstruck face. "What? You thought I wasn't going to find out? Where you even going to tell me?"

"Of course I was!" sighed Mimi sitting down at the breakfast table. Now that Sydney knew about her illness she didn't have to pretend to be as strong. After her doctors appointment she was extremely tired. "I was just waiting for the right moment"

"What? When you were on your death bed?! Mimi the drugs you are taking are for advanced cases of aids! How long have they given you?"

"A year"

Sydney felt like a bucket of ice water was poured on her. A year? That's all she had left with her aunt? A fucking year?! "You should have said something"

"What was I suppose to say? Hi I'm your aunt Mimi I know your moms dead but let's be a family! Oh by the way we only have a year before I die due to me being a whorebag!"

"You could have told me instead of lying about the doctors! You didn't have to tell me right away. It's just the fact you have hid this from me for so long" She could feel the tears running down her face, but at this point she just so numb. She just got her aunt she wasn't ready to loose her.

Mimi nodded and grabbed Sydney's hand pulling her to sit across from her. She never let go of her hand as she looked at her niece. "Me and your mom were born to rich, high class sophisticated parents who taught us to be just like them. Katrina and me didn't want to be like our parents. We hated all of their friends; they acted like they were better then everyone. We were sent to public school because we refused to go to private school with all the snobs. Your mom being the youngest didn't really rebel as much. The only bad thing that she really did was get pregnant.

Me on the other hand was a whole different story. I was older then your mother and as soon as I finished high school and I moved out and explored the world. I went everywhere and did EVERYTHING. There was never a moment in my early 20s where I wasn't drunk or high. I had a different lover every other week. Hell I was even with woman. I was a mess, but I was having so much fun I didn't really see anything wrong with it.

That was until I met Jasper. He was the love of my life. I was with him for two years and we did everything together. One day I got really sick and I was taking all types of flu and cold medicine and nothing was working. So I went to the free clinic and found out that I was HIV positive. The bastard cheated on me with some male prostitute, and he didn't wear a condom cause then it would have made him gay. That was around the time your mom started dating your dad. I was missing so much of her life she didn't really tell me over the phone or emails. And what's worse was I left her with our parents.

I finally came home; I got an apartment and found a job. I was there for your mom and worked more on my art. I saw this add about being a message artist and it got me intrigued. When your mom was sent to Chicago I went with her and stayed with our cousin until she gave birth. Our parents treated her like she was scum on the bottom of their shoes, so I took her in.

I had gotten so much clientele and was selling my art I was able to move us out of the apartment and into this luxury trailer. Your mom was devastated when I told her about my disease. I never told her, I didn't want her to worry. I finally told her when she brought up me never dating. She was mad at me for hiding it for so many years. But after she got over her anger she went to meetings with me, self help groups and doctors appointments. Our parents say that it's my punishment for following a life of sin. Dirty blood runs through my veins."

Sydney dried the tears from her face and looked at her aunt. She could see the dark circles under eye and how sunk in her face was. She just grabbed her aunt and hugged her. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, but you should have said something.

Mimi laughed softly. "That's just what your mother said" She smiled at her niece and was so grateful for God sending her not one but two wonderful people in her life to care for her. "I'm beat kiddo. I'm going to bed early." Sydney just nodded her head and watched her aunt go to her room.

Sydney looked down at her hands and took in everything Mimi just told her. She just found her, it's not far that was going to be taken away from her so soon. Whenever Sydney found a place something always came up and she was on her own again. She knew she had to stay around for her aunt, but she wasn't so sure what she was going to do after Mimi died.

Would she stay here? She's made friends and she has a good steady job. She has been finding a place to settle down and she found it. She was just really hoping that her aunt would be a big factor in that. And then there was Daryl…

Sydney looked across the living room at Daryl's flannel she took with her when she left this morning. She got up and grabbed it wanting to take it back to its owner. She totally forgot that she had been crying and her eyes were red and puffy. She needed to get her mind off of Mimi, she needed a distraction and Daryl was that distraction.

When he answered the door he didn't expect to see Sydney standing there like a lost puppy clutching his flannel as a lifeline. "Hey um I just wanted to give this back to you" He grabbed the shirt and nodded his head. He knew she was upset. What the hell was he supposed to do? He wasn't the comforting type. If she thought he would hug her and tell her everything was going to be all right she went to the wrong person. She just stood on the porch staring down at their shoes. She always found it funny Daryl never took off his shoes in his house. The only time he ever took them off was when he went to bed.

"Is that it?"

"Oh um yeah" She nodded and looked up at him. He had this bored look on his face as he looked at her. When their eyes met he would look off to the side. He never really looked her in the eyes really. "It's just I found out Mimi has aids and she only has a year left or less"

"Oh that sucks?"

She laughed softly and shook her head. Why did she come here? What did she expect, him to hold her and be her shoulder to cry on? That wasn't Daryl; she went to the wrong person if she was looking for any type of comfort.

She turned to head back home, maybe she'll call up Jolene. "Hey um do you want to watch a movie? They're showing Blade 2 on Spike" She looked at him and he looked to the side as he chewed on his thumbnail. He was nervous. She nodded her head and followed him inside. She sat on the couch as he went to get them some beer.

"Shit" Daryl cursed as they both saw a set up headlights illuminate the house. "Wait for me in the room" Sydney nodded her head and quickly entered his bedroom. She leaned in close to the door and pressed her ear to it.

"Where's my good for nothing son?!" she heard will yell as he threw the door open. The words were muffled but Sydney could still make out what was being said. "There he is" Daryl looked at his father; he knew he was drunk.

"Sorry Daryl" apologized Jessie as he saw the look on his nephews face. "We caught a big buck and your old man wanted to celebrate on the way back"

Daryl nodded his head and watched his father walk to his room. "Don't apologize for me! Boy don't need to know shit about what I do! "

"Thanks Jessie" Jessie nodded his head and slapped Daryl on the shoulder and went back to his truck to go home.

Daryl followed his father into his room and watched his collapse on the bed. Daryl was about to close the door and paused when he heard what his father usually said in one of his drunken states "You should have died instead of yo mama"

He just sighed and walked to his room. Sydney jumped from the door and on the bed and made it look like she wasn't ease dropping. Daryl sat on the bed and started to take of his boots. He had this look on his face he always got after dealing with Will when he was drunk. Which was majority of the time.

Sydney knew Daryl would never talk about it and knew his defenses would go up right away if she even mentioned anything about his father coming back early. She sat up and scooted closer to him.

She placed her hands on his thigh and started to kiss his neck up and down. Out of instinct Daryl tilted his head and allowed Sid to assault his neck with her mouth. She bit his earlobe and tugged on it with her teeth. Daryl turned and attacked her mouth with his as he ran his hand into her hair.

She turned her body and brought them both to lie down on the bed. She started to unbutton his shirt as his mouth moved from her mouth to her neck and down her chest.

They both needed a distraction and they found it in each other. At this moment Mimi dying from aids didn't matter and Will constant abuse was forgotten. They both needed each other, even though one of them wouldn't admit it.

**AUTHORS NOTE: ****I'm so glad you guys are liking this story! I have so much planned for this story! I have about 4 more chapters written! Please comment! I'll post more often! Thank you to everyone who has commented favorited and followed!**


	4. Chapter 4

"I dislocated my shoulder when I was thirteen. I was staying with my foster parents the Boyd's in Boston at the time. I dislocated it doing karate" Sydney laughed. She was currently lying in a hammock in the back of Daryl's trailer as he cleaned his knifes.

"You did karate?" he snorted not even looking up from his task.

"Yup! My foster parent Neil wanted me to learn how to defend myself. I actually thought that would end up being my actual parents and not foster. They did too, that's why they let me take all these classes"

"What happened?"

"What always happens; Jill got pregnant and they could no longer take care of a foster kid and a baby on the way. After that I never expected to be adopted by any foster parent. Didn't want to keep getting hurt so I just reframed from getting close to anyone"

"When I was younger, I never really played with any of this kids around the neighborhood. When Merle would end up in juvie that changed. I would hang out with the kids and made friends and had fun doing shit kids do together. But when Merle came home that all changed. He'd only be around for a bit and then be gone again. Those friends never really stayed and had no one after. Hard to keep any relationship"

It's been almost 6 months since they started…doing whatever they were doing. Everyone knew about them, but everyone knew Daryl too so they didn't say anything. He started to open up more with her, but not as much. He talked more then he normally did but he still his short-tempered self. She would get to a point where she wanted more and wanted to call it quits. Just one look into his blue eyes and she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew she doomed, and it was all her fault. She knew she shouldn't have fallen for her. She knew that type of relationship would never happen.

Things between them were different though. She could tell in the way he would talk to her or by the way he started to chew on his thumb nail less and less around her. She took this as a sign that he felt more comfortable around her. She could tell things were different even by the way they had sex. Daryl participated more and took things a bit slower. She wasn't complaining at all.

"Yeah, I get that. Constantly moving from foster home to foster home didn't really help with my relationships. Friend and boyfriends, especially boyfriends."

"You have a lot of boyfriends?"

"Not really. I tried to stay away from that because I moved around a lot. I broke up with my last boyfriend before I came here. The distance and constant travel didn't help. We were in a band together and the girls always throwing themselves at him didn't really help either. I kind of just wanted to settle down somewhere, was tired of never having a permanent home."

Daryl looked at her lying in the hammock messing around on her phone. "Is that what you want? To stay here and settle down?"

Sydney shrugged and looked at Daryl. "I really don't know what I want. When I decided to come here I was hoping to meet my mom maybe get to know her, finally have a mom. Maybe meet someone settle down here start a family. I don't know"

Daryl nodded his head and got back to cleaning his knifes, a little more aggressively this time. "I aint boyfriend material you know? I sure as hell ain't no prince charming. That ain't never going to be me, should know that by know" Sydney looked at Daryl and saw him starting to put his knives away. He wasn't looking at her. Even when he got up to wash his hands at the hose that was right buy her. Rolling her eyes to sat up from the hammock and started to put her boots back on. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going home. I already know where this conversation is going and I'll shared both of us the grief and not wanting to here what I have to say and your response to it. I know you aren't going to like it and get all awkward and shut me out. So I'll spare both of us the grief." She took of his flannel and threw it at him. "This was fun Daryl I'll see you at The Bull Dog"

Daryl just stood there dumbfounded as he watched her walk home. _Women. _He thought as he rolled his eyes and headed back to the shack to put away the hunting tools.

When Sydney entered the house she expected to smell the wonderful aroma of her aunt's blueberry muffins but all she smelled was burned muffins. Her aunt never burned her muffins. Sydney walked into the kitchen to see Mimi passed out of the flower of the kitchen. "Mimi?!" she ran to her and fell on the floor turning her over on her back.

When she felt her head she had to move her hand off of skin right away. She was burning up. "Hold on Mimi" she got up and grabbed her phone calling 911 as she turned off the oven.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"Hi, My name is Sydney Cooper and I found my aunt passed out on the floor. She's running a very high fever and her breath is very shallow"

"Okay, we'll be there right away. Has your aunt been sick?"

"No, but um she's HIV positive"

"Okay Sydney, we're sending out an ambulance and they should be there in a few minutes. Until then I need to get a cold washcloth with ice in it and put it to her face. It should lower the fever a bit"

The next hour passed in such a blur for Sydney. She felt like she waited for the ambulance for hours when in reality it was only for 5 minutes. She followed her aunt into the wailing ambulance with tears running down her face. She was so scared she was going to loose her aunt. It wasn't fair; they said she had a year. It wasn't her time to go!

She could see the neighbors standing out of their homes watching to see what was going on. She wasn't sure who was standing there watching them, but knew for sure one person was watching when she met those blue eyes she would constantly dream of. Their conversation was the furthest thing on her mind. She might loose her aunt sooner then she thought. She wasn't ready to loose another mother.

Her aunt was diagnosed with pneumocystis jiroveci, it was a type of pneumonia aids patiences often got. Sydney currently was laying her head on her hands bed and she held her hand waiting for her to wake up. Mimi was hooked up to all kinds of machines. She looked so frail and broken. "Hey Sid". She looked up and saw Mimi smiling down at her. "Got pneumonia again?" Sydney couldn't talk, she was too afraid she'd break down if she did. "Haven't gotten it in a long time" Mimi just sighed and closed her eyes. "Sing me Octopus's Garden kiddo"

Sydney wiped her eyes and started singing one her aunt's favorite songs

_I'd like to be under the sea_

_In an octopus's garden in the shade_

_He'd let us in, knowns where we've been_

_In his octopus's garden in the shade_

Sydney looked up at the sky as she took a deep intake of her cigarette. She leaned her head against the wall of the hospital as she tried to concentrate of the stair constellations above her. Mimi had fallen asleep to Sydney singing to her, Sid had to get out of the hospital. She didn't want to loose it in front of her aunt. As soon as she got outside into the fresh air she broke down. She was in a secluded area of the hospital so no one saw her bawl like a baby.

The light from the moon was blocked and someone's shadow was currently covering her. She looked up to see the last person she thought would come to see her. Daryl just stood there not looking at her; he would just flick his eyes to her briefly and look away.

She stood there very stiffly with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face. He looked very uncomfortable to be there and most likely fought himself whether or not he should have came.

"I'm not boyfriend material. I ain't going to bring you flowers or any type of damn gifts. I'll forget your damn birthday and other dates. I ain't going to take you to no fancy restaurants. Hell, I might not even take you on dates; especially no damn double dates. No one needs to know our business. Shit between us ain't changing. I'm not going to be sweet now and treat you any other way."

She smiled and stood up facing him. He had that bored look on his face again. She knew he was extremely nervous just by looking in his eyes. Never in a million years would she have guessed that Daryl would be asking her to be his girlfriend. Yeah, she knew that's what his big rant was about.

"Who would want that?" she said in a deadpan voice.

"Sarcastic bitch" he growled as she rapped her arms around his neck bringing them close.

"Stupid hick" she smirked before kissing him

**Authors Note:**

**I am on an updating roll! Check out my other Daryl story and let know what you think and this one too!**


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Walking Dead, Romance