Mercy on Me

I must admit, though... I'm going through some major Norman Reedus withdrawals.. At least I'll be meeting him June 1st, in New York City. Boomski. Until then and until October, we have stories like these to keep us going, right? Right.

Yesterday when I started to edit my Maze Runner story, about halfway through it hit me; I just really wanted to start writing this TWD chapter, so I did. And here's the bad news that pissed me off to no end: I was about.. three-quarters done with this chapter, I was pretty happy. You know, working hard ALL DAY FREAKING LONG on this chapter, and around 730PM, my Microsoft Word freezes and I literally scream "Holy shit, no!". I'm not known for saving my work, as you all know from my previous Word experiences. Then pops up the "Word is not responding" page. And by this point I'm biting my nails, which is something I never do. Then the "Restarting Word; this may take a few minutes" page pops up.. Then Word just completely closes. Eventually, it reopened and gave me the option to open the autosaved version, and by this point I'm saying "Please God, please. Let there be words on the page,". I open it, and BOOM! The first two sentences of the damn chapter are there. That's it. Nothing else.

Needless to say, I changed the entire chapter. Besides Word screwing me over, want to know why?

While writing the chapter the first time, I went back and read previous chapters and for some reason felt that my story was missing its old spark. Something about the older chapters made me laugh, made me excited.. Needless to say, I felt that I haven't been writing my best work lately.

I wrote this chapter three times. I'm pretty proud of it; it ties up a lot of loose ends from previous chapters, such as things that were mentioned once and forgotten about. Well, I'm bringing them all back, starting with this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter more than I enjoyed writing it, because this chapter was a bitch.

I'm loving the Character Applications that I'm receiving! They're all great, it's going to be so hard. Don't forget, type up the application in the **Comment Box**!

It's much easier and organized with them there rather than scattered through my PMs. Any questions, however, feel free to PM me. Just in case you haven't written your application, it will be posted below after the chapter.

Okay, guys. I am SO sorry for my ranting. Please read, please enjoy, please love.(:

*Don't own TWD, but it would be nice.*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drifting Carnies; Glad you took the time to read my story! Loving Evie, by the way! I'm also relieved to hear that my storylines are believable. Definitely one of the things I'm always worried about since I switch things up so much. But of course, no review is crappy! I love each and every one, so thank you!(:

HotRanger69; I'm so excited to meet him, you have no idea! And yes, Costa freakin Rita! I will definitely post photos!(: Rain? Wow, I wish we had rain again.. It's going to be summer soon and it's in the 40's every day.. How does that make sense?! To be honest, I wish I was your veggie garden right now=/ I know, 620, right? Well, I jinxed it. It's 2AM here... I am way too dedicated to this story. I've never tried cheesecake ice cream, though it sounds amazing! My new obsession is Ben & Jerry's Reese's flavored ice cream... All I can say, is holy crap, it's amazeballs. But yes, Otis is BACK! Totally a spur of the moment thing when I brought him back.. Not a lot about him this chapter, but we will hear his side of the story soon! Shit's about to hit the fan for Mr. Walsh! Borgias? I love Borgias! I swear, we were separated at birth. But hey you have until Sunday to fill out an application if you change your miiiind;) Thanks again for the awesome reviews. I love them so much, they always make my day!(:

Mikey Whiskey Hands; Harper's pretty much had it with Shane at this point; he's going to have to work pretty hard to get her back. Question is, does he really want to? But no, your ideas are great! You never know, I might be typing the same stuff that you're thinking! Great minds think alike, yes? And eeeep! That comment just made my day. I'm stoked about your opinion on Daryl, it's such a huge relief to hear that I am pulling off the Dixon himself. Thank you for the awesome reviews!(:

Just.Breathe.; I have the WORST Walking Dead nightmares, let me tell you.. I had one last night, actually! The only one that I remember that wasn't scary was my in this awesome red Ferrari, right? Daryl was on my left, shooting walkers through the window with his crossbow, while Rick was on my right, shooting walkers through his window with a gun.. Pretty much the only one that didn't absolutely terrify me. Love hearing that you're enjoying the twists and turns of the story! They keep me on my toes, too! By the way, thanks for saying 'hell, why not?' and writing about Blake! That's the coolest name for a girl, seriously! Loving what you wrote about her! Also, anyone can be a good writer. I used to think the same thing about my writer, so I just went for it. You never know until you try! Thanks for the review!(:

xXSad_GurlXx; Not a problem for the character description; as long as you're enjoying what you're reading, I'm happy! I'm happy that reading this can help you escape whatever is going on in life; I know writing it helps me a TON! Have a good sleep, and thank you for the review!(:

C.K.Dexter-Haven; Good luck in the contest as well! I hope you got enough sleep for school.. I had one reader who took a failing grade on school work so she could read my story! I felt terrible yet awesome all at the same time. I couldn't agree more when it comes to Daryl and Harper.. If neither of them make the first move, I think we all know that Merle would love to be their counselor! Please, get some sleep! Thanks for the awesome review!(:

**Thank you to each and every one of you who keeps Reviewing, PMing, favoriting, etc. Each and everyone of you means the world to me, and you're all what inspires me to keep writing Harper's crazy journey.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Get us more bandages!".

"We need more water!".

Members of Hershel's family as well as some of my group were milling around in pursuit of the necessary ingredients needed to keep Otis alive.

Otis.

He's alive?

When I had heard of the news from Shane I almost couldn't believe it. Shane had been convinced that he had killed him!

"Harper, do you think you could get us some gauze from the RV?".

Looking up from the trance I had been in for the last few minutes, I saw Lori standing above me with her arms crossed against her chest. I had a snarky comeback ready to go, but I just couldn't bring myself to say anything; she just wasn't worth it.

"Yup," I nodded, pushing off of my knees to stand. I started for the door of Hershel's house when Lori's voice piped up again.

"Oh, Harper?".

My teeth began to grind against each other, already knowing that whatever was going to come out of her mouth wouldn't be pleasant.

"I'd really appreciate it if you would let me deal with Rick.. He's my husband, I can handle him,".

My eyebrows shot up in surprise as I spun around to face her.

"Deal with him? Handle him? He's not a little boy that needs reprimanding Lori, he's a grown man," I threw back at her.

Sure, Lori wasn't worth the fighting, but I wasn't prepared to listen to her talk about Rick like that.

"Look, Harper... Rick and I are going through a tough time right now, with Carl's injury and everything," Lori started, but actually began to laugh a little. "Sorry, sorry. But really, sweetie, don't you think that.. Well, don't you think that Rick's a bit too old for you?" Lori continued to ask me in the sweetest way possible.

"What are you getting at?" I asked, crossing my arms to match her stance.

She isn't really accusing me of what I think she is, is she? Lori let out a heavy breath as she clapped her hands together and pressed them against her mouth.

"I think it's obvious; you've always had a little crush on Rick, but you need to realize that he's taken. We're happily married, and if there's ever a problem, I will be the one to solve it,".

Hearing Lori's speech practically forced me to let out a bark of laughter.

"You do realize that you're the biggest fucking hypocrite that's still alive, right?".

I couldn't help but roll my eyes when Lori took a step back in shock.

"Harper, I know that it's not what you want to hear, but—,".

"No, I think that you don't want to hear that I'm closer with your husband than you'll ever be, Lori. You can't deal with the fact that your husband comes to me with his problems and not you. Of all of the people here to criticize, you choose me? The little sister of the man that you've been fucking for the last few months?" I spat, my voice barely above a whisper. Just at the mention of Shane, Lori's face grew beet red.

"That meant nothing," Lori sneered, jutting her chin upwards.

"Oh, it didn't? Well you should probably tell Shane considering he almost punched me over it," I rolled my eyes, completely disgusted with the conversation.

How dare she?

How dare she accuse me of something so crazy when she was the one screwing up my brother's brain? Lori shot me a surprised look at the idea of Shane fighting me.

"He wouldn't do that, Harper. Don't be crazy," she mumbled, tripping over her own words.

No matter what she said, we both knew it was true; she had messed him up, and messed him up good.

"Well you clearly don't know him as well you think you do; and you also clearly can't tell that you're losing your husband more and more every day," my voice was rising quickly in tone and anger, so I turned on my heel and headed once again for the front door.

I didn't want to be the one to tell Rick about his wife's affair.

"Just go find another man to chase—preferably one that isn't married," Lori shot back, throwing her to the side in defiance.

Letting out a deep breath to control myself, my hand landed on the doorknob and yanked the screen door open.

"Why don't you to stick to one man—preferably the one you're married to, you home-wrecking bitch,".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I didn't bother getting the gauze Lori had asked for; she wanted to save the man's life so bad, she could go get it. Bounding down the house's front steps, I threw a hand up to shade my eyes from the sun. My eyes scanned the property in search of my brother, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Shane, Shane, Shane..." I sighed, shaking my head.

When I realized that I had nothing to do, I plopped my ass down onto the steps and leaned my head up against the railing, enjoying the warm Georgia sun.

"Hey, God. How's it going up in the clouds?" the words slipped out of my before I realized I was even saying anything.

Tilting my head back, I looked up into the clouds.

"Excuse my language, God, but it's pretty shitty down here," I sighed, running a hand back through my long hair.

Running a hand through it made me realize how much I loved the length of my slowly growing hair.

"I know I've never been a super religious person, but your help right now would mean so much to me.. You see, I've got this annoying bit—I mean, brat who's insisting that I'm in love with her husband, when she's the one having an affair with my brother! My brother..." I sighed, shaking my head once again.

"Oh, my brother. Shane's a whole other problem, God. Something's up with him, I don't know what. Lori's messing with his head and I don't know how to fix it; I can't lose my brother. Gosh, who am I kidding? You're probably laughing at me right now, buddy. I guess I'll just finish this up; any help would be greatly appreciated," I rambled on and on, listing off my problems for everyone to hear.

Standing up, I made the sign of the cross, chuckling slightly.

"Lord's name," I giggled, shaking my head.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"She really said that stuff? That's just wrong!" Glenn shook his head in surprise.

"I know! I mean seriously, who the hell does she think she is? Does she not realize that we all know about her and Shane? She's lucky I don't just walk up to Rick and say, 'oh hey, your wife's screwing my brother, sorry'!" I growled, throwing the binoculars down into my lap in aggravation.

"Don't bother with her, bud. I'm still your friend," Glenn patted me on the knee, smiling from ear to ear.

His obnoxious, goofy grin was so sweet and sincere that I smiled back, laughing slightly.

"Best friend?" I corrected him.

"You got it," he reassured me, nudging my shoulder with his.

I had been relieved when Glenn had asked me to keep him company while on he was on watch. I needed to do something—anything, to get Lori off of my mind.

"You don't have to stay here the whole time, you know. I've got night shift," Glenn reminded me, but I just shrugged in reply.

"Doesn't bother me. I'd rather be up here than in there," I said back, pointing towards the Greene house.

Glenn nodded slowly before grabbing the binoculars from my lap.

"Is there someone else you'd rather be with?" Glenn whispered suggestively, pointing the binoculars in the direction of both Dixon tents.

"Who else could I possibly want to spend my time with?" I asked, feigning fake curiosity.

"Merle," Glenn said simply.

I couldn't hold in my laughing anymore as my top half bent over in laughter.

"I think you've got the wrong Dixon, Pizza Boy," I snorted, winking towards my friend.

"We're back to that again?" Glenn muttered, shaking his head playfully.

"Oh c'mon, it's cute!" I laughed, shoving him lightly.

"That's it, you've lost the privilege of my Watch Buddy for the night; get out of here, Harper,".

At that, Glenn stood up and threw his hands under my arms, pulling me to a standing position.

"But—," I began, but Glenn started pushing me towards the ladder for the RV, making me squeal.

"Don't want to hear it! Go!".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I swear, sometimes I just want to knock her out," I spat, curling my body into a ball.

"Ya can't let 'er get to ya," Daryl replied quietly before blowing a ring of smoke out of his mouth.

Watching the smoke ring escape his mouth, I reached up and ran my fingers through it, enjoying the glare Daryl was currently shooting me.

"It's going to kill you, you know," I smiled cheekily.

"Everyone's bound to die; rather it be from cigarettes than geeks," Daryl mumbled, the burning cigarette hanging limply from the corner of his mouth.

Despite my views on smoking, I couldn't help but think that watching Daryl smoke was incredibly sexy; he was probably the only guy that can pull shit like that off.

"I don't want you dying early if you don't have to," I sighed, leaning my head against Daryl's shoulder. "Then I'll be stuck with Merle,".

I smiled to myself when I felt Daryl chuckling against my body.

"Doubt he would mind," Daryl grunted.

Turning my head so I was facing Daryl, I let out a loud yawn right against his ear.

"Dammit Barbie, want to make me deaf?" Daryl growled, but the tone in his voice was playful.

For a while we just sat there in front of his tent, watching the sun begin to set, which made me happy. Ever since we'd met, Daryl and I hadn't needed a conversation to keep the air normal. Our whole relationship was awkward, anyway.

"I miss it," I whispered to myself, not realizing that Daryl could hear me.

"Miss what, Walsh? I ain't a fuckin' mind reader," he asked me, running a finger up my clothed arm.

"The CDC,".

Daryl's head jerked to the left to face mine in surprise.

"T'fuck you miss that place for?".

Before I knew it, I was letting out a sigh.

"Daryl, for the day that we were there, we felt safe. We had fun. I was worrying about the little things: my makeup, what to wear, what tree we would use for Christmas... Now that's all thrown out the window. Carl got shot! If we hadn't have been forced to leave, the kids would be playing board games, we would be making each other pancakes.. I don't know, I just miss it," I replied, wiping tears out of my eyes before they could drip down my cheeks.

I felt Daryl's body shift against my uncomfortably, like he didn't know how to react.

"And now, my brother is completely falling apart, Otis is somehow freaking alive, everyone thinks that I'm having an affair with Rick... I just need a break from everything," I let go, my voice cracking.

Looking over at Daryl, I could tell that he was beyond uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Shit, Daryl, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to listen to me go crazy like this," I sniffled, running my hand against my nose.

Daryl's eyebrows furrowed in thought before speaking.

"You ain't crazy. And I don't mind, I guess,".

When he stood up in a hurry, I fell to the dirt ground.

"Excuse you!" I shot him a glare as I stood up, brushing the dirt and grass off of my clothes.

"Got somethin' for ya," he grunted before jogging over to his truck.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Folding my arms in confusion, I stood glued to my spot and waited for Daryl to come back. He hadn't found something that he wanted to give me, had he? On the inside, I prayed he had, but on the other hand, I prayed he didn't.

"Is that—?" I began to ask, but stopped when Daryl nodded.

"S'yer phone," Daryl replied, plopping my beat-up iPhone into the palm of my hand.

"I forgot about it!" I smiled, holding onto it tightly.

When I noticed Daryl's eyes running over my body, I couldn't help but blush and tilt my head to the side.

"Watched the video ya made at the CDC," he told me with hesitation.

"Oh.." I replied, thinking back to the video I had made.

While burning my countless CD's in Jenner's office, I had decided to begin making videos to document our lives in the zombie apocalypse. When things had gone haywire, however, I had forgotten about my phone.

"Where was it?" I asked him, looking up to see his blue eyes.

"Fell under yer seat in ma truck," he explained, nudging his head towards his car.

"My seat, huh?" I slurred, smirking towards the redneck.

What threw me for a loop was when Daryl started blushing.

Daryl Dixon, blushing? No way in Hell.

"S'not like anybody else is plannin' on sittin' there," he stuttered, making up for his slip-up.

Deciding that I didn't want to sit on the hard ground anymore, I half walked, half skipped over to Daryl's truck and hopped up onto the hood with a loud thud.

"Yer gonna dent it, ya fat ass," Daryl rolled his eyes as he followed me.

"Shut up, I'm not that fat," I joked, matching his eye roll.

"Don't start on that shit Barbie, ya ain't fat, period," Daryl growled, annoyed with my statement.

I let his anger be and held down the power button on my phone, glad to see that it hadn't died since the CDC.

"Charged it for ya," Daryl whispered, against my ear, making me jump.

Turning slowly to face him, I leaned down and planted a warm kiss against his jawline. My lips parted, making their way up his jaw towards his ear. My tongue slowly poked through against his long, lean neck when he leaned into my body.

When I finally reached his ear, I whispered a "thank you" before pulling away. Daryl placed a hand atop my thigh and shot me a look as if to say, 'that's it?', so I leaned forward and planted my lips firmly against his.

When his hand began to run up the length of my thigh, I pulled away and placed my attention to my cell phone. Ignoring Daryl's sighs of frustration, I pulled up the video that I had made in the CDC and hit play.

"In case something ever happens to me, my name is Harper Walsh. I'm twenty-five years old, and I'm actually living in a zombie apocalypse.. I know, it must sound crazy. I remember when it had it first started, me and my brother Shane were on our way to my brother's company picnic; he's a cop. Well, he was. Now we're living with a bunch of people that we probably would've never met before, and I love them all so much.. I'm actually living in the CDC right now; the Center for Disease Control? It's the safest place we've ever had since the outbreak. Doctor Jenner let us in, it's amazing. We're just so incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon this place—.

"Oh, my CD is done! I'm burning music CDs for everyone since it's been a long time since we've heard a lot of music. Now that we can actually listen to—.

"Hello?.

"Doctor Jenner? Rick?".

"Wait a minute.." I said out loud.

Hitting pause, I looked up at Daryl who sitting next to me on the hood of his truck.

"I didn't know that I was filming this,".

Without answering me, Daryl pressed one large finger against the phone's screen, resuming the video. Reliving the last few terrifying minutes of our time are the CDC, Daryl and I watched my conversation with Shane, my time running back to my room to pack up my stuff, and when I had almost killed Doctor Jenner.

"I'm glad I didn't kill him," I choked out as the video continued to run.

"Why's that?" I heard Daryl ask me.

"It would've changed me; to kill a walker, sure. They have no emotions.. But to kill a living person? I just don't think that I can do it," I muttered, shaking my head furiously.

My breathing calmed down when I felt Daryl's hand begin to run the course of my back.

"Gotta do what'cha got to do, Harper," Daryl grunted, placing his empty hand against his lips.

Another bad habit, I thought to myself.

Pausing the video, I leaned up and kissed him once more, leaning into his strong body. When we finally pulled apart, he shot me a smile.

"That was for...?".

"For killing a living person to save my life," I thanked him again, remembering the time that I had almost gotten kidnapped and raped by some crazy man.

Merle had wounded him by shooting him, but Daryl had ended his life with Daryl's trusty crossbow. I watched him purse his lips together in silence before nodding.

"Did what I had to,".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If my phone was under my seat, how did it film all of this?" I asked with slight curiosity.

Not only was my phone holding memories of the CDC, it was holding random memories up until the last couple of days at the farm.

"Well I know you wanted to film yer life in the apocalypse, so I did it for you; makes it more real without you knowin', anyway," Daryl explained to me as he ran his fingers up and down my back.

I couldn't help but smile when the latest video popped up on the screen.

"Goddamn Merle just ran off with Harper, makin' me look like a fucking idiot," Daryl growled as he pushed through the racks of clothes. "Guess I'll just havta cut 'em off.. No pun intended, brother,".

"This is at the Walmart!" I turned to Daryl, grinning widely.

"Like it?" he asked me, doubt crossing over his features.

"I love it.. What I don't get is how you kept this a secret from me! You must've looked like an idiot filming the Georgia scenery!" I giggled, hopping off of the hood of Daryl's truck. "But seriously; it's wonderful, thank you," I thanked him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

Standing up on my toes, I kissed him lightly. I was surprised when Daryl pushed me away slightly.

"Kids are out," Daryl pointed out Carl and Sophia running out of the RV with more supplies.

"I really should be helping them out with Otis.." I sighed, tapping my fingers against Daryl's broad shoulders.

Daryl let out a snort as he looked at the Greene house which was lit by a good amount of candles.

"Don't owe them nothin', Harper; Rick owes them,".

My head automatically nodded, knowing that Daryl was right; what had they done for me? I still felt bad, though.

"When's it your turn for watch?" I looked up again at Daryl.

"Not 'till tomorrow mornin', why?" Daryl replied, running his thumb over his bottom lip.

"Come on!" I cheered, taking hold of his hand.

Running over to his truck, I hopped in and fumbled around in Daryl's pockets for the keys, something he didn't protest.

"Greene's are going to hate me for this," I muttered to myself.

Turning the key in the ignition, I popped open the glove box.

"Hope you don't think I'm lettin' you drive ma truck, Barbie," Daryl threatened me, but I knew it was only in good fun.

"No at all, Ken, not at all,".

When I finally found what I was looking for, I leaned my cell phone up against the windshield and hit record so that it was filming the giant yard of the Green property. Pressing 'Play' on the stereo, Cher Lloyd started to blare through the speakers, but not to the point where it could be heard off of the property.

"Not this shit again.." Daryl groaned as Cher's voice filled the air.

"Yes, this shit again," I smiled before making my way over to him. When I knew we were in sight of my camera I took his hands in mine. "I'm going to teach you how to dance,".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Fuck no!" Daryl practically yelped before turning to run away.

"Oh please, Daryl? Your brother can dance, why can't you?" I pleaded with the man.

He threw his hands up in the air as he ran away.

"No way, Barbie, no way! I said no at the CDC, I'm sayin' no now!" he shouted before ducking into his rarely used tent.

Reaching his tent, I rapped my knuckles against the zipped up home.

"Don't make me get Merle's ass over here. He'd love to dance with me,".

With that, Daryl reluctantly made his way out of the tent and stared at me through squinted eyes.

"One song," Daryl demanded, but I would take it.

"Deal,".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If we're gon' dance, it can't be to this," Daryl mused, his eyebrows knitting together on concentration as he fiddled with the stereo.

"Then what can we dance to?" I asked playfully, but stopped when I heard the words of the song that Daryl had picked.

"'Cause we run, run for our lives. Run for tomorrow, run for tonight; cause we run, run till we die, no point in livin' if we ain't livin' life, so riot! Riot! Everybody stand up. For the riot! Riot! Put your fucking hands up. Cause we come alive tonight, tonight."

"You remembered?" I asked incredulously.

"Well you danced to it with my brother's hands all over ya, 'course I remember; said it was yer favorite song, right?" Daryl looked up at the night sky, as if recalling the memory.

"It is, indeed.. Jealousy comes in handy sometimes, doesn't it?" I winked, flicking two fingers against his hips.

"A'right, Barbie. M'ready for my dance lesson," Daryl sighed begrudgingly. Taking one of his hands in mine, I shot him a 100-watt smile.

"I get to teach a redneck how to dance. I think that that puts me under 'pretty fucking awesome'!" I joked, throwing my head back in laughter.

"Shut your damn mouth and don't step on my feet,".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"See? This isn't so bad!" I spoke into Daryl's neck as we swayed back and forth.

"This is fucking terrible, Walsh," Daryl replied through gritted teeth. Nipping lightly on his neck, Daryl let out a soft sigh.

"It's not that bad," I reassured him.

We stayed that way for the rest of the song, until to my surprise, Daryl pressed his hand against my back for support and dipped my body low to the ground.

"I thought you don't dance," my voice said in a low tone.

"I don't," Daryl's voice replied in the same low tone before leaning in and kissing me lightly.

Trusting his grip on my body, I let my hands make their way up to cup his cheeks, kissing him back.

"Why wasn't I invited to this lil' shenanigan?" a hearty voice erupted through the air.

It took Daryl by so much surprise that he almost dropped me, forcing me to lock my arms around his taut neck.

"Bad fucking timing, Merle," Daryl sneered, pulling my body upright.

"Nah, we can keep this party goin'!" Merle hooted, slapping my back.

"Ow?" I spat, rubbing the sore spot on my back.

Merle grimaced at my slight pain. We stared at each other for a matter of seconds, both of us clearly missing how we used to be.

Daryl, Merle, and I had been the three amigos; despite my better judgment, I missed Merle.

A lot.

"Hey princess, can we talk?" Merle finally asked, breaking the silence.

Glancing over at Daryl, his eyebrow was raised in question. After giving Merle a small nod, I let him take my hand and lead me toward our tents for privacy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Make it quick," I replied curtly, crossing my arms.

"I just wanted to say tha' I overheard your little argument with the bitch earlier and that I I'm sorry for putting that in people's heads," Merle apologized quickly, not knowing what to do with himself; he was practically bouncing up and down.

"Where the fuck where you, hiding under the couch?" I scoffed, pissed at the fact that he had been eavesdropping on my fight with Lori.

"I'm apologizin', ain't I? Girl, I haven't apologized this much to anyone in my entire life consider yerself lucky," Merle snapped but quickly regained control.

Watching Merle try so hard to earn back my trust and forgiveness made me just want to forget everything so bad.. But did he deserve it?

After all, he had punched me in the face and tried to kill me.

"You know you don't deserve my forgiveness," I reminded the redneck before looking down at the ground.

Merle nodded silently, acknowledging my rude words.

"Look, Harper I.. I'm sorry, okay? I'm fucking sorry! I'm sorry for punchin' ya, I'm sorry for tryin to kill you, I'm sorry for being a dick. Dammit, I'm sorry for being such a pussy," Merle continued to speak before hanging his head in defeat.

Despite the incredible apology that I had just received from Merle freaking Dixon, I couldn't help but giggle at his harsh words towards himself; Merle calling himself a pussy was at bad as it could get.

"I'm not saying that our relationship will be the way it used to be," I told him, avoiding his face so I wouldn't have to see the inevitable smile that was going to be plastered onto his face.

"But..?" Merle asked, his voice full of jitters and excitement.

"But, we can try to move on; like last time, right?" I sighed, shaking my head at my foolishness.

"Of course we fucking can, princess!" Merle shouted, his giant arms engulfing me into a hug.

"Merle, I can't breathe!" I shouted in a harsh whisper, for his hug was squeezing me too tight.

"Shit, I'm sorry, sorry!" Merle jumped back and began to rub the back of his head with his good arm.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The entire Greene family as well as our group of misfits were crowded around the dining room table as Hershel said 'Grace'.

"I would also like to thank you Lord for bringing our Otis back to us today," Hershel smiled, as did everyone else.

We all turned to look at Otis, who was sleeping in the adjacent living room.

"Lord knows what we would've done without him," Hershel continued, nodding at Patricia.

We all said 'Amen' before digging into our meals. As I ate, I felt someone's leg continuously bump into mine. Turning to my left I figured out that it was Shane, trying to get my attention.

"What?" I asked him as I chewed my food.

Everyone else was either having their own private conversations or were so engulfed in the great meal to bother to listen.

"We need to talk, Harper; I can't have you mad at me," Shane pleaded with me before taking a bite of asparagus.

"You can't have me mad at you because you need me on your side or because I'm your sister and you love me?" I asked bitterly as I took a sip of the homemade lemonade Carol and Patricia had made earlier on.

Shane practically threw his fork down onto his plate, but nobody really noticed.

"Dammit, Harper, I need you because I love you. You're my damn sister; I can't lose you too," Shane explained, his forehead crinkling with worry.

"So you bring up Wesley, Shane? Really? For a guy that 'loves me so much' and 'can't lose me', you sure like to tell me the opposite," my voice huffed in a fit of anger, but I quickly composed myself.

"We're not going to deal with this in front of everyone. If you want to apologize the right way, do it in private, Shane," I explained to him, but he didn't want to hear that.

"Harper, you're my sister. Why would I ever be mean to you? Look, I was upset, I didn't mean anything. Can't you just—,". Shane stopped talking when Daryl, who was seated on my right leaned back behind my head to look at Shane.

"She said she wants ta talk about it later,".

My head ended up in the palm of my hand as the two had their testosterone-filled face-off; boy, this is awkward.

"Later Shane, please," I begged with him, placing my hand on top of his.

"I'll calm down if you tell your little bitch to back off," Shane snapped, clearly egging Daryl on.

Unfortunately, it worked. I had to practically jump on top of him to hold Daryl down in his chair so he wouldn't tackle Shane to the floor. How has nobody noticed this tense conversation?

"Calm down, it's not worth it," I whispered in Daryl's ear.

It took a while, but Daryl eventually calmed down enough to plop back down into his seat. Turning around to face Shane, I shot a glare before pushing my chair back.

"For someone who wants my forgiveness so badly, you sure do have a shitty way of showing it,".

Squeezing Daryl's shoulder for reassurance, I stood up and faced the group of people.

"Thank you for the dinner, it was great, really. I'm just not feeling too well, Daryl's going to walk me back to our tent," I smiled at the group while clutching a hand to my stomach.

Daryl finally got the hint and stood up before leading the way out the door.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I just don't get why he's like this, I just don't!" I whimpered, fighting back my tears.

"Asshole's just pissed off b'cause you wouldn't forgive him s'all," Daryl muttered, his voice barely audible.

As we walked through the dead of night, I couldn't help but feel the need to lean against his side. Daryl did flinch a little, but to my relief, he didn't push me away.

"Thank you for not killing my brother tonight, by the way," I chuckled, taking in the scent that was Daryl. He nodded in the darkness, his eyes the only thing that I could really see.

"You're cute and all, Barbie, but I ain't yer bitch," he snorted, which made me laugh right along with him.

"You know, Daryl, not to sound mushy or anything—," I began, but Daryl cut me off.

"If it's mushy, I don't wanna hear it!" he grinned, but I continued anyway.

"I'm just thankful to have found you.. Merle, even,".

"Way ta ruin the moment," Daryl scoffed at the bringing up of Merle.

"I'm serious, Daryl! I would only have Shane right now, and you can see that that isn't going too well. So thank you," I told him, standing up on my toes to kiss him on the cheek.

Our tents were in sight when Daryl stood still, listening for something.

"What?" I whispered, fear racking through my body.

"Sshhh," he shushed me, clearly listening for something.

When I heard the moans, I felt dread enter my body. Latching on to Daryl's bicep, I tried to look for something, anything in the darkness.

"Isn't Glenn on watch?" I asked out loud, even though I wasn't really asking Daryl.

"Clearly ain't doing a good fucking job of it!" Daryl replied harshly.

We stood still for a few more minutes, but the moans weren't getting closer. In fact, they weren't getting farther away, either.

"Where the fuck are the bastards?" I heard Daryl growl, looking around desperately; we didn't want to risk the walkers sneaking up on us.

After a few more minutes, the moaning died down to nothing, as if there hadn't been any noises in the first place.

"Think we're clear?" I asked him, scared to even move.

"Guess so. But just in case, we're sleeping in the truck tonight," he told me, his voice coated with a tone that said "no 'ifs', 'ands', or 'buts' about it".

"I'm going to get neck cramps.." I sighed, even though it couldn't really be heard with a teasing tone; my voice was still laced with fear.

"You can lay on top o' me for all I care, we're staying safe tonight, and that's in the damn truck,".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Cramps!" I groaned obnoxiously as I rolled my body over so that my stomach was pressed up against Daryl's.

"Yer killing me, Barbie," Daryl moaned, letting out a sigh.

"That felt weird," I replied in almost a trance.

Whenever Daryl took a deep breath, I rose with his stomach. When I went to roll over again for at least the fifth time, Daryl took hold of my hips, stopping me.

"Roll over one more time and I'm sleeping on top of you," he threatened me, so I let him readjust our bodies.

"Better," I told him after he reclined the seats so that we had more room. "Why hadn't we thought of that before?" I asked him, laughing in his face.

I felt him shrug as he racked his brain for a smart answer.

"You never complained 'bout neck cramps until now," he grunted.

"Okay, whatever. Time to sleep," I yawned.

Tucking one arm under Daryl's strong side, I placed my other hand against his chest.

"Night, Barbie,".

"Night, Ken,".

I was almost unconscious when the air changed, waking me up immediately.

"Shit, what is that?" I asked Daryl, who clearly smelt it too.

"Patricia and Carol made asparagus, I can't help it.." he yawned, using my hair to cover his nose.

"God dammit, Daryl Dixon," I moaned covering my nose.

"Lord's name,".