Mercy on Me

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HotRanger69; Exactly! I especially hated when she basically told Rick to kill Shane and then freaked out with he did.. Seriously?? But if the washing is being delayed, then I must be doing something right!(: Glad you're loving it so far!
TBPFelton18; I missed getting an hour of Norman Reedus every Sunday<3 But thank you, I'm glad you like it so far!(:
Nicole Waffles:P; I'm top three? That means SO much! Never thought I would hear something like that, thank you. As of now, it's going to depend on the readers and fans of the story, but I'm almost definitely going to be writing a sequel.(:
RoadieEm; I love catching up! Happens to me all of the time, where I don't get to read any stories for a while and then have near twenty chapters to read; that isn't bad, though!
Marrie; Eeep! Thank you, your comment made my day!<3
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"Wanna get'chur ass outta my face?" I heard Daryl growl as he swatted at my waist.

"I'm sorry! Merle said it was back here.." I yelped as I threw Daryl's stuff aimlessly around his truck.

"Well then stop makin' a damn mess! What are ya even lookin' for?" he asked me, throwing his hands up into the air in defeat.

I let myself fall back into the bench seat of Daryl's truck, my hair falling into my face. I threw it to the back of my head before sighing.

"All Merle said was that he had stashed a stapled brown bag in the back of your truck somewhere and asked if I could find it, so that was what I was trying to do before you complained about my ass being in your face!" I argued pointing a finger at his small nose, which he continued to scrunch up.

"I ain't complain' bout it if it benefits me,".

I snorted at him and shoved him lightly before running my index finger down his bare tanned arm. I bit down on my bottom lip lightly and looked up to face him, his mouth open ajar.

"If you're 'bout to get sappy on me, I don't wanna hear that shit," he muttered, pulling his arm away from me.

"So you don't want to talk about last night? I mean, as long as we both agree that that won't be happening again, then fine," I replied, popping the passenger door open. "Merle, I can't find it! Find your own damn bag!" I shouted, leaving behind a speechless and clearly annoyed Daryl.

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I crossed my arms in front of Merle, who was with fiddling loose threads on his shirt.

"You okay?" I asked him, concerned.

"You find that bag?" he replied quickly, reaching up to bite down on his thumbnail, something Daryl does as well.

"No, and Daryl wasn't really happy with me digging around in his truck," I sighed as I cracked my knuckles by habit. He chuckled to himself before looking at me.

"Then no, I ain't okay, princess,".

I stood in silence as he spun on his dirty heel off towards Daryl's truck in a hurry. What was up with him? As soon as Merle hopped into the car, Daryl hopped out and slammed the door, stretching in the morning sun. I cursed myself for staring, but once he saw me, I looked away.

I could feel him heading over, so I made my way over to the group of people surrounding Shane's car, where a plan was no doubt being formed. I was incredibly confused about last night, and how could I figure things out if Daryl wasn't willing to discuss what had happened?

"Today we're just going to scout out the area and look for possible places to stay for a couple of days; we need to recoup after yesterday," Rick explained in a firm tone to the group.

"No shit, man. Told ya we shouldn't have gone there," Shane rambled on, shaking his head. Rick shot Shane a glance before speaking.

"Enough, Shane. We went to the CDC and what happened, happened. It's time to move on,".

"What's the plan, then?" I asked them to break up the silence.

"Once we gain up some strength, we'll head out again. For now, we're going to have to split up, though. Some will have to siphon gas; some will have to scout the area.. Ah, there you are Daryl—think you're up for some hunting today?" Rick asked the man as he approached.

Daryl blinked slowly and crossed his arms.

"Whatever,". Rick nodded at him before looking at the rest of our group.

"Daryl will hunt and scout out the area; I'm assuming Merle will go with you?". Daryl nodded back at him and headed back to his truck to grab Merle, so I avoided his gaze.

"What was that about?" I heard Glenn's voice whisper in my ear as the group disbanded.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, smiling.

"You and Daryl; don't act like I don't notice what's going on.. Do you—oh my God.. Did you?" he stuttered in surprised. My smile got even wider as I held in a laugh.

"Oh my gosh, Glenn, no! He thought I liked Merle, though," I whispered back to him, bumping into his hip. Glenn's eyebrows shot sky-high as we headed towards the RV.

"Daryl thought you had a thing for Merle?!".

"Yup. They're some confusing rednecks, aren't they?" I sighed, laughing as I laid my head on Glenn's tall shoulder.

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"So Officer Rick, what do you want me to do?" I asked the sheriff jokingly, tapping his hat into his face.

Rick smiled as he adjusted his hat back onto his head.

"What are you up for, Harper? Do you know how to siphon gas?" he asked me, nodding towards T-Dog and Glenn, who were getting ready to check out the abandoned cars. I scrunched up my face in disapproval.

"Hell no; I'm a lady, remember Rick?" I laughed lightly. I watched him think about what task to assign me for a couple seconds before he finally spoke again.

"Well, Harper, Dale is on watch, so that's covered.. What about hunting? You're close with the Dixons—well, you're close with Daryl, at least,".

I watched the unease wash over his face at the thought of Merle trying to hurt me back in the city, so I placed my hand on his arm.

"Don't worry about Merle, Rick; he's trying, and we've got to give him that. Don't count him out just yet!". He studied me for a moment, as if seeing as if I was telling the truth. "I'm serious, Rick. He's trying; try to give him that,".

"Fine; hunting it is then! I'll let Shane know that you're heading out with Daryl soon," Rick nodded, hugging me tightly.

"Thanks,". I said as we pulled apart, not missing the glare I received from Lori from across camp.

I smiled sweetly and headed back over to where Daryl and Merle were wrestling on the ground.

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"This is cute and all, but it does look kind of gay.." I whistled, biting my lip to hold back a laugh.

"If ya join it won't look as bad!" Merle winked at he stood up, spitting at the ground.

"I'll pass, thanks," I shot both of the boys a cheeky smile as Daryl brushed dirt off of his pants.

"What are ya doin' over here?" Daryl asked me rudely; he clearly wasn't over how I brushed him off earlier.

"I'm going with you guys," I replied, crossing my arms. That was when Merle bent over laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked him, offended.

"You? Hunting? Okay, darlin'!" he sputtered, his laughter only increasing.

"How is that so funny, Merle? It's not like I don't know how to use a crossbow," I replied, defending myself proudly. When he finally calmed down, Merle looked over to me and patted me on the arm.

"Sure you do, sweetheart; I get tha' you wanna play with the big boys, but it's a lot harder than ya think,".

"I know it is! Daryl taught me,". When I brought up Daryl teaching me, Daryl raised his eyebrows and turned to walk away.

"You taught our little princess how ta shoot, baby brother?" Merle asked, clearly surprised.

"I was forced," Daryl muttered through gritted teeth.

"He really was; I didn't give him much of a choice," I sighed, thinking back to that day.

"Well where the hell was I when this was goin' on?" Merle chirped, shoving Daryl from behind.

"In the damn city," Daryl replied, pushing him back.

"Okay, okay, no fighting," I called out, stepping between the two.

I watched Daryl shoot Merle daggers as his older brother looked me up and down.

"You ain't comin'; too dangerous out there,". My mouth fell open as I stared hard at Merle.

"And it isn't dangerous here?".

"He's right, Harper; you should stay here," a concerned voice said from behind me.

"Oh come on, not you too!" I growled, spinning around to see Shane.

Shane shrugged his shoulders before stopping in front of me.

"Not happening, Harper," he said simply.

"Shane, you've let me go before. Why not now, how is today any different?" I asked him angrily, matching his strong stance.

"We've all been on edge since yesterday and I don't want ya out of my sight," I watched Shane explain. Even though I had slept through the night, I was exhausted, and I didn't feel like fighting.

"Fine Shane," I gave up, letting my hands fall against my sides.

"Tha's it? You're just gonna give up like that?" Daryl asked in surprise from his truck.

"I'm done fighting, Daryl, especially with you.. If we're going to survive, we need to stick together, and fighting is not going to help," I shook my head as Daryl rolled his eyes at me and headed to the back of his truck to get his crossbow.

"Thank you, Harper. Why don't you go help Lori and Carol with dinner for later?" Shane suggested as he wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders.

"I guess..." I shrugged against him before heading over to where the women were.

"Hey Walsh,". Both Shane and I turned around to face Merle and Daryl.

"Which one?" I joked, nudging Shane in the side.

"Tha' officer," Merle answered, pointing towards Shane.

"What?" he spat, his voice challenging.

"I changed my mind; yer sister's comin' with us," he smiled smugly as he walked over to me and took my hand in his.

I smiled at him gratefully but Shane pulled my other hand back towards him.

"I said no, Merle. She isn't going," Shane growled at the redneck.

As the two began to argue, I saw Shane slip his empty hand onto the butt of his gun that was secretly slipped into his waistband.

"Shane!" I chastised him, grabbing the gun away from him.

"Boy I hope you weren't planning on pullin' that damn thing on me.." Merle muttered, leaning down to grab his own gun.

"Stop, Merle," I frowned at him, but still reached down to place my hand on top of his. The look he gave me was actually sincere, which surprised me.

"Look, we want 'er to come; she wants ta come. Looks like it's three against one; she's coming, Shane," Daryl said, breaking the awkward tension.

Shane looked at me with a hesitant look.

"You sure you trust these two?" he asked me quietly.

"Of course I do, Shane," I replied honestly, shooting him a smile.

The three of us watched Shane throw his hands to his hips as he thought about the plan.

"Get going before I change my mind. Just be safe," Shane shook his head as he hugged me. "Take care of my sister," Shane said out loud, as if he was threatening the Dixons.

"Always," Daryl let out as Shane planted an obnoxious kiss on the top of my head.

I tried jumping away as Shane pulled my shirt up, but he was only checking for a gun. I gave his gun back to him and watched him walk away.

It was obvious that Shane disliked both Dixons, especially Merle. What would happen if he found out that Daryl had kissed me?

"He must've freaked when Rick told him that I was going out with you guys; sorry," I apologized to them, but Merle wrapped his giant arms around my body in a hug.

"No worries, princess; you're one of us, we're gonna always protect ya,".

I was surprised how much Merle saying that had affected me; although our large group was basically a family, and although I had a real brother to call my own, the Dixons felt more like a family than anyone else.

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"Watch it, Harper!" Merle growled from in front of me as I stepped loudly over a branch.

I blew him a kiss in an attempt to annoy him, but he simply rolled his eyes.

"He's goin' to get the wrong idea, ya know,". I jumped at the sound of Daryl's voice against my ear in a whisper.

"Don't fucking do that, Daryl!" I whispered back harshly, shoving him in the chest.

"'M serious; I don't want'cha hurtin' my brother,". I stopped walking at the sight of Daryl glaring into my back.

"Is that really it or are you worried about getting hurt?" I asked out loud, throwing a hand to my hip.

"'Scuse me?" Merle turned to face me, clearly just tuning into the conversation.

"Forget it," I shot back, not taking my eyes off of an angry Daryl.

"Well then keep it down, will ya?" Merle spat before turning back to the forest.

"Maybe if you would stop being a jealous prick for once and actually talked to me about what happened last night, what's happening right now wouldn't be happening," I whispered quickly as Daryl rushed past me. I scoffed as he just kept walking and ignored me.

"Walkers!" I heard Merle whisper from the front of the pack.

I scanned the area to see three walkers standing around aimlessly from across the creek bed that was lying in front of us. I whipped my gun out, but Daryl pushed my arms down tightly.

"Not unless we have to," he explained, finally looking me in the eye.

After I checked to see that Merle was clearly going after the walkers, I leaned up on my toes and kissed him deeply before chasing after Merle.

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Once Merle plunged his knife into the back of one of the walker's heads, Daryl and I leaned in to go after the other two.

The noise that Merle had made, however, had caught the attention of the other walkers, so both of our covers were blown. I watched Daryl jump back and aim his bow at the walker that was in front of me.

"I've got it," I growled, leaning forward as I grabbed onto the dead man's overalls.

During my little act of stubbornness, I hadn't expected the walker to latch onto my wrist, and I gasped in surprise. I heard both Daryl and Merle curse out loud as they rushed over to me, forgetting about the other walker that was making its way over to the brothers. The boys were making their way over quickly, but I wasn't about to let them help me; Daryl's saved my life enough already.

I jutted my foot out towards the farmer and shoved him back a couple steps; I was relieved to see that it had accidentally let go of my wrist in the process. I grimaced at the sound of the walker's hissing, but didn't stop as I kicked the walker to the ground.

I jumped forward, my feet pinning both of its flailing arms against the dirt floor. I bent down and straddled the walker before plunging my trusty knife into its eye. I made sure to twist the knife upward just in case I had missed its brain, and didn't move until the zombie's body completely ceased its movements.

I jumped at the sound of more growls from behind me, but relaxed when I saw a crossbow bolt piercing the other walker's brain. I squeezed my eyes shut when I felt its blood spray my face, but tried wiping the blood away from my eyes the best I could.

"You good, girly?" I heard Merle ask from above me, so I shook my head and let him help me up.

"I'm fine.. It's a normal day when zombie blood showers your face, no big deal; but you two need to realize that I don't always need saving. I can take care of myself," I reassured them both, lifting my shirt up to wipe some blood off of my face.

Merle nodded before turning to face his brother, a giant smirk plastered onto his face.

"I dunno 'bout you, brother, but she looks hot killing them geeks,".

"How romantic," I muttered.

I hadn't noticed Daryl's silence before, but it was evident now. As my eyes swept over his handsome face, I noticed his unease; he just looked really uncomfortable. I bumped my hip against his as he shot me a confused grimace.

"Come on, Dixon, let's hunt some animals," I winked playfully before slipping my knife into its sheath.

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"We bring back food!" I called out loud.

Some of the group giggled as I swiped the string of squirrels away from Daryl's waist so I could swing them around in the air.

"Ya don't give 'em back an' I'm gonna make you skin 'em," Daryl threatened, so I gave them back almost immediately.

I wiped my hands against each other as I skipped over to Shane. I was surprised to see him smile at me despite the blood on my skin and clothes.

"I'm sorry about not wanting to let ya go, Harper. I should've known that they would protect you—Daryl would, at least. And somehow, it looks like you had fun," he shook his head in amazement, making me laugh.

"Apart from Atlanta, Merle has treated me just fine, Shane; Daryl... is Daryl," I sighed, raking a hand through my long hair.

I started to blush at the sight of Shane staring at me deeply, so I shoved him lightly.

"Stop it, creep,".

"Well if my little sister's gotta a crush, I think I should know about it! Want to stay up all night and talk about boys?" he laughed as I continued to try to beat him up.

"Quit it, loser. There's nothing going on between Daryl and me," I said, rolling my eyes at him.

"Uh-huh.. Sure, sis," Shane murmured, trying to stifle a laugh.

"You know, you act like a five-year old sometimes," I spat, but couldn't help smiling at him.

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"Need any help?" I asked Lori and Carol as they got plates and bowls out of the RV.

"Don't worry about us, Harper; I think we're good," Carol said smiling before craning her neck to check on Sophia, who was playing tag with Carl in the field.

"How are you two doing, if you don't mind me asking? You know, after losing him," I whispered as Lori walked back into the RV to grab more plates.

Carol let out a shaky sigh before looking at me, her eyes trimmed with tears.

"I'll be okay, I think; it's just poor Sophia that I'm worried about. Not only does she have to grow up in this world, but now she has to grow up in it knowing that it took her only father,". I shot Carol a sad smile as I placed my hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

"She's strong, just like you, Carol. She'll be okay, I know it,". Carol smiled at me and nodded before retreating back to the RV with Lori.

I placed my hands on my hips and looked around our shitty campsite, studying it. We couldn't stay here much longer; just staying the night was pushing it.

The area was too open, too clear. You would be able to see us for miles!

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"Would you stop calling me that?!" Glenn growled through gritted teeth as I fell onto my back in the grass laughing.

"What's so bad with 'Glenny'? I think it's cute!" I continued laughing, wiping my eyes as I felt tears start to fall.

"What's so bad? It makes me sound like a four-year old!" he yelped as he threw his hands up into the air.

Dinner had ended a while ago, but Glenn and I had remained around our tiny fire. I watched him grab a stick and poke at the fire to stir it up a little.

"Do you think we'll ever find somewhere safe to live, Glenn?" I asked him even though I was emerged in my thoughts.

"I don't know, Harper; I should as hell hope so, though. God owes us that much," he replied, nudging me in the shoulder, so I forced a smile.

"I'm glad we found you, Glenn. This apocalypse wouldn't be the same without you," I said, hugging him tightly. He chuckled in my tight embrace.

"That's going to be my tagline from now on, then: 'Pizza Delivery Boy Known as Glenny Changes Apocalypse'," Glenn snorted, making me laugh even more.

"Come on Glenn, girl's love it!" I promised him as I planted an obnoxious kiss against his cheek.

"Get out of here," he rolled his eyes, swatting my face away lightly.

Between our voices and the crackling of the fire, I hadn't noticed two bodies plopping themselves down across the fire.

"We ain't interrupting anything, are we?" I heard Merle ask, so I faced him and let my eyes adjust.

"I guess not," I yawned, leaning against Glenn's shoulder. I could feel Glenn's chin moving against the peak of my head, so I looked up at him.

"You look like a cornered animal, Glen,".

"I think I'm going to head in, I'm getting tired," he muttered quickly before hugging me tight.

I hugged him back and he helped me up so I was sitting upright again before heading over to the RV.

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"Wha's Chinaman's problem?" Merle hooted from across the fire.

"You're kind of intimidating, Merle.. And besides, it's not like you're the easiest person to get along with," I sighed as I explained why Glenn had left so abruptly.

When neither of the brothers answered me, I leaned my chin down onto my knees; I looked up though when I heard a clinking sound from across the fire.

"Alcohol?" I asked out loud, and Merle laughed.

"Damn right it's alcohol! Want a sip?" he asked before handing the bottle over. I shook my head no.

"Where the hell did you find alcohol?".

"He raided the CDC before we left," Daryl muttered, barely above a whisper.

"Why are you so quiet, Dixon?" I asked him; all day he had been giving me an attitude, but I thought he would be over it by now.

"I can't be quiet when I wanna?" he spat before pushing off of his knees to stand and walk away.

I watched him walk away in silence before Merle finally spoke.

"Boy's jealous,".

"Of what?" I scoffed, standing up when he Merle did.

"You pay more attention ta me than you do him, sweetheart,". My eyebrows shot up at that.

"Excuse me? I definitely don't pay either of you more attention than the other," I replied, crossing my arms as he made his way over to me while swinging his glass bottle.

"Well who says ya can't pay me a little more attention sumtimes?" he slurred as he placed his hands on my hips.

I shot him an uncomfortable smile as I pulled his hands away from my body, but as soon as I let go he wrapped his fingers around my hips again.

"Merle, stop. I'm tired," I pulled his hands away again, but this time, he placed them on my shoulders.

I wriggled my body out of his grasp before heading over to Daryl's truck; he wouldn't let Merle take advantage of me, would he?

"Well come on then, girly, my tent's right over here," he suggested as he pawed at my arm.

I pulled my arm away quickly and picked up my pace a little, but Merle's large strides could match my tiny ones no problem. I wasn't going to make a run for it, either; he would catch me no problem, and he's obviously much stronger.

"Don't run away, honey. I'm good in bed, I promise.." he stumbled on his words, but still managed to grab at my waist. I pushed against his chest with my hands but it didn't do much.

"Merle, stop; you're drunk,".

I watched the light in Daryl's truck turn off, a little piece of hope turning off right along with him. I wasn't planning on screaming; that would alert everyone, and Merle wasn't like this when he was sober.

"I ain't drunk, you's the one who's drunk," Merle growled as I pushed him away from me.

I was only a few feet away from the truck, and I would reach it in a matter of seconds. It if wasn't for Merle's large foot tripping me, I would've made it no problem. I let out a gasp as my head hit the ground, the old wound on the back of my head ripping open. I groaned quietly as the world started to spin, but I could still make out Merle standing over me.

"If ya jus' wanted me ta take you out in tha open, shoulda said so!" Merle leaned over me before dropping his bottle of beer.

I rolled out from under him and pushed myself upright, blinking quickly as if it would make my vision stop spinning. When I could clearly make out Daryl's truck, I speed-walked over and started banging on the window. I let out a whimper when I didn't get an answer—he couldn't have already fallen asleep, could he?

When I felt a large hand grope my side and spin me around, I tried to get away but it didn't work. Merle pushed me up against the side of the truck, clearly so wrapped up in his drunken stupor that he didn't realize he was trying to rape me against his brother's truck.

"Merle, stop, please!" I begged him as he began to run a hand up my stomach.

"Dunno why you would want ma brother over me. I'll change your mind," he whispered against my ear.

I whipped my head to the side and kicked my leg up, hitting Merle right in the crotch. He fell to his knees in pain so I spun around and jiggled the truck's door handle.

When it finally opened, I threw my body into the truck and landed right on top of the Daryl. I could hear him letting out random curses as my entire body weight fell against him, but I didn't care.

"Lock the doors, lock the doors!" I screeched, and to my complete and utter relief, he did.

I let out a sigh of relief as I allowed my body to fall against him and he quickly wrapped me up in his arms.

"The fuck's wrong with you!" he scolded me quietly, wiping away a stray tear. "No cryin' now, Harper, what happened?".

"Merle happened,".

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The dull rocking that Daryl was making our bodies move to stopped when I brought up Merle.

"He out there right now?" he asked me, leaning over me to look out the window. I nodded against his warm chest and sniffled, barely holding back tears. "What'd he do?".

"Let's just stop talking about it, I'm safe now," I started, but Daryl wouldn't hear it. He whipped my body around before speaking.

"What'd he do!" he roared. I turned my head to the side as his loud voice reverberated around the truck.

"He tried to rape me," I whispered, letting the awkward silence fill us. After a couple of minutes, Daryl spoke again.

"Did he actually.. You know?" I heard him ask me, his voice almost shaking.

I could tell he was trying to control his temper as best as he could so I would stay calm.

"No, he didn't; you opened the door just in time; I think my head's bleeding again, thought," I sighed, leaning back against his body.

He clicked a flashlight on and popped it between his teeth before playing with pieces of my hair. He grabbed some gauze from the back of this truck and began to unravel it against my head.

"You just have everything in here, don't you?" I tried joking with him, but he didn't find it very funny.

Daryl wrapped some gauze around my head before ripping the end off with his teeth.

"Sexy.." I whispered, actually earning a chuckle out of him. I watched him close his eyes as I placed my hand on his chest.

"Go ta sleep. I'll fix this in the morning," he yawned before shifting his body so that his arms were wrapped around me.

"Daryl, don't do anything crazy, please. It was just because he's drunk," I pleaded with him, but he still said no.

"No, I ain't gonna let him hurt you, Harper. I've told you this before.. He knows how I feel and—,".

"How do you feel?" I butted in as his mouth snapped shut.

"Jus go ta sleep," he told me as leaned his head against the window.

"But Daryl—,".

"I said sleep, Barbie,".

I rolled my body around so my cheek was resting against his chest and shut my eyes. As I was falling asleep, he startled me awake.

"What's wrong?" I asked groggily, sleep invading my voice.

"You're shiverin'," he squinted at me as he threw a blanket over our bodies before running a hand through my hair.

"Now sleep," he yawned as his hand slowly fell to a halt and remained tangled through my hair.

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When I woke up the next morning, Daryl was gone. I folded up the blanket and rested it on the truck's seat before stepping out of the truck. Everyone was around the fire even though it wasn't lit.

"Morning," I yawned to the group as I stretched.

Random people said random things back as I scanned the circle of survivors and sat down next to Daryl.

"Morning, Ken,".

"Mornin', Barbie," he greeted me through chewed mouth.

I glanced over at him before placing my hand on his chin. He glared at me when I closed his mouth with my hand.

"No talking with your mouth full,". I smiled at him as he swatted my hand away, but the smile disappeared when I noticed the black eye that he was sporting. "Daryl, what happened?" I asked him in a panic.

"Nothin' ya need to worry about," he said quickly, brushing it off.

"It is if it has to do with what happened last night!" I fought back, my mouth open in shock.

"Chill out girly, we were just messin' around," Merle rolled his eyes from the other side of Daryl. "Merle, this is all your fault! If you wouldn't have gone and gotten wasted last, there wouldn't be a problem right now!" I growled, gritting my teeth.

"Everything okay over there?" Rick asked from his place beside Lori.

"S'fine," both Daryl and I replied in unison. I scoffed and shook my head at the two of them in disgust.

"Merle, I'm only forgiving you for last night because you were drunk, but I can't forgive you for hurting Daryl. You can't just beat him up whenever you want," I told him angrily.

When Merle didn't answer me and simply looked the other way, I got up and made my way over to the pot of oatmeal.

"Can I have my breakfast to go please?" I asked Carol, who shook her head.

"Of course, Harper,".

I thanked her as she handed me my bowl of oatmeal before spinning on my heel and headed back to Daryl's truck.

"Look princess, you know I'm sorry," Merle called out, but I only answered him by flipping him the finger until I reached the truck, where I locked myself inside and ate in peace.

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I jumped at the sound of knuckles rapping against the window. I turned down the music that I had blaring through the speakers before turning over to see Daryl standing by the door. I watched him in silence as he jiggled the door handle. He growled at the sight of me locking him out of his truck.

"Lemme in," he demanded, so I leaned over and clicked the button, listening the doors unlock.

He pushed my legs to the side so he could sit down next to me. We sat in silence as he picked up my empty bowl that used to be filled with oatmeal.

"Makin' a fuckin' pigsty outta my truck?" he smiled before tossing the bowl out into the field. He shut the door and leaned back, relaxing.

"I told you not to do anything stupid," I finally said, breaking the peace.

"Never promised ya I wouldn't," he shot back, a sneer on his face.

"Daryl, it helps to respect other people's wishes, you know," I rolled my eyes before leaning back so I could face the roof of the truck.

"And ya think I don't respect ya?" he asked me as he ran his eyes quickly up and down my body.

"It's not that; all day yesterday you gave me an attitude, and when I finally need you to do something for me, you go and get yourself hurt," I rambled on, but stopped when his hand grasped on to my shin.

"That don't even make sense, Harper! And I gave ya an attitude 'cause you didn't like it.. I was embarrassed," he continued before looking at my feet.

"Didn't like what?" I asked him, a smile creeping on to my face. Daryl let out a loud sigh, as if he didn't want to continue.

"Y'know.. Couple nights ago,".

"Daryl, I only said what I said because you didn't want to talk about it. Stop being so damn awkward and talk to me once and a while," I chuckled as I sat up.

"Coulda said that earlier.." he muttered to me before letting go of my leg.

"You're a dick, you know that?" I sighed, shaking my head.

"That I do," he replied.

I chuckled a bit more before leaning over to kiss him lightly on the lips.

"Merle said that I pay more attention to him than I do to you; I gotta make up for it," I smiled before leaning in again to kiss him once more.

I felt his large hand weave its way into my hair, pulling my body closer to his. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck and I continued to kiss him.

I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent that was Daryl. He smelt woodsy and of cigarettes, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

When his hand made its way to my thigh, a small moan escaped my throat. He pulled back and smiled at the sound.

"That was cute,". I bit my lip and looked at him, trying not to laugh back.

"Me moaning is cute? Not the adjective I was expecting," I replied before leaning down and planting a kiss against his collarbone.
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