Chapter 1

Daryl shifted his body for what felt like the hundredth time as he sat on one of the hard, really uncomfortable seats that Atlanta International Airport had at their departure gates. This was the last place he ever expected to be. He was not a traveling type of guy, nor had he ever been on any type of vacation before in all his thirty-seven years, but here he was getting ready to get on a plane and fly to of all places…Las Vegas.

There was only one person in the entire world that could get him to do this…his best friend Rick Grimes. Rick was getting married and he wanted Daryl there. The only problem was that Rick and his fiancé, Michonne decided to take their vows in the last place on earth that Daryl would ever want to go. He hated busy cities, crowds of people that went there and spending money he simply didn't have.

He still did not understand why they just could not have just gone down to the courthouse to get it done. That was the most logical way to him. Even though they did not want a big fancy wedding, Michonne told him they still wanted to have some fun. Apparently they consider Las Vegas fun… he certainly did not.

Daryl and Rick had been best friends since grade school and when Rick had asked him to stand up for him at the wedding, the answer was an immediate yes, but that was also before he knew what that entailed. Now here he was at the airport getting ride to fly to Vegas where they already where. Daryl definitely preferred to keep his feet firmly on the ground, but there was no time to drive to Nevada. It was simply too far.

He glanced down at his cheap watch on his wrist and saw that he still had about twenty minutes before the plane boarded. Daryl took a deep breath. This wasn't just his first time flying, hell it was the first time he was ever leaving Georgia. Going to Las Vegas was a big leap for him and completely took him out of his comfort zone. Daryl would have been happy just to stay here at home in Georgia, but his two good friends had to go and mess that up.

They were two people that you never would have thought belonged together, but they did. Rick was the handsome southern white cop with wavy hair and smiling blue eyes, while Michonne was a local storeowner with long black dread locks and beautiful ebony skin. They didn't seem like a good match, when in reality they were perfect for each other. Her fun personality and naturally happy demeanor even drew Daryl to her. She became the little sister he never had.

She was the rock that they both leaned on when Rick's parent's died within less than a month of each other. First Mrs. Grimes lost her battle with cancer, then Mr. G shortly after from a sudden heart attack. It devastated the two of them, but Michonne helped them through it. She knew that Daryl was hurting just as bad as Rick was and behind his few words and stony expressions hid a grieving man.

Yeah, Daryl would do anything for them even if it meant flying to fucking Las Vegas.

Michonne had explained to him what he needed to expect at the airport. He had already checked in and made it through security without a problem. It was a good thing she reminded him to leave the pocket knife he always carried at home. Then he found the correct gate that plane was leaving from, so far so good, but he was still nervous about going up in that big metal tube with wings. He'd give anything to be back on his old Harley, instead of getting ready to be thirty thousand feet in the air.

The beat-up black duffle bag that he used to pack his clothes in was sitting on the floor next to his right foot. He had no idea what to bring for the three days they were to be there. He threw what decent clothes he had into the bag and that was not much, but he didn't check it with the airlines. He kept it with himself not trusting them at all. He owned too little to chance anything of his being lost.

Daryl didn't understand why after the wedding they couldn't just come right back home to Georgia, but Rick and Michonne wanted to make this into a small vacation and they wanted him there. This was their honeymoon, not his, yet they wanted him to stay. He knew he was going to be nothing but a third wheel, but they asked, so he was staying.

The happy couple was taking care of his hotel expenses, but he insisted on paying for the flight even though it took a big chunk out of his measly savings account. He would just have to put off getting that new motorcycle for a little while longer. His was on its last legs and no matter how much he fixed it something was always breaking down on it.

Daryl leaned forward in the seat and looked down at his worn boots. Maybe he should have cleaned them up for the trip. There was still mud on them from the rainstorm the other night. This was shit he never had to think about before and it annoyed him that he was clueless about traveling. At least his jeans were clean and his shirt had sleeves. If he was home, his every day pants usually had a knee ripped out and the shirts had the sleeves cut off. The summer was just too damn hot in Georgia for sleeves.

Even though he wasn't looking forward to this trip, a small part of him was exited. The Dixon family had never taken anything that resembled a vacation, never dressed up or even left the state Georgia. He never knew his grandparents, but his mother and father and assorted other relatives were all Georgia born and bred. They all stayed put in the Peach State, no one having the money to go any further. Dixon's never did anything but drink and fight. They were always from the wrong side of town and were nothing but pure trouble.

The only time he ever got to experience anything fun as a kid was when Rick's parents would invite him along. The Grimes' took better care of him than his own parents ever did.

Daryl checked his watch again and saw it was close to boarding. He felt his nerves start to take over as he realized it was almost time to leave. God, he'd kill for a cigarette right now. He was still hunched over on the seat not daring to look out the big glass windows that overlooked the planes and runways. Staring at the floor wasn't helping to settle his anxiety, so he closed his eyes instead to try and calm himself.

"Stop being such a pussy," he said under his breath.

When he finally opened his eyes there was a pair of red high heels standing right in front of him. Daryl slowly looked up taking in the long shapely legs that were attached to the shoes and it got better as he saw the curvaceous body that was wrapped in a tight black dress. After he lingered on her bountiful breasts, he finally looked up into her face and saw she was an absolute knockout. Her long black hair was set in big stylish curls and sharply contrasted her emerald green eyes. She was one hot babe and from the look she was giving him, she was pissed off too.

"What?" he growled. All he was doing was sitting there minding his own business and she had no reason to be looking at him that way.

"You get a good enough look or would you like me to turn around so you could check out my ass too?" she snapped at him.

"Listen lady, I'm just sitting here doing nothing and you stopped in front of me. I just looked to see who it was. Do you want something or not?" he asked. Daryl was trying to keep it cool, but this woman was certainly doing her best to piss him off. He didn't need that now. He had enough shit to deal with without her contributing to it.

"Are you Daryl Dixon?" the knockout asked.

"Yeah, how do you know that?" How did this woman know who he was? He didn't know anyone in Atlanta and no one knew he was at the airport except Rick and Michonne. What was going on?

She sat down across from him in a vacant seat crossing her long legs. Her designer carry-on bag was next to her along with her Coach handbag. "I'm Gabrielle… Michonne's friend."

Daryl racked his brain. Was he supposed to know her? Finally a vague memory surfaced of Rick telling him that Michonne had her best friend joining them too. He had forgotten that. Just his luck it looked like she was on the same flight as he was. Why didn't Rick tell him that this friend was such a bitch?

"Going for the wedding?" he asked trying to be friendly.

"Yes. Of course I am," she retorted. "Why they picked a place as tacky as Las Vegas is beyond me. I don't know what Michonne was thinking," she said clearly with an attitude. Gabrielle took her phone out of her purse and started to scroll through it.

He bit his tongue before he could tell her if she didn't like it, she should have stayed home. He wasn't happy about going either, but here he was supporting his friends. "How did you know it was me?"

Gabrielle held up an annoying finger indicating he was to wait a second. Daryl's nerves quickly turned to anger. She was treating him like he was below her and while he may be only a lowly redneck mechanic, little Miss Attitude was no better than he was.

Finally, she turned the phone around to face him. It was a picture of him and Rick from a few months back when they were heading out to a bar with Michonne to celebrate Rick's birthday. "Michonne sent me this so I would recognize you. It was pretty easy."

Daryl looked exactly like she expected him to. Michonne had described Rick's best friend in detail along with sending her the photo. He had a rugged face that hadn't seen a shave in a long time, and while his cheeks had more scruff than beard, he had a nicely filled in goatee. His dark brown hair wasn't real long, but it looked like it was well over his collar and covered his ears, except for the tops that peaked through his hair. It was slightly messy, but damn, it so suited him. Long bangs partially covered his eyes, but when he brushed them out of the way, his piercing blue eyes startled her for a second, but she had quickly recovered. When she originally saw his photo, her pulse did a quick acceleration and now was no different, in fact she saw a gorgeous guy. He was so her type…well make that her old type. She didn't date down home redneck guys any more.

The one thing that Michonne did not mention was his voice. It was low and gravelly and very sexy. She did not want to find herself attracted to him, but she was. She really was. It made her nervous, so she did what she usually did in situations like this and she overcompensated by being a bitch.

Gabrielle looked over the top of her phone at him. Even if she had not recognized Daryl, she would have guessed it was him. He had that irresistible bad boy look going on that Michonne had warned her about. She even mentioned the motorcycle he drove and while it certainly piqued her curiosity, she didn't let on to her friend that it did. Nope, she wanted a man that could wine and dine her in the best restaurants that Atlanta had to offer and that didn't mean dinner at the Waffle House. She had been there, done that and was not going back. She still refused to eat waffles to this day.

She saw the way Daryl was fidgeting in the seat and would bet anything that he had never flown before. She was an old pro. He was probably a virgin. That thought made a giggle escape that she quickly covered.

Nope. She was not going to finish that thought. Sex and Daryl Dixon were two things she was not going to even think about, even though she felt a quick surge of excitement at that idea. She had given up men like him a longtime ago. Too many of her dating years had been with good looking bad boys that took advantage of her time after time. Sure they were the guys that always made her heart race and body tingle, but she had vowed never to get involved with one again once she moved to Atlanta. Now all she dated was white collar professionals, doctors and men that knew the difference between a bottle of Château Margaux and Dom Perignon.

She was no longer the tall gangly teen that everyone called Gabby from Senoia, but now she was Gabrielle the stunning woman who had filled out in all right places and who turned heads everywhere she went. She had a great downtown condo overlooking the city and was working her way up the ladder at Goodman and Sheppard, the premier marketing company in Atlanta.

Michonne had befriended her in junior high as the two lonely girls gravitated together and became inseparable. They both attended the same college with Gabby majoring in marketing and Michonne got her degree in finance. Gabby wanted to conquer the world, while Michonne was just looking to be able to run her own business.

They were each successful in their own rights and remained close all these years later. Gabby's long hours at work and Michonne's move to Parkvale to open her bookstore cafe a few years ago kept them apart more than they would have liked, but kept in touch with emails, texting and even an occasional Skype session.

As much as she loved Michonne, Gabrielle was also quite jealous of her too. Gabby had yet to find a man that she wanted to settle down with and marry, unlike Michonne who met Rick two years ago. He was a deputy sheriff in the town where she opened the Tattered Cover Books and Café. Morning coffee runs to the café led to a few dates and within six months they were living together. Last month Rick proposed and neither of them wanted to wait. Now the happy couple and their two closest friends were all off to Las Vegas for the wedding. Rick and Michonne had arrived a day early to work out the details.

The loudspeaker finally announced the start of the boarding for the flight. Gabrielle was ready to get going and drown herself in a glass or two of champagne once her shapely butt hit her assigned seat. She ignored the long message that they were saying as she had heard the boarding system explained a hundred times.

Her eyes strayed to Daryl and she saw he was looking at his boarding pass with a confused look. "Got a problem?" she asked sounding bored.

"What does boarding in groups mean? I have no idea what group I'm in." He hated looking stupid, but all this was all brand new to him.

"Let me see your boarding pass," Gabrielle said and snatched the piece of paper he held out to her. She easily found the answer. "See right here, that's your group. You board when they call group two."

"What group are you in?" Daryl asked.

The loudspeaker interrupted them announcing the boarding of all Sky Club members and first class passengers.

Gabrielle flashed him a fake smile. "That's me…first class. See you in Vegas." He watched her wheel her fancy piece of luggage away from him as she headed toward the door that led to the plane.

Daryl looked around and realized that most of the men at the gate were looking at her ass as she walked away in that tight dress and mile high heels. She certainly knew what she was doing and Daryl wondered how she and Michonne could be friends. He had never met two more opposite people in his life. He didn't think he had ever seen his friend's fiancé in a dress and heels. Jeans were more her style. Michonne was one of the nicest people he had ever met and her friend was rude, aggravating and simply a bitch. This was going to be a strange few days he realized.

He sat back down in the seat while he waited for them to call his group. It didn't take long and Daryl followed the lengthy line of people onto the plane. When he made that step from the ramp into the actual aircraft, he felt his hands start to sweat. It was a narrow area and the flight attendant welcomed him with a smile and a cheery hello. He told her his seat number and she pointed him in the right direction. He did a quick glance to his left and saw larger more comfortable seats than those to his right where he was headed. It didn't get past him that he saw Gabrielle's red high heel bouncing lightly in the air and a glass of champagne in her manicured hand. Must be nice.

No matter how hot she was, she was so far out of his league she might as be on another planet. Not to mention he didn't go for snotty bitches either. These next few days should prove very interesting at the least.

Daryl made his way down the narrow aisle and found his seat by the window. He tossed his duffle under the seat in front of him, plopped down in his and buckled up. This was going to be the longest four or so hours of his life.

A/N - Welcome to my new story "Taking a Chance." It's completely AU, so it's my first departure from anything TWD. Daryl's about to fly off into the unknown and he's in for a lot of surprises. I'm looking forward to hear what everyone thinks as this story unfolds.

Happy Reading!

Walker Witch