A/N - This is my first Walking Dead fanfic. It is going to loosely follow the series, but not exactly. I've always loved fics that show a softer side of Daryl, so I thought I'd give one a try myself. I really hope you all enjoy it.

A Reason To Stay Human

Before the apocalypse, Daryl Dixon never really cared much for hunting deer. He'd do it anyway, with Merle, but he never had the same satisfaction that his older brother had when the poor animal dropped down dead.

Now, of course, things were different. He wasn't hunting for the hell of it, he was hunting to feed. Like an animal in the wild, Daryl had found himself tracking a deer for miles just for the sake of a couple of meals.

Crouched down behind a bush, leaning on his crossbow to hold himself steady, Daryl used his spare hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead before continuing his pursuit of his prey. He couldn't help but smirk to himself, the camp sure would be happy when he returned with some venison for lunch. More than once, he'd considered ditching the dozen or so squirrels which hung from string over his left shoulder. They seemed irrelevant compared to the deer but they'd make a good appetizer. The more he took back the better, he could almost predict the proud grin on Merle's face. His older brother was sure to be back from the city by the time Daryl returned. They could cook the venison together, Daryl thought. Merle was more skilled with a knife and could probably get a neater cut from the deer.

A rustle and a scream echoed in the near distance, causing Daryl to silently raise his crossbow and search for the source of the sound. How far away from camp was he?

Silently treading over broken twigs and dry grass, Daryl kept his eyes and ears open. If anything came in his direction, he'd be ready. Couldn't be Walkers, he thought to himself, they were too far away from the city. The main reason for the location of the camp was the isolated area which had no major city for at least ten miles in every direction.

After fifty yards or so of silent walking, Daryl concluded that there was no immediate threat and lowered his weapon, returning his attention to tracking the deer. He'd been tracking that damn thing closer to camp for nearly three miles and figured he was close enough to take the kill shot whenever the deer was next in sight.

As Daryl continued towards the general direction of camp, he began to hear muffled voices. As he neared the voices, he started being able to make out what was being said.

"That's the first Walker we've had this far up the woods. They must be runnin' outta food in the city." It was Shane's voice. Daryl shook his head as he continued to walk, now with less care about noise.

Breaking into a small clearing, Daryl found himself confronted by a couple of shotguns to the face. One held by Shane, the other by a man unknown to Daryl. Both weapons were lowered once it was concluded that Daryl was no threat. Also in the clearing was Glenn, Jim and Morales, all who were carrying their own weapons. Daryl's question of 'What the hell are y'all doing here?' was answered before spoken when he looked down. He cursed to himself, shaking his head in immense disappointment.

There, on the ground in front of him minus it's head, was a Walker. Next to him, even more to Daryl's annoyance, was the deer he'd been tracking.

"Son of a bitch!" cursed Daryl, kicking the headless Walker hard in the gut. And then again, followed by a few more kicks for good measure.

"That's enough, Daryl." Shane told him in a calm voice, motioning to the on-lookers not far behind them. Daryl looked up to their audience. Andrea and Amy looked disgusted by the decapitated Walker, and Andrea decided it best to walk her younger sister away before either of them threw up. Lori and Carol stood with Carl and Sophia, their expressions a mixture of concern and disgust. A little to their right stood Mia. A little relief ran through Daryl, which was soon replaced by the previous annoyance as his attention returned to Shane.

"Been tracking that damn deer for miles. Tryin' to lead it back to camp, cook us up some venison." Daryl huffed, yanking out his arrows from the deceased deer and observing the hole in the deer's gut where the Walker had chowed down.

"Think we could still get a good cut of meat?" Daryl looked up to a negative reaction, "We could just cut around this eaten part right here?"

"You know we can't risk it, Daryl." said Shane. Daryl shrugged in agreement.

"That's a damn shame. I got a dozen or so squirrel," Daryl told them, motioning to the rodents on his back, "Should keep us going for a day or two."

The group nodded in unison. Daryl noticed a few nervous glances exchanged between the men but shrugged them off as he saw the Walkers mouth move. He rolled his eyes, aiming his loaded crossbow at the lonely head and shooting it right through the eye.

"Gotta be through the brain," he told them, "Don't you idiots know nothin'?" Daryl retrieved his arrow from the Walker's head and headed towards the camp site.

Lori motioned Carl back in the direction of camp as everyone else followed Daryl. She turned to Mia who stood still, he tiny fingers looping through her light blonde hair.

"You okay, sweetie?" she asked the little girl, kneeling so she was at her level. Mia shook her head, turning to watch Daryl who didn't even acknowledge her. Lori lifted Mia into her arms and started a slow walk back towards camp.

"Did the Walker scare you?" Lori asked. Mia gave a little nod.

"Why was Daddy so mad?" Mia asked Lori. Lori sighed, replaying the images of Daryl's anger towards the already dead Walker.

"Daddy was mad at the Walker for hurting that deer," Lori told Mia, hoping the five year old would believe her pathetic reason. She seemed to. For that, Lori was relieved. "I tell you what, why don't we go find Carl and get us something to eat, and then we can go see how your Daddy's trip was. Sound good?"

Mia nodded. She had missed her Daddy an awful lot. Lori placed Mia gently on the ground and the little girl ran towards the tent area. Lori went to follow, but stopped at the sound of Daryl's angry voice.

"You left my brother handcuffed on a roof?"

Lori sighed. Perhaps she'd let Daryl cool off for a little bit longer before taking his daughter to see him.

Quite a short opening chapter, but before I continue to post I'd like to see how many of you are interested in reading more :) I'm VERY open to ideas as I do struggled to keep folks in character when working with OCs. Constructive criticism is very welcome, as are ideas on how to improve.

Hope to hear from you guys soon :)