Author's Note: This is just an idea that popped into my head after the season premiere just because I think that a powerful Latina would really give Daryl a run for his money for one, and for two, I just love Daryl Dixon lol. This story will have it's fairly smutty moments but probably not for the first few chapters and it will be jumping back and forth between Catalina's past and the present, I might throw something in there for Daryl but I'd like to think that the reasons why Catalina has become the way she has might be a bit of an interesting read :D

Song: Rise Against - Savior (this was also what inspired me to write this story, music and tv time together lead to some pretty nifty ideas lol)

"You're such an ass." Laughed the young Mexican woman as she playfully stalked the black kitten currently attacking her comforter ruining the bed she had been trying to make all morning. The black kitten's bright yellow eyes instantly honed in on her owner's deep brown eyes, her head dropping down against the comforter she had been attacking, her bottom wiggling ready for the attack as her owner continued to stare her squarely down, mimicking the cat action for action before immediately calling her with kisses to which the kitten responded to immediately with a series of wild mews and purring. "Such a crazy girl" And the kitten only responded by further meowing and nuzzling her face against her makeshift mother's.

"Hey I thought you were supposed to make the bed not ruin it…" Called the playfully annoyed voice of a man watching his girlfriend roll around with her kitten while their white calico patterned cat watched from the window sill a look of boredom famous to many cats on her face as she went back to gazing out the window. "Catalina. Catalina."

"Catalina! Fucking 'spic ya here or not?! The fuck I need her 'round for if she gon' have her head up her ass? I'm better alone!"

"Mejor callate el osico gringo." (It's better if you shut your mouth, white boy) Catalina said as she without thinking twice stood from the log she'd been sitting on and grabbed her crossbow slinging it over her shoulder so she could make sure that the dagger resting just inside her left boot was secure. Her 9mm resting heavily on her thigh holster though stayed secure as she picked up her black leather jacket and removed the bow only long enough to slip it on not uttering another word as she felt the eyes of the camp she had more so been pushed into joining by its borderline chauvinist leader, Shane. Something about the man made Catalina weary and she always made sure not to be alone with the man too long. In fact there weren't any men aside from the old man constantly keeping watch that Catalina cared to keep in contact with for any period of time, especially the Dixon brothers but since Merle had gone into the city for supplies along with another small group of the camp Catalina had been asked to go with the younger brother to hunt for food since she had proved more than once that her hunting could rival that of any redneck piece of trash.

"How the fuck am I 'spose to hunt with a bitch? A bitch that can't speak no English!" Daryl once again said obviously no more eager about this than Catalina who merely rolled her eyes and turned around.

"No mas voy porque yo no quiero tu sangre sucia en mis manos pendejo entonces callate y vamonos." (I'm only going because I wouldn't want your dirty blood on my hands dumbass, so shut up and lets go.) The short woman said clearly done with all of them and only stopped shortly to pet the cats waiting sitting on a flat rock watching their mother eagerly. Catalina's face softened as she softly pet the creatures and quietly muttered the word 'behave' to them, which by the look the old man was giving her had been heard by him but she wouldn't doubt it, the man was far too nosy for his own good but Catalina said nothing as she without another word headed into forest, if Daryl followed suit or not, Catalina was hell bent on dinner tonight and her babies needed to eat after all, that was all she had left in the world…

"I'm not going without you!" Catalina cried, the truck had been packed, Panther and Sugar surprisingly patient in the car as they waited for their owners to get a move on already.

"Darlin' I promise you I won't let ya down but ya gotta get down to Atlanta." This was suicide and she knew that Mason knew it, what she didn't know was why.

"Mason we aren't safe here, you're parents already said they'd meet us there so why won't you-"

"Because they won't leave Cat don't you get that?! They won't leave unless I go."

"Then I'll go with you!" The young Mexican woman pleaded, tears flowing freely down her face as her heart raced heavily, his parents lived five miles away, even if it wasn't far with the pandemonium going on and all the creeps walking Catalina wasn't going to leave him to fend for himself on a fucking motorcycle of all things.

"I can't let you-"

"You look at me Mason Dax Shaw and you listen to me carefully because we're wasting precious time and I'm getting sick and tired of your bullshit heroisms right now. I'm scared do you understand that? But with you I know we'll be all right and without you I can't do this I'll worry myself sick, fuck whatever is going on out there for one second Mase and look at me." Catalina raised her hands to cup her boyfriend's, his hand automatically resting on the feminine swell of her hips, he could see the tears pooling in her eyes as she desperately tried to keep her strength up.

"I love your parents like I love my own and I understand wanting them safe, don't you think I've been trying to figure out how to get to Arizona since this started? It's not safe though and I can only pray for them but you and them? I won't leave you guys without a fight do you understand that? Do you understand that it's you and me for better or for worse?" Catalina's tears spilled over and she was surprised to feel her boyfriend's lips on hers so gently.

"I'm driving then." And despite the situation and despite her fear and the feeling in her gut that this wasn't going to end well, Catalina smiled because, well, at least she was heading for disaster with the one man she knew was as devoted to her as she was to him.

"Let's get going…"

"Spic? Really?! Spic! Wake the fuck up or get yer ass back to camp!" Catalina couldn't believe she'd managed to zone out yet again, and the more that redneck spoke the more she just wanted to take her hunting knife and cut his tongue off.

"Que? que quieres!?" (What? What do you want?!) She whispered harshly to the man, she wasn't sure why it was she wouldn't let anyone in the group know she actually spoke perfect English that she was actually American but the more time she spent with Daryl fucking Dixon the less she wanted to. These people weren't her family she didn't owe them anything and the woman only stayed because she needed their protection while she mapped out where to head to next. Arizona was her goal but that was more than halfway across the country and she needed to have the supplies to make it, without finding herself fucked in the middle of nowhere with no gas and creeps on every corner.

"Listen here Wetback, I just need you to keep me alive-o comprende?"

"Preferia dejarte por muerto." (I'd rather leave you for dead) The woman said with a roll of her eyes as her and Daryl stared one another down, his blue eyes piercing her brown ones as neither dared to back down, both with bow in hand, ready to fire if necessary and the tension could be felt for miles. Everything about Daryl Dixon rubbed Catalina the wrong way, he was rude, crass, ignorant, and racist to boot, nothing at all compared to his brother, Merle but that didn't matter to Catalina he was just white trash and in this age or the next, he would be only a step above the creeps walking around.

Without warning though Daryl's bow came up and before Catalina could get hers up the arrow was shot, skimming past the woman's head to a walker that had apparently been sneaking up right on the woman's ass. She was grateful, Catalina wouldn't lie but she'd be damned if she let the man know, looking behind her as Daryl walked past her, making it a point to push into her roughly Catalina shoved the back of his shoulder and looked away as Daryl pulled the arrow out the dead walker and kept following behind her as she silently continued their hunt for food.

The hours passed and the sun was beginning to set before the pair was back in camp only to be met by Shane's over bearing presence.

"Cutting it a little thin there weren't you Catalina?" The woman shrugged and pointed behind her to Daryl, hauling a deer behind him, her distinctive pink arrow caught in it's neck as she smirked smugly at Daryl who once he was close enough to the camp dumped the deer and the rabbit he'd caught on the floor.

"Ya so damn proud of it bitch why don't you clean it." And again all Catalina did was smirk smugly and shrug her shoulders, the kill had irritated Daryl to no end because she'd wandered away from his sights and it wasn't that he gave a damn but he didn't want to have to explain why it was that she had gotten her dumb ass bit by a walker and why Daryl hadn't been there to protect the bitch from it.

From the top of the RV Dale watched with an amused glimmer in his eyes as his eyes caught Catalina's who rolled her eyes once again, trying not to grin too widely as she turned her back to Daryl only to find herself being lifted by Shane in a shout of glory.

"Ain't no need for her to do the kill and the clean! Now don't you worry about that Miss Kitty Cat, I can see a few members have been missing you for today." As he put her down the only reason Catalina didn't scowl at Shane taking liberties with her and her name was the immediate sight of her pets making their way to the woman and crying something fierce for attention.

"Gracias." The woman said without one word before walking towards the tent set closest to the RV to seek refuge, unaware to the daggers that Daryl had been shooting both her and Shane when the man had her in his grips, though not something unseen by Dale who couldn't help but to find amusement in the way that the two hunters seemed to keep a close eye on the other, it reminded him of him and his wife when they had first met, except less apocalypse-esque and more plain, I'd like to push you off a cliff. Turning over to get a quick glimpse of Catalina he was amused to see the woman pull out two mice, still alive from her satchel and giving one to each cat, keeping a watchful eye as the cats played mercilessly with the rodents, surely killing them instantly with their claws and teeth as they batted them to and fro chasing them with no cares to the world around them.

"Silly girls," Catalina whispered as she leaned down and crouched over the cats, who were purring and playing mercilessly even batting at her hand a few times in their excitement.

"Catalina." The woman heard the voice of Dale call to her and she looked up at the man in the RV who was smiling down and waving her up. "Come up." He said happily and though the woman would have preferred not to she didn't refuse and instead left her cats to their play watching with a mirthful glance how the children of the camp were peering over to the purring animals, catching eyes with Carl, the son of Lori and her deceased husband the Hispanic woman smiled and waved him over, to which his eyes immediately shone as he called Sophia and the Morales children over. The members of the Morales family were the only ones Catalina spoke to and even that she kept to a minimum although she was particularly close to the young wife of Morales and the two women bonded often times over stories of their families. So leaving her babies well attended to while they meowed and chirped for affection Catalina set her way up the ladder of the RV and silently made her way over to Dale who sat there like a canary on a perch looking through his binoculars as though he hadn't even noticed her presence.

"It's quite the dinner you and Daryl caught for us isn't it Catalina?" The woman merely shrugged her shoulders as he pointed at the doe that Jim and Shane were currently skinning and getting ready to gut.

"Se tiene que comer, no?" (We have to eat don't we?) The woman said, not budging at all, she didn't want to speak to these people didn't want anything to do with anybody the people she loved were gone and it would be foolish to form a bond with anyone else in the world turned to hell. Dale though, he was unrelenting and merely laughed it off as he patted the lawn chair offering the woman a seat but instead she sat on the roof of the RV, her back to the group and instead facing the road, her eyes squinting against the setting sun as she stayed silent unsure of what it was Dale wanted her for.

"You remind me a lot of my wife, may she rest in peace." Catalina didn't know where this was headed so she remained stoic faced and merely blinked at the man who once again laughed. "Every bit as stubborn as the woman, and every bit as caring, and every bit as bad a liar as that woman, I won't pretend to understand why you don't want to speak to us and I won't pretend that I'll be the one to get you to speak but do know this dear…" Catalina watched as Dale trailed off, his eyes for a moment far gone before channeling back on Catalina who for the time being played with one of her curled tendrils of hair, she really missed having use of her flat iron, though who did she have to look good for anymore? It didn't matter if she straightened her hair or went bald no one here would care, especially not her. "I'll keep your secret so long as you know that whenever you're ready and whenever you want to talk you know where to find me." Catalina wanted to tell the old man to buzz off, mind his own business he hadn't been a shrink beforehand so why try to be now? His sincerity though, and his care it was all so genuine and deep that all Catalina could feel was emotion clogging her through as she need and continued to look out towards the horizon, one leg stretched out while the other was bent and she rested her arm on it, hunting knife in hand as she fidgeted slightly, doing her best to waiver off the bundling emotions she had spent so long trying to keep at bay.

"Hey look at those two idiots." Dale said out of nowhere throwing Catalina off as she blinked up at the man then turned her head back towards the group. It was no surprise that the children had taken to Sugar and Panther much like them to the children as they were showered in more affection than Catalina could have ever mustered. It made the woman smile before she was drawn to what it was the older man had originally called her for and it took a lot for the woman not to let out a loud guffaw at the sight. It had been close to an hour now that they had been back, the sunlight was almost gone entirely and all Shane and Jim had been able to do was massacre the poor dear even more, didn't they understand it was already dead? Bursting out in laughter at their obvious lack in skill Catalina for a moment forgot the world was evil and let the sight ease her spirits as Daryl soon joined the picture and yelled at them for 'fuckin' up a perfectly good piece o' meat'

"Yo Spic! Git yer ass down 'ere and help me!" Daryl shouted, making the woman roll her eyes as she caught eyes with Dale, he obviously didn't like the word much himself but Catalina had long ago learned to put that behind her, after all deep in the south where wouldn't you find a racist ignorant sack of inbred shit that thought they were better just because they turned red in the sun?

"How about you show more respect to the woman that caught dinner." Dale retorted.

"How about you shut the fuck up old man? Ain't no one talkin' to ya, dumb bitch prolly thinks that's her name anyhow!" Daryl said and again it all rolled off Catalina's shoulder no problem, she could see the man was only saying it to say it, she didn't see the contempt in his eyes, she'd seen true hatred against her and all Daryl showed was annoyance at getting showed up. Before the man could speak again Catalina placed her hand over his and squeezed gently, something she'd done countless times with Mason's father when he was upset with Mason for fighting with Catalina. The movement broke her heart fractionally as she was once again reminded of what once was but she pushed on and stood from her spot on the ground as she wrapped an arm around Dale's head and pressed a kiss to the aging man's forehead.

"Gracias." The girl said softly before walking off to the edge of the RV and walking down but not before she heard the man look at her without hesitation say.

"De nada." Making the woman smile sweetly and shake her head before finally jumping down and heading over to the butchered deer and Daryl who was scraping off the large chunks of venison that were on some of the skin. Catalina really couldn't believe what the hell they had done and simply shook her head.

"Bola de buenos pa nada."(Bunch of good for nothings) She muttered under her breath as she took the end opposite of Daryl and deftly began skinning the deer from the hooves up.

"Ya shoulda just done the job yerself lazy fucking wetback." Daryl glared at the woman who returned the hot gaze and retorted.

"Pues obvio porque no se mira ningun pinche hombre que puede hacer un trabajo bien." (Well obviously, since there doesn't seem to be one fucking man that can do any job right.) The woman shot back and Daryl narrowed his eyes at the woman stopping his task for one moment to catch her attention, as though he were silently sizing her up.

"I ain't half as stupid as ya think I am ya stupid bitch, I know ya think you've got everyone fooled, but I know you speak English probably about as broke as your good wetback friend's but ya speak it, I don't wanna talk to ya either bitch just know I ain't no fool."

"Pues lo miras Baboso." (Well you look it, idiot) The woman returned harshly.

"Baboso you." The man shot back and the woman rolled her eyes at just how utterly stupid that had sounded as they continued their work in silence, a tense silence but silence none the less. When the work was finished Catalina stood without a word and cleaned the blood off of her knife with a rag, tucking it into her back pocked and walked away.

"Ya tienen." (There you go) The woman said before walking to her pets, picking them up and walking into her tent to change and get some rest before dinner was ready, her hunting knife beside her and dagger still resting patiently in her boot as was the gun on her holster, everything waiting for it's use because this was life now and until she could reach her family she'd bite her tongue and keep to herself because they days were short and the nights were dangerous and the last thing the woman needed was to let down Mason.

"Don't give up!" The words haunted the woman as she lay on her sleeping bag, the tears falling silently while her cats rested comfortably by her side. This was life now, there was no giving up because giving up meant death and Catalina had promised herself to fight, for what she had no idea, but she would, until she found out or it tore her apart…Literally.