Summary: Six years after the demise of Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon is struggling to cope with the grief of losing the brother he had. But what happens when he stumbles upon a lone Spanish family, where one of which is related to Negan? Daryl/OC. Co – Written with WalkingPotterGirl14.

Brave New World

Chapter 7

"Thanks, Beth. Tom's helped me get through a lot of rough times. I thought I was never gonna see him again. I was trying to get him into a pet carrier when he got frightened and ran off," Emilia said softly, as they saw Tom prowling near the cellar again.

Yep, despite his age the cat still had his hunting instincts. The cat dragged out a mouse and started eating it. She smirked slightly, before going to inspect the cellar with Beth.

It was dark, but there were oil lit lanterns lighting a bit of the way. She saw the mouse traps had worked on the mice. She and Beth swept them up, before giving them to Tom as a present.

"Does Michonne have any kids besides Judith?" Emilia asked curiously. Beth looked deep in thought, and a sad smile was on her face.

"Yeah, she had a son with one of our group members. She named him Rebar Grimes. His father died a few years ago trying to save us from a herd of walkers," she explained sadly, still grieving for Rick as she thought of their leader.

Emilia gave her a sad smile. They went back outside to join the others and they sat together on a wooden bench, as Alden began playing the guitar for everyone.

The sky was dark with grey clouds gathering. Winter was fast approaching, and everyone was harvesting the last of the crops before the cold finally set in.

Daryl was going on a supply run and to hopefully find more cats. Emilia was coming with him this time. Michonne had said she was accompanying them on a run eventually once she moved people along. He noticed the distrustful looks that Michonne gave Magna. He knew Magna and her group had been sent to the Hilltop after Magna had lied about not being in prison and concealing a weapon.

Michonne was distrustful of new people. Alexandria hadn't taken in any survivors since Rick had died. He sighed and looked at Emilia who was talking to Enid. She was coming with him, as she wanted to find paediatric medical equipment.

"Ready?" Daryl asked quietly. Emilia nodded after saying goodbye to everyone, which included a hug from Agnes. They rode off with the wagon, as Carlos looked on.

He hoped they would be alright. The world was a dangerous place.

Daryl rode the wagon with Emilia sitting beside him as they looked at the landscape, most of the houses were partially collapsed, burned down or had trees growing out of them. They reached the abandoned safe zone. Daryl made sure the horses were protected from walkers and people, before he cautiously opened the gates with Emilia.

The place was a smoking graveyard, some of the houses were practically burned to the ground. There were only a few walkers roaming around. Something caught Emilia's attention. A walker was lying on the ground, a stab wound to the back of the head but...it's face was missing. Someone had skinned the walker's face off, somehow.

"Daryl, I think you need to see this," she whispered urgently. Daryl walked over and saw what she was examining on the ground. His stomach dropped as he looked at the body.

"What the hell? Did someone skin this walker's face off?" Daryl asked disgusted. He noticed that it had been done with either a knife or a scalpel. He was betting that it had been a knife.

Emilia shivered slightly, and it had nothing to do with being cold. They grabbed what they could from the house. Clothes, underwear, canned food, solar panels, guns, even a few bows and crossbows, and medicine.

They left the ruined safe zone and rode onto the next area. They saw abandoned cars with long dead bodies inside them. Emilia grimaced, as they stopped to a halt and saw why.

A group of people were blocking the road. While a few of them had guns, the rest had shovels or an axe.

"What are you two doing here, Daryl?" The man asked snidely. Emilia felt uneasy around this man. Who the hell were these people?

Daryl sighs and raises his hands in defence. "We don't want no trouble. We're just lookin' for supplies."

One man who was leading them steps forward towards Emilia, but Daryl instantly moves his horse in front of her. Jed smirks at him. Daryl glares.

"I said we didn't want any trouble," Daryl states, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Ever since Rick had died, he had been stepping away from the Sanctuary until he was no longer ever affiliated with it. He hated the idea of even stepping into that old factory. But he knew that the Saviors, whoever they were following now, didn't do shit to them. Which was what they needed.

"Who's she?" Jed asks, looking over at Emilia. She was quiet.

"She's just a survivor, like the rest of us. We just want supplies. We don't want to cause anythin'." He was starting to reach a breaking point, but he knew these guys had no choice but to let him go in front of them or else he would cause issues.

Jed shakes his head before nodding at the others. They finally move away, and Daryl guides his horse through while Emilia moves the wagon, looking at them quietly. She noticed how Jed threw her a smile, one that made her crawl in disgust. This fucking asshole.

She looks away and glances back towards the front, taking a deep breath. Once they were past them, she didn't look back. She and Daryl didn't speak until they were far out of sight of the people.

"Daryl?" She asks quietly. He looks over at her. "Who were those people?"

Daryl was quiet, and for a second, she didn't think that he would reply. He eventually did. "Saviors," he answers gruffly. "People who survived. They ain't too fond of us but they know if they hurt me, they're gonna get fucked. Least they know their place."

Emilia bites her lip. "And those were the people that Negan led?"

He sighs. "Yup."

She nods, and then the two were silent. Her mind thought back to the group. They looked like Negan's buddies. It made a lot of sense.

Fucker.

When Daryl and her finally arrived outside another town, they searched through all the houses that they could. There were so many places that were overgrown with leaves and roots that she felt like it was almost pointless to look inside, but Daryl said that everything was worth a shot.

She did find a few good spots. There was some medicine located in the back of a store that must have been used for its employees, so that might have helped. She headed over to a clinic and looked around. Most of the medicine had been picked clean, and some of the machines had been taken too, but there were still a few things left.

"This will have to do," she says quietly. Before she could take a few, she noticed a smell coming from the back and investigated it, knife in hand. Emilia quickly opens a door and peeks down, before feeling her heart drop. Another skinned walker.

Alright, this was getting weird.

"Someone has a fetish," she mumbles, shaking her head. She heads back into the room and unplugs some of the equipment, before hearing Daryl yelp. She heads outside. "Everything alright?"

"Shit, yeah," Daryl yells out. "Just...ya might wanna see this." Emilia's brow furrows before she walks over to the building, he was in. Quietly, she steps back inside and gasps at what she saw.

So Many. Cats. It had been like they had migrated to this one spot. There were three in a corner, two older and one younger. Some kittens were around as well. "Jesus Christ," she whispers, holding out her hands. "Come here, sweetie." One of the kittens rushes forward into her hands. "What do we do?" she whispers to Daryl. "There's so many."

"We bring 'em back," Daryl states simply. "All I know is that Dog is gonna have a damn field day." Emilia chuckles while she holds the kitten close to her. Daryl works one by one to move the cats into the wagon, before the last couple were the kitten's brothers and sister. Once they were all in, Daryl nods his head. "Let's get outta here before we run into more walkers," he says quietly.

"Yeah let's do that. I found another walker with its face skinned off back at the house," Emilia said grimly, feeling weary. Daryl's expression turned grim.

"Alright, we're gettin' the hell outta of here now. Got everythin' that Hilltop needs. I found a few batteries that we can trade with the Kingdom for, and found a few fishin' nets for Oceanside," Daryl explained quietly. Emilia nodded in understanding as they started riding back to the Hilltop.

Lucia had been telling Negan about how she and her family had been surviving since the Outbreak had occurred ten years ago. How Carlos along with Emilia had been leading them.

"Carlos, Emilia and abuela are living at the Hilltop Colony. It's a right shithole. Pigs, dogs, cows, fucking goats and a hog everywhere. It's disgusting. I prefer being here, unlike my sister who is useless," Lucia said disdainfully, causing Negan to look at her.

"Did she meet anyone after she left me?" Negan asked resentfully. Lucia shook her head and frowned.

"No, she stayed single, frigid bitch. Although I think there's something going on between her and the archer. Daryl Dixon, I think his name was," Lucia explained snidely, jealousy in her voice as she thought of the handsome but rough looking hunter who was one of the four leaders of Hilltop.

Negan felt angry then. So, his fucking wife was getting it on with Daryl, fucking Dixon of all people?! He felt like breaking out of this cell and demanding to know why Emilia had left him.

Alright, he lied to her and had affairs with women behind her back, not to mention the fact that he'd slept with her older sister. But how the hell had she found out about him and Lucia?

He'd find out. One way or another.

Carlos had gone outside the gates to take down a few walkers that had been drawn to the noise because of the construction crew fixing up the greenhouse. He took down one from behind with his knife and took down the other two when he noticed something that made his stomach roll in nausea.

The walker's face was missing, like someone had skinned the walker's face off for some fucked up reason. He swallowed, as he got the sense that someone was watching them. And that was when he saw it.

Someone in the woods was watching him, just standing there and watching him calmly. He gripped his knife tightly, and stepped forward, when he felt something latch onto his left boot clad foot.

A bear trap.

"Fuck! Son of a bitch, oh shit!" He cursed angrily, trying to ignore the pain as he tried to free his left foot. The spikes were digging into the flesh of his jeans. He saw a few walkers stumbling towards him, their jaws snapping hungrily.

He grabbed his knife, just as the first one, a truck driver from the looks of it, fell on top of him. He cursed and stabbed it in the head, as he saw more walkers coming out from nowhere.

This was it. He was going to die.

Daryl had been riding the wagon back to Hilltop when they saw a herd of at least twenty walkers swarming towards a man with his left leg trapped in a bear trap.

It was Carlos.

"Shit, Carlos is in trouble!" He said quickly, Emilia's face paled as they rode faster to the gates of Hilltop. He could see a few men were running over to help, along with Connie and Luke as they tried to get him free.

"Oh fuck, that hurts like hell! Look just leave me, I'll be alright! I'm not worth it!" Carlos said pleadingly, not wanting anyone to die for him or get hurt. Beatrice ran over to help them.

Emilia pulled out her bow and let an arrow loose, Daryl doing the same with his crossbow. They managed to get rid of the walkers that were too close.

Beth ran over with Jesus and Aaron. Carlos was starting to lose blood as the spikes dug deeper into the skin of his lower leg.

"Alden get Earl now!" Beth instructed urgently. The man nodded and hurried into the community, as Carlos tried to stay calm. Daryl ran over with Emilia after they got the wagon into the Hilltop, and saw the trap practically dig into the skin of his lower left leg, tearing into his jean clad leg.

"Someone sent those walkers. I was about to confront this woman who was watching me. She was near the forest, and when I went forward, this happened," Carlos explained grimly, and swallowed. "I saw a walker with its face skinned off."

Daryl and Emilia exchange a glance. "This isn't good," she mutters. One of the men free him of the trap and Beth helps him stand.

"Fuck," he whispers.

"We saw people like that," Daryl and Emilia admits "Walkers with their faces off. We don't know what's going on."

Beth looks at them quietly before sighing. "Well, if they came here that means something. They're watching us." She looks over at Daryl and Emilia. "I hope you got enough to last us a bit."

"We tried. We also got these." She opens the back of the carriage and cats come soaring out. Beth snorts as Tom comes over to greet them. Shadow's head popped up.

"Great. Now we'll need even more fish," she chuckles. Then she sighs and looks over at Carlos. "Let's get you inside. Shit is gonna hurt."

He grunts and allows her to guide him in. Emilia looks over at Daryl. "Do you think whoever those things are...they're a threat?"

Daryl sighs. "I don't know. Let's hope they ain't."

Once they got the cats settled in, Daryl watches as Agnes starts to feed them with some home cooked cat food she had made. "Ya were a cat person?" he asks her quietly.

"Ah, I loved animals," Agnes says softly. "I always tried to make food for my pets because they deserved better than kibble. Might as well try for the ones that are saving our food." She looks over at Daryl. "What about you? You have a dog."

"Like animals too, just always knew dogs were a bit more useful in this world. Tom's good at huntin' mice but then he lays around in the sun," he states.

Agnes laughs as she feeds another cat. "That is true, but doesn't that life sound delightful? Just lying in the sun all day. Wish I could still do that nowadays."

"Guess a lot of people wish they could just relax with worryin' about gettin' shot or robbed," Daryl said dryly. He saw a white cat with large black spots on its fur coming towards him.

He stroked her affectionately, while Shadow was sniffing around the other cats curiously. His tail wagged as he investigated the strange animals, before lying down at Daryl's feet.

"I'm glad that you stood up for my granddaughter when Dante punched her, Daryl. Emilia's been treated badly by Dante and Lucia. Their father wasn't a good man," Agnes explained quietly, sadness in her dark hazel eyes as she thought of her grandchildren.

"Did ya ever meet Negan?" Daryl asked curiously. Agnes's face hardened, and she pressed her lips together in a thin line, before sighing unhappily.

"I met him three times. I honestly thought he was a good man for my Emilia, querido niño. I thought they'd have a happy marriage and have children together, but something changed. Negan kept on having affairs, and Emilia was working late at the hospital, but they were trying to make it work. But then Lucia had her eye on Negan. She wanted him even though he was married to Emilia. They started having an affair, and that was the final straw for my querida nieta," Agnes says sadly, and sighed.

She would have loved seeing Emilia settle down with a good man, and have a few children of her own, but that didn't seem to happen.

Daryl looked at the elderly woman silently. She seemed genuinely saddened that Negan and Emilia had split up. He wondered if she had cared about Negan like a son.

"Ya need anythin', just let me or Beth know, alright?" He asked quietly. The woman nodded and watched as Daryl went up to where his house was.

Emilia had stitched up the lacerations on Carlos's lower left leg. The wounds were deep but luckily, they would heal. He wouldn't be taking out any walkers for a while. She gave him some antibiotics and a tetanus shot.

He nodded in thanks and she sat in the living room silently, leaning back as she thought of the life she was making here with her older brother and grandmother.

For the first time since the outbreak had occurred, she felt like she could build a life here, and be happy. She looked over at where some children were playing and smiled sadly.

She'd always wanted to be a momma, but it looked like that wasn't going to be in the cards for her yet. Maybe ever. Emilia sighed, and she finished eating the venison steak and began washing up the plates.

It was quiet outside. She sighed softly as she finished washing up, and went upstairs to shower, before heading to bed. She felt exhausted after today.

Daryl had gone out to hunt again early in the morning and saw to his surprise that Emilia was up as well. She was sitting outside the medical trailer and had a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hey Daryl, are there any lakes, streams or rivers near the Hilltop Colony?" She asked curiously. He saw she was reading a book on herbal medicine.

"Yeah, there's a lake that's close to us and where we go fishin' when Oceanside aren't able to give us fish," Daryl said quietly. Emilia smiled.

"I know this is a weird thing to ask, but can you get me some leeches and put them in a jar filled with water?" She requested seriously, letting Daryl know that she wasn't joking.

Daryl wasn't surprised, but he was shocked that Emilia was talking so calmly about leeches. He knew leeches, and even maggots had been used to treat people before painkillers had come around like morphine.

"I'll see what I can do. How's Carlos doin'?" He asked quietly. The cuts on the man's led had looked damn painful.

"He's restin' but helping Aaron with the crops. Beth's helping Jesus taking stock of what we have to trade," she said softly. Tom ran over with a mouse in his mouth.

Both of them watched as Tom played with the mouse, before catching it with his paw, and eating it.

"At least someone's enjoying themselves, today," Emilia said wryly. She put Enid in charge of the medical trailer for today. She and Siddiq were training Enid with all the medical knowledge they knew about. It was better for her to know about it if something bad was to happen.

Daryl nodded, and watched as she grabbed a jar and filled it up with water, before they started heading towards the river where they would find leeches.

He couldn't believe that he was doing this, trying to find leeches of all things with Emilia, but she did have a point. Antibiotics and painkillers would eventually run out, so the gardeners at Hilltop were growing poppies in order to make morphine.

It was hard work, but Tanya seemed to know what she was doing as she'd been trained by Nabila about gardening. Frankie knew how to grow poppies, due to her mother. Hopefully, they'd be able to make their own version of antibiotics. He wished that Hershel was here. He'd know what to do, and what plants could be used as medicine.

Carlos hated not being to work on the fields, so he kept busy by helping Beth with the cats. A few of them were newborn kittens and were sleeping.

Beth was cuddling a tabby cat, that purred softly and nuzzled her face before glancing at Carlos who smiled. He saw D.J coming towards him with an uneasy expression.

"Hey, Negan's causing issues at Alexandria. He...wants to see Emilia; says it's important."

Carlos raises an eyebrow. "Important? I highly doubt that's a real possibility," he snorts.

"Michonne says it is."

Beth's brow raises. "Are you joking?" She asks. Usually if Michonne thought anything was important it usually was but Beth never thought she'd see the day where she would agree with what Negan was saying.

D.J. sighs. "Well, it's not that it's important, important. It's the fact that he refuses to eat until she comes to visit him or see him to talk about it. It's been a while since he's actually had a meal." Carlos exchanges a look with Beth, who seemed to be trying to figure out if it was worth it to see this man.

"I don't trust him," Beth states. "I know that he and Emilia were a couple for a bit before this, but I don't trust him being in the same room as her. It doesn't seem right."

Carlos sighs before looking over at them. "We'll talk it over with Emilia when she gets back with Daryl. See what she thinks." D.J. nods before returning to his work. Carlos looks over at Beth. "What the hell could Negan want Emilia for?"

Beth bites her lip and shakes her head. "I have no idea."

When Emilia had caught a lot of leeches, Daryl had to stare at it. There had to be at least fifty in one jar, and all seemed to be trying to get something to eat. He looks over at her. "Ya sure this is what ya need?"

She nods and looks up at him. "Yes. See, with leeches, they're great at increasing blood circulations and freeing up blood clots. A lot of people would use these for medical situations back then because they would ironically help prevent the amount of blood loss there could have been. If we ever need help, this might be the call."

Daryl shakes his head. "Just hope ya know what yer doin'."

"Well, do you trust me?" She asks him as they reached Hilltop again.

Daryl looks down at her quietly. "I do."

"Then trust the leeches as well." She walks in, and almost as soon as she does, Carlos was coming out.

"We have a problem, sis."

She looks at him confused as she hands off the jar of leeches to Enid. "Place that in the fridge in the trailer." She nods and heads off. "What's the problem?" She asks him quietly.

"Negan." Emilia looks at him confused. "He wants to see you. D.J. said that he kept saying it was important."

"I'd rather die than see him again."

"We don't know what is going on," Beth states coming over. "All we know is that he's refusing to eat until he sees you again and that he wants to know some things. But it's your call if you want to go or not."

Enjoy, and review :)