Here is it!

Season 3 of The Walking Dead - Ana's Series!

Seriously one of my more favorite seasons of the series so I'm excited to go on for this season. I got tons of reviews that, like previous seasons, I will skip addressing for this first chapter but I want to let everyone that I did get your reviews and am so grateful for them.

I also wanted to take this time to just apologize for the seriously long wait for this season. Work has not been kind to me and I've just lost 2 aunts. The most recent one hit me the hardest that I had to take 2 weeks off of work and then fly up to Utah for her funeral. There was no way I was missing this woman's funeral. I only just got back 2 nights ago and exhaustion is kicking in. I am literally emotionally and mentally exhausted. I'm back at work, tired or not, I need the money for bills so I figured I'd at least release the first chapter I had worked on for this season.

I do want to forewarn you all that though this is the first chapter and that I plan on keeping a tight schedule on chapter updates, possibly tuesdays as I have done in the past, the 2nd chapter for this season will be late. I have a shit ton of things going on right now, work, family, all that fun stuff but I did not want you waiting too long for this season. I will try my best in updating as quickly as possible but if I do not, please forgive me.

Disclaimer: I do not own the AMC's The Walking Dead or it's characters, just Ana!

Anyways, enough of that sappy stuff, let's get back to the fun stuff!

Without wasting anymore time, here is:

THE WALKING DEAD: ANA'S SERIES - THE PRISON!

Ana's POV...

It had been months since we had left the farm in our rearview mirror and still, I held wounds from that place on my neck. I had hoped, that even against what Hershel believed, I would be healed and fine, but maybe what he had said all those months ago was right after all.

Flashback:

Author's POV...

Daryl had been furious from the moment he had dragged Ana's unconscious form from the bushes and into the back bedroom of the RV. Hershel insisted on doing a check up on her injuries as he had been worried about the darkness of the bruise from the moment he had laid his eyes on it. It looked serious and Hershel had to stop himself from making comments the second his eyes landed on the blackness of her throat.

Daryl stood just in the doorway of the bedroom, blocking any other assholes from coming in aside from the Greene Family and Rick who had all but pushed past him to get through the doorway. He wanted to open his mouth, snap at the dick for even thinking he was important enough to even be present in the room before Hershel's words shot across the small space.

"This doesn't look good." Hershel commented warily as he passed his daughter a brief glance before turning to the 3 men in the room.

"What ya mean 'it doesn't look good?'? Daryl snarked mockingly, pissed that the doctor didn't just get on with it instead of beating around the damn bush.

"She's alright, right Hershel?" Rick then asked, his brows furrowing in concern though he tried not to make it too obvious.

Hershel sighed, his tired eyes looking at the two men before turning back to the woman where Maggie was attempting to make her as comfortable as possible in the bed, ignoring her father's eyes boring into the side of her head as she did so.

"She's fine but her throat, I won't know the exact extent to the injury but from what I can collect from touch, that it might be a bit more serious than I had originally thought." This caught Daryl's attention intently as he couldn't help but stomp over the doorway, looking at Hershel as if he just told him she was about to die only for Rick to cut him off before he could get into Hershel's face for answers.

"What can we do? When can you check further?" Rick passed Daryl a look that only pissed the redneck off further before turning his attention to the older man.

"When she is conscious would be my best bet. Until then, I'd say to keep her as comfortable as possible. She's exhausted."

Ana's POV...

I had stayed unconscious for up to 4 days as I was told, waking to find myself lying out on the small bed that I had originally started my journey in this world, on. Instantly getting my bearings together, a stab of pain went through my heart as I realized where I was and who it had belonged to. No matter what anyone said, I would always blame myself for Dale's death. I could have stopped it, I had the knowledge to do it and yet I didn't. He had died because of me.

"Was beginning to worry that you would never wake up." A gruff voice startled me from my daze as I swallowed down my throat to say something only to wince painfully at the feeling, my hands quickly reaching up to grab at what I now felt was a bandage of some sort putting pressure on my already painful throat.

"No, no, no, don't touch it. Hershel says it might help as long as you don't play with it." Glenn's face suddenly appeared over me as I glanced up at him surprised, having realized I didn't even know he was present aside from Hershel's obvious voice. My friend quickly passed me a sympathetic smile before mentioning helping me sit up which he did. My body groaned at the movement, some part in the back of my mind telling me I had been asleep for a lot longer than I thought.

"You've been asleep for 4 days." Glenn explained having seen the confused look on my face as I gazed around the RV, realizing I also didn't hear anyone nearby though I instantly noticed the sight of a house of some sort sitting just outside the dusty curtains of the RV. I stood, hesitantly before walking over to peek through the curtain wondering where the hell everyone was.

"Where..." Is all I got out before breaking into a painful coughing fit that sounded more like wheezing of some sort as I collapsed onto my knees with Hershel and Glenn patting my back in comfort.

"I've been waiting for you to gain consciousness again so I can do a better check up on your throat but by the sounds of it, I was right." Hershel mentioned as my head shot up from the ground, one hand around the bandage on my neck as I passed him a confused and slightly hesitant look.

"Here, how about you sit back down on the bed then Hershel can have a look at you?" Glenn gently suggested, already hauling me off the ground and back onto the bed where Hershel added that it was probably best for the bandage to be removed. So I sat, quite embarrassed to suddenly feel helpless as both men helped me to remove the bandage before Hershel and Glenn eyed my neck.

"Ana..." Glenn whispered in visual pain, his eyes meeting me in concern as I opened my mouth to chastise him for looking at me with such pity only for Hershel to quickly put his hand up, stopping me from saying anything.

"Let me check you out. If something hurts, grip my wrist, don't speak." Hershel commanded through a fatherly voice as I placed my hand onto his bare wrist, squeezing to show me what he wanted, as if I didn't know how to squeeze my hand.

With bated breath, I sat, my neck on display as I felt his withered fingers brushing along various places, causing me to wince though I made no move to squeeze his wrist. But who was I kidding, it was impossible to hide a wince or hiss when he pushed on a particularly sensitive area. I quickly retracted myself from his hands, my hands finding my neck, shocked to feel how swollen it was as I met his concerned eyes.

"How is she?" Glenn whispered as my eyes darted to his and then back to Hershel, willing the man to speak with my eyes.

"I'm not positive but from that reaction, I'd say Ana's neck may be a bit worse than I had originally imagined. For the time being, and I know this may be impossible for you, Ana, but I need you to keep your speaking to a minimum. The less the better. I'm hoping if you don't use your vocal cords as often, that it will give it the time to heal before any serious damage can be done. Thankfully it doesn't sound like Shane destroyed your vocal cords completely, but any further irritation or pressure on it can do the opposite of healing it. You understand?" Hershel's eyes took on a serious expression as I stared at him, wanting to say so much though I realized that if anyone knew what they were talking about, it would be him. So he was a veterinarian, a lot closer to a doctor than I ever got. Sighing through my nose, ignoring the burning in my throat it caused, I forced out a nod before turning back to the window looking like a dejected puppy that had just been told he was grounded.

I sat silently in the bed after Hershel had spoken, my mind going in about 50 different directions before Glenn's face came into view.

"Hey, you alright?" Glenn asked worried as I sighed, licking my chapped lips. I wanted to say a billion things to the man, but I knew I couldn't and instead, rolled my eyes, hoping that would get my emotions across. Glenn didn't disappoint.

"I know, it sucks but we want you to heal so take some time to rest." Glenn added with a bit of mischief in his voice as I playfully glared up at him, the sound of voices outside the RV pulling us from our conversation.

"Oh, must be clear." Hershel pushed himself to stand as I fought to stand as well, Glenn instantly at my side to help me up though I began to bat his hands away as soon as he got close enough to me.

"Fine, fine, sorry." Glenn apologized with his hands up in a retreat motion as I brushed past Hershel to get to the door of the RV. Almost completely stumbling down the stairs towards the door, Glenn caught me before pushing the door open to help me out.

"Ana?" Various voices spoke as my eyes attempted to adjust to the afternoon sun beaming down on me before narrowing in on 4 faces all looking at me in relief. Carol was the first, as always, throwing herself at me with a bit more caution this time as she thanked me for what I had done back at the farm. I patted her back, wanting to say more before she stepped away from me, a wall of a man now engulfing me.

"There's the shorty I know and love! How ya doin' girl?" T-Dog patted my back before stepping away with a smile, my eyes looking at him in irritation as I opened my mouth to retort something only for Hershel's hand on my shoulder to cut me off.

"How is she?" Rick then asked, having noticed the way Hershel had glanced down at me in the last second.

"Not good. Her neck injuries are a lot worse than I had originally thought." Hershel confessed as all eyes were quickly on Ana again.

"Wait, what do you mean worse? What is worse than that?" T-Dog didn't appreciate the way the man was tiptoeing around the subject.

"Seems with the amount of strength used on her throat, her vocal cords were heavily damaged. I do not know for how long or to what exact extent but I have asked her to keep speaking to a minimum. The less the better. I know, that will be difficult for you but if it's as bad as I think it is, you will be lucky to ever have your voice back."

Not being able to speak at all was equivalent to telling a mother she was not allowed to see her newborn. It was painful. I had stopped myself numerous times while Hershel explained my predicament to the group, from saying shit to the man. The few times I had attempted to push even the simplest sound out of my throat, it was painful. It felt like my throat was constricting and I'd break out into another coughing fit, one that would get everyone's attention quickly.

After Hershel's announcement, Rick mentioned that the house was safe and that the plan was to stay the night to rest. I couldn't have agreed more with the look of pure exhaustion on everyone's faces. But that's only when I realized that not everyone was present. Daryl was not here, or within range, as my eyes did a quick once over, noting that Lori was instructing the kids on what to bring in from the car across the street. Where the hell had he gone?

Once I was led into the dusty living room of the house, Carol herded me towards the nearest couch, stopping me from making any sort of complaints like the fact that I wasn't physically handicap and quite capable of helping bring things into the house. She instantly scolded me like any mother would and told me to rest which I begrudgingly did just as the children finally came around the corner.

They took one look at me before they were charging at me from the hallway, almost completely barreling me over onto the couch with the force of their bodies crashing into my torso. It looked like most everyone wanted to scold the kids, tell them to leave me be, but I wouldn't let them. Just putting a silent hand up with a shake of my head, I let them know that I was alright and that no one would be taking these crying kids from my arms.

Author's POV...

The kids had not left her arms for almost 2 hours, blubbering about how scared they were on the farm and how scared they were when she went missing after the fire. Ana couldn't help but smile at the kid's obvious care over her as she ushered them down onto the couch to get a bit more comfortable. About halfway through the kids telling her what had happened while she was asleep, the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood causing her eyes to snap up from Sophia's and into the hallway that was directly behind the little girl.

She knew Lori hated her with a passion and from what she could remember from the plot line, she knew that she had been filled in on what had truly happened with Shane. But that didn't mean Ana cared in the least bit what the woman thought of her. So she continued to stare at the brooding pregnant woman before turning back to the woman's son, knowing it must be pricking at her nerves seeing her son so comfortable with her. She didn't care though, she just hoped that Lori's reaction to Shane's death was enough for Rick to get his head out of his ass.

Rick. Hell. She had totally forgotten about that confession on the field with Shane. The kid's words echoed into the background of her mind as her eyes panned up from Carl's hat, once Rick's, to the man lumbering into the house from the porch, carrying another set of blankets. What had she done to change the way he felt about her? It was not supposed to be this way. He was still supposed to be in love with Lori, through everything, but, he wasn't. Ana could see it, the way Lori walked over to say something to Rick, almost pleading only for the man to brush her hand off his arm, walking away, completely ignoring her. She felt, only slightly bad. Okay, let's be honest, she didn't feel bad, that woman deserved all the pain she put her husband through and more. But still, Ana couldn't help but worry what his feelings for her truly meant and what would happen to the story line now.

It had taken a lot of pleading, begging and promises to pry the two children away from Ana where they were dragged away by their mothers for the night. Ana had enjoyed her conversations with the kids, both inquiring on her injuries though at first she only made hand movements before Carol came over to explain her vocal predicament. Luckily the kids understood, asking her yes or no questions where she could easily nod or shake her head before filling her in on what they remember happening between the farm and now.

Sadly, Carl had softly let her know that he was afraid for his mom and dad, that they had fought, loudly, as he had put it when Rick had admitted to killing Shane. Carl knew his dad wouldn't say anything about him shooting Shane and looked up at Ana in a realization that she had been present for that too, only for Ana to shake her head, a silent promise that she wouldn't say anything as well. The poor guy had enough to deal with as is.

Night fell quickly as Ana spent the last 20 minutes before bed, arguing with most of the people in the room about sleeping on the couch. As she had mentioned before, she wasn't handicapped. She was fine, physically yes, vocally no, she didn't need people pitying her and treating her like such, so she took the sleeping bag Glenn had laid out for her on the couch and laid it on the floor. If they wanted her to sleep on the couch so badly, they'd have to carry her at this point.

Halfway through the night, Ana realized, there was no way in hell she was going to sleep. She had been sleeping for 4 days after all. So she rolled onto her back, staring silently at the ceiling before eyeing the man sitting beside the window on guard. When memories of the fire on the farm slowly became evident, she realized, she still had not seen Daryl.

Ice shot down her spine as she shot up, startling T-Dog on watch duty who watched her through the dimly lit room as her eyes shot around the room before she leaned forward slightly, peeking into the dining room.

Daryl wasn't anywhere to be seen. Had something happened to him while she was asleep? Was he dead? Did he go looking for her after the farm and the group just left him behind? That can't be, they needed Daryl. Rick needed Daryl. Ana hadn't even realized she was slowly having a panic attack until a soft voice shot across the room, almost scaring her enough to push the woman to scream, had she not caught herself.

"He's upstairs." Ana's wide eyes shot over to the man now staring at her across the room, a smirk slowly crawling its way on his face. Ana blushed, unwillingly, hoping she wasn't as obvious as she thought and innocently tilted her head at the man who scoffed.

"Cut the shit, Shorty. I know ya looking for Daryl, he's upstairs." T-Dog waved her off with a brief glance out the window before turning back to see her glaring at him annoyed. He chuckled, watching as she opened her mouth, no doubt to defend herself before he cut her off once more.

"Nope, no talking. How about you give that unicorn notebook Sophia gave you, a try." Ana could feel her blood beginning to boil at T-Dog's jab as she glanced over to see the exact notebook sitting beside her. Sophia had passed it over earlier in the day for her to easily communicate with everyone. She couldn't turn the child down, no matter the monstrosity staring back at her, namely the unicorn named Rainbow, of all things. What took the cake was Carl no sooner reached into his small bag and pulled out a hot pink crayon for her to write with. She was sure at this point, these kids, were mocking her.

Scoffing, knowing no amount of writing could properly express the amount of annoyance radiating through her, she pushed herself to stand, swiping the notebook off the floor as T-Dog watched amused from his spot.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." T-Dog sang softly as Ana threw the bird over her shoulder, hoping that he caught wind of how much he pissed her off and continued on her way towards the stairs, ignoring the soft chuckling happening behind her.

Huffing softly under her breath, mentally cursing, she climbed the stairs with ease before stopping at the top, her eyes scanning the darkness for movement. Briefly, she had a chill run down her spine at the potential danger that could be lurking behind every corner. But Rick and the others had inspected the house closely before allowing anyone in, even unarmed, she knew she was safe in this house for the time being. Peeking into room after room, she heard the flutter of some sort of fabric which pulled her attention to the last room. Her eyes scanned the dimly lit room before landing on the opened balcony door where the curtain blew in the wind. Ana stood there, inspecting what she could see out the fabric before a billow of brief smoke passed her eyesight, the smell of cigarette smoke following closely behind.

Must be him.

Quietly, she approached, her notebook clutched in one hand, she used her free hand to pull the curtain out of the way where familiar legs stretched out across the balcony caused her to step forward.

Having not heard her approach, Daryl was slightly startled by the appearance of the woman, his eyes snapping up, eyeing her in concern as she walked past him, taking a quick glance at the view before taking a seat beside him. What the hell was she doing out here? She should be resting.

Ana could feel his eyes on her the second she came into view and it did nothing to quench the growing uneasiness in her stomach. Was there a reason he was gone all day? She was glad he was alright, safe, alive. But why had he been gone all day and no one mentioning anything about it? Ana was sure that the group knew about her feelings for the man, no matter how much she denied it. She knew they would usually instantly tell her where he was, even if she had not been looking for him. He was pissed, wasn't he?

That's when she finally turned her eyes, just as he glanced away to pull the stick of smoke from between his dry lips. She wanted to question him about where the hell he had been, but how could she? No way in hell she had the patience to jot it down for him to read.

"Shouldn't ya be restin'?" His voice spoke, a billow of smoke following his words out onto the night air.

Ana blinked a few times, noticing the tone he used with her, he didn't sound pissed. Maybe exhausted, but there wasn't a hint of anger on his voice like she had been expecting.

"I was out huntin' when ya got up, Asian filled me in." Daryl gruffly added causing Ana to let out an unladylike snort, pulling open her notebook to write something.

He's got a name. Glenn, repeat after me, G-L-E-N-N

Daryl scoffed at the note, his eyes snapping back to the road in front of them as he took another hit of his cigarette.

"Ain't important ta me." He muttered around the stick as Ana finally noticed the familiar box sitting in his flannel pocket. Gawking, she dropped her notebook, reaching over and ripping the stick from between his fingers, quickly getting his attention.

"What the fuck..." He was ready to reel into her before her raspy and destroyed voice cut him off.

"These...are my fuckin'...cigarettes...the ones...I found in...Atlanta. You went...through my...shit?!" She tried to keep her speaking to a minimum but the fact that the man had gone through her shit where this box had been hiding, slightly pissed her off. Daryl's eyes darkened immediately before his hand gripping her chin quickly cut through her.

"Don't fuckin' talk. Doc said ya ain't allowed to fuckin' talk so keep shit to yerself." He hissed into her face, though it sounded more like he was annoyed then pissed off at her.

Ana fought to keep eye contact with the man only to let out a silent scoff, attempting to pull her chin away from his grip but the man wasn't letting up. Her eyes cast downwards, eyeing the box hanging from his flannel pocket before he pinched her chin gently, gathering her attention once more as she met his eyes.

"That shit ya pulled back at the farm, I ain't standin' for that superhero fuckin' nonsense anymore. Ya hear me?" His voice had lowered significantly as her insides twisted at the look of hidden desperation playing in his eyes.

"If I tell ya to fuckin' get on, ya get on. I don't give two shits about anyone else in the group. Ya more important." His last words had sent a stone of excitement and hesitation clattering down into her stomach though he didn't look even the least been fazed by his own confession.

"Ya hear me, Ana? I ain't leavin' ya again." He gripped her chin even tighter, pulling her closer to him as she let out a shuddering breath at the seriousness in his tone before passing him a single nod.

Daryl eyed her briefly, his thumb brushing her soft chin before he sighed, pleased that she understood where he was coming from. In the next second, he leaned forward, lightly pressing his lips to her own, a sense of both relief and anger flooding his form as his hand made contact with the side of her wrapped neck just as her much smaller hand gripped onto his forearm.

He should have been there for her. He should have stayed back in the field with her or dragged her back to the house with him. Had she not been alone, she wouldn't be injured, once again. Daryl could feel the guilt slowly eating at him as he tilted his head, allowing himself to enjoy her warmth and scent a moment longer than normal just as her other hand, reached up, gripping the hairs at the back of his neck.

He wasn't allowed to be happy. Especially with a woman. He wasn't allowed to and so, forcefully and against his will, he pried himself off of her, ignoring the soft whimper that came off of her. She eyed him in worry as he let go of her, pushing himself to stand soon after, wondering if she had upset him somehow in the next moment. But she didn't have to think long on that before his hand was in her face, her eyes scanning his palm all the way up to his face where he gazed down on her.

"Come on, let's getcha inside before ya get a fuckin' cold." Ana wanted to complain, the previous kiss now in the back of her mind as his worried eyes continued to stare down on her. She didn't like him worried about her, though it felt good to have such a person concerned over her, she didn't completely enjoy him worrying about her and not himself. But then again, that's why they were so alike. They worried more about the other than their own selves, as tiring as that sounds.

Ana finally caved, placing her hand in his rough palm before he pulled her effortlessly from her seat. He didn't give her a chance to grab her things, as soon as she was on her feet, he was leaning over to collect her items from the ground. Staring at the notebook in amusement, Ana couldn't fight the eye roll as she ripped the notebook out of his hand, using it to swat him embarrassed as he let out a short chuckle.

"Cute." He complimented through a mock as she scoffed, shaking her head with a growing smile as she passed him, feeling something slide into her back pocket before his large land slapped the same spot. She stumbled forward with a yelp that sounded more like a dying animal before she spun to face him, looking at him completely violated though he only grinned, nudging her aside before disappearing through the doorway with a soft 'hurry the hell up'.

Ana blinked a few times before she found her hand reaching towards her back pocket, now finding something in it. Pulling it out, she glanced down at the item in her hand before snorting out a short laugh.

Her box of cigarettes.

That fucker.

Hopefully you all enjoyed the first chapter of Season 3! Like I said before, I am SUPER excited for this season and hope I can bring it justice! If you have anything that you'd like to definitely see this season, please, let me know. I love reading your opinions on plot lines and characters!

Until next time~