Hello everyone! This is a new story I'm starting because I've run into a bit of writer's block with my story about Lyla and Daryl. Don't worry though, I'm almost done with another chapter for that story; I've just been playing around with a few ideas in my head and wanted to put them into a story. So the girl in this is meant to resemble Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), and I also named her Emilia as well because I like that name. Have fun reading and leave me some feedback about where you think this story should go.

Rick huffed and wiped the back of his hand against his sweaty forehead as he and Daryl sat side by side on top of an overturned 18-wheeler with their legs hanging off the edge. It had been about 5 months since they had lost the farm, and the time on the run had been grueling to say the least. Rick had barely managed to keep it together in the beginning between the death of Shane weighing heavily on his mind and his rapidly deteriorating relationship with Lori. That was when Daryl had stepped up as second-in-command and really proved himself to be an invaluable asset to the group. Rick owed the gruff redneck an enormous amount for taking charge when he was so clearly unable to and he also found himself continually entertained by Daryl's dry sense of humor. Now he considered Daryl to be one of, if the not the closest friend he had in this post-apocalyptic clusterfuck of a world. But despite their friendly relationship, Rick still found it alarmingly difficult to keep a conversation with the man going.

"How's the situation with Carol?" asked Rick lowly as he watched Daryl expel smoke from his lungs.

"Nothin' much has changed really," he muttered bitterly before extinguishing what was left of the cigarette, "Woman still fuckin' follows me everywhere like a damn puppy."

"She'll come around eventually," commented Rick sympathetically before adding, "I hope. I don't blame her for acting a bit strange; I mean, she's lost more than all of us hasn't she?"

Daryl nodded his head absently while gnawing on his thumbnail.

"Yeah, I know," he admitted in a softer voice, "Don' make it any easier to have her clingin' on to me though. 'Specially when I made it clear that I ain't interested."

"Any particular reason why you ain't?" asked Rick in what he thought was his best tone of nonchalance. Daryl saw right through it and smirked. Rick was always trying to deepen the conversation between the two of them in order to find out more about Daryl's past life. Needless to say, Rick hadn't been very successful on that front.

"You invest more of yer time on gossip than anyone else in our group," joked Daryl lightly. Rick chuckled.

"I like knowing about people," said Rick easily, "Kinda came with the police officer job. So what is it then? Why haven't you responded to any of Carol's advances? I know she ain't the most conventionally attractive person but-"

He stopped talking when Daryl snorted loudly and shook his head.

"Do us both a favor and shut the fuck up before this gets weird, alright?"

Rick chuckled and raised his hands in apparent surrender. The two men lapsed into a comfortable silence as they observed their surroundings that were partially illuminated by the group's campfire. They each entertained their own thoughts for a few minutes before Rick broke the silence.

"Did you have anyone besides Merle before all this shit went down?" he asked hurriedly, as if speaking quickly would trip up the redneck beside him.

"Jesus Christ Grimes," said Daryl looking both exasperated and slightly annoyed, "Quit tryin' to pry information outta me."

"Maybe a girlfriend?" Rick pressed on, undeterred by Daryl's growing agitation.

The slightly older man glared at the cop through the dark fringe that fell over his eyes and remained silent.

"A boyfriend?" Rick guessed wildly, sounding completely unsure of himself.

Daryl's glare deepened and he pushed himself to his feet.

"Alright, that's it," he said matter-of-factly, "Have fun keepin' watch by yerself ya nosy bastard."

"Oh come on," Rick laughed at his figure that was making its way toward the area of the truck they had originally ascended, "You know all about me and my life."

Daryl turned swiftly back around with a finger pointed at Rick.

"Cuz ya fuckin' never stop talking!" he exclaimed, "I never asked ya 'bout shit or nothin'. Some of us ain't so big on the whole sharin' business," he paused a ruffled his hair with one of his hands in impatience, "Fine. I'll tell ya somethin' 'bout me if it gets ya off my back. I had a girl before the world went to shit."

Apparently thinking this small amount of information appeased Rick's curiosity, Daryl turned and began to climb down the side of the truck.

"Wait!" called Rick. Daryl nearly groaned out loud, "What was her name?"

The police officer watched as his friend swallowed and an expression he had never seen on Daryl's face appeared for a moment.

"Emilia," he said roughly without looking at Rick, "Her name was Emilia. And it don' matter none because she's either dead or stuck in another country."

3 Months Later

Rick's hands jerked back as he fired his pistol at one of the last walkers left in the prison yard. The twang he heard somewhere to his left suggested that Daryl had finished off the other one. After being at the prison for almost a full week now, Rick and Daryl had made it a daily habit of disposing the walkers that had gathered in the yard overnight. Rick watched as Daryl planted his foot on the walker's head and yanked the crossbow bolt out with a suction noise. He loaded it back into the bow before turning and addressing his friend.

"Seems like a load more than usual have been coming through over the last two days," Daryl grunted to Rick as they began to make their way back through the gate and towards the prison.

"Yeah I get what you mean," replied Rick uneasily as he relocked the gate behind them. They both looked to the tree line as half a dozen more walkers emerged from it, "This feels like the beginning of a herd or something."

"Fuck," groaned Daryl at the approaching walkers, "Let's just let Maggie and Glenn take them out from the watchtower."

"Agreed," said Rick with a nod. He motioned up towards the tall tower and the walkers began to fall one by one to the pattern of gunfire. The two friends stood there watching the remaining geeks meet their end for a moment before Rick placed a hand on Daryl's shoulder. He pretended not to notice the involuntary flinch that coursed through Daryl at the contact and jerked his head towards the prison.

"Come on man, we've still got to hit the infirmary today. See if there's anything useful."

"Yeah alright," drawled Daryl. Rick knew the redneck well enough to know when he was tired, but Daryl was too damn stubborn to quit when there was work that needed to be done.

Suddenly the radio on Rick's hip screeched and Glenn's voice drifted out of it a few seconds later.

"Uh, guys," said his voice in a nervous tone, "Are you guys seeing this?"

Daryl and Rick's eyes met for a moment before they simultaneously turned and looked back out over the large field. Rick struggled for a second to understand what Glenn was pointing out but then he noticed it. A small, lone figure was making its way slowly out of the forest; a figure that was undeniably human and not a walker. The two men started moving back towards the fence warily. As they got closer, Rick could see through squinted eyes that this mystery person was a woman and she looked young. Maybe in her mid twenties. She raised her arm and it was then that Rick saw the dirty machete that she had clasped in her hand. She swung it with more strength than Rick thought someone of her size was capable of producing. The head of the walker that was nearest to her flew into the air as its body crashed to the ground. Rick quickened his pace now and motioned to the guard tower to hold their fire and join him on the ground. The woman dispatched another walker swiftly but this time it took two hacks of her machete to do so. She was obviously tiring and Rick sped up his pace even more. He was about fifteen feet from the fence when he noticed that Daryl was no longer by his side; he was frozen in place a few feet behind Rick with a peculiar look on his face.

Rick watched as his friend took an unsteady half step backwards and a look of confusion swallowed his features. His eyes never left the figure that was now less than twenty yards from the fence in the opposite direction. It was like he was locked in place as he watched the young woman slice her way through the few walkers between her and the prison fence. Rick could now discern more details about the woman due to her increasing proximity. She was wearing a nearly shredded, filthy tank top that he assumed had once been white and a pair of short green cargo shorts adorned with a holster for her weapon. The appearance of her bare feet confused Rick, as did the expression that adorned her clearly pretty face under all of the dirt and gore. She had tears cascading down her cheeks and over her plump, pink lips as her bluish green eyes widened in an emotion that Rick couldn't decipher. Her ample chest was heaving with each breath and he was ashamed that he found himself staring at it rising and falling for a second or two longer than he should have. She was small with a tightly toned body, but Rick wouldn't call her short. She was maybe 5'3" or 5'4" he estimated, and her dirty hair hung half in and half out of a messy ponytail with pieces hanging around her face. He couldn't even tell what the color was.

Rick was shaken from his observations about the stranger when the footsteps of Glenn and Maggie approached him quickly from behind. The former grabbed his elbow as he came to a halting stop and nearly tripped over himself. Maggie was a little bit more graceful. The two looked at the leader with questions already forming on their lips.

"Who the hell is that Rick?" panted Glenn with his hands on his knees. Rick shook his head silently and ran a hand through his hair. The girl was nearly to the fence now and he could see that she still was openly crying with her gaze fixed on something behind him. Rick turned and followed her line of sight to see what she was focusing on so intently. Maggie did the same and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when she saw that Daryl, still frozen in place, was the object of the girl's stare and he was staring back at the her with equal fervor. The farmer's daughter, and one of the people closest in the group to the redneck, crossed the short distance quickly and gripped one of his toned biceps.

"Daryl," she said urgently as she heard the sounds of the stranger destroy another walker, "Why are you looking at her like that? Do you know that girl?"

Daryl made no move to respond to Maggie and his blue gaze never wavered from the figure drawing nearer. Maggie saw him swallow before clutching the hair on either side of his head with both hands.

"This ain't real," she heard him mutter in a tone that she had never heard in his voice before. She jumped when the sound of Rick's python sounded off behind her and she turned to see that more walkers were stumbling towards the girl. Glenn also had his gun raised and was taking aim at their heads. Maggie tugged on Daryl's arm now.

"Daryl come on!" she said somewhat hysterically, "We need to help them!"

He still didn't budge and Maggie threw her hands up into the air as she withdrew her gun from her waistband and began firing. The unknown girl swung her machete once again, but this time she couldn't even wield the blade with enough power to make it halfway through a walker's neck. Maggie turned her gun to the not-yet-dead walker reaching for the girl but only heard the click of an empty clip as she squeezed the trigger. She looked to her left but was dismayed to see that Rick and Glenn were similarly incapacitated. The girl stumbled forward in her attempt to evade the walker's groping hands and let out a strangled sob as she pitched forward into the grass on her hands and knees. It was as though her body had finally run out of the adrenaline that they all seemed to be running solely on in this world.

An explosion of motion and sound came from behind Maggie as Daryl suddenly spurred into action at the sound of the girl's sob.

"NO!" he screamed in a torn, raspy voice as he shot towards the fence with his crossbow raised. His bolt found the center of the walker's forehead seconds before its rotted teeth would have made contact with the girl's exposed flesh. The crossbow crashed to the ground as Daryl dropped it and skid to his knees in front of the girl behind the fence so fast that he had to steady himself as he crashed into it. The girl was openly sobbing now as she used her thin arms to painstakingly pull the upper half of her body up against the fence. She laced her fingers through the chain links and pushed herself against the metal in what seemed like an effort to get closer to Daryl. Rick and the other two watched in bewilderment as the girl started speaking rapidly in a language that none of them could understand to Daryl, who was still just staring at her with wide eyes. It looked like he wasn't really sure if he was actually seeing her.

"Is that-is she-she speaking French?" asked Glenn bemusedly and Rick nodded his head with a mystified expression. His gun was now facing the pavement in his limp arms. Rick and Maggie seemed like they were just as lost as he was. Daryl had never acted like this before, not once in the nearly year long time they had all spent together. He was always so contained and distant; now he looked like he was on the verge of mentally losing it in front of a rambling, apparently French-speaking girl.

They continued watching as Daryl broke out of his seemingly brief catatonic state and sunk further down on his knees. He dropped his head a bit and leaned it against the fence in between him and the girl as he raised his hands to grab the fingers that she had threaded through the metal. His shoulders were trembling and his head was bobbing up and down, appearing to be responding to the French that was being sobbed at him in break-neck speed.

Rick looked back at Glenn and Maggie and was about to say something when they all heard a chorus of groans. More walkers, at least a dozen or so, were coming out of the trees and shuffling in the direction of Daryl and the still unidentified girl. The hunter's head shot up at the sound and he was on his feet in the next instance banging against the fence.

"Open the fuckin' gate Rick!" he screamed harshly over his shoulder, his voice cracking halfway through the sentence. When Rick didn't move, Daryl turned and shouted again in an even more hysterical voice, "GET THAT FUCKING GATE OPEN YA POXY ASS MOTHERFUCKER! DO IT!"

Rick was stunned into speechlessness. He'd seen Daryl's temper appear before, mostly in the early days of everything, but he had never seen this level of anger and uncontrollability present in the redneck before and certainly not directed at him so intensely. He only recovered from his moment of temporary dumbfoundedness when Maggie shoved him forward and yelled into his ear.

"Move!" she screamed as more and more walkers emerged from the forest. He stumbled forward and tried to remove the chain wrapped around the gate with fingers that were still numb from the shock of having the full Dixon temper leveled at him so unexpectedly. Glenn's hands were quickly pushing his incapable ones out of the way and undoing the thick chain themselves. Rick used the moment to look back at Daryl and the girl. She was rising unsteadily to her feet as Daryl screamed and screamed at her to get up. The tears were dripping off her face now as her legs summoned up whatever energy they had left for one last sprint. Rick's head swam as he struggled to hear what Daryl was yelling so loudly. The skilled huntsman was jumping up and down frantically as he continued to hit his palms against the fence. Once his head cleared somewhat, Rick realized that Daryl wasn't shouting abuse at the girl though it sounded like it; he was actually shouting encouragement to her. He wasn't screaming the normal type of things that people say to encourage others, but in the time that Rick had spent with Daryl, he came to accept that the redneck didn't exactly approach social tasks in the same manner as most people.

"Come on girl! Get yer fuckin' ass up and over to that gate! Don't you fuckin' stop now, ya hear me!"

The strange thing was that the mysterious girl seemed to be responding to what Rick deemed in his head to be Daryl's abusive encouragement. She darted toward the opening gate on athletic legs as Daryl ran sideways with her, still screaming the whole way. Maggie and Glenn were also screaming at her to hurry now as more and more walkers limped behind her in her wake. With one last spurt of speed she nearly dove through the small opening that the two at the gate had managed to open for her. The second she was in they closed the gate quickly and countless rotting bodies slammed against it. Luckily Glenn managed to rewrap the chain through the wire without getting bitten and he and Maggie sank to the ground, covered in sweat, with the gate finally secured. Now that the danger had passed, the three sets of confused eyes found their way back to the girl they had just risked their lives to save for reasons still unknown to them.

After squeezing through the gate, the girl had barreled into the bouncing body that had been waiting for her on the other side and started to gasp out sobs even louder. Her knees buckled in exhaustion and Daryl caught her in his strong arms just as her eyes started to roll back in her head. Daryl swept one arm behind her knees and the other went around her shoulders as he lifted her small body swiftly and easily. He turned with the girl in his arms to face the other three and they saw that his frantic blue eyes were slightly wet as well. The girl's head was lolling against his shoulder gently and he was obviously taking great care to not jostle her. His eyes flew around wildly until they landed on Maggie.

"I need yer dad," he croaked out in a spent voice that was even raspier than usual.

Maggie nodded quickly and scrambled to her feet without delay.

"He's in the library," she replied gently but firmly, "I'll go get him and you meet us in the cell block."

Without waiting for a reply she sprinted off in the direction of the prison. Glenn stood quickly too as Daryl began to take long strides towards the cellblock entrance. Rick matched his pace with some difficulty but still remained silent as his mind tumbled and raced around in a manner that made it impossible to string together a coherent strain of thought. He was still trying to make sense of the situation.

"I'll run ahead and tell the others to get all of the medical supplies together," he shouted as he ran ahead and disappeared into the prison much like his girlfriend had done seconds before. Now just Rick remained with Daryl as his sense of urgency and caution came back to him once more.

They were almost to the doorway when Rick stepped in front of the other man to halt his movement.

"Wait, Daryl, hold on," he panted with his arms outstretched. The look the redneck threw at him was murderous to say the least. He tried to push past the police officer but Rick held firm.

"Before we bring her in there to all the others, I need to know. Who the hell is she? Because you obviously know each other."

Daryl seemed to deflate a little as he sighed heavily. A ghost of a smile played around the corners of his mouth as he answered in an unbelieving and distant voice.

"It's Emilia," he rasped, and then he pushed past Rick and disappeared into the darkness of the prison, leaving his friend standing in the doorway, shock gluing his feet to the floor.

Thanks so much for reading!