Disclaimer: I don't own the Walking Dead. I'm doing this just for fun. The only thing I own are my original characters.
My cover image came from Google.

Author's Notes: So this is the first chapter. I'm not exactly sure how long it is going to be as of right now. I have a lot of possibilities that I'm exploring as far as character development and storyline. While this is a Daryl and original character love story, the first chapter is mainly dedicated to my character so that you readers can get an idea of who she is.

Enjoy and please feel free to give critiques!

My eyes flung open to the sound of nails running down the outside of my tent. It must have been not yet dawn from the appearance of the walkers' shadows. I sat up with a hunting knife in my right hand. Knowing that I had to move quickly, I sprung to my feet and rolled outside of the tent. Within moments, I was standing up and stabbing a walker in its eye socket. While I removed the knife from the soiled hole, I kicked another one in the chest, making it fall to the ground. Luckily, there were only two more biters to put down, which I did hastily in fear that more would appear.

Wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my left hand, I looked around what was left of my campsite. Sheer dismay raged through me as I realized I was out long enough for those creatures to compromise, if not destroy all the samples I was working on. I knew I was getting close to figuring out the mutation pattern of the species, so this was a major disappointment.

I sighed and with nothing else to do, I cleaned my campsite. Half way through, I heard branches breaking on the ground and the sound of feet shuffling. Before I looked up, I knew it was a herd. I barely had enough time to grab my backpack, leaving the majority of my belongings and hop into my wind blew my hair into a frenzy as I coasted down the open highway. Times like these, it was easy to forget the turmoil the human race was enduring. That is until you come across a graveyard of cars and bodies.

I needed a fresh start somewhere else; maybe somewhere with people. I was apart of a group once, right after the outbreak. Several other biologists and a mixture of other people proved to be a good fit. Until one day we were raided, not by zombies, but by men. My sister and I were taken while the others were killed on the spot. Apparently, word had gotten around who I was and that I was closer to finding a cure than the CDC. I had even visited the CDC headquarters with a group of colleagues after the outbreak to offer assistance. This other group of people had made their own settlement and their leader, a man whose face I will never forget, put me to work doing research and performing experiments. My sister was held hostage so that I would do what he told me.

Months later I'm not closer than finding a cure than I as the first week of outbreaks. But right now, I wasn't going to think of that. I needed supplies and shelter. I found out that these country back roads held the best hope of finding just that. Growing up in a small hick town, I was also most comfortable on those back roads.

I must have driven several hours before I came to a small town. I was able to siphon gas to nearly fill up the jeep's tank. Before I could do much else, another herd started coming my way. With no other choice, I was on the road again. This time, though, I drove slower, hoping to spot a stream of some kind. Just a few miles from the town, I pulled over and began walking through the forest. Another mile in, I spotted a small stream. But that was all I needed. I filled the empty gallon jug that I had been carrying with water.

I turned around when I heard voices and footsteps. Finally, people, I thought as I began walking in that direction. I was relieved, but at the same time I was anxious. I had escaped that settlement and I wasn't sure if they were still looking for me. Before I could give it much of thought, I saw blackness.

...

I woke up on a cot, my hands tied together. My vision was blurry and my head pounded. I was immediately remembering the time that I was abducted and feared that it happening again. The feeling of nausea overtook me and I barely had enough time to roll over on my side before I vomited.

"Let me get you some water." An unfamiliar female voice said from a distance. "Sorry about tying you up, but we don't know you."

I tried to look in the direction the voice was coming from. And then a blonde appeared in front of me and helped me to sit up. "Who are you?"

"I'm Beth," she said as placed a cup of water in my hands.

"Where am I?"

"A prison, technically. But it's sort of a shelter. There are a lot of people here."

"A shelter?" I repeated. "What happened to me?"

"A couple of our people were out checking the perimeter and you were shot."

"Shot?"

"Grazed, really with an arrow. On the side of your head."

That would explain the headache. I reached up, the cup of water still in my head, and felt the small bandage on the right side of my head. "Can you untie me?"

An Asian man walked in with a brunette girl. "You're awake, good," he said to me. "I'm the one who shot you. I'm really sorry. I'm trying out the whole bow and arrow deal."

I looked at him and took a sip of water. "No hard feelings."

Another man joined us. "Hi. I'm Rick."

"Hi, Rick. I'm Juliet."I paused. "Could you untie me? Please?"

He nodded at the Asian and the Asian pulled out a knife to cut the rope off my wrists.

I put my feet on the floor, but didn't attempt to stand as I rubbed my right wrist with my left hand. "This is a shelter?"

"In a way," the brunette said, before adding, "I'm Maggie. And this is Glenn."

"What were you doing out there?" Rick asked.

"Collecting samples. I'm… was a marine biologist. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what all of this is."

"You worked for the CDC?" Glenn asked.

I looked down at the CDC jacket I was wearing. "Not officially. I came in right after the outbreak."

"You look a little young for that," Beth said.

"I was a recent graduate of a master's program when this began. But I did my thesis on plague like parasites that interested the CDC enough."

Rick nodded. "You're welcome to stay here. That is, if you don't have anywhere else to go."

"I don't. Not anymore."

"I'll get our doctor, Hershel, in here to look you over once more," Rick said before walking out. Glenn and Maggie followed him, leaving the room to Beth and myself.

"Marine biologist, huh?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"You were living out there alone?"

"Not at first."

She nodded.

A man wobbled in with a crutch. "Good afternoon," he greeted.

"Hi."

He sat down next to me and turned my head so that he could unbandage my wound. "This isn't bad at all," he said. "You were lucky. I'm going to give you some antibiotics just to make sure it heals properly."

"Thank you."

"So I hear that you're a biologist."

"Yes."

"How close are you to finding a cure?"

I smiled sheepishly, which earned a smile from Hershel in return.

"Don't over strain yourself for the next couple of days and get plenty of fluids." He stood up. "It's good to have you."

"Thank you."

He looked at Beth. "Why don't you get her settled in a cell?"

"Sure, daddy."

I was surprised by this. I didn't know people still had their families in this world. "Your lucky."

"I know." She paused. "We've made a life here, though. So you can do. My sister, Maggie, and Glenn are getting married.

That was almost preposterous to me, but I have to admit that corruption of my own ideals of marriage didn't begin with the apocalypse; I was already jaded on the idea. "Wow," was all I could manage to say out loud.

"These are good people," she was saying as she helped me up. "There were only a few of us until recently. A settlement not too far from here joined ours."

Settlement? What if he was here? "Where?"

"Woodbury."

I stopped dead in my tracks. Beth must have seen the reaction on my face because she stopped as well.

"Juliet?"

"Is there a man who goes by the name of the Governor?"

"What do you know about the Governor?" Rick asked as he approached us.

"Just that he's an evil son of a bitch."

"How well do you know him?"

"Pretty freaking well."

"Beth get the others and bring them to the storage room." Rick led me into the storage room. "We're having a disagreement with the Governor."

"You mean the kind of disagreement when he kills your people? Because that's his style."

Moments later, Glenn, Maggie, Hershel, a woman with dread locks, a tall stocky African American man joined us.

"Juliet, this is Michonne," Rick said and the woman with dreads nodded in my direction. "And that is Tyreese."

"Hello," I greeted.

"What is this you know about the Governor?" Michonne asked.

"About a month after the outbreak, the group that I was apart of had made camp close to Woodbury. We ran into people from the settlement from time to time. We didn't like that they used walkers as a form of entertainment and decided that the Governor couldn't be trusted. So when he asked us to be apart of Woodbury, we declined. Then one day the Governor led several of his people to our camp and killed everyone but my sister and myself. He used my sister's safety as leverage so I would do what he wanted." I paused. "I did some things that I'm not proud of," I said in a low voice as I remembered the times I injected people with the virus to try to modify and predict the patterns the victim underwent. "The Governor is an awful excuse for I man. I found that out later when I discovered my sister in chains in one of his secret rooms."

Maggie looked down and Glenn rubbed her back. "What happened to her?"

"He killed her when I refused to carry on with certain experiments." I paused. "So I took her place in that room. I escaped about a month before Woodbury was abandoned."

"What's goin' on in here?" I heard a familiar male voice say from the doorway.

I slowly turned around and the moment I saw his face, hundreds of memories flooded my mind. "Daryl?"

"Jules," he whispered huskily.

"You two know each other?" Glenn asked.

Ignoring his question, I walked to Daryl and threw my arms around him. Although he hesitated at first, he embraced me as well.

"I'll take that as a yes," Tyreese said.

I stepped back to look at him. It had been over two years since I last saw Daryl Dixon. His eyes were still as blue as ever, but his beard showed signs of grey. I suppose an apocalypse would do that to you. I studied his face for any sign of emotion, but there was none. I couldn't collect any words to say, so we both just stood there looking at each other.

Rick broke the silence by asking Daryl if there were any breeches around the perimeter.

"No," he replied breaking eye contact with me.

"How do you know each other?" Maggie asked.

"We grew up in the same hometown," I choked out still not believing I was standing in front of him.

Glenn let out a small laugh. "Did you babysit her or something, Daryl?"

Daryl looked at Glenn. "Or somethin'." He focused his attention back on Rick. "There is somehin' that you need ta look at though."

"Sure," Rick replied. "Michonne?"

She nodded. The three of them walked out of the room.

I was surprised that Daryl could just walk out like that. That must have been clearly expressed on my face. "You should rest," Hershel said before he too began walking out of the storage room. He turned to ask Maggie to show me to a cell.

I followed Maggie out of the storage room and down the hall. Once back in the commons, we went up the stairs and to an empty cell where my backpack was already on top of a cot. "Everyone here is nice," she was saying though I knew she wanted to ask about Daryl.

I nodded. "Thank you."

"We're sorry again about shooting you."

"No harm done," I told her.

She nodded but still lingered in the doorway. "Dinner is at six. You can meet more of us then." When I didn't reply. "Or I could bring you something if you aren't feeling up to it."

"I'll be fine." I looked around. "I want to help as much as I can with anything. Patrolling, cooking, you name it."

She smiled. "I'll let Rick know, but you should probably take the next two days easy."

"Then I'll help with laundry or cleaning the guns."

"I'll make sure he knows that."

"So Rick is like your leader?"

She nodded. "It's not like we have a chain of command, but Rick is definitely what we would call our leader. Glenn and Daryl are his right hands though."

"Daryl… so he's fitting in?"

"He's the heart of the group."

I was relieved to hear that. Although I knew how stubborn and tough Daryl acted, that's all he really wanted was to be accepted and needed.

"Get some rest," Maggie said before she walked out.

I sat my backpack on the floor before I stretched out on the cot. It was so nice having something under you other than the ground that I fell asleep almost instantly.