I do not own the walking dead or any of its characters.

Anna-Maria Bettatucci always had a good outlook on life. No matter what life had thrown at her, she had always persevered. Even with the world gone crazy and the dead walking, she still managed to try and find the good left somewhere. It had been a tough year for her. She had lost her husband of 20 years, and was now 8 months pregnant and alone. She had scratched, clawed, and scrambled to survive all while carrying a child. The circumstance, in which the child was conceived were not ideal, but was anything ideal anymore in this mad world?

Here she was, walking by herself through the woods of rural Georgia; not exactly sure where she was, but following a creek she hoped would lead her to a town where she could scavenge for some supplies. She looked ridiculous in her jeans, boots, and tank top that barely covered her ever-growing belly. However, it was summer, it was Georgia, and it was hot as hell. Walking through the woods and trying to pay attention to the area around her, she didn't see a hole that was in front of her. She stepped in the hole, turned her ankle and fell to the ground. Panic immediately enveloped her as she hit the ground hard. A pain seared through her ankle, and she suddenly grabbed her stomach in fear for her unborn child. Fortunately, everything seemed to be all right except for her ankle. She tried to get up, but she was unable to put any weight on her bad leg. "Just great" she said. She managed to drag herself over to a tree where she could assess her injuries and get herself up off the ground.

"Son of a bitch this hurts" she said. She hobbled around to find something she could help support herself with and found a sturdy tree branch. While she was trying to maneuver the stick so it could support her weight and allow her to still carry her pack, she didn't hear the person coming through the woods near her. She looked up startled when she finally realized he was near her. She immediately swung the stick like a bat as a means of self-defense.

"Woah lady, I ain't gonna hurt you" he said. He noticed immediately that she was very pregnant and stepped back to show her that he meant her no harm.

"Who are you?" she said, looking at him trying to determine if he was a danger to her.

"Daryl Dixon" he said, "I'm out here trying to find dinner for my group. Can I ask why you are out here by yourself, this ain't a safe place for someone in your condition?"

"I have no where else to go, I'm just trying to survive, trying to find some place to scavenge some supplies."

"Don't you have a group or something?" Daryl said, assuming there had to have been at least one other person since folks don't get pregnant by themselves.

"Used too, but that didn't work out so good, it's just been me for a while, now if you will let me on my way" She said.

He thought about it, but she was in no condition to be on her own, and even he wasn't that thoughtless. But what would the group think if he brought her back with him? He convinced himself that they would understand.

"Come with me back to my group. I can't leave you out here by yourself. We have food, shelter and a place for you to sleep. People can't survive on their own, it took me a while to accept that."

She looked at him; amused that he shared a little bit of insight with her. She was hungry, and she was tired, and she was tired of being by herself. "OK, but I messed up my ankle and I am not going to be able to walk very fast."

"I will help you, even I ain't that heartless. It's about a mile or so from here, Oh Fuck….." They were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of the dead walking. Five walkers appeared from the woods around them. Daryl picked up his weapon of choice, a crossbow and let a bolt fly. As he began taking out the group of walkers, one had slipped by him. Anna-Maria swung her branch hard enough to knock it down, and then grabbed a knife from her belt and stabbed the walker in the head. She lost her balance and tumbled over the dead walker. Lucky for her, Daryl had made quick work of the other four walkers, three with bolts and one by just bashing the skull in with his crossbow.

"Pretty impressive" she said as he walked over to her and helped her get up.

"I don't think I caught your name" Daryl said.

"Anna-Maria Bettatucci" she said.

"Damn that's a mouthful. Do you have a shorter version?"

"Just Anna will work fine for me Mr. Dixon" She gave him a smile and her big brown eyes lit up. She was actually happy to be talking to someone again. It had been a while since she had a conversation.

"Ok Anna, let me help you, and just call me Daryl" he said. He wondered where the baby's father was, but didn't want to ask, assuming something bad had happened to him. She wasn't a young girl, she actually looked to be around his age, but she seemed strong, and kind, her eyes seemed to smile. It hadn't taken much to convince her that he wasn't going to hurt her, and he wondered why she was so trusting.

He helped her as she limped along as they walked back to his group.

"Oh my God, it's a prison, Genius" she exclaimed out loud. There were still a lot of walkers out in the yard, but they were separated from the actual cellblocks.