A/n: Hey all! DudettRin101 had a good question about what actress Sasha looks like, how tall she is, etc. I would say I sort of pictured her as Lily James, just with green eyes and shorter, about 5'3''. Hope that helps, and hope you enjoy! Next chapter we will be getting into the start of season one and much more interesting stuff!

Daryl awoke with a loud groan, a sheet of sweat across his body and his cock hard and aching. He'd been dreaming about her. More specifically, he'd been dreaming about her sneaking into his tent in the middle of the night and begging for him, desperate for him to touch her. Of course, he'd indulged her requests. He'd laid down on top of her and done unspeakably dirty things, covering her mouth with his hands as she gasped underneath him-

"Fuck." He grumbled, pushing the thoughts out of his head and rubbing at his forehead. He'd never had a dream about a woman before, not like this. Sure, he'd had those kinds of dreams, but they'd always consisted of faceless women or women he'd seen in porno magazines. Always just about the pleasure, not about the person. Nothing that had filled him with an ache like this, about a woman who was sleeping just yards away.

Shouldn'ta kept lookin' at her last night. She got in yer head. He thought, recalling how Sasha had spent the last hours of the day sitting outside and reading that damn book. He'd never seen someone so completely oblivious to what was going on around them, and he found he couldn't help himself from checking on her every so often. Her hair had been slightly damp and as she twirled it around her fingers it had set into soft waves. She'd kept on biting her lip in concentration as she read and Daryl could imagine how those lips would open under his touch, how she would blush like she always did if he just–

He shook his head violently, standing up and grabbing a pair of jeans, a sleeveless white shirt, and his boots. He pulled them on quickly, wincing as the jeans rubbed against his erection, before slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. Thankfully, he and Merle had gotten separate tents, mostly due to Merle's insistence that he would eventually get Andrea or Lori in his bed. It was far earlier than they normally got up and Daryl could hear his brother's occasionally snores, clearly still fast asleep. He would never hear the end of it if Merle found out.

Daryl quickly stomped past the camp perimeter and into the woods, knowing that whoever was on watch wouldn't stop him or even think anything was wrong. Once he got far enough past the edge, he stopped and glanced around before unzipping his jeans. He felt a little guilty as he relieved himself, remembering that he was a good bit older than her, even if he wasn't sure by how much. He was nearly 34 though; definitely far too old for someone who seemed so innocent. The guilt quickly turned to pleasure as he ran back through his dream, remembering the look in her eyes as she writhed against him. He finished quickly, moaning deeply at the release.

When he had calmed down and buckled his jeans back up, he growled, kicking at a nearby tree in frustration. There was no need for him to get worked up over a shy, silly girl. Helping her had probably been a mistake. Daryl had always been suspicious of beautiful women and how they always appeared to get everything they wanted handed to them – that was probably what was happening here. Sasha was just using him to..to…

Even as he thought it over, he knew it didn't make sense. She wasn't really getting anything from him; if anything, she'd given him much more than she was getting in the way of cigarettes. She wasn't asking for his help in exchange for food or shelter or protection, she was asking for him to teach her how to protect herself. It didn't even take up that much of his time.

Besides, even if Sasha had wanted to use her looks on someone, it would've been on Shane, not on him. Daryl was certain Shane was the type to be easily manipulated by a pretty woman, eager to give her anything she needed for a few particular favors in return. Hell, even Merle would've been a better choice if she'd been looking for a target. But no, she'd come to him for help.

Daryl didn't think Sasha had any idea of how the other men looked at her. Sure, Merle voiced his…opinions, but Merle had expressed his desire to fuck just about every woman in the camp, so he doubted she took him seriously. He'd seen how Shane– and more innocently, Jim – had watched Sasha, their eyes lingering on her small chest or full lips, but the girl seemed to have no clue that it was happening. If she did, she didn't do anything to encourage them.

As he trekked back into camp, he thought about his options. He'd wanted to take her hunting today, but now Daryl was second-guessing that idea. The thought of being alone with her, truly alone in the woods for hours, was both thrilling and horrifying. Not that he was afraid of the girl – he was afraid of letting her any closer than he already had. Eventually he knew it would come back to bite him in the ass. Eventually, she would stop hanging around, of that he was certain. Why get a soft spot for her?

You know yer gonna take her with ya, don't pretend like yer not. He scoffed at himself, nearly falling back onto his bed and covering his eyes with his hands with a groan.

"I'd really like to find some more weapons. We only have a few guns and knives and it'd be nice if everyone could at least have a knife or two on them. Maybe we can find a sporting goods store somewhere." Sasha was sitting at the table in the RV with Dale and Andrea, strategizing about her next run. Amy had gone outside to get some water, and they could occasionally hear Glenn's footsteps on the roof as he settled in for the morning watch. It wasn't too hot today, and the camp was taking advantage of the weather to organize their supplies.

"We really need to find a new radiator hose for the RV. I don't think we're going to make it very far on this one if we decide to move." Dale added worriedly, looking over the map Sasha had brought with her with interest. There were several places circled in red, which were places they wanted to check, and crossed out, which were places they'd been that had either yielded no loot or were overrun with walkers.

"That wouldn't be too hard to find with all those cars in the city." Andrea suggested, glancing at Dale. Sasha tried not to grimace. She liked Andrea, if only for Amy's sake, but the woman tended to jump in headfirst without thinking. She was sometimes reactionary which could be a deadly quality in this new world.

"It wouldn't, but I don't want to be out in the open near the city. It's crawling with walkers." Sasha countered gently. The others didn't really know what the city looked like; they just heard how bad it was from her and Glenn. Sasha worried that the group was starting to become complacent – it'd been a long time since most of them had seen a walker, and they felt safe up here in the mountains. They couldn't afford to feel safe.

"Maybe further up on the highway then? We really need the RV if we pick up and move someday." Andrea stressed, rubbing at her temples and frowning. Dale gave her a reassuring pat on the back, though he looked concerned too. Sasha kept her thoughts to herself, but she suspected that someday would sooner rather than later. She knew that when they were done organizing the supplies, they would realize just how little they had. Amy traipsed through the door just then, carrying a few bottles full of water. The blonde had a bemused look on her face as she turned to Sasha.

"Um, Sasha? I think Daryl's outside, looking for you?" Amy's gentle voice tilted at the end, as if she was completely unsure. Andrea and Dale both eyed Sasha in confusion, though Amy had been the one to speak. Sasha tilted her head, puzzled, and tried to ignore the anxious thud in her chest at the mention of Daryl's name.

"Amy? What do you mean you think he's looking for me? Did he not say?" She asked, suddenly uncomfortable with three sets of eyes on her. Amy shrugged, setting the water down on the table and scratching at her arm as if she wasn't sure what to do with herself.

"Well, uh, I'm not really sure to be honest. He just asked me if you were in here and when I said yes he sort of grumbled at me and just stood there, and I didn't want to ask again so I came in here right away. I think he's still out there." Sasha grinned to herself. She figured that this was as close as Daryl would get to admitting he was looking for her. She stood up and stretched, pulling down her white cami and grabbing one of the water bottles Amy had filled up.

"I asked him for help with something. I'll see you guys later." She explained, ignoring the troubled looks that had appeared on Andrea and Dale's faces and trying not to roll her eyes. When she stepped outside, she spotted Daryl standing nearby. His arms were tightly crossed as he glanced around the camp, and his blue eyes darted to her almost instantly when her feet hit the ground.

"Took ya long enough." He drawled, eyeing her bare arms, and then, "Might wanna put on a jacket or somethin', we're going into the woods." She saw Glenn watching them from the roof, but to his credit he didn't say a word and just stared at them discontentedly.

Sasha stared at Daryl's arms for a moment, which were completely uncovered, and raised an eyebrow. Not that she was complaining, but shouldn't he have to cover his arms too? Daryl stared back at her passively, as if daring her to say something about it. Instead she sighed and started walking towards her tent.

She couldn't hear Daryl following her, but she was positive he was there. She grabbed her green jacket, which was pretty lightweight, and came back out to find him hefting his crossbow over his shoulder. He turned without saying a word, and this time she knew she was meant to follow.

Under the canopy of the trees, it wasn't too hot, but Sasha still had a coat of sweat underneath her jacket and on her forehead before they'd walked a few minutes. It dripped down her face, the saltiness flooding her mouth. Daryl gracefully prowled in front of her, definitely looking more like a predator than prey. She realized it was probably better to stay quiet, but she had to break the silence just once, so she went with the most obvious question,

"Where's Merle?" If Daryl seemed surprised by her question or annoyed by her speaking, he didn't show it. He just continued to tread forward, his eyes carefully scanning their surroundings.

"Merle don't hunt with me." He retorted simply, his face remaining an unreadable mask. Sasha frowned as she carefully stepped behind him. She'd never really thought about it, but she'd always just assumed that the brothers hunted together. They were always gone in the mornings by the time the rest of the camp got up, so she'd never had reason to think otherwise.

"Really?" She asked, and then bit her lip. She didn't want to bother him with dumb questions. But Daryl just shook his head.

"Nah. He can kill somethin' pretty easy if he gets lucky enough to come across it. But huntin', he ain't good at it. Too loud and impatient to track an' he scares stuff away. But he can set a mean trap, snag up any little critter." She nodded. It made sense. They continued walking and Sasha was happy to see that she could move almost as quietly as Daryl. All of her runs with Glenn had paid off. After a while, Daryl gruffly began pointing out what he saw.

"See this branch here, somethin' broke it." and "Look at the ground, girl, ya see those tracks?" Sasha tried to pay attention and absorb everything he was saying, but she wasn't sure she truly saw anything he pointed out. Maybe there was a faint mark here or there, but Daryl seemed to see the tracks as if they were glowing. Eventually he fell silent and stopped, pointing with his chin towards something.

There, just ahead of them, was a large brown rabbit. It was nibbling on something and hadn't noticed them yet. Sasha held her breath as she watched Daryl lift up his crossbow, his arms tensing under its weight. The rabbit was the kind of cute little creature that she probably would've wanted to keep as a pet in the past. She felt a little bad when the arrow pierced through it, but at least it was over quickly. Plus, she could stomach rabbit better than the squirrels that were often brought back.

Daryl removed the arrow from the rabbit, wiping the blood off on his jeans and picking up the carcass. He tied it to a rope on his belt, showing her how to tie its legs up. Sasha made a mental note to find a bag or something for her kills if she ever became a proficient hunter. They pressed on when Daryl spotted a new set of tracks. She'd just about given up on having a conversation when he surprised her again.

"What did ya do, before this?" Daryl hadn't intended to ask her anything. He wanted to just show her enough to survive so that his chest would stop tightening every time he thought of her being on her own, and then he wanted to try and put some distance between the two of them. He had to admit though – she was doing pretty well. She moved quietly and she hadn't flinched when he'd killed an animal right in front of her. If she could get a bow, or maybe learn how to set some traps, she might make a decent hunter.

He also found that he had this strange feeling, this urge, to know about her. What her life had been like, what she was all about. Secretly he was hoping something she would say would make her less interesting.

"Well, I had just graduated from college – I got a degree in English. Wanted to be a writer." She answered, her eyes focused on something far away. Daryl nodded to himself. That made sense and explained why she read so much.

"My parents always said I should get a more practical degree, something in business, that an English degree was a waste of money and would probably lead to nothing. Guess they were right. I don't think anyone cares about books nowadays." She sighed, then looked cautiously up at him.

"What did you do?" She asked, thinking he had to have had an interesting life with all of his survival knowledge. You didn't learn to do all of that for no reason. Daryl grunted, looking uncomfortable. He didn't want her to hear all the dirty details of his past.

"Jus' random jobs, here an' there. Tried to keep Merle outta trouble." He mumbled, suddenly shooting an arrow through a nearby squirrel. He had to grin when he heard Sasha mutter under her breath,

"You couldn't pay me enough to look after Merle." Daryl added the squirrel to his rope, looking around.

"Looks like there was a deer 'round here, not too long ago." He commented, loading another arrow into his crossbow and lowering himself down to look at the ground more closely. Sasha followed behind him closely. They were much deeper into the forest now – she had no idea how far away they were from camp – and she didn't want to be separated from Daryl.

They tracked the deer in silence for a while. Sasha became lost in thought as she wondered about Daryl's motives for helping her. He hadn't done anything to insinuate that he had bad intentions – if it had been Shane, Sasha was sure she would've been expected to do something in return for him. Daryl was utterly confusing. He didn't seem to want anything, but he wasn't exactly a nice, helpful person, so she really had no idea why he was helping her.

She was so lost in thought that she crashed directly into Daryl's back. He had stopped suddenly and had his crossbow raised. Before she could utter an apology, she heard the sickening sounds of low moaning and ripping flesh. One of her hands automatically went to Daryl's clenched shoulder as she grasped at him in fear.

Just a few feet in front of them was the deer they'd been tracking. Maybe once it had been a beautiful creature, but it was strewn across the ground, covered in its own innards. A single walker feasted on the gory pile, its teeth ripping the organs with unnatural ease.

Sasha felt Daryl's muscles flex underneath her hand as he released a bolt into the walker's head. It fell forward instantly. Daryl glanced at her with a strange look on his face, and after a moment, Sasha realized she had moved her hand to his arm and was tightly holding on. She blushed and pulled her hand away quickly.

"Sorry, I uh, just it's been a while since I've seen one. A walker, I mean." She stammered, looking around at the trees, the dead walker, anywhere but at him. She hadn't meant to look to him for comfort, but she couldn't deny that she felt safe with him, even in the woods. It didn't help that his arms felt so strong; that the tension in his muscles as he lifted his crossbow, that the way he moved almost catlike through the woods, it was all…sexy

No, no, no, you cannot think of him in that way. That's the last thing you need, is to get a crush on someone during the end of the world. Especially because he would never go for a girl like you – he's definitely the type of guy who wants a girl who's a badass. Sasha chastised herself, swaying back and forth on her feet as her thoughts moved rapidly through her head.

Daryl strode forward and removed the arrow from the walkers head. He kicked at the body until it was on its back, and quickly searched it for anything useful. Unfortunately, there was nothing.

"Damn shame about the deer." He muttered, looking at the corpse angrily. Turning back to Sasha, he saw that she no longer looked afraid - he had felt her hands shaking against him. She still had a slight flush to her cheeks, but he wasn't sure what had caused it. Most likely she was embarrassed of her fear or something – he doubted it had anything to do with him.

"We oughta head on back." Daryl stated, glancing up at the sky which was beginning to darken. Sasha nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Lead the way." She smiled, gesturing to the woods around them. Daryl snorted and began to walk away.

"That's the next thing ya learn, how to tell where ya are." He replied. Sasha jogged for a second to catch up with him.

"Does that mean you'll take me out again?" She asked innocently. Daryl peeked at her, surprised by the expectant look in her eyes. He let out a deep breath.

"Guess so."

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