It is back to basics. This story is much different than my first. Those of you who were repulsed by the changes that I had made to Carol's character can breath easy. She's back! The chapters for this story is going to be shorter because I make less mistakes that way =) I hope you like it. Read and review. Regardless of what you have to say. The only thing I ask is, if you do give me a bad review, is please sign in first. Any criticism I receive is appreciated. You took the time out of your day to read a story that you believe was a waste of your time and I am eager to read anyone's opinion. Especially if it helps me become better. But if you're a coward that wont leave your name then I'm going to delete it and move on. Not because I can't handle a bad review but because I think people that are mean to others anonymously are just doing so to stroke their own ego's so they'll feel like better writer's. I don't have time for that. I hope you don't think I'm being rude! I really don't want to seem that way but it is a pet peeve of mine! I hope you enjoy this one as much as people enjoyed the first! Read and review, even if you hate it ;) I do not own The Walking Dead or any of it's characters!

Chapter One

The moisture in the air was so dense that Daryl could feel the condensation collecting on his skin as he sat by the edge of the water. Felt it in his throat with every inhalation. It almost felt like he was drowning right there. He may as well have been drowning since there really wasn't anyone left to give a damn. Merle was gone. Everything was gone. It was just him now and he was surprisingly at peace with the thought.

He had lost it back there in Atlanta when he had discovered Merle's hand on that rooftop. He wanted to lash out at someone. Anyone. But that wasn't going to get him far. He'd seen how many of those things were out there and he wasn't sure if he should risk trying to survive on his own. Before they had discovered this camp it had just been him and Merle but there seemed to be more and more of those things every day. So he was stuck trying to decided on whether to hang around, alone, on the outskirts of this group, or just do what he knew Merle would do and take off. It wouldn't have been hard. He didn't have any ties to the people here. Hell, he didn't even like any of them. The cops were the worst. Especially the new one. The one that didn't even know his cop buddy was slinging it to his wife while he wasn't around.

Daryl shook his head and picked up one of the smooth stones, sliding it through his hands absently. Yeah, he really wasn't looking forward to spending any more time with this group, but he was afraid that if he wanted to live then that is exactly what he was going to have to do. For now anyway. It was all Merle's fault. Everything shitty that happened to him was usually Merle's fault so he shouldn't have been surprised that this happened. Leaving Daryl behind to pick up the pieces was what Merle was good at. It was kind of comforting to know that even the end of the world couldn't change Merle.

His head snapped around when he heard a sound off to his right. He snatched the crossbow that was lying next to him and scooted back towards some boulders. It was hard to see who may be coming because the fog was so thick and the full moon made it glow like it was lit from within. He knew it wasn't an animal from all the noise. Animals were usually a lot quieter than that. People were usually the only things dumb enough to make that much noise. Especially at night. He waited and watched for whoever it was to appear out of the fog. When the person finally emerged he wasn't surprised to see who it was.

He couldn't recall her name off the top of his head. She was the one that had the little girl and that dumb shit husband. She didn't see him but he saw her. There was blood on her face, probably a new bruise or two. She'd came here before to clean herself up after one of the beatings her husband would give her. From what Daryl could tell the lady really didn't have to do much to earn the bruises. She was usually busy doing the washing or the cooking and waiting on the man hand and foot while he sat on his fat ass not doing a damn thing. He didn't like the man. And he didn't like the woman either. She should have put a bullet in her husbands head a long time ago. But instead she let him kick her ass and probably the little girls ass too but he hadn't seen that yet. He hoped he never would.

The first time he had seen the man hit her he was going to do something about it. Merle had had other plans though and for once what Merle had said made sense. It wasn't none of Daryl's business what went on between a man and his wife. She wasn't any concern of theirs. And if she hated it that bad she should do something about it herself. So Daryl, not feeling too good about it at the time, had followed Merle. What happened to her was her own fault. Non of his business.

So imagine his surprise as he stood up and silently walked towards her. She was bent down at the knees, cupping water in her hands and splashing her face with it. A few times she would hold her hands there to her face and he would see her shoulders move. She was crying. He hadn't ever talked to her before. Hell, he didn't plan on talking to her now but when he commanded his body to turn around and his feet to walk away they ignored him, leaving him rooted to the spot a few feet behind her. When she finally realized there was someone there she stood up and spun around faster than he expected. He watched as, to his surprise, her face went from fearful to relieved when she saw him there. Her eyes were wide but she looked more embarrassed than anything else.

"Hi, Daryl. I was just washing up before bed." She said in a voice that cracked and those wide blue eyes grew misty.

He didn't say anything to her but he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a dew rag and shoved it in her direction. She looked at him, too stunned to do anything for a second and then reached out with a shaky hand and took it.

"Thank you." She said softly as she dried her wet face off. The corner of her mouth was bleeding freely and she held the cloth there for a second before looking up at him once more. "I'm really sorry about what happened. To your brother I mean. They never should have done that, leaving him up there that way."

He couldn't think of anything to say so he just nodded. So far everyone said that Merle got what was coming to him. He didn't expect to hear someone say otherwise. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Merle was his brother, sure, but he was a real son of a bitch and even Daryl knew it. To hear this woman express pity for someone like that was confusing. But that's how people were to Daryl. Confusing.

"Well," She said as she pushed the cloth back into his hand, causing him to jump at the sudden contact, "Thank you, again. I best be heading back now."

He nodded again, still not knowing what to say. She lingered there a few more long seconds until he looked from his hand back to her face. For the first time he noticed just how blue her eyes were. He looked away quickly and shoved the damp cloth back into his pocket.

"Good night." She said as she hurried past him.

He watched her disappear into the fog and then readjusted the crossbow at his back. He figured it was time he headed back himself. He kept telling himself he wasn't following her. That he didn't care if something happened to her on her way back to camp. Stupid woman should know better than to wonder around after dark by herself to begin with. No, he didn't care a bit. So what if she'd been the first person to talk to him like he wasn't just trash that blew into camp. That didn't have a thing to do with it.

He told himself that several times as he hurried after her through the fog.

~H~

Carol felt her cheeks burning as she made her way back to camp. She knew that everyone knew about Ed. Knew he liked to beat on her. Knew he loved to watch her wallow in her humiliation. But she hadn't expected anyone to be there tonight. She liked going down to the water alone. It gave her a feeling of peace that she didn't normally get anywhere else. Tonight, of course, she had went there to clean up the blood and to cry. To be alone with her thoughts and her misery. And then there was Daryl Dixon standing in the fog like a wraith. At first seeing him there had nearly scared her to death. She was sure it was Ed, coming to finish what he had started.

Ed had taken Shane's warning to heart after the last time he had hit her in front of everyone. Now the beatings were quieter. And he didn't hit her in the face as often. The throbbing in her ribs flared up at the thought of the new blows she had taken. He was being careful now. Careful not to leave as many bruises that would show. She didn't want to think about that anymore. It seemed like that was all she ever thought about and her stomach was constantly in knots over the stress.

She let her mind mull over what had happened by the water. Neither of the Dixon brother's had ever bothered speaking to her before. Not that the guy had done any talking tonight but as he shoved the handkerchief at her she felt a little better. Like he was finally coming out of his shell a bit. There had been at least a bit of communication going on between the two of them. He seemed so alone. Especially now that Merle was gone.

She knew that Merle hadn't been the nicest person, even to his brother, and she felt bad for Daryl. It was obvious, to her anyway, that he wasn't the same as the elder Dixon. Sure, he was rough and brooding and normally wore a scowl on his face but she had heard them in the woods, arguing over this or that, and it was clear that Daryl was trapped by his brothers bad attitude. Living in the shadow of a man that was meaner than a snake. She knew mean men when she saw them and Daryl wasn't one. Ed wasn't mean like Merle either. Ed was mean to her, sure. He was even mean to Sophia but Ed was mostly a coward. Merle was mean, and he wasn't afraid of anyone. Not like Ed.

As she neared the camp she thought she heard something in the trees. She picked up her pace but suddenly someone or something had her around the wrists. She nearly screamed.

"Where you been?" Ed drawled as he tightened his grip on her wrist. She wanted to pull away but she stood still, knowing that fighting him only made things worse.

"I went to get cleaned up before bed." She said quietly.

"Who was you with?" He asked, his nails were digging into her flesh now and she flinched which caused him to smile a little.

"No one. I just walked down to the water. That's all." She hoped Daryl didn't show up on the path then. The last thing she needed was another shot to the ribcage, or worse if Ed thought she was sneaking around with another man.

Ed narrowed his eyes at her but he let go of her wrist. She rubbed the tender flesh. "Get your stupid ass back to camp where you belong." He growled.

She nodded and hurried away from him towards her tent. She could feel his eyes boring into her back as she scurried up the path. She felt tears sting her eyes again but she willed them away. If Sophia woke up she didn't want the girl to see her cry. She had seen enough of that.