been so excited to see her father when he had just up and left with no goodbye. She wanted to be mad at him but she just didn't have the energy to start an argument. With him, at least.

Anger bubbled when the girl thought of her uncle. How dare he run with a man who had done such terrible things. Maybe he didn't have a choice, maybe he owed him, the little voice in the back of her head spoke. She wanted to believe he did owe the governor something and that was why he looked up to him as if he was some sort of god. Still, confusion rattled at her brain like a caged animal. She was angry at the only two remaining family members she had left.

"Hey."

Addy felt a headache begin to form. Exactly the last person she wanted to see was leaning on the doorframe of her cell. He was chewing nervously on his bottom lip and picking at his dirty nails.

The girl didn't reply as she flopped back on the bottom bunk. She sighed through her nose, she knew this conversation would happen sooner or later.

"'M sorry."

No you're not. If you were sorry you wouldn't have left in the first place.

"I know yer mad, and you have every right to be."

"Yeah." She sighed once again, her blue eyes flickering shut. It had been a long day and a little siesta was sounding really good.

"Listen, Addy," Daryl began, straightening up and placing a hand on the strap of his crossbow that was slung over his shoulder, "I had to go. I couldn't leave Merle again, you know that."

"Well Merle wouldn't have done the same thing!" She suddenly shot up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, nostrils flared as anger pumped through her veins. She didn't feel an ounce of guilt when she saw the look on her father's face.

"He would'a laughed in your face and told you to grow up." Addy didn't care if she was wrong, she wanted him to feel what she was going through. Tears of frustration threatened to spill from her ocean blue eyes, but she somehow held them back. She didn't want her dad to see her as weak, or as a baby; She wanted him to see her as someone who could handle themselves, someone who knew how to fight and stand their ground when needs be.

"I know." Daryl nodded, looking down towards his feet as if he was a kicked puppy. Guilt wracked through the man. He shouldn't have left his daughter behind when she needed protecting most. He shouldn't have been such a coward and given in to his brother's old ways of manipulation.

From the look on his face, Addy knew he was genuine. He looked hurt and guilty as he stared at his worn out boots. The girl's face softened slightly. She had gotten her message across and now it was time to apologise.

"I'm sorry, dad." She spoke meekly, her head dipped down low as if she was ashamed of letting her feelings be known.

"No, I am," He quickly shut her down, "You ain't the one who left outta the blue for her asshole brother."

Addy had to suppress a smile at her father's words. She knew he was right. There was a sliver of pride in her that didn't want to apologise and wanted to keep being angry, but that wasn't the way the world worked anymore. People die everyday, no matter if you are on good terms with them or not. It would be the girl's worst fear if Daryl died when she hated him.

She swallowed the lump in her throat as her eyes trialed over to her dad. There was a small smile playing at his lips, one that he only ever showed his daughter.

Addy sprung up from her seat on her bed and bounded towards him in a bone - crushing hug. She never wanted to let go, and neither did Daryl. The man placed a hand on the back of her head as he noticed a few sniffles escaped her body. He knew he was wrong and he was glad he faced his problems and overcame them.

The moment was short and sweet as Rick's voice suddenly sounded from downstairs, handing people guns and ordering them about.

Daryl pulled away from the warm hug and wiped a tear from his daughter's cheek with his thumb, "You wanna come down?" He spoke softly.

The girl nodded in response. She didn't want to be left alone, especially when they had just made up. Daryl pressed his lips together in a small smile and ruffled Addy's brunette hair, earning a grunt of protest from the girl.

"Take watch," The leader told Maggie as the pair walked down the metal stairs, "Eyes open, head down." The woman nodded and made her way to the building's exit.

"The fields filled with walkers," Rick spoke louder as Daryl and Addy reached the bottom step, "I didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch."

Addy shot Michonne a small smile when she reached her and Hershel. She could tell woman was wary from the way her dark eyes flicked around the cell block to the way she held herself, arms crossed and head dipped. The girl almost laughed in joy when she shot her one back. It was even smaller than hers and barely detectable, but to her it meant a lot to make someone smile in terrible circumstances.

"I could get up in the guard tower, take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance to fix the fence." Daryl suggested as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Or we use some of the cars to put the bus in place." Michonne spoke up, lips pressed into a straight line once she was finished talking.

"We can access the field without burning through our bullets." Hershel nodded to himself.

"So we're trapped in here," Glenn deadpanned, "There's barely any food or ammo."

Addy looked down at her worn boots in dismay. She wanted to help find a way to keep surviving even with the pressure of the governor on their backs, but she surmised that any idea she had would be shut down pretty quickly by the adults.

"We've been here before, we'll be alright." Daryl grunted, his blue eyes trained on the concrete floor.

"That's when it was just us," Glenn argued as Daryl looked at the younger man, "before there was a snake in the nest."

"Man, we gonna go through this again?" He asked rhetorically, taking a few steps closer to him, "Look, Merle's stayin' here, he's with us now. Get used to it."

"Hey." Rick grunted, reaching his arm out in attempt to calm Daryl, as if he was some sort of wild animal that needed to be tamed.

"All y'all." He threw his hand up, the other one gently taking his daughter's upper arm to push her in front of him.

Addy sighed as she quickly climbed the stairs, her dad close behind. She knew his temper could often get the better of him, especially when it came to Merle. Yes, they were blood, but who was the one who walked out first? Who was the one treated his brother like shit? Like he was no more than dirt on the bottom of his boot?

Anger bubbled up again as Rick and the others continued talking below them. Daryl knew his brother was an idiot but he came running to his defence whenever he felt like it? Nothing really made sense to her anymore. Merle was an asshole who sucked the life out of other people for fun. He wasn't a good man, but Addy knew deep down it had something to do with his past. The girl knew very little about their childhood, but she didn't like to pry when the most she knew was that it wasn't nearly as good as hers. She was extremely lucky to have someone like her father.

Someone who cared.

.........

The basement of the prison was dark and dingy, just how Addy had imagined it. The thought of her uncle being in a place that matched his personality was almost laughable to her. She knew he was trying to distance himself from the others, just as Daryl had done at Hershel's farm.

Hardly any light poured in from the square window at the very top of the wall, causing the hair on the back of her neck to rise. A shiver ran down her spine as she imagined ghosts jumping out at her from the darkest corners. The thought made her huff. There she was, living in a world where the dead came back to life, and she was worried about some old myth? Stupid.

Suddenly, clattering of what sounded like pots pans sounded somewhere off to her right. She quickly whipped around, hand on her gun holster that was strapped to her leg.

Maybe it wasn't just myths.

The possibility of the noise being her uncle replaced those of it being the paranormal as the girl sighed and made her way towards the noise. If she was in the wrong place and it was a walker, she knew how to take it down easily.

After a few moments of walking with the only sound being more clattering and her heavy breaths, Addy reached her destination. Her uncle had his back turned, seemingly digging through some cardboard boxes that sat on a dusty workbench.

For a moment she held her breath and pondered if she should turn back. After all, she wasn't completely expecting a warm hug from the man she hadn't talked to in over a year.

Just as she was about to spin on her heel and go back the way she came, Merle grunted and muttered something under his breath as he turned around, eyes going wide as he noticed his niece standing before him.

"Jesus, girl! Damn near gave me a heart attack." He grumbled, placing his handgun back in it's holder. The man's shoes scuffed on the concrete floor as he turned his back again and started rummaging through more boxes.

Addy rolled her blue eyes. Typical Merle, looking for drugs when the world had ended.

"Look at you, all grown up! Last time a saw you you were down here!" The man laughed as he flattened his hand and brought it towards his hip. Still, Addy remained silent. Even if she had something to say she wasn't sure she would even be able to get it out.

"Why're ya down here, anyhow?" He sniffed, picking something up and inspecting it almost comically.

The girl looked down at her feet and gulped. She hadn't exactly planned out what she was going to say. Her voice was caught in her throat as she stared ar her uncle's back, the once - white vest making her cringe in disgust.

"I wanted to see you," She forced out, cringing at her own words. She never was good at making conversation.

"You wanted to see me." Merle scoffed mockingly, his back still turned as he dug through various boxes and draws.

Addy didn't let his tone affect her. She was used to his harsh demeanour from when she was younger, so why be sensitive and act on it now? As much as she told herself he was just being mean she couldn't help the frown that made its way to her face. Uncles were supposed to be funny and caring, but the world was far more different than it was when she was a baby.

"What are you looking for?" She changed the subject, despite knowing the answer as she swallowed down the need to shout and scream at him.

"Dope."

Addy scolded herself for not knowing any better. Even when the world was at an end, Merle Dixon was still on the hunt for drugs. Not everything had changed, she supposed.

"Oh, right." She muttered, eyes roaming the dingy basement as she wrapped her arms around herself for comfort.

A thick silence hung over them. The girl searched for something — anything to say, but each thing seemed pointless and would surely end abruptly. Merle suddenly growled out of frustration and hit the metal bench with his hand, leaning on it with an angry snarl on his face.

"You seen any crystal 'round here?"

"Rick doesn't want you here, neither does anyone else." The brunette girl quickly changed the subject again, her eyes narrowed into slits as she watched her uncle look at her over his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, your daddy does," He began to chuckle, "He's like a kid who's lost his momma in the store."

Addy looked back down at her boots as she rolled a random pebble back and forth. She knew Merle was the driver and Daryl was just the passenger. He would do anything for his older brother, even if it was turning a blind eye to what he did to Maggie and Glenn.

"Do you want me to stay?"

The girl's eyes snapped up to his piercing ones. She didn't expect him to ask a question like that. His eyes were narrowed into slits as he studied her, awaiting an answer.

Her cheeks blushed a soft pink as she felt him stare through her soul. If there was one person who could intimidate her it was Merle.

"Yeah." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but her uncle still somehow heard her.

The man nodded slowly, dragging his tongue over his bottom lip, "How 'bout you and me take a little walk? Huh?"

.........

A/N

Before I say anything else I just wanted to apologise for not updating in a while 😭

I've been busy with collage and just life in general so again I apologise. Thank you for those who have been putting up with my crappy writing for this long, I love you sm 💕 also thank you for everyone who has been so patient with me, I love you too 💕

Now all that sappy stuff is over, hopefully I will be updating more often from now on, as I can understand when you find a book you like and the author doesn't update it can be annoying lol

ANYWAY HAVE AN AMAZING DAY/ NIGHT I LOVE YOU LOTS