Evelyn// Daryl Dixon

16.

In the woods, Daryl found a clearing where practicing would be suitable. He placed a red cloth on the tree and walked back to Evelyn.

"Do you know how to hold it?" He asked her.

"Probably not. Do the crossbow for dummies lesson" she laughed.

Daryl put her hands in place on the cross bow. Her right hand was on the base near the trigger, the left steadied the bow. He showed her the scope she'd aim through.

"Aim for the cloth," he said and stepped back "there ain't any recoil. Just focus"

Evelyn closed an eye as she aimed for the cloth. She had a good amount of space to hit. She took a deep breath in and pressed the trigger as she exhaled. She had hit right below it.

"Aim higher than you want to. It's gonna fall with gravity" Daryl crossed his arms, biting on his thumbnail watching her.

Daryl showed her how to reload it. There was a lot of strength to pull the taut string around the arrow. She got it eventually before trying again. She raised the crossbow, aiming high, just like he had said. She fired and it hit the cloth. She smiled at herself, Daryl did too.

"Isn't this slow?" She asked him as she reloaded it.

"What do ya mean?"

"You use this over a gun. You gotta load this after every shot. You can lose arrows" she shrugged.

"I make my own arrows sometimes. I just prefer using what I know. It's quiet for hunting. I can use it to hit walkers too, not just shoot"

Evelyn raised the bow as she listened to his answer and continued to practice. They had light talk but most of Evelyn's focus was on the crossbow. She got one shot in the middle of the cloth but it was good enough for her.

"Were you ever married?" Evelyn asked as they headed back to camp.

"Nah. I had too much going on to worry about a wife, let alone a girlfriend" he shook his head.

It was quiet again when Daryl stopped.

"Why Shane?" He asked her the question this time.

"He was there to protect me from Dwight. He played Dad and husband. He wasn't always like this, I promise"

"I just don't get it. Why someone like you would be with someone like him?" Daryl started to walk again so he didn't have to make any eye contact with her.

"Someone like me?" Evelyn asked with a smirk.

"Someone pretty, with a good personality, a kid and your strength. You don't need him and you didn't before" he shrugged off the string of compliments and kept the conversation moving.

"I did. I was in no condition to raise Greyson alone. You forgot I was an addict. Shane used that against me as well. He just wanted to be a father so bad but wasn't husband material. So he stepped into my life as Greysons 'father'. Same as he is with Carl" Evelyn openly talked about her past, it was nothing she was afraid of.

"He's just not right in the head"

"What about your past, huh? You know everything about me and all I know is that you've never had a good girlfriend" she elbowed him lightly.

"My brother ain't nothin to waste my breath talking about"

"That's not true. He's your brother"

"He was a racist junkie and now he's gone. That's how it is"

"Your parents?"

"My Dad wasn't a Dad to say the least. My mom, she died when I was a kid in a house fire. So then it was me and Merle. That's why I know how to hunt, use a cross bow and track. That's also why my social circle has been myself and my brother for my whole life"

"So that's why you don't talk. You grunt and yell, live across camp," Evelyn teased as they got to his tent "collect walker ears"

"Yeah"

"You ever been to a beach?" Evelyn sat down, making it a mission to get him to talk to her.

"Nah. I haven't done much, don't know why you keep asking"

"To return the favor. You've gotta run out of questions for me eventually so I'm stalling that lull"

Greyson had been walking up to Daryl's camp. Seeing him and Evelyn talk made him skeptical but happy. Evelyn needed a friend other than family. He joined them.

"Hey" Greyson said as he sat down as well.

"What's up?" Daryl asked him.

"Bored at the farm, but that's nothing surprising" Greyson laughed at his own joke.

"Daryl took me out with the crossbow today. Soon I'll be on your level" Evelyn beamed at Greyson.

"I don't think so but you can dream" he teased her.

Daryl watching them interact made him nostalgic. He wished he had that mother son bond. But seeing Evelyn keeping that bond strong made him know she was a good person. She cared, truly.

"Let's have dinner here," Daryl said out of the blue, not knowing how to hint that he didn't want them to leave "I got a nice lineup here" he pointed up at his string of rabbit and squirrel.

"That sounds nice. I'd love to stay, and you, Greyson?" Evelyn acted as if she had been formally invited to dinner.

"Yes, of course" Greyson played along, Daryl picking up on it as well.

"Chef Daryl is at your service," he bowed to them, resulting in a laughter to see Daryl bowing. His face burned red, scared of rejection "I just wanted to play along too" he clarified himself.

"No, Daryl, we loved it" Evelyn hugged him, caught up in the moment.

"It was pretty good, man" Greyson gave Daryl that testosterone reassurance. That's what made Carol and Daryl not click as well as this trio had. There was balance.

"You can laugh, Daryl. It's okay, it's more than okay. We need the laughter now, because without it there's no point anymore" Evelyn told him, wanting him to feel comfortable.

"Yeah, I can. I was pretty funny, wasn't I?"

"There's the spirit!"