Born Nameless

Chapter 16

"You really scared me." She turned her gaze to Aaron, giving Rick the chance to compose himself quietly.

"Sorry. To be honest... I hadn't even realised I had been shot. I mean, sure, I felt the pain, but it kind of faded into the background with everything that happened after." Aaron nodded and she smiled at him, kind of sheepishly.

Rick soon left to go back to Carl's bedside, who had apparently woken up a day before her and Denise followed, after having threatened her that if she so much as moved an inch off that bed, she'll get Daryl to tie her to it. Aaron followed Denise, laughing at Anamika's disgruntled expression and soon it was just her and Daryl left. She glared at him petulantly, her bottom lip jutting out.

"You really gonna tie me to the bed if I try and leave?"

"Ya better believe it. Don't need to be getting up from that bed anytime soon." Her face split into a mischievous grin and she grinned wider as Daryl shifted uncomfortably at the look on her face, obviously suspicious of her sudden turn in mood.

"Oooh, is that a promise? Kinky, I like it." She winked at him and threw her head back as she laughed at his scoff, the subtle blush on his cheeks causing amusement to fill her. When her laughter finally petered out and she looked at him again, the amusement left her at the serious look in his eyes.

"Is Carl... Is he really alright? He was injured on his face right? I... I remember so much b-blood..." Daryl nodded, his body still as he looked at the ground.

"Yeah, kid's got some pretty serious scars on the right side of his face, from some of the bullet shards hitting him and his vision in that eye is a bit off. But he'll live and as soon as he gets used to the difference in his vision, he'll be good. Kid's strong, a survivor." Anamika nodded, her teeth worrying her lip and still blaming herself for not stopping the bullet completely.

"Anna, you stepping in front of him saved him. Denise says he could have died if it was a direct hit, or at the very least lost his eye. Ya did good Anna."

"Anamika."

"What?" Anamika swallowed, not sure why she gave him her real name, but the urge to hear him say it just suddenly filled her. No one's ever said her name, not that she can remember, as she always gave them the shortened version, as it's more common and doesn't stand out as much. If Daryl was the first person to call her by her name, she would be alright with that.

"My full name... It's Anamika."

"Anamika..."

Anamika shivered as Daryl said her name slowly, his lips rolling it as he tested it out. When his eyes met hers again, there was a glint in them that caused her breath to hitch, before it was gone and his eyes returned to their usual squint.

"It fits you." She smiled shyly, fiddling with the bed covers and unsure what to say. When Daryl shifted and looked as if he was going to leave, her eyes jumped up and she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I had a flashback!" The redneck paused, before he turned towards her more fully and the intensity in his gaze had her swallowing. She didn't even have time to consider keeping that tidbit to herself, as she wasn't sure if that's exactly what it was or what it meant, but she didn't want the hunter to leave for some reason, so she soldiered on.

"At least, it felt like a flashback, like I was seeing some memories. It doesn't feel like I did it or lived it, more like I saw it in a movie or something. But... But I think I was in the military. I saw myself training with some people in army fatigues and talking to government officials. I can't remember a lot of it, but- but that's the vibe I'm getting."