A/n: I feel like this oneshot isn't the best and is utter crap, but I hope someone will enjoy it. Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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***HAS NOT BEEN PROOFREAD! PLEASE NOTIFY ME OF ANY ERRORS!!!***

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Prompt: While on a supply run, Deacon has a run-in with a mysterious woman and her four-legged companion.
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~3rd Person POV~

In Marion Forks, Deacon was in search of supplies for himself. The town may have been small, but it proved to be a good place to scavenge resources if he ever ran low on what he needed. He checked inside a couple of houses before moving on to the other places around town. Fortunately, there weren't many Freaks prowling the area since he burnt the nests during his first visit to Marion Forks.

Deacon killed a few Swarmers and Newts as he reached the gas station across from Hungry Jim's. He had left his bike down the road a little ways, not wishing to grab any attention due to its roaring engine.

Once grabbing what he could from the gas station, Deacon proceeded to the restaurant across the street. Inside Hungry Jim's, the drifter discovered the items he needed to create more bandages and molotov cocktails.

The moment Deacon turned around, a Bleacher hissed and lunged towards him. Confused as to how the monster snuck up on him, he fought against it s it tried to sink it's teeth into his flesh.

Suddenly, the Bleacher was torn off Deacon and dragged by the ankle across the restaurant floor. The drifter watched in amazement as a border collie tore off the Freak's leg to prevent it from getting back up. The dog raised its head, wagging its tail as it barked at him.

Deacon grabbed his boot knife and plunged it through the Bleacher's skull, killing it instantly. Once the monster was dead, he kneeled down and held out a hand towards the canine. "You seem friendly." The border collie moved closer to him, allowing the drifter to pet it.

A smile spread across Deacon's face as he ran his hand through the dog's soft fur. He saw it was a girl and saw how her coat was well maintained and by the size of her stomach, she was fed on a normal basis. One question came to mind as he rubbed behind her ears. "Where's your owner?"

The dog's ears twitched as she backed away and barked at him. She walked around in a circle before running out of the restaurant. When the canine stopped in the street and saw Deacon wasn't following, she sat down and waited for him. Her tail wagged back and forth as she waited patiently.

Puzzled at the dog's behavior, Deacon decided to follow her. She led him through town and up a dirt path leading out of town. A house was located at the end of the path, which seemed to be the animal's destination.

When they arrived at the house, the canine led Deacon to the rear of the house and into the backyard. He spotted a woman with (h/c) hair squatting down beside a small pen filled with hens. She stood up when the border collie ran over and nudged her wet, cold nose into her cheek. "There you are! I was wondering where you went, Hope."

Deacon stood silently a few feet away. When the mysterious woman turned around, her (e/c) eyes widened. She went to grab the pistol strapped to her thigh, but the drifter raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The woman's hand froze as it hovered above her handgun. "Are you the one who rode in on the bike?"

"Yeah," Deacon nodded.

She removed her hand from her firearm with a sigh. "We've been having issues with drifter's lately. You must be one of the good ones if Hope led you here."

"Hope, huh?" Deacon eyes the border collie sitting beside her master.

The woman smiled and placed her hand on top of the dog's head. "Gotta have a little hope somewhere these days."

"You said you were having issues with drifters?" Deacon inquired.

She nodded with a frown. "Yeah, and I know exactly who's sending them."

"Who?"

"A drifter named Liam. He leads a camp located somewhere on the Santiam Highway. I'm not sure where exactly it is, though, but his lackeys always use the same route when they enter town. Hope usually scares them off when they arrive." The woman moved aside, Hope following close behind. "Could I ask for your help in dealing with Liam?"

"I'll deal with Liam. I think he's the same asshole who's been sending drifters to attack the Hot Springs Camp," he answered.

"Wouldn't be surprised. The bastard needs to be killed for all the shit he's done. I can't believe I used to ride alongside him," she sighed. "I'm (Y/n), by the way. Sorry for the late introduction."

"Deacon," the drifter responds.

(Y/n) smiled warmly. "Nice to meet a friendly face this far out. You already know Hope, my partner in crime."

"She saves me from a Freak in town. Never seen a dog go after a Bleacher before," he chuckled.

"She's a tough one," the woman smirked. "But also stubborn. Guess you have to be in order to survive nowadays. Anyway, I better give you a little info about Liam so you'll know what kind of asshole he is."

Once Deacon learned more about Liam from (Y/n), he checked his gear before turning to leave. "I'll take care of Liam."

"Whoa, hold up," the woman cried out. "I'm going with you. What he did to me is unforgivable and I want to make sure he suffers."

Deacon's thoughts were in turmoil. He may have only known (Y/n) for a few minutes, but he didn't want her to get hurt. On the other hand, he could tell by the way she holds herself that she can handle whatever comes her way. Finalizing his decision, he sighed. "Fine. We'll take my bike."

(Y/n) nodded and followed Deacon. When she heard Hope following them, she turned and glared at her. "No, Hope. Go back." The dog whined as she laid down, giving her owner the sad puppy dog eyes. The woman heaved a sigh before turning her back. "Not gonna work this time."

Deacon watched as Hope went back to the house with her tail between her legs. There was no way for the canine to join them on the bike and she would exhaust herself if she tried to keep up with them. The only creature capable of keeping up with the motorcycle were Runners, which are infected wolves.

While making their way to the bike, Deacon suddenly pulled (Y/n) behind a car. She was confused until the sound of multiple motorcycles echoed through the streets of Marion Forks. She peered over he hood of the car, seeing who was riding into town. She recognized one man out of the group. "Shit, it's Liam."

"You must've really pissed him off if he's coming here himself," Deacon remarks.

"I may have killed the last group of drifters he sent after me," she confesses. "Guess that was enough to get him off his ass. This makes our job easier."

"Come on out, (Y/n)! I know you can hear me, you bitch!" Liam shouted. "I also know St. John is with you! I recognize this damn bike from anywhere!"

The woman glanced at Deacon with a smirk as she whispered. "That must be you."

"Let's just say I took out some of his men, too, when they attacked the encampment," the drifter whispered back.

"Great. We're in the same boat."

Liam continued his shouting, attracting any Freakers in the area to his location. His fellow drifters killed the monsters before they could lay a hand on their leader. (Y/n) veered right while Deacon headed left. They snuck around using the various cars as cover to sneak up on the men and women, leaving Liam and the two men guarding him for last.

One by one, the drifters fell. Liam saw his loyal men and women fall. He grabbed his handgun and searched the area where they had fallen. He crept around a truck, hunting for (Y/n) and Deacon.

Suddenly, something leapt onto Liam's back and bit into his neck. He screamed at the top of his lungs as the creature sunk its teeth further into his neck. Blood trickled down his neck as he tried to pry the beast off him.

"Hope, down!" (Y/n) shouted as she emerged from behind a car and approached her companion. The border collie detached her teeth from Liam's neck and ran to the woman's side.

The man pressed his hand against his neck, desperately trying to stop the blood. He staggered, the blood loss taking its toll. He tried to aimed his weapon with a shaky hand as he stumbled closer to her. "F-Fucking mutt!"

Hope growled in response, baring her bloodied fangs. Before Liam could pull the trigger, a gunshot rang out. The drifter grunted, placing his other hand over his chest. With wide eyes, he collapsed to the ground.

(Y/n) turned around, spotting Deacon a few yards away. "Nice shot."

The canine barked jubilantly as she ran over to the drifter and hopped up onto her back legs, placing her front paws on his chest. He chuckled as he ran both of his hands through her black and white fur. She licked him on the face, making (Y/n) smile. The two headed back to the house with Hope in the lead.

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Six months have passed since Deacon met (Y/n). He remained in contact with her and would often do jobs with her for the camps around Oregon. She would even share the eggs her hens laid. It was strange having eggs at first, but it provide Deacon and Boozer with a nice, steady flow of food regardless if they got tired of the taste.

One day, Deacon and Boozer were working on their bikes at the O'Leary Mountain safehouse. Their concentration was severed when they heard barking at the gate. The drifters tore their gazes from their motorcycles and saw a dog on the other side of the gate.

"Why is there a dog all the way out here?" Boozer questioned.

Deacon's eyes widened when he recognized the border collie. "That not just any dog. It's Hope."

"You... know the dog?" Boozer asked.

"She's (Y/n)'s dog."

"The egg lady?"

Deacon sighed. "Yes, the egg lady." He searched around, wondering where (Y/n) was. Hope would never wander off too far from the woman's side. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be seen. It would be strange to see her around since he didn't tell her about their safehouse because they'd always meet up at the encampments or her house in Marion Forks.

Hope continued to bark as Deacon made his way over to the gate. It automatically opened and the dog stormed over to him, grabbing the hem of his shirt between her teeth and trying to tug him out of the gate. "Whoa, girl. Calm down."

"I think she wants us to follow her," Boozer stated.

"Then let's follow."

Hope released Deacon's shirt when she saw he two men were following her. She led them down the dirt path and into a dense part of the woods. When the men heard a pained cry, they picked up the pace.

The canine ran as fast as she could with the men close behind her. She barked as they entered a small clearing and the cries crescendoed. Deacon glanced around as he saw bodies scattered across the clearing. "What the hell happened here?"

"Deek, over there," Boozer said as he spotted a figure on ground.

"Shit," Deacon muttered as he recognized the (h/c)-haired woman as another painful wail escaped her lips. He ran over to her with Hope by his side. The pooch licked her owner's face while the drifter saw the source of her pain. "Damn snares. What the hell are you doing this far from Marion Forks, (Y/n)?"

"Hunting," she whimpered in response. "It's easier hunting deer in the Cascade region than Belknap."

Boozer catches up and winced when he sees the woman's leg trapped in the teeth of a snare trap. "This isn't good." He examined the trap before meeting Deacon's gaze. "We'll have to work together. I'll pry the jaws open and you drag her out, alright?"

"Got it." Deacon walked behind (Y/n) and hooked his arms underneath hers. "Ready."

Boozer placed his hands between the metallic jaws of the snare and used all his strength to pry it open. When he managed to create enough space for (Y/n)'s foot, Deacon pulled her body back and freed her foot from the trap. She sighed in relief as the drifter kept ahold on her. "Holy shit..."

Deacon hauled (Y/n) to her feet, slinging one of her arms across his shoulder. "What's with all the dead bodies?"

"Fucking Marauders... I was in the middle of hunting when I stepped on the snare and got trapped. I managed to kill the bastards when they came out of the woodwork. Hope ran off to find some help, but I didn't expect her to bring you here."

Deacon wrapped his other arm around (Y/n)'s waist to prevent her from falling. "You're not far from O'Leary Mountain. We've a safehouse nearby."

"We've supplies. We can patch up your leg once we get back," Boozer added.

"Don't worry about me. I can patch up my leg when I get back to Marion Forks," the woman rebuttals.

"You'll get an infection before you can make it back. If you're worried about the amount of medical supply, don't. Last time I checked, you've been giving us food for the past six months," Deacon said.

"It's just eggs," (Y/n) huffs.

"It's still food," Boozer remarks. "Finally nice to meet the egg lady Deek keeps mentioning."

"Boozer..." Deacon growled in warning.

(Y/n) was more amused by the nickname than anything else and couldn't help but laugh. ""Egg Lady?" That's a first. You're not wrong, though."

Hope barked, seeking to agree with her owner. Boozer glanced at the border collie with a smile. "It's been a while since I've seen a healthy dog. Most of them are skin and bones."

"It's pretty easy to feed her. Not like people grabbed dog food off the shelves when the outbreak occurred. There's plenty of dog treats, toys, and food left."

"And you raise hens? That's the first I've heard about someone raising animals during the apocalypse," Boozer comments.

"The small farmhouse I live in was actually my parents'. I grew up raising hens, pigs, and cows. Morosely, only the hens survived the outbreak. The cows and pigs were easy pickings for the Freaks."

"You're not worried about Freakers breaking through the fence and eating them?" Deacon asked as he adjusted his grip on (Y/n) slightly.

"If it was an issue, those birds would already be dead. Hope's also been a huge help in keeping the Freaks away from the hens and the house. It's pretty quiet on the outskirts of Marion Forks."

The three continued chatting all the way back to the safehouse. The conversation distracted (Y/n) from the blood trickling down her leg and the immense waves of pain every few seconds.

With Deacon's help, she was able to make it to the top of the watchtower. He sat her down on his bed as Boozer and Hope entered the watchtower. The canine bounds over to (Y/n) and laid down by her feet. She raised her head, watching as Deacon collected antiseptic and gauze for her owner's tattered leg.

While Deacon tended to (Y/n)'s injury, Boozer made eye contact with Hope. He whistled for her and she leapt to her feet with a cheerful howl. She licked his hands and face as he patted her with a smile.

Boozer's interactions with Hope didn't go unnoticed by (Y/n). She was smiling from ear to ear at the sight. She grabbed Deacon's attention and told him to turn around to see his friend happily playing with the border collie. "Boozeman's always wanted a dog," the drifter said.

"Then I've got one hell of a surprise for you. Bring Boozer along the next time you come to visit. There's something I want to show you both."

"Now you've got my full attention, but I know you're not going to tell me what this "surprise" is."

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you. I also think Boozer will enjoy what I have in store. I'll even give you more eggs. I am the egg lady after all," (Y/n) snorted with laughter.

Deacon shook his head with a sigh. "It's one hell of a nickname."

"We better get going before night falls. We've got a long walk back to Marion Forks." (Y/n) stood up slowly, putting weight on her injured leg with a wince.

She didn't make it one step before Deacon stopped her. "Now hold on. You're seriously gonna try to walk all the way back to Marion Forks with that leg?"

"Well..."

Deacon grabbed her upper arms and forced her back into the bed. (Y/n) blinked owlishly as she found herself back on the bed with little to no effort. "You're out of your goddamn mind if you think I'm gonna even let you walk down the stairs with that leg. I'll give you a ride back to Marion Forks tomorrow, okay?"

"Uh, yeah," she responds. "But I only see two beds and I'm not—"

"Yes, you are," Deacon declared as he interrupted her. "I'll be fine."

"You're stubborn, I hope you know that," (Y/n) puffs out a sigh.

"Pretty sure you were the one who said we have to be in order to survive out there in the shit," he smirked triumphantly.

Another sigh passes through the woman's lips. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

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"Nice place," Boozer complimented as they arrived at (Y/n)'s house the next morning. Hope had hitched a ride with the buff man by sitting in front of him. The woman was amazed and shocked to see the seating arrangement had worked, but she was grateful for their help nonetheless.

"Your surprise awaits inside, Boozer," (Y/n) smirked as Deacon helped her off his bike and into the house. All the windows were boarded up and the inside was still completely furnished.

Hope bounded to one of the rooms down the hall located beside the kitchen. (Y/n) told Deacon and Boozer to follow the canine, knowing exactly who she was going to see.

Inside the bedroom, Hope's tail wagged wildly as she stood in front of a basket by the nightstand. Deacon and Boozer were bewildered of why the dog was cheerful. (Y/n) smirked as she unwraps her arms from around Deacon's shoulders and sat on her bed. She called Hope and when the dog listened, the secret was revealed. Six puppies were piled up and sleeping inside the basket.

"Holy shit..." Boozer muttered. He kneeled beside the litter and admired them. "It's been a long time since I've seen puppies."

Deacon remained silent as he was in utter shock at the revelation with wide eyes. (Y/n) was smugly grinning as she saw the look on the drifter's face. "Told ya it was going to be one hell of a surprise."

"How old?" Boozer asked as he petted one of the puppies.

"Nine weeks," (Y/n) replied. She glanced at Boozer with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "I was hoping you would take one."

"You sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Pick one."

Boozer glanced between the six and picked out one. He carried the puppy in his arms as it woke up and tried to lick him. He smiled as he held him close to his chest. "Hey, buddy."

Deacon eyed (Y/n) with a mix of emotions. "Can I, uh, talk to you in private?"

The woman nodded and stood up. "Sure. Let's head to the backyard." When she took a step forward, Deacon went to support her but she denied his help. "I'll be fine, Deacon."

They left the room and out the back door in the kitchen. In the backyard, they stood and watched the hens pacing around their pen. Deacon cleared his throat, breaking the silence between them. "You didn't have to do any of this, but you did. Guess what I'm trying to say is thanks for all you've done."

"I've ten hens who're practically laying eggs almost every day. It would be a waste of perfectly good eggs if I didn't share them with someone. As for the pup, well, I won't be able to take care of all of them when they grow up. I should be thanking you for taking one off my hands."

"What about the other five?" Deacon questioned.

"I'm going to visit Copeland to see if he or anyone else in the camp wants one. When they grow up, they'll be a good addition to the camp. I don't trust Tucker enough to let her take a pick so the Hot Springs is off the list."

"Couldn't agree more," Deacon said.

"I might also visit Lost Lake to see if Rikki or Mike are interested."

"You're not doing anything until that legs healed."

(Y/n) crossed her arms with a grin. "Knew you were gonna say that. You're the embodiment of chivalry. I hope you know that, Deek."

"I'm not chivalrous," he scoffed.

"Keep telling yourself that. Denial won't change the facts."

Suddenly, Deacon's radio blipped and he received a transmission from Tucker. The old woman has a job and wants him to swing by the Hot Springs. The drifter groaned as he told her he'd be there shortly. He rolled his eyes in vexation as he ended the call with Ada. He looked at (Y/n), seeing the smirk on her face. "I know that damn smirk." He pointed at her and his voice was lower than usual. "You are staying here."

She raised her hand and vowed. "I promise to not follow you."

"I'll be back soon. Don't push yourself too hard, alright?"

The woman raised her right hand higher. "I promise I won't push myself. You better get goin' before the old lady pops a gasket." She walked over to Deacon and placed her hand on his cheek while pressing a small kiss on the other. "Stay safe out there."

Deacon was caught off guard by the kiss, but he didn't let his true feelings come to the surface just yet. "I will." He turned around to leave and saw a smirking Boozer standing in the doorway with the puppy still in his arms. "Don't you fucking start."

Boozer continued to smirk. "I didn't say anything."