Taking a Chance

Chapter 1

Daryl shifted his body for what felt like the hundredth time as he sat on one of the hard, really uncomfortable seats that Atlanta International Airport had at their departure gates. This was the last place he ever expected to be. He was not a traveling type of guy, nor had he ever been on any type of vacation before in all his thirty-seven years, but here he was getting ready to get on a plane and fly to of all places...Las Vegas.

There was only one person in the entire world that could get him to do this...his best friend Rick Grimes. Rick was getting married and he wanted Daryl there. The only problem was that Rick and his fiancé, Michonne decided to take their vows in the last place on earth that Daryl would ever want to go. He not only hated busy cities but also the crowds of people that tended to be all over the place. Most of all, he was spending money he simply didn't have.

He still did not understand why they just could not have just gone down to the courthouse to get it done. That was the most logical way to him. Even though they did not want a big fancy wedding, Michonne told him they still wanted to have some fun. Apparently, they consider Las Vegas fun... he certainly did not.

Daryl and Rick had been best friends since grade school and when Rick had asked him to stand up for him at the wedding, the answer was an immediate yes, but that was also before he knew what that entailed. Now here he was at the airport getting ride to fly to Vegas where they already were. Daryl definitely preferred to keep his feet firmly on the ground, but there was no time to drive to Nevada. It was simply too far.

He glanced down at his cheap watch on his wrist and saw that he still had about twenty minutes before the plane boarded. Daryl took a deep breath. This wasn't just his first time flying, hell it was the first time he was ever leaving Georgia. Going to Las Vegas was a big leap for him and completely took him out of his comfort zone. Daryl would have been happy just to stay here at home in Georgia, but his two good friends had to go and mess that up.

They were two people that you would never have thought belonged together, but they did. Rick was the handsome southern white cop with wavy hair and smiling blue eyes, while Michonne was a local store owner with long black dreadlocks and beautiful ebony skin. They didn't seem like a good match, when in reality they were perfect for each other. Her fun personality and naturally happy demeanor even drew Daryl to her. She became the little sister he never had.

She was the rock that they both leaned on when Rick's parent's died within less than a month of each other. First Mrs. Grimes lost her battle with cancer, then Mr. G shortly after from a sudden heart attack. It devastated the two of them, but Michonne helped them through it. She knew that Daryl was hurting just as bad as Rick was and behind his few words and stony expressions hid a grieving man.

Yeah, Daryl would do anything for them even if it meant flying to fucking Las Vegas.

Michonne had explained to him what he needed to expect at the airport. He had already checked in and made it through security without a problem. It was a good thing she reminded him to leave the pocketknife he always carried at home. Then he found the correct gate that plane was leaving from, so far so good, but he was still nervous about going up in that big metal tube with wings. He'd give anything to be back on his old Harley, instead of getting ready to be thirty thousand feet in the air.

The beat-up black duffle bag that he used to pack his clothes in was sitting on the floor next to his right foot. He had no idea what to bring for the three days they were to be there. He threw what decent clothes he had into the bag and that was not much, but he didn't check it with the airlines. He kept it with himself not trusting them at all. He owned too little to chance anything of his being lost.