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boygiwrites · 1 year

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Harley D. Dixon 9

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Author's Note. New chapter! :)

If I had to guess, I'd say a week has passed.

Our days are spent driving, siphoning gas, and sleeping. We wake up in whatever overgrown pocket of forest we spent the night in, buckle up for an entire day of winding up and down side-roads blocked by trucks or dead bodies or fallen trees, and then we spend the night in another pocket of overgrown forest, feeling just a little more exhausted than we were the day before; dirtier, bloodier, and hungrier.

At least nothing more has happened between Shane and my Dad, yet. We've all been too busy trying not to starve for that.

Tonight, as the thicket hoots and rustles around me, I close my eyes.

It's nice to pretend that time has stopped.

I listen as the river flows past my bare shoulders, undisturbed, like I'm just another steady rock amongst its gentle ripples. I let the water skim across my fingers and wash over my hair. I can feel the satisfying smoothness of riverbed stones on the pearly soles of my feet, and I wiggle my toes against the current, breathing in the freshness of night air. It's not as luxurious as a shower, 'cause showers don't quite got leaves and twigs and dirt in 'em, but I pretend it's luxurious, anyway. I feel the day being lifted from my skin and carried away down-stream.

Fwip.

A flock of birds takes off from the trees.

I snap my eyes open.

On the muddy bank of the river, a dead woman drops to her knees. Blood oozes like thick, brown pudding from a crossbow bolt pierced through one of her eyes. I gasp, paddling backwards, as she slumps head-first into the water. The rest of her mossy body slides in after her.

Splash.

The river carries her away, too.

I watch as the fuzzy hump of her back slowly floats away until it disappears around the bend.

Whew. That was close.

"Harley!"

I turn around.

On the opposite bank, from where he's been supervising the whole time, my Dad swings his crossbow over his shoulder.

"Time to get out, now. Ya clean enough?"

Oh, right. I'm supposed to be bathing. I got a little distracted.

"Yeah!" I call back. "I'm clean!"

I squeeze the last of the suds outta my hair.

"Come on, then."

He holds out his hand.

Quick to obey, I wade through the water and onto the pebbly shore. He grabs my arm and helps me step up over the shelf of dirt, onto dry land, where he wraps me up in the big towel that he bought with us. A gust of hot breeze sails through the forest as I hastily dry myself off, wanting to get back to camp as soon as possible. It's never good news when we find walkers. They've been following us for days, travelling tirelessly through the night while we sleep. Besides, dinner is probably being served by now, since I'm the last one to bathe tonight.

As usual, I'm not looking forward to it.

Once I'm dry, I step into my underwear and my purple pyjama pants, and then pull on my frog shirt and my lady-bug boots.

My Dad packs the bottle of hand-soap that I used to wash myself with and my old, dirty clothes into his pack.

He nods me forward. "Let's go."

We start the short hike back to camp. We step over mushroom-infested logs and shallow ditches filled with noisy crickets; our path lit by a flashlight. At one point, we have to duck under a glittering spider-web, which is pretty cool. I like spiders, especially fat and colorful ones.

Soon enough, we can hear a fire crackling in the distance, and we step through the trees.

We made it back.

All the vehicles are parked in a bumper-to-bumper ring around a tiny campfire, where the group is silently sitting together in the grass. Rick rations the cooked food into a bunch of bowls, mugs, and plates as Glenn passes bottles of boiled water around. We take our spots next to Carol. She takes four bowls from Rick, and hands one to Sophia, and then another two to me and my Dad. Dale hands us some spoons. We don't bother thanking them. There's a grim look on both their faces. They don't wanna be doin' this, but they don't got a choice, and neither do we.

Everyone settles down, reluctant to begin eating.

I look over at Carl, who's hair is also wet from his river-bath. He peers into his bowl. He looks like he's gonna puke.

I peer down at mine. I feel the same way.

"Dig in, everyone." Rick mutters.

T-Dog echoes him unenthusiastically.

Oh, well.

I can't survive without food. I should just get it over with.

I start with the intestines.

There are disgusting crunching and chewing and slurping noises all around me as I inch the brown tube into my mouth.

It's chewy like a frozen squid ring, and slippery like sausage-skin.

Tastes like chicken, I tell myself, even though I know it came from a skunk.

I think about what's inside a skunk. It's got a little heart, much smaller than ours, which I think is what Rick is eating, 'cause I can see little pipe-like things hanging off the chunk of meat in his hand. The fire flutters ominously over his face, his stare locked onto a burning branch as it turns to ash. Then there's the liver, which is now diced up on Carl's spoon. He swallows it one go, like cough medicine. There are the kidneys. Glenn got those, but he's not really eating 'em. He's knocking 'em back like big, rubbery pills instead, so he don't gotta taste 'em. There's also its stomach and its spaghetti-intestines, and then the breast and the ribs, which is the good part, which I'm saving for last.

Then, the most shameful parts are the paws and the tongue and, ugh, the nose and the tail and the eyeballs.

Those parts aren't meant for eating. I never even saw 'em in the freezer section at the supermarket.

But we're eating 'em.

We'll starve if we don't.

With oily fingers and scrunched up noses, we bite and chew and swallow every last morsel of the poor skunk, including the feet and the snout, until it's just a bad memory — Just protein and fat to keep us alive, and not animal-guts. I remember back at the quarry, I used to think surviving meant using a single square of toilet paper instead of four or five, but now I know it's this. It's gnashing on skunk organs.

"Saw a walker out there." Dad mumbles, as he nibbles on the tail bone. "S'just the one, but..."

"Where there's one, there's a hundred." Glenn muses.

Walkers are like ants. There used to be a big ant-hill in our yard, and sometimes I'd just watch 'em crawl over each other, mindless.

"We'll pack up at first light." Rick frowns. "One walker ain't gonna slow us down."

"You okay?" Jacqui asks us.

I nod, staring down at my shiny lumps of skunk-gut.

"What happened?"

"It was just some loaner." Dad explains. "Came up to the river while Harley was washin'. Shot it quick."

"More and more seem to be poppin' up." Shane tells everybody. "Keep your eyes peeled tonight, alright? Who's on watch?"

Glenn and Andrea lift their hands.

Then Morales points between himself and Rick. "We take over, afterwards."

Shane nods. "Y'all know the drill. No noisy weapons; no gunfire. Try to keep everyone alive 'till sunrise."

"How close even is Fort Benning by now?" Carl suddenly asks. "We've been driving for ages."

"Carl..." Rick rubs his forehead.

"Listen, we drove down Lone Oak today. We're nearin' Hogansville." Shane says. "So, we're just shy three days away, I reckon."

Carl sighs heavily, picking at his food.

Three more days means three more nights, which means three more dinners like this one. My Dad skinned it the best he could, and it's cooked all the way through, but it's still a little nasty considering we've only been eating granola bars and tinned fruit up until now. Even the squirrel burgers Uncle Merle used to make tasted better than this, 'cause at least he threw some salt and pepper on those.

"It's not forever, baby." Lori comforts Carl. "We just need to stick it out until then."

"Yeah, I guess." He grouches.

As I suck the meat off the skunk's leg bone, I think to myself, Just three more days.

After a while, T-Dog stands.

"Thanks for the experience, man," He sighs, "But I think I'm gonna turn in."

Rick nods. "I think it's best we all do. We got more travelling ahead of us; Need the rest."

"I know I do." Dale scoffs, stretching.

Glenn and Andrea walk off to start patrolling the area for the night, and the rest of us drop our dishes into a bucket of water to be washed tomorrow morning. I say goodnight to everyone and follow my Dad into the truck. He hands me one of the pillows and the blanket to snuggle into. He clicks off the ceiling light, and 'cause he don't sing for me tonight, I count the fish on my blanket until I drift off to sleep instead.

I swear I hear Shane and Dale arguing sometime during the night.

Grrr...

The next morning, I wake up to the sound of a car engine humming lowly. Groggily, I turn over, covering my ears with my blanket. The noise persists. I turn over again, trying to fall back asleep, but again, the noise persists. And it keeps persisting, almost for a full minute, until I begin to think, That doesn't actually sound much like a car engine. Confused, I slowly lift my head, peeking out the wind—

Smack!

A pale hand, grabbing at the glass.

Grrrr...

It's not an engine.

It's a walker.

It's nose bone makes a tick, tick, tick sound as it knocks into the window, its purple gums and black teeth kissing at me, tongue licking.

I scream.

My Dad jumps awake beside me.

Smack!

He's confronted with the sight of the walker mouthing and groping the glass, and he quickly puts his arm in front of me.

He huffs, "What the Hell?"

Smack!

"You okay?"

"Uh-huh." I answer, "But... aren't Morales and Rick supposed to be on watch?"

They wouldn't have let a walker get this close if they could help it.

He peers outside. "Yeah, they are."

Smack!

Behind us, there's another one. With two bloated, gummy hands, a second walker palms at Dad's window, leaving behind sticky hand-prints and gooey blood. He unsheathes his knife, angrily winds the window down about an inch, and stabs it through the forehead. It crumples to the ground, only to be replaced by another one. Then another, and another, all rushing to pile on top of each other, sniffing the air and clicking their rotten teeth at us. I count them — Three, four, five — Five walkers crowding against Dad's side of the truck.

He scoffs, "Found us, did ya?"

Where there's one, there's a hundred.

He winds the window back up, but the walkers wiggle their fingers through the gap like little worms.

"Damn it."

They start tugging it down with combined strength, shoving their knobbly elbows and shoulders and hands inside. Dad tries to ram it closed, but it gives in, sliding all the way open once more. The dead immediately start climbing inside. I scream again. Dad scoots back until we're pressed up against the opposite window, with the original walker licking at the back of our necks through the glass. I can hear it going, Tick, tick, tick.

Dad picks his crossbow up off the floor and loads it, aims it, and—

Fwip!

The closest walker face-plants onto the driver's seat.

"Where are they?" I worry. "Morales and Rick. What if they're in trouble?"

Fwip!

"Just stay behind me."

The next walker slumps on top of the last one.

He yanks the bolt out its nose and stabs the next one in the eye with it, and then the one after that, too.

He grunts as he pulls it out. Grey blood splatters the ceiling.

"Rick!" He calls out. "Morales! Glenn! Where are ya?"

"Dad, they're not answering!"

Dad drives the bolt into the last walker's ear canal, slamming its head into the side mirror. Both the walker-skull and the mirror crack in half, tumbling into the grass below. He lets the bolt fall with 'em, and winds up the window just in time for three more walkers to run into it, their peeling mouths held agape, and their eyeballs rolling up into their lids. I watch them slobber and moan.

One of them has a hatchet in its neck.

Dad drops back down, panting.

I recognise the yellow tape wound around the handle.

Dad must, too, 'cause he says, "That's Rick's hatchet."

The walkers continue slapping the truck and moaning incoherently as we peer out the windows. Over their shoulders, I can see one, two, three, five, eight, ten walkers stumbling through camp, all tripping over the chairs and the logs from the fire. One by one, they latch onto their choice of vehicle with dead hands, like the RV, which is totally surrounded. I've never seen this many walkers, not even back at the quarry. In the back window, we can see Sophia peeking past the curtains. In the front, we see Dale and Glenn trying to get our attention.

My Dad waves to 'em once he notices.

"Where's Rick and Morales?" He yells.

They get the gist of what he's tryna ask, and they both shrug, which makes us even more worried.

"They gotta still be out there." Dad grumbles.

I scan the sea of greasy heads wandering by. They're all half-beaten, blood-soaked, stringy, and mishappen, but oh, not that one — That one's regular, and it's moving way faster than the others. Another one trails behind it, I realize, slightly taller. It must be them.

"Dad!" I point. "I think that's them!"

"Yeah? Where?"

"There!"

One, two, three walkers are slashed to the ground, revealing — Yes! — Rick and Morales.

"There they are!"

Dad leans over me, opening the door. "Hey! Over here!"

"Get ready to go!" Rick yells at us.

The original walker falls onto its back, and both Rick and Morales make a bee-line for the truck, shouldering their way past walker after walker after walker, until they reach the door. They step over the flailing walker and climb inside. We make room for them as fast as we can. I climb onto my Dad's lap behind the wheel as Morales slams the door closed, panting, covered head to toe in blood of all different colors.

"Go!" Rick pats the dash. "Drive! We gotta go!"

"What about all the stuff out there?" I ask.

The dishes, the bucket, the chairs.

"We have to leave it." Rick shakes his head. "We can't stay here a second longer."

"Everyone good?" My Dad asks him, turning the keys.

"Yeah." He pants. "Got— Got caught off guard, that's all. Everyone else was still inside the cars. They're safe."

The truck sputters to life. Dad stomps on the gas. The tyres squeal all at once, and we tear off into the forest, between clusters of thin trees. The walkers try to cling on, but they're too weak to keep up and they topple over into the dirt. We leave them in the distance — shrinking, shrinking, shrinking, until they look like little stick figures, and then like nothing. The truck bumps and wobbles along the dirt road, following after the RV.

Behind us, the rest of the vehicles catch up.

Rick counts them through the back window. He sighs. Everyone's here.

As branches hit the sides of the truck, he speaks up. "You two okay? Harley, you okay?"

"Yeah," I nod. "Just... There were so many of 'em."

He puts his hand on my shoulder, leaning his head back, closing his eyes. "Tell me about it."

We enjoy the silence — the calm — as we make our way through the woods. I can tell Dad wants to ask what happened, but he keeps his mouth shut for now. Caught off guard? What does that mean? After some time, we reach a break in the trees. We tail the RV as it pulls back onto the highway that we started on, feeling just a little more exhausted than we were the day before; dirtier, bloodier, and hungrier.

At least we're alive.

It's not until we've been driving for at least twenty minutes that I spot the bite mark on Morales' wrist.

Oh.

Rick catches me looking, but he doesn't look surprised.

He just looks defeated.

The next time we stop, it's not to siphon gas or to sleep.

It's to kill Morales.

We all wait together on the highway as Shane and Rick march him into the trees. It'll be quick and painless, were the words they used. Apparently, Morales chose to be shot in the head instead of bein' left to turn, and they're gonna honour that choice by killing him. Louis and Eliza weren't comforted by any of this, though. Neither was Miranda. I feel so awful for them. They cling to each other, a family made up of pain and hurt waiting for the worst to come, which will be in the form of an echoing Bang a few minutes from now.

Jacqui gives Miranda's tear-coated cheek a kiss, and Lori rubs her back gently.

It's the best anyone can do.

My Dad sits next to me on the bed of the truck, watching the trio disappear between the shrubs.

Rick's revolver glints in the afternoon sun.

"It's gonna be like Tank again, ain't it?" I ask numbly, ready.

It's quick and painless, the vet-lady had said, before she poked him with a needle that sent him into a permanent sleep.

"Yeah." He mutters.

He rubs my back now, as well.

It's a bit like Jenner, too, I accidently think, And a bit like Momma.

Sadly, I muse, "I liked Morales."

He grips my shoulder and pulls me into his side.

Together we watch summer clouds pan overhead.

Bang!

Kinda sounds like a firework.

Miranda starts weeping.

Quick and painless.

Maybe for Morales.

But not for us.

It's two days later now, and we still haven't reached Fort Benning.

Miranda, Louis and Eliza are no longer part of the group. After Morales died, they wanted to leave, and so they left. After some convincing, Rick and Shane set them up with a box of bullets, a pistol, and a map, and then we all exchanged hugs. Eliza gave me and Sophia each of her two beaded bracelets. We were real sad to be saying goodbye the other kids like this. Their little station wagon drove off into the horizon, and then that was it — We were suddenly down four people; one dead, and three gone, all overnight. I never realized how small our group was until then.

I think everybody's takin' it pretty hard — Especially Rick, who hasn't spoke in days. I think he was the one that shot Morales.

Problems, I can handle. Full-scale disasters, not so much.

Nobody from our group has died until now, so I'd say this classifies as a full-scale disaster.

I think what we've learnt from all this is that whether you're scavenging or travelling, you can't cheat yourself out of danger.

Still, we've been pushing on. It's what we do best.

Sitting in the passenger seat of the RV, I try re-reading Hairy Maclary again while Dale drives beside me, but it's hard to concentrate. I give up after a while and switch to gazing outside at the rolling landscape. Every now and then, we pass a walker, and I'm reminded of everything all over again.

I'm staring at a bird soaring alongside the highway when the RV comes to a stop.

"Ah, jeez." Dale mutters.

I frown, "What's goin' on?"

When I look out the window, the answer is immediately obvious.

"Oh."

"Jammed to Hell." He sighs.

"We gotta be cursed or somethin'." I mumble. "So much is goin' wrong."

He chuckles a little. "I think you might be right about that."

Glenn walks up behind us and grabs both our chairs, peering outside at the littering of cars.

"Wow..." He sighs.

Dale gestures vaguely at it all. "Just our luck, isn't it?"

"Maybe we can circle back?" Glenn suggests. "There was an interstate bypass back there."

Dale shakes his head. "We can't spare the fuel."

I glance at the fuel meter. I don't know how it works, but I'm pretty sure the E is for empty, and the needle is way too close to it right now.

My Dad brings the truck up besides the RV.

"You see a way through?" Dale calls out to him.

Dad nods us forward, driving ahead to guide us through the wreckage. Dale follows. He steers the huge RV along the narrow path, and we crawl along like this for a couple minutes. We watch in unison as a group of birds casually peck at an empty baby seat strewn across the tarmac. They stare at us with their beady little eyes as we pass. There are car crashes mangled in with the guardrail, and walker-bodies smeared into the gravel. I remember bein' on a highway exactly like this one with my Dad and my Uncle Merle, in the beginning, when people still thought they could drive away from it all. We chose to leave after a while, but many stayed. I guess this is pretty much what happened to them all.

All of a sudden, as we're turning a slight corner, the RV gives out a clunk, clunk, clunk noise.

That's not good.

"What was that?" Glenn frowns.

Clunk!

As if to answer, smoke starts trickling out from underneath the hood.

We roll along for a couple more feet before creaking to a definite stop.

That's not good either.

"Ugh, it's that darn radiator hose." Dale slaps his knee, frustrated. "I knew it wouldn't survive the trip. I just knew it."

He gets up, and me and Glenn follow him outside into the hot sun.

Both ahead of us and behind us, the others hop out their cars, confused.

"I said it, didn't I?" Dale complains, watching hopelessly as his precious RV billows smoke. "A thousand times... Dead in the water."

I try smiling. "Don't worry. We'll fix it."

He tries smiling back, but he doesn't look too convinced.

Shane approaches. "Problem, Dale?"

"Oh, I don't know." He sighs. "Just the small matter of being stranded in the middle of nowhere, with a herd breathing down our necks and no hope of ever finding a new—" He cuts himself off, remembering where it is we're standing exactly. "Okay," He mutters, "That was dumb."

We're surrounded by radiator hoses.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane scoffs.

My Dad jogs up to us, frowning at the broken engine. "What's goin' on? That the hose again?"

Dale nods. "Broken, just like I predicted."

Dad shrugs. "I can have a go fixin' it up. You got tools?"

"A few. Nothing fancy."

"I can siphon more fuel." T-Dog offers.

Carol suggests, "Maybe find some water?"

"And some food." Glenn adds, cringing already at the thought of eating another dinner of skunk-kidneys. "We could definitely use some food."

Everyone looks like they agree with that sentiment.

Rick considers all this.

It wasn't his plan to scavenge any more, but we need to, and we're not gonna get a more perfect opportunity than this.

"Okay," He eventually decides, clearing his throat. "We'll split into pairs; conquer this one car at a time, together. T-Dog, Glenn. See if you can't find us some more fuel. Shane, Daryl. You're with me. We'll circle the area for walkers, make sure it's safe for now. Dale, you're on watch. We don't need that herd sneaking up on us today. Rest of you, don't wander too far. And keep an eye out for any food and water laying around, okay? We'll be back on track in about half an hour, I reckon."

"Are you sure about this?" Lori asks, clutching her necklace. "This place is a graveyard."

"It—" Rick shakes his head. "It'll have to do."

"C'mon, y'all." Shane says. "Let's just take a look around. Doesn't have to take long."

With that, Rick's new plan is put into motion.

I look down at the pink and green bracelet on my wrist, next to Amy's hair lackey, and I pretend I don't feel sad at all.

I been doin' that a lot lately.

Author's Note.

Okay, admittedly, this one is a little filler-y... I just needed to set up the whole herd situation, and I also wanted to spend a little more time on the road before we reach the farm. I still hope you enjoyed. I've been feeling a little insecure recently about how often I've been deviating from canon, but I'm trying to ignore it, haha.

RIP Morales. Season two just wasn't in the cards for him.

Also the Shane vs Daryl thing didn't really come up in this chapter... Oops. Next time! It's about to get crazy for those two, ahaha. I have some interesting things planned for them and Harley.

Thank you everyone for reading!

#the walking dead #twd fanfiction #twd #daryl dixon twd #daryl dixon daughter #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon #daddy issues #rick grimes #fanfic #ao3 fanfic #angst #shane walsh

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jynzandtonic · 4 years

Note

Z, the gallbladder is a “lifestyle organ” and certainly can be sacrificed lol. Or the appendix lol. I am CERTAIN you are an amazing instructor and not only would whip him immediately into shape (I cannot with how he is leaning with his weight back lol and just plowing down the slope pizza style) but also corrected the fashion faux pas that you told us about with the tucked in pants lol. And also his poor eyeballs as you pointed out.

I have never wanted to thigh ride as much as I do upon repeatedly marveling at how thick his thighs are uuuuughhhhh. So delicious. And your little meme of him, awwwwwww!

And poor baby he fell! At Beaver Creek they have daily free chocolate chip cookies in the afternoon for skiers (never have I skied so fast as then and I am not above battling 7 year olds for my fair share of a cookie) and I would like to offer AD some cookies because he is in a onesie and is a baby giraffe and a baby all around. 🥺😂 🍪🍪🍪 I desperately want to read about the Boys skiing now. Like who would be the best? Most awkward? Snowboard instead? And who is just like “fuck it, apres ski instead” lol. K love ya! -K 🦊

Okay I am WHEEZING at the term “lifestyle organ.” I redact my statement about the kidney and elect to give up my appendix instead. It’s never done anything fantastic for me, anyway. I’ll need to keep the gallbladder so I can trample over children to eat all the cookies at Beaver Creek.

I can say from firsthand knowledge that there are SEVERAL skiing fics in the works by authors in the community. HOLD ON TO YOUR MITTENS, KITSUNE! Shit, even I’M tempted to mix business and pleasure...

For now, here are my thoughts on the boys and skiing/snowboarding:

Adam Sackler: He knows how to ski. No one said he knows how to stop

Clyde Logan: He’s always wanted to learn how to snowboard, but has never had the chance to try. Will you take him out for a weekend so he can give it a go?

Charlie Barber: Competent, but I wouldn’t exactly call him “graceful.” Henry loves going out, though, so he’ll always give it his best shot.

Dan Jones: Excellent skier. If he ever took vacations, he might go out to Colorado or Utah to hit the slopes there. Perhaps you can convince him to.

Flip Zimmerman: Great at skiing, but it’s the late 70s/early 80s... you know that man is skiing in jeans lololol

Matt the Radar Technician: Plays Nintendo Switch and eats french fries in the lodge all day

Paul Sevier: More than content to read in the lodge while you ski. Buys your lift tickets/season passes and always has a beverage waiting for you when you come in.

Phillip Altman: Snowboards. Actually pretty decent at it, but is more interested in the après-ski drinks

Rick Smolan: BABY GIRAFFE

Officer Ronnie Peterson: A surprisingly good snowboarder for how GIGANTIC he is

Toby Grisoni: Is it still considered “après” if you don’t ski?

#LOVE YOU XOXOXOXO #kitsune!anon #skiing #all of the boys #which of the boys #skiing/snowboarding #adcu #jyn z snaccs

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twdeadlysins · 5 years

Text

Together

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader

Word Count: 3,981

Summary: The reader goes on a solo run and claims it’s important and it’ll be quick, that she’ll be back before lunch. When dinner rolls around, Daryl starts to worry and think of the worse, so he sets out to find his missing girlfriend with Rick and Glenn.

Request: Requested by @leej2468 -> 6. “I almost lost you” - The reader (M/F) gets seriously injured and they haven't woken up yet. Daryl stays by their side, worried if they'll ever wake. When they finally do, he's relieved and hugs them and says #6 and cries. --- I hope you like it! Thank you so much for the request!

Warnings: Daryl’s POV, fluff, angst, then more fluff, established relationship, the usual walking dead violence, language, blood, and such with possible typos

Author’s Note: Another Daryl one-shot in the books, hella ya! I hope @leej2468 and everyone else who reads this likes it!! I have plenty more requests where that came from!

If you want to be tagged/removed for my Daryl Dixon fics, then don’t hesitate to send me an ask, message, or leave a comment! The same goes for any other fics! I’m in no way, shape, or form a writer, so um don’t attack pls. Any feedback is much appreciated! Thank you and I hope you enjoy!

The gifs I use aren’t mine, so all credit goes to their respective owners.

MASTERLIST

Daryl grumbled when he felt movement in the bed and forced his eyes apart once he heard the most angelic sound, Y/N’s laugh. She apologized for waking him up and started to run her fingers through his hair, making him nuzzle into her chest and tighten his grip around her. Y/N let out a content sigh and leaned her head on top of his, he wished the two of you could stay like this forever and it was like she read his mind.

“I wish we could stay in bed all day, but we have things to do,” she softly reminded, gently rubbing the archer’s forearm before weaving herself out of his grasp. Daryl groaned missing her warmth already as he propped his arm up so he can rest his head in his palm to watch as Y/N got herself dressed. The hunter’s mouth quirked up watching her hop on each foot trying to wiggle her way into her dark skinny jeans. ‘Till this day, he still didn’t know how or why Y/N was with him.

Daryl met Y/N at Hershel’s farm, she wasn’t a Greene, but she may as well be considering how close she was with them. She was one of their neighbors and sought them out when things went south at her house, leaving her the only survivor. Y/N was a skillful person and an all around badass, knowing how to fight, shoot, hunt, track and even mechanics… everything that Daryl knew as well. When his bike needing a fix, she offered to help in anyway she could, but was mindful that he knew what to do. Everyone in the past was always trying to one up him, show them they better than him, or belittle him, but she wasn’t everyone.

Daryl had walked in with a heap of sticks and a log or two in his hands, going to throw them in the fireplace. The farm had been swarmed with walkers months ago and the group couldn’t find a permanent place to stay, so they had to hop from place to place and it was dreadful especially knowing there was going to be an addition to the group soon with Lori pregnant.

After the archer tossed and lit the flames with his lighter, everyone huddled around the fireplace except Rick and Y/N. Rick had a scowl expression on his face as he leaned back on the wall with his arms crossed staring at the back of his wife’s head. Y/N, on the other hand, looked exhausted holding her jacket tight around her frame as she sat against the wall with her knees tucked in her chest. Daryl made his way over and sat next to her, but she didn’t react, not noticing since she was still staring off into space. He was hesitant at first, but ultimately moved some hair out of her face, making her move away slightly and look at him in bewilderment. Her eyes were slightly red and they were tired looking, he knew she wasn’t sleeping even when she wasn’t on watch duty and it made him sad to see her like that.

“Y/N, go get warm by the fire,” his voice rasped in a whisper, but she shook her head and brought her hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear, brushing his hand slightly in the process. “They need it more than me,” she muttered, glancing over at Carl and the corner of her mouth twitched up at the sight of him cuddling with his mother.

Without saying another word, knowing she was stubborn, Daryl wrapped his arm around Y/N’s waist and pulled her flush against his side. She didn’t show any sign of rejection as she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on chest and despite their bodies warming each other, his heart was warm as well.Carol had peeked over and grinned, giving Daryl a teasing look since she knew he liked Y/N and he just rolled his eyes at the woman as she went to lay down.

The fire was slowly dying down and everyone was asleep except Rick, who was keeping watch and the younger Dixon, who was rubbing circles on Y/N’s waist. “Do you think Rick and Lori will be okay?” she questioned and it surprised him since he thought she had finally fallen asleep.

“I don’ know. Hope so for the sake of the kids,” he mumbled, not feeding her a lie to make her feel better and she always respected that, so she had vowed to do the same. Y/N reluctantly pulled away and stared at him with tearful eyes that shattered his heart. “I’m tired, Daryl.”

“Come here, I’ll keep ya safe,” he said, motioning for her to lay down in his arms, but she shook her head, making him furrow his brows. “No, I’m tired of running around. God, I feel so selfish and dumb for saying that because I know everyone here is tired too, but-” she deeply exhaled and shrugged, blinking off to the side to prevent her tears from escaping. “I don’t know.”

“Aye,” Daryl softly called, rubbing her cheek when a tear streamed down her face. “Yer not bein’ selfish. Ya let ever’one take most of ya rations, ya stay up all nigh’ ta keep watch ‘n ya don’ take it out on anyone. Yer the mos’ selfless person here, Y/N.”

She chuckled through her tears and lifted her hand to cradle his that was still holding her face. “I’m here for ya, Y/N and we’ll get through this together, okay?” She nodded and situated herself back into his arms, clutching his hand before lifting her head to peer at him. Before Daryl could process where her eyes flickered, her lips were on his, her other hand cupping his cheek and he wasted no time in doing the same even with his mind all fuzzy. Daryl was still in a daze when she withdrew especially when she smiled back at him. “I’ve been wanting to do that since we fixed your bike.”

“Earth to Dixon!”

Daryl blinked a couple times before glancing up at his girlfriend that was now all dressed for the day. She had her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes, walking towards the bed. “Come on, I’m not leaving this room without you,” she said, grabbing Daryl’s hands and lifting him out of bed before getting his clothes. After he kept stalling with kisses and holding her hostage, she helped him put his final piece of clothing on, his winged vest that they both loved, and grabbed his hand to lead him out of their shared cell.

With the Woodbury people now occupying the prison it helped a lot, but that didn’t mean Daryl and Y/N could stop doing their jobs. Y/N pecked Daryl’s lips and informed him that she had to go talk to Rick about something, so once she left, he went to tune up his bike since he’d have to go on a run soon. An hour or so went by and he noticed Rick, Carol, and Y/N talking near the gate with her motorcycle which confused the archer, so he dropped his tools and hurried down there.

Y/N tore her orbs off of Rick and her eyes light up when they connected to Daryl’s. “I was just about to come find you!”

“What’s this?” He questioned, pointing his finger towards her bike, not understanding what’d she need it for.

“She’s going on a run,” Rick answered for her and that made Daryl snap his head to glare at him. “I’m goin’ on a run in the next day or so, can it wait?” the hunter inquired. Their best friend looked at Y/N and she gave him a look which made Rick peer at his feet before shaking his head at Daryl. “Well, then I’m goin’ too.”

Y/N was quick to refuse and that made him even more confused. “It’s a solo run and it’s important. It’ll be quick, in and out, so I see no need in the both of us going,” she reasoned, but Daryl thought it would be safer if they both went. “Baby,” she softly said, going up to him and placing her palms on his face, stroking her thumbs. “It’s a quick run, I’ll be back before lunch. I can take care of myself plus Carol has a job for you anyways.”

He glanced over at the two of his best friends and they smiled and nodded, so he sighed and agreed leading Y/N to kiss his face all over and repeatedly thank him. “I love you!”

“Yeah, yeah, I love ya too.” Daryl playfully rolled his eyes, earning a wack in the chest before hearing a chuckle erupt from her lips. Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss before she tossed her leg over her bike.

“Ya be safe, ya hear!”

She twisted her body and waved before revving the bike and riding off to her unknown destination. Daryl watched as she disappeared and he couldn’t shake the ill feeling he had about it all. Rick patted his shoulder saying she’d be alright as he walked off to leave Carol to get him to work.

Daryl had already finished Carol’s task and even knocked out his bike to get his worried mind off of how long Y/N was gone. The sun was already starting to set and she had pleaded it would be quick, either she was lying or something was wrong… but she wouldn’t lie to him- would she?

The archer asked around for Rick and once he found him near one of their vehicles, he looked as worried as he did. “Daryl, Glenn and I are going to go see what’s taking Y/N so long, let’s go.”

Daryl was antsy, bobbing his leg up and down while chewing on his thumbnail as Rick sped down the road until he realized something. “Wait, yer meanin’ ta tell me ya knew where Y/N’s been this entire time?” he angrily questioned, earning a sideways glance from the deputy before he eyed the road, tightening his jaw as he accelerated. Daryl huffed and turned his head around to look at Glenn. “Ya too?” Glenn tore his orbs off of the hunter and looked at the ground giving Daryl the answer he was looking for.

Rick parked the car on the side of the street where a great deal of stores were located and Daryl made a mental note to come back here at a later date. Once the three of them exited the vehicle, they approached a shopping center that consisted of grocery store, a hair salon, a jewelry store, and a pharmacy. Y/N’s bike was parked in front of the drug store which led Daryl to approach the place, but Rick said that she wouldn’t be in there as he headed towards the jewelry store… why would she go there? Daryl chose not to question it, his priority was finding Y/N.

Rick withdrew his revolver, so Glenn wielded out his glock and Daryl handled his crossbow on alert for anything suspicious. The hunter meticulously maneuvered his way around the broken glass that was scattered across the floor, careful not to make a peep. After scanning the area and all the rooms within it, they came up empty and Daryl became even more frustrated and worried. Before the archer could lash and wreck things, they heard a loud crash that sounded like it came from the next building over. “Didn’t Y/N say she would scout out for supplies after she was done here if she had time?” Glenn inquired to Rick since Daryl knew jack shit why she wanted to go on a solo run in the first place.

Daryl bolted out the jewelry store to race into the grocery store, but he softened his footsteps and opened the entrance quietly when Rick and Glenn were right behind him. The men were crouched and could hear multiple voices, so Rick signaled for Glenn to go left, Daryl to go right while he went down the middle. As Daryl grew closer to the commotion he could make out three male voices along with a female’s… Y/N.

“Where’s your camp?” A gruff voice demanded followed with a thump mixed with grunts. Y/N coughed and told him to go straight to hell before he heard her yelp and his blood boiled knowing they were hurting her let alone touching her. Daryl peeked through a couple of can goods on a shelf and saw that one man was roughly holding her hair, forcing her stand up whereas the other two were in front of her, one holding a bat and the other a gun. Y/N’s lip was busted, one eye was severely bruised, and he couldn’t even imagine what else was underneath her clothes. He couldn’t get a clear shot of them, not without revealing himself and that wouldn’t be good, so Daryl decided to give Rick and Glenn some more time to get there since it was a pretty big marketplace.

“Now I’m gonna ask you again, where’s your camp?”

Y/N gripped the man’s hands that held her hair and spat blood on the floor next to her. “And I’m gonna tell you again. Go. To. Hell.” Before Daryl could make out what the man was gonna do next, he, without hesitation, fired a single bullet into her knee making her scream and drop, clutching her leg while she bit her lip and hummed out in pain. Daryl sprinted in action and struck the guy that held the bat in the back of the head with his bolt as Rick and Glenn came out and shot three body shots into the other. Within that span of time, the guy who shot Y/N had her back flush against his chest and held the gun to the side of her temple.

“Don’t fuckin’ move or I’ll pull this damn trigger!” he shouted, veins popping out of his face and neck making Daryl scared that he’d pull it anyways. Y/N had his forearm that was around her neck in her grasp trying her best to support her weight so she could stand. While Rick tried to reason with him, Daryl coldly stared at the man behind the sight of his crossbow, ready to release his arrow into his skull when he had a clear shot. The archer tore his orbs off of him for a second to look at Y/N and his glare softened, she was staring back at him with love and distress. She mouthed that she loved him before tearing his arm away from her neck and headbutted her attacker, he instinctively grabbed his nose in pain and Y/N managed to yank her spare knife out of her boot and sliced the guy’s throat. Daryl dropped his crossbow and sprinted to aid his girlfriend, but he froze when a shot rang out. The guy had enough strength in him to fire another bullet before going limp on the ground.

Y/N staggered back and clutched her abdomen as she peered down to see blood seeping between her fingers. She tearfully looked back at and over to Daryl in shock before falling back, but he was able to catch her before she hit the ground. “No, no, no!”

Daryl was trying his best to hold his tears as he was desperately trying to cover her wound with his hands. Y/N placed her palms on top of his making him grab onto her hand and shout for Rick or Glenn to get him something to stop the bleeding. “Yer gonna be okay, baby, ya hear me?”

Rick knelt down and instructed Daryl to carry her to the backseat of the car, so the hunter lifted her up bridal style, doing his best not to cause her anymore pain while Rick helped him by opening up the doors that got in the way. When they got to the vehicle, Daryl laid Y/N down and settled her head onto his lap, Rick hopped in the driver’s seat and started the engine as Glenn was running to the car with towels. He tossed the fabrics at Daryl and the car took off before he could place them over Y/N’s bullet wound. “Stay with me, Y/N,” Daryl ordered with desperation as he tapped her cheek when he saw her eyes flutter.

“I’m tired, Dare,” she whispered, going to shut her eyes once more, but he didn’t let her… afraid she would fall asleep and never wake up. He couldn’t lose another person he loved, not her, he couldn’t lose her.

“Aye, remember that nigh’ in that cabin? When ya said that ta me and I told ya I’d always be there for ya and we’d get through it together?” She hummed, placing her hand on top of his that was caressing her cheek and leaned into his touch. “I meant that for the rest of our lives, so don’ go quittin’ on me. I need ya,” he sobbed, rubbing her hair before kissing her forehead and asking how long until they would arrive at the prison.

Daryl was anxiously waiting for any news along with the rest of their family on Y/N’s condition. He had sprinted out the car and up the terrain crying out for Hershel to save her. He didn’t have the energy to fight, to ask why she went out there in the first place, and why everyone let her… he didn’t even know why he let her. He just wanted to be there, to be with her, but he was instructed to leave the room and he hated having to wait, hated not being able to hold her hand. Rick did his best to comfort him- rubbed his shoulder, said she was a tough sonuvabitch and she would fight, she wouldn’t leave him. Daryl knew she would fight, but he also knew there was only so much she could take… he just didn’t want her to be in pain and if that meant for her to go someplace else- a place that wasn’t here, then he’d have to come to terms with that eventually.

“I should’ve went with her,” Rick spoke up, rubbing his face with regret. “She’s stubborn and turned everyone downed who offered- she just wanted to do it alone, Daryl. It wasn’t you- trust me, you’ll understand why she didn’t want you coming along.”

Daryl rested his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together as he leaned his forehead on them, closing his eyes and praying to whoever not to take her from him. The door finally opened and Daryl lolled his head to the side with droopy, tired eyes waiting for the doctor to say anything. “It was a pain, but she was not ready to let go… she’s okay,” Hershel announced with a smile before Beth attacked her father with a hug.

The archer began to weep in relief, shoulders moving up and down as he covered his face with his hands. Glenn and Maggie embraced each other as they cried, Rick sighed with a smile and patted his brother’s back, Carol grinned through her tears and hugged Carl, Michonne was elated, everyone was relieved. Hershel told Daryl he could go in the room, that Y/N should wake up soon… he just didn’t know when.

When he entered the room, he inhaled a sharp breath seeing her beaten unconscious body laying in the bed with an IV sticking out of her arm along with bandages covering her form. Daryl carefully scooted a chair up to her bed as if he’d wake her, sat down, and held her hand to wait for her to come to. Rick, Maggie, Glenn, Carol, and Hershel each came in throughout the day to check on them both. Carol tried to get Daryl to get some sleep, but he refused, not wanting to leave and have her wake up without him there. She decided not to pick a fight with him and brought him dinner since he hadn’t eaten for the last two days.

He felt someone stroking his hair and he slowly lifted his head to see Y/N smiling at him, he must’ve fallen asleep since the light from outside was beaming in. Daryl jumped and smothered Y/N in a hug and began to cry. She tried instantly wrapped her arms around his torso, not caring if it hurt and tried to shush him, that everything was okay even as her own tears spilled.

He pulled back with a look of regret as he surveyed her form, afraid he had caused her pain, but she smiled and grabbed his hand to assure him he did anything but. Daryl plopped back in the chair and held her hand in both of his, staring at them with watery eyes before looking back at her. “I almost lost ya,” he whimpered and her heart visibly shattered.

“I’m sorry-”

“I shoulda never let ya go alone, why’d ya go there ‘n the first place? He sadly more than angrily questioned, he didn’t mean to get after her especially after she almost died, but he had to know. She was close to dying because of this run, so what was it for?

“I-” She scanned around the room, and locked on a chair with her clothes on it before pointing at it. “Could you get me my pants, please?” Daryl gave her a puzzled look, but didn’t question it as he did what she asked. Y/N patted each pocket trying to find which one contained what she searching for and once she found it, she revealed two banded rings. One had diamonds littered around it and the other was just a silver band, it was so simple yet so beautiful.

Y/N smiled wide and stared at the two pieces of jewelry in her hand, rubbing them with her thumb. “I was a kid when my parents went to that very same jewelry store for something. I don’t know what for, but I remembered seeing these rings and falling in love with them. If I ever found someone that loved me for me and knew that I could spend the rest of my life with, then I imagined, no, I wanted these rings to be ours… and that’s you, Daryl. I had to get them, it meant a lot to me and… it gave me hope that I’d find someone to eventually give this ring to.” She bit her lip as she smiled and shrugged her shoulders before looking at him with hope. “So Daryl Dixon, will you marry me?”

Daryl tried his best to answer, but he ended up choking on his words every time. He nodded his head since he couldn’t form words and Y/N’s smile went even wider as she went to slide the band on his finger and gave him hers so he could do the same. They embraced each other and when Y/N went to pull away, Daryl captured her lips with his. “Mhmm- does this mean we’re husband and wife instantly since the world ended?”

The archer hummed to think about it and shrugged his shoulders as he smiled. “That’s up ta ya. Do ya want a ceremony?” Y/N brushed the loose strands of hair out of his face and caressed his cheek. “Everyone knows how much we love each other- we know how much we love each other, so shall we tell them the news, Mr. Dixon?” She teased, earning a chuckle from her husband.

“I think we should, Mrs. Dixon.”

_____________________________________

MASTERLIST

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groovycatcollector · 4 years

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The Wonderfully Right, And The Horribly Wrong (Daryl Dixon Love story)

Summery: After losing her brother and his wife, one young woman is left on her own, caring for a new born and trying to survive. After being taken in to a community after years of mistrust, how will she adapt, and what effect will a certain archer have on her. Starts the last episode of season5

Warnings: slowish-burn, angst, eventual fluff, violence, strong language. ptsd, Age gap

Pairings: Daryl Dixon x OFC

Chapter 4

I sat in between Sasha and Maggie on the couch bouncing the baby on my knee listening to Rick explain the horde situation, allowing myself to stare out the window at the trees, taking it all in. So, there is a big fat horde, that’s gonna make it’s way over in the next few weeks, if not days. Cool. Some had their eyes on Rick, most were fixated on the floor, either trying to process or in a state of shock. The room was getting more and more sombre, you could cut the tension with a butter knife. Carter started challenging the decision after Carol said there was no other way (which they’re wasn’t, I haven’t dealt with many hordes but this seemed like the best option “We can try and make it safe, build up the weak spots”

Thankfully Rick shot that down quickly, he reminded me of a politician with Deannas support. As they started talking about the plan I looked away from the window, noticing Daryl’s eyes on me. I offered him a smile, feeling a shot of guilt in my stomach about earlier, he looked away pretty fast, but for some reason I began to examine his face. I snapped out of gaze once people started offering to go. Shit, I know I should go, I really should, my mama always said to always try leave a bit of goodness, and to help whenever you can. I looked down at baby biting my lip, but then Carl caught my attention and nodded. “I’ll watch him” he mouthed, I smiled, half relived, half terrified. Carl could handle himself, I could gather that much. I quickly put my hand up “I’ll go too”

Rick nodded, reassuring the crowd “Well keep this place safe, we’ll keep our family’s safe” I knew this was just empty reassurance, no one could know the outcome of this, but it calmed my nerves, even if only a little.

I rested the boy on my hip just has I got down the porch steps of the house “I’ll see ya later Nina. Hope you feel a bit better” Maggie offered, walking back with Glenn, who also gave me a half wave as he walked away. And I did feel better. If not more prepared about raising a kid then maybe a little less alone, then I caught a glimpse of Daryl up ahead. Jesus, I was so rude to him earlier, mustering all my courage I started to walk towards him, he had his crossbow slung on his back, holding it lazily with one arm.

“Hey” I said from behind him, I kept walking up because he was still a few meters ahead. He didn’t turn, so either he was pissed or a bit deaf. I repeated myself to which made him jump a little before turning and rubbing his face“Shit you scared the fuck out of me” He grumbled. I just stared at him, frozen. Shit, why can’t I talk.

He looked me up and down. C’mon Nina talk dammit. “Uhh I” This is not happening to me. I looked down at my feet. For the love of the Archangel Gabriel this is ridicules. “I wanted to apologize for earlier” I stated, finally looking back up at him, straightening my shoulders. “I was really rude,and it was uncalled for” Daryl seemed taken aback, he looked at me hard, which made his forehead scrunch up and show off his lines that come from years of frowning. “’s okay, don’ worry abou’ it” He began to turn and I left out a huff. “No it’s not, I wanna make it up to you” He glanced back and nodded, before walking off. Okay, not a complete disaster. He did leave half way through but, at least he said it was okay? Still I felt bad, maybe I could help him with his bike, or bring him back something from a run. After all he brought me chlothes for the kid.

I started walking back to the house, humming to the baby as he began to fall asleep in my arms.

Maybe I have him figured out, I think he’s just quiet, and a tad awkward. I liked him anyways, he seemed more like a protector then a aggressor. I walked into the house to see Carol sitting in the kitchen. “Hey, I’ll be down to help with dinner in a sec, I’m just gonna put him down” I called out to her walking up the stairs. Did I just see little boy next to her, holding a cookie? I stopped and backtracked, peedking my head into the kitchen. Oh, I was right, “Hi there” I said to him, making eyecontact with Carol making a confused face but keeping my smile. “I thought I’d help Sam make a few cookies” She smiled, it was good, pretty believable, but I know a lie when I see one. I nodded, like I belived her and started walking back up the stairs. “Well I be down in a few”

I put the baby on my bed where he slept, putting pillows around him so he wouldn’t roll off the bed. I kept having nightmares that he was gone or eaten, so having him right next to me was faster to check on him or so I could just a hand out to calm my nerves. I sat next to him and brushed my hand across his hair, my chest tightened with a mixture of fear and love for this tiny child. I know I should pick a name, I just can’t will myself to. I feel like if I name him he’ll be more real, and easier to loose. Maybe I could get him baptized, then he’ll really have a name, if not to me then to God.

We were raised Catholic, so the Baptism was really big for us, then he’ll have two names actually. I chuckled remembering my brother wondering how he was going to baptize the baby when it was born, joking he could try do it in Mountain Dew if worse comes to worse. Maybe I’ll ask Gabriel, as long as he’s dipped in water and a blessing said I don’t really care. I layed out a blanker and wrapped him in it tightley, if I knew anything I knew he liked to be snug. I looked at him one last time before walking downstairs to help Carol.

I handed the kid to Carl after thanking him, giving him a smile “I owe you one kid” I said to him, he looked at me before shuffling his feet “When you get back” he started, I looked confused before he spoke quietly “Could I ask for some advice ?” He cleard his throat “Some girl advice” I stared at him shocked, before bursted out laughing. Oh my god this kid is gonna be the death of me “Sorry sorry” I said catching my breath “Yeah of course little dude” he rolled his head back “Jesus Nina stop laughing” he should have known that would have just made me laugh more.

“Okay” I breathed “Okay sorry” He had gone bright red, and dropped his head low, I felt bad, but it also gave me a bit of a kick “why didn’t you ask your dad?” I just about managed to get out. Carl rolled his guys “he wouldn’t get it, and I don’t think he’s flirted since ‘87” I nodded “Yeah okay, just didn’t expect a kid like you needing advice from an old crow like me” I giggled again, and put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll talk when I get back from this practice run” His shoulders relaxed a little “Thanks, and please don't tell anyone about this” I turned and seeing how desperate he looked, I tapped my nose, signalling that I wouldn’t say anything. But my laughter was short-lived as I was brought to a standstill by Daryl Dixon sitting on his bike. He looked at me with such a intensity it made my stomach flip, before shaking his head and revving his engine.

odd.

Part one Part two Part three Part five Part seven Part eight Part nine

Part ten Part eleven

Authors note: Any feedback would be apricated, if ye feel the story is going to slow or want more of anything just let me know x

#daryl dixon #daryl #daryl dixon fanfiction #Daryl Dixon fic #Daryl Dixon fanfic #the walking dead #the walking dead daryl #the walking dead fic #the walking dead fanfic #the walking dead fanfiction #daryl Dixon imagine #twd #twd fanfic #Daryl Dixon x ofc #Daryl Dixon c oc #daryl x ofc #daryl x oc

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thoughtslikeaminefield · 5 years

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Stuff & Thangs That Are Awesome... And Not Awesome

Summary: @stunudo asked: Dean has been arrested twice for indecent exposure... Once was in a grocery store. Then @tumbler-tidbits asked: Jensen or Dean x Reader, small public place, He pins you to the wall, covers your mouth and fucks you.

Words: 1260

Warnings: TWD crossover, language, wall sex, Rick Grimes eye-fucking, Shane Walsh having a pissing contest with SPN season 1-ish Dean Winchester

Characters: Dean Winchester x unnamed female character, Shane Walsh, Rick Grimes, Bobby Singer, Lori Grimes

Author’s Notes: No one asked for a crossover, but that’s what you’re getting 🤷🏻‍♀️

You know what’s awesome? Epically impromptu sex with an incredibly hot and willing participant in a semi-public location - while she’s “on break.”

I’m talking 15-minute break from stocking shelves, skirt bunched around my wrists, panties twisted around my fingers, barely getting the condom on kinda impromptu.

Like she’s coming hard within 90-seconds of insertion epic, ok?

But, uhh, you know what’s not awesome? Not getting your dick put away fast enough for the cops who were called by the store manager when he thought said incredibly hot and willing participant was not so willing.

At least she vouched for me. She lost her job over it, though.

But now here I am, sitting in King County jail in Nowheresville, Georgia, getting lectured by this super fucking intense deputy, who, oh, my God, dude, lay off the steroids.

“You think you just come down here and wave that pretty face ‘round town and you ain’t gonna answer to nothin’?”

He’s practically spitting. It’s disgusting and mildly entertaining.

“You think I’m pretty?”

What can I say? I like to push buttons.

And then, just as he’s about to really fucking lose it, Good Cop inserts himself.

“Shane,” Good Cop, wraps a hand around Intense Cop’s shoulder. “Lemme chat with ‘im a bit.”

This’ll be good.

This guy - Good Cop - he’s the nice guy, right? He’s the one that I’d bet tonight’s pool winnings (because I will be out of here before nightfall) everyone in this station, Hell, everyone in this town thinks wouldn’t hurt a fly.

But I see it before he can even say a word to me -- before he even asks a question. This is the guy you don’t back into a corner.

“Y’getcher phone call?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I answer, and he nods.

“Getcha anythin’ to drink - water? Coffee?”

“Nah, I’m good,” I answer, holding onto that dark spot in his eyes as it flickers. “Maybe a Xanax for your buddy over there, though.”

Intense Cop gets all bunched up again. “Rick, I swear…” He’s legit spitting mad at me. It’s kinda hilarious.

Before anything more can happen - and frankly, I’m getting bored anyway - Bobby walks in all lawyerly, spouts off legalese about having nothing on me and unduly holding and questioning me, blabbity blah.

Good Cop uncuffs me and kind of apologizes? It’s weird. He also won’t stop looking me directly in the eye, which isn’t weird - I started that.

“Good day, gentleman,” Bobby says as we walk out the double doors and into the setting sun.

“Dammit, Dean,” Bobby grumbles. “Think ya can keep it in your pants ‘til we get back to your hotel at least?” He walks ahead.

Before I climb into the passenger seat of Bobby’s car, I turn to look one last time to see Good Cop watching my every move.

~~~~~~~

The store is loud as usual, people chattering, carts clanging; I can even hear my manager shouting in the stock room from where we’re hidden in the little alcove of the hallway to the bathrooms. Pretty soon I can’t hear anything but blood rushing in my ears, though, because this guy’s got me pressed tight between his bulk and the wall, his rough, warm hands cupping my ass under my jean skirt, encouraging me to wrap my legs around him.

He is so fucking hot, walking sex, oozing it. The banter itself was foreplay. He wanted shaving cream – that’s all. I have no idea why that is so sexy, but I had to take my break right fucking now. My mama always warned me that I’d be hornier than usual when I ovulate, but I’ve never noticed it until now.

His mouth is lush and soft and all-consuming. I’ve never come untouched, but, damn if there isn’t a first time for everything. His thick, calloused fingers twist my panties, his knuckles brush me where I’m soaking wet.

“I’m gonna come,” I whisper in his ear.

He chuckles. “Wait for me, sweetheart,” he answers, brushing lips over the tight heated skin of my throat. “I wanna feel it.”

“Oh, God,” I whine, grinding against him. “You are so hot. I need your cock. Now.”

He chuckles some more and as quick as a jackrabbit – and agile, too – he finds a condom while balancing me, holding me in place.

Damn, he smells good, too, like gunpowder and leather and sex. I bet he has a lot of sex. He isn’t fazed by any of this; he’s prepared with a condom and, judging by the way he’s moving me around with ease and foresight, he’s definitely fucked someone against a wall before.

“Please,” I whine some more.

I really could come any second. I am that fucking turned on by my own body chemistry mixed with this guy’s swagger and his voice and his fucking hair and thighs and beautiful fucking eyes. And, fuck, his ass is amazing. I wish we had time because I’d love to see him naked. I bet he’s just a brick wall of-

“Oh, fuck!” I shout, and he immediately covers my mouth with his hand. But, holy shit, he’s thick and hard and feels so fucking solid, inching his way inside me.

“Shh-shh-shh,” he breathes. It’s part laughter and part panic as his eyes dart up and down the hall and toward the backroom door.

My ears are ringing and I’m babbling wet against his palm. He gets all the way in me then drags back out slow before pushing back inside hard. Thank Baby Jesus for that big hand of his, otherwise, we’d definitely have an audience.

My legs are quivering around his hips and threaten to drop, so he loops his thick arms under my knees, keeping me steady, and then he starts hammering into me.

The sensation is like nothing I’ve ever felt. I’m so open and free, taking this big cock so hard – over and over. I can hear and smell myself. I’ve never been fucked like this in my life.

In literal seconds, I’m coming so hard I see spots and I’m biting the meaty heel of his palm. I’m open so wide and taking him good when another, smaller ripple comes behind the big one.

Then I feel him stutter and still, throb inside me. He releases my mouth to kiss it as he slows. He’s still kissing me when my manager busts out of the stock room with two uniformed deputies. Before The Best Sex Of My Life can even get his pants fastened, he’s being cuffed, and I’m being fired.

~~~~~

“It was totally fucking worth it,” I tell my best friend Lori. “I can find another job, but, holy shit that guy was hot and he delivered – big time.”

Lori giggles. “Yeah, well, I heard Shane really went after him,” her voice sours. “But then his lawyer showed up and got ‘im outta there.”

“Well, I’m glad he got out of it,” I say. “Did Rick say anything else?”

“Not much, just that the guy was… interesting.”

“Hmm.” That does not surprise me. “Well, I sure thought he was interesting!”

We both laugh until Lori changes the subject to wedding planning.

That night, I drift off to sleep with my hand buried in my PJ bottoms, fingering myself to the interesting guy, who fucked me better in five minutes than anybody else ever has in the six whole years I’ve been having sex.

If you like what you’ve read, please let me know and/or buy me a coffee!

#dean winchester fic #dean winchester x reader #spn x twd crossover

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ofxwordsxandxletters · 4 years

Text

Better Man

Series: The Walking Dead

Disclaimer: I own the plot, pairing, and Jaime and the rest is borrowed in this work of fan-made fiction off of which no money is made.

Pairing: Merle Dixon/Jaime Anderson (OMC)

Rating: PG-ish

It’s clear how much things have changed but to Merle it’s worth it for everything he’s gained...

Author’s Note: From this list is #18. “You give me a reason to be better, to do better.” I just have so many feels for this pairing so you get some new stuff for them. Set in a UA of Season Three where they’re in the jail and Merle is still alive. Takes place in my “Finding Ones Self at the End of the World” Universe.

It’s pretty much fluff with suggestive elements for the sake of those things. Enjoy.

*~*~*~*~*

Better Man

“You want a drink? We got whiskey in.”

The question is almost normal; something that came after a run to unwind and relax, to enjoy the sense of accomplishment that came with having the items with which to survive another few days in the hellscape that was their lives. And lord knew that Merle Dixon was never one to turn down alcohol. It seemed one of the most usual sights; him with a bottle in his good hand when nothing was going on. “Nah,” comes the surprising and never heard of words, “Got somethin' else ta do tonight.”

“You...what?” The disbelief isn't surprising considering everything and it still amuses him somewhat as does his own choice in this matter.

“I got somethin' else,” he repeats, “Ain't yer ears workin' properly? I know we got q-tips on one of the runs.”

“Yeah but...you never turn down alcohol. Especially Whiskey. Did you get bit?”

Merle snorts and shakes his head. “Definitely not. Jus' not in th' mood fer it. That's all. Ain't the end of the world and I ain't goin' sober. Just ain't the top thin' in my life.”

“Isn't...” There is a long pause before a laugh would escape and would come, “Merle Dixon, is that your way of admitting that you like a certain member of our group more'n alcohol?”

Merle groans audibly before huffing. “Don't ya start. Darylina is bad enough 'bout this. Jus' 'cause...”

“You are settling down,” comes the interruption, “You, Merle Dixon, are settling down.”

His jaw clenches and he feels his fingers beginning to do the same because he was still no closer to liking to be teased, even by Daryl, over his feelings. However, he tells himself that starting a fight over something so ridiculous wasn't going to get him where he wanted to be any faster so he gives a terse, “Whatever,” before stalking out of the room ignoring the laughing remark called at his back. Probably for the best because shoving the attached blade into the smug asshole's face a few times was beginning to get very, very tempting.

Settling down...

The words follow him and his steps still the closer he gets to the room he stayed in, the room he shared. And he starts to think that perhaps it wasn't so off the mark. He'd certainly calmed somewhat; some edges definitely rounded over the passed few months. He presses his hand against the stone wall considering the situation as it was. He'd gotten less antagonistic and riled in the past few months. Stopped insulting everyone around him. Didn't get into as many fights with Rick as usual. Actually tried to help out. So maybe the changes were because he was spending more of his energy on other things. On someone else. But was that such a bad thing? He doubted the other meant any harm by his teasing words; everyone seemed to do that these days. Merle just wasn't used to it. People didn't normally tease him like that. Or like him.

But Jaime did. And it was Jaime who he was letting himself change over. The auburn haired male had brought so much to his life and he wanted to deserve the other. His lips curve upwards at the edges and he shakes his head with a quiet laugh. Honestly, he should not be so surprised that everyone was startled. Jaime Anderson was probably the last person he'd have ever saw himself ending up with. And here they were. Stopping at the doorway, he peers in and knows his gaze softens at the sight of his partner laying on the bed with a book. He is quiet just watching the other turn a page and then another enjoying the way he was focused on whatever he was immersed in. He's lost count of said pages when he watches the other slowly look up before blinking and then sitting up. “Merle!”

“'Lo, Darlin',” he greets, “Miss me?”

It's not long before Jaime has the page marked and has crossed to throw his arms around him. “Run go okay?”

Returning the hug and letting his head rest atop his a moment just breathing in the familiar scent of the other, he finally murmurs, “Yeah, went fine. Boys are happy there's booze.”

“You could have stayed for that...”

“Nah, not my speed,” he answers immediately as he pulls the other closer, “'Sides, drinkin' was a substitute for havin' nothin' else ta do. And that ain't true anymore. Not fer me anyway. Though I think I mighta given 'em a heart-attack turnin' it down. So don't be surprised if Darylina has more jokes.”

“Daryl means well. He always has.”

“'S why he gets to do it without me honestly threatenin' to slit his throat.”

“Merle,” he groans softly before shaking his head and leaning to press a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, “You are incorrigible but I love you.”

“Well, I am certainly pleased that ya do,” he murmurs, “More pleased that ya put up wit' my antics. Ain't been easy.”

“And?” comes the immediate counter, “Nothing worth having comes easy and you are not as awful as you've presented yourself to be. Most of it's just ignorance and a lot of it is self-defense. And the rest, the rest I can handle.”

“Yer very good at that...at handlin' me as it were.”

Jaime snorts before leaning to nuzzle his jaw. “Don't be lewd.”

“Ah, but I thought ya liked that side of me.”

It earns a familiar fond laugh before would come, “Suppose I can be kind and give that one to you. As a treat.”

He laughs in response. “A treat, hmm? I can think of a few others that I might prefer better...”

“Merle!”

A grin spreads as he draws him closer to kiss properly before murmuring, “That's my name so don't ya forget it, darlin'.”

#Fanfic: The Walking Dead #Merle Dixon x OMC #Merle Dixon #TWD

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smutinlove · 1 year

Text

You were my light (Part 3)

Carl Grimes x Reader

Warnings: Angst, reader says bad bad shit to carl, depressing stuff, mentions of killing (let me know what I missed)

☽ Author's note☾ Oh, God. This one is really messed up. And I think y'all will see why. There's also a few Taylor Swift references cause why the hell not? Anyway. Back to the messed up shit. SO. Uh, don't hate me but the messed up shit is yk really messed up. Oh god. I'm scared. DO NOT STEAL, COPY, OR TRANSLATE MY WORK.

Thank you for reading! Reblogs, likes, and comments are very much appreciated!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4

Part 5

≿━━༺❀༻━━≾

Summary - The daughter of the now dead Negan Smith is walking in the woods. She thought she was alone. But she wasn't.

❝ I didn't have it in myself to go with grace 'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake? Cursing my name, wishing I stayed Look at how my tears ricochet ❞

≿━━༺❀༻━━≾

And then they "detained" you for being violent. So, no. Your plan to kill Carl Grimes did not end well.

And, for everyone's safety, they moved you into a white room, far away from the Alexandrians, but still in Alexandria.

The bed was white, the floor was white, the chair was white, the table was white, the door was white—I think you understand what I mean.

Slowly, you were going insane. White, white, white.

You felt like you were going to have another panic attack. Which was not good.

Maybe you were dreaming. Maybe you were imagining it all. Carl, Rick, the saviors, your dad, Alexandria—all of it was just a dream. But it wasn't.

And you knew that.

The truth sucks, doesn't it?

"Knock, knock. It's me, sweetheart." The door opened, and you saw your least favorite person, Carl fucking Grimes, holding a plate of food.

It was dinner already, huh? Time flies when you're fucking stupid enough to get captured by the 'enemy.'

"Can you stop calling me... that?"

He laughed. "No, I don't think I will. And I like making you all mad and pissed off, sweetheart."

He placed the plate of food on the table and sat down on your bed. "Fuck, this is so comfy! I might just sleep here," he joked.

"Can you stop?"

"Can you loosen up a little? I'm messin' with ya, babe." It was sickening. 'Babe.' What is this? 2010? It might as well be.

"Just leave," you muttered. "Oh, but where's the fun in that, huh?" He got up from your bed.

He walked over to you. "My, you are so beautiful, darling," he complimented. Carl planted a kiss on your cheek. "You like that, don't you? You like my touch. You secretly adore me, baby. I just know it!"

Don't give in. Or... maybe. No!

You slapped him. "What the fuck!" You heard.

He was taken aback. "You fucking bitch! You slapped me!"

You rolled your eyes. "Oh, wait, I did? Oh, Carl! I am so sorry. Do you want me to do it again?" You snickered. That motherless son of a bitch deserved it. He had been horrible to you. He fed you dog food!

"You deserve it. I hate you! You think you're so fucking cool. But you're not, Carl. Go... kill yourself or... whatever."

Without another word, Carl quietly left. And then you realized what you'd said. "Oh, my God."

You did not mean that. Sure, you wanted to kill Carl. You hated him. But telling him to kill himself was messed up. "Fuck, fuck..." You whispered as a tear slipped down your cheek.

"I'm—" You couldn't even form a proper sentence. "God, what have I done?"

≿━━༺❀༻━━≾

"Carl!" Rick called out. "Carl!"

"Get back here!" Rick shouted. Carl finally stopped and turned around. "What?"

Rick looked at him in surprise. "Carl, are you—you're not. Son..." He brought Carl into a hug, and he sobbed into his father's shoulder.

"Dad..." He cried out. "I know, son. I know."

≿━━༺❀༻━━≾

Carl never came back. It was always Rick, Daryl, or a woman named Rosita. Sometimes, you'd just glare at the plate of food they'd bring you.

It was better than dog food, but you missed Carl, his stupid jokes, his gorgeous face, and his taunting smile, but you would never admit that. Never.

"You hurt him a lot, Y/N," You heard a woman say. It wasn't the Hispanic woman, and it sure as hell wasn't Rick or Daryl. You had seen her before, during the war. But you never heard her speak, and you barely saw her.

The woman in front of you had a sweet smile on her face. "What?" You finally said.

"Carl. You hurt him a lot. I don't know what happened between you too, but that was a horrible thing to say, you know?" She explained.

You scoffed, but it was true—it was horrible. What you said was cruel and stupid. "What? Are you his mom or something?" You laughed.

"Don't," she warned. "I'm gonna bring you to him. And I want you to apologize for whatever you said, okay?" The woman said sweetly.

"No."

"It wasn't a question. You will apologize to Carl. But first, eat," she ordered. The woman stared at you. She was waiting for you to pick up the spoon and eat.

And you did just that.

You finished eating. "Happy?"

The woman chuckled. "Very."

≿━━༺❀༻━━≾

She let you out of the room, and it felt great to finally leave. You looked up at the blue sky. You missed this life. Alexandria felt like a dream. It was so magical. It was like the old world, but it also wasn't. It was different.

The people here were scarred and broken, but they hid those scars with happy smiles and went on with their day like everything was normal. That no one died.

Pathetic.

The house with the yellow door. You were dying to see how this would end.

You stared at the door. "Knock," she ordered. You sighed and knocked on the door. "I'm Carol, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Carol." You smiled.

She left, leaving you standing on the porch of the house with a yellow door. The door opened. "Hey—what?" Cold.

Torture. Love. Warn.

"I'm—" You put on a brave face and stared into Carl's eyes, well, eye. "I'm sorry, Carl. I was horrible, and what I said was not acceptable, and—"

"I've heard enough."

"Carl, I am sorry. I—"

"I know. Go," he demanded.

≿━━༺❀༻━━≾

Some of the Alexandrians, one of whom was Rick, were starting to lose hope in you. But Carol vouched for you. She begged Rick to let you stay.

Now, you could walk freely in the streets of Alexandria. A part of you wanted to run away. Alexandria was weird. People pretending to be okay.

You pretended to be okay.

Look. Dream. See.

Thing. Crash. Look. Style. Walk.

Dreamt. Crashed. Watched. Stunned. Walked.

Okay...

Fine.

Free.

The safety of Alexandria was something you wouldn't take for granted. But after being out there for so long, you just wanted to run. Run away from everything.

Carl avoided you. But it seemed like there was another reason why he was avoiding you. But hell, you couldn't just march up to him and ask, "Hey, why are you avoiding me?" You could not do that. You would not.

Sweet smile. So right. Arms. December night.

...

Part 4?

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txladyj-blog · 5 years

Text

Chapter 2 - This Time Around

a Daryl Dixon x OFC collaboration written by @xmistressmistrustx

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character

Tags: Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Awkwardness, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Crush, Fluff and Humor, Angst and Humor, Mild Smut, Strong Language, Eventual Sex, Eventual Romance, Slow Burn, Canon Divergence, Some Canon Scenes and Dialogue

Chapters 15/?

Shane tossed Daryl a pair of gloves and pointed to the back of the pickup, laden with logs and pieces of wood he’d gathered to make a shelter over the food preparation area. Daryl, more than Merle, tended to be a little more inclined to help around camp as opposed to only lending a hand if it benefited him directly. However, Daryl’s relationship with both Shane and Rick was strained at best. They were cops and both Dixons’ had always hated cops. But Daryl was smart and had already realized that if he was going to get by in this camp, or if he and Merle were going to get any closer to their end goal, he would have to play ball and make nice with the law enforcement.

Shane hopped up onto the truck and bent his legs, hooking his hands under a heavy log on the top of the pile. Sweat glittered on his forehead as he centered himself and lifted. The end of the log tilted towards Daryl and he took hold of it, bearing the weight and slowly easing it down towards him.

“Saw you sat with Jess up on the RV last night. You guys buddies now?” Shane asked through gritted teeth, the veins in his neck bulging as he continued to lift the wood.

“Just invited her damn self up there.” Daryl rasped. The log hit the ground with a thunk and Daryl rolled it to one side, coming back to the truck and sliding the smaller pieces of wood from the top. Shane climbed back down and began doing the same.

“Somethin’ about her. Always the quiet ones you gotta watch.” He pointed out.

Daryl's back pricked with irritation. Typical cops, always finding something where there was nothing. His impression of Jess had been that she was a bookish nerd who was as socially awkward and outcast as him. His judgement of character hadn’t let him down in the past and when he looked at the groups newest addition, he saw nothing untoward or untrustworthy in the least.

“They teach ya that in the academy?” He quipped.

Shane huffed at him and paused his task, resting one gloved hand on the remaining pile of wood.

“Maybe I should be watching you too.” He suggested.

“Ya ain’t already? You a rookie or somethin’?” Daryl challenged.

Shane steppes closer to him, lowering his head and voice as he spoke to avoid anyone nearby overhearing.

“Why are you and your brother here? I know your kind. You two can survive just fine on your own. It doesn’t make sense.”

Daryl's jaw tightened and his chest puffed as he fought to control the urge to punch Shane in the face. Who did he think he was? The world was over, there’s no more laws and cops had no authority, yet there this guy was, still trying to make his life difficult.

“Safety in numbers.” He managed to shrug noncommittally.

Shane’s gaze was locked on Daryl's casual and nonchalant face as if trying to catch him in a lie. But Daryl stood strong and gave nothing away.

“You better not be lying to me” warned Shane.

“What ya gonna do about it? You can’t prove nothin’.” Daryl sneered, his face twisting into a mocking smile.

“You do anything to put these people in danger and I’ll make you disappear.” Shame continued to scold, stepping closer and prodding Daryl in the chest with his gloved index finger.

“Looks like we all above the law now, huh?” Daryl smirked. “Ain’t so bright, are ya? Pissin’ off the person that provides the camp with food. You don’t back off, I’ll make sure ya starve.”

Shane looked down his nose at the angry Redneck in front of him before curling his lip and turning his attention back to the task in hand.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

From the top of the RV. Dale laughed to himself and sighed, placing a hand on his head and securing his hat. Jess pressed her lips into a line and gave him an awkward look as he shook his head. From what she could tell Dale was in his 60’s with a weathered face and a white beard. He was logical and wise, full of opinions at the wrong moment, unafraid to offer ideas and seeing all of the commotion that presented itself among a group of individuals that didn’t really know one another, all living together in close proximity. Dale took up the majority of watch shifts, being the owner of the Winnebago meant he wanted to be the one sat on top most of the time.

Jess found that on the odd occasion she had climbed the ladder and settled next to him, he had shared his musings with her at best, but required little in the way of a response from her, which suited her just fine. Able to exist next to each other in peace, she realized she’d found the place where she felt most at ease. A high vantage point where she could see everything and everyone approach. No surprises and a sense of control were what she found most helpful from being so high above the rest of the group. Maybe Dale felt the same in some way, or even Daryl when he sat there of a night. She couldn’t be sure, but there was a possibility she’d find out, if she made the effort to do so.

“There’s a little too much testosterone going on around here. We need to be careful we don’t lose sight of why we’re all here and why we need each other.” Dale expressed to an intrigued Jess. Her face was still displaying a look of uneasy amusement at the exchange between Daryl and Shane.

“It doesn’t look like those two would get along anyway.” She pointed out.

“No, aside from the fact that Daryl and Merle have probably had a few brushes with the law in their time. He and Shane are both hot headed. No doubt they’ll clash again at some point and we’ll just stay up here, out of the way.” He nodded as if confirming his plan to himself and rubbing at his beard.

You got that right. Jess thought.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Merle shoved Daryl forwards over the dry, cracked ground. The younger brother whirled around; his face stony with vexation as he pulled the shoulder of his vest back into place. It was a common occurrence when the two of them were hunting. Merle would become impatient and annoyed with Daryl's methodical and careful approach to tracking. He walked at a slower pace, took longer to think and was generally a better hunter because of it.

Daryl carried on through the woods, picking his way over fallen trees and branches across his path while remembering his confrontation with Shane earlier in the day.

“Shane’s onto us.” He told Merle who grumbled something inaudible from behind him and lit a cigarette. The click of his lighter rang through the trees and Daryl realized there and then that he wasn’t going to catch anything with Merles careless attitude that afternoon.

“I said, we gonna have to do this thing. We’re off like a herd of turtles right now.” Merle repeated after getting no response.

Daryl stopped in his tracks and turned, dropping his crossbow to his side. Merle, exhaling a plume of smoke, raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“We really gotta do this?” Daryl asked.

“Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Maybe we should just stay here. It’s safe enough.”

“You pussyin’ out, little brother?” Merle challenged.

Daryl sighed loudly and glanced at his surroundings in the woods. He’d always felt at home there, even as a child when he’d amble in and out of the trees, a place that was much preferred to his own home at the time. He couldn’t say the idea of staying and hunting every day sounded like a bad one. Going off with Merle again would mean more confrontations, more fights and trying to make Merle see past his own nose. Life had undoubtedly been easier since their arrival at the camp and he couldn’t find a reason why they should throw that away.

“Naw, just think it makes more sense to stay instead of makin’ a ton of enemies.” He offered.

Merle’s body language changed instantly, becoming defensive and confrontational. He squared his shoulders and stepped closer to Daryl, looking down at him.

“Right. ‘Cause you ain’t been doin’ that, have ya? I saw ya, flarin’ up Shane’s temper.”

Daryl instinctively switched to argumentative mode and opted not to let his big brother win this one. Nearly all of his decisions had been a detriment to both of them and he wasn’t about to let him get away with thinking he had it all under control, when the truth was far from that.

“At least I ain’t been brawlin’ with black guys in the middle of camp.” Daryl snapped.

“Ahh he’s slicker’n owl shit.” Merle chuckled to himself. “Was just a little right hook”

“You wanted to do this! This was your dumb idea!” Daryl began to yell with now little to no regard about the potential food he was scaring away or the Walkers he could attract. His hand flew up in exasperation and he pointed with intent to Merle’s head. “You said we had to keep a low profile, but you don’t even know what that means!” He stalked off, quietly seething before turning back to Merle who was taking a long, slow drag of his smoke. “We got what we need here. I’m stayin’ a while and I ain’t robbin’ these people.”

With that, he stomped away with a half hope of resuming tracking at some point.

“What about me?” Merle called out.

“Do what ya want!” Daryl raged without even looking back.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Finding herself more comfortable sitting on watch over the sleeping camp, darkness wrapped around her like a comfort blanket and a soundless watchman by her side, Jess figured she was likely to be spending many more nights on her perch next to Daryl. She quickly gathered that he really didn’t sleep and if he did it wasn’t for long and rarely when everyone else was in their blissful slumbers. How a person functioned on so little rest was a mystery to Jess, but then again so were a lot of other things about the archer of the group.

Most of her time in his presence was spent desperately trying not to ask half a million questions, her curiosity only becoming stronger with each moment spent around him. Maybe it was the now clear difference between him and his brother, maybe it was their matching reluctance to get too involved with anyone or maybe it was something else, but Jess felt more relaxed and social with Daryl than anyone else in the group.

Her fingertips flitted over the cover of her journal, the subtly mottled surface bumping under her skin as she counted the stars above them. Leaned back in her chair, her hands finally rested over the leather object on her lap.

“How old are you?” she asked, internally scolding herself for not being able to hold back the question. From the corner of her eye, she saw him slowly turn his head to her.

“Why ya wanna know that?” He responded bluntly.

“Curious.” She shrugged. “I’m 26.”

“Good for you. 26 trips around the sun.” He snapped back.

Feeling a little put out by the baffled look on his face and his dismissal of her interest with a shake of his head, she began to nervously drum her fingers on her journal.

Daryl tried his best to ignore the noise but soon found himself unable to concentrate on anything else. Feeling a slight sting of embarrassment for coldly throwing her attempt at conversation back in her face, he tried to think up a less offensive thing to say.

Jess shifted in her spot and took a sip of water from a crumpled bottle she kept by her chair leg. She knew he was watching her when he thought she wouldn’t catch him.

“Older than you” she heard him mutter when he looked back out at the crowded camp.

She studied the side of his face as numbers raced through her mind and she tried to guess how much older Merle was than him. She also wondered what he was doing with his life before everything went bad. Sensing her looking at him, he side glanced over at her.

“You wanna see some I.D officer?” He questioned.

The tuneful melody of her giggle was surprising to him. He fought against it, hiding a smile until it occurred to him that she was laughing because she found him funny. It was a new and interesting experience, having anyone think him humorous, let alone a female.

Reaching down to pick up her bottle of water, she offered it out to him.

“You want some water?”

He waved it off, rarely accepting anything from anyone else. Sometimes it was guilt, sometimes it was selflessness and sometimes it was him being plan pig-headed.

Jess withdrew the bottle, putting it back in its place and started to tap her sneaker against the edge of the RV in a nervous drumming until Daryl looked over at her in irritation. She immediately stopped.

“Sorry.” She mumbled.

What followed next was one of the longest half an hours in Daryl’s life, Jess read her graphic novel while intermittently lifting her gaze to him. In an attempt to ignore her, he found the motivation to unsheathe his knife and carve some bolts from the small pile of wood he’d brought up with him.

Whispering and chuckling in the distance meant that both Daryl and Jess squinted into the distant dark in time to see Sarah and Jodie emerge on a late night walk around the camp. Jess was sure they only did it to taunt her and make her feel uneasy, or was she being arrogant enough to assume it was for her benefit when it wasn’t? They made everything questionable, drew in paranoia and riddled Jess with an anxiety she really could have done without.

The two girls were talking amongst themselves when they saw Daryl and Jess sat together on the Winnebago. When he sat back in his seat, Daryl noticed Jess’s body language change straight away, becoming still and wary. His eyes moved between her troubled expression and their disdainful glimpses back at her.

“The blonde one is fuckin’ my brother.” He mentioned.

As if he’d flicked a switch, she completely changed. Her eyes widened and a satisfied smile swept across her face.

“What was that?!” she exclaimed.

“Shh. Keep ya damn voice down” He scolded, unable to stifle a smirk

She cleared her throat and leaned towards him, encouraging him to elaborate.

“That is some serious gossip, Daryl.” She whispered.

“Yeah. Caught ‘em at it in the woods. Merle said it’s been goin’ on since we got here.” He explained.

She couldn’t help it, a laugh escaped her and she clamped a hand over her mouth. Being completely unaware just how humorous she would find the situation and in turn how funny he would find it once it had been said out loud; he hung his head and released a chuckle of his own.

“You got more than you bargained for when you were hunting that day.” She snorted as her body juddered with giggles.

“That shit can’t be unseen.” He confirmed with a nod.

“Well, thank you for that golden piece of information.” She offered.

“I know ya ain’t gonna sing.”

“What?”

“Ya ain’t gonna tell nobody.”

“Oh, right. No. Of course not.”

The atmosphere between them had vastly improved and Jess clicked on her torch and opened her journal. Sometimes, she thought of her mind like a sponge, absorbent of information but it was like it sometimes got overloaded and would become weighed down. Memories were important to her and her journal had become a roadmap of all the important events in her life, people she’d met along the way and of the small things that she knew not to take for granted. Small things like sitting on a roof and laughing together with Daryl.

‘I’m sitting with Daryl right now, he’s just given me the best piece of gossip and I even got a smile and a laugh out of…’

The ink from the pen faded before running out completely and she frantically scribbled on the page, furrowing her brow before throwing the pen in her bag and growling under her breath.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

With the ability to write now taken away from her, the morning light saw Jess meandering along the outskirts of the camp alone. Her hands were shoved in her jeans and her shoulder length, black hair was braided at the back. A lot of the group had left early for a supply run, resulting in there being a tense feeling around the camp.

Taking herself away from it with her own thoughts had seemed like the best idea at the time and before long, she was so consumed by the sound of the leaves fluttering in the trees that she had reached the makeshift border in the woods. Rope with tin cans hung from it to create as much noise as possible should anything collide with it or try to pass through. The path seemed clear and she couldn’t hear any evidence of threats.

Not too far. She told herself.

It was a hot day and she wished she’d brought water with her before she embarked on her little trip. She shrugged to herself and swung a leg over the rope, taking extra care to hold onto the cans so as not to alert any of the others. When she was clear of the border, she continued to amble through the trees, dragging her sneakers on the ground and humming a tune to herself.

In a split second she plummeted to the floor, her hands hitting the mud and her shoulder stinging with pain. Her toes throbbed and she quickly scrambled to her feet to discover that she’d tripped over a Walker. It was immobile and sported a small, bloody hole on its forehead. She swallowed hard. It was the first time she’d seen one so close without being chased. The dead man on the ground looked to have been turned quite some time ago due to it’s sallow and gaunt face, the normal color of it’s skin now gone forever and replaced by a grey hue.

She listened to the others in the group more than she spoke to them, which meant she was a gatherer of information. She had once heard Rick telling Glenn to make sure he checked the pockets of as many Walkers as he could after putting them down. The likelihood of them carrying useful items too good to pass up in such desperate times. Standing over the monstrous sight of what once was someone’s brother or husband, she concluded it wasn’t such a bad idea.

She crouched beside the body, having to shield her nose from the unbelievable smell with the back of her wrist. Her free hand hovered over the clothing and she moved with trepidation, having to tell herself it wasn’t going to come alive and bite her.

Something barreling out of the bushes in front of her sent panic spiking through her veins and she jumped back, her ass colliding with the dirt.

Daryl, coated in sweat and with brown smears all over his exposed arms, swung his crossbow at his side and rolled his eyes at Jess sat on the floor of the woods and trying to catch her breath.

“Jesus.” She panted “you scared the shit out of me.”

“The hell you doin this far out? You got a death wish or somethin’?! Here” he offered her his hand and for a brief moment she toyed with the idea of completely refusing, afraid to embarrass herself when he felt the weight of her. Instead, she trusted him and took hold of his hand. The first thing she noticed when he effortlessly helped her get back on her feet, was his strength and how tight his grip was. With minimal effort from herself, she was soon brushing her clothes down and giving him an awkward look.

“I was just walking; thought it’d be okay if I didn’t go that far. Was going to search his pockets but…” She stopped talking, not wanting to disclose the fact that she was actually quite petrified of the dead man at their feet.

“But what?” he asked.

She blinked at him.

He knows I’m terrified anyway. Who am I trying to kid, here?

“…I kept thinking it was just going to shoot up and bite me.” She admitted.

He huffed and kicked at the Walker with his boot, stirring up the smell and making it even more putrid. Jess hoped that one day she would get used to it, if she survived that long.

“Naw. S’dead. I shot it earlier.” He told her.

She nodded and backed up away from the odor, unable to take anymore of it’s sting in his nostrils. doesn’t know what else to say.

“You all the way out here with no weapon?” He wanted to know.

She passed the weapons table on her way out of the camp but arming herself hadn’t crossed her mind. She was simply embarking on an early morning walk and at the time had no plans to leave the compound. That was until curiosity got the better of her.

“Yes. I am.” She sighed.

Daryl gave her a lingering look of disapproval before bending down and rummaging in the dead man’s pockets, pulling out a silver hip flask that still had some weight in it.

“Bingo.” He unscrewed the cap and sniffed it, screwing his face up in disgust “God damn. That’s strong shit.” He threw it to her, catching her off guard but she still caught it, albeit at a strange angle in the crook of her elbow and with a twisted expression on her face. She held it out to him.

“Finders keepers.” She smiled.

“Naw.” He declined, waving her off. “Can’t let Merle see that shit.”

“Why?”

“He’s a mean drunk. You keep it.”

She turned the hip flask over in her hand, examining the initials engraved on the front before shoving it in the back pocket of her jeans.

Daryl swung his crossbow over his shoulder and started towards her, twigs crackled under his boots and she followed him with her eyes as she walked past.

“C’mon, I’ll walk ya back to camp.�� He muttered.

“I’m fine” She quickly stated, noting him stop and huff. “I can go by myself. Really. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“Ya think ya got a choice? I’m walkin’ ya back. Can’t have ya out here without a weapon. Now, c’mon.”

It was a point she couldn’t argue with; she was out in the open, past the safety of camp with nothing but a hip flask to defend herself with. Admittedly, her morning plan was probably one of the dumbest she’d had in a while. She raced off after Daryl, noticing he’d slowed down to let her catch up.

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After a day of unexpectedly being dragged into digging over a patch of ground with the intention to plant crops, Jess wished they had the use of a mechanical digger instead of shovels and bucket loads of sweat. Nevertheless, she had mucked in and done her part, which is more than she could say for the likes of Sarah and Jodie, who sat filing their nails and screeching with laughter for the majority of the day.

When evening rolled in the supply run team hadn’t returned, the mood around the campfire was somber and Jess wanted to be there even less than usual. She sat in the entrance of her tent, with her legs sprawled out in front of her and her book on her lap. Reading by the light of her torch, she looked up when she heard footsteps passing by some distance away. Daryl was heading to the RV after a full day of hunting and playing chaperone to an inquisitive yet thoughtless Jess. She flashed him a wide smile and he nudged his head up in acknowledgement to her before climbing the ladder to the RV and switching watch shifts with Dale.

She got to her feet and followed him, ignoring his mildly irritated look when she reached the top of the ladder. Taking up her usual seat, she fished around in her pocket and pulled out a candy bar. Snapping it in half in the packet, she opened the foil and offered it to him.

“Naw.” He refused after taking a small peek at it and resuming his watch over the two people that sat beside the fire.

“Take it. I bet it’s been a while since you’ve had candy. Think of it as a thank you for walking me back to camp.”

He dropped his gaze, leaning forwards and bracing his elbows on his knees. Jess was convinced she wasn’t going to get an answer until he turned his head and stared at her.

“What are you doin?” He rasped.

“Sharing my candy with you. I have it on good authority that this is the last one around here.” She chirped, shoving away the suspicious nature of his question.

His eyes moved from her rounded and bright face to the candy bar in her grasp. He wanted to take it. She was right, the taste of confectionary was something he’d not indulged in for as far back as he could now remember. He took his half of the candy and messily chomps down on it while Jess happily chewed her own half.

“How did you end up here? At this camp?” She enquired with a new sense of confidence that seemed to come from nowhere.

I will never know unless I ask.

Daryl's back prickled and he blinked down at his boots. Jess waited in ignorant bliss while he tried to figure out a way to avoid the question. Coming up with nothing, he resigned himself to the fact that he would have to provide her with an answer..

“Was just makin’ our way through the woods” He grumbled, tossing the candy wrapper over his shoulder.

“And you just decided to stay?” She continued.

It was so far removed from the real reason they’d ended up at the camp, but Daryl wasn’t about to confess that they had designs on robbing as much as they could and setting off into the night. It was all about waiting for the right moment, biding their time and making sure there were minimal people around at the time to stop them. It meant Rick and Shane were both absent, which wasn’t a regular occurrence. When one was out, the other usually stayed behind to keep an eye on the camp. But it wasn’t impossible and patience was a virtue in such a situation. Daryl and Merle has always been together, two outcasts that had managed to survive on their own before the world went awry and as a result, they still believed that any more than two was a crowd. But Daryl had his reservations and was beginning to wonder why they would ever make the decision to move away from what was a rare situation of stability that had given them the chance to take a breather and utilize the fact that the sheer number of people around them would help to keep them safer

“Safety in numbers.” Daryl eventually replied.

“You seem like you can handle yourself, even if you were on your own.” She expressed.

It was a compliment he hadn’t been expecting and one that made his pride swell, as much as he tried to ignore it.

“Maybe.” He grunted.

“At least you wouldn’t starve.” She pointed out with a smile as she hinted at his much-admired hunting skills. “Take it you’re from Georgia?”

He studied her face and she knew he was trying to figure her out. She was apparently as much of a mystery to him as he was to her. She couldn’t tell if he was about to snap at her, answer her question or ignore her entirely. So, she waited patiently for the few seconds it took for him to reply.

“You ask a lot of questions for a shy girl.” He commented.

OK, I wasn’t expecting that.

“I’m not shy per se. I’m introverted. There’s a difference.” She explained.

“Whatever.” He grumbled, picking at a hole in his jeans. She quietened and tried to force away the urge to ask what she wanted to know again. Obviously irritated by her curious nature, she didn’t want to push him so much that he asked her to leave or lost his temper. She waited in silence, spotting him take a peek at her for a moment. “Didn’t live far from here. In the mountains.” He eventually admitted.

“So that’s why you’re such a good hunter.” She smiled. His face softened slightly as he looked at her, finding her need for information both baffling and fascinating. He had never seen her probe anyone else like this before and was well aware that it was only him that she seemed to want to chat with. Which was strange, considering Daryl didn’t see himself as a conversationalist at all.

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Despite her tendency to keep herself to herself, bury her head in her journal and books and stay away from any drama, Jess was always polite around everyone and spoke when she was spoken to. However, she was still somewhat withdrawn. What she wasn’t expecting from talking to Daryl, was how they seemed to have struck an unsaid balance. He was curt in his replies and obviously not well versed in the art of politeness whenever she engaged him in conversation, but Jess was strangely comfortable in his presence and after almost ten days, Daryl was sure he was the only one who could see the appealingly funny and smart side to her. Unsettled only by her rambling episodes, during which he worried that she’d somehow run out of oxygen before her brain ran out of words to say, he noticed she had eventually ventured out of her shell with him and shocked him with her propensity for banter and light, playful mockery. Each afternoon became a routine, she would bring the food and he would offer his usual stunted answers to all of her questions as they used the tree line or the top of the RV as a solace away from the energy draining dynamics of the rest of the group. On the odd occasion, Daryl found that sometimes she wouldn’t speak at all, simply being content to eat in silence, read or scribble in her journal, trying to get her pen to work next to him for upwards of an hour before she would retire to her tent.

Her every move was still ridiculed by Sarah and Jodie, neither one of them seemingly less heartless and selfish than the other. It was something Jess could never understand, the need to make another person feel terrible just to feed one’s own ego. She sensed part of their hatred for her came from a fear of the unknown or something they didn’t understand about her.

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Daryl busied himself checking his crossbow before heading out into the woods for the day on what had become his day job; keeping everyone fed. Sat by the extinguished campfire, he listened to the others quietly milling around and discussing the tasks that needed completing for the day. Everything from laundry, cooking, building more shelter and reinforcing the borders in the woods. The supply run group had finally returned in the small hours and were catching some rest, which meant that Daryl had some peace and quiet before he left.

He didn’t even look up when Jess sat next to him and passed him a bowl of berries.

“Eat. If you pass out in the woods and turn into a Walker we’ll all have to rely on Merle for food and that’ll be bad. Very bad.” She shoved the bowl closer to him, giving him little choice to refuse.

“Hm. He don’t bring back as much.”

“It’s not that. More that none of us want to rely on Merle for anything.” She remarked. “He would just love that.”

He looked sideways at her and mirrored her smirk, thinking her statement to be both true and understandable. He took the bowl from her hand and threw handfuls of berries into his mouth, chewing noisily and following Shane with his eyes as he passed, glaring down at him sat next to Jess. He slowed his chewing until Shane was out of sight, and Jess opted not to mention the volatility between them . She noted his leather vest with angel wings sewn onto the back that were now greying and boasting more dirt than the woodland ground.

“If you let me wash that vest, maybe the deer won’t smell you a mile away.” Jess joked in an attempt to keep the mood light hearted.

“No one touches the vest.” He grumbled as he wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist.

“Right. The magic vest. Holds your powers. It’s where you keep all your energy for your angry glaring.” Her nonchalant tone made her mockery of him all the more effective and he finished up the last berries in the bowl and handed it back to her.

“Ain't ya got some superhero shirts to wash?” He asked.

Jess laughed quietly to herself at his ability to seem both entirely disinterested in her, yet still able to dish out ridicule as well as taking it.

“Make fun all you want. My shirts are vintage. Some are collectibles.” She wagged a finger at him which only earned her a confused expression from before he placed a boot in the stirrup of his crossbow, slid a bolt into the flight groove and pulled the drawstring back, readying the weapon for hunting. Jess averted her eyes.

Too many muscles. Too many shiny muscles.

“Ain't much good in the apocalypse.” He pointed out.

Struggling not to become overwhelmed with bashfulness and desperately trying to ignore the butterflies he seemed to provoke in her stomach, she got to her feet.

“They’ll be good enough quality to strangle you with when I can’t stand the smell from that vest any longer.” She shot back with a wide grin.

Daryl squinted up at her stood with her back to the sun. Chewing on his bottom lip, he partially closed one eye and managed to catch her peering down at him.

“Thanks for the food.” He said, possibly in the most sincere way she had ever heard him say anything before.

“Sure thing, Stinky.”

She turned and started back to the food preparation area, keeping his focus until she disappeared from view and he hauled himself up from his seat and set off into the woods.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

After a morning helping Carol out with the laundry and avoiding Sarah And Jodie like the plague, Jess found herself resting in the sun on a rock and using her backpack full of books and comics as a pillow. She closed her eyes and listened to the pleasant and relaxing lapping of the small waves on the shore of the quarry. She didn’t like to dwell too much on what once was, finding it all too depressing when her heart longed to see her family again. Her pushy, demanding family that drove her crazy but who she still loved without question.

She also avoided re-living too many memories of her friends. Nights spent gaming and eating four different types of pizza with four of her close friends. Meet ups in the local Diner. Months of meticulous designing and creating of cosplays for comic cons. All gone. All of them. She was the only one left.

She was grateful for the saving grace of getting changed out of her renaissance dress before she left the fair. Running through the woods for her life wearing such a huge dress would have no doubt got her caught up in a bush somewhere and snacked on by a fellow renaissance fair fan. Either that, or weighed down by all the fabric and having to strip, mid run. She shivered at the thought. Somehow, turning up at the camp partially dressed was a much more chilling prospect than being eaten by another human being.

Someone sat next to her and stirred her from her almost slumber. She opened one eye to find Carl perched on the rock beside her. She sat up and drew her legs in, crossing them and getting comfortable again.

“Hey Carl.” She yawned.

“Hey” He mumbled sadly.

Jess had gotten to know both Sophia and Carl quite well since being at the camp. All in all, she found them a lot less taxing to talk to than the adults. Things were simpler with the innocence of youth and she enjoyed taking part in conversations about TV shows they liked and playing ball games with them down at the quarry in the late evenings before she would eat, return to her tent to read and then join Daryl on top of the RV.

“Something wrong?” She enquired.

Carl scratched at the side of his face under his father’s huge sheriffs’ hat that had quickly changed ownership and become his.

“I heard mom and dad talking.” As he spoke, he drew patterns on the rock between them with a pebble he’d picked up from the ground. White shapes of spirals and stars. Jess watched his absent-minded artwork come to life on the surface. “They say more of those things are turning up at the fences.”

“Yeah, I think there are. You’re safe though. Your mom and dad won’t let anything bad happen to you.” She assured him.

He slowly looked up at her face, his freckled nose and clear skin glowing in the sun.

“Do you get scared?” he whispered.

Jess’s heart ached. She could only hope that there were other pockets of survivors around the world that housed and protected children from the horrors of what lay outside their groups. But the reality of it was that a lot of very young lives had been lost and those that were left were now even more precious than ever.

“Yeah. I get scared. But I think we’re going to be OK. We’re fighting them. Like Superheroes.” She told him. “There is a superhero in all of us, we just need the courage to put on the cape. Do you know who said that?”

Carl grinned at her, a wide, genuine smile that filled her with a sense of achievement.

“Superman.” He replied.

“That’s right. Superman. He wouldn’t back down from this. So, neither are we. Right?”

“Right” Carl nodded. “What Superhero do you think would be able to make all this go away?”

Jess took a deep breath. It was a good question and a very debatable one. The kind of question she’d spend hours discussing on the floor of a comic con over some corn dogs and a slurpee. The kid was speaking to her soul with this one.

“Hmm…” She hummed, catching sight of Rick at the top of the quarry, his hand at his forehead and shielding his eyes from the sun. Once he saw Carl sat with her, he turned and wandered back to the camp. “How about Vision? His powers practically make him immortal and he can heal himself. He could rid us of a lot of Walkers and Ultron created him, he’s an android instead of human so he can’t be turned.”

Carl thought for a moment, resuming his drawing on the rock between them. The scraping noise was a lot less irritating than jess would have thought. In fact, it was soothing and a nice distraction.

“True. He’s pretty awesome. Maybe a Hulk would be handy.” Carl mused.

“Noooo. Too noisy. Huge bull in a very fragile china shop. Plus, he’s big and green part of the time but he’s still human.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

She lifted her vision again to the sky and clouds above them, she didn’t know how much she had needed this pointless and casual conversation with a kid that just wanted to be told by someone other than his parents that everything would be OK.

“Dr. Strange.” She eventually said. “He could just go back in time and stop whatever caused this.”

Carl nodded and paused his drawing, throwing the pebble between both of his hands as he contemplated her suggestion.

“Yeah, that’s a good one. Dr. Strange could solve this.”

“He sure could. But until he shows up, we’re on our own and I think we’re going to be OK ``she beamed at him. She didn’t believe it herself but felt she was convincing enough to him and that was all that mattered. She took the pebble from Carl's hand, shuffled over to create some space and began to draw her own image on the rock. A circle with four curved lines inside it. The Symbol of Dr. Strange.

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‘I think maybe we all need a little something to hold onto sometimes. When we're scared or uncertain of the future or if we'll even survive long enough to see the world rot or flourish again. I sat with Carl today and did my best to reassure and distract him from his own fear. What I didn't realize is how strong my own is. I'm terrified. I don't want to die. But I'm not sure if I'm right for this world the way it is now. Daryl, he seems to just get on with things, like nothing is all that different to before for him. But for me...I'm sure I should be dead ten times over. I still have this strong sense to just figure all this out on my own. Maybe Jodie and Sarah are right in the things I hear them say about me. Maybe I'm just a drain on the resources here. An extra, bigger mouth to feed. Not that they're any better. I should get some sleep, my head gets too noisy when I'm tired and I can't see Daryl on the RV tonight. Looks like I'll have to drown out my own thoughts this time. I wish I had a damn pen so I could write all of this down instead of just laying here, thinking it.‘

NEXT CHAPTER

#daryl dixon #daryl x oc #daryl fanfiction #twd fanfiction #twd #the walking dead daryl #the walking dead fanfiction

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fangirl-inthe-us · 5 years

Text

Querencia Pt. 3

Not my gif

Summary: Pregnant and alone, you stumble upon a man in the middle of a quarry. You save him from a walker. It all happens fast, but you are in labor and the man you just saved claims to know someone who can help. Will you accept his help or turn the other way?

Querencia - (n.) A place where one’s strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self.

Author’s Note: So this is just a filler chapter really. I mean, there are some big things in the beginning but for the most part, it’s just me trying to bring some sort of connection between characters. Anyway, enjoy!

Warnings: Swearing, violence, blood, my grammar.

Word Count: 5k

Series parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

I sat there in shock. What in the world was he talking about? There can’t be walkers in the barn! If the group had been here for as long as they’ve said, then someone would’ve heard them by now. How are we just now noticing this?

Scanning the everybody else’s face, I saw that they all had wide eyes. Rick and Shane had deep frown implanted on their face. Everyone’s bodies were tense. Rick, Shane, and Daryl slowly stood up but Shane was the first one to move.

He was walking toward the barn in an eerily calm way. I expected the man to shout or show some sort of anger. There was no such thing. He just held that deep frown and had his eyes set on the barn.

Once Shane was up, Rick and Daryl followed suit. This made everyone follow suit. Carl was tightly holding on to Lori’s hand. The poor kid must be terrified. Yet, when I looked at him, he was acting fine. Lori was the one who wasn’t fine. Carl wasn’t the one who was holding on tightly, it was Lori.

I held Edmund close to me once we reached the barn. The doors were shut and there wasn’t much sound coming from the old place. Eyeing the barn door, I saw that it was wrapped in chains and a wooden bar kept the door in place. Though, the chains were rusty and old looking. Hey, at least they were trying to keep the dead contained.

Shane moved closer to the barn and peered in. Suddenly, he turned around and walked toward Rick. “You cannot tell me that you’re all right with this.” Shane’s arm ran into Rick’s as he wandered behind him.

“No, I’m not, but we’re guests here. This isn’t our land.” Rick struggled to reason with his partner.

“Oh god! This is our lives, man!” Shane had a fire in his eyes.

I watched the door as this all happened. It seemed to be fine, but Shane was getting fired up. Who knows how loud this is going to get.

“Lower your voice!” Glenn whispered yelled. HIs eyes were focused on the door as well.

“We can’t just sweep this under the rug.” I moved my eyes to Andrea. I hadn’t really talked to her yet. From the few things I’ve put together, I really didn’t want to.

“It ain’t right. Not remotely.” T-Dog agreed with Andrea.

“Okay, we’ve either gotta go in there, we’ve gotta make things right or we’ve just gotta go. Now we have been talkin’ about Fort Benning for a long time-”

“We can’t go!” Rick wasn’t liking Shane’s talk.

“Why, Rick? Why?”

“Because my daughter is still out there,” Carol spoke up and my heart twisted from the look on Carol’s face.

I moved closer to her. She must’ve felt it cause she looked back at me. I grabbed her hand and flashed her a small smile.

“Okay,” Shane started to scoff. As he scoffed, Shane rubbed his face, “Okay, I think it’s time that we all start to just consider the other possibility.”

In that instant, I wanted to beat the shit out of Shane. How could he even think that? There is a little girl out, all alone and he just wants to leave her there? Not a chance.

“Shane! we’re not leaving Sophia behind.”

“I’m close to findin’ this girl! I jus’ found her damn doll two days ago.” Daryl must have moved closer because he walked out from behind us.

Smiling, I admired the man. He’s so determined to find that girl. He finally found a lead. He knows he can find her. I only hope that Shane can see that and we go off to get her as soon as possible.

“You found her doll, Daryl. Tha’s what you did. You found a doll.”

“You don't know the hell you’re talkin’ about!” Daryl walked up to Shane and threw something near his feet. They both looked at each other. If looks could kill, Shane would’ve been killed instantly.

“I’m just sayin’ what needs to be said! Now if you get a good lead, it’s in the first forty-eight hours-”

“Shane stop!” Rick was struggling to keep Daryl and Shane from tearing into each other. I began to worry that Daryl would overpower Rick and beat Shane until he was unrecognizable.

“Let me tell you somethin’ else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you comin’ all methed out with your buck knife and your geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction, man!”

That was uncalled for. I knew it was odd, but I was there. I know she wouldn’t have run. And if she had, I would have gone after her. I looked a lot less scary. Even if I was in labor.

Abruptly, Shane was coming at Daryl. He almost overpowered Rick which then made Lori, Andrea, and Glenn to jump in and help break up the fight. I stood by Carol who looked like she was going to break any minute.

As Shane and Daryl were separated, I pulled Daryl to stand next to Carol and me. I gave him a pointed look and he just growled. Thankfully, he didn’t go anywhere. He just glared at Shane.

On the flip side of things. Shane was yelling at Lori who was pushing him farther from everyone else. Rick was in the middle with his arm spread out. He was looking at Shane probably giving Shane the look I just gave Daryl.

“Keep your hand off of me.” Shane was then pointing at Lori and walking off.

“Now just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out.”

That must’ve triggered something in Shane because he was charging towards Rick. “What are ya gonna figure out?!,” Lori pushed Shane back.

“If we’re gonna stay, then we’re gonna clear this barn! I have to talk him into it. This is his land.”

“Hershel sees those things in there as people. Sick people. His wife, his stepson.” Dale then butted in.

“You knew?”

“Yesterday I talked to Hershel.”

“And you waited for the night?” Shane was beside himself.

“I thought we could survive one more night. We did. I was waiting til this morning to say something. But Glenn wanted to be the one.”

“The man is crazy, Rick. If Hershel thinks those things are alive or- No!” Rick tried to interject, but Shane yelled over him.”

our little talk had turned into a shout fest and as we all guessed, the door to the barn started to shake. The wakers had heard all the shouting and were trying to get to us. The door began creaking and the chains began to clank. The walker’s growling was overpowering all the loud noise coming from the door and chains. That made Edmund cry.

The noise made everyone move back a few steps. I wash rocking Edmund and shooshing him in hopes that it could calm him down. I knew that it wasn’t going to help but a girl could hope. When my shooshing didn't do anything, Daryl grabbed my arm and motioned his head toward the camp.

I gave Carol’s arm a little tug and mimicked Daryl’s movements. With a nod, Carol followed Daryl and me back to the camp. I had let go of Carol's arm, but Daryl hadn’t let go of mine. It didn’t bother me. So I let him pull Eddie and I back to where we were before all this drama.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once everything had calmed down, I had taken up a conversation with Daryl and Carol. I noticed that Daryl wasn’t talking much. I know he doesn’t talk much, to begin with, but, this time, Daryl only really grunted when he was being talked to.

Before I could bring it up, Beth was calling my name from the porch. I looked back at her. Motioning me to her, She moved closer to the railing. Without question, I stood up.

I walked to Daryl’s side and held Edmund in front of him. “Will you take Lil’ Risk-Taker for me?” I added the nickname, hoping that it would sway him.

Not even with a grunt of acknowledgment, Daryl took Eddie and leaned him against his torso. I smiled at the sight. I let my hand ruffle the little hairs on Eddie’s head before I walked off.

“What’s up?” I inquired as I reached the porch.

“So, I have some bad news. Daddy wants you to move into the group’s camp.” Her lips were pressed together and she had her eyebrows knitted.

“Oh….. Um, okay. Let me go ask Carol if she’ll look after Edmund and I’ll be in to grab my stuff.” With news, I pressed my lips together and made a tiny smile.

As I walked back to Carol and Daryl, I bit my lip. I knew was going to have to share a tent with someone until I could go out and get a tent for myself. Maybe I could see if Glenn would go out with me before then. Then we could see how well we worked together. First, I have to see if Carol would momentarily take care of Edmund for me.

I reached the camp only to find Daryl with an arm wrapped around Edmund’s chest while talking with Carol. It wasn’t a whole lot but the sight was cute. Daryl had his rough and tough look while Edmund had his cute little bear onesie on. The stark contrast made a smile form on my face and my stomach do little flips.

I stopped by Daryl’s side. I stood there waiting for their conversation to finish while also trying to figure out how to explain the situation. At some point, they stopped talking and were both looking at me. That’s when I decided to speak.

“So, Beth says that Hershel wants Edmund and me to move into the camp with you guys.” There was a mix of emotions on both their faces. First, it was shock, but then Carol’s formed into one of understanding while Daryl’s was angry.

He was fuming, actually. Staring at one spot on the ground, his eyes were hard and his body was stiff. I cleared my throat. At that, Daryl looked at me.

“It ain’t right. Ya got a baby and bein’ outside the house is dangerous.” Daryl’s eyes were still hard.”

“You have to understand where he’s coming from. He has let these strangers into his land. Then he let someone we don’t even know in his house. He just wants his people to be safe and letting a stranger live in his house is compromising that.” Carol tried to reason with Daryl. It helped a little but I could still tell that he wasn’t happy about it.

“I was wondering if Eddie and I could room in the RV? I know there isn’t much space and I can sleep on the floor if you need me to. I’m thinking about going out there with Glenn sometime, but this is just in case we can’t or something comes up.”

Before Carol could speak, Daryl did. “No need. I got ya. You can stay in my tent. I can sleep outside for a night. An’ I’ll join you an’ Glenn. Ya don’t need ta worry.”

I was surprised by Daryl’s hospitality. I heard a few things from the group. Hell, Shane had even said a few things. I knew he wasn’t a hundred percent rainbows and gumdrops, but with how he was acting, he was like a different person. Maybe the group has misjudged Daryl.

“Okay, I… uh. I’ll go grab my stuff if you’re okay with lookin’ after Eddie a little longer?”

“Oh, I think he’s more than okay with it. He’s been cuddling the little guy since you gave him to him. It’s been cute to watch.” Carol had a small smirk on her face as Daryl blushed at her comment.

“‘s okay. I got ‘im.” Daryl had tilted his head to look up at me. I gave a slight nod and made my way toward the house.

Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t much to pack up. I had been on the road for a while and I didn’t ever carry more than what I thought was necessary. There might have been a few things but those were pictures and nicknacks from before. I never could to toss them.

Walking out, I struggled to carry everything. I didn’t want to burden Hershel anymore, so I figured I’d try to get everything to Daryl’s tent in one go. Yes, there wasn’t much, but it was a lot to carry with only two hands.

Suddenly there were two hands grabbing several of my things. I looked beside me to see Carl walking beside me with his arms securely holding my backpack and a few blankets. He had this cute determined look on his face.

“Thanks for the help, dude.” I bumped into his side. Looking up at me, he flashed me the brightest smile I’ve seen in a while.

“No problem. I figured you could use the help. Everyone else has a job and I was just sitting down, doing my math homework.” Then Carl’s smile morphed into a grimace.

“What? Ya don’t like math?”

“Ugh, who does?”

“My dad, actually. He used to tell me that there was always a fun way to do math. When I did my homework, he would find a way to make it fun.”

“Your dad must’ve been cool.”

“He was.” Thinking about my father brought up some emotions. I haven’t thought of my parent since the beginning. I wonder if he and my mom had made it.

Making it to the hill, I struggled to get up. The box of clothes was blocking my line of sight. Carl was nice enough to help me navigate my way up. I approached Daryl’s tent and placed everything I was holding in front of it. After I straightened myself out, I watched as Carl followed my actions.

“Alright kid. Thanks for your help, but I think your momma isn’t going to be happy if you don’t go and finish your homework. If ya need a way to make things fun, come find me. I have a few things up my sleeve.” I gave the boy a wink as he begrudgingly walked back to his homework.

~~~~~~~~~~

I had finally, relieved Daryl of Edmund. He seemed a little reluctant to let him go, but Carol told him she needed some help. Daryl was up and making his way toward the woman. The man was doing everything he could to keep Carol from worrying too much about Sophia.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Switching my line of sight, I watch as Beth, her body shaking was with sobs, stumble to a nearby tree. She slid down it and laid her head in her hands.

I frowned at the sight. My heart swelled with a need to comfort her. Before I knew it, my feet were moving in Beth’s direction. The poor girl was only seventeen and she had gone through so much. I’m surprised that Carl wasn’t going through the same thing.

As I got closer, I could hear how hard she was trying to keep her sobs quiet. Maybe there was more going on then I thought. Maggie was wrapped up in her drama with Glenn and Hershel was trying his hardest to get our group to leave his farm. No one was there to help Beth.

Back when I just had Edmund, she had talked a lot about how much she missed her mom and how she wished to go back in time to see her again. Beth was taking this situation really hard and was struggling to cope. Part of that was Hershel’s fault. He keeps feeding his children lies about the dead. Beth still thinks there’s a way to get her mom back and it’s eating her up.

I came to sit next to her. I had Eddie lay on my legs while making sure that his head was supported. “I know we don’t know each other much, but if you need anything, I’m here.”

There was a moment of silence and she had taken to staring at the ground. From the way she was unresponsive, it looked like she hadn’t heard me.

“I- I just miss her. It’s like Maggie doesn’t even care and daddy is too focused on makin’ everyone leave. No one is there for me like they’d told me they would. I feel alone.”

“Hey,” I bump her shoulder with mine. “I’m here and I can tell you that you’re definitely gonna make it through. Maggie and your dad may not know that they’re ignoring you, but at least they’re still alive. I cannot tell you what it was like wandering around without anyone to back me up. You surely can get through this with your sister and your father, if I can make it out there pregnant and alone.”

There was something in her eyes that changed. “It didn’t occur to me that you were alone out there. I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“Actin’ like this when you had it harder than me.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Everyone has their own breaking points. Yours just happened to be at this moment.” As I talked I notice Beth had stopped crying. “Ya good now? ‘Cause I know a certain boy who could use a little cheering up after some nasty math homework. Plus from what I hear you're pretty good with kids.” There was a small smirk on my face.

“Yeah, I guess I can play a few games with Carl. He’s not to hard to handle.”

“Atta girl.” We both stood up.

I picked up Edmund and held him in one arm. With the other hand, I patted Beth on her back before she walked off.

With Beth going to cheer up poor Carl, I made my way back to my stuff. I was hoping to put things away, with no drama involved. That was until I saw Carol, crying while walking to the RV. Today just had to be drama day.

I reached Carol before she climbed into the RV. “Hey, hey. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Daryl’s just angry and I happened to be in his way. He said a few nasty words.”

“What’s he so angry over? Is this about what Shane said this morning?”

“No, he was trying to go out and look for Sophia. I tried to talk him out of it because of his wound, but he just got mad and hurt himself.”

“Okay, I’ll go talk to him.”

“Are you sure? He can get unpleasant to be around when he’s angry.”

“I’ll be fine. I have a feeling that Daryl isn’t the type to hurt someone without a purpose.” With that, I patted Carol’s shoulder and walked to where I saw the man in question.

“Hey, Dixon?” I asked calmly when I reached his camp.

“What the hell ya want, woman?” Daryl was sitting on the ground, with a knife in hand. Sharpening wood for new arrows, Daryl’s knuckles had turned white and his eyes were practically glaring at the stick in his hand.

“I understand that you want to find Sophia but you also need to heal. You’re not going to be any help to her if you tear your stitches and end up bleeding out.” All I got was a grunt. “Does this have to do with what Shane said? If it is, he’s an idiot. He’s just scared.”

“‘S not tha’.”

“Then what? You’re an important member of the group. And you can’t go out and get yourself hurt even worse than what you already are. We need you. Daryl scraped off a few wood shavings. He didn't say anything for a moment.

“Why the hell ya askin’? You don’t know me! Why don’ ya jus’ go away an’ leave me the hell alone?” Daryl’s yelling made Edmund stir in my arms.

“Because I care.” Daryl snorted. “Yeah, I don’t know you, but I know you’re the kind of person who would put himself into harm's way to save a pregnant woman. Even in the zombie apocalypse.” Daryl looked like he was about to yell again, but he stopped and took a deep breath. There was a pause as he thought.

“When I was a kid I got lost in the woods. Jus’ me an’ the clothes on my back. Merle was in juvie an’ my dad was who knows where. I was out there fer nine days. I ended up gettin’ poison oak on my ass for wipin’ it with the leaves. By the time I found my way home it was dark an’ no one was there to welcome me. Nobody cared. I don’ want Sophia to out there thinkin’ no one cares. No kid needs to go through that.” He was looking directly into my eyes with hardened eyes. His mouth was set into a firm line.

My brows were drawn together and my mouth was held slightly agape. As I stared at the man in front of me, my heart twisted in pain. There was so much that he had gone through. I only know of a few instances but I had a feeling that there were more. I could just tell that the man had been through some hardships, but never anything like extreme neglect.

“Daryl-“ I began.

“I don’ need your pity. I already got tha’ from the folks in town.”

“Okay,” I don’t know what it was but there was thing lingering feeling. It made me want to engulf this man into my arms and never let him go. He was right.No one should have to go through that. “Can I hug you? I really need to hug you.”

Daryl grunted but didn’t decline. He didn’t move or give me any indication to go ahead. He just sat there.

I sat down next to him and wrapped my free arm around him. When my arm brushed against his back, Daryl flinched. I paused. When he seemed to relax, I let my arm fully wrap around him. It was awkward, but I felt like got my point through. There were people that cared for him now. Edmund was laying in my lap while I let Daryl go.

Daryl’s had a small flush to it which made me giggle on the inside. “I hope you know that you’re cared for. I, as well as Carol and Rick really care for and appreciate you. You’re not alone anymore. And we know how much you want to find Sophia, but you need to lay low. Get better and then you can help us find her. For now, Rick will try his hardest to find her.”

Daryl chewed in his thumb. “A’ight, I’ll try. no promises.”

I gave him a nod of my head. Suddenly, I was reaching toward his hand and pushing it away from his mouth. “You need to stop that. You can hurt teeth.” With an eye roll, the man focused back on his knife and stick.

“No, that we’ve established that, I think you should go and apologize to Carol. She was crying when I found her. I know you didn’t mean what you said but I think she would appreciate your apology.” I Stood up but didn’t leave. I waited for an answer from Daryl.

“I’ll apologize. Let me get a little further on this arrow I’m makin’ an’ I’ll make my way ta her.” Contempt with his answer, I picked up Edmund and walked to where I last saw Lori.

~~~~~~~~~

I found Lori sitting against a tree. She was watching Beth play tag with Carl. The two seemed to be having a good time which had put a smile on Lori’s face. I walked up and sat down next to her. She shifted to face me.

“Hey.”

“Hey. So…. I was wonderin’ if you’d look after Eddie for me? I want to go on a quick run with Glenn before night falls. I moved all my stuff next to Daryl’s but I don’t want to intrude anymore than I am.”

“Yeah. I’ll look after him.” Lori motioned for me to hand over Edmund to her.

“Thank you. I’ll try not to be long. If Glenn is as good as Rick and Shane say he is, we shouldn’t be too long.”

“He is. Take as long as you need. It’s not like I’m doing anything at the moment.” Then Lori was motioning for me to go off and find Glenn.

I walked off toward the Rv. The last time I saw him, he was on watch. I passed T-Dog who was fiddling with something in camp. I didn’t take much notice as I walked on.

When I did reach the Rv, I peered up the Rv to find Glenn still up there. I had to shield my eyes from the sun“Hey, Glenn?”

“Yeah?” He asked.

“Would you be willing to out on a run with me? I need to get a tent for Edmund and me. Maybe even a few baby things.”

“Um… Dale asked if I would keep watch.” Glenn shrugged as he spoke.

“Well, I just saw T-Dog in camp. I could go and ask him if he’d take over for ya.”

Without an answer, I walked back to camp. T-Dog was sitting in a lawn chair examining a bandage that was around his forearm. When I approached him, he moved his gaze toward me.

“Hey.”

“So, Glenn is taking watch at the moment and I need him to go on a run real quick. Just for a tent and a few baby things. Could you possibly take over for him while we go out? From what Glenn told me, Dale should be back soon to take over. Said that He asked Glenn to take over for him.”

“Well, seeing as I have nothin’ else to do. I guess I could.”

“Awesome. I’ll go tell him.” With that, I was making my way back to Glenn.

“T-Dog said he’d take over.”

“Sweet. Let me go grab a few things and then we can be on our way.” Glenn climbed down the Rv and made his way to his tent.

As Glenn did that, I decided to grab a few of my things. So, I jogged back to Daryl and I’s set up. I found my backpack leaning against the stone wall with all my other stuff. When I opened my bag, I was surprised to find the pistol that used to be Derek’s. I pulled it out only to find three bullets inside the mag. It’ll have to do.

Walking back to camp, I found that Glenn was finishing up. He had set out a few water bottles and a few baggies filled with vegetables. Eagerly, I grabbed one of each for myself. With the supplies packed away, I threw my backpack on.

Glenn was read yo go by that point. He and I clambered into one of the many vehicles waiting in front of the Greene house. Sitting in the passenger seat, I watched as things passed by the car.

There were a few words passed between us, but for the most part, the two of us were silent. I think part of it had to do with the situation we found ourselves in. In one of our short conversations, we talk about what we thought about it.

“I don’t know what to think or to do. One part of me wants to leave it be. Maggie was mad about me telling everyone about the barn. How would she react if we took matters into our own hands? Yet, I’m worried about everyone else. We have Carl and now Edmund. If those walkers broke out, then we’d be toast. Especially, if it were to be in the middle of the night.”

“I understand. I’d feel the same way if I was in your shoes. All I know is that we need the farm because it’s safe, but it won't be if we leave the walkers in there. I have a feeling that Shane is going to do something about it.”

“And why do you say that?”

“Just the way he reacted this morning. It did get out of hand but he was calm about it. Hasn’t he been fighting Rick for control of the group? The only reason I say that is he’s been questioning everything Rick does. The only time that I saw then agree on things was when we went to the rage.”

“Yeah, it’s been pretty bad since Rick showed up at Atlanta.”

“Right, ‘cause he wasn’t with Lori at the beginning.”

“Shane said before the outbreak, Rick had gotten shot. He supposedly was in some sort of a coma. Shane was with Rick when it all broke out. Said that Rick had died.”

“Damn. So, what? He grabbed Lori and Carl and got the hell out of dodge?”

“Pretty much.” Glenn chuckled. “I was in the middle of Atlanta when it hit. I was on my way to delivering a pizza when the police started direction us out of the city. That’s when I ran into T-Dog.”

“Then what? Did you find Shane or did you just happen to stumble into their camp?”

“We ran into Shane. He figured we were going to hurt anyone and he took us the camp.”

“Huh, must’ve happened really fast.”

“Yeah. What about you?”

“Um… well, I wasn’t pregnant.” Glenn chuckled. “I was with my boyfriend at the time. We had met in college. When shit hit the fan, both of us were in my dorm.” There was a pause I reflected on how quickly it went down, “I didn’t find out I was expecting until two weeks after the breakout. About a month later, Derek was bitten and I was on my own.”

“so you were alone for most of your pregnancy?”

“Yeah, it was scary but I made it work.” I was going to ask how he didn’t know these things, but I remembered that I only told the group who went to the shooting range.

That was the end of the conversation and we were swallowed by silence again. it wasn’t bad. Being out, alone and pregnant, made the silence more bearable. Though it was nice to talk to someone again.

Tags (Let me know if you want added!): @jodiereedus22, @sourwolf-sterek32, @divineangelix, @nohemi2500, @jaycc7983

#Querencia #Querencia Pt. 3 #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl x reader #twd daryl #twd fanfiction #TWD series #twd fic #twd #daryl dixion imagine

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thewalkingdeadimaginings · 5 years

Text

No Regrets Part 15

Will today be the day we meet Mia and Daryl’s baby?! <3 😊

It’s been a minute since I posted ANYTHING. Hi, human trashcan here! How are ya? My blog should be renamed THE HUMAN TRASHCAN hahaha! Anyways, I hope to get back into my requests soon. I just missed No Regrets and my other stories (and the other story idea brewing in my brain that I am trying to resist writing until I get through at least SOME of my one shot requests haha) and my birthday was March 4 and I call this AUTHOR’S CHOICE. So, thanks for your patience! I love you all 😊

It had been nearly twenty-four hours since Mia went into labor. Several hours had passed since her water broke and not even the warm bath had soothed her pain. Maggie helped Mia dry off and got her dressed, having to stop every minute to help her through another contraction. Once Mia was dressed, Maggie had brought her back into the bedroom where Rick could be more help. He’d spent the last few hours rubbing her back, bringing her water, everything Daryl would’ve done.

“I don’t think I can take this,” Mia panted.

“Alright, we can’t wait anymore,” Rick said, “We’ve gotta get you to the infirmary, Mia.”

Mia nodded, “You’re right. You’re totally right. Let’s go.”

She pushed through every contraction as Rick and Maggie led her out of the house. This was a pain she’d forgotten all about until now. She’d been through this before but considering her son had died, she wasn’t feeling too confident, which created more stress, which created more pain for her. It felt like the infirmary was at the complete opposite end of Alexandria with how long it took to get there. It was like the closer she got to it, the farther back it went.

“This…is so much worse than when I was in labor with my son,” Mia groaned, “I think this one might be trying to kill me.”

“Well, it is Daryl’s child,” Rick teased, “I’m just surprised it’s not kicking its way out.”

“Very funny,” Mia muttered. Denise was startled as the three of them burst into the infirmary but she was quick on her feet, bringing Mia to one of the bedrooms so she could have her privacy. Mia was thrilled to be off her feet and she had a moment of relief from the pain, “I just hope Daryl is alright, wherever he is.”

“You’re in all this pain and you’re hoping Daryl is okay,” Maggie chuckled. She sat beside Mia’s bed and pushed her hair off her forehead, “You’re one of a kind, Mia. I’m sure he’s doing just fine. Trust me, he’s made it through much, much worse. One of our people accidentally shot him once back in Georgia, at my dad’s farm. And that was after he got knocked over my dad’s horse and got an arrow in his side. He’s been through so many things that should’ve killed him. He’s bulletproof.”

“I hope so,” Mia murmured, “What if something happened to him out there though? I mean, I don’t even have a picture of him.”

“Hey, you just worry about having this baby, okay?” Maggie said, “Don’t get all worked up.”

“You’ll stay with me, won’t you?” Mia said.

Maggie smiled and nodded, “Of course I will.”

The contractions only got worse from there. Mia spent the rest of the night in agony, the contractions causing her to vomit at one point. But every time, she was told that she wasn’t ready to start pushing yet. And the more she heard that, the more frustrated she became. By morning, she was crying angry tears. “Why won’t this thing come out?!” Mia exclaimed. She was sitting at the edge of the bed as Rick stood in front of her, a tight grip on her hands. He let her squeeze his hands as much as she needed to despite how uncomfortable it was making him, “It’s been…god…forty-eight hours, right? Two days! Two days I’ve been at this!”

“You’re doing great, Mia,” Rick said, “Won’t be long now. Maybe your baby knows Daryl isn’t back yet and it won’t come out without him there.” Mia groaned, squeezing Rick’s hands once more, “Oh god I don’t even care anymore. I just need this to be over. Last time, I had an epidural. I didn’t even know it could get this intense. Thank you for trying to humor me though.”

“Anything I can do to help,” Rick said, “I’m really sorry, Mia. I shouldn’t have let Daryl go.”

Mia laughed, “Don’t be. I realize that I haven’t known him as long as you have but I’ve known him long enough to know that he would’ve left anyway even if we held him down or locked him up. He wants this place to be safe just as much as anyone else. He wanted this place safe for us.”

“Yeah,” Rick sighed. It was another hour of intense labor, Rick holding Mia’s hands while Maggie tried massaging Mia’s back. None of it was really easing Mia’s pain but the thought was nice. Rick certainly had more important things to do but he stayed by her side. If Daryl couldn’t be here, then Rick was second best.

Mia pressed her lips together, lowering her head, “Oh god…I feel like…I feel like I need to push.”

“I’ll go get Denise,” Maggie said, rushing out of the room. As she walked out, Aaron poked his head in.

“What is it, Aaron?” Rick asked.

“I’m sorry to interrupt but we need you, Rick,” Aaron said.

“Can’t it wait?” Rick said, helping Mia lie down on her back, “Mia’s ready to deliver. I don’t wanna leave.”

“Rick,” Mia said, releasing her tight grip on Rick’s hand, “Just go. Handle the problem, whatever that is. I’ll be fine, okay? I’ve got Maggie, it’s gonna be just fine.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Rick said. He rushed off with Aaron, passing by Denise and Maggie on their way out. Maggie frowned, “Where’s Rick going?”

“He’s needed somewhere I guess,” Mia replied, taking a deep breath, “But I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, Mia, your body knows what to do,” Denise said, “So when you feel the need to bear down, do it. Okay? Are you comfortable?”

“Not particularly,” Mia said, “But it’s the labor. I’m comfortable on my back for now.”

“Perfect,” Denise said. She put some gloves on and sat at the foot of Mia’s bed, opening up Mia’s legs, “Whenever you’re ready, Mia.”

“This better be important, Aaron,” Rick grumbled, “Mia’s already having to go through this without Daryl.”

“That’s the thing,” Aaron said. He led Rick up to the top of the gates, pointing to the massive truck parked a few feet away, “See that? It’s Sasha and Abraham and Daryl. They’re back but we have to get this horde out of the way to get them through the gates.”

The horde surrounding their walls hadn’t thinned out even a little bit, “Maybe we could lead them towards another part of the wall, clear the gates that way. Just enough for them to get through.”

“Hey!” Daryl called out. He’d attracted the attention of a few walkers but a majority were still focused on Rick, Aaron, and the others that were on watch, “Everyone okay in there? What about Mia?”

“She’s fine!” Rick shouted back, “We gotta get you in here fast though! She’s having the baby!”

“Right now?!” Daryl’s voice became slightly frantic. He dropped to his knees so he could look through the passenger side window. He and Abraham spoke amongst themselves and then Abraham slid a rocket launcher out the window. “What are you doing?!” Rick exclaimed.

“Handling this right now!” Daryl yelled back. He turned to one of the abandoned cars, one farthest away from the trees and he fired. The car burst into flames and exploded. The massive horde quickly turned to follow the flames, Rick and Aaron being able to easily pick off the rest that didn’t fall for it, “Hurry and open the gate!”

Daryl scrambled to get back into the truck as Abraham started it back up. Eugene and Rosita were standing at the gates and they quickly slid it open. Abraham sped through the gates and they quickly shut up the gates before the walkers could notice. The walkers did quickly notice and the horde made their way back to the wall just as Eugene locked up the gates.

“Holy shit,” Rick said, rushing to meet Daryl at the truck, “Daryl! She’s at the infirmary! Go!”

Pushing actually eased the discomfort of contractions and her body was actually doing a lot of pushing on its own. Denise and Maggie’s encouragement was definitely helping but after two days of labor and no sleep, she was so tired, she was lucky her body was doing most of the work.

“Come on, you gotta keep going,” Maggie said, “You’re doing so great, Mia. You’re almost there.”

“I miss the days of epidurals,” Mia murmured. Mia pushed again, letting out a small grunt.

“I’m seeing something here,” Denise said, “Just keep doing what you’re doing, Mia.”

Footsteps rapidly approached the door, though Mia didn’t think much of it as she figured it was Rick coming back from whatever Aaron asked of him. The door burst open and a very sweaty and bloody Daryl stood there, his blue eyes wide and his body tensed up, “Mia?!”

Mia gasped, “Daryl! Daryl, you’re here! What happened out there?!”

“We’ll focus on that later,” Daryl panted. He rushed to Mia’s side and grabbed her hand, his free hand rested on her round belly, “Let’s focus on having this baby for right now. I can’t believe I almost missed this.”

Mia felt another urge and she started to push again. She started to feel a burning sensation between her legs and she let out a cry. Denise patted Mia’s leg, “I know it hurts but don’t stop. The baby is starting to crown. Mia, give me your hand.”

Denise took Mia’s hand and Mia’s jaw dropped when she felt a head of hair on her fingertips. Denise beamed, “There’s your baby’s head. Daryl, you wanna see?”

Daryl leaned to the side to get a look and Mia was expecting him to freak out or express disgust but he simply turned to Mia with a warm smile, “You’re almost there, Mia.”

The burning only got worse and Mia squeezed her eyes shut as she pushed again. At that point, she was blocking out everyone’s voices, even Daryl’s. She just wanted her baby out and in her arms. With a loud groan, she pushed one last time and the pressure released. She opened her eyes as silence filled the room. Her heart pounded against her chest. Denise hadn’t looked up yet and Mia started to tremble. Had history repeated itself? Was she totally unable to have a healthy baby?

Finally, she was given the wonderful sounds of a crying baby. Denise finally looked up and lifted the tiny baby for her to see. Mia instantly burst into tears as Denise laid the bloody baby down on her chest. The baby cried until it was laid on Mia’s chest and it calmed down, though it still squirmed.

“I can’t believe it,” Mia breathed heavily, “You’re here, you’re here, you’re here.” Daryl leaned over Mia to get a look at the baby and he stroked the baby’s head gently with his thumb, “I’m so glad I didn’t miss this. I’m sorry I was late.”

“You were here for the most important part,” Mia said, “And you’ll be here for the rest of our lives. That’s all that matters. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Mia lifted her head and kissed Daryl’s lips tenderly, “I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you,” Daryl mumbled against her lips.

“Here, I’ll clean up the baby for you,” Maggie said. After Daryl cut the umbilical cord, Maggie carried the baby off to clean it up.

“Congratulations you guys,” Denise said, “You’re parents to a beautiful and healthy baby girl.”

HI GUYS! Okay, so, I know the middle part rushed a little bit but I wanted to skip the whole tower comes down and walkers get in because it would just prolong the process and I….I got just a LITTLE lazy. BUT I think it worked out because the baby girl is finally here! Leave your ideas for names in the comments!! 😊 THANKS FOR READING

#The Walking Dead #TWD #TWD fanfiction #The Walking Dead fanfiction #TWD Imagines #Daryl Dixon #Daryl Dixon fanfiction #Daryl Dixon Imagines

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comradesummers · 5 years

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16, 27 and 39 for the bookish asks :)

Hi anon, thanks for asking!

16: If you could bring three books to a deserted island which would you bring and why?

1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

I read that book six months ago and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. It is just so fucking good, it’s honestly hard to describe just how much it means to me. Like, I could tell you how great the plot is, and how great the characters are (especially Sammy, I love him so much), and how beautifully overwrought the language is (Chabon’s overwritten style is exactly the kind of shameless pretentiousness that I am here for), or how much I love the theme of escape and the emphasis on the value of so-called “low-brow” media, or how much Joe’s story reminds me of my grandfather’s, or how wonderful it is to read a story written by a Jew about Jews who created an entire art form basically so that they could make money off their revenge fantasies towards Nazis, which is actually a pretty accurate description of the early comic book years, and like, I could go on. But honestly, even all that doesn’t really capture the emotional journey Chabon took me on, and if I were stranded on a desert island, I’d want to have a book that made me feel that thoroughly.

Plus, it’s like, really long, so it should entertain me for a while.

2. The Complete Works of Virginia Woolf

(Yes, I realize that doing ‘the complete works of’ is cheating, but I’m doing it anyway).

I’ll be honest, I keep meaning to read a book by her, and other books keep getting in the way, and I feel like a desert island might be the perfect place to finally catch up. Plus, I did read A Room of One’s Own for school once, and that was really good. So I feel like I know what I’m getting into, and I’m fairly certain I’ll enjoy it.

3. Orientalism

I think I just need to reread that one. Like obviously there are more modern, up to date takes on post-colonialism, but there are very few books that have had quite the impact on the world of academia. And obviously it’s not perfect, but it’s also one of those academic texts that need to be studied regardless of how old it is. I mean, it’s the book that basically created post-colonial theory, which is an indescribably huge accomplishment, obviously. But it’s more than that. It’s an emotional book, like it’s righteously angry. And that’s so fucking important, because Said has every right to be angry. I mean, what he’s writing about is infuriating, and it affects him directly. So I think part of what makes that book so important, makes it a work of literature in addition to a work of academia, is that he doesn’t even try to do the smug academic detachment thing.

Plus, I think that as an Israeli person, it’s my responsibility to educate myself on the works of Palestinians about colonialism and how it affects them, and what better place to do it than on a desert island.

27: If you could change one thing about mainstream literature what would you change? (i.e. more diversity, better writing, better plot etc.)

I mean, more diversity, better writing, better plot - it all sounds good to me.

But I guess if I had to pick something else, I wish that some of the authors of mainstream adult literature would stop writing like they’re too cynical for human emotions. I’m not really sure how else to describe it, but there’s a genre of literature that’s kind of obsessed with not caring about how characters feel, and it makes for a very unpleasant read. I mean, I have nothing against generally ambivalent third person narration, but I feel like you can do that without sacrificing the human element, or a reader’s connection with a character, and some authors sacrifice that on purpose. I get the whole Brechtian detachment thing, but sometimes it’s just not fun. And I feel like it’s one of the main factors that leads adults to retreat to YA, because it’s a genre that guarantees that authors don’t think they’re too good for feelings.

39: Name one of your favorite childhood books

Not naming just one, because I can’t choose.

First and foremost, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I was absolutely obsessed with that series. I read each book so many times I lost count. I also read the sequel series and the Kane Chronicles (which no one remembers, although that might be a good thing considering Sadie ends up with a like a weird magical combination of her two love interests, one of whom is a literal immortal god, and she’s like 12. I mean, wtf Rick?). Unfortunately I grew out of Riordan’s stuff right around the time it became really super gay, so I never got into Magnus Chase and the like.

Additionally, A Wrinkle in Time was one of the first books I remember reading and thinking, “Wow, this is actually challenging me and the way I see the world.” And when I was younger the work of Michael Ende and Erich Kästner were often featured during bedtime (Jews really like Germans who hate Nazis).

#the amazing adventures of kavalier & clay #kavalier and clay #virginia woolf #a room of one's own #edward said #orientalism #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #rick riordan #the kane chronicles #a wrinkle in time #michael ende #erich kästner #michael chabon

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thebestoftimes · 6 years

Text

50 QUESTION BOOK TAG FOR WORLD BOOK DAY

By me, Jess. I made this for world book day but then got depressed and didn’t post it on time lmao but here ya go kids be warned though it’s a long one. Also the numbers thing got fucked up and I couldn’t fix it. I got a lot of these questions from other tags I’ve seen and google so if something sounds familiar... that’s why.

Who or what sparked your love of literature?

Aw my parents fueled my book habit when I was a kid and took me to the bookstore all the time and since then all my teachers have always encouraged me and made me love books even more than I thought possible.

Do you have an ‘odd’ book habit? (page sniffing/never leaving the house with a book)

It’s true that I never go anywhere without a book. I got one in my backpack or purse or reading on my phone but it’s always there.

Do you have a book that you think has changed your life? How?

A lot of books and series have made significant impacts on my life (like I can’t picture elementary school without Percy Jackson being in my life) but like as a person I can’t think of any one book that has changed who I am. It’s been a team effort.

Which book have you reread most frequently?

I think I reread Hush Hush every year lmao idk why

You can meet any author and ask one question. What author would you chose and what question would you ask?

I’d want to meet Shakespeare and ask him if all his characters really were just that gay or if we’re all reading too much into it.

Best book published this year so far?

It’s only March but The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Imagine you’ve started a book and don’t like it. Do you see the experience through to the bitter end, or are you able to talk away from it mid story?

I used to always finish what I started but now that I’m in college and have a mountain of a TBR I’ll just stop.

What book is top of your wish list/TBR pile?

Uhh A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos is on top rn

Favourite place to read?

My bed. Boring but a classic.

If you buy books, do you lend them out? Ever had a bad experience?

Of course. No all my friends respect my stuff and return them promptly.

What fictional character do you ship yourself with?

So many but I think Gansey and I from The Raven Cycle would make the best couple.

Weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark

I use whatever near me so I might have done something weirder but lately I’ve been using tissues because I have a tissue box by my bed and never real bookmarks. But I’ve used graded homework, a toy car, a crayon, earbuds, etc.

Favorite quality/qualities in a protagonist and antagonist

Wow this is s hard okay for protag I am a sucker for like stubborn, smartass with a martyr complex. Sad but true. Antags I love a good morally grey character or anti-villain. Tragic backstory but smart as hell. The worst (the best). Characters like the Darkling from The Grisha Trilogy, and Warner from the first Shatter Me book (I know he’s a good guy NOW but back then we all thought he was a sadistic and sexy villain).

Favorite genre and favorite book from that genre.

YA Urban Fantasy babyyy and that’d be City of Bones by Cassandra Clare or Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare:)

Best/worst movie adaptation in your eyes

Best: Harry Potter and The Hunger Games | Worst: Percy Jackson

Do you prefer reading your own books, or library books?

My own.

How do you choose your next book to read?

Literally whatever I’m feeling like at the moment.

Your favorite word.

I love many words but I have a soft spot for “lively” and “lilt”.

Book that got you hooked on reading/how you got hooked.

I’ve always been obsessed with reading but The Peter and the Starcatchers Series was like my shift from nicotine to heroine.

Opinion on dog-earing, margin writing, ect.

I only write in the margins of books I have to read for class/textbooks. And that’s for studying and active reading purposes. For any other situation: no.