Father Figures
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with, The Walking Dead
Daryl sat outside, leaning against the wall of the prison. He took another drag of his cigarette and let his head fall back as he blew out. It had been a long day. A ridiculously long day. They had lost three of their own. Lori... T-Dog... Carol...
He took another drag, wishing he had something to drink so he could forget today.
"You want some company?"
Daryl looked up to see Hershel standing over him, a gentle smile on his face.
"If ya want," Daryl shrugged.
Hershel leaned down and rested a hand on Daryl's shoulder as he slowly lowered himself to the ground.
"Shit, never thought... we can go somewhere else-" Daryl said.
"Doesn't matter," Hershel smiled, "I'm down now. Though I will need your help getting up again."
Daryl nodded.
"So," Hershel started, "How you doin' son?"
"Fine," Daryl shrugged.
"That was a mighty brave thing you did today, going out and finding stuff for the baby," Hershel said and Daryl snorted.
"It was. After everything that had just happened, it was a big risk."
"Had to do it," Daryl shrugged again, "Lil' Asskicker needed food. Can't lose her too."
"It wasn't your fault you know," he said after a few moments. Daryl looked at the older man questioningly.
"Lori, T-Dog, and Carol," Hershel explained, "What happened to them wasn't your fault."
Daryl didn't say anything. What was there to say? Hershel didn't know what he was talking about.
"There's nothing you could've done for 'em," Hershel continued. "We can't change what's happened. All we can do is mourn those we've lost and do our best to keep moving forward."
"Mourn those we've lost," Daryl scoffed, getting to his feet. "Who've you lost, hm? My brother's gone! Lori, Carol, and T-Dog are dead! Sophia's dead! We've lost more people than we can count!"
"I know you have," Hershel said gently. "So have I. Incase you've forgotten, two of the walkers in my barn were my wife and stepson. Patricia, Otis, and Jimmy died there too. And I may not have known 'em as long as you did, but I'm going to miss Lori, T-Dog, and Carol too."
Daryl paced back and forth, a new cigarette clutched between his fingers.
"Listen son, if you want to storm off, go ahead," Hershel said, "But before you go, help an old man to his feet?"
Daryl sighed and then walked over an sat down again.
"Sorry," he muttered, "I didn't mean... I know you've lost people too..."
"It's alright," Hershel said gently, "We all deal with pain our own ways. if you need to yell and scream, go ahead, you'll find no judgment here."
Hershel was pleased when that elicited a very small smile from Daryl.
"We're gonna be alright, you know?" Hershel said. "I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but I reckon we'll really be able to make this place into something great."
Daryl nodded. "An' Rick?" he questioned.
"Rick will come around," Hershel said, "After everything him and Lori went through these past months, losing her suddenly like this... But he'll come around. He's got Carl and the ababy."
"Yeah..." Daryl trailed off. Before he could say much more, the boy in question walked outside.
"Alright Carl?" Hershel asked and the boy nodded.
"Sister okay?" Daryl questioned.
"She woke up, but Beth and Maggie have her," Carl replied, sitting on Daryl's other side.
"We'll get rid of the rest of the walkers tomorrow and then I'll head out and find some more stuff for her," Daryl said. "Formula and diapers and stuff. If ya think of anythin' ya want me ta look for..."
"Thanks," Carl murmured. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Hershel eventually cleared his throat.
"Well, I think I'm gonna head back in and get some sleep," he said. "You boys mind giving me a hand?"
Daryl and Carl stood immediately and helped Hershel up, bidding the man goodnight as he headed back inside.
"You should go ta bed too," Daryl said. Carl nodded in agreement, but sat back down next to Daryl anyway.
"Thanks," the boy said suddenly, "For lookin' after my sister."
"Don't gotta thank me Carl," he said. "None of us are gonna let anythin' happen ta yer sister or you."
"I know," Carl said, "But still... thanks."
Daryl looked down at the boy as Carl sniffed and rubbed furiously at his eyes. Despite the mature way he was speaking, Daryl was reminded that Carl was just a little kid who had just lost his mom.
"Everythin'll be a'right kid," Daryl said, ruffling Carl's hair and then slinging his arm around the boy's shoulders.
Carl leaned into Daryl slightly, suddenly feeling very tired.
"Come on kid, we gotta sleep if we're gonna get rid of these geeks tomorrow," Daryl stood and pulled Carl to his feet, leading the boy back inside and getting him settled in his cell.
Neither of them noticed Hershel watching them with a gentle smile on his lips.
I really like exploring the father-son relationship between Daryl and Hershel and I always imagined Carl would have felt like Daryl was a parental figure, especially when Rick was losing it.
Thanks so much for reading and let me know what you think!