Daryl's Lullaby

by obsessedwithstabler

He cared for this noisy little bundle of baby girl, even if he would never admit it to another soul in the group. If this was the way it was supposed to be, if he was meant to lose everyone he cared about but her, then so be it. He would be her protector and anything else she possibly needed.

After watching the past two episodes and squeeing loud enough to break windows, I present you guys with this. It has all of the group, but it's mostly about Daryl and little ass kicker. It's set about two days after the birth, so Carol is missing, T-Dog is dead, and Rick is nuts. There are mild spoilers, and maybe some slight Daryl OOCness. Phil Vassar's The Woman In My Life is used in this, which of course is not mine. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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Daryl heard the screaming long before he even made it past to the prison gates.

It was late, probably after midnight or so, and he had been gone since the early morning. The baby, affectionately dubbed Cass after his sudden declaration of 'ass-kicker', needed more formula, among other things. She was just two days old, but his need to protect her was greater than that of his need to protect anyone else in the group.

So when he heard her screams, he practically flew into the confines of the prison, haphazardly parking his precious motorcycle in the grass. Then he grabbed his treasures tucked in his bag and ran into the secured building.

It was easy enough to find the group huddled together; all he had to do was follow the sound of the baby's screaming. With each sound, his blood boiled. Why were they letting her scream like that? He burst through the door, and every set of eyes in the room were suddenly on him. He looked at everyone, taking in their haggard appearances as he set his bag down. Maggie and Glenn clung to each other, while Beth remained close to Hershel. The prisoners were nowhere to be seen, and for that matter, neither was Rick. Carl was holding the screaming newborn, looking even more exhausted than the rest of the group as he attempted in vain to soothe his baby sister.

Growling softly, Daryl approached the boy and held his arms out, scooping up little Cass and bringing her against his chest. As he adjusted his arms around her, he looked at the group. "Ya'll get yer asses in bed. I'll stay up with the little ass kicker."

Glenn looked like he wanted to protest, but Maggie grabbed his arm and began dragging him toward the door. Beth helped her father out of his seat, and soon the room was empty of everyone but Daryl, the baby and Carl.

Carl eyed Daryl. "I can stay up…"

"No, ya need to sleep and git ready to help yer dad. Go."

Sighing, Carl finally left, but not before he kissed his sister and quietly thanked Daryl.

Finally Daryl was alone with the baby. He quickly made her a bottle and got her to latch on. Once she was settled down and eating, he found a chair and sat down with her. As she sucked on the bottle, he took a moment to study her little face. No one there knew much about him, and he liked it that way. No one knew he actually had a lot of practice with babies, mostly due to his teenage years being spent as a babysitter to earn money for food. He had learned a lot about babies and young children in his babysitting years. Now it was actually coming in handy, and for that, he was glad. They had lost so many people in the past year, and he refused to let anything happened to this little girl in his arms.

Cass looked up at him with steely blue eyes, and he chuckled. "What? Ya wanna be entertained, too?"

She grunted softly and kicked her tiny feet as if replying to his question.

He glanced around. They were still alone; everyone else had no doubt returned to their cells. He was glad for it. No one needed to know what a softie this baby had turned him into.

Leaning back in the chair and propping his feet up on a nearby table, he brushed his fingertip lightly over Cass's cheek. Then, ever so quietly, he started to sing. Before his mother had burned herself to death, before she was so inept, she had sang to him when he was a boy. It hadn't lasted of course; nothing ever did. But maybe Cass would never have to know sadness or disappointment. It wasn't realistic, but as long as he was alive, he would do his best to keep her happy and safe.

Now you're two days old

And you're my biggest fan

And I'm wrapped 'round the finger

Of your little hand

He was rusty and his voice bounced oddly off the walls, but the only person who could hear him didn't seem to mind so much. So he continued to sing softly to her, one hand holding her to his chest and the other gently rubbing her little back.

And you believe in me

When I just give up

You take all my worry

And you give me love

Yeah, I rock you to sleep

With a sweet lullaby

I thank God for this woman in my life

I thank God for this woman in my life

The bottle was quickly emptied, and after being burped, the baby snuggled into his chest and quickly went back to sleep. Even after he was certain she was asleep, he continued to rub her back and rock her slowly. He had lost his brother, his friends, a little girl he had become attached to, and now her mother. If it wasn't for the baby in his arms, he was certain he would have gotten on his bike and taken off, walkers be damned. He felt loyalty to the group, but a big part of that loyalty had been to Carol and Sofia. Then there was Cass, and the first time he saw her and Hershel said she needed formula to live, he had felt a sense of obligation to her. He tried to ration it as loyalty to Rick or the group, but this was something else entirely. He cared for this noisy little bundle of baby girl, even if he would never admit it to another soul in the group. If this was the way it was supposed to be, if he was meant to lose everyone he cared about but her, then so be it. He would be her protector and anything else she possibly needed.

Cass sighed softly and snuggled deeper into his chest, her tiny fingers grasping the material of his filthy shirt. He just smiled and reached for his poncho, draping it over the both of them. After making sure she was covered sufficiently and warm, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Don't ya dare go dyin' on me, little ass kicker. Promise?"

The baby grunted in her sleep.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Finis.

A/N: AWWWWWWW! I just LOVE Daryl and the baby! My dad says I won't be happy unless Daryl gets to raise the baby. Haha. I'll be happy to see him holding her in every episode! What about you guys? Thanks so much for reading this, and please remember to review!