No one really knew how it began, probably just a slow progressive start. Daryl would offer to take Judith for a few hours so Beth and the rest of them could have a break. He'd pick up the baby, instantly making her coo with recognition. Judith absolutely adored Daryl, and it was clear to see he felt the same, hell everyone felt the same about Judith. He'd smile, the kind of smile that was rarely ever seen on Daryl Dixon's face, and start to coo back, referring to her as 'Lil Asskicker like it was the highest praise a baby could receive. That's right, Daryl Dixon, the Daryl Dixon, became a big ol' softy the moment someone place that baby in his arms.
The group would watch on with half hidden smiles as Daryl Dixon changed before their eyes. This was the man who has a protective wall surrounding him like a cocoon, hardly ever letting anyone see the real him. Who had been through hell and back again, both before and after the Apocalypse, without breaking a sweat. He was unstoppable, facing off with walkers and humans alike like they were nothing but pesky ants under his boot. He hunted for and protected his group like they were his family, and they were. Daryl, in the beginning, was a hot headed punk who didn't care about anyone but himself and his brother. But he had morphed into an important aspect of their group, someone they'd go to the ends of the earth to protect.
It's said that tragic events that uproot your entire lifestyle change you, good or bad. Living in a society where the motto was essentially kill or be killed is usually seen as one of those game changers that turn you into a monster. After all, those worlds consist of unlimited gore and violence. You don't experience something like that and come out the top unscathed. In most cases, it'd change you for the worst, but in Daryl Dixon's case, it changed him for the better. He found a group that he could count on, a family he would go to the ends of the earth to protect, which was something he had never had before.
That's why watching him turn into a mushy sap the second he had little Judith in his arms was so entertaining to them. It proved what they had all been thinking for a while now. Daryl, no matter how hard he tried to prove otherwise, was a big 'ol softy when it came to the people he loved, especially when it came to Judith.
Daryl's relationship with the Grimes' kids had started off slow. He'd take Judith for a few hours so everyone, especially Beth, could get a little break. He'd spend those hours talking to her about meaningless stuff she couldn't even began to understand, but still provided her with a special bond. Daryl could also be seen spending time with Carl, teaching him what he thought was vital for a man of his age to know.
A big part of the reason for this connection was the growing relationship between Rick and Daryl, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. It wasn't hard to piece together everything to come to that conclusion either. The whispered conversations, the increase in runs the two of them had been going on together by themselves, not to mention that time Maggie had seen Daryl coming out of Rick's cell late one night when he had thought no one was around, all led to one conclusion: the two of them were together. Two men who deserved happiness more than most people found it in each other.
Maggie pondered all of this as she periodically glanced up at Daryl, baby Judith sleeping peacefully against his shoulder. She must have just fallen asleep because a few minutes ago Daryl had been softly talking to her. Daryl was sorting through their remaining supplies, trying to come up with a list of things they'd need immediately. Judith twitched in her sleep, crying out softly, and Daryl shushed her as he gently rested a hand on her back, calming her down with a gentle touch. Maggie wasn't going to lie, it was one of the cutest things she had ever seen before. The affect Daryl had on Judith, even when considering his "tough guy exterior," was clear to see.
Soon enough, Rick stepped through the door, face lighting up the second he caught sight of Daryl and Judith. Maggie watched from the corner of her eye as Rick walked over, placing his hand on Daryl's shoulder as he bent down to place a kiss against Judith's forehead. He whispered something in Daryl's ear, causing him to break out in a grin. Maggie could only guess what he had said.
Judith jolted awake, eyes roaming around as she tried to pinpoint something interesting to focus on. She giggled, that adorable giggle that tore at your heart strings and gave you an entirely new faith in humanity, the second she caught sight of her Dad. Rick sat down close to Daryl, bodies touching discreetly, running his hands through Judith's hair softly. "Hey baby girl," Rick said. The two men sat next to each as they poured over the list that Daryl had already started, giggling baby between them, as they talked softly with each other.
Soon enough the two of them stood up, Daryl holding Judith against his hip. He looked so strange like that, masculine looking guy with a cross bow strung over his back cradling something so precious and innocent. Maggie glanced back to what she was doing quickly once she realize they were about to leave, not wanting to be seen as intruding on one of their moments.
"Hey, Maggie," Daryl called out and Maggie looked up. "Ya mind finishin' this up for me? Rick and I are gonna go over the supplies in the other room. "
Maggie nodded and stood up, heading over where to Daryl's makeshift work space was set up. "Sure Daryl, I've got you covered."
"Thanks," he said, heading out the door with Judith in his arms and Rick close to him. Maggie ducked her head as a smile split across her face. She sat down and began sorting through their supplies, thoughts of the happy family, yes she did believe the Grimes' had slowly drawn Daryl into their little family unit, that just left fading as she got to work.
Later that day, Carol went out searching for Daryl. The group was calling a meeting and they definitely needed his input. She found him in a secluded section of the prison yard with Carl. Carol smiled at the two of them, leaning up against the wall as she watched them interact. Daryl was standing behind Carl, adjusting his grip on the crossbow in his hands. Carol couldn't really hear what he was saying, but she was sure he was giving the kid pointers on what he was doing wrong.
A makeshift target was set up a few feet away, complete with crudely drawn circles to help with aim. An arrow was already sticking out one of the outer rings and even more littered the ground. Carl clearly wasn't very good at shooting. Daryl said a few more words before he stepped back, giving Carl more room to shoot. The kid let another arrow fly, this one almost hitting dead center. Daryl jumped in the air, letting out a whoop of praise.
"'Atta boy," Daryl said loud enough for Carol to hear, clamping down on his shoulder in an attempt to show him just how ecstatic he was. He looked so proud Carol couldn't help but grin. Right now, Daryl was acting like a proud father and she had never seen anything as sweet.
Daryl look up and saw Carol standing over by the wall so she beckoned him over with a twitch of her head. He said something to Carl that Carol couldn't here before heading towards her. "Hey."
"Hey yerself," Daryl said, leaning back against the stone wall beside her.
"You just had a 'proud father' moment didn't you?" Carol teased, looking up at Daryl from her position next to him. Daryl jumped, instantly becoming closed off at the mention of 'father.' That word had never sat right with him, and given his past, it was clear to see why.
"I don' know what ya mean." Carol rolled her eyes and looked back over at Carl, who was still attempting to shoot a perfect bullseye. "You can deny it all you want, Daryl, but we all see how close you are with Rick's kids. You spend a lot of time with them, face it, you're basically their second father."
"'S whatever," Daryl said with an awkward shrug, watching as Carl got his crossbow ready to shoot of another arrow. "At least that technique is down pat."
Carol shrugged, realizing that Daryl wasn't going to say much more on the subject. "Anyways, I came out here to let you know the gang is putting together a group to go on a run. They want you're intake on who should go. I don't-"
Carol was interrupted by a cheer and an unconscious air pump from Daryl as Carl hit the target dead in the center. Carl beamed brightly and looked back at Daryl, grinning so hard you could see all of his teeth gums and Daryl gave the kid a thumbs up. He quickly tried to cover his reaction and Carol pretended like she didn't even notice, not wanting to embarrass Daryl even more. "I don't know if you want to go on this one or not," Carol finished.
"Alright," Daryl said, stepping away from the wall. "I'll go see what they're thinking. Hey kid," he called, waiting for Carl to acknowledge him. "I've gotta go, we'll pick this lesson up later, ya?"
Carl nodded and handed Daryl his bow back before running, probably to go relay to his father everything that had just happened. Carol watched the interaction with a barely subdued my smile. "'S whatever my ass," she muttered under her breath before following after Daryl. Daryl was attached, and no matter what he said, everyone could see it.
A few days after Daryl and Carl's crossbow lessons, Daryl snuck into Rick's cell. He had in fact decided to go on the run with the small group of people. It was a longer run, the group was running low on a lot of supplies that weren't exactly easy to find, and it had taken a few days to find most of everything they needed. Daryl was exhausted, sore, and just ready to relax.
Usually he would just go straight to his perch and pass out, but he'd been sneaking into Rick's cell more and more often at night and right now he needed to see the pig-farmer, just to make sure that everything had indeed gone smoothly while he was gone. Plus, Rick always had a soothing effect on him and he could use something like that right now. Not to mention the fact Rick would be pissed if he woke up the next morning to realize Daryl had gotten in and not told him. He always worried so much whenever Daryl strayed too far from the prison, which was incredibly annoying but sweet in a way that Daryl would never admit he enjoyed.
He shucked off his jeans and set aside his cross bow, sliding in beside Rick as he tried his best not to wake the man. Turns out, he didn't need to worry about that much anyways, he was already awake. "Hey," Daryl said, curling his hand around Rick's hip as a gesture of affection.
"Hey you," Rick replied back, leaning into press a chaste kiss against Daryl's lips. He was taking this relationship slow, not wanting to pressure Daryl into anything he wasn't ready for, which made Daryl incredibly grateful. He wasn't any good with the whole "touchy feely, lovey dovey" factor of their relationship but he was getting better and used to the idea that somebody just might generally care about him like Rick does.
Daryl watched as Rick's eyes roamed over him, trying to pick out any new injuries in the nearly pitch black cell, scanning over every inch of visible skin. Unable to see much in the dark, he ran his hands over Daryl's body, feeling for any wounds he didn't already know about. He frowned when his hands brushed over Daryl's bandaged wrist. Rick took the appendage in his hands, running soft fingers over it gently, careful not to actually cause him any harm. "What happened?"
"'S nothing," Daryl assured him, rubbing his finger over the sharp jut of Rick's hip bone in an attempt to calm him down. "Banged up my wrist is all, Maggie made me put somethin' on it as a precaution. She'll probably make me let Hershel check it over in the morning even though I know it's not broken. I'm good."
Rick brought the wrist to his lips, chapped skin kissing the brown bandage softly. Daryl sighed contently, not able to resist the urge to press closer to Rick. Now that they were alone, Carol's words replayed over and over again in his head, and he was unable to stop worrying.
"Something wrong?" Rick asked, watching as Daryl's eyebrows knit into an expression he knew well. It was the "I-think-I'm-doing-something-wrong-but-I'm-not-sure-how-to-bring-it-up-without-driving-you-away" face that Daryl seemed to wear a lot. Which bothered Rick for a number of reason, mainly because there was nothing Daryl could do that would make him leave.
"Jus' been thinkin' lately," Daryl said, averting his eyes.
"'Bout?" Rick asked, not letting Daryl shy away from him.
"Do you think I spend too much time with your kids?" Daryl said in one breath, words slurring together in a way that made it almost impossible for Rick to understand what Daryl was trying to say.
"What to do you mean," Rick asked, knitting his eyebrows together. He didn't understand how Daryl could possibly think he was spending too much time with Judith and Carl.
"I don' know, just been thinkin,'" Daryl replied once again, and Rick knew he was avoiding the question. "It's jus' that I spend a lot of time with them, and I don' want ya to think that I'm trying to be you or replace Lori 'cause 'm not. It just kind of... happens."
"No. I don't think you spend too much time with my kids. Shit Daryl, Beth probably spends more time taking care of Judith some days than I do. The fact that children are able to thrive in a world as fucked up as the one we live in today is a miracle, and a lot of people have a connection with Carl and Judith because of that. It makes me happy to know you're willing to spend time with them," Rick said honestly. "We're together," Rick joined their hands together to solidify his point, "and it makes me happy to think that you like spending time with them. I know this idea scares you, but I really would like us to be a family, at least eventually. And I don't mean a family like we are with the entire group, because they're my family and I'd do anything for them. I mean like a family before the apocalypse hit, a family made up of parents and their kids."
That was an idea that was almost foreign to him. His biological family was dysfunctional at best. His mother died, his father beat the shit out of him every chance he got, and his brother was older than him and in and out of jail so much he hardly saw him. He always told himself he'd never be a father, especially because he figured he'd never find anyone who actually just want to be with him, maybe even start a family someday. He hadn't exactly had a lot of partners before the world ended, Merle's friends even referred to him as Daryl 'no game' Dixon. No one wanted anything to do with the street rat with the troubled past. He was considered too much of a stiff by most people to even be considered a suitable partner, and the few who tried to get to know him took one look at his emotional baggage and hit the road. Intimacy was something he wasn't good at. He could take down any threat that came after his people, he'd willingly die for them. He could hunt and shoot and tussle with the best of 'em, but once you got too close to him he pushed himself away, too afraid of getting hurt to let anyone in.
That began to change when he met Rick Grimes. Rick was okay with his standoffish attitude, he understood perfectly when Daryl needed his presence and when he needed to be left alone. Daryl was a dick when they first started this new chapter of their relationship, he wasn't going to lie, and he was surprised Rick even tried so hard to push past the barriers he had built around himself. If he was Rick, he would kicked himself to the curb a long time ago. But Rick tried, tried so hard, and broke Daryl down layer by layer, carving a place in his heart for him that he knew would never go away.
This relationship was foreign to him, half the time he didn't know what he was doing. He felt like such a failure. It'd seem like they were taking steps in the right direction and then something would happen and Daryl would shut down so quick it almost seemed unnatural. But Rick was calm and caring, he understood Daryl better than anyone else, and Daryl didn't know how he could be so lucky. The fact that Rick was fine bringing him into his family, especially after he had lost Lori, and letting him be in his kids' life, spoke wonders to how much he meant to him. He was so patient and understanding, it made Daryl's heart quench in a way that it never had before.
Daryl cared about his people, he'd willingly sacrifice himself so that one of them could live, but the connection he had to Rick and his children was different, stronger, and more intimate. "I don't know what it means to be a Father seeing as mine wouldn't have won any awards. This whole... family thing is foreign to me."
"I don't expect you to be a Father, Daryl. That's my job. But if you want to take on some fatherly roles, become an important part of their lives and influence them in ways that never could, be my guest. There's no such thing as "spending too much time" with them. I want you to be close with them, they both adore you, Daryl, and that will always be an important part of this relationship," Rick said honestly.
"You really mean that?" Daryl asked, voice so soft Rick had to strain his ears to hear correctly.
''Course I do," Rick said in a voice that seemed to drip, 'you insolent child, are you blind.' "Carl idolizes you, Judith loves you, and you happen to be really important to me. You could never spend too much time with my kids."
Daryl's worries all but faded, at least for the time being, and he found himself finally able to relax. "I get you," Daryl said, tightening his grip on Rick's hip in a sign of understanding.
"You're exhausted," Rick said, smoothing the bags under Daryl's eyes with the bad of his thumb. "You need to sleep, no more worrying now. Even the famous Daryl Dixon needs some rest."
Daryl scowled half-heartedly. "'M not famous."
"Not according to some of the residents here," Rick teased.
"If I wasn't so tired I would slug you," Daryl said, voice playful. "I'm not famous."
"Maybe not," Rick teased. "But you still need your sleep."
"I hate you so much sometimes, Grimes," Daryl muttered, smiling despite his efforts to hide it.
"I know you do Dixon," Rick said, curling an arm around Daryl's waist. It wasn't long before the archer was fast asleep, absolutely wiped out form his latest run. Rick watched him sleep for a while, so tempted to stroke over his sculpted features but afraid to wake him up. He looked like an angel when he slept, all worries washing away. The fact that Daryl was afraid he was getting too close to his kids was rather ridiculous, after all, he was basically their second father.