Here it is guys! It's the final chapter. I hope you guys enjoy the last part of the story. It's been great writing this.
Chapter 25
Rick sat against the wall of the prison near their burial ground. They'd buried Daryl earlier that day. It was all done with now. It seemed like even the walkers were giving the prison its space as it tried to recover from its loss. It just didn't seem right. It wasn't right. Daryl had been so close to recovery. He'd been so close to being who he was before the whole incident. Then the Governor had come and stopped it all. For good. Rick punched the wall but it was more out of sadness than frustration. "I never should've told him to leave," he muttered. He knew that the whole reason that Daryl wasn't alive came back to him. In the end it was his fault. He was once again responsible for one of his closest friend's deaths. He didn't have a person that could replace Daryl. He'd been one of the people that Rick could always count on. He didn't have another person like that. There was no one else that he had that much faith in. That he could trust like that.
He remembered how glad he was to see Daryl that night Martinez brought him back. How happy he was that his friend was still alive. In a lot of pain but still alive. The immediate trust he'd seen in Daryl's eyes when he woke up and saw where he was. It was all a distant memory now. He'd never see that man again. He put his head in his hands as he tried not to get upset even though he knew it was impossible. He'd promised Daryl that one night that the Governor would never lay hands on him again. That no matter what happened, Rick would never let the Governor touch him. He'd broken that promise and it had caused the end to Daryl's life. He was about to stand up when he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up and saw his son coming towards him.
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Carl was walking the fences. He was considering going to look for his dad but it just didn't seem like the right time. He needed some time on his own and he knew his dad would too. There were barely any walkers around the prison and he was glad that they didn't have to deal with them during this time. Daryl's funeral had been one of the saddest things he'd been to in his life. It was right up there with shooting his mom. His dad had barely made it through his speech. Merle didn't say a word the whole time. Most of them still couldn't believe that Daryl was gone. Carl was surprised that Merle had actually come. He hadn't really thought the Dixons were funeral type of people. At the farm, Daryl had distanced himself from Dale's funeral. But then again, Daryl was Merle's family. They were closer than anyone else here. Or had been closer. He continued walking the fence.
When he'd gone in to see Daryl on one of the first nights he'd returned. He'd begged Daryl to make it through his injuries so his dad wouldn't go through anything else. And Daryl had made it through those injuries. He'd been so close. Carl kept walking. Daryl had always been invincible to him. Nothing could kill him. Not an arrow to the side and a gunshot. Not a month's worth of torture. Nothing. But he'd been wrong. Daryl wasn't invincible and the Governor had showed them that in the worst way possible. By stabbing him in the chest in front of them all. At first Carl couldn't believe that it had really happened. That it had been some bad dream but Merle's reaction to it told him it was real. Daryl's goodbye had been hard to take. A bit to hard in his opinion.
He walked into the prison and lifted Judith out of her crib. Daryl had been the first person to feed her. It didn't seem right that he had to be the one to leave them first. He would've been a great uncle. Carl ran a hand over his eyes and carried Judith outside to find his dad.
He saw his dad sitting out near the graves. He headed over. He knew that this was what would happen. Daryl's death had hit his dad too hard. Carl knew that he would blame himself for it even though Daryl had told him not to. His dad would close himself off from everyone again and Carl couldn't let that happen. They didn't have Daryl to support them if that happened again. He sat down next to his dad and looked at him, "Dad, he wouldn't want you closing off. You can't do that. Please don't do that." His dad didn't respond for a long time. "I'm not going to. I'm going to try so hard not to," his dad finally said. Carl nodded, "We'll be ok. We made it through mom's death. We'll make it through his too." It was quiet again but his father nodded at him, "I know. It just doesn't seem very real right now."
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Martinez was leaning on the top of the guard tower. He'd seen Carl walk over towards Rick a few minutes ago but he decided to let them have their space. He needed some time anyway. He almost regretted his choice in the first place. If he had killed Daryl right away, when he was supposed to, the man wouldn't have had to go through all of his pain with the group. It might've been easier for him to die a month ago than yesterday. But the happiness on Daryl's face when he'd been reunited with Merle had been worth it. It was probably better that Daryl had died here with the people he loved than in the woods alone. He cursed quietly as the realization hit him. He hadn't been super close with Daryl, hell he'd met the guy two months ago, but with everything they'd gone through it was hard not to feel sad.
He wished that he'd been able to shoot the Governor. He had been so close to killing the man that in the end killed Daryl. There had been about five men and the Governor himself making a dash for the back door. He'd shot every one of them except the one that mattered. Maybe he was the reason behind all of this. Maybe it was his fault Daryl died. Daryl had never said anything to him about it. But then maybe he had, he'd thanked Martinez for everything he'd done. Martinez shook his head and leaned against the wall. He'd let another person that he cared about die. Another person that had made their way into his life had been killed in cold blood. He was done with it. No one else would die. Daryl had been the final straw. The way he'd looked so much like his son. No one else he cared about would meet that end.
His thoughts turned to Merle. He hadn't seen the older Dixon brother since the funeral. He figured that Merle probably needed his own time. Daryl had talked to him the most before he left. It was probably a lot to deal with at one time.
He sighed but pushed himself off of the wall and headed down the steps. Maybe he could go and sit with Carl and Rick for a little while. He found them rather easily and sat down next to Carl. Carl smiled slightly at him, "Hey Martinez." Martinez nodded at him, "You guys alright." Rick shook his head, "No. But I think we will be." Martinez smiled sadly as he reached over and touched the baby in Carl's hands, "Hey Lil' AssKicker." Rick turned away and Martinez could tell that he was still getting over the death of his friend. But weren't they all? Carl wiped his eyes, "You going to call her that now? We just had managed to get Daryl to stop." Martinez laughed and the three of them shared a smile. "I think it's a good idea. It'll be like something that will never stop," Rick said, "It'll be a little piece of Daryl to hang on to." The three of them nodded again and sat quietly against the wall. That was when the fourth set of footsteps was heard coming this way.
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Merle sat in his room alone. The funeral had been a bit hard on him. He knew that he shouldn't act like this. It wasn't him. But there was only one other time that he'd done it and that had been the night that he'd thought his brother was dead but actually wasn't. He'd thought that after he'd found Daryl at the prison alive and safe that nothing would get between them. That nothing would separate them again until they died together in some big fight. Or he would die first. He knew that as long as he and Daryl were together, he would die first. His little brother didn't deserve it. He'd done nothing wrong in his life. Merle kicked the wall, "Fuck you Daryl! Fuck you!"
He wished he'd been able to kill the Governor. He'd make it painful. He'd draw it out. He'd make the Governor suffer just as much as Daryl had. That D on his chest would actually mean something now. He'd never see Daryl again but he'd remember him. He'd remember how he was too late again to save him. To help him. That night when he'd found Daryl, it had been the best one in a long time. To know that his little brother was alive and ok back in the prison had been comforting enough. But now it was back to how it was before but this time there was no chance of finding his little brother alive because he had killed him. He'd stabbed the knife through the side of Daryl's head after he'd taken his last breath in Merle's arms.
Merle wished that he could've shot the Governor right when they'd seen him with Daryl. Then none of this would've happened. He didn't want to get mad at Daryl, but his brother hadn't done anything to get away. He knew why though. He'd seen the look in Daryl's eyes. The one of just pure fear. He hadn't been able to move even if he had wanted to. Fuck the Governor. Just fuck everything.
It almost didn't seem real. His brother was supposed to be a survivor. Merle sighed as he shook his head. His brother was a wilderness survivor, not a knife-in-the-chest survivor. Daryl had asked him, almost begged him, to tell him he loved him. Merle thought that Daryl would've known that he cared about him. Sure he wasn't always the best older brother but he cared about Daryl. So he had told Daryl that he loved him. It had made his little brother happy in his last moments and maybe that was something that he could remember. Just like his other memories with Daryl, it wasn't a perfect one but it was something good.
He needed to get up. He couldn't just sit here. That's not what Daryl would want. Merle stood up slowly and headed towards the doors. Maybe he'd take a walk around the prison and stop by his brother's grave before he went inside. It was nearing the night as the sun set behind the trees. He walked slowly around the yard and then he caught a glimpse of a few figures sitting against the wall near the grave site. He already knew who they were. Rick, Carl, and Martinez. It probably wouldn't help, but he decided to sit with them. He walked over and Martinez glanced up at him, "Hey Merle." Merle nodded at the three of them before he sat against the wall with the other three. Rick smiled slightly, "Is this where we're all going to end up? Sitting against a wall staring at a graveyard?" Martinez shrugged at him, "It's really the only place to be right now." Merle agreed with him. There was nothing else to focus on. Night fell but the four of them sat there against the wall in a vigil for their friend and brother who had passed away.
Merle heard Martinez start to snore next to him and Carl had fallen asleep a while ago. Rick was still up and staring out at nothing. Merle turned to him, "All he said about you, is what a great person you were. He said that he really felt at home here. Must be the first place in a long time." Rick nodded, "I just don't understand why it had to be him. He didn't deserve it. After all he'd been through. He couldn't just die like that." Merle agreed, "I know. And I don't like it any more than you do but I think we need to get back on our feet tomorrow. I don't care if we come out here every night like this but we do have to work." Rick nodded, "I think we should. Come out here like this. But not every night. Just whenever one of us is having a hard time. We'll all meet here." Merle nodded, "Seems alright."
The conversation ended. Merle turned back towards Daryl's grave. This was it. They wouldn't come out here much anymore. So he bowed his head and closed his eyes. The only person in the entire world that he cared about was gone. He had to accept that. If he didn't he would hurt himself and he would make sure that he would survive this. For Daryl. For his little brother.
4 Years Later…
Rick smiled down at his four-year old daughter as she walked next to him. "Where are we going Daddy?" she asked. Rick looked up, "I want to show you something. I just wanted to wait until you were old enough to understand." Rick glanced back at the prison. Maggie was in labor right now with a newborn child coming. Hershel and Carol were helping her and Rick had a good feeling that she would be alright. He had decided that now would be a good time to show Judith two family members she had never met. The two of them walked to the graveyard that thankfully hadn't grown since the last addition four years ago. Judith looked up at him, "Why are we going here?" Rick continued walking, "There're two very important people here."
They arrived at the site and Rick showed Judith to the first one, "This here is your mother. She died giving birth to you. She was a wonderful woman. And she loved you even though she barely knew you." Judith nodded, "I wish I knew her." Rick sighed, "I wish you did too. Come on. There's one more."
Rick hadn't been out to this grave for a while. He was glad that he had the time to stop by now. He knelt down and ran his hand over the cross, "This is your Uncle Daryl. He was the first one to feed you. He cared a lot about you. He would've done anything to protect you. Gave you a name before anyone else had a chance to, but I can't tell you that name right now." Judith looked down at the grave, "How did Uncle Daryl die?" Rick looked away, "There are some bad people in this world as well, Judith. Not everyone is a nice person. Your uncle ran into some of those bad people." Judith nodded, "Is Uncle Daryl related to Uncle Merle?" Rick nodded, "He's Merle's little brother. Now let's go. It's time to get back. Just don't forget they're here." Judith nodded, "I won't."
The two of them headed back towards the prison. Rick glanced up and saw Merle and Martinez running towards him. They had smiles on their faces. The two of them had become great additions to the group. Martinez was almost like Daryl in a way and Merle was almost as resourceful as Daryl was with the wild. They'd helped the group thrive. Martinez made it to them first, "Come on Rick! Hurry! It's plain brilliant." Merle grinned, "C'mon. Maggie wants you to see."
Rick followed the two men back to the prison and when he walked inside everyone was standing around Maggie who was holding the baby in her arms. Rick walked forward and Maggie smiled at him, "Come here Rick. Do you want to come meet Lil' Daryl?" Rick almost froze, "You named him Daryl?" Maggie nodded, "I like the name and I think that it suits the next badass in the group." Rick heard Merle cough and saw the other man had turned around. Martinez was even looking sad. Rick could tell that he was holding back tears. Rick felt his vision go blurry as Maggie handed him the little bundle. Rick rocked him slowly, "Hey, Daryl. You're a sweet one you know that?" He didn't know what else to say. They passed the baby around. Rick saw Merle try to decline the offer but Maggie made him hold Daryl for a minute. Rick saw the obvious emotions conflict on Merle's face. Merle looked down at the baby, "You're going to be one badass. Just like your uncle. What day is it again? What's the date?" Hershel looked at their makeshift calendar, "September 24th." Merle nodded, "That's what I thought."
That night Rick headed out towards the wall where he'd sat four years ago today. He knew he wouldn't be the only one when Merle showed up and Martinez came a minute later. Martinez shook his head, "Born on the day he died. For some reason I don't feel like this is a coincidence." Merle nodded, "I think it was supposed to happen." The three of them sat there looking at the grave that Maggie's son was named for. Rick smiled slightly, "I hope Daryl knows that we do this. That we come sit out here every night. I also hope that he knows that there's a mini Daryl here now." The other three nodded.
Ever since that day, the three of them met up at that wall. Years passed but the tradition never changed. Merle taught Daryl how to hunt and when he was old enough to, he obtained Daryl's old crossbow. They'd showed him his uncle's grave as well. To show him who he was named for. But every night, on September 24th Rick, Merle, and Martinez met up on that wall to pay their respects to their dead friend. Maybe it would take a little longer to get over Daryl than they'd thought.
There it is. That's the end. Thanks for reading this story I had a great time with this. Any reviews for the final chapter would be great! Also check out some of my other stories on here. Hopefully I'll get another one going soon. See ya all around!