Epilogue
Part Four
"Mummy?" Sailor asked, who was now almost four, and had the lightest blond curls and shocking blue eyes.
They'd tried for a second, but it seemed as if their time for that was nearly over; Beth was donning on thirty four and hell Daryl had lost track of his age years back. It seemed they were only destined to have the one child, but they were okay with that.
And that one kept them busy, Sailor a ball of energy as of late with no indications that she would slow down anytime soon.
She was a tiny little thing, short and thin for even her age, with long white blonde hair that was even a shade lighter than her mother's. Her imagination was huge, she could spend hours running circles around the lighthouse, and sometimes Daryl would have to throw the child over his shoulder to get her to come inside for dinner.
Sailor lived up to her name, and during the summer months and even during the cooler fall months, she could be found splashing around in the ocean water, Beth never letting her too far out of sight. She collected seashells and feathers, and Daryl was beginning to make the tower into a bedroom that she would eventually use, when she was a bit older.
"Yes honey?" Beth asked back, glancing back at her daughter from where she stood over a pot of deer stew, their first batch since Daryl had caught a deer last week.
Sailor sat at the table, pencil in hand and face twisted in utmost concentration. Beth had begun giving her worksheets from the primary class at Alexandria even though she was a year too young, and was both amazed and wistful that their daughter was so smart and growing so fast.
"What a cat?"
Daryl, who was just coming in from the tower where he had been spending his days deconstructing the large glass mirrors, caught the tail end of the question his daughter was asking. He immediately noticed the upset look that passed though Beth's face before she masked it, turning to Sailor with a sad smile.
"Cats used to be pets, Sailor. Remember stories about Jade?" Beth coaxed her memory, catching eyes with Daryl as he stuck the dipper in the bucket of fresh water they kept during the winter months, using the bathtub for bathes.
Sailor's eyes lit up as if the news was brand new, and Daryl ruffled her long blonde curls as he walked towards his wife, wrapping his arms around her hips as she turned back to the pot of boiling stew. And he watched his daughters face as it became solemn. "Jade gone now."
Beth's smile was sad. "Yes, Jade is gone now honey."
Daryl pressed a kiss to Beth's neck at that, leaving her at the stove to start with the evening chores. He watered the herb pots, collected the dried salt. He even swept the floor and set the table around his daughter's school work, catching glimpses of her large capitalized letters of her name she kept writing over and over again.
Beth was very serious about giving their daughter an education, and he wasn't surprised when he looked over again and caught Sailor looking longingly at the pictures of barn animals in her workbook. She'd seen cows, pigs and chickens at Alexandria, and Hilltop even had a foal born to the only female horse they had left.
Yet, it was the cat she was stuck on, of course.
Pulling out Sailor's chair for her, Daryl took the pencil, nodding down at her when she looked at him with wide hopeful eyes. He only had to nod his head once before she was scrambling off the chair and racing to the sink, where he easily lifted her up to reach the water.
Doing homework an hour before dinner every night had become the norm, and she knew the drill.
When the excessively throughout handwashing was completed, Beth was scooping portions of stew into their bowls, and he pushed Sailor's chair closer to the table as she sat back. He made quick work of picking up that days school work, laying it on the kitchen counter that Beth would review with their daughter before bed.
It was only minutes after Grace was said, when Sailor looked at her mother.
"Mummy?" Sailor asked again, glancing up at him before back to Beth.
"Yes?" Beth answered back, and Daryl always wondered how Beth's patience never ran out. How she seemed to be ready for every ridiculous question the three year old would spurt at her, the perfect answer for each and every one.
"Can we has cat?"
Beth noticeably paled at her words, spine straightening. Truth is, they hadn't come across another cat since they had found Jade back on the cul-de-sac, and they had chalked it up to another species that had been wiped out by the apocalypse. Then again, they hadn't really been looking, and they surely weren't going to find a feral on the island.
And when Beth faltered, he stepped in.
"If you eat all your dinner we'll check the trap when you're done." Daryl told his young daughter who looked up at his words, eyes shining and smile wide. It was a cheap shot, he knew, but Sailor was extremely fascinated with the crawling crustaceans, and it served as the perfect distraction for the moment.
Not to mention that even though she was extremely young, he'd have to have serious lessons with her at some point. Show her the ropes of running this little piece of heaven – fishing, gardening, preserving, hunting and tracking. Self-defense, close and long range shots, weapons – dealing with walkers and other humans. But for now, he concentrated on his little girl, because all that could wait.
"Otay, Daddy."
And he caught when Beth's shoulders sagged in relief.
…
Daryl usually only travelled to Alexandria twice a year – once after the summer season was over, and he would pack up everything they prepared to be traded for other goods that they needed more. The second time was usually in the dead of winter, when everyone's spirits were down and they could use a little luxury chocolate to get them through.
It was the beginning of Spring, however, and he walked to Alexandria despite the car they had hidden in the garden center a few miles away from the lighthouse. He walked because he tracked as he went, bringing small game with him as he walked up to the iron gates.
"Hey!" Abraham called, who Daryl hadn't known from Adam when he'd first met him while Beth had been sick, but had warmed up when he realized Rick and Daryl had history that didn't include him. The gruff redheaded man didn't hesitate to swing the gate open. "Friendly visit? How's Peach?"
And even though they lived miles and miles away, everyone was particularly fond of his wife in this community, and was praised regularly for the lettuce chips and lobster rolls she provided whenever they harvested enough wheat for flour and yeast.
"On a mission," Daryl replied, walking in the open gate that shut securely behind him, waiting to Abraham give him a nod before he stalked off, walking to the house where he knew Rick would be. And it didn't take long before he was in the heart of Alexandria, everyone in the community moving at the early sun, heading off to their duties and jobs.
"Hey," Rick called as he spotted Daryl walking towards the house, where he sat casually on the porch with a mug of steaming liquid, sporting his sheriff uniform. Carl, who had grown to look strikingly like his father, smiled as he also caught sight of the hunter.
"Hey." Daryl called back, not feeling any awkwardness or hesitance as he made his way up the doorstep, the two Grimes' men shifting to accommodate him. And unfortunately, as much as he would've liked for this to be a friendly visit, he actually had something to accomplish. "Got a good one."
…
It was Sailor's birthday today, and Daryl quickly jumped out of bed as soon as his eyes opened.
Unbeknown to his wife and daughter, Daryl had gotten a particular gift for the occasion. A gift he wasn't sure how Beth would react to, or if his daughter was even still on the kick about owning one, but he raced to the lighthouse tower where he had carefully stored the box for the night.
It'd been a task to get the thing in, to begin with, and Beth had asked what was in the box as he darted up the stairs, trying and failing miserably to keep his face blank as his wife questioned him.
"Jus' more stuff for the bedroom." He had replied, because it wasn't a lie that he was fixing the tower to be a bedroom for their daughter, who would soon grow out of sleeping on the crib mattress they had been using since she was an infant. And Beth had been content with the answer, no reason to think otherwise.
But it had been a lie, and when Daryl opened the box, a tiny, grey furry creature poked its head out, wide green eyes staring back at him curiously.
…
The moment her feet hit the floor, even from the tower, Daryl heard her excitedly crawl into bed with her mother.
"Mummy, I'm four!" She exclaimed with wonderment in her tiny voice, as if she couldn't really believe it herself. And hell, Daryl could hardly believe Beth and him had a four year old daughter, let alone Sailor understanding herself.
He'd quickly petted the tiny animal before putting it back in the box, making sure the holes he'd poked in the top of the box were open and uncovered. He could faintly hear Sailor asking Beth where he was, and he looked back at the box once more before he returned downstairs, efficiently slipping the little bowl into the sink without glances his way, which had held salt fish an hour ago.
"Daddy!"
Her call to him was instant as she laid eyes on him, and he turned around from the sink with only a second to catch the little girl who flung herself at him, no hesitation in her stride as he caught her soundly in his arms, hugging her to his chest.
Sailor held up her hand, proudly showing him four fingers that Beth must have discussed with her at some point, and took in his daughter's serious face. "I's four now, Daddy."
"Happy Birthday, kid." He kissed her unruly curls, fixing her pajama dress that had gotten tangled around her during sleep, and walked the rest of the way to the bed that he had jumped out of before Beth had woken. Now he allowed himself to crawl back in, but not before opening the blankets and letting Sailor settle herself in the middle.
"We got ourselves a four year old." Daryl drawled, not able to withhold his smile as his daughter let out a peal of giggles at that, rolling over and burying her face in her mother's chest. Beth smoothed down Sailor's curls as well, throwing a smirk over her daughters head.
"How did that happen?" Beth asked, smiling down at the little girl, who was now situating herself so she could lay on both her parents; head buried in Beth's abdomen and feet spontaneously kicking Daryl in the ribs. "It seems like only yesterday you were crawling around here."
Beth and Daryl shared a loving glance as they watched their daughter grow right before their eyes, memories of their baby that was no longer a baby dancing across their vision. Memories of her first swim, her first step – her first birthday.
"Pancakes?" Sailor asked, glancing up at her mother with such innocent eyes that Daryl knew Beth would never be able to say no, even if she had wanted to.
"For your birthday?" Beth asked, tickling Sailor's sides until she was up and off them, allowing Beth to get up behind her. "Anything."
…
Beth's pancakes were really just flour, water, sugar and a little bit of salt. They didn't have eggs or milk on hand, yet Sailor declared pancakes her favorite meal more than once, and Beth was more than happy to dish them up on a plate.
They didn't have maple syrup, but Beth distractedly thought that maybe their apocalypse diet wouldn't appreciate the sickly sweet syrup that was now only a fragment of her imagination, and set a jar of their strawberry jam on the table as well.
Wild strawberries grew just on the other side of shore, and when it was harvesting time, they took Sailor with them and taught her how to behave in the world outside the lighthouse island. They taught her how to be quiet, how to keep tabs on her surroundings at all time; how to listen. They always gave her a little basket that used to be for Easter eggs, and let her pick her own berries.
They were determined to protect their daughter, without shielding her completely; they had to learn fast, and they wanted to give Sailor the time they hadn't had.
Daryl had just finished assisting Sailor with hand washing, and Beth pushed her in when the little girl raced to her respective seat, beaming up at her mother who sat in her own chair. Daryl only took another minute before he joined them as well, and Sailor was the one to offer both hands to her parents.
Even on her birthday, she knew the drill.
When Grace was over, and jam had been spread on pancakes, Daryl stood from the table. "Got a birthday surprise."
Beth eyed him suspiciously immediately, eyes following him as he retreated to the tower, where he could hear Sailor whispering her excitement. They'd gotten Sailor a few small things from Hilltop when Beth had went on her trip with Maggie, but they had decided that presents were a dinner time celebration.
Everyone was scheduled to arrive at the lighthouse tonight to celebrate Sailor turning four, and as soon as the breakfast dishes were taken care of, Beth knew she had to get started on the loafs of bread to go with their leftover deer stew. And of course, Beth had promised to make her daughter a 'strawberry shortcake'; even though it was just mashed strawberries and a tiny bit of sugar.
She watched as her daughter bounced in her seat, wondering just what her husband had done this time. He never seemed content in giving Sailor the gifts they picked out from the larger community; books, clothes and the occasional toy. It was as if he always needed more for their daughter – even though she had more than she could ever possibly need.
When Daryl came back into view with a cardboard box balanced in his arm, her suspiciousness grew.
"C'mere." Daryl called to Sailor, who looked at Beth for approval because there was still food on their plates and that was usually a sign that the answer would be no, but when Beth nodded her head Sailor jumped up to join her father.
"Wha'is it, Daddy?" The four year old pondered in her childlike way, ignoring the box and sitting on one of his knees, where he was crouched down. Beth smiled fondly at the both of them, in love with how in love Sailor was with Daryl.
"Go on," Daryl coaxed his daughter, who he had to throw an arm around to keep her situated on his knee, and he glanced back at Beth while trying to keep a straight face.
Both watched on as Sailor carefully untied the pink ribbon that was hastily tied around the entire of the box, her gentleness astounding at her tender age. But when the box gave a little jerk, the girl got spooked and clutched blindly for her father.
Beth's eyebrows drew together, and she stood from her seat.
But when the tiny, grey kitten poked its head curiously out of the box, the squeal of delight that Sailor let out was contagious, and she pushed away from him and darted after the kitten that was looking around for the first time.
"Gentle," he called to his daughter, who didn't need to be told regardless as her tiny hands made delicate scratches behind the felines ears, who instantly started to purr and rub against Sailor's leg; much to her utmost delight.
When Sailor's animated conversation with the kitten began, Beth looked at him with tears in her eyes, closing the small gap that was between them, lacing her arms around his midsection.
"How?" She asked, her voice small and sad, and he knew that she was thinking about Jade because he was too.
"Asked 'round, Rick finally found one few towns over." He responded, not about to tell her that Rick and him had drove for practically three days straight to pick up the tiny feline, when she had thought he was out on a hunt. It'd been completely ridiculous and wild – and both men had wildly laughed their asses off on the way back. The kitten climbing over both the car and them, remembering times when things hadn't been so easy.
"You're too much." Beth gushed, pushing her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her too, the giggles of their daughter echoing throughout their tiny home.
TBC
Not sure where I plan to go from here, but definitely more of Sailor. Maybe a spinoff? Any interest?
