Disclaimer: The characters of Walker do not belong to me.
VERY IMPORTANT WARNING-DO NOT READ THIS STORY IF YOU HAVE NOT YET WATCHED THIS WEEK'S WALKER. THOUGH PEYTON IS AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER OF MY OWN MAKING, THERE IS STILL ONE VERY BIG SPOILER IN THIS STORY FOR THIS WEEK'S EPISODE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
A/N: Readers of my current story, My Brother's Keeper, please do not fret. I am still working on it. This story came to me as I watched this week's episode of Walker, specifically the scenes of Liam interacting with Stella in the hospital. Before I get to that, though, I want to make an apology to my regular readers for not writing much the last couple of weeks. I was involved in an accident (not a car accident, but it's a very long and complicated story), and I injured my hand. I didn't break anything, but my hand was very bruised for a few days and I pulled muscles in my arm. Needless to say, typing and writing were out the window for a while. But I'm back in action. This story was not planned until I actually started writing it, and after a little rest (my hand is still pretty bruised up, so I have a feeling it will be sore tomorrow), I plan to jump right back into it.
Now onto the story. The premise is simple. Liam's six-year-old daughter, Peyton, is hiding after he was (again, warning for a major spoiler, turn back NOW if you don't want the episode to be ruined for you)…..shot in the last episode. She hides for a little while until she comes out and finds him. The story focuses mostly on their relationship. It is written entirely from Peyton's point of view. It is in third person limited point of view, which means that we see what's going on through Peyton's eyes, but the characters are referred to as she would call them if she were speaking to them. Gramps, Mawline, Stella, and Auggie are pretty easy to figure out, but obviously Daddy is Liam and, perhaps less obviously, Uncle Cory is Peyton's mispronunciation of Uncle Cordell.
As has become my custom in all my stories of the past year, everyone please stay safe and healthy. I know that COVID numbers in a lot of places are going down, but that is no reason to get lax on safety. COVID is still out there. No matter how you feel about it, please be sensible. Stay safe and healthy, please.
Six-year-old Peyton Louisa Walker was her Daddy's princess, and wouldn't hesitate to tell you that she wasn't six, she was six and a half, thank you very much. She was what her family called a "girly girl", wearing a dress whenever she could get away with it, but that didn't stop her from helping whenever she could. She helped Gramps with chores on the ranch when she wasn't in school, and helped Mawline with dinner and cleaning without being asked. She was a good girl, and her whole family told her so.
She just wished she believed it too.
Peyton never told her Daddy this, but sometimes she didn't feel like a good girl. Peyton wondered where her Mommy was sometimes. Daddy had sat her down one day and told her what happened. Mommy had become a Mommy too soon and she wasn't ready, so she'd left Peyton with Daddy. Maybe she'd come back one day, maybe she wouldn't, but either way, Peyton would always have a home with Daddy. The talk had answered some of the questions Peyton had, but it opened new ones.
Was it her fault Mommy wasn't ready to be a Mommy? Had she been bad as a baby and it made Mommy want to leave? Daddy seemed to be sad when Peyton asked about her Mommy, so Peyton just kept her questions to herself.
But at the moment, all Peyton's questions were driven from her mind. She'd been sitting in the treehouse that Gramps had built for Stella and Auggie years earlier, which had been passed down to her. Stella played out there with her sometimes, and Auggie would come and talk to her or play with her when she was missing her Daddy because he was working so much. But nobody else was around today, so Peyton had to play all by herself. She had all her Barbies in the treehouse, talking to them about her day, and that's when she heard it.
Stella's pretty car was pulling up. Uncle Cory was driving and Stella was in the other seat. Peyton was about to leave the treehouse and run down to meet them. Uncle Cory always did the same thing when Peyton greeted him outside. He'd lift her up, hug her, and then seamlessly put her on his shoulders for a piggyback ride. But before she could get down from the tree, Peyton spotted something.
There were other cars coming too. Ones that Peyton didn't recognize. She'd seen other cars come up before, but these were speeding and coming up really fast. She couldn't see uncle Cory very well, but when two guys got out of one of the other cars and he put his hands up, Peyton knew immediately what to do. She heard Daddy's voice clearly in her head.
If anything bad ever happens and you can get away and hide, get away and hide until it's safe.
Without even really thinking about it, Peyton turned so she couldn't be seen and stayed right where she was. She heard yelling and a loud sound that sounded like a gunshot, but Peyton didn't turn for what felt like a long time. She heard uncle Cory call her Daddy's name, and he sounded scared. Really scared. Still, Peyton didn't move. Instead, she closed her eyes and started thinking about her good memories.
Daddy holding her when she fell out of the very treehouse she was in. She'd broken her arm and it hurt. A lot. She'd eventually stopped crying and started laughing when Daddy started telling her jokes. Suddenly it didn't hurt so much anymore.
Daddy not wanting her to go back inside the treehouse, but being really proud of her when she got over her fear and started playing in it again.
The many times she'd been afraid at night and Daddy had just held her until she went back to sleep.
Feeling worried that Daddy wouldn't care as much about her anymore if he and uncle B got married. Daddy telling her she was being silly, that she was the most important thing in his life and that would never, ever change.
Then Peyton's memory started to get a little fuzzy. She had seen pictures of when she was a baby and noticed something early on. In the pictures where Daddy was by himself, or with somebody else that wasn't Peyton, he never really smiled. If he did, he looked like he was just smiling to be nice. But in every picture that Daddy took with Peyton, he was smiling really big and strong. So no matter how scared she was right now, Peyton thought about all of those pictures she could think about. The ones she knew the stories to, she said to herself, and the ones she didn't know the stories to, she made up in her head.
Finally, Peyton ran out of good memories to think about and stories to make up. She wanted her Daddy and she wanted him now. Peyton ran through all her memories and stories again, then decided to finally risk opening her eyes.
As soon as she did, the tears she'd been holding back spilled over. Peyton wiped them away and looked outside. The cars that had been speeding up to the ranch earlier were still there, but she couldn't hear or see anybody else out there. Peyton then got another idea. She remembered that Mawline had put a phone in the house where uncle Cory lived now. She knew where the extra key was, and if she could get into the house and to the phone, she could call for help.
Peyton very carefully but very quickly climbed down from the treehouse and ran as quickly and quietly as she could towards uncle Cory's house. She kept a close eye on everything around her, looking to see if anyone was following her. She didn't see anyone, but she saw something that scared her a lot worse. There was a man laying on the ground in front of Mawline and Gramps' house. When she saw who it was, Peyton wanted to scream, but she didn't. If she did, it would tell the bad men inside that she was there, and she wouldn't be able to call for help. So instead, she ran up to Daddy, crouched down so that she couldn't be seen from the window, and shook him.
"Daddy? Daddy, please wake up."
Daddy made a weird sound, but didn't say anything.
"Daddy! Come on, I need you. Wake up."
Daddy's eyes fluttered open, but Peyton didn't think Daddy could see her. "Lulu?"
"I'm here, Daddy. Are you okay?"
Daddy coughed and tried to move, but it hurt him a lot. "Ah!"
"Daddy, don't move. You hurt."
Finally, Daddy seemed to realize what was going on. "Lulu? Honey, where were you?"
"I was in the treehouse. I did like you told me and hid."
"Okay, that was a good girl, honey. Good girl."
"Daddy, the bad men are still here. They're in the house. What should I do?"
Daddy tried to move again, but Peyton shook her head. "No, Daddy. You're hurt. Tell me what to do. Do you have your phone in your pocket?"
"No, Lulu bear, it's inside." Daddy looked really mad, but finally pushed himself up. "Come on. I need your help to get to uncle Cory's, okay? We're gonna have to call 911."
"Okay, Daddy. Come on. I'll help you."
It seemed to take a really long time, but Peyton helped her Daddy get to uncle Cory's. When they made it inside, Daddy couldn't go anymore, and he fell to the floor. No matter how hard Peyton tried, she couldn't get him to wake up. The only phone she found was Auggie's, and it was close to dying, so she dialed 911, gave the operator her name and age, told them that there was a bunch of bad men at the house and her Daddy was hurt really bad and bleeding, and to please get the police and the ambulances to their house now. The phone died and Peyton hoped that all of that was enough.
A long time seemed to pass, and all Peyton felt she could do was cry. She gathered up all her strength and helped Daddy onto the couch so he wouldn't be uncomfortable on the floor. She got a glass of water and splashed it in Daddy's face, hoping that would be enough to wake him up. She sang to Daddy, held his hand, and begged him again to wake up.
The door burst open, and the terrified Peyton screamed. She backed herself into the wall, put herself into a ball, closed her eyes, and screamed with all her might. She felt someone's hands on her, and she fought and pushed them away.
"PEYTON LOUISA WALKER! OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOK AT ME RIGHT NOW!"
Peyton did. It wasn't one of the bad men breaking in to hurt her. It was uncle Cory, with Stella and Auggie and Gramps standing behind him. Daddy was being taken away by the ambulance drivers.
"Hey, kiddo. Sorry I had to yell at you, but are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"DADDY!"
Peyton didn't answer. She took off at a run for her Daddy, but only got a couple of feet away. Uncle Cory picked her up, but she swung and fought him with all her might. The ambulance drove away and Peyton wanted to scream again, scream for Daddy to come back, but she was too afraid. She broke down and grabbed her uncle's neck, refusing to let him go.
"Daddy…"
"Hey, sweet girl, it's okay. Calm down, you'll make yourself sick."
"Where's Daddy?"
"He's on his way to the hospital, where we'll go in just a minute." Uncle Cory said. "Hey, what happened out there, Doodle? Where were you?"
"I hid in the treehouse 'till I thought it was safe to come out. I found Daddy and I helped him get in here."
"Were you the one that called 911?" Uncle Cory asked.
"Yeah." Peyton said shakily. She looked around and noticed that everyone had gone. "Where did everybody go?"
"Gramps and Mawline went to the hospital. I sent Stella and Auggie to the house to talk to the police." Uncle Cory said. "Hey, you did good today, Doodle."
"Please, can we go see Daddy now?" Peyton asked.
"Yeah, kiddo. Come on, let's go."
Uncle Cory helped her into his truck. Usually, every time she rode with him, the two of them would get candy or ice cream, but this time Peyton didn't care about that. She only wanted to get to her Daddy and she wanted to get to him NOW. When they got there, the nurse tried to say that Peyton was too little to get in to see her Daddy, but Gramps told the nurse to let her in anyways. Before she went in though, Gramps bent down and told her that Daddy was awake and doing okay, but that he would have to be in the hospital for a couple of days. Peyton could see him, but when Gramps said it was time to go, she had to give Daddy a hug and a kiss and leave right then. If she threw a temper tantrum, she'd be in big trouble and the two of them would have a talk when they got back to the house. Peyton promised him she'd be good, and a minute later she was being led into Daddy's hospital room.
Peyton expected Daddy to be asleep, but he wasn't. He was sitting up in the bed, and while he didn't look happy, his face lit up real bright when Peyton walked in.
"Hey, Lulu."
"Daddy! You're okay!"
"I sure am. Get up here with me." Daddy patted the bed beside him.
"Liam, your shoulder…" Mawline started.
"Will be just fine if Lulu's super gentle about giving me a hug." Daddy said. "Come here, my big, brave girl."
Peyton gave Daddy a hug, real gentle like he asked. When she let him go, something else happened that Peyton hadn't been expecting. She started crying all over again, but this time, she couldn't make herself stop. She remembered Gramps' talk in the hallway, and for a minute she was scared he'd pick her up and make her leave. But he didn't. Instead, Daddy made everybody else leave until it was just the two of them. Daddy didn't say anything at first, just wiped her tears away with his hand and waited until she was calm enough to talk.
"Talk to me. What's going on with you?"
"I was really scared, Daddy."
"I know, Princess. I was too." Daddy said. "It's okay to be scared."
"I seen you on the front step and I know I shoulda kept going to uncle Cory's but I just had to stop and see you…"
"Hey, hey. Slow down. Start from the beginning." Daddy said. "Just before the bad men showed up, I was looking for you. Where were you?"
"I went to the treehouse and I was playing with my dollies."
"Okay. So that's why you weren't in the house. Did you hear them coming?"
"I saw them coming just after uncle Cory and Stella got there. I was gonna go and meet them but then I saw them coming up to the house real fast."
"And you stayed in the treehouse?"
"Yeah." Peyton answered. "I'm sorry, Daddy."
"Sorry for what?"
"I shoulda comed right on out." Peyton said. "Maybe then you wouldn't have been hurt as bad…"
"Peyton Louisa, you listen to me. Listen to me right now. You got your listenin' ears on?" Daddy pulled her ear playfully, making Peyton giggle.
"I'm listenin'."
"You did exactly what you were supposed to do. Don't ever be sorry for that. Even if I'm hurt, I want you to stay safe. Don't ever be sorry for that. You hear me, Peyton Louisa?"
"Yes, sir."
Daddy smiled. Peyton knew she was supposed to say yes, sir all the time, but Daddy really didn't say anything about it unless she was in trouble. The only time he ever said her full name was when she was really in deep, deep trouble.
"You're not in trouble."
"I screamed at uncle Cory."
"What? When?" Daddy asked.
"When they come to the house to get you. I thought he was one of the bad men and I pushed him and screamed at him."
"Lulu bear, you were scared. I understand and I'm sure your uncle does too." Daddy said. "I promise you. You're not in trouble."
Peyton looked up and asked Daddy, "Was you really scared today? For real?"
Daddy nodded sadly. "For real. But you know what, because you were so brave, you helped me not be so scared."
"How did I help you? I was scared too."
This time, Daddy smiled. "You really don't realize what all you did today, do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Baby, there were so many bad men in the house today that your uncle Cory couldn't get them all. But you got me somewhere safe and called 911 to help. If you hadn't done that, there's no telling how many people could've gotten hurt today. I might've died all alone on that sidewalk if you hadn't come down to help me." Daddy reached up and pulled Peyton's hair out of her face. "You saved my life, kiddo."
Peyton smiled now. There was no doubt about it-she was really a good girl, and she didn't have to doubt it anymore. Peyton gave her Daddy a hug, this time around the waist instead of around the neck.
"Okay. I think we've got about another half hour before Gramps comes and starts making you head home. What do you want to do, Lulu bug?"
"Nothing, Daddy." Peyton said. She looked at his shoulder and asked shyly, "Will you jus' hold me, please?"
"Of course I will."
"It won't hurt your shoulder?"
"It'll hurt not to do it. Come here."
Daddy helped Peyton switch to the other side of the bed, where she snuggled up to her Daddy's side and held him tight. They didn't say anything for a few minutes, but the memory of how Daddy got Peyton's broken arm to stop hurting kept coming back into her head. She then got an idea.
"Hey, Daddy?"
"Yes, Lulu bug?"
"What's brown and sticky?"
Daddy smiled. He knew right away what Peyton was doing, but he didn't care. "I don't know."
"A stick."
The joke made Daddy laugh, so Peyton told another one. When she ran out of ideas, Daddy took over. By the time Gramps came back, the two of them were laughing so hard that Peyton was crying all over again. She gave Daddy a hug and a kiss, and went to bed that night knowing that she would always be her Daddy's good girl.