A/N- This fiction is far surpassing the expectations I had for it. I can't believe we are on chapter 11. Oh, thanks guys for telling me I was spelling Hershel wrong. :p Geeze Guys! I will go back and fix it later, but from now on it will be spelled right!
The sun had just risen and there I sat with Daryl on top of the RV. We were still talking about random things, I was telling him about my foster families and showing him the flower tattoo on my foot. He laughed when I told him I was drunk when I got it. I look out just in time to see Rick heading over as Dale steps out of the RV.
"Mornin'" I say as Daryl and I climb down.
"Good morning." Rick and Dale both say.
Daryl doesn't say much, just heads back to his tent. I shake my head and look towards Rick as I speak.
"Getting an early start on lookin' for Sophia?" I ask.
"Yeah, I think you and Daryl gave us a little bit of hope in finding the farmhouse." He says.
"He's adamant about finding her, I believe in him." I say.
"Never thought I would meet someone so fond of Daryl." Rick joked a bit.
"I think it's cause we're both broken people, we connect on that level." I say.
Rick nods and looks around. Today was going to be a long day, I could feel it in my bones.
"Are you heading out with Daryl today?" He asks.
"No, actually I was gonna head back up the highway, take Abby with me. You know check and see if she's there." I say.
"Good idea." Rick says.
I nod and head to get Abby and prepare to head out. Each day that passed, I knew everyone was losing hope. I hand Abby her eagles and I go to grab mine and a box of ammo. I walk towards Daryl's tent just as he walks out, ready for another day of hunting.
"Hey, I told Rick I was gonna head back up the highway. Check, maybe she wondered back across there. Look for clues." I say.
"Ok, I'm gonna head up up the trail. You takin' Abby?" He asked.
"Yeah, you know I am." I answer.
"Good." He says.
I nod towards Abby and the three of us head towards Rick and Shane, who were standing in front of the truck, map spread out.
"Alright, everyone's getting new search grids today." Rick says as we gather around the hood of the truck. "If she made it as far as the farm house Daryl and Murphy found, she may have gone further east then we've been so far."
Shane shakes his head as he opens the door to the truck. He had given up hope, and didn't care that he was coming off a bit insensitive.
"I'd like to help. I know the area pretty well." Jimmy says as we look at him.
I busy my self loading my eagles and making sure they were ready if need be. Abby stands doing the same, we were eager to get out there and find Sophia.
"Hershel's ok with this?" Rick asks.
"Yeah, yeah...he said I should ask you." Jimmy said.
"Alright then, thanks." Rick says. "Murphy and Abby are gonna head back up the highway, check for signs." Rick adds.
"Nothing about what Daryl and Murphy found, screamed Sophia to me. Anybody could of been hold up in that farmhouse." Shane says.
"Anyone includes her, right?" Andrea asked.
"Who ever slept in that cupboard..." Daryl says motioning with his hand. "Was no bigger then yey high."
"We can't give up on her, what if you were out there lost? Would you want us to give up on you, Shane?" Abby asked.
Shane looked at her, his glare softened a bit, but he stayed silent. I shake my head and walk up next to Daryl and look over the map.
"Good lead." Andrea says.
"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." Rick adds.
"No maybe about it, Imma borrow a horse. Head up to this ridge right here." Daryl says as he motions towards the map while Dale comes up with the bag of guns. "Get a birds eye view of the whole grid, if she's up there, I'll spot her." Daryl adds.
"Good Idea." T-Dogg says. "Maybe you'll see your Chupachabra up there too." He adds.
"Chupachabra?" Rick asks.
"Oh, you never heard this?" Dale asks as he lays the bag on the hood of the truck. "The first night in camp, Daryl tells us, the whole thing reminds him of one time he went squirrel hunting and he saw a Chupachabra." Dale adds.
Jimmy laughs and Daryl instantly glares at him.
"Whatcha braying at, jackass?"
Abby and I laugh a bit as well. I admit I thought he was crazy when he first told me, but I figured, hey no one expected to see fucking zombies walking around.
"So you believe in a blood sucking dog?" Rick asks with a laugh.
"You believe dead people walkin' around?" Daryl asks.
I shake my head, these two were always in some sort of pissing contest. Abby walks over and tells Shane our plan as Jimmy reaches for a shot gun, but Rick stops him.
"Hey, hey, you ever fire one before?" Rick asked.
"Well if I'm going out, I want one." Jimmy says.
"Yeah, people in hell want slurpees." Daryl says, slinging his bow over his shoulder.
"Hey Dixon." I say as he goes to walk away.
"Yeah?" He says turning around.
"Be careful out there. Watch out for those Chupachabras." I say teasingly.
He doesn't answer me, but looks over his shoulder at me. He actually flips me off, I pretend to be shocked and then proceed to flip him off as I mumbled "fuck you too Dixon." Of course he had to get the last word as I hear him say "already did that" just loud enough for me to hear him. I shake my head and motion to Abby to go. After securing things, I climb behind the wheel of the station wagon and head out, with Abby in tow. I say a silent prayer, please let this be the day we find Sophia, or at least let us know we're getting closer to finding her.
I keep an eye out as we drive along, we'll have to stop a little ways from where we left supplies, I'm not risking getting stuck in the graveyard of cars. As I drive I can feel Abby's eyes on me, I glance towards her and sure enough her blue eyes were focused on me.
"What?" I say.
"How was it?" She asked.
"How was what?" I play stupid.
"You know what, how was the second round with squirrel boy?" She asked.
"Ugh, really? What we are kissing and telling? So what if it was the best sex I have ever had. So what if he put Toby to shame and made Toby look like a fuckin' virgin." I say watching the road.
"You're all hung up on him. He makes you a giggly girl." Abby teased.
"Shut up, it's not like that. He's different, I was so use to Toby and his bullshit that I forgot real men existed. I don't ever expect a epic love poem, or Daryl to be this white knight, I have no fairytale fantasies, but he gives me what I need and that's understanding. He's just as broken as I am, just as damaged, only where I had you, he had no one. Who knows, maybe one day he'll open up to me, but I'm not gonna to push him." I say as I bring the car to stop.
"As long as you're happy and he treats you like you deserve to be treated, I'm good. You guys are good together." Abby says as we climb out of the car.
I smile and nod as we begin to slowly make our way up the highway. We move back to back when we have to squeeze between cars, taking caution to look everywhere and be aware of everything around us. As we make our way towards the supplies we had left, I notice they had been ravaged, probably by a wild animal. Abby and I continue on, combing every inch of highway as we made our way up it.
"Question." Abby says.
"Shoot." I say back, looking into the abandoned cars.
"You tell Daryl everything?" She asks.
"Yeah, I did. I told him about the abuse I took from Toby, explained my scars." I say.
"What he say?" She asked me.
"Told me I was perfect, told me he would always be there for me. He would help me glue myself back together if I should break." I say.
"He's a good guy deep down." Abby says before calling out for Sophia.
"Yeah, he just needs someone to make him believe it. No one has ever told him he was good, no one's ever been there for him. He told me about his family life, no one was ever there for him. I know how that feels because outside of you and your family, I had no one for the longest time." I say.
Abby smiles at me, I knew she understood, she had been there for me all my life, she knew me better than I knew myself at times. We continue on our way, an hour, maybe two passed before we decided to head back down the highway.
"Sophia, if you can hear me, it's Murph and Abby. Honey we're all looking for you and worried about you." I call out.
There was a noise behind us, Abby and I both turn and aim our eagles. We call out to Sophia, but instead we we get two walker coming out from behind what was the water truck. Abby and I both shoot, nailing both walkers three times before finally leveling them. I go to speak, but something grabs me from behind. I scream out, I knew it was a walker, I could hear it growling. The force knocked me to the ground and I dropped my guns. Abby turns and shoots, nailing the walker between the eyes. I lay on the ground for a moment, I guess I wasn't paying too much attention, because Abby gasps and hurries to get me to my feet, after tucking my guns in the waist of her jeans. That's when I felt it, the trickle of warm blood seeping down my cheek. I must have hit my head on the car next to me as I fell.
I shake it off and take my guns back from Abby, my eye was hurting now. I pressed on though, Abby and I moved back to back, weaving between the cars. She asked if I was ok, I said yeah, I would be. I had no choice. We quickly make it back to the car, Abby insisted on driving. I didn't argue, just handed her the keys and climbed in. I lay back in the seat and pull the visor down as Abby drives off. I inspect my eye, I was gonna have a nice shiner, but the blood made it look worse than it was. I wipe my eye with the back of my hand.
"You ok?" She asks.
"Yeah, just hurts like a bitch." I say.
"You hit the car pretty damn hard." She said.
"Better the car then meeting walker teeth." I say.
"True, plus squirrel boy would go on a rampage." She joked.
I laughed as we drove. We had been out a few hours, I was ready to get back to camp. I needed to take care of my eye and check in to see if anyone else had any clues on Sophia. The ride back was quiet, I stared out the window. As soon as we pull up into the yard, I hop out of the car. Carol and Lori are right there, asking questions as I'm gently pulled over towards the table to have my eye looked at. Abby sits down next to me as Carol goes to grab the first aid kit we had put together. We both un holster our weapons and lay them down on the table.
"What happened?" Lori asked.
"Walkers, three of them. One grabbed me, I jerked away and hit my face on a car on the way down." I say. "No sign of Sophia." I add with a sigh.
"At least you guys tried, it's all anyone can ask." Lori says.
I smile and look towards Carol who comes back, kit in hand. She sits down and slowly begins to doctor my face as Lori tells her what happened.
"I want you both to know, I appreciate what you're doing for my daughter. I'm sorry you got hurt Murphy." Carol whispers.
"Eh, I've had worse." I joke.
Carol smiles softly as she wipes the blood from my face and places a small bandage under my eye. I go to speak, but I'm cut off by Andrea yelling "Walker!" Abby and I both spring up as the men were already off running towards where Andrea said the walker was. We both grab an eagle and run halfway into the field. Shane tells us to stay back, and for a moment we stand frozen. I see the guys stop and stare, I wondered why they weren't killing it. I see Rick raise his revolver, but then the "walker" spoke.
"That's the third time ya pointed that thing at my head." The walker growled. "You gonna pull the trigger or what?" It added.
"What?" I thought. Walkers don't talk, but as it came closer I realized that it wasn't a walker, but Daryl. Everything seemed to slow down, Rick lowered his gun, but before I could get Daryl's name outta my mouth a shot rang out. Rick screamed "NO!" as I stood frozen, I couldn't speak as I watched Daryl hit the ground. I heard Abby screaming as well and people running from the house. When I do snap out of it I find myself running towards Daryl. God, please don't let him be gone. I say to myself.
"I was kiddin'." Daryl said as Rick and Shane hoisted him to his feet.
I silently thanked God as I ran towards them. Abby pointed towards Andrea, who was now running towards us with Dale. I shake my head, I could of easily went off on her, yelled, threatened to beat her ass, but right now my concern was Daryl. I pick his crossbow up from the ground as the guys begin to help him towards the house.
"Oh my god, oh my God, is he dead?" Andrea cried out.
"Unconscious. You just grazed him." Rick said.
"But look at him. What the hell happened? He's wearing ears." Glenn said.
I guess I wasn't paying much attention, I just wanted to get Daryl checked out and then I could ask questions.
"Let's keep that to ourselves." Rick says as he rips the ears from Daryl's neck.
"Guys." T-Dogg says as he holds up a doll. "Isn't this Sophia's?" He asks.
We all turn and look, that was a clue. We look towards Daryl and then back at the doll, once Daryl was tended too, the questions were going to be asked. I look at Rick and he nods, helping Shane get Daryl inside to be tended to. I hand Daryl's bow off to Abby and follow everyone inside. Hershel leads the way, we take Daryl inside and into a small bedroom. Rick and Shane lay him down and I help undo his make shift bandage and help him take off his dirty shirt. He was coming around and I was grateful too it. I don't know what I would of done if I would of lost him. I sit down on the bed, opposite of Hershel and just listen as Rick asks about the doll.
"I found it washed up on the creek bed right there. She must of dropped it crossing somewhere." Daryl says.
"Cuts the grid almost in half." Rick says, looking over his shoulder at Shane.
"Yeah, yer welcome." Daryl grunts.
I put my hand on his shoulder as I watch Hershel stitch him up. I tried not to think of the bad things, tried not to think about how I could of lost him to what ever happened to him in the woods or if Andrea's bullet hadn't been a little off.
"How's he lookin'?" Rick asked as he looked at Hershel.
"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly." Hershel says as he finished stitching Daryl and stood up straight. "Any idea what happened to my horse?" He asked as he looked at Daryl.
"Yeah, the one that almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country." Daryl said in an venomous tone.
"We call that one Nellie." Hershel said as he rinsed his hands. "As in nervous Nellie. I coulda told ya she'd throw ya, if you'd bothered to ask." Hershel said.
There was tension in the room, Shane and Daryl were both close to exploding, Hershel was annoyed and Rick was trying to calm everyone. I place a hand on Rick's arm, letting him know it was ok. He nods to me before looking at Hershel.
"It's a wonder you people have survived this long." Hershel tells Rick as he wipes his hands.
With that, everyone began filing out of the room till it was just Daryl and I. Shane headed for Abby to find out what happened on the highway. I on the other hand walked over and took the basin of water Hershel had used and brought it to the side of the bed. Daryl rolls over on his back and groans a bit as I sit back down with a rag in my hand. We stayed silent for a little while as I cleaned the dirt off Daryl's face. I laughed a bit, he was like a little six year old dirt magnet, but he was still cute. Daryl looks at me curiously, wondering what I was laughing about.
"You're like a little boy who spends his time rolling in the dirt." I say as I dip the rag in the water and wring it out.
"Glad I could amuse you." He says with a grumble.
"Ah, don't be grouchy." I say.
Daryl doesn't answer me, instead just lays there as I continue to clean the dirt off of him the best I could. I gently wipe around the stitches Hershel just gave him, he flinches a bit and I apologize. We continue to sit in silence, soon Daryl was somewhat clean and the water basin was now fully of muddy murky water. I take the basin and walk out of the room, towards the bathroom. I stop though as I hear my name being called. I turn around to see Andrea standing a few feet away from me. I can tell she was nervous, maybe even scared over my reaction. I smile at her and motion with my head for her to follow me into the bathroom so I can dump the water. Andrea slowly follows and begins to speak as I dump the water down the bathtub drain.
"Murph, I'm sorry. I really thought he was a walker." She said softly.
"I know, I know you wouldn't intentionally shoot Daryl. Even though I know some people have wanted to shoot him at times, me included." I say sitting the basin aside.
"I just, I feel like shit. I except you to be pissed at me. I mean I know how you feel about him." She says.
"Andrea..." I say softly. "It's ok, he's ok. I understand, slightly annoyed, but alls forgiven on my end. Though good luck apologizing to Daryl." I add.
"Yeah, thanks." She says with a small laugh.
"I'm gonna go back and check on him, you wanna come with me?" I ask.
"Um, not yet. But I'll come see him later, let him calm down." She says.
I nod, tell her not to worry and walk out of the bathroom. I make my way back towards Daryl's room. My eye was starting to swell a bit and soon I knew it was going to turn black. I enter the room, closing the door softly behind me. Daryl laid on his side, back to the door. He seemed almost like a wounded animal, one that could possible lash out because of the pain he was in. I sit on the edge of the bed and rest my hand against Daryl's hip. He flinches a bit, but I was no where near any bruised part of his body. No, the reason for that reaction ran deeper than that.
"Daryl?" I say softly.
He doesn't answer, I know he isn't asleep. I sigh softly as I move to the chair on the other side of the bed to face Daryl.
"Come on Dixon, I know you aren't sleep. Talk to me." I say.
"Not much to talk about." He says back.
"Yeah there is. What happened out there?" I asked.
"The damn horse threw me, I fell down a cliff, stabbed myself with an arrow and climbed back up the fuckin' hill." He snaps.
"Look, I know you're in pain, but don't take it out on me." I say as I stand up. "I'll come check on you later when you're in a better mood." I say.
Daryl just grumbles as I walk away. I roll my eyes and exit the room, I was worried about him, but I knew he was a big boy. I walk down the hall, heading towards the kitchen. Carol and Lori had been talking about cooking dinner for the Greene's and I wanted to help. I smile as I walk into the kitchen and get greeted by the girls. I walk over and sit down on a stool by the counter and grab a potato that needed to be peeled. I see Abby helping set up tables and for a moment, things felt normal.
"How is he?" Carol asks.
"Grouchy, but its to be expected." I say tossing the potato into a strainer and grabbing another one.
"Daryl? Grouchy? Why I would never believe that." Lori joked.
We all laugh, Daryl was a handful at times. Kind of like a snake, coiled and ready to strike if cornered. Beth and Patricia both smile, I smile back. I hadn't gotten to talk to them much, but they seem pretty nice the times I have seen them interact with others. I see Lori looking at me, she's smirking. I look around and then back at her curiously.
"What?" I ask softly.
"Oh nothing, just admiring your shirt." She says drawing everyone's attention.
"Isn't that Daryl's? In fact he was wearing it that day we arrived at the CDC." Carol said.
I lower my head and blush, Beth and Patricia both laugh along with Lori and Carol. I shake my head and playfully glare at Lori.
"So, I um, I may have borrowed it." I say shyly.
"Before or after you got off of Daryl?" I heard Andrea ask as she entered the kitchen.
"Oh my God, shut up. My sex life is not up for discussion." I say peeling my potato.
"Oh, but it is." Lori joked.
"We want to know, so spill it." Carol added.
"Carol? Not you too!" I say.
"Now a days nothin' is discreet. Besides I wasn't always shy and meek." Carol said.
I admit, I was shocked. These women were secretly all perverts. I was waiting for Abby to come and join in as well. I shake my head, tossing the potato in the strainer and grabbing another one as Andrea and Beth stare at me.
"Out with it." Andrea says grabbing a carrot. "We want to know what sex with Daryl Dixon is like." She teased.
"It's freaking amazing." I say while looking over my shoulder. "He knows how to use those hands of his. There was a reason I went back for more after the night at the CDC." I say.
"Wait! You slept with Daryl at the CDC?" Carol and Lori asked in unison.
Fuck, I forgot they didn't know. I blushed more as I tossed the potato into the strainer and grabbed a carrot to peel. Now everyone was staring at me and my face was tomato red now.
"Um yeah...I did." I say softly. "We got drunk and one thing led to another." I continued.
The girls laugh and shake their heads. I look up as Carol pats me on the shoulder. I was embarrassed, but I laughed too. Wasn't like it was really something to be ashamed of by today's standards. I held my head proud and smirked as I decided might as well give in.
"It was rough, violent, hot sex and I enjoyed every minute of it!" I laughed.
We all laughed again, joked and forgot our troubles. Just for a few hours life would be normal, maybe even sane. I toss a piece of carrot at Lori as she asks me if Daryl likes me on top. I mumble "bitch" and laugh once more. We passed the time cooking and telling stories, of course I was glad there were no children present. Beth was around sixteen, but seemed mature enough to be involved with this conversation, or at least listen to it.
Before we knew it dinner was ready and we were calling everyone in. I politely ask to use the shower and excuse myself. Carol was nice enough to hold a plate of food for me. I hurry out into the dark and grab my bag before heading back into the house. I head upstairs, stopping for a moment to check on a sleeping Daryl. I smile and head towards the bathroom. I waste no time turning on the hot water and stripping off my dirty clothes. I slip into the shower, God it felt so good. I stand under the spray for a few minutes letting the hot water soak my waist length dark hair, cascade down over my shoulders, breasts and stomach. I lay my head back and close my eyes, my body was sore, my eye was throbbing, but I was in heaven. I lather up my body, washing away the grime. Minutes pass and soon I'm washing the conditioner from my hair. Thank God for little miracles and Maggie's shampoo and conditioner stash.
I was completely lost in my hot shower, so lost in fact I didn't hear the door creak open, or hear the feet lightly padding across the floor. What snapped me out of my thoughts was when I felt hands on my hips. My head shot up and I meet deep blue eyes staring at me. I was startled, but then shook it off as I stared at Daryl.
"What are you doing?" I managed to squeak out. "Your stitches..." I add.
"Waterproof bandage, Hershel said I need to try and get clean, avoid infection." He says while looking down at me.
"So you decided to steal my shower?" I ask sweetly.
"I need help..." He mumbled and I almost missed it.
I exhale softly and nod, while moving so Daryl now stood under the water. I watch as the water was already washing away some of the left over dirt. I pick up the washcloth I had laid on the edge of the tub along with a bar of soap. Things were silent as I lathered up the washcloth and started with Daryl's shoulders. I slowly washed the dirt and grime from them, Daryl continues to stare at his feet as the dirty water swirls around them. Slowly I wash his arms, his torso, careful of the bandage. I wrap my arms around him, and gently wash his back, as I do he rests his forehead on my shoulder.
"Sorry for earlier." He whispers.
"It's ok, I understand." I say.
Things fall silent again as I continue to wash the dirt from Daryl's body, I lift my soapy hands and run them through his hair, scrubbing the dirt away, as his forehead continues to rest on my shoulder. I exhale softly, I had never given anyone a bath, this was all new to me. I also never saw Daryl this vulnerable, it was odd. We stand there for a few moments under the hot stream of water. It was soothing our aching bodies and I was enjoying the close contact with Daryl. Slowly he lifts his head and locks eyes with me. I gently touch his cheek and sigh softly. He lifts my chin and inspects my eye.
"What happened?" He asked softly.
"Walkers, on the highway. One grabbed me...I jerked away and fell, hit a car." I say.
Daryl stares at me, running his thumb gently over the cut and then kissing right above my bruised eye. I couldn't help but smirk a bit. Then he kissed me, it was slow and sweet, which I'm guess had to do with the fact he wasn't a hundred percent. Normally his kisses were rough, my lips would get nipped at and he would make it seem as if he were trying to suck the air from my lungs. I subconsciously wrap my arms around Daryl and kiss him back. I could of stayed like this for a long time, but I knew our shower had to end soon. I let the kiss linger until finally letting go of Daryl.
I reach behind him and turn off the water. We slowly make our way out of the tub, I offer Daryl my hand, but he refuses, determined to do things on his own. I grab a towel and slowly dry us both off, careful of Daryl's stitches and my eye. We were a sight, but at least we had each other. At the end of the day we each knew we had someone lay down with and wake up with. Daryl reaches for his boxers and pants and I help him slide them on. I go to to grab my clothes, but Daryl stops me for a moment. He looks me over, he looked determined.
"What are you doing?" I ask softly.
He didn't answer me, instead brought me into another kiss. This time it was a bit aggressive, needy and only succeeded in making me want Daryl right there in the bathroom. Of course I would of had him, if he didn't have stitches. Moments later I pull away a bit and look up at Daryl.
"What was that for?" I ask.
"Makin' sure you was ok. I'm glad you came back to me." He says.
"I'll always come back to you Dixon." I say softly.
"You better." He whispers.
Daryl finally lets me go, long enough for me to slip on my sweat pants and a tank top. This time, it was me who laid my forehead on his bare chest. I feel his hands gently rub my back, I'm guessing he could feel my tension, because his hands gently worked the muscles in my back.
"Are you ok?" I ask softly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just fuckin' stings." He says.
"I'm glad you're ok, I don't know what I would do without you Dixon." I say softly.
"Well you ain't gonna have to ever worry bout that. I ain't goin' nowhere." He says.
I smile and kiss his chin, I believed him. There was something special about Daryl and I was glad I got to see it. I help him back to his room and get him back in bed. He was going to protest, but I shot him a look that told him to not even try. He mumbles, but I just shake my head. I silently go about patching him up with fresh dry bandages before standing up.
"I'll be right back, I'm gonna get you something to eat." I say softly.
He nods and I walk out of the room. Of course I smile as I see Carol coming down the hall with a tray of food I assume is for Daryl.
"I figured he must be starving." She says.
"Yeah, I was just heading down to get him something." I say softly.
"Well, you can bring him this is you want." She says softly.
"Actually, I think it would be good coming from you. I think he feels like he's failing you ever time he doesn't come back with Sophia." I say.
"Never, Daryl has done more for me and my little girl then anyone ever has." She says softly.
I smile, Daryl needed to hear those words. I nod towards Carol before she walks towards the door. I lean against the wall, careful not to intrude on Carol's moment with Daryl. I looked at her and I see a strong woman, someone who wanted to take care of those around her and did a good job of it. It was kind of cute how she treated Daryl like her was the baby bird to her mother hen. I lay my head against the wall as I hear Carol talking.
"How are you feelin'?" I hear her ask.
"Bout as good as I look." Daryl says.
I shake my head, he did look pretty bad. The shower took what energy he did have, I knew soon he would get the sleep he needed to heal.
"Brought you some dinner, you must be starving." Carol said softly.
I hear Daryl grunt, I knew he was putting on a front. Something told me inside he was hurting, but I could tell he was raised to not show that hurt.
"You need to know something. You did more for my little girl today then her own daddy ever did in his whole life." Carol whispered.
"I didn't do anything Rick or Shane wouldn' of done." Daryl says.
That kind of broke my heart, he was a good man, he was just as good as Rick or Shane. I wish he could see himself like Carol and I did.
"I know, you're ever bit as good as them. Every bit." She whispered.
With that she slowly exited the room, I look at her and offer her a small smile. She reaches for my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. I wish her a good night, she smiles and nods before heading out. I make my way back into the room. I close the door and walk over to the opposite side of the bed. I sit down on the edge of the bed and look at Daryl.
"She's right you know? You're just as good as Rick or Shane or any other man out there. I know you don't believe it, but it's true. You're a good man Daryl." I say
"Yeah..." Was all he whispered. "If you guys say so. But I don' think I did anythin' special." He added.
"One day Daryl, you're gonna look in the mirror and see the man Carol and I see." I say softly.
Daryl just grunts softly as I kiss his bandaged head. I go to get up, but he gently grabs my wrist and looks up at me.
"Where ya going?" He inquired.
"I was gonna let you get some sleep." I say.
"Stay..." He says.
"I don't want to hurt you or your stitches." I say.
Daryl doesn't answer, only moves over a bit giving me room to lay down. He looks at me again and I finally give in and lay down. Daryl pulls the blanket on the bed up over us. I move for only a second, turning out the bedroom lamp, before settling back down. What happened next shocked me a bit. I lay on my side and I feel Daryl rest his forehead on my chest. I can feel his breathing was starting to slow and his arm was resting on my waist. I reach up and gently run my fingers through his damp hair, in a comforting manner. That's how I stayed for a while until I let sleep claim me as well.
A/N- I based the shower scene with the stitches off my own experience (the stitches, not the other thing lol.) I had stitches in my forehead and was able to get them wet a few hours later, as long as I kept the waterproof dressing on them. I can see Daryl having a vulnerable moment, plus ever wonder how he was so clean when Carol came to visit? Boom, there ya go! haha. He was vulnerable that whole night after falling off the cliff. I hope you guys are enjoying, I promise there is a surprise coming up soon, Thanks to everyone for the alerts, reviews and favorites. I 3 you guys!