The morning when Quinn left Alexandria
Daryl left Alexandria as soon as he could, early morning. He spent the rest of the night there, but then he was out. He had this strange feeling, that maybe he should make sure Quinn reached the Kingdom. He could see Carol too…
He decided to head to the Kingdom, to check everything was alright.
He was thinking about last night. Fucking Negan… should be dead already. He made an angry face just thinking about Negan. He felt so much hatred for him, he thought he might explode. He was walking fast, he wanted to catch up to Quinn, just to see her from a distance, to make sure everything was alright. Anger made him walk even faster.
He was so pissed off by the situation. Why would Quinn fall in love with that asshole? he thought. How could she love him? HOW?
He felt blood pumping in his head. He felt guilty for not feeling anything romantically for Quinn, but still, she was important to him. She was family. Just like Maggie or Rosita.
He shook his head, to shake the thoughts, but he kept thinking about this situation. He simply just couldn't believe it that happened. And he didn't know what to do about it. Maybe if he didn't turn down Quinn, she would be with him and she would never think about Negan. But Daryl didn't have romantic feelings for her, he couldn't fake it. His heart was someone else's…
As he was walking, he saw someone on the road ahead of him.
That someone just collapsed on the ground. Was it a walker? He didn't see any other walker nearby, so he got his knife to put it out. As he got closer, he recognized her.
"Quinn…" he breathed. He put away his knife and started to run towards her.
Daryl was kneeling next to Quinn. Her face was so pale, barely hanging to life. He immediately saw the blood on her wrist.
"No…" he whispered, he felt devastated. This is my fault. This is all my fault! he thought.He blamed himself for everything.
He quickly tore a piece from his shirt and tied it tightly around her wrist. Slowly it started to soak in blood.
"C'mon. C'mon," he murmured. He bent closer to listen if she was still breathing. She was. He tore another piece from his shirt to put it on the other bandage. This one hasn't soaked through with blood. Good, that means he managed to stop the bleeding. They were in the middle of the road, but they were closer to the Kingdom at that point. Daryl looked around. He had to carry her to the Kingdom. He couldn't leave her there to run off for help, walkers might find her. He came to the conclusion that he had to carry her.
He put his crossbow on his back, fixed his belt, which held more weapons, so it wouldn't move while carrying her. He checked himself then bent over for her. He lifted her gently into his arms. She was so pale, he was afraid she might turn in any second, but he felt her heartbeat, he could hear her breathing.
She'll make it. - he thought. - She'll make it.
He grabbed her tightly and headed to the Kingdom.
…
As soon as he walked through the gates, exhausted, a lot of people gathered around him suddenly.
"Who is that he is carrying?" someone asked.
"Someone get Carol, fast!" Daryl ordered.
He headed towards the infirmary. Carol came running, her face turned into horror when she saw Daryl carrying Quinn, just like he carried Beth…
"She cut herself," Daryl told Carol. She gasped.
"No, please no… Quinn?" she talked to her, but no response came. She listened to check if she was still breathing. She was. They got her quickly to the infirmary.
…
Daryl was sitting on the porch, defeated. Carol came and sat beside him.
"'ts all my fault," said Daryl.
"Nooo, of course not," Carol said. "She had a lot of problems, don't blame yourself."
"I was one of her problems," he said looking Carol in the eye for a moment, then both of them looked away. Daryl was staring at the ground.
The sun was about to set.
"Don't blame yourself," Carol repeated. Daryl looked at her once again.
"She fell in love with that bastard, because I turned her down."
"That's not true either," said Carol.
"If she stayed with me, she wouldn't have to spend any time with him. She wouldn't fall in love with him."
"Stop this, please," Carol placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Stop blaming yourself, you didn't do anything wrong."
Daryl was staring at the ground again. Carol continued.
"She is going to be okay. I will keep an eye on her and I won't let her do anything like that again," she said.
Daryl slightly nodded.
He stayed in the Kingdom, he wanted to wait for Quinn to wake up. He wanted to apologize to her. He wanted to talk to her. He cared about her.
Carol couldn't help herself, seeing Daryl in a state like this. She hugged him as they were sitting on the porch.
Daryl shook his head, then wiped his face. He realized he had blood on his hands. Quinn's blood. He quickly stood up and went in to wash it off. Carol looked at him, then she decided it would be better if she left Daryl alone for now.
He had to think, he had to get over his feelings of guilt.
…
(Author's notes: Listen to "Guilty" by The Rasmus. This time, it illustrates Daryl's feelings. :( Thank You for reading! ❤)