A/N: So what did you guys think of the midseason finale? As a whole I loved it. Got a little teary eyed when Rick and Daryl had that bromance reunion. It made me so happy and emotional. Watching Season 7 has gears turning in my head of how the story will play out. So excited for you guys to see what I have planned for this story. My motivation is returning and break is approaching so hopefully I'll be able to get some more chapters out in the next few weeks.
OOOOO
The next morning, the group was able to explore their new home and Kayla could tell right away acclimating Daryl was going to be difficult. Granted, the second they stepped through the gate she knew getting Daryl comfortable in a place like this where middle class, white collar workers originated and most likely resided after the apocalypse, it wasn't going to be his cup of tea. Despite none of that mattering anymore, it still got to Daryl despite the amazing man he proved to be every single day.
"You're just going to sit on the porch?" Kayla asked as she, Angela and Jonathan prepared to branch out and look at the rest of Alexandria.
"Yeah." Daryl answered simply.
"Are you sure?"
Daryl just nodded in response. "Someone's gotta watch out shit."
Kayla let out a breath, not wanting to argue. She knew had to be patient. Baby steps. "Alright we'll be back in a little while. Deanna wanted me and Angela to stop by the infirmary."
"I'll be here."
"I love you, Daryl."
Daryl looked up at her and gave her half a smile. "Love ya, too."
After that Kayla left the porch with Angela and Jonathan, taking off down the street to look at some of the other houses and make sense of the new area. It was maintained, all the landscaping well taken care of. Flowers bloomed, grass was cut, weeds were picked. There were a couple of gazebos and benches tastefully placed around the houses to sit at and take cover from the summer sun. There was even a church that Kayla was sure Gabriel would hole himself up in eventually. In the center of the development was a large pond with a couple of more benches surrounding it.
There weren't a whole lot of people around, a woman walking a dog and maybe two or three other stragglers taking a morning walk but besides that the morning was quiet. If Kayla had to guess, the residents were taking to their usual jobs.
As the trio walked, Angela heard someone yell her name. She, Kayla, and Jonathan all turned around to see the source of the voice and when Angela and Kayla saw who it was, their stomachs dropped. "Ron?" Angela said in shock as the teenage boy gave them a smile and his eyes became wet. He ran towards them, Angela running and meeting him in the middle in an embrace. Kayla walked up to them as Angela and Ron hugged each other tight before Kayla got her turn to hug the boy.
Putting her hand on the back of his head, she gave him the tightest hug she could manage. He had gotten so big since the last time she saw him when he was only eleven. When she pulled away from him, she had the biggest smile on her face as she placed her hands on either side of his.
"You're here?" she asked.
"We all are. Me, my parents, Sam…"
That's when Kayla remembered Deanna said the other doctor's name was Pete. Ron's dad was the Pete she was referring to.
"Oh my God, where?" Angela said hopefully.
"My dad's at the infirmary, but my mom and Sam are at home." Ron told the two. "Come on."
Ron led the two women and Jonathan to his home, Kayla still in a great deal of shock that the family and Angela came to know quite well before the outbreak. The two met Pete and his family while spending some time working at a Virginia hospital years ago. Even after moving back to Georgia, the women staying in contact with the Anderson family. Knowing they were alive felt surreal.
Getting to the house, Ron led them inside where he found his mother in the kitchen. When Jesse looked up and saw the familiar faces, her eyes widened in surprise as she dropped the dishes in her hands in shock. The shattered on the floor, but the three women were too happy to care as they embraced on another in tight hugs. "Sam get down here!" Ron yelled up the stairs to his younger brother, causing the youngest Anderson to come rushing down the steps.
When Sam rounded the corner, Kayla and Angela released Jesse to see the young boy who like Ron, had grown significantly during the time they've been separated. Sam broke out in a large smile. "Kayla! Angela!" he shouted in joy as he rushed over to the women, hugging them at the same time. Angela and Kayla welcomed the young boy's embrace as they stood in the kitchen. There were tears of joy steaming down everyone's faces during the reunion among friends.
OOOOO
Kayla and Angela wound up staying at Jesse's house for a little with Jonathan as everyone caught the each other up with where they've been and how they wound up in the same place. It turns out there wasn't much for Jesse to tell as she's been in Alexandria all this time as where Kayla and Angela have experienced much more in the new world. Neither of them got super detailed with their stories, partially because there were a lot of things that didn't need reliving. Also because there were somethings better left unsaid and in the past.
Sam and Jonathan seemed to hit things off pretty quickly and eventually disappeared up to Sam's room to play a board game. It was nice seeing Jonathan with another kid. Carl was pretty independent and had more years than Jonathan, so the two although family at this point, had trouble connecting as they were both still growing up.
After a while, Kayla and Angela realized they still hadn't made it over to the infirmary to visit Pete and get the rundown of the place they'd be working.
"Would you mind if Jonathan hung out with Sam for a little while longer?" Jesse asked. "Sam seems to really like him."
Kayla was about to agree when she remembered she'd be separated from the boy. Although she has been before it didn't mean she liked it. She had to remind herself where they were, though. In a safe place with walls and in a home with Jesse whom Kayla trusted before the apocalypse and still did. So after making sure Jonathan was comfortable with it, which he said he was, Kayla left Jonathan to Jesse's care for the remainder of the afternoon.
OOOOO
Back at the group's house, Daryl still sat on the porch fiddling with his hands not sure what to do. He really didn't want to meet new people. He knew all the people he needed to and they were taking residence in the house he sat outside of. However, he did want to check out the layout of the place. He wanted to know the quickest ways out if a time came he and the group needed to know that kind of information.
He left the porch and walked the perimeter of the development, careful to stay out the eyes of others. The last thing he wanted was people coming up to him. Just looking at the people who were walking the street, he could tell that everyone living in the development now used to be high class, white collar members of society who made six figures a year and wouldn't let someone like Daryl even work on their car for a tune-up. Although Daryl knew none of that mattered anymore, it still got to him. Guess he could thank Merle for that. For years, his brother drilled into Daryl that everyone above them in society were the worst kinds of people who didn't give a damn about people like them.
As he walked the perimeter, Daryl stumbled upon a small house that was a little isolated away from the others in the development. It looked to be two floors, but stood taller than the others instead of being significantly wide. There were steps leading up to the small porch and front door that didn't have a door, but instead a strip of yellow tape across it.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Daryl approached the house and went inside to find the house's interior was still in the process of being finished. The looked like an unfinished doctor's office. The only reason Daryl could put that much together was because of the two examination tables pushed to the side of the room. The cabinets weren't on the wall yet and the countertops had yet to be put on top of the cabinetry. The flooring wasn't done all the way either and the walls had some spots that still required painting. Taking the stairs up to the second level, he found a much homier feel as there were three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and small living room. The only furniture were the box springs in the bedrooms and a small couch and table in the living room.
Walking back downstairs, Daryl found Deanna standing in the middle of the floor. He stopped frozen at the bottom of the steps. "We were in the process of converting this place to home and doctor's office all wrapped up in one." She told Daryl as she turned to face him. "It was our doctor Pete's idea, but he decided he liked having home and work separate just as we were finishing the place up."
Daryl just stayed quiet.
"It would be a shame for it to stay empty. Especially now that we have an extra two doctors living here now." Deanna continued. "I know you and Kayla have that little boy, Jonathan. If the three of you would like, we can finish the house so you three can move in. It's not too far from the rest of your group and I thought it would be a nice place for you and your wife to have for your own."
"We're fine where we are now." Daryl told Deanna before leaving the house without another word. Daryl didn't trust Deanna. Whether he ever would or not was still up in the air, but the group was staying in the same house until further notice.
OOOOO
Daryl was just about back to the group's house when he saw Glenn walk back through the gate with two of the Alexandrians and Noah and Tara. He could see by Glenn, Tara, and Noah's expressions, something happened. As he made his way over to the group, he could see that an argument was beginning to brew. As he approached, the guy he knew was Aiden, Deanna's son, began to get in Glenn's face. Daryl instantly got defensive as he approached, ready to take on anyone who messed with one of his own.
Deanna arrived on the scene shortly after with demands to know what was happening.
"These people have a problem with the way we run things." Aiden told his mother. "Why'd you let these people in?"
"Because we actually know what we're doing out there." Glenn cut in.
Aiden turned around swinging, but Glenn's quick reflexes had him ducking and putting Aiden on the ground with barely breaking a sweat. When Daryl saw Aiden's buddy go after Glenn, he stepped in and picked the guy up before throwing him to the ground. Daryl held him to the ground by at the throat, the voice of his wife yeling his name in the distance. However, it didn't register and it wasn't until Rick pulled him off that he let the guy go. Even after Rick tore him away, he paced back and forth threateningly with an evil glare thrown at the Alexandrian.
"Daryl!" Kayla's voice sounded again, this time closer. She suddenly appeared in front of him, putting her hands on his chest to keep him from entering another brawl. "Hey calm down!" she told him as she paced as he did to keep her husband blocked off. "Daryl, don't do this!"
Looking down at her eyes, he could see the desperation in them for him to get a handle on his temper and he finally slowed to a stop. Once he settled, Kayla turned towards Deanna as she told the ones surrounding the scene that Rick and the group were part of their community and to be treated as such. Once the crowd dispersed, Deanna assigned constable jobs to Rick and Michonne, earning a sound of displeasure from Daryl as he stormed off. Kayla followed after him, picking up her pace.
"Hey!" She said sharply, but he just kept walking. "Daryl!" She reached out and grabbed his arm to stop his steps. "Would ya stop?!"
"What?" He snapped back at her as he turned to face her.
"Can you explain to me what just happened?"
"I was defending our group by those stuck up pricks! I didn't throw the first punch!"
"I didn't say you did."
Daryl fell silent as he and Kayla fell into a stare down. "I know this isn't the place you're used to, Daryl. But you gotta try. Not for me but for yourself. You deserve this, too."
"Deserve what?" Daryl questioned.
"Security. Safety. A warm blanket. We all deserve this place."
Daryl said nothing and instead just stalked off again, this time Kayla not bothering to follow. She knew he just had to cool off. He had a short temper at times, but he tended to cool off quick depending on the severity of the situation.
As he walked away, Kayla put her hands on the back of her head as he let out a breath. Her eyes scanned the area and landed on two women looking her direction as they said something to each other quietly.
"What the hell are you looking at?" she called at them. The two women instantly stopped their quiet muttering and averted their eyes. "Yeah that's what I thought."
OOOOO
That night, Kayla read a bedtime story to Jonathan to get him to sleep. "Enjoy your time with Sam today?" she asked the boy as she tucked him in. Kayla put him in the downstairs bedroom to get him off the floor for one night. Kayla could tell the boy's back was beginning to take a toll from all the uncomfortable, awkward sleeping positions and they had beds so why not use them?
"I like him." Jonathan told Kayla. "Can I see him tomorrow?"
"Absolutely." Kayla replied. "You can see him as much as you'd like."
Kayla heard the distinctive footsteps that belonged to Daryl enter the room. "You sleepin' in here tonight little man?" he asked.
"Yeah." Jonathan replied. "But you guys are gonna be right out there, right?"
"Of course. Wouldn't be anywhere else."
Kayla couldn't help but smile when this side of Daryl was out. When it came to the group as a whole, Daryl had a soft, caring side that he still covered with a tough exterior. However, when it came to her and Jonathan, all bets were off. He was as vulnerable and stripped away as any husband would be. And although both Kayla and Daryl knew Jonathan wasn't their son, it felt like he was.
"Sleep tight, Jonathan." Kayla said as she pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Need anything, we'll be in the living room."
Once she switched the lights out, Kayla left the room with Daryl to let the boy get his rest. As they walked down the hall to rejoin the rest of their group, Daryl knew what Rick pitched to him and Carol was a good backup plan. His group was his family and he would kill anything and anyone that dared threatened them, his wife, or Jonathan.
