Georgia opened her eyes after fifteen minutes of Daryl walking. The moon shown through the bare branches above them and she whispered, "I've always hated the winter. Only thing good that came from the winter was DJ. He was born on January 18th, Daryl. Don't forget, okay?"
"Never. I'm gonna take care a him, alright, Georgia Rayne?" He spared a glance down at her.
"I know you will, Daryl. You're an amazing man. You're an amazing father. You guys will be fine without me."
"We won'. Ain't never gonna be fine again. Rather have ya out there, not knowin' whether ya were alive or not, than have ya out here, knowin' yer gone." Daryl talked through the lump in his throat.
"At least I had time with you," she replied. "At least I got to introduce you to your son. You know DJ now and he loves you so much. He loves you just as much as I love you."
"He ain't gonna love me when yer gone. He knows I shoulda been witcha. He knows I shoulda been protectin' ya, takin' care a ya like I promised."
"You did take care of me. Daryl, you've given me everything I could have wanted in life." He couldn't ignore how hoarse her voice was gotten and how hard it was getting for her to speak.
"Stop talkin'. Save yer strength."
"Daryl, I don't have a need for strength anymore. I don't have a need for much of anything anymore. I'll be just fine without it. I just want to spend my last bit hearing your voice. You know I've always loved your voice."
"Thought ya'd bout lost yer mind when ya used to tell me that." He gave her what she wanted. He gave her what she needed in her last hour.
"I hadn't. Daryl, I was so in love with you. I am so in love with you. Just now days I know that the sun doesn't shine out of your ass."
"Woman, ya never a day in yer life thought the sun shone outta my ass. Only person I know not scared to death to call me an Merle out on our bullshit." She snorted and took a deep breath. Daryl frowned down at her. "Woman, yer shakin' like a leaf on a tree."
"Fever, Daryl. If I close my eyes and stop breathing, drop me and take off."
"Won't do that to ya, Georgia Rayne. I'll make sure ya ain't gonna have to live like that. Won' have ya wanderin' the world like that, not gettin' no peace."
"Daryl, I know you've never said it to me, but I know you feel something. I won't have you go through that."
"Georgia, don' just feel strongly. I…"
"You don't have to," she interrupted.
"Nah. Been a long time comin', Georgia Rayne. I love ya. Loved ya damn near half my life. Loved ya from bout two years fore we started datin', loved ya to the day ya left me, loved ya whole fuckin' time ya were gone, an loved ya that minute I saw ya out in those woods. An I love ya now an I'm gonna love ya everyday fer the rest of my life."
"I think that's the most I've ever heard you say the word love in the entire time I've ever known you," Georgia teased.
"Don' tease me woman. Not when I don' gotta lotta time witcha."
"Daryl, if I didn't tease you, it wouldn't be me. Don't remember me like this. Don't think of me like this. Remember me with DJ and in the trailer and with my dad but Christ, don't remember me like this."
"Gonna remember yer smile. An yer laugh."
"Good. This is far enough, Daryl. Put me down, and then walk away. Don't question it. Don't think about it. Put me down and walk away."
"I kin take ya a lil further."
"No, you can't. I know what you're doing. You're trying to walk until I turn. I'm not letting you do that. Put me down."
He stopped and set her down but left his arms draped around her waist. A tear ran down his cheek and Georgia frowned. She sighed, "You're crying."
"Didn' want ya to see it. Don' need ya thinkin' I'm a pussy."
"I've never in my life thought you were a pussy, Daryl. Besides, I would never leave my son with a pussy. You have to go now, Daryl."
"I can' leave ya alone. Not to face what yer gonna face." Georgia lifted her hands up to his face and wiped away his tears the same way she'd wiped away DJ's.
"Daryl, you being here isn't going to make it easier to face. Just go, knowing that I love you. Knowing that I love you to death and back. And don't let DJ forget that I've always loved him."
He leaned down fast and kissed her hard, cutting off anything else she was going to say. When he was done, she pushed him away hard and ordered, "Don't look back at me, Daryl. Don't turn around, don't say anything. Just go back to the campsite and go back to DJ. And don't you dare think you're going to come back here and end me because if you go back and scare DJ, I'll find a way to haunt you."
"Woman, I'd give the moon to getcha hauntin' me. To have ya still around."
She smiled and sighed, "Being sweet when I'm about to die is strange for me. Get your ass back to camp. Goodbye, Daryl Dixon. I love you."
With that, she shoved hard on his chest, pushing him a few feet away and then turning as well so he couldn't see her. He watched her for a moment, trying to see if she was serious before deciding she was. Then, he did the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life. Instead of her leaving him, he left her. Every step he took was a scream to turn around and go back to her, but he kept walking until he was too far away to hear her anymore and she sat down to lean against a tree and sob. He made it almost back to the campsite, and did the exact same thing. A mile away from one another, Georgia and Daryl sobbed for what they'd lost.
Daryl waited, wanting to go back. Wanting to find her again and make sure she was okay, but he didn't. He went back into the campsite and found DJ so that he could hold his son while he cried. He wasn't comfortable, he wasn't good at it, but he held DJ to him tight and did his best to comfort him while he died a little more inside. At the break of dawn, they packed up their campsite in silence, avoiding the sad stares of the rest of the group. They were the last to leave the campsite. As T Dogg and Carol pulled away in the truck, DJ and Daryl climbed onto the motorcycle, staring one last time into the woods before the bike roared to life and they rode away from the most important woman in their lives.
**I'm so sorry. Trust me, this broke my heart to write it. I've considered a second one, an alternate ending, or letting her survive. Something like that. But I haven't made any solid decision about it yet. So, for now, you can assume that Georgia Rayne is no more. Thank you all for following this story and reviewing it so regularly.**