First of all, thanks for all the supprt to all those who reviewed! :D It means a lot to me!
I do not own Daryl (Oh God wouldn't that be amazing?) or Sophia or any other TWD characters. I own only the plot. C:
"Ok, now first ya gotta learn how to properly hold your knife." A rough, calloused hand directed a pair of smaller, gentler hands around the hilt of a six-inch SRK blade.
"Once you get used to the feel of it, then I'll show ya how to use it."
Sophia's eyes gleamed with both amazement and a bit of fear as she held the blade as instructed. "Wow, this is so cool." She whispered as she got adjusted.
Daryl smirked a bit, "Yep. Nothin' like holdin' your first blade." He fingered his own favorably. "I still remember when my old man gave this to me. Probably one of the best things he ever done for me, 'sides teachin' me to hunt and track."
The 12-year old spent over 20 minutes getting used to holding the weapon and also the very idea of herself ever having one, let alone using one.
"Alright, now that you got that down, I'm gonna show you the best ways t' use yer knife."
Sophia nodded and watched closely as he pulled out his much bigger and deadlier knife and began to slowly go through the motions of stabbing forwards. After explaining the basics and also the safety rules, he carefully guided her wrist through the motions as she gripped her own weapon tightly.
"I-I think I got it now." She said as she began to thrust the knife forwards like he'd shown her. The blue-eyed man watched approvingly as she mimicked his movements to near perfection. After she had repeated the moves a few more times, she stopped to catch her breath and was surprised to feel a hand on her shoulder.
"Damn, I gotta hand it to ya Lima-Bean, you sure got a knack for this stuff." He squinted down at her and smirked. "Yer doin' better than I did when I was your age too."
Sophia smiled at the praise – something she only ever got from her mother – and looked up to meet Daryl's gaze. She couldn't believe it when he'd shown up after breakfast with the smaller knife in hand and a look that told her to hurry the hell up. This time she'd taken two side strands and braided them so that they hung near the sides of his face, while she pulled what she could back into a rat's tail. Everyone had stared while she'd done it, and every now and then Daryl would growl or shoo someone's wandering eye away with just a glare.
"So, what next Sergeant Dixon?"
They spent almost a full two hours outside of camp and by the time they had returned most of the women had headed down to the quarry to do the laundry. Merle and the others still weren't back yet, which worried the fidgety redneck slightly. Shane was discussing something with Jim while Dale stood watch atop the old RV. The heat of the day was still present as the sun began its slow descent, bringing out pesky mosquitoes and more humidity.
Sophia had tried to walk into camp as seriously as Daryl had, but she was still brimming from the excitement of wielding her own knife and pretty soon she was skipping alongside the Dixon brother – their arrival slowly taking notice around camp.
"Hey Dixon," Shane called out while striding towards the duo with that slight swagger that irritated Daryl to the bone. "Where've you been? Jim and I were busy choppin' wood and Dale had to take a break from the heat. Which means no one was on guard duty for a whole two hours!"
Sophia unknowingly shifted closer to Daryl as Shane's tone began to take a more accusing turn. "F' your information Deputy Donut I was out busy teachin' this young'un how to defend herself. Ya know, in case a Walker came by an' she was all alone."
Shane's eyebrows furrowed. "So you mean to tell me you've been out in the woods playin' nurse maid?" Daryl's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I ain't no nurse maid and I sure as hell wasn't just dickin' around in the woods with the girl for fun."
A few tense moments passed between the two as they exchanged heated glares before Shane finally shook his head and stormed off over to where Jim was resting against the RV in the shade. Sophia said not a word, but slowly – cautiously - slipped her hand into Daryl's and looked up at him worriedly.
"Don't'chu worry your lil' head Lima-Bean, I ain't mad at ya." He squeezed her hand ever so slightly before letting go and it made her feel ten times better than before.
Daryl led Sophia to her tent and expected Carol to come bursting out in tears, whimpering about not knowing where her precious little girl had gone. Unfortunately for the both of them it was Sophia's bastard of a father. He took a long drag of his cigarette before puffing out the smoke right in Daryl's face, a satisfied grunt passing from his cracked lips.
"So Dixon, you got a thing for my lil' girl now?" His eyes squinted in satisfaction as Daryl's jaw set and his fists clenched tightly.
"Tell you the truth I don't give a damn what you do around here or to the people in camp. You're just the disgusting, filthy trash that society chewed up and spit back out in the woods." To prove his point, Ed spat right onto Daryl's boot - a choked laugh following.
Sophia opened her mouth to defend her new friend, but as soon as she even twitched her father turned on her and grabbed her roughly by the shoulder with one hand and shoved her towards the tent.
"Git on in there girl and wait for daddy." She walked stiff-legged towards the tent with her head down and eyes turned to the ground. "That'a girl," Ed grunted before smacking his hand on the girl's butt, earning a surprised squeak from said child.
In one swift movement, Ed was thrown to the ground and Daryl set into his face like he'd never done before. With each punch to the sick bastard's face, Daryl growled insults and called him every name in the book.
"You sick son of a bitch!" He shouted before delivering another punch to Ed's jaw. "How dare you touch yer lil' girl like that!"
Suddenly, the burly man's head collided with the blonde's forehead, resulting in Daryl being shoved into the dirt and Ed taking over. He cursed the Dixon name and let loose a flurry of hard punches towards Daryl's face and head, busting the younger man's lip and nearly breaking his nose.
"Now you see who's better huh? You worthless piece of shit!" Ed shouted before landing a punch that was barely dodged. "Sit still so I can beat your ugly face into the dirt!"
Daryl spat blood into Ed's face, some getting in one eye, and smirked in victory before bringing his knee straight up into the larger man's crotch. Ed caved for a moment and Daryl took the chance to get back up and landed a few kicks into the smoker's side before grabbing Ed by the front of his shirt and staring him straight in the eye.
"Now you listen to me you sick fuck," he snarled as blood dribbled down his face from the gash on his forehead. "You ever lay a finger on Sophia again and I swear I will beat you unconscious and leave you fer Walker bait. Do you hear me?"
Ed glared at the younger Dixon with pure malice – despite having one eye completely swollen – and snagged his hand into Daryl's hair and yanked him to the dirt once more.
"And you listen to me you worthless piece of shit! She's my daughter and I can do whatever the hell I want! So why don't you and your brother take both your sorry redneck asses out of here and crawl back to the cesspool you came from!"
By now the whole camp had gathered around in a poor excuse of a circle, each giving the two bloody men space to settle their differences. Lori held poor Carl close to her, while Amy and Carol stood frozen in shock and horror at the scene unfolding before them. Dale watched from atop the RV, but made sure to check the surroundings to make sure the two men's brawl wasn't attracting any unwanted attention. Shane held his gun tightly and watched with disapproving eyes as he tried to find a way to end this before Walkers followed the fight straight to camp.
As the two went at it again, Sophia finally made it to her momma and buried her face into the woman's shirt and burst into tears. She told her about what her daddy had done and for once Carol felt pure rage towards her husband for daring to touch her precious daughter.
"Ed! How dare you! How dare you touch my little girl like that!" She shrieked as she strode bravely towards her bloody husband. Her anger and strength pooled from the rage and pain that had built up over the years and had finally bubbled over when her daughter came to her bawling her eyes out moments ago.
"You are a sick man Ed! I can't believe I ever could have loved a more selfish, lazy, son of a bitch like you!" She was so blinded by her anger that she didn't notice her husband tower over her small frame until it was too late and he had already decked her in the face, sending her crashing into the dirt and clutching her face in pain as Amy tried to help her while Lori held Sophia back with Carl.
Daryl had never felt so much rage in his entire life; not when his father beat his momma almost every night or even when some kid had called his momma a dirty, filthy whore. Oh no, this was a totally new level of anger for Daryl. Fueled by adrenaline and his rage, the blonde let out a furious battle cry before punching Ed square between the eyes – causing him to fall flat on his back – and unleashing a slew of hard punches before he was finally dragged off the bloody pulp of a man by Shane and Jim. He blinked a few times to clear the red that dominated his vision in those last few moments, his knuckles split and bloody.
Shane started to scold the redneck like a child but was cut off when Daryl shrugged him off and strode over to where Amy was trying to comfort Carol and examine her injured face. When Amy noticed his approach, she looked up fearfully but made room for him when he gestured for her to move aside. Sobs racked Carol's thinning frame and her hands covered her face, making the splits in Daryl's knuckles burn with bitterness.
He squatted beside her and slowly placed a dirty hand on her arm. "Hey…." He whispered in a gruff, yet gentle tone. She began to lower her hands, but he stopped her.
"You don't hafta show me. Jus' wanted to tell ya that you won't have to worry 'bout that prick anymore." He lowered his hand from her arm and continued. "From now on I'll be keepin' an eye on 'em, make sure he don't ever touch you or your little girl again."
He stood up and began to walk back to his tent when a meek voice called out to him. The blonde man turned halfway and was met with the battered face of Carol.
"I-I…Daryl….." She stuttered and before she could get even more upset he gave her a bloody smirk and said, "Don'tchu worry, it's a promise."
It was getting darker when Lori approached the Dixon brothers' tent with some rubbing alcohol to help with the blue-eyed man's wounds. She stood outside the tent and cleared her throat once – an alternative to knocking – and waited as said man stepped out with a confused look upon his face.
"I brought some alcohol for you. Don't want you to catch an infection." Her small smile was all she could produce while looking at the dried blood and bruises covering his face.
He grunted, "S' no big deal. I'll be fine. Save that stuff for someone else." He started towards the tent but was stopped by a slender hand on his shoulder.
"Daryl please, it's the least I can do after what happened earlier…" Lori trailed off but her eyes still held that determined glint. "Ed deserved what he got and you did the right thing, don't you dare think differently."
Daryl let out a short laugh, "You don' need to worry about that. I knew the firs' day I saw him and those bruises on Carol that he deserved a good ass kickin'."
Lori tried to persuade the man into letting her clean some of the cuts and dried blood off, but he waved her off saying that she was starting to piss him off. She sighed and shook her head and stalked back to the RV and disappeared inside. Once she was gone, Daryl slipped inside his tent and grabbed a navy blue rag and doused a corner of it with some of Merle's whiskey he left behind. He hissed a few times until all the caked blood was cleaned off, leaving only a few healing cuts and some noticeable bruises. After that was all done, the crossbow-wielding redneck decided sleep was the best option and in a matter of minutes he was passed out with only a pile of clothes for a pillow.
-Time Skip-
Anger was the first thing Daryl felt when it was announced that his brother Merle had been handcuffed to a roof in Atlanta and left behind. He tossed the batch of squirrels he'd caught earlier at the newcomer – a cop named Rick who was Lori's supposedly dead husband – and charged him, but was bowled over by Shane. After whipping out his knife and lunging towards the cop, Shane locked him in a chokehold until he'd calmed down.
"You pussies done talkin'?" He called out angrily as he waited for Rick and the others to pile into the truck. They fixed him with glares but he didn't care one bit – they had left his brother chained to a roof so why should he be the bad guy?
A hesitant voice brought Daryl out of his thoughts and when he turned around he was surprised to see Sophia with tears in her eyes.
"Please don't go Daryl!" She begged. "What if you get overrun by Geeks? What if some bad people have Merle and you get hurt?"
The irritated blonde's simmering anger didn't disappear, but it did lower when he heard the pain in her voice.
"I ain't leavin' Merle. He's my brother an' family don't abandon one 'nother." She whimpered and whispered that he was more important than Merle.
Daryl snapped and completely forgot that he was talking to a crying 12 year old girl – who was only worried for his safety – and didn't even hear what came out of his mouth until it was too late.
"I don't owe you nothin' for you to be worryin'!" He shouted as he took a step towards her. "Why don'tchu jus' git on back to your momma and cry about yer feelings and shit, cuz I ain't your fucking nurse maid!"
Sophia burst into tears but held her ground, her cries falling on everyone's ears – all except Daryl. Lori got up from Carl and Rick's side and stormed over, her face stressed and angry.
"Daryl Dixon! What the hell is wrong with you?"
He turned his heated glare on the woman and barked, "Just mind your own goddamn business!" His head snapped back to Sophia who was reaching out to him as if to calm him down, despite her tears. Her fingers brushed his skin and instinct followed by more anger and painful memories flowed through the man's body and his arm wrenched away and was poised to strike. It was the look of pure fear on that poor girl's face and the way she flinched that snapped Daryl out of his stupor.
In that split second of realization, Daryl felt as if he could hear his old man's voice in his ears, telling him he wasn't ever good enough and that he was the worst excuse for a son. He felt all the scars that marred his fit body tingle as if he were a kid again and being whipped and lashed. Then he heard Merle's voice and felt all the scars from his brother's knife on his skin once more. It was that split second where for the first time in his life Daryl felt as if he was teetering on the edge of insanity. Then that second passed and everything hit him all at once and he heard Sophia's sobs and he heard Carol and the other women gasp and he could have sworn he heard the smack of a hand on skin – which was really just a memory of himself once more.
The fiery redneck dropped his hand as it were on fire and took three steps away from the crying girl and squinted at the ground fiercely. He didn't look up to see her open her clenched eyes and stare at him with those big eyes. He stood stock-still and waited for something to happen. Only when he heard her footsteps get farther away did he lift his head and survey the looks everyone else was giving him.
"C'mon." He muttered curtly. "Les' go already. Tired of waitin'." He glanced at Rick. "You said it yourself, we can't leave 'em."
At first no one moved, but as soon as Rick turned to kiss his wife and pat his son on the head everyone else began to come back to life. Glenn walked right by Daryl and didn't even spare him a glance as he trudged to the driver's side before slamming the door loudly. T-Dog followed and shook his head at Daryl before climbing into the back of the truck – bothering to at least hold open the door shaft for Daryl to climb in before slamming it down and locking it. Rick jumped in the passenger side and they drove off.
Amy had watched along with everybody else in camp as Daryl lost his temper and almost hit Carol's daughter. She had had let out a startled gasp and if she wasn't such a coward she would've marched right over there and hit the man herself. Instead she froze and watched as he caught himself and she couldn't tell whether it was her imagination, or if she actually did see genuine shock in his gruff face as he pulled away.
Now she was climbing down to the quarry towards the little girl who had all but ran away from Daryl once he'd looked down.
She sat down next to Sophia and looked out at the water. "The water looks really beautiful." She stated.
The red-haired girl glanced at the blonde before returning her gaze on the water.
"Y'know, my dad used to take me and my sister fishing all the time when we were kids." She started. "He taught us every one of his tricks, even how to fish with just a plain old stick and some fishing line."
Sophia didn't look at Amy, but her head did lift up ever so slightly as she continued to listen in silence.
Amy brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing. "I remember one time, I was about 10 years old and I'd heard somewhere that bigger fish liked peanut butter n' jelly sandwiches." She giggled. "So I grabbed my dad's gear and made myself about five sandwiches before climbin' into his old motor boat. I didn't know how to use the engine, so I grabbed a paddle and pushed out towards the middle of the lake."
By now Amy wasn't even seeing the quarry, instead she saw that very day as if it were yesterday – her eyes clouded over in a reverie.
"Well, the first sandwich I botched because I decided to hook the whole thing onto the snare. Unfortunately, when I cast my line the sandwich flew right off the hook and plopped into the water." Sophia was now looking at her, her eyes shimmering and a smile on her face as she listened eagerly.
"The second one I'd put only a piece of the sandwich and that one stayed on. Turns out, some fish do like PB&J sandwiches, cuz I caught a smallmouth bass on the second try and then I caught a pretty good sized catfish on my fourth try."
"What happened to the third one?"
Amy smiled. "Well birds also like sandwiches, so while I was waitin' on a bite, this momma duck swooped in and snatched it right off my hook."
The two laughed as Amy continued her story until it began to get a bit dark and Carol called for her daughter. Sophia asked Amy to stay with her for a few more minutes, to which the blonde was more than happy to oblige.
"…D'you think he meant what he said?" The young girl asked quietly.
Amy was confused. "Who?" Sophia looked at her sadly. "….Daryl."
"Oh." She sighed. "Well kiddo, I really don't know. Tell you the truth, that man is more of a mystery than his brother."
Sophia tilted her head. "I think he's just worried for his brother." Amy said. "I mean, I know Merle is a racist jacka – I mean, jerk, but he's family and if it were Andrea I think I would have reacted a little bit like Daryl had." She chuckled. "Well, maybe without the southern accent and the swearing."
The girl looked up at the lowering sun and fiddled with her hands. "I shouldn't have said what I did." Amy turned to face the girl. "Why? What did you say?"
"I told him that he was more important than Merle."
The young blonde pondered this for a moment before replying. "Well, that was the truth wasn't it?" Sophia nodded her head. "Well then you weren't lying. Do you think he believed you?"
Sophia had never thought of that before. She shook her head, "I guess not, seeing how he yelled at me." Amy put an arm around the little girl's shoulders and pulled her close.
"Listen sweetheart, I think that deep down, under all that dirt and grime, Daryl is a real nice guy. I think he wants to believe things like that – that he is more important than what he believes – but I think his brother may have…damaged him somehow to make him think he isn't important or worth anything to anyone."
Sophia's eyes shimmered and she felt better than she had in awhile. She smiled and gave Amy a big hug before eagerly grabbing the older girl's hand and tugging her up the rocks. Amy kept up, keeping her free hand in front of her in case the red-haired girl slipped and needed extra support.
"What's the rush? You that hungry?" She called out while panting a little.
"Nope! I'm not hungry at all!" Sophia answered back. "C'mon Amy! We hafta hurry! We need to make something for Daryl when he comes back!" She smiled a 100-watt smile. "Something to show him somebody does care 'bout him!"
Amy merely shook her head and smiled while being tugged along by the 12 year old.
'Good Lord Daryl, you must be better with kids than you think.'
Ok ok so I lied. This will now be a three-shot. I PROMISE!
I really wanted to bring over some of Daryl's soft side with Sophia here, but I also wanted to show Daryl being protective and selfless by defending Sophia and Carol by fighting Ed. I also wanted to explore a bit with what would Sophia have done if she'd known Daryl a little better in the beginning. Amy wasn't my favorite-ist character, but I wanted Sophia to be helped by someone who was still a kid in one way or another.
Please leave a review and be sure to notify me of any errors I may have made. :D Thanks!