Hey guys, I'm still alive, I promise! It's been a crazy week of traveling, studying, job hunting, etc so writing has been set aside for a bit. But I'm back!
Thanks for all the reviews and continued support and prompts and such, you guys keep this going not me! This chapter is from ItsAnShortyy's prompt "nightmare".
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Daryl was stalking silently through the trees, watching Sophia's form out of the corner of his eyes as they slowly approached the thicket where they had tracked the injured deer Sophia had shot earlier that morning. She had cried when it had run off with her arrow sticking out of its ribs because she felt horrible for hurting it but not killing it and Daryl was determined to find the thing and finish it off to ease the girl's mind.
Sure enough, he saw the white and brown fur of the deer among the brambles and froze in his tracks, Sophia mirrored his actions and crouched. He nodded to her and she slowly approached the thicket, bow ready. He watched with pride at her cat-like movements and the silence of her feet as she moved, and he nodded with a smile when she put the deer down with her next shot.
"Good job, 'Phia," he said as he laid his hand on her shoulder. They looked down at the now dead deer and Sophia sighed heavily.
"I feel terrible, dad..."
Daryl nodded and pulled her closer to his side.
"I know," he said quietly, "But ya can't get a perfect hit every time. This is why tracking is important to know. And ya did good trackin' her."
Sophia nodded sadly and they started to clear away the brambles to get at the body of the doe. Daryl grabbed the ankles of the deer and hefted it onto his shoulders with a loud grunt while Sophia strapped his crossbow on her back and picked up her own bow. They made their way back to the farm slowly and in relative silence, Daryl knew she was still slightly upset about injuring the deer.
Carol met them on the edge of the field, smiling as she saw their catch.
"Well, my man provides again," she said with a smiled, she raised herself on her toes and kissed Daryl's cheek. He grinned.
"I believe you mean your daughter," he claimed, giving Sophia a wink.
Carol's eyes widened and she smiled a wide, happy smile at Sophia.
"Oh my goodness! Did you get this deer, Sophia?!" she asked brightly. Sophia smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, mom," she replied, her chest puffed out slightly, "And I tracked it too!"
Daryl smiled as he shrugged hard and sent the deer's body sliding off his shoulders, landing heavily on the ground. He tossed his head to one side then the other to stretch the muscles which were now pretty sore from the load. Carol's hands immediately closed on his shoulders and started squeezing firmly, her palms digging in, he let himself relax under her touch.
"So," Carol's voice reached his ears, "Rick wanted to know if I'd be interested in taking a shift on watch. It's gonna be the night watch."
"Aw, come on, Carol," Daryl groaned sadly. Night watch meant she wasn't coming to the tent that night. Damn.
"Sorry, Daryl," Carol said, her mouth twisted in a half sad kind of way and she shrugged, "But...I think it's about time I took a little responsibility for this group too, you know?"
Daryl sighed and rolled his eyes, grabbing the deer's back legs and dragging it backwards toward the trees to string it up and butcher. Carol followed.
"You're gonna have to tuck Sophia in and everything tonight," she said as she helped him tie the deer's back legs.
"I can do that," Daryl stated confidently as he tossed the other ends of the ropes over the limb above them. He tugged experimentally and then braced his footing before putting his weight and muscles into pulling the deer up to hang head down. Carol eyed his arms with womanly appreciation as the muscles there tensed and bulged from the effort and she loved the way his tongue stuck out the left corner of his mouth as he leaned back into the pull and tied the rope off to another tree's trunk. He rubbed his hands together absentmindedly and then realized she was watching him and he smiled over at her. "What?"
"You're so hot," Carol stated simply. Daryl smirked and rolled his eyes as he walked over to her, pulling her into an easy, smooth kiss.
"Tell the truth, woman," he teased when the kiss ended, "You only love me for my body."
"Can't help it," Carol teased back.
Daryl's eyed her thoughtfully before placing his hands on her hips, pulling her into him as he moved against her. Her eyes widened when he twitched into her thigh and he softened his gaze as he looked down into her eyes, he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and Carol's mouth dropped open slightly as her breath hitched.
"So...can I come visit you on watch tonight?" Daryl bent slightly and brushed his lips lightly over her left ear, he bucked ever so slightly into her leg to emphasize his request.
"Mm, no, Daryl, you can't," Carol sighed, letting her eyes flutter closed as Daryl nuzzled his nose into her neck, "You've got to stay with Sophia. Don't you dare leave her in that tent alone."
"I wouldn't, Carol," Daryl's deep mumble vibrated against her neck and she pushed her hips forward in an effort to get as close to him as possible. "I'm just playin' with ya."
Carol groaned slightly and forced herself to step back from him, shaking her head to clear it of the lustful fuzz that had accumulated.
"Don't," she said with a smile, "You play dirty."
Daryl licked his lips slowly, his eyes locked on hers.
"Thought you liked it when I play dirty?" he claimed.
"Dad, I got Mr. Shane and Mr. Dale to help us with the deer," Sophia's voice broke the moment and Daryl's eyes flicked over to where the small blonde girl was skipping towards them with Dale and Shane not far behind.
"Thanks, peaches," Daryl ruffled her hair as she skipped by to get a better look at the deer, then he gave Carol a smile and a wink before turning to follow her and get started on skinning.
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Daryl had never tucked anyone in before and he suddenly had no idea what he was doing. He left the tent to do his perimeter sweep while Sophia got into her pajamas and ready for bed, Lulu followed on his heels.
"Anything out there, girl?" he whispered to the bobcat, but she just looked up at him and cocked her head. "Guess not. C'mon, let get some shut eye, you and I have some huntin' to do in the mornin'."
Daryl unzipped the tent and let Lulu in after him before zipping it up again. Sophia had already lit the lantern and she was sitting on her bed looking at him expectantly.
"What are ya lookin' at?" Daryl asked and she smiled.
"Ain't you gonna tuck me in?" Sophia challenged.
"I don't really know how..."
"It's easy," Sophia bounced slightly as she explained and Daryl smiled...the kid was always so damn happy about everything. "You sing me a song, pull my blankets up, and then kiss me goodnight."
Daryl scoffed, but knelt down next to her anyway.
"I have t' sing?" he muttered. Sophia nodded. "Anythin' particular?"
"Anything you want," Sophia responded with a grin.
Daryl rubbed his chin for a moment while he thought back to songs on the radio and then picked the first thought that came to him. He uncomfortably started to quietly sing the lyrics to the song Revelry by a band he heard playing at the bar a lot, Kings of Leon. After a while of Sophia not laughing or anything, he gained a little confidence and sang just a little louder as her eyes started to flutter closed. He didn't sing it all because he honestly couldn't remember it all, and then he pulled the blanket up to Sophia's shoulder, tucking it around her, and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek.
"You tickle, dad," Sophia's sleep groggy voice stated, "You should shave."
"Think so?" Daryl asked with a smile. Sophia nodded and then rolled onto her side. "We'll see what your mom thinks about that." He knew damn well Carol like the feel of his scruff on her skin when he took her with his mouth.
He sat next to Sophia until her breathing changed and he knew she had fallen asleep, then he stood quietly and sat heavily on his and Carol's pile of sleeping bags and blankets watching the slight rise and fall of Sophia's chest as she breathed. This business of being a father was the scariest shit he'd ever encountered but he could see the appeal...nothing gave him that tightness in his chest quite like Sophia's smile and he was amazed at how proud he felt whenever the kid accomplished something. Sighing, he clicked off the lantern and laid back, leaving his boots on and his crossbow and knife within reach, never letting his guard down even in sleep.
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Every muscle in Daryl's body suddenly jerked, his eyes popped open and he immediately, without thinking, grabbed his knife and drew it out, jumping up at the same time as he tried to clear the sleepy fog and decipher what was going on, he didn't see an immediate threat, but then a scream reached his ears and he realized what had woken him. He glanced over at Sophia and panicked, she was thrashing around beneath her covers, her fists gripped the sleeping bag beneath her and her legs were kicking wildly. Daryl sheathed his knife quickly and immediately dropped to his knees at her side, gripping her by the shoulders, he shook her probably more roughly than he should. Her leg lashed out and caught him on the hip and he pulled her into his chest firmly.
"Sophia, SOPHIA!" he took her face in his hands and patted her cheeks, her eyes finally popped open and she shoved herself back from him, her face terrified. Daryl remained where he was, sensing her need for space, he put his hands up, palms forward. "Whoa, whoa, 'Phia, you're havin' a nightmare."
"N...nightmare..." Sophia panted, glancing around the tent. Lulu rubbed her face under Sophia's chin and the girl clutched onto the bobcat's fur firmly and buried her face in it and began crying. Daryl couldn't sit back and let her cry, he inched forward and put his arms out to her in an invitation.
"C'mere, peaches," he said softly. Sophia looked up, but she hesitated a moment before she launched herself into his arms and buried her face in his chest, tear started soaking into the material of his wife beater immediately. "It's ok, it's alright it was just a dream, kid."
"I...I'm sorry..." Sophia was rigid, stiff and trembling and Daryl automatically tightened his hold around her. "I...I didn't mean to wake you up...I'm sorry."
Daryl pushed her back enough to meet her eyes, they were wide and red from crying and she was sniffing with almost every breath she took.
"Sophia, there's nothing to be sorry for," he said seriously, he consciously softened his gaze because he figured his aggressive yelling and shaking had scared her just as much as the dream. Damn, I need to remember she's just a kid even in this Hell we're livin' in!
"You...you're not...*hic* mad at me?" Sophia asked quietly, her body jerked from the force of her hiccups she had now developed.
"Fuck no...I mean...no, 'Phia, I'm not mad," Daryl wanted to kick himself for using that language in front of her after Carol had asked him not to. "You scared me is all. I thought maybe something had come in and got ya. I just yelled at ya because ya wouldn't wake up."
Sophia looked at him for a moment longer before sighing a shaky sigh and relaxing against his chest.
"It was awful..." she whispered.
"Want to talk about it?" Daryl asked, not really sure how to handle the after effects of a nightmare. "Sometimes if you talk about it, it's not as scary as it seemed."
Sophia pulled back and met his eyes and then nodded slowly and sat back, clutching her blanket in front of her. Daryl shifted and sat next to her, pulling her to his side with his right arm.
"It was mommy and I in here at night, but you weren't here with us," Sophia started softly, slowly, "We were asleep but then someone unzipped the tent and came in and grabbed mom and took her outside. I...I heard her screaming and then I heard a knife sound and...she stopped..."
Daryl's arm tightened around her shoulder in encouragement and sympathy.
"Then the tent door opened and...my...Ed came in and he...he grabbed me and dragged me out outside and I...I saw mom on the ground and she was bleeding and...Ed threw me on the ground and blamed me and mom for leaving him behind and getting bitten..."
Daryl growled deep in his throat and Sophia jumped at the sound. Can't get rid of him, can we?!
"Sorry," Daryl whispered, "Was...was that the end?"
"No," something in Sophia's tone changed and her voice was barely more than a whisper when she continued. "Then he...turned into...you. And you...grabbed me and shook me and...hit me and told me..."
Daryl was horrified by her words but he knew she wasn't telling him everything yet.
"Told you what, 'Phia?" he pressed gently.
"Told me..." Sophia took a shuddering breath and looked up at him, her eyes brimming with fresh tears. "That I wasn't yours and I wasn't your responsibility...and that you hated even looking at me."
Daryl felt like he was going to be sick. He immediately moved from next to her to kneel in front of her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.
"Sophia, no," he stated firmly, but gently, "You know I'd NEVER think that about you, don't you?"
"But...but I'm not yours," Sophia whispered.
"Yes ya are," Daryl shook his head at her words, "Ya may not be my blood, but ya ARE my daughter. I love ya and I love yer mom and there's nothing I wouldn't do to protect ya both. Don't ever think otherwise."
"You use to scare me," Sophia admitted softly, her eyes dropped to the floor between them. "You reminded me of my dad...he was always angry too."
"Let me tell ya the difference between me and that...between me and Ed," Daryl had to stop his mouth from digging a deeper hole, "Yeah, sometimes I get angry and you better believe I can be mean as Hell...but I would never hurt you or your mom like he did. I know what he did to both of you and I promise nothing like that will ever happen again."
"I know..." Sophia nodded and smiled slightly, "I said you use to scare me. Not anymore. I love you, daddy."
And she threw her thin little arms around his neck, making Daryl's lips twitch into a smile as he held her close. Yeah...this father thing was scary, hard and confusing...but Daryl figured he'd never had a better and more rewarding job.
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This chapter's kind of short, but never fear the next chapter's gonna be a long chapter of smutty goodness. Going on the suggestion that Carol needs to be a little more...aggressive, I guess ;)
Reviews are boss!