Chapter Fourteen

Daryl's POV

Two days later...

I felt bad.

I had felt like this ever since Rick and I had been together during the run for baby supplies.

We had left from there the following morning with as many boxes as the car could hold, and Rick had seemed to have been in the highest of spirits on the drive back to the prison.

But me?

I just felt guilty as hell.

So far, the times Rick and I had been together had ended with him doing all the work, doing everything that would make my vision hazy and my fingers go numb.

He never asked for anything in return, not even once.

I might not be the brightest of the bunch, but even I knew that every man had his limits.

I just didn't know what I should do about it.

I hated that I was still so nervous around him like I didn't know what I should do.

X

The next day...

This blow had hit harder than most.

A lot of us in the prison still did not know what to make of it.

Lori had died...and Carl had been the one to put her down.

Rick was inconsolable and all of us were worried about him and his kid.

I hated that this had happened to him...hated that he was in the tombs by himself doing God knows what.

I gently bounced his new baby girl in my arms once more upon feeling her squirm, sighing quietly as the recurring thought came to me again about how there was nothing any one of us could do for him.

What could we do?

The man had just lost his wife and now had a new baby to care for.

Maybe the best thing all of us could do right now was to be patient with him and take care of this little ass-kicker until things felt right again.

I knew I could do that, so that's what I was going to do.

Still...

I could not imagine the pain he had to have been going through...the utter fucking hell he must be in.

And I think it was because my chest would ache so badly for him if I thought about it for too long, that it had been no problem at all for me to assume a temporary role of leader of the group.

Rick had worked too hard to keep us all together and alive and I would have been damned to see everything fall apart now.

A lot of us were still around because of Rick, so I knew that while Rick needed time to himself, I was going to cover for him.

No one even had to ask me; it was just something I had to do...especially now that we had this blessing of a baby girl to look after and to put things in perspective for us all.

Rick had lost his wife to this hell on earth, but we all had gained a miracle.

I was going to protect it no matter what.

"How's she doin'?" the youngest Greene daughter asked me, coming up behind me and pulling me from my thoughts.

"Fine..." I sort of murmured my answer, not feeling my usual dread when someone else from the group would approach me so suddenly.

Beth nodded but then fixed her wide eyes on me again.

"How're you doin'?" she questioned smartly, probably seeing that, even with this baby in my arms, my mind was troubled.

I looked down at the little ass-kicker and seeing that she was asleep again made me breathe a sad smirk.

"Alright...I gotta be," I replied somberly, casting Beth a knowing look that told her more than what my words had.

Beth looked down and collected her own thoughts while she filled her lungs with air.

"Want me to take her now?" she changed the subject, holding out her thin arms and stepping closer to me.

I nodded and looked down at the newest addition to our group once more.

She was so perfect, so pure.

I carefully brought my hand to support the baby's head and neck while I handed her over to Beth who already had a clean towel draped across her shoulder.

"There we go...hi...hi there, little girl...let's get you down for your nap," Beth cooed sweetly and I blinked fondly at the way the farmer's daughter seemed so happy holding that child, like she was meant to do it.

Maybe she was in another life.

I ignored the dull emptiness I felt in the pit of my gut and turned to leave.

"Wait...uh...where you headin' now?" Beth asked, her words seeming to float to my ears even though I did not turn back around to face her.

"...m'gonna go huntin'..." I replied simply as if she should have known as much, even though my words sounded hollow to my ears and were without any bite.

Truth was, I did not feel like hunting or even leaving the prison.

I wanted to find Rick; I needed to see with my own two eyes if he was okay.

I needed for him to be alright and I longed to sit by his side and just fucking be there for him.

No one had even seen him ever since he went off on his own and it was making me nervous, like my brain was unable to stop thinking about the worst possible outcomes...one right after the other.

I needed to see him otherwise I might just go insane.

I frowned and felt my jaws tense together as I pushed open one of the metal doors and made my way outside into the blinding sunshine.

I hated that I did not know what else to do.