Chapter 54
"Tight squeeze". Sophia pointed out to anyone who was listening, as she wiggled her way further into her spot on the bed.
"We fit just fine." Daryl insisted, even though he was hanging of the edge of the mattress. But even though there really wasn't enough room for the four of them, he still found this arrangement more favourable than the alternative.
Even Sophia, who had made a few comments about the limited space still didn't object to them all sharing the bed.
The only one who had nothing to say, was Carol. Even Hayes, who was limited to growls and gargling sounds had made sure that everyone knew that he approved of this sleeping situation.
As they all settled into their spots, Carol remained quiet as she fed the baby again, before they all turned in for the night.
Hayes had eaten recently, but Carol always offered the baby more, saying she just wanted to top him off.
Daryl knew that if Hayes was as full as he could be, then they had a good chance that he would sleep through the night.
But Daryl often thought that Carol also just found the task relaxing.
Whenever she fed Hayes, she seemed to drift off into her thoughts, any worries she had were put on hold and chores still to be done, we're forgotten about.
She smoothed the baby's hair back with the tips of her fingers, carefully adjusted his clothes and touched all of his tiny features. Sophia too, enjoyed watching Carol feed the baby, she leaned into Carols side and just watched, as her baby brother fell asleep.
As the room grew quieter, he took it upon himself to blow out the majority of the candles, leaving just one. He watched the three of them curled up together, knowing in a matter of minutes they would all fall asleep and any question they had about him urging them to stay in the same cell were forgotten about.
When he had told them he wanted to share the cell again, they had asked why. They had wanted to know if anything was wrong, and they had wanted to know why he had been in bad mood all afternoon.
He had simply told them that he was having a bad day and that it would be made better by having them all close tonight.
It had started as a lie, but as he voiced it, he realised that he wasn't lying at all. And as he laid there watching them, he realised that it was exactly what he had needed. Right now, they were safe, and nothing could get to them. He knew that, because he would tear anything apart that came through the entry of their cell.
When it had occurred to him Ed had been sneaking into the cell block at night, his first instinct had been to attack him. To go after him and lay his fists into him. But where had that gotten him in the past?
Once he'd calmed himself down, he stopped walking towards Ed part of the prison and turned himself right around. Instead, he went looking for Rick and Maggie.
Because the end was near and when the time came, he didn't want there to be any question about him overreacting or being paranoid.
When the three of them were asleep, tangled up with each other, he lingered for a while, simply watching them sleep. It was one of those times when he pushed himself to be present in the moment that he was in. Not worrying over the future or fretting over the past, he was here, right here with them.
It was odd to look at the three of them and know that they were his. It was even stranger to know without any doubt that he belonged to them.
It was probably something so simple to most people, but not to him, he'd never had a real family before. Not like this.
It was comforting to know that he wasn't alone in the world, and it was absolutely horrifying to know that he could lose it all and have to live with the void of them.
Because he'd rather squeeze into this bed with them every night, rather than have the whole thing to himself.
When they all started breathing heavily and he knew they were in a deep sleep, he slowly rolled himself off the mattress. Carol had woken momentarily, but the promise that he was simply going to have a smoke and that he would be right back, was enough to have her drifting back off in seconds.
He sat in the dark empty cell, on Sophia's bed, listening to the sounds of the everything happening in the block. It was hours before he heard the footsteps in the hallway, and Ed's large form appeared in the darkened hall.
It was so dark that he had barely been able to see him there, but he knew that Ed had seen him.
Ed turned on his hells and quickly started fleeing the cellblock and as Daryl rose to follow him, he took notice of Maggie standing in her cell across the hall, watching the entire even unfold.
And when he made his way out of the cell and followed Ed into the yard, he looked up to the guard tower and could clearly see Rick watching him.
"You really gonna keep running. You think I'm fucking blind?" Daryl barked as he slowed his pace.
Ed stopped and turned back to face him, curling his upper lip slightly when their eyes met.
He hated that expression. Ed made it often. And every single time, Daryl could see Sophia's resemblance to him. Because when she was annoyed, she made the exact same face. He knew if he looked long enough at Ed, he could most likely find more of Sophia mixed in there. But he didn't want to look for it, if anything, he forced his eyes from Ed, just in case he found something else lying there.
It pissed him off that such a piece of shit had any connection to the kid. She didn't deserve to have Ed as a father. And though Daryl knew he was no prize, he also knew he could be a better father to her.
And even though she'd never look like him, Daryl knew that the things he'd shown her, the things he still wanted to teach her, were much more important than a curled lip.
"You think you can sneak up on her again? that it?" Daryl growled.
It had worked at the campsite. Ed got her alone, when she was vulnerable and confused and tried to ruin everything, they were all building.
Daryl couldn't help but smile to himself, knowing that Ed had very few tricks up his sleeve.
"Fill her head with some bullshit about how you're all she has? Maybe tell her that me and Carol, we got us a new kid, so we won't be wantin' her around no more" Daryl asked, raising his brow as he glanced at Ed.
He could see it there. The hint of shock. The sight of a man who had been taken of guard.
Daryl nodded. "She told me." Daryl confirmed in a smug tone as he pulled a smoke from his packet.
"Ain't gonna work this time. I set her straight. And if your gonna keep creepin' around, you should know that she ain't useless, like you wanted her to believe she was. The gun, the knives…she doesn't carry that shit for fun".
"You turned her into a feral little animal". Ed argued, the words coming through his teeth as he spoke.
He struggled not to start laying his fists into him and it was no secret that Ed was having the same issue.
But neither moved from their spot.
It almost felt like they'd gone beyond that now. The tension between them now was so much more dangerous than anything that had come before it. They both knew nothing could be started if they had no intention of following through. And he wanted one last chance to talk to Carol before he did anything, with this new information, in the hopes that she would finally see that they had no other choice.
Daryl knew that Ed's reasoning wasn't nearly as complicated. He was on Daryl's side of the fence. He would have a hard time explaining that if something started.
"I showed her how to survive" Daryl explained. "So that pieces of shit like you-"
"She's my daughter. My blood" Ed interrupted with his whole face screwed up.
"I'll drain every drop from your body Ed, if that's what it takes" Daryl explained in a low and guttural growl.
Daryl shook his head at the idea of Ed thinking he had some right over Sophia still. "After everything that happened, after they-…."
He stopped and took one last look at Ed before he ended this.
"You ain't takin' her from me. No one is. Hayes, Carol and Soph, they're mine. We're done here."
Carol knew that Daryl had been exposed violence his whole life, and always wondered if that was why he had was able to stay focused, think fast and act even faster whenever he found himself in a dangerous situation.
But that side of himself wasn't in charge right now, and she thought it was because it wasn't him that was in danger. It was someone who was vulnerable, someone who relied on him, someone who had given him the role of being her father.
He wasn't just trying to protect her in order to save her life, he wanted her to thrive. He wanted her to be happy as well as healthy. It was a lot of responsibility, especially because he knew the consequences of having a father who didn't care if you were happy or safe.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Carol questioned, keeping her tone levelled and calm.
"I didn't wanna worry you if I was wrong". He explained.
"You mean you didn't want to talk to me." She added, hearing the defeat in her own words. She sat herself down on the edge of the mattress and rung her hands together, hoping that it would give her something to focus on, besides the sting she felt in her chest right now.
Daryl's face quickly softened, and he flinched slightly at the sight of her.
He took her by surprise when he dropped to his knees in front of her and moved himself between her legs, curling his arms around her outer thighs as he lined his eyes with hers. "I'm talking to you now" he whispered in an apologetic tone.
His eyes bore into hers and she found herself lost in them for a long moment. There was something different lying there now, something that wasn't there yesterday. Something familiar to her.
"What if he just took her?" He asked, his tone laced with fear that he didn't even try to hide.
"No one would let that happen-" she promised him.
"He'll find his time" he said quietly as he shook his head and spoke over her.
He tightened his arms around her waist slightly and frowned as he spoke. "He'd do it just to hurt you, just to put you in your place."
In that moment she knew he was right. She knew that it was a very real possibility, and she knew that something had to be done. But that didn't mean she wanted him to be the one to do it.
"We need to think about this" Carol begged. Stupidly she thought pleading with him would help calm him down, but instead it only lit a fire in his eyes. His brow creased, his jaw tightened, and she could see a slight and involuntary shake of his head as he took in her tone.
"You really gonna stop me? Again?" He barked rising to his feet and stepping back from her.
She shook her head frantically, seeing just how upset he was. "I'm not saying we do nothing. I'm saying we think about this. Talk it through. Daryl I'm worried about you" She told him as she reached out and took his hand.
He snatched his hand back and turned on his heels, leaving the cell without looking back at her. "I'm done talking about that piece of shit, Carol!"
She couldn't help but let the stray tears, that had been lingering in her eyes, finally fall.
She could see that he was breaking, and she didn't think it had much to do with Ed.
This wasn't him; he didn't act like this. He was smarter than this. He'd always acted with a clear head; he'd always been calmer. He was almost erratic now.
She continued on with the laundry, deciding that she would go and talk to Maggie and Rick, then they would all sit down and figure this out together.
She didn't know how long she was lost in her task when Sophia suddenly swung the curtain back, looking at her with wide eyes.
Have you seen Daryl?" She questioned loudly as she walked in.
"He's probably gone hunting." She told her, looking around to see if his crossbow was still there. It was.
"He hasn't gone hunting. He just hit Caine." Sophia announced pointing back the way she'd came.
"What?"