A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S7Pt17 - Hilltop's Boot Camp

Daryl and I walked up to the gates of the Hilltop and we were kindly welcomed in by its people. I saw Gregory glared at us from his office window, and then Maggie came into view and blocked him out.
"You guys are back?" She questioned, but I could tell she was glad.
"Rick thought it was best for us to stay there, but we just can't..." I said, and Maggie saw the stress in my expression. "We need to start training your people now, before it's too late."
Maggie nodded and called Enid over. "We were already planning on that. We have a group going out today to practice. How's that coming along Enid?"
"Almost everyone's ready. Birdie says she's excited, strangely enough, and Frank is making himself a new knife, but other than that." Enid said and nodded, and Maggie smiled at her.
"Mind if I tag along?" I asked. "I can help with techniques and things like that."
"That would be great." Maggie said.
I nodded and stretched out my arm, slightly slicing the air with my blade to warm myself up. I haven't had to use my arm in awhile, but I wanted to teach these people everything about how to use a knife and I couldn't make myself look sloppy.
We decided to part ways as we all waited till the group was ready, and Maggie followed me over to a picnic table. I sat down on the table and she stood up next to me.
"I have something I want to show you." She said.
I just nodded and saw her pull out a sonogram, and I quietly gasped. I held the picture in my hand, and for the first time I saw Maggie's baby.
"Doctor Carson said he's as healthy as a horse, nothing wrong with him." Maggie said and chuckled to herself.
"Him..?" I slowly asked, still surprised.
I looked up at her and she nodded, and I saw her eyes start to shine from her tears building up. I smiled at her and gave her back the picture.
"Thank you." I said. "You are going to be the best mother. I already know."
"You are too." She then said, and it caught me off guard. Maggie just smiled and put her hand on my shoulder. "You are still the best mother to your kids."
I felt my eyes start to water and I quickly wiped my tears away and sniffled. I nodded my head and looked over at Daryl in the distance. He began walking this way and Maggie patted my back.
"I'll see you soon." She said.
"Thank you." I whispered as she walked away.
Daryl then walked over and sat down next to me, and he saw that my eyes were red.
"We're you crying?" He asked.
"Yeah." I plainly said.
"How come?" Daryl asked and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
"The kids." Was all I had to say, and Daryl nodded his head in agreement.
I just sighed and rested my cheek in my palm, and caressed my face. I then grazed my fingers over my cheek and remembered I still had my stitches in that I got at the Compound.
I then grunted in annoyance and got off the table. I stomped over to the trailer and walked inside, and saw Daryl followed me in. He closed the door behind me as I walked over to a mirror, pulled out a pocket knife, and held it up to my face.
"Kell, wait." Daryl said.
I sighed and bowed my head, dropping the knife on the table. I felt Daryl gently grab my hips and sit me down on the arm of a chair, and he turned around to grab my knife behind him. He put his hand under my chin and slightly lifted up my face. I looked into his eyes and watched him as he looked at my stitches.
He slowly began cutting the stitches out, and I winced at a few. He pulled out another stitch carefully before moving onto the next one.
"You know, I could've done this myself." I said.
"I know." Daryl said, and cut another stitch. "I just want to do something to help."
I just sighed and made Daryl look at me. He finally looked into my eyes, and for some reason I saw guilt. I caressed his cheek and tucked a piece of his hair away.
"You being here with me, all the time, is all the help I need." I said.
He raised his other hand and caressed my opposite cheek and I tilted my head into his palm. I then kissed his palm and sighed.
"Come on. Let's get this done with." I said and straightened my head up.
Daryl nodded and finished removing my stitches, and handed me back my knife when we was done. I thanked him as I got up and lightly kissed his lips before looking at myself in the mirror.
I now had a faint scar on my cheek, but it wasn't as bad as the one on my neck, which was a lot deeper. I anxiously held my neck and rubbed the scar, and looked away at the one on my cheek.
"Mirrors aren't my thing." I sarcastically said and shook my head self-consciously.
"You don't need them." Daryl then said, and I looked over at him. "When I look at you... all I see is you."
I couldn't help but smile and as I looked back at Daryl, I remembered all the reasons why I fell in love with him.