RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

ts-19

WILLOW SAT CROSS LEGGED on the couch, watching Daryl read to Sienna. The bottle of SoCo had a bit more left in it until Willow got her hands on it, drinking it through the night, not sparing a drop.

Daryl noticed a while ago that Willow was awake, but he kept Sienna, entertaining her with the book. He felt dumb reading aloud to her knowing her little brain couldn't comprehend what he was saying.

"Who knew Daryl Dixon had a soft spot for babies." Willow teased him, relaxing her head against her arm that rested on the back of the couch.

He scoffed. "I ain't got a soft spot for nothin'." He closed the book, tossing it onto the rug, handing Sienna back to Willow.

"You got her to sleep?" Willow looked down at the little face, her long eyelashes fluttering in her sleep.

"Lil ass kicker must've been exhausted from all that cryin'." He reached for the bottle that Willow sat between her legs, shaking it in the air, a bit frustrated that she finished it off.

"What was your brother like?" She looked over to him as he kicked his legs up onto the coffee table in front of them, his body visibly tensing up.

"We ain't gotta talk about him." He bit his nails, staring straight ahead.

"We don't have to, but we can." She copied what Daryl did, kicking her feet up onto the table too. "The group obviously doesn't care much. But I know what it's like to lose a brother."

"Merle was nothin' short of an asshole." He groaned. "But he's still my brother. Wouldn't leave him behind like they did."

She nodded, knowing exactly how he felt.

"He really cause that much trouble out there?"  He finally looked over at her.

She answered truthfully but was careful with her words knowing the Dixon's habits of bad tempers. "There was a feud for a bit. Everyone was scared. Even Merle. I will admit he made it harder for us to come up with a good plan that would get us out of there alive, but he was scared just like the rest of us." She sighed as she fumbled with the bottle cap in her hand. "Living in a world like this now, fear makes us do crazy things. Doesn't mean we should leave someone behind because of it."

He looked at her for a second before nodding, turning his gaze ahead again.

"What was yours like?" His voice was quiet. "Your brother?"

She smiled at the thought of Ash. "He was everything a big brother ever was. My best friend and my worst enemy at the same time. Siblings tend to be that way I guess. He was strong and smart. Funny. He helped raise me when our father couldn't. He had his moments though. He got caught up in some terrible things. Been in and out of jail for a good portion of his life. But he was good." She stopped talking for a moment, her eyes welding with tears. She had been talking about him as if he was dead. The truth was, she didn't know if he was alive or not, and everyday that went by, the thought of him being dead occupied her mind more and more. "He is good."

Daryl knew he hit a nerve with his questions, but he still asked more. "How'd y'all get split up at the beginnin' of this?"

She didn't mind sharing bits and pieces of her life with the group. She knew now that she could trust them, and they were growing on her day by day. But some monsters are better left in the dark.

"That's a story for another time, Dixon."

-

"Good morning." Carol smiled sweetly at Willow and Sienna. She got up from her chair to come look at the little one, cooing at her as she stretched her little legs out.