Fuck You, Dixon! (Daryl Dixon x reader)

Chapter 21: Family Meeting

I napped in my tent for the rest of the day, catching up on the sleep I missed last night from my little rescue mission. I didn't notice how much time had passed, till Glenn came and woke me up.

"Hey, time for that meeting, sleepyhead." Glenn called.
I grunted and slowly got up.
"You mean family meeting?" I joked as I put my boots on.
Glenn smiled.
"Yeah, I suppose that's more accurate."
I stood and wrapped my arm round his shoulder.
"Is there food at the meeting?"
Glenn laughed, pushing me off.
"No, breakfast was this morning and lunch was hours ago. This is a serious meeting."
I groaned and followed him out the tent.
"Balls" I mumbled.

We walked into the house and everyone was sat around the big dinning table. Well, everyone except Lori, Carol, Beth and the kids. Glenn wasn't joking, this was going to be serious.

Glenn stood by Maggie and I stood in the dinning room doorway, I thought Glenn and I were the last to arrive, but then Daryl came through the door. He saw me then quickly averted his eyes and leaned on the otherside of the doorway.

"Everyone here?" Rick asked as he placed his hands on the table.
"Appears to be." Hershel said softly.
Rick nodded.
"I'll cut to the chase. I called you all here to ask for your opinions. What should we do with the kid?"
Shane scoffed and crossed his arms.
"That even a serious question!?" He yelled.
"Yes, it is." Rick replied.
"Fucking bullshit man! Just kill the son of a bitch!"
"Language, young man! I will not have you speaking like that in my house!" Hershel scolded.
"Shut up old man, why the hell are you here anyway? This doesn't concern you."

Hershel pointed a finger at Shane and raised his voice.
"This is my farm! This concerns my family! Rick and y/n convinced me to let you all stay, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! And don't think I've forgotten about what you did at the barn!" He scolded.

Shane immediately shut up and Maggie rubbed her father's arms, trying to calm him down. Rick looked to Shane and gave him a stern look.
"If you have an opinion, an idea, you say it, but you say it respectfully and calmly, got that?"
Shane just looked away and clicked his tongue.
No one spoke after that, everyone went silent.

Glenn spoke up after no one else did.
"So...how do we do this? Do we vote?"
"Does it have to be unanimous? Majority rules?" Andrea asked.
Rick walked around, shaking his hands.
"Let's just, let's just see where everyone stands. Then we can talk through our options"
"Still only one way..." Shane said.
"Killing him, right?" Dale said.
Dale nodded his head in disbelief at everyone.
"Why even bother to take a vote? It's clear which way the wind is blowing."

Rick began to get more animated, gesturing his hands more.
"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I want to know" He said softly, looking at Dale.
Dale looked over everyone.
"I can tell you it's a small group...maybe just, me, Glenn and y/n..."

Glenn looked over to Dale, a sad look in his eyes. Dale tilted his head and opened his mouth in disbelief.
"Look, I...I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this.."
Dale interrupted, putting his hand out.
"They've got you scared!" He argued.
"He's not one of us!" Glenn argued, pointing his arm to the outside.
"And...and we've lost too many people already." He added.
They both went silent and stared at each other.

Maggie then spoke up before Dale could speak again.
"We can't just keep him prisoner."
"Just nother' mouth to feed" Daryl added from beside me.
"It may be a mean winter." Hershel added.
"We can ration better, he could be an asset! Give him a chance to prove himself. " Dale pleaded.
"He could work?" Asked Glenn.
"I'm not letting him walk around" Rick said.
"You could put an escort on him" Maggie suggested.
"Who wants to volunteer for that dude?" Shane scoffed.
"I will!" Dale offered.
"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy. And I know Lori and the kids wouldn't feel safe with it either." Rick stated.
"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labour" Andrea joked.

It went silent for a second, then Shane spoke up again.
"Look"
He took a breath and sighed.
"Say we let him join us, right? Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice...We let our guard down, and maybe he runs of and brings his group to us."

"So the answer is to kill him? To prevent a crime he may never even attempt!?" Dale yelled.
He took a breath and Rick looked at him.
"If we do this...we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead! That there is no civilization!" He spat.
"Oh my god.." Shane scoffed.
"Could you leave him somewhere?" Hershel asked.
"Not a bad idea" T-Dog chipped in.
"Leave him somewhere? Out there? Alone? He'll have no chance! It's the same as killing him!" Dale argued.

Everyone looked away from Dale as he looked at them with pleading eyes, he then turned to me. Desperation and anger was written all over his face.
"What about you, y/n!? Have you changed your mind? Let them scare you like they have, Glenn?" He asked.

I kicked myself off of the doorframe and stood straight. I sighed and looked Dale straight in his eyes.
"Whether he lives or dies, right now, I don't care."
Dale scoffed.
"I'm not finished" I said.
Everyone's eyes turned to me.

"You don't know what to do with him,  because you don't know who he is. You don't know what he's capable of and that scares you, fine. There's possibilities that could happen that we can't predict, fine. So what do you do when you don't know an answer?"

No one answered and I sighed.

"You find out. Ask him. Interrogate him. You can't predict what someone can do, but you can find out their intentions, what they're like. You ask him. You Interrogate him. You do whatever you need to do to get the answer you want to find."

Rick nodded and Dale seemed to scoff.
"Interrogation!? He's a kid!" Dale argued.
"Interrogation gives him a chance, Dale. Interrogation is better than death, is it not? It'll give everyone the assurance they need to make a clear choice."
He seemed to quiet down at my answer.

Rick nodded his head in thought.
"That's a good idea. He's in the barn now, it makes a good spot"
"I'm fine with that" Andrea added.
"Sure, it'll just prove my point" Shane said.
"And how are we gonna know he's telling the truth?" Glenn asked.
"Why do you think I suggested Interrogation? Rick and Shane were cops, if anyone can get the truth it's them." I answered.
"That, an' you can always beat it out of em'." Daryl suggested.
Dale scoffed at Daryl's suggestion, but let it slide.

Rick cleared his throat and stood straight.
"It's settled then. Tomorrow, we'll ask him questions, maybe give him a day or two, then we'll have another meeting. We'll decide then."
Everyone nodded and cleared out the room.

I was going to follow everyone out when Rick called me back.
"I didn't get the chance to thank you for yesterday. If you weren't there, didn't have our backs, thing's could've been a lot uglier." He said softly.
I shook my head.
"It's fine, I just...did what I had to."
Rick shook his head, looking down.
"Not everyone would stick their neck out like that"
"Well, you're all family. I don't let people mess with family."
He smiled.

I began to turn away, thinking that was all, but he put his hand on my shoulder and spun me around.
"Anything else?" I asked confused.
He nodded.
"About the suggestion.."
"You don't agree with it?"
"It's not that. I think it's a great idea."
"Then what?"
"The way you spoke, you have an idea in mind, right?"
I smiled and pat his shoulder.
"I do, but I trust you. If you don't get anything out of him, come to me. I know how to make someone talk."
He nodded his head.
"Shane, Daryl and I will handle it. I'll come to you if we need you."
I nodded and turned to walk.
"Y/n" He called.
I paused and turned back.
"Thank you, for everything you've done. I mean it. You're part of this group, no need to prove yourself." He said softly.

I turned away and began to walk out the room.
"Don't mention it." I said softly over my shoulder.
"You're all family"
I walked out the room, leaving Rick behind, a small smile on my face.

Originally, I'm not a people person, but, thanks to Glenn, this group was growing on me and day by day, slowly felt more like family...