We're The Ones Who Live | The Walking Dead (2)

Part 1 - Museum

A year and a half had passed since the war with Negan came to an end, and things were getting better day by day. Each community was thriving in its own way with help from the others. The Saviors that had surrendered were mostly a great help in getting things rebuilt, and some had taken more authoritative positions across the communities.

Led by Rick, Alexandria was back to rights, thriving on the help they had received from the Kingdom, the Sanctuary and Hilltop to rebuild the homes that were lost when Negan bombed their streets. Trade was constantly being negotiated and carried out among the four places. It felt like a piece of the old world; communities working together to better themselves and grow for the future.

CJ and Daryl had taken lead of the Sanctuary, trying to make it a more sustainable place to be. However, with the many ex-Saviors living there, the problems and petty arguments over who deserved to be in charge of the place were becoming an almost daily occurrence.

The irritating beep of the alarm clock caused Daryl to groan as he woke from his slumber and reached for the clock, blindly feeling around until he hit to snooze button. Rolling over onto his back, he looked to his right and rubbed his tired eyes. Lying beside him was his wife of eighteen months, already awake and looking at him with a smile.

"You watchin' me sleep?" he asked, his voice raspy with sleep.

"Maybe," CJ grinned.

"Freak," Daryl mumbled and rubbed his eyes again. "What time did ya get back from watch last night?"

"Not until late," she grumbled. "It's getting harder to manage this place. Feels like this is the first time in weeks we've actually woken up together."

"I know," Daryl sighed. "Never see you these days."

A small smirk appeared on CJ's lips as she shuffled closer to her husband. "You can see me now."

Daryl chuckled softly and rested his hand on CJ's hip. "We gotta get ready to head out."

CJ leaned up on her elbows to see the clock behind Daryl. "We got a little time."

"Oh, is that right?" Daryl raised an eyebrow.

"Mhmm," CJ nodded, moving to staddle Daryl's waist. "Come on. I miss you; you miss me... Spend some time with your wife, Mr Dixon." She leant down to kiss him softly, and she smiled as she felt him return the kiss.

"What are the odds we get interrupted again?" he whispered against her lips as he rolled them over, so he was hovering over her.

"Odds will be a lot higher if you keep asking dumbass questions," she breathed, running her fingers through his tangled hair and deepening the kiss as Daryl chuckled.

It's not like either of them were complete animals for each other, but all the time they had spent working apart from each other was getting to them both. The work involved keeping the Sanctuary and its residents in line was a constant responsibility they were both getting tired of, and neither of them wanted to live there. 

 The building itself was falling apart, any crops they tried to grow would simply die because the soil was no good. And recently, there had been former Saviors leaving messages on the walls or deliberately not pitching in to help around out of protest for the new management. Daryl and CJ had found they had to be seen around every day to stand their ground and prove that they were the ones running things. 

Any time they did have a day alone, something would come up that one of them would have to attend to, and they would be back to work.

Unfortunately for them, this morning was no different. Things between them had barely started to get heated when there was a knock at their door.