The End of a New Beginning // Daryl Dixon

Part 37

Meredith

The night bugs chirped and frogs croaked the night away. I remained awake while Mika, Ty, Harley and Judith slept. I remained awake, keeping watch for the night. Lizzie remained awake as well, looking around every five seconds. She turns to me and I show her a smile.

"You can sleep, Lizzie. I'm okay." I say.

"If there's trouble, I can take Judith." She claims. "I can help." She says confidently. I remember hearing about Lizzie and Mika. Carol told me about them. She was basically fostering them since they lost their father during the attack when the sickness broke out in D. I know Carol told me Lizzie and Mika are very sweet girls, a little stubborn, but they're also helpful and know things. They're strong. I like them both.

"You really think you can help me?" I ask her.

"I know I can, ma'am." She nods. I look down, checking on Judith, keeping sure that she remained breathing. "Think there'll be kids there?" She asks. "At Terminus?"

"If their parents kept them safe." I nodded. "Like Tyreese kept all of you safe."

"Like you kept Harley safe." She says.

"Exactly." I nodded. "But...Harley isn't my kid." I shook my head. "I just...saved him."

"I saved Tyreese." She says. "There were people shooting at him. I shot them. First a man, then a woman. I didn't mean to shoot her in the head."

"You had to." I furrow my brows at her. "You saved Tyreese." Lizzie nods.

"Maybe there'll be kids there, even if their parents couldn't keep them safe." She says. "Maybe the kids kept their parents safe."

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Did you have kids?" She asks me.

"No." I shook my head. "But my best friend had a kid. And she was like a daughter to me." I say.

"What was she like?" She asks. A smile forms across my lips.

"She was sweet." I say. "She didn't have a mean bone in her body."

"Is that why she isn't here?" She asks.

"She died before any of this." I say. Lizzie nodded.

"What happened?" She asks. I know things are different now and that whatever Lizzie's seen couldn't be worse than anything. However, telling her that B onnie was kidnapped and brutally killed by somebody isn't exactly something I'd wanna tell her.

"She died in an accident. She hit her head. It was quick. She was gone before she hit the ground." I explain. Lizzie looks down.

"Do you miss her?" She asks.

"Every day." I say.

"Would you miss me?" She asks me. I huff out a smile.

"I'm not gonna have to miss you." I say. "You're dead on your feet. Go sleep next to your sister, okay?"

"But, ma'am, I can help." She reminds me.

"I'm gonna need your help looking after things tomorrow." I say. "Go to sleep, okay?" Lizzie stands up and leans down to me, hugging me tightly. She soon pulls away and carrels walks down the small hill, joining Mika's sleeping figure. I lean back on the concrete post, letting out a sigh and keeping watch for the rest of the night.

By morning, everyone woke up and gathered their things. Tyreese and I declared that it would be a good idea to head off into the woods and find some supplies, like tree sap. We had the children on a hunt, looking for some sap. It was something I knew that would help for medicine wise.