RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

law of averages

SHE TUGGED HER T-SHIRT down over her shorts, rubbing her eyes as she walked down the hallway.

"Carl-" She groaned, listening to the repeating thump of a ball against the walls and floors.

"What?" Carl responded cheerfully. "Denise says it's PT."

She raised an eyebrow at him as she slipped past him to the kitchen.

"I can't hear you. Come on out." Rick said, adjusting his belt on his pants. Willow smirked at him, pouring herself a cup of cold coffee.

"What?" Carl said again, standing in the doorway to the kitchen with Michonne. "Denise says-"

"-this is PT." Rick said at the same time.

"You heard me." Carl stated, rolling the ball in his hand.

"It's time to change your bandage." Michonne said with a broad smile. "And I need to borrow some toothpaste."

"Okay, but I'm out of toothpaste." Carl responded, tossing the ball to Rick. "Bye, Dad."

"I'll see you later." Rick said, setting the ball down for Judith to play with.

Willow watched Carl leave, a fluttering feeling in her stomach. She's never known anyone in this world who could bounce back from a gunshot the way he did. She admired how positive he still is even though he's lost something of huge importance.

She moved to the sofa, letting her leg lay across the cushions as she flipped through a book Tara had graciously found and given her. It was a red, hard cover book, but no title was displayed for her to see. The writing was small, and it had at least 400 pages. She could tell from her brief overview of it that it was going to be an interesting and challenging read, but lately she's been feeling up for challenges.

She closed the book and smiled when she heard tiny footsteps pattering quickly against the wood floor towards her.

"Good morning!" She sifted Sienna off her feet and onto the couch with her, showering her with kisses. She smiled even more when Sienna had her attempt at saying 'good morning' back. 

"Mornin'." Daryl grumbled sleepily as he, too, came into the living room, sitting down at the end of the sofa with the two of them. Sienna pushed off from Willow and slung herself into Daryl, nearly head butting him.

"Did she wake you or was it the ball?" Willow said behind her mug of coffee. 

"Both." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "How's the leg?"

She glanced down at her leg. "Fine. Scar's healing nicely. Feels as good as new."

He looked at her through the sides of his eyes. "You lyin'?"

She shook her head. "No, Daryl."

He's been on her ass about letting her leg heal before she could go out with them and before she could go out and look for her brother. 

She got up quickly, standing in front of him. "What do I have to do to show you?"

He scoffed, staring at her for a moment before realizing she was serious. "All right. Turn around."

She nodded, turning around, her back facing him. "What now?"

She waited patiently for his response, but he didn't say anything. She turned and looked over her shoulder, expecting to see his eyes, but they were fixated further down her body.

"Damnit, Daryl." She kicked his leg, sitting back down on the couch. "I've been sitting around like some house wife while everyone else does the hard and dirty work."