RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

fifteen minutes

SHE NUDGED DARYL'S SIDE, his eyes fluttering open as he woke up.

He groaned, turning onto his side, away from the window. "What?"

She sat with her legs crossed beneath her, hovering over him slightly on the bed. "It's the day."

He groaned again, pulling the pillow slightly over his face.

She got off the bed with a sigh, rummaging through the dresser for better clothes. She stripped off her clothes from the other day and put on something fresh, or as fresh as it can get. She slid her pants up and buttoned them around her waist, bending over and slipping on her boots before tying them tightly. She jumped when his arm snaked around her from behind, pulling her back up and turning her into him.

"You sure you want to do this today?" He asked her, his arm still snug around her. "After what we did yesterday?"

She nodded eagerly. "I can't put this off another day."

He looked at her for a moment, biting the inside of his cheek before nodding. "All right."

They heard Sienna stirring behind them in the crib, her pillow and blankets shuffling against the mattress.

Willow turned to her, leaning down and picking her up. Her eyes were tiny and squinted, still half asleep, but she still managed to smile brightly.

"Hey little bug," Willow said against the top of her head, "mommy's going on an adventure today."

Sienna rested her head against Willow's chest, twisting strands of her black hair between her tiny fingers. She groggily nodded as Willow rocked her lightly.

"I'll be back before you know it."

She kissed her cheek and set her back down in the crib. She scowled a bit at how small the crib seemed to be now compared to Sienna's body. She had been meaning to scrounge around Alexandria for something bigger and more suitable for her, but it's been slipping her mind. She could've sworn she's been growing more and more by the day, and it made her sad and terrified. Sad that she wasn't so little anymore, and terrified about her new processing of the world around them. How do you tell a child that the world isn't safe and one wrong move could get her killed? She knew the day would come that she had to explain it to her, and it seems to be coming sooner than she could've expected. Each day, at every waking moment, she tries to think of what she could possibly say when that day comes, hoping that she could soften the blow, but she always came to the same conclusion; there isn't, and won't ever be, an easy way to say it.

Daryl followed her out to the kitchen, the room empty as everyone else still slept. He rummaged through some of the cabinets, grabbing granola bars and different mixed nuts before throwing them into a pocket of his bag.

"You're packing like we're gonna be out there for a week." Willow said in amusement, counting each item as they were tossed messily into the pocket.

He shrugged, tossing one more bag of nuts into his bag. "Days, weeks, months- however long it takes for us to find him."

She stepped up behind him, wrapping her arms around his sides and hugging him tightly. "This is why I love you." She kissed his back through his shirt before taking a step away, taking a few of the granola bars and nuts out of his bag. "For now, let's just stick to a day."

He nodded silently, helping her put back the extra food.

She pulled at both sides of one of the granola bars, breaking off a piece and tossing it into her mouth. "I figured we could start at the shack Spencer and I hit up and work our way from there. There won't be much to go off of, it's burnt to the ground. Maybe we head north today, pick up other directions some other day if we can't find anything."