TWD One Shot

Nobody Can Kill a Dixon.. Except a Dixon

  The afternoon was quiet as the trees swayed softly in the breeze. Squirrels and birds drifted from branch to branch, hoping to catch their next meals. Crunch. A squirrel perked up, standing tall and rigid, before darting away. The peace was softly disturbed, as two men walked diligently through the forest. One carried a crossbow, almost as if it was an extension of his arm. The other held a machete, but kept a firm hand on his holstered colt python. 

 Daryl Dixon and Rick Grimes were on a hunt, looking for more food to bring back to their family. They had been out all day, and they were growing tired. Each man had a string of critters hanging off their shoulder. 

 Daryl slowed to a stop, allowing both men to take a much needed break. They both looked around, before deeming the area safe to rest. Daryl leaned against a tree, and pulled out a bottle of water from his pack. Rick followed suit with his own, while keeping a close eye on the other man. The man he considers a brother. 

"Daryl," Rick finally spoke up, after a moment of silence, "I have a question for you." He watches as Daryl shoves his water away, while shuffling on his feet. 

 The man observes Rick for a moment before replying, "Yeah, what's up?" He squints against the harsh sunlight, as he watches Rick take a deep breathe in and releases it harshly. 

"I was just curious. About your life before all this." He pauses, to look around and lets out a small chuckle. "I know you feel like the odd man out, hell I understand that feeling. With everyone at the prison, it's kind of hard not too. I just want you to know, if you ever wanna talk about it, you know where to find me." Rick glances back over to Daryl, seeing the confusion all over his face.

 "The hell is this all about?" Daryl grunts, confused as to why Rick is randomly giving him a 'shoulder to cry on'. He shuffles on his feet, while chewing on his lip. 

 "The other day, I was talking to Carl, telling him that he needs to join in with the other kids for story time. He mentioned you, he wanted to know if you had kids, if you would send them to story time, or if they'd be out here. Hunting." Rick looks down, and then looks back up, meeting Daryl's gaze. "I told him it didn't matter, that that wasn't the point. I almost told him you didn't have children, but then I realized, that I didn't know that for sure."

 They both go quiet, Daryl chewing harder on his lip as he turns away from Rick. Rick watches him carefully, before continuing. 

 "So I just wanted to ask you, if you had a family. I understand if yo-you don't want to talk about it. But like I said, if you do, you know where to find me." Rick mumbles out, just loud enough for the other man to hear. He feels almost guilty to ask, but even guiltier for never asking before. 

 Daryl paces slowly, his head turned down to watch the forest floor. Rick grows nervous, scared he's pushed a button he shouldn't have. He's about to apologize, when Daryl turns back around to face him. He saw the tears built up in the hunter's waterline, and a bucket of guilt washes over him.

 "Yeah, I have a family. Or had, hell I don't even know man." Daryl says, his normal gravely voice deeper than normal. This was the most vulnerable Rick had ever heard him sound. He dips his head again, trying to hold his self together. He forces himself to remember that this is Rick, his brother, and that he could be honest with him. 

 "Me and Merle were on a huntin' trip when all this shit started. My," he pauses again to swipe his palm over his mouth, "my wife, she went up to see some family. Her mom wasn't doing so hot, she had some rare cancer. She lived in Pennsylvania, so I knew they'd be gone a little while. When me and Merle got back to the house, after about a week of huntin', we saw the news. I tried calling her, left voicemails until the lines shut down."