S u r v i v o r s [ Daryl Dixon ]

Chapter 42

Daryl insisted on leaving Jesus in the tree, but eventually, when we found a working car, we put him in the back seat. I sat in the front with Ric, Daryl watched over the man behind.

We drove in relative silence, everyone was disappointed in their own way that we were coming back empty-handed. But I was hoping Eugene's other calculations would point us to another magical food storehouse.

It was the middle of the night when we arrived in Alexandria. Daryl and Rick carried Jesus to an abandoned room and locked him there with water and food.

Then we separated. Rick went to his room, and I stared at Daryl for a moment, who must have read something on my face.

"Come on, I still have some coke and chips at home from the previous trip."

I took a quick bath at Daryl's and put on one of his T-shirts he'd gotten when we first arrived in Alexandria, but which he barely wore. I sat on the couch and grabbed the chips that Daryl had given me before he went to take a bath. I waited for him in the dark, staring up at the ceiling where the shadows of the trees danced over and over again.

Finally Daryl sat next to me taking a deep breath.

"And that's it for our dinner" I said quietly, not holding back a laugh.

"We'll catch up" Daryl said. I looked at him, and his gaze seemed absent.

"What are you thinking about?"

"About you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you still jealous?"

"Nah. As Rick said, you're an attractive woman."

"So that's Rick talking, not you" I laughed.

Daryl looked over at me, was silent for a few seconds.

"He finds you attractive but I love you so I see a bit more."

I was out of breath.

What did he say?

"Wait..." I blinked faster. "What?"

Daryl smiled slightly, grabbed my hand and pulled me slightly towards him. So I sat on top of him. He grabbed my cheeks and looked at me carefully.

"You said in the car it would be easier if I said that we are together or whatever is between us... And this is between us."

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "I didn't expect that."

"And what did you expect?"

I shrugged.

"You've been running away from me a bit over the last few weeks. I thought it was just a fling for you. You hardly touched me, maybe kissed me twice..." I shrugged. "What was I supposed to think then?"

Daryl stroked my hair lightly before grabbing my neck and pulling me lightly to kiss me. A few seconds later, he pulled away to whisper a soft "I'm sorry" and then started kissing me again. I snuggled closer to him, slid my hands into his wet hair, and the T-shirt I was wearing slightly stuck to his wet chest. I smiled still kissing him. Daryl hugged me tighter like he wouldn't let go. I pulled back slightly to look at him.

"You've kept me waiting a long time, Dixon/"

"I'm here now" he said quietly.

"It's a base I definitely didn't expect."

"And it's only the first one today, princess." He leaned in to kiss me again when I heard a sharp knock.

"Daryl! Trouble!"

It was Maggie's voice, so I quickly slipped off Daryl's lap and ran to the door, throwing it open. Maggie raised her eyebrows when she saw me, couldn't help but smile a little, but quickly regained her composure.