Till Death Do Us Part: A Daryl Dixon Story (The Walking Dead)

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I rushed to the cell blocks as soon as we returned. I shot a wary glance to the four strangers sitting in the common area, guarded by Carl, but didn't think much of it. I rushed into an empty cell and lowered myself on the thin mattress. I couldn't stomach what had just happened. By some miracle, Daryl and I were reunited. And then I pushed him away, like he had done to me so many months ago. I hated myself for it. Why couldn't I just move past the miscarriage, the coma and Merle's lies? Why couldn't I just forget? Was Daryl's love not enough for me? I couldn't even cry anymore, my tear ducts were empty. The sounds of the baby's cries momentarily cleared my head. The Governor would come after us, I knew it. And he'd come with all he had. This was bad. But for me, my husband leaving for good was even worse. I stretched out on the bed. My eyes became heavy. All the running and fighting over the past few days left me exhausted. I was drained, emotionally and physically. I drifted off into a deep and heavy sleep, the baby's cries a lull in the background.
'I can't help you!' I woke up to the sound of Rick's panicked voice. 'Get out!'
I sat up, disorientated and confused. My surroundings were dark, and I grabbed my sword and dashed to the common area. I was met by a frenzied Rick, yelling at the four strangers to get out. I frowned, putting my sword away. This was very unlike Rick. He pulled out his gun, yelling and screaming for them to leave. I watched Rick with caution in my eyes. Lori's death had changed him completely. There was no trust left in him. The strangers were escorted out by Glenn but Rick continued his rambling. I stared at the others with worry in my eyes. Rick looked as if he was on the verge of a meltdown. I went back to my cell after everyone calmed down. I don't know how long I just lay there, unable to close my eyes. I listened to the sound of the others settling in. Much later on I heard the sounds of the baby waking up. She was quiet at first, soft gurgles and noises but she quickly became panicked when she received no attention. I sighed as I got up to care for her. I reached her make shift crib made from a box. I squinted to read the text on the box in the moon light.
"Lil Ass Kicker"
I had to laugh. That was no doubt Daryl's handiwork. And then my laughing immediately ceased. I gently took the baby in my arms, rubbing her back to calm her down. She stopped her crying almost immediately and nuzzled into the warmth of my neck. I closed my eyes and pressed my cheek against her head. She smelt like heaven. She was warm and perfect and-
'She likes you.' I heard Beth's voice and my eyes reopened. Seemed like I wasn't the only one woken up by the baby.
'Guess so.' I mumbled. 'Please tell me we don't only call her Ass Kicker.'
Beth smiled as she approached me. 'Judith.'
I smiled down at the baby girl. I thought it was a sweet name and I wondered who picked it out.
'How come you and Daryl never had any kids?' She asked innocently. 'You shudda seen him with Judith. He looked like he'd have made a great dad.'
'Take her please' I mumbled and handed Judith to her. She didn't mean anything by that question, she didn't know any better. But I couldn't answer. I rushed down the stairs, back to my cell, desperate to get away. Before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed my sword and headed for the common area. Rick sat hunched against the wall.
'Gimme the keys.' I said to him, nudging his leg to wake him up.
He stirred and shot me a look. 'Why?'
'Dammit, Rick, just give me the keys.' I had to shout in a whisper.
His brow furrowed but he tossed me the keys. I unlocked and relocked the cell gate with shaky hands. I tossed the keys back to Rick and stormed through the common area, grabbing a flashlight along the way. I didn't know where I was going, all I knew was that I was angry and I craved blood. Rick had mentioned there was a breech in the tombs deeper in the prison, so I figured I might as well put my anger to good use. I wondered for an hour without coming across one walker. I managed to find myself in the administrative ward of the prison. With my sword in hand, I checked each and every office. I found a total of five walkers which wasn't merely enough to take the anger away. I was searing with rage and pain. Why did Daryl have to choose his brother over me?
I sunk down into the dusty chair behind the desk of one of the offices. The desk was scattered with random junk and I swiped all of it to the ground with an angry cry. I buried my face in my hands. I had managed to survive almost a year without Daryl and now I couldn't even go one night without him. A photo frame on the desk that I hadn't managed to dump on the floor caught my eye. It was a picture of a couple on their wedding day. I picked it up and studied their faces. They looked happy, unknowing that they wouldn't have their forever together. Both of them were probably dead. I chucked the picture on the wall next to me in disgust. The glass shattered and fell to the ground with soft clattering. The destruction of the photo made me feel something and before I could stop myself, I was tearing the office apart. I tore the books from the shelves, tearing out the pages and then chucked them over my shoulder. I hacked away at the huge desk with my sword, not caring the damage it caused to my blade. I kicked the chair over. I pushed a filing cabinet over and was finally satisfied when it crashed to the ground. I stood in the middle of the chaotic room, panting and suddenly exhausted. I had no idea what time it was. I peeped through the window and saw a full moon, high up in the sky. I sank to the ground, bringing my knees to my chest. I placed my sword beside me and rested my forehead on the top of my knees.
I wondered where Daryl was. I knew him and Merle were safe; the two of them together would be unstoppable. I also wondered if Merle would continue his lie or come clean. Who was I kidding? He'd add to the lie if it meant that he could keep his brother. I stretched out on my side and felt sleep soon approaching as I lay on the cold and dirty floor. I woke up late the next morning. Rubbing my eyes to get rid of the sleep, I stood and stretched. I was still amazingly tired, but that came with this new life. No matter how much you slept, you were always tired. With a heavy heart I picked up my sword and returned it to its sheath. I stepped over the mess I'd created the previous night. And then I heard gunshots. Shit. I drew my sword yet again and dashed out the office. I realised I had no clue how I ended up in the administrative ward of the prison and had to stop by one of the maps posted on the wall. I quickly found cell block D. I broke the glass of the frame with the back of the sword and took the map. I folded it and tucked it away in my jacket pocket; it could come in handy later on. I scurried through the hallways of the tombs and rounded a corner. I was greeted by a bunch of my hungry dead friends. There were way more than I was used to dealing with alone. I gulped, readied my blade and prayed that I could handle this on my own. All the guidelines from Michonne flooded my thoughts as I danced through the walkers, my sword severing and slicing off heads and limbs -keep light on your feet and let the blade guide you. I leaned against the wall, panting and out of breath. I left a mess of blood and guts behind me, and the tiniest of triumphant smiles appeared on my face. Michonne would have been proud. I started running back to the cell block when I snapped back to reality. I took a wrong turn and ended up in cell block F.
'Shit,' I mumbled as I faced another bunch of starved walkers. The breech had to be close by for there to be this many walkers wondering around here. After taking care of the bastards, I pulled the map out and figured out where I made the wrong turn. I finally made it back to familiar grounds and ran outside to the courtyard. The gunshots had ceased a long time ago. I stopped when I saw Axel's bullet filled body on the ground. I gulped and stared at the rest of the group standing by the fence, arguing about something. I ran over.
'What the hell happened?' I yelled. 'Sorry I was-'
The words were caught in my throat when I saw Daryl among the group. I blinked twice. Had I lost my shit for real in that office? But he was there. And so was Merle. That's why the group was arguing -Merle and Daryl had come back. But why were they shooting? Surely all that gunfire and Axel's body wasn't the result of seeing Merle. Daryl's face gave away no emotion as he watched me take him in.
'The Governor paid a visit.' Michonne told me.
My features hardened, but I couldn't think about that now. Daryl was back.
This is what I wanted, right?
//
Sorry for filler but yeah.. I'm updating as quickly as possible cos I have finals coming up soon and won't be able to write for a while. That being said my next chapter is a PRETTY IMPORTANT one (and my last one for a couple weeks) so if I get tons if votes and stuff then I'll post it lateeeer.
xx