Shadows

12) First Impressions

Alicia followed Negan down the hallways, groaning at every twist and turn that seemed to go on forever. They finally reached the door, and Negan smiled, holding his hand out.

"Here's lover boy." He grinned. He quietly unlocked the door and moved aside, allowing Alicia to open it.

When she did open the door her heart dropped. He was facing the wall, his back turned to her. For a moment she tried to focus on the scars that littered his back, the ones she loved. But the blood drew her attention anyway.

"Daryl."

Her voice broke when she said it and she saw the way his body shifted. He slowly turned his head, and Alicia rushed to his side, her hands clutching onto his face.

"What did they do to him?" She snapped at Negan. "Why the hell is bleeding like this and where the fuck are his clothes?"

Negan shook his head. "I actually do not know." He sighed. He looked at the couple. "If I leave you here with him, you promise not to run off?"

She nodded, realizing this was the perfect opportunity to tell him about her plan. After he left, both of them waited to hear his footsteps disappear.

Before she could get out a word, Daryl was grabbing her face and kissing her as hard as he could. "Are you ok?" He asked after he pulled away.

She smiled. "Im more than ok. I have a plan."

"Let's hear it." He said.

"Alright, so I got him to believe I absolutely hate our group and that you're just doing your own thing. Ok so I need you to play along and just please do as he says. If we can get him to trust us then at the right moment we can get our asses out of here."

Daryl sighed. "So we've got to do what that dickhead says?"

"Please, Daryl." She grabbed his hand. "It's the only way."

He sighed, kissing her again. "You sure this is gonna work?"

"I sure as hell hope so."

The sound of footsteps drawing closer snapped their attention back to the door. Alicia watched as Negan threw some clothes at Daryl.

He looked to his daughter and smirked. "You better be right about lover boy."

—————

Alicia watched as Daryl pulled on the black jeans he had been given. His hair was still wet from the shower he had just taken and the blood was cleared from his body.

"How do you feel?" She asked as he sat down on the bed beside her.

He sighed, staring down at the shirt in his hands. "Like shit."

She nodded, laying her head on his shoulder. "Last night... Glenn-"

"Just kept replaying in your mind?" Daryl looked down at her. "Me to."

She looked up at him, her hands finding his. "He's gone. They're both gone."

Daryl nodded, pulling her against his bare chest. "I know. But we ain't got time to be upset Darlin'." He kissed the top of her head, his hands wiping away a few stray tears from her cheeks. "I love you."

"I love you too." She sighed, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She looked around at the room, it was a nice room, she couldn't deny that. Suddenly she started to laugh, shaking her head.

Daryl looked at her his brows furrowed. "What?"

She ran her hands over her face, dry laughs still falling from her throat. "This is not how I imagined meeting my dad would be."

He sighed, rubbing her back lightly. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked. "That Negan was your dad."

She looked up at him, her face blank. "I didn't want you to hesitate when you killed him. Well I thought we were gonna kill him."

He nodded. "You should have told me Ali." He kissed her temple, his fingers locked in her hair. "We're gonna be alright."

She just buried her head further into him, taking in his scent. "I hope so."

He chuckled. "I think I made a good first impression on your dad."

She laughed, shaking her head. "You think?"

"Yeah." Daryl joked. "I think I really won him over when I punched him in the face."

Alicia laid back in the bed, staring up at Daryl. "You're stupid."

"I know."