Solitary: The Walking Dead

Chapter Sixty.

That's life.

Iris and Daryl sit back on the porch and watch as the group do their own things, Carl walks over the road with his sister in her pram and approaches the adults, "hey kid" Iris says looking up at him, "hey", Iris stands and looks down at Daryl, "I'll be back" she says quietly before turning back to the boy.

"Come on" she says walking down the steps, the boy walks with her and starts pushing the stroller again, "how are you feeling about this place?" Iris asks, "i don't know... i like it" Carl says, "you know i will do anything to protect you and Judith... even if that means this place ends up in flames i don't care" Iris says and they both go silent again, walking around the neighbourhood.

"I miss Bear" the boy says, "i do too... Do you remember what I used to tell you when you were little?" Iris asks, "yeah" "that's life, you say 'hello', you walk alongside someone for a while, then you say 'goodbye'" the woman says, and the two go quiet again. "Why don't you hold Judith? Is it because you think you're the reason people die?" Carl asks nervously, too scared to look at the woman.

The woman's heart skips before beating faster, she looks at the nervous boy before looking at her hands and picking at the skin around her nails, "do you remember what i told you about my dad?" Iris questions "yeah" the boy says quietly "he was a horrible man... He told me I killed my mom and my sister." Iris explains, her words only being part of the truth.

She looks up at the sky thinking for a minute and preparing herself to speak again, "he told me I killed everything I touch... When I told him it wasn't true he punished me until I agreed with him. So now I struggle with it, i held you once when you were a baby but it was really hard" Carl looks at the woman "i'm sorry i asked" he says "It's fine" Iris says as they make it back to the house. Iris walks up the steps and sits next to Daryl again.

.......

That night the group gathers in the living room again, Iris finds her spot in front of Judith's crib and lays down with Daryl close to her side, she stares up at the ceiling, Daryl looks to his side and sees the woman still awake while the rest of the group sleeps. “What’s wrong?” he asks, his gruff voice quiet, Iris looks at him and lets out a long sigh, she quietly stands up and reaches her hand out to him, pulling him up and holding onto his hand as she leads him through the sea of sleeping people.

They step outside, closing the door behind them and sitting on the porch steps, “i'm really sorry for not being there for you after what happened” Iris says, looking down at their intertwined hands, “you don't need to be” Daryl says looking at the woman “but i am” Iris says, the two look at each other, glancing at each others features.

Iris reaches her hand out and moves a piece of his hair out of his face, inching closer to him, Daryl watches as her eyes sparkle, enjoying her touch and attention, he slowly moves closer. Iris gently places her lips on his, Daryl freezes in shock, unsure what to do, he slowly closes his eyes and kisses her back.

Daryl quickly pulls away and stares at the woman “sorry” he says cowering away slightly like a beaten dog, “it’s okay” Iris says, holding onto his hand still.

Daryl leans his back against the bannister, opening his arms and pulling the woman to sit in between his legs, she lays her head on his chest as warm tears slide down her cheeks, she listens to Daryl's heart beat as they look out at the night sky, the warmth of the man calming her down and helping her relax.

After a few hours Daryl looks down and notices the woman finally asleep, he carefully picks her up and walks back to the front door, before he can open it someone else does it from the other side, Rick stops when he sees his friend holding Iris, “is she okay?” Rick asks quietly, “yeah. She’s asleep.” Daryl says “finally” Rick says, stepping to the side and letting the man carry her inside before walking off and leaving them. Daryl gently lays her on the floor in their spot before laying down next to her, watching her sleep before closing his eyes and going to sleep.

That night Iris still had nightmares, but when she woke up shaking in a cold sweat, she looked down at her hand intertwined with Daryl’s, she looked back up to his face and fell back to sleep again, doing the same throughout the night every time the nightmares woke her up.