Our Extinction Event {Daryl Dixon}

Forgive And Forget

Parker sat on the porch for the rest of her time there, not trusting herself to not say anything about the Saviors to Carol when Daryl was trying to protect her from it. She didn't bother keeping a lookout for walkers, knowing that the King and his people had made sure to clear the area before they had gotten there. So, she remained lost in her thoughts as she waited for Daryl and Carol to catch up with each other. Her whole body snapped into focus when she heard the cabin door open and she turned around to see Daryl walking out with Carol holding the door open for him.

"Hey," Carol smiled at her which she returned. Parker was happy to see her, but the idea of having to lie to her about the people they'd lost wasn't something she could do. Especially not to her face. 

"Hi, Carol," She mumbled as she forced herself up to her feet, using the railing for support. 

"C'mon, we're leavin'," Daryl nodded in the direction they'd come from, waiting for her to walk down the stairs. "Watch out for yourself, alright?" He said to Carol after the two shared a hug. Once they were both out of listening distance from the cabin and Carol had shut the door, Parker looked up at him as they walked. 

"Why'd you lie?" She asked quietly, wanting to know his exact thought process. 

"She don't gotta hear all that shit," He shook his head, not able to look at her as he explained himself. "Hearin' her reasons for leavin'? I couldn't tell her about the fucking Saviors."

"But she deserved to know that Glenn and Abraham died," Parker argued with him. Glenn had been with them since the start. Before Daryl was even there. "She especially deserved to know about Glenn." 

"Maybe." He agreed, nodding a bit. "But that doesn't mean she needed to." 

"I don't think that's something you get to decide." That's where they left the conversation. That was when they continued their walk in silence back to the Kingdom. Parker had gone back to the room, laying on the bed, half asleep as she stared out the window.  And Daryl had gone off on his own, where? She had no idea. She hadn't bothered to ask him once they had gone their separate ways. Neither of the two having any words to say to the other.

"We're going back," Daryl said as he walked into the room, the door closing behind him. She looked over her shoulder with a confused look on her face as she waited for him to elaborate. 

"Back where?"

"Back to Hilltop. In the mornin'." The next morning, before the sun was even fully up in the sky, he'd woken her up, telling her to get her stuff. Her half-awake body shuffled around blindly as she gathered her gear from her backpack which she tossed over her shoulder when she was finished.

"So, what? We're just leaving now, too?" She asked, attempting to match his pace as he walked down the stairs.

"Yeah, we gotta go home." He nodded, sparing a glance over her shoulder to make sure she was behind him, not bothering to slow down.

"Fucking hell.." She mumbled to herself, just reaching the bottom of the stairs as he waited for her at the door. "I'm over seven and a half months pregnant. Give me a break," She muttered, slightly annoyed as she moved past him. They didn't say anything to any of the people who asked questions, curious to know where the pair of them were off to. All they did was take determined steps up to the front gate, preparing for a long trip back to Hilltop. On foot.  Upon arriving at Hilltop, Maggie greeted them at the doors. Daryl held back a warm greeting, but Parker wrapped her arms around Maggie in a tight hug. "Leadership suits you," Parker said quietly into her shoulder.

"I'm not a leader," Maggie brushed off the compliment.

"That's not what I heard," Parker smiled at her as she pulled out of the hug. "Is it okay if we stay here?"