Our Extinction Event {Daryl Dixon}

The Pain In Silence

Losing someone you love never stops being painful, no matter how many days or months or years pass. Every single person has learned to deal with that pain. It was something every person still alive had taught themselves to push aside.

For months after Rick disappeared, Parker didn't speak to anyone. She didn't talk to Daryl, Michonne, Judith, or even her own kids. She sat in her room, staring out the window into space.

She was heartbroken. Even with the state the world was in, she hadn't expected to lose so many people she cared so deeply for in such a short amount of time. And the pain she felt? It drove her away from the people she still had.

They had searched the river for Rick's body, but nothing they did seemed to provide any answers. Even in her state of silence, she spent days at a time out there searching.

Losing Carl had driven a stake straight through her heart, but Rick's death had destroyed her. She was filled with so much pain and rage that there were whispers amongst the community that she had completely lost her mind.

It wasn't until her children were kidnapped that Parker managed to snap out of her grieving stupor, seemingly coming back to life to save Juniper, Alexander, Judith, and some of the other children. And what she did to get her kids back put her in a dark place.

Michonne was almost nine months pregnant at the time and therefore wasn't supposed to be out, but she joined Parker and Daryl in finding the taken kids. Not that Parker had much to say because, she would have done the same as Michonne if she were pregnant. She had done the same thing. Multiple times.

After that, Parker began to mend her broken heart. She wanted to be a part of her family's lives. She wanted to help and be a part of the kids growing up. And she did. She watched Judith, Gracie, and her twins grow up and was able to pass Carl's hat on to her niece, as he wanted.

Everything seemed fine, but that didn't stop their marriage from completely falling apart.

Daryl couldn't stand being in Alexandria any longer than necessary, and so he made the decision to leave. Since the very first day they'd shown up in Alexandria, he wanted to leave. But, Rick was the last nail in the coffin.

When he told Parker he was leaving, it led to an argument that sparked many heated exchanges. She couldn't understand why Daryl was leaving, so she just let him go.

A couple of years after he left, when he lived alone and June and Alex kept asking about him, Parker decided they deserved to see him. She took them both out to see him. He lived a good hike away, and when she lugged both the kids into the camp, one on her back and the other in her arms, a dog came charging at them, its bark echoing throughout the mostly quiet woods.

"Hey! Dog, enough." Daryl's voice called out as he pushed aside the tarp he used for shelter. "What are you doing here?" He asked, watching her as she let both twins down. "Didn't think you'd wanna come around."

"Well, my kids wanted to see their dad," Parker answered, eyeing the dog sitting at Daryl's side. "And I'm not going to deprive them of the right." Even if she did feel he didn't deserve it.

"Daddy!" Juniper squealed as she ran over to him, already reaching up for him. As if she'd seen him a day or two ago and not a few years ago. He took her in his arms, lifting her off the ground.

"Hi, sweetheart. You been alright?" His eyes briefly moved over to Parker before returning to his daughters.

"Yes," Juniper exclaimed, pointing at the dog. "What is that?"

"Yeah, I got a dog," Daryl told her as he sat with Juniper on his lap.

"What's his name?" Juniper asked curiously, her hand already buried in the dog's fur. Parker stood back, cautiously watching the interaction, Alexander glued to her side.