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

38

The past several weeks have been filled with blood, sweat and tears –in the most literal way. The group welcomed dozens more who arrived in a bus after the fall of the Governor. Our dirty, uninhabitable prison slowly transformed into a more user-friendly environment. We've cleaned a few cell blocks, added some greenery and my personal favourite, fixed up the library. But of all the changes we've made, the adoption of the prison council is the biggest one. Rick is no longer the group's sole leader. We voted for a council, and surprise surprise, Erin Dixon is one of them. Daryl, too.

I wake up almost every morning, before sunrise, to the sound of crying. But that's okay, because as soon as I shake awake, strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me closer. Daryl's calloused hands cover my soft ones, and things fall back into place. Together we listen to the cries of a baby who I know has touched Daryl's heart.

But this morning, I woke up alone and in silence. Daryl has only been sleeping in my bed for the past couple weeks. We've been taking our time opening up to one another. It's almost as if we're learning how to be married again. I sat up on my mattress and swung my legs to the side. My eyes adjusted to the bright light. Daryl and his crossbow were missing from my cell. I pulled on my worn Nikes, stood up and stretched. Judith's cries were strangely missed.

I walked through the busy hallways as I made my way outside (I must have slept in). They were strange faces. Strange, but kind, as they all made some gesture of greeting as I moved through the hallways and cell blocks. I figured most of them were just surprised that I was Daryl's wife. One of the strange faces had somehow become my friend. And friend was a word that I didn't use easily. A young boy, nineteen or twenty, with great hair and lovely eyes volunteered to help me pack and sort the books out in the library several days ago. A sweet friendship and a book club with two members was the result.

'Hey, Erin.' He said.

'Tristan.' I nodded and continued on. He caught up with me and handed me a book. It was a Stephan King novel. I made a face.

'You know I don't like horror.'

'Well I'm sick of all those flowery novels you keep giving me.' He said.

'Why would I read a horror story when I live in one?'

'Trust me, you'll be glad you don't live inside a King novel.' Tristan said with a grimace.

'Whatever,' I said and shoved him aside. I didn't look back as I opened the iron door and stepped outside. The sun was high in the sky; a telltale sign of my sleeping late. I spotted Dixon and a few others having breakfast at the tables outside. A smile crept up on me as I watch him scarf down whatever food was served. A few strands of hair blew into my face as Daryl happened to lift his eyes to meet mine. A wave of butterflies shook me as the tiniest of smiles appeared on his face. He beckoned me over with a wave of a hand. I shyly tucked my hair back in place. Only Dixon could leave me feeling like a love struck teenager.

'Morning,' I said to everyone at the table, my eyes on Daryl. He sat with Beth and a few other faces I didn't know personally. Judith sat with her fist in her mouth on Beth's lap.

All the chairs were taken and I stood awkwardly. Daryl immediately jumped up and grabbed an empty chair from the table behind him. He squeezed the chair beside him and held it out for me.

'Thank you,' I said sweetly. If Daryl could blush, I'm sure his face would look something like it did at that moment.

'Aww,' one of the young men, probably Beth's age, cooed.

'I'll kill you.' Daryl swiftly replied. Beth giggled from beside the boy, whose name I believed to be Zach. I shared an amusing glance with Beth. Daryl stalked off to serve me breakfast –something he insisted on doing. He returned moments later with some kind of meat in a bowl accompanied with a fork. I thanked him again. No cooing or death threats followed. I ate in silence and listened to Zach tell Beth something with great enthusiasm. I didn't miss the sparkle in her eyes as she took in his words. The pair, along with Judith, soon finished breakfast and left the table. No sooner had they gone, had Tristan seated himself opposite me.

'Daryl,' he greeted my husband with a bashing smile.

Daryl greeted my friend with a half-assed grunt.

'So, Erin, I've been thinking about that poorly stocked library of ours and the thought kills me. Would you bring it up in the council?' He said in between chewing.

'Why?' I asked.

'So we can go on a book run,' he said with an annoyed eye roll.

Daryl raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. I knew how he felt about books.

'I don't think books are necessity right now.' I answered after a while. 'There's still too much work left on the prison.'

Tristan shrugged and inhaled the rest of his breakfast. I finished mine and stood up. Daryl's arm snaked around my waist and pulled me onto his lap before I could leave the table. I fell into his arms with surprise –Daryl hadn't so much as touched me affectionately in public before. But when he slyly glanced over at Tristan before tightening his grip around me, I knew what this was about. Men and their territory, I smirked at the thought. Daryl, who would never mention it, was slightly bothered that I was friends with Tristan. Only Daryl knew why though.

'Well, excuse me.' Tristan said with a smug face as he left the table.

Daryl's hand touched the side of my face and turned my head to his. I gazed into his eyes (his naughty eyes) and smirked. I leaned ever so closer and Daryl's lips skimmed up the side of my cheek.

'Tonight, the warden's office.' He whispered in my ear.

Chills ran down my spine. He released me from his grip and I stood up, half-grinning like an idiot. His hand lingered on my waist and he let his fingers trail down my thigh as he let go. Public affection from Daryl was my favourite kind of affection.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I worked in the fields with Rick and Hershel. I tended to the one horse with Carl. I popped in the library to finish off alphabetically sorting out the kids section. Night came, and so did my excitement. I walked through the same hallways of the tombs who knew my stories of pain with an aura of content.

The warden's office where Daryl and I had shared tears and pain was chosen as the perfect place for us to share our bodies for the first time in a long time. He'd secretly moved a mattress there when we cleaned out the passage a few weeks ago. I'd had my eyes on the guard tower, but Glenn and Maggie claimed it first. I quietly opened the door to the office and crept inside. It was pitch black and I could just make out his figure lounging on the mattress, the sheets pulled up to his waist. He was already shirtless. I pulled my jacket off and stepped out of my Nikes. I curled up next to him on the mattress. He acknowledged my arrival by turning on his side. The moonlight lit his blue eyes. He tucked my hair out my face as I ran my hand up his toned stomach and let it rest on his chest. We didn't talk much anymore. We'd said and done enough in the past few weeks. Only recently did we let our bodies do the talking.

I've shared my body and my soul with this man.

His lips touched mine and he tugged at the hem of my shirt. He pressed his bare chest against mine as he rolled on top of me, his strong arms supporting his weight. His lips left soft kisses along my throat, his teeth gently skimming across the flesh. I lightly ran my nails along his back.

The hunger for each other was more real than ever.

The rest of our clothes disappeared as we continued our sensual dance. Everything felt so natural with him. We didn't need candles, soft music or ambience. He was all I needed. The tension mounted as his fingers touched me places that brought colour to my cheeks. His eyes darkened every time my breathing hitched or my lips parted.

Skin on skin, I was floating.

I was twisted around so that my back was to him. His lips pressed against the skin beneath my ear lobe, his warm breath tickled. He kissed a trail down the curvature of my spine; I arched with every warm touch. Our dance reached its peak when Daryl pushed into me, his lips having kissed their way back to my earlobe.

Skin on skin, we floated.