A Redneck's Wicked Game (A Daryl Dixon Story)

Christmas

Chapter 36—Christmas

Rowan's POV

Once in the main room, Daryl helps set up the tree and I sit down with Carl to make some ornaments. Rick is cutting shapes out of the soda cans with the tin snips, while Carl and I fashion ornaments out of the metal. Sasha, Michonne and Rosita make paper chains from the magazines that we found. Trey comes inside with some Holly tree cuttings to add to the Christmas tree. Eugene found some white notebook paper and is busy cutting snowflakes. Maggie starts singing "Deck the Halls" while cutting paper dolls from magazine pages. Soon everyone in the main room is singing along to the Christmas Carol. I glance around at everyone enjoying themselves and notice that even Daryl is quietly singing along.

It's moments like these that I realize everything I missed out on as a child. I take a deep breath and try not to sigh. As the singing ends I look up to see Daryl staring at me with concern, it isn't until that moment that I realize I was the only one not singing. I advert my gaze back to the ornament I'm working on, hoping to blend back in. The room is alive with chatter from the others and I start to relax a little thinking that no one noticed my quietness. I see that the tree is up and secure in the make-shift tree stand, making me get up to hang a couple of ornaments on the tree.

I walk up to the tree and hook the tin ornament to the tree branch. As I reach a little higher to hang the other ornament, Daryl whispers in my ear, "Ya okay Rowan?" I nod slightly, "Yeah, just realizing my Christmas's have never been like this." I don't need to explain any further, he understands completely, "I git that. This is like a scene from "It's A Wonderful Life" huh?" I sigh, "Yeah, it's everything I've always dreamed about yet it makes me a little uncomfortable." Daryl nods and whispers, "Yup, me too but I'm trying; you need to do the same girl." I look over at him and see the sparkle in his beautiful blue eyes, making me relax a little. I nod as I quietly agree, "I'll try for you." He grunts, "Nope, ya do it fer yerself princess." I roll my eyes and give him a smirk, "Fine Dixon; for me." He just grins as he nudges my shoulder.

We walk back to the table and both pick up a couple of ornaments, going back to the tree to hang them. Pretty soon everyone in the room is hanging ornaments and paper chains on the Christmas tree. Over the next hour we work on decorating the tree and the main room; paper snowflakes tacked to the wooden columns and Holly boughs on the window sills. Carol comes downstairs with a tray of cookies and a couple boxes of shelf-stable milk, making everyone crowd around her. I grab a couple cookies off the tray and hand one to Daryl as he walks across the room to talk to Trey.

Daryl's POV

Trey gets my attention and motions me over to him. I grab a cookie from Rowan as I walk over to him. Trey grins at me as he quietly says, "I got somethin' for ya." He pulls some mistletoe out of his jacket pocket and hands it to me. I take the mistletoe sprig from him, "Ya actually found some? Thanks." He nods, "Yeah it grows not too far from here, I just made a quick trip. Consider it my Christmas gift to ya and Rowan; not that ya really need that to git her to kiss ya." I smirk, "True but it don't hurt none, thanks." I put the sprig into my shirt pocket and walk back to the group.

As I look around the room I realize that only two people are missing, Tara who's sleeping and Father Gabriel who I haven't seen yet today. He tends to keep his distance from me since our heated discussion about Rowan a few weeks ago. Rowan's done her best to avoid him since everything happened and I don't blame her. Even though he hasn't said anything about her since then, I don't think he's changed his opinion of her. The longer he's with us the more it seems that he isn't like the rest of us. It's not because he's religious, it's more like he doesn't understand how things have changed in this world. I never minded a religious man in our group, in fact I miss Hershel still, but I just don't care for Gabriel. He doesn't seem willing to adapt to the way things are now either, he seems to think that all this will pass with time; I hate to break it to him, that ain't gonna happen. Society is gone and you have to do things to survive and protect the ones you care about. I sometimes feel darkness behind his stare and hope that I'm wrong about that.