Tragic Coincidence | Daryl Dixon

Chapter Nineteen.

Daryl's POV:

Emma was so light in my arms when I carried her back inside to the hotel, it felt like carrying one of the tiny animals I had killed in the forest many times. I laid her down on the bed in Hershel's room so he could examine her the best he could. He was still getting used to only having one leg now, but appeared to be feeling much better. Hershel hobbled over on his crutches and then laid them beside him on the bed before taking her pulse from her wrist.

"Shes alive, but barely" Hershel said looking over to me. I bit my thumb nail nervously and nodded to the older man. I would never admit it to anyone out loud, but I was trembling with fear on the inside. Emma was the one person I felt understood the person I was without needing me to spill my whole life life story to her. When i felt myself loosing hope in this world, this damned world, i would look to this strong woman laying in front of me and suddenly I would find the strength within.

i felt this attraction to her that I never had for any other woman in my entire life, not even the whores Merle and I would find in our local bar. She was beautiful, even in these tragic circumstances we found ourselves. She often had smelled even worse that i did, her brown hair in a tangled mess across her shoulders and dirt and blood smeared across her face, and i still would find her the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen. I couldn't tell her any of this though, I could never tell her about the aching feeling in my stomach when she left my sight...that feeling I got when our skin slightly brushed when we slept....If she didn't feel the same way about me, it would ruin everything we had and that was something I couldn't risk.

Hershel had said something else to me but i didn't quite catch what it was, I was too busy staring down at Emma's blood soaked stomach from where Shane had stabbed her. "Daryl, did you hear me?" I heard Hershel ask. I looked up to see hims staring back at me. I shook my head and took my thumbnail from in between my teeth and gently grabbed Emma's cold hand in mine. "You need to leave and let me take care of her, I promise you she will be fine" Hershel said with confidence in his voice. I Bent down to kiss Emma on the forehead but instead walked out of the room, not wanting Hershel to see that. I trusted Hershel to take good care of her, so I headed outside to the son of a bitch who did this to her...

I walked outside to see the sun setting behind the trees of our home, leaving a bright glare that made me blink my eyes several times to get used to the light. Carol was standing beside me on the opposite side of the door, rocking Rick's daughter slowly in her arms. I was glad Emma had found some clothing for her since for a few days the baby was wearing a makeshift diaper made out of socks. "How is she?" Carol asked quietly as not to wake the sleeping baby in her arms. "Hershel says she will be fine" i mumbled before heading over to Rick and Shane. 

Rick had Shane handcuffed, and he sat leaning against the same tree Emma once was leaning against. I could still see a large blood stain running down. Carl, Glenn, T-Dog and Rick were all standing in a semi circle around him. Maggie and Beth were standing off to the side, but once they caught sight of me they took off back inside the hotel. "What the fuck was that?!" I found myself yelling the second I walked over to the group of men. Shane just sat smirking against his tree.

I couldn't take looking at his face that looked all too happy about what he had done....what he had done to the only woman I had cared about since my mother died when I was eight years old. My fist collided with his jaw so hard he tumbled over to the side, causing Carl to jump out of the way. I heard Shane grunt in pain as his face hit the dirt hard. I continued punching him over and over again until my knuckles were bleeding just like his swollen face, and even then i didn't stop...that is until Glenn and T-Dog pulled me back.

Shane rolled to his side and spit out pools of blood onto the ground. "Your one fucked up son of a bitch, you know that!" I screamed down at the bleeding man crumpled in pain. "Bitch had it coming" I heard him spit out. But before I could get another hit onto him, Carl beat me to it by kicking him across his jaw hard. I was surprised Carl had taken it upon himself to kick a man that had been like a father to him for so long.  "Shut up Shane" Carl growled down at him.