Light | TWD | Daryl Dixon Fanfiction

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They had stopped to rest for the night once Daryl felt they were far enough away from the fire to not met any wandering walkers who were drawn to the light. Beth passed out as soon as her butt hit the ground; head slumped sideways as she sat with her back up against a broad tree. Daryl had started a small fire, just enough to keep them somewhat warm through the night.

"I'll take first watch," Juliana told Daryl just as he went to grab for his crossbow, "You and Beth need to rest."

He shrugged off her comment, grabbing a hold of his crossbow anyways, "I'm fine."

"No," Juliana insisted, staring him down from across the dim light that the fire emitted, "Rest, Dixon. I got this."

Daryl was hesitant. He shifted back and forth until he decided to settle down onto the ground. Setting his crossbow down next to him, he yanked his pack to him, shoving it underneath his head and laid down, stretching his legs out in front of him. Juliana quietly turned away from him, though she could tell something was brewing on his mind.

"Why didn't you tell us?" he inquired. Juliana turned her head over her left shoulder, noting that his head was turned in her direction.

"I did."

"Not before," Daryl grumbled. Turning on her heel back to him, a heavy sigh escaped her lips as she watched him carefully.

"What did you want me to say, Dixon? 'Hey, I used to be a ragin' alcoholic, but it's cool 'cause I'm over it now!'" She huffed, running a hand through her dark hair, "That ain't how it works, and you know it."

Daryl was silent, chewing on his bottom lip. Shifting the gun behind her back, she stepped around to where Beth had dragged over a sizeable, flat-ish rock to sit on. Juliana plopped down, folding her hands together, "Herschel knew," she told him, "Maybe it's some..alcoholics anonymous connection, but he could tell." She picked up a twig off the ground and began to snap it into small pieces mindlessly as she continued, "I asked him not to tell, and he didn't. No one else needed to know. It wasn't important."

"It is," he said, sitting up.

"Why?" Juliana questioned, narrowing her eyes at him, "So you could be prepared in case I had too much to drink and went on some fuckin' rampage?" Anger boiled up in her suddenly, but when she noticed Beth stirring she quickly lowered her voice. "Don't worry," she hissed, "I was a happy drunk."

Daryl watched her through hooded eyes. As exhausted as he looked, he hadn't fallen asleep yet. Juliana wasn't sure if Daryl even actually slept ever.

"Burn it," he said, motioning to her pocket. Juliana glanced down to her front pocket where she kept the chip. Her hand wandered to the front of her jeans, and she placed it on front of the pocket.

"I can't."

"Shit," he grumbled, "You ain't that same person you were then. I ain't." his gaze wandered over to a sleeping Beth before turning his attention back to Juliana, "She ain't."

Swallowing, Juliana reached into her front pocket, pulling out the small chip. She played with it between her fingers, running her thumb along the engraved words. Her head dropped as she held the chip in her hand, now closing her palm around it. With a single motion, she tossed it into the fire. The flames licked at the chip, cracking as it began to burst into a blue color. The words began to fade and then the entire thing began to melt.

"You're a tough son of a bitch."

Lifting her head, she studied him. Daryl Dixon was an interesting man. When they had first met, Juliana had literally run into him coming out of her cell when she first arrived at the prison. Daryl cursed her out before he realized he had no idea who she was. Juliana was filthy, covered in God knows what, and he had made some smart comment about how bad she smelled and to watch where she was going.
She never considered herself to have any sort of strong relationship with anyone from the group aside from Carol. She found her refreshing. But when she found out Rick had banished Carol after she had admitted to burning two of the sick; she was pissed. It was something that had brought her and Daryl closer, oddly enough, and the two of them ended up going out on more runs together.

"You're a good guy, Dixon."

He shrugged, as if he were trying to avoid her compliment. Juliana stood, taking a few steps over to him. Leaning down, she placed a hand on either side of his face and pressed her lips against his forehead. As she pulled away, she said again, "You're good," and dropped her hands, stepping backwards away from him. He avoided her eye contact, instead focusing on the dancing flames in front of him.

"I'll wake ya' up in a few," Juliana told him, grabbing the butt of the gun and pulled it around to her front, moving away from him and back to the rock to settle down for a few hours on watch.

Daryl waited a few minutes before he shuffled back down onto the ground, resting his head back onto the pack her was using as a makeshift pillow. It didn't take him long to drift off to sleep, and Juliana was left alone in the silence with only the sounds of the crackling fire and soft snores from Daryl and Beth to keep her company.