The One (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 24

I opened the door and ran up to Daryl, Lilly being faced front.
"There's my girls." Daryl said, giving me a kiss on the lips and Lilly a kiss on the forehead
"There's my Daryl." i said back to him, both of us smiling
"Did you miss me? Huh?" Daryl said to Lilly, lifting her in the air
"Be careful, Daryl. She's only two weeks old." i told him and he looked at me, sitting her on his arm, face front and his other arm around her stomach
"Babe, I got it." he said to me
"I just don't want you to drop her." i told him and he chuckled, making Lilly giggle
"You're so cute." i said lightly tapping Lilly's and Daryl's nose
"Psh whatever." he said, sassily, walking towards Rick, who was holding Judith
"I just remembered that you haven't seen her in such a long time." i said to Rick, who was shedding happy tears
"I- We thought she was dead!" he exclaimed, smiling at her
Carl was right beside Rick, brushing Judith's arm, also shedding happy tears
Judith giggled and pointed at Lilly, who was doing the same thing.
"When they are older, let's just say that they were best friends since birth." i suggested
"Sounds like a great idea. They seem like a magnet towards each other." Daryl said, Rick and Carl calming down
"You know, I think Judith has been saved from death so many times. Look at her, not even a scratch. Look at Lilly, she's covered in mud." i said and put my hands on my hips
"Just like her father." i said and looked at Daryl
"Hey! I try to stay clean as possible. Makes it harder when there's undead walkin' around." he said in defense, I giggled
"Ok, ok. She's needs to get clean tonight, it could be a washcloth, I don't care. Just make sure you get all the dirt off, okay?" i asked
"Only on one condition." he said
"Oh, really? And what's that?" i asked
"You clean her next time." he said and I rolled my eyes
"Fine." i said and he smiled
"You two are just so cute." Rick commented
"So are you." i said, meaning Rick and Judith
"Yeah, well, you two are the cutest couple." he said
"Can't say the same. That'd be weird." i said and he chuckled
"Yeah, it would be." he said
"Can I hold her?" Carl asked Rick
"Um, yeah. Sure. Just be careful." he told Carl, handing him the baby
Judith punched Carl in the face and we laughed
"Hey! That wasn't very nice! Say you're sorry." he told her and she made a noise, saying no
"No before yes, she's gonna be tough to deal with when she grows up." i said and Rick laughed
"Momma! Dadda!" Lilly yelled and giggled
"Hey! I was first!" i said in victory
"Hey, wait! She said my name, too." Daryl said, rolling his eyes at me
"But, I was first." i said and he huffed
"That's so unfair." he said
"You can't control what she thinks or says, not yet you can't." i said
"Payback is gonna hurt." he said to me
"Fine by me." i said
"Mommy!" Lilly said to me, putting her arms out to hold me
"Smart for only being two weeks old. You must learn fast." i told her and Daryl yawned
"Tired, much?" i asked him and he nodded
"Can't help but to stay up and make sure you two are safe." he said
"You do realize that people are already keeping watch, right?" i asked, again
"Yeah, but I just want to be absolutely sure." he told me and I shook my head
"You need to sleep. Tonight I am going to stay up with you, unless we both go to sleep." i told him
"Ok, ok. I'll get some sleep tonight." he said in defeat
"Good." i said and walked over to Maggie, who was just done talking to Glenn, with Lilly in my arms, facing my front, her head resting on my shoulder.
"So. Lilly here, likes violence, oh and she also has a magnet. I remember you said to record her characteristics and personality changes, so I will just tell you." i said and she smiled
"I did, didn't I? Well, I was hoping you would tell me some of the things. It's interesting how they grow up so soon." she said, as I shifted her to my other side.
"So, what do you mean by violence?" she asked
"Well, there was a walker behind me. And Carol told me that Tyreese would be somewhere around here, so, I followed her footprints. So, I stop to catch my breath as I heard a blade. Lilly just starts laughing like crazy and pointing at the bleeding corpse on the ground." i said
"Oh, and if she's not sleeping and just really quiet, that means that there is something bad." i finished
"That is the most interesting baby you got there." she told me as Carl came over with little Judith in his arms. Judith twisted around to see us and immediately started leaning to Lilly, arms out, giggling.
Lilly saw her right away, giggling back, knowing that I wasn't going to let her go.
I kissed Lilly's cheek and she stopped giggling, sending me death glares.
I widened my eyes.
"She's gonna kill me by the time she's ten." i said and Maggie agreed
"Hey, Carl?" i said, putting my hand on his back
"Yeah?" he asked
"Can you go and get Daryl, he might be out hunting." i said and Maggie held her arms out to take Judith from him
"Thank you." i said before he took off to find him. I looked behind Maggie to see a man with black poofy hair coming this way.
"I don't think we've met." he said to me
"Um, no. I don't think so." i said back to him
"I'm Eugene." he said, holding out his left hand, which meant that I had to shift Lilly to my left side.
"Sammie." i said, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Sammie. She looks new, how old?" he asked, talking about Lilly
"Um, she's almost two weeks old." i told him as he bent down to Lilly's twisting body.
"Hey, there little one." he said in a baby voice and she giggled, putting her hand on his cheek
"Babies naturally love me." he said, cooly
"I bet." i said, smiling
"Well, see you around then." he said and I nodded as he walked away
"I think he likes you." Maggie said to me and I rolled my eyes
"How?" i asked
"How he was looking at you, how nervous he was, his hand held yours a little too long." she explained, smiling and I rolled my eyes again
"Well, I have Daryl. He can like me all he wants, but I won't ever cheat." i told her and she nodded her head
"Okay, I see your point." she said and walked over to Glenn who was calling her name.
I realized that is was almost sundown and I just a kid into the woods, by himself. I look into them to see if I could see him
"He knows how to find his way back." i heard Rick say behind me.
"I feel so stupid for doing that." i tell him as he stands next my side, looking for him, too.
"Well, he knows the woods pretty good by now. If it makes you feel any better, I sent him out there like this before." he told me and I looked up to him
"Really?" i asked and he nodded his head
"Yeah. And he came back, only took him around an half hour." he said and I nodded my head
"I have a question, for you." he said
"What is it?" i asked
"Do you feel like you're being watched?" he asked and I then felt it, someone watching my every move, listening to my every word
"I do." i told him and he nodded his head
"Can you help me keep extra guard? I know it might be hard with Lilly, but I just need someone I know that I can trust." he said
"Aw. You trust me?" i asked, putting my free hand on my heart and Lilly put her hand on top of mine
"Oh. You have soft hands." i said realizing that and taking her hand
"Well, yeah, you have been with this group for a very long time. I hope you do know that I have my faith in you." he said
"And I hope you do know that I have my faith in you." I say back to him, patting his shoulder and walking off
"I'll help." I say, still walking away
I sat down in front of a tree, holding Lillith right. I watched her in awe as she fell asleep. She dozed off and immediately her eyes opened wide.
"pretect mommy." she said to me and she pointed at my face
"it's the other way around. Mommy protects you. I would never give you up for any reason. Daddy and I will never let you out of our sight. We love you so much." I told her
I leaned my head back, bringing her close to my chest and watched her eyes move as if she is making sure there's nothing bad in the woods.
She smiled and giggled. She pointed in the woods and smiled, taking a breath.
"Dadda!"
"Judith's hands are really soft, too. I guess we aren't used to that." he said
"There isn't...modernly anything that can soften your hands." i tell him
"Using big words now, aren't you?" he jokingly asked and then Carl came
"So?" i asked him
"Oh, uh, um. He was just.." he said, obviously trying to make up an excuse
"Carl." Rick said, giving him a look and Carl sighed
"He's just talking to Carol." he blurted
"About what?" i asked
"She- She just did something at the prison and he wanted her to talk about it, but she didn't want to..." he said and I looked at Rick
"What did she do?" i asked and he shook his head
"It was nothing important. Nothing the whole group needed to know about." he said
"Well, I want to know. What did she do?" i demanded
"Carl, take Judith. I think you should be spending time with her anyway." he told him and handed over Judith
"C'mon." he said and we sat down against a tree.
"Listen, I'm thinking all the worst things that she could have done." i said
"Like what?" he asked, curious
"Like, kissing Daryl or-or something worse than that. But, I don't think Daryl would have let her, even if she did try." i told him
"Nah, it doesn't even involve Daryl." he told me and I let out a breath of relief
"When the illness started, there were two people. She thought that if they were gone, we would be in less danger. So, she killed them in their sleep, dragged them outside, and burned them." he told me
"Oh. I see. And she didn't think about covering her tracks? All good murderers know that." i said and he chuckled
"Yeah. You would think. I found a knife missing out of place and figured that she was the last one in it, so that led me right to her. She didn't deny it either, I knew she felt bad, but I just didn't want someone like that around Judith, around Carl, around everyone. So, I had her take a car full of supplies and set her on her way. I can't say that I just let her out to die, because I didn't." he said
"So, that's how she was separated from us." i said in understanding
"I think that I am all caught up on the secrets around here." i joked
"Yeah, I think so." he said and Lilly started crying. I felt her diaper, it's not heavy. I sighed
"Is she hungry?" he asked and I nodded, trying to calm her down
Rick got up and came back with a already made bottle.
I quickly put it in her mouth and she put her tiny hands on the top as I held it for her.
"Daryl is supposed to give her a bath tonight. I hope he's back soon." i said
"Well, if he isn't Carl is going to help me give Judith a bath. There's a bathtub in the cabin and it would save water if we just bathed them together." he said and I nodded my head
"He'll probably go hunting after talking to her to ease his mind. When she's done we can." i said and he nodded
"Good." he said
"Rick!" a red haired man called as he came over to us