A Desus fanfic - Road to recovery

Road To Recovery

Daryl didn't register the voice the first time he heard it, swinging the pipe up and down, connecting it with the remains of the fat guard's face.

"Daryl." He heard it then, throwing the bloodied pipe to the floor, he looked up. Jesus stood there, wide eyed and tense.

"It ain't just about getting by. It's about getting it all." He grumbled, unsure whether it was meant as an explanation or a means to shoulder the guilt.

For now, that didn't matter. For now, getting out of the Sanctuary was all Daryl could think about.

And so, with Jesus holding on to him a little too tightly, they crossed the threshold, and rode until the afternoon warmth faded to dark, and the stars lit their way.

His escape was hardly as heroic as he once thought it might have been, back before he was the dog of the Saviors, back when he still had bite. But now, that was gone, all that was left was trauma, both physical and mental.

So when Daryl fell off his bike, sobbing at the sight of the Hilltop, at the sight of freedom, whether it was temporary or merely fleeting, he barely scolded himself.

He didn't say anything as Jesus scooped him up in his arms, hugging him, chest pressed flush agaisn't Daryl's back. And he didn't say anything when he picked him up bridal style and walked him straight into his trailer. The humiliation could come later. For now Daryl let himself be weak, because for the first time in a long time, he could.

He woke up in a bed. He was safe. But still the nightmares had followed him. He thought he had left them behind, left them in that cell. But he was wrong, he could still see Lucille beating down on two of his friends, breaking up his family. He pressed his palms into his eyes, willing away the memories and the tears that refused to stop.

He hadn't noticed the bed sink down to his right. All that time spent in that damn cell had all but destroyed his overly aware senses.

A warm arm pulled him into someone's side. Jesus' side.

"It's okay Daryl." He hushed, and for the second time that day, Daryl forgot about everything and sobbed into him.

The next day Jesus came in with breakfast, proper breakfast. It seemed like way too much food to spare for a single person in the middle of an apocalypse, but Daryl said nothing as he ate. Jesus stood by the door the entire time, smiling slightly.

After Daryl had finished, and Jesus took his plate, he broke the silence: "Can I see them?" His voice was so broken, so unlike him. But Jesus took no notice, he nodded slowly, looking at him straight in the eye, a faint smile still toying at his lips.

"It's good to have you back, Daryl." He added, before closing the trailer door behind him.

The reunion with half of his family ensued; Maggie was already crying as she walked out of the mansion, she ran up to him with a choked up "Oh my God", and threw her arms around him, something that his body could barely withstand.

"I'm so glad you're alive." She murmured like a mantra, holding onto him tightly.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered back.

When she finally let go, both of them a tearful mess, Sasha hugged him, not quite as tightly, and let go without a tear spilling out of her brown eyes.

After a few more sad words were exchanged, Jesus placed a comforting hand on Daryl's shoulder, and gently ushered him back into the trailer, where he fell asleep again, still shaking from his reunion.

Jesus stayed with him that night, they both shared the bed, but neither of them touched, at least until Daryl had fallen into a pit of whimpers and sobs and Jesus took his hand, squeezing the night terrors out of him.

That was how things went for a while, Daryl would fall asleep with Jesus next to him, seperated by what seemed to be an invisible barrier. He would wake up alone, but shortly after would be greeted by a smiling man bearing too much food. (Daryl suspected that Jesus gave him some of his portion, but never said a word) Every now and then he got the courage to help out around the Hilltop, but that left him fatigued and plagued with nightmares as he napped early and alone in the uncomfortably warm trailer.

He started to feel more like himself; he would cry less, shake less, but speak more.

But when the gate to the Hilltop opened one day, when Jesus had woken him up early, without food, but bearing the widest smile he had ever seen, he knew he'd be okay. Because behind that wooden gate was his family. And that was all he needed.