Trespassing (Daryl Dixon x OC)

Gravedigger

"Gravedigger, when you dig my grave, can you make it shallow so that I can feel the rain?"

"Be honest, I'm dying, aren't I?"

Glenn hesitated to answer my question. He frowned, pressing a cool washcloth to my overheated forehead. None of us knew why I fainted. Maybe it was the heat; the prison wasn't exactly the coolest place in the heat of Georgia. 

"I've accepted it," I admitted weakly. 

"Come on, don't talk like that," he said lowly. I could tell I was hitting a sensitive subject for him. Hell, it killed me to think about it too.

"The way I see it, I've lived my time here to the best of my ability. Everything I've done, I've done with my whole heart. I wouldn't leave behind any regrets. If I died tomorrow, these past twenty-four years have been lived fully."

"We're not gonna let you die, Belle," Glenn huffed. He was scared. Everyone is scared right now. 

"How bad do I look?" I asked. Glenn looked at me confused. "I can see the fear, the worry in your eyes. How bad do I look?"

He visibly gulped before taking in a deep breath. "Well," he began shakily, "you're...you're really pale. You've lost a lot of weight. Your lips are the same color as your skin...like, they've lost their color." His eyes scanned my face intently. "Your eyes are kind of sunken, underneath them is dark purple and your waterline is pink. Your nose is pink, too. You don't...you don't look good," he explained. I now understand the fear. 

"I look like one of them dead things, huh?" I asked. He nodded, taking one of my hands in his. I felt like I was actually on my deathbed. I very well may actually be on my deathbed. "Can I tell you somethin'?"

" 'Course."

"Kinda felt like you had a thing for me back when we first me," I admitted with a weak smile, my voice faint and hoarse.

Glenn chuckled at my light-hearted words. "To be honest, I did when we first met. Once we got to the farm, everything changed. No offense."

"Hey, none taken. You and Maggie are perfect for each other." We were quiet for a moment, relishing in the content feeling we established. “Hey,” I said, breaking the silence, “if I don’t make it out of this--”

“You will,” he interrupted. I frowned slightly, taking a deep breath.

“If I don’t make it out of this, give Maggie that free pizza. Do that for me, Pizza Man?”

Glenn gave a sad smile, tears brimming his eyes before a couple dripped from them. He nodded. “What kind of pizza?” he asked. I smiled, closing my eyes.

“Pepperoni, meatball, and olives,” I replied lazily.

In the silence, I remembered my father. I remembered the way he sang to me, calling me his ‘little princess’. I remembered baking with him and making a mess of the kitchen. Flour would be covering my little hands, littering my shirt, and making my brown hair white. I remember Saturday morning pancakes. Chocolate chip.

I remembered Daryl. I remembered meeting him that day in the woods. The way he shied away from me only to become the closest person in my life. I remembered him teaching me how to shoot his crossbow. I remembered going to meet him at the clearing more times than I could count. I remembered the way I’d lean my head on his shoulder when I got tired or I was sad. I remembered the way his arms would progressively tighten around my body whenever we hugged. I remembered the way his blue eyes seems to ebb and flow like the ocean whenever he looked at me. I remembered the way his lips felt on mine and the way they tasted; soft and sweet, passion and love, lust and fire. I remembered the way he held me in the morning and when he was protective. I remembered his touch; gentle and lingering, sometimes desperate, sometimes hard. I remembered how the words “I love you” sounded so beautiful coming from his mouth.

I remembered the group. I remembered Shane almost hitting me on the highway. I remembered meeting Carl for the first time, immediately becoming protective of him. I remembered my differences with Lori. I remembered meeting everyone at the quarry. I remembered meeting Rick. I remembered the attack and the CDC that forced us back to the highway. I remembered losing Sophia and Carl getting shot and Daryl and me’s arguments. I remembered the farm and meeting the Greene’s. I remembered Daryl getting shot, and how that night we kissed. I remembered watching Sophia walk out of that barn, dead. I remembered losing others and the farm burning down. I remembered being on the highway until we found the prison. I remembered the Governor and what he did. I remembered Daryl leaving with Merle, only to come back. I remembered Merle dying. I remembered me and Daryl’s falling out. I remembered running away for three months. I remembered Daryl finding me and taking me home. I remembered getting sick. I remembered.

It all played in my mind like a movie. Scene after scene, a faint white border around the images. It was peaceful and beautiful, it brought me peace of mine. It made me forget the world and our situation. I lost focus on my condition, how labored my breathing had become, how okay I was with dying. As my memories caught up to the present time, the white border overtook the movie screen. I was left in silence. I was left in peace.

My back and chest arched off the bed as I gasped for air, my eyes shooting open. My hands stopped shaking, I wasn’t cold, I didn’t feel broken. Hershel was sat beside me holding a needle and looking relieved. Glenn sat beside me on the bed holding my forearms. My chest rose and fell with each breath I took. I sat up, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“Did I…?”

Hershel nodded somberly. “Daryl got here just in time with that medicine,” he said.

“Oh, my god,” I mumbled. I looked to Glenn and smiled, tears welling in my eyes. “Oh, my god,” I said again as I hugged him tightly.

“Alright, honey,” Hershel said, rubbing my back, “let’s get you out of here.”