Savage World •••Daryl Dixon•••

What They Deserved

It took a few days before Asher felt alright enough to push up on her feet. The first time she tried, she was almost instantly brought back down on her knees with the pain of the stretching skin. She took in a few deep breaths before she tried again, this time much more successful than the first. Standing leaned against the side of the RV, Asher caught her breath and prepared to step away from her support.

"You can do this." She whispers to herself before pushing up and away from the metal sides. As she caught her balance, Daryl walked around the corner and stopped short when he saw her on her feet again. She was a little hunched over and wobbly, but standing all the same. Carol came around the opposite corner, her frown lifting into a smile when she saw the girl standing.

"Looking good, sweetie." Asher jerked upright at her voice, her stitches screaming at the abrupt stretch of skin. She pressed a hand to her wound and lightly hissed in pain, drawing Daryl to react and move around her to help.

"You okay, Asher?" His voice got her to open an eye and slowly nod.

"Moved faster than I should've." They both lightly laughed and she looked over at Carol.

"I didn't mean to scare you like that honey."

"I'm okay." Carol softly nodded back with a smile.

"There may be some clothes you can wear so we can wash those for you." Asher dipped her head to say thanks, the small woman smiling and scampering off to find some extra clothes for the girl. She was about Sophia's size, so maybe she can slip some out before her husband sees. Once she was gone, she turned back to the hovering Daryl.

"You sure you're okay?" Asher nodded with a small smile and slowly stood up to full height, just barely over five foot. "Think ya wanna try walking?"

"Gonna have to at some point, right?" The man smirked and took a few steps back to give her space to try. She first stepped out on her uninjured right leg, that step was smooth and steady. Bracing for a second, she took a step on her left leg, the pain nearly causing her to stumble. Daryl's arms shot out to offer support, Asher gratefully accepting the help.

"Doin good for a kid who stabbed herself with an arrow." Daryl teased with a smile as she took another step. Asher dusted pink and took another step.

"Maybe if I knew how to handle one and shoot then I wouldn't stab myself with them." Daryl chuckled at her retort and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you'll need to learn at some point. Once you heal up, and we find a usable bow for ya then I'll teach ya. Deal?" She brightly smiled and nodded as she took another step on her left leg, this one much stronger than her first. Carol returned with the clothes, stopping silently at the corner of the big vehicle to watch the two interact. Daryl knelt down to her size with his arms outstretched towards the small girl who gently held his forearms for support if she fell. They looked happy and loving to each other, the complete opposite of her girl Sophia and her husband Ed. These two loved each other.

"Do you want me to put my arms down?" Asher shook her head no.

"What if I fall?" One of his hands lifted to brush back her hair and skim down her nose gently.

"It's okay if you do, I ain't going nowhere." Asher took in a soft breath and nodded to agree with his words. Daryl slowly dropped his arms to his sides but kept his eyes locked on the girl as she took another few steps towards him. She took a small step on her left leg again, but her knee buckled and she stumbled forward. Carol watched as Daryl lurched forward and caught her softly to his chest.

"You're alright, I gotcha baby girl." Carol stepped out and made sure to make her presence known to them as she did.

"I found some of Sophia's old things, they look like they might be a little loose but you'll grow into them soon." Asher nodded her thanks and gently took the clothes from Carol's hands. "There's a spot down in the quarry that you can use for a bath if you'd like. It's a little far out but it's private. I can take you, if that's alright with your father." Asher softly smiled and blushed that Daryl was called her father. She never really looked at it that way, but she guessed it was true in away. He did everything a true father should do, looked out for her and protected her. Him and Merle both. They were her family.

"Fine by me, but if anything goes bad you run and you scream for me or Merle and we will both come running and nothing will stop me." He leaned close and slid a small blade into her pockets, just in case. "Not a damn thing." Asher nodded and the two separated so Carol could lead her to clean up. They hobbled down into the quarry, passing the rest of the women and some armed men.

"Where are you two going?" A pudgy man with a machine gun snarled at them, making Carol jump and duck her head.

"She needs to clean her wound and get cleaned up. Shane said it was okay." That was a lie, but it got him off her case so she turned a corner of the cliffs and lead her into a shielded alcove that acted like a large caved pool.

"This is the place. They can't see you from up top and you'll hear someone coming of they came from the washing spot. Do you want me to stay?" Asher nodded to say she did. The woman smiled softly and offered to help her get her shirt up over her head without hurting herself but Asher refused her.

"I can get it. Thanks." Asher turned her back and worked to get her own shirt off. Carol glanced back and her heart stopped when she saw the scars crisscrossing her back and her unevenly healed ribs making her torso lumped in a few places. She felt tears roll down her cheeks as she unknowingly reached over and skimmed her fingers over the skin, making Asher jump away from her touch.

"Did they do this to you?" Asher shook her head no to answer her. "You can tell me the truth, sweetie."

"It isn't like that! They saved me from this. They- they saved me from the ones who did this."

"What happened to the ones who did this?" Asher looked at the ground, remembering the screams of her mother outside the locked basement door that day.

"They got what they deserved."