Wild Roses ~Daryl Dixon Love Story~•

Anchor

We both jumped up, running towards the sound of echoing screams. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, my feet pounding against the hard ground. We ran towards the ground seeing a figure laying in the field. I ran faster towards the cries of pain and what I saw made my knees buckle. A walker was tearing Dale's stomach open. Daryl ran past me, ramming into the walker. I ran to Dale's side, gripping onto his hand. I saw the group run up to us, Andrea joining me on the ground quickly. I sat next to Dale, hearing the groups whispers. Rick wanted to save him, but even I knew that wasn't going to happen. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and I was pulled into a warm chest. I took a deep breath of Daryl's scent, calming myself down. I hadn't realized I was shaking. "He's suffering.." Andrea wheezed. I turned my head around to see Rick pointing his gun at Dale. He shook violently and fear was etched in his face. Daryl carefully grabbed the gun from Rick's hand, crouching beside Dale. I stared into Dale's eyes with a blank expression. I closed my eyes, not able to take the tension. "Sorry brother..". A loud shot quickly replaced pained moans.

~~~~~

I found myself sitting under the old oak tree, staring blankly into the star filled sky. It's happening again, every time this happens. I close myself off from everyone, becoming this anger filled person. I took a deep, shaky breath, trying to pull myself away from my thoughts. There were quiet footsteps approaching me but I didn't care. I kept my eyes to the sky as Daryl joined me. "What are ya' doin' out here all alone?" His raspy voice echoed. I shrugged my shoulders slightly. "getting away from everything." He grunted and looked to the ground, taking a seat next to me. "Rose, it wasn't yer' fault" Daryl muttered. I turned to face him, tearing my gaze from the sky. His bright blue eyes sparkled when the light from the moon hit them making me melt into putty. "The way you looked at him, it wasn't yer fault." I nodded and stared into the soil beneath me. "Thank you.." My voice was hoarse but Daryl heard me loud and clear. He nodded before looking away. My eyes felt heavy, and I know I needed sleep but I couldn't close my eyes without seeing Dale's pained expression. I was shaking violently. I tried taking a deep breath but nothing worked. Daryl noticed me shaking and grabbed my waist, pulling me closer into his chest. "Darlin' I ain't goin' no where, get some sleep." He muttered, kissing my lips softly. I let my eye's close slowly with Daryl's words in my head.

~~~~

I woke up in Daryl's tent, last nights events hitting my like a train. I got changed, grabbing my bow and heading to camp with the rest of the group. It wasn't the same without Dale here, everyone was hurt. I hardened myself up before taking a plate from Carol. I sat quietly with Glenn eating our eggs. I felt a ton of weight on my shoulders again. I finished my breakfast as Rick stood up, leading us to the spot where Dale would be buried. I hung my head low and kept my eye's trained on my scuffed up boots, kicking up slight dust as I walked. We gathered around a few small graves. "Dale could get under your skin, sure got under mine. Cause he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought. How he felt. That kind of honesty is rare, and brave." Rick said shaking slightly. I felt chills go up my spine. I felt a hand rest on my small of my back. Daryl gave my a slight nod but didn't take his hand away, which I was grateful for. "Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale, He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him but he could read us. Saw people for who they were, he knew things about us, the truth. Who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken, the best way to honor him is to un-break it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our safety. Our future. We're not broken, we're going to prove him wrong. From now on, we're going to do this his way. That is how we honor Dale." I sighed, running a mucky hand through my hair. I felt like Daryl's hand was the only thing keeping me from running off into the woods; like an anchor. I heard Daryl sigh and the group broke apart. I felt like I was completely spaced out. Some of us went out to go check perimeter and deal with some walkers, and we all let our frustration out on the walkers, except for me. I felt frozen. I caught a few odd glances from Andrea and T-Dog, but I completely ignored it. I found myself sitting on the hood of my car, the rest of the group was gathered around the truck looking at different maps and talking. I saw Hershal walk up to the group and start talking to them. I pushed off the hood and landed on the ground with a soft thud, and walked up to the group. "It'll be tight, 14 people in one house." Rick said as I joined the group, taking a spot beside Daryl. "Don't worry about that, with the swap hardenin', the creek dryin' up" "With 50 head of cattle on the property we might as well be ringing the damn dinner bell" Maggie interrupted. I shifted uncomfortable and Daryl's hand fell to its usual spot on my lower back. "She's right, we should have moved you in awhile ago" Hershal agreed, studying out faces. "Alright lets move the vehicles near the each of the doors facing out towards the road" Rick gave directions out and everyone broke apart. I said a quiet thank you to Hershal and started towards my car. "Oh Rose, There is a room for you and Daryl in the house. I know how Daryl feels about it but know there's a full room for just the two of you." Hershal said before placing a hand on my arm. I gave him a weak smile and thanked him again before pulling my car to the spot. I heard the familiar rumble of Daryl's motorcycle and felt a ghost smile spread across my face. I had to ask him about staying in the house with me. I took a deep breath as I shut the car door, and the smell of fall filled my lungs. I felt myself shiver at the slightly cold wind. I reached into my car and grabbed my jacket from the backseat. I picked it up and another piece of clothing fell out. I laid it out and felt tears spring to my eyes. It was my brother's navy t-shirt. I stopped the urge to cry but I felt a small tear slip down my cheek. I felt around the jacket, looking for the item to match. The dog-tags. Assana was written across the back of the shirt, matching the small, worn pieces of metal in my hand. The cool metal felt like a weight in my hand, and I felt my heart shatter in a million pieces. My brother could be out there some where, dead or alive. I hardened myself back up before clipping the tags around my neck and placing the jacket over my shoulders. I heard footsteps behind me and I quickly tossed the shirt in the car and closed the door again. "Y'alright darlin'?" Daryl asked from behind me. "Fine" I faked a quick smile and I knew Daryl could see right through it. "So, do you think we're gonna move into the house? Hershal said We could have a room to ourselves, if you still wanna share a room of course,," I stuttered. "Yer' stayin' with me, I ain't that easy to get rid of, woman" He smirked. I giggled a bit and felt a smile form on my lips. I couldn't believe I actually giggled, that wasn't me. It's crazy what this man does to me. "So is that a yes?" I asked. "Fine," He grumbled, tugging on my hand slightly. He pulled me into his chest, wrapping his arms around my waist. I let my hands rest around his neck as my fingered played with the hem of his shirt. I smiled a little bit, absorbing the warmth from his body. "Come on girl, let's get out bags." he said taking my hand. "I'm goin' out with Rick to take the kid Randell out, cut em' loose." He muttered. I sighed knowing it was dangerous, especially with what happened to Rick and Shane last time. "Daryl.. I don't know how I feel about this, it ain't safe goin' out there." I said as we walked closer to the small tent. "I'll be back before ya know it, no need ta worry abou' me" He chuckled. "At least let me go with you" He shook his head. "Ain't no way, to dangerous for ya' darling. Now I know you can handle yerself but I ain't willin' to take that risk." He said sternly. I nodded slightly before looking to the ground, letting my curls fall loosely around my face, His rough hand cupped my cheek and pulled my face to look at him. In an instant his lips were softly pressed to mine. The kiss was long and sweet. He pulled away with a small smile on his face, and I swear I saw a sparkle in his perfectly blue eyes. I didn't realize I was lost after Dale died, lost in my thoughts. I felt like Daryl was my anchor, bringing me back into reality, but he made this hell hole of a world better. He was my anchor.

~~Ok So this chapter was hard for me to write, especially the dialogue. :( There is a lot of Daryl and Rose action in here, I really hope you guys like it! Love al of you!

~Airie