A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S5Pt11 - New Looks

Aaron gave us a tour of the houses they were going to give our whole group. They had 3 houses that were empty and they offered them to us. Once Aaron left, we all stood in one house's living room and didn't know what to do.
"We'll all stay in this house tonight. Decide where we are sleeping while we are here tomorrow. For now clean up and get some rest." Rick said.
"Clearly you did." I said.
I pointed at Rick who shaved his beard and cut his hair. He smiled and felt his chin, and we all chuckled at him.
"Kelley, you can sleep in one of the bedrooms tonight. You need it." He said.
He looked at my stomach and I waved my hand.
"I'm fine being with you guys. I don't need a bed." I said.
"Kelley." Rick said.
"No." I said. "I'm fine."
I then patted his back and looked down the hallway at a bathroom door. I smiled at Rick and sighed.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm going to take a shower." I said.
The group laughed at me, and I grabbed my bag and walked down the hallway. I entered the bathroom and closed the door behind me.
It was so clean in here. I flipped on the light switch to see if the power worked, and the bathroom got bright. There was a large vanity and I stared at myself in the mirror.
I took my hair out of a ponytail and my hair was a mess. My face was covered in dirt and blood, but somehow I was still beautiful to Daryl. I sighed and looked away from the mirror and started searching the drawers. The first one I opened had a toothbrush and toothpaste. I instantly started brushing my teeth and didn't stop for minutes. After I scrubbed my mouth raw, I opened another drawer and found a brush and scissors.
I slowly brushed out my hair and got rid of all the tangles. My hair reached all the way down to my lower back, so I decided to cut it. Snip by snip, I cut my hair to a the length of my shoulders. I admired myself and then rinsed my face off with water.
Just then, I heard a knock on the door and it opened. Daryl walked in behind me and I looked at him. He just smiled and put down his bag next to mine.
"I like what you did to your hair." He joked.
I smiled and snapped the scissors. "Your turn." I said.
"No." Daryl said, but I grabbed his hand.
"Come on." I said. "It's just a trim, you won't look bad."
He reluctantly agreed and I smiled. He sat down on the toilet and I grabbed a comb. I began gently combing back his hair and trimmed the edges. When I was done,
I told him to turn around and face me. He did and I looked at his scruffy goatee. I trimmed it up a little bit and shaped it.
"All done." I said, and I put down the comb and scissors.
He grabbed my hands and felt my ring. Then he rubbed my stomach and kissed it. I ran my fingers through his hair and smiled at him.
"We can make a home here for us and this baby, Daryl." I said.
He nodded and looked up at me. I smiled at him and then turned around. I opened the glass doors to the shower and turned on the water. I put my hand under the shower head and felt the hot water touch my skin. I then took off my shirt and threw it into the corner. Daryl walked behind me and traced his fingers along my back. He then took off my bra and helped me finish undressing. He put his hands on my hips and kissed my neck. I turned around and saw that he was naked too. I smiled and caressed his face, and he trailed kisses down my neck to my collarbone and chest.
"I love you." He said.
I lifted up his face and made him look at me.
"I've missed you." I whispered.
He sighed and held my cheeks. "I'm sorry Kell, but I'm here now."
I nodded and kissed his lips. He pulled me as close as my stomach would let him and kissed me back. I moaned at his touch and then backed up.
"I'd love to do this, but we really need a shower." I said.
He nodded at me and we got in the shower together. The hot water felt amazing and I couldn't help but laugh. I wet my hair and washed my body with soap. I saw the dirt run down my body and the water changed colors from how dirty we were. After the long shower, I turned off the water and began drying off. Daryl was putting on his clothes and so was I. I grabbed my largest shirt that could fit me and zipped up my pants. I put on my trusty combat boots and my vest. I then looked at myself in the mirror and Daryl stood behind me. He wrapped his arms around me, feeling my stomach, and kissed my cheek.
I held his hands on my stomach and sighed. I leaned my head against his chest and looked at us in the mirror.
"We actually look normal." I joked.
Daryl smiled and rested his cheek against my head. "We look like a family." He said.
I smiled and nodded in agreement, and rubbed my stomach.
"Yeah." I chuckled. "Finally. A real family."

~~~~~~~~~~

It was nighttime and the entire group was in the living room. I was leaning against Daryl in his lap on the bench in front of a window.
I was still upset about my interview from earlier and couldn't help but think about my father. I was anxiously clenching my bad hand and Daryl noticed.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Nothing." I said and wiped a tear away.
He turned my head around and I looked at him.
"Tell me." He said.
"My interview with Deanna. She just asked questions that brought back old memories." I said.
"Like what?" He asked.
He seemed to be getting upset and I sighed. I just shook my head and turned back around to look out the window.
"My father." I said.
Daryl tensed up and I knew he remembered him well. I looked back at Daryl and saw the anger in his eyes.
"I'm sorry." I said and tried not to cried.
"Don't cry." He said and wiped my tears. "He can't hurt you anymore."
I nodded but silently cried anyways. "I know that. I'm sorry."
"Kell, look at me." He said and held my face.
Tears were streaming down my cheeks and I saw his face go soft. He hated it when I cried.
"Stop saying sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for." He said.
"Sor-" I began to say but stopped myself.
He softly smiled at me and I sighed.
"We are here now Kell. You and me." He said and held my hand.
"Yeah." I agreed.
I lightly kissed his lips and then leaned back against him. He rested his hands on my thighs and I rested in his embrace.
The group was handing out the last of the food we had in our bags, which wasn't much. Daryl offered me his food but I declined.
"Kell, you need it more than me." He said.
I sighed and ate the food. Once I was done, I rested my head against his chest and looked out the window. I closed my eyes to get some rest when we heard a knock on the door. I got startled and quickly sat up, but Daryl held me and calmed me down. Rick answered the door and we saw Deanna on the porch.
"Wow." Deanna said when she saw Rick's face. "I didn't know what was under there."
Rick groaned and rubbed his chin.
"Listen, I don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to stop by to see how you were all settling in."
She walked inside the house and saw us all together in the living room.
"Oh my." She exclaimed. "Staying together. Smart."
"No one said we couldn't." Rick said.
"You said you're a family, all of you said that, and now I see it." She said. "It's absolutely amazing to me how people, from totally different backgrounds and nothing in common, can become that. Don't you think?"
I nodded my head in agreement and Daryl held my hand, and lightly kissed my cheek. Rick nodded, then looked at Deanna.
"Everyone said you gave them jobs. You didn't give me one." Rick said.
"I have, I just haven't told you yet." She said. "Same with Michonne. I'm closing in on something for Sasha, and I'm still trying to figure out the Dixon's. But I will."
I smiled and Daryl rested his chin on my shoulder. Deanna took one last look at us in the room and smiled.
"You look good." She told Rick.
She left the house and Rick closed the door behind her. We all decided to turn in for the night and try to get some much needed sleep...
But, the nightmares returned again.