GIVEN TO FLY [Daryl Dixon]

VII.

CHAPTER SEVEN
[ the loss of hope ]

There is hot water. And showers. Misty Vargas doesn't believe in god, has never believed, but in that moment that she is in the shower, she just might consider it.

Clean and fresh for the first time in weeks, Misty walks into the room she is sharing with Glenn to see her friend lying on the couch, wine glass in hand, absolutely pissed out of his mind. It is hilarious. Every. Single. Time.

"Hey, Misty!" He says, much too loudly.

"Hi, Glenn," she replies, moving to the side of the room where there are cots folded up. She starts setting them up, and while her back is turned, she hears a loud thud. When she looks back, Glenn is on the ground. "All right, there, babe?"

"I'm great," he slurs, completely unfazed. "H-How are you?"

"Not half as good as you." With one of the cots set up, she pulls Glenn up off the floor and lies him down on it. She takes the wine glass out of his hand, puts a blanket over him, and smiles. "Night, Glenn."

"Night, Misty." She goes to leave, right when he calls after her, "oh! Misty!"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"Love you too, Glenn."

Misty leaves their room and makes her way down the hall with Glenn's wine glass, hoping to find somebody that still has alcohol on them. Rick and Lori, maybe. But she passes a room with an open door, and peers inside.

She expects to find Carol and Sophia, or T-Dog, but instead she finds Daryl, setting up his cot with a full bottle of wine beside it. "Hey," she greets, once he sits down on the cot and notices her. He only nods in response. "Just put an incredibly hammered Glenn down for his nap. Red as a tomato, just like I told you."

"What about you?"

She shows him the empty glass and says, "unfortunately sober." He looks her over, and then holds out the bottle in his hand.

"Here," he says, "looks like ya need this more than I do."

"Thanks." She takes the bottle from him, forcing a small smile onto her face. "I appreciate it."

He just nods, and she leaves him to his room. She goes back to her room, and spends the night sitting on the floor next to a sound asleep Glenn, drinking alone.