YEARNING - Daryl Dixon

TWENTY EIGHT.

THE church came into Bonnie's view and she looked at it with wide eyes "Have you had any herds come through here? The place is practically untouched." Bonnie softly asked as Judith slept in her arms.

Gabriel looked conflicted though remained quiet as the group stopped out the front of the church doors and he reached to unlock the doors "Hold up," Rick began causing Gabriel to turn to face the man "let us take a look around first, we'd like to hold on to our squirrels."

Gabriel handed Rick the keys to the church as Daryl, Michonne and Glenn lined up to follow the man in to sweep the place. Bonnie stood beside Maggie as she still held Judith, though her mind was somewhere else.

"Can I take Judith please Bonnie?" Carl walked towards the blonde and she nodded, gently passing the infant to her brother as she walked up towards the church, though still standing a bit away.

Rick walked back out of the church, followed by Glenn, Michonne and Daryl "I spent months without stepping outside, so I'd be surprise if you found someone else in there." Gabriel quipped and earned nothing but silence.

Bonnie's hands rested on her hips as Frankie stood just in front of her "Thanks for this." Carl sent the priest a smile and he nodded back to the boy, "Found a short bus out back, it don't run but I'm sure we can fix it in a day or two." Abraham told Rick.

Bonnie watched as Daryl walked over to her and Frankie, his hand resting on his crossbow that was slung on his shoulder "Run on inside, find us a nice place to relax for a little while." Bonnie mumbled and Frankie nodded her head before she took off into the church.

Daryl watched as the little blonde girl he had learned to love ran past him and into the church "You gon' tell me what music you listen to?" He smirked and Bonnie rolled her eyes with a smile "Come for a walk with me and I'll tell you Dixon."

Bonnie turned and began walking towards the woods beside the church, Daryl shook his head and quickly followed after her and hoped no one would noticed they had disappeared.

"So?" Daryl grunted as Bonnie sat on a fallen tree log "Well, I love a lot of seventies, eighties and nineties." He did not expect that "Elton John, Queen, Fleetwood Mac." She listed and closed her eyes with a bright smile.

"I also love a good movie soundtrack, especially Pulp Fiction." She told him, her eyes fluttering open and making eye contact with Daryl. "What about you?" She asked him softly as she played with a couple of sticks.

He shrugged his shoulders "Didn't listen to music that much." He replied as he rubbed his hands anxiously, he was struggling to find things to talk about to the girl.

"We can listen to music one day together, I promise." Bonnie turned to look at him and he had the hint of a smile on his lips "We'll see."

Bonnie's smile fell and her eyes looked over his figure, she had come to understand his stand offish behaviour, his quiet nature and preference of being alone.

Bonnie smiled softly as the two sat in silence.

She appreciated his attempts at getting to know her "Have you always hunted?" She asked him carefully, only knowing that he had a rough upbringing and none of the extra details.

"Well, I jus' loved it out 'ere, kinda picked it up after awhile, had too." He looked up at the sky, his hair falling from his face "You okay Daryl?" She scooted closer to him, and he tensed at the sudden movement, making her move back to her original seat.

"I'm jus' thinkin' about Beth." He rubbed his forehead aggressively "You'll find her, I know you will and I'm happy to help." He shook his head "You gotta look after that niece o' yours." She chuckled.

"She's a little fighter, I'd like to think I taught her well." Bonnie boasted proudly and Daryl chuckled "You ever want kids?" He asked her and Bonnie raised her eyebrows at him "We talking about kids already huh? We haven't even had a first date." She teased him and he felt heat rise to his cheeks.

"Well, maybe in a better world I'd love to have a couple. But the thought of being a parent scares me." She told him, looking straight ahead "Why?" He asked her gently "I don't want the same thing happening to my kids that happened to me as a kid." She told him.

Bonnie let out a shaky breath as all the memories came back to her of her childhood "My dad was a prick." She told him and he remained silent, "Cheated on my mum, and then left to be with the other woman and her two kids." She scoffed and shook her head "Treated them more like his own blood then my brother and I."

"That is the reason I'm afraid to put on the whole family charade, I'd have to be sure you know?" She looked at Daryl "Shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go all heavy on you. Bet you have a lot more important things to deal with." She sighed and stood up, brushing her jeans off.

She turned to look at Daryl and he was already looking up at her through the hair that covered his eyes.

Daryl understood now why Bonnie was so good with Frankie, why she valued family so much.

"I had a brother, Merle, my ma' died when I was a kid and my dad was a piece of shit too." He responded and Bonnie looked at him with a gentle gaze "Dads huh?" She muttered and he dryly chuckled before standing up.

"You know, if you wanna talk about anything you can always talk to me." Bonnie told him, resting a hand on his exposed bicep "Or not!" She quickly responded and dropped her arm with wide eyes as Daryl looked down at where her hand lay a mere second ago.

Bonnie felt the blush creep up her neck and onto her cheeks as she turned away to begin walking back to the church "Bonnie," Her name on his lips caused a shiver to escape down her spine, even in the warm environment.

Bonnie faced Daryl as he walked closer "Thanks, I appreciate it." She smiled and nodded "Any time." They turned and began walking back to the church in a comfortable silence, shoulders brushing that left a lasting heat on Daryl's exposed arm.

Things were progressing, slowly but surely.

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A/N GUYS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE 3K VIEWS!! I don't know how to thank you all enough, though I will let you in on a little secret, I have nearly finished writing this book and will begin the second book as soon as I can.
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