His Wings (D.D. fanfiction)

Chapter 33

When I opened my eyes, to my surprise, Daryl was still watching over me. I couldn't gauge how long I had been asleep, but it felt like quite a while. I looked down to see him gently playing with one of my hands, handling it as if it were fragile. I removed the oxygen mask and attempted to speak.

"Dar..." My voice was raspy. Daryl's head snapped up, his eyes filled with concern

"Alex, ya okay?" He asked, urgently.

"I'm fine," I croaked. "I want to go home."

"Ya need to stay here, rest." He told me firmly.

"Daryl, I'm a doctor. I might feel rough for a few days, but I'll be fine going home," I coughed a little. I glanced up at Daryl, who appeared to be pondering the idea.

"Okay, I'll take ya." He nodded and helped me sit up. I waited for the room to stop spinning and the pain in my ribs to subside before he assisted me in standing. We walked down the hallway, passing people who were sitting on the floor, patched up to the best of Denise's ability.

Hobbling outside with Daryl as my crutch, I observed the cleanup of dead bodies strewn across the streets, sending shivers down my spine.

"Don't look, Alex, just keep walkin'." Daryl advised, and I followed his guidance, focusing on my feet as we made our way home. The soft grumble of a pack of walkers echoed from outside the tall walls.

"Why can I hear walkers?" I asked, noticing that all the houses' lights were off.

"There's a herd outside so, keep ya voice down." Daryl grumbled. We made it through the broken door into our home and ascended the stairs to my bedroom. Daryl gently laid me down and waited until I was comfortable. He moved to leave, but I grabbed his arm, causing him to whirl around.

"Stay?" I begged, he nodded and reluctantly laid down next to me.

Fortunately, my room hadn't been ransacked like Daryl's, so it made sense for him to stay. I noticed that Daryl was more reserved than usual, which worried me. I pushed myself up in bed and looked down at him.

"What's wrong, Daryl?" I cooed.

He shook his head and got up, walking to my bedroom door. He placed his hand on the doorknob but stopped. I pushed myself to the edge of the bed, even though my ribs ached, and stood to see what was bothering him. I held my ribs, grimacing, and stood behind him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Dar?" My voice croaked.

He released the doorknob and turned around, gazing at me while fiddling with his hands.

"I thought I lost ya." He muttered, "I really thought I lost ya for good this time."

"Daryl," I cooed, taking a step toward him.

I removed my hand from his shoulder and reached out for his hand, but he stepped back. I tried not to let the pain show on my face, but I suspected he could tell.

"I thought a lot when ya were sleepin'. Ya asked me why I pushed you away, I was scared. I was scared ya would end up like Beth or Merle or even Lori. That's why I never let ya in." He mumbled.

I stood silently, watching him, wanting to understand everything.

"The other night, ya said ya would feel this way forever. That made me panic like a mother fucker, how long would forever be with ya? If I keep pushin' ya away then I won't risk bein' heartbroken if anything were to happen to ya. I had already lost Merle and that nearly destroyed me, so how fuckin' bad would it feel to lose you."

So that's why he stopped kissing me? He was afraid he was going to lose me.

"But when I lost ya, the first thing I thought was I should of kissed her more, I should of hugged her, done more shit with her. I thought at that moment, I was never gonna get to do that shit. I may be fuckin' scared of losin' ya, but havin' that regret hurt more. I can't keep pushin' ya away cos it hurts me too. I need ya, Alex." He gazed up at me, tears stinging his eyes.

I felt myself breaking, my own tears streaming down my cheeks. He needed me just as desperately as I needed him.

"I need you too, Daryl," I whispered. His hands trembled as he closed the gap between us and placed his hands on either side of my face.

He flickered his eyes across mine, rubbing my cheek with his rough thumb before kissing me. It was soft at first and innocent, his soft lips caressing mine, but it then grew similar to the kiss we shared the other day; passionate and hot.His tongue slipped into my mouth, exploring mine, and I moaned as he took a hand and caressed my side, gently tracing my ribs...