𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐂 | 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

"...I was gonna do it, because if I dint, then someone else would have to." His eyes were still on her, lingering on her side profile as she spoke, silent and observant, "...and I dint want it ta be you - Fuck, I - I hate that ya see me like this anyway - I know it aint easy." 

Using the side of her palm, Delaney rose her hand and wiped at the tears stinging her eyes, huffing softly. Her eyes gazed over Judith, who was awake and curiously observing Maggie who was sleeping across from her. "I jus'...I want 'a break...But I-I wont try again." Her words were so pathetically small as she sunk lower against the back wall, dropping her arm limply down into her lap as she tugged her knee's closer to her chest. "I feel so...sick."

There was a moment of silence following her words and neither she or Daryl spoke to break it. Instead she kept her eyes on Judith and he kept his eyes on her, watching as the tears she'd been wiping away succeeded in rolling down her cheek anyway. It dripped down onto her now dry t-shirt, and she whispered, "I don't want ya to see me die, Daryl." 

An unexpected warble of emotion escaped her throat as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her into his side. She lent into him, staring down at the dirty floor, whilst his hand gave her arm a squeeze. Silent comfort, that was what she was used to from him. He was never really that good with words, or reading Delaney's emotions well enough to decide what he had to do. Silent comfort worked well enough, and it had always worked for her. Squeezing her eyes shut, Delaney willed her self not to cry. Don't cry. Don't fucking cry. 

Maggie woke up before anyone else, her eyes searching the barn before she noticed Delaney and Daryl sitting together. Delaney had long since stopped crying and was just leaning into Daryl's chest, staring blankly down at the floor, and Daryl was still staring at the barn doors across from them. Figuring they must have been up all night, Maggie slowly approached them, dropping to sit down beside Daryl, quietly. "You should both get some rest." She quietly spoke, a softness to her voice that Delaney hadn't heard since before the Hospital and Beth.

Delaney felt Daryl nod, "Yeah." 

"It's okay to rest now..."

There was a moment, just a simple quiet one, that wasn't loaded or full of anything but peace. Delaney ended up sitting upright, raising her hand to press the heel of her palm to one of her aching eyes, listening to how Daryl stated, "She was tough." The meaning behind his words were not lost on Delaney or Maggie, of whom he was speaking to. "She dint know it...but she was." This brought about a small smile from Maggie, and Delaney felt her heart swell softly with gratitude for Daryl's gentle compassion. 

That was the right thing to say - that was the right thing to do. 

He then reached down beside him to where he retrieved the little music box that Carl had found  and given Maggie - it had been broken, but Daryl had sat there during the night and cleaned out the gearbox, which had accumulated grit over the years of disuse. He handed it over to Maggie and said he'd fixed it for her, and she offered him a slither of a smile and a soft, thank you. 

Delaney watched Maggie approach Sasha, who had been grieving in her own way over Bob's death - and wake her. Whilst Tyreese had narrowly escaped his death, there had been nothing they could do about Bob's - he had been bitten, not to mention Gareth had survived the attack on Terminus. That fact that enraged Delaney, so much so that she had actually teared up as Rick had told her what had happened. Gareth had taken Bob and eaten one of his legs, and once they'd found out he'd been infected, they'd tossed him onto the grass in front of Gabriel's church.