His Firecracker (Daryl Dixon x reader)

Randall

•Y/N's pov:
     A soft rapping on the door wakes me up. I pick my head up and see Maggie in the doorway, a small smile on her face. She takes a few steps into the room and I look over at the bed where Beth is asleep. Maggie takes a seat on Beth's bed and looks down at me.
"I told Glenn I love him." Maggie whispers, I let out a quiet gasp.
"Maggie..." I begin, looking her in the eyes.
"It was dumb of me. He didn't even say it back." Maggie says, I look down at my hands.
"I'm sorry, Maggie. He's an idiot if he didn't say it back." I say, making Maggie chuckle.
"Maybe...or maybe he just doesn't feel the same and simply used me for sex." Maggie states, which catches me off guard.
"Maggie, Glenn wouldn't do that. You know that, right? He told me the other day how much he cared for you, and if he lied to me about that? Well, you saw what happened to Shane." I joke, Maggie rolls her eyes.
"Y/N, you shouldn't have shot him in the first place." Maggie warns, now it's my turn to roll my eyes.
"You do know Lori pushed me, right? Made me miss my shot. I was aiming for the barn again, if not for Lori's shovin', I wouldn't have shot 'im." I explain, causing Maggie to nod her head.
"Well, whether you meant to shoot him or not, supper's ready." Maggie says, I nod my head.
      I let go of Beth's hand and stand, exiting her room. Maggie follows after me until we reach the dining room, where no one is sitting, yet plates are set up.
"Where'd everyone go?" Mumbles Maggie, I shrug.
      Maggie pushes past me and exits the house, me not far behind.
"She's not at the barn." I hear Shane say once we're outside. I turn in his direction.
"I checked the yards." Andrea says, walking over to the small group of people.
      I see Carol in the distance walking up to everyone.
"She asked Daryl to go into town. Must've gone herself." Carol explains, that's when I realize they're looking for Lori.
"Mom?" I hear Carl ask, I turn around to look down at him.
"Hey. Carl." Shane begins, only to turn to look over at Dale. "Did you know about this?" He asks Dale. Dale holds up his hands in surrender.
"No." Dale simply says.
"Look, just...did she take a gun?" Shane asks again.
"I don't know." Dale answers, earning a huff from Shane.
      Shane turns around walks over to a car.
"I wouldn't let her go out there alone!" Dale calls out, Shane enters the car, starts up the engine, and drives off and down the gravel road.
"C'mon everyone, we needta eat. There's no use waiting around for them, we should just worry about ourselves right now." I explain, turning from where Shane went and to the rest of the group.
"She's right, ya'll need your food. They'll be back before you know it." Agrees Maggie. I look at her gratefully.
       Everyone else nods their heads and wander inside. All except Carl, who just stands still where Shane had just been standing mere minutes ago. I walk up to him and place my hand on his shoulder.
"They'll be fine. I don't know them well, but if Shane is fine after an arrow in the shoulder and your daddy is out there after giving you all that blood, I'm sure they'll make it back just fine. Now c'mon kid, you should eat too. Don't want your mama gettin' upset at me even more than she already is." I state. Carl just nods his head.
       He turns around and walks back to the house. Footsteps sound behind me and I turn around, spotting Daryl a few feet away.
"You're good with 'im." He says simply, nodding his head towards Carl who enters the house.
"What do you want?" I ask, crossing my arms.
"Nothin'." He answers. I let out a sigh.
"You have dinner yet?" I ask, earning a grunt from Daryl.
"Naw. Just 'bout to cook some squirrel." Daryl explains. I nod my head.
"Never had squirrel before. It any good?" I ask, Daryl just chuckles.
"You wanna try some?" He asks.
      I turn to the house, then back to Daryl. I feel numerous emotions swirl within me. Would Maggie be upset at me if I were to skip dinner with her?
      I turn back to the house to see Maggie standing on the porch with her arms crossed. I let out a sigh of exasperation and turn back to Daryl.
"I'll hafta take a raincheck. At least for now, only cause I needta be takin' care of Beth and Maggie. Once daddy's back though? I'll take you up on your offer." I explain, smiling over at him.
"Ya needta stop carin'." Daryl says, turning around and beginning to walk off.
"They're my family!" I yell back to him, only for him to just continue walking away.
I scoff and turn on my heel, walking towards the house. Maggie stares over at me, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently.
"What was that about?" Maggie asks, looking me dead in the eyes.
"He invited me to have squirrel..." I mumble, I hear Maggie let out a sigh.
"Squirrel? You've had squirrel before Y/N." Maggie says, I chuckle at this.
"I know, but he doesn't know that." I state, I look up at Maggie.
"You like him, don't you?" She asks, I shake my head.
"Nah, I just wanna get to know the guy." I shrug, earning a look from Maggie.
"Mhm." She sasses, I roll my eyes at her.
"Honestly, yeah. He's the biggest douche here, yet for some reason he stays. I just want to know more about him, he interests me." I explain, Maggie sighs.
"Fine. Whatever you say, sister." Maggie says, then turning on her heel and entering the house.
      I let out a sigh and follow after her, entering the house myself. I walk over to the dining room to see everyone else eating, though no one seems to speak to one another. Carl sits beside Andrea and looks as if he's been crying. The room is tense and silent, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. I sit down beside Maggie and begin to eat supper, again no one speaks or says anything. Carol ends up leaving once she's finished eating and exits the house, the door closing shut behind her.
       When I finish my supper, I excuse myself and leave the dining room to go upstairs. Yet the sound of a car pulling onto the road catches my attention. I turn around to look out the window and see Shane and Lori exiting the car. I scoff and turn back around to walk upstairs, footsteps sounding behind me.
"They're back!" Maggie says behind me. I just nod my head.
"Yeah. I heard. I'm gonna go check up on Beth." I state, and I hear more footsteps behind me.
"Let me come with you." Maggie says, I nod again.
     I continue up the stairs and turn to go to Beth's room. I sit in the chair I was sat in earlier and grab onto her hand again. Maggie stands beside me and grabs onto my shoulder, I look up at her and offer a smile.
"She'll be alright." I mutter, laying my head down on the bed.
       Maggie runs her fingers through my hair and I close my eyes, letting out a relaxed sigh. I feel a blanket be draped across my shoulders and I hear Maggie mutter something before her footsteps fade into the hallway. I feel my head go fuzzy and I drift off to sleep.
•Y/N's pov-Early morning:
     I awake to feel something cold in my grasp as light seeps into the room and into my eyes. I pick my head up and look down at the bed I laid my head onto last night, I look at an even paler Beth staring up at the ceiling once again. Maggie is in the room now, along with Patricia. I look over at Maggie to see her sitting down beside Beth, running her fingers through Beth's hair.
"Hey. Nice to see you're awake." Maggie smiles over at me. I smile back groggily.
"What's goin' on here?" I ask, looking between Maggie and Patricia.
"I'm about to set up the I.V." Patricia says, only for Andrea to enter the room. Patricia then turns to Andrea.
"Best I can do without Hershel." Patricia says, exiting the room.
      Andrea sits at the foot of the bed and looks between me, Maggie, and Beth.
"Hey. Can I get either of you anything?" Andrea asks, I shake my head.
"Nah, I just wish my dad was here." Maggie admits, and I sigh.
"I told you Maggie, she'll be alright." I say, Andrea nods.
"Listen to Y/N, she'll be okay. You two just need to be strong for her." Andrea explains, I look over at Maggie to give her a look.
"I was just reminding her about...never mind." Maggie says, I quirk an eyebrow, as does Andrea.
"No, no. I'd love to hear." Andrea says simply, earning a smile from Maggie.
"Our dad would die if he heard this. My first summer back from college, I drove home, dumped my stuff off, went straight out to the stable for a ride. My family comes back from church and Beth grabs my things and unpacking my stuff upstairs." Maggie begins, only to pause.
"That's sweet." Andrea tries.
"Yeah, until this one here starts rifling through my backpack. She finds this little plastic container with these pink and green candies inside. She didn't even know I was on the pill. She was so freaked out by the idea of me, and boys and sex, she runs outside and chucks them in the duck pond. And I ride up, I see this, I'm screaming. She's crying and Shawn runs outside, thinks one of us is drowning. Soon as he figures out what's going on, the jerk busts out laughing so loud that my horse rears up and gets mud all over the three of us. My dad comes out, "what the heck's goin' on out here?!" And she turns around, bats her eyelids and says, "we're just swimming, daddy." In her Sunday dress, all covered in snot and mud." Maggie finishes, I feel myself stiffen.
"I never knew that story..." I state, looking down at the bed.
"You were too busy with college." Maggie says, chuckling sadly.
       I let out a sigh and stand up, the blanket that was splayed along my back falls onto the chair I was originally sitting in. I let go of Beth's hand and walk towards my room, once I reach it, I open up the door and walk in to grab my bow. I grab my bow along with the knife I found all those months ago and some arrows, and exit my room. I walk down the stairs, my bow in hand and knife attached to my hip.
     Finding the front door I open it and exit, only to see Shane, T-dog, and Daryl around the hood of a car. I walk up to them with my bow still in hand.
"Wherever ya'll are goin', I'm comin' with." I state, earning a look of disapproval from all three of them.
"Naw, you ain't comin' with darlin'. We were gonna run into town." Daryl explains, I shake my head 'no'.
"He's my daddy, I'm not lettin' ya'll go after him without me." I reply, earning a look from Daryl.
      Daryl's about to say something again, until a red car comes down the gravel driveway as dust kicks up behind it.
"Guys." I say, pointing to the vehicle.
       People rush to the now parked car. Dad steps out, along with Rick and Glenn. Each of them holds a weapon, I see Maggie rush out the house and run towards Glenn, except Glenn barely hugs back. I rush over towards dad who looks shocked that Maggie walked past him, and Lori and Carl walk to hug Rick.
"Daddy!" I yell, enveloping him in a hug.
"Dad!" Carl yells out, hugging his dad's waist.
       Dad pulls out my grasp and rolls up his sleeves, walking up to Patricia.
"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery." Dad says, before quickly entering the house.
"Are you hurt?" Lori asks Rick. Rick pulls back and looks at her.
"No, but what happened to you?" Rick asks, grabbing Lori's face to get a better look at her.
"I was in a car accident." Lori says simply.
"Accident? How?" Rick asks, I let out a sigh and walk over to Daryl, who stands beside T-dog.
"So that was something." I mumble, earning a grunt from Daryl.
"Who the hell is that?" T-dog suddenly asks, pointing at a boy in the backseat of the car.
"That's Randall." Glenn says from behind us, and some walk towards the man in the car, while others turn to look at Rick.
       Dad comes back out and orders the boys to pick up Randall and take him to the shed so he can patch him up. Everyone else walks back into the house, me included. Everyone besides dad and Daryl are in the dining room. Everyone besides me, Shane, and Rick are sitting down.
"We couldn't just leave him behind. He would've bled out, if he lived that long. It's gotten bad in town." Rick begins to explain, only for the front door to open and reveal Daryl, who nods at Carol. I see that she smiles towards him. Daryl then turns to look at me, nodding his head at me as well. I nod back to him.
"What do we do with him?" Shane asks suddenly, only for daddy to walk into the dining room drying his hands off.
"I repaired his calf muscle as best I can, but he'll probably have nerve damage. Won't be on his feet for at least a week." Dad explains, standing beside Rick.
"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way." Rick begins, only for Andrea to cut in.
"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" She asks.
"He'll have a fighting chance." Rick finishes.
"Just gonna let him go? He knows where we are." Shane cuts in now, earning a roll of eyes from myself and a few others.
"He was blindfolded the whole way here. He's not a threat." Rick tries to reassure.
"Not a threat? How many of them were there? You kill three of their men, you took one of them hostage, but they just ain't gonna come looking?" Shane asks, Rick begins to grow frustrated.
"They left him for dead. No one is looking." Rick tries.
"We should still post a guard." States Shane.
"He's out cold right now, will be for hours." Dad concludes.
"You know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy. Look at this, folks...we back in fantasy land." Shane scoffs, about to walk out before dad gets in his way.
"You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet. Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all...this is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor...keep your mouth shut." Dad explains, looking Shane directly into his eyes.
        Daryl walks off after this, as does everyone else as the group disperses. I head upstairs to check on Beth while Maggie walks over towards the kitchen and after Glenn. I open up Beth's door to see her still staring at the ceiling, I let out a sigh. I sit down beside her bed and grab her hand once again.
"I remember when you were first born...Daddy was so nervous, Maggie was all excited, and me? Well, I was scared. I was worried, and concerned. Cause I knew I needed to be the big sister and protect you, along with Maggie. Yet I wasn't even that old, but I expected myself to be strong and to be your protector. I know we didn't always get along Beth, but I do love you. And even to this day, I fight. I fight for you, for Maggie, for daddy, and for mine and Maggie's mama. I know you never met her, but I bet she would've loved to have met you, even though you weren't hers. Please pull through Beth, I-I can't live knowing I couldn't protect you." I sob, letting tears wash down my face.
I grip Beth's hand tighter with one of my hands as the other wipes away the tears that have fallen down my cheeks. I hear footsteps sound throughout the hall, I look up at the doorway to see dad is standing there with his sleeves rolled up. He doesn't seem to notice me as he begins to gather his equipment.
"I'm gonna need you to move, Y/N. I need to give her a sedative." Dad explains, catching me slightly off guard.
"I'm not moving daddy." I mumble, earning a chuckle from dad.
"Well you're going to need to, otherwise I don't know how much longer she's got." Dad states, I let out a sigh and stand up. I let go of Beth's hand.
Dad prepares the sedative in the syringe and flicks it with his index finger. He moves towards Beth and sits in the chair I was previously sitting in. He feels around Beth's forearm until he finds a vein. Inserting the needle and injecting the clear fluid, he pulls the needle out and sets it down on her bedside table. He places down some cotton onto where he just injected her, along with some tape, and grabs her hand. I hear more footsteps and look up at the doorway to see Maggie there, leaning on the doorway. She looks at me, then to daddy.
"Has she eaten?" Dad asks, Maggie and I shake our heads.
"I gave her a sedative...stop her body from working too hard." Daddy explains, I look over at Maggie to see tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
"You were drinking." Maggie states, crossing her arms.
"That was the least of my worries." Dad says, I give him a look.
"You left and Y/N and I didn't know what to do!" Maggie yells, I look at her in shock.
"Maggie, it's fine, really. He's here now, that's all that matters." I try to mediate. Maggie looks over at me angrily.
"Don't even get me started on you!" Maggie yells, storming out of Beth's room and downstairs.
Beth's room is silent, dad doesn't speak, nor do I.
"Beth wouldn't want us fighting like this..." I mutter, quickly leaving Beth's room to go to my own.
I slam my door behind me and flop onto my bed, letting out an exasperated sigh.