Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

47

I was shocked to wake up without shrill crying as an alarm clock. I shot up in the bed, my heart skipping a beat when I noticed Faith wasn't next to me. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, letting out a sigh of relief when I saw Michonne bottle feeding her. She smiled up at me. "Sorry, I heard her crying so I brought her down here. Figured you could use the sleep. I assume you've been the only one taking care of her. Rick and Carl probably aren't...ready yet."

I walked closer, smiling when Faith gripped Michonne's finger tightly. "Carl and I are gonna check out the other houses. Wanna come? You could bring Faith, shouldn't be too dangerous."

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm gonna stay here, make sure Rick actually gets some rest. He can be stubborn."

Michonne nodded, smiling. "Yeah, he is. Hey, your wrap is still upstairs if you want it."

I shook my head, opting to just carry her with her head on my shoulder. "She's in it all the time on the road. Thought she should stretch her legs before we got back on the road. Go get ready with Carl, I gotta talk to Rick."

She nodded, walking away. I walked into the kitchen, where Rick was looking through the drawers. "You should change your shirt."

Rick jumped a little and turned to look at me. His eyes flickered over to Faith resting her head on my shoulder, then looked away. "I will." Is all he said.

I sighed, walking closer. "Rick, talk to me." I heard Rick sigh. He dropped his head. "I know it's hard."

"Do you? Do you know what it's like to look at her every day and be reminded that...Judith is..." He stopped, a tear falling from his eye.

I rest a hand on Rick's shoulder. "Rick, I thought my son was dead when I met you. It killed me to look at Carl when I joined the group, and now? Once again, he might be dead and once again, it's hard to look at him."

Rick sighed, looking up at me. "I'm sorry, it's just..."

"She was innocent."

He nodded, running a hand down his face and breathing deeply. "Yeah, she was." Rick reached a hand out, gently rubbing Faith's head.

"We're ready to go." Michonne said from the door. We both turned to look at her, a sad smile on her face.

"Ok." Rick said, walking to the front door with Michonne. I went upstairs and grabbed Faith's wrap. Maybe I'll take her outside while Rick is sleeping. This neighborhood seems safe enough.

When I came back downstairs, Rick was just closing the door. "I'm gonna go lay down. I'm really starting to feel it now."

I nodded, stepping out of his way as he went upstairs. I walked into the living room and laid Faith on the couch, strapping all three of my guns on, sliding a knife into my boot and my machete to my hip. Finally I tied the wrap around my waist, sliding Faith into it. "Let's go outside, yeah?"

She gave me a toothless smile, waving her arms. I smiled as I walked out the back door, observing my surroundings before deciding it was safe. I bounced her lightly, swaying side to side. "Maybe we'll have a house like this someday. Would you like that? With your daddy and your big brother and your aunt. How would that sound?" I almost mentioned my mother, but decided against it. "Yeah, you'd like that." I smiled down at her, staring into her bright blue eyes. "You look just like-" I jumped when I heard a mans voice, an unfamiliar one.

I quickly snuck into the kitchen and grabbed Faith's bag and my jacket off the counter. I snuck down the stairs and crouched just in time for someone to open the back door. He looked around and went back inside. Then, I heard a man crying out in pain, but it didn't sound like Rick. Oh god, Rick. I walked around the house, stopping when I heard a window opening. Rick saw me down below, putting a finger to his lips. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and Rick was fighting someone. I couldn't see, but there was a lot of noise and then silence.

I sighed in relief when Rick came back to the window and climbed out, carefully dropping to the porch. We snuck around to the front stopping when the front door opened and we crouched down as a man sat on the front porch. He was eating a can of beans. Rick pointed to the street, where Carl and Michonne were walking. Rick was about to attack the man, then there was yelling and snarling from inside the house and the man stood up and ran back inside. "Go, go." Rick whispered, both of us running to them. And just like that, we were back on the road.

~*~

We had been walking on the train tracks for some time now. "What's that?" I asked, pointing to a banner on a railway car. Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive, survive. Below it was a map with the tracks highlighted, all leading to a place called Terminus.

We all looked at it. "What do you think?" Michonne asked Rick.

Rick looked at her and nodded, starting to unwrap the bandages around his hand. "Let's go."

We started walking down the tracks again, on our way to Terminus, a hopeful safe haven.