Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

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As the gates opened, a few of us were still on edge. We all jumped when a trash can tipped over and a possum crawled out. Daryl shot it and picked it up by the tail. The guy that opened the gate looked disgusted...and weak. "Brought dinner."

"It's okay." Aaron assured the obviously nervous man. I can't imagine how we must look to these people. "Come on in, guys."

We all walked in cautiously, eyeing our surroundings. The gate closed behind us. "Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons." The man said. "Stay, you hand them over."

"We don't know if we wanna stay." Rick told him.

"It's fine, Nicholas." Aaron nodded.

"If we were gonna use them, we would have started already." Rick stated.

"Let them talk to Deanna first."

"Who's Deanna?" Abraham asked without missing a beat.

"She knows everything you'd want to know about this place. Rick, why don't you start?" Rick turned, looking out the gate. "Sasha?"

We all turned around to see a walker coming up to the gate. Sasha took it down easily, obliterating it's head.

"It's a good thing we're here."

~*~

Rick's talk with Deanna was short. I went in to be interviewed by this Deanna woman after Daryl. She was the leader. I paced in the living room, bouncing Faith in my arms. Being in a house this clean didn't feel right. I felt out of place, out of my element. I spotted a dirty handprint on the white trim around the window. Must be Ricks. "Hello." I jumped and turned around, my hand going to my gun instinctively.

Deanna smiled. "Relax. You're safe now. Your little one is safe. Please, sit." I sat on the edge of the chair, bouncing my knee nervously. "What's your name?" She asked me.

"Charlotte Dixon."

"Hers?"

"Faith."

She smiled softly. "Name her that for a reason?"

I looked at the woman. "I found out I was pregnant at probably one of the the lowest points in my life. Maggie told me to have faith." I looked down at the coffee table, avoiding her eyes.

"What was your job before this?"

I shrugged. "Didn't have one. But, I'm good at hunting, and...looting I guess you would say."

She looked shocked. "Were you homeless?"

I shook my head. "Shitty boyfriend."

"Daryl?"

"Hell no. He would never hurt me. I did...end up killing the shitty boyfriend though. After everything, of course. He was...the first person I killed." She gave me a look. "What?"

She shrugged. "You offered up that information so willingly. It's shocking."

I shrugged. "There's no point in lying. I mean, it's nearly impossible to survive out there without having to kill anyone. My ex is not the only person I've killed. He was the first, but he definitely wasn't the last. I don't regret it. They had to die, or we would be. I lost count a long time ago. I might not deserve to be here because of that. I know my kids deserve to be here. Carl and Judith do. Rick deserves this, he needs the break. He's worked so hard to keep us going. Hasn't stopped since the beginning. Daryl needs this more than he knows."

"Why's that?"

I sighed. "We...lost someone recently. It was a hard hit. She was the life of our group. Daryl took it really hard. Blamed himself for a long time. He worries about everyone too much. I'm hoping this place might...lift the weight he carries on his shoulders. Rick...he's saved our lives more times than I can count. He saved my life way back at the start, in Atlanta. He kept us together. He kept me sane after I..." I trailed off, staring at the table. I had almost forgotten.

"After you what?"

I hesitated, playing with Faith's fingers. "I miscarried after some...pretty stressful events. Rick was there when it happened. He took care of me when Daryl couldn't." Deanna didn't say anything more, she just stared at me. "Can I go now?" She nodded and I left quickly, Carl walking in after me.

~*~

Afterwards, we were setting all our guns on a cart so they could store them. I still had three holsters, but now that all of them were empty, I felt naked, exposed. At least I still had my knives. Carol pretended that she didn't know how to handle her guns.

We were given two houses, both of which had running water. I was finally able to wash all the dirt and sweat and blood off. It was like shedding my skin. I even shaved my legs and armpits. When I got dressed, deciding to wear some shorts, I looked in the mirror and realized how long my hair really was. It was almost down to my butt. Long hair can be a problem in this world, so I asked Maggie if she would cut it. When she finished, my hair was shoulder length and my head felt ten times lighter. Then I gave Faith her first bath in the sink.

Now the only thing left to do was make Daryl shower. That would be a task. When I walked onto the porch holding a clean and happy baby in my arms, Daryl was gutting the possum on the porch. "Daryl, you smell. You need to shower."

He didn't answer, just kept digging at the possum. "Daryl and I are gonna look around." Rick said, having handed Judith to Tara.

I shrugged, shifting Faith on my hip. Daryl stood up, wiping his hands on his pants. "Fine, you don't have to today, but if you're not clean by tomorrow evening, no sex."

~*~

None of us really left the one house that day. We all agreed that it'd be best if we stayed together. The 15 of us had set out blankets in the living room and dining room. Daryl was talking to Luke about teaching him to hunt and track. It delighted me to see Luke so happy again. "Maybe we'll find you a crossbow of your own."

Luke's face lit up. "Wow, really?! That'd be awesome! Mom, did you hear what Dad said?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Of course I did, I'm right next to you."

I jumped at the gentle knock on the door. Rick answered it. "Rick, I-" Deanna looked at Rick's freshly shaven face in shock. "Wow." Rick groaned. "I didn't know what was under there. Listen, I don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were all settling..." She looked around, realizing that we were all in this house. "Oh, my. Staying together. Smart."

"No one said we couldn't." Rick shrugged.

"You said you're a family. That's what you said. Absolutely amazing to me how people with completely different backgrounds and nothing in common can become that. Don't you think?"

"Everybody said you gave them jobs."

Deanna nodded. "Mm-hmm. Yeah. Part of this place. Looks like the communists won after all." She joked.

Rick smiled. "Well, you didn't give me one."

"I have." She nodded. "I just haven't told you yet. Same with Michonne. I'm closing in on something for Sasha. And I'm just trying to figure Mr. and Mrs. Dixon out, but I will." She looked back at Rick, nodding. "You look good."