𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚅𝙰𝙻 𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙴
"You didn't want me?" Danita asked as tears grew in her eyes. This was what Daryl was worried about. She got up from the tree she was sitting under with her dad and made her way back to the car with Daryl running after her.
"Danita, wait." He said as he caught up to her and crouched in front of her. She had a few tears running down her cheeks and the sight of his daughter so upset because of him broke Daryl's heart. "I love ya', Danita. Since the moment you were born, I haven't stopped loving ya'. Yes, when I found out yer mom was pregnant with ya', I wasn't happy. I was scared. I mean, look at the world we live in. I didn't want a child of mine having to live like this, to live in fear, to have to look over their shoulder every second of every day. I wasn't ready to be a dad, I'll admit that. I wasn't over the moon but the second you were born, everything changed. I dedicated my life to ya' and yer mom and I still do now. You're everything to me, sweetheart, you're my whole world. I already lost yer mom. I can't lose you, too. You always will be my heart and soul, always."
Danita looked at her dad with tears in her eyes and felt her heart growing heavy. She wrapped her arms around Daryl, crying heavily and Daryl immediately hugged her back tight, leaving a kiss on her hair.
"I miss Mommy. I want her here." Danita cried, making Daryl's heart break into a million pieces. Danita sounded so upset, so broken and Daryl needed to do whatever he could to make his little girl feel better.
"I know, baby. I want her here, too." Daryl muttered, still hugging his daughter. When they pulled away, Daryl wiped away Danita's tears and kissed her forehead. Daryl didn't even know a tear of his own was running down his cheek until Danita wiped it away for him. "Your mom loved ya' so much, Danita. Don't ever doubt that. She would be so proud of the big girl you've become."
"She'd be proud of you, too. For always taking care of me and protecting me." Danita said, warming Daryl's heart. "We only have each other, right?"
"Right." Daryl nodded.
"Can we go home? I'm tired." Danita said.
"Yeah, of course." Daryl said and so he and Danita got into the car and drive back to Alexandria.
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It had gotten dark by the time Danita and Daryl had gotten back home. Danita had fallen asleep in the car so Daryl picked her up and carried her into the house, laid her on her bed and took her boots off before tucking her into bed. He felt terrible for making Danita cry, for making her think that he didn't want her. When he first found out about the pregnancy, he did not want her and he could admit that but now, Danita was everything to Daryl and he would lose his mind if anything ever happened to her.
Daryl climbed into his own bed, looking at the next diary. It was a dark red notebook with the number four on the front. Daryl was going to read through the next few entries. He remembered himself and Anita had been broken up for quite a while and Daryl didn't want to share all that with Danita and further upset her.
He opened the first page of the next diary where he saw another polaroid picture stuck on the inside of the cover. It was a picture of Daryl and Anita, both holding Danita a few minutes after she was born. They both had huge smiles on their faces. In the background was Eugene photobombing because he wanted to. Daryl chuckled a little under his breath and turned to the first entry of the new diary, his eyes landing on the first two words that would describe the next chapter of Anita and Daryl's lives.
"Dear Diary..."