TW: Attempted SA.
(summary at end of chapter if
you need/want to skip)
Carl and Rosie were in the car together, trying to get some sleep while Michonne and Rick sat outside, a small fire burning in front of them as they kept watch.
They walked along a set of railroad tracks for a long time. On their way, they'd found a sign for a place called Terminus. Rick decided that that was where they'd be going. Rosie wasn't so sure about it, but anything was better than being with the Claimers.
Rick had tried asking her what had happened- how she ended up with those men, what it was like staying with them- but Rosie wouldn't answer. She told him that they were bad and that was that. She wouldn't go into detail. She knew she was supposed to. She knew she was supposed to tell someone she trusted, like Daryl said, but she just couldn't.
Carl had taken the time to tell her all about what happened. How he ended up with his dad, how he found an 112 ounce can of pudding and ate it all, how they found Michonne. Rosie couldn't help but notice that Judith wasn't with them, which made her heart hurt, but she didn't ask about it because she knew that it probably made their hearts hurt, too.
But now they were in this car. They'd stumbled upon it as they were walking, and because the sun was starting to go down, Rick made the decision that they would take a break and rest there. So Rosie and Carl were sent to sleep in the car while Rick and Michonne lit a small fire and kept watch.
But Rosie couldn't sleep. She wouldn't dare. Not after the time she spent with those men. So she just laid back in the passenger seat, staring up at the roof of the car. She worried about Terminus. She couldn't fathom the idea of an actual safe place anymore. Something would go wrong. Something always went wrong.
A chill shot down Rosie's spine when she heard a man's voice rang out into the night, interrupting the quiet, rhythmic chirping of the crickets.
Joe's voice.
Rosie sat up quickly and looked out the windshield to see Rick and Michonne with guns pressed to the sides their heads. The Claimers were there, more coming from the woods like predators going after their prey.
Something always goes wrong.
"Oh, dearie me. You screwed up, asshole," Joe said, his gun at Rick's temple. Rosie shook Carl awake as more of the men started emerging from the trees around them. "You hear me? You screwed up."
Carl shot up just as quickly as Rosie did. The two of them shared a panicked what do we do? glance, but neither of them had any ideas. They watched from the car, hoping and praying that Rick and Michonne would do something- anything. Rosie wished that Daryl was there- he'd know what to do. He always knew what to do.
"Today is a day of reckoning, sir. Restitution. A balancing of the whole damn universe," Joe said with that same smile he always had. Rosie could see him glance at her through the windshield, and it made her insides churn with anxiety. But anxiety completely overwhelmed her entire body when a man with a knife banged on the car window, right next to where Rosie sat. Carl's and Rosie's heads shot in his direction and he smiled at them. A terrifying, disgusting smile.
Dan's smile.
"Shit, and I was thinking of turning in for the night on New Year's Eve. Now who's gonna count down the ball dropper with me, huh? Ten Mississippi," Joe began to count, "Nine Mississippi. Eight Mississippi..."
"Joe!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted. Rosie looked away from Dan, who was staring at her through the window, and saw Daryl emerging from exactly where the men came from. But it didn't make sense. They were bad.
Daryl? Why is he with them? Does he know what they did? Does he know that they're bad?
"Hold up," Daryl said, stepping closer to Rick and Michonne with his hand raised slightly. His face was full of worry, and that just made Rosie all the more worried.
"You're stopping me on eight, Daryl," Joe complained.
"Just hold up," Daryl said again. He glanced back at the car and saw Rosie and Carl through the windshield, staring right back at him with wide, terrified eyes.
Rosie is alive. Rosie is alive. Rosie is alive, was all he could think for the three seconds he spent looking at her through the windshield. When he found her velociraptor toy on the road next to a puddle of blood, he had no reason to believe that she was still alive. Rosie wouldn't just leave that toy behind- not if she had any say in it. So that's what Daryl thought had happened. He thought that he had failed to fulfill his promise; that Rosie was stumbling around the woods, mindlessly following a craving for the living as she rotted. But she was still alive. Thank God, she was still alive. But she was also there. With them.
His stomach knotted with fear, unsure of what these men would do to the two kids. They were bad people, he knew that, but how far would they go? Would they really hurt little kids?
"This is the guy that killed Lou, and took our girl, so we got nothing to talk about," another one of the men said, pointing a large gun at Michonne's head.
Rosie is the girl they said was theirs, Daryl came to realize. He thought that maybe they were talking about a daughter, or a niece. A girl who was actually theirs, who they cared about, who they would mourn the loss of. But no. They were talking about Rosie. His Rosie.
"The thing about nowadays is we got nothing but time. Say your piece, Daryl," Joe said, as if this were a casual conversation.
"These people, you're gonna let 'em go. These are good people," Daryl spoke slowly with a deep, serious voice.
"Now, I think Lou would disagree with you on that. I'll, of course, have to speak for him and all 'cause your friend here strangled him in a bathroom," Joe said, not letting up. Rosie hated him. She hated him so much.
"You want blood, I get it," Daryl said. He dropped his crossbow and held his hands out to his sides. "Take it from me, man. Come on," he practically pleaded. He didn't care what happened to himself as long as Rosie, Carl, Rick, and Michonne would make it out of this alive. They didn't deserve this. He was willing to sacrifice his life for these people; his family.
Joe stared at him, a concerned look on his face. Rosie thought his expression looked like the one Dale's face always used to hold. Her stomach churned at the thought of what happened to Dale. It was so long ago. Things were simpler then, somehow. She missed Dale. He was a good man.
"This man killed our friend, and took our girl. You say he's good people. See, now that right there is a lie. It's a lie!" Joe shouted, his eyebrows slightly raised.
Lying is against the rules, Rosie recalled.
Rosie watched with horror as some of the men around them stepped forward and started hitting and kicking Daryl, Rick screaming for them to stop. She deeply regretted wishing that Daryl was there in the first place. Now she wished that he was far away from there. Somewhere safe.
"Teach him, fellas. Teach him all the way."
The man slammed Daryl up against the car, making both Rosie and Carl jump, distracted. Dan took this as his chance to swing open the door and roughly grab onto Rosie's arm, pulling her out of the car. "Come here, girl," he growled with that same sadistic smile.
"No!" Carl shouted, climbing out after her, but he stopped the second his feet were planted on the pavement due to the barrel of a gun being pressed into the back of his head.
"You leave them be!" Rick shouted as Rosie began letting out panicked yells. Dan held a knife to her throat, whispering things into her ear, holding her face close to his. She couldn't do this again. "Listen, it was me. It was just me!" Rick pleaded.
"See, now that's right. That's not some damn lie. Look, we can settle this, we're reasonable men. First, we're gonna do what we want to our girl. Then we're gonna beat Daryl to death. Then we'll have the lady. Then the boy. Then I'm gonna shoot you and then we'll be square," Joe said, finishing it off with a sick laugh.
Dan threw Rosie to the ground and crouched down in front of her. She struggled and fought as hard as she could as Dan grabbed onto her arms, pinning her to the ground. "No!" Rosie screamed, her voice breaking as tears began to fill up her eyes. She couldn't do this again. His grip around her wrists hurt, pushing against the bruises that were already there.
"Let her go," Rick growled, glaring at the man over Rosie. He started to shake, his head filling with pressure as he watched Dan sit on top of Rosie. Rosie, the little girl who loved dinosaurs. Rosie, the little girl who was his son's best friend. Rosie, the little girl who got distracted playing with worms when they were supposed to be farming in the mornings. Rosie, the little girl who had just begun to stop hiding her smiles. Rosie, the little girl who he might never see smile again if he didn't stop this.
"Stop your squirming," Dan said before laughing a cruel, disgusting laugh. Rosie let out panicked cries and shouts that tore through her family's hearts.
"Let her go," Rick said again. No one listened.
"The girl is ours. We'll do what we want with her," Joe replied, smiling grimly.
Rosie was not theirs. Rosie was Daryl's, Carl's, Michonne's family. Rick's family. He'd give his life to save hers, and she'd give hers to save his. He didn't know what went on when she was with these men; she wouldn't say a word about it. But the fear on her face, in her eyes, and in her voice said: "Please stop this from happening to me again". Rick knew he had already failed to keep her safe from the disgusting cruelty of this world just by the look in her eyes, and he wasn't going to fail at that again.
In one quick movement, Rick slammed his head back, knocking the gun away from his temple. Joe pulled the trigger and the gun shot, the loud noise making Rick's ears ring. He stood up slowly, trying to regain his balance and hearing. Once he could hear again, he threw a hard punch to the side of Joe's face. Joe punched him right back, sending him flying into the dirt.
"I got him. Oh, it's gonna be so much worse now!"
Rosie cried, trying so hard to reach the knife on the ground just a few feet away from her. It was no use. She couldn't reach it. There was no saving herself. It was happening again.
"Shhh," Dan whispered before chuckling again.
"Come on! Let's see what you got!" Joe challenged Rick.
Dan pressed Rosie's arms into the dirt with one hand. She let out an agonizingly horrible, terrified scream, but he wouldn't stop. Her mind began to freeze and fog up at the sound of his belt buckle being undone. Rosie squirmed, squeezing her eyes shut, but it made no difference.
"You leave her be!" Rick growled out again.
Joe grabbed onto Rick, stopping him from getting near the man on top of Rosie. "What the hell are you gonna do now, sport?" Joe asked, chuckling like this was some sort of game.
Just as Rosie felt Dan reach for the button on her pants, she heard Joe scream out in agonizing pain. She opened her eyes and saw Rick biting into Joe's neck. His throat was wide open, spewing out blood like a hose, and he dropped to the ground. Rick spat out the flesh and blood in his mouth and turned to the man on top of Rosie.
Carl and Rosie stared at Rick, their eyes wide with relief and horror all at once. Dan stood up quickly before pulling Rosie up with him. Michonne and Daryl overtook the men attacking them and Michonne shot the one by Carl.
Rosie felt cold metal press against her neck and immediately knew that it was a knife. Dan had a tight grip on her and no matter how hard she tried to push him and kick him and hurt him, she had no effect on the man. "I'll kill her," Dan said, obviously scared out of his goddamn mind after seeing what Rick did to Joe, "I'll- I'll- I'll kill her!"
"Let the girl go," Michonne demanded, aiming her gun at the man. She couldn't shoot. If she shot, she couldn't be sure whether or not the man would slit Rosie's throat.
Daryl stomped the last breath of life out of the man at his feet and quickly moved onto the next one. He had no more mercy left for any of those men. He'd kill them over and over again if he could. Guilt flooded his insides just thinking about the time he'd spent with them. And nothing but fear filled his gut when he thought about the time Rosie spent with them. It made him sick and it made him angry.
Rick stood up slowly, a knife dangling from his fingers. His curly hair fell in front of his face rather than being slicked back like it usually was. The entire bottom half of his face was covered in red, the color spreading along his neck and shirt. Blood dripped from his chin like venom as he glared at Dan.
"He's mine," was all Rick muttered out before taking fast steps towards Dan.
Dan's grip on Rosie loosened as Rick marched towards him, and Rosie quickly took the opportunity to pull away from him, stumbling to the ground. She scrambled backwards until her back hit the bumper on the truck, just staring at Dan with fear.
His hands raised. "Stay back. Stay," Dan barely managed to say. Rick held his knife up. "Please-" Dan was cut off by the sickening sound of a knife being stabbed into his gut. He began to spit up blood, making a gross gurgling noise as Rick plunged the knife deeper and deeper into his stomach, dragging it up his entire abdomen.
A hand was placed on Rosie's shoulder and she quickly turned around, shrieking in fear. She was panicked and ready to fight against whoever was going to hurt her next. The hand on her shoulder was soon joined by another on her other shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting against the person, but the person's voice stopped her.
"It's me. It's me," Daryl said, his voice panicked but gentle. Rosie's eyes shot open wide, hearing that it was Daryl. She launched herself forward, burying her face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. "I got you."
Tears flooded Rosie's eyes. She felt relieved and sad at the same time. Relieved that Daryl was ok, that he made it out of the prison, and that he was here now. Sad that he had been hurt, that she had been hurt, touched.
As he held the girl close against his chest, Daryl felt an overwhelming sense of relief that his kid was still alive. His mind was racing as he held Rosie in his arms. You're alive, was his first thought, of course. But upon seeing that she was alive, he knew that she had been in the world on her own. And with those men. The next question was this: did Rick save her from something that had already been done before?
Daryl couldn't stand the thought of it. He wanted to shield Rosie from the world and every bad thing in it, and now he had failed at that. Not only had he failed at that, but he had lived with the very people who had done the bad things to her.
The thought of what Dan was trying to do made Daryl want to kill the man a thousand different ways, but you can only kill a man once and Rick had already done it. So Daryl did the only other thing he could think to do: he held Rosie tightly in his arms, one hand on the back of her head and the other on upper her back. Her breathing was shaky and uneven, so it was easy to tell that she was still crying.
"I was scared without you," Rosie barely managed to whisper out.
"I'm here now. Ya don't gotta be scared anymore. You're safe. I got you," Daryl whispered back. He leaned his head atop hers and stayed like that. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he said.
Rosie kept her arms wrapped tightly around Daryl's torso, scared that if she let go, he'd be gone again. His breathing was almost as shaky as Rosie's, and he kept taking long, deep breaths to try and calm both himself and the girl in his arms. He held her in a way that he had never held her in before. Sure, he had hugged her and comforted her in the past, but this was just different. Rosie had never been so terrified, and Daryl had never been so terrified for her.
Rosie, still not even knowing if everything that was going on was even real, couldn't be sure of anything in that moment, but she thought she might have felt Daryl press his lips against the top of her head, just for a short second. And it was in that short second that she finally understood why the other kids back at the prison thought that Daryl was her dad. It was because he had done everything a dad is supposed to do for their child. He kept her safe, he made sure she ate, he listened to her talk about dinosaurs even if he didn't have any interest in them, he taught her what was right and what was wrong, he taught her to defend herself, he comforted her when she was scared or sad, he said goodnight to her before she fell asleep at the end of each day and said good morning at the beginning of the next one, and he loved her. And she loved him too.
Upon that realization, Rosie hugged him even tighter, and he hugged her back just as tight.
🦖🦕🦖🦕
Summary: The Claimers attack Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Rosie to get revenge for Rick killing Lou and helping Rosie escape. Daryl shows up to stop the Claimers and sees that Rosie was alive- he had found her velociraptor toy in the road and thought she was dead. Daryl offers to sacrifice himself for his family, but the Claimers don't listen. The group is stuck in this horrible situation until Rick bites into Joe's neck, killing him. Michonne and Daryl manage to take out the rest of the Claimers while Rick goes for Dan. Daryl and Rosie reunite, and Rosie realizes why Lizzie thought that Daryl was her dad.
Also Daryl gives Rosie a little kiss on the top of her head (awwwwwwwww)
I exist i exist i exist reminds me of this chapter :(
And you said, "No, these demons will fall You're so precious to us all" And I said, "I, I can't do this alone I still need you to hold
So don't let go, don't let go, don't let go, don't let go, don't let go, don't let go. 'Cause I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid"
Me frowning at my own story as if I didn't write it myself and make these choices: 😔😔☹️