In the heated argument you were having with Gregory, you didn't hear the front door go. You had no idea that Jesus had returned with some surprising news. No. You were too busy ripping into Hilltop's leader. "Gregory you cannot be serious! We need to stand up to them! Train our people and fight the assholes! We cannot just sit on our asses and hand them everything we have. Our people are scared, we need to do something!" You yelled in frustration.
After you went for your parents you had found Hilltop. The search for your family had been a dead end, you had reached their house and found nothing but their dead bodies. Soon after, you and Rosa had come across the small peaceful civilisation and settled in. You were more comfortable here than you ever had been at Woodbury. After a year, you had become one of the most respected members of their society. You and Jesus had become great friends and shared your duties at the top of the food chain.
Gregory looked back at you, "You know we cannot do that! Negan's people can kill us while blindfolded, they have the numbers we lack. Now, you need to stop shouting at me and let me do my job. I might be able to calm this storm, but not if you keep blowing off in my face. If you carry on like this, I might have to send you outside the walls." He countered, glowering at you.
"Send me and my child away to fend for ourselves, would you? Myself and an innocent four year old girl? I suppose we've coped before, why not again, huh? But could you live with the blood on your hands if we didn't survive?" You shot back, ferocity glowing in your eyes like fire.
The leader had no answer, and you took that as your cue to leave. "I'll be upstairs. I need to take a shower to cool off." You announced, slamming the doors wide open and noticing the small crowd of people you didn't know gathered in the entryway. You spotted Jesus as you made your way towards the stairs, "Hey. Jesus." You called out, "I'll be down in a few minutes, just give me some time." You said before climbing the stairs.
"Make sure you bring Rosa!" Jesus called back.
You rolled your eyes. Jesus loved your little girl, and she loved him. In fact, she called him "Uncle Jesus" which always made him chuckle. "Sure thing." You muttered before hitting the shower room.
Fifteen minutes later and you were descending the stairs clean, smelling nice, and in a fresh set of clothes. Rosa was skipping down behind you, excited to know Jesus was back from his run. But you stopped dead in your tracks seeing the man stood in the front doorway. He was slouched against the doorframe, clearly disinterested in what was going on.
But then Jesus saw you on the staircase, "(Y/N), you're back." He called. And the man in the doorway whipped his head around to look at you. You stared right into his deep blue eyes as he took you in, savouring each and every detail. It was you, it was really you. He just couldn't believe it. And nor could you.
You had come to the conclusion that you would never see Daryl Dixon again years ago. Yet here he was, looking right at you.
"Daryl?" You breathed, jumping the last couple of steps and running towards him. You bounded into his arms and he caught you effortlessly. You breathed in the scent of the man you hadn't seen in so long, sobbing into his shoulder. You were at a loss for words.
He pulled back from you and gave you a longing, passionate kiss. "I love you." He whispered against your lips.
"I love you too. Boy, have I waited a long time to say that." You laughed. You broke the hug and looked back at the group he was with, "Thank you. For bringing him to me. I thought I was never going to see him again." You said softly.
Looking around, you caught the eyes of Jesus, who looked beyond confused. But then he put two and two together, "Oh! This is that Daryl!" He mumbled to himself before calling out, "Your lover boy hit me! And ran me over with a van! All I did was save his ass." He yelled with a smile.
You would have smiled too if you hadn't noticed the tug on your skirt. Pulling on your clothes was Rosa, with a very confused look on her face. You looked up at Daryl, who's eyes were also trained on the girl in front of the two of you. Daryl wasn't stupid. He could see that this girl had his eyes and nose. But he also saw the quirky mouth that was exactly the same as yours.
"What's going on, Momma?" Rosa whispered, her arms holding her favourite toy rabbit.
Crouching down, you put the girl's face in your hands. "Do you remember Woodbury?" You asked. Rosa had been a little over 1 when you left, but it was unlikely she'd remember. However, the little girl nodded. "Okay. So you remember momma's friend Merle? You know, the man in the pictures?" You whispered.
Rosa nodded again, her brown hair flying everywhere, "I remember Uncle Merle." She whispered back.
You gulped, "Well, this is his brother. Daryl. This is your daddy." You muttered, taking the chance to look up at Daryl's shocked face. You took your daughter's hand in yours and turned to face the man you loved. "This is Rosa Dixon. Your daughter." You stated.
A few gasps of surprise were heard behind you, but you were focused on Daryl. You expected his face to harden, for him to turn away from you. And honestly? So did everybody else. But Daryl cracked a wide grin, "Rosa? That's a beautiful name." He said, crouching down to the little girl's height. "It's nice to meet you, darlin." He whispered.
Rosa smiled, "Daddy?" She asked.
Daryl did the completely unexpected. He scooped the girl up in his big strong arms and span her around. He stopped and looked at you, pressing his forehead to yours. "I've got you back, and now I have a little girl too. I have everything I have ever dreamed of."
You kissed him, you kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Because in a world like this, there might not be. After you pulled away, you took Rosa from Daryl's arms into your own so he could speak to his leader. "Rick? She's not missing any more. We found her. Just like you said we would. Thanks, man. Plus, I've got my own Lil Ass Kicker now too." He said, before making his way back over to you. The love of his life.