Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Epilogue (Mr and Mrs)

Two weeks after the end of the war, CJ and Daryl had taken a day away from everything to go on a hunt. CJ had been the one to suggest the trip, and she had something she wanted to talk to Daryl about away from everyone else.

Daryl hadn't mentioned the whole 'getting married after the war' thing, and CJ was becoming worried that maybe he'd changed his mind and wanted to just stay as they were. She'd avoided bringing it up, wondering if he would eventually talk about it.

But after a talk with Rosita, who basically told CJ to grow a pair and ask Daryl herself, she decided to do just in her own, quiet way.

Her and Daryl had taken a break from their hunting trip, and were sitting on a fallen log, looking out to the horizon where the sun was beginning to set. Daryl had one arm around CJ, her head rested on his shoulder as they enjoyed the peacefulness of their surroundings.

CJ was the first to speak, looking up at Daryl with a shy smile. "I got you something," she whispered.

"What is it?" Daryl asked.

She bent down to go through her bag, fishing around until she found what she was looking for. She took a deep breath and smiled as she passed the small bag to Daryl.

He took it and reached inside, finding a small red velvet box. He raised an eyebrow at CJ as he tossed the bag aside and opened the box. He already had an idea of what would be inside, and he could already feel his heart pounding in his chest, both with nerves and excitement.

When he opened the velvet box, he was presented with two rings, one smaller than the other. The bigger one was a plain silver band with one small, white gem in the middle. The smaller of the two was also silver with tiny gems going all the way around it; gems that matched the one in the first ring.

Daryl didn't speak, his eyes stuck to the ring box. CJ was suddenly nervous, wanting to downplay the gesture in case he really had changed his mind about the whole 'marriage' thing.

"It's probably stupid. I saw them in a store when Rosita and I took that run into town a couple days ago," she explained quickly. "I thought they were nice. Thought maybe you had one, I had the other. We'd be matching."

Daryl gave her the side eye and smirked, wanting to laugh at her obvious rambling.

"They're wedding rings... Right?" he questioned, fighting back the urge to hug her right away.

"Pfft, what?! No!" she nervously laughed. "No, they're not wedding rings, Daryl. They're just... you know, rings."

She awkwardly cleared her throat and scratched the back of her neck, looking anywhere but at Daryl.

Daryl bit the inside of his cheek to hold back his smile. He shook his head, and he clicked his tongue with a tut. "A damn shame," he sighed.

"What is?" CJ asked, still not looking at him.

"Just sayin'," Daryl shrugged. "Was kinda hoping they were wedding rings."

CJ's head suddenly whipped around to face him. "What?"

"You heard."

"You really did?"

"Mhmm," Daryl nodded, smiling shyly. "Though, I was kinda hopin' to give you this first. Be all traditional and shit, ya know?"

Daryl reached into his pocket and pulled out another ring box. This box was blue and had a leathery cover. He opened the lid and presented the ring inside proudly.

CJ's eyes widened at the beauty of the jewellery. Two sapphire blue gems sat either side of a slightly larger diamond. She felt herself tearing up at the soft look in Daryl's eyes.