Kill First, Feel Last ; Daryl Dixon

twenty six:: return

  I wonder if the old residents abandoned their homes willingly and at least kept their lives. I'll never know, the flushing out of the undesirables that lived here was before my time.   Perhaps years back this avenue was bathed in pools of yellow light from the weather battered street lamps. Their paint no doubt was smooth, the sable paint quite interrupted by the chunks of grey undercoat that grow ever more closely clustered like some unwanted bacterial growth. The concrete of the lane is cracked and sun-bleached, the houses on each side were once gaily painted, but now peel, crackle and flake. Every home was a unique, bespoke structure. It's unusual for a city not to have every home in the row identical in architecture and colour scheme. But here some have pitched roofs, some flat, some are two story and others three. What they all have in common is the flora that is reasserting itself. I imagine that when the people first went it was the grasses that grew most, long and wavy like a field of wheat. Now it is the trees and the ivy that rule this disheveled landscape. In another hundred years this will simply be woodland with the rubble of a road passing through.

We walked through the Alexandrian walls, hoping to see the faces of the ones we love- only a few people scattered around the streets, those faces of the ones that chose not to accompany us to safety. Dad was overwhelmed with relief once he saw the face of Simon- his best friend and very few savior men. My heart stopped once I came to the realization that Daryl and the remainder of the group wasn't here. Rick turned to look at me, sympathy written clear as day in his eyes as he placed his hand on my shoulder. 
"They'll be here, Kaylie. I know they will." 

I nodded my head slightly, continuing to walk forward before Rick halted me to a stop. "wait.." He said. Once I turned around to face him, he gestured me to the place he called his home. 
I knew exactly where he was getting at and I knew that it had to be done. I nodded my head slightly before following him into his home.
"It needs to be done." He sighed, sympathetically. 
"I need to be sure." I nodded slightly. 
He handed me a box, telling me to go into the bathroom and take the test then and there. I took a deep breath and followed the instructions by allowing my urine to set for 5 minutes. 

To say that my anxiety was high would be a complete understatement. I waited and waited, it seemed to be the longest five minutes of my life. Suddenly, a loud rumble echoed through the walls and almost instantly I knew what it was. I placed the test on the sink beside the toilet, ignoring whatever the result was, because I didn't even look. I sprinted down the stairs and out past Rick who wore a large smile on his face. 
"I told you so." he smirked. 
I flipped him off jokingly with my middle finger before walking out the front door. 

Daryl stepped from the shadows, stealing my breath and the heat from my skin. Suddenly my defenses were just paper, paper that was being soaked by the rapidly falling briny drops. Before I could draw in the air my body needed, I had melted into his form. I could feel his firm torso and the heart that beats within. His hands were folded around my back, drawing me in closer. I could feel my body shake, crying for the missed time we would never make back, crying to release the tension of those 2 long weeks. He pulled his head back and wiped the tears with a calloused finger, even though his roughness brings more relief than my heart could hold. He was eating me with his eyes, running his hand through my hair as if he can't quite believe I'm not part of an almost forgotten dream. Then he kissed me. It was sweet, and gentle- it tasted of my tears. I wanted to speak but all I could do was croak, "Don't go, not again." His mouth paints a small, soft smile and he nods once before folding me in his arms once again. 

"You're bleeding." He stated as my head rested on his shoulder. 
"Dried blood." I mumbled, raising my head to face him. "He's dead. Azikio." 
"Good." He smiled, kissing me lightly. "I missed you. I can't believe you're here."
I sighed, running my hand on the stubble that grew on his face. "I told you I'd be fine, didn't I."

A smile crept onto his lips, nodding his head lightly. I pulled his head in, pressing his lips onto mine more passionately then before. "Yes." I said.

His head rose to look at mine for a moment, like he had no idea what I meant. Then It hit him and a smile rose bigger then ever. He reached into his pocket pulling out the same ring he proposed with before and slid it onto my finger. "There. Now you're a Dixon." 
"I love you, Daryl Dixon." I smiled, admiring the ring that now sat on my finger. 
"I love ye' too..." He smiled. "Kaylie Dixon." 

He pressed his lips onto mine before I pulled away to come face to face with Michonne, Carl, Sasha, Rosita, Maggie and baby Beth. 
"Oh my gosh." I mumbled before embracing Maggie into a tight hug and kissing her precious child on her forehead. I embraced  the rest of the group, wiping my tears of joy as we all rekindled. 

"A Dixon now?" Michonne smirked, gaining the attention of my father. 
"What?" He questioned. "I thought we talked about this!" He joked as he took my hand, looking at the ring. He turned his attention to Daryl, sending him a friendly nod, which Daryl returned. 

"Kaylie..." Rick yelled, gesturing for me to go over to him. I excused myself from the group and walked over to him with a questionable look on my face. He reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a white stick. He handed it to me, sympathy written on his face. "Congratulations." He smiled lightly as I stared at the pink, positive sign that shown on the stick. 

"Shit." I mumbled as I turned to look at Daryl. Daryl's eyes met mine, and a smile crept onto his face. I returned it only for it to fade once I turned back to Rick. 
"What do I do?" 

"You need to tell Daryl, Kaylie." He wrapped his arms around me in a friendly manner. "You're his wife."