The morning sun warmed your skin as it rose up over the horizon. Bathing the Hilltop in a brightness that touched every corner and every crevice. But the brightness didn't just come from the sun hung high in the blue sky, it came from the people all around you.
Today was the day... After everything and everyone you had lost along the way, today was the day you were to get your freedom back. Your life back... The world back. The war had brought you all here, to this day when it was all coming to an end.
And you were going to win.
A tug on your sleeve pulls you from your thoughts, and your eyes fall to the small hand that clutches a bunch of your shirt in her hand.
"Look mama," Her voice is so soft it almost blows away in the morning breeze. But with a smile, you bend down next to her.
She sits with her legs in the dirt as her hands dig through the grass. Her long brown hair blows across her face as she can never keep it out of her eyes. But swiftly you pull it back and bind it with the rubber band you keep around your wrist.
"It grew." Her smile shines up at you as her head turns to look your way. Her small finger pointing to the tiny violet flower growing in amongst the long grass and tall weeds.
The small flower looked so out of place. Something so small and beautiful mixed in with filthy weeds and unkept vines. But like your daughter who pointed it out, a smile appears on your lips. It looked out of place where it grew, but if you were to find it, today would be the day. A day filled with hope and a small flower growing despite harsh conditions spoke hope to you.
"It's beautiful," You commented softly to your daughter. Her smile still shimmering as she looks back toward the flower. "are you going to pick it?"
Her shoulders shrug with a soft bounce, and you can't help but laugh to yourself as the movement is a spitting image of her father. There was so much about her that was given to her by Daryl Dixon.
Her dark brown tangles.
Her stubbornness.
Her bright shining blue eyes.
Her quiet and shy nature.
Standing upward, resting a hand on your daughter's head as she sits contently in the dirt, you look off into the distance. People bussle back and forth, as today is an important day and everyone has a part to play. But despite all the people around, your eyes land on the one person you are always looking for.
He stands by one of the cars with a small group gathered around him as he goes over a map. Daryl always told you that he was no leader, that he wasn't that kind of man. But what he didn't realize was that people already looked to him like one.
He had been Rick's right hand man for the longest time, but he was slowly becoming his own. He was his own man, and his views and ideas were embraced by the growing communities. He was just as much a leader as Rick or Maggie were. He just chose to lead from the shadows.
"Daddy!" Your hand is bumped off as your young daughter stands to her wobbly feet. And your eyes refocus on the man that makes his way towards you.
Your little one runs the few steps to Daryl, and he picks her up. His powerful arms holding her tightly but gently. It was beautiful to you the way he looked like he could snap the small child in half, yet he handled her with such tender care. He was a broad strong muscled man, yet with her everything about him softened.
"Someone was messin in the dirt 'gain." He comments gruffly as he adjusts her in his arms. His eyes run over her, finding the dirt smudged on every inch of her leggings. But his eyes also ran over her body in search for harm. He did this, you noticed long ago, everytime he was with her. As if double checking and sometimes triple checking that he hadn't missed a bite mark or a scratch somewhere on her skin.
