Clover (Daryl Dixon X Male Character)

well, we found sophia :)

A/N: to this day the reveal of Sophia's location haunts me. And Jaxx not only lost her but he's a children's hospital nurse AND hes lost his own child in the past so.. This is gonna be fun for him. We love traumatizing our OC's

As Jaxx asked his question, he noticed Shane as well. Following the crazed mole rat to the front of the farm house where everyone else happened to be, Shane began to talk like a crazed pastor.

"You with me man?" Shane asked T-Dog, in absolute confusion T-Dog gave him a half hearted yes as Shane shoved a shotgun in his hands. "Time to grow the fuck up. You got yours?" Shane asked Daryl, Daryl side eyed him. "Yeah.. Thought we couldn't carry." Daryl questioned, Shane scoffed. "We can today. It's one thing sittin' around here picking daisies with a barn full of walkers behind us. What about you paddy boy you finna protect what's yours?" Shane directed his question at Jaxx, holding Jaxx's gun out to him. Reluctantly taking the weapon, Jaxx put it in his holster.

As Shane passed out guns, Maggie protested. "Can you stop? If my father sees you handing out guns he's gonna kick all of you out!" She said, trying to get the meathead to listen. As Shane tried shoving a gun in Carl's hand, T-Dog broke the conversation. "Oh shit.." He exclaimed, moving Everyones attention to the treeline as Rick, Herschel, and Jimmy emerged with two walkers in steel leashes.

"What. The. FUCK" Shane screamed as he began to sprint towards the three, the group following after. As Shane went on a tangent, Jaxx kept one hand on his holster and the other around Daryl to make sure he didn't fall. The group watched as Shane shot the female walker in the head after shooting her three times in the chest. "Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone!" Shane shouted as he stormed over to the barn. "Enough living next to a barn full of things trying to kill us!" He continued, as Rick pleaded for Shane to stop and for Herschel to take the snare pole in his hand, Shane shot the lock off of the barn door.

"Oh for fucks sake.." Jaxx muttered, drawing his gun and aiming towards the now opened barn doors. In a matter of moments, all Jaxx could hear was rapid gun fire, the snarls of walkers, and the cries of Herschels daughters. And in his own way, Jaxx cried as he shot. All he could see was his mother as he shot at these walkers, the shells of people Herschels family once knew.

And finally, after just emptying his gun, the walkers stopped filing out of the barn door. Jaxx gasped for breath as he realized he had been holding his breath the entire time. But, just as the group lowered their weapons, another walkers shuffled out. A smaller, skinnier walker with blonde hair, and a rainbow T-shirt.

Carol cried as she began to run towards her undead daughter. Catching her just in time, Daryl Heald the crying mother as she fell to the ground. Jaxx made his way past the others, stopping beside Rick. "Rick.. Your gun, please." He asked, his tone bleak as he tears welled in his eyes. Rick gave his gun to Jaxx, a bullet in the chamber already. As the Sophia walker shuffled towards him, Jaxx kneeled to be at her level.

"I'm so sorry, dearest.. I'm to blame for this." He said, a lump in his throat forming to a painful size. As he healed the gun to Sophia's head, he could hear Carol sobbing her name and Carl crying in his mother's arms. He cried himself as he pulled the trigger.

As her body fell, Jaxx caught it and laid her down as if she were asleep. After setting her body down, Jaxx stood, walked back to Rick, and handed him his gun back. A vacant expression on his face that not even Daryl has ever seen covered his face like a dark cloud. As he stood, his thoughts too far in his mind, Beth ran past Jaxx to mourn over her mother's body.

But as Beth kneeled, the zombified woman rose again. In quick succession Rick took a knife to the undead Annete's head, possibly traumatizing Beth even more. Jaxx didn't even move when the group followed after Maggie, Beth, and Herschel. He just stood, eyes on Sophia's body. Daryl wrapped an arm around Jaxx to comfort him, which earned no response from his husband.

"All this time.. She's been in there..." Jaxx said softly, his emotions pooling all at once. Tears welled in his eyes as Daryl pulled him into a tight and comforting hug. "You I'nt know clover..." Daryl mumbled as Jaxx began to sob. First their child, then Sammi, now Sophia. Jaxx's heart could only handle so many deaths of children before it finally broke.

Carol joined Daryl in the hug, the three stood as Jaxx and Carol cried together, and Daryl Heald them in silence.

Later in the day, after the group dug graves for Sophia, Shawn, and Annete, and Heald a short funeral, Jaxx helped T-Dog and Jimmy carry the remaining walker bodies unto the blue truck to dispose of them. "Aye man.. You okay?" T-Dog asked, guessing the answer since it had only been a few hours since Jaxx had put a bullet into Sophia's head.

"You'd think being a nurse in a children's hospital would have been the worst job for someone like me.. The death of a child is just so emotionally crippling. But at least in a hospital they die in a safe space, most of the time with loved ones... Sophia was alone. In danger.. Because I lost her." Jaxx said, tossing a body onto the truck and looking back at the three crosses along the nearby tree line.

"This sounds.. Bad. But I'm relieved that shes gone, she wasn't like Carl. She was too innocent for the world we live in now." T-Dog answered truthfully, Jaxx slammed the door of the truck bed and nodded. "I suppose you're right.." He muttered as T-Dog got in the driver side of the truck and Jimmy hopped in the passenger side.

As T-Dog drove off, Jaxx made his way back to Sophia's grave. Carol sat in front of it, her daughters doll in her hands. "Carol.. I'm so sorry." Jaxx apologized, sitting next to her in the dirt. Without saying a word, Carol gave the doll to Jaxx. "You and Daryl did all you could.." She said quietly, tears welled in her eyes.  

While Jaxx comforted Carol, Daryl made his way back to the creek, to the bushel of Cherokee roses he showed Carol. The petals were wilted already, and the grass around it was dry. He felt guilt in his heart, he gave Carol so much hope. Using his empty thermos, Daryl filled it with water from the creek and watered the roses and grass around them.

After watering the roses, Daryl walked to the opposite side of the farm where he and Jaxx moved their tent so they could be away from others. Sitting on a pile of bricks, Daryl began to sharpen his arrows and think. As he thought about Jaxx, and the decision he had to make that day, he noticed Lori approaching.

"Daryl.. Rick and Glenn went looking for Herschel in that town down the road. I need you to bring them back." She requested, Daryl stopped sharpening to look at her. "Your bitch went window shopping. Get 'em yourself." He answered coldly, in no mood to go on another missing persons hunt.

"If it were Jaxx you'd be gone in a heartbeat." She retorted, Daryl stood and put his arrows back in their quiver on merles bike. "You shut your fuckin' trap about Jaxx! We were out looking for that little girl every single day, I got a bullet and an arrow in me in the process!" Daryl shot back, getting in Lori's face.

Lori backed up, her expression Neutral. "I just want to make sure my husband comes back alive." She said before walking off back to camp, leaving Daryl with that familiar pit of guilt in his chest.

"I fuckin' hate empathy."

A/N: so I bet on losing dogs is in my clover playlist because I think the idea is that betting on losing dogs means that you go into a relationship knowing it'll end badly. And in an apocalypse, where the wisest idea would be to go their separate ways, Jaxx and Daryl push through and bet on losing dogs. They distract themselves with loving words, but they know they won't live out a long and happy life in this chaotic world.