Would It Matter // Rick Grimes

Chapter 63

Four Years Later

I was on the porch with Judith and Emma. They were painting on cardboard that we had. Emma is six years old now and Judith is five. They're growing faster than I'd like.

"Can you tell me about your painting Judith?" I asked, looking at her painting.

"That's our house, that's Aunt Maggie, Daryl. You and Emma." She said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"That's a grumpy face." She said.

"Who's the one with the grumpy face?" Rick asked.

"That's you daddy." Judith said. "Daddy has a big belly." She said.

I was trying to hold in my laugh but couldn't.

"Daddy has a big belly?" Rick said, laughing while walking over.

We were now in a field. I was carrying Emma while Rick was carrying Judith. Birds flew up in the air when they heard us walking. They flew in a formation in one place and we pointed to them and the kids looked at them with fascination. I looked at Rick and pecked his lips.

Daryl's POV:

I was looking for Carol to talk to her about something. I soon found her and I walked up to her.

"Carol, can I talk to you privately?" I asked her.

"Of course Daryl." She said.

I followed her into her house. She closed the front door and turned to me.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" She asked.

"It's about Sydney." I said.

"What about her?" She asked.

"I like her." I confessed.

"Like you love her?" She replied.

"Yeah. I know I shouldn't like her this way but how could I stop my feelings for her. I know she's married to Rick but I can't help but love her." I said.

"How long have you felt this way for her?" She asked.

"Practically since the beginning." I said. "She's always there for me. She's always the person I could turn to and I can talk to her about anything. She knows when I just need someone to listen to me without speaking and without judging me. She was there for me when Merle died. Just like I was there for her when Lori died. She was the one who understood what I was going through and she always knows what to say." I said.

"I can see why you have feelings for her." She said. "The feelings you have are normal Daryl. You traveled with her. You've been around her since the beginning." She said.

"But I also saw her before the walkers showed up. She was helping this guy that got into a motorcycle accident and his head was split open. I watched her work on the guy to keep him alive." I said. "Our eyes met for a few seconds and I wanted to know her then. But I didn't know if she was with someone or not." I said. "I'm not sure if I'll ever tell her how I feel knowing she'll turn me down since she's married. I'll just keep my feelings for her to myself for the rest of my life." I said.

"Daryl, your heart don't care if someone is married or not. Your heart wants her. Like someone told me, the heart wants what it wants. And if your heart wants her, it won't let go of her because it knows that it wants her love and no one else's. Maybe if you tell her how you feel, you could let the feelings go but that may not work because of how long you've liked her." She said.

"I've hid my feelings for her this long, I'll hide them for the rest of my life." I said.

Sydney's POV:

"Here mommy." Emma said, holding out a pink flower.

"Thank you sweetheart." I said, hugging her after getting the flower from her.

"I got one for daddy but he's not here." She said, upset.

"Daddy will be back. He had to go take care of some business he had to do. I know he'd much rather be here with us." I said.

"I know mommy." She said, smiling then went to play with Judith in the grass.

"She's adorable Sydney." Negan said, from his cell.

"Yeah she is." I said, before walking to the garden to take of the plants.