Drisson [DarylDixon}

Chapter 24

I was woken up by someone banging on my door. Thank God because they pulled me out of the worst part of my dream. Sighing, I pulled myself up, gently wiping my bruised face. I opened the door to see a frantic Maggie holding Judith.

"Maggie? What's going on?" I jumped when I heard gunfire outside. Maggie passed the baby to me as fast as possible.

"Stay in here! The governor is outside. Keep her safe." With that, she spun around, running out the door. I was too weak to fight, so I shut the door behind me, locking it just in case. I could hear the ricochet of bullets hitting the concrete. Judith was screaming in my arms. I sat down, shushing her and rocking back and forth.

"It's okay, sweetheart; you're okay." I watched as tears streamed down her face and her tongue curled in her mouth. She looked just like Evelyn. I brought my index finger up to her face, tracing from the tip of her nose over her forehead and around her cheeks. This was the only thing that ever calmed my baby, so I prayed it would work for her.

Judith slowly started to settle under my touch. Her face began to relax, and her eyes fluttered shut. I rocked the tiny girl in my arms, letting my mind drift to Eve. I wondered how much she would have grown over these two years. Would she be taller? Would she have been closer to Carl? Would she have bonded with Daryl like I did? I didn't know. I wished that I could go back to that night. I never should have left her. I felt tears stream down my face, noticing the abrupt silence. Suddenly, I heard the group burst through the door.

"Where is she?" I heard Daryl's strained voice, and my body began to shake. I didn't want to see him. I may get comfort from his shirt, but I was not ready to see him standing in front of me. I felt the ground shake as someone ran up the stairs. I stood up and made my way over to the door. I came face-to-face with Rick's back.

"Daryl, no." He had his left hand out against Daryl's chest, and his right instinctively held me behind him. I couldn't look up from Judith's sleeping figure.

"Bird?" My eyes shot up to meet his. He was shaking against Rick's hand. I felt my face curl into a scowl. Grabbing Rick's shoulder, I turned him to look at me. I gently passed Judith to him, turning to go back to my room. I shot Daryl a glare before slamming the door behind me. Fuck him.

The Next Day

We were all standing in the cell block talking about the governor and what to do to take him down. Daryl stood above us on the perch, and I could feel his eyes taking in how I looked, spending extra time on my new face decor. I looked up, shooting him a deadly glare that caused his eyes to shift to Rick.

"We are not leaving." I heard Rick say next to me. Over the past two days, we have become two peas in a pod. His eyes were on me most of the time, making sure I was okay. I was grateful to be able to call him my brother.

"No, better to live like rats." I let out a sigh, rolling my eyes at Merle's voice. He may have saved Rick, but he was still on my bad side.

"You gotta a better idea?" Rick sarcastically said. I let out a small chuckle and looked Merle's way. For some reason, he thought it was funny, sending me a smirk.

"Yeah, we should have slid out here last night and lived to fight another day." We? Who the fuck did he think he was? There was no we. I scoffed loud enough for the rest of the group to hear.

"Got somethin' to say, Rapunzel?" I gritted my teeth at him and let out a grunt.

"Ain't no WE here, dickhead. It's your fucking fault we're in this mess." I held my shoulders back, gripping the knife at my hip.

"Bird." I heard Daryl's voice above me, causing me to glare at him. He motioned toward my knife. I glared at him and shot him a bird. Merle's laugh filled the room. This is the most interaction I've had in days, and I was fuming.

"Let's put him in the other cell block." Maggie motioned toward Merle. Thank God someone agreed with me. She was just as pissed at the situation as I was. The group kept debating back and forth on what to do. Herschel's voice broke out once Rick started to walk away.

"Get back here!" He yelled, causing everyone to freeze. I watched as he used his crutches to make his way over to Rick. "You're slipping. We've all seen it. We understand why. But now is not the time." Rick turned his head toward Herschel, focusing on what he was saying. "You once said this isn't a democracy. Now you have to own up to that. I put my family's life in your hands. So, get your head clear and do something."

I needed some space and turned to head back into the common room. I was waiting by the cell block door across from a smiling Merle. Rolling my eyes at him, I turned back around, waiting for Daryl to come open the door. Why he still had the keys was beyond me. When he reached me, I put nearly five feet of space between us. Daryl followed me through the door, trying to grab my attention.

"Bird?" I didn't even look at him as I made my way back to my room.

"Damn lil brother. She got you on a goddamn leash." Alright, I've had enough. Pulling my knife from my thigh, I swung around, holding it against Merle's throat, watching as he smirked down at me.

"One more word in my direction, and I won't hesitate to gut you." I felt Daryl slide a hand on my shoulder, causing me to tense. Never taking my eyes off of Merle, I yanked my gun from the holster and placed it right under Daryl's chin. I now had both brothers' lives in my hands.

"And you. Don't you dare touch me." I turned my head to look at him. He was shocked by my reaction, but he was quick to drop all emotion, stepping away from me.

"Fine. Be a bitch. I don't give a damn." I felt my heart drop into the pit of my stomach. Ouch. I was angry. He left me when he told me he'd always be right there. I felt my eyes filled with tears as I pulled my knife from Merle's throat, never breaking eye contact with Daryl. I stomped up to my room slamming the door behind me. I felt myself slide down, curling my knees to my chin. I let out a sob, not caring if everyone heard me.