Future Ghosts • TWD

56. Things Linger.

Rosie had fallen asleep right there in Daryl's arms. She was beyond exhausted after the constant walking and all the nights without any sleep, but now that Daryl was there and those men were dead, she could go to sleep again, because she was safe now. After a minute or two of hugging each other like their lives depended on it, Daryl had moved to lean his back up against the car and Rosie had moved with him, not wanting to let go of him. If she let go of him, he could have disappeared from right in front of her. By the time a half hour hit, Rosie was passed out in Daryl's arms, her breathing finally calm. Knowing that Michonne and Carl were in the backseat of the car, Daryl carried Rosie to the car and placed her in the front seat.

Daryl knew Rick was a bit out of it, and someone needed to keep watch, so he stayed up. He moved the Claimers' bodies from the road and into the woods so that neither of the kids would have to see them in the morning. He covered the windows of the car with blankets and sheets that he found in the Claimers' bags. And by the time he was done with all of that, the sun was already starting to rise up above the horizon.

With a bottle of water in his right hand and red rag in his left, Daryl approached Rick, who was still sitting with his back up against the car. His face was stained with blood and his eyes were distant. Daryl poured some of the water onto the rag and held it out to Rick.

"We should save it to drink," Rick said, shaking his head.

"You can't see yourself," Daryl sighed, giving him the wet rag anyway. "They can."

So, Rick accepted the rag. And as he began to wipe the blood off of his face, Daryl sat down on the ground next to him, leaning his own back up against the car, too. He looked at Rick, and Rick kept wiping the blood from his face. "I didn't know what they were," Daryl said, looking down. He couldn't get rid of the guilt that plagued his mind and made him feel sick to his stomach.

"How'd you wind up with them?" Rick asked.

"I was with Beth," Daryl said. A frown seemed to form on his bruised up face. "We got out together. I was with her for a while."

"Is she dead?" Rick asked after a short moment of silence.

It took Daryl a moment to answer. He looked a Rick, shaking his head a little. "She's just gone," he said. Rick took in his words and nodded his head in understanding, although he didn't really understand. "After that, that's when they found me. I mean, I knew they were bad, but..." he trailed off for a moment, "they had a code. It was simple. Stupid, but it was somethin'. It was enough."

"And you were alone," Rick reminded him, his eyebrows raised a little to convey sympathy.

Daryl bit down onto his lip for a moment, shaking his head so slightly that it was barely even noticeable. "Said they were lookin' for some guy, 'cause he took their girl. Thought they were talkin' about a daughter or somethin'. Last night they said they spotted them- the guy and the girl. I was hangin' back. I was gonna leave. But I stayed," Daryl said. He looked at his shoes again, the guilt building up in his stomach more and more with each word that he said. "That's when I saw it was you four. Right when you saw me." The guilt was so bad that it made a lump form in his throat. He felt disgusted with himself. He swallowed hard, trying to bury back that lump in his throat. "I didn't know what they could do... or what they did do," Daryl said, his voice soft and quiet despite the anger and disgust he felt towards both himself and the men he was with. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked down at his shoes again.

Rick looked at him for a moment, and he understood. "It's not on you, Daryl," he said. Daryl didn't look back at him. He wanted to believe it, but he couldn't get rid of the guilt. "Hey," Rick said. This time, Daryl did look at him. Rick raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of understanding. "It's not on you," Rick said again. Daryl looked back at him, but didn't say anything. His eyes drifted towards the ground again. "You being back with us, here, now, that's everything."