𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Daryl Dixon

62 | FAMILY WE BUILD

"They said explore. Let's explore."

Rick rested his hands on his hips, stepping aside to let the others out of the front door. They dispersed in groups and pairs, not one of them keen on going off alone in the unfamiliar town.

Tori gave Halley's head a small kiss before handing her over to Maggie, who offered to watch her for a while. Glenn, Tara, and Noah were all going outside the walls with one of Deanna's sons as a trial for making supply runs, so Maggie was looking for something to keep her mind off of the worry for her husband.

"Be good for auntie Maggie, okay?" Tori cooed.

Halley nodding her head as if she understood. She smiled, her little hand reaching for Tori's finger and clinging on. "Tee tee."

Maggie grinned at the small gesture, "I'll bring her back if she gets fussy," she promised.

Tori nodded with a faint smile, fixing a small crease in the back of Halley's top. "Thank you."

"You gonna take a look around today?" Maggie asked.

"Maybe later on."

Tori looked to her left, where Daryl sat in the edge of the porch, his back against the fence posts as he hugged his knees, looking completely lost as he stared at the street, like had just woken up with no clue where he was.

"Got some stuff to work on," she mumbled quietly.

Maggie gave a small smile, a nod of understanding before walking away down the steps where Sasha was waiting for her. Tori watched them go, feeling a pull on her heart as Halley got further and further away.

It was Aaron's words in the barn that constantly played in Tori's head when she looked at Halley. Every time. You look at her like she's yours, and she looks at you the same. She hadn't realised the looks, the subtle ways she protected Halley every day. At first, it had just been about looking after Halley, keeping her safe until they found a better place. It was Tori's way of apologising for not saving Jane from the herd.

That's what it was before, she told herself. But things changed over the weeks on the road. When Halley wasn't in her arms or by her side, Tori felt physically uncomfortable, like something was missing.

Even watching Maggie walk away now, the little girl giggling when Sasha reached over to poke her nose, Tori felt a strain in her chest, a little voice telling her to run over and take her girl back.

"She'll be alright."

Daryl had stared at Tori for a good minute, just seeing her eyes she watched the others wander the streets. He noticed how she picked at her fingernails, her right foot tapping on the decking of the porch. He stayed where he was, just watching from his seat in the corner.

Tori turned to him, a little sudden, as if she'd forgotten he was there. "I know," she nodded, letting out a slow exhale. "I know."

Walking along the porch toward him, her boots tapped on the floorboards softly. "What about you?"

"What about me, what?" he frowned, squinting when he looked up at her, the sun casting its rising glow behind her.

Tori folded her arms across her stomach, closing herself off like she would if they were outside of the walls that circled this town. She caught herself, dropping her arms to her sides in an attempt to relax – or at least appear as such. Daryl was nervous of this place, isolating himself, his thoughts. One of them needed to be open, and on this occasion, that had to be her.

"You wanna take a walk around? See what this place really is?"

Pressing his lips together in thought, Daryl lightly shook his head. "Nah. I'm good."