𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Daryl Dixon

69 | HER INDOORS

"Daryl! Daryl, get up here, now!"

His footsteps pounded up the stairs so fast, he almost tripped over his own feet when he got to the top. The source of the screams was his bedroom, and he burst into the room, the door handle slamming into the wall behind it, scratching the white paint.

"What-"

"Shh, watch this," Tori cut him off, grinning excitedly as she crouched down on the carpet, about six feet away from where Halley was standing, clinging to the chair. The woman made grabby hands toward the little girl, who was also beaming. "Halley, c'mere. Come on, show us what you did."

Halley looked up at Daryl, who was still trying to catch his breath after thinking something bad had happened. He rested his hand over his heart, convinced he'd been seconds away from having a heart attack when he first heard Tori call out. He watched as the girl let go of the chair, looking down at her own feet as she started to shakily walk across the carpet toward Tori. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth, her face scrunched in focus as she concentrated on each step.

"Oh my God," Daryl smiled proudly, his worry from moments ago forgotten. Halley looked up at him again, and he crouched beside Tori, one hand resting on her back as his other reached out. "Come on, you got it."

His smile reached his shining eyes as he looked between Tori and Halley. These past two months for him had been all about rebuilding, the way they tried to do at the prison before. Rebuilding the walls and burying the loved ones they lost to the herd was just the start. But his own family, this little bubble he'd found himself a part of, was his priority. And he could say proudly, despite all the work there was still to do, he had never been happier than he was on the days where they'd stay in, just the three of them, and forget the rest of the world.

Tori had been better too. Whilst still having some sleepless nights, and some moments of completely zoning out, she was finally getting better at controlling the numbness that came with the bad times. Dark thoughts would creep up on her like ghosts, and where she was used to being too late in breaking free of their grasp, she was finally learning to turn around and rid the ghosts away. Nothing was perfect, and nothing about her was 'cured', but for now, she was okay.

Halley's arms stretched out like someone walking on a tightrope. The steps started slow but became quicker the more she took. Her smile grew the closer she got to the pair, and as soon as she reached them, she fell into Tori's arms. The brunette beamed with pride as she hugged Halley, and Daryl chuckled as he cradled the back of Halley's head, his free hand still resting on Tori's back between her shoulder blades.

"Good girl, Hal!" Tori cheered, kissing the smiley girl's cheek before letting her toddle off across the room. The woman turned to Daryl with a content smile, sighing softly. "I know we're getting ready to go but I just needed you to see that."

"Totally worth the heart attack of hearin' you holler out like that," Daryl chuckled. "I'll take her over to Jake's, if he's definitely alright takin' her?"

Jake had spent the last two months with little energy, as he processed the untimely death of his mother. Deanna Monroe was one of the many lost to the herd, and her two remaining sons were dealing with the loss about as well as they could have done, but in different ways. Spencer kept acting like he was fine. He'd taken many extra watch shifts and tasks around the town just to have something to do.

Jake, however, took a little longer to accept the woman's death. He had little memories of where he really came from; Deanna was the only mother he'd ever known. Her family was the first and only to ever truly make him feel welcome, to feel loved. After two months, he decided he was done wallowing. He wanted to keep his mother's legacy going, to help rebuild Alexandria, and help its people flourish. But more than that, he wanted to be better for the people he still had. And that started by spending a day getting to know his niece.