Before I Fade Away~ Daryl Dixon Fanfiction

Chapter 5~ Departure

{Sylvie's P.O.V}

      Life around camp has been pretty quiet, except for Ed and Carol's arguing all the time. Our supplies are running low, so there's been talk of sending a group out to Atlanta to scavenge. I can't go with them, parenting duty calls. Merle decided to go, and promised to get Athena her favorite snack; gummy bears. Daryl is also leaving, but not for the run, instead he's going to hunt. 

"Be careful out there, don't worry about the gummy bears if it puts you in danger. Okay?" I speak in a motherly fashion to him. 

"Yes ma'am. Keep little miss Athena safe for me." Merle says. I smile and give him a quick hug, which he tries to linger in but I force him to let go.

"Bye Darylina!" Merle shouts before making his way to the vehicle that leaves for Atlanta. 

      We say our goodbyes and watch the small group depart, then people stray off and do their own thing. Athena is napping in the tent, and Daryl is about to leave soon so I figure I should probably wish him luck.

"Make sure you bring plenty of water, this sun will get you dehydrated, and fast." I tell him, coming across as worried. 

"Don't worry, I ain't gonna die. It's just a hunt." He tries to downplay it, like typical Daryl would.

"Daryl, have you forgotten about the walkers? What they do to people? I have every reason to worry, especially because you're going out there alone." I reason with him. 

"I'll be careful. If anything goes wrong here ye' promise me ye'll get outta here with Thena'. Aight?" He patiently waits for me to agree with him, but I find myself having a hard time doing so. If things go wrong, of course I'll get Athena to a safe place. But I would try to help these people out and fight alongside them before fleeing like a scared dog. 

"I will. I'll tell Athena you said bye, she's sleeping." I tell him.

"Where are you going Daryl?" Athena asks from behind me, nearly causing me to jump out of my skin.

"He's going to get food for everyone... He'll be back baby girl." I tell her softly. She runs up to his legs and hugs them.

"I don't want you to go! Stay with me and mommy, or the monsters might hurt us!" She cries out. 

"I gotta go Thena', I promise I won't be gone long." Daryl tries to convince her. 

That failed miserably.

     Athena starts bawling, so I have to pry her off of Daryl so he can leave. It breaks my heart to hear her cry, and Daryl can't be feeling to great having to walk away from a screaming little girl. I get her back into the tent and hug her tight until she calms down. I then lay down on our bed and I snuggle her back to sleep. 

"Psst! Is everything alright in here?" Amy peeks her head in, she speaks quietly so Athena can sleep.

"Yeah, she just had a little meltdown when Daryl left. She's fine." I assure her. She smiles and leaves us to rest. 

_____________

     I hadn't realized I fell asleep until I hear my tent unzip. I peer at the door, to see who's getting into my tent. 

"Sylvie, get up. We need to talk." Shane hisses. I roll my eyes and carefully slip out of bed. I take him a small distance away from the tent in case this turns into a brawl.

"What do you want?" I ask, annoyed. 

"I want to spend time with my daughter. All you do is let her play with coloring books and hand her off to that redneck asshole." He scoffs. I raise my eyebrows and cross my arms over my chest.

"Excuse me? Have you forgotten who raised her these past four years? And I most certainly do more than color with her, I'm her mother. I bathe her, feed her, teach her, protect her. Must I go on?!" I snap back. 

"Doesn't change the fact that she's gettin' close to a guy who isn't her real father. She needs to know who her dad really is." He says, cockily. 

"You had the chance to be a father plenty of times, and she knows damn well who you are. Wanna know why she bonds with Daryl? Because he hasn't ever betrayed her, he cares about her, he spends time with her and he always puts her needs before his own." I defend Daryl, because since the time I've been their neighbors up until now, him and Merle have been there for her.

"Well I want a second chance, with both of you." He looks me up and down and steps closer. I step back, creating more distance.

"That's not gonna happen. If Athena wants anything to do with you, she'll speak to you on her own. She knows where to find you and what you look like. We're done here." I end the conversation, and storm back to the center of camp. 

"You look like a bird with it's feathers all ruffled, what's going on?" Dale asks, from seemingly out of nowhere. I jump and place a hand to my heart.

"Jeez Dale you scared me. And don't worry about it, I'm fine. Just worried about Merle and Daryl is all." I somewhat fib. Dale smiles and steps closer to me.

"Don't worry, Shane makes me upset and angry too sometimes. For completely different reasons, but that don't change the fact that he's an asshole. Keep your head up, put a smile on for that little girl of yours." Dale pep talks. I smile and thank him, then go to check on Athena. 

    She's still sound asleep, so I quietly slip in next to her and stare off into space. I hope Daryl returns soon, everything feels all wrong with him gone, something about his presence brings me security. 

"Please come back soon..." I whisper up at the sky, maybe mother nature will send him some message through a gust of wind or shooting star or something. 

A/N- Another laid back chapter, but don't worry the action will come soon enough. hope you enjoyed! Thanks for all the reads and votes!