Before I Fade Away~ Daryl Dixon Fanfiction

Chapter 22~ Struggle

{Sylvie's P.O.V}

     I watch the men bust the front door of an abandoned house open. This'll be another temporary stop until we can find a place to call home. The winter was harsh on everyone, and the tension between us is higher now more than ever. Rick and Lori are at odds, now that she's very pregnant and they don't know who the father is. 

     Once the house is cleared out, we go inside and set our stuff on the living room floor. We sit around and don't say much, there isn't a whole lot to talk about it seems. Carl comes and joins us shortly after, with a can of dog food. That's how desperate we are, a child is stooping so low as to eat dog food. 

"Here." Daryl mutters, handing both me and Athena a small portion of owl. I'm so hungry I didn't even stop to think about the fact that I'm eating an owl...

"This is yucky." Athena whines. 

"Jus' eat it. This ain't no damn restaurant." Daryl snarls at her.  She rolls her eyes and quietly nibbles on the meat. He sits beside me and barely acknowledges I exist. 

"Thank you, for the food." I say, looking at him. He just shrugs and shoves bits of owl in his mouth.

       I look across the group at Lori, she looks uncomfortable and her eyes are as dark as night. She must be sick of being pregnant, especially with how much we've been moving around. 

       T-dog looks out the window then whistles, of course to us we all know that means it's time to go. Again. So without further ado, we grab our stuff and load up in the vehicles. I ride in the Honda with Hershel, Glenn, Maggie, Athena and myself. 

     We stop on a lonely road to take a rest and figure out where to go next. I just stand by and listen to the guys discuss our options.

"While the others wash their panties, why don't we go huntin'." Daryl says to Rick. I watch them go, a frown stuck upon my face and a disappointed feeling in my heart. 

      Daryl and I were so close, things were great between us until winter. The constant bickering and hardships we went through just pushed him further and further away.

"Momma I'm hot." Athena sighs, tugging at my jeans.

"Drink some water, here you go." I hand her the last bit of water I have and she guzzles it right up.

________________

        I look this scary looking prison over, it's not much but I guess anything is better than the road. There's walkers all over the field, and in the courtyard. I don't know what Rick and Daryl saw when they found this place. I look at it with distaste, and Daryl notices. He just scoffs at me and clips the fence open. We all file in and run up the gravel path to a gate in which leads to the actual building itself.

     I'll be killing walkers at the fence with Maggie, Beth, Glenn, and Lori. The others split up between guard towers and Rick will shut the gate to the courtyard. Everything goes fairly smoothly, and we are able to clear the field in no time. It feels nice to be inside walls where we seem to be untouchable.

       Later that night, the group makes a little fire and gathers around it. Rick walks around the perimeter, and Daryl stands up on a tipped over bus. 

"Stay here, I'm gonna go see Daryl for a minute." I tell Athena. She nods quietly and averts her gaze at the fire. She's grown up so much; she acts like she's fifteen, even though she's only five. I miss her innocence and constant giggles and smiles. Now she practically wears a frown like it's clothing.

"Hey." I greet Daryl from the ground. He looks down and offers his hand to help me up.

      We both sit there, him looking out at the sky and me looking directly at him.

"I love you, Daryl." I say, barely above a whisper. I almost wonder if he even heard me, but he appears to have. He just lowers his eyes to the ground and sighs.

"I'm so sorry Sylvie." He blurts out, looking at me with puppy dog eyes.

"I've been an ass to ye' lately. Ye' mean so much to me, I can't lose ye'." He rattles off desperately. I smile and shut him up with a kiss.

"A 'love you too' would've sufficed." I grin. 

"Love ye' too." He says, then places a kiss on my forehead. 

"Once we get settled in this place, me and you are gonna sneak out like we're teens again. I'm thinking maybe the guard tower." I flirt with him. He smirks and pulls me close to his body.

"Ye' sure ye' wanna be with a teen version of me?" He teases.

"Of course my darling." I giggle like a little school girl. He suddenly picks me up, and my legs wrap around him. He places kiss after kiss on my lips then sets me down.

"Lets go join the others." He says. I nod and follow him back to the group.

      Once I sit down, Maggie grins at me and scoots closer.

"Are things better now?" She whispers. Daryl and I exchange a look then I turn back to her.

"A lot better." I answer honestly.

       I lay my head down on Daryl's lap, and Athena laying down beside me in my arms. We listen to Beth and Maggie's peaceful duo performance. Their voices are angelic and soft, like a lullaby. Athena is out within minutes, she looks at rest and not so worried. Athena doesn't sleep much any more, so seeing this soothes my nerves. 

"Maybe this place will pan out after all." I comment. Daryl runs his hand over my hair and pads his thumb over my shoulder.

"... And joy be with... You all." Beth finishes.

A/N- This one is a little shorter, but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. I tried having some trouble in paradise for Sylvie and Daryl but clearly that didn't last long. Thanks for all the reads and votes! Comment if ya want.