my angel ➶ ➶ daryl dixon

t e n

Aspen's POV:
I slept better that night than I had the entire apocalypse. I think knowing Rick was just a couple yards away calmed my nerves. I'd never felt so at peace. That all changed as soon as breakfast blew around.

"What the hell?! You just left him there?!" I was grabbing a bowl of dry cereal for breakfast when Daryl's shouting made me turn and face him. I was still laughing inside at what Glenn and I did last night, but he didn't looked annoyed, he was pissed.

"Ya left a man up on a roof to die! Chained up like a freakin' animal!" He turned and tried to take a swing at Rick who was holding him back but Dad grabbed him.

"Dude! Your brother was an asshole who threatened this group!" Dad spit back. Rick got in between them.

"Stop! This isn't helping anything!" I watched this all play out and clued into the fact that Merle was chained to a roof and left there by the group in Atlanta. "We're going back to get him anyways." Rick said which received a lot of resistance.

"Rick, no man. Don't go out there to save that sorry piece of shit. He doesn't deserve anyone else dying for him." Dad said to Rick.

"Rick! You cannot risk your life for that... man! You need to stay here and protect the group!" Lori said to her husband as she ran up to him. Carl and me following close behind.

"Daddy! Don't leave again please! You just got here!" This caused Rick to pause. Then I had to put in my two cents.

"Rick, please. You just got here after I thought I lost you, and now you're leaving again. Please don't do this! Merle was nothing but trouble to this group. There's no reason for you to die for him!" Rick looked at me and I saw the hesitation in his eyes, but then they hardened.

"No, we have to go get that man. He was left there by us and it is only fair to go back and save him."

Dad ran up to him. "Rick! Think about what you're doing! You're risking everyone's lives by doing this! Stay and protect the camp!"

"Shane, I'm sorry. I need to bring this man back to camp, and I left some guns while I was trapped in the tank. They would be very helpful to us. We don't kill the living. We kill the dead." And Rick walked off.

T-dog and Glenn ran after Rick. No! Glenn can't go with Rick! I can't lose him too! "Glenn! What are you doing?"

His head snapped around to me and he jogged up to me. "I'm sorry Aspen I need to do this. Rick can't go alone and it doesn't look like anyone else besides Daryl and T-dog are going."

I shook my head. "Please. You can't leave me!" I hugged him around the waist as tightly as I could, trying not to let him go.

"Woah, Aspen. I'm not dying we're just going to go in the same way we came out and then we will pick up Merle and the guns and come right back." He paused and grabbed me by the shoulders, suddenly turning very serious. "Besides, this will give you some more time to think of ideas for you and Daryl's first date."

"Oh shut up." I smiled as I lightly punched him in the shoulder. Then my smile fell. "Just come back safely. That's all I want."

He pulled me in for another hug. "Don't worry. I will." He let me go and gave me one last smile before he ran back to where Rick and T-dog were.

Daryl's POV:
I watched as Rick headed toward the truck with Glenn and T-dog.

I started to follow them. I really didn't want deal with people right now, but I wanted to get my brother back. He isn't a gentleman, but he was still my brother. I don't understand how those idiots could just leave my brother to die on the top of a roof! He's not the nicest guy, but he's not an animal either! What is their problem?

"Daryl! Wait up!" For a second I hoped it was Aspen coming to talk to me but then I realized it was Carol, the older woman whose husband beat on her. I couldn't stand it when he did that. That is one thing I can't handle, when men beat women.

"What do ya want?" I grumbled. I really didn't want to be messed with.

"Oh, sorry. I just wanted to ask you a favor." Oh god. What could it possibly be?

"I don't just do favors for people." I snap.

"Oh, well, I was just hoping that you might be able to catch a few more squirrels or rabbits when you got back. Sophia is a growing girl and she hasn't been eating a lot lately." She said softly.

"I ain't gotta get ya nothin." How dare this woman think I was just some errand boy here to get them food?!

"Oh, okay. Just wanted to ask." She turned to walk away. "Oh, and Daryl? Please don't push Aspen away." My blood turned to stone.

"What do ya mean?"

"I know how you look at her. It's more than just a friendly look. Don't push her away. I know it's early, but don't just brush it off. I can see it, there's a chemistry." Then she really did turn away.

How dare she?! She has no right to get involved in my business! I stomped off toward the truck, Aspen taking over my thoughts.

Did we really have a connection? Was it that obvious that I felt differently about her? How do I feel about her? Ugh!!! This is why I didn't get involved in romance before the world went to hell!

I reached the truck and got in the passenger seat, slamming the door behind me. Whatever, I'm just going to focus on getting my brother.

Aspen's POV:
After the group left to go to get Merle, I hung out with Carl for a while until I just couldn't handle it anymore. I couldn't just sit there and wait for them to get back. I decided to take a walk. Daryl found his way into my thoughts.

I wonder what he's doing right now. Is he worried about his brother? Well, of course he's worried about his brother, but why? His brother is awful.

I was so caught up in my thoughts I didn't see that I was coming up on two people. I stopped just in time before they could see me. I saw it was my dad and Lori. I swear to God, if she is having sex with him I will go up to her and slap her across her face. As I looked longer, I noticed they were not having sex. In fact, it looked like they were arguing. I crouched down and slowly crawled forward, staying out of sight, until I could hear what they were saying.

"You're the one who told me he was dead! You are not a part of this family anymore Shane!" I heard Lori say. It sounded like she was arguing over Shane telling her Rick was dead.

"I have every right to be a part of your family and you know that Lori!" My dad was mad. And I mean mad. He obviously didn't like Rick coming back, but to have Lori go immediately back to Rick tore him up. And my dad doesn't cry over these things. He gets mad and hits people. I started to back away from them. I didn't want to be around when my dad snapped.

I headed back to the lake and sat with Carl and Sophia wondering about Daryl and my dad and Lori. The day seemed to drag by, but finally the sun started to lower in the sky. Andrea walked up to me and pulled me aside.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could distract Amy for me for a little while?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Um, sure? Why do you need me to distract her?" I asked in a questioning tone.

"When we were in Atlanta, I found a mermaid necklace for her and I need time to wrap it. Would you mind keeping her busy until dinner? I want to give it to her when we're all around the fire."

"Sure! I'd love to help!" A smile creeping onto my face. I turned around looking for Amy, suddenly very happy.

If I knew what was to come, I wouldn't have been so excited.