Before I Fade Away~ Daryl Dixon Fanfiction

Chapter 37~ Home is where the heart is

  {Sylvie's P.O.V}

       The cool metal of the end of a pistol placed to the back of my head causes adrenaline to course down my spine. A man with shaggy gray hair holds his gun to Rick's head while the rest of his people hold us at gun point. I close my eyes for a brief moment and just hope... I hope they let us go, I hope I don't have to watch them kill the people I call my family, and I hope I live to see my daughter again.

"Joe wait!" I hear a familiar voice call out. Daryl pops out of the woods with Athena at his side. I gasp at the sight of them and try to get up.

     The man holding me at gun point pistol whips me in the face and then pins me on my stomach with his knee on my back.

"These people... yer' gonna let em' go." Daryl warns, but you could easily sense the nerves in his tone of voice.

"Now why would I do that Daryl?" Joe asks.

"These are good people, you gotta let em' go." Daryl bargains.

"See, I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that. These assholes killed our friend. So that right there, is a lie." Joe says matter-of-factly. It's like his men just knew what to do when he said that, cause the others start to crowd around him and beat on him. Athena screams in fright and starts running over to me but one of the men stops beating Daryl and grabs ahold of her.

"It was me, it was just me. Let them go." Rick pleads with Joe.

"You're right, but we aren't even. See, what's gonna happen is you're gonna watch them beat Daryl to death. Then we'll have the girls, and then the boy. And finally, we'll shoot you. Then we'll be even." Joe tells him. The guy pinning Carl down starts to unbuckle his belt, Michonne and I watch in horror. I can see Rick shaking at the sight of it.
  
    The man pinning me down flips me onto my back and rips my shirt, exposing my chest. I start kicking my legs and attempt to punch him. Then the guy holding Athena places a knife to her throat, which I catch glimpse of and the supermom in me kicks in. I scream and swing my leg up between the guys legs. He doubles over in pain and rolls away. I start scrambling for Athena when Rick head butts Joe and his gun goes off.

    Time seems to stand still for a brief moment. Rick wrestles with Joe and finally, Rick sinks his teeth into Joe's neck, ripping a chunk of flesh from his trachea. Joe falls to the ground, which prompts his men to stand there in shock. Michonne grabs ahold of one man's gun and sends a bullet through his skull. She whips around and shoots the man holding Athena. He topples over and falls on top of Athena. She starts screaming so I run over as fast as I can.

"Baby!" I cry out. I pull the man off of her and pull her into my chest. I just hold her as she shakes and cries.

"Mommy's here..." I whisper and stroke her hair.

     Between Michonne, Rick and Daryl, they killed all of the guys. Michonne holds Carl close to her as he sits there in fear. The poor kid was almost just violated, I want to just give him a hug. I stand up with Athena in my arms, and turn towards Daryl. He rushes over to us and places his hand on my shoulder as he checks to see if we're okay.

"I'm so glad you're back..." I choke up, tears are welling in my eyes as I look at him. I set Athena down after she's calmed down a little and throw my arms around Daryl. He just holds me tight, and lets me cry against him. I don't sob loudly, silent tears stream down my face and onto his shirt. Athena is hugging my legs and burying her face in them.

"I love ye' so much..." Daryl mumbles in my ear.

"I love you too..." I say softly. I press a feather-light kiss against his lips and then place my head on his chest.

"Here, take this." He says, taking off his jacket and putting it around my ripped shirt.

"I shoulda done something... I let em' hurt ye' and they almost kill Thena'..." He says, guilt is written all over his face.

"Hey, look at me. There was nothing you could do. They almost killed you Daryl! There was no way you could've gotten to us. Don't you ever think it's your fault. I love you Daryl." I tell him sternly, holding his face in my hands. I watch the tears well up in his eyes but he blinks them away quickly. I pull him against my chest and just embrace him.

       Later that night, Daryl sits against the truck and stares at the stars. I have a sleeping Athena in my arms as I sit down beside him. I lean my head against his shoulder while craddling my daughter.

"Are you okay?" I ask him quietly. He looks down at me and just shrugs.

"It's okay Daryl, you can tell me." I tell him. He sighs and looks forward in a blank stare.

"I was with Beth and Thena' after the prison... They kept me going, they didn't let me give up lookin' for ye'... And now she's gone, I couldn't get to her in time." He explains sadly.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that... But you kept my daughter alive, and you found me. I'm sure we'll find Beth, we won't give up. You can't lose hope Daryl. We love you, and you aren't alone." I say, using my free hand to grab onto his and press a kiss on the top of his hand.

"I don't know what i'd do without ye'..." He admits.

"Don't think about it, just be happy we're here, alive." I say with a slight smile. He finally cracks somewhat of a smile, but you can tell it was forced. Beth being gone affects him more than he cares to admit.

"Goodnight Daryl..." I sigh, enjoying the feeling of his warm body next to mine.

"Night"

A/N- yayyy Sylvie and Daryl are finally reunited! I tried to make y'all feel something with this, if not its okay. But I hope you enjoyed anyways!