Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

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When Daryl got home, he was miserable. Said something about some guy called Jesus stealing a truck full of food from them and it ended up at the bottom of a lake. Needless to say, he needed a distraction. Obviously it was sex. Days like this are the only time he's ever really rough with me. Which is fine by me, of course. He's clearly not comfortable with it. The fist time he left bruises on me, he wouldn't even touch me for a whole day.

In the middle of the night, while we were sleeping, Glenn burst into our room, saying that Jesus got out. We both dressed quickly and rushed to Ricks house, guns at the ready. Jesus was sitting on the stairs and Carl had his gun aimed at his head. I raised my brow when I saw Rick and Michonne looking flustered. Rick didn't have a shirt on. Even in the darkness I could see their red cheeks. "It's okay." Michonne nodded.

"You said we should talk," Rick said, putting on a shirt. "So let's talk."

~*~

We sat around the table, all eyes on Jesus. "So, how'd you get out?" Rick asked.

"One guard can't cover two exits...or third floor windows. Knots untie and locks get picked. Entropy comes from order, right?" This guy was smart.

"Right." The hand Daryl held his gun in twitched some.

"I checked out your arsenal. I haven't seen anything like that in a long time. You're well equipped, but your provisions are low. Very low for the amount of people you have. 54?"

"More than that." Maggie answered.

"Well, I appreciate the cookie. My compliments to the chef."

"Yeah, she ain't here."

Jesus turned to Daryl. "Look, we got off to a bad start. But we're on the same side-the living side. You and Rick had every reason to leave me out there, but you didn't. I'm from a place that's a lot like this one. Part of my job is searching out other settlements to trade with. I took your truck because my community needs things, and both of you looked like trouble. I was wrong. You're good people. And this is a good place. I think our communities may be in a position to help each other."

"Do you have food?" Glenn asked.

"We've started to raise livestock. We scavenge, we grow. Everything from tomatoes to sorghum."

"Tell is why we should believe you."

"I'll show you. If we take a car, I can take you back home in a day, and you can all see for yourselves who we are and what we have to offer." I furrowed my brow.

"Wait, you're looking for more settlements." Maggie said. "You mean you're already trading with other groups?"

Jesus sat back in his chair and smiled. "Your world is about to get a whole lot bigger."

~*~

Luke was better now. Whatever Denise was doing was working. He sat on the porch with Faith in his arms, smiling when I kissed his cheek, then Faith's. "Be safe, mom." I smiled and we all climbed into the RV.

I slept on the way there, but Daryl woke me up, saying something about a crash. I got out of the RV with my gun in my hand to see Rick pointing his gun at Jesus. "If this is a trick, it won't end well for you."

"My people are in trouble. They don't-we don't have a lot of fighters. I know how it looks, but I'll play it out. Can I borrow a gun?"

Daryl scoffed. "No. We got tracks right here."

We followed them to the building nearby and Rick pounded on the door, aiming his gun. "They gotta be in there." Jesus said when no one answered.

Rick looked back at us. "We moving in or what?" Abraham asked.

"How do we know this ain't firecrackers in a trash can?" Daryl asked, clearly a jab at Jesus.

"You don't."

Rick nodded. "We'll get your people. You're staying here with one of us."

He looked back at Michonne. She shook her head. "That's the deal."

Daryl and Glenn looked at Maggie and I. "Will you stay?" Glenn asked Maggie. She nodded.

I sighed. "Yeah, I'll stay too."

"If you hear me whistle, shoot him." Rick ordered as he cuffed Jesus.

Maggie and I raised our guns. "We will."

They went inside the building, Maggie and I listening intently in case Rick whistled. Thankfully, they came out a few minutes later with Jesus's people. One of them looked really sick.

We climbed into the RV and were back on the road. It was quiet for most of the way, until we got stuck in the mud. Rick tried to get us out, but it didn't work. "A storm must have passed through. We're stuck."

Jesus walked up, looking out the windshield. "Don't worry. We're here." He pat Rick on the back and left the RV.

We followed him, looking at the big wooden walls. "That's us. That's the Hilltop."