when it all began || prologue of 'she's a dixon'

chapter 1

april 21, 2004

-daryl's pov-

"all the sadness in the world disappeared.

my baby girl, she's the light of my life. nothin' else matters no more.

my cherokee rose.

reagan cherokee dixon."

september 11, 2017

-reagan's pov-

it has always been dad and i for as long as i can remember. for the 13 years of my life, it's just be me and him. daryl dixon and reagan dixon.

being his little sidekick, i mimicked every move of his. the way he carried himself, the way he talked. his love for bows, the way he cares for others.

no, things weren't perfect. but nothing ever is. we're both human, we're both going to make mistakes. because that's life.

there was never a mom in the picture. but i never craved to have one. dad never failed to fill that empty vail in my life.

honestly i never even knew a difference. sure, i didn't act like other girls during school. i was the so called "tomboy". but there was never any problem with that, that's how dad wanted me to be.

his own personal mini me.

he taught me how to hunt, how to fend for myself, and how to survive in any situation possible. i didn't know it at the time, but he was preparing me for what was to come. somehow he just knew. he knew i would need those essential skills someday.

he's my bestfriend, and i could never ask for a better dad. a better mentor.

"hey dad, do you wanna-" i said running into the living room of the small house that my dad and i lived in. already decked out in my full-camo outfit, i was more than ready to go hunting. first day of deer season, something dad and i always looked forward to.

my sentence was cut off by the sight of uncle merle sitting on the weathered down couch that sat in the middle of our two-bedroom trailer.

it was 5am. the first day of deer season. why the hell is he here?

uncle merle and i never got along. never once.

dad never had to tell me why, i figured it out myself. listening to conversations between the two of them growing up.

merle thought dad should've gave me up.

my mom was a one night stand my dad had. a skank nonetheless.

she came banging on the trailer door at 1am dad said. a cigarette popped in her mouth, holding 2 positive pregnancy tests that came from the dollar store.

"get that shit outta yer mouth!" dad had yelled at her, immediately yanking the cigarette out of her mouth.

"that ain't good for the baby"

merle never failed to share his opinions about me to dad. said he was crazy, going soft for wanting to keep me.

though they had always butt heads, merle always managed to influence dad. mostly into wrong decisions.

they didn't have the best childhood. at some points merle had to raise dad.

and even into their adult years, merle always managed to come around. convince dad to do some sort of shit.

"hey merle" i whispered. almost instantly he rolled his eyes. purely just annoyed by my presence.

"you ready to go huntin dad?" i asked dad. but a frown grew on my face as i saw he wasn't even dressed. still wearing his clothes from the night before.

"no can do princess, your daddy is hanging out with me today" merle said slinging his arm around my dad's shoulder. the happiness of the first day of the season quickly snapped away. merle had pulled his shit again, trying to pull dad away from me,

"i'm sorry baby" dad said clearly feeling bad. you could clearly see the look of defeat on his face. i knew deep down he wanted to go hunting with me. but with merle around, he felt he had no other choice. "it's okay" i whispered.

"hold on just a sec before you go" dad said before walking off to his bedroom. i looked down at the ground avoiding visual contact with merle. he came back holding a 22 revolver.

"take it with ya incase ya run into any snakes. you takin' your bow?" he asked holding out the pistol to me. i took it and put it in my waist band, and nodded.

"okay, be careful. bring me back an 8 point. i love ya" he said. "i love you too" i said with a sad smile, and i went out the front door and made my way towards the woods.