Bleeding Souls (Daryl Dixon)

22. Slap Jack

          The rest of the winter had been harsh. Thankfully, it was getting warmer outside. Lori was almost due, which caused a lot of stress on everyone, because we still hadn't found a place to settle down. Me, Rick, Carl and Lori were all in a car together, while the rest of the cars, including Daryl on his bike were in front of us. Carl and I were sitting in the backseat, playing 'Slap Jack'. Rick and I would play it when we were younger. Rick was older than me by a few years, so we never got to play it much since he quickly got with Lori and had Carl.

          "Hey aunt June?" I look up at Carl and smile at him. "Yeah, bud?" he looks at me and smiles. "Do you think I'll ever get a girlfriend?" Carl asks me. I look up at him with wide eyes and look up at the front seat and see Rick looking into the mirror and Lori had her head turned a bit towards Carl and I. I turned my eyes back towards Carl and smiled. I didn't want to lie to him, and say yes, because truth is I don't know. "You are way too young to be asking that." I say to him. Though it was true, I'm hoping he'll drop the subject.

          I saw something in his eyes leave him. I don't know what it was, but I saw it. He quickly put a smile on his face and looked up at me. "What about you and Daryl?" Carl asks me. I raise my eyebrows at him and smile. "What about me and Daryl?" I ask him. He chuckles at me and I squint my eyes and smile. "You and Daryl gonna get married and have babies?" I was caught off guard by his question. My mouth hung open and my eyes continued to look wide. He just smiled at me and I could hear Lori and Rick trying to hide their chuckles.

          "Buddy... I don't think Daryl and I are ready for that talk." I tell Carl. The smile never leaves his face and it makes me curious as to why he asked. "Why do you ask?" I ask him. He looks down at the deck of cards. "Just wondering is all." I squint my eyes at him and look back up at Rick and Lori. "Hey dad... think we can stop for a few minutes? I gotta pee." Rick looks in the rear view mirror and nods his head. Rick honks the horn, letting everyone know to stop. Once all the vehicles come to a stop, we all get out and meet in the middle.

          "Anyone gotta take a bathroom break, go now while you can." Rick tells everyone. I watch as almost everyone starts to head off into the woods. The only people left around the group were Rick, Lori, Daryl and myself. I looked at Daryl and smiled. He returned a smile. I watched as Daryl swung his crossbow on his back and looked at me and then to Rick. "Since we're already stopped, might as well go hunting. See if I can find somethin'." Daryl says to Rick. Rick nods his head at Daryl and Daryl looks at me. I smile at him and then turn to Rick and Lori. "I'm gonna go with. Make sure someone is watching his ass." I say. I hear Daryl scoff and we both start to walk away into the woods.

          I know the group probably thinks Daryl and I are doing the dirty when we go hunting, but they couldn't be more wrong. The last time Daryl and I had sex was back at the storage unit. Daryl and I didn't feel safe having sex in the open where walkers could just pop up and attack. So, every time we went out, hunting. It's what we actually did. That and talk. Catch up on things. Constantly being on the road and not being in the same vehicle tends to keep people away from one another.

          Daryl was in front of me, with his crossbow up and ready, looking down at the ground with an intense look. I had my knife and gun at my hip, in case anything happens. We had been out here for at least 30 minutes before we got a few squirrels. "This will have to do. Find a house tonight or something. Get this fired up and get those people fed." Daryl says. I smile at him. I love seeing Daryl be caring. Not just of me or him, but of everyone. He constantly makes fun of Lori and "baby Shane" as he calls the kid, but I know deep down he wants to make sure both the mom and the baby stay healthy and alive.

          We both started back towards the group. It was silent between us, but not the type of silence that was concerning. It was just silent. I looked over at him and he looked over at me. "Can I ask you a question?" I ask him. He nods his head at me and I look down at the ground. "Do you... do you think I would be a good mother?" I ask him. Daryl stops dead in his tracks and looks at me like a deer in headlights. My eyes get wide, knowing what he is probably thinking. I put my hands up and put a smile on my face. "I'm not pregnant. I'm not pregnant, Daryl." I say. I see relief wash over his face. A part of me was a bit hurt though. If I was pregnant would he leave me? Would he hate me and the baby?