Bleeding Souls (Daryl Dixon)

36. Haunting Words

           A few hours after the conversation between Daryl and I, I ended up spending a lot of time with Judith. She can't do anything other than poop, pee and eat and cry, but she here she is. So precious and beautiful. The future.

          Sitting on a bed with Judith in my lap. Not paying attention to the figure in the doorway. "You should be resting." I hear Hershel say to me. I look up and smile at him as I put Judith against my chest. I stand up from my bed and walk over to Hershel. "I'm okay. Plus... with this cutie pie... I forget about the pain." I say to Hershel. Hershel gives me a little chuckle. "She is just precious." Hershel says as he looks at Judith.

          "You know... I worry about Judith and when she gets older." I say to Hershel. Hershel looks into my eyes and gives me a confused look. "One day... someone, maybe me, will tell her what happened to her mother. How she died. I guess I'm just scared she'll hate me for killing her mother." I reveal to Hershel. I look down at Judith and give her a sad smile.

          My head is raised when Hershel brings his hand to my chin and forces me to look at him. "I can't nor will I promise how Judith will react to finding out that story... but I can almost guarantee... she won't hate you. If anything, it will bring you closer together. Because you delivered her. You brought her into this world. Lori wanted that. You didn't kill her mother for no reason. You killed her mother... because her mother asked you to save her baby. The only way to save her baby, was to kill her." Hershel says to me. I let out a sound that sounds like a sob and a chuckle together.

          I look to Hershel's right and see Beth coming up the stairs with a bottle. "I think I'm gonna go keep watch. Let Bethy have Judy for a while." I say to Hershel. I can tell Hershel is a little disappointed in me, because I should be resting, but I think he knows that I'm not that type of person who can sit around and do nothing.

         As Beth comes in front of my cell, I hand her Judith and walk past her and Hershel. I make sure my gun and knife are on my side and I start heading outside. But I stop in my track when I see Carol enter a cell. A cell I knew is the one Daryl is staying. I slowly walk up to it and listen to the conversation.

          "Haven't had a chance to say... I'm glad you came back." Carol says to Daryl. I hear Daryl let out a scoff. "To what? Everyone either hates me or wants to fight with me about Merle." Daryl says to Carol. I hear Carol move around in Daryl's cell. "This is our home. And in homes... people fight and get mad at one another." Carol says to Daryl. I decide I didn't want to hear anymore. I shouldn't be snooping on people's conversations.

          I take a few steps back, before walking outside the cell block and outside to take watch for a while.

          **DARYL'S POV**

           I watch June's figure go past the cell frame. I let out a sigh, which Carol notices. "Give her time." Carol says to me. I look up at her and shake my head. "You weren't there. You didn't hear the things I said to her." I say to Carol. I look down and start messing with my bolt. Carol gets up from the table and sits down on my bed.

          I look over at her and she gives me a small smile. "Did you mean any of it? Whatever it is that you said to her?" Carol asks me. I violently shake my head. "Of course I didn't. I just... I needed her to come back to the prison. She was hurt. I could see that a mile away. If she had came with me... I don't think that would have been smart. Not in her condition." I reveal to Carol.

          "Those words I said to her... it sounds stupid... but they're haunting the hell out of me." I say to Carol. Carol gets off my bed and nods her head. "They'll stop haunting you if you tell her." Carol says to me before walking out. I take a deep breath and close my eyes as I exhale. "How the hell am I going to do that?" I ask myself.