close to home | chapter seventy
close to home | chapter seventy
plot: the reader asks Daryl for something only he can do
series masterlist
Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader
Word Count: 2,084
Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd, slight description of self harm
A/N: chapter 70 wtf I feel like this is way too long lol
A week later, your life was returning to normal. Your heart was still mourning over what happened, and your dreams were haunted by Beta’s face and Alpha’s voice, but when you were awake, you were okay. Siddiq gave you a stamp of approval on the baby, and with no active pregnancies, Hilltop was sending over their machine for you and Rosita to use during your pregnancies. You’d have to figure out a way to thank Alden. It should be here by the end of the week.
You visited Tora’s grave every morning for the first week you returned. Through all the trouble, you’d forgotten. And though it still stung, you were happy she wouldn’t be around for the trouble that might come. Daryl helped you fix her collar so you could wear it as a bracelet.
Daryl opted not to return to the council on the grounds that he would be too busy. Gabriel tried to get him to stay, but he refused, and you didn’t want to push him. He was still healing, too. And the threat of the Whisperers was still out there.
Your belly was still the same size, but you knew it wouldn’t be long until you popped. By the end of the month, you’d be showing. You and Rosita rooted through all the maternity clothes you could find in the community. You knew you’d be wearing Daryl’s favorite black sweater a lot.
Aaron and Daryl were set to start working on the rooms upstairs within the next few days so they could paint the walls while it was cool enough to keep the windows open. You just hoped the expired paint would be okay. Otherwise, it was discarded wallpaper from the basement storage, and you did not want that. There were two other small rooms that would become storage, but neither of them were gonna finish it unless they had to.
You could not help them because of the pregnancy, so you did what you could. The last bits of crops were ready for harvesting and storing, so you helped.
You were exhausted when you walked into your bedroom that night. You hoped the men would finish the room before you were too pregnant to get everything set up there.
Daryl followed behind you, hands on your waist. You’d all had a very late dinner because of the late harvesting, and Michonne had to carry RJ up.
You sighed as you sat at the edge of the bed. “I think I’m going to sleep all day tomorrow.”
“Ain’ gonna sleep much. Me and Aaron are gonna start the walls in the afternoon.”
You sighed again. “I’ll go sleep on Rosita’s couch.” You heard him snort as you started to change for bed.
Your back was toward Daryl as you did, and just as you were putting your shirt on, his hands wrapped around your lower waist.
“Why ya hidin’ from me? Ya never used to care ‘bout me seein’ ya?”
You closed your eyes and unwrapped his arms from around you before he could touch his stomach. “I’m just changing, silly.” He gave you a look when you turned around that told you he knew you were lying, and you bit your lip. “My stomach… the words…”
“Ya don’ gotta be embarrassed ‘bout them. Ain’ ya fault.” He told you.
“I am embarrassed. It’s disgusting what they did to me. I can’t even look in the mirror.” You pulled down your jeans and sat down, kicking them off your legs.
“Ya ain’ disgustin’.” Daryl knelt before you and put his hands on your thighs. “Ya are so beautiful, (Y/N).”
You chewed on your lip before you leaned forward to kiss him.
It had been weeks since the last time you were intimate with him. You missed it. You missed him. So you grabbed his arms and tugged him. He knew what you wanted and pushed you backward onto the bed.
“I mean it,” He whispered against your lips. “Ya know that?”
You nodded, pushed off his vest, and then worked at the buttons on his shirt. “I know you do. I just don’t see it the same way.”
He grabbed the hem of your shirt, and you grabbed his hand to stop him. “Trust me, baby girl.” Slowly, you let go and decided to trust your husband.
***
Daryl watched you with a careful eye as you handed him his crossbow. The morning held a promise of winter, and as he swung the bow over his shoulder, you zipped up his jacket.
“Don’t stay out there too long, okay? Stay close to home.” You reminded him for the hundredth time.
“‘M just huntin’, be back in a few hours to start on the room.” He reminded you for the hundredth time, too.
You nodded and grabbed him, pulling him down to kiss. “Just be careful.”
Daryl kissed you again before he left toward the gate. With the Whisperers having their territory and the communities having theirs, he wasn’t worried about crossing into their lands. Especially since Alexandria was further out.
But as he approached the gate and heard the thunder, he sighed. Hunting in the rain wasn’t easy because the animals were hiding, and he knew you’d kill him if he went out. So he turned back around and headed toward the house.
With the main harvesting done, the community had to do nothing except prepare for winter. A wood crew was consistently bringing in firewood, but Alexandria would be quiet today with the rain.
As he passed the school, he saw RJ and Judith through the windows.
When Daryl walked through the house, Dog greeted him, and he set his crossbow down on the coffee table. The house was quiet. He wasn’t sure where Michonne was, probably poking around the community, and you were supposed to be caning dry goods for the winter. But the kitchen was empty, and when he went upstairs to your shared bedroom, it was empty, too.
He paused when he heard a thud on the floor above and quickly walked up the second set of stairs. Daryl could hear someone in the bathroom, and he pushed the slightly open door further back.
“(Y/N)...”
Daryl’s mouth parted in shock as he saw the blood on the counter. His eyes traveled to your bloody hands and then up your body. The top half of your body was naked save your bra, but his eyes remained on your stomach.
“What are ya doin?” He nearly yelled, his heart panicking as he stalked toward you. He grabbed your wrist to take the knife, but you pulled away from him.
“Stop,” You said. “Don’t, Daryl.”
“Are ya crazy?” Daryl yelled, trying to get the knife, but you blocked him again.”Ya can’ do this.”
“It’s my body!” You shouted. “It’s my body. And she cut into it like it was hers. I am not going to look at myself every day for the rest of my life and see her warning.”
“I can’ let ya do this, ya know I can’. Give me the knife.” Daryl said.
You shook your head. “Nothing you do will stop this from happening. So you can either sit by my side and be with me through this, or I’ll just do it again when you aren’t here.”
Daryl sighed and looked down at your stomach. You’d already gotten through three words. His stomach turned, and he felt like he would be sick. “The baby.”
“She’s fine. I cleaned the knife, and I’m cleaning the cuts as I go,” You said, “Honey, I need to do this. I don’t care if it’s crazy. And it’s not like I have any other options to cover this up. And I know you’ll breathe easier not seeing it, too.”
“I ain’ gonna breathe easy seein’ ya all cut up like that.”
“I see your back,” You countered. “I see the scars on your back and chest every single day, and it breaks my heart each time. But it’s you, Daryl Dixon. It’s my husband. And even though I’d kill your father if he weren’t already dead, I love them because they are a part of you. Just like I know you love every single scar on me.”
His eyes glanced at your gunshot scar, the stab from years ago, and all the other scars you’d received since he met you. He hated seeing each and every single one, and it made him want to kill everyone who’d ever hurt you. He didn’t care if it was right or wrong. If they’d hurt you, he wanted them dead.
But he did love them. They made you who you were. Each scar was a test of your strength and determination. They were a storybook of everything you survived and fought through. The Governor, Terminus, the Saviors, and now the Whisperers. Each scar made you the strong, independent, capable woman he loved more than life itself.
Finally, Daryl nodded while sighing. “Okay, okay. I ain’ sayin’ ‘m happy ‘bout this, but I get it. But if ya gonna do this, we gonna do this right. Don’ need ya doin’ this by yaself and bleedin’ out.”
Daryl took the knife from you and rinsed off the blood. Then he lifted you onto the bathroom counter and used a towel to wipe up the blood. You weren’t cutting deep, but enough to change the scars. If anything, it showed him how good you were with a knife.
“You don’t have to do this, I can do it myself.”
Daryl chewed on his lip before shaking his head. “I ain’ wanna hear any jokes from ya ‘bout this later on, sayin’ I cut ya up or bullshit.”
You leaned back as you smiled, wincing slightly. “Let’s just get this done, and when this baby is out of me, I’ll let you do one of the poke-and-stick tattoos you did on your hand. Okay?”
Daryl nodded, put his hand on your waist, and then brought the knife to the following letter. “Ya sure?”
“Just do it quick.”
He hesitated for a good thirty seconds before doing what you asked. Each delicate knife swipe was torture for him, and his eyes were rimmed with tears. He couldn’t believe he let you talk him into this.
And he knew it hurt. He was trying to be as gentle as he could, cutting deep enough to change the scar only.
He finished the first line when he set the knife down and started to treat it.
“Thank you,” You whispered. Your face was red from holding your screams, and you felt sick. “Seriously Daryl. Thank you.”
“Ya my wife,” Daryl said as he finished wrapping the first line. “Better or for worse.”
***
Winter embraced Alexandria with a foot of snow a few weeks later. You passed your twenty-week mark and were showing. The bump had grown exceptionally well, and Siddiq checked on the baby once a week.
As soon as you started showing, Daryl seemed to go insane. He wouldn’t let you stand guard at the walls, he wouldn’t let you go outside, he wouldn’t let you help him and Aaron with finishing the bedroom and baby room.
You were getting sick and tired of what you couldn’t do. But you returned the favor. He couldn’t go out alone anymore. He couldn’t go to Hilltop or the Kingdom. He had to stay with you. And he had to stop smoking. You had Michonne burn all the cigarettes you could find. She even helped you look for them all.
The two of you could live with the rules since they kept you both safe, especially for the baby.
The scars on your arms were baby pink lines, and your stomach looked like it’s been swiped with Lucille, but you couldn’t make out the words anymore. You were able to look in the mirror again.
And the best part was that there was no word about the Whisperers. You weren’t sure if it was because it was winter or because you were all sticking to the boundary. All you knew was that they were gone, which helped heal some wounds, too.
***
The street was icy as you carefully walked over it. Two mugs of hot cider were in your glove-covered hands, and you followed the sound of shoveling. Michonne was with you, carrying two others.
The barn had snowed in, and you knew Daryl had been helping Aaron, Laura, and Eugene clear it. Most of the kids were out playing in the snow, so you could hear laughter from all over the community.
You smiled widely when you saw Daryl, even though you saw him an hour ago. You weren’t sure if it was the pregnancy hormones or because you were starting to feel safe again, but you couldn’t get enough of him.
“Gabriel, Laura,” Michonne called out.
You crossed over a particularly icy patch before finally getting to Daryl and Aaron. “Hi, boys.” You smiled.
“Thank you,” Aaron said as he grabbed the mug. “It’s freezing.”
You handed the other one to your husband. “Yeah, I know. Figured you would be cold.” You reached into your coat pocket and pulled out a hat. “And you forgot this, old man.”
Daryl rolled his eyes and tried to duck away, but you managed to put the hat over his head anyway. Then you yanked on the puff balls hanging from either side of the hat.
“Motherin’ already and the baby ain’ even here,” Daryl grumbled.
You smiled at his grumpy attitude and wrapped an arm around his. “You guys are almost done. Anywhere else?”
“No, we got the church steps already,” Aaron said.
You nodded and looked towards where the kids were playing. “Okay, well I’m gonna check on the kids.” You leaned up to give Daryl a kiss—because you knew Aaron would tease him about it—and then left to go see to the children.
Which led to both you and Michonne being ambushed by snowballs.
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