#uncle daryl dixon

[ddaz3d-and-cc0nfused]

OR another idea: don’t ask me how that happened, but merle has a child (and ofc it’s reader) but since he doesn’t really take care of her - are we surprised? - daryl does and he sees her as her own daughter

(tbh idk how to feel about this one but.. yeah :D)

༉‧₊˚. 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐠𝐞 || 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐱𝐨𝐧

― pairing: daryl dixon & teenage dixon!reader (platonic)

― era: season 1

― summary: merle didn't even want you in the first place, but with the state having been at your neck before the world ended, it looks like your stuck with your bigot father and quiet uncle.

― warnings: shane is a warning within itself, so is merle, mentions of drugs, mentions of prostitution, mentions of heroin usage, mentions of drinking, smoking, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, merle is a dead beat but fuck him anyway we don't care, uncle daryl to the rescue, daryl dixon fluff, angst, arguing, teenage hormones.

― wc: 1618

⋆ a/n: thank you anon so much for both of your requests that you've sent! this is 1/2 so!! and be surer if your ideas next time, because this was a lovely write, and i honestly enjoyed writing it! since they're still related in some way, i tried to make the character the same as them loosely, mostly in personality and such!

masterlist | AO3

It was safe to say you hated everyone; maybe it was grungy teenage hormones, or the fact that you were required by the state to live with your shitty dad and your uncle. Merle knew that you existed, but he never bothered to even try and reach out to your mom or even offer any help, let alone put his name on your birth certificate. You were glad that you didn’t uphold the Dixon name, because for the short three months that you lived with the brothers, they brought you nothing but disappointment. Your dad a loudmouthed, sexist, racist, drug addicted pig; your uncle, a closed off and reserved man that could never seem to think for himself, always following Merle around like a lost puppy.

It was safe to say you haven’t had the easiest childhood, with your mom having been a prostitute, it was easy for her to fall into habits such as alcoholism and drugs. Merle really wasn’t picky with the women he had sex with, and that’s what set you up for failure before you were even born. Your home was a little run-down trailer that your mother couldn’t even be bothered to try and clean up, leaving out heroin needles, beer cans, food wrappers, and the overflowing ash tray on your cluttered coffee table across from the miniature sofa – that was your makeshift bed because she didn’t want to give up the queen size bed. By the time you reached high school you were skipping class and stealing your mother’s cigarettes.

Due to her neglect and the fact that you hadn’t attended school since your freshman year, the corrupt justice system sent you off to your closest relative, and that was your dad. They knew he was no good, having been in and out of many prisons and well acquainted with the cops around town, but it didn’t seem to make a difference, they just wanted you off their hands.

It wasn’t like he greeted you with open arms either, often locking you out of the townhouse all three of you lived in simply because he forgot you existed.

When the world ended, you hadn’t been home in what had seemed like forever, often disappearing to God knows just to forget about the world around you. You hadn’t left your spot at the train tracks just meters away from your townhouse that was separated by a mere tree line, and much to your surprise, Daryl had been the one to come and snatch you up, telling you something along the lines of “Get yer ass up, girl. We gotta go.” You followed begrudgingly of course, rather dying wherever you were at than having to be forced to be near your piece of shit father.

The night that you had all left Atlanta together, you watched as planes flew over your heads, bombing what was left of the city.

Life had been mundane since finding the quarry and being hesitantly taken in by its inhabitants.

You were sitting at the campfire that was dimming, many were already sleeping, and you had no idea if the Dixons were too since both men wanted to set up their tents away from all the others. You really didn’t want to make the walk through the woods, unaware of what might be hiding within the shadows, and you didn’t have the energy to try and kill any of those bastards.

Reaching in your coat pocket, you were frustrated to find that you only had three cigarettes left. Sighing, you took one out and leant forward, lighting it with the dying flames that barely poked out from under the charred wood. You breathed in the fumes, releasing it and allowing your body to relax into the fold out chair.

“You shouldn’ be smokin’ that shit.” You heard a voice sound from behind you. You only rolled your eyes as he took a seat on another folded out chair next to you. You took another hit of the cancerous stick. “Don’t be a prude, Uncle Daryl.” You said with a smirk. As you spoke, you blew the smoke out of your mouth, the clouds causing your voice to sound foggy.

“Ya heard me.” You heard him say before he plucked the thing out from between your fingers and threw it in the pit. “What the fuck?!” You said angrily, “I’m on my last pack. Fucking dick.” You mumbled the last part to yourself, but he heard it. “I’m jus’ tryna look out for ya. No need for ya to be a little asshole.” He bit back at you with narrowed eyes.

“What’s the point in looking out for me now? You sure as shit didn’t when the world was up and moving. No need to try and take care of me just because the dead are walking. Either way, I’m gonna die, either getting the skin ripped off my bones or lung cancer.” You got up as you glared at him. “You don’t owe me shit, Daryl. Just leave me alone.”

Yes, you were being too hard on him, but there was a part of you that was bitter, that felt left behind by the world, like you didn’t deserve to be there in the first place. Little did you know, that’s exactly how Daryl felt too.

You had woken up sweaty, the Georgian heat bleeding through the thin walls of your tent. The area around you was quiet as you got up, walking over to the men’s tent and snatching back the tent flap only to find it empty. You had no idea where your dad or uncle was. You paid no mind to their absence as you wadded through the woods to see that there was barely anyone at the heart of the camp.

“Good afternoon sleepy head.” Carol greeted you sweetly. She was brushing through her little girl’s hair, braiding it between her nimble fingers. If there was one person you couldn’t bring yourself to be rude to despite your distaste for many of those around you, it was Carol. You had recognized that she had already been through enough, with her abusive husband breathing down her and her daughter’s neck.

“You can’t jus’ keep sleepin’,” You Shane piped up. “Ya gotta pull your weight around here just like everyone else.” You huffed. “I just woke up man, get off my dick.” You said crudely, taking the plate of cooked squirrel that Carol had saved just for you. That seemed to piss the ex-cop off because he slapped the plate out of your hand, getting in your face as he glared down at you.

“Listen here, Dixon. Yer the oldest of any of the kids here, you don’t jus’ get a free pass ‘cause yer dad and uncle does the huntin.’” You glared up at him. “First of all, I ain’t no Dixon.” You said with a clenched jaw, a bit of your southern accent spilling out from between your lips. “Secondly, if you mean doing laundry or cooking while the men do the killing and the women do the chores, then no chance in hell.” Your words were laced with venom, the battle for dominance between you and the older man evident as he attempted to stare you down. “Well, I for one don’t care what you think.” He all but growled.

“Seems like agree on something.” You spat.

“Aye!” You heard Daryl yell as he emerged from the woods. “The hell’s goin’ ‘ere?” He questioned; his eyes trained on Shane. “Dealin’ with your niece’s smart mouth that’s what.” You just scoffed. “Oh please. You were acting like a douchebag.” He stepped closer to you, causing you to lean back. “You wanna say that again?”

Before things could take a turn for the worse, you felt Daryl’s hand land on your forearm to tug you away from the man. You let him, despite the overwhelming need to knock Shane silly, your fists twitching at your sides and your irises burned with the flames of a thousand suns.

“I got ‘er. C’mon.” You heard your uncle say softly.

He led you back your camp where he sat you and him down on a rouge log.

“Ya can’t be getting’ into fights with him like that.” He scolded.

“He was treating me like I was some kid he could talk down to! Hell, even knocked my fuckin’ plate out of my hand like an immature asshole!” If there was one thing Daryl was sure of, it was that you were a Dixon, no matter how badly you tried to deny it, you had their hot-headedness and all, even down to his own preference cigarette brand.

“I can make ya some more. I jus’ don’ want ya getting’ hurt ‘cause I don’t trust Shane, not one bit, and I don’ know what he’ll do. Especially if me and Merle ain’ around.”

“It’s not like Merle would try and protect me anyways. If anything, he’d thank that bastard for getting rid of me. I’ve been nothing but a burden to him no matter how hard I try to separate myself away from him, from both you.” You spoke solemnly. Usually, you never spoke like this, but Daryl’s surprisingly soft words melted you like butter.

“You don’ need to separate yerself from me ‘cause yer not a burden, even if Merle can’t see that.”

There was a part of you that wanted to believe him, to find comfort in the callous redneck, and for a moment, you do, allowing yourself to lay your head on his shoulder.

“Merle is a dick, huh?” You ask with a small, watery laugh.

“Mhm.” He hummed, even though you knew it was one of approval.

ೃ⁀➷ my lovely taglist!: @alina02 @louderfortheback @minervadashwood @fandomsarelifee @theendofthe70s @nomajdetective @mgg-theprettiestboy

[yellowfellowmello]

The walking dead 10x15

Why did Daryl’s speech to Judith at the end of this episode make me sob😭 “Nothing can take the place of someone you love being gone. But that doesn’t mean that everything that follows is gonna break your heart” bawling rn

[daryl-dixon-daydreams]

reader pronouns: she/her

"Did ya have a good time with Y/N today?" Daryl asked Judith, absently patting Dog and getting ready to start back toward his apartment.

"Mmmm," she hummed thoughtfully, "yes!" she said, smiling up at him.

Daryl's blue eyes narrowed as he looked down at her. "What's that smile for?" he asked.

Judith only giggled and kept smiling, reaching to pet Dog's ear.

"Nothing!" she said.

Daryl felt a peculiar fluttering sensation in his chest. He watched her closely. "How come yer 'nothin' sounds like 'somethin'?" he asked her, starting forward again.

Judith pursed her lips and Daryl got the feeling she was thinking hard.

"Judith..." he prodded her again, his voice a low growl. "What'd ya get up to today, hmm?"

She turned and smiled widely at him again. "Nothing!"

Daryl sighed and adjusted the strap of his pack on his shoulder.

"We just—we talked a lot," Judith said, kicking at a pebble on the sidewalk and sending it skittering ahead. Dog chased it and gave it an investigative sniff.

Daryl chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah? Girl talk?" he asked, smiling down at her now.

Judith grinned up at him. "Yes!" There was a beat before she spoke again. "We talked about you, Uncle Daryl!"

Daryl frowned. "What d'ya mean ya talked 'bout me? What 'bout me?" he asked, perplexed, his heart beating faster than necessary.

"I told her that you have a crush on her!" Judith said, still smiling up at him.

Daryl felt his face flush with heat. "Ya what? Judith—"

Judith shrugged, her smile faltering just a little at the look on Daryl's face. "Well, you do!"

"Christ—" Daryl squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed a hand over his face. "Judith, why'd ya—?!" He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Because you do! Don't you?" She looked up at him with those big, innocent brown eyes.

Daryl could only sigh again and stare down at the little girl. "You're lucky yer cute."

Prompt: "You're lucky you're cute."

[villifix]

it seemed a lot of people liked the brother-in-law merle headcanons and a couple of people like the idea of uncle merle, so... let's talk about how you and daryl make merle an uncle :)

─•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•──•~❉᯽❉~•─

• you get pregnant not long after the group settles in alexandria

• merle keeps his distance from you while you're pregnant

• your hormones are all over the place, you go from laughing to crying at the drop of a dime, and any time he opens his mouth around you, he's always saying the wrong thing

• daryl has to play mediator so that you don't kill him, even though sometimes daryl considers doing it himself

• like when merle mentioned how big you were getting during your second trimester... *sigh*

• you cried

• daryl snapped

• it was... not a good day

• so he stays away for the most part, asking daryl when he wants to know how you're doing. he occasionally brings you some snacks that he must have stolen from the pantry, but you're always too hungry to care about how he got them

• first time merle actually calls you his sister out loud is after you've given birth and he holds his niece for the first time

• "atta girl, baby sister. you did real good."

• he is BEAMIIIINNGGG

• his eyes are just a little wet because the air is dry, that's all...

• he had wanted a nephew so bad, but the second he sees her, his heart grows three times it's size

• he was convinced that dixons could only make boys, but here he is holding a little dixon girl, daryl's babygirl, and she's the most precious thing he's ever seen

• constant jokes about needing a paternity test

• "i'm just saying, that nose is lookin' more like mine than yours, maybe your girl slipped into the wrong bed one night-" "shut the hell up, merle"

• merle always gives you a little wink to show he's just being an ass and not actually accusing you of such a thing

• which daryl knows. it doesn't annoy him any less, though

• never allowed to babysit EVERRRR. if your daughter isn't with aunt carol or aunt maggie, then she's at the grimes house. merle always has choice words about it

• okay, well... he babysits a couple times. and your daughter was returned back each time covered in dirt. one time merle carries her up to the door with wet pant legs pulled up to her knees and bits of leaves still strewn in her hair

• "oh... you had a fun time with uncle merle, huh?" "damn right she did, mamas. taught 'er how to catch frogs. babydoll, tell yer mama what a frog says!" "bib-bit!" "she's learnin'."

• saying the name merle is too complicated for your daughter's limited articulation, so she just calls him 'unca' while she's learning to talk.

• when your daughter DOES start to articulate...

• "son of a bitch!" "bitch!" "ha! that was good! wait- nah, nah, don't say that- aw, shit..." "shit!" "no!"

• he refuses to own up to it

• "merle! why's my daughter cursin' like a fuckin' sailor?" "well, darleena, sounds to me like she's gettin' it from you!"

• he's the favorite uncle (after aaron - your daughter adores aaron)

• rick's lowkey offended by it and tries to subtly bribe your daughter into saying she likes him more

• "uncle dick!"

• ...

• "... are you kiddin' me?" "don't know where she learned that from. must be a good judge'a character."

little bonus that doesn't have to do with uncle merle: it's really up to you, but i like to think that you and daryl would have agreed to name your daughter beth 🥺 you would have suggested the name, knowing that part of daryl never really healed after her death, and he would freeze. forgets how to breathe for a second as the memories wash over him. and then he would blink really fast as he feels his eyes start to water and he'd give you that soft little nod he does when he's trying not to cry. PLEASE- 😭

[tardisdeancas]

headcanon that Judith pretends not to know how to braid her hair just so that she can ask Daryl to do it for her and spend time with her

[darylssunshine]

daryl being the best uncle <3

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

My heart can’t take it. 😭

[lab-gr0wn-lambs]

Ok do the thousands of Bethyl shippers realize it means they're headcanoning Daryl as a pedophile or

[axelwolf8109]

Daryl is totally the uncle to amass an army of children. Yes he takes care of them and teaches them useful stuff but also teaches them curse words and gets in trouble with the parents 😂

[hopeworth]

season 11 was peak single dad daryl

[404writes]

being raised by daryl dixon: part two

Masterlist!! Get added to my taglist!!

Being raised by Daryl Dixon masterlist!! Being raised by Daryl Dixon taglist!!

A/N: ty for all the love on part one!! mwah mwah!! i rlly wanna put it out there, the strong group bond exists! that just isn't the focus of this story so it does get skipped over a bit. also i apologise for this part covering such a short time span. did also change y/n to be feminine, it's needed for some of my later ideas to make sense, which you begin to see in this part. hope you enjoy!! <333

-S404

Warnings: Just normal TWD stuff! Also kind of a filler part, nothing too serious happens, just a ton of fun Dad Daryl moments!

Word count: 1.3k

After the ordeal at the highway, the group spent months travelling on foot. It was during this time your bond with Daryl really grew stronger. You had learnt not to complain about being hungry, or your legs being tired, but Daryl didn't need you to say it for him to carry you on his back and give you more rations than he could spare.

He spent a lot of time separate from the group, hunting whatever animals remained out there. He realised then, that he was doing this for the whole group because he cared about them, not just because he had to.

After a few weeks of travelling, the group reached a promising small town. Hershel was given the responsibility of watching over you whilst houses were cleared, as Daryl was out hunting. That day you got into an altercation with a walker which ended with a bite taken out of your sneaker.

When Daryl came back and Hershel informed him on the situation that day, everyone fell silent in the next room to hear what he would say. "I don't care if she didn't get bit ol' man. If she ever come back to me with a hair plucked out of her head, or god forbid an actual injury, whilst yer the one caring for 'er, you will never see the light of day again, yer hear me?" As Daryl walked into the room, everyone pretended to have not paid any attention.

Over the next few days, Daryl found you proper hiking boots and began teaching you basic knife skills. You told him you were jealous of Carl, because he could shoot, Daryl promised to teach you how to shoot when there was the leisure time and ammo to spare. He stayed around the group as much as he could until he was confident you wouldn't be found in that situation again if he was gone.

Back on the road, scouting out a grocery store, you found a box of pregnancy tests and gave them to Lori because you read the word "pregnancy" and thought of her instantly. She laughed and said "God I can't wait until we really settle down and get these kids learning again." Shortly after, her and Daryl got into an argument because he thought teaching you how to hunt was more important than teaching you how to read, because "Yer don't need to read 'rabbit' to kill it."

You felt much safer after arriving at the prison. As promised, the second working on the prison's security wasn't mandatory for him, Daryl began taking you outside of the perimeter to teach you how to shoot. You were such a natural that after a week of practise, Daryl could move onto teaching you what he really wanted to, hunting skills.

One day, you and Daryl were tracking a squirrel, and just as you were about to take a shot at it with his crossbow, you stepped on a stick and alerted the creature. As it started to scatter away, Daryl ran after it, eventually pinning it on the floor, letting you take the shot again, he knew how much it meant to you.

You were there to witness Lori's death, and it devastated you. You watched everyone piece themselves back together eventually, but you felt on edge constantly, feeling as though something like that could happen again easily at any given time.

You moved into Daryl's cell to make yourself feel safer. At first you snuck in during the night with your pillow and bear, and slept on the cold concrete floor. You woke up that morning tucked into the bed. The next night when you went to sneak in, you were welcomed by three stacked mattresses on the floor, with pillows and blankets on top ready for you. The two of you never said anything about it, but it became routine.

Daryl took on Judith very well, and you helped him look after her whilst Carl and Rick were grieving Lori. You loved the baby. Daryl left you with her once and came back to you telling her that she was "going to beat the world." He told you that "she'd only be learnin' from the best." That made you smile.

When Maggie and Glenn decided to give each other haircuts in the prison barber's, you begged Maggie to cut your hair like hers. Daryl said no because "you'd regret it, yer love your long hair don't ya'?" But really he just thought you'd look so much older with it cut, he didn't want you to grow up. When you told him it was annoying and got in your face all the time, he offered to braid it for you instead. He didn't know how to braid. He got Carol to teach him soon after the exchange, and prepped himself up heavily for the moment you finally came for him to do it.

You finally felt comfortable in the prison at night, so you started sleeping alone in your cell again, that was until Carl came to you one night asking if he could sleep on the floor, Judith was being too loud in the other cell block where he usually slept.

You and Carl spent the next day moving a second bed into your room, Daryl helped you on the condition you wouldn't tell Rick he was involved. You all ran and hid after dropping the mattress from the balcony which made Rick call out "What in the hell was that?" He walked into the silent cell block, but caught you all after Carl started giggling too loudly, Daryl bolted away from the scene and Rick chased after him. You were sore from laughing afterwards.

Daryl made Carol help him give you the boy talk that he felt was growing necessary. Carol gave you the entire talk whilst Daryl sat next to her occasionally grunting in agreement. The only contribution he made was when Carol stared at him, trying to get him to say something encouraging. He said "If a man... or a woman, up to you. If they ever try pull anything on you that yer don't like, you remind 'em who taught ya how to kill." As you looked at him mildly confused, Carol definitely regretted allowing him to speak.

For your thirteenth birthday, Carl recruited Daryl's help to bake a cake for you. They sneaked into Rick's farm to milk the cow and collect eggs. The milk was an easy grab, but they found there were no eggs at all. Daryl, in frustration, held a chicken at knifepoint, cursing at it to "scare it into layin' something." Carl just stared at him. They ended up surprising you with a chocolate bar instead.

You became aware of a prisoner being held hostage in the prison, no one would tell you what her business was being around in the first place, so you decided to speak to her yourself. Michonne explained Woodbury to you, about the Governer and what he would do if he knew the prison existed. But the information that shocked you the most was of Merle's survival.

You knew that if faced with his brother again, Daryl wouldn't know what to do with himself and he'd end up losing all the progress he'd made in the group. You had to look out for him just as he looked out for you. You had to kill Merle before Daryl even caught a whiff of his living existence.

~ taglist: @unadulterated-syd @darylsgarden @lilfishyyyy

[ophelia-jones]

[daryl-dixon-daydreams]

Uncle!Daryl 😍❤️ mah heart!

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead S11 E10 - New Haunts

gifs by @daryl-dixon-daydreams | follow for more daily Daryl!

[villifix]

I need uncle Merle dealing with a roady teen daughter Dixon 🙏🧍🏾

i was pretty sure anon was asking for a rowdy teen dixon so this is you... kinda being a little shit 🫵🏻🤨

⛧°｡⋆༺♱༻⋆｡°⛧

uncle!merle and teen!reader

⛧°｡⋆༺♱༻⋆｡°⛧

• merle honestly thinks you're hilarious

• man, he could listen to you all day

• he loves that you're not afraid to be yourself even when some of the more tame personalities around you like to give you the side-eye

• you seemed to take after the loud and mischievous parts of your uncle merle, and all of the hotheadedness that daryl used to have

• you know how whenever a fight breaks out, daryl's just like "fuck it we ball"? yeah you take after your dad in that aspect

• when you get into fights, your uncle merle backs you up literally every time, even if you started it

• when you're the one that started it, daryl's trying to reprimand you and merle's just like "that little shit's been askin' for it anyways"

• god it pisses daryl off. he's trying to teach you to be more considerate with your actions so you don't end up in some of the situations he's gotten himself into, and here merle is just acting like you were justified when he doesn't even know the story

• HOWEVER, everything has a limit and when you really start to act reckless or lash out and disrespect daryl, he takes it seriously

• especially if you're disrespecting daryl

• you two would actually get into an argument about it. you don't see what the big deal is, and uncle merle is NOT having it

• you honestly weren't prepared for the way he laid into you

• "you think this is damn funny? you ever seen them scars on your daddy's back? our daddy would have put us six feet in the ground for the shit yer pullin'. he didn't make us dinner, he didn't give us a hug when we were sad, he sure as hell didn't try'n talk to us when we were actin' out. you know what he did? he beat our asses til' we cried and bled. a belt, a switch - shit, he would'a used a whip if he had one. you got a good daddy, girl. he loves the shit outta you. he ain't never raised a hand to you. hell, he ain't hardly even raised his voice at'cha. you better be real grateful for what'chu got and stop actin' like you ain't got no sense. you ain't that damn stupid. now you take your ass in there, give yer daddy a kiss and tell 'im yer sorry 'fore i lose my damn patience."

• talk about being humbled...

• he's definitely not as patient as daryl tries to be with you when your behavior goes too far; he's straight to the point and tells you when you need to cut shit out

• outside of putting yourself in danger or disrespecting your dad though, he really just lets you be yourself. he admires the way you resemble different parts of your family's personalities even if others don't seem them as very admirable. he knows he isn't one to talk about minding manners or playing nice with others and he doesn't care to as long as you're safe and remember to show respect to the people that are looking out for you

[chemicalcindercat]

Guardian Angel II

Read Part One here

Contains spoilers for season 11, episodes 23 and 24.

Weeks later, Judith lay in a hospital bed. She had narrowly avoided bleeding out, and yet she still smiled weakly up at Daryl.

“Whatcha smilin’ at, Jude?” He asked softly, brushing her bangs back. It was a gesture that provided him with more comfort than it did her, reminding him that she was still alive, still breathing. Her heart was still beating.

“Why not smile?” She asked, so soft Daryl almost missed it. Her speech slurred as she talked, but Daryl made sure to catch every word. “‘S gonna be alright. I know I’ll be okay.”

“How are you always so sure?” Daryl whispered. He didn’t want to scare her, or make her think there was any reason she wouldn’t live through this. But he couldn’t understand how she had so much faith all the time. 

He remembered how she had collapsed immediately, her tiny body crumpled by a bullet meant for him. Her body had felt so small and weak as he carried her past the walkers. Even after seven years, it still felt like Beth’s body in his arms, and he struggled to hold himself together. 

He remembered how she had looked through him as if he wasn’t there, her words unintelligible as she barely clung to consciousness. The iv had started to make him feel weak on his feet, and it took all of his strength to pull it out instead of leaving it in; he would’ve given every last goddamned drop of his blood if it would’ve saved her, but if he had died there’d be no one left to protect her.

He remembered how scared she looked when she asked if she was going to die. He couldn’t even say no because, as he had told her in the past, he couldn’t lie to her.

Judith’s smile widened, full of the trust and love that never ceased to amaze him. 

“I know I’m safe,” she assured him, weakly putting her hand on his cheek, the same way she had since she was a baby. “I’ve got my guardian Angel to protect me.”