Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Mom!Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Words: 4,495 Warnings: None! Mostly fluff :) Summary: Daryl goes for dinner at Aaron & Eric's to celebrate Holly's last day of the antibiotics he scavenged to get her through her illness. Something seems to be growing between Daryl and Y/N. A/N: This is the 2nd part of a miniseries commissioned by patron @carsonsweebabyturtles! Thank them for their generosity and support of this account, because without them, this fic wouldn't exist! Read Part 1 here first! Before he rounded the corner, Daryl reached a hand up and flattened it harshly over the crown of his head, hoping it would be sufficient to smooth down the cowlick from his pillow. In the other hand he held a tiny but respectable bunch of little yellow flowers that vaguely resembled stars. He adjusted a few of them that had slightly crumpled petals.
His heart was pounding as he climbed the steps up to the front door and lifted a hand to knock. Why was he so nervous? He heard voices inside and then the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching up the hall. He shifted anxiously.
Aaron came into view in the widening doorway. “Daryl!” he said jovially. “Are those for me?” he said, glancing at the small bunch of wildflowers.
Daryl glanced down at them. “Uhh—”
Aaron laughed and stepped back to allow him inside. “I’m kidding... Come in. We’re all in the living room.” Aaron couldn’t help noticing that Daryl had cleaned himself up some, wearing a black cotton button-up that almost looked like it’d been ironed and dark jeans that were absent their usual oil and grease stains. He smiled to himself.
“Thanks,” Daryl said, a little abashedly and hoping his face wasn’t flushing too red. He cleared his throat and crossed the threshold, following Aaron farther into the house.
“We’re so glad you came!” Aaron said.
“Who else is comin’?” he asked nervously.
“Just you,” Eric greeted him, lifting his glass of wine in a friendly gesture.
“Oh—” Daryl said, stopping abruptly. He felt heat rising in his face again.
“Y/N and Holly are here. Was there someone else we were supposed to invite?” Aaron asked. He and Eric exchanged a brief glance.
“What? No. I was just—just askin’,” he said.
“Of course,” Aaron said, smiling. “They’re in here.”
Rounding the corner into the living room, Daryl’s eyes landed on you and Holly tucked on the couch sharing a blanket, a book open on your lap. He felt his face flushing with heat again. Fuck, that was annoying.
You smiled at Daryl as your eyes met, and then Holly’s face truly lit up. She’d spotted the little bunch of flowers in his hands and let out a joyful gasp. “Daryl! Are those for me?!” she asked excitedly. The book was forgotten as she hopped off the couch and ran toward him at the threshold.
“What, these?” he drawled, the corners of his blue eyes crinkling. “Oh—they were gonna be for you but... I wasn’t sure ya’d like ‘em,” he teased.
“But I do like them!” she said insistently.
“I dunno... maybe I should save ‘em for somebody else. I could prob’ly find ya somethin’ better...”
“Nooo!” she whined, reaching her little hands out eagerly. “They’re so pretty! Please, can I have them?”
“Yeah, alrigh’. Since ya said please...” he replied, handing the little bunch to her. She beamed at them and looked up at him one more time before turning and running back to show you.
“Mama! Daryl brought me yellow flowers!”
“I see that, bug,” you said, smiling. The corners of your eyes were crinkled with it. “What do you say?”
Holly suddenly remembered herself and spun on her heel to look at him across the room again with a sheepish grin. “Thank you!”
“Yer welcome,” Daryl replied, his expression soft.
“They look like stars, Mommy!” she said excitedly, holding them up for you to inspect closely.
“They do! They’re lovely,” you agreed with her. “Where’d you even manage to find flowers this time of year? Winter isn’t far off,” you asked him curiously.
He shrugged it off. “Just gotta know where to look.”
“That’s just Daryl. He’s very observant,” Aaron said, a smug look on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the archer pointedly.
“About some things, anyway,” Eric said, shooting a similar look over at Daryl. Daryl quickly ducked his head and hid his face behind his wavy hair for a moment. Eric climbed to his feet. “I have an important question. Who is going to help me make the spaghetti? I’m looking for a little chef to make sure it comes out just right...”
“Mama, can I?” Holly asked, still clutching her little bouquet.
“Of course,” you said, smoothing her hair. “Sounds like a great job for my favorite chef.”
“And I better help you get your special flowers into some water. They look thirsty,” Aaron said, following the two of them out toward the kitchen.
“How can you tell they’re thirsty?” Holly asked, peering down at the bouquet with worry.
“Don’t you see how they’re just a tiny bit droopy?” Aaron asked. “Don’t worry. A cold drink of water will fix them right up.”
The pitter patter of Holly’s feet trailed after Eric and Aaron into the kitchen.
The silence that was left behind after the three departed for dinner prep seemed thick to Daryl, and he wondered if you were feeling it the same way he was. He felt surprisingly nervous and wiped his palms on his jeans as he watched you fold the blanket and set Holly’s book aside before turning back to meet his eyes again.
You seemed to consider him thoughtfully for a moment and he found himself wishing he knew precisely what you were thinking. “It’s good to see you, Daryl,” you said. “I think Holly got used to those hospital visits. She’s been asking where you’ve been.”
He let out a small laugh, deep and a little gravelly. “I came by yesterday?” he pointed out.
You nodded. “Yeah. I know. I don’t think she grasps the concept of ‘yesterday’ yet. It’s either now or it’s been forever,” you joked.
Daryl gave you a tight smile and nodded. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “So, last day of the antibiotics. Tha’s somethin’ to celebrate. She seems really good,” he said.
You nodded, and a warm smile brought even more light into your eyes. “She is. Thanks to you, Aaron, and Denise.”
“Think ya better add yerself to that list,” he said seriously.
You gave him a curious look. “Oh, I—”
“Ya took a chance on us. For her,” he interrupted.
You looked at him for a long moment before you nodded. “If I hadn’t been so desperate, I don’t know if I would have,” you admitted.
“Yeah. But ya did. And it all turned out okay.” Daryl shoved his hands into his back pockets and chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. “‘M just glad we found ya when we did. It was lucky Aaron spotted that little bit of smoke.”
You nodded again. “How’s your arm anyway?” you asked.
“Huh? Oh. Stitches are due to come out. S’good. Healed fine.”
“Do you need help with that?” you asked him, one of your eyebrows lifting in a graceful arch.
Daryl shifted nervously. “Nah, s’okay. I’ll have Denise do it. Ain’t a big deal.”
“Are you sure? We could take care of it right now. Aaron has some scissors and tweezers in the kit in the bathroom...” you offered.
“Nah, s’alrigh’... Ain’t exactly a dinner party activity,” he said with a dry laugh.
“Might be since it’s a dinner party after the fall of civilization. Who makes the rules now anyway? I don’t think there are any,” you said.
He smiled a little and ducked his head, but shook it again. “Nah, s’okay. I’ll just see Denise tomorrow.”
You nodded again. “Has it really been two weeks already?” you asked in disbelief, lightly brushing your hair back from your forehead.
“Guess so.”
“I can’t decide if it feels longer or shorter than that,” you admitted. “It’s been a bit of a blur, but then—when she was sick—” Your eyes drifted over to the kitchen where you could see Aaron and Holly standing in the pantry getting ingredients out.
“Yeah,” Daryl nodded. Even for him at times it felt like endless hours of waiting, waiting to see if Holly would continue to improve and pull through. “How’s yer ankle?”
You laughed dryly. “It’s alright. Denise keeps telling me I need to start doing some exercises to strengthen it back up now that the swelling has mostly gone down. But with a five-year-old I’m not sure when I’m supposed to find the time,” you said with a smile. “But it’s fine. Thanks for asking.” You gave him a small but earnest smile.
Daryl nodded and cleared his throat nervously again. “Is it workin’ out okay, stayin’ here?”
You smiled fondly at Aaron and Eric helping Holly up onto a chair in the kitchen. “I can’t even remember the last time I’ve had so much help. It’s really been—” Daryl thought your eyes grew a little misty. “It’s been perfect,” you finished, meeting his eyes again.
He nodded earnestly. “Good. ‘M glad. I can’t imagine what it must have been like havin’ a little one after—ya know, when things fell apart. And out there...” A thick silence fell again and this time it was heavy. He hadn’t meant to stray into what was probably such dark territory. He cleared his throat abruptly. “Listen, I was wonderin’ if ya both have everythin’ ya need?” he asked.
You looked at him curiously again. “Carol stopped by a couple days ago with some more clothes she found for us,” you said. “And Aaron and Eric have given us pretty much everything else.”
He nodded. “Righ’... but, I mean—uhh—ya know, we left yer place out there in such a hurry and ya didn’t really take anythin’ for yerself. I was thinkin’—maybe we could make a run out there and ya could gather up whatever ya want and bring it back and—” Daryl suddenly realized he was making a big assumption. “I mean, not that yer stayin’ here, in Alexandria, forever. Even if it’s temporary, I just thought—maybe there’re some things back there that—” He was rambling nervously. Shit.
You were looking at him in surprise. “You’re offering to take me?”
He nodded, unable to read your expression entirely. “Yeah. Not that ya need somebody to take ya... And only if ya want to... or Aaron and I could go back. Ya could make us a list. Ya could stay here with Holly.”
You looked toward the kitchen as Holly let out a laugh of delight as she dumped a can of spaghetti sauce into a pot with a messy splat. You smiled and then looked back at Daryl. “It would be nice, actually, to get outside of the walls again. I’ll see if Aaron and Eric can watch her for a day or two. I think they’d all enjoy that,” you said with another smile.
Daryl looked toward the kitchen again at the happy domestic scene. Holly was standing on a chair now at the stove adding some salt to the pasta water. Eric helped her carefully tip it in. On the counter in a little vase were the yellow star-shaped flowers. He nodded. “Yeah, I suspect they won’t mind a bit,” he said. His blue eyes were soft and you felt a growing gratefulness for him and truly for the whole scene. You felt as if you’d been dropped into some kind of old-world life...
“Can I ask you something?” you said suddenly.
“Mhm,” Daryl said, looking back when he heard the sincerity in your voice.
“If you were me, with Holly to think about, would you stay in Alexandria?”
Daryl took a long moment to think, his eyes growing a bit vague. You could nearly see the turning of his mind. You wondered where exactly his mind was drifting off to. But then he sighed and nodded and met your eyes again. “Yeah. I would,” he said. “We had to make that decision too, ya know. For Carl and Judith.”
You still looked slightly unsure. “Even if—even if what I most worry about in this world now isn’t the dead but the living?” you asked. Your voice was low and tinged with some guarded truth.
With a twist in his stomach, Daryl remembered what you’d said when he and Aaron had finally caught up to you when you’d fallen into that pit. “Must be nice to walk around thinking being killed is the worst thing that can happen to you in this world.” He felt a sudden heavy weight pressing on his lungs. It took him a moment before he could respond. “Whether yer out there or in here, tha’s a risk. But here at least ya’ve got people, some people ya can trust, watchin’ out for both of you. I mean—people I trust and can vouch for, if that means anythin’. Out there—yer takin’ all that weight on yer own. Alone.” He paused and sighed heavily before glancing back at the happy scene in the kitchen where Eric was now helping Holly add the pasta to the boiling pot and Aaron was pouring more wine. He ducked his head for a moment and stared down at his boots. “Like I said, I can’t imagine what—what ya must’ve gone through to make sure she was safe and to get ya both through what’s out there.” He dared to look up again and he was unsurprised to see that yours were a bit glassy. You quickly blinked the tears away before they could truly materialize. “And I wouldn’t lie to ya. Like I said, we’ve got kids here too. Judith. Carl. We wouldn’t stay if we didn’t believe it was better here, safer. It ain’t perfect, but for them...” he glanced back at Holly. “S’better.”
You considered him quietly for a moment. “Just for them?” you asked observantly. “Not for you?”
“Depends on the day,” he said, giving you a somewhat wry smile.
You nodded. “Yeah. I get that.” You sighed and straightened up, dispensing with the intensity of that conversation and moving on. “So, when are we going?” you asked.
“Oh—” Daryl was caught off guard. Part of him had truly not expected you to be willing to venture out with him alone. He was predisposed to thinking that people should be cautious of him based on how he looked. And this was all new to you. He was still pretty new to you. He still expected you to be cautious of him, despite what he’d done to help so far. “We—we can go whenever. Tomorrow? The next day? Dun matter.”
“Why not tomorrow then? I did leave some important things out there. It’d be nice to have them back.”
He nodded in agreement. “‘Course.”
Aaron’s voice suddenly interrupted. “Hey! Dinner’s almost ready! Come get your wine and we’ll get settled!”
“Mama! I cooked dinner!” Holly yelled from her place in the kitchen. The oversize apron Aaron had tied on her was splashed with spots of tomato sauce and you laughed as you approached.
“I can see that!” you said, smiling. “Good call on the apron, Aaron,” you said, accepting a glass from him.
“Yeah, I figured with the red sauce...” he said with a jovial laugh.
“Considering we each only have about three shirts each, I appreciate that,” you said, smiling. You fondly stroked Holly’s hair and helped her down from the chair.
“Soon to fix that,” Daryl said, catching your eye again. You gave him a grateful smile.
“Oh, yeah?” Aaron asked, one of his eyebrows lifting with curiosity.
“Yeah, uh—” Daryl cleared his throat a little anxiously, “Y/N and I are gonna head back to the place they were stayin’ tomorrow. Collect some more things they need, stuff they left behind in the rush.”
Aaron’s smile grew and he exchanged a look with Eric briefly before looking back at the two of you and handing Daryl a glass of wine. “I think it’s an excellent idea!”
“I hate to ask you two for anything else—” you started, biting your bottom lip.
“Ask us! Please!” Eric said.
“You wouldn’t mind... watching Holly for a day or two so we can do that, would you?”
Aaron looked at Holly who was observing the conversation carefully and he pulled an overly thoughtful expression. “Hmm... I don’t know... I think Eric and I were planning on playing with a lot of new toys the neighbors just gave us and reading a ton of books and maybe even seeing if Carol will teach us to make some cookies. I don’t think Holly wants to do any of that so it’d probably be better if—”
“Uncle Aaron!” she whined. “I wanna do all those things!”
“Wait, you do? I thought you didn’t like books or cookies!” Aaron said dramatically.
Holly crossed her arms and looked at him, pouting. “You know I like books! And I want cookies!”
“Oh, well... in that case, I think maybe this is perfect timing then!” Aaron announced, grinning. “Holly, why don’t you show our dinner guests to their seats?” he said, a twinkle in his eye.
“Okay!” she bustled toward the kitchen table and pulled out a chair. “Mama, you sit here,” she instructed you seriously. “Uncle Eric is going to sit there, and Uncle Aaron there!”
“Guessin’ I’m here?” Daryl asked, grabbing a free chair at the end of the table. Holly looked immediately upset.
“Nuh uh! You sit there,” she said seriously, pointing to the chair right beside you. “And I sit on Mama’s other side here.”
Daryl eyed the seat beside you. “Alrigh’. If you say so,” he said, moving around to take his seat. “How come I can’t sit at the end of the table? Maybe tha’s where I like to sit,” he drawled, a slightly mischievous spark growing in his blue eyes as he watched your daughter settle into her seat.
She shot him a look and he chuckled. “Because! I’m the chef and that means I’m the boss!” she said, drawing laughter from everyone at the table.
“Obviously, Daryl,” you said, looking over at him beside you, smiling.
“I won’t ask any more questions...” he drawled, managing a shy smile in return.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
You came back into the living room and collapsed on the free end of the couch, sighing. “I think she’s finally down. Only ten books later...”
“Only ten?” Eric laughed from his place, leaned up against Aaron who had his arm draped around Eric’s shoulders. “How many last night? Is this a new record?”
You pushed a hand back through your hair and sighed. “I think last night was fifteen? So, this might be a new record. I’m sure she was worn out mostly from the excitement of having a guest over and serving as chef,” you laughed, shooting a warm look in Daryl’s direction.
He, for his part, felt his face flushing and quickly ducked his head. “She ain’t bad for a pint-sized chef.”
Aaron sighed and glanced at Eric. “What do you think? Bed?” he asked. Eric nodded and finished his last sip of wine.
Daryl made to stand up too as they climbed to their feet but Aaron waved him off. “No, no! The party doesn’t need to break up on our account!” he said urgently, shuffling with Eric toward the doorway hurriedly. “There’s wine to finish after all,” he said, giving you a pointed look and smiling. “Goodnight, you two.” He grinned and waved one last goodnight.
“Night!” Eric said, smiling and following Aaron out into the hall and up to bed.
The silence left behind them settled heavy and thick between you and Daryl. “Was it somethin’ we said?” Daryl drawled. “They both ran outta here all of a sudden,” he commented.
You nodded your agreement. “Mhm,” you hummed. “They know how to make an exit.”
At a loss for something to say and the silence feeling pressing, both of you happened to reach for the wine bottle to refill your glass at the same time and Daryl’s hand landed gently over yours as you grasped the neck of the bottle. Electricity rocketed through his skin like he’d grabbed a stripped wire.
“S-sorry,” he said quickly, withdrawing. He felt his face flushing again. You laughed lightly feeling the apples of your cheeks warming too.
“It’s okay,” you said softly. “Here,” you held the bottle out and Daryl grabbed his glass. A stream of deep crimson poured out and swirled into the bottom.
“Thanks,” he murmured, watching as you topped off your own drink. The empty bottle was discarded on the coffee table.
“I was never really a wine drinker,” he said. “Feels weird to be doin’ it now. Like ‘m—puttin’ on airs with the dead walkin’ around out there.”
“Putting on airs?” you repeated.
He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, me and my brother used to drink shitty beer at dive biker bars, ya know? And now ‘m drinkin’ wine in a house that probably woulda sold for more money than I’d see in four lifetimes,” he drawled.
You nodded slowly. “Yeah... I know what you mean. It does feel a bit—fake sometimes, doesn’t it? Being in here with these shiny granite counter tops. Especially when Mrs. Anderson traps me in a long discussion about begonias.”
Daryl snorted a small exhale of a laugh.
“You have a brother?” you asked.
Daryl nodded but cleared his throat. “Had,” he corrected you. “He died a—a bit before we got here, to Alexandria,” he said.
Your face dropped. “Oh. I—I’m so sorry, Daryl,” you said, and you reached out and touched his arm gently. Daryl stared at your hand on his forearm. “I didn’t know. That’s awful,” you said.
Finally, your hand lifted so he could speak again. “We’ve all lost people,” he said. “To tell ya the truth he was kind of an asshole sometimes...” Daryl drawled. “He wasn’t always the best brother. But he was the only family I had, ya know?”
You nodded sincerely. “Of course. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah... Thanks,” he said. He reached a hand up to scratch at a non-existent itch on the back of his head.
You sighed. “So, we’re set for tomorrow then?” you asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. I am if you are,” he agreed. “Did ya have a chance to tell Holly?”
You nodded. “As I was tucking her in.”
“She do okay with that? Ya said it’s been a long while since ya were away from her for more than a few hours.” Daryl twirled his glass aimlessly in his hands.
“She took it better than I will,” you admitted. “She’s excited to spend time with Uncle Aaron and Uncle Eric.”
“They did promise cookies,” Daryl pointed out, a small twinkle returning to his blue eyes. You smiled.
“They did!”
Another silence fell and the space between the two of you on the couch seemed to shrink. Daryl nervously took a drink just for something to do. The wine was rich and earthy on his tongue with a slightly acerbic aftertaste. “And—yer sure that yer okay comin’ out, uhh, with me?” he asked.
You gave him a questioning look. Your brow drawing down low over your eyes. “What do you mean?”
Daryl shrugged, avoiding your gaze. “S’just ya ain’t known me long. S’only been a couple weeks... I’d understand if ya didn’t feel comfortable, ya know?” He looked up then and your eyes met with his blue ones again. Yours flickered over his face and he felt suddenly as if you could see straight into his core being.
“You mean because we’ll be alone. And because you’re a man,” you said. It wasn’t a question.
He nodded. He hadn’t forgotten your words that day when he and Aaron had found you down in that damn hole pointing a gun up at them. He couldn’t forget them.
“Daryl, you saved my daughter’s life by bringing us here. And again when you went back out, risking yourself, to find more medication, more supplies for her. You got yourself cut up with glass and almost killed. And the mere fact that you’re thinking and worrying about such a thing as me feeling safe around you tells me all I need to know about what kind of man you are. Besides,” you said, pausing to take a thoughtful sip of your wine, running your finger aimlessly around the rim of the glass, “we’re alone right now,” you pointed out.
And something about the way you said that had a lump suddenly materializing in his throat. He gulped at it nervously. “Uhh—I mean, kinda...” he drawled with a nervous laugh. “Aaron and Eric are just upstairs.” His finger tapped nervously against his glass.
You smiled at him and your expression seemed so soft that his heart fluttered a bit in his chest.
“We should... prob’ly get some sleep if we’re headin’ out early tomorrow,” he said suddenly, breaking the spell.
“Yeah. Okay,” you said softly. You voice still seemed laced with something that had goosebumps rising all over his skin.
But despite how heavy his feet suddenly felt, he finished his drink and climbed to his feet. You walked him up the hall to the front door, trailing behind him in softly padding step. He pulled the front door open and turned around to glance back at you one more time. “Thanks for havin’ me,” he said. “They do make some good spaghetti.”
You crossed your arms over yourself as the chill evening air wafted in from outside. “I’m really glad you came. I know Holly was too.” You stared down at your feet for a moment. “You’re kind of her hero... Mine too actually,” you said, glancing up at him while your cheeks flushed again.
Daryl waved you off but you saw that his face also went slightly pink out to his ears. “Nah... I ain’t no hero.” He shifted nervously. “I’ll come by on my bike in the mornin’ and pick ya up, alright?”
You nodded. “See you then.”
His hand was on the doorknob when he glanced back at you one more time. “G’night.”
“Goodnight, Daryl.”
