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“Judith asked me if you and Dad were gonna get married.” The words catch Daryl off guard and he nearly drops his crossbow. Slowly, he turns towards Carl, his eyebrows raised, but the kid’s face is unreadable.
“Why?” the archer asks cautiously turning away from the kid, continuing onward.
Carl sniffs, moving ahead of the hunter, and says, “Jude’s six, she doesn’t know any different yet.”
Daryl paces the kid, running a hand through his hair. He hadn’t given marriage much thought before the outbreak, even less so after, and the idea sure as shit hasn’t been brought up between him and Rick. Hell, they haven’t even exchanged ‘I-love-yous’ since the first time in the forest, and they really didn’t need to. They both know how they feel about each other, why put a label on it, but you can’t exactly explain that to a six-year-old.
“She’ll figure it out soon enough,” Carl murmurs kicking at a rock. “We’ve all had to figure it out.” He kicks another rock, and it bounces off a tree and lands in a bush.
“I wouldn’t mind it, if the world hadn’t gone to shit,” Carl comments after a long pause, glancing back at Daryl. He shrugs at the archer’s surprised look. “You and Dad, Maggie and Glenn, Bob and Sasha, you’re the ones keeping our group from losing hope, showing that good things can happen even if the world is falling apart around us.” He rubs at his left eye with his hand, looking forward again.
“We could all die tomorrow,” Daryl points out softly. He’s always been a realist, never putting too much stock in ideals and fantasies, and he knows it has to be said; that their group needs to be reminded every once in a while. He hates that they have to question their own mortality every day, but it’s what keeps them vigilant; helps them live another day.
“We could,” Carl agrees shrugging again. “But there’s always the chance we’ll live.”
Daryl processes that for a moment, the kid reminding him of Beth. They both seemed to have a never ending supply of optimism, and since the outbreak that’s exactly what their group needs. Finally, the archer gives Carl a small smile, clapping him on the shoulder, and says, “Yer right.”
“Of course I am,” Carl answers immediately, smirking over his shoulder. “Y’all just never listen to me.”
“Ye think yer funny,” Daryl teases ruffling the kid’s hair. “C’mon, let’s find this buck before yer daddy sends a search party lookin’ for us.”
So maybe he and Rick will never get married; that isn’t a big deal. During the outbreak they take the good when they can get it, and the fact that Rick’s kids support the idea is enough for Daryl.