Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You sat there in the car with Aaron feeling nervous and excited, you’d only met Aaron yesterday but you found out that your dad was in Alexandria with him. You couldn’t forget the look on his face when you told him your last name was Grimes, he then told you he knew a Rick Grimes and you couldn’t believe it. After confirming it was definitely your dad, brother and apparently a new baby sister, you felt hope for the first time since this whole thing started. You were sad about your step mother Lori, but you couldn’t wait to meet your baby sister. The last time you saw your dad was in the hospital after he was shot. You had you’re own apartment and when the shit hit the fan you went to find Lori and Carl but they had gone. You couldn’t get into the hospital to see your dad as the outside was over run, there was no chance you could get on your own. This whole time you’d been alone, but you’d had a run in with a bad group a month after it all started. You weren’t that strong at first, you ended up dehydrated and malnourished. A group of 5 men offered to help and as you were dying, you didn’t really have a choice. They held you captive, giving you just enough food to survive. You were tied up and abused for their pleasure. One day after months of torture, you managed to escape, and lets just say they won’t be bothering anyone else.

You were brought out of your thoughts by Aaron announcing you were here and you pulled into a community.
“Alright, I’m going to get your dad, wait here until I tell you to come out!” He grinned as he got out. He was so excited to see your dad’s reaction. Your heart was thumping, what if it wasn’t your dad? It had to be because Carl was there too, but you still couldn’t believe you’d finally found your family. Would they even recognise you? You were wearing shorts and a black tank with combat boots, knives strapped to your thighs and a cross bow slung on your back. You chuckled to yourself knowing that you looked pretty much the same as before, you had a strange style and you never wore dresses. You saw your dad step out of the house followed by a woman with short hair, a man with a crossbow, another woman with a sword and a couple that looked really cute together. Your stomach was in knots, was this really your dad? Could it be true? You could hear Aaron tell your dad there’s someone he needs to see, he turned to you and nodded to tell you to come out.

You took a deep breath and stepped out. Your dad’s face was pure shock, he was convinced you’d be dead, he couldn’t believe his not so little girl was here in front of him. The people with him looked at him confused, not understanding what was happening.
“Daddy?” You asked, your voice was small and sounded almost child like, it didn’t match your appearance at all. The others turned to Rick, they remembered him mentioning a daughter when they were in Atlanta but he avoided it after that as it was too painful.
“Y/n!” Your dad ran up to you and engulfed you in a tight embrace. You started sobbing into his chest and he was crying too. The other people were looking at each other smiling at the reunion. Your dad grabbed you and pushed you away a little, holding onto your shoulders. He was checking it was really you, his face held the biggest smile any of them had ever seen.
“I-I can’t believe your here!” He cried as he hugged you and grabbed your arm, leading you to the bottom of the porch where everyone stood.
“Everyone, this is y/n, my daughter.” He smiled. Everyone greeted you and introduced themselves.
“Hey dad, Judith nee-“ Carl stopped abruptly as he saw you, in pure shock. His eyes were wide and he just stared at you for a moment.
“Holy shit Carl, when did you become a man?” You laughed, noticing how grown up he was. He didn’t say anything but ran down the porch and tackled you into a hug and started crying.
“Don’t be going soft on me now bro!” You joked, laughing through your own happy tears.
“You need to meet Judith!” He said excitedly as he ran back to the house. You turned to your dad who was talking to the others.

“Yeah I hear I have a new sister. Bit old for making babies ain’t you dad?” You nudged him playfully as everyone laughed.
“Hey, I’m only 15 years older than you y/n.” He smirked. Everyone turned to him shocked.
“15?!” Glenn asked surprised.
“Yeah, daddy was only 15 when he knocked my mama up. You can imagine how fun it was when I was 15 with an overprotective dad chasing all the boys away. Didn’t want me to get knocked up too.” You laughed, causing everyone else to laugh. Carl came out with a beautiful little girl and you felt the tears start again.
“Y/n, meet Judith.” Your dad smiled. Carl passed her to you and she smiled up at you.
“She looks just like me when I was a baby.” You said lovingly. You put one hand in the back pocket of your shorts and pulled out a crumpled photo. It was of you around Judiths age with your dad. You passed it to your dad and he nodded and then everyone else was looking at it, commenting how you looked the same.
“Alright, I’m sure y/n would like to get a shower, and then I can make a nice dinner to celebrate!” Carol smiled. You nodded at her appreciatively. You couldn’t remember the last time you had a shower and you suddenly felt self conscious noticing how clean every one was. Well except for Daryl, but he was still cleaner than you and you had to admit the dirt suited him.

You got showered and into some new shorts and a tank, you dried your hair but left it down. You felt so much better and jogged downstairs feeling great for the first time in ages. Everyone was just sitting down for dinner. You sat in between Carl and your dad, opposite Daryl.
“So y/n, tell us a bit more about yourself. How have you survived this long?” Michonne asked as everyone started to eat. You felt all eyes on you and you felt awkward.
“Um… Well when the shit hit the fan I went to see if Lori and Carl were ok but by the time I got there they had gone. Then I went to see my dad at the hospital but the outside was completely over run so I couldn’t get in. I presumed he was dead with the amount of them. Since then I’ve just been on my own.” You didn’t want to mention the group, you knew your dad would flip if he knew.
“You never came across anyone?” Carol asked surprised.
“Here and there but I just avoided them.” You lied with a fake smile. You felt eyes burning into you and looked up to see Daryl. He was looking at you intensely like he could tell you were lying, so you looked down quickly avoiding his gaze.
“Y/n I’m so sorry you’ve been alone.” Your dad said looking guilty.
“Hey, its fine. I’m here now and I’m alive, that’s all that matters.” You hugged him.

Carl accidentally dropped his fork near your foot so you bent down to get it, not knowing your top started to ride up. Your dad gasped behind you and you felt the back of your top being pulled up to reveal more scars. You shot up and slapped his hand away, causing everyone to stare at you.
“What happened y/n?” Your dad asked concerned.
“Nothing.” You said harshly, avoiding everyones gazes.
“It didn’t look like nothing y/n, them scars weren’t there before the apocalypse! “ He yelled, getting annoyed you were lying to him.
“I don’t wanna talk about it.” You snapped, not looking at him.
“Well we’re gonna talk about it!” You felt so angry, how could he deal with it like this in front of everyone, could he not see he was humiliating you.
“Rick, just drop it man.” Daryl pleaded to your dad. You looked at him and your saw empathy in his eyes. He knew how your dad was making you feel right now, he knew too well, and he didn’t like it. “Mind your own business Daryl.” Your dad snapped, causing Daryl to shake his head in disappointment at him.
“You know what dad? You should know as well as me that there’s some fucked up people out there now.” You said bitterly as you pushed away from the table and stormed out of the house. You needed air so you just walked around for a bit and took in your new home.

By the time you got back everyone was in bed, you were supposed to be sharing a room with Carl for now as there wasn’t enough rooms but your dad wanted you in the same house for the moment. You grabbed your pyjamas and went to the bathroom to change. You got into bed and tried to sleep but Carl was snoring, you forgot how loud he was. After tossing and turning you got up agitated with a pillow and blanket, you didn’t want to speak to your dad as you were still annoyed at him, before you knew it your feet took you to the door of the only person who tried to stick up for you at dinner. You knocked gently on the door and you heard shuffling. A very sleepy Daryl answered the door in his boxers and a vest, he was rubbing his eyes and when he saw it was you he looked a little shocked.

“S’wrong? Somethin’ happen?” He asked concerned.
“Cant sleep because of Carl’s snoring.” You sighed. At that moment you heard Carl do an exceptionally loud snore causing you and Daryl to chuckle.
“Could I please stay in here? I don’t wanna see my dad and Michonnes with him so it’s a little weird.” You fluttered your eyelashes at him and gave him a sweet smile jokingly. He shook his head and let out a low laugh.
“C’Mon.” He smiled as he let you in. You threw the pillow on the floor and spread the blanket out.
“What ya doin’?” He asked frowning.
“Sleeping on the floor.” You replied looking at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Nah ya ain’t. Get in the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.” He said pushing you to the bed.
“No Daryl! It’s your room, I ain’t gonna take your bed too.” You protested as you resisted him.
“Damn it woman, ya ain’t sleepin’ on the damn floor!” He glared at you.
“Well I ain’t sleeping on the damn bed either.” You smirked, crossing your arms. He couldn’t help but chuckle at your stubbornness.
“We can share the bed?” You suggested. His eyes went wide at the idea.
“What about ya dad?” He said shocked. It wasn’t that he hated the idea, the thought of sharing a bed with you appealed to him. He thought you were beautiful and intriguing since he first lay his eyes on you earlier. But he didn’t even want to know what Ricks reaction would be if he walked in and found you in bed together.
“I’m 27 Daryl! We are both adults and besides we aren’t even doing anything. My dad can just deal with it.” You huffed. He stood there biting the inside of his cheek, thinking it over. Then he got in bed and scooted over to make room. You smiled at him and jumped on the bed, wriggling around to get comfy.
“Ya better not snore.” Daryl smirked, you just chuckled and you both fell asleep.

The next morning you woke up, you went to move but felt something holding you down. You looked and saw Daryls arm curled around your waist. You blushed at the thought of being pressed against him so close. You knew he would be embarrassed if he knew that you’d seen him cuddling you, so when you heard him stir, you closed your eyes and pretended to be asleep. He suddenly retracted his arm, and you felt him sit up. He was looking at you, making sure you were still asleep. He couldn’t deny that it felt nice, holding you, feeling you against him. But he didn’t know how you’d react to it, so he had to pretend it didn’t happen. Not to mention you were his best friends daughter, he felt like he was betraying Rick somehow just by thinking about you in that way. He got off the bed with his clothes and went to the bathroom to get dressed, then left the house to start the day. You just lay there in bed for a little while remembering how nice it felt to be held by Daryl.

Chapter Text

When you got up and dressed you went into the room you shared with Carl, you wanted to go hunting and needed your weapons which you left there. You started to feel a little cooped up being inside after being outdoors for so long. You searched the room and couldn’t find them anywhere, just as you gave up, Carl walked in.
“Hey bud, you seen my weapons?” You asked smiling at him. He looked away not wanting to tell you but you could see he was hiding something.
“Carl?” You asked, your tone slightly annoyed. He sighed and looked at you.
“Dad took them, said he wanted you to stay inside the gates.” He admitted. You saw red and ran downstairs looking for your dad, you looked out of the window and saw him at the bottom of the watch tower talking to Daryl and Abe. You stormed out the house and stalked up to them.

“Oh shit, someone’s in trouble.” Abe smirked as he saw you, causing the other two to look your way.
“Give me my weapons dad.” You seethed. Daryl looked at your dad confused and your dad just sighed.
“I don’t want you leaving Alexandria.” You dad said sternly.
“You can’t keep me prisoner dad. I’m an adult! I’m going out there with or without my stuff, so the choice is yours if you want to send me out there unarmed.” You snapped glaring at him. You were a prisoner for too long with the other group and the thought of not being allowed out the gate was making you panic. You could see Abe and Daryl staring at you both.
“Look y/n, its for your own good.” Your dad said firmly as he turned back around to the men.
“For my own good? We’ll see if your still saying that when I’ve been torn apart by walkers.” You spat as you started walking towards the gate. You could hear your dad shouting you but you needed to get out. Your breathing was ragged and you could feel the panic rising inside your chest.
“Rick man, this ain’t the way the deal with it.” Daryl said shaking his head. Rick looked up at him and wiped his hand over his face.
“I know, I just don’t know what to do. She won’t tell me what happened to her, but I just want to keep her safe. I’ve only just got her back, I can’t lose her again.” He sighed. Daryl patted his shoulder as an attempt of some type of reassurance.
“I’m goin’ huntin’.” Daryl said as he walked away. He needed to know you were ok and the fact you didn’t have a weapon unnerved him.

You went into the woods and just walked around for a bit. You ended up bludgeoning a few walkers to death with a huge rock you found. You sat down against a tree and put your head in your hands whilst you cried. You hated that those assholes could still bother you, but you couldn’t help it. Not being able to have your weapons, not being able to leave, it just brought it all back. It was a completely different situation and circumstances but the feeling of being trapped was the same.
Daryl was tracking you when he came across the walkers you took down with your make shift weapon.
“Damn, girls resourceful.” He chuckled to himself as he continued to follow your tracks. He was silent and stealthy, which is why he was an excellent Hunter, but it also meant that you didn’t hear him. He stood there for a moment behind a tree watching you. Your knees were pulled to your chest and your head lay on them whilst you sobbed. He didn’t know what you went through but it was clear to the observant Hunter that it was plaguing you. He felt angry at the thought of someone hurting you and making you feel this way. He made his way towards you, this time making noise purposefully so he didn’t startle you and look like a creep. Your head snapped up to see Daryl walking towards you and you rolled your eyes as you quickly wiped away your tears.

“My dad make you come here?” You asked with a glare. He set his crossbow down and sat next to you, his knees pulled up and his elbows resting on them.
“Nah, was out huntin’, followed some tracks.” He shrugged.
“And you just happened to find me?” You asked incredulously. He turned to look at you.
“Didn’t say what I was trackin’” He smirked. You shook your head and nudged him playfully. There was something about Daryl that made you feel at ease and the fact he came to check on you without being asked was nice.
“He’s just lookin’ out for ya, ya know.” He explained as he glanced at you.
“I know. It’s just…I was a prisoner for long enough with the other assholes, I can’t deal with it here.” You sighed.
“What happened?… Ya ain’t have to tell me if ya don’t wanna.”
“And you won’t tell my dad?” You asked confused. You wanted to tell someone, you needed to get it out. But you couldn’t tell your dad, not yet, but you trusted Daryl.
“Ain’t my place to tell him. Ya’ll tell him yerself when ya ready.” He said as he shifted to face you a bit. You looked at him and he gave you a little crooked smile. You nibbled your bottom lip a little, gaining composure to finally tell someone what you went through. You took a deep breath before you started.

“I was alone and I wasn’t the badass I am now. I didn’t know shit and about a month into it I ended up really dehydrated and malnourished. I was really unwell, probably would have died, but this group found me. I didn’t really have a choice, I was too weak…and naive, I thought they were gonna help me…” You felt the lump in your throat, just reliving everything word by word. Daryl could see it was hurting and he hesitantly took your hands in his, as if he was expecting you to smack them away. When you didn’t pull them away he started to rub small circles in your palms, as if to help ground you in the present as you finished your story. His touch sent waves of electricity through your body.
“There was 5 guys, a few were pretty big guys. I passed out on the way to their camp, and when I woke up I was….I was naked and tied up. My hands were bound together with rope and I was….I was in some kind of fucking cage.” You seethed as you remembered your waking moments. You saw Daryl tense, knowing he was probably imagining it and living it with you. He bit his lip and gave your hands a reassuring squeeze.
“They fed me a little, barely anything. They would have starved me but the said they liked it when I struggled and they fed me enough to give me some energy. They….they all took turns, every day. Touching me, hitting me….raping me. One of the guys was really sick, he liked to cut me with his knife when he was doing it.” Your voice was shaking as you tried not to cry. Daryl removed one of his hands and balled it into a fist so tight his nails dug into his palm. He was trying to ignore his rage the best he could, he wanted to be there for you.
“How long?” He asked quietly with his jaw clenched.
“About 8 or 9 months, I lost count.” You sighed. You looked up and he was looking directly at you. He was still rubbing soothing circles on your palm.
“How d’ya get out?” His voice was low, you could practically feel the rage in it.
“I…. it doesn’t matter.” You clammed up. You went to pull your hand away and stand up but Daryl grabbed your wrist and pulled you back down, this time on your knees and that close to him you were almost on his lap.
“Ya don’t gotta do that. Not with me.” He said sincerely as his hand slid down to your hand again.
“You won’t look at me the same.” You explained as you looked away, your lip quivering. His other hand grabbed your jaw and turned you to look at him, but his hand stayed there.
“Ya listen to me, whatever ya did, those pricks deserved it. I ain’t gon’ look at ya any different. All I’m gon’ see is a woman who did what she had to do to survive. Ya ain’t gotta tell me if ya don’t want, but I ain’t gon’ judge ya none.” His earnest words forced the tears you were holding to fall down your cheeks.

“I..um…I chewed through the rope, it took fucking forever, I almost gave up. And then one night the stupid assholes got drunk, one of them opened the cage, the one who likes to use his knife, but he was wasted and I managed to get the knife and I….I slit his throat. There was so much fucking blood, just squirting everywhere, all over me…in my fucking mouth. I could taste it.” You cried, reliving the horror. Daryl rubbed your cheek with the hand that was still on your face.
“Hey, s’alright. Yer safe here, with me.” He soothed, bringing you back to reality, making you look at him.
“They were all wasted, passed out. So I um…I killed them all, slit their throats and watched as their light went out. And I was happy, fucking happy I killed them. I’m a monster.” You sobbed avoiding looking at him.
“Ya not a monster y/n. They’re the monsters. They got what was comin’ to ‘em. They abused ya, tortured ya, for fuckin’ months. Hell if they were still alive I’d hunt ‘em down myself and kill ‘em and it’d be a lot slower and more painful than what ya give ‘em.” He admitted, you could hear his anger that he was trying so hard to keep under wraps. He wiped your tears with his thumb and then stood up, offering you his hand to help you up. You stood up and took him by surprise by wrapping your arms around his waist, pressing your cheek to his chest. He tensed for a moment but then slowly wrapped his arms around you.

“Thank you.” You said quietly.
“Ain’t do nothin’” He sighed.
“You did, it means alot that you let me tell you, you didn’t judge me. I’ve been needing to get it off my chest and I can’t tell my dad, he wouldn’t let me out my room, let alone Alexandria. There’s something about you Daryl, you…you make me feel…safe.” You admitted. His head lay on yours and he stroked your hair as he tightened his grip around you. You didn’t realise how much those words meant to him. He was so used to people judging him, being intimidated by him, that the fact you felt safe around him and would trust him this much meant alot to him. You both stood like that enjoying the embrace for a few more minutes before you moved your head to look at him.
“Your a good man Daryl Dixon.” You smiled up at him. You saw him blush slightly and he gave you his beautiful small half smile. You were both just staring at each other, like in the movie’s where you can tell people are going to kiss. Your heart started beating rapidly and you could see his gaze wandering from your eyes to your lips. But he suddenly cleared his throat and stepped backwards.

“We should…um…get back.” He said as he picked up his crossbow. You just nodded, feeling confused about what just happened. Daryl was having a war inside his mind, he was feeling things for you, things he’s never felt. He wanted to kiss you, hold you, touch you. But you were his best friends daughter, he felt like he was betraying Rick by having these thoughts about you. You both walked back to Alexandria in silence.