BLOOD TIES

SUMMARY: After his whole group is tragically killed, Daryl finds himself alone with the baby. Ten years later, Sophia Carol Lori Dixon starts asking questions about what she had found in the attic of their house. Their somewhat peaceful lives are shattered by the arrival of someone from Daryl's past. Will Daryl lose Sophia for good when she finds out the truth about what happened to her real family?

DISCLAIMER: The Walking Dead characters aren't mine.

PROLOGUE

Daryl aimed his crossbow at the Walker's head and pulled the trigger. The Walker dropped dead and he killed a few more before he was able to move forward. He could hear Walkers growling from a distance.

" Rick!" he shouted and his voice echoed. As he got closer, he soon discovered there was no exit-it was a dead end. As he got closer, he saw a shadow of someone slumped against the back wall. He walked forward and saw that it was Rick Grimes. Rick was surrounded by dead walkers. But that wasn't the bad part. Rick was holding a gun to his own temple.

" Rick!" Daryl shouted and Rick jumped at the sound of Daryl's voice. Daryl grabbed the gun from Rick's hand and knelt down in front of Rick.

" What the hell do you think you're doing?" Daryl demanded, trying to keep his cool. There was no way he was going to lose anyone else. The latest victim had been young Carl-taken by Walkers two days ago. Blood pumped steadily from a wound in his left side. He ripped up some of his shirt and applied pressure to it.

The shirt stained red in seconds.

" What does it look like?" Rick replied, his face expressionless. "Take a look around-there are Walkers everywhere. They just keep coming. I have nothing-or nobody to live for."

" What about the baby? You still have her." Daryl reminded him, anger building.

" You and I both know I never bonded with the baby. Why would I want to? She killed my wife," Rick said and made a sudden move for the gun but Daryl kept it out of reach. Rick was in no shape to move so he put down his crossbow, grabbed Rick's arm and draped it around his shoulders, " I'm going to carry you out-"

Rick shoved him away, " I said leave me alone for God's sake!"

" You are being selfish, you know that?" Daryl shouted at Rick furiously.

" Selfish? There's no one left to care." Rick replied dully.

Daryl didn't move. He could hear the Walkers growling, they were coming closer. The baby gurgled, she was strapped to his back in a makeshift baby carrier Beth had made.

" There's no sense in both of us dying," Rick told him," I can be a distraction for the Walkers while you escape."

" No, that's suicide."

" Daryl, you know there's no other choice-not if you want the baby to survive," Rick said.. Deep down he worried about the baby's safety, but he missed Lori and Carl too much to survive for the baby's sake. He knew Daryl would take care of her-Daryl had basically taken care of the baby since she was born.

The baby started crying then and Daryl looked over his shoulder to see a group of ten Walkers limping towards them.

" Give me the gun and go!" Rick shouted. In a split decision, Daryl him the gun and ran towards the Walkers, killing them as he went. He heard gunshots behind him as he made his escape. There had only been five Walkers left for Rick to kill. Daryl counted three gunshots. He waited for the last two but they never came. He ran back towards the building and headed for the corridor when he heard Rick's agonising scream. Chills went through Daryl as he saw two Walkers eating his friend alive. He raised his crossbow and aimed, killing one, then the other. He stepped over the dead Walkers and stopped in front of Rick.

" I'm sorry Rick," he said to the thing that had been Rick Grimes. The Walker lifted its head and growled at him. The gun was at its feet. Daryl picked it up but knew a gunshot would alert more Walkers. He aimed his crossbow at Rick and for the first time, his hands shook.

Just do it Dixon, that is not your friend. It's the thing that killed him. He reminded himself. He closed his eyes and aimed.