Alpha’s First Daughter
Summary: You had been on your own for years after escaping the Whisperers. Until you run into a hunter in the woods who's searching for his brother.
OR
The Walking Dead rewrite from Season 9 to Season 11 with you, Y/N, as Daryl Dixon's eventual love interest.
Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader
Word Count: 3.8k
Warnings: language,
Chapter 25-
Arriving back home to Alexandria was depressing.
Sure, you had food and supplies for everyone which was fantastic, but so many had died to get those supplies and watching everyone reunite with their loved ones made you realise just how alone you actually were.
Negan was gone too. Maggie said that he had left and that was it. He didn't even say goodbye to you, nothing.
Daryl hadn't said a word to you since you and Maggie killed the Reapers... minus Leah who he let walk away. Daryl was pissed at you which was fine because you were still upset with him about the whole Leah thing anyway.
While everyone was hugging their family and friends, you slipped away and found a quiet spot behind the nearest building and collapsed to the ground beside it. The stab wound on your stomach was still hurting as you rested your hand over the stitches and let out a heavy sigh, leaning your head back against the wall.
You were alone.
The only person you had left was angry at you... you literally had no one. No Negan, no Lydia, no Ace, no one.
Tears started to burn in the back of your eyes, but you refused to let them fall. Why were you crying? It wasn't like you weren't used to being alone. You've been alone for most your life, it was fine. You were fine, you kept telling yourself. You had to be.
You buried your face into your hands and just sat there, listening to everyone laugh and chat in the background before a voice you thought you'd never hear again filled the air.
"No welcome back hug?"
Your head shot up so fast that you nearly gave yourself whiplash before your eyes landed on Paul Rovia standing a few metres away with a bright smile.
He was alive. Holy shit, he was alive.
You sat there and stared at him with wide eyes before tears started to blur your vision. You wanted to get up and hug him, you wanted to ask him how he was alive, but you couldn't get yourself to even move as you sat there in utter shock.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay. Y/N, don't cry. it's okay." Jesus hurriedly reassured, rushing over and dropping to his knees beside you.
That just made you cry even harder as you buried your face with your hands again and sobbed. All your pent-up emotion now flooding through, and you couldn't stop it.
"It's been rough for her." You heard Aaron say softly in the background as a way of an explanation before Jesus suddenly wrapped his arms around your shoulders and pulled you into his chest.
"It's okay. I got you. It's okay." He said, holding you tightly before he glanced up at Aaron and whispered, "where's Daryl?"
"They, uh, they aren't on the best of terms right now."
"Shit." Jesus swore softly under his breath, his hand rubbing soothing circles over your back as he held you. "It's okay, you're okay. Everything is okay."
You weren't sure how long you were crying for, but by the time you pulled away from him, his shirt was wet from your tears and Aaron had now disappeared, leaving just the two of you sitting against the building.
"I'm sorry." You whispered, wiping the tears from your eyes as you looked over at your best friend, still unable to believe that he was real. "How-how are you here?"
"Don't ever apologise for something like this, okay?" He replied, looking at you seriously. "And Connie and I managed to escape. It's a long story and I am way too sober to tell it."
You snorted softly despite the tears in your eyes as Jesus looked down at your blood-stained shirt. "What happened to you though?"
"Also, too sober to talk about that."
Jesus chuckled, but nodded in understanding, "how about you and I take a trip to the infirmary. We get your wound properly looked at and then I think Aaron has some moonshine laying around somewhere and we can swap stories, how does that sound?"
"I'd like that."
Jesus smiled before standing up and holding his hand out to you like a gentleman which you happily took as he helped you to your feet before the two of you made your way across Alexandria.
"Hey! Got something coming!" Jerry's voice urgently shouted from the watch platform.
You and Jesus stopped in your tracks as you looked over towards the gate in confusion. Maggie and Daryl quickly climbed the ladder up to the platform where Jerry was standing and instantly raised their weapons at whoever was on the other side.
Shit, this wasn't good.
"Get ready!" Daryl shouted over his shoulder.
You pulled your handgun from your holster, Jesus doing the same with his sword and you smiled softly realising that Aaron had given it back to him. The two of you made your way towards the gate with the others, your weapons up and ready.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait. We're all friends. We're all friends. They're here to help." Eugene's voice said from the other side of the gate.
You glanced over at Jesus who met your gaze with equal amounts of confusion.
-
Eugene, Ezekiel and Yumiko had managed to find this new community, The Commonwealth, and they were here to help.
All of Alexandria sat while Eugene explained everything. The Commonwealths soldiers stood off to the side wearing white and black armour and wielding some serious fire power. These people clearly had resources and Eugene seemed to trust them enough to bring them to Alexandria.
Lance Hornsby, the diplomatic representative of The Commonwealth spoke to you all. Offering food and supplies to help you guys rebuild before suggesting another offer which was to join him and The Commonwealth.
That simple offer.... that had changed everything.
Over half of Hilltop and Alexandria left to join the Commonwealth, including Daryl Dixon.
Maggie on the other hand had refused to leave Hilltop while Jesus had moved to Alexandria to be with Aaron and Gracie. You didn't stay in one place for long enough to call home though, you mainly travelled between the communities, spending a few weeks at a time at each settlement before moving onto the next.
It was nice travelling between the two communities, plus Oceanside on occasion too. It gave you something to do and made it feel like you weren't stuck behind the walls of either community.
It didn't take long before Aaron and Jesus accepted The Commonwealths offer. You didn't blame them, things were getting bad, food becoming scarce. They had to do what was right for their people. Jesus had tried to convince you to go with them, but you refused.
Instead, you went back to Hilltop after saying your goodbyes and helped Maggie keep her community alive. It was struggling, you both knew it, but neither of you wanted to join The Commonwealth.
The Hilltop was just going through a rough patch at the moment. It would get better. You just had to keep pushing until you reached the better part.
You thought back to the day that Daryl left. The last time you had seen him.
"I don't want to go to The Commonwealth without ya." Daryl had said while he was packing Judith’s and RJ's bags.
"I know." You sighed, sitting down on the edge of Judith's bed.
The kids were all outside playing in Alexandria one last time, you could hear them laughing and having fun together while Daryl finished packing the last of their things.
"Then come with us. I know we... I know... I know ya still hate me because of Leah ‘n I will never stop trying to make up for that, but please, Y/N, I can't lose ya. Just come with us ‘n we will work everythin’ out."
"Daryl, I can't."
"Why?" He asked, putting one of RJ's toys down and looking at you properly.
"I didn't survive this far into the apocalypse just to go back to having to work for a living and to pay rent like the old days. I'm done with that shit. At least with Hilltop I'm not confined just behind these walls and I don't have to pay stupid rent... I just wish things would go back to how it used to be. Like when we were living in the woods together. Life was just..." You trailed off and looked down at the ground.
"Easier? Simpler?" Daryl supplied and you looked back over at him and nodded. "I'd give anythin’ to go back to that. But we can't... I got Judith 'n RJ to think 'bout now. I gotta do what's best for ‘em."
You smiled sadly, "I know and that's okay."
"Y/N..."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm still mad at you for the whole Leah thing, but I'm not mad at you for going with The Commonwealth. I get it. You gotta look after your kids, so go." You responded, looking over at him with sad eyes.
"What ‘bout you?" Daryl asked worriedly.
"I'll get by. I always do." You said with a shrug before standing up from the bed and walking over to him. "I'll always love you, Daryl."
You wrapped your arms around him catching him by surprise. His entire body turning tense in shock, but he soon melted into your hold and hugged you back.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart." He whispered, hugging you tightly.
"I know."
You get snapped away from your thoughts when your walkie talkie starts to go off.
"Y/N?"
"Y/N, do you copy?"
"We have a code red. Y/N do you copy?" Maggie's voice called over the radio.
You rushed over to your backpack and yanked the walkie free before bringing it to your mouth.
"I copy. What's wrong?" You asked, panic starting to rise.
In the last six months, you had never received a code red from Maggie. Never.
"How far are you from Hilltop?"
"Uh, like 20 minutes. What's going on?"
"The Commonwealth. I'll explain when you get here, stay off the main roads. They aren't what we thought they were." Maggie's voice responded through the radio.
"Roger that, I'll be there soon." You said, tucking the walkie back into your bag and slinging it over your shoulders.
You grabbed your bicycle, wishing now more than ever that you still had Daryl's old motorcycle, but a push bike was better than nothing, so you pedalled like mad back to Hilltop.
A million different scenarios were running through your mind about The Commonwealth, each as terrifying as the next. Eventually, you finally reached the gates of Hilltop and Elijah quickly opened them as you rode inside to find Maggie already waiting for you.
"What happened?" You asked, dismounting the bike.
"The Commonwealth aren't what we thought they were."
"Yeah, I gathered that much. What happened?"
Maggie then went into full detail explaining how a group of Commonwealth soldiers tried to wipeout a small community. Lance had apparently sent them because he believed that the group had stolen a bunch of Commonwealths supplies and weapons.
"Wait, wait, wait. How do you know that this other group was innocent? Maybe they did actually steal from The Commonwealth." You pointed out, but Maggie shook her head.
"Negan is part of that group and he says that they didn't steal the weapons. And as much as it pains me to say it, I believe Negan."
Holy shit, what? Negan was with this group? After he had just disappeared and didn't even say goodbye to you, he just joined another community? Really?
"The Commonwealth killed over half their group before we showed up and with Aaron, Jesus and Gabriel's help, we handled it." Maggie continued to explain.
"And by handled it, you mean...?"
"They're dead."
You nodded, "good. So are Jesus, Aaron and Gabriel on the run from The Commonwealth for switching sides?"
"No. They're going to lie to Lance and say that they were the only survivors and that the 'bad guys' escaped. They gave us an hour head start before they were going to radio it in which means The Commonwealth will be coming here soon." Maggie further explained.
Wait, why would The Commonwealth be coming here? If those guys lied, then Hilltop would have no connection to what happened. Why would Lance come here?
"Lance probably won't believe their lie and since Hilltop is closest, he'll think we helped." Maggie said as if she somehow knew what you were thinking.
"Okay, so you need to convince Lance that you weren't involved, is that why you wanted me here?" You asked in confusion.
Maggie shook her head, "things might go south very fast when they show up. I need you to help us fight if it gets to that."
Yeah, okay, that made more sense.
"Will you help us?" She asked.
"Of course."
The Commonwealth rolled up to the gate within the hour.
You stood beside Maggie on the watch platform, your hand resting over your gun holster as the group of soldiers marched up the gate with Lance leading them. You noticed Jesus, Aaron and Gabriel were walking behind them. Their clothes bloodied and dirty, but they seemed to be okay.
"Afternoon, Maggie. And, oh, Y/N, is it? Good to see you again, you weren't here last time I came by." Lance called out once they reached the gate.
Yeah, there was a reason for that.
Last time Lance and his Commonwealth people showed up, Jesus had given you the heads up about it and you made yourself scarce. You didn't want to see Daryl. You knew Daryl was angry with you for trying to kill Leah. If you were being honest, you were still angry at him for keeping Leah a secret from you and for seeing her when the two of you had first gotten together all those years ago.
However, despite everything that had happened, you still loved Daryl Dixon. You wanted to hate him and a small part of you did, but you still loved him, and you knew that would never change.
"What do you want?" Maggie questioned bluntly, looking down at Lance.
"There are some killers on the loose. We lost a lot of men. So, I'm hunting them down and the property they stole, the Commonwealth's property."
"We don't know anything about that."
"Well, of course not. So, you wouldn't mind if we just do a quick look around, right? Rule you all out. For the paperwork."
"She gave you her answer." You said, speaking up for the first time.
Lance's eyes flashed over to you, his expression hardening before he turned and started to talk with some of his soldiers in hushed voices before one of the soldiers suddenly stepped forward and looked up at the two of you through their mask.
"Open up." He said, his voice muffled by the mask.
"It doesn't have to be this way." Maggie responded.
The soldier sighed before reaching for his helmet and pulling it off. He kept his head down and shook it, letting his long hair fall over his face before he looked up at the two of you and your stomach dropped.
It was Daryl.
Daryl was one of their soldiers.
Those piercing blue eyes locked with yours and you let out a shaky breath as you stared right back at him before he glanced over at Maggie beside you.
"Yeah, it does. Ain't nobody leavin' until they look around. It'll be quick, I promise."
"You expect us to trust him?" You asked, nodding towards Lance.
"I ain't asking ya to trust him. I'm asking you to trust me."
"It's a little too late for that." You responded, trying to ignore the hurt look that washed over Daryl's face at your words.
Maggie grabbed your shoulder, drawing your focus away from Daryl as you looked over at her.
"Did you know he was one of their soldiers?" You whispered in shock.
She nodded, "last time he was here, he told me."
"Shit." You sighed, rubbing your face with your hands.
"Look, I don't know exactly what happened between you and Daryl. I know it has something to do with Leah and it is none of my business, but I need your head in this. I can't afford you getting emotional and doing something stupid, okay?"
You took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm good. I'm good, I swear."
Maggie eyed you cautiously, not entirely sure whether to believe you or not before she nodded at Elijah who opened the front gates.
Lance and his soldiers marched straight inside, and Maggie climbed down from the watch platform to follow wherever Lance went, but you remained up on the platform and watched from a distance.
Daryl kept glancing your way, but to your relief, he didn't try and talk to you. Instead, he stripped off his soldier armour and followed Maggie and Lance around the community.
"Guessing you and Daryl still haven't made up?" Jesus' voice suddenly asked, and you turned around to find him climbing up the ladder to the watch platform.
"Made up? As in me apologising for trying to shoot the girl that he cheated on me with? The same girl who drugged me and then tried to kill us? Or for Daryl to apologise for seeing Leah when him and I were together? Or maybe for him to apologise for just packing up and joining the Commonwealth six months ago? Which part?" You asked, folding your arms across your chest in annoyance.
Jesus stepped up onto the platform and raised his hands apologetically, "yeah, sorry. That was a stupid question."
You smiled sadly before pulling him into a tight hug, "my love life is far from what's important right now. Are you okay? Maggie told me what happened."
"I'm okay." He answered, hugging you back. "We managed to speak with Daryl, he knows what happened. He knows the truth."
You nodded as you pulled away, "okay. Good. That's good. What do we do?"
"I honestly have no idea. We're just playing along with everything at the moment, but the Commonwealth... they're not what we thought they were."
"I know."
Neither of you said anything for a few minutes as you leant against the railing of the platform and watched the soldiers carefully.
Maggie seemed pretty certain that they weren't going to find anything that would link Hilltop to what happened, but you were still worried and by the way Jesus was nervously picking at his fingernails beside you, he was worried too.
"Life was so much easier when I was on the run from my mother." You said, breaking the silence.
Jesus made a shocked choking sound and looked over at you with wide eyes.
"You mean the time when I found you bleeding out in the woods with a cut throat? Back then?"
You chuckled softly, "not that exact day. Maybe a couple days after that. When I was with you and Ezekiel... life was just... it was simpler."
"It was simpler because you were stuck in a hospital bed then." Jesus responded causing you to roll your eyes.
"You know what I mean."
You opened your mouth to respond before you spotted Lance now standing down the side of the mansion with Hershel. Lance was alone with Maggie's kid.
Nope. You didn't like that. Not at all.
"I'll be back." You said, already making your way down the ladder.
You rushed across the yard watching as Lance knelt down in front of Hershel and continued to talk.
"But I can't keep people safe if they keep secrets. So, I want you to think really hard here. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
"I should probably go get my mum." Hershel answered.
Smart kid.
"Hey, hold on a second." Lance said, quickly stepping in front of Hershel and blocking his path. "You're a good kid... brave. And the thing about good kids is... they deserve presents."
You watched as Lance pulled out a familiar looking baseball cap.
"It's funny. I found this hat all the way back where the bad things happened. Be a shame for a nice hat like this to go to waste." Lance continued to say before he placed the hat on Hershel's head. "Huh! I'll be damned. Perfect fit. What are the odds?"
Lance leant down and grabbed the kids' shoulder, but you quickly rushed forward and grabbed Lance by the back of his shirt. You yanked him away from the boy before pinning him up against the brick wall with your knife to his throat.
"You enjoy interrogating little kids?" You hissed, pushing him harder against the wall.
"Y/N?" Elijah's voice called out hesitantly from somewhere behind you.
"Get Hershel away from here." You ordered, not taking your eyes off Lance.
"This won't end well for you." Was all Lance said before the familiar sound of guns cocking reached your ears and you glanced over your shoulder to find a bunch of his soldiers now surrounding you with their guns raised.
"Release him or we will shoot."
"Put him down."
"Now."
You ignored the soldiers' orders and glared at Lance in front of you who just smirked back, finding this whole thing rather amusing.
"You touch that kid again and it will be the last thing you ever do." You threatened which seemed to sink in because his smirk instantly faded.
Maggie and Daryl suddenly ran around the corner noticing all the commotion, their eyes widening when they saw you holding Lance up against the wall.
"He put his hands on Hershel."
As if on cue, the kid ran out of Elijah's hold and straight to his mother, "he said something bad was gonna happen." Hershel whispered.
"Whoa! I can explain." Lance quickly said defensively.
You pressed the blade of the knife harder against his throat until it started to pierce his skin, droplets of blood trickling down his neck causing him to wince in pain. Daryl suddenly raised his rifle and pointed it at the other soldiers while Maggie drew her sidearm and aimed it at Lance.
"Back up! Now!" Daryl shouted at the new group of soldiers that seemed to appear out of nowhere hearing their boss in pain.
"You know, I'm a nice guy, Maggie. I'll even let you back down so no one gets hurt." Lance tried to reason.
"Plenty of others have made the mistake of threatening my family. Most of them are dead now."
Maggie didn't say anything else, her gun still raised. You kept the knife against his throat just waiting for her to give you the order to end it before Daryl suddenly spun around and appeared beside you.
"You turned this place upside down 'n you found nothin'. So unless you want to die for nothin', tell 'em to drop the guns before something really fucking bad happens." He ordered, his rifle now pointed at Lance's head.
Neither of you moved or said anything else as you glared at Lance and waited before he eventually nodded.
"Everyone lower your weapons. That's an order."
The second he said 'order' all the soldiers lowered their guns in sync before Daryl and Maggie slowly lowered theirs too. You kept the knife to his throat for a moment before you released him and took a step back.
"Back up. We're leaving." He announced to his men before he walked past Maggie and said, "sorry if there was any miscommunication. Shame we couldn't be friends."
You watched Lance and his soldiers walk off before you glanced over at Daryl to find him already looking at you with an unreadable expression.
"Y/N...." He began to say.
"Just watch your back with them, Dixon." You warned.
Daryl bit his lip like he wanted to say something, but instead simply nodded before he began to follow the Commonwealth towards the gate.
Jesus had climbed down from the watch platform and was now standing with Aaron and Gabriel again, but he was looking across the yard towards you with a questioning look. You tried to give him a reassuring nod and he nodded back before the three of them walked out of Hilltop with Lance and his men, the front gates closing behind them.
-
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