#no.5

The snowstorm howled like a wild animal, tearing through the trees. It drowned out everything—sight and sound. Daryl’s boots crunched against the frozen ground as he pushed forward, his breath clouding in the frigid air. He hadn’t seen you since the storm rolled in, and panic gnawed at the edges of his already frayed nerves. He’d been tracking the faintest sign—your bootprints, half-buried—for what felt like hours.

“C’mon, girl. Where the hell are ya?” He muttered, pulling his poncho tighter around his shoulders. His gut twisted tighter with every step. You couldn’t be dead. You couldn’t. 

Then he saw it. A slumped shape against a half-fallen tree, nearly hidden under a drift of snow. He squinted, already moving faster than before, fueled by the hope that it could be—

“Y/N!” Daryl’s voice cut sharp through the wind. He raced toward you, the snow like a current that fought his every step. Dropping to his knees beside you, he brushed the snow from your face with shaking hands. Your lips were blue, your body quivering so hard it seemed like your bones might rattle apart.

“Shit, no, no, no.” His voice cracked as he slipped an arm beneath you, hauling you against his chest. You were limp, even your breath too frozen cloud. “Don’t ya dare die on me.”

He stripped off his gloves, pressing your frozen hands to the warmth of his chest. Damn you. He’d told you to wear your own pair. His own were slid onto your hands with quick movements that he wished could be softer. But there was no time for tenderness. 

The storm whipped at his back, stinging his skin, but he didn’t care. You were the priority. He could turn to ice if shielding you bought you even one more minute. 

“Hey! Ya hear me?”

He adjusted his crossbow over his shoulder and lifted his poncho to maneuver you beneath it before he scooped you up, cradling you close. You whimpered faintly, and it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. Relief surged through him, but he knew it was merely a small victory. He still needed to get you back home. 

“Good girl. Stay with me.”

With every step back toward Alexandria, his heart pounded louder in his ears. Every few beats, he bent his head, whispering over and over like a prayer against the storm.

“I got ya. You’re safe.”