This story idea has been in my head for quite a while now and I'm so happy I was finally able to get the first part down. This will be a two-shot.
…
1/1:
When the twins outgrew their crib, Daryl took it apart and stored it in the cellar of the cabin – just in case they would ever need it again (and they did just a year later when baby Carrie was born) – and he built bunkbeds into one of the walls of the treehouse for them. Beth worried about them rolling out of the beds at night so Daryl added in boards to block them in at night and could be removed when they were older.
On a random late-summer day, Daryl woke first as he did almost every other morning. He laid there for a moment, listening to the chirping songs of the robins and chickadees and the steady, deep breathing of Beth beside him as she continued sleeping. She'd be up soon, too, as will the kids, and another day would begin, but right now, Daryl just laid there, taking advantage of not having to get out of the bed right this second and giving his brain the chance to fully wake up.
Yesterday had been a hard day. Not that every day wasn't hard, but yesterday had seen Daryl, Aaron, Matt and Spencer spend most of it on the roof of the barn, laying down new shingles and fixing the multiple holes that the roof had acquired and he had dropped heavily into bed when night had finally come, completely exhausted, not even thinking about the work that would be waiting for him the next day like he always did; too tired to think of anything except going to sleep. Work on their farm never ended and Daryl rarely found himself with downtime.
Daryl looked down to his arm now and could see that he was sporting the most ridiculous tan this morning, most of his arm a dark shade, but his hands, starting at his wrist, were pale from wearing work gloves and his upper biceps were a pale color as well from the tee-shirt sleeves.
He heard the familiar squeak of bed springs across the room and then he heard quiet steps on the floor. Eli was up and a moment later, Daryl heard him go behind the curtain they had hanging in the corner, emptying his bladder into the bucket they had. Once they all went to the bathroom that morning, the bucket would be taken downstairs, emptied and washed out. There was also a steel tub in their makeshift "bathroom" where they would take baths in the winter when the creek was frozen over and they would have to take buckets of snow and melt over their stove.
Once finished, Eli then went to the water basin on the counter against the wall that they had specifically for washing their hands and faces. He did all of this as quietly as a person could without being completely silent, but Daryl could always hear any member of his family no matter how hard they were trying not to make noise. No one else might have heard them, but not everyone had Daryl Dixon's hearing.
He was worried about losing it or it fading on him. Sometimes, Jack and Ceci were able to sneak up on him and get him to jump a little – their favorite game – and they shouldn't be able to do that. On the days they were able to succeed, Daryl just told himself that he was tired. Daryl tried not to worry about it. It was a worry for another day and his hearing was still better than anyone else's. If he even lost just a little, he would still be able to keep everyone safe.
Deciding that his mind was awake enough, Daryl slowly sat up, making sure he did it slowly so not to wake Beth before she was waking herself up.
Eli was drying his face with a towel and when he heard Daryl pull himself from the bed, he lowered it and instantly broke into a grin when he saw him.
"Shut it," Daryl told him with no bite in his tone and Eli just kept grinning.
Daryl went to the bathroom, closing the curtain behind him, and paused to look at himself in the long mirror they had taken from some house, had cleaned it and had hung it up. In the hot summer months, Daryl usually just slept in his boxers without a shirt on and last night had been no exception. But seeing himself in the early morning light, he saw how completely ridiculous he looked with his tan arms and face and white chest and hands. He didn't blame Eli for grinning. He could just imagine what Merle would say if he could see him.
Pushing the curtain aside once he was done, Daryl saw that Beth and the twins were still sleeping and Eli stood at his chest, getting himself dressed. After washing his hands and face in the basin, Daryl did the same. He tugged on a fresh pair of socks, another pair of jeans since the pair he wore yesterday were completely filthy and a dark green tee-shirt. He did his best to not groan as he sat down in a chair to tug on his boots, but his entire body was sore thought he would never admit it out loud. It wasn't the first time that he had worked so hard, his body ached stiffly as a result and it wouldn't be the last.
"Daryl?" Beth's quiet voice reached his ears and he lifted his head, seeing her lying on her side, her eyes open and blinking at him.
"What are you doin' awake?" Daryl asked, as if it was the most insane thing for her to be right now.
"What are you doing awake?" Beth questioned him in return. "I thought for sure I'd be coming up to give you breakfast in bed this morning."
The chair he sat in was on her side of the bed and he slipped from it, crouching down next to her. He reached a hand out and brushed some hair from the side of her face so it fell back to her pillow. She smiled faintly and lifted a hand to his face.
"I'm jealous of your tan," she teased softly.
Daryl smirked and then leaned in, giving her a light kiss on the lips. "Twins are still sleepin'. You wan' me to take 'em with me?"
Beth shakes her head. "Lord, no, Daryl Dixon. You let those two sleep for as long as they can."
Daryl smirked again and she smiled, tilting her face up a bit, and Daryl gave her what she wanted, leaning in again and giving her another kiss.
"You ready?" Daryl asked softly, waiting for Eli at the door, his crossbow on his shoulder.
Eli nodded, finished tying his own shoes and grabbing his own knife, he met Daryl and together, they headed down the stairs to the first landing, Daryl admittedly moving a bit slower than normal. There used to be a ladder that led up from the landing into their house, but Daryl had built stairs a couple of months before Beth gave birth to the twins. Stairs were just easier and more practical.
"I can fix mom's poke root, if you want," Eli said; just like his dad, not much escaping his attention.
Daryl thought of how just a few years ago, he would have protested and insisted that he was fine, but he knew that Aaron, Spencer and Matt would be just as sore this morning and they could use the poke root, too.
"Sounds good," Daryl said, giving his son a smile and rubbing a hand over his dark curls, Eli grinning even as he tried to move his head away.
A couple of summers ago, they had built a larger, covered porch on the back of the cabin and Spencer was there now, sitting in one of the rocking chairs with his feet up on the railing, a mug cupped between his hands. The fire in the pit, safely a few feet from the back steps, was already lit and crackling away, one of their heavy iron pots hanging over the flames, slowly bringing the water inside to a boil.
"You're up early," Daryl noted.
Spencer nodded, pausing to swallow the mouthful of what he just drank. "Made coffee already, too, if you want some," he said. "Morning, Eli."
"Morning, Spencer," Eli gave him a smile as he climbed the steps and headed through the open back door, going into the kitchen.
Daryl stepped onto the porch and let out a yawn as he leaned against the post.
"Christ, don't do that," Spencer grumbled before letting out his own yawn.
Daryl smirked as Spencer then took a bigger gulp of coffee. None of them still any idea how the people in these mountains Before figured out that they could get coffee from acorns, but they had and it was damn good coffee, in their opinions. They took the acorns from White Oak trees and after drying them out, they grinded them up and boiled it up with water. Daryl had never had Starbucks Before, but he would rival their overpriced coffee with acorn coffee any day.
Spencer then pulled his legs down and stood up, glancing towards the open door. They could both hear Eli and Rosita, also awake, talking to one another inside.
"What's up?" Daryl asked, it obvious that Spencer wanted to talk.
Spencer took a step closer to him and lowered his voice. "Were you still planning on walking the mountain today?" He asked.
One of them did it at least once a week – walking around, making sure that there were no walkers or people anywhere near; to ensure that their farm remained isolated and as safe as people could be these days.
Daryl gave a nod and somehow, he already knew what Spencer was going to say next.
"Maybe you can take Aaron with you today," Spencer suggested.
Daryl paused for a moment though he didn't have anything to think through. He gave another nod. "Yeah."
…
Beth normally didn't like making something so sweet for breakfast – especially since she had already planned on making hazelnut cookies for dessert later that evening with the excess hazelnuts from the pounds they had collected over the past few days and had already been packed and stored away for winter – but Aiden and Eli had gone out yesterday, out on a foraging expedition that Beth had sent them on, and they had returned with a basket overflowing with pears.
She would be sure to preserve the majority of them for the winter months, but she stood at the table in the cabin's kitchen this morning, looking at the basket, seeing that they were soft and moments away from spoiling. It would be a sin to let any fruit spoil and go to waste.
"Can I help?" Bee appeared at her side, freshly dressed and her hair already pulled back into her usual braid, her cat ears headband on her head and her breath smelling of peppermint from a tube of toothpaste; a part of the stock they had stored in the cellar – a stock from their largest run to a town, Crispin, almost two years earlier. They hadn't been on a run since.
Beth smiled. "I would love some help."
Together, Beth and Bee cut a portion of the pears in half, scooping out the seeds, and they lay the halves in a baking dish. They covered them with honey and sprinkled dashes of cinnamon over each and Bee held the oven door open for Beth to slide the dish inside.
"Is this good, mom?" Eli asked from the large, heavy wooden kitchen table.
Beth wiped her hands on the towel over her shoulder as she crossed the space to see.
Eli had taken the poke roots they had on hand and roasted them by the fire burning in the pit outside. He then scraped them clean with a knife and was now at the kitchen table, grinding them up with the mortar and pestle. Aspirin was useless now, all bottles having expired so long ago, and they used white willow bark for headaches, but for general aches and pains, they used poke root.
"Very good," Beth smiled and Eli smiled, too.
Once they poured out four cups of water with a generous amount of the poke roots mixed into each, Beth sent Bee out with the three cups balances carefully in her hands – for Daryl, Spencer and Matt – and Beth took the last cup and went to the closed bedroom door right off the kitchen. She knew it was locked without having even to try to turn the handle.
"Aaron?" She knocked softly on the door. "Aaron, Eli made some poke root in case you're feeling sore."
She hated when Aaron had days like this because she felt absolutely helpless with no idea what to do. Everyone just left him in peace when Aaron lost himself in these moods and he would return to his normal self within a day or two, but for the time that Aaron locked himself in his room and didn't show himself to anyone, the cabin walls, somehow, felt tighter; as if it was a worried mother wringing her hands over one of her children.
"Aaron?" Beth tried again with another knock. "I'm baking pears and frying eggs for breakfast. Are you hungry? And then, tonight for dinner, I was thinking of having Spencer and Aiden catch us a few fish and make cattail soup to have along with it."
She stepped in a little closer to the door and could hear the springs of the bed on the other side as Aaron stood up. She nearly sighed with relief upon hearing the sound. Not that she, or any of them, ever thought that Aaron would do something to himself when he was missing Eric so much, he could hardly move, but still, it was a thought that stayed firmly in place in the back of their minds on days like this.
Daryl suddenly appeared beside her and knocked gently on the door. "Hey. I'm doin' patrol today. Wanted to know if you wanted to come with me."
They both heard the click of the lock then and the door opened just enough for Aaron to appear. Like Daryl, he was noticeably tanner than he was the day before. It also looked as if he slept for maybe just a minute. But Beth was so happy to see him, she nearly pushed herself into the room so she could hug him. Instead, she gave him a smile and held the cup out for him to take.
"Thank you," Aaron smiled at her and despite his grief or his exhaustion, his smile was still the same. He then looked to Daryl and gave him a nod of his head. "And I'll join you for patrol if you want me to."
"Wouldn' be askin' you if I didn' wan' you to come with me," Daryl said. "Make sure you eat a big breakfast 'cause we won't be back for lunch."
It might have sounded like Daryl wasn't understanding of Aaron's grief or sympathetic towards it, but his family more than knew Daryl well enough by this point and they knew that what he said to Aaron was Daryl's way of getting Aaron out of his bedroom so they could actually all see and witness him eating.
Again, Aaron gave a nod. "I'll be out and ready in a few minutes."
Beth gave him another smile – Aaron returning it with a small one of his own – before he closed the door again. Daryl stepped away to go to the counter to get himself some more coffee and he smiled his thanks to Bee when she handed him a fresh mug.
"You're gonna be washin' a lot of mugs today if you keep givin' me new ones," he told the girl.
Bee just smiled and shrugged. "I don't mind."
Beth overheard and smiled to herself as she took a stack of plates and began setting the table, Eli following behind her with the forks and knives. From the corner of her eye, she could see Daryl leaning against the counter, smirking a little to himself as he sipped his coffee.
Considering Eli had already said that he would be near the creek today, collecting cattails for Beth so she could make soup for dinner that night, it wasn't a mystery to Daryl or Beth as to why Bee didn't mind being at the creek today either, washing dishes. The girl's crush on their son seemed to only be getting stronger and Eli continued to be completely oblivious to it.
Matt entered the kitchen then, the basket in his hands filled with eggs from the chickens, and as he walked, he continuously looked back over his shoulder. Anna walked slowly behind him, the small pail of goat's milk in her hand and a smile across her face. Between them, baby Carrie, ten-months-old now, was crawling between her parents, giggling to herself as she climbed up the stairs of the back porch and then followed her dad into the kitchen, tilting her head up and seeing the others in the room, giggling again.
She crawled right to Eli and the boy grinned, bending down and hoisting her up in his arms.
"Did you crawl here all the way from the barn?" He asked the baby. "Very impressive, Carrie. I don't think I could do that without being exhausted at the end of it."
Carrie just giggled and reached up to grasp some of his hair.
"We're gonna need another baby 'round here soon," Daryl said after he drained the last of his coffee. "They're the best dust rags this cabin could ask for and what are we gonna do when she's done crawlin'?"
"I just had one," Anna pointed out to him as she set the pail of milk down on the counter.
"And I had two at the same time," Beth added. "I should be considered good for a while."
"You can talk to the twins," Matt suggested, setting the eggs down, and then taking Carrie from Eli when the baby stretched her arms out for him. "They're always pushing each other over. Tell them that the next time they do it, to roll themselves around a bit."
"'s not a bad idea," Daryl mused as he poured himself another cup of coffee. Spencer had made more than enough that morning. He took a sip and then looked at Beth, seeing the way she was frowning a little, going to look out the door. "Wha' is it?" He asked her.
"Jack and Ceci have been quiet for too long," she noticed, her eyes going to spot where she had left them – on the other side of their massive tree with their house built in the branches. "They got distracted with the croquet set and I decided to leave them to play for a while." She looked back to Daryl. "Can you please make sure that they haven't hit each other unconscious with one of the mallets?"
Daryl smirked even if it didn't seem that far-fetched of something the twins would get into.
The croquet set had been grabbed at random when they had ransacked the town of Crispin. Aiden had found it and had thought it looked cool and had asked if he could take it with them. Since then, in the summer months, whenever the kids weren't busy with their lessons or chores, they were playing croquet, of all things.
The twins didn't know how to play – yet – but that didn't stop them from loving the heavy, different colored wooden balls and mallets that went with the set.
Daryl pushed himself off the counter and set his cup down in the sink.
"And also make sure they didn't get into the blueberry pots on the landing," Beth added as he headed out the door.
Rosita came down the stairs from where Bee and Aiden slept in the two bedrooms upstairs, a laundry basket in her hands and smiling when she saw all of them in the kitchen. "Good morning," she greeted and then her eyes landed on her daughter. "Bee, how many times do I have to tell you to make your bed? And you're supposed to put your dirty underwear in the basket. You know better than that."
"Mom," Bee said, almost in a whine, and her face exploded in a blush. She glanced at Eli, but he was too busy sorting through the eggs in the basket and didn't seem to be listening to anything, and she rushed up the stairs without looking at anyone else.
Rosita looked to Beth, who had a smile of amusement pulling at her mouth. "It's too early for that age," was all Rosita said Beth let out a laugh.
…
The gunshot echoed across the mountain, ringing throughout the sky for what seemed like miles and the baby's cried that followed seemed to reach just as far.
Daryl and Aaron had been walking for about an hour, heading north before they would turn west and make a wide circle. So far, only two walkers tangled in a rusted out pickup truck and they had been easily dispatched, but at the gunshot and baby crying, both stopped, becoming absolutely still.
Aaron turned in a slow circle, his machete in his hand, ready, though nothing was near them. "Which way?"
Daryl, his crossbow loaded and clutched in his hands, shook his head and tried to pinpoint the direction from where the sounds were coming from, but the mountains were bouncing the sound and his gut clenched tightly. Living such a quiet existence now, any noise out of the ordinary sounded like a damn fireworks show and he had to wonder who else could hear this now besides him and Aaron.
Another gunshot and more of the baby's cries and Daryl spun to the east.
"'s this way," he said, after another moment of deliberation, with confidence and took out at a run through the trees, Aaron right behind him.
They were just an hour from home. Anyone with the ability to shoot a gun being just an hour from where he and his family lived made Daryl squeeze his crossbow in his hands. That was way too close.
"Daryl," Aaron said, having come up beside him. "Look."
Daryl was already looking. He quickly counted. Nine walkers and there was a man with a gun and a baby in a carrier, standing on a large boulder. The baby was crying at the top of its lungs and it was only making the walkers more determined to get to them. Thankfully, the boulder was just tall enough, but Daryl could see that a couple of the walkers were getting closer to the man with their arms reaching for him and the boulder wasn't big enough for the baby carrier and the man both. The man was sliding dangerously close to the edge.
Daryl and Aaron didn't even look at one another to see if they should help. It wasn't even a question and there was no need to discuss anything. There was no time for either.
They burst out of the trees, Daryl firing a bolt into the first walker head he could aim at as Aaron raised his machete and brought it down on the next. The man fired his gun again, but he missed, and he began to slip, trying desperately to catch himself. Daryl saw it happening and he was all of two seconds late. Because just as he fired a bolt into the walker's head, the walker had already sank his teeth down into the man's leg.
The man screamed and the baby, as if it knew what had just happened, seemed to cry even louder.
…
"Here," Daryl says as he crouches in front of the man, extending a bottle of water to him.
"Don't waste it on me," the man shakes his head while weakly pushing it away.
"It ain't wastin' if we got plenty of it. Drink. No reason why you should be sufferin' more than you are now." Daryl takes the man's hand and physically closes his fingers around the bottle. He then stands up again and goes to the window, making sure that all is still quiet outside.
The baby has finally stopped crying as Aaron bounces her gently in his arms, hushing her with a gentle tone and walking around the room with her.
After taking the rest of the walkers down, Daryl and Aaron had immediately pulled the man gently down from the boulder to lay down on the ground so they could look over his bite. Daryl tried to remember exactly how they had cut Hershel's leg off in that prison cafeteria and how Carol and Lori had gotten his bleeding under control, but as soon as he looked at the bite, he knew it wouldn't matter if he remembered or not.
The bite was too high on his thigh, near his hip, and he and Aaron both looked at it and then at one another, silent.
Thankfully, there had been a house nearby, nearly covered by kudzu, that they had been able to get the man and the baby into and they had been there for the past hour. Daryl didn't want to move him further than that. And now, all they can do is stay in that house and wait.
"You're good with her," the man says, watching Aaron with the baby.
"We've had a few babies back home over the past few years," Aaron answers him and Daryl looks away from the window to look at Aaron. For the first time that day, the man is truly smiling as he looks to the baby.
"You have a safe place?" The man asks.
"Yeah," Daryl is the one to speak now. "It's as safe as place can be these days."
The man nods, his eyes on the baby. "I'm Andy and her name's Grace."
"Grace," Aaron then repeats the name, looking down at the girl with a soft smile.
"I'm Daryl and this is Aaron." Daryl steps away from the window. "Where you from and where were you goin'?" He asks, facing the man completely now.
"From South Carolina and heading… anywhere else," Andy answers, looking down to his bite, touching it with light fingers before sighing heavily and moving his eyes back to Grace.
"Why'd you leave?" Daryl wonders.
Andy exhaled a shaky breath. Daryl can see he's getting more and more pale as the seconds tick by. "It was safe for a while. Safe enough for me and my wife to decide that it'd be alright to have a baby." He pauses to take a sip of water. "And then it wasn't safe anymore."
He's quiet, looking at Grace. Aaron comes and crouching down, he holds her out for Andy to take; which he does with a faint smile. He holds his daughter close and Grace settles herself against his chest as Andy rests his lips to her blonde-haired covered head.
They are all quiet for a few minutes.
Daryl wishes he had something to help the man with the pain he's no doubt feeling right now. Willow bark or something, but he and Aaron set out after breakfast with just water and food and their weapons . They have a bit of pokeroot left with them, but pokeroot isn't going to do shit for this guy.
Still though, Daryl swings his pack down from his back and begins to sift through it.
Andy lifts his head to look at Aaron. "Is it nice where you live?" He asks.
Aaron smiles a little, still crouching in front of him. "It is. We have a good-sized farm and chickens and goats. We have milk and eggs every day. We've got a couple geese, too, and a donkey and horse. We have sheep and we sheer them and we knit from the wool. We have a fence and a cabin and beds and clothes. Beth, Daryl's wife, will teach Grace when she's old enough to go to school."
"How many kids do you all have?"
"Daryl and Beth have three, Rosita and Spencer have two and Carrie and Matt have one so there will be plenty of kids for her to play with."
"Here." Daryl takes out the bottle of pokeroot water and holds it out for Andy. "It's not a lot, but it's somethin'. Should be able to help with a bit of the pain."
He's not surprised when Andy shakes his head.
"Don't waste it on me – whatever it is." He leaves his lips to Grace's head for another moment before looking back to Aaron. "You'll take care of her?" He looks to Aaron and then Daryl and then back to Aaron.
"We will," Aaron promises.
"You're good people. I don't have to know you that long before I can tell that," Andy then says. "There's not many people left and the ones that are, they're not all good. But you two, I can tell."
"At least have somethin' to eat," Daryl says. "It ain't wastin' if we got plenty of it," he then says again. Daryl and Aaron sit on the floor with him and Daryl pulls a cloth from his bag. "'s persimmon bread," he tells him, holding out one of the slices of bread for Andy to take.
Andy hesitates a moment and then takes a bite from one of the corners. "I don't know what persimmon bread is and I sure as hell never thought it would be my last meal on this earth," he says and Aaron and Daryl both smile a little.
"It's a tree. They got little fruits growin' on 'em and we put it in the bread when we make persimmon bread," Daryl explains even though he knows he doesn't have to. It doesn't really matter. All that matters is that it tastes good. "How old's your daughter?" He asks, looking to the baby in one of Andy's arms, much calmer than when they had found them both on the boulder. She's leaning back against Andy's chest, looking continuously between Daryl and Aaron as if it's a tennis match.
Daryl smiles a little as he looks at her. She looks like her dad with blonde hair and big green eyes. She's a dirty little thing, too. He wonders how far Andy and Grace have come and how long they've been traveling.
No matter how many years have passed since the world has ended or how many people he has seen die in front of him, there's still something so surreal to sit with a person and wait for them to die.
"Just turned a year old," Andy answers. "There's diapers for her in there," he nods to the dirty diaper bag at his feet. "And she's got a teddy bear, too. That's all she has…" he trails off then and looks to his daughter.
As if Grace can feel her dad's eyes on him, she turns her head and tilts it up to look at him. He gives her a small smile and she smiles in return. He holds her with both arms now and hugs her tight and close and with his eyes closed, he whispers in Grace's ear. Daryl and Aaron both turns their heads away, Daryl getting to his feet and Aaron busying himself with his pack.
"Alright," Andy says after a moment. "I'm ready."
"We still got time," Daryl tells him.
Andy shakes his head. "I'm ready," he says again.
Aaron stands up and slings his pack onto his back and then bends down, waiting for Andy to kiss Grace's head one more time before he lets Aaron pick her up.
"Take care of her," Andy says.
"Like she's my own," Aaron vows with a nod.
Daryl and Aaron look to one another, not exchanging a word, and with one last look from both Aaron and Grace, they leave the house then, closing the door behind him. Daryl exhales a breath and pulls out his knife. In a matter of just a few seconds, Andy is already more pale and he's sweating now, too.
"I'm not forcing you and your family into something, am I?" Andy asks.
Daryl doesn't hesitate in shaking his head. "If you hadn't been bit, me and Aaron would have brought you back with us," he swears. "We'll take care of her," he then adds, his voice quieter.
"Sawyer. That's our last name. And her mom's name was Sara."
Daryl nods. "She'll know your name, too."
Andy exhales a shaky breath and closes his eyes, resting his head back against the wall behind him. "I'm ready," he whispers.
…
"Enough?" Eli asks.
Beth wants to laugh, but instead, she just looks at the massive pile of cattails her son has loaded onto the kitchen table and smiles at him. "More than enough. Thank you. Go and see if Matt needs help," she says and Eli nods, waiting just long enough for Beth to give him a kiss on the head before he's running out the back door again and Beth begins gathering the cattails in her arms to take to the stove.
She will cook the cattails in water until they're tender and then they'll be drained. She'll add water, milk, salt and a little bit of pepper, cooking it for the next few hours and when she serves it, there will be cubes of toasted bread cut on top. Aiden, their family's prized fisherman, set out to the creek after breakfast and he promised Beth no less than four trout when he gets back later that afternoon. After washing the dishes from breakfast that morning, Beth had asked Bee to pick some thistle at the creek. After boiling the peeled stems down, they'll use the thistle in the fish as stuffing.
Out the window over the sink, Beth can see Anna in their garden, Carrie in a cloth sling against her chest, the baby enjoying her afternoon nap. The barn doors are open and she can see Matt inside, sitting on a stool, digging out mud from their donkey's hoof and Eli runs up to him to see if he can help. Spencer is out in the woods somewhere with their horse and wagon, chopping wood, stocking up for winter, and Rosita is in the living room, mending clothes that they drop off in a basket that need to be seen to. And Jack and Ceci are playing on the floor in the living room, on the rug, though the twins' idea of playing is pushing one another over and laughing hysterically about it.
The sun is directly over them and Daryl and Aaron have been gone for about four hours now. She doesn't know when she can expect them home. Sometimes, walking patrol on the mountain can take just a couple of hours; sometimes, a whole day. All Beth can hope is that they're home – safely – soon.
She has just finished filling their stew pot with water from the pump in the sink when she lifts her head again to see the back fence open. She instantly breathes a sigh of relief when she sees that it's Daryl and Aaron with Aiden and Bee dancing around them with excitement. They must have found something and have brought it back with them. It takes her a moment to find what it can be and when she sees the small child in Aaron's arms, she goes completely still.
"They back?" Rosita asks, coming up to stand next to her at the sink. She looks out the window to see them as well. "Huh," she says after a moment. "That's not something you find every day."
…
Beth washes Grace's teddy bear – a filthy brown thing – and hangs it near the fire so it can dry faster. Aaron sets her on the carpet with Jack and Ceci and Anna sits Carrie down as well and the three children take a moment to look at Grace and Grace blinks back at them. Cecily then reaches out and pokes Grace in the nose. Grace's face scrunches before leaning over and pressing a hand against Cecily's mouth. They both laugh then and Jack pushes Cecily over as Carrie reaches out to touch Grace's ear and Grace presses Carrie's mouth, both girls laughing and speaking to one another then in a language no one over the age of two understands.
"I guess that means they're all friends," Spencer deduces. He then looks to Aaron. "Is she going to sleep in your room?" He then asks.
Aaron pauses before looking at everyone. "If… I didn't know if you all would want that."
"Why the hell not?" Matt frowns a little.
Spencer slaps a hand on Aaron's back. "We have that little toddler bed in the cellar. I'll go get it."
"And we'll get some fresh bedding for her, too," Rosita says, already heading towards the small room beneath the stairs where they keep all of their extra sheets, blankets and quilts.
Anna has crouched down to run gentle fingers through Grace's hair and Grace tilts her head to look at her, smiling, and Anna smiles in return. She then stands up. "If she needs milk…"
"Are you sure?" Aaron asks. "You're not a cow."
Anna laughs a little. "No, but I am nursing. I'll give her my milk as long as she and Carrie both need it."
Aaron looks down to the floor, too overwhelmed to say anything to that for a moment, and when he lifts his head again, there are tears glassing over his eyes. Without another word, Anna stands on her toes and wraps her arms around his shoulders, hugging him, and Aaron hugs her tightly in return.
Beth smiles as the family all discuss Grace, but then she notes that Daryl isn't in the room any longer.
Slipping outside without anyone noticing, she heads straight for their treehouse. She climbs the steps to the landing and then up the stairs. The door is open and when she steps inside, her eyes land instantly on Daryl. He has taken his boots off and he's lying on their bed with his arm resting over his eyes. Beth pauses for just a moment before slipping off her own boots and going to the other side of their bed, climbing on. She lays next to him, on her side, facing him.
She doesn't say anything. She reaches a hand out and rests it on Daryl's stomach and it seems he's been waiting for her touch because the instant he feels it, she begins to feel his body start to shake. And when he exhales a deep, heavy and shaky breath, Beth closes what little space there is between them and puts her arms around him, holding him as he does his best to stop himself from crying, but failing.
Beth closes her eyes and doesn't let him go and eventually, Daryl's tears stop and he rolls towards her, wrapping her up in his arms and holding onto her as if his very life depends on their physical contact. Beth doesn't care though if he's holding her just a little too tightly. She doesn't even think to complain. She just holds him as tightly in return.
…
Rosita bites her lip to keep from laughing as Spencer continues.
"Now, this is very important," Spencer speaks to her still-flat stomach and then looks down to the law book he has read probably a hundred times by now. "Marbury vs. Madison is a landmark case by the United States Supreme Court which forms the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution. The landmark decision helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the American form of government."
Rosita, resting against the pillows behind her and Spencer lying on his stomach, pushes her shirt up a bit more as if that will help with the baby inside of her hearing clearer and comprehending what on earth Spencer is talking about.
Rosita isn't surprised she's pregnant. She and Spencer certainly weren't planning or trying for another baby, but when it happened and she realized it, she and Spencer both just smiled and kissed happily over the news. They still have to tell the rest of the family. They were actually going to do so tonight, but the arrival of baby Grace kind of stole everyone's attention away from everything else. And rightfully so.
They can tell them tomorrow night at dinner. Rosita's pretty sure Beth knows already anyway.
"Spencer, maybe you should start at the beginning," Rosita suggests, lifting a hand and fiddling with the lobe of his ear.
Spencer lifts his eyes, smiling at her, and she smiles, too. He turns his head and kisses the inside of her wrist before looking down to her stomach. "Right. The beginning. What's Article III of the Constitution, you ask?"
"It establishes the judicial branch of the federal government," Rosita answers. Being with Spencer for all of these years have certainly given her an education in more ways than one.
Spencer is grinning so widely now, he's practically laughing. "You listen to your mama, little baby. She's one smart cookie. She did choose me to procreate with, after all."
Rosita rolls her eyes at that and playfully tugs on Spencer's ear lobe. "Are we really going to name the baby after my brother if it's a boy?" She then asks.
"Of course. We named Aiden after my brother," Spencer answers with a shrug. He closes the heavy law book and sets it aside, sitting up. "Why? You don't like Arturo for a baby name?"
Rosita tries to keep her face impassive. "It doesn't really fit with Aiden and Bee. And the truth is, I haven't thought of Arturo for so long… I almost forgot I had a brother. How terrible is that?"
"All the more reason to name one of our kids after him," Spencer says.
"What if, if the baby's a boy, we give him some kind of version of Arturo without actually naming him that?"
Spencer tilts his head slightly to the side, studying her. "Like what?"
Rosita thinks quietly for a passing moment, her hands coming to a rest on her stomach. "Arthur?" She suggest after another moment. "Or even something else. Teddy?"
She watches as Spencer thinks that through for a moment and then a smile begins to bloom across his face. He leans down then and presses his lips to hers.
"Teddy," he murmurs.
Rosita smiles. "Teddy," she agrees.
…
The little wooden toddler bed has been placed at the side of Aaron's bed and after giving her a bath, putting her in fresh, clean clothes and feeding her a bowl of corn mash – the same dinner as Carrie – and then having some milk from Anna, Aaron knew Grace was probably tired, but he had still expected her to be restless and fussy and get no sleep that night.
Instead, she lays in the little bed, beneath the thin blanket – the window open to allow the refreshing, summer night breeze to come into the room – hugging her now dried teddy bear, Grace sleeps peacefully. Aaron knows it's been a tiring day for her. Just that morning, she had her dad, and now, she's here. Maybe tomorrow, she'll have a freak out or the day after, but for now, she's quiet and peaceful and Aaron lays in his bed, on his side, looking down on her and watching her sleep.
Just that morning, he woke up, missing Eric so much, it had pressed down on his chest and made breathing a chore, but now, tonight, he has a little girl and he loves her so much already. How can that be? He doesn't know, but it's the truth. He loves her fiercely already.
These mountains are massive, covering thousands and thousands of miles, and it's a miracle he and Daryl had come upon Andy and Grace.
Aaron wonders if, somehow, Eric had led them all to one another. The thought makes him want to smile and cry at the same time and he doesn't fight it as he does just that, reaching a hand out and resting it lightly on Grace's head. The girl continues breathing steadily and deeply as she sleeps – safe and sound.
"Thank you," Aaron whispers into the dark – thanking Andy and his wife, thanking Daryl and the rest of his family and most of all, thanking Eric.
He falls asleep with tears drying on his cheeks, his lips still curved into a smile and his hand still resting on Grace's head.
…
Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review.
For Marisa, who so patiently dealt with my slew of baby questions.