Here, have some smooshy fluff! We all need it after the MSF... Who decided to kill Beth off!?
Carol was asleep, propped up on a ridiculously large mountain of pillows and covered with a light sheet up to her neck. Her hair was still damp from the wiping down she'd insisted on to remove the sweat that had beaded across her body from her exertions a few hours ago. She shifted, making to roll onto her side, but with a muted grunt she settled into her initial position.
Daryl stood at the side of her bed, which was little more than a 'liberated' hospital cot, and cradled the tiny bundle to his chest, rocking slowly and listening to the sounds of her slow, even breaths. The baby was tiny, smaller than he remembered Judy being, and his little head fit into the palm of his hand as he supported the baby's upright position against his body. That was one piece of advice Carol had managed to impart before the painkillers and her own exhaustion had caused her to drift off to sleep.
"His neck can't hold his head up yet." She'd mumbled as Daryl had lifted the wrapped infant from her arms. "Hold him against your chest… The sound of your heart will keep him calm."
At first the baby had squawked and fussed, clearly bewildered by the cold new world, but once Daryl managed to organize him so that he was pressed to his chest, he'd settled down. All the while, Daryl couldn't take his eyes off of the tiny person in his arms, completely mesmerized by the big blue eyes and perfect fingers.
"Hey." Glenn whispered, poking his head in through the stall door. "Can I come in?"
"Sure." Daryl breathed back, trying not to disturb the near-silent infant.
"Is she okay?" Glenn asked, sidling up beside him and looking down at Carol as she slept.
"Jus' tired, I reckon." The baby squeaked at him. "He supposed to be squeakin' like that? He's been doin' it a while but he don' seem bothered none."
"Yeah." Glenn breathed, peering down at the baby. "It's just the noise they make, I guess. Can I…?" He queried, one hand hovering just over his little head.
"Sure." Daryl shifted the baby a little so Glenn could gently stroke his head.
"What're you going to call him?" Glenn whispered. "Oh, hi little guy…" He smiled as the baby yawned with another squeak.
Daryl felt a stupid grin spread across his face. "Carol likes 'Caleb'… So I guess he's Caleb."
"Caleb." Glenn nodded. "I like it. It's strong."
"Yeah." Daryl murmured. "He's gon' need to be."
"You can't think like that." Glenn stopped him. "It's safe here. We're all safe, nothing's going to go wrong with him."
"He's my good luck charm." Carol mumbled tiredly from the bed in the centre of their stall-turned-infirmary. "He'll be just fine."
Daryl headed back to her, sinking carefully into the chair next to her head. "You okay?" He asked quietly. She raised her hand to rest against his cheek for a moment and he turned his face to kiss her palm. Caleb burbled from his father's arms in response to her voice.
"I'm okay. Nothing happened while I was asleep?" Her fingers trailed down the side of his neck to rest at the edge of Caleb's blanket. "Hi, sweetheart." She cooed. "Remember me?"
"Nothin'." Daryl confirmed.
"He's beautiful, Carol." Glenn said, sitting on the opposite side of the bed for a moment to kiss her temple. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." She smiled back. "Bet you never pictured the day that Daryl would have four kids, huh?" She laughed weakly and snuggled deeper into the cushions.
"Funny how things turn out." He quipped. "I just came to see how you guys were doing… And to say that Mika and Rosie have gone to Beth's and Carl's playing chess with Michael so the kids are fine."
"Thanks, man." Daryl nodded.
"I have to go." Glenn said. "We're still splitting firewood when you're feeling like joining us, Carol."
Daryl snorted at his joke.
"Don't even think about getting out of bed, Carol." Glenn chuckled. "We all know you. Everyone's on strict orders to send you back if you even look at the laundry."
Carol sighed dramatically. "Shoo." She batted him away lightly. "You never let me have any fun."
"Bye." He leaned in to kiss her cheek. As he passed, he grinned at Daryl. "I'm happy for you guys."
"Thanks." Daryl said with a nod, distracted by the soft cooing of the baby in his arms. Carol propped herself up on one elbow and watched his face change in reaction to the baby's noises. It was something new and tangible, his absolute awe at another person. She felt it sometimes in the way he'd lie awake next to her and ghost his fingers down her spine, the sweet hesitance in his touch taking her breath away. It was an intensely private thing when Daryl let his guard down. Not just smiling and clapping someone on the shoulder, or a real conversation with Rick or Glenn on their favourite style of pizza, or grinning at Sasha's praise when he managed to re-set someone's broken bone under the ex-EMT's guidance, but pure, unabridged feeling.
"He's smaller than I thought he'd be." Daryl whispered.
"Yeah." She whispered back. "But he's just fine. The right number of fingers and toes… He's pretty, like his Daddy… Everything worked out just the way it was supposed to."
He ducked his head to kiss her hand that still rested on the blanket, gently stroking Caleb's pink cheeks. "I hope you still like 'Caleb'." He snickered quietly. "'Cos that's what I told Glenn."
"Caleb he is, then." She smiled sleepily and rolled onto her side, a little awkwardly in the enormous pile of pillows. "Where did all these pillows come from?"
"Carl ran an' grabbed them for you, wanted you to be comfortable when y'woke up."
"Does anyone have any pillows left in their houses?" She laughed, pulling a few from under her head and pushing them to the floor until she was comfortable. "I feel like I've got every single one we've ever found under me."
"Probably not." He snorted, surprising the baby who had begun to drift off to sleep. A thin mewl escaped and Daryl hurried to rock the baby, trying to soothe him.
Carol propped herself up again, reaching for him. "He's probably hungry." She suggested. "Bring him here."
Daryl rose to his feet and carefully lowered the infant into Carol's arms. She slipped the baby under the sheet and quickly unbuttoned her shirt, drawing the sheet back up and over her chest once the baby was feeding. Daryl pulled the chair a little closer and ran his fingers through her hair, gently pulling it back off her face.
The sound of footsteps echoed dully on the hard-packed dirt floor as someone headed down the aisle of the barn to the infirmary. Carol tilted her head a little, trying to discern who it was, but Daryl was so enthralled with her and the baby that his adoring, almost dopey expression didn't change.
Michonne popped her head in over the half-door. "I just came by to say congratulations." She murmured lowly. "But you're busy. I'll come back later."
"Thank you, Michonne." Carol said, offering her a slightly sad smile. She knew, from the moment she found she was pregnant, that the experience was going to be tainted by fear and previous loss. Every time a pregnancy milestone was reached, she compared it to when she was pregnant with Sophia, and often found herself in tears reminiscing about her late daughter. Daryl had, during her pregnancy, become pretty quick at recognizing when her tears were due to grief or just hormones, and had spent countless hours curled around her as she bawled, her emotions compounded by exhaustion, hormones, and a desperation to just have the baby safe in her arms.
The baby began squirming under the sheet after a period of silence whilst he fed as Daryl stroked Carol's hair and forehead, sitting on the bed near her head as she sat and rocked the baby. Once he started squeaking again she removed him from under the sheet and handed him to Daryl while she rearranged her shirt.
"Can you burp him?" She asked, all soft-eyed and dreamy as she looked at the baby in his arms. "Just like you used to with Judy."
He propped the baby carefully against his shoulder and tapped his back with one finger.
Carol laughed softly. "You won't hurt him, sweetheart. Grab a towel in case he sicks up on you, though."
He fumbled behind him for a towel, one of many that had been left behind once the excitement was over, and gently tucked it between himself in the baby. "Like that?" He asked.
"Yeah." She yawned.
"Go on back to sleep." He suggested, giving her his half-smile. "Ain't nothin' gonna happen for a while now. I ain't half-bad at changin' diapers, so you just rest, a'ight?"
"You're too good to me…" She sighed sweetly. "I love you so much."
"Yeah?" He asked, still trying to burp the baby. "How much y'love me?" He huffed in amusement at the face she made at him.
She hummed in thought, sizing up the baby. "About this much." She teased, holding her hands up to approximate Caleb's dimensions.
"Love you too." Daryl murmured, reaching out with one hand to rub his thumb over her collarbone, before cupping her cheek. "Get some sleep. I'm gonna go show off a little."
She laughed and snuggled down into the pillows. "Hurry back."
"Always." He breathed as he rose and kissed her sweetly, before he carried the drowsing infant out of the infirmary to meet the rest of his family.
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