The sun rose above the horizon, it's rays slipping past the barred windows before being blocked by a think blanket hanging over the entrance to one of the prison cells. The man who occupied the cell, lay in bed as his head rested on his arm. As his eyes fluttered open, his mind raced to catch and remember the last tendrils of his dream. "She looked so beautiful standing there." he thought as the dream came back to him. "That's my kid inside her belly. We made that. If only we could have that life."
His mind then flitted back to when she had shown him the pregnancy test when they brought the Woodbury people to live at the prison. He never thought that he would feel disappoint and happiness at the same time. On one hand, he was almost glad that the test came back negative because he knew that this world isn't a world for babies to grow up in. But on the other, he was slightly disappointed because at that point, if the test was positive, he would feel a surge of pride that she would have a mini-Dixon growing inside her belly.
His thoughts were interrupted by the figure stirring next to him. A soft groan from her lips caused a smile to grow across his face as he pulled her closer to his side. Her hand slid across his bare stomach, giving his waist a gentle squeeze as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. The woman smiled, pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw as she felt his fingers card through her hair.
Daryl groaned and gently tugged her hair causing her to look up at him. "Mornin' swee'heart", he mumbled before capturing her bottom lip between his. Ava let out a quiet moan as his tongue ran over her bottom lip. Breaking the kiss, she smiled up at him as her fingers rested on his chin. "Well," she whispered, "Good morning to you too, Mr. Dixon."
Daryl smirked, running his hand along Ava's bare side and asked "Sure you don't want to come on the run today? Could probably use your help." Ava yawned, her fingers twirling through the wiry hairs on his chin. "I would," she answered. "But it's my day for Ass-Kicker duty and I'm helping the kids with their schoolwork."
Rising up on her hands a bit, Ava glanced at the clock on her bedside table and groaned before falling back down on Daryl's chest. "I was hoping I had at least half an hour before I had to get up to help with breakfast" she mumbled. Daryl chuckled softly, jiggling Ava with the rise and fall of his chest. Pressing a kiss to her temple, he gently swatted her leg. "Cmon," he yawned, "The quicker you get going, the quicker I get up and the whole day will just go by and we'll be right back here tonight."
With a huff Ava sat up, the sheets pooling around her naked waist. "Why do you always have to be right?" she mumbled as she rolled out of their bed. Daryl admired her figure as she stretched her body, her arms reaching towards the ceiling before bending over and picking up a pair of shorts from the floor. As he watched her get dressed, his mind wandered back to his dream, his imagination working at the thought of what his woman really would look like if she were actually pregnant. Soon, his hand slowly drifted down his chest and over his stomach, his fingers circling the base of his cock and began to slowly stroke his length.
The sound of a quiet moan caused Ava to turn around, a smirk on her mouth. Daryl's tongue slipped out, wetting his bottom lip as he caught Ava's gaze. "I'm thinking, unh," he panted out, "that Carol would be okay if you were just a few minutes late." Ava chuckled as she pulled her shirt over her head. "If only Carol was the prepper this morning," she agreed as she straddled his hips. Daryl's hands moved from his length to rest on her hips, gently tugging her forward to give him some friction. Ava leaned down, placing her hands on the pillow beside his head and whispered in his ear, "You come back in one piece after the supply run, then we'll talk."
Ava pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before swinging her leg over his body and made her way to the door of the cell. Looking over her shoulder, she winked at the man lying in bed, half-covered with the thin sheet. "Love you," she smiled. "I'll see you in a bit and I'll ride down to the fence with you before y'all leave." Daryl waved her off as she disappeared, muttering back "Love you, too, woman."
"Morning, Daryl!" "Morning Mr. Dixon!" Ava smiled as she looked up from the grill to see her hunter making his way under the pavilion, answering back the morning greeters. Grabbing a bowl, he grunted with appreciation. "Smells good", he stated. Carol gently elbowed Ava as both ladies smiled at the attention that Daryl was getting. Ava spooned some eggs into Daryl's bowl and winked. "Just so you know," she bragged, "I loved you first."
Daryl shook his head as a puff of air escaped his nostrils. "Rick brought in a lot of them too," he started. Carol pointed at him with her spatula and interjected, "Not recently." Ava nodded, adding, "You keep bringing people in, giving them a safe place to live; you're going to have to live with the love." The trio chuckled as Carol wiped her hands on a towel.
Motioning with her head towards the gates, Carol informed Daryl that she needed to update on the issue with the walkers lining along the fence. Asking the boy standing by to take over, he agreed before interrupting the two. "Mr. Dixon," he stuttered, his hands tightly gripping the spatula, "I just wanted to thank you and Mrs. Dixon for bringing in that deer yesterday. It was a real treat." Patrick stuck his hand out as Daryl and Ava shared a smile.
With a smirk, Daryl licked his fingers clean before swinging his hand up and bringing it down with slap against Patrick's, giving the boy a firm handshake. With a quiet laugh, Carol led the way with Daryl following. Patrick smiled and turned his attention toward the grill.
"It really is an honor to work beside you, Mrs. Dixon," he stated. Ava's heart leapt, the way it did every time someone called her by that name, as she smiled at the young boy. She ruffled his hair with a laugh. "Let me tell you," she began, "It's an honor that you are willing to help serve others alongside me."
"You even gonna say goodbye?" Zach called out at Beth's retreating back. "Nope", she answered with a grin. Daryl groaned and lifted the box over the side of the truck. "Like a damn romance novel", he mumbled. Loading some more gas in the truck, Max chuckled as he looked past Daryl at the oncoming figure. Nudging Daryl, Max pointed towards the figure. "Speaking of romance novels", he joked.
Turning around, Daryl's stomach flip-flopped at the sight of Ava walking toward the group with baby Judith propped on her hip. As the newcomer, Bob, tried to convince Sasha to let him tag along, Daryl met Ava halfway, a small smile on his lips.
Lowering his head, he met Ava's lips with a quick peck of his own. Pulling back, he ran a hand over Judith's soft hair, his fingers tickling at her neck. As she squealed with laughter, he chuckles and asked, "You riding down with us too, Ass-Kicker?" Ava swiveled on her foot and nudged Daryl with her shoulder.
"You keep calling her that to her face, she's going think that's actually her name." Ava admonished. Daryl shrugged and argued "Well, it technically is 'cause I named her first." Judith held her arms out, her hands making grabbing motions in Daryl's direction. The man smiled as he took the baby from Ava's arms.
As the couple walked back to the cars, Ava spoke up, "In answer to your question, she is going to be riding down with me. I'm just going to see if someone will hold her in the car so she's not on the back of your loud bike." Daryl nodded in agreement.
"You guys ready to head out?" asked Sasha. Everyone nodded and loaded up. Ava handed Judith to Max and sat behind Daryl on his bike. She scooted up as close as she could to him and wrapped her hands around his waist as he led the way to the gate.
Walking through the aisles of the Big Spot, Daryl spotted a glass display case at the end. Walking up to it, he leaned against it as he peered at the items inside. A thought came to his mind and he smiled before taking the end of his crossbow and smashing the glass. Reaching inside, he grabbed a handful of the items and placed them in his pockets.
Suddenly there was a crash of wood and glass along with someone yelling out. Daryl ran toward the sound to find that a shelf of wine had fallen on top of Bob. With the help of Zach, Max, and Glenn, they started to lift the shelf when there was a crash and a walker fell through the ceiling.
Ava looked up from her book as the blanket used for covering the entrance to her cell was lifted and Daryl walked in. With a soft sigh, he sat down on the edge of the bed and started to unlace his boots. Wordlessly, Ava closed her book and moved to sit behind him, her front pressed against his back as her arms wrapped around his waist. The hunter paused and placed his hands over Ava's, his head hanging low.
After a few quiet moments, Ava placed a soft kiss on the back of Daryl's neck. As he turned to look at her, Ava lifted her hand, carding her fingers through his shaggy hair. "What's on your mind, hon?" she whispered.
Wrapping his hand around her hips, he maneuvered her so that she straddled his hips. Pressing his forehead to her chest, he slowly inhaled, his nose filling with her scent. With an exhale, he mumbled "Why are we always losing people, Ava?"
Ava's heart broke when she heard despair in his voice. Placing her hands on his cheeks, she lifted his head and looked lovingly in his eyes and whispered "None of this is your fault, Daryl." The man nodded, tilting his head to place a kiss against her palm as he muttered, "I'm just tired of losing people, is all." Ava nodded and pulled herself closer. "I know, baby," she said quietly, "I know."
As Ava shifted in Daryl's lap, her leg brushed against something protruding in his pocket. "What's in your pocket?" she questioned. Slowly, Daryl reached in and pulled it out, his fingers clasped tight around it.
Taking a breath, he stuttered "I, uhm, picked something out for you at the store before everything went down." Ava smiled as she looked on, waiting for him to continue. "Everyone already calls you Mrs. Dixon", he explained. Slowly, he unfurled his fingers to reveal a thin silver band with a small diamond set in the middle. Ava looked up from the simple band, unshed tears shining in her eyes. With a quiet giggle, she asked "And you figured why not make it official?"
Daryl shrugged his shoulders, his hand moving to rub the back of his neck. "I know it's not big like Maggie's", he babbled, "but-"
Whatever he was going to say was lost when Ava surged forward and joined her lips against his. Panting, she pulled away with a smile. "Shut up, Daryl," she teased. "It's perfect. Although my only question is, do I have to put it on myself?"
It's here! It's finally here! Thanks everyone for all your patience. Thanks goes to RaeneyDelaney for the title. Walkerbait2002, please don't be mad at me that you didn't get a Daddy Daryl in this chapter, but who knows, maybe someday down the road. ;)