Sorry for my lack of fanfictions lately! I've been working on this one for a while and I still don't know exactly how it'll end! This fic will be a three-shot fic, so stay tuned for two more installments!
- Lyrics from Regina Spektor
It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry
I'll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye
The Alexandria Safe Zone was, for the most part, as safe as the name promised. The zone was compromised of a couple blocks worth of houses, a church complete with a small cemetery, what remained of a general store, a failing playground, and a wall created mostly from concrete, wood, aluminum, and pure dumb luck. It wasn't much, but the company was nice and the beds were definitely better than they had been in the prison. Andrea loved the zone because of its simple design—to keep the walkers out and to keep the living alive. For the first time in a long time, Andrea felt relatively safe.
Despite the feeling, though, Andrea knew that the safe zone was always in danger of being overrun. Defense of the zone was top priority and everyone had their own part to play in the protection of the home they lived in. They tried to keep the walkers from overcoming them by keeping the walls manned and sending only the quickest and stealthiest out into the world to look for supplies. The only problem was the supplies didn't come in quick enough and the walls were often too decrepit or too far out of the way to fully repair every one of them. It was Andrea who suggested a lookout be stationed at the abandoned tower about half a mile outside of the zone. As the best sniper, she also suggested that she be the lookout. Rick, having naturally taken control of the zone, saw the knowledge in her thought.
Since the group had abandoned the prison, they'd found new people. The first, Tyreese, had joined the group shortly before the Governor attacked the prison. He had also died in the Governor's onslaught. Of the prisoners, none had survived. But three others, Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene, found them on the road. Eugene claimed he was a CDC scientist and Rick, believing him, took his group eastward on the false pretense. Lastly, a kindly preacher by the name of Gabriel joined the survivors after a run in at his church. But the group was, sadly, also affected by death. Lori and her newborn daughter, Judith, had been shot when the Governor stormed the prison. The prison inmates, the men who found it in themselves to accept newcomers into the place where they lived, had all perished. Beth had died soon after they left, having bled out from a stomach wound. T-Dog had been bitten en route to Gabriel's church and had been left behind much like Jim had been left behind, propped up against a tree with a pistol with one bullet left in his hand.
Everyone healed in their own way. Andrea forced herself to think that it got better responding to death after Amy died but in the deepest recesses of her mind, she knew that each death affected her just like the ones before or the ones after. Lori and Judith's death caused Andrea a lot of pain and, though she didn't like to admit it, she tried to push away from the group—a woman and her child dying was hard but Andrea thought it was her fault that Lori died—but it was Carol and, surprisingly, Daryl, who brought her back. Carol was strong when it came to death and tried to internalize the sadness; Daryl had pushed away after losing Sophia and almost losing Andrea herself in the woods, but Andrea had painstakingly taken time to bring him back. Now he found ways to bring her back.
Everyone healed in their own way and assimilating with the safe zone survivors helped the healing process tremendously. Carl had friends his own age despite the fact that he rarely played with them; he pretended he was grown up and would not stoop to their games. Maggie and Glenn, the happy couple, were surrounded by other people who were happy. Rick had more people to lead even though Andrea could see that he was not happy about doing so sometimes. Carol had other women to talk to, as Andrea knew she wasn't the best to talk to when it came to 'woman' things. Even Michonne assimilated, though not easily.
Then again, some people healed quite similarly without the help of the safe zone survivors. Abraham and Rosita were both strong-willed and grew closer together than just 'friends.' And Andrea and Daryl found themselves, the tracker and the sniper, slowly drawing closer. The first time they had gotten together was shortly before Lori's death; the first time was not a tentative attempt. It was angry and immensely sexual as the two eagerly let out their pent up frustration on each other. The second time and the few after were much less angry and much more exploratory. But Daryl didn't have the capacity, it seemed, to be tentative and loving and Andrea actually liked that he wasn't afraid to continue.
But it wasn't just Andrea who drew closer to Daryl. Carol also found herself close and, like it or not, Andrea became a little jealous of the nearness of the two. In the end, though, Daryl didn't say whether or not he'd 'been with' Carol. And Andrea had never questioned Daryl because he wasn't the type of man to be questioned. Besides, Andrea didn't want to pry and disintegrate the delicate bond they'd developed.
And then, somewhere along the way, it had grown to be something much more than just sex. In the hours of silence and mourning on their way to the safe zone they drew together. Soon she began talking to him about nothing at first but later about things she found interesting; it was a real step forward when he answered back without snark. They began to eat together, sit together, work together. And at the safe zone, Rick's group had to live together in three different houses. Daryl actually chose to live in the house Andrea had chosen. However, Carol also chose to live in that house. Maggie and Glenn chose the master bedroom; Andrea found the guest bedroom to her liking, and Carol chose a room that faintly resembled a boy's room. Daryl could have taken a pink room for himself but chose to sleep on the couch in the downstairs.
It was in this house that Andrea found out she was pregnant. She didn't know how long she'd been pregnant: the closest was three months but the first time she had had sex that made any sense to be pregnant now was with Daryl. In fact, the child's father could only be Daryl. Andrea just hadn't noticed because of the seemingly random times she got her period; she hadn't even known anything was different until the baby kicked. Despite being gifted with the genes to allow her to look somewhat normal and baby-bumpless while carrying, Andrea slowly began to feel all of the symptoms of pregnancy. Her back began to ache, her ankles began to hurt, she felt the constant need to pee, and she always felt tired. Luckily, though, she'd never experienced morning sickness.
If Carol knew, she kept quiet about it. Maggie and Glenn were probably too oblivious. Rick probably knew but that's because he knew everything it seemed. But it was Daryl who surprised her when he woke up early in the mornings when she woke up, when he guessed she was pregnant before she even truly knew herself. But she was even more surprised that he didn't act any different to her telling him it was one hundred percent his. In fact, she was grateful that he was no different to her when she was pregnant than when she wasn't. But in a way, he was also so much more than he had been before.
Andrea had at one time argued to Daryl to not wake up when she did early in the mornings. He'd shot back at her that as soon as she stopped making so much noise, he'd stop waking up. Despite trying to move through the house quietly, Daryl always seemed to know when she was up. It was uncanny, especially since her room on the second story was nowhere close to the couch he slept on. And he would do certain small tasks for her, and it was he who told her to tell Rick that she couldn't go out to be a lookout any longer. His advice was sound; besides, she knew this was his way of looking after her.
Andrea's morning began early just as it had the day before and the day before that. Though she had tried to sleep all throughout the night, Andrea could not truly fall asleep. In the end, she finally decided enough was enough and turned slowly onto her back before pushing herself into a sitting position. In the dim light of predawn, she groaned. Just once she wished she could sleep in past early o'clock. She stretched as much as her aching body would allow and felt a familiar kick in her stomach signaling the baby's good morning. Wearing a slight scowl, she stood up and reached for her bathrobe but must have pulled wrong because she received a sharp pain in her lower abdomen.
After sucking in a breath and waiting for the pinch to leave, Andrea reached again for her bathrobe. There weren't many luxuries in the undead world, but Andrea had found the bathrobe and decided it would be better than nothing to wear this over her nightclothes especially with Carol, Maggie, Daryl, and Glenn always wandering around the house. Besides, this was the first time she could actually feel safe enough to wear nightclothes; everywhere else they lived she felt like she had to keep on her normal clothes for fear of getting up and being ready in the middle of the night.
Despite creeping slowly past Carol's room, which was stationed directly above 'Daryl's Couch,' and trying not to hit any of the creaky steps on the staircase, he was still waiting for her in the kitchen. The room was lit by a lantern that used solar energy to run so she could see him perfectly. She shot him a dirty look as she rounded the corner but wasn't surprised.
"I tell you every morning not to wake up when I get up." Andrea mumbled without much emotion. They went through this every morning.
"Y' can't tell me what to do." Daryl said with faux anger as she moved past him. He was standing at the oven but there was nothing on it, nothing to signify it had been used in months because the gas had run out. Instead he held a box of cereal in one hand and a bowl in the other. He shook the box in her direction and she looked at him with a shocked expression.
"Where'd you get that?" She asked him as she eased gingerly into a chair.
He raised his eyebrows at her and gave her a look that meant 'wouldn't you like to know' and she resisted being childish and sticking out her tongue. Instead, she gestured to the seat across from her, which he plopped into before shoving the bowl across the table. She took it and the offered box, tore open the packaging as quietly as she could (the others were still sleeping), and poured some cereal. It was a miracle how the cereal hadn't rotted, what with a year having gone by since production of food stopped. She popped a few bits into her mouth and pushed the bowl to him. He grinned at her before snatching up the box, pushing his hand in, and taking a handful out for himself.
"So where'd you get it?" She asked again, pointedly waiting for an answer.
Daryl shrugged, "Found it in the cupboard; Glenn probly picked it up."
They sat in silence for a while, Andrea staring fixedly at anything other than Daryl while blindly eating the cereal. Each bite was a flavor explosion her mouth and she wasn't going to admit this to Daryl, who still found the time to go out and hunt squirrels or other types of vermin whenever he could. The silence was comfortable only because they had sat in silence many times before. But she slowly became aware of him just staring at her. When she turned to look at him, he stared back at her unapologetically.
"What?" She asked with a tint of anger in her voice.
"Ya look like shit." He drawled out, "Why're ya up early? Earlier'n usual?"
Andrea sighed and flopped her torso on the table, propping her head on her hand, using her elbow to support her head's weight. She felt the baby kick—it was always kicking nowadays and with much more force than normal—and grumbled nonsensical sounds out. Finally, she said, "It woke me up and I couldn't get to sleep. God, I wonder if this is what Lori felt like."
Daryl was silent for a moment before he popped another handful of cereal into his mouth and chewed without abandon. She looked at him for a long moment, watching him eat, before sitting back and picking at her food.
"What, not hungry now?" He asked and reached forward, snagged her bowl, and brought it to him, promptly ignoring the box of cereal, which he set on the table. She let him do it, feeling slightly queasy, and as she resituated herself uncomfortably, she felt that odd little pinch in her lower stomach again.
"Dunno." She mused as she watched him wolf down the sugary pieces. When she smiled faintly, remembering more romantic times with him, he scowled at her. His hand flipped through the air, cutting it sharply.
"Ain't nothin' t' smile about. Y'need food." He said.
Rolling her eyes, Andrea answered, "Yes, mother."
She waved her hand at him and he sent the bowl skidding back across the table. She caught it with her hand and halfheartedly pushed a few pieces into her mouth. She could tell that he didn't believe her feigned happiness at eating. After pushing a few more pieces down, she slid the bowl back over. He glared at her before accepting the bowl again.
He was already dressed, probably hadn't even undressed for the night, and she felt horribly underdressed. She tugged her bathrobe closer around her body almost unconsciously and tried to hide the small bump of her stomach. She knew she was farther along than her body physically admitted but she didn't know how much farther. She felt almost awkward in front of the man she felt a serious attraction to. They'd never said they loved each other but that's what she felt. She didn't even want to ask to see if he felt the same way.
But the way he was looking at her now suggested that he might have some feelings for her, too. She smiled at him almost weakly and tugged on the sleeves of her robe and he leaned back, crossing his legs in that way he crossed his legs, and watched her. She felt his gaze hot on her skin and it sent tingles up her arms; the baby started kicking again.
Finally he said, "Should go get more sleep."
Andrea smiled a half-smile, "You know that's not how it works." She sighed and ignored the baby's kicks, ignored that weird pain sensation. "Once I'm up, I'm up. You're the one who should be asleep. What is it, four in the morning?"
Daryl raised an eyebrow and his lips puckered a bit like he didn't believe her at all. "No one's got the time anymore."
The small smile dropped, "Yeah, you're right. Not since Dale."
Daryl picked up another handful of cereal and stuffed it in his mouth before pushing off from his seat and crossing the kitchen. He stopped at the door to the living room and looked back at her. "I'm gonna take ya up on that. Sleepin' sounds good."
When he left, she waited a few seconds before leaning forward and grabbing the cereal box and looking at it. The games on the back of the box were easy, for little kids, but they were reminders of a time long past. After a while of staring at the games, she set the box down, stood from the chair, made her way through the house and past Daryl's Couch, opened the front door, and stepped outside. She hugged the robe closer to her body, thankful for the extra layer of clothing, and leaned on the column that separated the porch from the outside world.
The morning was chilly and a faint pinkness shone in the gray light. She could just make out the shapes of the houses, of a bird flitting through the air, its shadowed form dark in the sky. She watched its passing before noting another disturbance in this morning's birth. Squinting, she could barely make out its shape. It shuffled down the street, closer to her house than she liked, and she instinctively crouched, ignoring her body's protests.
Behind it came others, staggering, struggling, acting in a way she knew instinctively to be no longer human. She stifled a gasp, putting her hand quickly to her mouth, and pushed herself backward. Her other hand automatically felt for her gun but she knew it was nowhere on her body. Then she made herself move as quickly as she could and forced herself to sprint to where Daryl lay.
"Daryl!" She hissed and instantly he was sitting upright, his eyes trained on her.
"What now?" He growled, but she could hear that distinct undercurrent of fear and could see that his eyes were on her stomach. Nevertheless, he tried to cover it up with a quick: "Was tryin' to sleep."
"Daryl, there are walkers all over the street. You move quicker; I'll get Glenn and Maggie, you need to warn Rick and the others." Andrea said quickly and Daryl jumped up and ran to the window overlooking the street outside. What came out of his throat was not human; it was guttural, almost like the sounds the animals he hunted made.
Then he grabbed his crossbow and pushed the door open. "Get Glenn. I don't want you outside. Yer in no state to help."
Andrea scowled but understood and made her way over to the stairs even before he'd finished talking. She felt a weird tugging sensation in her heart and turned back to him, suddenly nervous to see him leave. She'd never felt that feeling quite as strong before. She saw him looking at her and she saw him actually gave her a gruff sort of smile as he hefted his crossbow up.
"Don't worry, Andrea. I'll come back." He said and left into the predawn morning, taking care to shut the door after him.
She looked at where he had stood before shaking herself and climbing the stairs. The walkers had finally breached the safe zone's defenses. No one was safe anymore.