I ain't claimin' nothin'.
"What are we trackin'?" Beth hefted the heavy crossbow in her hands as they walked through the woods just outside the relative safety of Alexandria.
"You're outta practice," said Daryl, carrying his own little bundle. Only problem was this package tended to squirm. And he needed a diaper change. "All the signs are there."
"Well, I'm sorry I've been too busy raising your child to do much trackin'." She sighed in exasperation as she crouched down to study the ground. "Someone walked through here. Someone alive. Maybe someone big or carrying somethin' heavy."
"Good. Keep trackin'."
He was proud of her. She hadn't been outside the safe zone since they arrived almost a year and a half ago, a few months before Andrew was born. But she still remembered all the things he'd taught her. Of course, he'd also done his best to leave an obvious trail behind so that it'd be easier for her to read.
She was moving more confidently now, pausing every once in a while to examine the forest floor or a broken branch. Her long, blond hair was pulled into a braid that fell down her back, almost to her waist. And her hips moved with a smooth, easy grace that reminded him why he'd gotten her knocked up in the first place. Twice.
"Admiring the view back there?" She smiled at him over her shoulder, as if she knew exactly what he'd been thinking about.
"You know it," he said, striding towards her to give her a kiss. Unfortunately, little Andy couldn't resist being so close to his mommy and not being in her arms. He almost wriggled himself out of Daryl's embrace.
"Give him to me," she said, her smile shifting as she went from being a lover to a mother. She handed him the crossbow. "You take point."
"Are you sure?" He'd planned it so that she wouldn't have to spend the day caring for children, like she did every day. Not just Andrew, but Judith and Norm, Rick and Michonne's little ones, and Hershel and Annie, Maggie and Glenn's. And there was another on the way. He rested his free hand on her growing belly. "I could carry them both."
"That depends. How far is it?"
Now he was really proud of her. "Just to that clearing up ahead. How'd you know?"
"I gotta see those boot prints every day since you forget to wipe your feet before you come in the house."
He smiled and drew her out of the woods, into the sunshine. She gasped with delight at the field of green grass, dotted with patches of wildflowers. Moving quickly to the cooler he'd brought earlier, he pulled out the blanket and spread it out.
"Oh, Daryl," she said, dropping to her knees and setting Andrew down, "this is beautiful."
He pulled out the little cake that he'd asked Carol to make. "Birthdays, summer picnics, and holidays. That's what you dreamed of, right?"
"You remembered?" She looked up at him, her eyes full of love and wonder.
"I remember everything." He kissed her then, finally getting to enjoy the soft sweetness of her mouth. "Time to make a new wish, Beth Dixon."
"What I'm wishin' right now wouldn't exactly be appropriate with Andrew around." She leaned in close, her lips brushing his ear. "But maybe tonight, I can make both our dreams come true."
Her smile made him shiver with anticipation. He'd married a hell of a woman.