I DON'T OWN THEM!

The rough wind brings tears into Daryl's eyes. Winter in Virgina is so much colder than anything he has ever experienced in life. The year before his mother died...the year before she burnt to ashes, along with his home, his hopes and his childhood innocence...there had been snow in that part of Georgia he lived in. He remembers that he thought snow was wonderful, something from a fairytale. He remembers his excitement. His awe.

He hates the snow now.

He hates the biting frost, the howling of the wind, the white flakes dancing.

The cold slows the walkers. That is the only advantage of this weather.

He's worried about Carol.

She shouldn't be out here, exposed to harsh nature. She deserves a warm home, a big fireplace, a mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows. She deserves a place to rest. A comfortable bed with a thick and warm quilt. With cushions, lots of cushions.

She deserves so much more. He wishes, everything would be different. He dreams of other times and other places.

Her hand, covered by a pair of knitted mittens, slips into his.

"We'll find a place. Soon. I promise."

Her cheeks and her nose are red from the cold, her lips are chapped and her eyes are tired. Her silver hair is covered by a knitted hat, a thick scarf is wrapped several times around her neck. She wears a warm mens coat, but since she can't close it, she's also wrapped in a blankett. To him she is beautiful.

The grip of her hand tightens and a hiss escapes her mouth.

"We have to find a place. Soon."

They fight their way through the winter wonderland in search of a safe place, warm and dry. A place where their kid can be born.

Their kid.

Daryl smiles at this thought. Their kid. His kid.

The world ended and his life began. He found happiness in the apocalypse. He found acceptance and love. He had loved her for so long but he was too much of a coward to act on his feelings. And then there was this fateful day when Rick decided to banish her. To throw her away like yesterday's gargage. And Daryl thought, he had lost her for good. But she managed to save them all at Terminus and Daryl was happy and in love. And Rick...well Rick had been gateful for the rescue and he had accepted his daughter from Carol's arms with a nod and a smile that didn't reach his eyes. And than he told her to go. Told her, she wasn't wanted by her family. Told her, he didn't want his kids be with a cold blooded killer. She had turned around and started to walk away and Daryl had punched Rick square in the face. And he had walked away with her, never turning around. That night, he had hold her while she cried. It was the first time, he held her close. Feeling her, all of her. And comfort turned into passion.

The pain of Rick's betrayal is still burning in Daryl's heart and he knows, he will never get over it. He loved Rick as a brother once, hell even more than his brother.

But it is Rick's fault, that Carol is seperated from her family, from her friends, alone with him in the middle of the fuckin' zombie apocalypse, heavily pregnant in winter without shelter.

The house, they bunked in for the last months, has been overrun by a herd, Carol and Daryl had to run for their lives...again. They had to leave their makeshift home.

"Look", Daryl points out. Through the dense snow they can vaguely make out the outlines of a house.

"Thanks god", Carol sighs faintly.

They struggle through the snow, Daryl can sense the exhaustion in Carol. No, she definitely doesn't deserve this. There should be a hospital for her. A doctor. A midwife.

But when they see the house in detail, tears of dissapointment are springing in Daryl's eyes. It's a burnt-out ruin.

"But look over there." Carol points to the left. "There's a barn or something. Maybe we can rest there."

Together they get on their way.

The barn isn't broken. The walls are stable and keep off the biting wind. There is hay left and a faint smell of farm animals lingers in the air.

With a groan Carol sinks the floor. Daryl drapes their blanketts around her, trying to make a comfortable nest for her, trying to give her comfort, trying to help her through the pain and the fear. He's scared. He's afraid of losing her, of losing his child, afraid that he might be forced to put her down.

But all his fears dissapear as he hears the first cry of his newborn daughter. Strong and healthy.

And his heart bursts of love.

They cuddle close, for warmth. Carol drifts to sleep, exhausted but happy, Daryl can't stop looking at his beautiful daughter, taking in her delicate features, mesmerized by her softness and her smell and he knows, he's helplessly in love with this tiny girl.

The creaking from the barn door ripps him out of his daze and he grabs their riffle.

A young man enters the barn, cautiously with raised arms.

"Please, don't shoot! My name is Aaron. I've been following you for some times, I was hoping to talk to you before childbirth, but I've lost your track in the snow. I'm from a safe community and I wanted to take you there. We have a sheriff and a doctor and we are harmless."

Daryl snorts and remembers Terminus and Woodbury.

"Please, believe me. I have gifts for you." Slowly, not to startle the man with the riffle aiming at him, he takes of his backpack and opens it. He offers Daryl food and water and Daryl takes.

"May I sit down with you?" Aaron asks guardedly. Daryl nods and lowers the riffle.

After beeing betrayed by his so-called brother, maybe it is time to trust a stranger.

"They ok?" the stranger asks and looks at Carol and the baby.

"Tired", Daryl says.

Suddenly Aaron starts to chuckle and says "You certainly don't know the exact date of today."

Daryl shrugs his shoulders. "I don't care. It's winter."

"Right. You are here. With your wife and your kid. It's a barn but not a stable. And tonight it's christmas eve. And I found you and can bring you to Alexandria. It's a small christmas miracle."

Daryl watches his family and he feels hope and love.

Maybe it is a christmas miracle.

Merry christmas y'all.