READ FIRST! :)
A/N-Ok dear amazing readers! My muse woke up and kicked my ass for this humorless chapter! Once I recovered from the severe beating I inserted this edit! From the point where you see this- ~EDIT!~ to this ~END EDIT!~ I have inserted a "deleted scene" if you will. I hope you all enjoy it! Much love and thanks!
~hateofme
A/N-Thank you thank you thank you for all of your comments, reviews, follows, favorites, and help! I swear I will reply to everyone more in depth in the next chapter but I really wanted to get this up for you guys! I'm going to apologize in advance for this chapter-I'm not sure if I like it but I wanted to just slam it out and get back in my writing groove! This story is going to take a different direction than I had originally intended so I hope you all like it! Also eventually Ann and Daryl are going to be separated for a chapter or two-since I've been doing this predominantly in Ann's POV when they are separated would you like to see Daryl's POV as well? Thanks again and please leave a review to let me know if you think I may have killed this story! For all of the seriousness in this chappy I do plan to keep the humor in the next one! Much love!
~hateofme
"C'mon." Daryl grabbed her by the elbow and started dragging her off towards the camp urgently.
Ann planted her feet and pitifully was just dragged along. "Think you might want to fix that." She stated staring at his crotch.
He looked down where her gaze was pointed at his dick hanging slightly out of his hurriedly pulled up boxers, pants hanging low about his hips and reddened. "Dammit." He muttered quickly dropping her arm to fix himself. As soon as he was satisfied he reached for her frowning as she hopped out of reach.
"Just what do you think we're doing right now Dixon?" She grinned.
Scowling at her he reached again only to have her jump away once more. "The hell you think? Quit fuckin' aroun'." He snapped.
"Yeah, no. I thought we understood that there's no sex going on with that," She gestured to his side. "Still so fresh."
Daryl growled stalking toward her. "Ain't fuckin' wit ya now c-"
"Everything ok here?" Jimmy's 'I'm trying to be brave' voice came from off to the side.
Ann whirled blushing; had he seen anything? What was this kid thinking-trying to play brave butting into Darryl's business of all people? "Peachy." She said hurriedly trying to save the poor boy from Daryl's sure to be wrath.
He looked at her concerned before glaring at Daryl. "Rick was lookin' for ya." He said with an uncalled for air of superiority.
One look at Daryl's face had Ann sure he was going to blow. Would Hershel still let them live here if he murdered Jimmy? She thought it might hurt their chances. "Well then!" She said brightly. "I'm just going to go...and...find Amy!" She invented lamely. "See ya!" She waved and whirled around hurriedly trying to make her escape.
"I can walk you back." Came Jimmy's self assured voice.
The kid couldn't take a hint and she swore she heard Daryl growl. "That's ok Jimmy, I'm a big girl." She tried to grin. "I'll meet you back at our tent, yeah?" She addressed Daryl trying to get his attention off of the boy he looked like he was going to chop into shell bait.
Daryl nodded his head shortly, his narrowed eyes never leaving Jimmy. "Git yer' shit back in there." He bit out.
Ann rolled her eyes; well duh that is kind of what she had been trying to get across when she said our. "Yes dear." She said mockingly and fled barely making it into camp before running headlong into an angry Merle, bouncing down to her backside and wincing.
"God damn bitch! Watch where yer' goin'!" He snapped at her reaching his hand down to yank her up.
"I'll get right on that sunshine." She grumbled rubbing her shoulder. "I think you dislocated it."
Merle rolled his eyes. "Fuckin' baby. All y'all women are fuckin' pussies."
Ann narrowed her eyes at the outraged man for a second trying to decide what she was going to do. She grabbed his arm unexpectedly and yanked him as hard as she could, he followed by choice, she knew she couldn't move him if he didn't want to be moved. As they made their way to the 'hot spot' clearing in the woods, she drooped his arm and whirled. "What is your deal?" She snapped.
"Fuck off Ann, go play with Daryl or sumthin'."
She rolled her eyes. "Gee, I would but we're just plumb tuckered out from earlier. Lets cut the crap Merle. You just got laid for the first time at least since the world went to shit, you should be happy so what the fuck is up."
He looked at her panicked for a moment before he denied it vehemently. "Don' know what yer' talkin' 'bout. G'on an' make up some more stories girl. Git ya' in a heap of trouble."
She was starting to get impatient. "Merle, do you know how many times I've woken up to your bare ass in the tent? I saw you dip shit, and so did Maggie."
"Ya' been lookin' at my ass?"
They were getting off topic. "Every day it's all I dream of." She said dryly. "Now, what's crawled up that dreamy ass and got you in such a pissy mood."
"God, yer' a bitch sumtimes." He grumbled before erupting. "Tha' fuckin' girl! She done been chasin' me since we was at that other farm! I give in, say hey! I migh' fancy a fuck every now an' again. Now she's gone off an' won' talk ta' me cause I ran off! The fuck I supposed ta' do? Stan' there buck nekkid an' tell blondie 'M fuckin' her kid sister?" He ranted at her turning red.
Wow. That was a lot to absorb. And a lot of words in general coming from Merle. Amy had chased him? What the hell? And if Amy made it out to be just a fuck then why was she mad? Good god she didn't understand women any better than she understood men. "Obviously you tried to talk to her...what did you say?" She asked hesitantly.
"Nothin' bad! I gave her the damn shirt back." He exclaimed. "Said she was a good fuck, an' asked if she'd wanna' go again sumtime. Then she got fuckin' pissed starts hollerin' an' shit! Lucky we was the only two aroun' else wise everybody'd know by now." He ran his hand down his face and shook his head. "Ya' shoulda' jus' hooked up wit' me when ya firs' came ta the quarry Ann. Tha' girls been preyin' on a horny mother fucker. She got wha' she wanted. Don' know why she's fuckin' pissed."
"Good god you're a real charmer Merle. It's a wonder I didn't hop right into bed with you." Ann snorted hitting him in the arm, earning an affronted look from the frustrated man. "As for Amy, I have no clue. I mean, did she tell you she wanted a friendly fuck? Did she want more? A one off?"
Merle looked at her frustrated, he wasn't used to this type of conversation and his patience was wearing thinner than usual. But, he owed Ann, and he liked her so he figured he could keep his temper under control. "She said she wanted ta' fuck, said it don't have ta' be nothin' serious, jus' two friends scratchin' an itch." He bit out.
Ann furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, I know she enjoyed herself; I was standing right there, so she's not pissed because you were a let down or anything." She frowned chewing her lip. "Maybe she likes you more than you thought?"
Merle's pale eyebrows shot up as his mouth dropped, his face such a whirlwind of emotions that Ann could barely keep up with it. Astonishment, disbelief, happiness, anger, and even fright flew around before he settled with a slow forming smug smirk. "Thank ya' darlin'." He said sauntering away.
She took a page out of Glenn's book and smacked her head into her hand. It wasn't advice so much as general wondering! She could be so far off it wouldn't even be funny. Ugh.
"Can I talk with you?" Andreas voice called as soon as she breached the tree line.
Ann sighed, why did it feel like she was becoming everyone's councilor all of a sudden? "Of course!"
"Do you know who was with Amy?" Andrea demanded.
"Except about that." Ann deadpanned.
"Ann! This is serious!" She exclaimed.
Ann shook her head and pulled Andrea to sit next to her in the wild grass. "Why? She's twenty-four Andrea, not fourteen. What in the world will it change if you know?"
"But..." Andrea said pitifully. "I'm supposed to be looking out for her."
She eyed the clueless woman sadly. "Right now all you're accomplishing is driving her away."
"What am I supposed to do?" She asked exasperated with the whole thing. "Just let her run around doing whatever the hell she wants?"
"Kind of. She's a big girl Andrea. You've got to accept the fact that she has her own opinions and she can make decisions. You'll lose her otherwise." Ann gave the blonde a small hug and hurriedly trudged to the camp.
"Can I talk to you?" Amy's voice called from the RV. Without waiting for an answer she turned and let the door fall shut behind her.
What. The. Hell. She wanted to literally bang her head against a wall-any wall as she slowly walked to the camper, looking over longingly at the tent. "What's up Amy." She sighed once inside.
The younger blonde crossed her arms and faced Ann frowning. "You know." She accused.
Ann rolled her eyes. "Yep, that all?"
"Did Maggie tell you?"
"No, Amy. Like I told Merle, I've seen his bare ass enough mornings, and if that's not enough, process of elimination is. What's the big deal?" She asked resignedly.
"I don't want everyone thinking I'm a slut. It was bad enough when everyone thought you were sleeping with both of them; I mean you should have heard the stuff people said!" Amy turned pink. "Sorry." She mumbled.
"Yeah, don't think I want to know what anyone said. But honestly? Everyone knows you got your rocks off out there, I doubt finding out who it was with could make it much worse." Ann shrugged.
"Doesn't matter. It's not going to happen again so it shouldn't be a big deal." She argued not looking at Ann.
"Amy." She said suddenly. "Who came on to who?"
No doubt about it-Amy turned bright red. "Not sure." She mumbled.
Ann eyed her skeptically. "Hmmm. Ok then. Merle's a good guy Amy...and I'm saying this as your friend, if you hurt him you and I are going to have a problem."
"Right, like I could hurt Merle." She snorted.
She didn't like the way that this conversation was flowing but she'd be damned if she was going to let it go. "Just because he's gruff and an asshole in general doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings. I get this whole 'quest for independence' thing you're doing Amy, especially with Andrea on your back, but using Merle would be a real shitty thing to do. You have feelings for him fine-I'm not judging you. If you don't then you need to either stay the hell away or be pretty damn clear about what you want. And there's no changing your agreement; you two can be free to find someone else whenever. You got it?"
Amy looked away from her ashamed it seemed. "Yes. I'm sorry Ann, for being such a dumb ass."
She took that as the white flag and grinned. "As long as you know it, besides; having had a pretty good view of your ass earlier I can tell you it's definitely not dumb." She winked as Amy turned red and went on. "In fact I think it just might be one of the best I've ever seen."
A couple of laughs and jokes were exchanged and then Ann was finally just a few steps from her tent.
"Ann?" Glenn mumbled shuffling behind her.
Ok. She was either going to decapitate him or dissolve into a puddle of tears. "Yes?" She sighed turning around.
He shifted from foot to foot before nodding his head to a more private area for her to follow him to. "Ummm."
She did not have the patience for this right now. "Just spit out Glenn."
"Lori's pregnant." He stammered out quickly. "And there's walkers in the barn."
Twenty minutes later Ann sat in the Dixon tent staring at her hands and thinking hard. The shells in the barn shouldn't have come as such a big surprise, she knew Hershel thought that they were sick; but in the fucking barn? Really? They had been sleeping next to potential disaster for weeks? That's what bothered her. That and Lori being pregnant. Honestly she didn't know what to think about that one...I mean who was the father even? She got the pregnancy part, being in the middle of the world ending it was easy not to think about the potential of getting knocked up-and aside from what she assumed was an ever dwindling supply of condoms just how were people supposed to protect themselves? She was lucky she supposed snorting at the thought and shaking her head. Ironic, that. She would have never counted that as lucky before the world ended. In light of everything, or maybe despite it, she had asked Glenn to give her just one day until he told everyone and shit hit the proverbial fan.
"Ann?" Carl's voice called out hesitantly. "Mom sent me to tell you dinners ready..."
She stepped out of the tent smiling sadly at the boy. "Thanks kid."
He frowned looking up at her obviously struggling with whether to say something or not. Finally the dam burst. "Can I tell you a secret?"
Ann grinned at the kid; today seemed to be 'share with Ann day' but she couldn't begrudge the boy his talk. "Sure Carl, what's up?"
"My moms going to have a baby." He rushed out grimacing at himself.
Her eyes widened a fraction-how the hell did he know? "Not happy about it?" She asked trying to get a feel for why he was telling her.
He shrugged his shoulders eyes downcast. "Worried."
"Ah." She nodded sagely. "Be stupid not to." Noticing the slump his shoulders made she rushed on awkwardly. "But you know, babies always make people worry; even before all this crap. Having a baby...well, its damn scary and wonderful all rolled into one." She ruffled Ricks hat on his head playfully. "I know you'll protect that little one-and so will everyone else here, you'll see. Things'll work out."
Carl grinned, halfheartedly struggling away from her playfulness. "Did you ever have any kids Ann?" Ann froze and he saw instantly apologizing. "I'm sorry-I shouldn't-"
"Hey don't worry." She bit her lip and then smiled at him. "Can I tell you a secret?" He nodded cautiously. "When I was younger I had a boyfriend...nice, boring, dowdy..." She smiled again at the young boy beside her. "He wanted to get married, have a family, live in a perfect house... We...well we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of that, except a kid-I'd always wanted a kid. Well long story short we tried for awhile and paid thousands of dollars to have a doctor tell us I had a one in a zillion chance of ever carrying a baby to term. I had a lot of miscarriages. Your mom's lucky-and so are you. You're gonna get a little brother or sister that you get to teach all sorts of stuff."
She could see Carl processing her story when he looked up at her and asked. "What happened to your boyfriend?"
Ann laughed; that was not a question she had expected. "We left each other. Nothing in common anymore."
Carl kicked at the ground. "I'm sorry the doctor thinks you might never have a baby. I think you'd be a good mom." He mumbled, blushing slightly.
She couldn't help herself and wrapped him in a giant squeeze. "Don't tell anyone-it'll ruin this bad ass image I have going." She winked. "Go get some food kiddo-make sure Sophia eats good to!" She called after his retreating form.
"She helped Merle gut and clean it!" He called back with a full blown smirk as her jaw dropped. "I don't think she's real hungry."
Ann followed along after the boy grinning like mad; at least his talk made her feel like she wasn't lecturing him. So lost in her thoughts she was taken by surprise when, passing a log by the fire, a strong arm grabbed her and pulled her into lap. "You know, part of me alway wonders whether or not you'll ever grow out of this caveman phase."
"Shad'dup." Daryl grumbled good-naturedly in her ear shoving a plate into her hands.
"Awww, mah baby brothers finally learnin' how ta' treat a woman." Merle's antagonistic voice popped up.
Just like that she found herself shoved off of Daryl's warm lap landing in a heap on the ground; thankfully she'd managed to save her food. "Thanks for that dick wad." She said dryly at Merle, flipping him off.
He chuckled at her. "I ain't the one tha' one pushed ya' darlin'."
She glared at him biting her tongue; oh how she wanted to say something about him and Amy! But she would feel bad if she ruined the potential for any budding romance so she decided to stay quiet. "I wonder if because you don't know how to treat a woman you poke fun at Daryl because he does and he gets some?" Well, mostly quiet.
Snickers were heard from around the fire as Merle uncharacteristically blushed. "Shut yer' trap." He said angrily.
"I will if you will!" She smiled sweetly at him. Luckily his only response was the bird and continuous glowering.
After dinner was over Ann and Daryl retired to the tent telling Merle that he could have the other smaller one. She may have mentioned that he could use the alone time to figure out how to treat a lady or something like that. That could be why he made sure to make a ruckus outside of their tent for a good hour until Rick yelled at him, threatening to spill secrets. Apparently Rick knew to-at this point she seriously wondered who didn't.
She turned to find Daryl sitting on the cot watching her intently.
"What?" She asked uncomfortable-staring was just something that made her feel off; like did she have a giant booger on her face or something? A whole new sort of tense popped up when he gave her a very lengthy once-over and a smoldering smirk.
"Stan' up." He ordered
She eyed him confused. "Huh?"
"Stan'. Up." He repeated slowly.
Still looking at him as if he had sprouted another head she stood cautiously. Then his eyes went hot. Ooohhhh. Now she got it. And now she was starting to get fidgety...and hot.
"Take yer' shirt off."
Slowly Ann's fingers grabbed the edge of her, well Beth's, t-shirt and lifted it over her head, blushing. "Daryl what-" he shook his head sharply and she fell silent. His gaze was intense as it trailed over her dingy bra and holey jeans, suddenly standing and grabbing the top edge of her jeans, pulling her to him. Thinking that they were back in familiar territory she grabbed his pants as well starting to try and unbutton them. She was startled when he grabbed her hands and removed them from his pants.
"Nuh uh princess, 'm playin' righ' now." He looked at her sternly, trailing a hand from her wrist up her arm to her shoulder and feeling a rush when he watched goosebumps break out and felt her shiver in anticipation.
He ran both hands from either side of her chest, lightly brushing against the sides of her breasts, and running down to her jeans, smirking as her belly clenched. Painfully slowly, he unbuttoned her pants and pulled at the zipper, gradually tugging them down her hips and helping her to step out of them, tossed them in a corner. Ann couldn't repress a moan when he hooked a single finger on each side of her underwear and ran them in tandem towards her front. Lazily he dragged his callused hands up her sides and over her shoulders reveling in the stark desire he saw reflected in her eyes. One hand still on her shoulder he made his way to stand behind her smiling smugly to himself when she pressed her ass into his crotch.
She could feel his breath puffing in her ear. "Bet yer' nice an' wet fer' me, huh princess." It wasn't a question it was statement and she arched and moaned as he lightly bit her earlobe and then soothed it with his tongue.
Snagging each of her bra straps he slid them over her shoulders and down her arms before reaching to open the clasp in the back, letting the garment fall to the floor. Abruptly he removed his hands and turned to sit on the cot, motioning for her to stand in front of him. When she complied he stared at her hungrily.
"Fuckin' love yer' tits." He rasped smirking as she blushed. He stood quickly and shed his clothes wincing the barest amount when he pulled his shirt off. Before she could comment on how this probably wasn't a good idea, he reached for her and pulled her onto the cot situating them so that he was seated near the end and she was laying on her back near the top.
She propped herself up on her elbows and raised a brow. "I don't mind telling you that I'm super confused right now, Dixon." He merely arched a brow back so she continued. "I mean you're side is still messed up-it hasn't even been a full day, and even if we were going to do anything, me up here and you down there is really not conducive to any kind of sex."
Daryl rubbed at his chin in exaggerated thought. "Hmmm maybe yer' righ'." He grinned in what she swore was an evil way before lunging at her and somehow managing to flip himself into her previous position, and her straddling his lap. At the shocked look on her face he leered almost playfully before getting back to business. "Now, baby, I wan't ya' ta' ride me."
He spoke with complete authority and Ann felt the panic rising up in her- she HATED being on top. She had felt that Daryl would understand that she didn't like to be in control, and even though she knew that this probably was one of the best positions for his side she selfishly didn't want to do it. "Daryl I-"
"Princess I ain't askin' ya'. This sumthin' in yer' head tha' ya think wont work is bull. An' ya know it." His hands tightened on her hips as he glowered at her.
She took a deep breath trying to calm herself. She knew if she really didn't want to that he wouldn't force her-knew that's not what he was saying. He was telling her that he knew that she would enjoy it-that she had to trust him enough to let that happen. Did she trust him? She chewed her lip, at least with sex, yeah, she did. "Ok." She whispered feeling a little validated when a genuine smile broke out over his face, even though it was quickly replaced by pure lust.
"Alrigh'," He nodded his head at her. "Than ride me."
Ann rose up bracing herself on her knees, careful to keep away from his injured side, and carefully positioned his hard cock at her opening. Apparently she hesitated for too long on the downstroke because the next thing she knew the hands on her hips had tightened again and pulled her down hard, impaling her on his rigid length.
"Fuck!" She hissed glaring down at him. Sure it felt fan-fucking-tastic, but that didn't mean he could just command her or use her damn body however whenever he felt! Oooohhh. She had a moment of clarity; he did understand her need to not be in control- and this was his way of playing it on his terms. Well played jackass, well played.
She rose as slowly as she could clenching him tightly and smirking as his head lolled back and a hiss escaped his lips. He looked up just in time to catch the smirk and narrowed his eyes further, pulling her down to slam onto him again, smirking as she moaned.
"Like that baby?" He grunted pulling her up almost completely off of him.
She looked at him confused; he was just holding her there and arching a damn eyebrow! What the hell? She needed him inside her now! She almost cried out of pure relief when she realized what he was waiting for. "Yes." She breathed. "Please Daryl, fuck me..." She hesitated, did she really want to say this now? "I need you so bad."
He caught her eyes with his smoldering ones and she swore she felt like she might literally burn right up. "Damn righ'." He grunted opening his hands and letting her fall back onto him.
Ann bit her lip harshly trying to keep her noises at bay; all they needed was the whole camp rushing in here thinking she was being eaten. Hmmm eaten, now there was a thought. As if he sensed that he didn't have her complete attention he pulled her down as he thrust his hips up particularly hard, enjoying the gasp that escaped her lips.
"So fuckin' tight, princess." He grunted as he bounced her along his cock. "So fuckin' wet." He grunted again. "Feels like heaven." He felt her starting to clench around him and knew that once again he wasn't going to last much longer. Quickly helping her establish her own rhythm he moved one hand down to where they were joined. Distracted by the erotic sight he watched for a moment as he slid in and out of her tightly spread lips, covered in her essence, her clit straining. He grinned ruefully at himself for being distracted before placing his fingers on the swollen nub and rubbing. Not three thrusts later she came hard clenching and undulating around his cock, milking it for all she was worth.
Collapsing against his chest Ann was breathing hard. She was sticky, sore, sweaty, and sated, and oddly enough she felt like a million bucks. She smiled slightly and kissed Daryl's cheek gently without realizing it and lay her head back onto his chest, drifting quickly off to sleep.
Not wanting to lose the comfort and warmth he was feeling from her, not to mention he liked still having his dick buried inside her, he managed to roll them both onto their sides facing each other. He was also quite proud that he managed to keep his now half hard cock in place; that should make for a good morning. Daryl smiled gently placing a kiss to her forehead when he was positive that she was asleep and drifted off himself.
That good morning never came. Wreaked with unending bouts of nausea Ann had stumbled from the tent in the wee hours of the morning and spent at least fifteen minutes puking, and another ten burying said puke so it wouldn't attract anything and so no one would find out. The next few days were hell as she realized that she was indeed pregnant. It was something she decided not to share with anyone, after all she had been through this a few times. Once she miscarried she needed to look at everything and make sure it all passed. If it didn't then it was sharing time-Hershel would have to get the rest out somehow; ugh.
~EDIT!~
"Hey Ann!" Maggie hollered and motioned her over. "Come on and help me get some veggies!"
She grinned and jogged over to the woman. "Your slave driving ways charm everyone around here, or just me?"
Maggie stuck her tongue out. "Honestly? I want some dirt on your group-I'm so damn bored."
Ann snorted. "Dirt on us? You sound like a bad black and white TV detective. Are you gonna play hardball?"
"C'mon! I need to know! What's going on with Merle and Amy! And also is there a little something happening with Andrea and Shane?" She pleaded.
"I feel like one of those batty old ladies that gossip about the neighbors in their bathrobes with curlers in their hair." She groaned.
"Aaaaa-aannnn!" Maggie whined.
She really wasn't one to spread gossip...but she had been dying to talk to Maggie about this! "Okay Maggie geeez! Just promise me your voice will never sound like that around me again."
She tried to frown at her but couldn't manage, instead she broke out with a laugh. "Cross my heart." She promised taking her index finger and doing just that.
"Ready for all the news?" Maggie grinned and leaned closer to her expectantly. "Nothing."
"What!" She yelped. "What do you mean!"
"I don't know a damn thing for sure and its driving me insane!" Ann admitted. "I think Merle likes Amy and vise versa, but aside from little looks here and there-which I may have imagined- nothing seems to be going on!"
"No," Maggie shook her head. "There's got to be something going on there." She opened her mouth to say more but snapped it shut as she watched two figures disappear into the woods. She focused her eyes on Ann. "Wanna play detective with me?" She grinned evilly.
Ann turned smirking as she saw tail end of the escaping couple. "All in the name of investigating group dynamics, right?"
Maggie grinned like a damn Cheshire Cat. "Of course!"
"Just a stroll through the woods, two friends talking, not looking for anyone?"
"Yep."
"And if we catch them going at it like dogs in heat we snigger at the noises and save any embarrassing finds for future use? And of course run away quickly before we're caught?"
"Yep."
"Well, then!" Ann beamed brightly at Maggie. "Dear friend, would you like to take a stroll?"
"Dying to!" Maggie squealed and they were off.
As they crept through the trees and foliage Ann couldn't keep quiet. "If they really are doing it out here, do you think this has become the official spot for the group?"
"Ewww!" Maggie blushed bright mumbling. "Apparently."
She turned toward the blushing woman surprised. "Oh god! You and Glenn out here to?! This place is tainted." She griped. "Amy and Merle, you and Glenn,..." Her voice trailed off as they heard shuffling and branches breaking ahead of them.
Hand on an axe just to be safe they slowly crept forward to the patch that they had spied Merle and Amy at days before. A critter of some sort had made the brush thinner in the shrubs that hid them from view. Ann saw the "window" and motioned to Maggie. Slowly carefully they peeked through at the same time-and abruptly slapped hands over each others mouths, falling backwards.
"Did you hear that?" Came the woman's worried voice.
"Yeah...stay here I'll go check it out."
The couple started to argue and Maggie looked at Ann with wide eyes. "I think we're at the run away quickly part." She whispered panicked.
"Yeah." Ann croaked grabbing her arm and yanking it, sprinting as fast as they could back to camp. They were going so fast they didn't even stop when they saw a startled Amy and Merle heading towards what Ann would forever classify as 'the humping grounds'.
Instead the two women hissed frantically at the couple. "Fucking run! Wrong way!" Causing the brief looks of guilt to quickly melt away. Merle's to be replaced by concern and Amy's by fear.
"Wha'-" Merle started before Ann grabbed his arm as she passed noting as Maggie did the same to Amy's. Together the four hauled ass and collapsed breathing heavily by the fire pit, earning them raised eyebrows from Rick, T, Glenn, and Daryl. Merle and Amy recovered quickly, having not run as far or as long.
"Wha' in tha hell you two dumb broads doin'." Merle snapped at them.
Ann and Maggie looked queasily at one another. "Nothing." Ann mumbled at the same time Maggie mumbled "Takin' a walk."
"Oh god act normal." Ann said in alarm looking past everyone towards the woods they had just run out of.
"Amy, Merle! Ann and I need help picking some veggies." Maggie interrupted in a strangled voice, leading the odd group back over to the garden.
Rick, Daryl, Glenn, T, and Dale looked around at each other confused. "What in the world?" Rick started before noticing the large grin on Lori's face. She quickly wiped the smile off when she noticed him looking, but he had already followed her gaze out to the woods. When he realized who was approaching it was all he could do to hide his grin as well.
Ann and Maggie blindly pulled at the vegetables in the garden as Shane and Andrea walked by.
"Hey!" Shane called. "Anyone runnin out in the woods earlier?"
Merle gave them a once over and to his credit didn't say a damn thing about his deductions. "Nah, why? Wha' you two doin' ou' there anyhow?"
"Heard some noises." Shane glared at the man. "What are you doing over here. Shouldn't you be out huntin or something." He looked over at the three women. "Y'all seen anyone?"
"They been pullin' food all day." Merle interrupted. "Came up here ta' tell em ta' take a break. China mans gettin' mighty worried bout his lady workin so hard."
Ann was incredibly thankful that they had picked a decent amount before running off; it looked like they might have been picking for quite a while. She stood quickly. "May as well go take that break now." She said forcing herself to walk at a normal pace all the way to Daryl, placing her back against his chest.
Shane's couldn't leave it alone as he followed them. "Y'all seen anyone wandering around the woods? Andrea heard something and asked me to check it out. Didn't find nothing though." He eyed everyone critically.
Oh god. Thought Ann. Everyone was going to tattle on them. She felt in her pocket desperately, hoping to find some odd change in there. She was pleasantly surprised when she did find a mash up of change and a lighter. Ignoring the lighter she grabbed at the change hurriedly. Placing the penny between her middle finger and thumb discreetly she waited for the sorry bastard that would speak first.
Glenn looked around at everyone confused. "I thought-OUCH!" He yelped smacking at his arm where a red welt was appearing.
"Must of got bit by somethin'." Maggie said quickly dragging him off to the house.
Ann almost laughed out loud and she could feel Daryl's chest moving subtly against her- he was laughing. She grabbed the next penny and held it tight waiting to see if anyone else was going to speak. Apparently T-dog was target number two, as he looked around them uncomprehending.
"Didn't yo- DAMMIT!" He shouted clapping a large hand to his neck.
Daryl's chest was shaking harder against her back and at this point she wondered how no one had noticed him laughing. She peeked up quickly behind her and was shocked at how completely stoic he looked. He winked down at her so quickly that she wasn't sure if she saw it or if it was just in her mind. She grabbed the last penny and shot it straight at Merle's cheek and pinching her leg at the same time, giving a loud yelp as Merle let loose a whole string of curses.
"Looks like we're all getting bit. Maybe everyone should bunker down inside their tents while us bit folk go get ourselves checked out!" So saying Ann clutched Daryl's hand and marched swiftly toward the house followed by Merle and T.
An angry Amy slammed the door to the camper at Andreas "You didn't get bit! You don't need to go."
Ann reached the front door as it flung open, revealing a reddened Glenn who was promptly shoved out of the way by Maggie who dragged the ridiculous ensemble upstairs to her room, shutting the door. Maggie and Ann collapsed on her bed holding each other as they laughed so hard they cried.
"Brother, if we had a camera..." Merle trailed off grinning.
"Shad'dup." Daryl snapped.
"What is going on here." T-dog exclaimed.
"We...went for a walk..." Ann started.
"Purely to hang out." Maggie piped in.
"And found Shane and Andrea..."
"Doing..." Maggie turned grey and motioned for Ann to tell the rest.
"I-" Ann stopped and shook her head. "Unspeakable sex acts."
"That we will not ever talk about." Maggie looked at Ann for confirmation.
Ann nodded. "Never." She looked thoughtful before eyeing Maggie evilly. "Is it talking about it if I say I had no idea that a mans pubic hair could get that long?"
Choking laughs were heard from everyone but Maggie who groaned "I'm going to be sick."
And Daryl who growled "The fuck you lookin' at tha' shit fer'."
Ann blushed. "Well honestly! When we looked through branches it really wasn't a matter of choosing to look at it! It was right there! I mean I felt like all that hair was reaching out to strangle me!"
"Please! This is not not talking about it!" Maggie said pathetically covering her head with her pillow.
"At least I'm not talking about what they were doing." She muttered shuddering.
"No!" Maggie's muffled voice came from underneath the pillow. "No! No! No! You mention that and I will personally feed you to a walker!
In all honesty she had no intention of ever talking about that. That was going to be buried into a dark recess of her brain that wouldn't even be found after years of therapy. "Don't worry- there are some boundaries even I won't cross."
"What-" T-dog began.
"No." Said Ann and Maggie simultaneously.
Maggie turned to Ann. "What the hell did you throw at everyone anyway-and, better question, how did you do it without anyone seeing you?"
Merle, Glenn, and T turned to her glaring. "Ya' did wha'?!" Growled Merle.
"Damn girl! What'd you hit us with?" T-asked begrudgingly amazed.
Ann could see Daryl's grin threatening to escape. "Pennies." She mumbled. "Wait! How did you know?" She exclaimed at Daryl.
To everyone's amazement he chuckled. "Darlin' when yer fumblin' aroun' reachin' in pockets make sure they're yer' own pockets." He smirked, unashamedly enjoying the comprehension dawning quickly followed by a deep red blush.
Merle interrupted the moment. "No fuckin' way ya' hit me wit' a little ol' penny."
At this Glenn leaned extremely close to Merle making everyone wonder if he had a death wish. "That little Abe Lincoln might disagree." He laughed pointing at the welt on Merle's face.
Ann leaped off of Maggie's bed and jumped over to Merle dragging his face down to her level. "Ha haa ha haa!" She snorted laughing even louder as he pushed her away. On his cheek in a bright shiny red/purple welt was the perfect indent of a penny, Abe Lincoln and all.
~END EDIT!~
Over the next few weeks things seemed to get worse around the camp. From Andrea and Shane's obvious sexual tension, to Amy and Merle's should-have-been-so-obvious-but-wasn't tension, to the shells in the barn. Now that had been a shitty day-not that Glenn had told right away. No, that gem had just come over five weeks later, and boy were they unprepared for it. Not because of the shells by any means; she was unprepared for other things. Ann slumped against the porch remembering how that day had gone.
~Flashback~
"I know y'all ain't doin' the nasty in my tent!" Merle's voice hollered.
Ann moaned angrily rolling over. "Daryl's out there with you, you damn fool." Cracking her eyes open she saw Merle's head poking in the tent flap grinning and it pissed her the fuck off. "Dammit jackass I just want to fucking sleep, is that alright with you?"
His grin morphed into a frown as he sat across her on his cot. "What in tha hell is wrong wit'cha Ann? Yer' bein' tha biggest god damn bitch I ever met. Can't nobody say nuthin' to ya' wit' out ya jumpin' down their throats."
She cringed; yeah she knew that. "Don't worry Merle I'll be back to normal soon." She mumbled covering her head.
His brows furrowed as he tried to understand. "Chu' on the rag 'r sumthin'?"
She snorted in spite of her general stormy disposition of late. "Something like that yeah."
"Well at least ya ain't knocked up like tha' cunt ou' there." He jerked his head toward where she assumed Lori must be.
"Yeah."
"C'mon girl, gotta git tha' nasty pussy up." He grinned. "Sides Sophie's been dyin' ta show ya' how she cin' gut an' skin a squirrel." He chortled knowing her tolerance for those subjects was low and left before she could come up with something scathing to say back.
Ewww just the sound of something being cleaned and gutted had her stomach rolling. She desperately tried to think of anything else, Daryl, the unending drama at the camp, Hershel's apparent fascination with needles...oh god. Ann took off like a shot, bolting off of her cot and into the woods, landing on her hands and knees. She was so intent on not throwing up she didn't notice the startled figure off to her side. Oh man, her stomach felt like it was literally rolling now and she couldn't help the bile that rose up in her throat. Seconds, minutes, or maybe even hours later she realized that someone was rubbing her back gingerly and holding her hair away from her face.
Wiping the back of her hand across her mouth she turned to face a concerned Shane. "Fuck." She mumbled.
"Wanna explain what just happened here Ann?" He looked at her crossly folding his arms when she said nothing. "Alright, how bout I explain it to you."
Ann looked up at him with wide eyes; there was no way he could put it together that quickly. She should just claim she was a little sick or something. "I don't know what you think Shane-" He cut her off.
"I'll tell ya what I think. I think I ain't the only one around here stupid enough to forget a condom."
Her legs felt incredibly shaky. Wow, obviously he could figure it out that quickly. "Don't poke your nose in other people's business Shane."
"He deserves to know."
"Yeah, just like Rick knows?" She spat wanting to withdraw the comment instantly. That was a horrible thing to say. She was shocked when he nodded even though she could see the anger laying just beneath the surface.
"Yeah, just like Rick knows." He patted her on the shoulder. "Rick knows everything. We all discussed it-and I'm not gonna ever be more than Uncle Shane...better that way."
Ann stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm soo sorry Shane. I shouldn't have said anything."
"Nah, probably not." He turned giving her a little grin. "But your ass got a bun in the oven, so you have an excuse. You don't have an excuse about tellin Daryl though."
"I can't have kids." Ann sighed heavily not making eye contact.
"I know it seems like-" Shane started but Ann cut him off irritated.
"No. Shane I literally can not have kids. If I even manage to get knocked up I miscarry. Always been that way. Paid thousands of dollars to have top of the line doctors tell me that it will always be that way." She smiled sadly. "I think it'd be rather cruel to tell him he's got a baby for a couple of weeks before my body kills it, don't you?"
Shane looked at her and she could see shock and genuine empathy there. "We're a pair eh' Ann? You got a good thing going but can't keep the kid, I had a dumb thing going and the kid stays but not as mine." He ran his hand through his hair. "God, this shit sucks."
Despite the situation Ann barked out a laugh. "Yeah, yeah it does."
Shane shook his head again. "You shouldn't be doing this alone though. Ain't right."
"Aww, don't worry officer; I'm a big girl. Why this morning I even managed to throw up and make it back into the tent with no one the wiser." She said sarcasm dripping from her voice.
He frowned at her. "I'm not gonna talk any sense into you, am I?"
"Fraid not. What say you come and eat those nasty smelling eggs for me? On the down low though." She winked.
~Present Day~
The walkers had been dispatched, Hershel had run off, and Beth had gone off the deep end-it hadn't been any better than the day before. Not only all of that but Rick, the angel of god damn mercy that he was had brought back a kid from when they got Hershel. The kid (or at least his group) was bad news-but he was still a teenager. That fact and that fact alone was why, five entire weeks after he had been brought to the farm they were still discussing what to do with him.
"Ann, can I talk to you?" Dales concerned voice came.
Ann sighed. Dale had been making rounds of the group trying to convince them not to kill the kid-it looked like it was her turn. "Yeah, what's up Dale?"
He looked at her concern etched across his features as he struggled to put his thoughts into words. After a good minute Ann decided to help him out. "I don't care what happens to Randal."
He looked startled. "No! No, that's not why... Do you mind if we to somewhere private?"
Well now she was confused-what else did he want to talk about? "The RV work for you?" She questioned.
He nodded and led the way off of the porch and made his way to the camper, holding the door open for her. He took off his wrinkled fishing hat and held it in his hands looking at her strangely. "It's not my place Ann...but...I'm worried about you."
"Why?" She asked surprised narrowing her eyes as he looked pointedly at her stomach. "Are you kidding!?" She snapped angrily. "Shane's got the biggest damn mouth of anyone I've ever met!"
Dale's eyes widened comically. "Shane knows?!"
She winced. "Or maybe that's me."
"Ann! You have to tell Daryl! Do you realize how he'll feel if he finds out that Shane knew before him!"
"I know you're trying to help Dale, but you don't know the whole story!" Ann exclaimed desperate to keep him quiet.
He put the hat down on the kitchen table and sat across from her folding his hands. "Then tell me." He said simply.
"I've been through this before. I miscarry. Before the 'end of the word'." She raised her fingers in quotations. "I paid a doctor thousands of dollars to tell me that I'm virtually incapable of carrying a pregnancy to term! This pregnancy will end very soon." She stated.
"He still deserves to know." Dale pleaded quietly.
"That's just cruel!" She pronounced angrily. "I will not let him mourn a child that never had a chance!"
"His child." He emphasized.
Ann pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. She could feel a headache coming on as she opened her mouth to reply Dale spoke.
"How far along?"
Her mouth snapped shut-she had been avoiding this question from Shane. "I-" she said in defeat. "Eleven weeks I think."
Dale sighed. "Norma, my late wife, she couldn't have kids either you know. Something about her uterus wasn't right. I remember though, the doctors telling her some things. About after you get past the twelfth week your chances of carrying to term go up exponentially."
Ann stared at him ashamed-she knew that as well. In fact she had never made it past seven weeks in any previous pregnancy, and now here she was almost at the twelve week marker. "I know." She embraced Dale tearfully. "I'm kinda scared...but I promise if I make it to twelve weeks I'll tell him ok?"
Relief was written across his face. "Thank you Ann. Norma tried to go it alone a few times and I wish she would have trusted me more. I could have been there for her."
"I'm sure you were." She patted the mans arm and left the RV to run into a solid chest and fall on her butt. "Oomph."
"Damn woman." Daryl said exasperated. "Can't never watch where yer' goin' can ya'." He hauled her up by her arm.
"What can I say?" Ann sighed "I just love running into you-gets me all hot and bothered." She winked.
His eyes seemed to go molten. "Yeah, well, I know sumthin' tha' cin fix that fer' ya." He said smirking as she blushed. He loved that even after fucking almost every night for the past five weeks she still blushed.
"Ahem." Ricks awkward cough interrupted them. "Daryl, we gotta problem with Randal. Shane says he escaped."
Ann heard the door slam to the RV and rolled her eyes. "Of course that's what he said Rick. We've been beating around a damn bush for five weeks, everyone's sick of it. He probably made a decision for everyone." She watched Dale out of the corner of her eye as he made his way quickly into the field-what the hell was he doing in such a hurry?
Rick looked around uncomfortable. "Regardless, if he did escape we need to find him."
Dales screams pierced the night air and the three took off after him. Despite Ann being fast pregnancy and malnutrition were taking its toll on her, and Rick and Daryl passed her. By the time she caught up with them she was severely winded but she froze at the sight that met her eyes. Entrails-Dale's entrails were spread across the ground blood and gore were everywhere. She gagged when she saw him move; how he could still be alive was a mystery. They had to stop this! He was obviously in pain! She held his hand tight as Daryl took the gun from Ricks shaking hand.
"Sorry brother." And just like that Dale was gone. "Ya' alrigh'?" Daryl asked putting his arm around her shoulders.
Blearily she blinked her eyes and looked at Dales body. Was she alright? She opened her mouth to say something but instead a gut wrenching scream escaped. Oh god it had to happen now and it fucking hurt! Her arms went around her stomach as she started to collapse, only held up by Daryl's strong arms.
"Ann!?" Daryl's voice was panicked. "What the hell's wrong with her! Hershel!" He was shouting.
"She been bit?" Hershel asked.
"She's pregnant." Shane found his voice and forced the words out. He didn't care if she was mad at him later.
Daryl froze. "Wha'?" He asked weakly.
"It's not the time!" Hershel's voice rang out authoritatively. "We need to get her to the house now! Daryl!" He snapped when the man stayed frozen.
He seemed to shake himself out of it and gently scooped Ann up, running toward the house with Hershel struggling to keep up with him.
Shane turned away from the group that was staring at him with mouths wide open. "We gonna sit here like idiots or we gonna burry Dale?" He asked gruffly. Within an instant the group was in action.
"We gonna' clean all this up now Shane." Merle snarled lowly for only him to hear. "But you an' I are gonna' have us a little talk when it's done ya' hear." It wasn't a request.