Good Times Had

Chapter 10

Beth laughed as Carl showed her another magic trick; it was his new thing at the moment. Trying to make things disappear, he was actually pretty good at it. He'd been spending a lot of time with her lately and she was thankful for the company. When Daryl got home from work he'd take Carl home, some nights he would stay and have dinner with them and then he and Daryl would have a crossbow lesson. "Is this your card?" Carl asked, holding up the queen of hearts.

Beth shook her head. "Nope, sorry." He frowned and put the card back, looking down at them, trying to remember where he'd gone wrong. Beth smiled and watched him until she felt the wetness soak everything. "Oh shit."

"What?" Carl frowned.

"Honey, call Daryl." She got up and started making her way back to the bedroom.

"What do I tell him?" Carl called after her.

"The baby is coming!" She waddled her way back to the bedroom and grabbed the bag they had packed for her to take to the hospital with her and the binder that was sitting on the dresser with all and any paperwork they might need. She wanted to be prepared.

She walked back into the living room. "I don't know! She said the baby's coming…I can't drive!"

She rolled her eyes and took the phone from Carl. "Daryl?"

"Tell that kid to suck it up and get you to the hospital."

"Calm down, you're on your way, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, then get here." She hung up and shook her head, handing the phone back to Carl. "Call your mom and dad; tell them to meet us at the hospital." He nodded his head and did as she said. She was hoping that Daryl would call Merle and Lucina to let them know. She grabbed her own phone off the table and called Maggie and Glenn who would call her daddy. By the time Daryl threw the door open everyone knew and she was gripping the arm of the couch as a contraction barreled down on her.

"Carl, take the bag and folder and get in the car." Carl nodded, doing what Daryl told him as he went to Beth. "C'mon baby, let's get you to the hospital." He helped her out to the car and inside before running around and peeling out.

"Daryl, slow down," she snapped. "It's not like I'm not going to be in labor for a few hours." She buckled herself in and breathed through another contraction. She knew they were going to be worse later and she didn't want to freak Carl out. She'd leave that to Lori who was pregnant at the moment with another child. Daryl huffed and sped to the hospital. He drove up to the door and looked back at Carl.

"Jump out little man and get a wheelchair." Carl did as he was told as Daryl pulled into a parking space, killed the engine, and jumped out, running around and helping Beth out. She swore he was panicking more than she was and she was the one who was about to push a watermelon out of a quarter sized hole. Carl met them at the door and while Daryl got her into the wheel chair he grabbed the bags and binder from the car.

Daryl wheeled her inside and to the elevator, pushing the floor for the baby department. Beth gripped the arms of the chair as another contraction hit. "Does it hurt?" Carl asked.

She nodded her head. "Oh yeah," she breathed out as Daryl pushed them out of the elevator.

"Are we having a baby?" the nurse at the counter asked.

Beth nodded her head and took the binder from Carl. "Dixons, here's the paper work." She handed it over, breathing through her contraction as the nurse looked it over.

"Okay, follow me, we'll get you all set up." Daryl pushed her to the room the nurse led them to. "Here's a gown, why don't you get changed into it and get settled on the bed."

Beth nodded. "We've got family coming," she told the nurse as Daryl helped her out of the chair.

The nurse smiled and nodded her head. "I'll show them back when they get here."

Daryl helped her to the bathroom. "Be right back little man," he told Carl as he closed the door. He turned to Beth and pulled her dress over her head. "This is it baby." She smiled and nodded as he reached around behind her and pulled her bra off. She gripped the sink as another contraction hit.

"Shit, I can't wait for the meds," she mumbled as she kicked her panties off and he helped her into the gown, tying it up behind her. He chuckled a little as he opened the door and helped her to the bed.

"How're we doing?" They looked up as Lori and Rick walked in.

"Pain," Beth whined as a stronger contraction hit. Daryl rubbed her back and held her hand as she tried to breathe through it. "Carl's been amazing though," she told them.

Lori smiled and ran her fingers through Carl's hair. "That right? Well, your daddy better take you to the waiting room."

"But I wanted to watch!"

They all laughed a little as Rick led Carl from the room, promising him ice cream. Maggie and Glenn walked in with her daddy. "How're you doin' baby girl?" Hershel asked, kissing her head.

"I'm ready to have this baby." Beth whined as the contractions continued to grow stronger.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dixon?" They looked up at the older man standing in the door. "I'm the anesthesiologist, are you ready?"

"Oh, god yes." Daryl helped Beth sit forward so the anesthesiologist could give her the spinal tap. She gripped his hand hard as they gently laid her back to the bed. She was starting to sweat as the pain continued to get worse. She was thankful when Lori handed her some ice chips.

Not long after the man with the drugs left, the doctor walked in. "Well, hey there Beth, ready to have a baby?" Sasha asked.

"You have no idea."

Sasha smiled and sat on the stool and pulled out the stirrups. "Okay, well let's see where you're at." She pushed the blankets and downs back as she got Beth's legs into place. "How far apart are the contractions?" she asked, looking up at Daryl.

"About five minutes."

Sasha nodded her head and covered Beth back up, but didn't put her legs back down. "You're lucky Beth, this should be quick; you're already at six centimeters."

"Is that normal?" she asked, suddenly worried that something was wrong. She heard stories about woman being in labor for hours, hers had only started an hour ago.

Sasha nodded her head. "Every woman is different. I'd say in the next ten to fifteen minutes your contractions are going to get worse. You should be ready to deliver in about half an hour." She smiled a little. "I'll be back in a little bit to check on you." Beth sighed as she rested back against the pillows.

…

Lucina smiled and walked up to Merle, running her hand up his back as he finished up the car he was working on. "We better get to the hospital, Maggie just called. Apparently it's going to be a quick labor," she told him, kissing his shoulder.

Merle stood up and kissed her head. "Alright, let me go get cleaned up."

"You're not going anywhere." They looked up as four men walked into the shop. The guy who looked like he was in charge nodded at Lucina. "Grab her." Merle growled and pushed her behind him; ready to fight them all off. Two of the men jumped him, throwing him into the car he'd been working on as the other went after his Lucy. She put up a fight though, giving him a nice shiner before he backhanded her and grabbed her, holding her against him. The one in charge walked over to her and grabbed her face. "You're going to watch this." He walked over to Merle who was behind attacked by the other two. "Hold him." They dropped him to his knees and turned him around to face the one in charge, painfully holding his arms behind his back. He smirked and knelt in front of Merle. "You're going to get your ass kicked here, and if you behave, we won't touch the girl. Then, I'm going to call an ambulance and you're going to the hospital to deliver a message to your brother and that cop. They can either get the hell out of the city, or we can kill them." He punched Merle in the stomach.

"Let him go," Lucina growled, struggling to get away from the man holding her. They didn't listen to her. She watched as they beat Merle to near unconsciousness before they let his body fall to the floor, blood pooling around him. "Merle, baby look at me."

"He'll be fine." The leader nodded at his man to let her go. "Don't let him forget, he has a message to deliver."

Lucy glared up at him as she knelt beside Merle, pulling his head onto her lap. As the men left she could hear the sirens from the ambulance off in the distance. "You okay, sugar?" he asked, wiping blood from her lip where she'd been slapped.

She laughed, tears in her eyes. "I'm fine, idiot." She pulled her tee shirt off and wiped the blood from his face as the ambulance showed up.

"Good," he whispered out. She stayed beside him as they put him on a stretcher and loaded him into the back of the ambulance.

"We need to go to county, his brother and sister-in-law are there having a baby," she told EMT. He nodded his head and alerted the driver as he started to work on Merle, assessing the damage. She held his hand as they stuck him with needles. Whoever they were, they were going to be sorry.

…

Beth screamed as she gripped Daryl's hand, probably breaking it. "That's it Beth, push," Sasha coached from between her legs. She shut her eyes tight and pushed as hard as she could. "That's it, there's the head, we just need to get through the shoulders. "One more push."

Her body hurt and she was so tired. "I can't," she whined, tears leaking from her eyes. The drugs felt like they'd worn off ten minutes ago.

Daryl kissed her head. "Yes you can baby, c'mon, one more push." He stroked her hair and kissed her head again. "C'mon."

Beth nodded her head weakly and took a deep breath before she pushed again. "Good girl, Beth," Sasha praised. "That's it, come on, just a little more." Beth was sure she couldn't do this, it hurt so much, but when she heard the cries of her baby, felt her body give way as she pushed it out relief swam through her. It was over, she'd done it. "You did so well, Beth. Daryl you want to cut the cord?"

Daryl nodded his head and kissed Beth's head before going over to cut the cord. Sasha handed the baby to one of the nurses to clean up and wrap in a blanket. "She's gorgeous," Daryl told her as he came back, kissing her head. He grabbed one of the towels and wiped her forehead. "You did so good baby."

"Here she is," Sasha said smiling, gently laying the tiny baby girl in Beth's arms.

Beth stared down at her and the second she saw her face she fell in love. Tears fell from her eyes as she stared down at the little person she and Daryl had made, this little human they had brought into the world. "She's perfect," she whispered, smiling down at her.

Sasha smiled and looked at them. "We'll give you a little time before we come in to do the paper work."

Beth smiled as she left and looked at Daryl. "I love you."

He smiled and kissed her head. "I love you too."

They sat there, staring down at their baby girl, little Abigail, just watching her. Beth couldn't imagine ever putting her down. She wanted to hold her forever. Daryl went to the door when there was a soft knock. "What's up?" he asked. Whoever it was said something and he looked back over at Beth. "Baby, I'll be right back." He walked out, letting in Maggie and Hershel.

…

Daryl followed Rick down the hall. "What happened?"

"Merle was rushed in by ambulance, Lucina is with him. Apparently they were attacked at the shop." Daryl swore and followed Rick to the room his brother was in.

"Look like shit," he mumbled as he walked in. Merle flipped him off. "What happened?" he asked, looking at Lucina.

She shook her head. "I don't know who they were, he doesn't either. They came in and started beating him up. They said to give you a message, either you two and the cop can leave the city, or they're going to kill you." She frowned, looking at Merle. "I couldn't do anything."

Daryl shook his head, noticing the busted lip. "He's already going to be pissed off that they marked up your face, trust me, he's happy you couldn't do anything." Daryl kissed her head before looking at Merle. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine. How's your old lady?" he asked.

Daryl smiled a little, crossing his arms. "Little girl, god she's beautiful."

Merle smirked and looked at him. "Pussy."

Daryl shook his head and walked out with Rick. "What are we going to do?" Daryl asked, looking at him. He was the cop; this was his territory, not his.

Rick sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. "Lucy is going to sit down with a sketch artist in a little bit, once she's sure Merle is stable. I'll do what I can, but I have a feeling this is connected to the drive by the happened two months ago." Daryl nodded his head and rubbed his face. It had been a long night. "Go back to Beth and your little girl. I'll deal with this and let you know what I can turn up."

Daryl nodded and thanked him before letting Lucina know what room they were in. He made his way back to his wife and daughter. Whoever was fucking with his family was going to feel pretty damn stupid when they realized they were fucking with the wrong people.