A/N: Wow, Chapter 10 already and I have more reviews for this story than followers. That impresses me, I must say. Well anyway, I hope everyone enjoys the next installment in Glenn and Daryl's... interesting? adventure into parenthood in a zombie apocalypse. REMEMBER: READ, REVIEW, REPEAT!

Chapter 10

As they sat around the low table eating an early lunch of canned green beans, instant rice, and mushrooms, Glenn knew that most of the group didn't really know what to say to him, let alone think about his situation. He sat between Dale and Carol, the two that had reacted the best to his news, with Daryl perched behind him on the back of the couch frame. Lori, Rick, T-Dog, and Andrea were all focused on their food, shooting sideways glances at Glenn and Daryl between bites. Sophia and Carol were on the floor, flipping through a book on old cartoons from the 1950's and 1960's that Avi had found for them. Neither of them had seemed to take Glenn's news badly, having said nothing to him at all.

Shane, however, was an entirely different story. He sat as far away from Glenn and Daryl as possible, glaring into his food. Shoveling green beans into his mouth as quickly as he could, he chewed with a heavy, clicking jaw, the soft sound obvious in the silence. Glenn nearly jumped every time the ex-cop stabbed his fork down on the plate to stab another slice of the long vegetables.

Avi and Emrys were sitting on two low barstools that had been retrieved from the basement, leaning as close to one another as possible. Emrys had part of the plate balanced on his protruding stomach and occasionally, he stop eating to rub it. Each time he did, Avi would glance over at him with a slight twinge of worry, a look that Emrys quickly waved off.

Logan, Lance, and Tasha stood around the island at the center of the kitchen, weapons still strapped to their waists. None of them took their eyes off Shane, watching him warily as though he were a beast about to spring and rip them all apart. Glenn couldn't blame them really. As soon as Glenn had explained his pregnancy, the older man had stormed off, escaping into the back garden with Lance quickly following behind. From what Glenn had heard, Shane had done his fair share of blowing off stream.

Finishing his food, Glenn stood and padded into the kitchen, trying to ignore the eyes that followed him. He grabbed a rag from a large bucket of water that sat on the counter, scrubbing at the few food marks that had been left on the plate. When it was clean to his standard, he dried the plate and set it in the bag that usually held their utensils.

Everyone stared at him as he silently passed them all and made his way to the stairs. He stepped up onto the first one and cast a quick glance at the rest of the group before he jogged up to the second floor, unnerved by the sheer silence.

Heading to his room, he closed the door behind him and flopped down on the bed with a sigh. Covering his face with his hands, he let out a slow, steady breath, trying to calm his wildly beating heart. He'd known that not everyone was going to be receptive to the news of his pregnancy. Before he'd met Emrys, he'd never heard of such a thing before, a male pregnancy. He himself had only had a day to process that when Emrys had checked him and revealed that Glenn was carrying as well.

He dropped one hand to his stomach, pulling up the hem of his shirt. His palm slid over the skin, stopping just below his pectoral muscles before working his way back down again. He heard the door quietly open, but he ignored it as he brought his hand back up the length of his torso again, sighing.

"Wha' cha thinkin'?" Daryl asked.

"About how we're going to survive the next nine months," Glenn groaned, dropping his hand away from his eyes.

He glanced over at Daryl, who stood beside the door. He looked somewhat uncomfortable, arms crossed over his chest, but his fingers twitched slightly where they rested on his biceps. His mouth was set in a firm line, the only indication from his expression that he was at all concerned.

"We'll just have ta live through it, won't we?" Daryl muttered, dropping his arms to his sides as he came over to the bed, sitting beside Glenn.

"This is just so fucked up," Glenn sighed. "The world comes to an end and I'm going to have your kid. You: Mr. Redneck of the Year, or is that your brother's title?"

Daryl snorted at the teasing question and leaned back on his elbows, his head hovering over Glenn's thighs.

"It doesn't matter that everythin' is fucked up 'cause it would be if yah were pregnant or not. The fuckin' apocalypse still happened, didn't it?" Daryl said.

"Yeah, but now the shit just got compounded," Glenn replied.

Glancing over at him, Daryl snorted quietly. "Walsh sure didn't help with that."

Glenn groaned loudly, covering his eyes with one arm. "I knew he was going to throw a fit, but I didn't think it was going to be that bad."

"He's a fuckin' bastard and we all know it, just no one else wants to say it," Daryl snarled.

As much as he didn't like admitting it, Glenn had to agree. Even before Rick had returned, Shane had always been high-strung and jumpy. Glenn's first memory of Shane was of him arguing with Lori on the side of the road, practically screaming at her about how he was trying to protect her and that she should be grateful for it. When Glenn had intervened, asking if there was a problem. Shane had started wailing on him not a moment later, almost sticking a gun in his face until the combined powers of Glenn, Lori, and Dale (who had heard the arguing and come running) managed to calm him down.

Somehow they'd all ended up in the same camp, though that was probably due to Dale's interference more than anything. Everyone had been stuck on the highway and Glenn's own car had broken down long before that. Dale's RV however, had somehow been running strong (or at least it had been at the time). He was the one who found the quarry and suggested it as a potential campsite. Glenn had agreed to go along with him to the quarry, hitching a ride in Dale's RV. Shane had been reluctant, refusing Dale's help, but less than a day later, not long after the Morales family had shown up, so had Shane with Lori and Carl in tow.

"You're right. Shane is a bastard," Glenn sighed. "But he's still part of the group and we can't just throw him out because he doesn't like who we are. That world, the judgmental one is gone. He won't survive out there alone, even if he is skilled with a gun."

"Just 'cause the world ended doesn't mean he's not gonna stop judgin' us. He made that clear already," Daryl reminded him.

"We have Emrys and the others to back us up. He won't try anything when we have the numbers on our side," Glenn replied.

"Hasn't stopped him before. He attacked yah and then Rick even when T-Dog and I were there," Daryl snarled.

Sighing, Glenn sat up and glanced over at Daryl. "We'll let Emrys decide. This is his place, his group runs it."

Daryl snorted, but reluctantly nodded. "Alright, we'll let blondie handle it, but Walsh steps one toe out of line, I get to shoot the damn son of a bitch in the head."

"Agreed," Emrys said before he silently walking off, his shadow disappearing from under the door.

Smirking, Daryl stepped over to the bed and reached out for Glenn. Taking his hand, the Asian man pulled himself up with a soft groan, his dizziness and nausea suddenly returning. Daryl grabbed his shoulder to steady him, wrapping his other arm around the smaller man's waist.

"Yah okay?"

Glenn nodded, reaching up to rub his forehead.

"It just comes back whenever I get stressed. Emrys said it should go away in a couple of months, said it has something to do with my body adjusting itself to something it wasn't originally built to do, even with the virus."

"He would know, wouldn't he?"

Glenn laughed quietly, resting his forehead against Daryl's shoulder as he regained his balance and composure. When his stomach had settled, he straightened up and Daryl removed his arm from Glenn's waist. There was a knock at the door and both of them looked up. Avi opened the door and stepped into the room, smiling a little at them.

"Emrys has called a meeting if you two are ready. He wants to organize patrols and a night watch," the bigger man said.

"Got it," Daryl replied, pushing past Avi into the hall.

Frowning, Avi glanced over at Glenn, who just shrugged.

"He's not really the touchy-feely type," Glenn explained as he followed the larger man out of the room.

He closed the door behind him, following as Avi headed for the stairs, turning to climb up to the floors above. Daryl's boots slammed quietly against the floorboards above, silencing as he stopped.

"Emrys isn't touchy-feely," Avi whispered. "Your guy is just shy."

Glenn smirked at the thought as they exited the stairs, stepping into the fourth floor hallway. They passed a few closed doors, bedrooms that went largely unused. At the end of the hall was the only open door, leading to a large rectangular room at the front of the house. The walls were decorated a cool gray color and shelves lined the two sidewalls, which had been cleared of the books they had once houses. The books were stacked near the door along with a few worn, but thick blankets. Furniture had been pushed up against the bookcases except for a single armchair that sat at the center of the windows that lined the far wall. One of the windows was open, swinging outwards from below to be completely horizontal to the ground.

Everyone was assembled in the room with the brunette young woman –Anna- Glenn reminded himself, nearest to the window. A shotgun rested on Anna's thin, but muscled shoulder and her strong arms hung loosely at her sides. Her right hand rested casually on the handle of a large buck knife tucked into her belt. Her slightly curly hair was tied back in a tight ponytail against her head, giving her a serious look. One of her black combat boots tapped in annoyance against the wooden floorboards.

Emrys stood beside her with Lance and Tasha. Lance's green eyes were clear and felt a slight twinge of mischievousness as he stared casually at Shane, who twitched under his gaze. His brown hair was also pulled back tightly against his head just as Anna's was, but shorter, the straight tresses falling barely halfway down his neck.

Tasha was not nearly as relaxed as Lance, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot as silence continued to fill the room. Blue eyes flitted from Carol to Lori to Andrea, inspecting the three women with care. The black hair that was cropped short was wild and untamed, filled with dirt.

Logan was standing beside Dale on the opposite side of the room, a thick book on natural medicinal techniques in his hand. The others were scattered around them, Daryl standing beside the door, looking around the room with a defensive, wary stare.

"Alright, now that we're all here, we should divide up the chores again," Emrys said, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Hold on, we never said we were staying," Shane interrupted.

"Shane, let's not go through this again. We're staying. We've got people who are sick and injured among other things. Moving on is practically a death sentence," Rick sighed, shaking his head.

"Hey, I'm all for-"

"Did you hear 'im, jackass? We're fuckin' stayin'," Daryl snarled, practically baring his teeth at the other man.

Shane pressed his lips together tightly, crossing his arms as he sulked and grumbled silently. Rick turned back to Emrys and nodded for him to continue.

"First of all: patrols and night watch," Emrys said. "As it stands, Tasha watches the front gate in the morning, from sunrise to noon with Anna walking the walls at the side and back. I have the front in the afternoon until sundown while Avi is on the wall. At night, Logan and Lance are on watch, Logan here in the front and Lance in the back."

"And you want us to help with the patrols?" T-Dog asked.

"If you're going to stay, you're going to have to take part in the chores," Logan explained.

"We can do that," Rick quickly replied.

"Any of you got any special skills? We aren't asking much since most of the actual trained forces are long dead, but it never hurts to know," Avi asked.

"Shane and I were sheriffs deputies before everything went down. T-Dog is pretty good with close-range fighting, crowbars and such. Daryl was our hunter when we were out there. This crossbow is the quietest ranged weapon we have and it doesn't require any ammo," Rick said.

"And you three?" Anna asked, motioning to Lori, Andrea, and Carol.

"Carol and I usually take care of the camp," Lori spoke up. "Andrea's a pretty good shot though."

"Nearly took my head off a few weeks ago," Daryl snarled quietly.

Andrea's face fell as she remembered the incident, blushing slightly with shame. Emrys noticed and turned to her.

"How close were you?" he asked.

"She just nicked his temple," Dale said. "I'd say that pretty damn close."

Nodding, Emrys set his hands on his wide hips, staring down at the floor in thought. Avi and the others of his group turned to him, patiently waiting for his response.

"Okay. T-Dog will join Anna on the walls in the mornings and Rick will join Avi in the afternoon. Since Daryl has the quietest weapon and we don't want to attract any more than possible at night, he'll join Lance walking around the perimeter," Emrys said slowly, as though he was still thinking through his plan. "We usually don't have anyone to tend to the garden out back or to do anything else around here because we're either trying to get sleep or guarding the place."

"Lori and I can definitely do that," Carol murmured shyly.

Emrys nodded to them, smiling a little. "Good."

"What about me?" Shane snarled.

"Soon enough, I won't be able to keep watch for long. I have at a maximum three months and I doubt it'll be that long," Emrys sighed, rubbing his swollen stomach. "You and Glenn will be sharing my watch when can't."

"Great. Just what I need," Shane muttered under his breath.

Emrys ignored him and continued. "The other jobs, like chopping firewood and all of that is to be divided among those that aren't on patrol. You probably noticed the town when you came here. We sometimes make runs down there, usually if we need something specific. Usually Anna and Lance usually handle those, but if anyone else is willing to go, it'll be nice to have some extra hands. There aren't many walkers from around here since the town was so small to begin with. Most are just passing through."

"I can. It was my job when we were in Atlanta," Glenn said.

Logan shook his head. "You shouldn't be doing anything stressful."

"What, like keeping watch?" Glenn snorted. "Look, it's not like I'm going to try and get myself into trouble. Besides, if I get bit, I won't die like everyone else will."

Logan opened his mouth to say something, but Emrys quickly cut him off.

"He's right, Logan. If he sticks close to the others, I don't think it would be much of a problem."

The older man turned to Emrys, his mouth set in a grim line. He looked conflicted, unsure whether to exert his position as a physician or follow what Emrys was saying. Avi stepped over to the older man, patting him on the shoulder as he stood between Logan and Emrys.

"I know you're worried Logan, but think about it. Emrys made it out of Atlanta when he was three months. That's two months further than Glenn is and there weren't any problems. You checked Emrys after that yourself," Avi said.

"Yes, but that was an unavoidable situation!" Logan cried. "It was either get out of Atlanta or get eaten alive. Not even a Galahad is immune to being eaten! What Glenn is proposing-"

"It is something I can handle, Logan! I've done it before," Glenn shouted.

Logan tried to protest again, looking over at Anna and the others for help. They all shook their heads at him, silently siding with Glenn. With a sigh, he threw up his hands in defeat.

"Fine, I relent! I ask only one thing: when Glenn is four and a half months, I ask that he stops on supply runs, whether we're still here or not."

Shane muttered something under his breath, but no one paid attention.

As everyone broke to go about their jobs, Glenn stepped over to Daryl. They exchanged a look, a silent agreement. Daryl's dislike for Glenn's idea was well hidden under the cool, emotionless look that he usually wore, but the smaller man would see it vaguely flashing in his blue eyes. He gave the older man a slight smile and Daryl nodded to him. He understood: survival and how they were going to achieve it was the most important thing if they were ever going to see their baby be born.

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