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Rachel's face twisted and the hot tears escaped her eyes. She covered her mouth as she wept her child's quick death. Daryl's eyes went from the baby to Rachel and he could feel his eyes starting to sting. He swallowed hard before finding the lost words.
"H-Hershel. W-hat is it? Why isn't it movin'?" he asked, panicking. Hershel remained silent. "Why? Why isn't it cryin'? Why is it - " his emotions betrayed him. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT?!" he screamed, his voice croaking. "WHY ISN'T IT MOVIN'?!"
Hershel took a deep breath and looked at Daryl. "Son, calm down," He said calmly and inspected the baby. Daryl pulled his hand out of Rachel's and stood up. He started pacing, refusing to look at the baby or the sobbing Rachel.
Rachel asked Hershel if she could hold it. It would've been a boy. She held him to her chest and looked at him. He was incredible.
"Baby boy?" Rachel's voice breathed. She took a deep breath. "B-baby boy, I'm so sorry. You hear me?" she cried, "I'm so sorry, baby boy." She lightly put her forehead to the baby's and sobbed. She closed her eyes while Daryl paced around the room, trying to contain himself and process everything.
Then, suddenly, Rachel felt warm air against her lips and opened her eyes. The sound of whimpering shot through Rachel and Daryl's bodies, making each and every muscle tense up. Daryl stopped pacing and looked down at Rachel and the baby, who was suddenly bawling his eyes out. The others watched in disbelief and didn't say anything for a few seconds. They were all too baffled and thunderstruck. Hershel was the first to act. He got right back to work as if everything went smoothly and clamped the cord.
"Son," he said to Daryl, snapping him out of his trans-like state. He held the pair of scissors up, "I assume you'll be the one to cut the cord?" Daryl looked at the scissors and took it with a trembling hand and widened eyes. Hershel showed him where and exactly how to do it. "It's not over yet; we need to get the afterbirth out and clean her up. I need you to take him over there so Patricia can clean 'im up. Do you know how to pick 'im up?" he asked Daryl, who was still lost for words.
"I'll show him," Lori intervened and demonstrated. She picked the baby boy up by putting one hand underneath his head and the other underneath his bottom. "Arms up and against your chest, Daryl, or else you'll drop him – "
"I know. I got this," he finally cut her off and carefully took his son from Lori. The sight of Daryl holding the baby with such precision was enough to make Lori, Carol and Maggie smile from ear to ear. Daryl hushed the screaming child, but of course, it was unsuccessful. He watched carefully as Patricia took over, cautiously and gently wiping the blood and body fluid from his son's pink skin. Once she was done, she wrapped him up in a fluffy yellow blanket and handed him back to Daryl. A smile played on his lips as the boy clutched his finger with his little hand. His screaming had been replaced with soft moaning.
"Hey, boy. You tryna kill your daddy over 'ere by playin' dead, huh? Don't ever do that to me again, you hear?" he spoke softly, lightly rocking his son in his arms, while Hershel and Rachel finished up. Rick and Shane disposed of the afterbirth by burying it far away outside and Glenn and Maggie cleaned up the trash bags that were protecting the bed from any stains.
Daryl handed the baby to Rachel and with a smile, she looked down at her son proudly. "Hey sweetheart," she said softly, "you're gorgeous, my God! Oh, you look just like your daddy." Daryl snorted slightly at that remark. "You're so brave!" she went on. Then the rest of the group started filing into the room, eager to see the newborn child. Carl was the most excited. Rachel told him to come closer to have a closer look. "He looks like Daryl, right?" she asked the boy. He looked at the baby and studied his face before looking up at Daryl and nodding. "Do you wanna hold 'im?" Rachel asked him. Before he answered, he looked up at Lori and Rick for their approval. Rick nodded once with a grin and Rachel handed the baby to Carl with Lori's assistance. The baby went silent as he looked at up at Carl. Rachel let out a small giggle. "He likes you."
Carl smiled proudly and looked at Lori. "You hear that? He likes me," he bragged slightly. Lori laughed and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Be careful, now, sweetie. Don't drop him," she reminded him. He nodded and handed him back to Rachel warily.
"He got a name yet?" Carl asked her, but not taking his eyes off the baby.
Rachel looked up at Daryl and scrunched up her face hesitantly. He bit his lip, thinking too. After a moment of pondering, Rachel finally sighed and looked at Carl. "Let's call him –"
"Hunter," Carl blurted. Everyone looked at him. "Since Daryl's into hunting and stuff."
Rachel thought about it for a while and a smile tugged on her lips. Hunter Dixon. She looked up at Daryl to see what he thought about Carl's idea. "Hunter? You sure 'bout this, kid?" Daryl asked him. Carl nodded confidently. Daryl shrugged and looked at Rachel, who seemed content with the name. "Well alright then. I have a son named Hunter.
Rachel laughed and looked at the baby. "My li'l Hunter Dixon," she whispered proudly, grinning.
After everyone got an opportunity to meet Hunter, the room cleared out, leaving only Rachel, Daryl and the baby. She fed him when he cried and Daryl rocked him to sleep. Hershel allowed them to spend the night in the guest bedroom.
At about 22:00, everyone had called it a day and went to bed. Rachel and Daryl lay on the bed with Hunter in the middle of the two, between two spongy pillows. With Rachel fast asleep, Daryl woke up several times during the night just to confirm that he wasn't imagining anything and was in fact a father. When he did sleep, his dreams were filled with images of Rachel and an older Hunter sitting on some kind of field, with her playing peek-a-boo with him. It seemed so perfect.
Too perfect.
"Hey cunt!"
Rachel's head shot up. Her smiling green eyes now cowering with fear. She reached out to Hunter, bringing him closer to her body, holding his head protectively.
"You better getcha trashy ass inside, girl. An' bring the cocksucker!"
She remained seated.
"WHAT DID I SAY?!"
The angel wings came forward, snatching Rachel's arm. She resisted, but not for long and soon, Hunter was no longer in his mother's shielding arms.
"STOP!" she pleaded. The angle wings ignored her and raised his hand. One, two, three. Hunter's cries got louder.
The angle wings paused and its dark face looked at Hunter. He let go of Rachel and went for the toddler.
"NO!" Rachel pleaded. The angle wings paid no attention to her. "DARYL STOP!"
Daryl opened his eyes, gasping for air. He sat in an upright position, gripping the sheets with his fingers. He closed his eyes, trying to erase his thoughts and when all else failed, he opened his eyes and looked at Rachel and Hunter who lay beside him. The moonlight that seeped into the room caressed the bed and made it easier to see them. It looked like Rachel was smiling in her sleep. His eyes moved to his son, who apparently was awake.
Hunter's breathing quickly turned into whimpering and Daryl had to take action to prevent him from waking up everybody else if is cries got louder.
"Ay," he breathed out and slid a hand underneath Hunter's bottom, "Shh." He lifted the baby up, creating a cradle with his arms. He rocked him gently and managed to soften the sniveling. Hunter went dead quiet as he gazed up at his father with complete fascination. Daryl felt his lips smile and brought Hunter closer to his face. The infant reached out and touched the stubble on his dad's face. "You're a good boy, huh?"
Hunter watched Daryl's lips as he spoke. "I swear to God, son. Ain't nothin' gonna happen to you or your mama. Love ya'll too damn much to let anyone touch ya," he spoke softly and touched Hunter's hand with his finger. Hunter took the opportunity and griped Daryl's finger with his small, soft hand. Daryl moved down and kissed his son's forehead gently. "You best go back to sleep," he whispered and started swaying Hunter in his arms. Once he fell asleep again, Daryl carefully put him back in his pillow-cradle on the bed. After that, he leaned over Hunter and kissed Rachel. Her eyes fluttered open and widened as Daryl's tongue entered her mouth. She relaxed after that and sat up, putting her hand at the back of his neck. His kiss was aggressive but soft. It was like hungered for her and she for him.
They broke apart with her beaming grin. He snorted slightly. "Sorry," he apologized.
She shook her head slightly. "For what?" she whispered.
He smiled slightly and looked down at Hunter, then back at her, "you did good today, y'know."
"I didn't do it by myself. I had you right next to me." He nodded once. She stroked the nape of his neck. "G'night, Daryl."
She kissed him one more time before going back to bed. He flopped back down onto his pillow and closed his eyes. This time he slept peacefully until morning came around.
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