Chapter 14

A/N: So the last chapter was a bit of a filler, to get us through the first half of the story. Now we're onto the second half. Enjoy!

Shout outs to my lovely reviewers!

Bendypinkone, MonkeysGoBoo, Smittendebs, Rea Josette, Mrskaz453, and DarylDixon'sLover. Thank you for reviewing!

Four months after Daryl and Annabelle reunite at Haven

Two Months since their marriage

Early November

DARYL

Daryl walked slowly on top of the wall that surrounded Haven. He nodded to a few of the men as he passed them, and continued down the wall. He glanced downward at the watch he kept on his wrist when he was on guard duty. Twenty more minutes, then he could go home to his wife.

He paused in his walking and looked out over the wall into the outer rim of their colony. He couldn't see much, being that it was almost midnight, but he looked on anyway. It was bizarre how quickly he had adopted to this new life. Just four months ago, he had been on the run with the survivors from the prison. They'd had no home, and no hope. Daryl had been alone. Merle was dead, and Annabelle had been missing for almost a year. And look at where he was now.

He had found Annabelle, in a safe place. They had a home together, and had gotten married. On top of that, Daryl's combat skills and his leadership history from the prison had quickly moved him up the ranks in Haven. He led expeditions outside of Haven, and was in charge of the wall whenever he was set to guard it. Just like right now.

He stood for a while longer, enjoying the quiet. He would be able to go home to Annabelle soon. He smiled slightly to himself at the thought. He had missed her so much over the past year, and now she was never far away from him, and always safe.

Suddenly, Daryl's radio crackled to life on his hip.

"Daryl, can you hear me?"

Daryl immediately recognized Logan's voice. He picked up his walkie and responded back into it. "Yeah, I hear ya."

"Something's going on in the outer rim. We just got a radio message from one of the farms that there's people circling around the house, and yelling."

"People? Not Walkers?"

"No, people. I need you backing me up on this one." Logan stated.

Daryl sighed. This didn't sound like it was going to be enjoyable or easy for that matter. And it was going to make him get home late, which would make Annabelle worry. But, he knew he had an obligation to keep these people in the outer rim safe. After all, it was he farmers out there that kept them fed.

"Alright, let's do it." Daryl replied.

"Meet me at the main gate in two minutes. We gotta hurry, I don't know how long it will be before these people decide they want to be inside the farmhouse."

Daryl set his walkie back on his belt and informed one of the men that he had to leave. He jogged along the top of the wall, back toward the main gate, and down a set of stairs. He reached the main gate just as Logan was pulling up in one of the armed jeeps. This jeep was filled with a whole squad, with room only in the passenger seat. Behind them, another jeep was full with another squad.

Daryl climbed into the jeep, and as soon as he did, the gates opened and Logan started driving.

"Let's make this quick, boys." Logan said to the group in the car. "I know all of you are eager to return home, and Ruby will be pissed if I keep her waiting too long."

The group in the car laughed a little at his comment, but after that the car was silent. None of them knew what to expect.

It didn't take them long to reach the farmhouse, and when they reached it, the house was silent. Logan got out of the car first, followed shortly by everyone else. Logan yelled that he was going to meet with the farmers inside the house. A few men went with him. The other men fell under Daryl's command, and searched around the outside of the house.

Daryl found tracks of six people. They had apparently been circling the house, but it looked like they had run away right before the reinforcements ad arrived from Haven.

Daryl tracked the trail away from the farm, and along the treeline. It followed the treeline, and then vanished once it encountered a road. Daryl led his group back toward the farmhouse. Logan was waiting outside with the three residents that lived on the farm. Daryl reported following the tracks, but losing them at the road.

"Looks like they had a car waitin' for them or somethin'." Daryl stated to Logan as he walked up.

"I've given the residents a little heavy firepower in case they come back. Apparently, the sound of us approaching scared them off."

"That's good at least." Daryl replied. "They'll think twice about coming back out here."

They wrapped things up with a final perimeter check, and then headed back to Haven.

"Do you think they were watching the farmhouse?" Daryl asked Logan when they got back in the cars.

"I don't know. But I think we should amp up the security in the outer rim if we want to stop something like this from happening again."

Daryl nodded in agreement with Logan, and looked ahead in the direction of Haven.

It didn't take them long to make it back to Haven. They drove through the gates, and toward the town center. Most of the town was already asleep. But the lights around the town center were still on and bright. Outside of the building he saw some figures standing. Family members waiting for their loved ones to return. It didn't take him long to spot a familiar blonde standing amongst the crowd.

The cars stopped, and Daryl climbed out of the car. He didn't take more than two steps before Annabelle reached him, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

He held her in his arms, and rested his chin on the top of her head. He felt a sigh of relief leave her body, before she pulled out of his arms and looked up at him.

"I was so worried. They came to the house right when you were supposed to be getting home and told me that there was some activity in the outer rim you had to deal with." Annabelle said softly to him.

"Everything's fine." Daryl assured her. "I'll talk to you more about it when we get home."

Annabelle nodded in understanding. No sooner had Daryl finished talking to Annabelle than Michael Harris walked up and shook Daryl's hand.

"I hate to keep you any later, but I'd like to write up a report about the events that took place tonight." Michael told him as he grasped Daryl's hand.

"Of course." Daryl replied. He brushed Annnabelle's forehead with a kiss and headed toward the town hall.

ANNABELLE

It didn't take long for Daryl to finish up his report with Michael, and then the two of them headed back to their house. As soon as she walked in the door, she felt the familiar feeling of a true sanctuary coming over her. This house had become her and Daryl's, and there wasn't anywhere else in the world that she felt safer.

She took a few steps into their house, and looked at her surroundings. One of Daryl's jackets was thrown casually over an armchair, and Annabelle ad several books strewn across the coffee table. A photo album from their wedding day sat amongst the books. This was truly their home together.

Annabelle turned around as she heard Daryl shutting the front door behind them. He took his crossbow off of his back and hung it up next to the front door. He walked into their home and followed Annabelle over to their couch. Daryl sat on the couch, and Annabelle laid down on the couch and laid her head down in Daryl's lap. Daryl's hand immediately went to rest on Annabelle's hip. They sat in silence for several moments before Annabelle spoke up.

"So what happened tonight?" She asked him.

"A group of six men threatened one of our houses in the outer rim. We got there in time before anything bad happened, but the people at the outer rim had a good scare. I think that they may have been watching the house for a couple of days."

Annabelle felt a feeling of anxiety wash through her body at his words. Hopefully this was a one-time thing, but they didn't seem to get lucky very often when it came to the apocalypse.

"Do you think they were the same group as the one that attacked those cars?"

About five days prior, Daryl and Annabelle had gone on a run with Michonne, Luke, and Glenn. They had found a car that had been attacked by a group of humans. They hadn't found any survivors from the attack, but fresh blood had been at the scene and it was clear that whatever had attacked the survivors wasn't a walker.

"I dunno." Daryl answered her. "Maybe."

Annabelle felt unease prickle in her stomach at his words. She sat up from his lap and looked at her husband, and her face must've given everything away.

"Hey." Daryl immediately said to her as soon as he looked in her eyes. He pulled her toward him, and Annabelle snuggled into his chest. "It's gonna be fine. This place is secure. Ain't nobody gonna sneak up on us."

"I know." Annabelle replied to Daryl. She pulled away from his chest and instead leaned against his shoulder. "This place is good. I just get scared about losing it. I don't want what happened at the farm or at the prison to happen here."

"We have a lot of people, and a lot of firepower." Daryl replied. "There ain't nothing to worry about."

Annabelle nodded, and moved her hand to hold Daryl's. She sighed and convinced herself to relax. He was right. There was nothing to worry about.

The next morning, Annabelle woke to the first light of the morning shining through the window. She felt the weight of Daryl's arm around her waist, and she felt his breath stirring the hair on the back of her neck. She smiled contently and was about to snuggle back into Daryl when a wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks.

Annabelle stood as quickly as she could, and ran to the bathroom. She made it just before she got sick. After the illness had faded, Annabelle pressed her palm against her forehead and sighed out loud. What could have made her sick? She tried to think of everything she had eaten the day before, when suddenly she felt her heart drop in her stomach.

When was the last time she had gotten her period?

She used to not get them, when she was on her own, surviving day to day on the road. But since coming to Haven and having a proper diet her bodily functions had returned to normal. But now, as she counted the weeks backwards in her head, she came to a stunning realization.

She was almost a week and a half late.

Annabelle felt herself begin to get dizzy. She shut her eyes to try and steady herself, but it didn't help very much. When she finally felt the world stop spinning, she opened her eyes and stood slowly. She walked toward the mirror and the bathroom, and suddenly she felt like she was looking at a different person.

She stared at her reflection, and focused on her stomach. She placed a hand over her belly, and felt her heart skip a beat.

She had to go see Dr. Pride. She knew they had pregnancy tests at the clinic. Mentally, she decided to say nothing to Daryl until she knew for sure that she was pregnant. She didn't want to worry him just yet. He had enough on his mind right now with everything going on. He would just fuss over her excessively and probably insist on coming with her just to see if the test was positive. She decided to go on her own, and tell him after if the test came back positive.

She opened the door to the bathroom, and she was surprised to see Daryl waiting there patiently.

"You alright?" He asked her.

"Of course. I'm fine." Annabelle replied quickly. She knew she sounded flustered and not fine, but she was having a difficult time still coming to terms with what she had just realized.

"You sick?" He asked her.

"What?" Annabelle replied immediately.

"It sounded like you got sick." Daryl replied.

"Weren't you just sleeping?"

"I'm not really a heavy sleeper." Daryl answered quickly.

"Oh. Right." Annabelle replied. She walked past Daryl into the bedroom, and then into the kitchen.

"Hey!" He called after her. She heard the sound of his footsteps following through the house.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Annabelle called back into the house.

Daryl caught up next to her and stood at her side. "Are you changing the subject?"

"From what?" Annabelle asked him, putting a confused look on her face.

"You. You getting sick, more specifically."

"Oh, yeah. It was probably just something I ate." Annabelle replied immediately.

"I can take you to the doctor if you're not feeling well." Daryl responded immediately, concern written all over his face.

"No, it's fine. I can go by myself."

"Are you sure?" Daryl asked her.

"Yes, I'm sure." Annabelle replied as she readied a pot for coffee. "Aren't you supposed to go meet with Rick and Carl and go down to the range today?"

"Yeah."

"Go do that. Enjoy your day off. I'll run to the doctor real quick this morning, and meet you down there later. Ok?"

Daryl finally nodded his consent, and Annabelle smiled at him brightly. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

Annabelle sat impatiently in the room while she waited for the results of the test to come back. She felt nervous butterflies in her stomach as she waited, and for some reason time seemed to have slowed. Soon enough, though, Dr. Pride came back into the room with Annabelle's paperwork. She sat down in a chair across from Annabelle, and placed the chart on the table beside her.

"Well, Mrs. Dixon." Dr. Pride began. "Your test came back positive. You're pregnant."

Annabelle felt shock flood her system, which was slowly replaced by a feeling of pride and joy. She placed her hand over her stomach at the doctor's words, and smiled softly. By no means had she and Daryl been trying to have a baby, but Annabelle couldn't say she was upset by the news. Having a family with Daryl was one of her biggest dreams.

As the happy thoughts began to fade away, she felt some concerns enter her thoughts.

"You have two options right now, Annabelle. Do you want to keep the baby? Or I have things I can do to make this go away. Mind you, I believe in Doctor-Patient confidentiality, even after the apocalypse."

Annabelle felt shock enter her mind at the mention of termination. She knew immediately that she didn't want to do that. Despite the dangers, and the apocalypse, this was Daryl's baby. She could never terminate any child of his.

"I want to keep it. The baby." Annabelle said quickly.

"I figured you would say that." Dr. Pride said with a small smile.

"So… How will this work?" Annabelle asked Dr. Pride.

"Well, we'll have to see how you progress but it will most likely be a live birth." Dr. Pride responded. "We have everything here that we would need to monitor the baby's growth and development in the womb."

"Who will deliver the baby?" She asked.

"Well, me of course." Dr. Pride replied with a chuckle. "Didn't you ever wonder what kind of Doctor I was before all of this?"

"Not really." Annabelle replied. "I just kind of accepted that you were a good doctor."

Dr. Pride chuckled again. "I was an OB/GYN." She responded. "You're in very good hands, Annabelle. I delivered plenty of babies before the apocalypse, and I've delivered two since I've come to Haven. You have nothing to be concerned about. Except for the fact that unfortunately there will be no epidural."

Annabelle gave a nervous laugh in response. "I think I can handle that."

"Excellent." Dr. Pride responded. "Well, I'll see you back in two weeks to check on your progress. I have some prenatal vitamins that I can give you to take home as well, and a book on pregnancy you're more than welcome to borrow."

"Thanks." Annabelle replied.

"Of course." Dr. Pride responded. She began to walk out of the room, and paused just before she reached the door. "You and Daryl are going to be great parents." She said with another smile, before she headed out the door.

Annabelle spent the rest of the day with Daryl and their friends, waiting excitedly and impatiently for them to head home for the evening. The sun had just set when they walked into their home.

Daryl immediately made for the fireplace, to warm up their chilly house. He began fiddling around with the logs, and as he did Annabelle walked over to an armchair in the living room and curled up contentedly with a blanket. She watched the muscles in his shoulders work for a few moments before she finally got up the courage to speak to him.

"Hey Daryl?" She called to him.

"Yeah?" He called back over his shoulder.

"I have something to tell you." Annabelle continued.

"Shoot." Daryl replied as he continued to fiddle with the logs.

"I'm pregnant." Annabelle answered casually.

Immediately, she saw Daryl's whole body freeze. It took several seconds before he turned around to face her.

"What'd you just say?" He asked her.

"I'm pregnant." She repeated again.

Daryl stood up slowly and took a deep breath in. For a moment, Annabelle was scared.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Yes. Yea, I'm fine." He answered after a moment. "Just very surprised." He replied.

He walked over to her, and kneeled in front of her armchair. He took both of her hands in his, and spoke again. "You're pregnant?" He asked her.

"Yes." Annabelle replied with an anxious smile. "You're going to be a father."

It took a moment before Daryl reacted fully. He let out an anxious sigh, before he broke into one of his small, sideways Daryl smiles.

"Really?" He asked her.

Annabelle nodded immediately. As soon as she did, Daryl lifted his eyes to meet her own.

"I'm going to keep you safe." Daryl vowed. "You, and this baby. Our family. I swear I will keep us safe."

A/N: Write me a review! What do you think is going to happen next?