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~%~
"Hey," Quinn whispers into Lucy's ear. Lucy looks to her friend and Quinn points to the north. Lucy follows her finer and her eyes light up. There was a stag, happily sipping water from a nearby stream. She smiles at Quinn while the older girl smiles back. "Dinner?" Lucy laughs slightly.
"More like for a week!" she whispers happily. Lucy cocks her arrow in her bow that she had found nearly a month ago. She now understood why Daryl used a crossbow. These sort of weapons were so much safer to use. She had known a bit of archery from her past, but now, she considering herself a pro. Or something at least close to that.
She pulls back the string and lets the arrow fly through the air, and it encloses itself it the stags head, sending it to the ground as it fell dead. The two women step out from behind the bushes and walk towards the fallen creature, bright smiles on their faces.
"God, when was the last time we had deer?" Quinn says happily, leaning down to the animal. Lucy rolls her eyes.
"What, and possum isn't good?" Quinn narrows her eyes playfully.
"There's only so much I can eat, Lucy," she chuckles, cutting deep into the deers side. Lucy laughs slightly and joins in skinning the animal.
It had been two months since they had escaped the Terminus people and killed Gareth, and somehow, they had stayed alive. They had gotten new clothes, as well as shoes, as neither of them had them when they ran out. She sometimes wondered why. What would shoes have to do with killing someone? She could easily kick someones ass as she could with a shoe than she could without a shoe.
Lucy had actually picked up a leather jacket as well, as the air around them had gotten cooler because of the winter months appearing out of fucking nowhere. They had found the new weapons, Lucy's being a bow and arrow and Quinn's being a brand new AK47, and learned easily how to use them, and anytime a walker crossed their paths, they would be killed in seconds.
But everyday, even after a nice day of talking and laughing with Quinn, she looked up to the sky and sighed, thinking of her family, wherever the fuck they were. She had no clue in the world where they could actually be. She wasn't Daryl. She was a slightly bad tracker, just good enough to find something to eat, but when looking for a person? Not so much. That's why she hadn't found Daryl after the prison fell.
Terrible tracker.
She loved them so much, and she had a deep feeling that they were alive and surviving. All of them. Sam, the kids, Daryl, even her friends from the prison were okay. The mill may be gone, but her hope wasn't. She prayed it would never disappear.
As she skins the deer, she looked down at her stomach and sighs. It was slightly rounded now, probably bigger than her belly had ever been, but she was still somehow fitting into her jeans. To be honest though, all she wanted to do was find a pair of sweatpants and sleep. She was feeding, resting, and hunting for two, and this kid was starting to take all the energy out of her.
Quinn looks over and smiles. She places her hand on Lucy's shoulder, causing the younger girl to look up. "Remember, in this together." Lucy nods, smiling slightly.
"Yeah, I remember." She looks back down at the deer and huffs slightly. "You do know we won't be able to carry all of this, right? We don't have a million muscles. We can only cook a little." Quinn bites her lip, thinking. Lucy could practically see the wheels in her head turning.
"We cut up some and cook it, and then we hide the deer where no one else will see it. That way we can come back and bring the rest back to camp to ease the load." Lucy nods.
"I'm good with that." Two weeks prior the girls had set up camp in an old convenience store in a small town, and had somehow stayed concealed in there, every part of them safe. They had had a few close calls with walkers, but every time they took care of them. The shelfs turned out to be good protectors against the glass windows. The only way they actually got into the store was through the door in the roof.
That was something else. They were actually living like...normally, without the constant threat of the people form Terminus, or Carol, following them, and that freaked her out. The fact that they had gone so long without so much as a threat made her nerves go on edge, and her brain wander. She knew they were planning something big, or they were stalking them. Her weapons were always out, and her senses were always up.
Both girls picked up a piece of the deer and made their way back to the store, making sure to keep the deer out of sight so that no one could take it. As they walked, Quinn chuckles slightly, and Lucy looks over, a questioning look on her face.
"And what might you be laughing at?" Lucy asks amusedly, repositioning the deer in her hands. Quinn shakes her head, now full on laughing.
"Nah, it's just...I remember that first day you and Tara met each other after you both went to college. Where did she end up going again?" Lucy smiles softly.
"Iona University." Quinn nods.
"I remember all of that. God, she looked so different. It was like a whole new person came out of her." Quinn looks over at her friend and sees the sad smile on her face, and she sighs. "I'm sure wherever Tara is right now, she's happy, and safe, and gone from this world. There's no need to mourn anymore." Lucy nods, looking back up to the road.
Quinn was surprisingly levelheaded for what had happened to her. She lost her son and her husband, and yet she had been there for Lucy since they got out. It was like how they were back in New York, all those years ago. Just the two of them surviving, just with a newer threat thrown into the mix. Maybe that was why they were still alive, why they were still going and weren't on the edge of losing it. They had been through this before.
Well, not the 'zombies eating your face' part, but survival, yes.
As they arrived at the convenience store, a few walkers were stumbling around, looking for new meat to take. Both girls place their meat down and point their weapons. Lucy managed to take down two with her bow, and Quinn took down the others with her pistol, knowing the rifle would be too loud. They pick their meat back up and go to the roofs ladder, Lucy picking out her arrows and cleaning them on her leaned leg as they went. Climbing swiftly, as they see more walkers coming, they crawl onto the rood and through the door, quick enough for the bastards not to see them.
They land sloppily on the ground, Lucy stumbling a bit in her footing, but both make their way over to the back of the store, where all their supplies were. Both sit down on their sleeping bags and turns towards the fire. Quinn glances down at Lucy's baby bump and crosses her arms. The girl was already tired. She looks outside the window, thinking quickly.
"How about you stay here and start the fire?" she asks Lucy. The younger girls brow furrows. They always went out together.
"Why can't I come with you?" Quinn shrugs, looking down at the floor.
"You seem tired. I'll be fine on my own. I have been in the past. You just take it easy and get that fire going. I'll be back before you know it." Before Lucy could reply, Quinn had already climbed one of the shelves to get to the door on the roof and was gone, the sound of the latch closing echoing the dense walls of the store. She sighs, looking down at the meat next to her.
This had been going on ever since her bump actually started to show. Quinn was starting to treat her like glass, like if she took one fall she could break. It wouldn't be until she was probably five months along she had to be careful, maybe even six. Right now, she could still fight, still use a gun, but apparently Quinn thought otherwise. That wasn't even supposed to be her job, either. That was supposed to be her families job, Daryl's job.
She sighs again at the thought of him. Every single day she missed them so much, and all she wanted to do was find her family and hug them tight, and never let them go. Quinn was her best friend, but she was faintly starting to feel the separation from them. The thought that they might never find them, that the baby might never have a father, terrified Lucy. She had taken care of Sam by herself, but that was different. That was when she didn't have anyone to help her, when no one wanted her.
She knew Daryl wanted her, that she was his. She and a ring on her finger to prove it. Now, she had no clue where he was or what he was doing. He would never cheat on her with someone else...right?
Her head shakes again. There was no way. Daryl wasn't one of those men, and he never would be. Her faith in him never decreased, and she knew he was alive, surviving, keeping the kids safe and the rest of the group. Then Sam came to mind, and she bit her lip. When she last saw Sam, she had been nearly dead. Her motherly instincts told her she was alive, but there was always time to worry about family.
She would never stop worrying, would she?
~%~
Both girls had lost sense of timing after a month of being together, surviving. Now, they just went by the sun. When it was rising or setting, or being completely in the sky or below it. That was how they found out if it was time to go to sleep, eat, hunt, or look for a new place to live in. Luckily, the store had worked out in their favor, and hopefully would until the really winter weather set in.
They had eaten their share of deer, Quinn giving her extras to Lucy, even though she protested in Quinn eating her own food saying she had enough, but the meat eventually went down Lucy's throat with Quinn's points, saying she had a second human to feed for, and she needed it more.
That was what was worrying Lucy. The girl was eating less and less each day, and was starting to lose weight. Lucy really didn't want her best friend to die of starvation in a world where the main cause of death was getting eaten by a human who's flesh was decayed and falling off.
Lucy had her legs to her chest, her arms wrapped around them in a tight embrace, staring into the fire they had started up a few hours prior. Quinn laid in the ground, her arms behind her head, staring up at the ceiling with her eyes slightly closed, on the brink of sleep. She looks over at Lucy, who's face was a mixture of curiosity, wisdom and confusion. She lifts her head.
"You okay, girl?" she asks quietly. Lucy's intense stare breaks and she looks to Quinn, who's brow was furrowed. Lucy shrugs.
"Just thinking," she mumbles. Quinn nods and looks back up at the ceiling.
"About what?"
"Stuff." Quinn chuckles slightly.
"What kind of stuff?" she snickers. Lucy shrugs again, but she felt her own little smile coming onto her face.
"Just...stuff." She lifts her head and looks at Quinn. "You think Sam's okay?" She couldn't help it. Those thoughts just kept coming back every second of the day.
"Oh, come on, Lucy," she murmurs, laughing slightly. "I know those kids are with Daryl, and you know how protective he is over them. They're fine." Lucy smiles at her and sighs slightly.
"I guess," she replies, looking back into the fire. "I just feel so...alone, you know?" Quinn looks away, crossing her arms slightly.
"Yeah, I do." Lucy looks back up and she sees the sadness in Quinn's face. Her eyes widen.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-" Quinn raises her hand.
"It's fine, Lucy," she mutters, looking back. "I've gotten over it." Lucy bites her lip and looks away. How could she be so stupid to say that?! She looks back up and smiles softly, trying to break the stupid tension she had created. She could be such a fucking idiot.
"You never know. You might find someone new. Everyone needs someone." Quinn snorts.
"I had my someone," she sighs. "Matt...he was special. I never had anyone like that. And then they just kill him...my son too. He wasn't even a year old," she mutters sadly. Lucy looks down and closes her eyes. Would that happen to her child too?
"I think-" Gunshots from outside alerted the two girls. They hadn't come across any survivors-or old ones-in the last couple of weeks they had been there. Jumping up from their spots, they take their own guns and point at the door, silently talking to one another through their looks. Don't make a sound.
The shelves that were holding the door closed started to move as the people on the outside tried to get in. The women restore their guns, the distinct sound of the guns clicking as they did so, ringing in their ears. A moment passed, and finally, the shelf fell to the ground, creating a huge bang, and in the darkness but through the fire, Lucy could see three silhouettes, standing there with their own weapons. Quinn stepped forward first.
"Get out!" she exclaims. One of the people put their hands up.
"We're not-"
"You take one more step," Lucy growls to them, aiming her gun at one of the heads of the people. "You're gonna get a bullet straight through the head." The person places their arms down, a confused expression coming over the face. They take one step, not to big and not to small, and looks closer.
"Lucy?"
Lucy's eyes widen as she drops her gun. She step as into the light the fire created and stared dumbfounded at the three people. The first she saw was Maggie, the thing the stood out being her short brown locks. Behind her was Glenn, and next to him was Tyreese. The three couldn't believe she was standing there in the flesh, and not dead. They all thought she was gone.
No words were exchanged for a solid second, before Lucy broke out into a run and hugged the older girl as tight as she could. Maggie dropped her gun and returned the gesture, embracing her friend, her grasp never letting go until Lucy finally decided to pull back, a smile on her face. Quinn smiles from a far. Lucy had told her that she had been close with the Greene sisters. This was the reunion besides her family she wanted to have.
"God, you're alive," Maggie whispers happily. Lucy laughs.
"Yeah, I am." She looks behind her and sees both men look at each other nervously. Her brow furrows. "What's going on?" Glenn bites his lip.
"Everyone thinks your dead," he states quietly. She steps up and her arms cross. "Both of you," he adds on, looking at Quinn. He puts his hands in his hair as a sudden thought comes. "Oh my God, Daryl's going to go crazy." Lucy's brow furrows deeper.
"Why's that?"
"The kids," Tyreese replies. "They got out. Couldn't believe what condition they were in, but Emily...she's a trooper man," he mumbles. A sad look comes over Lucy's face.
"What's happened?" Maggie places her hand on her shoulder. For a moment, she glances down at the ground and sees Lucy's slightly enlarged stomach, and her brow raises in surprise. Lucy, her cheeks reddening, crosses her arms in embarrassment. This wasn't how she planned to tell her friends. Maggie smiles slightly.
"We'll tell you everything in the car. We're taking you two back."
~%~
"So where are we going anyway?" Lucy later asks as they drove down a clear road. Maggie drove the pickup truck they took, Lucy and Quinn sitting in the front while Glenn and Tyreese sat in the trunk, letting the girl have some valuable girl time talk, as Maggie had told her husband.
"We found the place about a month ago. It's an old little resort that was probably huge when the world wasn't shit. Aint that big but we somehow boarded it up. Had some close calls with walkers but we took 'em out. Cleaned the place up, turned out to be a nice place to live." She looks to the girls and chuckles slightly at Lucy. "You know, right now is the time to ask questions, as when we get there, and Daryl finds you, your mouth is gonna be busy doing other things."
Lucy's cheeks redden again as Quinn bursts out laughing. She was starting to like this girl.
"Shut it," Lucy mumbles to Maggie, but she felt a small smirk come over her face. "Okay. How many people...are still around?" she asks quietly, dreading to hear the answer. Maggie's hands tightens on the wheel.
"Not a lot," she replies. "Most of the people from the prison are still around. You know that Eugene guy? The one who said he had a cure?" Lucy nods, remembering slightly what she was talking about. "We had a plan of action to head to Washington, though some reluctant," she mumbles. "Either way, we headed there slowly, halfway through, fucker told us he lied, just wanted protection."
"He lied?" Lucy asks, her voice coming out in a sharp gasp. Quinn snorts.
"Fucking dumbass," she mutters. Maggie nods in agreement.
"We had our talk with him, got caught up in a bunch of walkers, left him there. You don't lie in this world." Lucy looks down. That was insane. The guy had been fucking stupid. "Afterwards, we lost a few of the people from the hospital group, but Jack and the twins are still around, as well as Henry."
Lucy lets out a sigh of relief. She was waiting to hear he was gone, that he was dead in the ground...or not, but this made her heart slow down just a little bit.
"Okay," Quinn states. "What about from the mill...my parents?" Maggie looks over and gives her a sympathetic look.
"Your dad made it." Quinn looks away and bites her lip. "I'm sorry, Quinn." She shakes her head. She had already lost so much. This just added to the list.
"It's fine," she replies quickly. "So not a lot from the mill?" Maggie shakes her head.
"No. Place was burnt to the ground by those assholes. Not a lot." Quinn looks out the window, her blonde hair covering her face now. Lucy decided to continue asking the questions.
"Where exactly is this place, because you said you were halfway to Washington. And how did you find us?"
"We decided to backstep a bit, and now we're right outside the Georgia border. how we found this store, we were just looking for one that wasn't raided yet. Yours turned out to be it." Lucy smiles slightly, but then feels it disappear as she remembers exactly what she really wanted to ask about.
"The kids," she states bluntly. "How are the kids." Maggie bites her own lip before replying. Lucy feels herself get nervous. If Maggie was scared to tell her what had happened, she didn't think she wanted to know.
"Better," she states confidently. "When we first found them in the woods...not so much." Lucy crosses her arms.
"What do you mean by that? Maggie just tell me what happening to them." Maggie sighs.
"Emily...like Tyreese said, she's a damn trooper. She got the three girls out, with a gun, and carrying an unconscious four year old at the same time. She's probably the big sister you would want to have in this world, but when we found her...she was so detached, like her soul was sucked out or something. Her face was so stoic and cold. For about a month it was like that, and finally she woke up."
"What about her cuts? Her bruises?"
"Healed now. Was still bleeding when we found her, but we fixed them up. She's brave...very, fucking brave," Lucy's brow furrows.
"The fuck does that mean?"
"She's taken on the walkers that build up at the fences easily with a few others people, but she has guts. She...she was the one who told Daryl...what you did...to save those girls." Lucy looks back at Maggie.
"What did she tell them?"
"She said that you 'went with Gareth to end this, to save them.' We all knew that he wanted you and Quinn dead, so there was multiple reactions in the group. Some just gasped, others were crying, me...I was just plain shocked that you would so that." Lucy looks back out the front window. It was only to save them...and she didn't even end up dead. "Daryl, on the other hand...he literally walked away into the woods and din't come back out for a day."
"What about...the kids?" Maggie sighs.
"We took care of them. When he did eventually come back, he had a deer, three rabbits, five squirrels, and six birds." Lucy chuckles slightly. "He just...dropped them on the ground and went into his tent. I don't think...I've ever heard that man cry except during that night. It was barely audible, but it was there." Lucy bites her lip and looks back up.
"How about Lily? She was sick the last time I saw her."
"Still sick," Maggie replies. "That cut got her good, but as of late she's gotten better. The vomit stopped, and the infection seemed to quit spreading, but she still has a slight cold. By now, all there is is a greenish spot on the side of her stomach and some coughing that drives us crazy, but she's better. Smiling again. Took all three girls a while to do that." Lucy looks at Quinn and finds she had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
"What about Sam?" she whispers. Maggie smiles at this.
"Okay," she replies, and Lucy closes her eyes happily. "We were able to give her blood and stitch her up. She's got some scars on her stomach and a few small, very small, ones on her back, but we were able to heal them. She was shaken up after that experience, but now she's back to bouncing around the area, though her smile is a bit less bright." Lucy looks back out the window, thanking whatever God there was that her kids were okay.
"What about everyone else in the group? What about Daryl?" Maggie chuckles slightly at this.
"Everyone else? Learning to live and go on, though some sort of sadness does hang in the air...I hope it'll be gone now," she snickers, looking at the two of them. "Daryl...just like Emily, completely stoic for a month. Completely. It was like we were back on the farm. The only people he talked to was the kids, and that's because he took care of them."
That made Lucy smile. Even in the shitty times he was still there for the kids, still kept them alive.
"He finally started to actually converse with people about a week ago, though reluctantly." She suddenly smiles wide and shakes her head. "I can't wait to see what his reaction will be. Glenn was right. He'll go insane." She takes a glance down t her belly and raises an eyebrow, looking back outside at the road. They were getting close. "So when were you planning on telling us you're pregnant?"
Lucy groans and looks at Maggie.
"Look, I wasn't trying to hide it. I was going to tell him that night!" Maggie looks at her.
"So you were willing to die with a baby in you?"
"Of course I wasn't!" Lucy replies, her voice raising slightly. "Those kids had already been through so much, and I know if I resisted they would have been hurt even more. I couldn't live with myself if that happened." Maggie looks back at the road once more.
"You're gonna tell him, right?" Lucy snorts.
"Of course I am. He's my husband." Maggie smiles at the term.
"Good." She stops the car and places it in park. "Because we're here." Lucy looks around and sees lights coming from inside probably three story walls, all made from scraps of wood and metal. The gate opened when the people on top saw the car, and they drove steadily into the pavilion of the resort.
It was big, that much Lucy saw. The first thing she saw was a giant building, that was sure to be home of everyone who was still alive. There were three more buildings, and in the middle a slight area to relax and play, but Lucy would figure all this out when she eventually found the time to explore.
"Just to let you know, Hunter made it too. He's alive." Lucy's eyes lighten considerably. How the hell had her German Shepherd made it? Maggie chuckles. "I had a feeling you'd like that. Come on."
Maggie steps out of her side of the car and Lucy leans over to Quinn, shaking her slightly to wake her up. "Quinn? We're here, girl. Come on." Quinn groans and opens her eyes, leaning up, looking outside. Her brow raises.
"This place is huge," she mumbles with sleep evident in her voice. Lucy chuckles.
"Come on, get on out." Quinn opens the door and jumps out, following Maggie slowly into the main courtyard. Lucy follows in her steps, and this time follows Glenn and Tyreese, looking around as they walked. Quinn was right. The place was huge, bigger than the mill.
She pushes her hair behind her ear as they walk closer to where they were leading them. Voices grew and Maggie turns to the two girls.
"Both of you stay here for a second. Tyreess, when I give you the signal, nod to the girls to come out." She peeks around the corner and smiles, seeing Daryl talking quietly with Rick as everyone else was laughing and smiling, while Mr Harris chatted with the men at his table. "The kids must be in their room. Oh, I'm so excited. Okay, Glenn, come with me."
The man nods and the two walk out of the shadows, walking into the group. A few of the people look up and smile at them, while others welcome them back. Rick looks to the two as Daryl reaches for something to eat.
"Where's Tyreese? Pretty sure we sent three people out." Glenn shrugs his shoulder, playing it off.
"He went to his room to relax. Said he wasn't tired." Maggie was impressed. Usually Glenn sucked at lying.
"Okay," Rick replies, his voice a bit suspicious. "Then what did you guys bring back?"
"Some good stuff." Maggie makes a quick hand gesture behind her back and Tyreese nods, Quinn coming out first, then Lucy. Everyone had their attention on Maggie besides Daryl, who was looking away. "I think you might like one thing, Daryl. Picked it up just for you. And Mr. Harris as well." The old man tilts his head at this, while Daryl just snorts.
"I aint in the mood for this shit, Maggie." Lucy finally steps out from behind Tyreese and smiles, and Quinn hides shy fully behind her. She was still feeling the news of her mother passing away.
"When are you ever, crossbow?"
Everyone turned around at the voice and their eyes widened. Gasps came out and slight cheerful laughter was heard. Mr. Harris jumped up from his seat without a word and ran over to his daughter, holding her strongly in his arms. She felt the dam break and her own arms enveloped him. Lucy smiles at them while Rick looks at Daryl. He was frozen solid.
"Daryl, it's her." He shakes his head, gripping the plate he had harder.
"No. It aint. She's gone." Lucy rolls her eyes.
"You need to start believing your friends, Dixon. They're usually right." He finally turns around and sees her there, alive, standing, her stupid bright smile on her face. Without a moments hesitation, he drops the plate and runs through the crowd as fast as he could. When he reaches her, he doesn't just hug her. He cups her face in his hands, pulls her closer and kisses her so passionately that she could feel her knees go weak.
The people behind them clap and cheer at the happy reunions, especially with Daryl and Lucy, but the two didn't hear anything. All it was with them was that the other person was alive, and in front of them. Daryl's arms had snaked around her waist as the kiss went on, and she felt herself get lifted off the ground and spun in a circle. She laughs as he does, and he places her down a second later, his lips still connected to hers.
Finally, after an eternity, Daryl breaks the kiss, only to give her slightly shorter pecks every other second. Her hands were tangled in his hair as she smiled into them.
"Jesus fucking christ," Daryl murmurs when he finally pulls back, his forehead against hers. "I thought ya were dead...Emily...she told...how?!" She giggles and brushes her fingers through his hair, running them slowly like how she used to do. He sighs and drops his gaze to her lips again, stealing one more kiss from her.
"We got out," she states simply when he pulls back. He runs his own hands through her hair and sighs happily.
"God, I fucking love ya." She smiles and leans up, this time kissing him.
"I love you, too." She looks down and remembers she still had to tell him. "But we gotta talk." He pulls back and sees the serious look in her eyes. For a moment, he was nervous to know what she was going to say, but nods anyway. She looks around and bites her lip. "Privately."
~%~
"What's goin' on?" Daryl asks when they were far enough away from other people. The man had grabbed her hand and led her into the building, picking an empty hotel room farthest away from anyone else that was empty so that she explain whatever was going on. She sat down on the bed and opens her mouth, but the words don't come out. She couldn't believe it. She was choking on this, after practicing so many time in her head.
"I can't believe this is harder than I thought," she mumbles, pushing her hair out of her eyes. Daryl sits down next to her on the edge of the bed and looks closer at her. Why was she freaking out?
"Ya don't gotta tell me if ya don't want to," he states softly. She shakes her head, bringing her knees up indian style onto the bed.
"No. I have to. It's just...I don't know how." She looks at him and then at his hands, before she gingerly takes one in her own. "Don't freak out." His brow furrows as she moves his hand towards her stomach, and she places it right above her navel, and lets go. He stares at her curiously before looking down at her stomach again, and finally, a look of realization comes over his face.
She was bigger. Not by much, but bigger.
He looks up, his eyes wider, not by much, but still there.
"How long?" he asks, his voice strained now. She shrugs slightly.
"Just passed two months about a week ago," she murmurs. He looks back down at her stomach. "I was going to tell you at the party that night, but you know what happened." He looks up again, this time with a slight look of disbelief on his face. Both his hands were now on her slightly protruded stomach.
"That really a baby?" he asks. She nods, a smile coming over her face.
"Yeah, it really is." He lets out a huff of a laugh and leans in again, his lips connecting with hers. She wraps her arms around his neck to pull him closer. On the inside, she was having her own party. Thank God he didn't freak out. I wouldn't have been able to handle it.
She pulls back and smiles at him, running her fingers through his hair once more. His hands were still on her stomach, and his face was still in disbelief.
"Jesus, we're having a kid," he mumbles, his voice a mixture of shock and happiness. She nods.
"Yeah, we are," she giggles. He gives her another quick peck on the lips and pulls back, looking at her seriously.
"I aint ever gonna let anything happen to ya ever again, or when this little one is born, or afterwards. I'm gonna keep ya all safe. I swear." She sees the sincerity in his eyes, saw how he was trying to convince her that he wouldn't fail her again, let her go. She found that incredibly sexy, especially after two months of not seeing this man. She cups his cheek and pulls him in, giving hims soft kiss on the lips.
"I know," she whispers to him. "Trust me, I know." His arms wrap around her waist and he pulls her underneath him as their kissing increases. Her hands wound themselves tighter into his hair while his lips broke off from hers and started a trial down her neck. She made sure to remember that they locked the door when they came in. She didn't need people coming in. This was long overdue.
"God, I missed ya," he murmurs as he pulls her up against the headboard. She smiles and rubs her hands now along his back.
"Same, babe," she breathes. Her brain was slowly starting to loose track of the world as all she thought about was the man who was slowly torturing her, but a voice she had come to recognize stopped her in her tracks.
"Daryl?" Lucy looks at the door and smiles at Daryl's groan.
"Really, Emily?" he mutters into the pillow. Lucy giggles slightly and rolls out from under him. She gives him a long peck on the lips and smiles at him.
"Later," she whispers. "You might want to hide little Daryl." His eyes narrow at her and she laughs, standing up and straightening out her shirt. She walks over to the door and opens it slowly, stepping out into the hall where she had heard Emily's voice. At the sound of the door opening, Emily, as well as the other two girls, look up and the sisters eyes widen.
"LUCY!" Emily and Lily scream, running towards her. Emily held Lily's hand so she wouldn't trip as they ran, and attacked Lucy head on, their arms encircling her in a tight embrace. Lucy laughs and falls to the ground to hug them as Emily's knees fail her. They were both crying.
"We thought you were dead," Emily blubbered into Lucy's shoulder. Lily was plain sobbing. Lucy smiles and holds them tighter.
"Nothing's gonna kill me," she mumbles. "I'm gonna stick around." She looks up and sees her four year old daughter, staring at her with disbelief, nearly the same look that Daryl had on his face not that long ago. She lets go of the other girls and smiles at Sam, who was holding a teddy bear in one of her hands.
She looked so innocent, but Lucy knew she wasn't. Not anymore.
"Samantha? I'm still here, baby. I'm still alive." Sam stares at her for another second, and suddenly breaks out into a run, tears streaming down her face.
"Mommy!" she whimpers shortly as she latches herself onto Lucy's body. Lucy feels her own dam break as she holds her little girl in her arms tightly. All the worrying and the obsessing over if they were okay, if they were alive, was all coming back to her, and they were alive. They were alive.
She looks up from her spot and finally sees Daryl looking at the girls, his girls, crying happily. She gives him a smile, something he had missed so fucking much, and feels one reluctantly come onto his face. Looking at all of them, he realizes he must be the luckiest asshole in the world to have them. Who knew it would take an apocalypse for all this to happen?
He never felt so at ease.
~%~
Review please? :) Luv ya!
This was longer originally, but I decided to put the rest into the next chapter. Got already a third of that chapter done. :) I love all of you guys. You're amazing. :)