"Are you okay with this?" Stefani asked as Daryl sat up on the cot they were sharing. She reached out and ran a hand down his back, waiting to hear his response.
"It's what Rick wants." He said, turning to give her a small smile. "Not my place to say anything else."
"You could. He'd listen. I love my brother, with all my heart I love that man, but something is wrong. He's not himself, and Rick knows that. Shane wants Randall dead, but so do a lot of other people. He's dangerous."
"So is Shane." He told her honestly, hoping she wouldn't take it too personally.
"I know." She sighed running her hands over her face as she turned away from him. "I'm going to talk to him. Be careful out there, checking on the fences. Don't forget that I need you to come back."
He leaned in and kissed her, falling half on top of her. His hand ran up her side, moving from her rib cage up and over her chest. Stefani moved as his hand gave her breast a squeeze. She pushed him away gently, staring into his clear blue eyes. "Don't start something you can't finish."
"They'll wait." He said as he dipped his head again, but Stefani turned away. "What wrong?"
"We can't, not for a while." She sighed.
"You still in pain?" He asked, carefully placing his hand on her now flat stomach.
"No, it's not that. I just…I'm not ready. I'm sorry, I'm not punishing you." She sighed and turned away from him. He reached out for her, pulling her closer to him.
"Hey, we don't got to. It ain't just sex, remember. I love you."
Stefani couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her lips at the nonchalant way he said those three monumental words. She reached up and cupped his face before pulling him in for another kiss. "I love you too. Now get out of here, sooner you leave, faster you get back to me and I can stop worrying so much."
Stefani spent the rest of the morning, helping everyone clean up the camp. Sophia and her had Daryl's camp packed up quickly and were now helping with the others. It was strange moving around the RV without seeing Dale up there keeping an eye on everyone. There was a somber mood around the whole group. They had lost someone important to the group, a father figure none of them really knew they needed until he was gone.
She didn't find any time to talk to Shane until they were moving everyone up to the farm house. Sophia picked a small corner in the living room, one that the two girls could share easily and Daryl could too when he wasn't on watch duty. It was going to be hard sharing him with the group, but it was for the better. She always felt safer when he was looking out for them.
Shane was on the windmill putting up a platform to stand on. Stefani passed Lori on her way over, the women sharing a smile as they passed. Stefani prayed the brunette hadn't put him in a bad mood, because the last thing she wanted was a fight with her brother.
"Hey, you got a minute?" She called out as she leaned against his car. "You know, I always saw this as a getaway car. One night we'd just pack it up and leave without looking back. Nothing could stop the Walsh kids." She smiled when she saw him stop next to her.
"What's up, Fani?" He sounded more put out than she would have liked, it was getting harder and harder to talk to him lately.
"I wanted to see what was going on with you. We haven't talked much and it's probably more my fault than yours." She turned to give him a sad smile. "I'm sorry."
"You know you always do get caught up in a guy when you're in that honeymoon stage. I'm use to coming in second to whatever guys got you all hot and bothered." Stefani swallowed thickly to keep her temper at bay.
"I love him, Shane. I'm not hot and bothered; I'm in love with him. And he loves me, too." She sighed and turned to face him, reaching out to turn his head so that he was looking her in the eye. It always unnerved her when their identical eyes locked. "Shane, you gotta know that no man will ever push you down to second place. You're my blood. I love you above all else, no matter how much of a dick you're being." She leaned in to kiss his cheek before giving it a slight smack.
"Why'd you wanna leave, Stefani? One day you were begging to run away and the next you were clinging to Dixon like your life depended on it. What happened?"
"I got pregnant." She said quickly. She turned to see the shocked look on his face and the way his eyes moved directly to her stomach. "I lost it. That mystery bug, I had a miscarriage, a pretty bad one."
"Stef," he sighed, pulling her into his arms tightly. She felt a tear slip from her eyes as his hand ran down her hair in that loving way she missed so much. "I'm so sorry, darlin."
"It's okay, we got through it. It would have caused so many problems anyway. This is better, safer." She smiled as she pulled away from him.
"I wish you'd told me." He sighed as they resumed their previous positions.
"I should've told you a lot of things, but you keep secrets too. I want you to be able to trust me, Shane. We're all we have in the world no matter what, I'd die for you. But that's only if you let me in. This chip on your shoulder bullshit is driving me crazy. You're all over the place and I don't know how to help you."
"I don't need your help, Stefani. I'm looking out for the group. You should know that's all I'm trying to do, all I've ever been doing is making sure you were okay. You and everyone else with us."
"I know, you just have a fucked up way of showing it sometimes." She turned and wrapped her arms around him, breathing in his scent, the smell of home. "Promise when this Randall shit is taken care of, you'll cool off a little. Fighting Rick at every turn isn't gonna to get you the results you want and you know that. Promise me you'll take a step back."
His grip on her tightened as he placed a kiss to the side of her head. "No man will ever be good enough for you, you know that." Shane finally said. "You're too good a woman for the sons a bitches you always fall for. You're like mom, in that sense. Dad and me, we're cut from the same cloth. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but you're always there giving it away." Again he placed a kiss on her forehead before pulling away from her.
"I love you, you asshole. No matter what, you're mine." She reached out and playfully punched him in the arm, putting a little more force than necessary behind it. "I'll see you back at the house."
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
Rick and Daryl stood on the porch, discussing the plans for the trip to take Randall out went quickly. There wasn't much resistance, which was different for Rick. Daryl seemed to take a plan and run with it, only putting his two cents in when he knew it was risky to begin with. He was starting to see what Stefani seemed to know from the beginning. Daryl was a good guy when given the chance.
"That thing you did last night…" Rick began.
"No reason you should do all the heavy lifting." Daryl said as he shrugged off the thanks Rick was giving him.
"I may be relying on you a little more after we get settled in. You think you can handle that?" Rick asked as he watched the man next to him carefully.
"I ain't got nothing better to do."
"Few weeks ago, I said some things about you and Stefani." Rick started, not sure if he should even bring up the conversation again.
"You know, I've had a lot of those and honestly I don't give a fuck what people think about us. I love that woman, and she'd mine to protect. As long as she's happy with that, I don't see why it should matter to anyone else." Daryl said as he stood, preparing for any rebuttals from the former sheriff.
"I was just going to say that I was wrong. I've seen that way she is with you, and Sophia too. You're doing alright by them."
"Yeah, it ain't easy." Again he brushed off the compliment although it made him happy to know that Rick was finally okay with the relationship. They both caught a glance of Shane's car coming up to the house quickly and their moods shifted. "I'm going to check on them before we head out."
With that Daryl left, barely acknowledging the nod Shane sent his way when he got out of the car. Walking through the house, Daryl stopped to see Sophia kneeling down placing blanket upon blanket on the floor. His heart broke that he wasn't able to give the girl a proper bed to sleep on. In another life, he would have made sure she would never want for anything. He took another step closer, reaching down and throwing her over his shoulder. The squeal of laughter that left her brought smiles to everyone's face in the room. He turned around, making sure she spun just enough to make her laugh even harder. She was finally in his arms correctly when he looked around for Stefani.
"You seen your mom?" He asked, freezing when he the slip finally hit his ears. He was expecting a breakdown. For the little girl in his arms to come to tears and wail against him for even mentioning her dead mother, but it never gave. She barely flinched.
"I think she's outside." She said easily as she glanced around the room to make sure she was right. He stared at her with shock, even catching Lori and Maggie's stares from the other room as they watched the scene. "What?" Sophia asked, running her hand through her hair to make sure it wasn't sticking up.
"Nothing, come one. Let's go find her." Daryl said as he carried her out of the house.
"How come that girl gets carried everywhere when I'm the one that's dead on my feet half the time?" Stefani asked as she watched Daryl carry Sophia down the porch steps. "She's like your little rag doll."
"Are you making fun of me or this tooth pick here?" Daryl asked as he once again flung the girl over his shoulder.
"Both," Stefani said as she stepped up and brought the girl back to her feet. "You know you don't have to take that man handling from him. Just hit him back." Stefani said as she gave a good smack to his middle and winked at Sophia.
"Hey I'm about to go out into the unknown. Would it kill you two to be nice to me for once?" The slight pout he placed on his face brought both Stefani and Sophia to laughter. The little girl slipped out of his arms and moved closer to Stefani, smiling the whole way. "Fine, forget you both. I'll go out on my own without a care in the world. See how you feel about that." He said as he began walking off.
"Wait," Sophia yelled as she raced after him. "You gotta come back." She flung her arms around him, thankful when he knelt down to her level and returned the embrace.
"Listen, about what I said earlier."
"It's okay. Sometimes I like to pretend she is my mom. It actually makes it easier." She moved closer, hugging him tightly around the neck before speaking again. "I also think of you as my daddy too. So you gotta come back."
He held her tighter at her admission. In the back of his mind, he knew that's what he felt too. This little girl had weaseled her way into his heart months ago. If she was okay with it, than he could step up for her. She deserved to have a dad that treated her right after the shitty one she was stuck with all her life.
"Alright, I'm missing something here." Stefani said as she came away from the porch and stood next to the two close to the ground. "What's going on?"
"Daryl said I could start calling him Daddy." Sophia beamed, laughing a little at the grimace on his face.
"Oh did he, now?" Stefani smiled as she pulled the girl against her. "I think that fits him, don't you?"
Daryl softened when he saw the look in Stefani's eyes. He knew she was thinking about their baby, he could always see it clear on her face. There was always a slight moisture to her dark eyes, a glistening that wasn't there normally. She would bite the inside of her lower lip, holding back cries. He knew it, because he would do the same. Little things would bring back the memory that he was going to be a dad, that he created another life and it was growing inside of her. In a few short strides he was taking her by the neck and pulling her against his chest. They didn't need to start a family from scratch when they had a child to take care of already. Sophia was one of the only reasons they were moving on from the loss.
"Be careful, babe." She said against his neck, leaning up to place a quick kiss to his lips. "We'll save you some dinner for when you get back."
The two headed back in the house, while Daryl helped T-Dog finish packing up the truck. Daryl watched them leave with a smile on his face, one he couldn't bring himself wipe away. T's laughter next to him was the only thing bringing him back to reality.
"What're you laughing at?" Daryl asked with a little more bite than necessary.
"Nothing, man, just never pegged you for the family man."
"Shut up, or you're gonna get an arrow in the ass."
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
Stefani didn't know what to think as she stood outside the shed Randall had last been seen in. A nagging voice in the back of her head told her what had happened, but she was too loyal to voice the opinion. Shane was the only one not here, and he was the most adamant about killing the boy. Her eyes locked with Daryl and she knew he was thinking the same thing. For what felt like the millionth time, her eyes filled with tears. Rick would kill him if he found out it was Shane that did this. Her brother than crossed a line that there was no going back from.
"Rick, Rick!" Shane called from the tree line not far from the shed. Stefani had the immediate urge to run to him, hug him and then punch him in the face.
"What happened?" She asked instead, taking a few careful steps towards him. Her hand reaching out for his broken face, but he brushed passed her with angry strides.
"He's armed, got my gun?"
"Are you okay?" Carl asked as Shane finally got close enough for the rest of the group to see his wounds.
"I'm fine. The little bastard just snuck up on me, clocked me in the face."
"Alright, Hershel, T-Dog get everyone back in the house. Glenn, Daryl you're with us."
"T, I need that gun." Shane said as he moved closer. Stefani reached out, taking her gun out of her waistband and handing it to him. He gave her a reassuring nod, and squeezed her hand before taking the weapon from her.
"Just let him go." Sophia's small voice said through the commotion. "Wasn't that the plan, to just let him go?"
"The plan was to let him go far away from here. Not on our front step with a gun." Rick said harshly, but the little girl didn't let up. It was clear to Stefani that she was trying to reach out to Daryl.
"Don't go out there. You don't know what will happen."
Stefani pulled the girl against her, rushing her back to the house. She was surprised Daryl had the strength to not even turn around. Keeping the trembling girl close to her, Stefani followed the rest of the group back. Her stomach was in knots. She couldn't help thinking that one of them, if not more wouldn't be coming back to the house by morning. It was terrible for her to think, but a little part of her hoped that it wasn't Shane, and for the girl in her arms it wasn't Daryl either. The others would hurt, but those two being gone forever would tear a piece of her apart.
"He's gonna come back." Sophia said with conviction as they sat on the couch, the sun setting behind the blinds. "He has too. Just like Rick always comes back for Carl, he'll come back for me."
"Yeah, sweetheart." Stefani said with a kiss to the girl's head. "He's a good man like that. He's gonna be a good dad for you and that means he'll fight like hell to always come back."
Stefani didn't mean to, but her entire body flinched when she heard the shot go off. She wasn't sure who had taken the bullet, but the piercing it caused in her heart was enough to immobilize her, almost as if taking the shot herself. Glancing at the others' shocked expressions around the room, Stefani let tears well up in her eyes, but never fall. She wasn't going to cry for someone she wasn't sure was gone. Her family would come back to her, they had too.