Redneck Takes a Wife 26 – Growing
All recognized characters, situations, and locations belong to AMC, the writers, creators, and actors of The Walking Dead.
Thanks for all the reviews! So glad you're enjoying this!
The only difference between a saint and a sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. Oscar Wilde
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
3 months later
Merle opened his eyes, instantly awake. It was very early, the sun was just rising. He blinked and looked around the cell. Carol was still sound asleep next to him. As they cleared more of the prison, they found larger bunks with wider mattresses and moved them into the block. It made the cells tighter but also made it so he didn't have to worry about crushing Carol or falling on his ass with every move in the night. He yawned and got up. He used the toilet, then cleaned up and dressed for the day. He tucked the blanket up around Carol's shoulder before he walked out of the cell.
Sophia slept in the next cell. She still had the bunks in her 'room' that was decorated with her artwork. A pastel quilt shielded the front but there was enough of a gap for him to peek in and confirm she was still asleep. He reached the next cell where Daryl and Beth slept, when he heard the baby begin to fuss in the next one. Beth started to move immediately.
"I'll get her, Sunshine."
"She's wet," Beth mumbled as she curled back up against Daryl's chest.
The baby's cell had been emptied completely, the institutional furniture replaced with the crib Carl and Michonne had found and a dresser changing table combo and a rocking chair. Beth, Carol, and Sophia decorated it with soft colors and textures to make it more comfortable for the little girl. Judith was yawning as she fussed. "Hey darlin'," Merle crooned as he lifted her from the crib. "You're up way too early. Let's see what you got."
From two cells further down, he heard Rick stir. In between, Carl slept on. Rick padded in behind Merle as Merle unsnapped the baby's sleeper. "Mornin'."
"Mornin'," Merle nodded. He stripped off the diaper, dropped it into a plastic bag, cleaned her up, sprinkled the powder, and had a fresh diaper on before Rick could even fully wake up.
"You're good at that, I still end up taping my thumbs half the time," Rick said.
"Had to be quick when I changed Daryl's or he'd piss in my face," Merle replied. "Been a long time but I remember. Basically things haven't changed." He checked the sleeper, "Need fresh clothes though, these are wet."
Rick nodded and opened a drawer for a fresh outfit. He pulled out a shirt and pants and showed them to Merle. Merle shrugged. Rick shrugged back and handed them over. Together they got the baby changed. Rick picked her up and she settled against his chest to doze. Merle stripped the wet sheets and dumped them and the wet clothes into the laundry bin in the corner. Rick stood for a moment cradling his daughter, then he walked over to Beth and Daryl's cell. Daryl turned away from the commode to wash his hands. He nodded to Rick. Beth sat up and took the baby, hushing her softly as she fussed, then settled down to try to sleep a little longer with Judith curled in her arm. She looked at the outfit then to Rick with a confused expression.
"Yeah, Merle picked it out," Rick claimed.
"Liar," Merle retorted softly. Rick snickered as the two men walked out of the block. "Asshole."
Daryl leaned down and kissed Beth's cheek, "Love you," he whispered before he left the cell.
Beth snuggled with Judith. Judy smiled and cooed at her, then yawned and drifted back to sleep.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Rick and Carl were out working on the crops together as usual since Hershel had started their lessons. "Dad?" Carl suddenly interrupted their silent work.
"Yeah."
"I heard one of the women call Beth Judith's mom."
"Oh," Rick frowned. "Well we'll be sure everyone knows."
"No," Carl replied. "I mean, yeah, they should know you and she didn't… you know. But I wonder if we should teach Judith to call her Mom. Everyone needs a mom, and Beth kinda is her mom. So maybe we should call her that so Judy does. I don't know. Maybe not mom. Because Mom is Mom. Maybe Mommy or Momma. I don't know."
Rick nodded, "We'll talk it over with Beth. See what she thinks."
"What do you think?"
"I think you're right."
Carl nodded and fell back into silence as they went back to the task. A short while later, Carl stopped and leaned heavily on the hoe. He lifted his hand to shield his eyes. "Dad?" Carl called, when Rick turned, Carl pointed. Out beyond the fence, away from the gathered walkers, stood a man with a rifle on his back, watching them through binoculars.
"Carl go get the others. Quick. Run." Rick ran to shelter behind the tower, cursing his lack of weapon as he watched the man for any move threatening his son.
Carl darted. Glenn was on watch and had already raised the alarm. Merle and Daryl were at the front of the responding men and women.
Merle reached the tower with a rifle of his own. He glared at Rick and his empty belt, then lifted the rifle scope to his eye. "Holy shit… I don't believe it." Merle stepped out of the shelter and waved. The man waved back. "It's Oscar."
"Get the fence patrol clearing," Daryl turned and ordered the group. Then he waved to Oscar and pointed down near the creek which was relatively clear. Oscar disappeared into the woods.
Rick, Merle, and Daryl stood together, clearing the few walkers crowded against the fence. Oscar walked out of the trees and took down a few with the hatchet he carried. "Good morning," he greeted.
"Hey," Rick replied. "Never thought we'd see you again."
"This place is amazing," Oscar remarked. "Got room for a few more?"
"How many in your group?" Merle asked.
"Seven. Me, my wife, my son and daughter, son's friend and his brother, and another man. I'll vouch for all of them."
"You found 'um," Merle grinned.
Oscar smiled, nodded, then turned to put down a walker, "Yep."
"Your mom?" Daryl asked.
Oscar sighed, "Found her but her heart…" He wiped his face, "She couldn't travel, knew we wouldn't leave her. She went to sleep one night and was just gone. I think she told God to take her." He shook his head with a sad laugh, "Not even God would cross Mom."
"How many walkers have you killed?" Rick asked.
Oscar blinked and looked at the bodies at his feet, "I have no idea."
"How many people?" Daryl asked.
Oscar's jaw clenched, "Five."
"Why?"
Oscar met his eyes steadily, "They tried to hurt my family."
Merle nodded, "Meet us at the main gate. You need help gettin' the others?"
Oscar shook his head, "Nope. We got an RV. Is Axel…?"
Merle shook his head, "Sorry."
Oscar nodded and walked away. They cleared the gate and Oscar drove his RV through without incident.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
"This is my wife, Connie," Oscar introduced. His wife was a strongly built woman with a very sweet smile. "My son Tyler, he's sixteen. My daughter Kiara is thirteen. This is Bryan and Steven. Sixteen and twelve. And this is Jeff." Jeff was a muscular man with a crew cut.
"You military?" Merle asked
Jeff nodded, "Army. I was pulled back stateside when all this started. My team was assigned to civilian protection where Connie and the kids lived."
"Your team?" Rick asked.
"Dead. Or took off," Jeff replied.
"You stayed," said Daryl.
"Nowhere to go," he shrugged.
Hershel smiled, "Let's get you introduced to everyone and find a place for you to settle in."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
They set them up in the group's cell block on the upper level. Oscar and Connie took one with Kiara on one side, Tyler on the other. The brothers took one together and Jeff took the last, placing himself in position to guard the others. The kids began to set up the bunks, while the adults came back down.
"I can't believe how different this place looks after just three months," Oscar remarked as they gave them the tour.
"Yeah," Rick nodded.
"Where did all these people come from?" Oscar asked.
Rick sighed, "Right after you left. Like minutes after you left Glenn and Maggie, they were kidnapped by a group from a town nearby. Their leader was a psychopath."
"Damn… I didn't…"
Merle shook his head, "Not your fault. Someone saw you leave before the group showed."
"The guy attacked, shot Axel," Rick continued. "Convinced most of the town to bring war to our gate. When they failed to kill us or drive us out, he killed them all."
"Lord," Connie gasped.
"We brought the rest of the townspeople in," Rick said. "Mostly older people and kids. They're in block D. We've found more people while on supply runs who have joined us. We've cleared the entire prison now, reinforced all the fences."
"And the leader? Where is he?" Oscar asked.
Merle sighed, "Daryl 'n me followed his path for a while. He's alone now. Wanderin'. Doesn't seem to be goin' anywhere, just away from here. Lost his path after a storm swept through. The woman who saw you, her name's Michonne, she's still out there. She ain't ready to give up the search yet."
Oscar nodded in understanding. "You still in charge?" Oscar asked Rick.
Rick shook his head silently. Merle answered for him, "We have a committee of sorts in charge."
"You on it?" Jeff asked, speaking for the first time since they began.
Merle snorted, "Nah. I just follow orders. Keep people in line. My brother is on it though."
"Need an extra set of hands with that?" Jeff asked. "Sounds like what I've always done."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
A week later -
"Rick, Merle, you got a minute?" Jose asked. They were sitting at the table reviewing a map for possible salvage runs.
"Sure," Rick nodded. "What's up?"
"I wanted to come to you first," Morales said. He glanced at Miranda and she took his hand. "We wanted to."
In the time since Woodbury, Jose's injury had healed well. So had their marriage. They had moved into the cell block with the group, still feeling somewhat awkward with the people from Woodbury, but in time the uneasiness faded. Miranda spent her days helping Karen, the schoolteacher, with keeping the children occupied and learning. Jose worked wherever they needed him.
"Merle, do you remember that day after we left Woodbury? We helped that group on the bridge?"
Merle nodded, "Yeah."
"The younger guy had come up from Mexico to get his brother and his family to go back to a safe zone," Jose explained.
"That zone is in the area where my parents were originally from," Miranda said.
Rick gave Merle a look, Merle nodded. Both of them understood where this was going. "You're leaving," Rick said.
Jose nodded, "The group that came in right after Oscar did had a guy we know from Birmingham. He said a bunch of people headed that way months ago. If any of Miranda's family is still alive, we think they may have gone too. This guy, Antonio, wants to go. Word got around and so do some others."
"Of course we won't stop you," Rick said. "We'll see how many are going and see what we can do about vehicles and supplies."
Miranda smiled but her lip quivered, "We'll miss you. We can't thank you enough for everything you did for us."
"It's what we do," Rick replied.
As the news got around, Oscar handed over the keys to the RV he'd driven in. It was large enough to hold the group who wanted to leave. They stocked it with a few days supply of food and water. Everyone gathered to hug and say goodbye, then Jose drove the RV away from the prison.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Beth was sitting outside with Judith bouncing on her lap as she played with Sophia's doll. It was a beautiful day, not too hot. Sophia was nearby, sketching in a new book that Glenn had brought her.
"There she is," Maggie said. Beth turned to see her approach with a young man Beth didn't recognize. "Beth, I wanted you to meet Zach. Zach this is my sister."
Beth smiled at him, "Hi. You came in with the last group, right?"
Zach nodded and sat down next to her, "She is adorable. How old?"
"Three months," Beth replied as Judith cooed to the new arrival.
"She's Rick's daughter," Maggie said. "Beth takes care of her while Rick farms."
"Oh, that's nice," Zach said as he wiggled his fingers at Judith.
Beth gave Maggie a confused frown, but Maggie just smiled broadly. "Beth, Zach was going to college in Florida, studying business."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it was great," Zach said. "Until it wasn't. Florida got bad pretty quickly. So many tourists from everywhere brought the infection in. Plus so many older people. And the heat." He shook his head, "But enough bad stuff. I'd really like to get to know you. From what Maggie says it sounds like we have a lot in common. I sing in a band…"
Beth gave Maggie a death glare, "Zach, I am sorry if Maggie gave you the wrong idea, but I am married."
"Oh," Zach blinked rapidly. "Oh wow… yeah… I am sorry. I didn't…"
"It's OK Zach," Beth smiled gently. "Not your fault. I'll see you around, OK."
Zach fled.
Beth took a deep breath, "Sophia? Could you take Judith inside please? I'll be in, in a few minutes."
Sophia came over, "Sure," and took Judith.
"Beth…" Maggie sighed.
"How could you do that?" Beth snarled softly. "To me? To that poor guy? What is wrong with you?!"
"He's a nice boy, Beth," Maggie replied. "I thought you two…"
"I have a husband, Maggie. A man. Why would I waste my time with a boy?"
"Because you have options now! There are a lot of younger guys around."
Beth blinked, "You shoppin' around too? Checkin' your options?"
"Of course not, I have Glenn."
"And I have Daryl. I am married to Daryl. I have a husband who loves me more than anything. Why would I even look at anyone else?"
"Because Daryl is not right for you Beth. He's so rough and…"
"Stop," Beth interrupted, "You are about to cross a line that you can't come back from. And I am about to lose it so I am walkin' away. You have no idea what's right for me. It's not your place to decide. Daryl is my husband, for now, and forever. Don't you ever, EVER, do somethin' like this again." Beth turned and walked away without a backward glance.
Carol met her as she strode into the cell block, "Beth honey, what's going on?"
Beth burst into tears and fell into Carol's arms.
When Daryl came in later, it was to find Beth asleep on their bunk with Carol rubbing her back. "What's wrong?"
"She and Maggie had an argument. She'll tell you. Didn't help that her period started and she wasn't feeling good anyway."
Daryl nodded, "She told me. Said it wasn't as bad as it usually was though."
"No, it wasn't. But she was still feeling emotional before Maggie decided to be an idiot."
Beth woke up, "Where's Judith?"
"Sophia put her down for her nap," Carol replied. "She's fine." She kissed Beth's cheek and slipped out of the cell.
"What happened?" Daryl asked as he sat down next to Beth.
"Maggie… introduced me to the new boy, Zach," Beth said. When Daryl just looked at her, confused, she sighed, "She set it up so he thought I was… available. Talked me up to him, then tried to talk him up to me. I've never been so angry at her in my life."
Daryl chewed on his thumbnail for a second, "He seems…. Like an OK guy."
Beth sat up to face him, "Yes he does. But I love you. I always will. You are the only guy I will ever need."
"I love you," Daryl nuzzled her. "Is it OK if I'm mad at Maggie too?"
"Yep," Beth nodded. "Just don't be mad at Zach."
"OK," he rubbed his hands together until they were warm, then pressed them against her lower abdomen. "You need anythin'?"
From the next cell, Judith began to fuss. Beth kissed Daryl firmly, "Nope, I'm OK." She went to get the baby. "Hey darlin', did you have a good nap?"
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
"Mr. Dixon?"
Daryl turned, "Yeah?"
The young man swallowed hard, "I'm Zach. I… uhm… I wanted to say I'm sorry for… being inappropriate with your wife. I didn't know.
Daryl nodded, "I know. She told me. Ain't mad at you."
"Good," Zach nodded, "Because I guess if you were I'd be dead by now."
"Yep."
"Can I ask what you're doing?"
"Makin' bolts for my crossbow. Goin' huntin' tomorrow."
"Oh. Wow. Is it OK if I sit and watch?" Daryl just shrugged and nodded. Zach sat down nearby. "Cool. Thanks. There was a course at my university where you could learn how to do survival stuff like that. Really wish I'd taken it. Didn't think it would matter in the business world. Little did I know."
"Hey," Beth greeted as she walked over with Judith on her hip.
"Hello," Zach replied. "Your husband is showing me how to make crossbow bolts."
"Oh good," Beth said. She glanced away and saw Maggie. Maggie lifted her hand to wave. Beth looked away. Daryl glowered at Maggie then turned back to the bolt in his hand, "You need a long, sturdy rod to start."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
6 weeks later -
Daryl and Beth waited while Michonne saddled the horse. They walked to the gate and met Rick who let them out. Michonne watched them walk into the woods. "They really expect us to believe they're hunting out there?"
Rick shrugged, "They usually come back with something."
"Uh-huh."
Daryl led Beth deep into the woods, eyes and ears open for any danger. He stopped and turned to kiss her.
"Hold up a second," she said. He pulled back, confused. "I just…" she pulled a condom out of her pocket. "I stole it from Glenn and Maggie. Thing is… I had two periods in a row. That's never happened before so it may be that my system is balancin' itself. The doctor said it might eventually. Carol said maybe my hormones are reactin' to takin' care of Judith. I don't know. But timin' wise… we could use this… or we could start really tryin' for a baby."
"I want kids with you, but," Daryl's jaw clenched, "After Lori… I can't lose you Beth. I -wouldn't survive it. I wouldn't want to."
Beth kissed him, "I'm not Lori. I'm built just like my Momma and she had me and Shawn within two years. All the doctor had to do was catch. And we've got Dr. S now. And Bob, he said he delivered a couple babies overseas. We're safe and secure, we've got the crops comin' in."
"You want this?"
"Yes."
"So do I."
"And I want to make him out here," Beth said as she began to unbutton Daryl's shirt. "In the woods."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Two weeks later -
"Hey, Merle?" Daryl said.
"Hey Baby Brother, you doin' OK?" Merle replied. After the failed run Daryl had led to the Big Spot, he knew his brother still blamed himself.
"Yeah. Can you come with me for a minute?"
Merle nodded, "Sure."
Daryl led the way down to the lavatory. "Little Brother why we goin' into the ladies' room?"
"Beth's comin'," Daryl replied.
"What's goin' on?"
Daryl pulled a box from under his shirt. Merle took it and blinked at Daryl in surprise. Daryl smiled, "Felt like you should be here when we took it."
Beth came in and Merle grabbed her in a hug. "Oh. Merle that's great but we don't know for sure yet. Please don't squeeze me, I gotta pee really bad."
Merle let her go and opened up the box and pulled the test out, "Go piss."
Beth rolled her eyes and took it to go into the stall. She peed on the test stick and handed it to Merle who walked it over to stand next to the sink staring at it. A slow smile spread across his face. "You knew already, din't yah?"
"Suspected," Beth replied as Daryl hugged her. "Carol and Lori both said I'd just know. I feel… different somehow. Plus with my cycle evenin' out… when I missed it."
"And her tits are bigger," Daryl blurted.
"Ugh," Beth moaned and shoved him.
Merle grabbed him in a firm embrace, "You are gonna be amazin', little brother. This kid is gonna be great. Who can I tell? I know you gotta be the one to tell people but you gotta let me tell someone."
"Carol," Beth nodded. "She may already know, but she hasn't said anything. I wanna be the one to tell my Dad. Tellin' Rick's gonna be hard."
"Not hard," Merle corrected. "but he is gonna worry."
"You're not," Daryl looked at him. "Worried."
"Nah. She's gonna be fine, little brother. Gonna grow you a son, strong and beautiful."
"Could be a girl."
"Dixons don't have girls, little brother," Merle scoffed, "Sunshine you feel OK?"
Beth nodded, "Little queasy now and then but that's it. Kinda tired. I've been nappin' when Judith does, if I can."
Merle pulled her close again and kissed the top of her head. "You sleep as much as you need. Somebody else can do what needs doin'. You takin' them vitamins we got yah?" Beth nodded. "Gonna hafta get you some ice cream and pickles." Beth giggled.
Suddenly Glenn's voice screamed through the hallways, "WALKERS IN D. WALKERS IN D!"
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*