Chapter 36

Months went by and everything was going well in the Dixon household. Gabrielle had long since recovered both mentally and physically from her ordeal. Her small marketing company was doing well. She had over a dozen independent businesses working with her and everyone was pleased. Her business was still growing all the time. Between her income and Daryl's they were no longer living paycheck to paycheck. There was a little extra money to put in the bank and some to spend these days.

This was the first time in his life that Daryl wasn't worrying about money. It was such a relief not to have to figure out where to get the rent money from and to always have a full refrigerator was a luxury he was getting used to. He was so happy with his life that at times he kept waiting for reality to step in and kick him to the curb. The best thing he ever did in his whole life was go to Las Vegas. That trip completely changed his life and while the beginning was a bit rough, it had all worked out better than he could have ever dreamed.

Gabrielle had been feeling a bit run down lately and she didn't know why. She was eating well, went running several times a week and had no reason to be feeling this way. Without telling Daryl she made an appointment with a doctor, hoping she just needed vitamins.

The appointment seemed to be going well as she sat on the cold examination table in a paper gown. The doctor had just finished taking her vitals, when there was a light knock at the door. The nurse came in and handed him a piece of paper and left.

The doctor looked at it and smiled. "When was your last period, Gabrielle?"

"Last month, no make that...hmm, I'm not sure. I've never been too regular, even on birth control pills. Why?" she asked as her heart started to race.

"The urine sample you have us today came back positive. You're pregnant."

Gabrielle just sat there in shock. That couldn't be right, she was on the pill and she never ever missed a dose. "But Doctor, I'm on the pill and I swear I never missed one…ever. How can I be pregnant?"

"Gabrielle, nothing is one hundred percent. This proves it, but just to be sure, let me run another test and do a vaginal exam to be certain. Okay?"

Gabrielle nodded her head yes and the doctor left to order the blood test and get a nurse to assist him. Meanwhile, she just sat there in shock. The one thing that she and Daryl had never talked about was kids. She had no idea how he would react to this. Would be he happy? Or would he be angry at her thinking she did this on purpose. Why had they never talked about this?

She had always figured that after her career was well on its way and she was established as a partner at the agency, she would marry and most likely have one child, but that was not anything she had thought about in a long time. In the last year her life had completely changed and she really hadn't thought about having a baby. She should have since she and Daryl were married, but she really hadn't. It was odd, but the one thing they never spoke about was kids.

After the exam confirmed she was indeed pregnant, Gabrielle sat in the parking lot in her car letting the weight of everything hit her. She was pregnant with Daryl's baby. Her hands went automatically to her stomach and stayed there thinking of the tiny person growing inside of her. Then it hit her, she wanted this child more than anything in the world.

Gabrielle wanted to give the baby the love she received from her mother and get that unconditional love back. It was a piece of both her and Daryl and she needed that in her life. She just wished she had an idea on how Daryl would feel about this. She was absolutely clueless, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted this baby.

When she got home, she called the obstetrician that her doctor recommended for an appointment and got one for the end of next week. Then she went up to her office and tried to get some work done, but she simply could not concentrate. Instead, she decided to make a nice dinner for Daryl so they could celebrate. How could he not want their precious little baby?

The chicken parmesan was in the oven when she heard his bike pull into the driveway. He was right on time. Gabrielle smooth the non-existent wrinkles from the front of the sun dress she had put on and waited nervously for him to come in.

"Somethin' smells good," he commented putting his helmet away in the closet. "Gonna go shower and be back down."

"No rush," she called out from the kitchen. Gabrielle desperately wanted a glass of wine to calm her nerves, but she knew that she could not have it. Even though he was only upstairs for about twenty minutes, it felt like hours as she waited for him to join her in the living room.

When he did make his way downstairs, gone was the uniform they made him wear and he was back in a pair of worn jeans and shirt that had he sleeves cut off…his favorite attire. "So what's for…whoa, you're dressed up. What's going on Princess?" he asked after dropping a kiss on her lips.

Gabrielle took his hand in hers and together they sat on the sofa. "I have some news."

"Okay," he said warily. "Good news?"

"Really good news. This is very unexpected and I know we haven't ever talked about this this, but Daryl…I'm pregnant." Gabrielle sat there hoping to see a smile flash onto his face, but it didn't happen. Instead confusion turned to shock which turned to stone cold. She had seen this look from him before and it wasn't good. Why wasn't he happy? "Daryl?"

A million things just flew through Daryl's head and none of them were good. Pregnant? Gabrielle is pregnant? Why the hell did she have to go and do that! "Did you lie to me when you said that you were on the pill? Or did you conveniently forget to take one or two or ten?" Daryl roughly pulled his hand away from hers and stood up. He started to pace the room.

"How could you have done that to me? To us? Fuck Gabrielle, how stupid are you!" His voice was cold and angry. The last thing he wanted was kid to screw up.

Gabrielle went from shock at his reaction to anger. "How could I have done that to you? Are you fucking serious Daryl? I wasn't alone in that bed you know. It takes two people to make a baby and you were more than happy to fuck me every night, weren't you?"

"You were supposed to be in the pill!" he shouted.

"I was! And that's what I said to the doctor, and he reminded me that nothing is ever one hundred percent." This was worse than anything she ever expected form him, shock yes, but once that was gone, he should have been happy. But this? The accusations that it was her fault. Who was this man?

"You didn't conveniently skip a few pills?" There was no way he could ever raise a kid. He assumed that since she never spoke about kids, that she felt the same way he did. He never wanted a child.

"No I didn't you ass! It just happened." Gabrielle took a deep breath to calm herself and get control of the situation. "Daryl, it was one of those tiny percentages where the pill failed, maybe you have very determined sperm, I don't know, but I'm pregnant. It happened, now we have a baby on the way. We're already married, so I don't know what's so wrong. Don't married couples have families?" She would reason with him and he'd turn around. It was just the shock. Right? Gabrielle bit her bottom lip trying not to cry.

"You shoulda talked to me first!" he spat back at her.

"I didn't plan this! Why don't you understand that? It just happened, can't we be happy?" Tears started to gather in the corner of her eyes as she realized this was more than shock for him. Did he really not want this baby?

"No." Daryl knew he had to get out of the house before everything got more out of control than it already was. He didn't want a kid, never did. He would ruin that kid's life and he didn't want to be responsible for that. Hell, he just got his own life under control and he was almost forty.

Daryl ran upstairs and came back down in his boots and with a jacket. Gabrielle kept pleading with him to stay home and they could work this out, but this was the last place he wanted to be right now. Didn't she get it? He was not father material.

He grabbed his helmet from the closet and simply walked out the door, leaving Gabrielle crying on the sofa. The loud revving of the engine echoed his mood and he flew out of the drive and down the street without a destination in mind. He just needed to get out of there, he felt like he was being smothered to death and he just couldn't handle it.

Daryl rode around for a couple of hours hoping his anger would diminish, but it didn't. He took the bike up to speeds that he usually didn't dare, his concern for his safety was non-existent. Finally he stopped at a bar in town that he hadn't ever been to. Yeah, getting drunk off his ass was a good idea.

He parked the bike and sauntered inside. He put the helmet down on the stool next to him and sat at the bar. It was nothing more than a local dive with scattered tables of losers just like him. A few older guys were belly up to the bar.

He ordered a beer and a shot of Jack Daniels. He talked to no one and just kept drinking. How the fuck had this happened? Well, he knew how it happened, but it shouldn't have. He had never heard of anyone getting pregnant while on the pill as long as they didn't miss one. Either she played him or the jolt of reality that he had been expecting to screw up his new perfect life, just hit.

The Dixon gene pool was cursed. Alcoholism was rampant throughout the family, the men spent as much time in jail as out and they were nothing but a bunch of losers…himself included. This was Gabrielle's chance to get out and if she was stupid enough to kept the baby, then she could find a guy better suited for fatherhood than he was.

The thought of losing her, was like a knife to his gut. It hurt so bad, that all he could do was try to drink it away. Towards the end of the night, the bartender cut him off and Daryl wasn't happy. He couldn't remember how many shots he had, but he could still picture Gabrielle crying on the couch, that meant he still needed to drink.

"Buddy, c'mon you've had enough. Can I call someone to pick you up?" the bartender suggested. He had seen more than his share of people trying to drink their problems away and this guy was certainly one of them. "How about a cup of coffee on me?"

"I don't want coffee I just want 'nother shot. Ain't that your job to pour the drink and not be my damn wife!" Daryl stood up and slammed his hands on the bar. Everyone in there turned to see what was going on.

The bartender was about to throw him out, when the door opened and he looked up to see who it was. Talk about perfect timing, it was an on-duty deputy.

The cop nodded to the bartender already understanding the situation he had walked into just two seconds earlier.

"Where's my drink?" Daryl slurred. It was getting harder to focus, but he was trying.

"Daryl?" said a familiar voice behind him.

He turned slowly to see Rick standing there in his uniform, then he turned back to the guy wiping a glass behind the bar. "You called the cops on me, asshole?"

"Nope, just your dumb luck one walked in. Time to go buddy. Your tab is thirty-two bucks, appreciate it if you pay up now."

"Are you…calling me dumb?" Daryl stood up but the room began to sway on him. He grabbed the edge of the bar to try to steady himself.

"Hey man, how're you doing?" Rick asked leaning up against the bar.

"I'm drunk, but not drunk enough yet and this prick won't serve me anymore." He wasn't hurting anyone but himself getting drunk, why couldn't they just let him drink.

"Bro, he can't serve you anymore. You're too wasted. C'mon with me, I'll take ya home." Rick tossed forty bucks on the bar to cover Daryl's tab.

Daryl turned trying to focus on his friends face, "I ain't going home."

"Then come home with me."

"Ain't…gggoing there either."

"Why not?" Rick asked.

"Cause your wife will call my wife and mine ain't to happy wwwith me right now." Nope he wasn't going home or to Rick's. He couldn't take Michonne's disappointment in him…again. "I'll get a room. How 'bout that."

Daryl stood up and was quite unsteady on his feet. Rick put an arm around his friend and half carried him out to his cruiser. He opened the back door and Daryl put a hand out to stop Rick from putting him inside.

"You arresting me Grimes?"

"Of course not. Get into the car. You know you can't ride up front, 'specialy when you are this loaded. Quit being a pain in the ass Daryl and just get in."

Daryl basically fell into the backseat and Rick closed the door on him. He tossed Daryl's motorcycle helmet onto the passenger seat and started the car. By the time they made it to the cheapest, but cleanest motel in town, Rick heard snores coming from the back seat. He knew this was going to be a long night.

He went into reception and paid for a room. With key in hand he drove down to where the room was and parked. It took a lot of strength to practically drag Daryl inside. He was half awake and barely coherent. Rick rolled him onto the bed, but made sure he wasn't on his back. There was no way he was going to let Daryl get sick and choke. He was bound to throw up at some point.

He took off Daryl's boots and sat himself down in the uncomfortable chair that was in the room. Rick felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out. It was his wife, who he was actually about to call. Towards the end of his shift, she had called him to be on the lookout for his friend. Once Gabrielle had pulled herself together enough to talk, she called Michonne and told her what had happened with Daryl. Rick had spent the last hour looking for him before he saw his bike parked in front of that bar.

It was going to be a long night waiting for Daryl to sober up. There was no way he was leaving his best friend alone. He had to get to the bottom of why Gabrielle being pregnant was enough for Daryl to be this angry about. He and Michonne had been trying for months, without any success. Daryl's reaction was stronger than an unexpected surprise, it was too over the top. Something else was going on.

Rick answered his phone and started to make plans with his wife on how they were going to help their best friends through this. It's what family did.