Chapter Info

Title: Whoops

Number: 37/?

Warnings: Sexual content, language, angst

Author's Note: Greetings, all! I'm going to take a little survey. I have a couple ideas on how I want to go with things and I'm leaning more towards one than the other, but I was interested in your thoughts. So here it is:

What do you think should be the next big "thing"?
A) A sickness like in the first half of season 4 of the show
B) Another group runs them off the ship
C) They go out to sea and the engine stops running
D) B happens and they get split up like in the second half of season 4 of the show
E) Any other suggestions?

There's something else big coming that's going to happen no matter which option is chosen. Some might be able to guess, but you'll all see eventually. ;) Thanks to those who answer! And thanks for reading! Comments are love!

Everyone stayed on the sailboat until the wind got too cold to stand, even down under the deck, and the sun was starting to go down. They stayed out there for a good four hours and Amaleen had kept the baby downstairs after the first hour and called Carl down an hour after that. Rick refused to follow, and she knew he wanted to see the resting place of his wife, but it was just getting too cold. Daryl had followed Amaleen down and sat with her on one of the old cots, the baby laid out between them as she slept. Amaleen couldn't seem to let her out of her sight, but she knew she would be sleeping in the co-sleeper that the others had managed to find when they were at the daycare. Luckily it could grow with her for awhile considering the top bassinet part would come out so it was a regular playpen and once she was a toddler, she could sleep in there. They really did a good job with what they got, getting about four months worth of formula, many blankets, bottles, a couple toys, and a box of diapers. It would last maybe two weeks—that number really surprised Daryl, Maggie, and Glenn—so they would have to go back to the cut sheets, or send out another group to try and get more.

T-Dog and Glenn got the boat back to the docks and everyone started to file off except Rick, who had to be led off by Amaleen and Daryl after he wouldn't move. It was perfectly understandable, but that didn't mean it was any easier to watch the man blankly and silently go into his room with his baby daughter and shut the door behind him. For a moment Amaleen just stood there, staring at it with a troubled frown, but soon Daryl came from their room to gently pull her inside and shut the door behind her.

Standing there for a second, she debated on whether she just wanted to get changed and go to sleep, but she hadn't changed her clothes after everything and her skin was still sticky, so she knew that she would just be getting other clothes dirty. A bath was in order and so she sighed softly, looking over to Daryl. "Take a bath with me?" she murmured, walking up to him where he sat on the bed. He had just pulled the shirt over his head and he went still, blue hues raising to meet hers as she stepped in front of him. A frown took over his face even as he reached up to wrap his arms around her waist and tug her closer, laying his cheek against her stomach while her fingers dipped into his soft hair.

"Now?" he murmured in that low voice of his and as always, a shiver ran up her spine, but she ignored it as she nodded.

"My shirt is covered in blood 'n stickin' to my skin," she said, causing him to look up at her in alarm for a moment, but then realization dawned over his face and he quickly yanked her down so she was sitting in his lap and he kissed her like he did out on the docks. It took her breath away, thoughts of a bath forgotten as her lips played over his, the apples of her cheeks being caressed by his callused fingers...and it felt incredible. With everything that has happened, this is exactly what was needed, being in his arms.

"Morning?" he suggested once he pulled away, his voice husky, and she couldn't answer for a moment as she had to catch her breath and regain her thoughts.

"Don't wanna get other clothes dirty. I'll go boil water quick 'n be back in fifteen minutes." Not that she wanted to be gone for even that long, and the frown on his face told her that he didn't want her to be either.

"Make it ten 'n I'll letcha up."

A small smile quirked at the corner of her lips. "Deal," she murmured, leaning into give him another kiss, before reluctantly pulling back and getting up before she could talk herself out of it. She took her coat off and stored it over the chair like usual and she saw Daryl's face darken when he saw the amount of blood. He had seen it before, but she supposed he was more focused on what was going on than her shirt. Giving him another kiss, she shook her head. "I'm not hurt, Daryl."

"I know," he muttered, glancing away. "But ya could'a been. Those walkers—"

"—are gone," she finished for him, running a thumb over his lips to quiet him. "They're dead 'n we're alive. That's what counts, right?"

Daryl grunted and she knew that he would continue to feel guilty for leaving them out there alone, so she simply sighed and gave him another kiss before heading out. She managed to get the water boiled in ten minutes like he requested and she was back upstairs with the steaming pans of water for their bath. The boiler might still work, but they were very stingy with how they used it as gas was getting incredibly hard to find, and they needed to stock up once it was warmer and they could finally take the ship out. The guys had been pouring over manuals and blueprints to make sure they knew how to drive it; the last thing they needed was to get stuck out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, though that would certainly take care of the walker problem.

Gingerly opening the door just in case Daryl had fallen asleep, she smiled softly when she saw him, still shirtless, leaning up against the wall with his gun in his lap, slowly and carefully cleaning it out. As soon as he saw her, he pushed it aside and his eyes flickered between her and the pans of water, then he gestured to her body.

"Put that in there, then take them clothes off."

A smirk slid onto her face and an eyebrow went up her forehead, shaking her head as she started for the bathroom. "You just wanna get me naked," she said over her shoulder, but she still did what he said and poured the water into the bathtub.

"Fuck yeah," he said from the other room and she heard a soft groan in his voice making her snicker.

Turning on the camp lantern on the small counter, she pushed it closer to the mirror over the sink and gave herself another smirk. She removed her pants first and tossed them out the open door. She heard any movement cease in the other room and her shirt followed soon after. Bras weren't something that were easy to keep ahold of, so she was glad that wasn't dirty as she tossed that out, too, followed by her panties. Taking the band from her hair, she shook it out and felt it tumble down her back, almost to her butt.

Peaking her head out the door, the smirk only growing wider as she saw Daryl sitting there, a tent in his pants and the most intense look she had ever seen in his eyes, centered right at her. It made her shiver and slowly she crooked a finger at him in a come hither motion, watching as he seemed to be like a puppet on a string as he stood and walked towards her. She held up the finger and he paused in the middle of the room where her clothes were scattered at his feet. "No clothes, big guy," she purred, batting her eyelashes at him. She winked and ducked back into the room, putting the camp lantern on the toilet where it was closer to the tub.

When she stood back up, she squeaked for a second, startled as strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind, but relaxed into the familiar tight hold those arms bestowed her with. She hummed as he growled against her neck, pressing heavy wet, hot kisses along her shoulders.

"I wantcha."

The sound of those words uttered in his deep voice against her ear made her shiver and moan softly, turning in his arms so she could throw hers around his shoulders, bringing him closer so she could catch his lips in a fury of lust and need. He wasted no time in picking her up and setting her back on the counter, and she was glad she hadn't kept the lantern sitting there. She groaned as the cold surface hit her skin, but she arched up against his warm chest, feeling her own pressed against his made things that much hotter.

They barely waited long, no foreplay like last time, they just needed each other. They needed to know that they were still there, alive and well and they were together. They needed each other, and so in just under a minute, he was inside her, making her cry out against his shoulder and clutch him tightly to her. They moved together quickly, panting and murmuring each other's names into their ears, coming together with sighs and groans.

The move to the bath was natural and they went one more time in there before he sat against the edge, her tight up against his chest and they carefully washed each other clean of dirt and blood, kisses and touches the only real sound in the bathroom.

There was one thing they didn't realize, though, one thing they didn't notice: they were too involved in the feeling of each other to realize they forgot a condom.

.x.x.x.x.

-Two Months Later-

It shouldn't be this sunny so soon after Lori died, Amaleen thought with a tired yawn as she climbed out of the depths of the ship. Judith was already snug in her carrier, bundled up in two of the blankets that Maggie, Glenn, and Daryl brought back and held underneath Amaleen's coat. She was comfy and sleeping well with a pacifier in her mouth, her little fists opening and closing in the air; she wouldn't keep them in the blankets no matter how tight Amaleen swaddled her and no matter how many times she rebundled her. Amaleen decided to let her do what she wanted, but would keep an eye on her to make sure her fingers didn't get too cold. One thing they couldn't find were gloves or baby coats, so blankets would have to do, hopefully without too many spit-up situations.

The sailboat had become a ghost where it sat; after Lori, nobody wanted to touch it. She almost expected Rick just to burn it, but instead he just barred the doors shut with a two by four and that was that. It wasn't as if anybody would argue, though, the last thing Amaleen wanted to see was the stain on the floor from Lori's blood.

Rick and Daryl were out on A deck planning where they could build a small pavilion and some gardens to grow their own food. Without Hershel it wouldn't go as well as planned, but Beth and Maggie knew some tricks that would help them out. They planned on a couple runs before the weather got nicer, but otherwise once they were away from land, they planned to try and be as self-sustaining as possible with the gardens planting herbs and vegetables. Amaleen wished for the orchards that had been on her parents farm when she was really young, but that was way back in Georgia and it's not as if they could plant a tree on a ship.

Heading over to them, both men smiled at her as she stepped closer, pressing against Daryl's side and resisting the urge to yawn. She had yawned so much that morning and it felt like that was all she was doing lately. She wasn't exactly sure why she was always so tired all of a sudden, but perhaps it was from the mornings waking up nauseous and not being able to eat much. It had been that way for a couple weeks and it was rather annoying, but it's not as if she could go see a doctor and figure out what was wrong. I miss you, Hershel, she thought with a frown.

"How's my girl?" Rick asked, peaking down through the V in the opening of the coat and at the slumbering baby.

"She's good, ate the whole four ounce bottle and still cried for more, but I managed to burp her and get her to sleep," Amaleen said.

Rick chuckled. "That's my girl," he said fondly, leaning down to kiss Judith's nose before turning back to the plans laid out before him.

"Thought it was Beth's turn," Daryl murmured to her, causing her to shake her head. The women set up a daily rotation of who had baby duty: Amaleen, Beth, Carol, and then Maggie. Whoever had her had off watch duty that night, which everybody even Carl was now doing. Just after Lori died, Rick set up a pseudo gun range that he could teach those that didn't know how to shoot well. He had taught people back when he was a deputy in Georgia, so it was simple for him to get back into the swing of things. Now everyone was rather a good shot, but they were still paired up with the better shots for watch just until they got better. And Carl was never allowed to do watch by himself anyway, there's no way anyone would allow him to be by himself, and luckily the kid understood. Normally he was with either Rick or Amaleen, but a couple times he was with Daryl or T-Dog depending on who had baby duty and who was in the rotation that night, as not everybody had a rotation every night.

"Nope, she's tomorrow. Maggie was yesterday and I'm after her." After Lori, Maggie seemed to warm up to close to where she had been with Amaleen before Hershel's death. It seemed death really did bring people together, and Amaleen wasn't positive if it was the shock of Lori, if Maggie felt sorry for her, or if she truly forgave her. Either way, Amaleen wasn't complaining, because it felt good to get her friend back. She hoped eventually things would be back to the way things originally were with them all.

Daryl grunted and glanced down, knowing that meant Judith would have all of Amaleen's time and attention that day. She knew he didn't want to feel jealous, but she knew that they spent ten years apart and it was the end of the world, they needed to spend as much time together as they could, to make up for old times and, God forbid, if something were to happen to one of them.

"We have tonight," Amaleen murmured to him, giving him a smile and pressing her lips to his. Daryl's eyes caught hers and he merely sighed and kissed her before getting back to work with Rick. Truthfully she couldn't wait until they could finally get out on the water. When she was very little, her grandfather had a boat while he was still alive. She remembered loving to be out on the water; that's all she had wanted to do at the time. The boat was sold after he died and she never got to go on one again, but now she could take advantage of the situation and soak in all the ocean air that she could.

Moving away from him, she started her regular walk along the docks. She was careful to stay away anything that looked rotted or broken, and made sure to stay in the middle of the boards so there was no chance of her accidentally falling in or slipping. She did the same walk every day no matter if she had Judith with her or not. If she did, she could tell her all kinds of stories, from her own childhood as well, but mostly stories of Judith's mother from their trip up north. There wasn't much and she wanted to talk to Carl about him telling her stories of their mom, but she still had some more up her sleeve.

"And you would've loved Alex," she murmured softly, smiling wistfully out into the bay. "He had such a big heart. He was always smiling and laughing, even when he was in pain, he never showed it. And he had such a beautiful little laugh. He always saw the best in everything he did, definitely a glass half full type of kid. And he always made friends with everyone. I remember one time when he was in St. James Children's Center there in Virginia, there was an old man there visiting his granddaughter. It was around Christmas and he was more of a Scrooge than Santa. Well little Alex got a hold of this information and he just couldn't stand for it; he didn't understand how someone could hate Christmas. So he went around to all the patients' rooms and nurses' stations and talked to them about this man and how he wanted to do something for him. He asked the granddaughter what he liked and I guess he had always wanted to learn how to play piano. So he had the piano from a local high school brought in along with a local piano teacher. He brought the man down to the cafeteria where it was all set up and the whole way the man was gripping and demanding to know what was going on. When he walked in the room, though, oh you should've seen his face. All the kids and parents and nurses, even most of the doctors, were all standing around singing Christmas carols. The piano teacher was playing along with them and the old man just started crying. Turns out his wife had also been a piano teacher and he always wanted to learn to surprise her on their sixtieth wedding anniversary, only she passed away a year before that, on Christmas Eve. After that he just lost all his hope. But this little kid, my little Alex, he brought hope and Christmas spirit back to an old man that had given up everything. That's the type of kid my son was, he was dying from a brain tumor, and he gave up his own Christmas money and Christmas wish to make this man feel better."

She hadn't realized she was crying until she saw drips on the baby's forehead. Sighing softly, she gently wiped it away and smiled down at the baby, about to speak again when she felt two familiar arms wrap around her. She jumped and sniffed, looking up as she saw Daryl's face hovering over her. She couldn't tell the emotion on his face, maybe because there were so many battling there, and she let out a shaky breath. "I've never told you that one, have I?" she whispered to him.

Slowly he shook his head. "No," he croaked. "Our son did that?"

Amaleen smiled at his words, feeling warmth and longing spread through her, and she sniffed again. "I should've. That's my favorite Alex story." She paused as she searched his face before she turned to him and taking one of his hands, frowning. "Daryl, I-I—" She swallowed and shook her head. "—I know I've apologized so many times, but I just—"

He put a finger over his lips and shook his head. "Don't need'a do it again. I know ya are. I'll always wish ya told me, but I forgive you. For all'a it. I love ya, Am. I love ya s'much."

Amaleen smiled, her eyes watery, and she leaned up on her toes to kiss him. "I love you, too, Daryl Dixon." She laced her fingers through his and gave him another soft kiss, gently tugging him back the way they came, back to the ship and their family.