(Like I said, I wasn't very busy today and yesterday and I may have posted a lot lately. I guess I could have waited and just had some stuff pre-written, but I'm not a patient person in the least and as hard as I tried to do that, I went ahead and posted anyway. So you might wanna make sure you haven't missed a chapter before reading this. Anyway, hope you enjoy!)
She was standing in front of the sink brushing her teeth Monday morning while Daryl was in the bedroom getting dressed for work. "Are you going to stay here while my parents are in town or are you going to stay at your place?"
He slid his shirt over his head and walked towards the bathroom door, stopping and leaning against the frame, crossing his arms. "Don't matter. Whatever you want me to do."
"It's up to you." She replied, then went to rinse her mouth out.
"Totally hot when you spit like that." He joked, smirking at her.
"Shut up." She laughed, tapping him lightly in the chest.
He caught hold of her hand before she pulled away and pulled her in for a quick kiss.
She smiled as they broke apart. "You're in a really good mood this morning." She pointed out.
He shrugged. He was in a good mood. A guy called yesterday and was coming into the shop with a classic Harley today and he was going to get to rebuild the motor for it and he was fucking excited about it. He loved bikes and he didn't get to work on them that much since moving back home. The guy had a collection too, and he'd promised Daryl he could come check them out later this week. Plus he'd had a good hunt with Rick yesterday. Between the two of them they'd bagged 15 rabbits, 10 squirrels, and 5 opossums. They'd cleaned them and then divided the meat between them. Then when he'd gotten back to her place he'd given her that blanket that Dale had given him and her face had lit up like a damn Christmas tree. He hadn't seen her smile like that in a while and even though it did have to do with the baby, it had made him feel good to see her so happy. He'd cooked some rabbit. They watched a movie on Netflix. She crawled on top of him halfway through the movie and they just stayed like that, kissing, for what felt like forever. It was just a nice, light-hearted evening. So, yeah, he was in a pretty good mood this morning. "Last night was a good night."
"Yeah, it was." She agreed, pulling him in for another kiss. "So, are you staying here tonight or going home?"
"You want me here?"
"I always sleep better when you're here."
He nodded. "I'll be here then."
She nodded back. Then she slipped past him and walked towards her closet, trying to pick something out to wear for today. Most of her normal clothes didn't fit her anymore. Not her jeans. Not her shirts. Hell, trying to squeeze into her bra had become a battle. She finally settled on a baggy maroon sweatshirt and some very forgiving black leggings.
He bit his bottom lip when he saw her. He knew if her parents saw her dressed like this they'd know. She didn't wear baggy clothes. She didn't have to. Ever since he could remember she'd been tall and slender. Even when they were kids. If she'd worn anything like this it would have swallowed her. He knew she was telling them today, but they'd know something was weird as soon as they saw this. They weren't idiots. And he knew her dad's first response would be thinking he'd lied to him. "What time are they getting here?"
"Around lunch time."
"Are you gonna….are you gonna tell them a soon as they get here?"
"I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what to say." Her face was strained as she said it. Her parents were older, but they weren't prudes. She knew they knew the two of them were sleeping together after all they'd seen when they were staying with her. She also knew they'd known she lived with Ed and they weren't idiots who thought the two had separate rooms. But the idea of telling them she was pregnant with someone's child and marrying another man was strange. She was worried they'd be disappointed in her. She was worried they'd be upset with her that their grandchild wasn't going to have a father. And she was worried they'd urge her to tell Ed about the baby. They hadn't known why the two really broke up. She just told them it wasn't going to work. She didn't look forward to telling them either. Her dad's reaction would probably be similar to Daryl's.
"Don't take this the wrong way." He replied, carefully. "But they ain't stupid. They're gonna know something's up."
She frowned and looked down at her belly, slowly placing a hand over it.
"I ain't calling you fat, damn it." He groaned. He'd never feel comfortable pointing it out. It always felt like it sounded mean as hell. "It's just…really noticeable."
"I know it is." She sighed. "Like I told you, Dale felt it when I hugged him yesterday."
"Your parents are gonna hug you too. You know that, right?"
She nodded. She grew silent and stared off into the distance. "I'll tell them as soon as they get here."
He chewed at the inside of his lip. "You want me there too?"
"You don't have to be."
He sighed heavily. He thought back to the conversation he had with her father in the hospital and how her dad had told him he was good enough for her. One of those reasons had been because he'd always been there for her. "I think I kinda do."
She grabbed his hand and linked it with hers. "We'll do this together then."
()()()
She'd texted him when her parents let her know that they were thirty minutes away. It was around the normal time he'd take lunch at the shop anyway, but he'd still explained to Merle that they were telling her parents in case it ended up taking a while. When he got back to her place he was surprised to see she'd changed out of what she was wearing this morning. She now had on one of his t-shirts and those pajama's she'd gotten in college that he wore to sleep sometimes. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, being dressed like that in the middle of the day ain't weird at all."
"It's baggier and it shows less." She mumbled. She walked towards the kitchen and pulled some salad mix out of the fridge and then pulled baked chicken out of the oven.
He rolled his eyes and followed her. When he went to grab a piece of chicken she swatted his hand away. "I'm starving. Been busting my ass at work."
"You're just gonna have to be patient. My parents will be here in a few minutes." Shortly after the words left her mouth the doorbell rang and she felt herself jump.
He looked at her and placed a hand on her lower back. "Hey, it's gonna be alright. They're your parents. They love you no matter what and they're gonna love their grandkid."
She took a deep breath and headed for the door. She paused before opening it and forced a smile across her face. "Hey mom and dad."
Her parents were originally smiling when she opened the door, but shot her a funny look upon seeing how she was dressed. "Are you feeling okay?" Her mother asked. Scanning her eyes up and down her daughter.
"Yeah. I feel great….Great….Just great." She heard how feigned the words sounded as they left her mouth and she wondered if they could see the sweat beads dripping from her forehead.
Her dad arched his brows and gave her a questioning look. His eyes then shot over to Daryl and he noticed as the boy looked down, purposefully avoiding his gaze.
"Did you have a good trip?" She asked, ushering them inside.
"You know we love the mountains." Her mother began. "We got to see some snow last week. I know you only got flurries here." She looked at her daughter again, who was wringing her hands and squirming back and forth. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Mhm."
Her dad looked at her and back over at Daryl. "Since she obviously ain't gonna tell us what the hell's going on maybe you'd be kind enough to let me know why she's dressed in your clothes in the middle of the day and she looks like she's gonna jump clean damn out of her skin."
"Actually, those ain't my pants. She got them back in college. I just sleep in them sometimes…"
"Daryl William Dixon." Her mother demanded. "Stop rambling and spit it out."
That got his attention. He'd probably only heard her mom raise her voice twice in his whole life. Plus she middle named him. And he hated his damn middle name. It was his old man's name. He nervously looked down at Carol, wondering if she was going to speak up.
She gave him a slight not and moved her gaze back to her parents. "Can we sit down?" She asked quietly, motioning to the couch.
Her parents looked to one another and slowly moved to take a seat on the large couch. She and Daryl moved to the love seat.
She involuntarily started shaking her leg and trained her eyes on the floral rug at her feet. She felt Daryl grip her hand tightly. Silence taking hold momentarily before the words could her mouth. "I'm pregnant." She finally blurted out.
Her parents both looked dumbfounded. Both swapping glances at one another then and then to the couple in front of them.
"How far along?" He mother asked.
She cringed and bit her bottom lip hard. "Four months."
"You're four months pregnant and you're just now telling us?" He father snapped, raising his voice a few notches. He narrowed his eyes on Daryl. "You told me she wasn't pregnant when you told me you wanted to marry her. You looked me in the eye and told me she wasn't pregnant. You lied to me."
"I didn't lie to you." He snapped back. "I didn't know." He didn't like being yelled at. He'd never handled it well. He always became defensive.
His eyes were firey and he glared at Daryl then shot his eyes back at his daughter. "How long have you known? He demanded.
"New Year's Eve "I went to get put on the pill and they told me I was pregnant. I didn't know either. Believe me, it was a complete surprise." The look on her face wasn't that of a grown woman, yet one of a small child in trouble.
"Why didn't you two just call us when you found out? It isn't like we'd have been mad. You're not teenagers anymore. You both have stable jobs." Her mom offered, calmly. She was trying to be the voice of reason. She always had been.
"I'm four months pregnant, mom." She replied, her voice shakey.
"We heard that the first time." Her dad muttered.
"Four…months…pregnant." She repeated, slowly. "Do you think I just slept with Daryl the second I ran back into him after not talking for six years?"
Daryl hung his head. Her parents froze. The room grew completely quiet and still.
Her mother was the first to speak up. "So is it….is it Ed's?"
"Yeah." She mumbled. Folding her arms over her chest.
Her dad ran a hand through his thin hair. "What did he say when you told him? Is the little asshole going to step up?"
"I didn't…and I'm not going to." She said, firmly.
Her mother clasp her hands together. "Sweetie, I realize things didn't work out, but that's his child too. He deserves to know."
"No, he doesn't." She snapped, growing emotional.
"Look, I didn't like the little prick, but your mother's right. It's his child. I get you and Daryl are happy and you are getting married and having him around is going to be awkward and weird, but if it was my child I'd wanna know too."
"Daddy…"
"You just can't keep something like that from someone." He continued. "I can't imagine having a child I didn't know about."
"Daddy…" She tried to interrupt him again, but the man wasn't listening to a word she was saying.
"I mean, that's pretty damn selfish."
Daryl looked over at her and saw her pressing her lips together hard. He saw her pushing a tear back from the corner of her eye. She was trying to tell them why she didn't want him around her kid, but her dad just wasn't listening. He was a good man. He always had been. But he was a hard headed man who always liked to get his point across. It didn't mean he was an asshole like his own old man, it didn't mean he wasn't a good father, it was just who he was. But Daryl was frustrated that the man wasn't listening. He was frustrated that they were trying to say that this asshole had a right to see her kid. And he'd been really frustrated when her dad had called her selfish. He was at his breaking point and he couldn't just sit and listen any longer. "She ain't selfish! He put his damn hands on her!" He barked. "That's why she left him! That's why she don't wanna tell him! Bastard don't deserve to know. He didn't deserve her to begin with. He damn sure don't deserve to be having a baby with her. He ain't coming near her ever again…..or this kid."
