"Are you sure you don't wanna come stay with us? Not even for at least a week?" Annette asked Carol for what felt like the hundredth time the next morning. Her aunt and uncle had come to the hospital to pick Carol and Sophia up for their discharge. It had been so late last night when she and Daryl decided he would take two weeks off from work to help tend to her and Sophia that they decided they would tell Hershel and Anette in the morning, besides, Daryl still technically had to ask the older man if it was okay if he extended his vacation and use his time.
"I appreciate the offer so much," Carol told her aunt sincerely. "And I love you both so much. But I really just wanna settle in with Sophia in our home. I wanna sleep in my bed. And it will be less trouble this way, we don't have to haul a bunch of her stuff and my stuff to your place. Daryl's bedroom is less than a hundred feet from my side of the house, so he can come and go without really going."
"But…sweetheart," Anette sighed. "I wanna be there for you the way your mama would if she was still here. I wanna help you transition into your new role as a mother and help you settle into your new life the way I know she would have. I wanna be there for Sophia the way I know Evelyn would have been."
Carol's bottom lip quivered at the mention of her mother; the birth of her own daughter renewed a dull ache in her heart for the woman who gave her life. Sophia's middle name came from Carol's mother. Sophia Evelyn Greene. And Carol wished more than anything her mother could be here to see her first and only grandchild. She wished her mother could give her tips on breastfeeding, maybe she'd have the words of wisdom that would help Carol finally get the girl to latch. Maybe she'd be able to relieve the guilt she felt over not brining her child into the world naturally, not seeing her take her first breath. But the fact was, Carol's mother wasn't here, and though Annette was a wonderful substitute, nothing could quite fill that gap and ease that ache. "And you will be," Carol told her aunt resolutely. "I know you will. You and uncle Hershel will be like grandparents to Sophia, you'll be the only grandparents she knows. And as much as I miss my mom, the thing is, I'm a mom myself now. I have a family of my own. And I just wanna start my life as a family in my own house. That doesn't mean you're not welcome to visit any time you want during the day, and I'll probably call you at all sorts of odd hours in the middle of the night," Carol chuckled, "but this is something I need to do. For me. For us."
"I could stay at your place," Anette offered, seeing her only niece wasn't going to budge but feeling a maternal need to be there in case Carol needed her on her new journey. "Just a few days even, so you have a chance to recover a bit more."
"Sweetheart," Hershel butted in, placing a gentle hand on Anette's shoulder. "I think Carol and Daryl can handle this. Sophia's in good hands with her mama." His eyes drifted to Daryl, who was standing beside Carol as she was perched in the window of her hospital room, the boy was worrying his bottom lip with his teeth and he kept kicking his left leg back and forth. He knew Annette's words probably had him second guessing his ability to care for Carol and the infant the next fourteen days. He quickly added, "And Carol's in good hands with Sophia. If they need us for anything, they'll give us call. Isn't that right, son?"
Daryl met the older man's eyes and nodded. "Carol knows what to do, been doing a damn good job with Soph. Just needs a hand here and there with some stuff for a while. I can take care of that. Washing clothes and dishes and shit. Making sure she eats. Getting the bottles ready. I can take care of all that for a while."
Annette went to open her mouth again, but out of the corner of her eye she caught her husband's gaze and noticed the slight shake of his head, so she stopped herself. She had no doubt Daryl would help Carol with all those things. Lord knows she thought the world of the boy, but Annette also knew at some point during the next two weeks Carol would likely want a small break from Sophia. She might want a few extra hours of sleep here and there, some time alone in another room for an hour or so, and she'd need it. But as far as she knew, Daryl hadn't held Sophia yet, not once, and he'd need to know how told hold, change, and feed, and soothe her in order to give Carol one of those much needed, brief breaks. "Just promise you two will call us if you need us," Annette insisted. "No matter what time."
"We will," Carol assured her.
()()()
"There gonna be just fine," Hershel told his wife as they exited the hospital. Carol asked them if they could swing by her house and get Sophia's car seat, so they could take her home within the next hour, and they'd readily agreed.
Carol's hormones are gonna be all out whack for a while. I just think she needs a woman around right now. I think she needs someone who's been a mother to help guide her."
"And she has one. She'll call you if she needs you. And like she said, you're free to stop by every day. I'm sure she'll appreciate the visits and the help. But she's right, she has her own family now, she just wants the three of them to settle in together, that's all."
"She and Daryl aren't married," she pointed out.
"No, they aren't." Hershel sighed heavily. "But that doesn't mean they aren't very much together, and it doesn't mean he loves Carol or Sophia any less because of it."
"He hasn't held her yet…"
"He will," he replied with certainty. "He just hasn't had to yet. Give it another week and he probably won't put her down until he has to back to work," the old man chuckled.
()()()
As much as Carol hated pictures, she had to admit, she was grateful Maggie was making her take what felt like a hundred of them before leaving the hospital to head home. She knew she'd want to look back at these one day and show Sophia how loved she was and how excited she'd been to get her home. Even if she thought she was gonna look like shit in all of them.
Hospital policy required Carol to be wheeled to the car post c-section, and Maggie was kept snapping pictures of Carol in front of the curb in her wheel chair with Sophia in her arms. Hershel and Anette were in some with her. And then Maggie handed the camera off to Hershel and she and Glenn jumped in for their own set of photos with mom and daughter. She noticed Daryl standing awkwardly next to Maggie's car as the pictures were being snapped. Part of he wanted Daryl to be in these photos with her, but part of her wasn't sure what their future held and how she would explain Daryl's presence to Sophia one day. It seemed strange to think about showing her daughter a photo someday with a strange man in it who was no longer in their lives and dismissing him as her ex-boyfriend when he was present on one of the most important days of Carol's life.
But Carol also considered the fact Daryl very well could still be present in her life five, ten, or fifteen plus years from now. Their relationship was still very new, but he'd been there for her through hell and high water so far, and no matter what happened, she would always be grateful to him for how wonderful he'd been to her and she never wanted to forget that. And she didn't want him to feel left out, either. Because he was such an important part of her life right now. Even if something happened later, if one day he left her and changed his mind, she knew she would be able to look back at these photos and remember him as more than a simple boyfriend who was no longer in her life.
"Come here," Carol called out to Daryl, waving her hand to signal she wanted him standing next to her. His head perked up and his arms fell to his sides as he strolled over next to her, she met his eyes, smiled, and said, "Take a picture with us?"
"Sure you want me to?" Daryl asked hesitantly.
She nodded. "Of course, I do." And with that affirmation, Daryl grinned, stooped down on bended knee so he was level with the wheel chair, and proceeded to take a host of pictures with his girls. Carol's favorite was the one where they were kissing as she held Sophia in her arms, the little girl curiously looking up at them with bright eyes.
()()()
Daryl carried Sophia's car-seat, which happened to contain a sleeping Sophia, into Carol's house. He gently set the carrier down on the table, careful not to wake the baby girl up. "Well you're home," he announced once Carol was in the door and it was just the three of them inside."
"It feels so good to be home." She walked up behind Daryl and rested her head between his shoulder blades, inhaling his masculine scent as she nuzzled him.
He placed a hand over her clasped hands, which were resting just above navel. "Need me to do anything? Fix you something to eat or run you a bath?"
She shook her head. "I'm good for now. I think I might take a nap in a bit, though. I've missed my bed. Wanna join me?"
"Ain't too sleepy," he admitted, "but I don't mind laying with you, if you want me to."
No, that's okay. You don't have to. I know you've been sitting around a lot the last few days, you deserve some time to be up and moving around. I know you're off work for two weeks, but don't think I expect you to literally sit beside me every waking minute I'm good if you step away to work on your bike or even need a little time alone at your place."
He snorted. "Ain't got no plans for either of those things any time soon. But I do need to run to my room right quick and grab some clean clothes and shower stuff. Sick of using that girly shit." He'd used Carol's shower stuff while they were at the hospital and he ended up smelling like a fucking flower garden the last two days.
She giggled. "I was sort of getting used to you smelling like lavender instead of nicotine and crisp leaves."
"Stop," he grumbled.
"I'm kidding." She let go of him and pushed on his back lightly. "Go ahead and get your manly old spice. I'm gonna take Sophia out of her car-seat and put her in her bassinette." The hospital told her you shouldn't let babies sleep in their car-seat for long periods of time, something about it increasing the risk of aspiration, and as peaceful as her daughter looked, she would have to risk breaking the nap and angering her child rather than risk something happening.
()()()
While Daryl walked over to his place to get his stuff together, Carol had taken Sophia out of the car-seat and was currently holding her in her arms. Though, picking her child up elicited a few small grunts and cried at first, Sophia quickly settled down once she was in Carol's arms ashe swayed her daughter back and forth, saying, "it's okay, mama's got, you sweetheart," as she walked her daughter through the small house, introducing her to each room, until she finally reached the room that would belong to Sophia. "And this is gonna be your room," Carol continued as she stepped foot inside the door. She smiled as she looked around the room, thinking of how Daryl replaced the floors, painted the walls, and even helped her put together Sophia's crib. "You're lucky, it's probably the nicest room in the house," she chuckled. "Your da…" she began, but quickly paused, realizing that, once again, she'd almost absentmindedly referred to Daryl as Sophia's father. She really had to get a handle on that before she used that term in front of him and freaked him the hell out.
She didn't know why she kept slipping up and doing that. But she also didn't know what the hell to refer to Daryl as when speaking to Sophia. Saying mommy's boyfriend did this for you sounded silly and it failed to convey Daryl's connection and importance to Sophia herself in Carol's mind. For now, the term she settled on was simple enough in her own mind, even if was a bit cheesy sounding, but it wasn't like Sophia could understand her words right now anyway. So, Carol smiled and said, "Our Daryl worked hard to put together this room for you. He painted the walls and put the floor down all by himself. He mostly put the crib and changing table together by himself, too, but mommy helped hand him tools and showed him where she wanted things to go. He's so good to us, has been since even before you were born, and even if it takes him a while to hold you and get used to you physically being here, always remember that and never forget how much he loves you." She kissed the crown of her daughter's forehead as she smiled at the room once last time before stepping out of it.
