Chapter 19: Something Good

"You ok?" Andrea asked, passing Carol as she grabbed a bag of chips out of the vending machine at the end of the hall. Carol leveled a look at her that would make a tough guy take a step back. "What's up?"

"Just a bad day," Carol said with a shake of her head. She noticed Andrea had her purse draped over her shoulder and her cell phone in her hand. "You out of here already?"

"Yeah. Don't you leave soon?"

"Mmm. Another hour for me," Carol said with a shrug.

"You look worried. Is something wrong?"

"Mmm. No. I'm fine," Carol lied. She knew damned well she had a lot on her mind, but the fewer people who knew about it, the better. "Just tired." She smiled tiredly and gave a little shrug. "You have plans?"

"Mmm, yeah. A hot date."

"Ooh, why am I hearing about this now?"

"Oh, he isn't new. Whenever he's in town, we meet up for a little, uh, get together."

"Oh, that one."

"Yeah. That one," Andrea laughed.

"Well, go have fun." Carol waved her friend off and quickly opened up her bag of chips. She leaned against the wall and ate the salty snacks as quickly as she could. She was used to taking her breaks standing up and eating on the go, and while she wasn't eager to get back to Lucy, she had promised her she'd be back.

She was torn. Looking at Lucy in such a pained state brought out the nurse in Carol. She wanted to help her and ease her pain. But every time she saw her, all she could think of was how badly she'd treated Daryl. He had opened up a little Friday night, but Carol was certain there was a lot more she'd find out over time. It sounded like Lucy needed help, and while Carol sympathized with that, she still couldn't understand how a person could treat someone as badly as Lucy had treated Daryl.

Carol tossed the empty chip bag into the trash, washed her hands and returned to Lucy's room. Lucy sat up a little when Carol came in but relaxed when she saw it wasn't the doctor.

"How's the pain?" Carol asked, sitting down on a stood next to Lucy's bed.

"Not so bad now. Whatever they gave me really helped."

"Good."

"Is Dr. Avi coming back?"

"Actually, he's having someone from OB come down."

"You've seen this before, right?" Lucy asked quietly. Carol nodded. "What do you think? Do you think I'm losing my baby?"

"I think we should…"

"Wait for the doctor. You keep saying that. Lucy ran her fingers through her hair. I messed up. I think you met my ex. He moved out. He, um, he doesn't want a baby with me. I think he's the father. I'm pretty sure he is. But I cheated on him. I was awful." She sniffled and shook her head. "I was mean, and I hurt him, and I accused him of doing the things I was doing. I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with me. But he hates me now, and I know I deserve it, but he was the love of my life." Lucy shrugged. "I messed everything up. He hates me." She shook her head. "I even tried calling him, just now when you were out of the room. He wouldn't pick up."

"I'm sorry you're having a rough time," Carol offered with a sad smile.

"You have a little girl," Lucy sniffled. "Did you ever, uh, did you ever have…" Lucy looked down and put her hand on her stomach. Carol ducked her head a little.

"I did. I didn't even know I was pregnant, so I hadn't had time to get attached. It happened a few months after my little girl was born. I told my husband, and we were both shocked, but I don't think we ever really processed it. After a few days, it sank in, and I really grieved." Tears filled Carol's eyes, and she let out a slow, shaky breath. She hadn't talked about that in so long, and it felt strange talking about it now with Lucy.

"I don't think he ever wanted this," Lucy sniffled. "I was awful to him. I think he was afraid to say no, because I was so fucked up. I started going to counseling after he left. I started taking meds. I was trying, but he just looked at me like I was a nightmare."

"Just because two people don't stay together doesn't mean they can't be good parents."

"He doesn't want anything to do with me," Lucy admitted. "You know, at first, I thought maybe he'd come back. I thought he'd come back because of the baby, and I was ok with it being just that. Because I thought, after a while, he'd miss me. How messed up is that?" Carol wasn't sure how to respond to that, but thankfully, a knock at the door saved her from making that leap.

"Ms. Morgan?" the attending from OB, Dr. Hershel Green, came walking in. He was one of Carol's favorite doctors in the hospital, though she didn't get a chance to work with him often.

"Yeah," Lucy bit out, sitting up a little in the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"Scared," Lucy admitted.

"That's normal," Dr. Green admitted. "I'd like to do an ultrasound and see how things are looking." Lucy nodded, and Carol got up and stepped out of the way so Hershel could sit down. Carol helped him wheel the ultrasound machine over. Carol helped Lucy pull her sheet down to cover her lap and pull her gown up to expose her stomach. Dr. Green put a little cool jelly on her stomach and began moving the probe along. Carol could read ultrasounds pretty clearly, and as soon as the fetus came into view, she looked to Dr. Green. He was focused on the screen, and Lucy took a few deep breaths. She stared up at the ceiling and not at the screen, and silence filled the room.

A moment later, a knock at the door interrupted the exam. Enid stepped in for a moment, and she looked at Lucy.

"Sorry, there's a guy out here who says you called him. Daryl Dixon?" Carol's eyes widened in that moment, and Lucy let out a quick breath. She nodded.

"Yeah, please let him in." Carol wanted to crawl under the table, but there was no time for that. Instead, she just stood quietly by Dr. Green, and when Daryl stepped into the room, their eyes met for a split second, and she saw him take a deep breath.

"You came," Lucy choked out. "Daryl…"

"What's goin' on?" Daryl asked, glancing at Carol first and then Lucy.

"I don't know. He's checking now," Lucy said quietly, glancing up at the screen for the first time. Dr. Green moved the probe a little lower, and suddenly, a whooshing sound filled the room. Dr. Green smiled and glanced up at Lucy.

"Is that…" Daryl's words caught in his throat.

"That's your baby's heartbeat. Strong and steady," Dr. Green assured Lucy. She let out a heavy breath, and she put her hands over her face. Daryl stared straight ahead at the screen, looking at the black and white swirls. He saw the blob in the center of the screen, and inside that blob, he could see a quick, pulsing heartbeat. Carol looked at him, studying his face as his mouth fell open for a moment.

"The baby's ok?" Lucy asked.

"Looks strong and healthy to me," Dr. Green assured her. "But you need to have a talk with your doctor about your meds. I want you to take it easy for a few days, and if you have any more pain or if you notice any spotting, you come back right away, alright?"

"I'm not losing it?" Lucy asked, as Dr. Green wiped the jelly from her stomach.

"I don't see any indication of that, but I have to stress to you how important it is to take care of yourself right now. Try to avoid stress, and get with your doctor as soon as possible. For now, I see no cause for alarm. The pains you were feeling may have been cramping, but they could also be the ligaments stretching in the uterus to accommodate the baby. You were right to come in, but everything looks and sounds good." Dr. Green got up then, pushing the ultrasound machine back into its place.

"We'll step out for a moment," Carol said quietly, eyeing Daryl to gauge his reaction. He gave her a little nod, and she nodded back before turning and following Hershel out into the hall. Daryl closed the door and he hesitated with his back to Lucy.

"Thanks for coming," she said quietly. "I didn't think you would."

"Wasn't far when you called," he muttered. He turned then to face her. "This might be my kid. You're sure, so…"

"Daryl," Lucy said quietly, shifting in the bed, "I'm not."

"What?" He felt a knot tighten in his gut.

"I know what I said. I know I said I was sure. But I'm not. I think it's yours. But I'd be lying if I said I knew for sure." Daryl rubbed the back of his neck and turned for a moment. "The things I said and did to you were awful. I know that. I'm not asking you to forgive me. But this is happening. And there's a good chance this kid is yours. I really hope it is, because you're the only one willing to step up and be a dad, even if you have to deal with me."

"What about him? Negan?"

"He doesn't want to be a dad. I don't think it's gonna work out between us. And I know that's on me. I'm the one that cheated, so what should I expect, right?"

"Lucy." Daryl cleared his throat. "Whatever happened in the past, that's the past. I wanna leave it there. This kid deserves a chance, and I'll help however you need. But you gotta understand it ain't gonna change things between us. That's done. That's finished. You get that, right?" Lucy nodded. "Good. You drove yourself?"

"Yeah," she admitted.

"Alright. Get dressed, and I'm gonna follow you home."

"You don't have to."

"I know," Daryl said with a little nod. He turned toward the door.

"Daryl?" He looked over his shoulder at her. "What changed?"

"What?"

"There's something different. You seem…I don't know. Something changed." Daryl gave a little shrug.

"I don't know. All I know is no matter what went down between us, we might've made a baby together, and somebody's gotta step up and make sure it gets here alright. If nobody else is gonna do that, I'm gonna do that, 'cause I ain't about to let no kid of mine think I wasn't there." He reached for the door, and Lucy let out a shaking breath.

"Thank you," she whispered. He didn't turn, but he managed a little nod.

"I'll be in the hall." He left then, stepping out into the quiet hallway, where Carol was leaning against the wall a few doors down. When he closed the door to Lucy's room, he ran his fingers through his hair and took a few steps toward Carol.

"I couldn't call."

"I know," he said with a little nod. "Were you with her all this time?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "I, um, she knows I'm her neighbor, and she asked me to stay."

"Was she ok? I mean, she didn't give you any shit, did she?"

"No. No, we were fine. I think she's getting help."

"I hope so," Daryl said quietly.

"Are you ok?" Carol asked quietly, reaching out and touching his arm. He nodded then, raising his eyebrows before blowing out a quick breath.

"That might be my kid in there. I heard the heartbeat and everything."

"How do you feel about that?" Carol asked quietly, offering him a little smile.

"Don't know how to feel, but I know what I felt then, when I heard that heartbeat. I was relieved. I rushed all the way here, not knowin' what I was gonna come walkin' into, and then I walked in, and you were there, and then I heard that heartbeat, and somehow, I knew everything was gonna be alright. If this kid turns out to be mine, even if it means seein' Lucy, I can make it work. That might be my kid. And it's got a heartbeat. It's growin' and movin', and I might've helped make that. Craziest thing I've ever seen in my life." He shook his head then and looked away. "Then I see Lucy, and it all comes rushin' back."

"Daryl," Carol said gently, placing her hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze, "it's ok to want this. It's okay to be excited about being a dad. The rest will work out somehow. But it's ok to want this. It really is." Daryl let out a breath and nodded.

"I think I do. I saw it, and I heard the heart, and I just…I think I want this, even if it means…" Carol nodded then, and she offered him a sympathetic smile. "I wanna be a dad."

"I hope you get what you want, Daryl. I really do. If anybody deserves something good, it's you."

Author's Note: What? Two chapters in one day? Can it be? Yes it can! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always, feedback is always appreciated!