KEZZ 1: Again, thank you. I'm glad you are enjoying it.
Azuraskye21: Can't really blame her for being savage anymore. She's been through too much and almost lost too much to be bothered by giving second chances any more. If you want a chance with her, you follow her rules and don't bring any foxes to the hen house.
FanFicReader47: You don't have to wait long about the rings, because it's this chapter. This is literally just a fluffy chapter before I start getting into details about how the defenses are being put up and various things like that. Essentially explaining how they got from the prison being bleak to being an almost functioning home.
ChildishAssassin: I think that taking a soft stance on anyone that hurts someone just for pleasure or because they can is hardwired into Ani's being. After everything she's been through, if she sees someone else going through that, she's going to respond in kind. Making an example in front of the others just set the stage for her to be a solid leader who will do whatever she has to to protect their own, no matter who they are being protected from.
So, this chapter is essentially just a bunch of fluff. Lots of innuendos and happy times between Ani and Daryl and some soppy stuff back at the prison. Basically, it's just a feel good chapter so the two of them can have some much needed, quality, completely free of responsibility, alone time.
Another week came and went with no major incidents and a clear guard schedule and chore routine became common knowledge. Michonne had left on her own after the incident with Macy to look for the Governor and had just gotten back this morning. Angie and Gretta, the two most elderly women in the camp, took up roles helping Beth with Judith and kept an eye out for Lucas. Brian had become Merle's shadow, much to the man's ire, and had learned the proper way to hold a gun because of it. The biggest thing that happened was when a few more of Woodbury's camp showed up and asked for shelter.
They explained that they had driven back to Woodbury from a different direction than Karen's group and got cut off by walkers. When they finally were able to return to the town, it was a burned out hovel and they had come to the prison originally to take revenge. Finding Karen and another of their own at the gates, they had rightfully been confused. After an explanation and introduction to Ani, the prison was able to gain another ten fighters and a decent haul of weapons and bullets.
Today was a special day, though. Today had been planned, and if she said she hadn't laid in bed awake most of last night, giggling like a little school girl while she and Daryl talked about what they'd do, she'd be a liar. Finally, two weeks after the Governor had crashed through the gates, Ani was going to keep her promise of letting Daryl steal her away. Daryl was packing a bag as she finished dressing, throwing her braids over her shoulder as she stood up and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"'Bout damn time I make good on that promise, huh?" she asked, smiling like a kid in a candy shop.
"Fuck yeah it is," he gruffed out, though she could tell he had a small smile himself.
"So, where we goin'?"
"You'll see."
"Dammit, D!" she whined. "I've been askin' for three days now! Ya won' even give me a clue! That's not fair!"
He just chuckled and turned around, grabbing the back of her head and kissing her for everything it was worth. Daryl had been waiting for a chance to get Ania alone so he could do the proposal thing right, like Merle told him to. He'd hidden the ring in his vest, inside the hidden pocket on the left of his chest, holding the ring against his heart. Merle had taken them right to the wedding and engagement section of the store. Glenn found something for Maggie damn near the minute he'd set eyes on the assortment. Daryl, though, just couldn't find anything that seemed right for his Ania. Eventually, he'd moved on to other areas of the store, finding a set of rings in the back room that somehow seemed to call to him after walking in circles. It had damn near driven Merle out of his mind when Daryl had went around the store for the third time. Glenn had been the one to placate Merle, the two of them heading outside when Glenn held up a box of cigars he'd found in the building's office. Thanks to Glenn distracting Merle, no one but Daryl knew what the rings looked like. He'd told the two they'd have to wait and see it on Ania's hand. Now he had his chance to give her his find, and it felt like his insides were going to literally jump out of him with how worried he felt.
When he finally let go of her, she had that sappy, silly smile she only ever showed him. Literally no one had ever seen that smile, because no one had ever been present when he kissed her completely breathless. Sure, they'd seen him kiss her hard, dirty, and rough, but when she was completely breathless from him, they were always in the privacy and comfort of their cell or otherwise in total solitude. It made him feel damn proud of himself and as if there was at least one thing special in this world that was meant just for him. The smile turned into a smirk as she turned around and went to leave the cell. He took the opportunity to smack her ass, earning a yelp that made Carol, Beth, and Maggie giggle as they'd been walking by with Sophia and just so happened to catch his action.
"What's so funny?" Sophia asked innocently, having not caught on to the fact that Daryl had smacked Ani's behind.
"Nothin' ya sweet head needs ta worry 'bout," Ani said, looking up at the women behind her with a grimace.
"Just the lovebirds bein' lovebirds," Maggie told Sophia with a laugh.
"Shut it," Ani quipped, smiling, before heading down the stairs.
Greeting Sasha, Tyreese, and Karen as she walked down the stairs, she took note of how close the man and woman were starting to get. It was nice to know that romance was still very much alive as the man helped Karen sit. She double checked with Sasha about the guard schedule and who was on rotation this week. There was a run that was being planned for the day after tomorrow, though Ani wasn't entirely sure she'd be back for it. As she didn't know what Daryl had planned and he'd wanted a day or two, in his own words, she was expecting to be gone for a maximum of four days, two and a half at the bare minimum, and even then, they were going to catch up with Michonne before heading back to the prison. With that in mind, she walked over to Glenn with Maggie as he stood over the maps.
"Everythin' almost ready?" she asked him.
"Yeah, just double checking. Last thing we have to do is gather a list of things that are needed," he told her. "Which reminds me, do you and Daryl need any, uh, well.."
"Condoms?" she finished for him with a cheeky grin.
"Uh, yeah," Glenn replied sheepishly.
"Ya realize we've neva once asked for 'em, right?"
"Really?" Maggie asked. "I find it hard to believe you're not pregnant."
"We had a scare," Ani told her honestly. "Right 'fore Judith was born. In fact, found out for sure the day she was. Didn' really think 'bout it 'til we were worried 'bout it. Don' really think eitha a us care now. We got a safe place. If it happens, it happens. If it don', it don'. Long as I got 'im, I'm happy 'nough. 'Sides, there's plenty a kids 'ere ta look afta if it don'."
"You sure seem to be trying to convince yourself," Maggie said while Glenn looked constipated; it was obvious he wasn't exceptionally comfortable with the topic.
"Oh, I, uh, I suffa'd from ovarian cysts and something called endometriosis when I was a teen. Hormones were jus' a bit too wild goin' through puberty. Went away with treatment and age, but it can leave scarrin', lowarin' the odds a conception. Already told Daryl all a this, but 'e don' care. Keeps sayin' he's gonna get a baby outta me some day," she laughed.
"How do you feel about that?" Maggie asked her, thinking that Ani was trying to cover up discomfort.
"I can' wait," she said, a wistful smile appearing on her face as she looked at the map and made small notes to show what she hoped were stores and wanted them to double check.
"Do you want us to see if we can find tests?" she asked, making Ani look up at her.
"Hmm, that might not be a bad idea. For the two a ya, too. Jus' in case."
"We'll add it to the list," Glenn said as Daryl walked up and put a hand on her hip, leaning over and kissing her temple.
"What're y'all talkin' about?" he asked.
"Nothing!" Glenn hurriedly said, but Ani had already started saying, "Pregnancy and tests."
Daryl and Glenn both froze, causing Ani and Maggie to laugh at their shared facial expressions of horror. The two women linked arms and walked off, heading toward the new warriors. They'd acclimated easily enough after being there for a few days and seeing how it worked. Ani hadn't talked to all of them individually yet, but she'd talked to all of them enough times to accept them into the prison readily enough. It was nice knowing that one of the younger children's mothers made it back; the man who'd been sick was her husband, too, so they got to witness an entire family reunite. Ani stayed long enough to check how everyone was doing and letting them know if they needed anything while she was gone, they were to go to Merle, Rick, Glenn, Maggie, or Carol. Hershel was to be the last option unless it was a medical emergency, as it would be difficult for him to be much use without his leg.
Ani made her way around the commons and through the cell blocks to make sure everyone knew she would be gone for most likely a week and who to go to. She finally found herself out in the courtyard and watching Daryl as he did a quick tune up on his bike. She watched as his arms, now sleeveless as the weather had begun to turn warmer, worked as he tightened something. Being too far away to see what exactly he was doing, she was close enough to admire the muscles of his biceps as he worked. Pulling her bottom lip through her teeth before licking it, she walked up to him slowly.
"Gonna be the death a me if ya keep workin' ya arms like that," she said coyly when she stopped next to where he was working.
"Really? Got an arm kink?" Merle asked from behind her, startling her and making her turn around.
"Dammit, Mer-man!"
"Quit fuckin' callin' me that, girly!"
"Quit fuckin' sneakin' up on me then!"
"It's too much fun," he said as he flicked her earlobe.
"Ya gonna fuckin' get it Mer-man!"
"Told ya to quit callin' me that!" he said as he made to rush to grab her.
Daryl just huffed a chuckle, smiling as he shook his head as his brother and Ania played a game of cat and mouse around the vehicles. They were smiling and calling each other plenty of names as Merle chased her, only for her to sneak up behind him and playfully jab him in the side and duck back out of his reach. Michonne and Rick walked out of the cell block as the two played around and laughed at the pair. Ani really brought out the child in people without trying.
Rick noticed that Ani managed to make everyone open up. Even Lucas and Brian, who had been closed up just over a week ago had started coming out of their shells, Lucas finding a friend in one of the other boys that had come from Woodbury and Brian and Carl kicking it off. Like Carl, Brian had had to 'end' his mother, and that was when his aunt took over, right at the start of it all. The soldiers that came back from Woodbury and joined the prison only took two days for her to worm her way into their ranks and take over as their commander. She didn't even see it, either.
To her, she was just doing her job, but to Rick, Ani had become a living symbol of humanity. She was hard, willing to kill at the drop of a dime if it meant keeping her family safe. Hell, she was willing to kill if she felt she needed to. But somehow, even with all that she was willing to do, she had not lost her heart like he had. She stayed true to herself and cared about everyone around her. She knew everyone's name, backstory, and why they continued to fight in this world gone to hell. Ani had been helping him through his grief over Lori while also helping Carl retain his childhood. Where she considered herself cold and unfeeling, anyone with eyes could tell she cared deeply about the people at the prison. If she didn't, she wouldn't have made sure everyone knew who to go to while she was away personally.
Michonne eventually went up to Ani and caught her around the middle while Merle tickled her side. The only problem with that was when he tickled, she kicked wildly and managed to knee him in the balls. Everyone who had been outside was full on laughing, Daryl included as the man went to his knees and told Ani she won. Michonne shook her head at the antics of the two, leaning down and putting a hand on Merle's shoulder and asking if he was okay.
"Note to self, find a damn cup," Merle choked out. "Second time you've tagged me in the nuts. Almost think you're doin' it on purpose."
"If I was, ya nuts would be back up in ya anus, 'stead a in the sack," Ani quipped back at him through her laughter.
"You two be careful out there," Michonne told her. "And I'll meet up with you in a few days over at Woodbury. We'll start our search from there."
"Sounds good," Daryl said as he walked up and pulled Ania towards him. "Gotta get goin' 'less you just wanna stay here all damn day and waste our chance at gettin' away."
"Nah, can' wait ta get where ya takin' me. Jus' wish I knew where it was," she pouted.
"Don't you go worryin', Ani. I know where he's takin' ya and trust me, you're gonna love it," Merle said, making Daryl glare at him while Ani scowled.
"If ya think that helps, it don'," she told him before grabbing the bag off the ground.
"Come back in one piece," Rick told them.
"We'll be back 'fore the end a next week. Plan a second run if ya need ta and we'll try ta bring some meat back."
With a final goodbye and a quick, one armed hug to and from Merle, Ani climbed on the back of Daryl's bike and kissed his neck before she sat down behind him. She didn't sit squeezed against him this time, rather just close enough to tease the man. It was no secret to anyone at the prison as to why the two of them were leaving by themselves without Michonne earlier than the samurai warrior. A few of the older women, older meaning in their thirties and lower forties, had taken to making comments when Daryl wasn't around about how they wished he was theirs. It made her smirk every time and any time one of them said anything about how he was in bed, Ani would stick her nose into the conversation and tell them exactly how good he was while giving them what Carl called her devil smile, the one even Merle knew not to mess with. It was a subtle yet effective move as every time she did that, she found that the women would quit talking about Daryl for a while. Little did she know that he and Merle had essentially been going around and doing the same to the men, albeit in a much more threatening fashion and without the talk of sex, Merle also threatening the women.
When one of the female warriors had started flirting with Daryl outside of Ani's presence, he'd pulled the woman off to the side and subtly warned her of what would happen if Ani caught her. If they thought Ani was protective of her family, Merle told the woman she had no idea what Ani would do to her for trying to get between her and Daryl. The woman hadn't blanched like he'd hoped and was back to pestering Daryl within the hour. When Ani had gotten off of watch a while later, the woman had stayed right where she was, still trying to get Daryl to talk to her. Daryl, with the good grace of a man wanting to prove a point, had grabbed Ani's hand as soon as she got close to him and pulled her all the way to their cell, slamming the door shut and blocking it off. Merle was chuckling as he'd walked up to the blank faced woman and told her she might as well stop now before she looks pathetic. Within the prison, it had fast become common knowledge that the Dixon trio were not to be trifled with nor divided.
"Think she knows?" Michonne asked Merle.
"She's got no clue," the man said, smiling widely.
"Did you get to see the ring?" Rick asked Merle.
"Damn brother, had it hidden real good when I looked," Merle admitted. "And I couldn't go in while they were sleepin' to check his clothes, either. Ani would have my hide if she caught me in there at night. Hell, I wouldn't be able to make it through the door before I had a knife at my throat."
"Learned the hard way, huh?" quipped Michonne with a smile, getting a toothy grin in reply.
"Yup."
~x~
Riding on the back of the bike was freeing. Ani had her hands out to the side, leaned slightly back, neck limp and allowing her head to roll back. She enjoyed the feeling of the wind as it passed over her. She couldn't see it, but Daryl was smiling as he felt her move and saw her in his rear-view mirrors. Her amber hair flowed so beautifully behind her and even with the braids keeping it out of her face and off the sides of her head, it billowed out like a blanket on a clothes line in strong wind. It was mesmerizing and it took everything in him to concentrate on the road. As she brought her arms back around him, he released one side of the handlebars and momentarily grabbed her hand, bringing the back to his lips before returning his own hand to the bar. Soon, he hoped, that hand would have his rings.
He was taking her to a place that he and Merle knew about roughly two and a half hours away from the prison. There was a small fishing cabin by a lake out in the middle of nowhere that had belonged to one of Merle's army buddies back in the day. They'd used the thing a few times when they found themselves between jobs and homes, not wanting to return to their father's trailer and opting to sleep in the truck over going home. It was small and intimate, had a generator just in case on top of being solar powered, and gave a perfect view of the stars at night. He could only hope it was still in one piece and untouched. Being so far out of the way, he wasn't sure if it would be surrounded by walkers or taken over by people. In all honesty, as they traveled down the road, he began to admonish himself for not better planning this entire trip out. He wasn't sure where else he would take her.
Daryl began thanking every lucky star in the sky as they turned down the dirt road that lead to the cabin. They had passed only a few random shamblers on the way, but nothing they couldn't handle. It looked as if the cabin had been completely unhindered as he pulled up to it. Turning off the engine and waiting for Ania to get off, he smiled broadly as he touched the breast of his vest to ensure the rings were still there. She had the bag on her back and pulled her crossbow off it's holster as Daryl got up and did the same with his. Cautiously walking up to the door, Daryl rapped on it and waited to see if anything showed up. After several minutes of just standing outside, he tried the knob, finding it as unlocked as it'd always been.
"You're gonna love this," he told her as he pulled her through the threshold.
The entire cabin consisted of one room with an open bathroom in one corner, a kitchenette in the other, and a bed against the wall. A large fireplace stood on one wall with a stack of wood sitting next to it. Daryl wasted no time in depositing his bow on the loveseat in front of the fireplace, immediately walking over to the place where the hot water heater was and checking the pilot. It wasn't lit, but there were matches nearby specifically to light it and once it was he beamed at her.
"Give it a couple hours, you'll have that hot shower you were wantin' earlier," he said.
Ani beamed at him before disposing of the bag and her own bow. She walked up to him, pulling him by the collar of his vest into a passionate kiss. She had a feeling the rest of the day was going to go by the same way their last time at the burned cabin went. They made quick work of their clothes as Daryl pushed her back towards the bed. For the first time in forever, he finally got to hear her scream his name, something he'd dearly missed at the prison since the guard towers had been taken out. He missed it so much, he kept her on that bed until he knew good and well the water would be hot.
Rather than starting the shower for her, Daryl drew a bath in the deep, clawfoot tub that was the only luxurious item in the entire place. He was surprised to find the pipes still working, but then again, the water came right from the lake outside, was treated in a system under the cabin, and filtered back out to the lake. It was honestly the perfect set up, but it wasn't big enough for everyone to live in. It was a nice getaway, though. As he thought about that, he returned to the bed where a very sleepy Ania lay. The pride that he felt from seeing her naked body pocked with his marks practically rolled off him in waves. He picked her up, making her laugh and took her over to the bath. Climbing into it, he lowered himself into a sitting position and placed her between his legs in front of him, hoping to high hell she didn't find the water too hot. Not remembering how hot she'd liked her shower at the CDC, he'd just made it how hot he'd liked his, which was practically scorching.
Ani relaxed against Daryl's broad chest and sighed. The water was perfect and definitely dulled the aching muscles she had. She wondered how Daryl was handling the heat before remembering that he'd commented about how he'd never known a woman to like water that burns in the few he'd showered with before. Smiling at how offended she'd pretended to get at him at that time, she'd eventually told him she didn't care about the before, but it did make her feel awkward that he'd brought it up. He hadn't talked about any of his past encounters since. He knew she didn't have any before him, and damn if he wasn't going to make sure that she never knew the touch of another man for the rest of her life.
They spent the evening lounging nude around the cabin, making use of the canned goods they'd found in the cupboard rather than the supplies from the prison. It was nice, laying around in an actual bed with the man she loved more than anything in the world. If it were only the two a us foreva, jus' us, this would be perfect, she thought to herself as she laid in his arms fighting sleep later that night. This was exactly what he'd wanted to get away for, so he could just be lazy and give her an excuse to be lazy. And she couldn't help but agree that she'd needed it.
Although she would never admit it to him, Daryl had been spot on the nose when he'd told her two days ago that she needed the break when she'd tried to argue against leaving the prison so soon. Learning all the names of Woodbury and helping plan the coming run as well as helping with getting a good guard schedule going and planning defenses with Merle and Sasha had been taxing. She'd been getting headaches the last couple of days because there was just so much to do and so much to think about. Daryl had had to force her several times to sit down and eat over the last few days as well as drag her to bed. There was just so much to plan and so much to think about. She'd been having problems shutting her mind off to sleep at night. Tonight, though, she fell into a deep sleep held securely in Daryl's arms as he whispered he loved her.
In the morning, she took a long, hot shower early while Daryl was still sleeping. Or at least, she thought he was still sleeping. He was watching her and wondering when would be the right time to propose. Wanting to do something special with her, but not knowing what, he stood and made his way to the shower. Taking the cloth from her hand, he washed her back for her before getting a couple towels as she rinsed and shut the water off. He helped wrap one around her and guided her to the loveseat, sitting her down in front of him on the floor as he sat on the cushion. Enjoying the feeling of running his fingers through her hair, he began gently drying it for her. She sighed brought a hand up under his thigh to place it on his knee.
"Ya spoilin' me now, D?" she asked.
"Maybe," he said, nerves skyrocketing as she rubbed up and down his outer thigh. "Maybe I'm just tryin' to butter you up."
"Why would I need buttarin' up?" asked Ani as she leaned her head back to look at him.
"Maybe I got somethin' to ask you," Daryl told her, deciding that if he waited he was going to end up balking at the last minute, and Merle would have his ass if he did.
"And what would that be?"
Daryl stood up and retrieved his vest, pulling out the rings. There were three total in the set, but they each represented a part of her. The bottom ring was a continuous Celtic knot band roughly two millimeters thick to represent the Irish heritage she loved so much. The second ring was another Celtic knot, the triquetra, with a small emerald in the center of it and a thin band. It matched her eyes and the triquetra was a sign of strength, protection, and unity, things she had and brought out in people in spades. The final ring in the set was an arrow that fit the top of the triquetra, locking the two rings together into one, with Celtic knots interwoven into the intricate arrowhead and fletching. The entire thing seemed to have been made just for her and as he stood staring at it.
"D?" she asked, standing up and enjoying the view of his naked backside.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry," he said while clearing his throat and putting the ring in the palm of his hand and gripping it tightly as he turned towards her. Slowly walking back to Ania, he pulled her in for a kiss he hoped would convey everything words failed to, pulling back to look in her eyes. "You know I love you."
"I know. I love ya too," she told him, kissing his lips softly.
"I'm sick of fightin' men off'n you," he told her honestly, putting a finger on her lips when she went to reply. "You already took my name as yours and said that you're my wife. So, I'm hopin' that you'll say it again, just more official like."
He held up his open palm for her to see the rings and held his breath as he watched her. At first, she was clearly very confused. She stared at the rings, the awe he wanted on her face there, but mixed with confusion he didn't want on her face. When she looked at him with her head cocked, his anxiety went through the roof. Once again grabbing her and pulling her in for a kiss to try to soothe his aching heart, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. Sitting her down on it while he kneeled in front of her on one knee, he took her hand and decided to just tell her straight, like she always told him to when he needed to get a point across.
"Ania, I'm askin' you to marry me. Not just say we're married, but say the vows," he said as he slid each ring onto her finger, concentrating on how delicate they looked on her as they fit perfectly; he once again couldn't believe how her this ring was.
"Ya know I will," she told him, tears flowing freely as she looked at the ring. "D, where...where'd ya get this?"
"Does it matter?" he asked, confused.
"A bit," she admitted. "Do ya know what this set is?"
"No, just found it in a shop's back room. What's wrong, Ania? You know these?" he asked, worried all over again.
She just smiled at him and kissed him before answering, "Jesse liked jewelry and stuff. Always had these magazines lyin' 'round 'bout 'em. There was an article in one 'bout a local boutique that had designed really intricate and detailed rings, one a the sets shown was these. I think they're called The Huntress of the Green or somethin' jus' as preposterous. I'd told 'er how pretty they were, that if I could get a set, I would. Like, ya literally jus' gave me me dream rings, D."
"Damn. Weren't even there to pick it out and you still managed to get the ring you wanted," he quipped as he smiled at her.
"And it didn' even take a month's salary," she joked back with a laugh, pulling him up on to the bed before climbing on top of him. "Now we jus' got one more thing we gotta do."
"Yeah, what's that?" he asked as he reached up and massaged her breasts.
Her reply was a coy smile before she leaned down and captured his lips. The only time they left the bed was for food or when mother nature called for the rest of the day. Tomorrow they had to meet up with Michonne at Woodbury, but for today and tonight, it was just Ania and Daryl Dixon.
Updated 9/10/21