From the moment she had found him until the moment the sun began to rise, Molly sat on a log beside the fire, Jacob in her lap as she stared into the orange and red flames while he slept against her. Though the fear of losing Jacob was far from gone, she no longer felt as though he was in any immediate danger. She had all but refused to share Glenn's tent, preferring to stay out in the open where she could see what was going on around her. Molly knew for a fact that she wasn't the only one to stay up all night, having seen shadows through some of the tents.
As the sun moved higher into the sky, the sounds she had been hearing all night began to wash away against the noise of some of the men taking care of the dead. Once or twice, Molly had to look away from watching them after catching Daryl's eye. She was almost to embarrassed to admit what he probably already knew and though she knew it was stupid of her to prolong the torture, she continued to do so.
Jacob arose from his slumber around noon, yawning quietly and looking around the area, his head still resting against Molly's chest. She brushed a hand through his hair, her gaze falling on Lori who was making her way out of her own tent. Though she tried not to, Molly couldn't help the glare that fell onto her face at the sight of the older woman.
Her anger towards Lori had not diminished through the night. If anything, she felt more hostility towards her for thinking that it was okay to forget that she was meant to be watching her son. Sure, there were other people around that could've helped. However, Molly had fault against her inner demons and put her trust into Lori, only to have it snatched away and trampled on.
"Mumma..." Molly forced her gaze from Lori as she looked down at Jacob who had moved to look up at her. She raised a brow, smiling softly as he returned the smile before his brows furrowed. "When we goin' home? I don't like it 'ere no more..."
Sighing deeply, Molly twisted slightly, freeing one of her legs as she looked around the camp. "I know what happened last night was scary... I'm sorry I wasn't here to look after you." She began, trying to think of a way to put what she was trying to say into words. "Look, it's not safe out in the city and if I'm being honest, it's probably not safe here. Home is just too far from us at the moment to go alone... I thought you liked the people here? If we left you wouldn't be able to see them."
"They coulda' come with us!" Jacob exclaimed, his brows furrowed as though he wondered why it wasn't an option. "None of them people can come thou' 'cause they tried ta' eatten us..." Molly faught hard against a snort.
"I'm going to go and see if anyone needs some help... I'll take you to the R.V and I want you to stay inside, okay?" Molly asked, nudging his shoulder as she stood up and carried him towards the R.V. "It's going to get a little messy out here so I don't want you looking out the windows... Draw me another picture."
Almost as soon as she had mentioned drawing, Jacob began to grin as he wiggled from her grasp and moved up the steps of the R.V. himself. Molly sent a smile to Carl and Sophia who were playing a game of cards. She received two in return before she spun around and made her way towards Glenn.
"Oh, Molly... Hey." Glenn greeted her, looking down at a dead walker and tilting his head. "I know this is probably bad of me... Do you recognise him?" He asked, motioning towards the face. "I think I do but I can't place him..."
"That's Joe." Molly told him, sighing deeply as she shook her head and looked away. "He had that funny mustard colour tent with the beads hanging down the door flap." Almost as soon as she had mentioned the beads, Glenn made a noise of recognition. "Do you want some help getting him on?"
Glenn's eyes widened when she motioned towards the fire. Instantly, he began to shake his head. "No, our people are going to be buried... The fire is for the dead ones." Not having the heart to inform him that they were all the dead ones now, Molly nodded as she looked towards the next body.
Before she even had chance to take a look, her eyes looked up to see Morales and Daryl moving towards them. She froze and looked away just as quickly as she had looked their way. From what she had seen, she could still see the way Daryl's brows were pinched together, as though he had spent the morning running his brain round and round.
She avoided his gaze as the two men bent down to pick Joe's corpse up, dragging him along the floor towards the fire. Instantly, Glenn began to protest, trying to stop them moving any further. "Wow, what are you guys doing?" He asked, not receiving an answer. "This is for geeks. Our people go over there."
"What's the difference?" Daryl grunted, lowering the corpse to the floor and turning to face Glenn. "They're all infected."
"Our people go in that row over there." Glenn stubbornly told him, pointing towards the row he was talking about. "We don't burn them!" Molly jumped as she moved away from Glenn slightly, his voice had been louder than she expected and found it difficult to understand just why he was so bothered. "We bury them."
After a few moments of staring, Morales and Daryl finally moved to grab the corpse and drag it off towards the row instead. Noticing the way Daryl's lips twitched, she knew he was about to speak his mind. "Ya' reap what yeh' sow."
"You know what?" Morales spoke up as soon as Molly rolled her eyes. "Shut up, man."
"Y'all left ma' brother for dead!" Daryl shouted out, insuring his voice was heard. "Yeh' had this comin'!" With that final thought added, Molly watched as he stomped off towards his own little camp. She shared a look with Glenn and sighed deeply as she groaned against her own judgment.
Giving Glenn a small smile, she spun around and followed after the hot-headed man she had been meaning to talk to since she had found out he was even in the camp. She noticed just how far he had set up his camp, snoring at the fact she had all but done the same thing.
Molly knew that Daryl knew she was following him. There was no way a man with his hunting abilities didn't. She was waiting for him to turn around and tell her to piss off, waiting for the moment he glared at her. However, it never came. He got to his camp and dropped onto the log ruffly, scoffing as he did so.
Without a second thought, Molly dropped herself to the ground a few feet in front of him, much more gracefully than he had done. Crossing her legs and folding her hands together, she waited for him to cool down a little, watching as his shoulders lost their tension and his scowl fell short.
Once he had done so, he looked up through his lashes at her, raising a soft brow as she shrugged slightly. "This is as good a time as any to talk... Figured you can ask all the questions your dying to ask and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability."
Molly knew he was about to ask her to leave but something caught his eye over her shoulder. Molly turned and sighed as she smiled, watching T-Dog help Jacob out of the R.V and towards the water system they had built. Turning back to face Daryl, her eyes widened slightly to see that he was already looking at her.
"Since when did yeh' get a kid?" Daryl muttered, eyeing the little boy who stumbled over his own two feet on his way back towards the R.V.
"Since I gave birth to him." Molly snorted, shaking her head as she forced her face to remain free from any humour. She didn't want Daryl to think this was a game. After all, it was her son's life she was about to mess with. "His name is Jacob and he's three years old."
"When was he born?" Daryl muttered, his brows beginning to tighten as he narrowed his eyes at Molly.
"July tenth." She told him, watching the dials in his head begin to turn as his eyes shot over her shoulder and back to her a few times. "He was three weeks premature but he's happy and healthy as any other boy his age... A little short but I think he gets that from me."
Daryl knew the next question he was to ask would put everything into perspective for him. He needed to hear it from her own mouth rather than the speculation he had. "His dad around?"
Finding it difficult to believe that one man could be so narrow minded, Molly laughed dryly as rubbed at her face. "Think Daryl!" Molly exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air as she narrowed her eyes at him. "I know for a fact you're not stupid! I mean sure, you look fucking stupid! Didn't take Merle nearly as long as this..."
"I know wha' yer' tryina' say..." Daryl muttered with a sigh as he too began to rub his head. "Fuckin' kid is mine, ain't he?"
"Jacob." Molly breathed under her breath before she sighed and nodded. "He's yours."
The silence that followed was almost unbearable on both sides. Molly knew the time was long overdue for Daryl to know the real reason she had left and Daryl finally began to piece together why she had up and left him with barely a note. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why he hadn't thought of the possibility of her being pregnant. Yeah, sure she had been acting weird the few days before she had left, but he would never have guessed she was pregnant.
"Well, wha' tha' fuck Molls!" Daryl exclaimed loudly, his eyes narrowed as he motioned towards the R.V. "You ran off to 'ave a kid, my kid, and you don't even bother ta' tell me? Man, the kid must think I hate him or some shit!"
"Jacob!" Molly exclaimed for the second time as she shook her head. "He doesn't hate you because he doesn't know who you are. I haven't told him that you're his dad... When I found out you were here I thought of telling him but it would have only confused him if I told him and you didn't want shit to do with him."
"Kid-Jacob," Daryl corrected upon the angry look Molly sent his way. "He's mine an' you left 'cause you thought I wouldn't want 'em?" He found himself asking, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer.
"No... I left because I thought it was the right decision." Molly told him, honestly. "I thought I was giving him a better life... A life that wasn't filled with alcohol, arrests and the shit Merle got up to. I mean, when I first found out I thought of telling you but I didn't want you to have to choose between us and Merle. Merle would've hated a screaming baby living with him and I didn't want to put that on you both."
"So you left an' did it all on ya' own?" Daryl rhetorically asked, scoffing slightly and feeling as though he just wanted to hit himself hard. "How was tha' helping anyone?"
Molly shrugged, picking at the dirt on her trousers as she sighed and pushed herself to her feet. "You're welcome to talk to him if you like... I think it's best I tell him who you are to him and you can build whatever sort of relationship you'd like with him... Even if you're not feeling it now, just talk to him and you'll realise how unintimidating he actually is."
"Already 'ave." Daryl found himself telling her, reaching into the bag beside him and pulling out a folded piece of paper he found himself keeping for some unknown reason. "Gave me this when you were off doin' somethin'... Spoke ta' him twice actually..."
Molly smiled softly, nodding as though she realised what he was trying to say. "I'll tell him who you are and you can approach him whenever you like... It doesn't have to be today or anytime soon. Just know that he's the least judgmental and the most kindest person I've ever met... He's got a lot of love in his heart to give out. Do not fucking trample on it." With that said, she took a deep breath and took off for the R.V.
"Do I 'ave to call 'em Daryl?" Jacob asked around an hour later, kicking his feet back and forth as he looked up at his mother. "'cause, you call 'em Daryl but he's my daddy." He informed her as she continued to fold there clothes up and place it beside him in the crate on the bed of the truck.
"Why don't we start with Daryl for now." She said, nodding as though it was the right choice to make. "He's new to all this, same as you. That's not his fault though so don't be asking him why he wasn't here."
"Okay." Jacob muttered, leaned against the truck bed with a smile on his face upon seeing the birds in the sky. "Is he gone come live with us?"
Molly found herself laughing slightly as she shook her head. "No, Jake... We're not going back home any time soon so it'd be difficult for that to happen."
"Should I drawled him another picture?" Jacob asked as his brows furrowed and he looked almost as though he was trying to negotiate a business deal.
Molly fought hard against the chuckle that threatened to come out as she shrugged, closing the lid and picking him up. "You can draw one while we're in the truck if you'd like to… I think he'd really like another one of your drawings… He still has the first one you have him."
"Doesn't he need to ask why we never talken to him?" He muttered as Molly opened the passenger door and placed him in his seat. "We's shoulda' said sorry for not inviting him for cookies on Sundays." He muttered, watching his mother buckle his seat belt.
"You have nothing to say sorry for." She found herself whispering. "Mumma is the one who has to say sorry for thinking it was okay to not tell him that you needed him." She added, fighting the tears that threatened to fall.