Warnings: Fluff. Angst. Smut. Dry humping. Unprotected sex.

Bamby

VPOV

I stood by the window in one of the rooms in Barrington house. Our people, people from Alexandria, had come to the Hilltop to prepare for the war we'd all declared the moment we decided to fight the Saviours. People from the Kingdom had also come to help, the three communities banding together to fight a common enemy.

Standing at the window, I rocked Aly on my hip as she slept. She was getting bigger and bigger every day, almost too heavy for me to pick up. But since I'd come back home, she'd been glued to me, and I couldn't stand the thought of seeing her so lost and broken again.

It had been a few weeks since everything. Since Sasha. Since the Saviours. Since I was reunited with my family. We hadn't had time to stop, I hadn't really had the time to appreciate being back, but I knew my family was happy to have me.

Unfortunately, there was a shadow over my shoulder that no one but myself and Daryl knew about. A shadow that spoiled moments with those I loved.

No one knew about me and Negan. I'd suggested I should tell my dad, to get everything out in the open before it might be spilled somewhere else, by someone else, but Daryl disagreed. He didn't think telling people was the best idea now, considering all the emotions running through the communities. If people found out I'd slept with Negan they could possibly view it as a betrayal which wouldn't lead to anything good.

"Hey." Daryl crept into the room, closing the door behind him.

Smiling, I turned to him, rocking Aly on my hip gently. Houdini perked up at Daryl's entrance, tail wagging as Daryl moved over to scratch at his head as he lay at the foot of the bed. Maggie had offered our little family this room when we'd first arrived knowing we needed time alone after being separated for so long.

"Hey." I stepped over to Daryl, letting him lean forward to press a light kiss on my cheek. "How's it all going?" I asked as I stepped back and watched him start to undress.

Grunting, he took a seat on the bed and started to tug his boots off. "Rick says the cars'll be ready soon. Then you and me will head out. Get the coordinates from Dwight." Reaching up to pull his shirt over his head, he threw the material across the room before looking up at me. "You sure you wanna come?"

"Where you go, I go," I noted, giving him a pointed look. "If you don't want me to go then all you gotta do is send someone else to get the list."

"Don't trust him with no one else."

I shrugged, moving around to the small couch we'd turned into a bed for Aly. "Then we're going," I stated simply as I set her down and pulled the blanket over her.

"Vic," he groaned, standing up, now in nothing but his jeans. "Don't want you going. I don't want you anywhere near that place."

"Daryl," I waited until he stood in front of me before going on, "people are going to get hurt. I'm going to get hurt. You can't protect me forever." Reaching out, I grabbed his hand and slipped it under my shirt so his fingers could run along the many scars on my body. "Time has shown us that no matter how hard we try, things can always go wrong."

Stepping closer, hand splaying over my stomach, he looked down at the few scars that weren't covered by my black tank. "I know you can protect yourself. You know that's not why I don't want you going." His eyes dragged up to meet mine. "What if we get caught?"

"We won't get caught," I assured him.

"They could catch us. He could catch us."

"Daryl." I stepped even closer, moving my hands up his chest and to his shoulders. "They're not going to catch us. I have complete faith that you'll keep us safe. And even if we do get caught, he will never touch me again. I won't do that to you. To us." I looked over my shoulder to our sleeping daughter. "To our family."

His hand had moved to rest on my hip, but at the mention of a family, he moved it back to my stomach. "I love you, Vic. Won't let no one touch you again. Not letting you out of my sight again."

"I know." I smiled, reaching up to press a kiss to his lips. "I love you too, Daryl."

Leaning in, he pressed another kiss to my lips before pulling back. "Come on." Stepping away, he grabbed my hand. "Gotta get some sleep."

My lips tugged up into a smile as I let him lead me to the bed. He pulled the sheets back and crawled onto the mattress before tugging me down with him. His arms wrapped around my waist in an instant as he held me close.

We'd been sleeping like this since I'd gotten back. Tangled and knotted together. Daryl was scared to let me go. He was scared to leave me alone for too long. I knew most of it was because he blamed himself for some things, that he was worried leaving me alone would mean I'd get hurt. But there was the other part… the part neither of us would admit out loud.

I'd cheated on Daryl, with our enemy no less, and part of him would forever worry I might do something stupid like that again.

RPOV

Standing in front of Glenn and Abraham's graves, I looked up at the sky with a sigh. Things were coming together. It was all about to start soon.

"Rick!" Aly laughed as she came hurrying around the corner.

My lips pulled up into a smile as I bent down in time to grab and lift her onto my side. "You're getting heavy," I grunted, a little over-exaggerated.

She giggled and leaned her head against my shoulder as we both looked over to watch her parents head our way. Houdini was right beside them, tongue sticking out of his mouth as he got distracted by a dragonfly for a moment.

"Come on, boy," Daryl called, whistling to get the dog's attention.

Right away, Houdini ignored the bug and hurried back over to Vickie's side.

"You still sure you're okay taking her home?" Vickie asked.

I nodded as she and Daryl came to stop in front of me. "I'll keep my eye on her, make sure nothing happens. We're gonna meet your brother halfway."

"You be good," Daryl told Aly and she nodded, her head still on my shoulder. "Rick says you run, what do you do?"

"Run."

Vickie stepped forward and grabbed both sides of Aly's face. "You listen to your pop. You don't ask questions. You be a good girl."

"I know, Mummy." Aly smiled.

"She's gonna be okay," I assured both Daryl and Vickie.

Nodding, Vickie stepped back over to Daryl's side. His arm wrapped around her as she leaned into him, resting her head on him just as Aly leaned against me again.

"We're gonna head out, get the stuff from Dwight. We'll be home late," Daryl noted. "If we aren't…"

"I know," I sighed. "I know."

If they didn't make it back, it meant they were found, caught, captured… maybe even killed. Sending them out there wasn't an easy choice, it wouldn't be an easy job, but I trusted them, and I knew they could take care of themselves. Both Daryl and Vickie had proved that time and time again.

"We'll see you tonight."

DPOV

Vic was leaning against my bike, keeping an eye out as I waited for Dwight to shoot the arrow back. I didn't trust this idea, I didn't trust this guy, but I knew we didn't have much of a choice.

My eyes scanned our surroundings as a feeling of dread washed over me. I hated being so close to this place, I hated that Vic was here. She should be home, safe, sound. I didn't want to think about what might happen if we got caught.

"You're thinking again," she suddenly spoke up.

I looked over my shoulder at her. "Huh?"

Without glancing at me, she shrugged. "You're thinking again. You're wondering what might happen if we get caught. You're wondering what might happen to me. You're wishing I wasn't here."

"You blame me?"

"No." She turned to me then. "No, I get it, and I'm worried too. But we don't have many options here, Daryl."

"You could've stayed back."

"Could've done a lot of things." She looked over my shoulder and gave a short nod. "Here it comes."

I turned just as the arrow got lodged into the crate beside me. Pulling it out of the wood, I glanced over at Dwight one last time before turning my back on him. "Come on. Let's get home."

CPOV

Out of gas, I had to go looking for more. I knew I was late, and I knew Dad wasn't going to be happy about that, but there was nothing I could do.

Meandering through the broken-down cars, left by the old gas station, I moved carefully. I ducked into cars to make sure they were all clear of walkers, or maybe even supplies. I was so focused, I wasn't prepared for someone to speak up.

"Hi."

The gas can in my hand clattered to the ground as I fumbled for my gun and spun around to aim in the direction where the voice had come from.

"I-I'm okay," they called trying to reassure me. "I mean I'm not, but I've been shot at. Someone threw a microwave at me. So I-I'm just gonna say something my mom used to say and hope for the best here…" He took a deep breath. "'Whatever you have of good, spend on the traveller'. My mum said that- that helping the traveller, the person without a home… that's everything."

As he kept going, I began to creep closer to the sound of his voice.

"I'm sure you've seen things, been through things, that you don't trust people. I get it." He sighed, "I get it. I don't, either. I've been through things, too."

Taking my hat off, I ducked down onto the ground and looked underneath a car, quickly spotting his feet behind another vehicle. Getting back I, I stealthily moved towards him.

"My mum… she also said that, 'May my mercy prevail over my wrath'. It's not all my mum. That- that one, that's from the Quran. Probably shouldn't have said that," he scolded himself, like that would matter. "I don't even know you, but I ha- I haven't eaten in a few days. You might not even be real."

I jumped around the car, aiming at him, "Hands up!"

His hands shot up as he ducked a little, almost wetting himself. The guy looked like he hadn't slept in days… he was stick thin and clearly not doing well.

"Listen. I'm gone. Huh? It's cool," his voice shook. "I just- I just wanted some- e-even just some food."

Two guns shots made us both jump.

My eyes looked at my gun, confused and disbelieving. I was sure I hadn't pulled the trigger, and sure enough, I hadn't. As the guy scurried off, Dad appeared, running towards us.

Once the guy was gone, Dad tucked his gun away and turned to me with a pointed look. "We were supposed to meet at the intersection." When I sighed, he shrugged. "I shot over his head. I just wanted him gone."

"He said that he was-"

He cut me off before I could say more. "I heard what he said. Most of it. But he could've been one of them."

"Like a spy?"

"I shot above his head," he repeated. "If he isn't one of them, I hope he makes it."

Shaking my head, I walked off and grabbed my hat and the jerry can I'd dropped earlier. "It's not gonna be enough, Dad."

"Enough what?"

"Hope."

I was heading towards the road when a little voice called out.

"Can we come out now?"

Frowning, I watched the tree line.

"Come on out," Dad called.

Rushing out of the bushes, her fingers gripping Houdini's collar tightly, Aly hurried over towards me. "Hi, Carl!"

I couldn't stop myself from smiling down at her. "Hey, kid. What are you doing out here?" I asked as we started down the road.

"Mum and Dad are busy working, so Pop is taking me home. We were supposed to meet you, but you weren't where you were supposed to be, so we went looking. And then Rick heard the man, so he told me to hide, so I did." She gave a sharp nod.

"Hey." Dad jogged up to fall in step with us. "What does that mean? What you said. What does that mean?"

"You hope the guy makes it. That's not enough. If you give a shit-"

"Carl," he cut me off with a warning tone.

Aly giggled at the two of us.

I sighed. "If you care, you do something. You don't just hope. It takes more than that. That's what I meant. There's gonna be something after the fight's over."

"Not for everyone," he countered with a shrug, reaching down to pick Aly up as she started falling behind. It was hard for the little girl to keep up with our longer strides.

Her head leaned against his shoulder as her fingers fiddled with the frayed part of her jeans. Her eyes dragged over to me to meet mine.

"Okay, yeah, but… what about for you?" I asked, pulling my gaze from hers to look at Dad. "You're gonna live, Dad. Why are we doing this? Why are we fighting them? So it isn't like how they want it, with everyone working for them, everyone living for them?" I shook my head. "We're fighting so it's all of us working together for something more than just killing other people."

"You think we're gonna be out there, picking strawberries with Negan?"

"If that's what it takes." I shrugged. "It's more than just hope. What, are we just gonna kill all of them?" Stopping in my tracks, I turned to him. "Finding some way forward, that's harder. That's something more. Dad, that's how it's got to be."

Aly reached out at the same time I reached forward. Dad watched, a little stunned as I took her from him, setting her on my hip. With a whistle, Houdini trotted along by my side as I walked off, leaving Dad standing there, staring at me, processing my words.

VPOV

It was dark. Most people were in their homes, probably sleeping, or at least winding down for the night. Daryl and I mumbled our 'hellos' to the few who were still awake and still out. Those on guard, those finishing off a few more details before tomorrow.

Hand in hand, Daryl and I walked up the porch of our home. The door was unlocked like it always was. We crept inside, finding Dad and Michonne sitting in the living room, laying on the couch.

"You're back." Michonne smiled as she pulled herself off, Dad.

Shifting, he sat up and nodded at us. "It go okay?"

"Mm-hmm." Daryl tugged me closer. "Goin' to bed." He pulled out the paper from Dwight and placed it on the dining room table. "See you in the morning."

As we turned to leave, Dad called out to us, "Early. We've still got a lot to do."

"We know," I assured him, pulling on Daryl's arm, leading him to the stairs.

Leaving Dad and Michonne behind, we headed up to the second floor, making a detour to Aly's room. We were quiet as we slipped in, checking to make sure she was okay. Sure enough, she was fast asleep, arm wrapped around Houdini as he lay beside her.

The dog's tail wagged as he looked up at us.

"Shh, boy." Daryl gave his head a gentle pat. "Stay."

Houdini did as he was told, settling down and leaning in closer to the little girl.

I smiled, watching her sleep soundlessly. Seeing her like that, so innocent and normal, like the world wasn't falling apart… it pulled on my heart. It made me wish I could give her everything she deserved. Everything I had and more.

"Come on." Daryl wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me to the door. "Let's go to bed."

Walking out of the bathroom, drying my hair with the towel, I looked over at the bed and at Daryl. He was leaning against the headboard, one leg bent and propped up as he looked down at his hand and picked at his fingernails. When I entered the room he looked up, his eyes dragging up and down my body.

I was dressed in one of his shirts and a pair of panties, nothing more, nothing less. Apparently, that did things to him.

"Come 'ere."

Smiling lightly, I set the towel on the dresser and moved over to the bed. He reached out for me as I knelt on the mattress, just out of reach.

Patience growing thin, he lunged forward and wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him. I giggled as he turned us so my back was flat on the bed as he settled in between my thighs.

His hand dragged up my thigh and grasped my hip as he pressed himself against me. I could feel him hardening in his boxers, grinding, eager for more.

"Daryl," I moaned, arching to give him access to my neck.

Taking the opportunity, he trailed his mouth down to the junction of my throat where he nibbed and sucked on my pulse point. "Need you, Vic. Want you."

I nodded, already breathless. "Yes. Daryl. Please."

Slipping his hand between us, he pulled my panties to the side and tugged himself free.

There was no foreplay, our desperation too thick to tease. Instead, he just lined himself and thrust into me. I let out a cry, clinging to his shoulders. He groaned, slapping his hips into mine with every thrust. I felt so full with him in me, so stretched, so complete.

Clutching him as he pressed himself against me until our bodies were flush, we bucked against each other, hips moving at a familiar pace. It was slow and needed. A moment of reconnection.

Later we'd been doing this a lot, holding each other in the darkness, driving ourselves forward on the hope of use alone. Talking didn't come easy, but moving, actions, that was our language. We were scared that we were lost, or that we might lose each other again.

Part of me wondered if Daryl clung to me like this because he was worried I might slip away if he didn't. That I might betray him again. Or maybe he held me like this to try and mould us back together. Maybe he held me like this, desperately hoping I was still the same person… still the same girl who loved him.

I knew why I clung to him. To make sure it was real. To make sure he was real. It terrified me, the thought that one day I might wake up and find the other side of my bed missing. That one day I might wake up and find myself back at the Sanctuary like nothing had happened. Like I hadn't freed myself from that momentary lapse in sanity.

Or maybe we held each other with hope for the future. Our future. I knew he still wanted a baby, and I knew he still wanted to live out his days with me. In moments like this, when the rest of the world faded away as our thrusts fell in beat with our pulses, it sometimes felt like everything was going to be just fine.

Daryl and I clung together, making love for the dozenth time since I'd come back. He held me, and I held him as we drove each other to our endings. When we reached the climax, I cried out in the crook of his neck as he groaned in my ear. Our grip tightened, our breathing rapid and out of control. Then he pressed a kiss to my shoulder and rolled to the side, making sure to pull me along with him.

It took less than a few seconds to fix up our clothes, and then we tangled ourselves up one more time. That's how we fell asleep… in each other's arms.

Bamby